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It was cold.
Her body was cold.
Yet, at the same time, she felt so warm. Wasn't that incredibly strange? Her body was as cold as it could be, but the surroundings around her were as warm as a spring day, despite the ground being made of thin aluminum.
She opened eyes, slowly. She took in the sights that were nearly one hundred times bigger than she was. She groaned, pain stabbed at her like a thousand pins and needles.
She forced her body to sit, her body brittle and weak.
...Brittle? Weak?
This was not her body.
She remembered, faintly, that she was not like this before. She was...what was she again? A Witch? No, no, that was her title. Who was she as a living being? She certainly wasn't this tiny. Or was she?
She looked around and saw multiple beings all similarly lied flat on the floor like she was.
Despite the agony that wracked through her body, she forced herself to stand. She fell almost a second after. She tried again, only to fall again.
Left with no choice, she began to crawl.
As she crawled, she couldn't help but notice that fingers felt more blocky than usual, and her dress was far more solid than it had been before. But what was the usual she was comparing it to? Her body felt uncomfortably solid, but was it only because of her grogginess? Did her fingers used to be more slender, or did she simply imagine it in the face of delirium and pain? Her white hair spilled out onto the floor beneath her as she crawled. It was this shade of white, right? This, of all things, didn't change, right?
She crawled over to the nearest being she could reach. She looked female, because her elegant long red hair spilled into a cloud framing her body. She wore this leafy looking dress with white tuffs, and her headpiece looked nothing short of extraordinary.
She couldn't help but notice, however, that her form was...rather thin, to say the least. Her body barely rose above the flat metal, how could someone be so flat and have all their organs in perfect shape?
Did that mean she was dead?
...Was she dead too? Was she a ghost that was clinging on to a fragment of reality she could no longer remember? If she were to crane her head back, would she see her own dead body?
"I'm surprised that you're the first one to wake," a voice, gentle but regal, yet somehow also ethereal, called from behind. "But then again, you were always the most proficient in healing magic. Perhaps you simply shielded yourself from flames enough to keep most of your soul."
She, caught by surprise, slipped and fell back onto the floor, and only then did she notice that she too had the same flat proportions as the woman that laid beside her.
"Who..." she tested her voice, which turned out to be light and airy. "Who...who are you? Who...am I?"
She wanted to crane her head, but she must've used too much energy to crawl over such a lengthy distance.
"...You," the mysterious voice said with equally mysterious tension. "You are now called "First Milk Cookie", and I...I am someone that has been lost to time, and this all that remains of my true psyche. All you need to know is that you were once a Witch, and now you are a Cookie."
"...A Cookie?" she repeated, confused. "That...makes no sense. Cookies...aren't alive. Cookies...are treats...meant to be enjoyed with milk, right?"
"...I suggest you don't repeat that sentiment from here on forth," the voice tersely replied. "It doesn't matter if Cookies were never meant to be alive. If Cookies and other such delicacies couldn't be alive, then what are you right now?"
She looked down at her own body once more. With great effort, she forced herself to flip onto her back to both see herself more clearly and to take a better look at the mysterious voice behind her.
Her white gown was unnervingly clean; the only evidence of dirtiness were the scrapes she had accidentally put onto it from crawling. Her feet-goodness her feet!-were missing their toes and ankles and were instead long nub-like little things with white covering the entirety of both of her legs. Her hair fell down her head in clumps, but not strands.
In front of her now was this mysterious yellow light. It had no form, it was barely even a sparkle, but if she peered into the light far enough, she was able to see the makings of a tall woman with all the features she once remembered having.
"Is everyone else here...a Cookie?" she asked.
"They are," the voice answered. "I turned you all into Cookies. All of you were...dying, because of, well, I guess I must call her "First Egg Cookie" now, if we must be even the slightest bit consistent. She tried to corrupt the ritual we were hosting to gather Life Powder for the Cookies. I transferred all of your souls to the Cookie bodies here on this baking sheet. I was planning to make a new batch of Cookies to help those Virtues...but I guess this is as good of a purpose for them as any. I'm sorry if you're a bit stale. These vessels were baked a long time ago, you see."
"Virtues..." she whispered. "Virtues, virtues, virtues..."
"...?" Somehow, it looked like the glow managed to tilt its head, if it even had a head in the first place. "Is there something you want to ask me about the Virtues?"
Something to ask...? She thought she had a question to ask about those "Virtues" that the mysterious light mentioned, but what was it again? It was on the tip of her tongue-did she still have a tongue as a Cookie?-but the more she thought about it the more it floated away from her.
In the end, she simply shook her head.
"...I see," the mystery voice said. "Well, whatever the case is, with you as a Cookie, you are no longer safe here. This world isn't built for you anymore. You must evacuate to the Cookie World where our Creations have resided. And before I forget, you need to take one of the Cookies of the First Batch with you. Without you and your fellow acquaintances as Witches, they'll be in grave danger for a multitude of reasons."
A single, slender hand outstretched itself from the light, inviting her in. "Follow me. I'll drop you off somewhere safe, and then I'll make sure everyone else is safe, too."
She wasn't sure what to do. The voice felt so familiar, she could almost put a name, or more like her title to the faint imagery inside. It used to be the Witch of...Something, right?
But then again, what else could she do here? She could barely stand as it was, all she could do right now was sit on a cold aluminum tray to watch the giant moon outside the massive window. Her body still felt incredibly painful to even move. If she refused, would she have to stay here until this fragile Cookie body rotted?
There was simply no other choice. She escaped with the light and never looked back.
"...Milk Cookie. First Milk Cookie...First Milk Cookie!"
First Milk Cookie awakes with a start.
"A-ah!" she chirps. "I-I'm up! I'm up!"
"Good. That's a relief. It's a terrible idea to fall asleep in the middle of a war."
First Milk Cookie turns her head to see Financier Cookie by her side. It seems she was the one to wake her up earlier.
"I'm alright, truly," First Milk says. "I guess I was just a bit drowsy from getting up so early. I had this strange dream too..."
