HTF Halloween collection

by Liahtfcryosphere93

Summary:

A collection of oneshots, one for every day till halloween.
Hope you'll like them.

Chapter 1: My dear Flaky

My beloved Flaky
You might be asking yourself who am I or why am I writing to you.
Well, you can say i'm your admirer …
Although you never ever noticed me i noticed you, and immediately fell in love with you …
Ever since the first time I laid my eyes on you I knew it was love, that you were the girl I wanted, but you weren't looking at me.
All of you attention was on the other boys sitting next to you, giving you attention.
Oh yeah, you were popular and loved by people in that school.
But as some of them admired you, others hated you.
When Splendid and his group of friends came to the school, Wanda, head of the cheerleaders, fell hard for that arrogant brat and when he started bullying you, she turned a blind eye telling you to stop provoking him.
Of course when you tried to heed her warning, the pranks of those idiots who called themselves the Wonders , became more cruel .
One day when Splendid and his group were eating at the cafeteria, you entered and sat in a table.
Or, you tried, Wanda stuck out her leg making you trip and fall spilling your lunch.
All the while Splendid and his Friends laughed like hyenas and called you names.
I'll never forget that day, the sadness I felt in seeing your depressed expression, and I wanted to come forward and hug you.
But I didn't, I chickened out and decided to remain away from you, too afraid of a possible rejection from you.
I wasn't one of the most popular kids in school, on the contrary I was shy and an introvert who liked books more than making friends.
After that episode Wanda decided to humiliate you even further.
She was jealous of your beauty and gentle nature.
So she had you apologize to her on your knees in front of the whole school every time you had the misfortune of crossing paths.
Another matter was Splendid.
You had a giant crush on him.
He was followed by all the girls in school, and he had effected even you.
I could see the looks you gave him everytime he passed by you.
You had the look only a girl in love could give the boy she fancied, and I wanted so much that your loving gaze would be directed at me…
After all I loved you, that bastard only used you!
One day he invited you to a cafe with him, you were sooo excited.
I knew that was a trap, I knew he had planned something cruel for you but I couldn't intervene.
You got to the cafe hoping not to be too late and smiled looking around in search of him.
But when you saw Splendid he wasn't alone.
He and Wanda were making out .
You tried to ask him what was happening and he said " I never invited tou because I liked you... you are way to ugly for me. I don't like you at all."
All of his friends laughed malignantly while you felt your heart shatter and ran away crying.
After the accident, I decided I couldn't see you suffer anymore at the hands of those idiots, so I began to follow them and whenever they decided to prank you, I managed to save you.
You never knew it was me, or the fact that they were trying to prank you because I always managed to stop their attempts even before they put them into action.
And then came the day of the most cruel prank, the prank that almost killed you. Splendont like his cousin Splendid, was a rich bastard and had a huge manor full of hidden rooms traps and dark halls.
The day before the prank I heard him and Splendid talking between themselves about what they wanted to do to you and it was horrible.
They were going to invite you in Splendont's manor and with an excuse they were going to lock you in one of the dark rooms full of traps.
I was horrified and immediately went to headmaster Lumpy telling him everything, but guess what, he didn't believe me, he dismissed me telling me that I must heard them wrong and that they weren't surely going to harm you.
Knowing that Lumpy wouldn't lift a finger to save you I decided I would save you myself.
The day after I followed them and you to the manor and when they trapped you I finally decided to confront them, they were surprised to see me there but laughed when I asked them to free you.
I decided that if good manners weren't enough to convince them to repent from their actions then I would go with the hard way.
I was an excellent fighter and they couldn't do nothing but get beaten like the sacs of shit they were, after a few minutes I knocked them both unconscious and went to save you.
You were unconscious so you don't remember but I took you out of the room , you were already hurt and wounded, so I brought you to the nearest hospital.
When you returned school Splendid and his gang stopped bullying you and you thought it was because they were sorry for their last prank who almost ended in tragedy, but the truth was different.
They stopped bullying you because I went to the headmaster with the proof of what they had done and Lumpy couldn't anymore deny that they had tried to kill a student.
He gave them an earful and threatened to call the police next time they tried to bully you and any other student.
I also made some research on Splendont's family because I was suspicious about his craziness, after all only a crazy person could bully and almost kill a person that hadn't done anything to them.
Do you know what I discovered?
I discovered that his family had a story of incests, yes you heard that right.
They were having sex with their same blood relatives because they didn't wan't to be mixed with some lesser commoner, and so they kept having children between themselves, in order to keep their blood pure.
As you know that could result in only one thing, their future generations were ill, or born with horrible malformations, in the physic and in their minds, and Splendont was very crazy.
After a week had passed from their attempt to kill you I began to feel unsatisfacted by the headmaster's punishment.
They had tried to kill a person, they deserved to pay, and I would indeed find a way to make sure they payed.

After another week of plotting I finally had my revenge prepared but I would have to separate it for all four of them.
My first victim was Lifty, I knew of his fear of insects and slimy creatures so I began to search in my garden, and filled a huge jar with a great amount of worms, insects and other disgusting creatures.
That same night I went to Lifty's home and knowing that his twin brother Shifty was at a party, so Lifty would be alone at my mercy, I entered his bedroom from the window and hid underneath his bed.
After an hour of waiting I heard his footsteps as he entered his room and lied on his bed.
After a few minutes he was already snoring so i got out from under the bed and slowly approached him taking out a syringe with a paralyzing liquid in it, Lifty woke suddenly and i plunged the liquid in his bloodstream.
I waited for it to work and when I knew he was paralyzed I took out the jar of insects and uncorked it.
Then I began to pour those disgusting creatures down his throat, you should have seen his face when he saw them, he was terrified.
Every time Lifty tried to cough I made him drink water until he swallowed all of them and began to scream as he felt them devouring him from the inside.
I stayed there watching the scene for a long time before Lifty finally died and then I exited his room from the open window and went home.
It had felt satisfying, getting my revenge on Lifty but I knew my work wasn't finished, I had other three people to punish.
My second victim was Toothy, another coward although in another sense.

He always seemed to wanting to stop his friends from torturing you but never had the guts to do so, and you'll never guess why.
It turns out that he was secretly in love with Splendid and would do anything for him, even bully mercilessly an innocent student who had done anything bad at all to them.
Actually Splendid knew of Toothy's secret and he wanted to protect him, because if the people in the school knew about Toothy's homosexuality they would cast him away.
Where was I?
Oh, yes.
I wrote a letter to Toothy pretending to be Splendid and asking him to see me after school, I also told him to meet me at the entrance of the forest near the school grounds.
That idiot obviously believed me and went there not knowing about the trap, as he was at the entrance of the forest I came silently behind him and knocked him out cold.
I went into the deepest part of the forest and tied him to a tree, then I began to cover his body in raw meat and animal blood so it could attract some ferocious animal there.
I went home and waited a week.
Obviously the Police was already working on the case of Lifty's death and so when the disappearance of Toothy began to be noticed, they left that case and concentrated on the new one.
But without any proof there wasn't anything they could do about the deaths of two students so they archived both cases as accidents .
Fools, if they had asked around the school …
But I guess it was fortunate for me.
I could continue to get revenge on the other two remaining dickheads .
Splendont was found mysteriously guilty for the assassination of Toothy, I actually took his digital imprints and put them on the letter I wrote( obviously digitally) to Toothy.
Thanks to the fact that Splendont was crazy already, and the disappearance of his friend had wiped the last few threads of sanity remaining to him he was taken directly to a psychiatric hospital and closed away forever.
Well, actually that had saved me a lot of time, so now I had to concentrate on a way to get rid of the last bully, Splendid.
Splendid had been the most easy, I'll admit.
He was an athlete and a very good star of soccer game in the school.
But as I discovered lately he had a dark secret to his fame.
You might ask what kind of secret?
Well he took steroids, in a syringe before every match, so I managed to pick on the locket of his locker and took out the syringe full of steroids.
I pushed out a few drops of liquid before pulling the syringe plunger making a bubble of hair form inside the syringe and then put it back in the locker and looked it again.
( I obviously used gloves to take out the syringe so the only digital imprints the paramedics would found on it were his).
I went to the tribunes to enjoy the show and then all the team entered, first of all Splendid.
Wanda was sitting a few rows below me blew him a kiss and I rolled my eyes, if she only knew that this would be the last day she would see him… alive.
Then the play began, Splendid seemed fine at first but after a few minutes I saw him stop running with a fatigued expression on his face.
Then he clutched a hand to his heart and fell to the ground dead.
I heard Wanda scream as she came to her dead boyfriend's side and began to try and revive him.
Fool, he was already dead and when the paramedics arrived they told every one that Splendid had died from an heart attack.
I almost snorted as I went back to my home, well at least now my revenge was concluded and I thought .
But two days later I was proven wrong as I saw Wanda laughing and hugging the new captain of the soccer team that had replaced Splendid.
I felt angry as I realized that that girl was a bitch, she should have been grieving over the death of her ex boyfriend and yet here she was like nothing happened, kissing another man, like she never had a boyfriend before, like she had forgotten all about Splendid.
Wanda was nothing more than a fame hungry bitch who only got out with the most popular boys in the school and when the boy lost his Popularity or his life, she would immediately go out with another popular boy, forgetting all about her previous one.
I realized that I had to take my revenge on her, but first I would expose her for the fame hungry slut she truly was.
It was during the prom ball that I finally had my occasion, in the weeks before I went into her home when she and her parents weren't there and installed a lot of hidden telecameras in every angle of her room.
Wanda never suspected those cameras had filmed the most private moments of her life.
She had the habit of inviting her various boyfriends to her room to have sex with them and the cameras filmed every dirty encounter.
You weren't at the ball because you hadn't anyone to go with, I would have wanted to invite you but again I chickened out.
However, when Wanda was crowned queen of the prom, along with Jason, one of her many fuck toys the television behind them suddenly went on and from behind the curtains I smirked as it played the videos of Wanda's many encounters in her room.
Its useless to say, after that she was so humiliated she ran out of the school crying like a baby while everyone laughed and pointed to her calling her a slut.
But the worst was about to come, when everyone saw her at school they began to call her " slut" and asking for sexual favors in exchange of money, and they began to insult and bully her.
She was humiliated, and it got only worse when she began to be excluded from her circle of friends, it took her three weeks to finally snap from all the bullying and so she decided to kill herself throwing herself off the school's roof.
I felt satisfaction, i finally avenged you my love.
Don't cry, there there...
Don't think about calling the police, I cut all the phone lines in your home.
I can see you, trembling and crying my dear, and I know what you are thinking.
You are thinking about running way.
As you 're reading this last lines I'm already in your house, you guessed right.
Awwww love stop crying, I don't mean any harm to you …
Now you can hear the door to your room opening, yes it is me.
I'm right behind you...

 

Flaky felt her heart stop as she read the last sentence, she saw a shadow behind her and began to tremble in fear as tears fell down her eyes.
" C'mon, love turn around …" said a male raspy chilling voice near her ear and she slowly obliged, turning around...
... then everything went black.

Chapter 2: Monster I have become

Summary:

Flaky all of a sudden is not feeling well, but she craves blood...

Flaky had always been the delicate flower in Happy Tree Town. With her soft-spoken nature and an aura that radiated kindness, everyone adored her. Yet, the cheerful chatter of the town faded to an echo as the shadows of illness crept into her life. It started with a hollow pit in her stomach, evolving into a relentless nausea; no food could settle, no water could soothe. Locked away in her room, she felt her strength wane, her skin growing pale, the very life force dimming within her.

