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Chapter Text

Hundreds of boots stomped through the jungle as the soldiers searched for the missing militia men, sent out to kill the Tiger General and stop his plans for world domination. Only things didn't go plan as two of them were murdered by their ally, who seemingly survived the explosion that sent him deep into the forest. The soldiers stopped at the corpse of one of the men, badly burnt and bloodied.

One soldier knelt down beside the body, poking it with his gun. Another pressed a button on his earpiece, "Sir, we found the corpse of one of the attackers. But no sign of the surviving soldier."

That surviving soldier was Flippy. He was the one who, although unintentionally, murdered his friends after the plan went to hell. He was actually right in front of them, hiding in the insides of Sneaky, his friend and comrade. Blood dripped into his eyes and soaked his clothes, maggots had already started infesting the other man's dead body and wriggled around. Flippy struggling to breathe, his heart pounding. He shut his eyes and wept. He would die if he tried to run, he would die if he stayed here.

"I don't wanna die here. I wanna live."

"Why are you crying like a baby then? Just get out there and kill them."

Flippy's heart skipped a bit, wondering for a brief moment if somehow Sneaky was alive, but then realized the voice was echoing from inside his mind. The voice almost sounded like him but was rough and harsh sounding.

"I. . .I'm tired of killing. I can't do it."

"Bullshit, soldier. You are free so you can kill. You kill so you can be free. Now kill these bastards. Kill. Kill. KILL.
 

Flippy's eyes shut tighter as the voice's commands rang out at him. His breathing grew more ragged, slowly his whimpers turned to soft growling. His eyes snapped open, but gone was the green color of Flippy. Sickly bright yellow orbs burning in hatred glared out.

And thus, Fliqpy was born.

Meanwhile, the soldiers continued to search just as the Tiger General arrived and marched over to a nearby soldier, who nearly dropped his gun at seeing the general come over. He saluted, squeaked out a "Sir!", and waited for his superior to speak.

"Lieutenant! Status report!"

"No sign of this Flippy, sir. We scrounged the nearby areas and haven't found a trace of him. It's like he vanished."

The Tiger General glared at the other man, obviously not impressed, "You better find him. Or I'll-"

He stopped midsentence as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the dead body of fallen soldier rise. The Tiger troops all aimed their guns at the sudden walking dead, but didn't fire. Too stunned to even move. Then someone burst out of the body, holding a jagged and sharp-looking ribcage that he had ripped out of the dead man. Fliqpy let out a scream of rage and grief as he launched himself at the soldiers, who were too shocked to even react in time. None of those poor bastards stood a chance even if they had started firing before he screamed. Even the Tiger General died, begging for his life. Begging for mercy.

Fliqpy had none.

Hours passed and finally, reinforcement came. Too little, too late. The commander in charge eyed the carnage before him, a wolfish smile on his face. His soldiers fanned out, searching for the team he sent in. As he came to the Tiger base and saw even more dead bodies, he found a single person in the middle of all of it. Surrounded by the mutilated corpses of the enemy was Flippy.

"We got a live one here, boys!" The commander smiled, but his grin soon vanished as he saw the state his man was in. Flippy was covered in blood, missing his hands, and shaking like a leaf, "Jesus Christ! We need a medic over here NOW!"

He rushed over to Flippy, who didn't even seem to notice the older man as he just stared ahead in an unblinking dead gaze. He looked like someone had dumped a bucket of bright red paint on him, and his hands were gone, replaced by jagged and bloodied bones sticking out of his wounds. The commander knelt beside him, hands on his shoulder and snapped the younger man out of it as Flippy looked at him.

The commander had silver hair in a buzz cut and always wore a wolfish smile on his face. Dressed in grey army fatigues, ripped with muscles, and standing at nearly seven feet tall, he looked terrifying to his enemies and he enjoyed that.

"Axel- Commander Hawthorne I'm sorry."

Hawthorne shook his head, a worried frown on his face, "Son, what happened?"

Flippy took a moment to register Axel's question, tired and broken mind racing for a minute before he teared up and whispered.

"I flipped out."

Chapter Text

Years later. . .

Flippy walked down the sidewalk, trying his hardest to ignore the passing glances and whispers of the other tree friends as he made his way into town. No matter how many years went by, he always caught his friends and fellow townsfolk gawking at him when they thought he wasn't looking or whispering to each other when they thought he wasn't listening. And he knew exactly why.

Because of Fliqpy.

A few days after that fateful day on the battlefield, Flippy went through several psyche tests, as Commander Hawthorne was worried about the young man's mental state after suffering such trauma. He was diagnosed with PTSD and honorably discharged from the military, having served and sacrificed enough as far as Axel was concerned. This was just the beginning of his problems, as his PTSD had an unintended and deadly side effect. Every time he heard or saw something war-related, he would do what he ironically call a flip out. He would transform from quiet and kind Flippy into the murderous and brutal Fliqpy, slaughtering any and all of the other tree friends he could find. The only way he would be stopped was if there weren't any more people to kill or, in rare cases, Fliqpy was killed in his rampage.

