"Surrender Author!" Zomboss barks. Around 1000 zombies stand behind him, Browncoats, Bucketheads, Zombie Heroes, and...more.
I gulp nervously.
"Ah......shit..."
I take a deep breath, and curl my lip, my eyes flitting from side to side as they try to decide on what to do.
Victory shines in Zomboss's eyes as he gazes at me.
"I'm not surrendering to you." I snap at him.
So the tables have turned. I sigh in my mind. Gosh darn it....
I don't want to...surrender to that...that...that jerk!
But I'm no plant. If I get shot, I'll probably die.
"Gee dang it fridge it frick it fudge it ugh!" I hiss in my brain.
"At least put the next part of the story in for the viewers." I roll my eyes.
"Already done." Zomboss says.
Uh...
"Fine. I give up." I roll my eyes. "I "surrender"." I snort.
"And if you start using your...author ...abilities...you'll be shot instantly. I want no more trouble for my zombies."
"Yeah yeah whatever. Can you just...I dunno get on with it?" I narrow my eyes.
"I WAS JUST GETTING TO THAT! Er...you...and you...and...you...."
________________________________
The next few hours were extremely boring.
Besides actually being touched by undead creatures, getting my hands tied behind my back and being thrown into a cell, basically all I've done is complain and ask endless questions and drive some of the zombies crazy. Or at least as crazy as zombies can get.
"How do you guys live here? Geez it smells. What is Zomboss's problem? Can't he just realize he's some crazy control freak that is a major failure? Are there any plants here? Did Zomboss put in the next part of the video for the readers? How old are all of you guys? Did you used to be humans?"
I only got empty stares and faces of confusion. In all honesty it humoured me, so I thought it was my only entertainment because I didn't bring my phone. Stupid. Me.
I hear some shuffling above me and I raise an eyebrow.
I hear some noises and then I narrow my eyes.
"Can you shut up?" I yell at the ceiling in my cell.
Annoyed muttering answers me and I sigh.
Suddenly, a popping sound echoes through the area. I hear a slight crack and twist my mouth thoughtfully.
"Um..." Is all I can say as another crack starts to split.
I dart to the corner of the cell as part of the ceiling collapses right in front of me. There's a very large hole on top of me now.
I look up at the hole curiously, when a green head pops up.
"A Peashooter?" I raise an eyebrow.
"We're here to rescue you!" He cheers and I stare as a dinosaur-like creature looks down at me.
"A Chomper!?" I exclaim.
"Hold on!" The Peashooter jumps down quietly. He wraps his pods around my waist and I raise an eyebrow.
"I don't think you can carry me-"
I see a green aura energy appear around the Peashooter and I gulp.
I scream as we shoot up into the air.
We land on the roof gently.
"Give me a warning next time ok!?" I breathe.
"Chomp, bite those ropes off of her hands." Peashooter says, dismissing my statement and Chomper comes up behind me and gnashes as his teeth.
"Um...is this the only way to-"
I hear a chomping sound and the ropes fall off.
"Thanks." I say, glad that it was over.
The Chomper nods to me. The Peashooter's eyes flash.
"We've gotta run. We can go in the cannons to our side of the Battleground!" The Chomper growls.
"Are you crazy!? I'll break all of my bones. I may be the author but I am a HUMAN."
"I can't carry you for that long." The Peashooter mumbles.
"Let's just run!" I exclaim. Then I sigh. "Peashooter, can you carry me off of this...roof?
The Peashooter sighs. "Sure..."
"Let's go then." I nod.
"Wait. My Hyper's on cool down." The Peashooter says.
"Are you serious?" I sigh.
"Unless you'd rather go in Chomper's mouth." The Peashooter replies, amused.
"Uh...no thanks." I reply back, glancing at the Chomper's sharp teeth. "Um...no offense..."
"None taken." He growls out.
"Chomper, you jump down first." The Peashooter instructs.
The Chomper only lets out a growl of agreement and jumps down without a problem.
"Ok. I'm almost ready." The small green plant in front of me looks down at the Chomper.
After several more seconds, he nods.
"Ok."
Without warning, his pods wrap around my waist again, the green aura at his back and we jump down and I force myself not to scream.
When we land, relief surges through my body.
"Thanks." I say.
"Save it for when we actually get out of here..." The Peashooter looks around. Suddenly, alarms blare through the area. My eyes widen.
"Let's run!" I exclaim and they both nod. Chomper burrows underground as he isn't that fast of a runner.
