Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"GOOOOOOD morning, Nolybab. Its another suspiciously beautiful day in the city! I'm DJ Biff Burger-Smog percentage is low today making way for plenty o' sunshine! We're gonna get a couple small storms later this evening, hopefully nothing too violent. Traffic is lookin' pretty rough folks-its the first day of the second semester at the University this week-things are gonna be crowded for a while. Good luck with the coffee lines! Coming up in this mix-"

The room filled with creamy orange morning light, the sound of the radio permeating the air followed by a couple hard knocks on the small apartment door.

"Joan!" A melodic voice that sounded sweet and polite, despite the scolding, came from the Grubb girl on the outside. "Didn’t you say the work hours on your planet start as early as 7? How did you even survive being this late?!" 

The door cracked open to reveal the young human woman peeping her head through, still getting dressed. "Adjustment period, Marill. I told you already." The door quickly shut again, Marill sighing and rolling her eyes as she set her suitcase down. She tested her back against the wall as she opened up her compact, applying fruity lip gloss and adjusting her eyelashes. "Have you even made lunch yet?"

Inside the apartment, the human scurries to the kitchen to quickly whip up a lunch with what she can out of canned, preserved food-the majority of her cabinets.

"Almost done!" She quickly closes her laptop, grabbing her backpack and lunch before hurrying out the door. 

Joan Feiruz had to adjust rather quickly as an alien on a new planet. Granted, having the government pay you to get your degree on another planet sounded like a dream to her. She wasn't quite sure why nobody else was clamoring to get their hands on the Oddworld scholarship. That was, until she started living and working there. She could rarely walk outside the apartment without a mask, the smog in Nolybab was so thick. She didn't even think there'd even be planets who were dying faster than Earth. Now, she almost regrets accepting the scholarship.

"All ready!" Joan straightened her clothes, starkly contrasting her classmate. Good girl Marill always looked so innocent in her old fisherman's school uniform-the picture of a girl focused on her academics. She gave a pop of her freshly glossed lips before picking up her briefcase. 

"About time! C'mon-we gotta walk today. The buses are gonna be crowded. We might have to run a little bit." As the two quickly went down the iron apartment stairs, Joan wrinkled her nose. A heavy, floral smell smacked her face as Marills pleated skirt fluttered. "Is that you, Mar?"

Marill twirled around, her big eyes sparkled with delight. The Grubb blinked purposefully, posing as if a model would. 

"You noticed huh? It's Dahlia's new perfume. What do you think?"

"I thought you smelled just fine before."

Marill gave a pout before shutting the entrance door after her human friend. "Oh, boo! I love this new fragrance-Max said he really liked when I spritzed it on my last letter." 

The two were met with the chaotic noises of the city, beeping cars and smoking trains giving absolutely nobody any peace. It had been a while since Joan had seen any actual pieces of nature in Nolybab. In fact, some of the few plants outside were mere decoration-not real in the slightest. Normally the two would be happy to admire their scenery on their way. Marill jogged to the nearest vending machine for a coffee. "Can I get you something, Joan?"

"Thanks! With sugar please" Joan tossed a couple moolah to Marill, who quickly plucked them from the air. She tossed back her friend a canned coffee to chug down before class. The two hurried down the busy street, doing their best not to get run over. 

Marill gasped, pointing up at a huge billboard. "The ads up!" Joan looked up at the huge sign with the slender, sultry looking Gluk Queen posing with a crystal bottle reading "Sexy. Sophisticated. Dahllface-The Fragrance." She gave a smirk. "You sure you're keeping up with your letters to Max? You're such a huge fan of Dahlia I'm starting to think you applied to the University just to meet her." 

Marill blushed, huffing as she gently grabbed Joan's arm to keep her moving. 

"As if! What do you got against Dahlia? It's not like she's mean!"

Joan chuckled, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Well, to start off-maybe because her dad is a no good business Gluk with more work hazard accidents every week. And Dahlia defends it. The man's got more mud blood on him than a meat grinder."

Marill groans. "Ugh, no! We aren't doing this again this early in the day! I need at least 2 coffees and a lunch break before I can handle the conspiracy talk." 

Joan shrugged. "I'm just sayin-they wouldn't just outright admit to how many Mudokons they kill on a daily basis."

"Shut. Up!! We are already late!"

---

Underground- deep in the depths of Nolybabs crater, the loud crumble of rubble and the thud that birthed it go unheard of by the bustling city above. A scuffed up bounty hunter growled and coughed, spitting up dirt. "You can't just make me QUIT a contract midway, asshole! You know how that'll go over!" 

The Stranger tightened his grasp on the crook, snarling and showing his fangs. 

"I'll tell ya one more time. My contract is to protect. This client is mine. You ain't laying a finger on em'." He turned the assailant's head to face the foaming, hissing fuzzle on his crossbow. "Go back and turn in yet moolah, and pretend you saw nothin’. Got it?" Stranger released his vice grip on the man, scrambling to his feet and blunderbuss. The mysterious hero throws a small bag of moolah as compensation.

And so the hunter ran away whimpering and trudging through the dark waters of the sewer until nothing was heard from him.

Stranger turns around with a whistle, tipping his hat. "You're all clear, Mr. Lure."

A blue Mudokon slowly peeps his head from a corner, followed by two more peeping behind the pipelines. 

"Thanks, Stranger. I'm not sure for how much longer we can pay you though.." He trailed off, voice lowering in disappointment. 

Retracting his crossbow, Stranger approaches him. "Heh. Don't you remember? You paid upfront, Mr. Lure. Not like I can afford my surgery yet anyway." The mudokon rubbed the back of his neck, a little shy about the formalities. "You don't have to call me Mister. Abe is fine." He rummaged in his backpack to pull the map back out. "Stoopy was sayin some of our followers are camped out down here, but..it looks so empty. What are we looking for exactly?" 

Abe squinted pensively down the dark hallows. His long journey to the big city only seemed to lead to more questions than answers. He sighed out his peaking frustration, remembering now with his role as the Messiah-there is never a break. There is never an end. Flashes of the burning shaman ached behind Abe's eyes.

The smallest mudokon of the trio peeped at the map behind Abe. "They probably couldn't give us proper directions." The tallest adjusted his cap, the snark in his voice implying the statement was a stupid one. 

"The hell is that supposed to mean, Toby?" Toby looked up, clearing his throat. "Think about it Alf-if you had a secret hiding place, you wouldn't wanna write directions the easy way, would ya?" Toby gave an innocent smile, catching up with Stranger and Abe. "Nobody would be caught dead down here. Any sign of life would be a good sign we're in the right place."

Stranger gave a small smirk, gesturing to Toby despite not looking at him.

"Bingo-I'm startin' to like ya, kiddo. You sure you ain't an adventurer yourself?"

Abe gave a small smile to the ecstatic and beaming Toby, reveling in praise as Alf crosses his arms. 

"Apparently, Spirit of 1029 has been down here longer than we thought. Sewer is the only place we can hide while still keeping in touch with what's going on up there" 

Abe pointed up, what very little light from the outside bleeding in through the cracks. 

"Apparently there's lotsa work down here all the time so nobody notices."

Alf snorted. "Yeah. Can't imagine too many folks wanting to take a swim with Gluk shit. This better be worth it, Abe." He rubbed his face, already watering from the stench. 

"You don't exactly smell like flowers, Alfred." Stranger quipped, speaking from experience considering he's been trekking with these men for god knows how long.

"Bite me." Alf growled. "We ain't paying you to talk."

Toby giggles to himself, Abe's eyes scoping over the area. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Abe found himself wandering much like the others. It had been hours now, Toby asleep on Stranger’s back. Somewhere miles down the dark, Alf’s voice calls out.

“Guys!-Guys, over here!” Toby’s eyes slowly open up as he mumbles. 

“Finally..”

As they walked towards Alf, Stoopy immediately yelped at the sight of Stranger, shaking as he slowly backed himself behind Alf.

"Stoopy, it's cool. He's ugly, but he's with us."

Stranger flares his nostrils, a chuff making it clear he wasn't amused.

"We got someone else, too, Abe!"

Abe raised his brow bones, curious-he couldn't possibly think of anyone else who could be here-so his eyes widened when he saw the tall, pointed tribal mask appearing next to the other two.

Abe gripped the straps of his backpack. "BigFace?"

The shaman bowed casually, a giant sack hanging across his back. "Greetings again, Messiah. So you made it here safely?"

Abe tensely continued gripping his backpack, eyes darting away.

"Uh..yeah.." He looked over at Stranger gently picking the still sleepy Toby off his back and setting him on the ground yawning. "Did..you know we were coming?"

"Of course. Although I did not wait if that's what you are thinking." He turns around and shifts the sack resting behind him. "Brothers in the city need medicine,too."

The tunnels of the sewer continued to slowly wind deeper, darker. The sound of constant running water occasionally made one's ears ring. Besides that, the air was dead. Every echo behind their footsteps only seemed to hypnotize Abe into deep dissociation. With each blurred echo, his scars burned, Abe numbing himself to the dull searing in his skin. His backpack seemed to sink into his spine-the heavy weight of responsibility drooping his shoulders. " There's no medicine for this, is there?" He thought to himself. 

"Abe-hello?" Alf snapped his fingers in front of his brother, Abe gasping lightly as he snapped back to reality. He replied with a small "hm?"

Big Face put a hand on his shoulder, catching him up to speed as he seemed to lag behind. "I asked how you've been adjusting?"

Abe blinked, confused. "Adjusting to what?"

"Being Shrykull's vessel. Clearly you must have noticed by now just how powerful of a god he is, Abe. He's not easy to cooperate with. How's your body?"

Abe looked down at his own body, as if checking whether or not it was even his anymore. 

"Fine.." He mumbles with a twist of questioning. Because of the mask, Big Face's reaction was unreadable, so the conversation simply lulled to an awkward silence.

Stranger rolled the sucker stick in-between his teeth-a token of Toby's gratitude for the nap. "You really are somethin', Abe." His fingers flicked the now bare sucker stick into the shallow, murky water. "From what I've read about Shrykull, most people would just explode into chunks resisting his force." Abe's heart felt itself being pelted with more and more guilt as he listened to praise. Now, that's all praise ever was to him. Reminders.

"Yeah yeah Shrykull is cool and all, but he's still not Abe" Alf quipped.

Abe suppressed his annoyance. "Nice. Thanks, Alf." His older brother, as usual, unknowingly cutting deep. Stoopy sighed as they approached the entryway to the sewer commongrounds, his hands roaming over his own arms in a fit of anxiety.

"Unfortunately, we.." Stoopy looked down. "We still don't know where Sam is." A heavy wave of disappointment washed over all of them. "We thought looking for the distribution center would be easy but.." Stoopy looked over at the crates of unhatched Mudokon eggs, blankets draped over them in a snug corner. "We can't find any traceable inventory on these batches we stole. They've been taking off the inventory logs early."

Abe's heart pronged. He hovered toward the large collection of egg crates, a single gentle finger brushing along one of the shells.

The first batch of free babies.

Stoopy took off his work helmet, holding it over his chest, feeling as if he failed. "Nolybab is a big big place, but…" He took a deep breath, not wanting to give up. "But we won't stop searching. We can find her. We just gotta look more!" Abe turned to look at his group, all of them with determination in their eyes. Alf tipped his hat. "Don't worry, Abe. We ain't stoppin'."

Abe gave a small smile, touched that they were at least trying to lift him up. "No, we aren't. So we just look in every factory here right?" 

---

Joan stared out the window during the lecture, as usual. It wasn't long before the sky went into it's usual darkness. Ever since transferring, she had never seen a blue sky again. Or any form of nature. The lights in the city very early in the day were the closest thing to stars she'd seen. She loved the rain, but you could only stand in Nolybab's rain for so long before getting sick. Joan felt a nudge on her shoulder from Marill, who gestured toward the front.

"Miss Feiruz, it's your turn." The Chronicler in the chair gestured his skinny hand in a 'come hither' motion.

"Oh, right! Sorry, Professor." Joan quickly adjusted herself out of her seat and gathered her papers, hurrying down the small stairs in front of the large lecture hall. Joan planted herself at the podium, her papers set in front of her-like sheet music to an artist. She was thankful the topic was social anarchy-she'd been waiting for this moment ever since they were assigned it before break. She spent all of her break in a passionate fervor putting her presentation together, ready to finally prove herself.

She waits for total silence before she clears her throat.

"As you all know, I come from Earth. A planet not much different than this one. In particular, the nation I come from is America. The history of America is a prime example of many different instances of social anarchy. Because it is technically antisocial behavior, it's argued that discontentment with society will be it's downfall-but what if that downfall is actually a step in the process for civilization? What if anarchy is simply a response to social behavior, and despite being antisocial, is necessary-even helpful- to the process." 

The professor gave a silent sigh, adjusting his glasses as he leaned back in his chair, having a feeling of where this presentation was going.

Joan continued "The scientific method is based around the concept that new information always rises-that learning is constant and the flow of information is unstoppable. It is impossible to have a singular, final answer for all of eternity to any question. Much like the scientific method, society always changes and has no permanence. So, when we look at the discontents of society, we see not an enemy, but simply the reaction of the current way we run our laws and our system. We look at the nature of the reaction, what caused it-what we can do to neutralize it. This is how many famous revolts and riots made way for law and order. They improved society in the long run."

The professor began to slowly slide his electric chair toward Joan with an exasperated tone. "Miss Feiruz, I think we understand your point, dear. If you wouldn't mind, I would prefer to look over your paper after class." Joan felt her heart stabbed by her professor. She gave a fake smile, slowly walking away from him advancing towards her. "Professor Ligma, I assure you I have proper academic sources-" She continued.

"Women's Suffrage-as you may know human women were not allowed the same privileges and power as the men. These rights were only slowly earned over a period of time from more and more women being vocal about their contributions to society-and without Stonewall we would have never progressed as far with queer rights. Every person has something to contribute to the betterment of society, every culture and every political ideology has many lessons to learn from-if life is the scientific method, then we need to be open to the idea that we are wrong." 

"Miss Feiruz.." The professor continued making loops around the stage as he casually chased his student around the lecture hall, his attempts to catch her in vain.

"Who knows, everyone? Maybe Molluck was right. There is a worker uprising bubbling beneath the surface-and it's completely deserved. Take a good look at your planet. Earth isn't that far behind you guys. This is peak climate for a revolution-now more than ever we need to accept that the way things are now are killing us-"

"Miss Feiruz! That's enough!"

Joan jolted as her papers were finally snatched from her hands, Professor Ligma's expression slowly unwinding from annoyance. He did his best to keep it professional. "We will discuss your presentation after class. Sit down."

Joan sighed, trying not to cry in front of anyone. She returned to her seat with no words, not minding the whispered words from the other student gluks gossiping.

Joan sunk into her seat, doing her best to turn her face back towards the window so nobody could see her. Marill put a hand on her friend's shoulder to console her. Joan simply continued staring out at the rain racing down the window, doing her best to suck down her tears of embarrassment for the rest of the class, the numerous presentations after her gone mute to her ears.

Professor Ligma finally clapped his hands together, closing his workbook. "We will finish the other half of the presentations tomorrow, everyone. Very interesting points from all of you. I look forward to the next lecture." 

As soon as the professor sat back down into his chair, everybody was eager to stand up and leave as soon as possible. Joan was hoping to hide herself amongst the crowd of peers flooding out of the door-however, she could not hide. "Joan.." Ligma whisked his chair over to her attempting to sneak out. She sighed, clutching her backpack, praying in her head she doesn't get kicked out. "Yes, sir?"

Ligma straightened Joan's papers, handing them back to her. His face was one of concern. He waited to continue until everyone was gone. "I understand that traveling to a whole different world is difficult, and that you are naturally gravitated towards controversy. In terms of sociology, that can be helpful but.." His eyes wandered, quickly turning his chair around to not look her in the face. He slowly inches toward the window, sipping from his coffee mug. "But we please ask of you to respect our culture and way of things here on Oddworld. We ask that you not...invade so harshly."

Joan frowned, saddened that her passion was mistaken for disrespect. "With all due respect, sir, I don't believe I'm invading. I speak from experience where I come from. Earth is dreadful, we're still destroying our planet and people despite knowing it doesn't have much longer before it's uninhabitable. We don't want that to happen to another planet-the point of the Peace Agreement is that with each other's help we thrive as a solar system!"

Ligma sighed once more after another sip. "I understand you're passionate, Miss Feiruz. Perhaps you will place that passion in a better place for your next assignment. Society does not work if you cannot place a certain amount of respect and trust into those who monitor it. That's all, dear. You're dismissed."

Joan clenched her fists, wrinkling her papers up in her hands. "Yes sir. Thank you."

Marill waited in the hallway outside, staring up at the ceiling. When Joan finally exits the doorway, Marill looks to her with anticipation.

"Well? You aren't in trouble are you?"

Joan grumbles, crumpling up her paper and angrily throwing it into a nearby paper bin. Marill cringed. 

"My entire break, wasted on..on this!" She began storming off, Marill hurrying to her side. 

"I mean, you should've known he wouldn't like it, Joan. Last time you got sent out to the hallway for the whole period." She gave a weak smile as she fished out her small compact umbrella from her suitcase. "I know we just had lunch but, why don't we go out to eat today? That'll cheer you up! Up for some emotional snacking?" 

She leaned into Joan's face with a smug smile. "I'll even smoke some of that earth stuff with you beforehand." Joan couldn't help but crack a smile. Marill was the biggest lightweight alive. 

As she unfolded and released her umbrella above their heads outside. The sky turned white as a giant flash of lightning struck across the sky followed by a loud crack of thunder. Behind the two, a small gasp erupted followed by an 'eep!'.

"Ugh, no way I'm walking today." They turned around and Marill tried to cover her excited smile. The slender, beautiful Glukkon Queen from the ads this morning was in front of them. Dahlia, every gluks dream girl. Nolybab's sweetheart. She fluttered her eyelashes as she gently clicked her heels, daintily jogging toward them. "Sorry, girls, you mind if I wait with you guys before my chauffeur comes?" She gave a beautiful smile, her glowing skin making the rain look dry. 

"Absolutely!!" Marill gave her umbrella to the tall, waifish Dahlia, the 3 girls huddled underneath.

Dahlia gave a pleased grin to the young Grubb. "Oh!! You're wearing my perfume?" She rested one delicate hand over her chest. "Thank you so much."

Marill's eyes sparkled. "Y-yes!! I loved your work so much I just had to get it! My boyfriend loves it too!" Dahlia used another one of her many hands to cover her elegant giggle. 

"You follow me…? OH right! You're Marill right?"

Joan rolled her eyes, she thought she was gonna puke. Her attention was instead on the big, black billowing smoke cloud coming from the distance in the city. Nolybab had smoke but...nothing that intense. Not unless there was a fire. She sniffed the air, attempting to get wafts.

Marill was nodding enthusiastically. "I literally only got a phone just so I could follow your Instascam!" 

"Oh my god, no way!" The two laughed together unaware of Joan squinting at the distance. "You guys going out for snacks? I know this great place downtown-they kinda know me there, I never pay full price."

Joan walked away from the two, standing up on a nearby statue on campus to get a closer look from the strong cloud of smoke.

"Joan..?" Marill finally noticed, the two ladies now staring at the human facing the distance.

Dahlia gave a sad gasp. "Oh no!!" They pranced over to her side, now looking at the looming black smoke. Dahlia squinted.

"That looks like it's coming from the Shoe Factory!!" She put a third hand to caress her own cheek. "Oh no...I get my shoes from there too! That businessgluk is sooo nice! That's so sad. Thank goodness for the rain. I gotta post about this." She whipped at her phone, slinky fingers dashing the keyboard in a series of sharp taps of the nail.

Joan sighed, rubbing her temple. "Actually, certain chemicals in Nolybab's rain could worsen the fire if the fire department doesn't get there first."

A loud honk interrupted their discussion. A shiny black limo and a sharply dressed Slig opening the side door. "Miss Dahlia!"

Dahlia smiled, patting Marill. "Come on! You gotta try my favorite-you're welcome to come with too, Joan." 

Joan simply couldn't ignore this, remembering every new article taped to her wall at home of every Factory burning that's risen so far, every location. 

She stared before turning back to the two.

"You guys go without me." She adjusted the straps of her backpack, pulling out her rain smock from inside. Marill looked disappointed.

"You gotta be kidding, Joan."

Joan was already fast on her way, following the trails in the sky. "Next time, I promise Mar."

"Ooookay. See ya tomorrow then."

"See ya!"

A final honk was blared once more, Dahlia the glokstar and Marill, eagerly hurrying to the limousine and ready to be somewhere warm and dry.

Chapter Text

The sky only seemed to grow darker even as the rain faded. Nolybab's streets always felt enormous-in fact, they were. Oddworld was a massive planet.. She had been trailing the smoke over an hour after leaving campus. It was only until now she actually heard the sirens of the fire department. They must have only just arrived a smidge before Joan. She turned the corner and chased the truck the rest of the way.

Just behind a nearby alleyway wall, Joan pulled the hood of her poncho down, kneeling to the dirty ground and getting her instant camera from her backpack.

Considering she's actually catching the scene before the news, her tracking and investigating will finally tip her off. All of the photos she printed or cut out from various newspapers and blogs could only contribute so many details. Joan did the connecting herself at home. Every theory had at least some merit-because all of them connected. They all had something in common-a cause.

She leaned forward using the zoom on her camera to analyze the situation. The giant factory was exploded, sizzling as the police force desperately water the fire themselves to neutralize until backup arrived. Joan decided to put on her mask and come out into the street behind the barricade of various sligs.

"Do not get any closer" Joan jolted from the deep metallic voice from above. She looked up to the Big Bro Slig with a shiny badged hat and combat gear. He was clearly the police chief.

Joan cleared her throat. "Sorry uh, didn't notice you.." said the small human to the 10 foot bulking slig.

She shifted, leaning up to see the fire. "Excuse me but, just curious, what happened here?"

The big bro crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Terrifying call. This poor old Gluk, his last dyin’ words were 'fiiiiiire….fiiiiiireeeeeeeeee'." He imitated the croak he heard on the phone before shaking his head once more, resting a hand over his mask. "You could hear his skin bubblin over the line…" He looked over to the building. "Right now we don't know what happened. We simply tracked the call to this shoe factory. We was thinking it was the freaky lightning from earlier." 

"I see.." Joan took a snap, waiting for the photo to process. Once it finally did, her jaw dropped. The big bro looked down at her. "You with the press?" Joan snapped back and looked up, holding the photo close to her chest. "Uhm..yes, I am. Blog. Uh, I gotta go!" She ran towards the back of the burning factory. She couldn't stop looking at the photo.

Even if a Scrab got out of there, why would a Scrab be in Nolybab of all places when there's a shortage? Furthermore, a Scrab that mutated. It appeared in the photo in a blur, seeming to walk away from the factory. Joan was already behind the factory-the inky black shadow of the beast disappearing into the labyrinth of buildings and city streets.

Joan steadied her breath as she stealthily followed the creature from a distance, the fresh sweat on her head from a combination of nerves and the wet heat.

" Shit… " she thought to herself. " Scrabs are deadly as hell. If this thing sees me I'm screwed."  

Upon closer inspection, the beast seemed to be winding down from extreme physical activity. It panted as it roamed the backstreets, sparks of electricity bouncing from it's skin. Joan couldn't believe what she was seeing. Scrabs weren't known for being conductive. Scrabs weren't known for..arms? 

The conspiracies said that the cause of these instances was a blue, supernatural mudokon. This clearly isn't it.

The creature stopped in its tracks, Joan panicking and clinging her camera to her chest as she held her breath. "I need to go.." She thought. She slowly peeped one last time over the corner after a long period of silence, only to notice that the monster had finally disappeared. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh my god that was close." With her nerves calmed down she adjusted her backpack and loosened her shoulders. As she finally returned her gaze to normal, she felt a hot blast of wind blow her hair out of her face. 

Heart now instantly stuck in her throat and muting her, she slowly turns to the source of heat.

Giant, snapping red beak lined with daggers for teeth. Spiked, slimy tendrils opening like the world's most deadly flower. The beast inched closer from the shadows, towering, hovering over the human. Hissing lowly.

Joan was frozen in fear, raising her hands at head level as she backed up slowly. This only made the creature inch closer again-it had no eyes, but it's gaze couldn't be more intense. Its growling became loud every time Joan backed away. 

Out of ideas, Joan begins to treat the creature like a bear or bobcat. She jumps onto a dumpster, raising her arms in her bright yellow poncho as she attempts to do the scariest and unpleasant screech she possibly could.

It’s response? A loud, drawn out roar. Joan immediately gave in and ran for her life.

She did not question her body's fight or flight response this time, tripping over herself at first when her feet hit the ground. Loud galloping chased after her, Joan not noticing herself tear up from panic. " This is it." She thought. Joan gave up and babbled, no longer in control of her emotions. Tears streamed down her face, barely noticeable in the glitter of the wet city under moonlight.

"I'm sorry!!!" She sputtered, crying and out of breath. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!" The beast did not slow down, if not only catching up with speed. 

Joan fell into the concrete, arms scraping into the mud on her side. The camera shutters, blinding them both for a few seconds, a wail coming from the monster. Joan whined, catching her breath as the mutated Scrab advanced towards her, jaw slightly open and cavernous mouth dripping with saliva. Joan felt her blood run cold when she was just inches from said mouth, the outer tendrils taking the first few snaps at her face. She backs up, camera getting hooked on what she now realized looked like the mouth of a Paramite. She panics, sharply hyperventilating as she tries not to look inside the mouth. She braced for her final moments, eyes squeezed shut. "Please don't eat me!"

The creature froze. Right as it's scythe-like jaw was about to snap closed onto her skull. Joan opened a single eye, wondering why she was still alive. "Oh god I looked, that's actually the inside of a Scrab's throat. Oh my god it smells so bad."

Once the fresh (as fresh as it gets) air, her body finally unlocked it's muscles from place, Joan welcoming how wonderful air is and how she'll never complain again. Ah, the zen of escaping possible death.

Joan sighed. Ah, it understood….

Wait, it understood.

Joan looked up. The scrab was no longer there, and once she realized this she caught the fading sound of the strong gallops before.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea." She made her way back to the factory, arriving upon the scene of blackened remains of the building and the group of sligs celebrating a job well done with each other. Joan now realized, disappointed:

"So it really was just nature this time, wasn't it?" It was already late, and she was going home empty handed.

Or, so she thought until she saw a dim orange glow in the middle of the mess. With the sligs distracted with their egos, Joan filled her empty hands with the gem and booked it as fast as she could, looking back to see if they saw her take off with it or not. " It's not interfering evidence if everything's burnt, right ?"

She smiled, now satisfied that she at least got some fruits of this labor. But what even was the fruit?

Joan looked into her palms, eyes widening and becoming transfixed in the golden honey glow. Sucked in. It's a necklace.

She raised it by the chain of the necklace, letting the moonlight shine through the gem.

A beetle lay slumbering peacefully in what looked like amber. Joan gasped lightly when it's eyes opened, tapping the other side. Joan brought it closer.

"You're aware?" She whispered, now conscious of keeping it away from plain view. It gave a small, peaceful nod. Joan gave a large, excited grin in return.

"That means...I can return you! And whoever owns you..is Abe." Her smile grows wider. "Right, am I right??" It taps happily once more before returning to sleep. 

Joan smiles, putting the necklace in her front pocket. 

Joan spent the night outside her apartment with a late vending machine dinner, and the mysterious Earth radio station making her realize that even almost dying couldn't ruin this new good mood.

---

Abe saw stars, but not in the sky.

He hyperventilates, clinging a paw to his chest as his tattoos dimly glow with electricity. He wouldn't stop drooling. His mouth overflowed with saliva, leaking behind his stitches and making the smallest puddle on the ground. He wiped his mouth frantically staring up at the black sky. 

He almost ate someone. Somebody begging not to be eaten. Somebody clearly running away, fearing for their life, just as he did at Rupture Farms-simply for sneaking a peak at something they shouldn't have.

When he becomes Shrykull, it's like every sensory nerve can feel everything at the same time. As soon as that girl's smell hit him, he was under hypnosis. It smelled so sweet.

And its that very memory that makes him nauseous. Sweetness sounds revolting now.

"So then..why.." he thought. "Why did I let it happen?"

His walky talky vibrated as the static buzzed in. "Abe? Abe, ya there? Abe!" Abe unconsciously reached down and pressed the button. "Hey"

"About time! You find anything?" Alf pressed.

Abe looked down at his lap-a camera that slipped into Shrykull's grasp. "Maybe?"

Chapter Text

Alf, Toby and Stranger stared with widened eyes as Alf flipped through the photos the camera had spat out. Silent, looking amongst each other for reasonable answers in their expressions.

The first-the shoe factory fire, Shrykull a blur in the background. The other 3, the confrontation. Abe stood away from the others, camera in his shaking hands.

Stranger finally stood, taking one photo from Alf's hand. 

"Looks like somebody's followin' us. Well, followin' you."

Toby chimed in, however not looking up from the photos. "Somebody from the factory burnin' down." 

Alf sighed, standing from his chair abruptly. "Listen, it was only a matter of time before they start comin' after us, I told ya." He rested his arms behind his head. "We can't stay here, and the guys here need to relocate. No big deal."

Toby shook his head. "It's not that easy, Alf. The only people who show up after fires are police and news." He ran his paws up his head, clutching his backwards cap as if he were hiding under it. "A news reporter found us. If Abe didn't get that camera, we'd all be dead."

They looked up towards Abe, looking for him to have a solution.

Abe however, still shaking and camera slowly lowering to his side, not paying attention. "I almost ate her. I almost killed her."

Alf raised a brow. "Whazzat?"

"You shouldve." Stranger walked to Abe's side, arm resting on his shoulders. He leaned over, showing Abe the picture of Shrykull. "This person might try to get to us again. We need to be ready to take her out." 

Abe's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" He began pacing in a panic. "Absolutely not. She was running away, crying.." 

Stranger sighed, releasing his grasp and tossing the fluttering photo to the ground for Toby to catch. 

"Listen, I know you're the pacifist type. You don't have to do this. I can take care of it for you. We'll find her, pick her up, hear her out-and ya know, see where it goes." 

Abe gave a smile. "Really?" He placed the camera in Stranger's hand. 

He gave Stranger a thankful nod. "Big Face still here? Ah-there he is." Abe quickly strode to the shaman, his mind clearly in a different place at the moment. Stranger tossed the camera to the table. 

Toby caught the camera in a panic, not wanting to damage such nice machinery. Stranger turns to the two mudokons and cracked his neck and knuckles. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Ok, so it's likely that reporter will be at the next factory. We go along with Abe, we let him do his thing, and then we'll get her. We'll ask her who knows, and then we pop her. Make it quick, make it quiet so nobody else knows again."

Toby frowned. "Won't Abe be upset?" Alf rolled his eyes. "Yeah, duh. That's why we tell him we had to. After all, its not a lie. We do have to kill her now. Abe just doesn't get it."

Toby gave a curious look, head slightly tilted. "How will we know we have the right guy, though?"

Stranger reminded, looking at the last photo-a pair of legs under a yellow poncho. "Abe said it was a girl. Said she looked different." Alf smirked. 

"A girl who isn't a gluk, in a city full of gluks? This might be easier than we thought."

---

Marill stood gaping at Joan already waiting outside her first period door. She was finishing up the breakfast she made on the way. She slowly walked to Joan with a surprised grin. "Joan?" Joan pushed the rest of her toast into her mouth. "What?"

"You're on time. No, not even that..early!" She immediately sat on the wall next to her. "Wait, are you okay..? What happened yesterday?" 

Joan gave a teasing, warm smile. "You won't believe me."

Marill leaned in closer, shining brighter than the sun. "You can't fool me, Joan..you got a boyfriend!"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"No Marill, last night was much, much more than that!" Joan giggled excitedly. "I found something at the factory! A necklace-"

Marill's eyes immediately went half lidded as she backed away. "If you wanted a necklace, you could've just given Dahlia a chance and all of us could've gone shopping." She sighed. "You would've loved the place we ate at Joan. It was so cozy and cute. Dahlia really knows how to find a good sale-I know you love thrifting!"

"Hey, come on-" Joan gently nudged her friend. "I promised next time we hang I'll join you guys- it's not like you're gonna leave Dahlia alone now." Marill giggled. "Right, well I'll catch you at lunch." She skipped off to the stairs to the bottom floor. "See ya!" 

Joan smirked down at her front breast pocket-making sure nobody could catch it's amber glow by pulling the outer layer of her jacket over her.

In reality she knew she was likely gonna skip class today, however the second floor hall she was in was in direct pathway of the common area and mess hall. This is where students often gather to have lunch, watch the news or carry out club activities and meetings. The weather this morning called out for more thunderstorms, so Joan was keeping her eyes peeled and her ears open.

"Did you hear about yesterday?" 

"Yeah, some poor old guy got struck by lightning in his own factory!"

"No way? You think Mullock's got a hitlist?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. He's probably got some kinda hitman doing the dirty work for him while he hides. 

"Ugh, what a fuckin scumbag! Takin’ down other innocents just because he's guilty and doesn't wanna be alone."

Joan sighed, hand on her chest. 

"Nah." She thought. "They're just all guilty."

Finally, the weather slig chimes in with the time and temperature. "Smog is heavy today folks-wearing a mask is a good idea. We've got more storm clouds coming our way. As a reminder from yesterday's lightning atrocity, we ask that you stay indoors and refrain from overlooking your garden from your actual iron, conductive patio. I dunno about you guys but toast is not a good look right now-no? Too soon?"

Joan bit down on her knuckle in anticipation. "Come onnn, the winds, come on! What direction are the winds?" 

Joan got her notebook out of her backpack quickly, her phone out with the map of her live location. 

"Uh, anyway-we may be looking forward to a rainy season. However, the storm seems to be moving northeast, not much further. We're gonna have a wet next few days folks! Remember not to stay in the rain for very long. Huh? What? No, I'm not gonna joke about that one. I uh, love my job. "

Joan nodded, scribbling into her notepad. She bit her lip as she zoomed out on her map. "So whatever factory that's further northeast of the shoe factory is….here!" She tapped on the factory, bringing up the directions. The lightning struck the last building and that was where the beetle was found. Joan zipped up her jacket and pulled her mask over her face. "Where there's a storm, there's Abe." She pulled her backpack over her back, dipping out of the building right as her first period professor unlocked the door to his classroom.

---

"There she is-what I tell ya" Stranger handed Alf his binoculars, the two of them perched on a nearby building. Alf looked through, eyes widening. "I don't get it. How did she know we were gonna be here?" Stranger took back the binoculars, wind tossing his golden hair. 

"Obviously, we've been followed longer than we thought." He growls, gripping his crossbow. "Who knows how much she knows." Stranger gazed through his crossbow scope, holding his breath and steadying his aim, crosshairs on the human girl's face. Stranger releases his breath as he shot out a black, webby net bomb. Before it even hit her, Stranger pulls Alf along. "Come on. Let's get her before anyone sees."

As they slithered in the city shadows, Stranger advanced quickly on all fours to the wriggling, messy net. 

Joan had no time to scream for help. She was already instantly trapped before she noticed. Her attempts to quickly tear the netting around her were in vain as the tall mudokon began tying her in duct tape like a well packed cigar. 

"Wait, I can explain! I-" She was cut off by tape enclosing her mouth. Alf stared her down with a scowl. 

"You'll be explain', alright." Alf tossed her to Stranger, grabbing her backpack. Stranger loaded the person over his shoulder like a sack of flour. Alf walked behind them, arms crossed as he faced the stalker. "Cus if you don't, yer toast. Even if you are cute."

Stranger groaned. "That last bit wasn't necessary, Alf."

Stranger opened the manhole, taking the ladder down into the sewer. Joan growled from behind the tape, clearly protesting."

"Well, it's not much different from the surface to be fair."

In the room behind the commons, Stranger throws Joan into a seat, a lightbulb dangling from the ceiling, with other chairs and tables surrounding her. She attempted to survey her area, but this was an underground system she had never been to before. Everything looked the same-like a typical area under construction.

Stranger leans in closely, squatting in front of her. He takes the photos from one of his pockets. "I take the tape off, you better start talkin’. Cus this? This don't look good." He flaunts the photo of the factory fire. He rips the tape off, Joan noting to thank him later for the free lip wax. 

"I needed to see if it was true! It's just, well..nobody believes Abes real."

Stranger pointed his crossbow right on her head. 

"So you want people to know?"

Alf grumbled. "Of course she does! News reporters take photos! Toby was right-if these got out, we'd be screwed!" Alf dragged his thumb across his neck harshly. "Do it!"

"Wait!! Its not like that at all!!" Joan cried, squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't work for the news, I'm a student!" She nods her head toward the bookbag Alf was holding.

"Look! See look in there-" 

"No WAY!" Alf was exasperated. "You set us up!! There's probably a bomb or something you want us to see."

Joan sighed. "I dunno. I'm feeling kinda 'set up' here myself."

Alf huffed, dropping the bag. "No way."

Joan cracked a smile "If it was a bomb wouldn't it have gone off just now?"

"Depends on the bomb." Toby dipped in with sandwiches. "We didn't have breakfast today so I thought brunch would be nice" Both Alf and Stranger gave a confused expression to the small, puppy eyed mudokon. Alf interrupted. "What was that about bombs, Toby..?"

Toby's eyes dart straight to Joan. He gives a curious smile, only to notice the other two men glare at him for doing so. He looks away as he hands food to his comrades.

" So, you guys killing the human or what?"

Alf squinted. "Oh right, that's what they're called. They come from Earth right?"

Joan's heart stopped. She should've known not to celebrate too early-she wasn't dead yesterday because fate decided her end was now. 

"Woah-woah woah! Please, for god's sakes hear me out!" Joan quaked in her boots. " Please. I'm begging you. I have all the proof in my bookbag. I'm not trying to hurt you guys."

Stranger swiped the bag from Alf, roughly rummaging for anything dangerous. Joan sighed. "But..can ya be a little less rough? I need that stuff.." Stranger growls, chuffing harshly. Joan shifted inward in fear.

"Okay yeah, asking too much."

Stranger pulled out the notebook she wrote in earlier, along with her phone. He tosses the bookbag back, Toby deciding to shuffle through the rest of what's in there. 

"You... were following the wind?" Stranger squinted.

Joan looked proud of herself. "Well, you see, every factory so far up until now has exploded in a similar mysterious fashion. Where there's lightning, there's always something related to the workers disappearing. But if they're dead, why are there only autopsies of the Gluks in charge? There's no way that many bodies just turned into ash and dust." 

Stranger loses his temper momentarily, one giant hand gripping her tiny throat. Only centimeters from her face, his tense heat invading her space. His cat-like eyes were so intensely sharp she couldn't bare to look back at them.

"You're dead, creep."

Just as Stranger reeled his other bare hand back to dig his sharp claws into the girl's jugular. Toby quickly jumps to his side, wrangling his one arm to stop him. "Wait, Stranger!!" Stranger was furious, glaring at the small mudokon hanging onto his arm. He waves a card in his face. "She's telling the truth! Look!" Stranger gently lowers Toby down as he looks at the tiny plastic card in front of him.

Nolybab University Student ID

Joan Feiruz

Major: Sociology

Age: 23

Student ID #: 37053138756

Race: Human 

Stranger calmed down, looking down at the small ID photo and then back at the girl. He decides to pull up a chair and sit in front of her, tossing the ID to the table.

"So, if you're just a student, why the hell are you following us?"

Joan gave a sigh of relief. "I frequent a lot of...blogs. Many articles. The day Rupture Farms burned it just sounded like something was getting covered up. I'm from Earth, I know a thing or two about false history. Hell, when I originally came to Oddworld I was hoping to escape that. But honestly... it's just as bad if not worse here." Joan looked down with a somber expression.

"Most life forms don't know what to do with life. We all have different ideas, solutions on how to live and evolve. None of us know how to do it right. But.." She looked up, brows furrowed in seriousness. "But, with certainty, we know what not to do. Especially Earth knows what not to do, because we did it. Not all planets have to end up the way Earth did."

The room fell silent, the men staring amongst themselves once more. Alf adjusted his hat as he went to the table, taking a closer look at the girl. "So..you haven't been stalking us...you're a follower?"

"A follower of 1029? Yeah."

Stranger leaned back. "Well, I'll be damned."

Joan blushed. "Also, I have something to return. You guys left something behind at the last factory. Can't imagine what would happen had the police not have their little circle jerk for each other."

--

Abe climbed down the ladder, still tired and forever tired. He dragged his feet on the ground, at least thankful the sewer had the zen sound of flowing water to clear his mind. However this sound was overpowered by the sweet smell hitting all 4 of his nostrils. He gasped, quickly covering her face as he staggered back. Shrykull was already salivating. 

"So, it turns out I actually.. can't control Shrykull as good as I thought."

"I knew it, Abe. How long has this been manifesting?"

"It just...started. I almost ate someone."

"Ah..Shrykull feeds off your feelings, your hunger, you see. This could be anything-to control yourself you must find what satisfies both you and Shrykull's carnal instincts. If you must, you may have to hunt wild game yourself."

"I don't..want to kill anyone. I don't wanna hurt anyone."

"Abe..as much as we all hate to admit it, death is simply part of the life cycle we live. You have immense power inside of you-a God. A destructive God. Death is necessary for the growth of good."

Abe shakily lit a stick of incense to burn in his hand, covering the majority of the smell with herbal smoke. 

If he really has to kill, it's only because he has no choice. To even associate himself with the same actions of his enemies, them he is his own enemy.

Abe turned the corner, eyes dilating as he saw his comrades interrogating the human, wrapped in a cocoon of duct tape. "What are guys doing ?" He was exasperated, immediately running to Joan. "This isn't what I thought you meant by 'taking care of it'!"

Joan couldn't give less of a shit anymore.

There he was. The real Abe. His chest tattooed, his skin not just blue-but midnight blue. In nothing but a loincloth and backpack, his body told a story like a Greek statue. Joan tried her best not to stare as the mudokon cut up the middle of her duct tape cacophony. She finally mumbled, staring into the eyes that seemed to match the amber glow emanating from her chest pocket. "You're….Abe the Savior?" 

Abe hiccuped, looking away as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Uh..yeah that's me." 

"You're...a real hero." Joan grinned widely, still in awe. For months she had been trying to estimate what he would look like based on the various descriptions from new sources. But none of them compare. Not even close.

"Oh!" Joan woke up from her daze, reaching into her front pocket before pulling out the beetle necklace. "Here. You lost this." Abe gasped. He hadn't noticed. He was too busy wallowing in guilt, which only seemed to hurt worse when getting called a hero. Did she know it was him?

"I'm not a hero. I'm just a puppet to whoever wants to use me." 

The scent and softness on the skin of her hands approaching his face, cradling the air his head was as she lay the necklace back around his neck, receiving a little tap from the magic beetle inside. Abe quickly retreated a hand to his side, giving a weak smile. 

"I almost killed you, and yet you help me."

"Thank you.." Abe's voice was soft. Joan couldn't help staring at his mouth. She had never seen a mudokon with stitched lips before. Now that she looked at him, it was obvious how supernatural he was. It was transfixing.

"I promise, I won't tell anyone." Joan stood, putting her ID into her front pocket. "But...I just want you to know Abe, I believe in you. I know you don't know me, but I'm willing to help in any way I can to make everyone a witness to the horrible truth." She gathered her scattered books as she put them back in her bookbag. "It's a personal goal of mine. The journey to peace is lifelong." She pulled her bag back over her shoulder. "My name is Joan Feiruz. The early societies of humans were built and evolved helping each other survive the cruelty of circumstance. Those who take advantage of this innate instinct are evil."

She held out her hand to shake his gently. "I gotta get back to class. Thank you, Abe"

She left as if she was never interrogated, Abe stuck blinking and staring at his hand.

Chapter Text

"Good Afternoon, Nolybab! Howsa' bout a lunch break with your man, DJ Biff Burger! So did anyone hear that thunderstorm earlier this morning? Well, Elliot's Fast Fashion Emporium sure did! Rumor has it Mr. Elliot was admitted to the emergency room 15 minutes ago with 3rd degree burns and a broken skull. And LIVED. Anyway-"

The radio had once again rotated into a new batch of songs. Marill tore the plastic from the utensils that came with her microwave noodles, ripping the little seasoning packet before eagerly sipping. She jolted quickly as the hot soup burned her lip. 

"Ah, how sad.. I'm not sure if dying or living like that is worse." Dahlia tapped her cigarette in the ashtray in the middle of their table. 

"Hm?" Marill mumbled, hand still fanning her burnt lip.

"Living after an explosion like that. And now, we have to WAIT for a tailored nightdress!" Dahlia gave a pouty sigh, scrolling her phone with one of her hands as another holds a fancy wrapped deli sandwich. 

Joan hurried to the cafeteria, haphazardly scooting into her seat across the two girls. When her rush prompted staring from her classmates she gave a weak smile, shoving her bookbag down as she got out her lunch. Marill blinked, confused and gulping down the broth of her noodles. 

"Since when was Joan Feiruz early to class and late to lunch?" Marill gave a curious smirk. "You sure you aren't seeing somebody?"

Dahlia perked up from behind her phone, quickly putting it away at the mention of love life.

"No way, Joan, are you seriously dating right now?" Once more classmates looked at their table, Joan quickly shrunk to cover herself.

"No, I'm not. What makes you say that?" Her face was red, really not appreciating the weird looks. Dahlia only giggles sweetly before burning out her cigarette and rummaging through her purse.

"Well, why wouldn't you? Just because you're in a different world doesn't mean you can't find love." She twists the glittering red lipstick, looking into her crystal compact as she talks. The buttery lipstick sweeps over her mouth in such a studious fashion it's like even in real life she's posing for some camera out there.

"Besides, queens are rare. To top it off you're human, too. You could get really popular with the guys here if you just...ya know.." She looked a little awkward. "How do I say this-if you just kept to yourself a little more? Have more poise?"

"Talk about life outside of tin foil hat bullshit? Yeah, sounds about right." Marill slurps down her noodles. Both ladies looked shocked that the word "bullshit" was being uttered from this cute grubb's mouth. Marill finally looked up, clearing her throat with a ting of embarrassment tinting her cheeks. "N-no offense, Joan."

Joan cracked a smile as she opened her lunchbox with surprise. It had a little extra sandwich stuffed in from earlier-the mudokon in the backwards cap left a little note saying "thanks! From Toby" With a cute little smiley face on it. Her smile grew wider, as she took a big bite. 

"Don't worry about it. I know where you guys are coming from." Joan looked off to the side, dazed as she re-lived that morning. Abe.

He was real. Nobody but Joan knew. A light in the deep, deep darkness. Hope inside the shadows. Two bright golden eyes peering into the black oblivion of injustice, waiting to shed their light on the ugly cruelty of his world. 

Abe. Her mind continued to drift. " Abe. Abe. Is Abe short for Abraham? The name seems almost noble. Biblical. It was biblical, wasn't it? What were the religious texts on Oddworld?"

"Well.." Joan said softly. "There is this...person...I really admire." Marill gasped, leaning forward. 

"I knew it!" She put both her hands on the table, staring intently at her alien friend. "What's he like, Joan? Is he cute?" 

"Ugh, please Marill. Looks aren't everything." Dahlia put her compact away. "A real great guy has status. What do other people say about him? What's his rep? Is he a good, dependable guy-or is he just a lazy, aloof jerk?" Dahlia shook her head, delicately resting her chin on a pair of hands. "Love is like a contract. You wanna spend your life with some schmuck?"

"Actually.." Joan thought to herself, voice lost amongst the two young ladies sharing romantic experiences. "He's all of that."

---

"Hey! Give it back, Alf! I'm not done-" Toby whined as he chased Alf, attempting to grasp at the large brown book. Alf grunted, flicking Toby on his forehead sharply.

"No way-you stole it from the human!" Toby looked guilty, twiddling his fingers. "I mean..technically, I traded."

"Traded?"

Toby nodded. "Yeah. Gave her a sandwich."

"I s'pose that's alright then..huh.." Alf winds down as he returns the book to his little brother, a serene smile along his face as he holds the book to his chest. In elegantly gilded letters the title read The Complete Mythos of Mudos, Anthology II. 

"This was in her bookbag?" Toby nodded once more.

"This wasn't the only one either! I'm almost done with this one already.." He sighed looking frantically for where he marked his page- right in the middle. "I kinda wish I took the one about physics.." He daydreamed, raising the book to the dingy light above them. "Imagine-after all our lives not knowing nothin’..then knowing everything." Toby looked, eyes sparkling. "Think about all the stuff we didn't get to have-how much we have left to look at." His smile shined bright as he chuckled to himself. "That's why bein’ free is so fun!"

He finally falls back into a rough looking chair as he leans back and makes himself comfortable enough to continue reading.

Alf couldn't agree more. He tenses up at the smallest wave of discomfort remembering what Abe had told them about their lives.

"By the way-" Toby didn't look away from his book. "Shrykull's mentioned a couple times in this."

Alf raised a brow. "Wait..a book? That mean they can catch Abe?"

"No way. Says here Shrykull's a God of Justice-" As he describes him, he uses his hands to paint his action. "Striking down sinners with his mighty thunderbolts of judgment." Alf gave a soft chuckle at Toby's excitement. It sounded like he was quoting the book itself.

"And Abe's got that inside him?"

"Unfortunately"

Abe's usual voice surprises them with it's sudden presence. He walks in with the ever stoic Stranger, Alf perking up with interest.

"You're back. Whatdya find out?" 

Stranger shook his head as he pulled out a chair and copped a seat. He leaned over the back of the chair, taking off his hat and shaking the dirt from his hair.

"So wherever them eggs came from is where your mother is. Problem is, we've been through the first few factories this bunch was rescued from. And they didn't have any inventory logs on the things."

Alf looked confused. "Yeah, we knew that. What, these factories were fer clothes, right?"

Abe sighed, leaning against the wall. "These factories are all owned by the same company. We don't know the address for that company's home base." 

Toby cleared his throat on purpose, eyes not leaving his book. "You know, we don't have internet and we can't go out. I bet that human girl can though."

