That was the plan. I actually put Dante into that room several hours before Abe walked in.

Anyway, new chapter.

Chapter 59

I was in a very hot room crawling with interns. Not a big room, but large enough. At the back were some sinister looking machines, and in a corner I saw a large, bowl shaped structure labeled “Loading Chute.”
It wasn’t these things that immediately caught my attention, however. It was the crates.
The crates looked hurriedly made, almost temporary. And each crate held four large, bluish-purple things with little feathery protrusions on the top.
As I watched, I saw the interns indifferently picking up crates and loading them into large machines. And, after a few seconds, I would hear crying.
Mudokon crying.
This was a mudokon egg hatchery!
I nearly fainted at the realization. I had likely been born in a room just like this … and it was so impersonal … As I watched, the newly born mudokons - very small and brightly tanned - would be wrapped in a diaper and then chained to the wall. There had to be nearly fifty mudokon babies in here already, chained to the wall and crying out.
And as the final, gruesome touch, an intern was applying a small machine to each mudokon child’s lips and using it to stitch their lips shut. This led to harder crying, but the tears fell in silence. It was horrifying.
But I had to focus. I shook it off. I took a quick glance around the room and noted that there were no vykkers around. They were probably all setting up the auction, or maybe greeting that Lulu guy someone was talking about.
So I cleared my throat and took in a deep breath.
“Hey, interns,” I called out in a decidedly annoying Vykker voice.
It was enough. They all turned to look at me, and had an attentive “What can I do for you?” look.
So I raised my snuzi and fired with surprising aim directly into each interns face. I don’t think any of them knew what was happening.
With the interns out of commison, I popped - at long last - into my natural mudokon body.
I rushed over to the incubators and turned them off. I frantically grabbed a random lever and pulled.
I had lucked out. The lever controlled a crane device overhead, which I hadn’t yet noticed. I maneuvered the crane and used it to pick up, carefully and one at a time, each crate of eggs. I placed them as gently as I could into the “Loading Chute” in the corner, and hoped that I could come back to check on these eggs later, hopefully finding a way to get them to the ground.
When all the eggs were cleared out of the room, I turned upon the baby mudokons. I started over to untie them, when a
[VISION]
Outside Vykker’s Labs on a Loading Dock. The crates Dante just released are piled up against the wall and door.
A blue light appears up above the door, and it soon becomes apparent that this is a bird portal. Two mudokons, looking clean and fresh, pour out of the portal and land on the dock.
“Hey, lookin’ good,” says one to the other.
“Yeah, now that we’re out of those work clothes and all cleaned up!” replies the second.
The first grins. “These loin cloths make me feel like a new mud.”
The other nods. “Right!” After a brief and awkward silence, he continues. “So, We wait here, and gather up all the egg crates that Abe and Munch are gonna throw into the loading chutes … Right?”
The first mudokon shrugs. “That’s my understanding.”
Another pause.
The second mudokon shrugs this time. “I hope they don’t break ‘em all.”
[/VISION]
stops me short. Abe and Munch are here. Which means I had less time than I thought. I would have to get my ass in gear if I wanted to get out before these two blew the place to hell.
I approached the baby mudokons carefully, and realized the chains were, of course, padlocked.
I turned and inspected a nearby intern and found he had a set of keys. Good. I bent and grabbed them, then stood and turned back to the chains.
As I unlocked each baby mudokon, it crowded around me and hip-hip-hoorayed as best as it could through stitched lips. They followed me unquestioningly.
With the long line of mudokon infants mulled around me, I decided quickly what to do.
{Patch!}
Nothing. For a few moments, there was nothing, not even the feeling that Patch was getting pissed. I was about to panic when a sudden surge of encouragement hit me.
{Dante, you rascal! How the hell are you?}
{Shut up,} I commanded. I wasn’t in the mood. I probably had a half hour, maybe less, to find a way to get my glukkon suit and get my ass to the ground. {I have, like, fifty infant mudokons here. I’m going to send them through.}
But Patch wasn’t listening. {Dante … Abe is in Vykker’s Labs!} More news I knew. {He can help you! Go and see him!}
{I know he’s here. And I don’t want him to help. I’m sending over the children. Be ready for them.}
And I began to chant, blocking out any response Patch might have made.
A bird portal tore itself into existence nearby, and the children instinctively ran through it to safety.
I contacted Fix and, after telling him he’d have a bunch of new playmates soon, got the Vykker power from him.
I transformed and began my walk back to the seamstresses.
---
One uneventful walk later, I was leaving the Fine Clothing Department carrying a finely tailored glukkon suit and in search of a loading dock.
Another uneventful walk later, I was stepping out again onto Loading Dock J, the one I had used to enter the lab.
I popped over into my mudokon body and stepped over to the railing. For one terrifying moment I was getting ready to hop hit like a normal fence, having forgotten I was thousands of feet above the ground.
And now it hit me.
How in the hell was I supposed to get back to the ground?

Now you're updating too fast, I missed replying to chapter 58! Still, two very good chapters there. I can't really say more than that, other than I'm interested to see how Dante will get out of this and back to Tastee Treats. Also that employees board is really cool, you could mybe put it in your sig and swap it for the new one each time you post it up.

