* * * Chapter Two: Jelly Hare's Deception * * *
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," the little rabbit apologized as he ran back toward his friends, waving for them to wait up. Tiger of the Wind narrowed his golden eyes in a disapproving glare, yet the blue wolf didn't make any sort of comment as the other monster came up toward him and the others. Holly smiled, a little grateful that he had chosen not to make a big deal out of what had happened.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked as the brown-furred rabbit walked up next to her. He nodded, smiling reassuringly, and she returned his grin with a smile of her own.
"We should get moving, then, before the sun sets," Tiger decided, already turning out of the town as he spoke.
"Yeah," Suezo agreed nervously, glancing around at the silent walls of wood and stone on either side of them. "I'm not too thrilled of the concept of staying in this creepy place overnight."
"Agreed," Golem rumbled, and the stone giant lumbered after the others as they made their way out of the city. Every few moments or so, he couldn't keep himself from glancing down at something hidden in his palm, even though he was careful to keep the others from seeing what it was. Normally, Golem didn't like to keep secrets from his friends, but he wasn't certain how they might react if they found out that he was still holding onto a small child's doll he had located in the empty town. He wasn't even certain himself why he was keeping it: it was painfully obvious to him that there was no chance of his being able to return it to its rightful owner…
As he lumbered after the others, the little brown rabbit trailed along behind him silently. If the stone giant had glanced backward instead of into his hand, he might have noticed the knowing smirk that flashed over the hare's face.
Look at these fools, the Jelly Hare gloated inwardly. They really have no idea. They honestly believe that I'm their friend. This will be too easy…
* * *
* Now where am I supposed to be? *
Hare glanced around in confusion, his eyes tracing up the side of the four towers that loomed in front of him. The pillars seemed to stretch up into the very heavens themselves, four black spires that stood out plainly against the reddish-orange, sun-streaked sky. Something glowed at their peaks, and the rabbit felt a distinct sense of foreboding as the pulsating lights brightened. A figure stepped into view, and Hare suddenly realized what had to be causing at least some of his ill feeling.
* Moo! *
The masked baddie swept grandly toward the four pillars, completely ignoring Hare as he brushed by. The rabbit kept a wary eye on the larger monster, not wanting to be caught off guard. A strange thought suddenly flashed into his mind.
* If Moo's supposed to be the ultimate evil, why in the world does he have fluffy pink hair? *
For some reason, the strangeness of that notion made Hare laugh, though the sound quickly trailed off as he continued to keep a close eye on Moo. Without so much as a glance in the rabbit's direction, the masked monster made a grandiose, sweeping gesture with his muscular arms, his golden armor glinting crimson in the fading rays of the sun. His jet-black cape fluttered in the sudden breeze that sprang up, and the wind soon seemed to gain the force of a gale, howling as it tore though the shadowy plains. Hare shielded his eyes with one of his arms, and he squinted to keep from losing sight of Moo.
Suddenly his eyes nearly doubled in size. Something was looming directly behind the four pillars; something huge that he'd somehow failed to notice before. Its immense bulk seemed to rise up from the ground itself, and Hare strained to make out its indistinct features. Even though he couldn't tell for certain what it looked like, he knew what it had to be; the burning sensation at his chest, the slow twisting in his gut told him.
* This has got to be… Moo's ancient body… *
Moo was laughing now, and the masked monster threw his arms even wider as if to embrace his old body as it towered above him. The four towers began to glow with a bizarre light, and Hare had to shield his face with both arms now to keep from being blinded. He stumbled forward awkwardly, driven forward by the terrible burning feeling that rose and curled from somewhere deep within.
* I've got to stop this! I can't let him… *
* But…what can I do? *
The question lodged in Hare's mind, torturing him almost as much as the sound of Moo's triumphant laughter. As the leader of the baddies stepped forward, eager to reclaim his old body, the rabbit did the only thing he could think of; bracing himself, he leveled his paws at the monster's back and sent a volley of bright crimson flames toward it. Hare poured all of his energy into the attack, despite the pain that started to surge through his slight frame, and as the blaze swept toward Moo, he dropped to the ground completely drained, unable to see if his aim had been true.
* * *
"Hey, will you be quiet over there?"
