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"Please, exit with caution. I do not wish for another tragedy to happen..."

"I'm sure we'll be fine! The train is almost here, come on Roguefort!"

"Thank you, Blueberry Pie Cookie..."

"It was a pleasure having you here. I am glad you had fun in the different tomes."

The two brothers exited the Archives, the shield of the ancient library wearing off as they re-entered the City of Wizards.

The first few steps, nothing happened.

The sky was clear, the birds were chirping, the essence of magic still bright in the air.

But the silence was suffocating.

It was too peaceful to be true.

And just as the thought slipped into Roguefort's mind, lightning struck next to Almond, making him yelp in surprise.

"Caramel?!"

"I'm fine, must have been unlucky. Let's go, the train's waiting for us."

"And so is your doom, petty Cookies."

More lightning rained from the skies, and as the magic powder formed a barrier once more, Roguefort knew that his sister was back, with reinforcements.

Reinforcements from the City of Wizards.

He knew he had to run, to get out as soon as possible, for once time was not on their side, they would be separated once more.

He would return to a forced life of crime, and Almond would be the one tracking his every move.

As if they had never known each other, and as if they couldn't just end the misunderstanding of their ancestors once and for all.

Like shards of broken glass, the barrier was dissipated in no time.

"Get them."

What seemed like thousands of mages charged at the two Cookies, who were running for their lives, frantically rushing towards the train station.

Thousands more spells rained from the sky: lightning, rain, flames.

Every step seemed to grow heavier and heavier for Almond and Roguefort, and soon the mages caught up.

"You won't get away so easily."

One stepped in front of the two, and Roguefort yanked Almond's arm, leading him out of the way.

Another came, and the dodging continued.

Their hats had fallen off, and their jackets were being torn apart bit by bit.

It was not long before they were faced with all the wizards, all in front of them.

They were surrounded.

And yet, their grip on each other held firm.

"Well, well, there we go, that was easier than expected."

"What do we do?"

Mozza emerged from the crowd of magicians, her knife in hand, masquerade mask still on.

"Roguefort. This behavior is unacceptable. Let us return back."

"I will never follow you back!"

"You know this is our fate. A clear path sits in front of you, and there is no other way."

"Even so! I will carve my own path, even in the harshest weather, no matter how hard it is! I will never play your part!"

Almond felt warm.

His friend was standing up against his own fate, and he was too, hand-in-hand.

They've changed, no longer the two innocent Cookies who met on the bus to a summer camp, oblivious of the chain of events that would unfold due to their meeting.

"Look, if you won't follow me home and let go of your dearest friend, I'll just have to force you."

"I will never succumb to your wishes!"

Without a second word, Mozza charged at the two Cookies.

Clang!

As Almond opened his eyes again, which had been squeezed shut due to fear, Roguefort stood in front of him, a sword in his hand blocking the incoming knife, the other hand still gripping his own.

"You don't have to do this, I do not wish to hurt those who share the same dough as me. Just come back home!"

"Home is where the heart is! I will stay where I belong!"

"You belong with the Cheeses! You will never belong with them!"

The blades continued to clash, as both Cookies refused to give in to the other.

Roguefort knew if he gave up now, all would be for nothing. He would save Almond, and end the rivalry once and for all.

Mozzarella knew if she gave up now- no, she couldn't give up now.

All the alliances and all she that she sacrificed for this would dissolve like a sugar cube in hot water.

And the consequences.

The consequences would be unbearable.

Just as Mozza was gaining the upper hand and about to win the power struggle with the help of some of the mages, all three of the Cookies floated into the air, a glow emitting from all three of them.

Like marionettes pulled by invisible strings, Mozza was separated from Roguefort and Almond, her knife dropping to the floor.

"Who's there?"

"Emergency and Crime Handling!"

Mozza glared at the interrupting Cookie, anger only growing as she viewed the light magic mages behind her.

"Cashew Cookie!"

Like time suddenly sped up after the silent stop, all hell seemed to break loose as the numerous mages charged at each other, while the wizard controlling the three Cookies continued to drag them farther and farther away, much to Mozza's dismay.

Cashew Cookie, now dressed in full protective gear, signaled for the wizard to return the two Cookies, while also keeping control of Mozzarella.

"Mom! That entrance was so cool! But how did you know we were in danger?"

"You two did a good job putting up a defense. Leave this to the adults."

"The train won't be coming anytime soon though, where do we go?"

"Here," Cashew handed a note to Almond, "run as fast as you can, and then ask surrounding Cookies for directions to this address."

"How about you?! We can't just leave you here!" Roguefort protested.

"It's not safe for you two here! Especially with the intense magic all around. Now go!"

The two Cookies nodded, and as the wizard in control of Mozzarella put a disguise spell around them, they sprinted off into the heart of the city.

