Chapter Text
What waits for him at the top of the summit is not a Beast, but another cookie entirely. Collapsing against the stairs, Dark Cacao stares at the stranger, who lounges back against the air, one leg swung over the other with a book in one hand.
The cookie does not acknowledge him, simply turning a page in the book. He inhales, trying to regulate his breath after the awful climb and the even more terrible day he has been having. Leaning against the stairwell, he finally musters the strength to speak, yet any word he has is immediately interrupted by the book sharply closing and the stranger landing on his feet.
“Finally! What took you so long?” The cookie sighs in exasperation as if he has any right to feel that way, staring down at Dark Cacao with something akin to disappointment.
His brow twitches and he tries to not feel offended, “...excuse me?”
This new cookie is utterly the opposite of the gardener who offered him the peach bao, from the colour scheme down to attitude. The stranger sighs rather dramatically, tossing his book up in the air. Dark Cacao blankly stares as the book vanishes and he is pulled up to his feet with surprising strength.
“You still feeling things, bud? Annoyance, anger, utter exhaustion?” His hand is tugged forward and he follows automatically, though his confusion must have shown in his face because the stranger tsks,
“Yeah, good. Keep feeling that shit. Flour may be a Healer but she can still fuck you up pretty good.” He says chattily, dragging Dark Cacao further up the small hill that is the summit where there is a single peach tree. It resembles those in Peach Blossom Cookie's garden.
Next to the peach tree lies a small table with five seats. An opening to a cave lies ahead, but he only catches a brief glimpse of it before he is pushed to sit on one chair, the other cookie settling down next to him.
“So, you got a boss fight coming in a bit so I'm gonna make this really quick.”
“....what.” Dark Cacao says flatly.
“...okay your grumpiness, chill. I'm here to help.” The stranger raises both hands in surrender and with a flick of his wrist, the table fills itself with food. He gestures at the sweets,
“Help yourself. You'll need it.”
“Why should I trust someone in the domain of a Beast?” He glares, keeping his hands to himself.
“You didn't refuse that peach bao and I have no reason to poison you.”
“Who are you.”
“Knowledge. I dunno if you got the story about us, but I was the Pure Vanilla to your uh.. friend group? To my friend group, I mean. Flour is your counterpart and vanilly is mine.”
“...what.”
That really does not explain anything. Or, perhaps it does and Dark Cacao simply does not have enough energy to process or give a shit about it. In his defense, it has been quite the day and he is exhausted out of his mind.
“Anyway, eat up.” As if proving him right, the stranger takes a jelly and eats it right in front of him.
“I don't trust you.” He states and does not take any of the food.
The other cookie sighs and points at the peach tree. His eyes follow automatically.
“See that? Watch.” Another flick of the wrist and a staff is summoned to the Cookie's hands, then the tree bursts into flames and evaporates itself out of existence, not leaving a single speck of dust.
Dark Cacao does not gape at the new mini crater, it is unbecoming of a cookie of his status.
“Yeah, If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already. So eat. We don't have much time.” He taps on the table rather impatiently, taking another jelly.
His brain short-circuits and he decides that he might as well do this, taking a confection from the table and eating it. Before long, he starts stuffing his mouth, forgetting just how hungry he was.
The one who calls himself Knowledge snickers, leaning back against the air the way he did just moments prior. Dark Cacao spends a few minutes eating before gathering himself enough to remember his manners,
“I… you said that you are Knowledge.” He states slowly, carefully judging the stranger’s reaction.
The other cookie raises a brow, adjusting his monocle as he meets his gaze. He leans forward, resting his chin against one palm with his elbows propped up. The answer comes casual as ever,
“I am the Fount of Knowledge, yes. Must I repeat that one more time for you to get it?” He huffs.
Dark Cacao’s brow twitches, “You aren't exactly explaining much by saying that.” He counters, trying to squash his own annoyance.
“You are Resolution. I am Knowledge. It's as simple as that.”
“Aren't—you don't…” He furrows his brows.
There is not much known about the Beasts, and neither Peach Blossom Cookie nor the Dumpling Immortals had been forthcoming about anything of Mystic Flour Cookie throughout this entire journey. He himself doesn't even know the Beasts existed before setting foot on this forsaken continent.
But, Knowledge does not seem like a very un-virtuous trait. He takes in the sight of the other cookie again, and the stranger does seem very scholarly. With the gem blatantly attached to the front of his robes, it's clear that he, at the very least, isn't lying.
The Soul Jam of Knowledge is a match for Pure Vanilla's, both in luster and colour. A stark difference compared to Mystic Flour Cookie’s entirely opposite colour scheme to his.
