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*Our story begins in what seems to be a dark void, we see Luseal laying on the floor unconscious, suddenly, she hears a soft, saddened voice call out to her*
???: Lusy…
*Luseal's eyes snap open when she hears this and sits up*
Luseal: Huh?! What the?!
*She looks around the area but all she sees is darkness, there's nothing around for miles, suddenly, she hears the voice again*
???: Lusy…
*Luseal looks in the direction the voice came from, and that's when she sees Jax standing in the distance with his back turned to her, Luseal gasps in delight when she sees him*
Luseal: Jaxie!
*She immediately stands up and walks towards him*
Luseal: There you are! I was wondering where you-
*Jax slowly turns towards her, Luseal's smile fades when she sees that Jax's eyes look lifeless, and he wears a look of defeat on his face, it was like he was broken, Luseal looks concerned by this*
Luseal: J-Jaxie..?
*Jax turns away from her and starts walking deeper into the darkness, Luseal's look of concern changes into a look of fear and she starts to run after him*
Luseal: W-Wait! Wait, Jax, don't go! Jax, stop!
*But Jax doesn't acknowledge her, he just keeps walking*
Luseal: Jaxie! Wait!
*She suddenly stops and looks down as she notices that water is starting to rise up from the ground, Luseal looks confused by this*
Luseal: Wh-What?!
*She quickly turns her attention back to Jax, who's even farther away than he was before, looking terrified at this point, Luseal runs as fast as she can, as she does so the water continues to rise*
Luseal: Jaxie! Come back! Don't go away!
*She suddenly gets hit by a wave, she shouts in surprise when this happens*
Luseal: Ah!! What the?!
*Despite this sudden attack, she keeps on trudging through the increasingly rising water*
Luseal: Jaxie!
*As she goes along, several more waves hit her as the water moves in an almost raging motion*
Luseal: Jaxie! Listen to me!
*That's when she notices that the water is up to her forearms, she starts breathing heavily and she tries to keep going, but the water just keeps rising, eventually reaching her neck*
Luseal: No! No!! No, wait!!
*She tries to keep herself from sinking, but the water eventually rises over her head, completely covering her*
*She looks around the area, what was once a dark void has now been turned into a vast ocean with nothing in sight, she gets increasingly frightened as she searches and that's when she looks down and notices Jax at the bottom of the ocean, she gasps in surprise when she sees him*
Luseal: Jaxie! *She says in a garbled voice*
*She swims towards him as fast as she can, Jax looks up at her with the same lifeless look in his eyes, suddenly, a black tentacle with several glowing eyes on it slowly emerges from the depths, making it's way towards the broken rabbit, Luseal gets a look of dread on her face and immediately picks up the pace, practically clawing at the water to get to her brother*
Luseal: Jax!! Jax look out!! *She shouts in a garbled voice*
*But Jax doesn't move, he doesn't even turn to look behind him, he just continues to stare at her, suddenly, the tentacle wraps itself around Jax and starts to pull him towards the depths*
Luseal: NO!! *She screams in horror*
*She shoots a water tendril at Jax and wraps it around him, she then clings onto the tendril like a rope and tugs at it*
Luseal: GIVE HIM BACK!! YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!! *She screams in fear and anger*
*She and the tentacle get in a sadistic game of tug of war with her trying to pull Jax up to the surface, and the tentacle trying to pull him deeper into the depths, Luseal growls in rage, trying to keep her brother in her grasp, her eyes shoot open as she hears his soft voice*
Jax: Lusy…
*Luseal looks down at him as he stares up at her*
Jax: ..Leave me… Leave me Lusy..
*Luseal looks horrified by this*
Luseal: What?! I'm not gonna leave you! I would never leave you!
*Suddenly, she hears a malicious voice whispering in her ear*
???: You can't save him.. You're not strong enough..
Jax: …You're… better off… without me…
*Tears well up in Luseal's eyes as she desperately tugs at the water tendril, she hears the same menacing whispers again*
???: How pathetic.. Fighting to keep someone you're bound to lose..!
Luseal: No! NO!! YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM FROM ME!! HE'S MY BROTHER, HE'S ALL I HAVE!! *She screams in sorrow*
*She tightens her grip on the tendril as the ocean around her washes away her tears, the voice whispers in her ears again*
???: Just give up, he's a lost cause..!
Luseal: JAX!! PLEASE!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!! *She screams in desperation*
*Suddenly, everything around her starts to fade into darkness as she hears a muffled voice in the background*
??: Luseal?
*She hears more voices, they sound concerned*
???: Lu!
????: Luse! Snap out of it!
*Luseal’s eyes snap open and she bolts upright, panting heavily, she sees that Jax, as well as every other player in the circus, has gathered around her, and they look worried about her, the room is rather dimly lit*
Jax: Luseal! Are you okay?!
*Luseal gives a forced smile*
Luseal: Uh, y-yeah, totally.
Jax: Oh, don’t give us that, you were screaming like crazy!
Luseal: …H-How much did you hear…?
Zooble: Oh, we heard everything…you were so loud we all could hear it.
*Luseal looks embarrassed and she averts her glance*
Luseal: Oh…I’m sorry..
Ragatha: It must’ve been some nightmare. What happened in it?
