Base Treetops was a darkened jungle made of ropes, fake palms, branches and thick steel trees going up farther than Guy could see; it clearly used to be a themed ropes course and rock climbing. The little light that illuminated this rabbid modded wonder were like yellow fireflies and glowing purple mushrooms. Hardly anything brighter than the average night light. Bridges made out of wood weaved together with rope defined the canopy, as well as a great number of custom tree houses with rabbids already playing in them. Speakers going up and down the trees gave a rainforest ambiance. Of course Guy didn't see any birds or frogs blessing the night, but he liked to believe there was.
They got out of the truck and followed the lumberjack and the team spiraling up the levels until they reached a truly grand suspended tree fortress with multiple levels lookouts and towers.
Inside was much brighter than the jungle. It was well lived in and cozy due to the wood and yellow electric torches that illuminated the inside. A rabbid could really take a well earned nap, watch a movie or read a book series in a place like this. Especially in the seating areas, not so much the foosball and ping pong room.
Other rabbids were already playing within the space, outside of the flag game. Guy could hardly keep himself from staring when he realized the rabbids playing ping pong were dressed like him. Not the same colored clothes, he was sure that was hard to come by, but essentially the same type of work wear he would always buy. It was funny to recall his time shopping for these clothes, never thinking about how he would look besides what could impress management. Rabbids dressing up as him was nowhere in his thought process, yet it happened somehow.
Tie noticed Guy looking at the ping pong players and smirked.
"Oh Guy..Come on! Get your head in the game!" Tie giggled, pushing Guy down the hall to where the rest of the team was heading. Guy snapped out of his daze.
"I think those were fans.." Guy said.
"Oh really?" Tie smiled.
Guy made a connection. Tie had been dressed as him ever since they first met.
"Yeah..It's crazy.." Guy said.
They entered a type of throne room. The lumberjack placed their football on the wooden throne as its own stand.
"Nothing's too crazy for rabbids. If some of them can dress up like pirates and wizards why not a shape-shifting dude?" Tie said. He made hooks with his hands and shifted them on top of each other and then on top of the opposite. He then used his thumbs to trace out a wavy hourglass like image.
"I guess that makes sense," Guy said, "I wish I could've told them it's me, but it's not a good idea."
"Mnn who knows.." Tie said. He held his hands by his waist palms up, shifting them back and forth like he wasn't sure. His eyes seemed to suggest he didn't care what Guy did.
"Welcome team, to the fortress at Treetops," The lumberjack said, although he didn't seem enthused by it, "I just wanted to give everyone their positions now. Stick close to your friends if you want to be placed with them yada yada.."
Tie was already standing next to Guy but he stood a little closer so they were touching shoulder to shoulder. Guy didn't mind, in fact he was trying to keep himself from laughing while the lumberjack gave everyone jobs.
"-and you two goobers or whatever get the arcade and outer deck. You know where that is?" The lumberjack said, referring to Guy and Tie. Tie nodded.
"Then guard it, please and thank you," The lumberjack waved for them to go. Tie ran off and Guy followed.
While they ran on the bridges, Guy slipped and hit his face on the ropes. He caught himself looking down several stories, holding his chest.
"You ok Guy?" Tie asked, stopping to see.
"Yeah! Phew! Oh my gosh!" It was scary but he was smiling.
"You know, if you fell nothing bad would happen to you, right?" Tie said.
"You're right.." Guy panted, "You think I should try it?"
"Gonna warn ya, it still stings! It's not like a videogame," Tie said. He pretended to press buttons on a controller.
"But what kind of rabbid would I be if I shied away?" He said it like he was afraid of his own statement.
"A rabbid who's afraid of heights. It's not uncommon.." Tie said, but Guy was already climbing the ropes to stand on the edge. Guy took a deep breath. He had gotten hit by a car before, so there wasn't any doubt he was bulletproof all the way through. And sure, he could just be a rabbid who was afraid of heights, but there was something shameful about neglecting his invincibility.
"BWAH!" Tie roared behind him. Guy jumped, losing his balance. He tried to grab hold of the bridge on his way down but it slipped through his hands and he dropped. The height he fell from was so tall that he could comprehend it happening. It was the kind of fall you were supposed to only experience once. He landed awkwardly on his left leg and tumbled into the ground. He held it and hissed. It really did sting. The kind of pain that made you not want to move in fear of doing more damage, but thinking about it, Guy would have been torn apart if anything was wrong. The pain eased away to tolerable levels before he had time to consider much else. He got back on his feet, completely fine. What a magical ability.
Tie fell face first next to him, bouncing a little on impact. He was still chuckling to himself.
"Ow! Hehe..!" He said. Guy walked over to him and helped him up.
"You jerk!" Guy shoved him after helping him up.
"You know you wanted to do it! What's a little encouragement!?" Tie said.
"Alright! Alright! And you did fall after me so I guess it's equal," Guy said.
"Perfectly equal!" Tie said. He tapped his finger tips together a couple of times. He continued to lead Guy out of the rainforest to the indoor hall, and then into another giant chamber that was a fake indoor forest with rubber hills, trees and lakes. Knight rabbids were jousting with toy horses.
"Hey Guy, do you love me?" Tie asked, weaving between trees. He crossed his arms on his chest.
"Uhhh.. Ok, don't take this the wrong way, I mean.. Maybe not like that.." Guy scratched his head.
Tie rolled his eyes.
"No Guy! I mean like a friend! Sorry. I forgot how specific that word is for you people.. Humans in this country and their one meaning for love. Blarg.." Tie said, gagging at the idea.
"Ohhh, ok. Yeah, of course we're friends!" Guy jumped up to hang by a tree branch before letting go, "Why wouldn't we be?"
"I don't know.. Sometimes people act one way, when they really aren't that way.. Felt like asking just in case," Tie said. With both hands he performed a motion like turning two parallel cogs.
"Don't worry. I think you'd be able to tell if I didn't like you. Just ask Jeremy," Guy said, he chuckled, a little embarrassed.
"Yeah.. You know, you act pretty differently as a human. Is there.. stuff.. maybe like instincts.. that make it harder for you to be yourself?" Tie asked. He looked eager to hear what Guy would say, gesturing to his stomach.
"No, not instincts. I don't think humans have instincts. I'm.. He's just paranoid because of what he doesn't know, and scared of rabbids. I don't really care what he thinks to be honest. That me has never been a rabbid so.. I don't expect him to get it.." Guy said, annoyed at himself.
"What's he paranoid will happen?" Tie asked.
"...That he'll die or something embarrassing. Killed by rabbids probably," Guy shrugged.
"Guy..." Tie hesitated, ".. Are you afraid to die?"
"Of course. Who isn't?" Guy said.
"Yeah.. who isn't..." Tie mumbled, suddenly agreeing "Although, you probably won't have to worry about dying much anymore. Maybe you'll even watch everybody else die instead of you in the next hundred years. All the while you stay exactly the same. Or maybe you'll still age, I dunno.."
"That's a grim thought," Guy said, not sure what to think.
"It's a rabbid reality..Well not yet. Rabbids haven't been on Earth long enough to show our age, but there'll be a time when our human friends..fade away," He pouted.
"Are you worried about that? Maybe.. about me?" Guy asked, pointing to himself.
"Now I am..But I've got plenty of time to talk to you before you get old, if you ever will," Tie said, "Hey Guy.. do you have any siblings?"
"No.. why?" Guy asked.
"Me neither.." Tie said, but he was smiling. He chuckled a little, developing it into a bigger crazed laugh. Guy didn't know what it was about, so he kept smiling like he understood, "Ah. I'm really glad I met you Guy.." he sighed.
"The same to you dude," Guy said.
They walked out of the rubber woods into a hall leading to the arcade doors. The arcade's floor was raised and made of wood. The machines were sunk into holes in the floor to make it easier for rabbids to reach them. Tie opened the door for Guy, letting him in, but hesitated entering himself. Guy turned to face him when he noticed. Tie shook his head and followed.
"You ok?" Guy asked.
"I'll be fine," Tie said.
"Mnn.." Guy mumbled.
Tie was definitely acting strange, but not knowing him well enough, there wasn't any way to know if it meant something or if the rabbid was just stressed out.
The retro arcade was well lived in, but maybe a little more worn than the other chambers they visited. The condition was probably due to the way the raised floor made things difficult for moving and fixing game cabinets. Most of the rabbids inside were all grouped together at a fighting game, probably for some sort of event surrounding the machine. Multiple glass doors led to the outermost balcony of the ship. They were pretty high up and it was raining, at least from what Guy could see.
