A/N: We're approaching a milestone of 200 followers on this story, thank you for joining me on this journey.

Chapter 15: Parasite

"Are we stuck?"

The elevator jolted to a stop with a loud metallic groan and the lights flickered once before plunging them into darkness.

"…I guess we are," Ruby said, her voice echoing in the small space.

Jaune touched the buttons on the panel but none of them seemed to respond. The emergency button was the only one that illuminated in a dim, red light. He pressed it, and a bell rang somewhere above them.

Ruby turned on the flashlight on her scroll. "That's weird," she said, tapping the screen. "I can't get any signal."

Household Dust appliances and the like were about as far as Jaune went when it came to technical matters, but he understood enough to know that scrolls were designed to never lose signal. Even areas with heavy interference like underground or inside reinforced buildings were supposed to get some kind of reception. It was both a result of the natural properties of Dust, and the necessity of communication in a world where a lack of communication meant isolation, panic, and ultimately, if there weren't enough layers of protection between one and the nearest Grimm, death.

"Jaune?" Ruby said, shining the flashlight on his face. "What d'you wanna do?"

He flinched at the sudden brightness, expecting to see the usual blobs and blurs that accompanied sudden light in the darkness, but his eyes adjusted rapidly. A few seconds passed and he realized that he could see well enough to make out the details of the elevator's interior.

He rang the emergency bell again. The sound of distant footsteps echoed down the shaft.

"Can I have your scroll for a moment?" Jaune asked, holding out his hand. She handed it over and he quickly went through her contacts, checking for the signal icon next to each name. 'Yang' and 'Qrow' popped out to him, his brain making some connection he hadn't realized before, but he dismissed it.

"You- can you not go through my contacts without asking?!"

The indignant tone reminded Jaune of his sisters. They would often get annoyed over what seemed to him like trivial things. It was a perfect example of the quirks of human psychology that continued to elude him.

"Sorry, but I did ask." He dropped the scroll without looking back up at her and she caught it with such a quick motion that it looked as though the device teleported into her hand. There was power in the movement, an inherent deadliness that made him take a step back.

"Oopsie," she said. "I guess I'm a tiny bit on edge. My shroud slipped." A slight blush crept up her neck and her breathing appeared to quicken. He thought her pupils were dilated, making her silver eyes appear even larger than usual.

"I don't mean to pry, but do you always get like that without a shroud?"

"You don't?" Ruby countered, tilting her head slightly. Her voice grew husky and her gaze seemed to linger on him a beat too long. "It's so freeing. I could never get used to low Aura states."

Jaune wanted to ask her what it felt like, the memory of his dad comparing Aura to drugs still fresh in his mind, but then he realized the only other time he had witnessed a scroll losing signal was during the attack on Ansel.

He rang the bell again, then a second time. "We need to get out of here." His gaze swept over the small space, taking in every detail. This seemed like an old model elevator; high ceiling, with a brass panel and a wooden handrail. He knew this building should have been modernized long ago, but thankfully, it seemed some parts were left untouched; there was a wide vent in the ceiling.

Jaune jumped and reached for it, his fingers locking onto the grate. He ignored the pain of metal cutting into his skin and pulled himself up, wedging his foot on the handrail for leverage.

"This piece of junk won't budge," he grunted, shaking the vent with all his strength and a good deal of frustration. He dropped back down when his fingers spasmed, landing hard on his feet.

"You're bleeding," Ruby said, shining the flashlight on his hands. "Why aren't you using your Aura?"

"I can't."

"But- "

"I just can't!" he snapped. Ruby flinched and he immediately regretted his outburst. "I apologize," he muttered, looking down at his hands. "Could you please help me?"

"Do you always apologize for everything?" she asked curiously.

She was not the first person to comment on his… unconventional behavior. It took Jaune years to realize that some aspects of his personality were often considered odd by people his age, but by that point he had already accepted it as a part of himself and couldn't care less about fitting in.

