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Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla pulled a hoodie over his head, carefully tucking his hair out of sight. He had been visiting the Lower City in his spare time between studying healing with Baumkuchen Cookie after he had sent an incredibly extravagant letter requesting him to visit the Creme Republic.

To be honest, he enjoyed not being known for a while. He laid his orchid staff on his bed, deciding to leave it behind for today after getting too many strange looks over it. He pulled a bandage over his yellow eye, and stared himself in the mirror. If he didn’t know better, he wouldn’t recognise himself under the disguise.

He opened the door a crack, checking for if anyone would see him leave. Fortunately, no one seemed to be around. He ran for the door without looking back.

He already knew the way to the Lower City from the Madeleine Residence, the pristine streets now distinguishable even though when he had first arrived each one seemed no different from the next.

He noticed a young child in rags curled up in the corner. He sat down next to them, the two of them together in silence for moment before they shuffled away slightly.

“If you’re just here to mock me, get out of here.” They waited for him to reply. “I’m not a charity case to make you feel good about yourself.”

He paused. “Why do you think that?” Their eyes widened slightly, expecting him to be angry and leave.

“Well you lot from the Upper City don’t come here without a reason. They usually just act nice to show off.” They shook their head slowly. “I just assumed everyone was like that.”

“Truly..? You shouldn’t assume that about everyone, you might push people away who genuinely want to help.” As he spoke, they started tapping quietly. A long tap, a short tap, then two long taps.

Someone quietly got up from not far off, almost silently stepping in their direction. They approached, grabbing him by the cheek and twisting his head to face them. He jerked back, but they grabbed his arm to keep him still. They leaned in close, hissing into his ear. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

“What?” He tried to pull his arm away, but the cookie who he had thought was a small child stood up and took him by the shoulders. “He’s getting there the hard way.”

One by one, the others sat around the area also got up, each revealing a small weapon and approaching slowly.

He pushed the person behind him aside, but quickly realised he was still being backed into the corner. He reached for his staff but remembered he had left it behind for today. One cookie lunged, a small dagger in hand, but one of the taller cookies held them back, a small fork pinned to their wrist held close to the child’s neck.

He raised his arms hesitantly, unsure of if they were going to attack or not until one stepped out. It was the cookie he had pushed aside, looking smug despite most of their face being in shadow. “Good. The easy way it is.”

They pushed him against the wall, knocking the air from his lungs and watching him crumple and draw deep, shaky breaths with an almost disappointment that he had given in so quickly. They pulled a covering over his head while he drifted in and out of consciousness.

Chapter Text

They waited for at least an hour before he arrived again as always. The same cookie who came through the Lower City and seemingly was genuinely nice to them. Today was different however. They needed to test him properly. If he passed, then they could move on to the next step for the first time in years.

“Are you sure we’re doing everything right? Something about this feels wrong.” Pastry admitted a slight doubt to the cookie waiting next to her.

They silenced her. “Do not doubt the orders we have been given.” She swallowed her nerves at the sound of the signal being given. A long tap, a short tap, then two long taps.

She, along with the others, began backing him into a corner. Part of her hoped he would put up a proper fight, but he gave up quickly. The others hadn’t given up so easily.

“Reverend Mother? Could I speak to you?” Pastry had stood patiently next to her for a few minutes now, however she had ignored her, possibly guessing what she would ask.

“Of course.” Reverend Mother finally answered. “Anything troubling you?”

Pastry shuffled slightly. “Are you sure this will follow through? We should expect a stronger host, someone who would fight back-“

“An unwillingness to fight back further proves he was the correct choice. He is the perfect opposite to the Avatar.” Reverend Mother interrupted, mildly irritated at the doubt in Pastry’s voice, expression darkening. Pastry placed her hands on her chest carefully.

“But we should still seek a cookie willing to fight. The Avatar will reject him.” Pastry looked off to the side, a nagging feeling in the back of her mind sure that going against what they had been ordered to do was certainly treason.

Reverend Mother shook her head, a pitying smile on her face, like Pastry was a toddler asking silly questions. “It will not. I sense a strong potential from him.”

“I see. Thank you.” She bowed her head, watching Reverend Mother’s face return to her usual calmness. She took a sharp step back.

Chapter Text

Madeleine knocked on Pure Vanilla’s door. “Pure Vanilla Cookie? Baumkuchen Cookie requested your presence!” He quickly realised the door was unlocked, and pushed his way inside. It was empty, only his staff laid on the bed and his cloak hung loosely on the wall.

‘Why would Pure Vanilla Cookie leave his staff behind?’ He thought. ‘Unless he didn’t want to be recognised-‘.

There had been a cookie running through the hallway not long before he knocked on the door. It must’ve been Pure Vanilla leaving undercover. He left the room untouched, deciding to go after him.

Unfortunately, Madeleine discovered quickly that he had no idea where he was going or where to look. None of the nearby citizens had seen him. But that wasn’t what was confusing him so much. It was that he had clearly been trying to hide his identity. There was no reason to, unless he was going somewhere where getting recognised could he dangerous.

He audibly gasped, earning himself a few strange looks. He must’ve gone to the Lower City, the only place he could run into serious harm if he was recognised. Madeleine, however, did not want to investigate the Lower City. It would dirty his icings! So he waited, not far from the seaside market that acted as a transition from the Upper City to the Lower City.

Once the sun began to set, Madeleine realised he needed to return home, but there was no Pure Vanilla in sight. So once he returned, he wrote letters to Hollyberry and Dark Cacao to request their help in finding him, sure that they would be able to search for him better than he could.

Chapter Text

“Dark Cacao Cookie?” Hollyberry greeted him with a hug strong enough to break a normal cookie’s back. “I didn’t know you would be here too!”

Dark Cacao raised an eyebrow. “Were you not asked to be here for Pure Vanilla Cookie?”

“Oh, yes, but I didn’t think you would turn up too!” Hollyberry looked overly happy for someone searching for a lost friend. She was about to speak again when she noticed Madeleine walking up to them.

“Ah, I’m glad you two arrived! I don’t have much to go off of, unfortunately.” He admitted, looking sheepish for a moment. “I’m sure he’s in the Lower City.”

Dark Cacao paused. “The Lower City? You want us to search an entire city and just hope we find him?” Madeleine looked nervous.

“No, of course not. It’s not the size of a full city. It’s this way.” Madeleine gestured to the side, Dark Cacao still suspicious.

Hollyberry was anxious to enter but Madeleine stopped her. “You might want to disguise yourself first. The cookies down there wouldn’t hesitate to attempt to steal anything shiny, including the soul jams. By the very least, cover them.”

Dark Cacao paused. “Many have coveted them, but the only ones who have gotten close were also from here. The risk is great.”

“Not high enough to leave Pure Vanilla to fend for himself.” Hollyberry decided. She pulled the soul jam from her shield and tucked it into a hidden inside pocket. Dark Cacao did the same.

The two of them came across a dead end at the edge of an alleyway, the marks of many footsteps deeply ingrained in the mud.

Hollyberry crouched down, picking something from off the ground. “Look, it’s some of his hair. He must’ve been fighting off an attacker.”

Dark Cacao huffed. “That’s awfully convenient. You think we’re being lead into a trap?” He crossed his arms across his chest.

“You always think that. I could have just taken this from his head and you’d still think it might not be real.” She rolled her eyes, but laughed warmly. “Though it is strange, I will admit.”

Dark Cacao frowned. “If he was here, there’s only one other direction to go.” The brick wall at the end seemed hurriedly put together, many bricks sticking out. Dark Cacao placed a careful grip on one, stepping up on another and began slowly climbing the wall.

“What’re you doing? It’s a dead end!” Hollyberry called up to him while he looked over the wall.

“No, there’s something here. I don’t think this wall was an original part of this alleyway. Come on, I’ll pull you up.” He turned around from the top of the wall, looking down at Hollyberry who was still debating if he had any idea what he was doing.

“Feels strange to have you dragging me into an unfamiliar place. It’s usually the other way round.” She muttered while climbing the wall herself. He was right, there was something on the other side of the wall. Not far from them, there was a small wooden trapdoor with a rusted iron handle.

Hollyberry jumped down from the wall. “He might be in there.” Dark Cacao followed not far behind.

“Or it could be someone’s storage cellar. Be quiet if we are going inside.” Dark Cacao, unfortunately, had a good point. Hollyberry tugged hard at the handle, and the door came loose. It was dark inside, barely a sliver of light shining through aside from the entrance.

