Contains some spoilers for Oddworld: Soulstorm, so if you haven't seen or played that, you may be a little out of the loop. Read at your own discretion!
Within Reach
Chapter 1: Meeting Mr. Ryce
He was in over his head. Abe should've realized that before he stepped foot in the city, but at the time he assumed it was just his nerves. The success of the raid against Soulstorm Brewery, Necrum Mines, Feeco Depot, pretty much anywhere he had to stop had given him a false sense of confidence. The belief that even if he was hesitant, he had to push past that if he wanted to survive.
Except that they were industrialist facilities ran by typically one Glukkon a piece. Nolybab was a massive city filled with Glukkons and their security. Abe just wasn't prepared for what he was going to face there.
Which was exactly how he found himself running blind in a blurry maze of walkways and tight passages between the towering monoliths that supposedly held dozens of creatures each. The air was humid and reeked of cigar smoke and a groggy mix of spat out liquor and watered-down cologne, which might've been the strange wetness climbing to the metal grating holding it all together.
It was late afternoon and the sun should've still been beating down, but the city was cast in a constant shadow due to how deep in was in Oddworld's crust. Looking up was more dizzying than looking down, catching a glimpse of the smoke marred sky that was so far out of his reach. He would have to reach another lift station to get back out, but even if he wasn't being pursued, he doubted he would be able to find one. All of the lifts this far in only seemed to move down deeper.
The city wasn't built like a facility with passageways leading into each other or meeting into a hub. Sure, there were signs plastered all over, but they blinded in with the surplus of advertisements. None of them really helped either since they were designed more to coax people into businesses than to find their way back out. He wasn't supposed to be going out anyway. He was supposed to be looking for someone.
Easier said than done with bullets whizzing by his head. It didn't help that losing security was nearly impossible. With the way the city was arranged, there were few places to hide, and the security was a lot more stubborn. It wasn't a matter of separating and taking them down one at a time, because they were all too aware of his presence and waiting for an opening to shoot him down.
With his only backup or assistance waiting outside of Nolybab- and even then he would be hard pressed to risk their lives in here- he was on his own. Lost, confused, disoriented, and becoming increasingly desperate.
Once Abe had gotten a far enough lead on the Sligs, he would start searching signs for something that may direct him the right way. It felt like he had been doing this for hours and getting nowhere, just succeeding in sacrificing that brief lead before having to run for his life yet again, and yet he still kept trying because he kept going nowhere.
Abe had finally gotten enough distance to stop again, now outside the entrance to a thinner, but equally tall building in the quieter, muggier section of this endless city. He struggled to catch his breath as he looked over the lengthy list of names and services displayed on an electronic billboard beside the front door. He knew it wasn't going to lead him anywhere, but if there was something mixed in-.
And there was, but it wasn't what he was looking for. Instead it had just been something that caught his eye and brought up a memory through word association alone:
Mr. Ryce- Union Representative- 4C
He had heard that term somewhere before, Union Representative. It took him a moment to remember it, but he distinctly remembered that title being dropped not long ago. It had been mentioned in that tape the Brewmaster had made about his brew, the one that had taught Abe the truth about the depraved lengths the Glukkons would go to just to keep their so-called "employees" in line.
Abe remembered it now. Brewmaster had said that the Mudokons would not be able to meet with union representatives, whatever they were… But did that mean they were capable of helping them? Helping him, right now? He wasn't even sure what a union representative would do. Breaking it down, it would be someone who represented a union. A union… United? Would he and the revolting Mudokons be a union?
Whatever it was, the Glukkons didn't want the Mudokons to reach one, and now here Abe stood only a few floors shy of one. He swallowed thickly and sent a look up at the small, blind covered windows dotted far above him. He wondered if it was even worth the risk. Seeing the dull speck of sky far beyond his reach made him almost feel like it was.
Suddenly the once distant sound of voices became much closer and Abe was taken off-guard by how quickly the security Sligs appeared around the corner down the length of the walkway. He had to make his choice quick and turned to run, only to immediately be forced into the alcove of the doorway by a barrage of bullets. One coming so close that he could feel the heat on his skin and a sting against his scalp.
There was no choice now. Abe threw himself through the barred front door and sprinted through a narrow lobby. He spotted the elevator on the far side and made it in before the Sligs could make it all the way through the door. He pressed the fourth-floor button repeatedly before having to duck to the side to avoid the barrage of bullets fired the moment one of them managed to get aim.
