Chapter 1

The Beginning

It was a sweet day at Happy Tree Town. Too sweet…

Still it was noon, and only two people died that day. Pop accidentally pushed Cub off a cliff while strolling, and Russell drowned while diving for oysters when his foot got stuck in some rocks and an angry fish bit the pipe of his scooba gear.

Which, in a town used to death, was a good omen for the day. Still, anything can happen.

Flippy, Toothy, and Cuddles were in a Toothy's house, playing cards. Flippy has a big pile of cash on his corner, Cuddles also has a bit of cash, while Toothy is nervous, having lost everything in the last hour or so. Yet he kept playing, for the three friends usually returned their winnings after each game. It was only for fun that they played poker.

Cuddles was smiling as he placed his cards on the table. "Read 'em and weep, boys!" he shouted as he began to collect the cash and chips.

Flippy smiled as he placed his cards on the table. Cuddles smile suddenly vanished. But before Flippy could do anything, Toothy shouted and showed his straight flush, and the green bear and the yellow cuddly rabbit just stared at it with surprised expressions. It was the first time that he won a poker game with his friends for a long time.

"You lucky dog!" Cuddles exclaimed, slapping Toothy in back. "I knew your luck was reserved for last!"

"Speaking of being lucky," Flippy said as they cleaned the table, "what's lucky is that I haven't flipped and killed anyone for the past four days."

"On purpose," Toothy corrected as he remembered how he was accidentally run over by Flippy's jeep the day before.

"But that happens every time!" Cuddles exclaimed. "Yeah, what gives? You usually flip out over something as minor as a woodpecker in the woods. But in the past week or so, you watched a war movie, heard sounds that looks like dive bombers, heck, you even saw blood when you ran over Toothy yesterday! Not that I want you flip and all!"

"Well, I simply sought help," the veteran replied. "I went to Lumpy who was a psychiatrist at that time. Then I confronted the evil me in a mental battle and won. These days, I still flip out but only at the most serious provocations. No more flipping out over the backfire of a car, or popping of balloons. Nope. Heck, not even dead people can flip me out!"

"But what can flip you? So that we can avoid it?" Toothy asked.

"I don't know. I don't know," Flippy suddenly said, his face changing to sad and grim. "It's all so random. I mean, sure, I can control most of these things. But not all. God, yesterday, I nearly flipped out when I saw your carcass under my jeep. My eyes become yellow and I nearly lost it. But I was able, at the last minute, to control it. Oh God I'm so sorry!"

Cuddles and Toothy were a bit taken by his sudden mood change. "We know it's not you. But at least you can control it," Toothy offered. "Right?"

"Yeah, but I hope that I don't lose it next time. I can control him better than before," the bear explained.

"Well, the day is half over, and we've wasted enough time indoors. Let's get out and have some fun!" Cuddles said.

Flippy was glad for the change in topic. "What do you suggest?"

"Let's climb the mountain!" Cuddles suggested. "And let's invite the others!"

"I know! Giggles, Flaky, Petunia, Lumpy, and Mime," Toothy suggested.

"Why not?" Flippy agreed. "Let's get lunch at the café then let's go!"

"Right!" Cuddles agreed, suddenly remembering his hunger.

"I'll just get my gear, you know, my mountain climbing gear," the purple beaver said, "you can't be too careful."

The bear and the rabbit nodded as the buck toothed beaver ran towards the closet in his room. The gear is located on the top shelf. Hanging from the top shelves are sharp hooks used to hang coats.

He took a ladder to get the gear. At the top, however, he slipped, and he grabbed something to stabilize himself. What he grabbed, however, was a bowling ball, and it rolled off the shelf. Toothy screamed as he fell and saw his right eye falling towards one of the closet hooks.

Flippy and Cuddles were talking when they heard a loud scream from Toothy's room. They quickly saw Toothy hanging by the closet, the hook hanging his body by the eye socket. His right eye was already gone.

Cuddles and Flippy rushed to help, but before they can do anything, Toothy flailed his arm and caught the hanging strap of a bag carrying heavy mountain climbing equipment. It fell and caught itself in Toothy's shoulders. The weight was too much, and the hook tore off the beaver's skull and brain as his corpse fell towards the floor.

Flippy and Cuddles reached Toothy but were too late. He was dead. Cuddles yellow fur was drenched in blood and Flippy's eyes began to twitch, as he remembered a dead comrade from the war.

Giggles was waiting in Petunia's house waiting for her friend to finish cleaning.

"Are you done yet?" asked Giggles. The house was literally sparkling as Petunia put on the finishing touches of her masterpiece.

"Not yet!" said the blue skunk as she scrubbed and polished the table. The great thing, Giggles noted, about having OCD is that she can clean a house in thirty minutes, which would have taken normal people five hours to clean. Petunia thus has much free time, and much cash, as she turned her OCD to good use.

"Aren't you overdoing it a little," Giggles asked, but more in jest, as she was used to her friends quirks.

"Nope. Cleanliness is next to godliness, as they say," Petunia answered, much satisfied at the appearance at her house. "One germ could kill you. Besides, you can't argue about the money it's bringing."

