HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

That sounds like it will work out faultlessly. I am going to keep an eye out then.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by trekkie »

Looking forward to reading it.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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Will make for an even scaryer Halloween ... !!!
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

We will need something to do since this year's Halloween is gonna be DRASTICALLY different.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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(And we begin the massive Sabrina Story Line)

HousepetZ: Phenomena Of The Opera
Chapter I: A Night At The Opera House



"You know for an opera basing itself off of the Three Felines, I would've thought there'd be less of a love story and more, you know, horror." Sabrina thought to herself as the actresses portraying the three felines sung their love to the male actors playing their lovers. Indeed, while heavily inspired by the tale of the infamous Three Felines, the opera took a romanticized look at the three and turned their tale of horror and witchcraft into a tale of three lovers who were burned at the stake by three fellow jealous women with zero mention of their pact with a demon. It's another Twilight situation, Sabrina thought as the play went on, which was a situation where someone takes a cool or interesting concept and romanticizes it to death. This happened with many subjects that Sabrina loved; From werewolves with 'My Life As A Teenage Werewolf' to the Loch Ness Monster with the 'Our Watery Friends: Friendship Is Magical' television series. Still, with the whole background behind the Three Felines, she had hoped that perhaps someone would treat it with the respect it deserves and, same time, gave it to someone with actual love of this sort of thing. But, instead, the people behind the widely successful Revenge Of The Old Queen, the sequel to Rocky Horror Picture Show, took the story and, basically, went to town with it and created rock opera/comedy horror play 'Three Feline Follies', a play that couldn't have been farther from the story. Sure the music was good and catchy, being written by Jim Steinman who also penned most of Meat Loaf's famous songs, but as for the play itself? While many loved it, Sabrina was disappointed greatly in it. When she heard of the play, she was expecting something that would give some insight into the trio, not something one would find on the HBO late-night line-up. Thankfully, the curtains came down as the actresses and actors sang the last few bars of the song, signaling the intermission, which was a blessing to Sabrina, "Oh, thank dog!" she thought as she got up to leave, "I don't know how much more I could take."

The magnificence that was the Deep Red Opera House could only be described as being straight out of fairy tale. The pillars within were decorated with beautifully cut marble stone and were each handcrafted by the finest Italian stone cutters. The stained glass windows each were adorned with the warmest of colors and portraying a famous playwright throughout the ages, from Shakespeare to Andrew Lloyd Webber, for some reason. Inside the house was even more beautiful. The carpet was of rich, corinithan leather with nary a mark or stain, something the opera house's custodial staff were quite proud of. Even though it was an opera house, it still had some modern amenities; Televisions, an arcade area (something that even the founder of the Deep Red Opera Houses was excited for as he was a gamer at heart as well as a Opera writer), a daycare center for parents who brought their kids, and even a Starbucks, the later of which was always themed to whatever opera was being played. This was where Sabrina was currently, buying herself a simple latte and not one of the more crazier drinks one would find at a Starbucks, and once she got it, she walked off and sat down on one of coziest couches she ever sat on in her life. Her form sank into the cushion as she sipped her latte, the disappointment from the first act of the play still floating in her head. Earlier in the week, she had here to Dargento City to do some more research into the Three Felines. Named Feline Suspiriorum, Feline Tenebrarum, and Feline Lachrymarum, these three, supposedly, made a pact with a demon and were burned at the stake for witchcraft, among other assorted atrocities. While her research back in Babylon Gardens yielded some fruit in the form of a few history books, she figured she'd go to the place where they supposedly lived all those years ago and get some better research there: Dargento City. While it started off well, with a few trips to the library yielding even more fruit for her research basket, her quest came to an abrupt halt, thanks to the Three Felines Follies play and it's treatment of the source material. To say her mood was sour would be putting it gently but think about it. If you found out that they were making a, say, movie about a rather dark subject you knew about, say the Salem Witch Trials, and it ended up turning into a Disney Channel original film with no respect to the source material whatsoever, wouldn't you be upset? That is how Sabrina was feeling at that moment, though it wasn't to the point of storming out of the theater. No, it was more where she was just disappointed. Disappointed but not sad.

