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Pin was in shock after what happened. Seeing Scarlet, Evil Leafy and Gardener once again after so long made her stomach twist. Her tortured 'corpse' brought her agonizing pain every time she inhaled.
But the pain wasn't just physical, as the fragmented skull of her lover laid in the hole carved in her stomach, replacing the inwards that were gushing out of her and coloring the brownish dirt and the grass that made as ground, giving it a dark red tone. Her lover's lifeless eyes looked up at hers, almost as if he knew where Scarlet would've placed him after his death and decided to look at the one he loved the most for the rest of eternity, or until his body decomposed. Nature always does its cycle, as they say.
Of course, seeing Coiny's head wasn't the only thing that made her want to bawl her eyes out, but it was also the fact that her reign of terror was happening again. That the trio decided to pick another victim to make this insanity and to torture other innocent people just for pure sadistic pleasure. And this time they were keeping the torment going on by using the yoylelight.
Pin wished she could've done something to end the suffering of the other poor souls trapped in this hellish place before her. Hell, she would've preferred staying there and get tortured by Scarlet just to save the people who didn't deserve such fate. From Snowball to blocky, to Balloony, to Saw, to Gaty... and to Book. The only one who deserved to perish here... was herself.
In the deepest parts of Pin's soul, she was still hoping this was just one of her horrid nightmares. She prayed that everyone who was planted here was fine, and that this horrible fate didn't reach no one, especially Coiny-
"Hey Piiiiinn~"
A familiar voice rang through Pin's ears.
That made her snap out of all of her hopeful delusions.
She could recognize that dreadful voice even after countless years.
It was Gardener.
Pin could feel mild pressure being applied on the top of her head, almost as someone sat on top of her circular base.
"Come on, Rosetta~ aren't ya gonna say anything to an old pal? Not even a simple hi? I didn't remember you so bad behaved~"
That nickname. Pin hadn't heard it in a while now. For how long? She couldn't quite put a finger on it. But the only mention of it made memories she'd rather keep buried. That was the nickname Gardener gave her when she gave her a "second chance". That chance was only revealed to be just a way of pulling out the worse of her to other innocent people, bringing more torture. The part of her life where she was part of The Corruptors was surely something she was ashamed of, that's for sure.
Pin's eyes snapped up to the side where she felt pressure, her gaze full of terror and pain. Gardener simply looked at Pin's pathetic gaze with a smug smirk pressed on her face. Her legs dangled limply on the side of the red pin's face.
"Awh~ What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or did its claws 'scratched' your throat?"
Gardener couldn't contain herself and let giggles escape her throat at her own "joke". Oh, how she loved humiliating people in defenseless states. Pin didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream, but she couldn't do neither of those options because her slit throat only allowed gargling noises to come out of her mouth every time she tried to talk. Her immobilized body trembled just as much as it would if snow covered her from head to toe. Dread washed over her face as the woman's spirit kept tormenting her.
"My, my, Pinster! Why are you acting so tense around me? You're trembling quite a lot~" Are you cold, by any chance?" She questioned, feigning ignorance.
The spirit got up from her "seat" and turned upside down, floating and pretending to dangle from an inexistent rope tied to her feet right in front of the red pin.
"Or are you scared of me?"
Her voice came out with a tone that someone would come up if they were offended, but Pin knew she was phrasing it like that just to mock her. She shut her eyes tightly. Her eyes stung but tears dared not to fall because of the incapacity of her tear ducts to produce them for reasons unknown to her. Gardener couldn't help but smile at the immobilized pin's reaction.
"Wait, is it something else? I wonder what could that be?"
Gardener rubbed her chin and hummed, pretending to search for a reason for Pin's "unjustified" fear. After a few seconds, the woman gasped.
"Do not tell me... You thought this wasn't going to happen."
Gardener let the words sink in; the air around them the two getting thicker than it already was. Pin let out a chocked sob, which gave confirm to the spirit's question. Gardener looked at the red pin with a serious gaze before she burst into a wicked and amused laugh.