"We have to get all the way to that gate!" The Peashooter points one of his pods to a golden garden gate. Rainbows shimmer in the sky and the sun shines brightly over there.
"That's our side of the Battleground." The Peashooter explains."
"Great!" I breathe, still sprinting.
We charge past fighting weeds and Browncoats. Some plant heroes that are fighting turn to watch as we run as fast as we can.
"I feel like I'm gonna crash into something any minute now!" I yell as the golden gate gets closer and closer.
I feel something grab my arm and I stop running. It digs into my skin and I freeze.
"What the..." I start and I turn around, only to meet the eyes of a Conehead Zombie. It growls and leans in to sink it's teeth into my skin.
"HOOOOLY CRAAAAP!!!" I scream just as it bites into my arm.
Druid Rose
"That way! Watch out! Sprint Tackle! Left! ZPG! Now go right! Watch out for that Zombie Stink Cloud!"
I fiercely mutter to myself as I dodge incoming zombie attacks and incoming abilities. I veer to the left and grip my wand and thrash it downwards, casting a Time Snare on a bunch of Browncoats attacking the garden. I attack them with an assault of my Toxic Volley, my satisfaction growing more and more as their heads start to pop off, their growls ending.
A large crowd of zombies approaches me hungrily and almost...stupidly...
I back away slowly, shooting them with my Toxic Volley. My Goatify ability is currently on cool down, and my Toxic Volley can only easily kill the weaker zombies. The All-Stars, Super Brainz and some others continue to step towards me. I jump, float left, right, and dodge any blasts I can as I continue to back away.
A sharp blast hits my rose head. I sway, dizzy, and waver in the air.
"Hey!"
I've crashed into Party Corn.
"Are you ok?" He asks. The young corn steadies me and gazes into my eyes.
I nod.
"These zombies are sure tough..." He withdraws himself and looks around and he winces for a second as the golden lines of a Z-1 Assault Blaster collide into the side of his head. Then he shakes his head and straightens.
"Come and fight with me. We've fought together enough times." He cracks a smile and, even though he probably can't see it, I smile back.
I follow him through the tangled fray of hungry zombies.
An Astronaut blocks our way. It's rapid fire Moon Rock Launcher hits my central stem, the rock cutting into it.
I ignore the sharp pain and glare at it in annoyance.
Grasshole!
I launch Toxic Volleys at his head. Party Corn blasts him in the center. Finally he shrieks and drops down to the ground.
"Nice vanquish." Party Corn compliments before throwing a Hot Potato at a group of zombies.
"Shared." I reply back without thinking, my eyes narrowing downwards and we go back to back.
"First time I've heard you admit a Shared Vanquish." He chuckles as he bats a Conehead away.
"What can I say? You deserved it as well." I smirk and my hovering thorny vines lash out beneath me.
A Super Brainz shoots his Heroic Beam at me, but I hold my wand up and Gotify him and several other zombies, countering it.
My health is at a decent level, and the only injury that bothers me is that Astronaut's Moon Rock Launcher's blow to my central stem.
I flit my eyes around the area. The majority of the wave still remains, however the four of us plants have managed to pick off around a quarter of them.
"Where has the Yeti gone?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
"And that Disco Zombie? He'll be lurkin' around here somewhere." Party Corn narrows his eyes.
Just as he finishes speaking, a coloured shard hits my bottom thorny vines and I grit my small teeth.
"Found him!" I yell and dart left to avoid more fire. I face him calmly, ignoring a Screendoor Zombie that's trying to whack me.
"Have you seen Mystic Flower or Toxic Pea?" I ask, floating right.
"No! We all got separated as soon as we charged into all of these zombies...I was lucky I found you!" Party Corn lifts one of his party cobs, the party corn all gone from them. He shakes them and the empty cobs come off only to be replaced by new ones and then he tucks both of them in and pumps them, reloading. "They could be anywhere!"
"I hope they found each other!"
"Yeah!"
The Disco Zombie lets out an enthusiastic yowl and he starts spinning around with his disco ball.
"Heads up!" Party Corn leaps away and I rapidly hover to the side just as the Disco Zombie twirls past us.
"That thing is dangerous!" I exclaim and transform into my Arcane Enigma, damaging zombies around me.
When the ability wears off, I notice that we are nearly half way done the wave.
Those two bosses must be eliminated...
"Those two bosses have got to go." Party Corn echoes my thoughts. The Disco Zombie stops spinning and he teeters around dizzily. Party Corn starts to blast him in the head.