Even after trying to get psychiatric help (from Lumpy of all people), he was still burdened by Fliqpy's murderous tendencies. But the one good thing about all this was that the other tree friends liked him. They even threw him a birthday party a few years ago, which ended badly as he flipped out. But still, it's the thought that counts.

Flippy looked up from the ground, noticing he arrived at his destination. The library. Happy Tree Town's residents weren't the kind of people to read a whole lot, even the quieter and possibly not insane ones, like Flaky or Pop. So the library was usually empty and this was good for Flippy that no one was going to be here today.

Because he was going to kill himself.

Flippy was tired. Tired of murdering his best friends and having to apologize frantically the next day after they were resurrected. He was tired of wondering just when and how he'd flip out. He was tired of the nightmares, where he was back in that jungle, only this time there were no enemy soldiers, no flips out. The only thing he saw was his dead friends and fallen soldiers, who always screamed the same thing as they surrounded him.

"You killed us! Why'd you let us die, Flippy? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE US?"

He knew he'd just come back tomorrow after killing himself, but he'd just do it. Every time he was resurrected by the once thought gift, now seemingly the curse of Happy Tree Town, he would do it again. And again, and again. Until he either broke free of the curse or went mad trying.

His alter ego and personal devil, Fliqpy, noticed the green-haired man's plans as he watched from inside their head, as Flippy grabbed a rope from behind the library's counter, where he had been storing it in preparation for this day.

"And what just the hell are you doing?"

Flippy ignored him and continued his plan, tying the rope into a noose before getting it tied to a support beam on the ceiling.

"Trying to kill yourself, huh? You know that won't work, you'll just end up coming back tomorrow. Fresh and ready for the rest of eternity with me."

"Go to hell, Fliqpy. I'm doing this every day for the rest of eternity. And you'll be stuck it in with me."

"Hmph. That's what you think, soldier."

Flippy went back to ignoring his evil side as he stepped onto a chair he took from the library's many tables and put his head through the noose's tightening loop. He kicked the chair out from under him and the noose went taut and begin its deadly work. Flippy's first natural instinct was to struggle as his hands pulled at the noose, but he tried to hardest to subdue his survival instinct. He watched as his vision blur and felt his airway struggled to get oxygen as he started to slip away. But as his vision began to darken and he started to drift into death's embrace, his heart stopped as he heard the faint popping sound, easily heard as the library was dead quiet. He shut his eyes, trying his hardest to tell himself that it was only a firework or someone dropping a glass vase. Anything to keep his evil side at bay. But it was too late. His breathing went from hitched and gasping to ragged and angry as he opened his eyes. Gone was the green color of Flippy, replaced by the cruel yellow of Fliqpy's.

"Nice try, Flippy. But now it's time for me to have some fun."

The evil man grunted and pulled hard, freeing himself as the rope snapped and he fell to the ground. He knelt down in a crouching stance, waiting for the sound to happen again so he could figure out where exactly his latest victims were. A few seconds of complete quiet went by before the man's ears picked up the sound again. He started to run, slamming through the doors of the library and out into the streets. Fliqpy saw across the road was a house, with a bunch of cars parked in the driveway and the house's lawn. Someone must've been throwing a party as it sounded like there were a lot of people there. Fliqpy smiled as he walked silently towards the backyard where the sounds of laughter and music came from.

Time for a little party crashing, don't you think?

Chapter Text

The party was in full swing and Flaky couldn't be happier. She had invited everyone in town and it seemed like everyone was here. Except, she noticed, for Flippy. She talked to him earlier in the week to see if he wanted to come, but the war vet politely declined his friend's offer. He seemed like he had been sleeping and acted distracted when they talked. She didn't give it much thought, figuring Flippy's work at the library was just getting to him. The redhead had brought out a tray of drinks to the backyard where her friends were chatting and having a good time. She didn't even take a single step outside before all hell broke loose as someone smashed into her fence on the other side, causing the wood to splinter and crack.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks as they saw who just had crashed the party. A few more heavy thuds hit the wooden boards before the fence's boards finally gave away, falling in pieces to the grass and revealed that it was Fliqpy, wild-eyed and grinning like a madman. No one moved or even breathed as the party-goers stared at Fliqpy, who gazed back at the tree friends like they were all in a deadly staring contest. Then the tension reached it's boiling point as Nutty, who was the closest to Fliqpy just coughed and before anyone could blink, Fliqpy grabbed the sugar addict by the throat, his iron grip crushing the boy's windpipe as he twisted the boy's head downward and violently ripped Nutty's head off without a word or yell. Everyone screamed in horror and panic as suddenly found the feeling coming back to their legs, running towards the possible safe haven of Flaky's house. Fliqpy lunged after the fleeing tree friends, using the decapitated head of Nutty attached to the boy's destroyed spine like a medieval flail. He cracked the gruesome weapon on the head of Lumpy, who fell as he tried to run. Fliqpy let out a low evil laugh as he grabbed the nearest new weapon he could find: a bunch of deflated balloons. The twisted murderer stuffed the balloons into the other man's mouth and then grabbed a nearby air pump, stabbing it into the man's mouth. He pumped air as fast as he could, inflating the balloons to their breaking point.