"It's just- manners," he explained, exasperated. That exchange reminded him of someone else asking him a very similar question not too long ago.

"Manners…?" Ruby paused, studying his face with the flashlight. "You talk kinda funny, you know that?"

Was she teasing him or genuinely curious? Jaune returned her gaze steadily, the muscles in his jaw so relaxed he may as well have been wearing a mask.

She waited for a response that didn't come.

"O-kay… let's see…" Ruby handed him her scroll and tied the plastic bag around her wrist. He moved a step back, sensing the shift in her demeanor and a faint force that permeated the air around her. One moment she was standing next to him, then, on the handrail, both hands pushing against the vent.

The handrail squeaked under the pressure.

"Yep!" she announced. "I can definitely break this thing, but I probably need something solid to brace my feet against."

The grace with which she moved stunned him; almost hypnotic. Every motion seemed purposeful and calculated, yet effortless. He hadn't really appreciated it during the fight with Torchwick, but perhaps the intimate nature of the situation now allowed him to truly see her for what she was.

And how much catching up he had to do.

Jaune suspected he could have probably watched her for hours, studying the way she flowed from one movement to the next… He shook his head sharply, trying to clear the useless thoughts. "Can't you just jump up and… punch it, or something?" he suggested.

Ruby gave him a look that clearly conveyed her disbelief at his suggestion. "If you want me to break the floor… I guess I can? Or tear the whole elevator apart." She regarded the shabby-looking walls with a critical eye. "Tearing the whole thing apart would definitely be an option too."

Jaune couldn't stop the Memory Recall despite his attempts to push it away. He didn't enter that trance-like state this time, but the information came back to him nonetheless. It was a physics class, where his teacher had explained force and momentum. Every action had an equal and opposite reaction, unless…

"My Semblance should work," Ruby said, jumping down from the handrail.

"Because it can generate momentum out of thin air?" Jaune guessed, processing and digesting the new information quickly. The Recalls allowed him to remember the facts, but understanding the implications and potential applications required some additional thought.

"That's…right." Ruby nodded, looking surprised. "But if you knew that, why did you- "

"Just do it already," he interrupted her. "Please."

The brief buildup of power around her was the only warning he got before the air in the elevator seemed to compress, and then she blasted through the vent.

There was a rose petal afterimage that lingered in front of his face. He blinked a few times and waved a hand through it, making it dissipate. Jaune didn't know what he expected, but the faint sensation of soft petals brushing against his skin definitely wasn't it.

Ruby's voice echoed down from above him. "What are you waiting for? Come on, get up here!"

Jaune eyed the new hole in the ceiling warily, its edges twisted and jagged.

Well, it wasn't like he had much of a choice. When he was finally standing beside Ruby on the roof of the elevator, Jaune had a bleeding cut on his cheek and several bruises all over his body.

She shined the flashlight around.

They were between floors, the walls of the elevator shaft stretching upwards into darkness. They would have to climb up the rest of the way using the metal bars and wires that ran along the side. It was a long way up. These old apartments had unusually high ceilings.

"JAUNE? CAN YOU HEAR ME?" the shout came from above. Someone was thumping on the elevator doors several floors above them

"Lavender?" He yelled back. "Is that you?"

"YES, IT'S ME! ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?"

It was only yesterday that Jaune had seen her last, but with everything that had happened since then her voice felt like it came from another lifetime. He squinted upwards, yearning to catch a glimpse of her but realizing she was most likely locked behind the elevator's doors on her floor.

"We're fine," Jaune shouted. His voice had never been one that carried well and his throat was already starting to feel raw, but he hoped it was enough for her to hear. "Just stuck. What's happening up there?"

Someone else joined in, cold and menacing. "If you think this will save you from your punishment, dear brother, you are sorely mistaken."

Coral.

"Come out already you piece of trash!" Hazel yelled. "My fist has your stupid face written all over it!"

