Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a normal, completely normal day for Shadow Milk, or rather, almost another boring day in the Vanilla Kingdom... Until a stupid Vanilla jerk appeared on the doorstep of his modest room, which was only the size of a royal chamber. It's not that important, ‌b‌u‌t‌ ‌t‌h‌e‌ ‌f‌a‌c‌t‌ ‌t‌h‌a‌t‌ ‌t‌h‌e‌ ‌r‌o‌o‌m‌ ‌i‌s‌ ‌s‌o‌ ‌b‌i‌g‌ ‌a‌n‌d‌ ‌o‌n‌l‌y‌ ‌f‌o‌r‌ ‌M‌E‌!‌ ‌F‌e‌e‌d‌s‌ ‌m‌y‌ ‌e‌g‌o‌.‌

“Shadow Milk, my dear friend, would you be so kind as to accompany me on a little walk? And perhaps help me find a certain plant...” and bla-bla, there was no point in listening to Varilla’s melodious voice. His dazzling smile, full of hope, made Milk grimace. Of course, this idiot always had to smile like that. Annoyingly c‌u‌t‌e‌ BRIGHT!

"Why should I help you with your herbal whims, Nilly?" The Shadow snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. He floated lazily above the floor. "I'm sure your dear and beloved friends would be happy to dance around you while you pluck the last flowers from the ground."

There was a shadow in Pure Vanilla's b‌e‌a‌u‌t‌i‌f‌u‌l‌ eyes, but he quickly wiped it away, and Milk almost, I emphasize, almost, didn't notice it, despite having so many eyes. He (PV) closed them again: "Oh, don't be so gloomy, Bluebird. I need the help of an experienced... specialist to identify some rare species. Besides, the fresh air will do you good."

The jester rolled his eyes, one pair of which bulged out of...? It doesn't matter, I don't really pay attention to my other eyes. "I know perfectly well that you just want to spend time with me, don't you? Mmm... And don't make up anything, I don't agree..." There was a long, dramatic and awkward silence. "Okay, show me the way, nerd."

And they went into the forest. Milky deliberately walked behind, frowning, and sarcastically commented on every plant that Vanilla excitedly examined. “Oh, look, a rare weed! I bet you can make something out of it... something very pleasing to the soul...” and so on, but honestly, I didn’t care about what I already knew, because I was the Fount of Knowledge!

Pure Vanilla just chuckled in response. “You’re incorrigible, Shadow Milk. But that’s what I… appreciate about you.”

Shmilk didn’t blush AT ALL, nor did he try to hide it behind his usual displeased expression. And the damn warm air that blew across his face didn’t help. The stupid Vanilla Kingdom and its stupid climate.

Suddenly, the Vanilla King stopped, causing Shadow to crash into his back. "What is that?" he pointed to a strange shimmer between the trees.Blue Cookie frowned. The shimmer intensified, turning into a pulsating haze similar to Shadow Milk's portal, but more rounded? into another dimension.

“I think we’re a little lost...” muttered SMilk, feeling a burning anxiety in his throat. But despite this, as a Great Jester, Playwright, and Actor, he of course responded with ease and confidence! Well, if he had managed to finish his sentence... But it doesn’t really matter!

After all, the recent wet ground after the rain trembled under their feet, and they were drawn into a whirlpool of light and darkness like a dance. Their heads spun, the world turned upside down, and everything around them became a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds. A wonderful sight, Pure Vanilla would have said, if they hadn't been caught up in it.

When everything was quiet, they were lying on the soft, green grass in the middle of a forest, a dense forest. Poor Vanilla was the first to recover.

“Where are we?” He whispered, looking around dumbfounded. Well, the fact that he didn't know didn't make the situation any better. And the fact that this idiot squeezed the hand of the Beast of Deception himself! Urgh.... So that's what I'm talking about.. Oh, right!

Beast struggled to his feet. A strange, angular landscape stretched out around him. Everything seemed to be made of giant blocks. The trees, the grass, even the sun in the sky, all had an uneven, unnatural shape.

