Chapter 15.2
Take It Back, Part II
Cuddles and his archery platoon were practically dodging combat left and right as they moved through the town. After receiving a command to rendezvous with the Stranger, Cuddles realized the drastic situation they were in.
Without any proper ground troops and Splendid having to provide aerial cover for Pop and Platoon Bravo to meet up with them, Cuddles and his team of archers were on their own until they successfully re-group with the Stranger. And since they were entering the denser parts of Happy Tree Town, their form of combat was beginning to lose its effectiveness with every step to take.
Keeping a firm grip on his slingshot and a sharp quill ready to be launched, Cuddles moved ahead of his platoon and lead the charge to meet up with the Stranger. As they ran, Cuddles took precautionary measures by observing his environment carefully and swiftly, making sure they were not bound to get themselves cornered by an army of Shadows.
Sadly, this event would come sooner than later as Cuddles and his platoon stopped and noticed a wave of Shadow Infantry heading down the east side of the road, the direction they needed to go to meet up with the Stranger. As the archers fired downrange to take out as many Shadows before they got the chance to attack, Cuddles looked back and forth and saw a north-passage through town that could lead them around the Shadows and still regroup with the Stranger.
Nodding his head at his plan, Cuddles shot two quills down at the incoming Shadows while moving sideways and gestured his hand to move his platoon northward, seizing fire and ignoring the incoming troops. Though skeptical of his plan, the generics followed behind with their slingshots still raised.
While there was certainly no massive wave of Shadows heading their way, the road around the Shadows was still heavily occupied by other Shadows, especially those who were held up in the buildings above them. Cuddles' eyes watched in shock as he noticed Shadow Archers popping out from cover and shooting down waves of arrows onto their position.
Cuddles pointed left and right while running back and forth down the road, signaling the generics to loosen their formation. While doing so, Cuddles took his slingshot and shot Shadow after Shadow, hitting them directly in the head without missing a shot. As they climbed over rubble and did their best to avoid combat, the constant barrage of arrows was slowly taking a toll on his platoon, killing off his team one after another.
Now taking a right once more down the road, Cuddles could visibly see the destruction site where the Stranger planned for them to regroup. Breathing heavily as he was still shooting while on the move, Cuddles waved over to his remaining members of his platoon, now at half-capacity, to move down the street.
Cuddles then felt a massive shock of pain striking his left shoulder, and collapsed the ground hard. He gritted his teeth and cringed in pain as he opened his eyes and looked over to see what was causing such severe pain.
He quickly noticed that a sharp and dark looking arrow struck deep into his body, piercing his flesh and going straight through the other side. As arrows continued to fall onto his position, Cuddles crawled on the ground while doing his best to pull out the arrow, but the pain was too intense for him to handle. It was jammed inside his shoulder bone and lacked the strength to move.
Still gritting his teeth hard from the pain, Cuddles looked up once more and saw a Shadow Archer aiming directly at him, ready to fire and finish him off. Cuddles raised his hand over his eyes, not wanting to see his incoming death. He didn't want it to end like this, but he closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
But he noticed that it was taking some time for him to get shot as he was expecting it to happen. Cuddles opened his eyes once more and saw the Shadow shot in the forehead and falling out of the window. Shocked by the accurate shot, he snapped back into clarity as he was hoisted up by two generic Tree Friends, bringing him back to his feet. The generics helped him escape death.
Sighing in both relief and pain, Cuddles noticed they were still in a hot zone, and had to keep moving now. But with the arrow still jammed into his shoulder, he could not hold a steady grip on his slingshot or fire it effectively. Agitated by the situation, Cuddles dropped his slingshot and pulled out his knife, and limped forward while cheering his platoon onward.
Still surprised at how he was saved, two generics stay by his side and giving him personal cover fire and walking assistance as Cuddles and his remaining platoon pushed up to meet with the Stranger, and prayed silently that they would be waiting for them there.
The Stranger, Flippy, Flaky, and the lone generic traversed carefully through the destruction site, climbing over building rubble and around the intact pieces of the meteors. Despite their small size, due to the abundance of them, such a small area was drastically affected and destroyed by their massive force, leaving nothing behind upon collision.
Not even surviving bodies of Platoon Alpha. As the Stranger and his friends crawled through the wreckage, their eyes could not help but stare at the mutilated and crushed bodies of both the Shadows and the Tree Friends. The heavy force either ripped their bodies apart, splattering blood everywhere, or crushed them entirely.
Flippy shook his head in disbelief at the site of so many innocent people killed in one barrage, and Flaky shed a few tears silently at the dead bodies. The Stranger only sighed in grief as he noticed the dead body of Russell, knowing that this was bound to happen, though he wished it never would.
After slowly crawling through the wreckage, the Stranger and his friends were back on the now-cracked road, and looked up to see how close they were to the tower. The Stranger stood in awe at its size, standing tall beyond any other building, and its ominous glow instilling fear to those who watched it. Before it was nothing but a large tree; now, it was a giant steel tower fit for an evil ruler.
The Stranger felt his body shake a little by force, and looked to his left to see Flippy tugging on him while pointing down the west side of the street. He looked up and smiled in his mind to see Cuddles and his remaining archers sprinting up to them, surviving the short trek on their own.
The Stranger took a few steps forward to meet up with Cuddles and his team, but his happiness to see him was dropped when he noticed Cuddles was severely wounded with a giant arrow stuck on his left shoulder, and it looked like it was in deep.
Cuddles held onto his shoulder and shook violently as the pain was only getting worse, and, once he got up to the Stranger, felled on his right knee while groaning in pain. The Stranger, seeing how dire his situation was, placed his weapons back in their holsters and hoisted Cuddles back up to his feet.
Placing Cuddles' right arm around and over his shoulders, the Stranger looked around swiftly while thinking of a plan. "We got to get that arrow out of you, Cuddles; we need you in this fight! Okay, we'll…"
The Stranger stopped speaking as he noticed that, down the east side of the road, an incoming infantry unit of Shadows was heading to their position, and they were moving fast. They appeared to be even stronger, now wielding larger and more menacing weapons, and their battle cries loud enough to be heard across the town.
"SHIT! We're going to be trapped!" The Stranger breathed rapidly in anxiety and fear of the situation, unable to think of a backup plan. Flippy looked back and forth while the Stranger held Cuddles tightly over his shoulders, and did his best to find an escape route.
He then noticed a large and open alleyway that, if went through, would lead them to the town plaza, which was directly next to the south entrance of the tower. Thinking it was their only option, Flippy waved his hand at the Stranger while pointing down the alleyway nearby. The Stranger looked over and noticed exactly what Flippy was pointing out and nodded his head in agreement.
