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It wasn’t supposed to go like this. The battle against Dark Enchanteresse wasn’t supposed to take place here, on a battleground no one expected and with so many unexpected foes suddenly showing up and allies showing up later. They had to come up with a new plan on the spot and re-adjust it every time someone new showed up and they knew a tragedy was the most likely outcome even if they won.
So now Pure Vanilla was down on his knees, hands spread above the two he held most dear. Actively breaking his own limits and those he didn’t know he could, pouring out every bit of magic to save them, uncaring of the blue and white jams mixing and soaking his clothes beneath him and uncaring of his own golden jam dripping from his nose and mouth. All he cared for was seeing their eyes regain the light of life, to be able to hear their voices once more as they scolded and berated him for his willingness to hurt himself beyond repair for them. Just to be able to witness that future he ignored the cracks crawling through his dough.
Somewhere else Silent Salt laid on his hands and knees, the phantoms of the long gone knights of Kala Namak protecting their fallen commander even as bits of his dough were steadily falling from him and more of the ghosts were fading from the raw mana leaking from his cracked souljam. He flinched despite himself as a sharp sting echoed through his failing body, he instinctively looked for his other-half, he knew that the pain was coming from her own slow demise.
When by some miracle he spotted her among the chaos his gaze was inevitably drawn to the healer bent over her and another he couldn’t quite make out. He felt his breath leave him as he felt the past hitting him though it rang dissonant, Pure Vanilla’s usually dove white robes were stained in too many places with jam and cookie crumbs were sticking to the lower hems of the garment. For a brief moment he saw himself kneeling there, but where he had been clinging at the feet of his dear Elder Faerie asking if his love would still greet him as his own even in this state, and where Silent Salt had denounced his virtue of Solidarity and sealed himself with the other Beasts, here was Truth killing itself. No, his eyes showed he hadn’t given up, he was fighting with everything on the line, to be able to greet once again one whose actions had caused the world so much pain and suffering.
But it was a losing battle, he could feel it, Freedom was dying and yet, the healer wasn’t willing to let go of her and another cookie he couldn’t see. He felt a pulse in his chest, an echo of the past he had buried deep, that called out to a pure showcase of its own corrupted virtue. He needed to be there, he wouldn’t let the future die if he could help it, not anymore. Before he knew it one he felt a familiar head push against his arm. Nox helped him stand back up and steady him on his way over. Only one knight remained beside them but they were fading more with every step they took so he let them fade completely, he needed to stay alive until he had reached the healer but he froze just an arm length away behind Pure Vanilla, the cookie too focused in his efforts to notice him, when finally he could clearly make out who the second cookie was. The Beast of Deceit.
Why. Why why why ?! Why was this fool trying so hard to save this scum ? A scourge upon earthbread, a beast who declared itself an enemy to all of the cookie kind for entertainment. Now Silent Salt felt himself to be at an impasse, If he helped the healer the way he had planned he was certain it would be used to also save the fiend and he didn’t think he’d have the energy or time to convince the Ancient of Truth to give up on his Beastly counterpart. The sound of his and the two fallen cookie souljams cracking split the air and Silent Salt nearly fell right then and there at the pain that shook him to his very core, he didn’t miss the flinch of the Ancient either, and yet, he watched as the king quickly straightened up and somehow found a second wind in the inevitability of his failure. Whatever hope the cookie was clinging to it seemed that it wouldn’t falter no matter what he said.
But maybe, just maybe, the king had seen in the beastly jester the same thing White Lily had seen in him as well, maybe it would be worth it. If Truth could see hope for the future in saving both of them and if what White Lily has told him about her friend holds true, then Silent Salt will trust her judgment. Before he knew it he was falling to his knees right beside the Ancient who to his credit barely flinched. The dark knight bid a silent goodbye to Nox who he felt fall and fade away behind them, then before the Ancient could think of trying to heal him as well he presented him with his corrupted souljam with one trembling hand, the other lying uselessly beside him, too cracked to be used or even be felt anymore.