"Jaune, it's happening everywhere," Lavender's voice faltered for a moment, the fear in her tone palpable. "All over the city. There's no power. The CCT is down."

He took a deep breath. For a moment all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat, pounding in his ears like a drum. Pounding steady and calm. Soft fabric brushed against his cheek; Ruby dabbed at the cut with a piece of cloth she had torn from her shirt. Jaune flinched slightly at the sudden contact but didn't pull away.

"Lavender," he yelled up. "Get everyone Inside. Lock the doors. Stay away from the windows."

"We're not leaving you in- "

"DAMN IT LAVENDER JUST DO IT."

Several high-pitched voices blended together in response, but the general 'fuck you' sentiment was clear enough.

He grabbed Ruby's wrist, finding it stiff as a rod of steel under his fingers, and tried to yank her toward the nearest metal bars. "Go! I'll follow you."

"But- "

"Now, please."

She searched his face for a tense moment, nodded, and then ran up the side of the shaft as easily as if she were running up a flight of stairs. Not five seconds later, he watched her perch herself against the doors at least four floors up. She said something to the others that he couldn't quite make out.

Jaune began to climb. He didn't even make it a full floor before he realized he was in trouble. It seemed like his body conspired against him to make this task as difficult as possible, as if all the exhaustion and pain he had accumulated over the past few days decided to catch up with him at once.

Every muscle ached, his breath was coming in ragged gasps, and his fingers felt numb and slippery. Just moments ago, he'd seen well enough to make out the details of Ruby's hair and the texture of the metal bars, but now everything was swimming in front of his eyes.

The attack on Ansel had been quick. They'd lost signal maybe minutes before the screaming started and emergency flares lit the sky. If the same thing was happening now they might not have long until the Grimm arrived. How well was Vale City prepared for an attack of this scale? Why weren't there sirens blaring already?

Jaune grabbed onto the next bar and pulled himself up with a grunt, his fingers now leaving bloody smudges on the worn metal.

Halfway there.

He moved another rung up, and then another.

He tried to voice STEM's name at some point, but no sound came out. There was buzzing in his ears, growing louder and more persistent.

"Grab my hand!"

He looked up, his vision clearing just enough to see Lavender's outstretched arm. The elevator doors behind her had been forced open, the metal bent and twisted.

They locked eyes for a second. There were large dark circles underneath hers and a paleness that made her almost unrecognizable. Her braid was coming undone, wisps of blonde hair framing her face and sticking to the sweat on her forehead.

Jaune threw his hand out, his fingers curling around hers and then slipping off.

If Ruby could break through the doors, why were they climbing several floors up instead of breaking through on the nearest floor? The stupidity of the situation struck him and froze him solid, his body swaying dangerously.

"Jaune, come on!" Lavender yelled, her voice now faint and distorted. "Jau- NO!"

Her scream was cut off abruptly when he hit the roof of the elevator, the impact driving the breath out of his lungs and plunging him into darkness.

/X/

WARNING Unable to deny memory stream

He held Crocea Mors against his own neck, feeling the cold steel graze his skin. If everything went according to plan, he would soon be its final victim.

A shame. The sword had served him well over the years, even if he had outgrown its usefulness decades ago. When a True Huntsman reached a certain level of mastery over their own Aura, physical weapons became nothing more than props. Crocea Mors, though, held a certain sentimental value for him that transcended its utility on the battlefield. The Arcs had wielded this sword for generations, a symbol of their legacy.

He couldn't wait to break the tradition.

The place he'd chosen to end his life was fittingly dramatic. Deep in the wilderness, deeper than he'd ever ventured before, on a cliff edge overlooking a massive canyon. This was uncharted Grimm territory, and he had purposely chosen this location to make sure there would be no traces of him left behind.

Of him, and of his parasite.

