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 Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 11:05 am
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ooo
ooooＪＯＵＲＮＡＬ ＥＮＴＲＹ Ｉ
ooo
oooAfter a rather unpleasant boat ride, Anemone Bianca Pfeiffer finally arrived on the mysterious island where Sidekick Academy was located. Glancing around, Anemone's brow creased with worry; was no one supposed to meet her here? Did she just walk to the school? It was dark out and she was late thanks to her boat's motor breaking down, but Anemone had expected someone would still be here. It was obvious where the actual school was, the towering white building was even visible from Crantel's coast. It seemed like the long path leading from the docks where she was currently standing led directly to the school. With a little shrug, Anemone waved goodbye to her chaperone and made her way down the innocent looking road.
oooJust as soon as her worry began to fade and Anemone was starting to enjoy the peaceful, clear night, she felt a sharp stab of pain from her foot. Jumping back in surprise and lifting her leg to investigate, the girl was shocked to see a small, sharp little metal object stuck to her shoe. Two of the barbs on the little pointy object had pierced through the rubber sole. Luckily, only one had made it all the way through to her foot and had barely pierced her skin. Popping the spike out of her shoe by twisting it, Anemone focused her eyes on the ground before her. Squinting, she could barely make out hundreds upon hundreds of little barbed objects glimmering in the moonlight. Anemone blinked, a little taken aback. Traps? Was this perhaps a test? Or, more logically sound, they placed traps down at night to keep intruders at bay. Sucking in a deep breath, Anemone focused her attention on lifting every single one of the little pointy things. They trembled with effort, and eventually floated lazily into the air as Anemone successfully suspended them well above her head. Walking slowly, calmly, she kept her eyes on the sky until no more of the little star-like objects were in view. Spinning around, she let them drop with a collective sound of little metal pings. Feeling rather impressed with herself, the girl continued on her little escapade. She was going to get to the school, no matter what.
oooRemaining alert, Anemone continued on her path. She wrung her hands with nervousness; would there be more traps? Of course there would be. A place like Sidekick Academy wouldn't only lay out primitive spikes to keep people at bay. Something high speed whizzed right beside her ear, breaking the girl's train of thought. It didn't take her long to see a single turret sitting in the middle of the road. She gritted her teeth- bullets? At a school? Another whizzed by her opposite ear this time, causing her to jump slightly. She was positive that they were warning bullets, purposely set to miss the target. Anemone continued walking slowly, eyes focused on the turret ahead. The next bullet was aimed square at her chest. Before it could come within five feet of her, however, it simply dropped to the ground. So did the next two, both aimed at her head. Waving her arm loosely in front of her, Anemone caused the bullet's gravitational pull to increase so greatly that they lost all velocity and fell to the ground, leaving little dents in the road from their new weight. She swiftly made her way around the turret, ready for it to turn and fire more at her. It didn't, to her relief. After she was convinced it wouldn't, she continued her way to the school. Even more alert than before, Anemone had to wonder if the turret and security system was Binary's work. As one of the founders of the school, it probably wouldn't be wise to destroy his machines. She was smart enough to know that.