"Well, it's time to shake yourself awake now," Financier Cookie states matter-of-factly. "We're here."
First Milk Cookie rubs her eyecings and looks outside the windows of the airship. The sky is red with dark clouds of smoke billowing from the dried land.
Beast-Yeast. She's finally here.
Grabbing Financier Cookie's hand, she forces herself upright to stand. Her staff hits the wooden floor with a clunk. The two Cookies walk together to the front of the cockpit. There, Pure Vanilla Cookie is manning the wheel, and his own staff is propped looking dead center at the windows. At the sound of footsteps behind him, he turns his head and smiles.
"First Milk Cookie," he greets. "I'm glad to see you're awake. We'll be landing soon, so no need to worry."
First Milk Cookie's heart aches. To think such a kind Cookie was a victim to her own Creation.
"Thank you for allowing me the chance to rest," she responds in turn. "Are you...sure you're okay with me being so close to you in this airship? Truly?"
Pure Vanilla Cookie looks back towards the window. "I will admit," he starts, "That I certainly feel nervous with you so close. Whether I like it or not, it's impossible to forget the hardships Shadow Milk Cookie forced me to endure. However, when I think back on your story about healing him, I find that it's incredibly hard for anyone to come up with a story like you did if it was only meant to trick me."
First Milk Cookie can't say anything. She looks away as she twists her staff in her hands.
Revealing that she was Shadow Milk Cookie's creator was...certainly not ideal. And also certainly not planned, either. Her makeshift plan she made after the war meeting was to go with them as a simple healer ready to assist the soldiers. She would traverse with them through Beast-Yeast, and once she found Shadow Milk Cookie, she would privately steal him away in the midst of battle. In some forgotten corner or other, they would both have a small chat about her wrongdoings as his Creator. She would apologize, he would (hopefully, but she would dare not ask him for it herself) start to forgive her, and she would whisk them both far away from the battlefield when Skim Milk Cookie would tear the Return Scroll at her request. A simple, easy plan! It may have been full of holes and she would've most likely needed to do some dire improvisation in the heat of the moment, but for all things considered at the time, she certainly thought it was a good idea.
It was just that...well...and not to fault Skim Milk Cookie...
"It is time for us to reconvene to our chambers for the night since the sun is beginning to set," Dark Cacao Cookie announced. "We best head to bed now in order to leave early to prepare the expedition to Beast-Yeast."
"Hah!" Golden Cheese Cookie chortled. "'Resting chambers', as if you didn't simply set up tents and called it a day!"
"It's as I have expressed, Golden Cheese Cookie," Dark Cacao Cookie bristled. "Dark Cacao Warriors function best in scenarios that provide the proper experience during battle."
Before Golden Cheese Cookie could even get a word in about some retort that could've easily kept their little spat going on for at least another 30 minutes, a brilliant circle of light appeared on the ground. The sigils manifested themselves within the circle and fired up beams of light upwards. When the sparkling distractions receded, there stood Skim Milk Cookie, primed and ready to give his daily report about the Sanctum of Healing.
"Good evening, First Milk Cookie," he greeted, oblivious to the incredibly confused Ancients behind him. "The Sanctum of Healing's condition is stable as of right now. The current patients have all been tended to, and I presume we can successfully discharge them in a few days. There was an incident regarding those blasted Egg Drones, but the Milk Veil was able to keep them out. However, I do have to ask if you're alright. The Veil was shaking not too long ago, are you sure your psyche is healthy? I can-"
"Who in the Witches are you?" Hollyberry Cookie asked with her mouthcing completely agape.
Skim Milk Cookie finally turned around and realized he wasn't alone. Both he and First Milk Cookie looked like they just swallowed an awful lot of lemons. The children in the Solarium of Unity were all hiding behind Pure Vanilla Cookie, who was also so shocked that both of his eyes were open.
"I...my apologies, First-I mean, Sweet Milk Cookie," he stammered as his eyes darted back and forth between her and the ever confused crowd. "I-I wasn't aware you weren't alone."
Honestly? Neither did First Milk Cookie. She completely forgot this was when they both agreed to talk during her adventure outside the Sanctum of Healing.
"First Milk Cookie?" Golden Cheese Cookie probed. "What kind of ingredients were you baked with to be called First Milk Cookie?!"
Oh dear...this looked like it would take a while...
It took a lot more explaining than First Milk and Skim Milk Cookie wanted, not to mention the terrifying brandishing of weapons when they learned she was the one who baked Shadow Milk Cookie, which naturally led to their realization that she was somehow a Witch that turned into a Cookie, which led to a number of crises that she had to lead everyone through, which then led to all of them being so shell-shocked she had to explain the whole situation twice...
But all that goes well ends well, right? In the end, she successfully kept her head on her body and is currently not rotting away in some conspicuous dungeon within the Vanilla Kingdom! Success! It was all fine, they were all fine!
...But perhaps she should open the Sanctum of Healing for mental problems as well when she gets back. Just in case.
Beside her, Financier Cookie looks at her, her eyecings full of suspicion. She hadn't been told the whole story, only First Milk's real name and Pure Vanilla's insistence that she would be a key part in taking down the Beasts.
Pure Vanilla Cookie taps the intercom next to the steering wheel. "Alright everyone. We don't have much time, so I'll get right to it. Dark Enchantress Cookie's goal is to create "The Ultimate Cookie". To build a world where Cookiekind triumphs over the Witches."
Not a single Cookie on that airship misses the way First Milk Cookie curls inwards at the mention of "Witches".
"Her scheme has brought nothing but suffering and ruin," Pure Vanilla continues, "and the very laws of our world are on the brink of crumbling. If we let her continue...Cookiekind as we know it may be lost forever. We must stop Dark Enchantress Cookie before it is too late. For our sake and for Earthbread's. May the Divine Blessing be upon you...and may your dough stay crispy as always."
With nothing more to say, he cuts off the intercom.
"An excellent speech, Pure Vanilla Cookie," Financier Cookie praises. "I'm sure the soldiers are well invigorated."
"I hope they are," he says, "It'll take a lot for everyone here to make it out alive."
