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Chapter Text

A creak resounded on the chair as Shadow Milk Cookie sat, head of the table, isolated from the rest as he stared down at what was his meal for the day- a single, lone star jelly.

Perhaps the lone star jelly was reflective of his comrade's dislike for him. And he was stuck in a small cottage with said comrades for the foreseeable future.

To catch you up on the background story- at long last, after the sound defeat of Silent Salt Cookie at White Lily Cookie's hands, the beasts- aside from Silent Salt- in a last-ditch attempt, had come together in a united font and power to defeat the awakened ancients.

It had resulted in an equally sound defeat, and detestably, led the ancients to an even higher level of enlightenment, and their soul-jam power to be majorly siphoned off to the ancients- and quite more than half. Subsequently, the power they had held all weakened.

Of course, they could still do basic tasks- after all, they were baked to be the very embodiments of concepts. Eternal Sugar Cookie could still conjure sugar angels, cotton candy clouds, with Shadow Milk retaining the ability to still float and travel around in the air, Mystic Flour with her few-feet-off-the-air strange meditation stance, and Silent Salt, to call upon and command his faithful steed. To Eternal Sugar's delight, the steed hadn't changed much from how they remembered it- other than the color scheme from pure white to a tainted black, it was still rather tame but didn't respond much, even to touch anymore- except for when Silent Salt Cookie touched it.

Shadow Milk Cookie himself hadn't been too well off on coming to terms with losing so much of his power- he had lashed out at anyone coming to talk to him for days, or at nothing at all. At some point, he had calmed down, but his resentment for the heroes and especially Pure Vanilla Cookie had remained. Shadow Milk Cookie absently touched his own soul jam. It was missing a large portion of it now, but it was his- weak, but pulsating with power, his core.

Burning Spice Cookie, sweetly, ironically, had lost the most power out of all the five, being stripped of his power almost completely. Unable to summon even his fiery axe, he had been immensely angry to find out he could not call and command the wild spices anymore as his element was physical, separating him from the rest- destruction, after all.

He had grew very silent, very angry, burning with a rage that stewed on for days. Shadow Milk Cookie had laughed himself into hysterics at first, but now, without the brute talking, the small house they were forced into was no longer filled with noise. It been quiet before, but positively silent now. As for the other beasts, Shadow Milk Cookie could practically feel the beasts' disdain for him and whenever he tried to jab at them, he would not receive any reply.

From the way Mystic Flour Cookie and Silent Salt Cookie were so intent on keeping dead silent around him, you'd think it was a matter of life or death. Eternal Sugar Cookie, whilst he used to enjoy getting a rise out of her, would fly away at top speeds to her own chambers within the cottage and seconds later, when he chased her down, would find her in a deep, coma-like slumber.

And he really was locked into this cottage, but compared to the silver tree they had for imprisonment, this was a cage built by horrible, rickety wood and held together barely by straw strings, with the accursed ancients holding the key. Burning Spice Cookie and Shadow Milk Cookie already attempted escape, but the ancients had some kind of third sense that would be set off anytime one of them wrenched open the front door, and threw them right back in. With escape and size out of the window, that meant they really couldn't be so far apart from each other, considering the small size of the house.

Pure Vanilla Cookie, ever the sweet, forgiving little thing, had decided the beasts need another eon together because he "could not bring himself to end lives," and then shoved them in a cottage in hopes that they would be able to achieve redemption.

Impossible, of course- but Shadow Milk Cookie would thoroughly enjoy crushing that dream of his. He found the idea laughable- every word he spat was a lie- he was the essence of deceit. The thought of redemption itself left a bitter taste in his stomach and he had felt disgusted for days on end, the detestable feeling coming back whenever he thought of Pure Vanilla Cookie- like they were prizes, trophies to be redeemed. He couldn't change, and didn't...have the ability to. Maybe the other beasts had a chance, but not...him.

Stuck in this perpetual cycle, everyday, they sat, in a long table, cloaked in silence, akin to a ritual. A sense of distant coldness filled the air as everyone ate, all there because their bodies now needed nourishment- thanks to the ancients, tolerating each others' presence. Their relationship, like their fall, had deteriorated greatly.

For primordial gods such as the beasts, and based off how rich the ancients were, you really would think they could at least give you a nicer place to stay in. This place looks like shit, Shadow Milk Cookie thought sourly, prodding at his single star jelly, noticing others all got more than one. Whoever dished out dinner today must really despise him.

...that didn't matter. He didn't like eating anyway, toying with the food.

Burning Spice Cookie burped loudly, which they all collectively grimaced at. "Excuse me," He said with an indignant huff at the look Eternal Sugar Cookie gave him, shuffling to the edge of her seat. If there was a time to reminisce the past, Shadow Milk Cookie found himself currently yearning for the Burning Spice of the past, with impeccable dinner etiquette and manners.

Eternal Sugar Cookie glanced at Shadow Milk Cookie's plate. "Mystic Flour Cookie made that, you know." She said, her voice syrupy as she worked through her own share slowly. "You could at least eat it."

Leave it those ancients to not even supply them with ready-made food. Shadow Milk Cookie almost rolled his eyes as he recounted Pure Vanilla Cookie's promise - "They can change!"

It wasn't that he disliked Mystic Flour Cookie's cooking, no. On the contrary, she was exceptionally skilled in cooking. She had cultivated this skill way before their fall, and still retained it. Out of the handful of fond moments he had from before his corruption, one would be enjoying Mystic Flour Cookie's cooking, sat with his friends, chattering away about troubles that seemed so far away now.

But the body Dark Enchantress Cookie had constructed for him was so terribly weak- when he did eat, he used to eat his food liquified back at the Spire, which Black Sapphire Cookie did for him. His assistant wasn't here, however, which meant he had to stomach taking solid food.

He slowly raised the jelly to his mouth, taking a small bite. Bile instantly welled up in him, but he willed himself to chew, plainly staring ahead. After the construction of his body, no matter how masterfully it was made, whenever he had to inevitably take a bite of food to sustain himself, he would feel nothing but disgust, and now, more than ever, as majority of his power had been sealed and taken by Pure Vanilla Cookie.

His power helped him sustain himself, and when he took food, to efficiently break it down for him. Now his embarrassingly fragile body had to do the work. Damn you, Dark Enchantress Cookie, he thought sorely.

"If he doesn't eat, give me his share," Burning Spice Cookie butted in, chewing furiously on his own food. Glutton, Shadow Milk Cookie thought absently.

"I'm not hungry," Shadow Milk Cookie said simply. He stood up, and for all the deceit the beast liked to indulge in, he wouldn't stand for the open hostility in the air any longer and would not fool himself into thinking the opposite.

He recognized that his speech was awfully plebeian, out of character for him, but he really couldn't be bothered to care when these were the cookies he was bound together with for an eon in a tree, and created alongside. They had seen each other's ups and downs.

He walked over to Burning Spice Cookie (the brute watched him wearily. I'm not going to do anything, Shadow Milk Cookie thought bitterly.) and scraped the rest into his plate. If Mystic Flour Cookie had gone through the trouble of making this, at least it wouldn't have gone to waste.

"Well!" He said, forcing his playful tone, dumping the cutlery into the sink with a flourish and turning back to them. "I'll take my leave now. Todaloo," He bowed, and retreated into his designated room.

 

He didn't do much when he got to his room, either.

His room itself was another illusion, and it was built so to look like a throne room, bigger than its actual size and similar to one of the rooms within the Spire of Deceit, hissing serpents coiled around extravagant milk and gold pillars, blue eyes blinking back from the walls. Still not quite on par with the Spire of Deceit, but he didn't have alot of power left to conjure up more elaborate structures anyway.

Even sitting on the throne he had proudly constructed using the last few dredges of his power felt a bit empty.

It was times like these that his jester mask would slip off and he would wallow in his own thoughts, with nothing and no one to entertain. He longed for someone he didn't know- he needed somebody to...talk to him, befriend him, treat him like a...damn, normal cookie. He was painfully aware of the fact that he was more sentimental today, but he couldn't help it. He would never admit it, but he did feel lonely- very lonely, all the time.

When Pure Vanilla Cookie had sunk and Truthless Recluse emerged, it was shamefully, miserably, one of the best times of his immortal life. He was his- his and only - for that short period of time, and he couldn't help how much he thought of it, a smile managing to always worm its way onto his face when he did so. Finally, someone who shared his mind, his feelings, his very making, him-

Pure Vanilla Cookie squashed out whatever positive feelings Shadow Milk Cookie held for him the moment he extended that battered hand to him, doe-eyed and innocent.

He saw the halo of the witches above that cookie, and he wondered where exactly he had failed. How could he have, when they were cut from the same cloth? He was destined to fall, like him.

He had submerged Pure Vanilla Cookie so deep into his own suffering- made Pure Vanilla Cookie experience what it was like to slowly become infected with ideas that were not your own, forced upon you, forced into change, forced into being a monster, and he had responded exactly the way Shadow Milk Cookie had wished for him to.

