Mable: I think from now on I'm going to try and shoot for about 6,000 words per chapter instead of pushing for longer ones. This should benefit in the long run as it means chapters will be finished faster, and it should make for a more comfortable amount of reading time. Tell me what you think!

Within Reach

Chapter 13: Wurst Case Scenario

"-then the Raisin said that there was going to be an auction and all the doors would be open, but security would be tight. He sent his Ratz with us to protect us on our way out and we made it past the Fuzzles and out of the tunnel, and then we walked back here, and I was thinking about it on the way and thought maybe we should just bite the bullet- err- just- just go now and see if we can get into Vykker's Labs. The way I see it, I can't risk getting seen since we're laying low right now. And because we don't want to leave our mother and brothers up there any longer than we have to. I mean, imagine if they start auctioning them off too! Wouldn't put it past 'em if they're already selling Gabbit eggs."

Abe finally took a breath at the end of his winded explanation to check his brothers' faces for belief.

Alf and Toby were both staring dumbfounded.

Though, it made enough sense if you considered the situation: Abe running into Alf's half-finished hut at the crack of dawn with Vesper in tow- who was still haunting the doorway- and spouting out this bizarre story of a nighttime adventure he took into the jungle where he found a giant hole of garbage, rabid Fuzzles full of needles, and an enormous plant thing that proceeded to chat him up about auctions for rich folk food. It was a little hard to swallow.

"So… What do you guys think?" Abe asked.

"…So the TREE said this?" Alf asked. Then got a slightly more amused look, "Are ya sure you weren't just having a wild dream?"

"If you don't believe me, go out to the Big Well… Or don't! There's, uh, rabid Fuzzles out there," Abe abruptly corrected. This didn't seem to instill much more confidence in Alf or Toby. "Trust me, I know what I saw, and Vesper saw him too."

"You don't forget being talked down to by a talking tree, or whatever he said he was during that monologue," Vesper said. He still seemed a little peeved about it, crossing his arms and keeping a slight grimace.

"I'd had dreams before that showed a lot of really weird stuff, but I know last night wasn't one of 'em. Ask the guys keeping lookout, they saw me."

"Uh, err, alrighty, Abe. We believe you. Sure not gonna go down there to make sure," Alf said. He looked to Toby who nodded in agreement. "So… You're thinking we should just… Make a go at Vykker's Labs?"

"That's kind of all we can do. What I was thinking was that we could get close and find a place where you could drop me off, then fly the blimp away to safety until I find out where they're keeping our mother and the eggs."

"Then we're gonna need some sort of radio or something to stay in contact. I'll ask around before we leave," Alf said. "And since we might be looking at being gone for a few days, we'll need to pick up whatever supplies these guys can spare."

"And that's not all we're going to need," Toby reminded cryptically. Abe and Alf looked to him, and he gave an apologetic shrug. "We're running on less than a quarter tank of fuel. It'll get us off the ground, but we're not going too far."

"Oh shit, yeah. I didn't even think about that," Alf said, wide eyed. He adjusted his cap with a pause before looking to Abe. "Think there's a Phatoline Station around here?"

"Airships don't run on Phatoline, they run off of a specific fuel that's a blend of Phatoline and other mixtures. Don't ask me what those mixtures are though because I have no idea," Vesper explained.

Alf looked to Toby who nodded, then looked back. "How'd you know that?"

"I just picked it up somewhere, can't remember when," he said nonchalantly. "I got really into airships back when I was school aged."

"Huh."

"So, we'd need to fill it up at a blimp fueling station, right? Do we know where any of those are?" Abe asked.

"None nearby. Not that I know of," Toby said. "I think they do it in-house."

"Okay, so all we gotta do is drop in at the nearest factory, walk inside, and ask to borrow some Phat, or whatever," Alf said. This was a joke obviously, but then he seemed to get a thoughtful glint in his eye. "…You know, that ain't such a bad idea." Toby looked at him like he had gone crazy, Vesper quirked a brow, and Abe- unsurprisingly- looked like he had already caught on to what Alf was suggesting, listening close.