"Excuse me, miss?" Her train of thought was soon put on pause as a rather nice voice attracted her attention, "Do you mind if I sit here? I just want to drink my tea here." Sabrina looked up from her gaze at the well-dressed gentleman with a voice that had a rather lovely Scottish accent to it, "Oh, go right ahead. Sorry, I was just lost in thought for a bit," The gentleman smiled and thanked her, taking a seat on the couch and sipping his tea. Even though her heart belonged to Fido, Sabrina couldn't help but be taken in by the well-dressed gentleman next to her, with the alluring Scottish accent, his well-kept suit, and his nicely slicked hair.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but do you think of the opera so far?" The gentleman asked, once again putting her train of thought on pause as she shrugged, "Honestly? It's a bit of a disappointment. I've been looking into the whole history of the Three Felines and I thought this play was going shed a bit more light on it. Hmmph, guess I should've read the reviews, huh?" The gentleman chuckled, "Aye, that'd be true, lass. Tell the truth, I was curious to know more about the three myself but only to find a, shall we say, Las Vegas retelling, eh?" Sabrina laughed and sipped her latte, "True and, please, call me Sabrina."
"Sabrina? What a lovely name," The gentleman replied, causing Sabrina to blush, "You may call me David. I'm from River Ridge."
"Seriously? I'm from Babylon Garden, just down the road!" Sabrina replied, happy she found someone else from her neck of the woods. David was equally as happy and was ready to say a bit more when his phone decided to go off. Checking it, he groaned, "I'm sorry but I got to cut this short. Family emergency, nothing serious," As he was getting up to leave, he looked back at Sabrina and smiled, "It was nice meeting you, Sabrina. Next time you're in River Ridge, we should get some lunch sometime." Before Sabrina could even respond, David had vanished, "So that's how Gordon feels around Batman," she thought to herself as she finished off her latte. Just in time too as the PA system kicked in an announced for everyone to return to the theater as the second act was to begin shortly. Sabrina stood up from the couch and sighed, "Well, hopefully Act 2 is better then Act 1."

The curtains rose to a thunderous applause as Act Two of the opera began and, much to Sabrina's dismay, it was as bad if not worse then the first act. Ramping up the rock and delving more into the trio's love life, Sabrina wished that she had her own family emergency to attend to, anything to get her out of this mad house. She was surprised by the play's inclusion of the witch-hunters and how well they were treated, up until they broke into a rendition of 'In The Land Of The Pigs, The Butcher Is King', sending Sabrina's enjoyment factor down faster then ever before and, once again, she was waiting for the second act to end. Thankfully, in comparison to the first act, the second act was a bit shorter in length and she was, once more, back out in the lobby with the other opera goers. She was tempted to stop at the Starbucks once more for a drink but, not wanting to have another over-priced latte that she could make at home, she decided to check out some of the items that they had for display that were supposedly related to the trio. While most of the items were innocuous and very unimpressive, ranging from clothing to a voodoo doll of some sorts, there was one item that attracted Sabrina's attention greatly. Encased within a glass box and sitting on a small yet large pedestal was one of the most beautiful containers she had ever seen. The six corners of the container were decorated with gems that were seemingly the color of blood. It was wrapped up in cloth that was as black as the midnight sky with silver pillars on each corner. On the top of this magnificence was the famous Dragon's Eye Sapphire, the name coming from the black gem encrusted within the sapphire. And lastly, written on the a small metal logo, was the name of this incredible container, a name that Sabrina recognized immediately: Pandora's Box. Said to hold the souls of six of the most evil beings ever to roam the world or so the myth goes, which was something that even Sabrina found to be a bit unlikely. However, of all things within the case, there was another thing that got her attention quicker then the box itself. Below the name of the box was a small inscription that read:
Pandora's Box will soon be opened and with it shall come six beings with a shared interest
To close such a box, another must be open and a deal must be made
A deal so great and with a heavy price but will save a great many
Solve the puzzle and, if worthy, the deal shall be made.
But solve the puzzle and not worthy? May your suffering be legendary even in the Netherworld!

"Interesting," she thought while reading the inscription, though she seemed to be the only one finding any interest as it seemed everyone in the opera house was either passing it by, more occupied with their phones, or treating the box as nothing more than a prop from the opera. Disappointing, for sure, but with how the opera itself was treating the tale, it didn't surprise her so she just kept reading the inscription for a bit, wondering what it could be referring to when stating about a deal that is to be made if a puzzle is solved and, for that matter, who the deal would be made with. If it was indeed one of the Six within, then why, she thought, why a deal with them? Surely, there had to be some fine print to the deal cause, if there wasn't, then the Six within would only be Five within and the Sixth was a trapped good soul. Her thoughts soon became a mess as she tried to figure out more of the deal so, deciding that it wasn't probably worth looking too deeper into unless she had to, Sabrina turned and headed back for the couch where she sat before and waited for the PA systems to play the announcement for Act 3. Indeed, in no less than four minutes, the PA system informed all that Act 3 was about to begin and they should return to the theater.
"Well, no use in delaying the inevitable," she thought while she stood up from the couch and followed the crowd back to the theater. As she walked towards the crowd, she noticed that there were two theater goers who were still standing at the Pandora's Box display, one of whom was seemingly dressed rather immaculacy and a smaller, almost animal-like being next to them dressed in what could only be described as eye-catching green. Thinking they were there for the opera and she just didn't see them at first, she shrugged them off and enter the theater, returning to her seat as the orchestra section began the prelude song to Act 3. As the lights dimmed and the curtains rose, Sabrina could only pray that the last act was better then the first two as the actresses playing the three felines came out on stage, looking a bit more disheveled then before.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

