The Plants climbed up the hill to their bunker, most of them wounded slightly. Others, such as Peashooter and Cactus, had sustained more severe injuries. Sunflower was carrying the injured Peashooter, worried for his recovery, as well as Cactus' recovery. Unfortunately, she was exhausted from carrying him, and had to stop walking to catch her breath.
"I'm sorry Peashooter, I can't carry you anymore. Can you walk on your own?" Sunflower told Peashooter.
"No…maybe if you help me." Peashooter weakly replied.
Sunflower helped Peashooter on his feet, supporting some of his weight as he tried to balance himself. Peashooter limped up the hill while Sunflower held him in her leaves. As the Plants reached the bunker, Crazy Dave and Penny were standing outside the front door of the bunker, eagerly awaiting their arrival.
"Thank tacos you're all okay! That really was a heckuva fight!" Crazy Dave happily cheered.
"Was it worth our trouble Crazy Dave? Peashooter and Cactus got seriously hurt, and we lost two of the four Gardens we raised. God knows how many other Plants are dead." Sunflower said, distressed at the situation.
"I have calculated a range of 25-40 Plant Fatalities. It is a considerable tragedy." Penny beeped.
"You have to excuse us Crazy Dave, I have to take care of my friends and make sure they're ok." Sunflower told Crazy Dave and Penny.
"Understood." Penny responded.
"Give them tacos! That should do it!" Crazy Dave spouted.
"User Dave, the Plants' injuries require more medical care than simply consuming tacos." Penny attempted to tell Crazy Dave.
"Should they eat hamburgers too?" Crazy Dave responded in a somewhat confused tone.
"*electronic sigh* No…" Penny answered, frustrated with Crazy Dave's naivety.
Cactus had been laid upon the operating table, Mystic Flower nursing her back to health and Camo Cactus standing by her side.
"You shall survive Cactus. I shall mend your wounds and rejuvenate your health." Mystic Flower assured Cactus.
Sunflower approached Mystic Flower and checked on Cactus.
"Will she be alright Mystic?" Sunflower asked Mystic Flower, clearly concerned.
"Oh, she will be perfectly fine! I have healed worse injuries than a mere gold coin. She is quite lucky however, that the coin only struck her body. If she had been shot in the head, I am afraid her chances of survival would have been minimal." Mystic Flower explained.
"Thank goodness for that." Sunflower said, relieved that Cactus' injuries were not serious.
"Hey Sunflower, where are the bandages?" Fire Flower asked Sunflower, rubbing her leaves that had been shot several times through.
"There should be a few left in that upper cabinet Fire." Sunflower told Fire Flower.
Peashooter stumbled toward a chair and sat down, his energy expended. Sunflower saw this, feeling bad about his condition.
"Please take good care of Cactus." Sunflower said to Mystic Flower.
"Naturally." Mystic Flower responded.
"Here Peashooter, let me take care of you." Sunflower said, grabbing some bandages from Mystic Flower's desk and sitting beside Peashooter.
Sunflower unrolled the bandages and began wrapping them around Peashooter's body and leaves. She then attached a Heal Beam to him, attempting to speed up the healing process.
"We'll get you some better medicine when we go home. We're really running low here in the bunker." Sunflower told Peashooter.
"It's ok." Peashooter responded.
"Camo, thank you so much for saving Cactus." Sunflower said to Camo Cactus.
"I only wish I could have saved the others." Camo Cactus responded.
"What do you mean?" Sunflower asked, tilting her head curiously.
"Ice Cactus, Fire Cactus, Bandit Cactus and Jade Cactus are all dead. Believe me, I checked. When I came back to my spot, all of them had been shot in the head by a Zombie pirate." Camo Cactus explained, sounding sad and regretful.
"Oh my god Camo…" Sunflower responded, nearly speechless.
"They were all good friends…and now they're dead. I can't help but feel responsible." Camo Cactus said somberly.
"It's not your fault Camo." Sunflower said, trying to relieve Camo Cactus of her guilt.
"Really? If I had stayed behind, I could have saved them. My sniping is unparalleled, and I would have taken out that pirate." Camo Cactus responded, only staring down at the floor, contemplating the things she could have done to save her friends.
"But you saved Cactus! If you hadn't taken her back to the bunker, she would have died." Sunflower reminded Camo Cactus.
"Well, I suppose she's one friend I saved. But this has happened far too many times. Countless friends have died, some in front of me, and others in my absence. It only makes me wonder, do they forgive me?" Camo Cactus muttered.
Camo Cactus picked up a scalpel from Mystic Flower's operating table and began making small cuts on her face. Camo Cactus had started a habit of making tally marks on her face for every friend she loses in battle, believing that it was the only way she could repent for their deaths. She made four marks, one for each dead cactus, next to scars made by other marks. When she finished, she had nine tally marks on her face. Camo Cactus picked up a hand mirror and looked into it, checking to see if she had counted correctly.
"Every time I look at myself in the mirror, I'll see these marks, and remember my sins. Even after I die, these marks will stay with me. Maybe when my friends see these cuts, they'll understand that I deeply regret letting them die. Perhaps then, they'll forgive me." Camo Cactus said to herself, putting down the mirror before walking away.
"Camo…none of it's your fault." Sunflower whispered, pained to see Camo Cactus doing this to herself.
"She will find peace within herself someday. I can promise you that." Mystic Flower spoke up.
