Traversing through here was going to be hard. Snap could tell just from looking around. The large, vicious-looking bunnies were laying really close. There was hardly a place for him and his friends to step down that wasn't practically on one of these chocolate bunnies. He knew all it would take was one slip up, and they would be running for their lives. The only 'comfort' in this is that waking up the bunnies wasn't against the rules. All they had to do was reach the end while staying alive, though that wasn't exactly going to be easy in of itself.

As he, Rapsheeba, and Blocky slowly made their way through, being careful not to touch or bump into any of the bunnies, Snap noticed something about them. None of them had the feminine appearance of the mother rabbit he and Blocky ran into. These all must be the bucks, the males. There was no doe, or female, in sight.

He had never seen the males of these species before. They must usually be underground or something, raising and protecting the babies. Whenever they surface, it must be when hardly anyone is around so they can collect food for the kids, or whatever it is they do underground.

Snap felt intimidated being so close to these guys. He had heard rumors of the males being a lot more dangerous than the females, even those protecting their young. A female chocolate rabbit would usually drop her vicious attitude once she's seen no harm came to her kids, and she can even shift moods and start being downright friendly and affectionate even towards those she was about to harm. That was why the mother rabbit was nice enough to give him and Blocky some chocolate milk and let them sit down next to her. The female chocolate rabbits were usually very forgiving and only aggressive if pushed too far.

Males, on the other hand, were a whole different story. He hadn't heard too much, but what he did hear, he did not like. The males of this species hold grudges for a very long time. Do one thing against the warren, and they will never let you forget it. Males would chase aggressors and would-be bunnynappers all across the forest, often not stopping until they beat and bite and claw them to death.

Supposedly, the reason why the males were like this was due to the high predation of this species. Snap could believe that. The baby bunnies were delicious. He could see how a bunch of zoners, those who don't really care if the babies could talk or not, would try to eat them. So the males' protectiveness is increased many times to the point where they would rather kill offenders rather than letting them off easy. And if Bardot's card was anything to go by, and taking into consideration he was the main target, chances are all these males were aware of what he did. And when they wake up...

...he was going to have to run for his life.

And there were a lot of males here. A lot... Snap had lost count at thirty. Bardot had picked the right time to set up this 'game' of survival. A time when the males come up to the surface. Or had Bardot lured or trapped them up here? He wasn't sure. But what did it matter right now? He had to focus on getting across without waking up the rabbits.

Snap looked over to see how his friends were doing. Blocky's thin shape gave him an advantage as he was able to slip through smaller spaces without problem. This didn't mean he could be reckless, though. A few times, he did almost step on a bunny. He managed to stop himself in time and moved around the bunny before continuing. A few times, a bunny was so large he had to jump over them. Snap was amazed that he was able to do so without falling into another bunny nearby. That took skill.

Rapsheeba was having a bit of a harder time than Blocky. She was not able to jump or step over the bunnies as well as he could. So most of the time, she had to squeeze between the bunnies, which was a difficult task. There was once where she did trip and almost fell on top of one of the rabbits. Snap stared in horror for a second before rushing over as fast as he was allowed to go. He grabbed her arm and steadied her. Rapsheeba thanked him and they continued on their way.

Before they knew it, Snap realized they were about to reach the halfway point. He started to feel relieved. This dangerous task was almost halfway over. And none of them had recieved any injuries yet. As long as they can keep this up, they would be able to reach Rudy and Penny and be able to fight Draow and Bardot. Snap didn't know how long this was going to last, though. Sooner or later, they would get hurt, and he wasn't sure how well they'd perform with horrific injuries.

Still, here's to hoping. He and his friends were smart and careful. So long as they use their wits, they could make it through each game unscathed. They could make it through this one without getting attacked. Snap hated to think what would happen if they got badly hurt this early in the games. This was only game two. There were several others they would have to endure. Bardot never told them how many, and he was certain that him withholding information was part of his torment. Bardot didn't want him to know how close he was to his friends. He didn't want to give him any sense of hope or accomplishment. He just wanted to mess with him.