While in his Spire's captivity, Shadow Milk Cookie had orchestrated a number of games for Pure Vanilla Cookie. The immense joy of it was how Pure Vanilla Cookie would never know what was coming, and yet, he didn't need to be told the script- he would react the perfect way Shadow Milk Cookie had wished for. After a particularly vivid illusion of his poor friends decapitated, one by one, Pure Vanilla Cookie had vomited.

Shadow Milk Cookie had watched, entranced. Then he had dipped his own fingers into the bile, tearing open Pure Vanilla's jaw to force the bile down his throat, and watch him choke on a mess of saliva and his own vomit, his eyes turning hazy. Shadow Milk Cookie was constantly entertained by him, and oh, how his suffering made Shadow Milk Cookie's insides twist, his heart to flutter.

Delightfully, the ancient had even broke down in front of him- after weeks of taunting Pure Vanilla Cookie so much he was sure his spirit broke, and after numerous times of shakily insisting Shadow Milk Cookie leave him, he had come to emptily stare at his palms, sitting on the bed in the room Shadow Milk Cookie had specially constructed for him, while Shadow Milk Cookie would watch him jovially.

Quiet would reign over the room, and Shadow Milk Cookie was perfectly content watching a docile, empty-eyed Pure Vanilla Cookie, who did nothing but stare uselessly at his hands.

"You can cry, you know." Shadow Milk Cookie smiled at him one day- genuinely, earnestly, tilting his head. "I wouldn't mind, I might even enjoy it."

And as if on cue, after he said those very words, Pure Vanilla Cookie had started sobbing as Shadow Milk Cookie watched in a trance, mesmerised by the tears that spilled freely from his eyes.

Pure Vanilla Cookie had dissolved into a slobbering mess, sniffling and crying. Shadow Milk Cookie didn't mind that he tried to keep quiet- he enjoyed it all the more, really. He didn't comfort him either, just watched as a fascinated onlooker, as he continued sobbing.

Tortured him, too- Shadow Milk Cookie had harmed both himself and Pure Vanilla Cookie in his spectacle of games, hammering his head into Pure Vanilla Cookie's door so hard he had bled out on that very floor, watching with sick satisfaction and a wide grin, stretched so wide it hurt, as Truthless Recluse opened the chamber doors and stared down at him with a mixture of contempt, fear and misery.

See me, see me. Shadow Milk Cookie would think, lying on the ground. This is me, and so this is you. Sick, maniac, out of your head. This is you. He got off the mix of head-splitting pain and the disgust Truthless Recluse would hold in his gaze.

On more occasions than one, Pure Vanilla Cookie had tried to make him happy. Fulfilled, whatever, he didn't really care. But he had exploited it, bargaining parts of the cookie himself.

And bite down into his flesh he did- his jam the sweetest nectar, more detectable than any food he had ever tasted. He had gotten so addicted into taking his fill, his body- previously already having built up a resistance to normal food- had even adapted to drinking this blood.

It was like his body only accepted it when it was Pure Vanilla Cookie.

And the fool, upon awakening, had said, "I can't forgive you- not yet. But I want to...befriend you," He had extended his hand, like Shadow Milk Cookie was some sort of pitiful creature begging for comfort. The rage that had spewed out from him- how dare he? Offer his hand, after everything that he had done? Offer his hand, say that like he...knew everything...like he...

When it came to that part, Shadow Milk Cookie was always at a loss. Why? Why couldn't he have just stayed, played his part? The script would go so wonderfully. No, he just had to get away. After everything.

And how Shadow Milk Cookie had stewed, thinking about his prospect of friendship for months on end as he licked his wounds in the other-realm. Yes, it had thundered terribly in there for months too, and Candy Apple Cookie, scared of upsetting him further, had tried to whisper quietly to Black Sapphire Cookie in complaint about the weather and more of Pure Vanilla Cookie, and about his startlingly abnormal behavior.

Not that he had bothered correcting her, of course- inconsequential...he had dug his hands into his chest, daring in his mind silently, maddeningly, for Pure Vanilla Cookie to offer him that hand again, and how he would enjoy ripping him apart when he laid eyes on him the next...

But he hadn't. He had gone nearly feral in their latest reunion, his focus zeroed in on nobody but Pure Vanilla Cookie, all of his illusions targeting him. His every spell was cast with the pure need to harm the ancient during the final battle. His need for vengeance had clawed its way through his throat, and he was sure a terrible expression had crossed his face then, uncontrollable in its ugliness and need to be seen.

Ah. He thought, fiddling with his staff. A nervous habit- he'd conjured it out of nowhere, despite it being essentially useless now without his power of deceit. It was really wondrous how the Beasts hadn't all just died when they lost the final battle. Many of them already showed the wear and tear of life- all of them, actually- he hummed, thinking of a quote- "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain,". Wouldn't that be them?

He rarely pondered about things like these- had a cookie confessed these ideas to him, he'd just laugh and call them a chunnibyou- but really, he had nothing to do. And he needed to distract himself from spiralling down the Pure Vanilla train of thought further.

If the afterlife was like what they all said, he wouldn't mind being with his friends and experiencing the utmost joy he had derived from being with them back in his glory days, days long past. To rest, to not be obliged to fulfil any more divine duties, to no longer feel such a driving sense of malice and for hatred to longer power his body, to simply just be able to...rest, like never before. It all seemed tempting, really. He toyed with his staff, humming absentmindedly.

To feel whole again...ah, what a wonderful notion he'd never be able to experience, ever again. That part of his soul, so forcefully torn away, would never be returned back. He ended off his train of thought here sharply, distracting himself by waving his staff, willing himself to create something- anything, even if it exhausted him of power for the week.

A single, weak toot of confetti from the wand, before it sputtered out of life completely. He exhaled, tossing it back into his other-realm, biting down a growl of frustration.

 

Another day had passed, and yet again were the beasts gathered, sitting around a table with him at the head. Yes, they really had to isolate him, alone. They were basically only tolerating him, whilst they still held ranging from a little to a big amount of respect for each other. What's the difference? He thought, snorting.

Really, he had no intention of eating- sorry, Mystic Flour Cookie- and he didn't want Eternal Sugar Cookie or any other beast for that matter to open their big mouths and nag at him to eat, so instead he opted to open his own big mouth, turning to Eternal Sugar Cookie on his right with a big grin.

"Eternal Sugar Cookie, say...what's your other half like?" He asked, flashing a teeth-showing grin his eyebrows for extra flair. He had considered this topic carefully- he had seen the extent of the cookie's possessiveness and how much she could talk when on the subject of her beloved other half. It would certainly make for at least a lengthy conversation.

Even when it was him mentioning her, at the mention of her other half, her mouth tilted upwards in a smile. A dreamy, lovelorn sigh came from her, even when her eyes flickered to him in mild suspicion. "Well, if you mean no harm, I suppose I will indulge you," She hummed, twisting her fork deeper into the star jelly.

"My other half...Hollyberry Cookie...the loveliest. The passion she wields...truly admirable! Ah...all this, for her," She says, sighing at the end, her food forgotten as a dreamy look takes over her face, no doubt already fantasizing- what, Shadow Milk Cookie did not want to know, making sure to roll his eyes and exaggerate a face of utter disgust. Her fork, still with the stabbed star jelly, slumped to one side of her plate as she used her elbow to prop up her head, supporting her cheek.

Burning Spice Cookie, having heard their conversation, excitedly butted in, mouth full of star jelly. "Hah, that golden goose...usurper of my power... I will delight in thoroughly destroying her when I regain the full extent of my strength!" He roared, seemingly already recovered from the loss of his power.

"Hate to break it to you, but we're probably never going to," Shadow Milk Cookie grimaced, which seemed to send Burning Spice Cookie back into his sad stupor, picking at his food dejectedly. Eternal Sugar Cookie clicked her tongue, with a undercurrent of a emotion Shadow Milk Cookie couldn't identify as fondness-anger or angry fondness.

"Well, Mystic Flour Cookie? What about you?" Eternal Sugar Cookie asked, looking over at Mystic Flour Cookie with smile. "You haven't told us what yours is like yet. How different could your other half be?"

"Dark Cacao Cookie..." She murmured. Her face pinched into an almost-frown, the smallest hints of a frown evident by the way her eyebrows narrowing.

"Foolish." Her words were tainted by slight anger, yet it was easily perceptible. "He saw the futility of everything- and yet, he pressed on. Shall he fail, he will know it was all his doing...and it shall haunt him forever." She had continued, her voice solemn.

What a way to brighten up the mood, Shadow Milk Cookie thought. The #1 party-pooper title always belonged to either her or Silent Salt. Speaking of the silent cookie...

He had not said anything yet, his head bowed. He was clearly listening, yet he said nothing. Also, Shadow Milk Cookie wasn't sure he wanted to hear about White Lily Cookie anyways. It would probably just drive him into a worse mood. The words slipped out of his mouth anyway.

"What about our knight? What does he have to say, having our captor as his other-half?" Shadow Milk Cookie asked easily, leaning forward to better look at Silent Salt Cookie.

The other cookie, impossibly, had been even more somber after finding out about Elder Faerie Cookie's death. He practically vibrated with disdain for Shadow Milk Cookie after they had reunited, and had been the quickest to dip and leave for their final battle. So aggressive. You'd think he wanted all of them dead. Well, whatever.
(He did care, didn't he?)

