Chapter 14
Hope
Run.
That's all he could do.
It's what everyone else could only do.
Is just run.
Run as far away as possible and never turn back; not even for a split-second.
All hope for victory, for freedom, was now crushed and shattered; nothing remained.
Any chance to see just a small shimmer of light was erased from everyone's minds, for hope was destroyed in everyone's hearts.
And all fingers pointed to him, for if he never stood up once, none of this destruction and despair would ever affect their lives.
But it was too late; the damage was done, and the effects were already taking their toll on the masses.
The Stranger could only feel defeat, dishonor, tragedy, and, most of all, helplessness. For in the end, despite his strength and will to fight, he failed in the end.
When the Stranger finally revealed to the world that everything they knew was nothing but just a virtual world designed by an evil man, which proved successful to convince, the mad man finally crawled out of his shell and revealed himself to the entire world. But, as warned to the Stranger beforehand, the mad man went on a rampage since his pets would no longer obey him, and used his god-like powers to rain hell and destruction throughout the city, killing anyone he could get his hands on.
Upon the falling debris that was summoned, the mad man also created an army of Shadows, Tree Friends who have the appearance of pure darkness and an aura of evil, to hunt down and kill the innocent people who were unable to escape the clutches of the mad man and his army. There was no hope of fighting back, for they lacked the power to even think of defending themselves.
And none of this would have happened if the Stranger kept his mouth shut, and instead, just sit down and surrender. Despite every warning that was made before his stand in front of the crowd, the Stranger once again disobeyed and thought the mad man was nothing but a bluff. Due to his actions, he was able to convince the Tree Friends of the truth of the world, but at the cost of their lives, for now the mad man did not intend to just kill him, but everyone that currently lives in the world. He was warned, and he rebelled once again.
It was his fault. And he had no idea how to fix this situation.
After running for what felt like hours from the destruction and chaos that roamed throughout Happy Tree Town and the surrounding areas, the Stranger and the surviving Tree Friends followed a commanding Flippy, leading the charge to find a safe location far away from the town. As he ran, the Stranger constantly looked back at the Apocalyptic setting that shadowed over the land.
What was once blue skies and white clouds was nothing but a crimson color with clouds of dark ash and dust. The air smelled of death, and the snow beneath them was melted into nothing but puddles of water as the dark skies and burning destruction from the destroyed town gave a warm feeling of fear and death. No matter where he turned his head, the Stranger only saw death coming from the skies, with not a single shed of light to bring hope or inspiration to him or the Tree Friends.
The constant sprinting was brought down to a slow march of refugees huddling together for comfort and support. The Stranger, who stayed in the far back away from everyone, watched helplessly as Tree Friends cried into each other's shoulders, and those who were wounded were limping while being carried by another. The cries of pain and sadness were the only sound coming from the crowd, and the Stranger could only help but silently shed a few tears along with them. Not just because that their peaceful lives were obliterated, but because he was the cause of it all.
The march continued for a short time, everyone looking down at their feet as they knew looking up would only give them the visible glimpse of death again. Suddenly, the entire crowd was brought to a halt as they heard Flippy shouted loud enough for everyone to hear: "STOP!"
The Stranger shook his head after being in a deep trance of saddening thoughts, and looked up to see Flippy waving his hands in the air while speaking in his native tongue. Curious as to what he was gesturing, the Stranger slowly moved around the crowd of Tree Friends, who stood watching and listening to every word from Flippy, and made his way to meet up with the commanding green bear.
After a short walk around the crowd, the Stranger made it up to Flippy and beckoned him over to come to his position. Flippy nodded to the crowd while keeping his hand up, his palm faced forward to signal them to stay in place.
The Stranger sighed as he placed his hands by his sides and spoke with a depressed tone. "So… Flippy… where did you take us?" Flippy nodded his head without making a smile and pointed his right index finger outward. Following the direction of his finger, the Stranger noticed that Flippy led them to the only place he could think of, a home that was the farthest away from town.
Flippy's own home.
The Stranger turned his head to face Flippy again, who was gesturing the crowd of Tree Friends behind them to an open and large flat patch of land outside of his home, big enough to 'house' all of the surviving Tree Friends to huddle together for comfort… and await their deaths peacefully.
He looked down at his feet while letting out another heavy and depressed sigh, and nodded his head without looking up. "Okay… okay…" The Stranger looked up again and faced the crowd behind him, who were still watching them while crying in pain and fear, all of them scared to face death at such an early age.
The Stranger observed their depressed expressions in their eyes and stood silently for a brief moment, attempting to come up with a calm order for them to follow. Thinking of a simple command, he raised both his arms and hands in the air to grab their attention, which it did.
He yelled out loudly for the just-over 300 Tree Friends could hear clearly. "Alright, everyone, listen up! All generic refugee Tree Friends, I need each and every one of you to walk in an orderly fashion and form a clean camp on the open field outside of Flippy's house, forming long rows of people before forming another row until every Tree Friend has a calm seat."
All the generic Tree Friends that paid attention nodded their heads helplessly and in despair as they knew it was just another way of waiting to die, so they might as well follow through with it. The Stranger continued to speak afterward. "To the unique Tree Friends, I need all of you to calmly walk towards Flippy's house and enter silently and in an orderly fashion. We… we will discuss further matters later on. Clear?" Everyone just nodded their heads without making a sound.
The Stranger dropped his arms to his sides and observed the entire crowd with Flippy as the generics went left to the open field to form a large camp of dying refugees, and the unique Tree Friends moving right to head towards the house of Flippy's. As they watched, the Stranger examined Flippy next to him, who, despite being the strong-willed solider he is, was desperately trying to hold back tears as lacked the hope and will of surviving another day.
Flippy stood up strong and made a grunt sound as he quickly nodded his head. He faced the Stranger and noticed he was watching him. Flippy made no expression at the sight of the Stranger, only staring back silently as the Stranger did the same. After a brief wordless stare-down, Flippy performed an about face to head towards his house with the other unique Tree Friends, and make preparations for their final hours.
As Flippy made his way to meet up with the unique Tree Friends to escort them safely into his barrack-shaped home, the Stranger stood silently to observe his friend and all the Tree Friends walk tirelessly away from him. Watching every last Tree Friend to go to their final resting places, he could only feel sadness at the sight of all the fear, despair and hopelessness that filled the camp of refugees.
He stood at his spot for a short time, just watching the Tree Friends huddle up in the large open field in small groups, families holding each other to comfort them while shedding tears in large quantities. The sound of people crying in pain, both physical and emotional, was disheartening to the Stranger, which was followed by a sharp pain of guilt.
The Stranger sighed and dropped down to the ground beneath him, sitting down in a desperate attempt to calm his mind from the recent tragedy. But he just could not find any reason to have hope. There was not a single reason to have just a tiny glimpse of feeling success. The mad man was finally revealed, and he has showed his strength to the world through terror and brutality. And it was just too much for him.
He brought his knees up to him and rested his head onto them, slowly crying away tears at his failure of a mission he started seven months back. All the hard work, all the determination and will to fight, was all shattered in under an hour's time. It was a beautiful dream only to turn into a terrible nightmare in a split-second. And what came with it was only pain.
The Stranger just sat and laid still on his spot on a small hill overlooking the camp and Flippy's house, Flippy doing whatever he could to keep the unique Tree Friends safe for the time being. For hours, all the Stranger did was sit and cry along with the other Tree Friends, as there was no hope or plan to do anything else.
Then the Stranger felt something; something soft and warm that rested onto his right shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly and rubbed the dry tears away from his face, regaining clarity in his vision. Looking over to his shoulder, he noticed a furry red hand that was grasping his tense shoulder, gently rubbing back and forth that relaxed the stress on his body.
He looked up and noticed a friendly face looking down at him. Flaky, still wearing her thick coat from the beginning of the day, was standing tall over the Stranger with a warm grin on her face, doing her best to instill some hope and happiness to the Stranger by being in his presence.
