#poison warning

These grow like WEEDS.

All of them!

You see it? Remove all roots and the plants!

'Go traveling outside of the Kingdom,' Milk said, 'it will be fun,' Milk said. Yet the situation Yam had gotten himself roped into was the least fun he's had in years... and that's including the panic-inducing heat of Dragon's Valley. Apparently, some fiendish, red-headed cookie had taken a break from some caravan to wander in some more lush areas... and lo and behold, the hot-head had gotten himself wrapped up with her. Though perhaps the better description would have been... Paralyzed by poison and tied up in rope.

"What do you even WANT with me?" Yam growled, trying hard to move, though his muscles would not give so much as a jerk. "Little old me?" The sinister cookie would reply, setting her tattered clothes to the side, that of which had been torn and burnt thanks to a certain someone's hot-headed altercation with her. "Someone with the occupation that I have should never tell her secrets... but..." With a giggle, Scorpion would twirl and land her hands on both of the brute's shoulders from the front, smiling down at him with closed eyes and her stinger-shaped ponytail nearly smacking into his face. "Your blood has something in it that I simply must know what it is... I could smell it from miles away. Some sort of... magical poison. It's reminiscent of strawberry jam."

Another laugh from the red-head and Yam would get tipped backward, falling onto his back. The soil below was full of jagged stones between the blades of grass, though that was the least of his worries. Glowering up at the one that had trapped him, he would prepare to shout at her- THUNK. "HUH?" A tail. Not just tail-shaped like Scorpion's hair was, but... an actual tail. "Where the HELL did THAT come from?!" The berserker would snap, though would only be met with a shush from his captor. "I just said someone like me is not to reveal her secrets, didn't I? Or are your ears full of cotton candy?" Tail swishing behind her, Scorpion would kneel silently beside Yam, watching him struggle as her tail would rise from behind her, gently nudging her hair out of the way and preparing to sting.

The possibility of death loomed over Yam, which would have made his body tense had he been able to use his body at all. "STOP THIS! RIGHT NOW!" He bellowed, though it only made the other cookie's smile widen. "Put that tail AWAY, I swear to G-" Even through the paralysis, Yam was still able to feel the stinger strike right above his naval. With a helpless and enraged yelp, Yam would continue to yell for Scorpion to stop- nearly sounding like begging had it not been for all the rage behind it. Though it would not last long... Darkness would quickly close in from the edges of Yam's vision, bringing the brute a sense of desperation.

"It-... It burns..." Wind Archer choked out from his throat, that of which stung from the scarlet poison that he had consumed moments prior. Though his vision fuzzed around the edges, he could clearly make out the dull expression of the priestess before him. Despite his pains, she didn't seem to have any care for him nor his transition.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" The one who had given such a toxic drink to him... Her voice was as crisp as windchimes. For someone so stolid, there was a strange form of innocence behind it all... Perhaps he'd hold the same once this was all over with.

Without an answer in mind, the archer coughed, soon turning into a fit of them. Wind's body lost its balance for a moment, weakened. The fluid within him was most certainly killing him, wasn't it? He knew it would be painful, yet the searing sensation building in his throat that spread through his veins like wildfire was far more than he had anticipated. He could feel his leaves wilting as he fell to one knee, gaze dropping to the floor as his mind spun.

"It takes suffering to attain freedom." The voice that was now above the archer due to his crippled state chimed again, feeling more like a gust through windchimes rather than a breeze. It was the slightest bit fuzzy to Wind, all things considered. "If you are willing to last, then you can achieve the freedom from that fiend of arbor as you wished." Had he- Had he truly wished for that? It was difficult to think- yet the reminder of arbor caused a heave in his chest.

Onto his hands he went, throat once again feeling as if they'd hack out a lung or two once the toxins had reached his chest. It felt as if it was being burned alive, the carving of the Tree's image becoming a source of torturous sensation. Whatever was occurring with it- No matter how it felt- He hoped it would burn out of his skin. That Millennial Tree... Such a cowardly dictator he was-!

