Work Text:
Yet another restless dusk in "B.A.D 4's behind-the-scenes workshop of darkness™", or the less classy name... The practice studio. Schwartzwälder Choco Werehound Brute, commonly known on stage as T.N.T, fumbles around after losing his beloved hammer as Red Velvet Cookie, (HellHound), Licorice Cookie, (ZZ Skull), and Poison Mushroom Cookie (MUSHY P.), watch him with a mix of confusion and annoyance. They were JUST about to go home...
"Ugh... Schwartzwälder! Hurry up! We gotta go home soon." ZZ Skull whined, his shoulders drooping dramatically as he lets out an over-the-top sigh. T.N.T whipped around, his fists clenched. "I'm the leader here, a-and I ORDER you to address me as "Choco Werehound Brute", got it?!" Licorice Cookie gasped, looking at the other two with wide eyes. "He can't do that... can he...?!" The eye-patched one glances at the shorter-possibly high-mushroom. "Most likely." He replied. "Okay, Fiiiiiiine, Ch-Choco Werehound Brute..." The giant chocolate cake monster's tail wagged with a sense of finality as he tried to keep a calm demeanor as "The main vocalist/leader." Poison Mushroom Cookie looks bored, surprising from the usually easygoing and chill Toad knockoff. They wander off to spread their spores elsewhere as Licorice Cookie storms away angrily.
"Oooooh... Where do I put these shroooooomies...?" Poison Mushroom whispered to themselves when they noticed a wire on the ground. Unaware of the obvious risks, they find a metal pole and poke at the sparking wire cautiously before deeming it safe to grab. They do just that and shove a shroomie on the bare wires, And...
Bam!
The lights gradually spark up and go out one by one in a graceful dance of electrocution hazards and unsafe workplace allegations.
The entire building was soon shrouded in darkness (pun intended) and no one, Cookie or otherwise, could see a thing... Except for a certain red-hatted singer.
Licorice Cookie pouted on a couch in a smaller break room, down a short hall and to the right behind the stage. noticing the shift in the lighting, but his lemon-yellow eyes glowed faintly in the dark, dimly lighting up his face and vision. He soon hears crashing of stage props and shouting.
"What on Earthbread is going on here-?!" Licorice Cookie jumped off the leather couch, nearly bumping his shin into the pure mahogany desk. He runs out and into the room from before, where Red Velvet Cookie and Choco Werehound Brute are stumbling and tripping over themselves. Licorice Cookie continues to stare at them, baffled, until Red Velvet Cookie notices Licorice Cookie's eyes.
"Why are your... Eyes glowing?" He asked as his cakehound, Chiffon, bumps into his leg. He picks Chiffon up with his cake hand and pets him. Choco Werehound Brute is... Looking at a wall, seemingly convinced he's facing Red Velvet. "Huh? What's going on?! I can't see anything!" He exclaims. Licorice Cookie looks at him unamused. "Turn around." He begins, "You're facing the whiteboard with a poor drawing of yourself on it." The cake monster slowly spun around awkwardly. His cheeks burned a deep red, but lucky for him, no one could see it. No one not from the Dark Cacao kingdom could. Licorice Cookie covered his mouth with a gloved hand and chuckled.
Poison Mushroom Cookie, however, may be lost. Dark Enchantress Cookie had only bought this property not but a few months before when she heard the BTS Cookies were performing, and the band just started using it again 3 weeks ago. Not to mention it's a 2 story building with the backstage on the first floor plus the Producer and Manager's office on the second. It's a big place, really. Poison Mushroom Cookie starts to get nervous, gripping their red and black polka-dotted mushroom hat nervously as they walk down a hallway. The only light source being the full moon outside, it's not long until they hear cake hounds howling in the neighboring Cake Roll Forest. "G-guuuuuuuys...? Is anyone heeeeeere..?" They call out to the currently empty corridors. A shadow dashes out a room and into another behind Poison Mushroom. They jump back with a squeak, their eyes darting around the hallway that seems to stretch infinitely. Another shadow, then another. Poison Mushroom Cookie starts to get overwhelmed, dashing down the passage-way with surprising speed until they find a vaguely familiar door, a purple lava lamp attached to a power bank is visible through the window. The cookie's eyes light up and they hustle in, locking the door behind them. Poison Mushroom crawls onto his black beanbag, hugging a soft, purple star-shaped pillow. While whisper-singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Spores" to calm themselves.
Returning to the rest, Red Velvet and Choco Werehound Brute have finally got their bearings. Licorice Cookie rolls his eyes at the two who are still squinting in the darkness. "It's ironic, really. You would've thought a giant cake monster such as.. "Choco Werehound Brute" would be able to see in the dark."
