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otunnicliffe · 5 months ago

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Chloe + Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

Chapter Nine: The Midnight Duel

'Shall we carry on?' McGonagall adds.

Everyone nods.

'Mr Lovegood, would you like to read?' Dumbledore asks.

Xenophilius nods wordlessly, before sitting down and taking the book carefully. 'This chapter is called 'The Midnight Duel''

'Duel?' James asked, his head popping up in uncertainty.

Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.

'Sounds about right,' Arabella scorns.

Chloe was starting to get more aggravated with Mattheo Riddle by the day.

'Good, stay away from him,' James announced.

He had taken to calling her 'little lion,' and Lorenzo had taken to call Clemensia the same and Theodore the same for Catherine.

'Original,' Remus scorned, rolling his eyes.

Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with them much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday -- and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.

'Flying is exciting though,' James interjected.

"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy.'

'And me in front of Mattheo,' Chloe added, putting her head against the wall.

They had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.

'I hope they're good at it,' James says to Gwendolyn quietly.

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably.

"Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk." Clemensia added, rolling her eyes at the boy.

Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. Even Mattheo, Theodore and Lorenzo sometimes looked as though they didn't even believe him.

'So he's a liar just like his father then,' Sirius scorns.

He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom. Clemensia and Catherine often told Chloe about their childhood together, playing on broomsticks.

Kimberly and Arabella smiled at each other at this.

Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about football. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham football team, trying to make the players move.

Gwendolyn giggled at this.

Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry told Chloe that he felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.

'Poor Neville,' Molly said, looking at Alice sadly.

Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was.

'At least there's something she's not naturally good at,' Peter remarked.

This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book -- not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.

Neither Chloe or Harry had received a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table. As was Theodore's snowy white owl, and Lorenzo's pygmy owl. Mattheo would sometimes receive packages from the same owl as Malfoy's but far less often than the other three Slytherin boys.

'Is it bad that I feel a bit bad for him?' Gwendolyn asked James. 'I mean he didn't ask to be You-Know-Who's son.'

'I think you're far too positive of people sometimes,' James answered, honestly but with no real malice behind his words.

A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

'A Remembrall, sounds like he needs it,' Regulus mentioned to Barty.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things -- this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red -- oh..." His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "You've forgotten something..."

'You'll figure it out soon, Neville...' Chloe told him kindly, Catherine and Clemensia nodding in agreement.

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand, the other three Slytherin boys not far behind. Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.

'Sounds about right for Minnie,' Sirius jibes, jokingly.

"What's going on?" "Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. "Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

'See you at flying little lions,' Theodore spoke up, reminding them that he, Mattheo and Lorenzo were still there.

'Can't wait to see you fall off your brooms, Potters,' Lorenzo added, an evil smirk upon his face. Mattheo merely laughed at his friends antics.

'Piss of, would you?' Catherine said, rolling her eyes at them.

'That's my girl,' Kimberly joked, seeming proud.

'I look forward to seeing you fail as well, Lupin,' Mattheo sneered before the trio walked away.

At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, Chloe, Clemensia, Catherine and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty six broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. The twins had both heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, grey hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk. "Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." Chloe ended up next to Mattheo, who smiled at her snarkily. She looked opposite and saw Clemensia and Catherine standing next to each other, Theodore to the other side of Catherine and Lorenzo to the other side of Clemensia.

Chloe glanced down at her broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.

'I'm so glad I haven't been on one of them since first year,' James added.

'Normal brooms are much better than these,' Chloe heard Mattheo telling her. 'Still, it'll be fun to see you fall off, no matter the broom, little lion.'

Before Chloe could retort anything back at the raven haired boy, Madam Hooch spoke up again.

'Shame, I was looking forward to seeing what she had to say,' Pandora says.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!"'

"UP'' everyone shouted.

Chloe's broom jumped into her hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. Clemensia's and Catherine's had, as well as the three Slytherin boys. Mattheo looked at Chloe, surprised. She just smiled sweetly at him.

'Kill him with kindness,' Alice said.

Harry's had too. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.

'Obsessed with my son,' Lucius scorns.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle -- three -- two --" But Neville,

'Oh no,' Alice lamented, looking at Frank.

nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle -- twelve feet -- twenty feet. Chloe and Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and --

WHAM -- a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap.

'Bless him,' Andromeda said, feeling slightly bad for the boy.

His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.

Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. "Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy -- it's all right, up you get.". She turned to the rest of the class. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear." Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter. "Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins joined in.

'Horrible boy!' Molly scolded.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

'Shove it Parkinson,' Clemensia sneered, staring down the Slytherin.

"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.

"Give that here, Malfoy," said Chloe quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.

Malfoy smiled nastily. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find -- how about -- up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potters!"

Harry grabbed his broom. Chloe sighed and grabbed hers too.

'No,' Gwendolyn sighed.

"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move -- you'll get us all into trouble."

Chloe and Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in Harry's ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him -and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught -- this was easy, this was wonderful. He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.

'Chloe don't!' She looked and saw that Mattheo was warning her.

'Sorry Riddle, I have to help my brother,' and she to took off. Her feeling was the same as Harry's; this was easy!

'Both of my children are natural fliers,' James said, proud.

The admiring whoops this time came from Clemensia and Catherine, with Ron still whooping anyway.

She turned her broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned at the twins.

"Give it here," Chloe called.

"Or we'll knock you off that broom!" Harry added.

'You tell them kids!' James said, looking immensely proud.

"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.

'Coward, just like his father,' Arabella whispered to Sirius.

The twins both knew, somehow, what to do. They both leaned forward and grasped their respective brooms tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Chloe and Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.

'Or Riddle, Nott or even Berkshire,' Chloe added.

The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy. "Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.

Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. Chloe leaned forward and pointed her broom handle down, managing to somehow catch the Remembrall in her hand, before chucking it over to her brother. It was a mighty throw, it flew across the air, amazing even Chloe herself. Harry leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down -- next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball -- wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching -- he stretched out his hand -- a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist. Chloe soon joined him.

'That is impressive, for their first time on a broom,' Remus acknowledged.

"CHLOE AND HARRY POTTER!''

Their hearts sank faster than they'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. They got to his feet, trembling.

'Quidditch,' Chloe said, looking at her twin brother.

"Never -- in all my time at Hogwarts --" Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "-- how dare you -- might have broken your neck --"

"It wasn't his fault, Professor --"

"Be quiet, Miss Patil''

"But Malfoy --"

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potters, follow me, now."

'I just knew they'd get into trouble,' Gwendolyn announced.

Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, Chloe catching Mattheo, Theodore and Lorenzo standing with Clemensia and Catherine looking dumbfounded, the pair walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. They was going to be expelled, they just knew it.

'I have a feeling they won't,' Pandora chimes.

Harry wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Chloe just waked silently. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at the pair; they had to jog to keep up. Now they'd done it. They hadn't even lasted two weeks. They'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when they turned up on the doorstep?

Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to either of them. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Chloe and Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking them to Dumbledore. They thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps they could be Hagrid's assistant. Their stomach twisted as they imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while they stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.

'I'd end my life,' Lucius scorns.

Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside. "Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?

Most people chuckled at this.

But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused.

"Follow me, you three," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Chloe and Harry. "In here.''

Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard. "Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys. "Potters, this is Oliver Wood. Wood -- I've found you a Chaser and a Seeker!''

James's face lit up. 'They're going to play Quidditch!' He said, excitement resonating in his voice.

Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight. "Are you serious, Professor?"

"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "They're both naturals. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potters?"

'I'm so proud right now,' James said.

'We know,' Severus muttered.

Chloe and Harry looked at each other and both nodded silently. They didn't have a clue what was going on, but they didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs. "Se caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch herself. And her throw was amazing, as was Mr. Potter's catch. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."

Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once. "Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.

"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.

"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light -- speedy -- and she's the perfect build for sneaking past defence.... we'll have to get them both a decent broom, Professor -- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."

'If it were a Slytherin I bet this wouldn't have happened,' Bellatrix remarks.

''I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks...." Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Chloe and Harry. "I want to hear you're training hard, Potters, or I may change my mind about punishing you." Then she suddenly smiled. "Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."

'Awww minnie!' James cooed, proud.

"You're joking."

It was dinnertime. Chloe and Harry had just finished telling Ron, Clemensia and Catherine what had happened when they'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.

'Gross,' Narcissa gagged.

"Seeker? Chaser?" Catherine said. "But first years never -- you must both be the youngest house player-''

''-in about a century, said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon.

"Wood told us." Chloe added.

'This is the best news out of this book by far,' James said.

Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry. Clemensia and Catherine offered their congratulations quietly.

"We start training next week," said Harry.

"Only don't tell anyone,'' Chloe added. ''Wood wants to keep it a secret."

