Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

chapter 2 - out at baseball
lammy x flaky. no exact warnings except for implied death at the end

chapter 3 - evil?
no ships. contains sniffles, nutty and flippy.

chapter 4 - mirror mirror
splendont drabble. no exact warnings

chapter 5 - moping at the docks
handy x russell. no exact warnings

chapter 6 - valentines
nutty x sniffles. other characters are toothy and cuddles. no exact warnings

chapter 7 - sleepy
nutty x sniffles drabble. no exact warnings its just fluffy

chapter 8 - fallen Idol
no ships, drabble. contains splendid and sniffles. implied death/murder

chapter 9 - "what even are you?"
no ships. mime and sniffles. possible gore warning

chapter 10 - awaiting
no ships. drabble. contains lammy and mr pickles

chapter 11 - graverobbing
no ships. drabble. contains sniffles. warning for corpse description and maggots

chapter 12 - graveyard mourning
no ships. contains lumpy and pop. warning for implied death

chapter 13 - local pirate
russell centered fic. handy and toothy are there and cuddles is mentioned. possible warning for characters being uncomfortable and small discussion of triggers/squicks

chapter 14 - maybe a savior
sniffles centered fic, giggles is at the end. others mentioned. warning for some descriptions of gore

Chapter Text

Flaky would stare off into space.

The sky would always look beautiful to her. Back in the day it was the only thing that calmed her down, although she had been getting better lately, she sometimes just stared off at the clouds.

They looked comforting. In a way, Flaky wished she could at least fly and move around the clouds. It was something she had always dreamed of doing, despite her anxiety.

The sky just looked free to her. A place of comfort. A place free of dying and misery. No wonder she liked it so much.

Although the whistle would bring her back to reality and out of her daydreaming- of course she decided to daydream in the middle of baseball.

Hitting the ball with the bat as most games go, it was like any other baseball match. Even if it wasn’t something she expected to find a hobby in, she quite enjoyed it, as she just liked throwing the bat around and looking cool.

As another whistle blew, it was time for a small break. She’d sit on one of the metal benches and started to stuff into a sandwich Giggles had bought for her. And yet she had found herself looking at the sky again, like she always did.

Then something caught her eye.

It was Lammy. Lammy wasn’t one to go to baseball matches at the middle of day- she often just hosted or went to tea parties. It felt rare seeing her at someplace like this, including the pickle she carried around her often.

And yet she seemed happy to be there, as she set one of her bags down as someone else walked over to her. They started to chat instantly, making Flaky a bit jealous

She wishes she was like that.

Although then her head started to think about Lammy. Lammy was… cute. Really cute to Flaky at least. Flaky had felt like this sometimes, mainly toward girls, but the feeling felt overwhelming.

Maybe it was a crush?

Flaky was starting to overthink in her head, until she felt someone tap her shoulder as she flinched.

“Flaky?” Lammy was there, worried.

“A-Ah- uhm, hello Lammy…” Flaky said, a bit embarrassed yet shocked, as Lammy chuckled a little.

“It’s surprising to see you here! I thought you would be at your house, or working at the grocery store!” Lammy said surprised as she sat down next to Flaky. “I never knew you would be into sports.”

“Kinda…” Flaky mumbled, scratching her cheek. “Flippy actually signed me up for baseball.. He’d said I’ll like it.” Flaky would fidget for a moment.

“That’s rather nice of him! ...Although, where is he?” Lammy asked, tilting her head.

“Therapy session. I thought he’d come until he formed me. He has one of those appointments again.” Flaky sighed a little. “I can’t blame him though.”

“Ah, me neither.” Lammy smiled faintly. “I go to therapy too, but only once a month… Like most tree friends here!” Lammy then said while holding her hands together, trying to outline any positives in the situation.

“W-Well, I’m fine on my own anyway…” Flaky blushed a little. “But it's nice for you to be here.”

“Oh?” Lammy had a faint glow on her cheeks. Flaky would start to mumble a bunch of noises.

“A-AH, I MEAN…” Flaky’s quills started to shake for a moment as the tree friend hid her hands into her face. “Sorry…”

“Don’t be!” Lammy chuckled for a little. “Many have said that before… I guess I always bring the light out of situations.”

“...I guess so.” Flaky had taken her hands out of her face, letting out a small smile.

The two then locked eyes for a moment, before quickly turning away. It felt… awkward.

Flaky then looked back at Lammy, who was holding Mr Pickles, and then she thought of an idea.

“Hey, Lammy…” Flaky asked, as Lammy looked at the porcupine in curiosity.

Flaky would take out a bag with two sandwiches in them and handed them over to the sheep.

“I’m about to go back into the game, but… here! You probably need something to eat.” Flaky smiled, as Lammy looked down at the bag.

“Thank you.” Lammy looked at Flaky and smiled, until the loud sound of the whistle would fill the area. Flaky quickly grabbed her bat.

“Oh, I guess another game is starting?” Lammy asked, with Flaky nodding.

“Y-Yeah… It might be a long game, too.” Flaky sighed.

“I wish you luck, then!” Lammy smiled once again, making Flaky blush for a moment.

“...You too!” Flaky then jumped off the bench she was on and quickly ran off to the rest of her team.

And so, everything went well, until a single ball was able to somehow shatter someones skull in the middle of a match.

Chapter Text

Nutty had looked at what Sniffles was making.