Chapter 60

I spaced out for a while then. I wasn’t really paying attention to anything around me … I was mentally trying and re-trying different methods of getting to the ground.
What brought me to attention was a loud, long cry. It sounded like a glukkon … and he definitely sounded pissed off.
I shrugged. As long as it wasn’t screaming at a slig to shoot me, I wouldn’t let myself be bothered by it.
I looked around and noted that the sun had set, and it was probably around ten o’clock.
Damn! I had meant to get into Tastee Treets that night! And I was still stuck on Vykker’s Labs, waiting for time to run out before Abe and Munch blew the place up.
Hey, wait … what about that screaming glukkon? What could that mean?
I would’ve pondered this longer if the answer hadn’t surfaced in my mind.
[VISION]
Two vykkers stroll down a narrow aisle towards a little operating chair. They are chuckling.
“Can you believe it?” one says, incredulous. “That dumb gluk coughed up three million for a can of smelly eggs!”
“What an idiot!” the other replies. “I hear he’s bankrupt after the ….”
The vykkers reach the operating chair to see a large amount of explosives wired up to it. A timer had just finished ticking down, and the display now reads “Guess Who?”
The two vykkers look at each other, on the brink of tears.
“Hold me,” one whimpers.
“Oh, Irwin …”
They begin sobbing.
[/VISION]
Oh, no.
I spun around, trying to see where the explosion would come from. I only noticed, however, that a blimp was slowly floating away. Two small silhouettes were almost visible on the deck of the blimp. I couldn’t quite tell from such a distance, but they may have been talking about something.
Just then, I heard a muffled bang from somewhere behind me. Probably from inside the ….
The Lab! It was gonna explode!
The shock finally reached the deck I stood on and it rattled violently. I lurched and lost my balance, and fell on my face.
I rolled onto my back and looked up in time to see the roof of the lab erupt from the inside. Flames shot out of the roof and began raining down.
More muffled explosions soon followed, and the deck began to shake even more, and I began to fear for my life.
I push myself up onto my feet and scrambled towards the wall, trying to get out of range of the falling flames.
And then, the floor began to tip upwards.
It wasn’t tipping forward so that I would fall off the deck, but backwards to that the wall I leaned against would soon serve as a floor. That meant that I wouldn’t be crushed by the falling airship.
Instead, I would probably be flung from the top and into the woods, where I would likely break my back and be eaten by the wildlife.
Not a time to panic. I remember thinking, If I don’t keep my head, I’m going die a lot faster.
So I had to relax. At least as much as I could.
Trying to push away the thoughts that my death was coming towards me fast, I pressed myself against the wall and watched the sky tip over me.
It would be a long ride down…

*crash, Dante dies, the end* Hehe...

Nice chapter once again. More more! Encore encore!

Nooo, a cliffhanger! Damn this horibly suspensefu lending! I cna't wait for more now, that was a good chapter, with a nice feeling of building up to the cliffhanger. Next chapter please. Now. Or I will use my club.

Well, if you insist ....

Chapter 61

Vykkers Labs hit the ground. I didn't hear it, but I felt it. For a second. Then the force of the ship hitting the ground - and the ground pushing back via gravity - and I was thrown up and away ...
I fell for some time. Probably a second. But it lasted longer.
I hit the ground -

The End.

Psyche. That was lame, and not even a real chapter.
What kind of entertainer would I be if I didn't leave this cliffhanger for ... two days?
Gosh.
You'll get your real chapter on Sunday. Or Monday. Depends on how nice you all are.

Oh great, now you taunt us about the cliffhanger as well! Please give us a new chapter! If you do, I'll try and get my fic updated today or tomorrow.

I thought you were already planning on updating today or tomorrow?
No dice.

Hey, I'm writing the chapter right now. It should be up in 10-20 minutes. Happy?

Yes.

For real now:

Chapter 61

The fire began to come down harder, and I realized I was breathing very heavily. Not a good idea with so much smoke and debris in the air.
Rubble showered in front of me … but not much, because at this point the labs had tipped so much that I was lying horizontally on the fortress wall.
I sat up and looked around. The horizon was slowly but surely rising. I supposed that enough of whatever machinery was keeping the ship afloat was functioning enough to slow its fall.
But it wouldn’t keep it from crashing with deadly force.
Another explosion and the ship lurched, throwing me forward into the wall - formerly the floor - and I had a brief, stupid moment where I realized I was, amazingly, still clutching the package that held my glukkon suit.
The ship fell faster then, and I noticed, dishearteningly, that that last explosion had likely been an engine of some sort.
I don’t clearly remember what happened next, but I remember a very loud crunching sound that couldn’t have been an explosion. It was more likely the labs hitting the ground.
I think I fell, and I remember feeling rough scratches all over me, and a dull pain in my ass.
Then I suppose I blacked out, because I was sitting awkwardly on a wide tree branch about seven feet above the ground, propped against the tree trunk. My ass throbbed like a nightmare, and I was bleeding from several deep cuts.
I looked around. More trees were very close and all around. So it was a forest, then.
I looked up. Through a ragged and unnatural looking hole in the tree branches, I could see a clear sky full of stars. So I pieced it together: I had been flung from the lab and had crashed through a thick tangle of branches, landing on a wide enough branch to stand on.

