Late, I know... I'm sorry. BUT no worries, this will be an extra long chapter. I don't want you guys to feel desperate for more! It's getting a tad bit gory but meh, you guys will survive this, right? Plus I originally intended to update a week ago, guess my internet wasn't following up with that plan... Sheeesh.
Writer's block is a pain as well, can't seem to know what words to use lately...

Enjoy.


Carnage Paradox.

Chapter Six: "That man is a liar."


Flaky blinked in confusion, looking at Shifty as if he was the weirdest creature on earth. The boy kept wriggling and shouting like some kind of a wild animal, eyes tightly shut. Flippy did, however, not bat an eye.

"LEMME' GOOOO!" He yelled, trying desperately to break free. The green-haired teen was tied to a wooden pillar inside the canteen, much to Flaky's horror. It was after all, the centre of the camp and possibly the worst hiding spot one could think of. Despite that, she decided to go along and follow Flippy, as he was the only one she was capable of trusting.

The war vet was sitting on the floor, not so far from his companion and hostage. He wanted to catch both the twins and give them a piece of his mind. Well... actually no, he wanted to make them suffer slowly, make them tell him every little piece of information about the camp and... Other things. He was no idiot; he knew that they were aware of Lumpy's plans, those sneaky bastards had the gift to roam around unnoticed. And it was quite possible that they didn't go through that phase as well.

Shifty turned to glare dangerously at Flippy, who remained unfazed. The older man raised an eyebrow, as if amused by the teenager's ruthless attempts to irritate him.

"There's no point in staring at me like that, you're staying there... whether you like it or not." he continued cleaning his ammo with a paper tissue, not bothering to throw him another look. Shifty snorted rather arrogantly.

"You think you're so tough, huh?!" he spat, "That you're, OH! SO STROOONG AND INTIMIDATIIIING!" Shifty started vibrating awkwardly for no apparent reason. The injury on his upper thigh was seriously hurting him, and it was most likely infected; but he honestly didn't care anymore. If he could, he'd bite his tongue and die. He still had four lives anyway, so everything was fine.

Flaky, on the other hand; didn't like where things were going. Shifty was obviously losing it, and Flippy wasn't helping either. Both of them made a lot of noise, and she was afraid somebody might take it as an opening to attack.

"U-Um..." She was trying to reason with dark green-haired teen, but failed miserably as said person continued shouting like a mad man.

"I'LL MURDER YOU! YA HEAR?! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!"

"Good Luck with that," Flippy chuckled, calmly wiping the bullets without a care in the world. This sort of situation was pretty common in his life, it wasn't the first person he held hostage after all. Most of the men, however; were pretty worse, or rather... not worth the attention for. Instead of badmouthing him, they cried and begged for their lives; for freedom, hoping that he'd have the decency to let them go. Sadly, they had yet to know that the war vet was far from being merciful.

Knowing the two sneaky brothers, it was most likely that Lifty was already aware of his twin's whereabouts; it'll only be a matter of time until he'd have the guts to come. Flippy did leave a few signs on his way, just about enough to give him a hint or two, he was also conscious that Lifty wasn't the smartest of the duo, which only complicated his plans to lure him in. Surprisingly enough, Shifty had faith in his brother; almost as if he was certain that he'll come and find him.

'We'll wait for another hour, if he's not here... I'll just have to go and hunt him down myself.'

Flippy glanced at his red-headed companion, making sure that she was doing okay. He noticed how well she sharpened her senses recently, which was moreover a good thing. She needed to learn how to protect herself at some point, knowing how dangerous the game is. Though he was thankful they gave each and one of them five chances in surviving, he still wouldn't be happy to see someone take one of her lives. To him, each of them are precious, and shouldn't be wasted.

Shifty groaned rather loudly, breaking the silence and catching both Flippy and Flaky's attention.

"This sucks... sucks so bad! Why can't you just kill me so we could get this over with?!" He complained, making the war vet roll his eyes and sigh in annoyance.

"I can't afford to that yet, not until your precious brother comes to the rescue."

The teen snorted, "You wish! As if Lifty would fall for such a trap! If he truly will come, then it'll be the end of both of you!"

"I'm having a hard time believing that..." he mused, still preoccupied by the excessive amount of ammo he had in his possession. Shifty couldn't believe that man...

"Just WHAT is it that you want from us?!"

Flippy remained silent, thinking it'd be best to ignore him for now. There was no point in wasting any more saliva for that vermin. All he needed was information, evidence that both the twins and Lumpy were allies. Once that's confirmed, he'd be sure to go along the plan without having to deal with any nuisances.

Shifty gritted his teeth, 'Oh, so now mister thinks he's too good to talk to me huh? Well! Let's see about that...'He smirked, already figuring out a good plan. Provoking the war vet was particularly hard, seeing how thick-headed he is. But when it involves toying around with the green-haired man's property... it was a whole different story.