'Not surprised,' Remus remarked.

Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Chloe and Harry, and hurried over. "Well done you two," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too -- Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Potters, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

'This Wood seems to really love Quidditch,' Regulus remarked.

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, the three other Slytherin boys not far behind.

'Bet he's gonna be envious when he finds out,' Sirius scorns.

"Having a last meal, Potters? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

'We're not leaving actually,' Chloe told them, to their surprise.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.

'That's my boy,' James said proudly.

There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only -- no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. "Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

'Another bad idea,' Gwendolyn huffed.

When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other.

'Ron!' groaned Catherine, 'You should have said no!'

'You know he's just doing it to get a rise out of you,' Clemensia added.

"What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"

"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Clemensia suggested.

'Or just do that anyway,' Sirius remarked.

"Excuse me." The five of them looked up. It was Hermione Granger.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.

Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. "I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying --"

"Bet you could," Ron muttered.

"--and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.

'Harry!' Chloe scolded.

"Good-bye," said Ron.

'I feel kind of bad for Hermione,' Kimberly told Remus, 'She just wanted them to follow the rules.'

All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them." There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoys sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness - this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.

'As I said, obsessed,' Lucius scorns.

"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."

They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.

"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"

'She made us three stay up too,' Clemensia scorned, staring at the girl, as Catherine and Chloe also appeared from the darkness.

"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy -- he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this." Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.

'And we've been stopping her,' Chloe interjected.

'All night,' Catherine added, yawning loudly after.

"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole. Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose, the other three girls close behind to drag her back in.

'At least they're there to stop her,' Sirius says.

"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Go away."

"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so --" But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a night time visit and Hermione and the other girls were locked out of Gryffindor tower.

'Great, that's all of us trapped now!' Catherine sighed, clearly fed up with the girl.

"Now what am I going to do?" Hermione asked shrilly.

'Shouldn't have left the room in the first place,' Amos says.

"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."

They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them, the other three girls not far behind. "I'm coming with you," she said.

"You are not." Ron scorned.

"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch us?'' Chloe interjected.

''If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up." Hermione added.

'Oh I'm sure he would,' Remus mentions sarcastically.

"You've got some nerve --" said Ron loudly.

"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. I heard something."

It was a sort of snuffling. "Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.

'If they're caught already that's fast for Filch,' Sirius remarks to James.

It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep,

Alice looked sadly at Frank again.

but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer. "Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."

"Keep your voice down, Neville.'' Clemensia whispered.

''The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." Ron added.

"How's your arm?" said Chloe.

'At least someone cares about his arm,' Frank remarks.

"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later --"

"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville. "If either of you get us caught, I know Clemm, Chloe and Cath won't,

'At least he knows the girls won't,' Kimberly remarked.

I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you.''

Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.

They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky.

Gwendolyn let out a quick sigh of relief.

They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room. Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet.

'Because they aren't gonna turn up,' Regulus says, 'They just want them to get caught.'

The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.

'Have either of you two thought about the possibility that they were never going to turn up?' Catherine whispered, but was quickly shushed by Ron, whom she then gave a dirty look.

'At least the girls have some sense,' Molly says. 'Not my son though.'

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.

'Me Chloe and Catherine knew this all along!' said Clemensia.

Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak -and it wasn't Malfoy. "Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other six to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. "They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."

'Knew it,' Regulus whispered to Barty, feeling proud of himself.

"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armour.

'Oh no, why is it always my son?' Alice asks, feeling bad for the boy.

The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.

"RUN!" Clemensia yelled, and the seven of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following -- they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going -- they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Chloe panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping her forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.

'Lucky escape again,' Gwendolyn said. 'From the look of things they're gonna have a lot of that.'

I -- told -you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I -- told -- you."

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."

'I agree with that,' Arthur says. 'Don't get into more trouble.'

"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you -- Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."

'That's exactly what we've been saying Hermione,' Clemensia said, still panting slightly.

"Let's go." Harry said. It wasn't going to be that simple.

'It never is,' groaned Arabella.

They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. It was Peeves.

'The worst thing imaginable to see in this situation,' Amos remarked.

He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Peeves -- please -- you'll get us thrown out." Catherine pleaded.

Peeves cackled. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." Chloe added.

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.

'That is a big mistake,' Molly sighs, annoyed at her son in the book.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR"

Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door -- and it was locked.

"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!"

The lock clicked and the door swung open -- they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening. "Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please."'

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.

'It is annoying,' Bellatrix agrees.

"All right -please."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"

Sirius chortled at this.

And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay -- get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute.

"What?" Harry turned around -- and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare -- this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far. They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.

Everyone shot up, mixed reactions around the room... all wanting to hear why the room was forbidden.

They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads.

'What in Merlin's name is that doing in Hogwarts!' James seethes, looking at Dumbledore, again angry.

'Why do you need a three headed dog in a room?' Pandora asked, quizzically.

Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs. It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

Chloe groped for the doorknob -- between Filch and death, she'd take Filch.

'Me too,' Arabella agreed.

They fell backward -- Catherine slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared -- all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor. "Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.

"Never mind that -- pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward.

They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs. It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.

'I'm not surprised by that,' Molly said angrily. 'What on earth is that thing needed for in Hogwarts?'

'I think that's the plot, to discover it,' Kimberly says, thinking aloud.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on.''

"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."

James chuckled a bit at this, but he was still obviously angry.

"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." Chloe recalled, and Clemensia and Catherine nodded, having obviously seen it too.

Hermione then stood up, glaring at them. ''I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed -- or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

'I think being killed is worse, but whatever,' Peter says.

Ron stared after her, his mouth open. "No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you.

But the revelation had given Chloe and Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed, after exchanging their respective good nights and going their separate ways. The dog was guarding something.... What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide -- except perhaps Hogwarts.

'And I'm assuming the next few weeks are going to render that to nothing,' Remus whispers to Kimberly.

It looked as though Chloe Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.

'That's the end of the chapter,' Xenophilius announced.

'But what's the grubby package?' Amos asked.

'The Philosophers Stone, it has to be,' Gwendolyn speaks, and everyone turns to look at her.

'But what is that?' Molly asks.

'I think we discover that in the book,' Gwendolyn added.

'Miss Evans is quite right, and if we continue on you can find out faster,' McGonagall says, breaking up the chatter immediately.

'Let us continue on then,' Dumbledore announces.

-----

@helendeath

#chloeandharrypotterandthephilosophersstone #mattheo riddle #theodore nott #lorenzo berkshire #marauders fanfiction

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ghiertor-the-gigapeen · 9 months ago

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Actually, I just remembered that I've draw him back in june 2023 but it's not what you expected

Here you go @egotank

#i made this #the red flag king #glider mail

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dooksofearl · 6 months ago

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PLEASE SHARE AND HELP MY REACH

Squeak Speak

May Newsletter

Happy May, Friends!

This is a little later than I planned because I wanted to update everyone on my medical situation. I will be having surgery mid June and my infusion treatments go through July so hopefully by August I will be feeling much better and back on track. I know some of you have requested pictures. Please bare with me and don't be afraid to send me reminders if you don't hear from me for several days. I am doing the best I can.

What's going on with the kids.

For the most part, they are doing well. Evee is starting antibiotics for her eye infection. The brain tumor is too deep to operate. We are treating her with medication but she got it irritated and an infection followed so we are taking care of that. She takes her medicine with no problem. She is the sweetest and best little ferret. Please keep her in your prayers.

I lost three more ferrets to old age and my heart is broken. One was Justin's favorite boy, Dorbad. I'm taking this harder than I thought I would because of that. Mr. Spooky says he is going to live forever and take care of me. He's a good boy when he's not trying to bite our friends and visitors. Lol

Maru, the hamster, Cal, the sugar glider, and our bunnies, Daisy and Basil continue to thrive. We have all suddenly decided that we love celery and snow peas and hate raisins. So I am changing up their daily salads.

We are still struggling and I am not sure how long we can continue like this. This is my calling and I will keep doing it as long as God keeps making a way for me to do it but it is getting harder. I keep requesting grants but none are coming through and donations are hard to come by. Except for a couple of amazing angels that commit to sending in funds regularly, we have nothing else coming in. I picked up some part time contract work but it barely covers the bills. I'm grateful for it but we really need more support.

That being said our fundraising goal this month is $1,094.90

It will go towards:

$488 to pet foods

$260 for their produce

$138.46 for medicine

$208.44 for cleaning supplies for the month.

We also need immediately:

Food bowls

Carabiners

Pee pads

Here is our wish list links if you are able to help with those items:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2FVRFVAXT9IO4?ref_=wl_share

https://www.walmart.com/registry/RR/bc3ba14a-6e84-45fa-a086-c59a76789351

Also we have a friend (Thanks Shannon!) of the rescue who is selling freshies air fresheners that are super cute. When she gets the mold for the ferret one a portion of sales are going to be donated to our rescue. Please follow her on TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@morrisshannon?_t=8mNZZ9LXj0F&_r=1.

