#got lazy

You sent letters to the other virtues but lately... no one has been responding. The Herald of Change, your closest friend, hadn't sent you a letter in years. You sent letters to other nearby locations, namely the Spire of Knowledge, the Ivory Pagoda, and the Faerie Kingdom. Only one gave you an answer back...

Reading Elder Faerie Cookie's letter was... heartbreaking. Sea Salt's land was being attacked by the others? Their virtues corrupted? What happened? How did it start?

Questions ran through your mind as you immediately took flight to The Great Barren to help your fellow virtue.

They planned for that. Hence, why they only sent their henchmen to the Great Barren.

You see, your kingdom was hidden because you were there. You cast a spell of protection over your kingdom so that your citizens, those who had already reached their lowest, wouldn't get hurt again. But now that you had left.

Your kingdom was ripe for the picking.

When you reached The Great Barren. It was too late. All that laid were crumbs. The Salt of Solidarity wasn't there. The corrupted virtues weren't there. There.... was only silence.

Thats when you felt your soul jam tingle. Sure you felt that the hope in the world has been starting to dwindle.... But most of the hope tied to your power came from your citizens...

YOUR CITIZENS!

THEY'RE ALL ALONE VULNERABLE!

In a panic, you raced back at the realization.

"No no no! They didn't! They wouldn't!"

You were pushing your magic to the limit as you ran. The Great Barren wasn't exactly close to your kingdom.

But as you got closer... You saw fires raging. Was your forest... ablaze?

Adrenalin took over as you went even faster.

Nothing looked recognizable. You didn't even realize that you passed by the rubble of your kingdom. You only slowed down when you started recognizing the crumbs of those you tried to protect. Kneeling down to the crumbs, you turned the body over and paled.

There was Doctor Wasabi Cookie. She came to your kingdom after her granddaughter got caught up in one of her inventions and crumbled.

And Red Bean Cookie. He took on a storm too much for even him. Causing paralysis, forever keeping him from the one thing he loved doing.

There were many others too. But all you saw were crumbs... that were impossible to tell who was who.

All you had gone to do was check up on your friend.

But everything was gone in the blink of an eye.

You felt something shift within you as you simply wandered. Wandered through the rubble of your discarded kingdom. Your robe caught the jam of your fellow cookies as you wandered deeper.

Eventually, you found yourself in the Ghost Yeast forest.

And just.... broke down.

The paleness of the forest seemed to reflect your emotions in that moment. You stared down at your hands and the tears just fell down from your eyecings. The tears mixed with the jam on you hands

Something is wrong...

Something's wrong....

What is it?

Something feels wrong.

"Is it... me?"

You slowly laid on the pale path of the Ghost Yeast Forest. From the angle of your form, you looked down at your soul gem. A beautiful shade of purple unlike your forest green.

Hope can be fleeting. If you cant find the beacon then what else can you do?

"Maybe... I'll..... just sleep it off....."

And that you did.

Going to sleep for years.

The Salt of Solidarity had been tame till that point.

After all, the Beacon of hope was still alive as well, the two virtues that held the strongest sense of conviction. But when he heard the rumors, he had to see it for himself. And what he saw, disappointed him to no end. The rubble of the fallen kingdom was one thing but the crumbs of cookies who have already experienced their darkest tide was something else entirely.

No one but the witches know how long you've slept for

But those who resided in the monstrous lands who felt the Salt of Solidarity crumble... it was enough for the residents of Beast Yeast to assume that the Beacon of Hope had fallen as well.

That was when the rumors began.

"I heard the Beacon of Hope was the first to crumble"

"Really? I heard it was the Bringer of Happiness."

"What? No way, its gotta be the Herald of Change. Legends say he just got bored of his kingdom after all."

"What? The Herald? Thats silly."

"Havent you heard? Rumour has it that he and the Beacon were an item"

"What? No way?"

"How did we get from fallen legends to shipping them???"

"To be fair, they'd make a cute couple."

.....!