Days melded into one another, time no longer a reliable companion. It was a gray afternoon when Toothy, her lilac-haired friend, barged into her dimly lit sanctuary. His optimism pierced through the veil of despondency she had woven around herself. "I brought soup! It’ll help, I promise!" he declared, his voice bubbling with unwavering cheer.

Flaky managed a weak smile. Her heart fluttered at his gesture, but she could feel an unfamiliar urge simmering beneath the surface. “Thank you, Toothy. But I don’t think I can eat…”

“Just a little! For me?” He urged, leaning forward, his gentle smile battling against her despair.

Flaky took a spoonful; the taste was cloyingly sweet, but beneath it lurked an odd metallic tang—almost repulsive. Just as she began to choke down the unfamiliar flavor, a piercing pain blossomed in her gut. A wave of heat rushed through her, and suddenly, the soup was no more.

Toothy’s expression shifted, a fleeting concern crossing his gentle features. “Flaky, are you okay?” Instantly, she felt a surge of despair against her earlier weakness. She bolted for the bathroom, her head spinning, and in the ‘screaming silence’ of her affliction, she unwittingly bumped her elbow against Toothy, causing his cup to tumble and shatter.

Fragments of ceramic crashed to the floor, and the sharp edge nicked his hand, a crimson bead of blood blossoming from the cut. Flaky was frozen. The sight was horrifying yet captivating; the rich red drew her gaze like a moth to a flame. She hadn't realized how ravenous she had become, a yearning rooted deep within her instincts awakening.

“Toothy…” she whispered. “I—I’m so sorry!”

He chuckled softly, trying to lighten the moment. “It’s just a scratch! I’m good as new.” But his laughter only fueled her urge. Without thinking, without understanding, she leaned forward, captivated by the scent in the air. Before she could silence the hunger gnawing inside her, she pressed her lips against the slit on his palm.

A gasp escaped Toothy. “Flaky? What are you—?”

Before she recognized her actions, her teeth pierced gently into his skin, sweet, warm blood oozing into her mouth. The metallic tang was nothing compared to the rush of life it imbued into her feeble limbs. In her heart, a storm raged—innocence colliding with an insatiable desire.

His voice quivered in a mix of confusion and fear. “Flaky, stop! You’re hurting me!” Yet, the plea spiraled into a drowned echo as she drank deeper, withdrawing him into the murky waters of despair.

When she finally tore away, a myriad of emotions twisted within her—the glee of satiety, the horror of realization. Staggering back, she watched as Toothy’s bright eyes dimmed, confusion dissolving into lifelessness.

“No… no, no…” The world outside seemed muffled, as if the colors had drained. With every flutter of her heart, Flaky knew what she had become. A monster. In her innocence, she had willingly embraced darkness, yet it was too late to reverse her choice, too late to forgive herself.

Toothy’s body lay on the floor, void of warmth. Horror gripped her, but the fear of weakness twisted tighter around her throat—the dire longing for blood became her foremost thought. Guilt surged against every pulse, yet with the setting sun, her hands trembled, a new reality eclipsing her soul.

Every night, she would feel that thirst gnaw at her. Every hour, she would struggle against the darkness within. Flaky gazed into her mirror, the reflection revealing a longing gaze, now shimmering with an unnatural glow. The town would never recognize her, not when death had become her only sanctuary.

And as nocturnal whispers weaved through the town, Flaky emerged at twilight, driven by a singular purpose—each victim would be her salvation, each life a fleeting moment to restore herself. In her soft-spoken way, she would charm the unsuspecting, lull them into a false sense of security, only to claim the warmth she craved, leaving behind a shadow where light once danced.

Each night marked a deeper descent into the abyss. Shadows of Flaky wandered the streets of Happy Tree Town, no longer the girl they adored, but a sinister echo of what once was—a vampire cloaked in silk and sweetness, forever nurturing the darkness she had unknowingly sown.

Chapter 3: Urges of flesh

Flaky, the gentle red porcupine, moved through the vibrant colors of Happy Tree Town, her heart a steady rhythm of anxiety. The festive decorations adorned homes, laughter echoed, but Flaky felt like an intruder in a strange world. She had always been shy, but with every glance and murmur from her neighbors, the weight of their expectations pressed layered heaviness onto her delicate shoulders.

When her eyes landed on the newcomer, she felt an odd pull. Fliqpy, the veteran bear, stood at the edge of the square, his golden eyes gleaming under the cheerful lights, betraying a haunted past. Unlike the other residents, Fliqpy wore his experiences like an armor, the lime green of his fur tinged with trauma. He watched the festivities with a mixture of curiosity and wariness, as if he were a visitor from a distant land, unsure of his welcome.

Flaky’s heart raced. She approached him, her tiny body trembling with uncertainty. “Hi... I’m Flaky,” she stammered, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“Fliqpy,” he rumbled, his deep voice carrying the weight of unspoken fears.

As days turned to weeks, Flaky visited the odd bear regularly. Fliqpy rarely spoke of his past, always slipping into silence when his memories clawed at him. He shared just enough to hint at darkness—a skirmish in a shadowed forest, the cries of those who had not made it home. Flaky listened, her heart aching for his pain. In her own shy way, she grew to adore the strong exterior that hid so much sorrow.

Yet, lurking beneath his strength were dangerous shadows. When Fliqpy made vague references to "needing sustenance," Flaky laughed, dismissing it as an odd bear joke. After all, he could almost be like any other creature in Happy Tree Town. Almost.

As the night of the big party approached, Flaky helped hang streamers and prepare treats, excitement bubbling within her. Perhaps this would be the moment to introduce Fliqpy to her friends fully, a chance for him to feel part of their family. She could push through her fears, knowing he would stand beside her.

On the night of the party, the town square pulsated with life. Happy songs floated through the air, filled with laughter and glittering smiles. Lanterns twinkled like stars overhead. As Flaky danced awkwardly among her friends, Fliqpy stood behind her, a shadow watching with intent.

Suddenly, she felt a tug at her heart, an instinct pulling her towards him. Flaky turned and nudged closer. “Join us, Fliqpy!” she urged, her excitement mixed with nervousness.

He stepped into the light, but Flaky noticed the shift—the instant the joy of the party danced away from his face. In that moment, something darker shimmered in his gaze.

“Later,” he growled, his voice jagged, as the shadows flickered behind him like whispers of the past.

As the festivities drew on, Flaky lost herself in the cheer, yet Fliqpy’s golden eyes remained on her, unblinking, predatory. It was only when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder that she turned to find Fliqpy next to her, his expression softened, almost gentle.

“What... what is it, Fliqpy?” she asked, concern creeping into her voice.

His golden eyes locked onto hers, and for a moment, she was lost. Then, in a breath that felt shrouded in mist, he leaned in, whispering, “They’re not what they seem.”

Flaky felt her pulse quicken, an icy realization creeping through her. “What do you mean?”

With a speed that shocked her, he pinned her gently against a tree, his strong paw resting just above her quill-covered back. Flaky's heart raced, not just in fear, but in the dawning horror of understanding—what he'd hinted at was not a joke or a misunderstanding.

Just then, the party rumbled with laughter, too far away to hear Flaky's rising panic. She struggled beneath his weight, but he held her firm, whispering words that scraped against the tranquility of the night. “I’ve never tasted anything so sweet, little porcupine. I’ve lived through the kind of horror that turns flesh into the most sustaining feast.”

Flaky’s fear ignited. “No… No, Fliqpy…”

As her friends twirled and danced, oblivious to the dread building around them, Flaky saw the monstrous truth in Fliqpy’s soul—the savage hunger lurking beneath his gentle facade, the soldier who dwelt in a world of blood and bones. She had offered her heart to the very essence of darkness.

Suddenly, a shriek pierced the merriment. A resident turned, noticing her struggle. But it was too late. Fliqpy’s instincts surged through, and he lunged at Flaky, hunger blazing in his golden eyes.

The last thing she remembered was the warmth of the gathering slowly drowned by an overwhelming silence, as the shadows of Happy Tree Town blurred into a massacre of laughter and screams.

In one fleeting moment, beneath the shimmering lights, Flaky felt the undeniable truth—the most sinister horrors often lurked where vulnerability dwelt, waiting for a feast that could only be bloodied.

Chapter 4: Cruel betrayal

Summary:

Flaky is betrayed by Giggles and petunia and almost killed. Fliqpy stesso in to heal and help Flaky get her revenge on her former friends.

Flaky’s life in Happy Tree Town had always been a blend of soft sunlight dappling through trees and warm laughter floating in the air. Despite her sweetness, an ache of loneliness often clawed at her heart, a reminder that kindness could sometimes invite darker shadows. It was on one of those warm afternoons that her friends, Giggles and Petunia, approached her, their smiles warping into something unsettlingly sharp.

“Come with us to the forest,” Giggles chirped, her voice dripping with syrupy sweetness. She flipped her pink hair over her shoulder, eyes sparkling with mischief. “We found a secret place!”

Flaky’s gentle heart fluttered. “I—I guess that sounds fun,” she stammered, the shadows of doubt creeping at the edges of her thoughts. But she couldn’t refuse her friends, not when their laughter beckoned her so enticingly.

The trio wandered deeper into the woods, where the sunlight began to flicker like dying stars. Petunia, always the germ-conscious one, shushed Flaky when she stumbled. “Quiet! We don’t want to disturb the wildlife,” she hissed, her eyes scanning the gloom with a mix of excitement and fear.

Distracted and entranced, Flaky followed her friends until they reached a clearing swallowed by darkness. Twisted trees loomed like ancient sentinels, their bark gnarled and shadowy. A chill swept through the air, unsettling Flaky’s spirit. “Maybe we should head back… it’s getting late,” she suggested, her voice trembling.

Giggles and Petunia exchanged glances, their smiles stretching wider, revealing teeth that seemed too sharp. “Oh, but Flaky… we can’t let you go,” Petunia cooed, stepping forward with a predatory grace.

Before Flaky could comprehend the danger, Giggles lunged. The world melted into a blur of betrayal and screams drowned in the rush of adrenaline. Flaky thrashed, clawing for freedom, but their hands were like iron, holding her down. Pain flashed as the darkness closed in, a harbinger of a betrayal deeper than death.

In her final moments of consciousness, Flaky felt the cold grip of the forest embrace her, soothing yet suffocating. The world faded to black—a void where nothing remained but the echo of their laughter joining the night.

When she awoke, sunlight streamed through the trees, but the warmth felt foreign. She was on the forest floor, bloodied but alive, her heart racing with terror. The poison of betrayal filled her mind like a malignant fog. But as she struggled to rise, a shadow fell over her.

“Hold on, little one,” a voice rumbled, smooth and enticing. Fliqpy, the lime-green bear with golden eyes shimmering like distant stars, knelt beside her, his presence a comforting balm to her aching spirit. “I’ve been watching you.”

“I… I’m dying,” Flaky whispered, the remnants of her strength fading. She revealed her knowledge of Giggles and Petunia’s treachery, all the while feeling the fire of vengeance stir in her heart.

Fliqpy's gaze hardened, a flicker of cruelty igniting behind those golden orbs. “They’re not far. You’ve suffered, and darkness will demand its due.” His tone radiated a potent mixture of danger and allure, compelling her to seek her revenge. As he nursed her back to health, Flaky’s fragility morphed into raw determination, entwined with the darkness that had once terrified her.

