User blog:SaenihpNnylf/Things Just Got Real Chapter 3

No Longer Co-Authored with HTFan after second scene.

The Tree Friend gritted his teeth as he skidded across what was luckily grass but as unforgiving as anything else in this town. In the fall, he could feel his left arm snap and a few lacerations cut their way through his stomach and chest though not deep enough to take his organs with the momentum. Not only was he alive but he wasn't seriously injured.

It wasn't the fall itself that had him worried though. It was the cause of the fall. He was no idiot, by the town's standards at least, maybe even outside of them, he knew he was tackled and he was almost certain of who it was that brought him down.

Just the Tree Friend he was intending to escape in addition to the pain of death. The reason that he wouldn't have went if there was more than one spot left. The one who screwed him over for far too long and, unlike most of the town, it was not the tyrannical blue moose.

His face hardened as he pushed himself around with his good arm and predictably found himself staring into the cold, cruel eyes of a face not unlike his own. The fact brought bile to his throat every time he thought about it so he tried not to but it was undeniable. "Get off of me, Shifty!" he hissed, filled with only hatred and determination at the moment as he tried to squirm out of his twin's body trap.

Shifty's gaze hardened as well locking the raccoons into an intense staring battle as if they were both trying to burn through the other's skull. Having clearly seen the bone sticking out, Shifty grabbed onto Lifty's broken arm and squeezed prompting an instinctual scream. "You honestly think I didn't hear that big toothed weirdo? There's no way you're leaving this world, then who would do the grunt work on our heists."

In spite of the pain, Lifty held his own glare. "You can't stop me!" With that, Lifty actually spat up in his twin's face.

Shifty only growled, wiping the spit off with his free hand before placing it around Lifty's neck and the other hand soon followed moving from his arm. "Oh but I will, even if I have to kill you to do it." With each word, the grip on his own brother's neck tightened completely cutting off his air supply.

As Lifty struggled, he had flashbacks to the time in the hot air balloon... and the other time in the submarine. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that his own flesh and blood was going to strangle him to death, which was only amplified by the blackening of his vision. Today, more than any other time in his immortality, he just had to stay alive or he'd never be able to escape.

He could feel his face going numb and knew he would be gone if he didn't do something fast. With barely any vision left, Lifty lifted his good arm and sent a good punch right for where he hoped Shifty's nose was.

Luck would have it, the punch had connected shattering Shifty's nose and sending him back enough for Lifty to escape.

Not wasting a second, Lifty got out from underneath Shifty gasping to bring air to his starving lungs as he got to his feet and tried to run, which was clumpy and awkward, his muscles screamed from hypoxia and he wasn't even sure if he was going in the right direction.

It wasn't long before he was grabbed from behind and he didn't have the physical strength to escape. He only had one chance and he wasn't even sure it would work from here or if he could gather up enough air power to make any noise at all. In spite of this, Lifty yelled as loud as he could possibly manage. "I want to go to the other world!" The attempt was meek and pathetic, and hurt Lifty a lot to even attempt but something still did come out, just barely.

They were both shocked to hear the same sadistic laugh Cuddles and Flaky had the previous day distracting Shifty enough to not kill him right then and there. "Aw, but I was having so much fun watching that. Alright, you can go on the trip."

"Then I want to go, too!" Shifty demanded. Scaring Lifty that the Cursed Idol that it might agree to let him go just to torture him.

The idol wasn't having any of that though and said in a voice that said that this is not open for negotiation, "There are no more spots left. You'll just have to stay back in this world without him, Shifty."

Shifty growled and turned Lifty, who had mostly regained his vision, around to face him hissing, "So what? That's it? You're just going to leave your brother? Your own flesh and blood to die? And you call yourself a..." Shifty couldn't finish that sentence as his skull collapsed in on itself spilling blood and brain matter across the grass silencing him for the day and the last Lifty will ever have to hear.

Speaking of the battered raccoon in question, he stood, still gasping for breath but now he had a bloodied stone clutched in his paw. For the first and last time in his immortality, Lifty had intentionally killed someone... and he didn't regret it one bit. "You fucking hypocrite," Lifty whispered weakly but feeling a strong sense of relief for too many reasons for most people to imagine as he smiled. Not his usual mischievous grin, a genuine smile.

