Chapter Text
He was petrified. Frozen solid. Rooted in place while his brain tried desperately to reset and bring his unmoving body up to speed with his racing mind.
He felt his hands begin to tremble, and those tremors began to spread throughout his entire being.
Mr. Flower's eyes were locked on the scene before him, pointing to the mess on the ground at his dear friend's feet. His dear friend who had turned to meet Mr. Flower's horrified expression with a tilt of his head.
Bodies.
More than one. The exact number Mr. Flower could not count.
They were in such a state that the shaken creature truly could not make out where one began and the other ended.
They were haphazardly piled on top of each other like viscera coated bean bags, nothing but parts and organs intertwined with one another in the wake of one vicious act.
Mr. Plant had turned to fully face Mr. Flower now, drenched in blood knee up and elbows down.
The front of his sweater was ruined.
But Mr. Flower was hardly processing any of that. Indeed, his mind was still actively attempting to figure out how or why any of this happened.
Was it even happening?
Mr. Flower was beginning to feel a little removed from reality: his racing thoughts had run so far ahead that it felt as though his body were in fact being physically left behind.
Though a few things kept the creature grounded in the moment.
The smell had already began to make his stomach churn, and the walls and the floor where the bodies had been were so coated in blood that Mr. Flower's imagination raced to figure out just what on earth Mr. Plant had been doing to these void residents.
Was he fucking playing with them?
How does one person commit an act like this? And not just once?
Mr. Flower had managed to pull his eyes away from the mess on the ground. Instead, they trained on the towering, silent monster who had created the mess.
Mr. Flower felt dizzy.
With a dripping crowbar in one hand, Mr. Plant's other hand found its way over to the occupied appendage, rubbing at it awkwardly.
He hardly seemed bothered, but it did seem like he was in thought, quietly considering something.
Was he considering his options perhaps? What to do now that he was caught in the act?
Mr. Flower couldn't say for sure, but he could take some fairly good guesses.
And those guesses caused him to take a few cautious steps back, his eyes never leaving the blood speckled countenance of his friend.
But just as Mr. Flower had finally broken out of his state enough to start making executive decisions- just when he was starting to come to his senses, he felt a firm hand on his arm.
Mr. Flower inhaled sharply through his teeth, whirling around and backing up from whoever had suddenly grabbed him.
He tensed at the reveal.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" said the arriving third party.
It was Argos, who wore an apologetic kind of smile, like he was just sneaking past someone in a grocery store aisle rather than having just walked in on a crime scene.
"Let's find a change of scenery, okay?"
Argos didn't waste time in reaching out for a second attempt at grabbing Mr. Flower.
This time though, while locked in another state of confusion- and also dread, the flower creature let himself be hastily dragged away by his strange neighbour.
The two sped through the darkened halls, their quick footsteps echoing across the emptiness.
They hadn't been walking for very long at all, but enough that they had made a comfortable enough distance between them and Mr. Plant. And once Argos was satisfied with that, he let Mr. Flower go, turning to face the shaken flower creature.
Argos took a deep breath, unintentionally prompting Mr. Flower to let go of the one he hadn't even realized he had been holding onto.
"What the hell is going on..?" Mr. Flower said, finding it in him to finally speak up.
Argos was sort of the last person Mr. Flower wanted to see in such an upsetting situation, but god, if he didn’t at least appreciate the presence of another after what he had just witnessed.
Argos tilted his head with that same gentle and apologetic smile spread across his features.
"I'm really sorry you had to see that," said Argos, his shoulders drooping, though his hands were clasped in front of him.
It was clear Argos was attempting to be as inoffensive as possible, but Mr. Flower found Argos' demeanour to be a bit irritating given the circumstances.
But then again, Mr. Flower often found Argos to be irritating. Much as he tried to get along with the eye-clad creature at first but Argos’ presence was often just a sad reminder to Mr. Flower of circumstances beyond his control.
"You know, he's been doing so good this week," said Argos, his hands tucked behind his back now. Undoubtedly, he meant Mr. Plant. But of course, who else?
"Today was just a particularly rough day for him," the eye-clad creature added, rocking back and forth on his heels. "But you know how it goes sometimes," Argos tacked on, like this was the most natural situation in the world. As if murder wasn't a capital fucking crime.
