Nighter
Sondo was on a walk at Sky Mind Trail, a walking area near the edge of Tempbell. He had crossed over the parking lot that was still being constructed, feet dragging slightly from exertion, and traversed the dirt road that led to a work shed in front of the dam next to the walkway that would lead back to where he left his car earlier. A large brontopod was grazing close by the work shed and lifted its head towards Sondo as he approached the walkway. It let out a gurgling sound at him before lowering its head back down. Sondo shrugged and continued onward, passing another looming tree and over a bridge, a young shrillbeak taking notice of him as he fished in the water below with his serrated bill before Sondo made it back to his car. When he sat down on the plush seat, his body ached and he had to rest for a moment as well as make room for his tail. He reached into his satchel and took out a bottle of Gist. He sprayed some into the car itself as well as on his arms and inhaled the lemon grass scent. It calmed his nerves and relaxed his muscles. Distorted stringed instruments and pulsing electronic drums along with synths and programming thrummed from his car stereo into his elven-looking ears as he started the car. A therap girl, maybe the same species as him, her large eyes yellow-green in color, passed by the vehicle with her leashed dog. Sondo thought she was attractive but wished he didn’t have social anxiety as he backed up and left the parking lot. His body ached slightly from exertion and he felt the urge to doze off but a quick triple pronged finger tap to his head snapped him out of it. As he was about to turn onto the street heading back towards the city, he saw that the night was approaching sooner and sooner behind the hospital building that stood close to the park. He exhaled, relaxed his ears, and hit the gas at a steady speed.
As he drove closer to the market place, the sky was now a dark blue with stars appearing in it. The streetlights were in full bloom like UFO lights and creatures of all sorts connived along the remaining green spaces, having gotten used to the presences of both humans and humanoids. Sondo drove behind another hospital building, the road curving towards the metal fences that stood atop the concrete rise behind the marketplace. Behind the fences, a large water tank full of warp fish could be seen through a window.
The marketplace reflected the movies of this era. A lot of them took place at night and streetlights were the common source of light, cars passed constantly and had music blazing from their windows, and crazy incidents were always erupting among the citizens. A large meganops (giant face) was causing a traffic obstruction in the middle area of the main parking lot and proclaiming himself to be “Daddy” to everyone around him. Serrated teeth the size of most human and humanoid hands were arranged in a unsettling smile below glowing orange eyes. He pointed at his “chosen” with a clawed finger that could easily rip through a human and humanoid’s torso if they weren’t significantly strong enough. But when the police showed up, he quickly bounded away into the air, knocking some people off their feet and pushing some cars back. Sondo felt the force of the bound but he was a good distance from the spectacle. He parked away from the chaos and got out of his car before stepping up on the sidewalk. Even at night, there were waves of heat and the smell of gasoline mixed in. Over by one of the restaurants he noticed a common duo in this area: Grife and Impy. One was a slender and normally cranky cassosaur and the other a squat and normally chipper cyclops. This time, in the latter’s case, he looked stunned and worried. They had been alerted by the commotion of Daddy and while Impy asked questions to whoever could hear, Grife snarled at the young cyclops to be quiet. Sondo knew both of them but he wasn’t sure what to saw to them or if they were soon going to leave so he carried on. After walking a good distance around, he ascended up a stairwell.
