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Chapter Text

Fire Spirit Cookie shoots another fireball at the strange cookie, only for it to be absorbed into the mirror as well. He grunted, gripping his staff and glaring at her.

“Mmm… yummy flame… I need more…” she giggled, and shivers went down Fire Spirit’s spine at the eeriness her red eyes held, darker than any flame he could conjure, and the way she gripped her mirror, loosely as if she weren’t worried at all, yet with such a tight death grip it’s a miracle she hasn’t cracked it from the pressure herself already.

Whenever his attacks were absorbed by the mirror, he felt… weaker. It’s not like he couldn’t restore the power he lost by calling upon the dragon magic of his staff, but having seen Frost Queen Cookie’s magic used by this… creature made him worried about what was happening to his magic, and whether or not the white slime cookie would be able to use it.

His current running plan was to shatter the mirror, so he began to charge up the strongest attack he count muster, the flames on his dough glowing whiter and hotter as he grew the flame inside him larger and larger, then he released it in one giant burst of heat and fire, sending it straight in her direction.

She gasped and ducked behind the mirror, fear evident on her features. Triumph surged through Fire Spirit, he finally defeated her!- but then the fire stopped, constricting inwards into one focused point, right where the strange cookie was holding up her mirror. Dread slowly set in as he watched his most powerful attack- something that had taken minutes to conjure in an intense battle and taken everything out of him- was absorbed without even a little bit of singed dough on the target.

“How in the smokes-?!” he said, gasping for breath. Seemingly surprised by her own ability, an unsettling smile slowly spread across the white slime cookie’s face, until she began giggling hysterically.

“That… delicious… I need MORE!!!” she roared, suddenly sending a blizzard of ice towards him, and being weakened from his last attack, he couldn’t dodge.

Ice shot through his jam, covering his doughy exterior and freezing him in place. He began to warm his body up more, melting the ice, but flinching at the water dripping onto him as a result, dimming his flame and dampening his crispy dough. The ice was thick, and Fire Spirit realized he was being dragged somewhere as he felt a hand grabbing the ice on his dough and his body sliding across the rough rocky floor of the cave.

After he finally had melted all the ice, Fire Spirit shot up into the air with a burst of flame, grabbing his staff and pointing it wildly around the room, trying to find where he was and who brought him here.

Before he could react, chains made of what appeared to be pure darkness shot up out of the ground and latched onto his wrists, clawing him out of the sky and dragging him down to an uncomfortable kneeling position. Fire Spirit gasped, staring up shocked but unafraid of the two cookies who stood in front of him.

One was the white slime cookie, the other was wearing similar clothes to her except red instead of white, with red braids tied into two buns and a pink wand. He scowled at them both.

“Who are you two? Who do you think you are to be doing something this heinous to me, Fire Spirit Cookie, Flame Incarnate?!” He demanded, and the red cookie sighed, pushing her fingers into her temple.

“Yes, we are quite aware of your status, thank you for the clarification,” she said sarcastically, earning an equally sarcastic chuckle from Fire Spirit. “I am Pomegranate Cookie, Servant of Darkness, and this is Agar Agar Cookie, your downfall.”

Fire Spirit scoffed. “My downfall? Really? You think I’m that easily defeated? I can leave this cave easily, I’m just entertaining you to get information. That’s all.”

Pomegranate Cookie laughed at him. “Oh really? Then do so. You’re not getting very much out of us, that’s for sure- there’s no reason for us to tell you anything except your fate.”

“Um, your title is literally servant, please stop acting like you’re better than me,” Fire Spirit deadpanned. Pomegranate gasped defensively.

“Such insolence! And yet you show no signs of being able to escape my shackles! Please, oh Flame Incarnate, show us this dreaded power you claim to possess!”

“Well since you asked nicely,” he shrugged. Quickly, he summoned two fireballs, one in each hand, and grew them large before bringing them to the shackles, and then-

The fire suddenly was yanked from his hand, flying across the cave and being sucked into Agar Agar Cookie’s mirror.

“Delicious…” she said dreamily, closing her eyes and not focusing at all at the encounter taking place.

Pomegranate smirked at him. “See? You’re not as strong as you seem.”

“Yeah sure, I’ll keep that in mind, Servant “chronically second place” of darkness! If you didn’t resort to those cowardly tricks, I’d be out of here in no time, and you’d be both begging for my mercy.”

Pomegranate Cookie tilted her head. “Hmm, and yet, we do. So, does that say more about us or about your lack of preparation?”

“What? Excuse me?” Fire Spirit challenged, pulling on the chains through his exhaustion. “I can’t possibly be prepared for every trap in existence, and neither can you! I have the ability to admit that, did you think that was some sort of gotcha???”

“So you admit you lose?” Pomegranate replied, eyes narrowed in calculation, a smug grin across her face.

Fire Spirit sighed, but he knew these traps. He’s played these games before!!!!! He wasn’t going to fall for their deceit, and he wouldn’t be baited by their tricks to anger him. “Yeah, sure, whatever makes you feel better,” he shrugged nonchalantly, eyeing the two to see their reactions.

Agar Agar Cookie lit up in excitement, and Pomegranate Cookie looked wary. Neither were reactions he was necessarily looking for, but it’s fine, as long as they aren’t bothering him so he has the opportunity to escape.

“Food! Food! Give me… food!” The white cookie chirped, running forward. Fire Spirit raised an eyebrow. For all her power, for the fact she seemed ok with all this evil… Agar Agar Cookie was clearly a child. He felt pitiful, and more anger towards Pomegranate than he already had felt welled up inside him, causing the flames across his body to flicker brighter, hotter.

“Give me food,” she said, holding out her mirror like she was showing him a drawing. He looked at the mirror and then back at her.

“No,” he deadpanned.

Agar Agar’s eyebrows creased at his response. “…No? But… you promised…”

“Ok, what’re we saying chat? I didn’t promise anything to you, I don’t even want to be here!” Exasperation was evident in Fire Spirit Cookie’s tone as he responded.

“If you don’t want to give… I’ll just take it… need… food…” at her words, flame and ice began to flicker underneath the reflective surface of the glass, showing him not only his own confused expression but also his own magic dancing beneath the stranger’s mirror. It was beyond unsettling, and he hoped he’d be able to shatter that thing soon.