The king's hands squeeze the wooden wheel. "...First Milk Cookie, are you sure your plan might work?"
"I...I'm not sure," the Witch-turned-Cookie admits, "Healing magic is one of the only things I'm good for, and I've never had to heal wounds pertaining to a battlefield before. However, I'm willing to try. Every Cookie fighting on the frontlines right now deserves to go back home to celebrate their victories. Even if I have to exhaust every last bit of Energy and Life Powder that flows through my dough...I'm more than willing to bear the cross for all of their sakes."
"And you just need a high enough elevation to set your plan into motion?"
"That's all I need. I swear by the progenitor of all Cookies, the Witch of Light, that I, First Milk Cookie, will do my best to ensure no ally Cookie crumbles to dust."
Pure Vanilla Cookie goes silent. It almost feels too much to force one Cookie to be their hidden trump card in the face of war like this.
But what else is he to do, when even the sacrificial lamb is willing to step onto the altar? What else is he to do except watch as another Cookie willingly puts herself through possible incredible suffering for the sake of others?
What was he to do, when he did nothing the first time?
A hand gently places itself onto his shoulder.
"It'll be alright," First Milk Cookie reassures. "I have an oath as a healer that I cannot break. I will treat every patient I come across, and I won't back down until I'm crumbled."
She reaches up and pats Pure Vanilla Cookie on his head. "And even if death still somehow finds a way to claim me, I know there are a number of healers in this world that will carry what I started. Perhaps they will even end things I have only offered support for."
Pure Vanilla Cookie looks away in embarrassment. "First Milk Cookie, I am far older than my dough suggests."
"I know," she says, "But what I've come to learn is that it's Cookies like you that need treatment like this the most."
*BOOOOOOOOM!*
An explosion shakes the entire airship, sending all three Cookies on the airship to the floor.
"Pure Vanilla Cookie!" Gingerbrave cries from the intercom. "Are you alright?!"
Financier Cookie groans and heaves herself up to grab the airship's microphone. "Our magic barrier is intact! Don't worry about us!"
Carefully, First Milk Cookie and Pure Vanilla Cookie stand up as well using the steering wheel as support. Pure Vanilla himself gets back up and starts manning the wheel again.
"Who could've fired so high at an airship?" First Milk Cookie wonders.
"...I don't know," Pure Vanilla Cookie says, "And it worries me. There are only so many Cookies I know that are capable of firing this high at us, let alone do so in the midst of battle."
"You believe there is a sniper hidden somewhere?" Financier Cookie guesses.
"It's a possible theory, but it could also be something Dark Enchantress Cookie has planned. I wouldn't put it past her to be able to create cannons that could shoot so far away."
Backed away in some random corner of the ship, having just freshly stumbled out of the cockpit, First Milk Cookie looks at the reddened sky with an indescribable expression in her eyecings, tears pricking at the edges. She is no stranger with wartime, at least, not in the way most would expect her to be. She knew the concept of it, knew its atrocities that it cast over soldiers and nurses alike, knew exactly what injuries it stained the living with on their bodies, yet she herself had never seen a true battlefield before. The most she had ever learned of war were stories by the men on the ship and a fellow Witch of hers. A Witch who, yet again, their true name and title escape her mind just out of reach.
She was too scared to look out the window now. Knowing it was one thing, seeing it, feeling the scent of smoke hit her doughy face would simply be too much for her. How cowardly of her, right? She was just fine looking out when she first woke up, so perhaps feeling the impact of those heavy shots was too much for her fragile heart.
Pure Vanilla’s voice is talking again. Is it to her, or is it to the soldiers down below? It sounds like words of encouragement, or are they words spoken for strategy? She doesn't know, she can't hear anything; all she can hear is the ringing from the shot fired at the airship and her heartbeat. She thinks it's her heart anyway, but how could a heart exist within solid dough? The ringing's now gone straight to her head. She can't think clearly. Tears start falling before she can even control them. She falls to her knees when she hears the piercing roar of something right outside the airship. She hears the rolling of her staff her the floor, her hands tugging and scratching at the bandages covering her dough. Her limbs won't stop shaking, and her breaths keep coming in short fast-paced gasps.
She tries her best to calm down to no avail. It feels like lead is swimming through her head as she tries remembering how to breath right. In 4, hold 7, out 8. In 4, hold 7, out 8. In 4, hold 7, out 8. In 4, hold 5, out 4. In 3, hold 2, out 3. In 1, hold 2, out 1.
In 1, hold 1, out 1. In 1, hold 1, out 1. In 1, hold 1, out 1. In 1, hold 1, out 1. In 1, hold 1, out 1. In 1, hold 1, out 1.
Her limbs have lost feeling. Her eyes are beginning to glaze over. She can't tell where the floor is. She can't tell where she is anymore, and damn it all she-
she still-
she still can't-
she still can't breathe-
someone help-
"First Milk Cookie!!!!"
A warm bath of light washes over her as her nerves finally begin to calm down. With her eyes clear of tears, she can see Pure Vanilla Cookie, staff aloft, breathing quite heavily himself. His face looks rather panicked. Financier Cookie looks no better beside him, as her face is also covered in the same panic and worry as his. Her hand awkwardly hovers over the holster of her sword, as if she expected something else was responsible for her episode instead of her own mind.
"First Milk Cookie," he pants, "Are you alright? You looked as if you were in great pain."
"I..." she starts, only to test her voice, then stops. Then, she starts again with her hand clutching around her throat, "I-I'm alright. F-forgive me, it seems I'm weaker to loud noises than I thought."
"Pure Vanilla Cookie, we have to turn this airship around right now," Financier Cookie asserts, "We can't have a Cookie under serious mental duress in the middle of a war, especially if she's meant to be so close to battle for healing."
"No!" First Milk Cookie commands, her voice the strongest either of the two Cookies have heard out of her. Her breath is still short and heavy, but now her voice is tinged with hints of newfound desperation. Tears still run down her face, but with her back turned to them, it’s almost nigh impossible for them to notice. "I...I-It's too late to turn back, something is surely going to attack the airship if you try to bring me back. You have to stay on course. You can't abandon everyone here for one Cookie."
