Chapter 4

I own nothing of Happy Tree Friends. All credit goes to Mondo Media.

~EPILOGUE~

Russell wanted to do nothing but sob.

He and Lumpy had planned to throw a party to celebrate their daughter being born, but it didn't go quite as planned. The two males had invited everyone they knew, even those kleptomaniac twins they disliked. Everyone was having a good time, congradulating the couple and talking and laughing with each other, until what sounded like gunshots were heard(probably someone popping balloons), trigger Flippy to flip out and slaughter everyone in sight.

Russell sat in a corner, trembling with fear as his daughter cried in his arms, watching Fliqpy murder all of his dearest friends. He glanced around in hope that Lumpy could hear the blood-filled screams of the various Tree Friends. He closed his eye tightly and pulled Umi closer to his chest, tears now pouring when he heard Toothy being sliced into pieces, Disco Bear screaming as his eyes were gorged out, and Cuddles as he was being stabbed by a TV remote.

Once silence fell, he opened his eye once again, only for it to widen when he saw dead bodies surrounding the blood-covered veteran. He slowly turned around to glance at the bluenette, those sharp teeth glistening in the light as he threw Flaky's head to the side. Russell grew more frightened of this eyes as he took another step closer towards him. Even if he was afraid, Russell found this strange in Fliqpy's behavior. Normally, he wouldn't kill anyone who had no chance of defending himself(for example a small child like Cub), so he wouldn't go after the bluenette because he had a child with him.

But Fliqpy stepped closer to him, raising the bloodied knife with that murderous grin. "N-No. P-Please don't." He begged as he pulled Umi closer to him as she cried and screamed. Russell let the tears fall as he waited for his death as well.

He heard a knife come in contact with skin and a grunt, but he didn't feel any pain. Russell sat in the corner with the most distraught look as he saw Lumpy collapse to the floor, a deep gash from his left shoulder to his right hip. He watched in horror as the lime-haired male started to cut more deep gashes whereever he could until the taller bluenette's eyes lost sight. Fliqpy sat up and cackled loudly, enjoying the sight of his fallen victims. Once he heard Umi cry, he shot glares towards the two trembling in the corner. A moment later, he made his way out of the house and out of sight. Russell sat in silence before he let out screams combined with sobs, mourning the deaths of not only his friends, but his lover as well. Tears began to drip to the floor and he couldn't tell if they were his or Umi's.

About half an hour later, paramedics arrived at the apartment, taking away the dead bodies one by one and carried them into the ambulance. Russell had managed to calm himself and his daughter down from their sobs as he watched Lumpy's body being carried away. He knew that it wasn't a permanent death, but it would be if the wounds weren't taken care of in the next 24 hours. If the wounds were taken care of, they would heal more quickly and the injured Tree Friend wouldn't feel any pain. The one who proved this was Pop's wife. She died in a way that seemed illogical to most people, but was common for the Tree Friends: She was walking along the sidewalk, until she was somehow dragged across the road because of string that was hooked around her neck(everyone assumed that was the twins' doing), sent flying in the air, thrown over a cliff, and crashing onto rocks that were at the base of a waterfall. Pop thought that the wounds would heal if he left them alone. He was proven wrong and she was dead permanently. Of course, the only exception to this rule was the matter of body parts regenerating after a couple of hours. That was the curse that this town had been brought upon for centuries.

Russell sat in the waiting room, watching a few of his friends walk out and wrap comforting arms around him, apologizing to him about what happened to Lumpy. Pop spoke up and told Russell that Cub was the one who popped countless balloons that triggered Fliqpy to awaken, endlessly spitting out apologies and begging for forgiveness as Nutty apologized for running away so Fliqpy wouldn't kill him, but Russell couldn't blame him for it. Nutty was four months pregnant with Sniffles's triplets. After the bluenette was killed, he feared for the lives inside of him and snuck away when Fliqpy was occupied so he could call for help(luckily he nor the triplets were hurt along the way). The one-eyed bluenette didn't really care who started it or who ran; he just wanted to know if Lumpy was alright. As more time passed, he continued to watch everyone step out of the ER and grew more worried that Lumpy wasn't coming back this time.

Once Flaky gave him a hug and stepped out of the room to find Flippy, Russell was about to lose all hope in believing that Lumpy was alright. He didn't want Umi to grow up without a father, and if he did die, how would he explain it to her? Now he realized why Fliqpy targeted him; he planned to lure Lumpy into a trap, because everyone knew that he would never hurt Russell when their baby was so small(unless of course the baby wasn't around). He found it unusual that the veteran had tried to attack him, but he had realized now that it was a set up to get Lumpy killed. The bluenette stood up and entered the room to see his unconscious lover in a hospital bed covered in bandages and his arm hooked up to an IV. Russell felt as though he was about to lose his dinner at the sight; he hated seeing Lumpy so injured like this, and it made him sick to his stomach. He found this strange and was more concerned because of it. Usually, it didn't take long for someone to awaken after their wounds were taken care of(even if someone was decapitated or eaten alive), but for them to be unconscious for so long didn't make sense.

