When You Look Into the Abyss
"Adrian!"
And suddenly his knees felt weak. He stumbled, and tried to steel himself. But the moment she touched his arm, he gave in. Adrian fell into Lyra's arms. The foyer was suddenly filled with activity.
It was strange how the passage of time could heal wounds in the heart. The last person he wanted to see was now the one his heart ached for the most. Along with other parts of his body. Perhaps someday when all of this came to pass it would just be a faint memory, something he could look back on or something he could hold over her head and tease her about.
Funny as hell. It almost hurt to laugh.
"Jeez," Gilda could only say as she supervised the collateral damage.
Fluttershy and Lyra helped Adrian stumble over to the couch.
"Lay down, please?"
Fluttershy's steady hands tended to Adrian's wounds as he lay shirtless on the couch, laying his head in Lyra's lap, gazing up into her soothing amber eyes. Her fingers combed through his messy brown hair and stroked his neck and jaw. He squeezed her hand, letting her feel the contours of his knuckles. Tears pricked at her eyes. He saw her choke up. He reached up and gently stroked her cheek, as if to reassure her. Fluttershy took a roll of bandages, wrapping them around the palms of his hands, sliced by the garrote. She soaked a cotton ball in antiseptic and gently ran it down his cheek. His torso was covered with yellow and black splotches, fresh bruises. The red mark around his neck was fading.
His "mild" hangover didn't seem so bad compared to taking a blow to the base of his skull. He made himself two cups of coffee and downed Vicodin with a glass of water.
He swallowed, licking his dry lips. "How is it?"
"Oho," Gilda snickered, glancing at him. "You beat the snot outta her."
He scoffed. "She beat the snot outta me too," he bristled.
Killing is unnatural. It is something you are taught. It doesn’t come naturally. And there are many people who are very good at it, namely soldiers, who have permission to do so. They are not born killers. They are trained killers. They are trained to take the human element out of the equation, to dehumanize whoever they are shooting at. One need look no farther than a shooting range. What do you see as target practice? Faceless terrorists, masked robbers, zombies, and occasionally, Justin Bieber.
His hand fell upon the H&K USP45 that he had set down. It dangled loosely by his side. He crouched down and held the barrel against its temple. Adrian swallowed, remembering how close he had come to pulling the trigger.
He tucked it in his waistband.
How was he supposed to empathize with something he viewed as less than human? Adrian would have had no qualms with killing the changeling. After all, it was less than human. It was a bug. A parasite.
What was stopping him?
It took the form of a human. And that made that much harder to pull the trigger. It was nothing new, really. It looked like Lyra. It sounded like Lyra. They’d touched. They’d kissed. It was human and it was not, all at the same time. But there was something missing from her kiss, her carress.
Warmth.
Lyra murmured, "It looks just like me."
Adrian's hands were roaming over the changeling's body. He pulled up its shirt, twisting it around and finding that Lyra's lyre tattoo was missing.
"So changelings can copy appearances, but only what they see," he said aloud. "I should have checked."
"Adrian, what are you doing?" Lyra sputtered, her face reddening.
Seemingly groping her, he fished a folding knife out from her pocket.
"She had me," Adrian murmured.
A razor-sharp blade flicked out with a sharp clack! Adrian closed the knife and set it down, perturbed.
"Why didn't she just slice my throat?"
"It's messy," Gilda answered nonchalantly. "If she cut your throat there'd be blood all over the floor."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
The gryphon sighed. "I used to have claws, dweeb."
He also found a DROID RAZR smartphone. It looked almost brand new and recently formatted. No history, no contacts, no text messages. Lastly, he found a set of keys.
$60,000 worth of German-engineering, a BMW M3 with a sleek design and gorgeous pearl white paint job and a full tank of gas, sat parked across the street, luxurious and with plenty of horsepower yet ordinary enough so as not to turn too many heads. The car looked almost brand new, with no trash or personal effects to be found inside.
"What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked.
"We call the police, that's what we do. This isn't 24 and I'm no Jack Bauer."
"That's not such a good idea," Twilight said.
"Excuse me?"
"She's our only chance of stopping Chrysalis," Twilight reasoned.
Adrian scowled.
To take their mind off the issue everyone began helping Rarity tidy the place up. They began sweeping up glass and the broken shards of his mother's vase and rearranging furniture and fixing paintings on the wall. No one spoke. To lighten the mood Adrian turned on the TV. Instantly Twilight was drawn towards the plasma screen, her eyes wide with fascination and curiosity.
"What is that?" she uttered.
"TV." Adrian stared. "Television."
There was a commercial for an Apple iPad playing.
"Entertainment?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "Satellites and stuff." Adrian slowly sat down, slouching on the couch. "You like this stuff?"
There was a rerun of Big Bang Theory on. A laugh track blared.
"I'm very curious," Twilight declared, as if it were something to be proud of. "But the past few days hasn't given me much time to learn about humans and the world." She paused, looking over.
