Chapter Text
He drifted just below the surface of consciousness.
He didn’t know where he was.
He didn’t know who he was.
The ticking of clocks surrounded him, echoing through his mind. The sounds of the various clocks were familiar, and he knew that they meant safety.
He didn’t know how he knew that, but he did.
A voice filtered through his limited awareness. It was a kind voice, one that he knew he could trust.
He didn’t know how he knew that, either.
“It’s not quite time to wake yet, Daniel. Just sleep a moment longer, little chime.”
Daniel? Was that him? It must be his name.
It was a nice name. He liked it.
And ‘little chime’? It was a special name, just for him, that the kind voice had given him. It radiated comfort in his mind. It was almost a physical feeling, and it caused something in his chest to purr happily.
He gave a sleepy chirp, mumbling out a question. He meant it to be ‘who are you?’ but it didn’t sound anywhere close to that.
The kind voice seemed to get what he meant, though. It gave a small laugh.
“Your Grandfather, Daniel. Go back to sleep, now.”
He felt sleep wash over him, pulling him deeper into unconsciousness. He felt his grandfather pick him up, holding him like he was precious.
The last thing he heard was a gentle humming, and the ticking of a clock.
\(oo)/
He woke up to shouting.
“-Mads! I found him!”
Large hands went to pick him up.
They didn’t sound like his grandfather at all. Daniel didn’t know who this strange person was.
They were uncomfortably loud. Their voice grated on his senses.
Daniel tried to avoid the large person, but his reflexes were dulled from sleep. The stranger picked him up, cradling him to their chest.
He gave an unhappy trill, squirming in their hold. They just held him tighter.
The stranger paused for a moment, before yelling again.
“Maddie! I think something might be wrong with Dann-o!” They sounded more urgent this time, panicked.
That wasn’t his name. Why was the strange person calling him something that wasn’t his? Even if it was a nickname, it wasn’t his. Not like ‘little chime’.
Where was his grandfather, anyway?
He could hear footsteps moving towards him. He struggled again, trying to get away.
An uncomfortably warm hand touched his forehead, before another voice spoke. This one was less loud, but no less grating on Daniel’s hearing. He didn’t know what exactly it was, but something about the voice made him cringe away.
“He doesn’t feel warm, honey. Danny, can you hear us? Open your eyes sweetheart.”
What was with these people and calling him names that weren’t his?
(Though Danny felt closer to being his, like it might’ve been his a long time ago.)
The new voice made him realize something, though. He could open his eyes. He hadn’t thought of that until now.
He opened his eyes.
He was being held by a large man, dressed in a blindingly orange jumpsuit. A woman hovered over him, looking nervously down at him. She wore a teal jumpsuit, in a less horrible shade than the man’s.
Daniel blinked, before trying to throw himself out of the man’s arms. The two of them didn’t feel safe, didn’t feel kind.
The man stopped him, readjusting his hold.
“Danny, what’s gotten into you?” he said worriedly, before glancing to the woman “Mads, I swear I heard him make a ghost noise, like he was being overshadowed.”
The woman sighed “He doesn’t look any different, Jack. It’s probably nothing.”
She continued under her breath, almost too low for Daniel to hear “He is acting strange, though…”
She focused back on Daniel “Danny, are you okay? You haven’t said anything.”
Right, speaking. He knew he could do that.
How did he do that?
His lack of response seemed to freak out the strangers more.
“Mads, those ghosts must’ve done something to him!” The man yelled, causing Daniel to cringe at the noise.
The woman looked worried, now.
“Sam and Tucker said that they only saw one of the ghosts grab him, but who knows what they did after they lost track of him? We need to take him back to the lab.”
The man nodded, before starting to move. Daniel squirmed again, where were they taking him? The woman had mentioned a ‘lab’?
Electricity flashed through his mind, phantom pains overtaking his limbs. He could almost feel his flesh splitting apart as electrical currents tore through him.
He did not like labs.
He renewed his struggle to escape, startling the man into dropping him. He sat on the ground in shock for a moment, before getting up and running.
He needed to get somewhere safe.
He needed to find his grandfather.
He could hear the strangers running after him, calling out “Danny!”
He ran faster.
\(oo)/
He didn’t know how long he’d been running for.
It had been light out when he woke up, and now it was getting darker.
He needed to figure out where he was.
And how to get home.
He could hear something, in the distance.
He looked up, seeing a tall building silhouetted againest the night sky. He could hear the distant chime of a clock from within.
Maybe his grandfather was there? He was always surrounded by ticking clocks at home.
(He ignored how strange it was that he couldn’t remember exactly where home was.)
He ran until he was at the base of the building. He walked around it, not seeing a way in. How could he-
He reached out to touch the brick wall, and his hand went right through it. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, it barely felt like anything at all.
Huh.
He hadn’t known he could do that.
He stepped through the wall, into the interior of the clock tower. There were stairs leading upwards, to the actual clock. He followed them.
The clock was old, attached to an actual bell at the top. He sat down on the edge, dangling his feet off the edge.
This clock wasn’t familiar. Not like Grandfather’s clocks were. But maybe if he waited here, Grandfather would be able to find him easier.
He knew if he was lost, he should wait for someone to find him.
(He didn’t know how he knew that.)
(He didn’t know how he knew a lot of things.)
He glanced up, seeing the night sky stretching out endlessly above him.
It was breathtaking. He had always adored the stars.
He traced the constellations in his minds eye. There was Ursa Major, and Pieces, and-
Someone sat down beside him.
He looked over, seeing a girl his age (how did he know that?) sitting next to him. She had black hair, that fell down to her shoulders. Her violet eyes stood out to him. They were such a nice color.
She smiled at him “I thought you might be up here. You always like coming here when you’re upset.”
She looked away from him, sighing “Look Danny, I’m sorry for what happened earlier. I didn’t-“ she sighed again “I didn’t see Skulker in time.”
Daniel tilted his head. What was she talking about?
“Are you okay? Your parents said that you were acting weird when they saw you earlier.” She said.
He didn’t respond. He still couldn’t quite remember how to speak. Maybe if he looked at how the girl was speaking?
She looked away from him again “I’m sorry I told them you were gone. It’s just, when you didn’t show up after a day, I had to tell them. I thought-“
She looked him in the eyes “I thought you might not be okay.”
After watching her for a moment, Daniel thought that he had it.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said, politely. Grandfather had always stressed the importance of politeness, after all. His voice was a little rough, which made sense.
He didn’t remember when the last time he had spoken was.
The girl’s face morphed into an expression of shock.
“What? Danny, this isn’t the time for jokes. I was seriously worried for you! You were missing for three days!”
She was still calling him ‘Danny’. It felt more like his when she used it, though. Maybe she cared for him? Why couldn’t he remember her, then?
“I’m sorry, I really don’t know who you are.” He informed her.
Her face dropped. She took his hand. It wasn’t uncomfortable, like the strangers touches earlier had been. It was surprisingly pleasant.
Maybe he knew her? He could tell that there were gaps in his memory. It didn’t bother him that much, though.
After all, he still remembered Grandfather.
Tears filled the girl’s eyes as she spoke.
“Oh Danny, what happened to you?”