Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"It…can't be…"

Clotted Cream stared wide eyed at nothing, head in his hands as gloved fingers combed through his hair.

"White Lily Cookie is…Dark Enchantress Cookie…?"

He buried his head in his hands, gasping slightly as he accepted the portion of the Truth he uttered.

"I…I can't believe it…"

"I-I know! I…I could not believe it myself either…"

No response came from Clotted. Brave just bit his lip in silence, none said a word as he waited for the other to regain composure anxiously. Bad reaction, it was expected but still bad nonetheless if he was this shocked. It was a fortunate thing he had not asked why Lily came to be yet.

But,

Should he say more about her now?

About the Night of the Witches?

About the Truth of Cookiekind in the eyes of the Witches?

No no, not yet.

If Clotted Cream was in this much shock to know this much about Lily, how would he handle the rest right now? How would he handle the hideous ugly Truth that he, along with his friends, the surviving escapees of the Witches, descendants of the First Ten Batches of Cookies and those cultists knew of?

That they were nothing more than snacks to those fake "godly makers".

Oh Celestials, what about the Ancient Heroes? Could they handle the fact that their enemy, the one that caused the dreaded Dark Flour War, was a friend? And a lover for some?

His stomach churned the more he thought about telling everyone everything tomorrow, even more so when he thought about what might happen afterwards. Would they shout in anger for such "blasphemy"? Would they be in denial? Would they glare at him in disdain in silence?

Would they believe him at all?

No, no. Don't think of such thoughts, don't be afraid. You are Gingerbrave, brave is in your name. You are BRAVE. You push through all odds, push through fear, push through everything, because that's who you are. You are BRAVE. You could do anything and everything because of it.

Questions and pondering alone won't give you answers. The best course of action right now is to push forward.

Yes.

Everything will be fine.

He would just have to be calm.

And brave

Brave.

He loosened his form slightly as he continued to look over Clotted, finally regaining his composure back.

"Does… Does that mean…" Clotted turned to look into his eyes, somewhat hopeful yet desperate. "White Lily is…no more?"

Brave sighed, ruffling his soft white locks with streaks of brown. "That's the thing, I just…couldn't wrap my head around it. I know I saw Dark Enchantress with my very own eyes. But…"

He lowered his gaze to the floor briefly, before looking up at Clotted directly in the eyes again, fire in his eyes as he clenched his hands into fist.

"White Lily's spirit might still be out there somewhere! Atleast, that's what I hope."

Not true. He knew why Lily came to be. He had been researching you see, learning anything and everything he could get his hands on to know about her. It did not take him long to connect the dots, for the Dark Flour War happened a year after the Night of the Witches, on the same day and month of her rebirth.

Such detestable witches. Holding a banquet once every millennia, created and baked them only to be eaten for their sick banquets.

He could feel his blood boiling but quickly fizzled out the resentment and focused on the Consul, now composed again.

"I…I see…"

Clotted slowly inhaled as he mulled over the words said to him. "What you have just told me… Is tragic, to say the least…" He paused, though not for long. "You have my gratitude, Gingerbrave. I have learnt an important truth thanks to you."

What?

What did he mean?

Was…was he planning to tell everyone?

When?

Nonononono, it could not be told just yet. And especially not from Clotted, a mere stranger!

He needed to stop him. No, he must!

"O-Oh but um-!" He uttered, voice trembling slightly before firm again. "I, I hope you do understand that…there was a reason I didn't tell anyone…just yet…"

"Yet? Does that mean you're planning to tell them then?"

Brave nodded. "Yes, tomorrow at the next meeting actually."

As much as he feared how everyone would take in everything, he knew he could not hide the Truth for long. Because revealing the Truth…would mean a new era.

A new era of change.

A new era for the escapees and survivors of the Witches, the descendants of the First Ten Batches where they no longer had to hide the ugly Truth from the outsiders living in blissful ignorance of it all. Where they could finally have steady support and protection, no longer in fear of what the Witches' next move might be, when they'll be found, captured and eaten or killed to satisfy their sick needs.

Clotted exhaled slowly, his form a little less stiff. "I'm glad…because this is important information, you could not hide it away for long. I'm…sure you are aware of this fact too."

A nod. "Yes."

