Chapter 5

Luksin's Lab:

The lab was dead ahead. Abe, Munch, and I were leaning on the railing, looking toward the mountain. Alf started to descend the aircraft on flattened land surrounded by woods to keep it hidden for when they had to return. The guys ate their fill while I only sipped on water. Abe snatched his backpack that already had items hidden inside to craft, like explosives, gas bombs, tape, rock candy to knock out the enemy, and other valuable things for the journey.

I was impressed by Alf's driving skills, with the soft landing. I see him step out onto the deck heading towards us, "I have to say, Alf, you do a great job flying this contraption," I speak with a smile on my face. However, Alf was still a bit tense around me, and with him having to get my camera from the enemy, he wasn't a fan of me right now. So, I needed to lighten him up a bit with a compliment.

All Alf sputters out is a "Yeah, sure, whatever."

Abe grunts and gives his friend a stern look before changing the topic. "Let's head out. We need ta be wary of any random Sligs in the field nearby the mountain. I have a feelin' that they know we would be comin' back."

We all agree and follow Abe off the blimp, making our way towards the mountain that hid the lab within. Trekking through the forest, Munch spotted some fuzzles that were willing to help us, following behind Munch like a marching parade. Abe was correct when we made it into the clearing; Sligs were patrolling all around the mountain. We just needed to find the doors I came out of, and funny enough, the train tracks in the air showed us the way to the entrance as we followed it cautiously. With the help of his sonar, Munch and the fuzzles took care of some of the Sligs, while Abe used explosives to blow the Sligs sky-high. Abe also snuck up onto a sleeping Slig and wrapped him up with the tape in his backpack. It was pretty fun to watch in first-person, seeing it from a different angle than when I played it on the console, yet, a bit more tense, too, feeling the rumbles of the explosives and the bombs he set down that went off on the Sligs while they stepped on them. I would have loved to help out, but I was at a loss on what I could do. All I could do was stay out of the way for Abe and Munch to work their magic to get us into the lab. Alf seemed to be chill and was comfortable letting the two do all the dirty work while he sat back with me, waiting for the coast to be clear for us to keep moving forward. Abe kept repeating, "Follow me," after the area was clear. Finally, with a bit of sneaking around, we made it to the doors. It was then Munch's turn to use his sonar to control the doors from the inside as he used a machine operator that controlled the doors.

I thought to myself, "That's convenient." Knowing about how the game works, I figured some machines would be present for the group to use. The doors started to open up as Abe set down some traps. More bombs and a smokescreen to hide us if the enemy were to elude the trap he set. As Abe predicted again, Sligs came rushing out. I saw Sligs fly in the air and smack back down to the ground while Abe ordered Alf and me to follow him through the doors. Munch will soon follow pursuit once we get inside safely. Once Munch stopped controlling the doors, they would just close again. We made it in and hid into a shaded area to wait for Munch to hop back to us quickly.

Everyone was together, scoping out the inside of the train station. The directory was close, along with the pully system that opened the doors for the trains to depart. Abe looked about, seeing if there were any chant suppressors around. Knowing he was free to chant, he jumped onto a platform with vents that blew out steam for cover as Munch, Alf, and I stayed in the shadows below. Abe chanted the unsuspecting Slig sleeping on the job with his slogs all around; this was the same Slig that wounded me, mind you. So having Abe possess him made me smile.

"Here, boy," The Slig called out to all of the slogs by his side. He walked all the slogs away from the directory and had them attack the other Sligs nearby. Once that was done, he shot the slogs, which made me cringe from the crying sounds that came out of them. I always felt bad for the slogs when I had to kill them off in the game, and the noise they made when shot made me almost want to cry.

Alf saw my facial expression from Abe's actions when using his host to do the dirty work for him. "What's the matter? Don't like how we do things 'round here?" He spat out with his slurred speech.

I shook my head and clarified, "It's not that; I just hate the sound, is all."

Alf chuckles and steps out of the shadows, with Munch soon to follow. I took my leisure time stepping out into the open, still seeing Abe chanting away above me on the platform. I walk over to the directory with Alf and Munch to check it out. Abe wanted to keep the Slig possessed as he walks back towards us, keeping an eye out for more enemies.