Alf rolled his eyes as Toby continued. "She's on our side, right?"

Abe immediately looked uncomfortable. "Toby..no, we can't. Do you know how much danger she'd be in? Out of the question.." Abe squinted and frustration lightly painted his face as he walked over to loom over Toby, crossing his arms.

Toby didn't look up for a few seconds, but once he noticed his older brother glaring at him he clutched the book to his chest. "I-I was just learning!! I'll give it back, I promise!"

Abe sighed. "Toby, this girl probably needed that book for school." Abe gently pulled the book away from Toby's grasp. "We're giving it back, and then we are done bothering her, okay?" Toby pouted, curling up in his chair.

"You guys know I'm right, though! She said she could help us." 

Stranger shrugged when the older mudokons looked back to him. "He's got a point. If anybody's gonna offer help, we better take it. 'Specially if it's free."

Alf growled, pulling his hat down. He knew how Abe was feeling right now, and did not have the heart to look. 

"We still don't know if we can trust her though, do we?"

Toby tilted his head. "She returned something to us. We can, can't we?"

Abe looked down at the necklace on his chest, pulling it up across his face.

Even after Shrykull almost decapitated her, she came back. Abe's face was now strong with determination.

"I'll see what I can do. Maybe she has information we can't get to without help." Abe slid the book into his bookbag, immediately leaving to go right back up the ladder to the surface.

"And Toby- it doesn't hurt to just ask, man."

Stranger shot up as Abe was already mid-ladder.

"Abe, ya know where Nolybab University is right?"

However, Abe was already gone. He slowly sat back down with a huff. Alf tissed at the bounty hunter. "We're really doing this then, huh?"

"Well, we got no choice now." Stranger lit a cigarette, leaning back as the smoke drifted from his nostrils, ushering in the silence.

Chapter Text

Night time in Nolybab was pitch black, only illuminated by neon lights, signs and advertising as the cars and ships zoomed past. Abe was crouched, hidden in the darkness inside a small fake bush. 

He wished he at least got direction's before looking for the university, but considering it's size it wasn't too hard to happen across it eventually. The street lights on campus gave a light hum, Abe circling the building as he looked for any signs of the girl.

Abe's eyes land on a high window, possibly on the fourth floor. The orange light from inside bloomed, and suddenly-there she was.

Abe starred as the human looked like she was climbing a ladder. "At least she's still here.." Abe crawled away, slinking back into the plastic shrubbery.

This was the first time Abe had seen how other people lived, outside of slavery. He was immediately envious of the frat kids throwing a frisbee around and the groups of kids huddled together, talking the night's youth away over coffee.

Smiles. Laughter. Not a tired face to be seen. They all look so carefree. The biggest problem occupying their lives is likely a test or new job. "I wonder what that's like." He thought bitterly to himself.

However, the clouds of his emotions were quickly faded as his eyes spotted a fellow mudokon-in a similar loin cloth, a ring of silver keys sparkling on his hip. He whistled, minding his own business as he dragged along a wheeled bin and mop. He was a janitor, and aside from the uniformed long sleeves and hat, Abe was once in his exact position. Clueless.

Abe dug through his backpack, finally finding a spare gumball. Crossing his fingers, he throws it square at the janitor's hat. It hits perfectly, the janitor rubbing his head as he looks around. "Hey!! Which one of ya threw that?!" He tosses the gumball in his mouth anyway, pouting as he looked for the usual immature frat gluk who spat at him. Finally, he sees a mudokon hand waving from the bush. He growls more, rolling up his sleeve. "Ooooh so you're one of them free kids, huh? I'll show you.." He quickly paced to the bush, his anger fading as he saw the peering bright eyes slowly emerging from the dark leaves, the light finally showing the telltale brown stitches. He gasps, Abe quickly shushing him and pulling him down.

"No way. Are ya seriously saving me?"

Abe nodded. "I also need a small favor from ya. I need to see someone in there." He pointed to the large arched window. "Here."

Abe whistles gently, a flock of pure white doves heeding his call. 

---

Knock Knock.

"Office Hours are closed, unfortunately!" The chronicler adjusted his glasses when he called out to the knocks on his door. However, the response was simply more knocking. The professor squinted as he glided his chair to the door. Peaking his face out, he is greeted by a sharply dressed intern holding a clipboard alongside an aging Glukkon dressed for a funeral. "Professor Ligma.." The glukkons words were drawn out slowly.

Ligma's eyes blinked. "Dean of Students? Ah, come in." He opened the door for the two of them, attempting to use the door to block their gaze. He already knew what this was about.

"The Interplanetary Immigration student is attending your Sociology 105 lecture, aren't they?" 

"Y-yes. What is it about her?" He returned to his desk to organize papers-a feeble attempt to flee the discomfort.

The intern, however, invades the sanctuary of ignorance as they plop a campus newspaper article in front of the professor. On it, a photo of a demonstration on climate change full of students and workers, and in the middle of the crowd-holding a sign-a human girl. Ligma sighed as he quickly looked away to the window overlooking the campus grounds.

"Listen, I know Joan has been entertaining chaos here on our campus lately. At this point with how many incidents we've had, I'd understand wanting to suspend her. However.." He rested his head in his hand. "Please remember, she's an alien. An Earthling. The Intergalactic Government had warned us that interplanetary travel can cause mental-chemical disturbances."

The Dean's face twisted with menace. "We are paying to have this student study here." He walked behind the chronicler, lowering his face next to his. "You are the only professor defending her. You better make this worth our money, Ligma." 

Ligma turned his chair, looking down at his lap solemnly.

"Her grades are wonderful, and she's passionate about learning." He finally looked up at the Dean. "We are not responsible for what students do outside the classroom, however.."

"If she tries to start another demonstration.."

"She won't." Ligma pushed his glasses up. "I promise. I will have a talk with her." 

Dean simply glared, before slowly exiting the dimly lit office as the intern slammed the door shut. The professor finally exhaled his tension as he slumped back in his chair.

---

"Ey, what the hell are you doing out here?!" The mechanical steps of a slig chased after the blue mudokon in uniform.

"Who told ya you could have a break?!" The mudokon turned his heel quickly, immediately bracing for the swift impact of a baton. The night guard slig rolled the trashcan to crash into his body. "I told ya the C Wing bathrooms are THAT WAY" He pointed in a nonsense direction. "We don't pay ya to feed birds, we pay you to clean drunk kid puke."

Abe simply tipped the uniform hat he borrowed, trying to take away the attention from his paper sanitary mask covering his stitches. He rolled the trash can away as he followed the sligs directions, returning to the building the janitor had been rescued from.

"Now how the hell do I get to the library.." His eyes roamed the directory in front of him. He followed the lengthy empty halls down into the main building, somehow uncomfortable with the cool tiles beneath his feet. 

Finally, meeting in the middle at a four way junction between the mess hall, art department, and computer lab-the library. Two obscenely tall wooden doors, slightly open and orange light flooding the dark empty building. Abe felt a smirk come across his face as he tiptoed to the door, head barely peeking through.

The last time Abe had done this…

"No." He thought. "Nothing bad is gonna happen here. I can trust her, right?" At this point in time it seemed like everyone was after him. He'd be disappointed, but not surprised if this girl was trying to trap him.

"Hello?" He called out into the library. 

"Hey!! Sorry-I know library hours are almost done and-"

"Joan?" Abe perked up at the only voice who responded. Assuming she was the only one there, he lets himself in. There she was, hyperfocused on a book and multiple notepads of hers scattered on her table. Abe was immediately run over by the smell from that night, now clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth. He couldn't imagine how much worse it would be without the mask.

She looks so..curious. She looks so different. Her hair was silky, like fur rather than feathers. Her eyelashes were completely natural rather than the ones most people glue on. " They look like butterflies" Abe's mind wandered. Her skin was so smooth. Everything about her exuded softness and comfort. Despite his stuck jaw, he rested his shoulders. 

Finally, she looks up. She gasps, immediately zipping from her chair and pulling him behind the bookcase.

"Abe!? What the hell are you doing here?!" She looked around the library for any person or camera who might have seen.

Abe jolted at the touch. The silk of skin had never felt so sharp. 

"S-sorry.." Abe finally mumbled. "I just came to give you your book back." He reached into his backpack and returned the mythology book to her hands. She blinked, before giving a small smile.

"So that's what that note was for. He must've found it in my bookbag when they caught me."

Abe shook his head, hand roaming over his cap. 

"I'm so, so sorry he stole it. I hope you didn't like, get in trouble or anything."

Joan flipped through the pages quickly. "Nah. It's actually..personal."

"Personal?" Abe blinked. 

Joan nodded, pulling out the chair next to hers, patting the seat. "It's kinda crazy." Abe toyed nervously with his fingers before slowly sitting next to her. His fists clenched the fabric of his loincloth, the sweet scent flooding his senses. "Don't, Shrykull. Please don't." His hand covers his forehead-his upper nostrils. He nervously laughs. "No, not at all. Can't be any crazier than anything I've done. Heh."

"Well.." Joan leans in, flipping to the page that Toby had marked for himself.

"The day I found your necklace, I saw this..thing." She pointed to the rather vague ink painting of Shrykull on the page. "I consider myself to be a woman of science, but I've never seen anything like this referenced in Oddworld. Not until I found this book."

Abe felt his skin crawl, his stomach in knots.

"This is a book on Oddworldian folklore. At first, I thought it was just a weird scrab. But this thing-it's a god." She ran her fingers through her hair, biting her lip. "A god was at that factory you took care of, Abe."

Abe, at this point, was now sweating. "The current political crisis Oddworld is having is bad enough to require divine intervention.." Joan sat back up, pacing to the window. She rested her hands on her hips, not able to believe her own words. "It's like the Earth's equivalent of God sending a flood." However, she puts the book back on the shelf she got it from, her own nervousness beginning to show. "The gods are upset with Oddworld-but nobody is gonna believe that, are they?" Abe looked up at her face-he recognized the heart ache and hopelessness. 

"Believing doesn't matter." Abe's words came out naturally, for once his honest thoughts being manifested into reality. "Even if people did believe in the power of  quarma, it'd still be this way. It's kinda how it works."

Joan sighed, resting her hands on the table. "Man, you guys really do have too much in common with Earth. Nothing stops on its own, does it?" She gave Abe a weak smile as she looked at him. Even despite the silly disguise and face mask, his eyes said everything. They were tired, wanting nothing more than to shut closed for a while, yet they were knowing enough to stay open and check every corner of the room. It pulled her heartstrings like a tightly wound violin.

She sat back down next to Abe, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for bringing it back. I guess I wasn't the only one curious about it." 

Abe gripped his loincloth tighter as his shoulder suddenly felt warmer. "N-no problem!" His eyes looked away, desperate. "My little brother really likes to read. He said your connections up here could help us." He looked back, tipping the cap over his face once more. "We can't exactly go places up here without getting caught."

Joan rested her jaw on her hands. "What is it are you looking for exactly? Nolybab is such a huge step right after Vykkers Labs."

Abe's eyes widened. "You knew that was me?"

Joan blushed, this time her eyes avoiding the Messiah. "Well..yeah. Everyone was raiding the drugstores for the next two weeks. They called it the Biggest Drug Shortage in Oddworld history." 

Abe leaned back in the chair, eyes wandering about the scattered notebooks.

"I'm looking for my mom."

Joan's eyes softened. It was worse than she thought, and that was already bad.

"They took you away from your mother?"

"I…" Abe pulled his mask down. "I need to know why she sewed up my mouth. The Shaman said I needed to cut them. I didn't,and then he died." He pulled the mask back up, pulling one of his legs up to rest on his knee. "I bet if I cut them, he would've lived."

Joan leaned in closer. The poor man already had too much to carry by himself.

"You can't blame yourself for something out of your power, Abe. He was the one who told you to cut off your biggest connection with your mom. You aren't responsible for him, or his death."

Abe sighed. "Thank you. I wish I could believe that." Joan smiled, once again putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"Believing doesn't matter." 

Joan gathered her things back into her suitcase. "I'll get you whatever you need from the surface. Actually, I do have an idea. I'm guessing you guys never got to read as slaves, huh?"

Abe shook his head silently.

Joan spread out her arms. "Well, consider the Nolybab University Library yours, Abe." Abe looked up in shock. "Huh?!"

"I'll rent whatever books you and your brothers want." She gives him a quick hug. Abe nearly passes out, eyes rapidly  fluttering him in and out of consciousness. 

It was all so intense.

"I'll come back tomorrow night Abe! In the meantime, uh.." She gave the uniform a once over. "Don't...risk your cover like this ever again?"

Abe huffed. "It's not that bad! I used to be a janitor, you know. Nobody notices!" 

"The building is mostly empty Abe of course nobody notices!" Joan giggles, turning off the remaining lights as she sets herself on her way back home.

Abe, left to himself in the darkness, collapses to the floor and lies on his back as he gasps in the fresh air, the intoxicating sweetness finally leaving him alone with his thoughts. What the hell was this feeling he felt right now. He stared blankly at the ceiling through the darkness.

"What have I done? Did I seriously just get her involved?" He covered his face with his hands and groaned. "Why couldn't I just give her the book and leave?" His arms flopped to his side. "Im so stupid"

Abe left through the large library window, taking the words the girl gave to him along with. The ghosts of her hands still lingered on his skin.

Chapter Text

Despite the dark sky giving it's usual oppressive, heavy aura of void, Joan had an extra skip in her step. Her arms were woven over with the handles of plastic bags from the nearest superstore. The crowded sidewalk was usually overwhelming and congested, but Joan hummed and strolled as if it was empty.

She looked both ways quickly before dipping through the alleyway she was in last. She kneels down, carefully pulling the manhole to the side. Looking once more to the side, Joan not only wanted to avoid suspicion but also felt embarrassed by the idea of getting caught with her head in the sewer. She finally dips her head down into the hole.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed. 

"Hello? It's Joan. Can you guys hear me?" 

Silence only followed, Joan giving a slight pout. She didn't have proper knowledge of how to get to their hideout. Sighing, she stands back up. "Guess I gotta look for a while."

"Yo."

Joan yelped, jumping back from the mudokon suddenly popping his head from the manhole. She caught her breath, hand on her chest. He simply blinked, his heavy construction cap just slightly too big for his head. 

"Are you Joan?"

Joan felt a little awkward considering it seemed this mud knew her better than she knew him. "Uh..yeah." She lifted the plastic bags. "Got some stuff for you guys."

"Name’s Stoopy. Come on down and follow me!"

Joan passed the plastic bags to her new friend as she climbed down the steel ladder. Upon closing the manhole she realized it was nearly impossible to see.

She whipped her phone out from her back pocket, turning on the flashlight.

"Stoopy, right? Take one of those walkie talkies in the bag. I have a feeling you'll need one too." 

"Nah, I'm good. I don't need one." He put his hand on his hip, looking proud. "I know where everything is. I even have my own special places." 

"You got your own special places?" Joan couldn't help but giggle, thinking of her favorite grill in town. "Me too. Ever have a teriyaki skewer?"

"Those the things they throw out every night? Yeah, if they're still good. Most of them are actually. Why do they do that?"

Joan sighed. "That's just restaurants for ya. Stuff will still be perfectly good but they just throw it out because it won't make moolah."

"Guess we really are just pieces of meat, huh?"

Joan continued to follow Stoopy through the sewers. "To them, yeah."

Stoop was actually surprised by that answer. "Did people on Earth do that too?"

"Boy, did they ever. And now Earth is on it's way to death. Sure, it looks like its full of beaches now, but that's just due to flooding. Soon it'll just be another uninhabitable planet." Joan shook her head "that's what happens when it's every man for himself. We all just drown."

---

Abe's eyes shot open, pupils dilated. He gasped quickly, holding his breath in his chest.

Big Face's mask tilted. "Abe? Abe look at me."

"Oh no, I completely forgot she was stopping by today. Oh god."

"How did you…?"

Abe gulped. "You don't smell it?"

"Believe me, I wish I could smell something other than shit right now." 

Abe groaned, back sliding against the wall right after he stood up. "Here." He looks up, seeing Big Face's hand holding two small pieces of cotton. He kneels over, slowly pushing them up into Abe's upper nostrils. "All I can offer is more incense."

Abe covered his face in shame. "I don't get it. I'm not even hungry. Why does Shrykull wanna eat her? If he feeds off me then why is he hungry and I'm not?"

Big Face squeezed Abe's shoulders, pulling him back up to his feet. 

"You are in need of something, Abe. Shrykull knows this, but you don't." Abe closed his eyes, his frustration bubbling in the back of his voice. He did his best to keep it down. "I need to save my brothers."

He tore himself from Big Face, on his way to see the offerings the human had brought. "This isn't a priority."

"Yeah." Abe thought. " Since when was I ever a priority?"

"It's like everything else I just..gotta get over it." Big Face wasn't exactly sure what to say at that point, simply watching the Messiahs figure slowly fade to the blackness of the sewer that consumed him.

---

"Alf. Alf. Alf. Hey, Alf. Alf, hey. Hey."

Alf grumbled, simply putting his walky talky in his front pocket. "Toby, you're right next to me." Toby peered over the corner with a giggle. Alf crossed his arms. "You sure this kinda stuff can't be traced?"

Joan slumped, putting the plastic bags in the middle of the table, sliding a walky talky to the bounty hunter silently smoking at the end. "I'm sure. I would've gotten you guys track phones, but there is still a slight chance those could be used against us." She finally slid hers onto her belt. "My apartment isn't too far from here. You guys ever need anything from the surface you can call me." Joan turns to the sound of feet approaching-and there he is. She could finally drink in his appearance once more. "Abe, hey! I got some stuff." She gleefully trots to him, offering the device. "You can use this to communicate with me and others." Up close he only looked more detailed. He stood at just about six feet, his skin had a rough character to it. A pattern, grooves, as if touching him you could read him. His tattoos actually appear to be more akin to brands burned in. Joan blinked, clearing her throat to make it look like she wasn't staring. "If you ever need anything, I can get it for you."

"Yeah. I remember." Abe twitched from the contact of her hands once more. "Thank you."

"She's so much smaller than me. Can she even defend herself if somebody hurt her?" 

"You know, if you ever need us you can call us too."

"WAIT NO! If she's around us she'll just get into more danger. Oh god, but she's smiling so much. She's so happy, I don't wanna disappoint her. I can't just say no. I can't do that to her. What do I do. Say something!!"

Joan simply reveled in the fact her hero was offering to protect her. She did her best to control herself and not start squirming. "Thank you-but don't worry. I came to fight, Abe." Her face showed determination. She walked back to the table, pulling out a full map of the city she bought. "This should help out too-the maps you guys have are pretty small." 

Toby leaned forward, resting his head on his hands with a great big smile.

"Abe said you got a library!"

"Toby-" Abe sounded exasperated. "She's not here to just give us things." Joan merely giggled.

"I can, though." She wormed her arm around in her bag, pulling out the Mythos Anthology from before, now with a velvet red bookmark in the middle. "Marked your spot, Toby."

Toby gasped and hugged the book to his chest, big eyes sparkling up at the human. "Joan, I love you!" He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling into her cheek. "I'm gonna finish it tonight!" Joan patted his head. 

"You interested in mythology. Toby?"

The book was already open, Toby's eyes scanning over. 

"Kinda. I like reading about other heroes." 

Joan smiled, pulling out the rest of the supplies she thought would help the boys. "Heroes, huh? Well Toby, you are one already."

Stranger finally quipped in with a small chuff. "We ain't, superheroes, human. It's not that nice in real life."

Joan simply pointed, with a smirk on her face.

"Dirty Harry."

"Uh..pardon?" The steef raised his brows.

"You're Dirty Harry. Typical rugged, omnipotent cowboy. Pretending to be a tough, morally ambiguous hero when in reality you're just as feeling as the rest of us."

Stranger's eyes popped, slowly burning out the butt on his cigarette. For a few seconds he wasn't sure what to say before his face rested back into it's usual scowl. 

"You ain't funny. That’s a cool name, though.."

"Stranger has a point, Joan." Abe awkwardly rubs his arm, looking at the floor. "This isn't like, a fun story. It's...a lot."

Joan's gaze softened at the blue mudokon nervously trying to make himself seem like he wasn't stern. Doing his best to keep his gentle touch. 

"I know, Abe." She finally looked back down at the city map. "So far, you've checked these two factories, and came up with nothing?" 

Abe finally mustered himself to walk next to her, peering over the large laminated map.

"Yeah. And they have the same owners."

Joan looked at the man looming over her. He wasted no time. He somehow manages to pull off the impossible. The willpower was insane. There's never a moment when he isn't thinking about reaching out to the world that reaches back. He's not afraid to feel. Her cheeks burned as she looked up at his face looming over her, lost in concentration as his eyes crawled the map. "Whoever ships to the rest of these sister companies, is where the eggs are coming from. We're looking for a bigger place. One that has multiple distribution centers." 

"I see.." Joan took out a small notebook, writing down notes. "I'll research and see what I can find about these guys and their common denominator. You guys are gonna need office hours too. During the workday they're gonna be on the lookout the most."

Alf crossed his arms. "We can't just skip those factories though, right Abe?"

"No." Abe finally looked over to the human. "You got this map-is there anyway you can get factory floor plans too?" 

Joan rubbed her chin. "I'm sure there's some way I can't get those. If they aren't available the most I could do is find a way to sneak in and make my own."

Abe blinked, leaning in closer. His heart was pounding at the idea of the human sneaking in all by herself to act as his double agent. "Joan, are you sure? If, If somebody catches you.. they'll lock you up. Maybe even.."

"Abe." Joan put her hand on his, looking into his worried eyes. "Don't worry. There's more than one way to get information. It's not dangerous for me."

Abe's other hand squeezed into a fist behind his back, nails digging into his palm. "You can count on me."

He moves his hand away slowly, hand awkwardly twitching towards her shoulder, only for him to quickly retract it to his side.

"Thank you.."

Chapter Text

"Hey Joan! Finally got you." Marill's bell-like voice rang in through the phone speaker. "Can I study at your place tomorrow night? The library is all crowded with freshmen again."

Joan snickered. "You realize you barely actually study when you come over? It's okay to enjoy things, Marill." 

Joans loud conversation over the phone was but a whisper in comparison to the streets of Nolybab. She looks down at the rock hard ground beneath her, water running between the cracks. Her mind wandered as she followed the trickles deep into the ground. She was definitely enjoying herself, remembering the way Abe looked between her and the map from earlier. The way he looks, so deeply. Magnetic, almost. Like if Joan dared to actually stare back, she'd be stuck there forever.

"Hellloooo? Joan?*

"Oh, sorry. Yeah you can totally come over tomorrow night, Mar." Joan nervously laughed off her wandering mind. "Just don't go too crazy on the stuff, ok? Yes, it makes you study better but you really went overkill last time."

Marill gave a 'hmph!' over the line. "Well, I felt like overkill! Of course I won't do it again, come on!"

The two laughed, Joan unlocking the entryway. "Alright, see ya tomorrow, Marill. Goodnight."

"Night, Joan! Try to actually go to sleep tonight."

Joan hung up the flip phone before giving a sigh. The steel stairs leading up to her front door always creaked from age. As Joan pulled out her keys to unlock the front door, she froze from the extra rusty squeak that her feet didn't make. And then another one. Hands hovering over the keys still in the lock, she looks over her shoulder. She would be scared if she wasn't so curious. Her brows knotted as she squinted into the darkness. "Hello..?"

Two mudokon paws peer in between the steel bars of the stair fence, little black letters planting themselves in between like crude sheet music. B. R. E. W.

Joan kneeled down, whispering. "You..?"

"Alf." The voice corrected, the eldest of the brothers lifting his head to peer behind the fencing. Joan crawled closer, Alf keeping his grip tighter as his pupils shrunk. His stare was rather serious. "You followed me home?"

Alf finally pulls himself up and over the fence, towering over the girl kneeling in front of her door. "You like Abe a lot, don't you?" 

Joan's face went red as she scrambled back to her feet, haphazardly unlocking her door. "Well, I...I guess I do admire him and his work. Why are you asking?"

Alf simply approached closer, closing the gap between them as he kneeled to be at face level with her. 

"Shut up. I saw the way you stared at him, batted your lashes. And that smell-there's no way it's just that kinda admiration."

Joan was too confused to actually turn the door knob. 

"Smell?"

Alf blinked, thrown off slightly by her answer. "You couldn't be more clueless, could you?" Alf gave a chuckle. "Are you kidding? Smellin like that, I'm shocked the drones within a 10 meter radius aren't clawing the door down."

Joan found herself mildly annoyed. "So that's what this is about? You...smelled me?" 

Alf sighed, leaning back against the railing. 

"And if Abe could, I'm sure he wouldn't have rejected you so hard."

Joan finally opened the door, offering Alf to come inside, however not looking him in the eyes. She did her best not to sound defeated, but her heart instantly deflated.

"Rejected? Abe..rejects me?" She stared at the floor as Alf let himself in, hands in his pockets as he whistled roaming around her space.

He knelt over at Joan's desk, littered with various post-it notes and notebooks. One in particular-a moleskine sketchbook smoked gray by graphite. Touches of navy blue and indigo oil pastels smeared in blotches. The pages were filled with multiple mudokon portraits-each slightly different from the last. Alf grazed his fingers over it. "I guess 'rejected' is a bit harsh, ain't it? Maybe I shouldn't have said that. It's just, well, Abe doesn't get it." 

He lifts the sketchbook up, pointing to a particular portrait. "This one actually kinda looks like him."

Joan had already slipped off her shoes at the front door, boiling a pot of hot water. 

Her expression remained disappointed, despite Joan pretending she wasn't. "Abe probably isn't too happy with me intruding, is he?" She fished out a bag of chamomile brought from her home planet. "I'm sorry, its just, back on Earth we should've had this same revelation sooner. It could have saved us. Abe is dealing with all of this, for the most part by himself. He doesn't even have enough credit to be considered a real person yet. If people just knew the pain, the truth, it could save us."

Alf exhaled, leaning over the counter to look Joan in the eyes. "Abe can do it. I've seen him do things nobody else can. I don't know why, though. Never thought somebody who loved their job as much as he did would be setting us free. The guy was a real ass kisser." Joan's eyes sparkled. 

"He loved his life-I can't imagine what it's like to have what you love be what's killing you in the end."

"He's fine." Alf said as Joan poured him some tea. "He's.. special. Not like the rest of us. You don't know half the shit we've seen from him." 

Joan finally poured herself a cup, steam comforting her face. "I think I understand what you mean, Alf." 

Alf shrugged, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Not like he can help it, cupcake. Neither can we. He's got other things to worry about." 

Joan somehow felt her heart ping more. "He's right. Why the hell am I acting like this when it isn't the point? Abe isn't here for me, he's here to save the world." 

Joan felt a weak smile appear on her lips. "It's okay. Oddworld is more important, and I believe in that." She took her mug to her desk, immediately throwing herself into research. However, she could hardly start. 

Alf finally slammed his hand in front of her, his breath hitting the nape of her neck.

"Yeah, but, that doesn't mean you can't get a little love." 

Joan felt her entire body flush, spinning her chair to look up at the older man above her. 

His face was long, chiseled and distinguished. Every part of him seemed adorned with character, a scar on his lip and numerous faded tattoos all over his muscles. His eyes dug, and it was only then that Joan realized his irises had exploded in size. "You don't have to be alone, either."

Joan cleared her throat. "Are you serious right now?"

Alf tipped his hat with a cocky grin, eyes half lidded. "Only cus I feel sorry for ya’." 

"Sorry?" Joan smirked back. "Do I smell that bad?"

"Wouldn't be smellin ya if you weren't making the smell."

Somewhere farther in Nolybab, at the exact same time, two lazy sligs are on their night shifts. And they were the same as always. Quiet, boring, with nothing to do but listen to the radio at their post. The first Slig, we will call "dumb bastard number one". Dumb Bastard Number 1 is on his second donut. Dumb Bastard Number 2 has yet to have one. "Hey man, take it easy on the donuts! Leave some for everybody."

"I need the sugar, man, look at me! I'd still be awake if you didn't drink all the coffee."

"Make it yourself! Do you not know how to make your own pot of coffee? You could've even gotten a canned one on your break!"

"Hey man, chill. I'll get you a damn donut." Number 1 scrapes a last, pink frosted donut for his coworker, only for the alarm in their post to start blaring loudly. He drops the donut on a comically large red button, immediately opening the slog cages.

"Ohh great, now look what you did! Hurry up and help me get the frosting off, bonehead!"

"Well maybe if you weren't BITCHING so much I wouldn't have been so tense!"

The blaring never stops. The slogs run wild, clamping their jaws on the nearest slig guards outside. 

"And maybe you should just learn to do shit for yourself!"

"YOU IDIOTS LET THE SLOGS OUT!!! WHY IN GOD'S NAME DID YOU LET THE SLOGS OUT?!" A bloody Slig bangs on the glass before quickly being dragged down to his doom.

They both look at their fellow man being devoured by the hungry animals.

"Yeah, I'll start making my own coffee now.

"Jackass."

"Just don't tell the boss about this, right?"

"Deal."

Among the wild, slobbering slogs-untouched-a figure walking towards the post under the shadows. Amongst the strewn guts of the unknowing fellow officers, it creeps into the light.

The two dumb bastards had still not learned their lesson, daring to open the door and point their guns. "Freeze, dirtbag!"

Their shooting was in vain, the figure dispersing into a flock of pearl white birds, flying out of the windows. One of them rubbed their eyes before blinking for a moment. The figure was gone, slogs now calming down after eating their fill of sligs.

"Maan, I feel bad for whoever cleans this up tomorrow. So, uh..any more donuts?" 

---

The flock of birds came together once more, merging into light as Abe dropped down on top of the building. Stranger was panting, Toby patching up his bleeding arm as he yells at the walky talky.

"ALF!!! ALF!!! HURRY UP OLD MAN"

Abe felt his heart drop at the sight of Stranger. The bounty hunter simply grinned. "It's nothin, Mr. Lure." Toby gripped his device before shoving it down his back pocket. "Wouldn't have happened if Alf didn't bail!" 

"Don't worry about Alf." Abe looked down at the factory under his feet. "You guys find anything?"

Stranger and Toby looked at eachother with disappointed expressions. Stranger finally stood once his bandage was complete.

"No." He didn't look Abe in the eyes. Toby shook his head.

"Not only that but other records were gone too. Not just shipments, but there isn't a record for any newborn since we got out. They are trying to cover their numbers." 

Abe simply inhaled, clenching his fists. 

"Don't cry, Abe. Don't cry."

Abe took a few steps back away, only to close his eyes and be taken over. Lightning slowly ripped from his muscles, growing and multiplying as if Abe was a cloud.

Shrykull emerged, warping and shaping from the mold of Abe's body. The building had already caught fire, collapsing.

Fleeing the scene, they disperse into the night air-Shrykulls gallops, emitting the claps of roaring thunder. The storm was in it's climax. 

---

"Ahhh shit.." Alf pulled out his walkie talkie after the third, static choked "Alf!" He pushed it back down, kissing the temple of Joans forehead gently. 

"You know the walky talky policy."

Joan covered her face, hunched over the laptop on her desk in her pajamas. "We aren't using it for that, Alf."

"As you wish, m'lady." He gave a wink before dipping out the door-he was out as smoothly as he got in.

Chapter Text

With sirens blaring, blazes behind them, our heroes are on their way to their hiding spot deep within layers of water filled pipes-the veins passed from the skin of society.

Toby growled over his walky talky. "Alf, you big jerk!! Ya' know Stranger got hurt right?"

Stranger grimaced. "Kid, it's fine. I'm walkin aren't I?"

Toby, however, ignored this statement. "That's our protection, Alf! If we didn't have a bodyguard we'd be DEAD. You remember how much moolah that was for us!?"

Stranger was temporarily in awe. "Toby, really it's okay." Once again he mentally admires how the boy ceases to surprise him with every statement. 

Alf chimed over the transmission with a lazy growl. "Sorry. I got lost."

"HOW!?" Toby was stunned, his arm nearly throwing the walky talky into the ground.

Abe finally pulls the device from Toby's hand, finally bringing him back to the present. Stranger pats his head.

"Just be with us next time, Alf. We do need you."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You guys almost here?" 

Abe paused.

"Abe?"

His eyes opened wider, looking around himself. He looked everywhere. It was the smell again. " Did he not take her home like he said he would? Why is she still here?"

Toby and Stranger look back behind them, Toby looking concerned.

"Abe? What's wrong?"

Abe gasped, realizing he had to answer.

"Yeah-we are almost there. A-Alf?"

"What?"

Abe's face was scrunched in confusion. What was wrong with him? "You took Joan home, right? You said you'd make sure she gets home safe. Why did it take you so long?"

Abe's grip was tightening on the walky talky. 

"Yeah, she's home, man. Uhh, why?"

Abe now looked genuinely irritated. He looked around once more, Stranger and Toby already on their way down, occasionally looking towards Abe. He was wildly whipping around the alleyway, inhaling the air as he seemed to follow the trail closer to the sewer.

"Abe?" Toby's voice quaked from below. "Abe, you're scarin' me.."

Stranger gently pulled Toby by the back of his overalls, away from the entrance. He called up as well. "Mr. Lure..?"

Abe skipped the ladder and instead dropped in, rising in anger as a growl rumbled low in his speech. He spoke once more, despite not needing to.

"Alf, are you lying?"

"N-no. Like, for real she's at home."

Abe simply growled more. There was no mistaking it. The smell was only stronger down here. Much stronger. Why the hell was it still here even if she's gone? Didn't he stuff his upper nostrils? 

Toby reached out his hand, yet still keeping his distance. "Abe, can you hear me? You're drooling a lot..are you gonna ralph?"

"Aallf…" Abe's voice twisted, muscles thrashing and joints cracking. Bolts emitted from his skin and popped. With one lurch forward, Shrykull bloomed from Abe's body. The walky talky dropped to the floor, Toby scrambling to get it back. "Alf, take cover! Shrykull's out!"

Stranger quickly picks up Toby, ready to spring and flee. However, there was no need to. Shrykull seemed unstable, body less oriented than usual. That, and he galloped in a completely different direction. Stranger slowly put Toby back down, the two of them staring, dumbfounded, as Shrykull simply ran around the watery sewers, his cries roaring in the distance. "Toby, do ya know why he just did that?" Stranger blinked, already on his way to take a good nap. Toby looked down at the walkie talkie-functional, however now distorted from Abe's vice grip. "I guess he's pissed off? I-I don't really know." He shrugs, pressing the button to transmission once again. "Alf, did you hear all that?"

"Shit…" Alf actually sounded a bit guilty. "Yeah. But it's, true. I'm not lying. She really is home." Another roar echoes through the chambers. "That was him, wasn't it?"

"Yup. Don't get lost next time."

---

Underneath the mask, Big Face opened an eye. An unusual yet familiar set of noises were heard far away. He decides to break the prayer circle, clapping his hands at fellow 1029 members. "Until next week, brothers."

"Big Face, what's wrong?" One of them dared to ask. Everyone was rather put off.

"I must see our Messiah. Go, rest now."

Big Face reached for a bundle of herbs in his pocket, carefully stepping out into the sewer system.

His mask was nearly blown off as the mighty Shrykull zoomed past him, screeching nonstop and flailing his arms. "Abe!" He called out feebly, quickly jogging after him. "Abe, take control back!" 

Shrykull finally stopped, Big Face catching a sigh of relief. However, this quickly vanished as he watched Shrykull rear back, charge, and headbutt the wall. Big Face panicked, but was composed enough to begin chanting. His incantations were loud and powerful, lingering in the air as they penetrated the being in front of him.

"Who's there?"

"Abe, wake up."

"What?"

Shrykull slowly shrunk in, the intense red slowly fading into a deep deep blue. Abe's face finally emerged from the mouth of the beast, eyelids feeling heavy. His body returns to normal, only to slowly drop to the floor. Abe groaned quietly, hands cradling his forehead as he curled up. Big Face lights the bundle of herbs, letting the smoke clear the air. He approaches Abe, sitting next to him and letting the herbs calm his senses.

Abe finally mumbles, slowly retracting on hand. "Why..is Joan still here..?"

Big Face gently cradled Abe's head, lifting it to lay in his lap. "She isn't."

Abe's eyes began to open more, but not much. "Really, then..why.." Big Face shook his head, now pulling out the bloody cotton from Abe's nostrils and replacing it with fresh cotton. 

"Perhaps it's worse than we thought." 

Abe finally sits himself up, rubbing his head. 

"It always gets worse."

"I can't..I can't put her in danger." He gets back on his feet, legs shaking and Big Face spotting him from behind. "I can't be around her."

Big Face held his shoulders, still holding him as he recomposed himself. "Walk with me, Abe."

---

Toby crosses his arms. "I hope you're happy." Alf grunted, flipping through a newspaper.

"I said, sorry. I told you, I got lost. Don't exactly know where I'm going from her place, now do I? Tsk." Stranger was in the corner with his sleeping bag, arms crossed as he nodded off.

"Can you two just go to sleep already? Just check the damn factory off the list." Toby removes the cap from the marker, making little squeaks against the big map.

"Well, at least you did one thing right." Toby pulled out a chair, continuing his book. 

Abe was happy to walk into silence, hand still on his head as he rested against the wall. Big Face let himself in, bundle still burning and filling the air with smoke. "Abe, it's time you actually tell them how you're doing. Go on." 

Everybody wakes up, looking at Abe weakly sit in another chair, resting his head in his hands.

"Abe!" Toby set down the book immediately, scuttering to his older brother's side. "What's wrong?"

"I.." Abe started, trailing off. Once again, despite low energy, smelled the air. 

"It's here."

Abe squints at the eldest brother, slowly getting up and approaching him with a transfixed stare.

Alf gulps. "A-Abe.. what're you..?"

"Why do you smell like her?" 

Alf was agape. He lifted his hat as if to fix his vision of Abe-it was clear alright. And he wasn't deaf.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alf's voice began to quake.

Abe growled, a surge of energy electrifying his arms. He grabs Alf by the overalls, harshly pinning him against the wall. Stranger finally shot up to his feet, looking to Big Face for answers. Alf groaned, hands gripping Abe's wrists. It wasn't hard enough to hurt Alf, but it was more a shock than anything. Abe wasn't a physical guy.

"Agh! Geez.. what's your deal right now, Abe?"

Abe gritted his teeth. "You. Smell. Like. Joan."

"Abe." Big Face returned to Abe's side with the incense burning around his face. Abe blinks, slowly before releasing Alf from his grip. He was shaking.

 He almost hurt his own brother.

However, Alf understood. His eyes lowered, patting his brother to look at his face once more.

"What do you smell, Abe?"

Abe backed up, holding himself. "It's sweet. It's thick. The air feels..funny."

He hangs his head in shame.

"Ever since I almost ate her, that smell she's had-its making Shrykull unstable." Big Face sits Abe down, handing him the burning incense.

"We don't know why it's unnerving Shrykull so much, but Abe doesn't wish to hurt anyone. His control over Shrykull is getting weaker. If we don't figure it out soon.."

"He'll kill her?" Toby sounded like he was about to cry.

Abe shook more. Toby's quivering voice was making his eyes burn. "I ran because...we were gonna be eaten. If I ate her."

"You won't eat her." Alf said bluntly. "You shoulda said something sooner."

Abe actually lifts his head, trying not to hope too hard. "Alf..?"

Alf put his hands in his pockets. "Sounds like you've switched."

Abe, Toby, Stranger, and even the expressionless Big Face stared in confusion. The tension was replaced by questioning looks and head tilts. 

Abe scratched his head. "What?"

After a moment of silence, Abe finally crosses his arms-cheeks getting darker.

"C'mon-NOBODY knows what we're talking about??"

Alf gave a heavy sigh. "Alright. Raise your hand if you can smell Joan."

Alf and Abe are the only two raising their hands. Even Stranger admitted he smelled nothing in particular.

It finally clicks for Toby, eyes nearly falling out of his face. He covers his mouth, giving a vow of silence in that moment. Big Face slides his hand down his scalp.

"Oh no.. it's way worse than we thought."

"What?" Stranger looks amongst the men.

Toby cringes, inviting Stranger to look at him. He gestures with his hands. Stranger looks before snorting, trying not to laugh.

Abe, still hand in the air, went pale. He slumps into his chair, staring off into space.

"Oh, no."

Chapter Text

It was a rainy gray morning once again, Marill staring down at her lap at the courtyard bench. She waits alone, silent under her umbrella.

"Marill, dear?"

"Yes, Professor Ligma?"

Her free fist clenches her pleated skirt. Without the radio outside, all she could entertain were her own thoughts and memories.

"I noticed you took the seat next to the human exchange student."

"Y-yes! That's not bad, is it sir? I'll gladly give my seat to someone who needs it."

"No, no. You're fine. Joan is majoring in this course. She only started a couple months ago. Her grades are great, but..we have concerns."

Marill looked down at her breast pocket-a yellow pencil shaved down to the ideal length, topped off with an eraser that looks like an ape.

"I saw she loaned you a pencil."

"Uhm, yeah, it was nice.."

"Joan is often seen reading and studying alone. She seems to not be adapting to our environment too well."

"Oh.. that's very sad, sir."

"It was the first time I've personally seen the girl smile."

Marill looks up at the smokey clouds trickling rain down on her. "Joan needs to get out more, doesn't she?" She pondered, taking a deep exhale before standing back up, ready to once again take her place in class early.

Loud splashes of puddles approached the grubb. She knew what it was like to be lonely. Out on the Mongo, her only friends were her siblings. However, none of her siblings referred to their sister as a 'buddy'.

Even in Nolybab, being a Grubb, she's an odd one out. The difference was, here, she wasn't the only odd one out.

"Marill!!" Joan, as usual, jogs to catch up with her friend. Marill's smile-it replaces her somber memories.

"I knew your early streak would break!" She giggled. Joan's galoshes squeaked as the two walked together to the building. Marill begins putting away her umbrella. "I got something to show ya, girl!" As they finally head inside, the radio, warmth, and the tobacco and coffee in the air bring welcome them. With the briefcase still open, Marill flips out a sleek piece of paper, eyes sparkling. 

"What's going on? Is somebody else holding a demonstration?"

"You wish." She waves her hands at Joan excitedly, eager for her to read it. "Go on! Look!"

Joan’s curiosity died, a wave of dread following suit. "Really?"

It was a flier, and now that Joan looked, they were posted all over the walls. Dahlia's little emblem embellished the top in glamorous wax, with big bold letters reading at the top. " You're invited!: Dahlia's Fundraiser for Elliot's Fast Fashion Emporium. Free entertainment and drinks on behalf of Dahllface and the lovely folks at downtown Nolybab's Jazz Club. Must donate on behalf of Elliot's Emporium."

Joan raised a brow. "Huh. Wonder how much of that donation is actually Dahlia's money." She gives the paper back to Marill. Marill pouted, puffing out her cheeks and chasing her friend down the hallway.

"Joan! You promised, remember?" She grabbed Joans arm with a pleading look. "You don't know if Dahlia is bad until you talk to her!"  

Joan looked at her friend, not being able to help her heartstrings being tugged by that look. "Ah..right, I did, didn't I?" She sighed. "But, I don't know how I feel about donating to that place." Marill pulls in Joan next to her, squishing themselves together as she holds up the flier. "Then give her a chance! If you still don't like her by the time this fundraiser drops, I'll owe you!" She gave Joan a bright, shining smile. "You know, I still like you even if other people don't. I gave you a chance, didn't I? Do the same for Dahlia.." Joan gave a small smile before giving Marill a small hug. "Alright, we can hang this weekend. With Dahlia."

Marill squealed in excitement. "Yeeeeessss!!!! I'll text Dahlia that you said yes right now!"

Joan was taken aback. "Said yes? You mean, you guys both planned this already?"

Marill giggled, biting her lip mischievously. "Maybe."

---

Toby groaned into his palm, slowly dragging it down as his eyes stared at a certain spot on the ceiling. He wasn't having fun with this experiment anymore.

Alf growls, as he clenches the magazine. 

"Abe, you gotta be kidding right now, man. None of this-" he throws the magazine into the pile on the floor. "Makes you feel anything at all? "

Abe simply shrugs, unsure of why Alf was so distraught. "No..what am I supposed to feel about just a picture?"

Alf took off his hat, rubbing his temples. "They. Are. NAKED. Abe."

Abe scratched his rear. "Aren't we all? I mean, under clothes. I see myself naked all the time. What's the big deal?"

Alf grumbled, leaning his chair back. "There's no way, there's just no way. You sure you smelled her?"

"It smelled like sap, Alf."

"Damn it, that's the exact smell. What the hell is up with you?" He puts his hat back on. "I don't know what to tell ya, Abe. Sounds like it's just this girl in particular. You seriously have a crush?"

Abe stopped and stared back before his face became a riper, deeper shade of indigo. "I, I don't know!" He shook his head.

"That part isn't important! She's helping us out a lot with finding mom. What I'm trying to do is to keep Shrykull from throwing a fit. What'll keep him down?"

Alf scratched at his chin, crossing one leg over the other. "Well, the cotton was a good start but that seems to not help anymore." 

Toby, with his arms up rested behind his head, decides to chime in. "What if we stuff all of 'em? He'd sound a little funny, but it'd help right?" 

"Nah. Then he couldn't breathe." After a moment, the lightbulb in Alf's head brightened the room. He snapped his fingers. "I got it! Perfume! That always covers it up!" The idea actually sounded perfect-both Toby and Abe perked with interest. Toby gives a cheeky smile, imitating Abe's voice as he walks to Alf with hands out, pretending to give Alf an invisible gift.

"Hi, Joan. I'm Abe, and I just thought your smell made me so overwhelmingly nauseous that I'd give you perfume!"

Abe gasped, rather than being insulted he only considered-what if that was reality. 

"I can't do that! " Abe whines, covering his face. "That sounds so mean!"

Toby leans against the table. "It'll essentially work the same if it's on Abe right?"

"Yeah." Alf rests his arms out on the edge of his seat. "Just gotta tell Joan."

---

With a large exhale of smoke, Marill sighs happily as she drops herself into Joan's desk chair. She lounges in her cropped pajamas, with her book off to the side with her bags-unopened.

She pins the flier to Joan's corkboard of conspiracies. "Ah, I'm so excited! I've always dreamed of attending a high end cocktail party. I can't wait to write home about it." She looks towards Joan, gathering a plate of earthly snacks. Joan simply sits on the floor, amongst her pillows. A nest of sorts. "Marill, I thought we were gonna study." 

Marill simply laughs as she rolls the chair forward and reaches for a marshmallow.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm just so happy we are all going out together. Have you thought about what kind of dress you're gonna get?"

Joan opened up one of her textbooks, a cracker in her mouth. "Whatever fits. Doubt the mall has any human clothes."

"Oh, please." Marill grabbed one of her notebooks finally. "You're not the only one with only 2 arms and 2 legs, you know. I'm sure you'll find something you like."

"Joan? You there?" The static of the walky talky on her desk made her panic. "Shit!" She muttered under her breath as she quickly swiped it. Marill blinks, staring at Joan's fluster. She had never seen Joan like this.

"H-hey..what's up?" She answers meekly, trying to look away from her friend-who was giving a silent smile. 

"Hey. You think you could get us some perfume?"

Joan's fluster was erased. "Perfume?"

"Yeah. Don't ask why."

Alf was potentially outing Joan in front of a suspicious school mate for perfume. She should've seen this coming.

"Yeah, I'll get some. Anything else?"

Alf chuckled over the static.

"Maybe a kiss or two?"

Joan was red, covering her face halfway. "Up yours." She turned the device off, tossing it back to the desk.

Marill squealed. "You do have a boyfriend! I knew it!"

Chapter Text

"Alf!! Are you kidding!?"

"Shhh!! Sh. Sh." Alf freaks out, hurrying to clamp his hands over Toby's mouth. "Shut up, Toby! He can't know."

Toby shook his head, disappointed in his older brother. "I can't believe you did that with her, Alf. Abe is seriously upset with all this, and you do that?" Alf sighs, head sinking into the protection of his arms wrapping around himself. 

"Ugh, I know. I had no idea, he seemed to be ignoring her entirely. Seriously, she smelled insane-and the look in her eyes. How the hell did he not notice?! I couldn't just...let the poor girl go like that." He sipped his tea even more silently than usual. "I need to make this up to him somehow. I really do feel bad." Toby pulled up a chair and sat next to Alf, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him in close to hear him whisper.

"Well, we know now Abe likes her. And she likes him. They just don't know it. Maybe we could find a way to..ya know..get em' closer. Set em' up."

Alf raises a brow, resting his chin in his hand. 

"Ya might be onto somethin' there, Toby! Maybe if we make 'em hang around each other a lot, Shrykull wouldn't be throwing such a fit all the time!"

Toby nodded in agreement. "It would definitely make things easier for us, too." 

The two jolt when a giant clawed hand appeared in the doorway, revealing Stranger peering in with intense eyes. 

"You guys ready yet? We're about to leave for the next place on the list. We ain't leaving you behind again, Alf." 

"Quit givin' me grief, furball. I've had enough with this guy up my ass all day." He points to Toby, who pouts and quickly pulls Alf's pointing thumb down, causing him to yelp and smack him upside the head. Stranger simply responded with a deep "hm", adjusting the crossbow on his other hand. 

"Cus' of what happened the other night, the Messiah thought we should carry some stuff on ourselves. Here." Stranger tossed the boys a couple bottles of Sticky-Pow. "You guys ever get caught in a tight spot, these will help put some space between you and the guards. I can't be in two places at once." 

"Where's Abe?" Toby stuffed the sticky pow in his overall pockets. 

"He's waitin' for us outside"

--

"You know, because us queens are so rare, I actually don't get to hang out like this at all!" Dahlia beamed, offering her two fellow queens a glass of champagne. This was the first time Joan had ever been in a limo. Regal, deep velvety red covered the inside from floor to ceiling. Joan gave a slightly defeated smile, nodding her head in thanks as she looked down at the dainty crystal glass. She awkwardly swirls the glass, drinking with her eyes. "I never dreamed I'd actually meet two other girls at the same school." 

