Hey, sorry it took me so long to update. I was concentrating on my other story, Forest of Evermore. I noticed no one corrected me on Andrew Ketterly's name, by the way. Please, I really want to know when I mess stuff up, tell me these things.

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Clive shrugged and pocketed the box. Maybe Maureen would find the rings interesting. At any rate, he climbed down to the rails and retrieved the umbrella. He ran through the pelting rain back to his nice warm home, and was surprised to see Maureen greet him at he door.

"What are you doing up?" he cried incredulously. "What about your foot?"

She tried it out, but winced. "It's feeling better. Listen, I was just up in your attic, and-"

"What were you doing in my attic?" he snapped.

"I heard you go up when I was laying down, and I figured you might have found something. Don't worry, I got your parent's permission. Anyways, I was up there, and I found this room, and all these books with the name-"

"Andrew Ketterly (I had to fix it, it says "Kirke" in the first chapter)," said Clive, cutting her off again. "Yeah, I found the same room."

"Who do you s'pose he was?"

He started to offer her the umbrella. "I dunno, maybe... hey, what's that your holding?" Clive trailed off as he noticed a large book tucked under Maureen's arm. He withdrew the umbrella.

"Oh, this? It was in the desk drawer. There was some rubbish in here about some 'Rings made from the dust of Atlantis' that this 'Andrew Ketterly' fellow made. Are you paying attention to me?" she asked as she watched his eyes wander to his pocket.

"Oh, yes, go on," he said distractedly.

"That's it. That's all there was in it. I was just about to put it back when you came in."

Clive's eyes wandered up and apparently found a very interesting ceiling tile, for he was no longer paying any attention at all to Maureen.

"Can I have my umbrella back now?" she asked rather loudly.

"Wha- oh, yes," he mumbled, handing her the umbrella. "Are you finished reading that?" he continued, motioning to the book and withdrawing the umbrella again. This drew an frustrated breath from Maureen.

"Yes, here," she said, exasperated. "Now can I kindly have my umbrella?"

Clive hardly remembered handing her the umbrella and her huff as she left the house, limping. He simply went up to his room, closed the door, and threw the book on his bed. Opening it, he read:

Report on Atlantis Rings: 1

I have started my work on the Rings. I have achieved no visible result from them, and am stuck with an office full of guinea pigs. I hope to discover a new method of forging the Rings.

Report on Atlantis Rings: 2

Something happened today while I was working. True, it is a step forward, but I don't know if it is in the right direction. I touched a Ring to a guinea pig today, and was rewarded with a n explosion as the poor creature blew up. I now know not to add that much dust to the mixture.

Report on Atlantis Rings: 3

Most of my guinea pigs are still exploding, but today, one did not. In fact, I thought it did exactly what I wanted it to. However, I later found it in my desk drawer, deformed. Its face was contorted, and the limbs were sticking out at odd angles. On the bright side, I will soon have discovered the formula for the forging process. If not, I will run out of dust.

Report on Atlantis Rings: 4

It happened today! I had written up a new formula, and made a ring, which failed, but then it came to me! Why not add a few specks of normal dust to counteract the deforming and destructive power of the Atlantis dust? I eagerly applied this idea to my next Ring, and it worked! The guinea pig disappeared. I searched my office thoroughly, and discovered that it was truly gone. To be sure, I did a quick check of the surrounding area, and to my delight, the guinea pig was nowhere to be found! I quickly crafted 16 more rings, eight of each kind. I have decided to keep a little dust left over, in case this Ring has some delayed side effects, but my hopes are high. Now all I need are some human trials, specimens that have the brains to return and tell me what they saw.

Report on Atlantis Rings: 5

Fortune smiled upon me today. I was working in the back room when I heard the door to my office open. Waiting to see who could have found my secluded haven, I poised myself at the door. It was none other than my wretched nephew and his little friend. I was about to run them out an tell them off, when I noticed the girl starting for my Rings. Struck with inspiration, I entered the room, scaring the wits out of both of them. Once they calmed down, I offered a Yellow Ring to the girl. She took it eagerly, and disappeared. My horrible nephew was livid, and I had to convince him to go after her with two Green Rings. I now sit and wait for their return, waiting to see what other worlds lie outside this one.

Clive sat stunned. He pulled the rings he had found at the old train station and looked on them with awe. He counted them again to make sure he hadn't been mistaken. No, there were definitely sixteen there, eight of both kinds. He reached out to touch a yellow one, then thought of Maureen. Surely she would want to go with him? No, he decided. If it doesn't work , and if I got her worked up over nothing, she'll certainly be angry. He was about to grab the yellow ring again, but he shivered. It was almost as if something were screaming in his head to pocked a green ring first. Deciding it couldn't hurt, he snatched up a green ring and placed it in his hip pocket. Now, he grabbed the yellow ring, and had the strangest sensation overcome him. It felt as if he were falling, but not going anywhere. He felt gravity return, but it took him a moment to realize that he was floating in water. He climbed out of the pool, shivering, but he didn't know why. It wasn't cold. He was surrounded by an endless forest, as far as the eye could see. Little pools like the one he had climbed out of where everywhere. About ten feet wide, they were literally everywhere. He was still filled with that wonderful sensation, making him forget all his worries. He wandered aimlessly over to a tree and sat down. Complete bliss surrounded him. It seemed like hours before he finally remembered what had happened. Worried now, he was alert. He noticed something unusual. He, thankfully, remembered the pool he had climbed in and now saw that a huge gaping hole was inches away from it. It didn't look like an emptied pool, it looked almost like a disease was eating away the ground. He jumped up, remembering his house, and started to panic. He had no idea how to get there. He slipped the yellow ring back onto his finger, but nothing happened. He twisted it, trying to make it do something, but to no avail. Panicking fully, he desperately tried on the green ring, but it also did nothing. He threw the rings to the ground and tried to force his way through the pool, but the water was now only as deep as his ankles. Screaming in frustration, he swooped down on the rings and clenched them, trying to destroy them in his frustration. However, in his fury, he tripped in the hole that was in front of his pool. With a yelp, he fell in. However, he didn't collide with the bottom of the pool like he thought he would. Instead, he had that same weightless feeling, and soon he was laying back on his bed.