Her warm smile and soft touch, though, was still not enough to lift the mood of the Stranger. He wanted to feel comforted by the sight of Flaky, but the only feeling he could have was the building guilt that was flooding his small heart. He did not make a single attempt to smile at her, and instead, moved his face downward again, looking at his feet silently.
Flaky kept her hand on the Stranger's shoulder but knew well it was not doing any good. She couldn't help, though, but feel the same amount of pain he was having. Today they all thought it would go by smoothly and peacefully, not this destruction and chaos; it was unexpected by everyone, and brought only disappointed to those who worked hard on a dream they strived for months. She wanted this day to go by smoothly just like he did, and could feel the same internal pain he was facing.
But yet, despite all the troubles, all the chaos and disaster, everything that could possibly go wrong occurring right now, there was a feeling Flaky still had that everyone else seemed to have lost, a feeling that was more important to have right now than ever before.
Hope. Even in the darkest of times with little chance of the light coming out, Flaky still held onto a small glimmer of hope. Instead of looking how dreadful things were, she looked at how things can get better. They survived yet another terrible situation, living another day to fight. They still stood strong and alive, the mad man, even with his power, unable to take them down.
And there still was a chance; a chance for freedom. Perhaps it isn't as easy as planned, but their dream for freedom was still possible. If they fight just a little while longer with all the remaining strength they have, they can still win, they can still escape. The fight was not over yet, and even with her own set of fears that shrouded her thoughts every morning, Flaky was still willing to continue.
With all of this in mind, it confused and saddened her how the Stranger lost such hope to fight. He thought the hardest and longest, truly the only person to bring them this far, and now, with just one more challenge facing them, he has given up. This was not the Stranger Flaky wanted to see, nor the Stranger she saw from the beginning. If they were going to finish the fight, she needed the Stranger to get up one more time, just one more time until it was all over.
Flaky, continuing her best to comfort the Stranger, lowered herself and sat down next to him, noticing he was still keeping his head down with his eyes closed. Sitting down comfortably on the soft grass beneath them, she slid her body over until she was directly next to his side, her presence still unaware. With her body right next to him, Flaky did the last move she could think of to ease him.
She brought her arms to wrap around the Stranger's body, and hugged him tightly while resting her head on his right shoulder. The sudden warmth and touch of her body next to him woke the Stranger up from his terrible depression, and popped his head up to look over with his eyes widened. The Stranger watched Flaky cuddle against his body, her arms tightly grasping his torso while her soft head resting against his tough shoulder. Her eyes were shut as she rested against him, just like the day at the park.
The Stranger's heart was filled with a variety of emotions that he could not translate. He watched her rest against him with a tear in his eye. With the clouds covered in ash and the land reeked of death, Flaky still kept her gentle smile as she held herself against him. Even with the trouble he caused, she was still willing to stay by his side with the feeling of security.
Her smile and soft touch to his body this close made him cry softly, and bring his own arms to wrap around her body. The Stranger grasped her tightly as she did the same, and buried his face in her left shoulder as he shed small tears from his closed eyes. Flaky could feel his sadness by his tough but shaky grasp, and held him tighter as he began to speak.
"Flaky… I'm so sorry for all of this. I did not want any of this to happen, not to you, not to anyone. I wanted to help all of you… and… and instead, I only made it worse. I should never have done anything. I should never have bothered saving everyone. I should have just ended my life at the tower, for none of this chaos would have happened to all of you. I… I failed, and my lost is affecting all of you. I am sorry… Flaky…"
Flaky began to rub the tense backside of the Stranger as he continued to release his emotions while being wrapped in her arms. She felt terrible to hear him say such words, for it wasn't his fault that any of this occurred. He only meant to do good for others, never intending to hurt others. He was thinking of others when he tried to save them, something that the other Tree Friends were unable to do.
And she couldn't count this as a loss; it was just another challenge to appear in front of them, just one more challenge to get away in their goal for freedom. The Stranger had to see that.
They stayed in each other's grasp for a short time before Flaky finally pushed the Stranger away from her softly. He wiped away the tears from his face as Flaky held her smile, still resting her gentle eyes of him. As he sat down watching her, Flaky got back on her feet and looked down at him with arms by her side.
The Stranger was then confused as Flaky reached out her right hand towards the Stranger, making a grasping gesture for him to reach out his hand. Not knowing what she had in mind, he brought his right hand out to meet hers and was hoisted up to his feet, Flaky steadying his body after sitting down weakly for some time.
He brushed himself off as he watched Flaky still holding her smile, never once dropping it. The Stranger waited patiently for what Flaky had in mind, and was getting curious as she brought her hands to her hips. "Flaky… what is it that you want to tell me?"
Flaky, without saying a single word, turned around and started walking towards Flippy's house, not a single gesture to beckon him. His mind filled with questions, the Stranger decided to follow her to Flippy's house without hesitation on what it could possibly be.
After just a short walk away, Flaky stood in front of Flippy's house, her hand on the doorknob and ready to open. She turned around to see the Stranger observing her, and nodded her head towards him as she slowly turned the handle to open the lock.
She slowly pushed the door open, and what the Stranger saw inside made him drop his jaw and his eyes widen to great lengths. What he saw was something that he never expected to see any of them to do in such a time of crisis, and could not explain why they were doing it.
All of the unique Tree Friends who were residing inside Flippy's home were dressed as if they were ready for battle. A large variety of Flippy's camo BDU jackets were dawned on all the adult Tree Friends, perfectly attached to their bodies. Multiple of them were holding and examining knives of all sizes while slowly swinging them around in parrying motions. Some were in groups discussing with each other in serious tones and making gestures with their hands to simulate battle.
And none of them had shown a sign of fear or sadness. They were all acting as if they were soldiers of war, readying themselves for battle with no sign of fear or despair. It was as if that all the trouble that had occurred recently was nothing but a simple accident and they were all dressed to fix it with any hesitation.
The Stranger was baffled by the sight and scratched the back of his head, completely unaware that this is what they were doing while he sat in disgust of himself. Flaky kept her smile as she watched a surprised Stranger staring at all the Tree Friends. He looked much better than the doubting, depressed Stranger she saw only just a few minutes ago.
After staring at the battle-ready Tree Friends, who have not yet notice his entry in the house, the Stranger turned to face Flaky with multiple questions running through his mind. "F-Flaky?! What… what is going on here?! Why are they dressed like that?! Why-?'
As the Stranger spoke out loud in a shocked tone, he noticed from the corner of his eye a proud Flippy exiting his office down the hall of his house. The green solider bear was marching down with an accomplished grin on his face, walking towards the Stranger without batting his eyes away from him.
The Stranger stood hunched over as his confusion was still clouding his thoughts. He just could not make out anything of what was going inside the house. Death and destruction just occurred a few hours ago, and here are the unique Tree Friends dressed for battle with grins on their faces. None of this made sense with all of the chaos that occurred; how can they be so happy now?
Flippy marched up to the Stranger and stood at an attentive position. The Stranger stood up straight, his eyes jotting around as he still ran questions in his mind. He observed Flippy closely, wondering why he looked so proud of himself and what he could possibly want with him.
He was shocked by what Flippy did next. Flippy stood his back up straight, and gave the Stranger a military salute, looking at him with his eyes showing nothing but determination and the will to fight. He kept his hand straight as he held it to his forehead, keeping his position in the salute stature for a short time.
The Stranger looked over at Flaky, who dropped her smile and performed the same action as Flippy, giving him the military salute, even if her hand was slightly off the correct position, but had the same meaning.
He finally looked over to the living room and other parts of the house to see the other unique Tree Friends turn their heads with smiles on their faces, all of them getting up to stand tall with pride. Lumpy, Pop, Petunia, Splendid, Sniffles, and all the other adult Tree Friends, placed their weapons down and gave the military salute to the Stranger, all of them slightly correct except Lumpy, who did a fist over his chest instead of a flat hand at an angle at his forehead. Cub was held in Pop's free hand, waving his hand to the Stranger while speaking childishly in a happy tone.
