Chapter 7

Day at the Office

Happy Tree Town, 4 months later

The warm air of summer that blew through Happy Tree Town was now replaced with the cool breeze of fall. The trees that surrounded the town and stood tall in the park now dawned the colors of brown and orange. The once clean roads that ran through the outskirts of the town were now blanketed with dead leaves. Small birds flew through the air and nested in the trees, making musical tunes that were soft and peaceful.

And, standing by a tall tree on the edge of Happy Tree Town, was the Stranger, wearing a freshly pressed brown leather coat and carried a new dark-blue backpack by the handle. His fur was combed, his body now at full strength since he entered this world, and his wounds cleared. He stood tall, overlooking the town as the sun rose from the eastern horizon, beaming shafts of light through the buildings.

The watch on his right hand activated its alarm, and the Stranger brought it up to him to see the time, which read 9:00 AM. He reached over and deactivated it, and stretched his body as he placed the blue backpack over his shoulders. He took a deep breath and looked up the tree.

"Well, time for another day of work."

The Stranger grabbed hold of the bark on the tree and slowly made his way up, grumbling to himself as he made his ascent.

"Yeah, this is exactly how I want to celebrate my 25th year alive, risking my life with a chance to die horribly ever second I work. But I guess I can't complain too much. My job involves saving lives and pissing an asshole off until I finally kick the living shit out of him to get back home, so I got that going for me."

The Stranger made it to the top of the tree and climbed up to the highest branch, just like before, and slowly balanced himself across until he reached the end. Doing his usual routine, he sat completely still as he looked straight out towards the bustling area of Happy Tree Town. Getting into position, he reached for the backpack on his shoulder and pulled out two objects: a small pair of binoculars with a strap to hang around his neck, and a notepad with a pen attached to the top.

He placed the pair of binoculars around his neck and took the notepad out, laying it steadily next to him. The Stranger then brought the binoculars to his eyes and adjusted the zoom until he got a clear visual of the town, and held it tightly with his right hand.

"Okay, what do you have for me today you son of a bitch…"

The Stranger observed closely for key situations that could involve death. Through the months working in this world, he adjusted his goals on how to attack situations. Not everyone was going to die, but a large number will, and the situations that occur could result in an 'area of effect' damage that could injure or kill people around it, despite not being involved. All he had to do was look for a situation that could kill a Tree Friend, and adjust it ever so slightly to prevent it from happening. Just moving a person one inch in a different direction could result the life or death of dozens of Tree Friends. He just had to find the obvious ones.

"Let's see what we have here... Okay, first up, I see, um… damn, what was his name again?" The Stranger lowered his binoculars down and looked at his notepad, and examined it closely. He ran through the pages which had the pictures and names of every unique Tree Friend, along with tally marks underneath them. He found the name instantly. "Ah, there it is! Okay, we got Handy standing on a platform with no rails high above the ground. Yeah, that hardhat won't save you, pal. He seems to be working on a tall building… seriously, how is he going to fix that without-"

The Stranger's body shook as the breeze rustled the branch, causing him to almost lose his balance. He brought himself straight and looked through the binoculars again. "Damn, almost lost my footing there. Okay, he is… what the hell?" Looking behind Handy, a good section of the building that was broken was now suddenly repaired. "Note to self, change motto of town to 'Fuck Logic' because that's exactly what is happening now. Anyway, he is being held up by… that blue moose, Lumpy. Man, I don't get it with that guy. He just seems to be able to obtain any job available without a post-secondary education. Either he is the smartest man in the world, or he is just one lucky bastard. Still, looking at this, since he is the one holding Handy up, if he lets go, Handy will fall and die, and the tools hanging on the platform will fall and hit him on his head, killing him since he is not wearing a hardhat. Anyone else in the area may also be affected. Okay, that's Situation One!"

The Stranger lowered his binoculars and pulled out the pen from the notepad, and switched over to a blank page. On the page, he wrote 'Situation One' and wrote down the main characters involved along with the location. After writing the situation, he brought up his binoculars. "Okay, who's next? Next, we got them shady raccoons Shifty and Lifty standing by an alley once more, doing whatever shit they are always up to. Looking at their position, I suspect they will sell something that, if sold, would result in death. Okay, Situation Two being jotted down now." The Stranger went for his notepad and wrote down the second situation.