Dark Cacao climbed through first, stepping silently into the darkness. He was gone for a minute or so, Hollyberry beginning to get worried before she heard the loud clanging of armour against stone.

“Crap, you’ll have to come down too, it’s too dark down here to see anything.” Dark Cacao’s voice carried from somewhere in the shadows of the room beneath the trapdoor.

Hollyberry was halfway down before she paused. “Did you run into a wall?”

He was silent for a moment. “Yes- are you laughing at me?” Hollyberry brushed herself off, trying not to laugh.

“Don’t be so sour, i’ll come down there with you.” She stepped the full way down, quickly realising she couldn’t see Dark Cacao anywhere.

“Dark Cacao Cookie? Where are you?” She heard something scrape across stone, and a small door next to where she was standing slid open with a loud grinding sound. There was a little light coming from inside, and she could hear Dark Cacao’s heavy footsteps approaching.

“I had hoped that would turn on some lights in here.” He stepped carefully through the door, bathed in faint blue light. Hollyberry followed after him.

The room was huge, a neatly decorated circle on the floor a few feet from each wall marking the centre. The circle was adorned with mosaics of an angelic being standing tall, surrounded by tiny cookies. Within the circle was another, smaller circle which glowed weakly with ghostly blueish light. And within the circle they found Pure Vanilla.

He was still alive, thankfully, breathing sharply and laid on his side. He was curled into a loose ball, facing away from them.

Hollyberry took a careful step closer, but Dark Cacao warned her to stop. “It’s a magic circle. This could be dangerous.”

She untied one of the tight buns she had in her hair, and threw the hair tie at Pure Vanilla. It disappeared the moment it crossed the line into the inner circle, vanishing completely. He shifted slightly.

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla sat up, head still throbbing with pain from being shoved into the wall. He quickly realised he didn’t recognise a thing from where he was. In fact, there almost wasn’t anything there at all. The floor and ceiling were stone cold marble in a deep shade of purple. The walls were circular, and didn’t seem fully solid, pale blueish smoke covering them.

He reached out to touch the wall but watched with surprise as it seemed to move away from him. It came back closer too when he moved back, but stayed just far enough away he couldn’t quite reach it.

His arms felt heavy. They were adorned with long white sleeves and a darkly coloured scroll written in a language he didn’t recognise. The end of a large metal fork, each point sharpened, sat on his head. Connected to the sleeves was a layered dress, similar to his own, white with thick chocolate drippings. Each layer was on top of the hoodie he had already been wearing, seemingly why his dough felt so weighed down.

“I must be in a nightmare.” He thought before being interrupted by a voice. It wasn’t one he recognised, but he could detect a hint of his own voice within it, like it was his own voice pretending to be someone else’s.

“This is not a nightmare.” The voice seemed to come from the walls, reverberating and echoing around him.

He blinked, not expecting a response to a thought in his head. “Who are you?”

“Names… useless to me. You may call me by the title they have given me, the Avatar of Destiny.” Pure Vanilla did not recognise the title.

“You do not know who I am. Were you not sent to me by the Order?” The Avatar questioned.

He didn’t remember much about the strange cookies. “Those cookies who attacked me?”

The Avatar was silent. He felt a hand rustle through his mind, like someone was brushing their fingers over each book in a library to search for a particular one. “Those in the white masks are my followers.”

“Wait, how did you know that?” His memories felt slightly scrambled.

“The Order sent you to my realm. Although I am but a spirit, I can still reach you through their support.” He felt the hand grasp his mind again. “I could just do this.” It’s grip tightened.

Instantly he doubled over, the worst pain he had ever felt, like his very soul was being squeezed and ripped and twisted all at once. It’s grip released, and he slowly pulled himself up while taking sharp, ragged breaths. “Why would you-?”

“To prove a point, Pure Vanilla Cookie.” It said ‘cookie’ as if the word itself was a curse.

Pure Vanilla was about to respond when he realised the Avatar had said his name. “I don’t know who that is.”

A clawed finger cut through the bandages over his eye. “I just sifted through your memories, and you don’t think I know who you are?” It sounded a little disappointed. “Do not lie to me.”

He paused, realising there was no point being dishonest. “What point could that possibly prove?” No answer. “What do you want from me?”

He felt its clawed fingers brush along his shoulder and down his arm. “It’s your dough.  Those Beast Cookies had defeated me before your time, and the Order have been searching for a long time for a proper host.”

He thought carefully for a moment, still aware it could hear his thoughts. “A host? So you mean.?” The Avatar interrupted him. “I don’t want full control. You’re not an idiot, Pure Vanilla Cookie. So I propose, you give me half control.”

“Half…? Why should I accept? I know nothing about you.” He stated firmly.

“But I know everything about you. I know your past, your present and your future. I know your doubts about if what you’re doing is right. Not just yours, but anyone and anything that anyone has ever known. I can offer you that knowledge if you accept.” He felt it’s claws dig slightly into the underside of his head, lifting his chin.

He stepped back, shaking his head slightly. “I still know nothing of you. Why are you so desperate for control of me?” He felt a swift wind pass by him, like someone had dashed around him. He felt clawed fingers lift his arms.

“The Order chose you well. I needed a strong enough host to hold my power. You are the first to get this far.” The Avatar almost sounded proud, but something felt off. “You still doubt me. How can I prove myself to you?”

Pure Vanilla knew there was only one way he could trust this voice, and that was if it was given to someone he could see. “Show yourself. I want to see who I’m giving control to.”

There was no response for a moment. “Well?” He questioned.

“Yes, I can do that. I only thought it was strangely simple. I was waiting for you to say something else.” As the Avatar spoke, he saw its shape come into view.

It was toweringly tall, at least five times himself, arms draped with a scroll, large angelic wings spread wide across its back. Its body was black, from its calm expression to its clawed hands. And it was dressed just like he had been by the Order.

The Avatar seemed to dissolve. It must not like being seen. “Are you now willing to trust me? I have revealed myself to you.” It asked.

He swallowed slowly. He was about to accept before he felt something small hit the back of his head. He turned around and realised it was a large vibrant pink hair tie, adorned with a small red flower. It must’ve been Hollyberry’s, a few of her hairs still tangled on it.

“This… is a sign. I won’t accept.” He decided.

“ YOU DON’T GET A CHOICE !” The Avatar screeched, suddenly flipping from the voice that had nearly convinced him to a pained scream loud enough to shake the room.

He felt the familiar crushing feeling over his mind, even stronger now that the Avatar had shown its true intentions and no longer felt the need to keep him alive. He tried to ignore the pain and pull himself up, but could barely move, let alone stand up.

He managed to force words out. “You- you can’t kill me. I’ll never let you. You’ll have- have to find a new host.”

“ Fool ! I gave you the chance to share your body. Now I will take full control!”

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla began to stir, twitching slightly. They watched as the smaller circle around him retreated, only leaving the larger on the outside.

“Do you think it’s safe to-“ Dark Cacao placed a careful hand on her chest.

“No. This could still be an illusion. If he wakes up, we judge whether it’s him by that.” Dark Cacao explained his plan, but Hollyberry had doubts. She untied her other bun and threw the hair tie in the same place. When she threw it, instead of disappearing like before, it hit Pure Vanilla on the shoulder.

He shifted, got up, and turned to face them. His expression gave nothing away, blank faced and eyes empty. “…Hollyberry Cookie?…Dark Cacao Cookie?”

Hollyberry resisted approaching. She hadn’t noticed before he woke up, but he looked different. He had always been the shortest of all of them, a head shorter than Hollyberry, but he had grown- no, stretched- tall enough to look down at her even from a distance. Parts of his dough were crumbling slightly.

He was dressed strangely similarly to the depictions of the angelic being on the border of the circle, down to the scroll draped across his neck and shoulders. Even the pupils of his eyes had darkened to deep blue slits.

He stood, arms held out to his sides, waiting for either of them to move. He cocked his head to the side, still watching them.

Dark Cacao stepped back. “Something is clearly wrong here.”

“What? You came all the way here to find me,” He hesitated for just a second when he said ‘me’. “And now you won’t even come close?” He smiled eerily.

Hollyberry ignored Dark Cacao’s warning, assuming he was likely just paranoid. She stepped closer, into the wider circle.

His smile widened. Then he lunged for her.

Her reaction time was quick enough to pull her shield out, but without the soul jam in its place, his slash left deep claw marks across it. Hollyberry jumped back, disturbed by the fact he had left claw marks despite not seeming to have any claws. Dark Cacao rushed in himself, pushing Pure Vanilla back with the flat side of his sword, hesitant to slice him to pieces.

