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[Mikeyj]

 [PROJECT] Tales from Earth 2: Collaborative story (story)

[Mikeyj]

First line courtesy MasterCheese

[konamouse]

Letting loose a stream of puppy urine, he marked his territory on the man's shoe and then proudly strutted back to his doggy bed. After a quick canine sneeze, he circled the purple blanket thrice and plopped down in comfort.

[number9dream]

As a puppy he was a little on the large side, and in fact had been several times likened to a rather over-boisterous hound that resided with the master of the Academy. Giggles, however, was sadly misnamed - he was a sensitive and serious soul, much given to picking fluff from his furry navel with an aristocratic toenail and pondering the vastness of the universe and the distances he had already travelled in his brief life.

[Scott]

"If anyone needs me," he thought to himself "by which I mean, if there is fFood involved in any of the day's proceedings, don't hesitate to wake me." And with that he drifted off to a merry slumber, dreaming of peanut-butter biscuits and liver-flavoured treats.

[Guin]

The visitor stared at his now damp, yet slightly warmer shoe as Giggles' owner, visibly flustered and embarresed, fussed around the moist appendage. The visitor stared at the dog, thought of things he would do to it, then returned his gaze to the owner paying so much attention to his shoe. Unmoved he reaching inside his jacket, produced a thick envelope and dropped it at his feet. Its only marking a purple crested seal.

[Mima]

As the envelope slowly turned yellow, absorbing the puddle on the floor, the visitor raised his head, sniffed, turned, and walked back out of the front door.

[doomsdayred]

The visitor slammed the door of his black sedan, revealing an image matching the purple seal on the letter. As the car pulled off from the long driveway, Lord Giggles' owner reached for and rang a small bell to demand the presence of...

[DrKra37]

...his youngest daughter, just barely eight years old. It was traditional in his family to have the youngest able-bodied child serve as butler and bodyservant, except where such services would have been immoral. Cleaning up after Lord Giggles, however, was not immoral. Rather, it would build character. As she came into the room, his butler-for-the-nonce noted the pungent odor coming from the envelope and the puddle around it with a wrinkled nose. "Oh, Daddy," she protested, "Do I have to?"

[Mikeyj]

Bert Van Eyssen, for that was his name, fingered the envelope and eased open the purple seal. A faint whiff of caustic soda rose from the crisp parchment within. Elsa Karloff, stank of the stuff in person and everything she touched became impregnated with it. It was curious that she was writing to him now. Especially considering that they were technically working for opposing forces.

Bert settled into a chair, lifting his legs to allow the acrid urine and puppy poo that had recently joined it (Lord Giggles had the remarkable habit of defecating in his sleep), and began to read the letter:

Dear Buboe-face it began affectionately I am writing in order to...

[number9dream]

express my terrible disappointment at your recent defection to the other side. In happier times, when we were together more often than not, we could finish each other's sentences, gaze into each other's eyes for hours, and take pleasure in strolling through Polygon Park. How have we come to this?

[At this point Van Eyssen sighed, thought back to the last time he had seen her, the tears that welled in his eyes more than just a memory of her unique personal scent. They had argued over the direction of Quaternus Mingus, a shadowy organisation whose existence was known only to few, their shared secret and the real power behind the power in Perplex City....

He read on:

Is there no hope you will change your mind and return to us, my darling? I must warn you that something big is about to happen, big enough to make the cube seem like a 10x10 lump of cheap and slightly scratched alloy. Please think about this. I will meet you in the....

[Guin]

usual place

Across town Alice stared into her half filled coffe mug. Normally she may have wondered if it was half full or half empty. Not today! She glanced casually over the daily crossword again and pondered 14 across "If entropy wins, outward looks should leave you cold" 4,2,4 She really didn't know (or care). The events of the last 24 hours had turned her world on its head and she was still reeling.

[mac_monkey]

Alice jumped as her key beeped away on the corner of the table. She smiled as she realised why she didn't recognise the keytone at first. It was new - one of her friends from the Earth Studies department at the Academy had put it on there for her. It was a tune she knew well - her favourite Earth quiz show theme - Countdown. Of course, she'd never actually seen the show up until now, she'd always relied on information from people at the other end of the Link to make an informed decision.

Clearly this was a bad idea. Alice read the message...

"Message relayed via CRR:
Alice, where have you been? I've been meaning to tell you something, it's been weighing on my mind like a heard of Elephants. It was me.. I'm..."

[doomsdayred]

"the one our spies have seen meeting with the other side. I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you this earlier today, I didn't have the nerve to do this face to face. I've been struggling for a while now and in all honesty the only reason I'm still part of this organisation is due to the feelings I have for you.
It has come to a head now, the decisions we are taking as a group seem to be contradictory to the very reason we came together in the first place. I love you but I have to go. Please forgive me."

Alice checked the electronic signature for the message.

"Dated today, but how can that be?" Alice said to herself. "This is word for word the very message Berti sent me the day he defected!"

Checking the electronic signature again, Alice noticed a minute image displayed. The number 3, a picture of what seemed to be a chalice, and a lower case S.

Alice gazed out of the window and remarked to herself "Curiouser and curiouser!"

The door to The Impossible Pretzel snack bar opened...

[konamouse]

Ah, the wonderful aroma of baking bread & salt, the melted butter and the sharp cheese.....

Her stomach grumbled in protest.