Fire Flower was wrapping bandages around her right leaf, contemplating her experience as a soldier. She had been training to fight specifically so that she could find the Super Commando that killed her parents and take revenge. But in today's battle, she didn't see a single Super Commando soldier, much less the particular one that murdered her parents. She sighed, wondering if doing any of this was worth it. It wasn't like killing the Super Commando would bring her parents back. She felt hopeless, and wished there wasn't a war at all.
Before wrapping bandages around her left leaf, Fire Flower decided to take a picture of her leaf with her smartphone, intending to send it to her friend. After wrapping her leaf with the bandages, she opened up the Grapevine app and began messaging her friend.
Blazechick: Hey girl, I'm alive! Yay! :)
Stuffleupagus: That's always great! I'm so glad you're ok!
Blazechick: Didn't come w/o pain tho. Look what happened to my leaves!
Blazechick sent Stuffleupagus a picture
Stuffleupagus: OMG that's awful! O_0 Your leaf looks like swiss cheese! XD
Blazechick: Yeah, you're laughing now, but actually this doesn't hurt at all!
Stuffleupagus: How is that possible?
Blazechick: I learned this mystical healing technique or some shit called Solar Therapy. It's supposed to give you enhanced healing properties and all that, but I didn't hear anything about being immune to frickin' pain.
Stuffleupagus: Still, I'm glad you're alright.
Blazechick: I know I am. Never going back into the battlefield again. FML XD
Stuffleupagus: Hey…I wanna ask you something.
Blazechick: Shoot.
Stuffleupagus: When are you going to come visit me? I really want to see you.
Blazechick: I really wanna see you too. We could hang out, get some food, or maybe…
"Fire Flower?" Sunflower said, startling Fire Flower.
"Oh god! Sunflower! Don't do that!" Fire Flower gasped.
"I'm sorry." Sunflower said, giggling at Fire Flower's reaction.
"What is it, Sunflower?" Fire Flower asked.
"Just checking to see if you're alright! What are you doing?" Sunflower replied.
"Nothin'. Just texting my friend." Fire Flower answered.
"That's good. I hope you two are having a good talk." Sunflower commented.
"Of course we are." Fire Flower said.
"We're going to leave soon, alright? We just need to account for everyone and then we'll get in Crazy Dave's carrier RV to go home." Sunflower told Fire Flower.
"Sure. I'll be ready." Fire Flower responded.
Sunflower went off to do other things, leaving Fire Flower to herself and her friend.
Stuffleupagus: Hello? Are you still there?
Blazechick: Srry, I was talking to Sunflower. But anyway...
Blazechick: I was thinking maybe when I come to Time Park to visit you, we could…
Stuffleupagus: Do what? Come on, stop teasing me!
Blazechick: Srry, just give me a sec.
Fire Flower placed her leaf over her heart, took a deep breath and proceeded to answer her friend's question.
Blazechick: Maybe when I come to Time Park we could…go on a proper date?
Stuffleupagus: *blush* I…I would love that.
Blazechick: I can't say when I can come. I'll have to convince Crazy Dave to take us there. But I'll go there someday! Cross my heart!
Stuffleupagus: Ok. It's so quiet here; it'd be great if you brought your friends over.
Blazechick: I'll do that!
Stuffleupagus: I have to go. I love you! :-*
Blazechick: I love you too baby! :-*
Fire Flower closed the Grapevine app, a smile stretched wide across her face. She and her friend had only been online dating up until now. The thought of getting to meet her in person filled Fire Flower with joy. She sighed romantically, knowing she would get to see her soon.
Mystic Flower, with the assistance of Alien Flower, Sun Pharaoh, and Metal Petal, had brought Cactus back to health. Sunflower gave Cactus a gentle hug, relieved for her recovery.
"With Cactus acquiring a substantial recovery, we can return home." Mystic Flower said happily.
"Maybe I can finally get some proper sleep." Sun Pharaoh chimed.
"Perhaps for another 4000 years?" Alien Flower signed to Sun Pharaoh.
"Oh shut up Alien." Sun Pharaoh said, smirking at Alien Flower's sassiness.
"But what about Shadow Flower? How long are we going to be gone?" Sunflower spoke up.
"I trust in her ability to stay out of danger. She has infiltrated many a Zombie fortification and escaped unscathed every time. I am certain she will be fine. We will only be home for a week or so, and if we receive word from her, we will return to bring her home." Mystic Flower said.
Just then, Shadow Flower walked into the bunker, cut, bruised, and limping. The other sunflowers saw this and ran up to her, surprised and shocked to see her in such condition. Shadow Flower looked up to them and held up a large folder, grinning as she began to speak:
"I've got it…"
Shadow Flower collapsed onto the floor, causing the other sunflowers to frantically pick her up and carry her over to the operating table. Sun Pharaoh, Alien Flower, and Sunflower attached their Heal Beams to her, trying to keep her vitalized. Sunflower took the folder from Shadow Flower's leaf and looked at it, wondering what was in the folder that could have gotten Shadow Flower into such a state.
"Hang in there Shadow, you have to tell us more." Sunflower muttered, weary of seeing so many of her friends in such poor conditions.
"Fire Flower! Come help us!" Sunflower called out to Fire Flower.
"I'm here! Wait, is that Shadow Flower?! I'll get the last bandages!" Fire Flower cried out, running back to get bandages from the cabinet.
Today was a stressful, eventful day. Sunflower could only hope that things would get better from here.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As of writing this chapter, this story has accumulated nearly 4000 views! Once again, thank you all so much for your support. This story has been running strong because of all of you.