He was aware, he always had been. It wasn't as though he wanted to keep everything away for long, he just…didn't know when to start.

But with tension this high, it would be best if he approached it carefully. A fight breaking out now would be bad. (He hoped it wouldn't come to that.)

A hand was placed atop of Brave's head as he blinked up at Clotted. 

"You must've had it rough. Keeping such secrets for so long from the Ancients Heroes. I'm sorry, for letting someone as young as you bear such burdens."

He tilted his head. "But why are you saying sorry? You had no part in it. If anything, I should be saying sorry for freeing her in the first place. Accidental or not."

"That's the problem, you shouldn't-" The Consul shook his head as he stopped himself, removing the hand from the boy's head. "No nevermind. Get some rest. You have a lot going on for you by tomorrow."

He nodded, casting his gaze downward as his hands fiddled. "Thank you… The Ancients… might not take the Truth I told them well…"

The movements of his hands stopped as the Grandmaster looked up again, this time with a beaming smile.

"But hearing your words helped encourage and calm my nerves a little. Thank you."

The Consul's expression softened a little before he bid him good night.

As soon as he was gone however, the smile was gone, replacing it was a blank expression with ocean blue eyes darkened with haunt as he slumped over his seats slightly.

He dryly swallowed, a hand mindlessly moved up, his thumbnail jammed between his teeth, the sound of nail breaking by them was crisp by the dead silence.

Would the things he said to Clotted before he left be enough to soften the Consul? To not say a word and leave it to him and Pure Vanilla? He hoped so. He is a politician after all, he can only pray and hope to the Celestials above that things will be in his favour.

He could not fail. He could not make mistakes. He only had one chance.

One chance to break the shackles and chains of fear from those disgusting cultists that dared call themselves "The Order".

He only snapped out of it by the sharp stinging pain from his thumb. Blood slowly oozed out from where he had bitten down.

Perhaps…he should go to bed and sleep on this for now.

Yes that sounded alright.

He slowly stood up from his seat and got to his room in the tavern, not even bothering to change his clothes but still removing the hair tie and let the long soft white locks flow freely then the earrings which revealed the pointy elf ears—a trait of mythical beings, most Legendaries and Witch baked Cookies has—as he got under the soft blanket and lay on the pillow.

With a quick blow on the candle, the room was envelope in complete darkness, leaving only the faint blue moonlit glow and the stars from the window for him to see.

Minutes ticked by and he could not sleep, mind running a mile a minute of what will come once tomorrow is here, tossing and turning on his bed, unable to fully close his eyes.

Before he knew it, Brave began to search for his phone and called for someone.

It was very late, he knew this and he hated bothering someone's sleep for this selfish need—want, but he still called anyway.

"Brave…?"

His mouth ran dry at the familiar boyish voice, his beloved owlet. Though he had yet to confess to him.

"H…Hey Wizz…I'm…not disturbing you…am I?"

Wow, what a stupid question. Of course he was, it literally passed midnight. Now your pretty crush most definitely felt annoyed by now.

What he received next from the other line was a small laugh. "No, no. Not at all actually. I'm still in my tower, reading the tomes that Blueberry Pie, Moonlight and Lotus Dragon had sent me. Though…I just realized it is very late right now… Should definitely clean up and go to bed."

"Hahah… is that so?"

The shuffling and tapping was crisp on both lines and he hummed. "Yeah, though what's keeping you up so late?"

"I…" a short pause. "...couldn't sleep…thinking too much about the next meeting…"

"You finally made up your mind to tell them?" There was a hint of joy in his tone, making the teen grimace.

"Yes and…there's this…political figure from the Republic…and I…I told him about Lily. Just- Just who she is now."

There was nothing but silence for awhile.

"Brave… The Republic is where the Order's main base is."

"I know I know it's just that-! Damn it I dunno how to explain to you…I'm sorry…"

"It's fine, Brave. Anything I could do to help you atleast?"

His cheeks were tinted pink when he gave his answers. "T…talk…"

"...Talk?"

"Y-Yes… Do you…Do you mind just talking over the phone? Your voice, it…it's very…soothing and…nice to…to hear…"

"I…I see." There was a hint of something in his tone, though Brave couldn't make out what it was.

"In that case... What do you want me to talk or ramble about?"