Snap wasn't going to let Bardot mess with his mind like that. He had a feeling Bardot was doing it to make it harder for him to face the guy at the end of these 'games' of his. Bardot wanted to destroy his confidence so that merely thinking of fighting back was going to be hard.

Snap was shaken up by how Bardot introduced himself. He was scared that Bardot was able to pin him down so easily, to subdue him like that. He was scared that Bardot was very close to killing him, and how easy it would have been for him to do so. Those fangs were very close to sinking into his skin, and injecting a deadly venom that had no antitode whatsoever. Bardot's speed was definitely going to be a problem, and if Snap was badly hurt before he could face him...that was definitely going to be a problem as well.

Still, Snap wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to let himself get dragged down mentally like that. Though afraid, he was still willing to go up against Bardot, even badly injured, if it meant saving his friends. He wasn't going to make things that easy for the jerk.

A few minutes later, and he, Rapsheeba, and Blocky were still making good progress. He could see the light up ahead, where he knew the Candycane Forest was about to end. They didn't quicken their pace, though. Even though they were quite close to being out of this survival game, if they rushed, they could trip up and then they would all be in big trouble.

"So close..." Rapsheeba said in a low whisper. She continued moving really slowly, moving past the bunnies. "If we keep this up, we'll be out of here in no time."

Snap nodded in agreement. He carefully climbed over a few rabbits, being really light and gentle so they wouldn't wake up. "As long as we don't try to speed things up, and as long as we keep doing this, we will get out of here soon."

Blocky shifted past a few more rabbits. "Yeah. This isn't too hard." He turned his head to look at his friends. "If it weren't for the whole danger part, this would actually be kind of..."

"Blocky!" Rapsheeba and Snap cried in low hisses.

It was too late. When Blocky turned his head, he was not able to see where he was going. That second of not seeing was enough to cause him to make a mistake in his stepping. He looked over just in time for him to snag his foot on a small rock that jetted out of the ground. He held in his cry of pain, but that wasn't enough. It just wasn't enough...

...for when he tripped over, he had hit against one of the chocolate rabbits. And not just in passing either. Half of his body slammed against the rabbit, right against its side. Blocky laid there for a few seconds and, feeling the brown mound begin to shift, he moved away, his eyes wide in fear.

"Oh no..." Rapsheeba whispered as she and the others looked around them.

The male that Blocky had awakened raised its head. It looked over at them. As soon as it saw Snap, it began to growl lowly, baring its sharp teeth. It stood up on its hind legs, spreading its arms out and showing off its vicious claws. The trio backed away in fear, staring at the male. Things quickly became a lot worse for them.

The male let out a couple of small screech sounds. To their horror, all around them, the males were waking up. They rose to their feet and turned their attention on the trio. Much like the first male, it was only when the males saw Snap that they became angry. Although Blocky helped with capturing the eggs, the males didn't seem to mind him. It was as though, somehow, the males knew that it was Snap alone who tried to eat the babies after they hatched, not Blocky.

The males started to move closer to the trio, forming a circle of fangs and claws. Growls emitted all around the three, rumbling through their hearts and stomach. The hostility of the males practically radiated off of them, twisting their stomachs in knots. In a matter of seconds, the males would attack them.

"What are we going to do?" Blocky asked fearfully.

Snap looked around towards where the exit of the forest was. It was hard to see with all the males closing in on them, but it was there. He could just barely make it out. He looked back at his friends. There was only one option they had left. And it wasn't exactly a safe choice.

Snap grabbed his friends and pulled them over. "Come on, we have to make a run for it!"

"Snap, are you crazy?!" Rapsheeba cried. "We're surrounded!"

"It's either we run or we stay here and get mauled. Which one would you rather do?" Snap asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Rapsheeba and Blocky looked nervous. They glanced at the advancing chocolate rabbits, looking at their wickedly sharp claws and teeth. But from the looks on their faces, they both knew that they had no other option. Even though they were surrounded, they had to at least try to run past the rabbits so they can get out of the Candycane Forest.

The three of them huddled close together. They hunched themselves a little, preparing to run.

Snap whispered, "On the count of three, we run. One..."