"I think we're in a lot of trouble, Nilly," Smilk grumbled, looking around.

Chapter Text

The voice was deafeningly cheerful, a stark contrast to the alien, cumbersome horror that surrounded them. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, echoing in their skulls.

"PUNCH THE TREE!"

Pure Vanilla flinched, his grip on Shadow Milk's hand instinctively tightening. "What was that? Who said that?"

Shadow Milk pulled his hand away, his multiple eyes in hair darting around in a feverish, anxious search. "I don't know! It's some kind of... incorporeal misunderstanding! Probably the local welcoming committee." He tried to joke, but the nervous chuckle that escaped his mouth betrayed his nervousness.

The voice was insistent, almost bored, as if this was the most obvious instruction in the game.

"Seriously, dude. Punch the tree. You're not gonna get anywhere without some wood."

Pure Vanilla, ever the pragmatist even in interdimensional crises, turned his head to the nearest oak tree, which looked as if it had been assembled from giant brown cubes. "It seems... it's giving us directions. Perhaps we should—"

"Are you crazy?" Shadow Milk hissed, standing next to him, because he couldn't float in this strange place, although he would never admit that it was an attempt to protect Nilly from 100% stupidity. "We don't take orders from nowhere! This is clearly a trap! A pathetic, block-like trap, and you're going to believe something you don't understand?"

He gestured dramatically towards the cubic world. "Just look at this place! It's an insult to nature's possibilities! Everything is wrong here! The light is refracted in random ways! It's... it's so STUPID!"

"Dude. The tree. Just do it."

Pure Vanilla offered a weak, conciliatory smile. "Perhaps if I just... politely inquire..." He took a step forward, clearing his throat. "Ahem. Voice, hello? Could you tell us where we are? And why do we need to damage the local flora?"

Silence.

Shadow Milk chuckled smugly, a wave of superiority momentarily drowning out his fear. "You see? Your diplomatic courtesies are useless here, Nilly. It only responds to force! Or... it ignores you. Which is also likely."

"Ugh, fine. Watch this."

Before either of them could react, a translucent, blocky white hand materialized in the air next to them. It floated to the same oak tree, formed a fist, and gave the bottommost block a solid thump.

*Crack!*

The cube of wood shattered into nothingness for a split second before reappearing as a smaller, floating cube that hovered for a moment before disappearing into the spectral hand.

Pure Vanilla gasped. "Fascinating! It didn't harm the tree; it merely... harvested a part of it!"

Shadow Milk's many eyes were wide, his jaw slightly agape. The sheer, reality-bending absurdity of it was both horrifying and, he hated to admit, intriguing. "It... it just... broke the rules... What kind of cheap, low-budget dimension is this?!"

"Your turn. Get punching."

The voice disappeared, leaving the two of them alone with their worries.

Pure Vanilla looked at the tree, then at his own hand. He clenched his fist uncertainly. "Well... finding myself in a strange, cubic world..."

"Don't you dare," Shadow Milk warned, but it was too late.

Pure Vanilla struck the block of wood that was above the block that the unknown voice had broken with a gentle, almost apologetic blow.

*Thump*

Nothing happened.

A slight blush appeared on Pure Vanilla's cheeks. "I don't think I had enough strength..."

Shadow Milk stared. Then he let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh that echoed through the strange forest. "Oh, this is priceless! The mighty Pure Vanilla, defeated by a tree! Your virtue has made you weak!" His laughter died down when he saw Pure Vanilla's genuinely concerned expression. He rolled all his eyes at once. "Oh, well! Move over, you hopeless fool!"

He cracked his knuckles (Do cookies even have knuckles?). "If we must engage in this... barbaric pixel-gathering to uncover the secrets of this pitiful world, then only a true chaos creator can do it right!"

He swam back, took a dramatic swing, and with a powerful shout of "FOR THE Sake of Dramaticism!" slammed his fist into the cubic oak.

*CRUNCH!*

The block shattered instantly. A perfect cube of wood popped out and hovered in the air where the previous block of wood had been.