His ears flapped a little, a tiny bit happy that Wizard would help him fall asleep, even though the request sounded so foolish. "Anything. Everything. I just, I just wanted to hear your voice."

His heart swelled slightly at the sound of Wizard's soft laughter. "Well lucky for you, I have just the topic. So lay back, relax, and enjoy my ramblings as I clean."

"Thank you."

He laid back down on the bed again, the phone on speaker as he tuned in to the sound of Wizard's voice, accompanied by the occasional shuffling knocking and tapping of things.

Everything will be okay in the end. He thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Today is yet another gift.

Gingerbrave mused as he stepped out of the shower and dried himself. He had woken up not long ago, starting the day early with a shower, sun barely even rising yet.

He glanced to the side, and there was a mirror on the wall, above the sink, reflection staring back at him.

It had been three years since he escaped the Oven, escaped the Witch. He had grown much since then. Him, his twin Gingerbright and his friends, or most of them.

His appearance was also much more different in comparison to then. His hair was once brown with two streaks of white on his bangs, now turned fully white, the ends still have some brown to them stretching just a little below the waist. Ocean blue eyes that once twinkled with innocence and childlike wonder, darkened overtime from haunt, despair and animosity.

His body gained some muscle definitions from rigorous training and battling against cake monsters, Dark Enchantress and her underlings, a temporarily cursed Dark Cacao, the dragons—specifically, Pitaya during the Princess contest, Lotus to not let them get their hand on the compass that led them to the City of Wizards to find the MIA Moonlight Cookie and lost history about Earthbread, Lychee from trying to get the Rambutan tribe back and Longan from commiting a genocide against Earthbread which was absolute hell as they went on another adventure just for a single Branch of Life from Millennial Tree Cookie to bring everyone back which resulted in meeting the Cookies of Darkness again—then Matilda the Witch—It attacked their Kingdom, they had no choice but to kill it off—and then the assassins that were sent on their way from Order—they somehow knew they killed the Witch, turns out there was a spy planted in their Kingdom just weeks after the founding day. Though he was still on the lean side, he grew several inches taller too. Everything was just enough for a 15 year old teen.

And of course, scars. Scars caused by the acid from the Witch's stomach. It splashed on him when he tried to push his twin away from getting hit but just barely, it spreaded across the left of his cheek, jaw, neck, left upper arm and part of his chest and back. Then a single slash on his back from the Axeman back in the Heart, they needed to go there and destroy it to kill the Witch.

The Kingdom, it had grown much too. It went from crumbled ruins, to a town with a fancy castle, to a city, then a small yet proper nation run by a combination of Democracy and Stratocracy—Military. They have an information guild run by Strawberry, half of the guild split into two divisions: Discreet and Public. Both weeding out the corruption rooted deep within other kingdoms, nations, cities, villages while also hunting down the Order that were found along the way, in their own ways.

There were also notable projects in progress too: the Redemption project, with its notable members being Affogatto, Red Velvet, Pastry and Dark Choco. The Mechanic Prosthesis project, which also includes a weaponry version. And the Lower City Relocation project, proposed by Custard III and Espresso.

And they, the founders, have changed much too. Brave became the Grandmaster, Bright as the Acting Grandmaster, Strawberry as their secretary and head of her information guild, Wizard became a sorcerer in their kingdom with guidance from both Blueberry Pie and Moonlight while occasionally helping some of the students in their magic from the schools they've established, Chili became a commander of their knights alongside with Rye, and Custard became a representative of the nation as a whole. Gingerbrave smiled a little at the thought.

He stopped his thoughts and focused on dressing up. A grey-blue buttoned up shirt, white ruffled tie with a sapphire brooch on the center, black slacks and black shoes. Hair tied back into a low ponytail, and of course his skull earrings enchanted with illusion magic to hide his pointed ears.

He took one last check of his reflection in the mirror then nodded to himself before leaving, letting his legs take him to where he was needed. The kitchen in the castle, where he met the three people he needed to talk to most: Espresso, Madeleine and Strawberry Crepe.

"Morning! How did you all sleep last night? Hope it wasn't a bother waking up before the crack of dawn."