The males snarled and started to move in faster.

"Two..."

Rapsheeba and Blocky looked around in fear as the rabbits close in on them.

"Three!"

As soon as Snap said 'three', the trio broke into a run. They managed to squeeze past the males that were blocking their path to the exit. Much to their relief, they had reached the end of the 'male chocolate bunny line', as there were no more males in front of them. But that didn't mean they were out of the woods yet. Behind them, they heard the thumping, growling, and gnashing of teeth as the males ran towards them.

Despite how large they were, it was frightening just how fast they could be. It took only a few seconds before the males caught up to them. The trio tried their best to dodge the attacks. And at first, they managed to do so. But they couldn't keep it up and the first blow was struck.

Blocky cried out as he felt claws cut into his back. He fell to the ground, blood dripping from the fresh wound. He looked up in time to see the male that struck him down preparing for another blow.

"Blocky!" Snap cried.

As the rabbit struck downwards, Snap pushed Blocky out of the way. He was unable to save himself, and he screamed in pain as the claws cut into his side, pushing him into the ground. Snap rolled across the ground a few times before finally stopping, leaving behind a thin stream of blood.

"Oh no, Snap!" Rapsheeba tried to get to him, but she was struck down by one of the males herself. Claws cut into her arm, tossing her into the hard, unforgiving ground.

Snap struggled to his feet. He didn't stay that way for long. The males, upon seeing he was separated from his friends, immediately hounded on him. Snap attempted to run away, but one of the males knocked him into the ground once more. Snap couldn't hold back his screams of agony as the bunnies started to rip into him. Claws cutting into his chalky flesh, teeth ripping at his costume, blood staining the ground.

Snap tried to crawl away, moaning in pain. He never got far as he was constantly dragged back into the group, and his body recieved more injuries. Snap felt as though his life was flashing before his eyes. He was in so much pain, he became unaware of his surroundings. The only thing he could detect was pain and the gleaming eyes of the enraged chocolate rabbits.

With a strong punch, Snap flew across the ground and landed on his back. The largest male ran towards him and pushed him against the ground with a large paw. Snap looked up fearfully at the male and began to whimper, tears forming in his eyes. He watched as the beast raised its free paw up in the air, the claws poised to strike. Snap gripped the paw, trying to push it away from him. But it was no use.

"Rudy, Penny..." Snap said. He looked at the sharp tips of the claw, and then the enraged face of the rabbit. "I'm sorry..." He closed his eyes and looked away, waiting for the blow.

"No!"

Suddenly, Snap was aware of weight being lifted from him. He opened his eyes and saw that Blocky and Rapsheeba managed to get free. They had recieved a few more injuries, but they were otherwise fine. They had pushed against the larger male, forcing it back away from Snap.

Snap looked up at them in shock. "Rapsheeba...Blocky... You need to get going... We don't have time..."

Rapsheeba shook her head. "No way, Snap. We aren't going to leave you behind."

"We stick together." Blocky said.

Snap smiled at his friends, grateful for their help. It was then he took notice that his two friends were holding something in their hands. Broken pieces of candycanes that they trampled over when they were running away. The ends looked pretty sharp. He looked over at the largest male and saw a couple of bloody marks. So that was how they managed to get the male away from him.

Snap wanted to get up, but he was in too much pain to move at the moment. He laid on the ground and he watched as his friends protected him from the horde. Blocky and Rapsheeba struck, punched, kicked, and slashed any chocolate male that dared get too close. Snap was shocked, as he didn't know they were this good at combat. Over and over again, a male would try to strike him, only to be knocked back by either Rapsheeba or Blocky.

It was clear Rapsheeba and Blocky were scared of the horde. Their bodies trembled. Their teeth were clenched. But still they did not leave him. One male tried to bite onto Snap's hand, but Rapsheeba jabbed the broken piece of candycane against the beast's arm, forcing it to step back. A second almost dragged Snap away. Blocky put a stop to that by driving his candycane piece into its hand. The beast howled in pain and backed off.