"What if we fly the blimp up to- No, wait! Better idea: we land the blimp nearby and then you sneak in and steal us some of that fuel straight outta their tank?" Alf offered. Toby looked like he was going to protest, which Alf noticed and beat him to it. "OR we sneak in, grab their blimp just like we took this one, fly it somewhere safe, and siphon the fuel right outta there's and into ours."

"And then they can't follow us either! Alf, you're a genius!" Abe praised with an eager smile. Only for it to drop into a more focused look. "But that means… We're gonna have to find someplace nearby to hit up for a blimp."

Next thing they knew, they were all in Abe's hut sitting around with a map laid out before him. Instead of Abe's map, it was one that had been scribbled up by another Mudokon from the group, the one who led the group out to Sorrow Valley and hadn't yet returned. The map wasn't as detailed as Abe's, but vaguely showed some of the facilities in the immediate area outside of the jungle.

"We've got to find a place that's big enough to have a blimp, but small enough that we won't draw too much attention taking it, and it can't be too far because we're low on fuel," Abe listed off. He looked over the map with scrutiny. "What about that construction site the guys were talking about? They're getting supplies delivered out there somehow."

"Eh, I don't think the blimp stays. None of 'em mentioned seeing one and they all know we've been using ours. So, no go," Alf said. "What about one of the Sloghuts? There's three of 'em out towards here. One's gotta have a blimp."

"I'm not so sure about that. If there's three Sloghuts that close to each other, they might be using the same blimp- being as small as they are- and if that's the case then you know it's gonna be well-guarded," Abe offered. Back to the map.

Vesper was leaning over with his hands on his knees feeling a little like the odd man out. Though he couldn't deny it was fascinating to listen to three formulate their plan. Exciting too, knowing that wherever they decided on was a place he was soon to see, none of them businesses that he had visited.

He then noticed that there was a location marked on the map that they were ignoring. A thick dot with two 'M's stacked atop each other like it was a logo.

"What's that one there?" he asked, reaching down, and tapping right on the dot with his claw. "And why did you pass over it?"

"That's Magog Motors. They're a big company that builds machines and the parts to fix 'em. Things like tanks, conveyor belts, even Slig pants and wingz," Abe explained helpfully. He got a sheepish smile. "They don't have a blimp anymore."

"Why not- Oh," Vesper figured out a second too late. He nodded and clicked his teeth. "Yeah, I can see why you might want to skip there."

"They got a lotta guns too. I still don't know how you got out of there in one piece," Alf muttered over the map. Abe gave him the exact same smile, which probably meant that he ran fast and got lucky.

"There's Evenwurst over here," Toby added. He tapped on the map by a dot labelled with what looked like a drawing of a lumpy rope.

"That's lookin' pretty far out to me, if we're running on fumes," Alf said.

"We'd make it… I think. At worst we might have to land down here and walk the rest of the way."

"Ain't that all grass out there? They'll see us comin' from a mile."

"Wait, you said that's Evenwurst?" Abe recognized that name. "You mean Evenwurst Weenerz?"

"Now that's a name," Vesper remarked. "I've never heard of them. Are they some kind of a big deal?"

"No, they're like the opposite of that. They were competitors with RuptureFarms, but they couldn't really compete. RuptureFarms was a lot bigger and had a lot more meat on the menu. Evenwurst just did wieners. Meep wieners, Elum wieners, meat byproduct solidified slurry wieners- if you could grind it up and stick it in a sausage skin, then so could Evenwurst. I used to hear the Glukkons talking about 'em outside the meeting room," Abe explained.

"…Solidified slurry," Vesper repeated, deadpanned.

Abe returned with a goofy, little smile. "Tastes as good as it sounds."

"I bet they're raking it in now that the farms are gone," Alf said. It was yet another muttered comment, but he suddenly realized the topic and raised his head. "Wait, you ain't thinking of us going THERE, are ya?"

"Sort of," Abe answered honestly. He looked between the other Mudokons' reluctant looks. "Why not?"

"Why not? We just got out of a meat packing plant, and you want to go back in? That's exactly the kinda place they'll expect us to go," Alf argued. "Not to mention that it's Evenwurst. Home of the slimy sausage."

