Chapter Warning: This chapter contains references to...well, I don't want to spoil it, but it's a sensitive subject. Don't say I didn't warn you...

"Do you need anything else?" Hoodie asked.

"Nope, I'm good!" Shadow Flower answered.

"*sigh* Alright then. Continue with your day." Hoodie said.

"See ya!" Shadow Flower chirped as she ended the video chat.

Shadow Flower began walking back to the Backyard with a smile across her face, satisfied with her experience with the L.E.A.F agency. Druid Rose seemed like a friendly leader with a charismatic personality, and it was pleasing to see Happy again after all the time she had been absent. But Hoodie, in particular, greatly intrigued Shadow Flower. Hoodie was a L.E.A.F scout, searching for new recruits to work for the organization, and it seemed as though scouts like them had to wear heavy cloaks to conceal their identity, for whatever reason. Hoodie's vague identity only made Shadow Flower want to know more about them, even if it might compromise their ability to perform work for the agency.

Indeed, a dark hood and a quiet voice made Hoodie look like a character out of an action spy flick, an intimidating figure who only wished to assist the protagonist. Somehow, Shadow Flower found Hoodie to be…adorable, in a way. Like Hoodie was attempting to imitate someone from a movie.

"I wish I could have spent more time at L.E.A.F. But my friends really need my help with the war right now." Shadow Flower thought to herself.

Shadow Flower suddenly received a text from Druid Rose, prompting her to take out her smartphone and read it.

Toxithorn started a private conversation

Toxithorn: I have one more thing to tell you. Since L.E.A.F will be assisting you and your friends in the war against the Zombies, it would be wise to inform your friends about us. However, I would advise against speaking about any L.E.A.F agents, current or future, to your friends, unless they introduce themselves to you. They will know when to reveal themselves.

DarkAlias: Ok then. So I guess that means no talking about you, Happy, Snow, or Hoodie until they meet my friends?

Toxithorn: It would mean the most to L.E.A.F.

DarkAlias: Alright then. Maybe I should delete this conversation then…

Toxithorn: You are quite intelligent. You will know what to do.

Conversation deleted

Shadow Flower arrived at the Backyard to find Sunflower and the others still waiting for Crazy Dave and Penny. This confused Shadow Flower, since she felt as though they should have left by now, knowing she had been gone for quite a while.

"Hey Sunflower!" Shadow Flower called to Sunflower.

"Hi Shadow! That was fast!" Sunflower said with a smile.

"You guys haven't left yet?" Shadow Flower asked.

"Crazy Dave and Penny haven't come back yet. Besides, you've only been gone for about 5 minutes. How was the interview? Did you change your mind?" Sunflower explained.

"Um…no, no! They uh…they hired me! But they're kind of letting me work on my own terms. So I can still work with my friends!" Shadow Flower stammered.

"That's good! That means you can come with us to Time Park!" Sunflower chimed.

"Yeah, I'm cool with that. I don't really have anything better to do." Shadow Flower replied, her eyes glancing down at the ground.

"Is something wrong, Shadow?" Sunflower asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Shadow Flower quickly answered.

"Oh, OK then…" Sunflower said.

Just then, Fire Flower approached Sunflower and began talking to her, prompting Sunflower to turn her attention away from Shadow Flower. Shadow Flower only stood and pondered.

"5 minutes?" Shadow Flower thought to herself.

She suddenly recalled something Hoodie had said to her earlier:

"We can only specify our destinations to an extent. As a result, we may end up at our intended destination a few minutes too late or too early."

"I guess Hoodie meant to transport me 5 minutes earlier, but didn't…" Shadow Flower concluded.

L.E.A.F was still a wonder to Shadow Flower. How would her friends react to hearing about a secret organization they have never seen or heard about suddenly wishing to fight alongside them?


"Do I have to go?" Commando Pea complained.

"Fire's been wanting to do this for a while. I think we owe it to her." Law Pea said to Commando Pea.

"I wanted to go fight Zombies with Kernel, Rose and Citron!" Commando Pea continued.

"Sorry, old chap. They're also coming with us to Time Park. There's no fighting to be had there." Agent Pea pointed out.