"Anything else today? Yep, we got Petunia working at a flower store today, and happily enjoying the time watering the flowers. Well, looking here, I don't see anything in particular that could… wait a minute? No!" The Stranger shook his head in anger. "Disco Bear?! Seriously man, how many times do I have to kick you in the balls to stop you from harassing people?! Alright, that is definitely a Situation Three there!" The Stranger quickly wrote down the third situation.

"Who's up next? Well, we got the single father, Pop, and his lovely son, Cub. Everything seems to be going fine, except that he is leaving his under-aged son with the lawnmower, a piece of mechanical equipment that can easily kill him. Looking at this, I suspect either Cub to be cut up by the blades, or run over something that could shoot out and kill someone else. Seems that Pop needs to have a neighborly lesson about how to be a good parent. Situation Four is being written now." The fourth situation was instantly written.

"Do we have anything else that I can work with today? Well, I spy with my little eye, a purple lamb named Lammy, who is having a lovely tea party with… with… what the fuck?!" The Stranger rubbed his eyes and looked back into the binoculars. "Is that a pickle?! Is she seriously talking to an inanimate object?! Okay, I don't know why, but I feel like bad shit is about to happen there. Situation Five is observed and written." The Stranger wrote down the fifth situation in the notepad.

Looking back up, the Stranger came to the conclusion that he had made the final observation. With five situations occurring at once, he had to move now and attack each one swiftly, or else a lot of people will indeed die.

The Stranger placed the binoculars back into the backpack and kept his notepad in his coat pocket. He then moved his neck around, took a few deep breaths, and cracked his knuckles.

"Okay, you know the drill. Hit each one hard and fast. Time to move!"

The Stranger quickly turned around and climbed down the tree without hesitation, and made it back onto the grassy floor in seconds. He took a few more deep breaths and pulled out his notepad.

"Alright, Situation One: Construction Site, people are Handy and Lumpy."

The Stranger placed the noted pad back into his pocket and made a sprint to the construction site, not stopping for anything on his way. In about a minute's time, he made it to the sidewalk across from the construction site. He could easily observe Handy standing on the platform and Lumpy holding him up with the rope, with nothing in particular that could cause damage. The Stranger then looked over to notice Cuddles walking by and stopped in front of the site, and turned around to see Lumpy. The Stranger could tell what was going to happen, and made a dash across the street while making sure no vehicles were inbound.

Cuddles waved his hand and said hello to Lumpy, which made him turned around and slowly move his one hand which he used to hold the rope up. The Stranger jumped in and brought his hand up and yelled.

"Lumpy! Do not move your hand from the rope!" Lumpy saw the Stranger and heard his demand, and placed his hand quickly back to the rope. The Stranger walked between Cuddles and Lumpy and turned his face to see Cuddles. "Cuddles, do not distract the workers who are in the middle of construction. Distractions can cause mishaps. Mishaps can cause injuries. Injuries can lead to death of the worker and those around him. Just keep moving." The Stranger waved his hand and gestured it down the street, which Cuddles shrugged and kept moving down.

The Stranger then moved up to Lumpy with a fake smile. "And Lumpy," the Stranger looked down to see a hardhat, and picked it up to place it on Lumpy's head. "Wear your hardhat. Objects that fall from the sky could indeed cause some severe injuries. We don't want that smart head of yours to go to waste now, right?" Lumpy nodded his head and said "Okay," showing he understood the situation.

The Stranger then leaned back and placed his hands around his mouth. "HANDY!" The volume of his cry made Handy look down from his position to see the Stranger. "May I suggest investing in a platform with rails so you don't have to worry about falling off, and a legit pulley system so you don't have to rely on someone else to handle your life?" Handy nodded his head with a smile, and waved his stubby arms. The Stranger waved back to Handy, and gave a friendly nod to Lumpy, and slowly walked off away from the construction site.