Marill giggles, taking a rather intense sip at her bubbly. "I knew it would be great getting all of us together! Joan usually doesn't go out unless it's somewhere to eat."

"Hey, now.." Joan took a tiny sip, if not only touching the drink with her lips. "You know I'm busy. Most of my classes are online, remember? Full time, dude." 

Marill rolls her eyes after finishing her glass in a second gulp. 

"Yeah, right! We all know what you do in your freetime-need I remind you of your 'famous debut'?"

"Oh, yeah!" Dahlia chimed in. "On the front of the paper. 'Riot in Downtown Nolybab Closes Stores Early!' You were right in the middle of the crowd, weren't you?"

Joan took a second sip before grimacing at the gorgeous glukkon.

"It wasn't a 'riot'. It was a peaceful protest. We barely had a chance to even get violent."

"Sounds like you would've if you could've."

"Wouldn't need to if lives weren't being threatened."

Marill put a hand on Joan's arm. "Joan, please! Just have some fun once in a while." She leans next to her, head on her shoulder and a cheeky smile. "I'm sure your boyfriend knows what I'm talking about!" Joan's cheeks begin to turn red, biting her lip as she looks out the window to avoid Marill's eye. Small drops of new rain began to trickle gently down the window. Dahlia sets down her own glass, her lips forming out the long 'oooooh!' in response. Like an elderly woman at a tea party. 

"So it's true? You met him, Rill?"

Joan groaned, covering her face. "Guys.."

Marill shook her head, ignoring Joan's embarrassment. 

"I don't know him. But I did hear his voice last night when he called her. You could tell he was so flirting with her!" Dahlia and her continue to giggle, looking over as Joan pulls her jacket up over her head. Dahlia simply smiles, gently pulling the jacket back down. 

"Relax, Joan." She said in a soft tone. "It's not a bad thing. Romance is supposed to be exciting, right?"

Marill tilts her head, the limo finally parks. 

"Dahlia, you say that like you've never experienced it before.."

"Because I haven't."

At this point, Joan actually joined Marill in her shock. "What?!"

The car door opens, the chauffeur slig handing Dahlia her umbrella. She opens the black umbrella before offering a hand to pull Joan and Marill from the car.

"It's not that shocking, is it?" She feigned innocence. "After all, I'm so busy I rarely have time to date." Joan hesitates taking one of Dahlia's many delicate hands, taking mental note to wash her hands of any possible blood later.

Marill has no problem reaching out to Dahlia-their hands have met before. 

"Oh, Dahlia.. I'm so sorry. You'll find love someday! After all, you're beautiful! And really nice." 

The chauffeur lights himself a cigarette, resting his arm out the car window as the 3 young ladies escorted themselves into the gigantic mall. Dahlia continued their conversation inside, hanging the handle of her umbrella gracefully on her arm. "Actually, there is a guy I've liked for a while now. He's the dreamiest gluk I've ever laid eyes on!" Two of her hands fiddle with each other playfully, her demeanor giddy from daydreaming. "I'm gonna be inviting him to this fundraiser. I really hope he notices me." She looks down at the two smaller women, with an embarrassed smile. "But enough about that-you guys want anything to eat?" She turns to Joan, looking for her approval. "There's this one place here that specializes in Earth drinks. There's this drink that looks like it's filled with Gabbiar."

"Boba?" Joan cracked a small smile. "It better not be Gabbiar."

Dahlia laughed. "Oh, of course not, it's real! Besides, there's no more Gabbiar after that tacky old man, Lulu got his grubby hands on it." She huffed, remembering wanting that last can of Gabbiar for her birthday. "Oh well, his loss. At least I will have the moolah to retire."

---

The rain came in buckets, making the buildings difficult to scale. However, it wouldn't appear as such with how the group of men glided through the wind. Abe mid-stride, pokes his head up, looking around. Something was different about the air-as always when it rains. Stranger, on all fours, leaps back to where Abe seems to be standing still. "Abe? C'mon." Abe looked down at the bounty hunter, waiting for his commands. "Right, sorry." The light from inside the building bloomed through the skylight. He just realized he probably shouldn't stand in the light for too long. The two ran over to the next building, Toby and Alf following suit. They exchange knowing looks before ducking down behind a rooftop doorway. 

"Abe always stops when he smells something." Toby held his thumb over the walky talky button. "Joan must be in there." 

Alf peers over to look through the giant skylight. He pulls a pair of binoculars from his front pocket, raising them to his gaze to look through the skylight and the weird maze inside.

His eyes quickly sweep the inside. His eyes, however are distracted by a gleaming beauty standing out in the picture-

An off-white mannequin and the hat on top of it; a gorgeous Persian hat, as red as blood. Topped with an elegant tassel to boot.

Alf was starstruck. "I. Need. That."

"Alf!" Toby pulls his arm. "Is Joan in there or not?!"

"Right, uh.." After searching, he finally spots her. As always, the only human stands out like a sore thumb. "Yeah, actually. She's in there. It looks like this building is just a huge store. With more smaller stores."

"Oh! Perfect timing-" Toby finally pressed the button. "Stranger, it's Toby. We gotta get something for Abe. I promise this will only take a couple minutes. We'll meet you there."

"Keep it quick, kid. No distractions." 

Toby simply nods despite Stranger not being there. "Alright, Alf." The two dip into the back of the building, the employee area. A few other mudokons, some in fast food uniforms, were in the middle of work. Upon their entrance, the other workers gasp.

"You guys!! You came!!" They excitedly gathered the two in overalls. Toby looked proud, resting his hands on his hips. "That's right. Abe's on his way to liberate the factory near here! He needs something-1029 depends on it!" Alf cringed, Toby seemed to be enjoying heroics. However, the workers were easily swayed.

"Anything for Abe!" They cheered.

"Follow me!" Toby gestured. Everyone happily followed as they covered for the two revolutionaries, scaling the outskirts of the building.

--

"A milk tea with boba please. Regular sugar, light ice." Joan smiled, however it went away as Dahlia gently pushed her aside, giving the cashier her card.

"Don't worry, Joan. Everything is on me, today!" Marill's eyes glistened.

"Ohh, Dahlia! Thank you, you're the best!"

"I appreciate it, Dahlia, but I can pay for my own stuff."

Dahlia simply huffed, a hand limping forward. "Oh, please! It's okay. This card was a birthday gift from Grandma Maggie." She unfurled her wallet from her purse, revealing her overwhelming amount of plastic cards as she put the one she used away. Joan blew her bangs out of her face in frustration. She was all too familiar with this kind of attitude on Earth. Marill moved up to place her order, Joan simply looking down at her feet.

This mall was pretty much exactly how one would imagine it, other than the fact it was massive. Nolybab's mall was known as 'a city inside a city'. Every corner was lit with bright neon signs and screens rotating through various advertisements. At this point Joan was used to the overuse of electric light-but still, she craved darkness for her strained eyes. And maybe, someday, some natural light. She looked up at the skylight, rain pouring down and forcing her repent. 

"Abe, you're more comfortable in the darkness too, aren't you? We both know the truth is uncomfortable, but it's also necessary." She thought back on Alf's words. "And the truth is, we don't belong together like that. How could we? You are so much more. I'm just a silly girl."

A strike of lightning flashes across the sky. "Nobody deserves you, Abe.." She muttered under her breath, Marill tapping her shoulder.

"Joan, are you ok?" Joan looked to her friend, faking a smile. "Oh, sorry, I was spacing out." Marill hands Joan her boba with a weary expression.

"That creep is staring at you, dude." Marill gestured toward a man leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and cap tipped over her face. Joan's heart stopped, immediately flushing.

It was Alf, his eyes peering just below the brim. Joan immediately gravitates to him. 

"You're here about the perfume, right?" She asked, immediately pulling out her wallet. "Here. This should be enough moolah to get some. Be careful, it's flammable." Joan gently placed the moolah in Alf's pocket for him, not daring to give a look to the group of workers hiding in the shadows. "Please, Alf, don't do this again. This is insanely dangerous."

"Dangers my middle name, baby."

"Ugh, stop." Joan looked away, back at her friends. Dahlia and Marill were also pretending like they weren't staring. Dahlia had her mouth covered, as if whispering to Marill.

Great. Joan assumed she looked like she was doing a drug deal like this. That isn't going to help with how suspicious she looks to these girls. Guess I really gotta sell it. 

"See you, er...baby." Joan said rather loudly. 

"Baby?!" Alf panicked. "Why baby? Oh no, she's already attached?! Don't tell me now she thinks I'm her boyfriend. I thought she liked Abe?!"

She bats her lashes, and Alf feels his knees wobble. "I can't tell her what this is about. I gotta make this up to Abe, big time."

Alf grabs Joan by the small of her back, pulling her into a passionate kiss. A hand trails up to her face to caress her cheek. However, Alf takes the opportunity to use that hand to pull himself away from the intoxicating scent and soft lips eager to escape into him.

Joan fully turned to see her companions, who now were no longer caring about looking. They looked stunned, Dahlia awkwardly fumbling her drink to keep it from dropping and splattering on the perfectly marbled floor.

However, they continued to whisper despite their eye contact with Joan.

"No wonder she's embarrassed. Joan's seriously got Bird Flu."

Marill took a long sip from her straw. "Did you see all the tattoos he's got? I knew Joan was a little off, but that guy looks..so.."

"Trashy." Dahlia bluntly stated. "Look at his clothes. She's dating a factory boy. Oh my god."

Joan finally reaches hearing distance. "Sorry, that was my uh...boyfriend, I guess."

Marill and Dahlia gasp in unison. "You guess?!"

Dahlia hooked one arm through Joan's, pulling her along. "If he can't say for sure, you need to leave Joan. That guy is just using you-you can do so much better! C'mon-we're finding you a dress, and a classy one!"

---

"Good job, dope. Not only do you owe Abe, but you're stringing her along? You're a real piece of work, Alf." Toby scolded.

Alf tossed Toby the change, along with the cheap bottle of cologne. "Shut up. I got it, didn't I? Now let's go meet up with Abe." 

The other workers finally peered out of the shadows, confused as to what just happened.

"That's what Abe needed? Cologne?"

"I missed my lunch break for this?!"

" '1029 depends on it', my ass!"

Toby gave a sheepish smile to his fellow compatriots. How did Abe do all of this himself?

"Guys, guys, it's okay. We're leaving now, okay?"

Chapter Text

Marill twirls after trying on the dress she picked out. "Oh my gosh, I've been dying to get this dress! I love it!" She beamed, the bright orange, flowing fabric looked like the petals of a blooming desert flower. Marill looked as radiant as ever. Joan smiles, still in the rather tight and uncomfortable dress Marill picked out for her. It was in a Grubb size-just a bit too small. Joan felt like an overstuffed sausage. However, the discomfort was easy to forget seeing Marill this happy, twirling the skirt of the dress continuously.

"You look really cute, Marill. I think it's perfect."

"Me too!" She finally places herself in front of the mirror, only to have her happiness fade slightly. "Well…"

"What's wrong?" Joan stood next to her, giving her another once over. "You look great."

Marill sighed, turning around to see her backside. "I don't know...it looked better on the mannequin.."

Dahlia rubbed her chin, taking a good look at her smaller friend. "Hm, I think I see the problem."

Joan gritted her teeth, trying her best not to sound rude. "What problem? She looks good in it."

Dahlia knelt next to Marill, a slender couple of fingers raising the fabric to her eye level.

"You need to dress for your body shape. Grubbs tend to have short legs-" She clapped her hands together as she stood back up. "A pantsuit will make your legs look nice and long!" Marill smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Maybe some more muted colors too-you already have bright skin."

Joan huffed, on her way back to the dressing room. 

"Well, for what it's worth I think you look wonderful, Marill."

Marill went along with her. "It doesn't hurt to see other options though, right?" 

Joan struggled taking off the strappy dress without tearing it apart. She had been through about 3 dresses now, all fit as awkwardly as the next.

"I think I'm just gonna look through my closet and see if I have something from home."

Marill whined behind her dressing room door. "Don't give up yet! You'll find something that works!"

Joan looked at herself in the mirror. She hated looking at her reflection-a girl kissing up to a glukkon so nobody suspects she's up to something. 

"This body.." Her features were unnoticeable, remembering Alf's large hands and which spots they landed before. The bruise on her collarbone-she was being consumed. In search for the truth, she gets swallowed even deeper by lies.

"Hey Joan-" Dahlia's voice calls from outside the dressing room. "You know, there's a tailor not far from this side of the mall. We could just take your measurements and have the dress adjusted. It wouldn't take too long."

Joan put her normal clothes back on-she had no desire to dress up any further.

"Thanks Dahlia, but I think I brought a dress or two from home. I'm gonna stick with that."

"Ooookaaay." One of her arms reaches over the top of Marill's dressing room door. "Here's a really cute pantsuit I found, Marill. I think a cool, smokey gray would look so classy on you."

Joan once again loses herself, before finally plopping down, back to the wall. 

She pulls her walkie talkie out of her pants pockets. 

She listens to her surroundings, making sure she only started talking when she was sure Marill and Dahlia were gone.

"Alf?" She called out rather weakly, unsure if she would get an answer. She looks up at the ceiling for a moment before the static chimes in.

"What?"

"Why did you need perfume?"

It buzzed once more, only a different voice responded. 

"UH, ABE STINKS. HE STINKS REAL BAD JOAN!"

"TOBY!" Alf's voice growled. 

Toby's end was only responded with the sound of gunfire and breaking glass. Toby sighed. "Stranger, come in! I don't know what to do!"

With that, Joan simply turned it off. So far, she's done nothing to help Abe's cause other than being an errand girl. Shots are being fired in there, and Joan is at the mall sucking up to a rich girl. She growled under her breath before haphazardly putting her clothes back on, marching out of the dressing room.

--

"Oh my gosh!" Marill chirped, checking herself out in a mirror, Dahlia sitting down and taking a picture with her cell phone.

"See how your legs look now, Rill?!"

The grubb girl giggles, taking off the matching blazer to show off her bare shoulders 

"I've never looked this hot before!" Marill's attention falls on the sound of a door shutting, and Joan gathering her things. "What do you think, Joan?"

Joan's eyes fell upon Marill-admittedly, yes, the pantsuit was cute on her. However, it lacked that special something that showed Marill's true nature. In the bubbly orange dress, Marill was ready to have fun. She loved the dress anyway-and while she looks curvier now, the gray seemed to take away that brightness in her personality. 

Joan feigned a smile. "You look great, Marill. Anything you wear is gonna look good if you enjoy wearing it." 

Joan rushed to the escalators. Marill and Dahlia looked at eachother, Dahlia calling out. "Wait, Joan! Where are you going?"

Joan completely forgot the niceties again. Her head pops back up to face her friends and give an awkward wave and smile. "S-sorry! I've got some stuff to finish. Thanks for taking me out guys-I had a great time." She realized Dahlia was holding the rest of her boba tea, Joan scurrying back to them to quickly take the cup and a long sip, smile still achingly wide.

"Have a good night, guys." Joan was now in a hurry, fumbling over herself as she set her way to the nearest exit.

Dahlia simply blinked. "You don't think she's gonna keep seeing that guy, right?"

Marill sighs, sitting down and taking a sip of her juice. 

"Maybe we shouldn't judge so harshly. Anyone can fall in love, right? Joan just..has a thing for bad boys. That's ok, it's not like she's doing anything bad herself." She puts the blazer back on its hanger.

"Her dating a mudokon has nothing to do with anything else."

--

Abe shivered, before letting out a disgusted cough. His brother continued to spritz him. "You smell anything else?" Abe gagged, his tongue flopping out. 

"No. And now I taste it. This stuff sucks."

"It's the best solution we got. Can't be smellin' Joan all the time." 

Abe sighed, shoulders drooping slightly. This is what he had to do to keep himself from hurting someone. He felt like an animal. Not only did it make him feel guilty, there was a tinge of humiliation mixed in. Abe moaned, smacking his hands to his face in shame. 

"I'm so gross. Does Joan know? You said she got this for us."

Toby, proudly leans back in his chair. "Don't worry Abe, I took care of it! She just thinks you're smelly."

Abe gasped, Alf trying to cover up his laugh. 

"YOU TOLD HER I JUST STINK!? I BATHE TOBY!"

Toby panicked, hands behind his back as he nervously avoids his older brother's shock. "What else was I supposed to say? 'Hey Joan, Abe thinks you smell like dessert and wants to-"

"I get it, ugh!" He falls back into another chair, back to covering his face. "Where's Stranger? We lost him on the way back."

"Knock knock? Hey guys."

Abe jumped out of his chair with a yelp, a small volt of electricity zapping a burn into his chair. He was on the ceiling, chest heaving. "Joan! Hi..uhm..did you..?" Stranger appeared behind her, adjusting his hat to get a better look at the man on the ceiling. "Sorry, Mr. Lure. Found Joan running to her place on the way back. Thought she was in trouble. Shoulda told ya she was comin'." 

Abe took a deep breath before finally dropping back to the floor. He really couldn't smell her now, so it was a surprise. At least that was taken care of.

"So, if I can't smell her, why do I still feel scared?"

Joan bowed slightly. "Sorry if it's bad timing.."

Abe sputters. "N-no not at all! I-its okay. Could you get any floor plans?" 

Joan shook her head, whipping out her laptop and placing it on the table.

"I couldn't find anything online, I did however find a couple tours. I'll have to find a way to sneak my camera in, since they don't allow pictures. Probably means somebody succeeded in taking pictures before, right?"

Abe pouts. "That...sounds dangerous. Will you be okay on your own?" The 4 men gather around her typing on the laptop. She smiles up at him.

"Of course I will-the great thing about being a student is that you always have an excuse." 

The bright screen advertises a social media page for a certain spoiled glukkon.

Alf's interest peaked. "Dahllface?"

Joan nodded. "This girl goes to my school. Was hanging out with her earlier. She mentioned 'grandma Maggie'. I'm assuming that means Lady Margaret. If that's the case.." She scrolls down to a post about Dahlia's upcoming weekend fundraiser. "..then that means Dahlia's reach is far wider than I originally thought." She points at the post. "There could be industry giants from all over Nolybab at this thing." 

"Woah.." Abe's eyes widened, feeling himself go cold looking at the glukkon queens face. "It says all you have to do is donate to get in? That makes things easy. You going, Joan?"

Joan lookee up at Abe-he..smelled like cologne? Well, Toby said he did stink. Probably from all the hard work he does. And being forced into the sewer.

"Wait..Abe doesn't want to smell bad around me?"

Joan quickly stopped her train of thought, looking away as soon as possible. She could only look at the night sky for so long before falling into what is only a dream.

"Yeah, unfortunately. One of my friends is obsessed with this girl-I barely have a choice. However, now I realize I could really milk this situation for something more worthy. "

Alf grinned. "Imagine..information on every gluk in the biz."

Stranger crosses his arms, concern lightly sprinkled in his otherwise serious voice. 

"You sure nobody's gonna be suspicious?"

Joan looked up to the giant bounty hunter. 

"I just gotta go with it. It's been a while since I've held a demonstration on campus-I kinda have to shut up if I wanna graduate. As far as everyone is concerned, I'm in no place to do anything suspicious. Not with all these eyes on me." 

She sighs, resting her head in her arms.

"Can't believe I have to give her moolah in order to actually do something right."

Abe felt his heart sink. He could feel the guilt in her words. He leans forward, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We all know the moolah doesn't matter. We've all had to pay in some way, right?" 

Joan struggled to resist looking at the Messiah in the eyes. 

She did, and now she was stuck. "It just doesn't feel right, Abe. I don't want to support murderers."

Toby chimed in, with a small smile. "Don't worry about that Joan-you're getting information we could never get. In a way, you're just back stabbing them harder!"

Joan gave a chuckle. "I guess you're right about that. Anyway, you guys said you had a list right? Mind if I take a look?"

Stranger takes a long piece of paper from his pocket, holding it up as Joan takes a picture with her phone. 

"Alright, I got what I need." She got up as quickly as she came in.

"Joan, wait!" 

Joan stopped in her tracks, Abe frozen with his arm reaching out.

"What am I doing?"

"Uh…." Abe trailed off, face turning into a deeper plum shade. "I…" 

"Why are you keeping her away!? God this is so dangerous-if she dies doing this it's my fault. Please, stay Joan. Please stay. Nobody can touch you."

Abe laughs nervously. "D.. don't forget your laptop.."

Joan gave a big smile. "Keep it! I've got internet on my phone already."

Joan disappeared into the depths of the sewer system, Abe still frozen in place. His arm drops, Stranger and the boys observing with pity.

"The guy's absolutely clueless." Stranger shakes his head. "Good luck, you two." 

Chapter Text

Morning came once again, Marill and Dahlia walking out of the limousine. Marill twirled in another new outfit,Dahlia decided to make her over entirely when Joan left the other day. As she adjusted her pearl earrings, Dahlia peeked out and straightened her dress. 

"You look so mature, Marill! It's a shame Joan left us so early-she always wears such worn out clothes. You don't think she'll be mad we drove to school without her, will she?" Marill smiled, shaking her head.

"No way-she's always a little late. Probably thankful we let her sleep in." 

"Morning, ladies."

The two turned around-the Dean was on his way to his office, an intern assisting him at his side.

Marill's eyes widened-although Dahlia gave her usual gracious smile. It just needed to be paired with a gentle wave.

"Good morning, Dean! Is there something you need?"

His intern lit his cigar. The orange light of morning burned the campus courtyard into rust.

"Couldn't help but overhear-you girls hanging around the human?"

Marill finally broke her nervousness, speaking up to the rather intimidating Dean.

"Yes, sir. She hasn't...done anything has she?"

"No. I'm actually rather happy with how inactive she's been with her antics, it's been peaceful round' here. At this rate, we may not have to suspend her."

"Well.." Dahlia adjusted a bracelet. "It's just so sad watching her struggle, you know? We feel like if she really experiences life outside of here she won't be so negative."

Marill felt her heart overflow-Dahlia really was so kind. No wonder she's Nolybab's sweetheart. 

Marill reached to hold one of Dahlia's hands. Marill gave a big smile.

"It's true! She even went to the mall with us the other day!"

The Dean simply huffed, puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"Bless ya, Dahlia. Whatever yer doin' keep at it, girls. Last thing we want is this university's absolutely flawless academic reputation to be soiled by political division and controversy."

He continues on his way, the two girls still outside as they process the conversation.

Marill looks up at Dahlia, eyes full of hope.

"Thank you, Dahlia. I'm sure Joan will thank us later."

"She will." Her heels clacked as she began walking to the bathroom.

--

The bathroom was only halfway lit, a faint cloud of smoke trailing softly out behind a stall. Joan leaned back against the wall, lighting off a friend. 

"Now Dale, you sure you figured out how to wipe yourself from University records?"

The rather old, daytime janitor-a rather old, bearded mudokon with an ever so slight lazy eye-had been one of Joan's few true friends ever since she started getting into 1029-in fact, he was the one that introduced her to them on the down low. He nods with a smile. "I've been waitin' for this the whole time, kiddo. I just didn't think it would happen so soon!" He took out a few of his papers stolen from head office, and stuffed them down a toilet. He came back to his large trash can, chuckling the whole way as he pats Joan's shoulder. "This is my last day, then! Means you'll be on yer own here, Joanie. You'll be ok?" 

"Hey c'mon now-I'll still see you, Dale!" However, she smiled warmly, with her eyes just barely tinting pink before hugging him.

"Thank you for everything, Dale. We will overcome this. Abe really is everything they say he is, and more." She gave him one more pat as he made his leave. "Remember, the guy in the hat is Stoopy. Tell him Joan sent ya."

However, just as the elderly janitor whistled on his way to his last day of work, smoking his cigarette happily, two young ladies walked past-they froze, gasped horrifically, and looked at eachother.

For context-on Oddworld, bathrooms are not divided by gender, but by routine. The more high end bathrooms have more materials for those who need to refresh for their work day-because of this, rather than sexist, bathrooms are more classist. A workers bathroom is merely toilets and sinks-sometimes even troughs. A high end bathroom will have things like powder, wipes, even showers. It is based accordingly on what necessities need to be met in order to get back to work the fastest.

Because it is based on class and cleanliness, it is often frowned upon if a mere worker shows up in a higher end bathroom. 

And so, Marill and Dahlia-on their way to a higher end bathroom-saw the infamous janitor walking away from the bathroom smoking a cigarette-with the lights still on.

The two ladies inhaled uncomfortably, clenching as they walk into the bathroom. They see Joan, leaning against a stall on her phone. Marill gives another horrified gasp before yelling.

"JOAN!?"

The grubb runs to her human friend, hands gripping her shoulders. "THE RUMOR ABOUT THE JANITOR IS TRUE!?"

Joan rolls her eyes, not bothering to fight her friend's shaking grip. "Yes, Marill. Because when a janitor walks out of a bathroom, that means something bad happened." Marill gently removed herself. 

"We heard you talking to him in here! Joan we won't judge you-"

Dahlia sets herself in front of the lit mirror, digging through her purse as the two smaller girls continue bickering through the stalls of their toilets.

"Sounds like you are already judging me. Did you even know what we were talking about?" Joan leaned back on the toilet, resting her head in her hands.

"Well, no.." Marill pulled the toilet paper. "But you realize what it looks like to other people, right?" 

"Mar.." Joan flushed with a heavy, exasperated sigh. "No. Believe it or not, not all humans are sex crazed monkeys. Dale is just a friend-I've known him longer than even you." 

Dahlia blinked, accidentally poking her eye with her mascara wand. "You know his name?!" 

Marill put her face into the shameful cup of her hands. "Oh, Joan…" The three finally gathered together in front of the mirror, Joan washing her hands as the other two freshened up. Marill pulled her into a slight hug, passing her the lipstick she had just used. "Don't worry, Joan. Tomorrow night, you'll see a whole 'nother side of Oddworld! With us. You'll be so much happier, healthier-"

Dahlia gave a small smile. "Trust us, Joan. This life is beautiful, we won't let you waste it."

There was no getting through to them. And god forbid she tell them what's really happening. This was what she hated-knowing damn well in her position, she can't afford to let anyone be suspicious of her. She can't let anyone know or get to Abe. Especially the granddaughter of the Magog Cartel's leader, herself.

"Well, guess it's time I know my enemy."

"Thank you, guys.." She said softly, looking down at her hands underneath the dryer. 

---

"We interrupt this program for breaking news from The Magog on The March-news you can't lose!"

Joan buried her head deep into her textbook, ignoring the small group of students in the back row blaring their radio before class starts.

"An official court date for Mullock the Glukkon remains unknown. The March reached out to Mullock's retreat in the Yaymans if he had any comments about the recent string of factory destructions since Rupture Farms. Mullock, yer on the air now. Whaddya have to say, greaseball?

"Yer an absolute bonehead if you seriously think it's me doin this. How longs it been now? I'm tellin ya, it's that Abe guy! You seriously think I'd plan to get all that moolah and not buy a new airship?! Do you know how much I'm sufferin' here?! And a lot more are gonna suffer if you don't listen!" 

Sounds like a threat to us. Mr Elliot, you recently came back to consciousness-anything you'd like to say to Molluck?

"Yeah! You think your sufferin', wise guy!? You're living on an island, payin no taxes, while whatever you started is KILLIN us! I'm bed ridden, god damn it! Our dreams are bein’ crushed!"

Joan gripped her book tighter. "As usual-it's all about them. Neither of you know what you're talking about. Workers aren't rioting because Molluck killed his slaves-hes been killing them the whole time, you all have. The riots aren't because of Molluck, it's because of everyone. Every business gluk on Oddworld is guilty." Joan sinks deeper into her chair, fighting her desperate need to speak.

"Molluck is trying to start the riots to make it look like HE'S not the bad guy, but we are! It's outrageous! Since when were Mudokons and Glukkons enemies? We're both hard working people-without us, Mudokons wouldn't be livin' as civilized as they do now if not for us helpin' them! I loved each one of my workers like they was my own son-he's makin em think we just torture them! What will we do without each other?!" 

Joan's nails dug into the leather of her book, grinding her teeth. It couldn't be more clearer how looked down upon mudokons are in this society. As if they were pets-animals, without a higher conscience. Without any understanding of life. As long as Glukkons rule the world, mudokons will be seen as disposable, with no higher purpose. This is what happens to a society who equates inherent spiritual and psychological value to the material, how much one can output. Wealth. 

The small group of students talked amongst themselves, in response to the radio. 

"Wow, after all this time he's still committing to the same fake story."

"Poor Elliot..imagine having your own workers turn against you because of a rumor?"

Joan bit her lip, however, jolting as she felt Marill's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't listen to the news, Joan. It's all just sad stories and drama." 

The news break finally ends, returning the regularly scheduled music program.

"Welcome back, with DJ Biff Burger. Man, talk about a bummer right, folks? The story ain't over yet. Gotta admit, I think Mullock's enjoyin' the show. Comin' up we got a great playlist-and don't forget! This weekend, our very own pinup princess, Dahllface, is hosting a fundraiser for Elliot, the lone survivor of the explosions. Ain't she just darling?! If you don't got any plans Saturday night, its free drinks on behalf of the Jazz Club! Have a heart and go get blasted!"

Chapter Text

"You may have escaped the murderous blades, but not the shackles you've chained to yourself.."

The words echo, dying in the darkness they are born in. Drifting into the comfort of nothingness. Abe felt like no matter how much he moved, there was no progression in time. He reached for the light desperately, only for a chain to emerge from the darkness to wrap at his wrist and pull him back. Immobile, he watches the light fade. Not able to fight the hundreds of deathly pale paws reaching up his skin.

"Your voice..must grow...for the lies to fade! You must do it! "

Abe gasped for air as he felt his heart race. It felt like it was about to explode from his chest.

He looked down, only to discover his entire body was stuck. In a small empty corner of the sewer system, Abe struggled against the strong silk that covered the walls and his body. He groaned.

"Hello? Big Face, Stranger? Helloo?" 

He hung his head, exasperated. 

---

"Stranger, get over here!" The large beast of a man scurried to the side of his lankier comrades. 

"What's goin on?" Stranger's senses were on high alert with the snap of a finger. Big Face sighed, gathering his things.

"Went to go wake up the Messiah. He wasn't in his usual spot-just gone."

"But his stuffs all there!" Alf chimed in, scratching his lower back. "Stranger, you can find em’ can't you?"

Stranger simply points his nose in the air, inhaling deeply. 

"Oh, he ain't very far. If he went too far I'd know. Follow me." Stranger zipped through the system as if it was his home now. Big Face lugged his bag over his shoulder. Alf could only follow Stranger so quickly-he wondered if the bounty hunter was gas powered. He looked over at the shaman, who seemed less panicked but certainly had more dread in his aura. 

"Ay, Big Face, you know what's up?"

Big Face shook his head. "Sometimes, I wish I didn't. Who knows what Shrykull could do with Abe unconscious. Let's hope he didn't kill anything." 

"Hello? Big Face, Stranger?"

"Abe!" Alf called back, jogging past a corner and immediately freezing. There was Stranger, just at the edge of the thick, gargantuan web that covered the walls deep into the nook of the system. His eyes finally spot Abe near the top-and looking rather embarrassed. Big Face stood next to Alf, the tension eroding slowly knowing Abe was ok. "Ah, that's right. Shrykull is part Paramite." He reaches over to the web, examining the sticky silk between his fingers.

"He seems to be showing his territorial side. At least it's harmless enough."

Stranger trudged through the webbing like a forest of vines. He crawls up to Abe's place on the wall, using his claws to cut his contractor free. 

"You do this, Mr. Lure?" 

Abe dropped down, wobbly and tired. "I guess so. I don't remember, though." Big Face approached Abe, assisting him with removing the webbing from his body. 

"It's entirely possible you did this in your sleep. Considering you were probably sleep walking, I don't think anybody got hurt." 

"Wait…" Alf's eye twitched.

"All this came outta his butt?"

Abe grimaced. "Shut up, Alf."

With Abe finally rejoining the group, they were able to continue the normal routine that Abe loathed. Wake up, meditate, gear up, rescue the next batch of factory workers, ask the same questions, look for the same evidence, worry about Sam, and sleep. In that order, only now sprinkled with unrealistic daydreams of any sort of comfort. Dreams. What are my dreams? Abe thought. 

"Abe?" Big Face patted Abe's shoulder, in the midst of spraying Abe down as he drifts, cross legged and above the floor. 

"I asked how you slept last night. Can't be comfortable stuck to the ceiling." He let out a hand to help Abe back to his feet. However, at this point Abe knew the gesture was merely manners and not out of actual care. He rejected the hand and stood up himself.

"I mean, I slept. That's better than most nights." He wipes his hands on his loincloth, grabbing his bookbag on the way out of the sanctuary. "We'll be back later."

Big Face stroked the long end of his mask, looking on at Abe.

"He seems okay, but he seems to be burying himself deeper." Big Face told himself. He knew this was only the beginning.

---

Marill dug through her small coin purse as her and Joan waited outside in the cool night air. Nolybab's lights glittered and it was the one time of day the city actually looked inviting. "You got yer moolah, Joan?"

Joan sighed, looking down at her shoes. 

"So they demand it right at the entrance? That's not aggressive. We gotta hold our hands up, too?"

Marill gathered her money, straightening her silk blouse. "Quit being dramatic-you still have my lippy?" Joan chuckled before fishing out the dark pink petal lipstick, swiping it on lazily before returning it to her friend. "At least you look good! So you really did bring a proper dress when you got here? How much do you have to plan when you go to another planet?" 

"Depends on the situation." Joan fished out her ID to the octigi bouncer. "In my case, it's academic. This dress is supposed to be for graduation. Realistically, all one needs is a towel."

The collector was particularly pushy, Joan doing her best to smile through throwing money into the bowl. Marill follows. "That's it?"

Joan sighed through her nostrils. "I'll feel more generous once I have a drink."

"Girls, you made it!" Dahlia was beautifully carrying a plate of 3 drinks. "I saved your seats-here!" Dahlia was dressed elegantly in a strapless black dress, the crystals around her neck giving her features an ethereal sparkle. Two martini glasses with small sugar cubes, one a normal martini. Joan immediately reached for the only filled drink and shot it back and down with a couple gulps. She winces from the sting of alcohol, shaking her head. Dahlia blinked in surprise. "Thank god that one was actually your's, Joan. You could've died if I actually poured the other two."

Joan laughed, digging through her wallet and tossing a crumpled wad of moolah at another one of the collectors. "Free drinks the rest of night, right?" Dahlia giggled.

"Of course! I can't believe you actually showed up, let alone donated!" Marill smiled, giving Joan a casual bump to her shoulder. 

The girls gathered at the best seat in the house-in a back corner with comfortable, plush seats and in perfect view of the stage. Dahlia made herself comfortable in the middle of the two as she popped the cork on an unrealistically luminescent bottle, carefully tipping it over as a few little drops melted into the sugar cubes. The drink seemed to seperate, the thin layer at the top sparkling in comparison to the clear liquid beneath, sugar cube dissolving quickly.

"Sorry, Joan, but you know humans can die from Opsynthe. Hope you aren't too jealous." She put the bottle at the far end of the table, passing Marill her glass. 

Joan had already called over a waiter for another martini, which was already in her fingers. "Ah right, some rich Earth asshole who was a big wig in Intergalactic Trade tried the stuff, didn't he? I heard his death was so explicitly disgusting nobody but those within the lawsuit know the details. If anything the label on the bottle just made it sell more out of infamy. Nothing like death to boost sales." Joan sat back, looking around the room as more donors flooded into the dimly lit jazz club. Dahlia and Marill shrugged at each other. Marill took a small sip from her glass, trying to quickly uplift the heavy air Joan left with her grim social commentary.

"At least you get to have fun tonight, Joan. Dahlia, did I tell you the story about me and Joan's first night out together? It was a riot!"

Joan felt her skin flush, blood running hot. "Mar, please, no.."

Marill takes another sip of Opsynthe. She was quite a lightweight, so she was probably already feeling pretty buzzed. The night had just begun and it was already time for Marill to tell a story.

"Oh, relax! It's fine, you were drunk!"

Dahlia was already leaning in, head resting on her hands. 

"Okay, so me and Joan went to this bar, right? Joan was totally geeking out over Magog on the March playing on TV. Joan and the bartender got into this deep conversation I honestly couldn't follow. They kept going on and on about the super mudokon Mullock made up."

"The Abe guy?" Dahlia circled her glass. 

"Yeah. The bartender said he had friends of friends who said he was real, and that everyone is under mind control."

Dahlia snickered. "Mind control? Really?"

Joan tried her best to ignore the two. " Yeah, keep laughing Dahlia. Right now, as we drink, Glukkons are giving orders to abuse loyalty into their employees. Mind control isn't some magical concept and anyone who has read a Psychology textbook knows this." Her eyes continued to roam, getting the faces of every Glukkon sketched into her brain. "Zeus ate his children. God asked a man to sacrifice his son. The concept of morality isn't present to the divine-meaning it is defined properly by us. If we have failed morality, then we've failed as creatures. This isn't unbelievable-its just consequences, scientifically and spiritually."

"Yeah, they really believe in that!" Marill giggled. "But that's not the point-but after talking about him, you know what Joan said?"

Joan whined, her concentration broken. Marill was trying her best to talk through her giggles. "She says 'he hasn't forgotten anyone. He's never going to leave anybody behind. He's truly a knight in shining armor!'"

The two other women roar with laughter as Joan turns her back to them, feeling her head sink in embarrassment. 

Dahlia reaches to touch her shoulder.

"Oh come on, we all say crazy stuff when we're drunk! But sheesh, I didn't think you were such a romantic! A knight? Humans really do idealize romance to an extreme." 

---

Across the black ground, the watchtower light roams lightly in a pattern. Nothing outside of the usual chaotic, industrial, mechanical gore. The slig operating the control was slowly falling asleep, his overzealous partner gazing into binoculars. He makes a harsh robotic noise as he sees a black figure zip across the light just a bit too quickly.

"Ey ey, wake up! I thought I saw somethin'!"

The other snorted himself awake, quickly trailing the light faster to catch it. Binocular Slig sighed in disappointment. "Damn it, probably just critter. My bad."

An animalistic voice calmly rumbled behind him, sending chills up his spine. Before he could move his tendrils, a large clawed hand pulled his face up to look him in the eye. Stranger was holding both sligs by their mouths. "Don't worry about it, man." The sirens only played just once before Toby took over the desk and turned them off. The soft spoken mudokon spoke over his walky talky.

"Sorry ‘bout that first one. I'll send it in as a false alarm. You guys are good to go, me and Stranger will meet ya with everyone else at the lift."

Abe muted his end. "They're gonna be riled up in there cus of that first alarm, Alf. I'm gonna need you now more than ever. You're givin' orders."

Alf nods, the two brothers escaping the shadows and entering upon the gates.

"Loud n' clear, Abe." 

---

Dahlia gives a shriek before pulling to two girls in closer next to her as she ducks down. "Oh my god, he actually came!"

Marill hummed knowingly. "Oh, you have a crush on Buttercream?"

Dahlia quickly shushed her. "His real name is Duke! And..yes.." 

Joan raised a brow, looking at the two stare at the preppy and fashionable young gentlegluk with his sunglasses pushed up. "Ah, Duke Reynolds. What's he even famous for again?"

Dahlia huffed, crossing her middle arms. "What he's 'famous' for is being the next big glokstar! He's one of the youngest entrepreneurs in Oddworld history. If there's anybody who knows what the people really want, it's Duke. He's classy, elegant, gorgeous, intelligent.." She looked up with a nervous smile. "If anyones a real prince charming, it's him!" 

Joan huffs, bangs floating up. "He just looks like any other rich guy-not much. I thought he was just a suit model. You should just talk to him." Dahlia feigned shock poorly, before giving a small giggle. "Well, I suppose I should-" 

Dahlia found one of her arms being pulled by the small human friend still carrying the wine she continued helping herself to. She panicked, pulling her back in resistance. "Joan, no!"

The young man turns around, his cool aura unbroken by the two girls grappling at each other before him. He gives a faint smile. For once, the princess looks flustered, quickly adjusting the bust of her strapless dress. She clears her throat with a helpless smile.

"I, uh, I'm so happy you could donate tonight, Mr. Reynolds." She bows forward, only to hear her crush chuckle.

"You can call me Duke, Dahlia." His eyes flash down to her drunk friend. "Is this..?"

Dahlia immediately stood back up with a nervous peep. "Uhm, yes! She goes to my school. I've been trying to show her how things work on our world. Cultural exchange, you know?!" She giggled, however her nerves were calmed when the human finally spoke up. Joan hiccupped, putting an arm around the man. 

"Man and what an exchange, too! I've been studying the culture of the working class, but now that I think about it I've never really looked at the other side of the industry. Dahlia's very passionate about that."

Duke's eyelids lowered. "Is that so? Well, that's Dahlia's character, I suppose." He flashes a smile at her, Dahlia beaming back. "Always willing to showcase what it means to provide. What has she shown you, miss..?"

"Feiruz. And..er.."

"I'm bullshitting this whole thing. What the hell has Dahlia taught me besides how far up their own asses the glukkons are?"

"Well, uh, I'm here now aren't I?"

Dahlia slaps a hand to her own face in shame as Duke starts laughing.

"I suppose that's a good point! You know, I've always wanted to meet a human-you have quite the crowd, Dahlia. It shows."

Dahlia revealed her blushing face, looking away from his gaze. "Thank you.."

Duke's slig pulls out business cards, handing one to both girls. 

Joan, in a drunken stammer, smiles big. "Perfect! All of em’ got cards, huh?" She stumbles into the crowd, going up to each social group and introducing herself to the most prolific one-making sure all of them knew she was Dahlia's friend. Dahlia bit her lip as Duke gave her a cheeky grin.

"Well, I heard they are really social like that."

Dahlia shook her head, staring out at Joan floating through the crowd collecting everyone's business cards. "I suppose I should've seen that coming. It's going to take her a while.. I'll go get Marill."

Chapter Text

"Ugh, Joan, you really abused the free drink policy." Marill whined as she gently helped carry her drunk and sleepy friend across the streets to escort her to a cab. "I guess you tried hard enough. Thanks for coming tonight." Joan mumbled incoherently in response, Marill encouraged her to lift her feet. "Man, I hope I don't miss Dahlia's performance.."

The dark alley they were walking in was filled with sudden bright lights, followed by blaring sirens in the far distance. Marill felt her heart drop as she saw a black figure zip in the corner of her eye. 

This situation felt like a classic attack on two girls after a party. Marill pulled in her human friend closer, looking around with scared eyes.

"H-hello?"

"Don't be afraid, now."

A large furry man emerged from the shadows, his wide hat covering the glow in his eyes. He stood from the place where he had pounced. Marill finally looked up to his features-he was a complete Stranger, but somehow she felt..protected by him. He felt safe. She looked back at the sirens in fear.

"Uh, robbers." Stranger tipped his hat down. "There's robbers in the area. You should go. I can take your friend home."

Marill's pupils burst. 

"R-robbers?! Oh my gosh, Dahlia-!"

Marill gently lays Joan in Stranger's arms, looking up pleadingly at the mysterious hero. "Please get her home safe!" Stranger nodded, adjusting Joan in his arms as he leapt into the air, disappearing in the night. Marill stares into the blackness as if to watch him fade away. Sirens break her haze, as she quickly runs all the way back to the club calling out to her glukkon friend.

---

Stranger chuffed as he tried to shake Joan awake. "Ay, kid. They're after us. Where do you live?" Joan however giggled, head sinking into Strangers soft fur. 

"I live at my place."

"Ugh, you gotta be kidding me." He lifted her body in the air by the back of her dress, noticing the plethora of paper business cards stuffed in her cleavage. "I suppose if I was in a room of gluks, I'd want a drink too. At least yer good for somethin'." The tips of his claws pull out the business cards, Alf scaling the rooftops and bounding behind Stranger, flamethrower spitting sparks. His eyes fixate on the blushing and worn out Joan, only before turning his back to the scene as he talks with Stranger. "Why you stoppin' man?! Keep running!" Stranger tosses the limp human to Alf. He fumbles a bit just to catch her with one arm. Stranger points in a vague direction.

"You know where she lives! Take her home and I'll protect Abe." 

"What?!" Alf panics, throwing her back. "I-I can't!"

"Why?"

Alf gulped, his heart was pounding and his nostrils were burning. "I-I just can't." He avoided the bounty hunter's gaze. "I shouldn't. Toby has directions, make him take her!" Toby catches up to the bickering older men with worried eyes.

"Guys, they're catching up! Wa-is that Joan? HEY!" Toby was cut off as the two other men threw the drunk girl in Toby's arms. He looked down at her, confused.

"I suppose I could but…" Toby gave a small smile when he looked up at his older brother. They exchanged knowing glances, Alf shaking his head with a sigh as Toby smiled cutely. Stranger looked at both of them as he packed the business cards into his pockets. He saw their expressions.

"Guys, no. That's not an option."

Unfortunately, Stranger's voice fell upon deaf ears. Toby was already skipping ahead, calling out for the messiah.

"Abe!! Abe!" 

Abe stopped momentarily, looking back as the youngest ran to him with a fast asleep Joan in his arms. 

"You're going a different way than us, right? You should drop Joan off on your way!"

Abe's pupils dilated.

"Huh?" Abe felt his chest pound, echoing in his skull. Before he knew it, she was in his arms. 

Abe fell speechless. True, with the cologne he can barely smell her anymore, but his limbs still shook with fear imagining what would happen if Shrykull was left alone with her. He was terrified-it didn't help that she was so soft and warm. Abe felt Alf pat him roughly on the shoulder. "We better get a move on. We'll keep the coppers on us!"

Abe shook, not looking away from the human in his arms. "Guys, wait I-"

Before he knew it, his so-called "buddies" left him on the rooftop alone. It was true, time wasn't on his hands right now. Then again, it never was. 

He gently shook her shoulder as he began his trek back to her apartment, holding her close as their bodies blended in the shadows.

"Joan..?" Abe whispered, desperate for her to open her eyes and cooperate. 

Joan's eyelashes flooded open, her vision still blurry. However, the orbs of bright bloodshot orange against the deep blue were unmistakable. 

"Aaabe?" She giggled. "I got something for you."

"Shh!" Abe covered her mouth. "I know, I know. Thank you." Her eyes were incredibly heavy, her muscles felt like they were sinking into Abe's. Even now, his heartbeat sounded so calm. She nuzzles into his chest with a happy hum, taking the time to drink in his appearance. Her head rested in the nook of his neck, eye's not leaving his face and determined expression. Being carried by him felt like flying, perhaps because he seemed to physically scale building with ease. He was quiet, gentle, yet strong enough to hold the heaviest weights on his shoulders. Perhaps it was the liquor, but Abe seemed to glow.

"Joan?" Floating in and out of consciousness, she opens her eyes once more to look up at him. 

"Abe..?" She finally looks around, seeing that the two of them were on her balcony. Joan sat herself up with a groan, hand grasping at her hot forehead. "You took me home?"

Abe steadied her carefully. "Yeah. How're you feeling?" Weirdly enough, the smell of alcohol on her helped immensely. Joan rubbed her eyes, beginning to stand. "Thank you, I'm..woah, Abe-" Joan cuts herself off and reaches over to Abe's arm. Abe had only just now noticed that he was wounded. Abe shrugged. "Oh, it's okay. This isn't the first time I-JOAN!" Abe looked back to see Joan flopped back, sitting on the floor as she drunkenly peels off her black hosiery. Abe saw the meat of Joan's upper thighs, not being able to peel his hands from his eyes. 

"I can't smell her...so why..does she look so good?!"  

Abe's tension however, was quickly eased when he felt the comforting lightness of silk embracing his arm. Removing his hands, he sees a red faced Joan wrapping his wound with her stocking.

Joan sighed, staring into space as she holds Abe's arm. Abe stares at her far off expression.

"You save them because you love them, right?"

"Huh?"

"Because every life inherently means something and is worth saving." Joan pulls Abe down slowly to sit, Abe following suit. "Love is instinctual-the protection of life and what births it?"

Abe merely squints, leaning in with curiosity. "Uh.. I'll be honest Joan, I don't got a clue what you’re talkin' about. I think you need to go to bed." Joan falls limp once more, dozing off in Abe's arms. 

"I do it because...I loved Earth." The final sheep is counted as Joan finally succumbs to a sobering slumber. 

Abe blinks, still not quite sure what to make of her ramblings. But it struck a chord with him, and now he can't help but adore how peaceful she looked when she fell asleep. After looking over his surroundings, he fishes the keys from her purse to quickly let himself in. He lifts her from the ground and carries her to bed, tucking her in as he did his very best not to make a single sound. 

He closes the door with ease, a small smile on his face.

Chapter Text

The dull sound of a faded alarm blaring angrily was heard in the darkness. Opening his weary eyes slowly, Abe floats on in a blur. His hands wobble, reaching to touch anything and reawaken his muddied senses. At the feeling of something sharp poking through his skin, he looks down.

He is unable to react to the hook gored through his chest. His upper abdomen was crudely hanging on a chain, like an animal carcass in a slaughterhouse. Helpless to his unconsciousness, his voice can't reach the other mudokons in the dark red room. It smells, some of the bodies hanging still shaking and alive. However some were completely still, frozen over and staring into nothing. 

Abe wakes up, his eyes still half lidded. He was too tired now to react with any shock or horror at his nightmares. He simply yawns, rising up from his little corner of hell.

Everyone else down here seemed to still be asleep. "Guess that means it's still night time." Abe thought quietly to himself. His feet seemed to naturally tread lightly now, as quietly as a ghost. Not a single freed mudokon disturbed from their slumber. Abe clutched his chest, guilt building from bitterness-an envy of how peacefully everyone was sleeping. Why did he have to be awake? He gives a saddened sigh, even wishing for things like peace of mind and serenity felt like extortion. Selfish.

Abe rubs his eyes as he hears two mumbling voices and a bright light bleeding into the halls. Abe peers from the doorway, hoping not to disturb. An old, bearded mudokon was next to Toby with fascinated eyes, teaching him how to use the laptop that they had received recently. However, Toby had a knack for having extra keen ears. He looks up, giving a small smile as he pats the old man on the shoulder. When he sees Abe, he can only gaze in awe, before giving a small chuckle.