"Worth a try; let's go!"
Everyone agreeing to the plan, the Stranger, Flippy, Flaky, Cuddles and the remaining archery platoon looked away from the incoming Shadows and headed north towards the alleyways, and moved as fast as they could in a single file line to navigate the enclosed area.
Destruction and death.
That's all what he could see down beneath him; the destruction of buildings and the piles of dead bodies littering the streets. It wasn't the first time he seen such a scene, and it doesn't faze him as much as it did before, those times were nothing but accidental mishaps that he did not intend to cause.
This was for real; this destruction was done on purpose, and as the superhero he tried to be, it all felt like it broke his character, that he was not doing his job. He wanted to help and protect Tree Friends while also keeping the city safe, and do so without any deaths. But now he is actually killing on purpose, and Splendid felt sick doing so.
As he flew over the battlefield, though, he reminded himself one key fact: these Shadows were here to harm the innocent people of Happy Tree Town, and they were led by an evil god who had to be stopped, no matter the cost. As the superhero, he must protect and serve the Tree Friends, and if this was his only way of doing it, then he will accept it.
Remembering his command to follow Pop on the ground and lead Platoon Bravo through the town to regroup with the Stranger, Splendid lowered his altitude to keep a closer observation on the battlefield, looking for the quickest and safest path toward their target while also providing covering fire.
He instantly caught eye of Pop leading Platoon Bravo down the west side of the city, and were quickly entering the downtown city districts. Looking ahead of them, Splendid was met with the sight of hundreds of incoming Shadow Infantry, ready to meet up and attack Pop and his platoon.
Knowing that action was required now in order to stay alive, Splendid dropped his altitude further until he was just below the rooftops of the tallest towers. He slowly flew just above Pop and quickly began to gesture his hands to head down the short road north before heading east again, warning him of the incoming threat about to appear.
Seeing Splendid giving an observation report, Pop took it as a warning and changed his plan of action. Stopping at the center of the next intersection, Pop pointed his knife to the north and led the charge up the road, hoping to avoid combat as much as they could. Platoon Bravo followed suit after hearing the command.
With Pop now going into a different direction, Splendid took the opportunity to buy them some time. Looking over at the incoming army, he took note of a weak structure near the road that was bound to collapse any second. Thinking of a plan, Splendid flew low to the ground, just above the heads of the Shadows.
The Shadows took their stand and raised up their weapons, ready for Splendid's attack. However, they were not prepared to see Splendid not colliding with them, but shooting his laser vision at the foundations of the nearby building, completely missing the Shadows.
The strong gust of wind that came from Splendid flying fast above them brought the Shadows onto the ground hard, following onto their backsides. Getting up slowly while thinking why their enemy completely avoided them, one Shadow looked over at the tall structure near them and noticed that is was slowly bending over… in their direction.
The Shadow screamed loudly and pointed at the tumbling building, and the others only watched in horror how the tall structure collapsed on top of them, crushing their bodies and killing them instantly, with only a few survivors appearing after the rubble stopped falling.
Pop heard the loud destruction of a building, and looked over to see a large dust cloud forming while Splendid constantly flew back and forth over the city, taking down multiple structures or eliminating Shadows, causing large explosions on a frequent basis. Before he would find this only an annoyance and a failure of his character. But now, Pop, though hard to even admit it, had him to thank for helping them now.
Now taking a right and heading east once more, Platoon Bravo was still marching strong and fast as they continued to head for the Stranger's current position. Pop was thinking, with Splendid above them, they were in the clear, with no possibility of screw ups ever occurring.
He did not prepare, however, for a surprise attack on the Shadow's part. Going briefly down the road between the enclosure of two rows of buildings, Pop and Platoon Bravo were sent into fear as Shadows began appearing between the alleyways in all directions, practically surrounding them in their position.
Pop frantically looked around and was distraught at the sight of no possible escape route; they were cornered, and there was only one thing they could do.
Fight.
Pop backed up slowly to his entire platoon, and pointed his knife forward at the enemy around them. Many of the unique Tree Friends were staring in total shock, the surprise attack and threatening looks of the Shadows instilling fear into their hearts. But they held their ground and brought their knives and weapons forward, bunching up in a giant circle, with the generics spreading out in multiple directions to give cover to their officers.
He looked behind him to see all of his friends going into a battle stance, ready to fight when the command was given. Pop nodded his head, and with a swing of his knife, and called it out.
"ATTACK!"
All the Tree Friends performed a loud battle cry and ran forward with the generics to the Shadows in front of them, and commenced intense and brutal combat in an effort to survive.
Pop was fighting valiantly and without fear. Swinging his knife as if it were a longsword, his will to keep fighting and not stopping was fueled by the thought of his son. He knew he wasn't the best father, but he would do anything to protect him, and he was going to be sure his son would make it out of this. He killed Shadow after Shadow, and showed no signs of backing down.
Handy, despite not having any hands, was still determined to fight. Utilizing his hardhat as both a weapon and piece of armor, he rammed into the crowd of Shadows, knocking them over while they made a futile attempt to attack his head, his hardhat absorbing the damage. His large tail came useful for knocking out the enemy, and his work boots were perfect for crushing the skulls of the Shadows.
Nutty was purely insane. After eating plenty of sugar before fighting, he was practically invincible. The added effect of the sugar high made him bounce around wildly, swinging his knife like a mad murderer and slicing open multiple bodies of the Shadows. Despite their best efforts, Nutty's intense speed was too much for them, and the Shadows were easily being taken care of by a candy-eating addict.
Mole seemed the least concerned of the situation, and was just mildly swinging around his knife without knowing were the enemy was. His inaccurate and frequent swings, though, were surprisingly effective in dispatching the Shadows, and whatever he was doing was turning out well.
Sniffles and Toothy were fighting like basic warriors, using their knives as best as they could to kill each Shadow that came their way. Despite Sniffles not having his inventions on him or Toothy having any particular talent, they still were doing quite well working side to side, and were making great progress on defending their position.
Mime did something quite different: he provided a show. Distracting the Shadows with his daily routine of a mime, the Shadows watched confusingly how Mime seemed to be making an imaginary sword from scratch as if he were a blacksmith. When Mime was completed on 'forging' his 'sword,' he made a quick three-sixty degree spin, swinging his imaginary weapon like it was real. For a moment, it was just a brief pause. But then, every Shadow that stood by watch found their heads rolling off, and their bodies dropping to the floor while gushing blood. Completely unexpected.