Vesper visibly grimaced at that; Abe was still adamant. "Maybe… but it's the only place that has a blimp AND a large food stock that we can grab up. We could feed all of the Mudokons for days on that much food! Even if it is grade E weenies."

It was clear in that moment that he knew Abe wasn't going to budge. He had that adamant tone in his voice- like when he said they should ignore the old, wise, magical tree thing and storm into Vykker's Labs with the bare minimum of a plan.

"Can't we just hit the Sloghuts? I'm sure they've got barrels of meat, and they ain't gonna be watching them."

Abe gave him a less than enthused look. "Alf, I'm not making our followers eat Slog food."

"Well, what do you think was in that food we ate last night?" Alf asked bluntly. "...Don't give me that look. You know just as good as I do that the only difference between Slog slop and Tasty Treats is the packaging."

Vesper's startled look slowly twisted up into a wince of disgust while Abe gave him a half-agreeing shrug, conceding that he had a point. Alf was more focused on his reaction, hoping this meant he was about to agree before another 'but'-

"But aren't Sloghuts gonna have even more Sligs? There's gotta be to train the Slogs. Not to mention all the slaves in Evenwurst who can't sneak out on their own 'cause they're worried about another me cropping up," Abe rebutted. Alf slumped a little, knowing very well that he did have a point. Abe looked to Toby, "What do you think, Toby?"

"I really don't want to go back to a place like RuptureFarms…" Toby confessed. "…But you're right about a lot of that."

"How about you, Vess?" Abe asked, turning to look up at him. Vesper was almost surprised to be asked, surprised and absolutely delighted.

"Honestly, I think you raise a lot of good points and I think you're covering a lot of your priorities," he agreed. Abe smiled and started to turn back to Alf and Toby. "But." Abe was not expecting the 'but' and turned back just as quickly, seeing Vesper's encouraging expression becoming a bit more concerned. "Alf's right too. They're going to expect you to target places like RuptureFarms, and even the smallest amount of suspicion could tip-off Vykker's Labs."

Abe was a little unsettled by this and side-glanced away hesitantly. "So, you don't think we should go there?"

"I'm not saying that," Vesper said. He raised his hands defensively before landing one on Abe's shoulder and kneeling down beside him. "What I'm saying is that you're going to need to be extra careful. I know nothing about Sloghuts, I don't even know what they are, but he's suggesting that they're safer, so you need to decide if the reward is worth the risk."

Abe took a deep breath and really thought hard about it for a few moments. Then he looked back with a certain nod.

"Alright, then there you go." Vesper said. "To Evenwurst then."

"Right. Get the blimp, free the workers, secure the supplies. I can do that," Abe listed out. He nodded again, as though assuring himself. "And we're not getting caught."

There was that tone again. Vesper's face alit in an excited smile. "That's what I like to hear!"

Both looked expectantly to Alf, as did Toby, and he knew he had no choice but to cave.

"Alright, if that's really what you want to do then count me in, but we better get moving. Quicker we get in and out, better chance we have of things going smooth," Alf finally agreed. To which the others nodded, and the plan was set in motion.

Though 'quicker' seemed to suggest that they would get on the road quick at all, which they did not. As antsy as Abe was, Alf and Toby insisted on packing some supplies, as they knew they'd probably be going straight from Evenwurst to Vykker's Labs and depending on where the labs were and the guide's possible reluctance it could take a little time to find it. Vesper agreed with this too, emptying his duffel bag and filling it with necessary supplies.

After saying goodbye to the other Mudokons- some of them wanted to tag along but were dissuaded the moment they realized Abe was heading to Evenwurst and the danger it could entail- they took the long trek through the forest and back to the blimp. Once there, it didn't take much longer to get the airship up and moving, and they were on their way.

Things seemed relatively upbeat. It was always nerve-wracking going into a place like this, but Abe felt surprisingly more comfortable talking the familiar than the unknown. Though this was going to be the first time Alf and Toby came with him, as they were to secure the blimp while he got the workers out with whatever they could carry. He hadn't discussed the plan with Vesper yet but was hoping he would be alright with standing guard.

From the map and a guesstimate, they weren't too far from Evenwurst. They had already passed one of the Sloghuts as he had caught a glimpse of it in the distance, and thankfully there hadn't been any sightings of other blimps. It was all going well until Toby announced to the others that they were about to land.

