Concealment of Evil

Disclaimer: Let's see. Ubi Soft created Rayman and I'm nothing more than a mere fan of the game that likes to write Rayman fiction in her spare time. I don't have the several billion to buy Rayman and if I did I would spend it on something more practical like, say, a better computer! Characters are from Rayman 1, Rayman 2, or Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc. However, most of them are from Rayman 2 fame and only one or two are from the other games mentioned. The opening song "I Won't Give Up!" is written by yours truly.

Notes: Well. I never thought that I'd start a sequel so soon after the finish of the beginning. (Wow. Oxymoron.) Well, here ya go. "I Won't Give Up!" is here because the main purpose of it was to be the theme to Concealment of Evil. (That and I don't like switching from site to site to read songs alone and I feel many people feel the same.)

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"I Won't Give Up!"

From the bleeding of your wounds, to the clashing of weapons,

You know that this may be your final stand.

From the shouting from your friends, to the wounded cries of death,

You try to hold your weapon in your bloody hands.

Goodbye to hate, goodbye to worries,

The countries are shedding their final tears,

Goodbye to fear and goodbye to virtue,

You must stand and face your fears!

(...I won't give up...)


Let no one try to bring you down as you help your spirit slay the foe,

Your pain and wounds soon bring you to fight the war.

Your friends will let you seize the chance to fight for what is in your soul.

There is no time to question the objectives.

Never try to seek Fate's light as the enemy stands their hearts like coal,

Let your spirit reach its strongest point...

Give up no fight...

Slay every foe...

Let there be light...

Revive your soul...

Goodbye to truth, goodbye to borders,

Is this war for good or for the extra wealth?

Goodbye to doubts and goodbye to questions,

The outcome is decided now!

(...I will *never* give up...)

Let no one try to bring you down as you help your spirit slay the foe,

The time is right to bring the foe to its end.

Your friends will let you seize the chance to fight for what is in your soul.

Form no more doubts and ask no more questions.

Never try to seek Fate's light as the enemy stands, their hearts like coal,

Let your spirit reach its strongest point...

Stand for what's right...

Kill all your foes...

Seek your heart's light...

Relight your soul...

(Guitar solo, then fade out.)

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Six months ago, a large role had been played in the wheel of Fate. Morphina, the strongest demon that was entrusted in Jano's care, led a full force attack against the barrier that kept the rest of the demons from poisoning the earth. She was a force to be reckoned with; her powers to change shape and to main full control of many creatures at a time were unstoppable. However, despite her careful planning and full-force attacks, she was out-matched.

A young girl named Ivy Thorn had found a whole legion of friends to help her win the war. Her blood was that of a zombie-tamer, the name given to the magical performers that keeps demons like Morphina at bay. Along with Rayman and his friends Globox and Sssam, Ivy's younger brother Davis also entered the melee accidently. Freya and Bad-Rayman, originally Commanders in Morphina's army, switched sides and crippled the army greatly. Donnia Starhunter and Rex Skyler were also present; powerful mages that barely escaped Morphina's wrath with their lives.

Morphina finally confronted Ivy and her friends at the Entrance of the Cave of Bad Dreams. There, Morphina transformed into her true form; a large serpent-scorpion beast that was the very sign of bad omen and death. Ivy was forced to fight alone with nothing but a short dagger and her spirit. Despite the odds, she was able to defeat Morphina and restore order in the world once again.

As the weeks passed, the group's lives changed for the better. Ivy and Davis started to train under Jano's teaching in case another demon attack came up, Rayman and his loyal companions were fated to guard the world of any would-be overlords, Freya and Bad-Rayman scored a job in the city of Bluddweik, and Donnia and Rex became travelers to seek out the wonders of the world. For six months, life was perfect.

Until Morphina came back...

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"Ivy, tell me why I have to do this?" Davis whined. He was standing knee-deep in swamp water, holding a wooden practice dagger in one hand and a slingshot in another. Behind him, sitting on a fallen tree, Ivy and Jano watched him as his instructors. Not too far ahead, a zombie chicken floated spaciously over the waters of the Marshes of Awakening.

"It's for protection, knucklehead! How are you going to defend yourself if you can't even knock out a mere zombie chicken?" Ivy called back. For six months, Ivy and Davis had trained under the Guardian of the Cave of Bad Dream's watchful eye. While Ivy learned master tricks like focusing the Tamer's Light in projectile weapons and breaking out of a spellbound, Davis was beginning to learn to use his inherited powers as well. So far, he knew how to break and create spell-bindings. Now, he had to learn how to defend himself in combat. A docile zombie chicken would be easy to tackle with a slingshot and a wooden dagger.

"Why would I need to? Morphina isn't coming back!" He dodged to the left as the undead creature made a snapping action towards him. He quickly brought the creature down with several stones and slices with his wooden dagger, but he still wasn't satisfied. "Why can't we get out of this swamp and see the world like the rest of our friends?"

