Fuzzy Cousin

It was November in the city of Townsville. A snowstorm was moving towards the metropolis, despite it being relatively early for such an event: streets, roofs and alleys were already starting to turn white as the first flakes fell, and as time passed it looked all like the weather was only going to worsen.

Indeed, a snowfall in November was uncommon in the city. Most of the children inside the houses were happy at the unexpected sight of the now whitening views beyond their windows, already thinking of the upcoming battles with snowballs and the army of snowmen they had every intention of building. On the other hand, the adults weren't in a good mood, rather thinking about the huge queues they were going to wait in inside their cars during the commute, but being grumpy was hard with all the happiness emanating from the young ones.

The snowstorm, however, prevented everyone from going outside, child and adult alike. The heavy, cold wind and the low visibility were a good enough deterrent: it wasn't a good idea to let the kids out in that moment, let alone going out yourself. There were various young faces at the windows, waiting for whatever signal which could tell the weather was getting better.

Even in the forest, most of the animals had been taken aback by the unexpected arrival of the snowstorm. Most of them were trying to save everything they could inside their lairs, preparing for a long period of hibernation.

It seemed like yet another bother for Fuzzy Lumpkins, another good occasion to get mad at everything and everyone. But this wasn't the case.

Fuzzy threw the main door of his wooden cabin open and stared at the open space in front of him. Without the cover of trees in the depths of the forest, the clearing in front of his cabin had been faster in turning white compared to the undergrowth.

Fuzzy Lumpkins was hit by a sudden blast of wind that carried fresh flakes of snow that splashed on his face. The beast scratched his eyes, cleaning the snow off and revealing... a smile.

"Yuu-uuh!" he uttered to himself, "I love winter! Good thin' it came early this year!"

He returned into the house, shutting the door behind him, then he quickly checked the living room: all the windows were closed, and the fireplace had been previously put out.

He smiled again and walked across the room. He suddenly stopped right in front of the armchair he usually rested in. The lumpkin kneeled on the floor and picked up a small, loose plank of wood from the floor. It revealed a secret lock, which he opened right away with a key he withdrew from one of the pockets in his overalls. Eventually, Fuzzy opened a trapdoor and entered a part of the house unknown by basically every living being in the entirety of Townsville except him.

The basement seemed to be a smaller copy of the living room on the upper floor: there was a second armchair, a second fireplace which was obviously linked with the chimney of the first one and a spartanly built bed. Fuzzy went towards the fireplace and lit it up with one of his lighters: the fire revealed a stack of wood piled on the other side of the basement. He closed the trapdoor, locking it with his key from the other side, and lastly let himself fall on the armchair, nearly breaking it.

This is life, Fuzzy thought. No one botherin' me, tryin' to take ma' property over... Ahh. I love winter.

Fuzzy was a being between animals and humans, and not only in appearance. The secret basement was nothing more than a 'lair' used by the lumpkin to sleep and sort-of hibernate just like animals did. Fuzzy was able to sleep for long periods of time during winter, waking up only to light the fire up and renew the wood in case the temperature got too low. He didn't spend the entire winter inside the basement, like some of the animals did, but he was of course less active than he was during the other three seasons.

Sadly for Fuzzy, though, this winter someone had planned in advance to go and actually disturb him. Right before he could close his eyes, someone knocked on the door of his cabin. Fuzzy was already half-asleep by then, so he resorted to just ignore it at first. But whoever the visitor was, he was a very persistent one. He continued to knock on the door, apparently ignoring the lack of an answer.

Fuzzy started to slowly lose patience. He stood up from the armchair and listened to the knocks over him, which were progressively getting louder. Suddenly, the house was shaken by a quake: the knocker had, for some reason, literally punched the door to the point of getting the entire cabin to tremble.

Fuzzy stumbled around, surprised by the event. As soon as he recovered control, though, he didn't consider how much strong the visitor had to be: he instead got very, very angry.

"Who dares enterin' ma property and wakin' me up!?" he yelled. With thundering footsteeps Fuzzy ran at the trapdoor and abruptly rammed into it, breaking the lock and sending the entire thing flying. As he approached the front door, Fuzzy was already changing colour from pink to red and increasing in height.

The beast finally stopped its march and slammed open the door. He opened his mouth to let out a roar, but he suddenly found himself lacking air. In the span of seconds, he returned to his pink colouration and usual size. To be precise, it looked like he got shorter.

"Fuzzy Lumpkins!" the stranger shouted, "COUSIN! After all these years… it's a delight to meet you again!"

Fuzzy Lumpkins did not reply: he simply remained open-mouthed as he stared at the being now standing before him. He couldn't believe his own eyes.

"Well, have you nothing to say, cousin? Come on, I know you have a lot to tell me about! Let's get inside, I want to check out what kind of hut you built for yourself!"