"But First Milk Cookie," Pure Vanilla tries to protest, "If you're shaken up by a single cannon shot, how can I put the burden of-"
She cuts him off. "It's not about me right now. I'm not as important as all those Cookies waiting below for your assistance. I...should be the least of your priorities. The plan won't change. My plan...won't change. Keep...keep the airship on course."
"First Milk Cookie...how could you say that about yourself?"
"It's fine, Pure Vanilla Cookie-"
"No, it's not-"
"It is, because I-"
Their quarrel is cut off by a trace of magic beginning to carve itself out from empty space.
A very familiar trace of magic.
In an instant, Pure Vanilla Cookie forgoes their squabble in favor of dashing back to the cockpit, yanking the microphone in the airship and practically yelling the order to stand back, the crackle of audio cutting into his command.
Not even a few moments later, the sky is covered in a dark indigo with neon blue eyes peering at everyone on the island.
”Volia!” an equally familiar nasally voice rings out. “Now how's that for a debut?! Now I'm not one to shamelessly rely on tropes to showcase my act-especially such a cheap one like a deus ex machina-but hey, tropes are tropes for a reason, aren't they?
Two blue hands rip through empty space, pushing open the gap until it's big enough for the star of the show to arrive in the dough.
"Helloooooooooo Earthbread!" he cries, flinging out his arms in a mock salutation. "Your favorite jester is back on the stage! And for this celebratory moment, I shall bless all of you with the grandest sight your puny little minds could ever hope for: Your very last glimpse at this rotten world of Deceit!"
First Milk Cookie looks to the ground through the window and sees multiple Cookies clutching their heads and screaming. Some of them are laughing manically into the air at nothing at all; most have tears streaming down their cheeks.
She places a hand on the window in horror.
He really did do this.
Shadow Milk Cookie was really doing this.
Pure Vanilla Cookie wasn't lying when he said that the Beast was capable of such things.
Her hand closes into a fist. She can't wait anymore. She has to get Pure Vanilla Cookie to let her off this airship already.
Shadow Milk Cookie, meanwhile, laughs as his body twists through the air in happy little twirls. "Behold, dear audience: The Kaleidoscope of the Void: Stage of Delirium! It grants Cookies their most dreadful gift...witnessing their greatest nightmares in the front row seat! Oh, I've simply outdone myself! C'mon, everyone! Let me hear your screams!"
A true, despairing cacophony of wails and shrieks follow his request.
"And the crowd goes WILD!" the jester cheers, spinning his staff in his hands. "Ah, how it thrills me to give my beloved audience such exquisite entertainment!"
The wails and screams grow louder and louder as the soldiers below start swinging their weapons wildly at anything they can see, as if hitting their nightmares would be enough to dispel it.
Shadow Milk Cookie's head tilts unnervingly far to the right. "My my my, an encore already~? Oh, how can I say no to such a lively audience~? Alright, it's time to broaden the stage, fueled by all your overwhelming support...and your joyous screams!"
Without warning, the airship suddenly picks up speed, the sudden movement sending First Milk Cookie to the floor again.
"SHADOW MILK COOKIE!" Pure Vanilla Cookie practically yells into the intercom, "I COMMAND YOU TO STOP THIS!"
The Beast plugs his ears and groans dramatically at the sheer volume of Pure Vanilla's demand. "UGH! Has no one taught you to use your indoor voice, Silly-Vanilly?! You nearly blew my head off! As if you with your goody-two-shoes happy-go-lucky attitude could ever tell me what to do!"
Quickly, Pure Vanilla hangs up the intercom and looks back to First Milk Cookie struggling to get up, and then to Financier Cookie.
"Head to the back with her," he orders. "Curl up tight and tell her to brace for impact."
Financier Cookie salutes. "Roger that, Pure Vanilla Cookie."
The Crème Republic Soldier heads to the back and covers First Milk Cookie with her own body.
"Stay put," she whispers. "I don't think the Beast realizes you're here yet. Brace for impact."
"Impact?" First Milk whispers back, her voice much more muffled because of her face pressed to the wooden floor. "What impact-"
*WHAAAM!!!*
Oh. That impact.
...And if the declining altitude of the airship said anything, there would soon also be the impact of the impending crash.
...And the soon to be impact of the crash?!
First Milk Cookie quickly wrestles her arm out of Financier's pinning and grabs her staff, quickly casting a barrier spell around them both and Pure Vanilla with Milk Magic.
The airship crashes to the ground not long after that. Pieces of wood scrape at the bubbles she's formed from Milk Magic. The bubble containing the two women bounces straight into Pure Vanilla's, then pops.
All three Cookies can't help but groan at the sudden momentum stop. They're all in mild pain, but alive. Their doughs haven't crumbled yet.
Pure Vanilla quickly gets to his feet and starts to usher Financier and First Milk out of the wreckage.
"Go, now," he whispers. "I'll buy you time. Get up to the peak and do what you need to do."
First Milk Cookie is hesitant on whether or not she should obey or rebel, but Financier Cookie's grip around her waist hoists her away before she even has time to say anything.
The second they leave and hide behind one of the rocks, Shadow Milk Cookie heaves himself out of the rubble, laughing manically.
"Now's our chance," Financier says. "While he's distracted. Let's go!"
Tossed over the soldier's shoulder, First Milk Cookie's hand clings onto the rock. "But...Shadow Milk Cookie..."
"...will crumble you if he catches you," Financier finishes for her. "A Beast like him knows no mercy."
Despondent, but weak, First Milk Cookie lets go of the rock.
Financier Cookie carries her into the nearby woods whilst Pure Vanilla Cookie tries to hold the Beast of Deceit at bay. The soldier hops over pulled up tree roots and nimbly dodges the globs of dough-like monsters until she reaches a tall rock standing jagged, its sharp form stretching to the sky. With a grunt, she heaves First Milk Cookie off of her shoulders, then she draws her sword.
"Get climbing," she orders. "I'll hold them back."
