Disclaimer: "Happy Tree Friends" is a copyright of Mondo Media
[Yeah, I know – late updates. I'm pretty swamped lately.]
Happy Tree Friends: Camp Sanguine
Chapter 04 – Foul Play
"Are you sure she's okay? I mean…" asked Giggles, trailing off as she recalled Moonlight being crushed under a pile of debris. "She's fine – really," Splendont assured, "Even though I took it too far." Mime rolled his eyes and began signing him with aggressive gestures. "I said I'm sorry!" the red hero grumbled (even though he couldn't understand what he's saying). "Just forget it okay? Pop said he'll handle them," said Splendid, rapidly changing the subject as he asked if anyone's up for a baseball game.
Meanwhile in the Camp Office clinic – since Lumpy's also considered the 'camp psychologist', Pop decided he'll fill in for today with whatever knowledge he could look up as said counselor's handbook is right there beside him. He was about to request Flippy to narrate his story when he decided it's better to put him in a hypnotic sleep. "Alright Flippy, focus…" he said, "Where are you?"
"…I'm at the military school…" Flippy replied in a trance-like voice.
It was a living nightmare. The waking hours seemed too early and the sleeping schedules felt too short (at least to him) – he swore he was a zombie during his first few weeks on campus. In other words, it's like living in Hell.
"Get a move on, assholes!" the drill sergeant barked, "I'm not sticking around to watch you catch up!" Flippy panted heavily as he tried to keep up with the rest of the soldiers-in-training as they rushed through the obstacle course. Just when he thought he was ahead, he realized he was a lap behind everyone else. "Private Flippy!" he heard his sergeant yell, "You failed the obstacle course again. Drop down and give me a hundred!"
'Not again…' he groaned mentally as he dropped to the muddy ground and began his [daily] 100 pushups. Part of him felt it was unfair, but he knew that if he didn't get through all this he'll be in worse trouble later. As soon as he was done, he trudged back to his room soaked head to toe in sweat; his entire body ached even as he lay flat on his back.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
All the other soldiers-in-training were asleep, leaving him alone with the horribly strict drill sergeant in his office. "Private Flippy…" he growled, "A full month since you were enrolled, and yet you didn't show any progress. What do you say do that?"
"Sir, I'm still trying to do my best, Sir!" Flippy replied, keeping his eyes glued to the wall behind his superior. "Well, it's not even good enough!" he yelled, "If you wanna prove me wrong, head to the obstacle course and run ten consecutive laps. NOW!"
"Sir, yes, Sir!" he saluted, turning on his heel and bolting out the door towards the said location. However, halfway there he slipped and fell in the mud as the heavy rain made the ground so slippery. "You call that an attempt?" he heard as he slowly blacked out, "You're a failure, Private Flippy! Nothing but a worthless failure!"
He woke up in the school clinic the next morning. Sitting up, he winced as his head throbbed and shut his eyes. 'How did I get here anyway?' he wondered as he got out of bed and walked towards the exit. He stopped as he heard hushed voices on the other side of the door; quietly began to eavesdrop.
"Flippy murdered the drill sergeant and some unlucky witnesses last night – poor kid probably couldn't take it anymore," said one. Flippy cringed as he continued to listen. "Well, good riddance," said another, "Nobody could stand him anyway. We need to hire a new one, though." As he heard them leave, he quietly opened the door and quickly walked to his room; locked himself in before curling up in bed. 'It was an accident…right?' he thought.
"Not really…" a dark voice echoed. A startled Flippy suddenly sat up and began looking around for the owner of the voice. His eyes stopped on a mirror…but he wasn't staring at his own reflection. "Bastard wouldn't let up, so I got rid of him – are you happy?" his golden-eyed self asked. "Happy? Happy!" Flippy yelled as he walked over and glared at him, "You made me murder someone! What'll everyone at home say about this!"
