Chapter Warning: This chapter contains depictions of an interrogation and an execution

(10 years earlier)

"Interrogation session #15, subject: Berry Shooter. Beginning interrogation now…" A Zombie Scientist says into a microphone.

The Zombies had placed a captive peashooter into an isolated interrogation room, with a single steel door that locked like a safe vault, and a viewing window for outside Scientists to observe through. Inside the room, Berry Shooter had been sedated and bound to a chair by a Foot Soldier and a Scientist. Their job was to interrogate Berry Shooter for information that Dr. Zomboss required of them. The Zombies did not expect the interrogation to be successful, as all the interrogations before Berry Shooter had come up with nothing. Regardless, they were determined to get the intel they needed. The Foot Soldier woke up Berry Shooter by slamming a baton onto the tray next to his chair.

"Wake up, weed brain!" The Foot Soldier barked as he slammed down his baton.

"Where am I? Where have you taken me?" Berry Shooter asked as he quickly woke up.

"Greetings Berry Shooter. Let's just get to the point, shall we? We just have a question to ask you. Just one, we promise. We can also promise you that one way or another, you will die here." The Scientist cackled to Berry Shooter.

Berry Shooter attempted to fire a shot at the Scientist, to no avail.

"Oh, don't bother. We have confiscated your ammunition and gave you medicine that suppresses your ability to spit. Now, time for our only question…" The Scientist said as he stood in front of Berry Shooter.

Berry Shooter looked up at the Scientist with toxic dread, his mind racing and pondering what they were going to ask him.

"Tell us: Where is L.E.A.F?" The Scientist asked.

"L.E.A.F?" Berry Shooter responded.

"The L.E.A.F agency! Where are they?" The Scientist repeated in a firmer tone.

Berry Shooter hung his head, knowing what they would do to him when he gave his answer.

"I don't know who L.E.A.F is…" Berry Shooter quietly answered.

"Heh, heh, I hate to break this to you…but this is precisely what the 14 Plants before you said before their untimely demise. At least one of them, including you, MUST be lying. At least one of you has to know…" The Scientist muttered sinisterly.

The Scientist picked up a salt shaker from the table and poured some salt into his hand.

"You know, I like my edamame lightly salted." The Scientist cackled as he began sprinkling the salt into Berry Shooter's eyes.

Berry Shooter shut his eyes tightly, wincing and seething as the salt mixed with his own tears.

"Stop it with the salt! Your method of interrogation is petty!" The Foot Soldier barked at the Scientist.

"Do you want a turn?" The Scientist said with a grin.

"Let me do this!" The Foot Soldier said impatiently, stomping over to Berry Shooter, who was still in pain from the salt.

The Foot Soldier drew his Z-1 Assault Blaster and pointed it at Berry Shooter.

"Tell us where L.E.A.F's headquarters are! Where are they hiding? Which of you are L.E.A.F agents? What does L.E.A.F even stand for? Answer us now!" The Foot Soldier demanded.

"I can't tell you what I don't know. Do you want me to lie instead?" Berry Shooter muttered.

Suddenly, a knock (which sounded like a heavy gun hitting metal) came from the door.

"Come in!" The Scientist said.

The heavy door creaked open as another Zombie walked in. It was General Supremo, who had been sent by Dr. Zomboss to assist in the interrogation.

"Greetings, General!" The Foot Soldier said as he saluted General Supremo.

"What brings you here, General?" The Scientist asked.

"The doctor sent me here to see how you were doing with the captive. Apparently, you are not doing very well…" General Supremo answered.

"This stubborn weed refuses to spill the beans. He must know something!" The Foot Soldier said in a frustrated tone.

"Here, let me handle this myself." General Supremo said as he slowly approached a nervous and scared Berry Shooter.

"So…you are Berry Shooter, one of the elite soldiers of the Plant militia. You are doing well today?" General Supremo muttered, not expecting an answer.

"You should feel honored to be in my presence, I am Dr. Zomboss's most elite soldier of the entire Zombie army. Perhaps now that I am here, you will be more compelled to answer the question. The only question we need to know the answer to." General Supremo muttered ominously.

General Supremo leaned in closer to Berry Shooter, enough that Berry Shooter could smell his rotten breath.

"Where. Is. L.E.A.F?" General Supremo sternly asked.