"Oh my god- I can't believe this!"
The woman managed to say between her seemingly unstoppable fat laugh.
"You really thought-"
She tried to say before her mocking and humiliating laugh cut her off. She tried to compose herself, which attempts worked only after a few minutes.
"You really thought WE were gonna let you unharmed after everything you HAVE DONE?!" Gardener finally managed to state before another chuckle escaped her lips.
She sighed before sitting on Pin's head once again and started gently stroking her metal point up and down, "comforting" her.
"Come on, Rosetta~ Don't be silly! You know I wasn't gonna let you slide switching side with G and those other motherfuckers because 'you changed' after I- no- WE spent months helping YOU with the garden."
Gardener stopped caressing the metal point, her nails now scratching the smooth and cold surface slightly. Pin would've flinched if only she wasn't in excruciating pain already.
" Silly Rosetta~ You can try to change in every way possible, but you know that, deep inside, you're still the same. Once a murderer... forever one."
The spirit's words hurt the red pin like daggers, filling her with a mix of regret and despair. She gazed down, her pupils shrinked. She was silently pleading to her to stop. Despite that, Gardener kept taunting her.
"Awh~ Don't make that face. You betrayed us, and now you have to face the consequences."
Gardener started giggling as if she just saw the funniest thing she ever laid eyes upon. Pin, on the other hand, kept her gaze down at the reddish where she was partially buried in, her eyes full of shame, regret and misery. Her pitiful state only served to bring more joy and satisfaction to the spirit.
"I really hope you're proud of yourself."
Gardener spat coldly.
"And I know what you're thinking. 'My plan of feigning to be a good person and being protected by those fools was perfect, so why am I here?' "
Gardener mocked, mimicking Pin's voice.
" 'Help! Help!! Someone help me escape from the consequences of my own actions! Wah, wah, wah!' "
Gardener traced a line on the side of her left cheek with her finger, mimicking a tear.
"I bet someone here would LOVE to help you. ESPECIALLY Book!"
The woman nudged Pin's metal point with her elbow. Pin, somehow, managed to gargle out a strained response that failed to reach clearly the other woman's ears.
"Mhh?"
The woman laid her gaze to her victim's eyes and leaned over slightly.
Didn't quite catch that. Speak up- Oh wait! You can't-"
"S-sor... r-ry..."
Pin repeated, her voice strained and almost inaudible. Gardener couldn't tell if the red pin worded that pathetic apology like a whine or a chocked sob.
"You could be sorry about a million things, Pin. Like being a filthy bitch, for killing everyone and then blame us for that, for betraying us, for everything!"
Gardener got up and standed right in front of Pin.
"Oh, but I'm not the only one who needs an apology. Why don't you go and say that to Ice Cube, Bubble, or even Fries?"
The spirit started floating again and went behind the torn green and blue book that was planted next to the red pin; her ghostly hands resting on the top of her back cover. The only thing that brought Pin some relief was the fact that she was the only one that could see that embodiment of Satan in a dead woman mocking them, or at least is what she hoped in.
"You should tell that to Book first. She would be so touched by it that it would tear her heart onto shreds! HAH! GET IT?!"
She slapped her knee and started giggling at her own "joke". Her laughter was overpowering the peaceful and constant sounds of nature. It went like this for a few agonizing minutes before another familiar voice cut short her manic laughters.
' Gardener.'
Gardener's gaze snapped up to look in front of her, meeting Scarlet's ghostly form.
Her head consisted of soft and beautiful dark scarlet petals. Her eyes completely white, contrasting the dark color of her petals. From her neck to her lower body, the rose was covered in thorns and her legs were slightly thinner than her body.
The flower's beauty always made Gardener always made the other woman want to gaze at her for eternity. But it wasn't just her appearance that caused this reaction out of Gardener, but it was also the gentle and articulated way in how she spoke. Her intelligence, something no one could figure out how big it was at first glance because of her innocent façade. She was sure that people would call her a demon because of that if they could see her. The "kindest" person alive, using her look to mask her true colors from who would've been so naïve to fall for her trap.