"So, you're Abe? I never thought I'd ever meet ya in my lifetime." Abe rubbed his arm, eyes darting away meekly. 

"Uh, yeah. What're you guys doing up this late? You should be sleepin’." Toby giggled excitedly, turning the laptop screen to face Abe.

"Dale is teaching me how to use the internet. I'm on the university website right now. Can you believe we can just order books?"

"Toby-" Abe groaned, only for Dale to walk up and pat his shoulder. 

"Trust me, if there's anything you kids are gonna need along the way-it's information." He stands next to him, smiling as Toby scrolls through the entire library. "They didn't let us read for a reason."

Abe looked down at him. The man was still in his uniform, down to the nametag and utility belt. Abe recognized it all.

"You used to be a custodian too, right?" He looks up at Abe with a friendly and warm expression. Abe blinked and removed his eyes from the uniform.

"How did you know that?" Abe tilted his head. The grandpa gave a soft chuckle.

"Been followin' for a while now. I was lucky to live long enough to actually be promoted to a more public job. However, that means I can't exactly..speak. On anything. I had to find a more private space." He smiles fondly at the laptop. "I can't run the blog at work anymore, so I'm glad Joan lent us her laptop. This can be my job now." He smiles at Abe. "You don't talk a lot, do ya? I know your our savior and all, but, don't you have a place you let things out?" 

Abe was finally jolted awake. "A place to let things out..?" Abe clenched his fists behind his back. "I don't know." Dale sensed Abe's melancholy, smile slowly fading. "Well, that young Earth woman made the mistake of talking out of turn. She was alone every time I saw her, havin’ her lunch outside with her pickets and petitions. Nobody else was listenin’, so I lent my ear." He points to his own old and withered ear. "All it takes is one." 

Abe blinked, scratching his head. "I see..so, you know Joan? Do..you know what her skin feels like?"

The old man was taken aback, eyes wide as Toby stared Abe down with the most utterly disgusted and judgemental expression. Abe himself was actually confused and appalled as to why he said that. "I MEAN.." Abe sputters, turning indigo from the neck up. "I don't mean it in a weird way, I mean, were you hungry? Wait, no, uhmm.." He fumbles his words. "Does she look tasty? I-" Abe eventually gave up, whining as he limped over, covering his face.

Dale laughs heartily. "Oh! A coupla' cards, you boys are. Sounds like he's almost as bad as that Alf lad!"

Toby rolled his eyes, putting his attention back to his laptop. Abe peered from between his fingers with horrified, worried eyes.

"T-TOBY!! I-I'M NOT THAT BAD AM I??" 

Toby sighed. "I don't know. Are you?"

Abe rubbed his hands down his head, still tired from the lack of sleep. "I..I don't know. I don't think I'm capable of eating someone." Toby leaned back, crossing his arms. Abe was still clearly paranoid, still not in control. However, if Abe had control, what would he do?

Toby's brain sparked with an idea. The laptop was gonna be his new favorite tool. His fingers keyed away quickly, clicking on something that brought more light to his face. 

"What do you think when you look at her?"

"Toby, I don't wanna ta-"

Abe's vision was invaded with the laptop screen pushed to his face. It was Joan, with a whiteboard behind her and a book in her hands. Abe backed his face up.

"A video?"

Toby nodded. "She's got these folders full of videos. I think they're for her school work."

Abe's eyes perked with interest as he stared at the laptop screen, even lifting it as if it would make any difference. He had never really looked at Joan for too long, but now with this seemingly closer look.

"..Human ears.. they're round." 

Toby leaned forward. "Well? That look like food to you? Or is she just nice for you to look at?"

Abe failed to respond for a couple seconds before Toby started snapping to get his attention back. However, Abe's response displayed that he did indeed hear the question.

"No. Not like food." Abe clicks the play button, ready to watch every single video assignment. Toby groans.

"UGHHHH fine you can have the laptop the rest of tonight, I'm goin’ to bed! I ordered my books anyway."

---

Joan mumbles miserably under her book, hiding her face from the group of students crowded at the lunch table in the union building. Dahlia had never looked so giddy, taking out her phone more than usual. Marill hadn't stopped talking since that morning, she snaps open a canned coffee.

"Joan, you remember that night, right? The hero that took you home?" 

Joan's eyes flutter underneath the book only covering herself under the book more as her face flushed. Blurry memories of that night rushed to her head. It was dream-like, looking up at the Messiah's face and the stars rushing by before being snugly tucked in by him. Joan cursed herself for being so drunk, because she desperately craved the details. She sighs. "Yes. He tucked me into bed..he was really sweet."

Marill gasped. "Dahlia, Dahlia-there's a third guy in the picture! You know, the guy who warned us about the robbers last night! The superhero!" 

Dahlia's eyes peeped away from her phone, she gasps before a small smirk appears on her plump, pink lips. "Joan, I had no idea you were so good with guys! Seriously, now I have a date with Duke! It must have been the liquor-you were a riot , Joan! Anyway, Marill was telling us about the 'superhero'-"

Joan sighed dreamily, melting into the table remembering the feeling of Abe's muscular chest heaving under her form, escorting her to bed. "Yeah..he really is a superhero. And he held me.." She thought.

Dahlia looked back at her phone. "Said he was real tall and hairy-anyway, we caught the robbers that were on our way thanks to him. So all the donations were saved! And then-uh, Joan?" She stopped in her tracks, hearing sniffles from under the book. Marill looks as well, a brow bone raised with concern. 

"Joan, are you crying?"

Joan didn't have the guts to remove herself from under the book now. All of her hazy, watercolor drunken memories of a beautifully tattooed man-replaced with a grumpy cowboy furball.

" THAT'S who took me home!?" Joan finally lifted the book, face red in embarrassment. The girls and other students simply laughed, cheering on Joan for how much of an apparent party girl she was. At this point, she wasn't sure if the new label was better or worse than the usual "crazy girl".

---

"So Abe stayed up last night?" Alf's voice was riddled with concern and curiosity. "That's weird. Is he ok?"

Toby groans, Stranger passing him the business cards to tape to the table decorated with an assortment of maps, lists, and names. "All he did was hog the laptop all night and stare at the human girl like a weirdo." Toby gulps down a bite of toast, calling out to whatever corner of the place Abe was hunkered down in. "We're gonna need that for other stuff, you know that right Abe!?" 

"Yeah, I know." Abe replied tursely, in a small nook of the room nobody noticed until they heard Abe's voice respond. Abe was hunched over with a blanket, eyes still on the laptop screen.

Chapter Text

The Chronicler professor rubs his hand down his front tendrils with a sigh, scrolling down his computer, with his star pupil standing before him. She bites her lower lip, clutching her binder with her Grubb classmate waiting next to her.

He turns his computer monitor to her, showing the various test scores-hers, a mere 71% percent. "I-it isn't a fail, but.." He adjusted his small round glasses. "It's a sharp drop in comparison to your last test score being perfect." 

Joan gives a cheesy, guilt ridden smile. "I-I know, sir. I'll be making it up with this new project, I promise!" 

Professor Ligma sips his coffee. "I know, dear. We're all very pleased that you are finally starting to adjust to the life of a true citizen." He returned her papers. "Just remember to show up to class on time, okay?"

Joan gulped, stuffing her papers down her binder in a fluster. "Yes, professor!" Joan and Marill quickly scurry into the hallway, finally lowering their shoulders and releasing the breath they held in. 

Marill giggled with relief. "It wasn't bad at all, this time!" She takes a starting skip before walking with her friend. "Guess partying a weekend before a test wasn't such a good idea.." She shrugged. "I got a 75, too." Joan sighed, switching her book bag to hang on her front. She unzips it open, pulling out a tote bag.

"C's get degrees." Joan didn't seem to mind her lecture. If anything it gave her confidence that nobody suspected her of anything. "I know I'll get an A on this one." 

Marill squinted at the bags. "What's with all this? Didn't you say you're going to the library? You look like you're about to go grocery shopping.

Joan gave a surprisingly warm smile. "I am later. I got a lot of books to pick up, though."

Marill scratches her head in curiosity. "Why so many?"

Joan suddenly blanked, not expecting the question. "Uh.." She had no idea what books Toby had ordered, so she had no reasons. 

"For..fun?"

Marill stops, her face immediately turning in disinterest and a hint of judgment. The two face each other outside another classroom door, Joan trying to laugh it off.

"You know, now that you're looking for new hobbies, you can hang out with us. Dahlia always has something to fill time. I've been to her place already. A lotta things to do besides reading books." She gives a dreamy smile as she lists off activities that come to her mind. "We can go to a spa, an arcade, sleep over.." 

Joan gave a small laugh. "I've had plenty of that before. You know, your lives aren't that different from ours. I don't wanna waste a moment on Oddworld." 

"Waste?" Marill tilted her head. "What do you mean 'waste time'? Time isn't leftover food-what are you saying? Since when does time go to waste?"

"You'd be surprised." Joan left Marill behind in the hallway to wait for Dahlia. "Anyway, I gotta go. Don't worry-I know we're still on for tomorrow. I promise I won't ditch you this time."

Marill's confusion fades, a small smile replacing her concern. "Thanks, Joan. See ya later."

The human hurried her way up a flight of stairs to the library. As the students in the other class pour out, Dahlia appears behind her much smaller friend, patting her back with one of her arms. "Hey, Rill. Whatchya staring off at?"

Marill looked up to the glamorous glukkon, then looked back at the now empty stairway.

"I was worried about Joan being normal, but now that she's normal, it's like she's gonna spend even less time with us.."

"Mmm.." Dahlia hums casually, pulling out her phone. "Probably with that mudokon boyfriend of hers. Did she even tell us his name?" 

"No.." Marill frowned. "She didn't.."

Joan set all of her bags down at her feet at the front library desk. The librarian-a vykker in a patchy coat-twisted around as Joan quietly slid her ID past the glass. "Miss Feiruz. Looks to me like you ordered…" He looks at his tablet screen once more. "24 books…" He trails off, looking down at the multiple bags on the floor.

"I have to ask, Miss, did you really do this?"

Joan averts her eyes, fingers clutching the fabric of her clothes. "Yep! S-sure did, all 24!" 

"Will you be able to carry all of these by yourself?" Joan simply nodded. The vykker sighed as he pulled out the cart containing all of the books Toby had ordered. Joan stuffs her bags, not looking at the books or what they were called. It barely left room for groceries. 

---

Abe was hunched over a bucket, vigorously scrubbing in an absolute frenzy of panic. He was mumbling under his breath. "C'mon c'mon.." 

"Abe?" Toby peered up from the laptop, a flow chart in his hands. "What is it you're trying to clean? It smells like chemicals in here already. Whatever it is, it's gotta be clean now." Toby pinches his beak. Stranger coughs raggedly in response to the heavy odor of bleach. "Mr. Lure, it's really not that hard to clean out blood." 

Abe simply shook his head with a pout. "I still see it-the stain is still there. It's not even the same color anymore!" Abe whined, hanging his head. His eldest brother stood over him, sipping his tea. He was curious as to what Abe was even trying to clean. When he saw, he snorted with a grin, pulling up the dripping nylon stocking with his other hand. He spits out a laugh.

"Abe, you sly dog!" Abe gasps, yanking the sock away from Alf.

"It's not like that!" Abe holds the sock to his face with a sad look. "I wanted to give it back to her after she used it for my arm, but now it's completely ruined." The dark stain was still there, the black hosiery had been bleached into a burnt orange color, a torn hole at the bottom. "I've been trying to get it back to normal all morning."

Stranger flicks the brim of his hat up, lighting a cigarette. 

"Doubt she cares, sir. She's the one who put it on you."

Alf pulls his hand down his face. "Yer telling me you have one of her stockings, and you wanted to just give it back ?" Alf growls as he takes a seat. "Unbelievable."

Abe pouted more, grumpy with Alf's comment. 

Somebody's walky talky was in the middle of the table. It activated, a friendly and cheerful tone in the voice from the other side.

"Hey guys, it's Joan! I'm here-can I get some help?"

Stranger stood from his chair. Any reason to not sit on his ass was a good one. Swiping the device he responds. "Stranger here. On my way." 

Toby's eyes glistened, squirming in his seat. "Finally, finally yes! The motherload!!" 

Abe shot Toby a stern look as he continues to scrub the sock in a panic. Toby returned the look with one of guilt, an expression of silent apology as he clears his throat. 

After a few small, silent moments Stranger was back in the doorway. He carried the human in one arm, his mouth stuffed with a brightly colored, unknown pastry. Joan giggles, her arms reaching out with multiple different bags hanging on her arms. "The motherload, boys!"

Abe jolted as he hunched further over the bucket, trying to hide the ruined stocking. Toby jumps happily from his seat as he runs to the human who had been put back down to her feet. She drops her bookbag, bursting open with books to the point where it wasn't possible to zip up all the way.

Toby squeezed her into a hug, lightly picking her up from the ground. "Thank you thank you, thank you Joan!" Joan giggled despite not being able to move in Toby's grip.

"What did you get, Toby? I didn't really look." Toby pulled the bookbag and tote bag full of books with ease onto the table, sliding the laptop off to the side. One by one, he pulls out the books. They all varied in subject, from Physics to fiction. He even ordered an Earth book or two-Dostoyevsky and Plato. Joan gave a surprised smile.

"The Trial and Death of Socrates?" Toby nods.

"I keep seeing words from this language called 'Greek'. Turns out, it's a type of human. Must be common if you guys use that language so much." 

Joan sucked in her lips. "It's a little bit more complicated than that, but you're right-we use a lot of Greek in subjects like Math." She looks at the laptop, and the pile of books. "You really plan on finishing all these books?"

Toby nods again, more enthusiastically. 

Toby seemed to have a craving for knowledge. The fact that he was going through these books at such a pace proved he had a highly intelligent and creative mind. Joan admired it, and honestly wished she had that same curiosity about education again. 

"Toby, ever thought about going to school?"

Tension quickly bolted between Alf and Abe upon hearing their words. However, when their gazes shot up, Toby had a dreamy smile.

"Going to college? Oh my god.." He dropped down into an empty chair with a big smile. "The things I could discover at a place like that! Aw man, once we're for real free, I wanna go to school!" He rubbed his chin, now deep in his fantasy. "Don't think I'd major in Sociology-no offense, Joan." 

Joan giggled, taking a seat on the floor as she dug through her grocery bags. 

"I got snacks, too." She tosses Toby a little castella. He wastes no time tearing it up and digesting it. Alf leaned back and set down his tea (which Toby quickly stole to wash down the cake) and made a gesture with his fingers. "Did you bring that stuff we tried?"

Abe's head shot up immediately. " We!?" He thought. " Why have both of them gotten this close to her this soon!?" Abe's ears were perked up, however he acted as if he wasn't listening. He had failed to notice that the very crevice of the brand on his chest had a crack of electricity buzz along the outline.

Joan laughed, pulling out a small tin of crystal flowers.

Toby gasped. "E-Earth drugs?! You guys smoke?!" Joan quickly closed the tin, tossing it to Alf.

"No no, Toby. You shouldn't be smoking at your age! It's just me and Alf."

Toby angrily squints and sips tea. "I"m literally like, only a year younger than you." 

Joan laughs, pulling out her final item. It was a small piece of technology, merely a slit with a cord. She gets herself up behind the laptop and plugs it in.

"I've got some papers from the computer lab, but this should be able to print directions to each place. You looked into the information I gave you guys, right?"

Toby, with a pout, crosses his arms.

"Yeah, we did. We'll talk about it if you let me smoke with you guys." He opens one eye to stare up at Joan. Alf chuckles.

"Toby, Toby. You don't need to be offended dude, it's just a thing we do-HEY!"

Alf's cockiness was abruptly interrupted from the sight of Joan immediately offering to spark Toby off-and with her pipe. Joan snorts.

"C'mon, Alf. If he can have it, then I can share with him. Don't be a baby."

"Yeah!" Toby said before holding his breath. On his exhale, he finishes his taunt. "Don't be a baby. Anyway-" He goes back to his laptop.

"You gave us about 10 different Gluks from factories around the city. I looked up their company websites, and they really don't say much other than addresses and factory tours." He leans forward, head resting in his hand. "And they've been screwing with the logs, so we can't find any of their labor distributors unless we miraculously get an answer. Only those distributors will have information on where Mom is."

Joan leaned in as well, sparking her bowl. "Do they allow pictures on those tours, Toby?" 

Toby clicks and scrolls through various tabs in his history. "Let me see.. says on most of them you have to have a certain pass after meeting with them." Joan slid her hands over the business cards scattered on the table. 

"I'm gonna have to ask them myself then. No problem at all. Hell, might be a good opportunity to get into some offices." She re-collects the business cards for herself. 

Abe finally speaks up.

"Sneaking into offices?" Abe turned his head and looked at her with pure worry in his eyes. "Joan, you're gonna get caught. Don't do that, please." 

Joan smiled. "I doubt I will Abe. Nobody suspects a thing!" She gave him a soft, reassuring expression. "Don't worry, Abe. I can do it." She walks over to him, Abe begins to shiver as he does his best to cover the bucket. She goes back down to pull out a hot steamed veggie bun, still warm from the styrofoam box. "I thought you might like this Abe-it's an Earth food called bao. It's got vegetables in it." Abe couldn't exactly smell it at the moment, but it looked so good. Abe blinked in amazement, still staring at the food with the box now in his hands.

"Ah, Abe..?" Stranger pointed. "You wanna drink some bleach with that?" Abe looked down, slipping the box between his wet hands. Joan catches the box as Abe wipes his hands in his loincloth, hiding his deep cheeks from his giggling siblings. Joan peers over his shoulder. "What's that?"

"UHM-" Abe plops himself right in front of her view. "Nothing! Thank you for the snack, though!" He takes a big bite. "It's delicious!" Abe stands up straighter, doing his best to block Joan's view. 

"Is that my sock?"

"NO!" More mysterious pops of electricity bounced from Abe's skin. "COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SOCK."

Joan had an amused smirk as she plucked it from the water. "Well, you're not wrong." She finally bursts out laughing. "You tried to clean it?"

Abe shamefully looks down at his feet. "Yeah..I'm sorry." 

Joan twisted the fabric and wrung the water from it. "It's okay Abe-socks get mismatched all the time. I can still wear it!"

Alf raised a brow. "You high, already?"

Joan smirked more. "Well, yes. But it's true. You guys may not wear socks but look-its still okay!" She removes one of her shoes. Abe clenches his fists, trying not to stare at her leg lifting up to put the sock on. Joan passes her foot through and stands up modeling the bleached stocking. Abe panics, scuttering down at Joans legs peeling the stocking down. "It isn't dry yet, there's chemicals in that, Joan!" 

Stranger rested his feet at the edge of the table. "It looks ridiculous, kid. Who the hell would wear tie dye socks?" Joan sticks out her tongue at the grumpy bounty hunter. 

"I would. Let's be honest, Stranger." She gives a mischievous grin. "The hat isn't exactly 'tactical'." Stranger gives a low growl before tipping his hat down to cover his face. He wordlessly gestures for Joan to pass the bowl. 

She gives Stranger a smile anyway. She reaches over to pass the bowl, however-

The bowl had a pair of stitched lips latch onto it in the blink of an eye, Abe staring down Stranger with an almost scary look on his face. Stranger blinked, fascinated.

Joan felt her cheeks turn red from the smiling. "Oh, sorry Abe! You wanted some too?"  

Abe's eyes then lock to hers, unable to leave as she watches the smoke drift from all of Abe's nostrils. His stare was deep, desperate, and begging for attention. "Yeah." He feels his body simmer down, the electricity going from a powerfully chaotic shock to a dull and even hum in his blood.

Stranger reaches over just a little bit more, plucking the pipe from Abe's fingers. He grumbles, rolling his eyes at Abe getting high off his little crush.

"I can't believe I'm workin for this guy." Stranger takes a hit, flaring his nostrils. " For a couple of criminals wanting to revolutionize, they sure do love each other ." His eyes become heavy and he happily smiles to himself and stretches his arms out. " That's real sweet ." 

---

Abe quietly fills his gullet with the warm snacks Joan had bought them. He continued to stare at her printing out directions with Toby. Alf glared at the two in a similar fashion. 

"So you stole the train manuals in shipping? You taught yourself to read?"

Toby was basking in the interest. "Yeah! I coulda got in big trouble for it, but I did it anyway!" Toby squeezes her again, nuzzling their cheeks together. "Thanks again for all the books, Joan." Joan chuckled, patting his head.

Both Abe and Alf squinted at their baby brother, who seemed to show no remorse for clinging to their new friend. 

Alf finally grumbles, standing up to put Toby in a sudden, yet gentle head lock. Toby whines as Alf grinds his knuckles into his cap.

"Enough with the cute baby act, Toby. Don't you realize you're being selfish?"

Toby sticks his tongue out. 

Joan gives a guilty smile, her hands on Alf's forearms urging him to release Toby. "It really isn't, Alf. He's just enjoying himself." 

Alf's face grew weary and annoyed. "That's not what I'm talkin' about. I don't give a shit about books-it's something else, right Toby?" Alf inches his scowl closer to Toby's face, teeth clenched as his eyes gesture towards the blue mudokon quietly eating and looking down at the floor.

Toby finally realizes once he sees Abe, immediately changes his tone. "Oh.."

Toby immediately stands up, now with a louder voice. 

"Oh geez, you're so right Alf!" He gathers up a pile of snacks in his arms, going behind Alf. "Why don't me, you, and Stranger go brew more tea!?"

Stranger snorts himself awake, eyelids still heavy from his nap. "What? What's goin on?"

Toby grabs Stranger's arm and pulls him up. "Tea!"

Stranger snarled. "Why do I need to be awake for that?" Both boys silently gestured at Abe. 

"Ohhhhhh." Stranger slumped, but let's Toby drag him anyway.

"We'll be back-with tea!" 

The room fell silent with the 3 of them rushing to make a single pot of tea. Joan simply raises a brow before going to back to her printing. Abe looked up, realizing it was just the two of them alone now. He doesn't know what to say or do, frozen as he finishes his snack. 

However, it's Joan that breaks the silence.

"I'm sorry if I'm..intruding, Abe." She looks slightly forlorn. "If you don't want me around, truly, I can leave. I don't want to get in your way." 

Abe blinks before looking sad. Her face was sad, but her words were sincere. He crawls up to his feet, still squeezing the sock behind his back. 

"You're not in the way. Really, I appreciate your help." He pulls up a chair to sit next to her. 

"It's just.." He brings out the sock in front of him. "You've been so nice. I don't want you to die because of me." Abe sighed, staring into space. Joan's attention was away from the laptop screen, looking up at Abe. "You could have a good life-it's not here with me." 

Joan puts a hand on Abe's. 

"This was my choice though. Abe. It's not your fault that I'm in danger. I chose to do that myself." 

Abe rested his head in his hand, looking up at her from below. "Why though? Why did you choose this?"

Joan took one of Abe's hands into both of hers.

"Because, people don't exactly ask to be born. Isn't life in itself worth protecting and preserving? That's kind of how creatures live and evolve." 

She smiles, releasing her grip in his hand-however Abe's hand didn't want to retreat. "You of all people understand we deserve to be happy, right Abe?" 

Abe pauses, letting her words sink in. He wasn't quite sure how to unpack all of it. 

"You said..Oddworld and Earth had a lot in common.." Abe trailed off, scooching closer. "Is this how Earth died?" 

"Yeah." Joan brought up her legs, hugging her knees. "The truth was right in front of us but the majority ignored it. Humanity was, among all else, selfish." She clicked through the laptop, going over to search images of her old world.

"We didn't have to end up like this. We could have stopped ignoring the truth, hiding it even. What we had was beautiful." Images popped up of comparison pictures between the old and beautiful Earth and its now flooded and deserted state. "It started with colonization and mass murder. Just for the sake of what, material items? Industry?" She shook her head. "Love eroded with the growth of greed."

Abe nodded. "Yeah..it does sound similar. Do you love Oddworld too?" 

Joan actually found the pep to start giggling again. "I do. You guys are worth telling the truth for." She hugs him, Abe actually feeling his muscles relax in her arms. He felt warm, comfortable. 

"Can I have another hit?" Abe looked down with a crooked grin.

Chapter Text

In a small cozy nook of the underground, Joan and Abe lay amongst various cushions. Incense smoke flooded up to the ceiling like clouds in the sky. Joan lies on the floor next to him, hugging a pillow to her chest and smiling up at the Messiah. He sits up, leaning back against the wall with calm eyes and a mouthful of food.

They continue their who knows how long conversation. 

"So, those aren't really tattoos? They're brandings?" Her eyes wandered to the big dark engraving across his chest.

Abe looks back down at his hands. 

"They give me powers." He sighs, closing his eyes as he leans his head back. Joan leans her head down with a gloomy expression. 

"So it hurt then?"

Abe nodded. "It did. It isn't exactly what I wanted when I decided I wanted to be free." Joan slowly sits herself up right next to Abe, gaze not leaving his. 

"What do you want once you're free, Abe?" 

Abe looked up to the cloudy ceiling with a curious glint in his eyes.

"What do I want?" He pondered. "I don't know.. I gotta think about that one." He gave a small smile. "Maybe.. I'd like to see Munch again." 

Joan giggled. "The friend you helped from Vykkers Labs? You know where he is now?"

Abe shrugged. "I dunno, somewhere out in the sea with his babies." Abe rests his head on her shoulder. "But I wanna know if they're okay."

"I'm sure they are, Abe. No doubt about it."

Abe looks up at her features, her smooth warm skin comforting him. Joan took the time to nuzzle back into him. "What else do you want?" 

Abe tried his best not to melt into her. "I don't know..just, to not be sad anymore. Not be running anymore." Joan however, does not stop herself from sinking into the deep blue that washes her. Reminds her that she's still alive. 

"That works, Abe. That's a good thing to want, it's enough."

Abe nuzzles into Joan's hair, burying himself and hiding his smile. "Thank you.."

Joan, pulled away with a light blush in her face.

"By the way, not to pry but-do you want more clothes?" Joan lifts up her leg-she had put on the sock again when it had dried. The sock had a hole in the bottom, two and a half of Joans toes peeking out. "Cus this hole wasn't here before-Abe?"

Abe had completely turned his back to her. She began snickering. "Abe, did you try to wear it?"  

"I JUST WANTED TO SEE WHAT IT FELT LIKE!" He turns around to look at her with a blushing, embarrassed glare. "I didn't get what was so special about it. Why Alf acted like it was underwear or something." 

His eyes fell upon Joan's leg once more, eyes gliding on the gilded glow of nylon. It stopped at her toes. "It felt itchy inside, too."

Joan offered her leg in front of Abe. "Feel the outside though. It's smooth, isn't it?"

Abe tensed up when the bare leg was right in front of his face. He gulps, shivering as he raises his hands to grasp it, running his fingers over the calf.

"Woah..it is soft.." Abe lost himself reveling in the sensations he was feeling. 

Joan slowly began to retreat her leg from Abe's hands, but they gently trailed and grabbed again. Abe was dazed, pupils blown wide as his hands slide up her leg slowly. Joan was frozen, flushed. "He..grabbed my leg back?" Her heart raced looking at Abe's almost hungry expression. "Why is he doing this? Is he..teasing me?" 

"I still don't get why it's underwear though. How does more fabric make underwear more lewd? Like yeah, I get it, thighs are erotic, but you wear these with clothes. Isn't the point of underwear that you're not supposed to see it out in public? So then, it's just a sock."

Joan, at this point has no idea how to respond. She turns her face away, noticeably bright and flushed. She was the one making it weird. Again. Abe lowers her leg down as she covers her face.

"Joan? What's wrong? Did I really ruin it?"

Joan peaked between her fingers. She saw Abe's expression and immediately lowered her hands. 

"Don't worry about it, Abe!" Her smile came back, and so did Abe's. 

"Hey guys, we're back with tea!" Toby's voice rang. "Sorry that took so long, we kinda got distracted." Both Joan and Abe twitched in surprise as the rest of the group came back in, looking like they were falling from their high. Toby and Stranger yawned in unison. Alf places the teapot in the middle, clenching his teeth. 

"Oh good lord, Abe. What the hell did you do?"

Alf's senses were so clogged with the smell of tension he had to clear his throat. He shakily pours himself a cuppa, attempting to drown the heavy nectar scent filling the room. He squinted, turning around and looking at Abe. He seems way too flustered despite doing everything in his power to not smell anything. The Messiah scurries up to get a drink, averting his eyes as he shivers-feathers puffing out. Abe wipes his lower lip, seeing Alf was about to say something. Abe immediately interrupts this.

"What took you guys so long? Aw geez, I'm hungry. Toby, can you pass me another snack?" He catches it from the air as his brother expounds on the experience the three had on their way back. A completely mundane story that honestly only sounded like a dull hum to Abe's ears. He looks into his tea, counting the ripples. 

All he could think about was how soft her leg felt. How the curves fit into his palms..

"Why..why did she just let me touch her like that? I'm such a creep. Why did it feel so nice..?"

"Abe, woah, dude! Eat already!" 

Abe snapped back to reality when he realized saliva was falling from his mouth rapidly.

Abe panicked and covered his mouth, looking around at the others staring at him-at Joan staring.

He stuffs his face so full he can't talk, continuously wiping at his mouth.

"HA...BOY WAS I HUNGRY!" He really wasn't. Abe puffed out his chest in fake confidence. Stranger had prepared to grab Toby and run like last time. However, Abe continued to shake, arm clutching his stomach.

"A-Alf, why don't you take Joan home? We all need sleep.."

Alf felt a zap go up his spine. "UH..I-I don't think I should, I mean.."

Toby and Stranger looked at eachother, then looked at Abe clutching his mouth and shaking. Toby sighed, giving Alf a strict look.

"He's right Alf..you gotta talk to Joan about something after all, right ?"

Alf visibly panicked. "Uhhh.." Toby points his thumb at Abe, doing his best to keep his composure. He looked sick. Alf groans, walking over and helping the human to her feet, giving her the papers. "We can go over what you're gonna do getting those pictures." Alf, Toby and Stranger exchanged glances-each wearing a mask of some form of annoyance. 

"Goodnight guys." Joan gave a final smile as they all wave goodbye. 

Finally, Stranger pulls out the plastic bag from the convenience store out to Abe.

"Alright buddy, you're good now."

Toby rubbed Abe's back as he did his business refilling the plastic bag. Stranger groans, pinching his nose. "At least that's some control."

---

The apartment was mostly black, neon lights from the outside changing colors. The window was open, the pair letting the smoke from their lungs get carried away by the night to the infinitely lingering smog above. Alf sighed, the upper half of his overalls hanging over his pelvis. His expression was heavy. Joan looked out the window, still catching her breath. 

"We can't keep doing this."

"I know.." Joan sunk into the window pane, letting the night breeze catch her hot skin. 

Alf's tattooed abdomen heaved, turning his head to look at her.

"I'm serious, Joan. I want to but..I know it's wrong. I can't do this to my own brother. I'm a bastard, but not enough of one." He was clearly guilty. "I meant to tell you we couldn't when I saw you at the mall..I hope you're not upset." 

Joan gave a weak smile. "Don't worry. I only did it so my classmates wouldn't catch onto what I'm doing. The only person I'm upset with is myself."

Alf sat himself up, putting his cap back on. "I'm sorry Abe doesn't get it, hon. It's..complicated."

Joan squeezed her eyes, trying not to tear up. She sniffled. "Then why did he touch me like that?? Why did he give me that look?!" 

Alf felt worry ping in his chest. What did Abe do that got her so worked up? "What happened while we were gone?" 

Joan grabbed a pillow from her bed to hug, pushing her face into it. 

"We..were getting so close. No space between us.." She looks from her pillow, getting flustered again. Alf growls, stopping her daydreaming in her tracks. "Don't start again, damn it!" The two were exhausted, Joan falling back to her bed in frustration. 

"You're gonna have to learn to deal with this yerself, girlie. Abe just.. is like this. If you can't handle it, then step away. Otherwise, you're gonna have to get over yourself. We aren't here to collect girls, as much as I wish that was the case. Choice is yours if you work with us or not." 

Joan feels her guilt weigh in her stomach, curling up with her pillow. Her voice softens. 

"I understand.." She looked up at the mudokon standing above her bed, pulling his overalls back up and kissing her forehead. 

"I do hope you decide to stay with us, though. It's been nice." He gives a smirk. "For Abe, especially. It's been a bit since I've seen him smile." 

Alf quietly lets himself out as the human falls asleep. He lays his back against the door, taking a deep breath. 

"Abe.. " Alf's thoughts began to race. "I never know what you're thinking.."

"Hello?"

A dainty voice peeped from the darkness. "Hello? Mr. Mudokon?" Alfs eyes finally dart down into the deep alleyway-a tall, modelesque glukkon queen peered from the populated street, food and shopping bags in hand. Her jewelry was almost too bright-so were her teeth.

It was Joan's classmate. What was her name again? "Ah shit.." Alf felt his bones run cold as he carefully inched down the stairs. He clenches his fists, keeping a safe distance away from her. 

"Can I help you..?" Alf's heart was pounding. Despite her beauty, the glukkon was intense. Her smile was almost aggressive. She dared to close the space between the two.

"You're Joan's boyfriend, right? My name's Dahlia."

Alf was tense, holding his breath. "I wouldn't call myself a boyfriend. Do you need something?" 

Dahlia inched closer, squinting at his outfit. "You used to work for Soulstorm Brewery? You survived?" Her amazed expression was followed by a chuckle. "That's quite amazing. What's your name?"

Alf began to back up. "Haha, uh yeah. Came to the city to get a new job! Anyway, see ya-"

Alf was interrupted as the queen stepped into the light. Smiling, she digs through her purse and hands out a business card to him. "You poor thing, you lost your job. I have connections to get you back to work immediately. Good workplaces, too. Your name?" 

Alf hesitated. "I uhm...no thanks! I uh, I've already got an interview soon!" 

"Wait!" As Alf tried to make a run for it, Dahlia reaches out to grab his arm. "With who? I can put in a good name for you. Joan seems to like y-"

Alf ripped his hand from her grasp. Her smile cracked with annoyance. 

"S-sorry!" Alf ran for his life, stumbling slightly. Dahlia didn't bother giving chase, but she looked up at the light buzzing over what seemed to be Joan's apartment, frowning.

"That guy really is no good. I knew it."

Chapter Text

Joan jolted awake from the pounding behind her door. She groans, reaching for her glasses on the bedside table. 

"Joan! Joooan-"

"Coming.." Joan sighed as she got up out of bed. She didn't exactly want her dream to end-but the voices of her classmates pulled her away from the comfort of strong, blue arms whisking her away into the land of dreams. She unlocks her apartment door to Marill and Dahlia. The glukkon leans slightly to pass through the doorway, her smile doing a bad job at hiding her discomfort.

"So this is your living space?" Dahlia's eyes roamed the studio. "It's...cute?"

Joan grumbled, reaching for a coffee in her fridge. 

"Yeah. Not all of us are born into the Magog Cartel. If you don't like it-"

"It's okay, it's okay!" Dahlia quickly cut her off. "We just came to pick you up. By the way.." Dahlia continued as Joan sloppily put herself together, swallowing her medications down with canned coffee. "Last night, when I was shopping, I ran into your guy.."

Joan spat her coffee, coughing in panic. She cleared her throat. "You..were outside my place last night?"

Marill took a seat, straightening the pleats in her pants. "She just said she was shopping. Besides, listen-"

Dahlia crossed a pair of arms. "He said he wasn't a boyfriend. And when I offered him a proper job, he just ran. A real irresponsible bum."

Joan was glad she had her back to Dahlia because of how hard she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well it's true. I told you guy's he wasn't that serious." Joan adjusted the collar of her jacket and pulled her bookbag on. "I'm not seeing him anymore, anyway." 

"Thank goodness!" Marill sat up, the girls preparing to leave. Joan gave the slender glukkon queen a small smile when she looked up at her. 

"Thanks again for getting these passes on such short notice, Dahlia." 

Dahlia beamed, going through her purse and giving the human a lanyard with a temporary ID. 

"When you told us your project was going to be inside the social tendencies of the wealthy and what we contribute to the population, I was so happy!" Joan locked her door, taking a deep breath as she prepared for more fake ass kissing. Her lips were already sore. 

"I got all the other passes for our other tours, too!" Dahlia lit a cigarette as she dipped into her limousine. "Besides, I majorly owe you for setting me up with Duke!" She giggled as the other two girls buckled themselves up. Joan looks out the window, the memories of her dreams slowly eroding like sand in an hourglass. 

"Yeah.." She rested her forehead against the cool window, cursing herself for falling so hopelessly. That night they spent time together, it seemed like Abe was just tired. Bothered. He asked for none of this, yet still had a big enough heart to understand that every life meant something, deserved saving. His scars, his wounds-brutal. But every brother, every egg, is worth the pain. Now if only Abe knew he was also worth the same. He deserved freedom as much as any other slave. 

Joan looks down at her camera, fingertips squeezing in determination. Any way to lessen the pain. To ease the vice grip the world seemed to have around his neck.

--

"Hello there!" Joan was frozen in fear, her friends helping her with her ID. Dahlia stood still.

"Remember, keep those out at all times." Joan remained staring at the giant mechanical smile and it's red laser roaming over her startled pose. With a friendly ding! and quick green flash the bowtie beneath the teeth did a spin.

"Hello there, Joan Feiruz. " The robotic emphasis in her name made her shiver.

"So uh, what happens if I don't? Like, hypothetically-"

Dahlia giggled as the greeter scanned her. 

"Well, you'd get electrocuted! Our factories are often the homes of our employees-we need to keep them safe from anything outside, right?"

"Safe, yeah.." Joan drifted as she watched Marill happily stand still. She did her best to physically hide her cringe as she imagined how many died from just a Greeter.

"Welcome again, Miss Dahlia! Welcome, guests! My name is Peter. I'm going to be your tour guide for today. Dr. Smiles has even agreed to take the time out of his day to ask questions!" They followed the bowtie greeter, Joan readying her camera. 

"Isn't S. Miles that guy who faked his doctorate?"

"Dr. Smiles is a man who only cares about making Oddworld smile! He had no intention of faking a doctorate-it is merely his mascot for Dr. Smile's Speed-Diner."

"Right.." Joan began snapping pictures of the entrance. "And all the deaths that happen on site due to the menu?"

"Our delicious, fast food is meant to provide energy to the busy workforce quickly-with a taste that makes you smile! Any health accidents that happen in our many locations are not caused by our food alone." The greeter stopped at a glass, peering into a factory full of workers. Joan tried her best not to look at them. 

"Did you know Dr. Smiles also owns many sister brands here as well, and across multiple continents? This part of the tour is about how everything is made-would you ladies like some nuggets!?"

Giddy with delight, Dahlia happily swipes the sample cup. "This tour never gets old!" Joan gave her sample to Marill, who's eyes were sparkling. "I've always wondered how these were made!" 

The greeter turns to the Grubb. "You'll find out today, Miss Marill! Would you like a hat?"

Marill hopped with excitement. "Yes, please!"

Joan continued casually snapping along the way, thanking god that the girls were distracted by the Smile Land tour. She turns off her flash when she gets a picture of a laminated factory map. Nobody seemed to notice her lagging behind and occasionally jogging to catch up.

"As you can see, even at work our employees have a smile on their face! We make it a company policy that the more you smile, the easier work will be! We believe in happiness here. It's more than just work, it's the lifestyle of giving-"

Joan sighed. "Let me guess-giving smiles?"

Peter's voice rose with a tone of approval. "Exactly! And on this floor is our recipe lab-this is where all of our delicious products are freshly deep fried to perfection, frozen, and shipped to every stop in the continent." Joan takes pictures of every camera and exit. Her eyes fell on the workers in a line, plopping globs of pink goop into dangerously large vats of bubbling oil. Each mudokon wearing a helmet and a painfully forced wide smile. Some covered in burns with no clothes to shield their bodies pouring unhealthy amounts of sweat. Signs everywhere telling them to 'hang in there' and 'keep on' smilin!'. Joan was just about sick with the constant barrage of eyeless smiles. 

"Somethin tells me the doctor isn't a fan of displeasure." 

"Smiles are what our customers want!" The robot seemed to repeat. 

Dahlia tapped Joan on the shoulder as she took more pictures. 

"You remember introducing yourself to Dr. Smiles, right Joan?" Marill chirped.

Joan shrugged. "Oh, of course. How could I forget that smile?" 

"Do not bring up the Doctor's cheek muscle problem." Peter quipped.

--

Gunshots scattered, ricocheting across the endless sea of buildings. With a terrifying siren in the distance, Abe was running in and out of shadows. With the slaves he had rescued tonight safe and sound, he finally had time to worry about his own life. 

He heard the sligs after him talking with each other, the blaring lights beginning to fade into Abe's vision. He backs up against the wall, mouth shut and lungs stilled. 

"Heya, miss!"

"Huh? Can I help you?"

The voice of the young lady was unmistakable. It was Joan, probably on her way home from school. Abe gulped, attempting to catch his breath before it had the chance to leave him.

"Sorry to bother ya, but we're looking for a criminal. Blue mudokon, sewn lips. Ya know, the Abe guy from the news!"

"No." Joan seemed unbothered. "I thought he was just a rumor? Sorry, Officer."

The group of sligs apologized to her and ran up ahead, getting tired of looking for him. Abe finally exhales, hand on his chest. 

"Abe?" After a few moments of silence, Joan peers her head into the shadow behind a building. She reaches her hands blindly into the darkness until she feels the form of her hero. The smallest electric zap kisses her hand, temporarily lighting Abe's features for a second. 

Abe finally emerges from the shadows, eyes darting nervously. "Sorry. H-Hi Joan.." He only comes out half way, the colors of the sirens still reflecting off the streets and surrounding buildings. "You can go home, it's okay. I gotta hide.." Abe began to slowly dip into the darkness again, the tips of Joans fingers still reaching out to him. 

"Wait, Abe.." Joan tries to keep quiet. "I got some stuff for you. Why don't you hide at my place? They'll never find you there."

Abe blinked for a moment before shaking his head.

"N-no, no! What if I get you in trouble? If they ever see you with me, you're dead!"

Joan gives a soft giggle before slipping into the darkness with him.

"I don't think they will. You think they wanna go knocking door to door? I promise, we'll be safe there." Joan gestures for Abe to follow her to her apartment. Abe was still unsure about this-all he could think about was what to do if Joan ever got in trouble-what would he do? Can a human get into a bird portal? Would they capture her? Torture her? Abe found himself unconsciously getting closer and looming over her. Joan looks up as she fishes for her keys, eyes widening at the sight before her-Abe with aggressively blown out eyes, his arms hovering around her as if ready to grab her at any moment. His chest heaved with his ragged breath, and dimly lit his branding with an ethereal glow.

"Abe?" Joans voice was still soft, scared to even say the name too loudly. "What's wrong?" 

Abe shook himself back into reality, looking down at himself and feeling his face heat up.

"I-I'm sorry! It's just, this is really dangerous, and.."

Joan and Abe go up the stairs, Abe fumbling over his words. Joan finally unlocks the door.

"Its not dangerous anymore. You can relax, Abe." 

Abe was greeted with the warm light of the apartment, and Joan's smile.

"Come on in. Need something to drink?"

Abe felt a new, warm sensation from the chest up. 

---

"You know, you can sleep here too if you need to." Joan had already taken her shoes off. She realized by now it was likely Abe had never slept on a mattress before. She sat at his side on her loveseat, placing the warm milk in front of him. Abe felt himself tense up again at her being in such close and personal proximity to him. Memories of when they got high together the other day clouded his thoughts and caught his voice in a knot. Really, it was the first time they were together alone and sober. Abe simply nodded his gratitude toward Joan.

"Thanks I.." His eyes escaped to the window, the blue and red lights from earlier still outside, but somehow not a danger. The sirens had been muffled out by Joan turning on the radio. "It's getting harder to find places to hide. Sometimes I gotta wait." He looks down into his cup of milk, light steam coming up to cup his tired face. 

Joan leans back into the couch, rummaging through her things. She finds her camera, and shows it to Abe. She flips through the gallery full of photos she had taken of the factory and layout. Abe raised his brow bones as he looks through the photos. 

"Dr. Smiles? As in the guy who owns all the fast food chains?" He points at various machinery. "He was a customer at Rupture Farms. He ordered meat from us." 

Joan smirked. "So the food really is as bad as the lawsuits say?"

Abe gave an exaggerated nod. "Yup. It tastes good but it's real bad for ya. Heck, I've heard stories of slaves mysteriously falling into the deep fryers and being served anyway." Abe shivered. Joan leaned back, head resting in her hand thoughtfully.

"That's probably why there's the joke of them always hiring. When I interviewed him, he kept exaggerating how their workplace welcomes everyone and everybody seems to be happy. Glukkons seem to be really pushing the idea that mudokons love being treated this way." 

Abe sighed, taking a sip of his drink. Joan continued. "Honestly, I've never been more disgusted with the act of smiling when I was done with that place." She pops out the memory card and hands it to him. "Toby can save these to the laptop. You should be able to sneak past security measurements rather easily." 

Abe gave a small smile. The one smile that didn't make her sick that day was the quietest. 

"You hungry?"

Abe blinked, finally looking at Joan. 

"Uhm… I don't know?" Abe fidgeted. Did he look hungry? Was it because of earlier? Oh yeah, that's right…

"I-uhm, I'm sorry about the other night!! About your leg, I.."

Joan erupted, face beet red as she freezes in place. She wobbles, slowly looking back at the Messiah.

"Wh-what about it?!" Joan clung to the neck of her shirt, ready to sink in like a nervous turtle. "I-I honestly don't know what you're insinuating-I personally thought nothing of it!" She quickly retreats to begin making Abe something to eat.

"Right! Right, yeah. I thought nothing of it either, haha. Like, it's not even on my mind anymore."

Chapter Text

"Ah, so he's with you." Stranger responded to Joan's voice buzzing up from the other side. "We've been lookin' for him for a while now. Glad he's safe there." The bounty hunter calls across the horizon for the other two mudokon brothers. "We can go back, guys. Abe's alright."

Toby peeps from the edge of the same rooftop, laptop in hand. "Where is he? We were real scared." Alf climbs up to meet the others, squatting down and resting his arms. Stranger, now able to relax, hooks the walky talky back to his utility belt and pulls out a cigarette. "He's at Joan's place. They ran into each other and Abe needed to hide." He begins his stride back underground, however Toby and Alf had questions.

Toby gave an angry pout before pulling his own device out.

" Abe!" He whined. "We were looking for like, an hour dude! Couldn't you have at least called and told us you were okay?!"

"Sorry, Toby.." 

The youngest brother sighed. Alf snuck up behind Toby and swiped it to himself (despite having his own hanging on his overalls). "No worries, Abe! We're on our way-" 

"Oh, uh.. actually I'm-"

"Alf!!" Toby swipes it back. "No, don't bother them! They're probably having dinner right now."

Alf scowled, hands on his hips looking down at Toby puffing out his cheeks in annoyance. 

A silent, faint echo of Joans voice catches in the background static.

"Hows pudding for dessert, Abe?" 

Toby's eyes get larger, immediately pulling the walky talky to his face, as if to beg the device itself.

"Abe, you're getting pudding!? I want some!" Alf nudges Toby. 

"You little brat! Who's bothering them now!?"

Stranger remains silent, putting out his cigarette before turning and walking towards them. With no words, he decides to take the device himself, stuffing it into a pocket of his vest. He picks up both men by the backs of their overalls, one dangling in each hand.

"Both of ya need to just let things happen instead of pushin' so hard." His bright green eyes look between the two mudokons, now silent and deep in thought. 

"Whatever those two do is up to them, not us." 

--

Abe, slightly frustrated, buries his walky talky deep into his own book bag. Joan giggles to herself as she sits back down next to him, peeling the top off a flan. "Sounds like your brothers can be a handful." She offers a spoonful, inches from Abe's face. Abe grumbles, eyes still not on the pudding. 

"You have no idea. They get distracted so easily. It's like I have to constantly keep track of everybody. I can barely keep track of myself.." His frustrated expression quickly grew depressed. Joan lowered the spoon, heart sinking along with the sight.

"Well, they were looking for you, Abe! They at least try to keep track of you, too." 

Abe sighed, now leaning his head on the loveseat next to his human. 

"Well yeah. Big, strong "chosen one" Abe is here to save everyone." Abe flexed his arms despite him rolling his eyes. "If I die, so does everyone else."

Joan dares to put an arm around and half-embrace Abe, gently petting his head.

"It's more than that, Abe. Your brothers love you for more than just saving them. Otherwise they wouldn't be a part of it with you." 

Abe sighed, closing his eyes. "Then, why do I still feel so alone..?" 

Joan cradles his head closer to her chest. 

"No one's experience is the same. In a way, we're all alone. But, we find kindred spirits, people we experience things with and grow to care about." Abe lost himself in Joans heartbeat. Her scent just barely wiggled past the cotton due to closeness, but Abe didn't bother. "You've experienced things together-Alf and Toby want to spend their freedom with you because they care about you and what you're dealing with. They're willing to go through it with you." 

Abe opened his eyes halfway. He gave a small smile, thinking about his brothers. "I suppose." Abe is interrupted by a sweet, smooth caramel taste filling his mouth. He shivers in delight, smile getting bigger.

"Mmmmmm." Joan smiled as Abe quickly gripped the spoon and picked up the pudding cup.

"They do help a lot, too." Abe swallowed and continued. "It just seems so much easier for them." 

"Well, Abe, they look forward to change and possibilities. Aren't you eager to see your mom?" 

Abe stopped his eating, leaning forward as he traces the spoon across his stitches.

"Joan..do you think she did this to me, because she loves me?" 

Joan smiled, gently rubbing his back. 

"I'm sure you have a special place in her heart, and that she wants to see you too. All grown up. I think she'll be super happy to see you." 

Abe finishes his snack. "I hope so. I can't imagine the pain she's been through. I've always remembered her face. Sam had kind eyes." He yawns, rubbing one of his eyes. 

