Tommy pulled out the carrots from the garden, putting them in a basket. As each carrot was plucked from the ground, a seed shot out with it. Tommy placed all the seeds in a pile beside the basket. When all the carrots were pulled, Tommy planted the seeds back into the small garden outside the main house. With his first chore completed, Tommy stood onto his feet. He wiped the dirt off his pants. He grabbed onto the handle of the basket and went inside the house. He left the basket on the counter by the sink. Tommy opened one of the cabinets, pulling out a decently sized mixing bowl that he put on the other side of the sink on the counter than the basket. Tommy turned the faucet on. He washed the dirt off the carrots, putting the cleaned versions in the mixing bowl. Once all the carrots were cleaned, Tommy moved the bowl to the island and took the basket back outside. Tommy put the basket with the other ones by the garden.

Tommy turned his attention to the pin of cows. He had fed and milked them earlier that morning, but he didn't mind giving them attention. The cows didn't mind, either. They would stare at him blankly as he climbed on top of the wooden fencing. Tommy opened his arms, and one of the cows plopped its head in his lap. Tommy smiled as he brushed his hands along the cow's face. When Tommy became a farmhand, he was given permission to name all the cows. The cow that seemed to gravitate the most with Tommy was Henry Jr., nicknamed as Junior. Sometimes Tommy wondered if the cows of the Undergrove had a level of sentience. While most of their behavior was cow-like, Tommy noticed that some of the cows- like Junior- had this almost human-like empathy about them. It reminded Tommy of Henry. His old friend had been a comfort in Tommy's younger years who occasionally took care of him.

"Tommy!" Shrub called out, running towards him on her tiny legs. She came from a mushroom that she was using her magic to make grow faster. It wasn't finished, Tommy noted, since the cap wasn't fully grown yet. Shrub climbed on the fence beside Tommy, struggling as she did but finally settling down beside him. The cow named Leaf bumped their head against Shrub's leg. She affectionately rubbed Leaf's head before looking up at Tommy. "I have to head into the Nether for some things. I didn't know if you wanted to come with me, so I thought I would ask if you wanted to tagalong."

In truth, Tommy did not want to go to the Nether. His memories of it were sharp and painful, the lava beckoning like a close friend. Tommy couldn't be sure that if he went into the Nether, he wouldn't freak Shrub out with how he would answer the siren's call. What Tommy said was that he would like to join her. Shrub was small, especially compared to Nether Mobs, and while Tommy had noted her skill with the bow, he couldn't help the rush of anxiety that pulsated in his body at the thought of Shrub going alone. Tommy would deal with his fears if it meant keeping Shrub safe.

Tommy had been in the Undergrove for a week. In that time, Shrub had been nothing but kind to him. She let Tommy stay in her house without charging, and he had complete control over the animals. Shrub had given him things, too, sometimes without him even asking. She had fashioned armor for him, and made him a better sword than what she first gave him. Every night, Shrub would make some sort of stew for the two of them to enjoy. There were times when Shrub would just give him her time, letting him talk her ear off about things that probably only interested him. Shrub even gave him smiles for free. Tommy didn't know what or who she saw in him, but he didn't want to lose the scraps of peace that Shrub provided to his chaotic life.

Because of that, Tommy slipped his armor over the clothes he had sown using wool Shrub bought from another kingdom. He slid his Enchanted sword into the scabbard on his belt. Tommy walked toward the Nether portal Shrub had tucked away in a small cave opposite to the main house. She was already standing there with her quiver thrown over her shoulder with a bow carved from wood and string. She smiled at Tommy as they stepped into the swirling purple. Tommy was tempted to puke, but he pushed down the nausea as he stepped into the Nether biome. Tommy coughed as his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword. Has he mentioned that he hated the Nether?

"I'm, like, still afraid from the last time I was in here, um, cause it was nearly so traumatizing," Shrub said with a hesitant laugh. Tommy looked her over to see that her hands were shaking. He couldn't do much about that, but he grabbed her hand in reassurance. She looked at him with a small, grateful smile. Tommy looked away from Shrub, releasing her hand. He couldn't handle kindness when it was so direct!

Shrub traded her bow for a pickaxe. Tommy pulled out his sword as he watched Shrub's back. She raised the pickaxe to break through the Netherrack. Tommy followed behind, taking slow steps backwards that way he could watch for anyone sneaking up on them. He only turned around with Shrub found a cleared out tunnel in the Netherrack that had the quartz she was looking for. Shrub had a big smile as she raced over to the quartz. Tommy guarded the entrance, but his attention was on how Shrub looked like a kid on Christmas day.

Tommy looked ahead to see some Piglins conversing at the end of the tunnel. Shrub turned around immediately with an awkward chuckle. Shrub went to the other end, but all she found was the strip mine of whoever made this tunnel. She walked back to the entrance where Tommy was standing with a thumbs up. "I think we're all done here! I have nearly three stacks of quartz!"