The Stranger stood out in front of the construction site, and took a deep breath as he pulled out the notepad. "Alright, Situation One has been averted!" The Stranger took out the pen and crossed it out, and wrote 'Averted' over it. He flipped the page to examine the next goal. "Now for Situation Two: Alleyway, people are Lifty and Shifty."

The Stranger placed the notepad back into his coat pocket and made a short jog on the sidewalk. As he jogged through the crowds of generic Tree Friends enjoying their day, he looked around to observe how peaceful the town actually was. If he wasn't so afraid of the time or had to worry about death, the place really could be paradise. Sadly, it was never going to be the case as long as the mad man ruled the world.

The Stranger made it to the edge of the alleyway, and hid behind a wall that was next to the entrance of the dark alley. He peeked over to notice the two green raccoons, Lifty and Shifty, snickering as they were conversing with the light-green squirrel with candy attached to his body, Nutty, who was jittering up and down.

"Man, he sure gets a really good high from eating sugar. It really has to be some good stuff to be that addicted." The Stranger looked closer to see that Lifty and Shifty were selling a large bag of a variety of sugars and sweets, and Nutty was staring in envy as he was about to make a purchase. The Stranger shook his head in disbelief. "I'm sorry man, but you're going to have to try and kick it sooner or later."

The Stranger walked into the alleyway and made it straight up to the three Tree Friends, unaware of his presence. He then took the bag of candy from Nutty right out of his hands and stared at him with a serious expression. "Nutty, seriously, you got to kick that candy-drug habit, man! Here," the Stranger reached into one of his pockets to pull out a piece of hard candy, which seemed to be very low on sugar, "suck on this. DON'T chew, your teeth will break. Just suck on it and walk away."

Nutty took the piece of hard candy from the Stranger and placed it into his mouth, carefully making sure he did not chew. As the candy laid in his mouth, he did not have a positive or negative reaction, just a blank stare. He then shrugged and walked away from the alley, leaving Lifty and Shifty without a buyer.

The Stranger then turned around to see the two criminals, and gave them a cold and angry stare, which made them step back a little. "And you two!" The Stranger threw the bag of candy at them, hitting Shifty in the face as he continue to walk back. "If I see either of you try and contribute to his candy-drug habit again, I'll smash your skulls into the pavement. Now beat it you assholes!"

Shifty and Lifty stared angrily at the Stranger, but decided it was best not to mess with him. They both looked at each other and nodded in agitation, and ran off deeper into the alleyway. The Stranger stood tall and watched them flee, and nodded his head proudly. He then pulled out his notepad and made another checkmark.

"Good, another situation averted! Next up, my favorite of the five today. Situation Three, Petunia's Flower Shop, people are Petunia and my all-time favorite, Disco Bear!"

The Stranger placed the notepad back into his pocket and made another short jog onto the sidewalk. He took it slower this time since the next stop was only around the corner, and took the time to observe the other Tree Friends enjoying their day. The Stranger kept the thought in his head wondering how they will react the day he tells them the truth. It will be a big shock to them when they hear the news, but he held it off until he felt like the moment is right.

The Stranger walked around the corner and noticed Petunia's Flower Shop, which was small in size but was possibly the cleanest building in the entire town. He slowly made his way into the store and looked around, smelling the beautiful flowers that laid across the counter and hanged inside little pots.

The Stranger looked over to see Petunia watering the flowers, and was humming a small tune happily. He walked over to greet her.

"Good morning Petunia! Beautiful day to water the flowers, I see." Petunia nodded her head with a smile as she continued to sing the little tune of hers.

The Stranger then heard the sound of a bell ringing that signaled the entrance of another customer. The Stranger looked over to notice Disco Bear, who was doing his usual dancing routine as he walked. He seemed very eager, ready to 'flirt' with one of Happy Tree Town's women. But he would soon stop dancing and stare in horror once he caught the sight of the Stranger, who was looking directly at him.

The Stranger moved forward a bit and reached out both his arms out wide as if he were going to give a hug, and gave a fake and creepy smile. "Hey, Disco Bear, how you doing, man? You coming here to buy some beautiful flowers, or were you here to try and harass Petunia again?" As the Stranger walked forward, Disco Bear shook his head quickly as he whimpered in fear, and slowly walked back.

