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☆Anything And Everything, All Of The Time☆

~Chapter 2.5~

~A Few Days Later. . .~

"'Local Merchant Believed to be Embezzling Crystals From Travelers!'"

"Oh! that does sound intriguing! But how about this. . ."

At a large table, two cookies, still clothed in their night fittings, almost atop each other as they flip through the morning newspaper. Across from them was a long haired, very tired and very cranky, cookie, also dressed in the night gown he slept in. Laying his hand on his chin, he barely tries to stay awake for long, quickly nodding off; till the door's entrance slowly creak open, waking him enough to lift his head, but it wasn't enough to disturb the other two, who had their noses deep within the paper. In came a cookie with loose white hair and deer-like features, including many markings. Despite also being in night clothes, in her hands was a tray, carrying five portable cups of coffee, she proceeds to walk to the table slowly, as to not spill the precious drinks inside. And, one by one, she places each coffee cup on the table beside the cookies, the other two being too invested in the paper to notice. The cookie across from them, however, did; rubbing his eye with one hand, he uses the other to wrap around his white-haired companion as she sat right beside him, placing his coffee down and leaving one in the tray. She, touched by his affection, responded by wrapping her much smaller hands around his arm, giving the cookie beside her a peck on the cheek as he smirked

" 'House Cranberry Refused to Speak After Accused of Sabotaging The Princess Contest!'" "My, my, spill the tea!" The two take the coffee cups beside them, clinking them together while laughing obnoxiously loud. In turn, their white-haired mate across from them rolled her eyes in annoyance, whilst the mate she was snuggled up against was too sleepy to care, why did they have to do this so early in the morning? "Golden Cheese Cookie, Hollyberry Cookie, how many times do I have to tell you two? it's coffee, not tea!" She scolded annoyed, the term flying way over her head, "and please, don't spill it!" The two merely laughed it off as one of the two, with a full face of makeup and bird wings, slumped back in her chair; safe to say, White Lily Cookie didn't understand these newer words. "Oh c'mon White Lily Cookie, it's an expression, they're not meant to be taken seriously, right Hollyberry Cookie?" Golden Cheese Cookie explained, nudging her mate's shoulder, Hollyberry wraps her arm around her playfully as a response. "Why of course! And besides," Hollyberry added, taking her knuckle and rubbing it against Golden Cheese's head, causing a few feathers to fall to the ground, "everyone is using words like that nowadays!" White Lily merely groans in annoyance, she hadn't been herself in the past few years, and now she has a lot of catching up to do. . .

Be warned, this isn't a polyamorous relationship going through its morning routine, these four have a very special history and purpose. They make up a group known as the "Ancient Heroes." In the eyes of many cookies, the five heroes: Hollyberry Cookie, Dark Cacao Cookie, Golden Cheese Cookie, White Lily Cookie, and Pure Vanilla Cookie, are seen as beacons of hope, wheeling not just powerful weapons and magic, but possessing magical gemstones, known as the "souljam." Which, according to records, were able to keep them alive for thousands of years; this was something the Dark Enchantress wanted, leading to the Dark Flour War and many other occasions where the souljam was fought over and nearly destroyed. Safe to say, they didn't want to take any more chances with distributing the souljam's power but changed their minds during the war. Legends of the five heroes are known all across Earthbread, but what shocked everyone was that the five were all in a polyamorous relationship, they weren't afraid of telling anyone, even marrying after the war finally ended. That takes us to this morning, where they all decided to stay at the Vanilla Palace for the week, despite them all having their kingdoms to resign to

Wait a minute. . .

Five heroes yet four are at the table. . .

Where is the fifth one?

Pure Vanilla, their pacifist leader and husband, was sleeping in, he was quite the heavy sleeper. Nothing else had changed, Hollyberry and Golden Cheese still had their noses deep within the pages of the newspaper, as the other two across from them took sips of their coffee. It's only at the middle of the paper, the gossip section, was where things began to stir. "Oh! This one's from the Creme Republic!" Hollyberry Cookie boasted amused, pointing to the article on the page, "is it about that mysterious treasure?" Golden Cheese asked just as curious, both their ears twitched as they put their cups down. "A mysterious treasure?. . " White Lily asked her two lovers across from her, to which they responded by pushing the paper towards them so she and Dark Cacao could read it. Beside the article was a picture of what the artifact looked like, or at least what its doppelgänger looked like. . . "It's says it right here: 'Residents of the Creme Republic Claims Mysterious Artifact Causes Weather Change'" Hollyberry Cookie pointed to the article, Dark Cacao hummed as the both of them read the page

