Chapter Text
It was a crisp, late fall morning that day. It seemed that even the skies were anticipating the great Feast and Council that was going to be held at the Cookie Kingdom. The air was buzzing with excitement and nerves.
“Avocado Cookie, can you help carry more chairs? Sparkling Cookie, may we please have some more juice bottles within reach? Raisin Villagers, make sure this place is spic and span!”, Black Raisin Cookie instructed.
She had arrived the day before with the Raisin Villagers, Espresso Cookie, and Strawberry Crepe Cookie (the latter two having run off to go experiment on whatever they could find), and ever since sunrise, she was helping out with all the preparations. For example, right at that very moment, she was carrying a tray of golden croissants.
Black Raisin couldn’t help but worry, though. For one, they were accommodating The Ancients and a few new additions to Council’s work. This Council would be the most important one yet, as it was the final one before the final battle with Dark Enchantress Cookie and the Beasts.
She was also worried for GingerBrave and the other 4. They pulled such a reckless stunt to be able to go to Beast-Yeast with Pure Vanilla Cookie. No one could’ve expected them to have snuck onto that airship! And Pure Vanilla didn’t realize they were on until it was too late and they crash-landed. According to the letter, though, the 5 were of great help on Beast-Yeast, finding the pieces of White Lily Cookie’s Soul Jam, fighting in the attempt to try and seal the Beasts back into the Silver Tree…
But…
When she read that they were shoved off the top of Shadow Milk Cookie’s Spire, something within her… clenched. She’d only felt that feeling when one of her dear Villagers had gotten hurt…
“
Is this… what maternal instincts are like?”
She guessed that was what explained it. After all, she was quite the mother figure, or so she’s been told by the Raisin Villagers–
“Look! Look! The Creme Republic airship is here!” Villager Cookie 3 yelled excitedly, her voice loud enough to carry across the castle from the Bear Jelly Balloon dock.
“Ah– Coming!”, Black Raisin Cookie yelled back, placing the tray she was holding down, and then dashing across the castle.
Ah yes, The Creme Republic airship. It looked just as crisp and fresh as it did when Black Raisin had last seen it. She smiled as she saw the 5 Raisin Villagers marveling at it. They’d always seemed to be in awe whenever they saw things fly, which had become quite endearing at that point, considering they lived in
the
Vanilla Kingdom, the kingdom in the sky.
The black haired ambusher was once again snapped out of her thoughts as she heard a mechanical
Whirr!
Sure enough, the airship doors opened and out came Clotted Cream Cookie and Financier Cookie walked out. The latter scanned the area with her usual neutral expression.
“So this is the Cookie Kingdom…”, the straight-haired blonde muttered, half to herself.
“It’s quite community-maintained, isn’t it?” Black Raisin said to the two. “Though I wouldn’t know since I’ve only been here for a day…”
“Yes, it is quite charming,” Clotted Cream Cookie remarked. “I take it that only you and the other denizens from the Vanilla Kingdom have arrived at the moment, yes?”
“Ah, yes, that is correct,” Black Raisin replied. “I do not know of the others location, but I presume that they will be arriving soon. It would take a while, considering that they’d have to bring enough supplies for a camp that would last a few months.”
That part of the letter still confused everyone involved. Why would Pure Vanilla Cookie want them all to bring base camp supplies? Did he already have a plan?
A crackling noise came from Black Raisin Cookie’s pocket, and then a voice. “Black Raisin Cookie! The other 3 Ancient Heroes and their warriors are here at the docks!” Villager Cookie 2 crackled out from the walkie talkie.
“Ah, I guess we better get moving,” the black-hair said, pulling out the walkie talkie and pressing the side button. “We’re on our way.”
She then looked up at the Republicans in front of her. “Do you two have the energy to run right now?” She asked politely. Financier Cookie looked her Consul, who nodded his head.
Black Raisin nodded back, “Alright, let’s go.”
It took a few minutes, but they eventually made it to the Cookie Kingdom Docks. The Dark Cacao and Hollyberry warships had already arrived and started unloading supplies, and there were DOZENS of Cheese Birds, all helping to carry said supplies. The trio scan the bustling scene until they see them–the Ancients and their right hand men (and women).