The Stranger could not believe the sight; everyone in the room was greeting him as if he were some kind of general, a leader to war. None of them seemed to be afraid of what happened, nor look like it affected them at all. In fact, it looked like it made them only want to fight it even more, and they looked at him for guidance.
He looked over at Flippy and Flaky, and spoke slowly as he tried to find the words to describe the moment. "Flippy… Flaky… did… did you do all of this? Did you convince them to… to not be afraid of all of this, despite everything that has happened? You actually made them not be afraid of all of this?!" They both dropped their salutes, and nodded their heads with determined grins on their faces.
The Stranger rubbed his forehead, breathing heavily as he could not make out the situation. "But… but why?! All of this destruction and chaos, your homes, your lives, it's all gone. What makes you even want to continue?!"
There was a short silence from the two Tree Friends, before Flippy got up close to the Stranger just an arm's length away. He then pulled out his sharp combat knife, and pointed out the window near his door that gave clear view of the dark clouds and the tall tower at Happy Tree Town.
Flippy than began to mumble forcefully as the Stranger observed his mouth find the words to say. He looked like he was struggling to say words in his own language as he began to speak.
With just a short wait for an answer, Flippy spoke.
"Fight…for freedom… no matter what."
It was shocking and emotional to the Stranger's ears. Even with what appeared to be a tragic defeat today, the Tree Friends were still able to cling onto a small shed of hope to keep fighting. This was not a loss to them; the battle was not over until they were all gone. To Flippy and Flaky, and now to the other Tree Friends, as long as they know there is a chance for freedom, a better world outside their own, it was worth the risk, even if it could end in defeat.
As the Stranger shed a tear in his right eye and stared at Flippy with happiness clearing away the dark thoughts of his mind, Flaky got up next to the Stranger's right side and quickly went for his right pocket to pull out the Bowie knife he borrowed from Flippy's house. The Stranger looked over a little scared to see Flaky holding a sharp blade, grabbing it without his permission.
He was shocked more when Flaky grabbed his right hand to bring out the flat side of his palm, and placed the blade within his hand to form a tight grasp around the leather handle. The Stranger watched Flaky close his own fingers on the handle, and looked up to see Flaky with a smile while giving a slow nod.
She spoke softly but clear enough for him to hear. "Lead."
The Stranger took the word and let it soak into his mind as the moment moved forward. Lead. There was an upcoming battle, a battle that was practically suicidal to even think of carrying out, and they wanted him to lead the charge. The guy who started the fight will be the one to finish it.
He stared at his reflection in the steel blade, going into deep thought about there want for a fight. The Stranger than moved his head to face the unique Tree Friends in the living room, all of them huddled up as they looked to the Stranger for an answer, awaiting his command.
The Stranger stood still briefly, not making a single sound of making an expression on his face. The Tree Friends were slightly worried that he might say no, that he could still call quits now and accept total defeat, making all of this buildup for a fight for freedom worthless.
He then smiled proudly and gave a quick nod to Flippy. "Alright," he looked at his knife one more time before raising it in the air, the light reflecting off the tip of the blade, "let's fight!"
The Tree Friends in the living room cheered and clap their hands as the Stranger held up his blade with pride, excited to hear his acceptance to lead them into the fight. Flippy gave off another salute, while Flaky stood in the corner with her hands grasping together in front of her waist, a smile and a slow tear running down her face.
The Stranger breathed slowly as he looked around the room, taking in all the hope that was coming from the other Tree Friends. He lowered the knife to his side and slowly placed it back into his right pocket, patting it lightly to make sure it stayed in safely.
He then placed a confused look on his face, and brought his right hand to his chin, rubbing it slowly while entering a deep thought. Flippy was curious as to the sudden change of expression from the Stranger, and waved his hand in front of him while shrugging his shoulders, wondering what was on the Stranger's mind.
The Stranger smiled as he placed his hands to his sides. "Well, I was just thinking here that, if we are going into a battlefield, we're going to need a plan of some sorts, right?" Flippy brought his finger up to speak, but dropped it shortly after. This was actually an idea Flippy did not think of. He and Flaky could convince the other's to keep fighting, but did not actually have a plan for the fight. And, as the Stranger said, with a battle like this, a plan is a requirement, not optional.
The other Tree Friends also stood confused and worried. They were willing to fight, but had no idea how to carry out one. They all looked at each other, trying to think of something to do for the fight, and try to think up one fast.
The Stranger chuckled lightly and brought his hand to Flippy's left shoulder. Flippy looked up and saw the Stranger give him a quick nod and a soft pat to the shoulder. "Well… let's start making one." The Stranger brought his hand away from him and walked around to enter the hallway behind him. The Stranger turned his head around and beckoned Flippy to him. "Flippy, round of the other unique Tree Friends and meet in the office. I think I have a plan we can go forward with." Flippy smiled widely and nodded his head quickly.
As the Stranger headed towards Flippy's office, Flippy beckoned the other Tree Friends to follow with him, which they agreed without question. Flaky following just behind them, it was only a few short dozen seconds until everyone was huddled up in the small office room of Flippy's. As they stood away from the desk in the center of the room, the Stranger was clearing away all the junk on the table until he had only a large piece of paper and a pen on the desk.
Flaky molded her way through the crowd of Tree Friends until she was right up to the Stranger and Flippy, the two looking and talking to each other quietly as they discussed a plan for the fight. She moved around them until she made it to the Stranger's right side behind the desk and Flippy on the left.
After a short silence in the room, the Stranger stood up tall and leaned his arms forward onto the desk, resting his hands on the table just before the piece of scrap paper. He spoke loudly for the entire room to hear.
"Alright, everyone, listen carefully. What we are about to do can only be done once; there is no room for margin of error. If we mess this up, it's all over. Our shot for freedom is now, and we got one shot to do it right, so we have to make it count, people."
The Tree Friends nodded silently without saying the word. "Okay, OPERATION: FREEDOM, that's the name of the game here. The situation is simple: the mad man I've warned you about has finally revealed himself to all of us; he's finally crawled out of his shell and show who he is, and that's an evil god capable of mass destruction. As you have seen, he is capable of sending down destruction and spawning troops in order to kill anything he pleases; he is a force that is not to be played with, and it is obvious now that his sole intention now is to eradicate all of us here now."
"But there is one good thing that has happened thanks to his reveal: his hideout." The Stranger took the pen on the desk and slowly drew a map, with a large tree in the center. "When he summoned up the army of Shadows, the troops I've mentioned, a door was opened in front of the huge tree in the center of town. People, I do believe that is where he was hiding all this time. Within that tower, the mad man is hiding and performing all of his work. That tower is his home, and he has left the door opened for all of us to enter."
The Stranger added an open door on the tree he drew on the map. The Tree Friends were mumbling softly as he continued speaking. "This makes the objective for this mission quite clear. Inside the tower is the mad man, along with what could be the way to leave this false reality and go back to our real homes. Thus, all we have to do is fight our way through Happy Tree Town, make it to the tower, enter the building, and get ourselves home. The objective could not sound any simpler."
The Tree Friends started to make some happy smiles before being dropped to serious frowns. "But carrying out the objective won't be as simple" The Stranger made multiple drawings of buildings and roads, with little dots placed around the entirety of the crudely made map.
"The entire town, as we left, is now crowded with those evil monsters, those Shadows, and they are, by no means, friendly. As we left, I noticed that these guys are killing machines, their sole intent is to murder anything in sight. They wield medieval weapons like swords and bows, and are expertly trained in using them. If I were to say how many troops the mad man has spawned, I say at the very least a thousand, with the possibility to spawn more during the fight. For us alone… we only got around three hundred, and those are just untrained generic Tree Friends."