It was any other “normal” invention Sniffles would make, something the candy-crazed squirrel had never really bothered to understand. But Nutty’s thought process had simply gone, “cool!” to whatever Sniffles was making.

Nutty only ever really cared about Sniffles as a person, anyway.

As the creaking of the wooden table Nutty had sat on, Sniffles was simply drilling within the metal. Nutty had tried to keep their distance from the anteater, although the squirrel was always just curious to what the “nerd” was making.

After the last nail had been drilled in, Sniffles would raise it up in the air proudly. Nutty had mumbled, “What is it?”

“O-Oh.” Sniffles had looked shocked for a moment as he forgot Nutty was even there. Sniffles would adjust their glasses before deciding to reply. “Don’t tell anyone, but… remember that one cashier that was rude to you?”

“Uh-huh!” Nutty would nod their head.

“Well, I made this. It’s a mind control helmet!” Sniffles would say a bit too proudly, as Nutty simply tilted their head in confusion.

“...Ermm, I made it so the cashier can give you candy for free. If you like.” Sniffles said upfront, as Nutty would try to grab it until Sniffles had shoved Nutty’s hands away. “No, you can’t have it right now.”

Nutty would make a whimpering sound until the two had flinched by what was the local war veteran deciding to sit next to them and throwing down a stuffed bag.

“Hey!” Flippy waved at Nutty, not paying much mind to Sniffles. Nutty would wave back impulsively, as Sniffles just groaned.

Flippy then had noticed what Sniffles was holding- a helmet. Although the bear could see what was either needles or drills within the helmet itself. Flippy would flinch at noticing that small detail.

“And.. hello Sniffles. What exactly is that?” Flippy pointed at the helmet, his voice sounding a bit demanding.

“None of your business.” Sniffles groaned and put the helmet somewhere between the anteater himself and Nutty. Flippy would raise a brow.

“It’s just an invention, right?” Flippy asked again, as Sniffles nodded.

“Yes.”

“Are you gonna tell me what it is? It looks interesting!” Flippy would complement Sniffles a little, but the anteater seemed to growl a bit for a moment.

“I’ll rather keep it secret, so sorry.” Sniffles said a bit grudgingly, as Flippy just laughed a little.

“That’s alright. I’ll stop asking.” Flippy would sit down across the two, as Nutty simply giggled.

“Actually, it’s a mind control machine!” Nutty had blurred out, making Flippy widen their eyes.

“...What?”

“Yep! Sniffles made it so I can make people get candy FOR me! Isn’t that cool??” Nutty had grabbed the helmet and showed it off, with Sniffles eyes widening as well.

“Nutty, you aren’t-” Sniffles would get cut off as Nutty was about to wear the helmet, with Flippy seeing the two sharp needles within the helmet as clear as day.

“Wanna see?” Nutty asked, as Sniffles then snatched away the helmet. “Hey-”

“Nutty. Nutty…” Sniffles groaned, before glaring at the bear. “Pretend the squirrel didn’t say any of that.”

“What do you mean by that?!” Flippy yelled, completely shocked. “A teen like you shouldn’t be making stuff like that-”

“I can do what I want!” Sniffles yelled back, holding tightly onto the helmet.

“Please kid, you might just kill someone again... “ Flippy said with concern, with Sniffles grabbing out a wrench out of his toolbox.

Flippy twitched.

“Shut up.” Sniffles said without any emotion other than complete anger. Flippy would just get out of his seat and grabbed his bag.

“Sorry.” Flippy said apologetically, and walked off quickly.

Sniffles would then set down the wrench, taking deep breaths. Nutty would just stand there for a moment, worried for his friend.

Nutty was naive anyway. Nutty didn’t know the exact reason why Sniffles just wanted to keep the invention a secret.

There were other uses outside of forcing people to get candy, anyway.

Chapter Text

The slow, cold weather had been normalized to Splendont.

Inside the single mirror he was trapped in, he had lost track of time entirely. Within the mirror it was only a dark, cold space that he floated in.

Splendont didn’t know what day or month it was. He never bothered to count. All he did was simply float in what was bleakness, besides, there weren’t any signs of escaping the mirror anyways.

It was easy to say that Splendont had given up so many years ago once trapped within the mirror. When trapped by his brother, he tried his best to escape with his superpowers, but slowly Splendont came to the realization.

He was forever trapped in the mirror, and that was something Splendont could never try getting out of. And once the realization came to him, he slowly lost all hope of anything.

Maybe he forgot his own name. Maybe he forgot he even had a brother. Being stuck for years could do that to someone.

But then Splendont could hear something crack.

For once, he had opened his eyes, and although it was blurry, he could see the world around him start to crack and break.

Splendont didn’t know what to think, as the cracks started to break and shatter. Everything around the flying squirrel was going to be gone in his own eyes, and maybe him too.

And yet there was a flash of light. It blinded him completely for a moment, but then it was gone.

And he was somewhere else.

It was still cold, sure, but he felt like he could actually move. And the flying squirrel had realized one thing.

He was free.

And he knew exactly what he was going to do next.

Chapter Text

“The waters look great today, huh?” Handy would comment, sitting right next to the heart broken Russell.

It had been a bad day for Russell at least. He tried to go on a date with the popular gal, Giggles… Until he had found out that she wasn't interested in any of them. He didn’t even know whatsoever, and felt completely bad and kept on apologizing to the chipmunk.

And now Russell was moping. No one had bothered to check on him other than the beaver himself, and Handy had just felt bad.

