Chapter 6

The Waiting Game:

The Mudokon villagers were going about their business as they ate and worked around the village, tending the meeps and elums. The Healer stepped out of his temple, eagerly waiting as he crossed his arms, tapping his three-toed foot. His arms went down to his side, suddenly walking over to an opened area. Birds began to fly down from where they perched in the trees nearby, flying in a circle forming the portal. The blue within the middle spun around, having the birds change into a golden gate. The portal spat out Big Face, me, and the birds the enemy stole. They fluttered out of the opened gateway and landed on the tops of the trees. Big Face landed on his feet. As for me? Well, I stumbled and rolled out onto the grass. I painfully got up from the harsh landing, removing the dirt from within my hair and clothes until I suddenly paused. I felt like I was being watched. I look around, viewing all the Mudokons freeze in their tracks staring at me. The Healer walked over towards Big Face as he just gave a smile from under his wooden mask and patted Big Face's back. He was glad to have him back safe and sound.

The Mudokons were at a loss. Typically Abe would be venturing out of the bird portals with new Mudokons. But instead, I popped out with Big Face. The Shaman Healer looked about, soon clapping his hands to cast the gaze of the Mudokons over to him and Big Face. "Big Face has returned safely, thanks to this young lady!" At first, the Mudokons were silent, making their way over to me. Then, abruptly, they cheered with joy as they clapped and praised me, patting me on the shoulder and my back one by one.

I gasp out, only to end up blushing from the praise of the Mudokons all around. "Please….I don't need this. Abe and Munch did most of the work, trust me!" Big Face pushed through the crowd to get to me. Before I could say more about the matter, he grabbed hold of my wrist, getting me out of the mob of Mudokons. I look back at the Mudokons, still cheering with joy, only to become face to face with both of the shamans as Big Face let go of my wrist.

"Thank you for everything, Tree." Big Face applauded me.

I only assumed he knew my name thanks to the Shaman Healer telling him while the Mudokons bombarded me. I bellowed out without saying; you're welcome. "But….I didn't do anything! We need to go back to help Abe and the others!" I demanded.

Big Face enlightened me, "Abe can handle it on his own now. Your task was to get me to safety, and you accomplished that."

The Shaman Healer spoke next, "Now we wait for his return with the rest of his followers and hope he destroys that lab of theirs. In the meantime, rest and eat. You deserve it."

I lowered my head down, looking away from the shamans as I rubbed my head in frustration. They were right. All I could do was wait. But I hate waiting. I was developing a headache from the stress I endured throughout this crazy adventure. I hid my pain as I glanced my eyes back up at the shamans. Before allowing myself to relax, I had a few questions for Big Face. "I do want an answer as to why I stumbled into your world. You could have caused more harm than good by opening up a portal in my dimension, you know." I gave a stern lecture at the two, which may not have been a wise choice on my part, being that they are high ranking and know magic.

There was a slight pause, and all I got from a response was a long, loud laugh from Big Face until he finally explained why things happened this way. "I didn't mean to bring you into our world. At first, I was able to control where the portals led, leading the Sligs to their death. It was only after the Vykkers tweaked a few things on the machine that it sent the birds through random dimensions such as yours."

I think to myself for a moment, "So, like a television changing to random channels? Interesting." I then ask yet another question. "How did they catch you anyway? And how did they get a hold of the bird portal in the first place?"

Big Face scratches his head behind his long tiki mask, "I should have been more vigilant when I was out and about scouting the land. I was keeping track of the wildlife and their population until I stumbled into one of their traps. The trap they used was way more advanced than just a common bear trap or a pit. It seemed to lock up my shaman abilities as the contraption around me zapped me continuously. Once I came too, I was strapped onto that device back there, facing the bird portal they stole. Sadly, I do not know how they managed to obtain our birds, but we will have to prevent this from happening again once we find out."

I let this all sink in for a moment as this was very new to the Oddworld lore. I never heard of the Glukkons of Oddworld being able to take the bird portal before. But anything was possible. I thought to myself, "Were the Glukkons advancing their technology thanks to our fan-fiction stories we're writing? Maybe the only way to prevent this from happening again is to write my own story about it, which is playing out now as we speak. Or is that the reason why this is all happening in the first place? Because I will write this story in the future?" My brain started to hurt more from thinking too hard on it as the shamans looked at me funny. I take a deep breath only to exhale it all out, adding my two cents into the matter. "Well, whatever happened, I'm sure it won't happen again. Maybe it was a fluke?"