The Stranger lowered his arms and removed the smile from his face. "You know, Disco Bear, I thought I stated clearly that if I see you try and attempt to mess with these women here again despite the fact that they don't want anything to do with you, I would be forced to do something very drastic that would make it clear enough to never mess with them ever again. I wonder if I should show you that now."

Disco Bear shook his head violently and tripped on his feet, landing on his rear as he continued to crawl backwards until he hit the wall. The Stranger got real close to Disco Bear and had his face right next to his, almost giving Disco Bear a heart attack.

"But you know what? Since I am in a happy mood today, I think I will refrain from doing such a terrible deed. I think right now we have made a clear understanding, so I am taking you off the hook today." The Stranger stood straight back up and reach his hand out to Disco Bear, picking him up gently to his feet. Disco Bear took a few deep breaths and made a small smile.

The Stranger then grabbed Disco Bear by his fluffy orange afro and brought his ear to his face. "But if I see you try it one more time, ONE more time, there won't be anything left of you anymore to give you the feeling to attempt this again." The Stranger then threw Disco Bear out the door, which made the bear trip onto the sidewalk. The Stranger then pointed his finger outward. "Now get out of here you dick."

Disco Bear nodded his head quickly, got up to his feet, and ran off into the opposite direction he once came. The Stranger brushed off his coat and fur back down to a clean state, and took a few deep breaths to calm down.

He then turned around to face Petunia with a smile. "You have a wonderful and safe day, Petunia!" Petunia smiled back and waved, saying "Goodbye".

But before the Stranger left, he noticed a small set of petunia flowers that look freshly grown and young. He pointed his finger at them. "Oh, and, can you save those for me? I'm thinking of purchasing them later." Petunia nodded her head with a smile and waved, and the Stranger exited the store.

The Stranger stood in front of the store and took a deep breath, and pulled out his notepad once more. "Alright, that was simple. Situation Three is averted!" The Stranger crossed out the situation and flipped the page. "Okay, time to be the good neighbor and help a family out. Situation Four, Pop's Home, people are Pop and Cub." The Stranger closed the notepad and placed it back into his coat pocket.

The Stranger looked across the road and down the sidewalk across from him to see Pop's house, which was just a few short minutes away. After looking both ways, the Stranger ran across the street to the other sidewalk, and took a right. Walking calmly through the crowds of generic Tree Friends, he would make it to the fence outside of Pop's house safely and quickly. Looking into Pop's yard, the Stranger could see Pop sleeping in a cot hanging between two trees, unaware of his son being outside. This would turn into a bad situation as the Stranger noticed that Cub was handling the lawnmower, going back and forth as the blades were spinning at a violent rate, and were sharp enough to cut anything to shreds.

The Stranger than stood in horror as Cub hit the lawnmower against something, causing the blades to jam. Due to his childish young mind, Cub leaned down to look underneath the lawnmower, exposing himself to the sharp blades. The Stranger quickly looked over to Pop, who was still sleeping and not noticing Cub about to get himself killed.

Ignoring the fact that he was going to trespass onto Pop's property, the Stranger vaulted over the white fence and ran straight towards Cub as fast he could. The Stranger would make it just in time to pick up Cub and place him a good distance away from the lawnmower. He turned around quickly to turn the lawnmower off, and faced Cub with a serious look, moving his index finger back and forth in front of him.

"Cub, you should NEVER look underneath the lawnmower when it is still active. If it gets jam or stuck on something, we turn it off before checking, because if we move it while it is still on, the blades will move and give you a nasty cut. We don't want you to get a bad cut on your hand now, do we?" Cub shook his head as the Stranger smiled. "Smart boy! Now, let's go talk to your father."

The Stranger held onto Cub's hand as he led him to his father, who was still sleeping in the cot. The Stranger stood still, angry at the fact that such an irresponsible father almost let his son get killed due to something he could easily have prevented himself.