"We shouldn't be too far now. If you look out, you might see it," Toby said, pointing over the wheel and ahead.

Abe looked out the window with a curious squint. Sure enough, he could see a distant factory creeping up from the distance. It was almost jarring how compact it looked compared to RuptureFarms. There were virtually no stockyards he could see from this distance and even the smoke cloud lingering overhead seemed remarkably small compared to the ones belched out by the former factory.

"Once we get over this last ridge, I'll pull it in for a landing," Toby continued.

"Uh, ain't that a little far?" Alf asked, adjusting his hat.

"Yup," Toby admitted. "But any closer and we might be running too low on fuel to land. This is where we stop."

Alf sighed and looked out at the distant factory. "Looks like we're in for a walk once we get down there…" he lamented. At least the land between the ridge and factory seemed mostly mild. It looked to be a mixed of tree sprigs and plains before clearing out into factory-typical deadlands once it got close enough.

Clearing the ridge got them a good deal closer and Toby landed the blimp slowly, allowing them to cover a little more ground before they came to a halt. This landed them right outside of the cleared-out wastes. This gave the blimp a little more cover than landing it in the middle of nothing, but it wasn't hidden well. Anything flying overhead would've had a direct line of sight to them- maybe even from the factory.

Toby finished up shutting down the blimp as Alf stretched his muscles and braced himself for whatever was coming. Abe decided to take this time to turn to approach Vesper about his plan.

"Think you can manage the blimp while we're gone?" Abe asked. Vesper looked surprised and like he was about to protest, so Abe beat him to it. "I know you want to come with us, but someone's gotta make sure nothing gets in here and starts messing around, and since Toby and Alf need to work on getting the other blimp that'll have to be you," he said apologetically. That and he didn't want to take Vesper around a bunch of Sligs.

While Vesper was a little disappointed, he exhaled and nodded. "I'll take care of it."

Abe smiled thankfully before looking back at Alf and Toby. Seeing that they weren't paying attention still, he sidled closer to the Chiromor and shielded his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Did you bring your gun?" he whispered.

Vesper's brows raised and his eyes flickered over to see if the other two Mudokons were watching. Then he nodded and pulled back his trench coat, which he had decided to wear on the excursion, revealing his gun holster hidden beneath.

"Great. Keep that close," Abe said, giving him a thumbs up. "…But if a large group comes up. Like a scouting group of Sligs, or another airship, slip out the back and hide wherever you can, just like when we were getting out of Nolybab. Don't do anything crazy, like risk your life protecting the blimp. I can always get another one."

"You're giving me some conflicting orders here, but I'll do what I can," Vesper said with a teasing grin. "Same goes to you. If things get bad, grab those two and get out."

Abe smiled again, feeling a bubbling warmth in his chest at the other's concern. "That's the backup plan," he agreed before turning back to the others. "Alright guys, let's get going."

Alf eagerly led the way out of the blimp, Abe behind him and Toby bringing up the back. Vesper watched them leave before letting his face fall. He watched him as long as he could through the front window, crossing his arms and preparing for the long wait ahead.

Even though sharing a similar function to RuptureFarms, Evenwurst Weenerz Co. wasn't even a fraction of the plant it had been. Of course, it was hard to go up against the believed largest meat packing plant on Oddworld, but Evenwurst didn't even try to compare. It was only twice the size of the typical Sloghut kennel, and it only specialized in wieners- something only trivialized by RuptureFarms' venture into mini-weenies.

Except RuptureFarms was gone now. The largest place of competition was wiped off the map and the meat shortage hitting Mudos and beyond meant that the demand was much higher. For the first time in its existence, the wiener company was turning a massive profit, and apparently was aware of how dangerous its new attention was.

There were Sligs at sentry posts around the outer fences of the factory. Snipers' laser points traced the gates and searched through the dried-out tufts of dead grass clumped up along the perimeter. One bullet could pierce through that flimsy foliage, but the light could not, so it was perfect cover for three unexpected Mudokons slipping through the shadows. One of the Sligs caught wind of them momentarily, staring in their direction for a long time, but eventually turned away.