I carefully made my way to the ground and began hobbling in a randomly chosen direction. It was impossible to walk straight, what with the sore ass I was suffering.
After several minutes, I came upon a large lake with a hulking mass of metal looming out of it. The lab had crashed. Any surviving vykkers and interns would drown if they tried to swim out of the wreckage.
I’m not sure why - unless it was just being out in the open air after surviving a mean place like Vykker’s Labs - but I suddenly remembered the mudokon-print moon I had seen several days ago. I craned my head upward, and sure enough, it was there. And it had been joined by a moon that I hadn’t seen before. It must’ve been blocked out by the Vykker’s fortress.
It had a gabbit-shaped footprint on it.
It was sorta nice. I felt calm seeing these two moons together. I felt confident.
Now was the time.
I was going back to Tastee Treets. Now.

Yes, everybody's happy now! You, me, our readers, everyone! Good chapter, I'm amazed Dante survived it, never mind kept the Glukkon suit. He is a charmed mudokon. But now he's hurt, so it sounds like he might have trouble getting to Tastee Treats. Keep this up, I just love this fic.

OMGZORS!!11!!!111oneone

Sorry, I'm just so happy that i'm finally done reading yer story :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

I was 2 threads behind but i catched up ^_^
Your story is very intense, and it'seasy to feel what Dantes feeling. Kudos to you!!!

*Hugz evryone because of hyperness, and because she just HAD to eat so much sugar*

Yes... Sugar rox ^_^

:lol: Oh, no! Not the sugar rushes! :p Anyway, those last few chapters were great as usual, Dave. ;) They were well-written and very discriptive in some areas. You've tied the story into Munch's Oddysee very well, too. :) Great job.

Now that T-Nex and Odd Chick have caught up...

Chapter 62

Sunrise.
I stood a good way away from the main gate, so as not to be seen by any security cameras. My wounds had sealed over a little bit, and the bleeding had stopped. My rump was no longer so achy, and I was feeling a little more confident about things now that I wasn’t so wrecked up.
Never mind being hungry. I could be hungry later.
I contacted Druna briefly, feeling her nervousness being transmitted to me like sound waves. It wasn’t anxiety, but more like the kind of nervous you get when you are around someone you like. It was a weird feeling, not something I think my worker-drone body was meant to feel.
No matter. She gave me the glukkon power and I transformed.
There I was, a naked glukkon who had to dress himself.
I reached one of my absurdly long arms towards the parcel and used my oddly dexterous glukkon fingers to pry it open. I removed the pants cum suspenders first. After a brief moment, I decided those should go on last. I wouldn’t be able to slip the coat on with my arms restrained… but with the coat on, how would I put on my suspenders?
Oh, come on …
Okay, I reached for the shirt. Not bad, I guess. The glukkon mind in me thought it was extremely comfortable, and was attracted to it.
I slipped it up over my head and let it dangle over my chest. It was a trick, but I bent my arms back far enough to button the front of the shirt.
I now pulled the pants up under my arms and strapped the suspenders over my shoulders. I was in an awkward sitting position, but it looked like the job would get done.
Time for the coat. I wrapped it around myself and clasped the buttons together, effectively trapping me with my arms outside my pants.
Praying the coat wouldn’t rip, I eased myself up on my elbows to try and slide my arms into my pants legs. Thankfully, the coat was roomy enough to do this with no major issue.
Now, the final touch - the shoes. No problem there. I slipped my hands into each shoe, thankfully devoid of laces or straps. They looked pretty fancy: black with intricate white designs swooping along the sides. Never mind that I had asked for plain shoes.
I was dressed! Hurrah!
Now, for the factory.
It took a minute to get acquainted with walking in this outfit - I had to wiggle each foot forward separately instead of simply loping along on my hands. It was slow going at first, but after a few minutes I got the hang of it. At least, I thought it was a passable glukkon walk.
I reached the front door and leaned forward to press my face on the intercom button.
A distant buzzing, and then I heard a slig voice. “Yeah? Whozzit?”
I cleared my throat. “This is Avid, the glukkon from Vykker’s Labs.”
The slig laughed. “Don’t be stupid. It was all over the news. We know it’s you, Dante, and we’re sending down some sligs to take you into custody.”
I nearly choked. What? Could this be true?
Then my brain kicked in and I realized that the slig had said something different entirely: “Don’t be stupid. It was all over the news. That place went down last night.”
After a moment I spoke again, and tried to make myself sound more glukkony. “No shit, Sherlock. I left about an hour before the place went.” And then, on a whim, “Looks to be that bastard Abe’s handiwork.”
The slig growled. “It might have been … but anyone who’s worth a damn knows it’s Lulu’s fault that he got in there at all. Did you hear he lost that Gabbiar can?”
Knowing this, I had to sound surprised. “No kidding? That chump … he’d probably lose his head if it wasn’t screwed on.”
The slig - whom I just realized was following no slig-to-superior etiquette whatsoever - chuckled at this. “Probably. Too bad he left the factory before it went down. Not like poor old Boss Swift. I’d have traded twenty of Lulu for Swift, I’ll tell you.”
I was growing impatient. “Yeah, yeah … are you gonna let me in now or what?”
There was a shuffling sound from the speaker, and I guessed the slig was finally remembering who was superior to who. “Yessir, sorry to take up your time with such chatter. If you’ll take the ball car to Zulag Nine to meet with Icarus and Vladimir, please.”
“That’s more like it,” I huffed. I was going to enjoy this glukkon stuff. And I thought I would end up doing it a lot.
The doors were opened, and I tiptoed inside.
I was in the main hub, which I knew well enough to not have to look around. I drifted towards the ball car that went directly to Zulag Nine.
I entered it and activated a floor switch. The door clanged shut and I was whisked off to the Glukkon Suites.
The car let off in a short hallway - I realized it was the same hallway I had come through the other day, on my way to the glukkon bathrooms.
And into the boardroom. Icarus and Vladimir stood there under a cloud of smoke, chatting loudly about a newspaper headline.
I rolled over. “Hello,” I muttered.
The two gluks looked up, and Vladimir smiled. “Ah! You must be the gluk Vykker’s Labs sent word about before their accident.”
We nodded at each other, and Icarus went right into it. “I know we said we were going to place you in a position training sligs, but we feel you aren’t experienced enough.”
I quickly tossed around the idea around to argue … but no. Better not. Icarus wasn’t discouraged, in any case. He went on to tell me to report to Zulag One to overlook the mudokons working in Animal Preparation.
I nodded. “Sure. Whatever.” I happened to glance at the paper. “Are you through with that? I haven’t got a chance to read it yet.”
Icarus whistled and a slig came a-running. I marveled silently at this. Icarus told the slig to carry the newspaper for me.
I nodded again - actually saying “Thank you” as a glukkon didn’t seem to fit.
So I went back out and took the ball car back to the hub.

