"Here's Whitley White from the police station. With me is the sheriff Kamilton for a urgent announcement. Sheriff."

White handed the microphone to a man with a thick black mustache, bushy eyebrows, and sunglasses. They stood in front of the police station doors.

"Thanks, of San Zucchini, remain calm, the following information must be handled with care. An hour ago, we confirmed numerous disappearances have taken place over the past few days. The whereabouts of the victims are unknown, but we're still investigating. We also can't confirm that the disappearances are connected."

"Sheriff, how do you explain that these disappearances went unnoticed until now?"

The man took a sip from his coffee cup and then shrugged.

"Well, we rarely use the same extras for the inhabitants of San Zucchini. The town's faces are always different, so it's hard to tell when someone disappears."

"It makes sense. What can you tell us about the missing people?"

The sheriff pulled out a pocket notebook and read from it.

"Well, so far we have the woman who didn't tip in the pimentoes episode, the two customers from Pizza Palace who wanted to watch the sports channel, the couple who were making out in the vampire episode..."

The reporter sighed alarmingly, clearly concerned.

"Good heavens, those poor extras."

"And Tomato Guy. That explains why things have been quieter than usual."

"Oh, well, he'll turn up sooner or later," White said, not seeming to care about the last missing person's fate.

Wilbur turned off the TV and crossed his arms.

"Missing people. I have a bad feeling about this." He was alone in the restaurant, getting ready to leave. Now he could only hope that Chad and Tara were safe at home.

The doors burst open and FT jumped in, screaming and yelling, taking away the veteran's hope that the kids were safe. Wilbur lifted him to his face.

"FT, calm down! What's going on?"

The tomato shouted out the situation as fast as he could until he ran out of breath. By the time he finished, he was more agitated and in need of oxygen than before. In the past, Wilbur wouldn't have understood anything, but he now had enough experience to decipher his fuzzy friend.

"A tomato in the sewers of San Zucchini! Chad and Tara went after him! A bunch of hippies is heading to town!"

FT weakly protested.

"Oh, okay, no hippies. That's good. But not the other things!"

Wilbur set FT on the counter and opened the display case where he kept his paratrooper suit. Despite the situation, he had a smile on his face as he dressed. The exhaustion of that day's work slipped off his body like dirt under the shower.

"I can't deny it, I'm excited. After years of rusting, I can finally get back to what I do best."

He raised his sword firmly.

"Reminding tomatoes of their place in the food chain!" He turned towards the wall phone. "But better to be prepared."

Several kilometers away, a training session was taking place. Inside a spacious and rectangular building, four young people stood: A girl with her feet in a pot and holding a leafy branch in each hand; a boy painted silver, holding a heavy payphone; And two people in a tattered double horse costume, or at least the front half of a horse and the back half of a tiger.

"Bad, bad, bad, people. These costumes would never fool the enemy. How can you expect to fool them if you don't even buy into the illusion yourselves?"

The one scolding them was none other than Sam, dressed in his cowboy outfit. He looked at the other recruits waiting for their chance to demonstrate their camouflage skills.

"None of you will survive an encounter with the enemy if this is the best you can do. I repeat, you must become one with your costumes until they're no longer just costumes, but a second skin."

The payphone held by the silver-painted boy started ringing. Sam smiled to him. "

That's the spirit," he said before answering, "KTTF, Training Center. Sam, the Sham, speaking. Finletter! How's it going, old friend?... What? Seriously? Are you sure? Okay, we're on our way."

He hung up and turned to Mary Jo and Floyd, who had been waiting for their turn with the recruits. Their faces showed they had imagined what had happened.

"We're needed in San Zucchini. Tomatoes are bouncing around there again."

"Geez, I didn't expect us to reappear in the episode. Or that there would be a third act," Floyd said, surprised.

"The writers must have thought there weren't enough killer tomatoes in an episode of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," Mary Jo said, starting to stretch. "But I appreciate the extra exercise."

"Now that you mention it... Recruits! This training session just turned into a combat exercise."

Sam turned to see the cadets, but found an empty room, except for the four poorly disguised ones. Although he was sure there hadn't been that much furniture there just moments before.

"Wow, these kids are progressing fast."

"Come on, Sam. Cancel the training and let's go," Floyd said.

"No, wait. I'm sure I can find them. Just give me five to ten minutes."

And with that, he started walking around the room with his arms outstretched, waiting to discover something. Mary Jo and Floyd just rolled their eyes and sighed resignedly.

Meanwhile, in the sewers of San Zucchini, Chad and Tara moved forward, guided by the young man's flashlight. The squealing of rats, the water dripping from the pipes, and the water running at their feet could be heard. The atmosphere was suffocating, surrounded by constant darkness and humidity. It seemed like the walls were moving around them, trying to crush them in that concrete tomb.