He slashed again, grazing his armour, but his strikes felt half-hearted, like he was unsure of each movement he made. Dark Cacao and Hollyberry both stepped back from the circle. Pure Vanilla paused for a second before stepping out of the circle, and for a moment his face seemed to change from anger to fear. He took one shaky step, almost collapsing from the effort before taking another stronger step, shifting back to anger again.

Hollyberry placed the soul jam back in her shield, pushing him back temporarily while she turned to Dark Cacao. “I don’t think it’s him we are fighting. I think something- or someone- is using his body as a puppet.”

Dark Cacao’s eyes narrowed. “We can’t keep this up forever. If what you say is true, we need to get his body back.”

Pure Vanilla finally pushed her shield aside, stepping closer. His steps were unsteady, like he was only now learning how to walk.

Suddenly he paused. He lowered his arms, then clutched his head as his legs gave out. It felt like a hundred thousand thoughts were running through his head, relentlessly scrambling his mind. He felt like his brain was a puzzle, and someone had dumped five other separate puzzles into the mix.

Hollyberry pulled herself away from Dark Cacao, forgetting everything that had just happened and grabbing Pure Vanilla by the shoulders. Even the faint blueish light felt like spotlights focussed directly on his face. He could sense Hollyberry’s hands on his shoulders yet she felt further away than ever. He could hardly bring himself to even open his eyes, words and thoughts and images flooding his view.

He looked up at Hollyberry, a dazed look in his eyes. He shakily pushed himself up with one hand, keeping the other on the side of his head. He took short, shallow breaths while staring at the floor. Hollyberry turned to face Dark Cacao.

“We need to leave here, now.” He answered her unspoken question. She carefully picked Pure Vanilla up, letting him lean over her shoulder, and followed Dark Cacao back to the trapdoor.

Chapter Text

“Pure Vanilla Cookie! You haven’t eaten yet today, you should come eat with us.” Hollyberry watched his face, a hint of guilt behind his eyes.

“Hollyberry Cookie, you do not have to-“ He paused. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

He was wearing the same as they had found him in a few days ago, the same white dress with chocolate drippings, and the same scroll draped along his shoulders.

She raised an eyebrow. “Why’re you wearing that again? I thought we destroyed that.”

He was silent for a few moments. “I admit I do not know. I do not remember putting it on.” He spoke strangely, slower and more hesitantly.

“Well… as long as it’s comfortable.” She shook her head slightly, but assured herself it was nothing.

Dark Cacao’s voice rang out from a set of double doors not far from them. “Hollyberry Cookie! What’s taking you so long?” Hollyberry flushed red.

“Dark Cacao Cookie, don’t be so impatient!” Hollyberry tugged on Pure Vanilla’s arm. He winced slightly, but followed her through the doors.

Pure Vanilla sat still, staring into space silently. He held a small fork between two fingers, fiddling absentmindedly. He was yet to take a bite, only pushing the food around his plate. He was actively aware of Hollyberry trying to speak to him, but he couldn’t make out a word she was saying through the fog that had enveloped his mind.

His vision began to blur. He stood abruptly. “I need a moment.” He muttered.

He took one step, then a second, but didn’t make it a third before his legs gave out and his head hit the floor.

Hollyberry jumped up, chair scraping across the floor, placing a hand on his back. “Pure Vanilla Cookie?” She shook his shoulder, but he was completely unresponsive.

Pure Vanilla opened his eyes, realising he was back in the strange room with the smoky walls. “You! I thought you would leave me alone.”

“I have upheld my side of the deal. Did you not realise?” The Avatar placed its hands on the sides of his face, forcing him to look upwards.

He thought for a moment, face paling when he realised what it meant. “You mean everything I’ve been hearing has all been true? I- thought I was going insane.” He pulled away, putting his hands on his head. “How can you possibly live like this?”

“I care little for your kind’s insistence for knowledge. But now, I need you to uphold your side of the deal.” It sounded a little impatient, placing a careful claw under his chin.

He shook his head, pushing its hand away. “I need a minute to think- this is a lot.”

The Avatar was silent, but Pure Vanilla could feel its eyes on him, like it was looking straight into his soul.

“I need to know- why? Why did you just attack my friends so quickly? I’m afraid I’m hesitant to trust you for that.” He asked.

He felt it’s gaze retreat. “Apologies. I didn’t realise those were your friends.”

“But even then, you barely hesitated to attack, even though they didn’t attack you.”

“After a thousand or so years of waiting, I admit I felt overprotective over the body I was possessing. I couldn’t take any risks.” Pure Vanilla accepted this answer.

“Then-“ There was a loud crack . He suddenly clutched the side of his chest, feeling like someone had plunged a knife deep into his side. Just the shock alone knocked the air out of him.

The Avatar watched silently as he took shaky breaths. “Your fragile cookie body cannot put up with my strength. Even the soul jam is struggling.” It ran a claw along the edge of the soul jam, digging slighting into the tiny crack that had formed on the edge. He winced, feeling the deep pain again when it touched the crack.

“That’s why you must give me half control. Even during the short amount of time I took full control, you were already crumbling.” It pulled back, waiting for Pure Vanilla to make a decision.

Finally, he nodded slightly. “I see. If you won’t attack my friends again, then I will let you take control.”

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla sat up to find himself laid in bed, Hollyberry turned away from him, writing something on a small notepad while Dark Cacao sat thoughtfully in the corner.

Dark Cacao noticed first that he was awake. “Oh, Pure Vanilla Cookie! We-“ He was cut off abruptly by Hollyberry.

“What’s going on with you?” Her expression darkened slightly. “Not letting you leave until you explain.” He wasn’t completely sure she was joking.

“Ah- Apologies. Nothing is out of the ordinary, I should hope. I only wish you would not agonise over me so much.” He shook his head as he spoke.

Hollyberry paused, midway through writing. “That’s what I mean. You’re speaking like a thesaurus. Something is clearly strange here. What is it?” She made a good point, he realised.

“Hollyberry Cookie, that’s not a reason to interrogate him-“ Dark Cacao butted in, but was quickly ignored by Hollyberry.

“I’m not interrogating him, I’m just asking questions that need answering.” She rolled her eyes.

Dark Cacao became angrier after being interrupted twice. “That’s the dictionary definition of ‘interrogation’!” Pure Vanilla felt stuck between their arguing.

“Stop at once! I do not mind Hollyberry Cookie asking me questions- my only wish is that you do not pester me.” Dark Cacao stayed silent, frowning slightly but still had to admit he might be wrong. Hollyberry, however, only seemed worried she might truly be harassing him, and not so worried about what Dark Cacao thought of her ‘methods’.

Hollyberry sat down carefully next to the bed. “You haven’t answered my question.” She stated, crossing her arms.

“You believe I am speaking peculiarly. I suppose that is accurate.” He debated telling them the truth. “It is complicated.”

Hollyberry leaned closer. “That’s why I brought the chairs. Tell us everything.”

He breathed out, fully prepared for them not to believe him. “When you had found myself a few days ago, you were correct in assuming you were not truly fighting me. I was being controlled by a spirit. It never told me it’s name, but it told me it’s title. ‘The Avatar of Destiny’. I am unaware if either of you recognise them.”

Dark Cacao, who was still sat in silence, looked thoughtful. “I don’t. Hollyberry Cookie?”

“I think I’ve heard of it before, though I’m not sure when.” She looked a little disappointed, placing one hand on each leg and looking downwards.

“Could I perhaps try something?” Pure Vanilla asked, reaching towards her and brushing along her head.

She looked up, a little confused as to why he was touching her head. “Sure.? I don’t know what you’re doing but alright.”

He brushed his fingers along her forehead, like he was sorting through a messy room. Hollyberry started wondering if he had truly gone insane before she realised she could feel  his fingers push through her skin, and through to her mind itself.

“483 years, 7 months, 5 days and a few hours ago, you read a book that mentioned the Avatar. You assumed it was fabricated and did not read further than a page or two.” He recited, watching Hollyberry slowly process what he was doing.

“That… sounds about right. How did you do that?” She shook her head, eyes wide.

He moved back. “It truly did hold up it’s side of the deal-“

“Deal? You’re letting it control you? That thing tried to kill us!” Dark Cacao jumped up from the chair.

“No, I have spoken to it, it simply did not realise who you were! It thought you were there to attack it.” He sounded like he was still trying to convince himself the Avatar didn’t have bad intentions, and it showed in the shrinking confidence in his voice.

