Over the next week they either left me alone or introduced me to more adults. They told me that these would be the people that would be working with me for however long it took me to walk again. I tried to hurry them telling them I was ready and wanted to walk again already but again they stopped me and all my efforts. And so it was either me biding my time in my room or the areas I was allowed, or various other meetings or measuring sessions with the people here.

I thought I was going to get to walk again but right now it just seemed like I was being put into school. I hated it. As I roamed around this facility I ran into many more adults. There weren't any kids like me around. It was odd too because in what places I could see there were machines building things or labs doing tests. Actually, it seemed like everywhere everyone was doing tests. It struck me that I hadn't asked anything about this place or where I was before coming here or accepting the Atlas' peoples offer. Shaking my head it didn't matter, all that mattered was that they were going to help me get my legs back.

***
Finally after more days of taking measurement of my body and my legs and more tests they told me how they were going to let me walk again. They were going to build me a machine that would attach to my legs and my spine to let me walk again. It was going to be like I had never lost them at all. With the way the adults explained it, it was extremely complicated but the leg braces would connect to my spine and my nervous system directly and I'd be able to feel and use my legs like they were new.

After more fitting they told me they were going to now do some tests with my spine. I was happy and excited that everything was moving along finally. Soon I could walk. They laid me on a table and I faced down. I couldn't tell what they were doing but it was silent except for them moving around and setting some things up above and beside me.

"Are you ready?" an older man asked.

"Yes," I said confidently and impatiently.

"This is going to hurt," he warned me.

"Okay. I'll go through anything to walk again."

The man didn't respond to me that time, he only gave me a weak smile before disappearing from my sight. It was a few seconds before the most excruciating pain lanced through my back. I screamed with everything I had. It felt like they were hooking my spine up to electricity. It arced and raced through my limps and jerked my body uncontrollably. After a while I couldn't bear it and the screaming didn't help.

"St-stop! Please, stop!" I screamed and for a moment the pain subsided. I breathed in ragged breaths and cried rivers out from my eyes.

The man reappeared, kneeling so I could see him, "You asked for this remember. This is how you're going to get your legs back. If you want… we can stop."

"No!" I cried, "No, please. I want to walk again."

"Okay," and without warning the pain began again.

I don't know how long it lasted but by the time it was over I felt like I had died. I almost wanted to die, my body ached and my back felt like it was on fire. I couldn't even fight back when they picked me up and put me into my wheelchair. The other thing I could do was grunt and moan in pain and displeasure.

"That's all for today. You did good Skye," said the older adult, smiling weakly.

"Will this… Is this… going to make me walk again?" I mumbled.

"Yes, yes it will," he said putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Good," was all I could managed to say as I numbly began to wheel myself away.

One of the ladies tried to stop me, "Skye, let me help you!"

"I'm fine!" I yelled back, continuing to wheel myself away.

Outside I wheeled myself through the hallways, barely staying awake. I was so tired, I was in so much pain. My wheels began to scrap the walls as I wobbled through the hall. I wasn't even sure I was going the right way. Then I ran into a wall a bit too hard, falling face first out of my wheelchair onto the floor. The shock of slamming into the ground made me shriek in pain, grabbing the throbbing lightning that shot through my lower back. I had heard my chair fly backward away from me and I tried to crawl toward it but it was too far away.

I had begun to cry, "Stupid chair! Stupid freaking legs! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

With my ear so close to the ground I heard the pity patter of someone's feet running towards me. To my utter surprise and for the first time since the weeks I had gotten here I saw another girl. She skidded to a halt, rounding the corner and spotting me laying on the ground.

"Are you okay?!" she said worriedly and then saw my chair across the hall from my stranded body. "Oh my Gods!" The girl ran up to me and began to drag me to my chair.

"I don't need your help!" I tried to yell at her as she grabbed under my armpits and dragged me across the hall.

"It doesn't look that way," she grunted.

As we neared my chair I managed to shake off of the other girl and land on the ground. "I can get into my chair myself! I don't need anyone's help!"