As fast as the bullets were, the Sligs were much slower, and the doors slid shut before they could reach them. Abe raised from his huddled position only to fall back against the wall in relief, pack clattering behind him, and panted as he tried to catch his breath.
He then cautiously reached up and brushed his fingers over the stinging spot on his head. He was met with warm wetness and looked at his fingers to see blood. At least it felt like only a graze.
He didn't have long to rest though and straightened up as he realized he was about to reach the floor. He braced himself, half expecting the Slig to somehow be waiting outside, and watched as the doors slid open and revealed an empty hallway dotted with doors. He stepped out carefully onto the stiff, dusty carpet and looked around cautiously before venturing out.
Abe could hear the voices from below before recognizing a noise that sounded suspiciously like metal legs thundering up a stairwell. His head snapped to the right and landed on a door with a sign on it that bluntly read: "Stairs". Needless to say, he broke into a frantic sprint down the hallway, barely stopping in front of a door with Ryce's name and title on a plaque outside it. He took a breath and plunged himself through.
In hindsight, Abe might've not thought this through. He was tired, dehydrated, more desperate than he had ever been, and technically had just gotten shot. Normally he was a lot more careful, but in this case, he just happened to act without considering the most obvious question of all: what was a union representative? Not just in what they did, but in what they were. This was a Glukkon city, so the likely outcome was that the union representative was going to be a Glukkon too, which might've given him reason to second guess this.
He had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side of this door, but he barged in anyway.
…And he still had no idea what it was.
Whatever the creature was sitting at the desk was completely unknown to him. Having been leaned back in its chair, it suddenly snapped upright when he blew into the room. Its chair legs hitting the floor with a loud thump that caused him to flinch like it was another gunshot. Its hands fell on the desk as it stared pointedly at him with silent shock, mirroring Abe's own expression.
The creature was covered in dark brown fur, something Abe usual only saw in small creatures, which was slicked back on its head. Its large ears were tilted forward at attention, causing some of the gelled fur to poke up stiffly. It had a dark nose and its eyes were narrowed to slits- to the point where color couldn't be seen and just looked black. Abe almost mistook the look as an aggressive glare, but looking- staring- at it longer made it look more like a confused squint.
Abe still had no idea what this was supposed to be. The closest thing that resembled it were some of the bats he had seen in Paramonia. That wasn't a good sign.
His idea of what to say once he got through the door went out the window. In fairness, it might've done that if it was a Glukkon too, but he didn't have any time to recover. He could hear the banging of a second door out in the hallway and the calls of security as they tried to all squeeze through one doorway at once. He promptly slammed the door and pushed over a small file cabinet in front of it.
Mr. Ryce abruptly stood from his chair. "What the hell?!"
"Wait, I can explain!" Abe said, raising his hands in defense. His volume dropped right afterwards as he timidly approached the desk. "You're a union representative? You… Help Mudokons, right? Escapees?"
"…What?" Mr. Ryce asked in confusion. His right ear twitching at the change in volume. His eyes flickered to the side of Abe's head and widened a small bit. "Are you bleeding?"
Abe reached up, but before he could try to wipe back the blood, let alone say anything, there came a loud banging from down the hall along with quick succession cries of, "Security, open up!" The Sligs were checking the other doors and they wouldn't have far to go to find him. Adrenaline shot back through him as he realized he had trapped himself. He turned to his last chance and pled his case.
"You've gotta hide me. I'll explain everything, just… I can't let them find me. Please," Abe said. His panic was clear in his voice and it didn't take ears of that size to hear it.
Mr. Ryce was silent for a long moment, staring across the room with that same look of disbelief. His right ear swiveled a little, hearing the Sligs clear the next-door room, seeing that look of fear in this random Mudokon's eyes. He made his decision.
"Get in there and keep quiet," Mr. Ryce instructed, pointing towards a door tucked in the left corner. Knowing full well that this could be a trap, Abe decided to trust him and hastily, though quietly, bolted through the door and closed it behind him before throwing his full weight against it.
He found himself in a small bathroom. Not much to note inside, just a toilet, a sink, and a mirror above it. It was right across from him and he found himself staring at his own reflection. He looked about as rough as he felt; feathers ruffled and that small graze bleeding a little more than he expected it too. Any thoughts about himself disappeared when he heard the creaking footsteps in the office.