Dark Cacao raised an eyebrow. “It attacked first, I remember it clearly.” He shook his head. “You trust much too easily.”

“Well, we can’t let a potentially evil spirit inhabit his body. What do we do about it?” Hollyberry turned around, embarrassment showing in the deep red flushing her face as she realised Pure Vanilla had probably just looked through most of her memories.

Pure Vanilla pushed himself from the bed. “I know what is necessary. It is only a spirit, we just need to-“ He stopped suddenly. He clutched his head with both hands, lips barely moving but no words coming out. He crumpled backwards, almost hitting his head against the wall. The terribly familiar feeling of claws squeezing his brain while a single word reverberated throughout his mind: ‘ NO ’. It sounded like a high pitched screech, then a deep, anguished roar, changing constantly as if a thousand different voices were echoing through his head.

Hollyberry abandoned her notebook on the side of the bed, rushing over to place a hand on his head. “Pure Vanilla Cookie? Pure Vanilla Cookie ?!” She shook his shoulder, but he pushed her hand away with shaky palms.

“No, give-“ He paused, swallowing as the pain grew. “-give me the notebook.” He felt another hand close over his mouth. Hollyberry turned, momentarily forgetting she left it on the bed.

She handed him the notebook, and he wrote in shaky scribbles across it, nothing like his usually neat and tidy script. Every thought in his head swirled and blurred and merged until all he could see, all he could feel, all he could think about was a mess of confusion and disorienting pain. It felt like the word ‘NO’ had been etched in scarlet across his mind. For the first time, it felt like he might truly die.

Then the pain subsided.

He took sharp, shallow breaths, one hand on his chest and the other pushing himself up, trembling slightly. Hollyberry took the notebook where he had dropped it on the bed, scanning over his scrawled writing across it.

“Canelé Cookie? Are you sure? Wasn’t she.?” Hollyberry looked unsure if all that effort was just for the name of the same cookie that had helped plot to take their soul jams. He nodded shortly.

“Yes. Though I presume you will have to go without me. I do not think it would let me.” He admitted. A small part of him doubted if he only didn’t want to go because he didn’t know if he could bring himself to kill the spirit, if there was a way they could avoid it altogether.

Chapter Text

Canelé sat behind a large wooden desk, neatly stacked papers ordered across it.

“Hollyberry Cookie, Dark Cacao Cookie! Where’s Pure Vanilla Cookie? I hear Baumkuchen Cookie was looking for him.” She looked up from the curled paper she had been writing on, still holding the neatly engraved pen she was using.

Hollyberry paused, debating whether to tell her. She still didn’t have full faith in her, even if the Creme Republic claimed she was trustworthy. She knew Dark Cacao didn’t trust her either. “He’s… ill. Nothing to worry about, I’m sure. He just doesn’t want to spread it to anyone else.”

Dark Cacao gave a quick nod. “Just needs some time to recover. I’d advise you let Baumkuchen Cookie know not to visit for a while.”

Canelé shifted slightly, and stood up. “Well, I’m sure you aren’t visiting me without a reason. What is it you need?”

“That’s true. We need something to fend off… spirits.” Hollyberry watched Canelé dig through the drawers behind her stand at the front. She stood up and placed a silvery white knife on the table. It’s sharpened edge glinted in the light, the point curved slightly.

“A knife? How is a knife going to help fight off à spirit?” Dark Cacao’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s not a regular knife. It’s specially made to only affect the non-living. But I’m afraid it’s awfully fragile. It’ll shatter if you use it.” She carefully pushed the knife towards them, and Hollyberry moved closer to pick it up.

She took it in a firm grip, feeling the carefully crafted hilt.

“Thank you. Will you need it back?” She passed the knife to Dark Cacao, who tucked it carefully into his pocket.

“Have it for as long as you need.” Her expression darkened slightly. “I should hope I won’t need it.”

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla sat, staring at his hands. He moved his fingers, just to be sure he was still in control. He could slowly feel pressure building behind his eyes, the Avatar pushing for power.

“No, I will not let you take me!” He placed his hands on his head, steadying his shaking palms. Every moment he could feel it forcing its claws further over his mind.

It made a final push, and he realised he was no longer shaking, no longer moving at all in fact. He tried to speak, but it seemed he could do nothing but think, merely a spectator in his own dough.

The Avatar had taken control.

It flexed his fingers, a mixture of a strange, almost childlike happiness and sadistic glee struck across his face. “Finally… I was starting to doubt in the Order’s abilities.” It left the bed.

“All the doors and windows are locked. You cannot leave this place.” Pure Vanilla thought, aware it could likely still hear him.

It frowned. “I did not think you would still be able to communicate. Fine. Watch as I use your own dough for a better purpose.” It stepped towards the door, rattling the handle.

It made a low growling sound, and slashed deeply into the door, once, twice, again and again until it was nothing but shreds hanging on by the hinges. It leapt through, wooden shards ripping and tearing into the back of the dress.

It started running, blindly dashing through the streets, pushing past cookies, twisting and turning down endless paths with no clear way back.

“Where are you going?” Pure Vanilla thought furiously. The Avatar didn’t know where it was, it couldn’t possibly have a certain place it wanted to go to in mind.

It slowed to a walk. “Somewhere your friends will not find you. I will not let you get rid of me so easily.” It finally arrived at the coastline of the Choco Mud Town.

“This should be far enough.” It decided, pausing to look around momentarily.

Pure Vanilla felt control slowly return, but was instantly hit with a wave of exhaustion. He reached for something to lean on, but he stood in the middle of a clear area, and collapsed into the mud.

He lay still for a while, too drained to move, even to open his eyes, when he heard quiet footsteps approach. The cookie placed their hands on his chest, feeling it rise and fall with each shaky breath.

They moved back, and sighed. “Still alive. Guess this is my problem now.” They placed their hands on his shoulders, and started dragging his half-conscious body through the mud.

Pure Vanilla sat up, quickly realising he was no longer in the mud. His whole body ached, but the pain felt like background noise compared to the mountain of exhaustion he could still feel  like a heavy weight rested on every part of his dough.

He was in a small wooden hut that must’ve been close to the coastline, the sound of gentle waves not far from the wall. There was a cookie stood in the corner, lengthy green hair tucked loosely into a dark hood that connected to a light gray skirt. Gray bandages were wrapped tightly around their arms.

His eyes widened with recognition. “Seaweed Cookie?”

The cookie turned to face him. “What the-?” Their eyes widened, then narrowed with suspicion. “How do you know my name?”

He paused, realising he would sound insane if he told her the actual reason. “Um, Espresso Cookie had mentioned you.”

“Espresso Cookie? You know him?” He nodded, watching Seaweed look him up and down, trying to decide if she knew him.

She turned back around, apparently giving up trying to figure him out. “Do you get told you look like Pure Vanilla Cookie often? I almost thought you were him but you’re much too tall…”

“Uh- I am Pure Vanilla Cookie.” He pushed himself up, almost hitting his head on the ceiling. “It is a long story.”

She paused, face flushing slightly red. She quickly changed the subject. “What were you doing, passed out in the mud anyways?”

“Like I said, it is a long story.” He shook his head slightly, unwilling to explain knowing full well she probably wouldn’t believe him anyways.

She scoffed. “Figured. Some end-of-the-world disaster that would probably send the public into hysteria, huh?”

“You do not have the slightest idea.” He laughed slightly, hiding the pain that threatened to show through in his voice. “But, really, I must return to the Upper City. I need to discuss something with my friends.”

She shook her head, looking down. “I wouldn’t do that. It’s much too dark out now to find your way back, even for me. Wait until morning, I’ll show you the way back myself.”

“I see.” He swallowed, ignoring the red-hot pain growing behind his eyes. She turned away, face falling slightly.

It was early morning, but Pure Vanilla was yet to fall asleep. He laid, tossing and turning, the constant feeling of claws digging deeper and deeper into his mind keeping him awake. He’d had to wrench himself back into the bed five times already during the night, each time getting closer and closer to Seaweed before he regained control.

He had gotten up and moved closer to Seaweed again, but Pure Vanilla could no longer resist the Avatar’s control. He realised something- the Avatar wanted to kill her.

His eyes would’ve widened but he had no control over them, he would’ve screamed but he had no mouth, he would’ve stopped but couldn’t take back control, only forcing out a single word in the hopes she would wake up and run away- “ GO ”.