The Tree Friends began to make a cold sweat, the mission starting to sound less worthy of attempting with every word. "There is still hope, though." The Tree Friends looked up as the Stranger spoke with an inspiring tone in his voice.
"He may have the numbers, but we got plenty of bonuses on our side that can change the tide of battle. First, these guys are nothing more but just summoned AI on a machine; they have no conscience and have no control of their actions. We, however, have the ability to adapt and choose are moves at will, becoming more unpredictable than they could be. Not even that, we can use these generics as bulk forces as command them the same way as they are commanded; with have both wits and control, something they lack."
"Weaponry wise… that's something we'll have to fix soon, but for now, us, the unique Tree Friends, were luckily given some proper tools thanks to Flippy's overstock of military gear, which I am not surprised. With sharp knives for each Tree Friend," the Stranger stopped to look at an eager Cub, "except for Cub and Cro-Marmot for reasons…"
While Cub dropped his smile, the Stranger looked at Cro-Marmot briefly. "Does this guy know I'm speaking? In fact, how did he get here?" Everyone shrugged their shoulders with no answer to give. "Well someone light a fire a melt that guy out of the ice, he can't do anything while stuck in there."
The Stranger shook his head and sighed. "Any, we also got a couple of grenades in Flippy's secret stash as I was told by him, so we can use that to our advantage during the fight."
"Besides weaponry at our disposal, we have our own personal strengths we can use for battle. I mean, sure the mad man has an army, but we got Flippy." Flippy stood tall with a grin, flexing his muscles as the Stranger looked at him. "With military and combat experience, he is the perfect solider for this battle, capable of killing a multitude of troops without breaking a sweat."
The Stranger then faced Splendid, and nodded his head slowly while almost regretting the words to say. "And despite his… well, poor history of his job, we also got Splendid here. He may not be the best hero, but he has so many benefits for us during this fight. Super strength, laser vision, and the best attribute of all, the ability to fly."
Splendid, hearing the nice compliments, jumped upward and hovered above the ground, the other Tree Friends watching him show off his most wanted ability. "With his ability to fly, something that none of the Shadows can do, he can provide aerial support and cover us on the ground while we make it to the tower, his laser vision taking out fortifications that may have been placed by them."
The Stranger faced the crude map again and began making more drawings on it. "As for the town, we know pretty damn well where everything is, since we lived here for an uncountable amount of time. As we know, the deeper we get, the denser the area, making close-quarters combat much likely to occur as we head closer to the tower. The outskirts are a little bit more open, enough to say archers would be placing defenses before we can move in."
The Tree Friends nodded their heads as the plan began to go into more detail. "Now it all comes down to our plan of attack. From my point of view, this is how we're going to enter. We got around 300 generic Tree Friends we can use as bulk infantry. Yes, it sounds evil, but since they are just AI like them, their deaths are not truly a tragic loss. They can weaken the forces in the town as we get closer to the tower. But I don't plan for all of us to go in at once; no, that'll just cause a major cluster of death everywhere."
The Stranger began to draw little squares on the outer edges of the map, labeling one 'Alpha' and another 'Bravo.' "Thus, I propose we cut the troops in half, 150-men platoons. Half of us go in the fight, and when forces dwindle to critical levels, we call in the second platoon, adding a second garrison of reinforcements. By doing this, we don't lose all of us at a single time if we get cornered. I also suggest that we try to round up those who are good with archery and form a third unrelated platoon, staying around the outside and providing covering fire as we move in."
The Stranger began to making lines attached to the boxes and drew through the mock-up roads on the map. "As we move up through the town, the other platoons walk the outer edges, Splendid will fly overhead and find any fortifications, archer nests, and the best route to get to the tower while providing covering fire on my command. You're a valuable asset, Splendid, and despite your past actions, I trust that you can protect us here." Splendid nodded his head with a grunt sound in his throat.
After a brief drawing of the lines going through the town, he stopped on the outer limits of the park where the tower lied. "Once we get deep enough, we should hit the No Man's Land of the tower, an open park that will likely be protected with his best troops, especially archers at the base of the tower, doing all they can to prevent us from getting to the door. This will be a suicide run here, with no cover for us on the way there, but with Splendid and the grace of God, Splendid can move up and lay down destruction and give us a clear path to the gate."
The Stranger flipped the paper over and began to draw an idea of the interior of the tower. "Now, the only person that needs to get in here is me. I HAVE to make it here and survive the battle if we plan to earn freedom, so only I have to enter and make it this far. Once inside, I suspect heavy infantry to be guarding the entry to the mad man, but with strength and willpower, we can easily make it through and climb to the top of the tower."
As the Tree Friends continued to watch silently, they noticed the Stranger to tense up as he drew the top floor. "Once we make it to the top floor, we find the control room, where we will find this motherfucker, beat the living shit out of him, and I BLOW HIS GOD DAMN BRAIN OUT ACROSS THE WALL!" The Stranger slammed the pen on the table while breathing angrily, his mind filled with rage at the thought of the mad man.
He blinked a few times and looked up to see a surprised group of Tree Friends, Pop protecting Cub's ears to not hear the explicit language. The Stranger stood up straight and cleared his throat. "Once the son of a bitch is dead, we find a way on how he controls this world, we use it to our advantage, and, at the end of the day, we will all go home, tasting sweet freedom once again." He smiled proudly as he watched the Tree Friends bring out their own smiles and short nods.
The Stranger placed his hands at his sides and looked at each Tree Friend individually. "Alright, there's the plan, now to assign positions. I'll be the Leading Commander of this operation, with Flippy as my Second. Cuddles, you'll be the Leading Officer of the Archery Platoon since you're a good shot. Splendid, you're our Aerial Support. Russell, you're the Leading Officer of Platoon Alpha, while Pop, you'll lead Platoon Bravo." He took a close look at Cub, who was raising his arm in the air for a position. "Cub…you can…" the Stranger snapped his fingers and made a smile. "You can be the Flag Bearer. It may not sound much, but holding up the flag will bring inspiration to us, so we need that flag to fight. Can you do that?" Cub nodded with an eager smile.
"Good, now that remains for the infantry of the platoons. So, for Platoon Alpha, the units will be Lumpy, Lammy, Lifty, Shifty, Disco Bear, Petunia, and Giggles, along with 150 generics. For Platoon Bravo, the units will be…"
As the Stranger began thinking to fill out the second platoon, Flaky got closer to the Stranger and was looking a little excited to be pick, watching the Stranger point his finger out to the remainder of the Tree Friends and wait until his finger pointed to her. She was ready to fight just like everyone else.
"The units for Platoon Bravo will be Sniffles, Nutty, Mime, Handy, Mole, Cro-Marmot, and Toothy, along with the remaining 150 generics."
As all the Tree Friends accepted their assigned positions, Flaky stood confused… and angered at how, once again, she was being ignored and left out by the Stranger. She did this hard work to rouse up the Tree Friends here to fight for him, and she was going to be just left out, with no notice being made towards her? The thought of being controlled over her position again only made her furious, and she tensed up while being forced to listen to the rest of the Stranger's plan.
The Stranger faced Flippy and placed his hand on his right shoulder. "Flippy, we have but 24 hours before we march to war; don't have much time to get ready. The longer we wait, the stronger the mad man will get. I need you to get these guys and the generics outside to act as much like soldiers as possible. Don't bother training special combat moves, just deliver the basics like formations and defense. Remember, only I have to enter the tower; just train them to defend themselves and buy enough time to finish the fight, clear?" Flippy gave a quick salute and a short nod.
The Stranger smiled and faced the Tree Friends. "Alright… everyone, Flippy here is going to help you and the other generics prepare for battle. Listen to every word he has to say; it'll be the difference between life and death." The Tree Friends nodded their heads and made their way out of the office to enter the field outside.
