03-16-2010, 07:33 PM
After his less-than-intense duel with the Yeti, Szar decided to take a moment to rest while Piper elected to scout ahead.
"I'll be right back." she had told him. That had been fifteen minutes ago and she still hadn't returned. Picking himself up out of the snowbank he'd been lounging in, the Changeling began to follow the cable to his partner. His leg was still sore from when the Yeti had grabbed him; it having buried its nails in Szar's shin. But, after a few minutes of painful trudging he found her. She was staring up at yet another wall of ice, one they would have to scale if they wanted to reach the top. She turned as Szar approached, fists balled, but lowered her guard when she saw that it was the Icer.
"I think Gamer hates us." she quipped half-heartedly. She was trying to put on a strong front, but Szar could tell that she was growing just as tired of this event as he was.
"Why would he put us in so hard of an event so early in?" Szar posed, to which Piper merely shrugged. "Because he's afraid! He wants us to fail, he knows that if we finish we'll kill him. So buck up, we can do this."
She smiled genuinely and Szar let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, Piper was the only thing keeping the Icer going. He was nearing the limits of his strength and was losing hope. His little speech may have served to dissuade Piper from giving up, but it did little to motivate the Changeling. However, he had said earlier that he would see this round through and he had meant it. If nothing else, Szar kept to his word. Stepping up to the wall, he dug his ice pick into it, lifting himself on to the wall. Thus began yet another arduous climb for himself and Piper. It was an uneventful ascent; no yetis or kamikazi birds. It gave Szar a chance to relax--as much as scaling a wall of solid ice allowed, anyway. When the pair reached the top Szar was almost disappointed. Piper reached into her pack for the water bottles they'd been provided, grimacing when she found it frozen solid. She was about to throw it away when Szar stopped her, extending his hand. She offered him the bottle and he took it in both hands, one on the bottom the other on the top. After a moment's concentration the minute amounts of ki he'd been channeling thawed the block of ice and he handed the bottle back to Piper. She took it eagerly, gulping down half of the thermos' contents in a single gulp. With a satisfied 'aah' she re-capped the bottle and put it back into her bag. At this point Szar had already moved on ahead, and Piper jogged along after him.
"Is something bothering you?" she asked once she'd caught up.
Szar shook his head. In truth he was still dwelling on what Orion had said to him in the last round, but Piper didn't need to know about that. Having seen the saiyan again at the carnival had rattled the Changeling, though he would never admit it to anyone.
"You can tell me." Piper said, this time to his mind.
"Stop that." Szar snapped, waving his hand dismissively. "...Sorry, I have a lot on my mind. None of it has any relevance to the mission, so let's just forget it.
"Suit yourself. I'm here if you decide you want to talk."
It was definitely nice having a friendly face with him on this mission. If he'd been alone on this mountain with a complete stranger, or worse, Szar wasn't sure how he would have managed. Up ahead of them a cave's mouth opened wide, waiting to swallow the duo. The change of pace was more than welcome, and they sauntered in fearlessly. Before their eyes had the chance to adjust to the darkness, Szar shaped an orb of ki and loosed it in the air just above his head. Taking point, he and Piper began their trek through the winding caverns. After passing the same ice formation for the fifth time, Piper stopped in her tracks.
"We're lost." she stated, as though Szar himself wasn't already aware of it.
"Well, what do you suggest we do about it? We could always turn around and go up..."
Piper glared at him and he clenched his teeth, trapping the words before they'd escaped. Looking around, Szar saw three tunnels in front of him, but he couldn't remember which one they'd gone through initially.
"So, which way do we go?" Szar asked his partner and she considered the three paths before choosing the left-most one. Trotting along after her, they walked for several minutes before coming to a large room. They were on a high ledge, an ice lake glittering below them, the sun visible through a small opening at the roof of the cave. With no visible way to reach the gateway above them, the Changeling turned around when Piper stopped him.
"Watch this and hang on." Piper told him, and he did as directed. While he waited, Piper began to focus all of her attention on the opening, envisioning herself just above it. Suddenly, in a brilliant flash, she was gone. The Changeling hardly noticed, as he was suddenly dragged upwards, his cable towing him towards Piper. She had somehow teleported herself to the surface, and Szar was left dangling above the lake as she worked to pull him up. Inch by inch Szar went up, Piper heaving on his weight as she towed. When he was near the top Szar placed his feet on one of the walls before pushing off and up, and he managed to land on the lip of the chasm gracefully. Szar bowed after his impressive display of agility, but Piper hardly noticed. She was sitting on the edge of the hole, her feet dangling. She looked winded, and Szar decided to let her rest before they pressed on.
"That's a nifty trick. I wish you'd have mentioned that you could do that sooner. It would have saved us a lot of time." Szar said as he fumbled around in his bag for the water bottle he'd been given, thawing its contents the same way he had Piper's earlier.
"It's not exactly easy to do." she rasped, still catching her breath. Szar nodded as he took a sip of his water before replacing the cap. Standing back up he extended his hand to Piper, "Ready to move?" he asked, "or would you prefer I drag you the rest of the way?" She responded by flipping him off and rising to her feet of her own power. She teetered slightly as fatigue overwhelmed her and Szar moved to catch her but again she waved him off. "I'm fine, just walk."
Walk he did, and together they set off once more towards the top. It was only a matter of time before they reached the summit, the thought of leaving this frozen waste was enough to spur them on. However, they had little way of knowing what lie in store for them.