“...They sure do.” Russell sighed, putting his only hand in his face. “I messed up a lot of shit today.”

“No you didn’t.” Handy said trying to cheer Russell up, but the otter only gave him a somber look. Handy just groaned. “...Ok, fine, you did, but you didn’t know!”

“S-Someone should’ve told me, aye look like a disaster…” Russell mumbled, shaking a bit.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Handy said as Russell looked back at the beaver with confusion. “Trust me, when my ex broke up with me, people always avoided me like some disaster was gonna happen. I was just… upset. Although you comforted me in the end.” Handy explained, with the otter realizing something.

“I mean, we’re always there for each other, I can’t just leave you to mope around!” Handy chuckled for a minute, with Russell laughing along too. “All jokes aside though, I hope you will be ok. It’s all gonna be ok in the end!” Handy would move a bit closer next to Russell, with the beaver smiling.

Russell blushed for a minute. “..Thank ya.”

“Ha, no pleasure.” Handy said a bit smugly, as the two simply sat on the docks looking at the night sky.

“..Er, ya know…” Russell would speak up suddenly. “I just want… to say this.”

“Eh?” Handy looked down at Russell, tilting his head.

“When us both became friends, ya were always there and stuff… And I might not just want to be friends with ye.” Russell explained, waving their single hand in the air.

“Oh.” Handy sat there for a moment, trying to get what Russell was saying.

And then the beaver realized as their cheeks went hot. “OH UHM- HAHAHA WELL UH-”

“Ya alright, Henry?” Russell would address Handy with their real name, making the beaver flinch.

“Y...Yes, I’m fine! And I … been slowly feelin’ the same way too, haha!” Handy had nervously said, then sighed with relief. “At least we got … those feelings out of the way.”

“Ya.” Russell said, sounding a bit more happier than before.

And it went silent for a moment. The two would hardly speak as they simply sat on the docks, with the otters head on the beavers shoulder.

Chapter Text

It was becoming a day Sniffles had often dreaded. Valentines day.

Other than it being known for companies constantly pumping out chocolates and candy Sniffles had often seen being snacked on, it was also a day where someone at least confessed to their crush. Or the day next to valentines, who knows.

Usually Sniffles never had to deal with the fact that he had a crush- until one day he developed feelings for his best friend Nutty. It was a messy feeling, often with jealousy and what not. Despite everything, Sniffles had never tried to reject his feelings outright and tried to drop hints whenever he could.

Nutty couldn’t get the hint. And Nutty was the same age as Sniffles, which made him slightly dumbfounded often. But he couldn’t blame Nutty either, he was less intelligent, unlike the anteater who usually spent his free time inventing in his basement.

Although it was becoming valentines day, and Sniffles simply decided he would try and confess on that single date. There was a painful dread in his brain that he would get rejected, since Nutty didn’t seem to have any romantic interests in anyone. At least he thought.

Slowly looking through the isles of candy, he figured that maybe some heart chocolates would give out the hint. Although from the looks of it, most of the candy Sniffles had been looking for were out of sale or simply ravaged by someone else. A bit disgusting.

Before Sniffles could even grab or think, he heard the sound of a skateboard through the isle and Toothy saying, “Cuddles, you can’t ride in the store!” How lovely.

Out of nowhere, Cuddles had skated by the aisle, and noticed Sniffles looking at some of the valentines candy. Sniffles could see the look of confusion on the bunny’s face ‘till they crashed onto the ground with Toothy running towards them.

Sniffles assumed Cuddles might have cracked their head on accident and died, until he heard Cuddles speak. He couldn’t make it out what he said, but it made him nervous and shaky for a moment.

Sniffles was about to plan to get out of the aisle until he heard Cuddles skate on over within the isle and over to Sniffles. Well shit.

“Heya Sniffly!” Cuddles chattered near the anteater as Sniffles just nervously looked away. Cuddles was often one to give random friends of his nicknames out of the blue. Heck, maybe his own name was a nickname as well, but he’d probably have to look into his wallet sometime.

“Hello Cuddles.” Sniffles said nervously while looking at the candy, trying to avoid any eye contact with the bunny. Cuddles looked a bit curious for a moment, before smirking.

“So, why are you in the Valentine's stuff aisle?” Cuddles asked, as Sniffles twitched for a moment.

“Oh, no exact reason. I’m just looking for candy so I can feast on.” Sniffles lied through his throat as he grabbed a heart container and threw it in the bag he had. Cuddles just grinned widely.

“Uh-huh. That’s the same thing I said to Petunia. You got a crush or something?” Cuddles grinned while asking. Toothy casually walked over next to Cuddles, wondering what's going on.

“No, not really, Cuddles.” Sniffles lied through their snout, facepalming. “Not everyone who says that has a crush. I mean, it’s just assuming things.” Sniffles had added on.

“Sure buddy. But if you DO have a crush, you can tell us!” Cuddles had replied back. Toothy, catching on what was going on, decided to add on.

“We won’t tell a single soul!” Toothy yelled back, with Sniffles starting to snap.

“And even if I told you both I have a crush on Nutty, then you’ll tell Flaky. Flaky would then tell Lammy, and then while Lammy is having a tea party with Petunia and Giggles, Lammy would tell the both of them. Then Giggles starts to spread me having a crush around like gossip until Nutty finds out!” Sniffles had yelled back, almost unaware that he basically confessed who his crush was.

