Ted's Fuel Stop

[Giichi Twinkieland]

[From Robotropolis Outskirts]

Giichi's little Ferrari continued to take them further and further from Robotropolis, as the miles of deserted highways and back roads continued to pass them by. At long last though, Robotropolis' smog vanished behind the horizon.

Now it was truly pitch dark though, as no one appeared to be inhabiting this area. Every building they passed appeared to be boarded up, half collapsed, or just plain abandoned.

"You sure you wanna build shelter for us? I mean, we could just camp out in in one of these old buildings for the night. I don't think any one will mind."

On the right side of the road, a tall sign loomed against the starry night sky. The Ferrari's lights didn't shine all the way out there, but since the lettering was white he just barely made out "Ted's Fuel Stop". From what the cat could make out, it looked like an old-timey style gas station. He didn't see any mini mart, and the pumps used rotating numbers rather than a digital readout.

Like all the other buildings, it appeared to be abandoned. The light beams shone over a rusted towing truck with rotting tires, empty fuel cans, broken and boarded up glass windows, and fading paint. However, the garage door hung partially open, with just enough room to drive the Ferrari in. That pleased Giichi most of all.

"Maybe I could hide the car in there. So...how would your shelter compare to say...sleeping on the sofa in their office, assuming they have one?"

[Terrador Bellator]

Terra's emerald eyes scanned the vicinity. Something about this place sent a chill down his spine.

"You can if you please. I prefer my earth shelter." he replied hiding his fear of the abandoned buildings. As they went on, Terra read the sign as well through some difficulty. Giichi's second question made him ponder. Soft rock ground... or a sofa. It had been a while since he secluded himself in the mountainside. He had gotten accustomed to sleeping on soft surfaces.

"Alright, pull up in there. We'll go with your plan" he stated.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

"Okay then, here we go..." Giichi pulled the car in underneath the partially open garage door. For a second he felt afraid the top of the door might hit the windshield, but they passed under with a couple inches to spare.

The interior of the garage looked much like the exterior. Old, blotchy oil stains covered the walls, along with the rusting metal tools and workbenches. Equally rusty crosswire mesh covered the square windows, obviously meant to keep out hoodlums. Giichi himself did wonder if stopping here was a good idea. This felt like something out of a horror film. But they hadn't seen a soul since leaving Robotropolis, so he doubted they'd run into masked serial killers or anything...he hoped.

As the car came to a stop, Giichi switched off the car's headlights, plunging the work shop into total darkness. A small spike of fear rushed through Giichi as everything went pitch black.

"Oh...crap... Forgot about that..."

He fumbled underneath his cloak to reach for his hidden tool box, and pulled out a small flash light. Only Giichi's little flash light provided them with illumination.

"Nice place, isn't it? I must say...I don't feel much safer here than I did closer to Robotropolis. Maybe I SHOULD take you up on that offer of making us shelter."

[Terrador Bellator]

Terra felt a bit uneasy as well as the car made it through the tight squeeze. This placed really creeped him out. As a kid he was always afraid of abandon buildings. His parents always enjoyed watching movies with this sort of scenery, but they kind of haunted him.

As things suddenly grew pitch black, he nearly let out a scream. His hands balled into a fist so tight he almost bled. The light of Giichi's flashlight brought him back to reality.

"Yeah, maybe. It might take some time though and I need complete concentration." he replied. He hopped out of the car, feeling the cold concrete on his bare feet. This was an earthen surface, but it wasn't his preferred one. He would have to make do. He stepped as far as he can within range of the flashlight and sat legs crossed and hands locked together. From the cat's position he can probably hear Terra muttering something, a chant of some sort. Soon, green orbs of energy surfaced from the ground. The circled around him momentarily before being brought onto him. Upon contact a green aura pulsated around the echidna. It soon mimicked the rhythm of a heartbeat, like Terra and the earth were one with each other, a rather alluring sight.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi watched Terra's little display with interest, although he kept his distance in case more rocks suddenly plunged straight out of the earth where the echnidna sat. Giichi did wonder why they were doing this in here. Was he going to make them a little earthen hut in the middle of this garage?

As the orbs started to enter Terra's body, he heard a rustling sound behind him.

Giichi whirled the flashlight's beam around, revealing a window with an open pane. Outside, one could see foliage covering that side of the garage, with vines covering up most of the view. The sound appeared to be from the plant leaves scratching against the concrete bricks that made up the wall. Sighing, Giichi walked over and closed the window to lessen the noise.

[Terrador Bellator]

The sudden noise alerted the echidna. The orbs came to an abrupt halt and his emerald eyes scanned the source of the sound.