And then there was Cro-Marmot, now unfrozen from his icy cage thanks to the Tree Friends finally warming him up. What was surprising, though, was how he fought. Perhaps it is his caveman instincts, but with his huge club in his hand, he was smashing the bodies of the Shadows left and right, knocking them away with ease. Blood and guts was dripping from his club, and he constantly continued to eliminate any Shadow.
Pop, still fighting off the Shadows, was feeling quite victorious in their standoff, seeing how his kill count was rising with every dead Shadow.
But there was something that was beginning to worry him; they did not stop coming. Despite their skill at killing them, the Shadows just kept coming in, showing no signs of retreating. While he was fighting them easily now, the large numbers was exhausting, and was sadly finding out he was losing strength from the constant fighting. Even the other Tree Friends were slowly dwindling in strength, with their generic troops being killed off one by one.
Pop realized how bad their situation was when he failed to block a swing from the sword of a Shadow, and was struck with a slice to his abdomen. He fell onto the ground in pain, a large gash appearing on his stomach and slowly bleeding. Pop placed his hand over the wound while lying on the ground, and gasped as he looked up to see the Shadow preparing to swing his sword onto him.
Pop raised his sword up and collided it with the Shadow's sword, now in a gridlock and struggle for his life. Pop gritted his teeth and watched with anger at the Shadow as his wound was slowly weakening him, almost to the point of collapsing. If he slipped now, the Shadow's sword would swing down onto him, and kill him instantly.
He couldn't hold it for much longer, and began to say his final wishes for his son's safety.
The Stranger was carrying a bloodied Cuddles, whom, by judging the limp grip he had on his shoulders, was slowly bleeding out due to the giant arrow jabbed into the bone of his left shoulder. He, along with Flippy, Flaky and the archery platoon, were navigating the corridors of the alleyways to reach the plaza nearby, where they will be just at the entrance of the No Man's Land leading to the tower.
The Stranger was breathing rapidly in both fear and exhaustion, carrying a dying Cuddles and the constant fighting starting to get to him. While it initially looked like the battle was in their favor, the deeper they got into the city, the harder everything was getting…
And how worse their chances of victory were becoming.
Now seeing they were at the entrance to the plaza, the Stranger hopped over to the wall of a building just before entering the plaza, and slowly placed Cuddles onto the cold concrete floor. He unhooked the medkit that was attached to his vest, and dropped it beside Cuddles, opening it up to pull out the items he needed.
Too busy to face him, the Stranger spoke calmly to Flippy while observing the arrow in Cuddles' shoulder. "Flippy, take the team ahead and check the area. Once Cuddles is patched up, we're moving." Flippy gave a short salute and gestured the small group of archers to follow him out to the plaza. Flaky stayed for a short time observing the Stranger quietly, and followed Flippy shortly after.
The Stranger could tell Cuddles was in tremendous pain as he was chattering his teeth and shaking violently, with even the slighted tug on the arrow making him cringe. He had to get the arrow out, though; if left untreated, he was as good as dead.
Knowing there was only one option, he grasped the arrow with his right hand and placed his left on Cuddle's shoulder. He looked at Cuddles with a serious expression and spoke quickly. "Cuddles, I need you to hold it together. Deep breaths and stay with me here. Got it?" Cuddles only nodded slowly.
Nodding back, the Stranger counted at a brisk pace. "Three, two, one, PULL!" With one push on his shoulder and a strong pull on the arrow, the Stranger successfully tore the arrow out of Cuddles' shoulder, the arrow now completely broken upon removal.
Cuddles cried in pain and agony and almost went unconscious from the removal of the arrow. He took deep breaths and gritted his teeth, holding it together as best as he could.
The Stranger quickly went for some medicine and bandages and slowly started to apply them. "Good, good, hold it together, Cuddles. You're going to make it."
As the Stranger was busy mending Cuddles back to health, Flippy and the archery platoon proceeded to march into the plaza, scoping out the small business area. Flippy kept his eyes sharp, looking around his environment while listening for any suspicious activity. Flaky was following by his side, holding her knife with both hands while carefully walking through the plaza.
The setup was the same the first time the Stranger came to Happy Tree Town: plenty of small business shops, decorative stone pattern flooring, and a large fountain in the center, everything still intact despite the recent destruction.
The Tree Friend Archers kept their slingshots at the read while Flippy carefully walked forward, not letting his guard down for a second. For some reason, Flippy had a gut instinct that told him that they weren't alone in the plaza.
Flaky jolted when Flippy came to a sudden stop and raised his knife in the air, halting everyone's positions. Flaky got up next to Flippy and was looking concerned on why they stopped moving. Flippy, though, was eyeballing the area in front of him, examining every inch of scenery he could see.
His eyes then caught a small two-story building on the other end of the plaza, and he stared at it curiously. After only a few seconds, Flippy's eyes began to widen and gasped at what he knew the position everyone was now in.
The Stranger, after careful work on fixing up Cuddles, wiped his forehead of the sweat after seeing he successfully covered Cuddles' wound, with his body now cleaned up and fixed. Cuddles gently smiled and chuckled a bit after the emergency surgery while the Stranger placed the remaining medical equipment back into its case.
Both coming up to their feet at the same time, the Stranger realized a problem that just came to his mind. "God, where the hell is Pop and-"
"AMBUSH!"
The Stranger and Cuddles jumped at Flippy calling out such a situation, and both peeked over the corner of the alleyway to view down the plaza to see what the concern was.
The Stranger almost went into shock as, in nearly every building in the opposite end of the plaza, Shadow Archers jumped out of cover and aimed their bows at the Tree Friends beneath them. Once they were in line of sight, the Shadows unleashed a barrage of arrows heading directly to anyone in the center of the plaza.
Flippy, Flaky and all the Tree Friend Archers randomly dispersed in multiple direction, either aiming for the inside of different buildings or behind whatever cover they could find. As arrows began to land in the crowd, taking out multiple generic Tree Friends, Flippy took cover behind a building while Flaky, too slow to react, dropped to her knees and crawled over to the fountain, laying down against the little cover she had.
The Stranger bounced back as an arrow almost struck him dead center in the forehead, and began to panic as they were all pinned down from arrow fire. Worse, Flaky was still in the center of the plaza and was the most visible to be hit; she was going to die if they didn't do anything to pull her out.
"SHIT! We're sitting ducks here!" The Stranger quickly grabbed his radio and activated the speaker, speaking rapidly and angrily. "Pop, come in! Pop, where the hell are you?!"
Static was the response.
"Pop, don't you do this with me, man, where the fuck are you?!"
