Eddie was always proud of his garden. Sure, it was a bit small, but it had just enough room for him and wasn't a terrible amount of work. It made him happy that all of his beloved reptile piñatas had a place to roam.

There was a Red-Eye Rainbow in the very center of the garden. Eddie had always loved how it looked; the fact that it prevented too many fights from breaking out among his piñatas was an excellent bonus too. A few areas surrounded by clean picket fences housed several different kinds of explosively colorful flowers and there was a small pond in the corner with a surface that was covered with water lilies. The edges of his garden were lined with piñata houses, most of them gray and temple-like. Eddie had never been too fond of those drab colors; it was such a shame he could never find time to repaint them.

Eddie was waiting under an oak tree for his guest, his beloved pink Geckie Ari asleep on his lap. He absent-mindedly stroked her papery back as he kept his eyes on the twisting path into his garden.

"You don't think she'd stand me up, do you?" Eddie whispered to his piñata companion, terror creeping into his voice. Ari quietly sighed in response and Eddie took that as a 'no.'

"Yes, you're right, Ari, I just need to have faith!" Eddie rolled up his sleeve to check his watch. "Besides, she's only fifteen seconds late…"

Another minute passed and Eddie was starting to get a little twitchy.

"Ariiiiii," he said through clenched teeth, tapping his Geckie on the head. She opened her purple eyes and squinted up at him, her face flickering annoyance. "Maxime wouldn't stand me up, would she? We're friends! I helped her with her sewing last week and she looked so happy…she even gave me a high five when we finished!" Eddie looked at the palm of the very hand that had high-fived Maxime, his cheeks reddening at the memory. "She would have alerted me if she was too busy to visit today…" Eddie reached into his pocket to check his Alert System, but stopped when he heard a female voice call from a small distance away.

"Eddie? Is that you muttering to yourself?"

Eddie's heart swelled when he heard that familiar voice. He gently placed Ari on the grass and rose to his feet. "Yeah, it's me! You're on the right track; just keep following the path!"

Maxime finally stepped into his line of sight, wearing an extremely long patterned dress and oversized sunhat. Eddie strode over to her as she looked around the garden, a small smile on her lips.

"So…what do you think?" Eddie put his hands behind his back and leaned forward eagerly.

"Tinier than I thought…" Maxime folded her arms, her dark eyes still sweeping over the garden. "Figured a rich guy like you would have an enormous plot of land to work with…"

"Ah, I just have time for a little gardening," Eddie admitted. "I couldn't keep up with a large plot. I specialize in reptiles, anyway, so I won't have a thousand different species running around."

"So I see…" Maxime eyed an orange Jameleon as it padded on by her. She looked up and her eyes widened as she pointed across the garden. "Holy crap! What lives in that thing?"

Eddie turned and saw that Maxime was pointing towards the largest piñata house. It towered over everything else in the garden and looked like a large stone temple with three snake heads carved into it.

"Oh, I'll show you!" Eddie was so eager that he could possibly impress Maxime that he practically flew across the garden with her hot on his heels. Eddie picked up his shovel from where it was leaning against a tree and tapped the side of the house.

"Come on out and meet Maxime, girl," he murmured, taking a step back. A few moments later, an enormous, four-headed snake piñata slithered out from the inside of the temple. Two of its heads yawned enormously, revealing sharp teeth.

Maxime let out a joyous shout. "She's beautiful, Eddie! I never saw a piñata like this!" The piñata seemed pleased with her reaction, since it bent its largest head down to Maxime's level and nudged her cheek. "When did you get her?"

"She hatched just a few weeks ago!" Eddie's voice was swollen with pride. "She's a Fourheads and her name is Medusa. She's the rarest piñata I have right now!" Eddie stroked his chin in thought. "I still can't seem to figure out a variant for her, though. It's a shame; I bet it'd look gorgeous…"
"You're a smart guy…" Maxime encouraged as she petted one of Medusa's many heads. "I'm sure you'll figure one out eventually!" She turned and gave the garden a quick once-over. "You're pretty much the variant master, from what I can tell."

Eddie blushed at her praise and suddenly took immense interest in his shoes. He was really glad he never gave up on getting to know Maxime. If the P-Factor had taught him anything, it was that she loved to criticize. Compliments from her were few and far between, so he couldn't help blushing like a Salamango with a sunburn whenever she favored him with one.

He was violently ripped from his thoughts when he heard the loud revving of an engine.

