03-14-2010, 09:12 PM
A heavy frown spread across Piper’s beleaguered features as she was ushered through the portal by the incessant trilling of the pager attached to her waist. Stepping into the swirling vortex with Szar and the pink-haired woman that Kaden had identified as Ashe, the woman felt a cold breeze of air tickle at her uncovered flesh as she moved forward through the twisting nether. The chilling sensation was the tip of the iceberg, because waiting for the soldier on the other side of the portal was the base of a snow-covered mountain. The jagged peaks stretched high above a layer of fluffy gray clouds that hung low in the sky overhead.
“Ludicrous,” Piper grumbled as she looked down at to see that her military fatigues had once again been replaced. But this time, she had been placed into a large, fuzzy blue parka complete with big matching booties, mittens, and a huge mallet strapped to her back. Rolling her eyes, the woman ran a hand along her large leather belt, and to her compounded amusement, her fingers bumped into a rope tether. “This is ridiculous,” the woman murmured as she gave the rope a tug and quickly realized that it was connected to something else.
“Really ridiculous,” the familiar reptilian voice of Szar remarked from behind the soldier. Turning around, Piper smiled faintly at not only being paired with her compatriot but also at the fact that he was wearing a similar outfit as her—with one exception. “Why the hell am I wearing pink?” The changeling groaned as he tugged at one of the fluffy white seams. Even more degrading than the vibrant pink suit was the blush applied to Szar’s cheeks, but Piper figured she’d hold that fact to herself for the time-being.
“It suits you,” the Sentinel remarked with a chuckle as she diverted her attention away from the fuming changeling and back to the large mountain that loomed in front of them. “So what’d you think we’re supposed to do here, Szar?” She inquired as she took a step toward the jagged mountain.
With a long, drawn-out groan, the Icer tapped the woman’s shoulder and handed her a piece of parchment. Snatching the paper out of the changeling’s mitten, Piper took a brief moment to scan the paper. There were a lot of extra words and superfluous description, but the gist was easy enough to grasp: Climb the mountain before the other pair of climbers.
“Well that would explain why that younger girl isn’t standing around exchanging pleasantries with us,” Piper quipped as she rolled up the piece of artificially yellowed paper. “Who do you think she’s climbing with?”
“Who cares,” Szar growled as he began to tug and tear at the parka. The changeling had discarded the mittens, but even with his clawed digits, he was unable to sunder the fluffy fabric. “What is this infernal things made out of? Some type of Katchin-weave?” He seethed as he abandoned his fruitless scratching and picked his mittens up off the snow-covered earth. “…Well it is pretty cold, even for me,” the changeling barked as he slid the mittens over his hands and crossed his arms over his chest like a frumpy old man who’d just lost a few games of bingo.
“I don’t judge,” Piper shot back as she wrapped her fingers around the bandaged handle of her hammer. “What do you think these mallets are for?” The query elicited a melodramatic groan from the changeling.
“Last time we met, you were a lot more of an action person,” Szar scoffed as he walked passed the woman and toward the ice-glazed walkway. The changeling managed to get about five feet away from Piper before he was brought to an abrupt halt by the tension of the cord binding them together. “Oh, this is going to get really vexing, isn’t it?” He remarked sardonically as he gave the seemingly indestructible rope a couple of weak tugs.
“Oh stop complaining so much,” Piper chided as she yanked off her right mitten. Beneath the mitten, the woman’s hand was still encapsulated in the glossy steel gauntlet from the science-fiction rail shooter. “This is very pleasing,” the woman whispered under her breath as she focused the manic maelstrom of thoughts swirling about in her mind. As the woman centered her thoughts, she watched with a faint smile as the disc imbedded in glove’s palm began to shimmer red. Compared to the last few times, the process of channeling her energy through the gauntlet was becoming less of a strain.
“Still wearing that garish thing?” Szar snickered as he gave their tether a violent tug. Unfortunately for the changeling, Piper reacted by yanking the tether with a little more ‘oomph’ than the alien, causing him to lose his balance and collapse forward onto the snow-covered ground. “I’m going to throttle you,” he groaned as he rose up to his feet and watched his female ally slid the mitten back over the metal glove.
“I’m ready to get going,” Piper said with a smile as she walked around the changeling and toward the pathway.
