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Chapter Text

Early morning sunlight streamed through the open curtains of the detective's home. Sounds of late spring hummed along the street while Almond Cookie slept, halfway on his bed and still in his work clothes. Getting home at three in the morning wasn't necessarily his favorite aspect of his work, but sometimes it was just a necessary part of the job.




Almond is a detective, more specifically, a private investigator for Parfaedia's own Magical Emergency Handling division. The work often had long hours and many sleepless nights, not to include the amount of danger that could possibly come with it. Not to mention, he was often hired to perform private investigations. It had been a few years since Almond retired from the Violent Crimes unit; His transfer to M.E.H. sometimes still had aspects of his previous profession. Magic was a difficult practice, hence the need for a specific section in Parfaedian law. With its difficulty and a wide array of uses, magic was dangerous as a whole. After being exposed to the turmoils a wayward spell in the wrong hands can cause, Almond himself trusted very few people with it. 




His alarm clock beeped its adamant tone. Almond pulled his head up from his pillow, eyes still bleary with sleep. He held the back of his hand close to his face to shield himself from the pale marigold-colored light. The alarm clock flashed red numbers on its screen. 



"7:30"




This was the time Almond had to wake Walnut up for school, however it was the weekend. He could, in theory, sleep in for a bit- he was off work until Monday. Thank the Ancients. Sluggishly pulling himself out of bed, he felt a bit unkempt due to his uncomfortable sleeping position. Almond switched out into some clothes better fit for the weekend (a t-shirt and sweatpants) and proceeded down the stairs of his home.




Birds sang out in the sunshine while Almond turned to his kitchen- He was startled by his daughter already at the dining room table pouring over disorderly papers in a yellow file. The table was strewn with paperclips and dog-eared files. Clearly, the junior detective was hard at work this early. She slid her hand over to a glass of orange juice she had gotten for herself, spotting her father out of the corner of her eye. Taking a sip, she grinned into her cup before setting it down.

"Morning, Dad!"

"Morning, kid. What's...all this?" Almond took a seat adjacent to her. Walnut Cookie closed her file with authority, sending a few pages flying out of the bottom.




"Darn it- I found this on the couch, and thought 'Hey, I can help with this!' Speaking of, what's Section 2.A Classified under Jello Cookie V. Parfaedia City?"




Almond held out his hand for the file which Walnut promptly set in his hand. "You don't need to worry about that, it's a state-code thing." He flicked through the file idly, shifting in his chair and yawning. "Walnut, you've gotta ask permission for looking through these. Magical accidents can get messy, and I don't want you messing with that stuff. Latte and Cream Puff are better...adjusted to it, more familiar.  However, it can be just as dangerous as other crimes." 




This was half-true; While magical accidents could have detrimental effects, Almond seldom encountered a situation that stuck with him since the Violent Crimes Division. Almond poured himself his own cup. Walnut shifted in her seat, taking a sip out of her glass. She mumbled, "Cream Puff offered to teach me some things-"





"Some-" Almond was mid-drink, and he half-choked when he heard her. "Some things as in- magic?" He coughed. 




Walnut nodded adamantly, her eyes bright as ever. "Well...yeah! I figured it just be small stuff... Latte could help too!" Almond trusted Latte and her daughter completely; However, he hardly trust the magic. He had seen what it could do, hence why he was so protective about it. He didn't want Walnut to feel left out, but he also didn't want her exposed to something that could potentially harm her. Almond sighed. "I'll...I'll think about it." There was a hint of uneasiness in his voice. Walnut stood on her seat, leaning over the table. "Really? Oh, cool!" She beamed. Her father wearily smiled back. 




From upstairs, Almond heard his phone ringing. With a soft sigh, he set his glass down. "I'll be right back, kid." 




His phone was buzzing on his dresser. Almond let out a groan, closed his eyes, and answered the phone in a less-than-excited tone. "Detective Almond Cookie of M.E.H. speaking."



An equally enthusiastic officer spoke on the other end of the line. "We need you over at the Cheesecake Mansion."




"What? It's my day off but...Whatever, could I get some details on the situa- hey!" The officer had hung up without a response. He immediately dialed Latte Cookie, explaining why he needed a babysitter. She'd be by to pick up Walnut as soon as she could, giving Almond time to shower, get dressed, and tell Walnut goodbye. A frustrating start to his day, certainly, and an unexpected one at that. Luckily the drive to the Manor wasn't too far. His car was parked in the well-trimmed among the other Parfaedian squad cars. Officers surrounded the house, most of it being blocked off in certain areas with police tape. He ducked under the tape, straightening his tie and holding out his badge as he did so. 



"Detective Almond Cookie, here for Magical Emergency Handling. What seems to be the situation?" He was hoping it wasn't as big of a deal as Cheesecake Cookie was putting it out to be. She had made a dramatic call like this before. That was back when Almond was hired for a private investigator job- and when he met his current closest friend. 





An officer explained the situation to Almond while Cheesecake was being led out of the house with her mascara running. Almond noticed a thin line of blood running down a small graze on her shoulder. 




There had been an unprompted magical attack on the mansion. Half-listening to the officer's explanation, the Detective's eyes wandered over to a wall of the house that appeared as if it were faintly smoldering. Embedded in the wall were thin, violet-pink shards of...something. He would have forensics look at them later, along with witches and wizards. Almond brushed past the officer to meet with Cheesecake, who was talking to a Cookie who appeared as if he had the authority to be there, though he was dressed in rather unofficial looking clothes, complete with a hat pulled over his brow. He had a serious and analyzing expression on his face. Almond waved to Cheesecake, causing her to jump back.



"You! You, you were the one who-" 




The Cookie struggled to hold her back. "Woah there- who are you, then?" He said, squinting. Almond looked taken aback- both due to Cheesecake's sudden outburst and the Cookie questioning him. He flipped open his wallet which contained his badge. "Detective Almond, and I could ask the same to you. This is my case." He said it with as much confidence as he could despite his weariness. He caught a glimpse of the furious Cheesecake out of the corner of his eye. She was crying and holding her injured arm. 



"Agent Mimosa Cookie," The other Cookie said, drawing Almond's attention back to him with a flash of his own badge. Almond hadn't realized he had been zoning out. Must be an effect of the lack of sleep...




The promptly named Mimosa continued, "This case has been turned over to the City."




Almond knit his eyebrows, looking Mimosa in his pale, yellow eyes. "It's under my jurisdiction. Magical Emergency Handling has-"





"Has turned the case over to me, yes." Mimosa interrupted, motioning for Cheesecake to follow someone to an ambulance parked out of view of news reporters that were just arriving. He lit a cigarette and shoved his badge haphazardly into his coat pocket. "Well, Almond, what was that about then?" Mimosa said the Detective's name as if it were bitter. 




"I wasn't ever notified of..." He trailed off, eyes wandering back to the wall with the sharp-looking projectiles. "...I'm not sure. Could just be stress. Magical attacks can cause people to do that. I'll be looking into that, now." He spoke with a bit more force than he intended to. Mimosa adjusted his cap, tapping the cigarette with the end of his finger, causing a bit of ash to float to the now shoe-scuffed grass. "As I said, it's out of your hands, technically. You could assist, I guess."


Almond glared unintentionally. He's speaking to me like I'm clueless...




Mimosa leaned forward, speaking in a low tone as to not disturb other investigators. "Though, I would like to know about Miss Cheesecake's lashing out. Would you happen to know?"



The Detective tilted his head, leveling with Mimosa. "I'm not sure, but that sounds kind of accusatory, Agent Mimosa." 




He let out a dry chuckle. "Nah. Just trying to be through here. Only joking." Mimosa took a drag out of his cigarette, and looked out over to the shards. "I'll interview Miss Cheesecake, you look into this. I'll check in periodically."



"I could do it myself, I'm capable of-" He scoffed, running a hand through his hair. It was too early in the morning to be arguing like this. "...I'll look into it. That's what I'm here for."



He nodded, and approached the smoking wall casually, setting his heavy coat on the ground as he did so. He reached his hand out, and one of the magenta shards crackled under his touch. 

Chapter Text

Heat resonated from the shards. When Almond reached his hand out, a white-hot burning shock traveled up his arm, causing him to let out a small yelp. He stepped back and shook his hand to fight back the hot numbness growing in it. Obviously, he shouldn't have attempted to touch the damn things with his bare hands; he could only imagine how Cheesecake felt when she was grazed by one. Mimosa side-eyed him from across the lawn, a silent warning. 





Almond had felt off since he arrived at the Cheesecake Manor. It could have been that Agent Mimosa of the Parfaedian Bureau of Investigation was interrupting his usual routine, but he couldn't just blame it on a guy he had just met. Then there was Miss Cheesecake Cookie... Almond theorized the magic could have affected how she viewed him. He nodded to Mimosa and carried on. 




Holding his arm and rolling up his sleeve, Almond walked along part of the perimeter of the mansion, scanning for anything else that looked relevant to the situation at hand. On the lawn was a magenta, disc-shaped shard. The Detective nudged it with his shoe, checking to see if it was still burning with magical residue. It seemed to have cooled off enough. Turning it over, the grass below it looked burnt- no, not burnt... the thing was hot enough to leave scorch marks at some point, but the grass didn't appear as if it were ash-ridden. The color of the vegetation below it was black, but somehow darker than regular soot. Almost like it was the color of night itself, one without stars. Almond took the fragment into his hands. It looked similar to a dragon scale. He doubted a literal dragon could have been able to perform such an act unprompted and especially without a bigger ruckus, so a Cookie must have figured out how to enchant them. 




Whoever it was, they had done something to Cheesecake to cause her to lash out.




Almond wrapped the scale in a cloth over by the PBI Vehicles, taking notes on his findings. His left arm was still numb. Whatever had caused this, it was powerful magic. Mimosa slapped a notebook in front of Almond, leaning on the evidence van. Almond glanced at him, then the notebook. "...This the interview?"




Mimosa took off his hat and bit the inside of his cheek. "Yeah. Take a look at it."




The Detective squinted while turning the written notes in his hands. He winced slightly due to his arm, however the warm pain was subsiding. Miss Cheesecake had given her testimony to Mimosa, and quite frantically at that. The interview was mainly ramblings of her day and things of the sort, then the attack itself. Apparently, she had not seen her assailant. But...she had felt someone there. A familiar presence, but they were changed. Malicious, in her words. That, and the haze of thick burning magic overwhelmed her. Other than those few precious statements, both M.E.H and the PBI did not have much to go off of. 




"She did say familiar presence-"




For some reason, Mimosa's vague blaming bothered Almond. "I get that, I understand that. If you suspect I have something to do with this because of her magic-ridden outburst, just say it."




Mimosa stared at him. "Cool it, I highly doubt you're the one who caused this," He said with an eyeroll, "We're here to figure out who did, and take a breather or something for Millenial's sake." 




"Right, sorry I... It's been a long week."




"No pressure," Mimosa replied, "Just do your job." 





------------

Almond decided that he needed a break from his work, for the first time in a while; He decided to meet up with his closest friend, whom the media assumed was his greatest enemy. That's how it started at first- a constant chase across rooftops of the city, both taunting one another as they did so. Eventually, that evolved into a casual friendship. 