"How should we prepare for the yellow team?" Guy asked, tightening his bandanna.
"Maybe we ought to check all the entrances and exits and figure out what route to expect?" Tie said. He moved one hand underneath the other like it slipped through into another space.
"Can we block off stuff?" Guy asked.
"With what though?" Tie shrugged. Guy looked around. There wasn't anything sitting around that they could borrow. Maybe there were benefits to playing in a junk yard.
"Er, maybe instead we should make a guard march-like schedule thing. Like, I walk around and check the outer deck and the inside here, and you check the other part of the arcade at the same time," Guy suggested.
"But then we wouldn't get to talk, also we couldn't watch each other's backs," Tie pouted.
"True.." Guy said, "Maybe we'll just run around the place a lot and try to keep an eye out. Who knows, maybe the yellow team won't even come through here."
"Yeah!"
Luckily the arcade wasn't very big and only on one floor, although it was 'L' shaped so there was always something that couldn't be seen even if you stood on something tall, as well as the hallway running on the outside of the ship.
The two of them started their duties, running around all sides of the arcade over and over. It wasn't long before their made up route started to become a race. A part of their path passed the fighting game crowd.
"Stop!-Stop running!" A rabbid gamer said, trying to focus on his match while Guy and Tie passed him again. He was wearing a jean jacket covered in pins and a plastic viking helmet with horns.
"BWAH!" Tie paused to shout at him.
"GUH! Normies!" the rabbid winced.
Guy and Tie laughed, running away to where the fighting game crowd couldn't see them.
"First-one-to-Pac-Man-wins!" Tie said quickly.
"Nuh uh!" Guy shouted. Tie was practically at Pac-Man already. Guy grabbed Tie's tie from behind him to pull him into falling, but Tie caught himself and grabbed Guy, trying to push him over instead. The two of them locked together with similar strength, trying to stay standing. Tie started pulling his head out of Guy's grasp, causing them to both lose balance. They started to fall and catch themselves over and over in a sort of clumsy two person run. They crashed into a game cabinet and both fell over each other. Tie tried to get up again, but Guy grabbed his ankle, tripping him. Guy took the opportunity to try and get up himself, but Tie was getting up at the same time.
The rabbid gamer from the fighting game peeked around the corner. He was followed by the other gamers.
"Could you two quiet down!? We're in the middle of something! And you made me LOSE!"
"What?!" Guy giggled, not listening. He was shoved into Pac-Man, "Oh my gosh! I win! I touched it!"
"You have to pass it!" Tie said.
"NO WAY! YOU SAID TO GET TO IT, NOT PAST IT!" Guy squeaked.
"YOU HAVE TO PASS IT!" Tie shouted.
"Shut up!" The gamer said.
"Dude oh my gourd, just get good, they weren't even that loud," another gamer said, rolling his eyes.
"GET THIS!" the gamer swung a fist at the heckler, causing the heckler to back up into the crowd. He was shoved in the back. The whole crowd started to shove, devolving quickly into grabbing and punching for fun. A passing group from the indoor hall saw through the glass doors. One shoved the other. Their friend punched back.
All the while Guy and Tie were still caught trying to push each other over, Tie mostly trying to keep Guy from passing Pac-Man.
A rabbid flew through the air toward Guy. Guy ducked, the rabbid hit the wall, sticking to it briefly before peeling off. Guy and Tie faced the rest of the arcade to discover it was filled with rabbids caught in a brawl. At first Guy was terrified, already getting flashbacks to the Junkard, but when studying the faces of the mighty moshers, they were all smiles. Even the rabbids fighting in the hall.
He looked back to Tie. The rabbid beckoned, his fists up.
Guy chuckled. What had they started? He put his fists up too, Tie and himself circling each other. They were just shoving before, but was Guy really willing to punch Tie? Was he supposed to go all out or hold back? Tie suddenly swiped a side hook into Guy's face, making contact. He knew now. Guy swung at Tie's shoulder. He made contact, but lost his balance, stumbling forward. Tie grabbed his arm and pulled him to the ground. Guy tried to hit him on the way down, but missed. Tie leapt to elbow drop him while he was down but Guy rolled out of the way. Tie winced, hitting the bare floor instead.
"You good?" Guy asked.
"Yup, yup!" Tie got up. He shook his arms to stretch them out before he continued. He started to chase. Guy understood and ran away. With so many people now engaged in their own multi person brawl, it was going to be more difficult to get some distance. Once Guy got to a certain speed, he realized the crowd in front of him didn't need to be an obstacle. Leading with his elbow he bashed his way through the crowd, tripping up several rabbids on impact. Tie tried to do the same but was stopped when the crowd noticed and braced for him. Guy picked himself up.
"You!" The gamer rabbid pointed to Guy, circling him.
"..Game didn't go so well!?" Guy taunted him.
"SHUT UPPPP!" The gamer charged, his eyes red. Guy jumped out of the way. The gamer rammed his viking helmet into a game cabinet, cracking it.
"Olé!" The crowd said.
"Clone of a white rabbid.." the gamer swore, getting back up. He pulled his helmet free of the machine and put it back on his head. He spit on the floor, "COME ON! ONE MORE!"
"This kinda feels like rage. Why not.. Why don't you finish the phrase and QUIT?" Guy said.
"Oooooh.." The crowd cooed, all while still slapping each other silly.
"YOU'RE SO DEAD!" The gamer charged again. Guy let him get just close enough before getting out of the way. The gamer couldn't stop himself and flung straight through the glass door to the outdoor balcony. He bounced off the side of the ship, "YOU'RE GAYYYyyyyyyyyy-" He said all the way down.
The room exploded with cheers. It was cool, but that rabbid was probably the worst and most predictable fighter in the room. Maybe he really did need to get good after all.
Tie finally pushed the mob out of the way to chase Guy again. Guy turned and started shoving people to try to get through to the indoor hallway. In the hall, even more people were fighting. He weaved through rabbids smacking each other with chairs and slapping each other with swords, but he knew it was never in a way that stung nearly as much as falling several stories. If Guy knew anything about rabbid strength and pain tolerance, violence like this was very different from an actual battle. He was glad. You could never do this to the scale it had gotten to with humans. Throwing somebody into the wall would give a human a concussion, but for rabbids it was only a brief pause in a classic game.
Serguei, the giant rabbid, was here too, laughing hysterically, kicking the competition through the air like soccer balls. Guy saw one fly far and land in the upper balcony the next floor up. Tie saw it too, running up to Serguei with his hands raised.
"DO ME! DO ME! Tie shouted. Other rabbids did the same. Surguei took a step back and kicked Tie up into the balcony. Tie almost slipped off the edge, but he was able to pull himself up onto the platform. More rabbids gathered around Serguei to be kicked. The giant gave them each a turn.
"Me! Me!" Guy shouted. It was funny to think he had been afraid of this rabbid initially. Maybe Serguei's feet were tired or he was just getting a little too excited, but instead of kicking Guy he scooped him up in his giant paw and pitched him like a baseball. Guy flew much higher past the balcony and through the glass doors of a hotel suite.
Inside, rabbid in her pajamas was on the phone in bed, curling the wire in her hands. Looking around the mess it seemed like she lived here. Guy might've also made a mess of the place on impact.
"Uh.. I'll get out..Leave.." Guy stepped out back the way he came.
On the balcony Tie greeted him.
"Did you see me?! That was amazing!" Tie made a claw hand and shook it around his mouth in awe.
"I know! You flew! I flew! I fell right into that lady's house!" Guy shouted, pointing to the hole in the wall. He was still stinging from it actually.
Guy and Tie went to the edge of the balcony to witness the brawl. It was like recess with no rules and too many kids. Another rabbid was thrown their way, they ducked but the rabbid was far too high to hit them anyway.
"Oh my gosh! Guy look!" Tie pointed.
Weaving in the crowd was a rabbid pushing through the brawl. She had on a particularly damning yellow scarf clashing with her black and gray insectoid alien armor going on. She used her stylized tower shield to push through the pack. Guy and Tie leaned in to look closely at the enemy player. It was hard to tell what was in her hands with her shield so close to her body. They stared even harder. She turned a little. She had purple football in her grasp.
Tie stood up and gasped, but Guy covered his mouth.
"Jerry, we got to stay quiet! We'll lose her if we chase her in there," Guy said, "Do you know where she's headed?"
"She headed to Boat-Bound England. That's where the Flintlock fort is," Tie said. He pointed generally behind him.
"You think we could cut her off?" Guy asked.
