This chapter used to be better, but my Palm connection backfired and killed about half of it, so I had to rewrite it. Which sucked more than a black hole.

Anyway.

Chapter 17: Full Circle

Acid was the first to snap out of the shocked trance imposed on the three rabbits by Devan’s radical transmogrification, and hoisted his red rocket launcher onto his shoulder. Without a moment’s hesitation, he aimed at the turtle, and pulled the trigger to let fly the cataclysmic projectile within.
It was only when he heard no roar of the rocket igniting, and felt no recoil of the already heavy rocket launcher, that he realized that he had forgotten to reload his weapon.
After a short procession of curses, Acid pulled his backpack off, and opened it hastily, as Canadian and Spaz did their best to keep Devan busy with their blasters. Thrusting his hand inside his pack, he withdrew a white sphere, roughly the size of a bowling ball, divided into halves by a black ring around its center. He examined it for a moment, then pressed two tiny buttons on opposite sides of the small globe, and shoved it into his rocket launcher as the black ring glowed a bright green, pushing it as far in as he could with his hand. Mounting the weapon on his shoulder again, he took aim at Devan, who was busy holding Spaz six feet above the ground, slowly crushing the life out of him with three of his four hands. Canadian lay on the cold stone floor ten feet away from them, winded and sent flying by a single punch to his midriff.
As Devan heard the deafening sound of Acid’s apocalyptic armament, he spun around, throwing Spaz across the cavern effortlessly. He bared his monstrous fangs as the missile hurtled toward him. For a moment, it looked like the turtle had finally met his end, as the projectile raced forward…
Acid’s expression changed to one of frustration as Devan casually sidestepped the path of the oncoming rocket, then to one of horror as the turtle nonchalantly caught the warhead in one hand, as if it were nothing more than a harmless toy. Easily turning the missile around, he lifted it over his head, and his voice was only barely heard over the howling of the rocket.
“That’s not going to work anymore!”
With that, he hurled the rocket back at Acid, accompanying it with his maniacal laughter. The green rabbit just had barely enough time to dodge out of the way of his own weapon before it slammed into the rock wall, loosing its enormous shockwave. He was flung a generous distance by the explosion, and could only land heavily on his shoulder, rolling along the hard stone surface.
Devan snickered as Acid slid to a halt. “Nice try. Perhaps you’d like to make another attempt at something equally imprudent?”
Acid looked up at the turtle, rubbing his shoulder, his expression cold as steel as he spat a response. “Stop acting so sure of yourself, you maniac. We’ve stopped you before, and we can stop you again.”
Devan only laughed. “Stupid creature. You should stop saying ‘we’ as if you were of any sort of assistance ‘before’. You had nothing to do with my previous defeat. In fact, if I remember correctly, it was all because of the doing of one particular warm-blooded interloper: that arrogant fool Jazz Jackrabbit.”
The turtle pointed to his right with one hand. Before Acid had the chance to follow the path of the pointed finger, three of the spikes on Devan’s outstretched arm were suddenly shot forward, and they embedded themselves deep in the body of none other than Jazz Jackrabbit, who had finally returned with Lori and Vaper, and was now standing in the entrance to the massive cavern. The rabbit hero looked down at himself, watching in shock as the three red blotches on his chest and belly grew with abnormal rapidity, staining his green fur. He slowly fell to his knees, his eyes clouding over, before lifelessly collapsing to the stone floor.
Devan chuckled darkly, his eyeless sockets fixed on the prone, injured Acid, as he lowered his arm. “And now, since there’s no more Jazz Jackrabbit to worry about, I guess there’s no one left who is capable of stopping me, is there?”
Lori could only stare in disbelief at the crumpled body of her brother, as a loud roaring noise began to fill her mind. Her legs felt like rubber, her head was swimming, and her stomach was tying itself into an enormous knot. She slowly looked up at the murderous turtle, her hands shaking uncontrollably and her eyes welling up with tears of hatred and loathing like she had never felt before.
Without warning, she suddenly charged at Devan, as if launched from a cannon. Her gun was raised and spewing forth ammunition as she screamed at the top of her lungs. “You murdereeeeeer—!”
Without even bothering to look in her direction, Devan snared Lori’s gun arm in one of his oversized hands, and her enraged battle cry was quickly changed into a howl of pain as he wrenched her arm backwards, pinning it behind her back. As if perfectly practiced, another ghost-white hand appeared, grabbing her by the top of her head. In one swift, final movement, he flicked his powerful wrist sideways, snapping the Jackrabbit’s neck instantly. Her scream of agony was brutally, unnaturally silenced, and all that was left was a weak gurgle as her limp body fell to the floor. Lori had been effectively dispatched in slightly less than three seconds.
Out of the corner of his eye, Acid saw Spaz stumble backward a few steps, in a state of trauma. It was understandable, of course; he had just watched his brother and sister effortlessly snuffed out by their archrival, and he didn’t even get a chance to help them. The single remaining Jackrabbit’s breathing became irregular as he struggled to keep his already fragile mind from shattering.
With only the slightest sound, Vaper appeared behind Acid, and the latter gave the former only a glance.
“Plan?” Acid whispered.
“Go with the red one – not Spaz – to find the Turbulence Machine, and destroy it. Spaz and I will hold Devan off for as long as possible.”
Acid nodded, and tried to attract as little attention to himself as he could as he subtly shifted over to Canadian, in order to pass on the plan of action.
Vaper moved to Spaz, and whispered something in his ear. The young Jackrabbit looked at the Turbulent in shock, as if something beyond belief had just been shared; then he glared at Devan like a rabid animal, with a venomous snarl to match. As soon as Acid and Canadian departed the cavern, on the hunt for the Turbulence Machine that Tokivi had escaped in while the rabbit trio was busy trying to hold Devan at bay, Spaz attacked.

(One word was edited to something more appropriate. - CT)

(THAT'S CHEATING OMJ - 4I)