Well, you have to admit it's different from everything else. I'm a fantasy writer, not science fiction.

Hey, hold on. Lemme rethink that. I'm also a sci-fi writer, because I'm also doing "Bounty Hunter" in the non-Oddworld section right now.

* * *

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN

Lord Fragg emerged from his chamber in an entirely foul and somewhat terrified attitude.

He had entirely no idea what was happening to Oddworld today. First had come reports of Mudokon attacks on the western border, news of huge Mudokon armies massing all over Glukksonia. Then there had been Abe and Stranger's daring breakout from the palace prison, and then -

And then this.

This.

The end of everything.

Fragg's life had gone from good to bad to worse in less than a week.

First had been the destruction of his beloved money-producing factory, MeechCo, by none other than the long-quiet Mudokon "hero" Abe. Then had come his long series of playing treachery and power against King Glok and for his own side.

And now he was not the top Slog anymore.

Now he was paying obeisance to a tattooed Gabbit that had only been seen once before, back when Glok was king. Security cameras showed Fragg with this Gabbit discussing Lord Fragg’s work with Abe, around the time of his stay near the canyon.

King Fragg had never been one to bow and scrape to anyone, even if it meant climbing up the ladder to success. He had always grabbed and thrown everyone ahead of him off the ladder and kept climbing.

But this…this Gabbit was something else. A Gabbit that could not only use something he called “the Dark,” but that was also ruthlessly intelligent and had stated his intentions of destroying Abe in the most brutal of ways.

Once Fragg had awoken from his unconsciousness caused by the Bringer of Pain’s shadow blast – or whatever it had been – it had only been to hear his new foe’s voice blasting over the loudspeakers: “This is the Bringer of Pain. All Slig forces must stand down immediately, or I will destroy the boiler beneath the palace and you will all burn. I have Abe and Stranger with me atop the palace; if you actually desire to see them die, then you will pledge your allegiance to me, now.”

Fragg had no choice. He’d pledged his allegiance.

But that was only because he wanted Abe to die. Perhaps he could rally his Sligs together…

But later. Once he’d discovered a weakness in this insane Gabbit’s powers. Then, and only then, when he was certain of success, would he strike.

He neared the steps leading to the open trapdoor above; he could hear that demonic laughter that announced the Bringer of Pain’s presence, and the hoarse swearing coming from Stranger, and the groans that were coming from Abe.

Fragg decided that, though he might not be in control now, he would get his kingdom back. One way or another.

Then he mounted the steps…

* * *

cool, this is gettin very interesting

I almost feel sorry for Fragg. He gains everything...and then loses it. To a Gabbit, of all things. But don't worry; the story is a loooong way from being over.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

Jake raised the Arrant-4 to his shoulder and fired in one smooth motion, and the precise laser bolt whirred out of the barrel and slammed into the tree trunk with all the love of an industrialist weapon, burning a thin hole through the bark and into the sensitive wood of the bumbarkh tree. For a Mudokon shaman, he surmised he was a lot different than most in that he was willing to try out one of the industrialist weapons rather than stick to either the native magic or the powerful rapid-fire Spoocebow.

He lowered the gun stock to the ground and blew the smoke from the tip of the barrel, not because he wanted to clean the barrel but because he’d seen it in a couple Slig war movies and wanted to act out the cliché and see if it was worth seeing. The smoke smelled bad when it wafted into his nostrils, so he privately wondered why it would be so interesting to blow smoke out of the gun barrel when it did nothing good for the lungs.

Jake turned to Chief Andy, who was sitting across the small campfire from him. “I think I’ll keep this gun.”

“Fine,” the chieftain grunted in his guttural tones, stirring at the fire with his stick. “Spoocebow, me.”

Jake cast a glance around the Mudokon camp. Campfires gleamed brightly in the night air, warming the crisp cold with thin black smoke. Warriors sat around campfires and inside their tents, eating or sleeping to rest up from their victory today over the enormous Slig force King Fragg had sent out to destroy them.

The shaman shook his head. Victory? If it really had been a victory – which it had, since they had wiped out every single Slig on the field with their Spoocebows and tomahawks – it had been a costly one. Many Sligs had been armed with these powerful Arrant-4 precision rifles, capable of mass destruction when pointed at anything. More Mudokons had died than Sligs on the charred and smoking battlefield some miles behind them.

If that had been a victory, then they could keep on winning victories and wipe themselves out by doing so. There were so many Sligs, armed with such deadly industrialist weapons, and armored, too.

Jake returned his attention to the ever-grumpy Mudokon chief. “Do you have anything we could use as armor?”

Andy looked up. “Huh?”

“Armor.”

The chief’s simple reply was “No.”