Whoo! Great chapter! And we're in!
I bet Dante's gonna have a lot of fun being a gluk. I was chuckling the entire chapter. The part with the slig at the gate was most fun XD.

Keep it up dave!

Wow now that is an awesome story. I sat for three hours reading from the very beginning of Dante's Oddessy to present. I am absolutely impressed I have to say though as an artist I would love to illustrate this. As I was reading I was getting influenced for my story "Skeebs Oddessy" which will be comming shortly. All I know is that my story is going to be seperated into three major tales. Each consisting of a hundred chapters. Bravo keep up the great work here and never quit writeing my friend.

Peace!:fuzcool:

Wow.......I really enjoyed reading that chapter. Dante better watch his back because he came a hair of getting caught by the slig! :D Anyway, I have no criticisms because your writing skills are superb. :) I'd really like to see your story as well, Scrab-Meat! It sounds interesting. :) I'm writing a fanfic on another forum, which is based on another videogame, in a similar fashion as yours, but I'm still not even finished with the first part of the story, which will probably be about 100 chapters, too. ;)

Alas, as of now, Dante's story is only 86 chapters.
Scrab-Meat! Thank you for your comments. I must say that ever since I began Dante's story, I had actually wanted to make it a comic-deal, like a graphic novel. But I can't draw Oddworld things very well, and forget about any backgrounds.
So if you would like to illustrate the story, I would be flattered. I don't know if you mean certain scenes or whole chapters, but no matter. I would love to see any work you do. Post it here, if you want.
I'm running low on written chapters, so I'll probably start posting again Saturday or Sunday, once I've written some more.

Nice chapter Dave! I liked that chapter too amuing, and interesting. I think Dante as a Gluk could make for some very good chapters, if this one's anything to go by. The Slig at the gate was funny, and I like the way you have him act as a Glukkon. Dante getting dressed was amusing, and what's this with Druna eh? Good stuff, I look forward to more.

Well I would go ahead and illustrate specific scenes but not all because I have to really work on my story aswell. Go ahead and send me some private messages of scenes u would like to see illustrated. But remember it may take awhile because I operate my own studio and have lots of work to do. I am pretty much a busy bee when it comes to commisioned artwork. Heck I have three commisioned work all together not to mention my fanfic work. And the first two works I am getting paid lots of money. So give me time and I will get to it.

