Touch the Sky

by Faulty Paragon

Mercury Black wasn't made in a day. Without a Semblance, his legs, or anyone by his side, the world taught him far too quickly that power was all it took to succeed- and Mercury would need all the power he could get. He'd reach the sky eventually. -Mercury's life in canon, from childhood until V6 and beyond, explored through 100 drabbles using the 100 Prompts Challenge.

23. Failure

A/N: Update 8.

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Touch the Sky

23. Failure

The voices woke him up before the pain did. Perhaps that was a small mercy, granted to him by his Aura.

Either way, he was awake now. His Aura flickered and sputtered on his chest, silvery-white light dying away.

And now, he wanted to die.

"The boy's a liability," his father spat into his Scroll. "He's too strong." A pause. "I don't care-" A pause. Enough anger to wake the dead. "Don't you dare talk about her-" A pause, heaving breaths. "Fine."

And then, Mercury saw the man's face, wild eyes pitch-black in the lightless room, not a trace of hope to be found. "Your mistake was becoming strong, boy," he whispered. And then, the sledgehammer hit his thighs.

He screamed. Why? Why was this happening? "Dad, please-"

They hit again.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. His Aura was gone. None of this would be healed. He was broken. "Mama, please-"