“I’m the exception, yeah. All my friends went cray-cray, you see. It's really fucked, they did a lot of atrocities, got sealed in a tree, and was all but forgotten by the world until they became a problem again very recently.”
“...let's say I understood all of that.” Dark Cacao says, his voice sounding strained even to himself. He continues eating, because if that line about a ‘boss fight’ was true at all, he is going to need the energy.
“All you need to Know is that I'm here to help you not die.” Knowledge snaps his fingers and the empty plates on their table vanishes spontaneously, leaving the few plates that he is still eating his way through.
It's—very convenient for someone to have showed up right at the summit, and he certainly isn't going to deny any help if it came genuinely. Though, it is still rather suspicious.
“...I.. very well.” He sighs,
“Where do we start?” He means it as a joke of sorts, but judging by how the other cookie grins widely at him, it might not have been taken that way.
“I need you to feel as much as possible.” His new acquaintance beams.
“I—but… may I ask why, exactly..?” Dark Cacao sputters.
“Best way to combat Apathy, chocolate boy, get with the program.” Knowledge claps his hands and if it isn't for the logical reasoning and the earlier casual display of power, he would have been tempted to hit the other cookie for that infernal nickname.
“...I see.”
“Yeah so get the fuck up and stop crying about your dead friends before more of them die.”
“....” Dark Cacao inhales.
The maybe-Beast rises to his feet, standing on top of the chair across from him. He extends both arms to the sides in a grand gesture, smiling down at him like a cruel judge. The Pagoda serving as a backdrop adds to the dramatic effect,
“Or do you wanna give in to nothingness, huh? Revel in the pointlessness of everything like the bitch inside there is doing. Forget how hard you worked to build the shit you have right now just to fuck off and die because one bitch says you should return to Flour. You want that?” Knowledge taunts, and while his language should be too juvenile to be taken seriously, he finds it annoying enough to be effective.
“I—why are you doing this.” Dark Cacao grits his teeth.
“Because I'm personally invested in not letting her win. You have Resolution, don't you? You climbed all the way up here to face off against Apathy even after you've lost everything. Remember that, chocoboy. Remember what you came here for—who you came here for.” The speech, while touching, has a diminished effect from the stupid nickname and the general way Knowledge carries himself.
Even with the Soul Jam right there and the clearly powerful magic, he refuses to believe that the cookie who stands in front of him is a Virtue. Surely they have more dignity than this, right?
“...please stop calling me that.” Dark Cacao’s shoulders slump.
Knowledge harrumphs, tapping his head with the staff. Too exhausted, it does not register as a threat to his senses, so he lets it hit him over the head as the maybe-Virtue continues, “Your Resolution is wavering, young one.” he declares dramatically and proves that he could very well sound dignified. Small mercies.
“I—no, it is not.” He says, but his own voice wavers. His sword feels heavier in his hands, even more so than how it did in his climb to the summit of this Witch-forsaken mountain.
“You can't lie to me, silly. I'm Knowledge. Look at your sword. Your Soul Jam. Your belief is wavering before you even realise that it is.” He sighs.
“I… no, I.. I have climbed all the way up here with my own power. I.. I must persevere. I must take my vengeance.” Dark Cacao swallows, tasting fear in spite of his own wishes.
“Can you? Are you strong enough for that? Do you believe yourself capable of withstanding the power of Apathy?” Knowledge pushes, taunting, mocking.
His brow twitches. That of all things triggers something within him and he retorts, his own voice raising in volume alongside his anger, “Yes. I—I refuse to let this be all for nothing. I—I have dallied long enough. Let me through and I shall make that Mystic Flour Cookie pay for what she did—!” He rises to his feet.
“Hm.. still wavering, but that's more like it. Come on, then.” Stepping over the table, Knowledge once again pulls him to his feet and unceremoniously drags him forward.
They stand in front of the small entrance to a cavern, dimly lit. Feeling a hint of fear, Dark Cacao steels himself for what is about to come.
Unlike him, his companion simply grins, “Oh, it's gonna be fun.”
🌿
Dark Cacao is very much regretting the past few hours.
He sits on the floor and tries to gather the strength to move, all while the dragons swirl above them, making a mess out of the entire pagoda. Knowledge, who he still does not know the name of, is right in the front and screaming at Mystic Flour Cookie.
“Well you know what I think about your new philosophy? Stupid. Idiotic. It’s fucking brainless!—” The juvenile insults make for a great, somewhat humorous contrast to the battle between the two Beasts. If Knowledge counts as one anyway.
A projectile comes flying at him and he braces for a hit, half-heartedly holding his sword up in an attempt to block—it does not hit him, bouncing off an invisible shield as Knowledge lands on his two feet in front of him.
The mage turns back and barks at him, “The fuck are you doing just laying there?!? This is your bossfight, you gnat! How are you going to get any character development now?!”