Suddenly, Agar Agar thrust the mirror forward, her delicate fingers clutched around the crystalline rim of the glass, and ghostly white energy shot out of it, wrapping its tendrils around his form before he could react. Pain rippled through his body and he grunted, trying to wretch his dough from the grip of the magic as he felt his flames dim as his own magic was sucked out of his body.

Fire Spirit grunted in pain, his teeth clenched together as tightly as he could as the burning sense of nothingness set in, his senses overwhelming him as jabs of pain stabbed through his dough, the light in the room noticeably dimming as his fire was taken from him. He must have been there for at least a minute, as when Agar’s magic had worn off and he was finally able to crumple to the ground, totally exhausted, he felt as if every single drop he had in him was gone, only the fire keeping his very being together remaining. He immediately began working on regrowing those flames, nurturing them carefully, as he laid panting on the ground, clutching his staff which allowed him to do so.

“Mmm… delicious… I need… more..!” At her words, Fire Spirit felt a sense of overwhelming dread wash over him. But when he heard Pomegranate’s condescending voice in response, it didn’t go away knowing she was there.

“Now now Agar Agar Cookie, you must wait for your next meal. Have patience, we must discuss some things.” A frown spread across the cookie’s face, her grip looking like it would crack the glass from how tight it was. But after a moment, she hung her head, and followed Pomegranate cookie out of the room.

They just… left him. Alone.

Fire Spirit Cookie smirked. Well, if they were gonna be cocky and careless, he wasn’t above not taking advantage of that. He gripped his staff tighter, beginning to pull from as deep as he could into the eternal flames that gave him his power. His fire was gaining strength at a rapid pace, the light from the fire covering his dough reflecting off the crystals that grew from the floor, walls and ceiling of this cave, Agar Agar Cookie’s doing.

After he’d collected all the fire he’d ever need for this, he focused it into his fists, shooting them up with a burst of energy and snapping the magical chains. Who’s really the one who’s not as strong as they seem, he thought smugly, before zooming down the hallway, the crystal growths shimmering at his presence.

He stopped when he saw the two figures he was looking for, and pointed his staff at them, beginning to create a huge fireball to take them both out quickly.

Unfortunately, one tends to notice the temperature difference between a freezing underground cave and boiling hot fire, so the two turned and looked at him with surprise before he could fire the attack. With the element of surprise ruined, he sent the fireball anyways, even though it wouldn’t be strong enough to defeat either on its own.

Pomegranate shrieked and ducked out of the way, pulling out her wand. Agar Agar held her mirror calmly in front of her face, which absorbed the fireball as if it were nothing. She peeked her eyes out from behind it and smiled, before the mirror glowed blue with Frost Queen’s power once again.

Shards of ice began flying out of the mirror and still levitating in the air Fire Spirit Cookie excellently dodged them all, ricocheting himself off the walls to launch himself into dozens of attacks, some of which actually landed on her slimy white dough. But in the heat of the moment, he forgot about the other cookie in the room with them.

A blast of dark energy knocked him from the sky, and when he tried jumping to his feet the familiar black chains rose from the ground and shackled his wrists and now legs. He grunted and glared up at the two of them.

“Fight me instead of hiding behind your mirrors and your shackles, you cowards,” he scowled, clenching his fingers into a fist around his staff.

“I won’t fall for your attempts to anger me. You are a guardian reduced to nothing by two mortals, yet you wish to call us cowards?” Pomegranate Cookie responded.

“Hy…po… crite.” Agar Agar Cookie said, pointing her jelly like finger at him. He scowled, and Pomegranate placed her hand atop Agar’s head.

“Very good, Agar Agar Cookie,” she said, almost like a proud parent, “he is a hypocrite.”

”That’s not even what the word means-“

Agar Agar giggled at the praise loudly, interrupting him, squealing and jumping in the air, still white knuckling her mirror after all this time. She bounded forward, and the white tendrils began to shoot out of the mirror again.

Fire Spirit gasped, flinching as they grabbed him. The same agonizing pain ripped through his dough like lightning, the fire once again being stolen from him.

The same agonizing exhaustion was left as an aftertaste, making him crumple to the ground weakly as the chill of the room set in, now with no fire to chase it away.

“Keep him in our eyesight. We can’t afford more of these escape attempts.” Pomegranate Cookie commanded, and a flicker of hope found its way to Fire Spirit Cookie’s heart. They knew he was a threat, he just had to keep trying and he’d escape eventually. They could steal his fire, but they couldn’t steal his conviction. He just had to keep waiting.

Chapter Text

Well, he was really getting sick of waiting.

How long had it been? A week? And nothing was fucking happening.

He actually had no idea how long it’d been, it could have been like, a day, he couldn’t tell the time very well from the lack of sun to tell him inside a cave. All he knew was around every 2 or so hours, Agar Agar Cookie would come in and ‘eat’ his powers. That was the only way of telling time he had.

Of course, he could give the power over willingly. That hurt him less and was much quicker. It was just spite keeping him from doing that, he wanted to make the process as long and annoying as possible for everyone.

He still had his mind set on escaping, but it was much harder now. He’d foolishly chosen to wait before trying again, but the constant exhaustion that came with his powers being stolen was making regaining his powers more time consuming than ever. It took much longer than it should now to gather the amount of flame necessary to break out of all the restraints, even with his boundless power.

Not to mention that after his first attempt, there was almost always someone watching him. Well, only some of the guards watched him; the guy in the cloak slept the entire time, and some of them- mainly Agar Agar and some purple mushroom cookie- were just kids!

Right now, though, was Pomegranate Cookie’s turn to babysit. But she was the most fun to bother, so he was fine with it.

The silence between the both of them was thick, and he hoped she felt intimidated by it. She seemed to hate doing this, and if she feared him like she should this whole thing probably wouldn’t be happening and he could just leave.

“You can’t keep doing this forever,” Fire Spirit Cookie finally said, his amber eyes trained on the back of her head.

“Mhm, says who?” She replied without missing a beat.

“I almost escaped once. You won’t stop me forever. You know that, right?”