Seeing that Pop was not going to wake up anytime soon, the Stranger tapped Pop on the shoulder, waking him up from his slumber. The Stranger then spoke in a harsh tone.

"Pop, I found your son here playing with the lawnmower and almost had his hand cut off since he was looking underneath it. As a responsible citizen, I was forced to enter your property to save him, despite the fact that YOU should have done it."

Pop, hearing this tragic news, instantly jumped out of his cot and cried out "Son!" to Cub, hugging him tightly as he breathed heavily. The Stranger shook his head.

"Pop, you have got to pay better attention to Cub. Don't let him out of your sight, and stop leaving him with mechanical equipment. There is a reason why they place those yellow warning signs to keep children away from dangerous mechanical lawn equipment. You have to be more vigilant, Pop!" Pop nodded his head quickly as he looked at the Stranger, and picked up his son.

Pop then carried Cub to his house, and went back inside to continue the day there. The Stranger looked down and sighed.

"Maybe if that man's wife was still here, he might not be such a bad father. Poor bastard…"

The Stranger turned around slowly and walked to the fence, and vaulted over to get back onto the sidewalk on the other side. He took out his notepad and crossed out the situation. "Situation Four averted. We now bring ourselves to the last observed situation. Situation Five, Lammy's House, person in this situation is Lammy." The Stranger placed the notepad back into his pocket and walked down the sidewalk again.

Lammy's house was not a far distance from Pop's, and was able to get to her house without any trouble on the way. The Stranger stood outside of Lammy's property line, and watched her joyfully have a tea party with a lone pickle. The Stranger could not make out the situation clearly, confused about why Lammy would do such an act in public.

"I hope she has some real friends or something. Maybe she has that mental disorder were inanimate objects turn alive in her mind but are not real or something. I don't know, feel kind of sorry for her. Still, looking at this situation here, I don't think anything major will… will…"

The Stranger stopped speaking as he saw something that shook his entire body in fear. Standing in complete horror, the Stranger was watching the pickle on the opposite end of the tea table with Lammy, and believed he saw it move ever so slightly. Suddenly, the pickle stood itself up slowly, and was now standing up completely. As it stood up straight, it magically dawned a couple of eyes, a mustache, and pulled out a tiny top hat. It was alive.

The Stranger's body began to shake as he breathed heavily, and notice that the pickle was now staring straight at the Stranger. The pickle then brought out two tiny arms, and tip his top hat towards the Stranger as he gave him a creepy smile.

The Stranger went insane and ran into the middle of the tea party, pointing his index finger at the pickle. "HOLY SHIT! What the fuck is that thing?!" His loud question caught the attention of Lammy, who was shocked by the sudden appearance of the Stranger coming up into the middle of their tea party.

The pickle that the Stranger saw had now turned back into an inanimate state, and was no longer alive. The Stranger, however, was still going insane as he was pointing at it and looking between the pickle and Lammy.

"Did you see that?! You saw that shit, right? This pickle, this… whatever the fuck it is, was alive! I saw it!" The Stranger asking questions at a frantic pace was making Lammy a little scared and nervous, confused about the situation. The Stranger, however, ignored Lammy's nervous look and walked up to the now inanimate pickle.

"I saw you alive with your shitty looking top hat and French mustache and tiny arms and shit! I know your alive, so fucking come out and show me again!" The Stranger leaned in close to the pickle. "You know, all you pickles are the same! You taste like shit, you fool the world about being a vegetable when you are actually a fruit, and you cause the pain and agony of many people's hands when we try to open the jar you should stay in!"

Lammy was completely confused by seeing the Stranger converse with a pickle, and was yelling at it angrily. The Stranger stood up straight and continue to point his finger at the pickle. "Come on you bastard, show your face again! I know what I saw, so show yourself!"

The Stranger then slowly turned his face over to notice Lammy, who moved her seat away a short distance after seeing such a scary situation currently be taking place. The Stranger cleared his throat and brushed his fur back down and gave a smile to Lammy.

"I'm sorry you have to see this terrible situation, Lammy. You see, pickles like this one here, we go-"

The Stranger was interrupted as the pickle came back to life once more, and jumped straight onto the Stranger's face, latching himself onto him. The Stranger began to run around in circles, screaming as he tried to get the pickle off his face.

