Chapter 9
It was another month before the lessons began, it took a while for me to heal completely, especially as I strained my biotics as well. I spent the entire month on paid leave as Aria decided it was her request that left me so injured. I was restless barely a week into my break, being as healed as I normally got in the past. One thing I had to do though, was cover the mirror. I couldn't stand looking into it every day, seeing all the scars. I would have broken that mirror if I didn't cover it, so I think it's a good trade off.
It was only this morning where I received the message from Aria, informing me we would finally be going to the abandoned dock again. I had so many ideas on how to improve my biotics, now that I'd had even a hint of what I was doing wrong. It was more than I'd ever had before, but Aria strictly ordered me to not use my biotics at all this month. It rankled on me, the urge itching at the back of my mind, but I obeyed. It may have been harder to resist, if I had anywhere I could actually practice, but I wasn't allowed out of the club on my own and I didn't much fancy destroying my apartment.
I shut the door behind me, walking after Aria who was wearing some of those ridiculous shoes I'd seen, the one with the high heel. How do you even balance in them? I will say, she somehow does. She looks just as intimidating as normal, but that's probably just her, the added height actually did help as well, but then again almost everyone was taller than me. We stopped once we reached the epicentre of my crater and she turned back to face me, smirking.
"We can finally begin. Vassen reported everything involved in your session with him, so I'm going to skip those things so we don't waste time." She leaned to one side, crossing her arms. "Before we do anything else, you need to learn barrier. It will protect you while learning other techniques, which knowing you are going to be explosive." She grinned at the word, apparently a fan. I nodded my understanding and Aria uncrossed her arms.
"The current way you form a barrier is quite frankly wrong, Fury. It loses near all utility, working better for attacking then defending, which is just sad for a defensive technique." She sighed mockingly, I did my best to ignore it. "Barrier works by surrounding yourself entirely in an aura of biotic energy and condensing it. Because the technique surrounds and encapsulates you, it becomes largely self-sustaining. It is far easier to maintain it this way then with your partial covering." That makes sense. "Truthfully, the way you are doing it isn't completely wrong, but since you lacked the mnemonic you were never able to complete the technique, leaving it useless. One thing you should know, is that some energy does still leak from the barrier, just less of it. After a certain amount leaks, it destabilises the entire barrier collapsing it."
Aria demonstrated this herself, a barrier forming around her with no gesture. It was a thin thing, barely even visible even with how close I am to her. I don't think I would be able to tell it even covered her face if her skin was blue like most of the Asari I'd seen. She's the only purple one I've encountered, and I'm rather curious as to why. After a couple of minutes of us standing in silence, the barrier flashed brighter before disappearing.
"Now, the intricacy with barrier involves how strong you make it, and how long it lasts. The more energy you put into it, the more damage it can absorb. The issue is, containing the energy becomes more difficult the stronger the barrier gets. This is where you have to make a decision between strength, or endurance."
This time, Aria slammed her fists together, and an intense blue glow covered her. There was no initial aura that then condensed, it just seemed to emerge as the barrier instantaneously. This time the blue was hard to ignore, it was almost blinding in its intensity. The energy looked almost solid to the touch, and I could hear a faint hum in the air. This barrier faded away after only 10 seconds, but the flash of light was blinding. I was left there, blinking the stars out of my eyes until I could see properly once more, turning my eyes back to the sight of Aria crossing her arms, a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Now, no matter how good you are at barrier, you will always have to decide between duration and strength. Not to say you can't have both, but one should always be greater. It's up to personal preference Fury, once you have enough control."
I assume the better your control, the more energy you can force into the barrier before it breaks but holding your maximum amount of energy is difficult so it fades away faster. When you aren't straining yourself, it's easier to hold onto it. That should mean I'm better off training for strength, at least initially.
"Now it's your turn, you can practice barrier inside of the club, and you will do so." She narrowed her eyes at me, mouth firm. "This is the one technique you can practice near anywhere, so this is the only time you will be practicing it here. I expect you to practice religiously in your own time, this is what I would call the fundamental technique, especially for you. The reason we're practicing it here today, is so you can get a feel for it without breaking your room. Also, so we can establish your mnemonic. Try it now." She ordered, stepping back.
I nodded, closing my eyes to centre myself and feel the energy within me. I haven't created an aura fully around myself in a long time, except for the 'flare' Aria had me perform. That's the easy step. I pulled the trigger and let lose a moderate amount of energy, making sure to surround myself in it. What would make a good mnemonic? It needs to be something I can perform quickly once I have more experience. Aria's flashed in my mind, and something about it feels right. Might be because I'm punching something.
