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When he had woken up, the first thing Mr. Plant noticed was the buzzing in his head and his blurry surroundings.
His body was sore and heavy and his mouth was dry, to say he felt like shit would have been an understatement.
To top it all off, Mr. Plant had no clue where he was.
He tried to recall what had happened, but his clarity- much like his vision had yet to fully return to him, but there was definitely a lingering sense of urgency.
While trying to discern his environment, all Mr. Plant could make out was that things were spinning.
And also dark.
But as he focused, he was able to make out the sound of occasional static followed by distorted, monotone voices spilling through.
A radio?
He couldn't discern what anyone was saying over it but he could occasionally hear partial numbers, codes- maybe locations.
The only light sources were a few glowing icons in front of him and the unmistakable shine of headlights on a darkened highway.
Two shadowy figures sat in front of Mr. Plant, separated by a metal mesh partition situated between the back seat and the two front seats.
The figures mumbled to each other, things Mr. Plant again, couldn't hear very clearly.
But what Mr. Plant could make out from all of this was that he was in a vehicle.
A police cruiser.
And with that, it had all started coming back to him.
Mr. Plant and Argos has been embroiled in an argument when the police showed up, an encounter that had turned into quite the scuffle.
One dead officer, one severely beaten and unconscious one, and then suddenly it had been lights out for Mr. Plant.
Luckily, Argos had gotten away.
A much preferred outcome for Mr. Plant but one that left him to deal with his situation alone.
Also preferred, if Mr. Plant were honest.
The idea of Argos in cuffs was not a pleasant one to him- not in this way.
Mr. Plant glanced down at his own handcuffs, the silver restraints glaring back up at him as they clasped together his bloodied hands.
A low, frustrated hiss escaped the monster's chest.
Never in all his years had anyone succeeded in getting this far with him.
Of course, nobody had ever attempted to drug him and drag him away.
There was Argos of course, but that was a little different.
Besides all that, Mr. Plant was usually very meticulous with his cover ups so it wasn't like this kind of thing happened often.
Though the monster did admittedly have a few slip ups as of late.
He supposed he was getting a little sloppy with things.
This part of the void had a way of making him feel a little too comfortable with his kills, the way the authorities were ordinarily way too lax.
Or maybe incompetent would be a better descriptor.
So Mr. Plant was truly surprised anybody had bothered to come after him after so many incidents.
Not that it was lost on Mr. Plant that the many incidents were likely the cause of this turn of events.
Still, Mr. Plant had no intentions of answering for anything he'd done.
He didn't think it particularly necessary but that was a whole other stream of thoughts for another time.
Now feeling a bit more lucid, Mr. Plant began considering his options.
The doors were obviously locked.
Mr. Plant was cuffed.
The holes in the partition were too small for him to fit his vines through.
Although…
The monster pressed an experimental foot against the base of the barrier, watching to see how easily it gave way to pressure.
It seemed like he could probably kick it in along with the seats, but that would only succeed in causing an accident.
Though that was still a better plan than none at all, and Mr. Plant's odds of survival were far better than any creature's.
A few cuts and a couple broken bones would be nothing compared to being sentenced to death row, which was Mr. Plant's likely outcome if he sat and did nothing.
A flash of Argos’ face briefly appeared in Mr. Plant's mind at that thought.
An Argos that donned a rather angry expression.
Suddenly the monster could hear his lover's voice clear as day, so vividly recalling their earlier quarrel.
“I mean it, Mr. Plant. You need to be more careful! What if something happens to you?” Argos said, hands on his hips as he stared up intensely at his boyfriend.
Mr. Plant shrugged, not feeling the same concerns over the matter that Argos was.
Argos was well aware of that fact, and was partly the thing inspiring his current frustrations.
After there had been a slight altercation between Mr. Plant and a couple sleazy security guards at a club Argos had started working at, Argos had been on high alert.
The guards had gotten a little too friendly with Argos for Mr. Plant's liking.
Ordinarily, the monster didn't worry too much about Argos and his social life, but when other people decided to get handsy, Mr. Plant started to get antsy.
So by slight altercation, that meant that both guards were found dead in the dumpster the following morning.
Totally fine with Argos, but things were getting a little too dicey for the creature's comfort as of late.
“If the police get involved, I don't know if I'll be able to help you.” Argos continued, his expression falling from anger to worry as he looked down and off to the side with clasped hands.