The girl stared in disbelief at me as I began the long climb back into my chair. She slid over and held its handles, steadying it so I didn't fall out of it. As I reseated myself in it I moaned in pain, having to lean back against my spine. The whole time the other girl didn't let go of the handles.

"Thanks," I said, "You can let go now."

"You're welcome," she responded but didn't let go of my wheelchair.

"I'm fine, really. You don't need to keep holding on," I told her.

"Can I… at least take you back to your room?" she asked.

I wanted to yell at her and tell her to go away but I seriously doubted that I could even wheel myself back now. "Fine," I relented, "but just this once! I could've done it myself."

"Okay!" she said and gently began to push me, "Which room is yours?"

"172, in the dorms," I told her as she began to make turns, apparently knowing the layout of this place. "I didn't think there was another girl here."

"I just got here a few days ago," she told me, "I thought the same thing too when they brought me here. Oh sorry, I'm Andy."

A hand appeared over my shoulder and weakly I shook it, "I'm Skye. Are you here for an 'experiment' too?"

"You too?!" she exclaimed, almost making me run into a wall.

"Whoa!" I yelped, "Yeah well…" I hesitated, not wanting to tell this new girl everything. Then again she tried to help me and seemed nice enough, plus it appeared like she was in the same situation as me. "Well, the Atlas scientists said that they could give me back my legs, let me walk again."

"Oh," she said a little quietly. "How did you lose them?"

I cringed, that I definitely didn't want to talk about. "It was in an accident long ago. Anyways, my rooms is right here. Do you… want to come in?"

"Sure!" Andy said joyfully.

Inside my room I found myself a nice spot while Andy took up one of the sofas. It was odd, this was the first time while I was at this facility that there was anyone my age. She seemed so much like me too. I wondered…

"So Andy," I started, "Why are you here? You obviously can still walk."

Andy laughed a little uncomfortably at my joke. "Well, I don't know how to say this."

"Come on," I began to loosen up, "Can't be as crazy as being able to walk again is it?"

"Oh, no but uhm… they want to turn me into a faunus," she said.

"They what?!" I exclaimed, falling out of my chair again and crying out in pain.

Andy leapt up and helped me onto one of the couches without asking.

"Why do you keep helping me?" I asked her as the pain went away once again.

"Why not?" she said back. She didn't shoot it back but just said it kindly like asking if it wasn't normal to help someone else.

"Well I'm fine on my own you know. Anyways, why are they trying to make you into a faunus? That doesn't make any sense," I said.

Andy chuckled a bit and then put her finger to her chin thinking, "I don't know or understand it myself but they are and they want to try to make me into one."

"But why volunteer for something like that? You did volunteer right?"

"Haha yes I did and well, it just seemed interesting you know? Like, becoming a faunus just seemed so alluring," she said dreamily, gazing off into nothingness.

"You're weird."

"So are you! Not letting others help you."

"I didn't need help, I just had fallen out of my chair!"

"You would still be in that hallway if I hadn't help you I think."

"I'm sure I would've made it back just fine. Just because I can't walk doesn't mean I can't do things myself."

"I never said that you couldn't do things by yourself. You seem very capable."

"I! Well! You know! But!" I stammered, unprepared for something like what Andy had said.

She laughed as I stumbled through my words, "Capable or not I still would have helped you. It's just… the right thing to do."

I crossed my arms and pouted, knowing that I had lost this little argument.

As I turned back we both spoke at the same time, "Hey," "You." Then there was that awkward silence as we both waited for the other to continue.

"You go first," I told her, wanting to hear what she had wanted to say.

"No it's fine, you can go first," she said kindly.

"It's fine Andy, go ahead," I tried again.

"No you…" she paused and eyed me, "Same time?"

I grinned back at her, "Alright."

"On three," she said through a likewise grin.

"Okay, One," I started.

"Two."

"Three."

And at the same time we shouted, "Do you want to be friends?!"

We both stared at each other for a moment in disbelief and then began laughing hysterically. I laughed so hard I fell onto the floor… again.