“So you said Nutty is your crush, right?” Toothy asked, with Sniffles starting to deflate a little.

“...Fuck.” Sniffles mumbled, covering his hands in his head. “P...Pretend I never said any of that.” He asked, feeling like he was gonna cry.

“H-Hey! It’s alright buddy!” Cuddles would put his hand on the anteaters shoulder, trying to comfort them. “Valentines is coming and since you told us- but by accident- we can try to help you out!” Cuddles offered to Sniffles, who looked up.

“Wait, really?” Sniffles would raise a brow, with Cuddles nodding.

“Yep! Don’t want you to feel all alone on a day where everyone is on a date, y’know?” Cuddles had said casually, which hurt Sniffles a little on the inside.

Sniffles just would nod, as both Toothy and Cuddles smiled widely.

- - -

It was midnight, with fireworks in the sky at the edge of a carnival. The fireworks were colored the usual lovely dovely colors (if you could call it that), red, pink and sometimes purple.

Although it looked like a beautiful sight to be distracted too, Sniffles didn’t have time for distractions. It was Valentines Day, and he was ready to confess with the heart lollipops hidden in a bag of his.

Sniffles weren't wearing much. Just his lab coat he dragged around everywhere. He wanted it to be as casual as possible to Nutty at first, but… Nervously sitting down on a towel while other couples simply were chatting. Sniffles had felt nervous that Nutty simply forgot to go or just ditched him entirely.

I mean, he planned this whole thing out along with Toothy and Cuddles. But maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to plan. Maybe he should have bottled those feelings in and feel miserable if Nutty actually had gone ahead and dated someone else.

Unaware of Sniffles, Nutty had found themselves lost while chasing after a kart of cotton candy. Even if he had stolen it, he had completely lost his way throughout the large place. With millions of people walking throughout the streets of the carnival, Nutty just had found it easier to hide behind a stand and chew on his cotton candy.

And so, the fireworks had ended quickly and miserably for Sniffles. Grabbing his bag and stuffing in the towel he bought just for this occasion, he trotted off angrily.

Completely walking by and ignoring both a worried Cuddles and Toothy, Sniffles had found themselves mindlessly walking past or pushing people in the way. Other than what was rage, he felt sad as well.

Sniffles just had assumed he was ditched and threw their bag behind a stand and sat down, starting to sob. Unknown to Sniffles, Nutty was sitting right next to him, startled by the anteater.

“Sniffles?” Nutty said, with it shocking Sniffles. He looked right next to him while adjusting his glasses, and looked completely shocked.

“What- Nutty?! I thought you just ditched me-” Sniffles said in a mumbly tone compared to how he spoke, with his eyes widened.

“I-I didn’t. I got lost…” Nutty said sadly as they looked down at their finished cotton candy. “I just saw some… CANDY… and got distracted.” Nutty looked jittery for a moment while talking.

“A-Ah, that explains it.” Sniffles would have just sighed, while Nutty would fidget for a moment.

Might be as good a time as ever.
Sniffles then would take out one of the heart shaped lollipops and gestured it over to Nutty, who’s eyes widened at the lollipop. Instantly, the squirrel snatched the lollipop off his hand and started to chew and lick on it.

“Oh. I was about to say something.” Sniffles sighed again,scratching the back of his head. “And I have something to tell you, Nutty.”

“Huh?” Nutty was out of their candy fixation and looked at the anteater confused.

“I … have a crush on you.” Sniffles said in a stutterly tone. “Well, I love you- but it’s a crush, so… yeah. It’s also the reason why I was gonna invite you here and all that stuff… you can just blame Toothy and Cuddles for the settling.” Sniffles then took a deep breath, as he had waited for Nutty to possibly reject the poor anteater.

“I feel the same!” Nutty said with a happy tone, completely shocking Sniffles.

“Er- what?” Sniffles looked at the squirrel, who was blushing.

“I had a crush on you when we became the best of friends! But I thought you wouldn’t really… like me…” Nutty tilted their head down for a moment. “I just bottled them all in, that’s all.”

“Oh.” Sniffles looked surprised and were blushing. “Oh, uhm, well…” Sniffles would cover their hands in their face, with the anteater's cheeks completely red.

Nutty would just give Sniffles a pat on the back and moved a bit closer to Sniffles. “It’s ok! I love you too, Sniffles.”

“I-I love you too.” Sniffles would take their hands off their face and decided to hug the squirrel, with Nutty looking shocked but giving into the hug as well.

For a moment, it was peace for the two of them. Until they both were taken aback from a loud explosion in the background.

The two looked to where the source of it was, and apparently the ferris wheel had exploded (lucky, with no one on it).

“...I think that’s our sign to leave.” Sniffles whispered to Nutty, as the squirrel would nod their head in agreement.

The two would get up and quickly ran off giggling a little, while the chaos of what always happened in Happy Tree Town happened once again.

Chapter Text

Nutty woke up at the sound of an alarm beeping and the loud snores of his new and first boyfriend, Sniffles.

Nutty didn’t remember much from last night, other than him confessing to the anteater as he had also confessed too. Maybe they kissed, who knows.

The squirrel would try to get up only to realize that they were being hugged by the anteater themself. Looking closer at Sniffles, he wasn’t even wearing his glasses, as he had a small red tint around his cheeks.

He looked kind of cute, Nutty thought to himself. Nutty would make a small chatter sound out of comfort, and simply snuggled up next to the sleeping Sniffles.