"Why are we going to an amusement park? Dr. Zomboss is still sending Zombie soldiers after our gardens and cities as we speak!" Commando Pea exclaimed.

"Now listen here, ya varmint! We're donating our time to this trip because Fire wants to see her girlfriend! She has literally never been with her in person! Do you even know what it's like to fall in love with someone and never be able to hold their hand or give em a hug? We're far from finished with fightin' Zombies, but let's just stop doing that for one gosh-darn minute and do something fun for once!" Law Pea barked at Commando Pea, frustrated by his friend's stubbornness.

Commando Pea quickly silenced himself, ashamed at his selfishness.

"You're right…I'm sorry…" Commando Pea muttered.

"I know you want to keep fighting, Commando. It's valiant of you to be so dedicated to the greater good. But we haven't done something like this in a long time. Let's all just relax. You, me, Law, and Peashooter. Remember…we might not ever get the chance to do this again…" Agent Pea said to Commando Pea, placing his leaf over his shoulder.

"Ok…" Commando replied.

"Sure thing. Looks like Crazy Dave's here. We should get going now." Law Pea said, adjusting his hat.

Peashooter, Sunflower, Shadow Flower, Fire Flower, Chomper, Agent Pea, Law Pea and Commando Pea boarded Penny, meeting up with Kernel, Rose and Citron inside.

"It is getting quite crowded here, User Dave." Penny called out to Crazy Dave.

"You're doing great, Penny! Next stop: Timey-Wabby-Wo Carnival! WAHOO!" Crazy Dave called back.

Penny flew away at super speed, following her GPS to the location of Time Park.


Stuffy Flower waited anxiously at the entrance of the Seeds of Time amusement park, more commonly referred to as Time Park. She was going to meet Fire Flower and her friends in person, for the first time. It wouldn't be long now. Knowing how happy Fire Flower was to finally meet her, waiting seemed like an eternity. Just then, Stuffy saw a flying vehicle up above her. She smiled brightly, realizing that it was Penny carrying Fire Flower and her friends. Penny slowly landed on the ground outside of the entrance, allowing the Plants to step out. Fire Flower was the first to go out, followed closely behind by Sunflower, Peashooter and Chomper.

"Hi sweetie!" Stuffy Flower called out to Fire Flower.

"Stuffy!" Fire Flower called back, running up to Stuffy Flower.

Fire Flower and Stuffy Flower tightly hugged each other, laughing joyously. Sunflower and Peashooter both smiled upon hearing the two laughing.

"I haven't seen Fire that happy in years…" Sunflower commented.

"I know. It's amazing…" Peashooter replied.

Agent Pea, Law Pea, and Commando Pea stepped out to see Fire Flower hugging Stuffy Flower, each of them reacting their own way.

"Now that's one happy girl!" Agent Pea said with a grin.

"Her girlfriend's a real doll face, ain't she? Good for her!" Law Pea commented.

"That's her girlfriend? She's literally a stuffed doll!" Commando Pea exclaimed.

"You got a problem with that?" Law Pea joked.

"No, I don't. But how is that possible?" Commando Pea replied.

"I could care less, old chap. Seeing that kid so happy brings a tear to my eye." Agent Pea answered.

Fire Flower released Stuffy Flower from her embrace and held leaves with her while looking into her button eyes.

"You're finally here!" Stuffy Flower said with a wide smile.

"Yeah, I am! This place is amazing! You live here?" Fire Flower asked.

"Yes! Come on! I want to show you around the park!" Stuffy Flower chirped, taking Fire Flower along by her leaf.

"Let's not get left behind!" Sunflower said to the rest of the Plants as they followed behind the couple.

Stuffy lead everyone through the main entrance of Time Park to the entryway garden. Here, there were the standard carnival games, toy booths, and concession stands, all surrounding the center garden. The garden was set up to look like the face of a clock from above, with large flowers at the hour positions.

"There's someone else I want everyone to meet! He's at the prize booth." Stuffy said to everyone.