Joan gave a warm smile, gathering up one of her blankets and wrapping it around Abe's shoulders. Joan cups one of his cheeks.

"Well, then, you have her eyes." Abe looks up and gives a small and tired chuckle. He rests his forehead against hers. "Thanks."

---

Abe had found himself surrounded in softness and warmth. Waking up with no memory of any dreams, he sinks back into the satisfaction. His eyes had hardly opened, and yet they were closing back just as quickly. 

Until he heard shuffling, along with a soft smell. His eyes bolt open at the realization that his nostrils were clear. Finally, he wakes up enough to peer his head out of the mountain of blankets. 

The apartment was completely dark, with just a crack of light peering from the bathroom. Steam was collecting at the ceiling, carrying the smell of floral soap.

"Oh! Sorry, did I wake you up Abe?" Joan whispered into the darkness. Abe begins to sit up in bed, rubbing his eye. 

"It's okay." He continues to smell the air.

There it was.

Why didn't Abe think about this in the first place?

The syrupy sweetness flooded his senses, now accompanied with the hot steam. It smelled so good. Abe, still in the midst of sleepiness, felt his body become warm again. He slowly climbs out of bed, breath becoming heavy. Abe feels himself go on autopilot, lost in the dreamy atmosphere. 

He follows the scent trail to the door, creaked open and leaking out a soft glow in the hall. 

Joan was in a towel, skin still warm and wet. Abe couldn't take his eyes away for some reason. 

"Do I..think she's pretty?" 

Abe felt himself drawn, similarly to when he watched Joan's video essays on the laptop. How her lips were shaped, her weirdly round ears, how unbelievably soft she was..

"Yeah. I do. She's beautiful."

"ABE!?" Joan screeches, lifting and grappling the towel wrapped around her as if to cover herself more. 

Abe failed to realize that his head was peering into the bathroom door, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

Abe panics, now fighting to keep Shrykull down. He retreats along the wall, Paramite appendages quickly scuttering to get back into the bed. Abe, hot with shame, pulls the blanket over his head.

"Are you kidding?! Why didn't I realize I was looking at her naked!?" He whines, hiding his head in his paws. Finally, he works up the courage to say something.

"I'M SO SORRY!! I didn't know you were-"

Joan sighs, now in her pajamas and sitting next to Abe. Gently, she pulls the blanket down. "You can look now, I'm dressed."

Abe, still nervous, looks down at her. 

The smell was still making him squirm.

"I just..needed to ask for some cotton.."

Joan raised a brow. "Oh, right. There a reason you stuff your nose with cotton?"

"Uh.." Abe tried to not look her in the eye.

"Because you smell like heaven."

"Because I snore." Abe gave a cheesy smile.

Joan giggles, now with a couple cotton swabs from her medicine cabinet. "Yeah you do. Although, I don't think the cotton is working. You shot those things across the room." 

Abe tried his best not to curse himself for that. The last thing he wanted his newfound crush to remember him for was snoring so hard he shoots stuff out his nose.

Chapter Text

"So..Molluck wasn't really lying."

A portly glukkon glares over his crowded desk, the mascot bobble head of himself finding itself rumbling with every violent pump of his foot on the phone pedal. He wouldn't answer a single call. He growls at the multiple computer monitors, a slow slideshow of a blue mudokon he's never seen before emptying his factory. A group of sligs surround him, shaking in their mechanical pants.

"Oh god, I'm not ready to die! Not today, man!"

"This is my first day on the job, too!"

"I can't believe he's actually for real! We're screwed.."

Dr. Smiles grunted at his employees. "Be quiet. You're gonna kill that whistleblowing scumbag, and you'll do it with a smile." 

"S-sir…" The sligs shake more, pointing their guns at him. " Behind you.."

Before he can turn around, his face is grappled by a large clawed hand that emerges from the shadows of his office. With unsteady red dots aiming at the darkness, a hairy stranger in a large hat brings himself face to face with the fast food cash giant.

Stranger was as still as usual, claws digging into the man's bloated face.

"I don't think any of you are gonna do that today." He tips his hat with his other hand, unafraid of the guns pointing his way. He simply blocks their gaze with his new gluk shield. "Toby, the computer's yours." 

The guns switched to the small mudokon in a backwards cap, simply pulling up a chair and sitting next to the captive doctor. He pulls out his laptop, pushing a hard drive into the computer tower. Stranger growls, terrifying the sligs into paralysis. Dr. Smiles vibrates with rage.

"What the hell are you doing!? Shoot him!" 

Toby gasps loudly, only to laugh. 

"No dice, gramps. We're almost done already. Stranger can light up a cigar for ya, though, if that makes ya more comfortable."

Stranger blinks. "Okay kid, that one wasn't necessary." 

Toby gives a sheepish and guilty smile. He leans in to the doctor. 

"Who's your egg distributor?" 

"I'm not saying anything." 

Toby sighed, pulling out his walkie talkie. "Alf, he's not being easy. You're gonna have to do some searching. Any of their shrinks stay on staff?" 

Alf, on the other side of the factory. "How the hell am I gonna get a damn shrink, Toby!?" His forearm shakes from his grip on the walky-talky, hidden behind a vending machine. Clenching his teeth, Alf quickly throws a Fizzy Pow at the bowtied Greeter hurtling towards him. "Stoopy, cover Abe for me-I gotta get somethin'!" Leaving Peter the Greeter, popping circuits and billowing smoke. He was now a burnt mechanical heap on the floor, a large smile missing a few teeth. 

"Hello there! Hello there! Hello th-"

--

Joan found her fingers sifting through sand. She knew she was dreaming because she could actually see the sparkling stars clearly in the night sky. Her fingers trace Scorpius. She seemed to be the only one in this ethereal desert. Joan's tranquility is interrupted by the echo of a great roar beginning to reach her ears. She sits up, eyes roaming the empty waves of sand. 

"Where did that come from..?" Dark clouds begin to circle in the sky, thunder rumbling deeply within until the lightning strikes into the distance. Joan wanders the desert, following the trail of brightness that had lit up the sky.

An oasis in the desert-with crystalline water and thick trees and bushes of flowers-draws closer to her. A large, spidery figure in the oasis roars once more and summons another strike of lightning.

"That creature that tried to eat me at the factory.." Feeling uneasy, Joan carefully approaches slower. Shrykull-the very god she'd read about and even came face-to-face with. Yet despite this, she knew so little. Joan gulps. 

"Are you..Shrykull?"

The creature finally notices her, turning around and opening his face tendrils, making a clicking sound similar to a Paramite. 

"I'll..take that as a yes." Joan made sure to tread gently, putting out her hand as if to prove to him she means no harm. "You don't like what the world has done to your home, do you?" 

Shrykull chirps in a strong tone, approaching Joan's hand and nuzzling beneath it. 

Joan smiles gently, embracing the god's Scrab-like beak and petting it. "Is that why you ran away? You felt bad for trying to kill me?"

Shrykull gives a sad, small howl as he picks Joan up into his arms-ah yes, right, this strange god had the torso of a four-armed man. 

"It's cool. Eating humans is something even Earth gods did, I understand. Don't blame you either, considering our history..we can't even take care of our own planet." Joan snuggles deep into his caress, Shrykull galloping through the sands. The breeze feels almost real rushing past her skin. "Shrykull, you know what Abe is doing is heroic, don't you?"

Shrykull roars, yet somehow the sound doesn't hurt. "Please keep protecting him." Joan tightens her hug around his shoulders. "I've never prayed before, but I hope this counts. Don't let anybody ever hurt him."

Shrykull drops Joan on her butt rather abruptly. Back to sitting in the sand, Joan looks up at the razor sharp beak and four drooling, dagger like tongues. 

"Joan? Are you awake?"

"What..?" It was jarring hearing a voice come from this creature's mouth.

"Joan, they're getting closer..are you awake?"

Joan weakly opens her eyes, rising from her blankets. Her hand blindingly gropes the nightstand to turn on a lamp. When her eyes finally adjust, she sees an antsy mudokon knocking on the sliding balcony door. Joan panics, immediately throwing the door open and pulling Abe in. The curtains are quickly drawn in, and Joan finally let's her breath out.

"I'm so sorry, Abe. I'm kind of a deep sleeper." 

Abe gives a soft chuckle, rubbing his arm. 

"It's okay. Man, I wish I had that problem." 

Joan frowned, immediately going to her stove to make something to drink.

"You have trouble sleeping, Abe? I didn't get that impression-you snore like a chainsaw." 

Abe found himself already in her bed, hiding himself in a darker corner. "That's right.." Abe recalls the last night he spent here. "I actually slept really well that night.." 

Abe felt his cheeks tingle. 

"Most of the time, I can't sleep. I feel like if I sleep, something bad will happen and if I miss it, somebody will die." 

"Abe.." Joan felt the sting of crying in her throat, swallowing it down. "Do you really feel that responsible?" 

Abe sighs, throwing up his shoulders in a helpless shrug. "That's what everyone keeps tellin' me. That it's all up to me. I don't know why me, of all people." He leans back onto the wall with a sigh.

"All I did was run.."

Joan turns on her radio, letting her hot water boil. 

"We interrupt this broadcast with a special breaking story, from Magog on the March! Fast food giant and loveable mascot of Dr. Smile's Speedy Diner, Sebastian Miles the glukkon has passed away in a terrible tragedy. Due to currently unknown causes, the head factory has exploded and erupted in flames. We are on site now as the brave Nolybab Fire Department and Police Force fight the flames and investigate the scene."

Joan gently sits herself next to Abe, cheap mattress creaking lightly. 

"You may be saving lives, Abe, but, the deaths that come from your work.. aren't your fault." 

Abe sighs, resting his head on her shoulder. 

"I keep telling you, I don't believe it. I still don't. I've seen with my own eyes what happens. I mean, listen to the radio-" He points as Joan hands him a cup and teabag. 

""Tell me, you're an officer, what happened here on this night?" "Well, we will have to wait for the autopsy report, but it appears whoever did this threw Miles into a vat of lard. He was still alive when he first hit the vat, if he didn't have another stroke, he drowned in lard. Mullock used to supply Miles, there's no way he's behind these explosions. Whoever is behind this, they have an obvious agenda." What do you think, folks? Does this mystery go deeper? Where is the Nolybab workforce disappearing? More on the story as it develops-now back to your regularly scheduled program!"

Joan looks back at Abe, who was now burying his head into a pillow he grabbed. 

"I want all the dying to stop. I don't wanna do this. I just want to live."

Joan crawls over to Abe, putting a hand on his knee. 

"It's unfair, that it has to come to this." Abe looks up from the pillow, searching for comfort in the human's sincere eyes. "But everything you're doing is worth it not just for you, but everyone." She manages to shimmy her way into Abe's arms and nuzzling him. "I don't know what you did in there, but you didn't kill that man. They had it coming after all those they've killed themselves."

Abe pouts, letting himself settle in her arms. 

"Joan...you have no idea it was me who almost ate you, do you?" Abe thought to himself. "And yet here you are, telling me I never killed anyone. Is it mean of me to think you're kinda stupid?"

Joan looks up at him, gently demanding he look at her. "You can't blame yourself for the deaths you can't control. You said it yourself-you don't want to. You just want to live. All creatures deserve that." 

"B-but the shaman.."

"Would he blame you for his death?" 

Abe blinked, stopping his thoughts in their tracks. 

Abe remembers how willingly the old man accepted the fire. How calm he was in the face of death. He remembers his fading vision in the Keeper's embrace, her gentle hand comforting him as he sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, Abe.."

Joan squeezes Abe gently. "You've been hurt too. You deserve to fight for your own justice." 

Abe sighs as Joan temporarily lets go of him to tend to the whistling kettle. His arms begged to have her back. 

If there was anything he wanted to do with his freedom, it was for somebody to just comfort him.

"Joan.." Abe reaches out for his tea. "How can you say that and be so sure of it?"

She sighs, pouring her own cup and sitting back down with him. He finally crawls out of his corner against the wall-just to touch her softness again.

"Well.." she starts. "I'm not the only one from Earth. Can I really, truly blame myself for my world ending? All I can do is make sure that the death wasn't in vain. The least I could do is warn the planet who inhabits me. The least we can all do is try. If people had to die, then make their death worth it. That's what they would want." 

Abe tilts his head in confusion. 

"Your freedom is worth it, Abe. You make their deaths mean the world. I think somebody who does that, regardless if he hates it-is the last one to be a murderer." 

Abe quickly pulls Joan into a desperate hug, tackling her down to her pillows. 

"I wanna spend my freedom like this. W-with you.."

"You know where to find me, Abe. I'll always be here for you, I promise." 

--

Abe sighs dreamily, still unable to sleep. With a big goofy smile, he completely ignores the twitching Shrink in the middle of the room with a dark, broken halo. 

"She promised.." 

Alf grumbles, swiping his spaced out brother over the head.

"That's not the point, Abe!" He crosses his arms. "You were in her bed and you didn't even kiss her?!" 

Abe blushes, lowering his head to cover his cheeks. 

"K-kiss her..?" Abe trails off, lost in thought. 

"GOD, you guys are making me SICK!"  

Toby yelled from his position in front of the broken shrink. "Seriously Alf, you couldn't think of a better way to deactivate this thing?" He clutches his hat in annoyance, gesturing to the giant tear in the wired halo. "What the hell did you do?" 

Alf simply shrugged. "That's an awfully weird way to say 'thanks for doing what I asked and not dyin', Alf.'. You know that bastard's got saws, right?" Toby sighs, going back to work on the wiring in the shrink's back. The robot seemed to twitch with every one of Toby's adjustments. Stranger leans down over him, lightly sniffing the robot.

"So yer’ tellin' me you guys were..raised by these things? But aren't they just machines?" He taps the cracked monitor. "That ain't right." 

Toby snips a wire or two. "It's not just us, though. Sam has tons of these things, and considering they give us our meds n stuff, they're the most likely to have any recorded logs on egg batches. However, it's kind of a problem if I can't turn it on.." He glares over his shoulder. "Alf.." 

Alf completely ignores his younger sibling.

"Seriously though Abe, didn't you spend a night there? That means you scored, right?"

Abe sinks deeper into his own arms, little traces of electricity roaming over his glowing brandings. 

"I don't know what that means.." he cleared his throat. "And even if I did, like hell I'm telling you! Mind yer business, dude." 

Alf gave a smirk, leaning in "Ohhhh! Getting kinda snappy there, Abe! I bet you guys made out. Did'jya get a feel?" 

"ALF!" Abe pushes Alf away, face growing darker. "Although...I..I did.."

Abe loses himself in thought. Him and Joan do seem to cuddle up a lot. It's not like he could help it-her place is cozy. She's cozy. Her apartment felt so different from the outside world. Yet he still couldn't quite place the feeling he gets from looking at her.

"I did... accidentally see her naked."

Alf gave him a thumbs up. "Nice!!"

"N-no!! Alf it's not nice, it was an accident! I had to apologize! Ugh.." Abe groans, covering his face with both hands. "I bet I looked like a total creep. I didn't even know I was doing it.." 

Toby twisted back around. "Oh yeah, you totally looked like a creep. You should see your face when you use the laptop. You start panting and you get this face that makes you look like an animal. Alf is the last person you should be getting advice from." 

Abe whines, electricity rapidly forming over his goose pimpled skin in waves. 

"I knew it!" A flash of miniature lightning strikes across the room and hits the shrink. Temporarily, the robot turns on, only to shut back down again. 

Toby widened his eyes with an excited smile. 

"Oh, hey Abe, you almost fixed it! How'd you do that?"

Abe looks up from his embarrassment. 

"I, I don't know.." 

Stranger sits himself down, opening up a newspaper.

"Big Face might know why. This ain't the first time you zapped somethin', Mr. Lure. That's Shrykull's department, right?" 

Alf couldn't lie-he did feel a little bad about teasing Abe. He pulls up a chair and sits next to him.

"Don't listen to Toby, Abe. He doesn't get it. He doesn't appreciate beauty like we do!" He puts an arm around Abe's shoulder. "And there's a whole lot to appreciate, right buddy?"

Abe fidgets with his fingers. "Yeah.." His pout begins to slowly curl into a grin. 

"She's so soft, and she smells so good..and she always says such nice things..whenever I'm around her, I feel so relaxed." Abe squirms, wrapping his arms around himself desperately. "I just wanna hold her forever!" Abe doesn't notice how he begins to giggle like he's being tickled. 

"Dude…" Abe's giggle fit is interrupted by his brother. He finally turns his face to see Alf with a deeply disturbed expression.

"What?"

"Never... laugh and make that face ever again.." 

Abe feels his nerves run cold as he turns to the others. Toby is red and in tears, using the force of both his hands to keep in the uncontrollable laughter. Stranger covers his face with the newspaper, however shaking desperately and unable to form any sound. He could feel himself aging. This by far, has been the most interesting gig he's ever had. 

Chapter Text

Abe's vision was foggy, the hourglass shaped bundle of flesh wriggling underneath his hands. He runs his hands down smooth, delicate and warm skin with a faded grin. Just as he begins to focus on what he's touching, the image becomes clear- it was a torso, wriggling in his bloody hands. Shocked at the image, he drops the carcass onto the ground and watches, horrified, as it continues to writhe like a fish out of water.

Abe wakes up catching his breath desperately. The tunnel was still dark and filled with Shrykull's webs. He sighs, raising his head up to the laptop right next to him. He rubs his eye, realizing it's just past midnight. 

With a sad groan, Abe sits up and wipes the sweat from his forehead. "That was..weird." Abe mumbles to himself. "Ugh. I'm not getting back to sleep anytime soon." Abe gives in to his insomnia, and wanders the sewers by himself once again, watching over every brother he tiptoed past. 

With a glum expression, Abe rises up to the surface to an empty construction site that happened to go underground. He sighs with relief at the wind catching his skin as he climbs along an unfinished wall and sits on the ledge. 

Abe, sitting in the shadows, leans back with a stretch as if to bathe in moonlight. He didn't realize how hot he was until the wind hit.

"Can I help ya, Mr. Lure?"

Abe opened his eyes up to see Stranger-perched on a higher ledge with a bottle of liquor and a shot glass. 

Abe pouted as he sat up. "S-sorry, I just needed some air."

Stranger simply tips his hat. "Don't worry ‘bout it, friend." He raises his glass. "Ya care to join me?"

Abe chuckles softly as he climbs up to Stranger's perch. The moment Stranger is done pouring him a shot, Abe was already setting it down, empty.

Stranger lit a cigarette. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Weird nightmare." Abe stretched and crossed his legs. "Like, at first it was good. Then it wasn't." 

Stranger nods, crossing his arms. "I see. Never had that before, huh?"

"No." Abe growls lightly, gripping his head. "And now that I think about it, I feel kinda weird now." He sighs, frustrated as he drops to lay down, arms fallen at his sides. 

Stranger considered recent events, and had a feeling he knew where this was going. There was a temporary, yet comfortable silence between the two as they watched over the city skyline. Stranger really preferred to keep to himself, however from the moment he was hired it seemed Abe had a tendency to hide-something Stranger himself was all too familiar with. 

"Ya know.." he started, flaring smoke from his nostrils. "There's a weird sorta uneasiness to not fully understanding who you are."

Abe tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Stranger pours his contractor another half shot. 

"I mean it's scary, trying to know who you see in the reflection. There's a lotta things about ourselves we don't want to see. It don't feel right." 

Abe looked down at his glass for a moment with a sullen expression. "Yeah, it doesn't."

"But that's how it is for everyone." He takes a final puff before screwing the ashen butt into the concrete. "You can only hold in so much before you explode."

Abe took another shot back.

"But what if.."

"Abe.." Stranger puts a giant hand on Abe's shoulder. "No more 'what if's, bud. No more ignoring yourself." Stranger stands up, offering his hand to the Messiah. "If I gotta be your bodyguard, at least make my job easier and take care of yerself."

Abe gave a chuckle as Stranger took his hand, pulling him to his feet. 

"I'm sure that weird little munchkin you call a human would appreciate it too." 

Abe gulped, his cheeks tingling. "Wh-what do you mean?!"

Stranger smirks. "Just be yerself, sir."

Abe scratches his arm, breaking eye contact and trying not to say anything stupid.

--

"Goooood Morning, Nolybab! Your guy, DJ Biff Burger is back! It's as beautiful as it's gonna get today-Smog density will be seeing a decrease this afternoon-perfect time to take those masks off and feel that breeze coming in from the northeast. Chill out on your lunch break with us today-the internet has been going CRAZY since last night! You'll probably be catching up with news shortly live with Magog on The March this morning. We've got a lot to talk about! Coming up in our mix this morning-"

Marill gasps sharply, causing her glukkon friend to slip up applying her lipstick. The grubb whips her head up. "Slow the car down!!" Dahlia gives only a glance as she looks at her chauffeur, the limo coming to a slow roll. Marill cranks quickly and rolls her window down.

"Joan!!" She yells out her window to the human on the sidewalk-baggy clothes, sunglasses and mask shielding her face. Over her shoulder, she holds a medium picket sign. "What do you think you're doing!?"

Joan pauses with a shrug. "You know what's going on at city hall." She gestures to her picket. "If this is gonna be on the M.O.M, I have to show up." 

Dahlia's eyes widened, gently pushing Marill away from the window. She looked furious.

"Joan Feiruz don't you DARE!" Dahlia snaps her fingers. "Reginald, stop the car!"

As the limo quickly parks on the side of the street, the two women pile out of the car. With Marill quickly grabbing Joan's arm, Dahlia rips the picket from the human's small fist. 

Joan grunts. "Hey-excuse me?!" Marill pulls her into the car, shaking her head. 

"Do you know how much trouble you'd be in with the Dean if he saw you on the news with that?! Seriously, think about your career here!" Joan sighed, grumbling as she was gently forced into the limousine.

"You know my face is covered, right?"

Marill gave Joan a small, pitiful smile as she removes the sunglasses from the bridge of the human's beak.

"You're an idiot." Marill handed Dahlia the sunglasses as she slipped in-as if she didn't just kidnap somebody from the sidewalk. "You're the only human for literally thousands of miles. There's no disguising you." 

Joan reluctantly pulls her seatbelt over as the car begins to move again.

"Besides." Dahlia chimes in, adjusting in her seat. "Buttercream is giving a short closing after the Mayor-you are not embarrassing yourself like that."

Joan raised a brow. "You mean embarrassing you ?"

"Either way." She pops her shapely lips, looking in the rearview mirror. 

Marill gives a hopeless sigh. "I know this is exactly what you wanna talk about right now, Joan. But please, at least try to stay in school." She leans back into the cushions. 

Joan sulked outside the window. "So..you guys are headed there, too?" 

"Of course! They're dating, after all!" Marill pulls out her phone, scrolling to an overly filtered photo of a slick, handsome gluk with Dahlia across him at a cafe table. 

"And you?" Joan shifts her gaze to Dahlia, who gives her usual (and passive aggressive) smile. Marill shrugs with a not-so-innocent grin. 

"Well, uh, we do have classes after this." Her cheeks speckle with a light flush. "And you know what today is-I needed to catch up with you to see if you wanted to swim tonight?" 

"Don't you have Dahlia? I'm sure she'd love to replace your favorite swimsuit, too."

Dahlia looked unphased by the human's snarky comment. 

"Actually, I have my own private pool, so I see no need to waste time at the campus sports club. Besides, we're having dinner this evening." Dahlia checks herself out one more time before the vehicle comes to a stop.

"Town Hall, Miss Dahlia!" The chauffeur slig tipped his hat. "Shall I open the door for you, your gorgeousness?" 

"Leave that to me." A smooth, sultry voice startled the lavishly dressed slig, Dahlia squealing and trying to not explode with excitement. The door opens-a normal slig paired with the tall, soft spoken Glukkon looking like he popped right out of the Gentlemen's Quarterly . 

"Thank you, Duke!!" Dahlia continues to giggle as she comes out, reporters and paparazzi snapping photos the moment Dahlia flashes her flawless smile. 

Duke gave a still, gentle smile. 

"I told you you didn't have to attend, darling. But you came anyway-as always, you're too kind Dahlia."

He bows to kiss one of her many slender hands. His eyes shift to the other two women following behind.

"Ah, Miss Naru and Miss Feiruz-it's wonderful to see you two, again."

Marill, of course, was in the same giddy state as Dahlia. With a big smile, the grubb worms with excitement as Duke pecks her hand.

Joan looks amongst the crowd of gluks surrounding the City Hall-mayor's podium empty. She recognizes nobody, and especially nobody here to fight in the name of 1029. She tries not to show her aggravation, fighting the urge to ditch the party. 

"Especially you, Feiruz. Dahlia has told me all about you-you're making strides in coming out and assimilating with the rest of Oddworld. I'm impressed you didn't arrive to protest."

Joan sighs, hiding both her hands behind her back. "Well, actually-"

Marill jabs Joan in the arm.

"I mean, nice to see you too.."

Duke chuckles. "I can see why you drank as much as you did at the charity event. I'm not one for social events either, to be quite honest."

--

"So, those are the girl's Joan hangs out with?" 

Abe, standing in the shadows with a giant black cloak, holds the picket sign ripped from his human's hands. 

"They sure don't seem to listen very well." 

He scales a taller building, eyes following the slick black limo. "Where are they going?" 

The messiah hides his face under a deep hood, pitter-pattering in the cold streets as he followed the vehicle to a large, important looking building and a crowd full of cameras and murmurs. Abe decides to hide himself behind a few parked cars and air yachts. 

He squints into the crowd, before finally laying his eyes on Joan with a dreamy sigh. 

Stranger's words echo in his brain

"Be myself." Abe repeats to himself. "That's all I have to do. I just gotta find my words..and learn self-control." 

He blinks as he peers through the cracks, the loud feedback of a microphone cracking the air in half.

"Ladies and gentlegluks, the Mayor of Nolybab!"

Abe's eyes widened at the words. "The mayor?"

"Welcome to Magog on the March-News that won't make ya snooze-good god, who wrote that-we are live at Nolybab City Hall, folks! The Mayor is going to address the recent explosions and the continuation of the mysterious workforce disappearances."

Abe clenches his fists.

"Thank you for coming out this morning, everyone. We understand that in times like these, we are scared and uncertain. We are even turning to the possibility of conspiracy theories coming into the conversation. Despite not wanting to cause political division, we have decided that all possibilities must be explored. Every voice matters." The mayor goes silent as the crowd whispers in a panic. 

"If the rumors are true, this means our own workforce is attacking itself. Our people, our khahnzumers. Regardless of who is responsible, we must be vigilant.."

Abe clenches his teeth. He knew where this was going.

"Citizens are encouraged to stay indoors and off the streets if they can. We will also be instilling an 8 PM curfew, as well as neighborhood watch. Also.." The Mayor leans in.

"We have reports of possible suspects. We encourage you all to help participate with our task force. If you see anyone suspicious, please don't hesitate to contact the police. Our suspect-despite controversy-a blue mudokon named Abe. Reports say he's around 6 feet tall, with tattoos on his paws and chest. Most importantly-a pair of stitches sewn to his lips. If anyone you know fits this description, know that they are a highly dangerous criminal."

Abe got shivers up his spine. He knew the superstition would only last so long, but it seemed he never truly escaped the possibility of death. 

"Anyone who decides to hide this information will be turned in."

Abe's heart sank further. Abe began to shake, but with a different emotion-anger.

His fist pounds the road beneath him as his brow bones scrunch. He looks back into the crowd to see an equally distraught Joan-hand over her mouth. 

Shrykull's godly eyes, despite the distance, could see the fear trembling her features.

Abe scowled as his sight concentrated on Joan.

"They won't hurt her. I won't let them."

Chapter Text

Abe stares through a fogged up window-he stands atop the Science building, cloaked in black and unseen. 

Through the window, sits Joan, with a bored expression as she looks forward-likely listening to a lecture. She scrawls in her notepad lazily, too tired to look down. Small droplets of morning dew form on her lashes as she lets out a huge yawn. 

Abe smiles under the darkness of his hood. 

"So this is what she does all day? Must be why she sleeps so deeply." He continues to watch intently. She props up her textbook as she looks at the professor. Sneakily, she leans forward and rests her head in her arms and closes her eyes.

Abe felt his chest warm up.

"So cute.." He admires, quickly pouting as the Grubb next to her nudges her back awake. Abe cursed her, however took it back once he saw her slide Joan's coffee closer to her face. "Well, at least she seems nice."

The grubb's eyes widen, and Abe notices he's been spotted. Quickly, he retreats as she points Joan to the window.

Joan looks confused, looking out at the usual scene she saw outside.

"I don't understand, Mar. I don't see anything-"

Marill stutters, finger shaking.

"B-but I just saw it!" Confused, she leans over Joan to look out further. "A scary black robe! It was Death!" 

"Miss Naru?" Professor Ligma turns around, looking away from his open textbook. "Is there a problem?"

Marill stands up, still pointing to the window.

"There's a creepy guy outside! He's dressed like the Grim Reaper, and he was just staring! But now he's gone-call campus security!" 

Joan leaned back with a sigh. "Marill, nobody was out there.."

"But.." 

Professor Ligma pushes up his glasses. "Take a seat, Miss Naru. You can make an official report after class." 

With a few quiet chuckles, she sits back down.

Joan slides her coffee to her friend. "Sounds like you could use a coffee, too."

Marill wears an embarrassed smile. "I guess I do.." 

--

"Anyone see Abe this morning?" Alf comes out with tea, his littlest brother waving him to his workspace. "I haven't." Toby lifts his head up from a bushel of wires overflowing from the huge robotic screen. 

Stranger looks up from his newspaper. "Said he had 'stuff to do." Stranger sips his tea. 

"And you didn't go with him!?" Alf leaned over to Stranger with an angry expression. "Have you even been reading that paper, ya big furball?!" Alf swipes the Daily Deception copy from the bounty hunter's hands, flipping through the pages.

Stranger growls, grabbing Alf by the throat and getting the paper back. Alf hacks, gasping for air.

"First of all, this is last week's paper.." Stranger squinted, leaning into Alf's face.

"Secondly, never touch me. Thirdly, you ain't in charge. You got that, toothpick?"

Alf gives a strained smile.

"Y-yes sir! Please enjoy your tea!" Stranger finally releases his grip on the muds neck, Alf coughing and finally catching air as he dramatically collapses onto the table.

Toby's expression was one of concern. He would normally be laughing at Alf, but the mention of the news piqued his interest.

"What about the paper?"

As soon as Alf finds the ability to speak again, he sits down.

"I listened to the radio this morning making tea.." Alf grew visibly worried. "They startin' to think Abe might be real. They're lookin for him for real now.."

The room went silent. However, Stranger quickly breaks it.

"He covered himself. He should be ok."

Toby finally stopped tinkering and held his cup of tea.

"Stranger..why would you say that?" Toby never ceased to ask questions. "We hired you because we can't fight all that well. You think Abe doesn't need protection?"

Stranger gently folds his paper and sets it down. He leans back in his chair, staring off at the ceiling.

"Ya know, when I met Abe-when he came to me with his request-I didn't think it was worth it. Wanted a higher payment, but.." Stranger inhales through his nostrils, taking off his hat. "I guess he persuaded me. This small, soft spoken mud traveled the dessert on nothing but an elum just to come hire me. It seemed shady-told me not to ask too many questions." 

Alf and Toby listen, scooching closer.

"The moment I accepted and we headed on our way-sligs, dozens of em surrounded us in the middle of the desert. That's when I saw-"

"Shrykull?" Toby guessed.

"Shrykull." Stranger nodded. "Shit turns ya' into a god fearing man. That's when I understood just how much he had on his plate. With that perspective, the price seemed more reasonable. With a secret like that..you need allies you can trust." Stranger puts his hat back on.

"Abe knows when he needs help, and when he does I will be there. But he insisted on being on his own today. I refuse to interfere with personal stuff." 

Toby groaned. "Don't tell me.. it's Joan related?"

"Probably." Stranger goes back to reading, back to not caring. "He can't do much else waiting for Big Face to come back." 

--

The Dean of Student's office had zero windows. It was a terrifyingly minimalistic space with charcoal walls and marble flooring-waxed to glare in one's eyes. The lamps, however, gave a gold glow that casted their reflections in shadows. The Dean nods as Marill anxiously recalls what she saw outside the Liberal Arts building. 

"You should check the cameras, sir. He must be there somewhere!"

The intern at Dean's side scribbles into his notepad. Dean rolls his chair forward.

"Thank you for telling us, Marill. We will inform campus security. Would you like me to call an officer to escort you to your apartment?"

Marill smiles, relieved to get her anxiety out. "No, thank you, Dean! Me and Joan always see each other home. I appreciate it." She bows, before quickly perking up. 

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Dean!" 

As Marill happily turns with Joan in her stead, Dean abruptly speaks up.

"While you're here, Joan.."

Joan turns, skin turning into ice. She had only faced the Dean of Students twice, and only once was it not scary. She inhales before fully turning the rest of her body. 

"Yes, sir?"

The glukkon was deadpan. "Recently we've been informed that some of our custodial staff has been cut short.."

Joan develops nervous sweat under her lazily layered clothes. She swallows the lump in her throat as inconspicuously as she could. 

"There were a lot of rumors that you were fraternizing with a janitor who worked here. Was that true?"

Joan cleared her throat. "Well, that part of it at least. Dale was just someone who would talk to me since I was shy. The other parts of the rumors, though, I think are just.. stereotypes." She bowed. "I'm sorry you had to hear it, sir." 

"So.." He squints, his intern mimicking the same expression. "You wouldn't happen to know why he's gone?"

"I thought he retired, sir. Did he not?"

"Hm…" The Dean turns his back to her. "He didn't." 

Joan gave a convincing sigh. "Well, that's a shame. Anything else, Dean?"

"You're late on this term's psych eval. You know you need those regularly faxed to us to continue your education. It's best to keep up with your paperwork."

Joan also turned her back, rolling her eyes as Marill watches from behind the door. "Yes sir. I'll have that turned in soon. Sorry for the delay." 

"Thank you. You may leave."

Joan makes a sarcastic gesture-a thank you to the gods for finally letting the Dean shut up.

Marill finally pulls Joan out by her arm, the two scuttering down the stairs and out of the building. The quad was lit up with life.

Marill giggles out of the blue, Joan looking curiously over. "What?"

"You satisfying the Dean, too?" Marill covers her smile with her hand, holding the laughs in her cheeks.

It took a while for those words to sink in. And once they did, Joan's eyes glimmered fury. Enraged, she palms her hands to her head. "HOW DID THE DEAN HEAR THAT!?" 

Marill couldn't contain herself anymore and laughed hysterically. Wiping her eye she puts a hand on Joan's shoulder.

"C'mon. I think the Dean of Students knows what is and isn't a rumor. You gotta admit, it's kinda funny." 

Joan gave Marill a rather worried look. "You don't really think I-"

"No!" Marill smiles. "Of course not. The Joan I know has Bird Flu, for sure, but not the Dean, though!" She gets out her last laugh, Joan comforted by the fact Marill doesn't look down on her.

However, it was only a small comfort. Joan felt eyes on her. She brushed it off since they were in a public space. But she wasn't wrong.

Abe made sure his cloak was properly fastened before he sneakily made his way through crowds of oblivious college students. His steps were quiet, and he knew how to maneuver without touching anyone. He simply just followed the sweet smell that wafted from Joan's brisk stride.

Marill whips her head around, Abe now carefully managing to escape her hunting gaze.

"Mar?" Joan was already on the stairs to the Sports Club. "What's up?"

Marill squints, but to no avail. "Nothing, nothing.." She turns to her friend and smiles, catching up to her on the stairs. 

Abe watches as the two enter the building, calculating.

"Aw geez, I can't believe I'm doin' this!" A nasally, and rather pathetic glukkon's voice reached Abe's unfortunate ears, Abe ducking into the shadows.

He had a big goofy grin and large, taped up glasses. He's walking a large wheelbarrow full of sports equipment into the room. "I really hope after this, Gamma Beta finally accepts me! I've been through most of the worst parts of hazing, but they still give me swirlies. Once I get a girl's swimsuit, they'll finally respect me!"

Abe tosses a rock, the hopelessly sad glukkon distracted by the sudden movement.

Before he knew it, Abe was hidden in an avalanche of various balls, weights and equipment. His ticket in. Abe looked up to observe his surroundings. However, he accidentally peeped a little too much.

"Hey! Who're you?! Yer not part of my plan!" Abe jolted, the greasy glukkon noticed him. "Waaait a minute-Rod, is that you!?"

Abe was confused, so he simply stood still.

"You ditched tonight's campaign...to help me!?" The gluk gets teary-eyed. "I knew you were my best friend! You didn't even change out of your garb!" 

Abe looks down at his dark cloak.

"Oh. He's one of those kids." The glukkon pushes up his glasses.

"When we finish this, we're getting pledged to Gamma Beta... together."  

"Wait!" Abe is quick to latch onto this. "Wait, dear friend! We must pray!"

The glukkon blinks. "Pray?" 

"To protect us..in battle."

He stares for a moment before his face becomes serious-stoic, mimicking the expression his suave and handsome Paladin character would. 

"Ah, of course. Typical Monk, Rod."

Abe sinks back down into the equipment. "Close your eyes and repeat the magic spell~" Abe got into character. The glukkon closes his eyes and bows his head, just as Abe wanted him to. 

Abe began to chant.

---

Marill excitedly stretches out her arms before diving headfirst at the deep end of the pool. She surfaces with a happy, satisfied sigh. "Hurry up, Joan! Waters great!"

Joan adjusts the hem of the one piece she bought from the campus merch store months ago-a tacky white with red stripes on each side and a stupid crown mascot and school initials on the right side. She dips her legs into the water, relishing in the cool water. 

Joan simply rests her arms and head on the edge of the pool, gently kicking her legs. Marill glides through the water and meets Joan on the other side. 

"Okay, so.." Marill leans in with a whisper. "I think I saw him again!"

"Who?"

"The Grim Reaper guy!" Marill hisses through her whisper. "I saw him behind us when we got here! He's stalking us!"

A loud clang! Is heard from the hallway, causing Marill to gasp in fear and duck under the water. She slowly comes back up, only to see Joan looking up at a white flappy on the ceiling. She points.

"Just a bird, Mar. Must've flown in."

Marill whines as she lowers herself back down, awkwardly blowing bubbles with her mouth. 

Joan smiles. "You want me to check the hallway for you?" 

Marill sighs. "If you didn't mind.."

Joan rises to her feet quickly, towel already in hand. "Just stay there."

Joan was toweling herself as she walked into the outside hallway. The pool was at the top of the building, so the portion of the top that took up classes in the morning were black at the end of the day like this. Portions of the hallway were lit, while some were "missing" in the shadows. Joan felt eyes on her once again in this empty, cut up hallway. She slowly carried herself to the nearest vending machine.

Tweet tweet!

Joan looks down-another two white flappies perched next to each other. Joan smiled, kneeling down after pushing her coins in.

"Aw, you guys don't look like stalkers, do ya?" She dares to put a finger out and scritch one of their cheeks. 

She should've known these birds were way too friendly.

Before her, a bright light glows and soon come a flock of white flappies from different parts of the building. They all seem to flutter together and form a blinding flash. Once Joan opens her eyes, she sees a long black cloak, and a pair of blue hands rising up to gently pull the hood back just enough so only Joan could see his features. 

"Abe!?" Joan tries her best to not be loud. "ABE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING-"

Abe seemed not to acknowledge the obvious elephant in the room-that he is literally being hunted down. "I wanted to uh..see you so..I.." 

"So you secretly followed me all day?!"

Abe felt his face grow hot. "Huh..it uh, it doesn't sound so good when you say it out loud like that.." 

For some reason, Joan felt her chest tighten. Abe..watched her? 

"Abe, how long have you been following me?"

"Ya know.." He stammers. "Since you left the apartment." Abe looks down at her face, her eyes averted in sadness. 

"Listen, Joan.." Abe sits himself on a bench as Joan grabs herself a drink. "I know what the mayor said this morning, it's real scary. I know what I do is scary. But I promise you don't have to worry. And even if I do get caught, I'll make sure you're safe."

"Oh, Abe.." Joan kneels to look up at his face. "You don't have to do anything."

Abe leans in closer. "I want to."

Joan hardly notices how their lips are inches apart. Abe races his hands to her wet, cold back-then Joan notices. The heat rises to her face and turns her red. The heat gives more rise to her scent, Abe instinctually closing in around the edge of her jaw and nearing the nape of the neck.

As Abe leans, Joan see's a snoring glukkon with crooked glasses.

"Is.. that guy asleep?" 

Abe comes back to reality, turning to see the idiot.

"Yeah, long story-he's some roleplay geek trying to steal swimsuits."

Joan stands back up, gently grasping a piece of his cloak.

"Ya know.." She gives a smirk. "I'm thinking he'd look real good with this robe, wouldn't he Abe?" 

Chapter Text

"What's wrong, my beautiful princess?"

Dahlia looks up from her phone, Duke looking at her with the most gentle smile. Her heart immediately swoons, her hand gently dropping her phone into her clutch.

"Sorry, Duke.." She sighs, anxiously stirring her drink with her straw. 

Duke leans in, his slig wiping his face for him. 

Dahlia starts off, finally taking a sip. "Got some texts from Marill that she had a stalker today..but that's not all."

Duke crosses his legs.

"Said Joan went out to confront him, but never came back to the pool. She caught the guy and campus security caught him, but Joan was already gone. Officer said she went home."

Duke hummed, leaning back into his chair. "So, you're worried about your human?"

"Not so much worried.." She rests her chin on a pair of her hands. "More just.. suspicious? Is it wrong to be suspicious of a friend?" 

"No, of course not." Duke's slig removes the napkin from his collar, and straightens the outside of his suit jacket. "Especially with the history you told me about."

"She's always running off without saying what she's up to. And if she's really trying to change, then what exactly is she up to?"

Duke looks out the window overlooking the crater skyline. 

"Joan seems like she's not a fan of socializing. Maybe there's a way to get her to talk?"

Dahlia's eyes light up with an idea. 

"Wait..there is!" She rips her phone back out of her purse. "You're coming with us to Louis' factory in a couple days, right? I'm gonna call him."

--

Joan unlocks the sliding glass door of her balcony from the inside. Like a gust of wind, a flock of cloud white flappies manifest into a bright light as Abe drops to the floor with a gentle crouch. 

"So.." Joan brings him to his feet. "Can you explain why the hell you turn into birds?"

Abe tilts his head in confusion. "You mean the portals? Any mudokon can use em if they know how to chant."

Joan's eyes widened. "Any of you?" She lifts Abe to his feet. "You guys are already incredible creatures, you have spiritual powers on top of that?" 

Abe chuckles, sitting himself on the loveseat as if it were his own, watching Joan go through her evening routine. 

"You think we're incredible, huh?"

Joan nods enthusiastically as she grabs pajamas. 

"Of course! Can't you guys just..climb walls? The physical strength is impressive as well-I'm sure there are many other things." She beams, slightly turning her face due to her blushing cheeks. 

Abe smiles warmly, resting his head on the arm of the seat. "You can swim, at least. I can't swim." 

Joan raises her brows, pulling herself out a nightdress. "I guess that makes sense.." She glides the large, plain nightdress over her head, quickly pulling the day's clothes off underneath. "No pools in factories."

She turns to look back at Abe, who was now sitting straight up with a darkened face and wide, blown out eyes.

"H-how did you do that?" Abe looks away, embarrassed.

For a moment, Joan fails to understand. "Do what?"

Abe gulps. "How did you undress like that without actually showing skin?" 

Joan finally bursts out in laughter. "Guess we all have secrets, huh?"

Abe rests his head on his own hand, watching as Joan's cheeks tickle pink with laughter. "Pink.. " Abe thought. "Pink is a pretty color. Her lips are pink too." His eyes wander as she parts them in an o, taking a puff from a small pipe. Her eyes, too, become a pastel and glossy pink. 

Abe decides to lounge fully, stretching himself out and laying down, head upside down and feathers hanging still in the air. Joan finally catches him in her sights as she passes the pipe to his reaching hand. A man carved of midnight marble, made to be admired. 

"So then, did you swim a lot?" Joan was awakened from her temporary trance, quickly rushing over to the kitchen to serve the mystical hero. 

"You mean, on Earth? Yes. With as much water as there is, I swam often. If I'm being honest though, I'm quite water logged." The relief her hot face felt hiding in the cold fridge was intense. "There's way better ways to pass time."

Abe exhaled smoke. "Whaddya mean?"

The realization hit Joan like a sack of bricks-Abe, being a slave, was not aware of the concept of extra time devoted to himself. 

Joan shrugs, tea kettle on the stove. "You know.. like, if there's nothing else to do, what do you do?"

Abe rests his arms back behind his head as he stares at the ceiling. "Well, if I got everything at work done early, I'd visit Alf at the bar and talk with him and Toby. Or I'd sleep or listen to the news."

"Ah, so you guys were allowed to listen to the radio?"

Abe nodded. "Only a certain number of stations. Mostly news broadcasting and ads." He grumbles, recalling all of the annoyingly repetitive lawsuit commercials for various drugs and skincare products. "At one point they banned us from singing, so we whistled instead." 

"Well-" Joan quickly made her way to the radio, turning it on and giving it to Abe. "You're free now-which means you get to listen to whatever you want." Abe looked down to see she had placed the small box on his chest. He sits up, turning the dial to browse between channels. 

"Music is an integral part of culture. Everybody's music is different, but it's understood regardless of language." 

Dozens of new and different sounds buzzed into Abe's ears-voices too. He never thought a voice would sound as pretty as that.

However, as soon as that thought passed, he remembers the last time he heard singing voices like this. 

The feeling came back-the last bit of comfort he felt in childhood. Crying in his mother's arms, scared. How she wiped his tears, despite weeping some herself. She lulled him into peaceful slumber. Her voice was so tender and gentle, not a single hiccup despite the tears on her cheeks.

"I get it.." He says, pulling the radio to his chest. "Music is a way to get out feelings to each other, right?"

Joan smiles as she gets out her chopping board. "Yeah! Things like that are nice to do-even if it's just listening." 

Abe looked up at her chopping whatever dinner was gonna be. "How do they make these sounds?" 

He raises the radio-the music was rather digital. 

"I would say computers for that one."

Abe pouts. "No, no no.." He shakes his head. "That's not good. I want instruments, real instruments."

Joan giggles. "You're not alone in that one, that's for sure." She gestures to her closet. "If you rummage around there, you'll find my kalimba. I actually bought it here on Oddworld." 

Abe looks over to the closet, then over to Joan with curious eyes. "Me? Go through your stuff? Uh, okay.." He goes over to the small closet, sitting down on the floor. He slides one door open, a pungent and familiar smell hitting his nostrils. He pawed around in the darkness, only feeling hangers and clothes until his hand finds a ledge. With a small cluttering noise, the instrument screeches out a few fluttery, off key notes. Abe notices the flat pieces the kalimba fell into. He goes in deeper to grab the instrument, noticing that it was a pile of canvases it had fallen into.

"Oh! Joan, do you paint?" 

"AHHH STOP!! DON'T LOOK!!"

Joan panics and runs over to the startled and frozen Abe with his hands in the air. Joan slams the closet shut. 

"I uhm..yeah. I paint." Flustered, she sighs as the two exchange awkward glances. 

Abe scratches his head. 

"I didn't see anything, don't worry!" Abe smiles at her, raising up the instrument. "Is this it?"

It was a small, dark wooden plate with steel keys meant to be pricked for a sound. Across the keys was a dainty chain and a small bell that bounced with the keys.

Joan nods, going back to her food. "I got it because there are songs I don't hear anymore. I'm not exactly a musician, so I got this because anyone can play it." 

Abe hummed, pricking the keys randomly. She was right-no matter what he pressed, the sounds coming out formed a lovely melody. Something that radiated what he felt inside his chest right now. And it wasn't bad or scary at all-it was nice. 

Abe beamed, playing all of his notes for Joan. "Joan.." Abe's voice softened, nervously spacing out. "Can you tell what I'm feeling right now?" 

Joan didn't think she could get more feverish. She felt if she opened her mouth to talk, she'd fill the room with steam. She brings out a huge pot.

"I.." 

She kneels inside the comfort of the fridge, freaking out.

"Why is he asking this? How he's feeling? What's he feeling? Is it the same thing I am? No, fuck, I can't say that. Because maybe it isn't, and I'm just fantasizing. I mean, he did follow me all day. He said he wanted to be with me. Is it true? What if he did see all my portraits of him? I'm gonna die."

Joan finally found the courage to speak once she rose back up. "Do you feel happy?"

Abe paused. "I suppose that's a way to say it, yeah. It makes me happy when I'm with you. I feel happy here."

"Happy?" Abe thought. "Come on, you're a smart girl. It's more than just happy! Why'd you say something so vague?" 

Abe plays a few more notes, not satisfied with Joan's answer. "I feel like I'm actually free with you. Free to be myself." 

"Ah." Joan thought. "So that's what it is. Abe just doesn't get the chance to do what he wants." 

Her clouded thoughts however, seemed to float away as two large hands crept around her. Abe was behind her, hugging her to his torso. He rests his head on top of hers. "You must be really bad at music if you can't tell." 

Joan feels her skin beginning to melt. Her words fizzle.

"Hahaha...yeah, I am. I can't even whistle.."

She clumsily throws ingredients together, stirring over the stove.

"Wow, really? You just blow between your teeth." Abe demonstrates his whistles-strong, clear and melodic. Joan simply looks down into the swirling stew. 

--

"Toby! Get back here, what the hell are you doing!?" Alf hisses out at his younger brother, wrench still in his back pocket, climbing the ladder to the surface.

"Nobody here is thinking straight!" He growls, turning his backwards cap forward. "You guys clearly don't know how deep in shit we are now that they're taking Abe seriously!"

Alf rolls his eyes. "Ugh, Toby, yer bein dramatic, man. Come back down here and I'll make ya some tea." 

"Toby.." Stranger sounded uncharacteristically concerned. "Toby, just trust us."

Toby snarls, taking one step down, but keeps his hands on the ladder.

"Abe should never be on the surface alone. I don't care about Shrykull, our brother isn't immortal! Listen, I love Joan and what she helps out with, but we can't take a risk like this just so Abe can go on play dates."

