Divulgence (Song of Sophangence Book 2)

by E. I. McAllistair

  “Ms. Aya, I do not know if you have been informed, but due to the extremely high demand of the FDVR pods in preparation for the Melee, their use has been heavily restricted. According to the reports here you have logged 22 hours in excess of what we had allowed. Please kindly step out of the pod, dress, and exit the facility. You will not have access to the FDVR for the remainder of the time leading up to the Melee. Any attempts to circumvent this will result in suspension of your privileges indefinitely, pending disciplinary review. Do you understand what has been explained to you?”

  Resisting the overwhelming urge to give the person in front of her a middle finger, she nods and begins climbing out of the pod.

  5

  Early afternoon, a horde of weary Freshmen storm out of a Principles of Combat Class laden with theory, happy to finally be free. When most of them signed up for the next level of the class, they expected similar fireworks to what they had experienced in their first trimester. Unfortunately for them the class had been in large part theorycrafting and study of tactics from all manners of cultures. Continuing the trend with today’s class, students rushed from the room like rats from a sinking ship.

  The quartet of friends, Maggie, Dan, Stefani and Anaar, while sharing most of the other students’ sentiments, tended to find solace in the sheer fact they were able have a class together. In a massive shift from their first trimester, they had been fairly separate in their classes, only sharing a class with one of the others, rather than all together. As such, much more of their time together was spent outside of class, with consideration being paid to one another’s schedules. Everyone had taken up their own separate paths that consumed their focus.

  Maggie had become extremely active in the Seeds and other diversity committees, causing her to spend much more time with Codi. Stefani had taken her training to heart, working to find a happy medium which would allow her to continue her pursuits in music, while also working to become more capable in combat. Anaar, to no one’s surprise still managed to work two jobs, continue his study of the violin, and find time to help everyone else with their goals, all the while retaining perfect scores in all his classes. Dan was the only person who found himself still floundering a bit, working extremely hard just to keep up the pace with everyone else in class.

  Though he struggled, everyone was always happy to help him in any way they could, and also be there to constantly encourage him. After Anaar’s recent disappearance, the group had been in an awkward place, avoiding the looming issue the ever mysterious Anaar had yet to explain: his abrupt absence. Finding it time to address the issue so things could go back to normal, Anaar stopped his friends from going their separate ways so they could talk.

  “Hey everyone, before we all go, can we talk for a minute?”

  The three others give looks of apprehension, laced with anticipation as they hoped to finally get some clarity on the sudden change in their friend’s behavior and his disappearance. Sitting back down, the girls in two seats below the boys, they all face Anaar to hear what he has to say.

  “I want to start by saying thank you for being so supportive of me. During my time away I could tell that everyone was extremely worried, and I appreciate the concern. I also want to apologize for that concern. In all honesty if I could have let you know in advance I would have. As you are all aware, though I might not show it, I have my own struggles with my powers just like everyone else. One of the biggest differences though, is if I lose control, or I am in a state of instability, I become a massive danger to everyone around me.”

  Though this was obvious, it still came as a shock to everyone once it was verbalized, particularly by the person who was the danger. In some ways they all at least felt some peace he was aware of his own volatility, and would not unwittingly endanger them.

  “Dan knows, but I manifested at a really young age. When a Demolitionist manifests, there is a very high likelihood there will be some collateral damage. Thanks to my powers, I had killed more than a hundred people before I even turned 8 years old. Something like that changes a person, even at that age. Everyone likes to praise me for my ability, my control, but no one truly understands just what cost said control came at. As such, whenever I am in a situation where that control weakens, I know there is nothing more considerate I can do than quarantine myself from others, in hopes if that control does completely slip, I will at least not be a danger to others, especially not those I care about.”

  With nods from all present as he looks around, he continues his monologue.

  “Everyone has expressed their delight at my increasing closeness to them, but please understand, the way I was when I first came to Sophangence was not because I wanted to be an annoying cold-hearted bastard, but because I’m far more fragile than I allow the world to see. When I care about people, I care about them deeply. That sounds beautiful and poetic, but it is a very dangerous prospect. I have been dealing with some things and I needed some time to sort them out before I could come back to you, potentially placing you in danger. I can’t say I won’t possibly disappear again, but just know if I do, I’m doing it for a good reason, and I appreciate your support while I figure things out. No one had asked me why I was gone, but I know it was weighing on us, so I had to come clean so we could move forward. Can you guys forgive me?”

  As she was often prone to tears, Stefani immediately began crying, jumping from her seat to wrap her arms tightly around Anaar. Through choked sobs, she tried her best to express what she had been holding in for over a week now.

  “We are just so happy you are back! There were so many rumors, and people were looking at us funny, all the while we had no idea what was going on. It scared us to death to lose you, so when you came back, we couldn’t care less what the reason was that took you away, as long as we got you back!”

  In her heartfelt expression, not paying much attention to the placement of her body, Maggie speaks up before they lost Anaar again and for good.

  “Stef! You might want to let Anaar go now. You are going to smother him with your chest!”