Silent Salt Cookie remained silent, his head bowed. He hadn't spoken a word to any of the beasts if he could help it- instead preferring to look at the ground. Shadow Milk Cookie personally found this very irritating and disrespectful- it was only proper that your eyes were trained on the performer working so hard to entertain you! Take notes if you don't! It's also a universal sign of disrespect, Shadow Milk Cookie thought to himself, harrumphing eternally.

"Yes, yes," Eternal Sugar Cookie- witches bless her- cut through the silence, glancing at Silent Salt Cookie, agreeing with him. "We have not heard much about the new little guardian of the seal at all. Won't you tell us, Silent Salt Cookie?" She mused, tilting her head.

Finally, after prodding from Eternal Sugar Cookie, Silent Salt Cookie answered. "She is...capable." His words were slow and measured, and he finally raised his gaze, sweeping it over them all. There was something quite off about it- oppressive, even.

"Capable is the last thing I would use to describe that half-cookie," Shadow Milk Cookie snorted. Shadow Milk scowled, still nursing a grudge against White Lily Cookie for, well, being the guardian of the tree and sealing him back into that accursed silver prison.

"Big words coming from you, blue," Burning Spice Cookie grunted. "Losing to her twice and getting us sealed again in a different font."

Shadow Milk Cookie shot the other a look- "Yeah, well, at least my counterpart didn't beat me into the rubble. And after you tore off her wings, too. Skill issue," Shadow Milk Cookie snapped.

Burning Spice Cookie blustered, frowning, trying to think of a good come back as Shadow Milk Cookie sat back with a triumphant flourish, digging into the desert exaggeratedly to rub salt into his wound.

"Why didn't Hollyberry Cookie stay with me?" Eternal Sugar Cookie wondered out loud. Whenever she thought of her precious "other-half," her voice and eyes would obtain this dreamy quality to them. "I thought my garden was splendid. What about my offer was...not right?" She pursed her lips, staring hard at Shadow Milk Cookie.

"Don't look at me. I'm no fount," He replied, raising an eyebrow. "I wouldn't even invite that birdbrain if she begged," Burning Spice Cookie protested, joining the conversation, the food on his plate completely depleted, looking between them like they were insane.

"Course ya wouldn't, hot stuff," Shadow Milk Cookie replied, twirling a strand of his hair, ignoring Burning Spice Cookie scowling in not understanding.

Would he allow Pure Vanilla to join him? Technically, the other cookie already had once. If he really wanted to join, well...he could start off by offering his kingdom, group of friends, and the ancients as guinea pigs, then he'd consider allowing it again, provided if Pure Vanilla Cookie was ready to throw himself at his feet...

Eternal Sugar Cookie inclined her head slightly. "That cookie- Golden Cheese Cookie, was it?- she left quite an impression on me. I got the impression that she was quite territorial," She commented. "And that Dark Cacao Cookie...so very similar to Silent Salt and you, Mystic Flour Cookie!" She said, apparently delighted to face them, turning with a smile. "Yes, it would certainly be nice to have another Mystic Flour Cookie in our company,"

Witches, no, Shadow Milk Cookie eternally screamed, praying. Those two- Silent Salt Cookie and Mystic Flour Cookie- were already slowly converting everyone in the group to an anti-socialist. Just yesterday he'd found Burning Spice Cookie actually meditating- something he hadn't done since his bumpkin days. Not even those rubber chicken squeals could get him to break concentration. When asked who taught him that, he said Mystic Flour Cookie influenced him. At this rate, he'd might have to rename them the 'rocks'. It would be more accurate than 'beast'.

Just as he was mentally anguishing, Mystic Flour Cookie spoke. Huh.

That was something...good, she'd normally not even grace them with a reply. Maybe...there was just that lingering, leftover affection she held for them after their fall. Mystic Flour Cookie's emotions...it didn't take much for one- or at least a fellow beast to see that she still very obviously felt- he had seen, with his eyes, how unhappy she was when she talked to Dark Cacao Cookie after his awakening, not bothering to hide her unhappiness- it was just very subdued and suppressed, carefully monitored.

"It matters not if he does. But, should he...he will make a great pioneer for apathy indeed." She said sharply.

"Come on, isn't anyone gonna ask about meeeee?" Shadow Milk Cookie abruptly cut in, wiggling his eyebrows.

To his surprise, Burning Spice Cookie piped up. "That vanilla cookie was too soft...too fragile! He reminded me of...of..." He furrowed his brows, trailing off. Shadow Milk Cookie knew instinctively what he wanted to say- what he liked to call their bumpkin days...or, their glory days, before they fell.

"Of a grandpa. Of a dying victorian child," Shadow Milk Cookie finished for him. "He healed my Hollyberry, so he's quite wise! Anyone who helps my dear other half has my favor~" Eternal Sugar Cookie chirped.

The pink beast had a habit of allowing her mind to wander off too often to Hollyberry Cookie, that's for sure. If the topic even so much as slightly involved Hollyberry Cookie, she would find some way to link it back to her, insufferably.

(And as much as Shadow Milk wanted to keep this conversation topic going,) Well, none of them had anything more to ask Silent Salt Cookie- White Lily Cookie's corrupted version was literally Dark Enchantress Cookie, the indirect reason for their current house arrest. A half cookie and her other-other half the reason why they were all even sitting together now.

The conversation continued. They had fallen back into a regular rhythm of normalcy, chatting together, the scene surprisingly domestic and...much less destructive than Shadow Milk Cookie thought it'd be. He even managed to take a few more bites, and not immediately feel the need to throw up after.

Inevitably, dinner ended, but he left feeling oddly lighter, like something in him was fulfilled. Some progress, he thought, an unconscious grin breaking out onto his face as he stepped back into his room.

...just the fact that Pure Vanilla was coming tomorrow to "make sure they felt better" and "get some things off their chests". The thought of Pure Vanilla Cookie still filled him with resentment and an ugly mixture of feelings- ranging from shame to anger to things he would never admit to even himself, but he could stomach that (Dinner's conversation would definitely keep him in a good mood for at least a day) and endure tomorrow's torture...if the other beasts were there with him.

For the first time in centuries, he felt the lull of sleep and he conjured a bed, falling into a fitful slumber, anticipating tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Shadow Milk Cookie shifted in his seat.

He'd rather be anywhere but here.

Pure Vanilla Cookie sat in the middle of the room they had all been ushered into, on a conjured yellow rocking chair (Shadow Milk had subsequently harassed him for his choice of seating, claiming it further proved his elderly age), pushing a pair of glasses up his nose bridge as he regarded the beasts, squinting slightly.

"How are you all?" He asked softly, his voice piercing through the awkward tension in room.

It had been radio silent for twenty minutes as soon as the session began.

None of the beasts replied, Eternal Sugar Cookie merely smiling back at him dazedly, her eyelids already drooping.

Mystic Flour Cookie was quiet, unmoving, in her own small corner.

Silent Salt and Burning Spice Cookie were seated next to each other, Burning Spice Cookie answering with a gruff 'tch', along with Shadow Milk lazing on the couch, feet up on the table.

"How about we start from Shadow Milk Cookie, then?" Pure Vanilla offered tentatively, seeing the silent atmosphere, rocking back and forth nervously, hoping his other half would offer him some reprieve.

Shadow Milk Cookie just stared at him, then suddenly chuckled, a malicious sound, gazing up at Pure Vanilla Cookie.

"Can you ancients stop pretending that you care about us?" He drawled.

Pure Vanilla's smile turned uneasy.

"Shadow Milk Cookie, I am here because I care-"

"CARE!" Shadow Milk Cookie burst into giggles, dry and unamused. He swivelled back to Pure Vanilla, an maniacal grin on his face.

"Do you honestly think, Pure Vanilla, that you can lie to me? The master of deceit, the root of all lies?" He hissed, words dripping with venom.

"You want me to believe that you want us four to genuinely recover?" He continued, smiling wider.

"Us, who have been corrupted for so long? Us, who have wallowed in our own despair for so long with no help?" Shadow Milk smiled wider, his hair rising, hostile eyes appearing, locked onto Pure Vanilla.

"Stop pretending like we aren't just some expendable tools to help you get closer to them," He spat.

Silence reigned over the room once again. None of the beasts said anything- not even Burning Spice Cookie, now looking extremely uncomfortable in his own spot. Eternal Sugar Cookie had stopped smiling, a grim expression on her face. None of them would refute his words, and they were more or less true. Shadow Milk Cookie sank back down, the silence having confirmed his words. He had said all that just to make sure it was true, and the silence he recieved in return just confirmed it. Why else would the Ancients "help" them? They already had all the power a cookie could only wish to have, fame, riches, and power unparalleled. The beasts weren't so useful anymore- their powers had been taken by the Ancients, and the only reason why the Ancients would keep them around was due to their knowledge of the witches, having been the Witches' first beloved creations.

(To think he wanted to believe they genuinely meant it.)

Pure Vanilla Cookie looked and sounded the same as he had did when he had defeated Shadow Milk back in the crumbling Spire of Deceit, extending to him a hand, and a gentle offer of companionship. Shadow Milk Cookie knew he meant it sincerely, somewhere in the back of his mind.