The creature pushed Fuzzy inside, who passively let him do so, and he entered himself. He was so tall that he couldn't help bumping his head into the door's lintel, though he actually ended up crashing through it, the wooden structure apparently unable to stop his cranium.

It was hard to believe that the creature was Fuzzy's cousin. He was covered by a thick layer of fur as white as the snow still falling outside. All of his body was covered by it except for his face, hands and feet, giving him the overall look of a giant, beastly-looking Eskimo, and he lacked any further accessories or clothes.

The face of the creature was more human-like than Fuzzy's as well, and there were no antennae over his head. And his hands and legs, while furless, looked as hard as stone. Despite the appearance differences, the most striking characteristic of Fuzzy's cousin compared to him remained his size. He was more than two times taller than the lumpkin: the living room had barely enough space to let him stand normally.

All in all, the creature seemed to be what a yeti should have looked like.

Fuzzy's cousin looked around in the living room, giving curious glances at the few objects scattered in the chamber. He touched the armchair and, without further inspection, he simply sat on the floor, apparently understanding that the thing was just too small for him.

"Now, cousin, how are you doing then? What are you even doing by now?" asked the yeti in the most casual tone one could expect.

Again, Fuzzy failed to answer his cousin's questions. All he could do was staring, and thinking.

It can't be…

"What's going on, Fuzzy? The cat stole your tongue?" he laughed to himself. "Oh, forgive me for being an idiot, cousin. A cat would never do so, of course… I can't imagine my cousin actually standing a feline in his own domain!"

The yeti continued to talk while gesticulating around, apparently admiring the looks of the living room. "Now, Fuzzy, there must be something you have done to pass time during these last few years… well, something besides sleeping, I mean. Oh, by the way, your house is piece of art, I tell you! Did you build it yourself?"

The creature froze as he spotted a specific object right beside the fireplace. "Do you play a banjo? Always a lumpkin, in the end…I have to hear what you can do with that, cousin! Go on, play it!"

Fuzzy moved towards the instrument and picked it up mechanically. He strummed some simple notes, much less impressive than his usual country fanfares. Fuzzy was basically acting like a robot at that point. Whether the yeti didn't notice it or simply chose not to show it was left to interpretation.

Even a little baby would have been able to play the banjo like Fuzzy just did, but the yeti still congratulated him once he was done. "Amazing, cousin! It definitely runs in the family!"

He clapped his hands to show his admiration, but the claps were so strong and loud that all the animals that were trying to fall asleep in the surroundings of the cabin were abruptly woken up and ran away from it.

Fuzzy watched the yeti as he began to talk casually about the trip that brought him to 'his cousin'. He wasn't listening to him, but he was trying to get a hold of himself and think about a way to solve his predicament… a way that didn't imply the use of violence. Because, if he had to be frank, Fuzzy didn't have the force to do it at the moment. Not with him.

Eventually the lumpkin, having gathered all the strength, and courage, that was left inside him, called his guest. "...cousin?"

The yeti stopped to narrate and watched Fuzzy intensely. "Yes, Fuzzy?"

"W-why did you come here?"

The yeti raised an eyebrow. "I just told you! I wanted to come and visit my favourite cousin!"

Fuzzy's facial features contorted as he forced himself to talk. His nervousness was apparently being tested by the yeti's behaviour. "You know... too well what I'm talkin' about. You… your kind. You ain't welcome… in our homes."

The yeti looked at Fuzzy for some seconds. Then, he suddenly burst out laughing. Fuzzy just looked at him, oblivious to what was really going on.

The yeti stopped laughing as suddenly as he began doing so. His mood drastically changed, the happy and friendly demeanour of a distant relative visiting his cousin gone. In its place was the serious looking face of a yeti, looking at Fuzzy with narrowed eyes… almost threatening.

"And then?" the yeti's tone had changed accordingly as he replied. "What are you up to, cousin? Uhm, let me guess… you want to drive me away from your house, right? I'm being a nuisance, perhaps… you just want me to 'get offa your property?'"

"Ahem… yes?" Fuzzy said unconfidently.

"Oh, well…" the yeti said, almost sadly. "I thought we could talk about it on different terms, but it looks like I was wrong. I have to explain to you how things are actually going to work here... cousin."

Fuzzy's cousin stood up, his figure looming over the lumpkin. Then, he knelt until his face was only a few centimetres away from from his.

"Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Fuzzy. You have to understand. You should treat me with better manners… and a bit more of respect, I'd add. It's a sincere advice, cousin, because if you don't, things might get a bit… intense. I'm sure you can see what I mean."

"I don't! I don't know wha'ddo you mean! What the heck do you even want from me?" Fuzzy blurted out. For the first time since encountering the yeti, there was some trace of determination in the lumpkin's resolve. Not to mention the growing annoyance.

