Rise 3 AM

I woke up in the midnight hotel feeling betrayed and angry. I hoped he'd be there, but was disappointed to find it empty. My first consensual sexual encounter and he just used me. It was one of the first times I'd felt happy since the apocalypse and it was just a trick to kill me. Gates is just as bad as all the monsters and rapists I've encountered. I gathered up my things and headed back to The Unchanged.

I never really spoke about The Unchanged base. It's a small two story suburban house. It actually belonged to Katherine and her husband pre-apocalypse. Her husband wasn't Mark then. It was someone else. Unfortunately, he was the example that taught her about her new powers. After that she found Mark and Sera and she and Mark got together and sort of adopted Sera and then I showed up. The second floor has a patio balcony she used to sit out on to work. Now, usually Mark sits up there with a rifle to keep watch.

As I approached the house I saw Mark up there and terrible ideas popped into my head. I approached to within visual range, which was pretty far for him, and beckoned for him to come down. He did so and once we were out of normal range for the house I grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss.

It was wrong, terribly wrong. After the thing with Gates though I was an emotional wreck and I just, I longed for the consensual touch of another person and Mark was the first person I laid eyes on. To his credit, he was loyal and pushed me off pretty much immediately. I struggled to grab him and kiss him more as he held me at bay.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Rise?" he questioned angrily. I let out a needy mewl in response.

"Please... Mark. I need you," I replied, "Katherine will never have to know. Please just give me this one time!" He pushed me back with all his strength pushing me onto my ass and I tried to get back up, but suddenly found his gun in my face.

My lust was instantly replaced by fear and I sat back down on my ass. "Rise, I don't know what's gotten into you, but if you don't calm down I'm going to shoot you. I don't want to shoot you, but if you're really Rise you'll come back anyway. Are you calm?" I nodded cautiously. "Alright then explain yourself right this ins-" He suddenly cut off at the sound of laughter and turned aiming his gun at a strange figure who seemed to materialize out of the ground.

The figure was androgynous and seemed to be made out of intertwining vines in the general shape of a human with a large bulbous pod thing for a head. "What are you?" Mark asked keeping his gun focused on it. It ignored him though and addressed me.

"Prolonged one. You will come to Eden. We must discuss," the voice didn't seem to come from the creature itself, but instead from the air around it.

"What happens if she doesn't want to come," Mark asked angrily and the creature turned to him this time.

"She will not have a choice," it responded and then suddenly lunged at him. He easily shot it in it's bulbous, easy to hit head and it exploded into a cloud of spores, which then all launched into Mark's mouth. He let out a sound like a sigh and then twitched a few times and fell backwards.

I carried him back to the house with some difficulty and then screamed until Katherine and Sera came running. Katherine saw Mark and quickly helped me carry him to a bed. I told her what happened and when she asked why we were away from the house in the first place, I hung my head and told her that as well.

I was lucky she was still wearing her gloves, as she delivered a slap to my face that knocked me to the floor and caused tears to well up in my eyes. She stared down at me with abject hatred and began slipping off her glove. I trembled as she approached, but Alyce stepped in the way.

"We need her," Alyce argued and Katherine scoffed.

"Even if I kill her she'll come back!" she spat in response.

"She'll come back a day from now. Which will likely be too late for Mark!" Alyce countered and Katherine suddenly became very still, "The person who did this said this was done to make sure Rise went somewhere. Presumably that means that if Rise does as asked this person might be willing to cure Mark. It's your only option," Alyce finished and Katherine sighed, pulling her glove back on.

"Alright, Rise. I won't kill you. You're going to save Mark and you better not fail," Katherine explains turning away. Sera spoke up.

"You said it wanted you to come to Eden right? I've been looking and Eden seems to refer to a garden-"

"-No shit," Katherine responded angrily and Sera glared at her.

"Not a biblical garden a real garden. More accurately, when the change hit, the area around a city garden saw rampant growth. It's referred to now as The Twisted Eden. Apparently another Illustrious has made a home there. She's called Mother Nature and it's likely she's the one responsible for this," Sera explained. I stood up.