At the prize booth, an elderly kernel was fast asleep in a rocking chair, slowly rocking and snoring loudly. His name was Pops Corn, and he was a retired general who decided to spend his retirement managing the Time Park carnival, with the assistance of Stuffy Flower.

"Pops! Wake up! We have visitors!" Stuffy said, trying to wake up Pops Corn.

"What? Huh? Oh, sorry about that Stuffy! I forgot they were coming today!" Pops stammered as he quickly woke up.

"I told you they were coming an hour ago, Pops!" Stuffy reminded Pops, giggling at the old Plant's silliness.

"That's right, isn't it? Sorry. You know how I am sometimes." Pops answered with an embarrassed grin.

"Hi Pops. How are you?" Fire Flower asked Pops.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. You must be Stuffy's girlfriend, huh?" Pops answered.

"Yes, I am." Fire Flower replied.

"Well then, don't let me stop you two. Welcome to Time Park! We don't get many visitors these days. Enjoy your time here!" Pops said with a smile.

"Fire! Do you want to go see the rides?" Stuffy Flower asked Fire Flower.

"Sure!" Fire Flower responded.

"Now remember, Stuffy. We can't let anyone on the rides yet. I haven't finished the maintenance on them. Especially the rollercoasters…" Pops warned Stuffy Flower.

"It's ok, Pops! We'll just watch!" Stuffy Flower said, taking Fire Flower along with her.

"My little girl's all grown up now…where do the years go?" Pops muttered to himself.

Kernel and Rose approached Pops and began striking up a conversation with him.

"Pops? So this is where you've been all this time!" Kernel said with a grin.

"Oh, hello Kernel. I haven't seen you in years!" Pops said, looking at Kernel with tired eyes.

"I haven't seen you in years either. You were a great general for our unit back then! It was tough seeing you leave." Kernel commented, recalling Pops' position in the militia.

"I remember when you were just a First Lieutenant. You climbed the ranks so quickly! You were Lieutenant Colonel when I retired." Pops recalled.

"I'm promoted to Colonel now. But it wasn't the same without you barking orders at us. We missed your fake 'old man' voice. 'We're going to get those punks off our lawn!'" Kernel said with a smile.

"My age was always a running joke, wasn't it?" Pops said with a knowing grin.

"Kernel told me about you in his stories! It's a pleasure to meet you, sir!" Rose spoke up, greeting Pops with a curtsy.

"Hello there. You must be Rose, the legendary magician. For a lady of your time, you haven't aged a bit!" Pops commented.

"Well, I suppose the anti-aging magic spells have something to do with it. It's a beauty secret kept by all roses!" Rose said with a giggle.

"Oh, I'm sure. Here I am, a wrinkly old husk with one foot in the grave. It'll be any day now…" Pops mumbled.

"Don't say that, Pops! After all these years, you've still got it!" Kernel chimed.

"Maybe, but I'm still not as spry as you." Pops answered with a smirk.

"It's hard to beat me there. I don't blame you. It's great to see you again." Kernel said sincerely.

"You too. I thought I'd never see one of my men again after I left. I'm glad I'm wrong!" Pops said with a smile as he adjusted his red and white hat.

Pops stood up from his rocking chair and began walking away from the prize booth.

"Well, I have to go and manage the carnival games. Someone has to pass out the prize tickets." Pops said to Kernel and Rose.


"Ring Toss? Do you want to try, Peashooter?" Sunflower asked Peashooter.

"Isn't Ring Toss rigged? Not that I'm accusing them of doing that or anything…" Peashooter replied skeptically.

"Son, I swear on my popcorn beard that all of the carnival games are very much possible. You just have to prove your skill, and you'll get tickets for your trouble. Normally we ask for tokens, but Stuffy told me to have you play for free." Pops assured Peashooter, standing behind the Ring Toss booth.

"I'll go first!" Sunflower said.

"That's the spirit! Take three rings, and test your toss! Land one on the bottles, and you get tickets!" Pops cheered in an old-timey fashion.

Sunflower picked up a ring, eyed the bottles intently, and tossed it with no hesitation. The ring landed perfectly on the neck of a bottle, surprising both Sunflower and Peashooter.