With Fliqpy by her side, they hunted shadows, tracking Giggles and Petunia through the thicket of trees. The forest sang a discordant tune, every rustle a reminder of the suffering she endured. Each step tasted of fear, yet enlightenment dawned—a power from the abyss coursed through her.

Finally, they found the two, basking in the remnants of their cruel laughter under a canopy of gnarled branches, unaware that the darkness would soon consume them. “Flaky,” Giggles gasped at the sight of her, flustered and disbelieving.

“I’m here,” Flaky growled, stepping into the dim light, flanked by Fliqpy, who radiated an aura of menace that thrilled her soul. “You thought I was weak, didn’t you?”

Petunia’s bravado faltered, “Y—you won’t do anything to us.”

But Fliqpy’s eyes glinted with an insatiable hunger for retribution. “You underestimated the darkness within Flaky,” he declared, and in that moment, as their world hazed with anxiety, Flaky plunged into the well of vengeance, each action a symphony of pain infused with glorious power.

As they descended upon Giggles and Petunia, screams echoed through the woods, merging with the rustling leaves and the dimming sunlight. The forest had swallowed their laughter once and for all, sealing their fate in a requiem of terror.

Flaky walked away, heart racing, a strange warmth bubbling within her—a sinister, euphoric thrill born from betrayal and vengeance. She was no longer merely the kind, gentle porcupine in search of friendship; she had become the embodiment of darkness, a guardian of whispers and shadows.

And far beneath the roots of the forest, in the hollow echoes of twilight, fear found a new home.

Chapter 5: Succubus

In the dimly lit brothel known as "The Thorny Rose," the scent of smoke and cheap cologne hung thick in the air, mingling with the desperate sighs of men seeking solace from their lonely lives.
The place was a haven for creatures of the night, and at its center was Flaky, the porcupine prostitute with sultry hourglass curves.
With her quills artfully arranged to accentuate her femininity, she emanated an allure that drowned out the lingering scents of sweat and regret.
Flaky thrived on the ecstasy of lust, each encounter fueling a hunger that had consumed her from the moment she had entered this realm of darkness.
There was a thrill to the anonymity of her clients—strangers whose souls were ripe for the taking.
Yet, she remained sweet and kind, with a soft laugh that could coax even the most hardened heart to hope.
On this particular night, the heavy door creaked open to reveal Fliqpy, the lime green bear whose golden eyes blazed with a cynical fire.
Freshly returned from Vietnam, he wore the weariness of war etched into the rugged lines of his face.
He had seen too much, and the smiles of the living felt hollow against the backdrop of the horrors he’d escaped.
Flaky's allure beckoned him, but he marched into the room with a dismissive scoff, his bravado a mask for his vulnerabilities.
Flaky greeted him with a sultry smile, her lips curling like vines. "Welcome, handsome. What can I do for you tonight?"
“Cut the sweet talk, porcupine,” he growled, but the tension beneath his words betrayed a flicker of interest. His voice was rough, a gravel road filled with the bumps of unmet expectations.
“I just want to forget for a while.”
Flaky stepped closer, her heart racing with anticipation.
The thrill of the hunt pulsed through her.
She could sense the shadows lingering behind his bravado; they tasted like fear.
“Forget? Or remember?” she whispered, sinking into a seductive rhythm.
She knew how to peel down the layers of even the most cynical of souls.
The bear's demeanor shifted as she leaned closer, her quills dangerously sharp yet inviting.
But with each flirtatious touch and enticing whisper, Flaky felt the familiar power surge through her.
She smiled inwardly, reveling in the thought of feasting on the vestiges of his life—his hopes, dreams, and the essence of his very being.
As their rendezvous deepened, Fliqpy's walls crumbled. Flaky wove a tapestry of comfort and lust in the choking darkness of the room.
He pressed his body against hers, relentless in his need, his breath heavy with desperation.
"This is what I need," he mumbled, losing himself in the illusion she wove.
But in the throes of their entanglement, something shifted. Fliqpy's golden eyes widened with sudden knowledge, a whisper of doubt slinking into his mind.
"You… you’re not just a cheap thrill, are you?" His tone became laced with suspicion.
But it was too late.
Flaky's sweet laughter resonated like a distant chime, echoing against the walls of madness.
"Oh, darling," she purred, “you’ve come to the right place for unearthing your deepest fears.”
Just as he realized, horror dawned on him—the warmth and allure of desire were a cruel disguise.
He tried to pull away, stumbling into the darkness behind him, but Flaky wrapped him in her embrace, tasting the bitterness of his soul, savoring the darkness that crept beneath his skin.
She was hungry, always hungry, and soon he would be nothing but a husk, his life force feeding her insatiable hunger.
Fliqpy’s body erupted in a primal rage as he struggled against her grip.
“Get off of me! You witch!” but her laughter turned to an echo, deep and menacing.
As his frantic movements weakened, his surroundings warped into pure blackness, enveloping him in suffocating dread.
"You thought you could escape, Fliqpy?" Flaky cooed, her voice a siren's song in the void.
"You play with darkness, love, but it is I who owns the night."
Fear gripped him like icy fingers.
He always feared the dark, but now, it was now here; it carved itself into his reality.
The crushing void echoed with what felt like the souls of past encounters, all victims despite the cries of defiance.
They whispered their regrets as they sunk into a darkness he now shared.
With each pulse of her body against his, she siphoned pieces of him, and with them, fragmented memories of war—the smell of gunpowder, screams of comrades, blood-soaked earth.
They bled into Flaky, creating a gaping chasm in his being, drowning the last flickers of his humanity.
With one final gasp, the lights flickered, and Fliqpy fell into her embrace, a hollow vessel from which she drained everything that had made him human.
Her laugh danced through the darkness, a melody of satisfaction as she released him, a lifeless shell beneath the weight of his fears.
In the eerie silence that followed, The Thorny Rose continued its nightly charade, the shadows deepening as the cycle of hunger resumed.
Flaky watched for her next unsuspecting victim, her sweet, kind demeanor concealing the horrors waiting to unfold.
All around her, the darkness loomed, ready to claim another soul, while the whispers of the past faded into oblivion.

Chapter 6: The forest of lost souls

Summary:

Flaky is attracted to a new path in the happy tree forest... but she will end lost forever.
Welcome to the Dark Hollow, that consumes those who go too far.
And no one ever returns... alive!

In Happy Tree Forest, the sun danced playfully through the branches, casting dappled shadows on the mossy ground. Flaky, a timid red porcupine, ambled along familiar paths, her quills gleaming in the sunlight.
The woods sang with birdsong, their cheery notes sending ripples of comfort through her.
But today felt different—a curious whisper of intrigue tugged at her.
As she scuttled along, Flaky spotted a trail veiled in thick ivy and twisted roots. It beckoned her with an inexplicable pull.
Her heart fluttered nervously, yet there was something almost enchanting about the path, as if it held secrets waiting to be uncovered.
A fleeting thought of caution brushed past her mind, but it was easily dismissed.
Shaking off her uncertainties, she took the first cautious step onto the unfamiliar trail.
The further she ventured, the more the cheerful forest faded.
The light began to surrender to creeping shadows, weaving a tapestry of darkness that cloaked the path ahead. Conversations of the past whispered in her ears—warnings of the Dark Hollow, a sinister part of the forest known for its chilling silence and the vanishings of those foolish enough to explore it.
But curiosity proved a relentless seductress, urging Flaky to push deeper into the gloom.
Every rustle of leaves sent shivers along her spine. She paused, heart hammering in her chest, an unsettling sensation creeping over her—someone, or something, lurked in the shadows.
Goosebumps prickled her soft fur as she turned slowly, peering into the thick underbrush.
Her imagination spiraled; it whispered unsettling tales of monsters lurking behind trees and shadows stretching longer than any creature should.
She pressed on, determination fighting against the dread clawing at her throat.
The trail dipped into a ravine, the sky above dimming to a reluctant twilight.
Flaky wished for the warmth of sunlight instead of the suffocating darkness that wrapped around her like a shroud.
The sensation of being watched intensified, prickling at her quills as if a pair of unseen eyes were drinking in her fear.
“Hello?” she squeaked, her voice trembling.
The forest responded with suffocating silence.
An echo of rustling caught her attention, but when she turned, nothing was there—except the hungry shades swaying between the trees.
Gathering her courage, she called again, but the only reply was the hollow sigh of the wind.
Just ahead, the path twisted sharply, swallowed by a dense thicket of brambles.
Flaky glanced back, pausing for a breath, when a flicker of movement drew her gaze.
A shadow flitted across her peripheral vision—a dark shape that scurried quickly, then vanished behind a trunk. Panic surged in her veins; shrinking deeper into her soft exterior felt like the only option.
Somewhere close, beyond vision, a low growl reverberated through the air, icy tendrils of fear grabbing at her heart. Flaky froze, every instinct screaming for her to flee.
But a dreadful force pushed her onward.
She must find her way back, she thought desperately, a wave of adrenaline crashing through her.
With shaky legs, she continued, dodging gnarled roots that clawed at her feet.
Each step took her deeper into the haunting heart of darkness, a foreboding sense of doom crawling upon her back.
She stumbled, falling into a small clearing, choked by the weight of misery that hung in the air like a shroud.
It was here that she finally glimpsed it—a hulking figure that melted into the shadows, eyes gleaming like twin stars in a void, its breath a deep rumble that shook the ground.
“Why do you tread where shadows linger?” it hissed, voice like the clattering of bones.
Flaky’s heart plunged into the depths of her stomach, a mix of dread and awe rendering her motionless.
“I—I didn’t mean to intrude.
I was just curious…” She forced the words out, though they felt absurd in the face of the creature’s malignance.
“Curiosity leads the foolish to their end.
This Hollow consumes those who wander too far.” The creature stepped closer, the ground trembling under its weight.
It bore no discernible features, just a mass of shadow with eyes that seemed to feed upon her terror.
“You have trespassed upon a tale unwritten, one that no creature of light may tell.”
Her eyes darted around, desperate for an escape, pulse pounding like a drum of impending doom.
She felt herself sinking beneath the weight of darkness, a sense of despair stealing her breath.
In that moment, the realization struck her: she was not the first to wander into the Dark Hollow, and now she too was trapped in its spine-chilling narrative—a part of the forest’s story that claimed the souls of the curious and the cowardly alike.
With a swift motion, the shadow lunged, and Flaky turned to run.
But as she sprinted, the whole of the forest twisted beneath her, branches clawing at her sides, the sound of her own heartbeat echoing, drowning out the world.
The ominous growl followed, hungry for her fear as the forest conspired against her escape.
The last thing she heard was the creature’s voice, a sinister lullaby weaving through the air like the rustling of leaves: “Welcome to the night, dear Flaky.
You shall never leave.”
And in the heart of Dark Hollow, the forest devoured another soul.

Chapter 7: The experiment

Summary:

A new story I will divide in 4 chapters.
Flaky thought she was a normal porcupine, but she is having weird dreams of a voice that calls her " slave" and tells her to "obey"...

