I'm back! And it's time for the next chapter of this three part fanfic! We now go into how the rebels are alerted to the return of Moo and Lilim, and how Moo means to lure them into the trap he and Lilim have set for them! What will happen? And what will this mean for the world of Monster Rancher? Let's find out, shall we?

I own none of the characters. They all belong to the Monster Rancher Anime.

MONSTER FLU

Chapter 2-Germ Warfare

We now take a look at the village where the rebels, original or newly joined, currently were. Holly's father was indeed visiting today, and Holly was only too elated to see him again. Especially considering what he'd been through. Obviously, he was just as elated to see her. And the rest of the rebels had indeed been introduced to him by her, but were now letting the two have some quality time together, talking to and embracing each other. "Man, it's so nice to know that Holly and her father are back together for good, isn't it?" Genki asked. "Chi, it's such a nice sight, Chi!" Mocchi responded. "Of course, it's a bit awkward with the group being bigger than it was before, but we'll adjust nicely!" Hare commented. "True, that!" Suezo said. "Best of all, Moo is gone, and there will never be any baddies again." Pixie stated. She then turned to Big Blue. "Oh, and Blue?" she asked.

"Yes, Pixie?" Big Blue responded. "You'll be glad to know I never did evil again as Granity at all, even when baddies tried to brainwash me. So now your being back feels better than it already would, which is quite a statement." "I am glad to hear it, Pixie." Big Blue said, embracing her. "You know I'd do anything for you, by the way. And I'm as proud of you as you are of me." "God, Tiger, it's been so long since we were truly together like we once were." Gray Wolf said. "It sure has." Tiger replied. "In fact, the last time was prior to Moo attacking us. Good thing is, we're together for good, and Holly seems to have developed a sister-like relationship with Nina." "Much like we're actual brothers. Which is fitting for obvious reasons." Gray Wolf agreed. "In the meantime, I'm just glad to be back with you, brother." Tiger spoke. "Likewise, brother." Gray Wolf added in. "Golem is relieved peace has finally come to this world. No more fighting. Fighting is bad." Golem smiled as he felt the flowers. "By the way, would anyone like to see some tricks I've been teaching Hopper for the past few days once Holly's family reunion is done with?" asked Nina. "They're really funny and cute!"

"Maybe, but what kind of tricks?" asked Genki. "Oh, brother…" Tiger sighed, rolling his eyes. "I know, right?" asked Gray Wolf. "How are Naga and Gali doing, by the way?" Tiger then asked his brother. "Oh, they're doing pretty good." Gray Wolf said. "Matter of fact, they're a lot happier than they've been in some time, now that Moo's been destroyed and everything set right and all." "Guys, we'd appreciate you not mentioning Moo." Genki said. "Chi, we don't like to even think about him, Chi!" Mocchi added. "We know you were just talking about your past and all, but still, it's not good to remember who he was and what he did." put in Hare. "Especially with Holly's father around." Suezo added. "And since Holly's my favorite human…" "Fine, sorry. Point taken." sighed Tiger. Good thing was, he and Gray Wolf hated Moo more than any other goodies, so it wasn't hard for them to respect the wishes of the others. Just as Holly was done with her father for the time, she said: "I must say, daddy, this future will be anything but what the past was like, and I look forward to it all as much as you do." "I am happy to know it, Holly." he responded. "Especially when one considers…eh?" "What is it, daddy?" she asked.

"Your magic stone! It appears to be giving off energy traces!" he exclaimed. "Huh?" Holly asked as everyone else came over to see what was going on, having heard him. "Hey, you're right! But why would it be doing that?" "Is something wrong, Holly?" asked Hopper. "What's going on?" asked Genki. "I'll tell you what." said Moo as his image suddenly was to appear in front of them from the magic stone, thanks to how he made his gem's energies work. "MOO?" everyone exclaimed in unison. "THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! YOU'RE DEAD!" Tiger roared. "Ah, but as you can see, I'm no longer dead." Moo told them. "But we saw you vaporize into the sky in our final battle!" cried Genki. "There wasn't even a lost disk!" Suezo yelled. "Chi, you should still be dead, Chi!" Mocchi squealed. "Yet I returned to life, though in my weaker body, and not my original one, when my dead soul, which was contained in an unstable lost disk that was formed weeks after I evaporated, and fell on a cliff, was hit by lightning on a stormy night. Last night, in fact. Along with the disk itself. The instability led to my being restored to life, though barely, and I soon realized all that was so now. After finding a cave to hide in, I'd get hold of a special gem which has powers only applicable to creating evil, and used it to restore Lilim to life."