Lyra was standing in the kitchen, covering her face, filled with regret. Her shoulders shook as she silently wept, occasionally sniffing.
"And I don't think Lyra would appreciate me asking."
He nodded curtly. "Excuse me."
Adrian crept up behind her, unsure of what to do. She was leaning against the counter, facing away from him, no longer shaking but still covering her face with a hand. No doubt that Lyra felt guilty.
"Lyra," he murmured.
She took a slow breath. "I'm sorry."
"I'm fine, Lyra." His tone was hard but his heart was soft.
"This is...all my fault."
It took him a long time to say something. "Yeah," he finally said.
"Now Chrysalis is trying to kill you, and you're hurt and—"
"Yeah."
Lyra whirled around. "I'm sorry," she whimpered, turning around, bleary eyed and cheeks stained with tears. She wiped them away. Her hands fell to her sides. They lifted slowly before pulling back.
Adrian moved closer. "I...I know."
Lyra wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. Adrian hissed, and she loosened her grip.
"I'm sorry," she repeated, the words muffled.
He stared blankly forward, eyes cast down to the tiles of the kitchen floor. He turned his head and nuzzled her, drinking in her scent.
"I know," he croaked.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
He didn't know how long he let her hold him. All he knew was that he didn't hug her back.
Not silence.
Tick. Tock. Tick of the clock. Slow like the heart. Sun high in the sky; the afternoon. Adrian sat reclining in a chair, never taking his eye off the unconscious changeling laying on the floor. Everyone else was around the foyer, half-awake and half-asleep.
The changeling stirred.
Adrian trained its USP45 on its head. Oh, the irony of having your own gun turned on you. He took slow steps toward it. He thought about saying something cool, something badass.
"You're awake," he growled menacingly.
It struggled against its restraints. Duct tape was surprisingly effective. It was curled up in a sort of fetal position with its ankles and wrists bound. It writhed a little.
"You're going to talk," Adrian snarled.
"Easy," Gilda chided.
It rolled its eyes, her words lost behind the duct tape. Adrian clenched his jaw and reached down and ripped the strip of tape off its mouth.
The changeling took a breath and hissed. "Ow!" It looked up at him, sniffing. "What gave me away?"
Adrian stammered. "What?"
"Is she not as slutty as I thought?" it said, leering at Lyra.
"The scarf." He threw it in her lap.
It stared at the teal piece of cloth. "Seriously?" It snorted. "You go through your girlfriend's closet or something?"
"I went shopping with her," Adrian snapped. "Who the hell wears a scarf in the middle of summer?"
It groaned. "A stupid scarf! I can't believe it."
"Hello?" Adrian growled.
"I had everything down pat. Facial expression, movement, voice!" the changeling lamented.
It seemed that there was a bit of a learning curve for changelings when changing into another species. Its performance had been incredibly convincing. It was almost...human.
Adrian grabbed a fistful of hair and made him look at her. He was seething. "I ask a question, you answer."
"Tough guy, huh?"
He pulled. It screamed. He held its head against the ground and put the gun to her head. He didn't hear what the Elements or Lyra was screaming at him about. The protests died down, but they were like background noise. That parasite was the only thing he could see.
He thumbed the hammer. Click-click.
"Al...Alright," it panted.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Pinkie whispered.
Twilight gave a shrug.
"I can be whatever you want me to be," the changeling panted, a wheeze in its voice. "Sometimes I mix and match."
"What are you now?" Lyra suddenly asked.
"A girl."
Adrian let go.
"What's your name?"
"My name is...Pinocchio," the changeling spoke, slowly sounding out its designated alias.
"The perfect name for a pathological liar," Adrian said. It was hard to look at Pinocchio. At the moment, it looked as if Lyra had been physically assaulted with a chipped tooth, a black eye, and dried blood all over her face. "Change back."
"Feeling guilty for physically assaulting your girlfriend?" the changeling challenged with a sly grin.
In a green flash of fire, the changeling reverted back to its default human form. Caucasian female in her mid-twenties, date of birth unknown. Five foot six with size A-cup breasts. Striking, icy blue eyes, bleached hair. Shallow cheeks, sharp jaw, high cheekbones, thin lips, pale complexion. She resembled an androgynous albino and seemed almost...harmless. But looks were deceiving, and he'd made that mistake once already.
"You had a gun," Adrian pointed out. "Why didn't you just shoot me?"
"Why shoot you? Then there would be an investigation. It made more sense to strangle you and fake your suicide."
So she was planning on making it look like he'd hung himself. Crafty, he thought. Murder wasn't exactly the first thing that came to mind when someone hung themselves.
"How many of you are there?"
"What?"
He repeated himself. "I said, how many changelings are here in Seattle?"
Pinocchio smiled. "Many."
"How many?" he repeated.
"Too many."
Adrian's fist lashed out.
