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erekiosuncreativeideas · 5 years ago

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Reliving An Old Nightmare - Chapter 13

<= Chapter 12

Summary : Snatcher finally gets some "me-time" and everything goes perfectly well! Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/22337299/chapters/56310040

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Sorry for posting late, but I promise I had a reason to wait. I'm keeping it secret for now, but believe me, it's worth it ! In the meantime, I had the time to finish two future drawings AND the next chapter (which has been SUPER HARD TO WRITE, UUUGH), so I used my time well !

The two drawings you'll see are mine. Sorry if the second one is only a sketch, I didn't have the inspiration or motivation to finish it. I hope you'll still like it nonetheless !

A big thanks to Krekka01 for the correction on this chapter !

Anyway, I hope everyone is fine and safe. Happy reading !

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Chapter 13

Being human was all about feeling things again, Snatcher knew this very well at this point. However, he has mostly experienced bad sensations, such as pain, discomfort, the strange taste and texture of food in his mouth, and having to go to the toilet again. Compared to this, actual good things seemed much less significant. It was a shame, since the ghost couldn’t deny that some experience had been enjoyable with that old body of his: sleeping was enjoyable, just lying down on his bed had been, too. Feeling the wind caressing his face, not feeling cold all the time anymore, being able to feel warm after hundreds of years, smelling food or flowers once again, and experiencing the sense of touch for the first time in centuries. Being human had its pros and cons, even if the cons were more noticeable. Furthermore, the situation he was in didn’t let him appreciate those little things since his mind was focused on something very important: leaving this place as soon as possible.

So, when the shade opened the door of the bathroom, he felt like he had just hit his head against an invisible wall made of many scents. All of Snatcher’s senses were sharp and entering a room with so many toiletries, so many soaps or creams. The ghost’s acute sense of smell was instantly attacked by all the perfumes floating around in that cramped space. He squinted, feeling a headache coming by just how strong the scents where.

-“Oh, this is going to be awful, isn’t it…” he murmured to himself, forcing his legs to move forward. Warmness and humidity floated in the room along with the smells. The bathroom wasn’t very big, despite having been made for the royalty. A big bathtub was in front of him, adjacent to the wall, full of steaming water. The bathtub, just like the bathroom itself, had brown and dark green as the main colour scheme. The walls were beautifully textured and, at some places, had a wooden inlay. Just like he remembered.

Snatcher jumped when something moved in the corner of his vision. He almost facepalmed when it turned out to be his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. He stopped for a few seconds, looking at himself: apparently, humans could look even deader than actual ghosts, good to know. His face was pale, and he had dark rings around his eyes. He had slept plenty the night before, though the day had been quite gruelling, both physically and emotionally speaking. The shade ran his hand through his hair as he sighed longly. Yeah, maybe a bath could be good for him, right now. He threw a last glance at his reflection before turning away. He didn’t want to undress while facing it. Being inside a human body was already disgusting as it was, he didn’t need to see himself naked even more than what he was forced to!

As he turned away, he noticed a pile of clean and elegant clothes on a small table near the sink. They were carefully folded, probably by Simeon. The thought made him anxious again. He didn’t know why, however, he couldn’t help but have a very bad feeling about the “butler”. What he had just seen earlier was quite revealing on the dangerous nature of this new opponent: the latter had been able to scare Vanessa so easily, and Snatcher was sure that it wasn’t an empty threat. Whoever was that guy, he was powerful enough to threaten Vanessa and powerful enough to create a whole dimension himself. This was quite discouraging, to say the least. In this body, Snatcher clearly had no chance.

The ghost shook his head. He needed to think about a plan, not about how risky his situation was. Plus, he hated to think about it, but… he couldn’t forget the fact that he wasn’t alone: the kid was still on her spaceship. She was safer there than where he was, so, for now, the ghost only had to worry about himself.

Turning his back to the mirror, he started to undress. In the right pocket of his pants was the remote given by the hat-wearing brat. It was a bright yellow device with a huge red button in its centre. According to her, if he ever needed to flee or to come onto her spaceship, he would only need to press the button, and it would teleport him to her living room. Snatcher didn’t need to use it right now; however, this was a device he absolutely couldn’t allow himself to lose. He hid it in his used pile of clothes while reminding himself that he would have to take the remote with him before giving said clothes to the servants.

