Jeneora... well, definitely is not Jeneora Rock anymore. Jeneora Rocks, plural, maybe: its namesake lies in pieces, boulders the size of cars and occasionally buildings strewn about having crushed most of the local infrastructure. After this long, it no longer looks fresh, but that only cements the destruction further, making the outpost look like ancient crumbled ruins long abandoned and impossible to live in, a relic of a time, if not richer, at least happier.

But of course, it's not impossible to live there, merely very difficult, and not the kind of choice one would make if they had a choice. Only a couple of buildings were left mostly intact after Nai's attack, with a couple more having been dug out of the rubble to serve as some extra shelter and storage. But the facility that used to house the plants is not one of the restored buildings, as the entrance was both crushed and covered in rubble and despite the hole Zash managed to make to let Yvette crawl through the remaining locals did not have the wherewithal to go any further than that, lacking his superhuman constitution, so the locals are having to make do with a lot less protection from the elements than they could theoretically have access to.

They're not townies, anymore. They're scavengers.

There are recognizable survivors, if gaunt and dehydrated and steadily getting more desperate.

"... Zash...?" calls a voice, poking her head out of her ambush point. They haven't, actually, been driven to rob anyone yet, but. Well. It was more of a lack of opportunity than willingness. It hasn't gotten really bad, yet, but it's only a matter of time.

"Hi, Rosa!" he calls, with only somewhat forced cheer. Feelings of sorrow and guilt are for later, for now he is helping them. He can't wave because he is using both hands but the sentiment is probably clear.

"W-what... you're back, with."

Right! Yes! Resource distribution, right away, yes yes yes.

"Zash has the major water stores," she says, stopping her car and immediately getting to getting out all of the everything, "but if anyone's dangerously dehydrated, I have rehydration solution and a couple IVs, and for food I've got packs of ration bars. Um, is anyone likely to experience refeeding syndrome, there's a ratio I'm supposed to chop them up by in order to counteract that but, I mean, I'd really rather just hand them to you."

When Zash is close enough that he won't be shouting anymore he puts the water stores down then walks up to the townies and stops. He bends at the hip ninety degrees, bowing and not looking up at them.

"...what the fuck," says Carl, a look on his face that would be almost comical if he weren't so gaunt.

"I have a debt to pay. We, we have new plants, too. That we're bringing here. ...more than two, there's compound interest.

"I'm sorry. I know this doesn't fix everything. Doesn't bring anyone back. But..."

"Tonis! Come out baby, help your mama with this," says Rosa, who's already gotten started descending upon the supplies like, well, a starving woman. She... is no longer pregnant.

Tonis does indeed pop his head out, and scamper to his mother's side to get to grabbing supplies.

".... hair," he observes, looking straight at Yvette. Then he grabs a water canister and immediately flees with it.

"Baby you say thank you when people save your...! Oh, why do I bother. ... Wait. Plants?? You're bringing us plants, too?? How."

He straightens back up. "...I'll explain later. Short story is, uh, those crimes that everyone thinks I committed? We, uh, have a way to undo that damage. Return plants where we can, find new places for them where we can't...

"But it's the least I could do, after."

"Did you find the fucker that stole them and kill him for us?"

".... not.... exactly?"

"... Then will he be back."

Oh no, social complications, she doesn't know how to handle those. Zash, Zash help.

"He's dealt with, at least for now, hopefully forever."

"Awfully fuckin' vague, if you ask me," mutters someone named Victor.

"I can explain later, it's complicated, but he's absolutely not going to hurt anyone here again."

"Vague, vague, vague."

"We're real sick of vague, Zash. I thought I told you last time you were here that we were done being toyed with. What the fuck are you dragging us into."

Yvette is suddenly struck by the similarity between her own transformation into a plant-hybrid and... whatever is happening here. Whatever she planned to do here. Sure, it's with the best of intentions, and it's to try to save them, but she... absolutely did plan to use Jeneora as a demonstrative experiment to Nai that all of this could work. After they had... specifically mentioned how the last time the town had taken a chance on them, it had ended like this. And she sure did not get any kind of informed consent of any kind, did she. Oh. Oh fuck. She's a massive fucking hypocrite, actually.

The words come tumbling out of her, rapid fire.

"W-we, um, there's, complicated stuff about the plants that does come with a lot of caveats, but the, the supplies right here and now, and the other ones we've got for you, are yours and totally free and have no strings attached and, and, there's a silicon deposit nearby that could be used to turn this place into a proper mining town regardless of anything else, and, and, we, um. And everything else can wait for a proper explanation, after you've had food and water, and there will be no dragging you into anything in the meantime."

Zash sends her a pulse of love as well as the thought that he doesn't really think this is the same thing at all.

But also...

"Okay, you know what, this might go easier if I can get all your trust. Please shoot me, preferably with a machine gun."

"Oh now he's making jokes, all familiarlike."

He starts taking his red coat off so it won't be in the line of fire. He likes the red coat.

"Not a joke. Literally fill me with lead. ...not Yvette, though."