Mr. Ryce walked to the office door and hoisted up the file cabinet, returning it to its previous position. He braced himself momentarily, long enough to straighten his vest, and then boldly threw open the door and faced the Sligs head on.
"What's going on out here? Some people are trying to get work done," Mr. Ryce snapped. His voice held authority that he didn't have as he glared sharply at the supposed intruders. At least one of the Sligs was taken aback enough to respond to this, being the one that was just about to bang on his door.
"Err- sorry to bother ya, Sir! We ain't wanting to get in the middle of any of yer…" The Slig glanced to read the door and any of that nervousness was gone in a second. "Oooooh… Work. Heh. Yeah, sure." It had been replaced with an infuriating smugness. Mr. Ryce sent a side-glare at the sign outside the door. "We're looking fer someone. You see a blue Mud carrying a sack of crap running around?"
"Unless it ran straight into my office, no. Afraid I wouldn't," Mr. Ryce said, barely swallowing his own smugness. Though then the full scope of the situation set in. There was a whole team of security Sligs out here searching for a lone Mudokon. Maybe his original assumption was wrong; maybe he was hiding an actual criminal in his bathroom. "Why? What did he do?" he asked with a quirked brow.
"That's on a need-to-know basis and you ain't in any need to know. Now stop wastin' our time, you see him or not?" the Slig snapped. He was quickly losing his patience, as were the other trigger-happy backups.
This pretty much answered his question. He narrowed his eyes further and hissed a low, "Haven't seen a thing."
The second the words left his lips, the Sligs disregarded him and started to continue on down the hallway. Mr. Ryce started to head back inside when he got an idea and turned back.
"But I did hear something."
This got their attention back. The Slig who addressed him before turned around and gave a short, "What?" His growing irritation was obvious; it was mutually shared.
"About two minutes before you all tore in here, I heard someone get out of the elevator and it sounded like they went straight into the stairwell. I thought it was weird. Not weird enough to come out looking."
"We just came out of the stairwell," one of the Sligs in the back discredited. Mr. Ryce was unenthused by the outburst.
"Which means he must've gone up. I don't know, my point is that you should have someone hanging out in there for when he comes back down," he said. He gave a nonchalant shrug. "But do what you want. Long as you keep it down. I'm trying to run a business here." He pointedly ignored the snickers as he stepped back inside, slammed the door, and locked it.
Then he waited for them to take the bait. It took them a while, continuing to poke around and trying to get into the neighboring rooms- with limited success. Unable to find their target, they decided that instead of more thoroughly searching the rooms they would retreat to the stairs and make their way to the next floor. From that point he was confident that they would no longer be a problem for him.
Because Mr. Ryce was very aware that something like this could ruin everything for him, his career and his life.
At first, he hadn't been too certain about what was going on, but hearing the Mudokon's pleas and the Sligs' lack of a real answer painted a clear picture. He knew that the working conditions in the factories and facilities dotted across Mudos were poor. He knew that the workers were probably living in worse conditions than he saw, but had been barred to getting that deep into any of them.
Working towards the betterment of employees was a thankless job here. Nobody wanted to listen, and what was worse was that the employees didn't want to speak. Either out of fear or loyalty, they stayed in a perpetual state of overwork and underpay, and that was from the perspective of someone seeing from the outside in.
Now, recently the newspaper had been a little more honest. It had willingly confessed that Mudokon employees were 'disappearing' or 'leaving their posts'. Nice ways of saying that they were ditching their jobs, possibly spurred on by the disgusting tragedy at RuptureFarms, where a CEO had willingly killed all of his workers for a paycheck. Mr. Ryce visited that meat packing plant once, it was oddawful.
It was clear to him that what ran into his office was not a fugitive, but a worker who had fled from their former employer. Possibly grabbing some 'severance pay' on the way out, explaining why security was hunting him down. The guy looked only a couple of years younger than Ryce and half traumatized. Some sicko even stitched his mouth closed at some point. No wonder he was begging for help.
This wasn't a criminal, this was a possible whistleblower, and now it was entirely up to him to keep this guy alive- or so he assumed.
Mr. Ryce ran a tired hand down his face before pushing himself off the door. He called over, "You can come out. They're gone."
It took Abe another minute of listening before he dared to start opening the bathroom door. He had heard the Sligs leave, but couldn't be too careful. He peeked out into the office to see Mr. Ryce going through a bunch of lazily stacked boxes in the far corner. Abe swallowed thickly and cautiously stepped out from the safety of the bathroom.
