Chapter Text
It wasn’t often, but it was these sorts of times that almost made Time Shadow Cookie grateful for the fact that he was a Shadow Cookie and not a normal one, mainly because he didn’t really need to breathe all that much. Most times, this benefit wouldn’t be all that useful except for a few life-or-death situations here and there, but in the middle of a spice storm after finally doing what they needed to do to that dastardly and uncharmingly brutish Beast?
Well, the few perks of being a Shadow were definitely showing, that’s for sure!
Unfortunately for his other castmates, they didn’t have that benefit.
Or, well, Pulpo Cookie. Ovenhead seemed to be managing just fine, which likely was connected to the fact he had an oven for a head. He knew that he needed to breathe, but how did it even work? Well, who knows! But ovens needed air circulation, but not as much as a regular Cookie. Poor Miss Pulpo Cookie, on the other hand…
They really needed to speed up their exit from this stage, especially considering the fact they only had so much time to recover after their clash with Rajapendra Cookie! Frankly, it was a miracle that a portal from the space distortions didn’t throw them onto a completely new set, but that was only because Time Shadow Cookie had managed to throw them out of it in the nick of time with his shadows.
The small lady held a piece of red ribbon over her mouth, trying to block some of the spice from entering it. Time Shadow Cookie had tried to position himself so that he’d cover some of the spices that were hitting her, but he didn’t have the most bulky figure in the world, to say the least. It had actually gotten to the point where Ovenhead Cookie took notice, and he had done the same as Time Shadow Cookie, with it working a fair bit better.
“Gah! This storm is nasty!” Ovenhead complained, the flame in his oven on the duller end. “Where even is the Roadster?!”
The recent memory of Rajapendra Cookie slamming said car with one of his sharp appendages came to the forefront of Time Shadow Cookie’s mind. “Old sport, you do know that it’s been destroyed, yes?” Such a valuable piece of set equipment destroyed like it was a piece of glass- how terrible!
Ovenhead’s head swerved to catch Time Shadow’s eyes. “WHAT?! Then WHERE are we going?!”
“We’re looking for fragments of it; we may find the mechanisms that were used to allow us to create those rifts in order to go back to our desired timeline.” Time Shadow had…𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 on how to get those rifts to open with the Roadster, so if he played around with it enough, he should be able to get it up and running again.
If not, well, Ovenhead might know! Or be able to figure it out. He was a black market weapons craftsman and salesman at one point; he might have a hint on what to do. Pulpo Cookie could also be rather crafty too, so it wouldn’t hurt to let her have a go if needed. Wasn’t the best script ever, but it could work. A little improv never hurt anyone, after all.
(Well, barring that one timeline. His skills weren’t the best then.)
So, they continued their trek in the spicy wasteland, with Time Shadow Cooking doing his best to keep his eye on Miss Pulpo Cookie while also monitoring for any scraps of the Roadster. Though, considering how Miss Pulpo had such a keen eye for shiny things, and the Roadster would surely be shiny in these conditions, and she wasn’t saying or grabbing anything, their little cast wasn’t having all that much luck.
Honestly, Time Shadow Cookie was debating contacting their chief, but he both didn’t know how he’d do it and, honestly, would rather save that for an absolute last resort. The chief clearly wasn’t prioritizing the safety of their actors, so Time Shadow wasn’t all too sure if they’d even be of help.
Typical, wasn’t it?
Well, if Cutter Circuit Cookie did decide to lend a hand, Time Shadow Cookie doubted any of them would turn it down—anything to get out of this awful spice storm sooner.
“Move.”
In a split second, Time Shadow Cookie and Ovenhead Cookie were pushed backwards by one of Pulpo Cookie’s tentacles, with said Cookie shooting out ribbons that wrapped around a giant apple hurling at them at high speed, causing it to shatter (or perhaps explode?) upon being struck.
All three of them shielded themselves as best as they could from the impact, and thanks to Pulpo Cookie’s quick reflexes, none of them had gotten hurt. However, once they all had looked up to where the explosion had come from, they were greeted by three silhouettes in the spice storm.
There was one that seemed to be a Cookie in a fancy dress with two bun pigtails that appeared to be in the shape of apples, another that was tall and lanky with bat wings attached to its backside and holding some sort of staff, and a third one that was taller than the second one who seemed to be donning a cloak alongside a giant fork as a weapon. Now, who were these new characters?
“HEY! You weren’t supposed to do that!” The shortest one cried out, stomping one of her feet as she huffed. Time Shadow Cookie was honestly taken aback by how young she sounded. Was a child trying to murder them right now?
A sharp puff of hot air came from Ovenhead Cookie, and he stepped forward to be slightly ahead of Pulpo. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!” He demanded, holding a fist up, “Are you TRYING to crumble us or something?!”
The middle one chuckled at his question, “Why, of course not!” He replied, his voice akin to that of a spokesman with its certainty, yet something about it made it abundantly clear to Time Shadow that this Cookie wasn’t telling the truth. “We’re just here to carry out a task from our master, that’s all!”
The Cookie who had just spoken moved forward while letting out a few harsh coughs due to the spice in the air. Time Shadow Cookie still couldn’t really make out the form of this new character, but he didn’t need to.
“Then could you perhaps explain why your castmate threw what appeared to be a bomb at us?” Time Shadow Cookie questioned, moving to be alongside his own castmates. “If that’s your way to greet people, then you all really need to work on your manners.” Granted, the two of them were likely just lying to try and get another surprise attack on them, but if that was truly the case, then they made Ovenhead Cookie look like a refined gentleman by comparison!
The shortest one groaned loudly, “UGHHH! Enough of this charade; let’s just get to the point so we can return to Master Shadow Milk Cookie!”
Shadow Milk Cookie?
In a flash, the one who hadn’t spoken darted away from their castmates, stopping right in front of Ovenhead and ready to strike him with their fork. Thankfully, Ovenhead Cookie reacted in just enough time to punch her squarely in her stomach, sending her back and causing her to skid to a stop.
That act alone sent them all into another full-on battle (such an action-heavy performance they were doing today!), leading into Time Shadow Cookie swiftly grabbing hold of the staff that was being swung at him. The purple Cookie immediately attempted to yank his staff back, yet after three quick pulls, Time Shadow let go of his staff and caused him to fall back.
With a quick trick of the shadows, he pulled the purple Cookie into the shadow, a surprised gasp coming from him before he recovered quickly in the darkened arena they were now in.
“Where are you?” He demanded, clenching his staff and once more getting into a fighting stance, “Show’s over!”
