Back in the city, Ronny had been carried to a small medical room. The doctor worked tirelessly through the night doing everything she could to save the man. She had seen some terrible injuries in her time, but never the likes of a bloody nose. Even the great Tommy Tony had never sustained such an injury.

Rude Cancutter came to visit the man multiple times during his recovery. Ronny’s full body cast and feeding tube, however, kept him from offering up any conversation. Several people came to sign the cast during his recovery, but most simply said things like “Eat shit and die” or “I’d rather have chronic diarrhea then see you get better.”

One week later, sitting quietly outside the hospital doors, Rude Cancutter felt Ronny’s hand clasp his shoulder.

Not only was Rude hoping to see the man healed, but he desperately needed to know what news Ronny had meant to share so many days ago. Rude couldn’t help but notice Ronny’s slight limp as he went to sit down.

“The nurse says the limp may be permanent. I tell you what though, man, I’m gonna beat this thing! I’m a fighter, damnit!” There was fire in Ronny’s voice.

“Ronny, man, I’m here if you need me. You know that. But I have to know, what were you gonna tell me before your accident that day? If it’s something that can help save us, I need to know now.” Rude couldn’t even make eye contact with Ronny after seeing him so broken.

“Boss, it’s Tommy Tony and a small party,” Ronny said, trying to look anywhere but at Rude’s face. “They were heading towards our city. I knew you’d wanna know right away.”

“That’s great news! Oh my God. That’s some great damn news! Tommy Tony has always come through for me! When was he supposed to arrive?!” Rude jumped in gleeful excitement.

“When? But I only knew he was coming because I saw him walking up the trail,” Ronny said, confused. “I mean he’s had to have been here for almost a week now.”

“What?!" Rude shouted. "Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me?!” 

“Tell you!? I’ve literally said hello to you every morning for the past week!" Tommy Tony stood, bewildered, not three feet from Rude Cancutter. "I’ve even been standing here next to you during this entire conversation!” 

“Tommy! Man, you’re a sight for sore eyes! When did you get here?” Rude Cancutter embraced Tommy Tony and patted his back.

Tommy, at a loss for words, patted his friend in return. He glanced at Mwah and Ben Jeremy, who offered him shrugs in return.

“So, you want my help getting this weapon all the way into the heart of the llama capitol?” Rude was talking with Tommy Tony over cups of warm water and sugar packets from before the great war. They sat on chairs made of unopened fruit cocktail.

“Just trust me. I know this is it, this is the one." Tommy Tony motioned towards the scientist and his briefcase. "This mission right here is the big one we’ve been waiting for. We’re finally going to get those llama bastards.” 

“How can you be so sure?” Rude asked with uncertainty.

“I dunno,” Tommy Tony answered lazily.

Rude shrugged his acceptance. “Okay, I can’t really argue with that.” 

“I hope it works, because dealing with this white coat has kind of blown so far,” Tommy Tony said loudly. Ben Jeremy cried a little inside when he heard the words.

“About that. Is he, like, doing alright and everything? He looks like he got into a fistfight with a lit torch.” Rude looked the battered scientist up and down.

“We had a small incident,” Tommy Tony answered. “Mwah shot him a few times.”

“It was a very, very small amount,” added Mwah. He tried to imitate a human holding its fingers closely together as a sign of ‘just a little.’ It was still just a hoof, though, and the gesture was lost on everyone.

“I’m not doing it. I’m not playing into this. I’m just gonna ignore you and your stupid, improbable laser gun,” Ben Jeremy muttered. He found it hard to speak loudly.

“Playing? I don’t find it a game when a man suddenly brandishes a weapon in front of my friends,” Mwah retorted.

“Suddenly?! I’ve had this thing attached to my wrist since the very first moment you met me!” Ben Jeremy immediately forgot about not letting the llama get under his skin.

The Rescued Woman could not have cared less what happened to her rescuer and his companions at this point. She was here, with other humans, who couldn’t possibly be as insane as they were. On the way to the city, there was a ninety-minute argument about blue ink pens being unprofessional. The argument only ended when the scientist threatened to hurl his weapon off a cliff, that determined to make Mwah admit blue pens looked amateur.

“My doctor can patch up your friend while you all get some rest,” Rude Cancutter said to Tommy Tony. “I’m sure your journey took a toll on all of you. Then we’ll discuss my price for helping you.”

“Rude. Man. I already told you we’ve been here for a week,” Tommy Tony answered, frustrated. “There were days where I made you your morning coffee and handed it to you! How could you miss that?”

“Once you guys have had some sleep, I’ll give you a tour of the city, and then we’ll talk.” Rude started to leave, but turned to say one last thing. He managed to hit himself square in the face with the door due to an error in his timing.

“Hey, door, why ya gotta be a dick?” Rude forgot what it was he was going to say and exited the room rubbing his nose.