"I don't have very good memories of the times we've been here," Tara said.

"Yeah, this isn't exactly a location I'd want to revisit."

"And there are so many horrible legends about the things that happen down here. Like the crocodiles that people flush down the toilets and grow into giant monsters."

"Oh, that's just an urban legend."

"Are you sure?"

He thought for a moment before responding.

"Well, there was a giant alligator and a guy who drive him. But they hired him for a movie. And the guy became his agent."

"Oh... I hope they do well."

Something red and round appeared before the young couple, heading towards them from the shadows. Chad and Tara hugged each other by reflex as they screamed in horror. But the tomato didn't move like tomatoes did; instead, it floated in the air. And from it emerged a long cord leading to a human hand.

"Wait, that's not a tomato... It's a balloon," Tara said.

"And that actor with the Indian dish name," Chad added.

"Hello, kids! Want a balloon?" the curly-haired actor said with a smile.

"No, thanks," they responded in unison.

Still smiling, the man turned around and returned to the shadows he came from. After all, that was all the screen time they could afford with such a tight budget.

"Well, that was weird," Chad said.

"Oh, Chad..."

"Yeah?"

"You can let me go now," Tara said, unaware that she was also holding onto him.

They sprang apart like rubber bands, hiding their faces in the shadows until the red was gone. It was a couple of awkward seconds before they decided to move forward again.

Neither of them could understand why things felt so similar yet different. For Tara, this was the biggest change she had encountered upon waking up in a future world. She suspected that the situation was related to the human side of her existence, but since she had no female reference, she was alone with her ramblings on the subject. As for Chad, he couldn't comprehend why Tara now looked radiant, adorable, stunning, charming, and more words that his brain had been repeating to him every instant. Not to mention the words that had crossed his mind during their last hug.

Finally, it was the young woman who decided to break the silence.

"The San Zucchini sewers are a real maze."

He pointed his flashlight at the wall to examine it and nodded.

"Especially when the animators have to reuse the same background over and over."

Indeed, no matter how far they advanced, the location remained the same. All they could do was wait for the plot to unfold from one moment to another.

And finally, it did. They arrived at a huge octagonal chamber with an entrance to another sewer on each of its sides. Except on the north end, where a large reinforced metal door stood with the word "Danger" written on it in big red letters. The place was very well lit, so much than the boy could turn off his flashlight.

"What is this place?"

It was then that a roar resonated from the south end. A bestial roar full of primitive anger. The water heading in that direction began to move towards the chamber, pushed by the heavy body making its way through the tunnel.

"This way!"

There was no time to discuss Tara's order. Chad felt the tomato powers of the young woman envelop him in her red aura, and the next thing he knew, he was lifted fifteen meters into the air. It was a straight-line trajectory to a platform high up in the chamber. The young woman carefully set him down on the metal floor and then landed beside him, as she was also using her powers on herself. Her eyes burned with intensity, but dimmed once she crouched beside Chad. He was about to protest that she had used her powers so soon, fearful that it was too early and therefore dangerous. He didn't want to imagine losing her again. But Tara covered his mouth and signaled him to be quiet before he could scold her.

At the far end of the chamber, the creature made its appearance. A body three meters high and over ten meters long. A pale red color, so pale it seemed to be almost pink. It moved on four thick legs made of entwined tendrils. Triangular leaves ran along its back from end to end, and among them grew more tendrils similar to ivy, like the ones they had seen dragging that person down the street. The mouth was about two meters long, full of sharp, monstrous-looking fangs that seemed to grow with no other intention than to turn that jaw into a tearing monstrosity. Its eyes were white as milk, indicating that it was blind.

Without stopping, it advanced to the entrance of one of the tunnels and disappeared into it, shaking its thick tail. Once it had moved away, the teenagers dared to speak, although not to move.

"I don't believe it... That was a... A..."

"A tomato alligator."

"Yes! How did something that big get to San Zucchini without being seen?"

"Chad, I don't think we can handle that thing on our own."

"Right. You need heavy artillery to face something like that. I hope Uncle Wilbur comes prepared."

Tara's eyes sparkled with a sudden revelation.

"Wait, Chad, did you notice if it was carrying anyone?"

The young man understood Tara's question immediately.

"It wasn't carrying anyone... Which means it... already ate... oh..."

"That it left its prey somewhere else."

And both looked in the direction of the tunnel where the beast had emerged. They didn't have to say anything; they knew what they had to do, even if they hated having to do it. Chad discovered the bar ladder leading to the bottom of the chamber and was about to climb down when he noticed something on the wall. Four thin threads of light forming a rectangle. Tara noticed that his attention was elsewhere and followed his gaze, finding what was claiming his attention.

"That's..."

"A door."