Chapter Text
3 days had past after the dark enchantress cookie war, everything was seemingly peaceful and quiet
Gingerbrave was going about his day in the kingdom. His dough however did not look normal like the average gingerbread cookie; the edges of his arms and legs were slightly dark and crispier, it didn’t bother him.
Suddenly a cookie ran from the forest in a panic, he sprang up from his duties to comfort the shocked cookie “what’s the matter!?” He said
“Cake monsters! In the forest! I thought they were all gone by dark enchantress’s defeat!” The cookie said, gingerbrave nodded and headed to the forest, “I’ll take care of it!” He said while going in “be careful!” The cookie said then ran off
Gingerbrave enters the forest inspecting it with his candy cane in hand and guard up
“Whatever is here you better show yourself now before I have to find you myself!”
He heard growling up ahead and chitter chattering, running to it to find another cookie getting harassed by cake hounds and cake warriors
“HEY! Get off that cookie! We’re supposed to be pastries in peace!” The cakes turned to gingerbrave and rushed to him ready to attack
“So peace was never an option, no matter, here I come!” He said and then dashed at the cakes, the cookie fled without a second thought limping away while gingerbrave rammed into the cakes left and right, then something ignited in his very dough, something dark and mysterious
Suddenly his left arm ignited into black flames and slammed into the cake army melting them into a puddle, gingerbrave was horrified, then the black flame on his dough erupted into tendrils that lashed at the forest and ground
“STOP! W-WHATEVER YOU ARE! THE FOREST!” The dough then went limp and formed back into his hand suddenly it spoke and then he remembered what it was “danger! Must destroy! Protect!” It was the ultimate cookie in his head.
Then the memory rushed to his mind about the pact he made with the ultimate cookie, he originally thought it was just gonna use his body temporarily to defeat the avatar of darkness and dark enchantress in the war….
He was wrong.
He touched his left hand, the dough was not hot to him, but it burned the cakes, grass, trees that it attacked, it curled around his hand in an embrace
“Oh my witches…..what have I done?” Gingerbrave started to realize the gravity of the situation, now his body wasn’t just his, it was now a shared one with the same amalgamation that tried to unite with him
“Don’t…..hurt. Safe! Together!” They said in his head, he looked a little confused since in the war it was speaking in full sentences, “why is it so scattered now?” He thought
Then he heard even more growling and then the dough started flaring up again “NO STOP! NOT NOW!” Flames came off the dark dough and he backed up, it grew into tendrils once more “FIGHT! ELIMINATE! DESTROY!!!” Ultimate cookie said in his head was jam thirsty and aggressive
Gingerbrave then held the dark tendrils, a burning sensation around the dark dough burned gingerbrave “AA- Stop! Your hurting me too- it burns-“
The cake hounds slowly creeped into view and the tendrils lashed out at them again slashing and melting them into puddles once more
“THIS IS MY DOUGH! MY BODY! STOP IT!!!!” He yelled then the dark dough started spreading and his icing started to lift showing a shape of a fire, his left eyecing started dripping a liquid, he caught it and realized that was his own icing around his eyes dripping
He was crying uncontrollably and his skull buttons also begin to look like the ultimate cookies and his own, the dough had spread halfway across his torso and the burning sensation wouldn’t go away
“YOU WANTED THIS!!! WERE GIVING YOU POWER!!!” They said in his head relentlessly with aggression “I DIDNT MEAN IT LIKE THIS!” He said, the dark dough kept spreading and his body kept seemingly transforming into ultimate cookies body
Then gingerbrave ran as fast as he could into town holding his right arm everyone looking in horror and concern, he knew right there if this kept going on he couldn’t control it, so he thought if it’s a fire it must go out with something
he ran up the stairs and dove right into the fountain of rewards making sure to submerge the dough completely and steam started coming off it, slowly but surely the tendrils retreated back into a hand and his dough started showing again and theirs was going away from the source
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? STOP!” They roared “YOU GET SOGGY!!!!” He didn’t mind getting soggy cause in this moment it was either him getting soggy or someone getting hurt, cookies started crowding around watching him tame the dough
It was done, his body was back to normal, and he sighed falling into the water in relief as the burning sensation has faded away completely
Then he lifted his head from the fountain, gasped got out, the soda water then evaporated off his dough, he was not soggy he was not wet, he was dry as ever, scratching his head in confusion, the cookies started asking what had happened and then suddenly custard cookie III moved the crowd to make a path for him and ran to gingerbrave hugging him
“I saw the whole thing! What happened!?” Custard cookie III said that all concerned “I’m sorry, did I worry you?” Gingerbrave asked “WORRIED!? I WAS COMPLETELY WORRIED!!!! You looked like a burnt pastry!!!!” Custard cookie III yelled at him then started crying
“I’m fine now! Just…. A minor issue” gingerbrave said all comfortingly, he hugged custard with his right hand but hesitated with his left not knowing if he could move it of his own command yet
“What’s wrong?” Custard cookie III said still concerned, gingerbrave tried to move his left hand, it moved to his thought “weird….” Then he hugged custard with both hands
Later he’s in his room, he gets out a note pad and writes down what he remembers about the pact he made with the ultimate cookie, he looked at his left hand, he hasn’t heard from them since it roared at him to stop
He writes down “-protective
-agressive
-a little insane” on the note pad, then he realized something, even if they were very aggressive in the moment, they were never hostile directly towards him, they cared for him which is what confused him the most
He started to doodle the forms his dough took becoming the ultimate cookies own dough it reminded him of how they tangled and wrapped their tendrils around the oven the same way
Then he wrote down “they’re in my head, talking to me in some words and sometimes full sentences but mostly words….but why?”
Strawberry cookie and Wizard cookie enter the room and rush to gingerbrave “we heard what happened! It was like you were transforming into the same thing we saw you become during the war” Wizard cookie said “are you ok? Everyone said how you looked like you were in pain” strawberry cookie said really concerned
“I’m fine! I’m fine! I swear! It’s the deal I made….With Ultimate cookie. I thought it was temporary, turns out…it’s permanent and…this changes everything I do going forward” Gingergrave said
“I must get samples of it! Tell me can you get it to do that again?” Wizard cookie said, “WIZARD COOKIE!” Strawberry cookie said all angry at him “what? New discovery! I have to study it!” Wizard cookie said all excited “ok but no poking and prodding with needles” gingerbrave said a little scared
“Of course not! You have my word! Tomorrow in the morning however we have to find out how to activate it and how it works in general while also taking samples! Oooooo this is so exciting!!!” Wizard cookie said
“I’m not gonna convince him otherwise, am I?” Gingerbrave said looking at strawberry cookie “Nope, not at all” she said nodding her head, gingerbrave sighs laying on the bed in exhaustion
In gingerbraves mind a bunch of ultimate cookie souls have gathered next to a reflective wall that shows what gingerbrave is seeing. “We must protect him” a protective soul said “yes, he must be protected at all costs” another protective soul said
“the world is so pretty through his eyecings! I want to see more!” A curious soul said “no! We must stay put! Who knows the dangers of exploring!?” A timid soul said
“we can’t even go back to the oven, but his body is warm, sweet, and crispy” another timid soul said “the oven was a prison anyways, this is our ticket to see everything and adapt! He is our bravery…” a stern soul said
“no no, you're all wrong, he’s also our vessel, our help from the oven, and now our second body, I feel better in here!” A kind soul said “he is now our friend, and we must keep him safe above all else, if he crumbles then we go with him” a protective soul said, the souls agree on this fact and place their hands on the reflective surface then they all say “we will protect you” gingerbrave hears it and smiles, he then goes to sleep