The angry shout pierced through the fogginess in the rabbit's mind, and Hare groaned softly as he forced his eyes open. The first thing he became aware of was the fact that he was cold, almost numbingly cold. He shivered and tried to curl into a ball to warm himself, only to discover that his movements were being severely hampered by some sort of blue gel that covered most of his body. The frigid gel was obviously what was chilling him to the bone, and Hare attempted to pull free of the sticky substance without much success. After a few moments of struggling, he gave up on that and instead tried to get a better look at his surroundings.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized that he wasn't alone in the room. Several puddles of ice blue slime, the same shade as the gel that arrested his movements, were spread out on the grimy stone floor of the building. Hare recognized the sub-breed type at once.
"Icy Jells," he half-thought, half-whispered. Glancing around as best he could, he decided that the hybrids must have taken him to some sort of house, not a fortress of some sort as he had originally suspected. The slate-gray floor was stone, but the walls that he could see were made entirely of wood, and looked to be quite old at that. He could see several areas where the planks had either rotted away or had broken off; the entire shack looked as though one well-timed kick might bring it down on top of them.
Not the most pleasant thought to have occur to you when you can't exactly move, Hare thought glumly. He started to twist around again, and managed after some effort to pull himself into a sitting position. At least now his cheek wasn't rubbing painfully against the rough floor with each small movement of his body, and that small gain encouraged him to try a little longer.
"I thought I told you to stop making all that racket," a sleepy voice slurred, and Hare froze. Twisting to look in the direction where the voice had come from, the little rabbit nearly cried out in shock as an Icy Jell, obviously the leader if one could judge from the fancy, battered helmet on his head, oozed over to where he was trapped. Narrowing sleepy eyes, the Jell leaned forward and stared right into Hare's face, and his stale breath nearly made the rabbit choke for a moment.
"Humph," Captain Icy Jell sniffed after a moment, "If you were uncomfortable, you might have said something." He snapped slimy fingers, and Hare cried out involuntarily as the blue gel surrounding his body suddenly twisted and moved, forcing him into a kneeling position in front of the Jell commander. The frigid gel yanked his chin up, and the rabbit found himself staring up at the Icy Jell's sneering face.
"Is that better?" the Icy Jell mocked, grinning. Hare looked up at him and, despite the situation, smirked back.
"Hai," he replied, and as a quizzical expression spread over the commander's face, Hare yanked his left arm backward. The realignment of the gel surrounding his body had left it a little looser than what had probably been intended, and the little rabbit felt a certain sense of satisfaction about the stunned look on the captain's face as he brought his fist back and slammed it directly into the Icy Jell's face. It didn't last long, as the slime monsters quickly realized their mistake and rewrapped themselves around him, but Hare couldn't keep from smiling even as his arms were pinned behind his back again.
"You…you…you…" Captain Icy Jell spat, glaring at the little rabbit. Bringing his arm back, he morphed the slimy blue limb into a whip and brought it back down toward Hare's face.
"No, commander!" one of the other Icy Jells protested, deflecting the attack with his own limb. "Master Naga specifically stated that the little rabbit was not to harmed!"
"Yeah, but that really hurt!" Captain Icy Jell replied, rubbing his sore cheek and giving his men a rather petulant look. The other slime monsters all sweatdropped.
"Yes, yes, it certainly looked painful," the Icy Jell soldier who had stopped the attack said soothingly, in a tone similar to one used to calm a child. "But you shouldn't let your anger cloud your better judgement. If you get revenge on the little rabbit now, then you might feel good about it for a time, but what happens when Master Naga finds out about it?"
"Yes…you're right, of course," Captain Icy Jell deferred at length, still rubbing his mouth as he threw one last glare in Hare's direction. Deliberately turning his back on the rabbit, he asked, "How is Phase Two of the plan going? Has Jelly Hare's deception been proceeding as planned?"
Jelly Hare? Hare wondered.
"Yes, commander," the Icy Jell grunt replied, eager to take his leader's mind off of what had happened. "Our spies have reported that he has successfully intercepted the rebels and integrated himself into their ranks. They seem to be completely convinced that he is the little rabbit, and have shown no signs of suspicion whatsoever."
"Good," Captain Icy Jell replied, casting a knowing sneer over his shoulder at Hare. "Jelly Hare has always been a great performer: they should have no reason to suspect him at all. He should be able to keep them off their guard and, when the time comes–" He paused for dramatic effect, and smirked at the shocked little rabbit behind him as he finished grandly, "Eliminate them."
