Author's note: Numerous people pointed out to me that I forgot to post this. Thank you for letting me know. I tried to keep track of which chapters I needed to post, but I messed up. Sorry for the confusion, and I hope this helps to make chapter 6 flow better.

Chapter 5: Sleepover

The tavern's weathered sign creaked in the autumn wind, its faded lettering barely legible in the gathering dusk. Inside, three figures occupied a corner table well away from the evening crowd, their drinks barely touched as they waited. Dhuson Blunthammer's thick dwarven fingers drummed impatiently against his ale mug while David Smythe and the man known only as Crash watched the door with practiced casualness.

The Crystal Hall cafeteria buzzed with morning activity, sunlight streaming through the massive geodesic dome to illuminate the central arboretum. Ethan sat at what had become their regular table, surrounded by what she now hesitantly thought of as friends. A full week had passed since her dramatic teleportation incident with Kira—seven days of intensive training, gradual improvements, and subtle shifts in her relationships with everyone around her.

Chapter 6: What's New

Millie's brow furrowed as she scrunched up her nose, deep in thought. Her delicate fingers tapped rhythmically against her chin, and I could almost see the gears turning in her mind. Suddenly, her face lit up with a bright smile, her eyes gleaming with inspiration.

"I know! We can do Dancing Lights! We can do that one, right?" she asked excitedly, barely able to contain herself as she twirled on the spot.

Ethan entered the small practice room in Laird Hall, her stomach knotting with a peculiar mix of anxiety and anticipation. The space was modest—just a square mat area surrounded by mirrored walls, with a few practice dummies and basic equipment stored along one side. Designed for individual training rather than classes, it offered the privacy she desperately needed for what was about to happen.

Chapter 3: Feedback Loop

The night air was thick with tension as Tim and Joey sat in the Porsche, adrenaline coursing through their veins. Tim gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white against the leather. The engine purred beneath him; a powerful beast ready to be unleashed. He glanced at Joey, whose wide eyes reflected both excitement and fear.

No one asked for it, but here is the backstory Allie references to in ”The Duel”
This is an AI-assisted story as I wanted to see how close it could come to the storyline I wanted to write.
Created using NovelAI with very little change.
Let me know what you think (and I am not going to use AI for my other stories, just for these two,

Ethan arrived ten minutes early for her mandatory Warper control session with Professor Reynard, nervously tugging at the upgraded tracking band now encircling her wrist. The new device looked almost identical to the old one, except for a small blinking light and slightly increased weight—minor differences that somehow made it feel all the more intrusive.

Chapter 13

When Willow went in, Wendy had some sandwiches for her after she had changed.

“How did this mysterious meeting go? Are you ruling the world yet?”

“Not that serious, Mum. All I did was to get together with a few people and play them some songs which I thought might make a good concert.”

“Oh, yes. Now give, before I get you some ice cream.”

Ethan sat nervously in Professor Miranda Webb's Warper Theory classroom, fidgeting with the white "Pacifist" band around her wrist. The band had taken on a more complex meaning after the incident with Rex in the cafeteria yesterday. What had begun as a simple designation had become a constant reminder of just how dangerous her uncontrolled abilities could be.

Before I go home I’ll just check the announcement board. Our principal is a traditionalist so everything important is announced on the announcement board. This time I want to confirm that I’m on the list for the school’s womanless beauty contest.

My name is there all right. Peter Dupont in big letters. The problem is the big black line through it and the additional comment “Disqualified”. How can they do that! I’ll have to talk to the Principal!

The Interview (3)
by
Angharad.

Chapter 12

Sunday morning, they were up and ready for church. Willow showed her parents the pathway across the field, and it was a pleasant stroll in the morning sun. At the church, they saw Maisie and Gina arriving, so the girls left the adults to talk and went up to prepare the organ for the morning service. Willow asked if Gina wanted to play the arrival music, and she sat at the keyboard and started doodling Bach and Beethoven piano pieces.

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Benyamin's Treasure

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Prologue - Adara's Story

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There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can't imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books. John 21:25 The Message

Chapter 18: Another Day, Another Blow
The following day, Yuqi walked into school with trepidation gnawing at her insides. Her parents had promised to handle the situation, but Yuqi wasn’t naive enough to think things would change overnight. As she approached her locker, her pulse quickened. The image of the graffiti inside her locker the day before was fresh in her mind, and she dreaded what she might find today.

Chapter 11

They spent two hours working with the music. They didn’t have the numbers that the piece was written for but made do with a pruned down orchestra. There was enough percussion players to fill out that section, but the strings were thinned out a bit. There was a full complement of brass players, and Willow wondered if there was an evening brass band.

The bedroom door slammed with such force that the framed diploma on the wall tilted sideways. Ethan didn't bother to fix it. She collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling she'd gazed at for the past seventeen years of her life. The same ceiling, the same room, but everything else had changed.

It was during my fourth period English class when the principal’s secretary entered the classroom and talked to the teacher. I was summoned to go with her, immediately I wondered what I had done wrong, my guilty conscious really getting to me. In the principal’s office I met another lady who looked vaguely familiar. She hugged me while putting her finger to my lips.