Chapter Text
“Let go of me!”
The sharp cry of Pure Vanilla Cookie’s friends pierced through the unmoving haze of the night sky, wind whistling through their words and joining the echo of a fruitless scuffle. Watching through the three eyes of the petaled staff he grasped in his hands, his vision was rimmed with an unnatural misty blue. Despite the vision impairment, he was still able to make out the familiar, fear-stricken faces of Gingerbrave, Strawberry Cookie, and Wizard Cookie as they were forced to the top of the Spire. There was something in him that seemed to echo a lost muttering of empathetic guilt that felt for the way their fear had become so commonplace, though there was a louder, sharp-bladed terror that sliced through even the slightest notion of feeling itself.
The three eyes that allowed him sight drifted cautiously to their captor, as if not daring to catch even a glimpse of him. They were dangerous, and more importantly, they were fully and totally aware of the state of Pure Vanilla Cookie’s Soul Jam at all times.
He couldn’t care, because caring meant crumbling, and crumbling meant his friends wouldn’t make it out. So, ignoring the repressed tug of protectiveness, he blinked apathetically as Shadow Milk Cookie released its hold on his friends, and stamped out the flicker of relief with a familiar wave of numbness he’d clung to during his torturous stay at Shadow Milk Cookie’s Spire of Deceit.
“Sadly for you, there’s nowhere to run.” He began, an all-too-familiar condescending tone lacing his voice as a smirk emerged upon his blue face. “This entire tower is part of my dough! Remember?”A shadow crossed his face as his smirk grew larger. “You’re in the belly of the Beast!”
Their shoulders shook lightly with a bout of chuckles that grated on Pure Vanilla Cookie’s nerves like sandpaper.
It continued, its smile spreading across its face, exposing sharp, wolf-like teeth as its eyes narrowed calculatingly. “I thoroughly enjoyed having you over! Hope you, too, had fun!”
A sudden wave of goosebumps prickled against Pure Vanilla Cookie’s skin underneath the long, draping sleeves of his gold and navy dress, and for once, he was grateful for the way his sleeves concealed his arms. Don’t flinch, don’t react, don’t speak, don’t let this monster know you’re panicked by his every move or your friends might just pay the price. It was like a routine embedded in his mind, playing relentlessly like a broken record someone just wished would finally end.
“Not at all!” Wizard Cookie, always the smartest, most logical one, suddenly snapped through the tussle of feet and the whistle of wind.
Pure Vanilla Cookie felt his blood run cold as he seemed to forget how to breathe, and it took effort to calm his thudding heart and revert back to the calmness of his facade to Shadow Milk Cookie. He thought Wizard Cookie, of all cookies, would be smart enough not to talk back to a Beast.
Shadow Milk Cookie gave a small smirk as something flashed across his differently-shaded eyes. Cocking their head slightly, their smile grew as their feet drifted up from the ground in a playful way that felt like poison on Pure Vanilla Cookie’s tongue. “Tsk, tsk, not a single word of gratitude for your gracious host!” Its tone read like it was offended, but its eyes shone with something different, something dangerous, like a snake finding its next meal in an unsuspecting mouse. “Need I remind you?” He continued, “A flick of my wrist will have your dough and souls scattered across my tower!”
Pure Vanilla Cookie felt his stomach plummet- was that a threat? A promise? A bluff? Was it even possible to tell with this cookie? He hated that he couldn’t tell, not like he used to. Before he entered this tower he was guided by the Light of Truth, and over the years, he’d developed a keen ear for the truth and what it wasn’t with its aid. However, after Shadow Milk Cookie had spoken to him through its voice, he couldn’t trust it anymore. In fact, after entering the Spire of Deceit, he found there wasn’t much he actually could trust.
“Or perhaps, there is a better solution..?” Shadow Milk Cookie’s voice rose again as Pure Vanilla Cookie watched him nervously. “Better” was nothing but a mere lie in the Spire of Deceit. In the short time that he’d been there, he’d already formed enough experience with the Spire to know that.
“What say you, Pure Vanilla Cookie?”
Pure Vanilla Cookie was jolted out of his daze by Shadow Milk Cookie staring at him, wearing an amused smile that stirred nausea in his stomach.