"I think so. Follow me!" Tie said. He got up and led Guy through the balcony. He stopped when he saw the brawl blocking their way. Tie paused to think "... Oh!"
He ran back the way they came. He looked down the balcony to the previous floor, making sure the shielded rabbid didn't see them, "Let's jump back down. I have an idea.." He fell down the balcony, Guy followed. They went through the arcade to the outdoor walkway. Hardly any rabbids were there.
"Yesss!" Tie said, running down the deck.
Guy paused. The groups down at the beach were circling up and throwing punches. The wrestling had spread all the way out there, maybe even the entire boat. Tie noticed Guy's attention shift and quietly snuck behind him.
"Rarrg!" Tie pounced on Guy, but Guy didn't reciprocate, patting Tie to get his attention instead.
"Jerry look.." Guy said.
"Wait..No way.." Tie let go of Guy to see, "Did we do that?" He put a finger on his shoulder and then moved it to his other shoulder.
"I think so.. I hope they're all having fun out there," Guy said.
"Eh they'll be fine.. Um," He noticed something on the beach. Guy looked for what he was watching. The verminator force was still stalking the rabbids like hyenas to a herd. The pirates and vikings were countering them, making sure they didn't get too close. Tie broke his daze and continued down the shortcut. Guy followed as best he could.
Going quickly around the outside of the ship, they made good time without the crowd.
They slipped back inside to a hall between the arcade and Boat-Bound England. Tie waited by a corner, peeking briefly. Guy stood against the wall next to him.
"You see anything?" Guy asked.
"Not yet, but she's gotta come down this way. It's probably the fastest, unless they changed the boat around," Tie said. He looked like he pretended to quickly pull back two strings with finger guns.
"Is there a chance she already passed us?" Guy asked.
"Doubt it.." Tie said, "Oo! I see her." Tie stopped peeking.
They waited, watching rabbid traffic pass them, anticipating their target. Before it seemed like she might've gone back, she walked into view.
Guy and Tie practically pushed each other over with the force they used to run up for a tackle. She quickly countered with her shield, shoving them to the ground.
"OH! Sorry!" She said. She turned and continued running for Boat-Bound England. Guy and Tie leap up after her, but she was surprisingly quick.
Their target quickly opened up a door and went through. Guy and Tie did the same. The humidity hit them like a wall. They had walked into a stair platform high up in a waterpark. Unlike an ordinary water park, the fiberglass tubes were so densely packed in the space that Guy knew none of it would pass a safety inspection. These were the kinds of rides you would design in a tycoon game when you were too bored to keep the guests alive. The shielded rabbid was already using her shield to slide down an open top slide. Guy and Tie dived in after her. Not yet too steep, Guy tried to scoot himself faster on his belly like a penguin while Tie sat upright, pushing himself mostly with his hands. He ran into Guy, the both of them slowing each other down. Guy was about to come up with a strategy but he noticed a steep slope ahead of them going into a dark section in the floor.
Guy looked at Tie. Tie looked at Guy, the water flying into his face already as they gained speed. The shielded rabbid vanished into the void and then they too were enveloped. It seemed the two rabbids had the same instincts because they both decided to grab each other, their eyes shut to keep out water. Light? Guy peeked. The top of the slide had see through spots like a multicolored meteor shower. They used to have these when he was a kid.
They started to slow down and level off, the light at the end of the slide in sight. There was a platform to leave the slide, but Guy and Tie didn't slow down nearly enough to realize that's what it was. The shielded rabbid did a kickflip off the slide and landed on the platform while Guy and Tie watched helplessly as they flew past her.
The continued slide got steeper again, but also started to curve into a turn. The turn began to get tighter and tighter, forcing Guy and Tie on the slide's wall until, without losing any speed, it spit them out, sending them flying. Guy slapped against a wall. He peeled himself off and picked himself up. The section of the wall he had stuck to was labeled 'ten points'. Tie fell from the ceiling. 'Sixty points'. Guy hadn't even been playing but he still felt a ping of jealousy. It was significantly colder in there, as if they had entered a fridge.
Guy looked around. They were in a series of dimly lit narrow industrial spaces without much glamor. It looked like it used to be the employee access hallways, but with the graffiti of a concert venue. Somewhere a large machine was rattling and pumping. Maybe this was also where the ship's engines and mechanical parts made sure the rest of the party kept running.
"Jerry, do you know where we are?" Guy asked. The air was so cold Guy could see his breath, his wet clothes made it even more uncomfortable.
"We're in the maintenance dungeon. I've never actually been here," Tie said. He awkwardly chopped the air.
"Is it.. dangerous?" Guy asked. The strange sounds and lack of people were off putting.
"Probably not," Tie said, "Anything dangerous is locked up."
They two began to sneak around the dungeon, looking for a way out. Before their confidence began building, it was a fight to see who would take a step forward first. After they realized nothing was going to jump out at them, their pace went back to normal.
"I'm guessing the criminals are trapped in these rooms?" Guy asked. Not built for being a holding chamber, there were no cells with bars like a classic prison, although some of the doors were locked with chains and wood boards, their doorknobs welded shut. Some of them had a chilly vapor escaping under the thresholds.
"Looks like it. You'd think they'd have a guard or something right?" Tie asked. He made an 'X' with his fists.
"Maybe everybody already knows not to mess with this place," Guy said.
"Yeah. Maybe everyone agreed to put them in jail so nobody expects anyone to break them out," Tie said. He pretended to break something.
"But what about people like us who don't know?" Guy asked.
"Maybe they didn't expect too many people like us to come down here," Tie said.
"Maybe.." Guy said, "You having fun?"
"Oh plenty! It's a great send off.. Uh for the coming weekend," Tie said.
"That's good to hear. You and Tuller seemed stressed out," Guy said.
"About the Red Rabbid? Yeah. But I'm better now. Got him off my mind. I've accepted whatever will happen," Tie tapped his head.
"Er, I'm glad, I hate seeing you two upset. You of all people deserve to be happy," Guy said.
"Speaking of, how are you and Tuller?" Tie covered his right eye.
"Like, how are we feeling?" Guy was confused.
"I mean, you two's relationship. Do you feel they trust you, think of you as their friend?" Tie said. He interlocked his 'pointer' fingers two ways.
"I would have to ask them.. I think they trust me a lot more today than yesterday," Guy said.
"That's good," Tie nodded.
"I'm sure we're at least friends, but I don't know how close. I wouldn't blame him for taking his time. I've come to accept that," Guy said.
"Do you think you two would still hang out if I was away?" Tie played with his tie.
"Why? Are you going somewhere?" Guy tilted his head.
"Not yet.. But if I did, I wouldn't want things to be too awkward between you two," Tie said. He pawed at the air, making a frown.
"Oh..? Are you leaving soon? Where to?" Guy asked.
"Not too far away.." Tie said, his expression unreadable.
"Not too far away?" Guy repeated, "Did you tell Tuller.. that you were planning on going somewhere?" He asked slowly.
"It's not really any of their concern," Tie said, looking away, yet Guy could see his unerasable grin, like he was trying to hold in a chuckle, "You wouldn't tattle on me, would you Guy? You know there's some things I'd like to keep private from them."
"U-uh of course," Guy said.
"Good.." Tie lit up again, "Sorry about asking you to keep a secret! But I don't want to hear what they would say. I'll tell them when I'm ready, but I've already made up my mind.."
Guy understood, although did he really?
The two of them found a ladder going up, so they took it hoping it would lead them out. All the while Guy feared Tie might've been doing something foolish after all, but it was clear the rabbid wasn't interested in sharing exactly what. Maybe it was none of Guy's business, but if Tie got hurt, would it be Guy's fault for not saying anything? Maybe. But was it Guy's job to police people? What was the line between privacy and intervention? Maybe for now he would just have to watch over Tie, make sure the young rabbid didn't get himself trapped somewhere he couldn't escape. At least for as long as Guy was a rabbid anyway.
At the top, Tie squeezed a latch, pushing it open. Climbing out, Tie and Guy found themselves at the very back of a concert floor. Very few rabbids were back there, nodding their heads to the live band from a reasonable distance, separated from the main crowd.
"You know, I just realized we went on a waterslide with all of our valuables on our backs. I hope my 3DS survived," Guy said, although Tie's words were still on his mind. He took his bag off and squeezed out some water. Luckily the water was mostly at the bottom of the bag. Guy put his bag down and opened it, checking on his stuff and moving it to drier pockets.
Tie did the same with his own bag.
"You think anybody would mind a slightly soggy broken up chocolate bar since it's still in its packaging?" Tie asked.
"I'd eat it," Guy said.
