I stood paralyzed, barely absorbing the scene before me. Seeing the blue again was surreal enough on its own, but seeing him with Moonflower made my stomach turn. My eyes widened as I took him in, and his eyes widened in return. "Wh... White?" he breathed, turning towards me in his wallow.

"That's not who you think it is," Moonflower said flatly. She then leered at me and said, "Spicebloom, I presume?"

I swallowed. "Yes, it's me."

"Spicebloom?" the blue muttered, his face full of confusion and annoyance. "What're you doing here?"

"I obviously came for Moonflower," I growled. "What have you been saying to her?"

His brows furrowed. "I haven't been saying anything to her! All I want to know is why she came out here!"

"And all I want to know is where Goldenrod is!" Moonflower barked.

"You won't answer my question, so why should I answer yours?!" the blue barked back.

"Okay, enough!" I exclaimed. Thankfully my worst fear hadn't come true, but now I had a whole different mess to sort out. "Moonflower, just come with me! I'll tell you everything!"

"You already said that!"

"I mean it this time!"

"You probably meant it the last time, too!"

"What're you two talking about?" asked the blue.

"You stay out of this, you lying scoundrel!" Moonflower snapped.

He squinted in confusion. "What did you just call me?"

She ignored the question and turned back to me. "If you're serious this time, Spicebloom, then tell me right now!"

I balked. "Not in front of him! Let's get out of here first, and then I'll—"

"No more delays!" Her eyes blazed. "I want the truth and I want it now."

I clenched my fists. "Moonflower, he cannot be part of this conversation! We need to—"

"If you won't tell me, then I'll find Goldenrod! I know he's around here somewh—"

"I already found him," I blurted. "And he promised not to talk."

Moonflower's face dropped at this. I felt a faint sense of triumph, but it immediately subsided when I noticed the blue's expression. His eyes were wide with realization, and his brows were furrowed with intensity. "I know what this is about," he said grimly. "It's about the war, isn't it?"

The word stung me in the chest, especially as I saw Moonflower's stem fly up. "Shut up!" I snapped.

"You never told her, did you?" he asked eerily. "You haven't told any of them, have you?"

"I said shut up!"

He gave me a withering glare. "What's the matter, Spicebloom? I thought you loved telling the truth?" His expression intensified. "Even when the truth HURT?!"

I took a step back. He knew. "Moonflower, we need to go!"

"Spice... What is he talking about?" she asked, not even looking at me.

"You mean the war?" the blue asked, not taking his eyes off me.

I shook with fury. "I swear, if you weren't in the water, I'd—"

"Silence me? Cover up the truth to protect your friend?" His eyes narrowed. "How come you get to do that and not me?"

"Don't you dare compare yourself to me!" I roared, stomping a foot forward. "I hid this from her for too long! I won't deny that! But that's nothing like what you did!"

The blue opened his mouth to speak, only to be forcibly pulled away. In a flurry of movement, Honeyglow had swooped in and snatched him from the wallow. The blue thrashed and yelped as she shot up, spun, and hurled him into a mound of soil. He hit the mound with a soft plop and a splash of dust. "Spicebloom!" Honeyglow exclaimed, flying towards me. "What happened?! Are we too late?!"

I didn't answer her. Instead, I turned to Moonflower, who hadn't moved. "Spicebloom," she said, still not facing me. "That story you told... The one about the war... Was that based on a true story?"

Honeyglow landed next to me. I frowned at her, and she frowned back. With a sigh, I spoke. "Moonflower, I—"

"He's lying," she spat. "He has to be. There's no way that... Pikmin would never... We would never..." She spun to me, eyes welling with tears. "TELL ME HE'S LYING, SPICE!"

In that moment, everything vanished. Honeyglow did not exist. The blue did not exist. The forest did not exist. All I could see and feel was Moonflower. Her quivering stem. Her barely contained sobs. The sorrow emanating from her body.

Why was this happening?

Why couldn't this have been prevented?

Why couldn't I have done something differently?

Just... why?

...

...

...

"It's not a lie."

The world came back into focus. It was Peppergrass who had said this, and he was standing right beside Moonflower. "Pe-Peppergrass?!" she flinched, apparently not having noticed him either. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," he said calmly. "The blue is telling the truth. There was a war."

Her pupils shrank. "Be-between...?"

Peppergrass nodded. "Yes. That's why you were alone when we plucked you."

Tears began to cascade. "B-but... Why? How could they have...?"

Peppergrass turned to me and nodded. After a brief hesitation, I returned the nod and took my place beside him. "We're going to tell you everything," I said.

And so we did. We told her about the day we had first seen the war. We told her about our experiences with the black chief and the orange commander. We told her about the Leviathan massacre. We told her about how the war had finally ended. Not a single detail was withheld.

