Leading to this moment.
Besides just the memories that hid themselves in the tucked folds of his mind, resurfacing in dreams or every moment that pomegranate cookie pried him apart with her hands, was also the witches. Cruel gods who were drifting through every dust of air in his heavy chest you couldn't hide from them, especially not in your dreams. For where you sleep, they wait. So sleep, he did not. They instead pulled the curtains shut to darkness and hid hid hid. That's what every cookie should do. Hide.
Hide in the darkness, run from the shot out lights and linger around burned bulbs, hide till it’s dark out. Then intention won’t find your aching body. On the few days he did sleep, he awoke stiff, joints dull with a burning in the back of their eyes. Groaning, he shoved themself up, grappling as if he might’ve fallen the moment he stood. Blue fluorescent light blinking from a room with no door, a distant cry, crash, and sound of tearing flesh. Sheathing his sword against his back, the large handle protruded past their back, the blade the same to their hips. The sheets made small red marks in his skin where they had been bunched up, and he exited the room.
Dark choco cookie spent most of his days outside. He remembered as a child standing on the ledge of the wall guarding the kingdom, his father right beside him as he told him nature was sacred, that they should never take it for granted. So they didn’t- instead held on to that small piece of joy and let cold rivers run over his hands and face after spending hours writhing in the sun, moving their steel sword with an ease only a practiced soldier could have, but it came to them like second nature. Taking the same movements with each twist of their blade he had repeated for years on end until his muscle burned through his skin, throbbed too intensely to keep up as he felt his heartbeat sitting on the cusp of an eardrum.
Only then, they fell against the beating ground of Mother Earthbread as twigs tangled in his hair and grass cradled him gently, Satisfied. They took pride in being able to tire to such an extent, then left his sword against the ground, gem pulsing violently as it screeched a painfully silent song. Dark choco cookie dragged themselves towards a river nearby, legs dipping into it as sweat collected on his neck and brow, dripping into the nape of it and matting beneath his waved hair. They scraped it to one side of their neck, allowing the air to blow gently on his heated skin. With each heavy breath, their eye flickered closed as slight tension left their body.
They felt the rocks trawling against the sand at the river basin. Though no fish traveled with the stones, most life was unable to live in these parts- anything that wasn't cursed, that is.
This next moment, he heard a high bark, one that sounded through the dense foliage then seemed to reverberate with another bark. Then another. Accompanied by the sound of weighted shoes stamping the forest floor the cake hound ran to their side, feet pattering against the ground as he shoved up against his hand which rested on the ground.
“Chiffon!” An exasperatedly tired voice called, heaving to the point one could infer that red velvet cookie had been chasing after the small dog for quite a bit. Dark choco cookie flitted their eyes open, one remained unseeing and scarred, hand coming up lightly to scratch the hound’s head who was panting of joy, rolling onto his stomach the cookie’s and came to rub on it unconsciously, glancing behind them. Annoyance bubbled beneath their skin, though not enough to force them from their position next to a calmly flowing river. Silence lingered in between bated breaths from the other, red velvet cookie eventually spoke. “Dark choco cookie.” He said, voice gruff and trying to hide the pines of irritation at dark choco’s presence, who only seemed to hum lightly in return while averting their eyes.
Another beat of silence. “Does your ignorance know no bounds?” Red velvet and hissed harshly, suddenly stomping forward to grab chiffon who couldn't run away in time. They raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Do not speak to me like that. Know your welcome, red velvet cookie. Whatever quarrels you hold with others need not be projected on me.” They huffed quietly, pushing up he walked past the taller to pick his sword from the ground, slinging it over his shoulder.
“My welcome!?” He barked. “You do not know anything! You listen to me-” “I listen to our master. Who has not assigned any missions to me as far as I'm aware.” Dark choco said impatiently while walking to a clearing he knew of. “So why have you come here?” Red velvet cookie sat in seething quiet before turning on his heel to follow them. “Not everything is about you! I was chasing chiffon and you happened to be there. You're almost everywhere.” He murmured lowly, glaring at the others back.
“Hm. So you're upset over the hound or some other reason?” Red velvet cookie almost growled at that. “What makes you able to assess my emotions? I’m not upset, you're presumptuous.” He said with a scowl. “Ah, I had forgotten that you're just a bitter inconvenience all the time. My apologies. Will you go now?” Red velvet grumbled, as they both tread the ground in silence. “It’s mother.” He sighed finally, “I’m not sure what's wrong but she hasn’t left her chambers in days. Refuses to even contact me or pomegranate cookie.” The other kept his eyes forward before speaking. “Leave her be, then.” “Of course you don’t understand, I doubt you’ve ever cared much about your parents.”
Prick.