“.. what do you want from me?” he responded bluntly. From the way Shadow Milk Cookie’s eyes glimmered, he knew it was nothing good. Pure Vanilla Cookie quickly snuffed out the burning anxiety that began to fester in his chest.
Shadow Milk Cookie responded with a wide smile, accompanied by them floating a few inches farther into the air and clasping their hands dramatically. “What would YOU do with these pesky cookies? The choice is yours!”
It seemed to loom over Pure Vanilla Cookie now, awaiting a response with a twisted sort of eagerness that one would only expect from the cookie that possessed the Light of Deceit. Blue eyes blinked in the tangled abyss of his hair, each out of tune with each other, yet all unified in their hunger for whatever response this cookie craved.
“Why do you care..?” muttered Pure Vanilla Cookie, letting only but a drop of confusion seep into his expression.
“Option one!” they exclaimed loudly, completely disregarding Pure Vanilla Cookie’s previous inquiry. “I silence them FOREVER!”
Pure Vanilla Cookie attempted to conceal the way he stiffened in fear behind an annoyed drop of his eyebrows. His throat seemed to grow as dry as dust, and he was finding the easy rise and fall of his chest suddenly difficult. However, as he gazed into the eyes of the Beast before him, he found himself even still resolute in his intentions. He was known by many names, but none of those had once given up on a friend, and not once were they ever planning on it.
Immediately, his blood ran cold as Shadow Milk Cookie fixed him with an all-knowing stare, his pupils narrowing to slits as he hung over Pure Vanilla Cookie like a thundercloud harvesting its lightning, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
“Option two- oh, you’re gonna love this one!” they continued in the same loud tone, accompanied by a chilling smile. “You give your Soul Jam to me.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie’s sightless eyes widened in surprise as he emitted a small gasp, despite his attempts to conceal all forms of emotion he may have. Soul Jam- it held immense power, granting its holder abilities far beyond those of a regular cookie. Originally, the full extent of the five Soul Jams were possessed by Shadow Milk Cookie and the other Beast cookies, but after being corrupted by its power, they were halved and given to Pure Vanilla Cookie and the rest of the Ancient Cookies. It came as no surprise to Pure Vanilla Cookie that Shadow Milk Cookie would be seeking his other half- Pure Vanilla Cookie’s half. Originally, it was that full power that drove him to become the all-powerful Cookie of Deceit. He couldn’t let that happen again.
A voice, chiming with an idiotic sense of bravery, suddenly rose from the suffocating silence of swirling wind and heavy choices. “No! You can’t force Pure Vanilla Cookie to make this choice!”
Gingerbrave. Of course. A wave of anxiety-induced nausea stirred in Pure Vanilla Cookie’s throat as he tried, and failed, to snuff out the fierce sense of protectiveness rising in his chest. Gingerbrave, Strawberry Cookie, Wizard Cookie.. They were all just.. children. Pure Vanilla Cookie sometimes forgot how new they were to the Cookie world- they didn’t know everything he did, they were young and had yet to experience all of the horror that this world could bring, and the consequences that could come with it if you didn’t act at exactly the right time or didn’t say exactly the right thing. And now, by the choice given to only him by a twisted jester that thrived on chaos, their lives would end. They wouldn’t get a chance to find that experience, they wouldn’t get a chance to live their lives out to its full extent- they wouldn’t even get a chance to leave this Spire.
Shadow Milk Cookie gave Gingerbrave a look of such confusion it would be amusing if the current circumstances didn’t apply. It seemed that they had never been spoken to like that before. It took all of the eyes in their hair to run through a full blink cycle before they seemed to snap back to reality. Indignation flooded their expression as they put one finger to their mouth and aggressively shushed Gingerbrave. “ShhShhSHHHHHHSHHHS! The ADULTS are talking!” it snapped, its hair flying up behind it like an enraged octopus.
Suddenly, stitches burst from around Gingerbrave’s mouth, interlocking his lips together as if he was nothing but a handmade puppet that could be woven with threads and needles. His blue eyes widened with horror in unison with Strawberry and Wizard Cookie’s, and Pure Vanilla Cookie himself felt a jolt of bewilderment that he tried to swallow. Gingerbrave reached up, putting a hand to his mouth as his chest began to rise and fall with a pace that was rare on the brave cookie. Muffled sounds of fear emitted from his throat, and the white-hot urge to aid him burned with a sudden fierceness inside of Pure Vanilla Cookie, and a hopeless feeling of shame replaced it as he remembered that it was still vital to fool Shadow Milk Cookie.