"Alright tell me how to get there and I'll go," I said and turned to Katherine, "I'll save Mark. I promise and I'm sorry about everything," she just glared at me. Sera got me directions and I headed out. Despite knowing I was likely heading into terrible danger I was glad to be able to get away from Katherine.

For once I managed to reach my destination without running into any problems. The Garden that became The Twisted Eden was a large complex building of steel and glass. It was essentially just a two story greenhouse however underground there were a number of extra floors that held various storage rooms, botanical and biological research labs and other functional rooms that didn't belong above ground. At least this is what Sera's research on the location had revealed. Upon arriving the reality was quite different. The building had been completely overgrown. Thick patches of thorny growth surrounded and covered the first floor making approach treacherous. Above the thorn layer the second floor of the building was enclosed in two giant leaves that obscured it from view. They moved slowly in a strange almost twitchy motion that was eerily reminiscent of breathing. Above the leaves resting atop the structure was a massive flower bud.

I approached, trying to figure out a way through the thorny wall blocking the entrance when suddenly two figures burst out of the ground on either side of me. They were vaguely humanoid in shape and seemingly formed out of creepers and vines. Large red flowers grew where their faces should have been. Before I could react they grabbed hold of my arms, fingers like vines curling and wrapping around my arms to hold me in place. I couldn't struggle free and after an experimental kick to the shin failed to phase them I gave in. They forced me down to my knees and then the thorn wall parted and the door to The Twisted of Eden opened. From within stepped out a figure like the ones holding me except this one was very distinctly female in form. The vines shaped in such a way to give it curves. It's face was also covered by a purple flower instead which moved as the creature spoke. "You came, I knew you would," the creature spoke.

"Yeah, I'm here. Now cure my friend!" I demanded, glaring at the creature. It tilted it's head for a moment than spoke.

"Oh yes, I poisoned your friend to get you here. Very well," it agreed and suddenly another creature ran out of The Garden and dashed past us heading off towards The Unchanged headquarters, "my messenger will bring the antidote to your friend. It does not tire so it will undoubtedly make it before time runs out, now for you," the creature explained and then moved towards me. A hand reached out wrapping around my neck and I was lifted back to my feet. I was standing face to flower with the creature and then the flower shot forward. It's petals wrapped around my face pulling my head forward until my nose was pressed into the flower's center. An intoxicating smell hit my nose and I squirmed trying to get free as I began to feel like I was drowning in the flower. I couldn't breathe anything, but that sweet smelling scent and then I lost consciousness.

When I awoke I was lying on a table. It was cold and felt like marble. I know this cause I was naked. I wasn't strapped down or anything and I could see my clothing and weapons on another table nearby. The room looked like some kind of lab. I tried to get up and then found out why I wasn't strapped down. A feeling of intense nausea overwhelmed me and I fell back down on the table, panting and heaving. There was a clicking sound and I managed to resist the nauseous feeling enough to turn my head to see someone enter. It was a woman with shoulder length black hair. Her face was obscured by a gas mask that contrasted with the rest of her outfit which was an ankle length red cocktail dress. She was wearing stiletto heels that clicked loudly with each step she took. The purple flowered creature accompanied her in and she approached me. The woman spoke, her voice sounding like a high pitched whine through the modulators that apparently existed in her gas mask.

"I'm so glad you came, Prolonged One. I've heard so much about you and I just knew you'd be exactly what I needed," she explained then placed a hand on my stomach and the feeling of nausea worsened, "I'm sorry about the method in which I brought you here. I'm sure you would have gladly come if asked, but I don't like to leave things up to chance. I can't handle it if my plans have any uncertainty. I just break down, no it's much better to do things in a way that provides complete certainty. Even if it does result in discomfort for others," she said and I glared at her.

"Are you Mother Nature?" I asked trying to ignore the nauseous feeling. I wanted nothing more than for her to remove her hand from my skin.