Abe's host was a high-ranking Slig, one of the best to have, called an Armored Popper. They are covered in armor and have the best weapon to take down a big-bro Slig. Abe didn't want to kill this Slig just yet. After the coast was clear, he knocked the Slig out and rushed over to have a look-see.

We had to make this quick, knowing the Slig will wake up at any time. I looked at the map and pointed to possible areas where my backpack might be. Funny enough, there was a place called "Lost and Found." It should be named more like, "What's Yours is Mine," instead. I finally speak up and explain to the three that were listening, "Here's where I escaped out of the room. This vent here. All we have to do is go through that again, and it will be smooth sailing to get Big Face out of that room. This lost and found room may be a good place to start looking for my backpack." I spoke to Alf and Munch. "And look, the directory shows where the Mudokons and fuzzles are. That'll make it go smoother."

"Where's the vent again?" Abe asked, looking around franticly.

"Over here." I rush to the vent with Abe following behind. I move a few boxes around to step up to get to the vent on the wall. "Oh….shit." I whimper out.

"What's wrong?" Abe's eyes shot up towards me, hearing my worried tone.

"The Sligs must have fixed the vent. It's welded shut this time. They're one step ahead of us, it seems."

"Then change of plans…." Abe reacted, rushing back to the platform with the steam to hide in to possess the Slig that was knock out. The host woke up, and Abe spoke out through the Sligs vocal cords. "I'll follow ya with his Slig ta the room where they have Big Face. Anyone that gets in our way will be dead meat." The rusty-sounding voice soon chuckled. "Munch, Alf, yer plans haven't changed. You two head off ta the Lost and Found. Find any Mudokons and fuzzles ta save. Then head back ta the blimp as fast as ya can with 'em."

"Good luck, you two," Munch replied, gathering up the last of the fuzzles that followed him. Alf just gave a worried look back up at Abe chanting up on the ledge before following Munch from behind.

The Slig looked up at me and ordered, "Let's go." I obliged, but before moving forward, I look at the directory one last time before pressing on.

One good thing about this lab is that it's pretty straightforward. There are no obstacles to jump up on or down into, no chant suppressors, just hallways and left and right turns to take; perfect for keeping the Slig possessed the whole way through. Luckily, Abe was mentally strong enough to keep holding onto his host with how far we had to go. My brain remembered the directions we had to take as I showed the Slig the way to the room. So far, no enemies in sight. That was until I went around the corner, not paying any attention, looking down to the ground in thought, as two Sligs started walking down the hall. Quick thinking by Abe, he pulled me back with my shirt sternly, almost having me fall backward. He shushed me as he placed me into the corner, peeking around, seeing what type of Sligs they were. There were two armored bouncers. They carried wooden bats as armored covered their bodies. Abe's host stepped out from the corner and said, "Wazzup?!" But before the other Sligs could respond, he shot them both with ease and gestured me to come out of hiding soon after.

I came out from around the corner and exhaled, "Sorry about that, Abe."

"Next time, be more vigilant, please."

Hearing a Slig say "please" caught me off guard for a moment. Even though Abe controlled the Slig's vocal cords, it was still strange to hear out of that smoker's voice of theirs. I nodded my head, and we started to move again, getting closer to the room. It seems strange that we saw no Vykker scientist anywhere as we finally make it to the door to the room. I wondered if they were on the other end of the lab doing experiments.

"It should be this room here, Abe." The Slig gently pushed me aside and aimed the gun at the control panel to force open the door. I took a moment to view the panel. It looks like it was voice-controlled. "Wait!" I forced Abe to pause his actions as he lowered down the weapon to look up at me. "It's voice-activated. Maybe with that Sligs voice, you can open it without making too much of a scene."

"Gotcha." He responded, walking up to the panel speaking gibberish. The door opened up as we both stepped into the room lightly. The lights were off. The only area lit was within the bullet glass room with Big Face strapped onto the machine. I slowly went to the door, peeking into the thick glass, spotting Big Face. His body looked exhausted from being held up by the device connected to his arms and waist. I opened the door handle slowly, but something was off. It was too easy and too quiet. Abe guarded the entrance in case the enemy were to barge inside the room. Strangely enough, the glass door is unlocked as I turn the handle and stepped inside willingly.

