Chapter 31: Plantywood: City of Flora

I'm so happy I talked to Sam Levineeee :D

It was for a brief moment through a tweet, but STILL haha :) I just got some advice on how to be a good screenwriter. I have to say it helped ^^ Not bragging, btw, I just really need support I want to get out of my country and fulfill my dream :3 But anyways, back to business.

I'm afraid I can't post the special episode due to personal reasons uwu Instead, enjoy the recent episode! The next one may or may not be posted in a while either.

Please wait for the special episode, because I want to take my time with it. So far, not getting much luck. With hope and luck, I can post two weeks from now. My exams are coming up next week, so you guys have to wait longer :( But I promise it'll all be worth it in the end~! ^^

"Hey there, Phyllis! What's the dyllis?" Penn chuckled at his own joke as he and his team entered the Odyssey. They looked up at their mechanic, who was tsanding beside a clothed table, with a tray of food on it. It looked like a candlelit dinner for one.

"I cook frozen dinner," Phyllis responded, pressing a button on a remote. "Micorwave take too long." A ray appeared above the meal, getting closer and closer to the food. The friends stared in amazement.

When Phyllis pressed another button, everything exploded.

There was a fire blasting in front of their faces, and the quartet stared with stunned expressions. "I am scarred," Verge mumbled. The table had disappeared, and the only thing left was a charred tray. For some reason, the food still survived. Phyllis picked it up, blowing on her meal.

"OK. Today you go to Plant World. Enough detail, lunch get cold, good luck."

Zap.

Penn went through a door, looking pleased with himself as he stared at his form and looked around at what appeared to be a detective office. "No way! Except for me being a cactus, this is just like my favorite detective series! 'The Detective and his Trusty Sidekick'."

Sashi, who was sitting on a chair, spun around to face her partner. "I'm sure our mission is nothing like that stupid, overly complicated show." When she checked the Specs, she added, "You are a detective, and I am your trusty sidekick." Once realizing what she said, she paused. "Oh, man."

"Guys! Where are you?! Why am I only hearing your voices?"

"Verge? Is that you?" Penn questioned, looking around. "Why is it these days we can never know where you are first…"

"Ow!" Sashi suddenly brought her leaf hand up to her cheek, when she found one of the dandelion tufts were drifting away. The tuft turned around and revealed Verge's rather confused face.

"What the dust was that about."

"This is what happens when there's no such thing as 'plant fairies'," Penn smirked, sitting behind his desk.

"At least getting around will be a breeze."

"Well!" Sashi interrupted, leaf-hands raised up. "At least there's no annoying narrator!"

Sashi had been wrong many times before. But never quite so wrong as at this very moment.

"Boone?" Penn called out. "Where are you?"

Sashi jumped up. "Yeah! Show yourself!"

"Please don't tell me you're a tuft too," Verge said, starting to look worried.

Boone didn't know. All he knew was that he could see everything, and couldn't stop referring to himself in the third person.

"Oh, so he's invisible?"

Sashi sat back down again. "Great. That's not going to get annoying…"

"Let's just focus on the mission, shall we? I do not like this dimension."

"You don't like most dimensions." Penn pointed out.

"Shh, they don't have to know that."

"All right," Sashi continued. "Our mission is to stop Big Red, Plantywood's most notorious criminal, before he pulls of a mysterious crime."

"All righty," Penn said, flicking his fedora. "First off, all we need is a clue, that'll set us on a path with a million twists that'll blow our minds when we get to the shocking end! Who did it? Maybe it was me?!"

When Verge saw his wild appearance, she got terrified and moved next to Sashi.

"Seriously, let's start already…"

Sashi walked over to a file cabinet and started rummaging through it. She lit up when she pulled something out. "Look! Here's an address for Big Red's last known location. We should go there right away."

"Awesome," Verge said, taking the folder. "It appears that he's in—"

Her sentence was cut off by a knock on their office door.

Penn's eyes widened when he saw who was there, and he took his hat off as he gazed at a beautiful-looking rose.

Penn couldn't believe his eyes. This number had a stem that ran all the way to Tuesday. All he could think of was…'I'm in love'.

"Oh, my," the rose said, still smiling in flattery.

"Really?" Verge blurted out, looking up at Boone, slightly annoyed. Apparently, they weren't the only ones who could hear him.

The cactus looked around frantically, as he blushed chuckled nervously. "I'm really not thinking that."

But that was exactly what he was thinking.

Penn made signs to tell him to shut up, but it didn't work. As the rose sat down on the desk, Verge flew over to the hero's jacket and placed herself on his shoulder, ignoring the growls that came out of her mouth.

"Name's Orchid," the flower introduced.

Penn looked at Verge, who was even more confused than he was. "But you're a rose…"

Orchid only smiled and poured herself some water into a martini glass. "Nothing gets past you, does it? You must be the detective."