"Me? Oh no. I'm The Parasite. Mother Nature is right here," she explained gesturing to the purple flowered creature beside her. At the gesture the purple flower seemed to slip up wards onto the figures head and the vines pulled away from the face revealing a woman underneath all the vines. Her eyes were green and she had purple lips. Her eyes seemed to widen suddenly and she turned and cried out as her hands reached for The Parasite.

"Traitor, what have you done to me?!" she screamed grabbing The Parasite around the throat. The Parasite didn't seem very bothered, however and then the vines suddenly regrew over Mother Nature's face and the flower moved back down. Her hands dropped from The Parasite's throat and dangled limply at her sides. The Parasite took her hand off of my stomach and the nausea instantly disappeared.

"So, as you can probably tell, I'm an Illustrious with the power to take control of others. I have Mother Nature under my control and as a result I have her control over plants. Normally I have to be touching someone to control them, but I managed to merge Mother Nature's powers with my own to create these darling little flowers that can control people for me," she explained, "I have one growing for you as we speak, but it's not ready yet. So, for now I'm gonna need you to stay right there. I'm not really expecting you to try and move, what with my spores running through your system, but I'll leave Mother Nature here to watch you anyway," she said and then left. I waited for her clicking to fade away and then turned my attention to Mother Nature.

The Parasite was gonna take over my mind. This was not an appealing prospect. I tried to figure out a way out. There was technically nothing keeping me stuck here, but the feeling of nausea anytime I tried to move. I assume it would only get worse the more I tried to move, so even if I could force myself to move eventually I'd give in and I assume I'm probably underground and I doubt I could get out of here before giving in. Plus I'd have to get past Mother Nature and there's no way I could fight in my current state. I took quick breaths in and out as I tried to come up with a plan. The Parasite's only real power was controlling people and apparently controlling the flowers since she was able to regain control of Mother Nature and I doubt Mother Nature would have made the flower take control of her again. However, control over the plants and likely the spores she said were running through my body comes from Mother Nature. So, if I could free Mother Nature perhaps she'd be able to get rid of the spores and then I could get out. There's no way I'd be able to get all the way out with the spores in me, but could I perhaps overcome the nauseous feeling long enough to get that flower off of Mother Nature? It was worth a try.

I tried to sit up. The nausea hit me and I closed my eyes and tried to ignore it. I opened them again and saw Mother Nature approaching me. Her hands grabbed me around the shoulders and started trying to push me back down onto the table. The nausea was becoming unbearable and with desperation I reached out and grabbed onto the flower. Mother Nature froze and I tried to tear the flower free. It resisted and The Nausea quickly worsened. My head felt like it was spinning and I felt bile rising in my throat. I pulled with all my might forcing myself to continue moving despite the massive urge to simply turn over and throw up.

At last it worked. The Flower pulled free and I tossed it across the room, before collapsing onto the table and heaving. The nausea was still getting worse and I turned over falling off of the table and getting on all fours, retching violently. The nausea stopped suddenly and I looked up to see Mother Nature standing over me. The vines were rotting off of her body revealing a voluptuous, nude African woman beneath it. Her hair was long and chestnut brown.

"You freed me?" she asked and I merely nodded, "You want to help me kill The Parasite?" she asked and again I nodded, "Good. Grab your gear and follow me," she said and left the room. I grabbed my clothes and quickly got dressed then grabbed my weapons and followed her out of the room.

Mother Nature was waiting for me in the hall. The hallway was white and the walls and ceiling were crawling with vines. She looked me over approvingly and then turned and continued through the halls. "The bitch will be growing those cursed flowers, so she'll be in the growing room. We won't have to worry about any of this places' normal defences since they're all under my control. Her flower controlled puppets will still be a threat, though not much of one. Unfortunately she has some way to hide from my plants so they can't find her otherwise I'd just have some vines tear her apart, but it won't matter once I can see her with my eyes," Mother Nature explained, her voice full of anger. I didn't speak and just let her lead the way.

