Chapter 2

In the meantime, Jade and Jeice approached the J-Gang once again. This time, they were sitting around a bonfire roasting marshmallows.

"Hey, look who's back!" John called.

"You beat the general already?" James asked. "Wow, you are warriors."

"No, we haven't found the general yet," Jeice said. "It's just that we...well..."

"You want to know more about us," James finished for him.

Jeice shot him a suspicious look. "Yeah..."

"Well then!" Jack called. "Sit; you must be tired after your long, vigorous search."

The Colorful Siblings sat by the fire. Jack picked up a skewer with a marshmallow stuck to the end and held it towards Jeice.

"How about a mellow, yellow?"

"Sure." Jeice took the marshmallow and began nibbling at it.

"You know, Jody gives new meaning to the phrase 'Been there, done that'," Jack said. "Tell 'em, Jody."

Jody sighed. "Well, when I was fourteen, I competed in the dodecathelon at the Galactic Games."

"Really?" Jade asked.

"I was up against men and women twice my age, and I placed fourth," Jody said.

"Wow, that's pretty good, considering your age," James said.

"Then when I was sixteen, I was the third person to ski across the Delaney Plateau on Europa Prime," Jody continued.

"Wow, skiing is a rough sport," Jeice said.

"Then when I was eighteen, I was the second person to climb the Olympus Mons on Mars, which is the highest mountain in the solar system!"

"Wow, that's great!" Jade said.

"No, that's not good," Jody told her. "All my life, my only dream was to be the first to do something. I feel like all my past accomplishments were just a waste of energy."

"Don't you think that these sports are a bit dangerous?" Jeice asked.

"Hey, this is the year 5000," Jack said. "Dangerous is the only way to play."

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

"How can you forget what year it is?" John asked.

"Well, we were frozen for 3000 years," Jeice said.

"So our minds are still in the past," Jade added.

James appeared to be pondering. "I see how this place can look scary to an...out-of-towner."

"So, as the J-Gang, what do you guys do?" Jeice asked.

"Nothing, really," James replied. "We just hang out."

"Yeah." Jack leaped up and grabbed the branch of a tree. "Look at me, I'm hanging out! Yuk, yuk, yuk!"

"Jack, come down from there!" Jody ordered.

"Bah!" Jack dropped down from the tree. "You're such a spoilsport, you know that?"

"Was there ever any doubt?"

"So, you like it that way, huh?" John asked. "I always liked you this way."

Jody slapped him. "Get away, you sick bastard!"

"Ha ha! Johnny can't be a loverboy!" Jack sang. "Ha ha!"

"Maybe not," John admitted. "But the challenge only makes me like her even more."

Suddenly, the siblings heard a familiar voice screaming. Spinal rushed over to them, gasping. He couldn't even gather enough wits to speak, so he hopped up and down, blubbering.

"What's wrong, Spinal?" Jade asked.

Spinal kept blubbering, pointing somewhere behind him.

"What the hell is his problem?" John asked.

"He probably got so scared that he jumped right out of his skin!" Jack suggested. "Yuk, yuk, yuk!"

The J-Gang cracked up.

In a puff of smoke, Spinal used his morphing ability to turn into a giant cobra. Jade and Jeice were thoroughly confused. Spinal held that form for a few seconds before returning to his original skeleton form in another puff of smoke.

"A snake?" Jade asked.

"I'll tell you what," Jeice said. "If you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone."

"Hey Spinal, come meet some friends of ours!" Jade said.

"Yeah," Jeice added. "Guys, this is...guys?"

The siblings turned to see that the J-Gang members were...gone. All four of them. Even the bonfire was gone. There was no smoke, no ashes, nothing. It was as if the fire had never been built.

"Where'd they go?" Jade asked.

"I don't know," Jeice said. "They were right here a second ago."

Spinal had calmed down enough to speak. "Who?"

"There were some people," Jade said. "Didn't you see them at all?"

Spinal shook his head. "No. Who were you talking about?"

Jeice pondered for a moment. "Let's see...there was James McCloud, John Tanaka, Jack Levin, and Jody Summer. James said that this was planet KO-35."

"KO-35!?" Spinal gasped. "I thought this place looked familiar!"

"You've been here before?" Jeice asked.

"Yeah, this was Andros and Zhane's home planet. Even back then it was abandoned. But this place looks creepier than ever."

"Kinda looks like a graveyard, don't it?" Jade asked.

"It does not look like a graveyard!" Jeice insisted.

"Think whatever you want; I'm going back to the ship!" Spinal pressed on his ring and teleported out.

Just then, Jeice's scouter began to beep. Jeice pressed a button, then heard Jenny's voice.

"Hey Jeice, any luck?" she asked.

"No, we haven't found the general yet," Jeice replied.

"Well, what did the sign say?"

"What sign?"

"There's supposed to be a sign on every planet telling its name and its general," Jenny said. "Remember?"

"Oh...well, we'll keep looking for it. Jeice out." Jeice pressed the button again, closing the channel, then pressed it again. "For now, we'll track down those people again."

He looked around, following the scouter's signals.

"Where do you get those things, anyway?" Jade asked.

"Nowadays, I don't know," Jeice said. "This way."

They ran to their left, hoping to find the J-Gang again. This time, they were hanging out under a tree.

"Guys, what's up?" Jade asked. "Where'd you disappear to?"

"Well, we disappeared to right here," Jack said.

"We were trying to introduce you to our friend!" Jeice whined. "Do you have any idea how stupid we felt!?"

"Oh, we're sorry," James said.

"No offense, Jeice, but I'm not a very big fan of skeletons," Jody added.

"Oh, never mind," Jade said. "We have a request."

"We do?" Jeice asked.

"Shoot," James said.