The shamans knew that it had something to do with the humans. But, unfortunately, they couldn't do much about it. Big Face ended our little chat with, "Go rest up. Abe shouldn't take long. Once everything is right on Oddworld, I will have the power to send you back into your world."

The Shaman Healer escorts me to a vacant hut nearby, leaving Big Face to tend to his duties. I look behind my shoulder while the Shaman Healer lightly presses his paw on my back, moving me along; I faintly saw Big Face vanish into the cave of the Almighty Raisin. Once we got to the hut, the shaman spoke one last time before heading off into the cave with Big Face. "I'll make sure one of the Mudokons brings food and water to your hut. In the meantime, relax." He turns and walks the other way, leaving me alone for a bit. I look into the hut seeing it was pretty spacious.

A wooden bed stood in the corner of the room. Leather for sheets and a blanket made out of wool. Possibly wool from the meeps that they kept throughout the village in fences. The pillows were of leather as the inside felt like soft downy feathers. On the other corner stood a wooden table to eat on and chairs to sit on. There was another small extra room; a bathroom.

I wasn't going to lie; I was thankful with my job fulfilled, yet, my stomach twisted and turned, hoping Abe and the rest would come back safely. I felt a bit famished, but who could eat at a time like this? All I wanted was water to keep me hydrated from the hot weather outside. I sit down on the bed, taking off my shoes for the moment.

Relaxation was moments away as I gazed upon the fluffy pillows on the bed. That was until a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts of resting. I stood up and went to the door, opening It slowly, only to view a Mudokon with a basket of food for me to take. He handed me the food kindly. "The shaman asked me to bring you some food." He shyly spoke to me. This Mudokon looks oddly familiar. I squint my eyes to have a better look at his facial features, and sure enough, it was Toby at my door.

I take the basket from his paws and smile. "Thanks, Tob….I mean….Thank you, stranger."

After I took the basket, he folded his arms behind his back and blushed a bit, "You're welcome, And the name's Toby. I heard your name is Tree? A very nice name."

I chuckled and told him a little secret, "Hello Toby, but secretly, that's only my nickname." I then cup my hand to the side of my mouth and whisper out, "My real name is Theresa, but we'll keep that our little secret, okay?"

I never cared about my birth name. If I could, I would change my name to Tree even though it would be an odd name to have back on Earth. But here on Oddworld, it suited well.

"But…Theresa is a lovely name as well…." There was a sudden awkward pause from him and me standing by the doorway until Toby scratched his head and ended the conversation with, "Well, you enjoy the food and beverages in the basket. I'm sure Abe will come back soon."

"Thanks, Toby." I smile softly. I started closing the door only after he began to walk away. I turn away after shutting the door and think, "Was he just hitting on me?!" I shake my head from the thought, set the basket on the table, and look inside to see what types of food they had in the village. And surprisingly, it all resembled the food back at home; fruits like apples, oranges, grapes, meats resembling ham, and beef. Maybe it was meep meat? I mean, that's understandable having them raise them here in the village. I bet they have meep milk too. I started to inspect the drinks, and sure enough, one looked like milk, and the rest was fresh rainwater. I was too tired to eat anything right now. All my body wanted to do was rest. At least for twenty minutes. I lay back down on the bed, looking up at the roof made of hay and wood as I start to close my eyes to rest.

While things were settling down in the village, Abe dealt with Sligs, Vykkers, and Interns chasing him around. Abe was thankful that lockers were abundant for him to hide in, or else he would have gotten caught a long time ago. He scavenged through trash cans to craft items to deal with the enemy and possessed and killed a few Sligs here and there while hunting down his companions, Munch and Alf.

Meanwhile, Alf and Munch made it back to the room where the Mudokons scrubbed the walls and floors; and where Munch left the fuzzles for safety. They were at a loss on how to get these poor saps to trust and follow them to the blimp without Abe here. "What will we do, Alf? They aren't budging at all. I fear that Abe and Tree might've leaped into the portal by now hearin' the alarms went off back there."

Alf scratches his head in frustration. He wanted to smack these Mudokons out of their fear of leaving their work, but he knew that form of action might cause a fight to break out. "I'm not sure, Munch. We may have ta abandon these poor saps here until we reach Abe."

