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Chapter Text

War had waged across Earthbread for years now. Many lives were lost, and many more were suffering from those losses. Tonight was the night that the five of them were going to end it all. 

Yet, it didn’t quite go that way. The power of five soul jams was not enough to stop her, whatever she was made of. And now, all that could be done was to wait for the inevitable. 

“Any last words?” Dark Enchantress called out, soul jams hovering in her hand. 

The five ancients stared up at her in horror. Despite their best efforts, it had all been for nothing. She had triumphed over them, the best shot that Earthbread had at being saved. 

“You won’t get away with this!” Pure Vanilla yelled, standing and facing her indignantly. 

A wicked grin spread across Dark Enchantress’s face. “Aw, but don’t you see? I already have!”

Golden Cheese, Hollyberry, and Dark Cacao all got to their feet, standing behind Pure Vanilla. “As long as we don’t give up, Earthbread has a chance!” Hollyberry called out, strawberry jam running down her face. 

“Yeah, so don’t think you’ve won!” Golden Cheese yelled. 

“It’s still five against one,” Dark Cacao said, his purple eyes staring knives into her. 

“Five?”

The four of them turned around to see White Lily standing far behind them. Her head was dipped down, making her face unable to be seen. Her hands were gripped tightly around her staff, and her body was shaking. 

“White Lily?” Pure Vanilla said, compassion for his friend in his voice. “What’s wrong? What is she talking about?” He reached his hand out, but Dark Cacao held his arm out in front of him, stopping him. 

He leaned over and whispered, “Stay back. There’s something wrong, I can feel it.”

The shaking grew much more violent, and before long, they could hear laughter from her mouth. They watched in horror as she raised her head to reveal the same, crimson red eyes that belonged to their enemy in front of them. Still laughing maniacally, her body began to fade, and her laughter became unrecognizable from the one laughing at them above. 

The four of them stared up at her, horrified by the truth. “No…” Hollyberry whispered, magenta eyes shaking in fear. 

“I believe that was enough time for you to get your final words out, was it not?” she cackled. And, throwing her hand up in the sky, a red beam from the soul jams came from it, hurtling towards the four ancients who remained. 

All they could do was watch in horror as it hurtled to them. Closing his eyes, Dark Cacao braced for impact. But it never came. Opening his eyes, he was shocked to see Pure Vanilla in front of all of them, holding his arms out to form a huge shield. 

“You guys need to hurry!” Pure Vanilla yelled. “I won’t be able to hold this for long!” 

“What can we do?” Golden Cheese asked in desperation. “Not only does she have all of our soul jams, there’s only four of us! Without our power, we’re no better than the average cookie, and not even armies of them could beat her!”

Dark Cacao raced his mind, searching for a plan. But not a single one came. He shook his head, showing he had no ideas. 

A moment of silence passed through the group, the only noise to be heard being rambling nonsense from Dark Enchantress that couldn’t be made out above the beam threatening them. The shield was cracking, and Pure Vanilla faltered. Struggling to keep it up, he was shaking. Without warning, Hollyberry grabbed them all, pulling them in for a hug. 

“What are you doing?” asked Dark Cacao. 

“We’re all going to die here,” she said, tears streaming down her cheek. “So I might as well die in the embrace of my friends.”

The three of them stared at her in shock, and they knew. If Hollyberry has truly given up, then it’s truly the end. Without another word, they all accepted her hug. Tears rolling down all of their cheeks, Pure Vanilla lowered his arms, and smiled one more time. 

“I love you guys.”

Then it struck. It was never clear if they felt pain or not, but one thing was certain. 

The Ancient Heroes were dead. Every single one of them. 

Dark Enchantress called off her beam, and she stared where they used to be. Rather than feeling pity for her old friends, she felt rather indifferent. “Pathetic,” she muttered, sitting on the hand of her cake wraith. 

She turned to the soul jams in her hand, smiling. “Now… It's time for darkness to rule over Earthbread. We’ll rebuild this world in my image!”

A bright light erupted from the sky. She shielded her eyes, watching as something emerged from the brightness. Not taking a form, its voice boomed out. 

“Those do not belong to you.”

And, before she could stop it, the soul jams flew out of her hand. She reached out, but they were far out of her grasp, and the light displayed them for their light to reach all over Earthbread. 

“Who are you?!” she yelled out in frustration and anger. “What gives you the right to take those?!”

“As long as the soul jams exist, darkness can never truly rule over this land. As long as they exist, there will be someone to stop you,” the ominous voice declared. “But as for now, war has waged long enough.”

The light of the soul jams grew brighter, and Dark Enchantress was blinded. She felt her dough starting to disappear, and she yelled out in anger and fear, “What are you doing to me?!”

“Earthbread needs peace. So for as long as we can hold you… you’ll remain hidden.”

Dark Enchantress tried to get more explanation, but no voice materialized. Her mouth had been taken by the light, and soon enough, she started to lose her vision. It wasn’t long before her body was completely gone, and the light retreated to where it had come from. 

***************************************

Five cookies gathered together, waiting upon the sixth. Each of them had witnessed the events of the past hour long before it had happened, and now waited for what would inevitably come to them. 

A tear of light tore between them, and through it emerged a cookie with starry, purple hair. As Moonlight materialized, Millennial Tree spoke. 

“As seen, you have the soul jams?”

She nodded, opening her hand. The sheer size of the starry cookie allowed each of the soul jams to sit in her hand. Even the cookies who bore such power that were much taller than the average cookie were small compared to these elemental cookies. 

“These are what they were fighting over?” Wind Archer asked. “They’re so… small.”

“You forget that we are much larger than they are,” Millennial Tree replied, laughing only a bit. “And despite them being small, these soul jams hold power equivalent to ours. It’s truly a shame we never got to personally speak to these heroes.”

“Remind me again why we didn’t step in?” Fire Spirit asked. “We knew what was going to happen, why didn’t we try to stop Dark Enchantress? I mean, she’s as much their rival as she is ours.”

“This wasn’t our place to interrupt,” Frost Queen explained, reciting the words Millennial Tree had told all of them. “It would be improper use of time control to try and stop it, and even then we may not have stopped it. As much of a shame as it is, it was their time to die.”

Millennial Tree nodded. “Unlike another cookie I know, I will not abuse time control. Everything that happens happens for a reason. That’s why the future said Moonlight would retrieve the soul jams and use their power to put Dark Enchantress into a rest, until there’s someone strong enough to defeat her.”

“Now what do we do with them?” Sea Fairy asked. “You only told us what would happen until Moonlight retrieved the soul jams. What do we do next?”

Millennial Tree shook his head. “I can’t give you the exact answers, but I can guide you all on the right path.” Taking the soul jams, he distributed them, one to each of the other cookies. “These soul jams each contain part of the hero's soul. Each of you will be in charge of making sure that the soul jam I’ve given to you goes to the right successor. Trust your gut, and trust what that hero’s soul tells you, and you’ll make the right decision.”

They gathered around, each holding the soul jam. Nodding, not one cookie said another word, simply carrying out the mission given to them by Millennial Tree. Eventually, all of them left, until it was only Millennial Tree and Wind Archer left. 

“Hey,” Wind Archer said. “I know you told us to trust what the hero’s soul tells us, but…”

“But what?”

“This is White Lily’s soul jam. How do we know that it won’t tell us to give it to someone evil?”

He shook his head. “I can not give you that answer. All I can tell you is that if you trust your gut, you can not make the wrong decision.”

Wind Archer hesitated, then nodded. “Then I’ll take my leave. Goodbye.”

And without another trace, he disappeared. Millennial Tree sighed, looking up at the stars above. Closing his eyes, he whispered out what was to come. 

“Five are dead, four obliterated by what had become of the fifth. She has been locked away, and will remain that way for several years. There will be five again, five who have the potential to finish her off for good.”

“The first hails from a Kingdom of great glory, but not from a great childhood. Maimed by a childhood incident, they search for a way to change the future of their home’s residents rather than turn a blind eye towards it.”

“The second suffers an unjust punishment, isolating them from those they love. Wandering the cruel environment, they manage to remain loyal to their beliefs and what they stand for while their enemy infects their home land.”

“The third will want nothing to do with such power, and will try to deny it for the longest time. But as those around them become threatened by a greater being, they will take the power to keep them protected.”

“The fourth is a bird in a cage, trapped by what they always thought to be their loving home. And unless they can escape or stand up for themselves, their power will cause them to make a mistake they’ll regret for all eternity.”

“Finally, the fifth is a mere child. With nothing special about them, they will be granted one of the greatest powers of all. The power to heal any ailment. If they learn how to wield such power, they will surpass the previous soul jam’s owner.”

“But they must become five. None of them will stand a chance unless they become five. They… will be the Last Hope for Earthbread.”

Chapter Text

Where… am I?

All around him, he was surrounded by nothing but an endless sea. No matter how hard he squinted, not one form of land could be spotted. The sky was dark and scattered with stars, forming beautiful constellations. 

“Hello?” he called out. But alas, no one answered him. Not even an echo of his own voice could be heard.

Bending down onto one knee, he touched the beautiful blue sea. The sheer cold of it made him draw back, sucking in a deep breath instinctively. “That’s freezing!” he exclaimed, shaking his hand to warm it back up. 

“Yes, I do advise you not to touch it.”

He turned around, but saw no one. “Hello?” he called again. “Is someone there?”

The soothing voice laughed lightly. “I am here, but you can not see me. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Who are you? Where are we?” he asked, still looking around by impulse despite being told he couldn’t see this… cookie. 

“As for your first question… I don’t quite know,” the voice said, a twinge of sadness ringing in it. “Trust me… if I knew, I would tell you. But as for where we are… this is where I’ve existed for the past how many years, and the only place where I can communicate with you.”

“You’ve lived here? But it’s so… empty, and vast.”

“I wouldn’t say lived here. I’ve merely… existed. But it’s alright now, because I’ve found you!”

“Me?! What do you need from me?!”

In the distance, the dark sky began to fade into pink, and the voice grew panicked. “I don’t have much time. I’ll try to return, just… just don’t forget about me, okay?! I promise, this is not fake! Something much bigger than you could ever imagine is coming!”

“Gingerbrave!”

Gingerbrave opened his eyes, the light from his house’s window shining directly into them. Looking towards the source of the voice, he saw his friends, Wizard and Strawberry, standing in the doorway. 

“Are you alright?” Strawberry asked. “You’ve almost slept through the entire morning!”

“Yeah, didn’t you plan on going exploring today?” Wizard questioned, pulling his drooping scarf back up. “I heard the main team today is headed out soon. If you have any chance of going, you might want to head out with them.”

Gingerbrave glanced over at his alarm clock, which was still faintly ringing. 

11:06. 

“Shoot! I overslept!” he exclaimed, quickly getting out of bed. As he ran about his house, getting prepared for the day as quickly as possible, Wizard and Strawberry made their way into his house. As Strawberry attempted to help him get ready, Wizard picked up the book off of Gingerbrave’s bed. 

“Tale of the Ancient Heroes?” he asked. Voice quickly changing, he crossly said, “You were up all night reading this again, weren’t you?!”

“Guilty!” he replied. “I know I shouldn’t, but it’s such an interesting tale! Each and every one of them led interesting lives and had varying personalities, yet they were all friends. And then, in the final battle, the five of them sacrificed themselves to defeat Dark Enchantress once and for all! I could only wish to be as heroic as them some day!”

“Let’s hope there’ll never be another cookie as evil as Dark Enchantress ever again,” Strawberry said, laughing lightly. 

Wizard shook his head. “Gingerbrave, we’ve been over this.” As Wizard went mom-mode on Gingerbrave and lectured him for unhealthy sleeping patterns, he laughed. 

Cutting off Wizard’s lecture, he called out from the doorway, “I’ll be on my way now! Thanks for waking me up guys!” 

***************************************

Gingerbrave had barely made it to the exploration team’s home base before they headed off. Running up to them, he pleaded, “Please let me come with you guys today!”

The group of four looked down at him, clearly not having expected him to ask today. Avocado laughed, “Why Gingerbrave, we had thought you had given up today, since you weren’t here to beg us so early!”

Rye shook her head. “Gingerbrave, I know we’ve been over this before. You’re still just a bit too young to be running around the forests.”

Adventurer nodded. “Even without big threats like Dark Enchantress, they’re still home to many beasts who could hurt you. You know, there’s a reason why we have a rule on how old you have to be to go exploring unknown regions.”

“I know!” he protested. “But I’m almost old enough anyways, and I can take care of myself! I train everyday to make sure I can protect myself, and I hate being stuck in the kingdom! I would rather go exploring with you guys!”

Avocado laughed, then looked up at her teammates. “Why not, at least for today?”

Rye shook her head again. “Avocado, you know we can’t allow that.”

“Oh Rye, just lay off the kid. Like he said, he’s almost of age, and we’re not even going far today. And we don’t even have a full team, since only four of us volunteered today.”

Herb, who had been mostly silent the entire time, agreed. “I say he’s fine this once. It’ll be good practice, and we’re mostly sticking to the forests surrounding our kingdom. If we decide to go any further, we can escort him home before continuing.”

“But wouldn’t that be like…breaking a law?” she asked. 

“Not really,” Adventurer concluded. “Laws in other kingdoms are much more strict, and can be punished in a variety of ways. Here in our Kingdom, we the members kinda just came up with some basic rules to keep us safe. I guess as long as he’s safe… it can’t hurt.”

Rye sighed. “Fine. He can come with.”

“Oh yeah!” he celebrated. “I promise, I’ll be very helpful!”

“C’mon everyone,” Rye beckoned, heading for the forest. “The sooner we start, the sooner we get home.”

And so, Gingerbrave excitedly followed the group, fueled by anticipation. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt something nagging him that he had forgotten something. Eh, whatever it is, it must not be that important. If I’ve forgotten about it, clearly I don’t need it!

“Hey,” Herb said, bringing Gingerbrave back from his own thoughts. “I’ll bring up the rear, why don’t you run ahead?”

“Right!” he exclaimed, speeding up a bit. He watched in pure excitement as the group went from the Kingdom they called home to the outskirts they had yet to explore. 

The Kingdom they came from was fairly recent. Founded after the Dark Flour War, it wasn’t even a hundred years old. After the Dark Flour War, cookies who had lost their home all banded together in search of a new home. But many Kingdoms had driven them off, not trusting the refugees. As many began to give up, a new hope was shown to them. 

After many weeks of traveling, they stumbled upon an old castle and huge amounts of land surrounded by a dense forest. After a bit of exploration, they had decided that the land would be perfect for starting their own Kingdom, yet they ran into a problem. They were all equally responsible for finding such a place, so who would lead them?

In the end, no one did. Those cookies had all come together to make rules where everyone could live in peace, and no one would be in charge of it all. Having such an open form of governing themselves allowed for quick development, with help from the sugar gnomes who were living nearby. These cookies made it so all, no matter if they were Cookie, Bear Jelly, Sugar Gnome, etc. could live there. 

Quickly, an organization was formed to send out exploration teams to explore forest areas in front of them. As their Kingdom grew, they needed more space. And so, they would explore the forest, readying it for homes, and replanting trees that needed taking out in the process. Using such a method, their Kingdom was desirable to live in. 

Gingerbrave, never having been on an exploration trip due to the age barrier, was not quite sure what to expect. I mean, cookies who volunteer for such a job are similar to heroes! What do they do out here?

“Hey Herb! Isn’t Sparkling’s place opening back up today?” Rye asked. 

Herb nodded. “Yep! Due to its growing popularity, he installed a second floor for more seating. It’s really beautiful, you should check it out sometime.”

“And how’s Blackberry doing?” Avocado asked, directing her attention towards Adventurer. 

“She’s doing perfectly fine,” he replied, laughing. “She’s taken up writing as a hobby, and she spends her free time writing poems. They’re quite lovely, in my opinion.”

Small talk? Gingerbrave shook his head. Of course they’re going to make small talk, Gingerbrave. These are just the cookies you live with, not some prestigious leader who’s here to protect the world from evil. 

“How about you, Gingerbrave?”

Rye’s voice pulled him back into reality. “Huh?!” he asked, caught off guard and shaking his head as if to pull himself together. 

“What’s new with your life?” Herb clarified. “Do anything new, read something interesting?”

“Oh yeah!” he exclaimed. “I recently got a copy of Tale of the Ancient Heroes! I know they teach us a lot of it at school, but I love reading it in my own free time! They’re all so admirable, and I hope that one day, I can be just as great as they were!”

Adventurer laughed. “You like the Ancient Heroes, eh? Well I have a story for ya!”

Rye sighed, rolling her eyes. “Here we go again.”

“Did you know, my mother was the one responsible for finding the Golden Cheese Kingdom?” 

“Really?!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, looking up at him in excitement.

He nodded proudly. “Yep! I was just a little boy when it happened, but it was a huge matter with all the Kingdoms. With Dark Enchantress Cookie on the rise, the Ancient Heroes had to all band together to defeat her. But Golden Cheese was a recluse, and no one, not even her friends, knew where her Kingdom came from! My mother, an esteemed Adventurer, decided this was the job for her. After spending many weeks searching through the most scorching of deserts, she found her. After that, the Ancient Heroes banded together, and defeated Dark Enchantress once and for all.”

“That’s amazing!” Gingerbrave said excitedly. 

Rye nodded. “It’s only a shame they died in that battle too. But each of them were willing to put their lives down for such a huge reason, despite the families they had.”

“Right,” muttered Gingerbrave solemnly. “Didn’t Dark Cacao have only a son to reign over his Kingdom?”

“Yes, I believe his name is Dark Choco,” Avocado chimed in. “He was quite young when his father died, and had to take over the Kingdom, making him the youngest ruler in all of Earthbread. He had a bit of guidance from the First Watcher at the time, but nothing could ever prepare a child for something so scarring.”

“I mean, most of you are about his age, aren’t we?” Herb asked. “I was born right near the last few years of it, but most of you were just younger than 10 when the war concluded.”

Adventurer nodded. “Yes, I do remember that. Him and I are the same age, and I was probably 8 when the war concluded.”

“8?!” Gingerbrave said, shocked. “He had to rule a Kingdom before I was allowed to leave our Kingdom’s borders?”

“Tragic, isn’t it?” Rye asked. “Just be glad we live in an age where we don’t have to worry about such a power.”

Gingerbrave nodded. As the book says, the Ancient Heroes had defeated Dark Enchantress, but she had killed them at the same time. Witnessed by many bystanders from a distance, they saw a crimson red beam, then a light erupt from the soul jams. They had seen Dark Enchantress crumble away, and when investigating the scene later, the only thing left of the Ancient Heroes were charred clothing and a single, white lily bud. A horrible end to meet… but one that has guaranteed the safety of Earthbread for many years to come. 

Sighing, he paused for a minute. Looking up at the bright, blue sky peaking between the lush, green forests, he quickly muttered under his breath. “We’ll always honor your sacrifice. It’s thanks to you guys that I'm able to explore these days.”

“Yo, Gingerbrave!” Avocado’s voice called him out of his silence. “Are you coming? We can’t let you come again if you don’t keep up, haha!”

He shook his head. Smiling, he ran back up to the front of the group. “Coming!”

***************************************

They returned several hours later. Sun setting from the sky and making it about time for dinner, Gingerbrave was ecstatic to see his friends waiting for him. 

“Gingerbrave! They let you go today?” Strawberry called to him. 

“Yeah!” he exclaimed, running up to them.

“We figured. I mean, after you took off, we didn’t see you for the rest of the day. Not practicing, talking to anyone, nowhere. We figured they must have let you go,” Wizard explained, pulling at his scarf. 

“Yep! It was so much fun! You guys should come next time!” 

Strawberry shook her head. “You may have the bravery, but I don’t think I do. Maybe when I’m a bit older, I’ll try it out.”

“Same here Gingerbrave. I prefer to work on my own studies, and this time would be a lot more useful for such.”

Gingerbrave laughed. “It’s okay! Maybe, when we’re all grown up, the three of us can go on an adventure together! But for now, let’s eat dinner! I’m starving!”

Wizard sighed, chuckling a bit under his breath. “That’s what you get for not taking any snacks with you on the way. C’mon, we can go get jellies at a local vendor.”

Chapter Text

“Have you forgotten about me?”

Gingerbrave’s eyes quickly opened up, and he saw himself on the tiny island surrounded by sea and stars once again. Sitting up, he was only disoriented for a moment before he remembered. “No, no! I didn’t forget about you!”

The voice sighed. “I’m glad. I was worried that you would think last night was entirely a dream.”

Gingerbrave crossed his legs, looking up at the bright stars. “Last night, you mentioned that you’ve existed here for years now. Why are you only talking to me now?”

“I couldn’t before. You were much farther away, and I didn’t have the power to do so.”

“Farther? Are you connected to the real world?”

“Yes, in a sense. It’s hard to explain, but… I’ve been looking for you.”

“Looking for me? Why?”

“I… can’t… tell you. Not until we meet in the real world.”

Gingerbrave looked around for the… cookie… speaking to him. “How am I supposed to meet you if I don’t know what you look like, and you said it yourself, you’ve existed here for years! I mean… I don’t even know if you're a cookie or not! Please, can’t you give me some kind of hint?”

The voice sounded sad. “I wish I could, but I don’t even know what I look like. My memory is so fuzzy, and this dream realm limits me. I just…” the voice cut off, and faint sniffling could be heard. 

“Are you crying?” Gingerbrave asked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry!”

“No, no, it’s fine. I understand, how are you supposed to trust me if I don’t even know who I am?” the voice paused. “I can tell you everything I know, but I’m not sure it’ll be much help.”

Gingerbrave shook his head. “I’m sure whatever you have to say, it’ll be helpful.”

A sigh could be heard. “Okay, I’ll start from what I know. I’m not sure how I got here, but one day, I was just here. This entire place, I’m not sure if you can feel it, but it is surging with power. For a while, I couldn’t even speak. But one day, I managed to gain my voice back. That’s when I heard her for the first time.”

“She had a voice as calming as the quiet shore, and she asked me, ‘Who is it?’ I… never asked her, but I assumed she created this place. But as for her question, I didn’t know how to answer it. I told her as such, and she asked me to guide her. I couldn’t see the outside world, but I could feel the shifts in climates as we traveled. Soon enough, something… happened. One day, I simply…felt your presence. I told her as such, and ever since, she’s been bringing me closer to you. I don’t know why or how, but I’m close enough to be able to communicate with you via dream.”

Gingerbrave was shocked, to say the least. “Why me? Who is this cookie? Does she know who you are?”

“I only know the answer to one of those questions. She does know who I am, but she refuses to tell me. When I asked, she merely said that I would find out soon enough. But I don’t know who she is, and I don’t know why I picked you. I’m sorry… umm…”

“My name is Gingerbrave,” he said, completing the voice’s sentence. 

“Gingerbrave. Right.”

Gingerbrave stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “So, I just got to find this cookie, and then I’ll find you, right?”

“...I guess, but I don’t think it works like that.”

“We’ll never know unless I try. We can assume she exists in the real world, since you’ve been moving around because of her. But there’s a reason for everything. You mentioned something bigger coming, and somehow, we’re connected. So I need to find you as soon as possible.”

The voice laughed lightly. “I like your optimism. Then I wish you luck, Gingerbrave.”

***************************************

Alarm buzzing, he was already out of bed and brushing his teeth. Spitting the foaming bubbles out of his mouth, he turned the alarm off and turned towards his map collection. 

“An adventure. I need to find that voice and the carrier. But where do I start?”

Grabbing his map, he rolled it out onto the table. A map with a region of Earthbread was shown, including his Kingdom, many nearby villages, and the outskirts of the Vanillian Kingdom and the Tropical Soda Islands. “If they’re close enough to communicate with me, then they have to be here somewhere, right?”

He shook his head, rolling up the map. “No, I have no idea the limit on their power. They could be all the way in Beast-Yeast and I would have no idea.”

Knock knock knock. 

“Come in!” he exclaimed, not turning away from his maps. 

The door opened, and he heard Strawberry call out, “What are you doing?”

He turned around, seeing his friend standing in the doorway. “Strawberry! What are you doing here?”

“Well I was coming to see if you were awake, since Wizard told us he’d be busy all of today helping Alchemist out in her lab. But I’ve never seen you take those out before. What are they?”

“They’re maps!” he exclaimed. “Come look!”

She shut the door behind herself, then walked over to his table. “Why do you have a map down? Do you plan on taking an adventure someday?”

Can I trust Strawberry? I mean, she’s one of my closest friends, but I’ve only spoken to this voice twice. What if she thinks I’m faking it, or worse, what if I’m faking it? 

“Strawberry, what would you do if I said I’ve been seeing things?”

She cocked her head. “Elaborate please?”

“In my dreams,” he continued, studying his map. “There’s this voice that keeps speaking to me, saying how he needs to find me.”

“Do you… want him to find you?” Strawberry asked. 

He looked up at her. I never thought about that. That voice keeps saying that I’m special, but, what is special about me? It sounds important, but what if it isn’t? “I mean, kinda? It sounds important, but I just don’t know how or why?”

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, sitting down in one of the chairs.

He smiled. She’s not discrediting me. That’s good. 

Sighing, he sat down in the other chair. “This voice, he told me that he’s existed in this place with only a small island in the middle of an ocean for years now. But there’s another carrier, he presumes cookie, who is taking him where he wants to go. At first, he didn’t know where to go, but he says that one day, he all of a sudden felt my presence. It sounds weird, but it sounds like he was trying to make me out to be important or something.”

“Did he say you were important?”

“Yeah, but he was very vague about it. He told me something bigger was coming, but he can’t even tell me what. He doesn’t even know his name.”

“Hmmm,” Strawberry pondered. “You said this was all happening while you slept?”

“Yeah,” he muttered. “I know it sounds far-fetched, but I promise, I’m telling the truth. I was maybe going to… go exploring a bit. Just to see if I could get closer to him! If I could just find his carrier, maybe…”

Strawberry shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

“W-what?”

“Gingerbrave, you’ve only ever been on one expedition your entire life, and that was with four seasoned explorers! I’m not saying I don’t believe you, because trust me, I do believe you! You just have this unique ability for being able to see people for who they truly are, and if you trust this to be true, then I trust your judgment! But I don’t want you going off by yourself for this, and I don’t think the more seasoned explorers would take you who knows where because you had a dream. I’m sorry, but I just had to-”

“No, no! It’s fine Strawberry!” he laughed lightly. “I’m glad you’re concerned about me, and honestly, you put more thought into that statement than I have this entire expedition. I want to find that carrier as soon as possible, but I don’t think I could find them if I tried. I have no idea where those two are, and like you said, I’ve only been on one expedition. I just wish I had more information about the voice or carrier so I could ask around, y’know? Get more information.”

Strawberry smiled. “Well, you can always wheedle information out of the older cookies, you just have no idea what you’re asking about. Maybe describe this place in your dreams to see if anyone thinks it’s a real place, or ask anyone if there have been interruptions that seem odd.”

“That’s a great idea!” Gingerbrave exclaimed. “Man, you’re better at this than I am Strawberry!”

She laughed lightly. “I’m just trying to help out.” Standing up, she headed towards the door. “Well, I’m going to head out Gingerbrave!”

“Are you sure?” he called out. “Didn’t you come here because Wizard was busy and to hang out?”

“Well, yeah,” she replied. “But you might want to go on another expedition today to try and get more information, and besides, I’ve planned to have lessons with Purple Yam today.”

“Purple Yam?”

“Yep! He’s teaching me how to fight!” And without another word, she smiled and ran off. 

Chapter Text

Gingerbrave had no idea where to start. So many cookies in our Kingdom, I don’t know who to ask!

A few blocks from his house, he saw many cookies playing on the playground. As Custard III chased around Pancake, and Cherry and Moon Rabbit were sitting at the top of the slide, Cherry noticed him. 

“Hey Gingerbrave! Why don’t you come play with us!” she yelled out. 

“Yeah!” exclaimed Pancake, suddenly stopping and causing Custard III to run directly into him. “We’re playing tag!”

He smiled, but shook his head. “Sorry guys, I’m just a bit busy!” he called out. He quickly sped off, listening to their protests as he left. Rounding the corner and passing by the cotton candy sheep farm, he saw Cherry Blossom Cookie enjoying a cup of tea with a cookie he did not recognize. 

“Hiya Cherry Blossom!” he exclaimed, running towards them. “Who is your friend? I’ve never seen her around before!”

“I’m Raspberry Cookie, pleased to meet your acquaintance,” Raspberry said, smiling and dipping her head. 

“She’s from House Raspberry, which isn’t too far from the Hollyberry Kingdom,” Cherry Blossom explained. “She’s been visiting our Kingdom for a while.”

“I needed a change in surroundings. Figured that I wouldn’t take my break near the Hollyberry Kingdom since I live so close to it anyways, so I traveled down here on her suggestion.”

“Yep! We’re pen pals, don’t ya know!” Cherry Blossom said, laughing lightly. 

Someone not from around here? That’s great! I can ask her if she’s noticed anything odd around here when traveling!

“That’s great! I’m Gingerbrave!” he replied, holding his hand out for a handshake. When Raspberry took it, he continued. “So you traveled down here?”

She laughed. “If you mean by foot, then yes. House Raspberry doesn’t use fancy equipment such as the flying ships from the Crème Republic to get around.”

“Have you noticed anything odd recently?” he asked, looking at her with eager eyes. 

Cherry Blossom cocked her head. “What kind of question is that? Are you… worried about something Gingerbrave?”

Raspberry nodded. “I have to agree with her, that was a vague question. What exactly do you mean by odd?”

“Ah! I don’t mean to worry anyone, I just… I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything we needed to warn the exploration team about! Odd being something like more hostile beasts, or… an odd cookie wandering around.”

“Hmmm… As for an odd cookie, I can’t help you much on that one. I didn’t run into many cookies on my way over, and the ones I did meet very clearly belonged to the area they were from, such as a Priestess from the nearby Pomegranate village. If it had been something like a shark cookie in those forests, I would’ve questioned it a lot more.”

Darn. Hearing news of a strange cookie would’ve been a lot of help. 

“But, I did notice something with beasts. ” she continued, pausing to take a sip of her tea. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“There is an overabundance of cake beasts. In many places where cake beasts are not native, or are not the land’s main enemy, I’ve been seeing a lot more of them, and all of them are hostile.” She took another sip of her tea. “I can only wonder why there’s so many of them.”

“I’ll make sure to tell the exploration team!” he exclaimed, running off again. 

“Bye!” Raspberry called out. 

“Goodbye Gingerbrave! Stay out of trouble!” Cherry Blossom yelled, her voice getting quieter as he got further away. 

Man, she didn’t seem to know anything about that cookie the voice was talking about. But, that cake beast information may be connected. I don’t know quite when she made her trip down here, but it had to be recent if I’ve never seen her around here before. If cake beasts became more common right when this voice started talking to me, is that related?

I’ll have to ask more cookies. Someone’s got to have some information that makes all of this easier. Now let’s think… a cookie who would meet many strangers… hmmmm… I’ve got it!

***************************************

Kumiho Cookie laughed lightly. “Sure Gingerbrave! It’s been a while since I’ve visited him anyways!”

She leapt off of her swing and landed gracefully on her two feet next to him. Walking off quickly, Gingerbrave sped walk to keep up with the Marshmallow Fox. 

“Soooooo,” she said, dragging her vowel out. “Why do you need to visit him?”

“Well he lives in the forest, and I need to ask him a question, but I’m not allowed to go into the forest without an escort at minimum. I figured since you and him were friends, you wouldn’t mind being my escort,” he explained. 

“Ah, I don’t suppose it’s a question I can help with? Not saying I won’t take you to him, but I was just wondering if I could possibly help you?” she asked, playing with her twintail as she walked. 

“Well, it’s more of a question about who’s been wandering around the forest… but I do have another question that you may be able to answer!” he exclaimed, remembering the other idea Strawberry had suggested to him. 

“Really?!” Kumiho exclaimed, her tail flicking excitedly behind her. “What is it?!”

“There’s this place that is just a tiny island. Barely big enough for you to get up and walk about it, it is surrounded by an endless, freezing blue sea. Then the sky is nothing but endless night, with constellations painting the sky. Have you ever heard of a place such as this?” he explained, waving his hands around as if they could help him explain this place he’s only seen in his dreams.  

Kumiho laughed. “As cool as a place like that sounds, I don’t think I’ve ever been to such  a place. I am not a huge fan of water, so being surrounded by nothing but freezing water for miles sounds not very pleasant. Sorry Gingerbrave.”

He shook his head. “It’s alright!”

“I must ask though, where did you get such a vivid image of a place, but not know where it is?” she asked, cocking her head. 

“Well…” he said, dragging out his words as he scrambled for an excuse. Well I saw this place in my dreams and a voice has been talking to me through that place for several nights now. I want to try and find this voice’s carrier, so I was wondering if you knew of such a place. “I saw it in a book before, but it never told me where it was located. I wanted to adventure there for the view, and I was wondering if you knew anything about it.” 

She shook her head. “Nope, I am not a traveler, nor would I ever travel somewhere with so much water. But, if you want to try your luck with cookies knowing of such a place, you can go down to the Harbor and ask Ice Captain or Pirate. Even Mango might know if he’s there, but he is from a place of much warmer waters. But, I have no way of guaranteeing any of them being there, since they travel on the water a lot.”

Gingerbrave smiled. “Thanks Kumiho! That’ll be a lot of help!”

She nodded. “Now c’mon! You still need to see him, right?”

Soon enough, the two of them had made it to the edge of the forest, where Rye sat. 

“Ah Gingerbrave and Kumiho! What brings you two here?” she asked, moving her hat higher up since it had fallen onto her face. 

“Hello!” Kumiho said. “Gingerbrave needed to go see Werewolf Cookie, but figured he wouldn’t be allowed into the forest without an older guardian. I’m here to accompany him and to say hello to a friend.”

Rye smiled. “Ha, wouldn’t have expected you to be one to go and ask for an escort,” she remarked. “It seems like sneaking out would’ve been more your style.”

“Well it’s not,” he replied. “I don’t want to ruin my chances at ever being an explorer!”

Rye laughed, then dipped her head. “You two will be fine to go. Just don’t leave him alone, alright Kumiho? I better see you two back here together, or at least send him back with another exploring cookie if you decide to stay and chat with Werewolf.”

“Alright,” Kumiho said, nodding her head. “Don’t worry about us Rye, we’ll be back before the main exploration group heads out today!”

And so, the two of them stepped into the forest, following the main trail that had already been cleared by an exploration team. Heading on the trail forwards for a few minutes, before taking a right at the intersection, the small tent where Werewolf stayed was right off the trail from there. 

“Knock knock!” Kumiho called out. “Werewolf, it’s me, Kumiho! Someone is here to ask you a question!”

She peaked her head into the tent, but then popped back up, shrugging her shoulders. “He’s not in there,” she said, looking around them aimlessly. 

“Ah man,” Gingerbrave said, disappointed. “Where are we supposed to find him?”

“I’m right here.”

Gingerbrave turned around to see an abnormally tall cookie hovering over him. Stepping back from shock, he felt intimidated by the cookie. 

“Ah Werewolf, there you are!” Kumiho exclaimed, giggling. 

“You’re lucky, y’know?” Werewolf replied, looking down at the two of them. “I’m not usually around here during the day.”

“Oh chill out Werewolf, the little guy just has a question for you.”

“Hm? What is it?” he asked, looking down at Gingerbrave. 