"Ssh…" he whispered, "Think about it. Do you think you can survive another day with him? I don't think so." Flippy then roared and threw a punch at the mirror, not caring as glass shards cut his hand. "You can never get rid of me, no matter how hard you try…" his shadow snickered.
From then on, Flipqy (as he decided to call him) was born…
Pop jotted down everything as he listened, his brows furrowed the whole time. He then snapped Flippy out of his trance; the confused teen asked what had happened and instead was advised to join everyone else in a game of baseball. "In the meantime, I'll check on your sister," the camp director added. "Actually, I think I'll stay here – can't just leave her alone," Flippy suggested. "If that's how you want it, fine…" said Pop.
Moonlight had just woken up when they approached her. "Your brother has told me everything that led to his condition," Pop explained, "Now it's your turn." Before he could put her in a hypnotic sleep, she insisted he didn't need to as she could tell them directly. "Alright then, go ahead…" Pop suggested.
Moonlight giggled as she read her brother's latest letter, saying he's doing great at military school and he's gotten used to the atmosphere; mentioned he misses everyone and couldn't wait to come home. "Moonlight~!" Starlight called from another room, "Your father and I are heading out to grab some groceries. Turn off the oven when the cake's done, okay?"
"Sure thing!" their blue-eyed daughter replied. But she had forgotten what her mother said and was in her room, writing back to Flippy…when the overpowering smell of gas reached her nostrils. It had gotten stronger the closer she reached the closed kitchen door – smoke was billowing out the bottom. Her foolishness got the better of her as she swung open the door and –
BOOM!
SHRIEK!
She was blown back by the sudden explosion; every escape route had been blocked by a flaming wall and she coughed as smoke entered her nostrils. She panicked as the fire rapidly closed in. "Moonlight!" she heard her parents yell from outside. "Mom, Dad – help me!" she screamed, pleadingly banging the nearest [jammed] window repeatedly. She shrieked once more as flames licked at her arm and caught onto her clothes. Before she knew what had happened, she just fainted.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
GASP!
The white-haired teen bolted upright in bed, panting furiously as she glanced quickly at her new surroundings. Everything was so white: the walls, the ceilings, the floor…and the bandages covering more than half of her body. "Moonlight!" Starlight sobbed as she threw her arms around her daughter, "We were so worried you'd never wake up."
"What's going on? Where am I?" the scared part-albino demanded. Captain explained she was out cold by the time she was rescued, escaping with 1st degree burns – which, assumingly, wasn't really that bad; the doctor added she may have also suffered mentally from the incident.
His diagnosis was correct as they noticed Moonlight had her own 'issues' whenever she's close to a flame – she would simply black out, and then her other self (by the name 'Eclipse') would emerge and wreck havoc before subsiding into her mind once more. And all the while, Moonlight would have no memory of what had occurred in between.
A few days before Flippy returned, she was taken to a psychiatrist who had diagnosed her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"The same illness as mine…" Flippy sighed, "Why didn't you say anything about that either?" His sister explained she and their parents didn't want to worry him and so kept quiet about it. "That pretty much explained your sudden change in behavior…" Pop noted, "Anyway, that's enough for now. You kids run along and join the other campers – Cub and I will catch up to watch the game in a bit." And with that, he picked up his son and hummed a cheery tune while the toddler babbled along.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
The fraternal twins showed up just in time as the rest of the campers realized they were short on players. Splendid chose Flippy, Moonlight, Cuddles and Giggles for his team; Splendont picked Disco Bear, Lifty, Shifty, Nutty and Flaky on his. Toothy, Handy, Petunia and Lammy were chosen as umpires. "But we don't have any batters or fielders – we can't play a game without them," Cuddles pointed out.
"Hm…you're right. What should we do now?" said Splendid as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "How about a contest?" Splendont suggested, "You and me – in a flying contest. These guys will be the judges."
"You know I hate that…" his blue-haired brother sighed, "And you always win this game." Splendont laughed and slapped him on the back, asking him where his 'competitive' spirit had gone to. "Do you wanna look like a 'pussy' to everyone here?" the red-haired hero taunted. "That's it, bring it on!" Splendid yelled, blue eyes glaring at reds. Pop and Cub had just arrived at the scene, the camp director thinking watching them compete each other would be more interesting than a baseball game.