Cashew, seeing her son safely escape, turned to Mozzarella and her dark support.

"I may not be a fighter, but I will fight for what is right. Let the game begin."

~~

After what seemed like ages of running, the two Cookies were surrounded by magical houses, wizard towers, and mage residences.

"I think we're safe now," Roguefort panted as he sat on a nearby bench next to a fountain.

"That was so scary...all the magic was everywhere!"

"It was! We have to get to the address though, I think we'll be safe there."

Just then, a young Cookie with a brown magician hat and foamy white hair went up to the two.

"Hi! Do you need to go somewhere?

"Latte! There you are!"

An older Cookie, which Roguefort assumed was their legal guardian, picked up Latte Cookie, who was holding a small wand.

"Sorry about that, she's always running around, and always does that to people she thinks needs help."

"It's fine! She definitely predicted we needed help," Almond chuckled,  "Do you know the road to this place?"

"I sure do, it's one of the most famous fortuneteller houses! I'll bring you there."

As the two completely disguised brothers trailed behind the parent and daughter, Roguefort silently whispered to Almond, "Fortuneteller houses? Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. I think we might be going to Prophet's house, but how?"

"Here! That's the house." the older Cookie pointed at the crystal ball sign, "that's the place."

"Thank you so much," Almond replied, "we couldn't have came here without you."

"No problem! Come on Latte, let's go!"

"Bye!!"

After the parent and child departed, Almond and Roguefort glanced at each other before entering the store.

"Welcome! Would you like a fortune telling?"

"Umm, we're here from Cashew Cookie," Roguefort explained, "she gave us a note."

At the mention of Cashew Cookie, a familiar face popped out from behind the counter.

"I knew it was you, Prophet!"

"Guys! Thank Millennial Tree you two are safe. Still the best of friends, I see."

An older Cookie emerged from behind Prophet.

They looked a tiny bit similar, Roguefort observed, but the newly entered Cookie seemed wiser, Probably a wise old Cookie.

"You must be Almond then," the wise Cookie observed, extending a hand, "pleased to meet you. You have a quite striking resemblance to your father."

"You knew my dad?"

"We were old friends, after all. How do you think he knew you and Roguefort were friends?"

Suddenly, everything made sense to Almond; why his father had known about the friendship, why it seemed weird that Prophet needed to join the camp since he was already a fortuneteller.

Even if his predictions weren't that accurate.

Roguefort, on the other hand, was worried about Cashew. What would Almond do if he lost another parent?

"Well, anyways, we have to find a way to escort you out of the City for your own safety," Prophet chimed in, "luckily, I think Cashew called in some military forces to assist."

"Precisely, there is a helicopter waiting for you both on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately, I don't think your disguise spell will last for that long, so we better get going. I can cast some basic spells, but that's the extent. I'm not a wizard, after all." the older Cookie commented.

Roguefort looked in a nearby mirror, only realizing the disguise that completely altered his appearance.

Magic was different after all.

But did he really have to live like this? Every day, undercover, escaping from the grasp of a Cookie with his dough?

It's either this or being forced into thievery, Roguefort reminded himself, it's better to live like this, even though he would probably be confined in the Nuts' mansion 90% of the time.

"We'd better get going then. Before Mozzarella catches up to us with her army of wizards."

~~

"YOU FOOLISH CHILD!"

The tanned Cookie was raging, and smoke seemed to emit from the Cookie's eyes.

All her hard work was gone.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"I am doing the right thing!" Buttercream Choco protested, "They can't go on living like this! And especially not with you supporting them!"

"This will damage the entirety of the image we've built for years, Buttercream Choco! Do you understand?! We are the descendants of the first Choco Cookie, those who share the most dough with them! You aren't supposed to destroy it all like that!"

She was fuming.

Buttercream Choco was tense, but still stood up straight facing his mother.

He had dismantled all his mother's equipment, despite her doing everything in her power to stop him. The once elegant room was a jumbled mess of broken wires and sockets, broken monitors and shards of plastic scattered across the room.

He remembered throwing a nearby sword that was on display and it penetrated the motherboard, and all the screens flickered had flickered before turning pitch black, indicating that they no longer had control.

"I am standing on the right side of history!"

"There is no right or wrong side in history! Every Cookie just does what they do for their own greed and reasons!"

"If there is no side, I will fight for what is right!"

"Son, there are times where fate needs you to do certain things, and you have no choice but to oblige."

"I will not oblige. I will carve my own destiny!"

"Then you are no longer my son!"

Buttercream Choco stared at his mother in disbelief.

Over such a small problem?

"Leave this house now! The family does not welcome you, and will never welcome you anymore!"

"I will not leave. You are a traitor to all of Cookieland- no, all of Earthbread!"

"You dare call your own mother a traitor? Then what are you?"