Okay, this is clever and original. I'm also guessing "The THree Felines" is not about Rufus and the Barn Cats......... ;)
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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NHWestoN wrote: Sun Oct 11, 2020 1:54 pm Okay, this is clever and original. I'm also guessing "The THree Felines" is not about Rufus and the Barn Cats......... ;)
XD Nah, that's the Late Night Parody XD Glad you enjoyed it!
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This storyline has started out really great. Keep up the good work Sean.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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HousepetZ: Phenomena Of The Opera
Chpater 2: Terror Unleashed



Much to Sabrina's surprise, Act 3 of the play was actually a bit better then the previous two acts, but she couldn't place a paw on why that was. Everything about the act seemed to be the same as the previous acts but there was still something different about the play that she couldn't help but notice. Maybe it was the set dressings and how it took a more gothic look then the previous ones. Maybe it was the songs as they seemed more darker then before. Perhaps it was the cast themselves changing things up and giving a different performance; After all, they were getting close to the burning of the three felines, so perhaps the change in tone was intentional. Whatever the case may be, Sabrina felt the opera was now a bit better then it was. Not by much, mind you, just a bit. She did had to sit through two acts of shlock to get to the good stuff, which was disappointing to her. It also seemed she wasn't alone in sharing this thought, for it seemed many of the other opera goers were noticing this sudden change as well, with some quietly mumbling amongst themselves. But it did seem that one goer that was next to her was more confused then anything as she leaned over to her and whispered if the actresses playing the three felines seemed different to her, to which she shook her head and asked what she meant. "I don't know," she whispered, "But they don't look like the ones from earlier."
"Maybe they have a different trio for this part?" Sabrina replied, thinking that was the case, but the audience member shook her head and replied, "They don't. I've seen this opera a couple of times now and they always used the same actresses for the trio. These three just seem off-putting." Odd, Sabrina thought, but she did agree with the claim of the three being off-putting as they not only looked disheveled, but their movements looked a bit unnatural. While many would decry it, Sabrina took out her phone and, with the camera, zoomed in as much as she could, without losing any of the image quality, and snapped a non-flash picture of one of the actresses on stage playing Feline Suspiriorum, whom at the moment was being led to be burned at the stake. As she looked at the picture of the actress, who indeed looked a bit messier then the actress who was playing her, she began to agree with the audience member next to her and thought that there was indeed something off-putting about this trio. For one, their dress was a bit loose-fitting on them, in contrast to how tight it was on the other actress, something which was probably done for sex appeal and nothing more. For two, from what she could tell, her paw was more wrinkly then the actress and seemingly had some nails that were a bit longer than usual. But what was probably the biggest sign for Sabrina, that she could see in the picture, was the fur itself. The actress playing Suspiriorum had a light-brown color to her fur with some dark patches around her eyes. The feline on stage, however? Her fur was a dark-grey, almost silver color with no patches around the eyes, and a somewhat noticeable black mark running down the right arm. Showing the picture to the audience member, she confirmed to her that whoever was playing Suspiriorum was not the same actress as before. In fact, after snapping a pic of the ones playing Tenebrarum and Lachrymarum, it appeared that none of them were played by the previous actresses.
"What do you think is going on?" Sabrina whispered to the lady, who shrugged and was ready to whisper back a response when the brass section of the orchestra started playing the opening notes for 'Burning Trifecta'; It was time for the burning of the trio. The lady looked over to Sabrina and whispered, "Maybe this is something their doing as an experiment and will tell us after the play is over?" But of a stretch but could be true, Sabrina thought as she shrugged, though her gut was telling her something was heavily wrong her. On stage, once the trio were tied to the 'stakes', the actor playing the main witch finder general walked out on stage and began reading from a letter, which was basically the script for that scene, the crimes the trio were accused of and the punishment of death they were to receive for being witches and committing acts against their beliefs. So far, so normal, Sabrina thought as the judgment continued, though she still felt something was off.
"Do the convicted have any last words they wish to say?" The actor, very hammy in their delivery, proclaimed to the trio. Indeed, they did as the three said in unison:
We have been asleep for thousands of years.
Mankind had thought they had stopped us.
But our cries to Eudoant were heard!
The black one has fallen!
Our time has come again
!