The three slipped through undetected, climbing over the poorly maintained fence while security's back was turned and closing in on the main building. They found their way in through the drainage trench, an artificial river leading out from underneath the building that was overflowing with thick, slimy, sourly meaty smelling water. Likely the boiling water for the sausages if the smell was any indication.

The bottom of the trench was thick with sludgy fat that had settled, as Abe discovered as he led the way wading through it. He managed to keep his footing on it, but the squish beneath his toes was enough to erase any budding appetite.

Alf and Toby followed close with their pants rolled up. Not that it helped much when Toby slipped on something and had to catch onto Alf to keep from falling. Alf, the unmovable object he was, stayed standing and managed to snag Toby by the shirt, but the younger Mudokon still succeeded in getting the seat of his pants wet. Not long after that they came across a hatch into the facility and climbed up inside.

The hatch led up into what looked like the lower section of a boiler room. Specifically, where layers of pipes pumped superheated water through the facility. The room was sweltering and thick with steam.

Abe got a look around before pulling himself up. "All clear," he said and stood into a ceiling of heat. It was almost dizzying, and he wiped off his face trying to alleviate it. "It feels like an oven in here. Smells like one too."

"Bet it smells better than down here," Alf quipped as he climbed up. He got a good look around and kept watch as Abe crouched down to help up Toby, and after a moment removed his hat to fan himself with it. "You weren't kidding."

"Let's hope this is the closest we get to feeling like a couple of weenies," Abe added as he and Toby stood. He turned towards him. "Think the blimp'll be docked on the roof again?"

"Yup! Which means we're going to have to start climbing," Toby agreed. He tried to squeeze some of the extra water out of his pants before giving a small smile and a nod, silently confirming he was ready to go.

It didn't take too long to find their way out of the maintenance block, but leaving it came with its own share of trade-offs. Such as the reintroduction of the security staff. Since the goal was to get Alf and Toby to the blimp before drawing any amount of attention, Abe led them away from the production floor and into the back halls where, theoretically, it should've been quieter.

There weren't any Mudokon workers in these passages, but there were plenty of Sligs, and they weren't in a position to raise the alarm by fighting them off. The first time Abe came across a row of lockers was immediately followed by him throwing himself into one of them when he heard a Slig coming. Alf looked a little confused before suddenly catching wind of the approaching squeaking and following suit only a second after Toby.

Once the Slig passed by and was gone, Abe cautiously exited the locker. He was being a lot more careful than usual and while it should've been because they couldn't be detected, he felt like it was more that he didn't want to put Alf and Toby in danger. He would protect any Mudokon with his life, but these two were especially important and he was going to make sure they got out of here the way they came in.

He started to clean out the remaining lockers as Alf came out behind him. Toby opened the door of his and peeked down the hall after the Slig, keeping an eye out as Alf looked to Abe and realized what he was doing.

Abe was almost caught off-guard when he felt Alf tug at his bag, but quickly realized what he was doing when Alf started plucking things out of the locker in front of him with one hand and carefully fitting it into the bag, he was holding open. The blue Mudokon smiled a little bit. He was going to have to thank him once they got out of here.

Now with a heavier backpack, Abe was feeling a little more confident. It was rare that he managed to get a look a place before he really tackled it, so he tried to take in all that he could. Counting the amount of security Sligs he spotted, glancing at directories whenever he passed one for a clearer mental image, and keeping his eyes on the ceiling for any security cameras. They passed one as they got to a lift and had to slide tight against the wall to get underneath it.

No alarms went off, so they must've slipped by undetected, and Alf helped Abe speedily draw them up the manual lift. Another thing that was quickly noticed was that Evenwurst's technology was rather dated, if the lift was any examples. There were few screens, not even that many LCD screens giving out commands or advertisements. One of the only things entirely up to date was right outside the lift landing, a Soulstorm Brew vendo.

As familiar as it was to all three of them- they practically grew up with these things all over the place- it definitely felt weird seeing it now. Abe walked up to it first and a quick check showed it was free for all workers, as was usual with brew.

"You think it's got the tainted brew in it?" Alf asked.