Time Shadow Cookie chuckled at that. “My, my, is it?” Oh, was this Cookie also one who enjoyed theatre too? Such a shame he was on the opposite side of the field then. “You must know, you are in MY stage now; and this show is FAR from over!”
He willed himself in front of the purple Cookie, whose back wings shot up as he shot out some sort of amethyst-like magic. Of course, it didn’t reach Time Shadow Cookie as he redirected it to strike the cookie in the back.
The Cookie took a sharp breath through its teeth as it was struck. “One of those tricks, isn’t it?”
Time Shadow Cookie tilted his head at the comment. “Oh? Are you familiar with this type of act?”
The Cookie sent another attack in a different direction, and if it weren’t for Time Shadow paying attention, it would’ve struck Time Shadow. The purple Cookie let out a confident laugh, “This is quite similar to Master Shadow Milk Cookie’s other-realm, you know!”
The other-realm…he was hearing about that quite a lot recently! It was Shadow Milk Cookie’s other-realm that all three of them had entered earlier that felt so familiar, wasn’t it? If so, why did it feel that way?
Well, questions for later. Time Shadow Cookie had a rather nasty character to handle at the current moment! So, as the Cookie prepared another attack, Time Shadow Cookie directed a shadow to strike him squarely in the chest, causing him to fall back again. The Cookie tightened his grip on his staff in order to reorient himself, but Time Shadow immediately covered his eyes with darkness.
“You may know my tricks, but it doesn’t seem like you know how to counter them, little one.” Time Shadow Cookie observed, a playful smile forming on his face as the Cookie nearly snarled at him for the nickname. “Perhaps it would do you well to surrender?”
“Never!” He spat out. He tried to grip at the shadow covering his eyes, flailing futilely.
Time Shadow Cookie couldn't help but snicker at the situation the other Cookie was in. Oh, he almost felt bad for the poor schmuck!
However, outside of the realm of shadows, something caught Time Shadow’s eye. Ovenhead was matching up against the one with the giant fork, who seemed to be…vanishing and reappearing as if she were ash? How odd! Luckily, it seemed like Ovenhead had managed to get another few hits on her, but not without taking a slash or two himself. The most worrying thing, though, was that as the fork wielder vanished once more, with Ovenhead halting his tracks as he waited for her ashy cloud, instead of moving to take a strike at Ovenhead Cookie, she darted off towards Pulpo Cookie.
Miss Pulpo Cookie was currently wrapping up the apple Cookie, who was desperately trying to break free of her newfound ribbon constraints by setting off her apple bombs by Pulpo Cookie. It seemed like Pulpo was so focused on getting the restraints just right while making sure she didn’t meet an applely explosion that she was unaware of the cloud of ash coming her way.
Well, that won’t do!
Time Shadow Cookie sent another strike against the purple Cookie’s back that caused him to clench his teeth as he moved the shadowy realm closer to where Pulpo was. The second that the fork wielder reformed behind Pulpo Cookie, raising her fork to strike her, Time Shadow Cookie sent the purple Cookie hurling towards the fork wielder. At the same time, it seemed like Pulpo Cookie was more aware of her surroundings than Time Shadow had given her credit for, considering the fact that before the purple Cookie even crashed into the fork wielder, she had turned around and launched ribbons meant for her.
Following suit, Pulpo Cookie grabbed the apple Cookie and tossed her on top of the two other Cookies, who were now in a messy pile on the ground.
Ah, well, they were all safer now! Time Shadow Cookie quickly reformed out of the shadow he was in, standing right by Miss Pulpo Cookie as old sport made his way towards them.
Time Shadow Cookie afforded his two castmates a quick once-over. The two had clearly seen better days, with a few of Pulpo Cookie’s ribbons being frayed and some burns on her haircing tentacles, plus Ovenhead’s oven sporting a few new scratches and some tears in his clothes from being slashed at, but considering the fact that they had to face some sort of enhanced Beast and now had to deal with a surprise attack, it was better than what most would’ve expected. Really, he was actually getting rather fond of his castmates, now that he thought about it!
Though, they did look a bit tired…How long have they all been up for now? A day or two? Truly, they could all use a nap, even Time Shadow Cookie!
“Ugh, that salty Cookie was a pain!” Ovenhead Cookie complained, dusting off his shoulder. “Seriously, what’s with you Cookies and vanishing in thin air?!”
Pulpo Cookie nodded, covering her mouth from the onslaught of spices. “Annoying…”
A more earnest smile crossed Time Shadow’s face. “Well, it seems like me and that Cookie have some similarities, then, considering she was fading into ash.” He commented, directing his attention to where said Cookie lay, “I wouldn’t be surprised if her dough was made of it, just like how mine is made of shadows.”
The handlebar on Ovenhead’s face curved upwards, as if it were furrowing. “How does that even work?” He wondered, looking at Time Shadow Cookie.
A good question! But, uh, well…
Time Shadow tried to avoid looking at Ovenhead’s face. “I’m afraid I don’t know, old sport.”
Alright, so maybe he didn’t really know how he was born from shadows or how he came to be, but could anyone blame him? It wasn’t like anyone was around when he first started to become aware of things, and the only memories he had regarding his creation were…scattered to say the least.
Before Ovenhead Cookie could question that response, Pulpo Cookie’s face lit up a bit as if she realized something. Her tentacles detached from the bow they were holding together, and she held them out. “Cover me,” She requested, before dashing off to the right of them.
Huh?! “Wait, Miss Pulpo Cookie!” Time Shadow Cookie called out, taking a few steps in the direction she had run off to. Where was she going?! The spice storm was still ongoing, and he wasn’t sure how long they had before those other Cookies-
Right at that moment, Ovenhead Cookie pulled back Time Shadow Cookie by his collar as the fork wielder lunged down where Time Shadow had been standing, with the fork barely scraping him. As Ovenhead Cookie prepared a quick burst of flame, Time Shadow ducked in front of him, taking his top hat off his head to avoid it meeting a fiery end that was targeted at the fork wielder in front of them.
Said fork wielder also ducked down, but not before receiving some damage to the top of her head and damaging her tattered cloak further. She once more turned into ash and fell back, creating some distance between the three of them.
“My, that was a close call!” Time Shadow couldn’t help but chuckle, ignoring the bead of sweat that he felt forming from both the attack and being so close to the flame. Quickly, he slipped to Ovenhead’s side as the Cookie raised his fist. “Let’s just say that makes us even, considering I did that to you earlier, yes?”
A fiery huff came from Ovenhead. “Eh? Sure, why not! Just don’t do that again!”
The fork wielder once more lunged for the two of them. “Stop talking and fight!” She demanded fiercely, missing the two of them once more as they both jumped away.