The actors on stage began to murmur to each other, with one saying "That's not the line, Holly." Even the audience members were confused by the line as it seemed off from the rest of the tone of the opera. Sabrina herself was confused as their last words were supposed to be referencing someone in black being vanquished and they would return to continue Eudoant's work. While there was references to both the one in black and Eudoant, what was said on stage was vastly different then what was said on stage. She leaned over to her right once more to whisper something but was stopped when she heard an odd yet loud noise emanating through out the auditorium. She thought she was going crazy but it sounded like glass cracking. Then, suddenly, there was a loud scream from the stage and, from high above, all the lights began to shatter and rain down shards of sharp, broken glass down onto the audience, seriously wounding or killing many. Sabrina, acting fast, dove under her seat, which thankfully shielded herself from the shards, though when she came out, she could only look on in horror as the person next to her, the one that noticed the off putting trio on stage in the first place, was now no more then a corpse as pieces of glass were now sticking out of her body. On stage, the trio continued to scream as the actors on stage tried to escape, but many were not lucky enough. Those holding the 'torches' soon found themselves ablaze. Those who tied the trio up found themselves being twisted and contorted in gruesome ways. The witch finder general actor himself began to have cuts appear on his body, coating the stage and various members of the audience, all of whom began racing for the exits as the trio on stage loudly and with devilish fervor laughed and broke free of their bonds. As the chaos ensued and the audience tried their best to escape the terror occurring, Sabrina was already in the lobby, sitting on the couch and trying to catch her breath before turning her attention to the running crowd.
"What the heck is going on in there?" She wondered as she tried to piece everything together until she had a most horrifying thought. The trio on stage? The duo looking at Pandora's box? She began to wonder if the two were connected until the answer literately showed itself to her as she looked over at the exhibit. Surrounded by broken glass and laying on the floor was Pandora's Box and, to her horror, it was opened. It was then she realized what had happened: The duo from earlier, whoever they were, had opened the box and set the six within free and three of them were within the theater right now. "Oh crap," She said as she looked at the opened box before a scream caught her attention. Turning to face the theater entrance/exit again, she could only gasp as a patreon that ran out began twisting and contorting into a disgusting pile of bones right before her eyes. It was quickly evident to her that the theater was no longer safe and she needed to get out of there. But what of the box? She couldn't just leave it there for someone to take or, worse, destroy. Seeing she had no other choice and realizing no one was really paying attention, she took her cloak off, wrapped the box up in it, and sprinted out the doors of the theaters. Just as she got to the other side of the street, a bright light soon eminated from all the windows of the DeepRed Opera House before exploding, sending more shards of glass down on the running crowd below, killing a few more unlucky enough. Realizing it wasn't safe where she was, Sabrina bolted for the hotel she was staying at, the screams and cries of various patreons still echoing through the night as the sounds of firetrucks and medics soon joined in.

Once she was back in her hotel room, she quickly threw the cloak onto the bed and wrapped it, revealing Pandora's Box to her once more. But before she could even do anything else to it, another bright light suddenly flashed outside her window, causing her to look out and see what was going on. While it was a bit far away, she could tell something else happened at the opera house as three pillars of light soon shot into the air as swirling black clouds soon appeared over the area. But these clouds and the pillars only lasted a handful of seconds as, just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished, much to Sabrina's shock. "Alright," she gasped, her heart still going a mile a minute, "If someone did open the box and those three are The Three Felines...then that means the other three are loose as well, which also means..." her eyes went wide as she realized that this could be worse then both the zombie apocalypse and The Game she was a part of combined. The only way to stop them, she realized, is to find a way to get all six back into Pandora's Box. There was only one small issue: Where would she start?
"If memory serves me right from my research, then the six of the box are the Three Felines, The Mortician, The One Beneath The Earth, and The Dream Master and since I saw the Felines first, I think I should...wait, me?" Sabrina thought it was odd that she immediately thought she should put them back in the box. However, she was the one who did the most research into the box and she had first-hand experience with the trio, so it only made sense. "Plus, everyone else in Babylon Gardens had their time to shine, so why not me?" She smiled. It was decided; she would go after the six and reseal them back within Pandora's Box. As to what she'd do with the box, she wasn't sure yet as her main goal was to get the six. Only one issue: Where would she look? Hopping on her phone, she began looking up the trio to see where they resided as she thought that if she would start there, she could hopefully get an idea where the trio was. Well, Suspiriorum was the first witch, she thought, so she started looking into her. Surprisingly, the research was very quick as it seemed Suspiriorum, back in the day, ran a dance school in, to her surprise, Dargento City. "Guess that's where I'm going first," she smiled.