Chapter 63

In the ball car, I asked the slig to read me the headlines.
The slig cleared his throat and spoke. “The top headline reads, ‘We’re Screwed! Economy Collapses!’”
Huh? “Keep reading.”
The slig nodded. “It says here that due to a huge number of missing mudokon workers, lab animals, and mudokon labor eggs, it would have taken a year to bring things back up to speed. But, since so many glukkons poured their life savings into the Lulu Fund, just to have it all spent on a can of Gabbiar, the economy lost a whopping three million moolah when Vykker’s Labs crashed - not to mention all the revenue Vykker’s Labs produced. And we can’t sell the damn can because the dumb gluk lost the can. Another headline here is blaming Lulu for the Vykker’s Labs disaster.”
I wanted to laugh, but my role as a glukkon was to be pissed at this news. So I tried to act accordingly.
“Well, shit. It’s a good thing none of the glukkons here donated their cash to Lulu, eh?”
The slig snorted. “It doesn’t matter. This place is on a fast track to nowhere, let me tell you. With our general in charge of slig training gone missing and Swift dead in the crash, we’ve lost two very valuable and wealthy glukkons. The company’s net worth dropped by two million moolah in the past three days.”
I hissed. That was, despite my better mudokon judgments, a bit rough on the glukkons. Don’t know why I was feeling sorry for them. Probably the glukkon in me taking it to heart.
“So what good is it to keep the factory?” I wondered aloud. “Why not sell it?”
The slig snorted again, and I realized how stupid an idea that was. “No wonder the vykkers got rid of you. Look, stupid, there’s no one around with enough money to buy this place. Two months ago there would have been, but that Abe guy took out Mollock, Dripik, Phleg, and Aslik. And Tex died in the crash. Now that Lulu is back to being a bum, the only gluks with enough money to buy this place already own it. And besides, why would we sell the only factory for miles that still produces food products? We should be raising our prices. And we could get away with it, since we’d have no competition in the market.”
I shrugged. It made enough sense.
We arrived in the hub and switched over to a ball car that would take us to Zulag One.
We rode there in silence.
The ball car let off in Zulag One’s Animal preparation Center. I took a quick look around and formulated a plan.
I took a deep breath and shouted at the sligs. “All o’ yeh!”
The sligs turned and looked at me. A scattered chorus of “Hi!” greeted my ears.
“Come ‘ere.”
The sligs buzzed and gathered around me.
“You guys … take the morning off.”
The sligs, whom I expected to be confused, crowded into the ball car without another word to me, and soon they were all gone. Even my little valet with the newspaper had disappeared.
So it was just me and five mudokons. The mudokons were working at a conveyor belt. Animals would drop in through chutes, still alive and kicking. Their job was to administer the blow that would kill them. The mudokons had to pull levers at the appropriate time to inject the animals with a poison that would kill them but not spoil the meat. The animals, soon dead, continued on the belt and through an opening in the wall into the next sub-zulag.
I turned to the workers. “All o ‘yeh!”
Nothing. Then I remembered I was still a glukkon.
I concentrated and popped back into my mudokon body. I was swimming in my glukkon outfit, but I managed to shed it. I marveled briefly that all but cuts and bruises, garnished in my fall through the trees, had been healed in the transformation.
I tried to speak again. I was about to speak when I remembered the Zippy Cameras that floated overhead. They administered a shock to anything that spoke in a mudokon voice.
So I whistled. “Everybody!”
They turned and looked at me. A shrill chorus of whistles greeted me. I realized with some hilarity that this was the same group of five mudokons I had almost convinced to follow me back when I was escaping the factory.
I raised my hands at them, then began to chant, as quietly as I could…
No good. A sharp, electric pain erupted in my back. It knocked me off my feet.
The other muds whistled encouragement, and I climbed onto my feet.
How to take that thing out?
I looked around for something I could use. After a moment I settled on breaking a loose piece of metal off the side of the conveyor machine. I hucked it up at the Zippy and, amazingly, watched it crack the lens on the front of it. The Zippy reacted violently, and began to hum and shake. I whistled at everyone to get down, but there was no need. It didn’t explode, it just fell out of the air and hit the ground with a clunk.
Time to try again. “Heya, chumps,” I said.
When no shock came, the others were overjoyed. I began chanting, and a bird portal tore itself open in a space nearby. The mudokons cheered and leapt through.
I waited … no. No shrykull power this time.
With my first five mudokons saved, I contacted Druna to get my glukkon morph back.
Five minutes later I was dressed and calling for help.
Two sligs came a-running.
Time to take a risk. “You! Stay with me. I want you to follow any orders I give you.” I took a deep breath. “I think Abe might be on the premises.”
I believed no such thing, of course. But if it could cause a panic in the sligs and on up through the ranks to the executives, it would be worth it. I was hoping it would make the glukkons worry too much about finding and killing Abe to replace any workers I saved.
The sligs were instantly on alert. They stood on either side of me and began to look around. It was like they wanted to see in all directions at once.
This might work out, after all.

Employee Status: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...nte/button.jpg

Yes,update! Great chapter, it was funny in palces with the sligs, it set the scenario of what was going on in the Industrial world very well, and it had action, ont too much, but enough. Also Dante has his first bit of sucess, in an ironic way with the escapees. How did they not rcognize him though? Mind you, I suppose him getting shot then going throuygh those trials with have changed his look completely. chapter, I'm really looking forward to the next update.

Brace yourselves! This chapter will be over before you know it.

Chapter 64

And so we set off. Things were looking okay so far.
We arrived in the second sub-zulag, the Meat Separation department. The mudokons here were responsible for taking apart the stock animals and … uh, separating the meat. Slow and tedious work, but relatively safe.
There were five mudokons lined up on one conveyor belt, but with no animals coming through from the first sub-zulag, they had nothing to do. The two sligs on duty also looked bored, and had taken to chatting with …
A glukkon?
I didn’t think there would be a supervising glukkon in a place like this, but … who was I to judge?
I cleared my throat and called over to the other gluk. “Hey!”
The other glukkon turned back to me. “Hey.”
“I’m Avid, the new glukkon on the premises. What can you tell me about your job?”
The other gluk, who I recognized as a particularly detached Chump named Blabb, shrugged and yawned. “Things are pretty slow most of the time. But now, there aren’t even any animals coming through. Do you happen to know why that is?”
I didn’t really care to continue this conversation. I barked a quick order to my two slig cronies. “Kill ‘em!”
The two sligs unquestioningly raised their guns and fired several shots into Blabb and his two sligs cohorts, killing them quite efficiently.
I turned my head briefly to one of the mudokons and tipped a quick wink. I was willing with all of my being that the mudokon would pick up on my message and spread word across the factory.
And, miraculously, the mudokon let out a casual sounding whistle. “Yes. Come back fast,” is what it meant.
I turned back to my two sligs. “Nice work. I think we should go and check out the kitchen, and see if there is any suspicious activity.”
The sligs buzzed their typical response, and stood a little closer.
Things were going my way.

Employee Status: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...nte/button.jpg

Yea baby! Revolution has begun. Keep it up Dave!

Brief but good chapter! Keep this up, nice acton, nice setting for the next chapter.