Pure Vanilla’s mind was desperately trying to catch up to the situation, his magic was on the brink of sputtering out when someone fell to their knees beside him. When he looked over he hadn’t expected to see Silent Salt of all cookies but before he could even think of trying to use his impossibly spread thin magic to heal the dark knight he was stopped by the Beast handing out his Souljam. The poor stone was in rough shape to put it lightly, spiderweb cracks running all over it and still more were slowly spreading across what was left untouched. He looked at Silent Salt questioningly but he didn’t have his staff as it laid somewhere else broken beyond use and magic exhaustion wasn’t doing his already poor sight any favor, he didn’t trust his voice either with how rubbed raw his throat felt from breathing the dust and smoke the fighting had quicked up, so he couldn’t even ask the knight what exactly his plan was.
The broken souljam was thrust his way more insistently and with great urgency, he looked back at his fallen friends, despite all of his efforts he had only been able to completely heal the smallest injuries the two had garnered, the rest were too severe on their own to properly close and he had hoped that help would come after he had launched a distress signal. But now he was less and less sure that it would come in time. He tore his eyes away to look back at Silent Salt whose entire body was now shaking from the strain of exhaustion. Slowly and carefully he reached for the souljam of Silence and as soon as his hold on it was secure Silent Salt fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, dead where he laid a breath away from White Lily body
Pure Vanilla quietly uttered a prayer for Silent Salt’s sacrifice to not be in vain as he turned back to those still alive and silently fighting their own battle. He will save them, he told himself, he will not falter, he promised his friends. He called upon the Light of Truth and silently begged the Light of Silence to allow him to borrow its strength to save those dearest to him. He felt a breeze stir up around him and watched as bits of dirt were lifted as it increased in speed when suddenly he felt a rush of energy, like a dam giving way, enter him from where he was holding onto Silent Salt’s souljam. He quickly found himself in the eye of a quickly growing storm, yet the only wind he could feel was feather light on his dough and swallowed every noise, even the sound of his breath and of his heart pounding in his ears. Two presences made themselves known within his mind and soul, he recognised the Light of Truth as it encouraged him to continue and while the second one was unknown at first he had no difficulty guessing it must be the Light of Silence, and despite its name he heard a whisper of instruction, delivered with the certainty and commanding voice of Silent Salt. He obeyed and took hold of Shadow Milk’s and White Lily’s hands, twining their fingers together and resting his own warm hand atop them. Then he brought the corrupted souljam and pressed it against his own.
from where the souljams connected light engulfed them all and spread to the walls of the storm, making everything too bright for Pure Vanilla to be able to keep his eyes open. As soon as they were closed he felt himself shift despite himself, suddenly weightless he tightened his hold onto the corrupted souljam and his friend’s hands but found himself holding nothing but air. He opened his eyes in alarm but quickly regretted it as he was blinded once again, even though this light felt softer than the sting of the spell he caused seconds earlier he still had to blink rapidly to get rid of the uncomfortable sensation and the tears it had caused to sprout.
When he opened his eyes he found himself standing at the foot of a verdant hill beside a lazy river and under the soft shade of a willow tree, its strings of leaves swaying in the wind like wind chimes. Yet he could only feel the wind, even the river was silent, it was all so quiet, deafeningly so. He spotted his reflection in the water and took a step closer to inspect it. He was surprised to find he was completely clean, no trace of the war he had just been a part of and he was glad to discover that his robes were free of the jam and cookie crumbs that had stuck to him as the battle raged on.
Lifting his gaze his eyes widened when he spotted two familiar figures on the opposite side of the river, they were arguing in a way that he knew should have been loud but he couldn’t make anything out. He felt happiness surge through him and wanted to call out to them, the water didn’t seem too deep so maybe he could traverse it to join and hug them tight. He moved to take a step forward but before he could even lift his foot a heavy and cold palm rested itself on his shoulder startling him but he quickly calmed down when he saw it was only Silent Salt. He watched as the silent knight put himself between him and the two that were still fighting on the other bank and he couldn’t shake off the feeling that something about the Beast felt out of place. The hand stayed on his shoulder and it weighed on him heavier than the crown he once bore hundreds of years ago. Where did that comparison come from, he wondered but pushed it aside for later.
The knight observed him for a few seconds before he spoke.
