A Test

This seems like a happy ending. Well, only to one man, and that isn’t Rumpelstiltskin. The Pied Piper wears his attire of white clothing and gold linings. He celebrates with the rest of the ogre resistance victory over their battle against Rumpelstiltskin. A celebration where Shrek unites with ogres that he never knew existed. He has gone through a journey in an alternate universe in order to know the meaning of life, which is not taking things for granted. The Piper calmly lowers his flute, and watches as everybody enjoys the party. Tormenting someone can be really exhausting, but Rumpel deserves it due to the fact that he deceived Piper twice.

Now the party is ending. Shrek and the ogre resistance are cleaning the swamp, as Fiona sweeps feathers off her front yard. The rest of the fairytale creatures thank for the party and disperses, which leaves Shrek grateful. However, Piper stands there for a moment, thinking.

Where’s Alex?

How come everyone didn’t stop to think about Alex, and what has happen to her? She inspired everybody to be themselves, even Piper. Where’s the last time he saw her? Rumpelstiltskin should know!

Piper kicks the cage causing the little man to moan in discomfort. Once more, Piper brings his flute to his lips and speaks.

“Where is she?” he demands.

“I don’t know what you’re talking, Piper,” Rumpel declares as he tosses his head and turns his back to Piper.

“Alex, she was working for you in that world. You know exactly where she is. Tell me!”

“Well, well, I never thought that she struck a nerve with you. She must mean a lot to you,” he mutters with a twisted smile, as he faces Piper but not directly.

Piper glares at the little man. That man clearly knows what Piper is talking about. But why is he hiding the fact about her existence? Something must be up.

“Why won’t you tell me the truth? The battle has won and you have lost. Give up,” when he gets silence for an answer, Piper snatches Rumpel’s collar through the bars close so they’re face to face. Something flashes in Rumpel’s eyes, but he only smirks in defense. He refuses to answer him.

“Hey,” a voice hollers over to them, but neither Piper nor Rumpel pays any attention. They’re too busy sharing a special moment with each other. “What’s going on here?!” finally both of their heads turn to Shrek, but Piper is still holding tightly onto Rumpel. Rumpelstiltskin’s eyes dart to Piper and Shrek, and then mumble something and remain silent. Piper releases him with a quick shove, and begins to demand answers from Shrek.

“It’s Alex…”

Something about that name catches Shrek off guard. However, he frowns deeply at Piper, who just stares back at him.

“You’re a terrible liar, Shrek. You already appear to know about her, why hide it?” Piper pipes back, annoyance already creeping up on him.

“Shrek,” Fiona enters the scene and immediately eyeing Rumpelstiltskin, “What’s going on here?” she obviously can tell the tension between these three, but she doesn’t know the cause yet.

“Um, Fiona, have you recall of a girl name Alex?” Shrek turns to his wife and shares a glance with her. Fiona knows at once and replies.

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that, sweetie. There are about a billion Alex out there,”
An angry flare comes from the flute and everybody stops and stares at him. Piper explains in front of him a descriptive ‘Alex’ that he is referring to. But Fiona stops him.

“Look Piper, you should rest. You must’ve drank too much at the party to act like this,” she rests her hand onto his shoulder, but he jerks away from her reach.

‘Enough already,’ Piper turns on his heels and dials his flute to unicorns. At his command, a beautiful white unicorn trots in. He climbs onto its back by grabbing onto its mane and veers away from the crowd. Fiona calls out to him, but he ignores her. Shrek suddenly blocks the horse’s way, and it rears in fright. At all this commotion, Donkey and Puss stops bantering at who’s the best dancer, and runs to aid their friends.

“Piper,” Fiona demands, and he steals a glance at them to see that they’re absolutely worried for him. The concerning of his friends hit him, and he regrets his actions slightly. “If you really must know, Alex is locked away in a tower,”

Knowing this isn’t very helpful considering the fact that they weren’t telling him the truth. Piper sneers at them, when Fiona continues.

“I apologize for hiding this and knowing that she really must mean a lot to you. Alex is hiding in my tower,” she replies and she sheds a few tears. Those tears meant the longing hours in that bloody tower, and how she waited for many years for her ‘Prince Charming’ to rescue her.
A little part of Piper breaks at the sight of her, and he sits there in silence. After a moment of silence, Piper asks where he can find her tower.

“Even if you ride by horse, it won’t give you the time you need,” Fiona says at last. Shrek turns to Donkey who isn’t paying much attention to the intense conversation.