He didn't know how the other beasts saw their own ancients, but deep down, Shadow Milk Cookie knew that what Pure Vanilla was offering was everything he had ever wanted, even after corruption. He had felt so unbearably lonely after spending all that time alone, even during his time as a virtue, heralded as the glorious truth.

He had never been quite seen as just an ordinary cookie, but all sorts of unorthodox things- as a concept, as a saint, as a savior, and he had seen, how cookies behaved around one another and instead knelt before him.

No cookie, other than the rest of the virtues- who all had their own troubles and duties- could treat him like just another regular cookie. All of them had felt a clear distinction between their kind and the rest of the Cookies. After his fall, he had been locked in that tree, his souljam, the last hope for salvation he had, the last pure part of him- had been torn away by him, gifted to another cookie to replace him, and he felt his heart practically fill with spite.

He had always felt like there had been a part of his soul missing after that.

And to find Pure Vanilla- someone who was exactly like him, to have been the one blessed with his light of truth, he had been ecstatic to see that Pure Vanilla had finally succumbed to his despair and went through everything he had did, to be by his side and take over Earthbread as cookies of deceit, together.

Finally, someone who was exactly like him had been stripped of his own values and beliefs and- would stay by his side!

...if only Pure Vanilla hadn't awakened.
Shadow Milk loathed it- what he had led the ancient to become.

He just couldn't understand why Pure Vanilla could be everything he couldn't- accepting truth and deceit, embracing it so easily while Shadow Milk Cookie had crumbled under the weight of the very thing he was supposed to embody- knowledge.

Rage, fear and misery had welled up in him when he looked at the new, golden form Pure Vanilla had, hate spewing from him like lava.

A cold reminder that his other half would forever be better than him, a replacement for the position he was created to serve, his anger and pride leading him to slap that hand away and retreat to his other realm to lick his wounds- like he always had.

Because I can only accept love when it's harmful, he thought bitterly as he gazed upon the golden cookie, his other half.

"Shadow Milk Cookie." Pure Vanilla spoke again.

Shadow Milk Cookie had to bite back down a growl, slapping a hand over his eyes in irritation.

Pure Vanilla Cookie sure gained a truckload of confidence from his time at the Spire, leading him into reading Shadow Milk Cookie much better, more so than any cookie on Earthbread could- even more than the other beasts. (An unfair advantage brought about by that souljam, he thought. Traitor souljam.)

"I know you are afraid. I know all of you are cautious and afraid," Pure Vanilla continued, his composure straight, his words gentle and his tone softly firm and calm-soothing, even, having repeated this with Shadow Milk countless times back when he was Truthless Recluse.

"I promise you, from the bottom of my heart, that me and my friends sincerely want to help you all." He said, voice warm, his smile returning. "Maybe you aren't convinced now, but I only have good intentions. I hope you all can believe in due time, and even if you do not right now, that is fine. I only ask that you cooperate during this session." He finished, his words carefully decided.

"...will you...note down our responses?"
Silent Salt Cookie mumbled from his corner, surprisingly, turning his head to face Pure Vanilla Cookie.

Pure Vanilla brightened up at his response- the first answer of the day and it was from the Beast of Silence, no less.

"This will only be shared with the other Ancients, of course," The yellow cookie hurried to explain. "Only for the benefits of you all! I promise..." He smiled back at Silent Salt, who had begun to quietly nod.

"Well, how about you talk about how your day was to start, Silent Salt Cookie?" Pure Vanilla asked, a hopeful smile on his face as he regarded the beast of Silence.

"...today, I woke up early. I helped Mystic Flour Cookie to make...breakfast." The purple cookie said, Pure Vanilla nodding towards him, a sign for him to continue. "...we talked for a bit, about what foods we would like to have for dinner..." He looked to the other beasts for permission- to allow him to share the contents of their discussion.

Mystic Flour Cookie nodded at him. Shadow Milk Cookie still couldn't bear to at Pure Vanilla, or face the other beasts, but he knew Silent Salt had stopped to seek permission from, undoubtedly, Mystic Flour Cookie. Out of all of them, these two beasts had a special, deeper connection. The two of them had been good friends before their fall, and even corrupted, their virtues were still similar, intertwined forever.

"...we chose bear jelly burgers." Shadow Milk softly exhaled. A joke audio might as well have started playing.

"A snack fit for any day," Pure Vanilla chuckled, scribbling in his small notepad with a pencil.

"Is there a specfic reason why you chose that? Would you like to share with me?" Pure Vanilla encouraged, looking up at Silent Salt.

"...Mystic Flour is the best at cooking out of all of us, and Burning Spice Cookie likes more hearty meals...Eternal Sugar likes sweet things, so we've decided to add some star jellies with it." Silent Salt Cookie finished, pausing in between his sentences as if considering what to say.

"Oh yes! I really do. Star jellies are a treat suitable for any occasion~" Eternal Sugar chimed in, her grim expression lifted.

"Put in some for me too!" Burning Spice barked, wanting to be included in the conversation.

"Noisy one, you have to do so yourself. Don't trouble Mystic Flour and Silent Salt Cookie with your endless stomach," Eternal Sugar opened one eye to stare at Burning Spice Cookie.

"HA HA HA! So be it!" Burning Spice thundered, hitting his axe on the ground, as if to reinstate his claim.

"We have not decided on fillings yet." Mystic Flour cut in, turning her head to face them.

"Ooh~ we can vote on them later. Don't worry yourself over it, Mystic Flour Cookie." Eternal Sugar sighed softly as she laid down on a conjured cotton candy cloud.

Shadow Milk Cookie watched as the Beasts talked, still at embarrassed at his own outburst.

That's how it is, he thought, looking down at the ground.
He would always to lose his emotions, and isolated from everyone else, because that's what he deserved, to be hated, to be-

"Shadow Milk Cookie," Mystic Flour suddenly said, jolting him from his thoughts. "What filling is it that you prefer?" She asked, glancing at the blue beast.

He flinched, thrown off guard. For the first time in centuries, he didn't know what to say. He hadn't anticipated she would be the one to include him in the conversation, or ask him such a simple question like the filling he wanted for the patty in his burger.

"Anything," He mumbled in response, momentarily forgetting Pure Vanilla Cookie was there and breaking his usual theatrical farce- something only the Beasts had been privy to.

Mystic Flour Cookie's brow furrowed ever so slightly as Burning Spice butted in, frowning.

"Blue!" He declared after a moment, still settling on terms to call the Beasts.

That broke Shadow Milk Cookie out of his trance and he scoffed quietly, laced with amusement.

"Seriously, hot stuff? Out of everything you could possibly choose to call me?" Shadow Milk answered, deciding to fall back into his usual mischievous facade, for the sake of normalcy.

"Come on, choose your filling. You, jester, eat the least." Burning Spice chided-grunted, shaking his head disapprovingly.

It seemed he was alternating between calling Shadow Milk 'blue' and 'jester'. He probably adopted the 'jester' nickname from the other Beasts.

"Mystic Flour Cookie is simply asking out of worry for you, trying to entice you to eat." Eternal Sugar piped up suddenly.

"Secrets of the heart are no secret to me~" She added, smiling smugly.

Mystic Flour Cookie remained silent, neither refuting nor denying her.

"Wellllll," Shadow Milk began, enunciating his words. In truth, he couldn't really decide what to have.

But there was no way he'd say that in front of Pure Vanilla, no.

He didn't actually like too much sweet stuff like Eternal Sugar, either- it was known amongst the Beasts their personal preference, but they had again, probably asked him out of concern, just to ensure he'd eat his next meal.

He liked sweet and sour things, a balance of both. For all his previous titles that hailed him as knowledge itself, he was sure failing to think up of anything now.

"Why don't we let Misty and the quiet guy decide what I have?" He said, feigning indifferent nonchalance, managing a grin on his face.

He trusted the two to make him something he'd like, at the very least.

Burning Spice's meal would be too greasy and heavy for him, and Eternal Sugar loved indulging in overly sweet snacks.

No doubt that her jelly burger would be served with another plate filled to the brim with all sorts of assortments.

Mystic Flour and Silent Salt Cookie nodded, Silent Salt beginning to gesture something to Mystic Flour Cookie, who seemed to understand and turned to Shadow Milk Cookie, softly explaining how they would choose their flavors, before Burning Spice erupted with demands of his own specialized meal and Eternal Sugar Cookie started listing out all the sweet treats she wanted.

As Shadow Milk Cookie watched them, he felt a familiar, old feeling worm itself into him- warmth.

The Beasts were all talking together again, and though of course, they could never be the virtues of the past again, they were united- in a way that he hadn't experienced for so long.

They had also tried to include him actively and Mystic Flour, valuing apathy above all else, had even cared enough to stop him from spiralling earlier. He recognized her effort, and a small, sincere smile made its way onto his lips.

If he wasn't so distracted, perhaps he would've seen the way Pure Vanilla smiled genuinely at him, clutching his notebook, a soft pink on his cheeks.

Chapter Text

The counter was a pile of spices, flour and whatnot.