He put the pile on the ground and faced a shelf on which were stocked several soaps, shower gels, shampoos and creams. The ghost frowned, as he tried to remember which was which. Some were missing any label to tell the shade what was what, and he ended up using his memory to pick the good products. He wasn’t really sure but, hey, smelling good was the most important part, right? Plus, it’s not like he would be using this poor excuse of a body more than a few days, so having a wash was just a formality at this point.

He put the products on one of the edges of the bathtub and, slowly and cautiously, entered the bath, starting with the left leg. The instant the warm water touched his skin, Snatcher couldn’t help but get his leg out quickly. The hot temperature associated with his acute sense of touch… it was almost too much.

The ghost hesitated. Should he wait for the water to cool down? The idea of taking a cold bath didn’t tempt him very much, even less than a warm bath. After a few seconds debating with himself, Snatcher rolled his eyes: he had seen much worse than hot water! He was a ghost who had killed many people, for God’s sake!

Still unsure, the shade tried entering the bath again. The hardest part was to ignore his brain screaming at him to get out. The water wasn’t burning, the problem was completely different: Snatcher had forgotten what water felt around his skin, and the new sensation made him extremely uneasy. Plus, the pain in his legs was still there. However, he managed to stay calm and let his body sink under the water, slowly. He gradually let his muscles relax one after the other. With time, he was soon lying down in the bathtub, his head on the headrest behind him.

“Now what?” he wondered, ill-at-ease. He knew what he had to do in theory, yes, but actually doing it was quite… awkward. Not only was he terribly uncomfortable at the idea of touching his own body meticulously, but the action felt so foreign to him as well. Even if he was able to stand up or move his arms without too much difficulty, doing precise gestures was… a little more complicated.

Snatcher carefully took one of the bottles of shower gels and poured some on his other hand, clumsily. A small portion of it fell in the water and the ghost sighed, irritated by his own heavy-handedness. He absolutely couldn’t wait to be back in his spectral form! At least, this one was easy to move around.

Washing himself after so many years without doing so was definitely an experience to Snatcher. His movements were gauche, and he almost let the shampoo bottle fall in the water. Other than that, the feeling of warmness around him was… not bad, if he had to be completely honest. Yes, it had made him uneasy at first, but now that several minutes had passed, the shade felt truly relaxed for the first time in days.

He rinsed his head and skin underwater, and eventually settled in the bathtub, letting his mind wandering around. The first thought that came to him was the “Simeon” problem. The shade had absolutely no idea about who that guy could be. But what was even harder to figure out was the stranger’s motives. What did he want? In what way could all of this benefit him at all? Snatcher didn’t know. He felt like there was some missing piece in his mind, and that he wouldn’t be able to understand anything without it.

The ghost was getting nowhere; he didn’t have enough information to try and guess who that “Simeon” could be. Though, he was certain of one thing: “Simeon” was only a disguise. There was no way the real Simeon could have helped Vanessa build this dimension, as the butler was dead in the present. So… it was only a mask, used to fool him and possibly Vanessa. From what he had heard before, he couldn’t be completely sure if she was aware of the stranger’s disguise or not. However, it was probable, as she wouldn’t have been scared of her own butler otherwise.

Snatcher let his head sink underwater as his mind was trying to come up with hypothesises, in vain. Maybe the kid would know more about what was going on? He supposed that she probably looked up for clues as well, along with fixing her spaceship.

When the ghost felt the need to breathe again, he got his head out of the water and sat down in the bathtub. How long had he been in the bathroom? There was no clock in the room, so there was no real way to know. However, judging from the wrinkles on the tip of his fingers, long enough to get out now.

Grabbing one of the nearby towels, the shade stood up and started wiping his wet body. The action was uncomfortable; not only getting out of the warm water made him feel cold suddenly, but the towel wasn’t really soft and scratched his skin. He quickly dried the rest of his body, wanting nothing more than for it to be over with.

The shade then grabbed the clean clothes and put them on, not without the usual clumsiness associated with his human body. He was now wearing an elegant dark purple shirt, decorated with golden embroidery on the collar. The shoulder pads were golden as well, from which were sewed many strings in the same colour. A long and graceful yellow cape came with it, and Snatcher put it on as well. He was also wearing dark brown skin-tight pants and black and golden boots.

Once fully dressed, the shade made sure to take the remote from his old clothes, this time hiding it in his left boot, against his calf. It was not a pleasant sensation, but it was the best hiding spot with this kind of apparel. He just hoped he wouldn’t press on the button by accident.