Nutty probably wasn’t gonna get up any soon with Sniffles next to him.

Chapter Text

Splendid was truly sorry.

He might've been rude and overbearing to everyone, but he was too caught up in his own ego. And he never expected this.

No matter what, the anteater would never listen to Splendid. Splendid tried to make reason with them, only to almost get stabbed in the chest.

It was an idiotic idea to consider Sniffles had gone “evil”. At least, to Splendid. Splendid truly had believed the kid could have been heroic in the name of justice, but…

Seeing the dead bodies lay on the ground, mainly ones of innocent citizens, started to make him change his mind. Splendid was the cause of this destruction, after all.

It just felt unbelievable that Sniffles would hardly even listen to the hero. No matter what, Sniffles would constantly instead try to mangle his body into a million pieces and let them rot. At least that’s the message Splendid was getting.

Trying to plead that he was sorry, the anteater still had hardly listened. Although he was a superhero and was invincible, he was growing weaker and weaker by the minute.

And by getting smacked by one of the large robotic arms, Splendid had hit the ground and actually started to bleed. It felt painful, as he felt like something else was in the works against him.

Although he didn’t have much time to think when the large robotic hands launched right at him, tearing him apart piece by piece and leaving what was only his red mask.

Maybe Sniffles had truly gone evil.

Who knows.

Chapter Text

The smoke would start to rise out of the crashed bus. It was like any other death- the bus driver had lost track of where they were going and crashed right within a single house, and then everything went haywire from there.

But then there was Mime.

Mime, despite how gastly and broken their body looked like at the moment, would stand up like it was nothing. Slowly the corpse of what was Mime looked around, and slowly slid off.

While sliding off, the “deer's” body had started to recover. Skin would grow back, organs that weren’t there before had grown up again, and even Mimes signature makeup that seemed to be washed off had suddenly grown back.

Mime’s body would make what was… squishy noises for a moment. The expression on Mime’s face was only a blank one, with the “deer’s” pupils hardly even there. And the pose wasn’t even helping how suspicious Mime might be, as Mime’s feet were on the ground stuck just like glue but Mime’s upper torso was bending upward, with their arms just acting like ragdolls.

And for a moment, Mime’s pupils had returned as they finally stood up straight, stretching their arms up in the air. Mime had acted like nothing before even happened.

“What the fuck.” A familiar voice yelled.

Mime flinched, as they looked right behind them. Sniffles was right there, with his stuff on the ground with him looking completely shocked.

“W...What the FUCK?!” Sniffles yelled even more. “I-What-”

Mime just shrugged, sweating.

“I-I can’t even… What even HAPPENED?” Sniffles questioned with demand, with Mime scratching the back of their neck.

Mime would simply give an expression, kind of saying, “Well, why are you questioning me?” whilst pointing to themself.

“You think I’m just gonna… ignore what happened IN FRONT OF ME?” Sniffles would wave their hands in the air. “I understand people live and die all the time, but you can just… go ahead and…”

Mime just shrugged their shoulders again, with a slight smirk on their face.

“H-Hey! Don’t…” Sniffles just sighed. “Listen, I-I’m just shocked. I don’t know if what I saw was r-real, but…”

Mime looked at the anteater with a bit of sympathy, as they just seemed to try and make a chuckling expression.

All of a sudden, Mime was then hit by a single wrench as it stabbed right into their arm. Mime would act for a moment, acting shocked until Sniffles walked on over and then grabbed it right out of their arm.

The small injury regrew.

“I knew it.” Sniffles would look completely shocked. “I KNEW it!”

Mime on the other hand would just rub their arm, before looking at Sniffles with a confused expression.

Although for a moment, they looked at each other.

“...But, at the same time…”

“What even are you?”

Chapter Text

The clock was ticking.

Lammy would fidget with her fingers. She didn’t bother cutting off her fingernails today, as she felt stressed and rushed.

The small pickle across the table was Mr Pickles, and Lammy would just stare down at them. The pickle itself was a comfort item, and even an imaginary friend too!

And yet she felt something was off. Something was wrong with the room she was in. And this was her own house, why did everything feel off?

The clock kept on ticking and ticking, as she’d pour some tea into a single cup. Each tea cup was purple, just like the color of her skin.

Steam would come out of the tea, as Lammy sighed out of relief. She then took another glance at Mr Pickles.

The pickle was on the ground.

They had moved.

Chapter Text

Sniffles had to admit, the corpse was disgusting.

Maggots would crawl within the corpse, which somehow still contained the skin of the fallen star, with flies buzzing all around it. The anteater felt like he was gonna vomit on the spot if he had even decided to open inside the body out of curiosity.

Although, he didn’t want to fail himself, so the short tree friend shoved the corpse into a bigger bag and quickly bolted off from the graves. Graverobbing for one's riches was one thing, but taking an entire corpse out of a coffin and ground for the sole reason of bringing it back to life was another.

Shoving the bag into the trunk and getting into his car and driving off, Sniffles had hoped that no one caught him in the act. He didn’t even bother to clean up the mess he made, meaning that someone was gonna find out the grave was robbed of it’s corpse anyway.

- - -

The room had smelt like a corpse being cut up, which was what exactly was happening now. Sniffles found himself on the verge of vomiting, although he kept going on, cutting the corpse and replacing some of the organs with nothing but cotton or specific devices.