"Guess what, you fuck?!" He laughed, his face suddenly becoming a bright shade of red; "Me and my bro found out about your little 'secret'!" He began to say, making Flippy's eyes widen dangerously.

Flaky furrowed her brows, 'What is he talking about?'

"... What are you saying..." Flippy spoke calmly, trying not to lose his composure.

"Hmm? Oh you know... I'm just talking about that guy." He avoided eye contact, looking slightly amused at both of their reactions, Flaky in particulars. The poor girl had yet to know the gigantic amount of things he kept hidden from her.

"F-Flippy, what is h-he talking about?" The red-head tilted her head towards his direction, looking confused.

"You mean he didn't tell you?" Shifty butted in, faking a shocked tone; "Oh boy! And I thought you guys were close... too bad he's such a secretive little a-hole."

"Shut it..." he warned, his voice suddenly becoming deep.

"Why should I?" Shifty pouted, "You mean to say you don't want to tell this lovely lady here what happened to your previous partner?"

'P-Previous partner?'

"Stop, right now!" This time it was an order.

"You threw him inside of that hell-hole... the poor poor thing... even though he helped you out coouuuntless of tiiimes!"

The war vet suddenly stood up, making his way towards the green-haired teen. Flaky still couldn't believe he had such an expression; it almost seemed as if he was a different person, a different man altogether. Shifty didn't seem to be afraid, in fact; he was enjoying this. Provoking Flippy was probably one hell of an idea, but seeing how much it affected him when he said that... and even near HIS beloved Flaky, made it all the more thrilling...

In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of him. Glaring with those fierce green eyes, Flaky stood up as well; worry written all over her face.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" He hissed angrily, practically growling. Shifty smirked.

"Oh... Did you, now...?" the teen teased, "It's not that big of a secret anymore, it'll only be a matter of time before everyone knows... so I figured it wouldn't be so bad to..." He then glanced at the confused Flaky, "Tell her a bit about it—"

He stopped talking when he felt a sharp pain on his upper thigh; in the precise spot where he was shot...

Flippy stomped on his injured leg, making the teen scream painfully; his voice echoing in the whole room. Flaky gasped and instantly grabbed the war vet by the arm, eyes widening in both fear and surprise.

"Wh-what are you doing, Flippy!? You're hurting him!"

He didn't seem to listen, instead; he applied more pressure to his foot on the teenager's wound, making the bullet go deeper inside. Shifty held himself from screaming any further and started biting his lip so hard that blood poured out. Then, out of a blue; he started smiling.

"TH-THAT'S IT, YOU FUCK..." He tried to speak, "KEEP BEING A VIOLENT SON OF A BITCH... IT'LL ONLY AGITATE HIM FURTHER!"

Flippy gritted his teeth and stomped on his injury once more, harder this time. Shifty cried in pain, struggling with the older man's violent ways. Flaky shook her head in disbelief; this wasn't the Flippy she knew... this wasn't right at all!

"Flippy, please stop!" She pleaded, still holding him by the arm. Again, the war vet completely ignored her and simply stomped on Shifty's wound continuously; making sure every impact was as strong as the previous. His eyes were fierce, striking and extremely unpleasant to stare at; a murderous glare.

A small pool of blood formed under Shifty's leg due to all the pressure.

Flippy hissed in an unsettling tone, still stomping on the younger boy's injury.

"You... Shut... Your... MOUTH!" He roared, possibly breaking one or two bones in the process. Shifty's final cry was so loud it ringed in the red-head's ears, making her tremble in terror. Her eyes widened when she saw Flippy lift his foot for another hit.

In a swift movement, the red-head grabbed the war vet by his shoulders; making him face her. Tears were already starting to pour out of her eyes, leaving wet trails on her cheeks. She mouthed the word 'Stop', trying to look as serious as possible while doing so.

Flippy looked at her, completely speechless. He gasped silently at the sight. She was crying, crying because of his idiocy. He allowed himself to lose control, to make her witness such a terrifying scene... How could he be so careless?

The look in his eyes softened in an instant. 'I'm the biggest of idiots...' he thought, gently wiping her tears away with his thumb.

"I'm sorry I... went overboard..." he whispered, already regretting what he did a minute before. Flaky gave him a pitiful smile, he was lucky the red-head was so forgiving... and so he smiled back.

"I promise I won't resort to this type of violence ever again..." he sighed silently as he tilted his head towards Shifty, who was mentally throwing daggers at him. The dark green-haired teen growled ferociously.

"That SERIOUSLY hurt, asshole!"He hissed, his face twisted in pain. Flippy paid no mind to Shifty's insults, however... he had to be precautious. It shocked him to see how well informed the green-haired teen was, compared to the others. Though he knew the twins were on to something, he never believed they'd be that aware of the game's current situation.