First Milk Cookie gets climbing.
Climbing a rock is certainly no easy task when the length of your dress keeps you from digging your feet into the grooves, not to mention trying to carry up your staff with you every few feet or so. However, she eventually manages to heave herself up to the peak. She looks out to the battlefield just as a heavy strike of lightning flashes to the ground and illuminates the surrounding area in a brilliant yellow sheen. She's too far to see any other Cookies, whether they're continuing to push themselves to the brink or are already fighting death with every groan that slips through their mouths.
The grip on her staff tightens. She stands up as best as she can and holds her staff aloft in the air. She closes her eyes.
"Eburne alligo, fracta sanio...dolorem expello, sum tuus ex morte salutaris..."
The ground below her begins to shine as a magic circle starts to activate itself.
First Milk Cookie doesn't know a single thing about offensive magic, that much is certainly true.
What cannot be disputed, however, is that she is the master and mother of every healing sigil there ever was.
So it can be interpreted, therefore, that surely within those hundreds of spells, there could exist one that could be used for the opposite purpose.
She focuses on pinpointing the familiar energy from the only Cookies she knows capable of holding their power. She twists her hands and channels the magic into a straight path towards the Beasts.
Across the battlefield, the effect is instantaneous.
Thick blue strands sprout from the ground and wrap around every the four Beasts on the field. They curl around each other until they form a perfect little ball, encasing them all inside. Before any of them-mostly Burning Spice Cookie-can break free, a wash of milky white seals the ball like a coat of chocolate.
That's not all that happens, however. Small patches of white asters bloom between the cracks in the broken earth, expelling a sweet pollen that drifts over to the warriors.
"What's happening...?" one of them speaks, feeling more rejuvenated the more pollen falls onto their dough. "My dough...it's patching itself back up!"
"It's a miracle..." one of the other soldiers whispers, "Who's doing this? Is this Pure Vanilla Cookie's doing?"
Hollyberry Cookie looks to the sky in awe. "So this is what First Milk Cookie had in mind. It's simply incredible! It seems we won't have to worry about any injuries for now."
"We best get moving now!" Golden Cheese Cookie declares. "I'd hate to be caught in the crossfire of such a powerful spell."
Far, far away, back at the outskirts, First Milk Cookie chants the same spell over and over. The Life Powder coursing through her dough pours itself into the spell like a never ending waterfall of magic. Every time she feels the space be disturbed, she flexes her hands and strengthens the spell. In a war of attrition, she's sure that the Beast Cookies can't rival her magical prowess alone.
Unfortunately, this medical marvel did not go unnoticed. Specifically, a Cookie watching from afar in her big castle with her minions by her side is carefully peering at her through the many eyes she has on the island.
"Interesting," Dark Enchantress Cookie muses, "I never thought there could be another Cookie capable of practicing the magic of the Witches like me. To think Pure Vanilla Cookie actually had something I didn't anticipate!"
"A lowly ingrate, I'm sure," Pomegranate Cookie hisses, "To avoid your splendiferous gaze for so long when she could've advanced our plans by several months...!"
"True, it is unfortunate that we couldn't find her sooner," Dark Enchantress tuts, "But I'm hardly one to look a gift sugar horse in the mouth."
She slams her staff into the floor, the sound resounding all throughout the empty castle. "Pomegranate Cookie! Relay new orders to the Dough Trio at once. Tell them to get her to the magic circle no matter the cost! If she's casting magic of that caliber without her dough even cracking...her Life Powder must be at a level I simply can't comprehend. I must have it at once."
Pomegranate Cookie smiles. "Your orders are my command, Master."
Pulling out her Pomegranate Mirror, the former priestess opens up the connection to the three Cookies, who are running straight for Gingerbrave, as per their previous instructions.
"There's been a change of plans," she speaks. "You see that pesky Cookie wearing all white and casting that large spell? You are to go after her at once."
Venom Dough Cookie can hardly believe what they're hearing. "So sudden...? But we're already halfway there to Gingerbrave's location..."
A sharp ringing pierces through the clamor of war. Behind them, they can hear Pom-Pom Dough Cookie and Mold Dough Cookie crying out in pain. A loving gift from their Master to Pomegranate Cookie.
"Must we really go through this again?" Pomegranate Cookie tsks, "You are not here to ask questions. You are here to follow my Master's orders. That is the sole reason why you were even baked in the first place. Do I have myself clear?"
Venom Dough Cookie clutches at their eye, hatred boiling in their artificial dough. "...Orders recieved. We'll run back at once to the Cookie in white."
"Good, good," Pomegranate coos in a sickly saccharine tone, "Don't disappoint Master."
The ringing stops. Pom-Pom Dough Cookie and Mold Dough Cookie collapse to the broken earth.
"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Pom-Pom Dough Cookie cries. "What did we even do to deserve it this time?!"
Venom Dough Cookie can't say anything. It feels like their own venom is clogging up their throat.
"...We have new orders," they say instead. "We have to head back and apprehend whoever's casting this White Magic."
"Guh," Pom-Pom Dough Cookie groans. "And here I thought the pain could stop for a little while..."
The Dough Trio rush to where First Milk Cookie has stationed herself, their bodies too fast for the asters' pollen to cling onto.
It doesn't take them very long to see the lone Cookie in white chanting on top of a precarious looking rock. However, rather unfortunately, Financier Cookie notices them first.
"Halt!" she demands, brandishing her sword. "Not one step further!"
Venom Dough Cookie stretches out their arm to hold the other two Cookies back.
"I'll handle her," they say, "Mold Dough Cookie, get her down from that rock. Don't crumble her, control your powers."
"...Understood," he gruffs.
"Pom-Pom Dough Cookie, stay back and provide support to either of us if we need it."
"Don't have to tell me twice..."
The only thing they say after that is "Let's get this done quick," before they dash off to deal with Financier Cookie.
Mold Dough Cookie loops around the side at the same time and reaches the rock First Milk Cookie is perched upon. With a single swing, he smashes the foundation to pieces and sends her falling.
