A/N: Hello everyone, my name is TastyBlueCrayon and welcome to 'A Crash Course Encounter', a collaboration with my good friend Stowlfgang 'Peas' Ambrose. Now, this little story is based off of a thing we both have been doing for a little while now, and he had the brilliant idea to turn it into this :D. Just a little thing before you get ahead to reading this, though. The format is a tad confusing only because of the format we used in the original thing. At the end of most paragraphs, you'll see a sentence like 'The Peashooter/Footsoldier nodded'. That means that the next section of dialogue belongs to said Peashooter/Footsoldier, and not the one in front of it. Just a little tip to help you guys better understand this. Also, I'm assuming that Bold A/Ns are mine and Italic A/N's are his. That's about it, I think, and now… Well, enjoy the Chapter then XD. This took a little bit to write, but we both had a ton of fun with it, and we hope you'll enjoy reading it :D
The Peashooter leapt and bound forward as he chased down the Foot Soldier trying to escape him and his squad members. He leapt over a fallen power pole, leapt over a trench full of stagnant water and very nearly caught up, until he ran into a wall just as the Foot Soldier slipped through a small gap in the concrete wall barely big enough for him. The Peashooter sprinted forward and dived through the gap, leaving behind his squadmates who were unable to follow. The Peashooter cautiously advanced through the crumbling courtyard, a ruined fountain stood as the centrepiece of the overgrown courtyard, the yells of battle muffled by a waterfall on the side of the large, collapsing, tudor style manor. The Peashooter followed the sound of something shuffling away from him and found the Foot Soldier walking around the manor. The Peashooter leapt forward and shouted out 'boo', giving the Foot Soldier a fright, causing them to Rocket Jump in panic. To the Peashooter's great surprise, the Foot Soldier slammed face first into the rusted guttering of the Manor's second floor. The Peashooter sprinted forward and jumped over the decayed fountain and ran up to the sitting Foot Soldier, who was grabbing their face in pain. The Peashooter knelt down beside them.
"A-Ahh… I hit my face again! Why do I always hit my face?" The Foot Soldier seemed to be mumbling to themselves.
"Maybe you shouldn't use your Rocket Jump ability until you have a clear shot?" The Peashooter replied to the mumbling Foot Soldier.
"Yeah that-that's probably the best idea. I just tend to panic, I guess..." The Foot Soldier seemed shaken by the slam.
"Hey, cheer up. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." The Peashooter started to pat the back of the wounded Foot Soldier, causing them to wince slightly, but they did laugh lightly.
"Thanks. It's just a little weird to control a lot of the time. You gotta get the aim just right or you might end up like that." The Peashooter nods at the Foot Soldier.
"I can see that. Looks like one hell of a way to get around though." The Foot Soldier nods at the Peashooter, unclasping his face.
"It is, it really is. One minute, you're standing with both feet on the ground, next thing you know you're going twenty feet in the air at 40 miles an hour." The Peashooter just whistles in awe.
"Remind me not to get into a race with you." The Peashooter's statement causes the Foot Soldier to laugh a little.
"Yeah, it's a lot to process at first. Especially for the unfortunate low-flying bird you might get splattered all over your helmet." The Peashooter laughed at the description of a bird being splattered upon the helmet of the Foot Soldier.
"The poor bird. I've had my share of slamming into birds on the move." The Foot Soldier nods in sympathy.
"Yeah. It sucks, huh? It was flying around, just having a ball and then all of a sudden, 'Splat.'" The Peashooter nods his agreement to the Foot Soldier.
"Yeah, poor thing… At least you have a helmet to stop it splattering all over your head. I think I spent over an hour washing bird guts off my leaves once." The Foot Soldier snickers at the Peashooter.
"Oh, gross. Wouldn't be surprised, though, especially if it was a seagull or just a really fat small bird." The Peashooter nods as he looks a bit annoyed.
"Yeah...fat little pigeon. Not the first time I had done that either... need to look where I jump I think." The Foot Soldier laughs a little, mostly from left over nervousness of the situation at hand.
"Ehh, poor thing. Yeah, that might be a good idea, I need to as well." The Peashooter nods at the Foot Soldier's statement.
"Yeah, never saw it coming, poor blighter. But yeah, that seems like something we both gotta work on." The Peashooter laughs a little at their own sentence.
"They never really do, though. And… Yeah, I guess." The Foot Soldier now chuckled at their own sentence.
