Had to re-write this chapter like, 3 times. So enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Escalation

Chomper, Sunflower and Wallnut stood opposite Allstar, Steve and Brian. The two squads were in a standoff. No one moved. Each eyed their new nemesis with hate (except Chomper, who has no eyes).

Steve made the first move, conjuring a Z-1 Assault Blaster and shooting at Sunflower. Allstar tackled Chomper, and Wallnut bowled into Brian. Each duo fought as hard as they could.

Sunflower dodged every pellet, and returned fire quickly each opportunity she had. Steve was getting frustrated, since he couldn't hit Sunflower. In his frustration, he conjured a grenade and threw it.

The grenade soared through the air, over Sunflower's head. It passed Brian and Wallnut, and Chomper and Allstar. It landed on the far end of the street, where Buck approached, dragging Peashooter. He took one look at the grenade and froze. The grenade didn't explode.

Sunflower gasped as she saw Peashooter. She and Steve ran to Buck and Peashooter. The grenade still didn't explode. Right before the two got close, the grenade exploded, launching Buck and Peashooter back. Steve laughed, then noticed Sunflower's expression. He stopped and stood awkwardly with her. Sunflower glared at Steve, then she ran to Peashooter.

Peashooter was still unconscious. He lay on his back, the shrapnel shard still in him. Blood was splattered around the shard. Sunflower knelt next to him and felt his pulse. He was alive, but in critical condition.

Buck groaned and sat up. Steve looked guiltily at him, and Buck face palmed.

"Why, Steve?"

"Well, I overthrew it…"

Buck shook his head and got up. He took a quick look at Peashooter and Sunflower. He wanted to finish the fight, but something stopped him.

"We should get out of here."

"Why? We're winning, and we've got 'em right where we want them!"

"I'm the leader, I say we go."

Steve glared at him but said nothing. Clicking his watch, he warped away. Buck signaled to the others to leave as well. Allstar tossed Chomper aside and saluted, then he retreated. Brian waved to Wallnut and left, Wallnut yelling after him.

Buck himself looked at Peashooter. He had almost died, and it was all his fault. He had betrayed him. But that was his purpose, right? Then why was he showing mercy?

Buck cleared his head and left the opposing squad. As he walked towards Zomburbia, he wondered what Peashooter would think. He wanted to be friends with him, while at the same time he loathed him. But Buck wouldn't hesitate to be his friend. Buck slapped himself for thinking that. Zomboss wouldn't like it. He wouldn't like it at all. So Buck would have to stay quiet. Hopefully Steve wouldn't interfere. But Buck knew that that wasn't going to happen.

Peashooter was carried on Chomper's back to the pickup site. Sunflower was constantly glancing back to see if they were being followed. Nothing.

A few minutes later, in the RV, Chomper was trying to pull out the metal shard that had impaled Peashooter. Sunflower watched, concerned, while Wallnut sadly looked out the window. Chomper finally managed to pull it out, blood dripping from it. He set it down and turned to Sunflower.

"Do we have any bandages?"

"No."

"A first-aid kit?"

"No."

"Gauze?"

"What's gauze?"

"Oh, never mind. We need something to patch up Peashooter."

"We need bandages."

"You just said we didn't have any."

Chomper sighed and looked at Peashooter and the hole in his stem. It was a wonder he wasn't snapped clean in half. Sunflower sat across from them, then sighed.

"What are we going to tell L.E.A.F.?"

"That this 'Brain Squad' is a big threat. We won't tell them about Peashooter. I don't trust Night Cap."

Sunflower said nothing. Wallnut fell asleep. As they flew in silence, Peashooter started to stir. Waking up, he expected to see Buck, and was surprised to find that he was in the RV with his squad. Shaking his head, he sat up, ignoring the pain in his stem.

"Peashooter!"

Peashooter smiled sadly but said nothing. He thought about Buck. He was the enemy, yet Peashooter felt like he wasn't. Something wasn't right.

"Peashooter? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

Sunflower and Chomper exchanged glances but said nothing. Peashooter looked out the window and was surprised to see that they were descending in the ruins of a small town.

"Uh, guys? Why are we descending?"

Meanwhile…

Buck stumbled and fell as he walked. Grumbling, he got up. He felt like someone was watching him. He quickly looked around, spotting a metallic gleam behind an abandoned house.

"Pole! Come out here!"

Pole reluctantly walked out of behind cover and towards Buck. He wasn't happy, but neither was Buck. But Buck had a question, and Pole was the only one he could ask. The two were friends, on a low level. They annoyed each other constantly, but somehow they had never become enemies.

"Pole, what's it like? Living, or unliving I guess, outside Zomboss's control?"

Pole gave him a questioning glance.

"You're leader of the best zombie squad ever assembled, former general of Zomboss's army, and you want to defect? Pathetic. Understandable, but pathetic."

"I don't want to defect!" Buck said, outraged.

Pole shrugged and the two walked to Zomburbia in silence. Eventually, Buck asked,

"Why were you watching me?"

"I've got a bounty on Peashooter. I think you know who that is."

"For who?"

"Confidential, of course."

Buck nodded slowly. He knew Zomboss wanted Peashooter dead. He had escaped from him, something Zomboss wanted to forget. But what if it wasn't Zomboss?

Buck shook his head. Too much thinking. He needed rest. He didn't even notice that Pole was gone. Eventually he entered Zomburbia city limits and went home.

Squad House X: Two hours later…

Peashooter and Chomper were playing Peggle multiplayer, Peashooter's stem having been bandaged. Sunflower had gone to L.E.A.F. to give a mission report. Wallnut was walking around outside.