Mr. Flower's expression had fallen from anger to utter disbelief because, no actually, the flower creature did not, in fact, ' know how it goes sometimes '. That should not be an option for how things can go.
Murder should not just be an open path one can take just because!
Mr. Flower could not possibly fathom how Argos could be so nonchalant about this. Mr. Flower had just witnessed his friend of two years kill someone?
And more than just one person , if the distressed creature let his frayed brain wander back to the rancid scene he had stumbled across.
A scene that made Mr. Flower feel absolutely terrified of the man he thought he knew.
What in the world did Argos mean by, 'doing good this week '? Good with what ?
Mr. Flower did not like the implications one bit.
Was Argos suggesting that this was a regular occurrence? A habit Mr. Flower just had no idea about?
The bewildered flower creature was having such a hard time coming to terms with this new found information about Mr. Plant, and here Argos was casually defending a murderer in the same tone one might try to defend a misbehaving pet.
Mr. Flower wasn't even sure how to react anymore.
A heavy, tired sigh left the creature's lungs. His shoulders fell as his petals drooped in tandem.
"Argos..." Mr. Flower said. The name fell from his lips in a half broken and quiet tone. It was like he wanted to say something, though he couldn’t quite formulate the whole thought into words.
"He's just been so agitated lately I'm surprised he held back for so long if I'm being honest," Argos said. He was clearly not hearing Mr. Flower, nor was he noticing the exhausted and defeated state his neighbour was in.
Despite Argos' many eyes, not a single one was focused on Mr. Flower.
Each pair looked off in some random direction while Argos attempted to gather his thoughts.
"Argos," Mr. Flower said once more, a little louder now.
"...But then again, he’s usually pretty careful about that kind of thing.
He's got his own methods of coping. I guess after doing it for so long you kind of develop your own system."
" Argos ."
"Or I guess you kind of have to if-..."
"ARGOS!"
Argos snapped to attention, a small 'huh?' slipping out from between his lips as he looked toward the frowning face of Mr. Flower.
Argos’ hands clasp together and his shoulders tensed slightly, eyes wide as his attention was now finally on Mr. Flower.
The increase in volume and the angry tone had clearly startled the being and made the eye creature nervous.
"Uhm- yes..?" he said with furrowed brows and a shaky half smile.
"I literally just got here. I've been stressed beyond belief for days!” Said Mr. Flower, the stress indeed dripping off of every word.
“I haven't slept, I haven't eaten since yesterday. All I wanted to do was talk it out with a friend, and suddenly I'm greeted with the corpses of like four security guards and the very same friend I thought I knew!”
The flower creature’s voice raised as he spoke, his shoulders rising along with his tone as he gave way to his rant.
“And I'm supposed to just accept that he's cracked open four dudes like a psychopathic birthday boy at a flesh pinata party?!" Mr. Flower's breathing had quickened significantly.
When he had finished, Argos gave his neighbour a second to catch his breath and cool down a little.
The anger was so clear in Mr. Flower's eyes and in the balled fists that he held out at his sides. It made Argos shrink back a little.
The eyeball creature ducked his head slightly, looking towards the floor in thought, unsure of how best to proceed.
Mr. Flower’s rant was an interesting choice of words to be sure, but Argos had to admit that some valid points were brought up.
The eye-clad creature drew invisible circles over the tiles with the toe of his shoe, his arms tucked behind his back. He quickly tried to formulate an acceptable reply in his head, something appropriate to say to Mr. Flower who was clearly finding it hard to cope right now.
"Uhm, actually..." began Argos, not at all hearing the very quiet and breathy "don't" from Mr. Flower.
"I was looking into it and Mr. Plant doesn't really fit the criteria for being a psychopath. But he might have ASPD..? Or something along those lines"
Mr. Flower was silent.
"...Not to say that people with ASPD are typically given to murder but, the homicidal ideation is there, depending on where you are on the spectrum..." Argos' voice trailed off, a hand rising to his chin thoughtfully.
"Although, homicidal ideation is surprisingly common in just about anybody, I’ve read!
ASPD or psychopathy or any sort of mental health condition aren’t necessarily a prerequisite for it." Argos rambled on with a nod and a smile.