"Yeah… imagine that… just getting around casually, then being hit hard and fast from somewhere out of the blue… Actually, I know how that feels, freaking All-Stars." The Peashooter growled angrily as memories flashed in his mind while the Foot Soldier laughed a little at what the Peashooter just said.
"Yeah, All-Stars will do that to you, I'll admit that." The Foot Soldier looks around nervously for a second. "I probably shouldn't be saying something like that if another Zombie is nearby."
"I'd love to give an All-Star a taste of their own medicine." The Peashooter chuckles at the thought before continuing. "Too scrawny to do that though. Maybe I could convince a Chomper to do it though." The Peashooter thinks for a few seconds, leaving a small silence. "Don't worry, I'll protect you if one comes after you." The Foot Soldier looks a little confused by the last part of the Peashooter's statement.
"Really?" The Foot Soldier stammered at the Peashooter, who places a reassuring Pod on the Foot Soldier's shoulder.
"Of course, you haven't harmed me. Besides, if you do betray me, I can hurt you in ways you'd never expect." The Foot Soldier flinched rather badly when the Peashooter placed their pod on his shoulder, causing the Peashooter to withdraw their pod.
"Haha, alright. I'll try to protect you as well. And, yeah, I'm sure you could. Running wouldn't be enough, that's for sure. I know that because, uhh…" The Foot Soldier paused in thought for a few seconds. "My brother ran, and that wasn't enough." The Peashooter gets a sad grimace on their face.
"Thanks, appreciate it, but you look like you're in pretty bad shape, I'll try and find a scientist, try and get them to chase me over here for you." The Peashooter's sad expression gets slightly sadder. "Sorry to hear about that…"
The Footsoldier nodded slightly, letting the Peashooter know it was okay "It's-it's alright. The guys at Zomboss Academy aren't the most, uhh…" The Foot Soldier moves the collar of his shirt a little bit, exposing a gigantic bruise that took up most of his shoulder "Gentle… Alright. Th-Thank you. And it's alright, it wasn't your fault."
"I uh… you need some help? Getting up? But alright… still, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I… I lost my mother and father in a raid… many years ago…" The Peashooter starts to tear up.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I think I'm okay, thank you though." The Foot Soldier thinks about it for a second or so. "Y-Yeah... I actually found part of his rib-bone in Chomper Goo." The Foot Soldier looks at the Peashooter, sympathy clearly evident in the look on his face. "Aww, I'm sorry." The Foot Soldier notices the Peashooter tearing up and feels a little worse. The Peashooter wipes the tear away.
"I uh… s-sorry… Th-That sounds horrific." The Peashooter forces a smile. "B-But it's alright. They died doing what they loved." The Foot Soldier's look of sympathy strengthens a little.
"Y-Yeah… It was. To confirm what you just said, It hit me in the arm and actually got stuck. The only way I found out it was his bone was a few Scientists running a DNA scan on it. Some sick part of me thought it was his morbid way of saying 'Hi.' or 'Remember me' or something like that." The Foot Soldier smiles a little because the Peashooter did. "Yeah. Better than dying in fear, that's for sure." The Peashooter's smile falters and he looks down at the ground sadly.
"Th-That's… disturbing… and really sad. B-But th-that's an interesting way to look at it." The Foot Soldier utter a strange, almost like a prolonged laugh.
"'Yeah, a little. It's alright though. And uhh… Haha, yeah. I'm known for that kind of thing." The Peashooter laughed a little, the smile returning to his green face.
"Well that's definitely something to be known for." The Foot Soldier nods and smiles a little.
"Yeah. The thought of it is a little weird though, just 'Hey, little brother! I'm dead! Take this rib bone to remember me by!'" The Peashooter laughs again.
"Yeah, that is a pretty unique way to say 'Remember me'." The Foot Soldier laughs too.
"Kinda messed up, too. I mean, just the fact that you find part of a bone in Chomper Goo in the first place is unusual." The Peashooter laughs once more.
"Yeah, it is a pretty messed up way indeed. I don't know how I would feel, finding part of a relative in some goo stuck to my arm." The Foot Soldier nods at the Peashooter's statement.
"It was a little trippy. Lets you know what the Goo is made from, though. I actually wondered that for a little while before that happened." The Peashooter chuckles lightly.
"Yeah, I still wonder that... most of the Chompers don't like to talk about it." The Foot Soldier rolls his eyes.