Similar to Giggles quitting her job, he had wanted to do that for as long as he could remember but he was always afraid of what would happen the next day. Now he didn't have to worry about that anymore. He was finally free.

While Lifty stood triumphantly and satisfied over the death of his dreaded brother, and knowing he will be once and for all rid of his constant troubles, Cuddles and Flaky were having their own troubles trying to find a final candidate to fill up the remaining slot, though unbeknownst to them it was now fully taken by a particular thief they had no intention to bring in the first place.

Luckily, it seemed the massive blood-lust the town had was going to take it slower today, with no noticeable destruction or death in plain sight. Cuddles felt carefree with the atmosphere filled with less red, though Flaky trembled now and then when the sudden sound of a car driving by, or even a chirping bird. Silence wasn't exactly a good sign to her. It only meant something bad was waiting to happen.

While Flaky followed Cuddles with her frightened posture all the way through the depths of Happy Tree Town, Cuddles sighed in annoyance as he crossed off a few more names on his list. Petunia showed clear signs she was not fit at all to go with them, and Toothy's neutral stance on all of this was only going to stall their trip. Sniffles was out busy today walking what appeared to be a new purple acidic blob, and no matter how hard they tried to talk to him, Mime refused to speak up and give an answer, thus took it simply as 'No.' As for Russell, he seemed too busy with his restaurant business, so Flaky suggested they kindly skip him for now.

This left only one last person to check off on the list, and Flaky wasn't exactly too excited to ask this particular Tree Friend to tag along on this trip.

Cuddles held up the paper to him, pointing out the last name at the bottom of the list. "I guess this just leaves Disco Bear now, Flaky. If he says no, I guess we'll just go with the four of us. But hey, might as well fill the slot if we can, right?"

Flaky shrugged her shoulders, not exactly knowing how to respond considering that this was Disco Bear they were about to interview for filling the slot.

As they continued to walk down the sidewalk heading towards the further edges of Happy Tree Town, Flaky broke the silence by hurrying up to Cuddles' left side and speaking softly. "What about Giggles? Doesn't she, like, hate Disco Bear or something?"

Cuddles chuckled as he turned his head to face Flaky. "Heh, well, it's not like she'll have to worry about him on this trip if he decides to come. I'll be with her every step of the way, so Disco Bear isn't going to have a chance to lay a hand on her."

Flaky looked away from Cuddles for a moment, shaking her head. "You... really sound kind of obsessed with Giggles. It doesn't sound healthy."

Cuddles shrugged his shoulders. "So, I have a few photos and stuff of her; that doesn't mean I'm obsessive."

Flaky murmured to herself quietly. "Few is an understatement..."

Cuddles made another soft chuckle as he faced forward again. "Besides, you see her face when Disco Bear is always around her and Petunia. She really tends to share the same opinion with Petunia, and I can't blame her. Hell, I bet if the man tried to dance with her she wouldn't even crack a smile. But hey, someone has to take the spot, so if he wants to come, he can."

Flaky shook her head as she trailed back behind Cuddles. "Whatever you say, Cuddles."

After a few more minutes of walking through town, Cuddles raised his hand out to Flaky and stopped her suddenly. Flaky looked up in confusion before dropping her jaw in awe of the sight Cuddles was staring at as well.

Cuddles looked at his list again and to the house multiple times until nodding his head, pointing his right index finger at the house in front of them while his eyes stared in awe at its size. "There it is... Disco Bear's house."

Flaky looked alongside Cuddles at what looked like possibly one of the most elegantly decorated buildings in Happy Tree Town. Compared to Cuddles', Toothy's, or even Lumpy's old trailer, this house was high-class quality. The exterior of the house alone showed that plenty of work went into this place, and was far from the affordable ranges the other Tree Friends could pay for with their jobs, aside from Lumpy and his dozens of careers.

Cuddles nodded his head as he made a short whistle. "He sure was able to make good money for his music. I don't think this is even the only house he owns. Doesn't he have some small cabin up in the mountains as well?"

Flaky made a fake grin as she nodded her head. "Yes, yes he does... also a chain-link fence around it, but yes."