Shadow Milk froze, staring at the floating cube. A slow, wide, frightening grin spread across his face. All of his eyes in hair blinked in sequence.

"...Oh," he whispered, his voice dripping with a new, frightening kind of delight. He grabbed the floating two pieces of wood, and they disappeared into his inventory. He turned to Pure Vanilla, his expression shifting from shock to genuine, manic delight.

"Nilly..." he purred, his voice a low, excited rumble. "This place... there are no rules here. There are..."

He spun around, his gaze falling on a block of grass. He struck it. A block of earth popped out. He struck a daisy. It popped out as a whole flower. He was a whirlwind of destructive, creative energy.

Pure Vanilla watched, a mixture of awe and deep, deep concern on his face, as Shadow Milk, the Beast of Deception, began to systematically deconstruct their piece of reality with a joyful, childlike exuberance.

"This is GREAT!" Shadow Milk shrieked, lifting up a block of earth. "It's so simple! So malleable! I could DESTROY everything!"

He stopped his mad dash and came close to Pure Vanilla, his eyes filled with mad inspiration. "Forget your failed hunt for the plants. We have a new mission."

Pure Vanilla swallowed nervously. "And what is this task, Bluebird?"

Shadow Milk's grin threatened to split his face in two.

"The only thing that matters now. We'll find out who - or what - is giving the orders..."

He looked up at the sky, at the invisible presence.

"...and then we'll break them too."

Chapter Text

Once again, an unknown voice appears, only this time it's different from the previous one.

*Make a crafting table! Also, watch the skies. Beware of the night.*

Shadow Milk jumped in surprise, but an even wider, almost insane grin immediately appeared on his face. All his eyes were staring into the void, trying to find the source.

“Oh-ho-ho! Another voice! "We have a *whole choir* of advisers here!" he bowed sarcastically into the void. "Your will, O great Invisible Commander! 'Make a crafting table'... What delightful specificity! And what a frighteningly ambiguous warning..."

"Do you hear that, Nilly? We're being told to build! And it seems like we're being threatened!" Shadow Milk's voice was filled with genuine excitement. "Isn't it amazing? First, the command to destroy, and now the command to build! What depth! What drama!"

He grabbed the block of wood he had just acquired and began turning it in his hands, examining it.

"A crafting table... A workbench... he muttered under his breath. "Obviously, it's a tool for making more out of less... Primitive, but effective!"

Pure Vanilla gently touched his shoulder. "Bluebird, that voice was talking about some kind of danger. 'Beware of the night'... It sounds ominous."

"That's exactly why we need to hurry!" Shadow Milk retorted, his eyes fixed on the tree. "If the night is a threat, then we need tools to protect ourselves! Weapons! Armor! Traps!"

His fingers moved at an unnatural speed. The wooden cube in his hands began to change shape, flattening and dividing into planks, following his intuitive understanding of the laws of this world.

"There it is... Inventory... Crafting... Everything is subject to my will!"

With a slight click and a flash of light, the four wooden planks he had just created folded into a simple yet functional square table with a mesh top.

**CRAFTING TABLE**

He materialized right in front of them.

"Ta-da-am!" Shadow Milk spread his arms in a theatrical gesture. "Delightfully ugly and practical! Now, O great voices, what next? What should we create on this altar of possibilities?"

He paused, listening. But there were no more voices. There was only silence and the slow, cubic sun creeping across the sky.

Shadow Milk turned to Pure Vanilla, and his wild excitement subsided slightly, replaced by a moment of calculated seriousness.

"He said 'watch the sky'... Shadow raised his head. The sun was beginning to dip noticeably towards the horizon, painting the blocky landscape in orange hues. "Time is running out. And the night... The night seems to be bringing something."

He looked at the crafting table, then at the surrounding forest, full of resources.

"Well, Nilly," his voice once again sounded like that of the Director, introducing a new act of his play. "It looks like we have a deadline. Let's find out what makes this night so scary."

And in his eyes, there was not only a thirst for destruction, but also a sense of excitement and a desire to make sure that nothing would happen to his vanilla idiot in this new, dangerous world, although he would never admit it.