Madeleine yawned as he grabbed a mug of warm tea and drank the liquid inside. "Said the one who could wake up earlier if he chose to, a hard-working beast dealing a month's worth of the kingdom's affairs that were put off in less than two weeks, on his own most of the time." He hated waking up this early, but if Brave asked of it from him and the others then he'd do it, even if it meant sacrificing some of his beauty sleep.

That earned a chuckle out of Espresso, accompanied by a smug smile as he drank his cup of coffee, Crepe snickered as they ate a piece of waffle while Gingerbrave just rolled his eyes and sat down near a table once he got his breakfast.

"Now that we all gathered here, let's discuss something far more important before the others wake up."

The casual mood was gone as the air stilled into silence, accompanied by the clinking of utensils against the fine china before Gingerbrave opened his mouth to speak. "Crepe and Ess, about the things I've told you to make. Progress?"

Espresso placed down his cup on the counter with a low clunk as he cleared his throat. "Thanks to our discovery of Light Fragments and finding out they could be studied just like the Soul Jams, we've successfully made fake copies of the Soul Jams with Mana Stones, as well as storing a portion of the Soul Jam's power in a usable receptacle so that they could be shared to many! Just give us an extra day to test them."

"Of course, that means Ess and I won't appear in today's council session." Madeleine quickly added in.

The Grandmaster nodded as he ate and mulled through the words. The Fake Soul Jams, though worked just like the real thing, could not gather the remaining Light Fragments, let alone reshape the world. Instead, they were enchanted with memory spells of three different events, a brainwashing cleansing spell and a soothing spell to help subside the panic. But it would only work if Dark Enchantress destroyed the fakes—to which she agreed to since it meant the Truth will be out.

As for the memories:

The creations of the first two batches of Cookiekind and their purpose to the Witches. The Wizards talking about the Night of the Witches and many possible outcomes that came with it as they baked Moonlight Cookie, with the birth of Dark Enchantress being one of them and the one that Fate had imposed upon this world.

And,

His memory of his birth, the escape attempt, from three years ago. To show everyone, at least in the Republic, the dread and terror they endured fresh out of the Oven and the others that did survive but didn't escape that lived in fear of the Witch, hidden carefully in its kitchen and how easily life could be destroyed with one wrong move, no different when they tried to escape.

Well, that was part of the reason. The other part was because he was terribly bitter. Bitter towards this cursed world, for forcing them to stay silent about their survival as the ones in blissful ignorance preach the Witches as their divine godly makers when they were anything but divine or godly—nothing more than monsters. Monsters that cruelly took his older brother away. He didn't know him long, neither did Bright but they could still feel it; the family bond snapping when he was crushed into crumbs. Worst part, they couldn't even hold a funeral, let alone graves for those that died during the escape, especially his brother.

Was it selfish and unorthodox? Yes, but he couldn't care less. He was resentful. He wanted everyone to know the agony and insanity he and his kin went through. He wanted vengeance for those that put themselves on the line for the others to live, for his brother.

He was snapped out of it by a loud repeated clanking of utensils against the ceramic plate.

"Uhh, helloooo? Earth to GingerDull!" Crepe called him with the weightless insulting nickname, slight worry etched on their tired annoyed expression.

"Yeah, sorry. Got lots in my mind right now."

"Yeah well, ya have any idea to name the other creation?"

He raised a brow at that. "Why me? I thought you or Ess would want to name it?"

"Cuz, all of this is possible because you supply the equipment, duh! And you deserve some credit."

A laugh left him at Crepe's remark but they were right, they didn't have the equipments for it until months ago. He thought about the name for a while before shaking his head.

"Thanks but, I think it's best if you two named it instead."

They shrugged. "If you say so." They stabbed their fork into a piece of cut waffle and ate it, but not without a question first. "Do you think they would believe the Truth? I mean…they kinda reeeeaaallllyy had to for the plan to even begin in the Republic, and to finally strike down on those freaky cultists."

"They will, Strawberry Crepe. And when it concerns the world and Cookiekind, no one would be able to turn a blind eye to it." Espresso responded immediately. "And if things went swimmingly, Clotted Cream would be of immense help to this plan!"

Gingerbrave just hummed an affirmative as he ate in silence, somewhat in a daze. 

Espresso's eyes softened a little. He would have been in immense joy by now, but it seems there was something pulling taunt on him. Still he was glad the boy was more open, more willing to share his burdens and ask others for help. And in this case, him, Madeleine and Strawberry Crepe.