In the distance, Time Shadow Cookie could hear the other two Cookies squabble, and the purple one tried to untangle the apple Cookie.
“Black Sapphire Cookie, HURRY UP!” The small one cried out, wiggling around as the taller one, Black Sapphire Cookie, tried to quickly untie the ribbon. “You’re taking FOREVER!”
“Give me a second, Candy Apple Cookie!” Black Sapphire Cookie ordered, “That octopus Cookie seems to be exceptionally skilled at tying things.”
Hm, well, seemed like those two were still dealing with Pulpo’s handy work. This could work in their favor.
“Old sport, do you mind paying our other two antagonists a visit while I handle this one?” He requested, grabbing the fork wielder by her shadow to keep her in place until she figured out that her ashy tricks could allow her a temporary escape.
Ovenhead Cookie turned to where the other two were, “Hehehe, sure can!” He replied, with perhaps a bit too much gusto considering one of his targets was presumably a child he had been asked to beat up. Under usual circumstances, Time Shadow Cookie would scold him for such a thing, but considering said Cookie had tried to crumble them and was still trying to…
Well, he was sure Candy Apple Cookie could handle a bit of heat, at the very least, alongside Black Sapphire Cookie. The two were pushing his hand here, really.
Yet, despite all that, Time Shadow couldn’t help but smile as Ovenhead ran off to handle them. Unfortunately, that amusement would have to be put aside for now.
With a mildly annoyed huff, Time Shadow Cookie redirected his focus to the fork wielder. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, quite the predicament you have yourself in, isn’t it?” Seemed like she still hadn’t figured out how to escape yet, considering she was attempting to tug her feet up to no avail.
The fork wielder scowled at him, “Why do you all have to talk that way?” She questioned, before dissolving into ash and freeing herself from his trap.
Time Shadow Cookie waited for her to reform in front of him, with her taking a jab at him. However, the jab simply hit air as Time Shadow Cookie vanished into a shadow, reemerging a few feet behind her, readjusting his top hat back on his head once he had resurfaced.
“Whatever could you mean?” He answered back, tilting his head as the fork wielder once more went in for an attack. Since she had realized his shadow trick and could quickly escape from it now, it would be a bit harder to pull her into his stage.
Granted, it was far from impossible, but he’d rather just keep up their new dance of disappearing and reforming while trying to strike each other. Really, despite what this other Cookie may think, he was the one with the upper hand here. He just needed to buy some time for Pulpo Cookie to do…whatever she was doing. Perhaps she was checking on some stage equipment or getting another set ready? Ah, well, either way, he’d rather just play around for now. He wanted to see where this script went.
However, it turned out his opponent wasn’t as talkative as Black Sapphire Cookie was, considering she didn’t respond to his quip. After going back and forth for a bit, paired with the occasional commotion from Ovenhead ‘dealing’ with the other two Cookies with fire and punches, Time Shadow Cookie couldn’t help but admit he was getting a bit bored of this. He certainly preferred this over dealing with Rajapendra Cookie, but this act was getting stale.
After he reappeared for what felt like the fifth time, landing gracefully after dodging another one of the fork wielder’s attacks. Seriously, he needed to find out her name eventually; it’d be improper for him not to know the name of one of their antagonists!
“Say, what is your name?” He asked, directing a shadow to strike her with a flick of his wrist. As expected, she turned into ash and moved backwards, reforming in mere moments. “I haven’t caught it with all this action going on.”
Also, as expected, she didn’t answer, instead opting to fix him with a mean glare. How rude!
Another exchange of attempted blows went on, with no real progress made. Where was Pulpo Cookie?!
Time Shadow Cookie sighed, shaking his head. “Not up for some friendly banter, are you?” Oh, what a tragedy! Nevertheless, he could fill the silence to spice up this rather dull battle as he awaited Miss Pulpo Cookie’s return. “You know, it is quite amusing how similar we are.”
Saying that must have struck something in the other Cookie, as she flung her fork at him and practically teleported in front of him at the speed she traveled. The Cookie’s red eyes were narrowed with frustration, her face scowling at him. “We are nothing alike!”
Of course, Time Shadow Cookie simply dove back into the shadows, appearing behind her and punching her in the back, sending her tumbling to the ground with a grunt.
“In character, yes.” He agreed, looking down at her as he took possession of her large fork. “But I more so meant it in appearance and abilities, considering the fact that our doughs are made of rather unusual ingredients and our ability to disperse our forms.”
The no longer fork-wielding Cookie attempted to quickly push herself up from the ground, but was pinned down by a shadow. She soon turned to ash again and escaped from his grasp, reforming in front of him with a fair bit of distance.
She once more fixed him with a beyond-angry glare, though she quickly turned her attention to the fork that he was now holding. Guess he was the fork-wielder now.
However, said fork was suddenly wrapped in ribbon and pulled back towards Pulpo Cookie, who swiftly made her way to Time Shadow’s side with something golden in one of her hands. Her free hand latched onto the fork as she admired it, clearly enamoured with its shine, even in this spice storm.
“Pretty…”
Again, Time Shadow Cookie couldn’t help but give a light chuckle at his castmates' simple pleasures even in the midst of a battle. However, that golden object that Pulpo Cookie was holding…it was a-
“Miss Pulpo Cookie, did you just salvage that Time Manipulator?” Time Shadow Cookie asked, quickly glancing at the object in her hands as he made sure the ash Cookie didn’t launch another attack. It seemed like she was debating what course of action to take now that she was without her weapon.
She nodded, offering it to him, to which he accepted. “...Sensed the wreckage.”
Ah, so that's where she went. “Splendid! We can use this to- Oh dear…”
The Time Manipulator, to put it politely, was in less than ideal condition. It wasn't exactly the portable the TBD was known for, considering Pulpo salvaged it from the Roadster, but it could certainly be converted into something similar, considering how busted the outside of it was. He dearly hoped this piece of set equipment wasn't beyond repair, though; then they'd really be in a tough spot!
“Hm, well, it seems like we'll need to ask old sport to lend us a hand in repairing this.” He planned out loud, “Miss Pulpo Cookie, may you keep up this scuffle with our ashy assailant for a bit longer while I go get him?”
Pulpo shook her head in agreement, “I'll…play.” She let go of the fork with her hand and instead opted to hold it with one of her tentacles, fixing her eyes on the ashy Cookie.
“Have fun then, and do make sure she doesn't get her prop back!”
Time Shadow Cookie dipped into a shadow and sped his way to Ovenhead Cookie, popping up a bit away from him. Said Cookie currently had Black Sapphire Cookie on what looked like his last leg, with him leaning heavily on his staff to keep balance with many noticeable burns, yet he tried to send another crystal-looking attack at him. In response, Ovenhead sent out an instantaneous puff of fire, neutralizing the attack. Meanwhile, Candy Apple Cookie seemed to still be attempting to free herself from Pulpo Cookie’s ribbons, though they did appear more damaged.
