The most frustrating thing about dropping a Time Piece is that, for the most part, you don't even notice at first. Inhale, it slips out of your hand. Exhale, now you're standing in an empty room two hours ago. Very disorienting, and sometimes very scary.

At least, that's what you heard from the grown-ups before shipping out. You are exceptionally careful and have never dropped a Time Piece before now. But in your case, there's no wondering about what happened, because the place you're now standing in is definitely NOT Subcon Forest.

The sun is shining, the trees are full of bright green leaves and delicious-looking fruits, and you see some absolutely adorable villagers in cute little masks running and laughing. So clearly, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

You're not going to freak out. You're not going to cry. You might be a kid, but you're also a seasoned traveler. And also a movie star, and legally a bird. So you're ready for something like this. Besides, you still have that other Time Piece in your backpack. All you have to do now is get yourself oriented and focused.

"She just appeared, didn't she?"

"Out of nowhere, yeah."

"You think we should talk to her?"

You look over to see two of the villagers whispering to each other behind a tree, clearly trying to be very stealthy. Once they're spotted, though, they seem startled.

"Or...or maybe we should go find the Prince."

"Yeah, the Prince. That's a much better idea."

One of the two is wearing a cute fox mask-it looks a little like your Dweller mask, without the whole "seeing horrors unimaginable" aspect yours has-and they wave their little arms at you. "Stay right where you are, kid! We're gonna go get you some help!"

And off they run.

On one hand, you really ought to hop back to where you were. It's possible, you know, though it's not something you should do outside of dire circumstances. But winding up somewhere completely different than your original location definitely seems like dire circumstances.

On the other hand, the shift is starting to get to you. Big ones are much harder on the body than little ones, and you're feeling more than a little woozy. Maybe you should wait for a minute before doing another big jump.

Also, maybe you should lay down immediately.

Your head spins, and you feel yourself falling down, though you can't exactly figure out which way you're falling. Just before you hit the ground, though, something catches your arm and yanks you back up.

"Woah, kiddo, let's try and stay upright, okay?"

Your arm hurts a little from the jolt, but it helps snap you out of dizziness. You look up at your rescuer-which, really, is a loose term, considering he could have dislocated your shoulder doing that-and he does the same to you. Between the crown, the fancy clothes, and the perfectly styled hair, he certainly looks princely, so you figure this must be who the two villagers were talking about. There's something familiar about him, but in your current state, you're definitely not able to figure out what it is.

"Well, you're definitely not a local," he finally says. "Where'd you even come from, kid?"

You start to talk, but the wooziness is back in full force, so you instead focus on staying upright. The Prince sets a hand on your shoulder, keeping you steady.

"You know what, hold onto that thought. Let's get you somewhere you can sit first." He starts pushing you forward, careful to make sure you stay centered. "Subcon's nice, but I think you need an actual chair or something."

Subcon? THIS is Subcon? But it's so...not creepy? Weirdly enough, you're not as surprised as you should be. As far as you know, you can only time travel with Time Pieces. But if this is Subcon Forest, then how far back did you end up going?

Oof. That thought does NOT help your current state.

As the two of you walk, you start picking up some landmarks. The path is familiar, even if the greenery and happy villagers are not. Now if you could just figure out this Prince guy...

All thoughts, muddy as they are, come to a screeching halt as you come up to a bright, beautiful mansion. You know this place. You had a contractual obligation here that almost got you killed, and some nice paint can't make you forget that. You stop dead in your tracks, not even moving as the Prince stumbles and nearly topples you both over.

"Jeez, kid! Can you give me some warning first?" The Prince looks down at you as he adjusts his crown, dark eyes narrowing curiously at you. "What, you don't want to go in?"

You shake your head firmly.

"Why? It's just my house. I go in it all the time and I'm just fine." His head falls to the side as he looks over the front door, then he crouches down to your height as he continues looking at it. "Is it those angel statues?"

More like the dark entity you're sure is still hiding inside, but the headless murder angels weren't great either, and you don't trust them with or without heads.

You give the Prince a nod, and he laughs.

