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‘Director?Where are you going?’ String Gummy Cookie asked politely. ‘I think it is time that I step out of the TBD and enjoy some fresh air after years of work.’ Director Croissant Cookie replied, ‘Come with me String Gummy Cookie,you probably step out too after all your years of service.’ ‘If….if you say so Director.’ String Gummy Cookie replied,genuinely shocked since he had never stepped out of the TBD ever since he was saved by his director from falling into a Time Pocket.
On the train…
‘Director?’ ‘Yes String Gummy Cookie’ ‘Why did you suddenly want to step out of the TBD for some fresh air and a picturesque view?’ he asked. His director thought for quite some time before giving him a direct answer. ‘I just thought that I could take us out for a walk around the countryside,watch some stars,do something together before I send you on your last mission.’ ‘What-what do you mean by that?’ he said with a shocked expression on his face. Instead of giving an answer,she just smiled and said: ‘You’ll know it when the time comes,just like old age,you have to wait for it to come,it won’t automatically come to you by your wish.The world needs balance,without balance,the world will be in pure chaos,just like our job in the TBD,we work to keep all of the timelines in order,because of my mistake,I plunged all of the timeline in danger.’ ‘If you say so, director…’he said but his eyes widened with curiosity, what could possibly be the mission if the director called it ‘my last mission’?Both of them didn’t talk for the rest of the ride as they were busy looking out the window like a baby looking at their surroundings for the first time.
After they got off the train…
‘Where exactly are we going?’ String Gummy Cookie asked. ‘You’ll know it when we get there,patience is the key.’ Director replied with a solid answer.Even though he seriously wanted to know where the director is taking him,he decided to not push her further.
After walking for a couple of minutes,they arrived beneath a big cherry blossom tree.She quickly found a place to sit under the tree and patted the space beside her,gesturing to him to sit down beside her.He quickly sat down beside her.When he turned over,he saw a picturesque view right in front of him. ‘The view is spectacular isn’t it?’ the director asked him. ‘Yes,truly spectacular,I haven’t seen that nice of a view since-’
Suddenly,a quick flash around 2 seconds happened,glimpsing into the future showed up.To his horror,the future was not the one he’d been expecting,instead it showed that his director was crumbling away.That’s when realization struck him.
‘Hello?String Gummy are you okay?You look like you saw a ghost.’ the director asked him. ‘None of this is real.It’s a fake isn’t it?’ ‘......I’m sorry String Gummy,but you need to let me go.’she said,with tears in her eyes as she changed back to her future self,the one that was crumbling away.
‘Hello?String Gummy?String Gummy!EARTH TO STRING GUMMY!’ Croissant Cookie yelled loud enough that it attracted a lot of attention from the other TBD employees.That’s when String Gummy Cookie realised,it was all a hallucination,a memory that will haunt him forever.
‘Are you okay?You dozed out for quite some time.’ she asked?He saw the director in Croissant Cookie,after all,they are the same person.Just,not from the right time. ‘I think you should really go to the infirmary, you looked pale and horrified.’ she said. ‘I’m okay,but I think I still need to go to the infirmary,’ he said. ‘Alright then Sparky.’ ‘Please do not call me that.’ ‘Alright then Mr.I have bad attention.’ ‘Go to hell.’ he quickly walked away after saying that since he doesn’t want to get whoop by Croissant Cookie.
Once at the infirmary and told the nurse that he was unwell,he laid down on one of the beds and quickly dozed off……
What no one sees,is his dreams and hallucinations. ‘D-Director is that you?’ he asked and was genuinely shocked to see his long deceased director. ‘Sorry,but I’m just a fragment of the past.’ she said. ‘But-But how?How are you still here?’ he stuttered. ‘You see,everything has a mind of its own,I can choose to stay here in your dreams or return.’ she said. ‘By that meaning,does that mean you can potentially come back alive?’ he asked. ‘Yes,but not that I deserve to.’ she said. ‘What do you mean by that?’ ‘I created the time manipulator,the one that brought disaster in all timelines.’ ‘But it isn’t your fault,it’s them!They are the reason why the timeline changed.They knew about the rule: ‘Playing with time will have serious consequences.’ but they still chose to use it for little things like going back to check the weather etc.’ ‘...You do have a point,but as a director,I have to take responsibility for everything that happens,the previous director,whom you should know,couldn't hold on much longer as the method they use was gruesome in order to get everything back in place,eventually driving her insane with everything and then she shut herself from the world by going into a time pocket,never to be seen again.’ ‘That’s different,she was irresponsible in the first place-’ ‘She wasn’t.’ ‘What do you mean by that?’ ‘...She is responsible.’ ‘For what?’ ‘For my mistakes.’ ‘What do you mean by that-oh.’ he said,suddenly realizing that the ex-director is always responsible for everything that happens. ‘Time’s running out,I have to end this before she finds out I’m communicating with you.Goodbye.’ ‘WAIT-’.He didn’t have time to ask the final question,who is she?
‘String Gummy I swear to earthbread if you don’t wake up this instant I’m going to tickle your feet.’ Croissant Cookie said. ‘Okay,okay.I’m awake,do not even think about touching my feet.’ he said. ‘Finally!C’mon director(Timekeeper Cookie) has assigned us together to go into another parallel universe.’ ‘Okay…Where do I start?’ he said.