"And besides all that, I'm no psychiatrist. Far be it from me to put people in silly little labeled boxes. Everyone experiences things differently. In fact I-... uhm..."
Argos shifted awkwardly, his hands still clasped together, fidgeting a little as he realized nothing he was saying was doing anything to help Mr. Flower.
In fact, if anything, Mr. Flower looked a hell of a lot more frazzled now than before Argos had begun trailing off.
"Argos, I swear to god, if you had something to do with this--"
"No! No no no, I'm trying to help, I promise!" Argos interjected, holding his hands up in his defense while he frantically shook his head.
"Help!? People are dead , Argos!" Mr. Flower cried, his fists clenching so hard Argos could practically hear the straining from where he stood.
The eye-clad creature winced and fidgeted with his clasped hands, nervously looking around as if something in their empty environment would inspire the right thing to say.
Nothing came of course.
Just then, Argos' eyes fell on something in the darkness.
A towering looming figure behind Mr. Flower. One that Mr. Flower had yet to notice, but had begun to realize might be there when he noted the change of expression on Argos' face.
But before Mr. Flower could react all on his own, the figure reached out for the flower creature's arm, tugging him rather crudely so that he and the figure were face-to-grinning face.
The colour had practically drained from Mr. Flower's petals.
Like before, he tensed up, frozen in place like a deer in headlights only able to regard a once welcome presence with immense fear and distrust.
The flower creature swallowed hard when Mr. Plant tilted his head curiously at his friend, and all Mr. Flower could do was squeeze his eyes shut.
The feeling of the iron grip on his arm, the remaining blood splashed across Mr. Plant's face. It left Mr. Flower's heart racing.
God, was this how he was going to die? Reduced from friend to liability?
Just a piece of evidence that needed to be disposed of? How could it be otherwise? After everything he had seen, after the way he had responded?
The flower creature trembled, all kinds of bubbling emotions twisting and writhing in his gut.
Fear, regret, betrayal.
Although that last one had already been festering for some time.
After all, why in the world was Argos still around if he was so very aware of Mr. Plant's habits?
What in the world made him so different? What was it about Argos that made Mr. Plant want to keep him around? To choose him over Mr. Flower?
Just as the flower creature was beginning to break. Just as he was feeling a lump well up in his throat, he felt something soft brush over his head and rest across his shoulders.
With his eyes still squeezed shut, he could only feel the daunting presence of Mr. Plant leaving him, that heavy grasp on his harm lifting as the floral monster walked away.
Cautiously, Mr. Flower opened a single eye.
When the coast was clear, he opened the other, and then looked down to inspect the source of the sensation that had brushed over him.
Across his neck was a necklace of flowers. A little blood splattered, sure, but the soft pastel colours were still ever present and radiated a calming effect.
Mr. Flower was certainly caught off guard by this out of the blue gift--confused, even. Relieved, maybe but definitely confused.
With the necklace in his hands and a thumb running over the velvety texture of the petals, he turned to look at Mr. Plant who had now joined Argos' side.
"Very pretty!" said Argos to Mr. Plant, who was idly digging around in the backpack Argos carried with him, pulling out a granola bar and tearing it open with his teeth.
Mr. Plant was hungry.
"Where did you even find that though?" Asked Argos, which was certainly one of the questions on Mr. Flower's mind. And also, why give it to him?
Mr. Plant of course, only shrugged but Mr. Flower assumed he had taken it off of one of the security guards he had mauled. And truthfully, it made the gift a little less calming but he kept it on nonetheless.
If only to avoid possibly offending Mr. Plant.
Mr. Plant quietly crunched on his snack, hands still mostly blood covered- though it looked as though he at least attempted to clean up. On top of that, it seemed as though he had chosen to hold onto the crowbar, keeping it tucked in his belt at his hip.
It was still covered in the result of his earlier activities.
There was a bit of a pause. A kind of lull while Mr. Flower yet again, attempted to process everything going on around him at the moment. All the while Argos seemed to stare at Mr. Plant with such fondness, even if Mr. Plant wasn't doing anything of real note.
Even if he had just finished doing unspeakable things people.
And now here he was, just finishing his snack and tossing his wrapper aside like nothing had happened.
Argos was clearly just content to be in Mr. Plant's presence.
Mr. Flower couldn't help but let his eyes linger over his friend, gears still turning, brain still processing, still re-evaluating.