He noticed Mr. Ryce going through his belongings and wondered what he was looking for. Abe knew to keep his guard up in case he had to make a quick escape, but this strange being had seemed helpful so far. He got a better look at what he was wearing now too. Typical industrial fashion; off-white dress shirt, maroon vest, and pinstripe slacks with wingtips. Pretty conservative when compared to the typical Glukkon.
Finally Mr. Ryce found what he was looking for and turned around to reveal a small box with a cross and a 'v' on it; a first aid kit, to Abe's relief. He clutched his bag straps tighter as Mr. Ryce grabbed the office chair in front of the desk and pointed it towards the Mudokon, then nodded down at it in beckoning.
Abe hesitantly pattered across the floor and tentatively sat at the edge of the chair, more than ready to leap up and flee if needed. Mr. Ryce opened the first aid kit on the desk beside him, only to find it painfully understocked. He sorted through the odds and ends left over with a small frown. Abe was too busy staring at his claws, left bare under a set of fingerless, white gloves.
They eventually settled on a small bottle that he popped open and poured some of the liquid contents onto a cotton pad. He turned the chair to face the cut better, Abe clutching it for dear life as he was turned.
"This might sting for a second," Mr. Ryce warned. Then slowly pressed it to his sliced scalp. It did sting, but it was that almost comforting sting of antiseptic, which was much better than throbbing infection.
It was his nails that made him much more nervous. Briefly ghosting over his skin but surely sharp enough to cut straight through. He would hate to be clawed by… Well, anything, but these were especially sharp.
Mr. Ryce finished up quickly, getting the wound clean and the blood up before returning to the box. He fished out the lone adhesive bandage and stared at it for a long time. Even ghosted it over the wound to make sure it wouldn't be enough, which it definitely wasn't long enough to be. He tapped his fingernails on the back of the office chair and watched the Mudokon flinched forward a little.
He was getting nervous. A nervous client wasn't one that was going to talk. Mr. Ryce finally decided to take out a roll of bandages and wrapped it once around his head, cutting it with scissors off the desk, and holding it with a metal pin from the roll. Abe felt over the bandage before snapping back to look at Mr. Ryce as he shoved the kit across the desk, shoving papers and whatever else cluttered it aside.
Mr. Ryce pulled himself up onto the desk and now put his full attention towards Abe. Which was nerve-wracking, having those narrowed eyes studying him so closely. He only kept eye contact because he was staring back like he was staring into security lights. Mr. Ryce rested his elbows on his knees and folded his hands together, thought for a long moment, and then pointed at the Mudokon.
"First thing's first: former employer?" he asked. Abe was almost relieved that he didn't recognize him- and maybe the slightest bit troubled- and tried to figure out whether to be honest or take this as the cover it was. Mr. Ryce took his silence as hesitance and added, "I'm not going to make you go back, I just need to know what we're working with here."
"…Molluck," Abe finally admitted. "I worked at RuptureFarms before I escaped…" Mr. Ryce hissed with sympathy.
"I've been there. Only for about five minutes, but I saw enough. Probably not the full extent of whatever was going on in there," he explained. Abe didn't know why he was so shocked to hear a would-be industrialist admitting that there was something wrong with RuptureFarms. They had to know, right? Mr. Ryce's voice lowered as he asked, "About how long was it before the… Massacre?"
He must've meant the assumed murder of the workers by Molluck, the cover story that the Magog Cartel had been running through the newspapers. Both a mockery to the Mudokons' cause and the perfect cover for Abe to continue to work. He didn't have to be honest here, but this was a union representative. He was the person Abe was supposed to talk to. He just didn't know the truth.
…And if this did come back to bite him, the Magog Cartel would probably cover that up too. There really wasn't much to lose that he didn't risk walking in here. He would tell him the truth.
"That's when I left… When we all left," Abe began, faltered, and Mr. Ryce cocked an ear. Taking a deep breath, Abe rushed it all out, "There wasn't a massacre. All of the slaves-… We didn't die. We all left, together."
Mr. Ryce furrowed his brows for a moment. Abe opened his mouth to continue only to have the other raise a finger to signal him to wait.
"Hold on," he said. He looked at Abe for a long time, studying him once again, and the Mudokon felt that anxiousness return with a vengeance. His pulse was starting to quicken as he braced himself to run, but then-.