Happy Tree town, G.H.T.T. Laboratories

 

The fluorescent lights of the corridor hummed incessantly, casting an eerie glow on the pale walls.
Lumpy, the blue moose, chuckled as he shuffled through stacks of research papers cluttering his desk.
Naive and seemingly dim-witted, he was beloved by the townsfolk of Happy Tree Town, his goofy smile masking the corrosive secret buried beneath his office . The laughter of children outside faded away as he descended into his lair, a hidden lab concealed beneath floorboards coated in rotting wood—a world of sins waiting to be uncovered.
In the depths of his secluded lab, Lumpy locked the door behind him, a perverse grin creeping onto his face.
It was there that his obsession thrived: A little red porcupette he had created genetically.
She lay immobile in a glass containment hatch, delicate quills glowing a sinister crimson under the lab lights.
Once a simple concept formed through maddeningly complex genetics, she had become so much more.
Her original purpose?
To be Lumpy's personal soldier, a pawn created in secret, bound to obey his every command.
He smirked as the porcupette opened her eyes, those tiny irises glimmering with intelligence, as if she were an interpreter of some cosmic truth.
The moment she blinked back at him, Lumpy felt a shiver crawl up his spine.
He approached the glass and said softly in a creepy voice " Hey there little abomination ...
It's your master speaking to you ...
You'll be my perfect slave... my little obedient soldier.
I'll be invincible!
And the best thing of all is that you can't even have emotions, you can't feel anything because that's your purpose ! Hahaha!!"
Lumpy laughed manically, and the little porcupette stared at him curious, tilting her head.
Lumpy stared at her for a few minutes and
the porcupette then began to tremble as tears formed in her eyes.
Lumpy pressed a few keys on the computer board and the glass trapping the newborn porcupette rose.
The blue moose then saw the creature trembling and wimpering and paled, " wait, she shouldn't be reacting like this... There shouldn't be any reaction... at all... oh my... I can't have possibly made such a mistake!"
It was then that he knew he could never control her.
The porcupette began crying, confirming his suspicions.
She could feel, Lumpy's experiment had failed.
Panic clawed at his insides.
He needed a plan, and fast.
With frantic calculations, he concocted a scheme.
“She was abandoned,” he would say “Just a little child needing a home.”
A dark thought crept into his mind, it was time to shield himself from the repercussions of his blasphemous act.
If word got out that he had gone against the law and played god creating a sentient being, even though she should not have been sentient, it would be the end for him.
He could go to jail, or be executed outside of the Happy tree Forest, where the curse that trapped their town in an ever ending cicle of life and atrocious deaths, couldn't reach.
After all the crime he had done was forbidden and punishable by death...
That’s when his neighbor Pop, the beige bear came into play.
Pop snd his wife were the epitome of nurturing, and they were trying to have cubs on their own, so it was a perfect cover.
They would love to take care of the little porcupette and they would never know who she really was, he would make sure of that.
Nor would she ever know of her origins and her real purpose to him.

That same night Lumpy exited from the lab, after everyone went home, carring the little newborn sleeping porcupette and walked towards Pop's home.
He rang the doorbell, and then looked down at his creation.
In that moment the door opened and Pop said " Hi Lumpy, what was it you wanted to ... ask ... me?" Pop saw the little porcupette in the moose's arms and his mouth gaped.
“Oh, hi Pop, yes actually i wanted to ask a little favor of you...
You see, today i was trekking in the forest when i heard crying and found this little porcupette abandoned ... and lI thought of you because I know that you want a child...
I would take her in but as you know I'm very busy with the many jobs I have ” Lumpy lied, projecting innocence, his voice contaminated with persuasive sweetness. In that moment Pop's wife, Lara, came next to her husband and saw the little porcupette.
Lumpy smirked as he knew that her motherly insticts were kicking in, as she took the experiment from his arms and began to rock her " She is soooo cute!
How could anyone abandon an innocent child? " asked Lara with a soft sweet voice as she cooed down at the porcupette who giggled happily waving her arms around.
Pop’s eyes glistened with sympathy as he reached out to stroke the porcupette's quilled head.
“Poor thing!
Of course we'd love to take her in.
She’ll be safe with us, Lumpy.
We'll take care of her like she's our daughter!” Pop said, that protective warmth radiating from him like the sun after a storm.
Lumpy plastered on a goofy grin, masking his triumph with a facade of friendship.
" I'm happy for you both, well... now I must go home.
It's getting late and I'm tired" said the moose faking a yawn and waving at them before turning and walking towards his home.

Chapter 8: The experiment che. 2

Summary:

Flaky discovers that Lumpy worked as a genetist.

16 years later...

The alarm clock's ringing resonated in the dark room, Flaky opened her eyes and yawned.
The porcupine jumped out of bed and immediately got dressed, then took her back pack and ran downstairs to eat breakfast with her father.
" Morning daddy!" She said in a cheerful voice as she kissed her father, Pop on the cheek.
Pop, who was reading the newspaper smiled and replied " morning honey, slept well?".
Flaky sat down with her milk and cookies and nodded as she ate.
In reality she had woken up in the middle of the night because she had a dream, although she didn't remember if it was a dream or a nightmare.
As soon as she woke she couldn't remember what it was about.
As the porcupine finished her breakfast she rose from her seat, took her backpack and after giving Pop another kiss, she ran out of the house ready for another day of school.

************************************************************************************************************************************

The neon lights of the classroom buzzed above, flickering erratically as Flaky fidgeted in her seat.
Today's topic of genethics and DNA testing had ignited an unsettling curiosity in her, a blazing need to uncover the truth about her origins.
She watched her classmates scribble notes, their laughter echoing against the sterile walls, but her mind was far away.
“Hey, Sniffles,” she called, summoning the nerdy anteater, who was lost in a constellation of equations on his desk.
“Yeah, Flaky?” he responded, adjusting his glasses, his eyes wide with the thrill of academia.
“Do you think, um, I could get my DNA tested?
You know, to find out where I really come from?” her voice trembled slightly, the words laced with a fear she couldn’t quite articulate.
She had always been curious of whom her biological parents were, ever since Pop had deemed her big enough to understand the situation.
She had been shocked and hurt at first, angry at her biological parents for having abandoned her.
But after a while she had realized that maybe they couldn't take care of her.
Or maybe they were in danger and had been threatened, so they abandoned her.
Flaky had felt bad for resenting her ownbiological parents.
Sniffles blinked in surprise but quickly nodded.
“Sure, it's possible.
My father used to work for a Genetics Lab here in Happy tree town, so I can ask him if he has a DNA testing kit.
Or better yet an Anchestry DNA test, so you'll know if you have other family members and where they are....
It should only take a few days before the results...”
Flaky nodded gratefully before saying "can I come at your house in the week end?" Sniffles said " of course..." then they turned towards the professor and continued listening to the lesson.

***********************************************************************************************************************************

 

That weekend Flaky went to the anteater's house.
Flaky looked around, there were scientific prizes that Sniffles had won in those years of school, photos of him and his parents, and photos of places the anteater had been to.
Sniffles had always been a genious , wanting to follow in his father's footsteps.
" Hey Flakes!
Did you hear me?" asked Sniffles as she was brought back from her thoughts " oh, uhm... sorry...hehehe!" She laughed and Sniffles smiled then he gave her the DNA ancestry kit " Here it is!
You have to read carefully the instructions and follow them perfectly then give me the sample and i'll sent it to my father...
I'll let you know when the results are ready... ok?"
Flaky nodded and took the kit, went to the bathroom and did the test.
She felt nervous, her gut was telling her there was something strange that was about to happen.
She came out of the bathroom and gave back the now done test with the sample of her saliva to Sniffles .
As the anteater was packing the sample to send it to his father.
Flaky looked at all the photos on the wall, and then saw a photo of a huge white building, a genetic laboratory ?
On the front of the building there were some critters wearing white lab coats, Sniffles father was at the center .
But when Flaky looked at the photo closely she saw someone she knew, someone who shouldn't be in that photo.
' Why is Lumpy here among those genetists?
I didn't know he worked with Sniffles father...
Why didn't he tell anyone that he worked for a genetic laboratory?'
The porcupine looked over at Sniffles who said " That whas H.T.T Genetic Lab.
It was closed only ten years ago after police investigated on some suspicious activities going on in that place, however the investigations didn't reveal anything ...so they had to close it ...
My father then was accepted by another laboratory out of town ...
Flaky turned to Sniffles and asked " but why is Lumpy among them ?
I never knew he used to work at a Genetic Laboratory ..."
Sniffles chuckled " well actually i'm not that surprised ...
After all Lumpy is doing a lot of jobs ... even as a doctor... "
Flaky wasn't listening anymore, her mind was a wirlwind of emotions: confusion, curiosity, worry.
She couldn't help but feel like Lumpy had hidden that piece of information from everyone for a reason, and she was going to unveil the mistery.

 

************************************************************************************************************************************

"Wait what?
Lumpy used to work for Happy Tree Town's Genetic laboratory?
Pppfffff... hahahahaha!!!!
I can't believe it!
Flakes please, tell me you are joking!" Flaky glared at Fliqpy who was laughing histerically, and huffed.
" Fliqpy, this is serious!
I don't know why Lumpy never told anyone that he worked there but i'm sure there is a reason."
Fliqpy stared at his girlfriend and slowly stopped laughing seeing how serious Flaky was " Well, you can't blame me for finding it funny that the silly moose has worked such an important job...
What else??
Did he won a prestigious award at a convention for intelligent people??? Hahahaha... that would be very strange...hahaha..." Flaky rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Fliqpy sighed and said " Flaky, i'm sure there is a reason why Lumpy didn't tell anyone he used to work for a genetic lab,
maybe it's not that big of a deal... but if you want to investigate then I will help you any way i can ...I owe it to you after you saved me from my crazyness and trauma and gave me a reason to continue living, aside from protecting Flippy .
I love you and I'll stick by your side no matter what!"
Flaky smiled and hugged the bear " thank you Fliq!
I love you too... " she kissed him on the lips and Fliqpy smiled.
" What exactly are you planning on doing now?" he asked her and Flaky said" I'm going to ask him directly on why he kept that information from everyone here.... are you with me?" Fliqpy smiled at her and nodded " I'm at your back and call, babe...''.