"*Hmm* And is there proof of such happening?" he asked skeptical, Dark Cacao Cookie had always been distrustful toward the Creme Republic, sure his stigma and view on them had changed thanks to the war, but everything that came out of its mouth just felt sketchy to him. "Well, there's no exact evidence but. . ." Golden Cheese Cookie admitted before taking back the newspaper and pulling it towards herself, "that's what cookies speculate anyway, and isn't that more fun?" "More fun? What 'fun' is this?" Dark Cacao asked once. "Well, it's all about throwing your hat into the ring!" Hollyberry Cookie was quick to respond, "Think of the possibilities? Truly anything can happen! Cookies always like a good guessing game, Ha ha!" She boasted, only fueling the flames as Golden Cheese Cookie chimed in. "Exactly! That's why I constructed a few theories of my ow-"

"*Ugh* Silence! . ." Dark Cacao said sternly, slightly banging his fist onto the table just enough for it to make noise but not to spill the drinks on the table. That was the nail in the coffin. . . From their eyes alone, both women could tell that Dark Cacao and White Lily were annoyed. "*Sigh*Oh boy, here we go. . ." Holly sighed as the two straightened up in their chairs, they knew they were up for a scolding. . . "For heroes such as us, we shouldn't create such rumors, especially if it comes from its source. . ." He spoke sternly, which only made Golden Cheese even more defensive, gasping dramatically, "*Gasp* Now who said anything about creating rumors?!" She asked obnoxiously, "these are hypotheses, educated guesses, cookies aren't meant to believe them!" As much as they were used to being scolded like children, Hollyberry decided to stick with Golden Cheese this time, "Well, Golden Cheese Cookie does have a point. . ." Hollyberry added, resting her arm on her mate's shoulder, "Besides, as long as no one else knows of them, they can't be rumors, they're more like exchanges between friends and family."

"Friends, family, or not, it's still creating lies!" White Lily Cookie countered, as someone notorious for spreading the truth, she was the most offended. "As the one who holds the light of Truth, I want to create a world of honesty, a world that only accepts full understanding, and I can't do that with cookies spreading lies amongst each other. . ."

She grabs both her wives' hands across the table, as well leaning against Dark Cacao, looking her lovers dead in the eyes and causing them to sweat. "Golden Cheese Cookie, Hollyberry Cookie, Dark Cacao Cookie, you must promise me that you will not create these rumors, nor will you spread them. . ."

Both Dark Cacao and Hollyberry made it look easy, agreeing without a second thought and knowing how much it meant to her. . .

"Don't you worry about it Lily, I promise!"

"I promise. . ."

Golden Cheese was much harder to crack, though this was good to her, she couldn't bare to do something her spouse was uncomfortable with. . .

"*Sigh* I promise. . ."

This should be it then. . . Problem solved? Not really, there was still one question that was about to linger in the air. Picking up the newspaper, Dark Cacao Cookie began to read the article, slowly recognizing the story. "*Hmm* I think I know of this tale," he said, gaining everyone's attention, "the watchers of the citadel spoke about its sudden appearance. . ." "Well, who isn't?" Hollyberry chimed in. "It only felt like a few days, but everyone in the Hollyberry Kingdom was talking about this thing!" "*Huh* It's also the same in the Golden Cheese Kingdom" Golden Cheese added, "no matter how far you go, everyone's talking about this thing!" The information flipped a switch in White Lily's head, it wasn't the concern for lies, but rather something else, a feeling she could usually never shake. . . "*Hmm* Is anything wrong White Lily Cookie? You seem to be in discomfort" Golden Cheese said, pointing out her sudden strand of thought, which somewhat startled her "Oh!- nothing, it's just. . . I've never seen a single artifact receive that much attention. . ."