Black Raisin paused in slight awe. The Heroes looked…quite different indeed. Dark Cacao Cookie with his dazzling white and black armor, Hollyberry Cookie’s brand new shield, and Golden Cheese Cookie’s shining golden wings.
“Ah, Black Raisin Cookie! Financier Cookie! Clotted Cream Cookie!”, called the Golden Sovereign, beckoning the trio over.
“It’s a pleasure to see you all again. And your awakened forms look absolutely spectacular!”, Clotted Cream Cookie complimented with a smile. Golden Cheese fluttered her wings proudly, her ego boosted.
Hollyberry laughed heartily, and Dark Cacao ever so slightly smiled.
“It’s actually quite nice to see everyone again, especially after all that’s gone on…”, Black Raisin mused.
Meanwhile a few meters away, Crunchy Chip Cookie, Wildberry Cookie, Raspberry Cookie and Caramel Arrow Cookie were talking amongst themselves too.
“Hmmm…”Crunchy Chip hummed, which was quite peculiar coming from him, so everyone naturally raised an eyebrow. He was usually more of a yeller than a thinker.
“Crunchy Chip Cookie, what’s the matter?” Caramel Arrow slowly asked, quite confused herself.
“Don’tcha all wonder how on Earthbread GingerBrave and the others were able to sneak onto that airship to Beast-Yeast? I mean, wouldn’t it have been near impossible to be able to get on since all the supplies were double checked before it departed?”
Wildberry actually showed a bit of emotion at that. He did have a point…
“Well, Wizard Cookie is quite well-versed in all sorts of magic, so that may explain it…” Wildberry murmured. The others let out a soft, collective “Ohhhh…” before nodding in agreement.
Vrrrrrrrr!
That sounded like… Another airship…? Everyone at the dock looked up.
It was!
Pure Vanilla Cookie’s airship!
And through the window, waving like the madman he was, was GingerBrave!
“Heeeeeey! We’re HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!” GingerBrave uselessly, but excitedly called down.
“Tch, Brave, they won’t even be able to hear you until we get down on the ground…” Wizard Cookie scoffed, lightly bapping Brave on the head. The latter sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of his head.
Pure Vanilla smiled at the two from where he was carrying a very sleepy GingerDozer. “Now now boys, no need for squabbling. We’re almost there, after all.”
“Everyone’s probably worried sick about us… We really shouldn’t have snuck on here…” Strawberry Cookie murmured from the corner where she was sitting, playing a little game on her handheld.
“Wellllllllllllll, yeah, we aren’t supposed to be here, but look on the bright side!” GingerBright piped up. Wizard Cookie turned to her and gave her a “
there is no bright side, we nearly got killed
” look, that–for some reason–was a really common look he gave.
“The bright side is, we’re all here, we haven’t crumbled, and we only have
minor
injuries!” Bright finished.
“Brave has a crack scar up his strong leg to his kneecap, and I have a crack scar through my middle.” Wizard deadpanned. “Definitely a bright side…”
“You’re such a cute pessimist~!” Bright chirped in her “
politely shut the fuck up
” voice. Wizard just rolled his eyes.
“Anyways… We have bigger jelly fish to fry…” Wizard muttered as he turned to the faerie-winged and armored elephant in the room.
There were currently 7 other Cookies on the ship with them. White Lily Cookie and Mercurial Knight Cookie were awkwardly sitting across from each other. Silverbell Cookie and their recent Fae ally, Sugarfly Cookie, were chatting and looking out at the open skies…
And then…
There was Silent Salt Cookie and Vinegar Chip Cookie, both sitting with cups of tea, looking ever so slightly worried.
White Lily said that they were harmless. Wizard Cookie was, of course, skeptical at first…until Silent Salt snapped his own blade in half to prove the point. He was… very surprisingly gentle. Spoke very rarely, and usually wrote his thoughts in a thick journal. It was…full of thoughts, phases of his redemption while in the Silver Tree, wishes and hopes to meet his other half, to teach them how to use the power to its fullest potential.
And then, there was his assistant. Vinegar Chip Cookie.
Fully mute, but they communicate through movement and sign language. Highly observant and intelligent too. They could be a bit rude sometimes, but it mostly came from their salty and sour ingredients.
They both weren’t a threat at all…
But other Cookies may not trust them.
Dark Cacao Cookie would surely get defensive and probably attack. Hollyberry Cookie would take two steps back and raise her shield. Golden Cheese Cookie would be ever so slightly disgusted.