Certainly alot better than a certain…incident. Back in November just a few months before the first year anniversary since the Founding Day, the Kingdom was attacked by the Witch's creations, the same Witch that baked some of the founders. He was terrified and confused, everyone was. Why would a Witch attack them? And their direct creations no less. And why were the founders so terrified and so angry?

Why was there bloodlust and madness in the twins' eyes?

No one was prepared for the Truth.

And certainly,

No one was prepared for the twins to volunteer themselves to head to the Witch's lair to kill her—It. Witches could not be called humans. 

But most of all, when Madeleine, Wizard and him were tasked to rescue the twins because they were too exhausted and hurt to even move their fingers, no one was prepared to see them so bloodied. A multitude of gashes on Gingerbright's arms, a broken leg badly infected with acid burns, their brother suffered the worst burns than her, a large gash across his back. Blood soaking through the haphazard makeshift bandages of their clothes. (They always seemed so strong and nearly untouchable. To see them become such a bloodied mess, so vulnerable was hard to fully accept.)

And they kept throwing themselves towards danger immediately after they fully recovered. Finding and forming alliance with the Legendaries and the Dragons in a span of two years, on their own with the other founders and some new friends they made along the way. While their people, their citizens—their friends, as they worded it—were to stay put and not intervene.

Espresso couldn't stand it. These kids were so young and should have spent their time and energy on enjoying their childhood and making happy memories instead, not getting ready for a war or saving the world. And not neglecting their own well-being for the sake of others when they could have asked them for help. 

And he and Madeleine ended up telling them about their research of the Soul Jams, or atleast what they gathered thus far. Thanks to that, they managed to get the founders to open up more and share their burdens, although it was an extremely slow process but they'll take what they could get.

The early breakfast proceeded without a single disturbance or chatter and they all went their separate ways until the meeting.

Gingerbrave was the first, earliest and only one in the council room. Only half an hour left till the meeting began, he couldn't help but worry. His leg tapping and shaking frantically as he bit down on his nails, occupying the seats assigned for him.

Why, why did it feel like something bad was going to happen? It couldn't, right? He made sure of it, he even told Clotted to let him do the telling! Or, maybe his memories weren't true and that he didn't warn him at all? But even so, Clotted should be smart enough to know that he was in no position to not utter a word about a sliver of the Truth he shared. Right? Celestials, he hoped so.

He tried to calm himself before anyone came and saw how much of a nervous wreck he was, seriously his hair was an absolute mess thanks to him pulling and ruffling it just moments ago. He quickly fixed himself up and one by one, everyone came into the Council room and went to their assigned seats.

Before it could begin however, Hollyberry spoke up. "Young Gingerbrave, are you alright?" She placed a hand on his forehead which made him stiff, even more so than the question she threw at him. "You look a little pale the last I saw you!"

That drew everyone's attention towards him and they noticed that she was right, Gingerbrave's complexion didn't look so good compared to yesterday.

"Really? I didn't even notice." He chirped back, hoping that no one noticed the slight shakiness of his voice.

Cacao placed a hand on his head. "Gingerbrave, if you're feeling unwell then you don't have to attend this meeting. The rest of us can continue on just fine. You are still a child after all, do not strain yourself with this meeting."

"Oh no no no no! It's fine, really! It's just something that happened in my kingdom and all, and I kinda had a brief panic. But it's fine! It's aaaalll good. I can continue with this meeting just fine!" Gingerbrave immediately threw out an acceptable excuse, it seemed to make him worry a little more but he quickly dropped it, much to his relief.

And thus, the meeting began.

"Welcome to the third Council meeting, everyone." Vanilla voiced. "I sincerely hope that today we have finally come to an accord."

"If you allow me to begin…" Clotted rose a hand, which Vanilla nodded to. "My proposition remains on the table. Have you reconsidered your decisions, if I may ask?"

Cacao was quick to respond. "There is nothing to reconsider. Under no circumstances will I ever surrender my Soul Jam." He crossed his arms and frowned. "This little stone has caused far too many tragedies to be nonchalantly passed around."

"He's right. Who else can control such power, if not us?" Hollyberry agreed immediately. Gingerbrave had to bite back a groan on both of their answers. He could understand where they are coming from, but if they don't share then Earthbread would fall into ruins at a much faster rate, and not by Dark Enchantress.

Clotted was annoyed, if the slight twitch around the corners of his eyes were an indicator, but it was so subtle that only Gingerbrave and Financier seemed to have noticed it. "With all due respect…it seems we have a difficult discussion ahead of us."

Cacao uncrossed his arms and leaned forward to the table with his hands linked together and covered half of his face, slitted eyes glowering towards the Consul. "How so?"

"Because my opinion on this Soul Jam…conundrum also remains unchanged."

The boy wanted to cheer for Clotted for standing firm but dear gods he could feel his anxiety spiking and fluctuating. Just a little more and his chance to reveal everything will come.

"You! Enough talking! If you want this power for yourself, just say it, Loud and clear!" Crunchy Chip shouted.

"Hm." He pressed his lips into a firm line. "Perhaps what I'm about to tell you would help you…understand my logic. A vision of critical importance, if you will.

"A fact that showed me what can happen when great power is concentrated in the hands of few."

"What is it that you are trying to say…?" Hollyberry frowned, a little uneasy at the ominous choice of words. And so was Pure Vanilla, so was Dark Cacao. 

So was Gingerbrave.

"I myself was shocked when I heard this. Terrified, even. Yet it has only reinforced my conviction in the fact that the Soul Jam's potential must be shared with everyone."

Ah so that was what it was. Well it appears that it was Gingerbrave's cue to reveal everything now.

"Just get to the point already!" Cacao was getting frustrated. His tone had somehow spiked the boy's anxiety even more, he sincerely hoped that everyone would take it well. 

After all, the two Cookies here are her husbands.

The Grandmaster opened his mouth to speak. This is it. The moment he'd been longing for! Now they could no longer live in silence because of their circumstances!

And yet, that opportunity was cruelly robbed from them,

By the Consul.

"What if I told you that the Cookie who inflicted such horrors of the Dark Flour War, was one of the Ancient Heroes?"

What?

Did Clotted… No no no that's just the nervous talking! Surely he would let him or Vanilla do the talking instead! Right?

But oh, he was so, so wrong.

"Dark Enchantress Cookie, formerly known as White Lily Cookie!"

Why?

Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy?

Why did he tell them? Why him? Why?

Everyone was shouting angrily but Gingerbrave could not hear them, their words were meaningless syllables as he grabbed and pulled at his hair, trying to calm his inner turmoil.

This was supposed to be the opportunity for him to set everyone free! This was supposed to be the opportunity for everyone to know about the Order as their true enemy, the one that would doom Earthbread instead of Dark Enchantress!

They were supposed to be free from the secrets of their circumstances! His friends were supposed to be free from the secrets of their circumstances! 

Yet everything was ruined.

All ruined.

Ruinedruinedruinedruinedruinedruinedruinedruined

He can't take it anymore.

HE CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

"SHUT UP!"

The fighting was silenced but the boy wasn't done yelling.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

He slammed his fist on the table, cracks forming underneath them. "WHY DID YOU TELL THEM?! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE TO NOT TELL THEM! YOU'RE A FUCKING OUTSIDER!"

"Gingerbrave, I-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY OF YOUR SHITTY EXCUSES! NOW EVERYTHING IS RUINED THANKS TO YOU! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE AND TELL EVERYONE THE TRUTH! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE TO TELL EVERYONE EVERYTHING! YOU GODDAMN IGNORANT OUTSIDER!"

He dashed forth but was held back by Financier, she was struggling even with using all of her strength. "Gingerbrave, please calm dow-!"

He didn't listen.

"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! YOU RUINED OUR PLAN! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST KEEP YOUR FUCKING MOUTH SHUT!?"

"Y-Young Gingerbrave! Please calm yourself! He made a mistake! We made a mistake! We may not know what's going on but how about we just sit down and-"

"AND WHAT?! TALK THINGS OUT?! HAH!" The boy cut her off immediately and barked out a laugh. "YOU THINK THIS IS STILL SOMETHING TO TALK THINGS OVER? AFTER ALL THAT'S HAPPENED?! WHEN NONE OF YOU EVEN LET YOUR OWN FRIEND, YOUR OWN KING HAVE A SAY IN IT!"