Giggles couldn't agree more. At first, Petunia's obsession for cleanliness was a liability, but the blue skunk quickly turned it into a gold mine. She offered her services to clean each and every one of the Happy Tree Friends' house once a week, with the exception of Disco Bear, for a fee of course. And she did it so well, so fast, so competently, that she was able to increase her weekly fees. She died several times, by accident, in the line of duty, some in the most gruesome way possible, yet so eagerly was her services sought that everyone simply signed a contract by which they would pay her double if she died painlessly, and triple if it happens that her death was painful and gruesome, while she was cleaning their house. In fact, much of her revenue was gained while cleaning the houses of Lumpy, Splendid, Flippy, Mole, and Nutty's house, as she mostly likely would die cleaning those friends' houses.

She recruited and made Giggles a partner, dividing profits two thirds for Petunia and one third for Giggles, as Petunia did most of the work, while Giggles simply accompanied her friend, talked to her, helped when needed, and handled the money.

In fact, it made her quite well-off, and among the tree friends, only Disco Bear (from his Disco recording sales), Flippy (from his pension, his war loot, and his investments), Russell (from his pirate treasure and fishing), Lumpy (from his amusement park and other odd jobs) and Sniffles (from his inventions) had more money than Petunia and Giggles.

They already cleaned Pop, Cuddles, Nutty, Splendid, Lumpy and Splendid's house for the week, surprisingly without death or injuries. Today was a day off, a chance to relax and to enjoy the world.

"So after the bank, where should we go?" asked Petunia.

"I'm expecting Cuddles would call at my house this afternoon so we can hang out. He's with Flippy and Toothy at Toothy's right now," Giggles informed. "I wonder where he'll take us?"

"Wherever it is, I hope it's safe," Petunia shuddered, remembering all the disasters that resulted in death on their hang-outs. Yet she was not Flaky, and she was more than willing to risk her life for some fun. "I still remember that roller coaster in Lumpy's Park and the trip to the mountains. I hope they don't bring Flippy!"

"Why not?" Giggles asked. "He's a nice guy."

"Who can flip!" Petunia replied, remembering too many times how she died at the hands of the green bear.

"Yeah, but still—"

"You're right. I am too hard on that poor bear. Well, as long as he remains himself he's okay," Petunia said as she prepared to shower. "At least he's not Disco Bear!"

Giggles shrugged at Petunia. She already showered when she woke up, but she was used to her friend's quirks.

Then she heard the doorbell.

"Who could it be?" the pink chipmunk wondered.

Unfortunately, news of Petunia and Giggles new found wealth spread, and in particular, attracted Shifty and Lifty. The two kleptomaniac brothers looked at the income the two girls were making, and were determined to share, or rather, take it. Two previous attempts by night had ended in disaster, killing them both twice when they tried to sneak in. And they finally got to the safe and cash box, they were disappointed to find it empty. It was not for nothing that Petunia learned to put all her cash in the bank.

This time, they became more brazen. They simply, in broad daylight, went over, and pressed the doorbell.

They were surprised that it was Giggles who answered.

Giggles was surprised, but before she could scream, Shifty grabbed her and covered her mouth with his paw, silencing her scream. Lifty entered with ropes, tape and a knife, snickering.

Petunia finished showering and quickly dressed. She looked at the mirror and approved. The flower on her head and the air freshener on her chest were put on, and she hummed at herself. She opened the door of her room and saw Giggles in the living room, hands bound behind her with rope, feet bound, her mouth stuffed with something and sealed with duct tape.

Before she could react, she was grabbed from behind. Shifty clamped her mouth with his hand as he whispered, "Do as I say or the pink girl gets it!"

Petunia nodded fearfully as she was released.

"What do you want! Take everything! Just don't hurt us!" Petunia whimpered.

Lifty looked at Shifty, who nodded. Lifty spoke. "Go get the safe, and empty your money into this bag. Don't do anything funny or Giggles will get it!"

Petunia nodded as she went back into her room accompanied by Lifty. She took the small safe from under her bed, and carried it to the living room. Under the gaze of the raccoon brothers, she opened it. She cursed the bank for being closed early the day before and having to wait until this day to deposit it.

Lifty and Shifty were disappointed with the small amount of cash. Only about $70. Shifty spotted a small book in the safe. He took it, and looked at its contents and his eyes got big.

"Holy cow! It's her bankbook and look at this! Wow!" Shifty exclaimed as Lifty stared in wonder at the six figure amounts in the bankbook.

Shifty looked at Petunia, "If you don't want her to get hers," pointing to Giggles, "do as I say. Go to the bank with this, and withdraw all your money. Lifty will accompany you to make sure you do it. And if you try anything else, Giggles is going to suffer! We both have cellphones so if you try anything, I'll know. We'll let both of you go when we get the money."

Petunia was frozen with fear as Shifty and Lifty fashioned a noose from the rope they had, and slung it over a hook in the ceiling. They made Giggles stand in a stool, and fastened the noose around her neck. Giggles was now completely in tears.

