12:00 pm
Kernel Corn stepped outside as Garlic Drone flew down to greet him. They couldn't speak so the plant's attached cameras to them when sending them on scouting and reconnaissance missions. Kernel Corn took the camera and replayed the clip as the drone took off again. The video feed showed a massive battle happening in a backyard of a house. It was Mia, Phillip, the human, James, and what looked to be his family. They retreated into Penny as the camera cut to another battle. And army of those damn Z-Mechs, massive war machines piloted by the best zombie Imps, marched through the road, unfazed by the onslaught of peas, cactus needles and corn smashing into them. The recording stopped as Kernel Corn thought about what to do next. Clover street was gone and he could see, if rewinding the video, just behind the Z-Mechs were an army of zombies carrying massive boxes, no doubt the newest instalments of Dr. Zomboss' ever growing "city" The Kernel needed someone to go behind enemy lines and find out what the zombies had planned next. He knew who to send, but just hated the thought of it.
Phillip sat on the couch next to Kaia. James sat across from him. Mia had left to a small compartment that served as a bedroom. James' parents sat in the front seat, having nowhere else to sit. After a long silence, James spoke up.
"What's with Mia and humans. She always snaps at me when talking, she threatened to kill that man back at the pharmacy and she..." He made a subtle nod towards Kaia, who was munching on some pretzels, oblivious to the conversation. Phillip sighed and said, "She used to be really nice. Sometimes even outshining Sunflowers in friendliness, no pun intended. I can't explain much about what happened since Mia never really talks about it. All I know is that she had a run in with some idiot. Occasionally, we run into people that don't believe all this." Phillip waved his pea pods around casually.
"This was one of her first missions so she didn't expect anything bad to happen apart from losing to zombies. Anyway, the human was protesting that the zombie invasion was some sort of government plot. He saw Mia and, when she tried to convince him to return to his house, he got angry and grabbed his weapon that those dummies carry to 'protect them from the lies' a handheld bug zapper. Mia was smacked right in the face by the zapper before being chased away by the man. She passed out from exhaustion, pain and shock nearby the taco store 'Uno Taco' where she was rescued by some of our best plants, including the Kernel. Ever since, she saw humans as, and I quote, 'stupid, ungrateful morons'. She tried to give them many more chances, volunteering on rescue missions, supply runs and such but….they didn't go so well, from being nearly killed cause of one selfish person to...failing entire escort missions if you know what I mean." By the look on James' face, he did. "After a full year of trying to redeem humanity, Mia decided that she just hated them and they were useless,. She is fine helping them as long as she doesn't actual need to interact with one. And, well...we've been interacting with lots of humans."
James nodded, taking in all that Phillip had to say. He felt bad for the Nightcap and understood everything now, her annoyance towards him, the way she treated the pharmacist and why she crushed Kaia's hopes of seeing Fredrick again. He wondered what is was like for her now, being with several humans she had been assigned to protect.
Piper put her toothbrush into a small cup and spit into the sink. She looked up and smiled in the mirror, ready to start her night. She called herself Ghost Pepper because she was a ghost and used to be a pepper before being blessed with life. She had a bright cyan dome for a body with a little tail poking out of the bottom, a white bedsheet eye and mouth holes covering her. A faint white glow outlined her semi-transparent body. She had completely black eyes and a little green stem protruding from the top of her head. Suddenly, a knock sounded from the door. Piper floated over to the door and swung it open.
"Oh! S-sir!" She said with surprise, trying awkwardly to salute with her stem. "I didn't expect you to drop by! I would've dusted. What brings you here? Normally you day folk would be asleep right now." Kernel Corn sighed and said, "Well, I-Piper, please remove that bedsheet. It's been THREE years since that Halloween you wore it on. I don't care how many times you wash it, it's looks ridiculous." Piper spun around before saying, "But it's comfy AND it's my size! I'll find something else once I out-grow this."
"Piper, you're a ghost. you can't grow."
"Oh yeah! I can wear this forever! YAY!" Piper laughed in her cheerful, childish personality. "Anyway, what do you need?" Kernel Corn rolled his eyes and motioned for the Ghost Pepper to follow him.
"I need you to do something for me" Kernel Corn said.
"Mm-hmm" Piper nodded. "What is it?"
"I need you to go to the heart of Zomberbia and spy for me." The Kernel replied. "Go there, stay for about a week, then return."
"Gotcha!" Piper said. She began to glow as white smoke spun in crazy circles around her.
"I'll be there faster than I can finished this sente-!" Piper said before suddenly vanishing. Kernel Corn sighed and hoped he made the right choice.
Mia sat alone in the back of Penny. She didn't want to be here, surrounded by incompetent humans. Not after last time. AND the first time. Mia could still feel the burn from where that bug zapper collided with her face if she pressed the hidden scars hard enough.
"That guy better have got his brains eaten. He deserves it." Mia thought bitterly. She thought back to when her hate for humans began.
Clover street: one year ago...
Mia wandered the empty streets, throwing moons at the ready. She heard shouts and followed the sound to find a lone man out on the streets, holding up a sign that read, "Plants aren't sentient. Exposing the truth is imminent!" The man was shouting chants and Mia silently darted over to a overturned garage bin. She studied the human and, after confirming he was safe, approached the protestor.
"Um...hello?" Mia called. The man turned in shock. "This isn't safe. We haven't fully cleared out the zombies here yet." The man scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Listen here," The man said, bending over and poking Mia's forehead, no doubt searching for some hidden camera. "I don't know what kind of government robot you are but go back to your masters and tell them to-!"
Mia cut the man off, keeping a polite tone, and said. "I'm no robot. I'm a living thing and I beg you to go back inside."
"I don't take orders from the likes of you!" The man shot back. "I have my rights and they WON'T be taken away from me!"
"Believe what you want to believe, just please return to your home!" Mia begged, gripping the man's forearm. Bad idea. The man gasped and pulled out a bug-zapper. Mia knew where this was headed as small, blue sparks flashed on it's small grid as it crackled and buzzed upon activation.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" The man shouted in a mix of rage and panic.
"No no no no, wait!" Mia cried as she was smashed in the face by the bug zapper. Her face burned and she cried out in pain. She stumbled around before fleeing, her vision blurry, as the man shouting curses and insults.
A/N: Backstory! YES! Please let me know if ANY of that made sense. I read this several times and still panic about this not being clear enough for you