Disclaimer: "Happy Tree Friends" is a copyright of Mondo Media

Happy Tree Friends: Blood & Fire

Chapter 09 – Truth Behind The Flames

'Candlelit dinner at an exquisite restaurant combined with a soothing piano instrumental played by Lammy – what more could anyone ask for?' thought Moonlight as she and Splendid shared a plate of spaghetti. "Gratuit dessert, monsieur et mademoiselle…" announced Lumpy in a fake French accent.

"I thought he's got a shift at the hospital today," Moonlight whispered. "Probably talked everyone into getting him off early," Splendid replied, laughing along with her. Dessert was vanilla ice cream with a crunchy chocolate crust and thick caramel syrup. "My, my…isn't this romantic?" complimented a familiar voice behind Splendid.

The blue flying squirrel turned and glared at his red doppelganger. "Oh relax…I'm not here to spoil your evening," said Splendont as he calmly faced him, "I came to tell you something." Moonlight growled; Splendid calmed her down by holding her hand in his, gently stroking her delicate fingers. "She's just lucky she wasn't home when the tiger soldiers dropped by…but there's no telling when they'd come over again…" he explained before he got up, exiting the restaurant.

"The nerve of him reminding us about that," said Splendid, turning back to her, "But he's right – don't worry; I'll make sure there's no way they can get through to you." She giggled; he wondered what was so funny. "All you guys are the same: protective over the girls," she said. Splendid smirked before leaning over the table and pecking her on the nose. "It's my job, isn't it?" he said, earning a shy laugh from his now-girlfriend.

Heading home, the couple noticed repairs have already been done…except for a few cracks that were missed. "They're not that noticeable," said Splendid as they walked in. As they sat on the patched-up two-seater, Splendid stealthily wrapped an arm around Moonlight's waist before grabbing and seating her on his lap, facing him. Sensing his intentions, Moonlight teasingly licked his nose…and then moaned as he gently nibbled her neck, replacing Splendont's 'mark' with his own.

"I love it when you do that…" he complimented, adjusting their position so they're comfortable. The wolf growled cutely and returned the favour – he groaned quietly as she left him a hickey. "Now we're even," she teased, nuzzling noses with him. As they began to make-out while he stroked her luscious curves, a knock on the door was heard. "Leave that," he requested…but the knocking became louder and more frequent. Moonlight sighed and got off, followed by a slightly irritated Splendid.

"Did I interrupt something?" asked Flippy as he came face-to-face with the couple; Mime was with him. "Nevermind that," replied Splendid, "What's with the urgency?" Mime replied with a series of hand gestures and facial expressions. "Mime…" growled Splendid, "You know we can't understand –"

"He says he saw some suspicious shadows lurking around town," Moonlight interrupted, "But when he tried to follow them, they just disappeared." The boys looked at her, surprised. "I studied sign language," she explained. The reindeer smiled and clapped his hands. "Finally! Someone who understands me," Moonlight translated, "Uh, Mime…slow down, please." Mime silently apologized and started over. "I was thinking it might've been the soldiers who were looking for you. I'd suggest laying low for a while, but –"

A sudden scream cut their conversation short. "Flaky!" Flippy yelled as he ran back to his home. "Flaky, what's wrong?" he demanded, then looked down at what she was pointing at. "Fuck…" Splendid breathed; Moonlight gasped and buried her face into her boyfriend's chest, silently wishing she hadn't looked in the first place. Flippy managed to keep his alter ego from emerging…but he had a feeling he wouldn't do that if Moonlight's around anyway.

It was Disco Bear – he was skewered to the oar he was using earlier that night; it went through his mouth and emerged out his ass, intestines coiled on the wood. His torso has been torn open, showing his bloody ribcage as well as the pierced organs that were in the oar's path. Mime pantomimed puking before wiping off imaginary vomit; turned the corpse over while trying not to look grossed out. There was a message scratched onto the dead bear's back (his shirt was torn in two): "You can't hide forever, Moonlight – unless you want more of your friends to die by our hands, surrender yourself IMMEDIATELY!"

Just as they finished reading the bloody words, the rustling of bushes were heard around them – and more than 20 tiger soldiers stepped out, surrounding them. "General, we found her!" yelled one of them into a radio. "Capture the subject – I want her ALIVE, not dead, you idiots! If she's got friends, restrain them and await further orders," replied a sinister voice. Flippy recognized it all too well – it's the Tiger General.