Finally, Pomegranate turned and looked at him. Her expression was blank, yet her dark red eyes shined with malice.

“The longer we keep you here, the less of a chance you have to escape. Surely you must have noticed that Agar Agar Cookie gets stronger the more power of yours she consumes, yes?”

Fire Spirit’s eyes widened. He, admittedly, had not noticed that.

Pomegranate Cookie turned back around and sighed. “See?”

Fire Spirit scrambled for a response. “Well, uh- I can still escape, easy-peasy. I don’t have to confront any of you people to get out of here.”

Pomegranate Cookie laughed in response. “Oh, but Fire Spirit Cookie, with all the power Agar Agar Cookie has collected, who knows who she could destroy with that power! Civilians, rulers, even other guardians perhaps- I hear you defeated the cookie known as Wind Archer in a friendly duel recently, am I mistaken?”

Fire Spirit Cookie’s stomach dropped.

He was fucked.

“So,” she continued, “I believe it would be in your best interests to stay here, to prevent her from destroying all of your precious valley and beyond. But, if you think you could defeat her, then go ahead, be my guest.”

He stayed silent.

Pomegranate’s words stuck with him, even after what he assumed to be days past and she’d long since left, the new person guarding him not seeming to care as much as she did. It was scary, how much that affected him- but also how much they knew about him in the first place.

Technically everything they knew was public knowledge. Him and Archie being a thing wasn’t, but everyone knew they were close and it didn’t take a genius to read between the lines. And all one really had to do was ask around the citizens of the Dragon’s Valley, and they’d know all they’d ever need to about his past.

That make it less unsettling the lengths they went to get him here. He could assume they had taken the same precautions to stop him from leaving too.

But that didn’t matter- because now, he couldn’t just leave. With the information he had now, his plan had to change; he had to defeat at least Agar Agar Cookie in a fight and destroy her mirror. Only then would he be able to protect the people he loved.

The cookie guarding him, the cloaked one this time, was snoring away, completely unaware of the fire and heat Fire Spirit Cookie was generating, turning the chains around his legs and wrists a bright white. They still wouldn’t budge, though, so he had to try something else.

He slammed the melting chain on the cave floor, flinching as the noise made the guard stir a bit. What didn’t stir, though, were the chains. They broke so easily the last time he did this, it didn’t make sense. What was different??

He knew it took longer, but he was using the same amount if not more power and energy to break the chains and they weren’t even budging. That meant one of two things.

Either one, Pomegranate Cookie had trained, strengthened her magic, something along those lines to make the chains harder to break,

Or two, his magic had somehow became weaker.

While it was technically possible the constant stream of his flame being stolen from him could have made him weaker, he chose to believe the former. I mean if

had managed to kidnap the objectively strongest cookie on Earthbread he’d probably strengthen his magic to keep them trapped for as long as he needed too-

But thinking about it wouldn’t help. No matter what happened (he couldn’t be weaker, he couldn’t be) the chains were harder to break and that was an issue. Hopefully, he could get information from the guard- the cloaked cookie, he seemed meek enough to be easily tricked or intimidated into giving up crucial information.

“Hey you,” Fire Spirit called, and he jolted awake, grabbing his scythe and pointing it around wildly, searching for the source.

“Oh my embers, calm down. You’re gonna take out your own eye with that thing.” The cookie whipped around and pointed the scythe right at him, to which he resisted a flinch, trying to remain unbothered so he was still as intimidating and auraful as possible while chained to the floor.

“What do ya want?!” The cloaked cookie demanded.

“I mean, I was just wondering what your name is.”

His eyes narrowed. “And why do you want to know?”

Fire Spirit shrugged. “So I don’t have to keep calling you ‘Ugly Cloaked Cookie’ in my inner monologue.”

The ugly cloaked cookie gasped with offense. “My cloak is not ugly! Asshole!”

Fire Spirit blinked. “That… wasn’t what I was referring to.”

“Oh. Well in that case, I’m Licorice Cookie. Wait, does that mean you were calling me-”

Fire Spirit cut him off, grabbing his hand and shaking it aggressively. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you, Licorice Cookie. What brings you to this humble abode here?”

Licorice yanked his hand away. “Umm… I’m guarding you. I thought that was pretty obvious.”

Fire Spirit rolled his eyes at the response. “Well, yeah, but why are you doing this? I didn’t have a reason to attack any of you guys so why are you coming after me? And Frost Queen Cookie! What did we do? What’s even your endgame??”

“You two were some of the threats towards Dark Enchantress Cookie’s glorious new plan, obviously!” He snapped, sitting down yet still seeming prideful at what he’d said.

“And who is Dark Enchantress Cookie..?” He pressed.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Licorice Cookie sneered.

Fire Spirit sighed, assuming this would be the most he could get out of this interaction. It was still good info, he just needed-

“She’s only the most glorious and intelligent cookie on Earthbread!” Licorice suddenly began. Fire Spirit snapped his head up, realizing that this cookie was much more naive than he’d thought.

“She has a plan to reshape all of Earthbread into a perfect vision, one where the cookies who follow her are rewarded and those who refuse her truth are crumbled! And you would get in the way, which is why you’re here,” he finished, looking very proud for all the crucial information he’d just given to the enemy for nothing.

“…Right. That’s great. So, uhhh… Licorice Cookie. That’s, a, um… nice cloak you’ve got there!” He pivoted, trying to gain his trust.

Licorice blushed a bit. “Well, heh, thanks! I, uh, made it myself.”

“Yeah, it’s… great…” he said, teeth gritted from cringing at the other’s words. “So, what do you like to do?”

“Well, I like to carry out missions for the Enchantress!”

Fire Spirit sighed, leaning against the wall and using the gained slack in the chains to push his fingers into his temples. “Yeah, but like, outside of your literal job.”

Licorice Cookie tilted his head. “What would I even do? Everything I do is about Dark Enchantress Cookie, it’d be stupid to do something else,” He said.

“So, like, this is your whole life and personality basically?” He clarified.

“Yep!” Licorice Cookie chirped.

Fire Spirit groaned. “Yep, I’m not gonna talk to you then. Bye,” he sighed, before laying down and rolling over to face the wall, the cold metal of his scepter digging into his leg with nowhere else to go.