He could sense six Ancient Grimm lurking nearby, waiting for their meal. They were powerful, extraordinarily so. Even he might have had trouble getting out of there alive.

If he had any intention of doing so, that is.

But they wouldn't engage. Why would they when battle with a Huntsman of his caliber meant, at the very least, certain death for all involved? They would simply wait until his lifeless body tumbled down into the abyss below, where they could feast on it undisturbed.

The technique he was currently holding in his mind was so complex that it had to be understood only instinctively, for even a top view of its structure was too overwhelming for any human mind to comprehend. The Main Flow of his Aura was branched into so many intricate sub-Streams that a slight loss of concentration could cause a catastrophic chain reaction that would vaporize every cell in his body.

Certainly, a challenge, but he was the greatest human Aura Practitioner alive, and he had spent his entire life perfecting his craft.

I estimate only a 3% chance of success. You are making a-

He silenced the pest with a mental twist of his Aura, in the process dividing his mind into even more subconscious layers. It had an uncanny way of piping up, that parasite.

It was time to end this.

Without further hesitation, he closed his eyes and began sawing.

It was a gruesome task. A huntsman couldn't simply take his own life without a struggle, and he was no exception to the rule - on the contrary, his Aura could handle just about any type of normal self-inflicted damage. All the easy ways out were closed off to him, be it poison, suffocation, or any other method that didn't involve direct damage to his reserves - his Aura would keep him alive long enough to regret such a foolish attempt.

And so, the method he was left with was painful, bloody, and prolonged, but it would guarantee the desired result.

Still, his body rebelled. The soul he'd spent a lifetime honing was now screaming at him to stop, almost a living being of its own, separate from his own consciousness. It begged, it pleaded, it cursed him for what he was doing.

But he would do anything for his family.

The pain was like nothing he had ever felt before, a searing heat that seemed to originate from the depths of his soul, spreading outwards and consuming everything in its path. He first cut through the outer layer of Aura, beating his own will into submission as the blade gouged deep into his flesh. Then, he sliced through the muscle and tendons-

Connection aborted

/X/

Jaune jolted awake screaming for his life and squeezing his neck, his hand instinctively searching for the cold-

"You're safe." Hands on his arms stopped his frantic movements. "It's alright."

He struggled against the person, but whoever it was, they were far stronger than him and didn't let go. Slowly, his breathing began to regulate and he calmed down. The room came into focus around him; walls painted in a soothing shade of blue, and curtains drawn open, allowing sunlight to filter in.

It took Jaune a few seconds to notice the weight that was holding him down.

Ruby was propped over his body, her hands positioned firmly on his chest. She had both of her legs on either side of him, effectively pinning him to the bed. Jaune thought the strange position was a bit unnecessary, but he supposed one could never be too careful when dealing with a person who'd had their Aura unlocked only recently and was quite possibly still having issues with control.

"Are you with me now?" Her voice was soft and full of concern

"I think so," he replied hoarsely after a moment pause. "What happened?"

"You fell," she explained gently.

Everything came rushing back. "I see."

"So… what were you dreaming about?" Ruby looked like she regretted asking as soon as the words left her mouth.

The sudden question caught him off guard.

"I don't remember." He hadn't felt anything this intense since STEM began to calibrate his stress hormones. Jaune thought about that fact, trying to shake off the lingering fear that had settled in his bones.

Banging on the door made them both jump. "HEY Rubes! Is it safe to come in now?"

Rubes?

Ruby slowly eased off Jaune. "Not yet," she called back. "He's awake, but- "

The door burst open and Hazel, Sable, Lavender, and Jade all rushed in, their faces a mix of relief and anxiety…

…Which quickly turned to various shades of shock as they took in the scene before them.

"What the fuck!" Hazel yelled. "Are you guys seriously doing what it looks like you're doing!?"

Ruby's face cycled through a range of emotions - confusion, dawning comprehension, shock, and finally horror.