"At least let me help you cover things up!" Argos insisted, instantly earning a head shake from Mr. Plant.
That was out of the question. He didn't want Argos involved, especially considering that Mr. Plant knew the efforts Argos went to try and better himself.
Or however the creature liked to put it.
Whatever outcome Argos was trying to aim for with his therapy, getting involved with Mr. Plant's dealings seemed counterproductive.
Therefore, the idea of potentially dragging Argos down did not sit well with Mr. Plant.
He supposed from that perspective he understood Argos' concerns still, Mr. Plant was more than capable of handling himself should a situation arise.
Argos was still very less than thrilled however.
"Why not?" He asked, his face twisted into a frown. "You know I can help, you know I-"
"I don't need your help and I don't need you in the way." Mr. Plant interrupted, his low gravelly voice cutting into Argos who looked back at the monster with an expression of shock.
Poor word choice, Mr. Plant had immediately realized.
What he had probably meant to say was that he didn't want Argos in harms way, but it was too late.
There was a knock on the door, and things had gotten very out of hand very quick.
Mr. Plant shifted uncomfortably in the backseat of the police cruiser, the two officers up front either blissfully unaware he was awake or they just didn't care.
Mr. Plant had hated the idea that Argos had been right about things.
He hated even more that the last thing he said to Argos before they were separated had born such a hurt expression from his lover.
There wasn't much Mr. Plant could do now though, other than try to get back to Argos and hopefully make it up to him.
Assuming Argos' situation was better than Mr. Plant's. The monster had no way of knowing, a realization that made him incredibly anxious.
Which meant it was about time he started making some changes to his predicament.
Just as Mr. Plant was about to adjust himself to get ready to kick down the partition, the car came to a sudden stop.
He could hear the policemen clearer now without the loud rumbling of the moving vehicle drowning them out.
“What the hell is that?” The driver spoke up, a rather broad shouldered creature with a star for a head.
His partner– a hefty pig headed man, seemed to try to lean in to get a better view.
There, in the middle of the road was a rather large, fluorescent growth of some sort.
It looked spongy and porous, and seemed to pulse and ooze as it took up the majority of the road's open space.
A familiar sight to Mr. Plant but clearly not to the officers.
Mr. Plant sat quiet.
“Uh– I have no idea. Looks like a fungus or something. Never seen anything like that though…” the pig replied, scratching his head underneath his police hat.
“Whatever it is, looks like we're gonna have to go out there and clear it out.” The star cop said. His partner seemed to shudder in response.
“Eugh– I'd rather take my chances transporting the psycho by myself. We don't know what that stuff does, the air around it could be toxic for all we know!” The pig said tensely.
The star sighed, “well we cant just sit here!” He replied.
“Go back around, there's gotta be another route!” The pig insisted.
And while the two were bickering, Mr. Plant rolled his eyes.
Void authorities at work.
If Mr. Plant's hunches were correct however, he knew exactly what was going on here.
And if that were the case, he couldn't just let the officers drive right out of a perfectly crafted scenario like this one.
With an inhale overlapped with a deep hissing, Mr. Plant again maneuvered himself so that he could aim both feet to the back of the thin metal grate.
He put all his force into the impact, pushing off from the seat, the resulting slam causing the officers to lurch forward in unison, both startled to the point of crying out.
Both whipped there's heads around to face Mr. Plant, faces contorting from momentary slack jawed shock to instant panic and gritted teeth.
“Ah shit- the fucker's awake.” The star said as he fumbled around at his waist for his gun, as if Mr. Plant was in any position to do much.
The officer's seemed plenty afraid of him regardless.
Perhaps his earlier confrontation had left quite an impression, or maybe it was Mr. Plant's reputation overall that had the two in such an instantaneous stir over the cuffed monster.
“Stay where you are you son of a bitch!” The pig too was in high alert, twisting around in his seat to face Mr. Plant.
A funny thing to demand of the plant monster, all things considered.
Mr. Plant leaned back for a second attempt at the partition, slamming all of his weight into it and loosening it up considerably.
The car shook and the seats launched the officers into the dashboard of the cruiser, stirring the star man and the pig into quiet a frenzy.
They seemed to babble over each other and Mr. Plant was unable to catch a coherent sentence from either of them.
Jesus.