Once we were finished, Moonflower was speechless. I could see no emotion in her eyes—only shock. It filled my heart with pity, and for a few moments, all I could do was gaze sadly.

The subtle sound of moving water touched my ears. Turning, I saw the blue stepping back into his wallow. He had a sullen expression and was avoiding eye contact. As I watched him, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Forget about him, Spice," said Honeyglow. "We've got more important things to worry about."

"You're right," I sighed, glancing at Moonflower. "Come on, everyone. It's time to go home."

"Not yet."

We all turned and saw Goldenrod emerging from the underbrush. "Goldenrod? How long have you been there?" I asked.

"Long enough," he replied. "I heard the commotion and came to investigate. Kinda wish I hadn't, to be honest."

"Well, looks like we've got ourselves a reunion here," Peppergrass stated with all the sarcasm he could muster.

"Yeah, too bad we're missing someone!" the blue snarked.

"Save it, Blue," Goldenrod growled. He then turned his attention to Honeyglow. "Honeyglow? Is that you with the wings?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Who wants to know?"

He walked towards us. "You and I need to have some words."

She crossed her arms. "I hope you're not expecting a private conversation."

"I'm not." He stopped in front of her. "Why'd you do it, Honeyglow?"

"Because I like this life better. That's why."

"That's not what I mean," he grumbled, as if Honeyglow should've already known. "Why did you leave your Onion in the first place?"

"Excuse me?"

"Stop playing dumb!" he barked. "The way you left was so abrupt, and you didn't even care enough to explain yourself! You never believed our philosophy, did you?!"

I glanced at Honeyglow. At first her eyes were wide, but then they narrowed. "No, I did not," she muttered. "But why do you even care? Especially since you don't believe it, either?"

Goldenrod scowled. "For your information, I do believe it!"

"No, you don't! You just want to feel important, and you're clearly failing!"

"Those aren't mutually exclusive! And I'm not failing at all you smart-mouthed little—!" He inhaled sharply, sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. "Honeyglow... Will you please just tell me the truth? Why did you come with us? Were you running away from something?"

She winced. "It's none of your concern."

Goldenrod glared at her for a few moments, then turned to Peppergrass and me. "Do you two know the reason?"

"Don't waste your time," Honeyglow snarled. "They'll never tell you."

"Oh, so you have told them then? Why do they get to know but not me?"

"Ugh, will you back off?!" Peppergrass snapped. "Who she does or doesn't tell is her own business! You're not entitled, so get over it and move on!"

"Thank you, Peppergrass," Honeyglow said smugly.

I expected a furious response from Goldenrod, but instead he merely shook his head and said, "Fine. Be that way."

"It was nice catching up with you," Honeyglow replied with even greater sarcasm than Pepper. "Now if you'll excuse us, we're going home."

She literally floated away, and the rest of us followed. As we left, I stole a glance back. Goldenrod was glaring at us with crossed arms, and the blue was facing the opposite direction.

The journey home was a lengthy one, mainly because Moonflower kept lagging behind. We had asked her several times if she wanted to talk, but the answer was always no. She had instead resigned to walk silently with a slouched back and limp stem. No one could blame her. Honeglow was being awfully quiet as well, hovering ahead of us while clenching and unclenching her fists. I couldn't tell if she was angry because of the blue or because of Goldenrod. Perhaps both.

It wasn't until late noon that we arrived at the valley. As we stepped down the slope that led to it, Peppergrass spoke. "Well, I suppose Spicebloom and I are going to the Labyrinth. Is there anything you need, Moonflower?"

"N-no," Moonflower replied while staring at her feet. "I'll see you all later."

A thought crossed my mind—one that made me grimace. "Um, Moonflower?"

"Yes, Spicebloom?"

"Are you going to tell the others what you learned?"

"No, I am not," she groaned. "Are you?"

I rubbed my arm. "I don't think so."

She turned and began to leave, but stopped after a few steps. "Spicebloom? Peppergrass?"

"Yes?" we replied.

"Thanks for telling me."

She continued to walk, hunched forward and never once looking back. Peppergrass and I looked at each other and exchanged a frown.

"I need to be alone," Honeyglow mumbled. "I'll see you two tomorrow."

She flew off to her rock pile—the same one we had taken refuge under during the final days of the war. Sighing, Peppergrass turned to me and said, "Come on. Let's change back."

We walked side by side, a somberness hanging over our heads. As the Labyrinth drew nearer, I looked back at the forest. The Moonflower situation had been resolved—for better or worse—for now something else was clogging my mind. The deserters had changed since I had last seen them, especially the blue. Before they were shrewd and confident, now they seemed wounded and troubled. Obviously I had made life harder for them, but it felt like there was more to it than that. The only question was what.

A voice in my head told me to just leave it be and move on, and I was certain Peppergrass and Honeyglow would've said the same thing.

But when have I ever been one to do that?

I took a deep breath and clenched my fists. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.