All the while he noted the physical closeness between Mr. Plant and Argos.
Mr. Plant hardly ever let Mr. Flower get that close.
The floral monster was always acutely aware of his surroundings when they were out in public together, making absolutely sure they weren't close enough to even accidentally touch. And yet Mr. Plant hovered so closely to Argos, it was almost as if those issues over physical contact never existed at all.
Mr. Plant seemed so comfortable around Argos in a way that Mr. Flower hadn't quite seen when it was just him and Mr. Plant.
The floral creature sighed, familiar, grasping feelings of being pushed aside had begun to overtake everything else he had just been subjected to.
Details like these- details that made him feel worthless, were things he would commonly notice whenever Argos and Mr. Plant were together.
It made him feel like there just wasn't any room left for him.
And maybe that was the case.
It really added to the sting of not knowing his friend. How much more did Argos know about Mr. Plant that Mr. Flower had no clue about?
What else was Mr. Plant hiding that was just casual knowledge to Argos?
"So, now what..." Mr. Flower spoke up, breaking the calm silence between the three of them.
Argos and Mr. Plant looked over at their distressed friend whose eyes were focused on the cold, dusty tile below.
The oblivious duo exchanged glances, and Argos spoke up with a shrug.
"What do you mean..?" he asked, with the tilt of his head.
"Are you going to get rid of me?" Mr. Flower said, not bothering to hide the note of bitterness in his words.
Argos tensed, but didn't rush to say anything in response to that. Mr. Plant also had his full focus on Mr. Flower now.
"Get... rid of you..? No, I--"
"Why not?" Mr. Flower bit back.
The hand that was still on the flower necklace was now joined by the other, and both grasped so intensely to it.
Mr. Flower cared little that there was a thick coating of blood from the accessory on his fingers now, too wrapped up in his own mind to give it much thought.
"I'm a loose end. A liability. Aren't you worried I'd take this to the authorities?"
The words spilled angrily out of Mr. Flower's mouth, though he wasn't even entirely sure what his own plans actually were.
He wasn't even entirely sure what point he was trying to make at the moment.
He was just a ball of stress and emotion, and he could feel himself snapping at the seams.
There was a notable shift in the air after Mr. Flower allowed himself to boil over. Another moment of silence between the three while Argos and Mr. Plant stared unblinkingly at Mr. Flower.
Something shifted in Argos- if only for a brief moment, as if something that was said had nearly set him off.
The eye-clad creature's expression fell into something almost indiscernible to Mr. Flower as he looked up to meet Argos’ gaze, and it sent a shiver down Mr. Flower's spine.
"Would you?" Argos asked, boring into Mr. Flower with that intense expression.
It felt less of a question out of genuine concern and curiosity and more like a challenge.
Mr. Flower had no idea how to respond.
"It's true that your options are looking a little bleak right now," Argos said, his countenance softening again to that familiar smile. But there was a kind of feigned sorrow in it.
"You either turn in a friend or let yourself become an accessory to murder." The creature went on, folding his hands in front of him as he spoke. "It's kind of a tough decision to make, I'll admit." said Argos, tilting his head as he spoke and glancing over at the still Mr. Plant, whose eyes never left Mr. Flower.
"Do we follow the law or protect our loved ones?"
Loved ones... The phrase spun rapidly through Mr. Flower's mind, even as he looked towards Mr. Plant- A tall stoic, statue of a monster.
Things had gone so quickly from Mr. Flower feeling he was able to get an idea of what Mr. Plant was feeling or thinking in a moment, to being at a total loss.
And yet...
"If I were you, I'd be so torn." Argos went on, placing his hands on his hips as he spoke, as if to replicate frustration. But there was an obvious hollowness to it.
Argos was exactly right. Because despite knowing the right thing to do, Mr. Flower wasn't even entirely sure he could go through with it. It wasn't even out of the fear that Mr. Plant might do something to him.
No, because despite having witnessed the darkest part of his friend, he was still just that to Mr. Flower, a very very dear friend.
Mr. Flower's thumb caressed the soft decorations of the necklace he had been abruptly gifted, biting his lip in thought.
Despite all the heartache and horrifying reveals, Mr. Flower's emotions betrayed his better judgment.