"Ah shit, I knew it! It's alive, Lammy, it's fucking alive! The damn creature is alive!"

After a few seconds of running in circles, the Stranger used both his hands to pull the pickle off his face and threw it straight onto the ground. Seeing it hit the ground hard, the Stranger attempted to smash it to pieces by stepping on it, but failed as the pickle rolled across the ground and underneath the table. The Stranger knelled down and looked underneath the same table.

"Come on out you bastard! I know you're…"

The Stranger went silent as he stood back up and notice the pickle was now on top of the table, now wielding a sewing needle as a weapon, and gave the Stranger the same creepy smile.

The Stranger looked over towards Lammy with a scared look. "It's learning how to use weapons now! It's learning, Lammy, its learning!"

The Stranger braced himself as the pickle got into a pouncing stance, and made an attempt to lunge towards the Stranger. The Stranger dodged the attack the first time as the pickle landed on its feet on the ground next to him, but failed the second time as the pickle made a second quick jump.

The pickle hit the Stranger hard enough to make him fall onto the table, and now had his back onto it. The pickle walked over the Stranger body, and was now standing over the Stranger's face, having the needle at the ready. The Stranger reached his hands out in time before the pickle could stab the needle into his neck, and the two were now struggling to fight. As the Stranger tried to push the needle away from his neck, with multiple times having it actually poke slightly through, the pickle tried to push the needle down to end the Stranger's life.

During all of this, Lammy was screaming and was just watching the fight take place in front of her.

The Stranger looked over to Lammy with fear in his eyes. "Lammy, get this son of a bitch off of me, now!"

As he said this, the pickle also looked over to Lammy with his creepy smile, and stared at her silently. Lammy was looking back and forth between the two, which confused the Stranger greatly as she was actually wondering who to help.

"Lammy, what the fuck are you doing?! This thing is going to kill me!" Lammy continued to look between the two fighters, and was still actually thinking who to help. "For God's sake, Lammy, just…"

The Stranger went silent as he noticed Lammy suddenly disappeared. The Stranger was going into a state of insanity of wondering what just happened before his eyes. He then looked forward, and what he saw scared him beyond belief.

He was now somehow fighting against Lammy, and looked over to his side to see the pickle go back to its inanimate state. The Stranger looked back to Lammy quickly and pushed her off to the side, and jumped off the table and onto the ground. He stood up straight, hyperventilating since he was almost killed, and felt his neck as he noticed some blood was running down due to a small cut.

The Stranger then looked over to see Lammy, who got up slowly and rubbed her head, acting as if the entire situation did not occur. The Stranger looked at her with rage.

"What the fuck was that shit?! What the fuck just happened?!" Lammy tried to speak, but was instantly silenced by the Stranger as he raised up his hand. "You know what? I don't give a shit. I just don't give a shit anymore! You handle whatever the fuck this is on your own! It's one thing when I have to clean up Sniffles' shit whenever he makes a machine that destroys everything, but this shit?! No, you fix this yourself! Have a great day, Lammy!"

The Stranger walked off, leaving Lammy alone with the destroyed table and inanimate pickle. He quickly pulled out his notepad and crossed out the situation. "I don't know what happened, but it's over now." The Stranger checked his watch to see the time, and noticed it just turned 10:00 AM. "Well, at least I beat my record of number of situations averted in an hour." The Stranger placed the notepad back into his pocket and sighed. "Well, I guess that's it. I just walk around until something happens. Man, this day got way too weird for me. I could really use a drink."

It was almost 5:00 PM as the Stranger sat on a bench in the park, and looked out towards the city as the sun began to set in the western horizon. After the incident with Lammy, two situations occurred that were easily solved. The first involved Russell's restaurant, which almost caught on fire since some of the food was left on a stove for too long and was sent up in flames. Luckily, the Stranger was ordering something there to eat and noticed the situation, and put out the fire before it got out of control. After taking out the fire, the Stranger ordered everyone to leave for the day, just to keep it safe until it was cleaned. The second involved Mole, who was once again running the blood drive. Since the day was believed to be safe, the Stranger took the Mole's position and handled the blood drive for the rest of the day. Other than that, it was just another day at work.