Jake rapped his knuckles against the gun barrel. “Too bad. We need more protection from Slig lasers…”

“Others be here soon.” Andy sent up a shower of sparks from the fire pit with a jab of his staff. “Then no need armor.”

Jake sighed. “I hope so. We need as many warriors as we can get.”

He switched off the Arrant-4’s power pack and laid it on the ground, then set himself on the ground nearby, shaking his head. “At least Abe’s not in any real trouble. If he were, I would be teleporting to him right —”

The world blurred around him, and suddenly he was having that familiar feeling of vertigo that announced one of his sudden teleportations to Abe’s side.

“—now,” he finished.

* * *

I have so many plots in this book, I'm wondering who I should flash to next. I've got Abe, Urchyn McAvi, Munch, Fragg, the dudes at Bodhran, Cloud, Jake, Andy...wow. I need to get back to the Bodhran crew, though. Maybe I'll work with them.

Viva bodhran!

well at first i amagined that bringer of pain as something like stranger only in dark clothes,dark long tight pants black jacket and strangers hat black colored and bigger

Sorry, no Bodhran people yet.

Munch is quite different than what anyone is supposed to expect.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE

Abe didn’t know how much pain Mudokons could take before they died; he’d seen his people be crushed by falling rocks, toppling off cliffs, shot by Sligs, but he had no proper scientific way of measuring their pain level. All he knew was that he was approaching his breaking point.

The being who should have been his friend stood over him, face twisted into a grotesque imitation of a smile, lightning pouring from his fingertips into the bodies of Abe and Stranger. Unable to control his limbs, they spasmed widly from the electricity filling his body.

“You need to know the meaning of pain,” Munch hissed at him. “Only once you understand pain will you understand the Dark!”

Abe couldn’t talk. Couldn’t resist. Couldn’t even think—

And then Munch was saying “What the—” and with a flash of non-pain that made Abe’s day, the lightning ceased.

He would have loved to lay back and enjoy the feeling of not being fried, but since he was a warrior, he rolled over and came back up to his knees. Jake stood there, swinging his shaman staff like a club to beat out at Munch. The Gabbit, not suspecting the sudden attack, took a blow across the head and went flying backward, toward the edge of the palace roof.

Abe moved forward, as did Stranger and Jake. The Gabbit was already coming back up to his foot—

But as he landed, a huge Steef fist smacked Munch across the jaw, throwing him back down again. Munch hit the edge, rolled off, and managed to grab at the edge with his fingers.

Abe stood there, petrified with partial shock. Munch was there, in a vulnerable point, able to be knocked down off the palace roof to fall and hit the ground hundreds of feet below—

But for some reason, he couldn’t move. Wouldn’t move. Some part of himself restrained him from moving forward and striking Munch.

That was when he discovered something strange: despite everything Munch had done for the Dark, despite all the pain and suffering the Gabbit had caused, Abe still loved him.

Stranger, though, a creature of vengeance, was not bound by friendship. He stepped forward and brought one huge fist slamming down on Munch’s fingers.

The Gabbit smiled, despite the snapping sound that came from his fingers, and Jake’s grunt of pity—

Munch said “Goodbye”—

And then dropped.

* * *

youch thats a long way down for munch...
but that was strange when he sead goodbye without any of nooooo or argghhh or something like that

Munch isn't your typical enemy, and it's odd, so I just had to put that in there.

CHAPTER EIGHTY

Cloud sat dejectedly in one of the passenger seats in the Bodhran shuttle, running his fingers along the back of the chair. He had completely failed in his mission to save King Glok, and the treacherous Lord Fragg had proved himself a self-serving businessman once again. Cloud had decided his place was not in the Slig army.

Crak wandered into the passenger area, noticed Cloud, and seated himself in the chair beside him. “It’s not yer fault, kid,” the older country Slig said. “You tried.”

“And failed,” Cloud growled. He punched the chair angrily. “Sligs aren’t trained to fail!”

“Nobody fails on purpose,” Crak said. “Once we get back to Bodhran, we’ll be out o’ the government’s sight again. We’ve never had anythin’ to do with the government before.”

Cloud grinned. “I think I’m going to like being away from the hustle of Mantin City.”

“Bodhran’s a country jewel, kid. You’ll like it.”

Frizzl’s voice came from the cockpit of the shuttle: “Hey, Crak – get up here! There’s something you gotta hear!”

Crak and Cloud stood and hurried to the front of the shuttle. Frizzl was bent over the controls, his eyes glowing. A Slig voice, filled with static, was broadcasting from the comm. board.