"She'll be safe as long as you do as you're told," Lifty told Petunia. Lifty grabbed the bankbook and shuffled Petunia out towards the bank.

Shifty snickered as he watched his brother disappear, and began to ransack the house.

Flaky was driving her car from the grocery store. Besides her was Handy who promised to fix a leaked pipe in her kitchen that day. Flaky chanced upon the amputee carpenter in the store. She mentioned about the leaky pipe and Handy offered his help. She was grateful.

Flaky was deep in thought. As usual, her thoughts were about Flippy. She sighed contentedly, as she again in her mind listed the preparation for a second party. The first one for Flippy's birthday gave her confidence. Sure, it ended in disaster, but it gave her confidence that she could host another party. First, she now knows that she is allergic to peanuts. She therefore banned all peanuts from the upcoming party. Second, she decided against all balloons. Not only would it be probable that she would pop it by accident, but it might again trigger Flippy's evil side. She was less apprehensive about him flipping out again since after his sessions with the psychiatrist Lumpy awhile back, he was able to control his flip-outs much better than before. She had enlisted the help of Giggles, Cuddles, Petunia, Handy and Sniffles to help prepare the party. Like the last one, it will be a surprise for Flippy.

"Look out!" Handy shouted, as she suddenly was snapped out of her musings when she suddenly saw Mime in a unicycle heading straight for her. Mime tried to swerve but the momentum of his vehicle was too much. Flaky stepped on the breaks, and the car screeched to a halt, but it was too late. Mime was hit just before the vehicle stopped, and was thrown toward a nearby tree. Upon impact, his back broke and was torn in half.

"Mime!" Flaky shouted as she and Handy left the car to check on Mime.

"It's not your fault," Handy comforted as they stared at his dead body. "Mime suddenly appeared right before us, and he'll be back! Good as new!"

Flaky knew Handy was right, but before she could say anything, she heard a shriek. She and Handy looked and saw Petunia with …Lifty?

"What happened?" the blue skunk asked.

Flaky and Handy were even more shocked by Petunia's appearance than by Mime's death. Death occurred on a daily basis and they were used to it. Petunia, however, was shivering and has terror in her voice as she asked her question. It was obvious from her eyes had she had cried recently, and the look on her eyes was one of dread and fear. And it was obvious that the fear was not from seeing Mime.

"I hit Mime with my car," Flaky replied. "But what happened to you?"

"And why are you going out with Lifty of all people?" Handy asked.

"Nothing happened, right Petunia?" Lifty snickered, looking a Petunia with a menaced look, his hand holding his cellphone.

Petunia took the hint. "Yes, uh, nothing. We're just on a… date," Petunia almost gagged as she said the word, "yeah, that's it."

"Well, let's get along. We don't want anyone else with us, right?" Lifty asked.

"N-n-n-no," Petunia fearfully said, and they walked away from Flaky and Handy.

The porcupine and the carpenter were by now too shocked by the event to say anything as Petunia and Lifty left.

"What's happening?" Flaky in her timid voice asked when they were far.

"I don't know," Handy replied.

"I don't believe Petunia would ever go with Lifty, and she's crying," Flaky explained, "and afraid."

"How do you know?" asked Handy.

"That's how I sound when I'm really scared," Flaky replied.

"I don't like the looks of this. I think I better follow them and see what's up," Handy replied. "I think you better contact the others just in case this turns out bad. It might be that they really are on a date, but my gut feeling tells me it's much much deeper than that. I hope I'm wrong, but Petunia is in trouble."

Flaky nodded as she rushed to her car. She saw Handy cautiously following Lifty and Petunia. She drove in the opposite direction. She tried calling but she found to her consternation that her cellphone was dead.

Who to go to? Lumpy? No, it would only get worse. Besides, he was sheriff during that time and it's no good to call on a mere suspicion. The Mole? No, no, no, no. Maybe Flippy would help? She nodded and decided to call the green bear. Then she remembered he told her the day before that he would be spending the morning with Cuddles at Toothy's place. Perfect! She can call Flippy, and Cuddles, and Toothy to help.

She rushed to Toothy's, and as she did, she hit the Mole and Nutty, killing them both. Mole simply crossed the street and did not see the rushing vehicle coming towards him, while Nutty was in another of his sugar induced hallucinations and mistook the car for a giant lollipop.

"Sorry," she shouted while laughing nervously, "but it's an emergency."

She finally stopped at Toothy's house. She knocked at the door, but there was no answer. The door was not locked. "Toothy! Flippy! Cuddles," she shouted as she let herself in. She was afraid, nervous, but she was concerned for Petunia.

Note: I got most of the ideas for this chapter from HTF episodes. For example, Toothy's death was taken from Autopsy Turvy/Double Whammy part 2 where he was almost impaled by a closet hook. The part where Shifty and Lifty tied up Giggles was taken from Gems the Breaks. Of course, the party of Flaky was from Party Animal. Handy and Flaky driving together was taken from Easy Comb Easy Go.

This story happens after Double Whammy 2.