Our sweet Mitzki posed for the mold design 😊

THANK YOU SO MUCH for sticking with me and supporting the rescue during grief. It was just mine and Justin's going steady anniversary and that was such a hard day for me. But I know you are out there praying for me and believing in me and my mission to take care of these babies and I appreciate it. Sometimes it is all that gets me through the day. Thank you.

Tax ID 88-0945277

Donations can be made in app at:

https://www.jotform.com/app/213234930973154

Zelle and PayPal

[email protected]

Venmo @DooksofEarl

Cashapp $dooksofearl

Checks or money orders can be mailed to:

Dooks of Earl Ferret Sanctuary Inc

4826 US HIGHWAY 70 E

BROWNSVILLE, TN 38012-8412

#animal rescue #cute animals #animals #rats and crafts #ferrets #bunnies #cats #kittens #save rats and crafts #funfundraiser

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miraculoustails · 9 months ago

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I finally finished NATLA. I was very excited at first, having heard positive reactions. By two episodes in, I couldn’t stand it, and was writing an episode by episode analysis of the show. So here it is, my honest and detailed review of the show:

Episode 1: Feels like an adaption! I enjoyed it and it was fun! I like the way they showed the horrors of the genocide against the airbenders. I didn’t like how they had Aang fly the moment we were introduced to him. It completely eradicates the need for the glider. He also doesn’t look like some outcast idol to the airbender kids, like he does in the cartoon. I love the relationship between him and Gyatso. It weirded me out though how Aang says “no one’s ever fought for me before” when the entire first half of the episode, Gyatso is fighting for Aang. I like the way they handled the awakening scene, and how Katara reacted. But also, why didn’t she react to everything violently shaking? It was weird. I didn’t love the southern air temple visit. They removed all the feeling from it, and explained everything ahead of time. It ruined the shock for Aang, and him pulling himself out of the avatar state was very upsetting. Overall, great episode. I rate it a soft 7/10.

Episode 2: The best episode by far. I love the way they handled the Kyoshi warriors and their attitudes. The changes to Suki’s character were so fun, but at times felt a little weird. Like the scene where she’s eyeing Sokka, or the moment in the woods. Kyoshi herself was harsh and intimidating, she was perfect. I WAS weirded out that they made Aang shapeshift into her? I hope they don’t do that with the other avatars. That was really weird and bad. I wasn’t a fan of how little damage to village took, but Suki handing Sokka the fan and kissing him was cute. I’m definitely curious how that’ll change the dynamic between him and Yue though, since she was supposed to be his first kiss/love. It didn’t show Aang’s immaturity however, by involving the Unagi. I understand cutting the scene, and i didn’t think of it honestly, but it is another missing character development moment. I rate it 8/10.

Episode 3: YIKES. They combined one of the first few episodes, an episode from the middle of the book, and an episode from the end of the book. I get the time constraint, and it wasn’t too bad in the end, but it was majorly upsetting. They worked it together well, but they missed important relationships that developed because of it. And the whole moment of Aang getting his hopes up, and traveling to the air temple, getting completely scrapped, is disappointing for sure. The Zuko moments felt weird, and it was another thing added to an already crowded episode. I’m really upset by the fact they removed Aang’s character arc. He’s supposed to show the trio how he and Bumi had created a fun game using the mail delivery chutes, and keep acting childish, instead of accepting his responsibility as the avatar. Instead Sokka “has an idea”. This completely nerfs all the introductions to Bumi, and makes him just seem like a really shitty king. 2/10

Episode 4: I like the Iroh and Aang interaction, not a fan of Katara and Sokka having to break in. Especially because they take the tunnel of love episode from book two, a very important episode, and they add it to the middle of season one? The two lovers story animation was so cool though, and the actors got the troupe perfect. Katara and Sokka’s fight in the tunnels feels so forced and scripted. It doesn’t feel natural at all, and just like they were trying to be edgy. However, the tunnel deepened their characters and relationship immensely. The badgermoles aren’t supposed to be monsters, they’re the first airbenders and shouldn’t be portrayed that way. Teo standing up was in character and great. Bumi immediately calling Aang out, and revealing himself was… yea. Not great. The moment Katara finds the water skin was so simple and a fun, quick easter egg. Jett’s actor went off! Katara being able to suddenly freeze water was completely out of nowhere and not a good choice. I like the moment of Zuko having to choose between his dream and family. Bumi testing Aang, while Aang knows his identity, it just hurts. His old and dearest friend is saying all these out of pocket things, and he doesn’t understand why. Bumi’s “games” comments were unprovoked, since aang has shown nothing but dedication and slight nervousness to being the avatar, rather than immaturity. None of the tests, other than the fight, hold any weight, since Katara and Sokka aren’t there. Bumi crafting the whistle was cute! The scenes between the guard and Iroh were so good. It shows how much wrong Iroh did, and contrasts his current nature. We never really got to see people this angry at Iroh in the cartoon. There was moments sure, but this is the real rage of war and it’s so good. It shows the two sides of the after effects of war, anger and forgiveness. It’s a great buildup to show why Iroh changed, and how Zuko’s been manipulated since childhood, yet still has a good heart. It really makes it set in that Zuko went from good to bad, and Iroh went from bad to good, yet both had goodness in them the whole time. 5/10, a very mid episode, saved by the flashbacks.

Episode 5: Katara’s using earthbending techniques! We completely skip chapter 6 :( The automatic knowledge of the spirit world and how to protect Aang is unsettling. Katara and Sokka slipping through is also weird. Background characters mention the pirates, which is chapter 9, and the volcano, from chapter 14, but neither of those have episodes. It’s a nice reference, but upsetting they cut them out, and then mention them when they don’t even happen. June, from chapter 15, suddenly appears. The owl spirit from the library is randomly there??? And Sokka and Katara hearing hooting is so bad. Why are they bringing book two episodes into season one! Sokka’s flashback was messed up and unnecessary. His father was not like that. The creepy clowns are unnecessary as well. The face stealer is randomly there too?? From the final episode of book one. What the hell? He goes to the fire nation and Roku’s shrine. Completely skips saving the forest, to follow a plot from the last chapter, then i guess resume the plot from the middle two chapters? Aang’s just abandoning Sokka and Katara in a random forest?? Going super far on his glider, completely alone, and somehow managing to make it in time to save everyone. Yup, makes sense… 0/10

Episode 6: Young Zuko is so heartbreaking, Iroh being a father figure is such a good addition! June randomly finds a scrap of threads that she magically knows leads to the avatar. No warning of Sozin’s comet, and June appears, instead of Zuko, causing chapter 13/15 events to occur. They did the blue spirit really well though. Zuko and Aang’s heart to heart was so good, and the way the word compassion triggered Zuko’s anger hurt. Going straight into the agni kai? That was true pain. I think this is the one thing they did better than the cartoon. The ship scene was so heartwarming. Aang somehow makes it back, days? later, to save Katara and Sokka, whose bodies have been left in the woods this whole time. The face eater just lets everyone free for the statue? Everyone’s magically returned and no one was eaten. 6/10, solely for the Zuko scenes.