“—requesting assistance. Repeat, this is Mantin City Defense Board; we are under attack and requesting assistance. Repeat…”

Cloud didn’t waste any time. He waved his hand in the direction they had just left. “Turn the ship around.”

Frizzl turned to Crak. “Boss?”

Crak scratched his face tentacles. “You sure, kid? I mean, last time I checked, you was tryin’ to get away from that crowd.”

Cloud clenched his fists. “I’m a soldier. I can’t shirk my duty when they actually need me. Turn the ship around!”

Crak nodded. “Fine. Do it, Frizzl.”

“Right away.”

Frizzl threw a lever around, and Cloud felt his stomach do a flip as the shuttle spun on its vertical axis and accelerated back toward Mantin City.

* * *

Ahhh no I worked it out, is Munch Roid????

You mean, is he on Steroids? In that case, uh, no.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE

Abe hurried to the edge of the palace roof, wondering if Munch had actually picked “Goodbye” as his final one-liner. That would really have sucked for an ending to such a promising hero and villain.

When he arrived at the edge, his stomach flipped.

Munch was not dead; instead, he was riding on the roof of a large Slig jet-copter powered by belly rockets. The Gabbit was wearing his eerie smile, as he said, “No, I’m not dead, Abe…but you soon will be.” Munch waved a hand down at the ground. “Look down.”

Much as Abe knew better than to trust an enemy who had repeatedly tried to kill him, he looked down.

On the ground below, stoically marching up the side of the building as if they were impervious to the laws of gravity, were hundreds of Snoozers. The mechanical menaces had their laser turrets and stun guns pointed up at the rooftop, and showed no signs of stopping.

“It’s time for you all to die,” the Gabbit growled, and the jet-copter lifted up past the rooftop, hovering several meters above them. “It’s time we got rid of the opposition.”

Jake turned to Abe. “What do we do?”

Abe motioned at the trapdoor they had come up through. “We go inside. Now.”

He hurried toward the trapdoor with all speed. A blast of lightning came from Munch’s fingertips, scorching the rooftop beside him, but Abe didn’t slow. He threw himself down the staircase, bowling over an incredulous King Fragg, who had been coming up at that very moment.

Abe thought about it for a moment, then pressed himself against the wall of the hallway, allowing Jake and Stranger to run past him. Then he turned to Fragg. “How about we settle this?” he asked.

The Glukkon king looked sick to his stomach, but he slowly held up his fists. One of them was holding a pistol. “You took everything from me…now I’ll take your life!”

* * *

wow... if i may tell u at the beggining lord frag reminded me like mullock with a president suite and shoes like dripiks,humphrey the third reminded me like that auction guy at mo good ending and king glok reminded me for some reason at lulu only with the lower jaw front not like lulu's mouth and i drew his costume.the blue and yellow is silk,something like that

I meant that Much was roid, his alter ego which was cancelled, obviously not.

Thanks for the picture Scraby! I will have a decisively awesome chapter out soon.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

Abe lunged forward desperately, trying to tackle Fragg before he could get off a shot, but the sizzle of laser energy seared past his upper shoulder, and he felt a stinging pain in the side of his neck.

Then he struck Fragg like a blue thunderbolt, throwing the Glukkon to the staircase, throwing the pistol from the king’s hand. It clattered down the steps, but Abe was too busy throwing a punch. Fragg ducked his head out of the way and the Mudokon’s fist slammed into the carpeted steps with enough force to make him cry out.

One of Fragg’s mechanically-enhanced arms came looping around in a smashing cross. It struck Abe in the side of the head, and he tumbled backward for a few steps. His head ringing, Abe charged back up, hurling himself at Fragg headfirst.

The Glukkon kicked out with one leg, and Abe went flying back down the stairs with a cry. By the time he had bump-tumbled to the bottom, Fragg was leaping down after him, reaching out with his mechanical hands for the Mudokon’s exposed neck, snarling.

Abe grabbed Fragg’s wrists and twisted them aside. This prompted Fragg to launch a series of timed punch-kicks, sending most of Abe’s torso numb before he could even get in a blow. The Glukkon suddenly leaned forward in a powerful headbutt that sent Abe falling backward down the stairs again to land at the bottom.

Abe shook his head, blinking – and saw Fragg leaping through the air after him, both feet oustretched. Only a quick sideways roll brought Abe out of the range of the Glukkon’s feet, and made the king strike the floor hard enough to slam his ankles.

“Stop struggling!” Fragg ordered, lashing out with a kick that Abe further rolled away from. “You’re just delaying the inevitable!”

Abe rolled to his feet, blocking a mechanical punch on his time-strengthened wrist. “What do you mean?”

“Even if I don’t kill you, that Gabbit will!”