He turned to face Flippy one more time and gestured his hand to Flippy's bedroom door. "Is it okay that I use your room momentarily? I… need somewhere quiet to recollect my thoughts… since we're about to do something big." Flippy nodded without hesitation, which made the Stranger smile. "Thank you. Now train them, we don't have much time."
Flippy gave the Stranger another salute and performed an about face, walking out of the office and exiting his home to meet up with the Tree Friends outside. As the Stranger watched him leave, he let out a heavy sigh and slowly proceeded to Flippy's bedroom, looking down at his feet as he kept his arms and hands at his sides.
Making it to the bedroom door, he slowly opened it to reveal the large master bedroom he remembered trespassing in three months back. It was still well-furnished and the bed still looked as comfortable as ever. The thick walls of the room kept out the loud drill sounds starting to arise outside, making it the perfect place for the Stranger to relax his mind.
The Stranger nodded his head while letting out a deep sigh. He walked over to the bed and stared at its sheets, his eyes observing the room blankly as he was trapped in his thoughts. While the room was devoid of activity, his mind could not be any more active than it was before.
He leaned his arms onto the edge of the king-sized bed, and looked down at the floor with no emotion on his face. The Stranger shook his head and turned to face the window, letting his ears hear the faint sound of Flippy and the Tree Friends preparing for war.
He shed a tear from his right eye, and looked back down on the floor again. "Why did this all have to happen? Why did I have to be so involved in all of this? And why should they be involved in this? What am I actually going to do once we leave for Happy Tree Town? What's going to happen when we go in to fight? What-?"
His questioning thoughts were interrupted with the sound of the bedroom door opening behind him. Jumped from the sudden sound, the Stranger swiftly turned his head around to see who was the cause of the door opening. His face went from shock to confusion upon the sight of the person.
It was Flaky, firmly gripping the door handle as she marched into the room. The Stranger naturally would be happy at the sight of her, especially now with the work she pulled off. Instead, though, he was confused as Flaky did not look like her normal self.
Instead of the shy-looking smile on her face, the Stranger could only point out pure rage, her eyes evidently showing signs anger as they squinted at the sight of him. Flaky's body was tensed as she kept the grip on the door handle tightly. What was the most surprising, though, is she was dawning one of Flippy's spare camo jackets, similar to the other unique Tree Friends wearing one.
The Stranger was both curious and worried by the current sight of Flaky, and stood up straight to speak directly towards her. "Flaky, what's wrong? What has gotten you so upset all of a sudden, and why are you wearing one of Flippy's jackets?"
"Why?!"
Flaky slammed the door behind her, a loud 'bang' sound that echoed throughout the room. Flaky's sudden outburst actually scared the Stranger slightly, this new emotion from her was something he never seen before, and was not pleased to see such an emotion from her.
The Stranger held up his hands in front of him and tried to speak calmly. "Flaky, take it easy. What do you mean by 'why'?"
"Why?!"
As she yelled angrily at the Stranger again, he noticed Flaky was pointing her finger at the door, her arm straight out as she gestured the room on the other side of the door. Taking a quick thought of what she could be referring to, the Stranger was able to realize what she was mad about, and was beginning to feel guilty knowing what he had done.
However, the Stranger continued his best to stand his ground on his decision, and did his best to ignore the situation. "I… I don't k-know what you are trying to p-point out here, Flaky."
Flaky rolled her eyes in annoyance at the Stranger's terrible attempt at lying to her. She slowly stomped her way up to him, barely a foot away from him. The Stranger began to sweat nervously as he stared into Flaky's eyes, which showed only her anger towards him.
Too guilty to face her, the Stranger turned around and did his best to speak calmly. "Okay… Flaky, I-I know you might be a little mad right now… but… but it's just for the best that-"
As she stood still staring at his backside, Flaky could not hold her anger to be spoken to with the Stranger's back turned. She reached out to his right shoulder and pulled him to face her again, her face only showing signs of increase intensity of her anger.
Surprised by her physical action, the Stranger spoke a little bit more worriedly as he tried to find a way to explain the situation to her. "Look, Flaky, I thank you and Flippy for convincing the others to keep fighting. I didn't know such a thing could be possible, but you were able to pull it off, so I thank you deeply for your work to help in the fight."
He took a brief pause in his reply, still staring at the anger being shown on Flaky's tensed face, and turned away once more to not show his guilt to her. "B-But… I think it's just the best move that you stay here where it's a little bit safer than outside."
Flaky grabbed hold of the Stranger's shoulder once more, and forcefully turned him around to face her again. She spoke loudly with a stern voice, hoping to get the answer she wants to hear. "Why?!"
The Stranger tried to turn away from her, but her grip kept getting stronger with each attempt to break away from her. "B-Because i-i-it's just better that-"
"Why?!"
"B-B-Because I-I think-"
"WHY?!"
"Because I love you too much Flaky, that's why!"
The room went dead silent upon the Stranger's outburst of emotions. The Stranger stood up tall, looking directly at Flaky while breathing heavily from the loud yell he emitted. Flaky stood in shock, confusion, and… another emotion she could not describe. Her grip on the Stranger's shoulders slowly weaken as her eyes widen from taking in the sudden information he revealed to her. She started to shake a little nervously as she kept her eyes on the Stranger, not once looking away.
Flaky brought her hands completely away from the Stranger and let them hang by her sides weakly. She could not fully make out what she was told. The Stranger just admitted he loves her, and yet she did not know how to respond back except continue questioning. 'W-What?"
The Stranger stood tall and inhaled deeply, keeping his eyes on a now shocked Flaky, no longer filled with rage, but now only confusion. He did not know how to respond further; he never thought of telling her as he thought a situation would bring this matter up. But now it was here, and he had to explain the best way he could for her.
He nodded his head slowly and spoke more calmly to not frighten her. "Flaky, the reason why I decided not to bring you into this fight is because I love you too much. There is no other explanation besides that. I love you…"
Upon hearing those three words said repeatedly to her, Flaky's face slowly blushed redder than the color of her own skin. The Stranger was not joking about this; he was indeed in love with her. She brought her hands to grasp in front of her waist and stood still, just observing the Stranger with new emotions for him that she thought she would never have.
But she was still confused. He loved her greatly, but that only wasn't a detailed enough answer for her to know why she was avoided for the upcoming fight. She stuttered with her face still blushing from his reveal to her. "B-B-But…"
The Stranger sighed and began to tense up, trying hard to hold back his feelings as he spoke to her. "Flaky… listen carefully… do you hear that?" The Stranger pointed his finger out the bedroom window, which Flaky followed and opened her ears to hear the sounds of Tree Friends marching and training albeit ineffectively. She nodded her head silently. "Well, Flaky… that's the sound of many innocent people preparing for their deaths…"
Flaky's jaw dropped as she gasped from his negative attitude. Working to their deaths?! How could he say such a thing, after all the work put through and the plan he came up for them, he's saying they're just going to die?!
She started to gesture her hands around, confused by his response. "What?! B-But you-"
The Stranger walked away from her to move towards the window, looking outside to see the Tree Friends being trained the best they could by Flippy, who was working tirelessly giving them only the basics. He shed a tear as he continued speaking. "And Flaky… all of their deaths, every single one of them… will be on my hands… it'll be all my fault."
Flaky continued to stand in surprise at the Stranger's negative attitude. She could not understand why he felt this way, why he was saying such things or why he was blaming himself for all the things that happened, nor did she want to hear any of it. She took a few steps forward, raising her right hand slowly. "No-"
The Stranger snapped his head around to stare straight at Flaky, his body tensing up and his face showing anger. Flaky jumped at the sight of his expression, and backed away slowly as he spoke with agitation.
"Flaky, don't you understand?! All of this," The Stranger gestured his arms in a wavy motion, pointing out everything in the room and more, "all of this shit that is happening right now, is BECAUSE OF ME! This fight we're going in? THAT'S MY FIGHT!"