"Hey! Atleast I can actually strike fear into you cookies!" The brute retailated, Licorice Cookie crosses his arms, tugging at his sleeves.
Red Velvet chuckles, still petting a sleeping Chiffon. "You know he's right, ZZ." "Don't call me that." Licorice Cookie snarled as his posture stiffened. "Fine. But you didn't answer my question earlier, Why are you able to see in the dark?" HellHound's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Y'know how I'm from the Dark Cacao kingdom? Well, since the dammed place is a frozen tundra farther north-thus less sunlight-we cookies from the region developed better adjustment to the blackest of nights....It's also why my dough is an.. "ashy grey" color. The less vitamin D, the less vibrant a Cookie's dough looks, regardless of ingredients." He explains, a hint of embarrassment in his voice. "But that's irrelevant, we need to find the fuse box, right Poison Mushroo- ...Poison Mushroom Cookie?" Licorice Cookie glances around. "W-Where are they? Poison Mushroom Cookie..?!" He stands up and peeks out the doorway, getting visibly worried. "Where did they go?" Red Velvet asks, eyes narrowing. "I'm not sure! They were just beside you when Choco Werehound Brute was talking about his hammer or something..." Licorice Cookie quickly runs down the hall, shouting Poison Mushroom Cookie's name. "Poison Mushroom Cookie! POISON MUSHROOM COOKIE..!? Where are you!?" Choco Werehound and Red Velvet Cookie look at eachother (or where they think the other is at) and go after Licorice Cookie, following the daffodil yellow glow from his eyes that are getting increasingly brighter as his stress levels peak. Licorice Cookie is now on a full sprint down the dark corridors to find his non-biological-nor-adopted little sibling while the other two trail behind with concern etched in their expressions.
Poison Mushroom Cookie is still in their room, taking a nap while wearing headphones and listening to songs they downloaded beforehand. Blissfully unaware of how anxious Licorice Cookie and the rest are. They snore softly on the fluffy beanbag, cuddling the star plushie like it's the last thing on Earthbread.
Meanwhile, saying Licorice Cookie is stressed would be an understatement. He's looking through every room, every box, anything. He's starting to think something happened to the little shroomie lover. "Oh my witches.. oh my witches- Did something happen to them?!" He exclaims, tears threatening to leak from his eyes as he clutches his hat. "Licorice Cookie. Calm down, I'm sure Poison Mushroom Cookie is perfectly safe-" "BUT WHAT IF THEY'RE NOT, RED VELVET COOKIE? WHAT THEN?" Licorice Cookie's vision blurs as his breath becomes shallower. Choco Werehound Brute, being a literal animal with sentience... Realizes what's happening and hugs Licorice Cookie tightly. "They'll be fine. Calm down." Red Velvet recognizes the same behavior in service cakehounds, alerting cookies for anxiety/panic attacks. Licorice Cookie's legs give out and he clings to Choco Werehound Brute while he holds him up. Chiffon looks upset, walking to the two and pawing at the deep purple-haired cookie's leg with a tiny whimper. Red Velvet Cookie exhales heavily and walks by them to the staircase. He gestures for them to follow, and Choco Werehound picks Licorice Cookie up and walks after Red Velvet up the stairs. "I- sniff -What i-if something happened to them?! I would never forgive myself for losing them, a-and Dark Enchantress Cookie-" "...Don't worry about what she'll think, we'll cover you. Let's focus on finding Poison Mushroom." The three go up the staircase, Choco Werehound putting Licorice back on his feet once he's gathered enough strength. Licorice Cookie wipes away his running eyeliner with a shaky hand, and they walk down another long hallway whilst calling Poison Mushroom's name.
They soon hear aggressively deep snoring coming from a room up on the floor they're on.. "What the hell is that sound..?" Schwartzwälder murmured, Licorice Cookie's eyes being the only source of light in the shadow-shrouded building. "Maybe it's just a Cream wolf howling from outside." The choreographer suggested as the three continue to look for their tiny rapper. Chiffon whines anxiously, Red Velvet Cookie holds the tiny cakehound to his chest. After 30-something minutes of walking down and calling Poison Mushroom's name, Chiffon's sliced strawberry ears perk up, and start sniffing the air. "Did.. Did you smell something?"
Licorice Cookie asks as Chiffon jumps out of Red Velvet's cake arm and starts to sniff around, eventually stopping at the very same hallway Poison Mushroom Cookie ran down. It seems that Chiffon senses the shroomie spores. Without warning, the vocalist sprints down like he's in a marathon, not stopping at anything. Dropping his smug demeanor, wiping sweat from his hairline as the others try to catch up.