Dr. Zomboss sat at his desk, attempting to start up some small talk with his future self, to no avail. He tapped his fingers rhythmically on his desk, until his future self suddenly spoke up.

"Slow day?" Future Zomboss said.

"Too slow…something's not right…" Dr. Zomboss replied.

"What makes you think that?" Future Zomboss asked.

"We've had no incidents involving Plants for the last few days. The only major thing that has happened recently is when a Zombie left Zomburbia without my permission. It's just not normal for the Plants to be so…dormant!" Dr. Zomboss explained.

"Well…just because the Plants aren't doing anything doesn't mean you have to sit idly by. Would you like some suggestions?" Future Zomboss stated.

"Please…I'm bored to death…more than normal!" Dr. Zomboss answered with a nod.

"So you have your temporal teleporter, yes? I would suggest sending Zombies to non-strategic locations and eras." Future Zomboss suggested.

"Why non-strategic?" Dr. Zomboss asked in confusion.

"At best, it will catch the Plants by surprise. At worst, it will at least give you and your soldiers something to do." Future Zomboss explained.

"Very well then. I'll just fire up a time period randomizer and see what numbers come up." Dr. Zomboss mumbled, typing in command prompts into his computer.

"You know…I've been theorizing the applications and implications of timeline communication." Future Zomboss said.

"So you have. Have you discovered anything?" Dr. Zomboss asked, suddenly gaining interest.

"Only one theory…and I am not certain what to make of it." Future Zomboss stated.

"What is it?" Dr. Zomboss asked further.

"I have attempted to survey the temporal landscape that is the fabric of time and space, analyzing any timeline I was able to observe. It was not a simple task, but I may have some explanation as to why we are able to communicate with each other and not with any other timelines." Future Zomboss explained.

Future Zomboss proceeded to pull up a holographic chart and used a pointer to elaborate his explanation.

"I want you to imagine time as being a sort of tree. There's the trunk, which represents temporal constants and fixed points in time. The trunk cannot be manipulated in any way, but there is debate as to where the trunk starts and ends. That is because a tree also consists of branches, and that is what different timelines represent. Here's your Timeline Alpha. My Timeline Sigma is somewhere around…here. Notice how the timelines are not connected to each other, not directly anyway. Our timelines exist on different 'branches' of time. On the topic of branches, there are nearly an infinitesimal number of different branching timelines, so it becomes rather difficult to determine which points in time are fixed or not. Also, naming these timelines becomes more of a chore, as we have a limited number of letters and numbers to use." Future Zomboss explained in great detail, intriguing Dr. Zomboss further and further.

"Very fascinating! But please, continue!" Dr. Zomboss stated with excitement.

"Remember how I said that our timelines are not connected directly? Well, they actually are, in a manner of speaking. Do you see this faint blue line between the two timelines?" Future Zomboss said, pointing to the chart.

"Hmm…yes. That is quite difficult to see." Dr. Zomboss answered.

"That is an artificial connection between our timelines, created as a result of our interactions. When I send mercenaries through to your timeline, this connection glows brighter. Imagine a drill being used to provide a path from one tunnel to another tunnel. That is what is happening here. I have named this blue line a 'Temporal Bridge'." Future Zomboss elaborated.

"This is wonderful information! This could be the key to dominating over the Plants permanently!" Dr. Zomboss exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be too eager…" Future Zomboss muttered.

"What do you mean?" Dr. Zomboss asked, surprised by Future Zomboss's statement.

"This is what I wanted to show you. Something far more important. Something far more…dangerous." Future Zomboss said as he swiped through the chart.

"While I was scanning these timelines, I found this…" Future Zomboss stated as he pointed to the chart.

"What is that red line?" Dr. Zomboss asked.

"I've noted this timeline as Timeline Beta. This timeline appears to be enveloped by this strange red disturbance. I've attempted contact with this timeline, but the red disturbance seems to block any signals I try to send through. I can't even receive a picture of the timeline. What's more, the red disturbance seems to greatly strain the boundaries of the timeline, causing a worrying amount of stress to the timeline's fabric. That is what this is. A 'temporal trap'. A Time Snare…" Future Zomboss explained in a grim tone.

"Why should we be worried about this?" Dr. Zomboss asked, seemingly unfazed by this discovery.