She spat. "Twenty."
"I bet you thought I was easy, didn't you? Didn't think I'd put up a fight?" he taunted, suppressing a laugh. "You got cocky."
"Maybe I did," Pino said with a grin.
"You're stupid. You came alone, all by yourself."
He stared, chewing at his lip. "Well?"
Pino sighed. "Twenty Praetorians, including myself."
"Praetorians?" Adrian thought for a second. "Bodyguards. Elite bodyguards."
She looked away.
"Maybe not so elite after all."
Pino snarled something in a foreign tongue.
Adrian asked, "Why did you come alone?"
She smiled toothily.
"Who said I did?"
Adrian half-expected the room to explode into chaos. He expected bullets to start tearing through the front door, and for a second, he dropped to the floor.
But nothing ever came.
"You're all by yourself," he declared.
"Maybe I was taking some initiative," Pino spat.
"Or maybe," Adrian reasoned, "you're desperate."
"The rest of the Praetorians are no better than mindless drones, obeying every word! I knew that you were alive, I suggested to pursue you, but she was certain she'd killed you."
"She's on the defensive," Gilda added. "She's not taking any risks."
"Yeah," Adrian said. "Why? Shouldn't you be robbing banks and assassinating senators?"
Pino snorted. "Fool."
"You're desperate, aren't you?" Adrian said. "You've seen my face. You could impersonate me, commit crimes."
"Why would we need to rob a bank?" Pino snapped. "Money is worthless to us! And why would we do anything using your disguise? That'd simply send law enforcement after you, so that you could reveal our presence! My Queen only wishes to prevent our extinction!"
"...What?"
"We would silently integrate, bring the empire to Earth."
"And how many is in this empire?"
"Nowadays? Less than five hundred, estimated. We are a dying species." Pinocchio went on. "How would we gain your love if we take it by force? Or make you hate us?"
Good point.
"Would you like the truth, Adrian Ross?"
"I don't care about the truth. The truth is for them," he said. "I want to get on with my life."
"I do not wish to see any more violence. I am tired—we are tired," she said. "So many years of fighting and famine, struggling to survive. I just want to live, just as you do. We all have wants and dreams. We all do. Even our Queen."
"I think your Queen has a few screws loose."
"Don't you think we already know that?!" Pinocchio suddenly shouted. "She is not fit to rule any more. But this last, last act of desperation, the Great Changeling Migration...will be her last as Queen of the Changelings. I will not apologize for her actions. It was for the greater good."
"Bullshit."
"You are angry, Adrian Ross. You are angry. I understand," she said quietly.
"You're goddamn right I'm angry. I'm mad as hell!"
"But she only silenced you three because...she didn't want any mistakes. She has lost," Pinocchio choked, "so many of her children. She could not afford it again. Without family, who are we?"
"That's...a good point," Twilight said aloud.
Adrian glared at her. "Are you really trying to justify attempted homicide?"
"Ah yes, the Great and Powerful Twilight Sparkle," Pinocchio spat. "Heading the witch hunt against my brothers and sisters. I wonder, how many have been executed at your hooves?"
Twilight was aghast. "We never executed anybody! We simply relocated them back to the Badlands."
"A death sentence," the changeling hissed. "I would certainly relish slicing your throat if I had the chance."
"You bugs were the ones who invaded Canterlot first!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "So the way I see it, we should keep kicking you guys out!"
"Can we get back on topic here?"
"My Queen is the one who planned the siege of Canterlot. I did not agree," Pinocchio said.
"That's because she didn't want monsters who fed off of deceiving ponies!" Rainbow argued.
"Hello? Guys?"
"An entire swarm took the city!" Applejack snapped.
"Only because we were following orders! We were desperate! Do you think we asked to be born as these creatures? Do you think we enjoy being parasites, feeding off emotions?"
"Listen, this is getting too existential for me. Why did you come for me?"
"Because you know too much!" Pinocchio shouted.
Adrian was taken aback.
"Her reasons for killing you are valid. You are a liability. You risk exposing our hive," she huffed.
Adrian mulled over this. "And how did you find me?"
"You said your name was Adrian Ross," Pinocchio said. "My Queen said she shot you and the pony. And the gryphon too. I thought I'd come finish the job."
"Answer the question. How did you find me?"
Pino smiled coyly. "You shouldn't have kept your phone."
Adrian blinked. His jaw dropped.
"You were the one who called last night."
He set the gun down. His hand fell to his Samsung Galaxy. He deactivated it.
"Oh yes," Pino said. "Of course, the pony and gryphon's phones were deactivated. And yet your signal remained. We assumed yours was simply laying someplace, but I decided to investigate and tracked you down."
"Where the hell are you getting this kind of gear?" he asked exasperatingly.
"You'd be surprised how many criminal organizations there are in this state alone. Not hard to...'borrow' some of their toys."
He mulled over this piece of information for a moment. She said "borrow". Was there some kind of deal? Or did they just steal the guns and money?