Cuddles chuckled lightly as he progressed towards Disco Bear's house. "Well damn, the guy made well for himself. Though let's not waste time out here if we intend to stay alive to ask him. Come on, Flaky."

Flaky nodded her head and followed Cuddles once more up to Disco Bear's house, right in front of the well-carved door at the entrance.

Flaky took a breath in through her nose trying not to think too hard about how this might go and failing at that goal as she knocked on the front door and waited, becoming a bit more antsy than normal even. Cuddles noticed this with regret and was having serious doubts himself about being here but it was already far too late for either of them to turn back as the door opened.

He seemed excited at first until he saw Cuddles and Flaky. "Oh, it's just you two." Flaky looked down at her feet, frowning a bit at the thinly-veiled insult. Even though she sure as hell would never want to date him, it still hurt to be completely disregarded by the town flirt all the time. "What brings you to my pad?"

"There's actually something we need to talk to you about but it's a bit private, could we come inside maybe."

"That's not my bag but I can dig it. Don't be a bogart and lay it on me," Disco Bear said, stepping aside with the door wide open. Though, neither Cuddles nor Flaky really had any idea what he just said, they figured by the gesture that they could come in, so they did.

Though the design, was odd to say the least, the inside was even more extravagant than the outside was, even from the entryway here. Flaky and Cuddles could only gawk a bit having never been there before. Before they made it outside, this wasn't what they had expected at all.

"So, what is it?" Disco Bear asked, pulling them out of the trance.

Neither answered for a few seconds, during which Cuddles started thinking about how Flaky clearly hadn't liked explaining it and noted that, as a consequence, she had left out crucial details with both Giggles and Toothy, the former leading to disastrous results that for some unworldly reason, he was blamed for.

For her sake, his own sake, and… dare he say it, Disco Bear's sake. Cuddles spoke up on his own, explaining it just as he had to Handy, being much easier when the room is standing still, besides the cascading lights all around them from the disco ball above head. Its presence made even Cuddles a bit uncomfortable on what could so easily happen. He shifted his weight a bit more out of the way as he waited for Disco Bear to think it over.

After a few seconds he asked, "You said Giggles is taggin'?" Cuddles nodded truthfully despite knowing he could regret that. "Alriiiight, I can dig…" Before he could even finish his odd sentence, the predicted happened as the rope holding the disco ball snapped. Flaky and Cuddles were fairly uninjured but the disco ball came shattering down on Disco Bear's head, killing him almost instantly.

They both gasped. It wasn't the death or gore that terrified them this time though, it was the object sitting in the middle of the broken glass, somehow free of any blood. "It's too late," The Cursed Idol stated in an ipso facto matter. Cuddles and Flaky just looked at each other hoping the other would know what the Idol could possibly mean, there was never any time limit or anything giving. "What I mean, is that all five spots are filled."

Flaky rose an eyebrow at Cuddles who only shrugged in response, only having one idea of how that could be possible. "I guess Toothy must have finally made up his mind?"

The Cursed Idol only laughed, knowing neither of them (or Giggles and Handy) will like who the fifth "friend" is. "Well, you'll see very soon." The Cursed Idol said, catching back their attention before disappearing as suddenly as it appeared leaving Cuddles and Flaky to wonder how they're supposed to get to this "other world". Without warning though, they both fell unconscious.

In different parts of town, Giggles, Handy, and Lifty did the same.

Cuddles was the first to wake up and when he did, it was immediately obvious that he wasn't in Happy Tree Town anymore. They were alone in the middle of what appeared to be a park but everything seemed much more detailed and the colors weren't so bright, also, there was no blood, corpses, or organs anywhere in sight.

And it wasn't just the world around him that was different but even more so with his own body. His limbs were much longer and his head much smaller, most notably though, his skin appeared pale and devoid of any fur. He also noticed that he was wearing clothes, a loose shirt that's sleeves ended at his new elbow and a pair of pants made of a blue material he didn't recognize. Looking at his feet though, he found a pink pair of bunny slippers very similar to his own though fit to his new body. He reached a hand up finding some hair on his head that appeared to be the same shade of yellow as his fur used to be.

