The Door

Surrounded by a tall, possibly electrified, fence is a large, dull facility. Both me and Nemu are standing in front of the buildings only entrance, Nemu talking to someone at some sort of security check, while I marvel at… the buildings great design.

Truthfully though… Hyde's drawing of the building wasn't too far off… rather than a crappy drawing it was actually a spot on representation…

Not letting me gawk at the building too long, Nemu motions me over as the large gate keeping us from the Lab slowly opens, the security guard giving us a friendly wave as we pass through.

As we pass through the closing metal gates, we then go through a pair of automatic glass doors, finally entering the facility.

Not stopping yet, we continue through the building, going through various doors, deeper and deeper into the oddly empty lab.

Finally, we stop once since we began walking. In front of us stands a simple elevator door, not different in dullness from the rest of the building's aesthetic.

Nemu presses the down button, waiting briefly before the elevator opens. As the door opens she steps in before turning around, smiling at me as she motions me to enter.

As the doors shut tightly and we began our descent, Nemu finally turns to me since we started walking to talk to me.

"Well, I guess now that we're this far, it wouldn't hurt me to tell you..."

Tilting my head slightly, I look curiously at her, assuming she'll finally tell me why I'm here.

"This research facility here is the Special Esper Research Laboratory... Up until recently, our goal was the gathering of data, as well as the observation of gemstones!"

Pausing slightly, she adopts a proud expression, showing the great pride she had in her work... Probably.

"Gemstones... The original reality benders... Natural nonartificial espers born from extraordinary circumstances! That is what we researched here ever since the establishment of academy city!"

Raising her hands in a rather grandiose way, she pauses slightly again before bringing her arms down, crossing them over her chest as a small smile makes it's way to her face.

"Well, that's how it used to be... A few years ago a certain benefactor approached us... She offered us a chance to indulge in our most desired fantasy... One which the board of directors refused us..."

Turning away from me, she stops for another suspenseful moment, her lab coat billowing in the wind.

"That is, the creation of artificial gemstones, our one and only true dream!"

Saying this, the wind picks up in the elevator, causing her hair to flare along with her coat. The wind bloes hair into my eyes as well, causing me to raise my hand, brushing the hair behind my ear...

As I move my hand away, allowing my vision to be clear again, a bright light is revealed beyond Nemu, a window filled with a vibrant white light.

Not questioning where the full wall window appeared in the elevator from, I streak past Nemu, grasping the railing of the elevator is a peer through the window.

As I wait there, with bated breath, my eyes slowly start to adjust to the light, a fascinating scene entering my eyes.

A wide room, at least as large as two football fields, and equally tall. A smooth white floor, with paneled white walls. Various machines and wires strung around the room, most of them leading to the center of the room.

People eagerly pace around the room, almost, if not all of them are wearing similar lab coats to Nemus. Some of them pace from area to area, consulting with their colleagues as they jot down various values and other such important information. Others are sat at various machines, typing in values or attempting to adjust them. But despite what each of them is doing, each of them has a nervous smile on their face, an exciting ambiance radiating their entire being.

As I sweep me, admittedly, impressed gaze over the large room, I feel a hand on my shoulder. Tilting my head back I look back at nemu.

With her hand on my shoulder, Nemu looks into the room, her gaze seemingly fixed somewhere. Slowly, a stoic look prevails on her face, the shadows on her face deepen, as her face seems to sharpen slightly, becoming more angular.

"Your the key to our dreams... Ain't that some shit?"

Giving a simple nod, I follow her gaze into the room, which seems to be located somewhere near the center.

It doesn't take me long to find where her gaze is locked. In the center of the room, hooked up to every single wire and every single machine is...

'Is that a....'

"Is that-"

Before I can ask, Nemu cuts in, with a slightly dramatic voice.

"Yes! Lily! That, is our dreams""

Blinking slightly, I turn around fully, staring Nemu dead in the eyes.

"Isn't that a door?"

--- --- ---

Hey hey, you you.... What's up?

Sorry for the lack of... Stuff happening... In the past few chapters. I hope this chapter was less disappointing than the last!

I tried coming up with some bull for how they're going to make her a gemstone. I was thinking something along the lines of 'artificially influencing the environment to cause the natural circumstances to occur to create a gemstone.'

If you aren't aware, Espers are artificially created through something called the power curriculum. Gemstones naturally occur within reality without any human intervention. 'Gemstones wmit greater AIM fields than artificial espers' which I guess means.... They're more powerful?

Yep well, I don't have much to say today so...

Fuckin~

Love~

You~