No response…
The Stranger furiously swung his arms around, almost throwing the radio on the ground in a fit of rage. "FUCK! Not now!" He panted in anger, completely aggravated how he lost another platoon in such a short time, and are now just sitting alone in the dark while pinned down by archers.
He looked back and forth as he placed the radio back into its pocket, trying his best to think of a plan. As he pondered a solution, Cuddles, who was covering his wound on his left shoulder with his right hand, looked at the Stranger worriedly, desperately thinking of a way to help.
Cuddles' eyes widen after he took note of the grenades on the Stranger's vest. Though a longshot, Cuddles tapped on the Stranger's shoulders to grab his attention, which made him jump a little before responding. "What is it?!"
Cuddles pointed to the grenades on the Stranger's vest, and gestured his hands to throw while making a 'pow' sound with his mouth. The Stranger stood blank for a bit, thinking of what he was suggesting, then snapped his fingers as he caught the hint. "Good idea, Cuddles; let's work with it!"
The yellow rabbit smiled as the Stranger pulled out a grenade from his vest, and held it firmly in his hands. He took note of it, examining it and seeing it was just a simple M2 Frag Grenade, which was bound to cause some deadly damage to anyone who would be in its explosion.
Making a good grip on the grenade, the Stranger peeked over the corner while no pushing his head to far out to be shot, and looked over to see Flippy still pinned down behind a building, holding his position for as long as he could. The Stranger made a loud whistle, which took some time to alert Flippy.
As Flippy turned his head around to face the Stranger on the other of the plaza, he watched how his friend threw the inactive grenade towards him, and caught it as it came down from the sky. Flippy held the grenade in both his hands, and looked up to face the Stranger once more.
Pointing his finger downrange at the enemy while keeping a serious expression, the Stranger yelled out directly to Flippy. "Blow the sons of bitches up!"
Flippy smiled evilly and nodded his head at the command, and pulled the pin on the grenade to activate the timer. Flippy took a deep breath, calming his senses and muscles while quickly thinking where to throw. After just a brief second of cooking the grenade, Flippy jumped out of cover and threw the grenade at the occupied building down at the end of the plaza.
The grenade flew in the air like a baseball, circling around as it sped through the sky. Flippy and the Stranger watched the grenade fly in the air, almost as if time was slowing down. With an extraordinary amount of luck, the grenade hit the second floor window of the building occupied by the majority of Shadow Archers, and landed safely inside.
One of the Shadow Archers turned around to face the object that landed inside with them, and upon realizing it was an explosive device, he yelled loudly to his comrades to run. The grenade then created a huge explosion, bursting out the windows and collapsing the second floor, causing building material to fall under and kill the other Shadows underneath. It was an effective kill.
The Stranger did victory arm thrust as Flippy made a big grin at his successful throw. The remaining Shadow Archers were picked off by the generic Tree Friends and their slingshots, though without taking major casualties, now about only 10 remaining. The Stranger ran out of cover after seeing it was clear and made it to the center of the plaza to meet up with Flaky.
Flaky, this entire time hiding behind the fountain, was shaking violently after hearing the explosion and almost being struck with multiple arrows. She whimpered silently in fear, hoping she was going to be fine. Flaky jumped as she felt two strong arms wrap around her, and was afraid she was captured, ready to be sliced open and die.
"Flaky, calm down, we're safe now!"
Flaky opened her eyes to see the Stranger smiling widely out her, and looked around to see that Flippy and a couple of other Tree Friends were still fine. She chuckled and sighed in relief, and hugged the Stranger back tightly. The Stranger patted her softly on the back and placed her back down, happy to see she was calm once more.
The Stranger pulled out his knife and pistol once more and looked forward to see a road at the other end of the plaza, which will lead them straight to the entrance of the park, and thus, a clear runway to the tower. They were almost there.
He took a few steps forward while speaking proudly. "Alright, we're so close now, everyone! Just a few more steps and we…"
The Stranger, Flippy, and Flaky turned around as they heard a loud set of cries emitting behind them. They all gasped in horror as a large group of Shadow Infantry were heading there way, weapons raised and everything.
The Stranger looked at the road and then at the tower, noticing that they were indeed very close to their target. He shook his head and yelled loudly. "Ignore them; we got to move, now!"
Not questioning the command, Flippy, Flaky, and the remaining generic Tree Friends made an about-face and began heading for the safety of the road, and make it to their target before it was too late.
But it may as well be considered too late, as the Stranger came to a sudden halt when he noticed another wave of Shadow Infantry coming from the road they intended to go on. He looked behind him to see the second set of Shadows moving in, and saw how they were trapped between multiple buildings in the center of the plaza. Just him, Flippy, Flaky, and 10 other generics, trapped.
"Damn it, we're fucking stuck!" The Stranger and Flippy held up their knives as the entire group slowly came together to form one big circular pile, looking in all directions as the Shadows moved into their position. The Stranger began to breathe rapidly in fear as the number was overwhelming, and his eyes jolted around as panic began to fill his mind.
He then looked over to see Flaky standing close beside him, shaking her hands as she held the knife in front of her. She never looked more scared than she did right now, seeing death straight in the face and seeing her demise coming so soon. This was not how it should have ended, but she was already accepting it as reality.
Sadden to see her this way, the Stranger got up next to Flaky and placed pistol in his left hand along with his knife so he could place his right hand on her shoulder. Flaky was shaken by the feeling and turned to face the Stranger, and was shocked to see that the Stranger was dawning a smile while giving her a quick nod.
Not knowing how to respond, Flaky decided to bunch up closer to the Stranger as everyone was now back to back in a circle, completely surrounded by an army of Shadows slowly making their way to finish them off.
As Flaky whimpered into the Stranger's body, he closed his eyes and swallowed his throat, awaiting for his death to be both swift and painless…
Zzzzz… zzzzz…. Zzz… zzzzz
The Stranger opened his eyes as he heard static coming from his radio. Confused on who it could be, and seeing they had no opportunity to run, the Stranger quickly grabbed the radio and activated the speaker.
"Yes?"
On the other side of the radio, the Stranger could hear what sounded like the humming of a heroic tune while also the sound of air being blasted through at high speed. The Stranger knew only one person to have a tune like that.
"Splendid?! Splendid, where...?"
The Stranger slowly looked behind up and noticed, flying high in the air, was a flying blue squirrel heading directly to their position, and could notice, just barely, a faint red glow coming from its eyes.
He dropped the radio onto the ground and dropped to his knees while covering his head.
"DANGER CLOSE! HUNKER DOWN!"
