The next chapter my friends. A special thanks to "flakyxflippy" and "VioletsAreBlack" for their support.
SUGAR COATED POISON
BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON
Frißt mich auf mit Haut und Haar
und würgt mich wieder aus nach Tag und Jahr
Läßt sich fallen weich wie Schnee
Erst wird es heiß dann kalt am Ende tut es weh
(It devours me completely
and retches me back out after many years
It drops softly like snow
First it gets hot then cold in the end it hurts)
-Amour by Rammstein
CHAPTER FIVE: SWEATING BULLETS
Let me enlighten you
This is how I pray
Living just isn't hard enough
Burn me alive inside
Living my life's not hard enough
Take everything away
-Prayer by Disturbed
"There's something I need to tell you, Petunia…" Maybe that's how it always begins. The words that hold mystic and yet end in some dark creation. This thought ran through Petunia's head as she looked at Flaky, but she had no proof it would be bad.
"Yes?" Petunia asked, hesitantly.
Flaky looked down at her feet. Her right one was rubbing her left, an action she did when she was nervous, and her hands were clasped tightly behind her back.
"I… I couldn't bear to tell Flippy what happened…" She murmured. "And… so… I left him a note…"
Petunia waited for a moment. She waited for Flaky to say that Flippy was on a mindless rampage, killing everything in sight. But Flaky never uttered a word.
"And…?" Petunia prompted.
"And so…" Flaky's eyes filled with tears. "What are we going to do? He's sure to flip!"
"Well Flaky…" Petunia said, taking her friend into her arms. "We may just have to hide until Evil goes away."
"But…" Flaky began crying hysterically now, as though she had remembered an awful memory. "But… but what if it… sticks?"
"What do you mean?" Petunia asked.
"One time…" Flaky said "… Flippy told me that he had flipped… and Evil stayed… somehow, nothing could snap him out of it… and that he killed everyone around him… it was right after the war…"
"How did he turn back?"
"A year of isolation before he moved here. He just remembers entering the town and suddenly snapping back. It took him a while to figure out who all he'd killed."
"Well… I'm sure he won't do it again-…" Petunia cut off, looking up sharply.
She heard a low, growling laughter coming from outside. The laughter was cruel and bitter, with pain right on the tip of it. Flaky cuddled her tightly, her eyes shut tight.
"D-don't let him get me, Petunia!" Flaky cried.
Petunia felt herself tearing up in fear as well. Her stomach was churning as she peaked out of the window of her house. There was Flippy, his body covered in splatters of blood, and his mouth was a twisted half grin, half scowl. But what caught her ears was the sound that was beginning to grow as Flippy neared. Not just the crying laugh, but a small screaming sound. Suddenly, with horrified realization; she could see that Flippy was dragging Cuddles' body behind him.
His blood splattered fingers were wrapped tightly about the rabbit's ears as he dragged him. She cried out, falling back from the window and down on to her bed, bringing Flaky down with her. They huddled together, crying and staring in fear at the bedroom door as they awaited the inevitable.
They heard the front door splintering and could hear Cuddles clearly now, as well as Flippy's sorrow laugh.
"-Please Flippy!" Cuddles was screaming. "Let me go! Please don't hurt me or Petunia! Please-…"
He was cut off as the bedroom door burst into shards of wood and there stood the blood stained bear, breathing heavily and laughing, his evil eyes shining. He lifted Cuddles up into the air, hanging him right in front of himself, as though to let the rabbit see who he'd really come for. Cuddles had several cuts and bruises, as well as scrap marks from the drag, and a couple of his fingers and toes appeared broken.
The rabbit stared at the two girls in horror, but mostly surprise at seeing Flaky there.
"No Flippy!" he shouted. "It wasn't her fault! Don't hurt her!"
"Flippy! Please!" Flaky was crying.
Petunia remained silent in stupified terror. Evil dropped Cuddles at his feet and kicked him. Cuddles cried out, squirming across the floor to the foot of the bed, where he braced himself against the wood. Evil pulled a ballistics knife out of his jacket and finally a scream erupted from Petunia. Evil laughed cruel as he flipped it to down position and rubbed his thumb up and down the texture of the handle.
