The Fruits of Labor

Adrianus Citronus, the most famous bounty hunter of the 31st century, was at a loss for words. No one ever turned him down. He was at the local pub, about 3 light years away from his home. He was normally a chill fruit, but this dealer, Cactus Jones, has found a way to piss him off. And that was harming his ego.

“You...what?” Citron was bamboozled.

“I’m turning ye down. Yer askin’ fer too much cash”, Jones responded, acting nonchalant.

“I can lower the fee”, Citron begged.

“Look here ya fat orange. I could pro'lly find someone else ta do tha job better than ye can and fer a lower price. Get outta my face.”

Citron was taken aback. In his 25 years of life, he had never been as insulted. He grew up in a tough galaxy, where crime was popular. He had grown up learning to be tough to your enemies and tougher to your friends. He had grown his reputation by being...tough. It seemed out of his mind that anyone would dare be so harsh with him.

The whole bar seemed to sense a shift in attitude in the air, and, tensing up for a fight, they all backed away slowly, turning towards Citron and Jones. Citron backed up and cocked his gun. Jones slid off his stool and stood a bit taller.

"Yer challengin' me, kid?" Jones spat.

"You bet to hell I am!" Citron spat back.

The men circled each other, eyeing the other, waiting for one to make a move. Suddenly, Jones shot a needle. It pierced into Citron's peel, thankfully not deep enough to cause a wound. Citron quickly fired a series of shots back, forcing Jones behind a counter. Jones popped up and fired again, missing and pinning a spectating Sunflower to the wall. Citron rolled up and smashed through the counter, knocking Jones on the head. Jones collapsed. Citron stood over him triumphantly, and the bar clapped politely. Everyone resumed their normal business.

Suddenly, Jones stood up. Citron pointed his gun at him, but Jones wasn't interested in revenge. He staggered around and ran into chairs, tables, and other Plants. Suddenly, he began dissolving. He made no sound as his body collapsed into fine dust. Citron looked around. Other Plants were dissolving as well. Suddenly, he felt a twist in his stomach and looked down. He was beginning to go as well! He knew what was happening, and had prepared for this moment. Something drastic had happened in the past and had shifted the future so much that this whole future was disappearing. There was no way he would allow this to happen. These were his friends!

Citron rolled up and dashed to his ship. He felt dizzy as he wound through the parking lot, and realized he had little time. He unrolled and ran up the steps. He fired up the engines and smashed a glass case that he hoped he never had to touch. He flicked the lever, the one he never wanted to flick. The ship rose, folded up, and flew back into the past. He had to fix this.