The sky faded into a deep purple as day shifted into dusk. Parfaedia was busy with passing cars and neon street signs glowing with their advertisements. The moon shone high above, however the night was overcast with thin, whispy clouds. 





"How kind of you to visit me this evening, mon chéri!" 




Roguefort Cookie twisted their cane around in their hands. Almond gave them a tired smile, rubbing his arm. "Glad I could catch you here. It's been a long day, Rogue."




"I heard so!" Roguefort said, eyeing Almond's arm, but not commenting on it. "I saw you on the news earlier, about poor Miss Cheesecake." They looked genuinely concerned, despite her calling the police on them for crashing her parties and overall theivery. "You know, they really know how to capture your good side on camera!" They giggled. 



Almond chuckled. "Thanks, I try to look my best all the time." He said this sarcastically, but Rogue giggled. "Anything new about this whole menagerie?" 




The two were seated in the center of the roof of some store or another. Almond paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "As you saw, the PBI took over this case. I'm just there for, I dunno, basic crime scene evidence collecting." He glared at the dark clouds passing overhead. "And Agent Mimosa or whatever has been ...antagonistic, is the best word. It's frustrating, I know what I'm doing in this case." Roguefort nodded in response and adjusted their monocle. 




"Well, you're just trying to help. I think you'll crack this case rather easily! Though you don't practice it, you're surprisingly good with magic." They said favorably. Almond shrugged. "Plus," they added, "You notice those tiny important details. Details are what solve a mystery." 




"Speaking of that, there is one thing I don't think Mimosa noticed." 




Roguefort tilted their head to listen. 





"As he said to the reporters, he believed the magenta shards were enchanted dragon scales which is correct-"





"Diiiid he bring up that time you tried to arrest the-"




"Arrest the dragon, yes." He said, rolling his eyes, amused. "Anyways, he thought they were just made to be like- projectiles, bullets in a way. How someone got those, I don't know... anyways, it caused Cheesecake to, well... lash out at me, specifically. Claimed I 'did it?' It's not really clear what the motive behind this is, but the-" Almond paused. "I'm getting off-topic, sorry." He added quickly. 




Roguefort smiled patiently. Almond continued, "The things weren't just enchanted for a bullet-like appearance. They left this...residue, like... night." He glanced up at the sky. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."





The Thief nodded. "You said she believes you're the reason for this? Is it an effect of the magic?"




"Probably so." Almond stifled a yawn, not wanting Rogue to urge him to head home for a rest. He enjoyed spending time with Rogue, and he was having a nice break. He'd sleep at home. 




"Hm...do you think this person has something against you? Seems a bit like an extreme measure to be personal...Hell, I'm not sure, you're the detective here!" They placed their hand gently on Almond's left arm, causing him to wince slightly. "Ahha carefulcareful-"




"Ah- so sorry! I didn't know it was injured," They removed their hand with a nervous laugh, apologizing profusely. Almond waved his hand dismissively. "Not your fault, not your fault! Just a magic-thing...anyways, that could be the answer. If someone has a vendetta, they could be trying to get at me through M.E.H. cases. Maybe they didn't expect the Parfaedian Bureau of Investigation to take over. Though I can't think of anyone who-"





The city was plunged into darkness. 



Almond stood quickly, one hand reaching for his shimmering handcuffs out of habit, and the other trying to find Roguefort. They held Almond's uninjured wrist, trying to keep their cane steady as well. "A- A blackout? How did-" They leaned over the edge of the rooftop to faintly see the street which was once alive with life look near desolate. Cookies looked around in confusion, the sudden lack of light aside from the moon disorienting. "Did something happen to a major power source, or something?" 





"Not sure," Almond helped lead them to a ladder that lead down to the street below. "I'll check it out right now, it's not safe to have the whole city like this." Roguefort's eyes lit up even in the darkness. "Ooh! Can I come? I just love these little adventures with you, like when Yogurt Cream was visiting-"




"That wasn't an adventure, you stole from him."





"Same thing, same thing." Rogue said, clambering into the passenger seat of Almond's car when they found it. "There should be a generator over by the Syrup Woods," said Almond, "We'll check there first."





"Should I drive? You appear quite...tired, Alms."




"It's fine. We'll do this, then I'll head home."




------------


Roads and the highway were practically shut down with traffic, cars sending out collision alarms and emergency vehicles darting about. Luckily, the path leading to the 
Syrup Forest generator diverged off a backroad. Almond pulled his car over just outside the gate, and grabbed a small flashlight from the glovebox. "Are you coming out?" He said to Rogue.



"As what? Non-binary??" They joked. Almond snickered. "I mean- as in out to take a look at this."




"Right, sure!" Roguefort closed the car door after leaving their hat and cape in the back seat. "Warm evening, hm?" 




Almond shined his flashlight at the chainlink fence that surrounded the generator. "Mhm." The light on the generator revealed faint, black smoke against the metal of it. Looking down, a scale was embedded in a disarray of wires. "Shit. It's similar to the other scene." He kneeled down, yawning and brushing his hair out of his face. Roguefort stood next to him. "Seriously, you look really tired, Almond..." 




He shook his head. "It's fine," The Detective took out his notepad. He knew he wasn't particularly fine. Of course he wasn't a stranger to drowsiness, however Almond knew he was almost at his limit. He could feel himself nodding off...





"Almond, hey, let's get you home, l' inspecteur." They shook Almond's shoulder gently. "I'll drive! Please, I'm...getting worried about you." 





"It's- fine, really, I...."




--------------




Almond woke up at home, splayed across his couch and a blanket draped over him. He wasn't well rested, but he wasn't at the brink of complete exhaustion. Looking up, he saw Roguefort Cookie, curled up in an armchair and using their cape as a makeshift pillow. Their hair was undone, and Constable Whiskers, Walnut's cat, toyed with it idly.



"Constable, off," Almond said in a tired, husky voice. As the cat left Rogue and sprinted over to stretch out across Almond, Roguefort blinked awake as if startled. 




"You're awake, so early- do you need anything, water? I recommend you sleep some more, for an hour at least-"




Almond propped himself up on his elbows. The pain in his arm had completely subsided. "Did you...drive me home?" Roguefort sighed, nodding. "You were exhausted, Almond. Please, try to be more careful..."




"Oh, ah... thank you, Rogue."




"It's no problem! Now," They said, standing up and brushing cat hair off them, "Check in with M.E.H. Your phone's been ringing all morning."

Chapter Text

His phone was set on a glass lampstand next to the brown leather couch. Almond reached over and turned it on, sunlight catching on the cracked screen. He had two messages from Latte, and three missed calls. "Morning!" A message from Latte said, "Walnut asked if she could stay over again when school lets out for break Wednesday."




Almond texted back, "That's fine. I'll pick her up around 5."




He scrolled back through his missed calls while Roguefort busied themselves by brushing out Constable Whisker's fur. They sat on the couch next to Almond. "Who was calling?" Almond shrugged in reply. "Lemme see..." He said, yawning and pressing the call back option. An annoyed voice answered on the first ring.




"Hel-" 



Agent Mimosa was on the other end of the line. "Detective Almond, we need you at the PBI building. Now. I've been trying to contact you for an hour." 





Almond stared up at the ceiling, trying to form his response as to not sound as equally rude. He assumed saying I just woke up after passing out in the woods, give me a damn minute wouldn't be too polite. "What for? Does it have to do with the blackout?"





"Does it have to do with the- Of course it has to do with the blackout!" Mimosa snapped. Almond jumped a bit, and Rogue cast him a worried glance. Mimosa sighed over the phone. "Just- Mayor Lavender Oil needs to see us. Wear something nice, call me when you get here." There was some inaudible speech on his end of the line, and he hung up. Almond stood up suddenly, running his hands through his hair and beelining towards the stairs. Roguefort gently nudged Constable off of them and followed him. "Almond? Almond- hey-" They caught his arm. "What's going on, Almond?"





"I'm needed at the Mayor's office. Apparently, I need to wear something presentable, I think I have a suit somewhere, hold on-" He hurried up the stairs, and Rogue followed. "Ohh- a suit?" They grinned, leaning against Almond's doorframe as he dug through his closet. In the back of the closet was a neatly-ironed business suit, navy with a slight layer of dust on it. He set it on his bed. "I can drive you home on the way, if you want."




"Oh- right, sure! I'll wait downstairs."





-------------------



Almond had his hair combed over, and a teal tie (most definitely picked by Roguefort) tucked into his suit jacket. He sighed, taking a quick glance into the mirror as he grabbed his car keys from his dresser. Typically, he wouldn't dress this pretentious on any given day; in fact, he hadn't dressed this fancy since he was required to go to court for a case he had just closed. He spun his keys on his finger as he stepped out his door and to his car. Rogue was waiting outside, leaning on it. They glanced up at him. "OhdearMillenial- hi!!"




"Hi!!"




"I must say, Almond- you look quite... agréable!" They smiled to themselves, brushing their hair with their fingers as they climbed into the passenger seat. "However, when you get home after picking up Walnut, sleep!"





The Detective nodded, checking his hair in the mirror once again. "I will."





"Proooomise?" They said, leaning over the center console to him. "Yeeeess, I do!"





--------------------




The Mayor's office was in the center of downtown Parfaedia. Due to the blackout, there was an overflow of expensive public official cars and officer vehicles. Agent Mimosa leaned on a pillar outside the grand office building, one hand in his pocket, a cigarette in the other. Almond took a breath, and approached him as calmly as he could. He would not get into an argument with the guy leading this investigation today. He nodded without a word, and Almond followed.





Mayor Lavender Oil Cookie paced around her office, twirling a pen around in her fingers as she did so. She had been working non-stop since the blackout the night before. Mimosa Cookie nudged the office door open, Almond following in tow. 




"Ya wanted to see us, Miss Oil?"




Mimosa smelled like he had bathed in cheap cologne; Almond could still sense the lingering scent of alcohol under all of it. He waved to Lavender Oil, who nodded and gave him a nervous smile. "Y-Yes! Ah, Detectives-"




"Agent and Detective," Mimosa said. 




"...Agent, and Detective, myapologies-" She sat at her desk and folded her hands, trying to give herself a calmer demeanor. Understandably, with the number of magical incidents on the rise, she had been quite stressed. "As I was saying..." She adjusted her glasses, "I was wondering what your current plan was! For the case..."





Mimosa shrugged, tapping his shoe on the floor impatiently as if he wanted to get the conversation over with. Almond watched him out of the corner of his eye. "Just doing what we can. The blackout has some things in common with the Cheesecake Manor case." 





"Does it-? I didn't know that-"




"It hasn't been released to the media. We're workin' on it."




Almond glared at Mimosa. "Don't interrupt her." He said under his breath. Mimosa cleared his throat, squinted at Almond, and carried on. "Apologies, Miss. Anyways, we'll get right back to work."




Lavender Oil smiled. "Thank you, both of you; Oh, Detective Almond? I've heard you have extensive experience with the Violent Crimes unit, as well as M.E.H. I trust that it will come in handy!" Almond gave her a polite grin back. "Thanks, ma'am. I'll be looking into it."




Mimosa had already left for the door, and Almond nodded towards Lavender Oil. She waved, and Almond left. 