He moved quickly and without warning, giving Cuddles only a few milliseconds to try and scramble up the bed before the monster was upon him. Flippy grabbed his shoulder with his left hand and dug the knife into Cuddles' back, just below his collar bone. Cuddles screamed and tried to get away, but Evil pressed his body against the rabbit to hold him still. He began cutting across to the other shoulder, leaving a ragged laceration in the flesh that seemed to burn with fire as the two girls stared at it and screamed.
Evil shifted his hand around Cuddles' neck and the rabbit began choking as his air was cut off. The blood began to flow out faster as he coughed, and Evil gave a well delivered strike to the spine which caused the red fluid to spray from the wound. Cuddles was crying out in agony for a few seconds before slowly becoming still, his blood loss causing him to slowly fade away. Both girls were crying hysterically. Evil laughed at their fear and began digging inside of the fading rabbit. Flaky watched in horror as the bear ripped out the pumping heart.
His eyes narrowed in anger and he shoved the heart into Flaky's face, crushing it in his paw. Flaky was showered in gore; her last bits of sanity were beginning to fade when Evil began crying out. They stared in confusion for a moment before they realized that a red ribbon was about his throat and two pink paws were pulling it. Evil's eyes widened as he coughed and gasped, finally falling to his knees. Giggles was behind him, pulling the ribbon as hard as she could, tightening it with a knot. Evil continued to gasp until he finally fell, facedown. Giggles continued to pull the ribbon for a few moments before finally letting go and gasping as she fell to her paws and knees beside the body.
Petunia and Flaky stayed huddled on the bed, crying their eyes out. After the adrenaline subsided, Giggles began to cry as well.
Night time was swift and the three girls stayed huddled in bed until about twelve' o'clock. Petunia was not sure she forgave Giggles, but she was alright with holding the pink chipmunk for the moment. Flaky seemed to have taken it the hardest. It was hours before they finally convinced her it was not her fault, and she was still crying even after. But at fifteen past midnight, their fears renewed because they knew that Flippy and Cuddles had both regenerated by now, and fresh tears were shed.
But at five in the morning and still no sign of either of the boys, they were beginning to calm down. And then this was crushed as they heard a knock at the outside of the house. They knew it couldn't be Flippy, since he would have charged in but the fear grew that it was Cuddles. But as the two figures emerged into the room, they saw it was Handy and Toothy. Both boys turned wide eyed as they saw the three girls, as well as the bodies of Cuddles and Flippy.
"A-are we interrupting something?" Toothy said with a voice crack like a teenage boy.
Despite the fact that they were horrified by the dead bodies, both boys had a small suspicion that something else was going on or had gone on.
"N-no…" Giggles said. "Flippy flipped on us…"
Toothy knelt beside Cuddles, checking the mangled body and then Flippy's.
"Who killed Flippy?" Toothy asked.
"M-me…" Giggles replied. "There was no other way."
"I don't know about that." Handy said, just audibly as he looked at the chipmunk in disdain.
The three girls could already tell where Handy's loyalties were as he eyed them. Giggles sighed a heavy, tear filled sigh.
"Please Handy, give me a-…"
"Chance?" Handy finished. "Like you gave Cuddles?"
"That's not the same thing." Giggles said defensively.
"It never is, is it?" Handy spat, turning to Toothy. "I'll go find Cuddles."
"Why?" Toothy asked.
"I need to talk to him, and we need to get rid of certain details here." He said the last part with a glare at Giggles before leaving.
Toothy sighed.
"Thanks for being on my side, Toothy." Giggles said with a weak smile.
"I never said I was." Toothy said.
Giggles' smile faded.
"But I do need to talk to you Petunia, and maybe the other two would like to hear about this."
"What?" The skunk asked.
"What happened with you and Cuddles two days ago?"
"What are you talking about?" Petunia asked nervously.
"He came over here a few mornings ago; we need to know what went on." Toothy said.
Giggles backed away from Petunia. Her eyes were angry and dark but not towards her friend.
"What did he do to Petunia?" Giggles asked.
"He didn't do anything!" Petunia said. "We just talked about his 'plan'. You know it Toothy."
"His what?" Toothy asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"He didn't tell you?" Petunia gasped.
"No."
"Well… he… he's leaving…" Petunia murmured. "Tomorrow night…"
*Gasp* I bet none of you saw that coming! Actually it was probably out there from a mile away. Sorry for losing subtly. Please review.