"What was that noise?" he asked a bit jumpy. He looked down at his open palm. The marking was still a bit faded but it was enough.

"Where do you wish to sleep?" he further asked. He wanted to escape in a dome and quick.Leaves just don't move on their own. Terra always hated being snuck up on.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi walked back over at Terra's question, feeling a little relieved at spotting the source of the sound. However, a general sense of unease still filled his being.

"This building's covered with vines, and the leaves on the vines are scratching against the concrete. Leaves tend to do that when they wither."

In response to Terra's question, he wandered over to a nearby doorway that looked like it led to the front office.

"Let me see what other accommodations we have first."

Sure enough, the door led him into the front office. Large glass windows (again covered with wire mesh to keep out thieves) gazed out onto the pumps out front. The only things visible were those that made a silhouette in the moonlight, including the station's sign. That made Giichi feel very uncomfortable. Sure, the windows had wire to keep out intruders, but he felt very uneasy sleeping in such a highly visible location.

Still, he figured he'd explore the rest of the room too, but there wasn't much to see. A shelf sat at the back, covered with rusting oil cans, with some of them ruptured and dripping black goo everywhere. A dusty counter with an ancient cash register sat in front of that. Being a thief, Giichi instinctively looked at the register's drawer, but it lay empty and covered with years of undisturbed dust. Sighing, he then spied what he'd been looking for...a couch. But this thing also was covered in years of dust, not to mention it looked moldy and moth eaten.

"I think I'll just sleep in the car... It's the only place here I know is clean enough."

Out of the corner of his eye, Giichi thought he saw a darting black silhouette suddenly dash out of sight. The cat again brought the flashlight to bear, but saw nothing. There was that general sense of unease creeping over him again. Slowly, he walked back into the work shop, shut the door behind him, and locked it.

"Let's see if we can get the garage door closed..."

Giichi wandered over to a nearby pulley chain for the door, but it looked just as rusted over as everything. Sure enough, it didn't budge when he tugged on it. Sighing, he turned back to Terra.

"Maybe you could build a rock wall in front of this?"

[Terrador Bellator]

The russet echidna trailed Giichi. Part of this place made him nostalgic for the days of roaming around Robotropolis. His paranoid demeanor was acting up greatly right about know. Even the smallest noise he acted on. The sand cat did make him feel a little better with his statement about leaves He collected himself and focused on the situation rather than a possible intruder.

"If that's what needs to be done. This place is horrid." he replied upon his question. As soon as he dismissed his paranoid attitude that figure darted through his side vision.

"Good idea!" he said running back to the garage with a sense of hurry. He used the brief time he had alone to gather himself. As the sand cat made his entrance, Terra nodded at his request.

"I'll see what I can do." he replied facing the center point of the door. He thought briefly before applying a swift stomp. A chunk of the concrete protruded across the ground below the door, looking similar to a speed bump you'd see on the streets. He crouched slightly and as he rose back up he hoisted his arms into the air. The chunk of concrete extended vertically to the point it was overlapping the door. As he was seconds away from finishing green sparks formed in his palms and he was sent flying back, nearly missing the car before flying into some wooden shelves. Luckily the rock clung to the door otherwise it would have broken off.

"Ugh... dammit!" he cursed, pushing and kicking away what was left of the shelf. He got on his feet and brushed himself off.

"I'm alright." he insisted.

[Giichi Twinkieland]

Giichi's eyes went wide as Terra got flung into the back of the shop.

"You SURE you're okay? That looks like it was quite a blow."

He turned back to look at the new barrier, feeling much more relieved with how solid and indestructible it looked.

"At least we'll be safe in here for the night."

The cat gazed around and looked at all of the potential entry points into the garage. He still swore he'd seen some sort of darting figure outside the front of the shop, but it may have been his eyes playing tricks on him. But it couldn't hurt to mention it...

"You know...do you get the feeling someone else is around here?" Giichi whispered, in case someone might be outside listening. "The leaves... I thought it was wind at first...but I think I saw someone outside the shop when I went up front."

[Terrador Bellator]

"Yeah, nothing too serious." he stated. A small, sharp piece of wood protruded from the back of his right arm. He gritted his teeth as it was pulled out with a swift yank. He quickly applied pressure to it to prevent any bleeding.

"Hopefully. And if there is anyone out there they better show themselves before I lose my temper."

In actuality, he was hoping nobody was out there. He hadn't fought without his Geokinesis for a while. Plus the lack of vision from the dark wouldn't help him any either.