Silent Salt Cookie stood a sizeable distance away from the site of disaster, though he hadn't been able to escape its onslaught, his helmet flecked with white flour, standing out against the dark tones.

In the background, Shadow Milk and Burning Spice Cookie were mercilessly throwing open sacks of ingredients and frosting tubes at each other, Shadow Milk dodging effectively with a giggle, or a snide remark. He did so effortlessly, floating off the ground.

Burning Spice Cookie was just as messy as the counter, if not worse, the beast a mix of vibrant frosting color.

Whilst the beast was known for his short temper, he did become serious and was rather intelligent when he willed himself to be. He was extremely competitive, Shadow Milk recalled, even during their time as the virtues. He didn't even bother dodging, focused on his aim.

Unfortunately for him, the blue beast was just too agile, especially off ground.

Meanwhile, Eternal Sugar Cookie was busy conversing with Mystic Flour Cookie quietly at the sides, their part of the counter sparkly clean, Mystic Flour Cookie stirring batter in their own mixing bowl, proving to be the only two successful ones in the entire household, the only two that were actually working towards the once united goal of creating glazed donuts.

Thanks to Mystic Flour's Cookie superb skills, naturally, even before it was baked, an irresistible aroma wafted over to Shadow Milk and Burning Spice cookie.

Shadow Milk Cookie drifted over, interest piqued, blatantly ignoring Burning Spice Cookie, and peered over Eternal Sugar's shoulder.

"What are you two concocting-" He had barely begun speaking before a flour bag smacked onto his cheek, exploding with a 'poof' on him and coating him in a thick layer of flour, the now empty packet slowly sliding off him as he heard Burning Spice Cookie roar with laughter from behind him, declaring his victory.

"You didn't win, you couldn't have, brute!" Shadow Milk sputtered. "...I looked away for a second, that does not count!!" Shadow Milk immediately flew over to him, eyes narrowed sharply.

"Yes it does! You were floating just now, so it doesn't count either, you ball of blue!" Burning Spice protested angrily in return.

"Why you- cumberworld!" Shadow Milk Cookie launched himself at Burning Spice Cookie, knocking them both off balance as he tackled him onto the floor and in a heap of limbs and slews of medieval curses, a especially foul variety of which should not be named.

Fifteen minutes later, they both sat in front of a disappointed Silent Salt. Even with the cookie wearing an helmet that completely obscured their face, one could guess how miserable they looked from the clearly defeated air around them.

Why was Silent Salt- the quiet, non-speaking one dealing with them, however?

Because Mystic Flour Cookie had not wanted to deal with the both of them, claiming they were nothing but a bunch of "uncivilized creatures", and Eternal Sugar Cookie had followed suit, along with some complain about how Mystic Flour Cookie didn't have to mother them all the time, which left only Silent Salt.

Silent Salt Cookie felt for Mystic Flour, and seeing how Eternal Sugar Cookie would probably get enraged and try to drown them in jam, swiftly went in her stead, leaving the two to peacefully converse.

Following the way of the world, wherever Silent Salt Cookie went, silence followed.

Personally, Shadow Milk Cookie thought that fifteen minutes of silence was as good as any to reflect on what he'd done, and raised up his hand half-heartedly, rocking back and forth on his stool.

Silent Salt Cookie nodded at him, a gesture signalling that he could start talking.

Shadow Milk Cookie started to explain himself, using his most innocent tone.

"I didn't do anything-" Shadow Milk Cookie had barely began speaking before Burning Spice had leapt onto him and started biting at his cheek.

No, even the witches would not know why Burning Spice Cookie found that his teeth were the most effective weapon against others shortly after being banned from summoning his axe and losing more than most of his once fearsome physical prowess.

And, even though the fiery cookie had relinquished most of his strength, fearless he was indeed, biting at Shadow Milk Cookie with all his might, to which Shadow Milk gasped and tried to push him off, shrieking.

Silent Salt Cookie, seeing this fierce scene, had sat there quietly for a few moments, wracking his head on how to stop the two's brawling, Shadow Milk's cries getting increasingly high-pitched and Burning Spice biting down more determinedly by the minute, practically latching on to the cookie.

This wasn't a surprise. He was already used to this, having seen it recreated right before his eyes many times in the past.

He could tell Burning Spice was being gentle with Shadow Milk Cookie for a fact, out of concern for the blue cookie's fragile body.

Even back when they were virtues, the Herald of Change had challenged them to fights regularly, always accompanied by hearty laughs, though he would make sure to be careful with them.

The beasts always were more comfortable with each other, oftentimes letting childish behaviors escape them, as they hadn't had a childhood at all, created as they were, and enjoyed play-fighting and joking each other sometimes. He fondly remembered the gatherings they would have, all united together on a patch of soft, lush green grass, laughter filling the air.

Maybe the saying that as you get older, the more depressed you become, he thought.

If their virtue-self was them when they were younger, then their current corrupted selves were definitely older, and darker.

Any of the beasts who stumbled upon this scene could tell these were one of those play fights, a quiet happiness washing over him at the alarming but familiar scene.

The two beasts currently engaged in this play-fight were definitely enjoying themselves, even if they didn't show it- which only goes for Shadow Milk Cookie, because Burning Spice had a big fat grin on his face as he determinedly bit down.

They had reached that level of familiarity again!

(And any other cookie who would be unfortunate enough to stumble upon this sight would think from Silent Salt Cookie's cheery air that he was a psychopath and enjoying the show.)

However, this couldn't go on- they were causing too much of a ruckus. Mystic Flour Cookie would probably charge in and reduce them all to a pile of vibrant colored ashes on the spot if this continued on.

Right as the fight reached a critical moment, Silent Salt abruptly stood up, drew his weapon, his greatsword landing in front of Burning Spice, from where he was viciously biting down on Shadow Milk Cookie.

Burning Spice Cookie immediately dropped the blue beast.
Even though it was clear Silent Salt Cookie wouldn't actually harm them, he still wouldn't like to test the cookie's patience.

Shadow Milk Cookie had sat up with an indignant huff, an enormous bite mark on his face.
He was evidently holding back tears, and they both obediently made their way back to their seats.

Silent Salt Cookie let out a relieved little sigh seeing them give up, tottering back to his own seat, satisfied he had broken up their fight, then motioned for them to explain.
"Please...would you explain?" He pleaded.

One could see the desperation in his movements as he silently prayed for them to.

While Burning Spice had turned to him to start explaining, knowing he was usually the wordy one, Shadow Milk Cookie shifted uneasily at the prospect of telling the truth, violating everything he was- deceit.

He was spiralling again, Silent Salt Cookie's words a trigger to the thoughts flooding his mind.

Telling lies had become a indulgent, unhealthy habit, a pattern so easy to fall into, and he could only say something truthfully when it was forced out of him during a outburst, and he would be in shambles when that happened.

Lies came so easily to him, he'd catch himself lying when asked even how his day was, and saying the truth had actually become one of the biggest struggles he currently faced.

Everything his mouth spewed was nothing but false, filthy lies.

A pathological liar was what the once glorious Fount of Knowledge had become, and fall he did, so far down, he thought, clenching his fists, digging his hands into his clothes.

Staying with the beasts wasn't bad at all, though he would quite literally die instead of admitting it.

But whatever little action they did, it all impacted him, plunging his mind into incorrigible thoughts beyond compare, even with the most minor things, like now, as Shadow Milk Cookie stared at the floor helplessly, Silent Salt Cookie's question resounding in his mind.

He wanted to laugh at how weak he was.

Utterly pathetic, a voice he recognized as his own sneered in his mind. You're acting like that filthy Pure Vanilla Cookie, so weak and crying out for help, wallowing in his misery.

But you two are the same, aren't you! Both equally as disgusting. It cackled, its words dripping with unconcealed spite.

Out of the five, without a doubt, Shadow Milk Cookie had fallen the deepest, not even a shadow of who he once was, a complete opposite of his previous self.

The others still had a flicker of their old selves in them, all with their own twisted thinking of salvation, with still the ultimate good outcome for cookies in mind.

Why wasn't he more like them?
Why were they always one step ahead of them, already looking so ready for redemption, and he felt nothing but anger at how pathetic he was-

"I threw the sacks at Blue first," Burning Spice mumbled, nudging him and side-eyeing him with narrowed eyes.

Shadow Milk was now well aware that he probably didn't look normal and the silence that had reigned when he was mulling over his thoughts and kept Burning Spice and Silent Salt Cookie waiting for a reply.

He quickly regained his signature shit-eating grin, while his voice that seemed to pop up at the worst moments remarked how he wasn't even able to control his face, despite being a jester, a being made for entertainment, a master at acting, and about him being a utter disappointment, and his smile dampened just a little.

He forced himself to listen to Burning Spice, and focused on how Silent Salt Cookie was nodding along. Burning Spice seemed to be admitting fault, and perhaps he had sensed something was wrong with the blue cookie, for he made it seem like it was entirely his fault.

Shadow Milk Cookie swallowed, then tapped on Burning Spice Cookie's arm. The red beast stopped, turning to him, and Shadow Milk could have sworn he saw the briefest hint of concern flash on his face as he looked at Shadow Milk.

