A few days had gone by, yet...not much has happened since. The atmosphere was heavy, the houses that formerly belonged to those who are...gone, now sit in abandonment. Of course, this hasn't affected Pin at the slightest. She had dumped out the entire story, framing her good friend Leafy for all of the events that had taken place before. And with that, Golfball and Tennis Ball were able to find enough evidence to point down Leafy...

And the case was closed.

Pin was now in her garden, her mind trailing off into the darkest parts of her mind. Her feet dragged along the steaming dirt, that had represented the hell she had been going through. Her intoxicated eyes slowly wandered around, drinking in the brightly colored flowers that greeted her happily as she trudged by.

This...evoked nothing from her.

As she walked into a slightly dimmer patch of the garden, she let her fingers trace over the tattered fabric of her shoulder bag. Her fingers felt the heavy, so-called hands that once belonged to Gelatin, as well as Needle and Teardrop, and she slowly knelt down and began to work.

She had remembered getting Teardrop's hands; after Ruby and Book had left, and after the others saw what had become of her, she quickly swung by and cleanly sliced them off.

As for Needle, she was back in the lab. Keeping an eye on her timing, she watched as Tennis Ball and Golfball had rushed out to investigate what had happened to TD...before, Golfball snapped, of course.
And with that, she was able to chop her hands off, and bring them along to the dance of the dead, located in her very own secret garden.

She dug up small holes into the patches of dirt, and carefully placed each hand in the damp soil, keeping it upright. The lifeless fingers dangled towards the ground, and Pin let her own fingers interlock with a few of the hands.

Flower's hands were the softest. She couldn't understand how she had such luscious hands, but it truly helped with the garden, giving each of the flowers a delicate texture that filled Pin with the feeling of peace.

As she began to finish digging up the final pair of hands, she began to notice that her wrists have begun to grow...darker. The cuts that were originally from 'Leafy', had grown more swollen and clotted. This brought a frown to Pin's face.

So. What's next Pin.
Your cue.

Pin looked up, dusting herself off from the tiniest pieces of evidence that have engraved into her soul. She looked around, before she rubbed her wrist, shrugging.

"Well...I'm not sure. We could work our way towards the Freesmarter's, but...that would only bring the attention back to me."

What about the duo?

"No. I'm not sure if I should even do anything to them. They've helped out tremendously, and...it doesn't seem right to-"

It doesn't seem right to KILL people and cut off their hands, but here you are.

Pin flinched at the cold response.

"Well-"

What about Gelatin? What are you going to do with him, huh?!

You were supposed to kill him off, and sure, you had managed to succeed in getting his hands, but he is still alive and well. Is that fair to Firey?

"But, he-"

IS IT FAIR TO ROCKY?
TO WOODY?
TO FLOWER, TO NEEDLE, TO INNOCENT TEARDROP.

IS.

THAT.

FAIR.

Pin felt a shiver trail down her spine, as she shook her head.

"I-I'm just saying, that maybe we could kill him off after-"

After what?
Killing..Fries, perhaps?

"NO." Pin shouted sternly, refusing to even succumb to the idea.

"He is my friend. I..I don't want to hurt him."

But you're going to have to eventually.

Pin froze.

"Wha...?"

Who was I KIDDING. Rule #11? You would have given up on it. No more sparing your childhood sweethearts, no more sparing you're deepest connections with your so-called "family"...

You're going to kill EVERYONE in the city.

Pin felt her heart drop, and shatter into many tainted shards as she felt her blood go cold. Her heart began to ache, as she began to shake her head in denial.

"I-I can't do that, I CAN'T!" She cried out, slowly plodding away from the dimly-lit hand garden.

Why not?

"I specifically made that rule to protect them from..me! They don't deserve to go through what THEY.." She pointed towards the hands. "...have gone through."

But haven't you thought of the resources the could bring?

Fries's strength could help bring resistance to the plants, helping them withstand the drastic weather changes Yoyle Land could experience.

Coiny's charm and compassion could bring the garden to its highest peak of life. It could be radiant and sparkling, and if one were to step into the patches, one would feel the LOVE in the air.

"SHUT UP." Pin gritted through her teeth.

It's your choice, however.

You can kill Freesmart,

You can kill the duo,

You can kill Gelatin,

Or, you can bend and break Rule #11...

The choice is yours Pin.

"B-But, I can't..." her voice began to fade away. The situation hung heavily off her chest, as she could feel panic setting inside of her.

"Please.."