"That's me! Or, no, hold on. Is—Is it, that is I? That is I, no, that sounds stupid. Ah, blegh…I'm the cactus detective…I'm the Mr. Detective Cactus."

Penn was obviously nervous. And the Narrator wasn't helping.

If Verge could facepalm, she would've done so.

"Anyway," Orchid continued. "I need someone to help me find my missing brother, Fern. He's an actual fern, adopted."

"Sure," Verge said. "We'd love t—"

"Sorry, rosebud," Sashi interrupted, taking Orchid and showing her out the door. "But we've got bigger seats to sew."

When she slammed the door, Penn reacted immediately. "What are you doing? Ugh, look. In the Detective and His Trusty Sidekick, the Smysterious lady with the problem is always involved with the crime. Always."

"But this isn't your mystery show, Zero," Verge groaned. "I don't want to relive another episode of when they found the dog's corpse."

"Come on, Verge, I am aware of that. But. We should tail Orchid and see where she leads us."

Sashi paused. She'd been wrong so many times before, she was starting to doubt herself. If only Boone were around to advise her.

"Boone, don't be ridiculous," Verge muttered. "I'm here."

After rolling her eyes, Sashi threw her leaf-hands up. "Fine! We'll follow Orchid. But for the record, I think we're heading towards a dead end."

"Ditto," Verge grumbled, using wind magic to open the door. "But we better get going. The sooner we solve this case, the better."

Despite her qualms, Sashi and Verge climbed aboard Penn's Wild Hunch Express. Next stop: I-Told-You-So Station.

Ignoring Boone, the trio quietly followed the female rose through streets, trying to look as calm as possible. After getting pricked from Penn's cactus needles, Verge grew accustomed to living in Sashi's head. They later found Orchid at a club, where she seemed to be rocking the entertainment that night. The dream team got a table for two, and they spent the night watching the rose as she sang rather wonderfully. Penn blushed when Orchid caught his eye and she winked at him. Verge looked at Sashi, who looked just as annoyed as she was.

Suddenly, the dandelion tuft noticed a familiar figure in the corner. She couldn't tell how she recognized someone she'd never met before, but the eyes told her otherwise. "Zero, look," she whispered, gesturing with her head. Penn looked, and his eyes widened slightly, as if he too recognized that plant.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that fichus over there is acting shady, and I'm not talking about the shadow puppets he's making with his leaves…which are impressive…"

"A freak of nature like that is gifted. We should follow him next."

Luckily, he didn't go any farther. When Orchid finished her song, the fichus left his table and proceeded backstage. When they trailed after him, they could see him talking to the rose. There was a light, and they could now see the figure's face.

"Larry?" Sashi gasped.

"That's why he looked familiar," Verge whispered, mostly to herself.

"I knew that dame smelled like trouble," Penn declared. "And roses."

"You also knew she was beautiful. Who knows. Both facts could be wrong."

Penn just rolled his eyes.

Penn tried his best to be witty. But he came up short. Big time.

As Larry was about to leave, the three of them preceded hiding in two vases. Larry was making his way out the club when a piece of film fell out of his bag. Once Penn saw it, he instantly picked it up, looking a little proud. But Sashi and Verge quickly got out the building. By then, Larry was gone.

"Ah, wings," Verge cursed.

Sashi groaned when Penn caught up. "He got away."

"Well, at least we got his roll of film," Penn said. "I bet there's a clue in these here photos!"

"Or we can check out Big Red's last known location. It's literally just up the road!"

"Zeroooo, come on, let's get this over and done with!"

"But my private eye is telling me that the film is the next piece of the puzzle."

"Your private eye stinks. I'm this close to turning it black."

"How can you punch me? You don't have any hands."

"Do you want to take this out back home?"

Now, the cactus was nervous. "Guys, let's just do things my way for once, please?"

"For once—"

Before Verge could explode, Sashi took the tuft off her shoulder and covered her mouth. "All right, all right! Let's get them processed."

Penn lit up, happy they agreed, as he went to a shop and had the pictures printed. Sashi let go of Verge and whispered, "Just go along with it. He'll shut up when he gets his lesson of the day."

"I hate when he finds the truth by the end of the mission…"

When the three came out of "One-Minute Photos and Slush", Penn was examining the evidence while the girls shared a slushie. One of the pictures seemed to catch the hero's eye. "Hm. That pine tree sticks out like a sore green thumb. It's like a cat at a rodeo eating a calzone. It just doesn't seem right. We need to find him."

Sashi stared at the picture. "He just looks like he's photo-bombing Larry's seflie."

Verge scoffed. "There's almost more room in for the pine tree than Larry himself. Bet I could take a better one."