She sat up, confusion clear across her face, watching him freeze. “Pure Vanilla Cookie? It’s too early. The sun’s not risen-“ She stopped mid sentence to flinch back as he slashed for her neck, feeling claws he didn’t have graze her throat.

Fear and anger flickered across his face, Pure Vanilla fighting desperately for control but only barely stopping it from slicing deep through her body.

“ NO! ” He thought desperately, but he could only watch as the Avatar got the best of him, and sliced her neck clean open. Her body hit the floor with a quiet thud, the mud silencing her.

The Avatar looked down at her body for a moment, almost remorseful for a short second. “An unfortunate sacrifice. You will not return to your friends, not until I’m sure you cannot fight back.”

It returned control to him, and he dropped to his knees in front of her body. He desperately placed his hands on her chest, attempting to heal but it was far too late. Too much jam had flowed from her neck, smearing across his clothing and his hands.

Her eyes were still open, dull after the life had left them yet he could still sense the feeling of betrayal and shock written deep inside them. The last thing she had ever thought was that he had purposely wanted to kill her. He sat in front of her body, resting his head on her jam-stained chest, tears flowing, breathing heavily between sobs.

He stayed with her body for what felt like days, silently waiting for the sun to rise.

Chapter Text

“Canelé Cookie? You requested my presence.” Reverend Mother entered the church, watching Canelé dig through a pouch strapped to her waist.

She shifted slightly. “I meant to ask about the most recent attempt. Could you describe him?” Reverend Mother raised her eyebrows.

“The one who went missing?” She paused, thinking. “He had blue eyes, though he had one covered. He was dressed in very thick clothing, and was probably quite thin underneath.”

Canelé dug further into the pouch, finally pulling out some paper, cut from a larger photo. “Did he have this symbol on his head?” The photo showed a small, four pointed diamond, brown in colour.

“I- He did. Why does this matter?” Reverend Mother frowned.

Canelé pulled a second photo from her bag. “I have reason to believe your latest attempt may have been on Pure Vanilla Cookie.”

Reverend Mother’s eyes narrowed then widened. “A coincidence, I’m sure.”

“Have you ever met a single cookie with a similar mark? You’re a fool to deny it.” Canelé turned, hand placed carefully on her chin. “He’s not said anything yet.”

“That’s true. If he’s still alive, that is. Then…” She trailed off. “We may have been successful.”

Canelé nodded. “But, we shouldn’t leave this to chance. We need to bring him here. His friends have already caught on.”

“Already? How do you know?”

Canelé held her arms out. “They visited me only hours ago.” Reverend Mother was visibly nervous.

“To you? I did not think they fully trusted you yet.” Reverend Mother questioned.

She scoffed. “They clearly didn’t.”

Chapter Text

The sun rose slowly, casting long dark shadows across the mud. Pure Vanilla’s entire body ached from grief and the lingering feeling of exhaustion, but he knew he needed to leave as soon as he could, no time for proper rest.

Before he left, he wrote a hasty note to whoever found Seaweed. He couldn’t decide what to write that could possibly explain what had happened, so he wrote something short instead, a simple: ’ I’m sorry .’ The note had a few teardrops stained into it, smudging the ink.

“I-“ His voice broke. “ I’m sorry I could not do more .” He turned away, not even able to face her anymore. Even if he wasn’t truly responsible, the guilt of not being able to prevent it was eating at him.

He shook himself off, pushing the guilty feeling to the back of his mind. It wasn’t important right now, something to dwell on later. What mattered most was reaching his friends. Would they even be looking for him, or just be glad someone gullible enough to fall for the Avatar’s lies was out of the way?

“No. Do not be ridiculous. They care enough to find me.” He thought, though he only half believed it himself.

The moment he stepped onto the streets of the Lower City he realised he knew exactly where he was. Not because he had been there before, but because someone, somewhere knew it. He hated the knowledge the Avatar has given him, but it had been so long already that he could hardly tell what he had already known before and what he had learned.

His plan was just to keep his head down and go unrecognised until he made it back, but he wasn’t looking where he was going and bumped into a hooded cookie. They stopped, seemly about to insult him before their eyes narrowed.

“Ah, apologies. That was my-“ They grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him into a nearby alleyway, darkly shaded and out of sight. The alleyway was deeper than it seemed, the shadows stretching across the ground.

The cookie held a sharp blade close to his neck. “You’re coming with us, or else-“ They pressed the blade down slightly, drawing jam but not enough to do proper damage.

“You’re from the Order! I will not let you take me so easily this time!” He took a step back in the direction of the entrance, but quickly realised they hadn’t come alone. Four more cookies approached, each with sharp weapons.

He noticed a gap, a thin alley between some houses that could potentially be escaped through, but as he realised this he felt control leave his hands.

The Avatar raised his arms. “Alright then, I’ll come on one condition.”

The others looked at eachother in confusion, however the middle one stepped forwards. “You are in no position to bargain.” They held their weapon close to his chest.

“You do not harm this body.” He pushed their weapon away with surprising strength, eyes narrowing slightly with each word.

They paused, debating if he was worth the fight. “Fine.”

“Good, good.” It smiled an eerie smile.

Pure Vanilla finally took back control just to find it was much too late to escape. The Avatar had let them tie his hands together, and had taped over his mouth. They had locked him in a stone room, and walls and floor cold concrete.

The door made a scraping sound as a cookie opened it. The cookie pulled back a large hood, revealing deep brown hair with orange undersides, and deep brown eyes empty of forgiveness. It was Canelé Cookie.

“Canelé Cookie? But she-“ She cut off his thoughts as she spoke. She leaned forward and ripped the tape from his mouth.

“Get up.” She said coldly.

“What- no, Canelé Cookie, what’s going on?” He stood up, but Canelé shoved him into the wall.

“Do not argue…” She kept speaking, but her words were blocked out by the sudden burning rage building behind his eyes. His vision blurred and red-hot anger stained his sight. He felt control slip.

“I said you do not touch this body!” It roared, pushing Canelé to the floor and clawing at her shoulders. Her eyes widened before it lifted her again and hurled her through the door. Her body hit the wall and went limp.

Someone must’ve seen her, because a scream rang out from the hall.

“What the- why?” He thought furiously, watching the Avatar leave the room.

It turned, someone running for him, a small knife in hand. It reached out a hand and sliced them open with a claw. “I’m keeping your body safe. Do not resist.”

Every time a new cookie attempted to fight it showed no remorse in cutting them to pieces, despite Pure Vanilla’s growing desperation to stop it.

Then, it fell silent. There were no longer any cookies left to attack. “You are welcome. I kept you safe.”

He felt control return, and the constant exhaustion amplified.

The door behind him swung open. More cookies the Avatar would make him slaughter, he thought, until he heard Hollyberry’s voice.

“Pure Vanilla Cookie- oh my Witches.” She took in the scene, Dark Cacao not far behind. Jam was splattered up the walls, smeared across his hands and face. The few bodies the Avatar hadn’t shredded lay lifeless, like a gruesome example to the others. And in the middle of all of it, Pure Vanilla sat on his knees, failing to hold back tears that mixed with the jam streaked along his face.

Hollyberry rushed to place her hands on his shaking shoulders, looking him in the eyes. “Pure Vanilla Cookie? Did- did you do this?”

“No- it- I-“ He shook his head, struggling to find the right words. “Not willingly.”

Dark Cacao seemed disturbed. “Why on Earthbread…”

“How did you find me here?” He asked.

She dug her hand into his pocket, and pulled a small, black, rectangular device. “I admit I put a tracker in your pocket. I predicted something like this would happen.”

“Now isn’t the time, you two. We should leave before anyone else gets here.” Dark Cacao decided.

Chapter Text

It was eerily quiet outside. Reverend Mother assumed it would be quiet, but this was too quiet.

She pushed the door open, and immediately knew something was wrong. There was strong scent of strawberry jam from the entire place, the spilled jam of multiple cookies mixing together grotesquely.

“Witches…” She thought, shaking her head. “Something must’ve gone terribly wrong.”

She moved into the hall, and the first thing she noticed was Canelé’s limp body rested against the wall. Jam dripped slightly from the back of her head, drying on her shoulders and on the floor. Her shoulders were adorned with claws marks.

Reverend Mother froze. “Claw marks… surely the Avatar has not turned against us. I must speak with it.”

She entered a dark room, fortunately empty of bodies. It was the same room with the decorated circle and dim blue light, the Avatar’s favourite place for communication.