“Oh. Ok. Bye? Wait, neither of us are going anywhere…” the cookie trailer off, and Fire Spirit almost groaned again at himself for thinking this dumbass cookie would be helpful to him in any way. I mean, he knew some stuff now, but there was basically no benefit to this conversation, and now he feels a little bit stupider because of it.

Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters, not until he can get out of these chains.

And if his internal clock is right, Agar Agar Cookie will be here any minute.

All he can do is wait for an opportunity. An opportunity to defeat Agar Agar.

Once he does all that, he can finally, finally go home, and he can finally see Wind Archer again.

…Witches above, he misses his husband.

Chapter Text

“Thank you all for gathering here today. Please, take a seat. We have much to discuss.”

The elementals all paused their conversations at Millennial Tree’s words, moving quietly over to their seats at the table and sitting down. Millennial Tree adjusted the stack of scrolls in his hands, taking one and rolling it out, dipping a shedded feather in ink and looking up.

“Is everyone here?” He asked. The elementals looked around the table, and all eyes eventually landed on one empty chair right next to Wind Archer Cookie. Goosebumps prickled up his dough, the nerves from everyone watching his husband’s vacant seat gripping him.

“For the 3rd month in a row, Fire Spirit Cookie is absent,” Millennial Tree sighed, “Wind Archer, would you mind traveling to the Dragon’s Valley to fill him in on what he’s missed?”

“I’d love to, but I haven’t seen him since a month ago.”

Everyone’s heads snapped to look at him, and he tried not to shrink in on himself, their judgmental stares burning into his skull.

“What do you mean, you haven’t seen him?” Millennial Tree Cookie asked.

“Yeah, you two are married, right? Don’t you guys, like, visit all the time?” Stormbringer Cookie added.

He swallowed. “Um… yes, we did… about a month ago, well, more like three weeks but still- um, we had agreed he’d come to the forest to meet for a bit, but I waited practically all night for his arrival and nothing. I assumed he must have forgotten, but after searching all of the Dragon’s Valley and the forest, I haven’t found him. I’m worried.”

Millennial Tree’s eyebrows creased. “Well, if you are worried, there may be cause for concern. And you’re sure he isn’t just traveling somewhere?”

Wind Archer shook his head. “He would be back by now, and he would have told me first.”

“Perhaps if you ask some of the residents of the Dragon’s Valley, you will find answers on Fire Spirit Cookie’s location,” Frost Queen Cookie chimed in.

“…I will try. I don’t believe there’s anywhere in the Valley I haven’t searched yet, but I will try.”

“Then it’s settled,” Millennial Tree’s Cookie said, “you will go ask the citizens of the Dragon’s Valley after this meeting for any signs of Fire Spirit Cookie’s whereabouts. May the winds and the forest guide your path.”

“Understood,” Wind Archer replied, gripping his scarf and pulling it over his lower face.

“Now, let us discuss the matter of the cookie you encountered, Frost Queen Cookie…” Millennial Tree began, the sound trailing out as jam rushed through Wind Archer’s ears, his nails digging into the log crafted table.

They were talking about something mildly important, he assumed, but he couldn’t get Fire Spirit Cookie out of his head. It didn’t help that the last time they talked-

”Come on, it isn’t that bad that I missed two meetings! You can just fill me in, right? And I’m sure it wasn’t anything important, they never talk about anything important there.”

“Well, you have! A cookie infiltrated Frost Queen Cookie’s castle and somehow absorbed her power. That’s something we need to be concerned about!”

Fire Spirit yawned. “Well, Frost Queen’s always been kinda weaker outta the 6 of us.”

Wind Archer groaned. “Fire Spirit! This is a serious cause for concern! If any cookie is strong enough to defeat the guardian of life itself, it’s a cookie we need to be looking for. Can you just be serious for one moment?!”

Fire Spirit in response floated around him in circles, stopping right in front of him. “Eh, it’s fine. All of us have the power of friendship on our sides! And we have the power of gay marriage.” He leaned forward and left a little peck of Wind Archer’s forehead, right below where his emerald was, causing jam to rush to his cheeks. He pulled his scarf over his face in embarrassment despite the two of them being the only ones there.

“My love, I’m serious! This is important. You can’t keep skipping meetings, you’re missing important information. What if I can’t fill you in on something important after one before something bad happens? You need to know-“

First spirit dramatically draped his arms over Wind Archer’s shoulders. “Ughhh, Windyyyy, it’s fiiiiiineeee! Just caaalm down, it’s not a big deal…”

“But it is a big deal, Fire Spirit!” He shouted, pushing the other off of him. “You’re risking your life when you ignore this and I’m sick of it! You can’t be this reckless all the time, you’re a guardian and you need to FUCKING ACT like it!”

Fire Spirit stared at him for a moment, bewildered. He turned around for a moment, his body trembling as he took deep breaths. A pang of guilt immediately shot through Wind Archer’s chest, and he reached a hand out. “Fire Spirit, I-“

“No no, you’re…” Fire Sporit turned around, with a death grip on his scepter causing his hand to shake and blinking back tears, “you’re right. I do need to be taking this more seriously. I’ll come to the next meeting. I’m sorry.”

After a moment of silence, he spoke again. “I… need to check on the residents of the valley. I’ll meet you here in a week, same time, yeah?” They made eye contact for a moment and Wind Archer’s heart shattered at the genuine hurt in his eyes.

Then Fire Spirit flew away, and he was left to pick up the pieces of his own mess.

“Wind Archer Cookie!” He blinked as he came back to reality to all of the guardians staring at him, and Stormbringer in front of him, snapping her fingers to get his attention.

“What? Oh- my apologies, I must have zoned out. What were we talking about?”

“Hellooo, Agar Agar Cookie?” Stormbringer answered.

“Oh. I haven’t seen her. Apologies.”

“That’s not even what we were talking about-“ Frost Queen said through gritted teeth.

“Perhaps you should go and search from Fire Spirit now. It’s clear you’re unable to focus on the meeting at hand whilst you’re worrying about him.” Sea Fairy spoke for the first time, a bit of an annoyed tone seeping into her words, which Wind Archer’s resisted rolling his eyes at the irony.