(Next time...HousepetZ: The Sighs Of The First Feline)

*Editors Note: Changed 'One Of The Night' to 'One Beneath The Earth'
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by trekkie »

Go Sabrina, kick their tails! Great spooky chapter. Liked the previous chapter as well, a coffee shop isn't a bad idea in a theater.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

This chapter was just awesome. Really does fit in with the Halloween atmosphere since that holiday is coming up.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by SeanWolf »

Thanks folks! Now this leads me to a question: Would you guys prefer all future arcs to be set up like this (One long chapter) or each arc for each season be split up into multiple chapters like usual?
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

Amazee Dayzee wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 4:48 pm This chapter was just awesome. Really does fit in with the Halloween atmosphere since that holiday is coming up.
Phenom of the Opera! ;)
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

A really creepy story or part of a story because it has a series of stories should definitely be reserved for Halloween if it is close to the holiday itself!
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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NHWestoN wrote: Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:29 pm
Amazee Dayzee wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 4:48 pm This chapter was just awesome. Really does fit in with the Halloween atmosphere since that holiday is coming up.
Phenom of the Opera! ;)
Fun fact, the title of these two chapters, Phenomena Of The Opera, is a reference to two Dario Argento films: Phenomena and Opera.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

SeanWolf wrote: Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:09 pm
NHWestoN wrote: Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:29 pm
Amazee Dayzee wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 4:48 pm This chapter was just awesome. Really does fit in with the Halloween atmosphere since that holiday is coming up.
Phenom of the Opera! ;)
Fun fact, the title of these two chapters, Phenomena Of The Opera, is a reference to two Dario Argento films: Phenomena and Opera.
Not "Phantom of the Opera"? :(
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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NHWestoN wrote: Thu Oct 15, 2020 4:15 pm
SeanWolf wrote: Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:09 pm
NHWestoN wrote: Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:29 pm

Phenom of the Opera! ;)
Fun fact, the title of these two chapters, Phenomena Of The Opera, is a reference to two Dario Argento films: Phenomena and Opera.
Not "Phantom of the Opera"? :(
Well, in a way it was. The title was also a sort of play on words :)
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

Puns rule! Sorta... Well, maybe not so much... But Sabrina swings !!!
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by SeanWolf »

So a little update: I'm cutting one of the arcs from this Sabrina story-line as it honestly dragged the story a bit and honestly wouldn't be a fun read (arc was Sabrina VS The Tall Man from Phantasms).
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

SeanWolf wrote: Mon Oct 26, 2020 7:09 am So a little update: I'm cutting one of the arcs from this Sabrina story-line as it honestly dragged the story a bit and honestly wouldn't be a fun read (arc was Sabrina VS The Tall Man from Phantasms).
Better'n "Slenderman", eh? ;)
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I'm sure that whatever decisions you make about cutting arcs will be the correct ones. So far the story is a very enjoyable read.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

A key component of good writing is good editing. "Omit boldly!" as one of my favorite history text writers liked to say.......
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by trekkie »

Only you can know what best fits your story, and I’m sure that the end result will be very enjoyable for as all.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by SeanWolf »

Thanks guys! Truth be told, the reason I cut the Tall Man section was, in short, the Tall Man himself. Looking at the movies he came from, Phantasm, he didn't really do much other then look menacing. In fact, the only threat in said films were the Silver Orbs and Dwarfs and that didn't really give me much to work with, hence the cutting. Thankfully, the remaining ones are easier to work with and more fun, but I won't spoil the two who are coming next (though I'm pretty sure the hint 'Dream Master' may be enough to clue you guys in as to who she'll be going up against later).
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

The "Dream Master" that Sabrina is going to have to face sounds like a really ghoulish villain! I can't wait to see how that chapter is going to play out!
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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SeanWolf wrote: Tue Oct 27, 2020 8:06 am Thanks guys! Truth be told, the reason I cut the Tall Man section was, in short, the Tall Man himself. Looking at the movies he came from, Phantasm, he didn't really do much other then look menacing. In fact, the only threat in said films were the Silver Orbs and Dwarfs and that didn't really give me much to work with, hence the cutting. Thankfully, the remaining ones are easier to work with and more fun, but I won't spoil the two who are coming next (though I'm pretty sure the hint 'Dream Master' may be enough to clue you guys in as to who she'll be going up against later).
Yeah, looking menacing worked for Rex for a while but the dramatic potential never emerged.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by SeanWolf »

Next chapter should go up tomorrow (just in time for Halloween)! Got busy with shopping today and working on other things so I didn't have time to work on the chapter.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by trekkie »

Perfect day for another chapter of a spooky story, looking forward to reading it.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by SeanWolf »

I want to apologize for this arc. My research into the Dario Argento films showed that it just wouldn't work as a story, hence why this arc is how it is. Thankfully, the next arcs will be easier as they do translate better to book form :) Oh yeah, see if you can guess who Sabrina's going against in Season 12.


