03-04-2009, 07:54 PM
As the changeling walked away, Piper collapsed to her knees as her head was assaulted by fragments of the creature’s memories. In her mind, the woman saw broken images of the tale that had led the changeling to Friend or Foe. She saw the alien working as security on a far away world due to the prestige of his father, and then she also saw how he had been ostracized for being a changeling by his tutelage. The next of the changeling’s memories was that of those bigot instructors being killed.
Piper clenched her teeth to choke down her screams as the last bits of the episode began to play out in her head. Although erratic and slightly incoherent at this point, she could see the changeling’s relationship with his father strained over the belief that the elder alien had been involved with some sort of crime on a planet Piper could not recognize. As the last vestiges of the changeling’s memories faded from her mind, the medic was left with nothing but the weight of the alien’s resent and anger weighing upon her mind.
From several yards away, Piper heard someone let out a muffled yelp. Turning her head sharply, she watched as one of the camp’s two guards clutched at his chest. The man’s eyes bugged slightly at his pitched back on the ground. Standing a few feet from the fallen guard was the changeling, whose pistol was still aimed at where his target’s chest had been but a few moments earlier. With just a fleeting glance over his shoulder, the changeling gestured toward the large, imposing mansion with a purple thumb.
“Anyone coming?” He inquired with a toothy grin as he slinked up the pathway that led toward the mansion. Piper, who was still mildly lightheaded from her interaction with the changeling a few minutes prior, could only watch as the alien vanished into the mansion.
“Guess there’s won’t be any worry about the lizard after all,” Piper turned in the direction of the voice to see one of the younger men rolling a small dart between his fingers.
Tranquilizer… Piper thought as she crawled up off her knees and turned her attention toward the mansion. I shouldn’t let him go in there alone. She told herself as she started to make her way toward the mansion.
“Hey, what’s going on here?” The gruff voice came from the far end of the camp. In tandem, all four remaining volunteers turned their attention back toward the small grouping of tents. From the trees beyond the camp, the other guard was rushing up toward the slightly scattered group. As he moved closer, he reached for his belt and grabbed for what appeared to be a walkie-talkie.
Realizing what she had to do; Piper reached behind her back and drew her handgun. With an uneasy look on her face, she aimed the nine-millimeter and pulled the trigger. A split-second later, the guard let out a weak yelp as the hand with which he gripped the radio shattered in a vibrant array of blood, plastic, and electricity. The next shot caught the man right in the center of his left kneecap.
As the guard collapsed into a twitching, agonized heap, Piper stuffed her gun behind her back. Turning her attention toward the nearby group, she saw the three men staring at her with an array of expressions that ranged from shocked to slightly horrified. With a heavy, uneasy frown, Piper backed up a few steps and let her shoulders sag forward.
“Sorry, I’m so sorry,” she whispered just loudly enough for the others to hear here. “I couldn’t let him turn us in...don’t worry, he’ll live,” she added dejectedly before she pivoted and sprinted toward the doors of the mansion. As softly as she could, Piper cracked one of the large, heavy doors open and slid her thin frame into the foyer of the lavish structure. The massive entrance hall was at least two stories tall, with a large staircase on the far wall leading up to a balcony that wrapped all the way around the edges of the room.
“Changeling?” She whispered as loudly as she could as she moved back into the shadows beneath the second-story balcony. The woman narrowed her eyes as she tried to deduce whether or not the alien creature was still lurking around in the large room.
“The name is Szar,” the slightly serpentine voice of the changeling caused the woman to jerk just slightly out of surprise. Turning around, Piper found herself looking down at the purple-skinned alien, whose eyes seemed to constantly be scanning the large room. “There are roughly eight exits from this room,” he said as he finally turned his eyes to the redhead. “One behind the stairwell leads to a small shed that connects to a path behind the house...we should go there incase anyone heard what happened outside.”
“What are you doing inside this house?” Piper asked, effectively redirecting the conversation and causing the lizard-like alien to furrow his brow. “Shouldn’t you be out there waiting to go get rich?”
“I’m a cop,” he answered—something Piper already knew. “I’m here on the basis that the mastermind behind this little program is an accomplice to a crime.”
“And you’re going to try and arrest him?” The woman replied with a faint smile. As she searched her thoughts for another remark, she suddenly picked up the sound of encroaching footsteps. Unfortunately for Piper, the strange acoustics of the large foyer made it difficult for her to pinpoint whether the footsteps were coming from another room or from the outside porch. As she mulled over the possibilities, Szar’s head perked up as well, and almost immediately, he pointed to the pillars that supported the staircase.
“Move, move!” Szar whispered with a degree of urgency as he sprinted across the marble floor of the foyer. Piper followed the alien between the large pillars and down a small set of stairs. The changeling came to a grinding halt in front of what seemed to be a normal plywood door.
This is out of place… She mused as Szar gently pulled the door open and ushered her into the small shed that lie within. A heartbeat later, the changeling police officer followed her in and shut the door—blanketing the two in darkness. Somewhere in the next room, they could hear footsteps and several different voices.
“There’s a metal drawstring for a light near the center of the room,” Szar whispered. “Once they’re gone, feel free to turn it on.”
