After a moment of silence.
"Umm...what I wanted to say...ask was ...sorry, say was thanks for helping us out that night. I don't even know if we would've survived without you." Emil said in a cranky voice, while curling his fingers into the bedsheet.
The girl stared at him for a while, then she distanced herself from him. She froze while looking at Emily for a second. She pulled one of the chairs beside the bed and sat on it elegantly.
"That is nothing, as a savant, it is my responsibility, though I was surprised that you were able to dodge that attack that close." She pronounced the words with great care.
Dr. Turner and Dr. Aria's eyes narrowed. Dr. Turner was now looking at him with his hands crossed. Dr. Aria, while trying to act nonchalant, was actually side-eying on the whole thing.
Meanwhile, Emil was caught in a crunch; a part of his heart told him that he should tell them about that weird ability he had conjured up. But his mind, on the other hand, refused to do so.
"I don't know, maybe it was adrenaline that was keeping me alive in that situation." Emil tried to shrug the matter as discreetly as possible.
While Emil knew that these people were not exactly evil, if they were, they would have ripped apart the siblings by now. Then would have performed indescribable experiments.
'I wasn't able to activate the ability after that moment; Was it even an ability? Maybe it really was adrenaline. But still, what were those things I saw? That weird light, colors, that slow motion.'
There were also things that he wanted to know before sharing all that. Also, keeping secrets was favourable for them. And there was this girl.
'Why did she say, as a savant, is that what superheroes of our world call themselves? But isn't a savant a genius person or something? Well, she is a sword genius for sure.'
"Hmmm...Indeed... that is quite possible, young man. It has happened to too many people. But, are you sure it was just that?" Dr. Turner tried to intimidate him with his gaze.
He shifted his glasses.
That gaze would have worked on someone else, but Emil had endured far worse gazes from his mother every single day in his life. Nothing could compare to that.
Emil met his eyes without flinching, though his heartbeat quietly picked up.
"Yeah, I do think so. I am very glad to meet you, Doctor, too. If it were not for you, maybe I would not be here answering that question." Emil answered.
"Oh...umm... you don't have to do that, young man. It is my job. And if you ever need to share or ask, I am here." The doctor shied away from the praise.
Dr. Turner shifted slightly, clearing his throat as he looked away for a brief second, clearly unused to gratitude. But then he calmed himself and started looking with the same intensity.
Emil met his gaze.
"Well, I do have some questions. But it isn't for you." He shifted his gaze from Dr. Turner to the girl.
"Why did you put us both to sleep?"
Now it was his turn to ask the questions. So his gaze sharpened.
"It was for your own safety; you had lost a lot of blood, and your sibling was not in good condition either. As you said, you were high on adrenaline. After it would've worn off, there wasn't much I could've done to calm both of you down." She spoke calmly, hands resting neatly on her lap.
"Makes sense. I guess." Emil exhaled slowly.
'I guess she's right, well, it's still hurting, I don't even wanna imagine how it would've hurt at that time.'
"But I must give it to you, it's not easy to get out of that trance this fast. I mean, you were able to wake up in just 3 days, that is an achievement in itself." The girl said flatly.
Emil's brow tightened.
'Wait, 3 days, I've been unconscious for 3 days? She must be joking, right?'
"What do you mean, 3 days? Didn't it all happen yesterday?"
Emil knew what the answer was going to be, but he still didn't want to hear it.
'Please don't say it.'
"No, it has been 3 days. I rushed both of you to this facility as fast as I could." The girl answered in an even tone.
The words didn't make any sense to him.
"That is ridiculous. Why hasn't she woken up, then?" He raised his voice.
"There's a reason for that." The girl said, ignoring his raised tone.
"What is that reason?" He asked her with a calculating frown.
"I wasn't able to put her to sleep. So, after reaching the facility, she was drugged to perform the much-needed operation."
'What? Does that mean? wait...Drugged? maybe general anesthetics.'
Emil tightened his grip on the bed.
"It seems that the brain injury she received has given her the power to resist mental attacks."
'Brain injury? Power?'
