Chapter 5
I own nothing of Happy Tree Friends except the kids. All credit goes to Mondo Media
A week had passed since the pirates returned to Happy Tree Town, and both Lumpy and Russell began to feel uneasy with their presence. They found it weird how the crew hasn't left, the two knowing perfectly well the Sea Pirates only spent a few days in the town stocking up supplies. Russell had a feeling that something was going to happen if they stayed while Lumpy believed they found an unknown reason to stay longer.
The couple was on the couch watching whatever was on TV as Umi drew in her coloring books on the floor in front of them, occasionally glancing at the TV before returning to her work. The phone rang in the other room, causing Russell to stand from his spot and answer it. He leaned against the wall and heard Sniffles on the other line. "I see your crew hasn't left yet."
"Yeah. I find it strange," The bluenette crossed his arms with lowered eyes, releasing a light sigh before responding. "Usually, we would be here for a few days and leave once we were prepared. Either they have something planned or they're more disorganized than before."
"I'd go with the former. It's been years since you last heard of them. They won't be the same crew you sailed with."
"I know that, but," Russell trailed off with an averted gaze, looking back at the two in the other room before glancing at the floor. "If something is going on, I'm scared of what they might do to Lumpy and Umi."
"I understand." Russell heard silence on the other line, and he knew the scientist had thought of a bad memory regarding his family. While he wasn't filled in on the details on what exactly happened -Sniffles never wanted to talk about it- but he knew it had something to do with a strange rivalry. "So, what do you think we should do?"
"I can't say anything. They're your crew." Russell couldn't help but agree, although he wasn't sure if he could do anything since he wasn't the captain. His shoulders lowered with a closed eye before responding. "If something happens. Get your family to safety. You have that underground bunker for a reason." After a confirmation, he hung up the phone and returned to the living room, wrapping arms around the older bluenette and pecking his cheek. Lumpy only shrugged in response and wrapped an arm around his shoulder and gave a light kiss on the top of his head.
Umi laughed as she ran around the playground with her friends, chasing them in the wooden castle and through the jungle gym. She pulled Ruby and Sammy towards the other children as they climbed the various bars as their parents watched them close by. Nutty was chewing on a lollipop with a happy gaze, Petunia threw an occasional glance at whatever flowers caught her eye, Lifty and Shifty were on the swings and muttering to each other, and Flaky and Russell were underneath the shade of a tree enjoying each other's company. "You okay?" Flaky asked with a lifted eyebrow, snapping Russell out of thought and turning to him. "I'm fine."
"You sure? You seem out of it. Something's on your mind, isn't it? Is it your crew?"
"Seriously, am I that easy to read?" Flaky nodded, and Russell groaned and lowered his head. "It's not hard to figure it out. You've been like this since they came back," Flaky lowered his gaze and intertwined his fingers. "To be honest, I wish they would leave soon. They've been eyeing me ever since they first saw me, and I don't want to be reminded of what happened because I know how these people are when they get a look at me." He wrapped arms around himself, remembering when Fliqpy had taken control of his lover and raped him, which caused a slight rift in their relationship, a rift Flippy was reminded of when he thought of what lead to his and Flaky's marriage.
Russell placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort, which seemed to calm him down somewhat as he responded. "I get what you mean, but that's why Fliqpy has been training you, right? To make sure you're not a damsel?"
"Yeah, but even then I can't do much."
"That's because you're still learning," Russell assured. "Just because you can't fight well now doesn't mean you won't be able to fight well at all. I may not be a big fan of Fliqpy, but I do know that he and Flippy are two of the best fighters I know. Don't feel so bad about not being able to fight." Flaky lowered his head in response and tucked his knees under his chin with a light sigh, glancing back towards the children in the castle. He sat up with a confused gaze and lifted an eyebrow. "That's strange. I don't see Umi anywhere."
Russell glanced back towards the group, his eye widening slightly when he saw no sight of his daughter. He stood up quickly and hoped that she was in the abyss of the jungle gym. Ruby had been called over by the other red-head, and she darted towards her mother with a confused gaze. "Sweetie, have you seen Umi?" Ruby glanced around, slight concern beginning to show on her face. "I-I thought she followed us out of the jungle gym. S-She was gonna meet us at the top of the castle." Flaky glanced over at Nutty, who had gotten the message that something was wrong, and he called over the triplets to ask the same question. Meanwhile, Russell paced around the playground and hoping that he was just being paranoid.