Shadow Milk Cookie was facing Pure Vanilla Cookie now, adorning a calculated grin. “Think hard! Which option do you like better, mm?”
He almost felt it was his mouth that was stitched up now as Shadow Milk Cookie tilted his head with a sense of ominous interest. “Look into your heart.. Deeper, deeper!” Their eyes flickered hypnotically with excitement. “What does it desire?” They muttered slowly, a menacing smile beginning to pull at the sides of their mouth that sent a chill running up Pure Vanilla Cookie’s spine.
Pure Vanilla Cookie stole a glance at Gingerbrave, Wizard, and Strawberry Cookie. The stitches were now gone from Gingerbrave’s mouth, but his startled expression was still prominent. Strawberry Cookie gently wrapped an arm around him in a half-hug, and Wizard Cookie reluctantly patted his shoulder in a quick act of reassurance. One choice- his choice, could end it all. Three innocent lives in the palm of his hand, three innocent lives that had been there for him time and time again. A sudden flicker in his chest surged, echoing loudly with one thought: I refuse to let them die.
These three cookies- younger than him, but braver in ways he’d never been before- had proved himself time and time again to him. When Shadow Milk Cookie nearly drowned him by his Yogurt River of Rebirth, the three of them stood on the opposite end, relentlessly cheering for his emergence and refusing to believe he’d fall. When yet again they’d been tested by a twisted game of chess with their own lives at stake, they’d bravely stood as his chess pieces and refused to give up. After they’d been turned to cards by Shadow Milk Cookie’s magical hand, even still their hope in him remained strong and unwavering. Even through all of the torturous trials, where he treated them as if they were nothing, they still, stubbornly remained at his side, constantly assuring him even through all of his pain and apathy, that even still, he was Pure Vanilla Cookie and he was their friend. He didn’t deserve them. He didn’t deserve any of their sacrifices, and truthfully, if given the choice- he’d easily choose their lives over his own. However, like everything else that had to do with the jester standing before him, it wasn’t that simple. If Shadow Milk Cookie got his hands on the blue jewel burning resolutely at his heart, there wouldn’t even be a Gingerbrave or Strawberry Cookie or Wizard Cookie to protect. He had to do something. He couldn’t just let them die here, but it was dire to protect his Soul Jam and its power.
Shadow Milk Cookie’s cacophonous laughter faded into the background as Pure Vanilla Cookie began to ponder the expansion of his mind for any trace of a plan. Just as he began to latch on to an idea, he was interrupted by a loud, vexing voice ringing over the Spire.
“And no, no no no! This time, don’t try to do anything smart! This isn’t a trick question, hehehe.”
His words were too planned for coincidence, too perfectly timed to just be idle speak. He knew Shadow Milk Cookie had invaded his mind, and the feeling left him with a lingering sense of violation and dread that pooled coldly in his stomach.
Shadow Milk Cookie continued with a wide smile that stretched just a little too far to be natural. Spasms of black and white echoed from their slitted pupils like eels lying in wait in the depths of the ocean, trembling in excitement for the opportunity to paralyze their victims with their question. “Just A… or B! Oh, I can’t wait to see what you’ll pick!”
Shadow Milk Cookie paused for a moment, the ends of its mouth literally reaching its eyes. The unnatural sight sent a wave of icy horror through Pure Vanilla Cookie’s body, crystalizing his lungs and throat to the point where he found it difficult to draw breath.
“Oh, I wonder..” His voice was soft with something like curiosity, but an undertone of malice poisoned every syllable he spoke. “Which of these… makes you who you are?” Their eyes widened with interest as they turned their head tauntingly.
Pure Vanilla Cookie found himself silent, only being able to murmur out a small “...I …” His heart was pounding now, and even despite Shadow Milk Cookie’s sporadic actions, he was able to predict that he was going to have to give it what it wanted very soon.
“TIME’S UP!” Shadow Milk Cookie bellowed, his tone almost sing-songy. “Your choice is?”