The Agent waited outside the door. 



"...Mimosa-"



Mimosa Cookie shot a look at Almond that caused him to shiver under his glare. "What were you doing at that scene last night." He didn't sound like he was asking a question; It sounded like an accusation. 





"I'm not- sure what you mean, I-"




Mimosa took a small book out of his pocket, and held it out close to Almond's face. "This. This is what I mean."





It was the Detective's notebook. 




"I found this outside the Syrup Forest generator. You're lucky my team didn't find it first, or they'd put the blame on you for this shitshow." He forced the notebook into Almond's hand quite forcefully. "Again, what was it doing there?"





Almond stared, fighting down the urge to raise his voice at the Agent. "I was-" He cleared his throat, "I was checking out the scene. I thought that the generator could've blown, or something. Then, I saw the scale and took out my notebook to write down my findings. That's it."



"...Right."




Mimosa let out a sound of annoyance and glanced around the hallway. "Keep this between us. I don't want you messing around with this case. I'm your supervisor here."





"You're...really not." Almond shrugged, raising his eyebrows, unimpressed. "I don't see why you're so adamant on getting me to stay- 'out of your way', or whatever."






"It's because, so far, our only lead blames you! Why don't you go back to your office, and look into this magic, huh?" 





He turned down the sunlit hallway, casting Almond one last glare. 




-------------




Walnut was taking a nap in her room while Almond paced around his home office. He didn't understand why Mimosa was so... to put it bluntly, such a dick! He would have the lab results of the scale soon, at least. That way, he could get a bit of context as to what was happening. 





His office was illuminated with candles, as the city was still out of power. He had his suit jacket tied around his waist, and his tie loosely hung around his neck. He flipped through his notebook idly. 




Before he quite literally passed out in the woods, he had written down a few things. Mainly just a description of the shard, the generator, nothing much. Upon flipping to the back of the book, he saw something...odd.




Written in black ink was a few words he didn't recognize. 



In tenebris opercula. 



"...Hm." He squinted at it, his hair falling loosely over his eyes. Looked like...greek? Latin, maybe? He definitely didn't remember writing it, anyways. 




He rubbed his eyes. Maybe he'd...take a nap, then try and find a translator in the morning. Almond rested his head on his desk after blowing out his candles. The room was dark. 





---------------




Almond stood at the edge of a forest, where the weeds met the well-trimmed grass. Behind him was a large mansion; in front of him, sprawling Syrup Trees. In the distance was a flicker of light. Not...light. Flame. Violet, out-of-control flames. He wanted to take a step away from it as the fire approached from afar, but couldn't find it in him to turn around. He couldn't look at the manor. Not after... what? Not after...something. Something terrible, he knew. He didn't understand why, but he knew it was there. Something was there. And the fire approached. And he couldn't look away. 




The Detective woke with a start, gasping and holding his arm. It was hurting again, burning. 

Chapter Text

ok so essentially uploading the design here didn't work BUT if you do want the designs for either / both of the characters, DM my brother TEEEEJ !1!!! apologies for the inconveniences. ENJOY the rest of the fic.

check out his socials, posted at the top. :}

check the comments, he says more stuff abt it there due to a bit on confusion :}

Chapter Text

Ring ring. 



Ring ring. 



"Hello-? Ah-"




"Sorry- so sorry for calling you this late, I-"




Roguefort held their phone to their ear, their cat Lord Crumbles in their lap. As to why they were awake this late, they were catching up on a season of some late-night show on their phone, since the power was still out city-wide. "It's fine, really. I was awake anyway! Is... something wrong? You sound out of breath, like you've been running."





Almond sighed from the other end of the line, and what sounded like an office chair creaked as if it were being shifted on uncomfortably. "Just a...stupid nightmare, a-and, my arm's actin' up, it hurts-" Roguefort took in a worried breath as they heard what could've been a stifled sob from Almond... it must've been a really bad dream to get him like this. 





"I- I can hang up now if you want, didn't mean to bother you. This whole thing has been so frustrating and everything, I just want this case to be over with." 





"I truly don't mind," Roguefort said, as Crumbles pawed at their phone. "Do you need anything? I can come over, if you want." 





"Well- it's- you don't have to. I wouldn't wanna bother you- what are you doing awake anyways? It's past midnight." Almond mumbled something indecipherable. Roguefort was already putting on a light coat as they spoke, "Nothing important, just a show. I'll be over in ten!" 





"...Rogue, I-" Almond paused, clicking his tongue. "...Be careful, coming over here. I can't shake the feeling that..." He glanced around his dark office, eyeing his window. He could see a line of trees in the distance, and a Beacon of Light resonating just behind it. It shined a bright blue, rather than the violet that he felt was tailing him. "This magic, I feel has some sort of...connection to me. Not intentionally, of course, but- sorry, I'll figure it out later." 





Roguefort smiled over the phone. "Don't worry, I'll be right over. Phantom Bleu is on the way!"






--------------------



The only light that illuminated the city was that of the Beacons and an occasional flicker of a streetlight attempting to turn on before sputtering out again. Moonlight was blocked out with a barrier of clouds. Rougefort Cookie (despite technically not having a license) had driven themselves to Almond's home. Walnut was still asleep in her room as Almond paced his office, candles burning. Rogue spun on his chair idly. 

They looked up at him as he walked back and forth, hands in his sweatpants pockets. "You're doing that face again."





Almond shuddered at the sudden voice, but relaxed when he realized it was only Rogue's. "The...the what?"





 "The face! You know, the one that goes- hold on," They took a sheet of loose paper off Almond's desk and scribbled on it with a pen. They handed it to Almond, rolling the office chair over to him. 





">:/" Was what was on the paper. "You do that when you're thinking. Looks so serious!" Rogue said.





Almond's tense expression shifted into that of a smile. "I guess I do. I'm just thinking about... everything all the time. I found this in my notebook, by the way," He said, stepping over to his cluttered desk and picking it up. He held it out to his friend. "Do you happen to know what language this is? I mean- you majored in art collection, so I assume you might know a bit of...old stuff- look, you're all I have right now."




Roguefort stared at the black ink on the page. "I have...no idea! I'm flattered that you'd think of me to translate it, though it's not particularly one of my talents..." 






They set the book back on Almond's dimly lit desk. "Ehh. I'll get Aloe to do it or something." Roguefort idly shifted the chair side to side, pulling at a strand of loose hair. "...Did you want to talk about that nightmare?" Almond shook his head. "No, it's... it's okay."





Roguefort wheeled the roller chair to the cracked open window. They rested their arms on the windowsill, smiling up at the sky. Almond stood next to them, rubbing his arm and holding a candle in his right hand. It still felt numb, but it wasn't as intense as before. Rogue looked up at him. "You know, I bet you'll solve that case first. Mimosa's toooo...what's the word?"





"Boisterous, annoying."





"Yeah, that." They raised their eyebrows in amusement. "Does your arm still hurt, Cher?" Rogue asked. Almond nodded. "It's fine, really. It doesn't hurt, but it's just tingly-"




Roguefort gently placed their hand on his arm. 





Almond shivered a bit, but kept his small grin. They stared at each other in the soft candlelight. 





"...My phone's ringing, sosorry-"





The Detective took his phone out of his pocket. Roguefort tilted their head, looking from their friend, back out at the glowing Beacons in the distance. 




While Almond dealt with the phone call, his face slowly fell. He hurried out of the room wordlessly, causing Roguefort to stand up in alarm.  and came back later with his coat and handcuffs on his belt. He hung up, smoothening his hair and tapping his foot on the ground. 




"Rogue, there's-" He looked away from them. "Another magical incident. You...you should come with me."




---------------



Parfaedian Times News, May 4th


Around 4:15 p.m. last night, a magical incident occurred around the old Cheese District area. Locals noticed the fire in the early morning, distinct with its unnatural pink hue/ The building unfortunately caught in the flames was discovered to be the historic Blue Cheese Manor, renowned for its beauty and the previous family's cultural and financial local significance. 


It is unclear whether this was an accident or not, as the flames despite their unnaturalness could have been a result of faulty wiring in the ill-repaired home. 



Interviews with the Parfaedian Bureau of Investigation are inconclusive, as the investigation is ongoing. Detective Almond Cookie, current head of Magical Emergency Handling commented, "We're still not sure what connection it could potentially have to other magical incidents, but we can say for certain it wasn't an accident."



The previous owners are yet to respond to the news. 





----------------



The fire raged on through the early hours of the morning, and by the time the sun had risen over the still powerless Parfaedia, the manor was nothing but smoldering wood. Sky blue paint was just barely visible under the cracked layer of ash. By the afternoon, most of the authorities, PBI, and MEH investigators had left. 




Roguefort Cookie stood in the center of the once-grand foyer. A broken glass chandelier lay broken off its chain, splayed across the floor and glittering in the sunlight coming through a hole in the ceiling. The Detective stood behind them, quiet while they surveyed the damage. They gripped their cane. Almond could see in their eyes they were close to tears, but determined not to show it. He placed a hand on their shoulder. "Rogue... it... it may not be much help, but...I'm sorry. Truly. I don't know how this-"




He was interrupted with Rogue clinging to him. They sobbed, wrapping their arms around his neck and resting their face on his shoulder. Almond was slightly taken aback, so he, tentatively, placed his hand on the back of Rogue's head in an effort to comfort them.




"...Please," They said in a break between sobs, "Solve this. It's not- it's not your fault, but...please."





"...I will." Almond said, his eyes fixing on the hole in the roof. "I'll get to the bottom of this."

Chapter Text

The Thief stumbled on a fallen beam despite their tenacious movements through the soot-caked linoleum tiles of the upstairs hall of Blue Cheese Manor. Almond watched them from a support pillar that at one point, in a far-off time, could have appeared as if it were a white marble rather than a soft ashen grey. He didn't want to bother them during their recollection of memories. Roguefort ran a hand across a chipped, sky blue-painted wall. 




Another Cookie had arrived at the barely held together wreckage of the house. Eclair Cookie, a relative of Roguefort, was reluctantly contacted by them. Suffice to say, they didn't exactly get along well. Eclair had been...critical of his cousin's career choices (For example, thievery, petty theft, a slight charge of vandalism if you counted that one time in college), but every once in a while he made the time to visit Roguefort. This time was of course different, given the unfortunate situation. 






Eclair tugged uncomfortably on his ruffled collar. "...Roguefort, it's terrible that this... incident occurred."





Rogue nodded in silent response while dusting off a cushioned couch in the center of an old room. The daylight entered through a charred hole in the wooden ceiling. Their cousin prodded at a broken grandfather clock, its brass pendulum broken off and on the floor. "Especially in such circumstances." His eyes flickered across the room. "It was such a large part of local history..." Eclair added wistfully. 





Roguefort didn't seem to find much comfort in his comment. Almond decided to stay out of the conversation; It appeared to be a family matter. They grimaced. "Local history. Hm." Almond studied their blank expression from across the room. They stood from their seat and gripped their cane. "Historical- It's not like, hah..." They let out a half sigh, half scoff. The Detective watched quietly, however he had never seen Rogue this upset before... they had reason to be, of course. 