And Lumpy's head.

A sickening pop was heard as the balloons and Lumpy's head exploded in a bloody mess, showering the war vet in gore. Grinning even wider and covered in blood, Fliqpy marched slowly to the house where the rest of the tree friends were hiding. But the townsfolk were only delaying the inevitable

No can escape death when it comes knocking on their door.

The surviving tree friends have huddled away in Flaky's living room, having blocked off all doors so there was no way Fliqpy could get in.

And no way for the others to get out.

"What are we gonna do?!" cried Giggles, "That psycho is gonna find a way in here and he's gonna murder us!"

"This is great! I really want to go one day without being murdered by that nut case," yelled Handy, who was more annoyed than scared at the prospect of a impending painful death.

Meanwhile, as the tree friends panicked, Lifty and Shifty were busy eyeing Flaky's living room and it's many furnishings, possibly more interested in swiping the redhead's belongings that figuring out a plan to get out of here alive. Then Shifty nudged his brother, a smile on his face as he whispered in his ear. Lifty's own face brightened and nodded, a grin widening on his face as he yelled out.

"Everyone, shut the hell up! We got a plan!"

Everyone went quiet and gathered around the twins, very much skeptical that these two thieving brothers were actually going to try and help their fellow tree friends. But no one objected and Flaky muttered out, "So. . .tell us L-Lifty, what's the plan?"

"With pleasure, doll," Lifty winked and shot the group a grin, "First things first, we use little Flaky here as bait-"

Before Lifty could get any further with the twin's plan Giggles yelled out, "Absolutely not! We are not putting Flaky in that kind of danger."

"You didn't let me finish! We use her as bait, and then the rest of us attacked him from behind, and try to restrain him before we just conk 'im out or something."

Toothy spoke up, "What then? We kill him?"

"Yar! Get some good ol' fashion vengeance on the sea dog!" Russell laughed.

Flaky frowned and shook her head frantically, "No! No killing. Flippy's our f-friend and we can't just kill him. Then w-we'd be no better than Fliqpy."

Giggles put her hand on the smaller girl's arm, trying to comfort her as she saw how terrified the redhead was, "Then what should we do? We can't just keep doing this again and again, Flakes."

"We can help him. There's the mental institute where he could get help. I-I could watch him to make sure he doesn't flip out again. And maybe we can fix him somehow."

"That's actually good idea and I think I can help with getting him there," everyone turned and saw Sniffles sitting on the room's couch. The blue-haired scientist continued speaking as he had everyone's attention, "I've got this new serum I'm working on and I just happen to have a sample with me."

"What's this serum do, nerd?" Lifty frowned, crossing his arms.

Sniffles ignored the twin's insult and explained his latest invention, "It'll incapacitate anyone with a single drop and render them docile. Meaning we could trap Fliqpy inside Flippy's head and then no more flip outs."

"Pfft, it can't be that easy."

"Well, it isn't. The serum is only temporary and will wear off after a few days. But in that time frame, we could come up with a permanent solution to our friend's little episodes. Any questions?"

Before anyone could agree or disagree with this idea, they heard a violent crashing sound coming from down the hallway and everyone's blood ran cold. Fliqpy had arrived and they were out of time. The tree friends could hear his footsteps, slow yet heavy, as he made his way towards the living room. The tree friends quickly hid in another room adjacent to the living room just as Fliqpy appeared the doorway to the room, a devilish grin on his face as he chuckled darkly.

"Honeyyy, I'm home~."

Flaky tried her hardest to fight her urge to just bolt, knowing that if she tried that the deranged veteran would be able to catch her without even breaking a sweat. So the terrified redhead just sat on her couch, watching with a quickening heartbeat and panic coursing through her as Fliqpy slowly made his way towards her. He knelt down in front of the girl, unrestrained glee present in his yellow eyes as he noticed how scared the girl was.

He reached out and gently stroked her cheek, grin widening as she flinched from his touch, "Aw, c'mon. No need to be scared, Flakes. I'm your friend, remember?"

The girl shook her head, not looking at him, "Y-You aren't. You. . .Y-You're a monster. A m-murderer."

Fliqpy smiled and chuckled, "I'm just a soldier. Doing what I gotta do to survive. 'S that so bad?"

Flaky didn't answer right away, noticing from behind the distracted war vet that her friends were silently sneaking up on him. If Fliqpy hadn't been so engrossed with messing with the redhead, he might've heard the other tree friends as they tiptoed carefully towards him. Flaky knew they needed a few more seconds, so she tried to keep his attention on her.

"But you d-don't have to. The war's over, Fliqpy."