He leaned toward her.
"What the hell does that even mean?" He couldn't contain his emotions.
"She is a Savant, now too." The girl still answered in a calm tone.
'Wait, a Savant? That means she has superpowers? No, this can't be...'
"What's a Savant?"
"Allow me to explain, kid." Dr. Turner's voice tore through the conversation.
Emil was taken aback, but he knew that he was the best person to explain all of that. Emil nodded, finally suppressing his emotions.
"Well..., have you heard about some people who got some weird ability out of nowhere?" Dr. Turner asked him, now in his usual calm voice.
"I'm not too sure?"
Dr. Turner clicked his tongue.
'Is he disappointed?'
"Okay..., a quick version for you."
So there's this guy, Derek Amato. He dives into a pool, hits his head, gets a concussion—nothing unusual so far, right?"
Emil shrugged. Even the girl and Dr. Aria were attentive.
"But after that, something very weird happens. He starts seeing black and white squares falling in his mind… and somehow, that's music to him.
He goes from barely playing to sitting at a piano and just knowing what to do."
He took a little pause.
"Basically," he shrugged, "he hit his head… and unlocked the power to play piano."
Emil was quiet. But his head had a frown.
'Ah, yes, we were taught about this condition in school. Well, most of the lectures in the school are shitty. But Mr. Brenner is somewhat cool. He told us something similar, too. That condition, what was it...come on...'
"Oh yeah, I know that one. It's Acquired Savant Syndrome." Emil said in a slightly excited tone.
"Ooooh...great, that saves a lot of explanation then." Dr. Turner was impressed.
Emil nodded. But then made his gaze sharper.
"But what does that have to do with Emily?"
He said that, but somewhere deep in his mind, he knew the answer.
"That is precisely... what happened with her, perhaps when that accident happened, she sustained a severe injury to her head. But unlike you, it was internal."
'Wait, isn't that more dangerous?"
A chill crept up his spine.
Dr. Turner was about to say something, but he was interrupted by Emil. Emil got out of bed, and he started walking towards Dr. Turner.
"Emil, you shouldn't---"
His steps were unsteady, his body was protesting, but he still pushed through it anyway.
"Is she going to be okay, Doctor?" He was looking up to the doctor.
"Yes, I am,"
Her voice cut through the tension. Now, everyone was looking in the direction from which the voice came.
They saw a golden-haired girl fighting her way up, fingers clutching the bedframe, her body trembling as she forced herself upright inch by inch.
Dr. Aria stepped toward her and held her steady.
Emil's eyes widened. All the complicated emotions he had been feeling until now disappeared.
"Emily, you are awake," Emil's eyes were filled with tears.
His voice trembled despite his attempt to steady it.
"Of course, she...would be. As she was brought in better condition than we could've expected. Thanks to Gwen."
Emil didn't listen to what Dr. Turner was saying. His eyes were fixated on Emily. He started to move towards her with his unsteady steps. Everyone in the room remained silent.
"Stay on your bed, ...dumbass," Emily said in a shaky voice.
But Emil didn't care about any of that. He closed the distance between them.
He held her, then hugged her tightly.
Dr. Aria, watching him, let go of the girl. Dr. Turner's eyes teared up. Even Gwen frowned for a moment, but then returned to her neutral face.
"Are you trying to kill me, you bastard? I'm still weak," Emily muttered, brushing the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
She did, but her hazel eyes filled up with tears again.
Emil let the words pass through him without landing. He stayed like that for some more moments.
BAM!!
The door burst open, nearly taking Dr. Turner's head with it.
If it wasn't for Gwen, who moved in a flash, it would've been devastating.
But it wasn't Gwen that Dr. Turner had to be thankful for.
Emil was beside his sister.
Her eyes were glowing faintly, an unnatural light flickering within them. Her hands were stretched outwards, trembling slightly—yet firm.
Emil followed the direction of her hands.
The door was in the air, just in front of Dr. Turner.
Someone had decided their reunion had lasted long enough.
"Reunions are fragile," the voice drawled. "I'd like to break one more."