She sat on her knees, closing her eyes and muttering an incantation. A circle of light appeared around her, and she was transported to the Avatar’s realm.

“Avatar of Destiny. What went wrong? Why is Canelé Cookie dead?” She asked.

There was silence, then the Avatar spoke. “I gave them simple conditions. You must not harm my perfect host. It is not my fault they did not listen.”

She paused. “Where are you?”

“What do you mean? I am right here.” It sounded surprised, almost a little offended she was so ignorant to her surroundings.

She shook her head. “No. Where is Pure Vanilla Cookie?”

“Ah, I see. His friends have found him. I imagine it will not be easy to reach him again. His friends will have him on close watch.”

“You need to bring him back. It’ll only be so long until they find some way to get rid of you.” Reverend Mother decided, though she had no idea how.

The Avatar became irritated. “You think I cannot take control myself? You already did your part.”

“They are already trying. Canelé Cookie threw them off with a fake knife, however it may not be long until they find something real.”

The Avatar paused, realising she was correct. “In that case… I will bring him away for long enough for you to recapture him. However, if you damage him again- then I will reconsider working with you for being so careless.”

“Bring him to the Gardens, late at night.” She decided.

It smiled, even though she couldn’t see it.

“Hollyberry Cookie! Truly , I told you, you do not need to-“ She cut Pure Vanilla off.

“When I said ‘I’m not letting you walk this off.’ I meant it!” She had him over her shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around his ankles, his upper body hanging upside down at her back.

Dark Cacao tried to hold back a laugh. “I don’t think this is necessary.”

“And make him walk back when there’s a perfectly good strong and comfortable shoulder to rest on?” Hollyberry laughed loudly, but Pure Vanilla seemed unamused. He pulled one leg from her grip, almost falling off her shoulder in the process.

“Comfortable? You are holding me upside down.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Don’t even try. Not putting you down until we get back.”

“ Hollyberry Cookie !”

“Ugh, fine.” She placed him down, just to watch him take a single step forward before he face planted the stone pathway.

Dark Cacao shook his head. “An unfortunate fate- Hollyberry Cookie’s shoulder.”

“Hah! Knew it, you’re better off letting me help you.” Hollyberry paused, processing what he had said. “HEY! You don’t want to be next do you?”

Pure Vanilla pushed himself up, a fresh cut across his forehead already leaking jam a little too quickly not to be anything serious. He was about to speak, to argue back, when Dark Cacao interrupted.

“Pure Vanilla Cookie? That’s a pretty bad cut. Just let Hollyberry Cookie take you back.” He shook his head slightly.

“I am sure it is not that serious-“ Pure Vanilla touched a hand to his forehead, feeling the wetness of jam smeared across his forehead, some dripping onto the floor beneath him. His eyes widened. “That is… a lot of jam.”

Hollyberry picked him up, throwing him over her shoulder again, holding him tighter now. “All the more reason to let me help you out. It’ll be quicker like this.”

He closed his eyes for just a moment, shaking his head but accepting his fate, when he almost immediately fell asleep.

“Seriously? It’s like the middle of the day, you can’t just-“ Hollyberry grumbled.

“Forget it, Hollyberry Cookie. Leave him be.” Dark Cacao interrupted. “Let him explain later.”

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla was woken by the sound of raised voices. His dough felt heavy and his head throbbed slightly where he had fallen.

“I don’t trust a thing that woman gave us.” It was Dark Cacao, his voice quieter than Hollyberry’s yet much more serious.

“We can’t just not try. Do you have any better ideas?” Hollyberry responded, almost refusing to believe he was going against something that could help. Dark Cacao was silent.

He sat up, touching the wet bandages wrapped loosely around his head. “Ugh- which one of you did these bandages?”

Hollyberry paused, turning to face him. “Me.”

“You are supposed to place another bandage if someone bleeds through the first one. And it is much too loose.” He shook his head slightly, and reached for his staff that still laid next to him on the bed.

Warm healing ran through his hands, up his arms and to the cut on his head. He pulled the soaked bandages from his head, the cut almost completely closed over now.

“What were you two arguing about earlier?” He asked.

Hollyberry looked at Dark Cacao, then back at him. “We got this ‘spirit knife’ from Canelé Cookie, but Dark Cacao insists it’s fake or something.” She pulled the knife from Dark Cacaos pocket.

“From Canelé Cookie?” He thought.

“We can’t just blindly trust her! Just because she said she wasn’t with the Order doesn’t mean she isn’t.” Dark Cacao shook his head. “If you use it, you’re a fool to trust her.”

“You two, stop! Hollyberry Cookie, give me the knife.” He twisted it between his fingers, debating who to agree with. He had seen Canelé with the Order, he was sure of that, but if she had been being blackmailed again, then maybe she had been honestly trying to help.

As he thought, he heard another voice interrupt. “Whatever you do, do not use that knife. It’s a fake.”

He blinked in slight surprise. “What the-“ He hadn’t realised he had spoken aloud until he noticed Hollyberry looking concerned.

“Sorry, I just… need a minute.” He sat up, left the knife on the bed, and rushed out the door.

The nearest door with a lock on it turned out to be a bathroom, unfortunate but anywhere they couldn’t follow him would have to do. He placed one hand on either side of the sink, staring at his disheveled reflection in the mirror.

He hadn’t realised how bad he looked, the cut on his head still slightly showing, his hair out of place and one of his pupils had darkened. Parts of his shoulders were still crumbling, though it had spread to his legs too, the sides of his neck and even his wrists. He had been feeling constantly overwhelmed for a few days now, yet to adjust to a constant flow of other people’s thoughts in his own mind.

“Why should I listen to you? What could I possibly gain from allowing you to possess me?” He asked himself with frustration, still staring himself in the mirror.

He watched in shock as his other pupil darkened as the Avatar responded, then lightened after it had stopped speaking. “No. I’m keeping your body safe. Do not use that knife. There’s no such thing as a ‘spirit knife’.”

He looked away, avoiding his own gaze. “But how can I even trust what you have to say?”

“Our goals have some things in common. You do not want to die, I assume?” It questioned.

His eyes widened slightly in shock. “What?- No, of course not. But I do not want to be controlled either.”

“A choice which is unfortunately no longer in your hands. You must listen to me.”

“No. You have done nothing but manipulate me all this time, why should I assume you are not doing the same now? Why should I assume you have good intentions?”

The Avatar was silent.

“You have nothing to say because you cannot. You cannot prove you have good intentions because you do not have good intentions!” He pushed down on the rim of the sink in anger, but pushed too hard and watched as the marble cracked and the edge fell to the ground with a loud crash .

He stepped back, hearing a knock on the door. “Are you okay? What’s going on in there?” Hollyberry’s voice.

“I am fine! I just-“ He glanced around quickly. “dropped a soap bottle.”

Hollyberry’s sounded unconvinced. “Soap? It… didn’t sound like it.”

Pure Vanilla composed himself, opened the door and stepped through quickly, blocking the inside from her view. He closed the door behind him before she could look inside.

He tipped his head to the side, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “See? Everything is fine.”

She narrowed her eyes. “If you’re sure…”

She followed him back to where Dark Cacao had been impatiently waiting, eyes flicking from them to his watch. “You were gone for more than ten minutes.”

“Dark Cacao Cookie, he said he’s fine.” Hollyberry had grown irritated with his constant insistence on doubting everything, but Pure Vanilla was just glad she believed him.

He sat back down on the bed. Something felt wrong about everything, but he was planning on stabbing himself in the chest, so that was hardly unexpected. The knife glinted as he held the point just below his souljam, his hands shaking slightly.

He hesitated, remembering what the Avatar had said. If the Avatar hadn’t lied, then… No. The Avatar was just trying to manipulate him.

He pushed the knife deep into his chest, a sudden burst of pain as the Avatar wrenched the knife to the side, attempting to pull the knife out but only pushing the blade deeper and ripping off the handle, shattering the blade still in his chest. Each splinter of metal clawed further into his chest, ripping and tearing and shredding through skin and muscle like paper. He coughed violently, red spots of jam appearing across the bed.

He felt the Avatar’s hand reach into his chest and pull out the shards, one by one, dropping each jam-stained piece onto the bed. “ What were you thinking? I TOLD YOU IT WAS A FAKE!” The Avatar sounded furious, its voice ringing in his ears and his vision clouding with reddish rage.

Hollyberry and Dark Cacao could only stand in frozen shock, watching as jam flowed from his chest. He reached for his staff but his arms were weak and he collapsed before he could grasp it. He was still conscious- barely- but could hardly move.