“Donkey!” Shrek screams and he jumps in fright.

“Donkey,” Fiona says quietly, “can you call Dragon to take Piper to my tower?” he blinks for a moment and realizes that all eyes are on him. But most importantly, he realizes that he would be returning to Dragon’s home.

“Why would he want to go there? That place is a dark and terrible…” he stops mid through when Dragon walks beside him. Her huge eyes low in arrogance. He smiles sheepishly, and asks her right away. “She says she can,”

All eyes fly back to Piper and he sits there a bit uncomfortably. He has the decision whether he really wants to do this or not. Now or never. Piper nods and jumps off the horse before spanking it on the rear. The creature gallops away, as he helps himself onto Dragon. Dragon helps Donkey as he rests his rump in front of Piper. As she is ready to take flight, Shrek secretly smiles to himself. Donkey has always been a piece of burden on his shoulders, and now he is in Piper’s hand. Just a little revenge to what happened in that forest in the alternate world.

The remaining of the party waves good-bye to the three of them, as they set to the skies. Donkey begins to blabber on and on about their adventure. Piper, however, blocks out his obnoxious singing with his flute in a harmonious song. He falls deep into his mind and is drown in countless thoughts. So many questions flood his head, and he asks himself numerous times where did she go?
His song gets corrupted by Donkey, as Dragon nears a dark castle.

She lands safely to the ground and makes sure that everybody is safe. Piper slides off of Dragon, and watches her as she helps her husband. He stands tall, as a cool zephyr blows through his light loose brown hair and his cape. Something seems odd, though, like a feeling that they’re not suppose to be here…

“Dragon says that there’s a strong barrier around the castle brims. No one can enter,” Donkey quietly says, as he stands next to him. The Piper looks down at the small creature if he’s joking. But there’s not a smile on those lips, and this isn’t a laughing matter at all. Donkey’s eyes are full of anguish, and a burning remorse that he dares not watch the castle once more. Dragon, too, appears to be acting strangely towards this castle. What’s so special about this place, and why is everyone getting so worked up about it? Piper wants to know why. He takes a step onto the ramshackle bridge. Under it lies boiling hot lava. But not much of it still captures the inimical feeling that used to belong to Fiona herself.

Piper is halfway across the bridge. He hears Donkey’s callings for him, and Dragon moaning in pain in the background. But, he ignores it all for the time being.

“Don’t take another step!” Donkey suddenly appears in front of him. Piper merely looks down at him, his eyes asking why. “Well, I’ll tell you why!” Donkey runs across the bridge to the entrance of the broken down castle.

A strange buzzing sound hums, as he walks closer to this so called barrier. Zzzzap! Electricity surges through his little body, out his little tail, and runs away while yelping. The Piper flinches from watching his companion burn from the electric zone. He stares hard at the remaining buzzing sound that echoes the castle grounds.

“That would be the consequences if you ever entered,” Donkey pants. His limbs are too numb to hold his weight, and he slumps to the grounds; exhausted. Piper takes slight pity in him, but knows that whatever the reason this barrier is up, Alex must be inside. He doesn’t care if he gets electrocuted or not, he’s going and that’s final.

Piper stands at the brink of the barrier, and senses the intense static electricity inside. He dips his fingers into the zone, and immediately regrets it. A zap surges from the tip of his finger, and he snatches them out quickly. He grits his teeth in pain, but steps in anyhow. However, the electric shocks haven’t taken its cue, and everything appears to be… fine. Each step that the Piper takes the strong forces of the barrier clears. Sooner than later, he finally reaches the end and sees the abandon tower.

An forgotten home stands alone, while a slight breeze carries dreary and strange magic across the castle floor. Scattering the ground are broken helmets and armors that lies around dismiss. Not a single burnt item is seen, so the question of another dragon is not available.

‘What kind of monster lives here and why does everybody gives a damn about it too?’ Piper wonders to himself, and recalls that moment of time when he was able to enter, but not Donkey.
A sudden shriek frightens the air and causes Piper to jump. Within the shadows something with large glowing red eyes gleams. Piper dashes to a ramshackle pillar, as his heart beats fast against his rib case. Something very large is advancing towards him. He peers around to take a quick glance at his opponent, but to realize its terrifying size. In the moonlight’s shadow the silhouette of the monster is seen. Piper notices the coat of the monster is the same kind of fur his fellow rats have. The monster sniffs the air and screeches. He covers his ears as the shrilling noise makes the surrounding buildings to tremble.