Dark Cacao makes an unintelligible noise as he drags himself up to his feet, “I—you are not taking this very seriously.”
“You think?! You Know her argument is fucking awful. Why are you giving in to it? Come on, chocoboy. Fucking move—oh holy shit—” Knowledge spins his staff in front of him, blocking a wave of flour from hitting them. He counters the attack with a bright beam of Light, blasting his way through the summoned spiders.
“I—the dragons.” Dark Cacao says weakly, jumping into the fray to deflect the stray projectiles Knowledge cannot block. He charges forward, forcing himself to move through the exhaustion.
Mystic Flour Cookie is silent, but her magic swirls around the air in clear anger. Be it by luck or something else, she is much more keen on targeting her former colleague than him. It makes it easier to cut down her minions and carve the path forward.
“Didn't you defeat them once already? Fucking kick their asses and get them to start helping—” Knowledge hisses, tossing a projectile to the middle of the pagoda. It blows up spectacularly and he's quite sure the mage put way too much firepower in that single explosion, because it takes the entire roof off and draws the attention of the two dragons.
“I—alright. May I trust you to—”
“Cover, yeah, I get it, just—holy Witch on a stick what the fuck, Flour what is that ugly ass thing—” The mage makes a face at something and his curiosity is peaked enough that he follows the other cookie’s line of sight to spot the most hideous creature he has ever had the pleasure of looking at.
“....what is that?” Dark Cacao stares.
“Doesn’t matter, just go.”
Mystic Flour Cookie levels her colleague with the most hateful, contemptuous expression he has ever seen on a single cookie, “You have no right to interrupt, Knowledge.” She says and it says something that her monotone voice gains a hint of emotion from the sight of the Virtue. Even if that emotion is anger.
“You have no right to rob every single cookie of what makes them unique.” Knowledge hisses back, wincing as he fails to dodge a splatter of flour. He bats the white from his dough, but the flour partly paralysed him as he does so.
“I thought you of all cookies would know the futility of fighting for something that is so transient.” The master of the Ivory Pagoda glares, now entirely focused on her former friend.
“Yeah, yeah, everything is meaningless we all return to Flour eventually, blablabla. We get it.” The one who calls himself Knowledge drawls in spite of his injury, his tone wildly inappropriate for this setting.
Mystic Flour Cookie twitches, her neutral expression finally breaking at the sheer audacity of her supposed former companion. It's satisfying, but this entire scenario has derailed a little too much for him to take much pleasure in anything.
“Like. Seriously. If you wanna die and ‘return to flour’ so bad just go and fucking kill yourse—” Dark Cacao slaps a hand over his companion’s mouth. It does not stop him. He doesn't think anything can shut the man’s mouth.
“Ooohh look who’s mad~ not so Apathy of you, my dear—” A spider jumps at them and it is squashed with vengeance by an oversized bug swatter. It screeches weakly but does not die.
Knowledge breaks out of his hold, holding one arm out and slamming his palm to the ground in time with the oversized bug swatter. The sight of it is so ridiculous that Dark Cacao twitches in an attempt to resist laughter.
With Mystic Flour Cookie’s healing, it takes a while for the poor spider to die.
Even as he smacks the poor bug, Knowledge—because he still doesn't know the other cookie’s name—continues yapping. His voice remains loud and obnoxiously annoying despite Dark Cacao’s best attempts to get him to stop.
“What?! I'm right! You want to say this shit as badly as I do, come oN—!”
“Yes, but not—can you take this more seriously?!” He sputters.
“Not when the argument is so fucking stupid. Return to flour? Bask in the nothingness of being nothing? You might as well just up and die at this point—! Or come up with a better cracking argu—”
A giant spider lands in front of them and it is immediately bisected in half, Knowledge’s magic flaring around, lashing out dangerously. It catches the attention of the two dragons, who stop fighting just to stare at the commotion. The bug swatter is still there, abandoned on the floor.
Dark Cacao eyes the two, “...I would very much appreciate it if you could assist me in besting the Beast and ridding this world of her.” He says, begs, really, voice strained as he tries his best to hold Knowledge back from pulverising anything else. Really, it isn't as if they aren't benefiting from the mage’s anger, but this entire situation is going off the rails way too quickly.
“You're cracking lucky I can't kill you myself Flour because god help me I—!” The mage seethes, but he no longer struggles in the hold.
Staring up at the open ceiling, Dark Cacao wishes for strength. This is certainly not the way he had hoped things would go. It is not even in his top ten list of things that might happen the moment he steps into Beast-Yeast.
The dragons consider this for a moment.