But their luck wasn't to last. Though the two put up a good fight, it didn't take long for the males to become so enraged that they retaliate back. Claws struck against the two faster than they could react, sending their weapons flying through the air and crashing against a candycane tree. Then another blow forced them into the ground. Before they could get up, the largest male placed its paws on either side of them, effectively pinning all three down.

The trio looked up at the male in fear. Drool dripped from the beast's fangs and it opened its jaws wide. It let out a triumphant roar and was preparing to crush them in its jaws. Unable to escape or do anything to defend themselves, the trio hugged each other, screamed, and waited for the beast to bite down on them.

But instead, something else happened. Something none of them had expected.

There was the pounding of another rabbit coming towards them. This one sounded lighter than the others. And when they saw it come into view, they realized it was a female. It was running towards the larger male, forcing it to back off away from the trio. The female started to growl and snarl at the male, who returned the sounds. The two glared at each other, baring their teeth.

Snap looked up in shock. He hadn't expected this to happen. Was this the same female he and Blocky encountered? No...this one looked a little different. Yet there was still something about it that seemed familiar.

Seconds later, two more rabbits approached them. Snap and his friends screamed when they saw it was two more males. They cringed and waited for them to try to attack. But instead, the two males joined the female, standing in front of the trio and growling at the largest male. The other males around them started to back off. The largest male remained where it was, roaring at the three bunny interlopers almost like they were having an argument.

But the three bunnies didn't give up. They stood on their hind legs and showed off their claws. They snarled and snapped at the male's direction, clearly unafraid of how large he was. Though the male was clearly unhappy, it eventually gave up. Going back down on all fours, the largest male, whom Snap guessed was the alpha, the one in charge, appeared to bark orders at the other males. Slowly, the other males dispersed, disappearing back into the forest.

The alpha male gave Snap one more hostile glare before it, too, wandered off, leaving the trio alone with the three rabbit interlopers. Once the alpha male was gone, the three rabbits turned their attention on the trio.

"What are they going to do with us?" Blocky whispered, staring into the eyes of one of the males.

"I don't know..keep still..." Snap said, clenching his teeth and hissing in pain from his injuries.

The trio didn't move, dared not to breathe. Most of the rabbits were gone, but they still had these three to worry about. They didn't know why they chased off the other males. But they had no reason to believe that it was to help them. The rabbits stared at them. They shivered under the glare of their eyes, practically glowing despite being pitch black.

Then, one of the males lowered its head towards them. The trio put their hands in front of themselves in self defense. But rather than bite them, the male did something else entirely.

It licked them.

The gentle gesture was unexpected. The three friends opened their eyes and looked at the rabbit in shock. Why hadn't it attacked them? The other males were going to tear them apart. Why was this male so different?

The male continued to surprise them as it rubbed its head against Rapsheeba and licked her on the face. The other male nuzzled against Blocky, rubbing its face against his thin side. And the female rubbed against Snap's face. All three of them were being very gentle, careful not to hurt them further. It was clear that these rabbits had no intentions on harming them.

Snap soon took notice of a piece of cloth on each of the rabbit's right arms. Green, blue, and pink. His eyes snapped wide open, memories flooding back to him. These rabbits...they were the same ones he had tried to eat years ago. The same ones that had called him 'daddy'. He stared up at them in shock. Not only had they remembered who he was, they had also still cared enough for him to save him and his friends from the wrath of the alpha male.

"Blocky..these are those bunnies from before. The ones that hatched." Snap said. He managed to get to his feet, though it still hurt.

Blocky looked around. He took notice of the colored clothes and he instantly remembered. "Oh yeah, they are! They must have seen we were in trouble and came to rescue us!"

Rapsheeba giggled in surprise as one of the males pushed its head against her arm, wanting her to pet it. She ran her hand gently along the back of its head. "Well aren't you the cutest thing?"

Snap smiled down at the female as he patted her gently on the head. "Thank you."

A horrible thought crossed his mind. He recalled Bardot said they couldn't recieve the help of any other zoners. And though these rabbits were wild, they were still zoners. A cold feeling swept through his body. Had they lost the game already? No, it couldn't be over this quickly. He couldn't have failed this soon.