Episode 7: The change with Zuko running away was very different, and out of character, but I actually kind of like it for the live action. It fit in well, and created a lot of tension and emotion. The bond between Jee and Zuko is actually really nice. The gaang’s arrival to the northern water tribe felt like very forced acting. None of it felt real, and the whole scene was highly uncomfortable to watch. I think the only performance i liked was of Chief Arnook. Aang not knowing any waterbending by the time they reach the north is such a terrible choice. We go nearly the entire series without seeing aang doing anything other than airbend??? That is not very avatar-esq. The scene between Iroh and Zhao was very manipulative and pretty good acting. It was a nice break. Azula absolutely slaughters in all her scenes. The minute facial expressions really showcase her rage. Pakku sympthizing with Katara is so wrong. He’s supposed to be the epitome of sexism but immediately starts being friendly to Katara and talking about bending?? Even tells her to go to an instructor? “Water is the element of change” sir, you’re the last person who should be saying that shit. Sokka’s one sided longing for Yue is so awkward. This is the worst acting we get from him, and it’s disappointing. He’s one of the best in the gaang. He gets better when talking to her luckily. Yue being able to bend is a TERRIBLE choice. It goes against her entire character. She randomly starts expositioning to Sokka, who she just met… And her personality is very off. She’s too down to earth. She’s supposed to be more gentle and reserved. It humanizes her, but it’s not her. Pakku scolding Aang for showing up, not knowing any other bending, is so relatable. We get a whole three seconds of Katara bending water through a wooden doll, and she suddenly knows how to heal someone? Then the sexism comes in, and she immediately leaves, instead of at least learning healing for more than a few seconds. Yue not being engaged to Hahn is a choice that i hate and like. It means she’s not cheating when she’s flirting with Sokka, thank gods, but again, it’s against her whole character. Avatar Kuruk being the only decent avatar to give Aang advice is interesting. Them disabling him to fix a plot hole they created by having Kyoshi do all of Aang’s fighting, is so stupid. Just have Aang learn bending, instead of him doing some stupid tour to meet all the avatars. Yue randomly revealing she was the fox was so weird and out of place. The whole moment just takes up unnecessary time. The romance between Yue and Sokka was so uncomfortable and severely forced. There was no real moments between them, just lots of explaining the plot and backstories. Aang being sexist and pushing his anxiety about Katara into season one, is so so wrong. Azula rebelling against her father is wildly out of character. Also, I can’t find when she first lightningbends, but i’m pretty sure it is NOT this early. And she would never dare to attack her father. Why is Katara explaining herself to Sokka, her fighting Pakku’s supposed to be a rash decision based on her frustration with the constant sexism she faces. Instead, it’s a thought out plan she feels the need to defend. Why on earth is she doing hand to hand in the battle? Finally, waterbending looks actually dangerous here. Every single time she’s caught she’s randomly out of breath. Girl, how are you out of breath from being held in place by some icicles? It’s such a disappointing and short fight, and Katara looks so weak during it. Aang’s so insistent on “protecting” Katara and Sokka, but can only do some weak airbending, and has no offensive moves. “The legend of aang” being an attempt at some cutesy easter egg for legends of korra is so cringy, coming from someone who hates cringe culture. I rate this episode a 1/10, for terrible acting and for no understanding of the characters at all.

Episode 8: Aang still knows no waterbending, Katara has learning nothing from the north. Why are the firebenders surprised to be under attack? They should all be prepared and on guard, being so close to the northern tribe. Sokka is a good leader, yes. But why is he commanding the gaang out of nowhere? He’s not supposed confident in his leadership skills until they attack the fire nation, because his dad finally pushes him. A whole ship gets destroyed and everyone’s just chilling on the other boats? Zuko’s supposed to be playing dead, but is just hanging around with no mask. Iroh’s getting the respect he deserves from Zuko, but thing is, Zuko’s supposed to be a disrespectful little shit. And this is not Zuko. The firebenders are using the war balloons, which completely changes the dynamic of the battle, and there’s no way the waterbenders should win this. The woman who was extremely offended when Katara asked to fight, is out of nowhere standing up to Pakku, asking to fight. None of these women know fighting techniques. Momo nearly dies?? The way Sokka hugs him is so awkward. Zuko shows up in the temple, instead of the oasis, and has to fight Katara. This gives her a moment to finally look badass fighting, but is so random and doesn’t work with the story. Zuko getting mad about her finding a master, when Pakku didn’t give her a single second of training, eesh. They’re making comments about stuff that happens in the cartoon, without doing the stuff from the cartoon, and it’s so bad. Why does everyone know it’s Zhao, and know his name. It’s so offputting. The red makes it so hard to see, and it genuinely was hurting my eyes. They decided to put a red filter on everything, instead of doing red lighting, and it just looks bad. They show the horror of the moon’s death so well. The one thing they’ve managed to be consistently good at is show how terrifying the fire nation is. This parallels really well with the beginning scenes of the air nations being destroyed. Aang doing nothing when the moon spirit dies… He turns into the water spirit! But still cannot actually water bend. Aang dies doing this, and somehow Iroh knows. Zuko’s meltdown at the truth was embarrassing and yet again forced. Iroh telling Zuko not to kill Zhao, then killing him… the people in charge of this show truly cannot decide what they want to do. At least it’s in character, since he was protecting Zuko. Yue can still bend somehow. Finally Katara does a speech to bring Aang out of the avatar state. Pakku tells Katara she reminded him water changes, and so should he, like that wasn’t one of his first lines to Katara. He gives Katara the oasis water, but never explains its healing properties. 3/10, the only points being for the amazing portrayal of the terror of the fire nation.

Overall rating: 4/10. The main cast all has acting quirks that started really bothering me before i could even finish the show. Almost every character had at least one moment where the acting pained me. The only good looking bending was ice bending and earth bending. Or when fire was destroying something. It feels like the creators didn’t actually watch the OG ATLA, but instead got handed a piece of paper that had bullet points of what happens in the cartoon, and decided to make their own show from that. This is not an ATLA remake or even a love letter. This is someone trying to copy the success of avatar, by poorly copying the plot and characters. The play scene from the cartoon is really showcasing the irony of the remakes situation. Azula, Iroh, and Sokka were the most in character, and even then, they all had at least one moment where they weren’t right. I loved Zuko’s portrayal, but it just got too much by the second half. He turned completely good, and all his moments where he wasn’t good, felt very out of place. They extended scenes that were unnecessary and awkward, and cut important scenes that were vital to the characters’ or story’s growth. NATLA had its moments, but overall it was just bad. I honestly hope it doesn’t get renewed, because i can’t stand hearing about or watching it get any worse. Aang didn’t learn a single drop of waterbending, and this was supposed to be the water book. He was supposed to MASTER waterbending, but never even started. I could barely finish the show and had to take a two day break, in which i used all my willpower to watch the last two episodes. If you read through all of this, you can watch my joy quickly get smushed, and it turn to exhaustion and disgust. I understand why the original creators left, and it’s so frustrating to have yet another opportunity at seeing a childhood show get re-loved, only for it to crash and burn.

#natla #avatar the last airbender #atla live action #avatar #atla

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lydskisses · 1 year ago

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💕 PO - Genshin Impact September Official Merch Part 1 - Genshin Concert & Vinyl Box 💕

ETA: Item dependent. Approx Nov - Dec 2023.

Payment deadline for bonuses: 26 September, 23:59 SGT

➡️ All prices are in Singapore dollar. Mailing to you will be calculated separately when the items arrive. PayPal and Wise are accepted for international buyers.

🌟 Purchase Point Bonus (Can be combined with Part 2):

Refer to last pic for the bonuses. Wanderer clothes series do not count towards these bonuses.

60 points - Concert Postcard x1

140 points - Earlier bonus + Concert Pouch x1

260 points - Earlier bonus + Ramndom Quicksand Glitter Display x1

380 points - Earlier bonus + stamp set x1

550 points - Earlier bonus + Original Artwork x1

✅ DM to order:

・(358p) Genshin Music Vinyl Box (includes a vinyl record, scorebook, and engraved metal ticket) SGD$89.90/set

・(176p) Concert Fan Set (includes a Seelie Penlight, Shikishi and a rubber strap) SGD$46.90/set

・(69p) Random 5-pc Mini Slime Figures (2-2.7cm) SGD$19.90/pack

・(79p) Slime Glass Jar (9.9 x 8 cm, not including wings) SGD$25/ea

・(49p) Concert Ver. acrylic Stand SGD$16.90/ea

・(12p) Concert Ver. can badge SGD$6.90/ea

・(28p) Concert Shikishi SGD$11.90/ea

・(48p) Concert Acrylic CD Keyholder (7.8 x 7.8 x 0.9 cm) SGD$16.90/ea

・(99p) Concert T-shirt (DM for sizing) SGD$28

・(149p) Wind Glider Medallion Necklace SGD$37.50

#genshinimpact #genshin #mihoyo #hoyoverse #genshinconcerttour #原神 #games #zhongli #tartaglia #genshinxiao

#genshin #genshin impact #mihoyo #hoyoverse #genshin xiao #genshin childe #genshin zhongli #genshin Eula #genshin Albedo #genshin Ganyu #genshin concert #原神 #钟离 #genshin merch #genshin impact merch

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dumbasssdoodles · 10 months ago

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Am I seeing this wrong or are they combining the northern air temple and Omashu storylines?

It looks like Teo is flying over Omashu in this clip and with Aang. You can see his special glider as well as the Omashu mail system.

Also the architecture looks nothing like that of the northern air temple.

#I was wondering how they would incorporate the northern air temple but I was definitely not expecting this combination #idk how i feel about it yet #don’t want to judge until I see how they do it in full #atla live action #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar the last air bender live action #netflix #rambling

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sanddusted-wisteria · 2 months ago

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Earth and Sky, Ch. 5

prev | next | index

The door opened up a crack, revealing the unamused face of Director Qi. “The Research Center closes at 10,” he droned. Wis only held up the power core. “Is this what you’re looking for?” “Let me see,” the director said, taking it from her and turning it over in his hand with an adjustment of his glasses. He hummed a few times, hands running along the grooves, until his eyes widened, and a bright smile spread across his face. “This is…!” Wis frowned. She’d never seen that kind of look on Qi’s face.