"You seem to be forgetting the fact that I grew up here, lived here for most of my life, and tried my damn hardest to keep the home in operation." Their voice shook with emotion, but Rogue's expression was rigid. Eclair opened his mouth to speak, then paused, attempting to rephrase what he was going to say in an effort not to upset his cousin further. 






"I didn't mean it like that, I-" Eclair crossed his arms. "The...the preservation branch of the City's museum lost power along with the rest of Parfaedia," He said in an awkward attempt to exit the conversation, stammering under Roguefort's often unseen glare. "I should get going. Miss Cheesecake Cookie was deeply upset about the whole ordeal, since..." Eclair glanced to Almond with a slight sense of trepidation. Almond tilted his head. People been looking at me like that since the scales...hm...I haven't done anything...




"Very sorry again, about the loss. I mean it, Roguefort." He extended a hand to them as if he were offering a truce. Roguefort instead grasped Almond's own. The Detective blinked in a bit of surprise, but let them do as they pleased. 

Eclair Cookie carefully maneuvered his way out of the manor with haste, tripping on a blackened shag carpet on the way. 






Almond moved to stand in front of Roguefort, face-to-face. He could tell that they were quite irritated; He still wanted and needed to comfort them. Roguefort did not meet his eyes. 





"This... this crime, it's connected to my case..."




"Alms, don't worry about that right now," The Thief gently pleaded. 




"Is it my fault?"




Roguefort stared at him astounded. Of course it wasn't his fault. Both of them knew that. They slowly shook their head. "What even- what even gives you that idea? Ancients, Almond..." They sounded annoyed at the thought of their friend even thinking of blaming himself. 




The Detective's eyes wandered around the room, focusing on anything but them. "We've established that... the previous crimes appeared to be targeted in nature, and the blackout- and now this has happened and they're connected. I don't know why, or... or hell I barely know how-" Roguefort interrupted him by softly squeezing his hand. They spoke softly. 





"It's out of your hands, Almond." They pulled him into a hug, resting their head on his chest. "...Your phone," They let out a sighing laugh, "It's buzzing."





Almond muttered out a few swears before hesitatingly pulling away from his friend. "Mayor Lavender Oil. I'll call her back in a sec." He shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Can I do anything for you? I can drop you off somewhere, or..."





Roguefort shrugged. "I think I'll look around for...for just a bit longer. Merci beaucoup."




With a few parting words and another fleeting glimpse, Almond returned Lavender Oil's call.






-------------




As it turns out, his current mission was not to assess a scene or to file important paperwork; It was to locate Agent Mimosa. 




He wasn't missing or anything, only out of work at the time. Almond did not see why he was the one who had to locate him, as any other PBI member would've been fully capable of finding him themselves. His asking around lead him to Gela-Tin's Bar, a frequent weekend hangout of the bureau. It's neon sign flickered weakly without a steady flow of power. Almond remembered his early days back in the Violent Crime Unit. Many of his co-workers would invite him out for a few drinks, but rarely did he have the time to do so. Nothing about the bar was too strange, however, most officers weren't found day drinking when they should be working on a City-Wide emergency. 





When he spotted Mimosa Cookie about three glasses deep in the back of a bar alone in a booth, Almond made his way through the dimly candlelit, cigarette smoke-filled bar hall towards his table. He leaned on the table, startling Mimosa. He quickly returned Almond's glare. "Fancy seeing you here," he said in a gruff voice.





Almond tapped his fingers on the table impatiently. "Agent, why are you here?" 




"What does it look like I'm doing?" Despite the likely-to-be borderline copious amounts of alcohol, Mimosa spoke as if he were completely sober. "I'm taking a break."





"Taking a- Taking a break? Now?" Almond placed his hands on the back of his head, inhaling and exhaling slowly. "You've gotta be kidding me."




Mimosa Cookie glanced into his coat pocket, and there was a small click sound from it- Almond assumed he was checking his phone, possibly for the time. "It's nearly one in the afternoon." Almond couldn't hide the bitter impatientness he had. 




"I'm aware." Mimosa motioned for another glass of his to be filled, which a waiter passing by filled. "Cool it. We're still waiting on the forensics results on that old house that got torched."





The Detective rolled his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. "This, this is the exact reason why I'd rather work on this case alone- you don't even care!" Mimosa squinted up at him. "You're the one taking the whole thing on a personal level." He stood, causing Almond to step back. "As far as both the Parfaedian Bureau and Magical Emergency is concerned, we don't have any leads."




"No shit, all of this went down within the span of a few hours!"




"Calm down."



 Almond groaned in annoyance. Mimosa tilted his head. "Our only lead, apparently, is you."




The Detective's eyes widened slightly. "...That's not-"




"You're the common factor in all of this." Mimosa placed a few dollars on his drink glass-strewn booth table. Mimosa looked into his pocket again, and there was another click. He'd only been here for a few minutes, there was no need to check the time...  



"I'm close to solving this on my own. I'm onto you. I'm getting to the fucking bottom of this myself." 




Almond was left in the bar, contemplating in a shocked quiet. 

Chapter Text

Clouds rolled through the sky, bringing thunder along with it. Despite being early in the afternoon, the city was cast in an even deeper shadow. Old lanterns were brought out and hung on signs as a replacement for street lamps. Walnut was listening to her iPod in the back of Almond's car after picking her up from school. Her spring break had just started, and as promised, he was to drop her off at Latte and Cream Puff's. 






"Our only lead, apparently, is you."





Almond gripped the steering wheel as he pulled into Latte's driveway. 






"You're the common factor in all of this." 






He hadn't been around any of the scenes at the time of the crimes... he didn't even have much knowledge on the illegal magic used.  No matter. He'd stop by VerJelly, Aloe Cookie's lab, after a while. He parked his car in Latte's driveway, and Walnut giddily hopped out of the car. Latte answered the door in flannel pajamas, holding her Spoon Staff in her hand, a mug in the other. She smiled as Cream Puff greeted her friend, and the two hurried inside after Walnut hugged her father goodbye. "You feeling okay?" She asked in a soft voice. Almond nodded, helping Walnut bring her backpack to the foyer. "Mhm. Just had a bit of a hard...week. Still no breaks in the case." 






The Witch chewed on her lip. "Promise you're gonna take a few days off after you crack this? The kids are out of school for the next week and a half, so we were thinking of taking a trip to Beignet Square!"






Almond put his hands in his pockets, looking to the dark clouds overhead. "Not sure when that'll be, Latts. I've gotta sort some things out first, so I'll be MIA for a bit." He pulled his heavy tan coat closer to his shoulders, as the wind was beginning to pick up and steady rain began to fall. "Parfaedia's been out of power for around two days, and the Beacons are probably gonna use up a bunch of energy to keep them running, and all. Magical Emergency Handling is doing all we can."





Latte cast him a concerned look. "You're doing your professional voice, Alms, is everything alright?" She idly turned her staff in her hand. Almond shook his head, turning back to his still-running car. 





"Everything's under control," He said, nodding at her as he opened his door, "It'll be solved by morning."







--------------




Almond stayed in his parked car in the parking lot of M.E.H. The radio was off, and all that could be heard was the sound of large raindrops splattering against the windshield and asphalt below. He picked up the file Aloe had dropped off in his office for him. 






Material: "Dragon Scale", shard and/or shrapnel classification

Physical Properties - Pinkish-violet in color, consistent warmth. Hard enamel-like exterior.

+  +   +

Description of acquisition and scientific and magical findings listed below; Provided by Aloe Cookie, VerJelly associate.




Multiple samples of substance "D.SCALE" has proven to be perplexing to say the least. Our usual tests seem ineffective, as the shard remains both intact, unblemished and undamaged. Unknown curse or enchantment on the scales; As far as our historical insight goes, no Cookie in recent years has been able to harness dragon-type magic. However, we have found no evidence of alleged "dark substance." 





He had read the short report several times over. How could they have not noticed even a hint of the residual black substance he witnessed at the Cheesecake manor? It was on the generator too, and if Mimosa was there, he had to have seen it as well- but Almond doubted that he glanced at it for more than a second before deciding to attempt to find something better to do, like a loose attempt at incriminating Almond. 






It still didn't explain how a Cookie could have enchanted them this way... obviously, a literal dragon couldn't have done these crimes, but what else could have done it?





If no one else noticed the residue, could only Almond see it? Nothing surrounding the case made sense, and now he was the main suspect because...Well, because he had a connection to each related instance, he supposed. He had known Miss Cheesecake, who actively blamed him; and the Blue Cheese Manor... and then there was-




...Stood at the edge of a forest, where the weeds met the well-trimmed grass. Behind him was a large mansion; in front of him, sprawling Syrup Trees. In the distance was a flicker of light. Not...light. Flame. Violet, out-of-control flames. He wanted to take a step away from it as the fire approached from afar, but couldn't find it in him to turn around. He couldn't look at the manor. Not after... what? Not after...something. Something terrible, he knew. He didn't understand why, but he knew it was there. Something was there. And the fire approached. And he couldn't look away. 





The dream. Realization struck him as he remembered- he had a dream about the manor the night it happened. 




Surely, he reasoned with himself, running his hands through his hair, a constant nervous habit of his, I couldn't have- couldn't have done something, I don't even know magic! But with Agent Mimosa's accusatory glare and the faint scent of alcohol lingering in his mind, his thoughts were clouded with a humming worry that was only exemplified by the sound of thunder. Almond's breath shook as he slid his phone out of his pocket. 





Roguefort, could you 

Roguefort, could you



He retyped his text, 




Rogue, I'm sorry to bother you,



Rogue, I'm sorry to bother you,





Almond muttered to himself, cursing at his slightly trembling hands. 



I'm not sure who else to talk to right now, but I trust you the most, Rogue. There's a lot going on, I dont know what to do or think, but... I'm glad you've been there for m




His text sent early- Almond saw something out fo the corner of his eye. A shadow of a Cookie, perhaps; Whatever it was, it made a crashing sound beside a bin near the side of the main M.E.H. building. Squinting, he tossed his phone haphazardly into his backseat, and threw on his coat. Making sure he had his cuffs with him, he cautiously stepped out of the car and into the pouring rain. 






The overcast sky made the whole city much, much darker. Almond called out into the empty side street, having trouble seeing through the mist that fell around him; Lamps illuminated the desolate road, as evening was beginning to descend on Parfaedia





It was nearly pitch-black at the end of the street. No other Cookies in sight...




Almond tilted his head as two tiny, pinpricks of pink light appeared far in front of him.




Then a lamp blew out. Then another. The Detective stared as this Cookie- this thing approached, glass scattering as lamps exploded and more darkness enveloped the road. On a panicked whim, he tossed his long-chained handcuffs at the figure. 



His pulse quickened. The cuffs passed through the approaching dark. He had no other line of defense, and-



------------


"Almond? ALMOND!"




He woke up gasping, his clothes soaked by the wet road he was laying in. Someone stood above him, shaking him awake in a panic. They were biting their lip, as if they were attempting not to cry. 



"R...Rogue?"

Chapter Text

Almond's clothes were far past being soaked through. Most of his thoughts were still unclear, blurry with a dull pain in his head. Roguefort gripped his shirt caller during their attempt to rouse him, though Almond could see how their arms were shaking. They had both rain and relieved tears streaking down their face.