*Luseal looks like she's trying not to cry*
Luseal: I–It felt so real…Jaxie left me, and it was getting darker and darker…
*She blinks rapidly as she tries to keep it in*
Luseal: A-And then.. I don't know what happened..! This weird ocean appeared and this..this tentacle came up from the depths, and it took Jaxie away! *She says in a shaking voice*
*The others clearly feel terrible for her, especially Jax, Gangle’s even tearing up a bit*
Jax: Lusy…
Luseal: It said you could never be saved! That you’re bound to abstract and leave me someday! That…that… that I would never be able to keep it from happening!!
*She can’t keep it in any longer, she breaks down sobbing*
Luseal: I don’t want that to happen!! *She says through her tears*
*Jax thinks back to what happened in Everlast Woods, he remember how Luseal kept trying to hit him in her sleep while screaming at him, her words echo in his head*
Luseal: You..You’re the reason he’s suffering! You're the reason everyone's suffering!
*Jax’s eyes widen the more he thinks about this*
Luseal: You..You’re the reason he’s suffering! You're the reason everyone's suffering!
Jax: Oh my God..
Luseal: I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU TAKE MY BROTHER AWAY FROM ME!!
*He turns his attention towards Luseal*
Jax: Lusy…I’m starting to get the feeling you’ve had these nightmares for quite some time.
*Luseal’s lip quivers and she looks down in shame, Jax's ears droop down*
Jax: You have been.. haven't you..?
*Luseal clenches her fists*
Luseal: Mm-hmm..
Pomni: Oh, Luseal, I knew you had your woes, but I didn’t know they went that deep.
*She puts her face in her hands*
Luseal: Uh-huh. Now you know the truth. I know I try to keep the morale up, but I have so much on my mind… I know I try to keep a smile on my face, and I try to be as happy and cheerful as I can be.. But I… It's just so hard.. I mean… I just care about all of you so much, and I don't wanna lose any of you..! *She says in a shaky voice*
*Everyone looks at her in devastation, and then Ragatha speaks up, giving her an empathetic look*
Ragatha: Oh, don’t be like how I was. I would pretend that nothing upset me so I could make things easier for others, too. All it did was hurt me and everyone else, but now, I try to be open with how I feel and that’s how it makes everything better for everyone.
*Luseal looks up at her*
Luseal: Really…?
Kinger: It’s true. If Ragatha didn’t have that talk with me, she could’ve abstracted by now.
Pomni: You talked to me too, Kinger. You helped me get stronger in this hellhole of a place. And, Luseal, you’re a strong person too. You’ve got the guts to stand up to Caine and I really respect that.
Zooble: Yeah, you kicked the sh*BOING* out of Caine, that’s some cool stuff right there.
Gangle: And I know how it feels. When I put on that new happy mask, it didn’t make me happy at all, it just made my stress at work worse, and now, I’m okay with my tragedy mask.
Jax: The thing is, Lusy, we care about you too. You shouldn’t suffer in silence. Telling us how you feel is pretty strong by itself, you know? Besides, you snapped me out of it when I almost abstracted when we were in those snowy woods. If that’s not tough, I dunno what is.
*Luseal tears up at this and clings onto Jax, he yelps in surprise*
Luseal: Oh, Jax…oh, guys…I don’t know what I’d do without you. The rest of you really are like family to me.
*She looks at them and smiles tearfully, Jax’s own smile fades a bit*
Luseal: You know just how to pick us all up, and that’s important to me.
Pomni: Anything for a friend, Luseal.
*Jax’s ears droop slightly, deep down, he envies the friendship that Luseal has with everyone else, he averts his glance and sighs, Luseal notices this*
Luseal: Jaxie? Maybe we should come up with another adventure. One that you’d like.
Jax: Like what, Lusy..?
*Luseal thinks to herself for a moment, then a big smile appears on her face as a lightbulb pops up over her head*
Luseal: Maybe we can do some baking, that always made us happy when we were kids.
*Jax's ears perk up when he hears this*
Jax: Can we make our signature choco-caramel cookies?
Luseal: Of course.
Ragatha: That sounds sweet! So to speak.
Zooble: I need something mundane after all the crazy sh*HONK* we’ve been through lately.
Kinger: It has been a while since I showed off my skills. Aside from my career in computer science, being a chef in a bakery was a side hustle I had.
Pomni: We just learn something new about you every day, don’t we?
Gangle: Gosh, I haven’t had sweets in a while, they just keep getting taken from me.
Zooble: Don’t you worry, Garnet, anyone who takes your snacks will get a swift boot to the a*HEEHAW*.
*Luseal gets out of bed and they all step into the hallway, right then, Caine suddenly pops up with Bubble, startling the heck out of everyone*
Bubble: Heeey!
Caine: Did somebody say adventures?!
Pomni: Will you stop that?!
Zooble: If we could have them, you'd give us all heart attacks!
Caine: I’ve already come up with the next big outing! It’s about a world that’s populated by clones of me!
Jax: I already knew you were madly in love with yourself, but that’s just something else, man.
Zooble: And believe me, one of you is already more than enough.
Caine: Oh, don’t be jealous, you just can’t handle me!
Pomni: Honestly, no one can handle your attitude.
Jax: Ha, you tell him, Pompom!
*He then awkwardly looks away from Pomni*
Caine: How dare you!
Luseal: Even if I hadn’t come up with another idea, I’d still turn that down.
*She clears her throat*
Luseal: Me and Jaxie actually came up with the idea of a baking adventure.
*Caine snorts and crosses his arms*
Caine: Hmph. My plan was far more exciting than yours. Nobody will ever go with such a…tedious suggestion.
Everyone Else: Yes! We will!