Suddenly there was a loud series of thumping– accompanied by a brief shadow as it passed over the idling police cruiser from behind, shaking the vehicle as it did.
Something had crawled onto the roof, something fairly large.
The car went silent.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
Mr. Plant's heart beat loudly in his ears, the vines on his body starting to writhe excitedly under his skin.
He never doubted Argos and his capabilities- not once.
Mr. Plant knew first hand what Argos could do, but he was also aware that Argos had made an executive decision to conduct himself in a specific manner.
One with a little less death and secrets than was already overtly present and he and Mr. Plant's lives.
“What the fuck is happening now ?!” hissed the star officer, still cautious of Mr. Plant but now acutely aware of a second problem.
The officer's waited and listened, but there was no further noise and nothing to indicate that anything was even up there.
But the sound and the shaking had been far too prevalent to have been anyone's imagination.
“You heard that too, right?”
The star muttered.
“I'll take a look.” The pig sighed, unbuckling himself and opening up the passenger side door to climb out.
“You stay put.” The star ordered, now having successfully retrieved his gun.
He trained it on Mr. Plant and kept his eyes firmly on the monster.
A dumb decision in Mr. Plant's opinion but he wasn't about to intrude.
The pig barely had time to step out when the thunderous roaring of a chainsaw motor– and the shrill squeals and cries of a distressed pig, ripped through the tense silence.
“Jesus– fuck .” The words just fell from the star's mouth, the same way a chunk of the other officer's head fell from his shoulders, followed by the rest of his body.
Blood splatter painted the passenger side of the vehicle.
Seeing this, the star quickly changed his target from Mr. Plant to the roof, fully intending to blast through the top of the cruiser and hopefully hit whatever was above them.
Before the man could fire off any shots though, Mr. Plant took this opportunity to take one last strike to the partition.
The force the monster put into it smashed through the barrier easily this time, causing it– and the driver's seat to pin the officer against the steering wheel as Mr. Plant kept all his weight on the gasping man.
The car honked from the pressure, and the star cop grunted from the force of the impact, struggling as Mr. Plant refused to let up.
There was more than enough of a gap for Mr. Plant to get his vines through now.
Slithering out of his skin, Mr. Plant directed a spiked, leafy tendril towards the officer's gun hand, gripping his wrist tightly until he dropped the firearm– or until Mr. Plant broke his wrist.
Whichever came first.
Still struggling and grunting, the cop seemed determined with his hold.
But it all meant nothing when the windshield was smashed open and the cop was abruptly dragged out into the open through it, causing him to yelp, panic, and drop the gun on the hood of the car.
Mr. Plant watched with interest as the body of the officer was thrown to the ground- his eyes glued to the attacker while his pulse quickened.
Mr. Plant had half a mind to try and crawl through the shattered windshield himself, but unfortunately he could not squeeze through the gap of the damaged partition.
All Mr. Plant could do was sit back and watch now as the figure from the roof came into full view.
He stepped down onto the road with the officer, idling chainsaw in hand as the breeze blew through those black wavy locks.
The hem of his blue sweater and it's sleeves were soaked with blood.
“Let me go!” The man hollered.
Mr. Plant could see the struggling of his shadow in the headlights against the giant fungus.
And through those shadows being cast, Mr. Plant could see that Argos had the officer pinned down with one foot, the blade of his chainsaw at the back of the man's neck.
Do it.
A shaky exhale escaped Mr. Plant's lips, pupils dilating while he remained fully focused on Argos, waiting for his lover to make the next move.
Argos seemed to linger, and if he was saying anything to the pinned officer, Mr. Plant couldn't hear it.
But he could imagine it- all the things Argos liked to say and do to someone he had begging underneath him. Things that drove Mr. Plant wild when he got to watch Argos get to work.
It was truly a shame his lover felt the need to hold back like that, especially since Mr. Plant felt Argos shone his best when he let loose in such a way.
Finally, with a single motion from Argos and a shiver from Mr. Plant, the chainsaw revved to life and came bearing down on the officer.
A strangled cry ripped out of the officer's throat as Argos made his cut, from the base of the man's spine to the tip of his skull until there was silence.
Just the whisper of the breeze passing thru the vehicle, as well as the running engines.
Argos seemed to shudder where he stood, stepping back from his work and letting his head hang back for a second.
Mr. Plant had never wanted out of his cuffs more than he did in that moment.