Cabbage-pult was on the roof of his squad house. As Wallnut neared Cabbage-pult, Cabbage-pult spotted him. He was about to hit Wallnut with a cabbage when he hesitated. Peashooter was the enemy, not Wallnut.

"But the friend of my enemy is my enemy…"

Cabbage-pult was about to lob a cabbage when a small rainbow hit him in the side, causing him to flinch. Cabbage-pult turned, but no one was there. Just the neighbor's lawn, which had a few rocks. Shrugging, Cabbage-pult turned to hit Wallnut, but he was gone.

Peashooter and Chomper's game was interrupted when urgent knocking was heard at the door. Pausing the game, Peashooter answered it.

"Peashooter! Something happened!"

"Scorch?"

"Yeah. But something happened! Your little brother! Threepeater!"

"What about him?" Peashooter asked, concerned. Threepeater was one of the closest people to Peashooter, and he won't let anything happen to him.

"He and an infinut were with a zombie! A pylon imp! And they went towards Zomburbia!"

"What?! Hold on. Chomper! Get some supplies ready! We're going to find Threepeater!"

"On it!"

Peashooter turned back to Scorch and thanked him before heading back inside. The two plants prepared two backpacks of supplies and left, leaving a note behind.

Zombopolis: Midnight

Joanne was looking at a photo. It was decades old, but so was she. It had her and her old best friend, a buckethead with a pink vest. Joanne knew where he was now, leading Brain Squad, but somehow he wasn't the same. Not the same zombie she used to know.

Joanne and Buck had been inseparable, until Buck was offered a job as a top general for Zomboss due to his previous military experience. He helped Joanne get a job as a leading researcher for Zomboss's army, then the two never saw each other again. Joanne had been working up the courage to tell him how she felt about him, but she was too late. Now, there's no going back.

Roughly one month ago, Joanne defected from Zomboss. Now she was temporarily staying in an apartment in Zomburbia. She planned to make contact with a top-secret plant organization called "The Bloominati," however she was so far unsuccessful.

Joanne was remembering those early years, over fifty years ago… the time they spent together… and she started to cry.

"Why, Buck? Why'd you have to accept the job? We would've been fine without all this war… all alone… together…"

But Joanne knew that she couldn't change what had happened. The last fifty years she had been miserable. Buck didn't contact her at all. And when she saw him, a few weeks ago, he didn't even recognize her. It was heartbreaking.

Joanne set the photo down and went to bed. She would try to contact "The Bloominati" again tomorrow. For now, she needed to get her mind off of the past. Off of Buck. That was over now. No going back…

Still in Zombopolis: Still Midnight

The zombie scientist ran as fast as he could, but his pursuer was faster. He ducked into an alley, and his pursuer didn't follow. The zombie breathed a sigh of relief, then realized his mistake. The hooded pursuer ran into the alley and tackled the scientist. The scientist screamed, but no one heard him.

"Be quiet! Now tell me, what is Zomboss doing with the serum?"

"What serum?!"

"The top secret serum. The one being designed by the scientist in Brain Squad."

"How do you know this?!"

"I have my sources. Answer, and I'll let you go."

"He tried using it to turn plants onto his side, but the test was unsuccessful!"

The hooded figure narrowed their eyes.

"What test?"

"A peashooter! Zomboss tested it on a peashooter, but he escaped! Now the serum is decommissioned!"

The figure slammed the scientist into the wall.

"Who was the peashooter?"

"Peashooter!"

"WHO IS IT?!"

"PEASHOOTER!"

The figure paused. Peashooter. The name rung a bell. They dropped the scientist and lept high into the air, a trail of fire behind them. The scientist was panting on the ground. He pulled out his communicator and contacted Zomboss.

"What is it?! Don't you know how late it is?!"

"Yes, sir. But I have urgent news. A L.E.A.F. agent has just questioned me about the decommissioned serum. Why would they do this?"

"Because the serum wasn't decommissioned. The scientist named Steve in Brian Squad has it, and is currently working on improving it."

"And sir, they asked about the test subject."

"The Kilithus? Hmm… L.E.A.F. can't be allowed to interrogate him. We either silence the peashooter, or we can erase his memory."

"Why?"

"Because he'll be back with L.E.A.F. to raid my secret lab! Memory extraction is easier, since the plant is under L.E.A.F.'s protection and my memory wiping machine works from a distance. We'll try killing him first, and we'll wipe his memory as a safety net."

"Why don't you wipe the memories of all the plants?"

"It only targets specific memories of specific plants. It also gives them slight PTSD. They can remember if they see something that triggers a flashback. And never question me again. Contact my assasin. He can do the job."

"Yes sir."

Zomboss ended the call. The scientist sighed and sat on the dirty alleyway floor. Too much going on, not enough recovery time. Then again, that's what war does.

Squad House X: The Next Morning

Sunflower came home to an empty house. Wallnut had spent the night at his brother's, and Peashooter and Chomper were gone. Sunflower called out to them, but no one answered. She found the note on the TV, and was concerned.

"Why? Where have they gone now?"

She shook her head. Sitting on the couch, Sunflower turned on the TV and tried to find something good. A few minutes later, a knock was heard on the door. Sunflower answered, then yelled at the visitor.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Because the visitor was Cabbage-pult.

And I'll end it there. The agent was Solar Flare (if you couldn't tell by the obvious hint). So, why are Threepeater and Infinut with Pylon Imp? Why is Cabbage-pult at Squad X's home? And how will we torture Peashooter next? I don't know the answer to that last one yet, but all questions will be answered… eventually… if I remember…