Pure Vanilla Cookie’s blood ran cold, crystallizing with paralyzing anxiety as his lungs and heart seemed to cease all movement. All but his hands were still, which held a slight tremor as he slowly, reluctantly, moved his hand to where the once blue Soul Jam of Truth laid lifelessly on his chest. So much power, so much weight was held in this one action- it was overwhelming in the way that made Pure Vanilla Cookie wish he’d never even been given the Soul Jam in the first place. His hands were trembling now to the point where he found it difficult to unclasp the jewel, his fingers sliding and quivering helplessly over the bind that kept it bonded to his shawl. After what felt like a century, the jewel fell heavily in his hand.
“My choice is-” He began, but was immediately cut off by Shadow Milk Cookie.
“Oooh! Hel-lo beautiful!” Their voice rose loudly in uncontained excitement as they loomed farther above Pure Vanilla Cookie, their irises hypnotically rolling in seas of black and white in unfiltered impatience and raw anticipation. “Yes, come to papa!” Its voice quivered with exceeding hunger to the point Pure Vanilla Cookie found it disturbing, and on instinct, he drew back. Immediately, a flash of blue replaced the movement, snatching the Soul Jam out of his curled hand with such force and speed he barely had time to comprehend it before Shadow Milk Cookie began cackling again.
“Really? How can someone be so easily fooled?” his head twisted on its left far more than any normal cookie should be able to, his smile stretching across his face like a twisted monster from a child’s nightmare. Cold, vile horror began to stab into Pure Vanilla Cookie as the slow, sickening realization of a concealed lie finally revealed itself. “What…?” He muttered, desperation plaguing his voice and shadowing his widened eyes. Fooled.. Please, don’t.. Please.. He mentally begged, words being caught in the tightening of his throat and the rise of nausea. For once, he hoped Shadow Milk Cookie would invade his private thoughts, hear his despairing outcries, and realize that he was on his knees now, begging him to not take the move that he already knew was coming even before he heard the screams of Gingerbrave, Strawberry Cookie, and Wizard Cookie as they were hurled off the face of the tower.
He was trembling as he whipped around, gripping the rails of the Spire as he watched his friends fall- the friends that had cheered for his victory as he nearly drowned in deceit, the friends that willfully turned into his cards and chess pieces, the friends that assured him, time and time again, that he was good enough and that he was Pure Vanilla Cookie and Pure Vanilla Cookie deserved life and to be their friend, and the same friends that had so much potential and the friends that were supposed to save the world one day.
“NO!!!”
A scream was wrenched from his throat, a guttural, raw noise that sounded more like a wounded, bleeding animal than the wise, nurturing hero he was supposed to be. Within seconds, the facade he’d toiled so hard over had reduced to mere memories in the horror of the scene below. “No.. no! NO!” his screams turned into ragged sobs, gasping as he gazed at the broken, shattered forms of cookies that were so once full of life. “No..,” He didn’t even know what he was pleading for now- his friends were dead, reduced to pathetic piles of crumbs and blood, and there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. His sobs turned to silent tremors and gasps of agony as his only goal in the Spire shattered, and with it, his will. He sank to the ground, facing the rails, quivering violently as he pulled his arms around himself in a pathetic act of self-comfort, rocking like a small child. Everything he’d worked so hard for- everything he’d sacrificed, every part of himself that he’d lost was now reduced to crumbs at the bottom of Shadow Milk Cookie’s tower.
“Oh, silly-vanilly! Look at you! Tut-tut-tut-” Shadow Milk Cookie’s voice, as sudden and condescending as ever, broke through the whistling wind and freezing despair of the Spire.
Shadow Milk Cookie had the collar of his shawl grasped in his blue hands before Pure Vanilla Cookie could even comprehend why his feet were now dangling in the air. The Beast spun him away from the shadows of the rail, and now he found himself met with the open platform of the Spire. “-you know it’s theatre etiquette to always face the audience.”
With that, he fell harshly onto the ground, Shadow Milk Cookie floating away from him as they watched Pure Vanilla Cookie with a wide, amused grin. “Now, please, continue your little show. Oh, but it’s just so fun to watch you cry and cry about your little friends! I would hate to miss it!”