Confused by the command but not willing to judge, Flippy, Flaky, and the generics dropped to their knees and covered their heads. The Shadows stopped their march to see their enemy drop to their knees all of a sudden. Some of them chuckled, thinking they were making a futile attempt to surrender, while some thought it was some sort of trap.
Those who thought it was a trap were proven right as a small group of Shadows turned around and notice the red glare coming from an incoming blue flying squirrel. They pointed and scream and did their best to run, but Splendid fired, while praying silently for the sake of his attack run to work, two shots of his laser vision, aiming at both sides where the Stranger and his friends were being surrounded.
The collision of the lasers and the intense heat coming from them felt like a bomb dropping right next to them. The Stranger cringed and prayed that he was not hit, nor any of his friends, with such a close range attack run on their position. He blinked slowly, though, after realizing he was not on fire or, at the very least, injured.
The Stranger stood up straight, back into a battle stance, to see Splendid successfully hit a large number of Shadows that were no more than ten feet away from them, and the remaining were frantically running around after a surprise attack from above.
The situation only got better for the Stranger as, looking behind the Shadows, he could see the happy familiar faces of a large number of friends.
One of them being Pop.
The Stranger, Flippy, and Flaky smiled widely as they saw Pop order Platoon Bravo to surround the plaza, and all the surviving members of the platoon, which included every unique Tree Friend of that group, bundled into groups that surrounded the shaken Shadows.
The Shadows looked back and forth, seeing that not only they were cornered, but had the enemy inside their group as well. Inside and out, they had nowhere to go.
Proud to see everyone together, and Flippy looking eager to kill, the Stranger brought out his knife forward and yelled with determination.
"Take them down, everyone!"
The Shadows instantly jolted in fear as they watched the Tree Friends run straight into them with weapons raised, and were all met with their ultimate demise, not even making it a fair fight.
The Stranger swung forward first, using his knife to deliver a damaging blow while firing off his pistol into the crowd of Shadows, hitting one after another. Flippy jumped back and forth, swinging his knife furiously and cutting out their organs with ease. And Flaky, now regaining sanity, fought in the battle as well, using her knife perfectly.
As they fought on the inside, Pop and Platoon Bravo used their previous skills to eliminate every Shadow, not leaving a single one alive. They smashed their skulls, slit their throats, and did everything to kill the Shadows and save their friends, and it was over in a matter of seconds.
Breathing heavily and almost collapsing after almost dying again, the Stranger wiped his forehead and sighed heavily, doing his best to keep his bearings. He looked up and noticed Splendid coming down from the sky, still hovering in the air but low enough to make eye contact.
The Stranger chuckled and gave Splendid a salute. "Good job, Splendid; you saved us!" Splendid smiled at the compliment and nodded his head, humming his heroic tune as he flew back up in the air to prepare for the final run.
The Stranger placed the pistol back into his pocket as Pop limped forward to meet with him. He was shocked to see Pop still standing with a giant wound on his abdomen, now covered with thick bandages. Pop faced a severe wound and fought for an extended amount of time, yet this and his old age were not enough to break his will to fight… and his will to protect his son.
The Stranger smiled proudly at Pop, and brought his hand out to give him a firm handshake. Pop smiled as well and accepted the handshake, nodding his head feeling proud.
"Nice timing there, Pop. Was a little worried you'd never show up." The two chuckled lightly at the comment before the Stranger pointed at Pop's stomach wound. "You sure you're still up to fight?" Pop brushed off his chest and nodded with his head, still willing to keep going.
The Stranger patted Pop on the shoulder softly. "You're son is going to be real proud of you when he hears how his father fought in battle and survived. You're a good man at heart, Pop." Pop smiled and nodded his head slowly.
Now seeing that everyone was now regrouped, with Platoon Bravo still retaining its unique unit along with 40 generics, the Stranger looked over at the road before looking up to see the tower. With everyone here, it was time to make the final push.
The Stranger dropped his smile and grunted lightly as he pulled out his knife and raised it high in the air above him. He then tilted it forward and spoke for every Tree Friend to hear.
"We're almost there, everyone. We can do this!"
Everyone cheered loudly, with Flippy and Flaky coming up and giving the Stranger a reassuring smile. He nodded proudly, and marched forward at a brisk pace. Pop rallied his platoon to march back into position, and the remaining Tree Friends sallied forth to the No Man's Land.
A slow drabble of rain had started to fall, running across the entire ruins that was once Happy Tree Town. The rain, falling in heavy yet small drops, slowly extinguished the burning flames that covered the destruction throughout the town, and blanketed the smell of death of rotting corpses of the town.
The Stranger, Flippy, Flaky and all of Platoon Bravo kept their heads down as they marched through town. Many of them felt relieved and yet scared at the same time as they marched towards the final run. After the plaza ambush, there was not a single encounter afterwards; simply only the sound of rolling thunder and the drops of rain occurring.
Observing the area around them, the surviving Tree Friends could not help but feel dreadful inside. For what felt like years of countless fighting, the world around them was now correctly imaged in the way it was to begin with: a living hell.
Multiple destroyed buildings, both before the attack and during, littered the streets with their debris, and the dead bodies of both Shadows and Tree Friends decorated the ground with their entrails and blood, along with the terrible stench of decaying organs. The silence mixed with rolling thunder and rain only made the situation look grimmer.
They could not wait for it to finally end.
The Stranger, marching ahead of the remaining Tree Friends, was clenching his knife and pistol tightly as he stared forward, not daring to keep his eyes off his goal. His body, along with everyone else's, was drenched in the blood of the dozens of Shadows his blade made contact with, and his body and breath tensed up after constant battle.
After all of the fighting before this battle, and now the constant work he has put into carrying out this short war, he was fully determined not only to rid this world of its existence, but also the life of the mad man who devised it. He was going to take back his freedom today, and was not going to back down now.
Flippy and Flaky marched up next to the Stranger and kept close to his side. They both looked exhausted from fighting, and wanted to collapse face-first like everyone else. But they too were not willing to give up now; they are too close to their goal to call quits, and they were prepared to fight by each other's side until they won.
The Stranger could feel their presence next to him without having to look up. He smiled happily in his mind, knowing they have survived this battle with him thus far, and was even happier to know they stuck with him, even in the darkest of situations. They were good people that deserved freedom just like him, and he was sure they were all going to achieve it.
"Flippy… Flaky…"
The two looked over at the Stranger attentively, hearing him call their names in a calm voice. The Stranger stayed blank for a moment, thinking of what to say, then brought his head up to speak, looking back and forth between them.