HousepetZ: Pandora's Box
Episode I: Sighs Of The First Feline



The next day, the morning sun rose to vanquish the night, though the stench still remained. The Deep Red Opera House was in disarray from the previous nights opening with the various bodys and remains of the unfortunate still littering both the streets and insides. The various news outlets were all focused on the events, with many focused on the three felines themselves. Sabrina, one of the many survivors of that night, was sitting on the couch in the hotel room, sipping her tea, still trying to wrap her mind around last nights terrors. Much to her dismay, she had already decided to go after the trio, along with the rest of the escaped inhabitants of the box, in an attempt to recapture them but, like all ideas, there was one small problem: How would she get them into the box? She couldn't just ask them to crawl in, could she? These thoughts and more occupied her mind as the audio from the news played while she browsed her phone, looking up as much info as she could in regards to the trio, in this case Feline Suspiriorum. She already learned that she ran a dance school back in the day, though the date was odd to her; If she died via burning at the steak back in 1721, then why is there a picture of her from 1945? Unless the one who ran the dance school was a different feline who was unfortunately named Suspiriorum, something was just not adding up. Stretching her arms out, Sabrina began to grumble to herself before turning her attention back to the now-opened Pandora's Box, "Too bad this isn't Pokemon, I could've easily captured them...if I still had my magic(k). I'd give anything to have myWHOOPS!" she yelped as her paw smacked the top of the box, knocking the sapphire at the top off to the ground, yet it didn't shatter, much to her surprise. As she lifted the sapphire up, she then noticed something different about it; The dragon's eye? In contrast to the first time she saw it, the eye seemed to be shut. At first, she wondered if she imagined the 'eye' being opened when she saw it at the opera house until she had a thought: What if the reason the eye was open was because it was watching over the box and, since the box is open and the spirits within are loose, the eye is shut? What if the eye itself is the way to capture the Six Within?
"Well, it's worth a shot if I find one of them," Sabrina said, placing the sapphire in her bag while putting Pandora's Box in her suitcase, thankful she didn't bring her laptop with her as that would've made putting the box in very hard, "Anyway, guess I should head over to that dance school and check things out, do a little research...and maybe find that feline."

The Helena Markos Academy, located in downtown Dargento City, was the city's most prestigious dance academy. Founded in 1940 by the academy's namesake Helena Markos, it was considered by all who went there as one of the finest places to learn how to dance, along with being the home of many incredible shows, up until it's mysterious closure in 1977 and reopening in 2008. The closure being the most mysterious as no one knows why it closed its doors suddenly, especially all those who worked under Helena Markos, who seemingly vanished on January 29th, 1977. The new caretaker of the academy, a woman named Suzy Bannion, then bought the place and reopened it on June 6th, 2008 and, since then, it has retained it's rank as one of the finest academies in the world. However, since the reopening, many had reported hearing and seeing some strange and otherwise occult things going on, especially at night, with some reporting hearing the ghastly and almost inhuman wails coming from within. This had lead many to speculate that the soul of Helena Markos haunts the academy, looking for the 'perfect dance' and longing for a partner once more. The choice of Helena wasn't randomly by any means as, even when she ran the academy, there were reports of her being involved with the occult and having magical powers, with many a male who was said to have been with her seemingly dying under mysterious circumstances. While all of this would be a prime target for the SyFy channel and their cheap Ghost Hunting shows, instead it was a target for Sabrina, whose taxi pulled up to the academy's front door as she finished reading the backstory. Grabbing her bag which contained a notebook and the dragon's eye sapphire and paying the cabbie, she stepped out onto the brick pathway and took in the magnificence of the place. Like the Deep Red Opera House, the Academy was crafted by the finest Italian stone cutters, looking like something out of a gothic story. In fact it reminded her of the opera house so much that she wondered if the founder of the opera was inspired by the academy. Walking up to the beautifully painted red door, admiring the metal knocker that looked like a gargoyle, she took hold and knocked the door, waiting for an answer. The door then opened up to reveal a woman, who looked to be in her early 50's, dressed in your typical dance instructor attire for such an academy. The woman looked down at Sabrina who answered, "Hi, I'm Sabrina? I called in earlier today in regards..."
"Oh, you're Sabrina?" The woman replied, her mouth turning from stern to smiling, "Please, come in. My name is Jessica Harper; I'm the caretaker of this academy. Suzy would like to extend her apologies as she wanted to be the one who greets you but she got caught up in dance instructions."
"Apologies accepted," Sabrina smiled as she followed Jessica into the lobby, impressed with the sheer size of the place as she was with the Deep Red Opera House, "I'm to take it she told you about why I'm here, Miss Harper?"
"Please, call me Jessica," Jessica smiled, "And yes, she did. She said you were doing a paper on the academy for your town's newspaper and wanted to learn about the history, correct?" Now this was a lie but she had this feeling that if she told the truth, that she was hunting a feline named Feline Suspiriorum, they would probably just instantly hang up on her, so she came up with a quick lie to cover her tracks. She wasn't proud of it but it seemed to be working for the moment. "Yes," Sabrina replied, taking her notebook out, "She said it would be OK if I walk around the place and hit the library here, but to not go into a certain room?" Jess's smile turned to that of a stern look as Sabrina brought up the room in question, "Yes; Room 1292. That is Helena's personal room and one no one is allowed in." She nodded, agreeing she wouldn't even go to the room, though she knew she would have to if her research proves accurate. Once she agreed, Jessica went back to smiling and informed her on where each room that she should visit is, along with telling her that if she needs any help to ring a bell that is located in each and every room. Sabrina thanked her and, once Jessica was out of earshot, peaked in her bag at the sapphire, "OK, buddy. Let's get to work," she mumbled before closing the bag up and began exploring the academy, taking pictures with her phone in order to keep up the reporter disguise, all the while keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