It didn't take long to reach the growing room. Mother Nature opened the door and entered and I followed. There were rows of tables, each one had a depression in it filled with dirt and a tap next to it to water the dirt. Each plot of dirt had flowers growing in them. There was one that was almost finished. The flower's petals were white with black spots it seemed and it looked almost fully formed. The Parasite stood tending to the black and white flower. She stepped away from the flowers as we approached and spoke. "Such naughty girls. Disobeying my commands," she chastised us and then the door closed behind us. A flowered person standing on either side of the door.

"I'm going to kill you, you traitor!" Mother Nature screamed.

"How? You may not have noticed, but there are none of your plants in this room. Just my darling flowers. I was very careful to make sure none of your plants could get in here. You are powerless in here," she said calmly.

"I'm not!" I said and aimed one of my handguns at her, but unfortunately one of the Flowered men grabbed my arms and pulled them behind my back. The razors in my outfit cut into his hands, but he didn't seem to mind. Mother Nature seemed uncertain and backed away as The Parasite approached.

The other flowered man moved behind her and grabbed her by the back of the throat slamming her face down on the ground. The Parasite knelt down in front of her.

"I had hoped to use this new flower on Rise, but I guess I'll have to use it on you and just make another one for Rise. It should only be a few hours before this one is done and about a day till the next one is done. So for now I'll just keep my hands on you and I'll just have to keep Rise better contained," she stated and then grabbed hold of Mother Nature's hair, "Take Rise to The Dangerous Specimen Room," that should teach her a lesson about disobeying and I have another special punishment for Mother Nature," she ordered and then I was dragged out of the room.

I was stripped off all my weapons and clothing and brought to a room that was a hallway filled with what appeared to be glass display cases. Each one filled with different types of plants. I was brought to one that had a simple large flower bulb inside. The display case was opened and I was tossed in before the case was quickly closed. I watched the flower warily. It was a simple flower bulb. Four distinct ruby red petals spiraling around each other to form a tight seal. It didn't seem interested in moving, but I remained wary. I couldn't spend all my time watching it though. I needed to try and find a way out.

Against my better judgment I stopped looking at the flower bulb to examine the rest of the case. The ground was simple dirt, but a bit of digging revealed that the dirt was only about a foot deep and then hit a cement floor. The flower must have really tiny roots for it's size. The walls were similarly cement and the glass was in fact plexiglass. I mean I might have been able to break it, but it would have taken a while. That finished I took a quick look back at the plant and saw it was open now. The petals fell like four large balloons around a central node where normally the pollen would be, but in this case seemed at the time to just be a gaping hole. Although upon further inspection it was a hole leading to a pink fleshy interior area and the edges of the hole were lined with small enamel spikes.

If that wasn't clear enough the center of the flower was a, creepy as hell, mouth. I swear it grinned at me before a fleshy tongue launched out of it at me. I tried to swat it away, but it simply wrapped around my wrist and yanked me towards it. I struggled, pulling back with all my strength, but unfortunately for me this creature's tongue was especially strong. I was yanked off my feet and pulled over to the flower. I managed to catch myself on my knees at the edge of the flowers petals at which point they snapped closed around me. I was trapped from the waist up inside of the bulb, the petals squeezing my mid-section uncomfortably, but not painfully. Meanwhile I was stuck staring into the creature's mouth. Warm, wet and intoxicatingly sweet breaths blew into my face as the tongue unwrapped from around my arm and instead licked over my cheek, leaving a viscous yellow fluid, that I suppose was this creature's saliva on my face and my wrist where it had been holding earlier.

I struggled to try and pull free as the tongue continued caressing my face, disgusting me to no end I might add, but I couldn't free myself. I had very little leverage on my knees and so I stood up to try and pull myself out. This turned out to be a bad idea. The plant suddenly pulled backwards lifting my feet off of the ground. My legs kicked wildly as I was held upside down, then the plant opened again to let my lower half fall in before it closed again. I was now completely within the bulb.

I struggled and squirmed, but the petals moved as if elastic and there was no way to force it open. The tongue moved over every inch of my body coating it in slime and causing me shameful arousal as it slid over my breasts and pussy. It was disgusting, but the combination of warm, moist air and the tongue rubbing sensually over my body was starting to turn me on.