"Does she know we're still alive?" Adrian asked, clenching his jaw.
The changeling paused.
"No. Not yet."
"You changelings sure got a hard-on for German engineering," Gilda remarked, snatching up the pistol and admiring the etching on the slide.
Adrian glared at the gryphon for derailing his interrogation.
She closed an eye and leveled it at the captive changeling's head. "What's with that?"
Pino said quietly, "If nothing else, you have to admire them for their ingenuity and quality. Mercedes-Benz, BMW—"
"—SIG Sauer, Heckler & Koch," Gilda added.
"Did you know that Germans were persecuted?" Pino suddenly asked.
Adrian looked at her. "You talking to me?"
"Yes."
Adrian racked his brain but came up with nothing.
"I'm not surprised." Pino clicked her tongue. "It happened on such a large scale as well."
"Apparently not, seeing as I haven't heard about it," Adrian said, irritated. "If it was important I would have read about it. It would have been on a scale less than even the Japanese during World War II."
"I wasn't aware that it was a contest."
"Where the hell did you find the time for history lessons?"
Pino shot back, "It would be foolish not to at least have a basic grasp on 20th century history and current events."
"Are you talking about denazification?" he piped up.
"Even you can figure out 'denazification' was code for 'anti-German', can't you?" the changeling said.
"After what Hitler did, it would be hard not to be anti-German," Adrian pointed out. "You can't ignore the situation surrounding the sentiment. It was war."
"And is that any justification for the discrimination and prejudice that those few faced?" Pino challenged. "Tell me, is the concept of collective guilt a valid one?" Pino paused. "Collective guilt is—"
"I know what it is!" Adrian huffed. "What's your point?"
"You think all changelings are the same. Are all Germans the same? Are they all genocidal monsters? Should they have to face persecution for the actions of an evil man and his followers?"
Twilight accused, "You were the ones that attacked Canterlot first."
The others agreed.
"Do you think that the entire changeling empire was there in Canterlot?" Pino said. "Because if you did, you ponies are truly ignorant."
They fell silent.
Pino sighed. "Hitler truly was a great man."
"You're sick. Hitler?" Adrian choked. "He was a genocidal maniac."
"Not great as in wonderful," Pino bristled. "Great as in powerful. He truly had a way with words. Isn't it amazing what the power of words can do? To have the power to change the course of history without ever lifting a finger."
That, Adrian supposed, everyone could agree on.
"My Queen has that power," the albino said. "She is a radical, much like Hitler was. The ones that were there during the attempted invasion of Equestria's capital are her followers, like the Nazi Party," Pino explained, drooping slightly. "And we...are the German citizens that stood and watched and did nothing."
"Who is 'we'?" Adrian growled. "Is 'we' just you?"
"'We' are the few who escaped and fled to Equestria. And 'we' are also the ones who follow orders like a good little soldier," she muttered.
"Does 'we' include the changelings that shot at me at the docks?"
Pino opened her mouth to reply, but closed it.
"And if you didn't agree with her, why are you still following her? Why aren't you fighting back?"
"The concept of revolution is difficult to grasp if you're starving," the changeling said.
Adrian begrudgingly let Pino win that one. All anyone had to do was take a look at North Korea and see the same thing.
"My Queen is our last and final salvation for our species," she declared.
Adrian stood up, fed up. "You keep trying to make yourselves out to be the victims. So far, every single one I've met has tried to put a bullet in my head. You can't explain that."
That shut her up good.
"You know I'm right, don't you?" Adrian challenged.
"No," Pino bitterly spat.
"You're a bunch of monsters."
No response.
Adrian crouched down. "You hear me? Monsters."
"Shut up."
"You know it too, don't you?"
"SHUT UP!"
Wham!
The palm of his hand slammed into the wall right next to her head. Pino flinched and squirmed away.
"THEN PROVE IT! PROVE IT! ALL I SEE RIGHT NOW IS A MONSTER!" Adrian shouted back. "You can cry all you want about how the cards are stacked against you, but the truth is? I don’t care. They don’t care. No one cares.”
Adrian held the phone in front of her face.
"What do you want me to do?!"
"Suck it up," he said in a carefully measured tone. "Make. The. CALL!"
"What call?!"
"Call the hit off! Get Chrysalis off my back."
"I can't!" Pino shouted.
Snap.
Whack!
Quick as a whip his hand lashed out and struck Pino across the face with an audible slap that sounded like a gunshot in the silence of the living room. He shoved her down as she cried, clamping a hand over her mouth.
Stunned silence. The Elements, if he had bothered to look, had looked on, jaws agape. Then Lyra ended that silence.
"Adrian!"
Fluttershy shrieked, shrinking. Pinkie comforted her, leading her someplace else. Gilda looked on curiously, an eyebrow arching in surprise.
Adrian kept a hand firmly on Pino's mouth, careful not to let her bite him.