In her travels across Earthbread, White Lily had seen many artifacts, some grand, some not so much. When they were entered into museums, they received the respected amount of attention, visitors would "ooh" and "awe," maybe even a news article or two. Never in her years of life, had she heard of an artifact so talked about and so wide-spread. Just before she could question this further, the group was alerted by the sudden sound of footsteps and a cane repeatedly hitting the ground. "Haha, look who's finally decided to wake up!" Dark Cacao laughed, pleased which corresponded to everyone else, shocking considering he was more of the "serious" type. With how happy the four were, it was not surprising that Pure Vanilla Cookie finally awoken from his slumbers

There was always something angelic about their husband, from the tiny freckles on his face that looked like the inside of natural vanilla bean, to the way he'd giggle when he fed the birds, and when he'd smile, you could clearly see his awkwardly-placed tooth gap, which made him all the cuter. But it wasn't just his physical appearance, Pure Vanilla Cookie had a heart of gold, never shying away to help cookies in need, and willing to do anything to keep others safe. . . Anything. . .

Once entering the room, the other Ancient Heroes were ready to greet him, preparing his seat at the head of the table, as well as his cup of coffee, but unaware of his physical state. "*Yawn* Good morning, everyone. . ." "Morning! You big sleep heaAH!!-" Normally, when he came into a room, an array of peace would come along with him, but not this time. Pure Vanilla's entrance was instead meant with shock and concern by his four lovers. The bags under his eyes, messy hair, and slight dribble from his mouth made him look almost undead, like he hadn't slept that night. "*Yawn* I'm sorry my dears. . . I overslept" He yawned as he rubbed his eyes, trying his best to react to the fear despite being too tired to do so. "Overslept?! IT LOOKS LIKE YOU SLEPT IN A TRASH BIN!!" "Golden!" "Wha-OW! AREN'T I RIGHT?!?!" Golden Cheese defended herself after Hollyberry rightfully nudged her shoulder. Quicker than anyone could say anything else, White Lily got up from her chair and paced to Pure Vanilla Cookie, proceeding to guide him to his chair as both Dark Cacao and Golden Cheese slid next to the seat. "*Ooh* My head. . ." Pure Vanilla said exhausted and excruciated, placing a hand on his head

"Please. . ." Dark Cacao said to him, just as worried as everyone else, "come and sit. . ." At that point, Hollyberry had already hopped out of her chair to aid Pure Vanilla alongside White Lily, all four heroes forming a sort of cautious huddle around their husband, trying to check his health, Pure Vanilla feeling more and more overwhelmed in the process. "*Hmm* You seem to be sick, but I feel no stages of fever" White Lily said, placing a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. "If not in a fever, then likely a flu. . ." "He's sick?! S-Should I get him a hot towel, some tea or-" "Pure Vanilla Cookie- is there anything you need, ANYTHING AT ALL?!?!" Hollyberry, lower your voice! You're only irritating them more. . ." "Oh- sorry!" With how frantic they were, another cookie would be overwhelmed, but Pure Vanilla Cookie was completely used to it. As the healer of the group, becoming sick or unwell was just as rare as a four-leafed clover, and just as panicked over. . .

Yet, to make matters worse, or sadder, is that a lot of the time Pure Vanilla wouldn't even be ill, his body was just going through frequent changes, so there was little telling whether he was actually sick, or if it was something else. . . Despite that, Pure Vanilla was thankful that his lovers cared about him, but at times like these, it can feel a little. . . suffocating, try as he might to break free from their love. Looking down at the table, he notices the newspaper, still flipped to the story of the artifact, to which he immediately recognizes it, even in his rather messed up state. "Oh, I think I heard of that-" Pure Vanilla said before being cut off, attempting to pull the paper toward him before having his hand pulled by one of his wives. "Not so fast mister! Don't think you can get out of this so easy!" Hollyberry stopped him, thinking it was his way of changing the subject, "why didn't you tell us you were sick?!" She, like everyone else, demanded some answers, and he was ever so hesitant to give it to them, not like he was afraid on telling the truth, it's that he feared that if he tells them what was happening, it would only make things worse

"*Ahem* Well Hollyberry Cookie, you see-" "No more talking-" White Lily interrupts him as she forces Pure Vanilla to get up, holding his shoulders once more. "You're obviously sick and need proper tending to. You're going back to bed, immediately!" White Lily said demandingly, looking toward Hollyberry, "Hollyberry Cookie, help me get Pure Vanilla Cookie back to his room!" "Righto!"