"Give me one second," Mr. Ryce said simply. He suddenly leaned back on the desk and began to sort through the multitude of papers on his desk, most of them being newspapers, much to Abe's chagrin. He could already spot some of the headlines from where he was sitting. About the brewery, about the 'disappearing' labor force, food shortages, Molluck blowing up RuptureFarms and going on the lam-
There was a newspaper right under Mr. Ryce's hand that had his name in the title- "Debunking Insanity: The Rise and Fall of the "Abe" Conspiracy"- that he brushed aside without much notice. Abe chewed his stitches.
Finally, Mr. Ryce found what he was looking for, a paper that talked about the belief that the Mudokons had not been killed, but rose against their employer and fled the factory. This was probably the most factual paper there, and yet from the title alone he was sure it would go out of its way to assure that it was all fake, just like all the others.
Upon seeing the union representative who was supposed to help him actually reading it, Abe became understandably concerned.
Mr. Ryce got a thoughtful look at something in the wording before lowering the paper and looking back at his new client. "So, you're saying you came from RuptureFarms?" he asked.
"Yes," Abe agreed.
"And you left RuptureFarms with all the other employees? You all took off together."
"Uh huh."
"Uh huh, so where are they now?"
That was not a question Abe wanted to answer. After what happened to the Monsaic Lines, he couldn't risk anyone knowing where the rest of the freed Mudokons were hiding. "I-I can't… I don't know," he lied.
"Right…" Mr. Ryce's doubt was obvious now. He took a patient breath and sat the paper aside before leaning forward. "If I'm going to be able to help you, you're going to have to be honest with me. If you rather not name names then I can work with that, but I'm going to need the real story."
"I'm telling the truth. It's those papers that are lying," Abe vehemently insisted. Mr. Ryce didn't look any more convinced and he continued pleading his case, "They're not telling what actually happened, or what's going on, or what it was like for all of us. We weren't employees, we were slaves! They were going to eat us too!"
"Alright, alright, I believe you. Just relax and keep your voice down. Last thing we need is those Sligs coming back down here," Mr. Ryce warned. Abe's face seemed to pale slightly. "Let's just take this one step at a time. I'm not here to judge you, I'm here to help." He offered a hand to shake. "I'm Vesper Ryce and I'm a union representative. Like you said earlier, that means I'm here to help workers both Mudokon and elsewise get the treatment they deserve."
"Okay…" Abe tentatively reached out and took Vesper's hand to shake. Thankfully, the claws were easier to work around than he feared. "I'm Abe."
Vesper froze while still holding his hand. The cogs started to turn as he slowly looked off to the side for a moment, thinking for a long pause, before his eyes returned onto the Mudokon with a small smirk. He shook his head. "Nah, you're not."
"Erm… Yeah, I am," Abe said. He then pointed at the discarded 'conspiracy theory' paper. "It probably says it in there."
Vesper reached back for it without taking his eyes off Abe, still looking skeptical and perhaps a little amused. He had no doubt that this poor Mud probably suffered a lot, but trying to pass himself off as some sort of legendary vigilante- who was already just a cover story for Molluck- was totally outlandish. Though if that was what got him to leave whatever nightmare he was living in, then more power to him.
Kept their hands locked in that frozen shake though. Abe found it weird, getting the distinct impressing that the other had caught on to how willing he was to make a run for it and forcibly holding him in place. Vesper glanced over the paper with only slight interest, scanning for whatever he wanted him to see. It was a difficult read. Not because of the outlandishness, but because of how poorly it was all composed.
"Can you give me a hint what I'm looking for?" Vesper asked.
"It doesn't say what I look like? About my stitches or… Anything? Not even my skin?" Abe asked in half-disbelief.
"Not that I'm seeing," the other answered. He continued to scan and Abe was almost dumbfounded. If they didn't have his appearance in the paper then how were Sligs so apt to recognize him? Was it simply word of mouth alone? This made much less sense to him, and it was frustrating that he couldn't prove his identity.
On the flipside, Vesper felt a little bad having to break the news to this poor guy. He was clearly going through something. So, he went along with it and continued reading. This paper did talk about "That Abe Guy", as a fabrication Molluck had created to protect himself after he got caught in an act of greed and severe violence. It was clear that that Abe didn't exist. As the article put it, in one of the glimpses of decent writing:
"The idea that any Mudokon would turn against their much-adored employer is ludicrous. As ludicrous as the idea of a beefed-up, blue-skinned Mudokon blasting its way through a well-guarded establishment."