"You want it?" Tie held the bar up.
"Yup!"
Tie threw it over, Guy caught it. He started to open the wrapper, surprised at how much better he was at using hands without fingers. They had a sort of finger-like control to them anyway.
"We might've missed our opportunity to get our flag back," Tie said, embarrassed. He zipped up his bag and put it back on.
"Eh, why not still try to catch up? We can't be the only ones after her. Maybe she ran into trouble. Do you know where we are now?" Guy put his bag on too.
"We're at one of the stages. I know where we are, but I forget the name.. Maybe it's the Peg-leg Stage?" Tie scratched his head
"Well, where do you think we should go?" Guy asked.
"Oh, Right! Ermm, I guess we can just keep heading to fort Flintlock in Boat-Bound England. I know where it is!" Tie started to head out of the concert hall. Guy followed.
With the corridors free from active brawling, traffic was moving smoothly again. Groups of rabbids were panting, lying on the floor, leaning on the walls and lazily attempting one last swing at their friends.
Of course Guy had never been to this hallway, but he wondered if it always had this amount of rabbid shaped holes in the walls. Given what the rest of the ship looked like, maybe it wasn't the first time they had to patch it up after a sudden violent romp. That would make Guy feel a little better. If the ship looked like this all the time maybe Tie and himself weren't entirely to blame for causing a boat wide bout of destruction.
Rabbids were far more powerful than he had initially thought, especially when working in numbers. If all the rabbids on the ship wanted to act on something like the brawl, who could really stop them? Their majesty was equal to the terrifying potential waiting within every bunny. Even in himself there was something bigger than cruise ships more lovely than seaside sunrises and darker than the bottom of the ocean. Every night he was going to find more of it and break off parts of his hardened old heart and work out his stretchy rubber new one.
A zing of wishful thinking caught him daydreaming at the idea of feeling the sun on his fuzzy face and not fearing for the time he had left. The thrill made his heart beat, his lungs burn. To be a rabbid forever, he wished he knew what it meant. The doubt that this was all he ever wanted was small and hiding from the zealot in the mirror. Yet the doubt still lived, looking up in horror at the infinite potential he was now faced with. Trying to understand was like attempting to hold the night sky within a fence. What were all these things to a real rabbid? Who would he be if he had to live amongst the glory and the haunting without escape?
What about the other rabbids? The beings who faced this immortal vastness every passing moment? Was it all the same to them? Unable to know if human understanding was better or worse than the exploding emotions of rabbid existence.
When his friends were sad or scared like today, did they feel a more vivid dread than he could comprehend? Were their hearts rubbery as Guy's was becoming, or secretly in agony against the erosion of time? What did they experience when Red Rabbid showed his face?
Now thinking about it, with so much Tie was keeping secret, maybe the Red Rabbid had come for him after all.
Tie was in front of him, leading him to 'Boat-Bound England'. Who knew what was on his mind to make him act so odd, but at least it was a happy sort of odd. Guy had only known Tie for two nights not including this one. Maybe it was only natural for him to show his quirks at this stage in their relationship. Besides, rabbids were some of the quirkiest people he'd ever met. It would be ignorant to assume Tie was any less quirky because he tended to act human. That act, or at least the manifestation of Tie's interests affecting his demeanor, had to have helped Guy feel comfortable when they initially met. The rabbid had also accepted Guy as a friend even after discovering who he used to be, something that Stickers wouldn't have considered without Tie's persuasion. Guy's experiences as a rabbid would be very different without Tie. If the young rabbid was going to go somewhere 'not too far away' maybe Guy could try to come with him. Surely Tie didn't mean he was going with the Red Rabbid somewhere. In fact, it seemed like Tie hated the legendary leporidae. Hating somebody who, in some scholars' interpretation, was a being of karma, only made Tie seem even more suspicious.
Would Tie do something that even Guy thought was too far? What could that rabbid do to have somebody as respected as Red warn him? There were definitely plenty of things Tie could do to cause Guy harm or betray him, but it was hard for Guy to picture himself in a position where he would let someone take Tie away to satisfy that betrayal. Guy didn't have any brothers but...
Tie opened the door to Boat-Bound England, holding it open for Guy to walk through.
"Thank you," Guy said.
"Of course," Tie said.
Boat-Bound England was a lot like the faux forest they passed by earlier, making Guy believe that they somehow were a part of the same territory. What set this chamber apart was its much larger size and densely packed buildings taking up most of the space. Despite being inside a boat it really did sell the idea that it was an ordinary town somewhere in England.. well maybe not modern England. There were still knights in steel armor walking around and some stereotypical dirty peasant-looking townspeople mixed in with the more modern ones. Also all the visitors in cosplay made the place start to feel more like a comic convention. Now that he thought of it, rabbids in general made things feel more like a comic convention. High over in the corner of the chamber had to be fort Flintlock, a classic stonework castle, or at least it looked the part anyway.
Guy and Tie followed the tiny sidewalk into town. Skateboarding punk and emo rabbids were practicing on railings. It was odd to have a human-like architecture built rabbid sized. It was as if Guy was in a reality where rabbids were native to Earth and humans were the aliens. There was probably a good book in there somewhere.
"Don't look now," Tie gestured to his eyes, "The enemy team's just over there."
Guy followed his gaze and found them.
A rabbid dressed as a robot pirate fox was 'playing chess' with the rabbid shepherd.
"M-m-m-my army of HORSEYS w-w-will take over your PILLAR BASE yaarrg! Haha-arg!" The fox said, glitching his words.
"..What?" The rabbid shepherd said, confused, "Let's start over. I'll reset the board."
Guy and Tie hid in a narrow alley.
"Do you think they saw us?" Guy asked.
"No. Chess is too thought consuming," Tie shook his head.
"Should we try to tag them?"
"Mmm.. I'd say our best bet is to wait until we see our flag. Fort Flintlock is nearby, the blue team would respawn too quickly," Tie said.
"True true," Guy nodded.
The alley was so narrow Tie could touch both walls with his arms extended. He could even do the same with his legs if he really stretched.
He started to climb up the alley, surprising Guy at how quickly he gained height.
"What?!" Guy gasped.
"Oh sorry," Tie gave himself a deep voice, pretending to be tall, "Didn't see you down there pipsqueak."
Guy started trying it out himself but couldn't get into a rhythm.
"How did you do that?" He chuckled. He could only begin to hold himself off the ground.
"I don't know!" Tie shrugged, "I've done it before, don't know how to explain it. Try it! The roof's a good vantage point!"
"Trying to try it.." Guy grumbled.
Tie climbed up the rest of the way to the roof. Guy sighed, somewhat alone now. He gripped the walls, trying again to go up instead of awkwardly pivoting in place. He pulled himself up using his arms, then his legs to hold him at his new height. Now if only he could do that several more times.
He looked out the alley to the foot traffic in Boat-Bound England. It hadn't changed much but a rabbid had stopped in a place where he could see Guy if he turned his head. It was as good a time as any to get higher.
"Guy, you coming?" Tie asked, peeking down.
"I am, but quietly.. There's-" Guy stopped talking when the rabbid turned his head and walked up to him.
"Oh wow... Are you stuck?" It was Stickers, clearly messing with him, "You know I could help you down if you want.." he tried to reach for Guy, but Guy leaned out of the way.
"Um, no thank you. And just let you tag me?" Guy asked. Stickers moved their hand slowly while Guy avoided it.
"Well it would make my job easier," Stickers yawned, "Oh my gosh how am I ever going to catch you? You're so fast."
"Guy!" Tie threw a rope down. Guy grabbed it and started pulling himself up the alley. Stickers jumped up to tag him but missed.
"Ha!" Guy barked Sticker's way, far above him now. Stickers climbed after him even faster than Tie had, "Oh shoot!" Guy panicked, climbing up the rest of the way. He fell over the edge onto the roof. Only a moment later Stickers shot up from the alley. He smirked when he saw Tie.
"Well well well. Looks like I've found TWO slowpokes!" He cracked his knuckles.
"RUN!" Tie squeaked. Doing two finger guns flexing on top of one another.
The only way to run was across the roofs of the neighboring businesses. Most of them were around the same height but the tallest building at the end of the block would have to be climbed. That would slow him down too much. It would ultimately be better to stop running and jump into the road. He wasn't as high as Treetops, but any pain he would endure during the landing was bound to slow him down too. He had to land without hurting himself before he got to the end of the block.
Stickers was so close to him. Of course out of the two of them Stickers would choose to pick on Guy.
