Happy Tree Friends: Starforce

Part I: A Lonely Heart

Once upon a time, there was a land that was different from ours. A land filled with animals that lived like we did. Where woodland critters talked and lived like humans. This is the land of Happy Tree Friends.

There was a small town that was in this land. There, lived a porcupine. Her name was Flaky. Flaky was a red porcupine with dandruff in her quills. No matter how hard she tried, she could never get rid of them. There was something peculiar about this porcupine that was different from the rest. She was timid and shy. She was also alone. She had no friends. She never did. She was by herself all the time. She shut herself out from the world, only watching from afar. She didn't know how to handle the world around her, she didn't know how to deal with people. So, she just stayed by herself.

She got up one morning and ate her breakfast. Afterwards she looked outside and saw it was a beautiful day. Sunny, cloudy, rainy: It didn't matter to her. All this meant to her was that she could go outside. When she finished eating, she went outside to walk around town.

As she was walking she noticed five people in the park.

The first person was a female chipmunk. She was pink and she had a red bow in her hair. Her name was Giggles. She was the leader of the pack.

The second was a male rabbit. He was yellow with white puffy hair. His name was Cuddles. He seemed to be particularly close to Giggles, in almost a romantic kind of way.

The third was a female skunk. She was blue with a pink flower in her hair, she also had a necklace with a deodorizer shaped like a pine tree hanging around her neck. Her name was Petunia. She was, for the most part, a clean freak. Everything she gets her hands on, she had to clean.

The fourth was a male anteater. He was light blue and wore glasses. He also had a pocket on his chest where he stored pens and sharpies and whatnot. His name was Sniffles. Sniffles was quite intelligent for one his age. He was somewhat of a techno geek and loved to make things.

The fifth and final one was a male beaver. He was purple and had freckles on his face. Most notably were two large buck teeth that hung low from his mouth. His name was Toothy. He can be a bit absent-minded at times, yet, he is a very friendly fellow. He also had the strange habit of biting things.

Flaky wasn't particularly fond of this bunch. The reason? Often, whenever they spot her, they try to force her to join their group. Flaky, of course being the shy and lonely person, always refuses. Often, they try to drag her into their group… sometimes literally. Yet, Flaky always finds a way to get away from them.

Today was pretty much the same. As she spotted them, she tried her best to keep her distance. But, to no avail. Cuddles spotted her and immediately came to her. The others naturally followed.

"Hey, you!" said Cuddles "What're you doing out here?"

"Uh… I… don't have time for this…" Flaky replied.

"Don't be that way!" said Petunia "You have to join us!"

"I… I…" said Flaky

"Resistance is futile!" said Sniffles

"But-"

"What's the matter?" said Toothy "You shouldn't back down on our offer!"

"That's enough, you guys!" said Giggles "You! You've been avoiding us ever since we met. And not even a word of why!"

"Why… Why do you want me to be with you so badly?" said Flaky

"Because, our group seems to be a little low" said Giggles "Five is not a very lucky number. We need a sixth member in order to even us out!"

"Listen!" said Flaky "I don't care about your numbers! I don't care about your group! Leave me alone!"

Without another word, Flaky fled. Fled as far away as she could. She tried to lose sight of them. Fortunately, they didn't follow. Flaky found herself at her usual spot. Her favorite spot where she could just get away from it all.

It was a small cliff. Not a big cliff, mind you. Just a small one a few feet off the ground. Below was a river that gently trickled by. Just a little bit downstream and on the other side was a deck. Sometimes she could see a one or two people fish on that deck. There was also a tree right in the middle. If everyone had a place where they could keep to themselves, where they could just be away from it all, that one special place, this would be Flaky's place.

She rested her back on the tree and tried to catch her breath. A soothing breeze rustled the leaves above. She looked down the river and found herself in a calm state of mind. This place never once reminded her of anything bad. This was a place where she could forget all her worries and relax.

She closed her eyes and smiled. If there was one part of her life that wasn't so bad, that wasn't so lonely, it would be this. This moment of peace.

This is what it is like to be Flaky. A sad and lonely porcupine. One who cannot cope with people, one who does not really want any friends, because she didn't know how to deal with them. One who is afraid of everything around her. Who fears for the worst. Yet somehow, has that one special place, where she can escape from it all.

That afternoon, she rested at home. Trash day was tomorrow, so she gathered her trash and took it out to the curb. Yet, before she set her trash into the garbage pail, she saw something shine.

She set her trash aside to see what it was. It was a pair of glasses. A strange pair of glasses. Glasses that she had never seen before. They were red pair of glasses that looked like sunglasses. They looked unique to her. Why they'd be in there was beyond her. She took them out and looked at them. She was about to put them on, when she heard something in the distance. It was just a dog, barking. She set the pair of glasses on her head, put the trash in the pail and went back home.

She brought them with her because… well… I can't really explain why, but… she had a strange feeling about them. A good strange feeling. She liked the glasses and thought she'd keep them for herself, since its last owner apparently didn't really want them anymore, whoever they were…

That night, she went to bed. She set the glasses on her night stand and looked at them. Never once had she seen a pair of glasses like them. Not on tv, not in the store, not in advertisements, not anywhere. They looked like glasses that people would be interested in.

She decided not to let it bother her and she rolled over to look out the window. The stars filled the sky like some city in the sky. The moon was there to rule over the night. Everything was calm and peaceful. The crickets were having an orchestra of chirping and the streetlights shined on the roads. Flaky soon drifted to sleep.

Yet, little did she nor the world know that this night was no ordinary night. For far into the heavens, far from anyone's reach, six unfamiliar figures loomed over the unsuspecting planet.

One was a spiky figure, one was a two-faced figure, one was a horned figure, one was a winged figure, one was a balanced figure, and one was a serpent figure.

"So, this is Earth, huh?" said the spiky figure "Kind of an out-of-the-way place, don't ya think?"

"Yes, indeed" said the two-faced figure "I'm sending you down there first to investigate. Find a host and have your way with it! I want you to wreak havoc on a small community!"

"Heh… sure thing!" said the spiky figure "This'll be a cakewalk!"

"Be sure to leave some for me!" said the horned figure "I want to destroy things too!"

"I will……… if you're lucky!" said the spiky figure

The horned figure turned to him and replied "Why you…"

"Patience!" said the two-faced figure "You will have your turn soon!" He turned to the spiky figure "Now, listen, you must find a lonely heart, twist their mind, and use them against this planet! Understood?"

"You can count on me" said the spiky figure

The spiky figure descended upon the world in search of a lonely heart.

"Are you sure you want to send him?" said the balanced figure

"Fret not, my friends" said the two-faced figure "There is no way this planet can retaliate against us. It's in our favor!"