"I am fairly sure that my plans go beyond your level of comprehension, cousin… thus, I'll spare you the details. It's simple, really: you can restart everything with a 'My dear cousin! You're welcome in my property! Make yourself at home!' and the like. Otherwise, I'd like to clearly hear from you what you plan to do with me."

What did he plan to do with him?! Oh, he had ideas… great ideas!

Fuzzy Lumpkins had had enough. He had been treated like some dimwit in his own property, by that… that jerk, who acted like he owned the place and was a long friend of him.

No, he could no more tolerate him.

"You... You and your stinky hairs must turn around and get outta here now!" Fuzzy shouted at the top of his lungs. Once again, fury took control of him as his fur went red and he grew in size. The old Fuzzy had finally returned, and he was mad.

And yet, the yeti didn't show any signs of being frightened, impressed or even surprised by the sight. He simply said. "Good. You made your choice."

Five seconds later, one of the side walls of the cabin was crashed by something, or someone, going through it. Fuzzy Lumpkins flew through the snow storm, who was raging outside by then, and he ended his flight on the trunk of a tree. By the time he landed on the ground, the tree let all the snow that it was holding fall down over the poor Fuzzy, covering him with two cube meters of cold, wet snow.

For some moments, only the antennae of Fuzzy were visible. Then, he recovered and freed his top half from the snow blockage. He confusedly looked around, trying to understand where he was… his head was throbbing, and it was hard to see through the blizzard, but Fuzzy was still able to discern the form of his cabin.

Just as he was about to stand and walk towards it, he heard footsteps… heavy ones. A huge, shadowy figure left the house from the hole in the wall and stopped just enough to be fully visible.

Fuzzy froze and stared at the shadow, unable to move. The sight had made him halt in his tracks… even for a hillbilly like him, something in the sinister appearance of the yeti in the blizzard was preventing him from going after him.

"Listen to me, cousin! I won't repeat myself!" bellowed the yeti. The voice echoed through the snowstorm despite the noise of the winds that blew all over the clearing. "From now on, and until I want to, I am the new owner of your old property! And I don't want to see your pathetic face again until I've achieved my goals here in Townsville! I give you thirty seconds to get out of here and leave my sight… starting now!"

If it were anyone else, Fuzzy would have probably outright tried to annihilate the home invader. This, unfortunately, was not the case: as soon as Fuzzy heard the word 'now' he instantly turned around and ran away as fast as he could, just as if he was being pursued by a pack of ravenous dogs.

The yeti did not follow him. After a minute of waiting, he quietly returned into the cabin and examined the inside, now careful to take in any details he previously missed. He smiled at the sight of the broken trapdoor on the floor.

Very, very well… Thanks, Fuzzy. This is just perfect for my plan… after all, your little shack might be of actual use. Now, let's get back to business.

Meanwhile, Fuzzy eventually stopped running and tried to recover his breath. He was beginning to get wet due to the bad weather, but luckily that was just a minor nuisance thanks to his fur, enough thick and waterproof to protect him from the low temperature… at least for the moment.

This wasn't the main concern of Fuzzy, in any case. He'd just escaped from his own property, shooed away like a fly! He actually lost his cabin… something that was a great dishonour for a Lumpkin. Fuzzy knew that he had to try to get his property back as fast as he could. If someone of his family came to know of this tragic, unfair event... it would be a disaster for his reputation. It could condemn him to become a recurring joke forever.

However, Fuzzy was enough smart to understand that it wasn't going to be easy task. Yes, when he got angry he became quite the powerful villain... but the yeti's strength challenged that, if not dwarfed it. He wasn't sure… and he didn't know whether he wanted to know.

After all, the creature came directly from Fuzzy's past... A part of his past that he didn't want to remember.

He knew he needed help.

Blossom was watching the snowstorm through one of the windows of the girls' bedroom. Temporary glass panels had been placed by the Professor to block the windows and protect the room in case of bad weather such as the blizzard that at that point had reached the city.

Blossom somewhat liked to watch the snow coming down, even though currently it looked more like the snow was being thrown at the window. She felt it was a bit relaxing, and perhaps it was working since she wasn't paying attention to the nth argument between her two sisters just behind her. Well, Bubbles and Buttercup weren't really arguing, they were just challenging each other.

"If I were you, I'd consider wearing a helmet… given how many times I'm going to score a hit on you!" Buttercup taunted.

"Oh, yeah? With your legendary, infallible aim?" Bubbles retorted, "The same aim that made you hit Ms. Keane's face instead of mine last time?"

"Hey, it was an accident! You know it wasn't supposed to hit her, and it was not my fault! That was a windy day!"

"Well, wind or not, you hit her anyway," replied Bubbles with a giggle. "If you really want to hit me this year, Buttercup, maybe you're the one who needs a pair of glasses this time!"