Just then, they heard the door to the room start to creak open. Munch jumps up, ready to give the command for the fuzzles to attack, while Alf raises the camera to his face, prepared to press the button for the flash. The door opens all the way, and there's Abe, gripping onto his backpack with wide orange eyes. "It's okay! It's me!" Abe shouted out as he heard the sounds of the growls from the fuzzles beneath Munch's foot.

Alf lowers the camera. "Abe! We thought ya might've left through the portal after the alarms went off."

"No, but I forced Big Face and Tree ta go through the portal without me. Things got a little dicey back in the room. Now we need ta get these Mudokons to the blimp and get outta here quickly! I set bombs throughout the lab that'll go off in thirty minutes!"

Munch's eyes bugged out, and he told the fuzzles to follow him shortly after. Alf grunted out, pointing down to the Mudokons. "These idiots won't budge. They need ya, Abe, ta get them out of their workin' habits."

Abe claimed down Alf's frustrated voice as he looked around the room. All the Mudokons were here, which made it easy for him not to scan the rest of the lab for more. He suddenly called out, which made the room echo his voice, "All a ya!"

All the Mudokons stood up and looked at Abe as they mumble out, "Wait, is that Abe?!"

Another one sputtered out, "He's come ta save us!"

While another went, "I heard a lot about ya, Abe, in the newspapers!"

Abe smiles and replies, "Come on, let's get ya all outta here." They all willingly follow Abe as Alf follows beside Abe, leading a marching group of Mudokons back to the blimp. Munch and the fuzzles were ahead of them. He made sure the coast was clear before moving on to the next hallway. Abe observed Alf that had the backpack and the camera around his neck. "I see ya found Tree's items."

"Yeah, At first I was goin' ta smash it, realizing it's just a piece of junk camera, but then the thing helped me and Munch get here safely. So, I thought I'd keep it and bring it back ta Tree."

"Good call." Abe agreed.

Ten minutes pass by. The clock was ticking down as the bomb was now at twenty minutes until self-destruction. The exit was dead ahead as they saw the train station's large doors. Just their luck, more security marched around the station—this time big-bros, flying Sligs, and Interns along with security orbs scattered about around the corner. Abe had the Mudokons hold up while he figured out a way to get past this crazy section.

Munch had an idea as he told the fuzzles to wait. "Abe, that crane there is our ticket outta here. See those bomb barrels? I'll use the crane to drop them onto the Interns and the big-bros. I may even be able to destroy some of the orbs all around as well."

Abe set his eyes upon the crane above. "I can get ya up on the ledge where the control panel is." Munch waited for Abe to throw him up, and once he tumbled onto the ledge, Munch made his way to the machine. Munch started controlling the crane, dropping bombs left and right while the group stayed hidden in lockers and shadows, slowly inching their way towards the exit. All you could hear were the enemy's cries as the bombs dropped onto them. Finally, the mob of Mudokons made it past safely and hid in the shadows. Once Munch was satisfied, he let go of the controls, moved the fuzzles along, and met up with Abe, Alf, and Abe's followers.

It was strange. No Slig was guarding the pulley system to open the main doors to the outside. Abe snuck over to the pully, looking around before grabbing hold to open the doors. Once pulled, he zoomed back into the shadows where the rest hid. No enemy came crawling out of the woodwork. Alf shrugged his shoulders while Abe seemed confused. Everyone walked out of doors and into the wilderness, spotting no threat around.

"I don't like this, Abe." Munch whimpers out.

"I don't either, but we need ta leave, NOW!" He shouted at the group rushing into the woods where the blimp hid. The bombs were about to go off in ten minutes in the lab. With excellent timing, everyone got aboard the blimp. Alf started up the engines and lifted the blimp to the sky, taking off as fast as possible to get far enough away for when the lab ignites.

Abe and the crew didn't know that Luksin was already on an airship, ready to follow them back to the village. Having failed once, Luksin was determined to locate the village's whereabouts and destroy Abe and the rest of his followers. Their blimp was high enough in the sky to follow the unsuspecting Mudokons.

Just then, the bombs went off throughout the lab, having Luksin look back at his destroyed lab, engulfed in flames. "Ahhh! My lab!" Luksin screeched out, only to look ahead, and demanded the Slig flying the craft too, "Follow that blimp…."

"Yes, Sir, Luksin, Sir!" The Slig saluted soon after.