The Stranger's watch went off and noticed it was now 5:00 PM, and was now time to get off of work. Enough people were saved and any remaining situations should prove non-fatal. He stood up, placed the backpack over his shoulder, and leaned down to carry a plastic bag with a couple of petunia flowers. He then made his short journey back to Flaky's house, who gladly gave him a guest room as a place to work.

The Stranger never understood the kindness or trust she put onto him, despite how they did not know much of each other after the tower incident. But over the months, they have gotten close and have aided each other in many ways, and he was grateful to have her support on his goal, and as a friend.

The Stranger made it to the door of Flaky's house, and knocked on it a couple of times. "Flaky, guess who's home?" The locks on Flaky's door were opened quickly, and she opened the door widely, letting the Stranger enter her home.

The Stranger gave a warm hug to her as he smiled. "Thank you, Flaky, it's good to see you're still okay." Flaky returned the hug, and the Stranger went inside and stood near the white sofa, lowering his backpack onto the floor before it and laid the plastic bag on the coffee table. Flaky noticed the bag after she closed the door and came over to look at it.

The Stranger smiled and pulled out the petunia flowers. "I noticed the petunia flowers in the kitchen were starting to wither, so I got some fresh new ones to replace it." He handed them over to Flaky, whom she enjoyed it greatly as she held it. She then got worried as she bent down and pointed to the wound on the Stranger's neck, which the Stranger just laughed it off. "Oh, this? Well, it was just another day at the office. Nothing that I could not handle."

Flaky smiled at the Stranger's confidence, and stood still looking at him. The Stranger noticed how Flaky was just smiling while also looking eager, which made him feel slightly amused and confused. "What are you so jolly about? Something good happen while I was gone?" Flaky grabbed both of the Stranger's hands and placed them over his eyes, shocking him. "Flaky, what are you doing?" Flaky made a 'Shush" sound, asking the Stranger to stay quiet.

The Stranger covered his eyes as he heard Flaky place the flowers away, and could hear her grabbing something. She then came out and asked him to open his eyes.

Upon removing his hands from his face, he saw Flaky holding a small cake with a candle on top. The Stranger's eyes widen, and looked at Flaky with a smile. "Flaky… this isn't for-"

Flaky interrupted with a smile and spoke clearly. "Happy Birthday!"

Flaky placed the cake before the Stranger, who was beginning to feel slightly emotional. He was, in this hellish world, having a celebration for a quarter-of-a-century birthday. He smiled greatly at the cake and at Flaky, but then was confused.

"Wait a minute? How did you know it was my birthday? I don't recall ever mentioning it. Wait, were you looking through my journals again?!" The Stranger said this with a happy tone, not meaning to offend. Flaky's face turned red of embarrassment, guilty of the act. The Stranger made a short chuckle, not caring about the act. "Well, you made it up with an amazing cake, Flaky."

Flaky gestured the Stranger to blow out the candle, just to make sure the house would not burn down, which he had the same thought. He placed the cake on the coffee table before him, made his wish, and blew out the candle, with Flaky clapping her hands softly, making the Stranger smile greatly.

Flaky then gestured her hands and pointed underneath the sofa, which confused the Stranger but made him eager to look. He looked underneath, and noticed a flat box, and pulled it out to place it on his lap. "Well Flaky, you sure know how to hide, don't you?" Flaky quickly gestured to open it, anxiously waiting for the Stranger to see his gift.

Before opening the box, he pulled the card off attached to it, and opened it to read it.

Sorry about going through your journals! I found out it was your birthday today, and felt like it would be nice to give you something special. You are doing so much for us here in this world, risking your life to save us all and to get us to our real homes, and I felt like you deserved something for your work. I hope you will use this, and that it will make you feel close to home. Thank you for all your work!