Graffiti art and interesting signs lead the way up the steps into a hallway. “KEEP YOUR HEAD ON THE GROUND!”, “I WANT TO SPRECK WITH YOU, MY LADY!”, “YOUR SECRET SKIN WILL SHELTER ME!”, “NEED A PLACE FOR YOUR PAIN? COME ON DOWN TO NEUROPATHY BLUES!”, and “FOR SOME BLOOD SPORTIN’ CALL XXX-XXX-XXXX (the numbers had been crossed out)!” we’re spoken in different voices in Sondo’s mind as his eyes took in what was on the walls. It helped that he knew the lyrics to ones that were songs, Neuropathy Blues was a bar that had recently finished being set up, and blood sports was a sexual act that was mainly underground until very recently but very few would actually take part in it. Whether it was a good thing or not to know, Sondo had come across knowledge of it. He felt like a stray morphic field found its way to him. A cat trotted along the middle of the hall, meowing at Sondo as it passed him. Around the third door on the left were windows showing that there was a shop called Giffen’s in this place. A human dressed like a clank head walked out of the place with an clear orange bag of items and looked in Sondo’s direction. “What was that loud sound earlier?” he asked him. Around his neck were plush cubes with symbols linked by bendable wires that could glow if gently pushed. Sondo swallowed and replied, “It was a meganops calling himself “Daddy.” while blocking traffic. He jumped away when the police showed up.” “Hmmmm, weird.” The human stated plainly. Sondo yawned, his fangs sticking up slightly like a mandrill’s. “You don’t see much of them in the cities but they are showing up more. This “Daddy” figure, though, sounds like bad news.” The human nodded at that and followed the cat down the stairs. Sondo shrugged his shoulders and walked into Giffen’s. Electronica music greeted him as well as the smell of vanilla vapor coming from a nearby ionizer. It was a relief from the gasoline smell permeating outside. On a rack close to the checkout counter were more of those “neck cubes” but Sondo had no interest in wearing them. They were probably a fad item that would quickly become seen as novelties and end up in the bargain bins. The cashier, a blue-skinned therap, looked up from her magazine towards Sondo. He noticed that her nametag read UPMA. Interesting name, he thought to himself. She had a tired look on her face and let out an exhale. “Can I help you?” she asked. “Oh, I guess so,” Sondo replied. “What music am I hearing in here? It sounds good.” Upma’s mouth formed a slight smile at hearing that. “It’s the new CD from Orbital. You never heard of them before?” Music was usually Sondo’s strong point but he was slipping lately. “Oh, I am a fan of them but I didn’t know they had a new album. I like a lot of bands and can only keep up with them so much.” Upma nodded at that while placing her magazine down and slipped in a bookmark in it before she closed it. “Here,” she reached under the counter and pulled out a jewel case container for the Orbial CD. “This is our last copy. I’ll give you a discount for it.”
Sondo took out his wallet and paid for the CD. He looked at the booklet beneath the glass briefly before Upma handed him a bag to put it in, said “I’ll let you know what I think about it next time I see you.” and nodded farewell at Upma. She nodded in return and looked at her magazine once again.
Descending the stairs, Sondo wondered if he should’ve continued talking to Upma or not. Second guessing was always clawing him internally and it especially liked to cause feelings of missing out to bleed. Before he could think further on it, he noticed that the stairs didn’t end on the sidewalk like they should’ve. Instead, it was like the night sky itself had descended to the concrete. His night vision wasn’t working. It was like he had awoken inside a nightmare. Even when he turned around to look back at the stairs, void greeted him. Laughter, like an electronic voice mocking someone and going out in an echoing fade, came from where he looked previously. A voice spoke and it sounded like it was saying “We want you back.” directly into his brain. Something was coming for him in that void and he couldn’t run or fight it. Dread washed over him and he felt his endo spike in his chest. It was like something was reaching into his spirit and trying to turn his body into a hollow shell. He opened his mouth to scream; a roar of rage and defiance exited him instead as if every fiber in his being was yelling “No! You can not touch me!” at once. His vision filled with a green hue and the emotions expelled from within had taken the form of a blue beam of energy. He could now see what was in the void and his voice had become a weapon. Beings he had never seen before were reeling back from what he had done. Faces both wincing in pain and growing in anger. But something else soon made them retreat in fight. The void receded and the streetlights once again illuminated the night. Feeling weak in his body, his mind scattered, and his endo off centered, Sondo slumped to his knees. He pulled his arms close to himself, clutching the bag he was given earlier and feeling the rough edges of the CD case digging into his side through it. When his vision started to come back, he noticed a figure standing next to him. It was a tall figure that had three red eyes in a triangular pattern underneath a grey hood with green patterns trailing down the back. The body was enrobed with the same patterns continuing across it and two cybernetic hands with clawed finger tips hung motionlessly from the sleeves. A vaporous green energy emitted from one of the tips. “Tephno...” the words escaped from Sondo as if he were in a reverie before his senses snapped back. “Wh-wh-who are you?” he asked the figure. The figure simply stated “You are awakening...” before a flash of nebulous yellow light engulfed the form and disappeared from sight.