He looked at the others around him, all of which were still unconscious but had about the same kind of body but with some differences. The one next to him, he assumed very quickly must be Flaky by the long red hair that appeared to still have a lot of dandruff though in much smaller pieces. She had on black pants but much shorter not even reaching her knees and a red shirt that was more fitting than his with shorter sleeves as well.

He also noticed two lumps on her chest, with a raised eyebrow. He did notice the one next to her had lumps, too.

He went over, though it was very hard for him to move at all with the different body proportions, the long limbs were hard to keep track of and he was way less top heavy, something he was used to compensating for, the result made him look something like a puppet when he tries to walk. Once he got over, he realized it was Giggles from the chin length pink hair with a red bow on top. She had a shirt like Flaky's but instead of pants, what seemed to be just one piece of pink cloth wrapped around her waist.

Frowning, he poked one of the lumps on her chest wondering what the heck they are and why he doesn't have any. "Cuddles? What are you doing?" A voice suddenly asked from Cuddles' left. The voice was speaking fluent Gibberish, the native language of Happy Tree Town. Not only that, but Cuddles would recognize the soft but high-pitched voice with its constant shake anywhere.

Sure enough, when he turned around the face the voice, he found Flaky sitting up, with her knees drawn to her chest as she trembled heavily, her eyes were wide open but still much smaller than they used to be and the pupils looked more like Fliqpy's than her own but blue where his were gold colored. He wondered if his own eyes looked the same. "I was just trying to figure out what these lumps are. I don't seem to have any."

At that, Flaky looked down at her own chest noticing that she had a pair of lumps as well and screamed trying to push them off but they appeared to be attacked to her. Looking over the rest of her new body didn't make her feel any more comfortable. "Where's my fur? I feel so naked." As if suddenly remembering where she was and why she was there, Flaky immediately buried her face in her knees in a full fetal position.

Cuddles frowned at this, as common as it was for Flaky to get like this, it still concerned him. He got back up and tried to make his way back to her. "Hey, Flaky, you're ok-Ay!" He was cut off by his own scream as he tripped over his own new legs.

That pulled Flaky out of her fetal position finding him fallen right beside her. "Oh my gosh! Cuddles!" She gasped expecting the worst. She knew coming here was a bad idea!

Cuddles, however, sat back on his knees, a bit dirty but that was all. "I'm okay, Fl…" He stopped that thought looking himself over with a sense of disbelief. There literally wasn't even a scratch or bruise on him. "I'm okay? I'm okay!"

Flaky just stared having roughly the same thoughts. Finally, she breathed out, "Unbelievable, with a fall like that, something should be broken in the least."

Cuddles got to his feet and checked all four of his limbs, even if there was a closed fracture, he was sure he would be able to feel it. Instead he just shook his head having just as much trouble believing this. "Nothing even hurts."

Flaky looked him up and down, finding the same oddities she did on herself with the exception of the lumps, the complete lack of injury making her feel the slightest bit more comfortable, comfortable enough to try standing up herself. Between the new body and her characteristic nerves, the process was slow and extremely shaky, her knees appearing as if they were to buckle at any moment.

Seeing this very clearly, Cuddles tried to help her but was surprised when she slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me! This is all your fault!"

Cuddles just stood there with his mouth hanging open as Flaky stood up all the way on her own, her arms drawn in around her chest and her toes pointed in towards each other. Finally, he found his voice as well as words. "Flaky, you can't possibly still see this as a bad thing…"

"I…"

Flaky wasn't really even able to start her thought before being caught off by a simple, "Wow!" They both turned to find Giggles had woken up and was looking over her new body in amazement before doing her namesake thing. "It's cute."

She looked around and noticed what Cuddles and Flaky had paid no attention to, it was a male with green hair and his back turned to the group. He was wearing what could only be described as rags, both pants and shirt, simple, thin, dirty, and full of holes. He didn't seem to have any distinguishing accessories that they could see. "Who's that?" Giggles asked either Cuddles or Flaky carefully, motioning to the man in rags.

They both followed her gaze and realized that they didn't have an answer to that question. They had pretty much accepted that the fifth guest must have been Toothy but this definitely wasn't Toothy. They wondered if it might be someone from this world but there were only five people in the area and the Idol had clearly said that all five spots were filled so it must be someone one from Happy Tree Town.