Time Shadow Cookie dragged the two of them into his shadow realm, stepping up next to Ovenhead, “Old sport-”
“ARGH!” He flinched, shielding himself as he expected an attack. Yet, when he saw it was just Time Shadow, he immediately dropped his guard and puffed up, “I told you to STOP doing that! It's creepy!”
Honestly, he did try to stifle the chuckle that threatened to emerge, even going so far as to cover his mouth with his hand, but old sport’s reaction never ceased to be at least a bit amusing. “I implore you to get used to it, old sport. Especially if we have any more shows together.” Which was likely considering their performance, “Anyway, could you be a dear fellow and figure out how to fix this? I do know that you have a background in producing and selling items on the black market; perhaps those skills could be of use here?”
“Huh? What thing?” Overhead Cookie questioned.
Time Shadow Cookie gestured for Ovenhead to hold out his hand and placed the broken Time Manipulator in his oven mitten. “This,” he told him, “I’m not sure what you can do with many tools, but perhaps you could come up with something? There also could be some tools stashed away in the Roadster if you ask Pulpo Cookie about where the remains are.”
Despite his lack of typical facial expressions, Ovenhead Cookie visibly gawked at the fractured device. “Eh?! How on Earthbread do you expect me to fix THIS?!”
In all honesty, he wasn’t sure. So, Time Shadow Cookie just shrugged, “I’m not certain, but it’s worth an effort to try and fix this crucial piece of stage equipment. If not, we’ll need to find another way.”
Or have Cutter Circuit Cookie contact them. Seriously, they’ve been dead silent since they handled Rajapendra Cookie; were they taking some sort of intermission without telling them? How ill-mannered of them if so!
Ovenhead Cookie gave a weary sigh in response, “Fine! I’ll give it a swing, but I ain’t a miracle worker!”
“Never claimed you were, but please, do your best, old sport.” Time Shadow Cookie requested, “Now, if you excuse me, I’ll be off entertaining those two little Cookies.”
Before Ovenhead Cookie could respond, Time Shadow Cookie dove into the shadows and was soon faced by Candy Apple Cookie and Black Sapphire Cookie.
“We have to get out NOW!” Candy Apple cried, flailing to no avail in the void of the shadows, still stuck in ribbon, “Come on, it’s just like Master Shadow Milk Cookie’s other-realm but way worse!”
Black Sapphire Cookie once more resumed his efforts to free Candy Apple Cookie, trying to untie Pulpo Cookie’s untiable knots while maintaining his balance. “I really wish he showed us how to deal with being in there for a fight,” Black Sapphire Cookie grumbled. “I mean, I completely understand why; no other Cookie to my knowledge can wield these other-realms, let alone to this extent.”
Hm, was that truly the case? Never mind that, time to entertain the two for a while! Once again, Time Shadow Cookie manifested behind Candy Apple Cookie, right in Black Sapphire Cookie’s field of view. “Struggle all you want; unless I give you an opening, you two will not be leaving my stage any time soon.”
Black Sapphire Cookie glowered at him, “Oh, great, it’s you again. Here for another rerun?”
Time Shadow Cookie narrowed one of his eyes at him, his smile widening. “Would you like one?”
The purple Cookie lowered himself into a fighting stance, preparing to launch himself at Time Shadow, but before he could, Candy Apple Cookie jumped up, “HEY! How about you untie me, huh?” She demanded, “It’s unfair that you two get to move freely while I’m bound up!
“Such is life, little ones.” He nearly automatically replied. It was a rule he was all too familiar with…
Black Sapphire tensed up even more. “Little one?! I am more than certain that I am older than you!”
“Are you now? You certainly don’t look like it,” Time Shadow Cookie observed, leaning forward and glancing over the two of them. “I thought you fell into the cliché of a darkly dressed, moody teen.”
“MOODY TEEN?!” Black Sapphire Cookie indignantly repeated, his black bat wings flaring up, “I’ll have you know I am EONS old!”
Candy Apple Cookie’s snickers could be heard as Time Shadow Cookie afforded himself some of his own, “Well, you definitely don’t act like it either, little one. Perhaps you’re a novice actor?”
Not bothering with a response, Black Sapphire Cookie sent a blast of his magic directly towards where Time Shadow Cookie was standing. Of course, considering they were in the realm of shadows, it was redirected to strike Candy Apple Cookie in the back of her head.
“OW!” She loudly groaned, ducking her head. “Black Sapphire Cookie, be careful!”
Honestly, Time Shadow Cookie didn’t even know it was possible to look even more agitated, but Black Sapphire Cookie sure was!
“Tsk tsk tsk, I thought you would’ve learned from last time, little one.” Time Shadow Cookie scolded, raising his head with a disappointed frown. “This realm is my stage, with every aspect of it bending to MY will.”
Both Cookies tried to situate themselves in a defensive position at those words, but in all honesty, Time Shadow Cookie wasn’t going to crumble them. It’d be so ungentlemanly of him to do so, considering the position they were in and also partly because it would take away precious energy that he should probably be conserving more. It was already a bit taxing to keep two individuals here.
Yet, as the three of them stayed in this standstill, something in the field…changed.
He couldn’t pinpoint what, but it made every molecule of his shadowy dough stand on edge, like something ominous was approaching them. It was a bit like Rajapendra Cookie but also like…
Time Shadow Cookie’s eyes widened in realization. They didn’t have much time to leave!
Meanwhile, Black Sapphire Cookie and Candy Apple Cookie began smiling, with the former of the two being sly and confident while the latter one was beaming with joy and pride.
“Well, I suppose we can wait.” Black Sapphire Cookie calmly replied, a sharp contrast to his earlier tone. “Right, Candy Apple Cookie?”
The little Cookie started giggling. “Kha ha ha ha! Oh, you guys are so done for!”
Without a second of hesitation, Time Shadow Cookie practically flung himself out of the shadow realm, making a dash towards Ovenhead Cookie.
Old sport was currently standing by the crushed and melted remains of the Roadster, fiddling around with some spare tools he must have found as he tried to fix the Time Manipulator, intense focus and precision that, under normal circumstances, Time Shadow Cookie would’ve thought were impossible coming from him.
“Old sport, I’d HIGHLY recommend that you hurry up with the Time Manipulator!” Time Shadow requested from behind Ovenhead Cookie, once more causing him to jump up.