Which was a great example until he read it through a second time and "blue skinned" just happened to jump off the page. Which it wouldn't have if Abe hadn't just specifically mentioned it. A little too specifically.
It also didn't help that the paper listed that amongst the other unbelievable traits, seemingly implying that this wasn't the norm. Vesper hadn't been able to meet too many Mudokons- up until recently, Mudokons hadn't even been leaving their jobs, so they weren't coming to him to unionize- but the ones he had seen were clearly green in color.
He released Abe's hand and slowly reached back before tilting the lamp up so that more light fell on Abe's skin. That was definitely blue, and now that he was looking closer, he could see what looked like tribal marking on his skin. Maybe even in his skin, as they almost looked more like imprints than inked on the outside. Definitely something strange about that.
…He wasn't actually telling the truth, was he?
That would explain why so many Sligs were searching for him… And why they hadn't been willing to tell him why. They even distinctly referred to him as a blue Mudokon.
Could this actually be that Abe guy?
Said Abe guy, by the way, was feeling increasingly uncomfortable as Vesper silently stared at him. Shortly after he shined the light on him, his narrowed eyes began to open more in a blank stare. Now he could see them better, enough that he could tell that they weren't blank but instead another shade of brown, a sort of coppery russet color. It would've been curious if he wasn't staring him down like this.
"Do you believe me now?" Abe asked slowly. This seemed to snap Vesper out of his daze and he reached up to rub his eyes.
"I believe something's up here, but I can't just…" He was at a loss for words. He looked at Abe again, the Mudokon looking just as desperate and pitiable as ever. Which if he was Abe, that suddenly threw the context of all these newspapers into intense questioning. Even the ones that Vesper had thought were more honest than others. He gave a slow exhale through his teeth.
"Alright, here's what we're going to do," he began. He gestured for Abe to sit down again, but the Mudokon got as far as grabbing the back of the chair before hesitating. Vesper circled the desk and sat in his own. "Start from the beginning and tell me everything. Let's just sort this whole thing out one piece at a time."
Abe was still a little cautious. Vesper's reluctance to believe him made him a little more wary and he struggled to not chew on his lip anxiously. He already come this far, he supposed, and finally he sat down and scooted close to the desk, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"You can't tell anyone. If anyone else finds out I'm here… Everybody wants me dead. If you tell them anything, they're going to find me and kill me," Abe said. Which he honestly believed. Somehow, they would track him down, make a trap or weapon he couldn't fight back against; his ambiguity kept him safe. His eyes darted around nervously as he tried to listen and make sure the Sligs weren't nearby.
"I promise nothing will leave this office. There's nobody I could tell even if I wanted to. I'm nobody in this city," Vesper assured him. Abe didn't seem too sure. Vesper crossed his arms on the desk and leaned in a bit closer, eyes opening more again and becoming softer in the process. "This doesn't change anything. I still want to help you. Just tell me what happened."
Everything screamed at Abe that this was a bad idea, but he was in so deep and needed help that he couldn't find. He made his choice and began to quietly explain. Vesper's ears tilted forward to easily hear it all.
"It all started when I was working late and I heard something I wasn't supposed to…"
What followed was the excruciating retelling of everything that had happened since his escape. For whatever reason, once Abe started to talk all of the reluctance disappeared, as though he wanted to get it all out. It was the first time he had really sat down and worked through the entirety of it all and just hearing it repeated back made it seem unreal. Every close call, every near death, and the other silently listened.
It was a horrifying series of events for someone not connected to them. A meat packing plant being prepped to butcher its employees blown up, the crazed CEO on the loose in a blimp, over one thousand Mudokons escaping on a train through the desert while fighting off impending doom looming on the horizon…
And Abe wasn't talking about an uprising that led over a course of weeks and months. He was talking in days.
"-Once we got the blimp working, we used it and followed the map to the city. The others are still waiting outside, I'm the only one who came down here, but I got turned around and couldn't shake the Sligs. Then I saw your sign and remembered that the Glukkons said they didn't want us getting to union representatives, so I came to you," Abe finished. He paused a long moment. "…Uh, are you okay?"
Vesper was leaning forward on his desk propped up by his elbows, ears folded, hands clutching them and fingers digging into the fur on his head, teeth pulled in a grimace and eyes wide with an unblinking stare.
