Chapter 15: The Taming of Samuel
In the days that followed after Freddie and Steve left Hydro behind, they scaled and ran across several cliffs that made up the majority of the southern canyons. This in turn caused their running shoes to wear out more quickly, and then eventually, they were forced to walk. Therefore, the distance they covered each day decreased significantly, and their food and energy sodas had to be rationed accordingly. While neither of the Scouts were happy with the rationing due to their high metabolisms, they also knew that in the long run, they would have a better chance of reaching the Moving Fortress.
"I wonder if the others are doing better than we are," Freddie wondered out loud while he and Steve were resting in the shade of a large boulder. "We've been traveling through this canyon for days with no sign of it ending!"
"If they could handle Cyborgs in the sewers of Double Cross, then they're probably not dead," Steve said, and then he realized, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the place where –
"No offense taken," Freddie said, and took another sip of his Crit-a-Cola soda. "By the way, how much food do we have left?"
"Well, let's see," Steve said as he took out two handfuls of Sandviches. "We have Sandviches, and…more Sandviches."
After putting most of the Sandviches back in the cooler, which had very little ice left, Steve tore one Sandvich in half and gave a piece to Freddie. The two ate their halves deliberately slow to avoid wanting more, and then they finished the sodas they were drinking. Afterwards, they put the empty cans in the cooler and continued on their way.
"Normally, I hate Sandviches, but these ones aren't too bad," Steve said, still eating his half while they walked.
Freddie looked over at his best friend, and laughed a little.
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Later, the two Scouts slept near a creek, while a chill wind blew over their heads. The moon had just risen, and standing on the cliffs above was a lone figure. He looked like a Scout, but his head was shaped like a Pyro's. As he climbed his way down to the sleeping Scouts, he made incoherent murmurings through the gas mask he wore. Then once he got close enough, he leaped onto Freddie. Immediately, Freddie woke up and struggled against the mysterious figure that was attacking him, but the thing wouldn't let go. Then next to him, Steve got up and hit the figure on the back of its head with his Bat, causing it to fall. But before it had time to get up again, Freddie took out his Three-Rune Blade and pointed it at the figure's throat.
"You recognize this sword?" Freddie said, pressing the blade's tip further. "It was the same one my uncle wielded when he encountered you, Mumble."
The figure, who wore nothing but a ragged pair of trousers apart from the gas mask, started shaking its head frantically while bowing low to the ground and making a series of loud mumblings.
"If you thought I was Bobbie Billows, you're wrong. I'm his nephew, Freddie Billows, and I just happen to be carrying the bomb because I inherited it from Bobbie."
"You can understand what this thing is saying?" Steve was perplexed.
"There was a Pyro family that I used to hang out with a lot as a kid, so I learned how to understand their language from them," Freddie explained.
"But this guy's not even a Pyro! He's just a Scout wearing a Pyro's gas mask."
"As long as he wears the mask, he will always speak Pyro." Freddie then got on his knees and stared directly at Mumble with his sword still pointing at Mumble's throat. "Now, we can't have you running around because you'll probably attract the Robots' attention, and I don't have a good reason to kill you yet, so you're coming with us, Samuel."
Mumble tilted his head sideways in a confused manner.
"That was your name before you became Mumble," Freddie said. "Don't you remember?"
After a long pause, Mumble put his hands over his eyes, and then small tears made their way down his bare neck from underneath the mask. This surprised Freddie, causing him to lower the Three-Rune Blade. However, Steve didn't buy into Mumble's sudden change of mood, and kept his Bat in a position where he could strike Mumble pretty quickly.
"He says it's been awhile since anyone has called him 'Samuel', and I guess that brought up some painful memories," Freddie said, listening to Mumble's muted words. "That's why he's crying."
"Are you kidding me? He's just trying to make you feel sorry for him!" Steve said, stepping closer with his Bat raised. "I think we should just put an end to his misery and get out of here!"
Before Steve could give Mumble a fatal blow to the head, Freddie stood up and blocked Steve's Bat with his Three-Rune Blade.
"I understand that you're concerned for my safety," Freddie said, holding his position. "But Gerald said that Mumble could be useful."
"Well Gerald's not here, is he?" Steve persisted, trying to get his Bat out of Freddie's block. "He probably didn't know what he was talking about!"
"How could you say that?" Freddie glared. "Gerald was smarter than any of us, and I'm sure he had his reasons for suspecting Mumble's potential usefulness. So if you want to disrespect the dead man's words, be my guest, but that means you'll be on your own out here."
"Okay, okay, I take back everything I said about Gerald," Steve said, raising his hands in the air. When Freddie didn't seem convinced, Steve reluctantly put his Bat into his pack. "So what are we going to do with Mumble?"
Turning back, Freddie saw that Mumble was groveling on the ground, hiding his face from the two Scouts. So Freddie lightly touched him on the shoulder, causing him to look up. But when Mumble saw who it was, he immediately covered his masked head with his hands, while Freddie pointed his Three-Rune Blade at him once more.
"You've been to the Moving Fortress before, right?" Freddie asked.
In response, Mumble nodded, though he kept his head covered.
"Do you know how we can get in without being noticed?"
Again, Mumble nodded.
Steve watched as Freddie thought about what Mumble said. Then after a few minutes, Freddie sheathed his Three-Rune Blade. "Alright, I'll take your word for it. But if you try to take the One Bomb from me again, I won't hesitate to kill you. Do you understand that?"
Mumble groveled again, and nodded through muffled whimpering.
"Good," Freddie responded. Then he went to the cooler and pulled out two Bonk! Sodas, throwing one towards Steve, who caught it. "Now to make sure you don't go anywhere, we're going to keep an eye on you for the rest of the night."
At that, Mumble waved his hands dismissively. Yet despite his pleas, Steve and Freddie took turns watching Mumble, using the sodas to keep them awake. They kept their Bat and Three-Rune Blade nearby just in case, but all Mumble did was crouch on top of a rock near the creek, and nothing else. Then as dawn came into the valley, Freddie and Steve had both fallen asleep despite finishing both sodas. When they awoke around noon, the two were surprised to find that Mumble, or Samuel, was gone.
"Aw, crap," Steve said, looking around the rock Mumble was crouched on earlier. "I told you he wasn't trustworthy, but no, you had to spare his pathetic life so he could fulfill some unknown purpose Gerald mentioned before he died."
"Well don't entirely blame me, Steve!" Freddie replied, scanning the cliffs above. "You were the one who insisted on taking the last shift!"
"And I did, but I didn't drink as much soda so I could save it for later."
"You and your stupid rationing can all go—
Before Freddie could finish he sentence, a series of loud mumbles caught his attention. A little ways down the creek stood Mumble, who was waving at them. Confused, Freddie waved back, then Mumble started waving for them to come over, while saying incoherent words.
"What's he saying?" Steve asked, running over to Freddie.
"He wants us to pack up and follow him," Freddie replied, after listening to Mumble repeat his words. "He's found a way out of the canyon that goes straight towards the Moving Fortress."
"Well he'd better be right," Steve said as he grabbed his pack, the cooler, and his Bat. "Because if he takes us in circles around this frickin' canyon, I'm gonna give him a beating he won't forget."
After Freddie got his pack, him and Steve walked over to Mumble, who seemed irritated with them. They told him a lie as to why they were late, which seemed to satisfy him. Then he took off ahead of them, running in his bare feet no less. So the two Scouts had to run faster to keep up him, despite their worn-out shoes.
End of Chapter 15