Guy made up his mind. He zagged serpentine and launched himself off the roof. He hadn't looked where he was falling. He slammed into some pedestrians.
"Good heavens!" a lady rabbid stood up and shook dirt off her dress. A knight helped her stand up, "M'lady, are you alright?"
"Excuse me!" Guy picked himself up. They had cushioned his fall even if he didn't mean to use them.
Stickers dropped onto the two rabbids, making them fall all over again. The knight's anger rose all the way up to his ears.
"En garde!" The rabbid stuck his sword out and pointed at Stickers. Stickers flicked it, launching the sword into a brick wall. The knight paused, looking at his sword lodged deep into the masonry "Nevermind!" The knight grabbed his m'lady by the wrist and ran away.
"Ok! Wait, let's talk about this! You're three times stronger than I am! Is this really fair? Why can't we make a deal?" Guy put his arms up, but he didn't stop backing away.
"No deal Guy. I don't want your information. Besides, I already went easy on you," Stickers shook his head, "Eventually you're going to have to learn to run from people several times stronger than you. I'm sure every rabbid here does it at least once a week."
Rabbids around him nodded.
"So I guess I'm..." Guy cut himself off, making a dash to the nearest shop. A furniture and home decor store. Stickers followed him. Guy picked up a rabbid sized wooden chair with its legs facing Stickers. He shoved the legs at the rabbid but they caught it, pulling Guy by the chair.
Guy dropped it and looked around for something to throw. A display cup full of wooden spoons. Guy picked up the cup and threw a spoon at Stickers. He missed.
"Really!?" Stickers barked at the awful throw.
"SHUT!" He threw another spoon. It hit Stickers in the chest. He threw another. Stickers caught the spoon and threw it back. It struck Guy on his forehead with enough force to knock him over. It happened so fast his attempt at getting up looked more like a confused flailing. He got himself standing and moving just before Stickers overtook him, putting another chair in his way. The chair didn't last long as a shield. Guy was already moving past it, running to the shop's tall isles.
He ran around an isle and stopped when he saw Stickers about to enter the loop. Whichever way Stickers was going to commit to, Guy had to be ready to go the other way. Stickers leaned one way like they were about to chase Guy. Guy stayed still. Stickers hit their fist on the table in frustration. They tried at it again. Guy ran the other way. He looked to see Stickers had committed to the direction he leaned to, giving Guy an advantage. Before Guy could escape the isle, the shelves started to tilt toward him. Too late to think, it was already falling on top of him with all of its fine china, picture frames, and knick knacks. He climbed through the junk and saw Stickers standing over him on the other side.
"Alright that's enough," Stickers smiled as he walked up and reached for Guy.
He stopped. Behind him was Tie, who had just tagged them on their back. Stickers signed. They took their bandana off.
"OOHH!" Guy pointed.
Tie smirked.
"Yeah yeah," Stickers rolled their eye. They walked up to Guy and pulled him out of the shelves.
"Nice save!" Guy said to Tie, "You were so quiet! I didn't even see you until you tagged Tuller!"
"He was focused on you," Tie shrugged, "Why not take the opportunity."
Guy looked around at the state of the shop.
"..You think the person who owns this place will be mad?" He said.
"Eh, if they are, they really shouldn't have expected any better. Stuff like this is supposed to be used for roleplay anyway," Stickers shrugged.
A rabbid dressed as a bull walked in to take a peek, but turned around when they found the place already trashed.
"Still feels irresponsible to leave it the way it is.." Tie muttered.
"Urrg fine! We'll make it slightly better than we trashed it, but I'm not making it better than I found it," Stickers said. They started pulling the shelf up and putting the items back on that were still intact. Guy and Tie did the same.
"So, how's the game on your end? Are you having a good time?" Stickers asked. He gagged at a 'Live, Laugh, Love' wood carving.
"Yeah actually!" Tie chirped, "Guy and I were wrestling and the whole place started to go nuts!" He drew a circle in the air gesturing at his head as if the rabbids on the boat were crazy.
"That was you two?!" Stickers chuckled, "Who won?"
Guy and Tie thought about it.
"Guy did. Not because he was stronger, but he threw this one rabbid off the boat!" Tie said.
"Really? Guy did?" Stickers doubted it.
"He kinda threw himself," Guy shrugged, trying to organize pieces of a plate like a puzzle.
"Yeah but you literally said something like 'Why don't you rage quit gamer?' and he got so mad he threw himself off the boat!" Tie made a scowl and held a flexed hand to his face.
"You were quipping?" Stickers raised a brow at Guy, delighted.
"Maybe a little," Guy said.
Stickers laughed.
"On your way to becoming the next spider-rabbid! That's hilarious. Jerry, what did he say again? Was the rabbid a gamer?" Stickers asked, sweeping broken porcelain into a cup.
"Total gamer. Guy told him.. he said something like 'you're pretty enraged, why don't you quit too!' And the gamer charged at him and ran off the side of the ship," Tie said.
Stickers laughed even harder.
"That's fantastic!" Stickers said. They stacked a bunch of cups.
"I didn't think about it much. Was just.. having fun," Guy shrugged, but he was smiling, not sure what to do with the attention.
"Exactly! Just run with it! Have fun! Do what you want! That's what you ought to do as a rabbid!" Stickers said, "Aw, we gotta find you a hobby or something. Then you'd be golden! If you like quipping, maybe try being a hero or some sort of entertainer? OH OH! If you like wrestling that's a whole thing right there! That's like both!"
"Sounds a bit much for now.. Not that I wasn't thinking about being a character, but I think I need more time to figure myself out," Guy said. He stood a chair up.
"Hey, that's perfect too! Just giving you some ideas. At the end of the day it isn't about me. You do whatever makes you feel at home," Stickers said.
"Gotcha," Guy said.
The group took a step back to observe their work at cleaning up the shelves they trashed. Guy's end was trying to look nice, but the broken things were still broken. All of Sticker's area was hidden or turned into something different than they were previously. Tie had actually gone ahead and thrown away anything broken from his area.
"You think it's good enough?" Guy asked.
"We shouldn't have even started from the get go," Stickers said.
"It needs some work.. but I admit I don't care enough to make it any better," Tie said. He made a bored face and looked as if he pretended to take off a non-existent nose. Stickers was already leaving. Guy and Tie joined them outside.
"Are you going to go back to Flintlock?" Guy asked.
"Hate to say it, but my duty requires me to get medical aid for my tag," Stickers sighed.
"You make it sound like a disease," Guy said.
"Diseases do spread from person to person," Tie said.
"Humans really need to stop with the whole 'getting sick' thing. If germs are so small how do they kill people? It doesn't make any sense," Stickers said.
"Sure Tuller, sure," Tie nodded slowly.
"Don't.. I'll figure it out.. Eventually.." Stickers said. They started to run back toward fort Flintlock.
"Guy!" Tie shouted by the time Stickers was out of earshot, "That was great! I think Tuller trusts you now one hundred percent! What a relief."
"Maybe we're friends. Don't know about how much they trust me with something important," Guy said.
"Um? What am I?" Tie gestured to himself, "They trusted you with their best friend! Twice! People tell me he's protective of me, so that's pretty big. They were not like that before. You should've heard all the nasty things he thought about you when we first found out. He couldn't make up his mind, like, you were a lie or not real, but I think they truly see you as a real rabbid now." He put a 'pointed finger' to his lips and brought it forward swiftly.
"You think? Do you see me as a real rabbid?" Guy didn't think so, but there was no way he could tell on his own.
"Oh. Erm, I don't know what it's like to be human so I wouldn't know how to tell the difference! Ah, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that you and Tuller get along!" Tie said.
"If you say so," Guy said, disappointed by the lack of insight. Tie was still thinking about the trip he mentioned. Something about it made Guy off put.
The lights in the ship snapped dim. Red glow flared along with emergency sirens. The surprise made Guy and Tie hold onto one another. Pirates and vikings moved away from their posts and charged for the side of the ship facing the beach.
"What's going on?" Guy asked.
"It's all hands on deck.. Some sort of emergency," Tie said, still just as frightened.
"Is it the Red Rabbid?" Guy said, noticing the lights.
"I.. I don't know," Tie breathed. He saw a pirate stop to load his rifle. Not a plunger gun, but a real one. The pirate kept running. Tie kept watching. He found himself following too. Guy realized where they were going and stayed close behind.
It seemed like the whole ship was looking out at the beach. The rabbids were on edge, desperate to get a peek, to get a word in. Some shivered, fur on edge, shiny in the rain. A legion had their firearms over the railing ready to shoot. They had to be threatening verminators. Tie had found an open space to see past the crowd, Guy joined him. On the beach like dots, verminators were stalking rabbids with intention. They had electric staffs and sorts of gun looking devices of their own. A van sat on the sand, running nearby.