The question snapped him out enough to finally blink and after a pause he pulled back from the desk and nearly ripped open the drawer.
"Perfectly fine," Vesper assured. He brought out a thermos and took a deep swig out of it, still with that wide eyed vacantness. He looked at Abe for a long moment before casually offering him the thermos.
"…I'm good, thanks."
"It's just tea. It'll calm your nerves," Vesper assured. He inhaled through his teeth. "Sounds like you're going to need it a lot more than I do."
Abe considered it for a moment before slowly taking the thermos. He wasn't really interested in calming down, his nerves being what kept him alive, but he was thirsty. He was always thirsty and hungry, so he had to take it where he could get it. It smelled a little like herbs, so he shrugged and took a sip. The flavor hit hard. It was an overwhelming bitterness so raw that he nearly gagged on it and struggled to force it down.
Vesper leaned back in his chair as he stared off at the wall with a blank look masking his intense self-questioning in what he had gotten himself into. He tapped his nails on his desk as he did so.
"In case I missed something, let's run through this one more time. What you're saying is that the Magog Cartel has enslaved Mudokons under the guise of hiring them as "employees", to the extent that they've drugged them into servitude and even planned to butcher and eat them, and the only reason any of them escaped slavery is because you have magic powers and blew through every factory you came across. Which nobody knows about because the newspapers' covering it up."
"Pretty much. Yeah," Abe said. His voice a little hoarse from the tea.
Vesper stared ahead for a moment before rubbing his hands over his face with a groan.
"…Oh Odd, my colony's been carrying these guys for years," he muttered. He dropped his hands with a tired sigh as it all sunk in. Then one ear twitched in curiosity and he looked over the desk. "…So, why in the world did you come here? To Nolybab? There's Mudokons here, sure, but the place is crawling with Sligs. Literally if you're hanging around outside the bars."
"I'm… We're… We're looking for someone. There's supposed to be here, but I don't even know where to start. I got so turned around, I couldn't even get back out if I tried," Abe admitted. He set the thermos on the desk before his hand returned to clutch the amber-like pendant hanging from his neck. Vesper hadn't paid much attention to it before, but it gave a dull glow when Abe touched it.
"Usually I just keep moving and get somewhere, but now… I'm totally lost," Abe finished with a sigh. His eyes lowered to the floor, though raised as he noticed movement out the corner of them.
He looked over to see Vesper leaning over it and cautiously reaching out towards his chest. It sort of surprised him, but Vesper moved slow enough that he was able to silently coax him to release the pendant. Abe did and Vesper lifted it by the tips of his fingers. It did look like some sort of amber, but in the center, there was some strange little insect he couldn't recognize. It looked like it was smiling.
"What's this?" he asked. Abe purposefully ghosted over that part of the story.
"It's, well… It's kind of my guide. It shows me where I should go and it hasn't led me wrong so far." Abe smiled a little as he looked down at it. "I know it doesn't look like much-."
"It looks like something you'd deep fry and cover in powdered sugar," Vesper remarked.
Abe stared at him for a long moment before deciding that it was time to gently pull the pendant out of Vesper's claws.
"It, uh, it's been quiet. I think it's just as lost as I am… Think you could help me out?" Abe finally asked.
Taking a deep breath, Ryce settled back into his chair, now facing the Mudokon head on and lacing his fingers together. Said Mudokon eagerly sat down, prepared to hear the plan he was expecting to have.
"Here's the deal. I don't think my line of work's going to do you any favors… It's not that I don't want to help you. Odd, after hearing this I'm going to be checking labels for life, but what I do as a union representative… It just doesn't cut it."
Abe's face fell. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that a lot of my job is paperwork and signing deals and arrangements. Employers sign that they're going to treat employees better and the union backs them up if they don't. It's all deals and regulations. But if what you're saying is true, all of that's pretty much worthless. If I go in demanding better wages and living conditions for slaves, apparently they could have me killed, wrapped in plastic, and sold by the pound, and nobody would ever know," Vesper vented. He then caught his own words and coughed. "Sorry, I crossed a line with that one."
"So, you can't do anything?" Abe asked. He sounded completely downtrodden. "But they said- Brewmaster said they didn't want us to get to you. Or to any representative!"
"It sounds like he was more worried about the PR than anything. A noticeable concern when it comes to investors who might start pulling funds. The problem is you came to the worst city to start blowing whistles in. This place is a pit of greed and cheap cologne!" Vesper exclaimed, gesturing a claw to the window. "There's hundreds of Glukkons here who barely care about their kind, let alone yours."