"I...am done playing games," he snarled through gritted teeth.
Even the changeling seemed a little surprised at his change in temperament. Not fearful, but nonetheless shocked. Adrian was a patient person. Lyra knew this. But now, it seemed, his patience had run dry. Lyra was seeing another side of the boy she'd fallen in love with, one she'd never seen before. It was his ugly side. Everyone had an ugly side, and now his was starting to rear its head around.
And now he was in control. It felt so good.
"I'm gonna hurt you so bad."
At that moment, Adrian scared her.
Adrian growled, "Do you hear me? I'm gonna hurt you."
"Please, stop it—" Lyra tried to say.
He ignored her. “Huh? What’s the matter? Not so tough now, huh?”
“Adrian!” she pleaded.
“You’re a bunch of freaks of nature,” he snarled.
That cocky, self-assured smirk on her face turned a frown. She opened her mouth to protest, but Adrian cut her off.
“How can you live with yourself?”
She fell silent, blinking once and turning away.
“How can you…do what you do, and sleep at night?” Adrian continued. “Knowing…that somebody loves you, and you’re just…using them?”
Lyra winced. Pino closed her eyes, refusing to look at him.
His words seemed to strike a chord in her. She didn’t answer. Her silence was enough. In that very moment of weakness Adrian saw how vulnerable she truly was, and hated himself all the more for having to exploit it. Tangled in a web of carefully crafted lies, it had all finally caught up to her. It was unthinkable, inconceivable that such a pathetic species could exist. Talk about identity crisis. He wasn’t even sure if she was a she at all. More like an it. A thing. Was Pinocchio really her name?
Adrian did not feel any sympathy. He did not empathize with her situation, there was no compassion, no remorse from him.
Only pity.
She didn’t enjoy doing what she had to do to survive. It wasn’t her fault; she didn’t choose to be born as a changeling, she had no choice in the matter. It was the cards she was dealt by the hands of an angry god. It was the way things were. And now he was forcing her to confront her very own nature.
"I don't care about your sob story," he said, releasing his grip on her face. "You're going to help me. Make the call. Get her crosshairs off my head."
"And how do you think I'll do that?"
He held the gun at her temple. "By asking nicely," he sneered.
"We want the same thing!" the changeling insisted.
"Sure we do. Now make the call."
"I am your hostage, correct?"
Adrian blinked. "Yes."
"So I am your bargaining chip," Pinocchio said. "Exchange me and have her leave you alone."
"So we set up a meeting? Face-to-face in some dark alleyway in the middle of the night?" He shook his head. "I'd rather take my chances."
"You don't have much of a choice, now do you?" Pino shot back.
Adrian raised the gun, aiming down the sights. "I could just shoot you. Shoot her."
"But you wouldn't. You can't," the changeling said smugly. "Do you know what it's like to kill?"
"You're less than human," he spat angrily. "You tried to kill me. I should kill you."
Adrian's concept of justice could have been perceived as warped. An eye for an eye.
"And in return, my Queen will hunt you down like a dog," Pino said, "for the rest of your days."
Adrian scowled, turning away, assessing the situation. As much as he hated it, hated her, she was right. He had no choice. Just like Gilda had no choice.
"There's always a choice," he tried. "I could run."
"For how long? Would you be willing to give up your life? Ties to your family? Friends?"
"There is always a choice!" he said through clenched teeth.
"No. No, sometimes, there's really not."
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I know I'm going to regret putting this chapter out somehow. I'm going to miss something.
Adrian got too cold way too quickly. Yeah she tried to kill him, but that doesn't change you in 30 minutes.
2489372
Write more.
A bit of a grammar mistake here, making it a little difficult to read.
There should be a in there.
Pretty much same thing here, an angry god.
I don't know why you would regret putting this chapter out, because I think this chapter was great. It was good to see Adrian finally lose it, and for him to be the one in charge, calling the shots. Though I think you could have had more involvement with the mane 6 in this chapter, because they seemed to just be lying around.
2489480
I didn't want to mention it but they were kind of antsy around him. They're witnessing a much more vicious side of humans.
2489483
Well yeah, that's understandable, and I'd say they would start to trust him less after this too... Something to think about, I guess.
[youtube=Q662_xa3EFs]
Just shoot it. And play bait for the rest of them. You have eight helpers now, get eight rifles!
The comparrisson with german history was unexpected but very well used.
2489514 I'm the doctor. I'm a time lord from the planet Gallifrey, of the constellation of Kasterborous. I am eleven hundred and six years old, and I am the person who's going to save a psychotic time lord from herself while my friends take over a person-sized time-ship and you sit here in this closet acting like a good boy.
Here's the only problem that hasn't been addressed with the changeling's defense: "Just following orders" isn't a valid defense, it only means you are just as guilty of the crime as your superior is. There is a reason soldiers are sworn to follow the "lawful" orders of their superiors.