"Ha. That figures. I mean, If I did that, I wouldn't like to talk about it either." The Peashooter nods in agreement.
" Yeah, Chompers aren't talkative as a whole." The Foot Soldier nods back.
"No, and neither are Scientists. You can't get All-Stars to shut up, though. Let me tell you, THAT is annoying." The Peashooter laughs lightly in reply.
"Sounds different...the Sunflowers won't stop bothering any of us while the Cacti are pretty quiet... but the other Peashooters, they can't stop talking." The Foot Soldier laughs lightly too.
"Yeah. The talkative people tell some weird stories as well. Like an All-Star was telling me about something that happened to him when he was alive. It was something like," The Foot Soldier starts speaking in a bad imitation of an All-Stars voice. "'Oh, my sister had this boyfriend who was a real jerk sometimes so one day we got into this huge argument and really ticked me off so I kicked him in the nuts and he stopped'" The Foot Soldier returns to his normal voice. ", or something along those lines." The Peashooter chuckles heavily.
"That's a pretty good one. Once, a Commando Peashooter was telling a story about his sister, falling in love with a human. He kept saying no body elses barn door swings that way. The poor girl nearly lost it." The Foot Soldier nods at the Peashooter.
"Ahh. That's kinda different. Hearing things like that is always interesting. Takes your mind off the battle for a little bit, that's for sure." The Foot Soldier laughs a little harder than before, then cringed a little like he'd gotten pain in his stomach and stopped.
"Heh, yeah. It's definitely nice." The Foot Soldier laughs lightly as he nods once more.
"Yeah, it is. Plus, it helps you get to know the people you're with better as well, in a way." The Peashooter nods his agreement.
"Yeah, indeed it does. Helps add that level of… personal connection to your squad mates." The Foot Soldier nods his agreement.
"That sounds… nice. People don't really do that here, but when they do it's rock solid and you're never gonna break it. And, with the whole knowing what to avoid thing. If a person, say, drowned, and there was a swimming pool nearby, the people in that group would do everything in their power to prevent the person who drowned from seeing the pool because well… They might go into a panic attack. As for me, I really hate cleavers. It makes me glad that there aren't much of any around here." The Peashooter nods his agreement after a few seconds processing the Foot Soldier's words.
"Ah, that sounds... really nice, especially when that bond is made. And I never expected Zombies to care so much about each other... it's just not what we're told. But hey, cleavers aren't too bad… I'm terrified of any and every weapon you guys wield."
"Y-Yeah. It's cool when it happens." The Foot Soldier sighs a little. "I can imagine so. It's just Zomboss that makes those ideas sort of pop up in people's heads. Funny how one person can change the entire view of something like that." The Foot Soldier seems to be recalling something unpleasant, leading him to laugh nervously. "Yeah, but if you knew cleavers like I know them they'd be pretty bad. I won't use my weapon on you anytime soon, I know that much right about now."
"Yeah, it's sad that he's caused so much discord." The Peashooter thinks about something for a second. "You're not all bad, you know? And sorry, about that, that sounds pretty bad." The Peashooter chuckles slightly. "Thanks about that, I'll try to get you back to your side safely, if you like." The Foot Soldier nods in agreement.
"It really is, and thanks for saying so." The Foot Soldier recalls the pain he got in his stomach and slightly laughs with the same nervous tone. "Y-Yeah... Just don't walk alone at night at the 'bad' parts of Chomp Town, and I'm sure you'll be just fine. That'd be nice, th-thank you." The Peashooter smiles genuinely.
"No problem. And yeah, but hey, I can take care of myself on my own... Well, unless there are Gargantuars wandering around the bad end of Chomp Town, we aren't allowed down there." The Peashooter holds out his right pod to the Foot Soldier who still sat on the ground. "Come on, I'll help you there." The Foot Soldier smiles back.
"Well, yeah, I'm sure you could. Sometimes that doesn't stop people, though." The Foot Soldier thinks for a minute. "I haven't seen any, but it's been a long time since I've been there, so I might be wrong." The Foot Soldier stands up on his own. "Alright, thank you. If we run into anyone, I'll make sure you don't get shot." The Peashooter starts walking towards the rusted gate at the front of the Manor's courtyard and pushes over the bent out of shape gate. The Foot Soldier limps alongside the Peashooter as they walk along the cracked road.