"We have a winner! Take 5 tickets as your prize!" Pops congratulated.

"How did you do that?" Peashooter asked Sunflower.

"Lucky shot, I guess. That or being a combat medic has improved my aim!" Sunflower answered with a smile as she received her prize tickets.

"Oops, I have to go. Looks like your friends want to play Balloon Pops. See you two later!" Pops said as he ran to another booth.

"I wish we could do things like this more often." Peashooter said to Sunflower.

"Me too. It's nice to get away from it all." Sunflower replied with a nod.


"You have the best aim out of the three of us. I think you should try this, Law." Agent Pea told Law Pea.

"This kind of stuff is child's play. These balloons are bigger than some Zombies' heads!" Law Pea bragged.

"Why not give it a try, cowboy? Pop at least 10 balloons, and you get tickets!" Pops encouraged Law Pea.

"I'll pop a lot more than 10, I can assure you." Law Pea said as he picked up some darts.

Law Pea hung his head and entered a trance.

"You know what time it is…" Law Pea muttered.

"It's high noon." Agent Pea whispered with a grin.

A few moments pass, and his breathing steadies.

"DRAW!" Law Pea shouted.

Law Pea threw all of his darts at once, popping 15 balloons.

"Someone take the tickets for me. Give me a real challenge next time." Law Pea said as he walked away from the booth.

Commando Pea and Pops looked on in amazement, while Agent Pea simply smiled.

"Good old Law! It's always high noon when he's around!" Agent Pea joked.


"We store our ice cream in something called a 'quantum cooler'. It keeps the ice cream perpetually cooled until someone opens it. That way, the ice cream never melts, no matter how hot it gets!" Stuffy Flower explained as she scooped some strawberry ice cream for herself and Fire Flower.

"That's really neat!" Fire Flower said as she took the ice cream from Stuffy Flower.

"I hope you like waffle cones!" Stuffy Flower said with a smile.

"Hey, Stuffy? I want to ask you something." Fire Flower said as she took a bite of ice cream.

"Ask me anything you want!" Stuffy Flower chimed.

"It only occurred to me recently. If your eyes are made of buttons, how are you able to blink?" Fire Flower asked.

"That's because my eyes aren't regular buttons! They're called Flexibuttons. They bend any way you want them to, and for me, that means I can do cool things like winking! The inventors are still trying to get them patented." Stuffy explained, winking as a demonstration of the buttons' capabilities.

"You don't mind me asking a more personal question, do you?" Fire Flower asked further.

"Like I said, ask me anything! I'm your girlfriend!" Stuffy Flower assured Fire Flower.

"Where are your parents? Do you not live with them? Pops doesn't seem related to you, either." Fire Flower asked with some hesitance.

"Oh, Pops? No, there's no relation! He's just a really good friend. Someone has to help him manage the park! Also…I don't have any parents." Stuffy answered cordially.

"You don't?" Fire Flower said in surprise.

"Technically, no. I was created in a botany laboratory as a science experiment! The botanists wanted to see if it was possible to artificially create Plant life out of something that isn't a seed." Stuffy explained.

"I guess they succeeded." Fire Flower said with a grin.

"They sure did! They made sure to make her extra cute, for good measure!" Stuffy Flower giggled.

"So, for all intents and purposes, you're basically a living, breathing toy." Fire Flower quipped.

"Sure, if that's how you want to see it." Stuffy Flower replied.

"A very girly toy!" Fire Flower joked.

"But you love it!" Stuffy Flower joked back, laughing.

"Yeah, I do." Fire Flower admitted with a blush.

"Do you want to go see Bjorn?" Stuffy Flower asked Fire Flower.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about him! Sure!" Fire Flower replied.

"Come on! He'll be really happy to meet you!" Stuffy Flower said as she took Fire Flower's leaf, leading her to Bjorn's stable.


Crazy Dave and Penny were parked outside the entrance of Time Park, waiting for the Plants to be finished with their visit. Crazy Dave was satisfied and content, knowing that the Plants were away from any danger of Zombies. When the Plants were happy, so was he. Penny, meanwhile, was complacent as well, but wished that the current circumstances were more suitable. As good as it may be to visit amusement parks, the war only continues to do damage.

