CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT
Stranger saw the explosion of the jetcopter, heard the screams and yells of dying beings, but he could not see. He smacked a nearby pillar and cursed angrily, wishing that he could see what was going on and help his friends.
He felt the great tremors of the ground; it eerily reminded him of the breaking of the mighty Sekto Springs dam those months ago, at the end of his greatest triumph that had nearly been his death. His eyes went wide as he saw the huge shape rise up out of the ground, and heard its monstrous voice.
But he did not waste any time in staring at the monstrous thing – the Keuja, as it identified itself. It was obviously a menace, and the job of a Steef was to protect his people.
He had forgotten that.
His race was not just a race; it was not just a kind of being. They had a duty to the people of Oddworld, to keep them free of invaders and the industrialist plague. Sekto might have hunted them down to extinction to let the industrialists into the naturalist territories, but he had to live up to the examples of his forefathers.
“This is armor worn only by your ancestors,” the Grubbs had said to him, as they brought him the tough linked armor that had served him well in the battle at Sekto Springs. “Wear it for them – for their memory! They’d be proud if you could beat [Sekto’s] tail!”
And Stranger had done it…but not for the memory of the old Steef.
He had not even done it for the Grubbs.
He had done it for himself.
That was his problem: as a bounty hunter, he had always taught himself to look out for Number One alone, to remain morally ambiguous in any confrontation and living only for the moolah. The moolah that would take him further away from the duties required as a Steef guardian.
But Abe had taught him something. No matter the power one had, his true duty was to Oddworld and its preservation. The Glukkons had amassed huge fortunes and great power over their time as rulers, but in the end it was always stripped from them and given to the natural simplicity of the Grubbs and Mudokons.
He had to remember that what had happened to Sekto was not just because he had gone after the Oktigi; there had been a purpose behind that.
He had to get used to being a protector, not just a self-serving hunter. The Keuja would destroy everyone out there if he didn’t intervene; Abe had always had the best of luck throughout his impressive career, but it looked as if it was up to Stranger to save the blue-skinned revolutionary from the monster.
A Slig rushed at him, roaring “It’s the Steef –”
Stranger considered shooting him in the head, but decided against it and went for the chest. Either way, it was still an instant kill; the Slig died immediately.
The Steef fought his way through brief surges of Slig guards, as he went toward the Glukkon palace.
He had a plan. If only Abe could buy him a few minutes…
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