Ghostly Insights [IC] (Closed)

[MBCE]

Sammy opened his eyes and looked about. He was surrounded by darkness and he felt utterly tired.

'What...happened?'

Sammy attempted to turn his head but couldn't. He knew his body was in tack but he could barely had any sensations.

"Hello?" His voice seemed to echo for a short moment before falling flat.

The silence stretch for what seemed like forever before Sammy felt a presence nearby. Sammy strained to get a view of the presence but was unable to move.

"Don't strain yourself, Sammy. I'm surprise you've managed to awake this quickly. It seems that I chose wisely afterall."

Sammy felt fear grow within him as he listened to that voice. He had heard it before. It was the voice of the creature that attacked him. It was also the last thing he remembered hearing before waking up in the dark.

[MBCE]

"You're probablly wondering where you are right now, aren't you my little Ghost? Well, I think I'll keep that little bit of information for later. Right now, you should be worried about why you're here. Do you have any ideas?"

Sammy again tried to move to see the speaker but he was still stuck fast. He couldn't be sure if he was lying down or standing up. He could barely feel his own appendages.

"Ideas? A few, but they all end with you being a sick puppy!"

Sammy's voice was clear and strong, an attempt to cover the fear nawing at his heart. Where this place was, Sammy was sure it wasn't anywhere in Freedom.

"No, that's where you're wrong, my little toy. You are in Freedom."

Sammy's eyes widen as he realized that his thoughts were no longer his own. Somehow, his mind was an open book to his captor.

[MBCE]

Sammy stared into the darkness, trying to keep his mind free of thoughts, but questions continued to flash in and out of his mind.

"HAHAHA. Trying not to think of anything, huh? Silly boy. That's impossible. You're better off just asking your questions, Ghost."

Sammy frowned but realized his captor was correct. Besides, talking helped keep the darkness at bay.

"Okay. Might as well talk anyway. So I'm still in Freedom, huh? Well this sure don't feel like Freedom City.

"Of course not, silly boy. What you're experiencing is not the real world. Or better yet, you are experiencing the real world but your senses are just not at your control at the moment."

Sammy thought about the words for a moment, confusion playing over his face. No control of his senses? But he could see just fine though there was nothing but darkness all around.

"Yes, you can see here, but you're not seeing with your eyes. Do you really think this is your body here. Ghost? Your body is presently doing some...special training at the moment."

[MBCE]

"Special training? Waht's that supposed to mean? If you wanted me to do some training, all you had to do was ask."

"But how would that be fun?"

The voice moved closer but remained out of sight. Sammy felt the presence clsoe the distance between them. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he wonered what was going ot happen next.

"Don't worry. Ghost. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to recurit you."

Sammy blinked in confusion. Was all of this just a method of gaining power over him?

"Recurit for what? You've got a job for me?"

"Ghost, have you ever wondered how you able to do what you are able to do? Did you think the skills and abilities that were given to you came without a cost? It's time you paid for what you've used with little regard."

[MBCE]

Sammy remained silent as he contemplated his captor's words. He had never thought much about his powers. He had always been a very lucky person. Sammy had simply assumed that it was an extention of that luck that had become his bread and butter so to speak.

"Yes, Ghost. It was an extention of your natural luck that made you the perfect canidate. I always knew you were lucky and that was what I needed to bind the magic to."

"You were the guy that hired me to steal that amulet?" see "The Birth of a Ghost" for details

"No, I wasn't. That was simply another pawn in the great scheme of things. He performed his job admirably well. I was surprised at how willing you were to step within the pentagram. Most people would have been repulsed by it. But not you. No, you stepped into it without a care in the world. Perfect."

"Hmm, so that's how I got my powers, huh? I figured that much out but I still don't know why you chose me."

"How else were we going to get the box?"

[MBCE]

"Box? What box?"

Laughter filled the darkness. The laughter held a very disturbing edge to it that sent goosebumps up and down Sammy's arms.

"You have got to be kidding me, Ghost. Don't you remeber how difficult it was to get the box out of Delphic Industries?" see "Out with the Old, in with the New" for details

"So that was you that hired me to get that box? I never did get paid for that job, by the way."

