An Alternate Universe Fic based off the Monster Rancher anime, diverging fully from canon after the events of "Melcarba". In this series, Hare has a drastically different Backstory from what was eventually revealed in the anime's third season: unbeknownst to the others, he has a magical pendant of his own, the titular Phoenix's Tear, and a past that he's been running from ever since he picked the Tear up.
However, circumstances conspire for some of these secrets to get exposed to the rest of the Searchers shortly before their confrontation with Gray Wolf. Despite his best efforts, Hare quickly finds that he can't hide from his personal demons forever, especially when they're determined to make themselves everyone's problem. To say nothing of all the other challenges they have to face while trying to find the phoenix and put an end to Muu's plans.
The series can be found here
on AO3.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- Adaptational Backstory Change:
- Hare has a history with General Durahan, having previously been captured by his forces at some point during his conquest of the Northern Continent. He managed to escape captivity and found the Tear amongst the general's spoils while searching for a way out, giving him access to various magical abilities which he hid from the others until circumstances forcibly reveal the truth.
- Golem's history is fleshed out: he was unlocked and raised by the previous guardians of the forest fortress, growing up alongside several other young monsters until tragedy struck, leaving him as the Sole Survivor.
- Aloof Big Brother: Deconstructed; Tiger acted this way towards Gray Wolf as a form of Tough Love, hoping to make him strong enough to survive without him. Instead, Gray grew increasingly resentful, and Muu exploited this further by claiming his older brother purposefully abandoned him to save his own hide.
- Angrish: Suezo is particularly prone to this, having moments where his response 'defies transcription'.
- Cassandra Truth:
- Hare points out that given how he tried to trick them back when they first met, they likely would have found it incredibly suspicious if he started claiming to have his own magical pendant like Holly's.
- Tiger runs into this while trying to convince the rest of the Searchers that Juniper and Hare are one and the same, since none of them can tell the same way he can.
- Child Soldiers:
- Muu's corruptive powers enable him to revive monsters from saucer stones fully grown and ready to enlist in his army. Those who undergo such treatment are rumored to be fanatically loyal to his cause due to how much of his energy courses through their bodies.
- All of the able-bodied color pandora captured by Stone Dragon and the rest of Naga's forces were rounded up and shipped away to be forced into service. Only the elderly were left behind... as well as one straggler who managed to hide.
- C.P. initially mistakes the Searchers as being part of Muu's army, and expresses disgust at how young several of their members are, referring to them as 'toy soldiers' before sarcastically correcting himself: Mocchi and Hare look more like 'plush dolls' to him.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Upon learning that Hare was disguising himself as an adult from the moment he met them, Suezo wonders aloud if that means Tiger was beaten by a kid. Tiger doesn't appreciate him pointing that out.
- When Skipper reminds his peers that he's the oldest kid there, Breccia deliberately misinterprets his comment as referring to Tank, the oldest monster present.
- Continuity Reboot: Of the original Phoenix's Tear series, which was begun back when the anime was airing and the author had only seen the first season. Reignition takes the whole run into account, along with drawing elements from the games.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Played for Drama when Tiger attempts to reveal Hare's deception through direct assault, expecting him to blow his own cover by reacting to his face-eating attempt the same way that he normally does. Hare doesn't counter him in the way he expects; as a result, Tiger accidentally bites his arm, putting him in a far worse position.
- Played for Laughs when Hare demonstrates for the others just how far he can take his illusionary disguises, not fully realizing that this involves him being Wreathed in Flames... meaning that to the others, it appears that he abruptly self-immolates.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: Combined with Anxiety Dreams, much to Hare's frustration, as it's naturally difficult for him to tell the difference. In particular, he isn't sure whether his recurrent dreams of seeing Muu as a Monster in the Ice are a warning about what's going to happen, what's already happened, or just his fears manifesting as nightmares.
- Eye Scream:
- Implied when one of the Searchers is clawed across the face; while the extent of their injury is never fully described, it's noted that the blow crossed voer their right eye, and Hare visibly struggles to keep calm while treating it.
- Due to Stone Dragon's rocky hide proving difficult to deal with, the Searchers ultimately Go for the Eye while fighting him.
- Fastball Special: One way of increasing Suezo's scouting range is having Golem toss him into the air. Sadly, Golem isn't always good about catching him upon his descent, to the point that Suezo already dreads using the manuever by the time Hare's Secret is revealed.
- Foil:
- Mocchi and Hare are the youngest Searchers, but while Mocchi is clearly The Baby of the Bunch, Hare deliberately hid his age from the others and dislikes being treated like a child. Mocchi's very much an open book, freely asking for help, while Hare Had to Be Sharp and is more independent, and much more reluctant to share his problems.