Flaky continued to walk back slowly as the Stranger continued to tense up, tears beginning to buildup in his eyes. "Flaky, this entire mess right now is MY fight, NOT YOURS, NOT THEIRS, MINE! None of you should be involved in this shit whatsoever!"
The Stranger started walking back and forth, flinging his arms around in anger. "All of this shit started with ME, Flaky. YOU didn't ask for this, THEY didn't ask for this, but I did. All I wanted to do is fix this mess, to have us leave this world peacefully, that's it. But what happened?! I happened! I didn't stop when I should, and look what it has caused!"
He walked towards the bedroom window once more to watch the Tree Friends continue their training exercises. A tear starting run down his face as he helplessly stared at a group of Tree Friends struggling to keep up with others. "This was always MY fight, MY war, not anyone else's. But because of my actions, you all have been caught in the crossfire, and are now being a part of something none of you should ever have to be involved with. I got you all involved in my fight, something that none of you should be a part of. And… and the worse part of this is…"
The Stranger slammed his hand on the window counter, making a loud bang that made Flaky jumped in fear. He yelled out loudly again in pure rage of the moment. "The worse part of this is that innocent lives are going to be sacrificed for something they didn't ask to be a part of. Flaky," he turned his head around, breathing heavily with anxiety and anger, "people are going to DIE! I didn't want to flat out say it, but Flaky, this is near suicidal what we're doing!"
At the end of his latest sentence, Flaky began to simmer down her shaking and begin to feel upset again at his negative thoughts, but couldn't help but agree with the idea that this mission is indeed not going to be a clean one. She stood still and watched the Stranger slowly progress up to her.
"This entire fight we are going in, Flaky, is practically hopeless! We are fighting a God here, Flaky, a GOD! We're just a small group of 22 actual people, 21 just realizing this world is not real, and 300 generics that are basically fodder! We can have the greatest plan in existence, but in the end, this entire fight can just end in all of our deaths. And it will be my fault that you were all caught in it in the first place!"
The Stranger stopped just a few feet away from Flaky, his eyes balling out tears as he tried to stay as calm as possible. Flaky stood in her spot without moving an inch, just observing the sadness emitting around the Stranger. She could almost shed a tear alongside him, as his pain was strong enough to affect even her. She never knew he felt this strongly about all of this, and was beginning to wonder the reasons why he did try to avoid her.
Her question would be answered as the Stranger tilted his head down and let out a heavy sigh, wiping away a few tears as he spoke softly. "That's… that's why I don't want you in this fight here, Flaky. You shouldn't have to be a part of this, never, not even in the beginning. You should be at home, resting in bed not worrying about war like this. Instead, I brought you with me to our own demise, so I'm doing my best now to protect you more than ever."
He turned around to face the bed and proceeded to sit on the edge, his head still looking down at his feet. "I love you, Flaky; you mean so much to me that I can't help but constantly protect every second. You have done so much for me that I can't bear to see you die in a fight that I caused that you didn't need to be involved with."
As the Stranger continued to speak, Flaky slowly walked over to his left side, looking at him and nothing else. She did not know how to accept his words; she was both shocked by how much he really did care for her, and in love of the idea she meant to him. She switched back and forth between a small grin and a frown, still saddened by the sight of his depression once more.
She sat down by his left side, the vibration of the mattress getting his attention. He looked up to see a half-smiling Flaky, which made him smile for a brief moment before dropping to a frown once more. The Stranger took another deep breath and continued to speak.
"Flaky… I'm sorry for now and those times beforehand that I was being overprotective of you; I know you can take care of yourself and that you want to fight, it's just… it's just that all of this right now, how far we have gotten to becoming free, I have you to thank for it."
Flaky tilted her head to the left slightly with a smile and a tear running down her face as the Stranger slowly brought himself closer to her. "Flaky, if I did not save you from that tower, if you were not there, I would never have made it this far. You became the first person to believe in me, to give me a place to stay, to trust my word, to help me out despite being some stranger. You became an icon to me, Flaky, an icon that represented to me for something to fight for. Seeing you scared that day at the tower… it made me think of myself, how I was scared in this world, feeling alone and death was around every corner, but I couldn't stand to see that feeling lie on another person's face."
He slowly brought his hands to meet Flaky's own hands on her lap, and grasped them tightly. Flaky looked down to see his hands trembling nervously, and brought her hand to keep it held together, calming him down as he continued to speak.
"You became a reason for me to fight. I wanted to fight this battle on my own accord in the beginning, just to leave and go home forever. But when I saw you, when I saved you and saw your face slowly go from fear to happiness, it gave me hope that there was still a chance at something, that I can still do good, and perhaps even get home with all of us intact. You became symbol for freedom to me… which is why I always tried to lock you away to never be near me."
The Stranger moved in closer until his body was nearly melding against Flaky, who sat with a smile on her face as she watched him. "This was my fight, and if you got hurt in my fight, if you… died, I just could not live any longer. I needed you to stay alive so I had a symbol to fight for, a sign of inspiration. And if you died by my hands, I would never be able to continue the fight again. That right there… is the reason why I avoided you, Flaky… because I love you."
The two sat silently on the bed, looking into each other's eyes as the Stranger ended his speech. They did not know what to do next. The Stranger admitted his feelings to Flaky about everything, and Flaky is now aware of all of it. It was just something big to them that came out all of a sudden, and they both sat wondering what to do next.
The Stranger held onto Flaky's soft hands tightly, the warm feeling of her body and the sight of her smile were making him feel calmer and safer, having her by his side in peace something he always enjoyed having. He only wished that the circumstances where not as bad, but being with her now and telling her the truth made him somewhat better, and slowly dawned a smile of his own.
He then began to do something he wanted to do for a long time, and felt like right now was his time to do it. Flaky sat still nervously as the Stranger came as close to her as possible and slowly lean himself towards her face, bringing his hands up to meet her soft cheeks. Flaky began to blush visibly and slowly brought herself to come closer to him.
After a short distance away from each other, they both brought their eyes to a close, tilted their heads slightly to the right, and leaned in to lock their lips together passionately. The Stranger held her face softly as he let his lips lay against hers, enjoying every split-second he had being with her.
Flaky kept her body relaxed while her mind ran through a variety of feelings as they shared their first kiss together, something she was waiting for a long time. She could stay with him this way for an uncountable amount of time if she could, so she made sure to make it last.
They broke their kiss shortly after as the Stranger brought himself away from her, a smile on his face wider than ever before. Flaky giggled lightly as she watched the Stranger keep his smile, a sight she enjoyed seeing from him.
The Stranger then nodded his head slowly and spoke clearly. "Flaky… I rather not have you be involved in this fight… but I know it is wrong for me to make decisions for you. You are a free person, as you should be both here and in the real world, and have the right to be who you want to be and what you want to do. So… if you want to be a part of this fight… than it will be a pleasure to have you by my side in the fight."
Flaky could not be any happier to finally hear the Stranger let her choose what to do… even if the choice meant life or death. Unsurprisingly to the Stranger, Flaky smiled with pride and nodded her head instantly, and knew exactly what her answer was. He truly did not want her to see her fight, but she had the right to choose, and accepted it without question.
Knowing she made her answer and the two had now made up, the Stranger brought his hands away from Flaky and pointed to the door. "Well… if you're going to fight, you best be off to train with the others. You go and help Flippy and everything. I'll stay here and think about the upcoming battle."
Flaky gave the Stranger a surprise hug, shocking him with the sudden move, but came back with a hug of his own. With a quick hug settled out of the way, Flaky, got off the bed with a smile towards the Stranger, did her military salute, and turned around to open the door behind her.
The Stranger was initially happy for her and her kindness, and was starting to accept her decision. But as he watched her walk away from him, his body began to shake, and he began to breathe nervously as his mind went on a frenzy on terrible thoughts again. It all came down to one feeling that he dreaded having, one feeling he did not have in such a long time but did not want to have at this time of crisis.