"What the-?" He looked up to see a sinister-looking red and black car speeding towards his garden. His eyes grew so wide that his contact lenses nearly popped off when he saw who was driving the vehicle.

The Pestermobile screeched to a halt and Professor Pester lurched out of it, rubbing his hands together greedily. He grinned at Eddie and Maxime, revealing his mask's razor-sharp teeth.

"Oh, no!" Maxime jumped in front of Medusa, holding her arms out protectively. "We are not letting you smash this beautiful piñata, you bastard!"

Eddie groaned loudly and fished through his pockets, pulling out his wallet. "How much money will it take to make you go away, Pester?" Since Eddie had a tendency to toss a ridiculous amount of chocolate coins at Pester just to make him go away, Pester liked to stop by his garden a little too often.

"Oh, I'm not here to smash anything…" Pester said in what he probably thought was an innocent tone, but it just made him sound extremely creepy. "You shouldn't jump to conclusions! What would your daddy think?"

Eddie felt a flicker of anger when Pester mentioned his father, but he figured it would be best not to raise a stink about that comment. "What on Earth are you here for, then?" Eddie stuffed his wallet back into his pocket, glaring fiercely at Pester. The villain was unaffected, smirking in amusement at Eddie's attempts to intimidate him.

"To put it bluntly…" Pester dashed forward and picked up Maxime like she weighed nothing, throwing her over one of his shoulders. "…your girlfriend!" He laughed hysterically as he ran towards the back of his car, Maxime punching him in the back as hard as she could.

"Put me DOWN, you piece of shit!" Maxime roared as she kicked Pester in the stomach. He didn't respond to her hits at all, instead keeping his eyes on his destination

"HEY!" Eddie yelled, grabbing his shovel and taking off after Pester. "LET HER GO!"

Eddie caught up with Professor Pester just as he reached the back of his car, which had a barred metal cage attached to it.

"What do you WANT with her?" Eddie shouted, rounding the corner at the very moment Pester tossed Maxime into the cage and slammed the door behind her. Eddie darted towards Pester without waiting for an answer, his shovel raised in the air.

"That," Pester replied, backhanding Eddie and sending him flying before he could smack him with the shovel. "Is none of your business!" He burst into maniacal laughter when Eddie hit his head on a tree and fell unconscious.

"God DAMN it!" Maxime gripped onto the bars of the cage. "When I get out of here I am going to tear your fat ass off and make you eat it!"

"Oh, you won't be going anywhere for a looooong time, my dear!" Pester chortled at Maxime's threat as he hopped into the driver's seat. "There's no one who can save you now, after all!"

Eddie came to just as Pester revved up the engine and sped off, leaving a disgusting dark cloud of exhaust in his wake. Eddie burst into a coughing fit and drew his knees up to his chest. He kept his eyes on the horizon as the Pestermobile disappeared into the distance.

"Great!" Eddie sobbed when his coughing subsided. "What are the odds? Just when things were going well for Maxime and me, Pester shows up and snatches her!" Ari, who had been woken up in the panic, padded over to Eddie and nudged his ankle. "Ari," Eddie blubbered through his tears. "He could have the most unspeakable of intentions for her! I don't even want to THINK about that!" Eddie burst into hysterical crying yet again, soaking his knees with his tears.

Ari made an annoyed noise and nudged Eddie's ankle much harder. She got no response other than loud, unattractive sniveling. She huffed again and pattered over to where Eddie had dropped his shovel and grabbed the handle in her mouth. She dragged it over to her owner and bit him on the ankle this time.

"OW, Ari, that is not helping!" Eddie came up from his slump, his normally flawless face bright red and streaked with tears and snot. Ari sighed and nudged Eddie's shovel forward.

"Why'd you bring my shovel over?" Eddie sniffled. "There's nothing I can do now, Pester's already gone."

Ari huffed and gave Eddie a flat look, nudging his shovel towards him yet again.

"Y-you think I should follow him? To his lair?" Eddie felt his heart speed up in his chest. "The only person who ever paid him a house call didn't live to tell the tale!"

Ari rolled her eyes. Eddie was a bit of a coward; of course he'd have to be the only witness to Pester's latest kidnapping.

Eddie thought for a few moments, drawing his knees up to his chest again and hugging them tightly. "Well, I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't even attempt to save Maxime…" Eddie grabbed onto his shovel's handle tightly. "Something's telling me this won't end well…" Eddie staggered to his feet, trying to adapt a look of determination. "Ari," Eddie looked down at his favorite piñata, his tone serious. "If I die, tell my father it was for love!"