Embrace the Void

The look on Gustave's face was gone before Wes noticed it, replaced by the same kind smile that normally sat upon the older man's features. "All the same, I believe that as you've now completed your trial, we can safely say that the five of you are successfully to be considered Soldiers. There will be a ceremony following, of course, but for now, I will show you to where you'll be enjoying the next several years."

He paused then as he glanced back toward Wesley, the young man returning the look with a measure of confusion on his face at the sudden attention. "I would also suggest that you refrain from using your ability on your fellow Soldiers. It is not something we wish to do, to weaken ourselves."

Wes frowned at that, glancing to his allies. "Then after basic training, what should I do, if I don't have any Skills to use?"

"Yeah Major Gustave, dude," Jay spoke up, setting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "If we're not going to go up against Beasts, then it's not like Wes can really do anything, if you're not allowing him to use the Framework of other Soldiers, dude."

Gustave frowned a bit at that, looking the young man over again. What was said was unfortunately true. After the basic training concluded, there were four sets of what amounted to Classes, but they had much less to do with teaching anything that wasn't combat-oriented. Each class focused on one of the four Frameworks, and the Soldiers would learn the different applications of their unique Skills.

"Why does it matter? Major Ellen said that she'd write him down as a twenty-fiver," Sasha commented, looking at the group. "So wouldn't he just follow through as if he were and do some of everything? He doesn't need to have any Skills, just tell them to go to hell if they ask why you're not participating," she spoke, nodding at Wesley.

Wes hesitated, giving a slight laugh at the woman's straight-forward nature. "I feel like, even if the word was passed down from Major Ellen and Major Gustave to the Soldiers running the classes, there would definitely be some confusion from those taking the classes with me. And that could lead to an altercation."

"And if he's not allowed to suck all their Framework out, that could get ugly!" Evie spoke, frowning at Sasha. "He can't defend himself!"

Wes frowned as he looked down to his hands. He hated that his gaze kept being drawn back down to them, but at the same time, this gift that he'd received was going to be less than ideal for getting through his time in the training camps. It would be of powerful use in combat against the Beasts, but if it was just him and other Soldiers, especially during the combat trainings, he couldn't use it at all.

"I would offer you to borrow some of my own, but I do not wish to inhibit my own abilities in the event I am called to help with a Beast attack," Gustave commented as he looked at the young man. "Perhaps we could see to allowing you into combat situations sooner, but a Beast is far, far more dangerous than my Summon that you had dealt with."

A clearing of the throat caused several to look toward Ted, who had a hand on his jawline. "Major Gustave... what is the protocol... for a twenty-fiver?"

The older fellow arched a brow at the question. "Pardon?"

"We only have... time for two lessons outside of Basic Training. And splitting up the training... seems foolish."

At this, Gustave nodded. "Indeed. Generally speaking, we require the twenty-fivers to choose two Frameworks to focus on."

At the information given, Theodore then turned his gaze to Wesley. "Can you use your... Devour Energy skill on me to... take my Death Framework only?"

The question came with the same halting pauses that Theodore normally had, but there was a bit more certainty in his tone, as if he was already convinced that this would work before Wesley had even tried. "I don't know," the other responded honestly. "I can try. I don't see what that would do, though."

Theodore looked over at Evie. "She will be likely practicing in the... Life and Space Frameworks. And your brother... in Death and Time. Sasha... in Death and Space."

Wesley frowned, before he started to realize what Ted was trying to say. "So you're suggesting I use my Skill to take the Frameworks from you all that you aren't going to be using, and just sort of masquerade like I have them? That's one hell of an idea, Ted."

"Teddy! I can't believe you volunteered me like that!" Evie called out, pouting a bit as she folded her arms over her chest. "What if I want to keep my Death Framework? Wesley can't just steal it!" she said, pointing a finger at the two of them.

"It's not like I plan to keep it permanently," Wes spoke. "It'll mostly just be to get through the basic training under the radar. The Beasts have Frameworks as well, and I won't feel bad at all about taking theirs," he murmured, frowning slightly. "I don't know if I can control this Devour Energy Skill that well yet, but I might not have any other options."

Sasha frowned, the young woman glancing around at the four of them as she closed her eyes for a moment, as if she were trying to block them out to focus. "So, if my math is right... between Jay and I, you can get pretty close to twenty-five percent for your Life Framework, and with Evie and Ted you can get there for a Death Framework. I don't think Space and Time are would work though." She opened her eyes, looking at Wes. "So you might be stuck with those two."

Gustave smiled as he watched the group work- they were already starting to solve problems as a team, rather than all trying to work as individuals. If they kept this up, they might end up being quite powerful all on their own, even if one of their members was most unusual.

Jay reached up, scratching at his hair as he began to think this all through for himself as the others talked about it, before he ended up just shaking his head. "Well whatever. It's not like I'm going to be using my Life Framework anyway, dude. You'll need a practice dummy though to get your Devour Energy Skill working right." He rolled up his sleeve, holding his arm out. "Might as well be me, bro."

"If you're sure, Jay. Let me know if you need a break and someone else can switch off with you or something." He paused then, glancing toward Gustave. "How long can we stay in here? Don't you need to go and run another combat training exercise?" he asked, figuring that there would be one happening in here sooner or later."

The Major nodded. "I will. However, luckily for you, you were one of the first teams to actually start the training and there are several more that still need to go through. I don't know if you'll have enough time to test this in full, but you will have a couple of hours, if nothing else." He paused, glancing to Ted. "If you would, I can show you at least how to do the Framework reading, so you can determine its success," the fellow offered, and Theodore nodded, moving closer.

In the meantime, Wesley glanced to his brother. "It's not going to be pleasant. Especially if we have to go through this more than once. I don't know if I can even pick and choose what I take with Devour Energy."

Jay, on the other hand, didn't seem at all to be all that upset or even concerned about it as he grinned, clapping his brother on the shoulder. "Whatever, dude. It'll be fine. Even if it doesn't work that way, just make it work that way."

Nearby, Sasha snorted. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Jay. And that's impressive given the number of stupid things you've said over the years."

"Hey hey hey!" Evie called out, her fists pumping up and down in her excitement. "Stupid or not, Jay's right. This has to work, even if it's not easy. If I want to make Mr. Woodhead look like something cuter it's going to be hard too. So we just need to practice and get better at our abilities. Even if we can't get it today, you can probably get by a few days without using any Skills," she called, looking to Wesley.

The young man nodded, feeling emboldened by his allies that were supporting him. "All right. While they're getting the technical parts figured out... let's get this started," Wesley spoke, and Jay once more offered his arm. Narrowing his eyes, Wes let the dark grey energy appear on his hand, attempting to focus it to just target Life Framework, he reached out toward his brother's arm.