Argos tossed his chainsaw to the side and disappeared out of view below the front of the vehicle for a moment, and then reappeared after a brief minute.
When he was upright again, he made a beeline for Mr. Plant with a ring of keys in hand, wasting no time in releasing Mr. Plant from the back of the cruiser.
As soon as he was out, Argos wrapped his arms around the tall monster, squeezing him tight.
The sudden touch had made the monster instinctively tense for a moment, but he was able to relax after a moment.
“I'm so glad I made it in time!” Argos said, relief clear in his voice, the cold dampness of his sweater sending a shiver through Mr. Plant.
Argos stepped back, hands clasping together as he looked up at his boyfriend, brows furrowed.
"I told you I could be helpful." He stated brusquely, a fact that Mr. Plant had never denied, though he understood Argos' tone.
Still, the plant monster remained silent and Argos sighed, pulling up the key ring and fishing through the various keys to find the one to unlock Mr. Plant's restraints.
“This is exactly what I meant when I said you have to be careful!” Argos said bitterly, trying different keys for the cuffs as he spoke.
“You know I don't like being so restrictive…” Argos went on. "We all have our hobbies after all." He said through a sigh.
“I just hate the idea of losing you…” The creature continued, coming to the last key on the ring.
“I panicked when I found out they had caught you you know” Argos said, his voice quieting now. "After I gave those cops the run around when they came after me, I managed to lead them into a patch of large carnivorous plants. Took care of them easily..." Argos explained. "I thought I could get back home to you in time, but you were already gone." He said, sliding the final key into the hole of the cuffs, "I heard what had happened over the dead officer's radio." Argos kept going, the key clicking in place as he turned it, the handcuffs promptly falling from Mr. Plant's wrist.
"You don't know how scared I was trying to catch up-" Argos' speech seemed to speed up again, as if recalling all the details was sending him back into another panic.
"I took the car, and the Sanguine Mushroom spores and I drove as fast as I could and I-"
With Mr. Plant's newly freed hands, he grabbed Argos by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close, their lips colliding together and effectively putting a stop to Argos' panicked babbling.
Rough and intense, the way Argos enjoyed it.
The monster's rough hands dropped to grasp at Argos' waist.
The eye-clad creature hesitated for only a moment, briefly caught off guard but once his brain caught up with the situation, he easily reciprocated.
Wrapping his arms around Mr. Plant's neck, Argos' lips were immediately assaulted with demanding little bites and the warm tongue of the large monster.
Argos was quick to answer back with his own, sliding his tongue across the other's while he shivered against the warmth of his lover.
The touch and sheer intimacy of it all was something Mr. Plant admittedly had to grow accustomed to, as physical contact in general was something he had been averse to for so long.
But over time, as he and Argos grew closer- learned about each other and opened up, he found the appeal in sharing these moments.
Even when he ached under Argos' gentle caresses and soft kisses, when his body cried out for a more violent kind of passion born out of a ravenous desire and devotion.
Even when his hands slid from Argo's waist, down to his hips and to his back, itching to yank him off his feet and press him firmly against the hood of the car, Mr. Plant restrained himself.
He knew when to hold back and when he'd get his chance.
For now, he relished in the quiet moments, his hands gently moving back and fourth against the crook of his lover's back.
Argos gasped, parting with Mr. Plant as he pulled away, still clinging to his lover as their eyes met and the eye-clad creature seemed to frown while taking in his lover's features.
“You're not allowed to get caught, okay?” Argos said quietly, resting a hand on the side of Mr. Plant's face.
He caressed his lover's cheek with a soft thumb.
“That's a rule. Nobody's allowed to take you away.” The eye-clad creature said, soft but firm, planting little kisses across his boyfriend's face.
“You're mine.”
Mr. Plant shivered when those breathy words left Argos’ lips, acutely aware of the other man's body pressed against his.
He wanted to bring his arms around the creature and hold him so tightly there was nothing left for Argos to do but to melt into him.
His hold around his little creature tightened as he let out a small sigh, letting Argos continue to shower him in quick pecks, finally stopping to nuzzle against the monster's chest.
Things had calmed down considerably now, the monster glancing at the aftermath of Argos' endeavours splattered across the road.
His poor little creature must have been tired by now, running from the cops and worrying over Mr. Plant.
It was time to go home.
No doubt Argos would want to discuss some things with the monster, but all that could wait after sleep.