"Simple. Dad can't run the house by himself and we need to train in case of another attack!" Ivy exclaimed. "Another attack? From who? We all know that Morphina is dead, and that she was the strongest demon. How could anyone else gain enough nerve to escape the Cave of Bad Dreams with a zombie-tamer still alive?" By now, Davis had pulled himself from the marsh water and was standing on dry land again. He casually wrung out his wet sleeves and pants. Ivy opened her mouth to argue, but she heard Jano say. "Don't even try. It wouldn't do anything to change his mind anyway."

Davis placed his training weapons down in front of his older peers. He sat down beside Ivy and stared into the surroundings. He saw nothing but clouded skies obscured by large gnarled trees. In the far-off distance, they could see the lights of a large swamp-bound household; one that they never bothered to visit. "I miss all our friends, but we can't leave. Why can't we have any freedom these days?" Ivy turned to her brother, eyes reflecting the torch's fire around her. After a few minutes of silence, she shrugged and said exactly what was on her mind.

"Fate. It bound us to our deeds like how Morphina binds the souls of innocents to her whim. We cannot fight it; we can only go with the flow of time. Soon, it will allow us to exit this swamp and see the world together! Wouldn't that be great, Davis?" Davis's eyes met with hers, and a hidden fire burned within Davis's emerald eyes.

"Yes, and when that happens, we'll be ready!" Little did they know, that time will come for them very soon...

~*~

Rain fell on the Menhir Hills. Lightning illuminated the skies and thunder boomed in the distance. A single deer ran aimlessly through the rainfall, desperately looking for a place to dry off. It found the shade of a lonely willow, small finger-like branches brushing the small stream churning by its large roots. The red-furred deer tiptoed slowly into the shade and bent down to get a drink. Some bushes near the stream's mouth shook slightly. The deer lifted its head for a moment, but soon bent down again to drink the fresh water. Twang! There was a flash of silver and the deer fell to its side, an arrow sticking out of its neck. Suddenly, the bushes came alive as three hunters came rushing to the carrion; a human archer, a frog, and a ferret. The midnight black frog poked the deer momentarily with his long scythe.

"Great shot, Keri! You actually killed a full-grown deer with only one arrow!" The human archer, a tall lithe woman with a bright green hunter's tunic, bent down to inspect the kill. "It wasn't full-grown, Pondscum. It would've reached maturity in about four months."

The ferret, a long sinewy creature with pale brown fur, shook his head. "Who cares what it is! We be having venison tonight!" Pondscum corrected him. "You mean that Morphina's having venison tonight, Ruby-eyes. We all know that Morphina will only share such prime meat with her most trusted Commanders. Unfortunately, that singles us out." The three hunters stood in rejected silence. Finally, Ruby-eyes tried a suggestion. "Couldn't we eat it here? We would say that we failed the hunt-" "-causing Morphina to lose her temper, turning us into bloody pulps. You know better, Ruby. Use that large squishy thing between your ears once in a while!" Keri shot back. She looked down at the deer. "Might as well go back to the camp."

The three hunters soon helped carry the dead deer out of the rain and towards the camp. Morphina's camp was under a large group of willows that were growing near the edge of a cliff. Not only did the trees keep both Commanders and slaves dry, but they were also parted evenly so that they could start small fires under the branches. Pondscum, Keri, and Ruby-eyes dropped the carrion in front of a campfire. Several others stared at them in awe at the perfection of the meat. (Most meals were often ripped to shreds by careless swordsmen) Suddenly, Morphina in the familiar shape of a human dressed in purple mage's clothing stepped towards the campfire.

"For once, I've proud of you, Pondscum. However, this fine piece of venison does not relieve you of your past mistakes!" The frog flinched at the harsh biting tone to her voice. Morphina was not someone to cross anymore, for the loss against Ivy and her friends changed her rules completely. Instead of eating from a storage of food, Commanders had to hunt for their meals. Unsuccessful hunters often starved until Morphina gave up and spell-bonded them. Now, instead of letting mistakes pass, she would let anyone suffer from his or her misfortunes by doing something cruel. Toes and fingers would be removed and sometimes the poor creature was placed in the body of something weak like a slug or a zombie chicken. However, not all of the changes had been bad for the army. When a gray fox corsair named Striker signed up to the army, he also gave her his entire fleet of pirates and slaves. The army grew rapidly at that point, and Striker was quickly promoted to second-in-command. Despite this win, older Commanders didn't trust the new recruits because of their sneaky nature.

Striker sat by the fire next to Morphina, amber eyes glowing from the fire's embers. "Why are we in Menhir Hills, Morphina? Didn't you say that the Cave of Bad Dreams be in the Marshes of Awakening?" Morphina turned to him, her intense eyes boring holes into his soul. "Simple. We're going to use the old hit-and-run tactic. See those lights in the distance?" She lifted some willow branches to reveal the almost flat landscape. "In the far-off distance, there is a fort that has been standing since the Antitoon attack those many years ago. Inside those walls, they keep a demon in there; the last of his kind. He was among the only demons that were locked in a stronghold unlike the Cave of Bad Dreams."