“I’m… Gingerbrave,” he said, forgetting his name for a second. “And I was going to ask you… have you seen any odd cookies around here recently? Or anything out of the ordinary?”

“Why do you want to know? Forgive my boldness, but you look fairly young. Considering you brought Kumiho, I assume you’re not even old enough to leave without an escort,” he replied, angling his head at Kumiho when he mentioned her. 

“Just… curious,” he replied quickly. “I want to be an explorer, so knowing everything that’s happening is important! Especially since I’m almost old enough to go exploring!”

Werewolf sighed. “There have been a few odd cookies around here recently. One was clothed in magenta pink, though I did see her meet Cherry Blossom near the edge of the forest, so I assume they’re friends.”

“Yes, that sounds like Raspberry!” he exclaimed, proud of himself for knowing that fact already. 

“Ah, that’s who that is,” he murmured, trailing off. But then shaking his head, he continued, “I have seen a few oddities when it comes to cookies. A Pomegranate Priestess was traveling around here recently, which is rather far from their village. I was going to ask her if she needed help, but she disappeared before I got the chance.”

“A Pomegranate Priestess?” Kumiho chimed in. “They only ever come down here if they’ve been requested for their rituals.”

“And they always come in pairs. This one was alone,” Werewolf noted. 

That’s strange… but I don’t think that’s the carrier. She wouldn’t have run away if she was close, and the voice might have remarked about getting further away. 

“There was another cookie just a few days ago. He was a bit strange, and asked a lot of questions,” Werewolf continued. “He was very interested in who ruled this land and how it all worked. I gave him very basic information, but I didn’t quite trust him with everything about our Kingdoms. He had a… peculiar smell. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was almost like the smell of dead trees.”

That might be him… but Werewolf said this was a guy, while the voice said his carrier sounded feminine. Maybe the carrier looks like a guy but has a feminine voice? 

Gingerbrave nodded. “Anyone else?”

Werewolf shook his head. “No, that sounds just about it. I would let you know if I saw anyone in the future, but you shouldn’t bother someone every time you want to come out here, and I don’t… prefer to go into town.”

Kumiho laughed, punching him lightly on the arm. “Oh c’mon, you recluse! Why don’t you loosen up and come visit me sometime?”

Werewolf didn’t reply to her. Instead, he avoided her remark, and said, “If you two are all done with your questions, then I’m going to head out again. If I see that Pomegranate Priestess again, I’m going to make sure I get answers from her.”

And without another word, he walked into the trees. 

“Goodbye! Thank you!” Gingerbrave called out. 

Kumiho pouted. “He’s always so grumpy.” Face switching and laughing, she turned to Gingerbrave. “Ready to head back then?”

He nodded, and the two of them went back. Once through the forest, Gingerbrave and Kumiho said their goodbyes, and Kumiho was off. Gingerbrave then turned to head towards the shore, hoping there he could find another cookie to feed him information.

Chapter Text

Waves lapped at the sandy beach, and the sun shone down on his dough. Walking along the pier, Gingerbrave looked all around for the ships of the cookies Kumiho had mentioned. And soon enough, he was lucky enough to find one. 

“Pirate cookie! Hey!” Gingerbrave called out, seeing the cookie with the peg leg. Quickly running up, he turned around with a big smile. 

“Khaha Gingerbrave! What brings you out here?” he laughed. 

“Well… I have a question about an island I’ve seen pictured in books, but with no description as to what it is or where I can find it. If I describe it to you, do you think that you might possibly be able to tell me where it is?”

“Fire away lad! I’ve seen many places on my hunt fer treasure!”

Gingerbrave used the same description he had used with Kumiho. “It’s a small island, barely big enough to get up and walk around, surrounded by freezing cold water. You can’t see anything but water for miles, and then the sky is covered in stars.”

“Stars, eh? During the day, or just at night?” 

“Just at night… I believe. I’ve… only ever seen it depicted during the night,” he quickly said, scrambling for a lie. I’ve only ever been to this place at night. 

Pirate opened his mouth to answer, but then frowned. Staying silent, he seemed deep in thought. Soon enough, he opened his mouth to answer again, but was interrupted.

“Heya Gingebrave, Pirate! What are you doing here Gingerbrave?”

Gingerbrave turned around, then smiled when he saw his friend, Mango Cookie. “Hi Mango! I was asking Pirate about this island I’ve seen in books, but was never named, to see if he knew anything about it.” 

“Nice.” Turning towards Pirate, he motioned with his head towards the pier leading towards the town. “By the way, Ice Captain is looking for you, Pirate. You should probably head out soon if you want to avoid her.”

Pirate waved his hand as if to brush him off. “Eh, it’s alright. I’ll finish talking to Gingerbrave, rally me group, then head out.”

“Soooo… you were saying?” Gingerbrave asked, turning towards Pirate. 

Hands crossed across his chest, he continued. “Well, I hate to break it to ye Gingerbrave, but I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about. I’m more of a treasure hunter than an island searcher, so all of my maps are documented for buried treasure. Sorry, but that’s not really me thing.”

“Ah, that’s okay,” he reassured. “You just travel on the seas a lot, so I was hoping you might know something.”

“If I may,” Mango interrupted. “I do specialize in islands a lot more, since I’m a travel guide. I might know what you’re talking about.”

“Alright!” Gingerbrave exclaimed. “It’s a small island, barely big enough to walk around. It’s surrounded by freezing sea, nothing else to be seen on this island. Then, the sky is dark and you can see all kinds of constellations!”

“Freezing sea?”

“Yeah! I’ve… It’s described as very frigid.”

Mango pondered it for a minute, but then shook his head. “I’m sorry Gingerbrave, but I don’t think I can help you out. You see, I spend all of my time at the Tropical Soda Islands, which are famous for their warm waters. I don’t think I’ve ever explored enough places with freezing water to know what you’re talking about.”

“Ah, Kumiho said that you might say that. That’s too bad.”

Mango cocked his head, as if to ask what Kumiho has to do with anything, but then he shook it. “Yeah, though I have noticed-”

“You! I found you!”

The three of them whipped around and saw Ice Captain storming towards them. Quickly, Pirate turned away and called to them, “Been nice talking to ye Gingerbrave! May we meet again!” Lowering his voice, he said, “Stall her fer me, eh?” And then he ran off, motioning Sorbet Shark Cookie, who had been sitting on a nearby pile of crates, to follow him. 

Ice Captain, hot on his trail, passed right by Mango and Gingerbrave without batting an eye. Quickly, Gingerbrave grabbed her coat. “Hey, Ice Captain! I have a question for you!”

She snapped her head towards him. “Make it quick. I don’t know why you guys were talking to him, but I need to catch him.”

“I’ve seen this island in books, but it was never given a name. It’s barely big enough to walk around, and it’s surrounded by freezing sea, nothing to see for miles. The sky is dark, and you can see all sorts of stars up above.”

“An island that small surrounded by freezing seas?”

“Yep!” he exclaimed, nodding his head. “I tried asking Mango, but-”

“I told him I am more native to warmer waters,” Mango finished, finishing his statement with a nod of his head. 

Ice Captain shook her head. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that Gingerbrave. I run into landforms like those all the time, though remembering exactly where they’re at is impossible. If it doesn’t look habitable or significant, there’s no point stopping for such a place.”

“Oh,” he muttered. Mumbling under his breath, he searched for another way to describe this place. But that’s just it. It’s so desolate, there’s nothing to describe it. “Well… have you seen any oddities while on the sea?”

“Oddities? What does that have to do with the last question?”

“It just… does. Please?”

Ice Captain sighed, then nodded her head. “The waves. They’ve been a lot wilder recently. I thought it might be Squid Ink Cookie, but they were not to be found. So that’s why I stopped here, in order to take a break so the cookies on my ship don’t go overboard.”

“Waves…” Gingerbrave muttered.

“And the water temperature!” chimed in Mango. “The waters have been much colder than usual, even in the Tropical Soda Islands.”

“Yes, I have to agree with that. Any cookie that falls over runs the risk of getting hypothermia if not retrieved and treated immediately,” Ice Captain said, nodding. 

Waves and cold water. Is that relating to the carrier? But the voice said his carrier was assumed to be cookie, so unless she traveled on a ship, there’s no way for her to get around in the sea. If anything, that cookie asking Werewolf questions is probably my best bet. 

“Is that all Gingerbrave?” Ice Captain asked, turning her head towards Pirate’s departing ship. 

He snapped back to reality. “Y-yes! Sorry for holding you up so long!” 

She shook her head. “It’s fine. He won’t get very far on these waters, so I’ll simply wait here for him to return.”

And without another word, she turned and headed for the end of the pier. Mango, laughing, turned towards Gingerbrave. “If that’s all you need, then I’m going to be on my way now.”

“Yep! I was just about to head out myself too!”

The two of them said their goodbyes, and Gingerbrave ran back to the village. I need to talk to the exploration team once they get back. It’s most definitely past noon, so they should be gone. 

***************************************

But getting there, he was surprised to see Rye, Adventurer, and Herb all sitting around. Running up to them, he asked, “Why haven’t you guys left?”

“We don’t have enough people,” Rye said, shaking her head. 

“I thought there weren't minimum  limits on exploration teams?” Gingerbrave replied, cocking his head. 

“There aren’t,” Adventurer replied. “Just the recommended size is at least four, and teams under that size run the risk of getting overpowered.”

Herb sighed, then turned to Gingerbrave. “Avocado got caught up at the shop today, and it’s unlikely we’ll get anyone to join the team today. Rye said she doesn’t want to go with only three cookies for safety purposes, so we considered not going at all today.”

“Well, I can go today,” Gingerbrave offered. “I’ve gone with you once already, and that would put you at four cookies.”

Rye contemplated it, but then shook her head. “No, there would be only three of us to watch over you, and that is still dangerous.”

“Oh c’mon Rye, loosen up. He’s gone once, and he’s very well-behaved. He shouldn’t be much of a problem, if one at all,” Adventurer reasoned. 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Herb agreed. “I mean, what else are we going to do today?”

Gingerbrave looked up at Rye with expectant eyes, and she sighed. “Fine, but if anything happens, Herb runs you straight back into town, okay?”

He nodded his head excitedly. “Whatever you say!”

And so, the four of them headed out, following the trail of already explored area in order to reach the untouched lands. But it didn’t take long before they found a familiar face wandering about. 

“Werewolf?” Adventurer said, cocking his head. “What brings you this close to the village at this time of day?”

He turned his head and paused. Slowing to a stop, he looked down at the group. “Gingerbrave? What brings you out here again?”

“Again?” Herb questioned. 

“Yeah, he was out here with Kumiho earlier,” Werewolf replied. 

“I approved it, don’t worry,” Rye said, waving the comment off. “He just wanted to see Werewolf, so I figured they wouldn’t be in any danger.”

Adventurer scoffed, but before he could say anything, Rye elbowed him, causing him to remain silent. 

“Hello Werewolf,” Gingerbrave said, waving to him. “The exploration team let me join them again, so we’re heading off now!”

“Ah,” he replied, nodding his head. Then, turning to Adventurer, he said, “As to why I’m this close, I’ve caught the scent of a strange cookie again.”

“A strange cookie?” Rye asked, one eyebrow raising.

“Yeah. Though the first time, I actually met this cookie. This time, I’ve only caught his scent. I’m hoping to catch up to him and make sure he does nothing suspicious.”

“Ah, then we’ll leave you to it,” Herb said. 

“Well, should we help him?” Gingerbrave asked, turning to the adults in the group. “If we join him, we’ll not only get some areas explored, but we’ll make sure the kingdom is safe.” And maybe, I’ll get to ask them if they’re the carrier. Even if they’re not, we’ll learn his intentions. 

“Um… I…” Werewolf started, before biting his lip. Then, shaking his head, he muttered, “I prefer… to work alone.”

“Are you sure?” Adventurer asked, cocking his head. “I agree with lil’ Gingerbrave here. We should see if this cookie has any malicious intentions, and we’ll definitely catch him faster if we all work together.”

“But the exploration…” Rye replied, waving her hands as if to motion to where they were supposed to go. 

“It’ll be both at the same time. We don’t know where this cookie has gone, so we might go into unknown territory,” Adventurer justified. “Besides, wouldn’t it be better for exploration to not get done then to let a cookie with bad intentions do something to our Kingdom?”

“I mean, without Gingerbrave, we never even would’ve gone exploring today,” Herb chimed in, backing Adventurer and Gingerbrave up. “Don’t you think we might as well try?”

Rye bit her tongue, pondering everyone’s suggestions. Then sighing, she turned to Werewolf. “I know you said you work alone, but would you be fine if we all tagged along?”

“If you must, then I guess it’ll be fine,” Werewolf said, clearly defeated. 

“Hey, it’ll be alright!” Gingerbrave exclaimed. “You know what they say, five heads are better than one!”

He didn’t reply, but instead turned briskly away. Running off, the group had to move quickly to keep up with him. After a bit of running, Rye asked what they all had been wondering. 

“Are you sure this… mysterious cookie… came this way?”

He stopped abruptly, almost causing everyone to crash into him. Turning around, he looked down at Rye. “You might not know, or have simply forgotten, my nose is much stronger than yours. I can smell his faint trail, and besides, he has left multiple signs of having been here that you don’t have to smell.” Leaning over, he grabbed something off of the ground. Opening his hand, he revealed a black, goopy substance. 

“What is that?” Gingerbrave asked, cocking his head. Turning to Herb, he asked, “Is it a kind of fungus?”

Herb shook his head. “No, not any I’ve ever seen. It’s too goopy, and any fungus that looks like that would have to grow in the dark. There’s too much light here for it to grow.”

“That’s because it’s not fungus,” Werewolf explained. “It’s -”

“Licorice,” Adventurer finished. “I haven’t seen licorice like this since I visited the Dark Cacao Kingdom.”

“What makes it different?” Rye asked, taking a portion of it from Werewolf. She instinctively brought it to her mouth, but Adventurer hit her down. 

“Don’t eat it,” he warned. “Dark Cacao Kingdom licorice is different because it’s alive.”

“Alive?!”

“Sort of. It takes the form of monsters, but can only leave the licorice sea at night. That is, unless someone uses dark magic to keep them alive.”

“Dark magic?” Gingerbrave questioned. “Isn’t it a universal thing that you can’t use it? It was established so that nothing like Dark Enchantress ever happened again?”

“That’s correct. Reanimating the licorice monsters falls under necromancy, which was outlawed long before Dark Enchantress. Most knowledge of it was destroyed, so for licorice of this kind to be all the way out here, we are dealing with, most likely, a malicious necromancer.”

“That makes it important we catch him,” Gingerbrave said, nodding his head determinedly.

“C’mon,” Werewolf beckoned, shaking his hand to get rid of the licorice goop. “The scent trail continues this way.” He turned and began running again, leaving everyone to catch up. 

“Try not to stop suddenly again, alright?” Adventurer said, laughing.

“No promises,” he replied. Adventurer laughed, but when he realized Werewolf wasn’t joking, he abruptly stopped and cleared his throat. “I told you, I’m used to working alone.”

“Right.”

“Anyways!” Gingerbrave said, scrambling for a way to change the topic. “What will we do when we catch him?”

“First, we need to identify if he’s alone,” Rye said matter-of-factly. 

“There may be no scent of any other cookie right now, but that doesn’t stop them from meeting up. He will be harder to deal with if someone is there,” Werewolf explained. 

“Next, one of us will approach cautiously,” Rye continued. “If he feels threatened at all, he’ll either attack or flee.”

“It should probably be Werewolf then. You said he talked to you last time you met him,” Gingerbrave said. 

“He was probably being nosey, not friendly,” Werewolf said bluntly. 

“Either way, he’ll talk to you. That’s what matters,” Herb replied. 

“Finally, I’ll take him into custody for questioning,” Rye finished. “I was originally just going to ask him what he was doing, but since Werewolf says that he smelled his scent on that licorice, that links him to a case of necromancy. I’ll investigate, make sure he’s innocent, and then he can leave. If he’s guilty, he’ll have to serve time.”

“And what will we do if he’s with another cookie?” Herb asked. 

“We’ll wait. If we find out they’re both responsible for the licorice necromancy, we’ll get them. But attempting to confront both of them at the same time is dangerous.”

“Wow!” Gingerbrave exclaimed. “You really thought out a good plan in a short amount of time!”

Rye chuckled. “Just part of my job, kiddo.”

“Ssshhh,” Werewolf hushed them, stopping abruptly again. “I can hear voices. We’re close.”

“I don’t hear anything -” Adventurer began, but then stopped when Werewolf glared at him. “Sorry,” he whispered. 

Slowly, Werewolf crept forward. “Watch your step,” he cautioned, before motioning the group to follow him. 

“Gingerbrave!” Rye hissed, her voice hushed. “Go to the back with Herb. If the cookie turns out to be hostile, you two run back, alright?”

“But-!”

“No buts! We agreed on this beforehand, remember? If we came across any danger, you and Herb would run back so you would stay safe. Do you want to go on future expeditions or not?”

Gingerbrave sighed. “Sorry, I’ll go to the back.”

“Listen,” she said, sighing. “I know you’re just excited, but I don’t want you getting hurt, okay? I’m just looking out for your safety.”

“I know,” he replied, before retreating to the back of the group. I know she’s just trying to keep me safe, but what good am I back here? I don’t know healing magic, and if the two of us leave, that makes it a 3 v 2. That’s not a huge advantage, and he’s supposedly a necromancer, meaning that he’s powerful. I only wanted to see if he was supposedly the carrier of that voice, not put everyone in danger. And if he is the carrier, how will he tell me without everyone finding out? Will he even know I’m the one the voice has been talking to?

“Hey, are you alright?” Herb whispered, shaking Gingerbrave’s shoulder lightly. “You look worried.”

“Huh, me? I’m alright, don’t worry!” he tried to reassure him. But seeing Herb’s concerned face, he sighed. “I’m just a bit worried. Rye wants you to take me back if they’re hostile, but that makes the fight a 3 v 2, and leaves them without a healer. What if someone gets hurt?”

Herb smiled lightly. “I know you’re concerned about your teammates, but I can assure you, they’ll be fine. Each of them are great fighters, and have been in similar situations. There’s no reason to be scared.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

He took a deep breath, then smiled. “Okay. Thanks Herb.”

“No problem. Now c’mon, we’re falling behind.”

Hurrying carefully, the two of them caught up to the group. Without saying anything, the voices were now able to be heard by the average cookie ear. 

“Could you be any slower?”

“Patience. I have to be careful, or the seeds won’t grow.”

“Well if we don’t hurry, that wolf cookie will catch us. From what I gathered, he patrols the forests daily, meaning he’s bound to come here soon.”

“And if these aren’t buried properly, he’ll find them and dig them up. If you’re so concerned, go be look out or something instead of bothering me.”

“That’s him,” Werewolf whispered. “And he’s with that Pomegranate Priestess.”

“Can you tell what they’re doing?” Adventurer asked. 

“Burying something. I can’t tell what it is though, because it’s covered in licorice goop.”

“Should we stop them?” Herb asked. 

Rye shook her head. “Not yet. I want to see if we can get a motive out of them, or at least know what the purpose of burying that stuff is.”

Several minutes passed. The Pomegranate Priestess spent that time digging a hole before laying the object in the hole. Then, she pulled a mirror out of her sleeve and muttered several chants under her breath. A bright red glow came from her mirror and the ground, but as soon as it started, it ended. Quickly, she tucked the mirror away and piled the dirt back into the hole. After packing it down, she grabbed some nearby thorns and piled them on top. Standing up, she brushed the dirt off of her knees, before looking right in the direction of the group. 

“I thought I had felt another presence here,” she said, crimson red eyes staring directly into theirs. 

“Gingerbrave, run!” Rye said, turning towards him. But as soon as he turned to run, he was stopped by the necromancer. 

“You guys aren’t going anywhere.”

Before anyone could react, he struck them with magic. Falling over, Gingerbrave watched as his teammates fell unconscious. Feeling his own vision blackening, he barely caught what the Pomegranate Priestess said. 

“Start the process. While they still don’t expect it.”

No! What are… they going… to… do?!

Chapter Text

“C’mon Gingerbrave!”

“Huh?” he said, opening his eyes and sitting up. Surrounded in a field of flowers, the sun was shining, and his friends were standing in the distance, beckoning him to catch up. Where am I… wasn’t I just…?

“Are you coming? Or are you just going to lie there all day?”

“C’mon! You always lead the way, remember?”

Still dazed, he stood up and ran towards his friends. Closing the gap between them, he stood amongst Wizard and Strawberry. “You guys, what is the place? Where are we?”

“Did you hit your head or something?” Wizard asked, cocking his head. “You of all people should remember where we are.”

“Don’t be like that,” Strawberry said, punching Wizard on the arm. “Remember Gingerbrave? We’re on an adventure, and this is uncharted territory that we’re exploring?”

“An adventure? But… I’m not old enough! Is there an adult here, or…?”

“You must’ve really hit your head if you can’t remember your own age,” Wizard scoffed. Upon seeing Strawberry glare at him, he quickly corrected himself by saying, “R-remember? You came of age a few weeks ago? After a bit of training, it was okayed for the three of us to go on a mini adventure?”

“A few weeks ago? But I was just- I need to get back to -” But for the life of him, he couldn’t remember. 

“Get back to what?” Strawberry asked. 

“I don’t… remember,” he muttered, shaking his head. Am I crazy? A few minutes ago, I needed to be somewhere, but now I can’t remember where. “I must’ve hit my head at some point.”

“Well, it’s alright,” Strawberry consoled him. “What matters is that we’re now on an adventure, so let’s go!”

Wizard and Strawberry took off, leaving Gingerbrave to keep up. Watching his friends run ahead of him, he smiled from ear to ear, overjoyed to be living out his best dream. Me and my closest friends, on a journey? I could only wait in anticipation for this day to come! Before long, the feeling of dread that had overcome him early was completely gone, not even a thought about it remaining.

The three of them ran threw the flower fields, not a single thought of despair between them. Laughing, Gingerbrave pushed to the front of the group, wind in his hair and the warm sun beaming down on his face. 

If I could pause time, I would pause it here. A perfect moment, with my best friends. What more could there be to life?

But then, a drop hit his face. Looking up, he paused to see the big, dark clouds. As they quickly gathered, they blocked out the sky, and rain followed. A few drops quickly turned to downpour, soaking the cookies. But the water didn’t seep into the ground, but instead pooled at their feet.

“What’s happening?!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, barely hearing his voice over the heavy rain. The water was rising quickly, and had already made it past his knees. But looking around, panic shot threw him when he didn’t see his friends. “Wizard?! Strawberry?!”

He tried to run, desperately looking for his friends, but they were nowhere to be found. Water quickly rising, it wasn’t long before it passed his waist and up to his chest. Now the water started to form waves, and thunder and lightning could be seen and heard. 

“Guys!” he called out. “What’s happening?! Where are you?!” But alas, there was no way they could hear him, because he couldn’t even hear himself. As the water made it to his chin, he looked around for dry land. My dough is going to crumble if I don’t hurry!

The waves thrashed him around, pulling him under the water. Desperation kept him kicking, but he knew if he didn’t find land soon, he was going to drown. Witches save me!

“Gingerbrave!” 

A voice rang out, so clearly that it took him by surprise. Forgetting how to paddle in that instant, he got pulled under again. An undercurrent pulled him deeper into the water and threw him all around. Eyes closed, despite the amount of water in them, he didn’t know which way was up. Am I going to drown?! Why?! Why is this happening?!

“Gingerbrave, you need to wake up!”

That voice again! Wake up?

“This is a dream! If you don’t wake up now, your kingdom will be destroyed! Please Gingerbrave, they’re your only hope!”

A dream? It feels so… real. This can’t possibly be fake. His lungs burned, desperate for the air he was unable to reach. Sinking, he knew struggling against the deep, dark water was pointless. Am I… dying?

***************************************

He woke up with a gasp. Sitting up quickly, he panted for air, feeling as if he hadn’t taken a breath in ages. It was just a dream, so that means… I’m back in the forest! And… the necromancer! Everyone!

Looking around him, everyone was still unconscious. Scrambling, he reached out to touch Herb’s neck, since he was closest to him. After a bit of feeling around, he breathed out a sigh of relief when he found a pulse. They’re all alive, just… they look dead. 

Looking around, he was overcome with greater shock than he was when he found his presumably dead teammates. The overgrowth of the forest had turned a dark green to the point where it almost looked black, and huge vines were sprouting out of the ground. Approaching the vine, he was scared it would lash out at him. Where did this come from? What… did they do to us? How long were we out?

Studying the vine, it certainly didn’t feel like a vine. It was hard and light brown, its texture reminding him more of a tree trunk than anything. Cracks ran through the vines, and out of them seeped a red glow. 

This vine, tree thingy… it goes into the kingdom! Are they alright there?! Looking back at his teammates, he was conflicted. I need to check on the kingdom, but I can’t abandon them here! What if something happens to them while I’m gone?! If one of them dies…it would be my fault!

But if anything were to happen to someone in the kingdom, that would be my fault as well. And… there are children there! They can’t defend themselves against something like this!

Herb’s words rang in his head. I know you’re concerned about your teammates, but I can assure you, they’ll be fine. Each of them are great fighters, and have been in similar situations. There’s no reason to be scared.

Is there really a similar situation to this? But… he wanted me to trust them. If they were awake right now, would they prioritize their teammates, or the cookies of the kingdom? Instantly, Gingerbrave had his answer. 

Turning, he took off to the Kingdom. I need to get there as quickly as possible. There are cookies in danger, and I have to make sure no one gets hurt!

He had barely begun running before he had tripped on the overgrowth. Stumbling and catching himself, he noticed the extreme amounts of overgrowth. This must be a product of those two cookies, but why? Why are they doing this to us?

Quickly and carefully stepping over the overgrowth, he tried to backtrack the way that the group had come. But between Werewolf’s sporadic travel pattern, and the path that they had cleared being overgrown, he was unable to find the way back to the town. 

This isn’t good. Not good at all. How am I supposed to help everyone if I can’t even get back to town?! He wanted to sit down and cry out in desperation, but he shook his head and pushed on. That won’t help the situation at all! Think, Gingerbrave, think! If Werewolf could track that necromancer, who was constantly moving, then you can locate a kingdom that never moves using the same method. 

Glancing around, he looked for clues for where he could possibly be, or something to possibly lead him back to town. The sun will not help me, since it is night time. There’s black licorice goop dripping from some of these plants, but there’s way too many of them doing so for it to be a trail. The vines…

Looking between each glowing vine, he realized something significant. They all are traveling the same way. No matter which way they twist and turn, they are all going in that one direction ultimately! That must be the way to the kingdom!

Seemingly losing his fear of the vines, he ran up to the one that he saw sprouted out of the ground and touched it. Hand touching something sticky, he pulled it back instinctively, but was  partially relieved to see it was only the tree’s sap, which resembled the licorice goop. Light brown outside, glowing red cracks, black sap. Can it pick a color and stick with it?

Taking a deep breath, he put his hand back on the vine, and walked, running it along the side as a guide. As long as I don’t take my hand off, I can keep my eyes on the ground, so I don’t trip on any surroundings. And this vine will provide a bit of light in the dark. 

Moving briskly in the darkness, he began to dread. What if someone is seriously hurt? Will I be in time to warn everyone? We’ve clearly been out for hours, so am I too late? Will I even have what it takes to help anyone? I mean, I’m not even old enough to journey based on our kingdom’s rules. I’ve only just decided on what class I was going to train for, so I’m not the best at fighting. I’m supposed to be brave, but…

I’m scared.

Before he knew it, he saw the end of the trees. Picking up pace, he burst out of them, and luckily, back into the edges of his kingdom. But even though he had feared it, he hadn’t braced himself for what he saw. 

Everywhere, the glowing red vines had burst out of the ground, overtaking the kingdom. Cookies’ houses were covered, blocking anyone who could have been in them in. The garden that Herb tended to carefully was destroyed, beautiful plants upturned and thrown from their soil. The brand new juice bar had a vine straight through the top floor, effectively destroying it. The abandoned castle that they had found when arriving and everyone had worked so hard to restore had become a harbinger for these plants. Standing there, he felt scared and furious. 

“I’m… too late. Why? Why are they doing this?!” he yelled out in frustration. But alas, no one answered his angry cries. 

He shook his head. No, don’t think like that. The kingdom looks destroyed, but I need to try and find the others, and see how many of them are under that deep sleep like my teammates. The more cookies I find awake, the better, especially if I find a healer. There are bound to be injuries, but I have no way of helping that way. 

Running off, he ran to the first place he could think of. Stopping on her doorstep, Gingerbrave pounded on Strawberry’s door. “Strawberry! Are you awake?! It’s me, Gingerbrave! Open up!” But alas, there was no answer. 

He twisted his doorknob, and luck was on his side, for the knob turned and he was in. Quickly running in, he looked around for Strawberry. She said she was training with Purple Yam in order to work on her skills, but she should be back by now, right? Then again, if they got hurt around the same time as me, then they would still be at the training grounds. 

But turning into the kitchen, he found her slumped in a pile on the ground. “Strawberry!” he exclaimed, rushing towards her and falling to his knees. Lifting her head up, he almost reeled back in shock. It’s so… hot! Resting her head in his lap, he looked down at her face in desperation. 

Despite the very high fever and the beads of sweat running down her face as a result, her face looked completely peaceful, as if whatever she was dreaming about wasn’t worth waking up. “What did they do to you?” he muttered. “I need to find a way to cool down this fever, quickly.”

Shimming out from underneath her, and placing her head gently on the cool floor, he ran towards the freezer. Swinging it open, he was greeted by not a lot of options. Popsicles, toaster waffles, and an ice cube tray. Seriously, not a single ice pack?! Well… if she had a plastic bag…

More digging around the kitchen, pulling out drawers as if her life depended on it. It might if that fever is high enough. And low and behold, he found a plastic bag. Grabbing the ice cube tray, he shakily popped each possible cube out and dumped it into the bag. Rushing back to his friend, he put the bag of ice on her head. 

“That should help,” he muttered aloud. He looked down at her, then glanced nervously to the door. Is everyone in the same fever state? I… didn’t check my teammates for a fever. Oh witches, will they be alright?! If they’re also overheating like Strawberry, then there will be no one there to help them!

“Strawberry,” he said, desperate for her to reply. “Please, you need to wake up! I can’t do this all by myself!” He shook her shoulders, but she didn’t move. Head still hot, and chest showing no signs of movement, he would’ve thought she was dead if he hadn’t found her pulse. Similar symptoms. Is… everyone under these same conditions? Why did I wake up? Was it… the voice? It was a wonderful dream, but then everything turned into a nightmare. The voice guided me, so… why can’t it guide everyone else?! Why am I special?!

“Please,” he whispered aloud, tears forming in his eyes. “Can you hear me? Can you help everyone else as well? Please, I can’t solve this by myself. I’m… I’m just a child.”

Silence. The sheer silence that creeped him out before made him feel lonely. But instead of crying, he stood up, and went to the door. Strawberry, please stay safe. But… I need to help as many cookies as possible. If everyone is in this same fever state, then everyone else needs cooling down as well. 

Pulling the door shut behind him, he ran off to the nearby houses, trying to see if someone, anyone, was awake to help him. But every house was the same scene, a cookie found sleeping in odd places with a dangerously high fever. Clover’s animals were nudging him, wondering why their performer refused to stir, and Gingerbrave had to pull Pancake off of the monkey bars they were seated on top of. 

No one’s awake, and I have no way to wake them up. They don’t reply to normal methods, and all our healers are asleep. Herb was in the forest, I found Angel at the bakery, and Sparkling was collapsed behind his counter at the juice bar, seeming to have hit it on his way down. I found Custard III with more younger cookies, still seeming to have been playing, and Cream Unicorn was not far from them. They must’ve been looking over the young cookies. 

Tired from running around the Kingdom, he sat down on a bench and buried his hands in his face. I can’t keep doing this. Much more running around, and I’m going to collapse! And I still haven’t found that Pomegranate Priestess or the necromancer to see why they’re doing this! Why all these vines, and why are they taking us all out? Are the vines keeping us asleep, or is there a darker reason for them?

A distant chatter made him peek through his fingers, to see what the commotion was about. But it was only Clover’s animals, who were still concerned about their performer. Must be nice to be an animal. They don’t seem to be affected by these vines. 

Animals… aren’t affected… “Oh my witches!” he exclaimed, hopping to his feet. Excited, he took off, running to a place he was becoming all too familiar with. 

***************************************

“Kumiho!” he yelled, standing outside of her swing. Pounding on the sides of the red poles, he hoped what he had thought was correct. “Kumiho, I need you!”

A rustling came from the bushes, and quickly, Gingerbrave turned towards them. Locking eyes with a familiar crimson gaze, he smiled and ran towards them. Opening the snowy bushes, he saw a marshmallow fox sitting there. “Kumiho!”

“Gingerbrave?!” she exclaimed. Shifting out of fox form, she hugged the young cookie. “Oh thank the witches, someone else is awake! I thought I was all alone!”

“Kumiho, what happened after the exploration team left?” he quickly asked her. I need to know the truth, and she’s the only one who might know anything at this point. 

“It was awful!” she exclaimed. “I’d say it happened only about half an hour after you left, but it was terrifying! I was going out to the market, when small roots started growing out of the ground. They weren’t noticeable at first, but that’s when they burst up to these huge vines and started destroying the Kingdom! I ran to avoid getting hurt by one, but that’s when everyone started collapsing! I tried to help them, but they wouldn’t wake up, and their bodies started heating up in a fever. I tried to find Sparkling or Cream Unicorn, since I knew Herb was with you guys, but both of them were also collapsed! Gingerbrave, why is this happening, and why are we the only ones awake?!”

He sighed and shook his head. “I know barely anything, but I have a small idea. This is the product of a pomegranate priestess and necromancer we found in the forest, but I have no idea what they’re trying to achieve.” Kumiho’s eyes widened when she heard necromancer, but she didn’t interrupt him. “As for why we’re awake, it’s for totally different reasons. You’re awake because, well, it seems animals can’t be affected by the vines. When I saw Clover’s animals trying to wake him up, I figured that the vines couldn’t affect you either.”

Her face turned sour at the reminder that she wasn’t truly a cookie. “I… know I’m a marshmallow fox, but that doesn’t explain why Moon Rabbit, Werewolf, and Cream Unicorn are all out. They all are part animal, are they not?”

He shook his head. “They are, but they were baked that way. They were all baked as cookies with animal counterparts, while you’re technically an animal who has a cookie form. I know how much you want to be a cookie, but… that’s the only way I can explain it. I’m sorry.”

She sighed, and shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I guess I’ve always known I’d never be a true cookie, but… I still don’t want it to be true.” She paused, but then went back into the conversation. “You were baked a cookie, so why are you awake? You don’t even have animal counterparts to try and justify it.”

Should I tell her? Strawberry may have believed me, but… Strawberry’s my friend. As friendly as I am with Kumiho, she is still an adult. She may think I’m making something up… But what else can I tell her? She’s my only ally right now, so… I think I need to trust her. I guess if this makes me look insane, she can just ignore me after we figure this out. 

He took a deep breath, then looked her dead in the eyes. “Remember that book with the island I told you about?”

“Yes? But Gingerbrave, what does that have to do-”

“I lied about that. Kumiho, I think… there’s something different about me.”

Chapter Text

“Different?” she asked, cocking her head. “And why would you lie about that?”