Sondo was on a walk at Sky Mind Trail, a walking area near the edge of Tempbell. He had crossed over the parking lot that was still being constructed, feet dragging slightly from exertion, and traversed the dirt road that led to a work shed in front of the dam next to the walkway that would lead back to where he left his car earlier. A large brontopod was grazing close by the work shed and lifted its head towards Sondo as he approached the walkway. It let out a gurgling sound at him before lowering its head back down. Sondo shrugged and continued onward, passing another looming tree and over a bridge, a young shrillbeak taking notice of him as he fished in the water below with his serrated bill before Sondo made it back to his car. When he sat down on the plush seat, his body ached and he had to rest for a moment as well as make room for his tail. He reached into his satchel and took out a bottle of Gist. He sprayed some into the car itself as well as on his arms and inhaled the lemon grass scent. It calmed his nerves and relaxed his muscles. Distorted stringed instruments and pulsing electronic drums along with synths and programming thrummed from his car stereo into his elven-looking ears as he started the car. A therap girl, maybe the same species as him, her large eyes yellow-green in color, passed by the vehicle with her leashed dog. Sondo thought she was attractive but wished he didn’t have social anxiety as he backed up and left the parking lot. His body ached slightly from exertion and he felt the urge to doze off but a quick triple pronged finger tap to his head snapped him out of it. As he was about to turn onto the street heading back towards the city, he saw that the night was approaching sooner and sooner behind the hospital building that stood close to the park. He exhaled, relaxed his ears, and hit the gas at a steady speed.
As he drove closer to the market place, the sky was now a dark blue with stars appearing in it. The streetlights were in full bloom like UFO lights and creatures of all sorts connived along the remaining green spaces, having gotten used to the presences of both humans and humanoids. Sondo drove behind another hospital building, the road curving towards the metal fences that stood atop the concrete rise behind the marketplace. Behind the fences, a large water tank full of warp fish could be seen through a window.
The marketplace reflected the movies of this era. A lot of them took place at night and streetlights were the common source of light, cars passed constantly and had music blazing from their windows, and crazy incidents were always erupting among the citizens. A large meganops (giant face) was causing a traffic obstruction in the middle area of the main parking lot and proclaiming himself to be “Daddy” to everyone around him. Serrated teeth the size of most human and humanoid hands were arranged in a unsettling smile below glowing orange eyes. He pointed at his “chosen” with a clawed finger that could easily rip through a human and humanoid’s torso if they weren’t significantly strong enough. But when the police showed up, he quickly bounded away into the air, knocking some people off their feet and pushing some cars back. Sondo felt the force of the bound but he was a good distance from the spectacle. He parked away from the chaos and got out of his car before stepping up on the sidewalk. Even at night, there were waves of heat and the smell of gasoline mixed in. Over by one of the restaurants he noticed a common duo in this area: Grife and Impy. One was a slender and normally cranky cassosaur and the other a squat and normally chipper cyclops. This time, in the latter’s case, he looked stunned and worried. They had been alerted by the commotion of Daddy and while Impy asked questions to whoever could hear, Grife snarled at the young cyclops to be quiet. Sondo knew both of them but he wasn’t sure what to saw to them or if they were soon going to leave so he carried on. After walking a good distance around, he ascended up a stairwell.
