A Dimension in Time

Oh, the Humanity! Welcome to Time's End

☼☽ Chapter 12 ☼☽

Oh, the Humanity! Welcome to Time's End

Marching up the bridge was a daunting task, the minutes kept ticking along while traversing the area that was an amalgamation of things that were dreadfully familiar yet also distantly foreign. The king stacked up at the obsidian castle's gates was clearer now, as with the last person in line who took note of their presence immediately. "Sugarcubes!? What are y'all doing here?!" Cooking Cat warily exclaimed with her ears partly flattened. "We... We don't know Cookie." Hat Kid sighed as Cooking Cat placed a paw on her chef's hat, briefly removing it to fan her face before placing it back on "Well... Golly gee, I've been in hot kitchens before, but this is something else! I don't know how you're not breaking a sweat, but I'm really cooking." Hat and Bow giggled at the comment, it was enough to cheer them up for the time being. "I can agree with you, miss. This heat is boiling! Even if I'm a ghost." Another voice spoke out, it was the Florist. "Camila... it's Um- what happened...?" Dawn warily asked, she knew the answer but it didn't help that the question escaped her lips anyway. "I think you three know what happened very well, dearie. Better than a being that's lived longer than your lifetimes." Moonjumper spoke up, standing beside Camila with an equally worried expression. "Your former friend, the cloaked child; she must've done this. I remember you telling me about her, Dawn." Moonjumper sighed. "I vaguely remember you telling me about her as well, Moonjumper..." The Florist added with a glance at the castle, then at Cooking Cat, then Moonjumper only to finally land on the trio. "Maybe you can skip the queue and find out who's the head chef here, kids?" Cooking Cat tried to joke at the end which helped only a little but the laughter didn't last.

"Miss Cooking Cat, I admire your enthusiasm... but these kids need to focus..." Moonjumper interjected as he lowered to the trio's level; eventually huddling the trio closer to him. "Be careful, we're counting on you... I would hate to see you all fail on the biggest mission you've had yet." Moonjumper warily stated, the calmness in his voice was trying to overshadow his worry yet it failed in doing so. Dawn tenderly nodded with a hopeful gleam in her emerald eyes. "You rosebuds better be careful, I don't have any healing supplies on me from Subcon, so care for each other if you get hurt." The Florist ordered, her gaze demanding that they come back safe and sound not just for her sake, but most likely Moonjumper's sake as well. Cooking Cat looked at the trio when Moonjumper's protective arms unveiled them, eventually taking Hat Kid and Bow Kid into her arms. "You girls better come back safely, or I won't have anyone to cook for. I'd miss having y'all around." The two girls returned the hug with wary smiles... this was going to be harder than they thought. "We will Cookie... promise." Hat Kid swore with a determined voice. "We'll return things to normal and defeat Mu, you can count on it." Bow Kid added with an equally determined voice. Eventually, they were on the road again, the two younger girls taking the lead as Dawn's gaze stayed on Moonjumper. Eventually, the snowflake-clipped girl hugged the moon shaped spirit. "You guys better be careful too! Okay MJ?" Moonjumper seemed taken aback by the hug but eventually returned it. When they let go, the magical puppeteer scooted the cryokinesis prodigy along. "I'll see you when this is over, Dawn. Please: be careful. I can't stress it enough, dearie." Dawn chuckled as she gripped onto her backpack straps. "I will. See ya later, Moonjumper." Without another word spoken, Dawn finally parted ways with her dearest allies, her most trusted friends. The brunette swore to herself that she'd get through this nightmare with Hat and Bow to save them all, even if it was the last thing she'd do.

Going up the cue was extremely intense with many familiar faces darting from all over the place, the Alpine Skyline Goats, and Nomads, a traveler with a camera that the trio had seen around a fair amount of times. The Subcon Forest Fire Spirits, the Mafia of Cooks along with their boss who was still imprisoned in a jar. The Moon Penguins that were the bodyguards and actors in DJ Grooves's movies. Heck! even the Express Owls were there! But the figure that took their attention front and center was none other than the soul stealing ghost himself, it was Snatcher. They slowly approached the ghoul with tense movements... it was odd seeing the ghoul that they had defeated so many hours ago again, yet it felt like weeks since the last time they saw him. "Hey kids! How's those souls of yours? Still rattling around in there?" Snatcher ominously greeted with a slight chuckle in his echoey voice, he probably expected this to get a rise out of Dawn... but she was honestly too tired to bicker back with him. "They're good! Feels great to have 'em back! Thanks for asking!" Hat Kid peped with a gleeful smile, though it looked more tired than happy. "Yeah... it's great to feel fully alive again. So thanks, ya big ol' grump." Bow Kid tried to joke, yet like Hat Kid... she too sounded tired. "What's wrong? Did somebody freeze your mouth shut?" Snatcher asked with a puzzled voice, to where Dawn shook her head. "No... but we are about to stop whoever created this mess. She's just... home too far. But thank goodness Vanessa ISN'T here. I think my heart would drop if she was..." Dawn quivered at the thought, to where Snatcher slightly lowered to their level, an action none of them were used to. "Well, sounds like you three got a lot on your plate! HA HA HA!"