"Rogue...Rogue, when did... how did..." Each word felt like a struggle to get out. His chest had a tight, burning feeling. Almond shielded his eyes from the rain, still unable to sit upwards. Roguefort placed their hands on his shoulders, kneeling in the puddle of water they were both in. Their lip quivered as they spoke, "I- I got your text, and I noticed it was cut short...I got worried so- so I came over by Magical Emergency. I saw your car, but it was like...no one else was around." They twisted at their hair, done in a now-disheveled braid. "Then it got really dark, and I was worried, and-" They began to cry again. 






"Calm-" Almond winced, "Calm down, it's okay-"





"It's not!" Roguefort's voice rose with emotion. They weren't angry- just filled with worry and a lingering panic for their friend. "I found you over here, in the road, and no one was around only...only darkness." 






Almond's eyes widened. He had forgotten about his encounter, and felt around himself for his handcuffs. It had to have been real... "Where's- Rogue where's my-?" Roguefort motioned to the almond handcuffs, which were lying about 20 feet away in what appeared to be a receding aura of complete darkness. The Detective mumbled back a quiet 'oh' in response. He propped himself on his elbows, and shifted himself to stand-






"AGH- Fuck! Shitshitshitshit-" Almond slipped in his attempt to sit up, feeling a burning, stabbing pain in his left thigh. Embedded, at least a few inches deep, was a wide, pink and very sharp scale. It radiated heat, and sent a pulsing, agonizing wave of pain through Almond as his breath began to quicken. He tried focusing on anything but the damn thing. 





Rogue took in a sharp breath. "I was- I was trying to wake you up, and I didn't notice the... here, let me take it out-"





"No!" Almond said, grasping Rogue's wrist as they reached for it. "It'll- It'll hurt you, too." Roguefort muttered to themselves in french before pulling a handkerchief out of their soaked shirt pocket. "I won't touch it, but it needs to come out." 





Almond hesitantly let go of Rogue's arm, instead opting to move a stray strand of teal-dyed hair out of Rogue's face. His mind felt clouded, both with confusion and nervousness. Roguefort blinked at him for a moment as the corner of their mouth flicked into a smile for a fraction of a second. "Now, Detective, is not the time to be fixing up my hair..." They looked away from him, folding the cloth in their hand. Almond grinned the best he could. "I have a feeling that this will...hurt, a lot. Do please hold onto something, dear." Roguefort offered their free hand, and Almond took it. "On three, okay?"





"Right..." Almond braced himself, gritting his teeth as Roguefort placed their hand over the scale.




"Un... deux...trois," They counted, quickly and forcefully removing the shard, careful not to injure Almond further. 





Almond screamed, gripping Rogue's hand while they winced and muttered panicked apologies in a heightened voice- and blacked out again. 






--------------




He had only been on the Violent Crimes unit for a few weeks before his first injury on the job. As per usual, he wanted to take things into his own hands, resting the assistance of fellow associates.  His shift had ended hours ago, but he was still in pursuit of the perpetrator he couldn't remember clearly. It had just finished raining, and the sky was golden with the sun's glow. He had no time to admire the beauty of it; Almond held his handcuffs close. 





Of course he had been issued a gun, though he never wanted to use it. Never has used it, in fact. Even in the situation he was in. 




It rested vacantly in his holster. His chest hurt with the exertion of running, as he had been chasing a dangerous Cookie across rooftops and side-streets for Ancient's know how long. He finally had them cornered. He could attempt to reason peacefully, and if all else failed, simply toss his enchanted handcuffs as he had before. 





"Detective Almond Cookie! Stop where you-"





He stumbled. The Cookie was in front of him, and there was a loud bang; A hot pain shot through Almond's arm.





---------------






He gasped awake from his dream, gripping the bedsheet under him- bedsheet?





Almond bolted upright, gasping as he moved his leg. It still had a faint numbness, but was nowhere near as painful as before. It was loosely bandaged too, over his still-wet clothes. His hair and face was dry, however...




"So you're awake, I see."




The Detective jumped at the familiar voice. "...You. What do you want, where am-"





"Damn it, I told them you would react like this- Cool it!" Mimosa Cookie said. He was grimacing, standing by the bed Almond was apparently laying in and holding a martini glass with one hand- the other was in a sling. His usual hat wasn't anywhere to be found. Almond ignored how much his leg hurt, and grit his teeth, carefully adjusting himself so he could sit on the side of the bed. Mimosa didn't react. 

"Where. Am. I." Almond glared. 




The Agent rolled his eyes, setting his drink down on the bedside table and lit a cigarette held between his teeth. "You're at your friend, uh...Roguefort, or whatever- their penthouse."




Almond raised his eyebrows. "Then- then what are you-"




"They'll explain when they get in here."




On cue, Rogue poked their head through the door. Their face immediately lit up. "Oh thank Millennial Tree! Oh, I was so worried, I thought I hurt you more..." Their voice went soft. Mimosa glanced from Rogue, back to Almond. "...So are you going to explain, or do I gotta."





Roguefort stammered. "O-Oh- right, ah...The Agent here came by after the whole...scale, thing."




"To investigate me, no doubt."



Mimosa nodded. "That's irrelevant. Anyways, I was approaching the M.E.H. building from the side-street, when uh... This happened." He pointed to his arm in the sling. "One of those...shards." Roguefort lowered themselves next to Almond.






"And...Almond, the dark, it's... moving."

Chapter Text

Almond's head only hurt more when Roguefort mentioned the dark. "Could...could we wait a bit, before we discuss that?" He said. He looked around the room. His coat was hung on the back of the doorknob, and the sky outside was red with dusk and rainclouds, letting out the last drizzle of the evening. Almond looked back to Mimosa, who was putting out his cigarette on the windowsil. Rogue nodded; They'd talk about the issue when Almond was less delirious. 




"So what were you doing there, huh?" He eyed the sling he wore. 





Agent Mimosa huffed, crossing his arms the best he could. "I happened to be by, and I was going to try and get that file Aloe made from you. As I approached, somethin' felt off. No one was there," He lit another cigarette, and Rogue wafted the smoke away from their face. "-So I got a little concerned, obviously." Mimosa continued. "That cloud of darkness and shattered glass wasn't normal. Being the investigative type I am, I approached it. That's when I saw your friend here, kneeling over you. Lot of blood."




Roguefort slid their hand over to Almond's. "It was a bit difficult to explain-"






"Yeah, yeah whatever-" Mimosa interrupted. "Anyway, I went into the dark. This thing, it... circled me. Next thing I know I'm falling forward, and my arm's broken. All of this to say: You're not behind this, apparently." The Agent didn't seem all too convinced, and appeared irritated at his defeat. Almond nodded in appreciation. 






"So it takes you nearly crumbling to believe me?" 

Mimosa clicked his tongue, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and holding it between his fingers. "Don't push it. Do you think I actually fuckin' trust you? Anceintsdamnthe..." He muttered the rest of his insults while stomping out of the room, leaving Rogue and Almond alone.





His clothes were still damp from the puddle he was passed out in. Roguefort realized this, jumping off the bed and rushing to the wardrobe. "I uh- I bought these at a dollar store while you were asleep!" They laid a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt across from Almond, folded neatly. They smiled, before leaving the room for a moment while Almond got dressed. 




----------




A few minutes later, Almond called Rogue back in. He had replaced his bandages accordingly and was now laying on his back upside down on the bed. The Thief did the same right next to him. "...Thank you,' Almond said after a few moments of comfortable silence, "For finding me, earlier. I didn't mean to worry you."




Roguefort waved their hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that, please. Your car and phone and everything are back at M.E.H., so... we'll circle back to that." They wanted to avoid the subject for the time being; They'd rather let Almond be comfortable rested before re-opening that can of worms. Instead, they turned on their side to look at their friend. They noticed a small, oval-shaped scar on his right bicep. "What's that one from? One of your enticing crime-chase escapades before my time?"





Almond nodded, still staring at nothing on the ceiling. "Yeah, heh. Gunshot wound." Roguefort stared, mouth opened slightly. "THE- holy shit!" They were shocked at his casualness! They lightly traced around the scar with their finger. "At least you're okay."




The Detective nodded, turning to face Roguefort as well. Almond smiled, scooting themselves a bit closer to his friend. "Well, hopefully after this, I'll be back to chasing you."




"Chasing me, monsignor? Why, if you've been chasing after me for this long, you might as well just ask me out!"




Almond shrugged. "Ok."




"WhHWhAT??" Their face turned bright red-





...Just as Mimosa walked through the bedroom door without warning. Almond sat up, yelping as another jolt of pain shot through his leg. "Damn it, Mimosa!"




The Agent scratched at the side of his face, leaning on the door. "Roguefort, have you even mentioned the darkness issue? It's like- the whole point of this."





Roguefort stammered, standing up and looking completely away from Almond. "RIGHT- Rightrightright, ahh... so, essentially, that wave of darkness you two were attacked in looks like it's spreading. I'm sure it's on the news by now..." They paced around the room, pausing to cast a glance outside the window into the night. It had been nearly three days without power in most places; However, magic-user Cookie's used a simple substitute using their practice and skill. Mimosa placed his hat on his head, turning to leave again. "We should check out the scene, again. First, I gotta check in with my boyfriend."





Almond and Rogue glanced at eachother, then back to Mimosa. Almond tilted his head, in a minor moment of surprise. "You have a boyfriend?"

Agent Mimosa glared. "Yeah, I do, what about it?" Almond waved his hands in front of him. "Oh- no no no, I didn't mean it like-"





"I get it, Detective." Mimosa rolled his eyes. "His name is Turmeric Cookie, and his law firm is over by M.E.H." He glanced to the side with the faintest hint of a grin. Rogue and Almond nodded to eachtother; At least he wasn't being as rude as he was previously. He continued, "I'll let him know I'm okay, then we'll check out the spreadin' darkness." 





-----------


After a bit of struggle and a lot more swearing, the three were secure in Roguefort's car. Rogue drove, while Almond had his injured leg outstretched in the back seat. 




With the only lights in the sky being distant beacons and low-level flame lamps plus the moon, it was a long and agonizingly slow drive back to M.E.H. Everyone in the vehicle was silent the whole ride. Almond assumed his phone had been blowing up with missed calls and the like. He thought back to how red Rogue's face went... he silently hoped he didn't embarrass them or make them feel uncomfortable with his joke- well, not really a joke, he was bantering, however he wouldn't mind going out with Rogue as something other than Detective and Thief, or friends...




"ANCIENTS-" Mimosa exclaimed, tugging on his seatbelt as the car lurched forward. "What the hell!"

"Je suis tellement désolé pour ça!" Roguefort exclaimed. They had slammed their foot on the brakes, narrowly avoiding scales that faintly glowed with shimmering and undoubtedly burning magic; a black, boiling and possibly acidic substance oozed from around it and seeped into the cracks in the road. Several other cars were stopped at this shard-scattered junction. Roguefort pulled the car over to the side of the street. Luckily, they all weren't too far from M.E.H. and subsequently Turmeric's law firm. Both were in walking distance. The Agent, disgruntled from the car nearly getting its tires popped on a dragon scale, lead the way. 