“Oh my witches-“ Hollyberry reached for his staff, considering trying to use it herself when something pulled it sharply from her hands.

The Avatar held the staff over his body, a glowing light slowly closing over and repairing his chest.

Dark Cacao felt for his pulse. “He’s alive, but I don’t think he’s waking up anytime soon.”

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla opened his eyes, expecting Hollyberry and Dark Cacao to be nervously watching him, but instead found himself back in the Avatar’s realm. It had started feeling familiar, with how often it liked to bring him there.

“Why am I here again?” He asked, feeling like he already knew why, but wanting to dispel the heavy silence.

The walls of the room reddened slightly, like even the walls blamed him. “You keep making mistakes because you won’t trust me. See where that has lead you.”

He touched his chest, the scars across it still stinging, even after they had closed over. “I just cannot justify trusting you after- after everything.” He shook his head, remembering Seaweed’s death.

“Everything I have done has been to keep you safe. You only haven’t realised it yet because your friends are insistent that I am not on your side.” He felt it’s claws press on his shoulders, it’s gaze aimed directly at him.

He pushed its hands away, avoiding its eyes. “You ran across the entire city just to escape my friends, and even if they do not  not believe you are good, they are still just trying to help me.”

“You still don’t understand, do you? Listening to them blindly has lead you to this fate. You have to think for yourself, Pure Vanilla Cookie. At least consider my words.” It moved backwards with a quiet swish of a robe being pulled along.

He paused. Maybe… he had judged the Avatar too harshly. He still knew almost nothing about it.

“…I am sorry.” He found himself apologising, not for anything in particular, a mixture of guilt from dragging his friends into everything, the deaths of the innocent that he couldn’t prevent, and everything else he was still blaming himself for. “I just… cannot seem to rationalise it- why are you helping me?”

The Avatar stayed silent for a few moments, considering it carefully. “Keeping you safe benefits us both. I need to use your body- and you don’t want me to destroy it. We do have goals in common.”

“I know, but something feels… wrong about this. Everything you say contradicts the little I can be sure I know of you.” He shook his head, doubt creeping in.

“Because what you know of me isn’t true-”

“Then tell me the truth! Then tell me something that is true!” He felt sudden anger at the Avatar’s seeming expectation that he should just trust it without a reason.

It placed a claw under his chin. “I already have. I have revealed myself to you before. I’m more than a bodiless voice demanding things of you.”

He paused. “But you-“ The words caught in his throat, a sudden shock of pain shooting through his shoulder, like someone had pulled sharply on it.

“Stop doing that-“

“That’s isn’t me, someone must be shaking you awake.” Pure Vanilla felt his vision blur, the walls seemed to close in and everything went dark.

Chapter Text

“See what you’ve done? He might never wake up because you insisted on trusting someone with a clear affiliation with the Order!” Dark Cacao watched as Hollyberry shook Pure Vanilla’s shoulder, trying to pry him awake.

She grew more nervous with every moment he didn’t wake up. “It was better than doing nothing at all!”

“How can you say that? We should’ve found something more reputable, instead of blindly following Canelé Cookie.” Dark Cacao tried to push Hollyberry out of the way, but she stood steadfast.

Pure Vanilla stirred, pushing her hands off his shoulder. “Hollyberry Cookie- stop shaking me.” He touched a hand to his chest, feeling the rough scars etched into it.

“Pure Vanilla Cookie! You have no idea how worried I was after you passed out and I couldn’t wake you up for hours and I started thinking you wouldn’t wake up at all and Dark Cacao Cookie called me a fool for it and-“ Hollyberry paused, realising she was rambling. “Sorry, I just-“ She pulled him from the bed, her tight grip around his waist and her face pressed into his chest.

“Ack- Hollyberry Cookie, you are pressing on-“ He pulled away, watching her face fall as she realised she was hurting him.

Dark Cacao crossed his arms in a huff. “You have got to stop doing that, you’ll kill someone one day.”

“Ah- yeah.” Hollyberry flushed bright red. “One day.”

“I think it is best to leave this matter until tomorrow. It is already getting late, and…” He paused, the others silently understanding. He still was yet to fully process everything that was going on.

Pure Vanilla turned over for the seventy fifth time that night- he had counted each and every time. He was trying anything to take his mind off of the last few days. He was yet to be successful.

It felt like the thoughts flooding his mind had gotten louder, faster, more intense. He was already feeling the grip on his sanity begin to slip with each passing day. Even when he felt like he could hear his own thoughts, they felt scrambled, only leading him in circles that spiralled into a confused mess of chaos. All he could see when he closed his eyes was Seaweed’s broken body, the life ebbing from her eyes, her last thought wondering what she had done wrong to deserve this fate. He still didn’t know if he should be blaming himself, guilt eating at him for something he had no control over.

But he had had control over it. If he was only stronger he could’ve prevented it completely, given her time to run, anything. But he couldn’t manage it. How… pathetic.

He sat up suddenly, shaking himself off. He was falling into a rabbit hole of self-hatred he wasn’t sure he could leave. There was no way he would be able to get any sleep at this rate. “I will just go for a quick walk…” He thought. “I will feel better after, I am sure.”

The streets were dark, the faint moonlight tinting everything a deep blue colour and leaving dark shadows across the ground.

“I know a place that will calm your thoughts.”

Pure Vanilla nearly jumped in fright. “Hah…” He breathed heavily from shock. “You really should warn me when you do that.”

“Why? You never warned me of anything.”

He paused, realising it was right. “Ah, sorry. What place do you mean?”

“The gardens. I have never seen them myself but they are meant to be beautiful.”

“Sure, I’ll take a look.”

The Avatar was right, it was beautiful. There was a white archway with grapevines blooming in calming shades of green, intertwined across the arch. The pathway was lined either side by yellow flowers, hundreds of individual species laid in neat rows. The fences were tightly wrapped in blueish blooms, their leaves moving slightly in the wind. The outside was lined with evergreen trees.

He was mesmerised until he felt rough fabric being pulled over his head. He tried to escape but felt his body freeze as the Avatar took back control. His attacker pulled him backwards, and he hit the back of his head on the gravel pathway beneath his feet.

Dark Cacao sat at the window, staring out at the flowers outside. He wanted to take a few home for the kingdom, but knew they couldn’t possibly survive the harsh conditions.

He had just been watching absentmindedly when he realised someone had entered the garden. He squinted into the darkness. It was Pure Vanilla Cookie.

“I should go see if he’s alright out there.” He thought, but debated whether Pure Vanilla might want some privacy instead. He must’ve gone out at night for a reason.

He was still arguing with himself when he saw it- a dark silhouette shifting through the trees alongside the garden. They were almost silent, their only noise sounding like just the breeze through the trees.

Dark Cacao had no way to warn him, the window he was looking out of couldn’t open. He could only watch and hope he would notice. But he didn’t notice. He hardly even tried to escape.

“No, I can’t just watch from here. I need to wake Hollyberry Cookie to come help.” He thought.

“Hollyberry Cookie! Wake up quickly, I think Pure Vanilla Cookie is in danger!” He shook her shoulders, her eyes opening slightly then closing again.

“Dark Cacao Cookie, what is going on?” She sat up, frowning. “Did- did you wear your armour to bed.?”

He paused. “Yes? Now isn’t the time-“

“Hah… Golden Cheese Cookie owes me twenty coins for that.” Hollyberry laughed, forgetting what he had just said.

He shook her shoulders again. “Hollyberry Cookie! Did you even listen to what I said? Pure Vanilla Cookie could be in danger, stop focusing on what I’m wearing!”

“Ugh… What? How do you know?” She looked alert at the mention of danger.

“He was outside in the gardens and a shadowed cookie took him. Probably from the Order.”

“You want to go after him?”

“Of course! That’s why I came to wake you up.”

“Then let’s go before we lose him!”

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla sat up, realising the bag was still tied loosely around his head. As he pulled it off, he saw the same intricately made stone patterns lining a circle in the shapes of the Avatar. They must’ve been trying to send him back to the Avatar.

He stood up, but found himself bound to the circle by thick, heavy chains around each wrist he was sure weren’t there before. The chains were a dark black, like they had been crafted from shadows themselves.

He heard the Avatar thinking, not knowing if it knew he had woken up. “They promised they would not damage him, but they chain him up instead? I do not need their support.” It sounded angry.

“They? You mean the Order?” He asked tentatively. It was silent, unsure how much he had heard. “Yes. They… promised to leave you alone. I see now they lied .”

