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

Happy Tree Friends: Camp Sanguine

Chapter 02 – Dark Side

Figuring neither wanted to stay on the bottom bunk for long, Splendid and Splendont reluctantly agreed to switch places every week – therefore ending the argument. "So, Flippy…" the blue-haired teen began, "Earlier today, what did Moonlight mean when she said you were 'not yourself' after you returned from military school?"

Flippy froze midway after unpacking some clothes. "Let's just say…huh, how do I put this?" he mumbled as he busied himself once more. Taking a deep breath, he explained his time in military school 'screwed up' his mentality so much he had to take psychotherapy. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," he added, "As long as I stay out of anything related to the army, I'm fine."

"Well that sucks…" said Splendont, giving a 'what-it's-true' shrug as his blue twin cocked his eyebrow at him. "Nah, he's right…" Flippy admitted as he sat on a bunk bed. Splendid sat next to him and patted his back. "Why don't we just forget that and get some fresh air?" he suggested, smiling as the army-clothed teen nodded.

Flippy almost bumped into Moonlight on his way out. "Don't you ever get tired of that outfit?" she half-joked as she eyed his usual black shirt under green camouflage coat and pants; topped with a green beret (with a small gold shield crest) complimenting his lime-green hair and black half-gloves on his hands. "Don't you get tired of yours?" he replied smugly as he noted her blue V-collar tank top and shorts; the only other accessory being a blue headband contrasting her white hair. "Point made…" she sighed dejectedly, "Why do you always win this argument?"

"Um…excuse me?" whispered someone. The newcomers turned to a blond-haired boy wearing a yellow sweatshirt and brown khaki shorts; standing next to him was a pink-haired girl wearing a matching sundress. Some hair strands were a shade lighter and hung down the middle of her head. Behind them was the red-haired girl they've encountered earlier. "Name's Cuddles; this is my girlfriend, Giggles," the blond greeted, "We're here to say Flaky's really sorry about –"

"It's okay; I'm used to getting splashed in the face," Flippy chuckled, "That wasn't the first time." Flaky muttered a nervous giggle, cowering behind the yellow-and-pink pair before being gently shoved forward. "Flaky…" Giggles urged, "You can't be shy forever, you know."

"Man, what a pansy – shaking like a leaf!" his alter-ego (Flipqy) commented, his snickers echoing through his head. Flippy ignored him and quietly held out his hand towards Flaky; smiled as she shook it. "U-Uh…um…I…uh…" she stuttered, dandruff flakes falling to the ground as she shivered. "Flaky, right?" he began quite nervously, "Nice to meet you. I'm Flippy –"

"The shy boy~!" Moonlight mocked. "Shut up…" her brother muttered through clenched teeth as he glared at her; failed to hide his blushing face. Flaky found it quite amusing and giggled a bit more.

Just then, they heard a shrill whistle not far off. Flippy recognized that sound as he recalled the strict sergeant barking orders and treating everyone like trash as they rushed through the obstacle course. "Hey, snap out of it!" his sister's voice echoed, forcing him back into reality, "You're spooking her." His vision focused and he remembered he's still staring into Flaky's ruby eyes, which looked confused and scared at the same time. "Lunch time," said Giggles. "Well, it's about time! I'm starving," Splendont muttered as the group headed towards the concrete building.

Little did they know that watching them from the shadowy trees were a pair of glowing white eyes…

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The dining hall looked more spacious than it was from the outside. Padded leather chairs circling round tables were lined against the walls, some close to the windows. A large counter bearing a display case full of food stood opposite the door; behind it a brown-haired caveman encased in a block of ice. "Just wondering, why's the cook frozen like that?" Moonlight asked as they seated themselves. "Beats me…" Cuddles replied, "Even the camp staff can't understand how he could do anything while in that state."

"Oh yeah~!" purred a seductive voice behind them. Moonlight froze as a warm hand touched her shoulder; turned to a guy wearing yellow 70s clothing flashing his pearly whites at her. "New girl, huh?" he asked, "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Back off, Disco Bear…" Cuddles threatened, "Or I'll mess up that stupid afro!" Disco Bear ignored him; winked at Giggles, who rolled her eyes in disgust. "So…what's your name?" he repeated, still grinning as she turned to him. But his smile was wiped off as she suddenly stood and twisted his arm behind his back; pinned him onto his stomach as she slammed him onto the table.