Lol, this chappie was funny :) Really i like it, and it's fun how his relationship to his valet was :P

I wish i had my own valet, then he could read my stuff for me ^_^ Cool me!! BWahahaha

Great chapters, Dave. ;) The action is starting to pick up a bit, in my opinion and the chapters had just enough description in them. Keep it up.

Oh yeah mann this is starting to pick up some steam. Nice chapters mann. Hey guess what I am going to start throwing together some rough sketches for the scenes u want me to illustrate. Finally after I managed to get my banner working now I can start on a little bit of the art for this story. But guys keep an eye out by the end of this week. Skeeb is comming, the clock is ticking down to my fan fic. and oh u guys are going to love it. Keep up the great work my friend.

Peace!

Thanks to one and all.
Scrab Meat, thanks. I await your work with open arms and open eyes.
And everyone's encouragement is certainly welcome.

Chapter 65

We reached the kitchen. It was very hot in here; the kind of heat that only ovens turned high could produce in an enclosed space.
Large, industrial-sized ovens lined the far wall. Through vents in the openings there came a warm, almost welcoming orange glow. The whole kitchen seemed rather cozy, except for the stifling heat.
As per usual, five mudokons were also stationed here. There were two loading trays with meat, two others carrying trays back and forth to and from the ovens, and one who operated a machine that added spices to the meat chunks. Three sligs patrolled the room, occasionally administering a clout to the head of any mudokons that showed signs of weariness.
There was, I noticed, no glukkon here. So on with the show.
I muttered to my sligs, “Abe may have possessed one or all of these sligs, and may be acting under cover. I want you to dispose of them. Now!”
My sligs, faithful as ever, quickly shot down the three guard sligs.
Grinning, I stood straight and cleared my throat. “Mudokon workers! You are being reassigned to Animal Preparation. Come with me.” I turned once more to my sligs. “You two stay here. Report any suspicious activity at once.”
They buzzed and began to click their guns anxiously. I turned and tiptoed in true glukkon fashion out of the kitchen and back into the Meat Separation department. The five mudokons followed, obviously glad to be out of that hot room.
Once I was certain we were clear of the kitchens, I reverted to my natural body and shed the glukkon clothes.
The mudokons were smart enough not to shout for joy; there was still a Zippy overhead in this room. I looked around and found a knife designed to fit a mudokon paw sitting at one of the workstations. I grabbed it and threw.
The blade of the knife jammed in the Zippy’s lens, and it fell to the ground with a thunk.
I wasted no time in chanting and rescuing these ten mudokons.
And, blissfully, an excess energy flowed into me. The feeling of having the power to shape landscapes and mold horizons filled me. I knew I had no such power, but it is the closest way I can relate the feeling of having the power of the shrykull coursing through my veins … my muscles … my mind … my being.
But it was to be saved. I contacted Druna - who was obviously glad to hear from me - and obtained another glukkon morph.
I hurriedly became the glukkon and abruptly shouted for help.
My two loyal sligs came a running and saw that I was naked and my clothes had been strewn every which way.
Time for another gambit. “Abe was just in here! He came from the shadows laughing and knocked me down, and he pulled my clothes off to incapacitate me!”
The sligs were already working to dress me back up. It was already a faster job than me trying to dress myself as a glukkon.
“What about the mudokons, boss?” one slig huffed.
I grumbled. “That little blue bastard grabbed ‘em and took off!”
The sligs each buzzed in anger, and finished dressing me.
“We’ll have to keep a closer eye on the boss,” one slig was saying.
The other nodded. “Yes. We don’t want another unwarranted attack.”
I coughed to get their attention and spoke. “I think he might have slipped off into the packaging department. Let’s go.”
Thankfully, neither slig thought to comment on the essential oddity of a glukkon who had never been on the premises knowing what departments were where.
If I could keep this up, I’d be golden.

Employee Status: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...nte/button.jpg

OH, Dante better be carefull with his lies, before the sligs get suspecious that he might be possessed or something :P.

They won't live long enough to get suspicious.