'It's most likely Lumpy's doing...' he thought bitterly.

Flippy squatted in front of him and started poking his gunshot wound with the revolver, making the green-haired hostage wince in pain. Flaky crouched next to him, wondering what the unpredictable war vet was about to do.

"Looks pretty ugly..." Flippy muttered, still poking and inspecting the wound. "It'll get infected if we don't do anything soon."

Shifty's eyes widened, "ITS YOUR FUCKING FAULT! YOU DAMNED MON—"

He couldn't have finished his insult due to the humid and dirty cloth Flippy attached painfully on his head, covering the mouth tightly. Without further talk, the war vet grabbed the younger boy's jeans and started removing them to see the injury a bit better. He stopped midway upon hearing the small gasp behind him, and so turned... only but to see Flaky's flushed cheeks.

He blinked for a few moments until he started clearing his throat in embarrassment.

"Sorry, but could you... turn around? Just for a sec."

"Oh! Uh... O-Of course..." She stuttered and turned like she was told.

'That startled me...'

Once he was sure Flaky didn't witness any of that, Flippy proceeded in removing Shifty's jeans. Despite the teenager's obvious protests, the war vet kept his composure throughout the process, and tried desperately to hold himself from laughing out loud at the sight of his chibi-printed boxers.

Upon discovering the wound, Flippy examined it carefully; thankful Flaky didn't have to see it. His upper thigh was all bloody and blue, thanks to his rather rough beating a few moments ago. He wouldn't be able to move correctly unless he'd throw away his current life.

The dark green-haired teen's previous provocation was probably a ruse, so he could put him out of his misery. Shifty was no idiot, he knew there was no way he'd continue with that wound for a burden. But he also knew that giving his life to Flippy was no joke either, the war vet was already invincible, blessing him with a complete round would be bad.

'What's that asshole going to do to me?!'

Shifty threw him the 'What are you trying to do?!' look. Knowing that, Flippy replied normally.

"I'm pretty sure your brother would want to find you alive... and in good shape." He said as he took out of his belt what appeared to be a survival knife, sharpened and extremely clean. The tip of the blade was pointy and looked hardly used, horrifying the teenager.

He immediately shook his head in panic, 'JUST KILL ME! PLEASE!'

"Hey now... That'll be a waste, don't you think?" Flippy whispered and grabbed a small bottle of alcohol, pouring some on a clean tissue. "We're going to remove that bullet and disinfect that wound of yours..."

"MMMGHF!" He tried to break free, rocking left to right in pure panic. This, however; only kept annoying the war vet. The wound itself looked pretty messed up right now and didn't appear to be clean enough for him to begin. He had to wipe off the blood first before digging inside his thigh. It almost made him regret stomping on it... now the bullet was even deeper inside.

To the dark green-haired teen's horror, a small mischievous grin appeared on the older man's face.

"Don't sweat it; it'll only hurt... a lot."


Now that the sun was up and shining, the forest didn't look all that bad; Splendid thought. Though there were no birds or animals anymore, it still gave off a nice lively aura. The blue-haired hero was a big nature lover, after all. Even if they were in a deadly game with only five lives to count on, their walk in the woods was extremely pleasant.

Yes, it would have been pleasant... If it weren't for him being so damn hungry.

Splendid groaned upon hearing the terrifying sounds emitting from his stomach. He hadn't eaten food since the party, and that was most likely a good twelve hours ago!

"Hey um... Nutty?" The hero called, slowing down a bit. The lime-haired teen simply tilted his head, keeping up the same pace.

"Yea?"

"I'm... kinda' hungry right now."

"Then just go ahead and eat."

"I would but there's nothing I can bite on!" He whined, making Nutty sigh.

"Then hold on for a bit, we're almost there."

"I can't... I'm too hungry..."

"Just try, alright?"

"But—"

"The campsite's not so far ahead, we'll have PLENTY of food to eat. So please please PLEASE just shut up!"

Splendid furrowed his brows, pouting rather obviously. It was those kinds of situations that annoyed him the most, especially when he had to face the wrath of a rebellious teenager such as Nutty.

"... Can we at least take a small break to look for food?" He asked softly.

"No." Was the lime-haired boy's immediate answer.

"We won't take long..." He sang.

"No." Denied.

"Cmon', don't be a dick..."

"Fuck you."

"I can't walk any further!"

"Damn it, Splendid! First it's your head, then your balls, and now your stomach?! Don't you think your body took us enough time as it is?!" He snapped, stopping to turn and throw a glare at the blue-haired hero; who didn't seem to listen. Nutty gritted his teeth, "Oi... you listening?"