They had no guesses who though, "I don't know," they both answered together.

"Wait, how could you not know?" Giggles asked, looking over at both of them. "I thought you two had asked everyone that ended up going? How could someone have even found out without you asking him?" She knew she was at least safe going with the masculine pronoun since she could tell this definitely wasn't Petunia or Lammy.

"That's what we thought, too." Cuddles cut in. Looking the mystery man over, trying to run through his mind who in Happy Tree Town has green fur and found in horror that none of them were good news. All of them were crossed off the list when he and Flaky were back at his house and he wouldn't expect any of them to wind up dressed as this man was. "We don't know how he could have found out. We didn't invite him."

Curiosity overtaking her, Giggles got to her feet just as awkwardly as Cuddles had and puppeted her way over to the man. Luckily, she managed to get over to his other side without tripping over anything. As soon as she saw his face, she immediately gasped in horror and shock. "I-I know who it is…"

"Who?!" Flaky gasped, ready to take a run for the hills whether she could control her new body or not. The only thing that stopped her was that she had no idea where she could even run. She could run straight into any number of unknown dangers. However, the answer to her next question could easily drive her to go for it. "Does he have razor sharp teeth?!"

Giggles just shook her head. "No, it's not Fliqpy. I-it's… it's…" She was clearly having trouble getting the word out. Flashbacks of her and Petunia being overtaken, bound, and gagged by the twins for their lemonade stand profits running though her mind.

They were interrupted a third-time, this time by a string of growls and bad words. Cuddles was the only one to look over. Handy was rolling on the ground, trying to get up when both of his new arms still ended right at the elbows. He was dressed in construction wear consisting of heavy worker boots, pants the same material as Cuddles', and a white shirt with almost no sleeves at all, along with his usually hardhat and tool belt.

He struggled like this for a while before finally sighing and asking, "Can someone lend me a…" He stopped right before saying the word and looked down at his nubs as if just finally noticing them and growled again. "This whole new body and it STILL doesn't have any hands?!" He laid back down, just rolling around angrily and shouted at the top of his lungs. "There is no God!"

This pulled Flaky and Giggles' attention as well and Giggles puppeted over to him wanting to get away from the still unconscious man in rags more than anything. She'd much rather deal with the flailing amputee. "Come on, Handy, it's not the end of the world."

"That was the only reason I agreed to come on this trip! I thought that in the new world I would have hands again!" Handy shouted, still rolling around on the ground. "But no, it just had to tease me and still leave me without hands!"

Giggles frowned, trying to think of a way to calm him down. "I get that it would have been great for you to have hands but there are still great things to be happy about. We shouldn't die as much in this world and even better, Lumpy isn't here!" As much as Giggles hated the man in rags being there, she did have to admit that he was much preferable to the blue tyrant that was the reason she left.

"But I want hands!" Handy protested, throwing a world class temper tantrum. None of the three had any idea how to even go about trying to calm him down or even if it would be worth trying. None of them had expected Handy to react this dramatically.

All of this confusion and chaos caused by Handy's fit had provided Lifty with some much needed cover when he finally regained consciousness. He let out a near silent breath finding his freedom, his new body free of the injuries he sustained from his and Shifty's brawl though his stomach still demanded food. A pain he had grown quite used to.

However, he had bigger things to worry about as he looked towards the rest of the group, none of which had noticed that he was awake and he needed to try to keep it that way. He figured it couldn't be that hard after all these years as a career thief, he had gotten pretty good at getting from one place to another without being seen or heard.

However, what he didn't think to take into account, was that this new body was so much harder to control and he ended up falling right on his face. He wasn't injured from the fall just as Cuddles wasn't but the noise had caught everyone's attention, even Handy had stopped to look over as Lifty pushed himself over, facing them.

When he did, Cuddles, Flaky, and Handy noticed what Giggles had seen earlier, a black burglar type mask was covering his eyes and even though back in Happy Tree Town, the mask was actually part of his face, no one had trouble making the connection.

Though they all had their own bad experiences with the twins, Handy was the angriest. Those dirty rotten thieves had stolen both his car and his identity on the same day getting him arrested and leading to his number one worst death. "Who invited Shifty?" Handy asked Cuddles and Flaky accusingly.