Pure Vanilla Cookie’s despair hardened to numbness as he shakily took his staff in his hands, blinking away tears as sight flooded back into his senses. The three fractured eyes on his staff settled their vision on Shadow Milk Cookie, who as he thought- still clutched the Soul Jam that Pure Vanilla Cookie had given to him in anguish, still naively believing that it was the key to his and his friend’s escape. His hands began to shake. Not in despair, or desperation- but in an anger filled with such velocity it consumed his entire being.
First, he stole the source of his power, his Soul Jam that he’d devoted his entire life to protecting.
“Give it back..” his voice was a little above a shaky whisper, barely audible over the wailing of the winds as he began to pull himself to his feet.
Then, he’d killed the only thing that mattered to him.
“Give it back,” his voice was stronger now as a blazing sense of pure rage overruled the blue of the corrupted sight from his staff with red- the corruption that was the fault of the cookie now looking at him as if he no longer held worth now that his Soul Jam was gone.
Now, he simply had nothing left to lose.
“GIVE IT BACK!”
Primal, uncharacteristic fury now completely swallowed his being, and Shadow Milk Cookie had only a second to look surprised before Pure Vanilla Cookie’s staff connected with the side of his head, sending him flying to the floor. Blood spurted across the Spire tiles as Shadow Milk Cookie hit the ground, crimson beginning to flow down the side of his face from where the petal stabbed into his head.
“You- you-!” Shadow Milk Cookie gazed up with a mix of shock and anger as he held his hand to the fresh wound, blood seeping between his fingers and staining his once-pure white cuffs with drops of red.
Pure Vanilla Cookie’s knuckles turned white around the staff, his vision blurring in and out of focus in the fit of wild rage. “You! You are nothing but a lying, deceiving, vile snake!” He roared, raising his staff above his head once more.
Shadow Milk Cookie, stunned into paralysis, only had time to roll out of the way seconds before Pure Vanilla Cookie’s staff connected with the Spire tiles, sparks spraying across the ground as the petals of the staff scraped against them.
Shadow Milk Cookie hastily pulled themself to their feet, their eyes flickering from bewildered to a sort of transfixation, then to a look of amusement and amazement. A toothy, triumphant grin began to spread across its face as it slowly tilted its head to the side. Slowly, he began to laugh, softly at first, then shedding into a loud belly laugh that echoed across the entire tower. “Oh, my my my my! Just look at you!”
Pure Vanilla Cookie stiffened, a fresh new wave of rage crackling through his veins for every cackle that came out of the Beast. They were making fun of him. Even still, after torturing him, berating him, stealing from him, and taking the only thing that mattered to him- even still this Cookie made fun of him.
Shadow Milk Cookie’s eyes fixated on Pure Vanilla Cookie, a large, unsettling grin spreading across its face as the ones on its hair assessed the blood it was now wiping away from its head. “What a nice little performance you’re putting on! Yaknow, I hate to say it, but I think I might be a little jealous! You really are pretty dramatic!”
Pure Vanilla Cookie barely had the thought formed in his head before he felt a surge of power crackling through his veins, channeling out and pulsating through his fingertips as the three corrupted eyes on his staff began to bloom to life with a glow that hummed with a lost warmth, now replaced by the burning flames of hatred and loathing.
“Die.”
With that, an eruption of cold blue light burst from the three eyes on his staff, uniting to create one deadly beam. Pure Vanilla Cookie dug his feet into the tiles of the Spire, his knuckles turning white around the staff as raw power pulsated and tussled away from his grip.
The roar of the beam bellowed across the Spire, reducing everything in its path to mere embers with its destructive touch. In its wake it left a flaming hole in the wall that sighed and groaned under the pain of its singed wound, blood seeping from the gash in the forms of ash and blaze. From the flickering of flames and the perilous creaking of the Spire rose a mocking bout of laughter from its owner. Pure Vanilla Cookie spun around as the light cleared from his vision, only making out the levitating form of Shadow Milk Cookie moments before the jester spun his staff around in his hand like a ringmaster and connected it to the side of Pure Vanilla Cookie’s head. Immediately, he collapsed to the ground, landing roughly on his side as his head slammed against the tiles. His ability to see faded from his senses as his staff slipped from his fingers, but he didn’t require it to recognize the click of heels landing against the ground as Shadow Milk Cookie landed before him.