He felt alone. She was just a few steps away from him, and yet he was already starting to feel alone, a feeling that nearly killed him. He entered the world alone, he fought alone, he survived alone; practically his entire life was living alone… unless he was with her. When he was with Flaky, he did not get the terrible feeling of loneliness, and felt like he could live another day as he had someone to be with; he had a purpose.
But with this upcoming battle coming into play, this could be the last time they ever see each other. Death was a certainty, and, if they did die, than everything they shared would be lost. He could not live with that thought, not now, not when it meant the most to him. He didn't want to feel alone yet, he could not take the pressure of it.
His mind would snap back into reality as the sound of a doorknob moving was heard. He looked up to see Flaky already opening the door half-way. Once she was out of the room, she would not be coming back. It was now or never, and the Stranger had to take it.
The Stranger jumped to his feet quickly and stretched out his right arm, his right palm facing forward as he yelled. "Flaky, wait!"
Flaky halted her movement on the doorknob and looked up to see a nervous and shaking Stranger with his arm stretched out to her. She cocked her head to the left slightly and watched the Stranger slowly walk up to her, his hands meeting together at stomach level as he twiddled with his fingers.
He took a deep breath and spoke calmly. "Flaky… tomorrow, I… all of us, are going to head in a war that may very well be the end of us. We can be alive one second and be dead the next the moment we hit Happy Tree Town. And… and if we die out there, Flaky, everything we shared, every moment together we had that is worth remembering… will be gone."
As the Stranger moved closer to Flaky, she began to loosen her grip on the doorknob and watched his movements in confusion, listening carefully to his words. She then smiled with a tear building up as he slowly began to raise his right hand outward.
"Flaky… I don't want to forget those moments just yet. They mean a lot to me as they are what kept me alive here. I want to continue and cherish these memories in peace, but when we go out in the battlefield, there will be no time to think about them."
The Stranger stopped just a step away in front of Flaky, who was still looking at his open right hand, his palm facing upwards for her to see. She shook nervously but with a smile on her face, and looked up to see the Stranger one more time.
"But there is time right now to share them. We still got time to share and remember one more moment together before we head at. Please, Flaky, don't leave me alone just yet. Stay with me, just a little while longer, just enough to enjoy one last time together. Please, Flaky…"
Flaky stood still watching the emotions shown on the Stranger's eyes, and noticed something that was not common with him, something that was a sight that she never seen existed on him before.
He was scared. He was indeed scared of this upcoming battle and the possibility of death. The man she sees that goes out daily to risk his life without fear and only wanting to help others, was now scared to go out, that he could face death in under 24 hours.
But she knew he was right. They could die, and when they do, everything they shared together would be lost in the abyss, never to be remembered again. And these memories were just as important to her as it was to him; she did not want to lose them now when there was indeed time to share them one more time.
She smiled and shed a sole tear as she brought her left hand away from the door and laid it gently on the Stranger's right hand, letting it be grasped by his strong fingers. She placed her right hand on top of his and gently brushed the top of his grey fur while holding it firmly.
Flaky finally took a deep breath and, with a smile on her face, said calmly, "Okay."
The Stranger shed a tear of his own as Flaky agreed to stay with him one more time. The feeling of loneliness was instantly washed away, and a smile formed on his face instantly. He could not describe the amount of happiness was in his heart, and instead just accepted it as is.
He brought his left hand to be placed on top of their collection of hands, and quickly leaned down to share a second kiss with Flaky. They both closed their eyes and tilted their heads to the right as they placed their lips together once more, this time tighter than before, and staying together longer.
Seeing how they were staying in such a close and intimate position, Flaky wrapped her right arm around the Stranger's torso while she brought her left arm to close the door behind her. Shutting the door completely shut, the sound of a door being locked was heard, and they stayed within Flippy's master bedroom for the remainder of the night.
The Stranger was attaching the last button to his tattered leather coat, putting on the final touches to his clothes he will be bringing with him into battle. He stood in front of the mirror inside Flippy's bedroom, looking at himself as he tightened up every button and brushed down his damaged fur over the months of fighting. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his scars that he obtained over time, still thinking them as trophies instead of injuries.
The Stranger halted his enjoyment of him as he heard the sound of the door opening, shocking him slightly as he turned around to see an eager and battle-ready Flippy. The Stranger smiled at the sight of his friend, so ready to enter the fight with him despite the odds against them. No matter what, though, he saw Flippy as a valuable ally and a friend, and was an honor to have him by his side in the upcoming battle.
He clapped his hands together and spoke with determination. "So… we all set to go?" Flippy shrugged his shoulders, not exactly feeling the most confident of situations, but could not say anything negative. He did what he could do, and everyone else did their best to cling onto hope, so there was no need to complain. "Good… good…"
The Stranger tilted his head at the sight of a large blue case that was being carried by Flippy's right hand. Curiosity filling his mind, he pointed at the blue case and asked politely. "Is it okay that I ask what's inside the blue case you have yet to show me?"
Smiling widely, Flippy took the blue case and dropped it on his bed, making a loud thud as it hit the mattress. Getting more eager to see inside by the second, the Stranger stood directly next to Flippy as the green bear slowly opened the case to reveal an object the Stranger did not believe existed in this virtual world.
It was a handgun, specifically a M1911 .45 ACP with six 7-round magazines underneath it, plus an additional 7-round magazine already chambered in the pistol.
The Stranger's jaw dropped as he stared at the handgun. "A… a… a gun?! There are guns in this world?!" Flippy dropped his smile and nodded his head slowly, a little confused by the Stranger's reaction.
The Stranger reached slowly for the handgun and held it tightly in his hands. He examined every inch of it, looking down the sights and testing out the ejection system for the magazine. "But… but I don't understand. If you have guns in this world after all, than why don't you guys ever-"
With his clumsiness, the Stranger accidentally pulled the trigger on the pistol, firing off a round in the chamber. He and Flippy both dropped to the floor in fear as the bullet ejected out of the gun and began ricocheting across the entire bedroom, breaking everything and almost hitting them dead.
After a few seconds of waiting for the bullet to stop, it shot out Flippy's window and was stopped by the skull of a generic Tree Friend outside. Breathing heavily due to almost getting himself killed, the Stranger walked towards the destroyed window and looked outside to see the dead body of an innocent generic… which unsurprisingly did not do much in terms of effecting the Stranger.
He let out a heavy breath and observed the gun a second time, Flippy staying a short distance away from him. "Okay, I see why you guys never use guns. WAY too easy to kill a Tree Friend with…" The Stranger smiled widely as he chambered in the next round in the pistol, and opened his coat to place it inside his inner pockets. "Then again, I'm not killing a Tree Friend now, am I?" He chuckled as Flippy nodded his head.
The Stranger went over and picked up the remaining magazine clips and placed them carefully in the easily accessible parts of his body. After placing them securely, he looked over at Flippy and gave a small grin. "Thanks, Flippy, it's going to be useful in finishing this off. Now come on, let's rally everyone up." Flippy nodded his head and followed in pursuit of the Stranger.
Not taking any stops, the Stranger made it to Flippy's front door and opened it instantly, sending down a burst of light from the evening sun. The Stranger lifted his arm up to protect his vision and walked out slowly to the outside field near Flippy's house. He only took a few steps away from the barrack-shaped home when he started hearing chants and cheers of the Tree Friends who have caught sight of him and Flippy, all of them happy to see their commanders ready for battle.
After getting his vision adjusted to the sunlight, the Stranger was clearly able to see all the Tree Friends, both generic and unique, outside and ready for battle. As he smiled and walked towards his small militia, he took note of his own personal army and see what has been achieved in the 24 hours he gave Flippy.
