"…please do try to calm yourself, Miss Rose. Heightened emotions and hormone levels may interfere with my readings."
Summer looked over her shoulder as she and Willow walked along a totally undecorated white hallway with thick red lines painted upon the floor running parallel to the walls. Professor Gumo was following along, a few odd lights glittering from underneath his visor in different colors. Dots of blue and purple gave way to green and orange in different locations beneath the tempered glass, and Summer could only guess at what the faunus headmaster was seeing when he looked at her. The thought only made her more nervous.
"S-sorry," Summer offered with a sheepish smile. I just… I really don't want to screw this up, and that's making me more nervous, which is screwing this up, and…"
"Please," Professor Gumo insisted again. "Just breathe. Quiet your mind. You've yet to 'screw anything up,' and I'm sure whatever data we collect here will simply be one step on the way to determining whether or not you possess ancient, unexplainable power. Is there anything I could do to assuage your fears?"
"Well… maybe just explain what all these sticky pads on my body are for?" Summer suggested. "If you're going to be watching me with your Semblance while I do whatever, why do we need all of these?"
"Concrete empirical data for the sake of comparison," the headmaster answered. "My Semblance, while powerful, is only one perspective and hardly quantifiable. Those are connected to a state-of-the-art computer system being monitored by Professor Calavera."
"…uh-huh…" Summer said, her tone betraying her confusion.
"Numbers, Summer," Willow simplified while putting a hand on her friend's bare shoulder. "He wants numbers and concrete values for how your aura and whatever else changes while you're doing… whatever it is that you're doing. Being able to make a graph is much more useful than simply saying something went up or down and leaving it at that."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Summer agreed with a nod. "Sorry, I… I should've been able to figure that out. I'm just…"
"…Miss Schnee," Professor Gumo called as he came to a halt. "Would you go ahead and check that Miss Calavera has everything she needs set up and ready to go? It's just down the hall to the right."
"Of course," Willow said as she and Summer came to a stop and turned to face their leader. "You two aren't coming?"
"In a moment," Professor Gumo offered. "I'd like to speak to Summer privately. Nothing personal, I assure you."
"…right," Willow replied skeptically. "See you soon."
Summer watched as Willow turned and picked up the pace while she headed for the corner some 20 feet away. Seeing her friend go only increased her anxiety, and Summer couldn't help but let out a small whimper of apprehension.
"You think very little of yourself, don't you?" Professor Gumo asked softly, his usual businesslike tone giving way to something more friendly and personal. "You're carrying great tension throughout all of your muscles, your heartrate is elevated, you're oozing adrenaline before we've even begun experimenting while you're simultaneously incredibly deficient in dopamine, and there are several other severe chemical imbalances within you that are a signature of people suffering from clinical depression. Any time you speak of your worries, or about yourself at all, it seems to get worse."
"…yeah."
Summer said nothing more as she stared down at the sterile floor in silence. Not only was there not much else to say, but she barely knew the man before her. Several of her teammates had tried to get her to open up about similar subjects throughout the school year, and each time, Summer would divert the conversation while overcompensating with cheeriness. Somehow, she already knew that such a tactic would do nothing to throw Professor Gumo off the trail.
"I cannot give you an easy answer," the man continued. "I'm sure you know the usual suggestions- therapy, finding an outlet, confiding in friends- but I can offer at least one alternative based on what worked for me, when I was your age."
"You can see right through me," Summer said nervously as she looked back up at Professor Gumo. "And… you felt like I do, once?"
"It comes and goes," the man confirmed. "But it is far more manageable now than it was when I was young. While I would recommend seeing a professional and getting tested to see if there might be a medical explanation for your current predicament, I opted for a different route. Perhaps not a healthy one. Become your own enemy."
"Isn't that what I already am?" Summer asked curiously. "Sometimes I feel like I hate myself, for any number of reasons…"
"Perhaps, but have you committed to that mindset?" Professor Gumo asked. "Are you content to let your enemies simply linger and loom over your shoulder? Or do you work to defeat them, no matter how long it takes?"
