Replanted Remastered

Table Manners

"..Who's this bozo?" Pudding asked, gesturing to Peter from across the kitchen table.

To Peter's request, Alice gathered Crazy Dave and Pudding to the kitchen table to discuss what he needed to. Well, Peter had only asked for Crazy Dave, but Pudding tagged along as well.

"This is.. Peter Lopez. That's your last name, right?" Alice asked.

"Yes, it's Lopez. I'm an independent zombie hunter, and I'm trying to exterminate the zombie population in this neighborhood,"

"-Yeah, yeah, piss hair. Get to the point!" said Pudding.

Peter huffed and glared at her, before drawing his hand up to his face - then lowering it - as a gesture to calm himself. "I came to you because I need your help. Specifically, I need Crazy Dave's help,"

"I thought you said you had bad news..?" said Alice.

"That's- yes, I've also got bad news, I just- ugh." Peter tugged at his hair. "Dr. Zomboss is planning something big, and I need help to stop him,"

"Oh, it's about Zomboss? Why didn' ya' say so, neighbor?" said Crazy Dave.

"Because your kid and that flower of yours won't stop interrupting me!- Anyway, I was looking around the zombie HQ yesterday evening, when I discovered a room by the back with a broken window. Spying inside, I could see-"

"How do we know you're not lying?" asked Pudding. "Awfully convenient that you somehow didn't die the entire time you were snooping around Zomboss's place,"

"I have a crossbow for a reason. Now, through the window, I saw Zomboss- well, I think it was Zomboss, and he was in front of a big blackboard explaining something-"

"-Again, awfully convenient that it was exactly when Zomboss was planning something," Pudding interjected.

Peter slammed a hand down on the table and jabbed a finger at Pudding. "You're lucky that I know my table manners well enough to not keep my crossbow at the table!"

Pudding blinked, then rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fine, I'll go." she hopped off the table and scurried out of the room.

"Okay, finally. Now, back to Zomboss with his - uh, blackboard thing. I managed to overhear him explaining a new invention of his, which entailed.." he swallowed. "..Completely blocking out the sun with a giant smoke machine to annihilate the plant population,"

"Oh, I remember that ole' song n' dance. He pulled that exact trick years ago!" Crazy Dave explained. "Don' worry about it, er.. Lemonade, we can all just head back up to the old mansion n' use the windmill there!"

"..Didn't that windmill break down years ago?" said Alice.

There was a pause, then Dave smacked himself in the head. "Grobble, yer' right, Frosty. Dang it,"

"I was planning on suggesting a new invention, one that could suck up the smoke rather than just blow it away," said Peter.

"Really? Well, I can see how that'd work.. tell me more, Lemonade-"

There was a crash from upstairs, then yelling. Ragz and Mink's yelling.

"..What is going on up there?" asked Peter.

"That's just.. Ragz n' Mink. I- I'll go check on them. You guys can stay," said Alice. They stepped away from the table and hurried upstairs, just in time to catch Ragz and Mink arguing. -Childishly arguing, at that.

"-Oh, so you think you're better 'an me cause you've got money? Is that how it is?" Ragz jabbed a finger at Mink.

"I am more refined than you, you idiotic fiddle-head!"

"I dunno what a fiddle-head even is and I know you're a bigger one than me, you-"

"Guys, guys, calm down!" said Alice. "Crazy Dave n' Peter are working on something, and you're up here yelling at eachother,"

"Well, Mink called me filthy," said Ragz.

"You are! You are filthy!" Mink retorted.

"You look like you haven't bathed yourself in weeks!"

"Says you!"

Alice put their hands over both of their mouths. "Both of you, shut up! Ever since I met you, you've argued over everything that comes up! Just shut up for once!"

Both boys yanked their hands off of their mouths, but the situation was already too awkward for them to continue arguing.

"You two are insufferable." They left to return to the kitchen. By the time they got back downstairs, Peter and Crazy Dave were already deep in their plans for a counter attack.

"We're gonna need a vacuum. Not the kind that you push, but the tube kind," said Peter.

"I see ya', and if yer' plannin' to suck up the smoke, we'll need an awfully big vacuum,"

"Exactly! Now, we'll need a quite powerful battery if we're going to suck up all the smoke from the sky, and we'll need somewhere to keep it all,"

"What if we turned it int'a somethin' else? Like- sunshine, for example! Then we wouldn't haf'ta deal with all that smoke after,"

"..I don't think its scientifically possible to turn smoke into sunshine, Mr. Blazing, sir,"

"You haven't met me, Lemonade." Crazy Dave ruffled Peter's hair. "Yer' talkin' to the man who gave gloves tongues,"

"True. I won't doubt your capabilities, Mr. Blazing,"

"Aw, you can jus' call me Crazy Dave, Lemonade. No need to be formal. We're workin' to get rid of Zomboss, this ain't a job interview,"

"I understand, I understand!"

Alice smiled and returned upstairs, as to not disturb the two as they worked.