“Well, you sure are brave, I’ll give it to ‘ya,” Shadow Milk Cookie stated with what Pure Vanilla Cookie assumed was supposed to be their usual mocking tone, though exhaustion and a slight hint of pain could be heard from the inner workings of their words. “Most cookies don’t even dare come near my Spire!” It jabbed him in the head with its staff. “What was it you were here for again? Ah, the Beast Binding ritual! HA! Well, let me tell you something, pal.”
He heard the rustle of fabric as Shadow Milk Cookie crouched in front of him.“Nobody will ever put us back in that damn tree. Not you, not the other sad little Soul Jam holders, not even the witches. And it was sad, quite honestly, that you ever even thought you and that pathetic pile of crumbs at the bottom of my tower could ever defeat me, because you can’t. You just can’t.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie stiffened, all the rage that had been temporarily subdued by his blackout boiling back to the surface in a visceral wave. Pathetic pile of crumbs. Pathetic pile of crumbs?
He couldn’t reach his staff at the moment, so he settled for the next best option.
Pure Vanilla Cookie twisted and gripped his hands around Shadow Milk Cookie’s neck with the same speed of a trapdoor spider snatching its next prey. The two fell to the ground, Shadow Milk Cookie raking long dark fingernails down his arms and hands as he wheezed and gasped for air. Small droplets of blood bloomed in their wake, and he loosened his grip instinctively as a stinging sensation blazed up his wrists. Shadow Milk Cookie didn’t hesitate, grasping their own staff and slamming it against Pure Vanilla Cookie’s head with as much power as they could muster. The pain that spiked through his head was swiftly replaced by a cold stillness as his hearing faded from the whistling winds and creaking of the building to a final, numb static. He fell limp beside Shadow Milk Cookie, the primal fury and coursing adrenaline coming to a sudden halt as he slipped from consciousness.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
As the cold light of the moon shifted to the milky dawn sky, Shadow Milk Cookie gently held a soaked cloth to his blood-stained head as he recalled the earlier events. Having such a wound inflicted upon themself by a healer- any rational cookie would have considered it a great loss. Good thing that Shadow Milk Cookie had already made peace with the fact that it, in fact, was no rational cookie.
The flames. The beam. The pure, undiluted anger- and even more, the raw power that Pure Vanilla Cookie faced him with. All of it was the reason why they couldn’t contain the wide smile spreading across their face when Black Sapphire Cookie appeared in their chambers, announcing his arrival with: “Master Shadow Milk Cookie, Pure Vanilla Cookie has been properly dealt with, despite a few.. Complications,” his last word was dripping with such exasperation that Shadow Milk Cookie didn’t even have to access its power of foresight to predict Candy Apple Cookie coming bouncing in directly after Black Sapphire Cookie.
Under any normal circumstances, Shadow Milk Cookie would have been enraged at his minion disobeying him, but these were no normal circumstances. A powerful opponent, one that could beat even him- locked away in his Spire to forever become victim to his mind tricks. The thought itself sent ecstatic black and white waves of hypnotic spirals pulsating from his slitted pupils.
Shadow Milk Cookie rose from where they sat on a blue plush chair, the grin that they wore slipping out of proportion in the fit of their excitement. “Marvelous! Absolutely magnificent!”
It floated over the ground now, dipping its cloth back in the water and holding it to its head as it lightly scrubbed away its dried blood. “Now, with Pure Vanilla Cookie under my command, there’s nothing any cookie can do to stop me!” He said it almost factually, each word treated as if they were keys on a piano being meticulously played.
“My Lord, if I may, would you be so gracious as to remind us of what exactly your grand plan details?” Black Sapphire Cookie said cautiously. “Due to his actions as of recent, I’m not sure Pure Vanilla Cookie would make a very.. Worthy ally.”
Shadow Milk Cookie laughed as they applied a bandage to the wound on their head. “Oh! For a cookie of deceit, I am a little disappointed in you, Black Sapphire Cookie. Can’t even see past the surface- you know, that’s the foundation of a lie. Tsk, tsk.”
Black Sapphire Cookie’s previous caution quickly faded into a flustered expression as Candy Apple Cookie burst into a bout of high-pitched giggling beside him.
“My Lord, I sincerely apologize- I don’t mean to question you, I just find that he was.. Most rude,” he replied quickly, his grip tightening around his microphone.