"Hey, Penny? My beard is hungry! Can we go get some food from Crazy Taco?" Crazy Dave said.

"Very well, User Dave. But I would advise against ordering 2 days' worth of tacos." Penny answered, knowing Crazy Dave's tendency to overstock on fast food.

"Hmm…you're right Penny. Let's order 3 days' worth! We need to stock up on food for the war!" Crazy Dave replied.

"*electronic sigh* No User Dave…" Penny said as she began ascending.

"Penny, wait up!" Shadow Flower called out as she ran towards Penny.

"Shadow Flower? Why are you coming with us? Do you not want to spend time at the park?" Penny asked as she descended back down.

"Well, I heard you were going to Crazy Taco. I need to make a stop somewhere, if you don't mind." Shadow Flower answered.

"Very well. Come along." Penny said, allowing Shadow Flower to board before flying to El Taco Loco.


"Ok, Bjorn's stable is in the Medieval Ages part of the park. Normally, we have visitors take the scenic route, so they can see all the attractions. But me and Pops travel around the park using these portals. It's much easier to get around the park to do maintenance that way." Stuffy Flower said.

Fire Flower and Stuffy Flower arrived at Bjorn's stable, which was moderately spacious and had a small mattress and blanket for colder nights.

"Why does he sleep in a stable? He's not an animal, is he?" Fire Flower asked.

"He sort of grew up in the wild. A stable is the only thing he's used to." Stuffy Flower explained.

Stuffy Flower slowly opened the stable door to find the Unicorn Chomper sleeping on his mattress. Bjorn had a purple mane, lavender roots, a pale face, shiny teeth and a rainbow tongue. Fire Flower was immediately awestruck upon seeing Bjorn. She wanted to believe that Bjorn wasn't real, that Stuffy Flower only made him up for the sake of being silly. But there he was, living, breathing and only known to Stuffy Flower and Pops Corn.

"Wake up, Bjorn! Someone's here to see you!" Stuffy Flower cooed quietly.

Bjorn stirred before slowly waking up and yawning. Upon seeing Stuffy Flower, he quickly ran up to her and nuzzled her chest, snorting happily similar to a how horse would.

"*giggles* That's a good unicorn! Bjorn, this is Fire Flower! Say hi!" Stuffy Flower said to Bjorn.

Bjorn turned to Fire Flower and slowly walked up to her.

"Here, Fire. Give him some sprinkles!" Stuffy Flower said as she handed Fire Flower some rainbow sprinkles.

Fire Flower held out the sprinkles in front of Bjorn, to which he responded by gently sniffing the sprinkles and slowly eating them. When he was finished eating the sprinkles, he went up to Fire Flower and cuddled her, allowing Fire Flower to pat him on the head and stroke his mane.

"He's so cute! I've never seen anything like him!" Fire Flower exclaimed.

"He's amazing, right? Like I said before, he's the last of his kind, so I try to keep him near the back of the park, away from everyone. It's for his own safety, but he gets really lonely, even with me and Pops around. Seeing a new face like you means a lot to him." Stuffy Flower explained, smiling at how happy Bjorn was.

"I thought our Chomper was the last of the Chomper race." Fire Flower said.

"Is that true? I've heard about the Chomper population being endangered, but is it really that bad now?" Stuffy Flower asked with concern in her voice.

"Well, it seems like it. We're not really sure, to be honest. But as far as we're concerned, he and Bjorn are the only Chompers left alive." Fire Flower replied sadly.

Stuffy Flower thought for a few moments before speaking again.

"I don't think they're the only Chompers left. It can't be true." Stuffy Flower said.

"What makes you say that?" Fire Flower asked.

"I…I wish I could tell you. But…I really can't. I'm sorry." Stuffy Flower answered with some hesitance in her voice.

"It's alright. At least I know Chomper's not the last one alive. Should I tell the others about Bjorn?" Fire Flower asked further.

"Please tell everyone you know! I want everyone to know that Bjorn is real. I just…don't want anything bad to happen to him, you know?" Stuffy Flower replied.