 

***********************************************************************************************************************************

 

Flaky and Fliqpy rang the doorbell of Lumpy's small trailer and after a few seconds the front door creaked open, revealing the moose's goofy grin, “Hey, Flaky!
Hey Fliqpy!
Didn’t expect to see you two here!” His voice held his usual cheer and sillyness, but Flaky felt an edge, as if a mask had been plastered over something festering underneath.
“Lumpy, can we come in?,” Flaky asked shyly as Fliqpy squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“ I wanted to have a chat with you...”
“ Oh, of course Flaky!
Come in, come in!” Lumpy said too brightly, but something in his eyes flickered—confusion, maybe?
As they settled into the cramped room, Flaky’s vision blurred and suddenly, darkness pooled around her, a weight pressing down on her.
It was then she heard the voice—deep, mocking, and yet strangely ... familiar “Slave… abomination… obey me... you are mine!"
The porcupette jumped up and looked around panting, as Fliqpy and Lumpy stared at her, the bear confused and the moose blankly.
Fliqpy looked at her, brows furrowing. “Flaky, what’s wrong?”
“D-D-Did you hear that?” Flaky’s voice trembled, her heart racing.
The voice cackled again, growing louder, reverberating through the trailer.
" Uhm...
I didn't hear nothing Flaky, are you all right?" asked Lumpy whyth a hint of concern. Flaky shook her head as if to clear her thoughts " oh, uhm... no ... nothing.
Maybe I'm just tired. I've been sleeping less this past week..." Fliqpy gave her a worried glance and Lumpy stared at her " Why didn't you tell me Flaky?
I could have given you something ..." he said in a concerned voice but Flaky shook her head " It's just school ...
I've been studying hard in the past week ... And speaking of school... a few days ago a Genetist from a research lab came to our school to speak about the DNA, you know, genetic research and testing ... It was very interesting " Flaky saw Lumpy's eyes widen for a second and his expression becoming one of shock, but only for a second, and she felt like he didn't expect that piece of news.
" Oh ... soooo did you like your first lesson in genetics? I actually never liked the subject ... much to complicate for my simple mind ... hehehe!"
And there it was, a lie.
Flaky nodded and said in a casual tone " uh ... actually I know you' ve worked for a Genetic lab... " Lumpy almost choked on his tea and had to spit it out.
Fliqpy chuckled and said " looks like you've betrayed yourself Lumps... actually I couldn't believe it my self... but Flaky told me she saw you in a photo..." Lumpy paled drastically " w-w-what photo?" he asked in a small voice and Flaky told him everything, from her wanting to do an ancestry test, to Sniffles telling her about H.T.T Lab.
Lumpy tried his best not to look too shocked about the fact that Flaky had done an ancestry test, and looking at Flaky and Fliqpy's expressions he might have done a good job because they thought he was shoked about his secret job having been found out.
Well that worked to his advantage, all he had to do now was intercept Flaky test results before she could read them and the truth wouldn't come out.
" Lumpy, why didn't you tell anyone that you worked for a Genetic lab?" asked Flaky curious and Lumpy managed to think of a satisfactory lie" well...
I was tasked by a secret association to work there on a project...
I can't tell you what it was, because it's top secret ...
But yeah, that's why!
If everyone knew that I worked there I would have been in danger ..." that was actually half a lie, there was no secret association.
And he really would have been in danger if everyone knew about what he had created in that lab...
His eyes landed on Flaky who nodded understandingly, then he looked at the watch " Ohmy, look at the time!!!
Sorry guys, I have to cut your visit short... Have a few errands to run ... hehehe!" Flaky nodded and rose to her feet as Fliqpy did the same, but the bear's expression was suspicious " Ok Lumps!
It was great seeing you...
Bye!" Lumpy accompanied the two outside his trailer and waved as they walked away.
As soon as they disappeared from his sight he gave a relieved sigh and reentered his trailer.
It was a good thing he was a mail deliver guy, it would make his job to take the test results even more easier.
But at least the truth about Flaky's origins would not be discovered.
At least not so soon.

Chapter 9: The experiment Ch.3

Summary:

Flaky discovers the truth...

Flaky couldn't shake off the feeling of unease as she and Fliqpy left Lumpy's trailer.
The bear noticed her distress and squeezed her hand.
"Don't worry, Flakes.
I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," he said, trying to reassure her.
Flaky nodded, but deep down, she knew there was more to Lumpy's secret than a simple top-secret project.
The voice in her head had been too clear, too eerie.
It had called her an "abomination, slave."
What could that mean?
The following week dragged on as Flaky waited anxiously for the DNA test results.
In class, she found it difficult to focus on the lessons, her thoughts consumed by the mystery of her past.
Finally, the weekend arrived, and with it, the day her test results should have come.
But they didn't.
Flaky was worried as she looked through the mail, and yet there was no trace of the envelope with her test results.
"Maybe it got lost in the mail," Fliqpy suggested, noticing her distress.
But Flaky couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.
The voice in her head had been silent since their visit to Lumpy's, but the anticipation of the truth was deafening.
Days turned into weeks, and still, no results.
Flaky couldn't help but feel that the universe was playing a cruel trick on her, keeping her in the dark about her heritage.
Her curiosity grew into a restless obsession, and she found herself staring at the mailbox every day after school, willing the envelope to appear.
But it remained empty, taunting her with its silence.
One evening, as she and Fliqpy sat watching TV, Flaky's eyes kept darting to the mailbox, even though she knew the mail had already arrived hours ago.
Fliqpy set a gentle paw on her shoulder, "Hey, maybe we should talk to Sniffles again?"
Flaky nodded, her anxiety building with every passing minute.
They decided to pay a visit to the anteater's house, hoping for answers or at least some reassurance.
The door swung open to reveal Sniffles in his usual state of chaos—books and papers scattered everywhere, the smell of burnt toast lingering in the air.
"Hi guys," he said, a bit startled by their unexpected visit.
Flaky and Fliqpy quickly entered.
"Sniffles, what's going on with my test results?
They were supposed to come weeks ago," she said, her voice strained.
Sniffles' eyes widened as he looked at the porcupine.
"I... I don't know, you mean they didn't arrive?" he stuttered, his expression shifting from surprise to concern.
"I'll check with my father, see if there was any problem with the lab."
Flaky felt a knot tighten in her stomach.
This wasn't just about her curiosity anymore—it was about the voice, about the secrets that seemed to be closing in around her.
While Sniffles made the call, Flaky paced back and forth, her mind racing with thoughts of what could have gone wrong.
The silence was deafening as they waited for Sniffles to get off the phone.
Fliqpy tried to comfort her, but his own nerves were beginning to show.
Finally, Sniffles hung up and turned to them, his face ashen as tears formed in his eyes "The lab... they said there's been an accident ...
My father ... he ... he was found dead."
Flaky's heart plummeted " oh Sniffles I'm so sorry... It's terrible!"
This couldn't be happening.
Why did it happen to her friend's father?
What could have gone so wrong that it would end in tragedy?
The anteater looked at them, his voice shaking as he spoke, "He was found dead and your sample, test reults as well as all the data in his PC was gone.
The police said it's suspicious, but they don't know what to make of it yet."
Flaky felt a cold sweat break out over her fur.
Fliqpy's grip tightened on her hand, a silent support as they absorbed the news.
The bear knew that Flaky needed answers, and he was determined to help her find them.
As they exited Sniffles home Fliqpy saw an expression of determination on Flaky's face
" Flakes , I know that look ...
What are you planning ?" he asked cautiously.
"We need to go to H.T.T. lab, Fliq" she said, her voice firm.
"But Flaky, the lab has been closed down for years now!
I don't know if that's a good idea..." Fliqpy replied, his voice filled with worry.
Flaky nodded, understanding his concern, but her mind was made up.
"I know it's risky, but I can't ignore the feeling that all of this is connected to me.
And maybe I'll understand what Lumpy's motivations where for keeping his job there a secret from everyone..." Fliqpy sighed and nodded "Ok Flakes, we'll go together, I'm not letting you go alone into that creepy place...
When are we going ?"
Flaky stared at him seriously" Tonight... "

*********************

Lumpy entered his trailer whistling happily, every thing was going according to plan.
He had taken hold of Flaky's test results and had made sure his former colleague couldn't talk to anyone ever again.
He felt sorry for Sniffles, but at least his dark secret would not be exposed.
Lumpy sat down on his chair and took the envelope with Flaky's results.
After a few moments he opened it and read.
He smirked as the proof of his DNA experiment of 16 years prior was in his hand and no one, not even Flaky herself would know about it.
What the blue moose didn't know was that Flaky and Fliqpy were about to discover the truth.

********* ********** **************

Flaky poked at her food distractedly, she wasn't feeling hungry, she was too concentrated about what she and Fliqpy would do that night that she didn't realize her father Pop was looking at her concerned.
"Flaky, you okay?
You've been so lost in your thoughts lately."
"I'm okay, Dad.
I've just got a lot on my mind." She tried to smile but it came out forced.
Pop nodded and didn't push further, not wanting to burden her with his worries.
After dinner, Flaky retreated to her room, her thoughts racing like a river in flood.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the photo of herself, Pop and her adoptive mother Lara.
Pop had been her rock, her anchor in this crazy world, even after Lara had died after giving birth to Cub.
She lied on the bed feigning sleep and waited until she heard her father's soft snores coming from his bedroom.
Pop was a heavy sleeper and that helped a lot in some occasions.
She rose and went to change her clothes.
She wore black pants a long sleeved black shirt and her quills were tied in a low ponytail.
After a few minutes shs heard a gentle knock on her window and saw Fliqpy smiling at her.
She opened the window and greeted her boyfriend with a kiss" Two minutes and then I'll be down." She said and Fliqpy nodded.
They met outside, under the moonlight, Fliqpy had brought a flashlight.
"Ready, Flakes?" He whispered, his eyes full of excitement and a hint of fear.
Flaky nodded and took his hand, feeling his warmth reassure her.
They set off into the night, heading towards the abandoned H.T.T. Genetic Lab.
The journey was quiet, the only sounds were the crunch of leaves underfoot and the distant hoot of an owl.
As they approached the lab, Flaky couldn't help but feel a shiver run down her spine.
The lab was a looming silhouette against the night sky, windows boarded up and the chain-link fence rattled in the breeze like bones in a skeleton's hand.
They climbed over it easily enough and made their way to the front door.
Flaky took a deep breath and pushed it open, it groaned on its rusty hinges like it was reluctant to reveal the secrets hidden within.
The inside of the lab was eerie, a stark contrast to the warmth of Flaky's home.
The floor was littered with debris, and the once gleaming surfaces were coated in a layer of dust.
They moved carefully through the dark, guided only by the beam of the flashlight.
The air was stale and heavy with a scent of decay, as if the lab had been holding its breath for a decade.
" we should go in Lumpy's office... maybe the answers are there ..." said Flaky softly as Fliqpy nodded.
They tiptoed through the empty corridors, their footsteps echoing in the silence.
The flashlight danced across the walls, revealing faded posters of happy, healthy animals holding up test tubes and microscopes.
Flaky felt a strange mix of excitement and fear.
This place was a part of her history, a puzzle piece she hadn't known she was missing.
Finally, they arrived at Lumpy's old office, the door slightly ajar.
Flaky pushed it open and looked inside, the room was dark and yet it felt... familiar.
" I don't understand... it's as if... I 've already been here..." she whispered to herself as Fliqpy looked at her concerned.
Then in Flaky's mind appeared a brief vision of a trap door, the button to open it right under Lumpy's desk. She entered and clicked the button under the desk effectively opening the secret door.
"Flaky, how did you ..." asked Fliqpy confused and worried but in response Flaky just said" I had a vision ..." then she descended in the now opened secret passage quickly followed by Fliqpy.
The stairs led to a dark corridor, it was cold and damp and the light from their flashlight reflected oon a metal door.
Flaky turned the doorknob and the door opened revealing a large room that looked like a secret underground lab, and suddenly Flaky felt like she was in a nightmare.
" Flaky, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Fliqpy's voice brought her back to reality.
"I'm fine...
I just...
I know this place..." she said as she shivered and Fliqpy wrapped his arm around her protectively.
There were beakers and test tubes scattered everywhere, and in the center of the room, a large, dusty incubator with the words "Experiment 01" etched into the glass.
Flaky's heart raced as she approached the incubator.
Her thoughts were a tumultuous storm, a mix of fear and a strange, inexplicable sense of dejavu.
As she wiped away the dust, she saw a small note stuck to the side.
Her trembling paws read the words out loud "Subject: 001.
Experiment completed.
Date of Birth: March 14th."
Her eyes widened, and she felt a wave of nausea wash over her.
March14th ... her birthday ...
No, it couldn't be ...
Fliqpy then saw a computer on the desk and opened it and clicked the power button hoping it would work. It did and the bear looked at the screen.
There were a lot of files on the desktop but one in particular attracted him immediately "Experiment 01"
The bear clicked and the file opened.
The file was a detailed log of articles with notes that sent a chill down Fliqpy's spine.

