The atmosphere was most definitely positive. Different Tree Friends were everywhere, and the party was in full swing.

It was New Year's Eve, the 31st of December. Christmas had passed as soon as it had came.

It had been four months since I saved Flippy's life... and ended Sniffles' and Nutty's. The two were now chatting away to each other at the food table. Nutty kept picking up and eating assorted chocolates. Sniffles was holding a glass of orange juice, since he was only fifteen at the time. Nutty was only nine, and I always imagined him to think of Sniffles as a sort of big brother.

Handy was playing ping-pong with Flippy, who I am pleased to note was perfectly alright. He still needed to watch that nasty scar, but other than that and his evil second personality, which both of us had warned others about, he was A-OK. The orange beaver was holding paddles in both hands and hitting the ball with his tail should he need to, while Flippy - whose tail was far too small to hit ping-pong balls with - simply held two rackets. They looked like they were having great fun, and I smiled. I wandered over to where Sniffles and Nutty were.

"Hi guys." I said, grinning.

"Hi Giggles!" Nutty smiled back. Since he was so much shorter than I was, he had to look up to see my face, and I had to look down.

Our conversation was interrupted by Splendid returning from his flight. Seven-year-old Toothy had requested that Splendid fly him around town, and the flying squirrel did as asked. He dropped the beaver, whose fur was blown back so much it had frozen in place.

"Awesome." he grinned, before falling flat on his face.

"So," Splendid began, walking into the middle of the room. "who wants to try some of the bread I made before we start counting down to next year?"

Cheers went up around the room. I nodded. In truth, his bread was either burnt to a crisp or undercooked. I was hoping maybe he'd read up on bread-making, though something told me he really hadn't.

We were in Splendid's house. He lived just far enough from the town for his invincibility power to not work. Flaky had decided to not show up, and Russell was ill and made frequent trips to the bucket in the corner - actually present in case Lifty and his twin brother made an appearance with any Kryptonut.

Splendid dashed of to the kitchen.

"I hope one day he realises that his bread doesn't have any flour in it, though I doubt that he will." Sniffles said, folding his arms.

I laughed at his comment.

"So... how's Flippy?" asked Nutty. "I sure hope his evil side doesn't turn up since we're out of town. Things could get REALLY nasty."

"He's... better, actually!" I said, smiling. "He's still having quite a hard time controlling his flip-outs, but there's definitely an improvement somewhere. Look, him and Handy have become good friends."

The two glanced at the ping-pong table. Handy was now watching Flippy and Russell play a match. The sea otter must've stopped throwing up for the time being. It was then that Splendid spoke from his loudspeaker, which more than caught everyone's attention.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE! IT'S GOING TO BE NEW YEAR IN TEN SECONDS, STARTING FROM NOW!"

Everyone cheered again, and the ping-pong match immediately stopped.

"TEN!"

Everyone joined in, and it was so loud I was surprised Flippy was managing to keep his cool.

"NINE!"

Cuddles was in the garden, holding something that looked like a matchbox.

"EIGHT!"

He took out a match and started to try and strike it.

"SEVEN!"

He successfully lit a match and grinned.

"SIX!"

He bent down, as if to light something on the ground.

"FIVE!"

He brought a match to a string on the ground which connected to a rocket-shaped object sticking out of the ground.

"FOUR!"

It was a firework.

"THREE!"

Oh no...

"TWO!"

Flippy was going to flip out.

"ONE!"

Everyone made their way to the window. Flippy was at the very front with Handy and Russell.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Splendid cried. At the same time, a huge golden firework exploded in the sky. Flippy watched it, and as it exploded, his frightened expression turned into an evil grin. Handy and Russell ran straight away. After an... incident on Christmas Day, they knew those yellow eyes meant nothing but bad news.

They were getting everyone to run. The many party guests locked themselves in the bathroom. However, there wasn't enough room for me, Russell or Handy. Cuddles was still outside, and Splendid had, for some reason, gone to find Kryptonut.