"Dunno. Let's find out…" Abe said as he pressed the button. After a few seconds and a couple of thumps, a bottle of brew was dropped into the chute. Abe picked up the cool bottle and popped off the lid before sniffing the liquid inside, then tentatively tasting the rim. There was a distinct herbal taste to it, one not typical with the old, untampered brew. "It's got the antidote. It's safe."

"Pass it here." Abe did and Alf took a deep swig of it, to which the blue Mudokon slowly quirked a brow. Alf pulled the bottle away with a puff and looked inside with scrutiny. "Kinda got that mold aftertaste to it."

"I can't believe you're still drinking that stuff. You know what's in it," Toby said in disbelief. Alf shrugged nonchalantly.

"At this point, I'm thirsty enough to drink mop water. 'Sides, it's safe now. It's got the cure in it," he said, taking another small sip and humming. "It kind of cuts into that fruity taste and gives it a sort of sweet grass flavor. Ain't too shabby."

"Y'know, Vesper has tea that kind of tastes like that. Just not as sweet," Abe pointed out. Though by 'less sweet' he meant 'teeth grindingly bitter'. Then began to get as many brews as he could. He wasn't as willing to drink them, but he was sure that they were probably just as flammable as before. Maybe more-so with the Fleech Guano.

"Hmm… Maybe I could make somethin' like that. Once all this stuff is over. It'd be better than just drinking water all the time," Alf said thoughtfully.

It was weird to think of a possible future where they would be free to tackle projects like that. Abe assumed he must've just meant after they came back from Vykker's Labs. Abe didn't think that far ahead; he knew something would come up.

Once his bag was heavy with brews he stood, readjusting the straps, and they continued ahead into the facility. They were finally making some progress upwards and even managed to deduce where the dock probably was, even though it hadn't been clarified on any directory. This meant they would have to cross through the main production room, though above it on a walkway where they were significantly safer.

Which was great, because upon peering down into the production floor, Abe figured out where everyone was.

The large room held equipment for every stage of wiener production and each piece was being controlled by two to three Mudokons, whether they were managing a valve or dumping ingredients into open vats. One of the largest was directly underneath the three, a large blending vat filled with a slurry of chopped up meat, and there was a Mudokon worker currently dumping a bag of salt into it.

There were plenty of security Sligs too and it was lucky they weren't looking up. There was one stationed at every exit standing guard and watching as the Mudokons worked. From right here, Abe counted six of them, but he guessed that there were probably just as many who he wasn't seeing. Including whichever ones were in the hallways.

"Look at those poor shmucks," Alf said quietly. He leaned on the railing and looked down at the workers. "They've got no idea that their lives are about to change forever."

"If you think about it, all of ours are," Abe added. Alf looked to him questioningly.

"What do you mean? I don't think snatching a second blimp's that much of a life changing experience. Not as much as the first one."

"I mean if we do what we've got to in Vykker's Labs," the blue Mudokon clarified. He looked over to them with a look both solemn and hopeful. "…If we find our mother."

"Yeah, that'd be something," Alf agreed in a breath. He pointed down the walkway. "Let's go." They pressed onwards.

Eventually they located the dock. It was on a section of roof, but not the one of the main building. Instead, it was a lower roof situated behind it, set atop the primary storage warehouse. Stepping out of the doorway and onto the heeliopad revealed the blimp in plain sight, tethered down with only a few ropes, waiting for anyone to walk up and take it. Or that's what it felt like.

"Wait here," Abe said. Alf and Toby nodded and watched as he crept out of the doorway. He slowly inched his way out onto the docking platform while looking around for any sign of security. Once he far enough that he was standing in plain sight, he broke into a sprint and raced to the blimp.

He hid alongside the blimp and began to rapidly look around, listening for an alarm or the sound of Slig pants as security caught wind and raced in, but neither came. They were completely alone, and Abe wiped the sweat off his brow before creeping his way along the edge of the airship. Just because they weren't out here didn't mean there wasn't anyone inside.

Abe climbed up and tried the door, finding it left unlocked and stepping into the blimp. The lights were all off and didn't sound like anyone was inside. He continued to sneak to the control room to make sure and found it empty.