Genethically modified
A genetically modified creature is one whose genetic material has been altered by adding, changing or removing certain DNA sequences in a way that does not occur naturally.
This process is carried out to introduce a new trait or change a characteristic such as the disease resistance of an animal.
DNA is the genetic material of an organism and carries the instructions for all the characteristics that an organism inherits.
Changes introduced in an animal’s genetic make-up can therefore be transmitted to the next generation.
In a genetically modified animal, DNA sequences have been inserted, removed or modified in order to introduce a new trait or change a characteristic such as the disease resistance of an animal.

Clone
Animal cloning results in the production of a person or an animal that is a genetically identical copy of the original."

Genetical engeneered
Scientists are now capable of creating new species of creatures by taking genetic material from one, or more, plants or animals, and genetically engineering them into the genes of another species or animal.
This allows genetists to create creatures that are on one hand completely foreign to the earth and on the other, specifically tailored to possess only the traits that other people desire .
This means that science can engineer farm animals to grow faster, have healthier meat and flesh, and be less able to feel the pain and suffering often associated with the conditions present in modern factory farms.
Genetically engineered animals are also created to help medical researchers in their quest to find cures for genetic disease, like breast cancer.
Finally, endangered animal species can be cloned, thus helping wildlife management in its goals of preserving wild populations of the earth’s biological diversity, and by ensuring that endangered animals' genetic information will not be lost when the last of the species dies.
By genetically engineering farm and research animals, we may be undoing what nature has worked to create over millions of years.
Natural animals are specifically adapted to a given environment and when science manipulates the genes of a few species in the ecosystem, the entire balance of the ecosystem might fall completely apart causing an unknown number of natural animal species to grow ever extinct.

Fliqpy felt like he was about to throw up, he couldn't believe what he was reading.
"Flaky... this... this can't be right," he managed to choke out.
Flaky's eyes were glued to the incubator.
Her mind was racing, trying to piece together the puzzle that was her life.
The voice from her nightmare, the eerie sense of belonging in this abandoned lab, and now this...
"Abomination, slave, obey me!!!" Those words now made perfect sense, as did the voice they belonged too.
"Flaky... you're shaking," Fliqpy said, taking her hand again.
"We need to get out of here."
But Flaky was lost in thought.
Her entire life had been a lie.
"I... I need to know," she whispered.
With a newfound determination, Flaky scoured the room, looking for anything that could explain her existence.
Her eyes fell on a dusty journal in the corner of the lab, almost hidden from sight.
Her heart racing, she picked it up and began to read.
The handwriting was shaky, as if the author was in a hurry or... afraid.

The first few pages were filled with the typical notes of a scientist, but as she turned the pages, the entries grew more frantic.
Words like "abomination" and "slave" jumped out at her, followed by descriptions of a creature that sounded all too familiar.
"Subject 001 shows remarkable progress.
The genetic blend is holding, but unfortunately it is showing signs of a conscience as well as the ability to feel pain, sadness and fear ..."
Flaky felt her legs give out from under her as she realized what she was holding in her hands.
This was a blueprint of her creation, a diary of her birth.
And the voice in her head was the madness of the scientist who had brought her to life.
Lumpy...
Fliqpy saw her distress and took the journal from her trembling hands, scanning the pages with horror.
"Flaky, this... this is about you," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
Flaky nodded, unable to speak, as the weight of her true identity pressed down on her.
This was why she had always felt different, why she had nightmares of being trapped and controlled.
They read on, piecing together the story of her creation.
Lumpy hungry for power had done something that went against the law.
He had created a sentient life, even if at the beginning he had planned for her to be unfeeling and apathic.
The lab was cold, but Flaky felt as if she was burning from the inside out.
Her mind reeled with the implications of what they had found.
Was she truly a monster, a creature of science gone wrong?
Or was she a victim of a twisted experiment?
Fliqpy sat beside her, his paw on her shoulder, offering silent comfort as they both tried to process the information.
It was too overwhelming, a visual representation of Lumpy's madness.
Flaky turned towards the glass incubator the place where she had come from, where she had been born into a world of pain and fear.
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the pod, feeling a strange mix of anger and pity for the creature she had once been.
Fliqpy felt a surge of rage and protectiveness.
How could Lumpy do something like this and live with himself all the while keeping Flaky in the dark?
They decided to keep the journal and the truth to themselves, for now.
They left the lab, the weight of their discovery heavy on their shoulders.
The night air was cool, a stark contrast to the suffocating atmosphere they had just escaped from.
Flaky felt a strange sense of both relief and dread.
At least she knew the truth, but what would she do with it?
The walk back to Flaky's house was silent, each step echoing in the quiet night.
Flaky's mind was racing with questions she didn't know how to answer.
Was she a mistake?
A weapon?
A slave bound to do all that her master ordered her.
Fliqpy walked alongside her, his mind racing with his own thoughts.
He had always known Lumpy was strange, but he had never suspected anything this dark.
He felt a mix of anger and pity for his friend who had clearly lost his way.

Fliqpy felt a surge of rage and protectiveness.
How could Lumpy do something like this and live with himself all the while keeping Flaky in the dark?

They decided to keep the journal and the truth to themselves, for now.
They left the lab, the weight of their discovery heavy on their shoulders.
The night air was cool, a stark contrast to the suffocating atmosphere they had just escaped from.
Flaky felt empty, completely devoid of emotions, tears gently rolling down her cheeks.
Fliqpy felt as if someone had ripped his heart from his chest, and he looked at Flaky with sadness "Flakes ... are you all right?" he asked tentatively.
Flaky nodded, but she wasn't okay.
How could she be when her entire life was a lie?
The walk back to her house was long and quiet.
Flaky's thoughts were a jumble of anger, sadness, and confusion.
How could Lumpy, someone she had considered a friend, keep such a horrific secret from her?
When they arrived at Flaky's house, Fliqpy gave her one last squeeze.
"We'll figure this out, together," he promised kissing her forehead, Flaky stared at him unconvinced " Flaky I want you to know that what we discovered tonight , didn't change my love for you ... at all ...Yes it shocked me, but my negative thoughts are directed to the real monster in this...Lumpy..."
Flaky nodded and slipped inside, not bothering to turn on the lights.
The darkness matched the turmoil within her.
Once upstairs, she laid the journal on her bedside table and curled up under the covers, trying to find comfort in the familiar scent of her room.
But every time she closed her eyes, she saw the incubator, heard Lumpy's dark voice, and felt the fear that had once been her constant companion.
Sleep was elusive, as the implications of what she had learned swirled in her head like a tornado.
The next day at school, Flaky went through the motions, her mind elsewhere.
Her friends noticed her distant gaze and asked if she was okay, but she just shrugged and changed the subject.
Fliqpy kept giving her reassuring smiles, but she couldn't return them.
After school, she couldn't bear to go home, so she went to the library instead.
The quiet was calming, a stark contrast to the chaos in her thoughts.
As she sat in the corner, surrounded by dusty books, Flaky pulled out the journal.
The words on the pages were a mirror to the tumult in her soul.
With every entry, she felt a part of herself shatter and reform into something she didn't recognize.
A creature born of madness and ambition, a subject of a twisted experiment.
And with that thought she decided to confront Lumpy right then.

******** **********

Her heart pounded in her chest as she approached the psycologist study, where she knew Lumpy worked, the journal clutched tightly in her hand.
When the secretary saw her she smiled at Flaky, but the porcupine only nodded at her, too lost in her rage.
Flaky knocked on the door of his study, the moose's voice greeted from inside " Come in..."
Flaky didn't lose time and entered, glaring at the moose in front of her.
" Hey Flaky, what a nice surprise ...
Sit, my dear!
What can I do for you?" Lumpy greeted her oblivious of the fact that the secret he had worked so much to keep away from her had already been discovered.
Flaky glared at him and growled "Stop this act of the good and silly moose Lumpy...
I know it's an act!"
Lumpy finally realized Flaky was mad at him and sighed softly" Flaky, calm down!
What are you talking about? You know that too much stress isn't good for your nerves...
Now can you tell me why you seem to be mad at me?" Lumpy 's tone was gentle and soothing but Flaky wasn't swayed at all, she was tired of his mind games, his manipulations.
With trembling hands, she handed him the journal.
Lumpy took the journal, his eyes widening as he recognized it immediately, saw his own handwriting staring back at him.
Flaky watched as the color drained from his face, his eyes darting back and forth as he read the pages that held his darkest secret.
"How could you do this?" she whispered, her voice hoarse with emotion.
Lumpy took a deep breath and closed the book, looking up at her with a mix of regret and defiance.
"Flaky, you don't understand..."
But Flaky was done with his lies.
Her eyes flashed with anger, "No, I understand perfectly!
You created me, experimented on me, and then you just... discarded me to save your own skin when you realized that creating me was a mistake..."
Lumpy looked down, unable to meet her gaze.
"You weren't supposed to be like this," he murmured.
"I wanted to... to create a better world.
But... things got out of hand.
The lab was shut down, and I had to protect you.
I never meant for you to find out."
Flaky's fists clenched, her quills standing on end.
"Protect me?
Or protect your own ass?
So you just let me live my life in ignorance, thinking I wasn't going to be curious about my origins?" she spat out.
Lumpy swallowed hard, "I've been watching over you, making sure you were safe.
But I had to keep my distance. If you learned the truth...
And then when I heard that you had done an inheritance test I panicked, I thought that I could keep this a secret and I made sure that those test results never got to you..."
Flaky's eyes widened as a thought struck her suddenly.
" Don't tell me the accident with Sniffles's father ...
It was you ..."
The room was silent for a moment, the only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall.
Then, with a roar of anger and betrayal, Flaky lunged at Lumpy" Monster!!!!!"

Chapter 10: The experiment: Finale

Summary:

Here it finally is ... this story is coming to an end like promised 4 chapters... hope you like it!