“Yes, I do believe that would be best,” replied Millennial Tree. Wind Archer was a little embarrassed at being kicked out of the meeting but was very glad to be able to search for his husband. He stood and nodded.

“If you think that would be best, I will be on my way then,” he said, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

Millennial Tree nodded, and Wind Archer was already out the door.

-

Ugh, by the embers, this was really, really, really boring.

He hadn’t expected there to be much stimulation, to be fair, but he’s memorized the layout of this cave that he could recite it while asleep if he wanted to.

Technically he hadn’t slept since getting here. Elemental guardians like him didn’t need sleep, and he’d figured it would be better to keep his guard up.

But just because he didn’t need sleep didn’t mean he didn’t get tired. Not naturally, no, but as one may expect, having your essence drained from you over and over again and having to bring yourself back to relative health each time is really fucking exhausting.

At this point, he didn’t expect them to pull very much if he was asleep. He couldn’t do much now, they didn’t need to change much. He couldn’t probably sleep… and be fine.

But still, it was better safe than sorry. Plus, what if Agar Agar came for food and he wasn’t able to regenerate his flame fat enough? Would he die? He didn’t know.

He had, however, resorted to laying down, his scepter clutched to his chest, fighting to keep his eyes open. This time, the guard was the scary guy with the strange arm- it looked like cake, but not like any cake he’d ever seen in a cookie before. This cookie looked dangerous though, so he chose not to speak to him.

Not that he had nearly the social battery to do so. He wouldn’t even know what to say to try and get information.

He didn’t know how he didn’t sense it when he got here, but he’s in really deep shit. He didn’t see a way to get out, truthfully, and he didn’t see a way to beat Agar Agar. He had to wait for them to slip up, that was the only way he could possibly escape at this rate.

Footsteps. Agar Agar Cookie is here.

“Hungry..! Food time!” she chirped, and Pomegranate nodded.

“Go ahead, little one,” she said, and Fire Spirit braced himself for the pain.

You’d think he’d be used to it by now, but it got worse every time. It felt like his organs were being ripped from his body and being eaten in front of him, like the stitches that kept his dough together were being slowly pulled out and torn. The firelight always got dimmer when Agar was eating, but he couldn’t even see his own reflection in the crystals anymore from the dimness.

“That’s enough,” said Pomegranate suddenly, and Agar Cookie paused. This felt… shorter than usual.

“Wha… huh…? But… hungry…” Agar Agar trailed off, interestingly not fighting back much.

“Yes, well, you’ll just have to suck it up. He’s too weak to continue, we can come back later.”

“But-“

Fire Spirit let his eyes close as he heard a harsh slapping noise echo through the cave. Suddenly, his senses were overwhelmed with the shrill shouts of Pomegranate Cookie and the small sobs of Agar Agar.

This wasn’t the first time this had happened.

He peeked one eye open, and the red cookie guarding him had his head turned to the side too.

His eye slipped back shut. Everyone was turning a blind eye towards this cookie.

No matter what she did to him, Fire Spirit Cookie couldn’t find it in himself to be angry at her. He didn’t want to hurt her, to defeat her, to break her mirror.

But he had to. He had to escape. He needed to escape this cursed cave. Whatever the cost.

Then the exhaustion washed over him once again, and he let the wave take him for the first time in months.

Chapter Text

Slowly, Fire Spirit Cookie’s eyes fluttered open.

He was still in the cave- expected. Agar Agar herself was guarding him for now, her head rested on her legs with her arms draped around them, one hand still tightly gripping the rim of her mirror.

He felt stronger, his head clear for the first time since he’s got here. Still not as strong as he’d been before, but stronger.

Laying down wasn’t comfortable anymore, so Fire Spirit decided to stand and stretch his legs.

The moment he moved, Agar Agar flinched hard and whipped her head around, her hands shaking.

Fire Spirit paused, staring at her. Her position didn’t change, so he just continued with what he was doing, standing up and popping his joints and cracking his knuckles for the first time in who knows how long.

It had suddenly become really tense in the room, with Agar Agar’s posture still unrelaxed and tensed up, eyes wide and trained on him. Fire Spirit wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure what, so he sat back down and began to fidget with the engravings on his scepter to keep himself occupied.

It was really boring in here so he’s just resorted to whatever he can to keep himself sane and his scepter was the only thing he had. The only thing they let him keep, presumably because they knew what happened if they took it away and the fact that it supplied his power. He didn’t know how the rumor for the former began but it was true so he was glad they believed it.

Honestly it would probably be much more convenient for them to take it away, trap him in a bead forever while they used the power of the dragon bead for their own evil schemes. But then they’d have to deal with a hangry immortal 11 year old with the powers of two of the strongest cookies on Earthbread which is why they kept him chained to the cave wall. He’ll take it, I guess.

Speaking of Agar Cookie, she’d just stood up.

Fire Spirit raised an eyebrow and didn’t move from his seated position. Truthfully, he was terrified of this cookie, after how long he’s been here the constant pain that came from her presence was beginning to terrify him. He didn’t let it show, he had to keep whatever aura he had left after all.

Then she lifted her mirror, and his own fire flicked underneath it.

Then the all too familiar claws gripped his soul, stabbing his ight at his power source, greedily taking and taking and taking.

The all too familiar exhaustion and pain fell over his body, making him collapse to the ground and curl in on himself, knuckles white from gripping his scepter like a lifeline.

Then the pain turned to horrible, excruciating agony.

A whimper forced its way past his lips as the feeling spread like a wildfire across his dough, the very seams of his existence seemingly unraveling and being torn and snapped and painfully yanked out one by one.

His muscles twitched and spasmed, his eyes screwed shut in a vain effort to try and make the agony less unbearable for himself. Jam rushed through his ears, drowning out the sounds of the cave and the flickering flames, which he didn’t notice getting so dim it was becoming a hard to see.

When it was finally over, he could do nothing but lay there, not daring to move an inch, tears brimming at his eyes.

But his reprieve was short, because soon, it was back.

He curled further in on himself, weakness coursing through his veins to replace the energy that had been forcefully torn out. The pain was unbearable, every movement he made sent even more bolts of anguish through his dough.