"Not this one. Not ours," Fliqpy shook his head, his evil grin vanishing for a second as he looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Fliqpy."

The man looked up from the carpet, confusion on his face, "Sorry for what?"

"NOW!"

Giggles and Russell grabbed Fliqpy's left arm while the twin's grabbed his right arm and Toothy latched onto the man's legs, effectively trapping him in place. Fliqpy's reaction was near-instant as he bucked and thrashed, trying his hardest to throw the tree friends off of his limbs, but to no avial, as they were stuck on him like glue. He let out a roar of frustration, struggling a bit more before finally settling down and giving up.

"Well, congrats. You caught me," Fliqpy let out an almost amused laugh as he stared around at the townspeople, "Finally stopping being such pussies and actually fought back for once."

Flaky shook her head, an almost pitying look in her eyes as she watched the war vet, "We aren't fighting you. We're h-helping you."

Before Fliqpy could ask what the redhead meant, he felt a prick in his neck and the feeling of drowsiness overwhelm him. He fought the sense of sleep flooding his mind and managed to slur out a few words as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"What. . What did you do to me, you freaks?"

"What's best for you, F-Fliqpy."

Fliqpy said nothing, choosing instead to look up at the redhead one more time before the world went dark and everything stopped.

Chapter Text

Fliqpy groaned softly, as he woke up with a major headache and the numb feeling of sleep in his entire body. He tried to open his eyes, though was rewarded with blurred vision and an aching pain as dull light beat against his yellow orbs. He shut them quickly as another rough groan escaped his lips. He could sense something wasn't right, for one he was still in control. He would always be locked away again whenever Flippy's body shut down, whether by sleeping or unconsciousness.

So what changed? 

He got his answer as he heard a door open nearby and sensed the presence of someone. He opened his eyes without any discomfort but still was unable to see very well in the dimly lit room he was in. But he didn't need to see the person's face to tell who it was.  He recognized the scent of fear that always stained the person he knew all too well, a chilling grin on his lips as he stared into the darkness.

"Little red, how nice of you to drop by."

He got no response at first, instead, he heard the quiet footsteps of the girl's shoes as she stepped closer into view. She was quivering slightly and although Flaky tried her best to hide it, it didn't escape Fliqpy's notice.

"No need to so nervous, Flakes," Fliqpy chuckled, "We've been over this, we're buddies. Pals. Remember?"

Flaky ignored his taunts, a frown on her face as she eyed him, "W-Why are you still here? Where's F-Flippy?"

"I'm asking myself that same question. Strange, isn’t it?"
 

"Wait a minute," Flaky chewed on her lip as she thought for a second, then her eyes went wide as she exclaimed, "Sniffles!"

Now it was Fliqpy's turn to be confused as he frowned, "What about the nerd boy?"

"He h-had this weird serum, something to make you stay inside Flippy's head or s-something," Flaky shook her head, "B-But it went wrong. . .Really w-wrong."

Fliqpy let out a laugh as his sly grin returned, "Ha! Sounds like it went right to me. Finally, after all these years, I'm the one in control, not that weakling."

"Flippy's not w-weak!"

"Really now?" Fliqpy's yellow eyes narrowed, "Do you even know why I was triggered this time, why I was so happy to start another slaughter? What do you think he was doing before I took over?"

"W-What are you talking. . ." Flaky stopped, noticing for the first time the bruises around Fliqpy's neck. Ugly, purple, and ringed around the entirety of his throat, the redhead went pale as she reached with a shaky hand to touch the bruise.

"N-No, he would never. . ."

"He did," Fliqpy resisted his urge to bite the redhead's fingers as they grazed his skin and instead just chuckled dryly, "He tried anyway, the idiot."

"But he k-knows that we can’t really die. He knows he'll j-just come back."

Fliqpy just shrugged, get slightly annoyed with the conversation, "That's what I told him, more or less. Seems he didn't care."

"But why-"

"Enough!" Fliqpy snapped, "Enough of your stupid questions. He tried to kill himself, he failed, and now here we fuckin' are. Deal with it!"

Flaky recoiled slightly, fear taking hold as if just now remembering what Fliqpy was. A dangerous and unpredictable murderer, not the kind of person you'd want to anger. The war vet ignored her and instead chose to look around, a frown on his face as he went quiet for a second before looking back at the timid redhead before him.

"I'm s-sorry, I wasn't trying to-"

"Shh, my turn now, Red. Time for my questions," Fliqpy shushed away the girl's apology, "Where the hell are we?"

Flaky look confused as she didn't seem to understand the question but then surprise washed over her features as she put her hand to her mouth, "O-Oh! I forget! One second."

Flaky walked back towards the front of the room and Fliqpy watched as the darkness swallowed her. Seconds later, Fliqpy was blinded as light flooded the room when she turned on the light switch. When the stars left his vision, Fliqpy was able to see just where he was. White walls, white floor, everything was white and squeaky clean. He also noticed the smell of a chemical cleaner hung in the air. Fliqpy's frown grew and his blood started to boil, he knew exactly where he was.