By her wife's command, she takes to Pure Vanilla's left side, taking his arm and drapes it over her own shoulder, then they both proceed to guide him out of the room, much to his dismay. "Everyone, please! I'm not!-" "Dark Cacao Cookie, Golden Cheese Cookie, you two prepare him some tea and a warm bath for him" "Of course!" "At your service!" They wouldn't even let him get a word in. Just when they were about to leave the room, someone was already there to stop them, it was one of the villagers of the Pure Vanilla Village, which they ended up bumping into not even an inch out the door. Unannounced to them, they were carrying important news. . . "Pure Vanilla Cookie! I have something to te-" The young villager yelled before being halted by the image of the healer with his head down, two of his wives carrying him by the shoulders. They all deliver glances at each other, creating an awkward silence across the hallway before the villager finally spoke. "*Uhh* What's wrong with Pure Vanilla Cookie?" They asked, somewhat worried for their ruler, which Hollyberry became frantic for an excuse. "Oh!- *Uh* Ha ha! No need to worry kid!" She said, as to not scare them, "our Pure Vanilla Cookie here just needs some rest is all!" White Lily rolled her eyes at her wife's clear fabrication of the truth

"Oh no!- *Uh* This is bad, cause Gingerbrave wanted to see him, and-"

At that very moment, Pure Vanilla Cookie had never woken up so fast before in his life, his head quickly rising, startling everyone around him. Gingerbrave had made friends with hundreds, if not thousands of cookies throughout Earthbread, the cookies he was most fond of were the Ancient Heroes. He was close with each and every one of them, though him and Pure Vanilla were the closest. Both Gingerbrave and Custard Cookie the III, an early descendant of House Custard, had became like sons to him; he even allowed the two of them to visit the palace as much as they pleased. Ever since the war ended, Pure Vanilla had never seen the young lad in what felt like years, he's thankful for pretty much everything the boy did and is willing to do anything to repay him

"Gingerbrave!? Here?! Oh, what a surprise!!" He said happily, sliding away from the restrain of his wives, completely ignoring his current state which bewildered them. "Please, you must take me to him!" He said to the villager, but they slowly backed away, they didn't want his condition to get worse. "*Uh* I don't think that's a good idea, Pure Vanilla Cookie, you don't look too good. . . " "Exactly!" "Ah!-" White Lily pulled him back by his shoulders, like an angry mother. "Pure Vanilla Cookie, you are clearly unwell and need rest! Please, you need our help!" She scolded, and Hollyberry joined in. "Yes! And besides, Gingerbrave is a good boy, surely he’ll understand,” she said reassuringly, but Pure Vanilla didn’t seem to change, he had to see Gingerbrave, it’d be wrong to leave him! Noticing her husband so distressed, she sighed, she couldn’t help but cave in a bit. “*Sigh* Tell you what. . .” Hollyberry admitted, petting him on the head, “how about I go and talk to Gingerbrave huh? Been awhile since we last spoke, it’d be nice to chat!” “*Hmm* That does sound like a good idea. . .” White Lily chimed in and heard her plan. “Yet, I’ve haven’t seen Gingerbrave in a long time either. . . And I still have to thank him. . .” It was clear that White Lily Cookie, like millions of other cookies, wanted to thank the brave lad and his friends, each of them having some sort of burden, but what hers exactly was. . . she preferred to keep it on the low

It takes a long time for her to decide however, choosing the less selfish option. “Alright, Hollyberry Cookie, you go talk to Gingerbrave, I take Pure Vanilla Cookie to his room” “Sounds like a plan!” “No!-” As expected, Pure Vanilla Cookie was not happy with the idea. Breaking from his wife’s restraints once more, he makes one final attempt to convince the two of them. "White Lily Cookie, Hollyberry Cookie, please!- me and Gingerbrave had gotten so close since the war! We have a bond like no other, you must let me see him!" He practically begged. By how distress he was getting, Hollyberry already wanted to cave in, but also wanted her wife's approval. She knew just how close the two were, especially during the war with Dark Enchantress, she couldn't argue with that. . .