Not to mention that there were a lot of Germans who fought against the Nazis, several paying for that with their lives. So the changeling uses of the German people to defend their decisions isn't fully valid either. Suffice to say, I'm like Adrian. I couldn't care less about their sob story. They don't get to play the victim card here. The moment they attacked another group of people, they lost that right.
2489446
You've obviously have never been in a life or death situation before. You don't truly know someone until they have been broken down like Adrian has in this story. He has been pushed beyond his breaking point, and now we get to see the true Adrian, and not one that society gets to see. Though, I do have to admit that I didn't think he had it in him to actually interrogate the changeling.
2489446
I have to agree with you - While Adrian's had a rough couple of days, this is barely recognisable as him.
Also, maybe it's the fault of some of the other fics I'm reading (project horizons, second pony view, sweetie chronicles), but Dennis' chapters seem a little on the short side.
Don't take this the wrong way Dennis - I enjoy your work, I'm just offing my thoughts,
2489446 You ever been almost killed by someone? I think you are mistaken, sir.
2489634 /] Spec Ops: The Line was a pretty gruesome game, quite frankly. It was kinda nice not to be the good guy for once in a video game.
2490155
You're offing your thoughts?! What did they ever do to you?!
This is exactly backwards. There is nothing more natural than using violence to advance oneself, and we humans are probably the ultimate killers in the natural world. We are all born killers and for millions of years, it served us very well indeed.
Humans in modern societies are taught from a very young age to restrain our violence, to the point the peacefulness that is so contrary to our nature actually becomes part of us.
That training, the dehumanizing of those you kill? They're actually a form of deprogramming, tricks to get around the socialization that every member of society internalizes as children.
burningshadow.dk/Galleries/Facepalm/Facepalm3.jpg
Yes Pino, I'm sure no investigation would follow if you fake his suicide after strangling him with a garrote wire.
I know why the changelings are almost extinct. It's NATURAL SELECTION. You'd think that since there are only a few hundred changelings left, the ones that survived must be the fittest and most intelligent. If so, I shudder to think just how dumb they used to be.
2489446
It's not a matter of changing. This is a part of him that was always there, but out of sight, even from himself. I suspect once he comes out of survival mode, he'll be more than a bit shocked with himself. We never know what we are truly capable of until we're pushed to the brink. Most people never have to confront the difference between who they really are and who they thought they were. Adrian no longer has that luxury. I just hope he can put it off until he has the time for introspection.
I'm rather impressed with him, I didn't think he had it in him, but he handled the interrogation rather well. No nonsense, no waffling, no falling for the sob story, and screw the Hannibal Lecture.
2489634
A good guy? Not even close. At most, she's a reluctant bad guy, but even that is pushing it. She tried to kill him even though there was no real need to; no one was going to believe him. Her justifications are as hollow as the holes in their legs. Sure, you can claim you're only trying to survive, but when all your actions are hostile all that says is "Coexistence is impossible".
Fuck their excuses. They are not victims, they are the aggressors. Kill em all.
Edit: Come to think of it, why not expose them? You have a live changeling there as undeniable proof of your claims. Once humanity at large knows about them, they're going to get annihilated. There's no need to make any deals. All he wants is for them to leave him alone, once every changeling is dead or in a lab that's accomplished.
2490634
"clop" is any mature sexual content, interspecies, intraspecies, heterosexual or homosexual, masturbation, rape, anything sexually mature.
2490125
I've been in more than my fair share if you want to be a presumptuous shit. If that's what's considered a mans breaking point these days I don't want to be a "man".
2490155
Yeah he's had a pretty crappy time, but this is a little overboard. Michael Bay-esque.
2490262
See above. And yes. Please presume more.
2490574
I'd be extremely shocked if he wasn't surprised by his actions or sat down crying after this. He isn't a hard person and even a struggle like that doesn't make him one; hidden side or no.
2490574
I'm sure we could discuss the nature of killing, but of course, my point of view (I mean not literally MY point of view, but the one presented in the chapter) is one way of looking at it.
Now now, Pino isn't quite out of her mind. There were only so many options I had. I could have had her poison him and go through some Casino Royale-esque moment where he has to drive himself to the hospital. Shooting him was too obvious, stabbing him was way too obvious. If she had gotten the jump on Adrian say, a little bit quicker, she probably would have snagged him right. Her intention was to strangle him, yes. After that hopefully worked, she would have set it up to make it a suicide by hanging. I highly doubt anything thinks of murder when someone hangs themself. Really.
No witnesses, no fingerprints. Could have been a clean one.
2490765
And if you want to be an ignorant jackass, try a combat tour. I've seen plenty of men change after their first op that ran into an IED. Watching four men that you were horsing around with not five minutes before get blown into thirty pieces will do that to you. It takes moments to change a person. One bad thing happening, and someone's life is changed forever. That's not an opinion, that's fact.
