#Either ai’m sorry if I actually hurt you or something

[buthearmeouttho]

I think it’s funny all the Bucky’s pretend to not like me or encourage what I do without an inbetween and then the ones that pretend to hate me would probably murder anyone who does anything mean to me because they do care they just won’t admit it

[theshadowspecter]

Nuisance

(Bloom: Another chapter!)

Without a proper plan, Abigail was hesitant to tell the Conductor what happened, so instead she made her way over to Grooves' side of the studio and waited for the recording to be done for the day. Once she saw Grooves wasn't busy, she approached.

“Hey Darlin',” the penguin said, “how's it goin?”

“Not too good. Suffice to say I need a place to stay for a week or two.”

“Not a problem!” the DJ answered with a flourish, “you're welcome to stay in one of my many apartments. Here!” he wrote down the address on a piece of paper, “door's always open, so make yourself at home!”

With a sincere thanks, she headed out, making sure to avoid the Conductor as she did so.

The next week and a half went by uneventfully, yet far too fast for Abigail. Wracking her brain for days on end yielded no solutions to her situation. Between Snatcher's traps, those minions of his and her contract, she would either have to keep bringing others to meet their end or......or......Snatcher will eat my soul instead.

Abigail didn't want to continue bringing others to Subcon, but she also didn't want to give up her life (and subsequent afterlife) to a hungry spirit either.

It was the very same day that someone came knocking. Figuring that DJ Grooves needed something, she got up “hold on, I'm coming!” and opened the door to find...no one.

Until she heard a huff and looked down to see Conductor. “Oh, Conductor,” she stuttered, moving aside so he could come in, “what brings you out here? Can I get you a coffee?”

Conductor made his way to a kitchen chair, “na tanks, lass, I won' be stayin long. I only came ter see if yew had seen dat owl I had accompn'y yew to the forest. Haven't seen 'im since yew left.” Well, the cat's out of the bag now,' Abigail thought, taking a seat across from the bird. She thought for a moment, before deciding on a half truth, “I'm sorry Conductor, but we got separated while in the forest. Poor thing saw a ghost and took off running. I've been trying to round up a search party,” she pressed on, “but everyone's hesitant to go into Subcon.” “Useless owls,” the Conductor muttered, “everyone knows de forest is haunted, yew'd expect ta see spirits!” Abigail didn't know how to respond, so she left the bird to his own thoughts.

That turned out to be a mistake however, when he suddenly perked his head up, “I got it lass! I'll go wit' yew to Subcon, and together we'll find that peckin' owl!” Trying to stop this ball from rolling any farther she sputtered out, “why not send me with another? You must be very busy.”

“Ah appreciate ta thought, but I made up me mind. I'm not one ter abandon one o' me own owls!”

With that, he headed for the door, stopping in the entry way, “'Sides, I still want ter scope out da place fer my new movie idea. Well, I'll come git yew in a few days, lass!” And with that, he was out. Abigail sank into her chair, putting her head in her hands. What was she gonna do now? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Try as she might, Abigail could not convince the bird director against this, and before she knew it the two of them were heading for Subcon. As they crossed the threshold into the forest, she wondered if she should at least prepare him for what would possibly probably happen.

“Listen, about that express owl...I...I didn't want to say this but h-he was...spirited away...?” Even though the Conductor didn't have any eyes that she could see, she could swear he was raising an eyebrow at her. “Now lass, it's okae if ye feel guilty abou' loosin' da epress owl, bu really? Blamin' it on ghosts? Dem spooks an' stuff cannae hurt a fly, let alone 'spirit away' an owl!” She was about to retort when she spotted one of those little Subconites running for them. Panicking she grabbed the bird and did an awkward half step and a stumble, avoiding the little one but loosing her balance. Still keeping a hold on the Conductor, who was sputtering in confusion about what was happening, they both wound up tumbling back into a shrub bed, and in the struggle to escape that they both found themselves rolling down a small incline. Once they came to a stop Abigail sat up, trying to get her bearings. A small group of Subconites ran down towards them, and the were...cheering?

“Yay! You did it!”

“Your first trap!”

“A bit different but hey, whatever works for you.”

“Congrats!”

The Conductor sat up “wha'?” Abigail also tried to figure out what was happening before she realized where they were: right in a ring of purple thorns.

Right before the trap sprang, one of the Subconites shouted out, “Boss says good work!”

