Jeff decided it would be pretty harmless and easy to control if he attempted to evolve the little potted Venus fly trap on his window sill. It had been a science experiment earlier in the year, and while he had taken care of it, he didn't really care about it. As cold as that sounded, he didn't want to turn himself or anybody else into a puddle or something. What would a plant matter?
Setting the emitter to evolve forward by only a small percentage, Jeff picked up the fly trap in its ceramic potter and set it down on the floor of his room. He raised the emitter, his finger hovering on the trigger nervously, and fired. A small red laser dot hit the plant and it all at once seemed to shudder.
Jeff's eyes widened as he realized the plant had grown much bigger in just seconds. He let go of the trigger of the emitter and leaned in for a closer look. The bigger plant had changed quite a bit, on further inspection. The two leaves on the side of its stalk had grown longer, and experimentally he touched them with a finger. The leaves responded by curling gently and wrapping around his finger at each instance. Amazed, he stroked the 'head' of the plant, noting it's 'teeth' were sharper and longer, and was further shocked as the 'head' closed its mouth and lowered submissively, as if enjoying the stroking.
"Whoa..." Jeff blinked. "It... it worked."
Intriqued with how far he could go, or rather what would happen if he gave the plant another zap, he picked up the emitter and fired it at the plant again. The fly trap shuddered again, suddenly growing in size, and Jeff began sweating in excited nervous delight as it began to move all on its own! The two 'leaves' on either side of it began to grow out on long stems, in a rough approximation of what looked like arms, while he could see the dirt under the plant shifting as its roots moved on their own. The main stalk of the plant curved into an S as it seemed to flail around, and the 'head' of the plant had turned into more of a strange beak. It was now quite easily a foot tall!
Jeff set down the emitter again, watching carefully as the plant seemed to sense the vibration below it, turning its new head to regard the movement. Getting in for a closer look again, Jeff saw the plant actually did have a developed head! Resembling the bud of a closed flower, it was complete with a mouth, teeth, and tongue! He stroked the plant's smooth head again and marveled as he saw the mouth turn into a toothy smile. In response, the 'arms' raised and grabbed his wrist with the gentle green of its fuzzy 'hands.'
"Do you hear me?" Jeff whispered gently.
To his further amazement, the plant's head looked up at him and nodded very gently, bending with the movement and crackling slightly.
"D-Do know you've changed?" Jeff blinked, having not expected a response. "Do you want more?"
The plant nodded enthusiastically and he saw a tiny smile on its mouth again. Now unable to resist, he picked up the emitter and prepared to evolve the plant further. He aimed, squeezed the trigger once more, and watched in amazement as the fly trap grew and grew, at last becoming so big its much longer roots began to spill out of the now tiny potter, flailing at their first experience in open air. It seemed to be developing more 'arms' as the evolution progressed, a second set growing beside the first set, and those meanwhile had turned into long leafy appendages capable of grasping. This was nothing compared to the plant's developing face. Now large and developed, the plant had a clear and shaped head with a soft beak at the end.
"This is so cool. You look like Audrey." Jeff giggled, recalling an old silly movie his dad watched once in a while.
With this latest progression, Jeff sat back and observed. The plant was certainly self-aware, certainly intelligent, and now able to move itself as it pleased. It seemed to look around, though it had no eyes, and was clearly pleased as it attempted to move its various new appendages. Not so much roots as tentacles now, it was able to move these ten new appendages like snakes attached to the base of its stalk, twisting and curling them experimentally and finding it could 'stand' by pushing itself off the floor. Jeff smiled warmly as the plant figured this out and literally stepped out of its own now far too small potter. The four leafy arms, likewise, were just as flexible, and Jeff noticed tiny sharp developments on the end of the leaves that looked like the start of fingers of some sort.
The fly trap seemed to looked directly at Jeff, despite the lack of eyes, and he sat in front of its nearly two foot height, stroking down its head and 'back' stem to its clear enjoyment. The evolved fly trap even nuzzled his palm affectionately.
"Well... you understand me." He grinned. "You're really nice, and you're enjoying this. Should we keep going?"
The plant nodded slowly, smiling at the edges of its beak, and to Jeff's delight it put all four of its flexible hands into his gently. The gesture was unmistakable.