And he wasn't happy.

"You freaks put in a FUCKING NUT HOUSE!? That does it!"

Fliqpy let out a yell of anger as he lunged at Flaky across the room, who remained frozen with fear. The war vet was fast on his feet and within seconds, he was in front of the girl. Before he could do any harm to the redhead, the door to the room was flung open and a man entered. This person promptly tackled Fliqpy to the ground, knocking the wind of out the crazed veteran. Fliqpy tried to fight back, but was winded from the fall and the drugs in his system were making his arms feel like lead. He gave up and the man lifted him up, now able to see who this surprise attacker was, Fliqpy could feel his anger returning, along with slight shock.

"Axel fuckin' Hawthorne."

"That's Commander Axel fuckin' Hawthorne to you," Axel shot a glare back at his old friend turned enemy, "You need to learn to play nice, Colonel."

"We aren’t a Colonel anymore, Hawthorne," Fliqpy sneered, "You took that away from us, remember?"

"And you know exactly why! You’re a monster, Fliqpy. We tried to help you back at camp and-"

Fliqpy gave the silver-haired man a sick grin as he let out a bark of laughter, "And I recall something terrible happened when I woke up, chained to a bed and surrounded by unfamiliar faces."

"Those were good men and women, who cared about you and wanted to help you. And that's how you repaid them? You ungrateful monster."

"Let go of me and I'll show you how grateful I am."

"Okay, we're done talking!" Axel turned to the redhead, who was still cowering from Fliqpy's near attack beside him, "Flaky, could you administer Colonel Flippy here a light anesthetic?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

Flaky walked over to Fliqpy with a syringe but before she could give him the shot, Fliqpy whipped his face around and bite the girl hard on the hand, digging his sharp teeth into the girl's flesh and didn't let go. Flaky let out a scream of pain and tried to pull away, but that only made Fliqpy bite down harder. Axel calmly put his fingers into Fliqpy's mouth and wrenched the man's jaw open, freeing the crying Flaky's fingers. Axel grabbed the syringe from the ground and stabbed it into Fliqpy's neck. The war vet could only laugh at the two, howling with sick glee until he passed out from the medication flooding his system and he went limp in the Commander's arms.

Axel let go of Fliqpy, laying him down on the hospital floor. He stared at the now sleeping and calm face of his old friend, a mixture of pity and anger on his face.

"Someone get this bastard in a straightjacket," He then looked at Flaky, who was crying softly and nursing her wounded hand, "And a muzzle."

Chapter Text

"Why don't you go on home, Flaky?" Axel nodded to the sleeping form in the corner of the room, "I'm sure Fliqpy will be just fine for a few hours until the medicine wears off."

"I-I'm staying right here. Maybe Flippy will be in control when he w-wakes up," Flaky shook her head, "Even if it’s still Fliqpy, I wanna be the first p-person he sees when he wakes up."

She didn't care how long it took. She was going to wait and Axel noticed this determination, a worried look on his face as he shook his head.

"Fine. You can stay, but if he wakes up-"

"When he wakes up, I'm the first person he'll s-see and that's that."

Axel let out a defeated sigh, before nodding. The silver-haired commander told her to call him as soon as Fliqpy woke up before he left. Now alone Flaky sat down in front of the soldier, who was now wrapped in a straightjacket and mouth covered with a muzzle. Feeling somewhat safe with the crazed war vet now restrained she kept her eye on him, watching as Fliqpy murmured and stirred in his sleep. She listened closely to his mumbling, but he was so quiet she only heard a few words.

"Kill you. . . .Fucking dead. . . . My friends. . ."

She frowned at hearing the war vet's voice crack as he mentioned his friends in his dream. Flippy never really talked about what happened to him during his time in the army. She remembered that he briefly mentioned having a few friends during boot camp and that they all were assigned together as a team during their tours. But he never told her what actually happened to them. Remembering Axel's words about Fliqpy "repaying" his fellow soldiers after his final disaster of a mission, Flaky's frown grew as she wondered just what happened to her friend while he was gone.

Suddenly the sleeping soldier let out a loud groan, shaking the girl from her thoughts as she realized he was waking up. He moved his head from side to side slowly as his eyes fluttered open, and revealed the yellow orbs of Fliqpy. Slightly disheartened by seeing her friend was still trapped, Flaky sighed in disappointment. Fliqpy stirred a bit more, the drugs affecting him slowly but surely wearing off. He looked around, his eyes adjusting to the brightly lit room once more. His gaze landed on the redhead sat across from him. He smiled with malicious glee, noticing the girl's bandaged hand, which she held close to her, fear in her red eyes as they locked eyes.

"Awe, what’s the matter, Flakes?" Fliqpy's grin grew behind his mask, "Did I hurt your hand? Why don’t you take this pesky mask and jacket off of me so I can show you how sorry I am?"