Gardener loved everything about the dark scarlet rose. Just being near her presence made her feel a mix of admiration and... something else she'd rather not say to anyone about. But of course, every good thing comes with a price. From previous conversations that she had with her, Scarlet told her she didn't have knowledge nor memory of how her body looked like. For Gardener, this was a shame. Having such gorgeous body but being oblivious of it. Gardener hoped that, when the garden would be complete and Scarlet could reclaim her physical form, she could show her her beauty. Maybe Scarlet would've been grateful and maybe she would give her a chance-
'Hello? Gardener to earth? Are you here with us?'
And so this is how Gardener was snapped out of her daydream, alongside with the sound of the other woman snapping her fingers in front of her face. She blinked twice , composing herself quickly.
"Uh, yeah. I just zoned out. So, uhh, wassup?"
Gardener questioned, looking away from the dark scarlet rose and removing her hands from Book.
'What were you doing here, may I ask?'
Scarlet questioned, her voice like velvet. Gardener's mouth morphed into a grin as she leaned against Pin, who was looking up at the rose.
"Just making this little traitor feel at home~"
She stated before rubbing Pin's metal point again and continuing.
"Dragging her here was one of the best ideas you had, by the way."
A shadow of a smile could be seen on Scarlet's face at the comment as she accepted it gladly.
'Why, thank you, darling.'
The rose bowed playfully, making the other woman chuckle quietly
'I would let you be, but we must decide who's going to be the next addiction to the garden.'
"Right now? Did the trial end so soon?"
'Not yet, but it is quite irrelevant.'
Gardener looked at the taller woman in confusion as she stopped leaning on the red pin.
"It actually is. It's not like we can go in there mid-trial, possess Bubble and do, I mean- make her do a killing spree. It would just put every progress we made go to waste. And who knows? Maybe they would even put the garden on fire aga-"
Gardener's words were cut off as Scarlet slammed her hand on the top of Pin's head.
'I will not let that happen.'
The rose's tone made a whole 180 degree turn, which took Gardener by surprise. She blinked twice, letting the silence sink in.
"Then... what's your plan?"
Scarlet thought for a moment before she started to walk towards the shed, which was on the left side of the garden. She gestured to the other woman to follow her which she gladly complied to.
'We'll wait for the trial to end and then we'll kill Lollipop.'
"Wouldn't be better to stay low for a few days? Bubble already killed 2 people, 3 if we count Pin. She's the one getting accused and if she kills Lollipop it would just increase further suspicious."
'Not if we possess someone else.'
Gardener raised an eyebrow at the implication as Scarlet opened the shed's door.
"Using someone else? You mean Bottle?"
'She's an option, but our choices are not as restricted as that.'
The rose pull out 3 photos, each having depicted Pen, Leafy and Bottle, and slammed them on the table of the shed.
'Since Golf Ball's medication started causing hallucinations, I've taken the opportunity to test my abilities, especially my hallucinations, and they've become more powerful. I've also found out that I can possess more than one vessel at once. This not only grants us a second chance if Bubble gets caught...'
Scarlet grabbed the photos, making them dangle from her grip.
'... It also grants us a more efficient and faster way to fill the garden.'
She continued, an arrogant smile plastering on her face. Gardener took a second to realize and smiled.
"Oh, I like where this is going."
Gardener took a step closer to inspect the photos.
"So, what are we gonna do now?"
'You're gonna find out very soon, darling.'
The rose laid the photo on the table once again and started walking out the shed.
'Now come, We have a trial to attend to.'
Gardener followed Scarlet as they passed the tormented corpses, including Pin, and exited the garden. After a few steps outside of it, Gardener turned around to look at Pin. A taunting smile appeared on her face and she blew a kiss to her, before walking away, disappearing in the darkness of the forest just as the flower did a few seconds before.
Pin could only look at her once friend drifting away as she couldn't do anything to stop her in her position. More suffering would be caused and the only person she could blame for all of this was herself.