Chapter 2: The Half-ghost Cat
I groaned from the lingering pain. I forced my eyes open only to be looking at the swirling green of a working ghost portal. At least what I assumed it was supposed to look like working. I gave a low growl as I pushed myself up onto my unsteady paws. Only to have one of my paws phase through the floor.
I stared at where my leg went through the floor in shock. I quickly pulled it up where it became solid again. Then I noticed something odd. My sleek white fur was no longer white. It was pitch black! I took a calming breath and walked over to a reflective piece of metal that was in the lab.
I was shocked to find that my whole body was now covered in black fur, I had red eyes instead of blue, and my once grey collar studded in blue gems was now gold with red gems. The other thing that puzzled me was that my nametag changed to my actual name Mystique instead of Maddie. I also had a reddish glow that enveloped me faintly.
It reminded me of what Vlad said he was. He said he was a 'half-ghost'. He told me it happened when he had an accident in 'college', whatever that is, with a ghost portal prototype. Something similar must have happened to me!
"Holly Rat Tails!" I yowled at the realization.
Then I heard Vlad. "What is going on down there?" He shouted coming down the stairs.
Once down he looked at the portal - that was functioning to his surprise- and then the red eyes of his ghost form landed on me.
"A ghost cat? What are you doing here?"
He did not recognize me! Panic set in and before I could react black rings split from my middle and one went up and the other down revealing my normal form, much to both of our surprise.
"Okay… That was weird." I meowed to myself.
I then looked at Vlad who was looking at me very strangely."What?"
He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Maddie, did you go into the ghost portal?"
"Yeah, and it hurt worse than getting attacked by a horde of rats," I replied with a nod.
"It seems you have acquired a half-ghost status, and the ability to speak."
My eyes widened. He could understand me now? I could not believe it. Was I dreaming? I looked at Vlad and decided to use the voice I now had to set something straight.
"Mystique."
Vlad blinked. "Pardon?"
"My name. It is not Maddie." I replied. "It is Mystique or Myst if you like."
"Alright then, Myst. It is a pleasure to formally meet you. I am Vlad Masters." He replied, his eyes glinting with something I could not place.
"I think being able to talk to you is going to be very useful," I replied, thinking about how I could specify which type of fish I preferred.
"Very useful indeed." Vlad agreed, a wicked grin plastered on his face.