AN: On to the next chapter. Three guesses who the plant is...
By the way, although the story may say "said", the plant isn't exactly "talking". Just to clear up confusion.
And thirdly (or secondly, however you count it), there is some slightly momentary nudity later in the chapter, so, if you're offended, don't read.
That said, let's start.
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Basil was agape. "You?!"
"No" the plant said sarcastically (though it technically didn't actually "speak"), "It was the roses. Of course, me!"
"But... who are you?"
"I thought it was obvious", the plant said dryly.
"What?", Basil asked, confused for once in his life.
"Check the tag."
"Ah", Basil breathed, remembering the tag. "Experiment-?"
"Experiment R285426?", the plant finished. "Yeah, that's what they called me at the labs. But they mostly just call me 'Ratigan'."
"Ratigan?", Basil inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't ask."
"Don't worry, I won't", Basil said, smirking.
Suddenly, a bell rang as someone entered the shop downstairs. The plant turned its head slightly when he heard that. "What's that?", he asked urgently.
"Oh, come on!", Basil exclaimed indignantly. "You've been here long enough to tell that was someone... entering..."
"Through the back door?!" the plant finished, mildly scared.
"Hello?" a curt voice called. "Anybody here?"
There was a sharp gasp from the plant. "Quick! Hide me!", he whispered.
"Why?", Basil asked incredulously.
"Less argue, more hide!"
"All right, all right!", Basil hissed as he threw a sheet over the plant.
Mere seconds after the plant was hidden, a man in an army uniform stepped in through the employee entrance, carrying a nondescript briefcase. "Mr. Basil?"
"Er... yes?"
"Have you seen this?", the officer asked, holding up a picture of R285426 in its smaller form.
"Um... Just out of curiousity, what is that?"
"An experiment stolen from a top secret lab. The details are unfortunately hush-hush, so I can't tell you exactly what it is."
Under the sheet, Experiment R285426 wasn't going to sit around and do nothing. All right, he'd be sitting around, but he wouldn't be doing nothing.
Slowly, a vine crept from around the sheet, and crept up to the officer's face. The officer noticed it, and that was when he struck... so to speak. There was a loud CRACK, and a spray of reddish powder flew into the officer's face.
Basil raised an eyebrow as the officer suddenly fell over onto the floor. "This...", he said finally, "...is interesting."
"Just get him out of here, but take his briefcase."
"And what happens when he wakes up?", Basil asked sarcastically.
"Don't worry. The last thing he'll remember is walking down the street, and his brain will create the memory of being attacked, and, therfore, he'll reason that the briefcase was stolen."
"Very smart."
If the plant was a person, it'd be grinning smugly. "I don't know how I do these things, I just know."
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Basil frowned as he went through the papers in the briefcase. This was strange, indeed. Finally he came to a passage that caught his interests.
"...is unique because of its insect-like metamorphasis. When the plant reaches maturity, the plant's bulb has transformed into a makeshift womb, and eventually produces an adult rodent, furless and temporarily blind, as if he/she were still newborn. Since we have rat genes handy, we will use those as the template for Experiment R285426..."
Basil put the paper down suddenly. This was growing even more mysterious by the minute...
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And so Basil and Ratigan had to explain the past events to Adrienne and Dawson (after the two got used to hearing a plant "speak").
Time slowly passed, but Basil already realized that Ratigan was already reaching maturity; a fact that was confirmed by the pulse the mouse felt sometimes when he touched the plant's bulb. The plant was slowly withering, but Basil knew that something was growing inside the plant itself. All they would be able to do was wait...
Until one stormy night...
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Dawson and Adrienne paced back and forth outside the spare bedroom above the shop. They had barely managed to move the plant upstairs, though it was somewhat lighter than when they had to move it around in the store. The plant was now mostly shriveled and dead, excepting the bulb, where Basil knew life was waiting to be born (or reborn, all things considered).
Inside the room, Basil observed the plant with fierce concentration. Nothing would happen without him knowing-
Suddenly, the plant started to shake violently. The neck of the plant started thrashing from side to side like an uncontrollable garden hose. The mouse's muscles tensed, as he prepared to spring. Suddenly the plant's bulb flopped forward, and-
SPLAT!!!!
Now writhing on the floor was a very furless and very freezing Ratigan. Eyes squeezed shut, the rodent was shivering from lack of fur, and also from the slime that covered his form. After getting over the momentary shock of what happened, Basil dashed over and covered Ratigan with the blanket. As soon as the shuddering died down, Basil escorted Ratigan to the bed.
As soon as Ratigan had buried himself in the blanket, Basil softly asked "Are you okay?"
"Ugh... cramped..." was the reply.
Basil sighed. Ratigan was alive, and one of the worst parts was over.
Or so he thought...
Tsuzuku...
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Well, that's another chapter down. You may notice I failed to mention the momentary nudity in this chapter, but, well... Bzzzz!!
That said, I apoligize if anyone's offended.