"I tried looking for any info I could on Helena Markos after I bought the academy but there was barely anything out there, other then the rumors," Sabrina nodded as Suzy Bannion spoke. A fellow feline who looked to be up there in age, Suzy was the new owner of the Helena Markos Academy and, while her life was better documented then Helena, along with being a fellow feline, Sabrina couldn't shake the feeling that something was just off with her. In fact, the whole academy had a weird vibe to it that she couldn't shake from her gut. The previous day, as she wondered the halls, she couldn't help but feel that she was being watched and followed every second and that something clearly didn't want her there. How she could tell is something even she couldn't explain but something or someone just didn't want her snooping around.
"I see. Well, thank you for time today, Suzy," Sabrina nodded as Suzy smiled, thanking her for the wonderful interview and stretching a paw out for her to shake. As she did, Sabrina couldn't help but the feel that Suzy's paw was a bit on the cold side, if not freezing to the touch. Probably just the air, Sabrina thought, as they released their grips and Sabrina stood up from the chair. She then snapped her fingers, "Oh, I hope you don't mind but I do have one, off the record question I'm wondering if you could answer," Suzy shrugged and said she'll try her best, her face soon turning to shock as she watched Sabrina pull the dragon's eye sapphire out, the titular eye now open. "Do you know anything about this sapphire?" She asked, taking note of Suzy's reaction to it, being a mixture of the aforementioned shock and horror, along with a glare of death, "Suzy? Are you OK?" She then asked, noticing how pale Suzy was becoming before grabbing a nearby bell and ringing it, summoning Jessica to the parlor who then rushed over to Suzy and began checking her out.
"What happened, Sabrina?" She asked as began calming Suzy down, to which Sabrina said, "I just showed her this sapphire..." The moment Jessica saw the sapphire in Sabrina's paw, she suddenly hissed and, with Suzy in her arms, rushed out of the room, leaving Sabrina standing there with the sapphire, whose eye was now shut. It was suddenly very quiet, save for the soft chatter of dance students and the distant running of Jessica. She then gripped the sapphire and walked out, following the sound of Jessica's running, running up the nearby stairs to the second floor. Slowing herself to a quiet walk, she listened closely to see where the duo ran off to and, after a while, found where they did. To her surprise, it was Room 1292: Helena Markos' room. Seeing that the door was just barely opened, she peaked in, hoping to catch the duo inside. Indeed, for on the bed was both Suzy and Jessica, the former laying on the bed while the later sitting next to her, petting her.
"Where did she get that accursed stone?!" Suzy hissed, "I thought I saw the last of it in 2008!" Jessica shook her head, "Perhaps she was there when you escaped the box and took the stone with her." Suzy hissed again, "When those two fools opened the box and freed my souls, I thought I was never to see that box again. That cursed Eudoant lied to me!" Sabrina's ears perked up as Suzy hissed. Eudonat? Souls? There were Three Felines, Sabrina thought, so why was Suzy speaking of when her souls were free? Sadly, she didn't have long to think as she suddenly felt herself being lifted up and brought into the room where the two were.
"Mother Bannion? Mother Harper? You have an unwanted guest," the dancer said as Sabrina hung from her hand while trying to get herself free.
"Hello again, Child," Suzy hissed, "Didn't Jessica here tell you never to come to this room? Didn't she?!" Sabrina hissed back, "She did, Suzy...or should I say: Lachrymarum? There were never Three Felines! Just the one! You first went by Suspiriorum before you were burned for witchcraft. Then you became Tenebrarum and ran this...this academy before being locked in Pandora's Box. Now you're Lachrymarum, right? Looking to continue your work?" Both Jessica and Suzy looked at each other and laughed, Suzy then standing up on the bed and placing a paw on Jessica, "Observe," she said and began chanting ominously. Sabrina watched in horror as Jessica began to wither away as her soul began to be absorbed into Suzy/Lachrymarum before becoming nothing more then a pile of bones and dust. She then looked to Sabrina and motioned for the dancer, who was no more then a mere hollow shell of her former self, to bring her forth. "Now, be a dear: Give me the sapphire." Sabrina struggled some more as Lachrymarum gripped her neck, screaming for her to give her the stone. In between chokes, Sabrina reached into her bag for the sapphire, "Y-you want it? OK...TAKE IT!" Whipping out a pencil instead of the stone, she jammed the writing device into Lachrymarum's paw hard, causing her to scream and make the dancer drop Sabrina, who quickly caught her breath from being choked. With her breath returned, she dove under the bed and popped out the other side, taking the sapphire out at the same time, which now had a swirling vortex in the middle. Lachrymarum hissed and screamed curses at Sabrina as she absorbed the remaining lifeforce from the dancer and began to leap towards her but stopped at gasped as Sabrina pointed the dragon's eye sapphire at her. The vortex within became larger as Lachrymarum began screaming and thrashing about, trying her best to break free of the pull, the screams of the rest of the academy's inhabitants filling the air as they too evaporate into nothingness. But it was to no advail as she was soon sucked into the sapphire and, same time, back into the Pandora's Box, her three images filling the sides. As the vortex closed and the eye shut, Sabrina bent over and began panting from the experience, laughing a bit to calm her nerves before walking out of the room and leaving the now deserted and dilapidated dance academy behind, devoid of any souls within and now nothing more then a distant memory, as she took a taxi back to her hotel room to grab Pandora's Box, along with the suitcase she kept it in. As she left the hotel and began walking to the train station, a thought then entered her head, "That was only three of the six. While it wasn't my fault it was opened, I feel it's my duty now to recapture them....right..." Sabrina, taking a deep breath, knew what she had to do. Even though the Three Felines aka just one insane feline were now locked within the box once more, there were still three more beings out there and she was going to find them. Spotting a nearby truck and it's owners next to it, both with denim jackets while one had a cowboy hat on, she hurried over and, after asking where they were headed, asked if she could tag along, offering to pay for both the gas and their meals.
"Sure, hop in, miss!" the open-denim jacket one said, helping her into the truck as the other jacket wearer got in on the other side, "Name's Val and that's Earl, what's your name?"
"Sabrina," she replied as they took off down the road, leaving the relative safety of Dargento City behind and heading west to where ever the road took the trio and, hopefully, to the next soul for Pandora's Box.

