Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Back then, Custard Cookie III used to enjoy the unforeseen change in everything. Him and Chili Pepper Cookie, for example, had gotten so close despite their differences that they treated each other the same way blood-related siblings would. The other cookies would give him free food, take him to fun places, spare more time for him than they did for other children. Even the ever-so-stubborn Strawberry Crepe would let him play with their Wafflebots. He used to think all that was out of respect towards his noble title, that he was born gifted and that life couldn’t have gotten any better. 

Well, he’d got one thing right. 

It was only going to get worse from there.

Like any other kid who grew mature enough to wonder and understand, Custard Cookie’s oblivious nature began to crack, giving way to curiosity instead. The kind of treatment he was getting from everyone started to feel too good to be true, the whispers among them began to get too loud. He realized that he no longer wished for blinding innocence. However, the more answers he demanded, the more panic grew within the cookies surrounding him. 

And when they all insisted on keeping their mouths shut, he sought knowledge through books and extra history classes. His passion ultimately allowed him to cross paths with a trustworthy teacher, Latte Cookie, who would tell him all there was to know about the war.

For once in his life, as his teacher explained detail after detail, Custard Cookie wondered if the absolute truth was too much of a burden for him to bear. He wondered if pursuing it was a mistake all along. 

He was never born into a kind world. The mere concept of such a world never existed in the first place. And the smiles engraved in his memory? 

They were out of pity. 

Pity for the victim of a battle he never joined. Pity for the one who lost his found family right after being discarded by his real one. Pity for the incomplete. 

Soon enough, what the others feared would eventually happen, did happen. Too much information absorbed about war and war alone drove the young cookie to some sort of insanity. Learning wasn’t merely a desire for him anymore. It was an obsession, a life goal, a reason to wake up every day. The only time Custard felt slightly better about himself was when he was actively learning about the story of those who fought for Earthbread, consuming countless materials on the matter. His routine consisted of going to school in the morning, the library in the afternoon, and visiting the statues of the Ancient Heroes at nighttime. Multiple cookies had witnessed him crying in front of them, on his knees with hands clasped together, muttering what sounded like repetitive prayers and pleas for forgiveness. Nobody understood why. 

He didn’t quite understand himself either. 

He vaguely remembered being left in Crispia, for Chili Pepper to take care of, as the rest of his friends headed for the dangerous journey that awaited them in Beast-Yeast. Was that the reason for his immense guilt? Should he have stopped them? Or should he have been strong enough to be accepted into war alongside them? Would he be better off crumbled than alive? 

Whatever the reason, Custard Cookie III had changed into what he believed was for the better. He didn’t dream of becoming king for childish, selfish reasons anymore. He didn’t have eyes on gold or praises or royal attire. What he truly wanted was to make up for his past incompetence. He wanted power, not to torture other cookies with it, but to have their backs just like how they had his. He wanted to call them friends like a certain Hero had advised him to do all those years ago. 

He wanted to follow the footsteps of Pure Vanilla Cookie. 

And maybe, though it was only a hope so far, he could earn the title of the new Light of Truth.

Chapter Text

Knowledge kills emotion. 

That was the idea Strawberry Crepe Cookie strongly believed in. You could not know and feel the same amount, at the same time. Anyone who claimed otherwise would only succeed in deceiving themselves. 

They didn’t always think that way, however. There was once a time when they were taken out of their own shell and allowed to see the outside world, freed from Dark Enchantress’ orders, all thanks to the hand offered by Pure Vanilla. They were given a taste of friendship, a chance of loving this world even for all its cruelty. Yet the existence of Dark Enchantress was no curse cookies could easily escape from, proven by the war that took every good thing from Crepe. Everything except one, to be precise, though they considered him too big of a fool to be of any help. 

Nowadays, cookies only visited them on the occasion that they needed something done. 

“Can you help me with my math homework?” 

“Please fix my watch! It suddenly stopped working.” 

“Can I use one of your robots for a school project?” 

“I don’t know what I would do without you…” 

How…ignorant.

And if they were to somehow refuse or stand up for themselves, which they had tried a million times before, it would only end up creating unwanted drama. 

“Such a waste of talent…you’re no good at all.” 

And gossip. 

“Oh, don’t be fooled by their intelligence. You don’t know how selfish they can be!” 

How tempting it was to get rid of it all… 

What did Custard even see in those meaningless lives? What made him love them so much that he wouldn’t get up from the ground until his knees hurt, praying for their well-being as well as crying like he owed them an apology? 

It was another one of those nights. It always was one of those nights. He was there, in front of the statues, too caught up in his own misery to notice his friend walk up to him. 

“This again?” They scoffed, having no intention of sugarcoating the truth anymore. The devoted king would find them disrespectful either way. “Get up. You won’t be forgiven. Neither will they.” 

Both the teens’ blue eyes gazed up at the statues before them, one’s expression softened with utmost respect, the other’s lips pursed with disgust. 

“The Almighty Heroes saved us, died for us, so what?! What do you think became of us in their absence? We are nothing but empty shells. Useless, weak cookies without a sense of our own identities, trying to copy theirs.” 

“Listen, I’d rather not be interrupted right now.” Custard warned in a tone that was reserved only for those who enjoyed pushing his limits. Crepe paused for a short breath. 

“You picture them as selfless beings, when a bunch of cowards is what they really are.” 

“Please,not this again…” 

“You know what really would’ve been selfless of the Heroes and the Beasts? If they hadn’t resisted it, if they had let us all perish. At least we wouldn’t be suffering the consequences of their actions right this instant.” 

“What makes you say that? The Vanilla Kingdom had been nothing but kind to you!” 

“Kindness isn’t everything. It doesn’t even mean anything on its own.” Crepe answered indirectly, not in the mood to explain their struggles that weren’t present on the surface, especially since they highly doubted Custard would understand. His furrowed brows showed that much. 

During a shared moment of silence, the pink-haired cookie stepped forward, standing right in front of the other to deliberately block his view. As stupid as it was, they wanted to be all Custard was looking at when they spoke, not the damned statues that kept him almost hypnotized. 

“You feel drawn to Pure Vanilla, want to make him proud or whatever.”  They rolled their eyes. “I get it. In fact, you may not know this but I have also adopted a certain cookie’s ideals as my own.” 

“And who might that cookie be?” Custard finally got back up on his feet, grabbing his staff as well, taking a few seconds to balance himself after kneeling down for so long. 

“The Fount of Knowledge.” 

Crepe grinned, something about the reveal -or the name itself- causing a rush of excitement. They watched their one and only friend avert his gaze and clutch the edge of his cape. They watched him shift his weight from one foot to another like he might fall otherwise. 

“The impact he left on this world is quite admirable…but not complete. I’ve been working on the kind of technology that could match his power, to be capable of destroying all universes, leaving not a crumble behind. Should I assume that you won’t let me?” 

“If I must…” Custard swallowed hard, subconsciously pointing his staff towards the other in a defensive motion. Perhaps also to silence the sound of his pounding heart. “...then I will stop you, no matter what it takes.” 

Crepe nodded, their emotions hard to read, hands behind their back as they walked away one step at a time. 

“It’ll be my pleasure taking you down.” They hummed, both voice and figure growing distant. “When the time comes, obviously.” 

And so, the so-called king was left with a decision to make. He wanted to believe that choosing Strawberry Crepe over the rest of Earthbread was never an option, yet he couldn’t stop considering it in the back of his mind.

When exactly had it come to that point? What had he missed? Where had he gone wrong for his best friend to willingly turn into his greatest enemy? 

It was time to go home.