The hands that gripped the flower necklace so tightly now fell to the defeated creature's side, another heavy sigh leaving him.
Argos smiled a gentle smile at his conflicted neighbour, and as he did he reached into his backpack to retrieve something.
"It's okay though," Argos said, "luckily for you, you don't have to make any kind of decision!"
As he spoke, he pulled out his camera and as he did, Mr. Plant yanked the crowbar he had tucked through his belt and sent it flying towards Mr. Flower's feet.
The resulting deafening clang from the murder weapon made the flower creature flinch.
Before he could even process what was happening, he was blinded by the flash of Argos' camera.
And Mr. Flower stood in shock yet again.
Blood stained flowers around his neck, blood stained hands at his sides and a blood stained weapon at his feet.
And there was Argos, smiling with the beaming force of a summer afternoon sun while he carried in his hands a most incriminating photo of Mr. Flower.
The flower creature's mouth hung open now, a strained sound exiting his throat, as if he wanted to speak--to protest, but he couldn't find the words. Yet what he did find was a sudden overflowing rage.
His open mouth gave way to clenched teeth and his hands balled into fists.
Before even a single thought entered Mr. Flower's mind, he rushed Argos, attempting to grab the camera from him. But of course, Mr. Plant intervened.
The floral monster closed a firm, painful grip around the outstretched Mr. Flower arm aimed at Argos. All the while the eye-clad creature winced and stumbled back into Mr. Plant.
The vines that wrapped around Mr. Plant's body began to writhe and slither, and a few begun extending from beneath his flesh in a swift attempt to subdue Mr. Flower.
Vines coiled around the flower creature's neck, while others snaked around his free arm, tying it close to the creature’s body and rendering it unusable.
"Let me go!" Mr. Flower cried, grunting and panicking and trying so hard to pull away.
The arm in Mr. Plant’s hand was bent back and held over Mr. Flower’s head now, rendering that one also unusable.
"Please- Let me go!" Mr. Flower pleaded again, eyes tearing up as the thorns on Mr. Plant's vines dug into his flesh.
Mr. Plant did not relent.
Mr. Flower simply did not have the strength to fight back against someone like Mr. Plant, though he made his attempt no less.
The large monster took a few steps forward, resulting in Mr. Flower being clumsily pushed backwards and away from Argos.
Meanwhile Argos shook off the sudden shock of being lunged at. But he didn't seem to regard Mr. Flower with any kind of malice, if anything, he seemed genuinely sorry for the other creature.
"I can only imagine how this all must feel, but I promise it's for the best!" Argos insisted, as if he wasn't outright blackmailing Mr. Flower into silence. As if Mr. Flower's closest friend hadn't immediately become complicit.
The helpless creature stared up at Mr. Plant, wide-eyed and desperate as he fought through the suffocating pain of the vines crawling over him- tightening around him.
Mr. Flower hoped beyond hope that something would spark a grain of mercy in his friend. Something that showed that all the time they had spent together meant something. That- just like the way Mr. Flower clung to Mr. Plant, maybe there was still a modicum of compassion for Mr. Flower inside the floral monster.
But maybe it was all just foolish sentimentality. After all, Mr. Plant had been so quick to start leaving Mr. Flower in the ditch when Argos showed up.
Years of trying to understand Mr. Plant- of trying to get him to open up, Argos had done it all in a matter of months.
The hurt and betrayal Mr. Flower had been feeling had grown from cracks in his heart to an open chasm.
"This is all better than the alternative though, don't you think..?" Argos added on, as if the tight vines with their various pointed bits didn't already do much to remind Mr. Flower that his friend was fully capable of snuffing him out if needed.
Truly, he was nothing to Mr. Plant.
Mr. Flower's eyes fell to the ground as all his energy to make any attempt to free himself left his body.
Mr. Flower practically went limp.
He could hear the approaching footsteps of Argos, who placed a gentle hand on Mr. Plant's arm.
"That's enough. We have to get going." He said softly. And that was all it took for Mr. Flower to be released.
He slumped to the ground, hands out to catch his fall as the pastel flower necklace hung before his vision and the crowbar sat idly next to him.
The sounds of his friend's footsteps accompanied by Argos' slowly faded into the distance, until all that was left was the shuddering sobs of Mr. Flower in the dark.