Shadow Milk Cookie simply shrugged in response. “Oh, well. Doesn’t matter, anyway. The real worth-” it rotated away from the basket holding the bandage to facing its minions, “-is in what a Cookie can give you.”
Black Sapphire Cookie and Candy Apple Cookie both seemingly didn’t know how to respond for a moment- but the silence was quickly broken by Candy Apple Cookie’s shrill voice. “Oh, you’re always right, Master Shadow Milk Cookie! You’re so wise!”
Black Sapphire Cookie’s head flipped from Shadow Milk Cookie to Candy Apple Cookie, and in an attempt to win the Spire Master’s praise, he too briskly responded with: “Indeed, my Lord. Your intelligence is unparalleled.”
Shadow Milk Cookie, ignoring his minions’ praise, began to rant as he faced the basket laying claim to the bandages: “Pure Vanilla Cookie, although not the best audience or playmate if I must say..” With a snap of their fingers, the basket was gone in a cloud of magic. “.. is quite powerful, and despite that tiny, silly little brain of his- does come as close as I’ve seen to witnessing the grand majesty of deceit!” The last words vibrated off of its tongue. “And, of course, used to hold my Soul Jam. And with that being said, I fully believe that the other Beasts would come to their senses if I made the cookie that stole my Soul Jam my servant. Perhaps, it could even stir a thought in their tiny little minds. Don’t ‘ya agree?”
Black Sapphire Cookie responded instantly, “Of course, Master Shadow Milk Cookie-” only to be interrupted by Candy Apple Cookie’s overly sweet voice, “Yes, Master Shadow Milk Cookie! No one will be able to resist the sweetness of deceit after witnessing your amazing plan!”
Her words were met with a glowering look from Black Sapphire Cookie, and a flurry of laughter from Shadow Milk Cookie. At the sight of the Spire Master’s laughter, her entire demeanor shifted- her red eyes glimmered with triumphance, and her posture became more prideful and exuberant.
“That’s right! But not only the Beasts-” they floated closer to Black Sapphire Cookie and Candy Apple Cookie, “-but the entirety of Earthbread will fall to my lies! Now, I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but the cookie locked away in my Spire once owned a most reputable kingdom, and was known across Crispia as Pure Vanilla Cookie- noble king and benevolent to all! That means, if Crispia follows Pure Vanilla Cookie, and Pure Vanilla Cookie follows me, then we’ve got an entire continent blindly following my command!” It broke off into a volley of laughter, its body tilting a little as it pulled its legs inwards as it chuckled. “It’ll be just like the good old days, back when hordes of cookies would fall at one simple lie! Oh, it’s gonna be so fun! So fun!”
Black Sapphire Cookie and Candy Apple Cookie, although accustomed to the Spire Master’s strange antics by now, still fought to stifle their confused expressions, for they had never heard of the land Crispia. Despite this, they’d spent long enough with him to understand never to question him- even though he was now Shadow Milk Cookie, he was birthed as the Fount of Knowledge, and therefore knew things they couldn’t even begin to understand.
Shadow Milk Cookie began again with a deep inhale as they wiped their eyes with a dark, wolf-like fingernail, rolling back upright again as they steadied themself. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes, my glorious plan! SOoO, after I turn Pure Vanilla Cookie into a Cookie of Deceit, and use him for his power, no one will be able to stop us! We’ll have Crispia falling under our command, those Soul Jam snatchers reveling in their defeat, and the Beasts electing their rightful leader- ME! Ha, we’ll be so powerful, the witches will fear the day Shadow Milk Cookie turns against them!” Shadow Milk Cookie shed the theatrics for a moment, dropping its out-of-proportion grin for one of any normal cookie: “And you, the both of you- you’ll just be happy you chose the right side.”
This rose a bout of excitement in Black Sapphire Cookie and Candy Apple Cookie- apparent in the sly grin he wore and the glimmering of her red eyes.
“Excellently said, my Lord.”
“I’m always happy I chose your side, Master Shadow Milk Cookie!”
Hypnotic black and white swirls of excitement began to pulsate in the Spire Master’s eyes as he reflected upon his masterfully crafted plan.
Shadow Milk Cookie, first Beast to domesticate his Ancient.
The thought was nearly comparable to the sweetness of Deceit.