"Heh, thanks for the re-assurance. But yeah, some of the more… aggressive Peashooters and Chompers head down there, they come back humbled, that's for sure." The Peashooter thinks for a second. "And I'll make sure you don't get shot, by either side." The Peashooter jumps over a garbage skip, the Foot Soldier just limps around the side of it.
"Anytime. And I'm sure they do. A lot of the more violent gangs of us hang out there, too, so that's probably why. Having Gargantuars there wouldn't make it easier on them, that's for sure. And, uh... Thank you. I'll do the same." The Peashooter nods as he slips through a gap in a collapsing house.
"Ah, I should probably tell them about it… but if I do… Dave might get concerned and send us to attack it. Yeah, Gargantuars, had my fair share of run ins with them…" The Peashooter looks at scar in their stem once they're inside the collapsing home. "And look, you don't have to, I'd throw my life aside for you." The Foot Soldier enters through the unhinged front door.
"Well, those guys prey on anything that goes in there, including weaker members of our army, such as myself, so… I don't know what to tell you here. They can be pretty violent at times, but you'd be surprised how gentle they can be as well. I'm sure if they caught the gangs doing stuff, they'd try to get them to stop." The Foot Soldier is a bit surprised by the statement, but doesn't really show it. "It's okay, you don't have to. I think I got it." The Peashooter exits through a large hole in the side of the lounge, scowling as he does so.
"Idiots, I would go in there and teach them a lesson if I could." The Peashooter gives a confused look as he slides across a fence. "Gargantuars? Those brutes can be gentle? The more you know. The Sunflower Queen is a royal pain, she acts like royalty, she's nothing more than an experiment gone right for once." The Peashooter chuckles slightly. "Alright, I should trust in your abilities, sorry about the lack of trust. I just… heh… remembering your attempt to escape." The Foot Soldier nods in agreement as he goes through the gate.
"I'm sure a lot of us would. Yeah, they can be really gentle at times. I remember one time when a Gargantuar came back after a battle carrying bunch of injured people. He set them down in front of some scientists like he was a mother putting down a baby or something. When he was told that a few of the people had died along the way, you know what he did. He just got this… distraught look and plopped down right there. He just cried and cried" The Foot Soldier looks a bit shocked at the sudden of the Sunflower Queen topic. "I didn't know there was a Sunflower Queen. That's kinda cool." The Foot Soldier chuckles a little too towards the end. "It's alright. I mean, if you tried to hyper away, jumped and hit your face on something I'd be a little doubtful, too, no offence." The Foot Soldier kinda laughs at himself thinking about it. "Let me tell you, it hurt. It still hurts." The Peashooter laughs a little.
"Sounds like an awesome sight to see, just this lumbering murder machine, breaking down over death. And yeah, there's a Sunflower Queen… self proclaimed Sunflower Queen, mind you." The Peashooter blushes in embarrassment. "I uh… imagine it still hurts." The Peashooter chuckles slightly as he jumps over a chunk of metal. The Foot Soldier just nods as he limps around the chunk.
"It sure was. Nobody expected it, that's for sure. Oh, jeez. Self-Proclaimed, huh?... Like Zomboss!" The Foot Soldier laughs at his own terrible joke until a few seconds later he cringes again from pain. "Ow!" The Foot Soldier pauses awkwardly for a second before continuing speaking. "It does. Like I said 20 feet in the air at 40 miles an hour. One of these days, that routine is gonna get me creamed." The Peashooter nods as he just walks through the crater blasted field.
"Ah, I'm not surprised. That'd give me one hell of a fright. The Peashooter laughs alongside the joke but begins to look concerned when the Foot Soldier says 'ow'. "You… alright? And yeah, you might need to start watching out for buildings next time, otherwise, I might not be there to save your grass." The Peashooter chuckles at himself. "Nah, you'll take care of yourself well."
"You should've seen the group of Scientists. I think they thought the Gargantuar was gonna start attacking them all." The Foot Soldier was wincing slightly with one hand on his stomach. "And… I-It's nothing… Sometimes if I laugh it just kinda makes my stomach get this sharp pain in it, because well… How I died had a lot to do with that area… and what used to be contained there. And I definitely will, don't worry. Also, alright. If you really think so." The Peashooter snickers a little.
"Yeah, that'd probably happen" The Peashooter mumbles bad things about scientists before looking around concerned. "You sure you don't want to lie down or anything, I can cover you while you recover. But I'll avoid the subject, if you want. You'll survive out there, you're a good guy, don't let Zomboss take that away from you or any others."