Caine: …What?
Pomni: I’m just gonna try to say this in the nicest way possible. Every “exciting” idea you’ve had kinda traumatizes the f*BONK* out of us.
Luseal: Well said, Pomni, besides, I'm not doing this to one-up you or anything, I genuinely feel like this'll be something that'll make us all happy.
*Caine’s eyes narrow, but then an idea comes to his head, a lightbulb floats over him for a moment and then he brightens up*
Caine: Okay! The portal’s waiting in the lobby for you.
Luseal: Wow, you actually went along with it pretty fast.
*Zooble squints suspiciously*
Zooble: Are you sure about that?
*The others glance at each other dubiously, and even Luseal doesn’t look all too sure herself, but she’s still desperate to bring up the morale*
Luseal: I mean, I don’t know, but we can’t pass this up. Let’s go before he changes his mind.
*They all make their way to the lobby, true to Caine’s word, there is a portal*
Luseal: No matter what happens, at least we’ll be reliving the old days, right, Jaxie?
Jax: Yeah, true.
Caine: Shut up and get in there already!
Luseal: Ok ok!
*She takes a deep breath and sighs*
Luseal: Well.. I guess I'll go first.
*She walks towards the portal and jumps into it, what awaits her on the other side is a large fancy looking kitchen that's filled with all sorts of ingredients, sweets, and baking supplies, her eyes light up in excitement*
Luseal: Oh my gosh! This is beautiful!
*She looks down and sees that her outfit has changed, she’s wearing a white and teal dress with cookie patterns, she’s got her hair in a ponytail and her chef’s hat has donut patterns on it, she squeals in delight when she sees this*
Luseal: A sweets-themed uniform! I love it! Maybe this isn’t a trick after all!
*The next one to come in is Jax, he’s wearing a big hat that presses his ears down and an apron with paw prints on it, Luseal giggles a bit*
Jax: What’s so funny?
Luseal: You look hilarious with your ears pushed down like that!
*Jax rolls his eyes a bit, only to smirk in spite of himself*
Jax: …Yeah, I’m with you.
*Ragatha steps in, she’s wearing a chef’s hat and a purple coat and apron, they all have patches stitched onto them, she looks at her getup*
Ragatha: Not bad. I can give Caine this, I do like the new outfits he gives us from time to time.
*Zooble comes in next, they’re wearing an asymmetrical coat and a hat that droops over slightly*
Jax: It’s just as unbalanced as you are, Zoobs.
Zooble: Shut the f*BOINK* up.
*Kinger strides in, he’s only wearing a white coat and a white hat*
Kinger: Fabulous!
*Pomni wears a coat and apron, they are blue, yellow, and red, like her normal getup, her chef’s hat is also blue and red*
Pomni: Hope this ends better than the last time we had a cooking-related outing.
*Lastly, Gangle steps in, she’s wearing nothing but a white apron, she sighs in disappointment*
Gangle: Of course I got stuck with the most basic outfit.
Zooble: Well, you’re beautiful no matter what you’re donning.
*Gangle blushes and smiles at them*
Gangle: Aww, thanks Taffy.
*Just then, a rolling pin is thrown at Ragatha and it hits her in the face so hard that it knocks her over and she flops down like ragdoll physics*
Luseal: What the?!
*Suddenly, she hears the sound of a malicious cackle, she turns to see Evil Ragatha pointing and laughing, clearly she was the one who threw it, the evil counterparts of the players plus Evil Orbsman are at the other side of the kitchen*
Luseal: What’re you guys doing here?!
*A seal that looks just like her, but with fire for hair and perpetually visibly fangs, sneers*
Evil Luseal: We’re here to f*BUZZ* you up, whaddaya think?!
*Caine then appears*
Caine: Welcome to the bake-off known as Whisked Away! Today’s judges are Princess Loolilalu, the Fudge, and Ghostly!
*Princess Loolilalu, the Fudge, and Ghostly are all seated at a table*
Princess Loolilalu: Hello, you lot.
The Fudge: Make sure to finish your dishes as soon as possible, I can’t wait to sink my candy corn teeth into them.
Ghostly: And you’d better save some for us, Fudge.
The Fudge: I can’t promise that.
*Luseal looks mortified by this*
Luseal: B-B-B-Bake-off?! No no no no no! This was supposed to be a normal baking event!
Caine: Where's the fun in that, silly?!
*Jax then scowls*
Jax: Great. Just great.
*Luseal starts breathing heavily as a look of dread appears on her face*
Luseal: No! This was supposed to be something special for Jax, and now it's already ruined! *She thinks to herself*
Caine: And whichever team loses will be pelted with rotten eggs by the winning team!
Bubble: Sounds delectable!
*Caine gives him a disturbed look*
Caine: You are a strange one, you know that? …Anyway, no pressure!
*He and Bubble disappear, Luseal clutches her chest and her panting gets worse and worse*
Luseal: Nonononono…! He did it again..! He did it again! *She says in an anxious tone of voice*
*Jax notices how freaked-out she’s getting and wraps his arms around her in a hug*
Jax: Lusy, hold on! You gotta breathe!
Luseal: But…but…he just took our hope away! Again!!
Jax: We'll get back at him for that later, just please calm down!
*Luseal takes a deep breath and sighs, Jax gently pats her on the back*
Jax: I promise you, everything's gonna be ok.
Evil Luseal: Hey Long Ears! If you're done babying your loser of a sister, we have a competition to do!
