William felt himself falling. Hitting the mattress with an oompf, he bounced once. Looking up, he saw that Samson was over top of him.
“Oh good. The sleeping beauty is awake. I knew you were faking,” the big man said with a toothy grin.
“What the hell?” Will asked. The last thing he remembered was facing off against the ice Arc, then it all went black. A dull ache assailed him as his hand went to his face. Once his fingers barely touched his nose, a shooting pain moved through his face.
“Hold up. You smacked into a wall pretty hard,” Samson said. “I had to princess-carry you back to the school.”
“It was very sweet,” Katy said from inside the room. “Santos should be here in a moment; maybe he can fix you up.”
“Fix me up?” William inquired, his mind still racing. He slowly sat up, still trying to remember what happened. The ice spike shot at him, and his power activated much more strongly than he was used to. Something happened, and he needed to know what.
“Let me see,” Santos said as he walked up. Pushing past Samson, the brother leaned in, his eyes widening as he stared at Will’s face. "That's, uh, pretty ugly.”
“It’s always been ugly,” Samson muttered.
“I don’t know how to heal that,” Santos said, ignoring his brother.
“Heal-what? What are you talking about?” William asked again, his hand touching his nose and causing another wince.
“I figured it out,” Santos said. “I really can heal you. Like, that’s my power. My Arc ability is really to heal.”
“Really?” William asked, pushing Santos aside so he could get out of bed. "Like, how can you tell?”
“We aren’t sore anymore,” Samson said as he flexed his bicep. “I feel better than I have all week. Stronger too.” William focused on the rest of his body. He no longer felt pain in any part of his body, with the exception of his face. He also flexed his muscles. They bulged out in a way he had never seen on his own body before. Will felt stronger than ever. Then the pain in his nose pulsed, and he winced.
“What happened at the one place?” Will asked slowly. Still a little lost about what was going on.
"Well, you went into the room with that one lady,” Katy said. “Then you lit up like a lighthouse and smacked your face against the wall.”
“It was pretty funny,” Samson said.
“You didn’t see it,” Katy hissed. “Samson did run in as soon as he could and tackled the lady. She passed out after that. The cold stopped, and we checked the last few rooms.”
“I smacked into a wall?” William asked, confused. Everything had been so bright, then darkness. He still had no idea what happened. Mind reeling, he shook his head, trying to establish his bearings.
“Where's Mav?” He asked.
“He was parking the truck,” Santos said.
“Santos was all excited about learning how to heal; he was asking the old man questions the whole way home,” Samson said.
“What? It’s cool to know I’m not useless,” Santos admitted. With that, the others quieted. The call for the Arc was fresh in everyone’s minds. It was the first time William set out to actually face one, and it was a learning experience, to say the least.
In Will's mind, the Dragoons and other Arcs represented a terrifying unknown. Will had witnessed the aftermath of the destruction they caused. Those memories were more than enough to convince him to never cross their path if he could help it. Now he had faced his first and came out mostly unscathed.
Leaving the communal sleeping quarters, they walked through the dark halls, all stuck in their own thoughts. Will was confident the others felt the same way. Maybe other Arcs weren’t as scary as he thought. He was an Arc himself; maybe others were as scared of him as he was of them.
“There you are,” Samson said as Ryu walked toward them. “You know, I was thinking about it. You turned into a black bear, but you’re Asian. Have you never eaten a panda bear?”
“Nope, I haven’t,” Ryu said.
“Missing a fantastic opportunity for jokes,” Samson said. Nothing seemed to shake the unofficial leader of the group. Will found himself smiling as Samson continued to yammer on about who would win in a fight, Ryu or a real bear.
They got to the central area of the school, where the majority of halls intersected, to find Maven waiting for them. The old man waved them toward the cafeteria, as he often did when it was time to eat. That was the first time Will noticed they hadn’t eaten since lunch. His stomach growled loudly as the old man began to speak.
“Very well done for your first time. I had full faith you could take care of it,” Maven said. “You did some good today, you should be proud of yourselves.”
“What caused that whole thing?” Katy asked.
“We can discuss over food,” Maven said. Apparently, he had ordered more pizza. Will wasn’t too excited about it. The last time the old man splurged on this Mav, he made them all puke it up. He still had the taste of it in the back of his mind. The others appeared to feel the same way, but the smell of food got the better of them as they began to pile slices on their plates.
“How I understand it,” Maven started. “The Arc that you stopped. She found out her boyfriend was cheating on her, and her power went haywire.”
“That can happen?” Katy asked.
“People cheat all the time, Katy,” Samson mumbled.
“Quiet,” she hissed.
“Yes, it can happen,” Mav said. "Many Arcs make use of their abilities. Whether unconsciously or to help their day-to-day lives. Many people completely stamp it out. If their ability is noticeable or can harm others, they control themselves. When that happens, there is sometimes an event called an Arc Flash.”
