Interlude Zero Two

It was time for a break, once again he felt his life had suddenly been filled with the breathing of other creatures... it was cloying, like the smell of one's own unwashed groin slowly wafting upwards to one's nose, thus the reason for Stygian's current location. There was only one place in B0NER where Stygian could find peace from both the smell and proximity of others.

The Smooze chamber... built inside the Mayor's massive factory like shed.

You had to take a lift down to get to the chamber, the security systems were highly dangerous to both intruders and those with authority due to the fact nothing ever really worked in the town, the chances were fifty fifty that he may be blinded by the retinal scanner every time he used it.

Truth was a child could make his way down here if he waved a hood in front of it, it was poorly aligned.

The chamber was massive, the air toxic and filled with a strange purple aura that reminded Stygian of his old home in the city of Trottingham, that place had been rusty too. Though many could say he was escaping one smell just to be plagued by another he viewed it thus:

Shut up! Buck off!

There were catwalks that made up the top half of the room while below was what many called... The Tub.

It was where the smooze was located and where many believed he slept, though Stygian and a few others knew the truth, the Smooze like many of B0NER's residents never slept and instead occupied his time endlessly playing pong on his Gamecolt. The massive blob of goo was invisible from where he stood but he knew enough to be happy about that.

Below he could hear the soft rumbling of deep bass laughter that was almost childlike as the Smooze once again managed to bounce the pixel ball off his pixel bar and return it to the game controlled rival.

Stygian rolled his eyes, it wasn't that he hated the Smooze, in fact he kinda liked him, it had been the old warpony himself who had dropped the small hand held game console into the pool (after getting it thoroughly Smooze Proofed by the lab boys in the defense department)

PANG!

Stygian had rolled by instinct alone as the bullet sailed directly towards his head, the small metal object ricocheted off the wall and flew off into the distance. The MOD would have snarled and charged for combat if not for the fact his roll has carried him into a spill of Smooze that sent him sailing over the edge of the walkway.

"Halt Who Goes There!" An unmistakable voice demanded as Stygian slowly fell to the tub.

"DAAAAMN YOU JENKINS!!!"

SPLAT!

That was perhaps the best way to describe the occurrence as the war vet broke the surface, the Smooze taking his time to notice so engrossed in his game. Stygian wasn't a good swimmer but luckily the Smooze was thick enough to crawl out of so long as he wasn't dragging you deeper inside.

He began kicking, rage filling his eyes, there would be hell to pay and no mistaking that!

Drawn to the strange feeling of something moving his innards many eyes inside the liquid mass swiveled in an instant sudden movement to all stare at Stygian with surprise. "Crap!" Stygian managed to make himself heard even with his mouth filled with Smooze.

The struggle began, as almost solid tentacles began to form to drag the earth pony deeper into the depths, the terrible taste of it filling the stallions mouth like a rancid MacDonald's milkshake on a hot dry summer's morning after. The eyes watched Stygian as he breached the surface with all the might of a thousand disgruntled postal workers with machine guns.

"Damn it you toxic grape drank! Gettoff me now or no more games for you!!!" The black pony roared kicking and punching anything that tried to latch on.

His cry of rage had some effect, the Smooze found it difficult to differentiate ponies as his senses were all muddled by the color purple. It didn't speak but upon realizing what had landed inside of it the Smooze reacted physically instead. On a hot stream of what could be called vomit the Smooze ejected Stygian from its presence without hesitation...

After all who knew where that crazy maniac had been!!!

Sailing through the air the black maned stallion began to imagine a thousand different ways to kill a certain leader that had caused another messy situation for him, it was as if Jenkins followed him everywhere setting off booby traps lined with something disgusting and foul.

Somehow he found himself headed towards a railing and the safety of another walkway and yet like an episode of the Simpsons Stygian knew he would not reach it in time. Scrabbling madly in the air he tried to grab hold of something, anything! Just to at least slow his descent enough so as not to crash with a bone breaking result against a wall.

A length of electrical cable appeared in his path and he grabbed hold of it, his momentum carrying him forward and up into the bottom of the walkway face first.

"Phwas broody nough!!!" He declared sneezing.

Slowly his wild swings lessened to a gentle sway, looking up the crazed lunatic looking into the eyes of another crazed lunatic. "Hey Styg!" He greeted.

"Pull me up Jenkins," Stygian supplied menacingly.

Jenkins considered the request, griping hold of the cable he had lowered with both hooves, a pale white sniper rifle strapped around his back by his shoulder, underneath his luxurious cape of course he wasn't a complete fool! "Hmm? You know, I don't think I will."

"Why not?"

"Because I get the feeling you wish me some physical violence right now."

"No I do not."

Jenkins nodded sagely. "Mmk mmk... then why did you say that through gritted teeth?"

"..."

Jenkins tied the length of cable to the railing attached to the walkway and grinned. "So... I'm going to leave you here till you calm down a bit and go get myself a coffee... kay?"

Stygian, who had yet to blink and stared up at his boss with burning bloodshot eyes said nothing, instead he began to climb, using only his forelegs with hind legs angled outwards in a display of strength, everything about his movements quick and controlled.

Jenkins noticed this and gave a nervous laugh. "So uh... try to have fun I'll catch you later!"

The golden coated stallion bolted with his red cape streaming behind him... and not a moment too soon for black death was up and on the walkway giving chase soon after.

Author's Note

Eww, I stood in a smooze!