After finally getting out the last disgusting organ and throwing it into the “organs” trash which he surprisingly had, and replacing the piece with cotton and stitching the body up carefully.

He’d smile at what he had done, putting down the tools and would raise the large tray the body was on with a lever, as the body was close towards some other device.

Sniffles would press onto a button, as electricity would strike into the body instantly, the loud sounds of shock and what seemed to be thunder ringed throughout the room. It’d make Sniffles flinch, although still watching what he had finally got the guts to do.

After a while, the sound and the device stopped as the tray lowered down, with the body looking frozen like it always did.

Sniffles looked down with disappointment, only for the body to twitch as the eyes opened.

The anteater chuckled, as the body twitched some more- like it was alive.

For once, Sniffles was able to revive the fallen star named Disco Bear.

Chapter Text

Lumpy’s shifts in the graveyard were always considered scary by others, but in reality it was just boring. At least to the moose.

Other than the forever eclipse and fog looming over the graveyard (and to an extent, Happy Tree Vile in general) there just wasn’t much to do. Considering the reviving curse, a graveyard would be useless if it weren’t for a fact that graverobbing was a crime.

So Lumpy was a graveyard watcher. Whatever the name was, they didn’t remember, and surprising that this was the longest running job Lumpy had that he didn’t get fired for accidentally killing someone.

But aside from that, it was boring. He was paid 50 dollars a week, which they didn’t mind. At least they were being paid and not getting fired.

So it was just another week watching over the graveyard. Lumpy could hardly tell each grave apart, or even the names as they were covered in either moss or were worn out.

Either way, Lumpy just… stood there sometimes. There wasn’t much to do, nor were there any familiar green thieves around.

At least until Lumpy noticed a car park outside of the graves fences, and was confused as always.

A figure came out of the car as Lumpy just stared straight at it, making the figure notice the moose's familiar figure and jump.

“Lumpy?” It was Pop, who looked startled now that Lumpy looked at it. Who would've guessed.

“Er.” Lumpy felt a bit awkward. “Hi.” They just waved their sharp hands up at Pop. “Whatca… doing here?”

“I think you should know at this point, Lumpy.” Pop sighed, taking out some flowers, specifically Carnations. Lumpy took a second to realize.

“Oh.” Lumpy felt awkward, not like they were before. “Uhm, yea, I see.” He shifted awkwardly whilst talking.

Pop gave an understanding smile, before patting him on the back and walking off to a singular grave with flowers all around it.

While Pop put down the Carnations onto the grave, Lumpy had walked off a little to feel a little less awkward.

He couldn’t really do much to help Pop as he was grieving, like he always did. Considering the forever eclipse looming over Happy Tree Town though, Pop would've been grieving forever.

But Lumpy wasn’t sure. So he didn’t want to think about that idea.

Like always.

Chapter Text

There weren't many problems with being that one guy in town everyone gawks about, about how mysterious you were and how distant you were even if they got a chance to talk to you. At least Russell pretended to not be very bothered by it every moment he went out.

The moment someone had actually found him near the shore and that wrecked boat he didn’t even remember being in, he kind of became a bit of a celebrity. A very small one, but because of his pirate clothing and the fact he had actually lost limbs seemed to surprise everyone there.

The first few days where Russell decided that yes, he’d actually try to go to the store and hang out with some friends, and not be an awkward mess went a bit different than what he was expecting. It was mainly just some bunny (his name was Cuddles apparently) asking about what adventures he went on, how he lost his legs and such.

He didn’t know what to feel or even answer. Even if he actually looked like a pirate, it was very hard to walk sometimes, and he felt pain for no reason in any moment of the day (or at the very least, some days actually). It wasn’t as fun as Russell would have remembered wanting to be. Russell wasn’t really even his name, just something he came up with.

He just figured this was who he was known for now, he didn’t exactly remember what had happened to him before he woke up bloody and injured on a shore. Those days were miserable, but at least he was happy he got the help he needed.

It wasn’t like Russell still loved the sea. At least he remembered that he liked it a bit too much, but the problem was that he became…. panicked near it. Or even really being asked about being a pirate, too. He remembered he loved the sea, loved it so much he dressed up like a pirate even!

But he’s just avoiding the ocean now. Even if he still lives in that wrecked boat, he just hangs around an armless beaver and a blind mole. They don’t seem to care about him being a pirate and more of just relating to the fact that he’s limbless. Not like half of his limbs are gone, anyway. It felt weird.

He didn’t exactly know to himself why he avoided the ocean. Other than the fact that whenever he was near it, he felt panicked and breathless, but he never knew why he felt that way.

Maybe he’d ask about it.

- - -

It was just another night (or endless night) as Russell just went to Handy’s place to sleep. There was the excuse of, “it was being windy out there” as if Handy didn’t knew Russell constantly avoided his home because it was near the ocean.

Russell was not a beaver by any other means, so it was hard to climb up the tree house Handy and his brother lived in. He just stared at the ladder before getting up the ladder for what was half an hour. He got chocolate milk as a reward for just getting up there by Handy’s brother.

Handy’s brother, Toothy, (which raised more questions about why most of the tree friends here had such weird ass names) didn’t mind Russell’s presence. Toothy was a bit more excited about it (he would hear Toothy asking Handy if he was coming over to their place one time). But maybe it was because he was known for being a pirate.

Russell just found himself lying on the couch. He didn’t feel like walking around, the ladder was pretty much enough for him not to do so. He was tired enough.