Chapter 66

Instead of stopping in the packaging room, I continued down the next short hallway and into the next chamber. It was a good deal larger than the other rooms in the zulag, because it was meant to store finished food products.
I took a quick look around. Crates upon crates of slog meat, friet meat, jyggs, burrs … the room had a very good smell. The scent of well cooked meat was more alluring than the raw flit meat I had eaten all my life.
There were four mudokons simply scrubbing the floors, and one in the corner taking inventory. I had once marveled at thinking a mudokon could read well enough to take inventory, but at one point I had held the job myself. Each crate had a logo on it that corresponded to its contained product. The sheet on the clipboard had each logo drawn on it. It was the mudokons job to put a tally mark by each logo for each crate. Simple work.
And, naturally, there were sligs. Two of them. Asleep.
A fine excuse. “Kill those lazy bastards,” I hissed. My sligs take them down and look to me for the next order.
“You two stay here. I want to go investigate something.”
The sligs shake their heads. “No way, boss,” one says. “At least one of us is coming with you after that Abe guy got a hold of you.”
I thought it over, and decided I could pull it off. “Okay. You come with me.” To the other, I said: “Keep your eyes and ears open for that Abe guy.”
The sligs buzz in assent, and I move off and back into packaging, which I had passed over before.
Packaging was really a small chamber with a large machine that took up nearly the whole room. Cooked meat came in on trays at one end and came out in sealed plastic packages on the other. Two mudokons loaded the packages into crates. Two more carried the crates into a chute that unloaded them in storage. The fifth was responsible for bringing empty crates over to the machine to be filled.
So who was operating the machine?
On closer inspection, I noticed a green screen terminal with a line scrolling across it. It was labeled with a small sign reading “For Glukkon Use Only.”
I was a glukkon. I stepped on over and it spoke at me. “Hey!”
I stopped. “Hey!”
After a second, the screen barked: “What?”
I didn’t quite know what it wanted. So … “Do it!”
The mechanized glukkon voice made a bleh! noise, and the machine ground to a halt.
The mudokons, now without anything to occupy themselves, produce rags and start scrubbing the floor.
At this point, three sligs piled into the already crowded room to see what had happened, why the machine had been turned off.
I growled. “Kill ‘em!”
The slig raised his gun and cut them down.
I turned to him. “Do you have a radio?”
The slig shook his head. “No, boss. Ruck has one, though.”
Ruck? Probably the other slig.
“You stay here and keep an eye on the mudokons. I’m going back to get Ruck.”
The slig shook his head. “Nope. I’m not leaving you alone again.”
I grunted. “It’s only down the hall. And besides, if you were to leave me alone with five mudokons and Abe shows up, what would happen?”
The slig considered … and gave in. “Okay. But I suggest you hurry up, Boss.”
Without another word I turned and ran (not really running, it was really like launching myself forward and landing on my hands again, but my gluk mind insisted on calling it running) into the hall separating these two sub zulags.
Once I was sure I was out of sight of the two doorways into either zulag, I shouted for help. Then I quickly shifted back into my mudokon form. Just as I finished peeling out of the glukkon uniform, my two faithful slig guards appeared in either doorway.
They didn’t seem to ponder where the glukkon had gone. Instead, they saw me and shouted “Freeze!” simultaneously.
As much as I regretted doing so, I released the Shrykull power I had stored inside me. But these two sligs would likely grow suspicious if I took them everywhere and had them shoot every slig we came across.
I transformed into the paramite-scrab beast and lightning erupted from me. The beams struck the sligs, who could only call for help before they were vaporized.
With the slig threats cleared, my body reverted to normal all on its own.
I ran back to storage and shouted “All o ya!” to the mudokons. At this point I cringed, expecting a Zippy to zap me for speaking. Nothing happened. I looked up and around, and finally decided that my Shrykull had obliterated the Zippy cams in the area, as well.
The other mudokons looked at me, not sure what I was saying. Right. They couldn’t speak Inglish. I had learned with the magic of my earring, but they had not.
Anyway. I whistled a greeting and they all came with me to the packaging department.
With ten mudokons in the area, I began chanting. Soon enough, a bird portal formed in the space in front of me, and the mudokons happily leapt through.
And the power of ten liberated mudokons was enough to grant yet another shrykull morph. The power surged through me, and I was reassured of my coming victory.
As I returned to the hall, I contacted Druna, mentioned that I had rescued twenty five mudokons, and requested the glukkon morph. She was clearly impressed.
In the hall, I became Avid once more, and struggled into my clothes.
With Zulag 1 cleared, I returned to the Ball Car and to the main hub of the factory.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...nte/button.jpg

The rebellion continues, and it would have to do so when I've got too much work to get on wouldn't it? But in truth, they were two very good chapters Dave. I think that this fic will be a lot of fun to read, and I'm guessing around 80-90-100 chapters for the finish mark. Two good chapters, nice characterization with his Glukkon persona, I love the way his valet/bdyguard Sligs just obey everything without thinking, and I like how he's using Abe as an excuse to do as he pleases. The only thing that disappointed me in any way was the Shrykull morph, I'm so used to your highly descriptive and cool-sounding earring morphs. But you don't need to change it, was just observing. Still, two good chapters, I'm waiting for more Dave! *thumbs up*.

Hey, he's done the shrykull before, so I didn't feel I needed to describe it again.
I'm out of written chapters. College is far too much fun. There'll be another chapter soon. Maybe in a few hours, maybe in a few days.
We'll see.

its taken me the best part of a week to read all this but it was worth it! It's great Dave, I can't believe I never saw this before! I wonder how many mudokons he'll manage to save before getting stuck in the predicament the very first chapter saw him in! I love the way you talk about the economical breakdown of the Magog Cartel, getting rid of Tastee Treets (if it happens) will probably be a bad blow for the Cartel. The way you mixed Dante's story with Abe's was also excellent.

I have one complaint and that is a lot of his original adventures in Oddysee, going through all the trials and whatever, all turned out a little to easy for him, like some of what sounded to be a terrible challenge were very easy. Still, it is all great anyway. Can't wait for more!

I really need to go write TQFTO... AND PROVE TO HAOVC THAT IT CAN BE AS GOOD AS THIS! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh, man. I've got Splat's approval.
And you have to prove to Havoc that Quest for the Orb can be as good as this? Are you implying that you think my story is better?
That's preposterous.
But now that you've caught up, I can continue.
I'm also revising Dante's Oddysee, so that it fits in with my newer visions of the story. I recently read back and noticed several inconsistencies, so I'm revising the first parts of Dante's Oddysee. I'll tell ya'll when it is complete. I don't know if I'll simply edit the original posts, or only send out copies to those who ask for them.
Anyways, anyways, anyways ...