“What? I thought they were meant to be your followers.” Pure Vanilla shook his head slightly in confusion. Were the Avatar’s followers going against it?

“They are. However their methods are… brutal. Give me control, I shall rip these chains apart myself and leave this place.”

He loosened his grip on his mind, and the Avatar started pulling at the chains, until each one snapped, sending metal shards flying.

Suddenly, the wall behind him began to bend inwards, bricks dislodging until a hole was wedged through. Hollyberry’s shield forced its way through the gap, Dark Cacao following behind.

“Oh, thank goodness he’s here. It would be awkward if we had knocked some random wall in.” Hollyberry decided, Dark Cacao looking annoyed. She hadn’t asked to be sure if this was the right wall.

Pure Vanilla turned to face them. “You- you found me?” His eyes widened slightly in shock. ”I don’t even know where I am.”

“Might not have if Hollyberry spent any longer laughing at me.” Dark Cacao grumbled.

“I know how to seal the Avatar of Destiny. But I need you to lend me your power.” He looked at them, dark pupils focussed on her shield.

Hollyberry hesitated. “You don’t mean...?” She placed a careful hand on her souljam.

“Yes. Both of them.” He admitted. “The Avatar of Destiny is strong.”

Dark Cacao considered it carefully, but Hollyberry had already taken hers from her shield. “I trust you.”

Dark Cacao held his sword still, watching Pure Vanilla take the souljam from her hands. “Dark Cacao, please. I don’t know how long I have.” The sadness in his eyes looked real.

Dark Cacao tugged the souljam from his sword, and placed it carefully in Pure Vanilla’s hands.

Chapter Text

“Thank you.” Pure Vanilla smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Dark Cacao felt a doubt begin to grow in the back of his mind.

He stepped back, lowering his head. He started laughing, a quiet laugh that slowly evolved into a satanic cackle that no longer sounded anything like Pure Vanilla Cookie. He laughed for longer than it should’ve been possible without stopping to breathe, an endless stream of eerie laughter echoing off the walls.

“Ha… ahah .. AHAHAHAHAHAHAH! YES! MY SECOND CHANCE HAS ARRIVED AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! YOU SHALL SUFFER WHAT YOUR KIND DESERVE!” His voice sounded disembodied, like it was coming from the room itself, not him.

“What on Earthbread-“ Dark Cacao spoke before clutching his chest. It felt like a thousand knives had been rammed into every corner of his dough, not a single spot on his body not screaming in agony. Pure Vanilla- if it was even still him- had just absorbed his souljam.

Hollyberry bent over him, touching his chest, checking if he was still alive. No pulse. “Dark Cacao Cookie? Dark Cacao Cookie ?!” She was almost in hysteria, tears beginning in her eyes as she realised his fate.

She turned to Pure Vanilla. “Pure Vanilla Cookie, what are you doing?”

He paused, head tilted to the side slightly, eyes wide. “Pure Vanilla Cookie? Pure Vanilla Cookie ?” He almost sounded offended. “This body no longer belongs to him. It belongs to me .”

Her face drained of its colour, shock settling in. “Then- who are you?” It was clear as day now- how hadn’t she realised before?

His face shadowed. “ I am the Avatar of Destiny. Now, I shall use your strength also to power my revival. Watch in silence as I use your power how it should’ve been used all this time .”

“No!” But there was nothing she could do to stop it. He absorbed her souljam, and she felt the same searing pain pierce through her body. She felt icy claws pull her eyes closed.

“ Yessss … now that my revival is inevitable … I shall be merciful. I have you to thank for this, after all. You may watch in self-pity as I transform your dough into something stronger.” The Avatar let go of control, but Pure Vanilla knew instantly something terrible was about to happen. Something he couldn’t  prevent.

Chapter Text

Pure Vanilla looked down at his shaking hands. A dark slime crept from his heart, across his skin, shifting his dough. It crept over his hands, pulling each finger into a thick, sharp claw. It crept over his head, almost blocking his view as it covered his whole head. His hair began to pale, but none of that compared to the feeling of being stretched, stretched more than cookie dough is meant to stretch, but the combined power of the souljams held his body together, but nothing could possibly mask the pain, every crumb in his body in agony.

He fell to his knees, digging into the ground with his hands- no, claws- to stop himself from screaming. He didn’t think it could possibly get any worse until he felt something begin to rip and tear through his back. Two pairs of angelic wings tore through his back, each one stained with jam that quickly vanished from the souljams power. Jam tried to flow but the wounds closed instantly, reopening and closing over and over only amplifying the pain.

He could barely even think, let alone move, but he knew he had to do something. If the Avatar hadn’t lied, and it was truly inevitable, then the only way to prevent everything- to reverse the damage- he knew what he had to do but he didn’t know if he had the will to do it.

“ Look at yourself! Embrace the beauty of power! ” The Avatar’s voice echoed in his mind. He realised he no longer felt the constant pressure of keeping the Avatar out of his mind- because it had become part of his body.

“ Ugh -! No!” He cried out in agony.

“ ACCEPT YOUR FATE. YOUR STRENGTH WILL NO LONGER BE WASTED ON THOSE WHO DO NOT DESERVE IT !” Its voice was so loud in his mind, it felt like it might split his head in half, reverberating and distorting.

“No. I won’t accept the fate you have decided for me. I have looked into my own future, and I am aware of what will happen. If I can’t control my own body, then you can’t either !”

He placed his claws on his souljam. The Avatar, realising what he meant to do, screeched, trying to wrench back control, but his will had strengthened as he accepted his fate. He pushed the claws into his souljam, and then through into his chest, jam flowing out faster than the two remaining souljams could stop it, ripping out his own heart. The Avatar gave a final agonised scream, fading out as a bright light consumed his body, a blinding flash, a crash, and then all was silent.

Chapter Text

Hollyberry pushed herself up. “Witches… I thought we were done for.” She looked around, seeing Pure Vanilla passed out in the middle of the circle.

Her eyes widened. “He- he defeated it?”

She rushed over to him, pulling his limp form into a tight hug. Tears flowed from her eyes, tears of happiness. No matter what had happened before, they had won.

She heard Dark Cacao get up, and he too approached Pure Vanilla. He reacted differently however, his face paling, his hands shaking so much he nearly dropped his sword.

“Hollyberry Cookie… what are you doing.?”

She paused, confused. “What do you mean?”

He placed one hand on her shoulder, and pried Pure Vanilla from her arms with the other. She let go of him, letting him fall into his back, and that was when she noticed what he was so shocked about.

In the middle of his chest, a gaping hole had been clawed out, jam still drying on the edges. Shards of his souljam were imbedded deep in the wound, but it was clear- he was dead.

“No… he can’t have-“ She clutched Pure Vanilla close to her chest, as if she could somehow bring him back if she hugged tight enough. Her entire body shook, sobbing into his limp shoulder. “No- he’s not dead, he’s not dead not dead not dead not dead-“

“Hollyberry Cookie! Now isn’t the time for this, we need to leave-“

“Not until he wakes up!” She looked destroyed, even though only a few minutes ago she had been crying happy tears. “Please… please wake up.”

“Look at me. He’s not waking up. He sacrificed himself so that we could survive. Cookies have died in front of you before, you can’t be like this all of a sudden.” Dark Cacao didn’t show it, but he was tempted to join Hollyberry in hopeful delusions.

“That’s not the same… he was never supposed to die. We were supposed to eventually overcome all of our problems and live happily- I always knew the others would die eventually, I was ready for it even, but not him. Anyone but him .” She shook her head, yet was unable to take her eyes off of Pure Vanilla’s lifeless form.

Dark Cacao leaned in close, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Hollyberry Cookie. We need to leave before-“ He froze, hearing footsteps approaching already.

She became eerily calm. “It’s their fault this happened…” Her face shifted. “they’ll- THEY’LL PAY FOR THIS!! ”

“Hollyberry Cookie, no! Not without your-“

“ I’LL RIP THEM APART WITH MY OWN BARE HANDS!! ” Hollyberry wouldn’t listen to a word he said, too blinded by grief and guilt.

“She’ll be fine-“ He turned to face Pure Vanilla, but realised, not far in front of him, were their souljams. His and Hollyberry’s were intact, but Pure Vanilla’s was ripped in half, shards of it missing.

He picked up his own, and replaced it in his sword. He gathered up the shards and Hollyberry’s, and followed her. They could come back for Pure Vanilla later, but right now he needed to make sure he didn’t lose her too.