Hi everyone, hope you're doing good ^^

I got another chapter for you guys as such:

Hope you enjoy :D

ps. thank you to all the People that are thanking me for the new chapters

I appreciate it ^^

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"Haahahahahahah this is awesome, how are you that fast?!?"

"I'm...hu...not...hu...sure..."

I was officially done with life. I would never have thought that it could get this exhausting. I was lying on the floor, my muscles didn't want to move, my lungs felt like they were about to burst and above all this my entire body still hurt from the damage had caused.

Rose had literally grinded me to death. She herself didn't even break a sweat.

"Want me to tell you why you feel so tired?"

with a dubious smile she offered me another bottle of water which I drank immediately.

"It's because those limbs are connected entirely, they literary are your legs and arms. And due to that your brain thinks that they should feel this way after training for so long. The exhaustion from just your torso wouldn't be that bad. Eventually you'll get used to it, but it won't disappear."

I look up to her.

"Then why..hu...are you not tired?"

"Hmmm I'm an esper, it's not much but I can dull my senses making me able to ignore the limbs at certain times. It's the reason why I'm potentially the strongest in our squad. But that only concerns hand to hand combat and control over the limbs. The others have areas where I nobody can get even close to them."

So everyone specialized in a certain way while keeping the other aspects at a remarkable level.

I sighed. All of the soldiers I had met until now where that much better than me. It felt awkward to be the last one amongst them, I need to catch up fast.

But because my limbs where not a real part of my body I couldn't simply force them to remove the exhaustion as I would be able to do with my torso. It was infuriating to feel exhausted again and not being able to do anything against it.

"Don't worry about it. You'll catch on quickly."

Hmm? Surprised I look towards the voice that had called out.

At the door another member of the squad Parker looked down at me.

"Rose? Karen wants to see you. She said you can finish your session with her but after that she wants you to report to her."

Rose looks at me and stretches one of her arms.

"We're pretty much done here though. If you want to you can take over and I'll go to Karen right away."

"Rose, you know my specialization is nothing for new members. It's not some simple stuff that you can 'remember'."

"Jeeesh Parker, calm down. I'm not suggesting that you show her how to build explosives. I'm simply asking you if you can show her how to unlock the gear. But whatever I'll do it myself."

Songe lowers his head a bit as an act of submission.

"I misunderstood, sorry. I can show her you just go to Karen and get the stuff over with."

Turning his face towards me he shows me a slightly sad smile.

Rose simply nods and walks out of the room, still wearing her normal military clothing.

"Hi Alexis. I might not be as good as Rose here but I can show you the basics of unlocking your gear. There is one thing you have to keep in mind at all times though. Don't use that feature often. It can cause quite a lot of damage."

I sincerely had no clue what he was talking about, as such my entire facial feature was clueless.

"You should already know how your limbs work right now. You can go over the limit of normal humans concerning reaction time and explosive power but the price for that is pain since the signals get boosted through your nervous system. But that is only a part of that function. I'll show you how you can utilize a stronger version of that. Though I need to entirely unlock your limbs first. Show me your legs pls."

Since I was wearing the shorts I didn't have a big problem and just sat up on the ground extending my legs towards him.

He grabs one of them and does something I don't quite understand with two cables he pulled out of his pockets. A weird prickle goes through my legs and stays for a couple of seconds.

Afterwards he repeats the procedure with my arms and the same feeling extends through my entire body.

"Now... what I want you to do is to grab your left thumb with your other fingers of the same hand. Don't think about it just do it."

Hmm. That's a tad awkward but I still follow his instructions and do what he asks of me. Suddenly everything around me turns red as if I was wearing colored glasses. My entire body feels heavy and breathing gets hard. Then I move my head. A short pain flashes through my head and robs me of my sight for a short amount of time.

It wasn't unbearable though. Next to me Parker nods his head in approval.

"It worked. Good. Don't move too much. Right now your entire body will react a few times faster than normal. The drawback with this is that it will cause permanent damage to your nervous system if kept on too long. To step out of it just repeat the gesture with your other hand."

I did as he said and the world turns back to normal. He shows me a worried face.

"How was it? Even the smallest movements can inflict a tremendous amount of pain if you're not careful."

Tremendous amount? I felt something but it was quite bearable compared to what I had to go through. But the permanent damage sounds serious.

I fall back to the ground to recover.

"Parker? What should I do if my hand gets destroyed or if I can't make that gesture due to special circumstances?"

He nods at my question.

"Good thing you asked. I tend to forget this kind of stuff. The activation is fixed to that gesture. You only need to imagine it to pull it off. If done correctly it will act as if you had done it physically."

Seems interesting enough, I guess this is pretty much the all in type of ability with big drawbacks.

"So what exactly happens when you use it too often or for too long?"

I asked Songe.

His expression turns dark.