Having decided, I waste no time in doing so. I squeeze the energy at the same time as I perform the simple motion. It is far less energy than I had to condense for the flare, so that parts easy, but as soon as I condensed the energy, it lost cohesion and flashed out of my control.
"My gesture is too short for learning the technique. Pick another one." Aria ordered, annoyed. I narrow my eyes at her, but don't retort. How do I change the gesture, it still appeals to me and I hope I can condense my longer one down to it. Slamming my fists together is too fast, so I need to slow it down, how do I do that? Punching slower isn't slow enough. Maybe add the punch to the end? That could work. What do I add it to. I'll begin with open hands, swing my arms around me in a circular motion, clench my hands into fist, before finishing with the punch.
Having decided, I perform the technique once more. I concentrate as much as I can on containing the barrier, and I succeed! At nothing. I get the same result, but Aria says nothing, so I try again. I do so a couple dozen times, trying to get a feeling for the technique, and eventually I make progress. I hold the barrier for barely an instant, and it takes all of my concentration, but I succeed.
"That'll do. You still need to be able to perform the motion without preparation, hold the barrier for longer and be able to do so without focusing on it. The last one is what takes so long, as you need to ingrain it in your subconscious. Before we go, there's one other thing I want you to try. Perform the barrier again but put more energy into it. A lot more, maybe about the same as one of your normal shockwaves."
I won't be able to hold that though. I stare at her, confused, but she offers no explanation, just waving her hand for me to get on with it. I sigh but do so. I close my eyes for this, needing the help. Pulling on the trigger within me, I let far more energy out into my aura, and attempt to condense it into a barrier. I grit my teeth at the effort required, far more than the barrier I just attempted, but I succeed, somewhat. The energy does surround my skin for a moment in a semblance of a barrier, but I lose control shortly after and it explodes around me into a spherical detonation. I flinch at the noise, but don't feel anything hurting. I didn't feel the impact from the explosion, what's going on? I open my eyes, looking around me to find the ground damaged even further. What was that? I look back to Aria to find her chuckling at me, grinning viciously.
"That was a Nova. It's where you expend the energy in your barrier into an explosion around you. It works like flare, but unlike with flare or your shockwaves, this one doesn't damage you as you direct all the force away from you, it being somewhat controlled first. The only downside to using it is that it removes your barrier and requires a decent amount of energy in your barrier to be effective." Aria informed me, somewhat smug. Why is she smug? "It's more effective when you can actually hold said amount of energy in your barrier, something for you to look forward to." She sauntered over to me and clapped a hand on my shoulder, and I immediately tense up under it. Still, I say nothing. Seemingly ignoring my reluctance, Aria brings us back to the shuttle. "That's all for today Fury. I've got other things to do, so you can practice on your own."
Hold … hold … the aura flashed around me, dissipating. Damn it! I grit my teeth, keeping my hands at my sides. There was nothing in my apartment that I could hit. I should really change that. Holding the barrier is hard. Harder than I expected it to be. At first, it felt like I wasn't improving at all. I spent a month just forming the barrier, with it dropping instantly straight after.
The blasted thing was taunting me! I just know it. I couldn't even try something else with my biotics, something I might be better at, like explosions. I'm rather good at explosions. Aria wouldn't let me move on until I got this down. There was nothing else to distract me, either. My work at the club was almost never interesting, few ever tried to fight me when I kicked them out, and that number had seemingly disappeared. I would walk up to them, my mood lifting for the moment and raring to go, and they backed down. Every. Single. Goddamn. Time. I refuse to beg, for anything, but I'm not ashamed that I was briefly tempted. I needed to fight someone, anyone. I really needed something to blow off my steam. I couldn't stand researching right now, the extranet was rather confusing to navigate even with guides and it was restricted heavily. Anything I could access was, while valuable information, boring. I forced myself to continue my research, but I could only handle a small amount before I had to close out of my Omni-tool. I would destroy it otherwise.
I wasn't allowed to leave the club, I had no real access to entertainment of any form, I couldn't exercise. All I could do was practice my stupid barrier. Again and again, I made the gesture, created the barrier, and then it dropped. It was infuriating! Just for some variety, I would watch the dancers in the club. Something about their movements helped me keep my temper, I don't know what. I certainly appreciate how smooth their movements are, how controlled they are. It's interesting to watch, and while I originally started doing so out of desperation, I've come to enjoy the entertainment. I certainly don't feel bad at doing so, they are paid for it.