"WAIT! Wait!" An unseen commander hushed the hoard. The hush had the verminators look up. The verminator general shoved her co-worker. The co-worker focused, a rabbid in his sight. She was barking at him, giving him orders, keeping her eye on the hoard above. The co-worker aimed his weapon. It fired. A net surrounded a rabbid, capturing him.
The hoard roared with so much yelling and gunfire it surrounded all of Guy's senses, vibrating even through his organs. He was aghast, terrified. Their eyes red like Stickers, but now infecting everyone but himself. Tie, he couldn't tell. His friend was so still, silent, watching the verminators run for their lives to their van. The rabbid soldiers tried to keep shooting, some losing control, their weapons snapping and splintering in their hands as they held them. Some were put into their maws and pulled apart by their teeth. If there was nothing to break they scratched at the ground or gnawed at the balcony, all in a show of fury directed to their enemy. One diligent rabbid gunman was nearby Guy and Tie. He tried to calm himself. His grip shaking, about to break his rifle. Tie saw him, watching, hypnotized. The gunman cocked the rifle again and tried to stay still. His eyes on the verminator general. He held his breath, watching the general and her verminators run for the van with their captive. The rabbid gunman stayed very still, the sights right over the general's head. He fired. The general dove into the van, and looked back. He missed. The gunman roared, losing his temper, throwing his weapon overboard. The general was getting away. Tie was still transfixed, starting to shiver and grip the railing harder.
He slammed his fists hard on the railing, over and over, joining the choir. Not strong enough to damage it, he bit into it instead, although it wasn't much better. Tie looked over the railing again. The lights from the car were fading away. Some rabbids on the beach chased it but it was already gone.
Guy watched him, unsure of what to think. He didn't want to move, lest the rabbids found him a more appealing target. Tie punched at the railing again. He stopped and shook his head, holding his ears for some sort of stability. Guy hadn't picked up on it before, but the outrage wasn't just angry, but seemingly painful. Tie tried holding his face, clearing some tears. He shook his head in frustration. He looked around and ran back inside the ship. Guy, surprised, followed him. Inside the red lights still flared but the siren was silent. There were very few rabbids left inside, most of them hiding. Tie ran into a store in Boat-Bound England. Guy ran in after him, but was stopped when Tie turned around.
"WHY DID YOU FOLLOW ME!?" He barked. He wasn't acting out as much but his eyes were still red, his fur still on end.
"Sorry!" Guy put his arms up in defense.
"No, no I'M sorry! I hate feeling like this! It's so STUPID!" He kicked a bit of trash on the ground.
"What's going on? Why is everyone freaking out?" Guy asked.
"A rabbid was just kidnapped!" He put his arms up, "Who wouldn't be out of their F-F-FREAKING MINDS!" Tie shook his head. He wouldn't look at Guy, pacing in place, his hands locked in fists.
"..What's going to happen to him?" Guy asked.
"Probably nothing.." Tie said. He made his hand into a zero, "Verminators know if they keep a rabbid too long bad things happen.. Unless nobody knows you exist. Everybody saw the rabbid get kidnapped, so they'll probably be back by tomorrow."
"That's good.. so there's nothing to worry about right?" Guy got a little closer.
"Right.." Tie muttered, but he didn't look any better. He flexed his fists ".. I hate feeling like this..Hate hate hate it!"
"Being angry?"
"Having rage! It sucks! I..I messed up back there, acting like that! Thinking stuff that I shouldn't think.. I just can't help it sometimes you know..?" He held his face, trying really hard not to cry.
"Are you going to be ok?"
"Yeah, just.. I.. I just need to catch my breath," Tie sat down. Guy sat down next to him.
"Isn't rage like a defense mechanism?" He asked, "Isn't it normal?"
"That's what Tuller would say but, I never 'defended' anything going mad. It's only to protect yourself.. It's selfish."
"Is protecting yourself selfish?" He didn't actually know himself.
"When you hurt people, sure," Tie said, putting his 'pointer fingers' together, "Ok, I know I didn't actually hurt anyone.. It's just thoughts but, what are you supposed to think of yourself.. when there's something inside you that wants to harm other people? What does that mean about who I am? What we are?"
"Being mad doesn't mean you'd actually do any of those things.." Guy said.
"But there are rabbids who do! How do I know I'm not like that?" Tie asked.
"Because you aren't? You aren't violent, that's not you. And, even if you were a little bit, Tuller's had far more rage episodes than you ever did, and I still think he's a real noble rabbid anyway," Guy said. He almost stuttered, well aware how delicate the conversation was.
"He's noble now.. There was a time when he wasn't.." Tie grumbled. He put two 'fingers' to his chest like a badge.
"But he's still noble now.." Guy said.
"He is.." Tie said, "He is.." He laid on the ground and sighed, his eyes blue. Guy noticed, trying not to gasp.
"Do you feel better?" He asked, curious.
"Mnn.." Tie gave a weak thumbs up.
"Your eyes are back to normal. Did you.. feel it?"
"Not in my eyes.." Tie said. He closed his eyes and gestured to his heart.
Guy did the same. Somewhere under Guy's own skin was the very same alien muscle. The symbol of the emotional self that transcended the human rabbid culture barrier. Everyone had been moved to violence by what they saw tonight, everyone but him. Could he even lose himself in rage like the others? Or was he still too human? It was a part of the horror that he had predicted he was going to face if he wanted to know what being a rabbid meant? For Tie it was clearly something he was ashamed and confused by. What relationship would Guy have with his version of the defense mechanism? Would it be too painful to ever want to feel again? Could he stop if he started? What if he hurt someone like Tie feared could happen, and supposedly did happen with other rabbids? What did it mean to have something like that as a part of yourself? The others had to know, especially Stickers. If Stickers said it was a natural part of being a rabbid, he was probably close to the truth. Depending on how it manifested for Guy, would he be satisfied with that explanation? Or find it conflicting like Tie did? He was overthinking things that hadn't yet happened...
Guy looked back to Tie, who was still lying on the floor. His breathing was slow but his face was tense, as if he wasn't fully at peace. He had been in conflict with something the entire night.
Shopping, wrestling and looking for their team's flag had been a great distraction, but it always ended with them talking about troubling things Guy didn't understand. He wished he could truly clear the rabbid of what was ailing him, but what else could he do? Maybe he had to accept that he couldn't make Tie feel better like the rabbid often did for him. Guy couldn't fight whatever was fighting Tie, just as Tie couldn't stop Guy from losing his memory after sunrise. He hoped the things he had tried at least amounted to something. That he had a positive impact on someone for once.
Guy could see a gathering of rabbids in Boat-Bound England through the shop's window. Recognizing some of them, he realized it was the capture the flag teams.
"Jerry?" Guy tried waking Tie up. He kneeled next to the rabbid and gently poked his tummy.
"I heard you Guy.." Tie tapped his ear. He opened his eyes.
"I think the capture the flag teams are making a truce or something. Do you wanna see?" Guy asked.
"Might as well," Tie shrugged.
They both got up and walked to the center of Boat-Bound England where the teams were talking. The lights in the boat went back to normal soon after.
Amongst the group was Stickers who was heaving like they were catching their breath. Guy knew better. With all the explosive gunfire they were sure to have gone mad like the rest of them. When Tie walked up to them they went in for a hug. Illustrated by the strength and closeness of the embrace, Guy understood Sticker's worry and relief. When they looked at Guy they touched his shoulder, as if testing if he was still sturdy; not frail or frightened. Guy leaned into it, happy to be worried about.
The lumberjack leader spoke up.
"Ok so with the emergency events that have just unfolded, the game will be voted for permanent suspension.. Or something," He said.
"Yeah seeing the verminator general take one of our own tonight kinda tanked the mood," the bat supervillain pouted. The crowd nodded.
"All those in favor of canceling this game raise your hand," the lumberjack said. A great number of rabbids did so, including Tie, who was followed by Guy and Stickers in response.
"Sorry Guy.." Tie said. He rubbed his fist in a circle on his chest.
"It was fun while it lasted," Guy said.
"Majority rules. It's also pretty sick and tubular," The bat supervillain said.
The crowd started to disperse. Some rabbids laid on the ground where they stood, tired from the outrage.
"So.. what should we do now?"
"Why don't we go eat dinner?" Stickers suggested, "There's a food court upstairs that serves free food at different times."