That won't work this time, Pin.

If you can't choose, I will.

"No..No, no no PLEASE!"

Don't you remember how GREAT it felt to be the center of attention?

DON'T YOU REMEMBER THE ECTASY YOU FELT WHEN EVERYONE WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU.

DON'T YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU CRAVED POWER.

DON'T YOU.

Pin flinched, her eyes now letting droplets of tears trail down her stained cheeks. She began to revisit the countless situations she had gone through throughout the past few months, and she was so distracted by the pains of the deaths that...

You can embrace all of this power. You can enjoy being who you are.

Or I can. It's easy.

Tick-Tock.

-

"Pencil, do you need anything else?"

"No, I'll be okay. Trust me."

Pencil sat cross-legged on her bed, her hands wrapped around herself. Match sat beside her, trying to console her about the news she had received earlier, with Gelatin and Pin. The cold realization had hit her hard; she had made mad-dash to her room to try and escape the guilt that had begun to fog up the room.

"We...fucked up. We really did..." Pencil choked out, burying her face into her hands. Match held her close, rocking her gently as she shook her head.

"We were, like...scared, Pence-Pence, we didn't know what to think..." she whispered.

"But we...hurt Pin...and, I know I'm not fond of her, but..."

"Pence-Pence, the best thing that, like, we can do now, is apologize. We've lost...so many others, and, like, we can't add on to the pain that we're already experiencing. I think the best thing we can do right now, is just apologize, and...let go."

Pencil lifted her face off of her hands, and looked up tearfully towards her. Match gave her a smile, and simply embraced her once more, making Pencil silently cry into her chest.

Match didn't mind; as long as she could let it out...

Fries carried a small plate of fries towards Gelatin, a sympathetic smile on his face. Gelatin sat emotionlessly on the sofa; his eyes foggy and unclear, and his entire body slouched and sulking.

"I brought you some..growtatoes..." Fries acknowledged, putting the plate down beside him. "Well, more like, fries made from growtatoes.."

Gelatin simply looked up at him, and then he looked down upon the warm, salty fries that were lightly sizzling in the dish. He mumbled something incoherent, and Fries leaned in closer to try and hear what he had said.

"I can't eat them." Gelatin repeated, a bit louder than before.

At first, Fries was startled; he had never imagined that Gelatin would deny the growtatoes, after begging and begging for months for the savory vegetable...

Until he realized that he couldn't pick one up. Fries cringed, and lifted the plate.

"Want me to..help.." he suggested awkwardly. Gelatin nodded, ever so slightly licking his lips. He had waited for ages to finally get his hands-

Well...
He had waited for ages to be able to try them, and now it was time.

Fries plucked a fry from the shining dish, and placed it into Gelatin's mouth. He quickly devoured the fry, and his eyes began to sparkle in awe at the fresh taste of it.

"Fries..." Gelatin mumbled, his voice beginning to grow. This made Fries's eyes widen; he hasn't spoken in such a joyful tone since...

"These fries are amazing! They're warm, and not over a year old!" A small smile began to grow on his face. Fries waved his hands towards him, flattered by the desserts kind words.

"It's nothing, really...figured it might've helped you feel a bit better than before.." he patted his head, before giving him a few more fries. Gelatin happily obliged; he ate each one, enjoying the savory taste of the growtatoes. Wasn't there supposed to be side effects..? Whatever.

As Fries continued to give Gelatin his fries, Puffball floated into the living room, sleepily. Fries looked up, and a kind smile came across his face.

"Hey PB." He greeted. Puffball looked down, and smiled as she flew over to him, and cuddled up against him in a friendly manner.

"You doing ok?"

"Just a little bit tired, I guess..." her auto-tunes voice gave Gelatin goosebumps all across his arms. She turned herself towards him, a sudden sadness flashing through her jubilantly colored eyes.

"How are you feeling...?" She asked, quietly. Gelatin shrugged slightly, munching on the fry that Fries had given him.

"I'm still a bit down...but these fries are pretty good.." a worn-smile spread across his face. Puffball sighed, and hovered over to him, giving him a soft snuggle as well.

"PB, do you mind if you could check up on the garden for me today? I have to help this little guy out for the day." He nudged Gelatin, and this made him pout a bit.

"Well, Sure, what do you want me to do?"

"Just water most of the plants, and maybe..pluck off he fresh grotatoes? If you can..." he smiled nervously. Puffball thought for a moment, deciding whether she would listen to him...or not, before nodding, her face vacant.