He couldn’t take it anymore. Fire Spirit screamed, every drop of longing, terror, and agonized suffering heard in his raw and cracked voice in one guttural screech that echoed off the shimmering white crystals within the cave, now dull with no firelight to keep their sparkle, traveling past the entrance and into the rockey valley outside for whoever who listened to hear.

He couldn’t believe the tears that streamed down his dry and ashen cheeks. It was a child, for the Witches’ sake.

Suddenly, the pain stopped. But the relief was cut short as waves of pain began to roll through his body. One after the other, not subsiding in intensity, trying to adjust to the cramping of his joins and bones and the swelling sense of emptiness within him.

He cracked an eye open through it. His vision was blurry from tears and exhaustion but he saw what appeared to be Pomegranate and Agar Agar talking. He couldn’t make out anything besides their silhouettes, so he let his eye shut again.

The agony was becoming too much to bear and with the exhaustion pulling at his chest, Fire Spirit felt himself begin to slip into unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Silently, Wind Archer approached the cave.

A scream. He’d heard a scream.

Some locals had told him the last person to talk to Fire Spirit Cookie was a mole who mined in the caves. Apparently, there was some strange monster appearances and he’d gone down with the miner to defeat them, and hadn’t came back out.

The miner said he had told him to leave, because the battle between him and the monsters was too dangerous for him to be there. He’d also said something about a cookie who was leading them, but Wind Archer paid it no mind, because his husband was in this cave.

The one that just had an ear splitting, agonized scream echo out of it.

Every instinct in his body wanted to run in, bow drawn, and destroy every single one of these captors- but he knew it was unwise to face a group of cookies and monsters who had managed to defeat one elemental guardian already.

So he crept down the side of the cave wall instead, and slowly made his way to the source of the sound.

As he was walking, he made sure to stick to the shadowed parts of the cave, hidden from the lantern light illuminating the cavern interior. Which worked, until he bumped into a small, doughy body.

Wind Archer gasped, reflexively reaching for an arrow. In front of him was a small mushroom cookie with dark skin and purple clothes, and a giant purple mushroom on his head.

The cookie blinked his purple eyes slowly at him, and then held up a comparatively small purple mushroom to him. “Shroomie?” He asked.

“You need to leave this cave, it is dangerous,” Wind Archer replied instead.

There was a moment of tense silence, and then the cookie dropped the mushroom. It exploded in purple spores on the ground, and Wind Archer covered his face with his scarf immediately, protecting him from the blast, but not from the young cookie climbing on his back, another mushroom in hand.

“Have a shroomie!” He chirped, before slamming it in his face, spores exploding everywhere in his eyes, lungs, and mouth. He coughed violently, eyes screwed shut, as Wind Archer tried to expel them from his body.

He opened his eyes and could barely see through the poisonous spores and his instinctual squint. He couldn’t shoot a bow like this.

Wind Archer turned around and fled. He had no choice, he couldn’t fight while under the effects of the spores. It was embarrassing to have to retreat this early into his journey, and from a child’s attack no less, but he could use the opportunity to regear and prepare.

Witches, he hoped he isn’t waiting too long to save his husband.

- -

Agar Agar Cookie felt more tears roll down her cheek from the pain. Both the physical pain of the hand mark on her cheek, and the emotional anguish of Pomegranate Cookie’s harsh words.

“I’m… s-sorry…” she tried to choke out, but all it was met with was more yelling.

Agar Agar hasn’t meant to overdo it. But Pomegranate kept putting limits on the amount of food she could take- a-and she’d just been so hungry, and-

She’d… kind of let herself get carried away.

Agar Agar hated when Pomegranate yelled. She felt worthless, weak. She’d made a small mistake, fixable at that, but the berating made it feel like she had destroyed their entire plan- maybe she had.

She ducked her head in shame more. She deserved this. She needed to be put in the right place. Even if it hurt.

Agar Agar glanced to the side, to where Fire Spirit lay.

She could tell his body was in overdrive, trying to save itself. His skin was ashy grey instead of the bright orange it had been, his hair drooping depressingly to the side. His dough was weak and she swore she could see tiny bits of ash float away at every breath he took.

But Fire Spirit was immortal, just like she was. So how..?

Ah, that was why Pomegranate Cookie was yelling. She’d taken too much food from him. Right.

She despised that her only way of eating was to hurt others. She didn’t want to hurt other cookies, but Pomegranate said that was the only way she could get food.

And she didn’t want to go back in the well, she was so lonely and so, so very hungry.

She’d taken worse. She could take Pomegranate yelling if it meant she could eat.

It was all someone like her deserved, after all.

- -

Finally, Fire Spirit woke again, but it was nowhere near as refreshing as last time.

His dough ached, the sensitive muscles and veins underneath pumping weakly to keep his flesh from falling apart. His hair, usually alight and burning brightly above him, had dimmed to an ashy brown and flopped to the side, sticking to his forehead, slick with grease. His scepter lay next to him, part of the staff under his leg, keeping him in the form of a cookie. His usually crispy and hard exterior was now dry and brittle, one movement threatening to cause the fragile dough to crumble away to ash.

His flame was weaker and dimmer than he’d ever seen it be, barely big enough to be felt. He felt his internal self try the over it up, slowly fan oxygen onto the small fire to get it to grow. It weakly flickered, and Fire Spirit Cookie felt his heart stop for a moment when it vanished from view, but slowly it began to grow higher, stronger than a small gust able to threaten to take it out.

When he felt it was strong enough, Fire Spirit slowly began to crack open his eyes.

Crusted tears and brittle dried frosting cracked and crumbled off as he forced his eyes to open. The room was dim, and he couldn’t make out much from his angle and from the now slightly brighter damp hair sticking to his forehead, but it looked like the cookie on guard was Licorice Cookie. Agar Agar and Pomegranate were nowhere to be seen.

Having no reason to keep them open, Fire Spirit let his eyes close once more, and he began to think.

He’d been to confident- so powerful feeling when he’d first awoken. He’d felt truly confident he could eventually take on Agar Agar and win.