"Hey Flippy…" Flipqy called from within, "I believe now's the time to come out and play…" The war veteran couldn't deny it, but at the same time he thinks he could handle them without his alter ego's help. "You heard him. Come along now," demanded one of the soldiers. "What do you want from me?" asked the frightened wolf. "Move now, ask later!" ordered another as he kicked Flaky in the shins. The porcupine whimpered as a gun barrel was aimed to her head. Mime tried to sneak away, but his path was blocked by soldiers aiming for his head. "Leave them alone!" Moonlight cried. Flaky screamed as a shot was fired, bullet burying into the ground just inches from her hand.

The sudden sound was enough for Flipqy to take over – without warning, he grabbed one of the soldiers' guns and blasted his brains; did the same to others before his clip ran out. Splendid pushed Moonlight down and performed a swift roundhouse to the soldiers behind him; incinerated into ashes those who tried to escape, their remains being blown away by the breeze. A whimpering Flaky grabbed Moonlight's hand and the girls crawled away from the scene. Within seconds, all that's left of the soldiers were mangled bodies and thick blood puddles.

"What's happening? Report!" the Tiger General demanded after hearing the commotion. Flipqy picked it up, growling, "I don't know how the fuck you survived after what I did to you…but I can't wait to see you again." And with that, he crushed the radio; threw it down and stomped it until it was nothing but pieces of broken plastic and wire.

"You okay, honey?" the blue squirrel asked the trembling wolf. Flippy regained control of his body and inspected Flaky, relieved she's also unhurt. Cuddles and Giggles – who happened to be passing by – rushed over and yelped at the bloody mess all over Flippy's front yard; offered to take Disco Bear to the hospital. Taking the war veteran's jeep, Flippy and Splendid piled up the dead soldiers and drove past the town border; buried a hole large and deep enough for the corpses before dousing them in gasoline, burning them before digging it up; Flaky stayed behind, trying to calm a traumatized Moonlight.

"Well, that's the last of them," said Splendid as he dusted his hands. "Not really," said Flippy, "Thanks to Flipqy, the Tiger General is probably pissed off by now." Driving back, the squirrel's head was filled with disturbing thoughts about losing his girlfriend to the ruthless army. 'Why does he want her alive? What's the connection between her and the Tiger Army?' he wondered, feeling a visit to Sniffles' lab the following day might answer them.

"Run, Moonlight! RUN!" yelled Starlight. "MOM!" Moonlight screamed back, feeling her flames' searing heat on her fur. She then screamed as the fiery wall closed in on her.

"NO!" the wolf screamed as she bolted up in bed, sweating and panting as she glanced around. Seeing the morning sunlight shining though her window, she forced herself to take a deep breath and remind herself it was only a bad dream…a recurring one. Turning to her left, she noticed Splendid fast asleep at her dresser – he insisted he should stay up and keep watch over her last night. The peaceful look on his face was enough to bring a smile back to her lips. Stretching, she gets out of bed and pecked him gently on the forehead before walking away…until she felt a firm hand grasp her wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" he mumbled, gazing sleepily at her. "Getting breakfast prepared," she replied, giggling, "You can sleep a little longer – I'll wake you up when it's ready." Splendid thought otherwise and followed her, yawning as he stretched. The smell of frying eggs and bacon acted like a wake-up call; his stomach growled at the scent. Moonlight giggled as strong arms wrapped around her waist; sighing happily as he kissed her neck.

Meanwhile, Flippy tried to wake up a still-sleeping Flaky…and failing miserably. "Breakfast is getting cold~!" he reminded, poking the porcupine and getting a slightly frustrated groan from her. "Don't make me do this…" he warned, grabbing his girlfriend by the waist and hoisting her up, managing to avoid her quills as he flipped her onto her back. "Okay, you asked for it!" he yelled. Flaky – who was already awake since the first call – began laughing uncontrollably as her boyfriend tickled her.

Back at Moonlight's, Splendid's hearing picked up the sound of laughter and a chorus of "I'm up, babe! I'm up!" from the neighbour, chuckling as he assumed that was Flippy's usual wake-up call for his girlfriend. "So…what's on the schedule today?" asked Moonlight as she served breakfast. "Sniffles wanted us to come over," he replied, "Hopefully he won't bore us with his other inventions." She shrugged as she made sure her electric stove was turned off. "Did you have that nasty dream again?" he asked out of the blue. Moonlight froze and frowned, back turned to him. Sensing her uneasiness, he got up and hugged her close. "Sorry…" he apologized, "I won't ask that again." A light peck on his nose was enough to show she had forgiven him; Splendid smiled and tickled her.