“Well it’s about time.”
Five minutes...
Five whole minutes was the length of time in which the twosome was able to enjoy their (thus far) jolly stroll up the mountain path. At the conclusion of that rather fleeting window of time, they ran into their first obstacle. In front of them, the pathway terminated in a jagged rock wall. On the upside, an upward glance revealed that the rock wall was only a few stories tall.
“Can you fly?” The changeling asked his parka-clad companion.
“Do I look like Super Piper or something?” Piper remarked with a grin as she shot a quick glance at the once again incensed visage of her companion. Despite Szar’s somewhat ferocious appearance, the woman was forced to stifle a fit of laughter at the site of the alien’s blush-covered cheeks.
“What’s so funny?” Szar barked—prompting the woman to slap a hand over her mouth to prevent the subsequent laugh from making its escape.
“Nothing!” Piper said after maintaining her composure and turning to face the side of the completely vertical ascent. “I’m pretty sure this rock wall is uneven enough that we could probably scale it with a little effort. I mean…this event is called ‘Ice Climbers’ for a reason, am I right?”
“The title is probably another stupid reference to one of our host’s sick fantasies or something,” Szar replied as a frown once again return to his reptilian features. Glancing over to her companion, Piper had to fight down the urge to tell him he was going to get wrinkles if he kept frowning so much.
Then again… he’s dead. I wonder if he’ll ever have to deal with wrinkles? The thought brought a smile to the woman’s face as she reached out a traced a mitten-covered hand across the rock wall. Despite looking quite sheen from a distance, a closer examination revealed she was right with her train of thought.
“What happens if we fall?” Szar asked as he walked over to the wall and clasped a hand around a jagged outshoot of rock. The alien gave the stone a couple of tugs before shrugging his shoulders and letting go of the vertical stone outcrop.
“It’s only forty or fifty feet, so a fall shouldn’t hurt us that badly,” Piper responded as she gave Szar a playful slug on the shoulder. “I wager it’d only be about 5d6 damage if we fail the climb check.”
“What the hell does that mean?” The changeling barked.
“I… I have no idea why I said that,” Piper remarked as her mouth twisted up in genuine confusion. “I think this whole fabricated reality thing is starting to play tricks with my head,” she assumed as she reached up and grabbed the highest piece of solid rock she could safely clasp her hand around. With an audible grunt, she pulled herself up off the ground, grabbed another rock with her other hand, and proceeded to procure a stable foothold. Glancing back down at the ground, she flashed Szar a smile and motioned with her head up toward the top of the cliff.
“I hate this already,” the changeling groaned as he reached up and began his ascent behind his partner. For the next few minutes, they climbed the rock wall in complete silence save the occasional grunt or whispered obscenity. After what literally felt like an eternity, Piper let out a victorious shout as she reached her first hand up over the top edge of the wall. Unfortunately for the earthling and her alien companion, their hopes of a seamless climb were abruptly dashed against the uneven wall.
Screee! The ear-splitting shriek heralded the arrival of an overgrown black bird. Plunging through the fluffy clouds that hung overhead, the unnaturally large bird made a bee-line toward Szar.
“Szar!” Piper screamed as she looked down to see the changeling lift a hand and fire off a burst of ki into the bird’s chest right before it slammed into him. Despite its initial tenacity, the bird’s assault floundered as its life left it through the gaping wound in its chest. Even still, it’s collision with the changeling had been enough to break his grip on the rock wall, and just like that, the rope between Piper and Szar went taut as gravity began trying to pull the latter toward the ground. Gritting her teeth as the rope clenched around her bony waist, the soldier laboriously pulled her torso up onto the ledge at the top of the cliff. Reaching down to her side, she grabbed the tether and proceeded to swing Szar up onto the platform with her.
“You owe me,” the woman gasped between breaths of air as the pair of winded mountain climbers moved up onto the solid ground at the top of the drop-off.
“You bet’cha,” the changeling answered as the two stood up off the ground and proceeded to bat and knock off the snow and ice that had clung to their parkas. “But this just means next time you get to deal with the overgrown bird monster.”