So, with a tired sigh. "*Sigh* Alright. . . I suppose you can see Gingerbrave for a bit. . ." She permitted, Pure Vanilla becoming overjoyed and embracing his two lovers in a hug. "Oh! Thank you! Thank you!" He thanked them as he gave them both plenty of smooches on the cheeks, the present villager looking away as to not make things any more awkward. "Ok-ok! Go and see your kid, you big lovebug!" Hollyberry said smugly, finally pulling their husband off them, then he proceeds to turn to the villager, who was ready to guide their ruler to the brave lad. "Gingerbrave is waiting at the entrance" "I won't be long you two!"

Pure Vanilla waves his wives goodbye, White Lily and Hollyberry giving each other concern looks once he was out of view. "Should we talk to Pure Vanilla Cookie about this little 'obsession' of his?" Hollyberry asked whispering, in case he heard. "Oh definitely-" White Lily whispers back. . .

~At The Entrance Of The Pure Vanilla Palace~

Gingerbrave was, as promised, waiting rather patiently at the gates for his parental figure. Admittedly enough, once him and his friends entered the kingdom, the villagers swarmed them like flies, but not just because of their unexpected visit. . . On his back, he was carrying Strawberry Cookie's backpack. He tried to make the excuse of him carrying it for a friend, and most cookies left it at that, just a task he's doing for a friend. . . but others weren't too convinced. . .

Once Gingerbrave started heading to the palace, the villagers practically bombarded him with questions about the backpack, even asking to what was inside, all of which he avoided throughout his journey

~Meanwhile~

As with Pure Vanilla, he couldn't hold his excitement, doing a little twirl as he made his way to the door. He hasn't been this excited since the starting of the council. . . 'What should I say? What news will Gingerbrave bring from his travels?' The questions getting to much for him. Quickly pulling himself back into reality, he places a hand on the giant door, and taking a breath to calm himself, Pure Vanilla Cookie finally opened it. "Pure Vanilla Cookie! It's so great to see you again!" Gingerbrave said cheerfully, walking forward a bit. It almost felt like he was dreaming, the brave lad was back at the Pure Vanilla Palace, the healer fully opens the castle doors, and attempts to walk over to him as calmly as possible, unaware of what was in front of them. "Gingerbrave! It's great to see- *AH!*" In all the excitement, Pure Vanilla failed to notice the small step on the edge of the entrance, causing them to trip forward and almost land on their face

Of course, Gingerbrave instantly rushed to their aid making the healer all the more embarrassed; thank goodness they didn't land face first. . ."Pure Vanilla Cookie! Are you alright?!" He asked worried, crouching to help, but the healer merely brushed him off not wanting to trouble him nor adding to their own humiliation. "No-no! It's quite alright! Thank you Gingerbrave-" They reassuringly said, giving a nervous laugh. With their head still facing the ground, they finally see each other's faces. "*Woah!* You. . ." Gingerbrave yelped before trailing off, "-you don't look that great. . .*hehe*" he let out a nervous laugh. Admittingly enough, both were equally tooken back by the others' half dead appearance, their eye bags and messy hair shocked the both of them, guess their more tired forms were things they weren't used to, considering they always looked so well-rested when they'd meet in the past

"*Heh* Guess that makes the two of us. . ." Pure Vanilla said with a slight laugh, pointing out the brave's appearance. They both laughed a bit as Gingerbrave helped the healer up, sparing them both the embarrassment, like father like son as some say. . . "Glad to see you're doing well Pure Vanilla Cookie!" The brave lad remarked happily, making the healer laugh. It's obvious that Gingerbrave cared for Pure Vanilla as much as they did for him, happy and living the moment, almost forgetting the task at hand. "Now, why is it you came all this way?" Pure Vanilla asked, feeling just a tiny bit embarrassed cause a part of them wanted to save it for when they, you know, actually gotten inside, but they were too curious not to. Gingerbrave's face almost drops upon the healer's words as he's swiftly reminded of why he's there, it felt not like a friendly reminder, but more of a slap to the face. He knew telling them about what he did would absolutely destroy them, but this was Pure Vanilla Cookie he was talking to, his idol and father-figure, surely he'd understand. . . Right? "Oh yeah. . . that. . ." He said almost unsure. He then takes a brief moment to check their surroundings, making sure no one was around, coast seemed clear enough. "Can we. . . go inside first?" Gingerbrave asked, trying not to sound sheepish and make the healer suspicious. With how he spoke, he was sure that they would catch on, but Pure Vanilla, surprisingly enough, didn't blink an eye