"Yeah, I know." Fire Flower said as she finished petting Bjorn.

"Ok Bjorn, time to go back in! Be a good unicorn!" Stuffy Flower cooed as she led Bjorn back into his stable.

Upon closing and locking the stable door, Stuffy Flower took Fire Flower's leaf and smiled.

"Come on, let's go to the top of the castle. The view up there is wonderful!" Stuffy Flower said, her face beaming with happiness.

"Ok, sure!" Fire Flower replied, smiling back.


"The strongman machine, huh? I can win these things no problem!" Citron boasted to the peashooters.

"Give it a shot, mister! Give it all you've got! Hit the bell at the top, and you get enough tickets to claim a prize!" Pops rallied in an old-timey voice.

"How do you suppose you'll accomplish this? You don't have leaves to hold the hammer." Agent Pea asked Citron.

"Who needs a hammer when you've got guts! Let me show you how to…have a ball!" Citron replied with a wink.

Citron rolled into Ball Form, spun around a few times, and leapt high into the air, landing squarely on the strongman machine and ringing the bell with ease.

"We have a winner! Come get your tickets, and don't forget to stop by the prize booth and claim your prize!" Pops cheered.

"Nothing to it!" Citron said as the peashooters applauded him.

Suddenly, Citron's phone began to ring, prompting him to answer it.

"Yo, Citron here!" Citron said as he brought up his holographic computer screen.

"Citron, where are you right now?" Future Cactus asked.

"I'm at the carnival, winning tickets like a champ!" Citron answered.

"Why aren't you fighting Zombies? This is no time to be going to carnivals!" Future Cactus exclaimed.

"Believe me, I'd love to kick some Zombie ass and chew bubblegum at the same time. But Crazy Dave kind of dragged me into this. It's supposed to be so Fire Flower can visit her girlfriend. She's cute by the way; the girl's a real doll face!" Citron explained.

"Alright, but you have to come here first thing tomorrow morning. I'm already doing work without you!" Future Cactus stated.

"Where are you exactly?" Citron asked.

"I'm in the year 1920, the Prohibition Era. There is a critical Zombie target in this era and we must find him before he does any damage!" Future Cactus explained.

"Alright then. I'll be there tomorrow. I promise. Also, could you buy me some new gum? I'm all out of gum…" Citron said.

"Citron, I am NOT buying gum for you. Buy your own gum!" Future Cactus spat.

"Minty Lime flavor. That stuff's ultra-fresh!" Citron added.

"Minty Lime? I love that flavor! I'll buy two packs for us then." Future Cactus responded.

"Thanks, Future! You're the best! Catch you later!" Citron said with a grin before hanging up.


Fire Flower and Stuffy Flower stood at the top of the theme park castle, overlooking the Medieval Age area and some of the Ancient Rome area of the park. Fire Flower looked on in awe as the sun began to set on the park, filling the sky with a dark orange hue. Stuffy Flower simply looked out over the park and smiled, allowing her leaves to hang over the edge of the rails.

"Hey, Stuffy. I want to show you something." Fire Flower spoke up.

"Yeah? What is it?" Stuffy Flower replied.

Fire Flower reached into her backpack and pulled out the photo of her parent she had brought with her.

"I don't think you ever got a good look at this picture. The last time you saw it, I was boiling mad and throwing it across the room!" Fire Flower said as she held the photo.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to hug you when you were crying earlier!" Stuffy Flower commented with a smile.

"Yeah, sorry again about that." Fire Flower said with a blush.

Stuffy Flower observed the photo of Fire Flower and her parents, noting small details such as the background clutter, the lighting, and the small signatures at the bottom right.

"So these are your parents? They look so happy! Whose signatures are those? Are they yours?" Stuffy Flower asked.

"Yeah, those are our signatures. You can probably guess which one's mine." Fire Flower answered.

"The simple one?" Stuffy Flower guessed.

"Yes. This picture was from 4 years ago. This was the last picture we ever took together. They went off to fight the next day…they never came back from it…" Fire Flower said quietly.