Handy was just making pancakes with his prosthetics, which seemed to work much better for him rather than a singular hook and two different peglegs. Russell felt a bit petty now that he thought about it.

“Psst.” Russell was a bit taken by surprise as Toothy actually decided to speak to him. “No offense, but where’s your cool looking hat? Is there a name for it?”

Russell was kind of shaken by that question. “Erm. Aye forgot the name for it.” He mainly just forgot most things, but Toothy just shrugged.

“Aww. I was gonna take a picture of it for Cuddles.” Toothy sighed a little, sitting next to Russell on the couch. “Man, it’s so cool to see a pirate in person.”

“Yeah.” Russell just replied to that a bit flatly. “I guess it is.” He’d blink his eye a little, rubbing it with his only arm. He got quite used to using that arm now.

“Sorry if this is a bit weird to ask,” Toothy looked over to Russell, holding his accessorized phone in hand. “But how did you lose your legs and stuff? Cuddles always wonder about it, and I wanna know too!” Toothy said, a bit enthusiastic about the story of a “pirate” losing his arms.

Maybe it was different for Handy considering this. He had only two legs and no arms and yet hardly anyone asked Handy how he lost his arms. Rather, others just didn’t bother him or hardly said anything about it. And yet Russell was constantly asked about it daily.

Maybe it was because he was a pirate and Handy was just a hard worker.

“...Sure.” Russell just decided to give in. Maybe those two would leave him alone whenever he went out now. “So it was on a.. uh..”

“Uh-huh.” Toothy was wide eyed and listening, staring right at Russell.

“Er…” Russell just fidgeted with his hook, trying to remember. “Uh…” He didn’t want to disappoint Toothy, even if he was uncomfortable by him sometimes.

“It’s ok! Take your time.” Toothy said with a big toothy grin, he was a bit too kind now that Russell thought about it.

Although Russell just stuttered uh’s and er’s, he couldn’t really remember, the only thing he did seem to remember was the feeling of his limbs being torn off all at once. It wasn’t a good feeling.

“...Aye forgot.” Russell just said that outloud, making Toothy make an expression of concern.

“Oh. That’s ok!” Toothy’s expression switched, making a concerned smile instead. “I mean, if it’s on the level of like… not really a good story to tell, and more traumatizing actually, kinda like Flippy, then that’s ok.”

“...Sure. Going with that.” Russell just sighed. This conversation felt a little more awkward, or uncomfortable only to Russell. “Dunno… Only remember my limbs being torn off. Aye’s body remembers that good enough.”

“Ouch.” Toothy scratched the back of his head. “I mean, now that I look at it-”

Toothy was cut off by Handy. “He’s fucking traumatized by the ocean, dumbass. Here’s your pancakes by the way.”

“Wait- oh.” Toothy just took the plate of pancakes and started to cut into them. “Uh, thanks. And he’s traumatized? I already kind of… came to that-”

Handy just had a glare, straight at Toothy. “You’re so air minded you didn’t bother to notice how fucking uncomforable Russ was. Get a brain.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault! It’s just like… dunno…. isn’t he a pirate?” Toothy just asked that silently as if Russell wasn’t trying to cut his pancakes, trying to listen out of the two conversations.

Handy just thought for a moment. Then spoke. “I don’t see why you’re so curious about him, if I were a pirate would you be asking everyday about how I lost my hands?” Or, just yelled, as he always did.

“Erm… Yea, I guess.” Toothy just admitted, holding a piece of pancake with a fork in the air. “Pirates are kinda interesting actually, I mean, we have an actual pirate here.”

Russell just shoved a piece of pancake into his mouth, definitely trying to listen out of the two’s conversation.

“Even if he wasn’t a pirate would it be so kind enough to stop asking? It’s weird enough asking someone how they lost their own limbs. I said this before many times, especially to your friend.” Handy just gritted his teeth, as Toothy just sat on the couch feeling very awkward.

“...Yea. It is.” Toothy scratched the back of his head again. “Sorry Ru-”

“Imf domfth-” Russell just swallowed the piece of pancake he had in his throat. “Don’t know if I’m a pirate or not.” The otter confessed, making Handy and Toothy look at each other.

“Oh.” The two just said at the same time, but with Handy glaring at Toothy more and Toothy feeling guilty for asking about it in the first place.

“Listen… Just… dunno.” Russell figured he might say whatever he felt right now. “Been avoiding the ocean, even my own house… Or ship… Just feel panicked around it now.”

Handy tilted his head down. “So you’re triggered by that stuff? Or mildly uncomfortable- squickened- whatever fuckin’ works.”

Russell didn’t exactly know what that stuff really meant. “....Both.” Although, whatever it meant, it was probably the same he was always feeling. “Sometimes aye… cry ‘nd stuff. This is embarrassing.”

“It isn’t.” Toothy just mumbled that, although tried to sound comforting. “I mean, you probably just realized you’re traumatized by the ocean by like… something.”

Oh. Traumatized.

“I guess that’s the word.” Russell mumbled, which might have explained almost everything for him.

Chapter Text

Vague lights always had been around this small town, within the streets and forage, as Sniffles assumed it was a rumor.

Rumors were everywhere. To Sniffles, it was people trying to believe that this town was more interesting than it actually was; like the plants and animals weren’t interesting enough. Even people he actually was friends with, Toothy and Flaky, were either theorizing or being paranoid about whatever “Nightcrawlers” were.