Abe ducked a punch, sidestepped a kick, and he had to grin. “Admitting you aren’t even as strong as Munch?”

Fragg’s face went pale. “Munch?” he repeated.

Abe grabbed the fallen pistol with his toes, flipped it up into his hand and shot Fragg in the face. Before the Glukkon’s body had even hit the floor like the empty sack of his good deeds, Abe had turned and was running down the passage.

A few seconds later, the Snoozers above blew the passage wider with careless shots of their repeater laser guns, and stormed down the hallway after Abe.

* * *

Cool, bye bye Fragg

i forgot to say the type of the outfit is wanna-be,cool chapter,fragg got what he deserved...

I hadn't really had any fistfights in the book, so I thought I'd make Abe and Fragg have one and let the Glukkon go out with dignity.

I haven't really been writing as best as I can for this story, since it's just an internet serial...but now I'm going to write a lot better. Tension builds!

CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE

When Cloud saw what was happening at the front gates of Mantin City, he nearly puked then and there, but since it wasn’t even his shuttle, he didn’t. The two Bodhran Sligs leaned forward, and their faces appeared not-so-thrilled, either.

Hundreds of Mudokons were fighting hundreds of Sligs.

Lasers and blue Spoocebolts interlocked the two armies like gleaming hairlines of starshine, and dozens of bodies lay in unmoving heaps on the scorched ground before the Mantin City gates. From this far in the sky, Cloud might have mistaken it for some natural ritual of the earth, but as he knew exactly what it was, he found it a horrific sight of death and destruction to so many.

Neither side seemed to be on the winning end. Both sides were losing their fighters on all fronts.

“That’s…that’s quite a sight,” Crak said. To Cloud’s shock, the gruff old Slig’s voice was choked with emotion.

Cloud clenched his fists. He was a soldier born and bred; he could do this. He could succeed where he had failed before.

He could do his duty – no, strike that. He would do his duty.

He put a new strength into his voice as he spoke. “Switch on the loudspeaker, Frizzl.”

There was such calm command in his voice that the Slig did not even take the time to argue with him. The Bodhran Slig reached out and flicked on the shuttle’s loudspeaker, and Cloud turned to face the speaker box.

“This is the Slig Commando Squad,” Cloud said into the speaker. His clear voice boomed out of the speakers in the underside of the shuttle, playing out across the battlefield below. “Where is the thickest fighting?”

While he waited for a reply, Cloud turned to his friends. Crak and Frizzl had odd looks on their faces, and Crak mouthed Slig Commando Squad…

Cloud shrugged. “How should they know any better?”

The answer wafted up from the battlefield below; someone obviously had a loudspeaker. “The government’s been taken over by an insane power-crazy Gabbit – he’s on the palace roof! Kill him!”

Cloud frowned. Power-crazy Gabbit? How had power suddenly slipped out of King Fragg’s control so quickly?

Despite his confusion, he answered, “Understood. We’ll see what we can do about it.”

He turned to the pilot. “Frizzl, take us to the palace rooftop.”

Frizzl punched the accelerator, and the shuttle lifted toward the huge Mantin City palace. “Will do, boss.”

Cloud leaned his arms on the back of the chair. “Just because I’m giving the orders doesn’t mean I’m the boss. I’ve heard that title given to too many power-hungry Glukkons, and look at what happened to them.”

Crak pointed out the cockpit window. “There’s our Gabbit!”

Cloud looked up, and blinked repeatedly. Frizzl’s ascension had taken the shuttle high enough that he could see the roof of the palace, along with the army of Snoozers climbing up the side of the building and inside through a scorched hole in the roof. A jet-copter hovered above, and in the open side door Cloud could clearly see a Gabbit. Since the species was extinct, and as it was a Slig jet-copter, Cloud had no doubts about the Gabbit’s identity as the one in control.

Cloud had no regrets about saying, “Crak, take the main guns. Shoot him down.”

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

Stranger barreled down the corridors of the palace, not caring about any of the Sligs lining the hallways. The guards were in an uproar inside, many of them already called outside to deal with the Mudokon army attacking at the gates, unsuspecting that a huge Steef would suddenly come down the hallway.

It gave him a clear opening to get all the way down – past the intense rows of Sligs and swiveling laser turrets – to the throne room where that blasted Gabbit had emerged.

The Steef paused in the room and looked around. The place was a mess; scorch marks, quite fresh, still smoked in the walls; the blown hole from his and Abe’s bomb remained, stark and grim; bits of Snoozer lay in heaps all around.

“Nice throne room…these Glukkons have,” he laughed to himself. “And I thought they always cared about…style.”