Also on AO3

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Wis groaned as she woke up, already feeling the utter stiffness in all her muscles.

She glanced over at the clock on her nightstand, purposely not set with any alarms last night. It was nearly noon already. Last night, she’d gotten back from the clinic around 8 and just collapsed exhausted into bed, passing out soon after.

The fight with the Geeglers at Gecko Station and the fall that preceded it had taken a lot out of her. She was expecting the brawling and the prowl through a bunch of dangerous ruins, but a hundred foot drop? A train chase? Not at all.

She took a deep breath, trying to empty her mind of the sensation of falling that had been imprinted twice into her brain. A terrifying sense of weightlessness, a burst of adrenaline when her subconscious recognizes the life-threatening danger before she did, the rush of wind and her hammering pulse in her ears. She’d gone gliding enough times in Highwind to steel herself a bit, enough to not panic whenever sudden changes in altitude and wind happened while in the air, but she didn’t have a glider then. Nothing to control her fall.

She laid sprawled out on her bed for a little longer, just to remember that she really was on solid ground again. Several calming breaths later, she carefully rolled out of bed, grunting as her muscles resisted with every movement.

After washing up and grabbing something quick out of her pantry for lunch, she headed out to check the mail. No doubt that Yan was already going to be breathing her ass down about getting stuff done to repair the bridge, despite not even being informed of any plans yet.

As so happened though, Heidi was at her mailbox when Wis opened the door, looking to be slipping something in. Her gaze snapped up at the sound of the door, and her face brightened. “Hey, Wisty! Uh…can I call you that?”

Wis raised a hand with a chuckle in return. “As long as you’re not Yan, you can call me Wisty, yeah.”

“Wisty it is, then! But uh, anyway. I was just about to slip this diagram into your mailbox. Knocked on the door, but you weren’t respondin’.”

“Yeah, I was conked out until just a couple minutes ago,” Wis said, rolling her shoulder to try and ease a bit of the tension in her back. “I’m sure you can imagine, with what happened yesterday…”

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Heidi said with a sympathetic look. “Heard all about it from the sheriff. Now, you should rest up an’ all, but when you’re back in business, we got a pretty big job for ya.”

Despite the fatigue, Wis perked up a bit. “The bridge, right? I’ll be out of it today for sure, but just tell me what to do.” Thank the Light that it was Heidi that seemed to be calling the shots for this project. If Yan had been whining at her door today, she wouldn’t have been anywhere near as eager.

“Right, right, look at this…” Heidi unfolded the paper in her hands, revealing the precisely-drawn diagram of what looked like a bridge. “Mi-an and I’ll handle the bridge base, but we want you on these load-bearin’ trusses. It’s gonna need a lotta bronze and iron, but the salvage folks got you covered with all the new scrap they’re bringin’ up.”

Wis hummed as her eyes scanned over the page. The trusses made a huge frame of interlocked triangles, the shape only reinforcing the strength of the metal. This was going to be a lot of work. Lots and lots of beams. “Gotcha,” she said, holding her hands out to take the diagram off Heidi’s. “I should maybe be able to get started on it tomorrow? Depends on if my arms wanna cooperate or not.” She rolled her shoulder again at the thought.

“Sure, sure!” Heidi nodded. “We do need that ASAP, but of course, it’ll take a lot longer if you run yourself out. So uh, no need to have it our doorstep by tomorrow or anythin’.”

“No problem, yeah. I’ll probably just take inventory today. I’ll start bringing all these beams over there as they get done.”

“Sounds good to me! Well, I gotta get back to the bridge site…the minister wanted us to start right this mornin’. You just go ‘head and rest up, Wisty. You deserve it.”

It was only then that Wis noticed the fatigue lining Heidi’s eyes. Had she stayed up all night getting this diagram done? “Hey, you too, Heidi… You don’t look so hot.”

Heidi’s eyes widened. “Eh? Eheh…I mean, I did stay up pretty much all night gettin’ that diagram drawn… But it was already half-finished, I swear!”

Wis pursed her lips. She wanted to tell her to take a break, or to go home early and sleep, but no matter how she worded it in her head, it came across as a demand more than a kindly pointer. Maybe she should talk to the minister instead… “Well, just…don’t tip over the cliff while you’re out there…”

Heidi laughed with a wave of her hand. “Aw, don’t worry, we’re all followin’ safety regulations over there. We all got tethered harnesses and stuff.”

“If you say so,” said Wis, still with a concerned look on her face. “And you take it easy too.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” Heidi said again, voice straining a bit to sound more chipper. “Once 5 o’clock hits, I’m gonna—” She was cut off by a yawn.

“4, maybe?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Heidi’s shoulders slumped. “Well, still. See ya later, Wisty. Good luck!”

They waved each other goodbye, and Wis was left with the diagram. She leaned up against the fence, reading over the materials list and the instructions for how to forge the beams. The tired fog hanging over her brain was just about gone now, her mind already taking count of how much more pre she’d have to pick up.

This was a big job. Bigger than anything she’d ever built in Highwind. Even bigger than the Hydrogel, and no less crucial to their survival. A familiar itch poked at her, and her hands flexed on instinct, even with the soreness of her arms.

Wis was going to work.

------------

After three days of sweating over three furnaces, the smell of metal still cloying in Wis’s hair and clothes, everything was done. All the beams, all the rivets, several solid tons of metal, forged by her hand.

As Wis finished shaping the last rivet, she sank to the ground with a tired sigh. It was a good kind of tired, though. The ache in her arms a result of solid hard work, rather than a stressful brawl.

She stood up, gathering up the last batch of rivets into her hands and dropping them into the loading cart with the last batch of beams. Then with a grunt, she slowly got the cart rolling, following the tracks towards the west. The cooling air and the setting sun only helped to lighten Wis’s good mood even more.

Heidi and her construction team were still at it, even this far into the evening. Mi-an was taking a brief pause from setting down the base beams, wiping the sweat off her brow with a satisfied sigh. At the sound of Wis’s cart approaching, she turned around and waved with a bright smile. “Hey! Is that the last of them?” she called.

“Yep!” Wis called back, shooting her a thumbs-up. “Plus a couple extra rivets in case one ever falls over.”

Heidi had been instructing one of the other workers on something, but now she looked up, hearing the good news. “Already?! That was fast!”

Wis shrugged, heading around to the cart’s side to move the beams. Heidi took the other side (far more effortlessly than Wis), and they neatly stacked them up on the growing pile of them beside the tracks. “Nothing else to do these past couple days. Luckily I already had just about all of the ore I needed already.”

“Well, either way, this is fantastic! We’re way ahead on schedule for the trusses, then. Guess we’ll call you back when we get this base done.”

The last beam was on the pile, and Wis had dumped the rivets into the nearly-full bin of them nearby. Heidi put her hands on her hips, looking over everyone’s handiwork. “Welp, I think that’s a good place to call it. Nice work today, team!”

After the construction team fixed the last beam for the day, there came a babble of conversation and the clinking of removed safety gear. After removing hers, Mi-an hustled up to Wis and Heidi, watching the other workers go home for the night. “Hey guys! How about dinner at the saloon? My treat!”

“You sure?” said Heidi, saying an eyebrow. “I oughta be the one treatin’ you two. You’re both workin’ your butts off out here, after all.”

“No no, it’s okay, I’ll pay! It’s no big deal!”

“We could split the bill…?” Wis jumped in, already sensing an endless loop of insistence.

“Aw, come on, you two…” Heidi groaned playfully, a dramatic hand on her head. “Yan doesn’t pay you nearly enough for makin’ a couple windows, let alone an entire bridge. I’ll treat y’all, and you just put that into savin’s, mmkay?”

“Uh…but…” Mi-an faced down Heidi’s ever-insistent kindness, but quickly lost the battle. “Al-alright. But next time, I treat you!”

They were in no hurry as they walked to the saloon, the warm lights outside now brighter than the dusky sky. The place wasn’t too busy that night. Owen and Grace were idle, chatting behind the bar, waiting for new customers. Only a few tables were occupied; Miguel and Burgess talking with each other in one booth, Amirah and Arvio at another, and Qi at the table in the corner. All minding their own business.

Grace noticed them coming in first, waving and readying her order notepad. “Hey, working late?”

“Yeah, still plugin’ away,” Heidi said as she pulled out a bar stool and dropped down. “Ugh, my feet are killin’ me…”

“It’s a good hustle, though!” Mi-an exclaimed. “I’ve never feel so…so…amped! Never worked on something so big…or with stakes this high… And I thought the Moisture Farm would be the worst of it…”

Owen let out a chuckle. “Well, let me be the first to thank you, then. On behalf of all of us. It’s…a lot to ask of two newcomers to do something so important for us, but you guys have stepped up so much.”