-----------



The Thief held Almond's arm, helping him through the dim law firm. It was almost midnight, yet several lawyers were still working. Mimosa weaved his way through the surprisingly crowded building, offering to show his PBI badge to anyone that questioned his presence. At the end of a dismal hallway. He entered without so much as knocking, motioning for the others to follow. The Cookie behind the candle-lit desk barely glanced up through there glasses to know who was there. 




"Ah, Mimsy, who's with you?" He asked. Mimosa, clearly embarrassed with the use of his nickname, cleared his throat and took a seat adjacent from Turmeric Cookie. 




"Just comin' in to say that I'm fine, aside from the arm." He motioned to it, shooting a look at Rogue and Almond. Turmeric tapped his keyboard a few times before acknowledging them. 





"I assume you're Detective Almond. Mimosa has complained about you non-stop." Turmeric Cookie raised an eyebrow at the Agent, who mumbled something about his previous suspicions about Almond. 




Almond nodded, wincing due to him putting pressure on his leg in an attempt to stand on his own. Roguefort caught his arm, being sure he wouldn't fall. The Detective reached over and pulled back the tightly closed curtains of the office. The streets below might as well not have existed- a cloud of night descended down on the road, covering at least a few blocks. Limping closer, Almond saw that the entire City of Parfaedia was filled with this jet-colored smog. It was as if a shadow weaved through the buildings and roads, leaving all below it an opaque murk. The Cookies were on the third floor of the law firm, and he could see over the gloom below as it shifted. 




Mimosa got up from his chair and stared out into the street. "I didn't realize it was this...bad." Almond sighed through his nose. "Mhm. Magic can do this stuff. My daughter, actually, she... wanted to learn some form of it. Not in a bad way, obviously." He remembered what he had said to Walnut back at the dinner table. After the things he's seen in the field, and now overseeing this case... he just didn't want her hurt. 




The Agent leaned on Turmeric's desk. "You've got a kid, I forgot." He said placidly. Almond made a noise of acknowledgment, then leaned back on Roguefort for support. 




A thundering crack shook the building, and Roguefort and Almond gripped eachother for support. Mimosa instinctively grasped both the desk and Turmeric's hand.




"The- the hell was that? Another attack?" Rogue's eyebrows creased as they leaned into Almond, worried and heart racing. Almond's pager was ruined in the rain; Mimosa's PBI communicator was firing with dialogue from other members of the bureau. "Millenial Tree... sorry, Turmeric, gotta head out-" He said to Turmeric, just as he yanked his tie to pull him into a kiss.




"Careful, Agent." 



Mimosa stammered back his reply, before coming back to his senses and fixing his cap, heading through the door with rapid-fire orders through his pager.




Rogue was helping Almond through the door, but he gently moved their hand from his shoulder. "Rogue- Rogue, hey, I got this." He said gently. Roguefort shook their head. "No, no, you are not going out to- whatever is happening alone!"





"I won't be alone, Rogue!" He took their hands in his own. "Try and see what's happening from above, you're good at that sort of thing, Bleu..." Almond glimpsed around Roguefort to see Mimosa motioning for him with an irritated 'hurry-the-hell-up' expression. "Maybe after this, uh...dinner?" Almond added with a smile. Roguefort gasped, also beaming. "Why, I would love to! Be absolutely cautious with that leg though, Detective~!" They added with a sing-song tone. They let go of Almond's hands, turning down a hallway. Almond caught up with Mimosa. 




The Agent and the Detective hurried down to the first floor of the law firm, where several Cookies gathered in a panic-



The Tower of Frozen Waves that oversaw the City was no longer the bright and inviting blue of the Beacons; Instead, it was surrounded by the infecting cloud of night, and a large, foreboding crack formed in the center of it. 

Chapter Text

what if i posted a turmeric/mimosa oneshot as a filler chapter that would be funny i think. 

Chapter Text

The Bureau of Investigation was alive with activity as Parfaedian agents bustled through the halls, carrying refilled coffee and important files. Mimosa Cookie, the longtime lead investigator for the City's Violent Crime Unit, had just recently been allowed to work as an intern for a PBI division. He had argued about this for a long time and was eager to prove himself worthy of officially working for the Bureau. Recently, he had just cracked a major case; That would be what got him into the PBI, his lifelong dream profession. He paced his office, waiting for news on his plan for closing in on the perpetrator of the crime. 





Mimosa sent in the investigative orders as soon as he could. The sooner he could catch this Cookie, the better. 




"Detective Mimosa?" An agent poked their head suddenly around the open door, causing Mimosa to startle. "Fuckin'- hey, what'd the Chief say about the warrant order?" He internally cringed at the sound of his accent slipping. That often happened when he was stressed, which was unfortunately quite often, as of late. The agent at the door held a cigarette between their teeth and a lighter in one hand. "Mayor Oil gave us the green light to go forward with a search warrant. PBI's heading out now. Good work, Detective." They nodded as they began to close the door. Mimosa stepped forward, stopping the door with his foot. 





"I need to go too, right? I mean- I lead the investigation." He added hopefully. He tried not to sound as desperate as he felt. 





"As an intern," The other Cookie said. "The Bureau thanks you for your help, but again, you're not an agent. I guess you could come along and watch." The PBI Cookie smugly chuckled, nudging the door open so the other could exit. Mimosa's eyes widened, and he grabbed his hat and coat off the hook on the borrowed office wall. The agent led Detective Mimosa down to PBI's operation car park. "Remember, this isn't your case, so keep your cool. I've heard about your credentials, and I'm not doubting those, but...You can be explosive at times."




Mimosa nodded. He couldn't exactly disagree with that. "I've been trying not to lose my temper, uh... pass me one?" He held out his hand for a cigarette, and the agent obliged. He didn't typically smoke, but the nicotine was a good stress reliever. "You'll have to take your own vehicle," The other Cookie said. "Just keep on course. We'll handle this."



Other PBI officials had gathered in the supplies garage, all with gear ready for the investigation. "Alright, so, the plan is we head into the main building first. If we hit there-"




Detective Mimosa held his cigarette between his fingers. "Actually, that'd be more dangerous. If you enter through the side, it'll work out better. I mentioned that in the warrant request." The rest of the agency went quiet as he continued to explain, slightly less confident with all of the attention on him. "To prevent this from becoming a total shitstorm, we'd best be more careful with it. This Cookie can use magic very well, we've established that." According to previous reports, the suspect in question had the ability to move throughout the City supernaturally fast. 




Mimosa continued, "And, they know we're onto them. We really can't enter from the front." He concluded. The leading agent crossed his arms and stepped in front of Mimosa as an attempt of intimidation.




"Detective, we're done here. We're going with the PBI approved edit of your plan."





"It's putting more Cookie's lives at risk! Once they realize that we're breaking down their front door, they'll run, and likely take it out on whatever they can." 




Ignoring the Detective, agents carried out dispersing themselves into tactical vehicles. Mimosa muttered a string of curses before heading out to his own car after finishing his cigarette alone in the garage. 





He decided to do things himself.




Mimosa assumed the PBI would be at the magic-Cookie's residence by now. If only they had gone with his plan...




As he turned the corner, his radio went off with stressed conversation. "Hey, what's-" Rounding the corner, he focused on the scene that he assumed the call was about to mention. As Mimosa predicted, the previously-mentioned Cookie had in fact noticed the PBI's attempt to get inside the front of their building. Mimosa hurriedly parked his car on the side of the road in the midst of the chaos. Technically, he had never been in an active situation like this; He was accustomed to basic undercover work or sorting through physical evidence all day. Nothing like this.





The side of a building had collapsed in a heap of rubble as orange smoke filled the area. "Fuck fuck fuck- what did I tell 'em? Damn it-" He gasped in surprise as a chunk of concrete fell from another building. He rolled out of the way just at the right time. Now wasn't the moment to be blaming the Bureau he so adamantly wanted to help...




Citizens were his main concern. He tried to get as many out of the area as he could, as he appeared to be the lone officer there. He coughed as more smoke and walls fell; Luckily, most Cookies were inside already. If he could just help out one more- 





He didn't notice as more rubble fell, and everything went dark. 




Mimosa woke up mere minutes later, coughing and sitting up immediately. Another Cookie was next to him, kneeling. He had what looked like orange sand covering the front of his shirt.  "Agent?" He said. "You...were outside in the street. I saw you were injured." He didn't look particularly worried and appeared quite calm about the situation in general. 




"Fuck, I'm not a- owow-" Mimosa put a hand on his temple. "Where the hell am... oh," He noticed the other Cookie. "You were out there when that attack was happening, weren't ya?" His accent came out heavy. 




"Correct, yes," The Cookie scratched at his neck in contemplation, "You managed to help me inside. I thought I should return the favor." He faintly smiled, but Mimosa's head hurt too much to really focus on anything. "Who are you, exactly??"





"Turmeric Cookie." He replied. 




Mimosa squinted up at him. "Detective Mimosa, a pleasure to meet you." He didn't mean to sound so sarcastic, but Turmeric Cookie figured that. "Detective. I assumed you were an agent, given your assistance with everything. Speaking of, I believe they've been caught by the proper authorities." Turmeric turned to the side. 





"You, youassumedIwasa- Nah, not yet, anyway." Mimosa shakily pulled himself up to his feet. "Thanks for your assistance, Turmeric Cookie." 




Turmeric nodded. "Thank you. You saved quite a few people..." His voice trailed off. Mimosa tilted his head. "No- No problem, uh... yeah so...fuckmyheadhurts I'll be off now, uh... yeah." Clicking his tongue, Mimosa hurried outside where PBI agents were cleaning up the mess off the ruined buildings. 



Mimosa waited in his car, holding an ice pack to a large bruise that had formed. Turmeric... he was nice. Pretty. Wait.


WAIT. 


-------------




Apricot Cookie's trial was only a week later. PBI had concluded that the attack could have been preventable if only Mimosa's plan went through. He was promoted to Agent within days of it. He had a good track record (despite grievances over his attitude) as well as a few denizens sending in thank-you letters of recommendation. 

Since he was the lead investigator, Mimosa was required to stick around in court. This was only opening testimonials, however, so no official proceedings would take place. Carrying a cup of coffee that was likely spiked, he turned a corner that lead to the main courtroom. Someone else was there, organizing what looked like several files. 


 

"You're... you're Turmeric, the one who helped me out a few days ago." In spite of himself, he smiled. "Fancy seeing you here." 

Turmeric was holding a hefty stack of papers and had a pen held between his teeth. "Agent Mimosa Cookie? Correct, I'm a lawyer representative for this case." He took the pen and clipped it on his shirt collar.




"Defense?" Mimosa asked. 




"Prosecution." Turmeric Cookie eyed Mimosa up and down, finally brushing off his shoulder. "You still had sand on your coat, Agent."

Mimosa stammered a little before tilting his hat downward. "Thanksyepthankyou." He glanced up just as Turmeric did, and they made eye contact. "I'll...I'll  see you after the court's in session." He hurried forward, practically downing his coffee. He just barely saw Turmeric break his usual contempt expression to smirk. 




The Agent watched the majority of the defense case in simmering anger. He couldn't help but focus on Turmeric, who waited patiently for his turn to present the City's case. Mimosa presumed he would be as calm as he was when he met him. Turmeric was...nice, and proper but not pretentious... 




