Lou learns who is most important in Belkar's life.
Cast
- Haley Starshine ◀ ▶
- Elan ◀ ▶
- Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶
- Mr. Scruffy ◀ ▶
- Camel Drover Elder ▶
- Buggy Lou
- Three Bug Slavers
Transcript
- Panel 1
Belkar is carried in a net.
Belkar: I swear I am going to rip off your stupid bug head and piss down your neck hole!
Bug: We got another one, Hive Leader.
Buggy Lou: Tie him to the riding-beetle and let's—
- Panel 2
Belkar is dropped to the ground.
Buggy Lou: Wait a minute—Belkar? Belkar Bitterleaf, is that you?
Belkar: Who the hells knows my na—wait is that Buggy Lou??
Buggy Lou: Yeah!
- Panel 3
Buggy Lou: Guy, remember I told you about that stint I did buying slaves over on the Northern Continent?
Buggy Lou: This guy was pals with one of my best suppliers. We used to get drunk together.
- Panel 4
Buggy Lou: Heh, those were the days. What are you doing all the way out here?
Belkar: It's a long story...but I'd take it as a personal favor if we could all sort of wave our weapons around while we talked.
- Panel 5
Belkar, Buggy Lou, and the other Bugheads start waving their respective weapons.
Buggy Lou: No problem. So, you still talk to your pal!
Belkar: No, he got tagged by the City Guard a few years back.
Buggy Lou: Man. So he's doing hard time?
Belkar: The hardest. He's dead.
- Panel 6
Belkar: How about you, though? Hive Leader, eh?
Buggy Lou: Ha, yeah. It's a small hive, but I've got sixteen mates and all the fermented nectar I can swill.
Belkar: Nice!
- Panel 7
Buggy Lou: So, listen, you're not going to need to stop us from refreshing our inventory here, are you?
Belkar: Nah, what do I care? Help yourself.
Belkar: Just take what you need and vamoose, though. The adventurers I'm with will mess you up if they catch you.
- Panel 8
Belkar and Buggy Lou shake hands.
Buggy Lou: Yeah, I'm thinking we'll cut our losses and get out of here with what we've got. Good to see you, Bitterleaf.
Belkar: You too, Lou. Say hello to the missuses for me.
- Panel 9
A bug slaver holds Mr. Scruffy by the scruff.
Buggy Lou: At least we caught ourselves a nice little snack for later, didn't we?
Mr. Scruffy: Meow?
- Panel 10
Buggy Lou (off-panel): We still have any of that honey marinade sauce back at the nest?
Bug (off-panel): I think so, Hive Leader.
Belkar glares angrily.
- Panel 11
Elan: You know, maybe Belkar HAS turned over a new leaf.
Haley: He does seem very...entusiastic[sic] about helping these people.
Belkar: No need to go back to the nest, Lou.
Belkar stands over Buggy Lou's corpse, holding his severed head. "psssssssssss!"
Belkar: I got your marinade RIGHT HERE!
Buggy Lou: *gurkle*
Camel Drover Elder looks shocked, three more dead bugs lie around.
Trivia
- Buggy Lou could be the "friend of a friend" that Belkar, during #171, The Prisoner Dilemma, suggested as a buyer for an enslaved Samantha. This is the only appearance of Buggy Lou.
- Buggy Lou is a play on the word "Bugalú" a genre of Latin music and dance.
- This is the first appearance of the Camel Drover Elder.