Wis could only shrug with a polite laugh. Compliments were still impossible to respond to… “I…I’m just doing my best…”

“Aw shucks, no need to be modest! It’s a giant bridge!”

“She’s right, though!” Mi-an jumped in, much to Wis’s relief. “Both of us…we just want what’s best for our new town! M-maybe this job’s a bit more than what we’re used to…but we’re doing no less than our very best!”

“And that’s why I’m thanking ya!” Owen’s smile brightened even more.

“Come on boss…” Grace said with an amused roll of her eyes. “They’re never gonna take it, best we can it before we’re here all night. What do you guys want, anyways?” She gestured to the menu.

They ordered (Wis taking her usual beef noodle soup, not feeling particularly adventurous tonight), Grace wrote it down, then tore out the slip and handed it to Owen to go prepare.

“So how’s the bridge?” Grace said after Owen disappeared to the kitchen, pouring out some water for the three of them. “I alsodon’t wanna rush you…but we’ve had to cut down on our water usage quite a bit these days…” Indeed, the glasses that she placed on the counter were the small ones, not the usual tall ones. “Conserve water” didn’t seem to hamper hospitality in Owen’s books, not unless it was dire.

“Not bad,” Heidi hummed, taking a long sip of her water. “The base is probably gonna take longer than expected, though…”

“And not just ‘cause we’re still scared of working over a 200 foot cliff,” Mi-an laughed sheepishly.

“I can imagine,” said Wis. “Even with a team on the other side, supporting everything the right way as you go is dicey.”

“That’s the thing…” Heidi frowned. “We don’t have a second team. We laid out the buttresses on both sides to start, but we don’t have enough people to work on buildin’ out both sides at the same time. Already squeezed out all the budget we can.”

“Bummer,” Grace said, frowning like Heidi was. “How many people do you need on each side?”

“4, minimum. We got 6, not includin’ me since I’m the foreman an’ all.”

“Maybe I could help?” Wis chimed in. “I dunno if we can find another person, but I already have all the frame stuff ready.”

“Already?” Grace said, head whipping over to Wis. “That was quick. Especially since it was just you on those. So I hear.”

Wis chuckled. “Felt an itch and a fire under my ass, I guess.”

“Yeah, can’t stress enough, Wisty. That was mighty quick work. We’re way ahead of schedule on the truss half, at least.” Heidi smiled. “I think we’ll be all set on the base for now. You can chill out for a while since you got it all done so fast. Take some smaller commissions and we’ll keep at it.”

Wis was about to ask if she was sure, but after grinding away for three straight days, she felt that she really was deserving of some real downtime. Especially since she'd only taken one day off after the Geeglers. “Sounds good, then. You know where to find me if you need me.”

On that note, Owen reemerged from the kitchen, carrying all their piping-hot food. And with the delicious savory smells and a hint of gossip from Grace, anything to do with the bridge was suddenly irrelevant for the rest of the night.

------------

Wis woke up late again the next day. No alarm.

She stretched luxuriously, still lying down. She was feeling so much more refreshed than the last time she woke up this late. Sure, her muscles were still kind of sore and the accidental burns from the furnace were getting scratchy again, but everything felt better now that Wis knew for sure that she could relax. She didn’t even have to go to the Commerce Guild and bother with Yan today if she didn’t want to.

She slid out of bed and went through her morning routine as usual, finally heading out for some fresh air and to check the mail. Aside from the newspaper, there was only one letter inside. The messy writing with no return address and just the addressee, only the simple scrawl of “Fresh Pines Workshop” on the front…this was probably from the Research Center.

Builder,

I overheard your conversation with Heidi at the saloon last night. Fortunately, I believe I have a solution for the issue. However, it involves needing to retrieve a very rare part: an AI power core. From the data I have on the local ruins, I anticipate the highest chance of finding one will be to search the Paradise Lost site, as there is a high number of Old World robots within. Acquire the largest one you find and bring it to me as soon as possible.

Director Qi

Sandrock Research Center

P.S.: Do not contract this work to the Civil Corps. They do not possess the knowledge or the skill to discern relics and technology, so assigning them to a task that could determine our prolonged survival means death.

P.P.S.: The robots may try to kill you.

Wis’s face twisted more and more the further down the letter she read. Less so because of the incredibly nonchalant word of caution, and more the fact that Mr. Science Man was giving her yet another task from on high. Yes, another one that was actually important for the town as a whole, but still.

Her body sagged as she finished rereading the letter with a groan, trying to see if she was just imagining Qi’s new demands. What did a power core have to do with bridge building, anyway?!

Never a break in Sandrock, it seems.

------------

“These ruins now? C’mon, Wis. I get you can handle yourself now and all, but we still bent the rules last time…” Justice’s stance still remained firm, a formidable-enough barrier in between Wis and the broken entrance to Paradise Lost.

“And?”Wis said with an exaggerated motion of her hands. “Last time I had to sneak into the ruins because there was something in there that I needed to build the thing that we all needed to survive, and this time it’s the same deal!”

Justice huffed. “Did Director Qi remember to tellyou what it is he’s got in mind this time?”

“Well…no… But from the way it sounded, it’s something that’ll help Heidi get the base done faster…”

“Couldn’t you have…gone up and asked him yourself…?”

“I tried,” Wis shrugged. “All he kept saying was, ‘Power core first. Explanations later.’” She didn’t know why she expected anything more, honestly.

“I can try asking him, sir,” Unsuur spoke up from his spot beside Justice, still a barrier but significantly less imposing. “I ask him about rocks sometimes and he tells me things about them, so maybe he’ll tell me if I ask.”

“Eh…It’s okay, buddy,” Justice said, waving a hand. “Look, Wis. I get it. We’re all runnin’ around like rocket roosters right now with the bridge down an’ all…but we still gotta follow proper protocol!”

He went on, outlining the exact bureaucratic process they would need to get the gate fixed, complete with Unsuur chiming in with the appropriate forms and what info each of them needed. Wis, completely at a loss for what to do or say, just stood there and listened to them go on and on. Was this…a deterrent? Trying to bore her into going away? She had to admit, it was working…

But right before she could finally make up her mind to turn around and leave, Mi-an suddenly appeared at the edge of her vision, sneaking quietly behind Unsuur. Wis almost reacted, but stayed put when Mi-an quickly put a finger to her lips. Neither corpsman noticed as she took out her tools and started shuffling the debris aside from the gate and picking up the bit of the sign that had fallen down. It made a bit of a racket, but they must’ve mistaken it for just some loud noises from the salvage yard next door.

And just as Justice was wrapping up his talk with what he would’ve preferred the official procedure to be like and sympathizing with Wis’s frustrations, Mi-an dusted her hands off and finally spoke up. “Hi guys!”

Justice nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around. “Wh–! Mi-an?!”

The other builder giggled innocently. “I just noticed that this door was broken, so…you know me! Bing bang boom, fixed ‘er right up!”

Unsuur exchanged a look with Justice. “She’s breaking protocol, sir… We didn’t even fill out the first form yet…” He sounded disappointed.

“Huh? Was I breaking the rules?”

Justice stammered a bit, evidently debating the ethics of slapping a fine onto someone who committed the heinous crime of…fixing a gate. “Eh…well… Lookee there, y’all! Whaddaya know? That there gate fixed itself! Wow! Well, less paperwork for us, at least.”

“Huh…yeah,” said Unsuur. “Welp. No paperwork. Bummer. At least people can go through now.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Justice said, the charade winding down as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright, Wis. Guess you can go. Just…be careful, okay? And Mi-an?”

“Hm?”

“No more vigilante buildin’, alright? I know…I know that it’s helpful ‘n all, but either the mayor or the minister’s gonna be lookin’ at us with a funny eye if we keep lettin’ it slide.”

“I dunno what you’re talking about, but yessir, sheriff!” Mi-an exclaimed with a sharp salute.

Justice just sighed and shook his head. “We oughta get back on patrol. C’mon, Unsuur.”

Unsuur nodded, and with one last look at the builders, the corpsmen walked away.

As soon as they were far enough away down the hill, Mi-an giggled again. “I was taking a break and I heard you guys talking. To be honest, I’ve always wanted to just fix that up, so I guess I just saw the opportunity!”

Wis laughed. “Never chalked you up to be a rulebreaker.” Especially since she was afraid of badmouthing Yan only a few weeks prior.

“Only when it’s for things like this! Small things…extra building…no boss…” Mi-an pouted. “Like yeah, I can understand construction zoning and stuff like that, but 5 forms?! For a gate?! We can fix things faster than the time it takes for them to get a single form filled out!”