“You cannot join them Pure Vanilla Cookie.” He said, voice grave with finality but it only confused Pure Vanilla more.
“What do you mean by that ?”
“This river is one you will never be able to cross, from now on there will be a distance between us and our other-halves that we will never be able to cross.”
“But they are so close, surely by working together we can make it.”
“Not this one Pure Vanilla Cookie.” He was startled once again when a new voice spoke behind him except this one was his own, and as he watched himself come to stand beside Silent Salt he realised. It wasn’t Silent Salt, they were the Light of Truth and the Light of Silence. He had so many new questions but Light of Truth spoke before he could voice any.
“This river is the representation of the unusual severing of the ties that once linked us.”
“What do you mean by unusual ?”
“By combining our souljams and fusing them we’ve become whole in a way never meant to be. We will never be able to reunite, nor even resonate as one.”
“That can’t be ! Surely there is something we can do !” Pure Vanilla couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he wouldn’t. Light of Silence answered his plea with a deafening truth.
“To reverse it now would kill you and shatter our stones, and as we are already left without the possibility to fuse back with our halves we would fade away. They might not even survive it.” The Light of Silence looked to the Light of Truth who had been looking back to the other two still bickering with each other, and when it turned back its only answer was a shake of its head and that is what finally made Pure Vanilla’s knees buckle beneath him.
“No…” Was the only word he could utter, it felt as if his breath had been stolen, ripped from him with his hope even while the Light of Truth embraced him.
“I’m sorry, Pure Vanilla Cookie. It was the only way to save them and while I wish you could have known the cost I knew your choice would have remained the same. At least this way they will live on.” It spoke softly into his ear as tears spilled anew down his cheeks and he gripped the false robes to try and ground himself. He felt a cold hand pat his back once before quickly retreating.
“Time was running out, do not dwell on despair long for you have succeeded against all odds. The risk was far beyond what you could imagine but you did not falter and accomplished the impossible with nothing but our fractured power and your fragile strength.”
“I couldn’t have done it without Silent Salt.” He looked around weakly for the Beast and when he spotted the glint of steel from the corner of his eye he turned around slightly, feeling the Light of Truth’s hold loosen around him but not letting go. From his new position he could see the dark knight had been resting against the trunk of the willow tree all this time, he felt a bit bad for not checking on his whereabouts sooner.
“Is he okay ?” He asked the Lights
“He lives but even I don’t know if he’ll ever wake up, he brushed Death far closer than any of you, more than any cookie should. I’m not sure if he even wants to.” This saddened Pure Vanilla but after everything he was glad the Beast Cookie was still able to find some semblance of peace.
He felt the Light of Truth nudge him to turn back to face them and he let it, the expression it bore was slightly pained and he recognised the expression as the one he knew himself to bore when he had sad news to deliver to the family of patients, he braced himself for the truth he was about to be faced with.
“Pure Vanilla Cookie, I need you to prepare yourself for the future ahead. They may be saved but your relationships with everyone is going to suffer far more than you can conceive. Your friends will doubt you, your allies will denounce you.” Pure Vanilla nodded as it went on, he held no hope of his decision being greeted openly by others but he hoped his friends would come to understand him eventually. Light of Silence finished the sentence.
“And our other halves will resent us for the choice we made.” A moment passed with nothing but the rhythmic sound of Pure Vanilla’s breath to tell time was still moving.
“I believe you already know the toll it is going to have on our dearest halves.” Light of Truth said, all emotions carefully concealed to not shake its holder more than necessary.
“White Lily is going to blame herself for it. Shadow Milk will hate me for taking something else from him, again.” He wanted to hide in a corner somewhere and curl into himself until he disappeared but The Light of Truth instead pulled him against its chest, embracing him tight and petting his head comfortingly until Pure Vanilla finally let go and cried.
Time went on as he stayed curled up there and buried any sobs that slipped out into the fabric he knew would muffle it well. When he was no longer bawling and his cries had softened into sniffles he felt Light of Truth pull back slightly, making him look up at it with a guiding hand on his tear stained cheek.