He wanted to sigh in relief when he didn’t see doubt in her eyes, but he held it in. She may just be curious right now, you haven’t gotten over the difficult part yet. Keep going, you’ve got this. 

“I’m sorry I lied, I truly am, I just… I don’t think you would’ve believed me if I told you the truth. But… the book never existed. The past few days, I’ve been seeing this place in my dreams. And there, I would talk to this voice. The voice keeps telling me I’m important, and that Earthbread is in terrible danger. I… just wanted to try and find out if I could somehow meet it in the real world to see if this was true, but… I think I caused this all to happen,” his voice gave out at the very end, and only then did he notice that he started to cry. 

Kumiho’s face twisted to one of worry, and she pulled him back into another hug, attempting to console him. “Hey, don’t cry! Gingerbrave, you’re a good kid, everyone knows that. There’s no way any of this could be your fault.”

“But it is!” he cried, shaking. “Werewolf told us of that cookie that smelled like dead trees, and during the exploration team, we found Werewolf, who had caught the scent of that same cookie again. If I hadn’t suggested that we help Werewolf, then Werewolf would’ve been able to prevent those cookies from carrying this out! I was a hindrance to the group, and I only wanted to follow them to see if they were somehow connected to the voice, not because I wanted to keep the Kingdom safe!”

“Gingerbrave,” she muttered, her voice soft like how a mother would console her child. “You were only working with the Kingdom’s best interest in mind, whether you think so or not. This voice had told you Earthbread was in great danger, right?”

“...Right.”

“So don’t you think that by trying to see if this was true, you were acting for the Kingdom's better good? You knew that there was a possible threat to the Kingdom, and you wanted to dispel it, right?”

“...I guess so.”

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself. You’re only a kid, but you were put under the stress of possible danger, and then expected to make logical decisions. Gingerbrave, what you’ve done is heroic. You were willing to face those cookies, even though you know they might somehow be related to this foretold grave danger. And for that, I’m proud of you.”

He looked up at her, rubbing the tears out of his eyes. “You are?”

She smiled, and nodded. “Yes, and I believe your story. This… voice, and then all of these vines, it’s too much of a coincidence. The fact you’re awake and no one else is proves that you must be special somehow.”

She… believes me. Oh thank witches!

“C’mon,” she beckoned him, helping him to his feet. “It seems to be only us two, so we need to do the best we can to figure this out. Starting with that pomegranate priestess and necromancer you mentioned.”

He nodded, and the two of them climbed out of the bush where Kumiho had been hiding. “Do you have any idea where to start looking?” Kumiho asked. “Perhaps that voice could guide you?”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure why, but I can only communicate with it in dreams. Earlier, when our team got knocked out by the two of them, I too fell asleep with them. The voice pulled me out of the dream, and I haven’t heard it since.”

Kumiho sighed, then shook her head, clearing it of the many negative thoughts that clouded it. “Alright, then it’s up to us. Do you want to split up, or stick together?”

“Stick together. It’s safer.”

“Alright, then let’s go. Lead the way.”

Taking a deep breath and trying to calm his shaky hands again, he headed off, towards the direction of the Kingdom he had yet to explore. Close behind, Kumiho followed, making him feel a bit better. She believes me, and… I have an ally now. I… I can do this.

“We need to help as many cookies as possible. Whether it’s getting ice from their freezers to keep them cool, or rescuing them from odd positions they collapsed in, we need to make sure everyone’s safe until we find a solution,” he explained, waving his hands around as he gave her the plan. 

“Right!” she replied, nodding her head. Her eyes, though fearful, were filled with such excitement that Gingerbrave almost forgot who was the adult and who was the child here. I mean, this is a big deal for her. In a sense, it’s proving to everyone that she truly is a cookie, just like them. 

After the Kingdom had been formed, about the time he was three years old, Kumiho had come to the Kingdom. Unable to hide her ears, they quickly found out she was a marshmallow fox with a cookie form, despite her saying otherwise at first. The Kingdom, open to everyone, had let her stay, but that doesn’t mean they truly accepted her. 

Many were afraid of her, or thought she didn’t belong. Despite her doing nothing, rumors circulated that she was working for someone else, or that she would take little children and gobble them up. But many had collectively agreed : she wasn’t a cookie. There was no way she was like them. 

If it hadn’t been for Werewolf, it’s hard to say if she would have stayed in the Kingdom. Despite his solemn nature, he had taken notice of the rumors from the few times he was in town and the whispers he caught wind of in the forest. That day was the first time anyone had ever seen Werewolf come into town to merely visit another cookie. 

He offered her comfort, for he too used to be subject to such harmful rumors. And that day, he had provided her the hope and courage she needed to prove to everyone she was truly a cookie. From that day on, the two of them were friends, despite their contrasting personalities.

As the years progressed, many cookies realized their harmful actions and apologized to her. Some may have realized, but never did anything to change it. Very few still believed the things they said to this day, even though she had had eight years here to prove herself. Maybe she believes that if she does this for them, those who still don’t believe in her will. 

“C’mon. We can start with these houses over here.”

***************************************

Sweat dripping down his forehead, Gingerbrave felt out of breath. After many, many more houses, he could confidently say that they’ve helped at least 65% of the Kingdom. Sure, 35% is still a lot when you think about it, but we're just two cookies! 

“Alright, I’ve treated her,” Kumiho said, catching up to Gingerbrave, who had stepped outside for a quick break. “Parfait’s fever was much lower than many others. Still a fever, but that’s got to be a good sign, right?”

He nodded, smiling. “That’s great! The more cookies that have low fevers, or no fever at all, the better.”

She nodded along with him, but after a bit of eye squinting, she put her hand against his head. Frowning, she cocked her head. “Gingerbrave, do you feel alright? Your head feels super hot as well.”

“It’s just sweat, don’t worry. We’ve been running all around trying to help everyone,” he said, shrugging it off. 

“Gingerbrave, I know that, but this is different. My own head doesn’t feel this hot, and I feel like we haven’t been doing enough running for it to be this hot. Do you think that you’ve also caught the fever?”

“I… can’t have,” he muttered, shaking his head. “The only cookies who have fevers are the ones who are asleep. I’m awake, helping you!”

“Gingerbrave, I’m a marshmallow fox, like you said, animals can’t contract this sleeping disease,” she said softly. “You may be awake, but I don’t think that stopped the fever in your body… I think you need to sit down.”

He shook his head, frustrated. “No, I can’t sit down right now. Not when I can be helping so many cookies.” He turned, and started walking away, towards the next house.

“But you need to think about yourself!” she exclaimed, calling out to him. “Your own body is going to die if you don’t take care of it!”

He whipped around to face her. “I can take care of my own body when I need it, but these cookies can not! There might be someone who needs it more than me out there, and I can’t risk losing them because of my own personal needs!”

She opened her mouth to stop him, but he ran off, heading over to the next house. As he approached it, his stomach sank, remembering whose house this was. Wizard…

Approaching the door, he turned the knob, finding it to turn without any resistance. Opening the door slowly, he braced himself to find Wizard slumped over one of his books or possibly having fallen down the stairs. But after exploring the house just a little bit, he found no sign of him. 

Wizard, where are you? Is he possibly at Alchemist’s place? According to Kumiho, the vines sprouted up about half an hour after we had left, and Strawberry said that those two would be together all day… then I should probably head there and make sure he’s okay. 

Running out of the house, he barged past Kumiho, who desperately reached out to him. “Gingerbrave! Please!”

But he kept running, dead set on getting to Alchemist’s place and making sure his friend was alright. I can’t stop now. I’m one of the only cookies still awake, and I need to do my part! Everyone here is in danger of overheating and unable to do something about it, and I’m not going to make Kumiho do it all. She’s already done her part to prove they can trust her, now I need to do mine. 

Rounding a corner and almost falling over, he arrived at her house. He almost began pounding on the door, when he remembered that yet again, he was one of the only ones awake. Marching right in, he quickly began looking around for his friend, but instead found Alchemist.

“Oh witches!” he exclaimed, running to grab her. Slumped over her desk working on a potion, the chemicals had overboiled and seeped over, running onto her face and arms. Panicked, he brought her over to a chair and put her down, examining the damage. “No no, this isn’t good,” he muttered, reeling back at the damage.

Where the chemicals had touched her skin left burns, though thankfully it hadn’t quite reached her eyes on her face. I wish I could say that means I was just on time, but that’s not true. If I was on time, she wouldn’t have gotten burnt at all!

“Chemical burns,” he muttered, running around her lab. “How the hell do you treat chemical burns?!” Not wanting to hurt her by doing anything rash, he grabbed an ice pack for the fever everyone had contracted. But when touching the unaffected part of her head, he was shocked. Not warm at all… is she…? Panicking, he quickly felt for a pulse in her neck. Nothing would ever be a greater relief than when he found one. Still alive, thank the witches!

But no fever? Is it possible that by staying inside, she wasn’t affected by the vines as much? That can’t be right, because we’ve found many more inside of their houses, all running fevers. So why doesn’t she have a fever? Maybe… just maybe, I would be able to wake her?!

“Alchemist,” he said, shaking her. “Come on, you can wake up! Please, I don’t know how to treat you!”

He waited in anticipation, but she never came to. Despite her lack of fever, she too was unable to wake up. Gingerbrave, exasperated, dropped his head against her knees as he fell to the ground. Dammit. Dammit all. How are we supposed to wake anybody up if none of them react to anything, not even burns?!

He almost started crying again, but that’s when his hand brushed against something in hers. Clutched in it, a small piece of paper stuck out of it. Quickly prying it out, the small, crumpled up note made his stomach drop. 

List of things for Wizard to get from Seaside Market :

Gingerbrave didn’t even bother to finish reading the note. Springing up to his knees, he raced around the house, looking for Wizard, praying that Alchemist had yet to give him the note and he would be somewhere in there. But, he was nowhere to be found. 

The Seaside Market! But, it’s night right now! The tide’s bound to be high already, and Ice Captain said that the waters have been much more wild right now. It’s not safe for him to be there right now, especially if he’s unconscious! But Alchemist’s chemical burns…

No, no, Wizard has to be in more serious danger right now. I’ll go retrieve him and bring him back here, and then I can deal with Alchemist’s chemical burns so I can make sure oth of them are safe. I can just… turn off the heat on her potion before I leave. 

Turning the dial straight to off on the fire under the potion, he ran out of the house, closing the door behind him. The longer she can stay away from those vines, the better. 

“Gingerbrave! That’s where you went!” 

Behind, Kumiho chased after him. Not turning back to face her, he yelled out, “You can’t stop me Kumiho! I’m not leaving all of this for you, and Wizard is in danger right now! He’s down at the harbor, and I’m hoping that high tide has done nothing to him!”

At first, she didn’t reply, and Gingerbrave thought that she had abandoned him. But suddenly, she appeared at his side, running alongside him. She sighed, “It seems that I can’t convince you to do anything you don’t want to do. So I might as well go with you to make sure nothing happens to you as well. Your safety is as important to me as Wizard’s safety is to you.”

He almost paused out of shock at hearing her say this, but instead, he smiled and dipped his head as he continued running. “Thank you.”

Kumiho sighed, then laughed lightly. “I guess this is what Rye means when she says you’re strong willed. At least, it’s not a bad trait. We need more cookies like that.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it. Choosing to remain silent, the two of them kept in pace, running straight for the harbor that loomed in the distance. Ships that were docked up seemed untouched by the vines, and the pier was in almost perfect shape. But waves crashed along the sand and touched the nearby land, much higher than he had ever seen before. 

Both of them growing closer, they stopped, marveling at the water. “I’ve never seen it this high before,” Kumiho said, shuddering. 

“Ice Captain mentioned the waters being more wild, but this is beyond what I imagined,” he muttered. 

“That… priestess and necromancer you mentioned, the ones you said caused all of this,” Kumiho said cautiously, as if she was almost afraid to say it. “Do you think they also caused the water to rise?”

Gingerbrave hesitated, but then shook his head. “I don’t think so. This was apparently happening before all of this, so we can only assume that they’re two different events that occurred coincidentally together.”

Kumiho shuddered again, clearly unnerved by the raging waters. “C’mon, let’s hurry and find your friend. The sooner we do, the sooner we can get away from these waters.”

Nodding his head, he began forward again, heading towards the pier to look for him. If he was going to the market for Alchemist, then he’s bound to be down here. Kumiho quickly followed behind, though she seemed a lot more nervous about the water. She must really hate the ocean. I wonder if it’s just because of her heritage, or if something else happened?

Running onto the pier, he quickly passed by the stall where the toucan trader was always at. But, he was gone, and Gingerbrave could only assume that since he was a bird, he was unaffected by the whole ordeal and had flown away out of fear. 

As he continued down the pier, a small figure could be seen in the distance. “Is that Wizard?” he muttered aloud, picking up pace. But as he grew closer, he recognized the cookie that had fallen over, and dangerously close to the edge of the pier. 

“Ice Captain!” he exclaimed, running forward. Her body was slumped in a pile, and she was mere inches away from the edge of the dock. Lunging forwards, he tried to pick her up, but struggled, considering she was not only a full grown adult but also made of rock-hard ice. 

Without hesitating, Kumiho ran forward and scooped her up. Quickly retreating, Gingerbrave followed Kumiho as she made a mad dash back for land with Ice Captain in her arms. “Wow, you’re really strong!” he remarked. 

“Well, I did train in the charge class,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders, though it looked very awkward since she was carrying someone. 

“Really? I always assumed you were a magic class, to be honest,” he said sheepishly. “I guess I never bothered to ask you.”

“I’m not too concerned about it,” she said bluntly. “I originally also planned on going for a magic class ranking, but I found out soon that I was bad at delivering a punch, though I could definitely take one. But not to the point where I could hold my own and be fine.”

Back on land, Kumiho laid Ice Captain down gently. “Do you know of any other cookies that could possibly be around here besides Wizard?” she asked. “We want to get as many cookies away from here as possible.”

“Well, Pirate and Sorbet Shark were both here earlier, but I can assume they’re safe. Not only did they leave here on ship, Sorbet Shark is technically a shark with a cookie form, making them presumably immune to the effects if they encountered it. I’m sure they’re more than capable of keeping Pirate alive if that happens,” he replied. “And I saw Mango, but I saw him head into town, so I can assume he’s still there somewhere. So that should leave just Wizard to my knowledge.”

“Alright,” Kumiho said, leaning over and picking Ice Captain back up. Positioning her so that Ice Captain was piggybacking on her, she explained, “This position will be much easier to carry her, and if we have no one else to get other than Wizard, then I should be able to carry her around so she remains safe.”

“I haven’t seen him on the dock,” Gingerbrave said wistfully. “What if he fell in?”

“Don’t fret Gingerbrave! He’s alright, I’m almost sure of it!” Kumiho comforted him. “Let’s look around a bit closer to shore, okay?”

He nodded, swallowing. Taking a deep breath, he ran down to where the water met the land. Not far behind, Kumiho followed, though she refused to get as close to the water as she did. Running for what seemed like ages, Gingerbrave felt a sense of dread when the lighthouse and second docking station came into view. All this way and we still haven’t found him?! He couldn’t have strayed far from the market, so would he really be this far away? I mean, we saw how close Ice Captain was to falling in, what if we were…?

“Kumiho…” he said aloud, slowing to a stop. “Kumiho, I think he’s-”

Suddenly, a hand was over his mouth. Shocked, he looked back to see Kumiho standing there, ears perked and tail fluffed out. Her eyes were wide, and he could feel her trembling against him. “Gingerbrave,” she whispered. “There’s… someone up ahead.”

“Wha-?”

“I think it’s that priestess and necromancer you were talking about.”

Them! They’re here! “We… we need to go stop them!” he said, trying to run forward. 

“Gingerbrave, I can’t let you do that,” she said, holding him back. “You have a fever, I’m carrying an unconscious person, and these two are responsible for putting the entire town asleep and causing these vines to erupt. How do you think we’ll win by just barging in on them?”

“We won’t,” he replied. “We’ll… we’ll sneak up on them! As long as we keep a constant eye on them, we can see what they’re up to and not get caught off guard! We’ll catch them off guard and make them reverse everything, I’m sure we can do it. With your hearing, they won’t get anywhere!”

Kumiho sighed. “I’m not going to convince you otherwise, am I?” After Gingerbrave shook his head, she muttered, “Fine. We’ll sneak up on them, but whatever you do, keep yourself safe, alright? I can take care of myself and Ice Captain, but if you ever get in danger you can’t deal with, I want you to run, alright?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Alright, I can do that.”

She took a shaky breath, then released her hand on him. “Okay, quickly, I want you to run to that bush over there. I believe that’s the closest we can get to them with cover to protect us.”

Nodding, he ran like his life depended on it, because in a sense, it did. Diving into the bush, Kumiho wasn’t far behind. She ducked down next to him, and he cleared a small space in the bush for them to watch the necromancer and the priestess. 

“Remind me again, why did we drag this cookie all the way out here?” One of them complained, and Gingerbrave recognized the nasally voice of the necromancer who attacked them. 

“Because, he would’ve died if we left him there on the shore. If you had any sense, you would know that killing one of our bargaining chips would be foolish,” the priestess replied. 

“Who are they talking about?” Kumiho whispered aloud, as if she were speaking her thoughts. 

Gingerbrave’s stomach dropped as he recognized the third shape, slumped against the lighthouse next to them. “Wizard. They have Wizard.”

Chapter Text

“Wizard… as a bargaining chip? Who are they bargaining with?” Kumiho asked. “Everyone here is asleep, and I’m almost certain that anyone who tries to get close to these vines might pass out.”

Gingerbrave thought for a few minutes, before he came to the realization. “You. They must be bargaining with you.”

“Me?!”

“Think about it! I’m not supposed to be awake now, and their spell seems to only affect those born a cookie! I don’t know how they knew about you, but they have to be bargaining with you!”

She shook her head. “This… can’t be right. What would they want with me?”

“Kumiho, I think you should check it out,” Gingerbrave said. “Just think about it! It makes sense, and we can possibly put an end to this if you go bargain with them! Worst case scenario, we were wrong and I’ll come out to help you fight!”

She looked out nervously, then turned back to him. “Are you sure? What if…”

“I think you’ve got this,” he replied, grabbing her free hand. “We’ve got to be brave, since we’re the only ones awake to help everyone out.”

She took a deep breath, then nodded. Repositioning Ice Captain on her back, she backed out of the bush and walked slowly towards the priestess and the necromancer. As she got closer, their heads snapped towards her, but neither seemed surprised to see her. 

“Ah, so you finally found us,” the priestess said, smiling. “Took you long enough.”

“What are you doing to the Kingdom?” Kumiho asked bitterly, staring the priestess down. “Why are you doing this?”

“Hmph, wouldn’t you like to know!” the necromancer said, which earned him a jab in the side from the priestess, who turned back to Kumiho. 

“We would like to make you a deal, Kumiho,” she said calmly. “My mirror has told me a lot about you, you know? Despite this form you take, you are not truly a cookie, are you?”

Kumiho stepped back, shocked that the priestess knew that. “How did-?”

“Like I said, my mirror told me. That doesn’t matter, what matters is what we have for you. She is returning, and we’re giving you the chance to fight for the right side.”

“Who?”

An evil grin painted the priestess’s face. “Why, Dark Enchantress, of course!”

Gingerbrave’s stomach dropped. Dark Enchantress?! That can’t be right! She’s… she’s dead! The Ancient Heroes died all those years ago defeating her! 

Kumiho seemed to have the same thought trail as him, because she too questioned the priestess’s words. “She’s dead. There’s no way for her to return!”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. She didn’t die, but was merely locked away, and she’s returning soon, and we’re giving you a chance to fight with us.”

Kumiho grit her teeth. “Why would I want to fight with you?!”

The priestess advanced on the frozen Kumiho. Touching her shoulder, she leaned over to speak into her ear. “Why would you want to fight for the cookies of this Kingdom though? Correct me if I’m wrong, but they’re the ones who believe you’re not a true cookie, and bullied you for it.”

Kumiho turned her head sharply to face the Priestess. “How much do you know about me?!”

“Enough. But I’ve seen how you’ve suffered all those years, and even now, you’re only helping these cookies because you hope that it’ll finally prove to them that you are one of them. That cookie on your back, have you even ever talked to her before?”

Kumiho shook her head. “That doesn’t matter! Everyone’s life matters, no matter what their relationship to me is!”

“But did your life matter to all of those who made fun of you? Called you a child-eating monster?” Stroking Kumiho’s tail, Kumiho was frozen, unable to think clearly and shake her off. “If you join us, the Cookies of Darkness, we could offer you much more than this lousy Kingdom ever has. A home where you wouldn’t be judged, vengeance against those who have wronged you, and the one thing you’ve truly ever wanted : a true cookie form.”

“A… cookie form?” she muttered, looking the Priestess in the eye, vision clouded with doubt. Though Gingerbrave feared if this doubt was doubt in the Priestess’s words, or doubt in the cookies of the Kingdom. 

Kumiho! Don’t listen to her! He begged to scream, but he knew he couldn’t come out of hiding. Not yet! Now’s not the time!

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “Dark Enchantress has the power to bake you a new body, one that you would truly want. All you have to do is to leave the vines to ravage this Kingdom, making land for our master.”

Gingerbrave watched in horror as Kumiho’s ears and tail drooped down. Is she feeling… guilty? Don’t tell me she’s considering it! This is no good! She told me to stay back here, but… I need to save her! She’s a kind cookie, she wouldn’t want to hurt anyone!

“Hey!” he shouted, jumping out of the bushes. “Kumiho, don’t do it!”

Everyone turned up to look at him, and the Priestess’s and necromancer’s faces were shocked. “I thought you took care of every cookie!” she hissed, turning to her partner. “Why is he awake?!”

“I-I-I don’t know!” he stuttered. “That’s the cookie who took the full blow of my spell back in the forest, he should’ve been the least likely to wake up!”

“Gingerbrave…” Kumiho muttered, looking at him. 

“Kumiho!” He ran towards her and hugged her. “Don’t do it! It has to be a trap, it has to be!”

The Priestess shook her head, then looked back at Kumiho. “I assure you, it’s no trap. As you can see, we haven’t harmed a single cookie in this Kingdom, even though many of them have been horrible to you. Don’t you hate seeing them living their life in a body they don’t appreciate, one that you long for?”

Gingerbrave looked up at Kumiho, and he saw her eyes clouded with doubt again. She’s… the Priestess is right. People have been horrible to Kumiho, and now, with her dream now a reality and right there… she’s conflicted. I need to convince her, or she’s going to make a decision she regrets!

“Kumiho,” he muttered. “I know I can’t change the past, and I know the past hurts. I wish I could’ve been there to change it,” It grew hard to speak, and he began choking on his words as the tears streamed down his cheeks. “But I wasn’t, and now you’re hurt. But, I can help for change in the future, if you just give me a chance.”

Kumiho’s eyes began to water, but she shook her head, quelling any tears that may have been coming. “Thank you,” she whispered, before turning to the Priestess. “I’m sorry, but… I can’t accept your offer. This Kingdom… these cookies… they mean too much to me for me to let them go like this. Now, tell me how to treat them.”

The priestess’s face turned sour, and the caring charade was clearly up. “If you expect me to give you the answer to this, then you are greatly mistaken. You see, the deal was never to save the Kingdom, it was to recruit you. This Kingdom was always going to fall.”

“Wha-?” Gingerbrave began, but the Priestess cut him off. 

“You aren’t even supposed to be awake right now!” she snapped at him. “How the hell are you awake?! Nothing in my plan accounted for some… child… being awake!”

Kumiho used her arm to try and push Gingerbrave away from Pomegranate, but he noticed the necromancer messing with Wizard. “Leave my friend alone!” he yelled, stepping towards him. 

The Priestess turned around, and when she saw Wizard, she smiled. “This is your friend, huh? Then let’s see how far you’re willing to go for him.”

“Huh?!”

“If you truly want him back, fight for him.” And without warning, she pulled her mirror out of her sleeve and fired magic at them. Causing Kumiho and Gingerbrave to dodge separate ways. 

“Why you!” he ran at her and started swinging, trying to hit her at least once. Before she could react, he swung a punch directly into her face, momentarily stunning her. Running past, he knelt down next to Wizard. “Wizard? Wizard, wake up!”

But, his friend did not stir. Before Gingerbrave could do anything else, something hit him from his side hard. Being sent flying, he rolled down the hill and near the water. Looking up, he saw that the Priestess had kicked him away from Wizard. Groaning, he stood back up and charged her again. 

But this time, she jumped out of the way. “Think the same attack is going to work again?!” she sneered. As he stumbled past her, she used the end of her mirror to push him down to the ground. 

Face down in the earth, he heard a yip from behind him. Looking up, he saw that Kumiho had been scratched by the scythe of the necromancer and was cornered by the water. As strawberry jam flowed out of her leg, she was unable to walk. 

“Hmph, that fake cookie body of yours is so weak,” remarked the Priestess. “It truly is a shame we couldn’t see eye to eye. Though I guess if you were to apologize, I would allow you to still join us.”

“Go to hell,” Kumiho spat, her face angry. 

“Hmph, have it your way,” she said, and she nodded her head. The necromancer, who had been keeping her cornered, lunged at her and pushed her into the water. 

“Kumiho!” Gingerbrave called out, panicking. He watched as she flailed, attempting to stay afloat and keep Ice Captain’s head above the water as well. But her eyes were fearful, and she just couldn’t seem to escape. He tried to go help her, but the Priestess stepped on his back, keeping him in place. “She can’t swim! She’s going to die!” he exclaimed. 

“You know, I really don’t care,” the Priestess said. “You see, I hadn’t accounted for you being here today. She was supposed to agree with us, and everyone here would have no idea what was going on. They’d all be asleep, so no one would get hurt. Things would’ve been fine if you had minded your own business.”

“You’re wrong!” he yelled. “I found cookies who could’ve been injured if left there. Alchemist already has chemical burns from falling asleep while experimenting, Pancake could have fallen off of the playground and hit his head, and Ice Captain almost fell into the ocean and would’ve drowned!”
“Hmph, do you really care about your friends that much?” she asked, and she stepped off of his back. In a flash, the necromancer ran forward and slashed at Wizard with his scythe. Hitting him directly on the chest, strawberry jam began to pour out. “Your choice. Which friend will you save?”

He stared up at her in horror. She smiled, then leaned over to face him, “You see, that’s what I like to see. That face of despair as you realize you can’t save everyone. It really brings the so-called heroes like you down a peg. Now hurry up, if you don’t make a decision, both of your friends are going to die.”

She’s… a monster! How could I possibly choose?! No, no! I don’t have to choose! I can save both of them, I’m sure of it! Grabbing Wizard, he tried to push against the wound and get it to stop flowing as he slowly made his way to the beach. I want to go faster, but if I go any faster, I’ll hurt this wound beyond repair. 

The priestess watched in disgust as he pulled himself down the hill with Wizard. Pathetic. Despite knowing he can only save one, he tries to go for both. Turning to her partner, she whispered, “Finish him.”

The necromancer nodded, and he approached Gingerbrave from behind. Bringing his scythe up, he got ready to swing it down. But the sound of crashing waves distracted him. “What is that?!” he exclaimed, as a huge wave came rolling into the hill. He backed up, watching as it refused to go down in size, and was heading directly towards them. Running back, he grabbed his partner by the sleeve and pulled her along. 

“What are you doing?!” she hissed. “Finish the job!”

“That wave will finish him and us if we don’t find shelter soon,” he remarked, pulling her along. Tearing herself from his grasp, she followed quickly behind him, begrudgingly agreeing that the wave would kill him, even if she wouldn’t admit it aloud. 

Meanwhile, Gingerbrave looked up at the giant wave. Witches, it’s going to kill us all! Frantically, he looked for Kumiho and Ice Captain in the water, hoping that he could grab them and get the hell out of there. But despair set in when he couldn’t see their heads anymore. Looking up, the wave loomed in, far too close for him to run away, or to run away and take Wizard with him. But instead of leaving his friend for dead, he threw his body over him, trying to protect him one last time. 

The impact of the wave never hit. He heard the crashing, and he felt water, but he never felt the wave crash in and take his body away. Opening his eyes, he was amazed by the sight around him. 

The huge wave that was supposed to kill him formed an arc over him, trapping him in a room of flowing water. Water splashed slightly off the sides, but nothing was getting him wet enough to the point where his dough would start crumbling. He was startled to hear a coughing noise behind him, but turning around, he was thrilled. 

“Kumiho! You’re alive!” he exclaimed, running towards her and bringing Wizard with. 

Weakly, she looked up at Gingerbrave, smiling. “You’re alright… as well. That’s… good.” She coughed up more water, and wiped her wet hair out of her face, which kept melting into her eyes. 

“You swallowed so much water!” he remarked, worried. “Are you alright?!”

She nodded slowly. “When we went under and I couldn’t resurface again, I had to hold Ice Captain’s mouth shut, so she didn’t swallow any water while unconscious. I guess I hadn’t thought about swallowing the water myself.” 

Sure enough, Ice Captain looked mostly fine, just wet. She laid there peacefully, oblivious to everything that had just happened. Kumiho looked up at Gingerbrave and asked, “Where are we? We were just in the water when it practically spit us out here.”

“I… don’t know,” Gingerbrave said. Those two cookies attacked Wizard, and when I was trying to save him and you at the same time, a huge wave came crashing in. I thought it was going to take us out, but it crashed over us and provided wherever this is.”

And as if his words triggered something, it all came crashing down past them, avoiding all the cookies. The sky was once again revealed, and everything was almost the same as it was. Almost. 

“It seems I’ve found you just in the nick of time.”

Gingerbrave and Kumiho looked towards the sea, and reeled back when they saw a huge cookie towering over them from it. Hair made of crashing seas, she wore shells as an accessory in her hair and a dress made of an elegant blue. 

“Found us? Who are you?!” he called out shakily, fearing the cookie taller than the castle itself. Is this another one of those cookies’ tricks?!

“You have no reason to fear me,” she said calmly, as if she heard his thoughts. “I am not affiliated with those cookies you just saw. In fact, I fight for the opposite team. I am Sea Fairy cookie, and I have something for your Gingerbrave.”

Leaning over, she held out her giant hand to him. Something small was in the palm of it, and it’s a wonder that the massive cookie could carry it around without breaking it. Nervously, he climbed into the palm of her hand and grabbed it, before quickly retreating. 

“You may recognize your friend. Be sure to use his power wisely.”

“Huh-?” He began to speak, but someone cut him off. 

“Gingerbrave!”

The voice was recognizable, and he smiled upon hearing it. “It’s you!” he exclaimed. “You’ve found me!”

“Of course Gingerbrave! I knew it was only a matter of time before I did, though by the looks of things here, I wish I could’ve been here sooner.”

“Are you… talking to someone?” Kumiho asked, looking up at Gingerbrave. 

“You… can’t hear him?” Gingerbrave asked, turning to Kumiho. 

Kumiho shook her head, and the voice sighed. “It’s unfortunate, but I think I can only communicate with you and those who are touching my soul jam.”

“Soul jam?” he questioned. “But those belonged to the-”

“Ah, I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself since I’ve gotten some of my memories back! Gingerbrave, I am Pure Vanilla Cookie, and what you’re holding is my soul jam. You are the one who is going to inherit my powers.”

Chapter Text

“Excuse me?” He said aloud, staring blankly at the soul jam. Turning towards Kumiho, he sat down and held out his hands so she too could touch the soul jam. She tentatively touched it, and seemed to relax a bit when nothing happened. 

“I take it the two of you have never heard the true story of what happened that night when Dark Enchantress was ‘defeated’, have you?” Pure Vanilla said. Both cookies agreed, and he sighed. “From what Sea Fairy told me, you know that we were fighting Dark Enchantress, but then you guys believe we took each other out. That’s incorrect. She easily overpowered the five of us, despite our soul jams helping us so significantly. What a cookie like her would want with them when she has power like her own, I could never know.”

“She overpowered you?” Kumiho asked. “Then how did she get taken out?”

“After she took our soul jams, she turned each of us to nothing. I don’t even recall what happened in my last moments. But according to Sea Fairy, after Dark Enchantress took us all out, another elemental cookie, one like her, came by and sealed Dark Enchantress up, keeping her asleep for all these years. In that time, each of the elemental cookies were assigned to give a cookie our soul jams.”

“So wait, you’re dead?” Gingerbrave asked. 

“Kind of. My body is gone, with no way of ever retrieving it. But… the soul jam has somehow kept my soul alive and trapped in the mortal world. I’m not sure why, but during that time when I was supposed to be guiding Sea Fairy to you, I couldn’t remember who I was, or why I was pulled towards you. But now I remember! You’re the one who’s going to save Earthbread, Gingerbrave!”

“Save Earthbread?!” he exclaimed. “No, you must be mistaken! I’m… I’m just an average cookie! Heck, I haven’t even gone through my training yet! How am I supposed to fight if I don’t know how to fight?!”

“I never did fight Gingerbrave. My specialty is healing.”

“That’s even worse!” he yelled in frustration. “Healing takes natural ability, and I do not have that! How am I supposed to protect Earthbread if I can’t fend for myself?”

“Well, you aren’t alone,” Pure Vanilla said hesitantly. “There are four more.”

“Four more?”

“Mhm. Just like how the original soul jam holders were, there will be five of you. Five who will inherit our power in order to defeat Dark Enchantress.”

Gingerbrave laughed, but almost out of shock. “You were experienced heroes! I’m just a kid who has no training at all! How are we supposed to defeat someone you guys couldn’t?!”

“You guys have your own experiences. You have our power and yours, which is more than we possessed,” Pure Vanilla explained. “I firmly believe that you guys have the ability to finally defeat her once and for all.”

Gingerbrave sighed, and pulled his knees up to his chest. “Why, Pure Vanilla? Why did you choose me to do this?”

Pure Vanilla sighed. “I… wish I could tell you Gingerbrave, but even I myself don’t know. All I know is that I’ve been pulled to you for a while now, and even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could choose someone else.”

Both cookies sat there in silence, to where Kumiho shook her head. “I know why you were chosen Gingerbrave,” she said confidently, staring him in the eyes. “Because there is no better cookie out there to inherit this power! No cookie who could ever be as selfless and brave as you, and that’s what a hero is made out of!”

“Kumiho-”

“Don’t you dare try to object! Gingerbrave, you may not realize it, but what you’ve done today is more heroic than most of the cookies here can say they’ve done! You ran around making sure every cookie was safe, and you weren’t afraid to defy those two who put everyone in this state! You had a fever this entire time, but instead of stopping, you pushed on! And even from the beginning, you told me that you wanted to find this voice… Pure Vanilla… because he said Earthbread was in danger and you wanted to stop that! Gingerbrave… you stopped me from making a horrible decision today, and that’s what heroes do. They help others.”

She had started crying again, and Gingerbrave realized how much she meant every one of those words. “Kumiho…” he muttered. 

“Everyone is at risk for temptation, Gingerbrave,” she whispered, shaking. “I longed to be a true cookie so much that… I was willing to listen to the darkness. To reason with it. But you fought it off, and saved everyone while at it. Whether you believe it or not, you’re truly capable of holding this power.”

“Gingerbrave,” Pure Vanilla said softly. “I know that this is a lot, and I’m truly sorry it has come to this. But I’ve seen you in action today, and I trust that my soul jam will be safe in your hands. You just need to believe in yourself.”

He stared down at his feet, unsure what to do. “Do you guys… really think I can do this?”