“Maybe we can at least let Unsuur fill out the paperwork once in a while,” Wis chuckled, holding up a hand. “He seemed so eager!”

Mi-an slapped a solid high-five. “Oh, I’m sure with the Geeglers he’s already got plenty of paperwork. The Builder Cruise charges forward all the same!”

Mi-an’s break was ending, so after a quick wish of good luck and to be careful to Wis, she headed off down the hill to get back to the bridge.

Wis turned and cracked open the gate to Paradise Lost, carefully taking a look around. Robots milled about aimlessly on the makeshift pathways leading to the maw of the ruins proper. They looked to be the same ones she’d seen weeks ago from the salvage yard, still running their cycles without any directives to guide them anymore.

She took a deep breath, steeled herself, and stepped through the gate, into this new and unfamiliar territory.

------------

The robots outside were easy enough to avoid. Either she could wait for their backs to be turned to her and sneak around, or they were far too slow to catch or aim at her properly if she darted past them, throwing a rock back behind her to try and distract them.

Soon she was inside, riding down a loud and rumbly elevator that seemed to get stuck in a few places briefly before continuing down with a jolt. Was this the only exit? Wis certainly hoped not. If she got stuck down here, her only hope was Mi-an…

The shaft opened up to reveal a massive cavern, concealing what looked like an entire city neighborhood. The place was just about as big as Sandrock in terms of sprawl, and the buildings could reach just as high as the temple. Old oil fires burned in barrels along the sides of a makeshift path, cleared away by generations past.

Wis carefully stepped out of the elevator, listening for any signs of immediate danger. Echoing in the distance, she could make out the whirring and scraping of robots, all likely as aimless and hostile as the ones outside. Qi’s incredibly encouraging note ran through her mind again.

P.P.S.: The robots may try to kill you.

She grimaced. She’d try to sneak around them whenever she could, but if she had to fight…

Best not to think about it unless it came to that. Wis crept through the halls and the promenades of the derelict shopping center, watching all the robots carefully, hiding behind shelves still full of plastic toys, picking up the occasional card key, trying not to gag at the pervasive odor of burnt metal and gas and other sorts of chemicals that hung over the whole place.

After she swiped the yellow key card across its terminal, and the huge shutter door rolled open, an ugly buzzing sound alerted her of a grave mistake. Wis cursed as she was suddenly face to face with an angry robot, its alarm-like whizzing and whirring catching the attention of others further into the room. She should’ve hid behind the corner first to scope out if there was any danger inside. Things had been going so smoothly up to then that her guard had been let down a little.

The robot nearest to her rattled around, evidently with intent to attack. Its only mechanical arm reaches into its boxy chest and pulled something out. Some sort of projectile. Wis unsheathed her new bronze daggers, her hands still a bit unused to the weight and the grip, and charged in a curve to strike the robot’s opposite side. The robot lobbed whatever chemical sludge it had in its hand, thankfully missing her and splatting into the wall, filling the room with the eyewatering scent of ammonia.

With a grunt, she swiped her right dagger into the robot’s side, the combined force of the charge and the weapon and the weight fully leaning into it managed to tip it over with a distressed beeping. Wis finished it off with a drive of her dagger through its center, cutting off its fuel line and silencing it for good with a spurt of machine oil.

She could hardly celebrate her victory, though, as just when she withdrew the blade, she cried out. Something blazing hot and electric had struck her arm. Her head whipped around to see two of those little trotter bots ganging up.

Without much thought, Wis scrambled to get away as she saw their little guns charge up with blue light. A spur of the moment action, her feet had acted before her mind did, and she stumbled as her toe caught on something.

She heard two shots. Another blast of heat, right in her side this time. Yelling in pain again, her hands dropped her daggers, tumbling onto the floor with a CLANG as she hit the ground.

The adrenaline coursing through her veins made her eyes flicker around rapidly, looking for something, anything that could help.

She looked at her 10 o’clock. There was cover. She needed that.

Quickly spotting her weapons and pushing herself up, Wis rushed and ducked behind the store’s counter, next to empty cash registers and empty coin rolls. The trotters on the other side fired another round before emitting a series of confused-sounding beeps. The sound of their motors drew closer. They were patrolling for her.

Luckily, trotters never really hovered over countertops or tables. Perhaps an old remnant of their programming to not disturb the humans that mingled in these kinds of places. If Wis could just sneak around them…

She slipped in the opposite direction, but the counter was too long. One of the trotters appeared around the corner as she was about two-thirds of the way down, once again buzzing angrily.

Wis muttered a curse under her breath, trying to scoot faster, but the trotter fired a shot.

In a panic, Wis threw herself as flat as she could against the ground, the shot narrowly missing her.

Shit. She was too far to hit it now, but she was just about to round the corner of the other side of the counter—

Another angry buzz, right in her ear this time. A scream tore from her throat as the second trotter made itself known from its ambush point, already charging up a point-blank shot.

She panicked again, and her dagger swiped up with a speed that she didn’t know she had, slamming into the trotter’s chassis hard enough to dent it and throwing it two feet into the air. It landed upside-down on the ground, scrambling to right itself with its stubby little arms.

There was still the matter of the other trotter, still trying to fire volleys at the builder, its misses gradually getting less inaccurate.

Wis finally managed to scramble to her feet, hands clenched so hard around her daggers her knuckles were turning white, and bolted towards the back of the store.

The right-side-up trotter still maintained sights on its target, still firing volleys at Wis, who ducked and zigzagged around the open store floor. She needed to get rid of it somehow, lest it chase her forever.

The only answer was her pistol, which had been sitting idle in her holster forever. Still an intimidating foreign object in her hands. She’d only fired it a few times in the Gecko Station ruins, when she really needed to. She couldn’t trust herself otherwise.

Gritting her teeth, she drew and hid behind a corner. After a shot from the trotter flew past, she quickly stepped out into the open and fired three shots in quick succession, flinching as the BANGs rang in her ears.

Three misses.

Sucking in a breath, she quickly fell back behind cover. These bastards were small. Hard targets to hit even with daggers unless you were right up in their grill.

Another round of shots came from the trotter. Her heart was racing. Her hands were starting to shake.

She took a deep breath, trying to remember Justice’s advice when he gave her a proper primer on gun handling.

“Even in a tough situation, take three seconds and a deep breath, okay? Three seconds could save you three minutes, or three mags, or even your life.”

One at a time, she let go of the holster and shook the nerves out of her hands and wiped off the sweat that had built up.

“Keep a nice, firm grip.”

Another shot from the trotter.

“Your enemies can’t fire forever. They gotta stop and charge or reload. Listen for that pattern and shoot when you get the chance!”

The trotter could only fire in rounds of three. After the third shot, Wis leaped out from behind her cover.

“Y’know the thing I told you ‘bout three seconds? Well, similar thing here. You always wanna aim. Might take you one sec, might take three. But if you jus’ fire blindly, you ain’t gonna hit nothin’.”

Wis clenched her jaw again, carefully aiming down the sights to point directly at the center of the trotter’s face panel.

“Now—and this is the hardest part—you gotta try not to flinch. I know, it’s a weapon that can kill people and makes a mighty BANG, but you gotta use it like a tool, not let it use you. It’ll come with practice, don’t worry.”

Her eyes narrowed, they didn’t screw shut. Her trigger finger tightened.

One shot.

Two shots.

Direct hit.

The trotter, now with two fresh bullet holes in its casing, sparked, sputtered, and fell to the ground, stone still.

Again, there was no time to celebrate the small victory. Wis immediately holstered her gun and pulled out her daggers again, rushing in the direction of the other exit. She did not want to linger while there was still that other one active, albeit a bit stuck.

Luckily the next several corridors of the mall were passable without much issue. She still crept around as silently as she could, now flinching as the burns on her arm and side stung through her singed clothes.

Finally, she emerged out of the cluster of shops onto a promenade, the cavern roof way up above. Perhaps when this place was at its prime, this would’ve been a nice place to relax and take in the view. Now the view was nothing except dirt, decay, and the occasional oil fire.

Seeing no one and nothing around, Wis dropped to the floor, leaning up against the wall of the entrance with a sigh. Rustling around in her bag, she pulled out her first-aid kit and got the burn cream out. Trotter guns were designed to be nonlethal, but nonetheless a deterrent for intruders. So their shots still stung real bad.

After seeing to her burns and a couple other scrapes she’d gotten along the way, she sat there for a moment longer, letting herself breathe while sipping some water from her canteen.

Her mistake was unfortunate. Luckily she wasn’t up against those big lifter bots. Had she gotten hit by one of those things, she might not have even been able to make it back. Seems like she still needed some practice with hazardous ruins. Perhaps a couple more rounds through The Breach…

Once she was feeling a bit better, she stood up with a grunt, dusting her pants off. Whatever this was that Qi was looking for…it really better be worth it.

