For DannyMay Day 3- Reflection and Day 22- Isolation

Chapter Summary- Waking up is a shock when you're dead.

When Daniel woke up, it was a huge shock. With a startled yelp, he shot into a sitting position. His hands quickly patted his body. Okay, that was his legs. He had two legs, covered in rubbery black material and ending in two white booted feet. He patted his stomach. Still there. So was his chest and head. He stared at his white gloved hands, eyes widening. He had hands, not dripping green appendages. Actually, all of him was not green and sticky. His body was whole, complete, and the right color as far as he could tell.

But….that didn't make sense. Last he remembered, he'd been on the floor, not in his pod where he belonged. There'd been horrible pain and confusion. Panic and he'd….melted. He'd melted! His body had fallen apart!

Daniel's chest heaved up and down, panicked as he tried to...breathe. Yes, that was it. In his dreams, he breathed most of the time. But he couldn't when he was in his chamber and he didn't need to. And he wasn't in his chamber now….so how was he solid and whole and not in pain?

Maybe….he was still dreaming? He was actually in his chamber in the real world and his melting was just a nightmare. But this, right here, felt….real like every conversation he had with his sister did. He wasn't asleep and being on the floor, the...pain, that had been real. So…..maybe someone managed to save him at the last minutes, right after he blacked out. And father figured out how to stabilize him? That would make sense, except….where was his father and Danielle and his brothers? And where was he now?

The boy looked down. He was sitting on something soft and rectangular. It was...a bed. Yes, that's what it was. He didn't know how he knew the word, even though he'd never been on a bed before. But the word was just there, in his head like so many other words.

His head turned side to side, taking in the rest of his surroundings. A desk, a chair, a set of draws, a bean bag chair, a closet. This was a bedroom, but not one he'd seen before, even in dreams. Though the walls were painted a dark blue, the room was undecorated. No posters, knick-knacks, random papers, toys, or anything personal. Wheren't bedrooms less...bare? Danielle had shown him pictures of her room and the toys, books, and drawings she kept there.

With that thought, he blinked and the room changed. A book shelf appeared. Papers covered the desk. A model rocket materialized on the side table and a picture of Danielle showed up on the wall.

Okay? Daniel didn't have a lot of experience but he was pretty sure that wasn't normal. Maybe he should get off the bed and look for a way out of the room to find Danielle or his father.

Tentatively, Daniel placed his feet on the floor and stood up. He smiled down at his booted feet. He was standing, in the real world, not in his dream. He frowned slightly. He'd hoped Danielle, Father, and his brother would be here for this. But… they'd be happy and proud of him once he found them. Which...led to a problem.

Daniel peered into the closet, finding just three walls with some clothes hanging in front of them. He walked the length of the room, about 12 of his steps. And there was no door out of this room. No window either. He looked up, his skylight or trap door to a room above, if he was underground. So how could he get out? How did he get in here in the first place?

The boy furrowed his brow. It didn't make sense, being stuck in this room by himself. He paced, trying to make sense of what happened. Maybe if he could remember something between falling out of his chamber and waking up here, he could figure this out.

Daniel then tensed, putting his hands through his hair. He couldn't remember anything, not even dreams. He'd just blacked out on the floor, after melting into a pile of goo (His nose wrinkled in disgust) and then he woke up here, his body seemingly fine. Something was wrong with that. Something important happened but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The boy then stopped in front of the closet. On a whim, he swung the door closed. Daniel flinched as he came face to face with a glowing, white haired figure. He packed up and so did the boy. Daniel frowned, raising a brow as the boy copied him. Huhhh….something tickled in the back of Daniel's mind. He moved one air forward, as did the other boy. Then their fingers touched except…..instead of fingers touching his, Daniel felt something cold and solid beneath his fingers.

The boy raised an eyebrow. This was a mirror, wasn't it? He realized with a start, he hadn't recognized his own face. But….that shouldn't have been such a surprise. He couldn't see his reflection in the chamber and though he'd been curious, he couldn't exactly ask Danielle to get him a mirror when he should only shake or nod his head.

Daniel took in his reflection. He had neon green eyes and white hair, a scattering of freckles on his nose and cheeks. The boy tilted his head. Though his jaw was a little more defined and his checks less chubby, he clearly looked a lot like Danielle. But she had said the two of them looked very similar so he half expected that.

Although...something tickled his mind. He thought back to earlier, before he woke up. There had been a boy beside Danielle who looked like her. Who looked like HIM. He and the boy who he thought was another brother looked identical. So, that boy was almost definitely another brother and a healthy, strong one. Unlike Bones, Muscles, and Tiny who couldn't speak or move very much or really use their powers, generally looking weak and sickly. Hopefully this new brother was like Danielle, healthy and strong. Or kinda healthy at least. Danielle was not as stable as Daniel would have liked. He had hoped that when Father figured out how to stabilize him, their father would stabilize her too.