He was foolish to think so. He’d fought her at full power and still lost. Now he was weaker and she was stronger. He couldn’t beat her.

Not to mention how quickly she reduced him to a sputtering and deathly husk, close to withering away at any moment.

He’d never, ever felt the level of exhaustion and fear he’d felt in that moment in his life, even when he was about to be killed in the volcano Pitaya Dragon found him in. That was terrifying.

He had to face it- he was probably not going to ever get out of this flame-forsaken cave. The thought made him want to gag up his non-existent stomach, but there was no point denying it. False hope would get him nowhere and maybe he wouldn’t have to go through that excruciating pain if he just accepted his fate here.

He would never see any of the Dragon’s Valley citizens again. Any of the guardians. Any of the elementals. Wind Archer. He would never see them again.

He didn’t know how to deal with that fact. But a small part of his, buried deep in the back of his subconscious, whispered to him.

That maybe, just maybe, this is what he deserved.

Chapter Text

Fire Spirit had lost all hope at this point.

It hadn’t been long until Agar Agar had began sapping from his power once again. He guessed the break was so he didn’t simply crumble away from the weakness.

Accepting his fate was a good decision. He knew that, because he’d started giving his fire willingly, and it didn’t hurt anymore.

Fire Spirit had began to create small balls of fire, letting the mirror absorb that instead. It being yanked from his body, his very core, still instilled a debilitating exhaustion in his dough, his very veins, which made him crumple to the ground each time, but at least it didn’t hurt. At least it didn’t feel like his very essence was being agonizingly ripped out of him. He could deal with a little sleepiness.

He was able to save on some fire with this strategy, actually. A former, naïve version of him might have seen this as a way to escape. But he was not that cookie anymore, instead he saw it as his privilege- now that he didn’t resist, he was able to feel somewhat whole again- well, as whole as he could be in this place, and hold on to more of his fire.

Plus, the guards were nicer now.

Some of them began to hold conversation with him. Licorice Cookie especially had warmed up to him, using him as a place to infodump and someone to talk at, even though most of the time he was too physically or mentally tired to respond, he appreciated the company.

Pomegranate Cookie would sometimes talk to him casually, as if they were friends. She’d vent about the insolence of the other cookies there, preach about Dark Enchantress Cookie’s glorious return, stuff like that. He didn’t necessarily care. It kind of annoyed him when she’d complain about one of the cookie’s he’d grown fond of, like Licorice Cookie.

A non-cookie- a cake werehound, maybe?- named Choco Werehound Brute had made a few remarks to him, but from what he knew, she seemed cool. He hoped he’d get to know her better, honestly, it didn’t seem like bad company.

And most surprisingly of all, Agar Agar cookie had began apologizing.

When she’d take his flame, even though he was doing so willfully now, she’d mumble out a small ”sorry,” too small for anyone to hear. But he heard.

He’d reassured her it was ok, but she continued to apologize. He didn’t know what changed but he didn’t mind the apologies. Agar Agar was clearly just a kid, not meant to be mingling with all this evil.

And he wasn’t exactly the best influence either.

Sea Fairy had told him before he was awful with kids, and though he’d been too stubborn to admit it, she was usually right, so he’d just accepted he shouldn’t be around kids. Knowing him, he’d probably just give them a giant sword then go fly off to do something else.

He wasn’t that good of a cookie either. He felt bad that Agar Agar was subjected to his presence.

In this cave, you really can’t do anything except for think. So he’d been thinking, reflecting, and his mind kept coming back to one time in particular. The last time he’d spoken with Wind Archer before his fight with Agar Agar and his capture.

…“You’re risking your life when you ignore this and I’m sick of it! You can’t be this reckless all the time, you’re a guardian and you need to FUCKING ACT like it!”

Fire Spirit had never, ever seen such pure rage and fury on Wind Archer’s face before. He’d hoped that if he ever did see something like that on him, it would be directed towards an enemy- towards something he could hate too.

But it was directed at him.

Tears burned at the back of his eyes and then began to spill over. Before Wind Archer’s could see his weakness at something so insignificant, he curled into a ball, still floating, and spun around until his back was to Wind Archer. It was an immature response, he knew it, he knew he was immature. But he couldn’t help it. He’d rather that then face judgement from his husband for something as small as being yelled at.

But he had never expected him to do that.

A voice shot through the quiet sounds of his sniffles and gasps. Wind Archer’s voice. “Fire Spirit, I-“

Fire Spirit interrupted him, quickly wiping away the tears and hoping his dough color hid the puffiness of his eyes. “No no, you’re…” Fire Spirit turned around, digging his nails into his scepter to ground himself, “you’re right. I do need to be taking this more seriously. I’ll come to the next meeting. I’m sorry.”

Wind Archer didn’t respond, just stared at him with an expression that was a mixture of pain, guilt, and horror. Fire Spirit broke his gaze away. He couldn’t bear to continue looking at him, lest that worry he’d traced warped into the hatred he always feared he’d see in Wind Archer’s eyes.

Unable to take the silence of the moment anymore, he spoke again. “I… need to check on the residents of the valley. I’ll meet you here in a week, same time, yeah?” As he got ready to fly away, he made the mistake of making eye contact with Wind Archer one last time, and the worry had changed to something so much worse than hatred could ever be- it had changed to hurt.

Unable to handle the tension anymore, Fire Spirit flew away like the coward he was, leaving his husband to pick up the pieces of his own mess.

Surely he must have missed the meeting and if anything, he’s definitely missed the meet up the week after he was going to go to.

He never was able to apologize. He never will be.

He had hurt his husband. He was a monster. What was wrong with him?

He was pathetic, a shitty excuse for a guardian and an elemental. Truly, what was Pitaya Dragon thinking? He should have been left to die in that volcano where he belonged.

He wasn’t trying to escape anymore, because not only had he realized it was impossible- that alone wouldn’t have been able to stop him anyways- but he had realized he had deserved this. The agony, the exhaustion, the weakness. The empty feeling of his flame not big enough to cover his body, his dough flaking off like embers.

He was cruel. He was oversensitive, he was selfish and immature, and he was nowhere fit to be a guardian. Hell, he should be dead. Part of him wished for that mercy, but he knew they’d never give it to him.