Flaky shook her head, surprising the war vet as she glared softly at him, "You’re stuck in that until y-you learn to behave."

"Oooh! Little red's laying down the law, eh?" Fliqpy chuckled as he eyed the redhead up and down, "Although truth be told, I think you’d look damn fine in a little police outfit. You lock the door, I'll find some handcuffs."

Flaky turned almost as red as her hair at Fliqpy's crude jokes, losing her cool as she stammered and stuttered, "You. . .I-I mean-"

"C'mon, quit your blubbering! I'm just joking!" Fliqpy smiled at seeing the girl so embarrassed by a few words, "I can be nice sometimes, jokes and all. Not everything I do ends with murders and blood."

Flaky sighed as she regained her composure, "You're a j-jerk, Fliqpy."

"Compliments won't get you anywhere, honey."

Flaky was about to speak when the door to the room opened. Both Fliqpy and Flaky froze, staring as the newcomer entered the room. Or newcomers, should I say. It was Commander Axel, who brought a new guest: Sniffles, who was carrying a large case. Fliqpy's demeanor changed in an instant, from the relaxed and calm to sitting upright and not taking his narrowed eyes off of the commander.

"Axel, what the hell are you doing here?

"I'm here because I don’t trust you alone with the girl. Not after what happened earlier."

"I'm playing nice, no need to drug me up again," Fliqpy's eyes shifted to stare at Sniffles, "And what's the nerd doing here?"

Sniffles butted in, gesturing to the soldier as he spoke, "I'm here to figure out why you're still here and where Flippy is."

Fliqpy chuckled, "Your stupid serum caused this. So I guess I should thank you for getting rid of Flippy for me."

"I'm still going to run a few tests, see if we can trigger Flippy back in control."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

Sniffles' eyes gleamed with a menacing twinkle that even unnerved Fliqpy a bit. He sat the briefcase he had been holding on the table across from the curious and slightly worried Fliqpy. He opened it, placing a small box covered in different sized dials and two thick cords with clamps running from the back of the box. Fliqpy's face turned a bit pale as he realized what it was.

"Shock therapy?! You're not gonna fucking do that to me,"

Fliqpy's panicked expression surprised the others as this was the first time they saw something like fear in the veteran. Axel shook his head, almost feeling pity for his old friend. He walked over to Fliqpy and started to take the straightjacket off. As he was about to pull it completely off, he stopped and leaned in close to Fliqpy's face as he removed the mask so Fliqpy could speak clearly to him.

"Now I'm gonna take this off of you, and when I do you'd better play nice. The minute you try anything, we're doing something more painful than a few shocks. Understand?"

Fliqpy's face was an emotionless mask as he only spits in the commander's face as a response. Axel didn't even flinch as he wiped away the saliva before grabbing Fliqpy by the neck and slamming him onto the cot beside them. Using one hand to hold the thrashing and angry man down, Axel's other hand motioned for Flaky to come over. Flaky walked over hesitantly, knowing full well if Fliqpy got free from Axel's grasp that she would be the first one he'd go after.

Axel nodded to the side of the cot, "Flaky, there's a belt hooked to the side of the bed. Grab it and wrapped it over his body, please. Then when that belt's secure, there are two more above and below it, to strap in his head and legs."

"You even try and I'll fuckin' skin you alive, you redhaired fucking bitc-"

Fliqpy's angry swears were cut off by Axel's rough hand clamping over his mouth. Flaky quickly wrapped the first belt around the war vet's chest. Axel let go of Fliqpy, now that he was tied down.  Fliqpy thrashed and struggled, trying his hardest to break through the leather binds. Axel quickly held his legs down and Flaky tied those down as well, repeating the process for Fliqpy's head until he was completely secure.

"You guys had enough wrestling?" Sniffles grinned, as he walked over with the shock therapy device in his hand.

The scientist put the clamps on both side of Fliqpy's head and grabbed a piece of wood from the case, holding it over the war vet's mouth. Without even being asked or told to, Fliqpy allowed Sniffles to put the wood piece between his teeth. Biting down hard on it, Fliqpy awaited his "treatment" with no struggling or swearing.

Sniffles turned to look at Axel and Flaky, who were both watching Fliqpy with a look of worry on their faces, "No need to worry guys, this is gonna help him. But. . .it's not gonna be pretty."

Flaky sat down beside Fliqpy, whose fearful yellow eyes darted to look at her. She kept his gaze and for a second she could see her friend in there. She trailed her hand down slowly, her eyes never leaving his as she intertwined her fingers with his, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go.

"It'll be okay."

Fliqpy could only grunt in response, but it sounded content. He was ready.