"Jack, tell us more about Mr. Simms," Jade said.

Jack shrugged. "There's nothing more to tell, really. He was taken to hell and brought back as a demon; ba-da-boom, ba-da-bing."

"We want to get to the bottom of the Mr. Simms story," Jade said.

"What? Are you nuts!" Jack cried.

"Oh, grow up, Jack," John said.

"I think it's a reasonable request," James said. "Just think, Jack; you've told the story a zillion times, and you don't want to see if it's true or not?"

"Hmm..." Jody thought for a moment. "Maybe I'll be the first to find out."

"Then it's a deal!" James declared. "We'll all go to the morgue together."

"All right, but once Mr. Simms stops playing that organ, I'm out," Jack said.
---------------------
Spinal walked onto the Rebel Rack bridge. Jenny was there relaxing, waiting for the report from the Colorful Siblings.

"Hey Spinal, what's up?" she asked.

"Nothing. I took a little walk on the planet myself," Spinal replied.

"Really? Did you find anything?"

"Just a creepy old geek in a funeral home."

Spinal didn't bother to tell her the creepy thing about Mr. Simms.

"So you have no idea who the general is either, huh?" Jenny asked.

"That's right," Spinal told her. "Would you believe that that's planet KO-35?"

Jenny laughed. "No, I wouldn't." She looked at the planet through the monitor. "Are you sure?"

"Well, that's what Jade and Jeice said. They said they met some people down there."

"They don't actually trust those people, do they?"

"I think they do," Spinal said. "I don't know; I never saw the people myself. Besides, Jade and Jeice can take care of themselves, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Jenny replied. "They'll be okay."
---------------------------
Meanwhile, the Colorful Siblings arrived at the Simms' Funeral Home with the J-Gang. Just as Jack's story claimed, they heard the organ playing from inside.

"See, there's the organ," Jack said. "There's your proof; now let's get outta here."

"Jack!" John cried. "You're such a wuss!"

"Yeah, how could anyone hang out with...such a...wuss!?" Jody added.

"Calm down, everyone," James said. "Just because a man plays an organ doesn't make him a demon from hell. We'll have to go inside and look for more clues."

"Who's afraid of a creepy old geek, anyway?" Jade asked.

"Come on, let's just get this over with," Jeice suggested. "We'll find out the truth and get outta here."

"You don't know what you're getting yourselves into," Jack said.

"Jack, whatever happened to 'Dangerous is the only way to play?'" James asked.

Jack sighed. "Okay, okay; you talked me into it. Let's go."

They walked to the entrance of the funeral home and slowly pushed the door open, making that same creaking noise.

"Oooh, shut up, you stupid door!" Jody whispered.

The gang stepped inside and peered into the main room where Mr. Simms was playing the organ.

"There he is," Jack said. "The creepy old geek himself."

"That's Mr. Simms?" Jade asked. "Freaky."

"We have to get his attention," Jeice said. "It's the only way to see if he's really a demon."

"That's it!" Jack said. "This time you've gone too far!"

Suddenly, Mr. Simms stopped playing the organ.

"Nice going, Jack," John said. "You tipped him off!"

"This way," James instructed.

"Hey, wait!" Jeice cried. "James!"

The J-Gang ran down the hall and turned into the cremation room. Jade and Jeice ran after them, but upon their arrival in the cremation room, the J-Gang was gone again.

"Oh, not again!" Jade cried. "How do they do it?"

"Maybe they have teleportation, too," Jeice suggested.

"But why would they just disappear on us like that?"

"I don't know. I guess they're really afraid of Mr. Simms."

"Boo!" a voice called from behind.

The Colorful Siblings gasped and spun around to see the freaky mortician himself standing in the doorway. He stepped into the room.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a low voice.

"We...we were just exploring," Jeice stammered.

"In a funeral home? Just the two of you?" Mr. Simms asked.

The siblings backed up against the body bins.

"No...with our friends," Jade replied. "Jack Levin...Jody Summer...John Tanaka...James McCloud..."

"Hmm. Nice try, but you can't fool this old man," Mr. Simms said. "All those people are dead and cremated. Look behind you and see for yourselves."

Jade and Jeice exchanged confused glances, then slowly turned to look at the body bin behind them. What they saw carved into it had their hearts beating rapidly.

In Loving Memory
Of
James McCloud

"Well, I'll be damned..." Jeice muttered as he looked at the body bin right next to James.

In Loving Memory
Of
Jack Levin

"I don't believe this!" Jade exclaimed as she looked at the body bin to the left of James. "What is going on here?"

Rest In Peace
Jody Summer

And the bin to the left of Jody's was none other than the final J-Gang member.

In Loving Memory
Of
John Tanaka

"What's wrong?" Mr. Simms asked flatly. "You look like you saw a ghost."

Jade and Jeice turned back to him slowly. Mr. Simms stepped towards the body bins, and the siblings moved out of his way, stepping to the other side of the room. Mr. Simms pressed a button, opening James' body cabinet, and pulled out the jar inside. He opened the bottle and poured a few ashes onto his hand.

"See...this...is all the remains of James McCloud," he said.

"Uh...we'll be leaving now," Jade said.

"Good idea," Jeice agreed.

The Colorful Siblings ran out of the room, down the hall, and out of the morgue.

"Man...now I'm really confused!" Jeice exclaimed.

Jade shot him a look. "See, I told you this place was a graveyard!"

"Oh shut up, sis. If those people were dead the whole time...then who the hell were we just talking to?"

"Jeice..."

"What is it!?" Jeice snapped.

"Maybe we should get the others after all," Jade told him. "I don't think we should take out Mr. Simms by ourselves."

"Yeah...you're right," Jeice agreed. "Let's go tell the others."