Kumiho smiled weakly, then brushed his face motherly. “I don’t think you can. I know you can.”

Gingerbrave looked up at her, before swallowing and nodding his head slowly. “Alright Pure Vanilla. What do I need to do?”

A small noise of contempt came from him, before Pure Vanilla explained, “First off, you need to accept the soul jam’s power. If you don’t believe that you are truly using it to defeat your enemy, then it won’t respond to you, or worse, it’ll hurt you.”

“And you said Dark Enchantress is our enemy, right?”

“Right, and anyone who works for her. After you accept this power, you’ll be able to use it to its full extent. From there, you should set out to find the other four cookies who have the other four soul jams. Whether they’ve accepted it or not I do not know, so you may have a bit of trouble finding them, but I’ll be here to guide you through everything.”

Kumiho laughed lightly. “Sounds like you have a lot to do Gingerbrave.”

“I’m up for the task,” he said confidently. As Kumiho took her hand off of the soul jam, he took a deep breath. “Pure Vanilla, I accept your power, and that I need to use it to defeat Dark Enchantress.”

The soul jam began to glow. Watching it, he began to panic when it started flowing up his arm. With a sudden burst, he was swallowed by blue light, blinding him. He threw his arms up to protect himself and closed his eyes shut, but curiosity got the better of him, and he opened them back up. 

He was no longer on the shoreside, but instead, in a classroom. Looking down, he was dressed in sky blue robes, and a book thicker than he could describe was laid out in front of him. But before he could question where he was, the scenery changed, and he now stood in a chapel, where a cookie in traditional vanillian garbs stood and placed something on his head. To his side, a tall cookie with a magnificent white braid clapped for him. 

Where am I? Are these… his memories? So that cookie over there must be… White Lily! I must be at his crowning ceremony. 

The vanillian opened her mouth to speak, but the memory quickly changed before she got the chance to. Gingerbrave, unprepared, was horrified for the memories to shift to scenes of war and bloodshed, and the cookies he couldn’t save. Strawberry jam on his hands, cookies mutilated against Dark Enchantress’s forces, having to cut off a little girl’s arm to save her from infection. He wanted to throw up, but soon enough, he was thrown back into reality, surrounded by Kumiho and his still unconscious friends. 

He gasped for air, and he felt tears going down his cheeks. Kumiho quickly leaned over, asking, “Gingerbrave, are you alright?! You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“His memories…” he breathed. “They’re… so dark.”

“I apologize you had to see that Gingerbrave,” Pure Vanilla said, his voice remorseful. “But, you’ll find that you can now use the soul jam, or you’ll feel different.”

He was right. He did feel different. Everything is warm and… I can’t describe it. But my body is surging with something… new.

Kumiho’s ears perked, and she growled, looking up the hill. Turning his head, his face went sour when he saw the Priestess and necromancer standing there, looking down at them. While the necromancer looked a bit worried, the priestess’s face was one of disgust, and he could hear her snort. “Him, of all cookies? Whatever, that at least makes one.” And without another word, she turned away, running off and leaving the necromancer to catch up. 

“Yeah, you better run!” Gingerbrave yelled, standing up and chasing after them for a bit, but stopping before he got too far up the hill. “Because the next time I see you, I’ll make sure you never hurt anyone ever again!”

If they heard him, they didn’t show any signs of it. He watched as they quickly disappeared in the distance, heading for the cover of the forest. “Cowards,” he whispered under his breath, before turning back to his friends. Running down, he finally got to fix his attention on what had been bothering him the entire time. 

“You’re all wounded,” he fretted, looking at Kumiho’s leg. “There’s no way you could walk on this, Wizard’s chest wound has barely managed to clot, and Ice Captain has still not woken up. What are we supposed to do?”

Pure Vanilla laughed lightly. “Gingerbrave, have you forgotten already? You have the power of my soul jam.”

“Your… of course! You were a healer! But… I still don’t know how to use this thing, let alone how to heal.”

“It’s tricky, I will admit,” Pure Vanilla said. “Healing takes a lot more training and care than hurting ever will, and that’s why cookies are trained to cause the least amount of damage possible. But… I always imagined a warm light seeping from me, covering wounds and ailments as a fast-working bandage. I… don’t know how much help I can be, but I will do my best to help you out, alright?”

He nodded his head, then turned to Kumiho. “Kumiho, I’m going to treat your wounds, alright?”

She shook her head. “Please, take care of the other two first. I’ll be fine until then.”

“I will get to them, but you look horrible. If we don’t get that wound treated, it will grow infected, and it may have to be amputated. And other than that, your hair keeps melting into your face, which can’t be normal.”

She laughed lightly. “Oh Gingerbrave, that’s normal. Marshmallow is much weaker than dough in water, and I had no time to cast a protection spell before I was thrown into the water. It’s just melting because I spent too much time in the water. But if you insist on treating my leg, then here you go.”

She carefully moved her leg so the wound was exposed. Gingerbrave grimaced, looking at the torn dough from the scythe. The fact that she remained conscious and somewhat calm after such a wound was a miracle. Strawberry jam coated the sides of the wound, and parts of her hanbok chima were stained. 

“Just remember to stay calm,” Pure Vanilla guided him. “It may look bad, but if you stay calm, it’ll be easier to draw out your power and make sure the wound is fully healed.”

“Alright, I’ve got this,” he said, trying to convince himself that he did. Closing his eyes, he held his hands over the wound, and tried imagining light seeping out of him, like Pure Vanilla had described. 

He felt his body start warming up, and instinctively opened his eyes. Gasping, he saw a bright light emitting from his hands. The beautiful warm glow spread all around them, covering the entire area in a blanket of comfort. Am I truly doing this?! 

The blanket of glow disappeared, and Kumiho’s wound was gone. “Amazing…” breathed Kumiho. “So this is all real, huh?”

Gingerbrave clapped, excited. “I… I can’t believe it! I… just did that! Is this how other healers feel when they heal?”

Pure Vanilla chuckled. “It truly is a wonderful feeling, is it not? Though I say we need to work on a bit of control, because if you look around you, you’ll see Kumiho’s wound is not the only one you healed.”

Both of them looked at their friends to see the wound on Wizard’s chest was closed, and both of their chests were moving up and down, breathing lightly. 

Gingerbrave quickly raced over and felt both of their foreheads, and he pulled his hand back with a smile. “No fevers! They’re getting better!”

But he spoke too loudly, causing both of the sleeping cookies to stir. He covered his mouth in shock, but it was far too late, and both of their eyes opened. Wizard groaned, and shut his eyes again, but Ice Captain was a bit more wary. Sitting up slowly, but still aware, she looked up at Gingerbrave. 

“Gingerbrave? But I was just… where are we-?” Then she froze. Looking up at Sea Fairy, she was shocked to either fear or amazement, Gingerbrave wasn’t able to tell. Sea Fairy, taking notice to the cookie staring at her, smiled. 

“Hello,” she said, dipping her head. “I apologize for the rocky waters recently, it must’ve made it much harder for you to sail around here.”

The loud voice of Sea Fairy caused Wizard to open his eyes, and when he saw the giant elemental cookie, he jumped to his feet. “OH SWEET WITCHES!” he exclaimed, grabbing Gingerbrave instinctively. Looking at who he grabbed, he grew extremely confused. “Gingerbrave? What are you doing here? This… isn’t the Seaside Market. What did you do?”

Gingerbrave opened his mouth to speak, but Wizard noticed the soul jam in Gingerbrave’s hand. “Gingerbrave, is that…? Where did you get that?”

Ice Captain was now also drawn into the soul jam, and immediately knew what it was. “That’s a soul jam, Pure Vanilla’s if I remember correctly. Researchers, pirates, theorists, everyone has been searching for those for years now, how did you find one? And why did we wake up in a different place than when we fell asleep?”

Gingerbrave, overstimulated by all the questions, laughed nervously. “It’s a long story, I’m not sure…”

“I’ll tell you what happened!” exclaimed Kumiho, standing to her feet. “Gingerbrave saved everyone’s lives, that’s what happened!” She put her hand on his shoulder, and smiled like a proud mother.

His face flushed several shades of red, and he stuttered, “That’s not quite how it happened Kumiho…”

“Not quite how it happened?! I’ll tell you what this kid did! After he got attacked by a necromancer and priestess in the forest, he came back into town and found that everyone had passed out and were unable to wake up because of these vines! Instead of panicking, he went around and made sure everyone had ice as a way to keep their bodies cool, and he was able to connect the dots and realize that because of my heritage, I wasn’t affected by the vines. And even when he had a fever, he refused to stop, and even came down to the shore to confront the necromancer and priestess and save you guys!”

“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Pure Vanilla remarked. 

“Not you too!” he hissed, face turning red as he scolded the soul jam. 

“No one… said anything?” Wizard said, cocking his head. Sighing, Gingerbrave remembered that no one could hear Pure Vanilla if they weren’t touching the soul jam. 

“Hold this,” he muttered, handing the two of them the soul jam. Ice Captain, watching him in suspicion, took while keeping an eye on it. Wizard, also a bit cautious, put his hand on top of it. 

“Hello,” Pure Vanilla said. “I am Pure Vanilla, previous holder of this soul jam. I can assure you, Gingerbrave here has done everything Kumiho just mentioned and more.”

Both of them looked up atGingerbrave in shock, unable to comprehend that this truly was a soul jam. Ice Captain, shaking her head, muttered, “This has to be a trick.”

“It’s no trick,” Pure Vanilla replied. “The vines still sprouting in the Kingdom are very real, and so is the scar on Kumiho’s leg and Wizard’s chest. Even Sea Fairy over these is very real, I can assure you.” Wizard looked down at his chest, then pulled on the torn fabrics of his robes. “Without these two cookies, Gingerbrave and Kumiho, the two of you probably would have died.”

Gingerbrave nodded. “Kumiho and you were thrown into the water, Ice Captain. You would have drowned if she had let you go at all.”

Ice Captain, shocked that she encountered death so closely and had no recollection of it, turned to Kumiho. Dipping her head, she said, “Thank you. I am in your debt.”

Kumiho laughed lightly. “Don’t worry about it darling. You would’ve returned the favor if we had swapped positions, I’m sure of it.”

“So,” Wizard said, talking to the soul jam. “If you are truly Pure Vanilla, and if all of this happened, then why does Gingerbrave have your soul jam?”

Pure Vanilla sighed, “I can tell you, but I can not guarantee you will believe me. But Gingerbrave has my soul jam because he is my predecessor, and he is going to stop Dark Enchantress.”

Ice Captain shook her head. “That can’t be right. Dark Enchantress died twenty years ago, along with you. The fact we are even talking with you is impossible-”

“Not too impossible,” he said, interrupting her. “My body may have been destroyed, but my soul was preserved in the soul jam. As for Dark Enchantress, we never did defeat her. An outside force put her into slumber, and allowed the soul jams enough time to get to their new owners before she came back.”

“If an outside force stopped her, then-?” Wizard began to ask. 

“The laws of nature won’t allow us to intervene,” Sea Fairy said. Every cookie turned to her, and she continued. “We are not supposed to intervene on these kinds of fights in such a matter, and even if we could, even us elemental cookies don’t have enough power to defeat her.”

“You stopped her all those years ago?!” Pure Vanilla exclaimed, seeming shocked to find this out himself. 

Sea Fairy shook her head. “No, another one of us did. But she only had the power to seal her away, and even then had to use the soul jams to do so. Our… leader, if you want to call him that, has received a prophecy that says if these new five soul jam bearers unite and become one, they may have the power to defeat her once and for all.”

The two of them sat there in shock, their brains processing all of this information. After a bit, Ice Captain shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no. I can’t allow this to happen.”

“Huh?” Gingerbrave asked. 

“Gingerbrave is a child,” she said, addressing Sea Fairy and Pure Vanilla at the same time. “You can’t expect him to go defeat a great evil neither of you defeated years ago, and one of you died trying to do so! Hell, he isn’t even old enough to leave the Kingdom by himself, why would we allow him to go on a suicide mission?!”

“Ice Captain,” Pure Vanilla said softly. 

“Don’t speak to me like that, like it’ll change my mind!” she yelled. “He still has a life out there for himself! I won’t let him run off and die in the span of what, the next month?! Perhaps two months?!”

“It’s too late,” Gingerbrave said, stepping up to Ice Captain. “I’ve… I’ve already accepted his power. There’s no turning back.”

Ice Captain turned to Gingerbrave. “Gingerbrave, why? Do you really think it’ll be better to go out there, die trying to fight her, and when you fail to do so, they’ll just lock her back up for another twenty years while they find another child to do their bidding? Think about this!”

“I have thought about this! If I don’t at least try, then all of Earthbread is doomed! And look Ice Captain, look at what I’ve done! I healed the wounds on Kumiho and Wizard, I cured your fever! That was me!” he exclaimed. He didn’t realize that his eyes began to tear up again, but he wiped them away before anyone could notice. 

Kumiho stepped forward, intervening between them. “Ice Captain, I say we need to support him. You may not have been awake, but I was, and I saw him really think this through. I saw everything he did today, and I believe that he has the ability to do this. But no matter what you do, I don’t think there’s a way for you to stop him.” She laughed, and continued, “He’s extremely stubborn.”

Ice Captain sighed, and bit her tongue. Turning to Wizard, she asked, “What do you think?”

Wizard sighed and shook his head. “It’s Gingerbrave, he’ll do what he thinks is right whether you let him or not. But I trust him, he is my friend after all.”
She turned to Gingerbrave and grabbed his shoulders. “If you run into trouble at all and need my help, send a bird. I will not hesitate to come and help, no matter who or what you’re facing.”

Gingerbrave smiled, and nodded. “Right, I will!”

She sighed, then turned her attention to the soul jam. “I’m… sorry, for blowing up on you guys. I guess… it’s not truly your fault.”

“I understand your anger, Ice Captain, there’s no need to apologize. Even I would’ve avoided a cookie of such a young age if I could’ve. But Gingerbrave has proved himself, and there’s something special about him.”

Ice Captain handed Gingerbrave back the soul jam, as Wizard asked, “You mentioned something about vines in the Kingdom? How do you plan on getting rid of those, and are any other cookies awake right now?”

“I can probably wake up the cookies of the Kingdom, but…” Gingerbrave began.

“I believe you should be able to clean up the vines as well,” Sea Fairy said. “They’re a product of dark magic, and Pure Vanilla’s healing is a form of light magic. I believe that they’ll cancel each other out and rid the town of the vines. Here, I’ll come with you.” She dipped into the water, and soon resurfaced. But this time, she was the size of a normal cookie, and walked onto the land. “Lead the way, Gingerbrave.”

And so, the group of five (six if you include Pure Vanilla’s soul) went back into town. Upon seeing the vines, Ice Captain gasped and Wizard froze up. But Sea Fairy had Gingerbrave direct them to the middle of their town, which was marked by a magnificent fountain that had somehow survived the ordeal. 

“Are you sure you can do this?” Wizard asked. “I’m not doubting your abilities, just… this is a lot. We don’t even know if your healing can get rid of these vines.”

Gingerbrave took a deep breath, then nodded. “I’ve got this.”

Kumiho smiled, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We’re here to support you, so you have nothing to fear.”

“Alright,” Pure Vanilla said. “Are you ready, Gingerbrave?” He nodded, and Pure Vanilla continued, “It’ll be a bit harder this time, because you have a much larger area to heal, and many more cookies. Imagine where you want this healing to reach, similar to last time.”

He took a deep breath. From the castle, deep into the woods. Reaching every cookie, every horrible vine. All of it. 

Glow seeped out from him, covering the Kingdom in a great light. He heard Kumiho giggle happily, like a small child, when the light flowed over her again. He couldn’t blame her though. It’s warm, and it fills you with joy. It makes me wanna take an adventure or hang out with my friends. 

“It’s working…” breathed Ice Captain. “This is… truly amazing. Are you really the Gingerbrave I knew?”

Before he knew it, he heard Pure Vanilla’s voice again. “I think you’ve done enough now, don’t push yourself too hard.” Gingerbrave quickly seized the light, and opened his eyes to find no more horrible vines everywhere. 

“I’ve done it! You were right, Sea Fairy!” he exclaimed. 

But Sea Fairy was not as excited as he was. Instead, she was rather urgent, though she kept a calm composure. “Gingerbrave, you need to hurry. Though I’m sure you’re worried about your friends, you need to find the other soul jam bearers as soon as possible.”

“She is right,” Pure Vanilla said. “We have no idea how long Dark Enchantress can be held, but we do know that you can only beat her if you fight as one. You need to find the other four, or you stand no chance at all.”

He stuttered, “Wh-where am I supposed to go?! I have no idea where to start looking!”

“I’d start by searching the Dark Cacao Kingdom,” advised Sea Fairy. “Dark Cacao had great trust in his soldiers, so I bet he gave his soul jam to one of them.”

“Dark Cacao was a proud and resolute cookie,” Pure Vanilla backed her up. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he kept it in his Kingdom, or even in his family and gave it to his son.”

“The Dark Cacao Kingdom is a far way to travel,” Ice Captain remarked. “Will he be able to do it by himself?”

Kumiho shook her head. “I… even I don’t think you should travel all that way by yourself Gingerbrave. If you’ll allow me, I want to accompany you on your way there, to make sure you stay safe.”

He smiled, then nodded. “Of course you can! We’re buddies now, right?!”

She seemed shocked to hear those words, but the shock quickly was replaced by happiness. “Yeah!” she replied, laughing lightly. 

“You two need to hurry,” Wizard warned them. “Cookies are bound to start waking up soon, and someone will try to stop you guys. I don’t know how many cookies you can keep telling this story to, but eventually, someone isn’t going to buy it and you’ll get stuck here.”

“And don’t worry about an alibi for why you’re gone, Gingerbrave,” Ice Captain said. “With Sea Fairy leaving here, I’ll be able to set sail again. I’ll leave a note in your house explaining that I’ve taken you on a sea adventure.”

He smiled, dipping his head to his friends. “Thank you guys! I won’t forget what you’ve done for me!”

“Gingerbrave, I’m pretty sure saving Earthbread is much more important than us giving you an alibi,” Wizard pointed out. 

Gingerbrave laughed, then said, “I guess you’re right. But Wizard, can you tell Strawberry the full story? She… already knows parts of it, and she’ll believe it, I’m sure of it.”

He sighed, then nodded. “Go on now. Leave me and Ice Captain to get everything figured out.”

Smiling, he nodded. Turning towards the forest, he said, “Goodbye Wizard, Ice Captain! I will return, I promise!”

They waved goodbye, and Kumiho rushed Gingerbrave along. Soul jam in hand, the two of them ran side by side for the forest cover. “We’ll make a quick stop at Werewolf’s place,” Kumiho said while running. “I’ll leave him a note saying I took a map and a few things and will pay him back, and then we should be all set to leave. But it’s too risky staying in town at this point.”

Veering off, Kumiho led Gingerbrave to Werewolf’s camp with confidence. The two of them are friends, so it makes sense she knows where to go to get here. 

But to their surprise, the camp wasn’t abandoned when they got there. Both of them paused in shock when they saw Werewolf and Herb awake, treating the sleeping Rye and Adventurer. Werewolf snapped his head, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two of them. “Oh, it’s just you guys.”

“Werewolf? Herb? What are you guys doing awake?” Gingerbrave asked. “Everyone was passed out, last I knew.”
“Well  I knew something bad had happened after I woke up in the night,” Werewolf explained. “Then I remembered that priestess and necromancer, but I saw that they had done nothing. But when I reached over to Rye, I saw that she must’ve hit her head on something, because she has a wound on it.”

“He proceeded to violently shake me until I woke up,” Herb said, laughing lightly. “We had no idea where you had went Gingerbrave, and feared that the priestess and necromancer had taken you hostage. We just got here a few minutes ago, and I have barely had time to heal Rye’s wound, but we were going to go look for you. But it looks like you are fine.”

“But what are you doing out here?” Werewolf asked. “It seems like you have been awake for hours now, so what happened while we were all asleep?”

Gingerbrave stuttered, not expecting to have been asked that. We really need to be getting out of here, but we are really unprepared. Should I tell them about…?

You can tell them about me if you want to. 

“Witches!” he exclaimed, startled by the sound of Pure Vanilla’s voice in his head. Looking up, the three awake cookies looked at him like he had sprouted another head, and he sheepishly ducked his head. “Sorry.” You can hear my thoughts?!

Sorry, that was intrusive of me. But yes, we are linked now, so I can communicate with you and you can communicate with me without anyone else hearing. 

So… you want me to tell them about you?

I’m saying it’s up to you, Gingerbrave. Do what you think is right. 

What I think is right? He paused for a minute, considering the pros and cons to telling them. But that’s when Kumiho grabbed his shoulder, and whispered into his ear, “Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yes! I’m fine!” he exclaimed. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Herb and Werewolf. “It’s a very long story, and I’m afraid we don’t currently have the time to share with you. But we need to borrow some of your supplies, Werewolf.”

“Supplies?” he asked, narrowing his eyes and cocking his head. Turning to Kumiho, he continued with, “Where are you taking him, Kumiho? You know the rules…”

“I know there are rules,” she insisted. “But it’s different this time! This is important!”

“Kumiho, I can allow you to visit me with him, but supplies? Where are you two even going that you need supplies from me that you can’t get from your own houses?”

“...The Dark Cacao Kingdom,” Gingerbrave muttered.

“The Dark Cacao Kingdom?! Have both of you lost your minds?!” he exclaimed. “He’s not technically supposed to leave the Kingdom and go into the forest until a certain age, do you think I’m going to allow you guys to go all the way to the Dark Cacao Kingdom?!”
“We have to go to the Dark Cacao Kingdom!” Gingerbrave insisted. Drawing his hand up to their faces, he showed them the soul jam. “I have to find the other soul jam predecessors so we can defeat Dark Enchantress!”

Werewolf looked at it, then looked up at Gingerbrave, not amused. “Gingerbrave, that is not a convincing story. Defeating a great evil that was defeated twenty years ago, really? And where did you even get this toy?”

“It’s not a toy! Look!” Not bothering to close his eyes, he willed for Pure Vanilla’s power to come out, to prove to Werewolf that he was wrong. And it did, covering the area around them in a blinding light. 

When it faded, both Herb and Werewolf stared at him in shock. Herb looked for the wound on Rye’s head, but was shocked to not find one, not even a scar to prove she ever had it. “Amazing…” he breathed. 

“See!” he exclaimed. “This is Pure Vanilla’s soul jam, and I need to find the four other cookies who have the four other soul jams! Please, Werewolf, it’s important! No one will even notice I’m gone! Ice Captain already is covering for me, but we need to get out of here so no one tries to hold us back! This isn’t for me, it’s for the sake of Earthbread! Please!”

Kumiho stepped forward. “Werewolf, he’s right. I’ve witnessed what this kid can do, and I saw what happened while everyone was asleep. Not a single lie has come out of his mouth.”

Werewolf, unable to make a decision, glanced over at Herb. Giving a slight nod, Werewolf sighed. “Fine. You guys can take whatever you want, but under one condition.”

“What is it?” Gingerbrave asked, cocking his head. 

“You have to let me and Herb escort you to the Dark Cacao Kingdom border, and on the way there, you have to explain everything that has happened while we were asleep. Deal?”

Gingerbrave nodded his head. “Deal.”

Chapter Text

“Wait, wait,” Herb said, pinching the bridge of his nose as if it would help him understand it more. “So we were attacked by that necromancer and priestess, and while we were asleep, they caused these huge vines to attack the kingdom and put everyone else in the same resting state as us?”

“Right.”

“And Pure Vanilla managed to wake you up by turning your dream into a nightmare, where your first instinct was to go back to the Kingdom and start giving everyone ice packs for the fevers they had?”

“Yes.”

“You then used Clover’s animals to deduce Kumiho wouldn’t be asleep, and then you refused to take care of yourself when she pointed out you too had a fever?”

“He’s very stubborn!” called Kumiho from the front of the group. 

“So you went down to the shore, saved Captain Ice from drowning, and then found the priestess and necromancer with Wizard, and instead of running away, you tried to fight them?”

Gingerbrave nodded, and Herb sighed, muttering under his breath, “Rye would’ve been so disappointed.” He cleared his throat, and continued with, “So you two ended up doing very poorly against these two cookies, almost resulting in Wizard’s death, Kumiho melting, and Ice Captain drowning again?”

“Well now that you put it in words, that sounds a lot worse,” he remarked, trying to get a laugh out of Herb. Luckily, he succeeded, and he chuckled a little bit, before his face went serious again. 

“So then you were saved by the elemental of the sea, who gave you Pure Vanilla’s soul jam, where Pure Vanilla himself told you you had to go defeat Dark Enchantress, who was apparently not defeated all those years ago, and then gifted you his power, which you used to clear the vines and heal the entire town, including us?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Herb sighed. “This isn’t good. You’ve proved that you now have the ability to heal, which we all know can’t just magically happen unless there was an outside force, which means Dark Enchantress coming back is most likely true. And you have no idea when she’ll come back, so you have to find the rest of these soul jam predecessors and learn how to properly heal before all of that happens.”

“I’m… sure I can figure it out. You’ve already seen that I know how to heal,” he said, trying to stay optimistic. 

Herb shook his head. “Not properly. I know this is new to you, but healing itself is a very dangerous game. The way you’re healing right now, you’re healing everything in the general vicinity, not caring who or what you heal. But that can be fatal in battle, because you’ll end up healing your enemy. You need to be taught how to be able to focus your healing on only your allies. And when you learn to do that, you can concentrate on those allies, making your healing even stronger.”

I agree with him Gingerbrave. Your healing is very sporadic right now, though I wasn’t going to complain about it right now based on how quickly you picked up healing. 

“So what should I do?” he asked Herb, cocking his head. 

“I’m going to train you, that’s what is going to happen,” Herb said. “According to Werewolf, we’ll take about three days to get to the edge of Dark Cacao territory. In those three days, I am going to teach you as much about healing as I can.”

“Really?!” he exclaimed, overjoyed. Oh that’s amazing!

This is good Gingerbrave. I knew I couldn’t teach you the best, since I am just a voice, but now you’re getting real-life help. This will be very beneficial. 

“He should know how to defend himself though,” Kumiho chimed in, stopping and turned to face him. “Werewolf and I can teach him some basic tricks when we’re not moving, since we’re both trained in the charge class. I believe I’ve overheard you talking to your friends that you were going for a charge class training, am I right?”

“Yeah, I was going to go for charge. When we were old enough, me, Strawberry, and Wizard were going to go on a journey together, but…” he trailed off, thinking about the worse. We’ll never get to do that if we can’t stop Dark Enchantress. I… never even said goodbye to Strawberry.

Hey, it’ll be alright, Gingerbrave. I believe in you, you just need to believe in yourself. 

He shook his head. “Yes, yes, charge training. That would be awesome, thanks.”

Älright, then let’s begin with healing right away,” Herb said. “The sooner, the better.”

And so, with Kumiho and Werewolf leading the way, Gingerbrave walked next to Herb in the back, carefully watching him. “Healing is the hardest technique to master. You’ve seen this, with our Kingdom having five, six if we count you now, healers. There have been cookies that can heal, but can’t keep up their stamina while doing so, and have to fall into a support category so they also have to fight. The most important part of healing is managing your stamina and staying concentrated.”

Gingerbrave nodded, and Herb held out his hands. Pausing, he looked up above at the forest canopy, and extended his arm towards it. From it, a vine grew down and gently wrapped itself around Herb’s arm. “Each healer has a thing that connects them to their ability to heal. Cream Unicorn’s is based on good dreams, mine is plant-based, and yours appears to be based on light. Yet, it doesn’t appear you have any limitations on your healing.”

“What does that mean?”

“Pure Vanilla, your healing is based on light, is it not?”

Gingerbrave held out the soul jam, allowing Herb to touch it, to which Pure Vanilla replied, “Yes, as far as I’m concerned it is.”

“Well as for limitations, my healing is very limited. Plants must be able to grow wherever I need healing, and if the person who needs healing doesn’t allow the plants to touch them, the healing won’t work. Generally, most if not all healers I’ve met are only able to make an area of healer, while your healing seems to have the ability to latch onto a person, and doesn’t need ideal conditions to summon, because you called upon it at night, where there isn’t a lot of light.”

“He is right,” Pure Vanilla agreed. “I was able to do that, and it was often seen as weird by many others. I’m assuming it’s because of my soul jam that I was able to do so.”

“Right. So here’s what I want you to do Gingerbrave,” Herb said. “You already know how to call upon your power, right?”

“Mhm.”

“Then we’re going to work on your focus and on your stamina. By healing one injury and not the other, you’ll get your focus, and by repeating this procedure over and over again, you’ll get your stamina.”

“What injuries are there to heal?” Gingerbrave asked, cocking his head. “Last time I checked, I thought we were all in good health.”

“The injury part is easy,” he said matter of factly. “Werewolf, can you help me out?”

And without saying anything Werewolf ran one of his claws down his arm. Gingerbrave watched in horror as the strawberry jam began to pool out. “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” he exclaimed, trying to rush forward. But Herb grabbed him with his free hand, and Gingerbrave watched strawberry jam start to run down Herb’s other arm. The thorns from the vines had punctured his dough, but he was totally calm about it. 

“This is your training exercise, until you learn how to focus your healing,” Herb said simply, unwrapping his arm from the vines. “I want you to heal Werewolf’s wound, without healing mine.”

“But aren’t I supposed to heal my entire team?!” he said desperately, not taking his eyes off the wound. 

“Gingerbrave, I’ll be fine,” Herb assured him. “I’m a healer, so if the worst comes to it I can save myself. But right now, think of me as your enemy. Your teammates have worked hard to bring me down to this point, but they need healing. You need to heal them, without healing me as well.”

Defeated, he sighed. Closing his eyes, he focused on summoning the warm, healing light and releasing it onto his teammates. He was happy to feel the warm light, but when he opened his eyes, he was quickly discouraged. He had healed Werewolf, but he had also healed Herb, meaning that he had failed.

Herb took notice to Gingerbrave’s disappointed attitude, and immediately tried to cheer him up. “Hey, it’s alright, you can try again! Not everyone gets it right the first time.”

“But everytime I fail, you two have to hurt yourself again!” he protested. “You have to be in some kind of pain, no matter how well someone heals!”

“Not being able to heal properly is going to hurt someone even more,” Herb said, shrugging as if it was a simple matter. “If being able to save Earthbread costs a bit of hurt to myself, then so be it.”

“And besides, Gingerbrave,” called back Werewolf. “We’ve both been in situations that have caused us a lot more pain than this. I promise, we’re totally okay with this.”

“Now c’mon,” Herb said, shaking him on the shoulder to encourage him. “Let’s try again! Aren’t you usually the one who is raring to go and learn and help others? It puts no one in a good mood to see you of all cookies down in the dumps.”

Gingerbrave sighed, then smiled, nodding. “Alright. I’ll try again.”

***************************************

He groaned, frustrated at himself. After trying it again four more times, he had yet to heal one and not the other. And to make matters worse, his head hurt like crazy, and he felt extremely tired. Not now. I can’t sleep yet. We’ve still got a bit to go, and I haven’t mastered this technique yet!

“Gingerbrave, are you tired?” Herb asked, touching his shoulder lightly. “You’ve been doing this for a while now. After this morning, and then these practices, you’ve got to be-”

He shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I want to try and get this down first.”

Expressing a concerned look on his face, but otherwise saying nothing, Herb let the vines penetrate holes in his arms again. Gingerbrave closed his eyes again, but this time, instead of a beautiful, glowing light coming from him, he fell over. Herb barely managed to rush forward in front of him to catch him before he hit the ground face first. 

“I thought he had had enough,” Herb muttered, holding his limp body steady. He cleared his throat as Kumiho and Werewolf turned around to see the commotion, though neither one of them were surprised to see that he had passed out. “Do one of you want to carry him? I don’t think I could carry him for a long period of time.”

And without a word, Werewolf scooped him up in his arms. Holding the sleeping boy bridal style, he looked like a little baby in Werewolf’s huge arms. Herb sped up to catch up with the two charge cookies, and now the three of them walked side by side. 

“Are we really going to let him do this?” Herb asked, looking up at his two friends. “I mean… he’s still, just a child. If the Ancient Heroes couldn’t defeat her and died trying, then will he…?”

But he couldn’t bear to finish his sentence. None of them could. Not a single one of them wanted to send the 12-year-old cookie off to fight a great evil who destroyed villages, none of them wanted to believe that she was truly back and only he could stop her. But the blue glowing stone in his hands didn’t lie, it was real. All of it… was real. 

“Do you think we could’ve stopped him if we told him no?” Kumiho countered, laughing lightly. “He would’ve found some way to escape, to try and be everyone’s hero… I would rather send him off and make sure he’s safe before I leave then to try to restrict him and possibly end up with his life on my hands after he runs off.”

“Kumiho is right,” Werewolf muttered. “He would’ve found a way out, whether we liked it or not. The least we could do for him is to make sure he gets to the Dark Cacao Kingdom safely.”

And another word came out of their mouths as they walked. None of them had anything to say, and there was truly nothing to say. What could you say when the world you’ve known a lot of your life is threatened by a great evil defeated a while ago? What could you say when your future relied on a cookie who isn’t supposed to leave your Kingdom without supervision? What could you say when you knew that if he failed, his death would be on your hands?

***************************************

Shivering, he woke up when he felt something wet touch his foot. Springing up, he was surprised to see he was on the same tiny island where he had first heard Pure Vanilla. “Pure Vanilla?” he called out, looking around. “Are you here?”

“I’m always here, Gingerbrave,” his calm voice rang out, filling the open sky. “If you ever need to speak to me, you don’t have to wait until night time to do so.”

“Is it night right now?” Gingerbrave asked, cocking his head. “I remember, I was practicing, and then everything went black. I… I think I overdid it. But… it must be day time right now, since I couldn't have passed out before noon.”

“I’m afraid it is night time already, Gingerbrave.” Pure Vanilla chuckled, before explaining, “You’ve been asleep most of the day, though your mind only just became conscious here.”

“I have?!” he exclaimed. “I… I need to wake up then! How long have they traveled and had to carry me around?!”

“Don’t worry about it, small one,” he replied lightly, laughing yet again. “If you don’t get your rest, then you’ll just pass out once again. Stay here until you feel your body pulling you back awake.”

Gingerbrave sighed, then sat down on the ground with a plop, sending the sand beneath him scattered around. Looking up at the dark sky and twinkling stars, he called out, “So now that we’re together, can I see what your physical body looked like?”

“I’m afraid not,” Pure Vanilla said, sorrowing ringing in his voice. “Like I said, my true body was destroyed twenty or so years ago in the Final War. My soul, or how I’m communicating with you, looks nothing like my body. I could try to show you my soul, but… I think it’s safe to say you’d rather not see it.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked, cocking his head. “I’m sure it doesn’t look bad!”

“No, no, it’s not that!” Pure Vanilla exclaimed. “You just know how when you heal, that light is fairly bright?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, take that light, and multiply its brightness by a lot. I’m afraid that if I tried to show you, I could risk blinding you from the pure amount of light that it takes.”

Gingerbrave paused, unsure of how to reply to him. “Is… everyone’s soul like that? And how do you know what yours looks like?”