“Watch your tongue.” Dark choco murmured firmly, eyes finally drifting to glare at the other whose cake arm seemed to be twitching more than usual. They said nothing. From the corner of their eye, they caught a sudden flash of something moving. He whipped around, unsheathing his sword and pointing it in that direction, staring widely. Within seconds red velvet cookie reacted as well, his own serrated blade ready while his back shifted away from dark choco, one leg moving in front of chiffon. “What? Is something here?” He said hushed. “I-.” Dark choco cookie blinked, a drag of purple clamoring behind the bark of a large tree before slipping away from the canvas of his vision. “No. It was an animal. Must’ve been.” They whispered, weapon dropping to his side heavily and dragging dents in the dirt.
Red velvet cookie groaned, rolling his eyes as he turned around to walk east, towards the cake tower. “You get to walk yourself home for that.”
“You were walking me at all?”
“Quiet.” The mutant murmured, picking up his hound nearby with one hand to his belly, pulling his arm to his chest.
Dark choco cookie watched the final flash of red dissipate before turning his gaze towards a crooked structure in the distance, stained in every clear spot with red.
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The walk hadn't taken him long, slipping inside he hid himself away deep in a dimly lit room from the clouds outside, most of the windows shattering over scattered old furniture. With one rock, he meticulously polished his blade for what might’ve been hours if he could keep a grasp on time for very long. His mind wandered blankly over the sparking edges of each clash it took, propped between his legs. He had tucked his hair behind his ears and his lips slightly parted, face had unconsciously tensed pensively.
His blade felt duller with every scrape, repeating the motion unprecisely before a final unceremonious yank of his hair caused both the stone and blade to clatter to the floor. They gasped, both his hands going behind his head to wrap around a small wrist, twisting his body uncomfortably and using his elbows to pin whoever was behind him down.
“OW! What the hell!” Came a whine from beneath him, kicking at his torso stubbornly. “Strawberry crepe cookie.” They grasped lightly, tugs of panic yanking his flesh towards his ribs repeatedly, sitting back on his knees to let go of the smaller. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.” He whispered between his teeth. “I yelled your name like 50 times you deaf old man!” They complained, pushing themselves up. They were wearing a long white dress shirt, no shoes and a gauntlet over their arm that seemed much too big for them. Their other unyielding hand pushed their pink hair from their face as they glared at the other. “Come on you big dummy!” They hissed, tugging his arm. “I gotta show ya something! Come on come on come on-” “I’m coming!” He interrupted more harshly than he wanted to sound.
The child's bright technology casted an irritating pink light on the once dark room, eyes struggling to adjust as he stumbled up, barely able to grab his sword before the other dragged him away with strength they surely had no way of possessing.
After a few minutes of lugging the large cookie through endless corridors, strawberry crepe grinned wildy, dipping into two large doors that led to a run down lab with walls painted in streaks of neon paints with lazy concept designs taped over them. The scattered parts of half built gadgets and waffle bots remained destroyed on the floor, or taken apart and strung in the air with metal wire to examine.
They hopped into a counter, behind them laid a large object obscured by a dirty sheet thrown over. “And I present to you,” they started, gleaming with pride before yanking the cloth off to reveal a much larger gauntlet with a power core driven in the middle. “The MGC 2000!..for short.”
“...the what.”
Strawberry crepe scowled up at dark choco cookie. “It's a new variation of my gauntlet! But it's STRONGER! I gave it bigger claws too.” they said with a scolding tone like dark choco was a misbehaving child. “Focus old man!” Dark choco was tempted to interject with a sharp ‘don't call me that' but pushed down the urge as they watched with a skeptical eyebrow. “Sounds dangerous.” “It is!” The younger beamed. “Isn't it great! I can finally fight better in person too! Do you want me to show you?!” Before dark choco cookie was able to protest, strawberry crepe cookie shoved their arm into the comically oversized gauntlet, their body stumbling from the intense new weight distribution but turned it towards the wall anyways. “Wait that doesn't seem-” and with a loud explosion, dust filled the room. Clouded over dark choco’s vision he lightly heard violent coughing from the distance. His eyes watered, ringing scraping to top of his skull and settling in the back as he stumbled in search of the other.
He wasn't quite sure if he was saying their name or not, barely able to feel his stinging lips parting or dust clawing his dry throat. His hands landed on a smaller body curled on the floor, some blocks of cement and dirt dusting over their pristine clothing as he dragged them into his arms. The next moment was a blur, running with barely any weight in his arms, his sword momentarily forgotten as he rushed the child to the nearest cookie he could find, licorice cookie. With the harsh command of finding pomegranate cookie the other scurried off with a concerned expression while dark choco tried to settle both his and the younger's weight against the wall.
Leaning back they tried to level their breathing, and insisted to whoever stood next to him that his eyes were watering of dust, and nothing else.