"Go for his sides! I'll go for his head!" Party Corn instructs and I nod fiercely, shooting his sides with my Toxic Volley. I unleash my Time Snare on him and he moves slowly, easier to shoot versus him dancing around and about.
"His health is dropping!" Party Corn exclaims triumphantly.
"Indeed it is!" I reply and watch as he charges his Shuck Shot and launches it towards the Disco Zombie's head. It collides into him, hard and flaming kernels fly everywhere. The Disco Zombie's health drops quite a bit.
Sometimes I wish I had an amazingly strong ability that would actually dent a high health zombie's health. I think, watching as the Disco Zombie recovers.
Then I sigh.
But I'm a Rose....and of course we don't have brutal, deathly abilities like a Chomper's Burrow, or sneaky, stealthy death trap abilities like a Cactus's Potato Mine. We don't have fiercely damaging abilities like a Peashooter's Pea Gatling/Retro Gatling, or a Sunflower's Sunbeam/Solar Flare Beam, or straight-on powerful abilities like a Kernel Corn's Husk Hop and Shuck Shot. Citron have their EMPeach, and because their lasers and beams are so strong and quick, even high health zombies like All-Stars and and Super Brainz are at a large risk.
But us Roses? We're more tricks than threat, and only sometimes is that useful. Time Snares only last so long, and because our attacks aren't as powerful and as up front as a Citron's lasers, high health zombies are normally still at a decent amount of health unless they are already weakened.
Our Arcane Enigma can only do so much damage before we transform back into our solid form....
And Goatify? The zombie is close to helpless, but they are fast as a goat and can run away and, if us Roses are at low health, they can ram into us and vanquish us. This ability doesn't even affect Bosses and Mechs.
I frown at these thoughts. Maybe that's why the Kernel Corn always view us as measly spell casters.
But we are more than that!
Then I look at Party Corn, a flash of guilt scorching my central stem.
And we always view them as cocky, arrogant weed brains that think they know everything. But...now that I've actually befriended some...I don't believe that anymore.
"Hey Druid Rose! Head in the fight! Unless you want me to beat how many vanquishes you have!"
I shake off my thoughts and they shatter instantly as I smile.
"In your dreams kernel head!"
I easily kill two weakened Bucketheads and Coneheads that had started to attack me and, realizing that my health has dropped to 34%, I rush over to a brown pot and plant a Heal Flower and nourish its Sundrops before shooting the Disco Zombie mercilessly, ignoring its strange dance moves.
Disco Chomper is so much better than this classless hooligan.
I watch as the Disco Zombie's health gradually comes to an end, and just when all of his health is just about gone, I assault him fiercely with my Toxic Volley.
He shrieks and does one last dance before he falls to knees, his last dramatic move as he falls and his body disappears.
"Well." Party Corn chuckles. "Well."
"Well he's a goner." I laugh. I wince for a moment as a Browncoat bites one of my bottom thorny vines. I roll my eyes behind my mask and shoot him until his head pops off.
"Come on." Party Corn gestures. I look around me, the zombies around me now dead. Triumph surges through my inner vines.
"Well." Party Corn laughs, a zombie head next to him. He looks at it and laughs. "We showed them."
I smile as I realize that half of the wave is done. I breathe, hard, taking a deep breath. We survived. My gaze sweeps around the bodies and parts of dead zombies. I head over to the Heal Flower, that is happily still alive, and I accept it's Sundrops. Party Corn waits for more to appear and once he receives them, I sigh in relief.
"I'm glad that that's over...but where are Toxic Pea and Mystic Flower?" I ask, starting feel concerned.
Party Corn frowns. "Are they back at the Garden?"
I close my eyes and then I open them and gasp. The garden's health meter is dropping.
"The garden's health is dropping!" I gasp.
Suddenly I hear a scream.
MYSTIC FLOWER IS DOWN!
I then hear a yelp and then something speeding towards us.
"What the..." Party Corn starts but then I see Toxic Pea with his Hyper activated, Mystic Flower in his pods. He lands, unbalanced, with bloody aloe smearing his face. His pods are full of holes and deep cuts and bites line his central stem. Blood tainted chlorophyll leaks from various deep gashes. His toxic aura is nearly faded and gone. His body is on fire.
"Help us! We're being overrun!" He gasps and he places Mystic Flower on the ground and starts reviving her.
When he's done, she rises and twirls in the air, golden light brightly shining around her.
She takes a deep breath as she lands, and I gasp.