He came back to the mirror to do his head, and couldn’t help but be surprised at how much a bath could do to his face. He still looked tired, but at least it was less obvious. He looked so much better- less pale now. He supposed he really did need this bath, after all. And, even if he didn’t like to admit anything relatively positive on his human body, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was more handsome than usual, which was… a good thing? He didn’t know what to think of it, and most of his emotions were mixed feelings: pride, and irritation. In the end, it was hard for him to really think of this body as his. Sure, he recognized his reflection! But the whole situation was extremely weird and uncomfortable for him.

He was about to look away when, suddenly, the surface of the mirror turned completely black. It happened in a blink, and it instantly caught back Snatcher’s attention on it. The ghost’s knitted his brows, examining the surface with caution. What was that? The kid had never talked about that kind of thing!

The shade lifted his hand and, with hesitation, slowly put a finger against the cold surface. He was almost surprised to see that nothing seemed very much different, apart from the sudden non-reflective nature of the mirror. It didn’t reflect anything, as if someone had painted it black entirely. The texture was yet just as smooth as before, which was strange.

Snatcher stepped back, trying to find any explanation regarding that weird phenomenon. Yet, everything looked just as normal. Or, well, almost everything. When his eyes fell on the bath, still full of water, he noticed something very peculiar: the foam of the shower gel was not above the water like it should have been, floating on the surface. Instead, it was floating underneath the water level. This sight made the ghost pause, as if his brain was trying to decode something which was wrong in the first place... as if he was trying to explain an optical illusion. He simply couldn’t. All he knew was that it wasn’t supposed to happen.

-“What the…?” He turned around, trying to find new evidence of weirdness in his surroundings. Something else felt wrong, but, at first, nothing looked out of the ordinary. It took him a while to figure out what was bothering him, and yet it was so obvious: his shadow on the ground didn’t correspond to his human one. It was his spectral one, which had no legs.

The realization made him lose his balance, and he had to hold onto the sink not to fall down. What was happening? Was the rift already collapsing? The kid had told him they had several days left, not a few hours!

Snatcher’s breathing quickened, just like his heartbeat, while he looked all around himself, trying to look for any sign of danger. His eyes moved and examined every suspicious object. However, a few seconds passed without anything new happening. The ghost waited for a bit, trying to find anything unusual. He blinked and looked around, only to realize that things went back to normal.

Snatcher didn’t know how to react. His first reaction was to check on his shadow, in order to see if it was still his spectral one. It wasn’t anymore. Just the regular human one with legs. Behind him, the mirror was back to its previous state, showing the reflection of the room just like his.

The spirit looked just like he had seen a ghost. The thought made him laugh grudgingly as he ran his hand through his hair. It took him a moment to calm down. Okay. So the rift was doing unexpected things, just like the white cracks he had seen the day before, though these were apparently the brat’s doing. Was what just happened caused by the kid’s actions, too? He really hoped so, as the contrary could only mean one thing: the dimension was collapsing much quicker than what they had anticipated, and, in that case, they really needed to leave right now. The guy associated with Vanessa seemed to want him to stay there, though. Was he aware of the instability of the rift? If so, what was he trying to do? There were many faster ways to permanently make a ghost disappear! So why bother with a plot like this? It didn’t make any sense, but that wasn’t really new to Snatcher. Nothing made sense in that dimension.

He had to find that Time Piece and bring it to the hat-wearing child.

Once he got his breathing under control again, he straightened up, looking at his reflection once more. Well, at least he looked more presentable now. His surroundings seemed to stay normal. Maybe it was just a false alarm? He hated to say it... even think about it, but… the ghost couldn’t help but wish for the kid to reassure him, as she was the only person able to explain what was going on to him. He quickly pushed away that thought from his mind. Ha, good one, him wishing the child was there with him, pshhh. Damn human brain and human thoughts.

After a few minutes, the shade shook his head and pulled himself together. Now was not the time; he had things to do, especially that doctor appointment in his room. The sooner he would be able to walk without wincing, the better! And, in the middle of the night, he would try and look for the Time Piece in the manor.

He opened the bathroom door and left the room. He definitely had a lot in his plate.

The spirit walked back to his bedroom and, just to be sure, stick his ear on the door. However, no voices could be heard. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

A man was standing near the windows, looking at the outside with interest. He seemed to be in his late forties and had salt-and-pepper hair. He was wearing a long black coat and was holding a leather satchel. Said man turned towards Snatcher as he heard the door opening behind him.