"What kind of free food?" Guy squinted, suspicious.
"Ehh, It's take it or leave it food, ok? But I wanted to take a break before we went back and checked on the blacksmith. If it's not appetizing to you, you don't have to eat it. It's not like you'll be hungry later."
"As long as I don't have to eat anything.." Guy said.
They followed Stickers through Boat-Bound England and into the hall, where they took a staircase up to the cafeteria, which was rather plain besides the variety of rabbid sized benches of different qualities and age. Around three hundred rabbids were in groups around the place, eating, using the tables for games or independent work.
While they were looking for a spot Guy passed somebody he thought he recognized, and then again. Looking to where they were headed he realized a lot of rabbids from the Junkard were here. Many gazes went to Guy, possibly mentioning him in conversations he wasn't close enough to hear.
Stickers jumped up in surprise at something they saw, and changed course for a table that had definitely been housing these rabbids for at least four hours. It was a dungeons and dragons campaign topped with dice, character sheets, and an avalanche of now empty snacks.
Stickers went up to a player wearing glasses, a leather apron, and fireproof gloves. Guy realized it was probably the blacksmith.
"Just our luck! And we were about to go check on your booth too," Stickers said.
"I should be checking my booth!" The blacksmith said, "I haven't been able to leave for hours! Not even during the emergency signal!"
"Hey! You said you were going to play today! If you leave early all the time, how will we get anything done!?" The dungeon master said. The rest of the party nodded.
"He's right.. But don't worry Tuller, we were just about to wrap up with this battle... if we're close to beating him," The blacksmith said. The dungeon master shrugged.
"Take your time," Stickers said. He sat down in the seat closest to the game. Guy and Tie followed.
"Hello apprentice," Tie waved to the rabbid next to the blacksmith. He was also wearing a leather apron, but it was over an old hoodie. He wore sunglasses and his gloves were ignorantly fingerless.
"Hello Dr. Jekyll," The apprentice said. Tie scowled at him.
"Who's this?" Blacksmith gestured to Guy.
"That's the Manmade Rabbid," the apprentice started, "Guy Kowalczyk, age twenty eight, O blood type, five foot, six inches, two fifty six Broad Street-"
"That's fun Cyber," Tie said, shushing him.
"Ha..That's a lot of surprisingly accurate things about me!" Guy said, uncomfortable.
"What can I say, I get good intel," Cyber, the apprentice shrugged.
"Forgive my apprentice, he deals with the digital side of our business. A side that has a very different culture than the physical," Blacksmith said.
"Ah.." Guy said. It didn't help.
"You do know this is Manmade Rabbid right? Don't you know what that means?" Cyber asked.
"I know what you mean. I don't think it's true. Rabbids don't just turn into human beings," Blacksmith said. He gave a Guy a look as if he knew better.
"Matey, he was a HUMAN who turned into a rabbid," Cyber corrected him.
"Same difference. It simply doesn't happen. I lived in a world full of magic and nobody ever got turned into a rabbid. This place has no magic, and no technology even close to doing something similar. It's all hogwash," Blacksmith said.
"If you'd take my word for it," Stickers said, "I've seen things that would definitely make you think there was magic on Earth. By that, I do mean him."
"Really Tuller? You too? I'm sure you believe whatever you saw, but I'll need more proof than your word, no offense. Even if it was true, I don't see why it's so interesting to so many people," Blacksmith said.
"You got me there. Although it's funny having a rabbid around who's new to the community again," Stickers said.
"Ah. It is a little bit like that isn't it?" Blacksmith chuckled, "Not exactly like a new clone right?"
"No, but it's really funny seeing him do rabbid things, knowing where he's from."
"I could imagine..." Blacksmith looked at Guy, "So what? You think you're human right?"
"Not right now. I'm a rabbid now," Guy said.
"Ok.. but you think you weren't a rabbid before?" Blacksmith said.
"Yes.." Guy sighed. His heart wasn't in the argument. It was probably better for him to deny, but that ship had sailed the moment Cyber opened his mouth.
"What kind of thing happened to you to make you think such things? Really look back on your life and tell me you weren't a rabbid the whole time," Blacksmith said.
It was pretty easy for Guy to know he was always human until recently. If he needed any evidence from his memory, all he needed to do was recall his first night as a rabbid. Besides, nobody would let him do any of the things he had been doing if he was a rabbid all along. Whose house did he own? Whose bank account did Big Hope send direct deposit to? All the times he did anything would never add up if he was just delusional.
"I did, and it still adds up. I was born a human," Guy said.
"Sure.." Blacksmith said.
"Hey! Guy knows what he's seen!" Tie said, "And even if he was wrong, it's not any of your business."
"Seems I hit a nerve... Sorry. I just want to be skeptical," Blacksmith said.
"Er, fine. I forgive you," Tie said. He brushed his palm with his 'fingers'.
A group walking past the rabbids suddenly stopped.
They faced Guy and started taking pictures. The flash from all the cameras was enough to blind everyone temporarily.
"Are you Manmade!?" A rabbid with a phone mic was up in front of Guy asking.
"What?" Guy pushed the phone away, but it was just replaced with more journalists.
"What is the origin of the magic laser?"
"Are these your human clothes?"
"Do you speak human?"
"I speak-"
"What's it like having no fingers?"
One journalist hit another with their camera for interrupting.
"Is it moral for you to date!?"
"Does everything you eat turn human too?!"
"Do other humans know!?"
"HEEEEEEEY!" Stickers roared, "NO MORE QUESTIONS! GO HOME!"
"But.."
"No more questions!" Tie got up and raised his arms
"NO MORE QUESTIONS!" Stickers joined them.
"No more questions!"
"NO MORE QUESTIONS MY CLIENT NEEDS SPACE!"
Intimidated by Stickers and Tie's size as they opened their arms, the journalists started to scatter. Some took last second pictures. Stickers swiped the camera of one and took a picture of him, blinding him. He put the camera back in the dazed rabbid's hands and pushed him away.
"Nice to have had you, exit is that way, exit is that way! Thank you for coming!" Tie said, gently turning journalists around and pushing them away.
The rest of them ran off, holding onto their cameras, phones and notepads.
"..Thanks guys," Guy said. He didn't think that would work.
"Eh, they're herd animals," Stickers said.
"Make yourself look BIG!" Tie raised his arms again.
"Well not Guy, we'll look big. Guy'll hide his famous face and we'll do all the shoving," Stickers chuckled at the idea of shoving.
"Gotcha," Guy said, "Wait... is it moral for me to date?"
When the DND session came to a close, Blacksmith led Stickers, Tie and Guy, down to his stall for trading.
The stores were just as lively as they were when Guy left, although Guy couldn't match the enthusiasm.
Rabbids had far more energy than he thought he could handle, but somehow he was still able to tucker himself out. Shopping by itself would probably be enough to warrant a nap if he was human, so maybe that was ok. It was fairly common to see rabbids sleeping anywhere and everywhere, so he wasn't the only one.
They approached the locked up blacksmith booth.
"Alright boys you've done me a great service, but I need my shop back," Blacksmith said to the pirates guarding it.
"I be needin' a password."
"Scarcar Battleaxe," Blacksmith crossed his arms.
The pirates tipped their hats and left, leaving Blacksmith and Cyber to go inside and open the caged windows.
Within the stall on a shelf behind them was an object that piqued Guy's curiosity. Following the shape he quickly identified it as a little square robot with four wheels. A remote control car! Maybe even a combat robot given the way it looked. He hadn't seen a real one in over ten years.
"Is that a combat robot behind you?" Guy asked Blacksmith, pointing to it.
"Hmm? Oh, it is! It's Cyber and I's older version of Scarcar. It's a lifterbot. This one's been in the closet for a while! I think the lifter's broken and most of the drive is out. Its body is also pretty dented from its last fight," Blacksmith said.
"How much would you trade for it?" Guy swung his bag to his front to look through it.
"..How much of what?" Blacksmith asked.
"I have tech to trade. A laptop, a 3DS."
"3DS!?" Cyber ran to the scene from setting up, "Does it work?"
"Yeah," Guy said, opening it. He turned it on. It was low on battery, "I, uh, have the charger too."
"Yo ho ho! What did you want to trade it for?"
"He wants Scarcar 3," Blacksmith said, mostly focused on Stickers and the stolen power tools they brought.
"Ohhh... Hold on lemme think.."
"I have a laptop too. It's broken but you could use the parts," Guy said.
"What you thinking?" Cyber asked Blacksmith.
"You're the one who knows the value of technology, not me," Blacksmith said.