"Lilim?" Pixie exclaimed. "This can't be happening." "This is a fucking nightmare! We have to be sleeping!" Gray Wolf insisted. "But it isn't. It's reality." Moo sneered. "After I saw to it Lilim was alive once more, I made sure she knew everything she needed to, and we arranged for a showdown with you rebels so we could finally destroy you, pay you back and conquer this world. You are welcome to try and stop us, but only on one condition." "What's that?" Big Blue asked, as furious to see Moo was back as everyone else, especially Tiger, Gray Wolf, Pixie and Holly's father. "Only you goody monsters are to come and face us. You will meet us in a deep canyon a mile or so south from where you currently are. At night. None of your human friends are to come with you. If they do, I will send Lilim to destroy the village you are in right now, and I will then come and finish the job. So either you goody monsters come and face me, with not a single human to help you, or innocent lives are lost, as well as an entire village and everything within its vicinity. What option do you choose? Make your decision fast!"

"Fine! We'll come, Moo, and you'll die even worse than you did last time!" Tiger snarled. "As will Lilim!" added Pixie. "Splendid. I look forward to paying you back in kind with my utmost of retribution." Moo smiled. Then his image disappeared and Holly's magic stone went back to normal. Back in the cave, Moo said: "It's done. Now we just have to wait for them to show up." "Then I will douse them with the Monster Flu." Lilim grinned. "And they will be utterly powerless to stop me from conquering this world, and ruling it over along with you, as the king baddy with his queen! !" Moo thundered with his infamous villainous laughter. Lilim also let out an evil laugh, vastly and greatly anticipating how she'd be putting her brand new weapon to use.

Back in the village, Nina, Holly, Genki and Holly's father were protesting. "Don't go!" Genki begged. "You can't go!" Holly added. "Moo is luring you into something, I just know it! Especially after having been possessed by him!" Holly's father cried out. "You can't do this! It's a trap!" Nina exclaimed. "Of course it's a trap." Gray Wolf nodded. "But we've no choice." Golem said. "We either do it this way, or this whole village gets brought to the ground." Pixie told them. "It's the lesser of two evils, and we won't let innocent humans die." Big Blue added. "Nor will we let Moo come any farther than he has, or Lilim, for that matter, if we can help it." stated Hare.

"Chi! Let's go get them, Chi!" Mocchi said. "I'm with you on that one, Mocchi!" put in Suezo. "Same here!" let out Hopper. "All right, but PLEASE be careful." Genki said. "We don't want to lose you, and especially since we've just reunited for good here." Holly's father added on. "You won't lose us. We promise you." Tiger said to them, and then he turned to Gray Wolf and spoke: "By the way, the last time you and I faced Moo together, he managed to floor us but good." "Let's turn the tables on him and spit it back in his ugly face this time." Gray Wolf growled. "My thoughts exactly." Tiger barked. "I'll help take Moo down, but first someone needs to destroy Lilim, and that someone might as well be me." Pixie pointed out. "After all, she's what I'd be if I had stayed a baddy." "Point." Big Blue nodded. "In any case, we've got to get going!"

"Yeah! Moo isn't going to wait too long, nor is Lilim!" Hare said. "So who's leading the way?" asked Suezo, knowing Genki usually led them. "Me, that's who!" Tiger said. "With Gray Wolf as our second in command! Let's move it! We don't want to keep our baddy friends waiting, do we?" So they took off, with Tiger in the lead, and for the first time since he'd been leading his band of thieves, no less. "However, we're going to have to keep my magic stone at the ready, just in case worse comes to worse and we need to pitch in." Holly pointed out after the goody monsters disappeared from sight. "Understood. We'll keep an eye on that thing." Genki told her. "I'll tell the villagers what's going on, in the meantime." Holly's father said. "But, daddy…" Holly said, but he told her. "They ought to know, and someone has to tell them. It may as well be me." So he went and did it.