Lifty's face only hardened at this. There was nothing he hated more than being mistaken for his twin. "It's Lifty, actually," he hissed out, through gritted teeth.

"Like it matters, you're both the same anyways." Handy cut in, the words sending a hard hit to Lifty. "You're both nothing more than a no-good thief with no regard for those around you! Only caring about your own selfish and greedy desires!"

"Yeah! Get out of here, you stupid bogart! No one wants you here!" Giggles cut in and though no one had any idea what she just called him or even if it was an actual word, the message was still crystal clear.

Lifty put his hands up in defense, trying to lighten the glares of hatred he was getting from all four, even Flaky, who was considerably the kindest Tree Friend in Happy Tree Town. "Can you guys please let me try to explain myself?" There was no verbal response but the continued glares gave him all the answer he needed. "Fine, then I'll just show myself out." Without waiting for a response, if any of them even planned on giving one, Lifty got to his feet and puppeted off to the north, this time not losing his footing as he disappeared from view.

Once he was sure Lifty was gone, Cuddles turned his attention to the rest of the group and stated what was pretty obvious at this point. "For the record, he was NOT invited."

Giggles and Handy laughed a bit at that; Flaky, however, stared off in the direction he disappeared in with a thoughtful look on her face and something else on her mind. She whispered a question under her breath that no one else caught, "Why was he dressed like that?"

In hindsight, Lifty should have seen this coming. He's made too many bad choices to be easily forgiven in any of their eyes. He wasn't thinking about that when he agreed to go on this trip. All he was thinking about was getting away from his own brother that he used to look up to so many years ago.

A tentative hand went to his throat, though the damage was entirely gone, Lifty could swear he still felt his brother's iron grip cutting off his air supply. There was nothing left to miss about the monster his brother had become. "It's all his fault," Lifty muttered though he knew that wasn't entirely true. It was still easier to blame everything on Shifty.

As he kept walking with literally no idea of where he was going or what was waiting for him when he got there, he became aware of a solid square in his back pocket. He was almost certain he knew what it was and pulling it out confirmed his suspicions, a wallet. He felt a twinge of hope as he opened the wallet but it instantly fell as he found a driver's license with his name and picture in his new body and nothing else, not even a single cent.

His stomach growled again as if he needed a reminder and he had no idea how he could go about filling it or finding somewhere to sleep but he did know how he wasn't going to do that. He would never turn back to crime. He made himself a promise right then and there that no matter how desperate he might get; he would not steal a single item or cent from anyone or anywhere.

With a worried sigh, Lifty returned the wallet to his pocket and continued walking, getting more sure on his feet as he went. It wasn't long until he seemed to reach a town. Except, the buildings all appeared to be shaped like boxes. Something about their basic geometric shapes seemed almost threatening to the ex-raccoon. "They looks so… sharp." He muttered to himself. In spite of that, he did note that there was no gore in sight and he couldn't hear any screams of terror or pain. A welcome contrast to the chaos left behind him.

Looking around, he was far from alone, various creatures with bodies very similar to his crossed in all directions, numbers easily passing the population of Happy Tree Town. He also noted that, besides the four he left back at the park, no one knew of him or his past crimes. He had a true clean slate and he wasn't about to waste it.

Meanwhile, back in the park, Handy had, for the most part, calmed down and got to his feet. Now, all four of the remaining guests were trying to figure out what happens next. They were all in literally a whole new world that none of them knew anything about and Flaky was far from the only one doubting the apparent safety of this new world.

Despite, or perhaps because of this, the group remained silent for quite a while. Cuddles was predictably the first to speak up. "Well, I already know Flaky isn't going to want to hear this but we can't just stay here. I have no clue what we may find but I think it would be best for us to pick a direction and head in it. Maybe then we'll find some semblance of civilization."

He looked back to Flaky who said nothing but looked like she wanted to appearing even more afraid than she was before he made that comment. He added for her benefit as well as his own, "We should definitely all stay together though. There could be literally anything out there, stuff that we can't even imagine at the moment and we could use the strength in numbers."

Despite the fact that all of them had volunteered to go on this trip to this new world for their own separate reasons, it was obvious that none of them were too eager to dive into entirely new territory feet first. However, none of them saw any better option at this point.