*Jax’s eyes narrow when he hears this, he looks up and gives her a nasty glare, his ears pin down*
Jax: Oh, it’s bad enough to call me that, but smack-talking my sister?! No frickin’ way! You’re going down, I promise!
*He holds up a frying pan and is about to whack her with it, but Luseal holds him back, he squirms in her grip*
Jax: Lemme go!
Luseal: Jaxie, wait! What about the choco-caramel cookies?
*Jax stops wriggling around*
Jax: You’re right. We’ll show them how good they are!
*Evil Jax looks over to Luseal*
Evil Jax: Hey, uh…don’t mind Evil Lusy. She’s a little rough around the edges.
Luseal: I know how it is.
Bazooble: Duh…but Evil Luse has real soft fur.
Princess Loolilalu: Okay! Ready, set, bake!
Luseal: Let’s do this!
Gangle: Um, where do we start?
Jax: Well, where do you think, Einstein? We gotta get caramel.
*Kinger is seen eating some squares of caramel*
Kinger: That’s the stuff.
Jax: Gah! Get your hands off that, we need those!
*He snatches them away from Kinger and starts rolling them into balls*
Luseal: Could someone fetch a box of sugar?
*Ragatha checks a cupboard and finds one; their evil counterparts are whispering among themselves*
Evil Pomni: So how the f*HONK* are we gonna sabotage ‘em?
Evil Orbsman: I think I have a sugges- *He starts to say in a filtered voice*
Evil Jax: I dunno, shouldn’t we play fair and square?
Evil Orsbman: Guys? *He says in a filtered voice*
Coach Dictatorer: Don’t be ridiculous! The more we lower their chance of success, the more likely we are to surpass them! You know this, you coward!
*Evil Jax’s ears droop, Evil Luseal’s flaming hair flares up*
Evil Luseal: Hey! Don’t you f*WHUMP*ing dare talk to my brother like that!
*She then proceeds to set Coach Dictactorer on fire with her pyrokinesis and he screams in pain before dunking his head in the sink, he looks back at her and gives her a dirty look*
Coach Dictatorer: If I weren’t as focused on winning the contest, I would make you pay for that. *He says in voice dripping with venom*
Evil Orbsman: Guys!! *He says in a filtered voice*
Evil Ragatha: Ohoho! I almost didn’t notice you, you are just so nondescript and forgettable!
Coach Dictatorer: That gives me an idea.
*We then see Luseal get out some chocolate bars, she turns her attention towards Pomni*
Luseal: Hey Pomni, can you cut the chocolate while I look for the peanut butter?
Pomni: Uh, sure.
*She takes out a knife and starts to cut it, only for her to hear the sound of an air horn, she yelps and then plunges the knife into her hand due to this sudden noise*
Pomni: What the f*AWOOGA* was that?!
*Evil Orbsman is holding the air horn*
Evil Orbsman: If I had the fingers for it, I would flip you off right now. *He says in a filtered yet smug voice*
*Pomni bares her sharp teeth at him and pulls the knife out of her hand*
Pomni: You're lucky if I don't shove this knife into your f*HONK*ing side!
*She tosses the knife at him, but he dodges it as swiftly as a ninja and it hits Bazooble in the eye instead, they hardly even react*
Bazooble: Eye see you, ehehe.
*Pomni growls in frustration, we then see Luseal looking for the peanut butter, she's checking all the cupboards and cabinets*
Luseal: Dang it! Where is it?!
*She then looks up and sees the peanut butter sitting on a self that's very high up on the wall, Luseal gets a deadpan expression on her face*
Luseal: Of course it'd be up there.. No matter.
*She then conjures up a water ladder and puts it up to the ceiling, she starts to climb up the ladder, only to hear Evil Pomni suddenly call out…*
Evil Pomni: BOO, B*BARK*TCH!
*Luseal screams and jolts back in fright, she then loses her balance and falls off the ladder, screaming in terror as she does so, Jax's ears perk up when he hears this and he quickly turns around, he gets a look of fear on his face*
Jax: Lusy!
*He dives forward and catches her, Luseal has an anxious look on her face, she's shaking in his arms*
Luseal: That was…too close…
*Jax growls at Evil Pomni*
Jax: I like messing with people too, but that’s just too much, man!
*Evil Pomni just smirks and shrugs; meanwhile, Kinger is mixing some broccoli and spinach into the dough, Gangle cringes in disgust*
Gangle: Are you sure about that?
Kinger: Sure I’m sure, I was a good chef way back when, remember?
Gangle: Uh…whatever you say.
*Evil Orbsman is sneaking up on Kinger from behind, he has a bottle of stupid sauce, he then squirts Kinger with it and the latter is covered in it, Gangle gasps in horror as she fears the worst*
Gangle: No!!
*Kinger then turns around and cheerfully waves at Evil Orbsman, he’s unaffected*
Kinger: Hi! Thanks, I really needed the pink shower.
*Evil Orbsman is incredulous*
Evil Orbsman: What?! How’s that even possible?! Is this stupid sauce fake?! *He says in a filtered voice*
*He then looks at the bottle in suspicion, he drinks it despite his lack of a mouth, and then his eyes glaze over and he chuckles like a country bumpkin*
Evil Orbsman: Ah-hyuck, gawrsh… *He says in a slurred, filtered voice*
*He then collapses and passes out, Gangle sighs in relief*
Gangle: Oh, thank God you’re immune.
Kinger: Immune to what?