"I have seen many Temporal Bridges showing up across time and space, similar to our own bridge. But I have also seen more than one Time Snare in existence. I can assume that the Plants are responsible for these new bridges, and possibly other Dr. Zomboss's may be learning to form bridges. However, I have no idea where the Time Snares come from. Suffice to say, if they have shown up on other timelines, there is a very real possibility that they can appear on our timelines as well." Future Zomboss stated, his gaze lowering and his voice growing quieter.

Dr. Zomboss tapped his fingers on his desk anxiously, unsure of how to process this new information.

"What do we do now, knowing all of this?" Dr. Zomboss asked.

"We continue to do what we have always done. But we must also continue to monitor the timelines to make sure nothing else is disturbed. Do not worry about this. I will monitor the timelines on our behalf." Future Zomboss assured his past self.

"Very well then. I'm going to send out my mercenaries now. It's been a real bore here lately." Dr. Zomboss said.

"Don't let me keep you waiting. Goodbye for now." Future Zomboss said as he ended the video call.

Dr. Zomboss looked at his computer to see the randomly generated temporal coordinates he asked for. He typed another command prompt to send calls to some of his soldiers. As he typed, Dr. Zomboss suddenly remembered something.

"Wait a minute! Those blasted kids!" Dr. Zomboss exclaimed as he picked up his smartphone.


Punk and Glitter were helping MC carry a large DJ system into the dining room, setting it down in the empty space where there would normally be a table. Punk and Glitter sighed in relief, while MC was beside himself with joy.

"Aw yeah! This is the coolest thing ever! I can't wait to buy some vinyls!" MC said with a smile.

"Yeah, I hope you're happy with it, MC. This thing wasn't cheap!" Punk said, somewhat sternly.

"Oh, guys! I'm getting a phone call!" Glitter stated.

"Pick it up then." Punk responded.

Glitter touched a button on her smartphone and lifted the phone to her ear (or at least where her ear would be, if she had any).

"Hello?" Glitter said in a cute and polite voice.

"Where are you three? Get down here at once! You have more training to do!" Dr. Zomboss yelled from the other end, causing Glitter to recoil.

"R-Right, on our way Doctor…" Glitter stuttered in reply, hanging up quickly.

"Let me guess, Dr. Zomdouche wants us to go to his lab and let him bark orders at us?" Punk asked with dismay.

"I guess so…" Glitter said quietly.

"Oh well…we can play with the DJ system later! Let's go get pumped up!" MC said optimistically.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Punk mumbled.

As MC walked over to the teleporter, Punk looked at Glitter and noticed that she was tearing up.

"Hey Glitter. Forget what Dr. Zomboss said. He's just a crotchety old man." Punk told Glitter, attempting to comfort her.

"My dad used to say those things to me all the time. 'Where are you?' 'Get down here!' I wanted to get away from all of that, not have it happen to me more…" Glitter muttered.

"Come here, Glitter." Punk said as he wrapped his arms around Glitter.

Glitter hugged him tightly as Punk brushed her hair with his fingers.

"I know it's unusual for me to say this, but…it gets better from here. I promise…" Punk whispered.

"I know…I know it will…" Glitter said quietly as she dried her eyes on Punk's shoulder.

"Come on, homies! Dr. Z's not gonna wait any longer!" MC called out to Punk and Glitter.

"Right, we're coming." Punk answered.


AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm finally back! Sorry it took so long for another chapter to come out, but you know how college is. I meant to release this chapter yesterday, but my attention was pretty much split between this story and my Hero Banters story, and I wanted to make sure this story got the proper attention it needed. Sorry that the chapter itself is shorter than normal, but I wanted to get this important plot point out the best way I could, as it was an idea that had been sitting in my mind for a while. Now you know why the story is called Time Snare ;)

Since I've been away, the story has accumulated over 18,000 views! If my estimate is correct, that means people have been reading this story over 2,000 times since the last chapter! I just want to say right now, thank you so much to everyone who continued to follow the story's development! I was very eager to get back to writing this story, and I know everyone is eagerly waiting for more to come. Thank you everyone for being so patient in the time I was in college. I will have another chapter out soon, and I can't wait to finish it! It's good to be back! ~Timeman63, logging out!

P.S. Since it's been a while since I last updated, it might be a good idea to reread the other chapters if you haven't already. There is quite a lot to follow in this story!

P.S.S. I have a serious question to ask everyone. Should I go back to all of the chapters and add a name to all of them? For example, should I take the first chapter and change the name from "Chapter 1" to "Ch. 1: Welcome to Zomburbia"?

P.S.S.S. (Too many S's!) I have received the results of the poll I posted on my profile page. Thank you to everyone who participated. Your feedback was very much appreciated!