oooAs she heard a strange noise, the girl paused to listen. Anemone could hear the patter of little pieces of metal hitting the rocky path ahead of her. The hollow sound echoed through the silent night, stopping the girl in her tracks. Looking straight ahead, Anemone squinted, trying to make out what was now headed towards her. They seemed like... dogs? As they got closer and closer, Anemone realized a bit too late that they were some sort of robotic guard dogs. She went a bit paler than usual, waiting for them to get closer. There was at least a dozen of them- and who knew what they were capable of. As they snarled and slowed down to surround her, Anemone bent her knees, and jumped as high as she possibly could. Pushing herself higher and higher in the air by making herself lighter and lighter, Anemone managed to jump well over the robots. Without her boots, however, she was unable to fly. With great, bounding jumps she managed to stay ahead of the dogs- but barely. Slightly worried if she could keep this sort of pace up much longer, Anemone spotted a collection of large rocks off to the side of the path. A small smile spread across her face as an idea formed. Pushing her limit and speeding up, Anemone halted to a stop once she reached the giant pile of rubble. Without hesitation, she quickly lifted several of the behemoth rocks- now feather light- and tossed them onto the path. In a minute or two, she had created a crude sort of barrier. Small pebbles and debris floated and rotated around her as she worked. Tossing the rocks farther and father off the path in either direction, Anemone was guaranteed at least a few minutes free of the canine robots. She didn't have time to stop and think, she just had to keep moving. She felt shaky, weak, and dizzy... was that from overexerting her powers? Anemone gritted her teeth, regretting her decision to venture out on the path in the first place. There was no way she could take the robots and the spikes at once, either.
oooSuddenly, Anemone felt her stomach drop as the ground around her collapsed and she fell into a pit. Her first reaction when she fell, since birth, was to make herself completely gravity-neutral. It was a reaction, like sticking your hands out when you loose your footing. The girl was currently curled up, knees to chest, suspended almost magically over a pit of spikes. It was if she was in an anti-gravity chamber, spinning lazily without direction. Anemone gulped, looking down. She managed to flail until she reached the side of the death pit, and weakly push and pull herself up the wall with her sweaty hands until she could pull herself back up onto solid ground. Her knees were trembling, sweat was dripping down her face. She had never used her powers to such an extent, and certainly never under such stressful conditions. She hobbled down the path, obviously in no condition to keep going. Falling to her knees as everything started to blur together, Anemone looked up at the twinkling sky behind the white tower of Sidekick Academy. She could have sworn she heard a calm voice mumble “It's impressive you got this far”, but she was too weak and probably too delirious to be sure. The majestic tower began to blend with the vast blackness above, before everything went black.
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oooAnemone woke up the next morning, groggy and stiff but alive. She looked around the room; it was bright and organized, and smelt like clean sheets and fabric softener. Rightfully confused but feeling strangely safe and comfortable, she placed her bare feet on the cool ground. Before she could stand up, a nurse in all white rushed into the room.
ooo“Oh no, dear. Don't do that now! You're at Sidekick Academy, everything's alright.” She firmly, yet gently, pushed Anemone back down onto the bed. “You got some of that nasty tranquilizer in you! Heaven knows why they have to put such dangerous traps up around this place, it's full of children!” The nurse continued to putter around and fuss with Anemone's sheets. “I mean, thankfully you're alright. Good heavens, who knows what could have happened to you! Luckily you were brought here and not left out there by your lonesome. Ooh, sometimes this place just irks me!” The woman rambled on and on, most of her words wasted on Anemone who wasn't totally clear headed yet.
ooo“W-wait...” Anemone managed to get a word in between the nurse talking to herself. “Tranquilizer? I didn't pass out because of abusing my powers?” “Oh, of course not.” The nurse poured a glass of water. “I mean, I can't say for sure it didn't help you go down faster, but those little spikes you managed to step on are coated in some pretty nasty stuff.” She sighed to herself, handing Anemone the glass. “I mean, it's the only way to keep people from killing themselves trying to get here! After all, some of those traps are pretty nasty... you barely made it an eighth of the way down the path!” Anemone bowed her head to hide her flushed cheeks. “Oh, don't be so embarrassed, honey! It's further than most people get. It's amazing you managed to stay concious that long!” The nurse chuckled, before waving her hand in departure as she started to leave the room. “You seem fine now, I have others to tend to. Holler if you need me!” Before Anemone could ask anything else of the nurse, she was gone.
oooThe girl leaned back against her pillows, sipping on her water. Well, at least she made it? Looking out the window at the school grounds, Anemone couldn't help but wonder if she had imagined the voice or not. And if not- who had saved her?
ooo
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