“I can’t wait!” Piper replied sarcastically as she scanned their surroundings and managed to deduce in a short span of time that there was only one route for them to take—straight up another cliff. “Remind me to put a bullet through that Gamer boy’s skull when we escape from this virtual reality hell,” the soldier remarked with a frown as she took a few steps forward and resumed the arduous task of scaling upward.
“Only if I get a few punches in first,” Szar said with a serpentine smile as he followed his compatriot up the mountainside.
“Ludicrous,” Piper grumbled as she looked down at to see that her military fatigues had once again been replaced. But this time, she had been placed into a large, fuzzy blue parka complete with big matching booties, mittens, and a huge mallet strapped to her back. Rolling her eyes, the woman ran a hand along her large leather belt, and to her compounded amusement, her fingers bumped into a rope tether. “This is ridiculous,” the woman murmured as she gave the rope a tug and quickly realized that it was connected to something else.
“Really ridiculous,” the familiar reptilian voice of Szar remarked from behind the soldier. Turning around, Piper smiled faintly at not only being paired with her compatriot but also at the fact that he was wearing a similar outfit as her—with one exception. “Why the hell am I wearing pink?” The changeling groaned as he tugged at one of the fluffy white seams. Even more degrading than the vibrant pink suit was the blush applied to Szar’s cheeks, but Piper figured she’d hold that fact to herself for the time-being.
“It suits you,” the Sentinel remarked with a chuckle as she diverted her attention away from the fuming changeling and back to the large mountain that loomed in front of them. “So what’d you think we’re supposed to do here, Szar?” She inquired as she took a step toward the jagged mountain.
With a long, drawn-out groan, the Icer tapped the woman’s shoulder and handed her a piece of parchment. Snatching the paper out of the changeling’s mitten, Piper took a brief moment to scan the paper. There were a lot of extra words and superfluous description, but the gist was easy enough to grasp: Climb the mountain before the other pair of climbers.
“Well that would explain why that younger girl isn’t standing around exchanging pleasantries with us,” Piper quipped as she rolled up the piece of artificially yellowed paper. “Who do you think she’s climbing with?”
“Who cares,” Szar growled as he began to tug and tear at the parka. The changeling had discarded the mittens, but even with his clawed digits, he was unable to sunder the fluffy fabric. “What is this infernal things made out of? Some type of Katchin-weave?” He seethed as he abandoned his fruitless scratching and picked his mittens up off the snow-covered earth. “…Well it is pretty cold, even for me,” the changeling barked as he slid the mittens over his hands and crossed his arms over his chest like a frumpy old man who’d just lost a few games of bingo.
“I don’t judge,” Piper shot back as she wrapped her fingers around the bandaged handle of her hammer. “What do you think these mallets are for?” The query elicited a melodramatic groan from the changeling.
“Last time we met, you were a lot more of an action person,” Szar scoffed as he walked passed the woman and toward the ice-glazed walkway. The changeling managed to get about five feet away from Piper before he was brought to an abrupt halt by the tension of the cord binding them together. “Oh, this is going to get really vexing, isn’t it?” He remarked sardonically as he gave the seemingly indestructible rope a couple of weak tugs.
“Oh stop complaining so much,” Piper chided as she yanked off her right mitten. Beneath the mitten, the woman’s hand was still encapsulated in the glossy steel gauntlet from the science-fiction rail shooter. “This is very pleasing,” the woman whispered under her breath as she focused the manic maelstrom of thoughts swirling about in her mind. As the woman centered her thoughts, she watched with a faint smile as the disc imbedded in glove’s palm began to shimmer red. Compared to the last few times, the process of channeling her energy through the gauntlet was becoming less of a strain.
“Still wearing that garish thing?” Szar snickered as he gave their tether a violent tug. Unfortunately for the changeling, Piper reacted by yanking the tether with a little more ‘oomph’ than the alien, causing him to lose his balance and collapse forward onto the snow-covered ground. “I’m going to throttle you,” he groaned as he rose up to his feet and watched his female ally slid the mitten back over the metal glove.
“I’m ready to get going,” Piper said with a smile as she walked around the changeling and toward the pathway.
“Well it’s about time.”
***
Five minutes...
Five whole minutes was the length of time in which the twosome was able to enjoy their (thus far) jolly stroll up the mountain path. At the conclusion of that rather fleeting window of time, they ran into their first obstacle. In front of them, the pathway terminated in a jagged rock wall. On the upside, an upward glance revealed that the rock wall was only a few stories tall.