2490125
I don't know if my World History education is rusty, because I haven't studied up on any other country other than 'MERICA for the past two years, but I'm aware that not all of Germany agreed with Hitler, yes? Some fought back and died for treason. But I also believe that there were many that simply stood by and did nothing to avoid dying.
Again, that "just following orders" motif in lots of war movies is really sketchy. Following orders can clash with moral codes. It's not a black and white issue.
2490765
I'm going to stay out of the other arguments, but Adrian is not going to go all Liam Neeson now. I've worked too hard on his character.
2490783
What I typed up was more commentary then a critique. Yeah, there were two attempted assassination on Hitler, both failed. Those that tried were executed for treason. Then there were people like Schindler who resisted covertly, and protected those they could under the guise of being pro-Nazi.
Never is. Welcome to the world of politics and warfare. What might be morally right could go against orders, and it's up to each individual warrior whether to follow it or not, but the cost is extremely high when it comes to disobeying. However, you are just as responsible for your own actions as much as your superior is responsible for his/hers and yours. Nothing is ever clear black and white, but there are times where it's close enough that you could call it pure black or white.
In my opinion, this is one of those times. They are following orders that should be considered "unlawful", and their situation and feelings on the matter don't justify their actions. Much like the concentration camp guards, you can bitch all you want about how you don't like what's happening, but you're still assisting with what's happening. Either stop what's happening by any means necessary, or stop talking.
in control, you mean?
Well, this was certainly an interesting chapter.
2490769
No, it couldn't. That's my point. The difference between the injuries caused by hanging and a garrote wire are extremely obvious to the naked eye, let alone an autopsy (which is required in such cases). And the police aren't stupid. They're going to look closer at a sudden suicide. She may not quite be out of her mind, but she is very, very bad at this murder business. A rank amateur at best. A trained and experienced detective is going to see through her attempts to dress up his murder as a suicide in about ten seconds flat.
If she wanted to keep possible attention away from the changelings, killing him was the very worst thing she could have done. They were extremely lucky that Chrysalis failed to kill them at the docks to begin with; three bodies washing up, two of which have no background or history? No stone would be left unturned to get to the bottom of it.
As it is, the authorities have not yet had any cause to become involved. And what does she do? The one thing guaranteed to draw attention anything that happened to Adrian in the last few months. Not. Smart.
2491121
I think you're missing the "changeling" part of being a changeling. Which is being a changeling. And looking like things you're not supposed to.
But I'm not going to argue this one too much anyway. My intention was never to portray Pino as some kind of mastermind badass assassin killer.
2491121 She doesn't know that. Side effect of being on earth for less than 48 hours. So, yes, she is an amateur.
2491165
Congratulations, you succeeded.
Not sure what you mean with the changeling thing. She's the one who said they want to avoid attention and investigations and the like, stirring up trouble with a murder clumsily dressed up as a suicide is not going to be conducive to that goal. Changing your form isn't going to change that.
Just to be clear, I'm criticizing the character here, not the story. I actually very much liked this chapter. It actually managed to surprise me with Adrian's Jack Bauer impression while still being credible. So, since I don't say it often enough, thank you and looking forward to the next chapter.
2491189
That's kind of my point. They're all like that. How are they going to blend into a population they know very little about?
I'm just saying, I don't think Chrissy thought her brilliant plan all the way through.
Commented, rated, subscrib-Commented, rated, faved.Like the story, and I'd like to make a long and yadda yadda comment, but it is kinda late (and on fone). All I Can say right now is: More. Moar! MOAR!!!
Plis
2490795
I didn't intend to start an argument, but it seems some people are still hellbent on making mountains out of mole hills. Glad to hear that Adrian isn't Liam.
2490776
Tough shit, every male in my family has served me included. If you let the bad things in your life define you that's your own sack of shit, don't drag that out on me. If you really served then you know how to be a man so fucking act like it.
2491502
You claim to be a warrior, then start acting like one and realize the character is a fucking civie. Different rules apply with them, and the bar is much lower than what we have to deal with. What we call another day at the office, to them is their world being spun on its head. That's why we are warriors, and they are civilians.
I have served, and so has my entire family, and so have a lot of friends, with some of them not coming back. A few of them have come back wounded, and more of them came back with PTSD. Three of them can barely operate in the civilian world due to PTSD. It isn't something you can just shake off. That shit defines you, whether you let it or not. The only thing that you can do, is learn to cope with it.
The kid, who obviously has never been in life or death situations before, is now facing one and is being hunted by an enemy that can make themselves look like anyone while he is on his own (as far as he knows). Add that on to finding out your girlfriend has lied to you the entire time, and she's the reason why you're being hunted. Add that pile of stress onto being wounded, and coming off an adrenaline high from almost being killed, I'd say that would cause most people to snap. After all of the uncontrollable shit he has been through, he suddenly has control over one thing, the life of his would-be murderer. How the Hell would he not use that control to finally get some answers and get some intel?