"I'll take them then.." Cyber snatched them from Guy's hands, "Thanks to me, Manmade's laptop will be up and running shortly and sold to the highest bidder! Huhu!" He pushed Scarcar 3 toward Guy.
"Going to pretend I didn't hear that," Guy said.
A camera flash brightened the area from an unknown source. The group shook their heads.
"Darn paparazzi.." Blacksmith sighed. The others looked for the offender but they were out of sight.
"Oh, Jerry! Before I forget!" Cyber got an old suitcase out from under the counter. He swung it over to Tie.
"Don't get it wet," Cyber said.
"I won't!" Tie said.
"What did you get?" Guy asked.
"Huh? Oh, it's an upgrade for my computer," Tie said. He made a 'C' shape with his hand and put it to his forehead while trying to get a large bag of candy out of his backpack.
"Yeah. YOUR computer," Cyber snickered, eyeing the candy.
"Alright so my computer's stolen," Tie said, his face red. He put the bag of candy down on the counter to trade. They were gourmet chocolates and caramel candies.
"Woo hoo!" Cyber spun in a circle with glee, "Oh, and DM me if you have any problems!"
"Will do," Tie nodded.
Blacksmith pushed a toolbox over the counter to Stickers.
"I'm sure these will do the Junkard well," he said.
Stickers opened the toolbox. It was full of simple, but expertly crafted metal tools.
"Definitely," They smiled.
With the group satisfied they spent the rest of the night looking for anything extra they might have forgotten.
Every time they felt like they were free, a camera flash would remind them that the paparazzi was still out there and following them, but at least it was them and not anything else, at least for now. While they walked Guy looked for opportunities to tell Stickers about Tie's strange behavior, but that moment never occurred. Maybe the task slipped his mind when he had an opportunity, or maybe Tie was just that diligent in making sure Guy was never alone with Stickers. If that was the case, then Tie must've been really adamant about keeping Stickers in the dark. That or Tie tended to stay with the group anyway. It could've been either one.
At the end of the night on their way off the vessel, Stickers paused.
"Tuller?" Tie said.
"It's nothing.." Stickers shook his head, continuing to the sand.
Armed rabbids surrounded the shore. They were irritated, buzzing with grumbles like wasps. Guy tried to keep from getting too close, but a norse gunman walked up to him anyway. He was low to the ground, not prowling but scared. He poked Guy with his rifle, making the manmade rabbid turn and jump. The gunman flinched, but didn't run.
"I know who you are. The verminators took my friend. His name is Beam and I've known him for over a hundred years! Could you talk to the humans? Make sure he gets back soon? The Raging Radical won't leave until he's safe," The norse gunman wouldn't look at Guy.
"Oh.. I can't talk to humans.. I don't remember ever being a rabbid when I'm human.." Guy said.
"Oh, sorry.. I-I-I didn't know.. Sorry.." The gunman turned away saddened.
Guy and his friends continued. Even if Guy did remember, it was bound to be far too dangerous to have anything to do with the verminators. If they knew what he was..
At his house once again, Guy and Tie collapsed, exhausted on the floor. They dropped all their bags.
"There's STILL screamy things inside your house!" Stickers hissed, hearing one from afar.
"Sorry. I don't know how to get rid of them," Guy panted on the floor.
"Come on you two, get up. We're not done yet," Stickers said.
Tie stood up, Guy followed the both of them groaning.
Stickers ran outside and brought back a stone. They listened for the emitters and chucked it with precision when they found one.
"Are you feeling ok?" Tie asked Guy.
"Yeah actually. I don't think I've started turning back yet. Just a little jittery.." Guy said. He showed Tie his hand, which was shivering a little.
"Are you scared?" He opened his hands across his chest with a frightful expression.
"A little, but I know I'll be back soon. I feel better if I think about it like going to sleep," Guy said.
"That's good. I can't imagine how it must be to forget everything like that," Tie said.
"It always just ends up feeling like something's really wrong with me.." Guy winced.
"Maybe to some there is, but I think you're amazing," Tie said as he put his hands up and smiled.
"Aw well.. I guess I do too. I just wished there wasn't all this back and forth. It's.. it's like I've been given all the universe, but none of the time," Guy said.
"Heh, all I have is time. At least your time means something to you," Tie said. He gestured to his wrist like a watch, "I have the whole universe, and nothing to do with it.. It's really.. cold."
"Cold..?" Guy asked. He was starting to sweat.
"Uh.. Guy I think you're.."
"Oh.." Guy wiped his forehead, "Before it gets weird, I-I should probably get dressed into my pajamas. I was confused about my outfit before." He pointed to his room upstairs.
"Good idea," Tie nodded.
Guy went upstairs and Tie followed him. Stickers was already up, looking for another emitter in Guy's office. Guy and Tie went into Guy's room. It was dark. Guy looked up to the lightswitch.
"Little help?" He asked.
"I'm not as strong as Tuller but I'll try," Tie said. He lined up with the wall and gave Guy a place to step up in his hands. Guy took a running start. Tie pushed him up, launching Guy only a few inches higher than him, but it was enough to hit the switch.
"Yes!" Guy fell but quickly picked himself up. He headed for his dresser. It didn't take much to figure that climbing was the best way to get to the drawer he wanted.
"How come you don't have any toys in your room?" Tie asked. He jumped into Guy's desk chair and shook the mouse to see if his PC was on.
"I.. I gave my toys away," Guy was audibly breathing now, "I probably... I probably have some back at my parents house though." His heart was starting to get louder. He was home already so it was going to be ok. He didn't have to freak out. Still, he couldn't help but be afraid. Why did he have to be afraid? He opened up a crack in his dresser and pulled out an old David Bowie shirt and sweatpants. He dropped down with the pajamas.
"I would never give away my toys!" Tie said, saddened.
"I-I'm..." Guy gasped, unable to continue his sentence.
"Are you ok?" Tie asked.
"Sorry.. Just.. you know. Never feels great.." Guy said, "Um.. is it weird if I undress in front of you or am I overthinking it?"
"Guy, I run around with just a tie on all the time, but I'll still turn around for you," Tie said. He covered his eyes for extra privacy.
"Thanks.." Guy said. He rarely ever saw his hairless tummy, but he didn't have time to think about how foreign it was. In a little while he was going to change more than just clothes, "Y-you can turn around.. now."
Tie turned around in the chair.
"You know, I've never seen you in another type of outfit. It's like you're a different person," He put his 'pointer fingers' together only to separate them.
Stickers walked in.
"Hey guys," They said.
"Could you do me a favor?" Guy asked, "Could you take my stuff from the boat downstairs and hide it?"
"Sir, yes, sir," Stickers saluted him. They went down the stairs.
Guy sighed and climbed into his bed. Tie climbed the edge to see him.
"Aww you're so tiny in your bed!" He cooed.
"I wish my bed was this big all the time..." Guy smiled, but it didn't last. He was fine in his bed yet he was so frightened. His memories breaking gently like his bones under his skin. He had been at a different stage of this when he got home the night before, but being ready for it didn't help the fact that it was here. No more distractions or escapes. Just layers and layers of growing static.
"Do you need me to do anything?" Tie put a fist with his thumb up on the palm of his other hand and pushed the whole gesture toward Guy.
"I.. I..I.." He paused to break his loop, gasping, "Just. Make sure to lock.. Lock the door."
"I will," Tie nodded.
"Thank you.." Guy said. He stared up at the ceiling.
Stickers re-entered the room.
"Is Guy ok?" They asked.
"He's in his bed. He put on PJs to trick his human self," Tie said. Guy nodded even though Stickers couldn't see him.
"If he's ok we should go. He turns fast, we don't want his human self to see us," Stickers said.
"Oh, ok," Tie said, "Bye Guy. See you soon, ok?"
Guy nodded and gave a thumbs up. His hand was already getting their fingers back again. Tie winced. He hopped off the side of the bed.
"Bye Guy! We'll see you tonight ok!" Stickers said.
"..Ok!" Guy said.
Stickers threw Tie up to the lightswitch to shut off the lights. They closed the door.
Guy was still asleep when sunlight was seeping into his room.
The door opened. He heard it, but was still too unconscious to differentiate a dream from reality. Something was placed on the ground. Two clicks unlocked it. It reminded Guy of locks on a suitcase or a briefcase. He was in a position to see what it might be. There was a rabbid with an open suitcase. The rabbid took something out of it. Glass and shiny. It was one of those syringe needles doctors used. Guy shut his eyes, falling back into deep sleep, not at all processing what he saw.
12/25/2023
Title "Icicles" from The Scary Jokes