The pattering of footsteps from behind him made him whirl, reaching for the crossbow that should have been on his back and wasn’t. He cursed and missed the familiar feel of his weapon, but was relieved to see it was only the Mudokon shaman that had arrived earlier on the roof.

“Where’d Abe go?” Stranger asked.

The Mudokon glanced behind him, and his eyes swelled to an unbelievably large level. “You haven’t seen him?”

“Not since…up there.” Stranger pointed a finger up toward the ceiling, a reminder of the drama with the Gabbit that had just gone on a few minutes before. “Where’d he go?”

“I don’t know.” The shaman shook his head. “I hope he’s all right.”

Stranger heard the sound of the throne room door hissing open, and turned to regard the sound. When he saw who was entering the room he said, “We should be more concerned…about ourselves right now, Mudokon.”

Entering the room was a whole pack of Slogs. And he had no crossbow.

* * *

Loved 83 particularly, I just had this fantastic braveheart image of the two factions running at each other across a massive field!

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE

Abe’s footsteps pounded down the staircases of the palace as he ran for his life.

Once they had broken through the roof above, the Snoozers had showed the power built into their laser guns. Spewing concentrated beams widespread, their destructive rays had burned through walls, ceiling and floor all around with no care about collateral damage. The very framework of the Glukkon palace rattled and shook as parts of the structure collapsed in on itself from the impact of having dozens of Snoozers blazing their path after Abe.

At least King Fragg was dead. The mighty factory MeechCo, leveled to the dust, would never be rebuilt. With any luck, the Meeches would be able to populate again, and once more be a species to be found all across the planet.

Part of the ceiling caved in atop him; he rolled forward, trying to dodge the falling pieces, but one bit of wood pounded against his skull and threw him to the floor. Another crash sounded from behind him, accompanied by the sound of laserfire.

Abe recognized what it was immediately: a Snoozer had fallen down onto his hallway and was opening fire!

He threw himself into a sprinting, staggering run away. Laser bolts chewed at the walls all around him as he rushed away from the attacking mechanical menace.

He rounded a corner, skidding on laser-scorched floor and wincing at the heat, and saw a party of Sligs marching resolutely up the passage toward him, Barrage-32-A carbines in hand. Abe frantically waved his arms, and screamed “Get! Out! Of! My! Way!”

The Sligs’ only response was to level their carbines and pull the triggers.

Abe dropped into a roll and barreled forward along the ground, rolling at their feet. Several lasers came close to hitting him as he rolled at them like a steamroller out of control – one struck his shoulder and blazed pain up his arm – but they could not stop him before he was crashing into them and sending Sligs flying.

Then he was up on his feet and staggering down the corridor, clutching at his wounded arm. He could hear the mechanical rumble of Snoozer feet as the mechanical enforces rounded the corner, and hoped the Sligs could get up in time to provide a barrier.

“Those Vykkers knew what they were doing when they designed Snoozers,” he gritted between his teeth.

Thinking of Vykkers made him think of Vykkers Labs and the mission that had crashed the infamous laboratory. It stabbed pain into his heart as he remembered his companion on the mission.

Munch was no more. Munch was the Bringer of Pain now.

Abe ground his teeth together. “Munch…when I help those Mudokons win the victory on the ground…you’re dead! This I swear!”

* * *

WoW cool chapter,i imagined the fort castle like three electro walls with three round walls a huge fort with several towers and one roof that is like a square where munch standed,and the inside was like a hudge hall with a red long carpet coming to a line of stairs and a hudge throne of gold,and in a secret area where was that computer a picture of king glok and his own white sculpture(i imagined the castle palace inside as white)

I'm quite pleased that, even though this is my first Oddworld fanfiction (not counting an altered version of Abe's Exoddus) this is getting positive reviews. Or is there any series that doesn't get good reviews? Actually, I don't want to go there...

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX

Stranger knew he could not take on an entire pack of Slogs by himself; the Steef knew he was not invincible, only very powerful. At least this shaman was with him, whatever good the wrinkly green guy might do. Never knew what kind of tricks a shaman had up his nonexistent sleeve.

The Slog leading the pack was a vicious-looking male, teeth bared and barks resounding from its open throat cavities.

Stranger ran forward to meet it.

He anticipated the Slog leader’s leap toward his throat; his punch was already halfway to its destination. His clenched fist smacked the Slog full in the side of the jaw and threw it halfway across the room before it slammed into the floor and slid a record distance.

The second and third were also attacking – one leaping for his legs and the other coming at his chest – but a swift punch-kick combo threw both of them away from him. In the blaze of battle, he barely felt the bleeding tear that another Slog left on his leg; he was already reaching down to grab the animal by the throat and snap its neck with one sharp twist of his hands.