Chapter 67
The ball car chugged to a stop at the loading point in the main hub. I emerged into the hub and quickly scoped the area.
Nothing out of the ordinary. Apparently, news of zulag one hadn’t reached anywhere else in the factory yet. Good. So far, so good. Great, even.
I had to think this out. Okay … the only reason I had cleared out zulag one first was because that’s where I had been sent. But now that I was given free range of the factory, what would be the smartest place to go?
The slig barracks. If I was to go through the factory and rescue mudokons, I would need to clear out the slig population. That way there wouldn’t be any sligs overwhelming me later.
Great. Let’s go.
Had to find a ball car that could take me to zulag seven. So, now able to read the markings above each car, I took a look around. The car nearest me was labeled with an “X.” That likely meant it would go anywhere.
I hobbled over to the ball car and pressed my face against the touch screen that opened the door to the car and tiptoed in.
A screen dropped down and flicked on. A smiling Vykker face appeared on it. “Hello! Where do you want to go today?”
I wouldn’t need the icons this time. I spoke very clearly. “Zulag seven.”
The Vykker image nodded. “Yessir! Zulag seven! Right away!”
The ride was short, and let off in a much smaller hub. It was a semicircular chamber about twenty feet wide and ten feet across. Five doors lined the curved wall across from me. One had a glukkon-activated voice lock installed in the side.
They were the slig suites.
So I’m a glukkon. Let’s activate the voice lock. I walked over to the machine. “Hey!”
The machine barked back. “Hey! What?”
“Do it!”
“Bleh!”
The door threw itself open with a loud clang! I walked on in.
It was a huge arena with high ceilings and stadium-style lighting. There were several patches of blackened, cracking, charred-looking floor here and there, as though bombs had gone off there. And high up along the wall was a balcony that I could clearly see dozens of sligs marching around on. Some took occasional shots at the dummies. Others were strapping into flying harnesses, likely going to do more target practice.
But the first thing I’d noticed wasn’t the size of the room, or the lights, or the floor. It was the mudokon shaped dummies stuck at odd places across the floor, standing like scarecrows. Many were riddled with bullet holes, several were missing limbs. A few weren’t really dummies anymore; just bits of fabric and shreds of stuffing.
This is where the sligs train. Naturally. But it would be best to clear this place first. Considering the sheer number of armed sligs in the arena, taking them all out first would be smartest.
But how? I was currently a glukkon. A mudokon out of place would be questioned and shot. A scrab wasn’t fast enough to shred all the sligs up there, even if the catwalk was narrow.
If only I had had the shrykull … I could
[VISION]
a mudokon whistled a greeting to a small group of mudokons. they all went with him to the packaging department.
with ten mudokons in the area, he began chanting. soon enough, a bird portal formed in the space in front of him, and the mudokons happily leapt through.
the power of ten liberated mudokons was enough to grant yet another shrykull morph. the power surged through me, and i was reassured of my coming victory.
[/VISION]
Oh, duh. I had one already.
Well, let her rip. I had to find a safe place to turn back to normal, so I wouldn’t get shot for turning from glukkon to mudokon in clear view.
But before I could…
“Hey!”
A glukkon! I almost panicked, but got a hold of myself in time. I was a glukkon, too, after all.
I turned. “Hey!”
“Who’re you?”
“My name’s Avid. I’m … uh, I’m new.”
The other glukkon gave me a scrutinizing look. He looked pretty young, and his presence here meant he was obviously Bung’s successor. “So… are you looking for something?”
I grasped the first thought I had. “I’m working my way up, and wanna see some slig training.”
The young glukkon seemed to consider. Then he chuckled. I couldn’t help but join him.
“Okay. Come with me.”

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...nte/button.jpg

And to anyone who wants to cheat, try fooing around with the image URL.
If you do find something out, don't be stupid and post it here for all to see.

Well a while back Havoc said yours was better. I wouldn't personally like to judge, as I'm writing one of the fics in question and I'll probably be biased one way or another. But yeah, another brilliant chapter, you are really great at writng the whole industrial thing, you somehow get the industrial setting perfectly. Lovinnit!

Everybody kick me till I update my fic.

Sorry about not replying, but I do congratulate you for proving my poor memory once again. I dunno how I forgot the earlier morph but shmeh. Good chapter, I liked the description of the Slig Barracks and firing range, and I'm interested to see how Dante will get on with Bung's successor and dispose of the Sligs. But my cheating attempts aren't working! Oh well, I'll just wait, reading the end of a story usually does ruin the suspense so I'll be a good patient reader. Next chapter please, now! (And don't ask about my fic, I've not only hit a block, but I'm also incredibly busy with schoolwork, doing stuff at weekends etc. so don't hold me to ransom again!). And about the QFTO vs Dante thing, I think they are both very good fics, I couldn't pick one over the other, but I pick both over mine (Mine is too short and well, rubbish). Bravo Dave, more!

No one said Splat and I were in a competetion against each other.
At least we aren't now.
But if/when another Writing Contest starts up ... it'll be interesting to see how things turn out.
But yeah. Chapter in a day or so.

Sorry for not replying for awhile, Dave. :( I've kind of been lingering in and out of the forums lately. Anyway, I really really like how this story is shaping up. The action is done just right to where it isn't overdone and the characters all seem so real. Great work. ;)

I didn't mean you were in a competition, what I meant was that you two are disagreeing over who's is better, each saying the other's is, and I can't decide between the two fics. But I do think that the insistence that the other's is better could help you both to improve beyond you already very high writing skill. Forgive that ramble though. I stil look forwrad to a new chapter.