Lumpy caught Flaky mid-air and pinned her against the wall.
"Flaky, you don't know what you're saying!" he shouted, his eyes wild with panic.
Flaky struggled, her heart racing with adrenaline.
"Let me go, you monster!" she screamed, her eyes burning with anger.
But Lumpy's grip was like steel, his face a mask of regret and desperation.
"You don't understand," he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion.
"I might have created you so you could be the perfect slave form me ...but -" Flaky pushed him off of her and then punched him" I don't freaking care!
You played god and created a life in a lab!!!
And you killed your former colleague just to make sure that your secret would be safe!
How can you live with yourself???!!!" Lumpy dodged another attack and then tried to throw a punch at Flaky who simpy dodged and kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling against the wall.
The fight was intense, a dance of rage and pain that echoed through the study.
Books and papers flew as they crashed into the shelves, the room a mess of overturned furniture and shattered glass.
But Flaky had the strength of a thousand lifetimes behind her, fueled by the revelation of her true nature.
Lumpy tried to get up, but she was on him again, her fists flying like a tornado of fury.
He had never seen Flaky like this, her gentle nature replaced by a primal rage that seemed to consume her.
"You think you're the only one who's suffered?" she screamed, her voice raw with emotion.
"You know nothing...!"
The fight continued, a blur of limbs and snarls, until Lumpy though he could win and tried to trap Flaky in a headlock.
But Flaky had one last card to play.
With a roar of defiance, she transformed, her body morphing into something neither of them had seen before.
Her eyes turned a piercing red, her quills grew sharper, and her muscles bulged with newfound strength.
Flipping Lumpy over her shoulder, she sent him crashing to the floor.
"You see, I am not your emotioneless abomination" she said, panting heavily.
"I am more than that.
I am alive, I feel, I think, and I will never be anyone's slave !
Not even yours..."
Lumpy laid there, dumbfounded, staring at the creature he had created years ago.
He had never seen her like this, never knew she could become something so powerful.
Flaky took a step back, her breathing labored, the she flung herself against Lumpy who dodged "Flaky listen to me I l-"he couldn't finish what he was saying be cause she caught him off guard and stomped on his hand breaking it "oopsie, silly me!
Looks like i've broken your hand!" She said sarcastically before laughing maniacally.
The sound of her laughter echoed through the room, a sound that sent shivers down Lumpy's spine.
This was not the sweet, innocent porcupette he had known for years.
This was something else entirely, something he had never intended to create.
He scrabbled away from her, his eyes wide with fear.
"Flaky, please... I'm sorry," he whimpered, his voice barely audible.
But Flaky wasn't listening.
Her mind was a maelstrom of rage and betrayal.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent a bookshelf crashing down on top of him.
"Saying sorry now, after all that's happened isn't enough.
You need to pay for what you've done."
Lumpy tried to crawl away, his hand a mess of bone and blood.
Flaky watched him, her eyes cold and unforgiving.

The door to the study burst open, and in rushed Sniffles ,Pop and Fliqpy, who stopped on their tracks
taking in the scene before them, the destruction, the blood, and the cowering moose.
Fliqpy's eyes widened in shock as he saw Flaky's transformed state.
Sniffles looked horrified.
And Pop was about to faint.
"Flaky, please stop! This is not who you are!!" Fliqpy said, his voice trembling.
"This... this is what he made me," she said, her voice cold and deadly.
"He played god, and now he's going to face the consequences."
Lumpy looked up, his eyes pleading.
"Flaky, please, I'm begging you, listen.. I lo-" he choked out.
But Flaky was beyond mercy.
With a snarl, she advanced on him, her newfound power surging through her veins.
Pop and Sniffles looked on, unable to intervene.
This was a battle that had been a long time coming, a confrontation between creator and creation.
Pop finally found his voice.
"Flaky, stop!" he shouted.
But she didn't hear him.
Her rage was too intense, too all-consuming.
Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out.
The room was plunged into darkness, the only light coming from the sun outside.
Flaky took advantage of the chaos and lunged at Lumpy, her punch aimed for his throat.
Fliqpy dove in front of Lumpy, his body a blur of motion.
He caught Flaky's arms, holding her back with all his might.
"Flaky, please," he whispered, his voice shaking.
"You're not a monster.
You're my girlfriend. I love you...
It's thanks to you i'm not the killer i was in the past!
You saved me from a life of hate and misery!
Flaky, let me repay the favour, let me show you that you are more that what he created you for!!!"
Flaky's eyes flickered back to their usual soft black packman pupils, the red fading like a mirage.
Her body began to return to normal, the unnatural strength leaving her limbs.
Fliqpy felt the tension in her muscles ease as she collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
Sniffles managed to drag himself over to the desk and find a flashlight, flicking it on.
The beam of light illuminated the chaos of the room, revealing the extent of the damage.
Lumpy lay on the floor, his hand a twisted mess of bone and flesh, his eyes closed, he wasn't moving.
Flaky stared at th moose her eyes wide with horror at what she had done.
Poptook Flaky in his arms as she continued to sob and decided to bring her home. Fliqpy followed them as Sniffles called the Hospital.

Once they were home, Pop sat his daughter down on the couch and wrapped her in a blanket.
Her trembling subsided, but the look of horror remained on her face.
He handed her a cup of hot tea and sat beside her, holding her hand tightly.
"We'll get through this," he assured her.
Flaky took a sip of the tea, the warmth seeping into her cold body.
"How can we?" she asked, her voice small and broken.
"I'm a... a monster Dad!
And what I did today ..."
Pop looked at his child with determination in his eyes.
"No, you're not," he said firmly.
"You're a survivor.
A beautiful, strong, and kind soul who's been through hell and back.
And I'm not going to let anyone, not even Lumpy, define who you are."
Flaky leaned into him, her tears staining the blanket.
For the first time since the revelation, she felt a semblance of comfort.
Fliqpy stared sadly at them.

****** ******** ********
The next few days were a blur of whispers and concerned looks from their friends.
They knew something was wrong, but Flaky and Fliqpy kept their secret, not knowing how to explain the truth without risking everything.
Lumpy remained in the hospital, his hand in a cast, and his spirit seemingly broken.
The guilt of his actions weighing heavily on him.
Flaky couldn't bring herself to visit him, not yet.
The thought of facing him again was too much to bear.
Instead, she buried herself in schoolwork, trying to find some semblance of normalcy in her shattered world.
But the nightmares didn't stop, and every time she closed her eyes, she saw the incubator, the journal, and the madness that had created her.
Fliqpy and Pop were her rock, their patience and support unwavering.
Fliqpy especially could relate to her, he had seen the depths of her pain and anger and knew that she needed time to heal. Like himwhen Flaky had separated him from his former host and now brother Flippy.
One morning found Fliqpy knocking on Flaky's door, " come in!" came the porcupette's shaky voice and the bear entered.
The room was dark, but Fliqpy saw Flaky laying on the bed, cocooned by the covers.
Fliqpy sat down next to her, "Hey, how are you holding up?" he asked gently, stroking her quills.
Flaky took a deep breath before speaking, "I don't know who I am anymore, Fliqpy.
I feel like everything I knew was a lie."
Fliqpy squeezed her hand, "You're still the same Flaky to me.
You're still the girl who laughs at my terrible jokes and saves me from the wrath of the Cake at a Glance audience every week.
You're still the same girl who saved me when i was just the evil split personality of Flippy...
And no one can take that away from you... not even Lumpy..."
Flaky's eyes searched Fliqpy's face for any signs of doubt, but she saw only love and acceptance.
She lowered her gaze " It's all my fault!" Fliqpy's eyes widened and then narrowed, as he put a finger under Flaky's chin making her look at him.
" Flaky ..." he spoke in a stern voice but Flaky continued" It is my fault!
If I didn't go looking for answers, if I didn't ask for that DNA test, Sniffles's father would still be alive and Lumpy wouldn't be at the hospital!
I'm a monster!"
Fliqpy sighed, "You're not a monster, Flaky.
You're a victim.
You didn't ask to be born into this mess.
And as for Sniffles's father... it's Lumpy's fault.
Not yours.
He's the one who played with lives like they were his toys.
You can't blame yourself for wanting to know the truth.
It's his actions that brought us here, not yours," Fliqpy said firmly, his eyes never leaving hers.
This isn't your fault," he said, his voice gentle but firm.
Flaky nodded, but the doubt remained, a heavy weight on her heart.
Fliqpy wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"We'll figure this out," he whispered into her ear.
"But first, you need to let go of the guilt.
You didn't do anything wrong."
Flaky clung to him, her tears soaking his shirt.

Days turned into weeks, and the whispers grew louder.
Rumors spread about what had happened at Lumpy's study, and Flaky felt the eyes of her classmates on her wherever she went.
Some looked at her with confusion, others with pity, but most with a mix of curiosity and morbid fascination.
But she had Fliqpy and Sniffles, who stood by her side, refusing to let the whispers define her.
They had their own share of secrets, but together, they faced the world with a united front.
One evening, as they sat in the park, the sun setting behind them, Flaky finally found the courage to speak about her fears.
"What if I'm dangerous?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"What if this... thing inside me takes over and I hurt someone?"
Fliqpy took her hand, his eyes filled with understanding.
"You're not dangerous, Flaky.
You're just... different.
And that's not a bad thing.
Look at us," he gestured to himself and Sniffles.
"We're not exactly poster children for normalcy either, are we?"
Sniffles chuckled, "You're right, Fliqpy.
We're all a little messed up in our own ways.
But that's what makes us who we are."
Flaky took a deep breath, the warmth of their friendship seeping into her soul.
They were her anchor in this storm of doubt and anger.
" I think i'm ready to see Lumpy ..." she said after a few minutes of silence.

******** *********** ********

The hospital was cold and sterile, the smell of antiseptic burning her nose as they made their way to Lumpy's room.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she approached the door.
What would she say to the moose who had stolen her innocence?
The one who had given her life, but also a legacy of pain and confusion?
But when she saw him, lying there, broken and alone, she felt nothing but pity.
He looked up, his eyes filled with guilt and fear, and she realized he was just as lost as she was.
"I... I came to talk," she said, her voice shaking.
Lumpy nodded, his good hand gripping the bed railing tightly.
The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity before he spoke, his voice cracking with emotion.
"I never wanted this for you, Flaky.
You were supposed to be perfect..."
Flaky's eyes narrowed, "And what happened to make me 'imperfect'?"
Lumpy took a deep breath, "You... you developed emotions.
I didn't intend for that, it was a mistake in the genetic coding.
But when I saw you, I couldn't just... I couldn't end you.
At first I thought that you'll be useful to me even like that and I took you to Pop and Lara.
But as the years went by and I saw you grow I... well let's just say I didn't see you as a failed experiment any longer..."
Flaky looked at him confused " what do you mean?" She asked softly and Lumpy smiled softly
" Do you remember that during our fight I was trying to tell you something ?"
Flaky slowly nodded and Lumpy sighed " What i wanted to tell you was ...
I... I love you.
At first you were meant to be just an experiment to me.
But as the years passed I felt proud of you...."
The words hit her like a sledgehammer, and she felt the world spin around her.
Flaky didn't know how to react, she just stared at Lumpy in shock.
He had always been a distant figure in her life, but to hear him say that...
It was too much to take in.
But as she sat there, staring at the moose who had created her, she felt something stir inside of her.
It wasn't anger or hate anymore, but a strange sense of compassion.
He had made a mistake, a terrible one, but he was still her creator.
"Why did you lie to me?" she whispered.
Lumpy looked away, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"I was afraid.
Afraid of what you'd think, of what everyone would think.
And I knew you would be rightfully enraged...."
Flaky took his hand, her fingers brushing against his fur.
"I' sorry too...
I should have acted more rationally instead of doing what I did..." she said softly
Lumpy looked at her hand, and then back at her.
"You have every right to be angry, Flaky.
And I know you hate me...
I wanted to protect you from the truth.
And I did terrible, unforgivable things to make sure that happened."
Flaky took a deep breath and nodded.
"I don't hate you," she said, her voice strong despite the tears that threatened to spill.
"But I need time.
Time to understand what this all means and what I want to do with my life now that I know the truth."
Lumpy nodded, squeezing her hand weakly.
"I'll give you all the time you need.
Just know that I'm here for you, always."
Flaky leaned over and gave him a soft hug " Thank you ... Dad" she wispered softly as Lumpy's eyes widened and a gentle smile played on his lips.
He was a father...
When they detached from the hug Lumpy said " One last thing...
I think you should have this..." he opened the little drawer on the right side of his ospital bed and pulled out a stack of papers giving it to Flaky.