At the other end of the promenade was a tall cylindrical building. At the top was a massive holoscreen, still functioning centuries later. It was playing some sort of show, two giant robots clashing in a climactic battle. The video seemed to be stuck, though, forever looping the same five second clip of the robots facing off, sparks flying off their weapons.

Approaching the building and its massive doors, it was clear that whatever was in here was important. Wis took another deep breath, took out her daggers, and stepped forward to open the door.

As soon as she did, the first thing she saw was…a cat? A massive mechanical cat head, blaring alarms at her sudden, unauthorized entrance. But as intimidating as it looked, this was probably exactly what Wis was looking for. If there was any robot in here that had a powerful power core, this was it. She just needed to get to it first.

Two large cylindrical arms shot out of the robo cat’s sides, sparking to life with blazing electricity. One shock could knock her out, if not downright kill her. The cat started rotating, the arms advancing towards her.

Wis tried to back out the door to avoid them and come up with a plan, but her heart stopped when her back hit a wall. Locked in.

There wasn’t any time to try and unlock it. Wis threw herself onto the floor as flat as she could, screwing her eyes shut and waiting for the pain.

The popping sparks of electricity and the whir of motors nearly deafened her, but it passed over. And she was unscathed.

Cautiously opening her eyes, she glanced around as best she could at the cat’s spinning body, trying to come up with a game plan now that she had some semblance of a safe zone. The cat’s back was to her now, and three power charges lay exposed on its back. If she could shut those down…

The second arm passed over Wis, also just barely missing her. Her eyes followed the path of the arm as it circled back around again. It looked like it didn’t reach all the way to the wall. There was a decent gap in between that she could also squeeze into should she need it. But why a gap?

After another arm pass, Wis realized that she had to get up and do something. She stood up and walked with the cat’s cycling, moving in closer to investigate the power charges. She reached out to try and remove one, but her hand shot off with a yelp as she realized that it was hot in there. Made sense. This thing was probably working itself to its limits to try and expel her. She needed to shut this down first.

Now she was at the back of the room. A whole array of consoles and switchboards lines the wall. Wis looked around for something that could shut it off. Three prominent consoles caught her eye, each labeled with a letter like the power charges on the back.

She quickly grabbed a hold of the large lever on console A and tried to pull it.

No dice. Completely stuck.

Wis hissed and threw herself up against the nearby wall as an arm passed by. Ah. That was why there was a gap. The arms couldn’t touch the consoles lest it break them…

Her eyes widened. That was it. She had to wreck it!

Wis drove a dagger into the console, but despite the spark, it still seemed to be intact. The lights on the panel flickered, but were still lit. She cursed as she hid from the arms again. At this rate, she was going to be here forever. There were three of these that she had to destroy!

Change of plans. She withdrew her dagger and took out her pickhammer instead. Waiting for the right moment, she raised it above her head with a yell and brought it down as hard as she could into the console.

The board crumbled with a satisfying CRUNCH, and finally the lights flickered off.

The cat sputtered for a moment, the arms spasming before the whole thing fell still. Perfect.

Wis hurried around to one of the power charges, its chamber now much cooler. It would probably be a bad idea to try and smash it. These kinds of power cells could be flammable if their contents spilled, and with the constant sparking in here, it was bound to catch.

So instead, Wis drove the wrench end of her pickhammer into the charge terminal, severing its connection and yanking the thing out. The cat seemed to react, twitching back to life again.

Wis kicked the battery off to the side of the room, safely out of tripping range and the range of the arms. Now, all she had to do was the exact same thing again. And a third time.

And despite the cat somehow speeding up as it was losing power, out came the second and third cells, and the robotic cat fell silent for good.

After a brief moment frozen in place, as if the cat could suddenly spring to life again, Wis slumped to the ground with a huff. It was burning hot in this room, her wounds were still stinging, and all the adrenaline had finally worn off.

But she did it.

She ventured into dangerous ruins and fought all the way to the heart of it all by herself, all without any prior knowledge of the place. And now she was going to rip this damn power core out of this giant thing and return triumphant with her spoils.

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After very carefully unscrewing what looked to be a central power core, sauntering back through the ruins and back up the sketchy elevator, realizing it was now night out and suddenly feeling a lot sleepier, Wis was back in town. In her hand was her prize, not held aloft like a warrior holding up a felled enemy’s head, but swinging limply along with her tired arm.

She bypassed her house for now, lest the temptation to just fall into bed be too great before she relinquished the power core. And went to the clinic, more importantly. Passing through the tunnel up to the Research Center, she grumbled. If she went through all of this and the thing in her hand wasn’t what she had to grab, she was going to stab someone. Probably Qi.

She reached for the handle of Qi’s back door, groaning when she found it locked. Still, she reached up the hand holding the power core and banged the door a couple times. She was going to finish this task on her schedule, Qi’s be damned.

After a few moments of silence, she was about to bang the door again, but stopped when she heard the sound of someone descending the stairs inside.

The door opened up a crack, revealing the unamused face of Director Qi. “The Research Center closes at 10,” he droned.

Wis only held up the power core. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

“Let me see,” the director said, taking it from her and turning it over in his hand with an adjustment of his glasses. He hummed a few times, hands running along the grooves, until his eyes widened, and a bright smile spread across his face. “This is…!”

Wis frowned. She’d never seen that kind of look on Qi’s face.

“…An R47-Ultra core, with built-in flux capacitor…!” His gleaming eyes suddenly met Wis’s again. “Do you have any idea what this means?!”

Wis stammered, caught off guard. “Uh…well…what…is it?”

“What is it?!” Qi exclaimed, hand clenching tighter around the evidently very valuable core. “Only the rarer, more compact version of an R57 core, specifically built for All-Source AIs…”

Now that at least was familiar territory for Wis. Despite her exhaustion, she raised an eyebrow. “All-Sources…?” Large, centralized AIs designed to maintain entire facilities by utilizing other robots and its own powerful functions.

“Yes!” Qi nodded rapidly. “I knew it! There had to have been something like this in a facility like Paradise Lost, but I thought that it would’ve been unearthed ages ago already!” He stared down at the core in his hand again, grin widening a bit too much, a strange kind of fire in his eyes. “And they all said that I was mad, coming out here… ‘Just a sandbox?’ A sandbox with an aerospace metropolis and All-Source cores in shopping malls and—”

Wis cleared her throat before Qi could fully spring off the deep end, trying to make an out without sounding too abrupt. “Um. Well, that sounds interesting and all, but—”

The strange look on Qi’s face was suddenly lost, as if he forgot that Wis was still there. “Oh! You’re interested in the intricacies of this marvelous little component as well? Well naturally, I can tell you more. This device is said to have a higher heat capacity than—”

Wis held up a hand. “—But! I…I need to get to the clinic.” She felt herself get even more exhausted as her voice trailed off.

Qi hummed again, giving her a once over, only just then realizing the condition she was in. Coated in sweat, dirt, and grease stains, hair tangled and oily, clothes singed in a few places, and burns on her arm and hands. “Ah. True. Your condition appears to be suboptimal. Well, rest assured, I will make good use of this core and will let you know as soon as I can about any new developments.”

“Yeah, just send me a letter or something…”

“Right. Good night then, builder.”

The door shut again, and Wis was left out in the chilly, darkened street. With a sigh and a stretch, she started walking again, headed further in towards the clinic.

The relief of the job done finally washed over her again, and yet her mind was still stuck on something else.

Qi.

Since when did he ever get that…excited? She’d never seen him crack even so much as a smile before. She was starting to believe that he just didn’t smile, full stop. But when his face lit up like that and his voice suddenly got higher and brighter…was that even the same person?

She shook her head. Maybe her judgment call was a little premature. There was a whole lot more than what meets the eye with everything here, it seemed. And that included everyone too.

As she rang the emergency buzzer for the clinic, she idly wondered what exactly this place was. What Sandrock was before. What Sandrock is. What Sandrock will be tomorrow.

Well, she could at least answer the last question, at least in the short term.

Tomorrow, it would be the city she woke up to, a city filled with just as much intrigue as there were things to fix about it.

Though perhaps with her help, with at least one or two fewer things better about it.

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A/N: I personally don't like ripping dialogue from the game and pasting it straight into the text of a fic, to me it sticks out a little too much and takes me out of the story (something I've tried once or twice...and it's definitely on the weaker end of my work). So I remix the dialogue a little to better fit a two-way convo and enhance the dynamics between the characters.

But some lines are just gold and there's nothing more I can add or enhance. Qi's "P.P.S: The robots may try to kill you" is one of those lines. 😂

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