Dante's Exoddus

[Dave]

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:

[Munch's Master]

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.

[Dave]

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:

[Havoc]

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

[Munch's Master]

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

[T-nex]

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

[odd chick]

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.

[Scrab-Meat]

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!

[Dave]

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:

[Havoc]

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

[Dave]

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.

[Munch's Master]

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*.

[Dave]

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.

[Splat]

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!

[Dave]

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.”



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.

[Splat]

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.

[Munch's Master]

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!

[Dave]

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.

[odd chick]

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.

[Munch's Master]

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.

[Dave]

Well, now that we've all caught up...

Chapter 68

The young glukkon led me up to a small command room with several computer terminals. The room overlooked the entire arena. I could see everything. I noticed, for the first time, the five mudokons in the area. Two were busy replacing the tattered remnants of dummies, while the remaining three were trying very hard to scrub the charred burn-marks off of the floor.
The glukkon, who had introduced himself as Cornell, was busy explaining things to me. Mostly about how he organized the sligs and told them what to do, and he had them practice shooting, and only the best shooters were allowed to take on flying harnesses, and only the best pilots were allowed to take the steroids the vykkers sold them. When he mentioned the Bigbros, I also noticed several of them marching around, showing off their Blitzpackerz to each other. I made a mental note of this: that would mean that there was equipment I could use if I needed to do my Bigbro morph.
But I mostly let him talk. He seemed to like the sound of his voice, because he talked constantly. And I was utterly, thoroughly, and completely bored by his ramblings.
It seemed that Cornell was paying more attention to himself than me, so I decided it would be safe to pop back to normal and unleash that Shrykull.
I quickly shifted to my mudokon form, already preparing to shed my glukkon uniform, lest it be shredded in my Shrykull state - when I realized … I was no longer wearing it.
My glukkon suit was simply gone.
I couldn’t help but let out a whimper … okay, I lied. It was more like a sob. A loud sob. A loud sob that sounded very much like a mudokon.
Cornell is quick to pull out of his self-important monologue, and he whirled upon me. Before he could call for help, I leapt up at him and laid a fist square in his face.
As I’m sure you have guessed, glukkons have terrible balance. I knew this firsthand. So when he tumbled backward, I wasn’t surprised. When he fell into the window, I wasn’t surprised.
But when the window shattered and he toppled through, I was stunned.
I knew - as would anyone in my position - that a loud crashing sound followed by a screaming glukkon falling from up high would soon attract the attention of everyone in the area. So, I unleashed my Shrykull power. Within two seconds I had transformed, scrab beak howling, paramite limbs flailing, and unearthly lightning striking down all sligs.
Several seconds passed, and soon the Shrykull left me, having vaporized the army of sligs that had been below.
I returned the way I had come, down a lift and back to the arena floor. The mudokons were all on the floor, heads covered, obviously terrified.
I looked up and around. No Zappy cams. The Shrykull had shredded those, too.
“All o’ ya!” I whistled merrily. The mudokons stood and greeted me enthusiastically enough.
I chanted and set them free. Unfortunately, the power of the Mudokon God didn’t infest me this time. Not enough rescues together.
But no matter. I had to ask someone why my glukkon outfit was gone.
{PATCH!} Of course Patch. My old standby. He always knew what to do.
As I had once before, I had a feeling that Patch was, in fact, deeply asleep, and dreaming of dancing mudokon girls. Through the nature of this relationship, I was allowed to feel some of the things Patch was feeling. In that moment I realized what sort of feelings I would have had for Druna, were I physically built for it. And yes, it’s terrible, to feel like this about a mudokon who already has a male … but then I reminded myself that these were just Patch’s feelings being projected into me. Nothing to get antsy about.
Right?
I tried to contact Patch again, and I felt him wake up.
{Whuzzat? Dante? What time is it?}
{I dunno,} I snapped. {Look out the damn window and check the sun.}
The sun was up, I knew it; I saw it rise before I had returned to the factory. But it was likely not nine in the morning yet.
Patch sensed my irritation. {What’s up, Dante?}
{My glukkon suit is gone!} I sent. If it had been verbal, it would have been a yell. And Patch knew it.
He seemed to think it over. {How often have you been using your glukkon form?}
{Almost constantly,} I said, {since I got here. Why?}
Patch hesitated. I could feel his reluctance like a weight. He obviously was trying to decide whether or not to say something.
In the end, however, he did. {I’m going to hazard a guess … and say that since you wore those glukkon clothes each time you were in that body, you may have integrated the suit into the morph. So if you were to try and transform again, I think the suit would just be there.}
I thought about it. It made no sense - how could an outfit become part of a transformation that involved just physical changes?
But then I realized, what about my loincloth? That always seemed to just disappear whenever I transformed. And when I pop back to my mudokon body? It’s there again. Perhaps the same thing was happening with the glukkon suit.
{Thanks, Patch. Sorry to wake you.}
He didn’t seem to fazed. {No big thing.}
I took a deep breath and contacted Druna. I knew instantly that she was awake, and that she was very, very upset about something.
{Druna? You okay?}
I couldn’t hear it, but I suddenly knew she had been sobbing. Such was the relationship our psychic bond forged. {I … I guess,} she said. A lie. And she probably knew that I knew she was lying.
But I would have to ask her about it another time. {Would you mind giving me a glukkon power again? Sorry to keep pestering you, but … it’s a very useful tool in here.}
She didn’t say anything - too upset to communicate just then, I felt - but she gave me the morph. {Thanks,} was all I could think to say. She wasn’t as easy to console as the depressed mudokons I had met were.
I came back to myself. Time to see if this would work.
I concentrated on my glukkon self, and hoped to all that was Odd that my clothes would reappear.

