Given An Unwanted Second Chance

Chapter 55

Waking up was agony.

I remembered from the beginning that increased negativity or increased positivity caused me to be unable to breathe well, and the higher it was, the more likely I could pass out.

In Dreamswap, after the huge increase of power, I could breathe in immense positivity, but it felt like I was being pricked, the feeling intensifying around Dream.

Recently, I felt weaker for reasons I couldn't determine.

After waking up...I realized that I could barely draw in air.  Weak gasps escaped my lips and my single source of vision was extremely blurry.  And it really felt like I was getting stabbed.

S-Shift...

Despite my body failing, I focused everything on shifting back into Eclipse.  The goop melted from my body as skin and clothing replaced it and hair covered my face.

I gasped louder, coughing weakly and trembling.

I could sense vague pain in my head, and it wasn't my own.  Nightmare wasn't feeling very good from that.

I tried to move my body to stop laying on the hard concrete ground, but all movement was hindered.  I heard faint clinking and shivered, flexing my limbs.

My wrists were bound behind me (probably with paint chains...) and my ankles were also chained together.  My torso felt strangely tight, too, like something was around it.  Almost corset-like?

I took stuttering breaths, my blurry vision clearing slightly.  My chest still felt compressed on the inside, but at least I could mostly breathe.  Though the stabbing feeling was still there...it just hurt.

I saw Dream standing a little ways away from me, watching me silently.  Ink was also there.

I swallowed thickly, blinking the last bits of blurriness from my eyes.  Er, eye.  "Hi..."  I mumbled.

Dream and Ink remained silent, making me uneasy.

I spoke again after a few moments.  "C-Can I be sat up if you're making me contact them?"

Dream rolled his eyes and came closer, but I flinched.  "N-Not you.  Y-Your aura hurts."

Dream narrowed his gaze and continued forward anyway.  I cringed as his aura somewhat enveloped me, making my breathing heavier and the stabbing feeling worse.

He sat me up against the wall and went back to Ink, continuing to watch me silently.  The silence was extremely unnerving...

I took some semi-deep breaths, closing my eyes for a moment before moving the misty bond with Cryo, alerting them.

It was a quiet few seconds before I heard the portal open.  I opened my eyes again as Cryo began speaking.  "Eclipse?  Is somet----"

They cut off immediately upon seeing my form.  Gradient appeared next to Cryo and he began panicking.  "ECLIPSE?!"

"I-I'm okay...sort of..."  I trailed off.  "Okay, maybe...not."

"No, you're not okay!  You look awful!  And...gods, where ARE you?!"

"P-Probably Dreamtale again...mission went awry."  I mumbled.

Gradient bounced from foot to foot.  "Cryo, please, let me go get her!"

"Gradient, no.  I don't want you coming here."  I said quickly.

"Eclipse...when was the last time you were in an environment more negative than positive? "

"Um...r-right before I came here.  These places are so positive and honestly, I've only been in places WITH heightened positivity."

Cryo looked concerned.  "Perhaps Dreamswap was an error on my part.  The Nightmare there is passive enough to agree to come here and the time flow is equivalent, but the environment is not safe for you."