*Evil Luseal looks stunned by this and growls in frustration, her hair flares up from her anger*
Evil Luseal: F*HONK*!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! JUST GO DOWN ALREADY!! *She screams in rage*
*Jax's eyes narrow and he growls in disdain, he turns his towards her*
Jax: Hey! Why don't you shut up?!
Evil Luseal: Shut up?! SHUT UP?! YOU DON'T TELL ME TO F*BOOM*ING SHUT UP, I TELL YOU TO SHUT UP!!
*She stomps over to Jax, Evil Jax quickly crouches behind a counter in fear, Luseal turns around and sees Jax and Evil Luseal getting right in each other’s faces*
Luseal: Oh, no…
*Evil Luseal barks like the seal she is at Jax, Jax then growls even more ferociously, Luseal then takes Jax’s hand and chuckles awkwardly*
Luseal: Okay, Jaxie, that’s enough sugar for you!
Jax: Let me at her!
Luseal: She’s probably not even worth it, besides, we’ll outdo her anyway.
*Jax sighs*
Jax: Fine.
*Evil Luseal screams and lunges at Jax, but Evil Jax wraps his arms around her and starts to pull her away*
Evil Jax: Evil Lusy, please!
Evil Luseal: I’m gonna kick his a*HEEHAW*!
Evil Jax: No…you…won’t! *He says in a strained voice as he drags her off*
Luseal: Make sure you don't get burned!
Evil Jax: I.. won't! *He shouts back in a strained voice*
*Coach Dictatorer, who was previously stirring some cake batter, looks at the passed-out Evil Orbsman and huffs*
Coach Dictatorer: You’re useless! Looks like I have to do everything around here!
*He spies Ragatha putting butter and brown sugar into a bowl and humming to herself, he whispers something to Evil Ragatha and she giggles*
Evil Ragatha: It’s so devious! I love it! Ahahaha!
*She leaves a centipede on the floor, Ragatha then turns around while carrying the bowl and when she sees the centipede, she screams in terror and throws her hands up, losing her grip on the bowl in the process*
Ragatha: KILL IT!! KILL IT!!
*Luseal hears her scream and turns around, she yelps and dives forward, she catches the bowl, Ragatha picks up a rolling pin and tries to squash the centipede with it*
Ragatha: I HATE THIS DAMN A*HEEHAW* B*WOOF*TCH CENTIPEDE!! F*BOING*!! ME!!
*Luseal washes the centipede away with a tidal wave, Ragatha pants heavily*
Ragatha: Phew! Thanks, Luseal.
*Luseal is looking a bit frazzled*
Luseal: Y-Yeah…
*She protectively holds the bowl close to herself and starts to make a beeline for another table with a cookie sheet, the evil counterparts are talking to each other*
Evil Ragatha: Blast! Every single plan has ended in complete and utter failure!
*Evil Pomni clasps her hands and smirks*
Evil Pomni: Just you f*BONG*ing wait. I came prepared.
*She reaches into her hat and pulls out a bottle of hot sauce, she aims it at Luseal*
Evil Pomni: Smile, you son of a b*YIP*.
*She shoots the hot sauce at Luseal, Jax is preheating the oven and he hears the squirt of the bottle*
Jax: Look out!!
Luseal: Huh?!
*He then jumps in front of Luseal, he ends up being sprayed with the hot sauce instead, and it ends up getting sprayed right into his mouth, his face turns dark red and steam shoots out of his ears, he screams and fire comes out of his mouth*
Jax: HOTHOTHOTHOT!!
Luseal: Oh no! Jaxie!
*She douses him with a big wave, his face turns back into its normal color and he pants heavily*
Jax: Thanks..
Luseal: Anytime. *She says with a smile on her face*
*Evil Luseal screams in fury as her hair flares up into a roaring blaze, Evil Jax shouts in fright and ducks behind the counter*
Evil Luseal: YOU MEDDLESOME LAGOMORPH!! I'LL MAKE HASENPFEFFER OUTTA YOU!!
*She conjures up a fire ball and throws it at Jax, Luseal's eyes go wide in terror when she sees this*
Luseal: NO!!
*She dashes in front of Jax and the fire ball hits her in the chest, she shrieks in pain and then collapses to the floor, her hat falls onto the floor*
Jax: Lusy!!
*Luseal goes unconscious, Jax then turns to Evil Luseal with a look of animalistic rage in his eyes and snarls at her, his ears droop down*
Jax: YOU!!
*He lunges at her and sinks his teeth into her leg, she screams in pain and sets her own hand alight, she grabs him by the ear and burns it, but even then, he refuses to let go*
Evil Luseal: What in the-?!
*She then bites him in the arm, which finally causes him to let go of her, she then throws another fireball at him, but he rolls out of the way and kicks her in the face, Luseal finally wakes up and watches this in horror, her eyes widen*
Luseal: No…no…!
Evil Jax: Somebody hold me!
Evil Ragatha: Don’t even think about it, peasant!
*Evil Pomni watches in excitement and starts eating popcorn, while Bazooble falls asleep standing up*
Evil Pomni: Fight, fight, f*BUZZ*ing fight!
*The judges watch this from afar, Princess Loolilalu looks horrified, the Fudge looks impressed, and Ghostly looks done*
Princess Loolilalu: My word!
The Fudge: I haven’t seen such a brawl since people fought me over candy.
Ghostly: This can only go so well..
*Evil Luseal tries to punch Jax, but he dashes out of the way and punches her instead, she yelps in pain as he does so*
Evil Luseal: Why you little-!