Pure Vanilla laughed lightly. “You ask a lot of questions, did you realize that? But do not worry, I will answer everything I know. As for everyone’s soul, the answer is no. Your soul is the reflection of your true self, so everyone’s soul will take a different form. Many cookies who fight for darkness have a soul shrouded in such darkness, though sometimes a screen of darkness could mean sorrow, or great grief instead. My friend… he always had a dark aura of guilt surrounding him.” Pure Vanilla sighed, “I only wish that I could’ve helped him with that.”

“That’s… sad,” Gingerbrave said, frowning. “So you could see the… aura, or souls of people? Is that normal?”

“No, most cookies are unable to do so. One factor might’ve been that I was half-blind, so people became less of what they looked like physically and more of what they felt inside. Another might’ve been my ability to heal, advancing so far that I could see how others were feeling.”

“So… will I be able to do that?” 

“I don’t know for sure, Gingerbrave,” Pure Vanilla replied. “I’ve only regained many of my memories hours ago, and even now I can tell I’m still missing things. But as for what I know, you’re able to do anything I could do with the soul jam. You may still need to grow accustomed to such power, but being able to see such things might’ve only been a part of my blindness, which I hope you do not develop as well.”

A silence fell between the two of them. Whether Gingerbrave had any more questions or Pure Vanilla had answered them all, he held his silence. I mean, he was an Ancient Hero! I looked up to them, and read their stories almost every night! And now I have Pure Vanilla’s power! This… feels too fake. What if I wake up… and none of this happened?

“I’m sorry to listen in, but I can assure you none of this is fake.” After Pure Vanilla spoke, Gingerbrave’s face flustered to a bright shade of red, remembering that the Ancient Hero could hear his thoughts, since the two of them were linked. “But if you really want to check, it seems like your body is ready to wake up.”

And before he could respond, he sat up quickly, shaken from the island of isolation. Eyes quickly adjusting, he found himself sitting next to a dying fire, and something draped over him. It didn’t take him long to recognize Werewolf’s overcoat, and looking over, he saw him curled up, only in his tight shirt and baggy pants. 

Darkness was shrouded all around them, yet it was a darkness of night rather than a darkness of the heart like how Pure Vanilla had described. The night sky was covered by long branches and vines, and the trees were foreign to him. We’ve traveled a long way while I was asleep. They’ve carried me for so long…

Werewolf was clearly the one who was supposed to be on watch, since he was sat further away from the group, and further away from the fire. Using his tail, he tried to use it as a replacement for the heavy coat that he had given Gingerbrave, but even then he shivered in the night. Kumiho and Herb were a bit closer to the fire, but even then they trembled in the cold of night, since their fire was close to death. Herb had taken off his apron and draped it over himself and used his arms to prop up his head, while Kumiho curled up right next to him in her fox form, tiny paws over her nose. 

Gingerbrave smiled lightly, looking down at the dying fire. I’m glad they’ve been here for me. I don’t think I would’ve made it this far without them. Now… I should do something for them. He stood up and walked over to Werewolf, draping his cloak back over him, covering every part of his body except for his head. 

Returning to the fire, he found many twigs and brambles nearby and threw them in, causing the fire to jump back to life. Finding a larger stick for poking the fire, he sat back down at the fire, seeing that his friends were now warm again. I’ll keep you guys warm while you sleep. It’s the least I could do for you guys helping me this much. 

Chapter Text

When he woke up to a heaviness covering his entire body, he had assumed that either some spell had made him all heavy or that an enemy was on top of him. But on closer inspection, he recognized the fluffy wool of his own coat.

I thought that I had… where’s Gingerbrave?

Sitting up quickly, he was relieved to see the young cookie sitting by the fire, poking it with a stick. Sighing and standing up, he approached the cookie silently, before tapping him on the back. 

Gingerbrave did not startle, rather turned around with a smile on his face. “Good morning!” he exclaimed, all too cheery and had clearly been awake for a while now. Though the cookie lacked eye bags and looked fully rested, the fact that the sky was still dark and the fire was going steady means he’s been up for a while now. 

“How long have you been awake?” he asked, cocking his head. “We don’t want you passing out and sleeping another day away. You need to learn how to control your power before you get to the Dark Cacao Kingdom.”

“I’m fine, Werewolf,” he laughed lightly, standing up to face him. “I hadn’t regulated my power properly yesterday,  and I hadn't slept in over 24 hours, unless you count that spell we were all under. I’m fully prepared today to get this down!”
Werewolf sighed. I suppose he is right. He barely had any sleep from running around practically saving all of our lives. But, he still needs to learn as quickly as possible as much as possible. “Well, since you’re awake, do you want to learn some basic charge class skills?”

Gingerbrave nodded excitedly, eyes lighting up. “Yes!”

And so, Werewolf led the young cookie off into another clearing, to avoid the fire and disturbing their sleeping friends. Discarding his cloak to avoid it getting in the way, he felt the chill of the morning nipping at his arms. “Alright, there is one thing you need to understand about being a charge.”

“What’s that?” Gingerbrave asked, cocking his head. 

“Know your limits,” Werewolf said, his ear twitching. “A charge cookie does fight in the front, but there’s a reason why a charge cookie isn’t a defense.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because of durability and power. A defense cookie is durable, and a charge has more power. If you try to have the power of a charge cookie and try to tank as much as a defense does, you will get seriously hurt. So if you need to, fall back. Your defense has got your back, alright?”

Gingerbrave nodded. “Alright! Teamwork, I’ve got it!”

Werewolf smiled a bit at the young cookie. Gotta admire the enthusiasm in spite of the situation. “Alright, first things first. Finding a style that works for you. Charge is one of the classes that varies the most, so how do you think you fight?”

Gingerbrave pondered this for a minute. How do I fight? Well, I’ve never gotten into a fight before, so I don’t really know. “Well, I’ve never fought before.”

Werewolf sighed. “I should’ve rephrased that. How do you like to do things?”

“Oh that’s easy! Just face it head-on, no hesitation!”

“Alright,” Werewolf said, backing up. “Then do just that. Come at me with no hesitation.”

“A-are you sure?” he asked, stuttering. “I mean, will I hurt you?”

He shook his head. “I will be fine, Gingerbrave,” he said, chuckling a bit. “Just… do your best.”

Gingerbrave took a deep breath, then ran at Werewolf, hand outstretched as if to punch him. But before he could make contact, Werewolf jumped out of the way, leaving Gingerbrave to tumble into the bushes. That is, if Werewolf didn’t extend his arm to catch the young cookie. 

“What were you doing?” Werewolf asked, putting him back onto his feet. 

“Well, I was going to punch you, but you moved out of the way too quickly,” Gingerbrave muttered, now embarrassed with such a simple plan. “I guess that was a bit too simple, huh?”

He shook his head. “Not necessarily. Many cookies rely on their fists as a way of fighting. I think where you went wrong is that you were unsure what you were doing. Move with confidence, and use your size to your advantage.”

“Alright!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, returning to his beginning position. My advantage is my size, so what if I try to outspeed him? Taking a step back instinctively, he pushed off the ground without warning, fist outstretched again. 

To both of their surprise, the young cookie was to Werewolf in a blink of an eye. Before anyone could do anything, Gingerbrave struck Werewolf in the gut, unable to stop the sheer force pulling him forward. With an oomph, Werewolf flew back into the brush, making a crashing noise. 

“Are you okay?!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, going to check up on his friend. He bit his fingernails as Werewolf groaned, his head dipped back in pain. “Was that… also a part of the soul jam?”

“No, no,” Werewolf muttered, shaking his head to the best of his ability. “Every cookie has some kind of ability for fighting. It seems yours is an impact burst, though it’s possible the soul jam enhanced its power.”

“I’m sorry,” Gingerbrave apologized, holding his hand out. “Let me help you up.”

Werewolf extended his arm, but as Gingerbrave pulled up the older cookie who had to weigh at least 2 times his weight, Werewolf groaned in pain. “Man, you pack quite a punch,” he complained, holding his stomach. 

“Here, let me help,” Gingerbrave offered, getting done on his knees. Holding his hands over Werewolf’s stomach, a soft glow of light soon covered Werewolf’s stomach, causing the pain to quickly subside. Werewolf, though relieved for the pain to be gone, was still amazed that Gingerbrave was able to do such a thing. I’ve seen it before, but feeling it is a totally different thing. “There, does it feel better?”

Werewolf nodded. “Thanks, Gingerbrave.” Werewolf grabbed Gingerbrave’s outstretched hand to help himself up, and though he found the gesture kind, there wasn’t much the smaller cookie could do for him, cookie two times his size, so he found himself mainly pulling himself up still. 

“Pure Vanilla says you should rest,” Gingerbrave advised. “We have a long day ahead of us, and it’ll tire both of us out if we practice all out right now.”

“That’s okay,” Werewolf replied, nodding his head slightly. “You’ve learned how your body and skill works kind of, so that’s already a huge progress. Some cookies, such as myself, learn our skills right away because they affect our everyday lives. Some cookies, like Kumiho, take a while to learn their skills.”

“Kumiho?”

“Ah, she didn’t tell you?”

Gingerbrave shook his head. “She told me she was originally going to go for a magic class ranking, but couldn’t because she didn’t do a lot of damage.”

Werewolf laughed lightly. “Well, the truth was, she didn’t do any damage. We both began training around the same time, where we were definitely the oldest there. I… where I’m from we don’t have classes, so when I came here I had to learn training. As for Kumiho, she had been here a while, but had just begun her training. It’s for reasons I’m not sure of myself, but she had absolutely no idea how to work her skill. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t attack from the middle as a magic class.”

“Oh!” Gingerbrave exclaimed. “Well… what did she do?”

“Well… I was practicing, and she was trying to figure out what she was going to do, so she helped me out. She quickly found she could not only take a hit, she was good at close range combat. After switching to a charge class, she quickly found out how to use her skill, and excelled in her training.”

Kumiho sounds like quite the interesting cookie, remarked Pure Vanilla, laughing lightly. 

“I never knew that about her,” Gingerbrave replied, looking off in the distance of their makeshift camp. “I thought I knew everyone fairly well in our Kingdom, but I found out a great deal just about Kumiho in the past two days.”

“A lot of cookies may come off as transparent,” Werewolf said, following Gingerbrave’s gaze. “But everyone holds secrets and their pasts to themself. Be wary of this when looking for the rest of the soul jam bearers, alright?” He walked back towards camp, brushing Gingerbrave’s shoulder as he did so. “Come on. Let’s see if the others are awake.”

Gingerbrave followed the older cookie slowly. He’s right, you know. Pure Vanilla cautioned. Though the soul jam radiates great power, and you might be able to feel it if you get close enough, it’s likely the bearer won’t come out and tell you. And I don’t suggest going around and telling everyone as well. 

Hm? Why not?

That priestess and necromancer running away when they saw you had a soul jam was very lucky. Many cookies will take advantage of the fact that you’re a child if they want your power. 

Oh… how am I supposed to find the bearer then?

I’ll help you to the best of my ability. You might be able to feel it as well possibly, but the soul jam bearer will probably radiate with the power. And if my friends are guiding their bearers as well, they’ll be able to point them in the direction of you as well. 

Gingerbrave nodded slightly. Alright. So when I get there, what should I do?

Just try to blend in. Look around, possibly help out a bit, just don’t draw attention to yourself. I will do my best to find the soul jam bearer as soon as possible. If we don’t find one though, we need to quickly hurry out of there to another place. As much as I liked Dark Cacao and have great respect towards his soldiers, that place is not the safest one to be in.

“Gingerbrave, are you alright?” Herb’s voice brought him back to reality, to where he quickly snapped his head and nodded. 

“Yeah, yeah!” he exclaimed, waving his hands. “I’m sorry, I was just talking to Pure Vanilla!”

Herb smiled and nodded, but there seemed to be something off. Gingerbrave didn’t pry, but he couldn’t help but wonder about what could be on his mind. If Pure Vanilla had been listening, he didn’t reply. 

“Ah, were you two out charge training?” asked Kumiho, standing up from her place by the fire.

“Yeah, he was awake when I was awake, so I decided to make the best of our down time,” explained Werewolf, his ear twitching ever so slightly when the wind brushed it. “But since the two of you are awake now, we need to put out this fire and keep going. Working on healing will cause us to move slower, and I’m hoping that we can try to make it to the border before sunfall tonight.”

“Alright, then let’s head out!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, rushing off towards the trees. 

“Other way!” Kumiho called out.

“I knew that!” he replied with a laugh, before turning around and heading the other way. With a light chuckle, Kumiho stood up and followed after him. Werewolf started after them, but Herb came up behind him and grabbed his shoulder. 

“Hey hold still,” he said, before motioning towards the ground. Small sprouts quickly grew out of the ground and weaved themselves together, providing a bandage. Herb rubbed the bandage onto the back of Werewolf’s neck, letting the soft, healing hooks keep the plant bandage in place. 

“What was that for?” Werewolf asked, cocking his head and rubbing the bandage. 

“You were bleeding,” Herb said simply, walking ahead of Werewolf. “Did you sustain some sort of injury while training with Gingerbrave?”

“Well, I technically did. He managed to activate his skill, so he knocked me off my feet into the brush. The force of the impact wounded my stomach, and he healed that, but he can’t control what injuries he heals right now…”

“But did he know you were injured on the neck?”

Werewolf thought about it, before shaking his head. “No, he never looked behind me, and I was too concentrated on the pain in my stomach.”

“Then that’s it!” Herb exclaimed, stimming by shaking his hands quickly. “I know how we can help him! I’ll need to discuss it with Kumiho, but c’mon!”

***************************************

Gingerbrave was a bit concerned. He knew that they were quickly coming up to the Dark Cacao Kingdom, for the weather had gotten significantly cooler and it was almost night again, yet they had yet to work on his healing at all. 

Whenever he had brought it up, they had simply told him to wait, and that they would do it later. Save your energy for later, we have a while to go still. He thought, mocking them in his head. 

You know they’re right. 

Gingerbrave sighed. Are you always going to step in whenever I’m busy thinking about something?

I’m sorry. Pure Vanilla replied, sounding a bit hurt. I’m just trying to help guide you.

No no no. Gingerbrave quickly replied. I’m sorry, that came off as rude. Just… it’s weird, having another voice in your head. 

That’s understandable, and I’ll try to remain quiet as long as you don’t need me. But I am just looking out for you, you know that, right?

Yes yes, I’m sorry. I should listen to you guys, and I know you guys know what you’re doing, but… I just need to work on getting the healing down. I’ve practiced my charge techniques so many times today already, and I basically have all the basic concepts. If we make it to the Dark Cacao Kingdom, and I can’t find another healer to help me, then what good will I be?

I think you need to believe more in yourself. Self-doubt will only ever hurt you. 

Gingerbrave was about to argue with Pure Vanilla, but Herb cut him off. “Hey, are you ready? We’re almost at the Dark Cacao Kingdom!”

“What?!” he exclaimed. “But we haven’t worked on any more healing techniques! I… we can’t be there yet!”

Kumiho laughed. “Gingerbrave, chill out a little bit. We’ll stop real quick to test your healing, but then we believe you’re ready to continue on. As much as we would like to guide you-”

“Too many outsiders in the Dark Cacao Kingdom will stir trouble,” Werewolf said simply, his ears twitching. “We will guide you to the border, and you are to head straight for the nearest village or tribe. Ask for an escort to the citadel, and there, you’ll be able to rent a room for as long as you need.”

“I don’t have money!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, realizing something he was missing. Though he always traveled lightly, he had left the Kingdom with only the soul jam and his candy cane, which he carried everywhere. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Herb replied, waving it off. “We’ve all pitched in money to help you out, and it should be enough to last you at the minimum a month. But before we send you off, let’s do one last healing session.”

Gingerbrave stared in stunned silence. They all pitched in money for me? But not letting his tears reach his eyes, he nodded. “Right, let’s do this!”

Herb, without a word, summoned his barbed vines from the ground. Being near the Dark Cacao Kingdom, they had turned a dark brown, and looked much tougher than usual. The needles poked through his dough, causing the strawberry jam to slowly seep out. Werewolf did his usual thing of running his claws down his arm, causing more jam to fall out.

“I’m changing the exercise,” Herb said, before Gingerbrave got the chance to heal them. “What I want you to do is to heal everyone hurt here, alright?”

“But… wouldn’t that defeat the point of learning how to control it?” Gingerbrave asked, cocking his head. 

“Just try this,” Herb replied, avoiding the question. 

Gingerbrave sighed. Herb and Werewolf are both injured, so they both need to be healed. This time, he didn’t close his eyes. He watched as the warm light left his body and covered the three of theirs, Herb’s and Werewolf’s wounds closing quickly. In a matter of seconds, both injuries were completely gone. 

“You see?” Gingerbrave said, exasperated. “I can heal everyone, just I have no control over who I heal!”

“Not so fast,” Herb said, smiling. Turning around, he continued, “Kumiho, what’s our result?”

Gingerbrave cocked his head, but then watched in horror as she moved one of her pigtails to reveal a nasty cut on his collarbone. “Kumiho! When did you get that? Why didn’t you tell me, I could’ve fixed it!” Without hesitation, the light left him again, closing the wound that would’ve normally left a scar.

“Gingerbrave, do you realize what this means?” Kumiho asked after he was done, smiling from ear to ear. 

“What do you mean?”

She laughed. “You controlled your healing, silly!”

He looked at her with a blank stare on his face. Clearly confused, she explained, “Herb told you to heal everyone here. You healed Herb and Werewolf, but despite the light falling on me, the scratch wasn’t healed.”

“But… I didn’t know you were injured!” he protested. 

“That’s exactly the problem,” Werewolf said, smiling lightly. “You were always healing both of us because you knew both of us were injured. Despite us telling you to act like one of us was the enemy, you would heal both of us because you cared so deeply about our well being. Your control isn’t your problem, it’s your compassion.”

Gingerbrave stared at them, processing all this information. The three adult cookies looked down at him, proud that he had managed to do such a feat. “How… did you know this would happen?”

“This morning,” Herb started. “You healed Werewolf’s stomach, but hadn’t noticed the wound on his neck. You have perfect control, just when you see your friends in pain, you can’t control yourself.”

Gingerbrave, having barely processed the information, threw his hands up in the air in excitement. “I did it! Did you see that, Pure Vanilla? I controlled it!”

He laughed. I knew those friends of yours had something planned.

The three of them watched as the young cookie celebrated, as how a parent would watch their child graduate from school. With great pride, but a feeling of sorrow. Despite not being telepathic or in any sort of way linked, they were all thinking the same thing. 

The thought soon dawned on Gingerbrave too. Slowing to a stop, he looked back at the three cookies. “This means I’m ready to go now, doesn’t it?”

They all nodded, not quite in unison. Gingerbrave ran towards them, wrapping them all into one big hug. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he said, “Thank you. I couldn’t have done this without all of you.”

That’s what seemed to break each and everyone of them. Despite having to stay calm, to keep him feeling confident, it soon grew to be too much. Kumiho and Herb both started crying as they returned his hug, and Werewolf had to use every effort in himself to keep the tears at bay. But even then, his vision became blurry and one may have slipped down his face. 

“You return to us alive, alright?” Kumiho cried. “You have to promise to return to us alive!”

“We’re so very proud of you,” Herb said quietly, stroking his hair to comfort him. “You’ve come much farther than us in the past two and a half days then we have our entire lives. If you ever need our help, do not hesitate to reach out.”

“And if you ever get the chance to send a letter, please do so,” Werewolf murmured. “It’ll make all of us much calmer to know that you are safe.”

“I will, guys,” he cried, not wanting to leave this moment. “I promise, I’ll write when I can, and I’ll ask for help if I need it, and I will come back alive. I’m going to find the other bearers, defeat Dark Enchantress, and return to you in one piece.”

And there was nothing else to say. After a few more minutes of the hug, they pulled back, sensing it was time to let him go. Werewolf quickly removed the beat-up satchel he had been carrying the entire time. “Here,” he said, hooking it onto Gingerbrave’s arm. “This is for you. It has the money, the map, and some jellies in there. You can keep your soul jam safe there.”

Gingerbrave gripped the handle of the bag tight, nodding. “Thank you.” He wiped the tears from off of his face, before turning towards the treeline. “I’ll… I’ll see you all very soon, okay?”

“Remember, go to the first possible village,” Werewolf repeated. “They should help you not get lost in the snow, especially at night. Do not attempt to go to the citadel by yourself!”

“I will!” he replied. “You all take care, alright? I’ll be home before you guys get the chance to blink!”

And before he could start crying again, he took off, running towards the snowy hills. Kumiho, Werewolf, and Herb all watched until he became nothing, his tiny silhouette fading into the snowy backdrop. Now’s the moment of truth : Will he save us all, or have we just condemned him to his death?

***************************************

“The fifth has been found,” she said calmly, dipping her head towards Millennial Tree. “He’s accepted his power, and he’s already figured out how to use it. He’s now on his way to find the other bearers.”

Millennial Tree nodded. “Thank you, Sea Fairy.” He sighed, then turned towards the sky. “Despite being the youngest, he’s the only one who’s taken initiative.”

“The others are scared,” Sea Fairy said. “They remember her horrors, and don’t want to believe it to be true.”

He nodded. “You are right. Perhaps, the young one searching will all give them the courage to accept their power, to fight back. Before it’s too late.”

The first hails from a Kingdom of great glory, but not from a great childhood. Maimed by a childhood incident, they search for a way to change the future of their home’s residents rather than turn a blind eye towards it.

The second suffers an unjust punishment, isolating them from those they love. Wandering the cruel environment, they manage to remain loyal to their beliefs and what they stand for while their enemy infects their home land.

The third will want nothing to do with such power, and will try to deny it for the longest time. But as those around them become threatened by a greater being, they will take the power to keep them protected.

The fourth is a bird in a cage, trapped by what they always thought to be their loving home. And unless they can escape or stand up for themselves, their power will cause them to make a mistake they’ll regret for all eternity.

Finally, the fifth is a mere child. Having saved his Kingdom from total damnation, he’s now on a journey to try and gather five. With nothing but a worn down satchel, its contents, and the flicker of hope that burns inside, he’s ready to begin his quest for the good of Earthbread.

Chapter Text

The sun was quickly setting from the sky, and the snow did not get any warmer as he trudged through it. As a gust of wind picked up and blew snow towards his face, he attempted to shield his eyes. Despite preferring to travel light, Gingerbrave had almost wished that he had kept Werewolf’s heavy, fur coat for the harsh environment. 

“How am I supposed to find a village if I can’t see anything in all this snow?” he grumbled, kicking it out of frustration. He quickly regretted this decision, as he slipped and fell straight down into a pile, chilling his rear end. Groaning, he remained in the snow, instead reaching for his satchel and pulling out the blue soul jam. “Have any ideas, Pure Vanilla?”

Do you realize you don’t have to talk to the soul jam for me to hear you?

“Yes, yes,” Gingerbrave replied, dismissing him. “It just feels more legit to talk to an object rather than to listen to a voice in my head.”

I guess that’s understandable, but as far as ideas go, I’m fresh out. I rarely made the trip up to the Dark Cacao Kingdom because of these harsh environments. It was often Dark Cacao visiting the rest of us. 

Gingerbrave sighed, before putting the soul jam away and standing back up on his feet, gripping the satchel handle tightly in his hand. “Well alright, then I guess we’re just going to have to keep wandering.”

I’m sure you’re bound to find someone soon. I mean, from what I remember, the Coffee Tribe and the Milk Village were not far from the border. Even the Licorice Tribe isn’t that far away. 

“Right,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s stay positive, we’re bound to find someone soon!”

Pure Vanilla laughed lightly. You’re optimistic. Maybe that’s why I was so drawn towards you. 

“Are you telling me that my optimism is my only redeeming feature?!” he said with an offended tone. But before Pure Vanilla could defend himself, Gingerbrave laughed, clearly messing with the Ancient Hero. 

Ah, aren't you a cheeky one? Don’t forget I’m the one who gave you this power. 

“And don’t you forget that I’m basically your body right now. If I were to sit down in this snow, we wouldn’t get anywhere.” Both of them laughed, enjoying the playful taunts thrown back and forth. It seemed to quell the impending fact that if he failed, Gingerbrave could die. 

You would’ve liked Hollyberry. Both of you have a sharp and witty tongue for playful banter. 

“Who knows, maybe I will like her when I meet her,” Gingerbrave said with a smile, looking up towards the darkening sky. “This feels weird. Just the other night, I was reading a book about your guy’s accomplishments, and now… I’m joking with you like we’ve known each other for ages!”

There’s a book about us?

“Yeah! It tells stories about how Dark Cacao quelled the fight between the North and the South Dragon to build his Kingdom on those snowy ridges, and how Hollyberry defended her Kingdom from the Pitaya Dragon, and how you were one of the earliest rulers ever! It even has the story about how you guys gave your lives to defeat Dark Enchantress… though I guess that information is false, huh?”

Yeah. Those things you first listed are true, and I’m not sure how anyone wrote that story about how we defeated her… I just wish we weren’t in a book. 

“Huh? How come? I would love it if someone wrote a story about me!”
Well… it sounds like we were made out to be glorified heroes. Having defeated all these great evils, when in reality… we’re still just cookies. We all are made of just dough. We failed to even defeat Dark Enchantress, but we’re accredited to doing so, and now you have to go finish the deed for us.

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself!” Gingerbrave exclaimed. “The five of you did what you could do, and… well, I trust you. You have helped me accomplish things I could only ever dream about, and if this was a dream, I would have woken up by now. The vines, the light, almost losing my friends… you’ve saved us all. So thank you.”

I can’t take credit for that either. Gingerbrave, that was all you. Yes, it may originally have been my power, but it’s yours now. All of that… that was you.

Gingerbrave shook his head. “How about we agree to disagree? I just think you’re being too harsh on yourself, when in reality, you did the best you could do. Now, I’ll do my part to save Earthbread.”

…You’re really mature for your age. If it were me at your age, I would’ve been panicking. 

“I am panicking,” he said simply. “If we don’t find the bearers in time, then what will happen? But despite that… I think we just need to stay positive. If I psych myself out, then I will never be able to do it. Just a little bit of hope, that’s all it takes to keep on going.”

And it went silent. Neither of them could think of something to say, something to keep the conversation going. The tension became unbearable, both of them being very chatty and friendly cookies, yet something stopped them. Perhaps it was because they found no way to easily continue talking after such a heavy conversation. The sky had gone dark, and a distant howl could be heard. 

Gingerbrave finally broke the silence. “Did you hear that?”

You should keep moving. A village has to be close by now. 

And so he did, but not before summoning a ball of light to his hands to use as a flashlight. Even though he wasn’t scared of the dark, something about traveling the barren, white lands in the pitch of night sent a chill down his spine, and not one caused by the weather. He knew he should be brave, but the howls, whipping wind, and the lack of anyone around to protect him, left him scared. He wanted to ask for help, but there was no one there to help him. 

Pure Vanilla… I know it’s kind of ironic, but… I’m…

He didn’t need to finish the thought process. Would a story keep your mind busy? I have plenty to share.

Yes…please.

Alright… well since we’re in the Dark Cacao Kingdom, I think some stories about him would be fitting, would it not? Now let’s see… hmmmmm… did that book of yours ever mention Dark Cacao’s eyesight?

Gingerbrave shook his head. No.

Well, Dark Cacao had the worst vision ever! I swear, he had to be blinder than me, and I was half-blind! Pure Vanilla laughed his signature laugh, which was smooth like honey running down a sore throat. It was calming, pleasing to listen to, quelling any fear a cookie could have. He was prescribed to wear glasses in our years together at the Blueberry Yogurt Academy, but he never did so, causing him to develop a permanent squint. He soon grew accustomed to the slight fuzziness of everything, but he refused to wear them because of the hassle, quote for quote. 

Gingerbrave laughed lightly. Was he always that stubborn?

Ehhh, I wouldn’t say he was the stubborn one. He was more resolute, while Hollyberry was stubborn. You mentioned she fought the Pitaya Dragon? Well afterwards, she tried to befriend them! Witches only know how many years of her life she wasted trying to get that dragon to like her, but she somehow managed to get them to tolerate her. They even had regular sparring sessions! I… wonder if they ever found out that she…

Gingerbrave quickly changed the topic, raising his hand to let the light guide more in the darkness. How about Golden Cheese? You really haven’t talked about her. 

Golden Cheese, eh? Well, this story goes way back to our days at the Blueberry Yogurt Academy, but one night, White Lily and I were studying in the library when Golden Cheese found us. Normally, she would’ve just laughed at us and called us ‘lovebirds’ or something, but that night she stuck around while we were studying. Unfortunately for her, we didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon, so she decided to wander the library. When she tried to leave, she found that the librarian had just left, and locked us in there. That wouldn’t have been a problem, because White Lily and I had our own key in and out of the library, since we were there so much. But Golden Cheese, not thinking, had figured we were trapped. Rather than ask for help, she decided to try and squeeze through one of the windows on the door. But her wings were much too big, and she quite literally got stuck in the door. When White Lily and I found her, we had to call for Hollyberry and Dark Cacao to help us get her out. 

Gingerbrave laughed much louder this time, his voice ringing just slightly in the empty, barren land. I don’t suppose you took a picture, did you?

White Lily did. If I remember correctly, she made a scrapbook of all of our times together in the Blueberry Yogurt Academy, though I’m not sure where the book is now… It was probably destroyed in the Dark Flour War, if I think about it.

You mentioned Golden Cheese would call you and White Lily ‘lovebirds.’ Were the two of you… you know… in a relationship. 

No, no, it wasn’t like that. As much as I cared deeply about each of my friends… I don’t know if I could ever be in a romantic relationship with any of them. He laughed lightly. Romance is… well, hard. I never quite understood it, and I’m not sure it would’ve ever suited me. I know Dark Cacao did eventually meet someone in his Kingdom, but White Lily and I never had anything of the sort. 

Gingerbrave smiled, his fear from earlier almost completely dispelled by the sweet stories of Pure Vanilla and his friends. Well, your friends sound very sweet. I can’t wait to meet all of them. Another howl echoed in the distance, but something had distracted Gingerbrave. Excited, he ran off to the distance. “A tribe, Pure Vanilla! I found someone!”

Alright! I knew you could do it! Just… don’t address me aloud right now, just to be safe.

Too excited to reply to him, Gingerbrave bounded through the snow with lightness he didn’t have before. As the tribe’s grounds came closer, he dispelled his light source, not needing it to see anymore. This is great! We can get someone to take us to the Citadel, and we’ll be able to find the soul jam a lot quicker! And if I get the chance, I can sit down and write Kumiho, Werewolf, and Herb a letter… though I should wait. They won’t be home for at least another two days. 

Slowing to a stop, he almost came crashing head first into the snow of the camp. But as he stood there, he immediately could tell something was wrong. The campfire in the middle was nothing but a charred pile of ash, with not even a smoke trail to show that someone had been there. The tents were torn to pieces, with patches of fabric barely managing to hold on. Inside was nothing, all food supplies having either been taken or destroyed by wildlife. All that remained was a very faint scent of bitter coffee beans. 

“This… doesn’t make sense,” he muttered, looking all around. “Where is everyone?”

I… don’t understand. This is clearly the coffee tribe’s settling ground, yet… no one’s been here in ages. Since when has the coffee tribe moved on? If they had moved to new grounds, wouldn’t they have taken their things with them? Pure Vanilla racked his brain for an answer, but Gingerbrave reached the conclusion just a second before him. 

“I… think they might’ve disbanded,” Gingerbrave muttered. “Each went their separate ways.”

No… what are we supposed to do now?

Gingerbrave opened his mouth to reply, but a growl cut him off. Whipping around quickly, his stomach dropped to see a huge, snow lion hovering over him. Teeth snarled, drool hanging from its lips, and eyes crazed, Gingerbrave wanted to scream. But he slowly stepped back, unable to make a noise. 

Gingerbrave, listen to me. Do not try to run. This thing can outrun you.

Gingerbrave wasn’t listening. The ancient hero’s voice grew to white noise as strawberry jam rushed in his ears. Slowly stepping backwards, he was unable to put distance between them for it kept advancing on her. His leg brushed against something, and glancing down, he saw an old, wooden pole. 

Gingerbrave, I can hear what you’re thinking, do not…

Gingerbrave reached for the stick with one fluid option and shoved it in the snarled mouth, before turning and running. He grabbed the satchel handle to make sure he had it, and did his best to traverse his way through the deep snow. But he heard the beast cry in pain and rage, and soon its paws were traveling through the snow at a much quicker rate than Gingerbrave ever could. 

A tackle from behind brought him down, and heavy paws fell on his chest, pushing the air out of him. Saliva drooled onto his face, and Gingerbrave stared up in horror at the beast on top of him. Is this how I die? But… the world needs me! I can’t die here!

The beast lunged, and Gingerbrave threw his hands up instinctively, closing his eyes. He waited for a sharp pain, the burning of the beast tearing his dough to shreds, but it didn’t come. Slowly peeking one open, he was shocked to see a forcefield holding the creature’s jaws open. 

“Is someone there?” he called out, looking for  the cookie responsible for saving his life. “Help, I need help!”

But the snow lion grew sick of waiting, being stopped from using its powerful jaws. Swiping his paw out, the claws raked across Gingerbrave’s face, leaving a nasty gash on his cheek. 

He screamed out in pain, quickly bringing his hand to his maimed face. The tears that followed right after stung the wound, and he was in shock. Never had he ever experienced such pain before, and he had taken a direct blow to the face. The beast wound up to swipe again, but he didn’t want to hurt anymore. 

“Get off of me!” he yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. With great force, he kicked his legs up and into the stomach of the snow lion, sending it flying back. Shakily pulling himself to his feet, he tried to continue on, but refused to turn his back to the beast. Despite having the wind knocked out of it, the snow lion got right back up, and looked more angry than it had been. It’s gotten sick of playing with its food, and it was ready to kill now. 

“Heh, what kind of friend am I?” he muttered aloud. “I told them I would return alive, and not even a day later I’m going to die to the wildlife here.” Squeezing his eyes shut, all he could do was wait for the impact and the quick and painful death to follow. 

But once again, it didn’t come. Instead, the creature screeched in pain, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a flaming arrow sticking out of it. The oddly brown colored flames spread to the surrounding fur, and the creature desperately rolled in the snow to put it out. 

After the odd flames dispersed, the creature didn’t attack again. Instead, it fled, running off faster than Gingerbrave could ever dream of going, despite being injured. 

“Hey, young cookie down there! Are you alright?”

Chapter Text

A tall cookie jumped down from a nearby tree, landing with a thud next to Gingerbrave. With the grace of a cat, she stood up right next to him, hovering over Gingerbrave. She seemed to be as tall as Werewolf, possibly even taller, but had no visible features of not being fully cookie. Her brown and black swirled hair was tied back in a ponytail, and in her hands was a monochromatic bow. 

“Lemme see your face,” she insisted, grabbing his chin and lifting his head up, tilting his cheek so that she could see the gash. Taking a deep breath in, she shook her head. “That’s going to leave a mark. C’mon, I set up camp not far from here, I have medical supplies, we can go treat your face.”

Before he could protest, she turned and walked off, traveling swiftly on top of the snow. Sighing, he trudged along after her, holding his hand to his face. It became apparent she was used to this weather as she ran on top of the snow, moving as light as a feather despite her tall stature. 

Pure Vanilla, I can heal this wound, but… well then my power will be exposed, won’t it?

A noise of agreement rang out in his head. You need to choose. You can either tell her you are a charge class, or a healing class, but whatever you choose, you need to stick to it. As for my recommendation, I’d say to deal with the pain and say you’re a charge class.