"It was nice knowing ya, Russ..." Handy muttered under his breath, producing his hammer for supposed self-defence.

Russell sadly nodded his head, and kicked his legs onto the floor repeatedly.

"Don't do that!" Handy hissed.

"Sorry..." mumbled Russell.

Where was Fliqpy, anyway? Wasn't he only interested in ripping us to pieces and eating said pieces? Wherever he was, he could only be doing something awful.

There was a huge crash, and it was the sound of the food table being knocked over. Russell stood up.

"We have to hide somewhere!" he shouted.

"We do now..." I muttered under my breath, shooting a dirty look at the wannabe pirate.

I bolted across the wooden floor, and hid behind a bit of wall that stuck out. I peeked around the corner so I could could see what was happening. I still wish to this day that I hadn't, because it was absolutely horrific.

First, he produced the knife I foolishly gave him for his birthday. I could only look on as he used it to cut into Russell's right arm, and the helpless otter's eyes filled with tears. Fliqpy gave one final pull to remove the arm, and without haste he tore off a large chunk of it with his teeth. It made me want to throw up. Seeing what happened after he'd killed someone was one thing, but in the act of doing it?

Something stopped me from looking away. I had to watch the tears running down Russell's face, I had to watch Fliqpy smile that strange, satisfied smile, and hear him remark, "Kind of salty."

The knife went back in, this time into one of his legs. Russell screamed in agony, choking back floods of tears. Again, the sea otter's nearly-detached limb needed a last, painful pull before it finally came off.

Maybe having a hook and peg leg could help Russell be a pirate? I thought, trying Nutty's 'positive thinking' method.

Perhaps I thought a little too soon. Soon enough Russell was rendered powerless as he no longer had any legs, and as far as I could tell was losing an awful lot of blood.

"Oh, and one last thing before I let you leave..."

Russell looked mildly relieved that Fliqpy was going to let him leave.

"I heard you wanted to be a pirate, and all good pirates need eyepatches."

Russell bit his lip as the sharp fingers of Fliqpy's metal hand gripped the edge of one of his grey eyes. He pulled so hard that the optic nerve snapped and Fliqpy immediately stuffed the entire thing into his mouth. The most horrifying detail was that Fliqpy seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this. Russell clearly wasn't. I wanted to help him, but I felt it wouldn't be possible.

He moved away from Russell to Handy, who was laughing at Russell's misfortune. The smile faded from his face as the green bear approached him.

"Handy, is it?"

Handy gulped, and gravely nodded.

"Do you, by any chance, require your hands for everything you do?"

Handy nodded again, clearly not brave enough to lie.

"What a shame." Fliqpy said with mock sympathy, and shook his head.

Handy started to cry, guessing his fate.

With an evil laugh, Fliqpy drove the knife into Handy's wrist. Handy did not scream like his friend, instead he quietly sobbed, not daring to look. It was a good job he didn't, as well, because if I was him and I saw Fliqpy biting each individual finger off and acting as if each one tasted like the most well-made chocolate in the world, I'd probably come down with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder, just like Flippy had in the first place. Handy kept crying, even after he'd lost both of his hands.

Then the stupid part of me made me waltz out there and sit by Russell's side, which I was glad was still in one piece.

"Hello Giggles. Had you been hiding there the whole time?" Fliqpy asked me, that weird expression in his voice as prominent as ever. "You've missed most of the party, I'm afraid. Luckily, there is still plenty of opportunity for you to get a snack."

No. This couldn't be happening.

I started to run, but he caught hold of my tail, and as I ran it ripped off. My flesh continued to tear off of my back, a painful burning sensation going all the way up to my neck. Eagerly, he put my tail in his mouth, and made a strange noise that sounded almost like a purr. Handy and Russell took this to their advantage, and Handy got Russell into his arms with a bit of my help. We banged on the bathroom door until eventually we were let in. It was extremely crowded, and I was squished between Nutty and a blue skunk.

That was how I met Petunia.