Graffiti art and interesting signs lead the way up the steps into a hallway. “KEEP YOUR HEAD ON THE GROUND!”, “I WANT TO SPRECK WITH YOU, MY LADY!”, “YOUR SECRET SKIN WILL SHELTER ME!”, “NEED A PLACE FOR YOUR PAIN? COME ON DOWN TO NEUROPATHY BLUES!”, and “FOR SOME BLOOD SPORTIN’ CALL XXX-XXX-XXXX (the numbers had been crossed out)!” we’re spoken in different voices in Sondo’s mind as his eyes took in what was on the walls. It helped that he knew the lyrics to ones that were songs, Neuropathy Blues was a bar that had recently finished being set up, and blood sports was a sexual act that was mainly underground until very recently but very few would actually take part in it. Whether it was a good thing or not to know, Sondo had come across knowledge of it. He felt like a stray morphic field found its way to him. A cat trotted along the middle of the hall, meowing at Sondo as it passed him. Around the third door on the left were windows showing that there was a shop called Giffen’s in this place. A human dressed like a clank head walked out of the place with an clear orange bag of items and looked in Sondo’s direction. “What was that loud sound earlier?” he asked him. Around his neck were plush cubes with symbols linked by bendable wires that could glow if gently pushed. Sondo swallowed and replied, “It was a meganops calling himself “Daddy.” while blocking traffic. He jumped away when the police showed up.” “Hmmmm, weird.” The human stated plainly. Sondo yawned, his fangs sticking up slightly like a mandrill’s. “You don’t see much of them in the cities but they are showing up more. This “Daddy” figure, though, sounds like bad news.” The human nodded at that and followed the cat down the stairs. Sondo shrugged his shoulders and walked into Giffen’s. Electronica music greeted him as well as the smell of vanilla vapor coming from a nearby ionizer. It was a relief from the gasoline smell permeating outside. On a rack close to the checkout counter were more of those “neck cubes” but Sondo had no interest in wearing them. They were probably a fad item that would quickly become seen as novelties and end up in the bargain bins. The cashier, a blue-skinned therap, looked up from her magazine towards Sondo. He noticed that her nametag read UPMA. Interesting name, he thought to himself. She had a tired look on her face and let out an exhale. “Can I help you?” she asked. “Oh, I guess so,” Sondo replied. “What music am I hearing in here? It sounds good.” Upma’s mouth formed a slight smile at hearing that. “It’s the new CD from Orbital. You never heard of them before?” Music was usually Sondo’s strong point but he was slipping lately. “Oh, I am a fan of them but I didn’t know they had a new album. I like a lot of bands and can only keep up with them so much.” Upma nodded at that while placing her magazine down and slipped in a bookmark in it before she closed it. “Here,” she reached under the counter and pulled out a jewel case container for the Orbial CD. “This is our last copy. I’ll give you a discount for it.”
Sondo took out his wallet and paid for the CD. He looked at the booklet beneath the glass briefly before Upma handed him a bag to put it in, said “I’ll let you know what I think about it next time I see you.” and nodded farewell at Upma. She nodded in return and looked at her magazine once again.
Descending the stairs, Sondo wondered if he should’ve continued talking to Upma or not. Second guessing was always clawing him internally and it especially liked to cause feelings of missing out to bleed. Before he could think further on it, he noticed that the stairs didn’t end on the sidewalk like they should’ve. Instead, it was like the night sky itself had descended to the concrete. His night vision wasn’t working. It was like he had awoken inside a nightmare. Even when he turned around to look back at the stairs, void greeted him. Laughter, like an electronic voice mocking someone and going out in an echoing fade, came from where he looked previously. A voice spoke and it sounded like it was saying “We want you back.” directly into his brain. Something was coming for him in that void and he couldn’t run or fight it. Dread washed over him and he felt his endo spike in his chest. It was like something was reaching into his spirit and trying to turn his body into a hollow shell. He opened his mouth to scream; a roar of rage and defiance exited him instead as if every fiber in his being was yelling “No! You can not touch me!” at once. His vision filled with a green hue and the emotions expelled from within had taken the form of a blue beam of energy. He could now see what was in the void and his voice had become a weapon. Beings he had never seen before were reeling back from what he had done. Faces both wincing in pain and growing in anger. But something else soon made them retreat in fight. The void receded and the streetlights once again illuminated the night. Feeling weak in his body, his mind scattered, and his endo off centered, Sondo slumped to his knees. He pulled his arms close to himself, clutching the bag he was given earlier and feeling the rough edges of the CD case digging into his side through it. When his vision started to come back, he noticed a figure standing next to him. It was a tall figure that had three red eyes in a triangular pattern underneath a grey hood with green patterns trailing down the back. The body was enrobed with the same patterns continuing across it and two cybernetic hands with clawed finger tips hung motionlessly from the sleeves. A vaporous green energy emitted from one of the tips. “Tephno...” the words escaped from Sondo as if he were in a reverie before his senses snapped back. “Wh-wh-who are you?” he asked the figure. The figure simply stated “You are awakening...” before a flash of nebulous yellow light engulfed the form and disappeared from sight.
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