"I can't even imagine what it must have been like to find out that your parents died…" Stuffy Flower said.

"You could probably guess that it was absolutely horrible. It felt like my whole world, everything I ever loved and cared about, was destroyed without any warning. At first it was just sadness, but then that turned into anger and hatred. When I found out that it was a Super Commando zombie that killed my parents, I wanted to find him, hunt him down, and kill him. Part of me still wants it…" Fire Flower muttered somberly.

"Have you ever felt that strongly before?" Stuffy Flower asked with concern.

"No...It's like I became a totally different person. I stopped being cheerful, I stopped being kind and sweet, I stopped being happy. This went on for an entire year. The heartache was unbearable and felt like an eternity. Looking back, I really shouldn't have distanced myself from my friends. They were family too, as far as relationships go. But I couldn't stop thinking about getting revenge. I was so caught up in mourning and anger that I turned my back on everyone else." Fire Flower answered, her head hung.

Fire Flower sat down on the floor, overcome with sadness. Stuffy Flower sat down with her, holding her leaf in an attempt to make her feel better.

"Sunflower was really worried about me. She knew all that time that I wasn't myself. She kept trying to make me feel better, she tried to help me cope, but I was too stubborn to really give her a chance. One day, she came into my room, and saw me in bed, crying my eyes dry. She went up to me, sat on the bed, and asked me what was wrong, what I was thinking of. I answered with something I never should have said." Fire Flower continued.

"What did you tell her?" Stuffy Flower asked, dreading Fire Flower's answer.

"I said…" Fire Flower began, stopping herself as her voice shook.

Fire Flower started tearing up as she finished her sentence.

"I told her..." Fire Flower said.

"Sunflower…I don't want to live anymore…"

Stuffy Flower's eyes widened as she heard this, completely shocked by Fire Flower's statement.

"I told her that I just wanted to see my mom and dad again. I told her I wanted to die so I could be with them in Plant Heaven." Fire Flower barely managed to say through her sobs and tears.

"Oh my god, Fire…" Stuffy Flower whispered as she wrapped her leaves around Fire Flower, doing her absolute best to comfort her.

"I don't know why I said that. I loved life as much as I loved my parents. How did I become that depressed? When I said all that, Sunflower gave me the tightest hug I had gotten in years. She told me that it was going to be ok, that it would get better. I had no choice but to listen to her. She was the one who introduced me to Grapevine, said that I could meet so many new friends with it. I had nothing to lose, so I tried it. I made a few friends. I don't really talk to them often. To me, they were just words on a screen. There was a personality to the words, but there wasn't really a person behind them. I guess I could have video chatted, but I didn't care enough to do that." Fire Flower explained.

Fire Flower dried her eyes and looked up at Stuffy Flower, a smile slowly forming on her face.

"That's how I met you, remember? One day, while I was looking through the Grapevine feed, I found a post from you. "Time Park: Take a field trip through time without the extreme costs!" The picture was just you standing in front of the park, but it was really cute to me at the time. I replied, "Looks like a cool place. How many people go there?" We just took off from there…" Fire Flower recalled.

"We talked almost every day since then. Both of us had so much to talk about. Even when we didn't have anything to talk about, all we did was joke about each other! We were dedicated to our conversations." Stuffy Flower commented.

"It all made me feel so much better. I went back to being kind to others and I started to appreciate the things I still had. I never got completely better. Losing my parents was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I don't think I'll ever get over it…" Fire Flower stated.

Stuffy Flower cupped her leaf around Fire Flower's cheek, gazing into her eyes and smiling.

"I'm glad I could have helped so much all that time. I may not be a miracle worker, but I do my absolute best. Especially when I can't be there." Stuffy Flower said.

"I almost forgot. I brought something for you Stuffy!" Fire Flower stated.

Fire Flower reached into her backpack one more time and pulled out the ribbon she brought with her.

"This is for you. It's not much, but maybe you could use it somehow?" Fire Flower said as she gave Stuffy Flower the ribbon.

"I love it! Thank you so much!" Stuffy Flower said as she tied the ribbon into a bow and stuck it on her head with a smile.