  Opening her eyes in shock, she looks down to see that indeed given her standing position relative to his sitting one, he was about 30 seconds away from asphyxiation. Jumping back quickly, she straightens her shirt while looking away embarrassed.

  “Sorry! You just kinda get used to them being there, I didn’t mean to-”

  “Kill da friend we jest got back wit’ ya big ole’ titties?”

  Covering her chest in embarrassment, everyone laughs, for what felt like the first time in ages. “You try being a size 38F!! Do you know how many cute tops I can’t wear? And don’t even get me started on strapless or going without a bra… Maggie tell them! Yours have to be like a 32 DD!”

  Turning red, she looks at Stefani with shock and embarrassment. “Why do you even know that?!”

  “Oh, I thought I told you, my mom has this cute lingerie line. We have some things that I bet you would look amazing in!”

  “Umm next subject please!”

  Anaar chimes in with a chuckle, “No please, continue, I’m finding this quite entertaining. So Maggie are you looking for-”

  She pierces him with death in her eyes. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

  He gives her a shrug as they all laugh. Happy to have the air cleared and the gang back in rare form, the girls say their goodbyes as they realize they will be late for their next class if they do not hurry. As they leave, Dan and Anaar decide to take this opportunity to catch up on some of Dan’s studies he had fallen behind on. The mixture of Anaar’s absence and the worry it had caused, plus the awkward avoidance everyone had been doing, left him lacking.

  Taking advantage of the fact there were no more classes in that room for the day, Anaar and Dan set forth working through various problems Dan had been struggling with. As Anaar effortlessly assisted him with classes he was not even enrolled in, Dan finds himself distracted by the something else plaguing him.

  Though things appeared as if
they were back to normal, it still did not seem quite right. Ever since his completely failed attempt at a date, he had grown more and more insecure about Anaar and Maggie’s relationship. Thinking back on past encounters, he was sure he was just downright mean to Maggie when it seemed she was the target of Anaar’s attentions.

  Despite all the signs he thought he saw, the more he looked at it now, the more it seemed Maggie and Anaar were not a couple after all, which meant he still had a foot in the race. He knew Anaar was one for hiding things, but Maggie was about as transparent as they came. If they had truly been a couple, he could not imagine Anaar failing to tell Maggie about what was going on with him, which would not have affected her the same way it affected everyone else. Once they had gotten to a good point with his academic studies, Dan decided to switch gears, using their propinquity to the staging area to their advantage so that they could get in some training.

  “Dan, I can’t believe we haven’t talked in all this time, but nice job with that mutant spider. I wish I could have gotten to you sooner to prevent the spore user from getting to you.”

  Dan blushes, fully visible underneath his lightly freckled face as his hair had a long way to go before it offered coverage again. “Thanks. I thought my goose was cooked when da damn thang climbed top my shield. Da wet ground was killin’ ma paper. I saw what ya did though. I ain’t have no hard feelins ‘gainst da girl, she jest did what she need to win. It jest made me realize there so much I gotta pay ‘tention to. I don’t know bout people power like you do. Hell, I barely know bout my own power. That why I wanted to ask bout somethin’ I did, but cain’t do no more.”

  Happy for a bit of normalcy, and the ability to study attunements and manifestations, especially rare ones, Anaar leans up against the wall, peering intently at Dan. “Sure, you know I’m always down to help. I know it might technically give an unfair advantage if we could just study everyone for the entire year in preparation for the Melee, but I kinda wish there were recordings we had access to that we could watch. I know it sounds snobbish, but those of us who make it to the end or near it at least, don’t get the opportunity to watch the show, or cheer on our friends. Maggie and I went the whole time worrying about Stefani. We only knew about you because of you leave behind a literal paper trail.”

  Dan laughs, but finds himself somehow relieved to hear directly from Anaar’s mouth what he had already witnessed. Both he and Maggie had taken it quite personally they had been eliminated so early. “Well, I started in some desert or somethin’, hot as shit somehow, and sand errywhere. I thought dat I was gettin’ trapped by somethin’ the school put in da sand, kinda like our final last year, but turn out it was some girl who control sand. Prolly just dirt in general, what you call them? Terrynets?”

  With a snicker, Anaar responds, “Terrakinetics.”

  “Yea! Them shits. Anyways, I jest knew I was fucked cause, she kept trappin’ my feet in da sand, so I made a like surfboard thang, but what was cool was I was able to float on it. Not like flyin’ or nothin, but it kept me out da sand and let me move round real fast. Since then, I cain’t seem to get it to work no more though. I get as far as makin’ da damn thang, then for some reason it won’t float. I cain’t even get it to slide ‘round wit my weight on it.”

  Hmm, maybe this would be a good time to tell Dan something about himself that he must not realize yet. I have made reference to it, but not overtly. I think it is time he knew.

  “Dan, you seem to find yourself in these situations quite often, right? Doing things that you think you shouldn’t be capable of in times of stress or need?”

  Scratching his head, he is not sure where Anaar is going. “Well, yea, but I jest thought dat it was a do or die kinda thang. Don’t errybody have dat?”