Ovenhead Cookie sputtered for a moment as he turned to face him, his handlebar curled up in frustration. “HEY! I’m trying to go as fast as I can!” He immediately replied; however, his face fell for a moment as he looked at Time Shadow Cookie. “What’s the matter? You look like you got hit by a shock of electricity!”
“Wh-Huh?!” Time Shadow Cookie croaked out. What was he implying? “Look, that doesn’t matter right now. What does is that you hurry up so we don’t have to face the main antagonist in our current condition!”
“Main antagonist? Who’s that?”
The feeling from before got worse, and it was by the second it seemed, “Shadow Milk Cookie! He’s heading our way!”
“HE’S WHAT?! Ovenhead shouted, nearly dropping one of his tools, but he managed to fumble his way into catching it. “We could barely handle that centipede; we’re as good as CRUMBS if he gets us!”
“Preciesly! Which is exactly why I’d recommend speeding things up, old sport!” He reiterated, “How much longer do you think it will take to finish those repairs?”
Ovenhead Cookie gave a weary look at the Time Manipulator. “Eh…The main issue is the lack of an energy source, which I’m trying to work out. Without power, no matter what I do, we won’t be able to go anywhere!”
Lack of an energy source? Where were they going to get one in such a short amount of time?! That Beast was only going to leave them so much time; they needed to figure something out, and fast!
Time Shadow Cookie scanned the set for anything that could work or joggle an idea out of his head. Could fire power work?! Ovenhead Cookie could do that! No, that likely wouldn’t work; if it could, he’d be using that…His fuel? No, same issue! Plus, Time Shadow Cookie was confident in the fact that the fuel for an oven wouldn’t be the same as the fuel for a Time Manipulator.
When Time Shadow Cookie looked back at himself, though, an idea struck him. It’d be risky, especially considering the fact he was already worn down by Rajapendra Cookie and it wasn’t something he had a chance to rehearse at, but…
“Don’t worry about that, old sport, I have a solution for that! Just get that Time Manipulator up and running, and I’ll handle that! In the meantime, I’ll go and get Miss Pulpo Cookie.” And with that, Time Shadow Cookie dashed off once more.
They needed to be fast; they really needed to. Some sort of fear was crawling into Time Shadow Cookie’s dough and worming itself in him, refusing to let go and only getting worse. He was getting near, and while Time Shadow Cookie didn’t know why it felt like he could pinpoint where he was coming from, he just knew they needed to hurry.
Admittedly, Time Shadow Cookie was rather surprised to see Pulpo Cookie still winning over Ash Salt Cookie due to how close she was to crumbling just mere hours ago, but perhaps the challenge of keeping a newly obtained shiny object gave her some more vigor. Well, whatever the reason was, it was time to end this act of the performance.
As the ashy Cookie tried to lunge to snatch back her fork, Time Shadow Cookie reemerged by Pulpo Cookie’s side and launched her attacker back with a shadow, once more causing the ashy Cookie to fall back onto the ground.
Time Shadow Cookie grabbed Pulpo Cookie’s free hand and began running back to Ovenhead Cookie without a second thought. “I’m glad you seem to be having fun again, Miss Pulpo Cookie, but it’s about time we take our leave!”
Ugh, he was acting rather ill-mannered right now by just grabbing her and running without explaining, but for once it almost felt like Time Shadow Cookie didn’t care about it. They just needed to leave! He could make up for it later!
Pulpo Cookie didn’t say a word as she matched his pace, only keeping an eye out for any threats. Yet, that would only do so much when that Beast would inevitably arrive.
Eugh, it felt like his heart was pounding against his chest, and his jam was pulsing in anticipation at the mere thought. Why was he acting like this? He was perfectly poised when facing Rajapendra Cookie; what made Shadow Milk Cookie any different?!
Soon, the two of them were back by the damaged Roadster and Ovenhead Cookie, who seemed to be taking a bit more of a reckless approach to fixing the Time Manipulator, but if it got it done quicker, then Time Shadow Cookie wouldn’t comment.
“Almost done!” Ovenhead Cookie announced, “Just need to do a few more things, and it should be enough for a one-way trip too…Uh, where are we planning on heading?”
Pulpo Cookie shrugged, still holding onto Time Shadow, “Golden Cheese Kingdom…?” She suggested.
“Wherever takes the least amount of energy and is the quickest.” Time Shadow Cookie answered firmly, and he was unable to stop himself from glancing around the arid desert once more in the spice storm.
Ovenhead Cookie finished putting the plates of the Time Manipulator together, giving it a hearty smack. “Golden Cheese Kingdom it is!”
As he began adjusting the device to input the coordinates, it was as if someone had seized something inside of Time Shadow Cookie that caused him to jolt up. “Brace yourselves!”
Time Shadow Cookie shielded himself with his arms as, in a matter of moments, a dark, inky blue substance covered the stage. From what he could sense, it was exactly the same as the other-realm by the Silver Tree, yet there was something here that bled what Time Shadow Cookie could only describe as two separate energies trying to merge: one sinister and the other chaotic. Yet, it felt painstakingly familiar.
"Those…eyes…” Ovenhead Cookie shuttered, “Not again!”
“Very bad.” Pulpo Cookie commented.
Time Shadow Cookie dropped his guard just a bit as he observed his new surroundings, even though it was difficult to focus, as it seemed like every part of him was screaming at him to flee, to get away by any means necessary. The place they were in was emanating a blue light on them all; the floor was covered in a mildly transparent checkered pattern that was only apparent if you were by it, and most notably were the eyes floating around on the sides of this realm. While some were closed, any that were open focused solely on the three of them with intense slit pupils.
It also appeared that the Roadster had vanished, but luckily Ovenhead was still holding onto the Time Manipulator. Good, maybe they could still escape, but it made his plan for getting energy into it even riskier, along with the fact that the Beast’s magic might interfere with it.
Time Shadow Cookie lowered himself, taking a shaky breath. “S-Seems like our main antagonist has arrived,” He observed, narrowing his eyes back at the largest one staring at them. “Use caution; we don’t know what he’ll do.”
“USE CAUTION?! WE’RE-”
Whatever Ovenhead was about to say was interrupted by the sound of a mad cackle that surrounded them all.
“EHE HE HE HE! Lookie lookie, what do we have here? Some D-list secondary actors who dared to try and play a bigger role in MY play?”
The largest eye, which was piercing the three of them with its glare, seemingly melted in a manner that, for a moment, made it look like it was crying. Of course, that wasn’t what was happening, with the eye soon morphing and extending to reveal a light blue Cookie floating in the air, his form a contorted mess of magical energy and eyes harder to discern fully with the blue light bathing him.