"So, what you're saying is… motivate myself to… defeat… myself?" Summer considered. "Use all those feelings about my imperfections as reason to fight and get rid of them?"
"Spite and loathing are powerful motivators," the faunus said with a nod. "Even if it's self-loathing. Identify what about yourself causes such feelings and add those aspects to your list alongside Salem and her minions. Just another thing to tackle in time, for your own good."
"That's… different," Summer offered with an uncertain smile. "I guess I could give it a shot? Thanks for trying, though, no matter how it ends up working out. I'm definitely not the type to confide in other people. I'd rather face my demons alone."
"Then simply make sure that you do face them," Professor Gumo reminded. "Collapsing into yourself will accomplish little. Should you desire more advice, no matter how… unfavorable it may be, I will try to make myself available."
"Knowing that helps, honestly," Summer admitted. "Going to my friends isn't easy, but maybe seeing you would be easier since I'm just running away in a few weeks. You're not a hugger, are you?"
"I am not," Professor Gumo confirmed. "But I am the type of headmaster to make exceptions quite often for students who need them."
Summer hesitated for a moment before taking a step forward and gingerly wrapping her arms around the rather skinny man. The girl held her breath for a moment as she waited for the gesture to be returned, and initially, she thought she may have misread him. In the end, though, Summer received a brief embrace and let out a weary sigh.
"…thanks. I'll... work on getting myself together," Summer reassured. "I know we've got a lot of work to do."
"We do," Professor Gumo agreed as he released the girl and moved to walk past her. "Come. Let us get some initial data, at the very least."
Summer jogged along, following Professor Gumo around the corner and to a massive, open steel door. Beyond was a training area with the same aesthetic as the hallway and an observation booth embedded high upon one of the walls. A steel staircase leading up to the enclosure was the only distinguishing feature, leaving the rest of the floor bare. Willow Schnee stood near the center of the space, waiting with Myrtenaster drawn.
"Willow?" Summer questioned as she walked into the room, looking around at the blank walls.
"…you need a target to use your Semblance on," Willow explained. "I volunteered."
"We're good to go, all systems operational," Professor Calavera called from up in the booth, her voice echoing around the room via some unseen speaker system. "You staying down there or coming up here, Gumo?"
"I need to be somewhat close to the action," the man declared as he skirted the edge of the room, halfway between Summer and Willow. "My Semblance has a somewhat limited range."
"Whenever you're ready, Summer. All of your electrodes are showing up on my equipment, and I'm tracking your aura level at 100%."
"Right," Summer acknowledged, more to herself than Professor Calavera as she shook out her hands with nervous energy. "Professor… what should I do first?"
"Begin by using whichever Semblance is more reliable," Professor Gumo answered as he folded his arms behind himself.
"Okay… the new one, then," Summer said before casting a glance at Willow. "Teleporting is much easier. "Ready, Willow?"
"I'm never going to get used to it, so you might as well," the girl answered with a sigh. "It always makes me feel nauseous afterward…"
"Sorry," Summer offered before taking a deep breath and narrowing her eyes. "Alright- 3… 2… 1!"
In a dazzling flash, tendrils of white formed from countless little dots of energy swarmed up around Summer and Willow before disappearing as quickly as they had manifested. The two girls swapped positions faster than either of them could blink, and Willow stumbled a bit on the landing as she blinked repeatedly.
"…that is definitely a Semblance, yes," Professor Gumo said, eight lights of differing color faintly gleaming behind his visor. "A considerable hit to your aura, as well. Maria?"
"22% of Summer's aura was depleted in that one shot," the woman answered. "Below average recovery, it seems. It's coming back quite slowly. Go again?"
"Do we h-"
Summer engaged her Semblance once again, flinging Willow back into her original position before she could even finish speaking. The heiress appeared hunched over with a hand clasped to her mouth and an annoyed look on her face.
"Sorry!"
"…interesting. That one took more aura…"
"I noticed the same thing," Professor Gumo agreed. "Numbers?"
"Seems to be a 34% hit, and her regeneration's even slower, now," Professor Calavera informed. "Meaning if you pull that trick probably four times in one combat session, you're done, and not getting your aura back."