Flaky looked down at the stack of papers in her hand, her heart racing.
The pages were worn, as if they had been read a thousand times.
"You kept notes about my life when I was with Pop?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Lumpy nodded, "at first I wanted to understand what went wrong in your creation in order to correct the mistake .
But then I began to realize that would be a mistake, Pop and Lara loved you so much... and that's when I realized that I loved you as if you were my daughter...
I know now that I can't change the past.
All I can do is be here for you now."
Flaky's eyes filled with tears as she thumbed through the pages, seeing her own life laid bare before her.
The tests, the procedures, the notes about her emotional development...
It was all there, a stark reminder of her unnatural beginnings.
But as she read, she saw something else.
Love notes, scribbled in the margins, observations of her first smiles, her first steps, her first words.
Lumpy had been more than just a creator; he had been a father in his own twisted way.
The revelation hit Flaky like a ton of bricks.
For the first time since discovering the truth, she felt a sense of belonging, of understanding.
Yes, Lumpy had made a terrible mistake, but he had also given her life and, in his own way, had tried to be there for her.
The anger she had felt for so long began to dissipate, replaced by a complex web of emotions she wasn't sure how to navigate.
"Thank you," she murmured, her voice choked with emotion.
"For this... for everything...Dad."
Lumpy looked at her, his eyes filled with a mix of hope and fear.
"Does this mean... you forgive me?"
Flaky took a deep breath and nodded.
"I forgive you," she said, her voice steady.
"But I need time to process everything.
And I need you to promise me one thing."
"Anything," Lumpy said, desperation in his voice.
"Never lie to me again.
No more secrets.
I need to know everything."
Lumpy nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.
"I promise," he said, his voice thick with emotion.
Flaky stood up, the weight of her decision settling heavily on her shoulders.
"I'll be back," she said, her voice soft.
"But for now, I need to be alone."

 

************ *********** ***********

Fliqpy and Pop waited outside the hospital room, their faces a picture of concern.
When Flaky emerged, she handed the papers to Pop.
"Here," she said, her voice shaking.
"Read these.
They're about my life with you and mom..."
Pop took the papers with a nod, his eyes wide with understanding.
"We're in this together," he said, his voice a whisper.
Flaky looked at Fliqpy, who wrapped her in a comforting embrace.
"Let's go home," murmured into her ear.
The walk home was silent, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
The crunch of gravel beneath their feet echoed in the quiet night, punctuating the heavy silence. When they reached Pop's house, Flaky paused at the door, looking back at Fliqpy with a mix of gratitude and exhaustion.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice cracking.
"For being here. For understanding."
Fliqpy squeezed her shoulder, "You don't have to thank me. I'm here for you, no matter what."
Flaky nodded, her eyes red from crying before she kissed Fliqpy and entered her home.

The next few weeks were a blur of and late-night talks with Fliqpy, hospital visits to Lumpy and school homework.
Flaky tried to piece together her identity, the person she was before the lab accident and the one she had become.
The papers Lumpy had given her were a treasure trove of memories, some sweet, some painful, but all hers.

One evening, after a particularly tough day, Flaky sat in her room with Fliqpy, the journal open in front of them.
Her eyes fell on an entry that mentioned her first birthday, the cake her adoptive mother, Lara, had baked her, the way Pop had sung off-key but with all his heart.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she read the love-filled words scribbled in the margins.
Fliqpy caressed her cheeks as he kissed her gently.

The door to her room creaked open, and Pop poked his head in.
"You okay?" he asked tentatively.
Flaky looked up, wiping her eyes while Fliqpy pulled away and sat by her side.
"I think... I think I am, Dad" she said, her voice shaky.
Pop came in and sat beside her on the other side ofthe bed, taking her in his arms.
"What's on your mind baby..?" he asked gently.
Flaky handed him the journal, pointing to the birthday entry.
"Lumpy wasn't always a monster," she said.
"He began to ... care about me."
Pop read the page, his eyes softening.
"You're not a mistake, Flaky.
You're a miracle.
And I don't know where I 'd be without you ..."
Flaky took a deep breath, "Does this mean that I have two fathers now?"
The question hung in the air like a cloud of uncertainty.
Pop took a moment to consider his response, "You have a lot of people who care for you deeply, each in their own way.
Fliqpy, Sniffles, your friends...
Me and your mother who raised you with our love, and Lumpy... well, he gave you life.
And even though he made mistakes, his love for you is evident in those pages.
You can't change the past, but you can choose how you move forward.
And know that whatever you'll need ... we will always be here for you."
Flaky nodded, her eyes never leaving the journal.
"But what about my powers?" she asked, her voice small.
"What if I can't control them?
What if I hurt someone?"
Fliqpy squeezed her hand, smiling softly at her "I'll be here next to you ready to help you like you did with me, Love..."
Flaky looked at him, a spark of hope igniting within her.
"Together, we can figure this out," she said, her voice stronger.
"We'll face whatever comes our way, just like we always have."
Fliqpy nodded, a fierce determination in his eyes.
"And if we stumble, we'll get back up, because that's what we do." Concluded Flaky as a single happy tear run down her cheek.

Chapter 11: My third eye

That little button, that little noise, imperceptible to those who notice it, little more than a mosquito buzzing to those nearby is what everything begins with.
A flashing light, a lens, an eye, actually two.
Mine and that of my camera when I am at work, is as if it were a sort of extension of my body.
And I have a lot of work, certainly more than you can imagine.
With this I do not want to belittle your professions or the time you dedicate to them.
I realize that self-denial and dedication to one's work can be seen by some as the antechamber of maniacal obsession, but I assure you that this is not the case.
There is nothing more gratifying than making a living from what you love to do.
After all, if I didn't do my job well, I wouldn't be the most sought-after photographer in Happy Tree Town.
Some time ago, my shots were defined as pure contemporary art in an article in the Daily Acorn, certainly the journalist who had edited the draft had availed herself of my services having a discount.
But she wouldn't have lied so shamelessly if she hadn't really thought so, after all, journalists never do that.
The camera lens is my third eye, I couldn't live without it and it can't live without me either.
Together we make a perfect team and today at Cuddles and Giggles' wedding we will do what we always do: immortalize the best moments of what should be the most beautiful day of their lives.
They are so happy, I see them smiling at the wedding table, exchanging loving gestures and knowing glances.
They are also very photogenic, I have to admit, it doesn't always happen.
Another shot and another piece in the album of this day that Cuddles and Giggles will remember forever, or at least for a long time.
Of course, for this marriage to work it is appropriate that Cuddles never finds out what Giggles did two days ago, at her bachelorette party.
You know how these things go, one glass too many, the music, the friends who instigate and organize a meeting with a male stripper for a last night of freedom.
But I know what you did, dear Giggles…
You should know that my third eye is special, I could try to define it in different ways, but I can limit myself to a simple and immediate explanation.
It is a magic eye, as soon as the iris gets close to almost touching the lens I see things.
Sometimes beautiful, other times less beautiful.
In front of me appear images and scenes that have little to do with a wedding and with all the boring shots that I have to complete, so that my service can be appreciated.
The fun for me is in what my magic camera manages to make me see.
Things that the other guests probably ignore or pretend to ignore.
Secrets that are part of the past of those in front of me.
But among all the guests, relatives and friends of the bride and groom there is someone who manages to give me great satisfaction and show me much more than a fake smile granted by the buffet or the restaurant table.
Take for example Shifty and Lifty, two raccoons, twin brothers who are sitting at the table and talking to each other calmly. But my third eye sees something else.
A couple of rascals who are not averse to putting some small object or item of clothing in their pockets or in a bag, every time they go to the market stalls and think that no one sees them.
Unfortunately for them, my third eye sees everything, because from my lens I can see them at work even in supermarkets and shopping malls.
One day that alarm will sound, dear Shifty and Lifty…
Then I would also like to tell you about Pop and his wife.
I see them at the buffet table, hand in hand.
They seem like such a beautiful couple…
But if the walls of their house could talk they would tell a very different story, because as soon as I bring my eye closer to the lens to photograph them, unfortunately I see something completely different.
Slaps, screams, blows…
Never on the face though, you can't ruin such a pretty face and Pop knows it, and the bruises could make someone suspicious.
If it weren't for my magical camera to tell these stories, who would do it?
I would like to be able to show these stories to everyone, it would certainly make a more interesting and original reception.
For example, I would like the guests to be able to learn about Discobear's strange vice.
He usually walks in the parks with the excuse of outdoor exercise but coincidentally he always buzzes around the ladies who bring their children to play and have fun.
In fact Discobear tries not to be discovered, but the truth is difficult to hide from those who are used to finding it, and my third eye assures you that in those moments Discobear is not at all interested in the ladies…
So many people singing and dancing, everyone having fun on this special day, many of them pretending to be what they are not, hiding behind elegant clothes and bright colors unspeakable truths that only my magical camera can capture.
If it were not for my camera, Giggles, Lifty, Shyfty, Discobear, Pop and the other diners, would appear only as anonymous extras in this noisy kaleidoscope of ostentatious falsehood.
If only everyone could see what I can see through my workmate, the smiles would fade and the jovial atmosphere of this special day would turn into the dark antechamber of a nightmare called reality.
There are no good people here, good people do not exist.
Everyone hides something in the closet that they do not want to show to others.
Unspeakable secrets and reprehensible acts and although the magic tool in my hands cannot capture all the actions of the guests, I know for sure that each of them could be the protagonist of one of my special shots, one of those that fill my room with vices and sins.
I want to tell you something, the bad actions, the morbidity, the evil nature of people are all things that fascinate me, but I am also attracted by other things.
Take the little sheep Lammy for example, sitting at the table with her friends, I see her walking in that graceful way even if she is sitting.
I see her walking down the sidewalk toward her house.
Unfortunately, I don't have any details about what happens in her apartment, since she lives on the third floor and it's not easy to get my camera up there and into her house without being discovered.
I'm working on it, though...
You may have realized by now, but my third eye is magical because I make it so.
Ever since I started, I've loved being a photographer so much that it's a matter of course for me to bring work home with me.
When I'm asked for a service, whether it's for a wedding, a baptism, a funeral or anything else, I always make sure to start working before the fateful day.
I make sure that names and addresses end up in my notebook.
I guarantee that I always find something interesting to tell.
The photos I take at weddings are nothing more than classic ceremony photos, the lens of my camera reflects nothing but boring and well-dressed individuals, nothing more, nothing less.
As I said, I make my camera special.
If it weren't for me, Giggles would be just an anonymous bride at an anonymous wedding, Discobear would be just another guest.
If I hadn't followed him for days to the park where he usually lies in wait to molest innocent children, my hall of vices and sins would have one less guest.
And there wouldn't be any photos of the violent Pop beating up his poor wife.
I take my job very seriously and you have no idea how many dark secrets normal people can hide, if properly observed, spied on and stalked.
My room of vices and sins is full of shots, of faces of wolves in sheep's clothing, people you might come across during your usual daily activities...
People who could also be you...
There are no good people and neither am I.
For this reason, Lammy's photos will end up in my room of vices, full of photos of pleasant memories, but only for me.
But that's a story for another time, if you're interested.
Now raise your glasses and pose, I can't end this story without immortalizing one last toast to Cuddles and Giggles for a long and happy life together.