*The rest of the circus gang watches in shock, while Kinger is just casually rolling the cookie dough up into balls and placing them on the sheet*
Kinger: Mama’s little baby loves shortenin’, shortenin’-
Zooble: Kinger, read the room!
Kinger: In a minute, I’m almost done.
*He places the sheet into the oven and dusts his hands off, Luseal just gets more and more distressed*
Luseal: Jaxie stop! Please!
Evil Luseal: STAY OUTTA THIS A*BLEEP*WIPE!!
Jax: KEEP MY SISTER’S NAME OUT OF YOUR FRICKIN’ MOUTH!!
*He headbutts Evil Luseal in the stomach so hard that she is sent flying across the room, she collides into a shelf with a bottle of mysterious purple oil that has a devil’s face on it, the bottle tips over and lands right in the evil counterparts’ team of cake batter, Ragatha’s heart sinks*
Ragatha: No…not the Odious Oil!
Pomni: The Odious what?
*Just then, the cake batter starts to bubble violently, it becomes enormous and it grows a face, its eyes are made of egg yolks, its horns are made of chocolate chips, and its teeth are made out of eggshells, it roars loudly*
*Everyone looks terrified, except for Evil Pomni, who just looks resigned, and Coach Dictatorer, who is frustrated*
Evil Pomni: Welp, we’re f*ZIP*ed.
Coach Dictatorer: This is all your fault, Evil Luseal!
Evil Luseal: Me?! It was that f*CHIRP*ing rabbit that shoved me into the wall!
Jax: You started it when you wouldn’t leave my sister alone!
*Luseal is sweating wildly, she pants heavily*
Luseal: This is all wrong..This is all wrong..! *She mutters to herself*
*The batter beast crawls out of the bowl and slithers towards the judges, Princess Loolilalu hides under the desk in fear, Ghostly still looks resigned, while the Fudge licks his chops*
The Fudge: Delici-
*The batter beast then opens its mouth wide and bites the Fudge’s head off, everyone looks horrified by this, suddenly, Zooble huffs in frustration*
Zooble: Great, just great. I can’t even enjoy mundane adventures because they always go to sh*PBBT*! Happens every time!
*Luseal yelps in devastation when she hears this, Zooble’s eyes widen when they hear this and turn towards her, Luseal's eyes well up with tears and her lips quiver*
Zooble: L-Luse, hold on-
*Luseal opens up her pocket puddle and jumps into it, the puddle slithers off as fast as it can, Zooble reaches out for her*
Zooble: Luse wait! I didn't mean that!
*The batter beast then tries to eat Ghostly, but the latter just goes right through it*
Ghostly: Not this time, sir.
*Gangle is visibly shocked at Zooble’s remark, she has her hands over her mouth, Zooble turns to Gangle, who turns away from them in disappointment, Zooble’s heart sinks upon seeing this*
Zooble: Garnet, I…
*Jax on the other hand looks disgusted*
Jax: And you always tell other people they should read the room! Geez! Every time Lusy comes up with some cool idea for us, you always make her feel like crap once Caine screws them all up! Don’t you think Lusy’s gone through enough?! She was right behind you and everything! You saw her break down earlier!
*Zooble is stunned by the fact that Jax of all people is raising a good point, and if anything, it just makes them feel even more remorseful; at the same time, though, they don’t want to apologize to him directly*
*They then look at Luseal's hat on the floor and grab it*
Zooble: …I-I’ll be right back.
*They run off to find Luseal; the batter beast then turns to the contestants and slithers towards them, Evil Jax and Pomni scream, with the former’s shriek being slightly higher-pitched*
Pomni: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, RUN!!
*The batter beast chases the contestants around the kitchen, Zooble notices that the pocket puddle has slipped under the door to the food locker, so they open it and step inside, they can hear Luseal sobbing her heart out*
*They dive into the puddle, once they’re inside, a bubble envelops them, they look around and find Luseal in a bubble, she has her face in her hands and she’s a blubbering mess, they swim over to her*
Zooble: Uh, Luse?
*Luseal looks up, when she sees them, she turns away and sniffles*
Luseal: …I-I’m sorry.. I just keep messing things up…! I wanna make people happy, but it won’t work out! *She says through her sobbing*
*She curls up in a ball*
Luseal: This was supposed to be for Jax, too! I wanted him to remember a good part of our childhood, but now…!
*She breaks down crying, Zooble sighs*
Zooble: No, I’m the one who should be sorry. I just kicked you while you were down, and this isn’t even the first time I’ve done this. I know you mean well and it wasn’t right of me to make you think it wasn’t good enough.
*Luseal looks up at them*
Zooble: I know it’s not your fault. It’s on Caine for twisting things around. I will say this, though, when all’s said and done, these outings do kinda help us fix some baggage. So if you hadn’t brought it up, we wouldn’t have resolved all that.
*Luseal wipes the tears from her eyes*
Luseal: I..I’m glad that I can at least help that in some way.. But it's just… I try so hard to keep everyone from losing themselves. I was so hurt by Ribbit and Kaufmo’s abstraction that I promised myself that I'd never let anything like that happen again…but..
*She clenches her fists as her eyes well up again*
Luseal: What if my nightmares are right…? What if I'm just doomed to fail, and everyone is bound to leave me eventually..? *She says in a shaky voice*
*Zooble looks saddened by this*
Zooble: Well, with your good heart and strong will, I don’t think anyone’s going anywhere. You never give up on us, and we won’t give up on you either.