Jaune... just continued to stare blankly.

Ruby yelped and jumped off the bed with a burst of her Semblance, her face turning bright red. "T-that's not- we weren't-" she stuttered, flustered. "It's a position we use in training, I was just restraining- "

"I don't need to hear about your kinky positions right now!" Hazel cut her off with a disgusted look on her face.

Sable raised an eyebrow, looking vaguely annoyed. "If you wanted to molest our brother at least do it while he's conscious."

…molest him? It was during moments like this that Jaune found himself wishing his sisters came with an instruction manual. And maybe a dimmer switch would have been helpful as well. He blinked away a single rose petal that had landed on his nose during Ruby's abrupt retreat. The afterimages didn't just feel like real roses, they smelled like them too.

"Excuse me, but I'm perfectly fine," he said. "If anyone was wondering…"

"Is it safe to touch him now?" Lavender asked.

"I guess…?" Ruby slowly pulled back toward the door, still blushing and pointedly avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room. "I can't sense his Aura at all, and-uh, he's awake -obviously- so there shouldn't be any danger…OKAY BYE!" The door slammed shut behind her.

"Good catch bro," Jade grinned, extending her arm for an air fist bump that remained unreciprocated. "She's got it bad for you, I can tell. Just don't let her get too handsy while you're asleep. Waking up with your wrists tied to the bedposts might not be your thing." She winked playfully. "Plenty of things a girl might do to you while you're helpless and at her mercy…"

The others groaned at the crude comment and Hazel muttered something about him 'doing the pinning next time.'

It was a typical response from Jade, but Jaune wasn't fooled. She was clearly going through the motions of sibling teasing without actually feeling it. Her appearance wasn't much better than when he'd last seen her. She was wearing the same clothes, only dirtier.

She slowly lowered her arm, her smile dissolving into a frown.

Lavender and Sable approached the bed cautiously, hovering over his body as if checking for injuries. He surprised everyone in the room, including himself, when he pulled them into an awkward three-way hug. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, suddenly overwhelmed by guilt.

The embrace lasted for a long while before Jaune released them, slightly embarrassed by the display of emotion. "Are we safe?"

The question should have been asked the moment he opened his eyes.

"We are." Lavender brushed her hand over his forehead, her touch soothing. "You need a haircut," she added with a small smile.

"And a shower…" Hazel muttered under her breath. "What?" she said defensively when everyone turned to glare at her. "He smells like he's been rolling in dog shit!"

Jaune pushed himself onto his elbows, ignoring Hazel's and Jade's bickering about his personal hygiene and the implications of Ruby's earlier position on top of him. Their easy attitude -though obviously partially an act- put him at ease, the familiarity of it all grounding him.

He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, feeling knots and tangles that he didn't remember being there before. "How long was I out?" he asked anxiously.

"It was only a few hours," Lavender reassured him.

He sighed in relief. "The power is back on?"

"Everything's back to normal. It was just a short blackout." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Everything is going to be alright. "

Jaune wanted to close his eyes and let himself sink into the feeling of safety and protection that his sisters provided. He'd never appreciated them more than he did at that moment. But resting now was out of the question. He was on a time limit and there was still so much to do.

"I take it Ruby has filled you in on the situation?" he asked, forcing himself to sit up straight despite Lavender's gentle attempts to push him back down.

"Yeah, she filled us in alright," Hazel snorted. "Your little girlfriend needed a paper bag to breathe into once our grilling session was over."

Knowing his sisters, it was probably not too far from the truth. Jaune tried to summon some trace of sympathy for Ruby, but the relief of someone else taking the heat off him for a change was too great to ignore.

Sable patted his face a little more roughly than he would have liked. "You have A LOT of explaining to do."

Lavender nodded in agreement, and Hazel was practically cracking her knuckles behind her, a truly unhinged gleam in her eyes.