Shadow Milk Cookie's throat bobbed, and he uneasily swallowed another few times, and it took a few moments before he could actually collect himself to speak.

Silent Salt Cookie glanced at him encouragingly. "...it's alright, we'll wait as long as you need."

Bless his soul! His savior, Silent Salt Cookie, always swooping into his rescue...he had begin to feel increasingly awkward as the silence prolonged.

And, somehow, without even repeating what Solent Salt had just said, Shadow Milk Cookie knew Burning Spice and all the other beasts would do the same for him, looking at the red beast's face, his eyes ever so slightly narrowed in worry.

"I'matfaulttoo," He said quickly, his words coming out a jumbled mess in his haste to get his over and done with, and not wanting Burning Spice to take all of the blame.

Burning Spice Cookie blinked, and opened his mouth wide, like he was going to vomit out a foul string of insults, before remembering his position in this situation and shut up again, opting to nod along with Silent Salt as he silently recited what Shadow Milk Cookie had said (which sounded extremely similar to a curse, from how fast Shadow Milk had said it) in his mind and pieced together his words.

Silent Salt Cookie thought about the curse Shadow Milk had just recited before slowly stringing his words together and almost instantaneously, brightened up, beaming at the both of them.

Again, even without seeing the cookie's face, the two beasts could tell he was very happy, and he even did a small clapping and a big thumbs up gesture, seemingly forgetting their reason for being sent here was punishment.

"Very good!" was the soft, ecstatic thing that left the purple beast's mouth before he quickly disappeared into the kitchen, excited to inform Mystic Flour and Eternal Sugar Cookie about his success.

Which left Burning Spice Cookie and Shadow Milk Cookie alone, Burning Spice still staring at Shadow Milk Cookie before sighing heavily, turning his body to face him completely.

"I know, er, it's hard for you to say the truth." The red beast said, opening his mouth again and closing it, deeply pondering what to say next before he spoke again.

"It's...hard for me too, you know? I unders...like, I still get the urge to randomly just...crush stuff, and when it's really bad, I also imagine doing it to...you guys. Y'know, the destruction stuff." Burning Spice said with a great amount of effort next, lowering his head in slight shame.

Burning Spice was definitely having great difficulty admitting this, Shadow Milk thought. He had wanted to say "understand" but skipped over it.

"I know it's wrong, I...just can't help it." Burning Spice Cookie muttered, exhaling. "But, hey, you told the truth today. And I...I'm proud of you," He quickly added, much to Shadow Milk's surprise, before he quickly stood up and said another astonishing reassurance dialogue somewhere along the lines of "you don't have to say anything back, I know it's hard" and dashing off to the kitchen, leaving Shadow Milk alone in the dust.

Shadow Milk Cookie had sat there, dumbfounded, before a wide, unrestrained smile made its way onto his face as he stared at the spot Burning Spice Cookie had disappeared.

Proud of him, huh...

Shadow Milk Cookie felt that same warmth that he had previously experienced during that therapy session with Pure Vanilla Cookie wash over him again, except it was much stronger.

 

The beasts all gathered at one table.

It was their way of paying respects to Mystic Flour's godly cooking, the heavenly plate of glazed donuts with different frosting sitting in the middle of the table.

As previously mentioned, Mystic Flour Cookie's cooking is absolutely divine. Weaker cookies who tended to let hunger control them instead of their brains (Burning Spice in this context) found themselves drooling at the sight of these donuts, trembling with restraint.

Mystic Flour had spared one sight at the Beast of Destruction before instantly barrelling into a long, long speech about table etiquette and exercising restraint.

And perhaps, just to antagonize Burning Spice Cookie more, after her impromptu speech, Mystic Flour said: "We still have a large amount of resources left over."

(Burning Spice let out a guttural groan.)

A few days prior, they had settled on making sweet treats after making their utter disaster of jelly burgers, hoping this one would be better. Unbeknownst to Shadow Milk Cookie (for fear of upsetting him) the other beasts had agreed upon asking for supplies from their accursed captors, and Mystic Flour Cookie (the only one suitable for the job) had written a letter to Pure Vanilla and asked for the ingredients to be sent over to their small house.

The beasts had woken up to a shadow looming over them, and upon further inspection, there was a mountain of frosting, flour, sugar, and all the tools and materials they'd ever need (to last them for an average cookie's lifetime).

Upon finding out that it was Pure Vanilla Cookie that had sent it, Shadow Milk seized the opportunity to complain and immediately fired off ten different letters of how shocked and offended he was by the multitude of ingredients sent, all purposely horribly written, and all of his efforts were replied by one singular letter.

Upon opening it up, Shadow Milk Cookie had found two simple words, written in the most odiously cursive font he had ever seen: "keep it", along with the ugliest smiling face accompanying the letter- unmistakably Pure Vanilla's doing.

Enraged, he had shredded the letter on the spot.

No one dared bring to bring that up.

"We'll just save it for another time, then," Silent Salt Cookie piped up, still in a good mood from earlier.

Mystic Flour Cookie nodded in agreement before finally allowing them to dine in, to which Burning Spice pounced on the donuts, shoved multiple into his mouth and proudly opened his mouth to show off how much he could stuff into his void of a mouth.

"Burning Spice Cookie, keep that to yourself! No cookie would be happy seeing such a...appalling sight." Eternal Sugar Cookie chided as she elegantly bit into a cookie and sighed, savoring the rich taste of it and immediately launching a stream of compliments towards Mystic Flour, enough to make any cookie blush.

Mystic Flour Cookie was not "any cookie" however, and only slightly tilted her head towards Eternal Sugar's direction in response before blowing her tea again and drinking, holding a donut herself.

Silent Salt Cookie had been taking large bites out of his donut, humming softly in approval at the taste. (What the hell? Shadow Milk wondered. Does his helmet have holes or something that allow him to eat cause I don't see anything.)

For one, Shadow Milk Cookie knew better than to reject taking a donut, for not only would he be forfeiting his chance of eating something extraordinary, he would also be saying goodbye to his future opportunities as Mystic Flour didn't take kindly to those who declined their share.

As such, he took one, nibbling on it and the flavor hit him- an explosion on his tongue, of everything sweet and rich, and he felt like he was truly up on cloud nine, and finished his cookie quickly after that.

He didn't have a weakness for sweet treats, only his friend's cooking.

If he had looked up, he would have seen the soft and small smile on Mystic Flour Cookie's face, her eyes kind as she watched him.

Chapter Text

It was a perfectly sunny day when Eternal Sugar Cookie woke up to the sound of brawling and enraged screams, accompanied by maniac laughter.

Still fuzzy from sleep, there was no doubt in her mind that the sound was from two certain cookies, and the voices coupled with all the ruckus confirmed just that. She had been caged with the two very same idiots for eons in one tree, after all.

Eternal Sugar Cookie paused, then turned her head towards the window, refusing to leave her room and instead choosing to spectate the beasts on the green field outside causing a massive ruckus, so much that even the apathetic Mystic Flour Cookie could no longer endure the sound.

Outside stood the two beasts in question- one red and one blue- playing- if it could even be called that.
Other cookies would surely have already run off, screaming "HELP! HELP!" in the face of their...rough playing.

Mystic Flour Cookie, abruptly woken from her meditation from where she sat, headed towards them with a dark look, practically burning with the intention to lecture.

Silent Salt Cookie, who had been sitting pleasantly on a bench nearby, quickly shot up at the murderous aura emitting from Mystic Flour Cookie and scurried over to her, moving his hands in hurried motions to her so as to soothe her anger and lessen the punishment for the two beasts, trying to get her to spare them from the threat of being erased from existence, returned to a pile of white flour.

Eternal Sugar Cookie exhaled as she watched the beasts continue to bicker, not bothering to move her head from where it was laid on her cloud, instead tilting her eyes upward to continue to watch, feeling the familiar embrace of sloth take over her as she watched all the other beasts interact so flawlessly, seamlessly- as if they were puzzle pieces, going with each other so perfectly. How was it that they all seemed to know what to do, what to say?

Relationships. They had become so hard for her.

It was true that she loved her garden and all the cookies that once lived in it- yes, she did. She always and would always do her utmost best to make her cherished, lovely garden of delights flourish and the cookies within to live on forever in indolent sloth, and she almost sacrificed all just to have her beloved Hollyberry Cookie stay.

But she hadn't expected relationships to become so...difficult. She couldn't admit she had fallen, even after being sealed within the tree. And oh, how terribly difficult it had become for her to commit. Yes, she loved Hollyberry Cookie, her garden, and her lovely subjects- but that came to her naturally.

They were part of her- and she could not deny so, deeply ingrained into her dough.

But how hard it was, to maintain other relationships. She felt so drained going over the thought of having to commit- the base foundations of connections were contact and time spent together. She couldn't do that, hard as she tried- how impossible it was, when she felt so drained inside, so empty of the happiness and life she once granted others.

Ironic, she thought bitterly, burying her face deeper into her conjured cotton candy cloud. I still claimed to be the Bringer of Happiness without even feeling joy myself for so long.

Disturbed, Eternal Sugar Cookie fixed her gaze on the scene before her, in an attempt to distract herself.