But then again, if they had lost the game, Bardot would have contacted them. The radio wasn't going off yet. So perhaps they were still safe. He looked around and saw they were very close to the edge of the forest. There was no timer for this game, thankfully, so they didn't have to run towards the exit to get out. But they still needed to hurry. They had to leave the forest and get to wherever the next clue was so they could proceed to the next game.

It was hard leaving the trio of bunnies behind. They had seemed so happy to see him. They constantly rubbed up against him and his friends, licking them, hugging them. They didn't want them to leave so soon. As much as Snap would have liked to stay for a while, he knew he couldn't. He promised the three that he would visit them later.

Luckily, the rabbits seemed to understand him and they backed off. They waved to Snap, Rapsheeba, and Blocky as they headed out towards the exit of the forest. The three rabbits turned tail and broke off into a run, and soon disappeared entirely.

Rapsheeba and Blocky weren't too badly injured. A few cuts here or there, but they could otherwise move just fine. There wasn't too much blood loss, and it looked as though the cuts would close up on their own. There didn't seem to be as much of a risk for infection. The cuts weren't that deep. They deduced it was because the males weren't really after them; they were after Snap.

Snap's condition...wasn't quite as good. He had a few deeper cuts. Like his friends, most of them were pretty shallow and wouldn't be much of a problem. But a couple of them weren't as harmless. There were two deeper cuts on his left leg, one on his arm, and one along his side. They weren't bleeding too heavily, but the blow still left them looking a little bruised.

As he walked along side his friends, he was noticed that he was limping. He was favoring his right leg, constantly leaning towards it in an attempt to relieve the pain. With each step, it felt as though the pain was getting worse. It got to the point where his two friends grabbed his arms, being careful not to hurt him, and supported them as they walked out of the forest.

Snap's fear had become a reality. He had hoped they would get out of the forest unscathed. They did not. They were all injured, with him recieving the bulk of the attacks. He hissed in pain as he continued to walk with his friends. With him this badly hurt early on, he knew that the next games were going to be even more difficult to survive.

When they got out of the forest, Blocky and Rapsheeba carefully set Snap on the ground so he could rest a little. Blocky went over to grab the next clue, which was placed against a broken down candycane tree. As he read the message, Rapsheeba knelt down beside Snap.

Rapsheeba looked over Snap and grimaced, biting her lip. "We need to treat these wounds..."

Snap winced, looking at Rapsheeba with one eye, the other closed due to pain. "I'll...I'll be fine, queenie.." He managed to say.

"No you won't." Rapsheeba said sternly. "If we don't stop the bleeding, you'll..."

Snap raised up a hand. "I know, Rapsheeba. We'll...think of something." He let out a yelp of pain, causing Rapsheeba to look even more worried for him.

"Snap! The next clue! I know what it's talking about!" Blocky said as he rushed over towards the two, waving the card in his hand frantically.

"What is it?" Snap asked.

Blocky read the riddle.

"Congratulations, you are on a roll
But to surive the next, you must do more than stroll
A place you had fun, a place that seems harmless at a glance
But beware what lies below, there is no second chance"

Snap blinked at that riddle. He was stumped on it. These riddles were so vague and confusing. He wished Bardot could be a little more specific. But at least they didn't have to waste much time on this riddle, since Blocky figured it out.

"What does it mean?" Snap asked.

"It's talking about the golf course!" Blocky cried. "The one you, Rudy, and Penny played on a few days ago, before all this mess happened!"

Snap gasped in shock. "What?! Are you sure?"

Blocky nodded his head. "These riddles all seem to be about you. So a place where you had fun, that seems harmless at a glance, it couldn't be the playground as we were already there. And the talk of things below, that golf course does have a few tiny tunnels that run below, in a few of their holes. And it isn't too far from here!"

Snap still wasn't entirely sure if he was convinced it was talking about the golf course. But what other leads did he have? It didn't really surprise him that a golf course was the next stop. It was just like Bardot to take something he had enjoyed and turn it into a nightmare. It seemed so like him.

Snap struggled to his feet. Rapsheeba supported him, holding his arm. "Let's go."