Replanted Remastered

Bye, guys

"Today's the day, Alice and gentlemen," said Pudding. "We're gonna go be idiots!"

"-Er, correction, we actually have a well-thought out plan and there's very little room for error," said Peter.

"Oh, shut up. We're all idiots, anyway,"

There was a buzz in the air as the group were preparing to head to the zombie base. Alice, Ragz, Peter and Mink had even chosen to wear their matching LGBT jackets. Red was assisting Crazy Dave in loading the machine into his car, while Pudding was giving a very poor pep talk to the remaining teenagers.

"Even though our plan is not very smart, and we ourselves are not very smart, I think we can do this shit!" Pudding continued. "-And after we do, I can give that dweeb Zomboss a big slap upside his massive head!"

"How're you gonna reach him? You're- like, a flower n' stuff," Ragz asked.

"I can manage. If there's someone I wanna slap, they will not go unslapped. Nuh-uh. They cannot escape my wrath,"

"Pudding, there's no time to worry about slapping anyone's heads. We have a mission to do, here," said Peter.

"My only mission is slapping Zomboss's stupid big-ass head!"

Wanting an escape from the argument, Alice wandered off to the front gates of Dave Estate. They stepped out onto the sidewalk, staring into the distance at the zombie base. A chill went up their spine, but they ignored it. A gust of wind blew by, rustling their hair and causing leaves to flutter from the trees.

Hands in pockets, they stared at the sidewalk.. when they noticed something. A small scrap of paper scratched against the ground, blowing with the wind towards them. Curious, they picked it up, glancing quickly at both sides. Strangely enough, it wasn't a scrap at all. Instead, Alice found themself looking at a poorly developed polaroid image, covered in dirt. Alice wiped it clean. It pictured a blurred figure, with dark skin and hair, with a green hoodie. A green, camo-print hoodie.

Alice ran back to their friends, clutching the photo and smiling so wide it nearly hurt. "Look at this! It's- it's of Markus! He's got a polaroid camera, he must've taken this photo!" said Alice. They showed the blurry picture to the rest of the group, while shaking with excitement. "He's alive! And- and look! There's a street sign in the back, he's not that far!"

"Woohoo! That's great!" said Ragz. "Good for you!"

Mink said nothing, but his grin showed his happiness for them. Peter's shocked expression slowly turned into a small smile. "That's a relief. We can start a search for him once we return home,"

"..After? After we get home?" Alice fidgeted, still clutching the photo.

"Of course, after. We've got a city to save, remember?"

There was a pause as Alice continued to fidget. They averted the eye contact of their friends, holding the photo up to their face and staring at Markus's blurry figure.

"Are you all right, Alice?" Mink asked. "You're looking at the photo very closely,"

"..I can't come with you guys. I have to look for Markus," Alice's voice wobbled as they spoke.

"You are not coming?" Mink asked.

"No, I'm not. Markus.. he might be in danger,"

Mink furrowed his brow. "But you are part of the plan. We need you with us, Alice,"

"My brother's in danger, man. I'm not going."

Mink's eyebrows raised in surprise, then furrowed. "You cannot just not go. You are important to the plan,"

"You can do it without me. My brother needs me, he's- he's all alone out there. He doesn't even have a plant or anything,"

"It does not matter! If he has lived until now, he will still live after!"

"I'm not going!"

"You were part of the plan! It does not work without you, you- du kotzbrocken!" Mink proceeded to rant in rapid german, nearly shaking with anger. Eventually, he managed to choke out, "We are going to save the whole town, and you would rather find your stupid brother?"

"I've done everything so far for him! I've been risking my life, I went out on my own into the apocalypse with only Sweetpea - and it's all been for Markus! I can't let him die now!"

"You are an idiot! Markus is not as important as this mission! You risk everyone's life!"

"I-I have to find him. I'm sorry, Mink, I can't let this chance go to waste- he's- he's out there! He's really out there! He might die while we're gone!" Alice stammered.

"What is worse? Is he dying or everyone else is dying??"

It took everything in Alice's being to keep themself from crying. There was a bout of silence, before Mink returned to his unintelligible ranting. Peter silently glanced between the two.

Peter sighed. "We support your decision, Alice,-"

"-I do not! I do not support it!" Mink shouted.

"I support your decision, Alice. Just know that,"

"..Thank you, Peter." Alice avoided Mink's glare, instead looking at Ragz, who'd gone silent.

"-Are y'all kiddos coming? We don't 'ave much time! Wabbo!" Crazy Dave shouted from his car.

Peter gave Alice a quick pat on the shoulder. "Good luck. I can't wait to meet Markus once this is all over," he said. "-Alright, boys. We're gonna save the world," The group headed to the car.. minus Ragz, who stayed back.

"You're really not coming?" he asked.

"I can't let Markus down now. I'm sorry,"

"Well.. this might be the last time I see you," he mumbled. "I wanna make it count, but I dunno know how,"

"Huh? What do you mean last time?" Alice asked.

"What if I die or something? Or- what if you die?"

"Neither of us are gonna die! Listen, once you and the guys are done saving the world, Markus and I are gonna be right at home waiting for you. I promise that." Alice put their hands on his shoulders and shook him a bit. "Everything is going to be fine,"

Ragz stared down at them as they shook him, and he teared up a bit. He suddenly hugged them, giving them a bit of a squeeze. "-I hope so," he said. He broke away, running to jump in the car. "Goodbye!"

"Good luck, everyone!" Alice shouted as they drove away. Left alone with Sweetpea at their side, they watched as the car disappeared from view.

"Come on, Sweetpea, we're gonna find Markus."