"I think I'm okay, but thanks for your concern." The Foot Soldier nods as he limps around a crater full of stagnant water. "I-It's alright. I mean, I'll talk about it but, it's just kinda awkward because you're a plant. Not that there's anything wrong with being one, It's just not at the same level of understanding when it comes to these sort of things, I suppose" The Foot Soldier smiles. "Thanks, I appreciate you saying that" The Peashooter nods as he leaps over the stagnant pool.
"Alright then. I can see why it would be awkward to talk about… it's an experience that I will never go through and survive… But thanks for saying that." The Peashooter smiles back as he stumbles a bit on his landing." No problem. Sometimes the truth doesn't have to hurt."
"Yeah… you've got a point there. You're welcome." The Foot Soldier shakes his head. "It really doesn't. Not all the time." The Peashooter nods.
"Yeah… unless someone figures out how to zombify plants… but that'd be strange. Yeah… but all the truth I've gotten has nearly killed me." The Foot Soldier shrugs as he limps alongside the Peashooter.
"Or, you just get revived. It's only strange if you make it strange, I suppose." The Foot Soldier gets that look of Sympathy again. "And I'm sorry to hear that."
"Being knocked out and actually being killed are two different things for us…" The Peashooter shakes his head vigorously after a few seconds, leading the Foot Soldier to give him a befuddled look, but loses the look when he stops. "But yeah, that makes sense, it's only weird that I'm having a conversation with a zombie if I make it, right? And It's alright, just tough in our camps."
"Yeah, pretty much. It gets tough in ours too, a lot of the time. Probably not as tough as yours could get, though." The Peashooter shrugs as he jumps a creek.
"Ah, that's good. I'm sure it does… your camps don't get too quiet… do they?" The Foot Soldier gives off a confused look.
"What do you mean by that?" The Peashooter sighs as he develops a sombre look.
"Everyday, it just...gets quieter...the number of houses being occupied decreases...we're dying faster than our numbers can grow." The Foot Soldier closes their eyes tightly in concentration, nearly stumbling as they limp through the creek.
"Oh, jeez... but now that you mention it, the camps can be really friggin' loud one day and then pretty quiet the next day... Not sure if that counts." The Peashooter goes to pat the Foot Soldier's back, but then stopped his pod in mid air, remembered what happened last time and decided not to.
"It's… fine… Dave realize this and is trying to find ways to keep us alive longer… altered plant food, armour… I'll stop. But that makes sense, your numbers must fluctuate greatly." The Foot Soldier nods hesitantly as he clambers up the muddy bank of the creek.
"A-Alright. Yeah, Dave, he… He seems like a good guy. And yeah, the numbers do. And they go from one extreme to the other as well. Either we've got more people than we know what to do with, or we have hardly any people." The Peashooter waits for the Foot Soldier at the top of the muddy embankment.
"He is… he's done a lot for us. We throw down our lives for him and the other humans left in our way to repay him and them." The Foot Soldier nods hesitantly when he reaches the top of the embankment.
"I can imagine it would be. But, hey, you're fighting for a good cause at least. I kinda thought about that once, and it's like 'Hey, they're fighting to protect people, that's good blah blah blah blah blah' and then I think back to other Zombies and I think 'Wait... What do we fight for?' Needless to say, I couldn't think of anything." The Peashooter nods.
"I… yeah… w-we do. But we've caused so many zombies a second, painful death. Thinking about it… how traumatizing must it be to face death for a second time?" The Foot Soldier shudders a little.
"Y-Yeah... At first, it doesn't seem like anything too major, but then you get this WEIRD feeling. There's no other word to describe it then weird. And you recognize it, because you've felt it before and it lead to your first death... and you panic. You just panic." The Peashooter frowns sadly.
"That sounds... horrible. Must really suck if you died in a similar way to how ever any of us could kill you…" The Foot Soldier nods.
"It is... and it does. If a person got a pea Gatling bullet to the chest, and their cause of death was being shot near the same spot... They basically have a nervous breakdown because they panic so much. I've seen some of the toughest All-Stars in our league blubber like little girls because of things like that." The Peashooter winces slightly, but laughs at the All-Star part.
"That's gotta really suck. I feel bad for using that ability now. But heck... I'd love to see an All-Star break down like that." The Foot Soldier nods once more and leans against one of the trees growing on the embankment, the Peashooter doing the same.