A lightning bolt crackled through the air, sourced from the Mudokon’s shaman staff. It parted into four separate bolts, which exploded into four different Slogs and set all four of them afire.

The bright flash of light – coupled with the sudden screeching the came from all four of the burning Slogs – startled the rest of the pack out of their let’s-kill-Stranger frenzy.

That gave Stranger enough time to leap forward, his arms and legs just a blur of motion and energy, and throw more than six Slogs away from him faster than they could react.
With whimpers of fear, the Slogs in the pack that weren’t unconscious – about a dozen – turned and fled.

Only then did Stranger look down and notice the patter of blood dripping from the gash on his leg, and shrugged it off with something near irritation.

An explosion ripped through the air behind him, and the Steef whirled around with sharp-honed instincts, fists clenching and raising to boxing position.

Through a flaming hole in the wall, apparently opened by a barrage of lasers of some sort, dropped Abe.

Stranger felt a flash of relief. “Abe! You took your time…getting here—” he started to say.

And then he noticed the Mudokon was staggering, one hand laid on a smoking wound in his shoulder, his face contorted into a grimace of pain. “We have to…get out of here!” the blue-skinned hero called out to them. “There’s Snoozers…chasing me!”

The Mudokon shaman raced forward to support Abe with a shoulder, but Stranger turned to the door instead. The shaman was good with his magic, but Stranger was the best fighter among them; while the shaman helped Abe along, Stranger would grab the nearest Slig carbine and shoot anyone that got in their way.

He had barely turned toward the door, Abe and the shaman a few steps behind him, when he heard loud mechanical thumps from behind him.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Snoozers had just dropped into the room behind them.

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN

The Bringer of Pain – Munch, as he had once been called and was no more – felt in a gloating mood.

Perhaps things had not gone exactly the way he had foreseen they were going to, but the events transpiring around him were certainly delicious to watch.

First off, there was the huge battle going on between Sligs and Mudokons on the grounds below. So much death and destruction, all in the same place, nearly made his head spin with happiness.

And then there was the line of Snoozers still marching into the smoking hole on the palace roof, trying to kill Abe. The Bringer of Pain knew they would fail – since, of course, killing Abe was an honor reserved to only himself – but the sight of so many mechanical enforcers marching was grand.

And, of course, there was the old-model Slig shuttle flying toward his jetcopter at high speeds, spitting laser bolts.

The Bringer of Pain narrowed his eyes. That wasn’t in the plan, either.

* * *

“Mow him down!” Cloud encouraged, his fingers so tight around the back of Frizzl’s seat that they tore lines down the cloth. “Destroy that Gabbit before he destroys us!”

Crak gripped the turret controls with both hands steadily, keeping the gun’s sights aimed on the jetcopter ahead. The Slig sat at a chair to the left of the steering controls, staring at a digital display, all targeting reticules centered on the jetcopter.

His fingers depressed the trigger. Laser bolts flew.

Cloud groaned; Crak’s shots flew true, until they hit a translucent blue force field surrounding the jetcopter and dissipated against its energies. The country Slig did not make a sound, nor did he let up on the controls. The turret on the underside of the shuttle kept firing, banging on the shield with constant frenzy.

And then the Gabbit disappeared from the open bay door, which began to slide shut. The jetcopter swiftly swiveled around to face the shuttle.

Cloud felt sweat start to bead on his forehead. “Oh, boy,” he said. “He’s going to shoot back.”

* * *

here i made siege of gluksonia,the black thing over gluksonia is munch in a chopper that has wings and on each end proppelers,dots on square building is snoozers,dots at the city gate is sligs,dots near the end of picture muds(1 dot is 1000 muds sligs or snoozers)i ammagined sky blue but i set it green to be like pollution in air and i amagined the airship had a side cannon with they tried to gun down munch,afther that i got it that was an under turret... :D

Nice picture, Scraby! It's always nice to see what people imagine book scenes to look like!

CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT

Stranger really, really wished he had his crossbow with him right now. The stream of Snoozers came marching across the throne room toward the Mudokon and Steef, lasers firing –

But Jake and Abe were already dashing out the door, Abe staggering as the shaman helped him to speed away. Stranger performed a quick dodge roll that took him away from the Snoozer’s seeking blasts, and then was out of the room.

“Get to the fields outside!” Jake shouted at him. “There’s a Mudokon army out there!”

Stranger blinked in surprise, as he fell down to all fours and bounded past the two running Mudokons. An army? A Mudokon army, at that? He’d always thought the green-skinned people weren’t intelligent enough to make an army of their own, and storm the very gates of the Glukkon capital –

But then he remembered Abe. A race was never to be underestimated, even if the majority of them were ignorant.