What Abe didn't know was that the second he stepped inside he had sealed his fate. While Magog Motors had fit their blimp with a blaring alarm that went off the moment they opened the door, leading to them barely fleeing the premises before a swarm of security could catch up to them, Evenwurst Weenerz had something surprisingly modern, something entirely unexpected with the limited technology inside: a silent alarm.

So, while Abe was inspecting the inside of the blimp, Alf and Toby were suddenly blindsided by the sound of squeaking metal legs thundering down the passage towards them. The two made a mad dash down the next portion of hallway and were able to hide behind the corner just as two Sligs barreled by. Both armed and ready, much to the Mudokons' horror.

Abe was just heading back towards the blimp door when he heard the sound of Sligs approaching. He couldn't tell how many, but he heard more than one voice and hid on the other side of the open door. Back pressed to the wall, he hastily grabbed a piece of hard candy and a handful of rubber bands and began to wrap one around it. His hands fumbling but managing to get the rubber over the hardened ball of sugar.

"Yeah, the door's open. There's somebody in there," one of the Sligs muttered, sounding fed up already. Though that tone changed quickly. "A'RIGHT, WHOEVER'S IN THERE COME ON OUT OR WE'RE COMIN' IN!"

The laser point aiming through the door warned that he was more than ready to shoot on sight, and probably would the second he recognized him. Abe swallowed heavily and hurriedly finished up with the bands, gripping the rest in one hand and the finished would-be weapon in the other. He moved his ear closer to the door to listen and see how far back the second Slig was.

"WE AIN'T PLAYIN' GAMES! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

"Would ya stop screamin' and just go in and get 'em?!" the second Slig complained. He grumbled under his breath, "Lazy ass…"

But this was the confirmation Abe needed. He knew where that second Slig was, and it wasn't directly outside of the hatch like the other one was.

Taking a deep breath, he suddenly leaned out in front of the doorway. In a stroke of luck, the Slig standing outside the door had looked to his partner, only looking back when he caught sight of movement inside of the blimp. He didn't even have a second to pull the trigger before the hard candy hit his mask directly between the eyes, hitting so hard that it immediately knocked him on his back and out cold. Abe ducked right back around the corner.

"What was that?!... Yo! You still with me?!" the second Slig called. It became clear that his partner wasn't getting up anytime soon, so he sprinted forward and took his place at the door, raising his gun and aiming inside. "You in there, FREEZE!"

Abe tried to get more bands on another piece of candy, but there wasn't any time as he heard the Slig climbing up to the door. Right as the laser pointer shifted in his direction, signaling that the gun was about to come around the corner-

CRACK! THUNK!

It sounded like the second Slig had dropped on the spot. Abe's heart was pounding as he carefully leaned over to peek around the doorway, only to breathe a sigh of relief and stumble out when he saw Alf standing over the second Slig. He was shaking out his hand, so he must've clocked him over the back of the head. Abe didn't even have a chance to ask before Toby darted through the doorway, past him, and into the cockpit.

"Thanks," Abe finally said as Alf climbed in. "I'll tape 'em up before I head back in."

"Good," Alf agreed. He looked in at Toby before turning back to watch Abe hop down out of the blimp, get out a roll of blue tape, and begin taping the unconscious Sligs. "So, uh… You want us to stick around? This place is pretty quiet. We could just close up the blimp and sit tight 'til you get back."

"Thanks, but you guys should get out of here while you can. You focus on getting this blimp back to ours in one piece, I can take care of the rest," Abe assured. He gave Alf a smile though, showing that he appreciated the offer- that and Alf having his back a couple of minutes ago. Alf couldn't help being a little hesitant about leaving him on his own, but he knew Abe had it covered. Clearing out places like this was his specialty.

"We'll be waitin' for ya then. Keep your eyes peeled and watch your back," Alf reminded before slowly, slightly reluctantly, closing the blimp door.

Abe quickly pickpocketed the downed Sligs before jogging clear of the blimp and turning back to watch it take off. It took a few minutes for Toby to get everything turned on and warmed up, but he wanted to wait and make sure they got out alright. Just in case anymore Sligs came out, which they didn't.

Once the airship was lifting from the heeliopad, Abe sent a final wave before turning to head back inside.

So far so good. Now it was time for the hard part.