"It probably does, but you shouldn't feel bad. I mean, they're attacking the people you love, so it's understandable." The Foot Soldier laughs a little. "It's certainly not what you would expect to see, that's for sure." The Peashooter nods as well.
"Yeah... I'm doing this for a good cause... right?" The Peashooter chuckles. "Yeah, what I'm imagining is pretty good."
"Yeah, you're doing it for a good cause." The Foot Soldier thinks for a second. "I mean, at least you have a cause to fight. I don't really see much of any cause on our side, besides Zomboss being bored and willing to sacrifice a few men just for the heck of it."
"I… yeah… we are." The Peashooter thinks for a second. "Without this whole… war though… how would all of you survive… as far as the others and I know, you only eat brains." The Foot Soldier nods in agreement.
"Well, that's not entirely true… Well," The Foot Soldier thinks of how to word it. "It is, but it isn't. Zombies might eat flesh, or brains but not exactly HUMAN flesh or brains. I mean, we go out and shoot deer or something and eat it 90% of the time. Sure, some of the more rotted and mindless ones have mauled a few people because they couldn't find any wildlife, but that's pretty much the only reason." The Peashooter 'Ah's' in understanding.
"So… this whole war really is pointless? Both sides dying for some mad man's pleasure… disgusting." The Foot Soldier shrugs.
"Well, it's not pointless with you, but it's pretty pointless with us. I mean, Zomboss makes us attack the camps and everything. I mean, literally MAKES us. I've seen him command more than a few generals to pull guns out on their own men to get them out there to fight and try to take over. And I completely agree, it IS disgusting." The Foot Soldier thinks for a second. "Maybe taking over is a cause? I don't know. Not what I want to fight for, that's for sure." The Peashooter nods.
"Yeah, that's a bit umm… how do I say this without offending you… mindless. If you all turned against him, he'd have no chance." The Peashooter thinks for a second. "If you really don't want to fight for him… why not fight with us? I mean, if I can convince Dave you're good, he can convince the others." The Foot Soldier makes some strange noises.
"Well, it's their problem. I'm sure if we did, he couldn't but the Zombot he uses in extreme situations like that would probably kill half of our army before we could cause a noticeable dent in it." The Foot Soldier looks a little surprised at the second part of the Peashooters sentence and turns his head to look at him slowly. "With Plants, are you sure? I mean, Zombies probably have the worst reputations around here. I'm not sure if that would work." The Peashooter nods slowly.
"Ah yes... I forgot that he had a Zombot... that bastard killed my parents with it." The Peashooter shakes away some bad memories. "I can see that being a problem." The Peashooter nods his head a bit more confidently. "I'm sure I can convince Dave to trust you, he trusts in us as we trust in him, he'll see the good in you. Just getting you behind our lines may be the problem… and getting you to Dave will be the hard part… I'll try if I have to though, to get you out of there… if you don't want to be in there… that is." The Foot Soldier is unsure how to respond to that first part.
"I'm sure it's tough. I mean, losing my sibling was pretty awful, I can't imagine what-" The Foot Soldier covers his mouth with both hands when he realizes what he's doing. Slowly removes them a moment later. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I don't think I should talk anymore." The Foot Soldier changes the subject back. "But, I guess that's true. Trust between a leader and his army is a really important thing." The Foot Soldier thinks for a moment. "It'd be nice getting out of there, but the obstacles would be pretty huge… Umm." The Foot Soldier gets an idea. "Does Dave normally interact with P.O.W's? I could act like I was captured or something around the other Plants if I have too." The Peashooter looks sympathetically at the Foot Soldier opposite them.
"It's alright, I understand how painful it would have been losing your brother." The Peashooter fights to hold back the tears threatening to flow. "I'll be fine… just tough remembering that night… being so helpless and forced to watch it happen… I-" The Peashooter stops and gets back on topic. "Sorry. But Yeah, Dave sometimes brings the P.O.W's some rabbit, or deer if they're lucky, whenever he finds some a Chomper may have left unfinished. I mean... that could work, I can act like you're a prisoner to get you there safely." The Foot Soldier returns the sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry... I can imagine it is. My brother was about 20 years old when he was eaten... and it was on my 16th birthday… And… I mean, you can rant if you want, I'll listen." The Foot Soldier gets back on topic again. "That might actually work, yeah." The Peashooter looks down angrily.