"Moonlight, calm down…" Flippy whispered, "He's not worth it." Blue eyes glared-then-softened as they glanced at his greens; she slowly released him and stepped back. "Nice grapple!" Disco Bear commented as he massaged his wrists, "I'm already starting to like you." Flaky appeared to shrink back in her seat as she noticed Moonlight getting riled up again.

Flippy held her back before she could slug the afro-wearing teen; fibbed about his sister having a bad case of PMS and politely asked him to back off for a while. "Alright then, see you later…Moonlight," said Disco Bear, whistling as he left. "Pre-Menstrual Syndrome?" she whispered as she cocked her eyebrows towards her brother, who chuckled nervously.

Another orange-haired teen approached them, but his hair hung down in short and shaggy strands; he seemed to be wearing clothes fit for a constructor – a yellow helmet and a sleeveless white shirt over baggy cargo pants. Beside him was a cobalt blue-haired girl wearing a blue mini-dress over a black skirt; carrying two food trays. Like Giggles, pale blue hair strands hung down the middle of her head, held back by a pinkish flower clip. "Is there enough room for two more?" she asked.

"Handy! Petunia!" Giggles greeted, "Late for lunch, as usual?" The orange-and-blue pair shared a laugh and settled next to Moonlight as they shifted. "Guys, I'd like you to meet the new campers: Moonlight, Flippy, Splendid and Splendont," Flaky introduced, failing to hide her blush as her hip brushed Flippy's.

"If you don't mind me asking – what happened to your arms?" Splendid asked as he noticed Handy's bandaged stubs, almost flinching as he received a frustrated frown as an answer. "Lost them in an accident," Petunia replied for him, "And just so you know, my boyfriend doesn't like it when you ask questions about his arms."

"Oh…my bad," Splendid apologized, cursing mentally for his mistake. "That's alright – you're gonna find out anyway," said Handy; he then turned to Petunia and reminded she's been polishing her cutlery for five minutes since they arrived. "But they're so dirty…" she whined as she kept rubbing the damp cloth over and over them, a sure sign of being obsessive compulsive.

'Does everyone at this table have mental problems?' Splendont wondered as they chatted over lunch, almost dropping his fork as his brother nudged him. "What?" he hissed. "I said 'you're being quiet today' – is something bothering you?" Splendid asked. "I think I'll just go eat somewhere else," his red-haired brother grumbled, picking up his food tray and trudging off. Splendid shrugged to himself and resumed chatting with everyone at the table.

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Night had fallen quicker than they thought. "Alright campers – gather 'round!" Pop announced over the megaphone, smiling as everyone seated themselves. Beside him, his son Cub attempted to walk towards the blazing campfire before being pulled back and held safely in his daddy's arms. Lumpy, Mole and Cro-Marmot were not far off, assembling a small buffet of hotdogs, buns, fries and soda. "Wait a sec – Flippy, where's your sister?" Pop asked.

The green-haired teen looked around, confusion written on his face. "I think she's still in the cabin," a lavender-haired girl wearing a white wooly sweater over matching trousers replied; offered to bring her over. "In case you haven't noticed, something seems off with her – don't you think?" Flipqy's voice echoed. And for some reason, Flippy knew his 'shadow' was right and sensed something really did seem out of place…

Meanwhile, Lammy knocked gently on the door and asked Moonlight to step out. "I'm not coming – you just go on without me," was her answer. "Moonlight…" Lammy half-scolded as she let herself in, "You're one of the newcomers. It's crucial you should be there for –"

She stopped in mid-sentence as she caught her in the bathroom, nails scratching the sink. "What's the matter?" she asked as she pried her off; sat next to her on one of the bunks and held her close. "Moonlight, what's wrong?" she repeated. The white-haired teen took a deep breath to calm herself. "Pyrophobia," she began, "I'm too scared to go near a flame, even if it's as tiny as a candle's. Sorry, but I just can't go."

Lammy sighed and hugged her tenderly; told her there's nothing to be afraid of and – if she wanted – can run back to the cabin if her fear gets out of control. "Now, are you gonna sit here and miss out the activities? Or are you gonna get out there and conquer your fear?" she asked. Moonlight still was uncertain, but she agreed with the second choice.