Big Face looks up at me, and his body language made it clear. He cried out, "It's a trap!" I look over to the Slig that Abe possessed as it stared right back at me. Before I could flinch, the alarms went off all around the lab and the glass door shut and locked behind me.

"Shit." I cry out in fear. I rush over to the device that held Big Face as I try to figure out how to free him. My heart started to race as I pressed all the buttons at once. Suddenly the door to the room slams open, and we were face to face with Luksin the Glukkon and his Vykker lackies with two big-bro Sligs at his side. I paused my actions looking out the glass window while my hand rested on a lever I was about to pull down.

"Well, well, well. I knew you fools would be back to help your buddy. Good thing I placed an alarm for you to trip when you stepped into that glass chamber."

Big Face kicked me with his foot to get me out of my stare. I shook my head and pulled the lever quickly as that released Big Face from the machine. The bird portal didn't get triggered yet as the birds circled around and around within the room. Big Face started to chant, opening the portal, having it lead to the Mudokon Village. Abe looked inside the glass and shouted out in the Slig's voice. "Get outta here! I'll be fine!" He turned to look back at Luksin and the mob all around him, ready to fire upon them.

I shout out as I press my hands to the glass, "No! I won't leave you three here alone!" Before Abe could respond, Big Face grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the scene, and we both jump in without looking back as Big Face had the birds follow us through the portal.

Meanwhile, Munch and Alf made it to the Lost and Found room. They had to go through slog huts, Interns, Sligs, and Vykkers. Not a fun time they had getting a simple backpack. Along the way, Munch freed fuzzles from their cages as they all followed along. They did stumble across the Mudokons, but they refused to follow Alf. They were too nervous about leaving their post. Abe would have to come back to the room the slaves were in to convince them to tag along. Just to be safe, Munch ordered the fuzzles to stay put, back with the Mudokon slaves that scrubbed the walls and floors.

Alf and Munch were up on a ledge, huffing, and puffing. They were just a few feet away from the Lost and Found room. At last, the coast was clear as Munch jumped down off the ledge and made his way to the door to zap the control panel having the door unlock. Alf jumped down and followed Munch inside, only to see a whole lot of junk. Items that got dismantled and made into something new. Luckily, the backpack was easy to spot, seeing it was not of this world; a black backpack with some keychains connected to it. Right next to the gear was the camera.

Alf walked over and picked up the items. He was dumbfounded. "This is what we came here ta get? A strange lookin' thing that looks a lot like a camera?!"

The Oddworld inhabitance uses similar equipment as the humans use on Earth. That was logical because the creators of the game made this world close to ours. However, the gear just looked a bit different that made it look out of place.

"She lied ta us!" Alf was about to smash the camera on the ground until a group of Interns stormed into the room. Alf raised the camera towards his face to use as a shield until he pressed a button that caused the flash to open up and blinded the Interns as they rubbed their eyes and muffled out screams due to their sewn shut mouths. Alf looked at the item he had in his hand and shook his head. "This thing's powerful! Let's use it to get outta this mess!" Alf looked down at Munch as he gave a thumbs-up to head out. Alf took the lead, the backpack strapped to his back and the camera now around his neck, flashing the enemy that tried to block their path. He took photos of the enemy, saving them into the camera's chip.

Luksin blocked the exit as the Slig Abe used as a host kept his gun aimed at the enemy. Luksin's face was fuming red after seeing Big Face released, fleeing into the portal. He didn't expect that I would be smart enough to figure out how to free the shaman from their equipment. The big-bro Sligs aimed their guns at the Armored Popper Slig, waiting for Luksin to give the command to shoot. "You annoying Mudokon! I know who you are, using that Slig as your host." He screeched out. "I'm a good friend of Molluck's. I've been trying to help him get revenge on you for a while now. The media may hide the truth from the others around Oddworld, but I know. I know of your adventures thus far. And to think, I thought you would never find this hidden lab of mine, yet, here you are."

The Slig said nothing, still aiming at Luksin's head. Before Abe could shoot, the big-bros guns shot out, having the room echo from the sounds of the bullets ricocheting the metal walls and the bulletproof glass chamber. Abe came out of his possession and grunted out in frustration. "At least Tree and Big Face made it out safe and sound." Abe thought. He jumped off the platform and checked the directory to locate Munch and Alf. Things will start to get more intense with the alarms set off as more security walk the hallways.