"Don't worry, they can't hurt you. Well, unless they go on a murderous rampage again..." He glances down and clearly notices the horrified look on your face. "I'm joking. Which...admittedly, might not have been the best idea considering you look ready to keel over." He sighs, then stands up straight and sets his hands on your shoulders. "Relax, kid. They're just statues. And if they do get murderous, I'll tell them it breaks the terms of their contract, deal?"

Oh. Oh. That makes something click, and you're caught off-guard enough for the Prince to be able to push you (carefully) into the manor.

"See? Not a scratch on us. Probably because unemployment's really rough on statues these days."

No. No, no, that can't be right. You're making silly assumptions because you're still feeling the effects of the time jump. But the Prince is right; you two are in the manor safe and sound, and aside from a few villagers running about with linens and food, it seems like you're the only two there. And...it's tremendously cozy. It's just warm enough, and the air carries the smell of fresh-baked cookies. Even with the memories of being chased around by that shadow-lady, you can't force yourself to be on guard here. You let the Prince guide you up the stairs, and he opens the door to a very flouncy room. Lots of lace and frothy bed hangings. It's very pretty, and not your style at all.

"Here, kid, let's get you settled in here for now." The Prince rests a hand on his hip, looking around the room. "Normally this is where my fiancée stays, but she's out on royal business right now, sp the room's all yours. I'm sure she won't mind." He waves toward the bed. "Lay down or take a nap, whatever you need. I'll have one of the Dwellers bring up some food for you later, then maybe we can figure out where you came from. Sound good, kiddo?"

It sounds great. In seconds your hat is off and you've thrown yourself down onto the bed. Your head's still spinning a bit, but with the soft pillow and cozy blanket you wrap around yourself, you're able to drop off into unconsciousness almost immediately.

You're not really sure how long you're asleep, but it's definitely not long enough. But there's no way you could have stayed asleep with all the commotion on the other side of the door.

"What do we do? She's coming!"

"Just change the sheets!"

"But that little girl's still inside, and the Prince said we CAN'T wake her up!"

You rub your eyes and sit up. Well, you feel normal again, which is good. And considering how worked up the Dwellers on the other side of the door are getting, you should probably get on out. Just as well, you don't want to wait too long before getting back to your proper time.

You grab your hat and hop off the bed, and you smile at the two Dwellers as you open the door. They rush inside, pushing you out and slamming the door. Well. Manners, apparently, have never been a big thing in Subcon Forest.

You fix your hat and make your way to the stairs. It seems right to thank the Prince for letting you recover, so you set out to find him before heading back. (Heading forward? Thinking too much about that will get you woozy again, so you don't.) You're startled, though, by a piercing shriek that goes through the entire manor.

"My Prince!"

You pick up the pace, running down the stairs and heading toward the source of the squeal. You find it at the door, where a very pretty blonde woman with a dainty crown throws herself at an unsuspecting Prince. She peppers kisses all over his face. Ordinarily, you'd be grossed out, but there's something familiar about this.

"Darling!" The Prince's brain has apparently caught up to what's happening, and he wraps his arms around the woman's waist. "I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow."

"Oh, but I couldn't bear being apart from you for a moment longer, my princey-wincey!" she cooed. "Besides, it's just boring queen stuff. Not like I'm actually missing anything important, especially because all I could think about was you, my love! Did you miss me while I was gone?"

"Of course I did. I miss you every moment you're not here, my princess." This time, the Prince dipped his head to press a tender kiss to her temple. "Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have such a devoted soon-to-be wife."

Clearly the Prince is busy. You figure it's better just to leave a note thanking him for his help. You dig in your backpack, looking for a piece of paper. Time Piece, water bottle...oh, you forgot you packed the storybook.

The storybook!

Your backpack falls out of your hands, and your head shoots up to look at the pair in front of you. Blonde hair, dainty crown, green dress...that's definitely Queen Vanessa from the story. And the Prince...he looks just like the one from the book.

Oh. Oh no.

It still seems impossible, but if the story's true, then your hunch earlier was right. You've gone back a very long time.

And it looks like you've found Snatcher.