Speaking of stable, that led back to the question of how Daniel was stable now. He studied himself in the mirror again. He did in fact look okay. Maybe he should take his suit off and check under it. He carefully pulled his gloves off one at a time. He had normal looking fingers and hands. The skin was pale with a greenish undertone and greenish nails but that was normal. He kicked off his boots. Normal, though greenish feet and toes. Reaching around his neck, Daniel felt for the head of his zipper to take off his suit. Finding the small piece of metal, he gently pulled it and the material parted. He shook the garment off his shoulders and pulled his arms out, finding pale limbs with small white hairs. That was normal too. And as the outfit pooled around his waist, the boy looked down at his pale chest that sported only a few chest hairs. That was normal for a boy his age. He then pulled the fabric down his legs, leaving him in just boxers. He examined his legs, pale with small white leg hair. Normal.

All was normal and expected for his ghost form.

Yeah, ghost form. He hadn't thought about that yet. Danielle had two forms, human form with black hair and blue eyes and ghost form, with white hair and green eyes. And according to her, he did too, although he stayed in ghost form while in the chamber. Though in his dreams, sometimes he was a ghost and sometimes a human. Daniel raised a brow at himself in the mirror. If he was stable now….did that mean he could change into his human form?

He didn't really know how to do that but he'd try anyway. Still looking at his reflection, he imagined himself with black hair and blue eyes. Nothing happened. He imagined again, picturing himself changing like his sister does, with white rings forming around his waist. But….that did nothing. No ring tried to form.

Daniel frowned down at himself, putting his hand over his chest. He thought about changing again and a measure of unease settled in his chest. Something was off. Now that he actually thought about it, something did feel different. Normally, in his chest, below where his hand laid, there was a subtle beating and a little spark of warmth. But...there's nothing there. The boy closed his eyes, mentally searching for the feeling. His gut churned; the feeling was gone and somehow, he knew so was his human form.

His hand started trembling. His human form was gone, leaving only his ghost form. But how and why? The boy swallowed, confusion balling in his gut. Earlier….when he'd been on the floor and melting….he thought….he was dying. He'd been sure of it, that he was dying though he'd desperately wanted to live. Did he die? Was he dead?

Daniel glanced at his ghostly eyes in the mirror again, eyes that were growing wide and slightly watery as his mind tried to put together the pieces. He'd died earlier, hadn't he? That was the answer. He frowned. He was just a ghost now, a full ghost and he'd never actually seen himself in human form in real life. A tear fell from his eye. He was dead and trapped in whatever this weird room was and would never get to make cookies or see the stars or catch frogs in the creek or play hide and go seek with his sister. He never got to hug her or tell her that he loved her with his own voice. And now he had no idea where she was or how to get to her.

Sniffling, Daniel stubbled back from the mirror. It wasn't fair! He'd been so close to being free and his life could finally begin. He had so many things he wanted to do and now he never would. He'd never actually meet Father or the new brother he saw right before he died. And worse, he was trapped alone in this stupid room, his own personal hell.

He sat down heavily on the bed and wrapped the blanket around him. At least it was soft and comfortable, a sarcastic part of his mind snapped. But what did it matter?! He was alone with no escape in sight. Angry tears spilled down his face, though Daniel had no idea who or what he was mad at. He just knew this wasn't fair! He wanted out of this stupid room and to be with his family!

He had to get out. Now. Fury surging in his core, Daniel stood up. No, there had to be a way out. There had to be. Energy burned through the ghost's veins lighting his fists as he yanked the sheets from the bed and pushed the mattress up. Maybe under the bed… Nothing? With a yell of rage, the energy in his palms shot out burning the mattress but the boy ignored the damage, dropping the mattress with a thrud.

He pulled the side table away from the wall. Nothing behind or below. He let it drop to the floor. The desk? He ripped it away from the wall and practically threw it. Nothing! The furniture splintered with a crash.

"No No NO!"

Daniel leapt at the bookcase. Maybe behind it? He pulled on the side, yanking the whole thing down like it weighed nothing. Books and knick-knacks spilled across the floor, something that might have been a snow globe shattering.

No! No! Daniel's eyes light up brighter. "There has to be a way out of this freaking room!"

With a running start, he kicked the set of draws and pushed it to the floor. More angry tears leaked from the boy's eyes as he tore up the room. Pulling the clothes off the hangs. Throwing books againist the stupid blue walls. Ripping up the stupid gibberish covered papers on the desks. His fists ignited into green flames as he incinerated the paper.

"Let me out! Please! I want to go home!" Daniel's cries went unheard.

With supernaturally strong fists, he punched the walls and screamed with rage. The sound echoed through the room, loud, harsh, and mournful. The mirror shattered at the sonic attack. As ectoplasmic energy wafted off Daniel's skin and surged around the room, the boy fell to his knees.

His core stuttered in the ghost's chest from the large energy output, the sudden weakness preventing the boy from rising from the floor. He fell forward onto his stomach. Surrounded by the carnage wrought by his fury, Daniel buried his face in the carpet and wept.