They trusted Gingerbrave far too much to sense anything wrong. It also wasn't common for Gingerbrave to be nervous while asking the healer questions, often finding it quite humiliating to ask even just the simplest things, only to be reassured that it was ok to ask about what he didn't know. . ."Oh! Why of course!" They responded completely oblivious to what he had to offer, proceeding to move his side and landing a hand on his shoulder, "please, come inside!" They said, directing the brave lad to the castle's doors, proceeding to open them for him, allowing him to enter first, shutting the doors once they both were inside

Vases on pedestals, holding each a set of orchids, waffle cone patterned carpets, with morning light streaming through big windows, things were just like how he left it. Upon walking a bit through the halls alongside his father figure, Gingerbrave's "nose" was filled with calming, yet, inviting scent of, well, vanilla. He eased a bit in the familiarity of the environment, and although it didn't help a lot, it did give Gingerbrave the smallest amount of hope for the future, maybe things can work out. . . "This place hasn't changed a bit, hasn't it?" Gingerbrave asked as a joke, to which the healer responded with laughter. "Yes, all cozy and peaceful, same as it ever was!" They announced with joy, "Oh, it reminds me of the first days of the council, walking through these halls with the others. . ." Pure Vanilla then happily sighed, clearly the happy memories were getting to them, proceeding to turn to one of the windows. Earthbread came along way since the war, despite the short amount of time that passed, finally able to recover after a massive beat down from Dark Enchantress, Pure Vanilla couldn't help but reminisce in that

"Remember the end of the war Gingerbrave?" They asked the brave lad, who turned in response, "I remember it as if it were yesterday! Standing on that stage with the others, all the happy and cheering cookies, even your speech, every small detail!" They went on as they turned to one of the windows, peering down at the Pure Vanilla village, now doubled in size and just as peaceful as ever. "To think this wouldn't have been possible if I had given up. . ." They somewhat vented but continued on their positive speech, "but look at where we are now! We defeated Dark Enchantress Cookie, restored Crispia to its former glory, we. . . did it. . ." In the end of his monologue, the emotional build up sounded almost. . . sad, as if in longing, yet for most part, they said all the things with good intention, which made Gingerbrave feel all the worse of what he was about to do. . .

By that point, Gingerbrave had already made his way to the healer, patting their shoulder as an attempt to comfort them, adding his news into the mix would surely sour the mood. Getting nervous all over again, he begins to somewhat regret his decision, thinking back to only a few days ago in the museum with his friends. To think a relaxing day out would end up to this. . .

How did things escalate so quickly. . ?

All those pent-up fears he was forced to swallow up, with such powerful object at hand, who knew what was at steak. . . So taking a small breath, he began to speak. . . No turning back now. . .

"Actually, Pure Vanilla Cookie, can I tell you something?" He asked, which the healer turned to him, "it's important. . ."

Pure Vanilla merely shown reassurance with how nervous he looked. "Yes, of course Gingerbrave!" they answered, "you know you can tell me anything that bothers you." The two step away from the window, before proceeding to face each other. Gingerbrave became more afraid, now pulling at the straps of his friend's backpack, even starting to sweat a bit. . . This was when the healer started to worry, whatever this was must have been eating at him. "Please don't strain yourself!" Pure Vanilla consoled, placing a hand on his shoulder once more, "I've already told you that there's nothing to worry about, so be honest! Surely, I'll understand!" "And you promise you won't get mad. . ?" The healer nodded his head, "yes Gingerbrave, I promise. . ." He was almost tooken aback, they didn't know it, but after those few days, those were the exact words he needed to hear. It gave him just enough courage to finally speak out. . . here goes nothing. . .

"*Uh* Well Pure Vanilla Cookie, you see-" Gingerbrave trailed off, pulling at the straps of his friend's backpack, whilst sweat was forming on his face, "I. . . wanted to show you this. . ." As the healer patiently waited, he'd slowly took the backpack off and undid the zipper, dropping the backpack, and at last pulled out the coveted item inside, the treasure that started this whole arrangement to begin with. . . The Time Capsule

The healer was surprised, and just as confused as before, was this. . ?