So... I'm gonna chime in my 2¢ here. I see some people going apeshit about 'omfg he's being such an asshole' or 'he's past his breaking point' and whatever.
Know what. This kid is supposed to be a normal everyday guy who's thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Relatively normal, suddenly finds out his pretty serious relationship(at least for him) is just so much bullshit and has several people try to kill him all within the course of a short period of time, with the only reprieve being one night that he tries to intoxicate the stress away.
To be honest, I'm surprised he had the presence of mind to NOT kill the changeling. And now you're being whiny because he's threatening and causing minor pain to his captive? He's an everyday guy. He's acting on a knife edge from pain and adrenaline(or even adrenaline crash for that matter) and stressed as hell, and he's falling back on all the stupid movie 'interrogation' lines and methods that he's seen there. I don't see anything really out of the ordinary there. To be honest, the most unusual bit is the fact that the changeling is trying to take control of the situation at the end, there... And that he even believes that she might keep her word (ha). He's not past any breaking point, he's just playing a role...
Honestly, I kinda wish he had used the popsicle, cutting torch, and steak method from... punisher was it? The ponies' responses would have been priceless :)
There's always a choice! Such as melee spamming, camping, and flailing grenades everywhere, YOU DON'T NEED TO DO IT! If you didn't alot of things would be much better, but nooooo... "I gotta do it because it makes things easier!" F*** YOU, YOU RUIN EVERYTHING AROUND YOU, ARROGANT FOOL!
The Changelings can make a change, they just have to choose together, what they should do, they should make friends with the Equestrians, or die in weakness.
2490574
Not exactly. It's been shown that humans naturally empathize with other humans. We just have a lot more difficulty empathizing with others that aren't part of our own perceived group. Nevertheless, killing other humans isn't something that comes naturally, due to our own empathetic nature.
Hell, the U.S. Army Field Manual specifically mentions that snipers have to be able to put aside their emotions to be effective
2490155 Project Horizons works, as they are all insane, and Somber seems to be a sadist with his characters.
2493243
Not sure what that has to do with chapter length...
2493251
As I recall, something similar happened with My Roommate Is A Vampire - went from comedic romance to action romance.
2493323
This was always meant to be an action-adventure story. Always. From the get-go, I planned this. My Roommate is a Vampire had a bad case of Cerberus syndrome, I get it. There's not even a Comedy tag on this.
I don't know where you guys are finding humor. A little teasing here and there and some innuendo, but there was never any comedy.
2493348
My bad, should have checked the tags.
Regardless of my thoughts on this particular chapter, I do appreciate your work and will continue to read.
One thing that bothers me, when people think about horrendous dictators or murderous tyrants, they immediately think of Hitler or Stalin, while Hitler killed about 5.5 million Jews, and Stalin could be blamed for the deaths of several hundred thousand, Mao Zedong is responsible for 40-77 million murders of his own people.
2494025
The example doesn't work quite so well because Chrysalis isn't killing her own changelings. I'm well aware of Mao Zedong.
Hah. I knew there was a reason behind all the german guns.
But seriously if I wanted a nice AR, no doubt i'd go with MG Arms.
Y U Insult Honerable Chairman Mao Zedong. just quoting my friend
For the love of Christ, please don't make us wait a month for the next chapter, this fic has gotten wayyyy too good
2491771
Sorry you and your family wasn't cut out for it I guess. That kinda life isn't for everyone. I'm sure there's some grocery store or fast food joint that's got openings for you and your PTSD friends.
2495700
Yeah, now I know you have never worn the uniform. No soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine would ever make a comment like that about a wounded brother- or sister-in-arms. A pathetic sack of shit like you probably got tossed out on his ass after the first day of Basic. You do understand that it's a felony to claim you are in the military or have served without actually having done so.
2495747
PTSD is for people who sat behind desks to claim. The real warriors have post combat stress syndrome. Yes I would like fries with that.
2496371
PTSD is the clinical name for it. PCSS is a category of PTSD. Get your head out of your ass and do some research, since it's obvious that you've never met or been around someone who has it.
2496396
Oh god you're such a joke. So much for being trained to stay cool under pressure. Thanks for a few good laughs. People like you who get worked up over a little needling are the reason the military has such bad press. In case you haven't noticed(Vietnam, right fucking now) appearance and working the media is just as important as the battle. People skills win as many battles as technology and blood. i'm sure you stayed low on the rungs.
2496586
No, the reason I get pissed is because of sacks of shit like you who claim to be members of the military but aren't. It's people like you, who don't understand loyalty and honor, that give any armed service a bad name.
Oh, and BTW, I was an 11A, before my injury and discharge. You claim to be a man, but act like a child hiding behind the computer monitor and PoG as all fuck. When you finally grow a pair, try enlisting and serving in a combat-arms specialty. Let's see how long your idea of "not letting shit define you" lasts.