Just the look of devastation on Abe's face hit Vesper hard. The first person he had come in to ask for help and he had to break it to them that he could do nothing. His was entirely useless, he realized with regret, and that was what got him to suddenly become more determined to do something about it.
"…You know what? Forget that. I'm going to help you anyway. I can't help you with a union, but I can do something," Vesper suddenly said. Abe looked up with a look of surprise at the tonal whiplash as the other pulled up close to his desk. "Who're you looking for? I'll help you find them."
"I can't really say." Vesper's eyes lidded further with a lack of enthusiasm. "…But I can tell you where I'm supposed to look. I think they're being held by… Vykkers? That's what I heard."
"Vykkers, huh? Well, you're in luck, because I know where the Conglomerate Pavilion is. I'm going out on a limb in guessing that's where you need to go, not any of those little clinics all over the city," Vesper said. Abe was paying much more attention now as he took out a notepad and pen and began to write directions down. "You're going to be going a lot deeper, so be prepared to hold your breath."
Abe wasn't sure what kind of help he had been anticipating, but this was a massive step in the right direction. At least now he knew he was on the right track and eagerly reached for the paper once Vesper tore it off and handed it over. He read over the directions quickly, trying not to visibly cringe when he saw exactly how much deeper he was supposed to go. Past the base of the skyscrapers apparently.
"Wish I could do more though. Really is the least I can do," Vesper said disappointedly.
"No, this- this is good! This is what I needed, where I need to go. It's a lot of help," Abe assured him. A small but honest smile pulled at his stitches. "Thank you."
Vesper returned the smile. He felt much less intimidating than when Abe walked in, even if it gave him a good view of his fangs. "Don't mention it… Or do! I could use the work."
Abe nodded and readjusted his bag to leave. Before he could leave the desk, Vesper stuck out a hand to him, wanting to shake again. Abe returned it without much hesitation at all.
All in all, this wasn't what he had expected, but at least he got an idea of where he was heading next. It was disappointing to know that the Glukkons' fears were unfounded, that a union representative could do little, but it didn't change Abe's plans. He turned towards the door and took a deep breath, readying himself for the next leg of the journey.
He gathered up all of his courage and then-.
"Wait a second."
There was a crinkling noise and Abe looked back to see Vesper peering through the blinds. His eyes narrowed again as a frown appeared and turned into a grimace. He was clearly looking at something outside.
"What is it?" Abe asked. After a long moment Vesper sighed and let the blinds snap closed.
"Okay, change of plans. You're not going anywhere," he said as he dropped back into his chair, crossing his legs and turning back to the Mudokon who was still looking questioningly. "Remember when I said this city is crawling with Sligs? Never have I meant it more than when I just looked out that window. They've got a whole security team out there, including air patrol."
Abe's eyes widened with dread. "So… They're going to come in looking for me."
"They're not going to start kicking down doors if that's what you're worried about. They don't do that unless they're sure they've got the right place. One wrong door and they all lose their jobs," Vesper said, though even he didn't sound convinced. "You're going to have to lay low for a while. Then you can sneak out of here once they leave. They're Sligs, they won't stick around long."
"But what if someone comes to see you? Someone could walk right in and then…"
"Nobody's coming. Trust me on that," Vesper said with a sigh. He looked over to see Abe looking just as nervous as when he first walked in, and his own features softened. "Relax. If any Sligs come knocking, we can hide you again. Sit back down and we'll ride through this together." He fished around in one of the upper drawers. "Have you ever played Ace in the Heart? I can teach you if you don't," he offered, pulling out of box and sliding a deck of cards out into his hand.
This just didn't sit right with Abe. Not the playing cards thing, but the laying low and hoping the Sligs would just leave thing. This was different than being in a facility where the security eventually calmed down after a while. This was a living, thriving city that was aware of his presence and wasn't going to take any chances, even if the majority of inhabitants didn't believe he existed.
"I'm not so sure about this…" Abe admitted, rubbing his arm.
"It's better than getting busted out on the street, I'll tell you that much," Vesper pointed out as he began to nonchalantly shuffle. "The choice is yours."
It might've been his choice, but it wasn't an easy one. After a few minutes of going back and forth on one, and Vesper clearly waiting for one, Abe reluctantly took the plunge with a small sigh.
"…How do you play?"