Toxic Pea isn't the only one with bad injuries. Bloody aloe is smeared along her petals and her face. It drops down around her central stem, and her mystic hands have bite marks and holes on their stems. A deep cut in her central stem is gushing with blood-tainted chlorophyll. Her face is pale with less golden glowing light in her petals and around her.
"Oh my...Mega Flower." I breathe.
"That Yeti is VICIOUS." Mystic Flower growls, her eyes dark. She looks at the deep cut in her central stem. "Those Bucketheads don't leave you alone...." A cut sits underneath her left eye, bite marks lining her stems. "Those Beserkers hurt...a lot..." She gestures at the bruises around her central stem. "And all of those Zombie Heroes just won't back off!"
"The garden's health is dropping fast...but we couldn't defeat the zombies alone...they overwhelmed us easily." Toxic Pea shakes his head, rubbing a dark bruise on his pod. Blood-tainted chlorophyll gushes out of several deep cuts. "Did you guys defeat the Disco Zombie?"
"Yeah...and the other half of the wave over there." Party Corn looks at the both of them, and sighs. "But we look barely scratched compared to you two!"
"The Yeti's constant freezing doesn't help...but if we don't do something...the garden will die and we'll have to use a Team Retry and do it all again..." Toxic Pea shakes his head.
"Come on. We can do it. Use the remaining empty pots for Heal Flowers and a couple of really strong Potted Plants and maybe some Ice Shrooms for easy targets." Party Corn replies and Mystic Flower nods. She shakes as she unleashes her Rainbow Heal Beam on Toxic Pea and he tries to wipe the bloody aloe off of his face.
"We only have one shot at this. We can do it." Party Corn says.
I nod. "Even though we may fail, we have to at least take down as many zombies as we can with us."
"Ok..." Toxic Pea shakes one of his pods, and I inch away from the little bit of bloody aloe that sprinkles off of it. "But just charging in there is....um...stupid. We should go behind and then strike and I can lay low on the rooftop if necessary...um...I don't know if it'll work at all but there are still pots back there and...um...."
"No that is a splendid idea! The zombies won't sense and we can take a bunch out before they fully realize we're still in this fight." I clench one of my rose hands and Mystic Flower lets out a weak breath and nods.
"We should wait a bit...Mystic Flower's still recovering." Toxic Pea insists to a shaky Mystic Flower.
"There's no time to wait." She hisses. "I'm fine...I'll just plant a Heal Flower and-"
"That Yeti destroyed your Heal Flowers too fast..." Toxic Pea murmurs. "Going on without strength is reckless...."
Mystic Flower opens her mouth to argue, but then sighs. "Fine..."
We wait, tense as the garden's health drops
Finally, the colour starts to return to Mystic Flower's face and the golden light starts to shine brighter within her petals. Toxic Pea's body is no longer on fire, and his glowing toxic aura is back to normal.
"I'm ready." Mystic Flower says strongly, her voice firm. Her eyes gleam in a fiery adrenaline.
"I'm ready too." Toxic Pea says determinedly. His eyes glow in a calm, cool yet racing adrenaline.
"Well Party Corn?" I muse, floating around to face him. "Are you ready?"
Party Corn laughs. "When am I not?"
"Good point." I admit, a smile forming behind my mask.
"Ok...so we have to go behind the garden and the go and surprise them. That area that is behind the garden should suit the trick." I shake my wand thoughtfully.
"Haha those zombies won't know what hit them." Party Corn laughs.
"It'll fool them." Toxic Pea chuckles.
"It will SURPRISE them! They thought that I was down and out...but I'm not...mostly because of Toxic Pea..." Mystic Flower narrows her eyes determinedly and smiles at Toxic Pea and gives him small kiss to the side of his face.
Toxic Pea blushes and I shoot Party Corn an amused look.
He returns it and I laugh.
"Shall we go then?" I ask, still laughing.
"Yeah!" Party Corn responds.
"Ok!" Toxic Pea replies, the blush still a little visible on his face.
"I'm ready!" Mystic Flower smiles fiercely.
"Well what are we waiting for? The garden's health is dropping! "Let's go!"
Quickly, we all travel through the map of Zen Peak to reach a good surprising, ambushing angle.
When we're there, I plant a Heal Flower in the empty pot there and we all look at each other.
"Ok ready?" Party Corn asks, and we all nod.
"On three." He hisses.
Mystic Flower narrows her eyes.
"One..."
I tense.
"Two..."
I hear Toxic Pea crank his pods.
"THREE!"
And that's when chaos descended on the four of us.