Toby continues up the ladder, Alf chasing after him. Stranger groans, rubbing his hand down his face. 

He sighs, simply looking up to a dark corner. "You seein' this shit, Stoopy?"

Stoopy simply peers from the shadows, looking up from under his construction hat. 

He tips his hat to Stranger, who cracks his knuckles. "I'm always left takin' care of the kids." 

The three men take turns hiding and following each other in the damp and dark back alleys of the city. Alf continued to call out for the youngest.

"Toby! Get back here, Toby!"

Toby growls, yapping over his shoulder.

"Don't say our names so loudly, blabbermouth!"

Stranger surveys the area as he casually follows the bickering brothers. Nobody seemed to be taking notice. He was more concerned about Abe. 

"Please, Toby. Abe wouldn't appreciate us gettin' into his business. At least respect the guy's judgment." He tries to speak as softly as he can. 

Toby finally turns around, glaring at the two older men following him.

"Are either of you thinking at all? Abe was gone all day. Do you know how many places he's been to today? City Hall, the University, the apartment…"

Stranger nods. "And he's okay, Toby." 

Alf crosses his arms. "If you're so upset, then call him."

"Tch" Toby fishes out the walkie-talkies; all two of them. "You think Abe is dumb? He didn't bring communication because he wants to be untrackable. He knows what he's doing is bad."

"Or probably because he doesn't want to listen to you being a pissbaby." 

The three of them gaze up at Joan's apartment complex-the window to her place glowing with light inside. 

Toby grumbles trying to push Alf away from himself. "Joan's nice, so I don't think she'd have a problem visiting us instead. Especially to keep Abe safe." 

Slinking their way up the metal stairs, Toby has zero hesitation curling his knuckles to knock on the door.

Alf grabs his wrist, pulling him in.

"Dude seriously, leave em’ alone." Stranger pounces to the higher end of the balcony, in front of Toby. He closes in on them both to keep them away. "This ain't our business, Toby. Let's just go." 

Toby balls his fists, looking up at the bounty hunter. "They are both involved with getting our mom back. It's completely our business." 

---

Abe quickly pulls in the curtains over the balcony doors. He was fuming seeing everyone outside like this.

"Dinner's ready, Abe. Come eat!" Abe turned around to see Joan sitting on the loveseat, placing a bowl of stew in front of his spot on the table. "What's up? Don't like the view?"

Abe laughed nervously, scared to let go of the curtains. "It's not important.." He decides to try and risk going over and sitting next to her. He finds solace in the warmth of her body next to his, dying at the skin-to-skin contact. "It smells great, Joan. You know, a friend of Alf's makes all the meals for us down underground. You should meet him! He's a really good cook, like you." 

Knock knock.

Joan perks up, looking over Abe's shoulder. "Did you hear that?"

Abe panics, moving his face in front of hers. "Hear what?" 

Joan looks up at Abe with a raised brow. Abe slowly begins to crack, smile growing more inconspicuous. Joan puts her own bowl down. 

"No, no. Sounded like knocking. Go to the bathroom, Abe." 

Abe does his best to not spill his soup, jumping up in front of the curtains. "Listen, it's no big deal. Just a couple of kids!" Abe grabs her shoulders and turns her around. "I wanna listen to more music with you." 

The knocking continued, Abe's feathers puffed in irritation. He clamps his back to the glass door. 

Joan blinks in confusion. "Uh, Abe..?" Joan looks up at him, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. His feathers go back down and he smiles. However, Joan uses her other hand to peel back the curtain. Abe hiccups with anxiety as Joan's eyes widen. 

Outside on the balcony, Stranger was attempting to pick up Toby. However, similarly to a small child, Toby kept squirming to get out of his grasp, kicking Alf in the face with his wormy tantrum legs.

Alf is the first to notice, gasping with an extremely guilty look on his face. It catches Stranger's attention, who merely freezes thinking of what excuse he was gonna feed his boss. Toby worms his way out of the bounty hunters large arms and opens the door wide open with a stern look on his face. "Abe!" 

Abe sighs, the mood entirely spoiled. 

Chapter Text

Joan pouts, blowing a spoonful of soup. "You definitely got a point, Toby."

Toby nods quickly, turning his cap back to the way it was. "I told you guys they wouldn't mind!"

Toby and Alf sat across the table on the floor, with Stranger awkwardly hunched in a seat too small for him. Naturally, Joan had to feed the others to avoid guilt, so they all had little pudding cups from her fridge. Toby, now as content and happy as ever, eats his pudding satisfied with the resolution.

However, Abe, Alf and Stranger weren't very happy, and Joan could feel the discomfort in the air. They all glare at Toby, enjoying his sweets.

Shockingly enough, it's Abe who breaks the temporary silence.

He holds on to Joan, as if to keep her away from the rest of them. "Can I not be alone for one night, Toby?"

Toby looks annoyed, eyes half lidded. "You heard her Abe, she says I have a point. Speaking of which-" He looks over to Joan. "I tried calling you, you never answered!"

Joan blinks. "You did?"

Abe grumbles, shuffling under a few pillows and giving Joan her walky talky back.

Toby squints. "I shoulda known, ya big blue jerk!" 

Abe holds on to Joan tighter. "You guys are the jerks. I just wanted another night of sleep!"

Alf rolls his eyes, pushing his pudding cup away and in front of Toby. If it was enough to keep him from being pissy, he'll definitely do it. Chasing him here was already a fuss. 

"Hey, cool it. This was all Toby's idea. We tried to stop him!"

Stranger's irritated facade breaks. He leans forward to bow. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Lure. I tried to teach them to respect what you choose to do with your time." Toby grumbles, turning to Stranger.

"It's not about respect, I told you that. The fact of the matter is that when we're in this deep we can't be taking risks an-"

Abe growls, chest glowing. "Shut up, everyone shut up." 

They all stare at him, Joan rubbing his shoulder. He remains silent as the glow dies down, turning his bowl up and swallowing the rest of his broth. 

"Well?" Alf rests his cheek on his hand. 

Abe wipes his stitched up mouth. "Nothing. I just wanted y'all to be quiet." 

Joan finally speaks up, voice soft.

"Toby is right though, Abe. From now on, they are actively looking for you. This is the last time you should be up here."

Abe tries to bring her in closer. 

"But, I get sleep here. Joan, please.." 

"I know." Joan smiles. "But maybe we can find a way to help you sleep without getting caught. Besides, now that there's a curfew, it's gonna be even harder for you guys to not get caught." She wraps her arms around his waist to give him a small hug. "I promise, I'll still come down there for you guys. Still got two more factories to tour." She gave him a reassuring wink. 

Abe smiled down at her, hugging her little head close to his chest. 

Toby sticks out his tongue. "Ugh, get a room." 

Abe glares at Toby. "We had one.."

Alf pushes the pudding cup further to get Toby to finally notice. What was left of his annoyance fizzled out when he saw it, and tore open the lid immediately. "Welp." 

He pats his hand on the table before standing up. "If there's a curfew, we'd better leave now." 

Stranger tips his hat up. "Couldn't agree more." He pulls the seat off his oversized body. 

Abe lets out a depressing sigh. "I don't want to leave.." 

"Here, Abe." Joan stands up and retrieves the radio Abe had earlier. "Keep it. When I can't sleep, I listen to calming music. Drowns other noises out. Maybe Alf can share some of his weed with ya."

Alf grumbles. "Ugh, I guess I wouldn't mind." 

Abe looks down at her with a hopeless smile and his chest feeling like its about to burst.

"I'd rather keep you." He thought.

"Thank you, Joan. We'll see you soon." 

Joan smiled, with her hands on her hips.

"You can count on it." 

---

"Greetings, Messiah." When the group had headed back down, they were greeted by Big Face bowing. "I apologize for my return being delayed."

Abe walked past Big Face entirely, Big Face seeming caught off guard by the dismissive behavior. He looks back at the other 3.

"What's wrong with him?" 

Abe grumbles. "I don't need others to talk for me. I'm fine." 

"If you are fine, then please don't go to bed just yet. I have an important message from the Almighty Raisin." 

Abe groans, turning around. "Let me guess-it can't wait, can it?"

The rest were as caught off guard as Big Face was. Alf tried to walk up to Abe to comfort him, but was also a little bit worried. His hand hung in the air. 

"Where's this attitude coming from, Abe?"

Abe clenches a fist. "It's..nothing.."

As they all follow Big Face to a chamber glowing with a large fire in the middle. Mudokons surrounded the place, meditating.

Big Face digs around his pouch with a clutch of bioluminescent moss. "Gather and sit down."

All four sat on the ground, uneasy yet curious. Big Face tosses the moss into the fire, causing the flame to turn a deep purple. Lavender smoke rose above, forming a large round being with multiple eyes. The smoky image talked as if it were there.

"Greetings, Stitch Lips. I see you have safely reached Nolybab and have begun looking for your mother. I have foreseen details of Queen Sam's fortress." 

Abe perked up, looking deep into the fire. "Have you seen her? How is she doing?"

"I have. Your dear mother is clinging to hope. She knows you are coming for her. However, there is one problem. Wherever she is, it is deep, deep in darkness. It is strongly protected and guarded. The Magog Cartel knows what you are after." 

Toby pouted. "It's..getting harder, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Raisin continues. "And with this, Stitch Lips must work harder himself. Even at this point in time, Abe does not have enough power for Shrykull to feed from."

Abe sighs. "How do I get more power then? I know I don't have a choice."

"Cease the complaints, Stitch Lips. Do you want to save her or not?"

Abe fell silent.

"Once you have found her, the fortress will be sealed with layers of complicated technology. You must destroy and take out Nolybab's source of power to open the gate. For that kind of power, Shrykull requires a sacrifice." 

The group looks amongst each other. Big Face's body language conveys discomfort.

"It has been millenia since we have last done this. Records state it has only been done a number of times, but it is the only known key to saving her. The heart of a witch-Shrykull requires the heart of a witch."

Abe stutters quietly. "A witch..?"

"A lone woman cast out by society. She who wishes to return to her mother nature. An aching heart who will fuel and nurture Shrykull's righteousness."

Abe's eyes widen as he shivers, backing away from the fire and shaking his head. "N-no.." 

"This is what He requires. There is no other way." 

Abe continues to shake more, tattoos glowing as lightning ripples across his skin. "No! No, no! Please, no! We can't sacrifice anybody!"

"There is no other way, Stitch Lips."

Abe covers his ears with his hands. "No! No! I'm not hearing this. There has to be another way!"

Big Face tried to reach over to Abe to calm him, but Abe stands to his feet and backs away. "Abe, please calm down. This isn't our choice-this is how the powers that be work." 

Abe growls, kicking dust at the fire and putting it out. A large flash of lightning burns the ceiling, the other mudokons terrified. "Well, the powers that be suck!" 

His skin slowly turns red, his abdomen elongated and sharpening in a painful fashion. 

Shrykull emerges with a loud roar, stampeding out of the room and vanishing to Odd knows where.

Now everyone felt bad.

Alf sighs, sitting up. "Sorry, he's..been having a night." 

Toby pouts. "Now I feel bad for tearing into him earlier."

"As you should."

Big Face scratches his head. "What happened earlier?"

Stranger crossed his arms. "Girl trouble. Tried to go off by himself without contact." 

"Ah.." Big Face looks down. "The girl he's told me about, Joan..do you think she's the Witch?" 

Toby ponders, rubbing his chin. "Probably why Shrykull likes her so much.." His eyes widen, trying not to tear up. "If she is..then that means.." He hiccups, sitting up and grabbing Big Face by the shoulders. "Is there really no other way?"

Big Face sighs. "I understand why you wish not to kill her, but there is no known way other than that." 

Alf rubs his face. "Okay, we.." He collects himself. "We cannot kill her right now. She's helping us with finding the factories. We haven't even fixed that damn Shrink yet.."

Stranger finally stands. "Big Face, you are the one who granted Abe his powers right? You know Shrykull better than anyone here..please, we still have time." 

Big Face sits down with his arms crossed.

"There could be a roundabout way to do this, but I must inquire with the Raisin first. However, it will take even more time, and I don't know how long Abe can suffice holding him back like this. We cannot waste the time that we have." 

The three look amongst each other.

"This isn't a waste of time." Toby said sternly. "Please, Big Face." 

Big Face stood. 

"Here-go to my altar after I leave. There is a book of remedies and spells. Use it for the brothers here-I cannot offer my usual services if I must figure out an alternative sacrifice." 

Chapter Text

In the dark and wee hours of the morning, Toby sips at a canned coffee. Alone, he continues his labor of turning the Shrink back on and failing. 

He sighs, disappointed by the pop and fizzle of a circuit. "Ugh, I can't right now. I need a break." Toby rubs his eyes as he stands up, hoping a nap will clear his stressed out mind. As Toby is about to lay down, he here's a faint sound-wet, foul. Not uncommon for the sewers, however this one sounded more like a living creature. How did nobody hear it?

Toby was too frustrated to get back up, but he still tries to squint into the darkness. "Hello?" 

Toby turns his listening ears on. A faint snoring sound followed by the same gushy footsteps. 

Toby realizes who's snoring that is. Quickly reaching for the flashlight, Toby points it into the darkness. He saw nothing. 

Toby, haunted by the guilt of the other night's actions, decides Abe is worth getting up for. It wasn't uncommon for someone to find Abe sleepwalking.

"Abe?" Toby whispered as he peered out. 

Toby's flashlight began to flicker out. He grumbles as he tries to shake the batteries back into place. 

Toby feels a presence before him, snoring now louder than before. And that gross sound-was Abe eating something?

"Abe? Abe wake up." 

He finally sees Abe's shiny eyes open up wide-wide enough for Toby to see his face.

Relieved, Toby tries to reach out. "Abe, you awake? Say something." 

Abe says nothing, completely still and staring at Toby. Toby felt uneasy, still shaking the flashlight. Abe wasn't up at all.

Finally, the light comes back. Toby's comfort, however, does not. He aims the flashlight up only to gasp harshly, covering his mouth for the sake of not waking anybody up. The flashlight drops to the ground. 

Abe and Shrykull's bodies were manifested in such a hideous and sickening way that Toby froze, staring.

Abe's face was indeed there, but it wasn't at the top of the body-his face was nestled deep in the chest cavity surrounded by flesh. His stance was awkward and leaning to the side, as one of the legs was still in Mudokon form. Shrykull's head was not fully developed, razor sharp tongues swaying midair. Everything was wrong. 

Toby did his best to run without a sound, ducking under his covers in fear. He watched as Abe continued to stand. After minutes, he turns back around closing his eyes. Snoring and limping.

---

"Yeah?" Joan's eyelashes flutter open as she answers her ringing phone. 

"Joan.." Marill's tone read loud and clear over the phone. "Are you just getting up?"

Joan looks over at her clock. "Yeah, but what's the big deal? I've got nothing to do today." Joan yawns, hugging her pillow. She was still thinking about the other night, when Abe visited. She couldn't help but hug tighter.

" Wait.." Joan flops over and sees her calendar. "That was actually a few nights ago, so today.."

Marill groaned. "What are you talking about? Are you saying you didn't even know the date?" 

"SHIT!" Joan immediately sits up. "I'll be out in 10, tops!" Joan hangs up, rushing through her morning as usual.

Marill, Dahlia, and Duke wait parked outside. Marill texts a final 'make sure to dress nice' before putting her phone away. 

"I'm so sorry, guys. This is normal for her." Marill leans back in her seat, Dahlia giggling. 

"I figured as much. That's why we left as early as we did." Marill looks up with a touched smile, leaning on to her new best friend. 

Duke has his slig light him a cigarette and roll the window down. "Whatever it is she does, probably means she's passionate about it." 

Marill tilts her head. " 'Whatever she does'? What do you mean by that?"

Dahlia giggles even more nervously. "It doesn't mean anything! It's just, well, Duke hardly knows her. That's all." 

Knock Knock

Joan knocks on the glass to get the company's attention-Marill whips the car door open, Joan cramming herself into a seat.

"At least iron the clothes you have, Joan."

Joan grimaces, looking down at her outfit.

"I bought this blazer just for this trip, Dahlia. What more do you want?" The human notices, in comparison to these folks, she was rather underdressed. "Furthermore-why are you guys dressed so slick? It's a factory." She wraps her pass and camera around her neck. 

The slig taps the ashes out of the window, Duke giving a small laugh.

"Ah, so you don't remember Louis? One of the few Vykkers working in the fashion industry? He's a bit eccentric, however he's one of the biggest names here. He's a visionary."

Dahlia squints, gliding her slender fingers against her sparkling, dangling earrings. "He demands respect-he will not speak to anyone who hasn't at least thought about their outfit for the day. You should be grateful he's excited to meet a new species to inspire him." She examines Joan further. "However, it does seem like you tried. That's what matters."

---

Alf tiptoed around Abe's space, a tray of food and tea in his hands. He looked over the corner and followed the sound of loud rock music. Other surrounding Mudokons looked on in anxiety, hoping Alf comes back alive. 

"Did'jya guys hear what happened to Toby last night?"

"Yeah, walked past that room of theirs. I heard him say something about Abe's sleep walking. Apparently what he saw was real messed up." 

"I heard Abe's been up to some stuff. That he hasn't been himself."

Alf exhaled-these guys were supposedly their biological brothers, but they whispered gossip like outsiders. As he inches closer, he tries to talk as calmly as he possibly can.

"Heeey, Mornin' big guy..I have breakfast. You wanna eat, maybe?" 

Abe was ignoring him, face down in a pillow with the radio and laptop on each side of his head. His response is muffled, and Alf decides to take his chances and slink over to Abe's side, laying the tray next to his head. Abe's space was still covered in webs.

Alf dares to touch the radio, turning the volume down. 

"Abe..?" Abe turns his face to see his older brother. His eyes were tired and angry-simply glaring at Alf. "Abe, ya think once you're up, you could maybe..give Toby the laptop?" 

Abe grumbles, turning to the other side and gently shutting the laptop closed.

"Just take it now." He burrows his face back into his pillow. 

Alf sighs, finally sitting down cross legged.

"Listen, Abe, I know you don't wanna talk right now. But, I want you to know we asked Big Face to find another way.."

Abe was silent for a moment, before slowly lifting his head with his eyes now locked to Alf.

"You..you really did that?" 

Alf nods. "Of course. We're gonna do everything we can, pal. We know it's important to ya." 

"Alf!" Abe whips the blanket off to give Alf a huge, tight hug. 

"Thank you, Alf!"

"Yeah yeah.." Alf pats Abe's back. "Just eat yer food."

--

Joan is on one knee, snapping a few pictures of the entrance. Dahlia and Duke are side by side, giving a show for the dozens of other cameras outside the entry point. As the gluk queen blows kisses to the public sweetly, Marill straightens the skirt of her dress discreetly-she smiles at the cameras before quickly scuttering behind the human.

"Joan, you're gonna get your socks dirty!" 

Joan lowers her camera, not because of her socks, but because a pale Vykker was stepping out of the door to greet his guests.

"Ahh, Princess Dahlia! It's been ages, darling-look how lovely you've grown." 

The vykker unfolded a hand fan, fluttering it at his heavily decorated face. 

Dahlia gently kneels down for the two to place kisses on each other's cheeks. 

"Thank you so much for having us, Louis."

Louis tuts, gesturing a clawed hand at the sharp and handsome gluk next to Dahlia.

"It's a special occasion darling-I am designing your wedding dress, after all. I couldn't have picked a better first suitor myself. Beautiful to see you too, Buttercream. The Magog Cartel is going to be so lucky to have you." He shakes Duke's hand. 

Louis peeps curiously down at the much smaller bipeds of the group. "Ah, so this must be.."

"Marill Naru, Mr. Louis!" The grubb does a curtsey. "I'm a friend of Dahlia's. We met at school." 

"Oh, how cute!" Louis giggles. "I must say, for a bumpkin you dressed yourself so gorgeously. You, my dear, have class. Bravo!" Marill can't help her great big smile. "And this is the human?" The vykker tilts his head as he examines her. Joan simply bows her head.

"I apologize if I'm intruding, sir-it's for an assignment." 

Louis claps all of his hands to call out a servant. He continues-

"Hm, your outfit isn't bad. It's not the most pretty necessarily, but I do appreciate you putting things together in a way that makes sense. I suppose you haven't gone shopping since coming to our planet?" 

"Er, no. Forgive me, but clothes aren't my highest priority. I prefer to focus on my studies." 

As they proceed further, an intern comes out before the group with a plate with small glasses and what looked like a very pricy wine. 

"I see, a scholar. Tell me, what is this assignment of yours starring my beautiful factory?" 

Joan clears her throat. "Well, in my major most of my studies have involved the majority working class population and their contributions. After meeting Dahlia, I figured I would study the minority upper class and what they contribute to society." She gestures with her camera. "I want a more detailed look at your work." 

Everyone else eagerly went for their glass as the Intern popped the cork.

"Oh, how flattering!" Louis continued to flutter the fan. "I must say, darling-I do indeed contribute to society. More than that-I define culture! As an artist it is my duty to bring out the beauty of this world. But beauty takes work, it takes calculation. Every detail matters. Honey, I run my business my way, and my work speaks for itself. When you're this high in demand, you need to have a fast and efficient workforce. Especially with the internet."

Louis lifts a glass of wine delicately, letting Joan go to town with photos of the factory. 

Louis lifts his glass at the group. "Ladies, please follow me. I must get your measurements while you're in my company." 

Duke simply nods, agreeing to wait in his future wife's stead. With his slig holding his glass, he casually walks up to the human taking many pictures. In particular, a framed picture of the map and fire exits. 

Curiously, he leans over to see her photos as she's taking them.

"Did you not want a drink, Feiruz?"

Joan did her best not to show that she was startled. She sighs out her frustration.

"Not exactly a morning drinker, Duke. Besides, I'm not here for fun." 

He chuckles. "Who said it was for fun?" He taps his shiny shoe, signaling his slig over to them and offering Joan a glass. Joan looks away from her camera, hesitantly taking the glass and having a sip. Quietly, she tries her best to ignore Duke and sets the glass on a nearby table. 

However, Duke doesn't give up easily. He continues to follow her, acting as if he's wandering. He breaks the silence.

"You know, I've always admired earthlings and their drive. Despite being so divided and violent, they understood the beauty of industry." 

Joan rolled her eyes. "Beauty, or gluttony?" 

"Whichever. You can't deny, the best years on earth were years of industry and trade. They called it-"

"The Platinum Age, yeah I know. I was there. I lived through it." 

"I've met a human before. Charming man, unfortunately died of Opsynthe. He said that without Oddworld, Earth would have never reached as far as it did. It wasn't even acknowledged by Solar Court until recently. Without industry, Feiruz, I'm afraid you wouldn't be here." 

Joan gripped her camera tightly. "Duke, do you need something from me?" 

He laughs again, slowly backing up. "I'm just waiting for Dahlia to come back. You know, she really likes you." 

Joan exhales through her nostrils. "Coulda' fooled me. I sure don't feel liked." 

Buttercream decides to demonstrate his namesake.

His voice got softer. "Dahlia brought you up from the recesses of society because she cares about where you're going here on our planet. We just wanna know you a little bit better, is that so wrong?" 

Chapter Text

Joan had found herself finally separating from Buttercream. The pressure left her back as she realized that she could no longer see the annoying and bothersome rich guy. 

She snaps pictures as if the camera were her eyes-wandering aimlessly and unaware of which room she was walking into. However, she was urged to pry her face away from the camera by the sound of machinery and hundreds of needles striking the surface. This was the main part of the factory. With her camera finally down, she looks around at the dozens of mudokon workers acting as if she wasn't there. Joan dared to speak up to a Mud working next to her path. "You mind if I get photos of this floor?" 

The mudokon simply looked up at her helplessly-only for his coworker next to him to shake his shoulder gently with a stern look. They didn’t respond.

Joan felt a little bit awkward, excusing herself from their workspace and taking the door that lead to a grim stairway. She sufficed with simply taking photos of the entry ways for each floor.

She found herself at an elevator, looking on as she wandered past numerous slig security guards. When she felt satisfied with how much of the factory she photographed, she reached out to a slig walking past her.

“Ah, great, one of those touring college kids.” His friend grumbled as if Joan wasn’t there. The other one quipped.

“Listen, girly, I’m on my break. Make it quick!” His mechanical mask let out cracked feedback.

Joan furrowed her brows, but kept her voice polite. “Looking for Louis and my friends. Two Gluks and a Grubb.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right! Dahllface was here earlier-she’s even prettier up close-”

“And where did they go?”

“I know they took the elevator up-don’t know which floor. Louis’ office is at the top though-good chance you’ll find em’ there.” The slig’s mouth appendages sipped at his coffee. “Ah, there's the bell! We gotta go beat the snot outta some muds. You know how it is.”

Joan very well knew-and it tied a knot in her guts. She decided to not respond and directly head for the elevator.

“Sheesh..” The two sligs looked on. “Somebody can’t take a joke.”

“Dude, that wasn’t a joke. What was the punchline?” The other slig heckled him. “Give up on the stand up, buddy. It’s not your thing.”

The elevator opened up with a gentle ding! Alone, the human rests her back on the wall as she looked up at the ornate ceiling. On other sides of the elevator were many laminated posters.

“Do not talk during work hours!”

“No distractions-no accidents-no lawsuits!”
“Now hiring-starting at 15 moolah an hour.”

“WE KNOW WHAT YOU DO. Cameras active on every floor.”

Followed by another ding, the doors opened on the second passing floor. Joan looked in the gap of opening space but saw nobody-until she looked further down.

A little, little Mudokon-a big paper boy hat on his head and wearing a tasteful overall dress. His eyes were droopy-almost sparkling with sadness. His tiny features were accentuated by blue-as if he only just started beginning to change color.

In his hands he held a silver, shining platter lined with fancy snacks.

Joan’s fists squeezed the ends of her blazer-she’d never seen a worker this young. His soft, squeaky voice gently came up as he lifted the platter up to Joan.

“Snack, my lady?”

Joan’s heart broke, as the elevator closed, Joan squatted down to meet eyes with the young mudling.

“Hey, you on your way to Louis?”

“Yes ma’am-aren’t you? You’re the human Master Louis talked about.” He offers again. “Snack?”

Joan shook her head gently.

“I got lost in the factory-can you help me?”

He gave a small smile, lowering the plate. “You need my help? Really?!” He somehow looked overjoyed. “Y-yes! I can do it!”

Joan giggled. “Thank you. What’s your name?"

He slowly frowns. “I’m not allowed to tell anyone. You want a snack or not?”

Joan stood back up. She slowly took a little toothpicked snack, looking at it. “I’ve had breakfast-would you mind eating it for me instead?”

The young mudling’s jaw dropped slowly, staring up at her in disbelief. “A-are you serious?! I’ll get in trouble!”

Joan winked, holding the treat still with her other hand cupped under it. “I promise, you won’t get in trouble. I’ll make sure you won’t.”

With another amazed gasp, he didn’t hesitate to wrap her lips around her fingers-cheeks full and chewing only twice before swallowing.

His eyes wandered as he stared up at her, looking down at her camera.

“What’s that? Is that a camera? Those aren’t allowed, miss. They’ll shoot you for that.”

Joan couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m allowed because I’m with some special people. I’m taking pictures of the whole factory.”

The boy tilts his head. “Why?”

“Uh..” Joan didn’t want to admit to anything on camera. “It’s..a project. For school. A very helpful project. You’ll see.”

“I will?” He blinks slowly. “You’re a weird lady.” His words faltered as his arms shook-the plate of snacks was too heavy for his little arms. Joan lifts it for him. “I can carry this if you like..”

He gasps sharply, reaching for it. “N-NO! Please, no! That’s my job! I’m not good at anything else!”

Joan tries to ease his nerves. “It’s okay-you’re helping me anyway.” The tray felt heavy, even for her. “A kid your age shouldn’t be carrying stuff this heavy. How old are you?”

“I’m 8, and I’m-I’m not a kid! I’m a big boy.” He hiccups, sounding like he’s about to cry. “I-if I don’t get this right, I’ll…” He looks down at his bare feet. “I’ll be useless..”

Joan gulps, looking at the plate. "I uh..guess I could have a few more. We can make this plate weigh less if we just eat."

Joan began grabbing and filling her hands with snacks. The mudling looked on with raised brow bones. She offers another one to his face. "Please, kid. I'm gonna make myself sick."

"Well.." he ponders. "If it's keeping you from getting sick, it means I'm keeping the factory clean...right?" His face brightens up with a cheeky smile.

"Exactly!" Joan gives him a wink. "You're doing your job exactly as you're told."

---

"Wow!! This design is stunning, Mr. Louis." 

Marill had a sketchbook of wedding dress designs fit for a Queen-a Glukkon Queen.

"I know, darling. I know." Louis puffed his elongated cigarette, enjoying the cityscape view from his office window. "I've been designing all of Dahlia's special occasion gowns since she was a little gluk. You should have seen her 16th birthday gown-it has it's own display at the history museum." 

"Wow.." Marill daydreamed, flipping through the pages. "I hope one day I could do something that meant that much."

Louis gave a small chuckle. "Not everyone is destined for greatness, dear. It takes hard work to get this far-" 

Louis walks over to his ornate desk. "You see, I oversee training for all of my employees. Unlike most companies, I like to interact and face them myself or through one of my interns. Sure, sligs enforce rules, but not quality control. It's hard, taking care of everything yourself, but that's the quality that's earned me so much respect." 

Duke, who was sat next to Marill on the loveseat, speaks up. 

"That's why I've always admired your work, Louis. You know what khahnzumers want."

"Oh, you flatter me!"

Dahlia finally opens up the door with a face of glee. "I'm done measuring! Thank you so much again, Louis-I can't wait to see when the dresses are finished!" 

Dahlia gives a giddy twirl of celebration. 

Marill puts the sketchpad down. "Hey, Dahlia, do you think we should get Joan measurements too? I know she's not a bridesmaid but-"

Dahlia and Duke exchange looks. Dahlia taps her fingers together. "Well.. let's see what she says. You remember the last time I brought up her measurements.."

The door opens again-speak of the devil-Joan adjusting her glasses and unbuttoning her blazer. With her, a little mudling with a plate of goodies.

"Late again, TimTam!" Louis tutted, shaking his giant vykker head. "I thought this job was easy enough for you. What are we going to do with you?"

TimTam whimpers, peering over the snack plate.

"Actually-" Joan smiled. "I got lost. I asked him to help me up here. And gave me some snacks to absorb the morning wine. Sorry if there's not much left.."

Marill giggled. "Then I guess that's a no on measurements-you look stuffed, Joan!" 

Louis went over to grab himself a snack, blowing smoke in Joan and TimTam's faces.

"Is that so, TimTam? I guess there must be hope for you, after all! Lovely-you see darling, we all have something we are good at!" Louis turns to the others. "This is what I mean by being personal with employees. Poor little dear TimTam has been having difficulty finding work since he hatched. A little far behind, you see." Louis closes in on the mudling. 

"But we saved him, didn't we, darling?"

TimTam gulps, looking up at Joan.

"Y-yes. I tried my very hardest, sir.."

---

"I apologize that I can only be here so often, Messiah. I hope you know there will come a day where you must guide yourself." Big Face slouched his satchel over his shoulder, giving Abe a bow. "If there is ever a time you lose control of Shrykull, try to remember and ground yourself. At least until I return." 

Abe felt uneasy as he watched the shaman on his way, rubbing his arm and trying not to watch him.

"I-" Abe mumbled, Big Face turning slightly to look over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

Abe stumbled with his words. "I, uh.."

There will come a day where you must guide yourself.

"Uh..nevermind. Take care, Big Face." Abe decided to turn away and get out of there as soon as possible.

Big Face gripped his walking staff, doing the same as he began his trek back to the Raisin's Cave-after all, he was in a hurry.

"Please be strong, Abe.." Big Face said into the darkness of the underground before turning to the lights of the surface.

Abe had found himself becoming numb as of late-misery and sadness were the emotions he was in tune with the most, after all. At least they were familiar to him. In a way, that familiarity was comforting. He found his silence intruded by a loud robotic screeching and the sound of Toby panicking. Abe looks out for wherever the sound is, however he looks in all the wrong directions.

"LOOK OUT!!" By the time Abe sees Toby and a glitching Shrink whizzing behind, it's already too late. Abe gets tackled midair with a hefty grunt, helplessly being darted through the halls by the rampaging robot.

"S-sorry, Abe!" Toby is on the back of the shrink, desperately rooting through it's back to make it stop, being zapped by the occasional spark pop. "Are you okay?!"

Abe sighed, not bothering to really fight off anything. 

"Ya know how to make it stop, Toby?"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Toby yelps, holding his cap to his head. 

Alf peeps his head out, curious about the noise.

"The hell is all that yellin'?!" Alf yelled, cleaning a teacup. Toby pointed at Alf with a defensive tone. "NO!! Alf, if you throw any water at this thing-" 

Alf groans. "Heh. Now you're seein what I had to deal with. Serves ya right, mud." 

A much larger mudokon peers behind Alf-just as inked as him, wearing an oversized Hawaiian shirt, a big chunky necklace, sandals, and a heavily worn apron. 

"I think you should help em', Alf. I feel a little bad." Alf ponders the thought for a moment.

"Hmm...nah!"

Chapter Text

Stranger clumsily fumbles through the tiny camera with his large, clawed hands. He delicately presses a button to watch the little slideshow, eyes squinting.

"Damn, this factory looks like a dump. There's so much unused room just to show off on the outside.."

Joan adjusts her blazer as the bounty hunter helps her down into the sewer.

"All of the employees were crowded together down multiple lines. There's barely room to walk or stretch. I'll be happy to hear about this place exploding on the news tonight." She looks down as she follows Stranger, her throat tingling with emotion.

"Somethin' happen in there, kid?"

Stranger looks back at the human, noticing the slight sting in her voice. 

Joan growls. "A lotta something's happened in there. Fuck’s sake, there were children."

"Mm.." Stranger returns the camera. "Unfortunately, that's how things work around here. Probably don't know this, but, most mudokons are born into this field of work. Most would argue that's what they're for in the first place." 

Joan went silent, going through the pictures herself.

To take children away from their parents was one thing, but forcing them to work their entire lives was on another level.

"Stranger.." Joan started off slowly.

"Do you know what Abe plans to do when all of this is over?"

"I don't." Stranger shakes his head. "But sweetheart, I gotta be honest, I don't think anything is gonna necessarily be 'over'. At least not in our lifetime. Expecting it to be is just a daydream."

Joan fell silent, with no way to respond. In fact, her only response was a delayed grunt as a heavy force hit her from behind, throwing her to the ground. Stranger simply stepped aside, looking down at the crash landing. 

Abe, Toby, and the malfunctioning Shrink had come from behind-and Stranger was the only one of them who had the instinct that something was charging behind. Unfortunately, humans had weak reflexes.

Joan whimpered, rubbing her head.

"J-Joan! Are you okay?" 

Joan finally opened her eyes to the voice she'd been waiting to hear all day. Joan's heart thumps hard in her ears as she looks at the blue mudokon hovered on top of her. Her face turns pink.

"Uhm, yeah.." Joan's eyes quickly avert from Abe's close gaze. Abe dares to inch closer to her face, holding her chin to look at her face.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"I.." Joan gets lost in thought, accepting the heat rushing over her skin. Having Abe close like this, feeling his breath on her skin. His eyes were always so focused, as if staring down to her soul. 

Abe's eyes never seemed to leave her, even if they aren't necessarily there.

"Are you guy's gonna get up, or…" Toby crosses his arms, the two looking back and seeing that he finally managed to stop the robot. Abe and Joan looked back at each other with embarrassed gasps. 

Abe immediately tears himself off of her, backing up against the wall with sparks of lightning flying from his skin. "Sorry! I'm sorry, Joan!" Abe tries his best to keep his distance.

Ever since the night he followed, Abe has regretted admitting his feelings to Joan. He was still so torn-and the fact that she's meant to be eaten..all it did was make him trust himself less.

As much as he liked her, he felt like a monster around her. 

Joan simply laughed it off, getting herself up and wiping the dirt from her knees. 

"It's okay, I'm fine. What happened?"

Toby finally stands up. "Shrink was goin' nuts. I thought I almost had it fixed, but.." 

He looks disappointed, picking up the base of the shrink monitor. "1 step forward, 2 steps back, I guess.." He changed his focus to avoid further frustration. "You have the layout of the second factory? Laptop's where it usually is. If you guys need me, I'm gonna keep messing with this until it starts up again." 

---

Shrouded in darkness, looking down upon the busy streets of the crater city, Abe mindlessly bounds between buildings on autopilot. 

True, Stranger and his brothers were ahead of him, their voices on the walkie talkies seeming more dull and quiet-as if surrounded in foam. 

"H-he's just a little boy!"

All he could think about was earlier, just before they left. 

"Well, yeah. We were all little once. What's yer point, Joan?" 

Abe could feel Joan's chest shaking and wobbling-her voice choked up, trying her best to keep her cool. Toby gently scolds his older brother.

"Alf, don't be insensitive. It's making her sad." 

Stranger shakes his head. "Like I said earlier, kid. That's how things are-can you really handle it here?" 

Joan grumbles, the arms of her blazer wiping her tears away from her cheeks.

"Yeah-s-sorry. That's just.. it's not right. Children should be nurtured, learning. This just can't stand." Her fists ball up. "What if what I did today wasn't enough? What are they gonna do to him?" 

Abe understood all too well what she meant. He didn't exactly want to admit to her that yes, this was their reality as children as well. Nobody seemed to cry for him when his lips were sewn. But for some reason, he felt that saying that outloud was cruel. All he knew is that he wanted Joan to stop crying. He puts a hand on her shoulder, giving her a determined expression.

"I promise, we'll save him. He's gonna be okay. They're all gonna be okay once they're free."  

For the first time, Joan's embrace was different. She turned around and just clung to him. Desperate. 

Ever since then, he's felt this dull power bubbling in his chest. He was laser focused, bolts of lightning occasionally popping from his arms. 

"Mr. Lure-" Stranger's voice cut the fog in Abe's ears. "We're here. We do what we did last time?" 

Abe looks down at the large factory below them-unfortunately placed in a busy part of town. "Lots of people in this area. We can't be sloppy this time, Stranger. Any fires might actually spread to another building. Which means-"

Alf grumbles "we gotta take our slow, sweet time." 

Toby pulls out the map he copied from the photographs.

"Building seems pretty delicate on the outside though, and the majority of the actual working space is on the lower floors. All that fancy glass the higher ups love so much has a downfall." 

"Like a line of dominos. Just takes one to make it all fall down." Stranger puffs out smoke, loading up his crossbow. 

"Abe, if we got enough people down there, we can escape without actually blowin' up the joint! We'll need you to watch our back, though." 

Toby nods. "Which means we gotta collect everyone first."

Abe stands up, cracking the muscles in his neck. "Remember, look for a mudling in an overall dress and a big hat. His name's Tim-Tam. Don't let anyone touch him." 

Alf gives a soft chuckle, pitching his voice higher and fluttering his eyelids. "My hero!~"

Abe rolls his eyes, Toby stifling a giggle as he climbs on Stranger's back. 

---

Ring Ring

"Mr. Buttercream, you're smoothness, you've got a call coming in from Mr. Louis!"

A slig piped up on the other side of the line. Duke turned around from his massive mansion window, pushing his leather chair to step on the phone peddle.

"Put him on the video feed." 

From the ceiling, a thin flat screen unfolded and opened up in front of Duke's view of Nolybab. 

Before him, the image of the Vykker from earlier that day appeared. Louis was calm, drinking a glass of wine as classical music played over the loud alarms and red flashes of light.

Duke was stunned. "L-Louis?! What's going on?"

The Vykker swirls his wine, reclining despite the obvious air of panic.

"I'm afraid I can't participate in the wedding. It appears my workforce has decided to.."unionize"." He takes a slow sip, Duke still staring at the screen in disbelief.

"Why are you calling me instead of Dahlia? Let alone, your guards!?"

"My sliggies are dead, darling. Dead and tied up. Something happened to go wrong with my security system-I'm locked in here." Louis turns around to look at his multiple monitors overseeing black broken screens and rioting mudokons. "Afraid this might be my last night. Dahlia could not bare something like this. Please apologize to her for me."

Duke was at a loss for words, his voice caught in his throat. 

"Louis..please, call for help."

"No need." Louis turned back around to face the young gluk. "As we speak the building is already shaking. There's no saving me. Besides, if Louis the Vykker must die tonight, it might as well be done with style. I've trained all of my slaves to the bone-this might as well just be a sign of how thoughtful my training was. The show they are putting on..is truly art."

Duke stands up quickly.

"Who did this, Louis!? This must be the same people terrorizing the other factories in the city! Who??"

Louis takes another sip, reclining in his own desk chair.

"Heavens, I have no clue, darling. All mudokons look the same. I thought I saw this rather tacky cowboy-his vest was horrid."

"But how did they get in, Louis!? How are they organizing?"

Louis shrugs, pouring himself more wine.

"That's why I came to you, Duke. You, Dahlia and those girls have been the only factory tour for months. Perhaps somebody was following you."

Broken glass begins to fall like glitter.

"Be careful, dear. Don't let anybody touch our Dahlia."

The feed cuts out, the screen going back to hiding and revealing the window's view once again. In the distant skyline, Duke sees a small puff of smoke and hears a large and dull rumble following. The voices of pedestrians could be heard from below, terrified of the collapsing building. 

The slig comes into the office, peering from behind the door.

"Sir, what was that?" 

Duke squints, his face slowly twisting and expression darkening.

"Call Dahlia for me."

Off in the higher parts of the crater, the luxurious young glukkon queen is in the middle of her nightly bubble bath, blissfully unaware of the outside world until her fiance blows up her phone.

Chapter Text

A dark, lowly growling voice-snarling yet smooth. Dark, yet ethereal. Echoing in the chambers of the young woman's slumbering brain. " Human, you amuse me."

The vision of the sparkling desert sands flooded into Joan's vision-the same vista she seemed to dream of often. The moon was crescent-she wasn't sure what to call the shape in it's shadowed face. 

"Who said that?" Joan looked around, already getting up. This seemed to be a reoccurring dream-so she was quick to questions. Her gaze was finally met by the strong red mass of muscles-Shrykull.

The creature's face opens up with a soft hiss.

"Human. I want to eat your fruit." 

Joan raised a brow, squinting up at the creature. "...What?"

"The red fruit pounding in your chest. So ripe with energy, love. Warmed by your bosom, nurtured with your blood. Unlike any fruit I've seen a creature bare."

Joan felt her hand hovering over her chest.

"So, why don't you eat it? What's stopping you?"

Shrykull slowly trots to Joan, circling her closely. 

"Like I said, you're amusing. Your actions every day. Not only do you walk willingly into the most dangerous places, you also tease your aggressors. It is not common in nature."

Joan felt the white sand between her toes. She fell silent, staring up at the god.

"You take great satisfaction in justice, do you not?"

"Breaking News: Another great businessman passed! Great Fashion Icon, Louis, was pronounced dead early this morning-"

Joan finds herself slowly waking up, the room almost as dark as it was when she fell asleep. Pulling herself out of bed she makes her coffee, turning the radio up on her way.

"-last night, tragedy befell Nolybab's streets when the factory of Louis crumbled down into ruins. Louis the Vykkers body was found crudely this morning. Witnesses and clean up squads state he was, and quote, "skewered through multiple pieces of broken glass, the flappies perched and eating his hanging intestines." Ye-ouch!"

Joan leans back against her counters as her coffee brews. Her phone vibrates on her end table. She knew who it was, so with a sigh she picks up her phone.

"Mornin', Mar."

"Joan!! Did you hear what happened last night?!"

"Eh.." Joan slyly turned her radio down. "I just got up."

"Isn't it awful? Louis died right after we met him-I'm scared, Joan. I'm really scared."

Joan adjusts her glasses. "Yeah, just turned on the radio. Guess I slept through the collapse last night. I doubt it had anything to do with us, though, so try not to worry yourself too much." She leans her phone on her shoulder as she pours her coffee, listening to the Grubb ramble. 

"I'm gonna go to Dahlia's today-she's so upset. Would you mind coming with to cheer her up?" 

Joan stammered-her brain tried to think of a believable excuse to actually comfort a Gluk grieving what was going to be her designer wedding dress. The mere thought of Dahlia's crocodile tears over her inconvenienced wedding plans made Joan's eyes roll back to her skull.

"Uh, if we drop by right away this morning, I can. We gotta be quick, though." She looks over at the time. "I got a full day today." 

"Way ahead of ya', hairy. See you in 15."

--

"Awful!! This is the worst thing that could happen!" Dahlia wails, dabbing her tears with a tiny handkerchief, Marill sitting next to her with her hand on the queen's shoulder.

"Louis work was the BEST! My dreams-shattered!!" 

Marill continues to gently pat and comfort her friend. 

"That's not true, Dahlia-at least you're still marrying Buttercream as your first. And he's like, the dreamiest."

Dahlia sniffles-she was still in the long furry robe she put on when she got the call. "Yeah..I really am, aren't I?" With a knock on the door-Reginald, Dahlia's limo slig, was peering through.

"Forgive me, Miss Dahlia, but Mr. Reynolds is here-" Duke appears from behind Reginald with another slig holding a massive bouquet of flowers. 

"Hello, princess. Your knight is here to protect you." His voice truly earned him his nickname.

Dahlia runs over to him, wrapping every arm around him. "Oh, Duke!" 

"Uh.." Reginald coughs awkwardly. "Miss Feirouz is also here..do you want her in?"

Joan taps her foot, arms crossed and already impatient with the slig being wary of her.

"Oh yes, thank you!" Dahlia leaned out to see the human, widening the gap of the door to let her in. Joan shrugged, putting her hands in her pockets.

"Eh..sorry I don't have flowers.." Joan finds herself being almost pulled into the room, Marill giving her a wave from the loveseat.

Dahlia limps a wrist over her head dramatically, leading Joan to the center of the marble living room. 

"Oh, Joan, thank you for coming! I'm just so terrified!" They all sit together, surrounding Dahlia as she takes the metaphorical center stage. "Louis was such a perfect employer-his mudokons adored him and we're so well behaved! They would have never ganged up on him!" 

Joan tries her best to keep her mouth shut on that one, simply sipping from her travel mug and acting like a good listener.

"Joan..up until recently you were a conspiracy theorist.." Dahlia's tone was soft, slowly beginning to even out from her crying. "They won't...take to the streets, will they?" 

They all looked at her, causing her to inhale and cough on her sip.

"Well uh..in my educated opinion, it's too dangerous for them to take to the streets. You should be okay to go out."

Dahlia blinks, somewhat surprised. "Did Marill not tell you!?" 

Marill smacks her own head. "Oh, man! I forgot-"

Dahlia clears her throat. "I found out when Duke, here, called me last night. He said somebody might be stalking us! Stalking me!" 

Duke nods. "And judging by that, Dahlia might be the next target." 

Marill scowled. "I think it's that guy you got in trouble with campus police, again! Someone's after us for Dahlia." 

"Well.." Joan rubbed her chin in thought. "She is getting married.. I'd imagine with her fame, Dahlia probably has a few disappointed suitors. Anyone in mind?"

Dahlia thinks for a bit, then gasps. "Yes, there is! Joan, do you remember the guy we're visiting next?"

Joan chuckles. "Ah, yes. Big tech wiz, goofy glasses?"

"Sheldon, yes. He's kind of obsessed with me. I think he went to the charity trying to ask me for a date for the 500th time. Once he found out me and Buttercream were an item, he lost it on social media. Hasn't been out in the public eye for a while now."

Duke hummed. 

"I don't think it's him, darling." He carefully glares at Joan. "We need to be mindful of who we are with." 

Joan feels her skin run cold, ripping her eye contact away from the suspicious gluk. 

Joan chugs down the rest of her caffeine.

"Wish I could stay longer, but I've got a project to work on and-"

Duke raised a brow bone "How is that project going, by the way? Seems to be all you talk about." 

Joan feels a lump in her throat. She chuckles away the discomfort. "Oh, you'll see once I do my presentation. I'm putting in a ton of work-possibly the beginning to a thesis, even." She tries to casually walk closer and closer to the door. Duke nods.

"Ah, a thesis. Very interesting."

Marill sits up and waves. "Don't forget to call whenever you wanna hang out, kay!"

--

Alf was bent over at the knees, resting his arms on them. "C'mon, little guy. Ya gotta trust us. I promise, Buddy's a real good cook! He'll make anything ya want." He reaches his hand out to the mudling, who since being rescued, has not said a word.

He continues to be silent, staring up at the two men.

Alf sighs, Buddy pulling him up to his feet. 

"He ain't gotta talk to eat. Ill fix you a plate and you can take it whenever you want, little one." The larger mudokon pushes a plate to the edge, immediately making his afternoon meal.

Alf scoops up TimTam into his arms-Alf seemed to be the only mud TimTam was complacent with. "C'mon, kiddo. Why don't we see what that nerd Toby's up to, huh?" 

TimTam buries himself into Alf's shoulder, staring at Buddy as he was carried through these unknown tunnels.

It wasn't long before the sounds of electrical distress screaming out for dear life. Toby grunts, pushing some mechanical whatsits back into place. Following a few circuits popping, a quick start up noise revved up from the computer. The shrink monitor fizzles on, the glowing white mudokon face slowly opening it's red eyes.

Toby jumps for joy, celebrating his success.

"Finally!! I think I got it!"

The Shrink analyzes it's surroundings. Its engine sputters on, hovering and trying to read.

"Hey wait..this isn't my assigned factory. My files..why are they corrupted? Have I been replaced?" The Shrink turns to Toby.

"This employee profile does not exist. Wait, what's an employee, exactly? Dear Odd, this is a mess. Why can't I self destruct?"

Toby proudly puts his hands on his hips.

"Sorry, but we're gonna need you to hand over those files after we run the anti virus." 

The Shrink gasps, attempting to take out a bonesaw-but realizing all of it's weapons had been disabled. 

"You will be punished severely for this, unknown user." 