Sniffles was outside trying out a new invention when he noticed Splendid flying towards him with Moonlight snuggled comfortably in his arms. "I take it you two have gotten pretty close in a short while," noted the anteater. As he led them into his home, he secretly pressed a button on his watch – behind them, the Ant Family screamed agonizingly as they got burned to a crisp. 'Sweet revenge…' thought Sniffles, snickering to himself.

Moonlight stood uneasily at the contraption in the middle of the living room – basically, it looked like an armchair with electrodes positioned where the head should be; colourful wires were connected from the machine to a laptop to the back of a television. "Are you sure this will work?" she asked as she sat down. "I've already tested it out – trust me," he replied, aiming the electrodes to her head, "Now I want you to relax and imagine it's your 10th birthday…"

Splendid stood nearby and grasped her trembling hand as Sniffles typed a few commands into the laptop. The machine whirred to life, giving off sounds so high pitched that Splendid's ears began to ring, irritating him as he tried to ignore it. Sniffles noticed and handed him some earplugs. Moonlight closed her eyes and concentrated. Within seconds, a blurry image appeared on the television, sharpening as the anteater tweaked the controls.

Giggling, 10-year-old Moonlight played with her teddy bear as she waited for her mother to bring her the cake. She turned around…and her eyes-widened at the sight of orange-yellow flames at the kitchen door. "Mom!" she screamed; the commotion of her running and being blown back by the explosion slightly distorted the image.

The flames spread quick, trapping the pup within a fiery wall. "Run, Moonlight! RUN!" Starlight screamed in the background. Looking up, she could see her mother's silhouette behind the flames. Another silhouette appeared, yanking her mother away from the picture – followed by a pain-chilling scream. "MOM!" Moonlight screamed once more, coughing as smoke filled her lungs; fainted as she ran out of air.

Moonlight growled and squeezed her boyfriend's hand harder. "Wait, it's not done yet," said Sniffles before Splendid could pull her away.

The burning background returned, slightly blurred as young Moonlight blinked. A low growl escaped her throat as she stood up. She then ran, jumping over the fiery wall and landing in a crumpled heap before the front door. She then heard her name being called; she turned to find a shadow barely noticeable on the other side of the flames. Growling once more, she turned to face whoever it was heading towards her.

"You're a contrasting version of your mother…" it said, jumping over the flames and standing before her – it was a green bear, similar to Flippy but with blue eyes. "I'm sorry, kid…but it's got to be this way – we have to fake your death for your own good," he apologized, grabbing the whimpering pup as she struggled to get away. "I'll take good care of your mother; you take care of yourself, and keep a low profile…" he whispered, kicking down the door and hiding her among the hedges. "Why?" she asked the bear. "You won't understand – it's better not to know," he replied. He then placed slight pressure on her temporal arteries, forcing her to sleep.

Sniffles had the video recorded and handed the disk to Splendid. When they played it back at Flippy and Flaky's place, the war veteran gasped in shock. "That's my father!" he declared, "What was he doing over there, and on your birthday too?" Moonlight shrugged, saying she's confused about the whole thing herself. "When's your birthday, anyway?" Splendid asked.

"Tomorrow," replied Moonlight. Flippy did a double-take. "Mine's tomorrow too!" he said; the two looked at each other in wonder. "Okay…this is weird," said Flaky, "First his dad seems to know Moonlight, and you both share the same birthday – things couldn't be any stranger." Moonlight took out her mother's picture – repaired with a piece of sticky tape as she accidentally tore it a few days ago.

Flippy squinted…and noticed something peculiar: Starlight was glancing to the left, her mouth curved into an affectionate smile; there was a hint of green fur at the left edge of the photograph. Closer inspection revealed Starlight was pregnant, her bulge barely noticeable. Flippy stood up without a word and took down a small frame hanging next to some artifacts; took out his father's picture before taking his seat.

"I hope you're not thinking what I'm thinking…" Flipqy's voice echoed within his head as the two attempted to piece the picture – literally – together. "Fuck no!" yelled Flipqy. In the now-complete photograph, Flippy's father was sitting next to Moonlight's mother; both were smiling and glancing at each other affectionately. There was also something on the floor – what both thought was just a shadowy square since they had their halves of the photograph…was actually a printout of an ultrasound scan, showing twin fetuses. Flippy and Moonlight turned to each other in shock as realization hit them.

"We're siblings?" they asked out loud; Moonlight fainted into a surprised Splendid's arms while Flippy seemed petrified. "There's only one way to prove it," said Flaky as she attempted to 'revive' him from his state.

"Sniffles," said Splendid.

[For those who read this far, it's just a little twist that popped into my head…so I thought it could add to the plot]