His barreling charge through the dark, klaxon-blaring hallways of the Glukkon palace, winding between great halls full of industrialist art and testing rooms full of new experimentations brought back old memories. Memories of that great dash he had done through Sekto’s fortress-like dam when the Grubb catapults were preparing to bring the building down around him…

But that had been a long time ago. Back then, his life had one driving purpose: to destroy Sekto. The Oktogi had done him wrong, and he had not let the demon get away with it.

And, as a bonus, all the Grubbs were on his side now.

He shrugged a Slig out of his way, face-planting the enforcer against the wall. Life had been so simple then, back when his purpose had been so defined.

What was his purpose now?

He thought back to the previous few days, when he had hunted down, captured, and then befriended the Mudokon Abe. He had been working with Urchyn McAvi, a scummy Wolvark type with the same kind of moral ambiguity Stranger had shown back during his bounty hunter days.

What was his purpose now? To get money again?

He had put that past behind him. King Fragg had imprisoned him in the dungeons here, for no good reason at all – so why shouldn’t he do as he had done before, and take up his grudge against the industrialists once more? The Grubbs’ nature forces had triumphed over the Wolvark industries in the end.

Stranger smiled as he approached the palace exits. That sounded like a good way to get back in business.

* * *

thx,cool chapters :D

CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE

Laser bolts flashed past the cockpit at the speed of light, leaving behind faint glimmer-trails that flashed against Cloud’s HUD. Some of those laser bolts slammed into the shuttle, their superconcentrated beams piercing through the thick titanisteel as if it were nearly nonexistent, ripping and shredding into the framework of the shuttle.

The kinetic force that came from the gas tank’s explosion picked up Cloud as if he were no more than a rag doll and spun him out of the cockpit into the back of the shuttle, clearing the rows of chairs with his back and coming to a stop upside-down and backwards against the hard wall. The flame from the explosion rippled out the smoking holes of the Bodhran shuttle.

The shuttle began to go down.

Cloud collapsed off the wall onto his back, and despite the burn damage done to his exposed lower face, his armor had kept back most of the blast. He shoved himself up to his feet, grabbing at his gun – and then dropping again when he saw the barrel was fused shut from the fire blast.

He turned toward the cockpit, intending to see what he could do to help Crak –

But stopped. “Oh, no,” he whispered. “No.”

Frizzl’s limp body, smoke rising from the charred form, lay stretched out across the seats in a position that could not be done unless every bone in his body had been broken. Frizzl had been seated right beside the gas tank when it blew.

If Cloud had not known the Bodhran Slig by name, he would not have recognized the smoking hulk that remained.

“Oh, Odd, no,” he sobbed out. He reached out a finger to touch the body, just to make sure it was dead, and the body’s heat was searing from the fireball.

Crak staggered out of a storage closet, his face grim. “Poor fool,” he grunted upon sight of the scorched body, and then his face went even grimmer. “We’re gonna jump. Without parachutes.”

Cloud didn’t take the time to disagree. He could tell, just from how long they had been spiraling downward, that the ground could not be too far away. And anyway, he’d announced himself to the Sligs on the battlefield as the “Slig Commando Squad.”

Cloud staggered for the door. With one swing of his fist, he bashed open the lock and without a thought for his own safety he leapt out the door.

* * *

Wow...I wasn't expecting this Bringer of Pain guy to be Munch. I just can't...picture him with his funny, slow voice roaring "PAIN RAWR!" and shooting electricity out of his fingertips while fisting people at the speed of sound.
It's like a parody of Munch in a nutshell with Sephiroth thrown into the madfest. In a nutshell.

Wow, you breezed through this story real quick. I should have another chapter up by tonight. I haven't seen much of Urchyn McAvi for a long time; he ought to do something by now.

Sorry this took so long to get posted.

CHAPTER NINETY

Alarm klaxons blared in the walls around him, and with bounty hunter reflexes Urchyn McAvi threw himself into a dodge roll, coming back up with Slig rifle in hand. But there was no enemy within sight, unless he counted the Sligs that wandered down the hallway on patrol duty. He had no love for the mechanically-enhanced enforcers; neither did they enjoy the presence of a Wolvark bounty hunter inside the royal palace.

McAvi snorted, as he lowered his gun. A royal palace for a king who had lost his throne to a Gabbit.

That was another thing McAvi had come to hate: beings who thought they knew more than they should. That Gabbit – the Bringer of Pain, as he had introduced himself – knew little of the ways of the world, but seemed to know much of power.

Stranger, the great Steef who had destroyed Sekto Springs Dam – McAvi’s old workplace – did know a lot of things, however. Which was the only reason why McAvi had invited Stranger along on his hunt for Abe, a hunt that had come to fruition.