"I was barely old enough to start fighting when I was held up against a wall by an All-Star and forced to watch my parents be… ripped apart as they fought to hold back the machine long enough for everyone else to escape…" The Peashooter calms slightly. "That's where my hate of All-Stars comes from. But holy crap," The Peashooter looks up sympathetically again. "I'm sorry to hear about your brother... that must have been the worst day for something like that to happen." The Peashooter gets back on topic. "It will hopefully work... If a Chomper gives you weird looks, knock me over the head and rocket jump up to a roof, just make sure you get away from him, ok?" The Foot Soldier shuts his eyes tightly.
"Oh my god, I would hate All-Stars, too. I'm sorry you had to go through that at such a young age." The Foot Soldier nods sadly. "And Yeah. At the time, it was like the middle of the makeshift sorta birthday party... That we found out he didn't come back... I can vividly remember the commander of the group walking up to us... and he just said 'Ethan didn't come back.'" The Foot Soldier tears up a little. "...I spent the rest of the time up in my part of the barracks entertaining the thought that he would come back or that it wasn't real…" The Foot Soldier gets back on topic. "Yeah, hopefully." The Foot Soldier looks at the Peashooter a bit unsure. "Umm... Okay. If that's what you want me to do, sure." The Peashooter sighs.
"I... broke their neck, with a crowbar that sat on the table next to me... I wanted to charge the machine, kill him, or die trying... my brother dragged me out of there though." The Peashooter looks at the Foot Soldier sympathetically. "I'm sorry for your loss, that's really not something someone should go through on their birthday. But at least he lives on your memories, right?" The Peashooter got back on topic, look of reassurance on his face. "Hopefully, it may be tough getting you past Dave's guards, they're our toughest fighters, they'll be the most suspicious. And yeah, make it look like you're escaping captivity, I'd rather get knocked out or knocked over then see you be eaten by a Chomper." The Foot Soldier flinches at hearing the Peashooter breaking the All-Star's neck, but realizes he would do the same.
" I'm sure a lot of people on both sides would want to kill Zomboss." The Foot Soldier forces a reassuring smile. "It's alright. Yeah, memories are always cool. I have these ones from when we were alive, and I was really little. He would just tickle me so hard I couldn't breathe." He chuckles a little bit "... It's kinda weird, in a way though. I mean nowadays, when I think about him I think about his as he was. This 20 year old guy. And then, when I dream about him," The Foot Soldier's voice kinda chokes up for a second as he blinks back a few tears. "He's always like, a baby... Which is weird, because he was older than me. In the dreams I just pick him up and hold him... It's... nice." The Foot Soldier sighs calmly, and then starts back up. "And… I can imagine it would be. If they're the toughest guys you've got, there's no doubt about that. If it comes to that, I'll try not to hurt you." The Peashooter laughs lightly.
"Yeah, I'm sure everyone this side of the border want him dead... maybe not Dave... he's a strange man... but I guess that's why we call him Crazy Dave and he treats it as a complement." The Peashooter smiles back. "That sounds nice, and must be a relief from the horrors of this war. Sometimes I dream of my parents, how they picked me up, when I got down. Protected me whenever I couldn't protect myself. How they would treat both my brother and myself equally... after their deaths though... my brother went from being his normal, flamboyant self, to a pretty secluded and unsociable plant. I try my best to cheer him up, but he blames himself for their deaths." The Peashooter stares blankly into the distance for a few seconds before getting back on topic. "Sorry, just... had a memory. Yeah, Dave constantly argues with them, telling them they should be on the front helping in battles rather than protecting him, they're adamant though, I'll give them that. And thanks for that, I'll make sure you aren't hurt until you're a proper agent." The Foot Soldier nods.
"Yeah. I hear Dave is one of those people" The Foot Soldier nods. "It is, and you're right. I'm sure anyone who has those good memories feel a lot better through all of this crap. One of the last ties to the people they loved that those people have, a lot of the time." The Foot Soldier nods and listens as the Peashooter explain the dreams. "It's alright. I get lost in memories sometimes as well. And that's understandable, why the guards would do that. Especially when it comes to a leader like him." After saying so, he nodded "Thanks, and no proble-" The Foot Soldier sees something moving on the leaves on the Peashooter's head and sucks in a breath through his teeth. He stares at the area for a moment before reaching out a hand slowly "Don't move."
A/N: Chapter by Stwolfgang 'Peas' Ambrose, in collaboration with TastyBlueCrayon. Thank you Tasty :)