Now, we go to the goody monsters. Tiger, Gray Wolf, Golem, Big Blue, Pixie, Mocchi, Hopper, Suezo and Hare. All nine went to exactly the canyon where Moo had told them to come and were more than ready to attack. To their surprise, though, neither Moo nor Lilim were anywhere to be seen. "Huh?" Suezo said. "Where are they?" "It's nighttime. It took us what remained of the day to get here, and now it's dark." Hare added. "Chi, so why aren't they here, Chi?" asked Mocchi. "It could be part of their trap. We'd best not all be seen at once." Pixie pointed out. "Good point, Pixie." Gray Wolf said. "So we're splitting up?" asked Big Blue. "We are." Tiger confirmed. Everyone look in a different spot. Moo and/or Lilim could very well be in an inconspicuous place, lying in wait for an ambush. So let's try and get the drop on them before they get the drop on us." The others nodded and they split up, going in all directions. "They are here, Lilim." Moo said from atop the cliff where he was standing alongside her. "And though it is not surprising our lack of presence would incline them to split up to search for us, this is what we needed them to do. Go and show them what a very sick bitch you are."

"Gladly!" Lilim replied, and so she flew off to do her dirty deed, the goody monsters not knowing their decision to split up like they were doing was exactly what Moo and Lilim wanted. "Okay, so let's see who I spray first…" Lilim thought, and she soon saw Golem looking about for where any sign of her or Moo might be. "Bingo." she thought. So she flew on down and as Golem said: "Golem uncertain as to whether or not Lilim or Moo could be here, but hopes he can help without having to fight. Fighting…is bad." "So is being ill, rockhead!" he heard the voice of Lilim shout, turning around as he went: "Huh?" only for Lilim to spray the Monster Flu into his face. "Lilim…what did you do…" Lilim flew off as Golem felt something horrible build up in him, and went: "Ah…AH…Ahhhh…AHHHHHHHHH…AAAAAAHHH-CHOOOOOOOO!" Golem fell over after sneezing hard, and Lilim smiled: "Ha, ha! The Monster Flu works like a charm! One down, eight to go!"

She flew about and soon saw Mocchi and Hopper on opposite sides of the crevice in the part of the canyon she was flying over. "Ah, so it's time for the little ones to get sick, then!" she smiled fiendishly. She soared down and was seen by Mocchi and Hopper, the former going: "Hopper! It's Lilim, Chi!" "Whaaaa?" Hopper exclaimed. "It is her! Hopper, Hopper!" Before either could attack, Lilim remarked: "Hello, brats! Try some flu on for size!" She sprayed first Mocchi, and then Hopper, and after flying off for her next target, Mocchi went: "What'd she do, Chi…AHH…AHHHH…AHHHHHH…AHHHHHHHHHHH…AHHHH-CHOOOOOOOO!" Hopper also let out: "Hopper not feel…well…feel horrible…all of a sudden…Hopper…not like this…Ahh…Ahhhh…Aaaahhhh...AHHHHH…AHHHHHH…AAAAH-CHOOOO!" Both fell over on their backs, and Lilim now saw Big Blue. "Ah, the first traitor…" she thought to herself. "Though Pixie will be considerably more fun to do this to, but first thing's first…"

Big Blue was looking around for Moo and/or Lilim, and went: "Where could they have found a place to hide? Surely with my size, I can…" "You've found one of them already! ME!" Lilim shouted as she flew directly at Big Blue, who turned around, but got sprayed in the face before he could react. "What did I just get sprayed with…" Big Blue yelled, but then he let out: "Ahh…Aaaah…Ahhhh…AAAAHHHHH…AAAAAHHHHHH…AAAHHHH-CHOOOOO!" Much like Golem, he fell over quite hard. Lilim flew about and saw Hare and Suezo next, in the process saying: "So the rabbit and the eyeball are the successors of the traitor, are they? Fine, then!" She soared down to where they were, and Hare sighed: "Man, even with my brain, I just can't think of where they'd be! Suezo!" "Yeah, Hare?" asked Suezo. "Can you go from your ledge and look to the sky? I can't see anything from my ledge at all!"