Closing my eyes, I clenched my fists after another failed technique, and tried again. At this point, I was fuelled by pure stubbornness and rage. I stewed in my thoughts while doing so, my concentration wavering after a particularly long training session, and I made a mistake.
I put too much energy into the barrier! I only realised after I had finished doing so, my wandering attention snapping back into focus as I realised what I'd done. A shiver went down my spine. No, no, no, no, no, NO! I'm in my apartment, how could I be so stupid! I'll destroy the room, I'll damage the club! Aria's club, that she owns, and is fiercely protective of, FUCK! I pulled with all I had, trying to hold the energy back so that it wouldn't blast out in a Nova. I could feel the barrier buckling before my control, fighting to be released. No. I have had, enough! I have spent a month forming barriers. A month! That's more time than I had ever spent learning something, and what did I have to show for it? Nothing.
No. I refuse to lose to this, I. WILL. SUCEED. My head pounding in time with my thundering heart, the effort required mind-boggling. I focused as hard as I could, then I focused harder. My jaw ached fiercely from how hard I was clenching it. I could feel my whole-body trembling from maintaining the hold, yet I never released it. At any moment, the energy could've been released, but it wasn't. With each heartbeat, my control held. It felt like an eternity, but what must have been a few seconds elapsed before the pressure on my mind eased. The barrier flashed and dissipated. I stood there for a moment, swaying as I comprehended what had happened. I had contained it, it was … over. I sunk to my knees, unable to remain standing. The world was spinning before me, and my ears were ringing, my vision blurring.
I shuffled over to the wall, leaning against it, and just resting. I …, I did it. I managed to hold the barrier. The last time I put that much energy into, there was an instant explosion. But instead, the barrier held, it was only for a few seconds but it held. I felt the corner of my lips lifting, and I couldn't help the sound that escaped me, the unfamiliar motion strange … yet it felt right. Feeling something trickling out of my nose, I lifted my hand up and wiped it up with my finger. Looking down at it, it took a few seconds to focus, I found my finger-stained red. That's probably not good, I should probably see someone about it, but I won't. I'm just going to sit here and bask in this new feeling, it was nice. That's the best way I can describe it, it was nice.
It was only after the incident that no one will ever know about that I noticeably made progress. I'm not sure exactly why, but suddenly I could hold the barrier for longer than a few seconds. It wasn't much longer, but actual progress helped me so much more than what said progress was. It made the effort required easier, having it be rewarded with something. And now that I had finally made some progress, it seemed to keep going. It was slow, but day after day, week after week, I got better at Barrier. I could hold it for longer and longer, put more and more energy into it and it became easier and easier to maintain it. I never went that far with the energy, unwilling to do so in my apartment, but my barrier was noticeably stronger. All in all, it took me about 4 months to properly learn the technique, 6 until Aria let me move on to something else.
"Barrier!" Aria barked, standing in front of me. My arms performed the gesture without thinking about it and a vibrant barrier formed around me, my aura converging with haste. I had gotten good at that, the barrier appearing only a second after Aria's command. There was a reason for that.
I leaped to the side, dodging out of the biotic blast Aria just threw at me. I felt the shockwave ripple over me as I completed my roll, the small flash of heat that accompanied it showed just how strong that attack was, an indication of what it would do to me if I was too slow. I didn't have much time to think about that though, as there was more on the way. Each blast was barely dodgeable, every time I had to fling myself one way or the other to dodge successfully. That was when there was only one blast at a time. Aria rarely stuck to that number, and I was forced to take the blow on my barrier, absorbing the damage. This continued for minutes and turned into nearly an hour.
I was left panting, my breath ragged. My lungs ached, my legs burned and my head was numb. I struggled to maintain my focus on Aria, my brain truly taxed after the mammoth exertion. I had to raise my barrier many times over the course of the hour. Sometimes because the duration ran out, but more often because I had to create stronger ones to absorb Aria's blasts. The feeling of my barrier shattering was practically intimate at this point, I had grown so familiar with it. I could barely stay on my feet, my legs trembling and my eyes were going in and out of focus, but still I stood.
Aria was standing across from me, looking no worse for wear in her immaculate outfit and perfect posture. Her face was stern, her eyes assessing me even as we both stood there. This went on for what felt like minutes, my nerves getting to me as I waited for the next attack that never came.
"Good." She nodded, crossing her arms, smiling. What? I gaped at her words, receiving a teasing smirk in return.
"Your barrier is now satisfactory." Aria started walking closer to me.