“Can you fly?” The changeling asked his parka-clad companion.
“Do I look like Super Piper or something?” Piper remarked with a grin as she shot a quick glance at the once again incensed visage of her companion. Despite Szar’s somewhat ferocious appearance, the woman was forced to stifle a fit of laughter at the site of the alien’s blush-covered cheeks.
“What’s so funny?” Szar barked—prompting the woman to slap a hand over her mouth to prevent the subsequent laugh from making its escape.
“Nothing!” Piper said after maintaining her composure and turning to face the side of the completely vertical ascent. “I’m pretty sure this rock wall is uneven enough that we could probably scale it with a little effort. I mean…this event is called ‘Ice Climbers’ for a reason, am I right?”
“The title is probably another stupid reference to one of our host’s sick fantasies or something,” Szar replied as a frown once again return to his reptilian features. Glancing over to her companion, Piper had to fight down the urge to tell him he was going to get wrinkles if he kept frowning so much.
Then again… he’s dead. I wonder if he’ll ever have to deal with wrinkles? The thought brought a smile to the woman’s face as she reached out a traced a mitten-covered hand across the rock wall. Despite looking quite sheen from a distance, a closer examination revealed she was right with her train of thought.
“What happens if we fall?” Szar asked as he walked over to the wall and clasped a hand around a jagged outshoot of rock. The alien gave the stone a couple of tugs before shrugging his shoulders and letting go of the vertical stone outcrop.
“It’s only forty or fifty feet, so a fall shouldn’t hurt us that badly,” Piper responded as she gave Szar a playful slug on the shoulder. “I wager it’d only be about 5d6 damage if we fail the climb check.”
“What the hell does that mean?” The changeling barked.
“I… I have no idea why I said that,” Piper remarked as her mouth twisted up in genuine confusion. “I think this whole fabricated reality thing is starting to play tricks with my head,” she assumed as she reached up and grabbed the highest piece of solid rock she could safely clasp her hand around. With an audible grunt, she pulled herself up off the ground, grabbed another rock with her other hand, and proceeded to procure a stable foothold. Glancing back down at the ground, she flashed Szar a smile and motioned with her head up toward the top of the cliff.
“I hate this already,” the changeling groaned as he reached up and began his ascent behind his partner. For the next few minutes, they climbed the rock wall in complete silence save the occasional grunt or whispered obscenity. After what literally felt like an eternity, Piper let out a victorious shout as she reached her first hand up over the top edge of the wall. Unfortunately for the earthling and her alien companion, their hopes of a seamless climb were abruptly dashed against the uneven wall.
Screee! The ear-splitting shriek heralded the arrival of an overgrown black bird. Plunging through the fluffy clouds that hung overhead, the unnaturally large bird made a bee-line toward Szar.
“Szar!” Piper screamed as she looked down to see the changeling lift a hand and fire off a burst of ki into the bird’s chest right before it slammed into him. Despite its initial tenacity, the bird’s assault floundered as its life left it through the gaping wound in its chest. Even still, it’s collision with the changeling had been enough to break his grip on the rock wall, and just like that, the rope between Piper and Szar went taut as gravity began trying to pull the latter toward the ground. Gritting her teeth as the rope clenched around her bony waist, the soldier laboriously pulled her torso up onto the ledge at the top of the cliff. Reaching down to her side, she grabbed the tether and proceeded to swing Szar up onto the platform with her.
“You owe me,” the woman gasped between breaths of air as the pair of winded mountain climbers moved up onto the solid ground at the top of the drop-off.
“You bet’cha,” the changeling answered as the two stood up off the ground and proceeded to bat and knock off the snow and ice that had clung to their parkas. “But this just means next time you get to deal with the overgrown bird monster.”
“I can’t wait!” Piper replied sarcastically as she scanned their surroundings and managed to deduce in a short span of time that there was only one route for them to take—straight up another cliff. “Remind me to put a bullet through that Gamer boy’s skull when we escape from this virtual reality hell,” the soldier remarked with a frown as she took a few steps forward and resumed the arduous task of scaling upward.
“Only if I get a few punches in first,” Szar said with a serpentine smile as he followed his compatriot up the mountainside.
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.