After a while, it was the city's turn. Turmeric took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves before flipping through his organized notes. Mimosa took off his hat, intent on actually paying attention. 



"Patrons of the court, I would like to make one thing on the record clear," He brought his hand down forcefully on his desk, "That the defendant is clearly guilty on all accounts. I'll make my opening statements now."




Ah, well. Mimosa didn't expect him to be that intense. 



Something made him want to...talk to him more. 




The rest of the opening testimonial went fine, with Mimosa intently agreeing with Turmeric silently the whole time. Afterward, he managed to find him in the jury preparation room. Turmeric's eyes flicked to him for half a second before he continued with his file-organizing. "Afternoon Mimosa," He was slightly out of breath from his half-yelling during his argument. "Needed something?"




"Well, uh..." He tugged at his coat lapel. "I was thinkin'...if you wanted to discuss the case more sometime, we could, ya know." What are you saying?? Mimosa thought to himself. He's cool. He's nice. Fine. Fine as in decent. Not pretty. But he is. 






Turmeric raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me out?" He said casually, causing Mimosa to blush involuntarily. "Asking y-  uhh..."




"If you were, I'd say sure."



"GhkKJHJ-" Mimosa's eyes widened, and he smoothened his hair. "Ahem- Yeah totally. Bar and Grill down by Cinnamon District?"




"I am alright with that," He smiled. "See you then?"




"Yeah, hah... I'll be there."




------------



The Agent gripped his steering wheel in the parking lot of his small apartment. "Why did you say that, you-" He groaned, lighting another cigarette. "It'll be fine," He said aloud to himself, "It'll be fine...just a date. Just one date."



-----------




They ended up going on another date. And another...



They bonded over old music, noir films, the occasional drink. Despite his internal conflict, Mimosa felt genuine... acception from Turmeric. It was strange, considering their chance meeting. They had been 'officially' dating for over a month.



Turmeric filled up a new pot of coffee in the jury room, while Mimosa tossed his hat up in the air and caught it, bored. He was only there as a witness, anyways. Turmeric had been preparing for his closing statements. 




Mimosa grinned at him as he did so. "We headin' over to Cinnamon District after this, d- Turmeric?" He wasn't sure if he should refer to him as dear yet, though he kind of (really) wanted to. Turmeric set a full cup of coffee on a table, before turning to adjust Mimosa's tie. "Of course, Mimsy." Mimosa laughed lightly. "Cool, hah...at least my head isn't fuckin' hurtin' anymore. Damn, that bruise sucked..." 





Turmeric glanced up at him smiling softly as well. Mimosa slowly slid his hand into his, as they'd done many times before. 




"Is... Is it wrong that I... kinda wanna kiss you right now?"





"No," He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I wouldn't say so," Turmeric said, tugging on Mimosa's tie to pull him into a kiss. Mimosa hugged Turmeric as he did so, and he ran his hands through Mimosa's hair, causing his hat to fall to the floor. 




Eventually, Turmeric pulled away for air. Mimosa picked his hat up from the floor, face absolutely red. "Ohokaygoodtoknow. Damn..." He muttered, absolutely beaming. The Lawyer gathered his files, propping open the jury room door to exit. "Right, well, we'll talk more after the trial. Love you."




"I..love you too, Turmeric."



-----------


"-And that's pretty much how we met, three years ago," Mimosa said, breathless as he and Almond raced on foot towards the damaged Sea Fairy Tower. 





"How nice," Almond responded.



"Oh whatever, what would you know," Mimosa stopped to catch his breath. "Ya know what I'm doin' after all of this?" He said to Almond. Almond unclipped his handcuffs from his belt, "Hm?"




"I'm gonna ask him to marry me." He smiled, then quickly shook his head and looked towards the Tower. "It's- whatever, let's fix whatever the fuck's goin' on."

Chapter Text

Law enforcement gathered in the area and Cookies ran in all directions, some out of the dark and some into it in an effort to flee whatever had happened to the Tower. Almond's injured leg stung with dull pain, yet he continued onward with Mimosa right behind. 




The crack in the tower appeared as if it were spewing a cloud of black, seeping smoke, pungent with the smell of burning... and possibly a faint hint of something sickly sweet. The Detective stared up at the crevice, narrowing his eyes at the sound of low-toned rumbling inside. He scanned the surrounding area at the base of the Tower; A squad car had a large scale embedded in it. It was much larger than the others that the Detective had previously seen- it was about a foot wide, and just as poisonous and hot. Mimosa cautiously approached the car, silently praying no one was inside. Luckilly, no one was. He let out a breath. 





"Almond, get as many people as you can out of the area," Agent Mimosa commanded, surveying the damaged and cracked street. "Doesn't look like whoever- or whatever this thing is- it doesn't look like it's actively tryin' to kill us, so secure the area."





"On it," Almond called from across the street, gripping his handcuffs close to him. He was painfully aware of his holster, however he promised himself he wouldn't come around to using it for its purpose. 





Nearly everyone had fled in the chaos, however, a few Cookies remained lost and terribly disoriented. The Agent paced, ordering officers to help anyone in need.The only area of Parfaedia that wasn't engulfed in the darkness was the base of the Frozen Tower and around the Beacons. Even those flickered as if they were about to sputter out just as all the other lights have. Almond had to squint to see just a few feet ahead of him, as deep blue clouds blocked out the moon and the hopeful light it could have promised to the denizens in the city below. 



Out of the corner of his eye, the Detective could see a particular Thief scouring the area from above. They took no notice of Almond, instead focusing on the Frozen Tower's crack. Almond was glad to see they were at least out of the darkness, but his glad thoughts lingered only for a moment as his mind filled with anxiety. Walnut, Cream Puff, Latte... they were still in the City. All he could do was hope the situation didn't escalate further. 




"Sir!" A small voice said. A short kid, just a bit younger than Walnut, beamed up at Almond. That was... more than odd, given the situation. 




"Hey, kid," He spoke in as gentle of a voice as he could, kneeling down to the young Cookie despite the pain in his leg beginning to flare up again. "Are your parents around?" As to not spook the child, he set the enchanted handcuffs and nudged them away with his foot. The Cookie glanced at them unblinking, then stared right back at Almond. 




"You'll help me, won't you?" They said in a playful tone. Almond began to feel lightheaded...it was as if a vignette impaired his vision and the smell of burning mingled with that sweet scent clouded his mind. He began to nod before squinting at them; they weren't a child anymore... or a Cookie, for that matter.




Their black eyes glowed the very same vibrant pink of the scales, and wide, leathery wings billowed out from behind them. His eyes widened as their apparent illusion of an innocent child faded away.





The Dragon's fanged smirk faded into a scowl. "How can you see through my disguise?" They flapped their wings, irritated. "That's not fair!" 




Almond gasped, calling out to the Agent in the distance. As he turned, Mimosa stepped backward as the Dragon darted up in the air. "Millenial Tree-! Is that who's been-" Mimosa held onto an abandoned squad car as more scales descended from the tower. One landed next to him with enough force to knock him over. Both watched as a long, magenta tail curled itself around the tower and flicked itself in a manner similar to a cat's. A claw gripped onto the blue ice of the Frozen Tower, cracking it even further. The Dragon spread its wings wide. The wind picked up, and spread more of the dark smoke along with it. Almond reached for his holster, staring up at this scaled monster... but he hesitated. 





"What are you doing?" Mimosa shouted. "Do something, Detective!"




Everything faded to black before Almond could react...




------------




"Fuck!" Mimosa groaned, pushing himself off of the wet pavement. His hat had flown off at some point. He'd just find it after all of this...He coughed, staggering upwards. "Damn Detective," He muttered, "Coulda just..." Mimosa stared ahead of him, his frustrated expression melting into that of worry. 




Turmeric Cookie waved to him, just a few feet ahead. He let out a sigh of relief. "Turmeric! You..." He took a step back as the Lawyer tilted his head. When did he get here? How did he even... 



"That's not.. you're not..him, where's Turmeric?" Panic rose in his chest as he turned to look around at nothing but the hazy void around him. "Where's-"



The last thing he heard was the same laughter from before.




---------



Almond struggled to stand, searching the ground for where his handcuffs were placed. He couldn't even see the ground, for that matter. "Where are you? Come out!" He demanded. 




"In tenebris opercula," A voice said from the dark, "It is certainly lovely to finally meet you face to face!" Lychee Dragon's voice boomed. 

Chapter Text

Turmeric gently placed his hand on Mimosa’s shoulder. “We don’t…have to stay for long, Mimsy. I can meet them another time, if you so choose.”





They were standing on the front porch of a lavishly decorated suburban home, in a small town just outside Parfaedia City. Mimosa had left his hat in the car, and he tousled his hair impatiently. “They wanted to check in on me, so it’ll be…” He trailed off, staring blankly at a neatly-trimmed and well cared for potted flower. “It’s whatever. It’s only dinner, and they should at least meet you. I just won’t mention to my parents how we-” He made hand motions in between them. “Y’know. Are together.” Mimosa allowed himself to relax into a smile when he said that. He shook his head and knocked on the door. “Maybe things will be different.”





Turmeric put his hands in his pockets, tapping his foot on the ground in part impatience, part nervousness. He had heard very little about what the Agent’s childhood was like, and from what he had heard, it didn’t sound exactly pleasant.





A few moments later, flat shoes clicked on hardwood tile and a short woman with pale green, almost white hair answered the door. She had dangling pearl jewelry and carried a heavy scent of expensive perfume about her. Her criticizing expression softened when her eyes landed on her son.

“Oh, Mimosa, how lovely of you to come home. You look so much like your father.” Mimosa rolled his eyes, rocking back and forth on his heels.







“Yeah, yeah. I’ve been hearin’ that since I was four.”







The woman smiled before turning to the Lawyer. “Who’s this?” She asked.




“I’m a friend of Mimosa’s from work,” Turmeric held out his hand for the other Cookie to shake it. She half-laughed, and took his hand for a short second.






“Tequila Cookie,” She introduced herself. “Always a pleasure to meet respectable friends of his.” The Agent stared down at the newly sweeped concrete floor.




“May we come in, ma’am?” Mimosa had an odd soft formality in his voice Turmeric hadn’t heard before, along with his accent.



Tequila Cookie opened up the door to allow the pair inside. “Vodka, dearest, he’s arrived with a friend from work! Though he should have notified us first,” She added,  leading them through the house. It was decorated in a homely, rustic style, and Turmeric couldn’t help but notice the framed Great Witch quotes in frames on the walls.





Vodka Cookie- Who Turmeric could safely assume was Mimosa’s father- was seated at the head of a neatly set-up dining table in the small foyer next to the kitchen.






They have some similarities, Turmeric thought to himself, But to say that they look just like eachother…I don’t particularly agree with…

Vodka Cookie hardly glanced at Mimosa as he sat down in a seat that was farthest from the head of the table. “So, son, how’s work goin’?”






“Fine,” Mimosa replied, casting a concerned glance to Turmeric, who placed himself in the chair adjacent to Mimosa’s. Turmeric mouthed back to him ‘It’s okay.’ The Agent nodded.  Vodka folded his hands on the table. “Friend from work, you say?”