With her concentration broken, the spell stops. Strands of white and blue peel away from the Beasts just as the remaining Ancients are a quarter of a distance away from Dark Enchantress Cookie's castle.
However, they don't go for the Ancients as they were told to do or initially wanted to do. Instead, save for Silent Salt Cookie, they start heading to the outskirts instead.
Back at the now destroyed pillar, First Milk Cookie is swung over Mold Dough's shoulder as he begins walking back to the magic circle. Financier Cookie is too caught up in her fight against Venom Dough Cookie to be of any use.
Before he can make it far, however, he suddenly collapses to the ground, groaning. First Milk Cookie's legs are caught under his incredibly broad chest. Disregarding the fight next to her, Pom-Pom Dough Cookie dashes over to her friend.
"Mold Dough Cookie!" she cries, "Are you alright?"
"He's breathing rather heavily," First Milk notes, "What happened to him?"
"None of your business!" Pom-Pom Dough shouts. She tries wrapping her arms around the fallen Cookie to bring him back to the Laboratory to fix his dough, but she's too tiny to even fully carry him. The only thing she manages to do is heave him high enough for First Milk to wiggle her legs out.
Pom-Pom Dough Cookie is practically throwing a tantrum as she's trying and failing to move Mold Dough Cookie from where he lies.
"C'mon, Mold Dough Cookie!" she says, stomping her feet on the charred ground. "You can do it, you can beat the pain! Get up already!"
Mold Dough Cookie groans, but he still can't muster enough strength to get up. Pom-Pom Dough Cookie collapses to the floor and starts weakly punching Mold Dough's back.
"Why? Why why why WHY WHY WHY WHY?!" she screams, one fake hit after another, "Why do we have to go through this pain?! What did we do to deserve this?!"
The tiny Cookie clutches her head as the familiar splitting pain comes back and begins to wail.
In that moment, First Milk Cookie sees not Pom-Pom Dough Cookie, but rather Net Cookie, back when she broke into the Sanctum. The way she clutched her head and cried about the pain was almost near identical to the way Pom-Pom Dough Cookie was suffering now.
If it were any other Cookie, they would've run off long ago whilst their opponents were distracted. They would've head to the battlefield to try and blend in with the soldiers and abandon them all to their pain.
But First Milk Cookie was not an ordinary Cookie. She was a healer, first and foremost, and the healing of other Cookies was her only purpose.
...Before she even knows it, she's already walking over to the two Cookies on the ground. She swings her staff and a milky white veil drapes over both of them. In a few seconds, the constant pain that kept cracking their doughs fades away.
Mold Dough Cookie pushes himself up with barely any effort at all. He flexes his arms, noting that his dough feels stronger than ever. The energy from the magic circle felt pitiful in comparison. He turns to First Milk Cookie who's still standing in front of them, not moving at all.
"...Why?" he finally speaks, "Why help us? We are your enemies."
"...You remind me of a Cookie I once treated," First Milk answers, "She was baked for a single purpose, but in what I can only assume was a rush, she felt great pain in her lower back and head whenever she tried to move. I never saw her again after I treated her, but she's one of many patients that remind me why I chose the path of healing."
She looks away, avoiding their gaze. "I understand there are many things I don't understand about any of you, but if you are in pain like that again, you're always welcome to come to the Sanctum of Healing. It's very far from Beast-Yeast and Crispia, so it may be cold comfort, but know that you will always be welcome there no matter what. I won't turn away from any kind of patient."
For a while, Pom-Pom Dough Cookie and Mold Dough Cookie just...stare at her. The former tries to go and hit her for First Milk's "pity", but the latter grabs her arm back and shakes his head. They don't even say anything. Even Venom Dough Cookie stops fighting with Financier Cookie after witnessing such a rare sight.
All three of them were thinking the same thing at that moment: Kindness like hers felt rare. Impossible, even. Was what she really said the truth? Could they really have a place they could rest anytime they liked? In some far away dream where all this pain and suffering was a thing of the past, could life really be that sweet?
Of course, naturally, the moment is ruined the second Shadow Milk Cookie manages to peel himself away from Pure Vanilla Cookie despite the king's valiant efforts to keep him occupied. When he flies over to the scene, all he can see is First Milk Cookie smiling at the two Cookies on the ground. She looks happy, treating their wounds without a single care in the world. It looked like she didn't even hesitate to run over to her supposed enemies to wash away their wounds with cold milk.
So why, why oh why, could she not do the same when he was hurting so long ago?
He can't take it anymore. Rage boils like blueberry jam inside his body. The eyes in his haircing become incredibly agitated.
Pure Vanilla Cookie can't even raise his staff fast enough when Shadow Milk dives for the other healer in a single fell swoop.
Shadow Milk Cookie raises his cane and flings the Dough Trio into the woods, the brief moment of peace violently interrupted. He pulls his free arm back and slams First Milk Cookie into the ground by her throat, the ground cracking around her from sheer impact.
"What a lovely little show I just witnessed," he says, his smile full of sharp teeth and his eyecing twitching uncontrollably, "Too bad it came from such a two-bit hack actor like you."
First Milk coughs. She tries to move Shadow Milk's hand to no avail.
"Tell me, you filthy liar," he hisses, squeezing her throat even tighter. "If you're that stupid to heal your enemies in the middle of a literal war, then why couldn't you heal me when I was hurting the most? Was I too broken for you by then? Did you not care about me anymore? Did you hate me that much to pierce my dough with Silver Forks and lock me away for centuries as a failure?!"
First Milk Cookie tries to say something, anything, but the hand around her throat gives her no room to breathe. Silver Forks? What was he talking about? She had never seen anything close to that in her entire time as a Witch. Not from her, not from the Witch of Light, not from anyone. Locked in a tree? Does that mean Witch of Grains sealed the Virtues away before that fateful meeting?
So many questions she wants answered, but none can be spoken out when her head starts to get fuzzy from the lack of air.
