Chapter 2: Part (II): Noelle
Location: Motu Mute, Bora Bora (Airport)
Date & Time: (08:46) 2018-07-13
In the serene moments before takeoff, Noelle rested in her seat, the scent of anticipation lingered in the air. A miasma clouded her mind—she tapped her finger restlessly on the armrest. The cabin hummed, she could hear the distant whispers of her fellow passengers, all locked within the confines of the plane destined for Minerva shores.
Yesterday—in her hotel room, she received a call from Lilly that her brother regained consciousness. Until three days ago, when Nurse Lily convinced her to take a vacation, she had never left his side. From sunrise to sunset, she was there.
In the fleeting moment of revelation, Noelle sunk in her seat, her heart danced, and a rush of relief washed over her as her gaze drifted to the window. Her mind grew a mist. A filthy mist, her vision clouded as she soared through the blue skies and above the clear water, that melded seamlessly together. Her eyes grew heavy, and her mind drifted to a state of slumber.
When she woke—the plane landed in Minerva, and it was her turn to reach the hospital.
She took a detour down 23rd, Lily's mother owned a flower shop there. Noe loved flowers, they were a "guilty pleasure" of his. She stood outside of his room. Behind that door, was her brother, alive and awake. With a resolve as steely as it was gentle, Noelle made her choice. Despite the short distance that now stretched between her and her brother, she couldn't bear to see him. She remembered his condition when they found him, the injuries he sustained—the torment he must've gone through.
And she wasn't there.
"Noelle?"
His voice called for her from behind the door. Noelle readied herself. 'Remember the promise." she told herself. She twisted the doorknob and rested against the hospital wall was her twin brother.
•• Location: Anumi, Minerva (St. Oliver Medical Facility)
Date & Time: (20:46) 2018-07-13
In a quiet hospital room, Noe sat upright with a bowl of untouched soup resting on his overbed table. They were the only contrasting colors in this otherwise dull, white room. He smiled at her. A smile just as radiant and confidant as their father's.
Noelle handed her brother the bouquet of white lilies and yellow roses, she snuck some iris in too.
Noe buried his nose into the den of flowers she had gifted him. Noelle observed with a quirk of amusement. Noe creased his brow, his mouth curling into a frown. His golden eyes twinkled, brushing strands of hair from his face. Noe was indifferent to the aroma of flowers, there were very few, he claimed to like. Sniffing flowers was nothing more than a habit for him, at least, that's what he said, but Noelle witnessed him succumb to the aromatic temptation of their perfume each time.
"Your hair's gotten longer," Noelle remarked.
Noe absently twirled a lock of hair around his finger, "Has it?" he mused. At a glance, anyone would be mistaken to assume Noe and Noelle were identical twins. Save, for the defining difference of gender, you could hardly tell them apart.
Since his absence, however, features began to drift. His once short hair separated him from looking like her. Now—had grown into shoulder-length locks, just a bit shorter than her own. Traces of his abuse remained, scars circled his arms, legs, and neck as if they were parts of a disassembled doll. His brown skin had taken a golden hue, this one change was something they both shared. In the time of his absence, her skin shone like a bar of gold. She wondered if it was because of her skin-care regime, but seeing Noe gave her second thoughts.
The most concerning difference between before and now was Noe's stronger and more resilient frame. As if he had been training somewhere in the mountains.
"Has it?"
A thousand things must have happened, things that she wasn't there for—that's a first. She wanted to hear all about the trials he endured, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.
"You didn't realize?"
He rested his hand on his chin and looked at the ceiling, "Nah," he said, "want my soup?"
His soup looked cold like it's been untouched for hours. Perhaps it's because she spent 20 years of her life with him, but she noticed a moment of contemplation, it was a habit of his to avoid eye contact and stare into nothing. "What's wrong?"
The unspoken bond shared between them lingered in the air, she could sense his unease. It could have started from the time they shared the same womb, or, it could have been the cumulation of their shared experiences. But there was nothing Noe could hide from her, familiarity born from attentive observation, from the nuances of their interactions to the patterns of their behaviors and habits, the two read each other easier than a children's book.
Noe let out a heavy sigh before speaking, "Some men from the M.E.A. approached me yesterday," he said, "and they were interested in speaking with you..."
The mere mention of the M.E.A. (Mutant Extermination Association) sent a shiver spiraling down Noelle's spine. She recalled her first encounter with the M.E.A. when men in black suits visited their home, seeking their father. Despite his refusals, they returned the next day, then the next, then the next. They returned again and again, to the point of stalking them. She remembered Noe's face when he noticed them watching from afar.
"What did they want?" Noelle tried it, the quiver in her voice, the burning sensation at the bottom of her throat. Would they have to go through that again? Are men watching them as they speak?
"To recruit us," Noe revealed, his body sinking into the pillows. "I told them no."
He understood the weight of his decision. He was there with her, how couldn't he? "They... don't take rejection very well." She reminded him.
"I know... they came back today, offering a Ⱡ1,000,000 contract along with incentives."
'Ⱡ1,000,000?!' Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. How much were they offering Father? Did Noe reject them after hearing the amount or before? Pondering the implications, she asked, "Is this standard pay for Sorcerers?"
"Less," he noted. "There aren't many sorcerers, so they usually throw more at them."
"Is... that why you turned them down?"
"No—partly but, not the entire reason."
"Then what's the "entire" reason?"
"I'm not the only one they wanted to recruit."
'We're not sorcerers." That was the only thought that crept from Noelle's mind. Weren't sorcerers these incredible beings? Humans that were blessed by the gods, that's what Mother always told them. But—they were ordinary people, right?
Reflecting on Noe's encounter with a dungeon and his survival, she wondered, "Could it be that you awakened in there?"
Noe heaved, yet another, sigh. His eyes downcast, he shifted focus toward Noelle, his eyes flickering like a flame in the cold. "Have you been getting migraines, lately?"
"From time to time, why?"
"Have you been experiencing any back pains, neck pains, and stomach aches?"
She thought on it, "...Yeah."
"Have you—"
"Get to the point already!"
With a sense of urgency, he instructed her, "Repeat after me, 'System—open.'"
Noelle hesitated, her eyes wandered for a second, then she regained herself, "System... open."
Nothing. The room fell silent, a deafening silence, as the sun began to set over the horizon. She sat there with her eyebrows furrowed, was this a joke, or something that only he could do? Then—as if making a glorious entrance, arriving fashionably late, she heard a *ding* followed by the expansion of a transparent blue screen, with the words "Welcome to the Unknown" plastered for all to see.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
OrionStone
OrionStone Changes & Alteration: Everything!
There wasn't a (Noelle) chapter in the original, I decided that Noelle needed to be fleshed out more, and went with this. The original chapter took place in a 6 month timeskip with him being out of the hospital for about three months.
I also changed her character from the original. Her name was originally Ivy and she was Noe's older sister (not) his twin. She was 21 in the original, and Noe was 17.
Quick Phrase: Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone