Chapter Text
The warm breeze of the strange mountains of Beast Yeast swirled around the ever-rising steps ahead of Dark Choco Cookie, carrying the strong scent of the most delicious peaches. It was nothing like the kingdom he once called home around here- the jagged, black cliffs were replaced with spire-like mountains of ivory stone, and there was no snow in sight.
Then again, the Cacao Kingdom hadn’t been home in a very, very long time- not since he picked up that damned Strawberry Jam Sword, which had taken over his mind and led him to do terrible things. He could still feel both the spite and turmoil of that fateful day, where he betrayed his kingdom and attacked his father, being banished into the cold, unforgiving wilderness. He could still feel the cold looks he was given by everyone he crossed paths with, and the scathing remarks from Pomegranate Cookie and the others who served under Dark Enchantress Cookie.
Although he had discarded that forbidden blade months ago and was on somewhat better terms with his father, Dark Choco Cookie still believed he had to atone for his many sinful deeds- and his quest for atonement just so happened to bring him to the mountains surrounding the Ivory Pagoda, where his father fought the Beast of Apathy somewhere around a month ago.
Dark Choco Cookie had no idea where he was going or what he was doing. He had helped a few cookies during his long journey, assisting them with tasks they needed done or fending off hordes of cake monsters to defend them- but no matter how many helpful or heroic acts he performed, that gnawing feeling of guilt never escaped him. He would do anything to make the pain go away, but it was never enough.
As Dark Choco Cookie ascended the steps, his weariness started to cut into him like a knife. He knew he had to keep pushing forward, to find a way to make himself worthy of living again, but with every step he took, it seemed more and more impossible.
As soon as Dark Choco Cookie reached the final step of the stairs, his vision began to blur, and he clutched his head in his hands. He didn’t know how long he could keep moving, let alone standing.
He would collapse right here if he could… no, he couldn’t think that way. He had to keep moving. He couldn’t get anywhere by lying around. Dark Choco Cookie looked up at the area ahead of him, expecting to see more stone, more steps, any sight he had been seeing since he arrived here, but his expectations were shattered the moment he truly took in the sight of the area around him.
Sprawled out before him was a beautiful garden, filled with delightful flowering trees covered in plump, juicy fruits. Petals danced in the wind all around him, tickling him playfully before whooshing off to another place in the garden. The colors here were vivid and pink compared to the rest of the mountains here, almost like a dream.
Am I… Hallucinating? Dark Choco Cookie thought, surely a beauty such as this can’t be real.
Dark Choco Cookie looked around in awe at the graceful swaying of the trees, the spectacular dance of the petals, the passing clouds of cotton candy in the distance. It was so serene, so calming, he could almost fall asleep right there. No, he couldn’t. Just another step forward… and another… and… another…
“Thunk.”
***
Dark Choco Cookie’s eyes slowly opened, squinting at the light of the sun beating down on his face. What happened? Where was he? He turned his head to look around him, and noticed that he was now propped up against the trunk of a tree within the garden he had entered previously.
“Huh…” Dark Choco Cookie said quietly, “So this place wasn’t a dream,”
Dark Choco Cookie tried to move to stand up, but as he did, pain shot through his entire body. He looked down at himself, and gasped at the sheer amount of damage he had taken. His feet had almost entirely crumbled off, and his arms and chest were covered in cracks. His armor and clothes were also strangely missing from his body, placed neatly next to him, having taken just about as much damage as him.
“How did this happen?” Dark Choco Cookie said, resting his frayed arms on the fresh grass next to him. Dark Choco Cookie’s intention was to talk to himself at this moment, possibly to cope with the fact his body was on the brink of death. However, he was not expecting to get a response.
“You seem to have worn yourself out quite a bit, friend,” rang out a sweet voice from in front of Dark Choco Cookie. He quickly moved his head to look at the source of this voice, although he immediately regretted it after hearing a slight crunch sound in his neck from the sudden movement.
“Don’t overdo yourself,” The voice said. Dark Choco Cookie, at first, couldn’t make out whose voice he was hearing due to the sunlight. Once he squinted his eye, however, he could see him- a graceful-looking cookie with a pale dough, an exquisite pink and cyan outfit and knowing rose eyes, one concealed behind a delicate peach blossom. Like the rest of the garden, his appearance was ethereally beautiful, almost like a ghost; except ghosts were never this… radiant.
“Who are you?” Dark Choco inquired, “What is this place?”
“All will be answered in time,” the elegant cookie responded, “Right now, your top priority should be healing. Here, take this peach bao.”
The cookie handed Dark Choco Cookie one of the fruits from the trees he had seen earlier. It appeared to be some sort of combination of a dumpling and a peach, with shiny, delicious looking flesh.
With the way it glinted in the sunlight, it looked divine, as if it were the kind of food reserved only for the highest beings. Dark Choco Cookie gingerly took a bite of it, and a sweet, heavenly flavor permeated his mouth. He took another, larger bite, this time faster than before. What was this fruit? He had never tasted something so delicious in his life!
“I am glad to see you are enjoying the fruits of my garden,” the cookie said, pleased by Dark Choco Cookie’s enjoyment, “You were fortunate to appear here when you did, as these wonderful Peach Bao only grow once every 3,000 years. Had I found you in this state any other time, I wouldn’t know what to do!”
“How did I even get like this?” Dark Choco Cookie asked, taking another bite of the Peach Bao.
“You collapsed at the entrance to my garden. It appears that your body had been weakened from a long period of non-stop fighting and travel, and that fall was the final straw before you began to crumble. If I hadn’t found you when I did, you’d likely be nothing but a pile of crumbs by now.”
“You should’ve just let me die,” Dark Choco Cookie muttered under his breath.