Fire Flower giggled at this action, but was happy that Stuffy Flower liked the ribbon.

"It's even a rainbow ribbon! It's perfect for me isn't it?" Stuffy Flower said with a grin.

"I'm not sure why I have that ribbon. I think it was from the box of one of my birthday cakes, I can't really remember. My parents kept it for some reason. When they died, it ended up with me. Now here I am, giving it to you. So…you could say that the ribbon is a gift from my parents to you." Fire Flower stated.

"If that's true, it's a very nice gift! Your parents were very thoughtful!" Stuffy Flower responded.

"I'm sure they wouldn't have known that you would end up with me. But I think they would have loved to meet you. You're the sweetest person I've ever met! They would have been happy to know that I'm with someone as sweet as you." Fire Flower said sincerely.

"That's good to hear." Stuffy Flower replied.

Fire Flower and Stuffy Flower wrapped their leaves around each other, blushing as they grew cozy in each other's company.

"Can I ask you something?" Fire Flower whispered.

"Of course." Stuffy Flower whispered back.

"What is that string on your back for?" Fire Flower asked.

"It's just there. There's a little music box in my back that plays a song when you pull the string." Stuffy Flower answered.

"Can I, uh…pull it?" Fire Flower asked sheepishly.

"I don't mind." Stuffy Flower responded with a grin.

Fire Flower gently pulled the string on Stuffy Flower's back. As she let go, a calm and quiet music box tune could be heard.

"It's such a beautiful song." Fire Flower said.

"That's just one of the songs the music box plays. This one is my favorite. Perfect as a lullaby!" Stuffy Flower replied.

"Does it have a name?" Fire Flower asked.

"It's called, "Everything's Alright"" Stuffy Flower answered.

Fire Flower smiled as she suddenly remembered the name and the tune.

"I remember that song! My parents played it for me every night when I was a little girl." Fire Flower recalled.

"It's a wonderful song. I'm glad you like it." Stuffy Flower said.

Fire Flower cupped her leaf around Stuffy Flower's cheek and gazed lovingly into her eyes.

"Stuffy…I love you so much…" Fire Flower whispered.

"I love you too, Fire." Stuffy Flower whispered back.

Fire Flower and Stuffy Flower shared a tender first kiss, allowing the music box to continue its melody. Fire Flower squeaked with pure happiness, joy she hadn't felt in years. As the two parted, Stuffy Flower tilted her head playfully, as if she were saying "how was it?"

"Oh Stuffy…" Fire Flower muttered euphorically.

"Shh…it's ok. No more being sad. Only snuggles now!" Stuffy Flower whispered.

Fire Flower and Stuffy Flower nuzzled each other and giggled. In her mind Fire Flower thought to herself:

"Sunflower was right. Things did get better. Stuffy is proof of that. Thank you, Sunflower…thank you for everything…"


AUTHOR'S NOTE: The FireXStuffy ship sets sail! I spent a lot of time working on this chapter, longer than I would have liked. At the end of it all, this chapter ended being the longest chapter written so far. It was actually going to be even longer, as there were even more things I wanted to put in this chapter! Sadly, I will have to save them for Chapter 26. I am extremely proud of how this chapter turned out, and I hope everyone enjoys reading it. Consider this chapter my (insert your celebrated holiday here) gift to all of my readers. From the deepest and purest part of my heart, thank you so much everyone who has supported my work and continues to follow their development. You know, I think 2016 was a pretty sucky year. A lot of people would agree. Even so, a lot of good came out of it. Some things that come to mind are the release of Overwatch, and some pretty good memes (Memelords are Number One). Remember 2016 for being trash (not the good kind), but also keep in mind that some good came out of it. Look forward to 2017, and keep in mind: Things will get better. Thank you everyone for being so supportive. ~Timeman63, logging out!

P.S. Profile is updated with new character bios, as tradition for newly introduced characters. For those who don't already know, I have added a new poll to the profile page. It concerns the naming of the chapters of Time Snare, and it would greatly help me to hear your feedback. Thank you again to everyone who participated in the last poll. These things are quite fun to do. :)