Really? This sounds too good to be true. I watch her walk closer wearily, eyes alert for the next attack, but none came. Aria chuckled at my paranoia, looking around the damage she had done to the surroundings. It was only here that I could relax, she had nailed into me that you never remove your eyes from your opponent. If she did so herself then the fight must truly be over.
As if that was the signal my body needed, I collapsed to my knees, my hands on the ground as I tried to regain my breath. I remained down for as little time as possible, refusing to wait it out, so I struggled my way to my feet, my legs trembling with their weakness. Aria was still there, watching me with amusement.
"You done?" she smirked, tilting her head to the side. I grunt back at her, unwilling to say anything else. Thankfully, she doesn't take offense like she might normally do. I'm too tired to do anything else.
"You are still to practice your barrier in your own time, it still has room for improvement, but you are better served learning other techniques. You should have the necessary control, or the needed protection, to learn further techniques. For now, you clearly need a rest." Aria started walking towards the shuttle, currently located a fair distance behind me. I moved to follow her, but my legs betrayed me. As soon as I placed my leading foot forward, it crumbled, unable to handle the weight. I started tipping forward and closed my eyes in preparation for meeting the ground, but a hand caught me.
"Can't have you mess up that pretty face, can we?" she chuckled. Aria lifted up my arm and put it around her shoulders, placing most of my weight on her. I was too shocked at first to realise what she'd done, but once I did I tensed up, trying to move away from her. Unfortunately, my legs wouldn't support me. I could tell, I'd never been this tired before, Aria pushing me hard. Screw it, I leaned my weight back on to her, letting her help.
As we walked to the shuttle, I couldn't help but feel her touch on me. She was … warm. It was nice, to feel some contact. Contact that didn't involve fighting. I'm not going to tell her that though, she would never let me forget it.
"If you just wanted to get close to me, you should have said so!" Aria chortled. I ignored her, and the warmth I felt rushing to my face. I just focused on my goal, the seat inside the shuttle. I didn't feel her squeeze me tighter with the arm wrapped around my stomach, I certainly didn't enjoy it. It was easy enough to ignore it once I sat down, as I promptly lost my battle with my exhaustion.
It was a peaceful drive back, despite all the chaos of my home. Fury was passed out in her chair, exhausted. I look over to her and smiled, she looked so much younger like this. The lines in her face eased, she didn't carry the same tension that she did when awake.
It's such a stark difference from her normal, she looks her age. Fury never told me herself, I'm not sure she even knows, but she's not even 15 years old. She carries so much weight on her shoulders, is haunted by the things she's been through, carried so many scars. It's a sobering thought, to say the least.
My first impression of her was an underfed, scarred ball of anger. She's no longer underfed, at least. She still hasn't filled out much, but you can no longer see her ribs. Now, she's slender in the natural way, the natural way for her. I don't know if it's an effect of all her years in captivity, but Fury will never be a large person. It's quite ironic, how small she is compared to most, considering the destructive potential she holds, and the temper she so carefully tries to hide. I can tell when she wants to retort to something I've said, it's obvious in her eyes, the set of her mouth, but she says nothing. I would prefer she talk back honestly, I know she wants nothing better than to shout at me, but that level of volume is something else the facility stole from her, she barely speaks in a quiet voice, let alone shouting.
It's been almost six months since I started training her, and she's made so much progress. It may not look that way to her, but that's because she doesn't know what she's achieved. Her control is miles ahead of what it used to be, and learning said control was always going to be difficult for her. She had so much power and had never learnt control. Trying to gain said control after the power is certainly an unusual situation, and a tricky one at that. I could tell how frustrated it made her, at her lack of progress. She clearly doesn't know about the camera's hidden in her room, and I'm not going to tell her. There was no way I was going to leave such a dangerous individual unobserved. They allowed me to see how much effort she put into learning, it was humbling. She spent hours repeating the same task, day after day, week after week. Yet she never gave up, just continuing to smash her head against that wall. I'm perfectly capable of admitting, to myself, that I didn't have the same patience for it, but it certainly paid off.
Fury may have been aptly named, but her focus is commendable and her willpower extraordinary. In only six months, she was able to gain rudimentary control of her biotics. That may not sound like much, but that's faster than normal human biotics, whose biotic energy she dwarfs. My only explanation is that she's a savant, that or whichever assholes experimented on her are make good shit.