After a few minutes of searching and calling out for the tiny bluenette, fear began to swell in his chest, and he thought about where Umi could possibly be. He ruled out the option of her wandering off because he knew that she knew better than to not be in sight of either of her parents. Maybe someone came and picked her up. No no they would tell me first. Maybe she ran for an ice cream truck, but there are none in sight, so that's out. Dammit where could she be? A tiny thought in the back of his mind was telling him that she might have been taken, and he wanted to shake it off. He began to make his way out of the park, almost ignoring Flaky calling out to him. "Russell, where are you going?"
"I'm gonna see if my hunch is right," He responded quickly as he ran off. "I'll be sure to tell you if it is!"
Russell glanced at the ship a few ways away from the shore with a stern gaze, lifting an eyebrow at the rowboat that seemed to be waiting for him. He slowly stepped towards it, climbing inside and pushing the boat away from the sand with the row that was available and began to make his way towards the ship. Fear and nervousness grew within him as he approached the vessel cautiously, hoping that his hunch was incorrect and that he was going crazy. As he got closer, the bluenette was immediately reminded of the night everything started, and it caused him to stop where he was.
Russell was dragged through the various halls of the ship, countless shouts of his crew drawing closer to him as Alexander tried to lead him towards safety. He grew more confused and irritated as the chase continued, and he wanted nothing more than to stop running and face his pursuers. Once he and Alexander got to a safe spot, he wretched his arm with a glare. "Mate, don't be thinkin' I can't take care of meself."
"Cap'n, this be a mutiny!" His first-mate shouted in a whisper as he grabbed his shoulders with a greatly concerned gaze. "The crew got ev'ry intention of killin' ya. Ye be outnumbered if ye try an' fight." Russell's eyes lowered as he gave an unconvinced look. Alexander sighed and pulled him along towards the deck with more slight protests from the captain. The bluenette pouted as he was pulled along harder, almost tripping over his feet in the process as the doors to the deck pushed open, and he was greeted with an army of raised swords. His eyes slightly widened in fear at the sight of the bloodthirst in everyone's gazes, and it was enough to cause him to slightly shroud behind his first mate. It didn't take long for the two to be surrounded, and Russell was thrown harshly onto the wood. He winced in pain and glanced up to see Alexander pull him to his feet. Russell staggered slightly and he barely had time to balance himself before he heard a mutter of "Forgive me" before a blade was plunged into his right eye.
The captain screamed in pain and fell to his knees, curling up on the wood and placing both hands on his injured eye. The crew around him laughed with delight as the bluenette let out a choked sob of pain. He was soon kicked around, causing him to roll across the floorboards and losing consciousness with each passing second. For a moment, Russell believed that he was going to die permanently, and he had given up with whatever plan he had in mind. He wondered why Alexander wasn't doing anything and was letting this happen. The bluenette was pulled to his feet, and he slowly staggered towards the rail of the ship to get a last glance of his crew before going unconscious. Instead, Alexander was standing before him with a look Russell had never seen. He bent down slightly to whisper in his ear, and Russell's uninjured eye widened before he was pushed off of the ship and into the crashing waves below.
Russell placed his hands over his eyepatch with a lowered gaze as he relived the memory. After the mutiny, he had somehow washed up on the beach of Happy Tree Town, where he was found by Lumpy and Sniffles. He remembered it took the two of them weeks to convince him to not look for his crew, and knowing his stubborn nature, he refused to stop trying. It was also around that time where he was told he had hysteria, and Sniffles believed it from his time on the seas. Russell immediately brushed it off for a while until realizing that he might never be able to sail again. After seven years, his crew had returned, and the bluenette felt nervous since their arrival.
He approached the ladder that hung from the side of the ship and lifted an eyebrow, wondering if they were expecting him. With caution, he reached out towards the ladder and began to climb towards the deck, fear making itself noticeable on his face. Once his feet touched the floorboards, he was greeted with the crew working on the ship, stopping to gaze at the young bluenette with sneers. He felt something off about the sight, noticing that they looked different somehow, like they weren't the same crew he remembered sailing with.
"Ah, I'm glad you can make it."