Sniffles pressed a button on the box, emitting a low hum from the machine as it turned on. He turned a dial slowly and the humming increased in volume. The first wave of shocks hit Fliqpy, he didn't move save for a flinch. The next wave was stronger, making the war vet's body jerk up as the currents ran through him. Fliqpy groaned, biting down on the wood. The currents were getting stronger and more painful as time went on. Finally, Fliqpy's whole body was shaking as he screamed, barely being muffled by the wooden bar between his teeth. He was clenching his teeth so hard Flaky was surprised it didn't break in half.  She shut her eyes and put her hands over her ears, trying her hardest to ignore the agony laced screams and shouts.

After what seemed like hours of the treatment, Sniffles turned the machine off. Fliqpy's body continued to convulse and Flaky reached over try and hold him down, to help him only for Axel to snap at her.

"No! Don’t touch him! He's gonna get through the seizure, it's normal after this kind of stuff. But if you try and stop it, you'll only hurt him worse."

"B-But. . ." Flaky frowned, glancing at Fliqpy's face contorted in pain as he seized before looking back at Axel's stern face, "He's in pain and I-I. . ."

"I know, Flaky," Axel sighed, "You wanna help him, he's your friend. But trust me, that isn't your friend in there. It’s a murderous psychopath who's hell-bent on hurting as many people as he can."

Sniffles and Axel soon left after Fliqpy's seizure stopped, leaving Flaky alone with the war vet. Flaky could feel herself getting tired, after the day's insane events. She slumped in the chair beside the cot, and despite her mind screaming at her to stay awake and to not fall asleep with the crazed war veteran just a few feet from her, she did exactly that. Letting sleep take her away to a quiet dream.

Chapter Text

Flaky's eyes snapped open, startled awake by the feeling of someone watching her. Her fears were correct as she turned her head and saw the yellow eyes of the solider watching her from his cot, though Fliqpy said nothing at seeing her awake. Not even a taunt or threat. She noticed that for the first time she wasn't utterly terrified of his presence. It was like she could feel something inside him that she never thought was possible.

Fear. Fliqpy was afraid.

But of what?

Flaky shifted in her seat and opened her mouth to speak when the war vet spoke. Fliqpy's gravely voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. He sounded defeated, unlike the normally arrogant and cocky tone he had when speaking to someone else.

"It was my fault, ya know."

Flaky gave the soldier a puzzled look, "W-What was your fault?"

"The deaths of my comrades. My friends. They're dead because of me."

Without even being asked, Fliqpy started to tell her a story. A story of blood and violence, of loss and hatred. A story of his past.

". . .Through the rage and the despair he felt after getting his friends killed, through hiding from his killers by burrowing into the corpse of his best friend I was born.

"I'm sorry, Fliqpy. That sounds h-horrible."

"He was pushed to his limits and something broke, that fractured part of his mind had only one goal: Protect Flippy."

"What happened a-after? W-why are you so. . .", Flaky stopped, still nervous about accidentally angering Fliqpy even if he seemed docile at the moment. She knew better than anyone that could change in a second.

"So murderous. So blood-thirsty?" Fliqpy gave a grim smile and he chuckled before his smile went away and he only sighed, "As I mentioned to Hawthorne, I was chained to a bed surrounded by familiar strangers, after watching my friends die and murdering dozens of the enemy in a rage-fueled massacre."

"What did you d-do?"

Fliqpy narrowed his eyes, not taking his gaze off of the girl as his body trembled, "What did I do, Red? What did I fucking do? I SLAUGHTERED THEM. I RIPPED THROUGH THOSE CHAINS LIKE PAPER AND HUNTED DOWN THOSE PEOPLE LIKE ANIMALS! SO TELL ME, WHAT DID I FUCKING DO?"

Fliqpy's voice cracked, and Flaky saw tears start flowing from his eyes as his voice dropped down to a terrified whisper, "God, maybe you're all right. I am a monster."

"Fliqpy," Flaky reached out with a shaky hand and put it on the man's shoulder. He eyed it but did nothing to remove it like he normally would have, "L-Let me help you."

"Help me?" Fliqpy sneered, a bit of his arrogance coming back even if his face was stained with tears, "How are you going to help me?"

"I d-don't know. But I wanna t-try." Flaky frowned, completely stumped.

Fliqpy's eyes lit up and he looked at Flaky, an idea coming to him, "Wait what about nerd boy's serum? Isn't that what caused this in the first place? What if he tried it on me while I'm in control? Would it reverse the effects and bring Flippy back?"

"He's has been w-working on since he first tested it on you. B-But. . ."

"But what, Red?"

"But what happens to y-you?"

Fliqpy shrugged, a frown on his face, "I disappear I guess."

"But you can't j-just go! You're a part of Flippy, even if you aren't a good part. You're still what makes Flippy himself, you were a protector. A guardian."

"Not anymore, Flaky. Flippy doesn't need me anymore, he can protect himself like he protects you and everyone else. It is like ya said, the war's over."

Now Flaky was on the verge of tears, "Fliqpy p-please!"

Fliqpy shook his head, a sad smile on his face, "It's time, Red."

Flaky frowned, shaking her head, "T-time for what?"

"Time to stop fighting."

