Chapter #5Scenario 1 (Skinsuit) by: Espada   "What is that...?" Cinder stood still in front of her windows as her team began to draw closer to her. The uncovered pane of her bedroom window had displayed to them a bizarre sight, something that no mortal would see on any other night.
A dazzling shooting star had fallen from the pitch-black night sky, sprinkled with brilliant twinkling stars that adorned the lonely midnight void. The vivid greenish glow of the star flooded their previously dark room and pierced their eyes quickly, making Mercury and Emerald cover their eyes with both hands.
However, Cinder was merely holding her breath as she watched this strange phenomenon. Her eyes did not leave the scene as if her soul had been drawn to it. It was as if the object was meant for her. It was another opportunity that she had been looking for.
Unaware, her hand reached beyond the window's glass for the green object that had fallen from the skies.
In a split second, the bright greenish light was soon swallowed up by the dark shadows of the forest trees. The star had plummeted into the forest to the west of Beacon. The woman’s bright amber eyes had fixed on a certain point, which she needed to discover tonight before anyone else could notice.
"Looks like we won't be spending tonight in vain." she said as a smirk graced her face.
"What do you mean?" Mercury had a puzzled look on his face as he rubbed his eyes, which had been hurt by the excessively bright light.
"Don't bother asking questions. We are short on time, so hurry up and follow me to where the meteor landed." Cinder didn’t even bother to turn around to face them, as she was already leaving the room, trailed by the bewildered Mercury and Emerald.
They surreptitiously slipped out from the dormitory hallways, lit only by silvery moonlight. Cinder led the way ahead, to be in front in case they had to cross paths with others.
"How can Cinder possibly have seen where that thing went?" Emerald muttered to herself, drawing Mercury's sarcastic retort.
"Her eyes are covered by her hair, so perhaps she can handle the light-"
"Shush. Someone is coming," Cinder broke into their conversation as she began to put on a pleasant smile, not to arouse any suspicion. She didn’t say anything else, leaving Mercury a bit wary if she overheard it.
The footfalls were faint, but their keen senses were able to pick it up. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. But their guard dropped immediately when it was Neo who emerged from the corner of the corridor.
"Oh, it's you." Cinder returned to her serious face, which had Neo already begun to make gestures with her hands, asking where they were going
"I was wondering if there is anything new I might uncover from this academy." Cinder answered briefly, but Neo did not believe her right away. "Since you appear to have nothing to do, please watch over the room while we're gone."
Before Neo could respond anything, Cinder continued to stride towards the gates, with Mercury and Emerald following in silence, thus abandoning Neo with a scowl on her face.
"I'm never wrong," Cinder's voice reverberated through the lush trees around her. In front of her was a meteorite that gave off a vibrant greenish glow- which they had not expected with its tiny size.
The meteorite gave off a faint greenish glow from its holes, causing Cinder to smirk with satisfaction. She had no idea what was in front of her, but she could feel a tremendous presence of power that felt peculiar. It was as if there was a nudge to her soul urging her to reach for this meteorite.
"Woah..." Mercury was stunned into silence, mesmerised by the greenish meteorite. There was something interesting about this meteorite, but he was unable to express it clearly. Instead, he chuckled lightly at the surprising discovery of this little object.
It was entirely different for Emerald. She remained where she was, still and silent, with a jumble of feelings. The unsettling atmosphere had swept over her, and she unconsciously took a single step backwards, as if her body was beckoning her not to go near. For some reason, she felt extremely uneasy near the meteorite.
"Uhh... is it even safe for us to be here?" She asked briefly, hoping that Cinder would be able to decide on the safe course of action. For their safety.
However, Mercury had never believed that. And, indeed, he had been correct. He tugged Emerald's hand towards him in an effort to reassure the crimson-eyed woman.
To their distress, Cinder remained indifferent and continued to move forward to approach the foreign object that had fallen from the sky just a few minutes ago. It was as if she had been wholly possessed by the meteorite. Before she knew it, she was in its very presence, undeterred by the effects of radiation or whatever those science magazines usually claimed.
After all, she felt that she would be able to handle all the secrets that this thing harboured.
Her fingers began to reach for the lump of rock. She expected the meteorite burning in the mesosphere to be somewhat hot, but instead, it was ice-cold that entered her senses.
"Hey, Cinder! Are you sure that it's safe to touch?" Mercury stared at it in astonishment. Perhaps this little stone had messed with the woman's brain to pick it up without any additional precautions.
"Ugh. Why are you giving so many questions today-" Before she could even finish her sentence, Cinder was hit by energy out of nowhere. The power transmitted to her hand and paralyzed her as if it was a surge of electricity.
"Agh!" She groaned for a second, with her hands still clinging to the rock that gave off a vivid green glow. Her hand was drawn in by the meteorite, but a split second later, the light from the meteorite flickered.
An immense force slammed into Cinder, crashing her to the ground. Her head twitched, an effect of the electrical-like energy. She was overwhelmed by a flood of... fascinating information that had been summoned by her ambition.
Even so, she could not regain her balance, and the pain that seemed to grip her head was unending.
"Cinder!" Emerald was unable to contain herself. She swiftly approached the woman to help Cinder, who was still crouching and struggling with the aching pain in her head. “Are you okay?”
"I'm fine," she huffed to Emerald, who had been making a lot of fuss. Her head was still throbbing, but she didn't seem to mind. "Now, all we have to do is store this interesting stone."
But before Cinder even attempted to start the next task, the meteorite flickered and gave off a green glow that immediately flooded their vision.
The moment they opened their eyes, the tiny meteorite had dissipated into dust particles that were soon being whisked away by the cold night wind.
"Ah, well. Perhaps this rock only possessed a single ability. I had it all now, so with the rock crumbling leaving nothing behind, it diminishes the task of eliminating its traces as well." Cinder chuckled with delight, which of course, made Mercury and Emerald think that something had definitely happened to Cinder. Cinder must have gained some kind of power that pleased her.
After all, a truly successful individual was one who would never overlook any opportunity that was brought before their eyes. For on that foggy night, a strange meteorite had given the woman an astonishing ability. Perhaps, she could even have the whole academy in her hands.
For the time being, she would simply call it the skinsuit power. She had everything she needed to know in her head as if it had become a permanent part of her brain.
"So... have you found what you've been looking for?" Mercury put his hands in his pockets and scanned the surroundings to make sure no one was spotting them.
Cinder turned to face the pair and started laughing with satisfaction. "Better than I had predicted. I can't wait to try it out," she said with her deep amber eyes staring into the distance, with a newfound plan in her mind.
This time, the game is going to be even more fun.
By: Arx   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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