“Roger, roger,” Piper whispered as she slid down to the ground and waited for the noise outside to die down.
Piper clenched her teeth to choke down her screams as the last bits of the episode began to play out in her head. Although erratic and slightly incoherent at this point, she could see the changeling’s relationship with his father strained over the belief that the elder alien had been involved with some sort of crime on a planet Piper could not recognize. As the last vestiges of the changeling’s memories faded from her mind, the medic was left with nothing but the weight of the alien’s resent and anger weighing upon her mind.
From several yards away, Piper heard someone let out a muffled yelp. Turning her head sharply, she watched as one of the camp’s two guards clutched at his chest. The man’s eyes bugged slightly at his pitched back on the ground. Standing a few feet from the fallen guard was the changeling, whose pistol was still aimed at where his target’s chest had been but a few moments earlier. With just a fleeting glance over his shoulder, the changeling gestured toward the large, imposing mansion with a purple thumb.
“Anyone coming?” He inquired with a toothy grin as he slinked up the pathway that led toward the mansion. Piper, who was still mildly lightheaded from her interaction with the changeling a few minutes prior, could only watch as the alien vanished into the mansion.
“Guess there’s won’t be any worry about the lizard after all,” Piper turned in the direction of the voice to see one of the younger men rolling a small dart between his fingers.
Tranquilizer… Piper thought as she crawled up off her knees and turned her attention toward the mansion. I shouldn’t let him go in there alone. She told herself as she started to make her way toward the mansion.
“Hey, what’s going on here?” The gruff voice came from the far end of the camp. In tandem, all four remaining volunteers turned their attention back toward the small grouping of tents. From the trees beyond the camp, the other guard was rushing up toward the slightly scattered group. As he moved closer, he reached for his belt and grabbed for what appeared to be a walkie-talkie.
Realizing what she had to do; Piper reached behind her back and drew her handgun. With an uneasy look on her face, she aimed the nine-millimeter and pulled the trigger. A split-second later, the guard let out a weak yelp as the hand with which he gripped the radio shattered in a vibrant array of blood, plastic, and electricity. The next shot caught the man right in the center of his left kneecap.
As the guard collapsed into a twitching, agonized heap, Piper stuffed her gun behind her back. Turning her attention toward the nearby group, she saw the three men staring at her with an array of expressions that ranged from shocked to slightly horrified. With a heavy, uneasy frown, Piper backed up a few steps and let her shoulders sag forward.
“Sorry, I’m so sorry,” she whispered just loudly enough for the others to hear here. “I couldn’t let him turn us in...don’t worry, he’ll live,” she added dejectedly before she pivoted and sprinted toward the doors of the mansion. As softly as she could, Piper cracked one of the large, heavy doors open and slid her thin frame into the foyer of the lavish structure. The massive entrance hall was at least two stories tall, with a large staircase on the far wall leading up to a balcony that wrapped all the way around the edges of the room.
“Changeling?” She whispered as loudly as she could as she moved back into the shadows beneath the second-story balcony. The woman narrowed her eyes as she tried to deduce whether or not the alien creature was still lurking around in the large room.
“The name is Szar,” the slightly serpentine voice of the changeling caused the woman to jerk just slightly out of surprise. Turning around, Piper found herself looking down at the purple-skinned alien, whose eyes seemed to constantly be scanning the large room. “There are roughly eight exits from this room,” he said as he finally turned his eyes to the redhead. “One behind the stairwell leads to a small shed that connects to a path behind the house...we should go there incase anyone heard what happened outside.”
“What are you doing inside this house?” Piper asked, effectively redirecting the conversation and causing the lizard-like alien to furrow his brow. “Shouldn’t you be out there waiting to go get rich?”
“I’m a cop,” he answered—something Piper already knew. “I’m here on the basis that the mastermind behind this little program is an accomplice to a crime.”
“And you’re going to try and arrest him?” The woman replied with a faint smile. As she searched her thoughts for another remark, she suddenly picked up the sound of encroaching footsteps. Unfortunately for Piper, the strange acoustics of the large foyer made it difficult for her to pinpoint whether the footsteps were coming from another room or from the outside porch. As she mulled over the possibilities, Szar’s head perked up as well, and almost immediately, he pointed to the pillars that supported the staircase.
“Move, move!” Szar whispered with a degree of urgency as he sprinted across the marble floor of the foyer. Piper followed the alien between the large pillars and down a small set of stairs. The changeling came to a grinding halt in front of what seemed to be a normal plywood door.
This is out of place… She mused as Szar gently pulled the door open and ushered her into the small shed that lie within. A heartbeat later, the changeling police officer followed her in and shut the door—blanketing the two in darkness. Somewhere in the next room, they could hear footsteps and several different voices.
“There’s a metal drawstring for a light near the center of the room,” Szar whispered. “Once they’re gone, feel free to turn it on.”
“Roger, roger,” Piper whispered as she slid down to the ground and waited for the noise outside to die down.
Quote:Vad's Whimsical Whimsicalisms: Men. Good stuff there.
![[Image: Viper-Mini-Sig-Piper.png]](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/ThundercatsHO/Viper-Mini-Sig-Piper.png)
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning,
but anyone can start today and make a new ending.