Chapter Text

Sniffles was exhausted. But he had to keep pushing. It hadn't even been a day since Flaky arrived at his door, the girl being near in tears as she stuttered through her words even worse than usual. But after calming the frantic redhead down, she was finally able to speak clearly and told him everything that happened.

"He wants to what?!"

"He wants you to. . .t-to help him. Use your serum to bring Flippy back. Can you d-do that?"

"I can, but-"

"S-Sniffles! Can you do it?"

Sniffles nodded, a frown on the scientist's lips, "I can. But Fliqpy may cease to exist if the new serum works the way it should. Or it could lock him away as well, leaving our friend a vegetable. There's a lot of risks."

"I k-know, but it's what he wants. It's what he n-needs."

"I understand. I'll get to work on it right away. It'll take some time, but it'll work this time. I'm sure of it."

Now here he was, pouring several jars of liquid into other jars just hoping he could figure out the right chemicals to mix to create the serum again. It took him almost another two hours of working when he mixed the right chemical. The mixture first was bright green before dimming down and turning into a dull blue. The blue reflecting off of his glasses,

Sniffles' smiled wide.

"It's ready."

Fliqpy eyed the three in front of him, a grim frown on his face as his yellow eyes darted from figure to figure. No one said a word for what felt like an eternity, just staying locked in this weird four-way staring contest. He knew what was coming, they knew what was coming. It was only a matter of time.

"You gonna jab me and get this over with? Or am I gonna have to do it myself?"

Axel shook his head, "Colonel- Fliqpy. You know this is goodbye right? You're going to truly die. It’s over."

"Gee, way to ease me into this, Hawthorne. You're as comforting as ever," Fliqpy sneered before his face fell and he sighed, "Axel, I'm sorry for what I did-"

Axel raised a hand, stopping the war vet's apology, "You were scared. You just lost everyone you loved in a matter of seconds and fought through hell and back to survive. Anyone would've been driven mad by it. It's not your fault, Flippy."

Fliqpy took a moment to realized he had been called Flippy and for the first time, it didn't feel like an insult. He smiled softly and saluted his former comrade. Axel saluted him back and Fliqpy saw tears glistening in the old war dog's eyes. Though neither said it, they could see it on each other's faces.

They were saying goodbye.

Fliqpy turned away from Axel, and now his gaze was on the redhead beside him. He nodded, a solemn blank expression on his face.

"I want her to do it."

Flaky's red eyes grew, "M-Me? W-Why?"

"Because you were the only person to truly care about me despite the horrible things I've done. You are my friend and I want you to do this for me, your friend."

Flaky nodded, taking the syringe from Sniffles. Both Axel and Sniffles left, as they saw that Fliqpy had no secret plans to try and hurt any of them. He was doing this. With only the two of them in the room now, Fliqpy laid down on the cot, his face calm and eyes looking straight up at the ceiling. Just as the redhead brought the needle down to his neck and was about to inject him, the soldier whispered to her.

"Wait."

"W-What," Flaky frowned, pulling the needle back.

"Can you hold me?"

Fliqpy had a light blush on his cheeks at asking this embarrassing request. Flaky smiled, her own cheeks flushing. She moved to sit beside him on the cot, cradling his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his green hair and she saw him stare up at her, his yellow eyes filled with happiness instead of the usual murderous rage it normally held. He smiled and whispered to her once more.

"You know, if this is how I go and the last thing I'm going to see is your face. I think. . .I think I'm okay with that."

"O-Oh F-Fliqpy," Flaky's heart nearly crumbled at that, but she knew she had to stay strong.

With a shaky hand, she brought the needle back down and jabbed Fliqpy. At first, the war vet didn’t feel anything and for a fearful second, he thought the scientist's serum failed. But the medicine's effect hit him and he felt it. The fading feeling, the sleepy feeling that he didn't even try to fight.

The feeling of dying.

With possibly only mere seconds left, Fliqpy used the last of his strength to pull his face close to Flaky's. They locked eyes for a brief moment, then Flaky closed the gap and they locked lips. And for a second Fliqpy felt something deep in his chest and he wanted to stay. He wanted to stay here, with her so very badly. But he knew he couldn't. As hard as it was, he broke the kiss. Staring into the girl's teary eyes one more time he whispered.

"Thank you."

Fliqpy finally closed his eyes and Flaky could only sob as she gripped his limp body in her arms, realizing he was gone. Moments later, she felt him stir. The war vet's eyes opened and Flaky was relieved at seeing the green eyes of her friend. Flippy blinked a few times before his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the hospital room. He sat up and looked at Flaky.

"I saw everything," Flippy frowned, "He really changed."

"I miss h-him," Flaky sniffed, before giving a smile and a little laugh despite her sadness, "As crazy as it s-sounds."

Flippy put his arm around the girl, a sad smile on his face as he pulled her into a comforting hug. He looked up at the ceiling, whispering so quiet Flaky couldn't hear him.

"I miss you too."