Sammy felt a hand upon his shoulder though he could still not see who had placed it there. the touch felt cold and slimy even through the thin layer of protection that his shirt provided.

"As with your other job, I was not directly invovled. It was again a pawn that guided you to the next stage of your life."

[MBCE]

"You see, Ghost, we needed to get that box out of that safe. It was well protected and it kept us locked inside. Once you managed to remove the box from the building, it wasn'e long before I managed to escape the prison."

Sammy frowned as he heard teh words. Prison? We?

"Yes, a prison. It kept me and my...brothers trapped. It took you and our cousins to help free us. I must say it was very interesting to be carried about the city. It took me days to work a crack in the protections surrounding that box. Once I had an opening, affecting your world was child's play."

"I'm getting bored here. What the hell are you talking about? You're too big to have come form that rune covered box. And what is this talk about brothers?"

"Hmm, it seems it's time I showed you. You need to see what the future holds for you anyway."

The darkness before Sammy shifted, changing into a small form. Sammy squinted his eyes trying to make out the shape. As if on cue, the darkness about the small figure brightened.

Sammy screamed in horror until his voice gave out. The laughter from his captor was the only other sound in the darkness.

[MBCE]

"What is that?!"

It was the first words out of Sammy's words since he had stopped screaming in fright. His voice still carried a bit of raw terror but he was slowly coming to master his fear.

"Why that's what you're becoming, Ghost. It's what you will look like after your...training is complete. You will finally be just like us."

Sammy frowned in disgust. "if I could move I'd show you about some training!"

"No, we can't have that just yet. Though your body is presently going through its transformation, your mind is proving slightly more resilient than expected. Just the fact that you're awake now, shows that we have a very long ordeal ahead of us."

Sammy's eyes went wide as he felt his captor grasp his head from behind. Pain erupted from that contact but his throat was too raw from screaming earlier to express the pain he now felt.

"If you just relax, you'll feel very little pain."

[MBCE]

Sammy fought that touch for as long as he could, keeping it from shaping him into something different. He fought with all the mental resolve that he could muster but it wasn't his strong point. He was a thief that was good at breaking into places. Protecting his mind was one area he had no skill or training in. It was a losing battle for the skillful thief.

"Good. I can feel you weakening. Even as we speak, you're becoming more and more of what we need you to be, Ghost. Soon, there will be no Ghost left. There will be no Sammy either. There will only be us."

Sammy knew that the words were true. He couldn't hold out against such strength forever, but perhaps Lady Fortune would watch over him just one last time.

"There's...no need... to be so...blunt. I'll...change. Just....stop the....pain."

"We knew you'd come around soon, Ghost. This is for the better. Coming to us of your own free will just makes things so much smoother."

The fingers moved away from Sammy's head, finally giving the man a reprise from the pain. He took large gulps of air though a part of him knew there was no air to be taken in. He was trapped in his own body and there was no way out.

[MBCE]

Sammy realized that he was losing a part of himself. Ever since he had agreed to stop resisting, the change had progressed much further. Where his legs once were, there was only empty space. It seemd that the more that he changed, the more he lost a part of his self identity.

"Yes, it's an unfortunate part of the change, Ghost. We can't have you in control and aware of your actions. You may...balk," came the voice of his captor.

Sammy still had no ability to change his position. If he could, he would have long since turned from the only image he could see in the blackness. The strange figure that he was being changed into remained exactly where it first appeared. As Sammy lost more of himself, that image seemed to gain in substance. Where it was once wispy and intangible, it now held girth and mass.

"Am I going to become that when this is over?"

"Yes. And you will be a prime example, Ghost. You will pave the way for us to cross the threashhold and into your world in force."

"Well since I'm not going to remember much once this...process is complete, why not tell me how I play a role in all this."

"Haha. Even know you try to retain a part of your humanity, Ghost. I like that."

[MBCE]

Silence filled the darkness for a short while as Sammy waited to see if his tormentor would explain himself. The process had progressed up his arms as he waited. From his limited vision, he could see his arms disappearing just as quickly as his legs had.