Hm? Why?

My power… it might be recognizable. If anyone noticed, you might have your cover blown. 

“Hey, we’re here,” the tall cookie said, turning around to face Gingerbrave. Her camp was very sad, to put it nicely. What might have been a fire at one point was now all fizzled out, the wood barely smoking. What seemed to be her bed was just a simple mat, but was all torn up and worn down. She had a small bag lying right next to her mat, and next to that was a very small bundle of berries. 

“Oh!” he exclaimed, caught off guard from talking with Pure Vanilla. 

“Did you hit your head?” she asked, leaning over to feel his forehead. “You seem very out of it.”

“No, no! I’m fine!” he exclaimed, laughing lightly. 

She still seemed worried, but she didn’t press further. Turning to her bag, she dug through it until she pulled out a small bottle and some bandages. Tipping his head back up, she warned, “This will sting, try not to make too much noise.” And without another word, she unscrewed the bottle and carefully poured its contents on his cheek, shielding his eyes from any splashes. 

She was right. It did sting. But the sting of the cleaning was nothing compared to sustaining the wound. She capped the bottle once again and bandaged up his face, leaving Gingerbrave with what looked like a growth on his face. 

“Thanks,” he muttered, rubbing his face. She’s used all her materials on me now, I might as well tell her I’m a charge class.

“Now that we’ve bandaged that wound up, I have some questions for you,” she said, turning to put the materials away and to light the fire again. Not looking him in the face, she rattled off, “Who are you? Why have you come to the Dark Cacao Kingdom? Because you’re not from around here, are you?”

“How did you know?” he asked, cocking his head. He wasn’t shocked, but just wanted to know what gave it away. 

“Well the two major things are both physical appearance things. You are traveling around with barely anything on, which no one would do if they knew the weather of the Dark Cacao Kingdom.”

“That’s fair.”

“And I mean this is the nicest way, your dough looks very sweet.  Even the sweetest cookies who reside in this land don’t have dough quite as sweet as yours. It’s sweet to the point where I can almost smell it.”

He felt his face grow to a flustered red. “I know, I know, I’m made out of sweet dough… just… I dunno, the smelling part was a bit weird.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve seen other cookies… but that’s besides the point. Who are you, and what brings you to the Dark Cacao Kingdom?”

“I’m Gingerbrave, and I need to get to the Black Citadel!” he exclaimed with confidence. 

“Are you serious?” she asked, not looking up at him. 

“Yeah? I need to find someone there.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not going to find that cookie.”

“Why not?”
She paused, looking back at him. “How old are you? Where exactly are you coming from?”

“I don’t see why that matters,” he replied starkly. “My age has nothing to do with my ability to travel.”

She turned to face him, head and hands shaking. “No, no, I’m not doubting your age! Just… I thought it was fairly common knowledge that the Citadel walls were closed.”

“Closed?”

She nodded. “Yes, about five years ago, King Dark Choco ordered that the Citadel walls be shut. The only thing that gets in and out are the watchers, the milk village transports, and the cream wolf riders. No visitors. Period.”

That can’t be right! Pure Vanilla exclaimed, desperation growing in his voice. I… I knew Dark Choco! He was such a kind, young cookie. There’s no way he would close the Citadel walls!

“Is there any way to get in, at all?” Gingerbrave asked, desperation rising in his voice. “I need to find this person, it’s important!”

She shook her head. “Sorry. There’s no way in or out. The best you could do would be to send a letter in and see if that person could slip out. Getting into the Citadel is much harder than getting out, especially with such sweet dough as yours.”

No… we can’t have come this far to not even be able to get in! Pure Vanilla, what should we do?

I’m sorry Gingerbrave… I am out of ideas as well.

Gingerbrave sighed. “Well, what’s your name? I might as well know your name since you saved my life.”

“My name?” she asked, cocking her head. “It’s Caramel Arrow, former first watcher of the Dark Cacao Kingdom.”

“You’re a watcher?!” he exclaimed, growing ecstatic. “If you’re a watcher, why don’t you just help me in? I… I promise I’ll make it up to you! I’ll do anything you want, just I need-”

“Didn’t you hear me?” she asked, cutting him off before he could continue. “Former first watcher. I’m not a watcher anymore.”

“Why not? Did you quit?”

She shook her head. “It’s a long story, but… I was banished…about a year ago. My chances of getting inside are just as good as yours, Gingerbrave.”

“Banished? Why?!” genuine concern could be heard in his voice, and he reached closer to the tall cookie. But he paused, sensing that it would come off a bit weird if he hugged Caramel Arrow, a cookie he just met. “You seem like such a nice cookie, and you saved me from that snow lion, and you treated my wound!”

“That’s not important,” she said bluntly, shaking her head. “What matters is neither of us are getting in. Now if you plan on spending more time wandering around the Dark Cacao Kingdom’s lands, I will escort you so another mishap like that doesn’t happen again. If you’re going home, then I’ll take you to the border.”

“I’m not doing any of that,” he said, his stubbornness shining through. “I am going to get into the Citadel, one way or another! Now if you want to help me-”

“I can’t help you with that,” she said almost instantaneously. “That would be against my King’s orders. He banished me for a reason, and he closed his walls, so going back in with you would be like… doubly offending him!”

“You’ve been banished for a year already though! Shouldn’t that be long enough?” he tried to reason. 

“No, no, you don’t understand. When he banished me, he wanted me to leave the Kingdom. He told me to go to the nearby Hollyberry Kingdom, or do whatever I had wanted, and that he couldn’t care more as long as I was gone.”

“Well that’s just contradictory!” Gingerbrave argued. “If he wanted you gone from the Kingdom, why didn’t you leave? Don’t you follow your King’s orders?”

“I couldn’t leave them to fight off the harsh conditions by themselves! Our forces are small enough to begin with! He probably thinks I’ve left for good by now.”

“Well there we go, your problem is solved!” he exclaimed. “He thinks you’re gone, so sneaking back in would be much easier, especially if you’re disguised. You can continue helping out there if you want, and I can find who I’m searching for! It’s a win-win situation!”

“Didn’t you hear me? That would being going against-”

“You’ve already gone against his orders by staying here and helping them out, what would be the difference? You’re going to help, just inside, and no one will know it’s you! Please?!” he stared up at her, his eyes shining expectantly as he waited for her response. 

She sighed. “How old did you say you were again?”

“I’m twelve,” Gingerbrave said cheerfully. 

She sighed, and muttered, “I can’t believe I’m listening to a random twelve-year-old I just met.”

“Yay!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. Forgetting the earlier awkwardness and hugging her, he continued, “You’re a lifesaver!”
She looked back at him in surprise, before softening her gaze. “Thanks,” she muttered, though it was unclear what she was thanking him for. The compliment, the hug, or perhaps convincing her to return to the place she loved so much. Maybe, just possibly, it was all three. 

“Should we leave tomorrow?” he asked her, removing himself from the hug. 

She shook her head. “No. If we’re going in, we need to go in while it’s still dark. I can get you to the Citadel in less than three hours, but once we get there, we’re going to need to talk to an old friend of mine to get disguises.”

***************************************

The entire walk was one of almost complete silence. Not only did Gingerbrave want to leave Caramel Arrow to her own thoughts, he was busy talking to Pure Vanilla the entire time, though he made sure not to get too lost in the conversation. 

You sure are a good negotiator. Pure Vanilla laughed, being so warm and soft it could be compared to a cat’s purr. Remind me to never get into an argument with you.

Well what else am I supposed to do? Our entire world relies on me finding this cookie, so I had to convince her somehow to get me in there. But until we find the soul jam bearer, should we stick with her?

It depends on where she goes. Pure Vanilla reasoned. If she goes back to the castle and pleads forgiveness for whatever she did, then we would have to split. But if we rent a room at a local inn, and she doesn’t have anywhere to go, she could probably stick with us.

Should I ask her? “Hey Caramel Arrow,” Gingerbrave called out to her, not waiting for Pure Vanilla’s response. “What are you going to do when we get into the Citadel?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t decided yet. I mean, I can’t just go up to my King and start working for him again. He will recognize me… and so will his advisor. I… I have to stay hidden for a while. But I don’t have any money, and to make money I have to give them my name…”

“I have money, you could stick with me for a bit longer,” he offered. “And then you can just take me around the Citadel so I can find what I’m looking for.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, cocking her head. 

“Yeah! You’ve been very helpful, so I don’t see why not!”

She smiled. “You’re kind… sure, I’ll stay with you.”

Great! Now we can stay with her, and she’ll lead us around! It’s perfect Pure Vanilla! Between you being able to feel the soul jam’s presence, and me and Caramel Arrow looking for the person, we’ll be in and out quickly!

Pure Vanilla laughed his sweet laugh again, and if he had a body he would’ve tried to cover his smile with a hand, but it would’ve been so wide that it would be futile. You really are good at taking charge. I don’t think I could’ve found a better person to inherit my power.

Gingerbrave smiled. Thank you. I’m… glad I’m doing something right! But… I do have a question.

Hmm? Do tell.

When that snow lion attacked us, there was a shield of some sort. I don’t think that was Caramel Arrow, so was there another cookie present?

The shield! Yes, I-I don’t quite know, Gingerbrave. I mean, it wasn't her, and I was a healer. There…there must have been another cookie.

Gingerbrave had his doubts, but wouldn't even allow himself to think of the idea. Because if he thought about the way Pure Vanilla stuttered, about how the cookie sounded very unconfident in himself, he would hear it. He didn’t want the kind cookie to think that he thought he was lying. 

Before he could say anything more to the cookie, Caramel Arrow cut him off. “We’re here, Gingerbrave.”

And they sure were. Gingerbrave marveled at the tall black walls, which were multiple stories high. A fall from there would definitely hurt someone seriously, if not kill them. Looking around, he saw no gates to go inside of the Citadel. But as if Caramel Arrow read his mind, she said, “The gates are on the other side. I led us around because to get in we need to visit my friend over here.”

Veering off, she quickly made her way to a shelter near the Citadel. It was frost covered, and almost resembled a stable, except everything was much more fierce. There was a training ground, and nothing was for show like a horse’s competition. Yet despite its fierceness, parts of it were falling apart, as if it had been abandoned. 

Quietly, she snuck up and hopped the fence, landing in the training area. Turning around, she grabbed Gingerbrave by his waist and lifted him over the fence, setting him gently down on his feet. “Thanks,” he muttered, his face red from the embarrassment of having to be helped. 

She hushed him. “I don’t want to startle the cream wolves,” she whispered. But it was too late, and one of the large, fierce wolves had already woken up to find them. But instead of cowering, Caramel Arrow smiled, approaching the wolf. 

“It’s been a while,” she said, offering her hand out. The wolf sniffed it curiously, before its tail started wagging, and it let out a happy yip. Jumping at Caramel Arrow, she laughed and gave it a hug. “Where’s Crunchy Chip?”

The wolf barked, then turned into the stable. Beckoning to Gingerbrave, she followed it, moving apart the heavy wool blanket that was functioning as a door. Inside, Gingerbrave was surprised to see another cookie curled up like a dog, breath very unsteady as he slept. Gently, Caramel Arrow bent over and shook him. Immediately, his piercing yellow eyes shot open. 

“Intruder!” he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and allowing Gingerbrave a good look at the cookie. He had very short white and black hair, and wolf ears similar to Werewolf’s. He was garbed entirely in heavy coats, with fur surrounding his neck and the edges of his coat. His dough was much bitterer than Gingerbrave’s, due to its dark complexation. On his face were dark stripes that Gingerbrave couldn’t tell if they were makeup or natural markings. But the most noticeable thing about him was his height, or his lack of it. Though Gingerbrave was kind of tall for his age, he stood much taller than this cookie. Even other cookies his age might have been slightly taller than him. But this cookie was not his age, his voice is much too deep to be my age. 

“Crunchy Chip, calm down!” she exclaimed, standing back up. “It’s me, Caramel Arrow!”

“Caramel Arrow?” he questioned, cocking his head. Though the fur on his ears stopped standing on end, he didn’t relax, and pushed on. “She was banished a year ago. She shouldn’t be here.”

“I never left,” she quickly explained. “You were the only one who was ever close to finding me out in the wild.”

That’s what caused him to lower his guard. “You mean those traces I found… weren’t just my imagination?”

She smiled, then opened her arms. “I missed you guys.”

He hesitated, before rushing towards her, returning her hug. “Oh Caramel Arrow,” he said gruffly, his voice only slightly faltering, but no signs of crying coming to his face. “It’s a good thing you’re back. The Kingdom… we need your help.”

Pulling away, she looked him in the eyes, though between their dramatic heights, her head was very much bent down to look at him. “What do you mean? What happened while I was away? Last I knew, Affogato-”

“It’s still him,” he said, cutting her off. “At least, I believe it’s him. The Kingdom is crumbling!”

“Crumbling?” Gingerbrave asked, which caused Crunchy Chip to actually become aware of Gingerbrave, since he snapped his head to look at him when he heard his voice, and his face looked quite surprised to see the cookie. 

“Who’s this?” he asked, turning to Caramel Arrow. 

“That’s Gingerbrave,” Caramel Arrow said, introducing him. “He’s… the reason I came back. He needs to get into the Citadel, and I came here to see if you could get the two of us in, but now I need to know. What’s happening with the Kingdom, why is it crumbling? What did that no good snake do?!” Her voice grew angry, sending chills down Gingerbrave’s spine. In the short time he had known her, he had only seen worry and compassion in her eyes, but this new emotion – rage – was terrifying. Whoever this cookie, Affogato, is, she must truly hate him.

Amazing. Last time I’ve seen a gaze like this was… Then Pure Vanilla cut off, not finishing his thought.

Who, Pure Vanilla?

Well, Dark Cacao. Though he was a compassionate cookie who cared about his Kingdom more than himself sometimes, when you made him angry, you truly had screwed up. 

“King Dark Choco has stopped focusing on repairing and strengthening our forces. The Citadel walls are no longer being protected from the Licorice Sea, and he’s stopped giving any of the warriors any new materials,” Crunchy Chip explained. “The cream wolf shelter has begun to crumble, and after returning from last expedition, Dark Choco asked us why we even bother anymore. Many… soldiers have retired from the Cream Wolf unit. I’m one of the only one’s left.”

“That doesn’t sound like our King at all!” she exclaimed.

Crunchy Chip shook his head. “That’s why I think Affogato is responsible. You… you got banished because you defied Affogato. Our King would never do this to us! You’ve got to help, you’re the only one who could possibly get through to him!”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Crunchy Chip, but I have less power than you. I’m banished… I need your help to even get back into this Citadel.”

“You have more power than you think you do,” he muttered, but then shook his head. “As for getting you into the Citadel, I will help you guys. Gingerbrave, though I am unaware why you need to get in, I trust you. If Caramel Arrow trusted you this quickly, enough that you changed her mind, then I trust you,” he held his hand out to Gingerbrave, as a sign of trust. 

Gingerbrave took it, shaking and smiling. “I may not know what’s all going on here, but from what I heard I dislike this Affogato guy as much as you guys. I’ll help you in every way I possibly can. After all, I’m stronger than I look!”

Chapter Text

“Okay, you guys just need to stay calm, and we’ll get in without any problems, alright?”

Crunchy Chip walked in front of them, his Cream Wolf trailing right beside him. Behind the two of them, Caramel Arrow and Gingerbrave uncomfortably adjusted their clothes, not used to the new uniforms of a Cream Wolf Rider’s that Crunchy Chip had let them borrow. Cream Wolf riders were always on the smaller side, so despite having the biggest possible uniform, Caramel Arrow was clearly too big for her uniform. Her arms extended past the end of the coat sleeves, and if you look real close you can see the parts of her old uniform underneath where the gloves and the coat did not reach. The fluffy skirt did not extend far enough down her legs, and she clearly did not look the part of a Cream Wolf rider. And while Gingerbrave fit perfectly in the uniform, he wasn’t used to all the layers it had, and felt uncomfortable with the heavy coat of fur and wool.

Utilizing some extra frosting, Crunchy Chip had styled their hair to look more like a Dark Cacao Kingdom cookie’s. Gingerbrave’s usual soft short waves were now spikes, and he had the smallest ponytail tied in the back. While Caramel Arrow had the correct hair, it was a very noticeable color and style, so they tied it into a low half up half down bun and covered the top of it with a white melting pattern. There was nothing they could do about Gingerbrave’s sweet dough except to put sticks of bitter dark cacao beans in his pockets. 

“Got it, Captain Crunchy Chip!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, smiling and saluting the smaller cookie. 

“Remember : you guys are the brand new recruits. Caramel Arrow, your name is Frosted Hazelnut Cookie, and Gingerbrave, you are Bitter Bean Cookie. If anyone uses your original names, do not respond to it. If we’re caught, all three of us will get banished, and none of us will get what we want.”

Good luck, Gingerbrave. We are very close to starting the search for the second bearer. Like Crunchy Chip said, remain calm. 

Haha, calm is my middle name! Don’t worry, Pure Vanilla, I can do this, no worries!

Crunchy Chip slowed to a stop, and Gingerbrave marveled at the tall gates. Up above, cookies were perched on the edge of the Citadel, and purple torches kept the outside well lit, even if it were to be night time. With a flick to his side and a head shake so subtle he thought he had imagined it from Caramel Arrow, Gingerbrave snapped his head down. Ah that’s stupid of me. A true warrior wouldn’t marvel at these things, so I can’t be doing that either. Stupid, stupid-

It’s fine, Gingerbrave. You made an honest mistake, that’s all. 

Gingerbrave sighed. Yes, I’m sorry Pure Vanilla. 

Don’t apologize! Any cookie would be stressed in a situation like this. You’re doing very well, Gingerbrave.

In the door, there was the tiniest eye slot, which was very clearly locked up from the outside.With a harsh pounding on the door from the tiny soldier, the eye hole slid open without any problems, where a soldier with piercing yellow eyes, similar to Crunchy Chip’s, glared at them.

“Crunchy Chip? What brings you into the Citadel? Who are these cookies?”

“Relax Gatekeeper, I’m only here to pick up materials for the Cream Wolves. These cookies are the new recruits, so I’m showing them what we need. Can you let us in?”

With a sigh, the peephole snapped shut, before the gates began to open. In slight shock, Gingerbrave almost laughed from how easy it seemed to get into the Citadel. All it took was a familiar face for this Gatekeeper to let us all in? Are the defenses that weak here, or is Crunchy Chip just that respected as a captain?

And as if she read his mind, she whispered, “Don’t let your guard down. It’ll be much harder when we get in there.”

The gates stopped opening, leaving only a crack big enough for Crunchy Chip’s Cream Wolf to get through. Gingerbrave was surprised to see the only part of the Gatekeeper’s body that could be seen were their eyes, and the rest of them was covered in traditional Dark Cacaoian clothes, making any detail of their body unable to be seen. Crunchy Chip started to enter the gates, but Gatekeeper grabbed his shoulder. 

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call for the King right now, Crunchy Chip,” they threatened, their yellow eyes bearing into his. All three of them froze in fear, and even Cream Wolf seemed scared for the predicament they just got into. 

“I -I don’t see why you would need to,” Crunchy Chip retorted. But the stutter very clearly gave him away, and Gatekeeper pushed further. 

“You were just in the other day for supplies, Crunchy Chip, and you didn’t leave with these cookies. So you have approximately three seconds to tell me why you’re here and who these cookies are or I will call for backup. And the Watches from up above have a reputation for never missing their shots, so don’t try to run.”

Shit. Gingerbrave looked over at Caramel Arrow, begging for her to come up with a plan. I have to get in there! We can’t get our cover blown at the gate. 

“Three… two…”

“Gatekeeper, please,” Caramel Arrow spoke up, to where their eyes widened. “We’re here to help the Kingdom, you just need to let us in.”

“Caramel Arrow?” they recognized her voice. “That’s impossible. You were banished a year ago, there’s no way you’re-”

“I’m sorry, we don’t have time for this,” she abruptly said, cutting them off. “Yes, I was banished, but I never left our lands. Now that I’ve learned of what’s going on around here, I’m back to help. But this cookie over here needs to get in, and if you guys need my help, you are going to let both of us in, alright?”

Gatekeeper stared in shock at her, before nodding quickly. “Yes, yes! I’m sorry, you weren’t the most recognizable in that outfit. We… we’ve needed you. I shouldn’t say this, but… I would’ve let you back in if you had asked.”

“I… appreciate that, but that doesn’t matter right now. Will you let us in, Gatekeeper?”

They nodded, releasing their hand from Crunchy Chip’s shoulder. “Of course. Just… keep a low profile, alright?”

The three of them nodded, and entered through the gates. With a smile, Caramel Arrow turned to them. “By the way, the name’s Frosted Hazelnut. And he’s Bitter Bean.”

“Frosted Hazelnut and Bitter Bean, eh?” they closed their eyes, and despite their mouth being covered, it was clear that they were smiling, and playing along with Caramel Arrow’s banter. “It fits.”

And with a wave goodbye, they were on their way, finally into the Kingdom. Oh sweet Witches! Pure Vanilla exclaimed, sounding very distressed. I can’t believe we got through that! We… we should’ve definitely been caught. 

Well, I guess it’s a good thing there are still good cookies out there. They must also not want their Kingdom to fall apart. 

Just… proceed with caution. I’m not quite sure what everyone here thinks of Caramel Arrow, or how much power she used to have over everyone, but she was banished for a reason. There are bound to be cookies that if they found out she was here, you two would be in grave danger.

“Home…” Caramel Arrow muttered, staring out at the scenery around her. “I’m finally home.”

Gingerbrave opened his mouth to try and comfort her, to bring her some words to make the moment less bittersweet, but Crunchy Chip grabbed his shoulder. Looking back at him, the short cookie shook his head, signaling to leave her alone. His gaze seemed to say Leave her alone, she wouldn’t want your pity. 

Crunchy Chip cleared his throat, and then said, “So, Bitter Bean, you said you needed to search for something in here. What is it you’re looking for, and we can go pick it up?” Lowering his voice, he whispered, “The sooner you get out of here, the safer it’ll be for all of us.”

Gingerbrave hesitated. “Well… it’s a cookie, but it’s… it’s hard to explain. I don’t know their name, but I… I know what they look like!” he lied. I don’t know what they look like, but you said you can sense the soul jam, Pure Vanilla? That’s basically the same thing, right?

Yeah, sort of. I would be able to sense it, and if we got close to it, I could probably pinpoint a certain area. But unless the cookie activates its power, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pinpoint a specific cookie…

That’s alright! You’re doing your best, so you keep doing that! I’ll just work on moving around and helping you!

“Um, Gingerbrave?” A hand was waving in front of his face, and Gingerbrave snapped back into reality to see Crunchy Chip trying to get his attention. “Are you okay? You keep spacing out like you’re having a conversation with someone in your head.”

“A conversation with someone in my head?! Th-that’s ridiculous, Crunchy Chip!” he exclaimed, stuttering over his words. When Crunchy Chip cocked his head in confusion at the young cookie, he awkwardly laughed and changed the subject. “Anyways, what were you saying?”

“Crunchy Chip is going to go pick up some things that he couldn’t get the other day,” Caramel Arrow explained. “Me and you are going to start looking for that cookie that you need to find, alright?”

He nodded. “That’s perfect! Yeah, let’s do that!”

He smiled slightly, then turned away from them. “Well then, I’ll be off. I’m going to see how much of this stuff the other watchers are willing to give me.” And without another word, he walked off, his Cream Wolf following loyally behind him. 

Caramel Arrow smiled, looking down on Gingerbrave. “Well, you said you need to find someone, no better place to start than the market, am I right?”

“Right!”

***************************************

Never before had Gingerbrave felt like such an oddball. Among all of the bitter-doughed cookies, he stood out as the brightest among all of them. Even though he thought the bitter scent of the dark cacao beans on him was overwhelming, he could feel their gazes on him. It’s almost as if he could hear their inner thoughts of he certainly smells like us, but his dough doesn’t look like ours. 

He shook his head, attempting to clear his mind. No, no, you’re just being paranoid. No one is watching you, no one thinks that. Just stay calm. Look for any cookies that could be the bearer. 

But of course, no one caught his eye. Every cookie was dressed in their dark, traditional garb. Almost no part of their bodies would be uncovered except for their faces, because the snow was constantly billowing and the wind was whipping at their dough. There were no cookies who had brightly colored hair or stood out from the crowd. In fact, I’m the one who stands out in this crowd. 

“Alright, Bitter Bean,” Caramel Arrow said, turning to Gingerbrave. “See anyone who stands out to you?”

Well, have you found it yet, Pure Vanilla?

I’m trying. I’m not picking anything up right now, but that just might be because I don’t have my body anymore. My… memory is quite hazey. I… I think I’ve forgotten a lot of things. I’m not sure why, but I think it’s the same reason why I didn’t know who I was when I first met you. Now that I’m with you, I’ve remembered who I am and many memories of my friends and childhood,  but the battle from that night is still blurry. 

That’s alright! You’re doing your best, so I’ll do my best to support you!

“Bitter Bean?”

“Ah, I’m sorry!” he exclaimed. “I spaced out again!”

“Have you always had problems with that?” she asked, cocking her head. “I… don’t mean to come off as rude, but you space out a lot. We can maybe find a way to fix that-”

“No, no!” he cut her off, waving his hands to his own embarrassment. “I promise, Frosted Hazelnut, I’m just… it’s just stress. There’s nothing more.”

That was smooth. 

Shut up. 

Pure Vanilla laughed. You remind me of myself. I couldn’t lie that well either, Gingerbrave, so don’t take it to heart. I’m… just trying to make the situation more lighthearted. 

I know, I know, just… let’s try limiting these conversations to when we’re alone. I know I’m the one who asked you, but I don’t want her to think I’m crazy and abandon me here. 

If that is what you wish, then so be it. But as for her abandoning you, I don’t think you have to worry about that. From what I’ve seen, everyone trusts her and thinks she’s reliable, and… well, there’s a certain aura to her. Almost like a loyal dog, who will never abandon you when you need her.

She nodded. “If you ever need the help, we can get you medicine. Just don’t hesitate to ask, alright?” And without another word, she turned back to face the stalls. “Well if no one catches your eye, then I can show you around our market here.”

She strided forward, leaving Gingerbrave to hurry to catch up to her. As they passed the stalls, he curiously looked at what they all had to offer. From heavy coats for keeping the winter wind out, to weapons for protecting themselves against the wildlife, they seemed to have it all. Except for one thing.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing her sleeve. “Why have there been no food stalls?”

“We don’t sell it,” she said simply. “Food is a scarce material here, so it’s distributed by the King…oh no. I just realized that I won’t be able to get you food! I mean, I can go a while without food, but I totally forgot about you!”

“Don’t panic!” he exclaimed. Laughing lightly, he continued, “I have my own food, so we can split it!” He almost opened his bag to show her, but then he remembered what else his bag contained. Oh right, I can’t show her the soul jam!

Everything turned out alright though, because she seemed to believe him. To the point where she flat out refused Gingerbrave’s offer. “I can’t take your food. You had to pay for that, and it’s all you have. Trust me, I can go a while without it.”

He almost rebuked her, told her that he didn’t pay for it either. But then again, she might grow suspicious if I tell her that I left the group of people who gave me this food. “No no no, it’s fine! We can share it, I promise!”

She opened her mouth to argue with him, but the voice that came out was not her own. “How interesting~” She almost seemed taken aback, but she soon realized it was not her who was speaking. The voice was much too low, and it flowed like sticky cream. Eyes widening, she realized that she recognized that sickeningly sweet smell combined with bitter coffee. She grit her teeth as the spider web of a voice continued, “Are you two, by chance, new around here?”

Chapter Text

A chill went down Gingerbrave’s spine. The cookie behind Caramel Arrow did not surpass her height, but he was much taller than Gingerbrave. He wore a Chinese hanfu that was colored in many shades of purple and black. His eyes were a piercing white with black slit pupils, almost like a snake’s. With a huge fur boa wrapping around his shoulder, his face looked sneering down on Gingerbrave, the purple eyeshadow seemingly causing his eyes to become more menacing. 

Looking around real quick, Gingerbrave noticed one thing all the cookies had in common. They were all kneeled to the ground, heads dipped down to this cookie. Is this… King Dark Choco? He must be, they’re all treating him like a King. 

Without another thought, he grabbed the sleeve of Caramel Arrow’s jacket and pulled her down to her knees. Dipping his head, he declared, “I’m sorry, my Lord, we didn’t see you!” Gingerbrave could feel Caramel Arrow’s body tense up from shock, but he only prayed that she too had bowed her head so he didn’t notice her face of fury. She’s a strong-opinionated cookie. I fear we’ll get caught if she keeps letting her emotions show so much. 

The cookie he could only assume to be the King let out a sly laugh, as if almost amused by Gingerbrave’s actions. Despite the cold weather, Gingerbrave was sweating profusely, scared of what would happen if they got caught. He almost passed out when he felt the delicate gloved hand grab his chin and jank his head upwards, but he kept a blank slate face, not letting his unease shine through. 

His white eye gaze was terrifying. It seemed as though those slit eyes could see into the deepest part of his soul, as if it could tell that Gingerbrave was not the only consciousness in his body. Almost instinctively he grabbed for his satchel, but he dared not to, for fear that this attentive cookie would notice and take it away. 

“I like you~” he mused, his toothy grin like a cat’s. Whatever Gingerbrave had said, he seemed to be quite fond of it. “But I don’t think I’ve met you guys before.”

“I’m Bitter Bean, she’s Frosted Hazelnut,” he retorted instantly, almost robotic, as if this introduction had been all he’s known his entire life. “We’re new recruits for the Cream Wolf riders.”

“Bitter Bean, huh?” His hand loosened its grip on Gingerbrave’s face, and he leaned over, coming so close to Gingerbrave’s face that he could only be centimeters away, and that it became hard to focus on his face. Gingerbrave became overwhelmed by the sweet cream and bitter coffee smell he radiated, and he squeezed his eyes shut to try and nullify it. It’s not like I could grab my nose when he’s this close, nor could I let him know that his smell was overwhelming. 

“For someone named Bitter Bean, you don’t smell very bitter,” he remarked. Standing upright and turning to walk away, he called out, “I look forward to seeing you again, Bitter Bean and…”

“Frosted Hazelnut,” Gingerbrave finished. “She’s… not much of a talker.”

“I noticed.”

He strolled away, and Gingerbrave didn’t dare to stand up until he saw everyone around him doing so as well. His knees were now feeling the cold of snow, they were sore, but that didn’t matter. Letting out a breath of relief, he turned to Caramel Arrow, who just stood there in shock and what seemed to be fury. “Your King is a scary cookie,” he muttered, brushing the snow off of his pants. 

His words caused her to snap back to reality, and she shook her head. “We need to find Crunchy Chip, now!” She grabbed him by the sleeve, pulling Gingerbrave along. He found himself to be no match against her strength, and went stumbling after her. 

“Wait, why?” he asked, righting his feet so he could walk side by side with her. “Sure, we were almost caught, but I managed to defend us, and he had no idea it was you-”

“That wasn’t our King Dark Choco, Gingerbrave,” she said simply, her bitter gaze focused on the path ahead of them. “That was Affogato.”

“Affogato?!” He couldn’t believe it. Of course, he didn’t smell bitter, like how dark chocolate is. But names are kinda a fickle thing when it comes to our dough : After all, Werewolf doesn’t smell like a dog, and though he smells like trees from living in the forest, he has the faint pepper scent to him. And Adventurer is a nightmare to anyone with a peanut allergy, since he was made out of peanut butter. But that doesn’t matter! If he isn’t the King, then why was everyone kneeling down to him? She hates this person, but why exactly does he have so much power?!

“Yes, and I fear what he has done while I was gone,” Caramel Arrow muttered, turning the corner with precision. With the grace of a cat, she moved nimbly among the streets, leaving Gingerbrave to stumble to catch up. As she got several paces ahead of him, she turned around to see he was far behind. She slowed down, and soon joined him side by side. “Sorry, I forgot that a lot of people struggle to keep up with me.”

“It’s fine,” he said, laughing lightly despite the situation. “I’m not that well trained either, so I’m not quite as physically fit as you are.”

She attempted to smile at his effort to console her, but it was futile. The emotion that she was feeling overcame everything, pure rage and… fear, keeping her from appreciating his friendliness. Shaking her head and facing forwards, she dashed around the corner. He wasn’t sure how long they had been running, but eventually, they turned a corner and went hurtling straight into him. As Caramel Arrow’s sharp senses allowed her to slow to a halt and avoid a collision, Gingerbrave went smack into the tiny general, sending them both to the ground. 

“Oh Witches!” Crunchy Chip exclaimed, rubbing his head before noticing who was sprawled on top of him. Once he saw the young cookie, he looked up, confused, to Caramel Arrow. “You guys? What are you doing? What’s the hurry?” he lowered his voice to quieter than a whisper, so only they heard him. “Did you get caught?”

“Let’s talk somewhere private,” she insisted, grabbing Gingerbrave by the waist. With no effort whatsoever, she pulled the dazed kid off of Crunchy Chip and put him back on his feet. With a curt nod, Crunchy Chip stood up and beckoned to his Cream Wolf, leading them nonchalantly around a corner and into an alleyway. 

“What did you-?”

“What did Affogato do?!” she exclaimed, cutting Crunchy Chip off. “Everyone was kneeling to him! He… didn’t do something to Dark Choco, did he?” 

“Dark Choco is… fine,” Crunchy Chip replied, hesitating. “I guess ‘fine’ is the best you can describe it. Ever since you left, well, Affogato has basically been treated like a King, and… Dark Choco agreed to it.”

Caramel Arrow’s face fell. “No… no he couldn’t have! I… I know Dark Choco, he would never agree to this!”

Crunchy Chip shook his head. “He did, it was an official thing and everything. Affogato now can do anything Dark Choco can, and insists he be treated like some kind of God. I-I should’ve warned you, but I didn’t want you to storm off and confront him or something!”

“Well finding out now isn’t going to make me any happier!” she exclaimed, her face shifting from sadness to anger once again. “In fact, I'm still going to confront him about this right now! Who does he think he is, barging in here and taking everything over just like that! He can banish me as many times as he wants, but he can not just manipulate his way into power like that!”

She turned to leave, but Giingerbrave grabbed her shoulder. Choose your words wisely. Pure Vanilla warned him. Calmly, he quietly said, “Caramel Arrow, please let him finish speaking. Rushing off to fight him would be foolish.”

“He’s right,” Crunchy Chip agreed. “Caramel Arrow, I helped you back in because I believe you would be able to get through to Dark Choco, but confrontation is not the way. Whether Affogato did something or not, Dark Choco is not in the state of mind right now where he would listen to anyone. We need to plan our movements carefully, and rally our forces even more carefully. I know you will hate this, but… you need to play along with Affogato’s game, at least until we have the power to fight back.”

“Please, Caramel Arrow,” Gingerbrave muttered. “That guy…Affogato… I can tell he’s not a good guy. So I will help you, we just need to be patient, alright?”

She didn’t say anything. She refused to make eye contact with either of them, and they thought they were going to lose her. After all, she still leaned forwards to run, and the only thing holding her back was Gingerbrave’s hand. But with a heavy sigh, she stood upright and brushed Gingerbrave’s hand off of her shoulder. “I’ll… try my best. I… don’t know if I can promise anymore than that.”

Gingerbrave smiled lightly. “That’s all we ask for.”