Russell turned towards the staircase to see Alexander and another pirate standing above him. The blonde began to make his way towards the deck, and the crew began to circle around the two of them. Russell held his ground and ignored the pirates before his former first-mate spoke again. "We were wondering how long it will be before you showed up." He nudged his head towards the lower decks, and one of the pirates nodded and scurried off. Russell lifted an eyebrow before his eye widened at the sight of his daughter being held under one arm and thrown onto the deck harshly. The bluenette couldn't believe what he was seeing: Umi's hands were tied behind her back tightly, her arms and legs were covered in bruises, a bleeding gash was on her left knee and a slight cut was on her right cheek. "Umi-" He began to step forward but was stopped by a blade blocking his way. The small girl slightly lifted her head with half-lidded eyes. "Mama."
"Alex, what's going on?" Russell demanded with clenched fists and a glare. The pirates around him chuckled, and Alexander lifted an eyebrow with a hand on his hip. "You see, Cap'n, as you know, we're here to get supplies for our next journey-"
"That's a load of bullshit and you know it," Russell interrupted. "We looked for Poseidon's treasure before, and it wasn't in Davy's locker, so why are you really here?" Alexander sighed and placed a hand on his hip with a lowered gaze. "Truth is, we be lookin' for ya. A year after the mutiny, we all wondered whether or not ya were alive, so we began to search wherever we thought ye might be," Russell was unconvinced and he crossed his arms with a lifted eyebrow, but fear grew itself back on his face as the blonde finished. "So we can make sure ye be dead for good."
Russell was taken back, and he glanced over at his injured daughter, who was still trying to take in everything that was going on but was fearful for her life. Alexander began to pace in the circle as he continued. "Six years we been searchin', until we figured out the only place where ya could be, and that would be here. Since ye still believed I was on yer side, I played along with yer little game, and also kept track of what ya been doing," His eyes lowered into a glare as he clenched his fists. "Only to find out our suspicions were true and ye were a homosexual this entire time!" The pirates roared in response, and Russell's chest tightened in fear. "H-How did you find out?"
Alexander held out his hand, and the bluenette saw a tiny cube floating in his palm, and he soon began to wonder what had happened all of these years. The cube soon began to flash footage, and his eyes widened in fear when he saw himself, Lumpy, and Umi on one of their family dates. Lumpy peppered Russell's faces with kisses as Russell laughed happily and Umi held onto her mother's leg. "And that's not all. We've been watching others too." Flashes of other members of Happy Tree Town, flashed before Russell's eyes as he saw Sniffles and his family, Flaky and Ruby, Lifty and Shifty with their twins, and many others. "After seein' this, we were thinkin' that maybe we could take over this town and call it our home base and be killin' anyone who opposes us. Unless," He placed the cube in his pocket and smirked at the former pirate. "Ye agree to be killed with no strugglin' and we leave this town alone."
Russell lowered his gaze in response. Knowing his crew, they would parade his corpse across town for everyone to see, and then leave him there so people would mourn. He wasn't too worried about death considering he could be brought back easily. As he had this thought, Alexander continued. "And after yer dead, ye will be burned and yer ashes be lost forever. Ye know, just to make sure yer not revived by this town's curse." Russell couldn't believe what he was hearing, and the thought of being dead permanently frightened him. Sure he could be revived, but if his body wasn't found in the next 24 hours after death, he couldn't come back to life. No one would bother looking for ashes in an ocean. He placed both hands above his mouth at the thought and was on the verge of tears as a result.
Alexander's smug never left his face, and he held out his other hand for an artifact to be slipped inside. "By the way, Cap'n, ya know what this is?" Russell lifted his head to see a small flute in the blonde's hand, and his eye widened even more. "We were thinkin' we outta test this out, and we already got ourselves a dummy." He flashed a sadistic grin at the toddler, who shrouded away from the captain. Russell stepped forward, but was pulled back immediately. "No let her go, she's not part of this!"
"She has every part of this by being yers!" As Alexander approached the child, Russell continued to struggle to get to the other side of the ship. "Leave her out of this please! She's just an innocent child! You don't know what you're dealing with!"
"Oh I know perfectly what I'm dealin' with," Alexander stopped as Umi was pulled to her feet. "We have accomplished something that ye couldn't. Ye were too scared to face the beast when we had ev'ry chance to control it!"
"I did the right thing by not getting us all killed!" Russell retorted back in a shout. "You're about to raise more hell than you can handle! If she gets fed to it, it'll want more human blood, and the entire crew will die! You have no chance of controlling it!"
"Yer wrong about that, Cap'n. I've already controlled it."