"You've always been lucky, Ghost. You've known this."

Sammy blinked in surprised at the change in tone. The words seemed to carry a bit of emotion within them. Obviously there was something important going on here.

"Yeah. Lady Fortune has always watched out for me. Even before I ran into that other job. What about it?"

"It was that natural luck of yours that drew us to you. We saw your luck as a way to slip passed our prison. We were able to bond to your luck, augmenting it greatly. That's what the spell and the amulet were for. It allowed us to form a link to you and your world."

Sammy listened to the words and thought about how things had changed once he unwittingly took part in the ritual that gave him his powers. Things were different after that day. He seemed just a bit more luckier than usual and as time went on, he found he could focus that luck to perform a number of useful tricks.

"A link, huh? What kind of link?

The laughter that followed the question caught Sammy by surprise.

[MBCE]

"Everything you've been able to do has been due to that link. Our cousins have been the true force behind your extraordinary luck, Ghost. It is them that take the hits in a fight. It is them that ensure that the machines do not notice your presence. It is them that guide your step when you wish to escape quickly."

Sammy was stunned by the revelation. If what he was being told was even halfway true, it explained lot about himself.

"Are you telling me that everything I've been able to do has been because of these...creatures? I've got some kind of control over them?"

His captor's voice came very close to his ear. "Yes. A very interesting side effect, I suppose. We did not expect you to be able to exert any type of control over them. We were surprised to see that control increase over time. That's why we pushed our plans forward. We had to strike now while you were still weak. Soon, there will be nothing left of Sammy Cosentino."

Sammy could feel that a small part of his chest was the only remainig part of his body. Soon his neck and finally his head would disappear and when that happened, there would be no more Sammy.

[MBCE]

Sammy could feel his body disappear even further. Only his head was left now and he had just learned that his powers were connected to the creature quickly gaining strength before him. Once his head had disappeared, there would be nothing left of The Ghost. Only the creature would remain.

"Yes, Ghost. Soon you will be no more and we will be lef tin your place. We will come forth from our prison and wrack havoc upon your world. You've already marked our path as well."

Sammy frowned at the words. "Marked...your path?"

"But of course, Ghost. Didn't you think it was strange that you had to drop off a letter at the Mall? Everywhere you went with the box in your possession has been marked as our feeding grounds. When those areas have been destroyed and we have gain strength, we'll spread forth among the rest of the city. Taking it one piece at a time."

Sammy's chin had disappeared and he knew he had only a short time left before there was nothing left of the man.

[MBCE]

Sammy's eyes were locked on the creature before him. He could no longer speak as his mouth had long disappeared. Only his eyes could convey his distress at the present situation. He had thought that Lady Fortune had taken a particular liking to him but now he wasn't so sure.

It took being jumped by some maniac and waking up in darkness for Dhost to finally realize where his powers came from. Now he knew that his luck was a result of small creatures that did his bidding. These creatures came from a different plane and through their connection to him, they would be set free to cause havoc among the city.

Sammy could care less about the city's survival. He was more worried about his present dilemma. He was losing his own self identity and becoming something our of a nightmare. There had to be some way to retain his sanity.

Sammy ahd thought that simply allowing the process to proceed would give him a measure of control, and to some extent, it had. He still felt strong even though his body had all but disappeared. Not fighting the process had let him store his resolve, fortifying his being. Now it was time to do something to ensure that The Ghost would live to see another day.

[MBCE]

Sammy had always known he had more luck than other people. things just seemed to fall his way. From avoiding fights to managing to slip undetected into a house while on a job. All of that luck came before the mission that gave him the ability to avoid detectionf from machines ans such. A part of him knew that what he was told was only partically ture. If his luck came before their ritual, then his natural luck should still be in effect.

The last vestige of his face were begining to disappear. Soon he would have no eyes or ears to experience anything. In effect he would be nothing. The figure before him, what was becoming stronger and firmer as Sammy's body disappeared, was ugly to his eyes. As he was losing all hope, he noted a small section in the creature's head--a black spot not unlike a birth mark. It was the only disfiguration of the creature that Sammy could see.