Flaky

The Stranger smiled out the card, and placed it over to open the box. Upon reveal, the Stranger noticed something that he rarely saw in this world: a pair of blue jeans, tailored for his size and breed. He was confused why Flaky would give a squirrel pants. Like her and all other Tree Friends, his genital area was completely hidden, so there was no need for pants.

Then again, the Stranger was not really a squirrel. He knew why Flaky got it for him, and shed a tear knowing it. He placed it down and gave Flaky a tight hug. "Thanks Flaky. I love it."

The Stranger then got up and picked up his stuff, along with his newly acquired pants. He smiled at Flaky and made a suggestion. "Why don't we watch some old movies while we eat the cake, make it more special?" Flaky nodded her head as the Stranger went to drop his stuff inside his room/office.

Quickly entering the room, he observed how it currently looked. His bed was kept neat and tidy, like always. His wardrobe was filled with a variety of jackets and cleaning tools to keep his fur nice. His desk held a variety of notebooks and journals, detailing a variety of topics. The other end of the room held some supplies he used for his job outside. And the once blank wall was now replaced with a huge map of Happy Tree Town, with all the names and locations of the characters and unique areas.

He dropped his backpack by the desk, hanged his coat in the wardrobe, and folded his pants to fit in the drawers. He then walked over to the map and wrote down a tally mark for every name, signaling another day of survival for each character. With his abilities getting better every day, the number rose for each one, surviving every day.

After seeing all of his stuff was now away, he exited his room and closed the door.

I see you're making yourself at home, Stranger.

The voice of the mad man had returned back to taunt him again. "Well, if I am going to kick your ass one day, I might as well enjoy my time before doing it."

Yes, I see. Well, I just came by to wish you-

"Fuck you. You're not invited to my birthday celebration."

I need an invitation? Well, can I have one?

"How about we trade? I give you an invitation to my birthday party, and you give me an invitation to kick the living shit out of you? Deal?"

Nah, I'll pass on that offer.

"Then fuck off."

Well that's rude. Pushing a person away without asking them what they want. Come, why don't we have a short chat.

The Stranger sighed and looked up. "Make it quick."

So, are you enjoying being the 'vigilante' hero? The masked man who comes from nowhere to save the day? You know, Stranger, you can be very cliché. I thought you'd be more original.

"Well, it's being the hero here that is going to-"

How long do you plan to keep up this lie, Stranger?

The Stranger was confused by his accusation. "Lie? What lie?"

You're not doing all of this hero work to save them. You're doing this to save yourself. You're not a hero. You are still the same selfish bastard from the start. Isn't that right?

The Stranger was enraged by the mad man's taunt. "That's bullshit! I do care about the safety of these people. I will work hard to save them. I will do everything to protect them and kick your ass in the end!"

Alright then, stay with that thought. But may I ask, how long do you plan to keep up this fight? You have been fighting for months with little success. The only reason that red porcupine listened to you is because she is paranoid. She'd probably believe anything that scares her. The others, well, it may not be as easy to convince.

"All it takes is time. All I have to do is keep them alive from your awful situations and they will soon one day understand everything. Besides, looking at today and the past few weeks, you have been running out of moves. There is nothing you can throw at me now that I can't beat."

The voice went silent for a short time, and then returned back to speak.

Well, perhaps I have been playing the wrong cards. I did not want to resort to this tactic, but I guess I have no choice, but to unleash my secret and most powerful weapon.

The Stranger chuckled at the mad man's threat. "Secret weapon. Really? What is this secret weapon?"

A monster. A two-faced monster who is unbeatable. A monster so fierce and deadly that only few could ever defeat it. It is an untamable monster whose only goal is to kill everything. It hides within the crowds and comes out at the least expected moments. It is a killing machine, and it is a challenge that I know you cannot overcome.

"Oh yeah, well, what kind of monster is this thing?"

Let's just say this monster can be a little 'flippy.' The mad man laughed at the last word he said, and left the Stranger alone.

The Stranger looked down, and laughed one more time. "Yeah, you play that card. I'll be ready for it."

The Stranger could now hear the voice of Flaky calling him. He walked slowly down the stairs, and thought to himself, "A 'flippy' monster. Yeah, I like to see that."