"I told them already. I don't know who or where they are…" Berry Shooter whispered, fearful of what was going to happen to him.

"I understand. You speak the truth. Unfortunately, this means you are of no use to us. Allow me to introduce you to your executioner. We call him 'Jack-with-a-box'." General Supremo said as he stepped away.

The door swung open as a Jack-in-the-box Zombie walked into the room. He was cackling and convulsing uncontrollably, and was carrying an explosive jack-in-the-box in his straitjacket sleeves.

"Clear the room, gentlemen…" General Supremo ordered, leading the Foot Soldier and Scientist out of the interrogation room.

The Jack-in-the-box zombie began cranking the explosive device, laughing more psychotically as he cranked faster and faster. Berry Shooter was horrified by this behavior and knew what would come next, but as there was nothing he could do, he hung his head and quietly accepted his fate.

"L.E.A.F, whoever you are, I hope you come to us soon. I hope you can make sure no one else ends up like this. Do it for us, do it for the Humans…" Berry Shooter silently prayed.

General Supremo, the Foot Soldier and the Scientist were watching the execution taking place from the other side of the viewing window. The Foot Soldier and Scientist were somewhat nervous, while the General simply stood there emotionless. Suddenly, the jack-in-the-box popped up, causing the Jack-in-the-box zombie to stop laughing and screech at the top of its lungs.

"For Zomburbia!" The Jack-in-the-box zombie yelled.

The jack-in-the-box violently exploded, shaking the entire room and instantly killing both the Jack-in-the-box zombie and Berry Shooter. The Foot Soldier and Scientist ducked underneath their desk in terror, while General Supremo continued to stand there, unshaken. When the dust inside the interrogation room settled, the only remains of the execution were pieces of metal from the bomb and a large blue stain on the wall. The Foot Soldier and Scientist slowly crawled out from underneath the table, as they soon realized that the execution was done.

"Well, good thing the viewing window doubles as a blast shield, huh General?" The Scientist nervously said, attempting to lighten the mood.

"6 months, 15 prisoners, and still we have nothing…" General Supremo sternly noted.

"General, forgive us. We've done everything we…" The Foot Soldier began to say before being interrupted by the General.

"It's not your fault, comrade. But Dr. Zomboss does not have patience for failure." General Supremo said, facing away from the viewing window.

General Supremo pulled out a tin of cigars from his pocket and took one for himself.

"Cigar?" General Supremo offered the Foot Soldier.

"Thank you, sir." The Foot Soldier thanked as he took a cigar from the General.

General Supremo lit his cigar with his standard issue Z-tech lighter and slowly exhaled a stream of smoke.

"You know, I doubt any of the Plants we have interrogated are affiliated with L.E.A.F. If they were, we would not have been able to capture them so easily. L.E.A.F agents are supposed to be elite fighters, comparable to our own Top Zombie agents. I should know, I am the leader of the Top Zombie unit." General Supremo thought aloud.

"As well as the leader of Tank Commander's, Super Commando's, and Sky Trooper's units." The Foot Soldier commented.

"Naturally…" General Supremo said proudly, taking another puff from his cigar.

"So, what do we do?" The Scientist asked.

"Continue to do what you have always been doing. One day, we will get our hands on a L.E.A.F agent. Don't expect that day to be tomorrow. L.E.A.F could be anywhere, and until we have a lead, we will get nowhere near them." General Supremo answered.

"What if L.E.A.F attacks first?" The Foot Soldier asked.

"That would be our worst-case scenario, but make no mistake. We will still deal with them. L.E.A.F or not, they are still feeble Plants." General Supremo said as he fiddled with his Golden Gatling gun.

General Supremo spat out his cigar and stomped it into the floor.

"Continue to interrogate any Plants we capture. We will emerge victorious. Get someone to clean up the mess in there…" General Supremo said, motioning to the interrogation room.

"Yes, General." The Foot Soldier said, saluting him one last time.

General Supremo exited the room, leaving the Foot Soldier and Scientist to their work. As the General returned to Dr. Zomboss, he pondered again and again:

"Where is L.E.A.F?"


(Present Day)

"Madam, I have a report to make." A hooded agent said.

"I could probably guess, but what is it?" A masked female agent said in an Irish accent.