"Oh my, Gingerbrave. . . This looks exactly like. . ." "The artifact in the Creme Republic. . ?" He blurts out, cutting off the healer, it wouldn't be surprising that Pure Vanilla already heard it, they then proceeded to reach out to touch the object, only for Gingerbrave to nearly pull it away in fear, afraid it may affect them as well. But realizing pulling it back might not be the best idea made him regret his mistake, he proceeded to pull it back out, to let the healer see it at least. Pure Vanilla was shocked, why did Gingerbrave have an object so resemblant of the artifact? and why was he being so protected of it. . ?

Finding the situation rather absurd, silly and confusing. . . It was that moment when Pure Vanilla began to pick up that something wasn't right, noticing just how much the brave lad was sweating and trying to keep a straight face. "Gingerbrave. . .If you don't mind asking. . ." Pure Vanilla inquired, trailing off, "whe-why do you have something like this?" They folded their hands together in a sort of dossal manner, despite acquiring some explanation, they didn't want to make the "brave" lad anymore uncomfortable then he already was. Besides, whatever that was beating him up, couldn't be that bad. . . couldn't it?

Taking one final sigh, he tells Pure Vanilla the truth, the whole truth; that the artifact was the real deal, and that it "was, maybe, possibly, curse. . ?"

"Wh-What?!" Pure Vanilla gasped in utter disbelief, believing him word for word, "wh-why do *you* have it?"

"Oh boy, where do I begin. . ?!"

He proceeds to explain everything to the healer, how him and his friends robbed Eclair Cookie's Museum, how Espresso stole it from them, including what sort of powers the object held, not leaving out a single detail. For the healer, this was obviously an emotional roller-coaster. At first, it drove them into denial, they couldn't believe Gingerbrave, their Gingerbrave, would do something like that! Yet their views are quickly shifted us the brave lad continued his story. Stealing the artifact from Eclair, bringing it to the Creme Republic, it was all in a good cause, Pure Vanilla couldn't help but think of that. Mainly, how he handled each situation was the problem, his "solutions" were completely barbaric and uncivil, yet as how he put it "W-We didn't know what else to do!!" Gingerbrave shamefully admitted, his words getting shakier the guiltier he got; he looked to the carpeted floors in shame, tears rolling down his cheeks

All the healer could do was look down at the lad like a disappointed, yet very concerned parent. Pure Vanilla rummaged through their head for a proper answer as they took a deep, long, heavy inhale through their nose, their fingers just placed below it in a sort of judgmental gesture. It wasn't long for the lad to finish his story, his cheeks still caked with tears. He gulped, waiting intently for what the healer had to say, they saw just how sad and overwhelmingly guilty he was by only peering down. "Gingerbrave. . ." Pure Vanilla said, sorriness in their voice, attempting still to process every word he said; only making the lad even more nervous on waiting for their response. Oh how Pure Vanilla hated being in this position, seeing him so distressed. . . It was far too familiar to them, remembering when they first woke from their eternal slumber, when "they" spoke to them. . . Not wanting to make the same mistakes again, they tried to put him down as lightly as possible, but still informing him on what he did

"Gingerbrave, how you handled the situation was completely irresponsible and chaotic, several cookies could've caught you or worse. . !"

They softly scolded with honesty. Pure Vanilla could already see the despair in his eyes, he was getting guiltier by the second; bring it back, bring it back. . ! There was all but one thing that could save him now; the one thing him & his friends did right, within the utter mess they've gotten themselves into. . . "But. . ." Pure Vanilla nearly trailed off, getting Gingerbrave's attention back instantly, "it's a good thing you took it to us. . ." Truth felt like dominoes as Gingerbrave was left speechless, he couldn't believe he was being let off so easily, thinking surely he'd be up for more than a scolding after coming clean

"Yo-You're not mad?!" Gingerbrave blurted out, still surprised, the healer signed, at that point they didn't know what to feel. . .

"No, Gingerbrave, I'm not mad, it's just- *sigh* surely there could've been another way. . !" The brave lab understood what the healer was saying, a million ways it could've been handle and that was what they settled with?! On the other hand, every other option would've led to the same fate. Like Wizard Cookie said, "desperate times call for desperate solutions. . !"