“Hnnn…” GingerBrave hummed. He was staring at the two. Really hard. Harder than he’s ever looked at another Cookie before. The gears in his head were definitely turning, but the stare-down…weirdly unnerved the ex-Beast in front of him. The others, thankfully, noticed this.
“GingerBrave, I think you’re staring at our friend a bit too deeply–”, Pure Vanilla Cookie noted gently. The boy jolted out of thought and laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Ah-! My bad…I was just, uhm…” he trailed off, blushing a little. Vinegar Chip looked visibly confused and signed a “
what is he thinking about?
” to Silent Salt so he could translate.
“Mn… Oh. Vinegar Chip Cookie asks what you’re thinking about,” he muttered. Brave looked back and the two and stuttered a bit.
“W-well, I was, uhm, thinking about ways to make the others t-trust you two because, well, you know… The whole ‘evil half of the Soul Jam’, and there isn’t really a way to show that you’ve changed since– WAIT!” Brave suddenly yipped, stopping the little pace he was doing. “I have an idea!”
Wizard immediately whipped his head around to his slightly dog-brained boyfriend. “Oh boy, here we go again…” he said, unimpressed already.
“It’s a good one this time, I swear!” Brave replied, eyes already lit up with that Hopeful look.
“What if…”, he started…
“We shattered Silent Salt’s Soul Jam?”
30 seconds.
30 long, agonizing seconds of silence with everyone staring at him.
Until…
“...You’re serious…?” Bright doubted, smile slightly uncertain.
“Yup!”
Wizard Cookie looked at him like he just said he wanted to light an orphanage on fire. He stuttered, stammered…and then his eyes narrowed in a mix of confusion and outraged annoyance. “...GingerBrave, you ABSOLUTE MOR–” he managed to snap out before both Pure Vanilla Cookie and White Lily Cookie interrupted him in unison.
“He’s onto something–!”
Wizard’s neck turned so fast he probably would’ve snapped it.
“WHAT?!?!?!?!”
The others (save for Silent Salt), were in equal shock at the Heroes’ statement. Vinegar Chip Cookie started signing rapidly at their master, but he wasn’t looking.
Pure Vanilla handed a sleeping Dozer to Strawberry Cookie and then started to explain. “You see, as far as the others understand, the Beasts’ Soul Jam is the other half of us, and it’s filled with negative magic. So if we shatter it…”
“It’s destroying said power, making the holder of it decently weaker,” White Lily finished.
There was another pause… And then a collective chorus of “Oh's”. “That’s actually a pretty great idea, GingerBrave!” Silverbell Cookie complimented. Strawberry nodded and GingerBright patted her brother on the back. Wizard huffed slightly and looked away, blushing slightly at getting outsmarted.
Vinegar Chip Cookie glanced at Silent Salt Cookie, silently asking if he was okay with going through with this plan. He nodded and patted his minions hand, reassuring them. Then he looked back at the others. “Let’s get this over with then.”, he said, loud and clear. He pulled his Soul Jam out…and handed it to White Lily Cookie. “I trust that you’ll be able to break it down well…”
The Faerie Queen held the Shadow of Silence in her hands. She could feel the black of darkness pulsating within it. “
It’s time…to release this man of the shackles of this horrible responsibility…
”
And so…
She shattered it.
Or well, the Light of Freedom did.
It sent out a small shockwave, and changed both Silent Salt and Vinegar Chip. The ex-Beast’s shining armor changed to a scuffed blackberry tunic, gray chausses, and grape leather boots, and his mask disappeared, revealing his stoic expression and deep purple eye-cings. His minion’s lighter, plum armor turned into a coppery brown tunic with paler brown chausses, and black boots. Silent Salt Cookie looked down at himself…and smiled.
“May this chance be…different.”
When the airship doors opened at the Bear Jelly Balloon Dock, GingerBrave took note of everything he saw there. Most notably:
-The Ancients new, cool forms
-Clotted Cream Cookie, Financier Cookie, and Black Raisin Cookie
-And the blur of custard and chili barreling towards them
…wait.
“WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT–!” Brave managed to yelp out before impact.
Paf-!
Thump!
Next thing he knew, he was on the ground. He felt a faint throb from his recently scarred leg, but nothing too bad. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up to see who was currently squashing him at that moment.