"3…2…1…GO!" Lifty and Shifty announced, yelping as they were being blown back [along with some campers] by a shock wave as the red-and-blue twins took off into the air.
Splendid and Splendont flew side-by-side, one glaring and the other smirking as they mirrored each other's movements. Their audience seated themselves at the bleachers and watched the 'air show' with fascination; awed as they performed synchronized loops and burst through clouds with their incredible speed. "Last part – you ready?" Splendont yelled as they flew up towards the sun. "I'm born ready!" Splendid replied. Then just as they reached the top, they immediately dropped down; their speed picked up the faster they traveled.
Their eyes began brimming with tears as cool air stung them. Keeping their bodies as straight as possible, they kept going in one direction until they felt the air start to 'close in' on them; they could feel their fingertips beginning to burn as they cut through the resisting air like a knife. And suddenly –
BOOM! WHOOSH!
"Whoa~!" the audience awed as they witnessed some red energy burst around Splendont – a 'sonic boom', as Sniffles would call it (if he wasn't killed at the caféteria today). They clapped and cheered as the red hero appeared before them, smiling proudly. "Hey…" Moonlight pointed out, "Where's your brother?"
"AAH!" they heard, followed by a thunderous THUD. Splendont sighed and took off; returned seconds later with a bruised Splendont in his arms. "Failed – as usual," he explained in a bored tone, "While we both can fly at the same speed, he could never perform a sonic boom."
He was suddenly silenced as a fist connected with his nose, forcing him to drop his brother and stumble backwards; he was then tackled and pinned to the ground. "I wasn't ready, you dumbass!" Splendid yelled as he landed punch-after-punch on his brother's face, "I WASN'T FUCKING READY!" Just as he was about to land another punch, his fist was held back by a firm grip. He turned and glared…then his eyes widened to shock.
"Hello again…" Flipqy greeted, kicking Splendid off his brother before storming towards him. "No!" Moonlight yelled, throwing herself onto her brother but was thrown off in the next second. He then locked fists with the blue hero and the two glared at what seemed like an eternity; finally threw punches to each other's noses, the force making them fly backwards.
Splendont groaned and sat up, holding a hand over his bleeding nose before noticing an out-cold Moonlight not far from him. He then looked up and witnessed his brother squaring-off with a flipped teen soldier. "Boys! Break it up!" Pop yelled, handing a crying Cub to a frightened Lammy before rushing over to them. Lifty and Shifty followed; so did Cuddles and Giggles.
"I said 'break it up'!" Pop repeated as the sea-green twins held back Flippy while the yellow-and-pink couple pulled away Splendid. Their actions were proven futile as both riled-up boys knocked their heads together, blood and brains spilling onto the ground as they collapsed dead.
TWEET!
"H-Huh?" Flippy wondered out loud as Pop's whistle rang in his ears, cringing as he saw the new casualties at his feet. Splendid was still quite angry, but then eased himself as he realized what he had done. "You're right – I'm sorry," Splendont immediately apologized as he walked over to him, still covering his bleeding nose, "Nice punch, though." His blue-haired brother sighed and said it was no big deal; it's his fault he got angry in the first place.
"Oh…that's not cool…" Disco Bear commented as he checked on Moonlight, "Poor girl conked her head real good. What a nasty little bump." Flippy heard that and rushed over; picked up his sister before the afro-wearing teen could touch her. He then glanced over at Flaky, who stared back with a frightened look in her ruby eyes. Then again, just about everyone shared the same expression.
"You kids get your asses to the clinic – it seems I'm playing 'doctor' today…" Pop half-joked, earning some quiet half-hearted chuckles and giggles from some of the campers.
And once again, a pair of glowing white eyes watched the unwary camp inhabitants from its hidden spot within the shadowy trees…