Her eyes first fell upon Burning Spice Cookie.

The beast whose fall into corruption was most similar to hers out of all the beasts, she thought, seeing the fall of cookies and civilisations, how fragile both were that drove him to take action, seizing his weapon and choosing to annihilate all, in hope for a change that he had represented, outside of the continuous cycle of life and death.

Watching his happy smile as he grinned at Shadow Milk Cookie, she knew deep down, that for all their traded insults, he was just a cookie who was driven mad by his duty.

She thought of how he had felt, so similar to her own feelings. How despairing it feels yourself grow numb to the very thing you represented, how dull and repetitive it was, how it must have felt to fail at the very thing you were made for.

She had once believed they were different- but once Hollyberry Cookie shattered her illusion of the joy she insisted on fulfilling, she realized her methods of achieving what she desired was not so different after all.

Bless his belligerent soul, she thought.

She moved onto the next individual, her gaze landing on Mystic Flour Cookie who was frowning severely at the three beasts.

Eternal Sugar Cookie sighed softly looking at the white cookie, all grace and poise even with such a withering glare on her face.

She had fond memories of bonding with Mystic Flour Cookie before corruption, and Eternal Sugar Cookie liked that they both still got along well.

They two had been the closest amongst the five beasts. She used to share everything with Mystic Flour Cookie daily, hosting tea parties and picnics.

One such core memory was lying on the lush green grass of Beast Yeast, looking up at the sky. Eternal Sugar Cookie had started whispering soft secrets to her, and in response, Mystic Flour would laugh- a sound that was akin to bells ringing pleasantly- or add a smart comment at the right timings.

After a particularly funny story, Mystic Flour Cookie had turned her head to her, and smiled, genuinely. Still the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen, in eons. Even her lovely Hollyberry Cookie's passion shone just a little brighter.

They could still reach mutual agreements, and Mystic Flour Cookie embodied the "Beast" stereotype much seem to hold in their minds- a quiet, deadly, powerful and holy deity.

Mystic Flour Cookie didn't speak much of what led into her corruption, and Eternal Sugar Cookie had learned not to press it.

But from what she had gathered from other cookies over the centuries from her own subjects, it seemed that she had fallen due to the greed of the mortal cookies, growing numb when she witnessed their insatiable want for more that she could no longer fulfil, having already drained her to the brim.

Mystic Flour Cookie had locked herself away in the Ivory Pagoda, isolated for centuries. Incense that had been burned for her by her still hopeful followers dimmed over the years, and one by one, each was extinguished with every lost follower, until the final one was blown out, her holy title completely forgotten, lost to time.

Being the previous bringer of happiness, emotions were no secret to her. Eternal Sugar Cookie could sense cookies' feelings, and Mystic Flour Cookie was no exception. She put on an apathetic facade- and convinced herself that nothing mattered, for the sake of others...and herself.

It would have fooled any other cookie, but her emotions were still as prominent as ever, a roaring undercurrent that stirred still with every slight interaction, locked away deep in her heart.

As hard as commitment was for her, she longed for the Mystic Flour Cookie of today to shine just a little like the Mystic Flour Cookie of eons ago, a smile so sincere, genuine and beautiful.

She turned to evaluate the next cookie, her fingers idly playing with the cotton candy of the cloud as her gaze fell upon Silent Salt Cookie.

He had only faced his other half- that half of a cookie- recently.

He was always the peacemaker, and it seemed he wanted to uphold this trait of his.

But he wasn't always so idyllic, and it seemed that White Lily Cookie had been on the receiving end of his wrath. When White Lily Cookie faced him, something deep and primal in him had awakened, as he told them.

Possibly due to the souljam, he had added. But it felt like he wasn't in control of his own body, and his own emotions were steering him. The entirety of his encounter with White Lily Cookie, he recounted, was blurry. He had some flashbacks, and remembered vaguely threatening White Lily Cookie.

A particularly alarming vision was of Silent Salt Cookie slowly torturing White Lily Cookie by hanging her upside down in a completely isolated temple, held over an endless hole, driven nigh insane listening to her own screaming as he tortured her.

Silent Salt Cookie, being the gentle soul he was, shivered recounting this, murmuring a soft apology to White Lily Cookie, an apology the cookie would never hear.

He hadn't even remembered what happened, only that White Lily Cookie had restrained him as he did to her.

Silent Salt Cookie hadn't gotten his soul-jam back, only remembering fierce blows, distorted words, and White Lily Cookie's promises of "doing enough good, to erase my evil,". He was rather reluctant to join the rest of the group in one last attempt to beat the ancients, and once he encountered White Lily Cookie, soul jam shining on her staff, he had become enraged, moving in a sort of puppet-motion, fixated on her and that staff.

Eternal Sugar Cookie was stunned when she saw the normally docile and quiet Silent Salt become so different, but it seemed he was only like that near his other half of his soul
jam.

But he was still the most fulfilled out of the beasts without his soul jam. After waking up from his stupor, he apologized to the beasts and explained everything.

Whatever previous opinions Eternal Sugar Cookie had on Silent Salt Cookie before her corruption had dissolved, and she currently didn't have much thoughts on Silent Salt Cookie's approach.

She expected it, almost. After corruption, all of them had changed fundamentally. His was just manifested in a way where he couldn't control himself.

She quite liked the silent cookie, and like the other beasts did to each other, had also enjoyed time with him before.

Almost the exact same before his fall, just that he had grown much more solemn since then.

But the Beasts did bring out something in each other. He was much more responsive with them, making kind quotes here and there.

She smiled slightly at the sight of him, before a splash of blue zipped right in front of him, waving his hands animatedly.

Shadow Milk Cookie.

Ah. The blue menace.

After they fell, she was the one who attempted to cut off all contact with him.

She barely bothered with any of the beasts, especially him- she'd witnessed how he was a shadow of his former self, a shell of who he once was, perhaps the most twisted of them all, thinking hysterical laughter and sweet nothings would fill the deep void inside of him, heal the wound that had been left to fester for centuries, spitting indiscernible lies disguised as the truth, crushing cookies with this undeniable fake reality, brought upon them by a higher power altogether.

She had hoped he would remain within his own domain, but alas, it seemed he was impossible to contain, constantly poking his nose into her business.

She wouldn't allow him to lay a finger on her garden- even he wasn't so daring as to try.

And so, he turned his gaze towards those who longed for her paradise, including pushing cookies off a cliff who were in search of her paradise.

She had sent Pavlova Cookie after those poor cookies, and yet, he had never found a body, only red jamstains on the ground.

That was the first time something akin to hatred stirred in her body, and he even went as far as to turn one of Eternal Sugar Cookie's own creations- a sugar angel- into a jester and had him jump over burning coals. His sick laughter had reverberated in her ears, that expression that radiated insanity.

Poor angel. By the time she found him, the sugar angel had been destroyed, beyond salvation. A melted mess, his disfigured face twisted into horrified agony, his wings twisted in an unnatural motion, burnt pink coupled with the filthy blue that she had come to loathe.

She had held a strong grudge towards him for his treatment of cookies and for what he had done to her personally, but after Hollyberry Cookie had enlightened her and being forced to spend time together so, most of her anger towards him had dulled into a subtle sense of dislike.

Like Burning Spice Cookie, she had thought that their nature was different, that she was caring and making the cookies happy, in eternal paradise, forever. She had accepted that they weren't so different, a fact that she had tried to deny for so long. How could she judge them after seeing the own sick nature of her insane acts? In her love for her subjects and cookiekind, she had tried to trap them-to keep them safe, forever.

She remembered how she watched Hollyberry Cookie's silhouette leave, holding- no, clinging on, and for days on end, repeating her last words in a trance to make herself believe so, that Hollyberry Cookie's promise was real and that she would come back to save Eternal Sugar Cookie from...herself.

The garden had not rotted so- after Hollyberry Cookie left, and remembering her promise to the other pink cookie, she had let it thrive, even more, becoming even more wondrous and higher up in the sky, where cookies basked in even more unending, slothful bliss everyday.

Until they were defeated one final time, and the garden had collapsed. She felt nauseous seeing the garden fall, scorched to ashes. She knew not to worry about her subjects and the cookies within, for the ancients had evacuated all of them safely.

But that was her garden- the one thing she considered part of her, so dear, the precious garden she had neutered for years.

What about Pavlova Cookie? She had wondered. Those cookies still sleeping in jam...how will they go about life without me? She had thought while being sealed away in another cell, so similar to the silver tree's imprisonment.

Raucous laughter woke her from her thoughts.

Ah. She'd let herself spiral again. A bringer of happiness shouldn't-could not be thinking those thoughts.

She put her head down on her cotton cloud, eyes already slipping shut when she heard a "tap, tap, tap" sound, coming from the window.

She shut her eyes in an attempt to foil the perpetrator, but it seemed their tapping had only become more persistent, and she looked up, irritated, to find all the beasts looking back at her.

"Eternal Sugar~" Shadow Milk Cookie sang, a fat, gleeful smile on his face. Burning Spice Cookie was at his side, with the same smile.