The very sight of him made Time Shadow Cookie’s dough begin to tremble, yet he refused to run. He was not going to abandon his castmates because of this disgusting fear!
Also, D-list actors?! At least he didn’t look like a complete lunatic! Plus, that laugh was beyond typical of a villain. Though, credit where credit was due, his line delivery was rather solid.
All of Shadow Milk Cookie’s eyes were fixated on the three of them, with most of them curling up in mirth paired with his laughter, “Now, let’s see who these little pests are…We have a little octopus, some brute with an oven for a head, and a…”
The second his focus was solely on Time Shadow Cookie, his main eyes widened as his sharp, toothy grin widened. “He he he! Now, isn’t this a callback?” He questioned, using the arm made up of white and yellow energy to cup his own face. “You couldn’t possibly be it, could you?”
Time Shadow Cookie flinched. “W-What?” Why was this Beast acting as they’d met before?!
Despite the eyes surrounding him, he could feel Ovenhead Cookie’s and Pulpo Cookie’s eyes piercing him from behind, undoubtedly confused too. Looked like they were in the same boat. What sort of plot twist was this wicked Cookie trying to create with his lies?!
Shadow Milk Cookie rolled his eyes at that response, scoffing, “Hm, maybe you aren’t it.” He thought out loud, though his annoyance formed right back into maddened amusement as he focused back on him, “But it certainly wouldn’t hurt to check! Oh, just look at you trembling in fear!”
Time Shadow Cookie most certainly wasn’t going to stand around to figure out what Shadow Milk Cookie meant by ‘checking’ whatever he thought he was. So, he sent out two shadows to try and strike the Cookie, preparing to dodge an incoming attack at a moment's notice. Likewise, Ovenhead Cookie immediately jumped up and began to try and shoot out flames while Pulpo Cookie deployed ribbons to attempt to wrap up Shadow Milk Cookie.
Of course, their attacks were for nothing. With a wave of his hand that sent out a pulse of powerful magic, their attacks were dispelled as if they were nothing but a minor inconvenience. Shadow Milk Cookie once more laughed in amusement, “Aw, how cute! But also completely and utterly PATHETIC!” He growled at the end, the tendril haircing curling up. He raised his yellow arm and pointed at them, “You little gnats have already caused me too many issues for how IRRELEVANT you are! My minions, deal with hothead and little miss octopus!”
Seemingly out of nowhere, Candy Apple Cookie and Black Sapphire appeared from the void.
The Beast pierced Time Shadow Cookie with a mad glare, fitting both definitions of the word. “I’ll personally deal with this little shadow.”
The second Shadow Milk Cookie finished his command, something pierced Time Shadow Cookie’s mind and sent him kneeling to the ground, clutching his head as he cried out, “AUGH!”
The shadow Cookie clenched his eyes shut as his mind spun, memories that were nothing but distant whispers coming to the forefront of his head, his dough feeling as if it’d crumble from the slightest touch.
𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 (?) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥, 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧…𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵? 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.
𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯?
𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦?
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘺, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘣 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘫𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦.
𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦.
𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘕𝘖𝘞-
“My, my, you really are it!” Someone snickered, tilting up the shadow’s head as he tried to blink away the memory that kept circulating in his mind. “Such a shame you fled, but the past is the past! I never thought I’d see it again!”
The memories swirled and cut in his head, distorting and twisting, preventing him from being able to clearly see anything outside of the visions he knew weren’t of the present or perhaps even the truth.
Yet, he managed to meet the Cookie’s eyes, though he only focused on the two main ones.
While the left one was entirely yellow, it had a notable amount of it; meanwhile, the other was completely blue.
And they kept staring at him, yellow and blue.
Shouts that weren’t as distant as they sounded rang in his ears, striking a chord in him unlike the ones from the crowd. Those shouts…
OVENHEAD COOKIE AND PULPO COOKIE!
“OI! Little squirt! You need to pull him out with your ribbons!”
“Got it.”
Something tight wrapped around Time Shadow Cookie’s chest and pulled him back, breaking him from whatever hold Shadow Milk Cookie had him in. Time Shadow grunted as he tumbled unceremoniously in front of Pulpo Cookie, her unexpressive face tainted with just a hint of worry in her small frown. Nearby, he could make out Ovenhead striking someone with a burst of flame.
“Ugh…I must thank you for the assist, Miss Pulpo Cookie,” Time Shadow Cookie groaned. His head was still splitting and it didn’t seem like the Beast’s influence was completely gone too. The curtain call really couldn’t come any sooner for them, could it?
The ribbons around him let up as she retracted them, giving him a short nod. “Your screams…disturbing.”
His what now?!
Time Shadow Cookie slowly pushed himself up with quivering arms. That psychic attack left him dangerously low on energy. Would he be able to execute his script to supply the Time Manipulator with energy at this rate?
Tch, he’d have to risk it. It was hazardous for him to try, but not as much as staying here was starting to be!
Time Shadow Cookie was nearly thrown up by Ovenhead Cookie suddenly helping him up, followed by Time Shadow Cookie steadying himself against the large Cookie as he wrapped an arm around the shadow.
“How many times are you going to do THAT?!” The brute questioned, his voice nearly cracking from worry, “With how you were acting, I thought you were turning into crumbs!”
“Might’ve been if I stayed there for much longer,” Time Shadow replied, glaring at the Beast flying above. “We need to take our leave soon; I don’t know how much longer- AGH!”
Another wave of Shadow Milk Cookie’s psychic power hit Time Shadow Cookie, which would’ve caused him to crumple to the floor again if it weren’t for Ovenhead Cookie keeping him up.
“EH?! Time Shadow Cookie? TIME SHADOW COOKIE?!”
Spinning…everything was spinning like a carousel out of control…A rich dark roast smell wafted in the air, making it all so much worse. It felt like sweet jam was in his mouth…It tasted like milk and blueberries for some strange reason.
…Were those camera lenses or deceptive eyes? What really was the difference?
“Ehehehe! Why, such heroics! It could almost make me cry! Yet, I am sick of you and your little organization's melodramas interfering with MY recitals! And just LOOK at what you’ve done to my star actors too! The only reason I don’t just crumble you all right now is because of that rather interesting toy you have in your little glove, hothead!”
No…NO!
This stage, it was far too dangerous for any sort of showing! Let alone an untrained audience! No, not audience, his castmates!
Leave, they needed to leave! But how?! How could they all escape this other-realm?!
His shadows…they were…similar…weren’t they? Maybe he could…!
“O-Old sport…” The shadow barely croaked out, “Yo-You’re going to have to…carry me after this.”