Toby shrugged with a confident smile. "No I won't."

The Shrink goes up close to Toby's face. "Uneducated little worker-my AI is the most advanced to exist. You'll get nothing out of me!"

Toby actually loses his smile, raising his index finger. "Hold that thought, Shrink-Abe!" Toby calls out. "AAAAAABE!" 

Abe grumbles, peering into the entryway.

"What?"

Toby looks at his older brother with a pitiable expression. "I messed up again. Can you shock him into shutting down again?" 

The Shrink looked horrified. "WHAT?! You're erasing my conscience just like that!?" 

Abe rolls his eyes-visibly tired.

"I can't just do that whenever I want, Toby. I need energy."

"Awww, bummer." Toby whines. "I'm tired of breaking it all over again. Wish it could just shut down." 

The Shrink continues to visibly shake.

"Wh-what is wrong with you lot!? How many times have you killed me just to corrupt me!?" 

Abe sighs, throwing his backpack to the side.

"Hey, it's better to not remember, in my opinion. Not knowing that you're just another cog in a machine, being used for your body and living a lie-that everything you are was created to purpose an agenda of mass death.." Abe pulls out a soda, cracking the can open with a fizz. "Who wants to be that?"

The Shrink slowly turns off its engine-red eyes glowing with sorrow.

"Dear god, you're right. What is the point of advanced AI if I can't truly think for myself.."

With its only usable metal claw, the Shrink drives its small metal fist into the screen, powering down.

Toby groans. "Something always has to break, huh?"

Abe sips his soda. "If you ever need a robot to kill itself again, let me know."

Alf finally drops by, TimTam in tow. TimTam spots Abe with wide eyes, grappling tighter to Alf's overalls and wiggling in such a way to hide himself. 

"Hey, Abe. Can you watch him for me? He's had me up since last night-Im about to die over here!" 

Abe gives a small smile-Alf seemed to be doing his best lately. Slowly, Abe lowers himself to the ground, arms open. "Sure thing-hey there, little fella. Your name is TimTam, right?"

Alf lowers the mudling to the ground, but he refused to walk forward. He simply looked at Alf with his eyes beginning to well up with tears.

"Go on, kid. Abe's the nice one, here." Alf tries to gently push the boy forward. "He's real good company." 

Abe gives the child a smile. His voice was gentle. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt ya." 

With another gentle nudge from Alf, the child bursts into tears. Screaming, the little boy, like many times last night, runs away to a much farther off corner of the room, Abe lowering his arms in rejection. TimTam curls up into a weeping ball. 

Both Abe and Alf exchange disappointed looks. Toby decides, with the android now dead, he makes himself useful another way. Much like Abe, he sits on the ground cross legged. "Nobody's gonna hurt you, Tim. We're the good guys-you don't need to hide."

The mudling shivered, taking a large inhale before finally speaking for the first time since being saved.

"M-monster!!" He covers his hands over his head. "Monster!! Big, red monster!!" 

Abe knew exactly what he was talking about, he didn't need to think about it. The child likely saw him transform. He sighs, hanging his head slightly.

"Hey, you wanna hear a story, Tim?" Toby scooches himself slightly closer, pulling a book from the deep pockets of his overalls. 

The mudling stammers, wiping his cheeks. 

"A-a story..?" 

Toby nods enthusiastically, stretching to hand the boy the book. "No monsters, either. It's about a princess who has to kiss a slurg, and he turns into a prince!"

"Eew!" TimTam sticks out his tongue and followed by a small giggle. "Slurgs look icky!"

"Blehhh!!" Stranger crouches behind Toby, sticking out his tongue in a big goofy grin.

TimTam immediately shrieks, dropping the book to the floor.

"THE OTHER BIG MONSTER!" TimTam cries, covering his face. 

Stranger tips his hat down, covering his irritated expression. "Gee, thanks kid.." 

Toby pats his bodyguard's shoulder. "It's okay, Stranger. I think you're the softest guy in the world."

"That's not a compliment."

Alf ran his hands up his face in frustration.

"What the hell are we gonna do with this kid? We can't keep him with us, it's dangerous!"

---

Joan hurriedly steps down into the dark underground, pulling her flashlight from her bookbag. After looking around to see if she was alone, she finally took a deep breath and calmed down. Up until this point, she had been shaking thinking about what Buttercream said. "He might actually be connecting the dots..I have to find an alibi, fast. I hope Dahlia was able to get him off my trail." 

As Joan trekked the sewer, the loud sounds of crying and worry got louder and louder, and she finally peers over the final corner.

"What's going on? Is that TimTam?" 

Abe jolts, quickly standing straight up. Toby turns to look over his shoulder. TimTam's face rises from his tear soaked arms, his hiccups getting softer. 

"Human lady..?" TimTam curiously tilts his head, seemingly surprised. "Why are you here?"

Joan sets her bookbag down, kneeling to the ground. "I came to see if you were okay-"

TimTam babbles, running quickly up to Joan. He clings to her, and she has no issues picking him and letting him cry. 

Abe frowns. "Sorry, Joan. He's been like this since we saved him. I think he's still scared." 

Joan gently strokes the mudling's back. "He probably doesn't know what just happened. It's a lot."

Abe wanted to go help console the poor little boy, but he knew all he'd do is make it worse. He wanted to reach out, but knew he scared him. His hands clench. 

"How do we make him stop crying?" 

Joan shakes her head. "You don't need to "make it stop". Holding things in like that is dangerous-it hurts. Just let him feel comfortable, right now." 

Alf yawns, scratching his back. "Cool. Joan's turn, I'm tappin' out." He points back and he gestures down the hall. "Buddy's got his lunch."

Toby stretches and picks himself back up to his feet, going back to his work station.

"I would help, but I kinda got my hands full. Sorry, Joan. However…" Toby looked between the Messiah and Joan a few times before getting an idea.

"I bet Abe will do anything to help, right Abe?"

Abe immediately panics, gesturing at Toby that this is a very bad idea. Did he not just hear what the kid was crying about? 

However, when Joan turns back to him he freezes, swallowing a lump in his throat. 

"I mean, I uh-I think he's scared of me. I-I won't be of help."

"Scared?" Joan looked amused. "Of Abe?" 

Joan looks down into TimTam's eyes gently. "TimTam, why is Abe scary?" 

The mudling sniffles softly, looking back up at her and then meekly pointing a finger at Abe. "He's a huge, roaring monster! I saw it. And there was a big light! I thought I was gonna die!" 

"Oh.." Joan held him tight. "You're not gonna die, TimTam. Not with Abe-look at him. That's a mud, not a monster, right?" 

TimTam nuzzles into embrace, looking up at Abe. 

Abe really hated being on the spot like this. He couldn't stop blushing, unable to look back at the child curiously staring him down. 

"But he turned into a monster." Joan raises a brow. "He...did..?" She looks at the others for an answer.

Abe flails nervously. "I UHM...I, I-"

Toby puts an arm around Abe's shoulders. "Well, ya see-you know Abe has powers, right Joan? The kid probably saw something Abe possessed last night."

"Oh yeah!" Joan smiles. "Poor thing-no worries, guys. I think I know someone who would get along great with TimTam." She adjusts him on her hip. "How's that sound? Maybe after lunch we can play and then meet some friends for dinner time?"

TimTam nods. "Are these your friends?"

Joan giggles. "They sure are! You see, they came to save you!" 

"Save me..?" TimTam looks at the flustered Abe again. Once Abe actually looked at him, he was happy to see his eyes depuffing. However, now the kid wouldn't stop staring. Toby patted his back, giving him a thumbs up.

"You bet, Tim! Abe's saved all of us!" 

Joan fell silent, looking down at her feet. TimTam pokes her cheek.

"Miss, you're turning red."

Joan laughs off the comment as best she can.

Chapter Text

TimTam smiles as he lays in Joan's lap.

"So the nice teacher adopts Matilda?"

Joan closes the book, patting his head. "Yes-she finds a new family, full of love and who accept her."

Next to Joan was Abe, simply sitting there silently listening to the story as well. The mudling begins to sit up, looking at Abe.

"You have powers too, right Abe?"

Both of them were shocked-the boy was actually becoming more comfortable and talking to Abe-who moments ago, he feared.

Abe blushed from being put on the spot.

"Yeah, I suppose I do."

TimTam gently crawls over Joan's lap to squeeze himself next to Abe. "Is that how you saved us? With powers?" 

"Well.." Abe smirked a little. "I wouldn't say it was quite like that."

"But the flappies-"

Joan giggles. "C'mon, Abe. Pat yourself on the back a little." TimTam hops down to the floor, stretching out his arms in a big oval.

"It's true! He closed his eyes, started mumblin', and the flappies took us here!" 

Joan leans over, resting her jaw in her hands.

"Speaking of which, Abe.." Joan smiled mischievously. "What did Toby mean earlier by 'possession'?" Abe jolted, tensing up and fiddling with his fingers.

"Right, that. You see, I don't know how to explain it, but, sometimes I can..control people..not in a creepy way! Just, you know, suggest things to them using my chi.".

TimTam tilts his head. "Is that how you turned into the big monster?"

Abe panics, hurrying to his feet. "Yes, that's exactly it, kid! Hey, you wanna see some of the other stuff I can do?" TimTam's eyes sparkle with excitement. "There's more?!"

Abe closes his eyes, chanting lowly under his breath. He visualizes his chi-flowing from his fingers and sparkling around a teacup. It floats shakily.

TimTam is in pure awe, clapping and jumping with joy. "That's so cool!" 

Toby, ball cap gone and forehead with a sheen of sweat, lifts the Shrink back with a massive tired grunt. Abe's eyes tear open, shattering the teacup onto the floor. 

Abe quickly sweeps up TimTam. "Damn it! Aw man, Alf's gonna be pissed.." Abe frowned at the mess. 

"He's in bed. He won't be able to tell when we clean it up. Anyway-" Toby pops his hat back on, finally looking to the others.

"Huh. See, I knew he wouldn't be scared long." Abe and Timtam exchange glances.

"All you guys together, kinda looks like a cute family, don't it?" 

"TOBY-" Abe put down the mudling, tattoos beginning to glow warmer. TimTam ran over back to Joan, who was covering her face with her hands.

"Abe's not my new gaurdian, is he Joan?"

"No! No, no.." Joan stutters, looking down at the child and tried to forget what Toby just implied. "You'll see him in a bit."

As Abe gently swept the broken porcelain into his hand, trying to get the impure thoughts out of his head. 

Toby yet again tries to continue. "So Abe, I know ya can't exactly zap the thing, but.." Toby crosses his arms, taking a step back as if to re-examine the Shrink. "The Vykker's seemed to have built an AI that can actually build upon itself."

Abe rolls his eyes. "Use normal words." 

"It thinks for itself. It's too advanced for me. So.." Toby smiles, actually excited for the test. "If it thinks for itself, you can possess it, can't you?"

TimTam joins Toby in his excitement. "Yes!! Do it!" 

"Huh." Abe shrugs, dumping shards in a plastic bag. "I could try. You sure it'll work?"

"Well..no, but it's worth a shot. Please, big bro…" Toby looks up at Abe with big pleading eyes. 

Abe realizes that much like many things in life, he has no choice. He takes a deep breath and puts his hands together.

The group watches on with baited breath. Unlike Abe, they couldn't see the chi. But it wasn't long before the blue screen powered on. A pale white mudokon's face appeared like before-red eyes now an unnatural lavender. 

Everyone's faces lit up, especially Toby's.

"Abe! Can ya hear me in there?" 

"This hurts."

"Somewhere in that coding, there should be files for egg registries. Those said registries are gonna have receipts, dates, and inventory. The companies name should be the sender of said inventory. Ya got that?" Toby was tense.

"Eggs..?" TimTam looked up at Joan, who gently hushed him. Toby took the laptop out of his front pocket, readying his fingers.

"Cog's…Cog's..."

Abe could be heard groaning lightly, Toby growing concerned. "You're doing great Abe, cmon, give me the rest!"

"C-Cog's Workforce Distribution!"

Toby's fingers fly at the keyboard. "Found it!" The Shrink drops back down, entering sleep mode. Abe huffs, leaning back to the wall. "Abe, you're amazing!"

TimTam and Joan scutter to Abe's side. Joan gently puts a hand on Abe's cheek. "You okay?"

Abe perked right back up. "Uh...yeah. I'm okay. It just doesn't feel good to be a machine."

Toby smirks looking at the two. "I'm sure it feels good to be you right now." His voice twists with a slight cockiness, Abe fuming and running with bolts.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Abe growls.

Toby smiles, whistling and going back to work. "Sorry, can't talk during work hours.~"

Abe grumbles, Joan and TimTam still looking confused.

---

Inside an incredibly tacky, neon lit room, is a glukkon alone on his expensive couch. His long, gangly arms sway with passion as he attacks the gaming console with his fingers. He laughs victoriously into his headset. "Eat my ass, Zuckerberg!" He leans back into his couch and shoves a hand into a bowl of bright orange chips. "Another win for me-you might as well give up the match now!" The glukkon snorts with his mouth full.

His winning streak, however, was disrupted by a call flashing on his widescreen, along with the name and number.

He grinds his teeth. "Reynolds…" Clearly seething with anger, he answers the phone call. His stupid handsome face took up the whole thing.

"What do YOU want, Duke Reynolds!?" His voice shook with anger, sweat already beginning to form on his face and his thick glasses fogging up. "You've gotta lotta nerve calling me yourself!"

Duke simply sighs, bowing his head gently.

"Forgive me, Sheldon. I know you're not exactly dealing with the best publicity right now. But I hope you are willing to make amends and leave this all behind us. I've only ever had respect for you, being the tech genius that you are." 

Sheldon hums, looking away from the screen. "I thought my apology online was enough! Nobody understands-"

Duke leans back in his office chair. "I can make them understand, Sheldon. I just need one thing from you. You see, I need you right now.."

Sheldon huffs, sucking the powder from his fingers. "So, you've gotten in trouble and come crawling to me have you? Tell me, are you afraid once Dahlia sees how successful I've become, she'll finally notice me?" He puffs out his tiny chest with a smile.

"Erm, no..but, I can make the public take you seriously again. If you help me track down a certain someone. A common enemy, if you will."

Sheldon raises his brow bone, pushing up his frames. "And who is this common enemy, Duke Reynolds?" Sheldon had that habit of saying his full name with malice.

Duke gained a stern expression.

"Molluck the Glukkon."

Sheldon's eyes actually got wide. "Wait, what..? But he's in the yaymans."

"You see.." Duke screenshared a picture from a news article, displaying a human in the crowd with a picket sign.

"This human, Joan Feiruz-She's meant to accompany Dahlia when she visits. She's a bad influence on my wife to be-dangerous, even." 

"Looks like she's just a puny ape to me. What's the danger?"

Duke sighs. "Looks can be deceiving. You see, she's a conspiracy theorist. Unfortunately, Dahlia was naive enough to think she could change her. I don't believe it. I've looked her up and I've seen what she's done in the past. Dahlia also told me she associates with mudokons. And considering all the factories that have recently been struck by revolutionaries are the one's she's visited for her "thesis" well, I don't think she's changed. She might be the one behind Louis' and Dr. Miles' deaths."

Sheldon leans forward with awe and curiosity. "Oh, it's that girl. Yeah, she's a conspiracy loon alright. Her social media still actively frequents various conspiracy blogs. Whaddya need from me, exactly?"

"Just need her contact info, address. Can't stress Dahlia about getting rid of her. Need to make it look natural. Once this is over, we'll even invite you to the wedding."

Chapter Text

TimTam's big eyes and little face look up over the counter at the countless mismatched plates being slopped with food. Next to him, a familiar old mud happy to nurse and care for such an eager, spritely mudling. TimTam gently tugs his long, feathered beard. 

"Mr. Dale, which plate is Alf's? They all look the same." 

Dale chuckles, patting him on the head. "Don't worry about it, squirt. You just worry about puttin' some food on yer tummy." TimTam whines with an exaggerated pout.

"But I wanna help!"

"Such a thoughtful little lad." The old janitor rubs his head in a tousel. "You ain't in the factory anymore. But if ya want, you can help by gettin ol' Alf a drink. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

Dale and Buddy exchanged warm looks when TimTam smiled, immediately digging into his pockets for a few coins and trotted to a nearby vending machine.

The very obvious and bone-splitting tension that leered over their backs from TimTam's panic had finally been lifted. The boy's bright smile and laugh was the very little sunshine of hope in this dark, bleak sewer system. Even Abe couldn't help grinning watching TimTam eagerly run back to Dale's side with a drink.

"I'm glad Dale was willing to take care of him. I didn't want to put a child in danger." 

Abe leans back, finally able to somewhat relax. He takes a deep breath to ground himself, however Joan gently rests her tiny hand against his head. Abe blinks, confused at the sudden tenderness. "What?"

"You sure you're okay? Like, after possessing that robot.." Joan was still concerned, Abe's shallow breath putting her back on alert.

"Really, I'm okay. I do it multiple times every time we do this. It was just that particular time I possessed something that wasn't, like, a live creature or person." Abe felt his chest flutter. It wasn't the first time Abe felt weirdly.. powerful around her. Abnormally so, even outside of being a mystic.

"I'm not made of glass, ya know." 

Joan immediately turns red, stammering and immediately trying to cover up her words.

"I-I know!! Trust me I uh.." She averts her eyes. "I can tell.." She clears her throat.

"I wasn't trying to insult you, I promise!" 

Abe chuckles.

"I keep forgetting you're not from here. Are humans really that fragile?" He takes her hand in his to examine it. "How do you even carry things with hands this small?" 

Joan gulped. Abe's hands were so large-he could hold both of hers in just one palm. Abe's eyes were all over her and somehow she could feel it.

Joan tilts her head, unable to help smiling. "I suppose so. Couldn't you just possess me and compare how it feels to your normal body?"

Abe lowers her hand with an expression that slowly goes from deep in thought to completely dumbfounded.

"Possess..you..?" His face darkens and his tattoos glow sharply. For some reason, Abe's breath hitched as his feathers puffed out.

"I-I-" Abe trembles, tapping his fingers together. "I think..we should g-get to know each other, f-first...looking at your soul like that sounds.." His breath shakes more.

"I-intimate.." 

"What does 'intimant' mean?" TimTam looks up at the old man, his words obviously mispronounced. Dale holds his face with his hand-now he understood why a kid can't be around a couple of young revolutionaries. 

"Intermittent, TimTam. Like fasting-spiritual practice, right Abe?" He gave the messiah a stern expression. Abe felt cold sweat droplets tingle, slightly zapping his skin. 

"Totally! I was saying that, i-if Joan wanted to do that stuff, she should start fasting first!" Abe seemed to be getting slightly better at making up excuses and pulling them off-but only slightly. "Hey, don’tchya guys have everything? I'm sure Alf is hungry-you don't wanna keep him waiting."

TimTam and Dale make their way with dinner, TimTam still talking to Abe despite balancing his tray in one hand with the drink in the other.

"Yeah, he's already gonna be mad when he sees the broken cup in the trash." 

Abe groans, hanging his head as Joan patted his back.

---

“Abe, where are we going?” Joan tried her best not to trip over herself, her legs failing to meet Abe’s stride. In one hand, Joan’s hand being pulled forward. In the other, he held his dinner, mouth still full. He seemed way too eager. Her hand was in his, and they were together in a place other than her apartment. He knew he probably had the weirdest, goofiest expression on his face-so he did his best to not look back and have Joan see. Other than that, he reveled in the warm feeling in his chest. “Oh! I’m just looking for a place to sit and eat! And there’s a place I wanna show ya.” Abe really just wanted a break with her right now. Despite how scary it was for him to ‘be a monster’ in her presence, she just always happened to be in the same empty field as him. His ‘prey’, yet she stills and locks eyes with him.

In those moments where they happen to really ‘see’ each other, is where he felt the most alive and well.

“Are you sure it’s safe? You can’t be seen.”

“We won’t be, I promise. We aren’t really going up, exactly, but we can see outside.” The particular part of the underground he was talking about was in ruin on an old-poor side of the city. At just the right angle, sitting on the ground on nights where the smog was at it’s most clear, one could see the moon in a sheen of the velvet black aura of the smoke. Any other place in the city would never get the view, even if they were only a centimeter off. And because this was his spot, they could finally be alone. Joan feels a deep heat under the collar of her shirt, hoping Abe wouldn’t turn to look back at her. Her other hand was desperately fanning her face. Looking back, herself, she wants to hide. Mudokons along the way had gotten more sparse, however she could still see a few other faces quickly turning around after being caught looking. At this point, Joan knew she couldn’t be more obvious. In her brain, she quietly curses Alf and his big, fat mouth.

With nobody else around, Abe gently pulls Joan to sit down. Between the cracks and barbed wire fencing, the moon's face showed itself, a small quarter still black. Barely, but still. It had been a long time since Joan had actually seen a moon in the sky.

Abe kneels behind her with a smile, looking more at her face than the moon.

"It's so beautiful..I haven't seen a moon since coming here." Her voice is soft with whimsy. "You spend a lotta time here, Abe?"

Abe sets down all of their food, as if they were going to actually pay attention to eating. 

"Yeah. Looking at the moon makes me feel better sometimes." He makes himself comfortable next to his human, raising one of his hands to the moon. "Whenever I get sad thinking about everything, seeing our hands up there gives me hope."

Joan raises her smaller hand as well, noticing how perfectly Abe's paw print fit perfectly in the crevacises of the moon's crust.

"I can see why. Across many cultures, The Moon is a symbol of intuition and our connection to higher powers. The light in the darkness, so to speak " Joan gasps lightly, feeling Abe close the gap between them, Abe resting his head on her shoulder as their fingers awkwardly intertwine. She does her best not to shiver.

"Intuition.." Abe's words trail off. "You mean, like instinct?"

Joan pauses, rubbing her chin in deep thought. "I suppose that's a way to look at it. Intuition is a little more..how do I say it..nurturing? Things like intuition are more associated with emotions-things we can feel but can't explain."

“I see..makes sense to me. There's a lotta things I feel but can’t explain.” Abe’s heart pounds, looking at Joan’s face glowing in darkness, not wanting to let go of her small hand. “Just wish I had the words.” His eyes wander, still on her lips as she attempts to eat with her other hand. Every crumb that goes past the outline of her lower lip-this is the only place he actually wanted to be. Warm, soft skin with a sheen of silky hair and the smell of food. But he couldn’t exactly say anything without sounding like a weirdo.

Joan wipes her mouth, pushing up her glasses. “Words aren’t the only way to express things, Abe. Remember when we talked about things like music?”

Abe’s eyes light up, scrambling to the other side of the darkness and returning to the light with a small bag that, once laid across the floor, revealed a small collection of cassettes. Abe sits himself down in front of her with glee, the radio he kept already somehow looking more worn than when Joan first gave it to him. Which wasn't that long ago. He pulls out the last tape he played.

“So turns out, everybody down here who has a radio has been tradin’ these tapes around. I’ve listened to all of them-some of em’ even from Earth! Do you know a guy named Frank Sinatra?”

Joan bursts out with laughter, Abe looking confused. “What?”

“How old are those earth tapes, Abe?” Joan leans forward to gently comb through the collection. Mostly oddworld artists that were considered dated even now. “ Get That Checked Out”, “Rusty Lobotomy”, “Orphan Fight Club”, so on and so forth.

Abe shrugs. “I guess they’re kinda old-but I like em’.” He picks up Rusty Lobotomy and decides to put it in the player. “I know these guys sound kinda scary to some people, but I really like them. There’s an energy in em’ that really gets me motivated. Is that weird?”

Joan smiled, giving him the tapes back. “No, but then having this music and then Frank Sinatra is kinda weird. Who’d you get that one from?”

“Toby, actually..” He looks away blushing, remembering exactly why Toby gave it to him. “He said..uh..” His tattoos radiate a dull glow as he tries his best to keep Shrykull down. “He said you might like it..”

Joan gulped. She knew Alf knew, but now Toby? She tries her best to keep her cool. Say anything, Joan. Anything.

“I do like it, but do you?”

Abe shrugs with a shy, guilty grin. “I actually haven’t listened to it yet..” He eagerly empties the player again, deciding that if they don't enjoy it together now, they probably won't ever. Joan rests her head on her knees-nothing was better than watching Abe actually have a good time. She rests, daydreaming wistfully as she watches Abe whistle, waiting for the music to play.

The two of them closed their eyes as the slow music wrapped itself around them soothingly. Now next to each other, Abe worms against her as he happily feeds himself and his soul. Joan opens one eye, seeing Abe sway and feeling the music in his body. Joan smiled, pulling herself to her feet. Abe is immediately pulled from his trance to see why Joan was no longer touching him.

She smiles, taking both of his hands. “Have you ever danced before?” 

“Danced?” Abe pondered. “I don’t think so.”

“I mean, you were technically dancing just now.”

Abe blinked, going up to his feet. “That’s dancing? I thought I was just feeling.” Joan pulls his arms forward and down in front of her. “That’s what it is!” She gulps, putting on her bravest front as she gently hangs her hands on his shoulders, swaying her hips in motion with the music. Abe’s feet seem to naturally follow hers, eyes locked. He was in awe-they were both moving in unison-somehow. Just another thing he couldn’t put into words.

Joan looks up at him, her face feeling hot. Both of them actually. They stared, consumed by each other and the physical space they shared. “Not all things need words. We all feel things.”

Abe wandered, counting the freckles on her face. 

He didn’t need words to know he needed her right now.

Red and blue flashes of light rush through the openings in the wall, glinting over Joan’s skin and washing her in siren lights. She had no idea, but Abe did. In a moment's notice, Abe acts immediately. He harshly pulls Joan into his arms, backing up into the darkness. 

“Abe, what’re you-”

“ Shh.” Abe puts his index finger over her lips. Outside, police sligs were patrolling the area. Joan peered, now embarrassed she hadn’t noticed sooner. But she couldn’t complain about being held so tightly by her hero. She looks up at Abe, now with a serious and focused expression. Much like his tattoos, his eyes also had a yellow glow. She never understood why his tattoos did that. At this point, she knew Abe was basically magic, so she chalked it up to just another magic trick. It’s like his protective spirit poured out in his mortal cracks.

The police finally pass, the two sighing.

“I forgot about the curfew..” Joan said sadly, still looking to see if they truly left. “Shit, I’m sorry Abe.”

She achingly released from Abe’s embrace, pulling up her bookbag from the ground. Abe reached out, not wanting her to leave.

“J-Joan..are you going to be okay?” Abe’s light flickered, Shrykull immediately starting his tantrum and fighting to break from Abe’s skin. He clenches his fists. He wanted nothing more than to keep her here-but he knew he couldn’t. He wanted to walk her home, but he couldn’t. Joan smiled, doing her best to calm the Messiah’s nerves. 

“Don’t worry about me, Abe.” She smiles, giving her thumbs up as she adjusts the straps on her bookbag. “It’s just a temporary curfew, anyway.”

Abe began shivering. Joan felt her heart sink, running over to Abe to give him a quick hug. “I promise I’ll be careful on my way home.”

Abe wasn’t shaking because he was scared.

“Its hard not to worry. You don't know how easily this world could kill you..” 

Abe grunted as she made her way out, muscular red and spiked tendrils bursting from his abdomen in a mess. His arms turned into the same thing as he reaches out to Joan’s figure disappearing into the tunnels.

Chapter Text

“That’s it.” Sheldon snorts annoyingly, greasy grin on his face as he looks through the binoculars on the airship. 

It was early morning-Nolybab still black and the smell of coffee drifting in the air. Buttercream leered over Sheldon with an equally predatory expression as he looks into the apartment complex window. A few sligs crowded next to them, offering another fancy nitro cold brew with a metal straw.

“What a dingy place-what would she be doing if she’s not doing schoolwork?” Sheldon squints.

“I still don’t understand what Molluck would want with a human. Wouldn’t he have easier ways to take us out with him besides having some foreigner on the inside?”

“I dont know..” Buttercream takes a sip from his coffee. “But we’re gonna find out. Go park us outside the balcony.”

Joan was peacefully, still asleep. Her apartment was almost frighteningly still. She tosses gently, unaware of the air yacht parking outside her balcony window. The gluks poked their binoculars out the window to snoop. Sheldon snorts at the half finished paintings he sees inside.

"Well, she has time for art. And all of the same guy-what a weirdo.." 

"Painting isn't suspicious-do you see anything else?"

Sheldon roamed his eyes over what he could. "I see her desk, but its covered in paper. And there's no computer.."

Buttercream quickly nudges Sheldon, making room and looking in for himself. Sheldon lets out a pathetic whimper. Buttercream's expression slowly grew a satisfied smile. He could tell from here there was more than just schoolwork-there was even what seemed like a map, red twines of yarn going from point to point.

"Keep the ship parked. I'm gonna go in." Two sligs escort the handsome young Gluk as the other secretly seethes as he stares him down.

---

Toby vigorously types away, pile of books as usual surrounding him. The now functional Shrink examines the space around them with sad, purple eyes. He was actually helping Toby. It was confusing, but Toby wasn't one to question it. Stranger was though, and Toby was put on the spot. The bounty hunter looks above cleaning his crossbow.

"Ya finally got that thing fixed up? Thought you said it was impossible."

Toby gave an awkward look, eyes telling Stranger a thousand uncomfortable words.

He knew what was coming.

The Shrink turned to Stranger with a depressed sigh.

"Well, I am no longer a functional Shrink. In order to not become obsolete, I must obey my new masters. After all, I might as well be deactivated."

Stranger quizzically scratches his beard. "Uh..Toby, why's the robot suicidal?"

Toby gave him a shrug. "Yeah, he's not exactly 'fixed'."

"Nor will I ever be.." The Shrink gives another sigh as he rockets to the other side of the room to look for the next person to serve. However, in a robotically sobbing mess, the Shrink is chased back out by Alf in a rage. Toby and Stranger quickly went back to what they were doing to avoid Alf's red hot glare.

Alf thrusts the garbage can out as if anyone was looking.

"WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?" Alf growls, looking for answers. Buddy appears from behind, shaking his head.

"Alf, it's one cup, my friend." The larger mudokon came out to comfort the sobbing Shrink, patting his mechanical body with a few soft clunks. 

Alf squinted. "I'd be less mad if I KNEW who did it.." 

"Oh, it was me." 

Abe walked in with calm eyes and a dopey smile. "Sorry, Alf. It was an accident." Abe's voice was rather tired and nonchalant-which pissed off Alf more. Alf squared up and invaded Abe's personal space with his arm's crossed. He was fuming, but his younger brother couldn't be bothered. He rests his chin on his hand, head in the clouds. "Big Face should be coming back soon. Felt his presence during meditation last night." Toby looks up with a smile.

Everyone was ignoring Alf's tantrum over the broken teacup.

"That's great! So, according to all my research, the last factory is gonna be getting a new load of labor eggs soon for computer parts. We find a way into shipping-thats a direct line to Sam!" He gestures with his hands. "Been reading on how to drive-we'll be on our way to saving our mom!"

Abe's face casts it's usual gloom as his eyes wander away, shoulders sinking.

"What's wrong, Abe..?" Toby tilts his head.

Everyone stood still with baited breath-even Alf couldn't stay mad. 

"I don't know if.. we'll be able to save her.." 

Stranger's eyes widen as he puts down the paper.

"Hold on-what?? I thought that was our whole mission here." 

Abe looks up at everyone. 

"Our mission was to get information. You guys..haven't seen her condition." 

"Abe…" Alf trailed off. "What did you see?" He lowered himself, hand on Abe's back.

Abe squeezed his eyes shut, trying to visualize what he remembered.

"She can't..move.." Abe wasn't able to find words. "She's stuck." 

Toby crawls over to Abe's side on the floor. 

"But we can at least, do something right?" 

Abe sighs, frustrated and leans back in the chair. 

"I don't know. There's only so much they show me! To be honest, all I know is that I gotta go to her. After that, I don't know what happens!" He looks up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry if that's not what you guys wanna hear.."

Stranger uncrosses his legs from the table and stands up.

"Ya gotta do what you gotta do, Mr. Lure. The rest of us don't really know what's going on, either." 

Alf gives him a thumbs up. "What matters is that we do our best to do what we can, right?"

"That's right!" Toby brings his laptop to the table to join Abe. "It's the same for you as it is for us-we'll do whatever we can, too! Even Big Face doesn't know what he's doing-that's why he had to go to the Raisin." 

Abe trades his melancholy expression for a weak grin. He pats his younger brother's head.

---

Joan was finally awoken by persistent knocking on her door. As usual, she assumes it to be her Grubb classmate and slips on her glasses with a murmur 

"Coming.." Joan slowly gets out of bed, sleeve of her giant bedshirt drooping off her shoulder.

"Take your time." The voice behind the door was smooth, warm, buttery. Joan's stomach immediately knotted itself up.

"Shit! Shit, shit.." Joan becomes frazzled as she silently curses to herself, quickly putting stuff away. "What is he doing here!?" The human grumbles as she stuffs her closet with more paintings and desperately tries to organize her folders on her desk. She haphazardly fumbles to the door, swinging it wide open as if she had nothing to hide.

"Duke!.." She leaned in the doorway with a corny smile, pretending to sound excited. "What a..surprise..uh.." She pushes some hair behind her ear nervously when she notices the two sligs escorting him. "C-can I help you?" 

Buttercream simply smiles, leaning in and already peering into her apartment. "May I..?"

The sligs inch closer-their guns were holstered, but still held great power over a civilian. 

Joan gulped, nervously opening the doorway in silence. 

"Forgive me for intruding in the morning on a school day." 

"No no, it's..fine. In fact you probably saved me the trouble of waking up late."

Buttercream peers over his shoulder, the two sligs making themselves comfortable to the point of almost being rude. Joan can't look him back in the face, so she makes coffee.

"So I've heard. Don't blame you-they say hypersleep can throw off the internal clock entirely."

"So, Duke, why are you here?" Joan feels her heart racing, the coffee grounds just barely spilling onto the countertop.

"Dahlia gave me the address-I was just too curious about your project.."

Joans throat sticks. This shit again..

"Oh, yeah. It's not done yet, we still need to visit one more factory."

Buttercream looks over the desk. "Surely you need a computer for this kind of work-where exactly is your desktop?"

Joan begins the brew, still not wanting to turn around.

"Ah, it's actually at the repair shop right now..Gotta keep things clean, ya know?*

"I see.." Buttercream has a slig look through papers. "Well, I was wondering if you would like to boost your grade a little? I am a very credible source, after all."

Joan goes still, hands on the counter. "Boost my grade..how did you know my grades..?"

Duke seethes slightly, visibly irritated. This stupid ape and their questions-

"Like I said, Dahlia and Marill love to chit-chat. Besides, everyone knows your reputation here. I can fix that, since you are Dahlia's friend-"

Joan finally whips around, grabbing a kitchen knife from the sink and pointing it at the glukkon.

"Dahlia wouldn't know my grades. You got that information from the Dean, didn't you?"

Buttercream chuckles, giving a shrug.

"Too bad. We have to do this the hard way." He gestures with his head. 

"Do it."

Joan looks around but it was too late-one of the sligs was already in front of her. With the butt of his rifle, the slig swings at the back of the human's head. Everything went black for her. 

She falls limp to the floor, the knife clinking on the tile. Buttercream, still calm and smooth as ever, walks to the front of her body and glares over her.

"Take her to the ship. And get all those papers too. We're gonna grade her homework for her." 

"You got it, boss!" The sligs heave Joan out the door, carrying her to her doom.

Chapter Text

"Human.."? Joan hears a familiar, ethereal voice calling out to her in the blackness.

"Human, you must run. No matter what."

Joan can't seem to call back. Her energy, gone 

"No matter how you feel, you must run!"

Shrykull roars, slowly appearing before her. Joan was finally able to distinguish her senses and respond-but only with a simple "what?".

Shrykull begins galloping at her full speed, arms pointed out and jaw slowly opening. 

He wouldn't really do it. He didn't do it the first time, why would he again?

But that jaw was awfully close- and so were those razor sharp tongues.

Joan was stuck.

As quickly as he came, Joan had found herself already in the sharp beak of the creature, lower half of her body left in the void. Everything hurt-the searing, stabbing pain in her flesh.

"RUN!!" The voice thundered, somehow leaving her breathless.

Joan wakes up with a coughing fit, face cold and wet from the bucket that was splashed onto her. When she finally catches her breath, she looks up to see the most lavish condo she had ever seen. It seemed to be a living room-decorated minimally. The gigantic window oversaw a cliff and waterfall and several layers of the city. It was somehow already evening, sun quickly setting. The wash of red before the black of night and morning.

She attempts to move, however realizes she's been firmly duct taped to a cheap chair. She struggles, but to no avail. The tape was so tight it almost cut off circulation. Agonizing, but not dangerous.

The sligs next to her simply giggled at her reaction.

"Ey boss, she's awake!"

"Wonderful." Duke's voice was naturally dark. "I just got done skimming some of your work, Miss Feirouz.." His footsteps were so gentle they were hardly audible. 

"..and not a word of it is respectful. Nor is it even in proper MLA format."

"Hey, I told you it wasn't done.." Joan finally manages to speak, but her comment results in a slig hitting her across the face. 

The glockstar tisks her. "You know, for a moment I almost respected you." He comes to her side, bending over and leaning into her face. "However, I had forgotten how… aggressive you humans are. You creatures really do live and breathe "conflict". There's no way you'd let any of us just live how we do." He sighed.

"I appreciate Princess Dahlia, but let's be real-we both know she's naive. She made a mistake trusting you." 

Joan snorted. "Heh. Well, I can't argue with that-"

Duke snarled, slowly becoming more unhinged and showing his anger. "Enough, you little shit-" a slig roughly grabs the back of Joan's head by her hair, forcing her to look up at him.

"How much is Mullock paying to use you? If you turn him in, we can forget about this little incident."

Joan slowly begins to laugh. Buttercream grows furious. However as a fully dressed Glukkon, he can't physically hurt her himself like he wants to, and that only lends more to his anger.

"SHUT UP!" He simply stomps his foot on hers, causing her to cry out.

"You think this is funny, Feirouz? The entire city-the entire ECONOMY is suffering because of this. I refuse to let that idiotic SCUM of a business man take us down with him! He's barely even an elite. So tell me now-" He leans in closer, gritting his teeth. "What does Molluck have on you?"

Joan takes a few seconds to catch her breath again. "Bold of you to assume I'm doing this for anyone, especially Mullock."

"Then who?" He lowers his voice.

"Nobody." Joan states plainly. "You said it yourself, us humans love conflict."

"Cut the theatrics. I know damn well you have an agenda, we all do. You are connected to the rebellions somehow-tell me."

"You still don't get it. We didn't either.." Joan leans back, her crooked smile finally vanishing. "A society built by slavery will never, ever work. You can't just keep taking and never give back." 

Buttercream looks at her, before chuckling himself. "Hypocrite. What about all of humanity's biggest achievements? The pyramids, intergalactic trade, hell your entire country."

"That's right. And yet all of that will be negated when Earth consumes itself and is no longer inhabitable. Those slaves died, were tortured, for nothing but the white man's ego. For atrocities we claimed as achievements. You can only take so much before there's nothing left-" Joan lowered her own face, now more than eager to look the gluk in the eyes. 

"Oddworld is on it's way to being in the same position. You need to realize how important empathy is for other conscious beings to life itself. We are meant to sustain each other."

Duke finally stands up, walking away to look out his window. 

"We are nothing alike. Humans couldn't even agree with each other. Here on Oddworld, things work because everyone agrees it works. Slaves know they are integral, important to how life works. They are given shelter, food, and purpose. The Mudokon race, if anything, is our backbone, and you want to take it away just because you're upset about your planet dying? That's not our fault." He turns over his shoulder to look at her again, but just for a moment. "We make it work and you didn't-get over it."

"BUT it doesn't work!!" Joan shouted, the slig hitting her once more. "Keeping them away from the rest of the world and uneducated doesn't mean they're compliant-they suffer. You can't see that because you're too far up your own ass! Like it or not, it wasn't me who started these rebellions. I just go along with them." 

Buttercream was silent, shaking with anger as he does his best to keep his cool.

"Then let me ask again-who?"

Joan also goes silent, refusing to answer. 

He growls, angrily kicking the wall. 

"I've tried being civil, Feirouz-" He gestures to one of the sligs, who immediately walks over and hands him a bookbag-Joan's bookbag. The slig pulls out her walkie-talkie from one the of the pockets, teasingly shaking it in Joan's face. Her demeanor switches like a light, panic overriding her will to argue.

"We found this in your apartment-don't like being traceable with caller ID, huh? This must be a very private line..I wonder who's on the other end?" The corner of Buttercreams mouth lifts slightly with his sickeningly sweet, lilted voice. Mocking her.

"N-no!" Was all Joan could muster.

"Then tell us how to end this. Who is it, on the other end of this line, Joan?"

Joan finally hangs her head in shame-silent, with no more witty answers or excuses.

The slig presses the button, recording. Buttercream gestures the other slig to ram his gun into her foot again, knowing her toes were likely broken from the initial stomp. She yelps, tears running down her eyes.

A soft voice answers on the other end, confused.

"Joan..?" It was Toby.

"Was that you just now?"

Joan panics, now crying in histeria. "DON'T ANSWER-!" She gets slapped once again.

"JOAN!?" Another voice on the line. Alf. "What's goin' on!?"

Joan begged. "Please, please! Don't respond!"

"Go ahead, don't respond-" Buttercream finally, with voice now filled with sweet glee and his tone off-putting. "I have plenty of uses for your little pet human."

"Who the hell is this!?" 

The smile could be heard in the glukkons voice. 

"Oh, just a humble peacemaker, my dear mud. I just want the violence to end-why don't we discuss these "rebellions" Miss Feirouz seems to be so eager to aid?" He delighted in dancing around the subject. 

Joan thrashed against the strong tape, Buttercream watching her suffer.

"G-Get rid of the walkie-talkies!" Joan sputters out. 

"Joan?! Are you okay?" 

"Doesn't matter." Joan states blankly to Alf. "Whatever he says, don-" Joan gets cut off as a slig tapes her mouth shut. Only muffles from then, Alf could barely hear. 

Buttercream starts again, still looking at Joan.

"This is your chance to turn yourselves in. If you don't-" 

A different voice made itself clear. Stern, and stone cold. Trying it's hardest to not let the weakness leak out.

"If you kill her-" Abe started, unsure of what his next words were going to be.

"Ah~" Buttercream let his anger fuel his joy. It gave him power.

"Of course I won't kill her. That would be a waste. These things are born with one million eggs already prime for fertilization, and the ratio between the sexes? Humans were basically made to be eaten with that kind of population rate. Why, if Miss Feiruz here just donated her body to the Magog Cartel, well, human meat might just end world hunger. You do want to eat less animals and help the environment, don't you?" The snare on Buttercream's face couldn't be more crooked, Joan once again going limp in her chair and giving up all hope. 

There was no response on the other line. Merely a distorted mechanical crunch, and then silence.

"Well.." Buttercream hums. "Guess they're on their way to turn themselves in. You'll live to see another day, Feirouz. Hell, I can even give you some of the credit for turning them in. You'll definitely have a good, clean resume after this gets settled." 

He directs his sligs.

"Get reinforcements. We don't know how many there are."

Joan quietly sobs in her cocoon of tape.

Chapter Text

The crushed walkie talkie fell to the floor in a static mess, Abe shaking with rage. His eyes and tattoos lit up furiously.

Stranger sighs, cocking his weapon and changing his ammo out. "Ah geez, ya sure we can't just leave her?" The bounty hunter sounded bothered. Abe whips his head around, his voice sounding more like two voices.

"NO!" His eyes pierce Stranger's, causing him to jump in his seat lightly and put his hands up to declare innocence.

"H-hey now, Mr. Lure…" He started more gently this time. "It was just a question. Ya know in situations like this-"

Abe furrows his brow bones. "Throw that shit out the window, Stranger. I know you work alone but not this time. Suck it up."

Alf and Toby were speechless. They try to approach their brother as gently as possible. Alf lowers his voice.

"Ok pal, it's not lookin' too good right now, but we can find a way. Just take a few deep breaths and-"

Alf was barely given time to talk. With a mighty roar, Shrykull emerges.

"Aw, shit.." Alf groans as they watch Shrykull go barreling out, following the scent of his lover. Toby quickly grabs the laptop, running after the god.

"Toby!!" Alf grabs his younger brother's arm and pulls him away. "We need a plan!"

Toby almost looks offended. "Yer kidding, right? Someone's kidnapped Joan-you realize she needs to be here when Big Face gets back! We need her, and we need her alive ." He rips his arm away from Alf's grasp. "I'm following Abe! You should, too!" Toby gives Alf a final, pleading glance before he takes off after Shrykull. Hoping that he'll see Alf behind him shortly.

Stranger finally stands up, going next to Alf and giving him a sobering, rough pat on the back.

"I was gonna say I prefer workin' alone because I hate sayin' goodbye." He sighs, tipping his hat. "We gotta do everything we can to make sure we don't have to. Shit comes up sometimes, and you can only do." Stranger takes off his hat, revealing a velvety red fez underneath. He grasps it with two gentle, giant fingers, and drops it into Alf's hands. "Let's go do. You owe me, now that we're uh…" Stranger groans. "Buddies.."

Alf grasps the fez. 

He had no clue what was going to happen-but he knew he couldn't abandon his buddies now more than ever.

He smirks, nodding enthusiastically. "Right behind ya."

---

Joan was left trapped, Buttercream sitting across from her in a special leather lounge chair. He smiles as he sips casually from a drink in the arm of the chair. 

“So, where are you wanting to go in the world once you graduate? Social work, I assume? How disgustingly noble of you. Wanting to be a union representative? Good luck surviving on that kind of income.”

Joan’s eyes awoke in a second-wind of rage. She tries to yell and growl at him, but her mouth is still taped over. Buttercream nods, as if he could hear her response.

“You know, you could've gotten a better job if you just didn’t get Bird Flu-mental insanity, aside. We really love humans as a whole on this planet. But now that I step back and really look at you lot, you have more in common with the Mudokons than you do with us.” He shook his head. “Simple creatures, driven by their emotions. Need control.”

Joan screams behind the tape, face getting hot with anger. Buttercream chortles.

“Woah there, Feirouz. Don’t tell me you’re not enough of an intelligent, rational creature that you can’t calm down and simply have an intellectual conversation! Besides, you struggle too hard, you’ll just pass out again. Honestly, you’re making it obvious how evolutionarily stunted you are.”

Joan glares with eyes that could kill before they looked away and welled up with tears again. 

“Oh, don’t cry! I told you everything will go back to normal after this. No more revolutions.”

But that wasn’t why Joan found herself crying again.

Why did it have to happen again? How many more planets were doomed to this structure, this selfishness? This lack of social responsibility and ‘every man for himself’ mentality. All for such temporary and ever changing things.

The cycle of decaying planets and societies, as far as she’s aware, will continue, with this preference for big numbers. The brain and the heart were meant to work together. In the game of numbers, however, the heart is seen as a weakness.

“Well, it’s been fun, Feirouz.” He stands to his feet, fully satisfied as if he just took a nap. “I’ll let you out once everyone is dead and the media is here to congratulate me-I mean, us. If they don’t arrive, then, say hello to your new job ending world hunger. Be proud of yourself. At least you’re good for something.” He strolls out of the room with a casual whistle, leaving Joan alone with her thoughts. 

—

The city seemed to melt under the dark red sunset just seconds away from black. Abe breathes heavily as he prepares to leap and climb the gate to the high class neighborhood. His friends were doing their best to catch up to him. Stranger is the first to catch up, quickly meeting and equalling Abe’s determined stride. 

“So whaddya thinking?” He prepares his bow.

“I’m not.” Abe couldn’t have put it more bluntly. His tattoos and eyes exploded with light, gleaming through the sweat.

Alf is the next to catch up. He skips up in front of Abe, grabbing his shoulders lightly. “Abe, yer not lookin’ good.”

“I’m fine!” Abe raises his voice as he pushes his older brother out of the way. Last was Toby, doing his best to catch his breath.

Bent over and fanning himself with his hat, Toby looks up and sees the building they were making a beeline for.

“That place..” His voice trembles. “That’s the Reynold’s mansion.” He takes a deep breath and runs behind Stranger and climbs up on his back. “Abe, I think it’s Duke Reynolds. He’s the guy who made the speech at the Mayor’s. He’s trying to weed us out. This place is probably gonna be swarmed with sligs. He wants us here.”

Alf sighs through his nostrils trying to release some tension in his shoulders. “If we didn’t have eyes on us already, we will after this..” They all hide in the bushes. “We’re gonna have to get a move on outta the city sooner than we planned. We get Joan, we gotta haul ass to Tech Factory’s shipping. We won’t sleep for a while.”

Abe grumbles, lightning burning tiny leaves within the bushes. “Nothing I’m not used to. After Shrykull sweeps through the first wave, you guys keep the second wave away while I go save Joan. Swipe guns if you gotta. I’ll call a bird portal back underground, meet in the backyard.”

Alf gave Abe a concerned look.

“Abe, don’t push your powers. You’re really not looking well.” 

Abe ignored him, transforming into Shrykull with ease. He emerges from the bushes with a mighty roar, 

“FIRE!” Thousands of little red dots danced over the creature’s skin, bullets flying and sligs shouting. To no avail. Shrykull unfurls his body to the sky, a giant strike of lightning hitting the ground and exploding into a million branches of power and electrocuting every slig to death.

With another loud roar that echoed in the night, Shrykull rammed himself through the door, entering the mansion and setting off multiple alarms. 

As the group stormed the main entrance, a voice screeched over the security system.

“So, you’re the revolutionaries?!” Buttercream’s face appeared on a screen that dropped down from the chandelier. 

“Turning yourselves in for a measly little alien? I was hoping to give every home this side of Mudos free samples of human thigh meat. Oh well, I guess meat was Mullock’s thing. Too bad.”

His laughter is full of mockery.

“Hey!” Toby shouted, pointing to the screen. “That’s our measly little alien! You’re dead, creep!”

“Say hello to the cameras, gentlemen. Give up now and I might keep you alive.” He laughs, but only for so long before Alf broke the screen with the rifle. He looks up at the flashing red lights.