Penn went over to pat Sashi's back. "Trust me, guys, I got a—"

"Feeling!" the dandelion cringed, when she felt the cactus spikes prick her stem. "Yeah. Me too."

"Ooh, sorry! I saw an Aloe Vera waiting by the bus, want me to grab him?"

"No time," Verge said through gritted teeth, already taking the spikes out one by one. "This photo was taken at the beach. It's not far. Let's move."

The three now found themselves walking by the shores together (luckily Boone had no comment to that). As they scanned the area, Penn gasped when he pointed up at the lifeguard base. "There he is!"

The suspicious pine tree got off and broke out into a run.

"Get him!" Penn started chasing the tree, but Sashi and Verge hesitated. When the dandelion caught sight of a daisy on a surfboard, she smirked.

"Verge, you still have other powers, right?"

"Of course. Why?" When Sashi pointed, Verge's eyes widened. "Oh."

Using water powers, they managed to bring the daisy overboard. As it screamed and fell into the water, Sashi took the opportunity to get on it. As she rode the waves and tailed after the pine tree, she spun on the board, and cried out as she flung herself onto the shore. As she landed, she bent the board, and nailed the pine tree into the sand. He was dizzy from the hit, but the girls grinned at each other in pride.

Penn, who was caught in a pit earlier, finally arrived to them, and Sashi fired up questions. "Why were you running away?"

"I wasn't," the pine tree snapped. "I was just running, see? For exercise."

"That's what they all say, bub," Verge shot back. "Now, you're going to answer all our questions. See?" The pine tree squinted up at her.

Sashi brought out Larry's picture. "Do you recognize the fichus in this photo?"

"Why, sure I do, flower face! He made that sandpot over there."

"And did he say anything about his business here in Plantywood?" Penn said. "Spill the beans, you! Spill it!"

"I ain't spillin' for nobody!" the tree declared. "…All right, maybe this once. He left this behind, see?" He handed something over and the three examined it. "It's a brochure for the Museum of Botanical Arts, see? They're having an exhibit for the most valuable vase in the world. It's made entirely out of diamonds."

"Wait a minute," Penn breathed. "Of course! Big Red's gonna steal the vase!"

"That actually makes sense…" Sashi's "Oh" voice was revealing.

"See? I told you to trust me, you two. Now look at ya. Egg all over your face." Sashi only glared at him while Verge sighed.

"Whatever, Zero, my fairystincts are still telling me otherwise. The Museum isn't Big Red's last known location."

"What if that information's wrong? We never know. Like you said, Verge, let's just get going so we can get it done with."

Toot! Toot! Now arriving at I-Told-You-So Station.

"Is there a way to shut him off?"

"I would've found out by now."

The three were now wandering the dimly lit streets. Verge tried making it bright, and her head served as a little flashlight. "We're being tailed," Sashi whispered to them, looking behind. "Big Red must know we're onto him." Two mysterious-looking mushrooms were indeed just right behind them, almost looking ready to pounce.

"All right, let's split!" Penn commanded.

With that, the hero and his sidekicks went separate ways. Both goons decided to follow Penn.

"What do we do?" Verge questioned.

"What else? We strike back."

The mushrooms cornered Penn, despite his attempts to get away, but Verge and Sashi arrived just in time. With her karate skills, Sashi kicked away one mushroom, and then threw the other in the garbage. When the first just got back up, Verge grew to a bigger tuft size, and stuffed the top of her head against their noses. Before they could react, the first one sneezed loudly, which sent him flying towards the garbage with his partner. The two plants now groaned together.

"Nice work, guys," Penn grinned. "You're good sidekicks."

"Uh, excuse me? I'm the fairy guide? Have we not established this?"

"You sure appear otherwise. By the way, you didn't tell us you could grow even as a plant."

"Oh, Zero, I don't tell you everything. Also, did you just really tell me that?"

"Yeah, scratch that, bring it in."

Considering Verge had no hands, Penn and Sashi high-fived, but he started apologizing when he hurt her again.

After one more spike-picking, the team were then running into the exhibit area. "Not so fast, Larry!" Penn exclaimed.

"Freeze, and put the camera down?" When Verge saw what the minion was doing, her voice faltered and they all stared.

Larry, who was holding a camera, only smiled at them when they arrived. Orchid was with him, but she didn't at all look like she was expecting their arrival. "Oh, hey Penn!" Larry greeted. "You here to see the vase too? You know, pictures just don't do a justice."

"Nice try, but we know that you and Rippen are here to steal that vase, not see it! Did you hear that, Rippen?! The jig is up!"

"Oh, Rippen's not here. He's getting ready to pour weed killer into the city water tower before the next watering." Upon seeing their shocked face, he let out a gasp. "Oh! I just revealed his evil plan, didn't I?" He blew a raspberry. "Me and my mouth."