“It’s time Pure Vanilla Cookie.” The light said, pulling away fully and standing back up before bending forward slightly to offer a hand up. Pure Vanilla closed his eyes and took a deep shaky breath before taking it and was pulled upright in one swift movement. He looked over the Light’s shoulder and almost stumbled back when he saw that Shadow Milk and White Lily had noticed them at some point after he fell and had been joined by their own Lights of Deceit and Freedom.
Shadow Milk looked angry but he also noticed how it was covering disbelief and the barest hint of worry in his expression, White Lily’s expression did not hide any part of her worry though, he also recognised the all too familiar guilt in her eyes. He hurriedly wiped his own eyes with his sleeve and when he looked again Shadow Milk was now fighting with the Light of Deceit who seemed to reply with just as much intensity, they looked ready to strangle each other but he could see Light of Deceit throwing quick glances at the Light of Truth who had moved to stand beside him. Meanwhile White Lily was talking animatedly with the Light of Freedom who seemed to be just as worried yet resigned. Pure Vanilla, to his credit, didn’t startle as badly as before when a new voice spoke from where he thought the Light of Truth and Light of Silence had been.
“Pure Vanilla Cookie.”
When he turned to face the new voice he was astonished by what he saw. The lights had fused and in their place now stood something entirely different. Something made of pure light yet wasn’t blinding in its radiance, it was armored but not as heavily as Light of Silence had been in its form that copied Silent Salt, a cloak of feathers rested on the new Light’s shoulders to reach the ground as the incredibly long strands of the helmet’s thick plume swayed with the breeze. The only other piece of clothing he could distinguish through the uniformity of color the light caused was the ankle length, split up on both sides, skirt that also moved with the wind though this one seemed to be moving much slower than the plume was. In the new Light’s hand it held another helmet, this one wasn’t made of light, but the steel was just as white, it just lacked the radiance of the ethereal being, It also had a the same plume as the Light’s and upon closer inspection when he took it in his own hands it was in fact the exact same color and texture as his hair, which kind of off putting but what gave really him pause where the cracks running from under the eye slits of the helmet and gave the impression of golden tears, running a gauntlet covered finger across them he realised that they were merely painted on, there was something hypnotic about them. He looked back up at the new Light who simply stared at him with eyes of mixed gold, forest and sky.
He looked to the side, back to his friends and The Lights on the other side to see Shadow Milk banging on an invisible wall while spewing what he knew were expletives while White Lily stood frozen with one hand pressed on the barrier until her palm turned white under the pressure, silently begging with her eyes. He felt a small and soft smile curve his lips before he turned his head away. He raised up the helmet to put it on, and just as he thought it weighed heavy, not just his body but his soul and heart as well. So much so that he felt himself fall as the pressure crushed him, his eyes shutting as he hit the ground with an impact that seemed to shake the world around them.
When he opened his eyes again he was back on the familiar battlefield, the magic storm dying down as he regained his bearings. He got back up into a kneeling position and let out a breath of relief as he saw the two he had been trying to save lay right where they had previously been but no longer bleeding, all the cracks and open wounds in their doughs were gone, though the evidence still remained on their clothes. The storm fully dissipated around them and only silence remained on the battlefield. The hush that settled upon the land was tense and when he looked around he saw the familiar faces of friends and allies standing at the edges that the storm had painted on the ground in the form of large and deep moats that encircled his position. Had the battle been won while he was out ?
He should have been relieved to see the rest of his friends alive and nowhere near injured as the other two had previously been, yet somehow, something in their expression was bothering him, making something else whisper of danger and the calling for the need to protect those he had committed the ultimate sacrifice for. An instinct more violent than he remembered it ever being reared its head and spurred him into action as he heard a voice call his name from somewhere he now didn’t care to look for.
Swiftly he took the still unconscious cookies into his arms and quickly stood up, ignoring the vertigo the quick movement caused after who knows how long on the ground. Calling upon a magic that felt familiar in two different ways he opened a portal to the other-realm and stepped through, taking the three of them to the only place he thought safe for now and disappeared in the odd light. Leaving behind the worried shouts of old friends and a small patch of grass where the dead body of the first knight now rested amongst milkcrowns and white lilies.