Her barrier is one of the best I've ever seen a human make, it's rather basic in my eyes but she is still better than most Asari maidens, and she will only continue to improve. The strength of her barriers are on the level of huntresses, mostly as a result of her reserves. I'm looking forward to seeing what she will become. Fury is …, there's no way to soften it. She's damaged. This 'facility' she grew up in was barbaric, the things they did to children horrific. Fury is so angry, kind of why I gave her the name originally, it was an impulse I somewhat regret. She's so unused to positive interactions, confused by them. She doesn't seem to understand my teasing, my sarcasm or the jokes. Her reaction to them is just to stare at me unblinkingly, which is what she does when she's confused. Non-aggressive body language confuses her as well, and I'm not sure she will ever completely learn it. It's my understanding that your childhood largely shapes you, and for a human hers is almost over.
What she does understand, what she lives and breathes, is combat. Her ability to read my intentions when fighting is astonishing, even the slightest tells are enough for her. I was a little bit rusty when I first started testing her barrier, which is slightly embarrassing. I couldn't push her to her limits like I now am, unused to controlling myself so wholly. Fury was able to learn how to read me near instantly though, quickly able to figure out where I was aiming, how strong the blasts were, how she'd have to dodge to avoid my attacks. She's a savant in both biotics and combat, but I don't know if it was worth the price.
Despite all odds, Fury's grown on me. I started teaching her almost on a whim, I was bored and she fascinated me. Even with a glance, I could see her potential, it was obvious. I made sure Vassen knew to be discreet about her. If others knew what she was capable of? She would have a massive target on her back. I didn't want that, Fury was mine. She was my student, and my responsibility. It may have been a whim at first, but Fury wasn't afraid of me like everyone else was. I know it's mostly my fault, but there's a difference between respect and fear. I may enjoy fear, but what I want is respect and appreciate the lack of fear. Almost everyone else is afraid, even if they hide it well, but Fury isn't.
I'm not sure why, she has every right to be, more than any other. I throw biotic explosions at her for hours, many of them near lethal in the right circumstances, but she's perfectly content with it. She meets my eyes easily, no fear present, and it's … nice. Nice that for once, I'm just Aria. She has no expectations from me, aside from my tutelage. She isn't scheming, isn't plotting, she is happy to work for me without complaint. That attitude is so rare, not even my daughter is like Fury. I'm not sure if it's because of her lack of knowledge, but she must have learned enough by now for that not to be the case. I don't know why but I appreciate that with Fury, I can be Aria for a few hours, instead of the Pirate Queen. I may enjoy it, but it's nice to have a break every now and then.
I started teaching her because I was bored, but I underestimated how much I would grow to enjoy it. Whatever frustration I felt, it all quickly fled during our sessions. I had to supress laughter far too many times during our sessions, she would only take it the wrong way, but it had been a long time since I was able to laugh like this, so freely. She wouldn't register the joy I felt in combat, the freedom it gave me. She wouldn't yet understand that about me, even though she was the same. I hope she will one day, it would be nice to have someone who got me so completely, but baby steps.
I didn't hide the smile I gave her now though, looking over at Fury's slumbering form. She was beginning to trust me, she let me touch her today. She was exhausted, but I felt her relax into my side. She had never relaxed under my touch before, likely having no positive associations with it, but she did today. It wasn't much, but it was progress. I'm a touchy person and have touched her many times before but only today did she accept it. I like the scamp, and it would be a pity if she never learnt the joys of physical contact, so I'll get her used to it, one way or another. I'll have to resist the urge to hug her for now, no matter how funny it would be.
I can certainly keep training her though, Fury has never been reluctant with that. She may leave exhausted from our sessions, but I see the gleam in her eyes, the twitching of her lips. She loves doing this as much as I do. It's only going to get better too, we're ready for the fun part. Now, what should I teach her first? Stupid question. She can learn a proper Nova, she seems to be a fan of explosions. What about after that? Oh, decisions, decisions.
I gazed out at the destruction I wrought today, it was … magnificent. I turned back to Aria and found her grinning at me widely.
"Feel's good, doesn't it?" she asks, mirth in her eyes. I nod, I agree after all. Aria steps closer to me and we looked out at the new crater again. Aria put her arm around me, squeezing tightly, and I let her. She had done that many times before, but today, I didn't resist. If it was anyone else, I would still do so, but Aria has earned it, she's taught me much already, and still had more to give. I'm not sure if I even wanted to shove her off, I can't explain why, but I somewhat enjoy the closeness. So, if I don't resist her, subtlety leaning into it, no-one needs to know.
"Really get's you pumping, doesn't it?" Aria smirked at me out of the corner of her eye. I don't really know what she meant, but she makes comments like this all the time so I had grown to except her quirk. I nodded in response, and that seemed to satisfy her.