Summoning all the energy and will he could, he sent out shadows to cover every speck of this stage in a world of darkness, hopefully expanding the realm of shadows. Dark spots plagued his vision, yet he kept going. With all of his might, he forced the shadows to expand outward, piercing the other-realm that surrounded them all.
Just a bit more-!
𝙎𝙃𝘼𝙏𝙏𝙀𝙍
And Time Shadow Cookie soon collapsed, his vision falling into darkness as the world went silent for him.
…
…
…
There was something warm above him. Granted, everything was rather warm around him right now, but it felt like the source of the warmth above him was both different and stronger, yet it was…oddly pleasant. The air stung when he breathed it in, but it wasn’t impossible, just inconvenient. Actually, it sounded like the wind was howling. Also, there was most definitely something tightly wrapped around his torso, arms, and legs. What was it?
Actually, where…where was Time Shadow Cookie again?
“...Tighter?”
“Do you want to crack his dough, little miss?”
Ah, right! He was currently doing a three-lead performance with Pulpo Cookie and Ovenhead Cookie! They had been sent to handle an eye on top of the Silver Tree, then sent to fight Rajapendra Cookie, and then for their final surprise act they had to…
Oh, how unprofessional of him! He must have scared the life out of them both with his stunt! Though Time Shadow Cookie didn’t quite understand whatever trick he did to escape that other-realm, that was an issue he could think about later. Right now, he needed to soothe these two’s worries! They did have a pinch of time left since it seemed like the Beast was still in their vicinity, but not as close as he was earlier.
“N-No need for any of t-that,” Time Shadow interrupted, though his voice was noticeably hoarse. How odd, but Pulpo Cookie had mentioned something about him screaming. Probably related to that…
Time Shadow Cookie cracked open his eyes slowly, his vision still a bit blurry. Though it was significantly better than the spinning visions he had earlier. He could discern that Ovenhead Cookie was leaning over him (that explained the warmth), carrying him in his arms with a very tight grip. Pulpo Cookie stood near them, her tentacles holding golden ribbon. Time Shadow Cookie momentarily glanced at his limbs, spotting the matching ribbon wrapped tightly around them. All three of them were also huddled behind a giant boulder, keeping them both safe from the wild spice storm and out of sight. Interestingly, he couldn’t see the fork Pulpo Cookie took anywhere.
Time Shadow Cookie stared at the ribbon for a moment. “May I…ask about that?”
Pulpo Cookie held her hands over her chest, her frown noticeable. “Bind you, together tightly.”
Hm?
Ovenhead Cookie seemed to tense at her explanation, “After you broke that creepy place with your little trick, it was like your dough was dissolving!” He explained, shuddering, “I’ve NEVER seen anything like that! We both thought you were…”
He’s made Ovenhead think that a lot today, hasn’t he? Poor old chap, he didn’t quite seem to understand how resistant his shadowy dough was. Though, he even had Pulpo Cookie worried there!
“Wrapped you…to keep form.” Pulpo elaborated, shifting a bit where she stood, “Just like, the flames.”
Ah, yes, the flames of Mortality. Hm, perhaps he should’ve given them more of a warning? Then again, Time Shadow Cookie didn’t think he’d be that low on energy to where his shape would loosen.
Time Shadow Cookie gave an exhausted sigh, “The th-thought’s greatly appreciated, Miss Pulpo Cookie, but there’s no need. I was simply tired after my performance, which can, at times, cause my form to lose its shape.”
Pulpo Cookie tilted her head. “Lose shape?”
Eugh, his eyes still felt droopy. “I actively choose to look like this, though I do it subconsciously now. However, if I need to conserve energy, my form gets a bit… imperfect, to say the least.”
“So you’re like a shapeshifter?” Ovenhead questioned.
Not exactly it, but not entirely wrong. “In a sense, I suppose,” Time Shadow settled on, “Think of it like I have really stretchy dough.”
Hopefully that would get the two of them to calm down a bit. Yet, Ovenhead brought him in even closer to his body, with the larger Cookie taking a deep breath.
“If you do something like that again…I don’t even know what I’ll do.” He admitted, his voice the quietest Time Shadow Cookie had ever heard.
Oh! Alright then! That certainly wasn’t an expected reaction! Time Shadow Cookie looked over at Pulpo Cookie, and despite her unexpressive face, it looked like she agreed.
Time Shadow Cookie gave a weak chuckle. “I apologize for the fright I gave you two, truly.” He admitted. It didn’t suit either of them well at all. “But I’m afraid I’ll need to do it at least once more.”
“Didn’t I just tell you to NOT do that?!” Ovenhead Cookie rebutted.
“...Why?” Pulpo Cookie asked.
Maybe it was the exhaustion, but Time Shadow Cookie couldn’t help but chuckle again. “How else are we going to power the Time Manipulator to make our e-elegant escape?”
Was Time Shadow Cookie now putting himself in a fair amount of danger with this plan? Very much so! But there was no other script and not much time for improv, so he’ll do what he must. He’s just going to need a very, very long intermission after this.
Time Shadow Cookie looked up at Ovenhead Cookie. “Old sport, could you put me down, please? Gently?” He requested. If he couldn’t do this while standing up because there was a fair chance even that was too much, he’d just sink his feet into the shadows to keep himself up. “Also, you do still have the Time Manipulator, yes?”
Ovenhead obliged to his request, getting up and adjusting himself in order to set Time Shadow Cookie down. He actually did do it rather gently too; how nice! Admittedly, Time Shadow Cookie was a bit wobbly on his feet, but after a few seconds he managed to get his balance. Good, he might have a chance at remaining conscious after doing this. Though, it was already difficult to do this when he was in perfect condition, not to mention he’d be a bit rusty…
Time Shadow Cookie leaned forward, holding out his hand towards old sport, “The Time Manipulator, please.”
Ovenhead Cookie hesitated for a moment. “How are you even going to supply energy to it? I don’t see any power sources on you.”
His eyes widened for a split second at that question. “Oh, just a little party trick. Nothing too bad, old sport, I promise.” He hoped his smile was at least convincing enough to fool the two of them. While he’d rather not lie to his castmates, he knew if he was honest with the way they were acting now, they wouldn’t hand him the Time Manipulator. And they all needed to exit the stage, now. They seemed to be out of time.
With a sigh, Ovenhead Cookie rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out the Time Manipulator, placing it in Time Shadow Cookie’s hand. “Better be glad it’s still intact! Those lackeys were vicious!"
Time Shadow Cookie nodded, standing back up, “I very much am. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we must be taking our leave.” He informed the two of them, taking a few steps back, “This will likely alert them, so we must hurry.”