"…oh," was all Summer could think to say in her slightly breathless state. "I… didn't know that…"
"Please only use it for emergencies," Willow insisted as she stood a bit straighter. "For… multiple reasons…"
"Yeah, I… that's a good idea," Summer acknowledged. "Guess I should use my other one, now?"
"Go ahead," Professor Gumo encouraged. "This is your… clairvoyance, yes?"
"Something like that," Summer answered as she closed her eyes. "Alright, Willow, plan on striking me in… say 30 seconds, and then do it. And don't mess with me, please? Not this time, anyway."
"Got it," Willow called. "Ready when you are."
Summer sucked in a breath and squinted harder, as though she was trying to see through her eyelids. It took only seconds for a vision of the future to manifest- Willow coming in from the left with a stepping thrust, followed by a horizontal swipe at head level. Then, Professor Gumo telling her that she did, in fact, have two auras.
"Two auras?" Summer asked, turning her attention to Professor Gumo rather than Willow as she opened her eyes. "You're… about to tell me I have two separate auras in addition to my two Semblances, and one is white while the other is a rusty orange? I-I mean, you said I had two before, but its… definite?"
There was a brief period of silence as the student and headmaster stared at each other, neither quite sure what to say.
"…what in the… her aura recovery is slowing even more, as though she's using a Semblance… but I'm not getting any readings on aura usage at all. It's like she's pulling from a power source that isn't connected to her. Nothing's showing up on our equipment…"
"Because it isn't her aura," Professor Gumo surmised. "It belongs to another, and was passed to her…"
"So that's it, then?" Summer asked. "I'm… a Maiden?"
"I can't be absolutely certain," Professor Gumo cautioned as he held up a hand. "But it is the most plausible explanation, and the data seems to be trending that way. You had trouble unlocking your teleportation Semblance, did you not?"
"I… yeah, I always thought my Semblance was just this future sight stuff," Summer admitted. "The teleportation Semblance happened out of nowhere, in a bit of a panic."
"Perhaps you were pulling from the wrong pool of aura," Professor Gumo guessed. "Straining yourself in ways you didn't understand… and your future sight. Is it imperfect? Perhaps painful?"
"Yeah," Summer replied. "Both, until recently. Lately, it's been easier. It's because I'm using that orange aura to power it now, when I was trying to utilize the white one beforehand?"
"…hm," Professor Gumo considered as he brought a hand up to his chin to stroke at his small, wispy goatee. "What if… you consciously try to utilize both at once, right now?"
"Is that wise?" Willow asked. "And how would she eve-"
Summer's eyes were already closed as she focused in on Willow. With a conscious effort, she summoned forth both of her Semblances together, unsure of what would happen or what she could even do with the combination. Willow's words stopped suddenly. Her own heartbeat stopped suddenly. No longer could she see the harsh lights of the training room through her eyelids, the red color filtering through them gone and replaced only by a featureless void. Summer tried to open her eyes and found herself somewhere else entirely.
The training room was gone, replaced by an endless void and a white road beneath her feet, glowing brightly enough to be almost blinding. As Summer squinted her eyes and tried to see where the path led, she realized that it wasn't a road at all- it was a branch with colored lights hovering above it at fixed intervals. Far on the horizon were countless other branches, all glowing and glittering with that same blinding quality. The branches all stemmed from the body of a celestial tree more massive than anything Summer had ever seen before, and all she could think of was how beautiful the gargantuan structure looked against the darkness.
Despite the beauty, though, Summer was suddenly filled with a sense of dread. Something was coming, and though she didn't know what it was, it wasn't good. Summer watched in horror as a set of long, dark, spindly fingers reached out from behind the tree, each longer and larger than Summer could comprehend. The encroaching hand reached out for her, slowly making its way along the branch, and Summer froze in terror. High above the tree, a pair of leering, yellow eyes large enough to be suns came alight, and Summer did the only thing she could think of.
She closed her eyes and let out a piercing scream.
Author's Note:
Next chapter will be a direct continuation…
-RD