"I know this battle was rough, something that, as I said, none of you should have been involved in, but…"
The Stranger took a deep breath and smiled widely at his two friends. "I'm really glad to have you two as friends; good friends who have stuck with me all the way up to this point. And when we finish this fight, when we finally leave this world… I like to take all of you out for a drink, to celebrate our victory, our freedom… and to forever being friends. We will never forget each other, and will be by each other's sides, both here… and the real world."
Surprising both of them, the Stranger crudely placed his weapons in his pockets briefly before grabbing both Flippy and Flaky with his arms, hugging them tightly as he chuckled at them being startled. All three of them smiled, with the Stranger planting a small kiss on Flaky, making her blush significantly.
After a few more minutes of silent marching in the falling rain, the Stranger and his army came to a four-way intersection, coming in from the eastside. The west and south were both blocked off by destruction, thus leaving their only choice to go north.
Which was the one path they only needed to take as, with the Stranger turning his body and halting in shock, they all noticed that, just a few feet in front of them, lied the expansive No Man's Land that was the large central park of Happy Tree Town.
And what stood at the end was the large metallic tower that stood above any building in the destroyed city. The Stranger could not count how many floors there were, nor could he ever recognize it as the once huge tree it used to be. It was so menacing up close, the steel-silver exterior glowing brightly, along with a faint aura of light that emitted around it.
Above the tower, the Stranger could see the darkest of all clouds swirling above it, almost low enough to cover the top of structure. Small strikes of lighting came from the clouds, and the tower stood tall, casting a large shadow behind it.
The Stranger and the Tree Friends all stopped in the center of the intersection, staring in awe and fear at the gigantic tower that acted as a menacing castle for an evil king, with some even quivering in sheer horror at the sight. The sight of the tower alone was enough to make some Tree Friends want to retreat and never look back.
But it wasn't the tower that worried the Stranger and his fight for freedom; it was nothing but a hideout for an evil mad man. What worried him most, though, was what stood between him and the tower.
Scattered across the No Man's Land was the complete destruction from yesterday's attack. Meteors, both small and large, were resting deep across the land, big pieces of solid rock that laid quietly across the destruction. Some building material also found its way scattered across the ground after being met with sheer force of impact from the meteor's collision with the earth.
And what stood out worse than any sight the Stranger could imagine in a situation like this,
Was the vast number of Shadows that stood their ground in front of the giant tower. Hundreds of imitating Shadows stood in unmeasurable ranks, holding out their weapons forward while staring down the small hill at the tiny force that stood in front of them. Those with sharp swords stood in front, while archers stationed themselves at the base of the tower, readying their bows to be fired.
The Shadows smiled evilly and laughed at the sight of their opposition, consisting of just barely 50 Tree Friends. Their crimson red eyes and menacing battle cries instilled fear to those that stood beneath them. To even touch the open gates of the tower, the Stranger and his 'army' had to run through them, a challenge that was not even worth thinking about.
Flippy and Flaky stood in shock at the wave after wave of Shadows standing in front of them, questioning even themselves that it was at all possible to run through them. The Stranger, though, stood determinedly as he faced his foes dead on. He did not take his eyes off the Shadows, nor show any fear. He was not ready to give up here, and still had one more plan of attack to carry out.
Flippy, along with Flaky, looked over at the Stranger to see him standing up with no fear while staring at the Shadows. Confused on what he was planning, the two got up next to him and gestured their hands to question his next move. They certainly had no idea how to tackle such an opposition of this size with so little numbers, so it was justifiable to ask what to do next.
The Stranger noticed and nodded his head as he reached out for his radio and activated the speaker, bringing the radio up to his mouth and speaking loudly.
"Splendid, we're at the base of the No Man's Land, all lined up for the final assault. You have permission to commence an attack run on the Shadows near the tower. Clear us a path, Splendid; it's up to you!"
"OKAY!"
Splendid yelled into the radio as he traveled at intense speeds in the sky above Happy Tree Town. He was circling above the area, giving a bird's eye view of the town to make sure it was perfectly clear for the Stranger and his army. But now came the moment of truth; his time to make himself more useful than ever was now upon him. He was ready to be the hero he wanted everyone to see.
To make sure he had a clear and straight path to his target, Splendid flew far away from the town while keep a low altitude just above the top of the surviving structures in Happy Tree Town. He kept his arms out straight, his flaps hanging out while his fist clutched up in fists. He squinted his eyes to keep his vision clear against the blast of wind against his face, and cleared his mind of any thought except on the task at hand.
Seeing he was far away enough, Splendid made a 180-degree turn, spinning around slowly while still keeping a straight path. He then made himself align with the giant tower in the center of the park, and observed closely at his target: the hundreds of stacked up Shadows standing in the open. It will be an easy and clean run, and he aimed himself at the first rank of Shadows.
The Stranger watched Splendid slowly approach the No Man's Land in the air, and placed his radio back on his vest pocket while making a small grin. Seeing his favorite aerial support moving in with ease, and the Shadows standing idiotically in the open, the Stranger had no doubt that they could lose now.
He dropped his smile as Flippy shook the Stranger by the shoulder, grabbing his attention instantly. "Flippy, what's wrong?!"
Flippy pointed his right index finger at the sky above them, and the Stranger already knew, and feared, what he was going to see. Directly above them, he could see the familiar movement of dark clouds circling above them, turning into charcoal-black as a large hole began to appear in the center.
The Stranger dropped his jaw and yelled loudly in shock. "EVERYONE, FALL… fall…?"
The Stranger stopped in mid-sentence as something caught his attention. Looking at the circling of clouds above them, he noticed the glow that was coming out of the open hold in the center. But, unlike the other ominous glows of past attacks, this glow was… a different shade of color. Instead of the usual fiery orange, this time it was… green.
Then something caught him off-guard, something that shocked the other Tree Friends that stared with him: the clouds began to move from their position, specifically the giant glowing hole in the center. The Stranger stood confused as he watched the clouds shift from their position and moving south, as if it were searching for something.
He noticed then that the giant hole was now centering over an incoming Splendid, who was almost in range of his target. The Stranger was completely dumbfounded by what he was seeing; Splendid is invincible, completely invulnerable to any kinetic damage. The Stranger did not know a single object that had the capability to even harm Splendid…
The Stranger's eyes widened and he gasped in sheer horror at the sudden realization. He did not know a way to kill Splendid since he never saw him die, nor did he know him long enough to witness any weaknesses.
But the mad man created this world along with the Tree Friends, each with their own weakness. The mad man was not going to make some wild random attack without knowing what he was doing.
He already knew Splendid's weakness, for he created it. And now,
He was going to exploit it.