[Havoc]

Looking good Dave! Keep it up!

[Splat]

Hurrah! A triumph! Encore! Keep it up, tis well and truly great! Very Odd!

[T-nex]

Yay!! new chapters, happy me!! ^_^

I really like these chapters. feels just like the games at some points

[Munch's Master]

Nice chapter, I like the way you show all the characters' thoughts and feelings through the telepathy, and cool idea with the suit. I do think that it sometimes feels like the games, but it also feels like what I'd love an oddworld game to be. Keep going!

[odd chick]

Great chapter, as usual, Dave. I agree with MM, too-some people think that it's not good to do that kind of thing too often, but I personally don't mind it-it makes the characters more believeable. This story does capture the original charm and humor that is Oddworld. Keep it up!

[Dave]

Holy cow! It's been almost a week since I've updated.
I don't have time to write much just now, but later this evening I can have something for you.

[Dave]

Okay, here:

Chapter 69
As I converted to my glukkon form, I sighed in relief as I felt the glukkon clothes take shape around me.
But no time to celebrate this little miracle. I returned through the sub-zulag entrance and back to the zulag hub. I had to remind myself that I had no shrykull power ready, so I would have to form another plan.
Four more doors to check out in the zulag. Each marked with a letter: A, B, C, D.
So let’s start with A. A good a place as any. I approached the door and some sensor must’ve detected me, because it clanged open on its own when I got close.
And there I was. It was a fair sized room. Size of a smallish gymnasium, perhaps. The room could probably house forty sligs comfortably, considering they slept in sacks.
And speaking of sleeping, most of the sligs in here were asleep. Only one was awake and armed. As for mudokons, there were five, lined up against the wall. They looked to be on one of their two daily five minute breaks.
The armed slig looked up when I entered. “Hi, boss,” he said absently. No big deal, I guess, as he didn’t recognize me. But he started at the look of disgust I had adopted. Part of a plan. “Something wrong, boss?”
I growled. “Why are all these sligs asleep?” And, raising my voice, “Don’t they know what happens to sligs that get caught asleep on the job?”
This woke them up. There was a ruckus as the surprised sligs fell out of their sacks and began to crawl towards the pants machine.
I turned to the sligs who was awake. “Kill ‘em!”
The slig didn’t hesitate. He turned and raised his gun, and unleashed a long and brutal barrage on the defenseless sligs.
I watched his work with the air of someone watching a fascinating sport. When the job was done (the mess was considerable), I called to the slig again.
“Hey! Come here!”
The slig buzzed and hustled to my side.
“We’re going to explore the other Suites and see who is asleep.”
The slig shrugged. “Okay, boss.”
I led the slig back into the hub and into suite B. This room was identical to suite A, but no slig was awake.
I instructed the slig to clean up shop. He did … and we moved on to find the same situation in suite C.
So when we reached suite D, imagine my surprise at finding a loud party of armed sligs.
They all appeared to be gathered around in a group, maybe watching some sport. No time to ponder it.
“Hey! Stay here.”
The slig buzzed and hurried over to watch whatever was going on.
I returned to the main hub and moved through suites C and B, commanding the mudokons to come with me. I led the group into suite A. Now, with fifteen mudokons gathered in one place, I reverted to my mudokon body and began to chant.
Once the muds were free, I felt the now familiar surge of energy that meant I had obtained a shrykull morph.
Now, to take care of the last batch of sligs. I returned once more to the hub and was halfway across the hub to suite D when the door clanged open and some sligs came marching out. They were mid-chat, something about that unfamiliar glukkon, when they saw me.
I didn’t give them time to react. I leapt forward, feeling my face stretch forward and the extra limbs unfolding from me as I transformed into Shrykull.
The lightning cleared all the sligs within several seconds.
With the zulag free of sligs (not to mention the factory’s reserve of stock soldiers), I went into suite D and realized what the sligs had been watching.
Five brutal, beaten mudokons wielding clubs and knives lay bruised and battered on the floor, breathing heavily. I realized that the sligs, bored, had forced the mudokons to fight each other. Likely, the sligs meant for the muds to fight to the death, but they wouldn’t want bad quarma, I guess, so none of the muds fought very hard.
I moaned, feeling quite bad. Two of the muds had a reddish glow - definitely angry - but the others were giving off a definite blue vibe.
I hurried over. “All o ya!”
Some angry grunts interspersed with moans of pain.
“Aww … sorry.”
The mudokons seemed to realize that things would work out. Or something. In any case, they came around. A quiet chorus of okays greeted my ears.
I grinned and pressed my hands together, chanting yet again.
Marvelous. In a half hours time I had rescued a fifth of the workers here. So far, so good.
After a brief chat with Druna, I returned to the ball car that would take me, as a glukkon, back to Tastee Treets’ main hub.

[Munch's Master]

Yes, update! Dante's doing well, 50 down, 200 to go. Good chapter, ncie stuff with the suites and I still like the way you have the sligs gun each other down withotu a second thought. Good chapter, keep going!

[T-nex]

Weeehaa That one was quite fun and stuff, but i felt kind of pity for the beaten mudokons or whatever :: I'm hyper