"I'll be right back." she had told him. That had been fifteen minutes ago and she still hadn't returned. Picking himself up out of the snowbank he'd been lounging in, the Changeling began to follow the cable to his partner. His leg was still sore from when the Yeti had grabbed him; it having buried its nails in Szar's shin. But, after a few minutes of painful trudging he found her. She was staring up at yet another wall of ice, one they would have to scale if they wanted to reach the top. She turned as Szar approached, fists balled, but lowered her guard when she saw that it was the Icer.
"I think Gamer hates us." she quipped half-heartedly. She was trying to put on a strong front, but Szar could tell that she was growing just as tired of this event as he was.
"Why would he put us in so hard of an event so early in?" Szar posed, to which Piper merely shrugged. "Because he's afraid! He wants us to fail, he knows that if we finish we'll kill him. So buck up, we can do this."
She smiled genuinely and Szar let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, Piper was the only thing keeping the Icer going. He was nearing the limits of his strength and was losing hope. His little speech may have served to dissuade Piper from giving up, but it did little to motivate the Changeling. However, he had said earlier that he would see this round through and he had meant it. If nothing else, Szar kept to his word. Stepping up to the wall, he dug his ice pick into it, lifting himself on to the wall. Thus began yet another arduous climb for himself and Piper. It was an uneventful ascent; no yetis or kamikazi birds. It gave Szar a chance to relax--as much as scaling a wall of solid ice allowed, anyway. When the pair reached the top Szar was almost disappointed. Piper reached into her pack for the water bottles they'd been provided, grimacing when she found it frozen solid. She was about to throw it away when Szar stopped her, extending his hand. She offered him the bottle and he took it in both hands, one on the bottom the other on the top. After a moment's concentration the minute amounts of ki he'd been channeling thawed the block of ice and he handed the bottle back to Piper. She took it eagerly, gulping down half of the thermos' contents in a single gulp. With a satisfied 'aah' she re-capped the bottle and put it back into her bag. At this point Szar had already moved on ahead, and Piper jogged along after him.
"Is something bothering you?" she asked once she'd caught up.
Szar shook his head. In truth he was still dwelling on what Orion had said to him in the last round, but Piper didn't need to know about that. Having seen the saiyan again at the carnival had rattled the Changeling, though he would never admit it to anyone.
"You can tell me." Piper said, this time to his mind.
"Stop that." Szar snapped, waving his hand dismissively. "...Sorry, I have a lot on my mind. None of it has any relevance to the mission, so let's just forget it.
"Suit yourself. I'm here if you decide you want to talk."
It was definitely nice having a friendly face with him on this mission. If he'd been alone on this mountain with a complete stranger, or worse, Szar wasn't sure how he would have managed. Up ahead of them a cave's mouth opened wide, waiting to swallow the duo. The change of pace was more than welcome, and they sauntered in fearlessly. Before their eyes had the chance to adjust to the darkness, Szar shaped an orb of ki and loosed it in the air just above his head. Taking point, he and Piper began their trek through the winding caverns. After passing the same ice formation for the fifth time, Piper stopped in her tracks.
"We're lost." she stated, as though Szar himself wasn't already aware of it.
"Well, what do you suggest we do about it? We could always turn around and go up..."
Piper glared at him and he clenched his teeth, trapping the words before they'd escaped. Looking around, Szar saw three tunnels in front of him, but he couldn't remember which one they'd gone through initially.
"So, which way do we go?" Szar asked his partner and she considered the three paths before choosing the left-most one. Trotting along after her, they walked for several minutes before coming to a large room. They were on a high ledge, an ice lake glittering below them, the sun visible through a small opening at the roof of the cave. With no visible way to reach the gateway above them, the Changeling turned around when Piper stopped him.
"Watch this and hang on." Piper told him, and he did as directed. While he waited, Piper began to focus all of her attention on the opening, envisioning herself just above it. Suddenly, in a brilliant flash, she was gone. The Changeling hardly noticed, as he was suddenly dragged upwards, his cable towing him towards Piper. She had somehow teleported herself to the surface, and Szar was left dangling above the lake as she worked to pull him up. Inch by inch Szar went up, Piper heaving on his weight as she towed. When he was near the top Szar placed his feet on one of the walls before pushing off and up, and he managed to land on the lip of the chasm gracefully. Szar bowed after his impressive display of agility, but Piper hardly noticed. She was sitting on the edge of the hole, her feet dangling. She looked winded, and Szar decided to let her rest before they pressed on.
"That's a nifty trick. I wish you'd have mentioned that you could do that sooner. It would have saved us a lot of time." Szar said as he fumbled around in his bag for the water bottle he'd been given, thawing its contents the same way he had Piper's earlier.
"It's not exactly easy to do." she rasped, still catching her breath. Szar nodded as he took a sip of his water before replacing the cap. Standing back up he extended his hand to Piper, "Ready to move?" he asked, "or would you prefer I drag you the rest of the way?" She responded by flipping him off and rising to her feet of her own power. She teetered slightly as fatigue overwhelmed her and Szar moved to catch her but again she waved him off. "I'm fine, just walk."
Walk he did, and together they set off once more towards the top. It was only a matter of time before they reached the summit, the thought of leaving this frozen waste was enough to spur them on. However, they had little way of knowing what lie in store for them.