Of course, he wasn't. The hero appeared to be too preoccupied at sniffing the air rather than listening at his comrade's complaints. His head did a 90 degrees turn in a second, mildly surprising the lime-haired teen.

Splendid's eyes widened, lips parting slightly; allowing a few drops of drool to escape his mouth.

"Did you smell that?"

"... What..." He raised an eyebrow, quizzically.

"Food..." he whispered, walking slowly towards the east. When the smell was clearer, the hero ran so fast Nutty barely had the time to comprehend what just happened. But when he did... it took him all his might not to face-palm and simply yell in frustration.

'I should have just let him die out there!' He thought as he ran behind the blue-haired man, trying to catch up. Once his mind was set on something, there was no stopping him.

Splendid skilfully jumped over the bushes blocking his path, determined to get where the food was. His keen sense of smell helped him figure out which direction to take, while his stomach roared in impatience, pushing him further.

The run lasted for about a minute before Splendid suddenly halted, a delighted look on his face.

Fish... getting cooked on low fire, alongside some vegetables and a few interesting herbs was what lied in front of him. The sweet aroma tickled the edge of his nose pleasantly, making it twitch. A sudden grin illuminated the hero's face.

"It seems like luck's finally on my side!" He smiled triumphantly, making his way towards the feast.

Nutty, on the other hand; tripped and fell rather loudly, landing on his back. The lime-haired boy cursed under his breath, already displeased with Splendid's behaviour. If there was one thing he hated, it was to wait... wait and tolerate a worthless soul, such as him.

He stood up and removed the dirt from his clothes, looking around him in the process. It didn't take long to spot the blue-haired hero, who was sitting near the fire while devouring his meal.

Nutty rolled his eyes as he walked towards him, disapprovingly shaking his head at the sight.

"You're an unbelievable son of a bitch... running away and leaving me like that." He tapped his foot on the grass. Splendid was far too preoccupied with the food in his hands to make proper sense.

"If shwoo Gwooood! Bween wonting fwor thish!"

He was about to kick him violently on his groin a second time until he realized something.

"Hey... This fire... you weren't the one who started it, right?"

The hero stopped chewing, blinking twice.

"Uh... no..."

'Fucking perfect...'

He couldn't have finished eating as Nutty suddenly grabbed him by the arm, forcefully making him stand up on his two feet. Despite his ridiculously filled mouth, Splendid tried his best to look as serious as possible.

"Wassa' matter?"

"We have to go!" The candy lover hissed, "Before anyone finds us—"

Too late.

"Hands up." A calm, deep soothing voice interrupted him. Splendid's eyes widened upon noticing the terrifying AK-47 the stranger had in possession. Gulping, both he and Nutty did as they were told without fussing.

"On your knees..." he commanded.

"See? This is what happens when you go ahead and become an idiot." Nutty spoke in a hushed tone, slowly crouching on his knees. Splendid furrowed his brows.

"I can't help it! I was hungry..."

"Shut it!"

"Quiet..." the man spoke, getting their attention. He was a rather tall, lean man with pink purple-ish short hair and black sunglasses. The sweater he was wearing reached his knees and completely hid his mouth; making him look even more suspicious while his pants were far too large to actually fit him correctly, resulting in giving him off the look of a slacker.

The weird part was how calm and composed he looked. Almost as if both of them weren't considered as a threat in his eyes. This raised Nutty's suspicion towards him.

The man approached them both, his head slightly held up high. He had trouble facing them, Nutty noticed. His head was always slightly tilted to the side upon talking to them, almost as if...

'Oh... I get it now...'

Then, without warning; he suddenly slipped his hand underneath his sweatshirt; confusing Splendid in the process.

Upon hearing the sound of rustling clothes, the pink-haired man raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Um... what are you doing?" He asked, puzzled. Nutty kept his composure and continued making the weird sound effects.

"I'm touching myself..." he replied bluntly, trying to look as normal as possible. "This situation is making me feel horny."

Splendid's jaw dropped in an instant, completely baffled at what he just heard. Slowly, he tilted his head to look at the lime-haired teen, unsure of what to say or think about that sentence.

The stranger looked even more shocked than the hero himself, "Wh-What...?!" He squeaked, lowering his weapon.

There was a sudden glint in Nutty's eye before he grabbed a grenade under his shirt, 'An opening!' he thought, victorious.

A smirk appeared on his face the moment he took the safety pin off.

"Just kidding!" He sang as he threw the grenade with all his might.

TBC.

A weird ending for a weird chapter, this wasn't very appealing I know... but I'll do better next time! Hopefully, Nutty and Splendid would be able to reach the campsite without further troubles on the next chapter. I know how much you guys are waiting for an encounter with Flippy! Plus, I'll probably write some certain action involving Shifty and Lifty, because why not?

Review, give me more love and affection! I need that much to continue.