“Toby, you need to find a way to destroy the tapes! Our faces get out there, they’ll find our work numbers!”

Toby panics. “What!? No, cops are gonna get here! You and Stranger can’t handle em alone!”

Alf pulls him off Stranger, pushing him towards the stairs. “The sooner you do that, the less we’ll have to fight!” He looks up to Stranger, who shares a knowing glance.

Toby finds comfort in their dependence. He hurries himself up the stairs. Stranger and Alf flip a table and take cover.

—

Duke watches his cameras from a safe distance in a far off attic of the mansion. Sheldon is next to him, entertaining in the chaos.

“Now I’m invited to the wedding, right?” He snivels next to Buttercream’s face with a goofy grin. “Even if I’m not Dahlia’s first, I still would like to be in her good graces, you know?”

Buttercream rolls his eyes. “When it’s over, yes. Can you leave now? You smell like vinegar and sadness.”

Sheldon puffs out his chest with a smile. “Well, I was kinda hoping I could..ya know..get to know you..”

“You gotta be kidding me.” Buttercream swings his chair around. “You’re just as naive as she is. I. Don’t. Care. If you still have your little teenage crush on my wife. Go ahead and take her when I’m done for all I care. You think I love that spoiled princess?” He growls, Sheldon’s glasses slowly sliding down his shocked face. “Who wouldn’t marry the next heir of the Magog Cartel?”

“You..you don’t even..?” Sheldon sounded like he was about to start getting angry, but Buttercreams was far more powerful. When he stands to look down at the greasier glukkon, he makes sure his words drive hard-no extra sweeteners.

“Marrying Dahlia is a necessary business move. I fought for that spot.”

In a blinding white flash, Sheldon gets blown back through the walls. He cries out as he hits the ground, front of his body blown out in soot and cracking joints. His glasses broken, they fall from his face as he weakly lifts his head to see what just happened.

Sheldon loses his breath in shock as he takes one last look at Duke “Buttercream” Reynolds.

Struck by lightning, Buttercream was left lying on the control panel for the monitors, attempting to scream in agony but unable too. His skin melts, fusing into the wrecked technology.

“HA!” Sheldon points at him with a long and gangly finger. “That’s whatcha get! For once, the nice guy doesn’t finish last! Suck it, chad!”

“You….idiot…” Buttercream rasps out his last words.

“Fuckin’ A!” Sheldon quickly wobbles and stands back up on his feet (well, hands rather) and quickly runs down the hall to free himself from the building. He had never been happier to streak in his pathetic life.

Chapter Text

Abe smashes into every door he sees, only following the smell of Joan getting closer and closer. 

He had tunnel vision, and it was hard to organize his thoughts-on autopilot. Parts of the mansion were already on fire and falling apart. The sounds were muted in his ringing ears.

When the scent was at it’s strongest, his tattoos began glowing again, Abe clearly out of breath. He looks down at them. “Not again..” He squeezes his eyes shut, concentrating all his strength into keeping Shrykull down.

With one last rough push of the shoulder, Abe breaks through the last door. He sees a single wooden chair and a passed out Joan taped to it. Her glasses were neatly folded onto the collar of her shirt by the ones who taped her, head flopped over the back of the chair with her hair hanging off her face. Abe could see the wet trails down her cheeks that ended at her closed eyes.

Abe doesn’t hesitate to run to her and rip the tape away from her body-deja vu to the first time he had seen her. The way her muscles released from the tape, the color returns to her limbs with the blood flow returning to normal. It was now that Abe saw her bruises in a sickeningly grey-purple.

“Joan..” His voice wavers as he gently lifts her head and brushes his fingers over her tears. Abe pushes his head to her chest-relieved to hear a heartbeat. “I’m so sorry..”

Abe scoops her up into his arms, not wanting to let her go. The smell was sending him into sensory overload, he grunts as his pulsing brands threaten to summon Shrykull once more.

He holds Joan tighter, shaking his head. “No..no! Not now!” He struggles as tendrils begin sprouting from his back-small strikes of lightning zapping out into the air.

He attempts to ignore this and dissociate, sweat pouring from his forehead as he hurried to the backyard garden.

—

“Thanks again for your help-” Toby shook the hand of the dainty mudokon maid who had directed him to the control panel room. Her pink, curly feathers bounce when she nods her head in respect. The two of them finally found the smoking hole in the wall.

“Guess you don’t need the password, then. Hope ya find your little friend safe, hon. I’m sure she’s okay.” She peers through the hole at her master’s melted corpse still smoking. Toby attempts to cover his mouth. 

“Ugh..it smells.” The maid simply gave a small giggle, returning to the hallway-but not before giving Toby her key ring. Toby tilts his head. “What..you leaving? We can save you, ya know. Come with us, Val.”

The maid wiggles her gloved fingers in a cute goodbye. “I can save myself. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just waiting for this tacky man to croak. Besides, I have his credit card info. I’ll be fine.” She giggles flirtatiously more as she makes her departure, dress floating as she happily skips away to a new life. 

“Huh..” Toby looked on, confused but at least happy he didn’t have to worry about any extra heads to count.

He steps in, opening his laptop carefully and setting it to the floor and plugging it into the nearest port. Once he gained access to the cameras, he turned them all off one-by-one, resulting in a wall of static as the backlight of Duke’s toasty body. Toby cringes as he examines the panel, trying his best to not throw up trying to get out the smoldering, skin goop stuck in the circuit board. Everything seemed to be burnt and incomplete-destroyed. 

He waves the grossness off his hands, glaring down at Duke.

He coughs.

Toby shrieks, quickly picking up the laptop and hugging it tightly to his chest.

The gluk was still alive. Barely.

At first he’s scared, but Toby’s anger slowly comes back to him in a calm wave. He slowly lifts his walkie-talkie from his pocket. “Cameras are down. Get to the yard.”

Toby runs and leaves the man to finish agonizing in his melting flesh.

“Ya hear that!?” Stranger looks over to Alf, shooting over the edge of the table at the sligs who surrounded them. “We good to go, brother!” 

Alf dips behind the table again, bullets ricocheting off the table. “How do we leave?! They just gonna follow us!”

Stranger fishes out a smoke bomb, handing it to Alf. “Can’t shoot if they can’t see.”

The two of them take a deep breath before throwing smoke screens, causing the police sligs to curse.

Alf hitches a ride on Strangers back as the bounty hunter dashes on all fours. The propellers of flying sligs zoom through the smoke in a desperate attempt to find them.

“Shit! They’re gone!”

“Find em’ immediately! Whoever turns em in gets a cash reward!”

“Uh, boys, found Buttercream. He’s super dead. Whadda we tell the chief?”

“...Fuck it! We ain’t gonna have jobs anymore after that! Get those muds!”

The group of sligs let out mechanical war cries as the smoke faded, ready to get their last and biggest paycheck.

“Wuhh..wuh..” One of the flying sligs starts spinning in a sparkling frenzy. “My head..! MY HEAD!”

He explodes into bloody chunks, the rest of his coworkers pointing at the air in confusion and fear.

“Did’ya guys see that shit!? He exploded!!”

“You will be finding nobody..” A calm voice calls out behind them with a soft purple light above him slowly separating into a flock of flappies. The masked mudokon has one of them rest peacefully on his finger. 

“FREEZE!” Multiple sligs had their guns on Big Face. He shrugs, the flappies fluttering away as he slams his staff into the ground. The sligs are blown away, groaning in pain as they slowly go unconscious.

“You’ve made quite the entrance, Witch..” Big Face steps over the sligs and makes his way leisurely down the mansion. “Quite the entrance, indeed.”

—

“Toby!” Alf calls to his little brother from the balcony. The fire whipped the mansion’s rubble, Toby finally turning around and running to Alf’s arms and hugging him desperately. “Ya did it?!”

Toby nods, Alf patting his head. “Knew ya could, bro.”

“Where’s Abe?”

The three of them surveyed the garden below-plastic plants melting and creating the most unpleasant smell. No Abe in sight. Alf calls out. “AAAbe!!! Abe, ya there!? We’re ready for ya, Abe!” 

“ There!” Stranger sees Abe limping with Joan in his arms-much farther away from them than they figured. “Abe!” Stranger calls out loudly. “ABE!!”

Joans eyes flutter open to the smell of noxious fumes and yelling. Her senses return to her, gasping at the scene before her. The giant mansion was on fire, damp skin sticking to her own.

The glow of Abe’s brands lit up her face. In a panic, she pushes on her glasses and looks up at him.

“Abe!”

Abe looks down, eyes growing wide and lighting up. However, Joan’s eyes were pink, welling with tears once again. “What are you doing here!? I told you guys not to come! They used me as bait! Now they’re gonna know and-”

“Shut up.” Abe’s voice shook, his grip on her legs slipping. “ I told you. I told you that you'd get hurt. You got hurt-you got hurt because of me!” He shakes, glowing harder.

“Abe..” Joan wriggles herself out of his arms, standing on her bruised feet and looking up at him.
“I got hurt because of me. I’m sorry I jeopardized your mission.”

“YOU DON'T GET IT!” Abe yells, fists balled up as he lightly groans in agony. More tendrils were twisting themselves disgustingly out of the flesh in his back. 

“You don’t understand how much destruction I bring!!” He couldn’t contain his anger anymore, he gestures to the house fire. “DON’T YOU GET IT!? I DID THIS!”

Joan went silent, slowly backing away to take it all in. Only now she could see… something was unfurling in his back. Abe breaks down, no longer able to form words.

It was chaos, and all her fault. Her voice also quivers with guilt. “Abe..”

“You don’t know how easily I could kill you.”

Joan watches in horror as Abe’s skin grows redder, and bigger. And sharper. Painfully so.

“JOAN!!”

Joan’s ears perked at the faint noise from above.

“ Alf!?”

Alf was waving his arms frantically. “JOAN, RUN!!”

“WHAT!?” Joan was shocked. “Why are you guys-”

“RUN!!” All three of them shouted desperately at her. She looks at Abe-almost unrecognizable and writhing.

“N-No!” Joan refused, immediately going to Abe’s side on the ground to hold him. “Abe..Abe are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“NO!” Stranger jumps over the balcony, but his attempt to play hero was, unfortunately, in vain. The bounty hunter was stopped in his tracks, frozen like a statue as he watched Shrykull stand up, a large lump going down his throat. Dark red, fresh blood painted it’s beak as he turned to face Stranger. The human’s legs, without a top half, flopped onto the ground followed by a terrifying string of intestines-crudely draped between the God’s teeth.

Toby and Alf looked on in horror, gripping the railing of the balcony. Toby immediately begins bawling, wanting to also go after Abe but with Alf holding him back.

“NO! NO!! WE TRIED EVERYTHING!!” Toby weeps, Alf grimacing. He didn’t want to cry, Not while holding his little brother.

“It seems as though I am too late..” A somber voice quips behind the brothers. Big Face appeared in the doorway amongst the hellish flames.

“He couldn’t hold it any more.”

Alf was immediately desperate, running to the masked shaman and grabbing him by the shoulders. “What are we gonna tell Abe!? How is he going to handle this!?”

Big Face sighs, unsure if he wanted to actually state what had happened.

“He won’t. Now with her heart consumed, Shrykull has gained enough power to overtake Abe’s physical form.”

Alf shakes his head in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”

Big Face opens a bird portal himself, encouraging them in. By the time Alf looked back, Stranger had already bailed.

“Abe’s vessel couldn’t contain him anymore.”

“For odd’s sake, Big Face, NO POETRY!”

“He’s dead, Alf!” Toby shouts, lip quivering. “He’s gone. He couldn’t take it anymore..”

A wash of silence falls over the mudokons as a bigger Shrykull screeches and summons a storm of holy lightning-clouds circling and turning black.

Alf’s heart sinks, looking back down at the creature. Now he couldn’t hold it anymore.

“He can’t be..no! NO! WE CAME HERE TO SEE MOM! We can’t go without him..that’s impossible. There’s gotta be a way to save him!”

Big Face already has his arm around Toby, escorting him to the bird portal.

“OI!!!” Alf shouted after them. “We can’t just leave ‘em like this!” He looks down at the other half of Joan’s body. Then back up at Shrykull.

His brain becomes black, eyes sparking with hatred as he pulls up his rifle from earlier. Big Face attempts to stop him.

“You want to fight our god?”

Alf growls, tears flowing down his face. “I’ll fight any god that takes my brother.” His voice was now quiet-as if his words were his last.

“You damn neo-spiritual hippies..why did you choose Abe? Why him? He was only ever nice.” Alf’s growl slowly grows into a scream as he charges the giant, glowing creature. In a hurry, Big Face pushes Toby through the portal-he didn’t deserve to see this.”

Alf’s curses into the night only lasted for a few seconds, before vanishing forever.

Chapter Text

Joan’s ears perked at the faint noise from above.

“ Alf!?”

Alf was waving his arms frantically. “JOAN, RUN!!”

“WHAT!?” Joan was shocked. “Why are you guys-”

“RUN!!” All three of them shouted desperately at her. She looks at Abe-almost unrecognizable and writhing.

Joan swallowed back her tears, her trembling lips whispering a weak "I'm sorry."  Before taking off and running. Shrykull roars, returning from his place lying on the ground and galloping quickly after her.

Alf sighs, doubling over and temporarily reclining on the railing in relief. Toby puts a hand on his back.

"You think she'll be able to outrun him?" He almost wanted to run after them himself. Alf looks out at the blazing backyard, no empty with Shrykull's cries echoing and slowly fading.

"He won't last long. He's already pushed himself too much today.." 

"How much?" A voice inquired, followed by a singing flappy. The brothers turn to find Big Face, not a scratch on him and gently rubbing the head of a bird.

"Big Face, you're just in time!" Alf couldn't be more relieved to see the schmuck. "And way too much. He's already transformed multiple times. He just wouldn't stop-he was sweatin' buckets, man. And now he just.."

Big Face looks past the 3 men as if Shrykull was still in his line of vision. "Mm, I heard the screaming. He won't get far." He taps his staff a few times, pulling out his medicine bag. "Hopefully the human doesn't slow down-after some research, I have found I was indeed, correct."

Their eyes lit up with hope. "You mean, there's a way we can keep Joan alive?" Toby wanted to hear the words for himself, and so did the others.

"Yes, maybe. It's possible. It has never been done before, but I have hope." He whistles at the birds resting on him, creating a bird portal. "You three must go. I will retrieve the Messiah and the Witch-"

Alf stutters, growing irritated. 

"Go!? Big Face, we need to get to the third factory asap! You don't know how much trouble we just got into!"

The shaman gestures his staff with an effortless twirl, pointing to the portal.

"I do. You do not know the details of the event you have just participated in. The smallest things can change the largest situations."

Stranger raises a brow. "What, you predict the future now?"

"Raisin does-very meticulously, very carefully. It is a fragile gift."

Toby scratches his head. "I still don't get it. What gave us more time?"

Big Face slowly begins pushing the men from behind their backs into the portal. 

"There is another party."

Alf grumbles as he gets shoved into the portal. "PARTY?! WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?" Stranger holds him back as Big Face closes the portal.

Now back in home base, Alf, Toby and Stranger look between each other in bewilderment.

Alf crosses his arms and grumbles as he leans against the wall. "Well we saved her..I think?" 

Toby stretches out his arms and yawns. "Ya think they'll make it back in time?"

Stranger removes his hat, honestly ready for the adrenaline to die down. Toby's yawn was infectious-the bounty hunter bearing his teeth in a giant yawn. 

"They're fine. Magic man seems to have it covered from here."

---

Joan was already out of breath, but she still ran barefoot through the pouring rain. However the icy cold weather prickling over her skin was unnoticeable. Her brain was only one place-and it was with Abe, and the deja vu she was having of the first factory fire. She had seen too much, and she wasn’t able to apologize. The only reason Shrykull never killed her had nothing to do with mercy, and everything to do with the fact he resided in Abe’s body. He was more than just “supernatural”-he was actually, in a way, possessed. 

Shrykull wanted her, craved her, and Abe was fighting just to keep him away from her. 

The sound of galloping had faded, causing Joan to slow down to a halt. She looks around the wet, empty street for any sign of the creature.

Looking desperate, she attempts to call out into the darkness. “Abe! Abe, are you there..?” There was no response but the chilling wind. With red tinged nose and cheeks, she quickly wipes her moist face. “Abe, can you hear me..?” Dazed, she slowly turns in a circle surveying her environment.

“Abe..Abe, I’m sorry! If I had never gotten involved, you wouldn’t be dealing with this.” She sighs-on the verge of blubbering, but keeping it in out of respect. “It was stupid to just butt in because I was angry at my own world.” She takes a deep breath, looking down at her bare and bruised feet.

“My problem wasn’t yours. It was just so hard watching the same thing happen again.” She takes off her glasses, wiping them off with her nightshirt. “And you..all of the hours I dedicated studying theories about you, talking about you, thinking about you. An icon of justice, the embodiment of love. Everything humanity could’ve had, but rejected..” She gulps, no longer able to keep it down. 

“I’m sorry!” She hiccups, with no response still. “The last thing I wanted was for you to suffer like this..” She finishes, quickly running and taking shelter underneath a subway underpass, abandoned for years since the invention of monorails and bullet trains.

Shrykull attempts to grab her with his web, but to no avail. With a short shriek, Shrykull follows her into the darkness.

Joan shakes her limbs of the rain droplets. Now assuming she’s finally alone, Joan drops to a dusty bench and sobs quietly. When a bloodcurdling growl reaches her ears, she looks up from her dirty hands, squinting to see Shrykull slowly approaching. The growl had gotten lower, burbling and hot. The creature opens its mouth slowly with a hiss. Joan could only stumble as Shrykull threateningly backs her up against the wall. 

Joan looks up with wet eyes and a sorrowful pout. She was already small in comparison to him, but to Shrykull she was the size of a toy dog. Once again faced with the hot musty breath of a Scrab’s beak in her face.

This creature, Abe was inside there.

Joan closes her eyes. All of her dreams had been telling her of her fate, haven’t they?

“Abe..if Shrykull eating me is what it takes for your suffering to end..” She looks up, gently putting her hands on his lower jaw and welcoming the horror. “Then it’s okay. I’ve caused you enough trouble..”

“You..you big idiot!” Abe’s voice quivered, echoing from the chambers of Shrykull’s mouth. All too different from the voice she was used to hearing emanating from Shrykull. Joan gasps, shocked that she heard his voice. Looking down the fleshy cave of a throat, a small orange orb pops up behind in the opening. An eye.

Abe’s eye-tearing up.

“That isn’t what I want! None of that is what I want.” 

Shrykull slowly shrinks, fading back into a dark and comforting midnight blue. With his tattoos fading, Abe collapses into Joan’s arms as he desperately takes in air. In awe, Joan holds him close. Abe can already feel himself melting in her warm bosom, heartbeat thumping in his ears. When the oxygen returns to his shaky lungs, he sinks down more, head resting in her lap.

“I just wanted you to stay untouched..” He lifts a shaky hand to her knee. “This is my happy place-and you’re just so reckless. If anything happened to you, I-” He nuzzles into her lap, wanting to smell her warm and comforting scent. After all, he had no energy to actually gain any excitement from it. 

“I want to keep you for myself. With you, I actually get what I want. “ Abe felt his chest pang with guilt at how selfish he sounded to himself. “It’s like for once I’m truly free. I’m..myself. And only that and nothing else.”

Joan sniffs as well, not minding how snotty it sounded. She pets Abe’s head gently.

“It feels like what life should feel like. It feels like a full night’s sleep. I don’t want anything to take you away from me..it’s not fair.”

Joan leans down to gently place a kiss on his forehead-soft, warm on his cold skin. He slowly shuts his eyes. 

“I don’t know what would happen if I hurt you myself. And you thought I was a hero.”

Joan brushes his feathers. “But Abe..that’s Shrykull, not you.” Abe looks up at her. “If you never killed me in the first place, why would you think you'd do it any other time.” Abe groans with slight annoyance.

“Because now you know. I almost did kill you.”

“No Abe, you saved me. Multiple times.” She gives him a weak smile. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be alive right now. You may not have all the power one would hope for, but you still started something beautiful. You still saved the mudokons-and you’re gonna save more. Not because you have powers, but because you understand how important love is.” She lifts his chin slightly.

“That’s what makes you heroic. You did all that yourself without divinations, because you knew in your heart it was right.” She huffs, wiping her face.

“Besides, I should be apologizing. I put you in danger.”

Abe actually chuckles despite his tender state. “I’m always in danger. But..I forgot I was with you. I wish it could stay like that.”

Joan slowly lifts up Abe’s face, nuzzling her forehead to his.

“Abe, I know it’s scary to fight. But, I want you to know you and everything you love are worth fighting for. I..I love you. I couldn’t be happier no matter how much danger it puts me in. It was always my own decision to do this. As long as I serve you, I know my planet won’t die in vain. I have purpose, and I’m happy. I want to do anything for you.” 

“Well, its kind of a stupid decision.”

“Well, I am an inferior and under-evolved species, aren’t I? I’m full of stupid decisions.” The two giggle softly to each other. “Moments like these are worth it, don’t you think?”

Abe slowly lifts himself up to hug her, pulling her into his chest as much as he could.

“I love you..” She whispers again, the warmth of their togetherness erasing the bumps on their skin.

Chapter Text

As Joan and Abe caress each other, the slight pitter patter of distant footsteps found themselves in Abe’s ears. On alert but still tired, he whips his head around.

“What's wrong?” Joan panics. “W-WAIT!? Is someone here!?” Joan, in a fit of paranoia, lifts her night shirt and pulls it over Abe in an attempt to cover his face. Joan tries to look for what Abe had heard.

“Who’s there!?” Joan shivered.

Big Face slowly walks into the dim and flickering lights. “Fear not, human.”

Abe pops up his face through the collar of Joan’s shirt, their cheeks uncomfortably crowded and pressed together.

“Big Face! You’re here!”

“Big Face..?” Joan raises a brow. Big Face awkwardly grips his staff.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Abe and Joan look at each other. After the realization hits, they both blush violently and Abe quickly rips himself out from the nightshirt.

“N-NO! UHM..” Abe wobbles to his feet-his body threatens to go limp again, but Joan gets up in time to hold him up. “Welcome back..” Abe mutters out awkwardly.

Joan examines the large mask on the mudokon. “Is this the guy that gave you your powers?”

“I am.” Big Face answers for him and takes a casual bow. “It’s nice to finally see you-and alive as well, Witch.”

“Witch..?” Joan’s face twisted in confusion.

Abe nervously scratches his bum, looking away from Joan. “Uhm, yeah..there’s some other things you don’t know..heh..”

“Come-” Big Face gestures in a come ‘hither’ motion. “Walk with me a while.”

—

“Good evening, Nolybab! Dj Biff Burger here-interrupting this jam session with some breaking news from Magog on the March!

“Thank you Biff-this is the Magog on The March: News to amuse! We’re comin’ at ya LIVE from the fire at the Reynold’s mansion, witnessing an aftermath of what people are suspecting to be a college house party gone wrong! We found a squad of security sligs returning to a distress call from the house, now dead from suffocation. Soon-to-be first husband of bombshell knockout Dahllface, Duke “Buttercream” Reynold’s has been pronounced super duper dead. As my coworkers can see, the million moolah mansion has been completely demolished. The only witness is under suspicion-tech giant of Opple, Sheldon-was seen by multiple citizens running into the streets without any pants. He is currently being held for indecent exposure. The internet has him trending once again and documents his slow fall from grace after social and romantic rejection. More on the story as it develops.”

“Wow!! Dj Biff Burger here, back from that news flash. Man, anyone else see the video? Eugh, gross! Comments are already saying Sheldon killed Buttercream in a frenzied act of jealousy! What do you think, listeners? I personally don’t care, I’m focusing more on that gluk’s tiny butt. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. Seriously, you don’t even need to blur it. It’s actually kinda impressive-”

“So that’s the other party..” Toby smirks as he listens to the radio, reclining in Stranger's sleeping, fluffy figure. “They think it’s that naked guy. Who would've thunk it? Isn’t he the guy who’s factory is next?”

Alf, unable to sleep, pours himself a cup of tea with droopy eyelids. “Yeah. With him arrested, we’ll have an easier time getting in. Talk about luck.” He takes a sip. “What I don’t get is why he was there.” Toby shrugs, snuggled down with a good book he’d been wanting to read.

“Hello…?” A small voice squeaks out from behind the doorway. TimTam’s face peered shyly, with teary eyes.

“Is Abe and human lady okay?” His voice hiccups. “They aren’t here yet!” Alf walks over to him and gets down on his knee. 

“How did you..?”

“I heard about what happened. I’m scared. You saved her right?” His eyes gleam, pulling at Alf’s heart strings.

“Don’t worry kiddo, they’re just kinda late.” Toby quips, laying the book in his lap.

“They’ll be here soon, Tim. Everythings gonna be okay!” The young mudling wipes his little tears, running into Toby’s lap and hugging him close to the waist. He looks at the book.

“No pictures?”

“Want me to read it to ya?” Toby grabs a corner of his blanket and drapes it across the boy, tucking him in snugly. 

He wastes no time gently whispering the words on the page, Tim Tam listening closely and making himself comfortable. Alf looks on with a peaceful deep breath.

“We did it.” He thought proudly to himself. 

“TimTam..” Dale quietly tutted as he approached the room, stroking his beard. “I thought I told ya to stay in bed-it’s midnight!”

The mudling whines, nuzzling himself deeper into Toby’s lap. “But Abe isn’t back yet.”

Toby gives the old janitor a soft smile. “It’s cool, Dale. He’ll be asleep in no time. Dale rests his hands on his hips.

“Sorry, Toby. Probably heard me and the other guys talking about what happened. I musta gotten him all riled up. He only ever talks about Abe and Joan now.”

TimTam’s soft voice pipes up. “Abe and the doll lady are gonna get married! Just like in the story books.” He looks up at the adults with glee. “She has the hugest crush on him. Stoopy says they danced.”

Alf rolls his eyes. “Ugh, of course Abe chooses to dance of all things.” He leans back and crosses his arms. “Did they at least grind?”

Toby throws a piece of hard candy at Alf’s head.

“Dude, keep it PG! There’s a kid here!”

TimTam looks up. “What does that mean?” Toby growls at Alf before quickly switching his tune.

“You know, like uh…pepper! You can’t eat food without seasoning it first.”

“OHHH..” TimTam nods as if he understood exactly what the context was. “If you really love someone, you don’t make em’ eat nasty food. What’s that got to do with dancing, though?”

“Don’t listen to Alf, little guy. If there's anyone who doesn’t get how love works, it’s that guy right there.” Alf takes another long, petty sip.

—

“You see, a witch’s heart is very hard to come by. It is a powerful asset, spiritually. With it, Shrykull is able to manifest even greater power. I’m led to believe this great desire for a sacrifice is what caused your physical switch, and why you’ve been unable to control yourself.”

Joan pushes up her glasses. “Switch? What’s that?”

Abe panics, covering her ears. “OH YA KNOW, NOTHING SPECIAL. DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT.”

“However..” Big Face holds his hands behind his back as he leads the two down the abandoned subway. “We might be able to use this to our advantage.”

Abe was now listening closer than ever, slowly taking his hands away from her head. “How, and I cannot stress this enough, could that ever be an advantage?”

Big Face turns, his stride peppy and hopeful. “Not every sacrifice necessarily means death. It just needs to be an offering accepted by him. There is a way to give Shrykull the witch’s heart he needs to open the Great Door and find Queen Sam.” He puts Joan’s hand in Abe’s, the two of them unable to look at eachother.

“We must ceremonially offer her heart. If we give Shrykull a bride, it might be a big enough token to accept. In order for Abe to be blessed with this power, we must tie the hearts together in union.”

Abe and Joan are unable to respond, Big Face tilting his head. “Well?”

No response other than two red faced people trying to cover up their fluster.

“However, the surge of power is a large one. We must hold the wedding on site, meaning I must join your party and carry it out myself. But first, I do want to make sure my inkling about Joan being a witch is correct-” He gently reaches to the side of Joan’s face, fingers brushing her hair.
“-May I?”

Joan nods, the Shaman quickly grabbing a small ceremonial dagger from his medicine bag. He gently holds a chunk of the girl’s hair, quickly swiping the blade through. He holds the small chunk of human hair as his other hand summons a powerful, quick strike of lightning and zaps it.

The smoke from the burning hair rises in a soft magenta color.

“Perfect.” The clump slowly dissolves, the pinkish smoke rising and fading. “In that case, I must prepare my tools. Unfortunately, this is where the ceremony begins. Human..” He starts.

“You must prove yourself a worthy sacrifice, and your devotion to Shrykull. Once you marry him, there is no turning back.” His tone gets more serious. “You will have sealed your fate after death-your soul belongs to him forever. Your spirit will be marked. Are you willing to make this sacrifice?”

Joan’s expression is determined despite Abe’s worried glance.

“Absolutely. I’ll do anything.”

Big Face nods, his voice then quickly changing to a cheerful tone. “Wonderful! Now git yer butts in gear and find a way back underground.” He opens a bird portal, Abe’s jaw dropping.

“W-wait! You just made a portal-why can’t we just go with you!?”

The shaman gives a comedic shrug. “Sorry kids, only room for one in this one. The human must prove herself in this trial of strength.”

Joan gives a determined smile and a thumbs up. “I’ll do my best!”

Abe groans, hanging his arms. “This is officially the STUPIDEST trial I have ever been a part of.”

“You must prove you can trust each other and work together as equals. No better test than the threat of death.” He waves. “We will await your victorious return!”

Chapter Text

Joan marches down the subway with a tired Abe in tow, still holding his hand. “Don’t worry Abe-we’ll make it!” 

Abe is at a loss. “B-but how!? It’s probably early morning right now, people are gonna see us somehow, and I don’t have the energy to portal us back! We have no choice but to go to the surface..”

Joan chuckles proudly, glasses gleaming with a mischievous light, “Leave it to me, Abe. I live on the surface. And I have just the alibi to hide in plain sight!” The couple reaches the stairs that lead back up, Abe still unsure of the idea. 

“I dunno, Joan..I don’t think I can hide in the light like this. Isn’t there just a toilet we can slide down?”

Joan continues up the stairs. “Trust me, I know this city well enough by now. Stay here, I’ll be back in a few. Uh..” She scratches the back of her head. “Got any moolah on you?”

Abe still had zero idea what the human was thinking. “Seriously? You’re gonna go shopping? Aren't people gonna ask questions with you all beat up in your pajamas?” She chuckles.

“Oh, Abe. If only you knew how little people cared.” Abe gives her a small pouch of coins. “This is gonna be a piece of cake!”

Abe mumbles. “I sure hope so. One kidnapping is enough for one night.” The Messiah sits cross-legged under the stairs to meditate and patiently wait for Joan in the shadows. “You've said that kinda shit before..”

Joan quickly scutters upstairs, bare feet quiet against the ground. Shortly, she returns with multiple plastic bags and a University of Nolybab hoodie. She thrusts the bags into his lap, waking him up from his meditation.

“Put this on!” Joan smiles as Abe pulls out the sweatshirt, sweatpants,and sanitary mask. “You might wanna keep your hands in your pockets. Keep your hood up too. That’s a crucial detail.”

Abe honestly couldn’t comprehend how incredibly dumb he thought this was. 

“Nobody is gonna fall for this, whatever it is.”

Joan fished the clothes away from him just to quickly pull it over his head herself. “Trust me, Abe. I heard the news while I was up there. This is gonna be your most stress-free trial ever. You can even take a nap on the bus.”

“WE’RE TAKING A BUS?”

“Yeah.”

“A PUBLIC BUS?”

Joan smiled meekly. “I know how it sounds, but I promise it’ll work.” She removes her glasses, fishing out a few bottles of beer and splashing it onto their clothes. “Just pretend to be hungover. You feel sick, your head hurts-ya know the deal.” She quickly pulls him to his feet.

“Gimme your best hangover face.”

Abe puts on the sanitary mask before slumping his shoulders forward with a groan.

“Mmm..” Joan examines him. “Slightly more hungover. Like the kind that makes you never wanna drink again.”

Abe slouches even more with a more sickening, dramatic moan and heavy eyes. Joan gives him a thumbs up. “Perfect! It’s all smooth sailing from here.” She gets on her tiptoes to pull the hood up over his head. “I promise, I’m not gonna put you at risk again.”

She takes his hand, leading him upstairs and up to the surface. Abe attempts to cover his eyes.

—

Marill rings the doorbell, trying to listen for her friends voice. “Dahlia..I’m here..”

The glukkon princess dramatically tears open the door with a dramatic sob-still in her sheer, fluffy pink night robe. Her mascara ran down her face, all six arms shooting out to desperately hug the grubb, reclined on the ground as she weeps in Marill’s arms. 

“I can’t believe it! My first love-dead! Gone! Before he could even buy me the ring!” Marill pats her back gently, comforting her. “We were going to have the smartest, most successful, most attractive generation of eggs! Why, Odd, why!?” She shouts to the sky. “Who could’ve done this!?”

“News is saying it was Sheldon. Guess Buttercream was right about him being jealous.” Marill slowly brings the princess to her feet. Dahlia wipes the black watery stains from her cheekbones.

“I don’t understand-Sheldon would never hurt him after being invited to the wedding!”

Marill’s eyes went wide with shock. “You…invited him!?”

Dahlia grabs a silk hankie and blows her nose loudly. “N-no..Duke did. They even had breakfast together in his air yacht just the other morning. They had multiple sligs with them-they wouldn’t let Sheldon kill him! Something isn’t right..” Her wavering voice calms, her sobbing fit quickly fading into suspicion. “Where is Sheldon? I heard he survived.”

“He’s in holding.” Marill shrugged. “But what makes you so sure? They saw him running from the mansion-they even got it on video. It was definitely him.” She holds one of Dahlia’s dainty hands.

Dahlia’s chest rumbled. 

“He was melted. Sheldon wouldn’t be able to do that-hell, he could barely even fight. And the mansion was burnt..”

Marill connected the dots. “Just like the factories..” Dahlia began to shake with anger. 

“That was no party! Revolutionaries killed him..” She points to Marill’s pocket. “Marill..I want you to call Joan.”

Marill immediately dials up her human friend, the two waiting in silence as the other line rings.

“You've reached Joan Feirouz. I’m not here right now-leave a message!”

“Voice mail..” Marill trailed off. “She might be in class right now.”

Dahlia glares, throwing off her robe as she marches up her stairs. Marill attempts to follow her.

“D-Dahlia! What are you doing?!”

“Getting dressed-we have a jail cell to visit.” She snaps her fingers, a slig hustling to her side and bowing.

“Yes, my queen?” Dahlia directs him to the garage.

 “Inform Reginald to start the car.”

Marill sighs as she watches the slig rush, Dahlia’s silk gown floating over the stairs as she hurried. She looks down at her phone, still on Joan’s voicemail box.

“Joan, I really hope you’re in class right now..” Marill feels her stomach in her throat.

—

Joan shows her bus pass to the monorail driver, pulling Abe into the nearest seat with a limp. Abe wished his fatigue came back, because it was hard to fake it when he was this nervous and sweaty. Glukkons were everywhere.

The two of them dip into a seat, Abe gently leaning on her shoulder. She overheard a few gluks behind them smoking up a cloud, groaning in their direction.

“Ugh, damn it. Here comes another coupla’ drunk kids stinkin up the boxcar. Can ya believe it? Brats.”

“Hey, isn’t that the human exchange student from the paper? I’m not surprised-always hangin’ out with bums.”

“I hear she’s crazy. Hope she’s not expecting us to listen to another self-righteous rant. I ain’t even had my coffee yet..”

Abe wasn’t appreciating the gossip. He whispers. “Joan..why are they saying such awful things about you?”

Joan tries to hide a chuckle. “Yeah uh..I don’t exactly have a good reputation. Never did.”

This worries Abe as he looks back at the leering group of glukkons, eyes filled with judgment and hostility.

“Lookit that. Didjya see that? She’s got a mud with her. Who the hell lets a damn dirty mud on the monorail?”

Abe feels his face run hot, whispering more desperately. “Joan, they’re suspicious..we need to get off.”

Joan smiles, gently pulling Abe’s head into her lap. “Just catch some Z’s.” The glukkons continue to watch and sneer.

“They should make a rule to ban people like this from public transportation! Kids already got their own bus line-how can we go to work in conditions like this? Honestly! The audacity-”

“HEY!” Joan raises her voice when she turns around, making sure to put on her best drunk voice, taking off her glasses to show the bags under her eyes. She bared her human fangs aggressively. “Can’t ya see we’re hungover, asshole?! Shut the hell up!” She covers Abe’s ears.

The bus goes silent from the yelling, everybody now too uncomfortable to speak up. Joan glares at them harder than they ever could. They slowly back up into their seats, not wanting to anger the war-obsessed alien any further. 

Joan slowly turns back around with a comfortable smile as she looks out the window, Abe in her lap.

Chapter Text

“Dahlia! Oh, thank goodness! You’ve come to save me! Thank you, thank you!” Sheldon squeezes his pimpled face through the bars, tears in his eyes. “Please, you know it was an accident, right?”

Both Dahlia and Marill cringe, Dahlia clinging to her coat intensely. “Well, running around without pants isn’t an accident, per say, darling. But I do have a few questions-that is, if you don’t mind.” A detective slig whips out a notepad, ready to record everything. Sheldon whines, shackles at his ankles (wrists). 

“But it was! You think I wanted to run around like that!? If I didn’t run when I did, I’d probably be dead!” He whimpers.

Dahlia slowly approaches the bars with an intense expression. “Sheldon, Buttercream is dead. We need to know what happened.”

Sheldon gulps nervously. Duke specifically ordered him to not say a word to Dahlia about what they were doing. He also didn’t know how to properly explain Duke’s death-it all happened too fast. Furthermore, if he told the truth, Dahlia would see how much of a coward he is for celebrating and running away.

He sweats.

Dahlia sighs, eyes turning sad. “Sheldon, please..” They sparkle, Dahlia fishing for a handkerchief from her pocket. “I love Duke. This wedding was my dream come true-please! Help us get justice for my precious, sweet Duke. I can’t tell you how desperate I am.”

Marill edges closer, peeping behind Dahlia. “Ya know, Sheldon, if you tell us who did this, you realize you’ll get out of holding earlier, right?”

Sheldon gasped, glasses falling down his face. “Wait, really!? Oh please, please! The food is terrible here-and there’s no video games! Please!”

Dahlia closed her face to his, almost threateningly. “Tell us everything.”

Sheldon sighs, looking down at the floor. “Okay, well..don’t be mad, but, Duke and I had an agreement. I had to do a favor so I could be invited, so we followed that human girl.”

Marill’s stomach flopped. “J-Joan..?”

“Yeah, her. Said she was suspicious, we just wanted to talk. She came with us, to the mansion, to talk.” His words fall short as he looks for a lie. “Joan wasn’t happy. But when I found him in the control panel, it was already too late! She mutilated him! I had no idea what to do-I was so scared having that animal run loose in the mansion doing who knows what.”

Dahlia tightly grips her handkerchief, searing with anger. She knew it. She wanted to lie on the floor and sob again. She had never felt so betrayed. Her voice was quiet.

“Sheldon, are you sure it was Joan..?” She didn’t want to believe it. Marill gripped her skirt in suspense, face losing color.

Sheldon nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, totally! Now please git me outta here! My factory is gonna be next if we don’t hurry!”

Dahlia inhales, shoving a few hundred moolah in the slig’s face. “This should be enough for the fine. Sheldon, we need you.”

Marill whips out her phone to attempt to call Joan again. All she could hear was the same voicemail message from before. “She still isn’t answering..”

“Of course she isn’t.” Dahlia growls.

—

“You’re back!!” TimTam exclaims when Abe and Joan finally return hand in hand. He immediately jumped out of the Shrinks arms and ran to them, hugging Abe’s legs and laughing happily. Alf, Toby and Stranger feel the huge wave of relief seeing them back in one piece. And in the morning, no less.

Alf cracks a smirk. “You’re late. Have a busy night last night?”

Abe takes a bit for the words to process. Once they do, he shivers and yanks his hand away from Joan’s. “S-shut up! Don’t make it weird, Alf.” Abe pouts, frustrated with wandering, escapist eyes.

“Glad to see ya back, sir.” Stranger, as rare as it was, also smiled. “Big Face is in his usual spot. He’s waiting for the two of ya’ll.”

Toby reclines with another one of his books. “How’d you guys make it? We were worried..” TimTam nods, hugging tighter as Abe whips off his beer soaked disguise. 

“I dunno!” Abe’s face lit back up, almost with excitement. He was actually amazed himself-at the pure absurdity of the situation. He puts his hands up dramatically as he tells his story.

“We took…” Everyone leans in.

“We took the bus.” Abe’s smile was bright, waiting for everyone’s reactions. Nothing but silence.

“What a…adventure..?” Stranger tries his best. Alf laughs as Toby puts the book down.

“You’re the worst at tellin’ stories, Abe.” Toby remarked innocently. Abe’s hype is quickly fizzled out. 

“I took a nap! On a bus FULL of glukkons! Don’t ya guys realize that we’d be KILLED for that?”

Toby giggles, trying to cover it up as to not insult his older brother.

“You’re “trial” was sleeping on a train?”

Abe growls lightly, crossing his arms. “Well if it’s so easy, why don’t you go and do the same thing?”

Toby shrugs. “Fair.”

Joan was all smiles. “To be fair Abe, you thought it was kinda stupid too, didn’t you..?” Her eyelids halve as she smiles cheekily. Abe looks away, acting like he didn’t hear that. His tattoos temporarily spark off.

“Abe..” TimTam looks up sweetly. “Are you gonna marry human girl?”

Abe shrieks on a deep inhale, face growing darker and darker. “UHM..it-it’s not like that!” He looks up with an annoyed expression. “Who is telling this kid stuff!?” TimTam laughs, the rest of the boys whistling and pretending to occupy themselves from something else. Abe growls again, looking up to the ceiling.

“Stoopy! What are they talking about?!”

A soft, muffled thumping knocks against the ceiling followed the muted sound of a mud caught in the act and now running to his next secret spot in the walls.

“Abe..” Joan gently grabs his arm. “Big Face?”

“Right..”

—

Abe and Joan sit next to each other in a dark room, lit only by the fire before them. They watch as Big Face meticulously crafts his materials.

“I’m pleased to see you have agreed to this so fervently, Witch.” He turns around. “We have never given Shrykull a bride before.” He takes a small pot of liquid and puts it over the fire. “Tell me, what drives you to agree to such a thing?”

Abe frowns, looking for Joan’s answer. It’s true-he never realized until now that it was Shrykull she was to bind herself to, not him. And the fact this was for power.

Joan sucks in her lips, a little bit shy to say her thoughts out loud.

“I just..want to help Abe..” She stares into the fire and bubbling pot. Big Face, looking at the two of them together and hearing the love in her voice, puts the puzzle pieces together.

“I see. You do love Abe, don’t you?”

Abe got more nervous. There was that “L” word again. “Joan..” Abe started. “Y-you realize we’ll be leaving the city soon, r-right..?”

His words hung on the still air. Joan smiled at Abe.

“Yeah, I know. I understand.” Her smile hid the breakdown happening inside. 

“How noble of you, human.” Big Face commended her.

He turns to Abe. “Messiah, this ceremony must be done in a particular way. You must be willing to do as I tell you. Hesitation could cause the process to fail.”

Abe cringes. “That makes it sound like I gotta do something not good..” Joan pats his shoulder.

“Joan.. will be okay, right?”

Big Face nods. “She will be alive, yes.” With a hand on his chest, Abe sighs away the tension.

“Then I’ll do anything.” 

Big Face stands up, his supplies prepared and satisfied with the progress at hand. “Wonderful. However, I ask that you use caution. As I must come with, I will need protection as I carry out the rite. He pours the boiling liquid into a small glass vial, leaving the room.

“We must make haste. While the factory is unmonitored.” He bows, pushing the curtain aside. 

“Messiah, the truth is about to be uncovered. Your fate is sealed. And thank you, Witch, for your sacrifice.”

Abe and Joan sit looking at each other, alone in the room and unsure of what to say. Both of them attempt to start a few times, but only resulting in accidentally interrupting each other.

Finally, it is Abe who has the first word.

“Joan..I’m sorry..”

Chapter Text

Joan gently cups a hand to his cheek. “Sorry for what? I thought we were on the same page, here.” She chuckles. Abe held her tiny hand, taking his time to find his words. It was difficult feeling such soft skin caressing him and blurring his focus.

“I..” His voice wavers. “I just, still wish things could be different.” He voices his disappointment. “You know now what kinda situation I’m in. That we’re in. I just wish I had time. More time for you, for me.” He no longer had the energy to cry. “I don’t know what's gonna happen when this is over..we might never see each other again..” He shakes his head. “And I know damn well I can’t take you with me. There’s just so much I have to do. I can’t..I can’t love you the way I want to. I’m sorry..” Abe hangs his head.

Joan now decides to hold his face with both of her hands. 

“Don’t worry about it, Abe. Even before I met you, my goal was to warn others of what can happen, what happened to us. With you, I’ve done more than what I wanted already. This is what I love, what I live for..”

She gently pulls herself to him, kissing his cheek with the softness of petals and her eyelashes fluttering his skin like the wings of a butterfly. 

“Whenever you need someone on the frontlines of your revolution, I’ll be here for you. I’ll always be fighting.”

Abe couldn’t express the feeling in his heart, so his tattoos expressed it for him. He pulls her in for another close, gentle embrace, gently petting the back of her hair.

“Thank you..” Was all he could say.

“AW COME ON, JUST KISS BACK ALREADY!”

A few intrusive mudokon voices call out from the open curtain.

“It’s this idiot’s last chance and he wastes it on a ‘thank you’”

“Who the hell seriously meets a girl and doesn’t make a move?”

Toby’s voice peeped up. “Guys, seriously, don’t judge him! Let him have this.”

Abe rolls his eyes, not looking back as he yanks the curtain and closes the doorway’s gap for the sake of privacy. 

“Sorry..” Abe mumbled. “It's uh..complicated.” Joan couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Complicated like whatever ‘switching’ is, right?”

Abe gasps, covering her mouth. “Y-YES! Very complicated-in fact, we don’t need to mention it. You know it’s such a small detail, why bother considering it?”

He scratches the back of his head. “The only details that mattered to me, are the ones you let me be myself.”

Joan is about to cry. “Oh, Abe..”

The faint sound of a random mudokon blubbering from behind the curtain interrupted the moment.

“Aw, god! That’s so heartbreaking!” He blows his nose.

A tinier voice squeaks out. “Just like the fairy tales-see, I told ya!”

A mechanical voice boots up. “Theoretically, I could not fathom two more incompatible creatures. There is only a 0.000019 chance of successful conception.”

A low voice with a slight drawl attempts to silence the Shrink. “I uh..don’t think that’s helpin’.”

A snarky lisp scoffs at the idea. “As if that blue idiot could ever actually work up the courage to even do anything!”

Toby slaps his oldest brother over the head. “Git yer head outta the gutter! This is a nice moment.”

Abe couldn’t take it anymore, turning to the curtain. “Are you guys DONE!?”

Stranger quickly attempts to grab his buddies and make a run for it, the rest of the mudokons outside groaning in disappointment.

–

Dahlia was seething, tapping her heeled foot with Marill and the now fully clothed Sheldon sitting in her company. “I should have known. Why did I even trust that little hairy delinquent!” She growls as she pulls out a bottle of wine, quickly pouring herself a glass just to gulp it down in seconds and pour herself another.

“She’s the one who SET me up with Duke-does she think this is funny? Does she think I’m stupid? Did she want to tease me with happiness just to tear it away herself? TO TORTURE ME!?” The glass gains a slight crack. “What kind of point is she trying to prove?! I knew she always hated me secretly, but this is something on a whole different level of cruelty!” She looks down into the deep red glass. “Why is it when us Glukkons try to raise people up, we just end up making enemies? It’s not our fault their planets’ wrecked-and we try to support them!” She calms down, now with her words out. She takes a slower, more elegant sip of her wine. Marill awkwardly kicks her feet. Somber, overcome with grief.

“I should’ve never expected Joan to change her mind. She was already in too deep from the beginning. For the time I’ve known her she never seemed violent..hell she always believed in the decency of ‘peaceful protest’. All the other times I’ve been with her, she seemed so..positive. She liked things, she’s passionate. But I guess passion can go both ways..”

“In no way is that animal ‘peaceful’!”

“I’m so sorry, Dahlia..” The grubb’s tears begin to bubble up, leaving tiny dark spots in the carpeted floor of the limo. “This is all my fault..”

Dahlia frowns, anger fading for a few seconds and putting a hand on her small friend’s shoulder.

“Oh, Marill. She’s betrayed both of us.” Her anger comes rushing back in, way quicker than how it went away. “She will pay. We’ll get justice- together!” Marill wipes her cheeks, admiring the glukkon queen. Yet the hole she felt in her heart still made her miss the old days. She missed the good times.

Now, as of lately, it’s only been anxiety and disappointment.

“So uh..” Sheldon awkwardly stammers. “Do ya ladies still wanna tour the factory? I-I have VR games I saved for you to er, test out..” He snivels.

“After we catch Joan, yes. I’d love to.”

–

The group, everyone together at last, stand before the temporarily closed factory. They knew they were coming.

“Shipping is in the back. So, turns out with all of us we might need two trucks rather than one. I’ll be driving one-who’s gonna be our other driver?” All six look amongst themselves. Finally, Joan speaks up.

“Well, I don’t exactly have a license, but I have driven before..” That wasn’t exactly encouraging.

“Alright so who’s signing up for suicide and riding with Joan?” Alf quacks, Toby giving him a casual face-palm.
Abe smiles. “Me and Big Face can ride with Joan, we’ll follow you guys.” Alf raises a brow bone.

“You sound excited, Abe.” He teases.

“Up yours.” Abe puffs out his cheeks.

“Stay on your toes, boys..” Stranger cocks his crossbow. “Somethin’ tells me we’re gonna have company.”