(Next Time...Watch Where You Step...Season 12)
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by trekkie »

Good job Sabrina! Great spooky chapter for Halloween. Looking forward to reading about the further adventures of Sabrina.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

Wow! Cartier's doesn't carry that kinda jewelry, does it?

Happy Halloween, Sean Wolf and Fanz. :)
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Really great job on how this chapter came out. Wish we could have more Halloween chapters but since it only comes once a year we will have to make due with this amazing piece of work.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by SeanWolf »

Amazee Dayzee wrote: Sun Nov 01, 2020 2:13 pm Really great job on how this chapter came out. Wish we could have more Halloween chapters but since it only comes once a year we will have to make due with this amazing piece of work.
Well, October was a bit of a busy month for me so I wasn't able to really do a full month of spoopy Halloween stories. Still, glad you guys enjoyed the arc and, like I said, next arc is gonna be FUN (There are a few hints at the bottom of the recent chapter as to who/what Sabrina is going against next time)!
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

Post-Halloween scare-up, eh?
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

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NHWestoN wrote: Sun Nov 01, 2020 7:03 pm Post-Halloween scare-up, eh?
Not really a 'scare-up' but more of a fun arc :) Again, not gonna spoil anything (I'm leaving the guessing up to y'all) but it's not a horror based one...for the most part.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by NHWestoN »

It'll be enjoyable whatsome ever. ;)
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by trekkie »

I’m a Sabrina fan, and I love what you’re doing with her, so I know I’ll enjoy whatever give us.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

For myself, I'm just glad that Sabrina is having more of the spotlight coming down on her.
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by SeanWolf »

Might be a bit of a delay in the next arc starting up. Got a bit of work to do irl with the new radio station/rebranding of Cove Radio (we are now REALM OF ANUBIS), so I'll be a wee bit distracted but I think I should be able to do some work on it by Thursday!

I was going to keep this a surprise, seeing as no one has figured it out, but since it's my birthday weekend, why not (I'm keeping the last arc of the Pandora's Box storyline secret for now)? The upcoming arc? It's...Sabrina VS The Grabboids from Tremors!
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Re: HousepetZ: Survivor Tails

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Sounds like a really good time. Hope they aren't too grabby.
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