Chad and Tara were walking through the town park, each with an ice cream. Unlike FT, who was carrying a cotton candy that he occasionally rolled on the ground to get some dirt stuck to it.

"Chad, the night is beautiful. I barely noticed the passage of time during these years, but now I realize everything I was missing."

"Yes, and we really noticed your absence. Take that for sure."

FT affirmed this with a whimper before taking a bite of his cotton candy. Tara smiled.

"Thanks, guys. I hope we can make up for lost time."

The trio arrived at a bench and sat down to contemplate the stars. Everything was quiet, a warm breeze was blowing, and the crickets were singing in the bushes. The lake in front of them reflected the stars and the electric lights that illuminated the park. The young woman saw what was on the other side of the water and couldn't help but point it out.

"Chad, what's that?"

"Well, to do the time skip, we had to find ways to save money. We couldn't repair and fill the entire town, so we used some tricks "

In front of them, the Pyramids of Giza rose under a scorching sun. And next to them, the moai of Easter Island stood in the middle of the night. Both were painted scenery on huge canvases.

"I can't deny that it increased the tourist value of San Zucchini."

Tara remembered the situation from a few minutes earlier.

"Is that why the ice cream man was a cardboard figure?"

"Yes. Actually, replacing some of the townspeople with cardboard figures made the place more normal."

They continued to contemplate the stars in silence. Everything was so peaceful and pleasant. But that same calm made Chad's thoughts organize, and he was finally ready to remove a metaphorical thorn from his side.

"Tara, I'm sorry."

The young woman looked at him surprised.

"What?"

"I should have known that Gangreen had something planned. He always helped us out of convenience, it was obvious that he would plot something."

"Oh, Chad, don't be ridiculous. Even if we had known, there was no other way out. We didn't have enough tomato worms to fight in the entire world. I would have taken my place in that machine no matter what."

"But..."

"Besides, you guys took care of me all these years. Even though I'm a tomato. I couldn't ask for better friends."

"Yes... friends," Chad said, somewhat disappointed.

The young woman looked back at the sky while he looked at the ground. He didn't understand what was happening to him. He should be happy about Tara's return; she was his best friend after all. But for some reason, things seemed to have changed. She seemed to have changed; she didn't look the same anymore. He searched through all the words he knew and decided that the one that best suited the girl at that moment was "radiant". That was the issue; Tara was radiant. Or had she always been and he was only now noticing it? How was it possible that he hadn't noticed before? Maybe it was him who had changed.

"I wonder what Uncle Wilbur's talk is about.."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Chad, you have ice cream on your cheek."

Tara pulled out a hanky from her pocket and wiped the boy's face. He froze at the sudden contact, but felt his cheeks blush. She noticed and couldn't help but think to herself for the first time, "Chad looks cute when he blushes. Not cute like when he was a kid, but more like... handsome."

FT looked back and forth at them several times before starting to laugh mischievously. Although he was the farthest from a human there, he was the one who best understood what was happening.

But then it was the young woman's turn to get something off her chest.

"Besides, Chad," she said seriously as she put away the hanky, "I also have something to say."

"What is it?" he asked, still dazed from the situation.

"That day in the machine, I wasn't able to do what I had to. "

She settled into the bench and looked towards the small lake in front of them.

"I couldn't finish off all the killer tomatoes. Not just because my powers had a limit... I just didn't want to."

She took a deep breath, preparing to get off her chest what had been tormenting her.

"Every time that the red rain reached a tomato, I could perceive its mind, even see some of its past. I didn't hesitate to finish off the most vicious and cruel ones, like Zoltan and the gang of five. But there were many innocent tomatoes that lacked malice towards humans. I didn't do anything to them."

The young woman's face showed a sadness and guilt like never before, darkening her features to the point of making her look like a different person. It seemed like she was using all her willpower not to run away right there.

"I know I said I chose humans over tomatoes, but they're still my race... I couldn't exterminate them like nothing. Oh, Chad, do you think you can forgive me?"

With tearful eyes, she turned to see her friend and found that he was smiling at her like he always had. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and it was as if an electric current ran through her body.

"Come on, Tara. Any decision you made must have been the right one. I know very well that there are good tomatoes like Link, or Johnny" the name tasted bad in his mouth, but he hoped it wouldn't show. "And I knew you wouldn't hurt them."

"But there were more incidents with tomatoes during these years. It means I was wrong. If I had destroyed them all, no one would have had to suffer... But I don't think I had the power to do it either. I was weak"

"You gave them a second chance, it was up to them to take it. And about your limits, well, you're still a teenager. No one can No one can say you didn't give it your all. And you paid a high price for it."

Chad held her hand between his and looked at her with all the sympathy he felt for her.

"But it's over now. You should stop thinking about it and focus on the future. There's a lot to do instead of thinking about 'what ifs'."

Tara wiped away a tear with her finger and noisily inhaled before placing her other hand on top of Chad's.

"Thanks, Chad."

"No problem. What do you say if we head back home?"

She nodded, and they both stood up to head back the way they came. FT trotted silently beside them, but with a big smile on his face, satisfied that things were going so well between his friends.

The night could have ended there and it would have been perfect. But a scream echoed at a short distance, and the three turned in the direction it came from.

"What was that?"

"Let's see!"

They soon reached the edge of the park. The street was deserted, but on the other side there were lights on several buildings and people peering out the windows. A closer look revealed that it was another painted background.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary... until they noticed the large bundle of vines crawling heavily down the street. And carrying with them a person who struggled futilely to free themselve. Before they could do anything, they disappeared down a manhole.

The trio ran to the opening and gazed into the darkness surrounding it. FT sniffed for a few moments before starting to growl.

"Tara, that was..."

"Yes, I'm sure" her eyes gleamed bright red.

The three looked at each other before saying in unison.

"Tomato!"

Well, only Chad and Tara said that, FT pronounced the equivalent in squeaks. But that didn't mean he ignored the gravity of the situation.

"We have to do something," said the girl.

"Of course, we're the heroes of the show after all. Although I didn't think we'd have a third act in this episode."

Chad pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket and turned it on.

"That flashlight is very powerful," Tara said, covering her eyes.

"It was a gift from Uncle Wilbur. Just in case I ever found myself in a situation like this."

"Sounds like the kind of situation he wants you to be prepared for."

"Yes, although his first rule of survival is always to contact the KTTF. FT, go get Uncle Wilbur. "

FT gave a military salute with one of his vines and walked away barking. At that hour, he wouldn't have any trouble avoiding suspicious glances. And the pizzeria wasn't far away.

Chad grasped the manhole ladder and started climbing down until half his body disappeared. Then he looked at Tara.

"Are you sure you want to go?"

"You can bet on it."

They exchanged smiles again before descending.