"Why you—! Ugh, whatever, Bubbles," Buttercup grumbled, unable to find a good comeback. "Let's just hope this storm goes away soon, and then we'll see who's the best snowball thrower!"

The girls were waiting, just like all the other children in the city. Although they were superheroes, all three of them knew that it wasn't a good idea to challenge the forces of nature. In this specific case, the Professor had told them that their skin protected them from extremely low temperatures, but only for short periods of time: that was one of the reasons why they still used heavy clothes like normal children during winter. And if that wasn't enough, their flying ability was susceptible to windy weather.

Blossom did not speak up to join the discussion, even if she herself had indeed taken part in the snowballs fights in the past. She continued to stare at the weather outside, thinking of the approaching months.

In her mind, winter had disadvantages and advantages. Leaving alone the entertainment value, Blossom had noticed that the criminal activity during the cold season decreased notably compared to the rest of the year. There were less robberies, less burglaries, less of everything… heck, even a few of their nemeses caused less problems. Blossom was almost certain that Fuzzy Lumpkins was completely inactive as he had never been seen in a rampage during winter, and even Mojo Jojo's attacks were less frequent than usual.

This wasn't unfortunately the case with everyone, as other evil-doers such as Him and Princess Morebucks never really slowed down with their efforts to cause havoc, but Blossom, all in all, didn't mind.

It still felt good to have a couple of days of peace every now and then, free from most of their crimefighting job.

Fuzzy Lumpkins was walking on a sidewalk in the outskirts of Townsville. After walking for two hours in a blizzard that continued to gain in strength, he was beginning to get tired.

From the start he had rejected the idea of calling his family for help. He knew that they hated his cousin as much as he did, of course, but his goal was to retrieve his property without letting his family know of the event due to the possible outcomes concerning his reputation. That was the last option.

There were few people in Townsville that Fuzzy knew who could help him with his problem. His first thought was to contact the three villains he teamed up with some time ago. Fuzzy knew the location of the observatory of Mojo Jojo, but his trip to the evil genius' lair didn't give him the results he wanted: after having climbed up all the stairs on the volcano's side, he'd simply found a note on the metal door:

'The owner of this building, that is, the writer who is putting down words on this note, is not present at home at the moment and won't be present for some time. The reason for my absence, during which I won't be able to answer to any…'

It was too much complicated for Fuzzy, given Mojo Jojo's typical way of handling speech, but with some effort he at least understood that the infamous ape wasn't at home and had went to travel around the world, apparently looking for new ideas to conquer it, and also because he didn't appreciate the environment during winter.

The second candidate was Princess Morebucks, and the result of his visit to the Morebucks mansion was even worse. Fuzzy had been welcomed by one of the butlers and was left waiting in the huge vestibule. After a few minutes, he heard something acute far away, something like an acute scream of a little girl, and seconds later a group of big, tough servants appeared, abruptly grabbed Fuzzy and literally threw him out.

The third and last possibility was Him, but Fuzzy rejected the idea after just a few seconds of thinking. It wasn't because he feared the idea of meeting with him, or because he thought he would surely refuse. He simply didn't know where the heck was Him's lair, and how to reach it by foot.

As far as other villains went, Fuzzy didn't know much. He remembered something about a famous robber, a woman that used her hair as a weapon, but he doubted she would help him, given the reaction of Princess at his visit.

Fuzzy tried to navigate through his memories, looking for any name he could look for. He also remembered about two gangs that were well-known in Townsville, but could they help him with the strength of the creature? The few things he could remember about these two groups weren't exactly the kind of things that could convince Fuzzy to look for their help. Especially one of them.

There was one last choice, but the mere thought of it made Fuzzy tighten his fists in anger. These darn little boys… Fuzzy remembered too well how they once took over his property without a reason… just for fun. It was a situation not unlike the one he was in at the moment, even though that time he wasn't forced to leave. Yet, he couldn't tolerate it. He would have jumped off a skyscraper rather than asking the Rowdyruff Boys for help, that was for sure. They were three of his worst enemies, perhaps even worse than…

Fuzzy Lumpkins suddenly stopped walking. His random pace had carried him away from the city centre, and he knew that the woods where his cabin was were not too far away. That was not the reason he had halted, though: what really captured Fuzzy's attention was where he was at the moment.

He slowly turned his head and stared for some seconds in awe at the home of the Powerpuff Girls.

Fuzzy shook his head, questioning whether he was going crazy. Perhaps it was the snowstorm and the cold getting the better of his head, perhaps it was the seriousness of the situation… yet, in his mind, the idea of asking the girls for help wasn't as absurd as it should have been. He was technically a citizen, after all, and he needed help.

In any case, this looked like the very last chance for Fuzzy to find someone who could aid him that wasn't a member of his family. He had to give it a shot.

He quietly walked over the pavement that brought to the main door and pushed the button on the wall.