You shot up suddenly. Years of sleep without feeling anything... but now you felt something? Movement within the pale grass. Was it running? Crawling? You got up and desperately ran to where you felt that odd presence. Who was stupid enough to lay foot on your sleeping territory?

It led you to a tree. But it looked like any other tree... only... There was a fallen cookie a few feet away. You slowly approached the tree and peaked in. Your ears flattened and you slowly picked up the small cookie. They had a small pendant sat atop of them.

Nervously, you opened it... going wide eyed as you recalled the cookie in the photo...

A member of your kingdom...

Someone had survived!

You rocked the cookie, assuring them that everything was going to be okay. And it was. Sure your soul gem turned a mix of purple and green and it isnt shining but what does that matter? Someone is actually alive. You didn't completely fail your citizens.

First you slept for you and now you stay hidden for years, the world around changing while you and your new adopted child happily lived out new peaceful lives. You even reconnected with Elder Faerie Cookie. Yes you heard about the other Virtues now being referred as Beasts, including yourself. Yes you heard about the rumors that you and Crushed Spice were together. Yes you heard rumors that apparently you died along with your kingdom. But for some reason... You preferred this.

No duties to hold, only one cookie to keep an eye on. Everything turned into a peaceful serenity for you.

Today felt like no different than the last...

"Mama! I'm gonna visit Uncle Elder Faerie Cookie again!" Your child waved while you waved back. You trusted your child. Sure you were nervous and yes you used your nature magic to keep an eye on them but its for safety. Beast Yeast is full of monsters.

You were meditating, while keeping an eye on your child. Everything was going well.

-

Did..... Did the connection cut? You blinked and tried to reconnect your magic.

Nothing...?

Again...?

Nothing...

One more time?

.......

Blueberry Milk Cookie?

That presence was familiar. But it had a hint of... lilies and vanilla. Were the beasts back?

You got up, presuming the worst. Calling your child's name, you got more worried when you didn't get an answer back. Running through the forest was starting to bring back memories you didn't want to remember.

Running to the Faerie Kingdom, you noticed a dark cloud starting to loom over. "This magic..... It is......" You teared up and continued onwards. "That jester is not doing that again!" You cried out loud as you made your way.

Your child on the other hand. Stared in shock. Yes they had just met Gingerbrave a little while ago. Yes their mother had told them to be careful around strangers. Yes they probably expected something bad but not an ancient evil their mother warned them about.

Blue hands started coming out of the Silver Tree. And cookies before it caught the eyes of the beast of Shadows. It spoke to those in Gingerbrave's group but for your child, it all went in one ear and out of the other. They were just in shock before their legs gave up on them and they fell. Catching the eye of your former Virtue.

"Oh Ho Ho~! And who is this~?" Your child froze up and backed up as one of the hands reached for them. Only to be blocked by a barrier familiar to the Beast. "This magic...... Oh... Oh! OH HO HO HO HO HO~~!! So the ol' Forest Dweller had a little Sproutie ey~"

Clawing himself out of the tree, Shadow Milk Cookie laughed, greatful at his newfound freedom. The shadows under his control wrapped up the brave gang while he went to go speak with the child frozen in fear.

"I didn't think that forest dweller would actually settle down for someone. Huh. My destructive friend wouldn't like that~ Maybe I should get rid of you before he finds out." Shadows started moving under them both but just as they were about to attack, a pale green spear flew straight for the shadows, disintegrating them.

"That... Spear..... This strength!"

Shadow Milk smirked before laughing like a maniac. "Oh Boy! It seems like I've entered a stage mid-performance." Shadow Milk's eyes darted around before catching sight of his old ally. The sight of your furious, glowing eyes seemed to ignite something within him. The maternal instinct was a strong one. Especially in the hands of someone like you.

"I believe it's best to wait for the next act, yes?

Shadow Milk waved his hand, the shadows disappearing as his own form exploded in a bunch of circus balls.

"Are you alright my dear?" You asked your child through telepathy. A spell you learned to speak with your former virtues. And while you child said they were find..

You just feel like this wouldn't just be a one time thing...

I'm sorry- ToT I got so lazy at the end