"What kept you?" Flippy whispered as his sister sat next to him. As soon as Lammy explained the reason, he frowned and held his sister close. "We're gonna have a talk about that later," he suggested, a stern look replacing his original expression. "But –!" Moonlight began, silenced as he placed a finger on her mouth. "No buts, understand?" he insisted, smiling as she nodded in agreement.

Camp Director Pop cleared his throat and announced tonight's event will be 'storytelling'. Moonlight still felt uneasy and inched closer to her brother; she couldn't stop whimpering even as she averted her eyes away from the flames. "Hey, is she alright?" Splendid whispered (he's sitting next to him); Flippy nodded, although he's quite uncertain himself.

"Years ago…" Pop began as he sat Cub on his lap, "This camp used to be the location of an asylum – I'm sure some of you heard about it."

The Happy Orchard Asylum was known to house over 1000 patients and was rumored to contain the best doctors and psychologists; it had such a high reputation due to the fact that most of its patients (whether original inhabitants or relocated from smaller, less common facilities) were treated with love and care and often released fully cured without further complications.

But it was not until two centuries had passed when the outside world began to wonder about the treatment methods. This was noticed after one person happened to interview a then-released patient about his stay – he was answered by a frantic, "Don't even talk about that place to me! I'm cured now, and there's no way in Hell I'm going back there!"

Curiosity is known to kill the cat, but this young interviewer was anxious to learn more about Happy Orchard Asylum that one night (when the moon was new) he snuck into the facility and did some exploring. It was eerily quiet; he had a feeling everyone's already asleep – doctors, psychiatrists and patients alike. That was until he noticed one lit room…

…agonized screams echoed down the dark halls, sending cold shivers down the interviewer's spine. He braced himself and peeked through the door he managed to crack open a tiny bit. "Oh no…" he mouthed as he witnessed a horrible scene.

A patient lay struggling on an operating table; his head, wrists and ankles were held down securely by metal cuffs. A doctor stood over him and sharpened a scalpel. "This won't hurt one bit…" he said as he held the patient's head still with one gloved hand and slowly brought the scalpel down towards his forehead.

"AAH!" the patient screamed, thrashing wildly and causing the doctor much difficulty, forcing him to cut in more places that he intended to; eventually managed to slice and peel off the skin, exposing the skull. He then grabbed a hacksaw and began sawing around his head; pulled off a bowl-shaped skull section and exposed the brain.

'The patient's still alive!' the interviewer screamed mentally as he noticed the chest rising and falling quite rapidly. In his hand was a small video camera, its 'record' button pressed just moments before. The patient had stopped struggling as soon as the doctor began prodding his brain.

"This is the problem…" the doctor calmly noted as if it were a normal checkup, "Don't worry, I'll fix that for you." He proceeded to slice off a section of his brain; tossed the piece into a 'biohazard' waste basket that was sitting nearby. He then stitched on a skin graft and sealed the hole closed; replaced the skull bone and finally the hair and skin, stitching it all back into place. "There…" the doctor said cheerfully, "That wasn't so bad now, was it? Although you may have some trouble with –"

He stopped in mid-sentence as he turned his eyes to the door; the interviewer had accidentally opened it and exposed himself. "Security!" the doctor alerted over a nearby intercom as the interviewer escaped, "There's an intruder in the building!"

Bars SLAMMED across doors and windows, blocking his escape. He ran blindly through the corridors and kept changing routes as his path got blocked by security officers. "Hey!" one of the patients called to him, "Come with me – I know another way out!" He knew he had no other choice, so he joined the patient-on-the-run and the two escaped through an unused air vent.

With his video evidence and a live witness, the interviewer filed his report to the nearest police station and had the asylum shut down due to 'patient abuse' and 'unorthodox treatment methods'. The doctors and psychiatrists were tried and executed while the patients – thankful that their nightmare was over – were relocated to other asylums. Eventually, the building was abandoned, fell into ruin and was demolished.

"What happened to the interviewer and the patient?" Toothy (with neck-length violet hair) asked. Pop heaved a sigh. "Nobody knows…" the camp director replied, "They just simply disappeared shortly after the asylum got destroyed." He then placed Cub back to the ground and stood, brushing off some imaginary dust from his dark-red trousers. "Well, that's enough storytelling for tonight," he announced cheerfully, "Now you guys help yourselves to dinner."