“Like with electricity?” Ryu asked.
“No, just bear with me,” Mav said as he took a bite of pizza.
“Ha, nice,” Samson said. “Bear joke.” More than a few of the members of the group rolled their eyes.
“I’m sure a lot of you haven’t really thought of how to put it into words, but your abilities typically act the same,” Mav said. He brought his hands together as if he were holding an invisible ball in front of his abdomen. A sphere of electricity formed. Tiny bolts of lightning coursing around the sphere, making up its shape.
“An Arc’s ability is not some energy free process. You can’t do these amazing things without paying some kind of price. For instance, moving your body requires energy. In the same way, your ability requires energy to power it. That energy is called Ardor,” Mav said. He looked down at the ball of energy he had made. If you haven't noticed yet, each of you draws that power from within yourself. This ardor is focused on your middle. You pull it out, and use that power how you will.” A stream of lightning slowly moved away from the ball of electricity. The lightning traveled up Mav's chest, along his arm, through his hand, and then returned to the ball.
“The energy converts to the nature of your ability once it goes where it needs to go. Whether that is in the air, on your skin, or into another object. Your ability knows what it’s supposed to do, and acts as such,” Mav said, letting the ball wink out of existence in an instant.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“What does that have to do with an…Arc Flash?” Ryu asked.
"Sometimes, when Arcs don’t use that energy, it builds up. Growing in size every day. You suppress it and keep it hidden. Like that woman today. Then, in heightened states of emotion, usually distress, it explodes out. Acting on its own. That woman likely only possessed the strength to freeze a glass of water when she utilized her Arc power. But it had built up so much that she was actually creating ice, which, trust me, that is a very advanced form of her Arc ability. Creating water to freeze takes huge amounts of energy.”
“So it’s best to use your abilities?” William asked, his nose sounding nasally with his supposedly broken nose.
“I thought you were healing them,” Mav said, turning to Santos.
“I don’t know how to heal a broken nose,” Santos retorted. “Don’t I have to set it or something?”
Mav frowned, reaching his hand over to Will he drew back. “Woah, let's, uh, think this through,” Will said, moving further back to stay out of the old man’s grip.
“Grab him,” Mav ordered Samson. The big man didn’t hesitate. He placed his hands on Will's shoulders. Will fought harder, but it was a losing battle. Mav shot forward across the table, grabbing Will’s nose between his fingers and shifting it. Will felt an intense pain, gritting his teeth. The pain quickly subsided, and he could breathe out of his nose again.
“Woah,” he said, his voice close to normal again. He began moving his nose up and down, but winced as the pain continued.
“So I just…” Santos said, hovering his hand close to Will’s face. Will was about to flinch back again, but slowly the pain began to lessen. He watched a shocked Santos with wide eyes until the pain completely subsided. There was no light or obvious sign that he had been healed. One second, his nose was hurting, and the next, it wasn’t.
“That’s…the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” William said, his hand moving to his nose. It felt like it was normal again. “Did you really just…”
“Apparently,” Santos said with a smile as he took his seat again. “I’m the healer of the group.”
The others had a look of awe, then Samson grabbed Will’s nose, pulling it. “Ow,” he said.
“So it’s really not broken, eh?” Samson inquired, then turned to Mav. “I assume you knew he could do this.”
“Of course,” Mav said with a nod as he chewed on some pizza crust. “Healing isn’t all that rare in the Arc world. There are a few types. And sensing pain is a common marker of a healer.”
“What is my type of healing called?” Santos asked slowly.
“Your kind are known as Healers, that’s it,” Mav said. Santos rolled his eyes, annoyed. “Your ardor resonates with the pain of others. As you push that ardor into them, they are healed. You made the right decision by not healing Will before his nose was properly aligned. We need to train you in basic first aid if you're the healer."
“What other ways can Arcs heal?” Katy asked. “I mean, could one of our abilities turn into that?”
“I doubt it,” Mav said. “But as I’ve said, your ability evolves with you. There are all types of Arcs. Some that can give you energy, transforming their ardor into yours. Others possess the ability to manipulate time, focusing their attention on a specific area to accelerate the healing process. I've encountered someone who has the ability to rewind time, thereby healing you. Trust me, there is a lot out there. Your ability will form its own…Let’s call it path as you train with it more. Certain aspects of your ability will become easier to master. Like you, Katy, perhaps your power is better suited for twisting the wind than forcing it to follow a straight path.
Katy nodded, excited about the prospect of finding their own special talent, as all of them were. But Will still had questions. “So what’s my ability then?” All eyes were on him.
Mav looked to the others, then Will. “Based on what the others said, I’m not exactly sure,” Mav admitted. Will looked down at his hands. “But I have an idea.”
“Really?” Will asked, perking up. “Can you tell me? Or do we have to keep playing this guessing game?”