The Stranger quickly grabbed his radio once more, his hands shaking violently trying to activate the speaker with all the fear and adrenaline kicking in his mind, and yelled into it.
"SPLENDID, DISENGAGE, DIS-"
Splendid was alerted by the command coming from the Stranger, but was too slow to realize why it was given. The Stranger dropped his radio and gasped as he watched the circling clouds with the glowing green center shoot out a mysteriously shaped object that emitted a dark green glow and a trail of toxic smoke following behind it.
The unsuspecting superhero looked up after noticing a faint green glow on his body, and yelled in horror as the giant green rock collided with him. Splendid could feel his skin burning and melting away, and all of his strength was sucked out of him, leaving him as a degrading husk falling from the sky.
As he and the giant green rock slowly headed for a damaged building, he whispered silently and weakly,
"…Kryptonut…"
The Stranger cried out in disbelief as he watched Splendid smash against the giant piece of Kryptonut, and see his body collide with a weakened structure. Upon impact, the building collapsed on both Splendid and the giant rock, crushing both under its debris.
Everyone cried and yelled out in horror how Splendid was so easily taken town by a giant rock, and began screaming and frantically running in circles as he was just over his target before being killed. He was so close to proving himself a hero, and yet he failed in the end once more.
The Stranger stood shaking his entire body, shaking his body nervously as he watched helplessly at the Shadows in front of him, not a single one touched or harmed. Not taking any rational thought into account, the Stranger bent over to pick up the radio once more and spoke fast, shaking the radio back and forth.
'SPLENDID! Splendid, hello?! Splendid, please, tell me you're okay, please?!"
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The repeating wave of static was all the Stranger needed to confirm Splendid's fate. He stared at his radio, shaking his head back and forth as he spoke with a jitter. "N-No… n-n-no, not now… not now! T-This can't be-"
A large sound of battle cries was suddenly heard, making all the Tree Friends jump up in shock. The Stranger, Flippy, and Flaky spun around and looked behind them to notice their situation only getting worse by the second.
Spawning out of thin air in dark portals were waves of Shadows, screaming menacingly with their weapons raised. They came charging out of the portals one by one, not even bothering to stop to form a formation.
The Stranger than looked to the west and east to see Shadows were also beginning to spawn, coming out of dark portals in infinite numbers. Flippy, Flaky and Platoon Bravo huddled up together as they watched themselves become surround from all sides. There was no escape now.
The Stranger breathed violently as he looked all around him, seeing all of his friends be stuck in an intersection just in front of their goal. He looked down and grabbed his pistol quickly, popping out the magazine and inserting a fresh one, and pulled out his knife with his left hand. He looked behind him once more to see the path to the tower still open but with the Shadows still in place.
The Stranger knew they had only one option now. They came this far, so there was no point in stopping now. He ran toward the direction of the No Man's Land shortly before stopping, turning around and waving in his hands in the air.
All the Tree Friends looked over as he cried out the only thing they could do.
"WE HAVE TO MOVE, NOW!"
Flippy and Flaky nodded their heads instantly and ran up to meet up with the Stranger. The Tree Friends, scared and oblivious to the world, withdrew their weapons and followed the Stranger, doing their best to avoid looking at the incoming danger that is surrounding them all. If they stopped and look now, they will be dead in a matter of seconds.
With everyone rushing towards him, and Flippy and Flaky by his side, the Stranger looked towards the No Man's Land, and noticed up the small hill leading to the tower that the defending Shadows were now in attack position, ready for their futile charge.
The Stranger gritted his teeth in rage, and let out a ferocious battle cry as he slung his knife forward and led the charge.
"CHAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!"
With his knife and gun raised, the Stranger made a mad dash from just in front of the intersection to the beginning of the open park, just at the ground level before moving up the hill. Flippy and Flaky followed in pursuit, looking straight at the large number of Shadows they were about to come in contact with. Pop, still in charge of Platoon Bravo, kept his strength and yelled along with the Stranger, leading the Tree Friends towards the suicide run.
The Stranger kept his eyes only on one target: the open gates of the tower behind the Shadows. He only had to do one thing now, and that was make it inside the tower. Nothing else had to be done except survive the charge and enter the tower, ending it once and for all.
As he ran forward, with the sound of rolling thunder and heavy rain falling on him, the Stranger looked over to his left to see Flippy running beside him, his large knife raised and his teeth showing their sharp edges. Despite the lack of the emerald eyes, Flippy looked like an insane Evil, ready to kill anything in his path. Unknowingly to the Stranger, Flippy was indeed prepared to kill any Shadow that dared try to stop him.
The Stranger then looked to his right to see a shaken but courageous Flaky, running forward with her knife raised and ready. On the outside, she was in a state of panic and horror, wishing only to retreat. But inside, she was ready to fight to the end, not letting her fear stop her from helping her friends. She looked over and noticed the Stranger observing her, and nodded with a determined grin as they kept moving forward.
Pop kept the rear flank occupied with all of Platoon Bravo raising their weapons and screaming at the top of their lungs. As their feet hit the dirty ground of the No Man's Land, they kept their minds clean of fear and only on sole vision: freedom, at any cost.
The Stranger looked forward once more and noticed the archers, large in numbers, begin raising their bows upward, and started to launch a barrage of sharp arrows in their vicinity. The Stranger observed the arrows heading high up in the sky, and begin to twist downward and let gravity become take them to their targets.
Seeing the incoming danger, the Stranger silently gestured his hands left and right, signaling everyone to break up. As they carried out the command, arrows began to strike the Tree Friends, piercing their flesh and bones, killing or immobilizing them instantly.
The Stranger, Flippy, and Flaky jumped left and right as they ran forward, barely dodging any of the arrows that came their way. Platoon Bravo, though, was losing units at a terrifying rate. 50 was dwindled down to a mere 30 in just one wave of arrows, with Cuddles, Toothy, and Nutty facing instant death.
Pop looked back in shock and fear, seeing so many die in one wave. The death of his friends, though, fueled his anger and yelled louder as he sped up his run, making the surviving members of Platoon Bravo go into an intense sprint.
The Stranger kept moving up the hill, still doing his best to dodge the waves of sharp arrows. As he kept up his evasive maneuvers, he felt his left shoulder get cut open as the edge of n steel arrow-tip grazed him, spurting out a small trail of blood. He brought his right hand over the wound briefly as Flaky caught him on the move, keeping him from falling over.