'There! A kink in the armor. Perhaps that's where I can retain my identity! Oh great Lady! Watch over me so that I may retain a part of myself!'

[MBCE]

The last part of Sammy Costenino disappeared and only the creature was left.

"Finally, we will be free brother. First we will wreck havoc upon the unsuspecting occupants of the placed known as Freedom City. Once it has fallen, we will spread outward until this world is our own!"

The creature looked at its master and smiled widely. "Yes. First Freedom City and then the world."

The cpator laughed as the creature spoke, its voice very similar to Ghost but not quite the same. He didnot notice the strange black marking under the creature's left eye. If he had, perhaps he would have noted how it seemed to be in the shape of a ghost.

[MBCE]

The creature that had taken Sammy's essence opened its eyes to find itself in a park. Slowly the creature stood and took stock of its location. It was night, the lights from the Casinos standing out in the darkness. It smelled the rich aroma of oil in the air.

The scent took the creature to the edge of the park where it could get a glimpse of the street. Cars wheezed by on their way to the brightly lit casinos.

The Ghost smiled widely a saliva dripped from his mouth. "Food." Ghost closed his eyes and a smaller similar creature appeared next to him. The new creature, with green scally snakelike skin, peered about, surprised to be in the world. Another four creatures appeared , standing about Ghost. The smaller creatures, gremilins, stared at their leader in awe and anticipation.

Ghost pointed at the cars and said one world. "Food."

The five gremilins screamed in delight and dashed into the street after their food. Ghost moved slower than the others but the hunger was in his eyes just like the others. Tonight, they would feast!

[MBCE]

The creatures jumped upon the car wreck and began ripping it to shreds. The woman in the car screamed and the high pitched noise reached the creature with the strange ghost shaped marking under its eye.

The creature ignored the sound and lifted it's head into the sky. It sniffed the night air identifying the various scents. It caught the smell of car oil as well as gasoline. These were the strongest. Hidden just underneath the rich aroma was an unfamiliar scent. The creature registered the strange scent but it could also make out the sweet scent of more machines closer to the casinos. There the small group could feat on more wonderful machines. It pointed out the group's direction and began moving.

Deep inside the strange creature, that strange scent that it would never be interested in found purchase on a very dormant aspect of its mind. That scent of fresh blood, mixed with the woman's perfume, and the rich smell of menthol tobacco had the the strangest effect on this dormant aspect. It was just the right scent needed to awaken what was left of Sammy Cosentino. It seemed Lady Fortune had decided to answer Sammy's prayers after all.

[MBCE]

Technology. Machines. Only these things floated in the creature's mind. It desired the warm taste of oil pouring down its throat. Nothing else mattered to the creature as it moved through the streets of The Boardwalk.

Suddenly, a image of a very powerfully armored man filled its mind. Fear. An emotion that it just had never experienced before accompanied the memory.

The creature shook its head and the image faded. It continued moving after its companions, already frogetting the strange experience.

[MBCE]

Colored stones stopped the creature this time.

The memory of the stones filled the creature with an unknown desire for them. They were not food for the creature as no technology was present in the memory. However, the desire did not fade even when the memory had. That small spark of memory, of desire was enough to bring awareness to the consciousness within.

[MBCE]

What....?

It was the first thought that Sammy had since he had undergone the change. Something had awakened his consciousness, giving him back a voice in his own body. At the moment, he was nothing more than a thought awash in darkness.

Colored stones? Diamonds. The Aurora Collection. I stole them.

Sammy turned his ever growing awareness on his situation. He had no control over his body, but knew that he was in it. Somehow, his last effort was enough to keep him alive. Now all he needed to do was figure out how to regain control of his body.

[MBCE]

'Somehow I managed to survive! But how did I gain awareness? I have no connection to my body. Do I have to wait for it to notice something or can I force it to react?'

Sammy floated in the darkness and tried to exert his will upon his prison with no effect.

'It's no good. I'll have to bide my time for the moment. Gather my strength for when there is an opening.'