*Luseal wipes at her eyes, Zooble gives Luseal her hat back*
Zooble: And, also, your friends really need you back there. Once we kick that batter beast’s a*HEEHAW*, you can finish those cookies and relive the good days, like you planned.
*Luseal smiles at Zooble and clings onto them, Zooble looks surprised by this*
Luseal: Thank you Zooble..!
*Zooble slowly wraps their arms around her*
Zooble: No problem, Luse. Let’s teach it a lesson.
*Luseal puts her hat back on and looks determined*
Luseal: Let’s do this!
*They both float back up to the surface of the pocket puddle and exit the food locker together, they hear the sound of crashing and screaming in distance, they rush into the kitchen and find the batter beast dragging Pomni by the leg with its teeth*
Pomni: HELP!!!
*It then slithers over Evil Ragatha, she starts to sink into its body*
Evil Ragatha: This new dress is ruined! Oh, the humani-
*Before she can finish her sentence, she’s gone, it also glides over the still-passed out Evil Orbsman and Bazooble, who also get sucked into its body*
Bazooble: Bye-bye.
Luseal: Hold on, Pomni!
*She creates a water tendril and splashes the batter beast, but it just absorbs the liquid, much to Luseal’s surprise*
Luseal: It didn’t work?!
Zooble: Let’s find something else!
*Ragatha picks up a frying pan and throws it at the batter beast, but it just sinks into its squishy body*
Ragatha: Darn it!
*Evil Luseal sets her hands on fire and lunges at the batter beast, but the fire immediately fades upon contact with its body and she sinks into it*
Evil Luseal: Son of a b-!
*She then disappears into the batter beast, Evil Jax reaches his hand out in dismay*
Evil Jax: Evil Lusy!
*Jax tries to bite into the batter beast, but he starts spitting and gagging in disgust*
Jax: Oh, this tastes like mud!
Coach Dictatorer: Every man for himself!
*He starts to run away, only for the batter beast to slither over him and he sinks into its body*
Coach Dictatorer: Nooo… *His voice starts gargling as he sinks*
Zooble: Karma’s a b*ARF*tch.
*They notice some lemons out of the corner of their eye, they cut them with a knife and squirt them at the batter beast, the latter screeches and lets go of Pomni, she starts to fall and she screams, Jax leaps forward and catches her, she looks at him in surprise*
Pomni: …Y-You saved me?
*Jax puts her down and averts his glance*
Jax: …M-Maybe.
*The batter beast shrinks in size slightly, it growls*
Luseal: That’s it! Quick, everyone, find something sour!
*Ragatha cuts a lime and squirts it at the batter beast, it shrieks in agony and its body sizzles*
Evil Jax: This is for Evil Lusy!
*Ghostly and Princess Loolilalu cheer them on*
Princess Loolilalu: Prepare to meet your maker, you fiend!
*Kinger throws some kimchi at the batter beast, it screeches and grabs him in his mouth, it spins him around, but he’s not even scared*
Kinger: Wheee!
Gangle: Kinger!
*She finds a pickle jar and opens it, she dumps its contents onto the batter beast, causing it to disintegrate more and it loses its grip on Kinger, who lands right on top of Zooble*
Zooble: I deserved that. *They say in a strained voice*
*Jax notices a grapefruit on the floor, he grabs it and bites into it with his sharp teeth, the batter beast gets sprayed in the eye, it swats him away and knocks him into Evil Jax, they both end up in a heap*
Jax: Out of all people, why’d I have to end up with you?
Evil Jax: Heh, sorry.
Luseal: You should know better than to hurt my brother or any of my friends!
*She douses herself in lemon juice*
Luseal: Pomni, toss me up!
Pomni: What for?
Luseal: Just wait, I’ll show you!
Pomni: Uh, okay.
*Despite her confusion, she complies and throws Luseal at the batter beast*
Jax: Wait, what’re you-
*Luseal starts to sink into the batter beast’s body, Jax’s eyes widen in horror*
Jax: Lusy, no!
Luseal: Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.
*She sinks into the batter beast’s body*
Jax: NO!!
*Just then, the batter beast begins to twitch violently and its sizzling gets louder, it unleashes an agonized screech to the heavens and disintegrates; Luseal and the rest of the counterparts are now freed, though they’re still covered in goop*
Luseal: Bleh! See? I told you it would work out.
*Evil Ragatha looks at her gooped-up dress in disgust*
Evil Ragatha: Oh, the indignity.
Evil Jax: Oh, thank God you’re alive, Evil Lusy!
*He hugs Evil Luseal*
Evil Luseal: Heh, thanks for getting me out of there, big bro.
Evil Jax: I can’t take all the credit, the other team helped out too, especially Luseal over there.
*Evil Luseal’s smile fades, she’s clearly reluctant to thank people she hates*
Evil Luseal: Thanks…I guess.
Gangle: That’s…better than nothing, I suppose.
Kinger: You’re welcome! *He says cheerfully*
Jax: Lusy! You’re alright!
*He rushes over to her and wraps his arms around her, only to huff in indignation*
Jax: Don’t scare me like that again! I thought you’d be gone forever!
*Luseal looks ashamed*
Luseal: Sorry, Jaxie. I just wanted to make up for how disastrous this has been. I just wanted to remind you of our childhood recipe.
*Jax softens up at this and puts his hand on her shoulder*
Jax: You know, it's not too late, we can still make the cookies.