A snarl had mixed with the archer's coughing and labored breaths. It was forced upon him- The carving- his role- everything that he was...! He had no will, nor did that little deer that the archer himself had foolishly brought to such a horrid man of wooden, woven lies.

Of course, he wanted out.

Gentle feathers dyed themselves into the crude blackness, skin corroding to a sickening lavender... The poison would wrack his system with despair, yet it would renew him. Though Wind's consciousness fades, his fury and freedom coalesce. Above the Archer, there is a grin from the young priestess Pomegranate.

"So close," the phantom thief spoke with a devious smile splayed across their face, "So close to revealing the truth... Too close, may I say."

Roguefort spun the hat of the the local detective on the edge of their finger, staring down at the corpse before them. Vomit covered the carpetted floor, the figure of the once lively detective still and without a single trace of life left within her. Poison, a classic means of murder... Albeit one that always lead to some sort of expelled mess. The poor carpet, so pristine and new... It even had that new rug scent before Walnut fell before them. Ah, well...

The mess didn't matter, anyways. What did was the fact that their identity was safe once more. Tossing the hat from their hand onto the corpse, the bowed to the cadaver. They tipped their hat, briefly exposing the newly sprouted red horns to a crowd of one. None alive, of course.

"It was a pleasure to see how far you'd go to find the truth. Though, I suppose it was unexpected that you would give your life for knowledge that would die with you."

With a poof, leaving behind puffs of mold spores and an unrecieved calling card, they were gone as soon as they appeared.

'Dearest Detective Walnut,

I am proud to tell you that you have solved the mystery of mine. My identity? You now know it quite well. Too well, might I say. So, with my lack of empathy and my gain of respect for you, it is unfortunate that I must put an end to this knowledge. There is no possible means of you to escape this fate of your's, so I pray you find yourself comfortable in your last few hours of life... And savored that last glass of apple juice you had drank so swiftly.

The lovely Enchantress will take care of your cadaver and any memories you might have left upon others. Consider it mercy for those uninvolved. Our rivalry does not concern them, so there is no reason for them to suffer, too, yes? Yes, of course.

It was a pleasure decieving you until the very end.

"I tell you, I've boiled it down to a science! Here, have a taste!" Alchemist insistantly handed a flask over to Birthday Cake, beaming with pride. "One essence of party, guarenteed to allow anyone to experience their ultimate party fantasy!"

Though skeptical, especially considering this was an 'untested formula', Birthday side-eyed the concoction brewer. "I don't believe this is safe, Alchy..." Her nudge towards rejecting a sip was gentle, though she was pushed right back as the mixture was shoved up towards her mouth. "Just one little sip? I assure you, the Queen of Atoms would never allow anything bad to happen to her subjects... On accident, that is!"

"Very comforting."

"Indeed!"

With a roll of her eyes, the planner of ultimate parties gave a small puff of breath out before taking the smallest sip out of the flask forced upon her. It tasted... Spicy. Too spicy. In fact, it was so spicy she could feel her insides trying to expel it. She coughed once, twice, soon going into a fit that led to breathlessness. She can't speak a word to ask for help, but the sound of broken glass and a strained expression was enough to get Alchemist to act.

Running from the scene, Alchemist found her body lightly shaking as she realized how drastic her mistake more than likely was. What would she do? What could she do? Clearly that fluid had acidic properties, so- so- uh- find something basic? Yes! Yes, of course! Ah, but where could that be?

Frantic searching yielded little results, but enough to make a solution. Rushing back to her little alchemy lab, the experimentor practically busted down the door in order to get in quick enough, but...

All that sat upon the floor was a pile of overly puffed dough, a giant mass with a few candles and a mess of frosting, not to mention torn fondant cloth. Nausea wracked her system, knocking to her knees and spilling some of the base she had prepared for a life-saving rescue. And yet, nothing but a life loss. Her experimentations had taken a life. This... This was a risk she took with her profession, yes, but not one she expected to ever go this sour.