- Harmful to Minors:
- Though he does his best to skirt around it, Hare was very young when he went through the chain of events that led to him meeting Durahan and finding the Tear. Part of the reason he tries to downplay his youth after it's revealed to the others is so they don't realize the full implications of him being only a few months older than Mocchi.
- Reminiscence reveals that Golem was first shown the mass grave of lost discs on the very same day that he was unlocked, causing him to have a minor Freak Out when he mistakenly thought that all the stones around him were lost monsters.
- Insult Friendly Fire: Tiger calls C.P. a Dirty Coward for hiding while his village was raided by Naga's forces. Holly tersely points out that she and Suezo were forced to do the same thing when he attacked their Doomed Hometown.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: One of the reasons Hare wanted to keep the Tear hidden was to avoid potentially drawing unwanted attention to the group; after his exposure, he tries to leave, citing this.
- Just a Kid: A recurrent problem for the younger members; Hare finds this particularly frustrating, given how he formerly passed himself off as an adult to avoid this obstacle.
- Lie to the Beholder: The Tear grants Hare the ability to alter his appearance, making him look like a different sub-type of his breed... or, with a more elaborate Transformation Sequence, look older than he actually is.
- More than Mind Control: As The Corrupter, Muu is able to brainwash monsters into turning villainous, especially when he gets his hands on mystery discs. However, he also uses a lot of manipulative techniques to tempt others to his side, such as offering Pixie and Big Blue Revenge upon the humans who enslaved them or convincing Gray Wolf to believe his version of how he wound up in his clutches.
- Mythology Gag:
- Asked about their affilation, Mocchi declares that "We're the goodies, chi~!", referencing the English dub calling the heroes and villains/warumon 'goodies' and 'baddies', respectively. Suezo bursts out laughing, while Genki suggests he not phrase it quite like that.
- The leaf hare Juniper taunts some villains by declaring that he's a good guy, referencing his species having a Dub Name Change in the original game to 'Good Guy'.
- Never Say "Die": Golem struggles with a variation of this during Reminiscence, skirting around thinking of the dead directly as deceased. He also balks at referring to the bodies of the human hunters as such, favoring euphemistic alternatives.
- Poor Communication Kills:
- Hare's desire to keep the Tear hidden from his friends spurs him to impulsively run away after it's accidentally set off, leaving the others confused, worried, and searching desperately for him. After the misunderstanding is cleared up, Genki questions why he didn't tell them sooner, with Hare citing Cassandra Truth to justify himself.
- Tiger wanted to ensure Gray Wolf would be strong enough to survive without him through Tough Love, but his aloofness and harsh attitude made Gray resentful instead, leaving him vulnerable to Muu's manipulations.
- C.P.'s attempts to shelter Dorian unintentionally leave his son feeling neglected and resentful. Hare points out that he's been 'teaching' Dorian that he doesn't trust him.
- Pragmatic Villainy: While Muu could likely find humans willing to join his army, he doesn't employ any, since they would certainly clash with the monsters who signed up out of anger at abusive trainers or other nasty examples of humanity.
- Running Gag Stumbles: The first time the Fastball Special comes up in this series, Suezo categorically refuses, yelling at Golem for suggesting it. Then he fully expects Golem to bring it up again and is bracing for it, only to be caught off guard by what he really had in mind: asking Holly to try tracking Tiger with the Magic Stone. The third time it's brought up, it's largely played straight, except Golem catches him.
- Sadistic Choice: Gray Wolf offers one to Tiger upon their reunion, offering to let him pick which of the other Searchers he'll sacrifice in order to protect the rest. Naturally, Tiger volunteers himself instead.
- They're Called "Personal Issues" for a Reason: Golem doesn't fault Hare for keeping secrets from the others due to this, privately noting that they all have things they don't necessarily want to share with everyone. Including him.
- Unreliable Expositor: Tiger distrusts Hare's explanation in Hare's Secret for precisely this reason, noting that he's glossing over many of the finer details and avoiding elaboration as much as possible.
- Villain Reveals the Secret: Accidental example; while fighting some terror dogs, one of them inadvertantly bites down on the pendant hidden under Hare's bandana, setting off a fiery reaction that leads to the other Searchers learning about the Tear.
- Who Would Be Stupid Enough?: Hare complains about somebody mistaking them for villains despite Muu's hatred of humanity, wondering who could possibly think that Muu would want humans serving him. Genki immediately remembers Allan and laughs nervously while agreeing with him.