"Why aren't you with Rippen?" Penn continued to question.

"He sent me on a lunch run, but I got side-tracked with some sightseeing!"

"Now, that makes sense," Verge muttered, now glaring at Penn.

"…Yeahhh…but why is Orchid here?"

"I'm meeting my brother, Fern," the rose replied. "Turns out he wasn't missing. He was on a business trip."

"Hey!" Fern waved.

"Wait, uh…then…uh, why were you talking backstage at the club?"

"Oh, I was just asking for lunch recommendations. Oh, that All-You-Can-Eat Fertilizer Buffet? Mwah. Yes."

"O-K, but that still doesn't explain why those goons were chasing us!"

"We was just trying to return this." Everyone turned to find the same mushrooms, looking extremely agitated, but still talking politely. "You dropped it at the club."

"Thanks for the headache," the second grumbled. "Was you raised by weeds?"

"That depends," Verge said. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Sorry, guys," Sashi sighed, now turning to Penn. "We wouldn't have bothered any of you, if we had just gone to Big Red's last location." Her pointing at the folder emphasized a lot.

"Yep," Larry said, pointing as well. "The good ol' water tower. You really should've gone there first."

As Larry continued to look around, Penn sighed. "I took this whole hunch thing too seriously, and I overcomplicated the mission. I need to learn to listen to your hunches more often, guys. Sorry."

"Oh, Zero," Verge sighed, turning smaller again and sat on his shoulder. "We all know it's impossible for you to do that. But it's OK. We still love you." Penn smiled.

As Penn wasted time talking about what he learned…thousands of innocent plants were about to get soaked…with weed killer!

"Now, we seriously need to hurry up. Let's move it, guys."

With a quick conjuring of fairy dust, the three started to fly, and they made their way over to Plantywood's water tower. Sure enough, Big Red had just arrived by the base, and he held one full bag of the poison he needed. His face looked pretty determined, but Penn was ready to break that.

"Freeze!" Rippen's eyes widened slightly, when he saw Penn seemed to be hiding what looked like a gun under his jacket. Penn smirked.

Unbeknownst to Rippen, Penn didn't really have a weapon under his coat.

"Boone!"

Rippen let out a menacing laugh, as he kicked a barrel to send them rolling towards them. The three gasped, as they weren't exactly too quick to dodge them. Rippen started climbing the tower with the bag.

It was curtains for Penn, Verge, and Sashi. There was no chance they could catch up to Rippen.

"Not necessarily. You know, I saw a helicopter tour company at the beach. We can use that hose to zipline down to the street, and then hop in the cab, drive to the heli—"

"I could just dust you guys again," Verge interrupted.

Sashi took Penn's arm. "Or we could just take that elevator."

"Hey!" Fern waved.

"Right, right…over-thinking again."

"Ya think?" When Verge smirked, she grew bigger and practically pushed them all in as she flew. "Go, go!"

Once inside, the elevator was surprisingly faster. Penn and Verge grinned at each other.

Considering the fact that Verge didn't have any hands and Penn was spiky, the detective and his guide just nodded in silent confirmation. They could do this.

"You took the elevator," Rippen noticed, once they met again at the top. "Very crafty move! But you're too late! Hope you're thirsty, 'cause I'm about to make it rain. And by rain, I mean poison."

"Zero," Verge whispered, using her head to nudge at the bag. Penn understood immediately.

"Hey, Rippen. Think fast."

He flung a cactus spike towards the villain, and Rippen only laughed at how it simply landed in-between his legs. "Ohohoho! You didn't even come close!"

Penn only smiled. "I wasn't aiming for you."

Rippen then looked down to see a leak in his weed killer bag. Before he knew it, all the contents dropped out, and the part-time villain began choking on air. He took one-step backward, and started screaming as he fell towards the ground. The three only grinned as they stared downwards in victory.

"Let's check out this awesome view, shall we?" Verge gestured with her head again at the Plantywood sign, where the water seemed to be pouring out. Now that she was just a tuft, she could still conjure up dust in the rain. She sprinkled Penn and Sashi, and they grinned at her gratefully as they preceded flying over to the sign.

Once they arrived, they climbed up the rest of the way, as they then looked down at the beautiful, dimly lit sight they beheld below them. Once again, they saved another dimension.

It hardly ever rained in the city of Flora. Except, everyday. But the rain couldn't drown out what everyone was thinking. The Narrator could not be cooler.

"Boone," Verge grumbled.

Penn chuckled. "We'll get back at him later." Verge smirked evilly in agreement.

"The End"

Hope ya'll enjoyed~ Remember, the next episode will hopefully be tomorrow and the special episode two weeks from now. If I don't post the next episode tomorrow, expect it two weeks from now as well! See ya'll~ :)