***************************************

Rummaging through his bag, he pushed the soul jam to the bottom underneath his brown sweater that he had taken off to put on the Cream Wolf rider uniform. Grabbing a small pouch, it jangled with the sound of gold coins, and he pulled it out, taking a handful out and placing them on the counter. Counting each gold coin out, he smiled as he handed over the small, shiny tokens. 

Despite the Dark Cacao Kingdom not accepting visitors right now, it was still quite easy to get a room at the inn. After Crunchy Chip explained that they were “new recruits” and they would be remaining in the inn until their next mission, the inn worker let them in without a doubt. In fact, he was happy to let them stay, since his current lack of income. Handing the young cookie the shiny silver key, he turned back to his book, pushing up his reading glasses and adjusting his scarf so that it wasn’t draped in his book any more. 

He really didn’t know what to expect. He had lived in his own cookie house for as long as he could remember, and the only time he didn’t sleep there was when he had sleepovers with Wizard and Strawberry. So seeing just two bed rolls and a bathroom was not a shock, just a tad bit underwhelming. He had seen Caramel Arrow using a bed roll before, he just hadn’t realized that was the custom in the Dark Cacao Kingdom. 

Crunchy Chip closed the door behind him, leaving just him, Gingerbrave, and Caramel Arrow to talk in peace, and without fear of someone listening in. Sighing, Crunchy Chip turned to the two of them. “I can trust that you two can take care of yourselves?”

Gingerbrave nodded. “We’ll be fine, Crunchy Chip!”

“We can’t keep you any longer, especially since you’ve been such a big help,” Caramel Arrow agreed. “I mean, we quite literally couldn’t have done this without you.”

Crunchy Chip shook his head. “It’s nothing, Caramel Arrow. So many of us have missed you… even Choco Bow.”

Her eyes froze, before clouding. Dipping her head down, she hid her face from him, and he knew he had said something wrong. Crunchy Chip cleared his throat, and opened the door. “I’m… sorry, I’ll go now. It’s… good to have you back.” And quickly, he slammed the door shut, leaving Caramel Arrow and curious Gingerbrave all alone. 

“Who’s Choco Bow?” Gingerbrave asked, cocking his head. When she didn’t answer, his face went smug, as he poked her arm. “Are they your lover?”

“What?!” she exclaimed, her face red and whipping her head up to face Gingerbrave. Shaking her head and flailing her arms, she exclaimed, “No no no, Gingerbrave! He’s my Dad!”

Embarrassment seeped through his face, and he couldn’t help to bury his cherry-red face into his hands. Ashamed now that he would ever suggest a thing, he want to roll up like a roly-poly and die. His brain scrambled for an apology, but his lips betrayed him, leaving him quivering and silent, mortified he would say such a thing. 

She started laughing, leaning over to put her hands on her knees. Though one part of him was glad she was finally happy, the rest of him couldn’t appreciate this moment. Her laugh was full, loud as a hurricane and booming like an echo, and it was very truly sincere. Rich like chocolate, he had never seen her happier before. But it was his own suffering she was laughing at, and his wish of dying like a mere bug was now replaced by wanting to simply vanish all together. 

It didn’t help that another voice could be heard laughing at him. When the sweet laugh of Pure Vanilla, now turned wheezy as if he was dying from such a fact, was heard, he put his plan into action. Getting down on his knees, he fell over to one side, and bunched himself into a ball. But before the sweet release of death could claim him, he felt arms around his waist. With not even a heave to show she put effort into it, Caramel Arrow lifted him up into a bridal position, causing him to unfurl. 

“Relax, Gingerbrave,” she calmly said, wiping a tear of joy from her face. “That was an honest mistake, and I just thought it was funny that your mind went immediately to lover. There’s no need to cry.”

“I’m not crying,” he stated, staring her straight in the eyes. “I’m planning my burial spot for even suggesting such a thing.”

“Oh stop being so dramatic,” she exclaimed, putting him back on his feet. “I thought it was funny, it’s over now, and now you know better. To be completely honest, I needed a good laugh like that.”

Yeah, clearly she’s not the only one. 

Sorry, Gingerbrave. Pure Vanilla’s voice had gone back to its normal, calm tone, no longer wheezy. Though he was just a spirit, and since spirits don’t have lungs, so the fact that he was wheezy in the first place– Pure Vanilla stopped Gingerbrave’s thought process with a simple I don’t know how to explain that either, Gingerbrave, guess I’ve never laughed this hard before after dying. 

With a deep breath and a shake of his head, he looked back towards Caramel Arrow, “I… don’t want to kill the mood, but… if Choco Bow is your father, then why did you seem so sad to hear that he missed you?”

Her face fell again. She sat quiet for an uncomfortably long period of time, though it was only a few seconds. But then she muttered, “If I told you that was a personal matter, would that make you trust me less?”

Gingerbrave shook his head, smiling lightly. “We all have our secrets. I have mine, you have yours, Crunchy Chip has his… I guess this is all just part of being a cookie.”

She sighed, then smiled a little bit. “Thank you… not just for understanding, but… for convincing me to come back. I… don’t think I could’ve convinced myself to do it if it weren’t for you.”

“Don’t sweat it!” he exclaimed, his mood having taken a full 180 from what he had felt merely minutes ago. “It’s what friends do, isn’t it?”

“I’m… your friend?!” 

He laughed. “Yeah! Anyone who helps me out or needs my help is a friend! Unless you hurt other cookies on purpose, why wouldn’t you be my friend?”

This ideal of his hit her like a truck. He trusts so easily, even despite knowing there are things I won’t tell him! He’s just a kid, but the way he acts… he sometimes comes off as a fully-matured cookie. Smiling lightly, she nodded slightly. “Yeah, I guess you’re my friend as well.”

Smiling, he turned to the bed roll on the ground. “Well, I guess it’s time to get some sleep now. Neither of us have slept in a while, and in order to keep undercover we need to be on our most attentive behavior.” 

She nodded, not giving him a verbal reply. Blowing out the candle, the room fell into darkness, only illuminated by the moon’s light seeping in from the window. In the dark, Gingerbrave could hear her get down on the floor and the covers flop over her. As he copied what he could assume to be what she was doing, he was surprised to hear her breath already falling into a peaceful pattern. Within seconds, her body had shut down and it was lights out for her. But even though tiredness could be felt in every crook and cranny of his body, he couldn’t bring himself to sleep yet. Reaching for his bag, he uncovered the soul jam, bringing the blue gem close to his chest in his arms. 

I’m here. I’m here, I’m safe… I can do this. 

Pulling the covers up over his shoulders to hide the blue gem, sleep washed over him like a wave. Blackness overtook his vision, and he was out cold, both figuratively and literally. 

***************************************

“Gingerbrave.”

The voice shook him awake. It still surprised him everytime he would wake up and be on the island, but he was starting to get used to it. Sitting up and crossing his legs, he smiled. “Good morning, Pure Vanilla!”

Pure Vanilla laughed in reply. “Not quite morning yet, that’s why we’re communicating here. It’s safer this way anyways… unless you sleep talk.”

Gingerbrave laughed, shaking his head. “I’m as silent as a mouse, honest! But anyways, what did you want to talk about?”

“Yes yes!” he exclaimed. “Gingerbrave, I was right! Last night, when you were sleeping, I found it! Dark Cacao’s soul jam, it’s here!”

“What?!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, hopping up to his feet. Flapping his hands, he bounced for joy. “That’s amazing, Pure Vanilla! That means we’re close to finding them, and this wasn’t all for nothing!” Spinning around the already small island, laughing with his arms outstretched, he stumbled over his own feet and fell into the soft sand. “Did you pinpoint who it was?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Pure Vanilla replied, his voice dropping. "His energy is still very weak, and I’m surprised that I managed to pick it up at all. I… think that whoever has it hasn’t accepted the power.”

“Accepted?”

“Remember when I first met you, with Sea Fairy? She told you that you had to believe Dark Enchantress was coming back, or else you wouldn’t be able to use my power. Had you refused, she could’ve left me with you until you truly believed it. But since you accepted it, you’re able to use my full power, leaving a much bigger magic trail to follow. Whoever is holding the soul jam now has not accepted the power, meaning Dark Cacao’s energy is very hard to pick up on, let alone pinpoint. I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be sorry!” Gingerbrave exclaimed. “Pure Vanilla, you’ve already greatly benefitted me! Now I know I’m not wasting my time here, so this is perfect! You’ve made an amazing discovery, so take credit for it!”

Pure Vanilla at first didn’t say anything, but then he weakly laughed. “I guess you’re right.”

Gingerbrave laughed, nodding. “I am right! When I wake up, I’ll start looking again, so don’t fret! By the end of the week, we’ll be out of here and looking for the third soul jam bearer!”

Chapter Text

A week passed, and no results were found. No matter how closely he watched someone, or how attentive to everyone’s behaviors he was, no one stood out to him. Between his and Pure Vanilla’s searching, they were not able to narrow down who it was because Dark Cacao’s trail was so faint, and no one stood out in the Kingdom. Between all the cookies, Gingerbrvae stood out the most, with his dough being a much warmer color than the dark colors adapted to the cold. 

Sighing and rolling out of his bed roll, he saw Caramel Arrow already awake, staring out of the window. Grabbing his bag, he walked up behind her and cleared his throat. Being deep in thought, she jumped when hearing Gingerbrave. But seeing it was just him, she sighed. 

“Are you okay, Caramel Arrow?” he asked, cocking his head. “You seem very… stressed.”

She shook her head, turning away from him. “I’m fine, Gingerbrave. C’mon, let's keep searching for your cookie.” Her shaking fist grabbed the key, and she turned towards the door, but Gingerbrave quickly followed after her. 

“Caramel Arrow, I know something’s wrong,” he tried to interject, grabbing for her wrist. But she pulled back, opening the door without turning to look at him. “Please tell me, I can help!”

“There’s nothing wrong, so leave it be,” she hissed, pushing forwards. “I’m just tired, so let’s find your cookie, okay?” 

Gingerbrave couldn’t help but to stand there, shocked. She’s… never been so aggressive before. She’s… this week has been stressing her out. 

***************************************

Gingerbrave groaned, collapsing in the snow next to Caramel Arrow. Having separated for about ten minutes so Gingerbrave could look for possible soul jam bearers, but also so he could freely talk to Pure Vanilla, he had found Caramel Arrow sitting on a bench, chewing slowly on a jelly. Even though she had refused the sweet food merely nights ago, she soon grew tired of the young cookie finding different ways to try and give it to her, including hiding it in her bedroll when she was sleeping and leaving it by her bow. Reluctantly she had taken the food, and would rather see it eaten than gone to waste. 

“Any luck?” she muttered, swallowing the food in her mouth and pocketing the rest for later. He shook his head dejectedly, and she patted his back, smiling. “I’m sure you’re getting close by now. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I don’t think so,” he mumbled, burying his face in his gloved hands. “I’m sorry for wasting your time, you have to have better things that you could be doing.”

She shook her head slowly, standing up from the bench and kneeling down next to him. “If we have to be totally honest, I do not have anything better to be doing right now. Being banished and considered not a citizen of this place anymore, I kinda have no responsibilities,” she said, laughing lightly. “But even if I did, I would still choose to help you rather than to do those.”

“But?!” protested Gingerbrave, shocked with this answer. “You love this place! I’m just some kid who came to you for help because I was stupid enough to get attacked by the wildlife.”

“You’re not stupid for getting attacked by wildlife. You encountered one of the most dangerous things out there, and that’s why the Citadel has restrictions on who gets to go out there. Only after you receive proper training may you leave the Citadel, and even then pairs are optional to reduce risk.”

“Oh we have restrictions back in my Kingdom as well!” he exclaimed, his mood lightening at the mention of his Kingdom. “You have to be old enough, and receive class training, and then we’re allowed to patrol nearby areas, though I’d say your environment is much colder than mine.”

“No weather compares to that of the Dark Cacao’s Kingdom!” she laughed, standing up after crouching for so long. Extending her hand towards him, her voice softened from a hearty belt to a soft offer. “Though I’m sure it’s quite nice as well.”

With a firm grasp, he jumped back up to his feet with her help. “Yeah, you have to come visit sometime! I’m sure you’ll like all my friends, like Strawberry, Wizard, Snow Sugar… oh! I think you would really get along with Kumiho, you’re both from colder regions, and she’s super nice!”

Starting to walk and letting the young cookie ramble happily about his homeland, Caramel Arrow led him along to search for more possible cookies. Who he’s looking for is so strange, considering he knows no name and only claims that ‘he’ll know them when he sees them.’ But… I trust him. Something about him… you can tell he carries no ill-intent. And his homeland sounds so interesting as well! So many of his friends are half-cookie half-creature, just like Crunchy Chip! If I were to ever travel, I would love to visit his Kingdom. 

“You use a bow, right?”

His voice brought her back to reality, shaking her head from shock. “Huh?” she asked, dazed from losing herself in thought, much like how Gingerbrave would. “Bow, yes! Why do you ask?”

“How do you fight in the front then? I mean, you’d be way too busy fending off enemies to properly fire.”

She laughed. “Well, I can’t take it out right now, but my bow splits into two daggers. I can defend these when in the front, and when ready, I’ll hop to the back to attack!”

Laughing and talking amongst themselves, an eerie presence almost managed to take them off guard. The quickly made pair of friends would’ve been caught off guard by the ominous figure making his rounds if it weren’t for a guiding light. Spoken in a whisper tone, as if not to catch him off guard, Pure Vanilla’s voice quickly rang through Gingerbrave’s head. Affogato’s nearby. 

His head snapped around almost instinctively, and sure enough, he could barely make out the shadow of the consort walking in the distance. Turning to Caramel Arrow with hushed obedience, he whispered/hissed, “Get down, he’s coming!”

She had to squint her eyes to see that he was right, that Affogato was waltzing into town in the distance. As much as she wanted to remain standing, show her defiance, she couldn’t. If she was to help Gingerbrave, she couldn’t get herself thrown out of the Citadel, no matter how much she hated the idea of bowing down to Affogato. So biting her tongue, she got down on one knee and bowed her head, hiding  her face in what may have looked like respect, but was actually her attempt not to portray her emotions. Everything had her head in a rush, from Affogato’s sudden power over the hierarchy, to Gingerbrave himself. 

What’s with this kid? He comes from a Kingdom nowhere near here, he’s looking for something he’s not even quite sure of what it is, and the way he acts? Though he’s nice, he’s always spacing out, though that has stopped more recently. But just now, he somehow knew to look behind him and spot Affogato? Can he sense auras or something? That can’t be right, because it’s documented that Pure Vanilla was one of the only cookies able to do so. Is it part of his fighting skill? He claims to be a charge class, but I have yet to see him fight like so. Is he lying? Why would he?

So lost in her thoughts, she had almost missed the black boots of Affogato strolling right past her. She would’ve missed them if they had kept going, had left her alone. But they didn’t, stopping right in front of her dipped down head. By the time she realized he had stopped, he had already engaged in a conversation. 

“Frosted Hazelnut, eh?” 

Raising her head, she almost jumped back to find his face merely inches away from her own. But keeping her composure, she nodded, refusing to let a word slip from her mouth. Gingerbrave implied that I was mute, so I’ll play along. The more I don’t have to talk, the less chance I have at slipping up. She nodded ever so slightly, her eyes making direct contact with his snake-like white eyes. 

“For cookies who train under Crunchy Chip, I don’t see you with him very often,” he remarked, his gaze continuing to bear into hers, as if he could see her for who she truly was. A fraud, someone who was banished because of him. 

“He’s just busy-” Gingerbrave started, but Affogato raised his hand to the young cookie’s face, cutting him off. 

“I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to her,” he insisted, almost seemingly leaning in closer to Caramel Arrow. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

She shook her head, her gaze finally dropping from his. She couldn’t keep eye contact with him any longer, fearing that if she did, she might slip up. He’s pulling your leg, don’t engage with it. Just answer his questions to the best of your ability. 

Affogato paused, before leaning back. “You remind me of someone… Are you perhaps related to Caramel Arrow?”

If either of them had kept eye contact with the corrupted “leader,” he would’ve gotten his answer. Her head dipped down, her eyes portrayed what he was truly thinking. There’s no way! There’s no way he’s figured it out already! But her head barely managed to get out a slight shake, telling him the partial truth. She couldn’t be related to someone if she was that person. 

“Hmph, I must be imagining things,” he muttered, turning away from her. And just as quickly he had come, he had left, leaving behind a heavy atmosphere behind him. She didn’t dare to stand up until he was gone from sight, but even then, she refused to speak. Merely turning away from Gingerbrave, she walked away from the young cookie, not waiting for him to also stand up. 

“Frosted Hazelnut!” he called out, the fake name sounding so unnatural leaving his mouth. But she did not turn around, merely walked away. Hand outstretched but abandoned, it dropped to his side. I think she needs some time alone.

***************************************

That had been merely one instance of the past week, and every time they encountered him, it got no easier. Gingerbrave, as much as he wanted to help, felt helpless knowing there was truly no way he could help her. Crunchy Chip and Caramel Arrow have told me very little about their King, and I can’t blame them. They have every right to not trust me with that information, but even so, what is up with this Affogato cookie?

If she had noticed herself snapping at him, she didn’t say anything. Turning to the door, she left the room, the door beginning to shut behind her. Gingerbrave, conflicted, slipped out behind her, and followed a few paces behind her. Without a nod of appreciation to the innkeep, she stepped into the snowy outside without another glance behind her. For all she knew, Gingerbrave had remained in the room. 

The wind biting at his face, he knew he had to do something. Whether Pure Vanilla’s good nature was affecting him, or it was just his own sense of justice, but he couldn’t just leave her to her own misery. He paused, letting her continue to storm off. Counting in his head, he waited till ten before darting the other way, on a mission to find one of the only cookies that had answers. 

***************************************

“He was just here, if you hurry, you can catch him before he leaves the Citadel.”

Thanking the stall tender, he raced off in the direction that she had pointed him. Crunchy Chip tends to walk with his Cream Wolf when in the Citadel, so if I keep running, I should catch up with him! I have to catch-!

With a bang, he tumbled to the ground. Hitting his face against someone and bringing them down with him, he was embarrassed to open his eyes and find Crunchy Chip underneath him again. 

“Gingerbrave?!” his gruff voice exclaimed, ears perking back up with alert. “We really need to stop doing this.”

“I’m sorry!” he exclaimed, bouncing up and brushing himself off. “But I really need your help! It’s… Frosted Hazelnut.” Tentatively, he extended his hand to help the small soldier up off of the ground. “Let’s talk somewhere less…open.”

Crunchy Chip shook his head, though taking his hand to stand up. “No, whatever you need answered, do it here. I trust you, but only to an extent. If we keep sneaking off, someone is going to get suspicious, and there’s barely anyone around right now, so just tell me. And if it’s something to do with her, why isn’t she with you?”

“Because!’ he desperately exclaimed. “I-I left her! I just wanna help, and she’s been through a lot, and I don’t know how to help her! I can’t help if I don’t know anything about Affogato and your King! So please, I know you only trust me a bit, but can you tell me?!”

Crunchy Chip paused, eyes widening a bit. Whatever he had expected, this wasn’t quite it, and even though he was good at concealing his emotions, his eyes portrayed just enough to know he impacted the small soldier somehow. After an awkwardly long amount of time, he sighed. “I’m not sure if she would want me to tell you, but I can explain everything I know, if that would help her.”

“Caramel Arrow was found outside of the Citadel, abandoned by her biological parents. Choco Bow found her, and he adopted her as his own child, and she never knew any difference until much later on when he told her. Even to this day, we are quite unsure who her parents may have been, but we are almost certain one of her parents weren’t cookie, making her a half-breed, like me.” Shaking his head, he knew he was getting off topic. “That doesn’t matter though, what matters is that she was raised by Choco Bow, who was in a relationship with the former King, making her the sister of the current King-”

“Wait wait wait!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, cutting off the rambling of Crunchy Chip. “She’s royalty?!”

“Kind of,” Crunchy Chip replied with a shrug. “They considered the two of them to be siblings, but based on royal hierarchy, she would be unable to take the throne unless absolutely necessary, if that’s what you’re thinking. Here, it goes to whoever is next in the bloodline takes the throne, so Dark Choco had to take over the Kingdom. If he were to die, it would’ve gone then to Choco Bow, and then finally to Caramel Arrow. Not that that matters though, because she was never interested in a life of royalty anyways.”

“That does matter though!” Gingerbrave insisted, shaking his head and cutting Crunchy Chip off for the second time. “If she’s Dark Choco’s, the King’s, sister, then why would he banish her?!”

“If you would let me get to that point, I could explain it,” Crunchy Chip retorted, before sighing. “Not many cookies realize it, but it wasn’t Dark Choco who truly got rid of Caramel Arrow, it was Affogato. Despite her second father, Lord Dark Cacao, dying when she was six, she still trained and grew up to become the youngest first watcher in the history of our Kingdom, even surpassing her trainer and father, Choco Bow. Meanwhile, Choco Bow had to guide the young King the best he could, but couldn’t do it. In the end, he was truly just the soldier who the King had loved, not royalty himself. So they brought in a royal advisor, who they thought would help Dark Choco out.”

“That was Affogato, wasn’t it?”

Crunchy Chip nodded. “Yes. Though no one knew where he came from, we merely assumed he was a descendant of the Coffee tribe, and since he seemed to work wonders at first, we all trusted him. Later, things got… strange. Only a few of us noticed, but it seemed our King grew a lot more distant, and reliant on Affogato, often not forming his own opinion and letting Affogato influence his ways. While Caramel Arrow became head of the soldiers, Dark Choco became a dependent King, needing his advisor for many things. At this point, I don’t know a lot of what happens, because it all happened so quickly. Caramel Arrow had been telling me she didn’t trust Affogato, and she knew something was wrong with her brother, and she was going to find out. Before I knew it, she was publicly exiled, and she never got the chance to tell me what had happened. Ever since then, Affogato has practically taken over our King, and the last we’ve seen of him was when he told us to let Affogato do as he desires. That’s about all I can tell you confidently.”

Gingerbrave stared at him in shock, head racing from all the information he just learned. It didn’t help either that a lot of this was something that Pure Vanilla had just learned as well. 

Dark Cacao was in a relationship?! He never told any of us! And I knew he had a son, but he adopted Caramel Arrow as well? This entire time, we could’ve been asking her for questions about her father that could possibly lead us to the soul jam bearer? And I knew Dark Choco, though he was still a child when I last saw him! He was so kind and sweet, though very good with his sword and even more independent. How did this come to be?

Gingerbrave didn’t have the heart to tell the dead healer to stop cluttering his thoughts. He had been a lot closer to many of these cookies than Gingerbrave ever will be, and to tell him not to be worried about them would be cruel. Instead, he sighed, and turned back to Crunchy Chip. “So, just to recap. Caramel Arrow was exiled by her own brother, the King, who was under the influence of his advisor, Affogato?”

“Yes… does any of this help you at all?”

Gingerbrave, only hesitating a little bit, nodded. “I think… I think I need to find out why she was exiled, and only she knows for sure.”

“...Are you going to ask her?”

Gingerbrave smiled, turning back the way he came. “If I want to help her, then I need to know the truth… So what choice do I have?”

***************************************

She knew that Gingerbrave had slipped away when they had left the inn. She tried to play it off, letting him dart off after a mere ten seconds, but something inside of her wanted to turn around, to see what he was up to. An instinct to protect him, or to see if he was truly on her side. But she didn’t, pushing that deep voice away from her mind. Nobody asked you, just keep doing what you’re doing. 

Head hung low, she walked through the streets without the familiar presence of Gingerbrave at her side, her eyes more focused on the snow rather than where she was heading. Where I end up doesn’t matter, because if the wrong person found out I was here, I would be kicked out faster than a snow lion killing their prey. But old habits die hard, and she found herself cursing herself when she stopped right in front of the castle. 

The voices died down from all around her, and she couldn’t tear her eyes from the castle. Her own adoptive brother, whom she hadn’t seen for years, was supposedly behind those walls. But her entire time here, she had yet to see him, or Choco Bow. For all she knew, both of them were…

Caramel Arrow. 

There it is again! Won’t you shut up and leave me alone? She wanted to scream, but yelling at her subconscious would do no good. Turning quickly and speed walking away, she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. But the image of their crumbled bodies, fed to the licorice sea by the corrupt advisor that no one else could see was evil just kept playing over and over and over again. Tears started forming in her eyes, and she came to a slow stop, standing in the middle of the street. Slowly, she turned her head back towards the castle. 

There’s… only one way to know if they’re safe or not.

Chapter Text

Running through the streets of the Dark Cacao Kingdom, Gingerbrave could not spot the brown and black swirled hair topped with false white anywhere, leaving him distressed. Crunchy Chip hadn’t come along with Gingerbrave, claiming he needed to drop off his materials for the Cream Wolves at the shelter, and then he would come back into the Citadel. Now, without a clue as to where she would be, he searched without showing too much desperation, so as to not draw attention to himself. She hadn’t gone back to the inn, for the innkeeper did not recall seeing her come home, and he had even checked the room for her. She has to be on the streets, but where?

The longer he searched, the more aware he became of how strange and suspicious that he and Caramel Arrow were. Though they were dressed in traditional Dark Cacaoian ware, even wearing the unique uniform of a Cream Wolf rider, they were strangers to this place, for no one knew their names. Frosted Hazelnut and Bitter Bean were not the names of cookies they could pick out from the crowd, remember who they were and their goals and motivations. They merely just… showed up one day. If Crunchy Chip hadn’t vouched for the outsiders, saying that they were his recruits, someone would’ve found out by now, Gingerbrave was sure of it. 

He couldn’t run up to the stands, asking if they had seen Frosted Hazelnut, or Caramel Arrow, go by. No one could attach the name Frosted Hazelnut to her disguise, and anyone would have told you that Caramel Arrow had left if he had asked. But luck must have been on his side, because alas, he saw the familiar tall figure standing in the distance, merely staring upwards. A chill ran down Gingerbrave’s spine as he realized where they were. 

Running up to her side, he stood by her side, but trying to lead her away without causing a scene, “Frosted Hazelnut, what are you doing here?”

“I’m going to see the King,” she insisted, pushing against him. It didn’t take much effort, considering the size difference between them. “I need to see Dark Choco.”

Gingerbrave reeled back in shock. “The King? Are you crazy?!” he exclaimed, trying to grab her sleeve again. “Frosted Hazelnut, that is a dumb idea!”

“Don’t call me that!” she snapped, her eyes furious. “This entire thing, it’s stupid! The names, the outfits, trying to pretend everything is okay! Nothing is okay!”

He wanted to calm her, but he couldn’t. All my life, I’ve lived with supportive people. They bent the rules for me, tried to help me live my dream. Even when I insisted on leaving all of them for this journey, none of them stopped me. They helped me get here, and I’ve never had it hard. She’s…struggled so much, so much more than I could  ever imagine. 

Taking a deep breath, he calmly grabbed her sleeve. “I know I can’t fix this, not how you want to fix it. I will never be able to understand your pain, because I will never be you. But I want to heal your pains, so… can you tell me about your brother?”

The anger in her eyes fell immediately. “How…? How did…?” Her eyes started to water, and she tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming. Calmly, Gingerbrave muttered, “C’mon. Follow me.” He led her by her sleeve, away from the prying eyes of the public. Into a back alley, he sat her down behind a pile of boxes. 

“I’ve been such an asshole to you,” she muttered, still wiping her eyes. 

“No, no,” he insisted, kneeling down next to her. “Crunchy Chip told me as much as he knew. You just want the best for your family, and Affogato has been stressing you out.”

“So you know then? My family history and… why I was banished?”

“He didn’t know why you were banished. He only knew that it was because of Affogato.”

She sighed. “Then I guess I have to tell you that, don’t I?” With a deep breath, she began her story. “Earlier on the day of my exile, I had finally had enough. Our King… my brother… had grown so reliant on Affogato, and I didn’t trust it one bit. The old Dark Choco, the one I knew before our father died, was headstrong and listened to nobody. But even with the sadness, he bowed his head for no one. When younger, I thought his headstrongness was annoying, but now…” she laughed weakly, reminiscing on old times. “I wished I had appreciated it more… That day, I confronted my brother, in the presence of Affogato… and I discovered the truth. I caught Affogato poisoning my brother.”

“Poison?!” he exclaimed. “Caramel Arrow, why didn’t you tell anyone?!”

“I tried!” she exclaimed. “When I saw Affogato poisoning him with the fumes in his incense, making him more susceptible to manipulation, I tried to run. To tell someone. But he somehow knew I was there. Affogato caught me, and I knew that would be my one chance. My one chance to see if my brother was still there…I think you can assume how successful I was with that.”

“You…just want to see if your brother is alright, don’t you?” Gingerbrave muttered. 

She nodded slowly, refusing to meet his gaze. “I have to get into that castle. No one has seen him in forever, and… I don’t want to live not knowing if he’s…dead or not.”

Her eyes, though sad, were determined. She knew there was a chance he was dead. She knew if caught, she would most definitely be thrown out again, possibly killed. She was willing to accept that if he was dead, she risked her life for just the truth. And that determination… was so similar to his own. I want to save Earthbread, and she wants closure for her family. And… I can’t stop her. Slowly, he reached for her hair, and brushed his hands through it, removing the frosting and undoing the tied up bun. “I can’t stop you. You… need this. But you’re right, and the fake identities are not how to do it. So find out the truth as Caramel Arrow, Heiress to the Throne of Dark Cacao, rather than the Cream Wolf rider taller than the wolf itself.”

She looked up, and laughed lightly. Her eyes began to water, and she couldn’t help but cry. She tried to laugh louder, but her cries drowned them out, her joy and sadness all coming out in one moment. Never had he seen her show so much emotion, and he felt himself swayed by her emotion as well. Offering his arms, she hugged him with a bear hug that felt crushing in many situations, but comforting in one like this. Crying together, she kept laughing and crying and she messed up his hair as well, reverting it to its normal fluffy white. “And your name is not Bitter Bean either, you stupid goof! And I am so far from ever becoming a Queen, so don’t treat me like that!”

“Whatever you say, your majesty,” he joked, earning him an even tighter squeeze. Hidden behind the boxes, the embrace that Caramel Arrow had needed for years now lasted what would’ve seemed too long for many, but was just right for the touched-starved hardened warrior of Winter. Her grip loosened slowly, but soon enough, her tears and laughs fell into nothing, and were replaced by something else. Determination. A confidence she had lacked before. 

“I’m ready,” she muttered, standing up on her feet. Taking off the Cream Wolf uniform to reveal her old uniform, she discarded the clothes in the back alleyway. “I’m ready to find out the truth. At any cost.”

“And you won’t do it alone,” Gingerbrave insisted, following her actions almost step-for-step. Before she could protest, he cut her off with an explanation. “I know you think this is your journey! But it’s not! We’ve come this far together, and you’ve helped me blindly with what I needed. So my journey can wait just a bit longer, so we can complete yours.”

With a scoff, she muttered, “You really are mature for your age,” With a sigh, she knew she couldn’t stop him, like how he couldn’t stop her. “Well then, let’s hurry. The sooner the truth comes out, the better.”

***************************************

A lackluster of guards should’ve warned them of what was to come. In fact, both of them felt the heavy air of suspicion as why it was so easy to scale the old bricks of the Citadel wall and slip in through a window undetected, and as to the fact that they could’ve walked around these halls messing around because no one seemed to be patrolling the place. But in a test of courage, as if they were almost daring the other one to back out, they continued along Caramel Arrow’s path. 

“At this time of day,” Caramel Arrow whispered, rounding the corner with a caution that was unnecessary due to the lack of guards, “Dark Choco would probably be in his bedroom. He nevers goes out in public, and this nation has been closed for years, meaning there’s really no affairs for him to attend to.”

Gingerbrave nodded, not doubting her for one second. Even when they opened the door to find no Dark Choco in his room, he couldn’t blame her. “Where could he be?” he muttered aloud, entering Dark Choco’s room without consent from either him or Caramel Arrow. Whether he was allowed in there or no, Caramel Arrow silently followed him, whereas they began searching for clues. Rummaging around a desk drawer, Gingerbrave found something buried at the bottom. Pulling up a manilla-colored envelope, a pile of photos fell out onto the floor. He hurried to clean them up, before realizing who they were. 

A solemn, dark figure posed on one of them. His face portrayed little to no emotion, and he sent chills down Gingerbrave’s spine. The purple color scheme almost similar to Affogato’s seemed less flamboyant and more practical, and even though the fur coat might have come off as extra in many places, here it was necessary to survive the cold in casual clothing. The part that stood out the most was his eyes, which were purple and stern, but lonely. 

Is this Dark Cacao?

Yes. Pure Vanilla muttered. The Ancient cookie seemed to have nothing else to say, and by his tone, he seemed regretful. Gingerbrave didn’t know how to comfort him, so he replied with all he could really say.

You were right. His aura, or whatever you called it, I don’t know… he just seems sad.

Reaching for the other photos, it was a full 180 of the portrait. Dark Cacao was much older now, his face scarred and his eyes tired and stubble lining his chin, but the picture’s mood was much more lively. He was smiling just slightly as he held a young version of him on his shoulders, and there was another adult in the photo. He looked about the same age, much older than many, and was holding the hand of Dark Cacao. In front of them was a very young Caramel Arrow, so with a bit of thinking, he quickly came to the conclusion that he sought. This must be Choco Bow, their other father.

He looks so happy. Remarked Pure Vanilla. I never knew he had both a husband and a daughter, for he only ever talked about Dark Choco. His death… it tore apart their family. 

“We found Crunchy Chip merely days after that photo.” Gingerbrave swiveled around to see Caramel Arrow looking down at him, or more specifically, the picture. “And the war across Earthbread began not even a month from then.”

“I… knew you guys were really young when he died… but even seeing it for my eyes, it’s hard to believe that something like that could ever happen.”

She paused, not speaking for a minute. But with a sigh, “...I only wish to see him again,” she muttered, taking the photo from Gingerbrave’s hand. Folding it up with the crease lines already in it, she carefully slid it into her pocket, “Not be fooled by the remnants of the past.”

She turned around and left the room, leaving Gingerbrave to clean up the manila-envelope by himself. Quickly piling them back in, he mindlessly took the envelope and shoved it into his satchel keeping it nice and snug next to the soul jam. Quickly following after her, he saw her turn a corner and had to rush to keep up with her. He could only stumble after her asking, “Where are we going now?”

“The Throne Room,” she muttered, without another thought. Her tone of voice left no room for argument, and how could he truly argue with her? She knew this place like the back of her hand, Gingerbrave had barely been in the Kingdom for a week. 

Do you think the King maybe has the soul jam? You’ve felt it all this time, yet we never seemed to get close to it. The King would fit those requirements. 

Maybe. But if Dark Choco is the soul jam bearer, you’re going to have a much harder time getting him to leave his Kingdom. 

Caramel Arrow must’ve gotten used to his zoning out and almost crashing into her, because when she abruptly stopped, she held out her arms to keep Gingerbrave from crashing and making a commotion. Shushing him without a noise, she peeked her head from around the corner, beckoning Gingerbrave to do the same. Without a sound, Gingerbrave watched the two figures in the room, one of them recognizable, the other not so much. 