Pulpo Cookie nodded while Ovenhead Cookie grumbled, “Wasn’t planning on staying any longer than we needed to…”
Taking a deep breath, Time Shadow Cookie focused on channeling every bit of magical energy he could into the device, holding it with both hands and closing his eyes. While he wasn’t well-versed in magic, unless one were to count his shadows as it, he was capable of something very barebones. He didn’t know what it was exactly, but it was something. It always left him feeling so cold and tired, though, and paired with the peculiar energy it admitted, he never really bothered to learn it.
Yet, he was beyond grateful for it now. Maybe he’d bother with actually learning more about it later in case another performance required it.
That notion was cut short, however, as Time Shadow Cookie finished channeling the energy. He practically collapsed again once he finished, dropping the Time Manipulator on the ground. He coughed harshly as black spots began to fill his vision, keeping his body slightly off the ground with his arms. His body felt like it was hardening into ice with how cold it was. Crumbs, this magic was VERY demanding! He couldn’t afford a curtain call right now!
Time Shadow Cookie was once more being holstered up by Ovenhead Cookie. “JUST a little party trick?!” He repeated back at him, voice mixed with both anger and concern, “You're losing your form again!”
“Ugh…” Time Shadow groaned, placing a hand on his head, “I-It’s fine…That should be…enough.”
He heard someone- Pulpo Cookie, no doubt- pick up the Time Manipulator and begin to fiddle with it. “Hurry.” She commanded, still working with the thing.
Something was getting close…Crumbs, it was-!
“OOOOOOH! Seems like we’ve found our little pests, my friends!”
“Blasted crumbs!” Ovenhead Cookie swore, turning to Pulpo Cookie. “Little miss, you’ve gotta open that portal NOW!”
“Trying,” She replied, voice a tad strained. There was a whirring sound, and a brightly colored portal opened a bit away. Not what was produced by a true portable Time Manipulator, but instead by the Roadster. “Done.”
“H-Hurry!” Time Shadow Cookie urged.
Unceremoniously, Ovenhead Cookie picked up Time Shadow Cookie again and threw him over his shoulder. They all made a mad dash for the portal, yet were almost instantly interrupted by a cloud of ash blocking them.
“There’s no use in fleeing!” The ashy Cookie, once more wielding her fork, announced. She lunged for Pulpo Cookie, who barely dodged the strike by the edge of her dough by jumping out of the way.
Were those other two Cookies back too? There was no use in waiting around to find out! Not wanting to wait a second, Time Shadow Cookie commanded a shadow to toss the ashy Cookie to the side, yet it was both weaker than he anticipated and caused a small headache to form.
Ugh, he was in no condition to continue this fight, yet he must continue!
Thankfully, Ovenhead Cookie pushed her back a bit more with a moderately sized puff of flame. Time Shadow Cookie could feel it from his spot on old sport’s shoulder, but it really was the least of his worries at the current moment. He couldn’t even really get burns like the average Cookie.
Time Shadow Cookie looked up as Ovenhead continued to run and spotted Shadow Milk Cookie soaring above them, grinning widely while directly meeting Time Shadow’s eyes.
If his dough wasn’t already trembling, it sure was now! This was becoming a very inconvenient phenomenon!
“Old sport! He’s above us!”
Ovenhead Cookie let out some sort of distressed noise as he quickened his pace. Yet, once again, they were interrupted by the ashy Cookie reemerging and trying to strike Pulpo Cookie again. She was unable to fully dodge the attack this time, but luckily it only struck her hand; it sent the Time Manipulator flying out of her grasp.
Shoot! They couldn’t let that fall into the antagonists’ hands!
Time Shadow Cookie pushed himself up on Ovenhead Cookie’s shoulder. “Assist her,” He ordered as he pushed himself and slipped into the shadows. It still wasn’t easy to do, but it was easier than walking as a Cookie.
As fast as his worn-out body allowed him, Time Shadow Cookie moved towards the Time Manipulator. He could sort of make out the scuffle with the ashy Cookie coming to an end as he swam in the shadows. Time Shadow Cookie soon reached out of the shadow and grabbed onto the Time Manipulator, taking it into the shadows with him.
Yet, something else entered the shadows, grabbing onto his wrist
“GOT YOU!”
Time Shadow Cookie was abruptly lifted out of his shadow, being dragged up by Shadow Milk Cookie. All of his eyes were observing the Cookie he had effortlessly pulled out of the realm of shadows.
Time Shadow Cookie supposed it made sense that if his other-realm was similar to the shadow realm and that allowed Time Shadow Cookie to manipulate it, the same went for Shadow Milk Cookie.
He was being dangled by his arm, as if he were some sort of rag or old doll that the owner was disgusted by. Yet, by the gleeful expression on Shadow Milk Cookie’s face, that clearly wasn’t the case.
“Ehehehe! Nowhere to run or hide, little shadow!” He cooed, “Now I’ve got you AND that little toy of yours, just how things were meant to play out!”
Shadow Milk Cookie let go of Time Shadow Cookie’s arm and immediately grabbed him by his head, which only caused the once-minute headache to increase in strength. Time Shadow tried to pry his hand away with his free one, but it was in complete vain.
Time Shadow Cookie tried to meet the Beast’s eyes with a mean glare, but his eyes were wide in terror. “L-Let-!”
“Now, now, now! How awfully rude of you!” Shadow Milk Cookie increased the strength of his grip, forcing Time Shadow Cookie to suppress a shout. “You really have a bad attitude for a shadow, y’know?”
What did that even mean?!
Forcefully prying his eyes away from his captor, Time Shadow Cookie managed to catch Ovenhead Cookie’s and Pulpo Cookie’s gaze, both standing in front of the portal in different forms of silent horror as the ashy Cookie lay by them unconscious.
They couldn’t stay. Time Shadow Cookie may be a lost cause right now, but they weren’t. He was not about to endanger his castmates over this!
Black spots were starting to overtake his vision, his limbs falling helplessly against his body. Oh, his form must be distorting badly right now!
Yet, that didn’t matter. With the absolute last of his might, he sent the strongest shadow he could to push Ovenhead Cookie and Pulpo Cookie into the portal, with the former of the two shouting on the way out. As soon as their forms were lost in the portal, Time Shadow Cookie tried his best to look back at the Beast.
Shadow Milk Cookie simply rolled his eyes. “Tsk, of course they got away.” He scoffed, though he didn’t seem to care too much, “Oh well! Now hand over that toy to-!”
Finally, Time Shadow Cookie shattered the beaten-up Time Manipulator in his hand. As if he’d give such a precious prop to that Beast!
“What?! WHY YOU LITTLE-!”
And with that, Shadow Milk Cookie increased the strength of his grip once more, and Time Shadow Cookie was completely out cold.