A bright green-haired guy known as Nutty reached the table before the others. "Candy, candy, candy…" he seemed to chant over and over as he looked over the buffet table. Counselor Lumpy chuckled and dug around his pockets; pulled out two handfuls of confectionary and dropped them into the hyperactive teen's hands. "Yar, he's always like that," a sea blue-haired guy told the newcomers as he passed them, "As long as you got candy to give him, he'll leave you alone."

Mime (a lavender-haired, pale-faced teen) nodded silently before performing sign language. "Yar…do any of you understand what he's trying to say?" the teen pirate asked, "Because everybody barely does." Flippy glanced to Moonlight, who nodded and replied that she could understand him very well. Mime smiled and shook her hand; began signing her again.

"He says the story about the asylum is true," the white-haired girl translated, "His grandfather told it to him." The teenage mime added that during his stay in this camp, he had witnessed seeing misty forms passing through the trees in the woods around them – most probably the ghosts of dead asylum inhabitants. "Ghosts don't exist," Flippy remarked, "You're probably just seeing things." Mime rolled his eyes and signed some more while Moonlight kept translating. "No, we don't think you're crazy – right, guys?" the green-haired 'soldier' asked.

"Look out!" Flaky yelled towards the group. But her warning came too late as Nutty bumped into Flippy, forcing him to stumble and fall a bit too close to the fire. At the same time, a few burning embers landed on one of his pant legs. "Whoa, shit!" he cursed as he stood immediately and began to bat away at the flames. "Hold still!" Splendid ordered as he grabbed a can of soda; pulled off the ring-pull and doused the flames out. "Thanks…" Flippy sighed, ignoring Flipqy's frustrated growl as he was successfully blocked from surfacing.

"Hey, where's Moonlight?" Splendont asked; everyone glanced around. "She probably ran back to the cabin after what she saw. Should I go check up on her?" Lammy asked. Flippy thanked her for the offer, but suggested he'll do it himself. "I'll catch you guys later!" he added before running off.

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Moonlight hugged her knees as she sat on her bunk bed, rocking herself to and fro. 'You know he'll find out eventually…' a dark feminine voice echoed in her head. "Shut up…" the blue-eyed teen muttered miserably, flinching as she heard a knock on the door.

"Moonlight, are you there?" Flippy asked. "Go away!" she ordered from the inside. "I know you're freaked out after what happened earlier, but I'm fine – really," he insisted, frowning as she still refused to open the door. He then glanced around quickly and tried the door; it's locked. "Don't make me do this…" he warned as he backed up a short distance. He then ran and –

The door suddenly opened and his sister lunged, roaring like a beast as she tackled him. "You're a persistent one…" she growled as she pinned him down. Flippy gasped as golden irises stared glared back where her blue orbs had been. And being pinned down by a family member-turned-adversary ignited his own dark side; he shoved her off as Flipqy took over. "You're not that 'blue-eyed pussy'…" he growled, "Who the fuck are you?"

The golden-eyed girl giggled. "Someone you might meet again in the future," she replied smugly. She then shuddered and allowed Moonlight to take control of her body once more; whimpered as blue eyes locked onto her brother's golden orbs. "Hey, hey…" he whispered as his glare softened, "It's alright; I'm not here to hurt you."

She was either frozen to the spot or he moved quickly – either way, she found herself in his arms. "Ssh…" he whispered, his voice softening as Flippy regained control, "It's me. Don't worry." He then pulled back and eyed his sister calmly; said they'll talk about her 'condition' once she's ready.

"Aww~! Isn't that cute?" Disco Bear teased from a distance, "Anyone up for incest?" He then yelped as Splendid slapped the back of his head…then regretted his action as he realized he knocked him out. "Nice job…" his red twin commented sarcastically as he walked past them. Splendid grumbled to himself and began to drag the unconscious teen back to the boys' cabin.

"Remember – when you're ready," Flippy reminded as he hugged his sister for the last time tonight; led her to the girls' cabin before heading back with the rest of the boys. "Are you okay?" Petunia asked as she walked up to Moonlight. "Yeah…for now," the white-haired teen replied.

"…but not for long…"