The security cameras were no longer in the tanned Cookie's control, but she did not notice one security camera pointing at her.

"Perfect. This will be an excellent scoop!"

On the other side of the metal device, Mozzarella was fighting off some wizards, but was slowly getting more and more fatigued, constantly blocking spells and using physical combat to knock the mages out.

Hearing the shouts and screams, she finally understood why Cashew and her team were able to arrive just in time to save her brother and his friend.

All for justice, was it? Doing what the toddler thought was right.

Futile, futile attempts.

A flick of her mobile phone and it displayed a familiar face heading towards the outskirts of the city from the fortuneteller's house.

In fact, too familliar.

Almost as if the face shared distinct features with her own.

Mozza was hoping she'd never have to use this, but she always had a trick up her sleeve form years and years of training.

Narrowly avoiding the light magic spells, she dodged and turned before darting towards the heart of the city.

"You will never escape my grasp, Roguefort."

Several mages tried to stop her, but to no avail; dark moon mages charged at them, fighting with all their might.

Sometimes money did solve problems.

Noticing the escaping murderer, Cashew knew that she was heading towards Roguefort.

She did not think of this.

In one last attempt, she quickly ringed the support.

"Fly from the outskirts of the City along the fastest route and pick them up there. Quickly! We don't have much time."

~~

"I hope we get to safety soon..."

The four Cookies were trailing along the City paths, all of them weary for any sudden attacks despite half of the Cookie being disguised with powerful magic.

"We will, of course!"

"Guys, look up! Is this your rescue?" Prophet pointed.

Sure enough, a blue helicopter was hovering above the few Cookies, a rope extending towards Almond and Roguefort.

"Well this is it, I suppose? Let's go!"

"Thank you so much, Prophet!"

"No problem!" Prophet gave a wink and a thumbs up.

"One last thing," the elder Cookie noticed as he cast a spell on the two visitors.

A cyan barrier formed around them, small white particles emitting from the spherical surface.

"There we go."

"Get on the rope! We'll get you to safety," a Cookie commanded from the helicopter.

Almond eagerly jumped on the rope, and Roguefort soon followed.

The helicopter was slowly but surely getting closer and closer, and the two Cookies climbed carefully as one wrong step could make them Crumble.

Sometimes life was quite fragile.

The Cookie on the helicopter lifted the string while the two Cookies climbed, accelerating the process, and soon the entrance of the helicopter was just within arm's reach for Almond.

It was so close.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a shuriken flew towards the two Cookies like a fly, and time seemed to stop once more.

The shuriken pierced through the string between Almond and Roguefort, ripping through the woolen fabric and disconnecting the two.

Almond reached for his friend, but it was too late; Roguefort was plummeting uncontrollably towards the ground and he could only stare helplessly while hardening his grip on the rope.

"Wha-"

Roguefort came to a quick realisation that it was his sister, but he didn't think she would go as far as to attempt to murder him...

"ROGUEFORT, NO!" Almond screamed once he realised what was happening.

Just inches before he hit the ground, Roguefort levitated in the air before landing on the ground.

"Welcome home, Roguefort."

A sinister laugh as a pungent gas filled the air.

Roguefort couldn't see anything; he tried to fight back from the sudden grip on his body but it was too late.

The last thing Almond remembers was getting on a helicopter seat, tears rapidly streaming down his face.

And everything faded to black for the two Cookies, now separated.

~~

[Originally published Mar 20, 2021]

AH YES I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. PLEASE DO NOT HUNT ME DOWN FOR THE BAD ARC ENDING

(THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER!)

Sincere apologies for disappearing for an entire month (again), this was a very hard chapter to write as you can tell from the sheer length of it.

Anyways, while I was gone, Devsisters decided to make my boy Almond CANON!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

He's in CRK now, still haven't gotten him though, thank you bad luck.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed.

What will happen next? This isn't the end of their interactions, no, there's still more to come, but it might be in a more...future episode.

Drop your guesses in an inline comment and one of you might be right ;)

Seriously, I hope you liked the chapter, the somewhat finale of this whole arc.

Yes, the last 3 (or so) chapters plus the epilogue will be finishing off loose ends, and even explain some of the canon things in CROB and CRK.

A special thank-you to all my readers, and especially those who have been here since over a year ago. :D

ALSO I HAVE AN INSTAGRAM. @enchantedcocoa .

I will be seeing you all hopefully VERY soon with chapter 28!

See you soon!

Next chapter:

"Evidence points to one of the thieves possibly being Roguefort Cookie." the Cookie in front of him continued, pulling out a specific file.

~♤~

"Oh, it's fine, I'm just doing my part. I've got to go somewhere else now, anyways.."

~♤~

He tried to sit up, but pain rippled through his frail body - he felt like he was almost on the verge of crumbling.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net