They weren't true soldiers, but they had all the basics placed into their A.I. minds. Formation of a battalion was correct, so was their posture, their eagerness to fight, and some basic defense knowledge with some spare time for assault. His generics weren't going to truly win, but they were enough to work as a bulk force to help the Stranger and the unique ones make it through the fight; it was a successful training session, all thanks to Flippy.
He then took the time to observe the unique Tree Friends, who were standing in a separate group, focusing on their work while the generics chanted for a fight. Flaky was with the group, handing out some equipment in storage to the officers, including radios, grenades, some spare medical equipment, and other necessary items that were trusted with those of a developing brain than those running on a computer.
The Stranger made it up to Flaky and the unique group, and stood tall and with pride as he observed his comrades. When they noticed his silent appearance, they all got up and stood at attention, eager and determine smiles on their faces as they stood with him. He nodded his head towards them and faced Flaky, who was blushing slightly as she was holding the bag of spare equipment.
He stood still silently with a smile as Flaky was stuck with a reddening face, before realizing she was supposed to hand over his equipment. The Stranger chuckled lightly as Flaky struggled to find his bag, quickly pulling it out and handing it to him, which he rewarded her with a peck on the cheek, making her face stay in its reddening state.
Quickly observing the contents of his personal bag, he counted: 1 walkie-talkie, set to Channel 3; one med-kit filled with basic remedies and gear; 3 grenades; a vest that had straps and pockets for all of his equipment; and a spare BDU shirt. Enjoying the site of his new military gear, the Stranger decided it was time to remove his coat and dawn some new clothes.
Instantly placing the shirt and vest on without a problem, the Stranger removed the contents of his coat and placed the magazines on the belt area, walkie-talkie on the chest pocket, grenades along the lower side of the vest, and the med-kit on his a strap to his side. His pistol was kept on his back-blue jean pocket and his knife still resting in the right pants-pocket. His brown boots were tight and snug, his black wool cap placed tightly on his head, and everything else was placed correctly.
Now seeing he was all set, he looked up to see his friends once more, all of them dressed and ready for battle… except for the idea that none of the generics had a weapon of their own, nor did the archery platoon have much in terms of available ammunition.
The Stranger turned around and face Flippy curiously. "Hey, Flippy, you sure you don't have any spare knives in your house, or perhaps some arrows, darts or something for the archers?" Flippy shook his head in disbelief, a little sadden at the idea not all of the troops were able to have a weapon, which was practically vital if they wanted to even break the first rank of Happy Tree Town.
He brought his hand to his chin and rubbed it gently, pondering a solution for the problem. "There has to be something we can give them. Some easily accessible right now, something that is pointy and has the capability of piercing skin and bone, and perhaps something straight enough that can be shot out from the archer's slingshots. But where am I going to find such a… sharp… object?"
The Stranger stopped speaking as he faced Flaky, who was just looking around her area… with her quills showing perfectly clear for the Stranger to see. Flaky began to have a weird feeling, and turned around to face the Stranger, who was looking at her with a big grin that was actually creeping her out this time instead of making her feel happy.
She backed away slowly as the Stranger took a step forward. "Hey, Flaky? Your quills grow back when they are cut, right?"
10 minutes later
With one more final slice of his knife, Flippy was able to scalp off all of Flaky's quills, leaving her with only a fuzzy patch of tiny quills on top of her head. As she huddled up sadly, Flippy and the Stranger collected up the huge sum of razor sharp quills and handed one to each generic Tree Friend, with the remaining being handed to the generics and Cuddles who handled the archery platoon.
With the final set of tiny weapons handed out, every person now had something to work with, even if it was just a tiny pointy object that could still murder everyone. At the sight of his fully equipped army, the Stranger let out a small chuckle. "Who knew you were a walking weapons dispenser, huh Flaky?"
Flaky punched the Stranger on his right arm and looked away from him in shyness. The Stranger got closer to her while still retaining a smile. "Look, imagine this. When we kill that bastard and leave, I bet the real Flaky has long flowing red hair that is the most beautiful sight to see. Just work with this now, Flaky, and soon, we will get to see the real you and all the long and beautiful hair you have on the outside." Flaky sat silently for a brief moment before letting out a sign and turned to give the Stranger a smile.
As she got up to her own feet, the Stranger turned around to face his army once more, everyone now in their ranks and positions, including the unique Tree Friends. He could not believe such a sight was possible, and seeing how everyone at this moment, despite all the trouble, still had hope for freedom, it gave the Stranger hope that victory can still be achieved, and was willing to take the risk to end the fight once and for all.
The Stranger stood tall, Flippy coming up to him and standing by his left side, and Flaky moving up to stand by his right side. He looked at his two friends standing by his side, who gave him determined smiles, ready to follow his lead. He looked forward again to see the unique Tree Friends surprisingly the most eager to fight, with Splendid high in the air, Pop and Russell instructing their units, and Cub, even with his child-like mind, was happily waving a small flag with the drawing of Happy Tree Town crossed out and the word 'Freedom' written over it.
He took a deep breath and raised his arms in the air, signaling everyone's attention. Everyone got into their formation and stood dead silent, listening carefully at their commander's next response.
The Stranger cleared his throat and spoke loudly. "Look, I'm not the best guy at speeches here, so I will just go with what my heart and mind tells me here."
"I know that many of you must be scared. No matter how hard you try to hide it, I know many of you are scared that death may happen. There's no need to be ashamed of feeling that, for I also have that same doubt."
"But you can't let that cloud your mind when we go out there and fight for the most important element to us: freedom. We have been forced to live false lives in a world we do not belong to, to live by a schedule and rules that are despicable and against human nature, and to serve an evil God who is nothing more than a pathetic person who thinks he can just control us at whim."
"Well today that ends. Today we show him and his fake army that we will not stand by his sadistic rule any more. We are people who have the right to make our own choices, to live the way we want, to be whom we want, and to never be forced into being a person who we aren't and to live in a world filled with death. We have the right to experience life without fear of death, to wake up happily and enjoy another day alive being who we are. And it's time we show that son of a bitch that he gives us our lives back."
"We march to battle as simple slaves to a mad man. And, with hope and strong will on our sides, we will exit out free! Everyone, we march,"
The Stranger pulled out his knife quickly from his pocket, and pointed it towards the glimpse of the tower behind him.
"TO WAR!"
Everyone in the battalion cheered loudly with their weapons raised, clapping their hands while jumping victoriously as they rouse themselves up for the fight. The Stranger faced the direction of the tower, his back turned on the army, and slung his knife forward.
"BATALLION! FORWARD, MARCH!"
With Flippy on his right, Flaky on his left, Splendid hovering in the air, and the unique Tree Friends holding the first rank, with Cuddles' archery platoon marching on the side, the Stranger was marching the Tree Friends to either their freedom… or to their deaths. Up ahead laid a battleground and a general that had to be taken, and the Stranger has only one shot to make this count.
The Stranger took a moment in thought as he marched forward and leading the battalion. Knowing that a large battle was up ahead, morale was necessary to keep their hopes up. Thus, he faced Flippy and spoke quickly. "Hey, Flippy, mind doing some cadence for the troops, some marching music to keep them in step while keeping morale up?"
Flippy brought his right hand up to his chin and snapped his fingers instantly at what song for them to march to. Clearing his throat, he sung out loudly in their native tongue, using their high-pitch voices and whistles to play his tune.
"Laa la la la la…. La la la la la, la la la la la… do do do do do do, do do do, do do do!"
The entirety of the Tree Friends marching were singing loudly, including Flaky, with the Stranger just walking forward with a smile on his face as he marched to their town's anthem. "Meh, it's a catchy tune."
He chuckled lightly as they continued to repeat the same verse, then dropped to a serious expression as he stared deeply at the tall tower in front of him. His body tensed up at the thought of the man who hid inside there the entire time, and dreamt the many ways he planned to kill him.
The Stranger spoke clearly in his head, making sure the mad man could hear him.
"I'm coming for you, you son of a bitch!"
Good, I'll be waiting…