A small yawn snapped him out of his thoughts as he glanced down to see Umi rub one of her eyes sleepily. He nodded to himself before sitting down in a chair next to the bed. "Let's get some rest, alright?" The bluenette gave one last glance towards Lumpy before closing his eyes and letting sleep overtake him.

Lumpy's eyes snapped open as he shot himself upwards, breathing heavily from his nightmare. The sun started to rise in the distance from a quick glance at his window. He let out a large sigh before making sure that all of his wounds were healed. The bluenette blinked a few times as he noticed something across his stomach. Russell nuzzled himself against his abdomen as he slept peacefully with Umi fast asleep in his arms. He smiled before gently running his fingers in turquoise colored hair, his hand sliding down to cup his cheek, the ring on his finger glistened in the faint morning light and his skin glowed. Lumpy noticed the dry tears on the smaller male's cheeks, which concerned him quite a bit. He figured that Russell had lost some sleep because he was so worried, but looking at his face now, he looked so peaceful and calm and not distraught and terrified like he was last night.

Russell moaned a little as he opened his eye, blinking a few times to see the smiling bluenette. He felt tears start to swell once again as he held out a hand to see if he wasn't dreaming. Lumpy gently took his hand and kissed his fingers, keeping his eyes on the smaller male as he did so. "You're alive." He breathed out as the taller male kissed his knuckles. Russell lowered his head as his tears began to fall for the umpteenth time before glaring at him. "Dumbass, I was worried!" He almost shouted, careful not to wake the girl in his arms.

"I know I know," Lumpy replied while rubbing his cheek softly in an attempt to calm him down, although he understood why Russell was upset. He almost thought the taller bluenette had been lost forever, and he would blame Fliqpy for it, which would cause him to never speak to Flippy again. Lumpy brought the distraught male closer to him and slowly brought their lips together. Russell soon gave in and started to kiss back, stroking the sleeping child's cheek softly. The taller of the two wrapped arms around his waist before they pulled back for air. "I'm sorry." He whispered, pulling the smaller male into a hug, careful of the baby between them. Russell nuzzled his head into the crook of his neck, kissing that spot gently and smiling. "I'm just glad you're alright. We were both worried."

"I could tell." Lumpy replied, noticing how red Russell's eye was and the dried tears on his face. Russell leaned in a pecked him on the lips once again before standing up. "I'd better get home to clean myself up. I'll come visit you later."

"You do know that we heal quickly right?" In a matter of seconds, Lumpy had gotten out of bed and pulled the smaller male into a hug. "I'll come with you." He whispered before taking Umi into his arms and kissing her nose. The girl wiggled slightly before opening her eyes, blinking a few times so her vision would focus. Once she saw her father, she giggled happily and stretched her arms out. Both males couldn't help but smile at her actions.

Once the sun had fully risen, the two of them were safely back in their apartment and started to clean up the mess that Fliqpy had created after putting Umi to bed. They never spoke a word to each other, believing that it wouldn't be the best time. Lumpy had decided to not talk about the events of the night before and wanted to let it go. Russell agreed with him, knowing full well that no one could control Flippy once he's flipped out, and hardly anything could snap him out of it.

By noon, the two had finished cleaning and were now on the couch, holding each other close, not speaking because they knew they didn't need any words to express how they felt. Russell curled up into the taller male's figure and nuzzled his head gently, closing his eye as he did so. Lumpy tangled his fingers into turquoise locks as he kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry for making you worry."

Russell shook his head and look up. "It's alright. You're alive so that's all that matters, okay?" With the look he was giving, Lumpy couldn't help but slam their lips together, their fingers slowly intertwining as the kiss deepened. Russell cupped his cheek with his free hand and pulled away to glance into those blue orbs. He slowly slid off of the taller male's lap and started to head upstairs in response to the small child's cries. Lumpy sighed and leaned back, tilting his head backwards to glance at the ceiling. A moment later, Russell came back into the living room with Umi curled up in his arms, humming a small lullaby. Lumpy smiled as the smaller male sit beside him and lean on his shoulder. "I love you, you know that?"

"I know that," Lumpy nuzzled his hair with a smile. "I feel the same."

The two of them held each other close in an embrace, the tiny infant pressed protectively between them. They erased the events of last night from their minds, and focused onto what to come in the future. They thought about whether or not Umi would become friends with the other children when she was able to speak and walk. Lifty and Shifty were expecting little ones of their own(which wasn't a surprise to most of the Tree Friends), and Nutty will soon have to deal with a group of triplets, but it wouldn't be so tough if he had Sniffles to help him out. Russell started to wonder how many kids there will be running around, and knew there would be more on the way.

He decided not to worry about it now and began to focus on the family he currently had. He was happy about having a family, but at the same time, he was worried about what might happen to Umi. From the moment she entered this world, she was immediately a part of the curse that had lasted in their town for centuries. The only way to escape it is to leave, if that were indeed possible. Russell glanced down at the child who had found a way under his shirt to feed. She whined at the lack of food, having him get to his feet and placing her carefully in his arms. "I know I know. I'll feed you." He turned around to peck Lumpy's cheek before stepping off towards the kitchen.

Russell knew that his new life was about to begin, and he couldn't wait for what to expect in the future.