"Yeah. . . I guess you're right. . ." He admitted to, laughing to himself, as if he were a joke. Gingerbrave, now having finally confessed his sins, hands the object to Pure Vanilla Cookie, which they gladly accepted. They merely had one look at it, it appeared to be a simple snowglobe. . .

"This thing, it. . . does things to a cookie!" Gingerbrave continued on to explain, ". . . we don't know how it works, but anyone who talks about it or gets exposed to it for too long gets obsessed with it!" As if on cue, the treasure began to glow its signature yellow, shocking both of them, Gingerbrave knew that sickly yellow hue almost too well. . . Then it proceeded to play its tune, like a siren's cry. "I don't understand, why would anyone be fixated with something like this?!" Pure Vanilla questioned, very concerned. "That's. . . something we're also trying to figure out. . ." he admitted almost shamefully. A possibly powerful object, already wanted and heard of by so many cookies, and had the possibility of causing havoc, oh yeah this was starting to sound familiar. . . and they were horrified to realize that. "An object like this could be extremely dangerous to Crispia, think of the damage it could cause, the cookies that could be harmed. . ." The brave lad implored, listing horrible thought after horrible thought, getting more distressed by the second, before stumbling onto a terrifying image. . . "*AH!* What if this starts another war?!" In his panicked state, Pure Vanilla quickly placed a hand on his shoulder as an attempt to calm him down, they too knew of possibility as well. "It is alright Gingerbrave, take a few deep breathes. . ." They instructed reassuringly, putting on a brave face for the lad, where in reality, they were just scared as he was, "firstly, we must calm down and figure out what to next. . ."

They said as Gingerbrave counted his breaths, which slowed down as he gained composure. They quickly scattered through their brain for any possible solution, Earthbread had already suffered enough, there had to be a method to this madness. . ! "Wait, that's it!" They said, gaining the brave lad's attention once more, "Gingerbrave, during the events of the Dark Flour War, Dark Enchantress Cookie ranged direct attacks onto the Pure Vanilla Kingdom, at the time, me & the other heroes had no telling of what exactly she wanted, nor why she started her rain of chaos, which gave us a mighty weakness and could've played into our defeat. . ." "But now, that can change, think about it, we have the very object that could start massacres. . !" Putting two and two together, Gingerbrave picked what the healer was leaving on the ground, a little bread crumb trail to a much bigger plan. . . "So we're able to stop a war from happening!" He realized surprised and rejoiced, his fears and worries were long subsided, instead left in hope and newly found determination

For once, just for once, the odds were in their favor! Pure Vanilla has dealt with so many difficulties with massive dangers such as this, from preparing for battle to keeping innocent cookies safe, not only was it exhausting, but it was also despair inducing; especially when it becomes a continuous loop, spiraling someone into regret and shame, a feeling which the healer was far too familiar with. But now, they could stop threats as big as a war in its tracks, they've never had a opportunity like it before, and they couldn't let it pass! They set their decision stone, both would return to their respected groups, then they'll conjure a plan. What was stopping them from thinking of something right then and there? Not just to include their respected groups, and admittingly stop a major issue weighting them down. . . getting a full eight hours of sleep. . .

"You think we'll be able to pull this off. . ?"

"Gingerbrave, there is need to worry, we've dealt with life-changing threat before. . . A war twice was for too many times to count. . . We can't let it happen again. . " Pure Vanilla ensured as the brave lad began to leave, giving him one last stark of hop before he left, the treasure now within the backpack but still in the healer's hands. With a little twinkle in his eyes, Gingerbrave smiles warmly at one of the cookies he's grown so close to. "Thanks again Pure Vanilla Cookie, I knew I could count on you!" He said before finally taking his leave, shutting the grand doors behind him. Once again, the brave lad had returned the favor, exchanging the kind words he received before, making the healer. Although, he couldn't help thinking he'd forgotten something, probably not important. . .

The love and trust between Gingerbrave and Pure Vanilla Cookie was something many cookies don't understand, both are willing extreme lengths for one and other, including their loved ones. But just how far are they willing to go. . ?

#cookie run kingdom #cookie run #cookie run kingdom au #cookie run au #gingerbrave #pure vanilla cookie #dark cacao cookie #hollyberry cookie #golden cheese cookie #white lily cookie #its almost 1am #thank lord I was able to finish this😤💖🙏🏽

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