"All right, but…" Suezo began, yet he stopped when he saw Lilim coming right at him. "LILIM!" he yelled, but Lilim grinned: "That's my name! Don't wear it out…" She sprayed him with the Monster Flu, and added: "…though this is certain to wear you out!" "Lilim?" Hare let loose, but once he saw her, Lilim sneered: "Don't worry, little bunny rabbit, I haven't forgotten you!" She unleashed another spray, and it drenched Hare. "Now your sick feelings will multiply like your own kind!" she shouted as she flew off. "Guess you aren't as smart as you think!" As she disappeared from sight, Suezo asked: "What the hell did she just spray us with, Hare?" But he suddenly felt horrid and went: "Ah…Ahhh…Ahhhhh…Ahhhhhh…AHHHH-CHOOOOO!" Hare followed him as he said: "It looks like some kind of red…red…REEEEEEEEEEEEEED FLUUUUUID…Ahhh…AAAAAHHHH…AHHHHHHHHHHH…AHHHHHH-CHOOOOO!" As Suezo and Hare writhed thanks to their wicked new illness, Moo watched from where he was hiding and thought: "This is too good to be true. Keep it up, Lilim. Our conquest is so close now I can taste it." Sure enough, Lilim looked about for and soon found who she would attack next.

"Ah, so it's that asshole dog Tiger and that rotten skank Pixie. Perfect. This will feel even better the most of these." Lilim thought to herself. She swooped down towards Tiger, and Pixie was flying right behind where she was at this time. Just as Lilim was taking aim for Tiger, Pixie saw her and shouted: "Tiger! Behind you!" Tiger, as he spun round, went: "Moo or Lilim?" But before he could react, Lilim sprayed him in the face with Monster Flu, and he shook his head, a second later going: "What the fuck did you just fucking spray me with, bitch? Hey…why do I suddenly feel like I'm going…to…what's this feeling…have to…find…a way to stop…stop the ahh…ahhh…Ahh…Ahhh…Ahhhh…Ahhhhhhhh…AHHHHHHHHHHHH…AHHHHHHHH...AHHHHHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pixie flew at Lilim, going as she did so: "Okay, bitch, this is where I take you down at long last! Especially after what you just did to Tiger!" "I don't think so, bitch!" Lilim replied, spinning around. "On the contrary, it is YOU who shall be taken down by ME!"

She sprayed Pixie right in the face and Pixie suddenly flew out of control, going as she tried to get the wet feeling out of her face: "What the…NO…she…she…sprayed me…but with what…whaa…Ahh…AAhhhh…AAAAHHHH...AAAAAAAAAAAAA…AAAAAAAAAAH-CHOOOOO!" Pixie was sent flying backwards and spiraled down until she landed right next to Tiger, who had fallen on his side after sneezing. "This is going just so splendidly and swell!" She looked about, and then realized that there was only Gray Wolf left. "Oh, Moo, if you could only see this! Only Gray Wolf remains!" she smiled. Then she flew to where Gray Wolf was, and he was thinking: "My God, this is looking less like a trap and more like a wild goose chase. WAIT! I smell something." He sniffed the air and realized he could smell Lilim. He spun round and Lilim said: "Gray Wolf, the final traitor! The first two, and all the normal goody rebels are good and ill! Now it's time to finish the job!"