"Coral might actually stab you this time," Jade warned, her hopeful tone indicating that she was not exactly opposed to the idea. "She's beyond furious with you. It's like the time you spilled your milk all over her erotic drawings, but multiplied by a million. It's going to take some serious groveling to get back in her good graces."

"May I remind you that I've recently fallen down an elevator shaft and nearly died?"

"Nice try," Sable said, unimpressed. "But Ruby did a full medical check on you and you're perfectly fine. I guess Aura really does do wonders for the body, even for talentless idiots like yourself."

Maybe Ruby didn't take that much heat off him after all…

"I need a shower first." Jaune sighed. And a whole lot of time to process everything.

"Don't take too long," Sable advised, handing him a fresh set of clothes that she had laid out on the nearby chair. "Family meeting in 20."

"Looking forward to it…" He slowly stood up, feeling a bit unsteady on his feet. "Where are the others?"

"Visiting Amber," Lavender said. "They should be back here soon." Jaune let her take him by the arm and guide him to the bathroom. Hazel moved to follow them, but a sharp look from Lavender made her stay put. They communicated with their eyes, a silent conversation between sisters that Jaune could never hope to understand.

Whatever it was, Jaune was grateful for the momentary privacy.

"Don't lock the door," Lavender instructed him when he reached for the doorknob of the bathroom. "You don't look like you're in any shape to be left alone right now."

"Fine," he grumbled, knowing there was no point in arguing.

She blocked him as he tried to step inside. "Jaune, I-I…" Her lips twitched and tears threatened at the corners of her eyes. "I don't know what's happening anymore," she whispered. "I'm scared."

He froze.

In Jaune's mind, it'd always been him who relied on his sisters for support and guidance, never the other way around. Maybe he never stopped to consider that they might need him just as much.

Lavender curled in on herself, her arms wrapping around her body. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but didn't know how. "There are riots all over the city," she continued shakily. "People are scared, saying that the power outage was just a cover-up for something bigger."

"But you said it yourself, it was a short blackout," Jaune said calmly. "I'm sure the authorities are handling it," he lied.

"Like how they handled Ansel?" she challenged bitterly. "I've studied this stuff, Jaune. Panic can quickly turn into chaos without proper leadership. Chaos brings out the worst in people, and the Grimm will always take advantage of that. Always. There are mathematical models that predict the effects of mass hysteria on Grimm activity, and if we don't act fast enough- " She cut herself off, her breathing becoming erratic.

Jaune dissolved the new Memory Recall like it was never there to begin with. He eyed Lavender critically. She didn't look well at all, and it was more than just physical exhaustion, he could tell by the pallor of her skin and the slight tremble in her hands.

"Are you taking your meds?" he asked, and then realized she couldn't have been taking them regularly with everything that had been going on.

She shook her head. "We couldn't get any, they've been out of stock since Ansel's attack… People are hoarding."

She had months' worth of supply in their family's medicine cabinet. if it came to it, Jaune would go get it for her. It was a robust cabinet made of reinforced steel with a lock, their father making sure none of his children could get into it by accident or intention. If anything in the house survived the attack, Jaune felt certain it would be one of the salvageable items.

"Look, we'll figure something out," Jaune reassured her. "Vale is a big city, there must be other pharmacies that still have what you need. We'll do a shopping run to all of them if we have to. Actually," a thought occurred to him, "let's make a list of everything we need and go today."

"Today?" Lavender said, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "I don't know if that's a good idea. We should probably stay indoors until things settle down." She sniffed and rubbed her nose. "I wish Coral and Sapphire would get back already, I'm worried about them."

"We need food, new clothes for everyone, scrolls. We can't just sit here and wait for things to get wor- My mistake, I don't believe things will get worse, but there's no harm in being prepared." She didn't seem convinced. "You need new school supplies, right?" he tried a different tactic, "for your first day of classes next week?"

"I am not going," she said in a small voice, her eyes downcast.

"Yes, you are."