Cuddles swallowed a lump in his throat, having his own doubts about this excursion. The only thing that pressed him on was a small mental reminder of a thought he had when the offer was made, 'Worst case scenario, it's exactly the same because it simply cannot be worse.' If he could survive all those years in Happy Tree Town, surely he could handle whatever this world has to throw at him. They all can.

In fact, that small episode with Flaky had proven that this world isn't exactly like Happy Tree Town in that sense. In hind sight, Lifty didn't appear injured when he fell either. These new bodies appear to be more durable than their old ones. That alone provided quite a bit of comfort. "So, then," he looked around him realizing that there was really nothing to set one direction out from another. "How about we head this way?" He supplied, pointing to the west.

There were no obvious objections but once he started to head off in that direction, he found that there were only two people following him. Looking back, he found that Flaky hasn't even budged from her spot in the middle of the park.

With a look of worry painted on his face, Cuddles made his way over to her. "Flaky, I understand that you're scared…" he trailed off trying to find a way to calm her down enough to stay within the relative safety of the group. Unfortunately failing on how to calm her down, he tries a different technic. "but if you don't come with me, who's going to be my voice of reason when something looks really fun?"

That had caught Flaky's attention as she remembered the only reason she came on this death trip in the first place: so that she could be there to at least try to protect Cuddles from himself and as much as she hated the idea, she had to follow him to stand even a chance of doing that. "Alright, I'm coming," Flaky finally agreed and followed the group.

After a bit of walking, they came across some large boxes that were much smaller than the ones Lifty came across, not that they knew that. "How weird…" Cuddles pondered, looking them over. They appeared to be buildings, they had window and doors like buildings but the overall shape was so unusual. Looking back the group, he found that all three of them simply seemed to be waiting for some kind of instruction.

'What? Am I supposed to be the leader?' He wondered to himself, but as soon as he thought it, he realized how much sense that did make. After all, he was the first one to agree to this trip, he was the one who invited all three of them. Not to mention that he was supposed to be the brave one, even compared to Giggles and Handy instead of just Flaky. Who else would be the leader?

Cuddles gulped again and wiped his hands on his pants trying to come up with any kind of plan when his hand caught a lump. 'Hey, what's this?' He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a leather wallet containing a driver's license and what appeared to be some kind of money. "Everyone, check your pockets," he instructed, hoping he was right.

Finding none in their skin but some in their clothes, everyone did, Giggles being surprised to find one on the side of the cloth around her waist. Everyone found more or less the same thing, the only real difference they noticed being that Giggles seemed to have some basic id card instead. Not that she expected to find a driver's license when she didn't have or want one in Happy Tree Town either.

"Well alright then, if this actually is money then things just got easier," Cuddles concluded, returning his own wallet back to his pocket having to admit that the four of them are basically on their owns to figure everything out. "In this case, we need to figure out how much money this is, assuming it is at all, then find the basic necessities: food, water, and shelter. Even if there is money left over after covering these, we shouldn't even look at anything beyond those until we find a way to get more money once this runs out. Everyone understand?"

Even though none of them were used to having to get by with such basics, they knew that no matter how much this money might or might not be, it was bound to run out and no one had any clue how to go about getting more.

Back in Happy Tree Town, every job was ascribed to a different Tree Friend for the day and they received a small payment each day for the work done. No one but Lumpy had any say in who did what and what was received. From what they can already see, they doubted it worked that way and actually hoped it didn't.

In spite of herself, Flaky had to admit that she was impressed. Everything he was saying was so rational and forward thinking that she didn't have a single objection. It was almost as if she was looking at an entirely different person. A rouge though suddenly enters her head. 'Maybe I am… he could just be a trick from the Idol.' Flaky tried to shake that paranoid thought from her brain but she never was good at that.

"And above all, trust me, I cannot stress this enough, no matter what happens, we need to stay together," Cuddles repeated in a deadpan tone that left no room for argument. "There's no way the Cursed Idol's intentions were pure."

"The what?!" Giggles suddenly gasped, making Cuddles suddenly remember that she never had any idea of where the offer had come from. "Cuddles, you can't possibly mean to tell me that little death-bringing statue has anything to do with this?!"