"Aww..." Jeff kissed the top of the plant's head and watched it shudder from head to roots with a big grin. He picked up the emitter, raised it, and put the little red dot on the plant again. This time, it grew up fast. Thickening with strength along the core of its big stem, the roots swelling fat and stretching out to a couple feet in length, the former fly trap swelled magnificently, its plant body becoming strong and sturdy. As Jeff had predicted, the four leafy appendages on its now thick arms began to grow little triangle tips on them, those lengthening, and it gained rough approximation of fingers on each leaf. As it reached an easy four feet in height, Jeff watched with new amazement as the plant audibly moaned in pleasure in front of him. Startled, he stopped the emitter and stared.
"You... you can talk?" He blinked, watching as the plant shook lightly, as if trembling.
"Me... talk." The Venus fly trap nodded gently, its voice a gurgly whisper. "Understand..."
Jeff could see the tongue in its maw struggling to help make the words, but regardless, it could talk!
"How do you feel?" Jeff leaned in close, now picking up his new friend and holding it close to him. The longer arms wrapped around his chest and waist respectively, and the leafy hands embraced him. Its roots settled on his lap, seemingly curling around his thighs.
"Feel?" The plant considered. "Feel... big. Strong."
Indeed, Jeff marveled at how strong the stalk of its body now was. Far from a fragile hollow stem, it had a trunk of a body, same as its roots and limbs, covered in a thick but soft skin beneath which he could feel pulsation from the chlorophyll running through its veins.
"Do... do you have a heart now?" Jeff asked, marvelling as he traced the pulsing to the base of the plant, a round bulb to which its roots were attached.
The fly trap shook its head. "Like heart." It said softly. "Not heart."
"Oh." Jeff nodded. Now that it was bigger, he could see its 'face' a lot more clearly. Resembling the look of the plant from Little Shop of Horrors, it had a long face complete with mouth and lips. The same soft green as the rest of it, it lacked eyes, and had the same skin as its body. It was an expressive face, though a little rubbery, and within he could see sharp white teeth and a long green tongue of odd triangular shape. Beyond that, it had a throat leading to he knew not what.
"You... keep me?" The plant said, almost sheepishly, cowering beneath the bigger human's gaze.
"You mean, keep you like this?" Jeff stared at the emitter on the floor, realizing he had created a life and was now responsible for it. The idea of changing 'it' back to a normal plant almost seemed like murder to him. Especially when it answered him:
"Yes." The fly trap responded, nodding gently. "Me like have mind. And be strong. Keep this way?"
Jeff considered this and melted as the plant clutched him in a warm hug. It was so loving. So appreciative. "Of course. I won't change you back."
It smiled up at him, showing off its spiky teeth. "Me make you happy. Be friend. Call you master."
"You don't have to call me 'master' little buddy." Jeff chuckled. "You're not my slave."
"No!" The plant said sharply. "You me master. You be."
"Okay..." Jeff said, rolling his eyes slightly. "I'll be master, then, if you want."
"So... what we do now?" The fly trap asked quizzically, cocking its head in curiosity. "We change more? Or stay same for good?"
"Hmmm..." Jeff considered. "I'm kind of interested to see what will happen to you if we keep going."
"Me too!" The plant practically vibrated with excitement. "Me get big and stronger? Maybe get more smart? Me plenty like! Feel good!"
"It feels good?" Jeff said in curiosity.
"Feel very good. Feel warm for me. Me tingle nice." The fly trap said with a grin.
"Well, before we do that, why don't we name you?" Jeff stroked its head and watched it sigh happily.
"Me need have name? Like master be master?" The arms holding Jeff stroked his back nicely.
"Yep." Jeff nodded. "Do you want to pick?"
"You pick." The fly trap pointed at him with two of its roots. "You make. You pick."
"Okay." Jeff smiled. "Well, are you a boy or a girl? Or... uh..."
"Me girl." The plant said decidedly quickly, with slight annoyance. "You not tell?"
"Uh... how?" Jeff blinked. "How would I?"
"Me show you later if want." The fly trap said cryptically.
"Oookayyy." Jeff blushed, oddly creeped out by the idea. "Well, okay. You started out as a Venus fly trap. Can I call you Venus?"
"Me like name." The plant nodded slowly, smiling. "Master put lips on me again?"
Jeff blinked again, and suddenly realized. "Oh! A kiss!" Jeff grinned. "Sure, little girl. Here." And he again placed his lips on the top of her head and kissed it.
She smiled warmly and hugged him close. "Okay. Me bored of talk. Master shoot again?"
"Of course." He chuckled. "You're a bossy thing, aren't you?" He picked up the emitter and aimed again.