The gates of the palace loomed up ahead – tall and threatening in the light shining from behind it –

And standing not ten feet away from him, growling and baring his teeth in a particularly demonic way, was the Steef himself.

“Hello, McAvi,” Stranger snarled.

McAvi did not raise his gun, just in case the Steef was not hostile, but by all appearances the big bounty hunter was about to attack. “What do you want, Stranger?” he asked –

Stranger’s answer was a roar and a mad leap through the air.

* * *

CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

Abe heard the tremendous roar and the collision of two bodies in the air that could be nothing else but Stranger and someone of nearly equal size, and as Jake increased his speed out of intrigue and they rounded a corner in the palace, emerging out into the smoke-choked sunlight, his theory was proved correct.

“I’m getting better with age,” he muttered to himself.

Stranger and what appeared to be Urchyn McAvi were rolling around on the ground, locked in a fierce struggle. Both of them were clawing and tearing at each other in such an animalistic manner that Abe could not even tell if that was a Wolvark at all. Blood spattered the ground and the air, and Stranger’s roar continued – a tremendous thundering of rage and pain that would not stop.

Abe shook off Jake’s arm. “I can walk on my own – don’t interrupt them, we have to get outside.”

“Right, the Mudokon army.” Jake frowned. “What are you going to do?”

Abe tested his weight on both feet. The pain staggered him, and he nearly fell – but before Jake could grab him, he pulled himself back to his full height. He began to limp toward the gates, grabbing the rifle the presumably Wolvark bounty hunter had dropped.

“What are you going to do?!” Jake shouted again.

“The same thing we’ve always done, Jake,” Abe laughed tiredly. He flipped up his gun and began firing off laser rounds at the generator for the door’s protection field.

Jake hurried toward him, moving quickly despite his advanced age. “What have we always done, Abe?”

Abe turned and smiled at the shaman, though he could find no reason to be happy. “We’ve always done what we’ve had to.”

Apparently stray blasterfire from the Slig/Mudokon battle had damaged the door’s protection field; it took little time for Abe’s small laser carbine to shut off the field. Stranger’s roar still had not ceased, and Abe had no idea how the massive once-bounty-hunter managed to keep his rage going.

He glanced at the floor battle that still raged between Stranger and the Wolvark, and grimaced at the sight of one of Stranger’s legs, severed at the knee, lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Then he turned, activated the gate’s opening switch, and headed out into the battle.

* * *

Is Stranger fighting McAvi for a reason or you just wanted those two to maul each other for enjoyment's sake?

Stranger has kind-of gone berserk. It's an unusual condition found only in Steef when they give themselves completely over to their battle rage - he's decided that the best purpose for his life is just to point himself at an enemy and maul it...and he's doing a good job of it. He always has, if you know "Stranger's Wrath." McAvi is just fighting in self-defense.

CHAPTER NINETY-TWO

“Stop this fight! Stop it! Stop it now!”

Abe clenched his fists angrily. No one could hear him over the roaring din of battle. No one would take the time to notice him amidst a storm of laserfire.

One of these lasers skimmed the edge of his head and put a fresh new burn scar along his blue scalp, a sharp reminder to duck and dodge while trying to avoid death.

“Everybody stop shooting and listen to me!” he roared, waving his arms frantically as he ducked and dodged about.

No one stopped.

Abe swore under his breath and shook his head. I bet I look like an idiot…

He stumbled back in surprise, as he heard a loud screaming of air that was an object falling; a glance upward revealed a huge jetcopter, black smoke trailing from blasted openings, and a pair of Sligs just tumbling out through the open door.

Both Sligs landed face-first on the ground, bumped and rolled a short distance. The jetcopter was not so fortunate; the huge vehicle rolled once, its spin carrying it slightly out of the fight before it plowed into the ground.

There was a bright flash of hot light, and red flame that enveloped a good area, and blazing bits of rubble flew in all directions from the jetcopter’s end, startling the fighters out of their battle to stare at the flames, and causing a bit of dark humor as both sides were ambushed from behind.

Abe didn’t notice. He was too busy fiddling with the body of one of the Sligs, stripping open his soldier-model mask and searching for the one piece of Slig equipment that he could really admire: the microphone upgrade.

As the Slig beneath him groaned and blinked open his eyes, Abe found the microphone and delicately yanked it out of the Slig’s mask. “Better let me hang onto this for a minute,” he said.

The Slig weakly raised a hand. “Hey, that’s—”

“Mine,” Abe said, and stood up again, holding the microphone. He switched the volume to the highest settings, then screamed into it, “Hey!!! Everyone listen to me!”

* * *