The second barrage of arrows once again did a massive impact on the Tree Friends. Mime's invisible shield was of no use and died with an arrow striking through his eye, and Cro-Marmots' lack of an icy barrier made him face a deadly end of an arrow. Sniffles, Mole, and Handy also faced their ultimate demise, not even making it close to victory. It was now Pop and 12 other generics that made up Platoon Bravo.
Noticing how close they were coming, the archers seized fire and the Shadow Infantry that formed a blockade in front of the tower performed a large battle cry as they begun a downhill charge at their enemy. They began to slowly encircle the Stranger, giving him no way out.
The Stranger, Flippy, and Flaky looked around them to see their position be compromised, and that their certainly was no way of avoiding a fight now. The Stranger, tensing up with rage, raised up his pistol and began to randomly fire into the crowd of Shadows in front of him, instantly killing anyone that came in contact with the bullets.
Constantly firing his gun and yelling in fury, the Stranger looked behind him and yelled towards the remaining team. "Don't stay and fight; just keep moving forward! DON'T STOP!" No one made a response, but they all knew what they had to do.
Reloading his pistol, the Stranger could see they were almost at the gates of the tower, so close towards victory. He also noticed that they were not even fifty feet away from facing combat with the Shadows, and any second now blades will be colliding together and only the strongest will make it out alive.
Completely unsuspected, the Stranger saw Flippy grab the second grenade on the Stranger's vest without his permission, instantly pulled the pin, and threw the grenade in the wave of Shadows that stood in their path. The giant explosion obliterated the bodies of dozens of Shadows, ripping apart their limbs and leaving a weak opening for the Stranger.
Looking over to see Flippy only focused on killing the enemy, the Stranger raised his gun once more and fired off several rounds, dropping off multiple Shadows without breaking a sweat. Flaky ran as close to the Stranger as possible, and swallowed her throat as they were now just ten feet from colliding.
Seeing the opening caused by the grenade, the Stranger picked out the weakest looking Shadow and slung his knife forward, aiming for his stomach and slicing it open as he fired a pistol round to the head of another Shadow. He brought his knife out of the dead Shadow's stomach and jabbed the throat of another, shooting its forehead and bringing the knife out from the blast of the pistol.
Flippy protected the Stranger by moving forward and slinging his knife furiously, slicing up every Shadow that dared to come near him. Flaky also moved forward and quickly dispatched as many Shadow Infantry she could, not showing any signs of backing down. In fact, her face showed only fury instead of fear, and only wanted the death to end.
The Stranger, as he loaded in a new pistol clip after stabbing a Shadow in the chest, observed behind him in his peripheral vision that Pop and Platoon Bravo were now surround by Shadows. He watched helplessly as Pop fought valiantly for his son's freedom, but was sadly met with a blade jabbing through his open wound again, going deep inside and piercing his organs. He spewed out blood, and became lifeless in a matter of seconds.
As Pop felled to the ground, the remaining generics were torn to shreds, eliminating all of Platoon Bravo.
It was up to Flippy, Flaky, and the Stranger now to win.
Looking forward once more, the Stranger noticed they had a clear path now towards the gates of the tower, and were not even a hundred feet away from entering the building. They only had to make one final charge before entering, and the fighting would be finally over.
The Stranger looked to his sides to see Flippy and Flaky now free from combat as the remaining Shadows focused on tearing up the generics of Platoon Bravo. The Stranger, drenched in wet blood as the rain continued to fall on them, beckoned them over while on the move.
"Come on, we're almost there! We're… almost…"
As the Stranger, Flippy and Flaky ran up to the front gate of the tower, they noticed a faint black figure slowly emerge from the blinding light of the interior of the tower. They came to a complete halt, shield their eyes from the light as the Stranger tried to make out who the sole figure was walking out from the open gates.
The Stranger took a few steps forward, raising up his gun once more as the mysterious figure continued its slow emerge from the light. As his shape began to take form from the outside light, the Stranger noticed some familiar features that he saw once before.
He slowly lowered his weapons as he stood completely dumbfounded of what he was seeing. That heavy march was menacing looking, and it's hunched over look with its arms hanging down, along with a muscular figure, was both terrifying… and familiar.
At first, the Stranger was starting to think he was mad, that what he was seeing was actually the real deal, that this figure could possibly be something else.
But then he noticed one terrifying feature that made him, Flippy, and Flaky gasped in horror and almost die from the horrific sight of it.
One sole feature that he knew only one monster could ever have.
Glowing emerald eyes.
"EVIL!"
The Stranger, Flippy, and Flaky took a few steps back as, when the figure took its first steps on the ground outside, it fully revealed its form.
It was a Shadow form of Evil, standing devilishly with his razor sharp teeth forming an evil smile, his body fur all matted and stained with blood, and his eyes glowing that signature emerald gold. His entire body was shrouded with darkness, with nothing but the color of black making up his skin and fur, along with a misty aura of black smoke hovering around him.
Evil's laugh was crackled and more menacing than the version before him, and was loud enough to slightly shake the ground beneath the Stranger. Flaky held onto the Stranger tightly as Flippy got into a battle stance, the Stranger staring only in pure horror that this thing was real.
"N-No… n-no, this isn't right! This isn't fair! This isn't-"
The Stranger stopped speaking and took a few steps backwards, holding onto Flaky as Evil reached inside his dark body to pull out two hand grenades, one in each palm. Flippy stood directly next to the Stranger as his eyes widen in shock of the explosive devices now in the hands of a monster.
Evil smiled and nodded his head slowly as he grasped the grenades in his hands, bringing his thumbs to meet the tiny pins on the top. The Stranger shook his head in fear, not knowing what to do now. He thought of a fallback solution for every trouble… except this one.
Their worst nightmare would become reality, though, when all three of them watched Evil pull the pins on the grenades, and throw them directly at them.
For a brief moment, the Stranger felt like time had slowed down. The rain was floating still in the air, and the grenades spun in circular rotations while heading towards them. The Stranger's eyes reflected the image of the grenades as he stared at their incoming cause of death. He could feel his own heartbeat trying to burst out of his chest and die of cardiac arrest, and his breaths echoed through his ears.
Flippy braced himself to jump away, hoping to avoid as much of the explosive shockwave as possible. Flaky hid her face in the Stranger, not wanting to see the explosion be the last thing she will ever see. And the Stranger, for the moment, reflected on everything up to this point. Every challenge, every fight, all of this work. He fought through so much.
And it was going to end by a couple of grenades just in front of his gate to freedom.
The Stranger grabbed onto Flaky as tight as he could, and slowly covered her body with his own to protect her from the blast.
The last thing the Stranger could remember was the sound of a large explosion going off, and everything in his vision turned to a bright white, along with the sound of white noise blanketing his ears.