A Wisp of Who I Was

Ch1: Danny

Danny had been pushing himself too hard, he knew, but his instincts screamed at him to keep moving even when his exhaustion had left him at a slow crawling pace. He could barely hover over the ground and his eyes couldn't even focus on what was in front of him.

He needed rest- No! He needed to keep moving. He can't stop. He can't.

His body fell limp to the floor. He laid there in a daze. Only for his mind to be overwhelmed with all alarm bells shooting off at once. The deep ache in his muscles, the mental exhaustion of going without sleep, and the wounds that had yet to heal. Danny curled in on himself, hugging his legs close to his chest in a fetal position. He felt so weak, everything hurt, and he could feel his physical form was destabilizing.

At least he wasn't in that lab anymore with its white walls that caged him, the cameras that reminded him that he was always being watched, and the glass window that man had used to show off what they had in store for him. He was finally away from the GIW facility, but at a heavy cost.

His ghostly physical was flickering before his eyes and progressively loosing its shape. His thoughts were beginning to slow and break apart. It was getting difficult for him to string sentences together. It hurt his head, and all he wanted to do was sleep. It had been so long since he had any proper rest. Even the dirt floor felt heavenly to his fleeting consciousness.

'Can't rest. Not Safe,' his mind reminded him, but his limbs didn't respond.

His arms lost their grip on his legs as they faded into a tail. His instincts screamed at him to retreat into his core, to rest, to recover, but it wasn't safe, not when the GIW could still be after him. He needed to do something or he'd be left completely vulnerable and at their mercy.

At times like this, he'd usually be forcefully reverted back into his human form due to exhaustion, but that was no longer possible. GIW made sure of that. There was a heavy feeling of dread that came with that thought, but now it only left Danny feeling confused. His mind was slipping along with his form.

What had they done to him?

He struggled to keep his eyes open. He was desperate to keep moving, but he knew his body had already given up the fight. He had escaped over 2 weeks ago, but he could never be safe knowing they were out there looking for him. Despite the fact that his ghost form didn't need as much rest as his human one did, his injuries couldn't recover properly without it. Not only that, but there was also a significant lack of ambient ectoplasm making his recovery almost nonexistent.

Danny knew he had no other choice now. He molded the last vestiges of ectoplasm in his system to wrap around his core. He created a form that was small enough to conserve his energy yet was still capable of protecting his core.

To his relief, he had shrunk down to a tiny fist sized spirit. A white and black cloak wrapped around him leaving only glowing green eyes in a black void. It wasn't much, but it would have to be enough. With no other choice, Danny allowed his consciousness to fade.

Awaken oh Great One.

Danny stirred as he felt a tug at his core.

Answer our call.

There was a strange energy that began to surround him, urging him to follow the tug.

'Can't. Hurt,' he mentally pleaded, hoping that whoever was calling for him would leave him to rest.

Take these sacrifices and grant us our wish.

Suddenly there was a tear in the fabric of reality. A toxic green portal opened above Danny's small form. He couldn't quite comprehend what was happening, but he knew it couldn't be good, not when he couldn't move, not when he was still being hunted. He can't let them catch him. He needs to run.

'Please, no,' he whimpered in despair.

We grant you access into our world, so that you may take your rightful place as our king.

He couldn't fight the unknown energy as it lifted his body up into the toxic green portal.

Appear before us now, Pariah Dark!