"I am not- "

"Lavender!" He shook her by the shoulders. "You are going and that's final. Nothing bad is going to happen to you or any of us. I'm here now."

"No, you're not," she whispered. "You're going to Beacon, aren't you? Ruby told us everything."

He hesitated. "I don't know yet…"

"You are," she said with the sort of conviction that came only from knowing someone for their entire life. "Dad would have hated you for it, but you're going to go anyway."

"It's complicated," he hedged. "But I promise, whatever happens, I'll make sure you're safe. I… I'm not like I used to be. I'm strong. I can protect you."

"Your Aura profile would suggest otherwise."

So Lavender had looked at the Aura profile he'd brought back from Signal Academy. He'd wondered when she would bring it up.

Unfortunately, if there was anyone in the Arc family who was qualified to analyze his Aura profile, it was Lavender. She'd studied the subject extensively, at least all the information that was available to the general public. Acceptance to the Academy of Sciences and Dust Studies was no small feat, after all.

Jaune couldn't hope to lie to her about his abilities, not when she probably knew more about them than he did, so he tried the truth for once. "That's… not wrong. But please keep in mind that Aura isn't everything." He lowered his voice, glancing down the corridor to make sure nobody was listening. "I have an advantage."

Lavender didn't look impressed at all, just confused. "A Semblance?"

"Something like that…"

She sighed. "Jaune- "

"I am not lying." He met her gaze head-on. "I swear on Dad's grave. It's real, and it's powerful and I'm going to catch up with the level Beacon requires very soon." Three days, to be exact.

She searched his face, studying him intensely. "You're not lying," she murmured. "Doesn't make it The Truth."

He shrugged. "We can talk more about it later."

"I want to talk about it now," she insisted.

"Later," Jaune lied. "I'd be grateful if you could fix me something to eat though, I'm starving." He forcefully moved past her into the bathroom. When he heard her footsteps receding down the hallway, he locked the door behind him and leaned against it heavily.

The mirror in Tera's bathroom was covered in a thin layer of steam from someone's recent shower. Jaune reached over to wipe it away with his hand.

The face that stared back at him was that of a stranger.

The stranger's eyes were sunken and had a haunting quality to them. Gaunt cheeks, stubble on his chin, and unkempt hair that had grown what looked like inches since the last time he saw it.

"STEM," he whispered. "What's happening to my body?"

Jaune examined himself more carefully, taking off his shirt and turning to the side to inspect his back. He could count each and every rib, visible through his skin.

"You can talk again."

There were several errors in my calculations regarding your Aura regeneration rate. It is likely that the constant expenditure of Aura caused by self-inflicted damage has forced your body to compensate, increasing your metabolism and burning through your fat reserves at a rapid rate.

"What does this mean for me? How long until I'm back to normal?"

Long-term, this may be beneficial as a training aid for your body to adapt to extended Aura use, but short-term it is not sustainable. If you do not consume at least 19000 calories in the next 22 hours, your body will continue to catabolize its own tissues, leaving us no choice but to allow your Aura to fully recharge in order to prevent permanent damage.

Fully recharge? That was out of the question. Jaune had barely been able to walk properly with full reserves. There was no way he'd be able to learn how to handle that much power in less than three days.

"I presume you have a strategy to deal with everything." Jaune looked at the stranger in the mirror as he spoke. "All my problems are just mathematical equations to you, aren't they?"

Please hold while I'm calculating-

"Stop!"

I don't understand, please clarify.

"We are going to do things differently from now on," Jaune said. "You will list all your known limitations and capabilities. You will summarize the most important and relevant information in a concise manner, in a way that is easy for me to understand and that I can use to make informed decisions. Refrain from any warnings or suggestions that are not directly related to the task at hand." Jaune took a deep breath and stared back at his reflection. It was hard to maintain eye contact with the stranger he saw there, but he forced himself to do it anyway. "Begin."