"You know I was gonna play nice and pretend you never existed," Shadow Milk Cookie says, "But of course you just had to weasel into a place where you didn't belong. What even is this? How are you even a Cookie? Is this some kind of vessel you're using to play pattycake with crumbling, nasty, little gnats?! If I crumble this body right here, would you even feel anything at all?"
There's no answer to that kind of question she can give. The hand around her throat squeezes even tighter.
Shadow Milk Cookie's eyes bore into her own. "What is this nonsense? Why are you even here?"
A brilliant flash of light wraps around the jester's stomach and flings him back. The rush of air First Milk suddenly leaves her heaving and coughing to the floor.
"Shadow Milk Cookie," Pure Vanilla speaks, "Must I remind you that your fight is with me?"
Instead of playful banter like what he was expecting, Shadow Milk just very quietly turns around, his bright cyan eyecing staring a hole straight into Pure Vanilla's head.
"...You have exactly five seconds to let me go before I crush you into dough bits and jam," Shadow Milk warns in an incredibly unsettling calm tone. Before Pure Vanilla Cookie can even think about the warning or even refuse, the scent of paprika invades their noses.
Not long after, a great golden axe collides with a Milk Barrier. Both of them whip their heads over to see Burning Spice Cookie pushing his axe further and further down as First Milk Cookie struggles to hold her staff aloft to keep the spell going.
"What an interesting thing of prey I've found!" the Great Destroyer laughs, digging his legs into the ground to give his axe more push. First Milk Cookie barely manages to stand up and expel the shield outwards to push him back. As soon as she does, however, Burning Spice closes the distance and swings at her again, and again, she blocks it.
Swing. Block. Swing. Block. Swing. Block.
"I-how?" First Milk Cookie speaks, "Why aren't you-"
"Now, now~" Eternal Sugar Cookie croons as she floats overhead on a Cotton Candy Cloud, "We weren't baked for Knowledge, but even we can tell what the magic of Witches feels like! So color us surprised when we felt it from someone other than Dark Enchantress Cookie."
"Pitiful," Mystic Flour Cookie speaks as she slowly steps out of the woods, the Flour Fog floating close behind her. "To think what we considered as the gods would be in such a pitiful state...can you even be returned to Flour?"
Burning Spice Cookie's smile grows manic as his swings increase in frequency. "To think, that we could have our revenge against our Creators like this! I shall enjoy breaking you into nothing."
"Be sure not to crumble her right away, Burning Spice Cookie!" Eternal Sugar Cookie calls, "It would be a shame if we lost the opportunity to go after our own Creators~. Surely, she would know where the others are if she's like this, right~? Just break her limbs for now~"
"Pointless," Mystic Flour whispers, "Such meaningless violence is pointless..."
Her eyes open as the Flour Fog begins to creep ever closer. "...But I must admit, even I can't resist such an opportunity to return our Creators to Flour."
First Milk Cookie keeps walking back and back, the recoil getting worse with every swing that makes contact with her Milk Shield. Further and further back she goes in a desperate prayer that Burning Spice Cookie would soon get tired, and then and only then could she get them all to just listen to her.
But that time never comes.
Because soon, she trips on a stray rock that broke apart from the pillar she was on earlier.
She slips. Her concentration breaks. The Milk Shield ripples away. Her staff falls out of her grasp and rolls away.
...And she's far too slow to crawl back from Burning Spice Cookie's next swing.
*SCHIIIIIIIIIIIILK!*
The axe goes through her legs in one fell swoop. First Milk Cookie feels the dough cracking apart before it finally breaks. When she looks down, she can see strawberry jam oozing out of the wounds and staining her dress.
It feels like the world goes into slow motion at that very moment.
At first, there's nothing. Her body's too high on adrenaline to even notice.
The next moment? Blistering, all-consuming pain swallows her bottom half whole and quickly extends to the rest of her body.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts so much. This pain is nothing like she's ever felt before. Her body withering away during that ritual was one thing sure, but this is a kind of pain she simply couldn't describe.
And yet, perhaps in irony or morbid curiosity, she's transfixed by the sight. She can't help but look at her broken legs and the strawberry jam from inside her body staining the crumbs. The way the jam oozes into the ground and stains it. The cut through her legs looks clean, even; she can't see any deviations from the cut whatsoever.
A memory forces itself into the forefront of her mind, a memory she never knew she still had up until this point. She's young, a child, when she's watching a deer carcass in the middle of the woods. She went out to pick herbs for the infirmary in her town when she stumbled upon it. It looked like a wolf nearby had recently feasted upon it. She should've ran in fear that she would've been next for the wolf, but she couldn't. It was like the corpse had hypnotized her. Even though it smelled absolutely horrific, she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. She kept staring at its rotten flesh, the ribs poking out of the bite wound in its back, the flies hovering over the body, hungry and ready to have their next meal. If she squinted hard enough, then she could see tiny little maggots crawling under its fur, eating away the rotten flesh to propagate a new generation. She stood perfectly still for what felt like hours, just watching the deer slowly rot away. She didn't know how long it must've been for someone from the village to find her and take her away, the trance being broken the minute they grabbed her arm.
She slowly looks up to see Burning Spice Cookie lifting his axe again. Is he aiming for her head? She can't tell. It's hard to see with tears in her eyes.
...Will she end up like that deer corpse too? Will that axe cleave into her head as the last bit of her consciousness fades? Will her Life Powder seep out with the rest of her jam, flowing back into the earth to revitalize this battle-worn ground? Will they take her body back and let that Great Destroyer smash her as he pleased until she was nothing but minced dough? Would they throw her out then, or keep her crumbs as a reminder of what they were capable of doing? If she were to be thrown out or left here, would Jelly Worms come to feast on her corpse. Looking down at her broken legs, she can see a crude imitation of bones inside, but her bones should be as sweet as her dough, so they'd be capable of eating everything except her clothes, right? But what if clothes were made out of something sweet after all and she had no idea? Would nothing be left of her then? What about the Sanctum of Healing? The Milk Veil would surely go down when she dies, which means those Egg Drones could break in again and steal away Toughie. But if his incubator was still tied to her health, then he would probably be long dead by the time those drones got him back to First Egg Cookie. What about Skim Milk Cookie and Cottage Cheese Cookie? Would they be able to handle the sanctum all by themselves? Would they be able to recover without her there? What would they even do when they see the Milk Veil fall? Would Skim Milk Cookie even let himself rest when he researches day and night for a replacement barrier? Who would make sure Cottage Cheese Cookie hydrated herself regularly? What would the Witch of Light think of her now? Would she be disappointed that she expended all her power to save someone who would die not long thereafter? Would she curse that she shouldn't have never saved First Milk back when she was a human, shivering and dying on that lonely boat? Would she realize that she made a mistake making her into a Witch at all? Would Shadow Milk Cookie be happy with this? Would he dance on her crumbs and sing a song about how even Cookies can triumph over the gods?