"Why do we need another demon? We already have you." A faun replied as he ate some beef jerky. Morphina quickly hit him hard with the back of her hand. "Don't you see numbskull? Ivy Thorn was able to defeat one demon by herself, but can she defeat two at the same time? The demon's name is Bane, and fortunately he's perfected to living in the swamp regions. We attack the fort, rescue Bane, then we destroy everything and everyone inside the fort. Understand?" Striker and several Commanders listening nodded. "What happens after that?" Striker questioned. Morphina turned her head to gaze at him. "I'm not revealing that part of the plan, but let's just say that I already planned the perfect place for us to stay during the siege of the Cave of Bad Dreams."

She stood up; a forbidding figure that all but revealed the danger of her true might. By now, every Commander eating gave up their attention to her. She smiled, her teeth glistening unnaturally in the fire's light. "Ivy won't stand a chance now!"

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The city of Bluddweik was a peaceful and fruitful city, unlike the dirty and poor streets of Morva. It stood at the edge of the Menhir Hills, a beautiful symbol of the world's longest surviving beauty. Even in the rain, the city had a sense of peace. People of different races bought trinkets from various shops, and most of them tried the unique orange and lemon fruits of Bluddwiek. Despite the peace in Bluddwiek, the city was designed to blockade war. Gates surrounded the city and its fruit groves from all sides with reinforced steel that were pointed to prevent anyone from climbing into the city. However, the main gate was almost always open to the public, allowing travelers to come into the splendor of a city that survived attacks while other crumbled.

"Freya! Hurry it up with those meals! We can't have our customers starve!" The owner of the Bluddwiek boardinghouse called out to the preppy wolf-furry as she kept several fish burning on a fire-powered stove. With the grace of a seasoned cutthroat, Freya sliced and diced the fish until they were strips of cooked meat. She placed the fish strips in a basket and handed them to a waiter. Soon afterwards, a piece of paper with another order would be handed to her. "Well, at least being a cook is a step up from being a murderer." She sighed to herself.

She did her routine for another twenty minutes before another cook took her place. Freya cleaned the grease away from her beautiful fur. During her break, she sat by the counter where a friend of hers was still taking reservations for the boardinghouse. "Hey, Bad-er, I mean Balthazar Ringsider. How's your job holding up?" The two ex-Commanders both got different jobs under the same boardinghouse. The Bluddweik boardinghouse was the busiest attraction in the city, and there were a lot of jobs to uphold. Freya blended in easily, but her partner Bad-Rayman had to pass off as a leper named Balthazar Ringsider hiding his sore-covered body with a cloak. The owner soon accepted, just as long as he kept his hands bandaged. So far, the disguise worked perfectly.

"As boring as the day before. We need more challenging jobs than grilling fish and taking up reservations." Freya chuckled as she stuffed an orange slice in her mouth. "Like what? I know! You want to be a butcher! You could easily take the job; cutting the heads off of chickens, draining the blood of pigs, slicing cows to ribbons, and removing deer spleens for the rest of the city to eat. Yep, seems like it would fit you perfectly!" A pair of people in front left clutching their stomachs thanks to Freya's 'delightful' comment. Luckily, the next two people in line seemed vaguely familiar...

"Freya? Bad-Rayman? What are you two doing here?" Lo and behold, Rex Skyler and Donnia Starhunter had arrived in Bluddweik during their long travels and, as if by Fate himself, turned up at their old friends' new jobs. Freya smiled; showing a row of teeth caked with orange fibers. "We're enjoying ourselves just fine! I learned how to cook like a pro and Balthazar here learned how to show people to their rooms." Bad-Rayman rolled his eyes at this comment. "Sorry. It's just that it's been peaceful for too long around here. I yearn for another fight against an opponent worthy enough to take on me." Donnia laughed at "Baltazar's" little speech.

"You sound like The Sniper with that tone of voice! Speaking of which, have you ever met him? He's this strange man who likes to shoot anything that enters his-" A large fist banging on the counter cut off the rest of Donnia's speech. "You can hold a conversation on your break, Balthazar! Other people need to get a room too, you know!" Quickly, Bad-Rayman handed Donnia and Rex a key to their room for the night in a monotonous movement. The two travelers skipped towards their boardinghouse room and were gone.

Freya sat there chewing on another piece of orange as Bad-Rayman served the customers. "You know Baltazar. You're right. This city is too peaceful for the likes of us. It's almost as if I want Morphina to come back." She stuffed the orange piece in her mouth, blissfully unaware of the dangers that lay ahead.

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End of Chapter 1

In case you didn't know, The Sniper Donnia mentioned is also known as Count Razoff. (Look at any Rayman site; they're sure to have screenshots of him.) As with any fanfiction, the action isn't going to start until the second chapter.

This goes to show how much I could make as soon as I got Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc. :) Expect the next chapter really soon!

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