"Gingerbrave, we beg of you please calm down!"

"NO! NOW LET ME GO THIS FUCKING INSTANT YOU IGNORANT OUTSIDER!"

Gingerbrave lifted a foot and hit Financier's shin hard, uncaring if she suffered an injury or even a broken leg. She instantly let him go, the boy immediately pounced on the Consul and pin him to the ground, twist and yank his collar towards him so that they both made eye contact.

Clotted Cream froze. He had never seen such intense animosity before, nor did he expected to see it from a child.

"Now listen the fuck up. And you will let me get a fucking word in. Every! Last! ONE!"

Everyone was frozen. No one knew what to do. But there was nothing they could do. Nothing but listen to what Gingerbrave has to say.

"When Dark Enchantress told me, told my friends, told us the Truth. The fucking Truth about our purpose to the Witches, our so-called fucking godly makers that blessed us with the gift of life. I knew, I knew I knew I knew EXACTLY what her true purpose was. Why she started a fucking war. Why Lily and Dark Enchantress were the same Cookie. Because on the Night of the Witches, a banquet held once every millenia, when Witches created baked goods and Cookies that were meant to be brought to Life JUST TO BE EATEN! Lily was there! She was there! And witness our true fucking purpose to the Witches! That we are nothing more than food for them! And was rebaked as Dark Enchantress without a choice!"

Clotted's eyes were widened in disbelief and horror, others could only gasp. "T-That– That can't be-! How do you-?!"

"And how the fuck do I know that?! Because me and my friends, my twin sibling, are direct creations of a Witch! So of course we knew! We knew the moment we woke up that we were nothing more than mere snacks to those sick monsters! Half eaten corpses scattered everywhere as we all escape, with our kins, our family dying in the process! NOT WITHOUT MY BROTHER WHO WAS SO CLOSE TO LEAVE WAS CRUSHED AND KILLED INFRONT OF MY VERY EYES!"

His throat was burning the more he shouted and the closer his anguish, unresolved grief and madness were.

"You know what the fucking worst part is? When we escaped, we wanted a world where cookies who went through the same shitty hell as us when they woke up, to be happy, and no longer be in fear of being eaten. And I wanted that for myself too. Yet what were we greeted with?"

He choked out a noise that was a mix of laughter and sobs, tears running down his face.

"We found out that you worshiped the Witches. YOU WORSHIPED THOSE MONSTERS THAT AREN'T EVEN HUMAN ANYMORE AND WE HAD TO KEEP OUR BIRTH A FUCKING SECRET BECAUSE YOU WORSHIPED THE WITCHES FOR "BLESSING" US WITH LIFE WHEN IN REALITY IT'S ONLY TO EAT US TO FULFILL THEIR SICK, SADISTIC PLEASURE! I COULD HAVE HONORED ALL OF OUR KIN'S SACRIFICES AND DEATH! MY FUCKING BROTHER'S IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU FREAKS! I CAN'T EVEN BE FREELY ANGRY! I CAN'T EVEN FREELY GRIEF AND I HAD TO WATCH IN ENVY AS EVERYONE LIVED IN BLISSFUL IGNORANCE WITH THEIR FAMILY! SOMETHING I LOST AND COULD NEVER HAVE! AND EVERYONE GETS TO HAVE IT ALL BUT US!"

His grip on Clotted was loosened as he ducked his head, but he wasn't finished just yet.

"Her goals and ours are the same... It had always been like that. I do not approve of her methods to achieve our shared goals. But I can understand her. And I could have explained it to them if Pure Vanilla dropped the news instead… So that the Truth would be out, and I'm willing to risk everything for it. Even have the opportunity of my own already long lost childhood robbed from me. Even my fucking life.

Yet you, an outsider to the grand scheme of things, threw a sliver of Truth at our faces.

And that is all. Your. F a u l t."

He sobbed, and finally,

He let the internalized grief pour in as he cries for the first time since his brother's death.

"And it's not fair... it's not fair how we have to suffer like this... I just wanted to live. I wanted a place I could call home with a family. I wanted to feel belonged. I wanted my brother. I don't want to constantly be in fear of when the Witch will come and finish the job…"

Gingerbrave finally let go as he continued to weep in his hands.

"It's...not…fair…"