He looked so angry only a few moments ago. That means he would, wouldn't he?
Her eyecings glaze over as she watches the axe fall down.
This was it, then. A brand new life to pay for her sins, and she would crumble before she got to do anything truly meaningful with it.
She should've seen this coming. She wasn't even that good of a Witch; she can faintly remember all the failures she went through baking Shining Milk Cookie the Fount of Knowledge. Time after time after time and time and time again, there was something she got wrong in the recipe and innocent beings suffered for it. She didn't even do much for the Cookie World when she thinks about it. Anyone could've done the things she did and avoided the things she failed with. She never really contributed anything at all when they were Witches. She was useless. She was a useless little girl that couldn't pay back the debts she incurred by simply living. The Witch of Light should've never saved her. She should've left her dying alone on that lonely ship, surrounded by the bodies of those she failed to save. She should've let the storm claim her life and let her body sink into those oceanic depths.
Yeah, that was it, wasn't it? It made no sense for her to survive this long; this was simply the universe's way of correcting that. This would be all her life amounted to. A failure of a daughter, a failure of a Witch, and a failure of a Creator.
A failure, tried and true with nothing else good about her.
First Milk Cookie closes her eyes, bracing for the inevitable pain.
Pure Vanilla Cookie could hardly believe what he was seeing through his staff.
First Milk Cookie, injured staring up at Burning Spice Cookie's axe, not even moving.
She had never struck Pure Vanilla as unathletic by any means, so why wasn't she even trying to dodge?
He could see the expression on her face shift in real time from a face filled with terror...to a face completely void of emotion. Tears were falling from her eyecings, yet she made no move to wipe them away. Her eyes blink back to their regular size, but now the sparkle in her eyes is completely gone. Her mouthcing stops quivering too. Undoubtedly and with full certainty, First Milk Cookie looks like she's completely ready to crumble.
Why? Just why? How could anyone be suddenly so accepting with death in their final moments? What on Earthbread was going through her mind at that moment?
However, just as the axe made contact with First Milk Cookie's shoulder, her body is wrapped in a brilliant blue sheen as it pops out of existence. The only traces proving she was even there at all are her broken legs, her staff, and the puddle of jam now drying on the ground.
Burning Spice Cookie seems to tsk as he realizes that she somehow managed to disappear before he could get a proper hit on her. Mystic Flour Cookie and Eternal Sugar Cookie likewise only look mildly disappointed.
Pure Vanilla quickly tries to shake himself out of his stupor. He turns to Shadow Milk Cookie again, ready to fight and endure whatever psychological torture the Beast has for him and-
Oh.
Oh goodness.
Pure Vanilla has never seen Shadow Milk look so horrified before.
It's quite a strange sight to see. The only time the Beast of Deceit had been so open with his emotions was the moment Truthless Recluse agreed to become a Cookie of Deceit right along with him. Shadow Milk's eyecings are blown wide open, shaking, unable to peel themselves away from the scene. His hands are shaking, one of them mindlessly rattling his staff. The eyes in his haircing look completely alarmed, as if they simply couldn't believe the sight that just unveiled before them.
In that moment, Shadow Milk Cookie looks nothing like what Pure Vanilla Cookie had come to know him as. Rather, he looks like a small child that just watched a loved one be tormented in front of his eyes, as if the concept of pain and suffering didn't exist until that very moment.
With hesitation, Pure Vanilla slowly reaches out a hand to try and take Shadow Milk's own. The other doesn't even try to resist him as he thumbs his palm.
Before the king can test anything else, he's swooped into a bridal carry as Shadow Milk launches himself from the ground. He can barely see the Beast picking up the legs and staff before he stashes them in his Other Realm. Shadow Milk Cookie takes to the skies as he flies at breakneck speed. Pure Vanilla Cookie has to clutch his arm in order to keep his heart calm from the sudden adrenaline.
As much as he wants to try and struggle to escape, every event thereafter if he did would almost certainly lead to his demise. Shadow Milk Cookie is currently flying over an ocean and he'd surely fall into it if he managed to wriggle out. His magic would run out eventually, and then the Soda Sea Waters would surely claim his life. Like this, Pure Vanilla Cookie isn't even sure the other could even hear anything he says at all.
His mind traces itself back to the story First Milk Cookie told him and the other Ancients in the Solarium. How she was Shadow Milk Cookie's creator and sought to right her wrongs by helping Shadow Milk onto the path of good. He thinks back to how Shadow Milk barely seemed to think about saving her staff and legs before he flew off with him in tow.
This could be it, right? This could be proof that Shadow Milk Cookie wasn't the pure monster he proclaimed himself to be, right? In a sick piece of validation, Pure Vanilla felt disgustingly happy that such a horrific event had proved his resolve had been correct all along. Shadow Milk Cookie could change, could be better, and now if he could understand him even better, perhaps the jester could think of jamshed and mindless Deceit as a thing of the past.
The Soul Jam on his chest thrummed with anxiety, resonating with the Beast's Soul Jam not even a few inches away from his face. There was no mistaking it, however much Shadow Milk Cookie would deny it if he could speak in this moment, he was worried about First Milk Cookie and her health, whatever it could entail.
Pure Vanilla Cookie turned his head into Shadow Milk Cookie's chest to avoid looking at the sea below them. It was going to be a very long journey for the both of them.