"It destroys your nervous system. It's really dangerous. In the end it can even cost you your ability to think... Entirely you can be, well I wouldn't call it healed from that condition. Repaired would be a better word. The damage is permanent and the only way to get you back to normal would be trough a lot of expensive and dangerous surgeries. Out of seven people that had overused that mode only one survived."

That was hard to swallow. To think it could get that hard.

"Is that person still alive?"

He looks down at me.

"You just sparred with her."

Wait what?

"Rose?!"

Surprised I shout the woman's name out loud.

"Yeah, due to her power she doesn't know when she should get out of that mode. On her second mission she overused it and destroyed her entire nervous system in one go, including part of her brain. Luckily she survived. She's one of the most modified humans in A3."

Then he suddenly bursts out in laugher.

"HA, but you know what? She simply doesn't care. Her smile and happiness are genuine. Even though she's been through that much shit she simply smiles it off and jokes about it. I'm glad that she is like that.

Anyways, that's actually all you need to know about the mode. I'm not sure what Rose taught you until now but you should train these things on a frequent basis. Make sure to not slack off. I'm going to go upstairs, do you want to come with me? You look like you need some rest."

haaaa.

I just nod to him and slowly get up.

I told Rose I would make some food for me and her. Let's see what they've got in the kitchen.

After we've put the remaining equipment away both of us go back upstairs and head straight for the cafeteria.

An unusual sight greets us. Pretty much everyone except the captain was sitting inside looking as if they had waited for something... or someone.

Even Rose was simply seated at a table smiling at me dubiously.

"Hi Alexis! You said you wanted to see what we've got in the kitchen right?"

Yea...but only concerning two at most three...

Songe next to me gives me a wholehearted laugh.

"Alex, there is one thing you need to realize. We're not just some simple squad of acquaintances. We're one big family and we want you to be part of that. You've been through a lot. We ourselves are not untouched by what we've done but nobody of us broke from what we've witnessed. That is simply due to the fact that we support each other in times of need.

Karen brought us together from the best of the best. At first we were suspicious about each other but that turned to trust quite quickly.

That is what we're offering you. A family and what we want to know is if you can accept this. We do not know a lot about you. But since Karen puts her trust in you it is fine."

Ignar stands up and heads over to me. His low voice resounds a bit through the room.

"Rose told me what you're capable of. You're good but the family is a sacred thing. Please do not lie to us about anything. Right now we simply want to hear your story from the very beginning. Let me tell you that whatever you have done in the past is in the past now.

It is always hard to say this but we will forgive almost anything you've done and put our trust in you if you can do the same."

Roses female voice suddenly cuts through Ignars speech.

"We do not have secrets here. So that is what we want from you, the truth. Who you are, what you have done until now and everything beyond that. If you can really put enough trust into us to tell us the truth we will do the same and trust you as a member of A3. Even if it seems too quickly to you it is absolutely necessary for us. A team without trust will not work."

"Indeed."

Captain Ithild had just stepped in and was looking at me with a sad expression.

"Can you do that Alexis? Can you become one of us? As they have said before there will only be consequences in extreme circumstances... For example if you purposely caused a massacre all by yourself. If you truly wish to become a part of us then you have to do this."

Haaa. This was not what I expected... Not at all.

As the last remaining member Liam stood up and raised his voice too.

"I am truly sorry for what I have done to you Alexis. Please believe me. But I too wish to know your story without anything getting left out. We know you held some things back about Viktor Polinsk death and the New Hampshire massacre...and how you even managed to survive in the first place.

The only thing we know with absolute certainty is that you want revenge and hate the Raiders."

Karen waves her hand telling Liam to stop talking.

"So Alexis? I personally really wish for you to become part of this family. But do you want to be part of this?"

Hahahahaha. They knew all along that I was holding back.

My father would have shut down and retreated.

My mother would have told them a certain amount of things while still holding back.

I didn't ca-

Or did I? They had welcomed me with open arms. Even though Liam caused some damage he wanted to repent. The atmosphere was quite nice and felt nostalgic. But would they accept me? Or rather...would they hide me? Would they be able to accept the fact that I was not just some simple esper that got recruited at a special school?

My answer got clearer and clearer the longer I thought about it.

Something wet starts flowing down my cheeks. I was crying.

I wanted to be part of a new family, not a team that needed my power, not a team that wanted to manipulate me. Simply people that would help me with my problems.

My father-

My mother-

I will be honest. The consequences where things I did not care about.

I gaze through the room and look into the faces that wanted me to become their sister.

Ignar Wright, somebody who could be my father.

Songe Parker, somebody who could be a brother.

Rose Cooper, somebody who could be a sister.

Liam Jensen, another brother.

Karen Ithild, a mother?

I couldn't stop my tears anymore as almost 2 years of pain and mental pressure break through at once.

A smile of acceptance forms on my face.

I would talk.

I open my mouth and start telling my story...