Mav frowned. "Normally, I wouldn’t tell you. Like with Santos, it’s best if you figure it out on your own. I won’t always be here, and I don’t want any of you to rely on me too much for future growth.” Will frowned. "Then again, if I don't step in, you could break your nose again or another bone." So let’s test it out.”
“Okay,” Will said, standing up. Mav frowned. Will rolled his eyes and picked up his plate, as they all did. The old man had made sure to point out on many occasions that he wasn’t their maid. During training, the big man received a severe beating for Samson's failure to clean up after himself. After that, everyone was sure to clean up after themselves.
After clearing the table and putting away the food, they all headed to the gym. William wasn't sure what time it was, but he was too excited to discover what he could actually do to make a difference. The others were interested as well, as they leaned against the wall near the entrance.
Mav said, "As I hear it," while guiding Will to the center of the gym. “The others saw a bright light coming from you, then boom, you hit the wall.”
“I guess I don’t really remember that part,” Will said.
“Walk me through what you do remember,” Mav said.
“Uhhh,” Will said, thinking back. “That shard of ice shot from her and…I don’t know. My power, or ardor, just came alive. Overflowing.”
“Okay, bring it out,” Mav said.
Will nodded slowly. Closing his eyes, he felt his power deep inside his gut, like Mav had explained. Rather than letting it come out slowly, he pushed it all out in an instant. Pushing it all around his body. But there was so much energy leaking from him he fizzled out instantly.
“Good,” Mav said, unbothered by the bright white light. “Good, what do you think is happening?”
“He’s turning into a camera,” Samson offered.
“Quiet,” Mav said. “What do you think?”
“I-I don’t know,” Will admitted.
Mav chewed his lip, doing his best to explain without giving up the answer. “Will, think about all you have seen of other Arc abilities. Katy can control the wind. Myself, electricity. That woman today, ice. Not all abilities are based off elements, but many are. What other elements are there?”
“Fire?” Will asked. Mav nodded. “Earth…other Captain Planet stuff.”
“Heart!” Katy offered.
“Stop thinking cartoons. I’m serious,” Mav said. “We are the arcane, Will. For ages, people have tried to harness the natural wonders of the world around them. You, and all of us, have something special inside of us, replicating aspects of nature itself. Your power is light. You can shine it from your body, but, as we all just saw, you are doing something else with that power. What is it?”
Will struggled to put his thoughts into words. “Am I turning into light?” Will asked.
“Good,” Mav said, a smile on his face. "That's what I believe is happening to you." Your power came out, and you moved near instantaneously across the room, smacking your face into the wall.” Will slowly nodded. “Light moves at 900,000,000 feet per second. You could very well be moving at the speed of light.”
Will’s eyes widened. He shifted his gaze to the other side of the room. His power was aching inside of him. Calling to be let out. “Do it again, Will. This time, keep your eyes open.”
Will nodded. If his ability really allowed him to turn into light and move at that speed, he had to use the skill in a split second. He couldn’t be blinded like he was before. He launched himself forward without a designated halt point. Letting out a few calming breaths, he focused on the cinder block wall on the other side of the gym.
He mentally grabbed onto his power, let it out in an instant, and moved toward where he was looking. In the blink of an eye, the cinder blocks were less than an inch away from his nose. Will exhaled deeply as he took a step backward. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, he returned to where he had been milliseconds before, 50 feet away.
“Holy balls,” he muttered as the group began to jump and cheer. Will inhaled deeply and repeated the action. He pulled out the power in a huge burst and stood next to them. His sneakers were making a squeaking noise as he came to a halt.
“What the hell?” Samson said as they turned to face him. “That was…”
“Amazing,” Katy said with a big smile as she clapped lightly.
“That’s crazy,” Will said, ready to try again, but his power was depleted. His ardor practically gone after two simple jumps. “That’s just-oh my god-I don’t know.”
“It’s your first step in becoming truly strong,” Mav said as he walked up. “You’ll need to practice, as all of you will. In the coming days, I will be adding assignments for each of you to practice your abilities. Today was a good start. Going up against the unknown Arc provided you all with experience. Allowing some of you to understand your abilities a little better. But there is more to learn, and more to do. It’s about midnight now, so why don’t you all head to bed. We start early tomorrow.”
“Ugh, can’t we sleep in?” Samson mumbled.
“You can help make breakfast,” Mav said, turning away from them and heading around the gym. That sobered the big man up, but he was still happy for Will.
“Good job,” Samson said. “That was pretty cool.”
“Thanks,” Will said, the words giving him more pride than he would have thought. They were soon walking out of the gym and to their room. Some opted for showers and headed off to the bathrooms. Will and Samson walked side by side to their room, though.
“Guess I shouldn’t call you Nightlight anymore,” Samson said. He had a long pause. “How about Light instead?”
“Sounds good to me,” Will said. As he thought of using his ability again, his mind was somewhere else. For a change, he envisioned utilizing his power outdoors, eager to discover the extent of his jump when he possessed light.