The commander of the Icy Jells then oozed out of the room, laughing wildly, and Hare started struggling to break free again. The slime monsters kept a firm grip on him, however, and one of them retrieved a cloth soaked with the same sleeping potion and brought it back into the room. As the drug took effect again and Hare's eyes drifted closed, he felt familiar warmth slowly begin to blaze at his chest. He smiled groggily: the stupid Jells hadn't thought to take away the Phoenix's Tear from him. They probably figured that since they kept numbing his mind with the sleeping potion, that they would be safe from any sort of attack.
Well, just you wait, Jells, he thought, even as he faded into unconsciousness. It won't be too long before you regret that sort of thinking. Just you wait…wait and see…
* * *
"Let's stop here for tonight," Tiger announced, stopping and turning to look at the other rebels.
"Huh?" Suezo asked, glancing around the small hilltop. "But…we haven't gone all that far," he argued, his gaze drawn back to the silent village below them. "I thought…"
"Look, Suezo," Holly interrupted, "It's pretty late. This should be a safe enough place to set up camp."
"But Holly, I'm not too thrilled about staying so close to that weirdo town," Suezo protested, shivering despite the fact that it wasn't all that cold.
"It's not like there's anything down there that can hurt us," Tiger growled, glancing down at the empty town. His simple words made everyone pause for a moment; each lost in their own thoughts.
"Well, okay then," Suezo relented, breaking the silence. He hopped after Genki as the boy went to gather some firewood, and Holly bent to start clearing away a small site for their campfire. Hare bent beside her and started to help out, occasionally glancing up at her and smiling as they worked.
"Hey…Hare…" Holly said carefully after a few moments. The little rabbit glanced up at her, and she slowly asked, "Are you feeling alright? You seemed pretty upset back in the village…"
"Oh…no, I'm okay now," Hare replied, smiling reassuringly with a shake of his head. "I…just got taken a little off guard back there. I'm fine now…"
"Are you sure?" Holly pressed gently. The girl's soft brown eyes were filled with concern as she added, "That was just a terrible thing to find back there, and I can understand if you don't want to discuss it, but…I'm just a little worried about you. If you need to talk with me about anything…"
"I'm okay, I'm okay," Hare persisted, getting to his feet. He reached down and helped Holly get up, then flashed her a smile as he added, "But thanks for caring…"
"Sure," Holly replied with a smile of her own. Genki came skating back into view at that point, arms overloaded with twigs of various shapes and sizes. As the two humans started working on building a fire, the little rabbit stepped away from the group and swept his cold gaze over them.
To think I was worried that she might have caught on, Jelly Hare thought with a sneer. These fools have no idea who I am or what they're dealing with. This phase will be finished in no time…
* * *
Nightfall came, and the seven rebels curled up to sleep. Genki and Mocchi were practically lying on top of one another; they were pressed so close to each other's backs. Holly rested her head against the side of the slumbering Golem's leg, and Suezo curled up beside her, not as close as he normally was, but closer than he had been allowing himself to get to her for the past few days. Tiger was curled up at the edge of the group, and the only way one could tell that he was sleeping was from the gentle rise and fall of his back.
Jelly Hare waited until he was absolutely certain that all of the rebels had fallen asleep before he opened his eyes. The soft brown shade they had adopted faded away, replaced by deep, flashing red as he got to his feet and surveyed the group.
"Now let's see…" he mused under his breath, "Who's first…"
Walking forward, he brushed past Holly, Golem and Suezo without even a glance in their direction. Instead his eyes were locked firmly on Genki and Mocchi, and a cruel smirk twisted his lips.
According to reports, these two are supposed to be highly dangerous, he thought. I can't see why, but at any rate, it's a good place to start…
Raising his paw, Jelly Hare concentrated hard and let the disguise he had adopted fall away partially. The soft brown fur on his arm disappeared, replaced by a smooth, slimy blue gel that twisted and writhed as he formed it into a new shape. Keeping a close eye on his two victims, Jelly Hare brought his morphed arm back, shaping it into a whip form. A demented sneer twisted his face as he brought it forward, letting it flash down toward the sleeping pair.