Silent Salt Cookie was shyly nodding along, and she really wanted to know what they were all planning, ganging up on her like that. Even Mystic Flour Cookie was there, and Eternal Sugar Cookie would've thought she was roped in forcefully, if not for the small, unmistakable smile that was on her face.

"Come join us, pink!" Burning Spice Cookie thundered, and it seemed he had regained his previously shattered fighting spirit, for he had summoned his axe once again, swung over his shoulder.

"Eternal Sugar Cookie...we're having a...tournament. Would you please join us?" Silent Salt Cookie piped up softly. At the sound of his voice, Eternal Sugar Cookie cracked an eye open.

"Listen not to these fools, Eternal Sugar Cookie. It is not a tournament of any sorts, nor is it a play-or-die competition as they claim." Mystic Flour Cookie regarded her, tilting her head slightly. "I noticed you were watching us from your room, and you seemed a bit distant."

Eternal Sugar Cookie blinked. It seemed she had really been found out. And did she really seem that disconnected from them?
Maybe her face displayed a terrible expression, Eternal Sugar Cookie thought, subconsciously touching her face.

"Weeeeeeell?" Shadow Milk Cookie asked, enunciating his words with an annoying lisp.

"...well then, if you all insist...then who am I to decline?" She smiled, lifting her head. If her friends were showing concern- and she could feel it, radiating off them- then she'd join them, if only to relieve their worries, no matter how much interaction with others tired her.

She dissolved the cloud, only to hear the shattering of glass and an exasperated huff from Mystic Flour Cookie, turning around to find her window shattered and Burning Spice Cookie's fist still hovering in the spot where he had punched through, blinking up at the four beasts who stared at him in unison.

"What? It'll be faster for her to pass this way." He explained like they were all stupid, coupled with a huff.

"Okay, whaddever, just get out here already," Shadow Milk Cookie quipped, waving a dismissive hand at Burning Spice Cookie.

 

"...Mystic Flour Cookie," Shadow Milk addressed the cookie in white by her full name-highly unusual.

"Yes?" The cookie in question perked up from surveying Silent Salt Cookie.

"...is this your idea of fun?" Shadow Milk Cookie remarked dryly, looking at the pile of sand in front of them, set out by Mystic Flour Cookie for them to "play with", as if they were children.

"Simple...and elegant," She responded, sitting down next to him.

Lately, Shadow Milk Cookie had noticed, she'd been skipping alot of these bonding efforts arranged by both the beasts themselves and the ancients.

Sure, they all had their moments, but she was beginning to withdraw from their activities together- including even dining, so much so that the other beasts had begun complaining, noticeably Burning Spice Cookie, retorting unhappily about her absence.

Silent Salt Cookie would search for her just to find her quiet and withdrawn, meditating, observing them from a quiet corner, and Eternal Sugar's efforts and participation would dampen when Mystic Flour Cookie didn't participate. It had taken much persuasion from Silent Salt Cookie for her to even consider joining them in this one.

Mystic Flour Cookie was looking at Eternal Sugar Cookie's work- a small heart gem, shaped suspiciously alike to certain pink ancient's soul jam, alongside her own, humming a love song Shadow Milk Cookie knew originated from the Hollyberry Kingdom. She handled the gem that belonged to her ancient with utmost care, as if she was scared one wrong movement would destroy it.

The sand, sent along with the multitude of cooking ingredients from the ancients had also come special, of course, imbued with magic that allowed them to be extra moldable and steady in holding shape, becoming solid when left for long, similar to clay.

Shadow Milk Cookie glanced at Burning Spice Cookie's work- crumbling sand in his hands, building intricate sculptures, one after another, to destroy them in the end, all ending with him laughing uproariously. Eventually, though, the beast got bored of it all and slumped next to his own pile of destroyed sand, carefully observing Silent Salt and Eternal Sugar Cookie's sculptures, occasionally rumbling in approval and adding some comments about the foundation of it all.

Silent Salt Cookie himself was building a quaint little sand figure of a cookie, with two black beads for eyes- small trinkets that Shadow Milk Cookie had given him since the cookie looked rather interested whenever the topic of sewing was brought up- accompanied by a slight lopsided smile. He took Burning Spice Cookie's comments to heart, earnestly working away at his own sculpture.

Shadow Milk Cookie regarded Mystic Flour for a while silently before turning back to the beasts playing in the sand.

"Well, why don't you join them, hmm? If it's so simple and elegant..." He asked, his tone less playful, something more malevolent, akin to when he was toying with some poor cookie.

"I don't have much interest in these activities." Came the simple-worded, monotone reply. The beast's eyes were closed once again, back to her usual state.

"Of course you don't. Is watching them enough for you?" Shadow Milk Cookie continued.

Mystic Flour Cookie opened her eyes.
"What are you suggesting?"

"Come on, you know. We're all the same. So what if you went through what you did? All of us experienced something that-" He paused. "-made us- you- what you are today. Monster or not, we are all the same." His tone was banal, looking at the honest smiles of the pink, purple and red beasts.

"You are not different from any of us. There can't be any other cookies, aside from our counterparts, that can understand us well enough as we understand each other. Eons of hardship, from the moment we were created, to centuries of imprisonment, and countless tales of disgraceful downfalls in different fonts, tarnishing every title. You know this, yet you refuse to participate with us. We all participate in these mindless activities set out for us by the ancients, but you- you refuse to participate. Even when it's your own idea. You know, Silent Salt Cookie evidently looks around for you, only to find you missing or observing us from some quiet corner whenever we do these things together. You're not there. Always missing. You can sit on your cloud of ignorance for all you want, but there will come a time that you will have to be forced off that haughty throne and interfere,"

Mystic Flour Cookie looked at him. "Shadow Milk Cookie, are you trying to provoke me?" Her eyes were upon him now, recognizing the reference he had made to when her ancient counterpart first appeared, even breaking free of her grasp against impossible odds.

"Interpret it however you want, I'll join them," Shadow Milk Cookie replied dismissively, dropping down in the sand next to the three other beasts, already beginning to mold something.

"Mystic Flour Cookie!" Silent Salt Cookie had happily called the cookie as she sat down next to them, a short while after Shadow Milk Cookie had joined them.

Eternal Sugar Cookie brightened, scooting closer to the white beast as Burning Spice Cookie let out a grunt of acknowledgment with veiled approval.

She greeted all of them with a curt nod, then took her own sand, and before long, produced a beautiful miniature sculpture of a mountain amidst clouds of fog.

Eternal Sugar Cookie sighed in satisfaction, eyeing her sculpture. "Mystic Flour Cookie, you always made and make the best sculptures. How wonderful," She said, turning the sculpture gently to better observe it.

"I agree," Silent Salt Cookie chimed in quietly, presenting his own sculpture for Eternal Sugar Cookie to critique.

Burning Spice Cookie nodded when he saw Mystic Flour Cookie's sculpture, a tremendous gesture of approval from him, given that he had barked out comments on how to improve at Eternal Sugar Cookie's and Silent Salt Cookie's sculptures.

"Time for the real spectacle of the show!" Shadow Milk Cookie whistled, showing off his own milkcrown flower sculpture, intricately detailed and looking like the real thing, challenging Mystic Flour Cookie directly, presenting it with elaborate flourish.

He did not recieve the smattering of praise he was expecting, instead just a few glances and "hmph"'s in his way.

"How dare...well, if you lot don't know how to appreciate fine art!" He had said, petulantly snatching his sculpture away from view, covering it with his hands, as if their gazes would burn it.

"Calm down, jester. It's quite nice," Eternal Sugar Cookie hummed, smiling slightly, head on Mystic Flour Cookie's lap.

"Yes...Shadow Milk Cookie, please don't be upset. It's great," Silent Salt Cookie assured, his gentle nature ever present, rushing to comfort him. Burning Spice Cookie harrumphed, making it clear that he didn't want to spare him any attention but still approved regardless.

Shadow Milk Cookie turned to Mystic Flour Cookie, the final judge.

"It's beautiful." She said, her eyes opened to stare at his sculpture.

He blinked, then broke out into a smile- a genuine one.

"The jester thanks you all for being such a great audience to him!" He had exclaimed, to which Burning Spice Cookie had groaned ("Not this clown shit again,").

The next week when he came, Pure Vanilla Cookie had observed and happily noted down the presence of five sculptures by the windowsill, made of a familiar sand and tied together.

Chapter Text

this literally isnt a chapter just to get everyone reading to know that this is being REWRITTEN!!! i will delete this after some time pls give me feedback in these comments if youve noticed in the first rewritten chapter i tried to explore smc and pv's relationship more

the way i characterize shadow milk cookie is a bit darker than the unedited version prior, this current version of him is really how i want to write him/hc him to be like, i think the abuse pv went thru in the spire of deceit is very overlooked and shadow milk cookie WOULD have went to those lengths ALOT of credit to @dr.lobotomyman on tiktok, i got ALOT of inspiration on smc from them!! they are wonderful and i already thought of his chatacter as such, their tiktoks really helped me flesh his character out. i also took alot of dialogues from their tiktoks, their smc is the way i see smc so you'll be seeing that smc in this fic ^_^ have a nice day and im in the midst of my exams i really need to study my geography chemistry biology physics literature mathematics now theyre all this week 💔