“WELLLLLLCOME BACK, MY HUMBLE SERVANT!”, a very excited Custard Cookie III singsonged before he was hauled off the older boy by Chili Pepper Cookie.
“Oi, don’t kill him now, he just got back!”, the thief mockingly scolded, tousling the “king’s” head before placing him down. “Anyways, hi, BraveFace, GhostGirl, Pointy Hat, and GingerBright!” she cheerfully said, pulling them into a big. Wizard Cookie narrowed his eyes at the gesture but decided to let it go. After all, they haven’t seen her in a whil–
“Got your Coin pouch!”, the redhead suddenly yelled and ran away.
“Wha– DAMN YOU, CHILI PEPPER COOKIE!”, the little wizard screeched, getting all squeaky like he usually did when he got mad. Strawberry muttered a little “language”, still holding a previously snoozing GingerDozer, though he had just started waking up.
“Mhnnn… Ooooh. We’re…home? Yay~!”, he said sweetly, drowsily waving at Custard III and the other Cookies, who all smiled back.
“Ah, children! Pure Vanilla Cookie! Good to see you’re all back safely.” Hollyberry Cookie boomed with a smile. Dark Cacao Cookie simply nodded, but he had a small smile too.
“My friends, good to see you too!” Pure Vanilla said warmly. “We hope you don’t mind, but… we didn’t come alone…” He took a few steps back into the airship, and a few moments later…they walked out.
First, Sugarfly Cookie, who waved at Hollyberry, Wildberry, and Raspberry Cookie. Then, Silverbell Cookie and Mercurial Knight Cookie, who were clearly being a barrier for the Cookies behind them.
White Lily Cookie stepped out first. The reactions were mostly as she expected. Dark Cacao tensened and instinctively put a hand to the hilt of his sword, Crunchy Chip Cookie and Caramel Arrow Cookie moving to slightly surround their king. Golden Cheese’s lips made a tight line and her eyebrows knitted in internal turmoil.
What White Lily didn’t expect, though, was for Hollyberry… to smile.
A small one, yes… but still, a smile. “White Lily Cookie…”
“Good to have you back…my friend.”
The Fae Queen felt her throat tighten. She didn’t deserve that title. Not after all that happened…
“Now, my friends…” Pure Vanilla’s voice interrupted White Lily’s thoughts thankfully.
“As we all know, the Beast Cookies, the original owners of the Soul Jam, have given us some…rather horrific challenges…” he said, guiltily looking at the 5 children he was supposed to care for. “But… we–or rather–White Lily Cookie and her allies, have successfully allied with one of them–”
“What…?” Dark Cacao interrupted, unsheathing his Grapejam Chocoblade.
“We have proof.” Pure Vanilla said firmly, raising a hand. The Cacao King begrudgingly lowered his greatsword, eyes narrowed still.
White Lily, with trembling hands, pulled out the shattered pieces of her ex-Beast’s Soul Jam. It crumbled even more, showing that it was well-crushed. Clotted Cream Cookie’s eyebrows raised. “Fascinating…”, he murmured.
“...So where is your…’Beast’” Golden Cheese Cookie said skeptically.
At that moment, Silent Salt Cookie walked into view with Vinegar Chip Cookie cowering behind him slightly.
“I am Silent Salt Cookie, former ‘Beast’ of Silence.”, he said simply. Everyone studied him. Shabby clothes, no threatening features except for his neutral facial expression. He walked out further. White Lily tried to stop him, but it didn’t work. He stopped when he was right in front of the crowd, and then just… stood there. Arm around his companion.
The three Ancients stared dead into his eyes. He calmly stared back. The five children behind them and everyone else sweatdropped. The Ancients looked at Silent Salt… then the shattered Soul Jam. Then White Lily. Then, it looped once more.
Silent Salt Cookie very slowly held out a hand. A handshake. Everyone held their breath. The Ancients stared at the offered hand and thought about it. They could end it right here, take his life. He’d wrought havoc through the world before.
But that was, of course, before.
People, Cookies, had the ability to change.
Like Sugarfly Cookie did.
Like White Lily Cookie would.
Like the Cookies before them…can.
The trio looked at each other, a silent decision.
And the three Heroes… took Silent Salt Cookie’s hand.
“Good to have you on our side.”, they said.