This beast is a rat, a smaller version of a Godzilla. A ratzilla. Piper flattens himself against the pillar and attempting to stay calm. He has dealt with all kinds of rodents, but not this one. The scene appears to be quiet, a little too quiet.
Eerie sounds follow afterwards, and a bad feeling weighs heavily on Piper’s shoulder. A look to the right, nothing. A look to the left and a pair of crimson red eyes glare down on him with a passion of murder. Flabbergast to see it so close to him, he stands frozen in spot. The ratzilla’s fur is blacker and thicker than a normal rat, and the Piper can see his own reflection within its deadly eyes.  

The ratzilla stretch its mouth wide, showing its gnarly teeth. A cloud of rotten stench fills Piper’s nostrils and he makes a face of disgust. It screeches once more, and snatches Piper around the waist. Piper is chuck across the field, sliding until sprawl on the ground. A raging pain runs through his body, as he staggers to his feet. He knows that he broken at least a dozen of bones by now. He squints up at the blurry figure that dashes toward him.

He doges quickly enough that the ratzilla rams into a wall. It screeches in fury and tries to find him again by sniffing its surroundings. Piper slips out his flute and sets it to rats before dodging its giant tail. He tiptoes around the creature as quietly as he can, and lifts the flute to his lips. An enchanting melody fills the area, as Piper focuses his energy on the ratzilla.

But something seems to be amiss. It’s not dancing under his tune. He stops instantly as the ratzilla turn its attention at him. Piper tries once more to see if there are different results. The results are the same, and he knows at once what the situation is. The ratzilla is deaf! How can Piper defeat this wretched beast if his music doesn’t have any affect on it? Piper begins to panic, when the monster reaches out at him. He simply jumps out of reach and think.

‘If my flute charm isn’t enough to pursue this monster, how else can I defeat it?’
Piper’s dodges are swift, and far away from its attacks. Though, it is not enough to avoid its ghastly claws tearing through his cape. He runs further away, and unfortunately he trips and stumbles. Before he knows it the beast is above him with its paw high in the air. Piper stares up at its towering figure, breathes heavily, and closes his eyes. He feels the claws dig into his skin. Blood splatters everywhere, and even though there’s a reason for his muteness, Piper screams out the pain in silence. The ratzilla bombards Piper with painful attacks, and leaves morbid scars behind.

Now his heart is almost at a complete stop. His body can’t move anymore. The ratzilla doesn’t care whether its toy is dead or not. It picks the limp body off the ground, and gives it a final throw. Piper’s body skids across the floor, still. The monster watches him closely before scurrying away.

“Don’t give up!” a small voice sounds his fading mind. Every limb is numb and cold, and he can’t breathe for much longer due to the loss of blood. He has lost his sense of hearing and sight. Death will soon greet him. He is far beyond repair, and his strength falters enough he doesn’t have a grip of it anymore.

‘Ugh, Alex… no…’ his eyes close while tears fall from his discouraging hope. Darkness surrounds him, and the last beating of his heart echoes his empty shell.

A light dwells from within his open chest. And soon a single heartbeat resonances his woebegone body. A couple of more follows into a wave of sound that fuels Piper’s soul. That light travels from his body and morphs into a spiritual being besides him.

A figure of a young girl with transparent blue skin kneels before him. She pets his cheek and frowns with her pale lips. Feeling no sign of life in this handsome man, she places his head into her lap before planting a kiss onto his wounded lips. This new found energy spews into his mouth and down into his system. The power of strong love pumps life into the Piper’s heart. His eyes slowly peeks open, and he barely catches the glimpse of his savior. She vanishes before he is fully revived.

What remains of her existence, is a great bow that is made of ivory unicorn hair.
The Piper takes notice of it and picks them up. Immediately, a pack of long and strong arrows latch onto his back. He takes a good look at the bow and arrows before realizing that the ratzilla has already taken note of him. His wounds may be greatly recognized, but his pain is no longer a threat. Piper takes an arrow and aims it at the ratzilla. He shoots it, and the arrow glows a brilliant light. The arrow flies straight towards it. Unfortunately, the ratzilla dodges it and charges towards the Piper.

To Piper’s amazement, the arrow swerves around and pierces through the ratzilla’s back. The Piper smirks and takes another arrow and aims it at the ratzilla.