By staying here, he kept the other elementals safe from Agar Agar. Maybe a little bit of good would balance out the bad. As long as he knew they’d never give were alive, he could handle himself. He was nowhere near a good cookie, but if the elementals, if Wind Archer was safe, he might just be able to live with himself.

It was the least he could do.

- -

Wind Archer’s feet hit the rocky cave floor as he sprinted through the tunnels, bow in hand and ready to be notched at any moment. His scarf was pulled tightly over his nose and mouth, and his eyes were trained down one path which he knew was the correct one.

He’d retreated for only a day or so, but after restocking and preparing a little more, he was ready. He didn’t want to wait too long, his husband was in danger.

Unlike last time, it took him a few minutes until he was deep inside the cave for him to encounter any cookies.

Quietly, he peeked his head over a large walk, and saw two cookies conversing with each other. One was a giant werehound with a hammer, the other was a comparatively short red cookie with an arm made of cake.

Wind Archer narrowed his eyes. A different version of him would have assessed a way to distract them or simply waited until they moved to dart through unseen.

But he couldn’t afford to wait. Not after having done so for so long. He had to hurry, before it was too late.

So he simply steeled his nerves and sprinted straight through the pair and down the cave, his feet barely touching the rocky floor in his descent, ignoring the panicked and aggressive shouts of the two cookies.

He thinks he heard one try to chase after him, but he wasn’t paying attention to them. He knew the exact path to follow, the exact way to go. His wind was drawn to fire, no matter how weak it was.

Wind Archer took a left, then a right, the another left, then turned- and there he was.

Chapter Text

The first thing Fire Spirit heard was footsteps.

Those weren’t exactly uncommon to hear, and usually, they signified Agar Agar’s presence, so he’d learned to tense at them. But Agar Agar Cookie was the cookie sitting next to him.

These footsteps were rushed, frantic. They were quiet but still audible, and they sounded like they were skipping half of the steps on the stone staircase they ran down.

And they were headed straight for his direction.

Fire Spirit opened his eyes, and the last cookie he expected to see barged into the room.

“Wind Archer?” Fire Spirit gasped, and Wind Archer’s attention turned to him. He immediately regretted saying anything, because his husband’s face immediately dropped with horror.

The wind guardian ran over to him and knelt down. “Fire Spirit, oh my flame, what have they done?” He said, voice cracking, reaching up a hand and delicately placing it on his cheek.

But Fire Spirit felt nothing but alarm.

Resisting leaning into it, he pulled away from the hand on his cheek and said, “Windy, what are you doing here?! You need to leave, now.”

“Food…?” A voice from beside the two spoke. Agar had taken notice in Wind Archer, which was the thing he was afraid of.

His gaze darted over to her for a moment, before darting back to his husband, fear evident on his features.
“Please, Windy, for me. Run.”

Worry and hesitance were obvious in his eyes. “I’m not leaving without you,” he replied.

Suddenly, the room around them began to warm up. The pair looked towards the source to see Agar Agar summoning a giant fireball, aimed straight for the wind guardian besides him. His fire.

Wind Archer dodged, expertly moving his feet to avoid the fire’s trajectory. He drew back his bow and shot an arrow, and Agar Agar raised her mirror, and the arrow went right into it and vanished.

Wind Archer’s eyes widened and he clutched his chest. He looked back at him and his eyes flickered with recognition, and then, with horror.

Fire Spirit grabbed his ankle with more strength than he realized he had. “Fucking run!!!”

Wind Archer pointed his arrow at him, and he was hit with a wave of emotion; shock, betrayal, fear, relief. When the arrow flew forward, he couldn’t help his flinch, but the arrow whizzed past him.

To his surprise, the arrow shattered the chains keeping him bound to the cave walls. He lifted his hands in shock. The shackles were still there, but the chain was broken. He could leave. He could run.

“Please, Fire Spirit, come with me,” Wind Archer pleaded, voice breaking.

He couldn’t run.

Fire Spirit stood- and waited. He didn’t take a step forward, didn’t move, barely even breathed- his dough flaking away in the protective, suffocating wind that swirled around him. It had been so long since he’d felt a draft through his hair- it was damp and matted now.

The room began to heat up again the source from Agar Agar’s mirror, and Fire Spirit closed his eyes. Wind Archer’s voice called out, “I’ll come back for you, Fire!” and then the sound of footsteps, slowly fading in the distance.

Fire Spirit opened his eyes, and Wind Archer was gone.

Jam rushing through his ringing ears and he sunk to his knees. His eyes burning with tears. He’d pushed him away again. He had hurt his husband again.

It was the only way to keep him safe. He would do it again if he had to. So why did it hurt him so much? Why did it hurt both of them so much?

He was being punished, surely- for being an awful elemental and a horrible cookie. He was being subjected to this physical and emotional torment because he deserved to be, but it didn’t stop the ache in his heart knowing everything that happened was his own fault.

He hadn’t noticed that Agar Agar had left until she’d returned with Pomegranate Cookie, who raised an eyebrow at him when he met her gaze.

“Why?” She asked after their eye contact didn’t seem to communicate anything. “Why did you stay? You could have left.”

Fire Spirit gave a dry chuckle, looking at the ground. “I didn’t want Agar Agar hurting the other elementals.”

At the mention of her name, Agar Agar hid her face in shame.

“Is that so?” Said the priestess. “Perhaps if you continue to obey, I’ll let you keep the chains off- shackles too.”

Fire Spirit opened his eyes in shock and stared straight up into her eyes, his glare burning a hole in her head. “Fuck you, Pomegranate Cookie.”

“Excuse me?” She snapped.

“Fuck. You. Choke on your own fucking spit.”

Pomegranate groaned. “Such insolence will not be tolerated. Perhaps I can show you something to persuade your submission,” she replied.

Fire spirit raised an eyebrow when she began to wave her wand. It didn’t take long for the spell to take effect, as his eyelids started to feel heavy and his dough seemed to be weighed down by lead. He didn’t know what was about to happen, but fear coursed through his veins, something he never thought he’d feel towards a mortal.

“Sleep tight, little flame,” she said mockingly, and his consciousness slipped away.