“Now why would you ever say that?” The elegant cookie said, putting his hand over his mouth in surprise, “Life is a precious thing that deserves to be protected and nurtured- why would I let yours burn out, friend?”
Dark Choco Cookie clenched his fists and looked down at the ground in shame.
“My sins are too vile for me to bear. You’d be doing me, and everyone else for that matter, a favor by leaving me to crumble,”
“My, my, traveler,” The cookie said in a warm tone, cupping Dark Choco Cookie’s face in his hands, “Your pain runs much deeper than the cracks in your dough. It seems you are in need of healing, both physically and spiritually.”
Dark Choco Cookie looked into this mysterious cookie’s eyes for a moment, studying his expression. He wore a soft smile, and his eyes stared deep into his soul- but not in the way others’ eyes would. No, these eyes seemed to look past the wall of darkness that shrouded his spirit, almost as if they were blind to it. It felt simultaneously revealing and comforting. His struggles, his turmoil, all of them were bare in front of this almost angelic being. His soul felt almost naked- and, now that he thought of it, it didn’t help that he legitimately WAS naked.
“Wait a minute, why did you take off my clothes!?” Dark Choco Cookie shouted, confused and flustered, his yelling causing him to cough up a few crumbs.
The cookie softly chuckled. “I had to assess how much damage you had taken, and the armor was in the way. You need not worry, I did not remove your clothes for any strange or perverted reasons.”
Dark Choco Cookie was not worried that this cookie was looking at him for any of those reasons, but just the fact that this man had taken all of the armor off of him, seen every inch of him, irrationally embarrassed him.
He took another bite of the Peach Bao to calm his nerves. Looking down at the Peach Bao, he realized that the bite he took was, in fact, the last bite of the fruit. As he chewed the sweet fruit and swallowed it, he started to feel a strange, tingling sensation all over his body. He glanced at his arms and legs, and noticed that the cracks on them had begun to mend. Looking at his feet, the once crumbled off stubs had regrown. In almost an instant, he had gone from nearly dying to being completely healthy.
“Wait, what? How did I heal so fast?” Dark Choco Cookie asked in awe.
“The Peach Bao fruit has exceptional healing abilities,” the cookie answered, “It contains the energy of life itself. It is my belief that the Peach Bao may be the path to enlightenment, or even immortality. That’s why I’ve dedicated my life to tending to them.”
“But if they only grow every 3,000 years, why waste one on me? Your supply must be quite limited.”
“A life is worth much more than a single Peach Bao. Besides, I love seeing the look of delight on the faces of others as they eat the fruits of my garden, so I offer one to any traveler who passes through here.”
“You are quite a kind soul. Tell me, what is your name?”
“I am Peach Blossom Cookie. And you?”
“I… would prefer not to say,” Dark Choco Cookie stated, looking down in shame, “I do not have the best reputation.”
“I care not about the reputations of those who pass through my garden,” Peach Blossom Cookie responded, “It is the true self that matters, not the false self found within the rumors of Cookiekind.”
Dark Choco Cookie hesitated for a moment. Most people flinch at the mention of his name. Dark Choco Cookie, the traitor. Dark Choco Cookie, servant of Dark Enchantress Cookie. Dark Choco Cookie, wielder of the forbidden blade.
His name was associated with all of these things and more, and that association was what changed his image to that of a monster. But, for the first time in a while, he didn’t sense any danger coming from the one before him. Swallowing any leftover fear, Dark Choco Cookie spoke.
“I am Dark Choco Cookie.”
“That is a beautiful name,” Peach Blossom Cookie said with a smile, “It sounds like the name of a valiant hero.”
“I wanted to be a hero once,” Dark Choco Cookie reflected, “But I ruined it. My kingdom, my people, my… father… I betrayed all of them. All for power.”
“Power can be used for good in the right hands; and yet both the pursuit of power and power itself can corrupt all the same.”
“Don’t I know it,” Dark Choco Cookie muttered, pained.
Peach Blossom Cookie inched a little closer to look at Dark Choco Cookie more clearly, only to see silent tears streaming from his eyes. Peach Blossom Cookie reached his hand out to comfort Dark Choco Cookie, but before he could, Dark Choco Cookie stood up and began to put his armor back on.
“Where are you going?” Peach Blossom Cookie asked him. Dark Choco Cookie donned his mantle and pauldrons, before looking back at Peach Blossom Cookie with a forced expression of apathy, although his trembling gave him away.
“To atone for my actions,” He replied coldly as he set off to leave the mountain.
Peach Blossom Cookie usually let travelers come and go. Nobody stayed in his garden for very long, and he never really cared- and yet, seeing Dark Choco Cookie walk away with all of this guilt and pain, Peach Blossom Cookie couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming wave of sadness wash over him.
On one hand, he was just another cookie passing through his domain. They all had their own stories, their own troubles, their own battles. However, something here was different. This cookie seemed to bear such a dark burden that Peach Blossom Cookie wanted to cry, too, just thinking about what he must have gone through. He couldn’t just let him go on like this. He had to do something.
“Wait!” Peach Blossom Cookie called out. Dark Choco Cookie froze.
“Please, even if just for a night, stay here with me in my garden. Your soul is tired. You need more rest.”
Dark Choco Cookie stood quietly, staring into the distance. All was silent, save for the gentle breeze.
“Why…” Dark Choco Cookie said, his voice quavering, “Would you want me here?”
“I can’t exactly say why…” Peach Blossom Cookie replied, “But I can’t stand the thought of you bearing such agony all alone.”
Dark Choco Cookie’s eyes widened in shock as he turned around. Peach Blossom Cookie… wanted him to stay?
“You… really mean it?
Peach Blossom Cookie outstretched his hand for Dark Choco Cookie to take.
“I do… I really do.”