But it was another night of getting samples. Specifically bug samples, within the mouthful of forests surrounding the town. A lot of houses yards had weeds and bugs in them that people stopped caring about it at this point; even people who had always cleaned their yard before like Flippy and Pop let the weeds grow anyway.

He always had to bring a flashlight, and a backpack with some tools. He was conflicted on bringing a net since it could damage the insects, so he simply brought some small traps. Bugs were small to get, unless they were something as big as a rhino beetle… but the smaller ones are the most abundant, and could be more interesting if he studied enough.

Sniffles never brought a car or some kind of vehicle to these things as he walked across what was barely a path, being as careful as he could be. There was always the concern of actual bears roaming around, but maybe they were asleep at this moment? Dangerous animals have been reported to kill, so he just had to be careful.

There was chirping of crickets filling the air with the poor anteater looking under some log. Only crickets and roaches skittered, not enough time for him to grab one as he sighed. Maybe he could catch a moth if he stayed home and put out a bluish light…

Then he heard a twig snap.

Maybe it was just another person, he thought, as he awkwardly tried to hide in some bushes. Another twig snapped though, then another, and another…

Sniffles looked around, and it didn’t actually seem like anybody was nearby. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him again, but then there was growling right behind him. A loud, angry growl.

“...Ah..” Sniffles whimpered as he felt himself pushed to the ground, hard, as something bit deep onto his hand. He tried to kick it off, but it only dig deeper that it made him scream his heart out.

Sniffles used his other hand to claw at the thing, and it felt fluffy but it had also burnt his hand the moment he tried to touch it. It tried to bite his neck, as Sniffles tried to push its head away from him. He could see the creatures eyes, swirling and cruel.

He kept trying to push it away, but a foul kick seemed to make it jump off of him as he tried to run off. It just attacked his leg, gnawing deep on the furry flesh as Sniffles screamed and fell. It hurt, it felt like his skin was being burned and stabbed a hundred times as one of his veins was ripped directly out of him. Everything felt blurry and horrible, with a big chunk of his flesh being chomped and chewed on.

He only withered and cried as a bask of light suddenly hit his eyesight, and a low whimper from whatever was attacking him…

-

He was alive, or at least he thought so. The pain was still there, itching at his leg and arm.

His glasses were dirty and a bit cracked, but he was somewhere safe. Wiping his glasses with an equally dirty sleeve, he could barely make his surroundings.

He was in a car, and the door was open. Nobody was even around inside or outside of it, but when he tried to move he only hissed as that pain hit right back at him. Weakly looking down at his leg, it was bleeding everywhere that blood got on the car.

He could only make a whimper.

“Geez, that dumb thing took a bit of time to kill…” Another voice, one very familiar, suddenly made his ears twitch. He looked outside the car and saw someone he works with.

Giggles. And what his glasses vision could offer, she had a large pair of feathery white wings behind her back.

“Oh, uhm.” Giggles looked like she flew down, but seemed to have an awkward expression. Maybe that was the giant fucking wings on her back that just vanished. She was holding a med kit, though.

“...Giggles? What are you even doing out here?” Sniffles demanded to know a bit as Giggles walked on over, taking out some white bandages.

“You called for help, of course!” Giggles gave Sniffles a kind smile as she carefully took his arm and began to wrap it up. “You would’ve been back by morning anyway… if you died, I mean.” She mumbled as Sniffles pulled his hand back the moment Giggles was done.

“Thanks, but, the wings,” Sniffles looked confused as Giggles tilted her head down. “And… and that… thing, it was a wolf, right?”

“Could be a demon! Anyway, give me your other hand-” Sniffles looked suspiciously at Giggles, not even offering his hand.

“What’s going on? What bullshit another person is hiding anyway?” Sniffles looked pissed a little, but still confused. There were spies hiding in this small town, and that was the only interesting thing he could recall. Not demons or angels.

“I save you, and you’re questioning all of that?” Giggles just rolled her eyes as she grabbed Sniffles hand and quickly wrapped it up in bandages. He only hissed just a little.

“...Sorry, I was rude there.” Sniffles looked down at his hand when Giggles was done, but he still gave her a glare. “I just… wings, those ones. And they just disappeared…” Sniffles felt like he was having some crisis. “I am seeing things, right?”

Giggles looked pitiful. “Ah, well…” She put the medkit to the side, rubbing her hands together. “It’s hard to explain, ‘cuz you wouldn’t believe it, so…”

Sniffles was about to ask only for Giggles body to suddenly shift and morph; light basking everywhere as he had to look away due to how bright it was. Then it just stopped, and he could finally look normally again.

“I’m an angel, one of the best!” Giggles happily smiled, as her wings were right behind her again. “It’s not really a rule to keep that fact secret, so…”

“...I have to be high.” Sniffles was mouth agape.

“I mean, you can see other angels if you do have some weed-”

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” Sniffles turned away and whimpered a little. “I don’t… I have to be dreaming, maybe, or… Maybe I am just dead…”

“You’re fine, and it’s all real! …Please don’t panic.” Giggles sounded worried a little, as Sniffles head turned to look at her. She was genuine, and she always was. Maybe that was why she was a nurse despite not knowing much medical knowledge, she wanted to help people.

Just like him right now.

Sniffles just whimpered again. “O-Ok, sure.” He turned back to Giggles, and weakly put his leg out. “I believe you. I think.”

Giggles smiled as kindly as ever.