The Failed Project (Fitz Vacker x Reader)

Chapter 20 - Training

I did accidentally skip numbers 12 and 17 when titling chapters. But I ain't going back and fixing every title soooo 

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~~Your POV~~ 

     Quickly, Luke, Fitz, and all their friends returned to Foxfire. Which left me alone at the hideout, alone, answering the Black Swan's questions. 

     Only a few weeks had passed, but nothing seemed to have changed. Fitz stopped by to say hi occasionally, but I never saw him alone much, not since Luke walked into my room after Fitz and I's time together, my first day at the hideout. The Black Swan grew to trust me more with every answer I gave them, the Moonlark being the same, yet the group seemed to avoid me at all costs. I could tell Luke didn't like them much; he spent most of his time in my room with me. It didn't bother me; they clearly didn't like me either, aside from Fitz, of course. 

     I wished he would stop by more. I wish I could talk to him again, yet we really hadn't. It was starting to feel like it did in Level 3. Occasional glances, short jokes, getting excited every time I saw him, yet nothing more than that. I wished to go back to how it felt the day we lay on my bed, smiling at each other. 

     Things had not changed much, yes, but today was different. Today, I would begin training my abilities, Forkle had promised. 

     I still fought my anger down when I saw the man, any of those in the Collective, really. I found it hard to be around the people who abandoned me, yet I was living with them. 

     "Y/n," I looked up from my bed, seeing Forkle standing in front of my vine doorway, "Are you ready?" I nodded, not saying much to the same. 

     Getting up, I followed him down the stairs, down into the area I was when I remember first being here, and then down another staircase. An area I had not been to before. As we entered it, I understood why. A metal room, entirely made of steel. It was large, yet there was nothing inside the room. A room it was, and it was meant for me. A room for me to train my abilities I've never used well. 

    "This is where you will train. While we don't have mentors for you, we can spend our time teaching you how to activate them properly and under your control, and let you learn how to push yourself to better them later." I nodded. 

     "We've considered that you've had the most training with your Guster ability, back when you went to Foxfire, and due to... somewhat recent events, your hydrokinesis is not in immediate need like your other abilities. We have noticed, however, that you have little to no control over your Shade ability. Shadows cling to you whether you try to or not, and often when you're emotional. You need to learn to keep them at bay and pull them out when you wish to." I nodded once again, not saying anything in response. 

     "Well, shall we begin?" And we did begin. We began with my very own shadow. Forkle told me I needed to learn how to keep the shadows away just as much as I needed to learn how to keep them near. Send my own shadow away, he said, and it'd be progress. 

     Yet, as easy as that sounded, I found it was quite the opposite. I willed my shadow to leave, yet nothing happened. I tried sticking out my hands, focusing and motioning for the shadows to move away from me. It did nothing but twitch. I curled my fingers, similar to how I did when I was manipulating water, yet that proved worse, as it moved Forkle's shadow towards me. When I saw his coming towards me, I groaned in frustration and flicked my hands away, sending his shadow back to him. 

     As my frustration, every shadow in the room seemed to rush to me, clinging to me. It's as if they were trying to comfort me. In a way, I felt a slight bit of comfort. It felt normal to have them around me. It felt like it should be. My body had grown to find comfort in the shadows and heat; I had never willed them away from me. I had never had much control over the two. They felt like a home, of sorts, like they were meant to be with me. 

     I didn't know if I wanted them to be with me. Shadows were meant to stay where they came from, and heat was meant to be contained. I didn't want to be contained. I wanted to be separate from them. I didn't want the shadows and the heat to circle me, leaving me where I was. 

     I was surrounded by shadows, and I looked through them, wanting them to go away. I didn't want them to hold me down. I begged them to go away. I set my eyes on them, my stare becoming angry, as I felt a pull, and it was as if I forced them to go away. They had gone, yes, not willingly, but to the outskirts of the room, where I wanted them to be. I had forced them away. 

     Looking at Forkle, I saw his satisfied look. A smile graced his lips as he clapped his hands for me. How long it had taken, I'm not sure, but seeing as he was leaning against the steel walls looking tired, I'm sure it was longer than I had thought, but I had done it. 

     It felt like control, what I had done. I had told them to leave, I had forced them away, and now they listened to me, staying put on the outskirts of the room. I no longer had to try; they just listened. 

     "Well, the others have returned from school, you should know. Luke is asking to see you. Would you like me to send him down here?" 

     "Down here?" I asked. 

     "I want you to keep practicing. With your current state of abilities, there's no possibility of you harming another. I wish for you to continue practicing. He may be down here while you do." 

     I ignored his question about look, my mind drifting to someone else, "Does that mean Fitz is here, too?" 

     Forkle raised an eyebrow at me, "Yes, Mr. Vacker is here, but he's currently in cognate training with Miss Foster." 

    I nodded, being let down the smallest bit, "Okay, yeah, sure, send Luke down then."