Chapter 20 – Old Friends

*NOTE – Ladies and gentlemen, it's here at last: Chapter 20! And, for those of you who have been reading since day one, you'll notice that it's been almost an entire year since the first chapter of 'Oddworld: Al's Oddysee was released. So it gives me great pleasure to announce that on the 22nd of March, I will be writing a special, extra-long chapter to mark one year since the story's creation. THANK YOU!*

The next morning, I was awoken by the sound of Dave's voice. The sun was already high in the sky, and Dave looked rather impatient.

"Alan!" He shouted, "Get up!"

"Why, what time is it?" I asked him foolishly.

"It's almost midday." He told me.

I jumped to my feet. "Is it really that time already?" I stammered. "Well, we'd best get a move on if we want to make good time by nightfall.

"That's not all." Dave said. "I had a little wander earlier."

"And?" I asked eagerly. Maybe he'd found something that would help us find Vykkers Labs 25.

"There's a village over there." He pointed to some hills that were quite close by. It must have been at the other side. "We could go have a look around."

"Dave," I began. "One: I'm a Slig, you're a Mudokon. We're not welcome here. And, Two: We have no Moolah."

"Not necessarily." Dave said smugly. He pulled out a thick, black wallet and held it up with pride. "I went and paid those Wolvarks another visit, too."

Not long after that, Dave and I were heading for the village. Incidentally, Dave had also managed to get us a gun and some kind of battery-operated torch from the Wolvark base. Now, we really could pass ourselves off as a Slig and prisoner, at least in public. We got to the village just after midday, and had soon found a cafe where we could buy some decent food. After that, we went to a little corner shop and bought some snacks for the journey, as well as a can of oil, for my rusted legs. After that, we found a comfortable bench by the river and sat for a rest. There were a couple of puzzled looks from the local Clakkers, but nobody really said anything to either of us. A short while later, we were back on the trail along the river.

A couple more hours must have passed before we reached anywhere of any significance. Another Wolvark base. This one took no effort to get by, as there was a small pathway around the rear of the buildings. We continued to walk until we reached yet another, and again slid past with ease. After that, the sun began to set, so we rested for another night. Dinner that night was considerably better than what we'd eaten the last couple of nights, and both of us quickly fell asleep. The next morning, we both awoke again and continued walking. But then, things took a turn for the worse.

We'd walked for another few hours. The sun really was beating down that day. We had stopped a couple of times to drink and rest, but apart from that, we'd been walking around the clock. Eventually, we came to a point in the river where it forked. We had no way of knowing which branch was the Mongo River. There was no option but to stop.

"Well, what's the plan now?" Dave asked in a puzzled tone.

"I don't know." I told him. "If I did, we'd have carried on walking by now." I sighed heavily, and lay on the ground in silence. A few more minutes passed.

"Well, we've gotta do something." Dave eventually pointed out.

"What do you suggest?" I said through gritted teeth. Dave was really beginning to test my patience now. "We don't know which way the Mongo River is."

"I know which way the Mongo River is," came another voice. But this was a voice I knew all too well. A voice that I'd hoped I'd never hear again. Fope.

I sat up in disbelief, wondering if I'd just imagined it. But sure enough, Fope stood not a metre away from Dave and I. She had with her the usual pack of Slegs, as well as a long, sharp spear.

"Fope," I began. "Why are you here?"

"Huh?" Dave asked. "You know her?"

"Oh yeah," Fope grinned. "Me and Alan go way back. Right, buddy?"

"I'm not your buddy," I said in a hostile tone. In case you don't remember, Fope was a collector of many of the species of Oddworld. Paramites, Scrabs, Steefs. And Sligs. She'd tried to lure me in and kill me for her collection, just for the sake of some petty revenge she'd never truly get.

"Whoa, calm down Alan." Fope chuckled. "Sure we are."

"You tried to kill me!" I yelled. "I don't think that's what friends do."

"Listen, Alan." Fope began

"No, YOU LISTEN!" I shouted, seething with rage. "You tried to MURDER me, Fope. And if that's what you want to do now, you can just leave!" Fope stared straight into my eyes, hers wild with anger. But still, she spoke very calmly.

"Well, Alan." She said. "I will be leaving. But not alone." She pointed her spear towards me. Dave was now frozen with fear. "Now," She said. "I was going to take you alive. But, I can still take you, and your Mudokon… dead."

Was I scared? Of course. Did I have a plan? No. But, as Fope stood before me and Dave, with her spear and her Slegs, ready to attack, I can safely say that I did have one thing. A gun. I rose it quickly and fired blindly. The bullet hit a Sleg. It whimpered and fell to the ground. I fired again. Another Sleg down. Fope threw her spear. It hit the gun, and I dropped it without meaning to. She came closer and pinned me to the ground. I struggled to wriggle free. Dave tried to possess her, so she turned and struck him across the face. He fell to the floor, wincing in pain. Fope turned back to me, and yelled into my face.

"You thought you could get away from me, Alan? Well, I'll tell you something. I ALWAYS get what I'm looking for." I still struggled to free myself from her surprisingly strong grip. But it was useless.

"I've been looking for you, Alan!" She shouted. "Ever since Stranger swooped in and whisked you away from me, I've been looking for you. I will have you for my collection, or I'll have you as a head on my wall!" As I lay there beneath her, it dawned on me that Fope was not completely sane. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dave get back to his feet. He crept up behind Fope's back as she continued to yell at me. Then, without any hesitation, he dived on her back. Within seconds, I rose back to my feet and grabbed my gun. I killed the remaining Slegs and went back to Dave.

"Now for you." I told Fope.

"W-What are you gonna do?" She gasped in fear.

"You'll see," I assured her. "You'll see."

About an hour later, we had escorted Fope at gun point back to the nearest Wolvark base. Her eyes widened with fear as we saw the Wolvarks blundering about the place.

"Now, Fope." I told her, handing her my gun.

"Why are you…" She began. But before she could finish, Dave had knocked her unconscious. We dragged her body to a spot where the Wolvarks would soon find her, and wrote out a quick note. Then, we set off in the opposite direction. Soon, she would wake up and read the note, but by then we'd be long gone. And sure enough, we were. Dave and I had managed to get a good couple of hours more walking in before nightfall. The next day, we'd be back on the trail for Vykkers Labs 25 yet again. And we were ready.