-“Oh, Prince Alistel!” exclaimed the man, bowing with respect before continuing. “Excuse me for the intrusion. My name is Walter Gyfford. I’m the doctor you asked for.”

Snatcher suddenly realized he had a role to play and put a fake smile on his lips as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. He stepped forward to meet the doctor:

-“Oh, of course!” the shade replied with an insincere joy. He then pointed at himself. “Hum, do I need to undress?” What was the use of letting him new clothes if he had to take them off a few minutes later? The man smiled and shook his head as he let out a small laugh.

-“No, no, you don’t have to, I can heal your legs through your clothes.” The doctor then pointed to the bed with his hand. “Please sit on the bed, if that’s alright with you, your majesty.”

Snatcher hated those names. He had nothing to do with royalty anymore, and really didn’t want to, anyway. Yet, he said nothing and kept his polite expression on his face, reluctantly sitting down on the mattress. He carefully took his boots off, doing his best not to press the button on the remote still hidden in his shoes. Snatcher had to stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief as he put the shoes aside.

The doctor kneeled in front of him, opening his satchel and taking out very different items, such as plants and crystals. It took him a while for him to settle everything down as he wanted, but eventually rose his head to meet Snatcher’s stare.

-“I’m sorry, it might hurt a bit, since it’s a serious injury. Tell me when you’re ready.”

Snatcher couldn’t help but laugh at the doctor’s attempt to reassure him. He had been left to die in a cellar! What could be more painful than that? No matter how painful something could be, he could take it at this point!

-“Don’t worry about me, I’m ready,” he flippantly replied, shaking his head, this time with a sincere smile painted on his lips. The doctor seemed hesitant at his answer, but simply nodded as he began to use his magic.

Snatcher didn’t think it would be that painful. Maybe it only lasted a few minutes, but it lasted far, far more to the ghost. Healing magic wasn’t so painful usually, though his situation wasn’t really usual in itself. He could feel things moving in his legs as the doctor was trying to fix what was broken or just injured in general. Staying motionless was extremely hard, and he had to stop his body from crying from how intense it was for him. It was utterly humiliating. The pain was so strong and made him want nothing more than just rip the guy’s throat open. Fortunately for the latter, the pain started to fade the moment Snatcher seriously considered that option.

The doctor stepped back, his forehead sweating. His face clearly showed how uncomfortable he was at the moment.

-“Are you alright, my Prince?” asked the doctor, continuing in a more reassuring tone. “It’s over now. It won’t hurt anymore.”

Snatcher felt like he was being spoken to like a child, and he loathed that. Though he had to push his pride aside to stay in character. God, he hated having to act like the dumb prince he used to be.

-“Thank you,” he still managed to say, gritting his teeth to gulp down all the threats that might come out of his mouth. He wanted to kill that man so bad now. Luckily for the doctor, Snatcher was in no condition to do so, especially since he also needed to keep a low profile. But that didn’t prevent him from imagining himself doing so. It was deeply enjoyable.

Well, at least, his legs felt good for once, so he supposed that it was worth it. The doctor eventually stood up and bowed once again to him.

-“I’m sorry it was painful. Make sure to limit the physical efforts, and you’ll be perfectly fine!”

The spirit simply replied by a nod, as the doctor turned towards the door. No physical efforts? Well, this was going to be difficult with what he had in mind for the night, but he obviously kept that part for himself.

Just as the doctor was about to leave, he turned to Snatcher and spoke once again:

-“Oh, I almost forgot!” he said, raising his eyebrows as he continued. “Your butler tasked me to tell you that dinner will be ready soon.”

Snatcher’s heart sank in his chest as he suddenly realized that having his legs healed meant that he would have to eat outside of his bedroom. In the dining room. With Vanessa.

This day was never going to end, was it?

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Sorry if this chapter was a little calm compared to the others, but it was needed for the story. The next chapter is going to be wild, don't worry :) I hope you still liked that chapter despite the lack of action !

As for when the next chapter will come out... It'll depend on the surprise, so if I'm not posting as fast as usual, please assume that I'm working on the fanfic in the meantime and/or on another AHIT fanfiction that I may or may not currently write. We'll see :)

And if you want to support me in the meantime, you can watch an ad on Utip. Thank you!

Please stay safe everyone !

=> Chapter 14

#A Hat In Time #Reliving An Old Nightmare #RAON #snatcher #my art #fanfiction

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