"The Zombies are running rampant. Strategic eras are being attacked! Timelines Omega, Epsilon, and Theta are in critical condition, jumping left and right, starting and stopping! Requesting feedback." The hooded agent reported in a somewhat worried tone.

"Which eras have been invaded?" The female agent asked.

"The Viking Age, the Prohibition Era, and the Modern Era." The hooded agent answered.

"Which Modern Era?" The female agent asked further.

"The default." The hooded agent clarified.

The female agent stood in silent contemplation.

"What should we do, Madam?" The hooded agent inquired.

"The time has come to act. Send a homing signal to all current agents. We must have them arrive here in the HQ for further instruction." The female agent ordered.

"What about the endangered eras?" The hooded agent asked.

"We have agents there to deal with the situation. They will have no problem fighting off the Zombies." The female agent assured.

"Which agents?" The hooded agent inquired.

"Agent [REDACTED] in the Viking Age, Agent [REDACTED] in the Prohibition Era, and Agent [REDACTED] in the Modern Era." The female agent said, making certain that the audio recorder censored sensitive information.

"Some agents are pending recruitment, correct?" The hooded agent asked for clarification.

"We are looking to hire [REDACTED] from Dark Age Europe, [REDACTED] from Modern Antarctica, and [REDACTED] from Timeline Gamma." The female agent clarified, once again making sure to censor confidential names.

"[REDACTED] from Timeline Gamma?" The hooded agent said, not realizing that the audio recorder was censoring the name that they mentioned.

"Yes, he shows great promise and will prove himself well in our agency. I will attempt to send recruitment agents to these Plants and bring them here. You go and help Agent [REDACTED] in the Prohibition Era." The female agent ordered, confident in the audio recorder's encryption abilities.

"Straight away, Madam!" The hooded agent said as they began to exit through a temporal portal.

"One last thing." The female agent said.

"Yes Madam?" The hooded agent asked.

"Send my regards to Agent [REDACTED] when you meet him. I have not seen him in a long while. I hope he is well." The female agent said with a masked smile.

"Will do, Madam!" The hooded agent said as they departed through the temporal portal, disappearing in a flash of blue light.

The female agent looked at her projection screen as she observed points of interest flash onto the screen, indicating Zombie attacks or potential L.E.A.F recruits. She then looked at her smartphone, a device that was capable of recording audio while encrypting sensitive information such as names. The audio recorder app was still recording audio, awaiting the final words of the female agent's message.

"That was my message. If an ally discovers this recording, use it to recruit other agents to support our noble cause, and feel free to join us as well. If an enemy discovers this recording…you heard nothing." The female agent said, finalizing her recording.

The female agent published the audio recording and sent it through the internet, confident that someone would come across it.

"Grapevine is questionable in its security, but it guarantees that the most Plants will see the message." The female agent thought aloud.

The female agent looked at her projection screen once more, sighing in discontent at the dire situation.

"This is certainly an important responsibility for us to take. But for the sake of Plant and Humankind, the timeline and every tangential timeline in between, we must be victorious." The female agent said to herself.

An idea struck the female agent, causing her to pull out her smartphone once more and send a message through Grapevine. She felt a little nervous doing so, but was confident that her username would be enough to hide her true identity.

Toxithorn started a private conversation

Toxithorn: Hello? Is anyone there?

DarkAlias: Uh, hi. It's you again huh?

Toxithorn: Listen, you are a spy and a hacker, correct?

DarkAlias: Yes, why do you ask?

Toxithorn: I have a job offer for you…


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Surprise! I found the time to write one more chapter and I just HAD to publish it. Now let me make things more clear, THIS will be the last chapter I write in a while. Since I am resuming college in less than a week, I will not have time to write another chapter then. I will do what I can to write in my spare time, but for the most part, progress on the story will be more or less halted. Still, if you would like to send me Private Messages, feel free to. Even during college, I will make time to read and answer your messages. Also, I've made a poll on my profile page! Answering it will greatly help me in the future, so please make sure to visit the profile page to vote in the poll. I should be back by the time fall quarter ends (which should be sometime after Thanksgiving), but keep checking every now and then in case I am able to post another chapter. I will let everyone know when I am able to fully start writing again. Until then, thank you so much everyone for your kind comments, messages and reviews. I will continue to write (and make progress toward college), and I will see you all later. ~Timeman63, logging out!

(Does anyone like tildes? I love tildes! Such adorable little squiggles!)