“Yes, sir,” Turmeric said with his usual politeness, “I’m a lawyer, prosecution; I work quite closely with the PBI.”





Mimosa poured himself a glass from a bottle of champagne that was placed in the center of the table. “Figured we’d stop by here before we went back home.” Vodka gave him a quizzical look, and Mimosa rephrased what he had said previously. “As in- we’re carpooling, I’d drop him off. At his own home.”






Mimosa’s father glanced from Mimosa to Turmeric. “Alright, no need for an explanation.”






Agent Mimosa rose from his seat, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. “I’ll be right back,” He said, halfway to the front door already. Turmeric mumbled out some excuse about needing to grab something from the car, and followed his boyfriend outside.






“Mimosa,” He closed the door carefully behind him, being sure to keep his voice soft. “I’m aware you’re… uncomfortable. We can go home, it would be perfectly acceptable.” 

Turmeric stood behind Mimosa, and slid his arms around him, resting his forehead on Mimosa’s back. The Agent twisted his lighter around in his hand, tapping the cigarette with his finger. “I’ll be fine, it’s not like they’ll do anything about it, anyways…let’s just go back inside,” Mimosa took a final inhale of smoke before stepping on the half-used cigarette. He quickly turned around to give Turmeric a quick kiss. The Lawyer grinned. “Tastes like nicotine, Agent!”




“Wonder why, Honeybee!” Mimosa bantered back. Clearing his throat, he nudged open the door again, shoving his lighter back into his jeans pocket. The table was already set up with plates of some sort of pasta, provided by Tequila. Mimosa and Turmeric took their places from before. “So, Mimosa,” Vodka Cookie began saying when Mimosa took a sip of his champagne, “Got yourself a girlfriend yet?”





Mimosa choked on his drink, and set it down clumsily with a clink. “Fuckin’- no, I…don’t- I haven’t, no.” He was slightly blushing in embarrassment, watching as Turmeric drank from his own glass, holding back a smirk. Mimosa tapped his knuckles on the clothed table. “Been busy with work, and all, doin’ PBI stuff.”



“Well, son, I’m sure you’ll find yourself an upstanding young lady.”





“Yeah,” Vodka chimed in. “You’re his friend, you tell ‘em!” Vodka nudged Turmeric with his elbow jokingly. “Well…” Turmeric replied in his usual, professional voice, “He should be with whoever makes him comfortable."

“Yeah, Dad,” Mimosa mumbled with a bit more bitterness than he intended. Vodka’s expression faded into that of irritation. “Don’t start this again.”





“Start what?” Mimosa grumbled. Turmeric bounced his leg, silently pleading for Mimosa to just drop it. The Agent crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. “Well, you know who I am comfortable with? My boyfriend.” He nodded towards Turmeric, who waved awkwardly, biting his lip and avoiding looking at anyone in the room. Tequila Cookie muttered what sounded like a prayer. Vodka stood up, which caused Mimosa to stand and argue as well, while Tequila attempted to get them both to sit down. Turmeric quietly thanked Tequila and left the table, outside to the front porch.







Moments later, Mimosa came out of the house fizzing and still arguing with his father in a raised voice as he went, slammed the door behind him. Turmeric had been waiting with his hands on his hips. Mimosa’s glare disappeared as he saw the Lawyer’s face, both concerned and irritated at the same time. “...Turmeric-”


“We agreed to just leave it be, Mimosa.” He let out a sigh. “I am aware you’re…angry, and I understand that, but…Ancients, I’m sorry.” Mimosa put his arm around Turmeric’s waist, walking together to Mimosa’s car. The Agent opened his door for him. “Don’t apologize. ‘S my fault I lost my damn temper.”

Now with both of them in the car, Turmeric put one hand on the side of Mimosa’s face and ran the other through his fizzing hair. “...What did he say to you?” Turmeric whispered. 

The Agent leaned into Turmeric’s hands. “Somethin’ stupid about ‘displeasure to the Witches’ or whatever. It ain’t important.”




“I had a feeling they were…not fond of this sort of thing. Is that why you were so…hesitant to, ah…ask me out, I suppose?






Mimosa nodded. “It’s not that I didn’t wanna, I was just-” He paused. “I…I hate to admit it, but I was scared, of somethin’ like this happenin’..” It was quiet in the car. They were still parked on Mimosa’s parent’s street. Mimosa leaned forward over the center console, gently kissing Turmeric. After a moment, Turmeric tilted his head up, allowing Mimosa to rest his head on his shoulder. “...Are you..”


“I’mnotcryingInevercry.” He was. “I’m just relieved I have someone like you. You’re calm and you always know what to say, and you’re hot-”






Turmeric snickered, patting Mimosa’s head gently. “It’s lovely you think so.” Mimosa sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Whew- Alright, let’s…let’s go home.”

Chapter Text

'Are you afraid of the dark?' The Dragon asked.

'No,' The Knight answered, 'Only of what is in it.'

The Dragon mockingly extended a claw to the Knight. 'The root of the fear of what lies within the dark,' The Dragon declared, 'Is seated, in turn, within the fear of darkness itself. Anything, terrific or not, could be within the blackness of night. Would you be afraid of those harmless things as such?'

The Knight stood his ground as the Dragon shifted its large body around the tower it had claimed. 'No, I suppose not.'

'Precisely,' The Dragon said with a throaty, flame-roughened laugh. 'I will ask you again. Are you afraid of the dark?'

The Knight hesitated before answering. 'Yes, I am.'

'Why?'

'I am afraid of what could be in it. What could become of me within it.'

The Dragon's head was inches from the Knight's own. 'Light,' it said, 'Can cause the dark to dissipate. Light is your distant, warm love in this cold domain of mine."

----------------------

Phantom Bleu hopped from rooftop to rooftop as fast as they could. They had to be as careful as possible, given that they had lost their prescription monocle. They had seen Lychee Dragon manifest around the Frozen Tower before disappearing into the black smoke that was suffocating the City of Parfaedia. From their spot atop a building that was closest to the beach where the now half-melted tower stood, Roguefort attempted to at least locate Almond amidst the chaos. 

They had no way of knowing where he was...in theory, they could climb down and enter the darkness themselves, but that ran the risk of them getting trapped as well. Still...he had to find him. With all of their years of friendship, they couldn't let it end because some dragon wanted to spread the dark just for the hell and fun of it. Rogue had to get to him, somehow...

Roguefort took a deep breath before climbing down from the moderately safe haven that was the rooftop, descending into the darkness.

It was so utterly quiet in that place. Roguefort couldn't even see their hand when they held it out a few inches in front of them. They could just faintly hear the sound of car alarms blaring, but even so, it sounded miles away; Only their own breathing was really audible. They took a step forward; their movements made no sound. 

"Almond?" They called out into the nothing. Roguefort continued walking blindly, assuming they had to run into a wall or some sort of block at some point. They didn't. Rogue called out for their friend again, this time more desperate. "Almond, are you here? Where are you?" They sped up into a slight run, panic beginning to overwhelm them. 

----------------

'Distant? No, they can't be that far...' The Knight said wistfully. 'The Light can't be that far, I can feel it...'

'That's not possible,' They said with a laugh, 'Someone thought he saw his love in the darkness. And now, he is likely to never leave.'

The Knight was unsure what this meant... his mind wasn't clear, he couldn't think straight. He tried to focus on his Light...

----------

"Almond? Ancients, damn it..." Roguefort felt like they had been running for hours, their efforts in searching approaching futileness. 

If only you were here, Almond... they thought. He was his closest friend, they could open up to him...he was there for everything, a shoulder to cry on, quite literally.

Nothing around them was visible. They were completely lost; they weren't even sure which direction was which. Rogue slowly lowered themselves to the ground, shaking as their legs felt sore. Was this all there is? Was? Would be? Nothing but darkness. No one else in sight. No Almond, either; The Detective- their Detective- had to be somewhere, and they were determined to find him. 

What could help? How were they supposed to aid in saving Parfaedia?

Roguefort brought their knees to their chest, squinting out at nothing. Maybe they'd rest for a while...reminisce on fond memories, perhaps. Get their mind off of the hopelessness they were feeling.

"Really, dear Almond, I do recommend not stumbling while jumping and climbing from roof to roof," Rougefort said, giggling as Almond struggled to drag himself up from the vine-ladder he was tangled in while using it to scale the building. "Yeah, heh, I know!" Almond managed to yank his foot free, and stepped onto the roof. The moon was large and bright overhead, casting a white glow on the city.

What Rogefort would give to see that light again... However, this was months ago...back when they didn't have to confront dragons or Ancient's forbid, their feelings. 

Phantom Bleu turned a delicate ruby around in their hand, admiring its red sparkle. "You would think that gem galleries would take better precautionary measures..." They smiled as Almond held out his hand. "C'mon, Bleu, hand it over." Rogue knew Almond was trying his best to keep his own banterful grin hidden. It was a common ritual: Almond 'catching' the illustrious thief, the pair having a casual and lengthy conversation, then Phantom Bleu manages to 'escape' from the law. This was the 5th time this had happened in the past two weeks alone. 

Roguefort gazed at Almond through the red gemstone. "Can I keep this one this time? It's quite pretty..."

"No, sorry." Almond sat next to them. "How've you been?" He asked, gently taking the ruby into his hand and sliding it into his pocket. Roguefort sighed happily, twisting the fabric of their cape around idly. 

"I've been quite well- after that thrilling chase, I'm able to talk with you." Did they intend to say that? Maybe. Possibly. 

When Almond was embarrassed or even flustered, the tips of his ears turned pink, Rogue remembered. 

Almond raised his eyebrows. "That's- well yeah, that's true..." He flipped open his notebook, marking that the stolen ruby had been located and secured. He noticed Rogue wasn't being as theatrical as usual. "...You feeling alright? Usually, you'd be on the run again until next time, by now." 

The Thief shrugged. "Maybe I wanted to talk a little while longer. With you, I mean." Tu t'es embarrassé toi-même, Rogue! Almond's expression slowly shifted into a smile. "That so? Well, I've got time." He turned so he was completely facing Rogue. His hair was falling over his brow, and he was still kind of out of breath from the chase before. If they weren't so damn terrified, Rogue might've called him pretty. "What'd you want to talk about?" Almond asked. 

Roguefort scooted themselves closer to the Detective, yawning as they did so. "I...don't know!"

"If you just wanted to hang out, you could've just asked." He beamed, smugly. "I'm fine with that."

"I thought you'd be busy, or something... like maybe you didn't have time, for me.

"Of course I have time for you, Rogue." Almond replied with a soft chuckle, causing Rogue to let out their happy sigh. Their smiles slowly faded... Almond parted his lips to say something-

Just as police sirens approached. Rogue stood hurriedly. "Ah- my cue to leave, dear!" They pulled Almond up, and he used their shoulder to keep his balance. Almond stuttered, turning to the vine ladder. "Yeah- rightrightright!" He nodded. "I'll see you next time- bye!!"

Roguefort remembered this ordeal quite fondly...the brightness of the moon, the bright lights of the city- it was like they could see the glowing now...was that an actual light? But where could it have been coming from-?

They...were glowing.