From a distance, he looked so similar, yet so different to Dark Cacao from the picture earlier. They were both dark figures, dressed in a dark color pallet with a long, flowing cape. But his black and white hair was cut to his shoulders, rather than extending past his torso. Rather than the traditional clothing Dark Cacao had been mostly pictured in, he wore a suit of pure black armor with a bright red gemstone on the chestplate. Even with the outward appearances, both seemed to harbor a sense of solemness and loneliness in them, even from a distance. And next to him was the familiar figure of Affogato, who seemed to be talking to him. 

The words weren’t forming in his hand, whether they made no sense to Gingerbrave or that he simply couldn’t hear them from this far away. But whispering, he grabbed Caramel Arrow’s sleeve, “Is that Dark Choco?”

She nodded ever so slightly, and her eyes seemed so focused on the two of them. Not for an instance did she draw them away from the duo, and Gingerbrave could’ve sworn she wasn’t even blinking. Her expression changed from relief of seeing her alive brother to anger that Affogato was simply there. Gingerbrave tried to beckon her away, grabbing her sleeve, but she didn’t notice. It all had all happened so fast, it could’ve been brushed off as a figment of his imagination if it hadn’t caused such dire consequences. 

Her hand tightened around the wall she was holding, her grip tightening as she grew more angry. If he had blinked, he would’ve missed the light flash of purple in her eyes before the wall broke, crumbling away under her grip. The piece fell to the ground, causing an echo in the tall walls of the castle. Immediately, both heads turned towards them, and Gingerbrave and Caramel Arrow had been caught. 

“Come forward!” demanded the deep voice of Dark Choco, standing up from his throne and advancing towards the duo. Gingerbrave wanted to run, but Caramel Arrow seemed to have no intention of doing so, so he took a deep breath. He might be the one, and you’re already caught, so remain calm.

When they both came forward, Dark Choco seemed to reel back at the sight of them. “Caramel Arrow? What are you doing back in the Kingdom?!”

“I came to make sure you were okay,” she said calmly, refusing to drop her gaze from his. Up close, he could see one of the only physical differences between Dark Choco and his father was that his eyes were the color of jam, red and piercing. Both refused to lower their gaze, and Dark Choco angled his head towards Gingerbrave. 

“Who is that?”

“I’m Gingerbrave,” he said timidly, twiddling with his fingers. Though he very rarely ever got shy, let alone scared, the King was very tall and overbearing, almost towering over him menacingly. 

“You’re not from here, are you?” he questioned, leaning over to meet him eye to eye. Gingerbrave nodded slightly, and Dark Choco brought his attention back to Caramel Arrow. “Did you bring him back into the Kingdom?”

“I did,” she said without hesitation. “He is looking for someone, and he harbored no ill intent, so why should he have been locked out?”

“You know why!” his voice thundered out, taking a drastic turn from the suspicious tone he held earlier. “Our Kingdom gates have been closed for years for good reason, and you’re not even supposed to be here! You were banished over a year ago, never to come back!”

“Did you really think I would stay gone forever?!” she retorted. “I was trying to help you, and you’re letting yourself get manipulated by-by him!” she tripped over her words, pointing at Affogato. “But instead of listening to common sense, you sent me out into the wilderness!”

“You were always claiming how strong you were, you would survive.”

“I did survive, I had to fight to survive every day and night, to fight off the predators and the weather! I protected this closed-off Kingdom from outside threats without you even knowing a thing, yet all you have to say to see me back is to criticize the fact I am back.”

“You were never meant to stay,” he hissed. “Weren’t the terms clear? You leave this land forever, not just the Kingdom. The nearby Hollyberry Kingdom would’ve taken you in, or you could’ve been a traveler in any other place.”

“I couldn’t leave you and Father behind with him! Just look at what he has done to this place! What he has done to you!”

“Did you come back here just to criticize me?!”

“I came back to see if you were okay! Unlike some people, I like to know if my family is safe and okay!”

“Are you saying I never cared for my family?!” Their arguing filled the castle walls, and it felt like the entire Kingdom could hear it. Gingerbrave longed to cover his ears, not wanting to hear the siblings fight in such a manner, but he found himself frozen in fear. From the yelling, to the cat-like grin Affogato had, as if he knew exactly where the conversation was going. 

“If you truly cared about our family like Dark Cacao did, you would’ve never allowed Affogato to replace you! You are nothing like the King Father would’ve wanted you to be!” She had truly snapped, said what she wanted to say. The three of them were left in stunned silence, shocked that she had said such a thing. Gingerbrave surprised she would go to that point, and she herself shocked that she had mustered up the courage to say such a thing. ‘

His eyes faltered for a minute, their bright redness almost dulling for just a second, before seemingly glowing even more vibrant and angry. “Keep my Father’s name out of your mouth!” he yelled, lunging towards her. As she jumped out of the way, he fell to his knees, but immediately whipped up towards her. “You were never my sister! Just the orphaned girl my fathers had taken pity on!”

She froze, and he had struck home. To hear him denounce her, for him to attack her, it finally drove her off of the edge. Yelling, she lunged at Dark Choco, and the two of them started fighting, tumbling around on the ground as they swung punches at each other. Both had lost their sense of reason, and their unchecked rage left bruises and blood on one another.

“Stop, stop!” Gingerbrave cried, but they didn’t hear him. Whether they weren’t listening, or they couldn’t hear him over the screams of each other, Gingerbrave’s reason was drowned out. So when Affogato began to laugh, neither of them heard it as well. 

“They will tear each other into shreds,” he mused to himself, paying no mind to the bystander. 

“What’s wrong with you?!” exclaimed Gingerbrave, finally confronting him. “They’re siblings! If they kill each other, or even one of them kills the other, it’ll cause dire consequences!”

“Do you think I ever had any of their best interests in mind, Bitter Bean?” The use of the fake name sent chills down Gingerbrave’s spine, as the dark cookie continued, “Those who want power will get it, one way or another. And if it involves letting siblings kill each other over their dead Dad, then so be it.”

If it hadn’t been confirmed, it was now. Affogato was pure evil, and they needed to get out of there. Living up to his name, Gingerbrave threw himself into the flurry of fists, grabbing Caramel Arrow and trying to pull her away. 

“Caramel Arrow! Stop it, you’re going to kill him!” he yelled, pulling on her broad shoulders. But she wouldn’t budge, and they kept throwing fists at each other, aiming for the death of the other. “Stop it stop it stop it!” he cried. Tears began to fall down his face, feeling empathy for the fighting siblings. “You guys need to stop it!” 

She finally gave way, though neither of them had the intent of letting go. Instead, a seemingly forcefield knocked each of them over, sending Gingerbrave and Caramel Arrow into a pile and flinging Dark Choco over by Affogato. As he came to, he was shocked to see the same shield that protected him from the Snow Lion had flung them apart, but he couldn’t dwell on that. Shaking Caramel Arrow, he begged, “Are you awake? C’mon Cara, we need to go!” 

She slowly opened her eyes, or at least to the best of her ability. One eye had already begun to swell after being punched, and her face was all scraped up. Her brown eyes had lost all their anger, and looking over at her brother, she finally seemed to process her actions. Whispering, she held out a hand, “Dark Choco? Are… you okay?”

He didn’t return her compassion. Struggling to sit up and requiring Affogato’s help, his face was in much worse shape than hers. Also bleeding, his nose was very crooked, and she had clearly broken it. His red eyes were glowing, both with hatred and literally, and he cried out, “Bring me both of their heads! No one will rest till the two of them are dead!”

Her eyes softened to pure shock, unable to comprehend it. She muttered what he could only interpret to be a “what?” before Gingerbrave was pulling her to her feet. “C’mon, Cara, we need to go.” And allowing herself to be pulled along for once by him, she looked back at her brother, hoping to find one ounce of regret, compassion, something in his eyes. 

She found nothing. 

***************************************

She was finally able to regain her ability to run without guidance when they had left the castle, which was ironically perfect, since multiple guards were on their trails. The guards that had been nowhere to be seen earlier were all now on their trails, on a mission to kill the two of them  despite whatever their relationships to them might be. 

“Where do we go?” Gingerbrave called back, panicking. He had never had a bounty on his head before, and if he survived this, he hoped to never have one ever again. 

“Just keep running,” she exclaimed after him. “We need to lose their trails before we can actually get anywhere!”

Losing a trail is a lot easier said than done. No matter what, the guards wouldn’t let up, and one turn left them cornered. In despair, Gingerbrave looked up at the wall that blocked their path to freedom, and the quickly oncoming guards. Caramel Arrow, thinking quickly, grabbed for Gingerbrave, picking him up. 

“What are you doing?!” he exclaimed. 

“I’m getting you out of this situation,” she replied hastily. “If I lift you up, you should just barely be able to grab that ledge. You can then pull yourself up and get out of this Kingdom. Whatever you were looking for, I ruined your chance of ever finding it, so you need to leave, now! They won’t pursue you if you get far enough away from the Citadel.”

“No!” he exclaimed, pushing at her hands. “If I climb that ledge, it’ll leave you trapped here, and you’ll die!”

“We’re both going to die if you don’t get out of here!”

“No! I can help! W-we can fight them off!” 

Before she could protest, they had caught up quickly enough, and escape was no longer an option. She started to reach for her bow, but one of the guards held up their flaming bow, threatening, “If you even touch that thing, you will die instantly.”

“Why must you do this?” Gingerbrave tried to reason with them. “Don’t any of you have any compassion?! Is there like, some sort of trial system here?! You can’t just go around killing whoever you like just because a King demands it of you!”

The guards looked at each other confused, and Caramel Arrow whispered, “Actually, that’s kind of how it works here.”

If he hadn’t made his point of being an outsider before, he sure had now. Swallowing, he wouldn’t go down without a fight. Clutching his satchel, he felt somewhat confident in himself. I… I can do this. I can heal, I have charge skills, and… that force field. I did that, didn’t I, Pure Vanilla?

The Ancient cookie didn’t reply. Gingerbrave knew he could hear him, and Gingerbrave knew that Pure Vanilla had lied to him. When attacked by the Snow Lion, Pure Vanilla said it was another cookie, yet Gingerbrave couldn’t do that before the soul jam. The force field was a power of Pure Vanilla’s, one that he didn’t share with the young cookie. We’ll talk later.

He didn’t leave the needed conversation up for debate. Taking a step forward, the guards drew back their arrows, and one of them threatened, “Do not take another step, or your death will be painful and long!”

Taking a deep breath, he tried one more time. “Please, have some reason,” he calmly said, taking a step forward. Careful eyes watched as the arrow snapped, but it never made an impact. Like he had expected, it clattered to the food, blocked by a small forcefield merely the size of his hand. Taking a deep breath, knowing that he was truly correct, he continued forward, slowly. That’s when the barrage began. Within a moment, the guards lost all sense of reason. 

Arrows began flying everywhere, and Gingerbrave weaved seamlessly between them, protecting himself with shields, and knocking guards over with a charged sprint. For his first ever true fight, it was exhilarating. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, he would’ve enjoyed the feeling. The wind in his hair, and the power he felt. He could only wonder what Caramel Arrow was thinking, seeing the cookie who claimed to be charge classed use two different fighting techniques. At least I don’t have to explain the healing to her…yet. 

The guards were caught off guard to say the least. Such a young child, yet he fought like an entity that had been alive for years. Caramel Arrow watching the fight felt speechless, the child having a much different aura from earlier. He sent chills down her sign, and something just seemed ever so similar about it. 

With a final burst of speed, the final guard went down, and Gingerbrave looked back at Caramel Arrow. Turning to face her, he ran back, grabbing at her sleeve. “C’mon, we can go now!”

“Who…are you?” she asked, pulling her arm away. “What… are you?”

“There’s… there’s not enough time to explain,” Gingerbrave said, shaking his head. “But…when I get a chance, I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you what that was, and the entire reason I am here, okay?”

She couldn’t help but to sigh. She knew the risk of letting him into the Citadel, but she hadn’t expected such a risk from him. She nodded just slightly, and he smiled in return at her. Something caught the corner of her eye, and before she knew it, she grabbed her arms around Gingerbrave and swung him around, protecting him but leaving her back exposed. The arrow fired.

Gingerbrave couldn’t react fast enough to protect her. 

Chapter Text

She let out a guttural scream. But she refused to let go of Gingerbrave, to leave him exposed. He stared up in horror as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Cara? Why did you do that?”

She breathed heavily, unable to answer him. She was trying to calm herself, take big breaths so she could get oxygen, but it seemed useless. The arrow must have pierced several of her insides, and pulling it out now wouldn’t help. 

The guards began to get back up around them, and Gingerbrave began to feel desperate. I wasn’t strong enough to take them down, and now Cara is hurt severely, what am I supposed to do?!

Another arrow flew, but this time, he knew to put up a shield. In a force field bubble, he laid Caramel Arrow down on her side, trying his best to assess the situation. Arrows clattered against the force field, but nothing had pierced it… yet. 

“Cara… Cara, can you talk to me?” Gingerbrave asked, trying to keep her conscious. “Please, I never wanted to get you hurt!”

She looked up at him weakly. “Please… just run,” she croaked. “This… forcefield… that you’ve made… it won’t last forever. I’m injured, and there’s no chance of fighting them all off.”

“No!” he insisted, eyes tearing up and shaking his head. “I will not leave you here! Not to die!”

Before she could protest, he turned away and left the forcefield, leaving himself exposed and her protected. Another game of mouse and cat began, with Gingerbrave continuing his dodging game. Except this time he never had the chance to fight back. The longer they fought, the more they grew accustomed to his style of fighting, even if they hadn’t even fought for five minutes. 

I can’t really win this… can I? But who am I if I can’t save one cookie? How am I supposed to save the world from a great evil if I can’t even save one cookie from a bunch of guards?

Caramel Arrow watched weakly in the distance. She had never felt so exposed before, never felt so weak. The arrow had pierced something vital, she could feel it, and if she pulled it out, she knew she would die. But it hurt so much. She could only watch from laying on her side, pathetically. Her voice couldn’t even call out loud enough to stop the young cookie from leaving his own safe barrier. 

“Gingerbrave…!” she croaked, coughing. She watched in horror as the young cookie went back to fighting, using the mysterious shields to block and attempting to ram them head on. But as the fight progressed, the Dark Cacao soldiers adapted. It was their motto to adapt and overcome any difficulty. He was going to lose. And it was going to cost him his life. 

I need to get to him! I need to protect him! She wouldn’t let her body complain. Grabbing at the snow and whatever dead ground was underneath it, she pulled herself up, struggling to even get to her knees. Her body heaved and groaned and complained and it burned so so much, but she wouldn’t stop. He’s willing to risk his entire life for me, and that’s not fair! I’ve just met this kid, but he’s willing to sacrifice so much! She got one foot up, gritting her teeth to keep herself focused. He’s… he’s like a brother to me! I can’t let him die! I won’t let him die!

On her feet, she lunged forwards with one hand, yelling out, “I WON’T LET HIM DIE!”

It all happened so fast. From her hand and through her fingertips, purple lightning shot out. Gingerbrave braced himself for impact, but it never came. Looking around, he saw it had struck everyone around him except for himself. Suddenly, a sense of familiarity washed over him. This power… it couldn’t be?! And if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he could still confirm Caramel Arrow did it, because she stood there, glowing purple eyes staring down at her own hands. Looking back up at Gingerbrave, she almost seemed scared. 

“What was that?” she asked, still out of breath and wincing in pain. “Gingerbrave, what was that?!”

“Hey! What’s going on here?!” They both looked at the entrance, and were relieved to finally see a familiar face. A concerned Crunchy Chip rode in on his Cream Wolf, stepping over everyone precariously. “Caramel Arrow, Gingerbrave? What happened here?” 

Caramel Arrow opened her mouth to answer, but then collapsed. Falling to the ground, Crunchy Chip finally saw her fatal wound. She was breathing heavily, and Gingerbrave fell to his knees, checking her forehead. “She’s overheating!” he exclaimed, looking up at Crunchy Chip. 

“Probably poison,” he muttered. “Many Dark Cacaoian soldiers lace their arrows with it so the licorice monsters don’t last as long. But why would they use those on you guys?”

“Dark Choco ordered our death,” Gingerbrave explained, not meeting Crunchy Chip’s gaze. 

“What?!”

“We went to see Dark Choco, because Caramel Arrow said she needed to see her brother. But we were caught, and the two of them started fighting. I think there was something wrong with Dark Choco, but I don’t know… you’re not going to hurt us, are you?”

“What?! No!” he exclaimed, shaking his head. “I’m going to get you guys out of here, alright? Help me get Caramel Arrow onto Cream Wolf.” With great force, he grabbed underneath her, lifting her up with a heave. Gingerbrave rushed forward, helping the short soldier. Carefully, she lay on top, and Crunchy Chip wiggled his way in front of her, propping her up against him. “C’mon, get on!” he exclaimed to Gingerbrave, angling his head to the space left on the Cream Wolf.

“I can’t!” Gingerbrave exclaimed, shaking his head. “That’ll be too much strain on the Cream Wolf… let’s meet back at the inn, alright?”

And before Crunchy Chip could protest, Gingerbrave ran off, stepping over the now unconscious soldiers. They were breathing, their chests rising and falling slowly. Now out in the open, he was free to run. Bystanders watched curiously as Gingerbrave ran for his life, dodging people. Holes in the pavement would cause him to stumble, but he would not fall. I can’t afford to fall here.

A murmur grew through the crowd, and looking up, Crunchy Chip could be seen riding his Cream Wolf on the roof. Caramel Arrow’s eyes were slightly open, staring down at Gingerbrave. Between her wounds from fighting Dark Choco, and the poisoned arrow, she looked on the verge of death. If she doesn’t get medical attention soon, she’ll die!

“Hey!” Gingerbrave whipped his head around, and saw more guards pointing at them. “Get them!” 

Ah crumbs! Gingerbrave swerved, running towards the roof. With a great bound, he jumped, grabbing a ledge just barely. One push, and he pushed himself up onto the ledge, and managed to reach the roof. He continued after the Cream Wolf, who was several feet ahead of him. Steadily catching up, he found himself able to run faster than before, and before he knew it, he was side by side with the Cream Wolf. 

“Caramel Arrow?” he asked, seeing her eyes were still opened. “Are you okay?”

“... It hurts,” she muttered. “I think I’m dying.”

“No no don’t say that,” he insisted. “We’re going to get you help, we just need to get back to the Inn.”

She seemed to want to protest, but didn’t have the energy to do so. Instead, she just sighed, and continued to stare, propped up against Crunchy Chip’s back. Without hesitation, Gingerbrave threw up a shield to protect them, in case the guards started firing at them again. The arrows clattered against it, and Crunchy Chip took a sudden turn, dropping from the roof to a pile of rubble beneath. Without a second thought, they hopped through the open window, and Gingerbrave realized they must be at the inn. Dropping down, he grabbed the window ledge and pulled himself up and in. 

“I think we lost them,” he breathed, and Crunchy Chip leapt off of Cream Wolf, keeping Caramel Arrow propped upright. Picking her up, he laid her down on the ground, leaving her back exposed. Working quickly, Crunchy Chip removed her top carefully to see the wound, and it was worse than they had expected. 

Extending from the area where the arrow had struck was deteriorating dough, and the arrow was very well lodged in there. It was a sickly sight, but other than the deteriorating dough, another thing caught Gingerbrave’s eye. Further up her back, she had scale-like black markings, covering more on her shoulders and growing more sparse as it went down. Crunchy Chip seemed unfazed by this fact, and was more focused on the wound. 

“What do we do?” he muttered. “Neither of us are a healer, and if she doesn’t get medical attention now, she’ll die. You two are now criminals, and I’m going to become an accomplice, so we can’t go to a professional doctor.”

I… am a healer though. I… I can’t hide this any longer. 

“Do you trust me?” Gingerbrave asked, turning towards Crunchy Chip. 

“A bit more than most strangers, why?” he said bluntly, looking up at Gingerbrave. 

Gingerbrave kneeled down next to Caramel Arrow, holding out his hands. “On three, you’re going to pull out the arrow, alright?”

“What?! No! She’ll die of blood loss, are you insane?!”

“No she will not,” insisted Gingerbrave, shaking his head. “I can help her, I just want you to remove the arrow. If you don’t remove the arrow, I will.”

“I will not let you do that!” Crunchy Chip grabbed at Gingerbrave, who quickly hopped away. The small soldier chased him around, not giving him a chance to explain himself. Anytime he got close to her, or tried to say anything, the short soldier would cut him off or lunge at him, frustrating Gingerbrave. Caramel Arrow groaned, and Gingerbrave snapped. 

“CRUNCHY CHIP!” he yelled, turning around to face him. “She is dying, and I need you to trust what I am doing, okay?! Do you want her to die?!”

“How do I know you won’t kill her?!”

“Because she protected me! I would’ve been the one with an arrow to the back if she hadn’t saved my life, so let me save hers, okay?!”

Crunchy Chip’s eyes lost their hostility. Gingerbrave wasn’t sure if he could see that Gingerbrave truly meant no harm, but he sighed. “If anything happens to her, I will end you.”

Gingerbrave laughed weakly, and kneeled down next to her. Crunchy Chip copied him, tentatively grabbing the arrow. “On three, alright?” Gingerbrave said, and Crunchy Chip nodded in agreement. Taking a deep breath, his mind began racing. 

Oh Witches, if I mess this up, she could… no, will… die! But if I don’t try, she’ll die anyway!

You’ve got this. Pure Vanilla encouraged. And Gingerbrave… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied. I… I believe in you.

“1,”

Pure Vanilla…

“2,”

You’re right. Thank you.

“3!”

Crunchy Chip pulled, and Gingerbrave immediately put his hands over the wound, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn’t bear to see if he failed or not, and he could only pray that it worked. Please, please, please…

Gingerbrave, relax. You don’t need to trust me, but you need to trust yourself, alright?

“What the-?!” Gingerbrave opened his eyes at the sound of Crunchy Chip’s voice, and smiled to see the light. His eyes met Crunchy Chip’s, and Crunchy Chip seemed to double take. “Who…what are you?”

The light faded, and Caramel Arrow groaned. Before both of their eyes, they watched as she sat up shivering, seemingly dazed as to where she was and cold from being only in her undergarments on top. Her gaze met Gingerbrave’s, and within seconds, her eyes widened as she felt around her back. But when she couldn’t find an arrow, she turned back to face them. 

“Gingerbrave?” 

“Explain yourself!” Crunchy Chip exclaimed, staring down Gingerbrave. “You told Caramel Arrow that you were a charge class, and yet that power you have-”

“I told you I owed you an explanation, did I not?” Gingerbrave replied, cutting off Crunchy Chip and turning to Caramel Arrow. “Why I really needed to get into the Citadel?”

She nodded, and he continued. “Not long ago, my home land was under attack. A priestess and a necromancer attacked everyone with vines that caused extreme fever and unwakeable sleep. But I hadn’t been affected, and only passed out for a few hours from taking a blunt hit of magic. When I woke up, it was only me and Kumiho, a cookie who originally was a marshmallow fox, that seemed immune to its power. After a confrontation with the two attackers, we almost died. But then, something extraordinary happened.”

He reached into his satchel, and grabbed his soul jam. “A cookie made from water, Sea Fairy, gave me this, which holds the power and soul of the Ancient Hero, Pure Vanilla. I… I’m supposed to find the other four, and we’ll have to defeat Dark Enchantress, once and for all. My journey led me here, to the Dark Cacao Kingdom.”

Both stared at him in awe, before Crunchy Chip scoffed. “Yeah right, I hope you remember, Dark Enchantress has been dead for years now. She died that night with the Ancient Heroes.”

“But she didn’t!” Gingerbrave protested. “She was merely locked away by the elemental spirits for as long as they could hold her, and I need to find everyone before she gets out again! But my search led me here, and it has finally led me to you!” He turned to Caramel Arrow, smiling. “Caramel Arrow, you possess one of the soul jams, don’t you?!”

“That’s ridiculous,” Crunchy Chip muttered, shaking his head. “Caramel Arrow, you surely don’t believe this?”

She paused, still staring at Gingerbrave in shock. Her eyes softened, and she whispered, “So it wasn’t a trick, huh?” Before either of them could question her, she slipped off her boot and tipped it over, and from inside, a purple, diamond soul jam fell out. 

“What?!” Crunchy Chip exclaimed. 

“That’s why I could never seem to pin it down,” Gingerbrave realized. “It was always moving with me, so I could never tell where its power was radiating from!”

“A snowy cookie gave this to me,” she explained weakly, her shaking hands scooping up the purple soul jam. “She said her name was Frost Queen Cookie, and that she had an important job for me. In my banishment, she gave me the soul jam, and told me that I had to defeat Dark Enchantress with it. She… she gave me the exact same explanation Gingerbrave had just given, about her being locked away. But when she gave me the soul jam, I… I froze. This…” her eyes began to water and she stared at the soul jam, “This was my father’s soul jam! And… and I thought the world was playing cruel tricks on me! After all, everyone knew Dark Enchantress was dead, so why should I believe something to be my deliria? I shoved it into my boot, and tried to forget about the false hope it gave me. Even seeing my father’s power one last time would’ve been enough for me, but it was all too fake to believe.”

The two of them watched as she broke down, crying. “I miss my Dad!” she cried, holding the soul jam close to her chest. “I miss Dark Cacao, Choco Bow, and the old Dark Choco! The Dark Choco that wouldn’t order my death! The Dark Choco that wasn’t so damn reliant on that good-for-nothing, conniving little snake Affogato!”

Gingerbrave could only pity her as she bawled her eyes out, finally getting rid of everything that had ever troubled her. Dark Choco had to take over the Kingdom at a young age, But Caramel Arrow was too, also forced to grow up way too fast. Calmly, Gingerbrave sat down next to her, leaning his body against hers as to comfort her. He could not heal emotional wounds, only physical wounds, and though the healing light surrounding his body was warm, it wasn’t enough to heal the scars on her heart. 

“You don’t think this power is real, do you?” Gingerbrave muttered, staring down at his own soul jam in hand. 

Caramel Arrow shook her head. “It can’t be. Because if Dark Enchantress is truly alive, then my father died for nothing. I don’t know if you were granted Pure Vanilla’s power because of something special, or if you’re just the reincarnation of him, but it can’t be Dark Enchantress. Because if it was her, then my father died… and never even said goodbye.”

Gingerbrave couldn’t argue with her, not because he thought she was right, but because he knew she was grieving. Arguing with her will only make her more defensive. I… I can’t ignore the fact that an elemental cookie gave her a soul jam, that confirms she’s part of the prophecy. But I can’t force her out of her home, not until she gets some sort of closure. 

But that purple lightning, he continued. She was able to use Dark Cacao’s power, but hasn’t met the requirements to be able to use it. Do you have any ideas, Pure Vanilla?

I… I don’t think she was calling for power, and I don’t think it was her acting either. Pure Vanilla muttered. Just maybe, I think Dark Cacao was protecting his daughter to the best of his abilities, his strong will able to defy the rules laid in stone. 

“But… I will come with you,” she muttered, earning herself a yelp of surprise from both Gingerbrave and Crunchy Chip. 

“You’re going with him?!”

“You’re coming with me?! But why?!”

“I’m a wanted criminal, I can’t stay here anymore. And you’re a traveling kid, Gingerbrave, I can’t just let you continue knowing that! You could get hurt, so I’ll either help you back to your Kingdom, or take you where you want to go.”

“You-you can’t!” protested Gingerbrave. “What about Dark Choco?”

“He’s abandoned me, Gingerbrave,” she said bitterly, her voice going from sorrowful to angry. “You at least claim to have a purpose for me, so I might as well go with you rather than stay here and get killed.”

“No no no,” Gingerbrave muttered, shaking his head. What am I saying? Earthbread needs her! An elemental cookie quite literally gave her a soul jam, there’s no way that she’s not a soul jam bearer! But… “I can’t let you leave just because you think you have to! I know there was something wrong with your brother, I just know it!”

“He doesn’t care about me!”

“He does care!”

“No he doesn’t! If he cared so much, he wouldn’t have tried to kill me!” Their voices had risen to a yell, and she had gotten up to her feet. Gingerbrave stared up at her, and she seemed to become aware of the fact she was yelling again. Sighing, she grumbled, “I’m going to step out for a minute.” And without a word of protest from the others, she left the room, leaving Crunchy Chip and Gingerbrave alone. 

It was silent between them, and Gingerbrave really didn’t know what to say. Crunchy Chip hearing all of this must be like a slap in the face with a train. 

“Is she… really a soul jam bearer?” Crunchy Chip asked softly, petting his Cream Wolf slowly. “Is Dark Enchantress really back?”

“Not yet…” Gingerbrave muttered, fidgeting with the soul jam in hand. “But she’s coming. And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore. Caramel Arrow is important for the safety of Earthbread, but without her accepting this power, she can’t do anything with said power. And I don’t think she’ll ever accept it if she can’t tie up loose ends with her family.”

Crunchy Chip remained silent once again, but then drew in a deep breath. “I don’t remember what he looked like. I was young, and they had barely taken me in when Dark Cacao had to go off and fight. I will never be as closely connected to him as Dark Choco and Caramel Arrow were…and I think you need to remind them of that connection. We all love our Kingdom, but they’ve formed a bond that goes deeper than advisors and death. I… I’m not asking you to save our Kingdom… I’m asking you to save my siblings, please?”

This was the first time Gingerbrave had truly seen the tiny soldier take down his guard, and he could’ve sworn he saw his eyes begin to water. But to save his pride, Gingerbrave nodded without pointing it out. “I will. I’m… I’m not leaving this place until your family is whole again.”

Crunchy Chip smiled, and nodded, but then Caramel Arrow came back into the room. She still looked angry, and her arms were folded across her still shirtless chest. Grabbing her top, Gingerbrave walked over and handed it to her, looking up at her. “Your face is still wounded from your fight, can I heal it?”

She didn’t reply, but instead she leaned over so he could reach her face. Letting her take the shirt in her hands, he gently ran her hands over her wounds, watching as they quickly closed up and her face became whole once again. The physical scars from the fight were healed, but the emotional scars still remained. 

“Thanks,” she muttered, unfolded her shirt to pull it back on. Something fell to the ground from inside of it, but she only noticed after she had the shirt partially on. Quickly wrapping it up, she leaned over to pick up the piece of paper that had fallen out, and unfolding it found herself shocked. It was the same picture of her and her family from earlier, when they had been in Dark Choco’s bedroom. 

“Did you-?”

“Yes,” Gingerbrave quickly said, cutting her off. “Physical wounds, like the ones that were on your face, are easy to heal. In fact, I had the problem of healing my enemy’s wounds at first instead. But emotional wounds are something I can not heal, no matter how much I wish I could. The emotional wounds you have sustained over the years have scarred your body more than any physical one ever has. And I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore.”

“Look how happy you guys were,” Crunchy Chip muttered, pointing at the photo. “This happiness… it’s still possible.”

“No…” Caramel Arrow muttered, shaking her head. “Dark Cacao is gone, Dark Choco has abandoned me, and there’s nothing Choco Bow can do about it.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Gingerbrave said softly. “Choco Bow is still there for you, Dark Choco will come around, and Dark Cacao is still here. He’s been protecting you the entire time, even defying the rules to keep you safe. I may not know Dark Choco that well, but I know for a guy that keeps that many photos of his family and their happy moments, he sure seemed to be acting strange. So how about we go back to the castle, and beat some sense into him, okay?”

She seemed stunned. But after a few seconds of prolonged silence, she laughed weakly, “You really are quite mature for your age, huh?” With a deep breath, she continued, “I will come with you, but if anything bad happens, we are leaving immediately. I will accompany you wherever you go, though I will not play into your soul jam bearer game, or whatever you’re calling it, alright?”

“...Deal.”

Chapter Text

Before anyone panics, this is not me quitting this story! I still plan on finishing this, so don't go anywhere. But after a long time of waiting, my computer was finally fixed, and now I have access to ao3 again!
My computer, that I did all my work on, did this not so funny keyboard thing where sometimes a button wouldn't work, then others times typing one 'e' resulted in an army of eeeeeeeeee's. I physically could not type fics because of this .-.
So my deepest apologies go out to everyone for keeping you waiting so long, especially right after I announced a schedule T-T
I do have testing to do at school rn, so it'll be about a week before I get back into the swing of things, but I am back and as fired up as ever! >:D

If you happen to be reading multiple of my fics, disregard the other updates. They'll say the same exact thing as this, word for word

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So

It's been a hot minute and uhhhhh
I have no excuse this time, I'm really sorry

I guess if I did have an excuse, I lost my hyperfixation for a long time, and when I attempted to play the game again uhhhh...
I was locked outta my account

Yeah, that wasn't fun
I had signed up with my school email
And I spent so long away from the game it logged me out
And when I tried to log in again, it said my school hadn't approved the app, effectively locking me out for half a year

But I sent them a request, I got back in, and now...
I'm realizing my fanfics are not only quite repetitive, but very very out of character
Like
Holy shit it's bad
Dark Cacao, my platonic love, I'm sorry I did you so dirty

So, I have a few options, and now that I want to get active again, I want some reader opinions

Number 1 - I leave all the stories alone
I'll pick up where I left off, nothing will change much, that's about it

Number 2 - I remaster all my ongoing series
Old one shots will remain unchanged, as proof of my old work, and I'll leave all of my current stories alone, but end them where they're at
And then I'll begin a new section called [Insert Story Title] Remastered
Basically, you'll be able to access my old stories, but then you'll also have the new ones, that'll have better portrayals of characters, better writing, a more steady and not plot-hole filled plot lmao
For ref, this will effect my following series

-The Last Hope for Earthbread
-Toxic Lullaby of Home
-Athanasia
-Lasting Effects/Returning Enemies/The Phantom Curse Series

Overall, I wish to remaster at least a few of them, but I also don't want to keep people waiting, especially considering my work schedule will only allow 2 updates a week at most, more likely being 1 update a week across 4 different series. In order to keep my work quality, I don't want to push myself to my old schedule quite yet, especially considering I have a lot of shit going on irl as well. So in order to remain motivated, updates will start slow, but the whole remastering thing will be left up to you guys ^^

Once again, I apologize for tardiness and inactivity, I hope to get back to this more often cause it was my creative outlet, and I really appreciate making work for y'all. To keep myself from becoming burnt out again, I will be taking proper breaks, posting on my insta (@absolutepanik) if there'll be a delay in a chapter, which chapter I plan on doing each week, and I'll be branching out to other fandoms that I enjoy as well, which are the following haha

-Genshin Impact

-Blue Exorcist
-Demon Slayer (?)
-World's End Club
-Danganronpa
-My Hero Academia (Major ????)
-Some OC things for a roleplay server I am in, Pheonix High ^^
-And of course, more original Cookie Run Kingdom stories

I hope everyone has been fairing well, and if you just found my fics, welcome! Buckle down, cause this ball of Panik is ready to begin writing again, and I have some good ol angst and fluff written up in my google email drafts >:)

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Hello! If you’re reading this, that means this series is one of my works I am currently rewriting. While this series will continue, this is the end for now, until the rewritten version is caught up. If you would like to support my work, it would be greatly appreciated if you went and read the rewritten version, and left a kudos or comment ^^

For more information, please check out https://archiveofourown.org/works/60542398 , or also known as “Author’s Note/Commission Information” on my page

Thank you for your support, reader!

Chapter Text

In honor of the Shadow Milk Cookie Update coming out soon, I give you guys the brand new, rewritten first chapter of The Last Hope for Earthbread

Be scared, readers. Cause I have drastically improved in writing, and I have been stirring my big pot of ideas while on hiatus teehee