"Fat chance, bitch!" Gray Wolf shouted, but Lilim sprayed him in the face before he had a chance to attack or make good on his words. Gray Wolf suddenly went: "What was that…what did you just…Aaaahh…AAAAAAH…AAAAAAH…AAAHHH…AAAAAAAH-CHOOOO!" He fell onto his side, and struggled to get up, but couldn't. Suddenly, Moo showed up, and he used his gem, which he'd brought with him for this from the cave, to make all of the now badly diseased, flu stricken goodies be joined in the same spot with one another, so all could see him and Lilim and hear what he had to say. Lilim made it so she flew next to Moo, and Moo said: "Greetings, rebels! I suppose you are wondering why you are sneezing so profusely, and unable to get up!" "What…the hell…have you done to us?" howled Tiger before letting out another powerful sneeze. "I created a very new and very nasty disease called the Monster Flu." Moo stated. "With the help of the very gem he just used to group you all together." Lilim added. "Furthermore, it's of my creation, so no human is going to be able to help you. Nor any monster, for this disease effects only monsters, and where humans would be powerless to treat it, monsters would be no better off and would catch it themselves! It won't kill you, but it will take weeks to months to get over, and if you're sprayed a second time with it, you'll die nearly instantly!" Moo told them.

"Further, to make sure Moo and myself don't catch it, that gem was used by me to make this gauntlet which contained the Monster Flu! You can do nothing to stop us now, and even if you recovered enough to try, you'd just get sprayed again and become goners!" Lilim cackled. "I will now reclaim what was rightfully mine but never came to me thanks to you!" Moo said. "As you're ill as fuck and your human friends try in vain to make you well again, I reshape all of this world as I would have before!" "And we will rule it as king and queen baddy!" Lilim screeched. "Farewell, sickbeds! We're going to begin our conquest now!" Moo used the gem to teleport her and himself back to their cave hideout, and told them: "You will never stop me now, nor will your pitiful friends or any other monsters or humans! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Once the two baddies disappeared, the nine monsters sneezing, coughing and writhing on the ground, Holly, Genki, Nina and Holly's father soon showed up, Holly's magic stone having signaled them to go in this direction like she thought it might. And though it was even darker and later at night than it had been before, they had no trouble seeing where their nine friends were, as the coughing and sneezing alerted them. "Guys?" Holly asked as she ran to where they were as fast as she could, along with her father, Nina and Genki. "Are you all right?" "NO…we're a long way from all right…AAAAAAAH-CHHHHOOOOO!" Hare squeezed out before sneezing. The next instant had Genki asking: "Guys, what happened to you?" "Germ warfare!" Gray Wolf let out. Then he said: "AAAAAAAAAAH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pixie further told them: "Lilim flew about everywhere while Moo kept hidden…and…sprayed us…with this…it's called…Monster Flu…Moo's creation…brand new disease…AAAAAAAAH-CHOOOOOO!" "Magic gem he used…to make it…" Big Blue put in. "Lilim had it in a gauntlet…and had us all doused in it…AAAAAAAAH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" "Only applicable to monsters…but it takes weeks, if not months, to get over…" Tiger gasped. "AAAAAAAAAH-CHOOOOOOO! If we get sprayed a second time, we're goners…AAAAAAAAH-CHOOOOOOOOOO! Moo did this so we couldn't fight him…stop his conquest…and as revenge on us…AAAH-CHOOO!"

"Golem not like this at all…" Golem managed to say, before going: "AAA-CHOOOO!" "Chi, Mocchi not like this either…AHHHH-CHI-AAAAAAAAH-CHOOOOOOOOOO!" let out Mocchi. "Hopper ill…very ill…" Hopper squeaked, before going: "AAAAAAH-CHOOO!" "Oh, man, of all the ways we've ever been brought down…AAAAAAAAAH-CHOOOOOO!" Suezo screamed out. "Dear God, you poor things!" Nina exclaimed. "Holly, you were doing a few modifications to your magic stone last week!" Genki said. "Was one of them to make it a stone capable of teleportation?" asked her father. "Yes, and I know why you're asking!" Holly responded. "And it's a good thing I included that, because we're a mile away from that village! And we need to get you guys home to bed NOW!" "Not to mention to a hospital!" Nina added. So Holly quickly used the stone to teleport everyone present back to the village, and once they were there, Genki quickly rushed to tell everyone what had happened so they'd know and try to help, if help was at all possible, all things considered.

TO BE CONCLUDED…

So, quite a chapter, wouldn't you say? What did you think of it? Please rate and review!