——

Shrub led the way out of the Nether portal with Tommy close behind. It was lucky that they didn't run into any trouble. Their portal was close by to where they found the mined through tunnel, so it was a short walk to get back to the Undergrove. Even with that, Shrub noticed that her hands were still shaking and Tommy had a pale face. It seemed like she wasn't the only one with a fear of the Nether. She was tempted to ask Tommy why he was scared, and if he was, why did he go with her, but she knew that was prying. Maybe one day Tommy would tell her, but until that day, Shrub would tuck away her curiosity.

"Daylight! Dude, coming out to here is just awesome!" Shrub said to lighten the mood as she stepped into the grassy area that stretched between the portal and the main house. She looked up at her curving tree with a growing excitement. She twirled to face Tommy, who had an amused smile on his lips. Shrub didn't even mind. She loved the Overworld a lot more than the Nether. She could admit that the Nether had pretty mushrooms, but everything else was hot and ugly. Her small nature kingdom was much more beautiful.

Shrub walked over to the mushroom she had been growing. She climbed her way to the top using dirt blocks. Once on the top, Shrub placed her hands in the middle on both sides of the entryway that held the ladder that went up. Shrub took in deep breaths of the air around her, channeling the essence of growth and life through her body. A faint green glow spread across her hands and fingers. That glow became brighter as the edges of the stem started to rise in a red color. The cap of the mushroom began to grow around Shrub. When it had closed up, Shrub sighed out loud, pulling her hands into her lap. Shrub wiped the sweat off her brow before going back to the main level. Shrub placed some hangings lanterns using chains to have a light source. She looked around to find Tommy. He was sitting on the fence again, this time facing the mushroom with wide, awed eyes.

She walked over to him with a little bounce in her step. "I think what I should do next is some landscaping! I want to take down that mountain over there, remove the stone. I should make a path that stretches from the main house to the mushroom castle. I want to move the carrot farm. I am going to work on the cave around the Nether portal right now, though."

"Good luck, Little S!" Tommy called out. Shrub nodded as she went over to the side cave that made two entrances to where her Nether portal was. As Shrub prepared to fill it in, she saw a Piglin walk out of the portal. It looked around curiously while Shrub stared at it.

"Sir? Sir, you're not... you're not supposed to... be out here, you're not supposed to, uh, you're..." Shrub followed the Piglin as it climbed up the hill that her Nether portal was placed in. It was starting to get further away. Shrub pulled out her axe, watching it move around. She could have killed it. The Piglin just went down the hill without worrying about the weapon holding gnome. "Sir! I think you're lost!"

The Piglin finally turned around, revealing that it was part zombie. Shrub took a step back in fear, but she quickly apologized when she realized what she had done. The Piglin remained staring at her without much emotion. Shrub out her axe away. She took out a baked potato that got the Piglins attention, and she tricked it into a boat. Shrub pushed the boat from the top of the hill back to the portal. She left the boat by the portal as she filled in the cave that she had initially went over there to do. At this point, Tommy had wandered over to ask about the Piglin. Shrub shrugged as she said. "I am here to study corruption. Something is up with that Pig-man if he's undead. That man could have all the answers I'm looking for."

"I doubt an overgrown pig knows shit about corruption," Tommy replied with an eye roll. Shrub gave her best pout, and Tommy only sighed at her. "Or maybe he's a genius or some shit. Maybe the guy who made all your corruption gave birth to that bastard."

Shrub smiled at the new sentence. She walked around to check on her new object of study to find a second undead Piglin sitting behind the first in the boat. Tommy started laughing at them both while Shrub scrambled for an explanation. All she could do was shake her head. "You're fine... yeah, you're fine there. Maybe they are both corrupted. I don't know know corruption works, but maybe it's like a magnet. Corruption attracts corruption."

"I wouldn't know 'bout that. You're the one who's studying it like a fucking nerd," Tommy replied with a shrug. Shrub nodded sorrowfully. She walked along the path that she had made, using her magic to make flowers blossom along the edges of it. The path had been made with cobblestone pieces per Tommy's insistence. In fact, he said he wouldn't help her make it unless it had cobblestone pieces. Tommy explained that cobblestone was the best building material in the whole world. Shrub didn't disagree with him even though she was partial to living in mushrooms or trees. Along the path, Shrub made three mushroom lampposts. When the sun started to sink, the lights were illuminating the part of the street in front of her house.

"Look how beautiful our home is, Tommy!" Shrub beckoned the boy to the balcony on the third floor. As he came out, he dropped a blanket on Shrub's shoulders. She wrapped it around her as she settled into a seat she placed out there. Tommy leaned against the railing, his eyes searching as they gazed out. Shrub wondered what he was looking for. Was he looking for the same thing he always looked for when it was late?

"Our home?" Tommy whispered, pulling his eyes away from the search to stare at Shrub. The gnome met his gaze with one of the softest smiles she ever showed anyone. "Our home."