“Knowledge.” The White Dragon calls, interrupting the one-sided screaming match briefly. The reply is curt, short as Knowledge’s temper is proving to be in the face of something he classifies as idiocy.
“What.”
“How may we be of assistance?” The Black Dragon asks.
“...I—you changed your minds quickly.” Dark Cacao does not know whether to laugh, cry, or perhaps do both. This situation has certainly been absurd enough to deserve such a reaction.
“Fucking finally, yes. Do your thing, or do you wanna agree with that bitch over there and follow her to delululand?”
He fails to muffle a snort. The dragons outright laugh, much to the irritation of the Beast in the room, who sends more of her minions to disrupt their conversation. With the dragons on their side, it is taken care of in barely a minute.
Mystic Flour Cookie practically seethes in rage, and while her magical presence is formidable enough to send any lesser cookie to their knees, the way Knowledge is reacting to it absolutely ruins the effect.
The mage, who he really should ask the name of, sticks his tongue out at the Beast.
She steps out of her shell and summons a tome, flipping through its pages as her eyes track Knowledge's movements. For the next few minutes, it is a back and forth of spells and screaming, though the latter is mostly coming from Knowledge.
“What? Can't say shit back? You're contradicting yourself, idiot. All shall return to flour, that includes you. Why don't you set an example for us first, huh?”
“You are making a mockery of the Ivory Pagoda.” Mystic Flour Cookie hisses, the tension in the air sharpening.
Knowledge laughs, “You're not exactly presenting yourself as a Cookie to be taken seriously.”
On the contrary, she really is much more dignified and proper than his monocled companion has been since they met not some hours ago. Even if Dark Cacao also thinks her argument’s basis is very weak.
For the first time in his life, he fails to muffle an unhinged laugh. This—everything, really, it has really been too much. The dragons settle on either side of him, fusing back together into his sword as he rises again, feeling refreshed and at ease for the first time since he had reached Beast-Yeast.
His new robes furl behind him and he stands straight, raising his sword up in preparation for any attack that may come his way.
Though not the most conventional way to reach enlightenment, it is a lot less painful than he had originally thought it would be, and he most definitely owes this fact to his new acquaintance.
His new acquaintance, who may-or-may not also be a Beast, who is finally succeeding in annoying Mystic Flour Cookie into arguing with him.
“I know, did you think you're the only one who lost everything? It—fuck, Flour, it doesn't mean that an existence of that is the only way left to go forward. Use your head, you're not Spice for Witch’s sake.” Knowledge sighs, his temper finally cooling down enough to actually talk things out with his former friend.
Apathy stares blankly, clearly unconvinced. However, with most of not all her minions defeated, she backs down, vanishing with a thin mist of flour.
With a disappointed sigh, Knowledge lands on his two feet, two-toned eyes wistfully staring at what remains of the Beast. Dark Cacao steps closer, a little unsure of himself even after the new awakening.
A hand clasps his shoulder, “Well, great job chocoboy. Still think you could’ve tried harder, but congrats on not dying.” Knowledge jokes, crass and improper as ever.
“...I.. thank you for your assistance.” He says, sounding stiffer than he'd like.
“Don't mention it. See ya.” Another pat on his back, and the mage sets off without another word.
Dark Cacao balks, “Wh—you’re leaving?”
Knowledge does not turn back, but he does raise one arm to wave at him as he walks to the entrance of the cavern, “The illusion of the Ivory Pagoda will fade soon. Your cookies are fine, and I got what I came here for.”
“I—”
“No debt, chocoboy. Just.. well, prepare yourself. This isn't the last you'll see of dear Flour.” He turns his head around and their eyes meet for a brief moment.
The last thing Dark Cacao sees of Knowledge is a wistful, somber smile, before the world fades and he stands once more in that forest they arrived in when he and his entourage first landed in the continent.
“....” His eyes remain frozen to where the mage once stood, even as his cookies swarm him in relief.
What a strange cookie, and an entirely unexpected ending to his trip to Beast-Yeast. Surrounded by the forests and his precious cookies, with the thought of Knowledge and the mage’s smug face still on his mind, Dark Cacao can't help but laugh helplessly.
“Y—your majesty?” Caramel Arrow furrows her brows, her eyes wide in confusion.
“Your cookies are fine, and I got what I came here for.” The parting message echoes in his mind and Dark Cacao could only exhale, his shoulders slumping as he turns to his cookies,
“I… the Beast has been defeated. Let us set sail back to the Dark Cacao Kingdom. Worry not about me.. I.. I am fine.” He assures.
Even as he steps back home and breathes in the cold air of his frigid kingdom, the encounter stays in his mind. The parting words in particular, and the identity of Knowledge.
Perhaps it is time to write to Pure Vanilla, to check in on the Healer’s progress if nothing else.