*Luseal looks up at him and smiles at him, and then a ding is heard*
Kinger: Ooh, great timing!
*Luseal’s expression brightens up more than ever and she opens the oven, sure enough, the cookies are ready, she squeals in delight*
Luseal: Oh, you guys are just gonna love these!
*She puts on some oven mitts and takes the cookies out of the oven*
Luseal: Me and Jaxie used to inhale these things as kids!
*Princess Loolilalu clears her throat*
Princess Loolilau: Excuse me, miss, we have to test those out first.
Ghostly: Hold on, Your Majesty, since that little disaster has left the opposing team without a dish, wouldn’t Team Circus win by default?
Princess Loolilalu: Why, you’re right.
*Evil Luseal kicks the ground in frustration, Evil Ragatha crosses her arms, Evil Orbsman is too drunk to care, Coach Dictatorer glares at the opposing team, Bazooble spaces out and Evil Pomni doesn’t really give a crap*
Evil Luseal: God f*BEEP*ing dammit!
*Luseal screams in excitement when she hears this, she hugs Jax*
Luseal: We win, we win!!
*The circus gang starts cheering and high-fiving each other, Gangle is about to do the same to Zooble, but she pulls her hand away and her smile fades, Zooble looks away in shame*
Evil Jax: Good job, everyone.
*Luseal looks at him, she then looks at the tray of cookies and grabs one, she then walks towards Evil Jax and holds the cookie out for him*
Luseal: Would you like one?
Evil Jax: Oh, that’s nice of you.
*He takes a bite of it and his ears perk up, the background behind him turns into stars in a beautiful galaxy for a moment to sell how amazed he is*
Evil Jax: This…this is the best thing I’ve ever had!
Coach Dictatorer: Don’t fraternize with the enemy!
Evil Luseal: Aw, back off! At least he’s happy!
*The circus gang starts eating the cookies as well, Jax’s pupils widen in amazement*
Jax: The good times are coming back to me by the second… *He says in nostalgia*
Pomni: Wow, no wonder you were so excited to make these, Luseal.
Ragatha: Yeah, I haven’t had anything this sweet since my farm days.
Kinger: I knew the vegetables would give it even more flavor.
Luseal: Wait, you added veggies to these? I didn’t even notice, they’re still as great as they were way back when!
Jax: Normally I’d be grossed out by that, but…thanks, I suppose. *He says rather reluctantly*
Gangle: Gee, you were right after all, Kinger. I never should’ve doubted you.
*Caine suddenly appears, startling everyone once more*
Caine: Congratulations, my fluffy floofs!
Luseal: Seriously! You need to put on a bell!
Caine: Now that you’ve won, you know what this means, it’s egging time!
*Luseal and Jax exchange smirks*
Jax: With pleasure.
*They start throwing rotten eggs at him*
Caine: Ugh! Bluh! Throw it at them, not me!!
Luseal: This! Is for! Twisting! My ideas! *She yells with each throw*
Pomni: And keeping us in this hellhole! *She yells as she throws them*
Ragatha: And your lack of empathy! *She yells as she throws them*
Zooble: And your attention-seeking! *They yell as they throw them*
Gangle: And pressuring us to do stuff we don’t wanna do! *She yells as she throws them*
Kinger: It’s fun to throw things! *He says as he throws them*
*The rest of the gang joins in and starts throwing eggs at him as well, he starts spitting and gagging, Bubble then licks the yolks off him*
Bubble: Yummy!
Caine: You can be quite the freak, you know that?
*The opposing team points and laughs at Caine, he huffs*
Caine: …You know what? Just go home, all of you.
*He creates a portal, the others start to go through it, but Jax stops for a moment*
Jax: Hold on.
*He throws the last of the eggs at both Evil Luseal and Evil Jax, the former growls and her hair flares up, frying the eggs on her head, Evil Jax just shrugs and giggles nervously*
Jax: Hasta la vista, baby.
*He proudly strides into the portal, everyone ends up in the circus once more, Luseal giggles in excitement*
Luseal: That was a blast! Sure it was hectic and things got pretty crazy, but it got so much better in the end!
Zooble: Especially when we made Caine suck eggs.
*Gangle lets out a laugh-snort, only for her facial expression to darken, as she’s still upset with Zooble*
Jax: It sure was worth getting a taste of the good side of our childhoods.
Ragatha: That’s the way the cookie crumbles.
*Jax is unimpressed by her pun*
Jax: Boo.
*Gangle starts to slink away without a word, but then Zooble speaks up*
Zooble: And…Luse? Again, I’m still sorry I said all that.
Luseal: It's fine Zuzu, I forgive you, I can understand where you were coming from, so no hard feelings.
Zooble: Oh, that’s good.
*Gangle turns back to Zooble, now that she knows that the two friends have made amends, she takes their hand*
Gangle: You wanna draw together, Taffy?
*Zooble is relieved and happy*
Zooble: Totally.
*And with that, the two lovers set off together*
Pomni: Uh, Jax, thanks again for saving me.
*Jax’s smile fades*
Jax: I didn’t do it cuz I liked you, I had some ulterior motive for it. *He says dishonestly*
Pomni: What was it?
Jax: Um…uh…that’s for me to know and you to find out!
*He zips away, Luseal snickers at this and shakes her head*
Luseal: Don't worry, he does in fact like you.
*Pomni smiles a bit*
Pomni: I had a feeling there was some good in him somewhere. *She thinks to herself*
(The end)