  “To an extent. There is precedent for people achieving amazing feats when under threat of intense harm or emotional distress, but you are altogether something different. You mentioned how you have felt comfortable at the paper mill you worked in for as long as you have known, yet, by your own accounts you didn’t manifest until recently. It seems to me, much like people who have experienced deep trauma as children have repressed memories, you have done the same with your powers. Didn’t you say your mom died, and you had to deal with some rough things with your family when you were around thirteen or so?”

  “Yea, but what dat got to do with this?”

  “That is a much more logical time for your powers to have manifested, but you probably have been burying them deep within you for a long time. That is why upon your ‘manifestation’ you were able to create a barrier that could contain a core meltdown on instinct, yet it was months before you were capable of comfortably creating a barrier a small fraction of its strength and size when you came here. You have manufactured limiters on your own powers, that weaken when under duress. When you are operating at higher levels, you have an echelon that likely exceeds Maggie’s. That is why your echelon is seemingly so low, yet you are a Quintessence. Whatever you have blocking the flow of your true power, it is robust enough to trick affinity testers too. It brings new theories to bear about the accuracy of such tests, but I won’t bore you with my work.”

  Seeing he had been gradually losing Dan as he began to get more and more technical, he reminded himself he was not having a conversation with Gramps, and decided to bring it back down to an understandable level for Dan. “Put simply, you have a massive reserve of latent power you can tap into. I think with time and effort, you can access more and more of it whenever you choose, but that will take a lot of work both on your powers, and the things potentially blocking them. I told you long ago that our powers are very similar in they are strengthened by our emotions, right? I think the first thing for you to do is to focus on using strong emotions to temporarily open some of the gates to your abilities as you work to discovering a way to eradicate them altogether.”

  “So you don’t think I’m jest weak?”

  “Dan, technically no one at this school is weak. Some people might not have the most combat oriented skills or training, but they have potential in their own right. Not to sound arrogant, but even more so, you couldn’t exist around me if you were weak. As much as I try not to, I cast too big a shadow and I know it. If you were even close to being weak, you would have crumbled and run away long ago. The fact of the matter is strength isn’t just defined by what you can produce to exert your influence on others, it is also a measure of how you let things influence you. Though you may have doubts and insecurities, that is just part of being human. Since I have met you, all I have seen is someone willing to meet their obstacles headlong no matter the consequence. That isn’t the behavior of someone who is weak. Now let’s see how we can tap into that well of power you have to figure out your cool sounding hoverboard.”

  Doing everything he could to keep his emotions in check, Dan found himself bathing in this warmth he had so missed. Not only had he missed Anaar on a romantic level, he realized he missed just how much Anaar was capable of inspiring him to be greater than he was before. Though he had never partaken in any narcotics, he was sure from the accounts he had heard, this must be a similar feeling.

  Part of his lack of enthusiasm was a withdrawal from this force that made him feel like he was floating on clouds. He began to wonder what would happen if he was able to make this force more part of his life. Would he simply be greater for it, or would he fall into pure dependency? Either way all he knew was for now it had returned, and it felt better than ever. It was so good even, that he felt he could do anything.

  Similarly to how he had managed before in the past, his paper simply flowed from his holsters of their own accord, fashioning one massive sheet of paper on the ground. For whatever reason he found the plain blanket of paper distasteful, not good enough to be in the presence of Anaar, and at once began reforming it into something more stylized, resembling a surfboard.

  Immediately impressed by the aptitude shown by Dan, Anaar was intrigued he had progressed to a stage where he
was concerned with the showmanship of his creations, transforming the large bound sheet of paper into something actually resembling a board.

  “Wow, I see what you mean now. Your description was quite accurate. The simple fact you came up with something like this in the heat of battle shows how much you are growing.”

  “Well it ain’t look like this durin’ da Melee. It was like it was how I first had it. I figure I could make it look better since I ain’t ‘bout to get my ass beat.” He pauses for a moment then looks at Anaar suspiciously. “I ain’t ‘bout to get my ass beat… Am I?”

  With a laugh, “I hadn’t planned on it, but I must say the Ripp training method has had its successes in the past.”

  “Dat chick right scare the shit outta me. I don’t know how you and Stef do it.”

  “She grows on you after a while. Anyway, show me what you’ve got.”

  Dan gingerly tests the board with one foot, finding that it held, then stepped on the board with the other. Strapping his feet in with paper, he stands there awkwardly for a moment. “Dis all I got.”

  Anaar rubs his chin, as he circles around Dan and his craft. “And you say that with this you were able to achieve propulsion, and it hovered off the ground?”

  “Well yea, I didn’t go dat far, but the sucker could move. Why? You don’t believe me?”

  Raising his hands defensively, “No it’s not that, it just made me realize you have an imbedded level of ability far deeper than I had imagined. I don’t know how this works, so it could be something like a character progression system in a game where you must unlock other prerequisite tiers before you can unlock this one permanently, or it might be more akin to a kind of recipe system, where you can technically make anything as long as you have the proper ingredients and the technique. I know this isn’t a game, but I’m trying to find ways to articulate it that prevent me from boring you with all the technical jargon I speak with Gramps.”