“Work?” Conductor questioned before letting out a squawk as the thorns sprung up and over them both. The scenery seemed to melt away to reveal a purple dimension of sorts...the same one Abigail had first been in when she had initially tried to run from the shadow specter only a short time ago...

Snatcher rose out of the ground with a maniacal cackle, “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! FOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL!!!!!!!! YOU WANDERED INTO MY DOMAIN AND NOW YOU MUST PAY THE PRICE!” He spotted Abigail, and his expression lightened up, “SO MY MINIONS WERE RIGHT! YOU ACTUALLY MANAGED TO LURE A VICTIM INTO ONE OF MY TRAPS ALL ON YOUR OWN!”

Conductor turned to her, “wha' does he mean?” Snatcher replied for her, “OH, DIDN'T SHE TELL YOU? SHE'S UNDER CONTRACT BY YOURS TRULY TO BRING FRESH SOULS INTO MY FOREST, AND I MUST SAY SHE'S BEEN AT IT WITH GUSTO!”

The Conductor paled, “then...that express owl...”

“AN OWL, A COUPLE OF THOSE MAFIA GUYS...,” Snatcher counted off his claws,”AND NOW, YOU. LIKE I SAID, MY LATEST CONTRACTOR HAS BEEN DELIVERING NEW SOULS TO ME LEFT AND RIGHT! GOOD JOB, NUISANCE!” Snatcher cackled, towering above the bird. Conductor turned to her, “How could yew dew this, lassie?!” He sounded so hurt. She didn't want this, but what could she even do? She couldn't even bring herself to speak, as she looked away. “SHE MAKES QUITE GOOD BAIT, DOESN'T SHE?” Snatcher mused, before focusing again on the Conductor, “NOW THEN...”

“Ai'm not goin down witout a fight!” Conductor yelled, pulling out way too many knives. Snatcher just laughed, “YOU CAN'T HURT ME!” “Wannae bet?!” Conductor contested, throwing a knife. It passed right though the specter, who only smirked back at the bird. He reached for Conductor, but the owl(?) dodged and threw another knife...which again passed through the ghost. “STAY STILL!” Snatcher commanded, throwing a blue flame at the bird. Conductor saw his chance and swung a knife through the inferno, the bade becoming ablaze with blue fire. Conductor swung the knife at the ghoul, and this time it actually cut him. With an echoing howl of pain Snatcher reached for the Conductor, only to have the bird turn and slice the specter's hand, which he quickly pulled back with a grimace. With a snarl he cried out “THAT'S IT!” and snatched up the Conductor by the back of his coat. The bird struggled to stab the hand that held him, but stopped when he realized he was dangling right infront of Snatcher's face...and the ghost appeared to had grown in his rage, the purple void dissolving around them as he did so. “YOU SOUL ISN'T EVEN WORTH THE EFFORT. GET OUT OF MY FOREST AND STAY OUT.” With that, he reared back the arm holding the bird and threw him over the trees and out of sight.

Abigail just stood there, mouth agape. Snatcher was slowly shrinking back to his regular size, his cuts glowing as yellow as his eyes. She quickly snapped to her senses once her brain registered that: the Conductor was safe, Snatcher was now both mad and hurt, and she never got him to tally off the Conductor before hand...but maybe she could still make it work. She did bring him straight to Snatcher, after all. It wasn't her fault that it didn't work out in the spook's favor.

She had to try. Mustering up her courage she spoke up “Sn-Snatch...er?” The specter turned to glare at her, and before he could say anything, she continued, “the contract...it s-says that, as long as I bring someone to the forest, I meet the conditions. Y-you still have to tally for...for...” she paused as the shadow loomed over her. “YOU REALLY NEED TO CHECK THE FINE PRINT, NUISANCE.” he all but hissed at her. Pulling out her contract she frantically skimmed it over, before realizing with dawning horror that she never checked the back of this one. On the underside were the damning words 'only person(s) who have their soul taken by The Snatcher will count towards any progress on the part of the contracted' Slightly shaking, Abigail gulped and looked up at Snatcher, “no...” “YEP! ITS ALL THERE, IN BLACK AND WHITE!” Snatcher appeared to calm down as he continued, “BUT HEY, YOU STILL HAVE A FEW DAYS. I'M SURE YOU CAN BRING SOMEONE ELSE IN!”