"I have nothing better to do, so..."

Fries smiled, as he thanked her and continued to feed Gelatin. By this point, he had forgotten about his near-death experience, he had forgotten about Firey, about his pained lungs, about his missing hands....

All he can taste and think about, is how wonderful these fries are.

"This is gonna be fun." Puffball mumbled sarcastically, as she began to float around the garden. She admired the brightly-green plants that swirled and twisted around each other, and sprouted with pride into the air. A few lucky ones had potatoes weighing a few of them down, but the others, had tiny little lumps that would soon blossom into the mouth-watering food that nearly everyone would go crazy over.

She continued to fly around, before she floated down towards a corner, and grabbed a small, empty watering pail. She groaned.

She needed water.

She wasn't gonna go back inside; she didn't want to ask Fries for help, since he already has his hands full with the now-handless Gelatin, so...she simply didn't want to make things harder for him. He was her friend; and she wanted to redeem herself, after what...had happened before.

When she saw Golfball for the first time, it didn't go well. She had begun to scream at her; names, sentences, you name it. GB was baffled at the fact that she was now out and about; and she wasn't about to let her backstab anyone else. For all she knew, she could team up with the murderer, and try to kill as many of the contestants as they could.

This...scared GB.

She continued to yell at her, and if it wasn't for TB, who pulled her away, as well as Fries, who was yelling back at her...she could've started something.

'But whatever...' she thought to herself, as she began to float away towards the large body of water that was not too far from the city;

The Goiky Canal.

It wasn't that long of a flight, and soon, Puffball found herself along the shoreline of the canal.

The water was fresh; the small waves and ripples shining from the sunlight as they crashed into the water. Small fishes scattered and swum along with the current, heading downwards towards the ocean. Puffball smiled, as she carefully tipped the water pail over, listening to the quiet ripples as the water gently danced its way into the pail. It filled up rather quickly, and Puffball set it down along the shore.

She floated upwards. She never noticed the beauty of the canal; only visiting once, but that time was only to collect Yoyle Berries.

Her stomach growled.

Fuck.

She sighed, as she knew that she had to leave. She didn't want to make Fries worry about where she was, but...

She took a deep breath, as an aura of multiple colors began to surround her. She began to glow, as a small smile began to lift on her face. She let herself dance around, letting the wind swing her from side to side gracefully. Sparkles and glitter gently flew off of her, as she began to him happily, embracing the sense of freedom that had suddenly hit her.

She...wasn't stuck in a secluded box anymore.

She was free.

Was she?

She let her eyes open, as she turned around, and faced the canal once again. She noticed how far it stretched out, to the deepest blue of the oceans far far away...

TRAITOR!

She flinched, as she shook her head.

BITCH!

Her heart began to pound in her chest. She couldn't...

DIRTY LIAR!

Stop.

Nonono.

She began to float back, trying to ignore the negativity and letting the positivity fill her up. She flew back, and did a small twirl in the air, taking a deep breath of the misty, sparkling sea mist.

NOW.

Suddenly, a knife plunged through her eye, a loud, sickening crunch echoing through the air of the canal. Her other eye widened, as she could no longer see...but she could feel a thick substance drooling down her face. Blood...as well as a odd, rainbow substance, began to squirt out of her eye, as small, incoherent words began to escape her lips.

"Wha...did I..do..?" She blubbered, a wheeze soon escaping out of her lips. More rainbow-covered blood began to ooze out of her eye, as well as more rainbow-colored blood beginning to pour out of her mouth. She felt her fuzzy body collapse onto the shore, feeling the grains of sand slowly entangle into her. She twitched, as she began to feel her body turn cold, her eye slowly becoming more darker, and darker. She felt the water slowly move in towards her, but felt it recede back into the canal.

As she took her final pained breaths, she watched as a darkened silouhette came along, and stood over her, watching as she squirmed and withered on the ground. A smile grew on the figures face, as she went over and picked up the water pail, swinging it gently in her hands. As Puffball's vision began to darken out, the object spoke.

"Thanks for the water, Puffy....you never belonged here with us anyways."

Puffball hacked up more blood, as well as rainbows...before she felt her body run cold. Her quiet gasps suddenly silenced, and her eye was now dazed...and lifeless.

The only noise that kept the mist dancing, was the song of the waves, crashing onto the shore.

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Hey, don't forget to check out supernova too...I'm digging both of the story lines for this and that, tbh

Enjoy

~ice