#manipulation warning

Known Cult Leader "The Spawn God/The Spawn Father" (also recently discovered to be the user "Spawns Light") now has a new alt account. username and user id unknown, screenshot taken from another server where the username was blacked out.

"How brave you are, dear Hero. Truly, you live up to your name!" Timekeeper patronized to the young cookie. Within the Director's Office of the Time Balance Department, the caramel cookie stood nervously in front of the deity he knew to be chaotic. "P-please, just call me Caramel when I'm not in my suit... Only Croissant is supposed to know about my other identity..." The words that almost sounded like pleading were only met with a grin. "Of course, of course! My apologies... Caramel..." Something about the way his name was spoken sent chills down his spine, but he didn't dare let his fear show more than it already was. For a hero, he was certainly a coward by heart. "Well then! Please do make yourself at home in the TBD! And if you dare try to tamper with the deal that Croissant and I have made..."

"Consider yourself a permanent member of this department."

The whole interaction, let alone Timekeeper's words, were certainly ones that were wrapped around Caramel's mind. It was with a nervous sigh that the mechanic speedily walked through the halls of the TBD, careful of his asthma, to head into the personal quarters. He's visited now and then, so knowing where Croissant stayed was one of the only comforts of stability he had in mind. As for Croissant herself, well... That was the main issue at hand.

The two keep in touch regularly, but it was only recently that Caramel had noticed a change in her behavior. He knew the deal between his sister and Timekeeper, and though he didn't want that deal to remain, he wouldn't stop Croissant from doing what she wished. She was just being stubborn as always, and could easily hold out for as long as need be... Or so Caramel thought it to be. There was something in the way she spoke over the calls the two had together, the way it seemed... Unstable. Spastic, really, though Caramel wasn't sure if it would be rude to describe her as such. Not to mention she was letting her hair down more often, something Caramel knew his sister hated to do.

His footsteps paused before the door to Croissant's room. The mechanic took in a deep breath, knowing that being face-to-face with this oddly acting sibling of his would be... A trip, to state the least of it. "No matter what happens... She's still your family." He murmured, adjusting his glasses and taking a step into the quarters he knew to be Croissant's. And... Well, he was greeted with an overly excited hug! Normally Croissant would just be chill enough to offer a wave or something, so for Caramel, this was more than a bit sudden! "Oh, Melly! It's so wonderful to see you again!" Yup. That voice was different. A lot more playful than usual, so say the least. "I can't wait to show you all the progress I've made in going through time all by myself! At this rate, I won't even need my machine sooner than later!"

"Y-yea, okay, neat..." Caramel squirmed in the other's hold, finding himself whimpering even once he was released. "L-l-listen, Saunty, I... I think y-you should take a break from all of this TBD business..." Croissant seemed to twitch their visible eye, the other having been covered by an eye patch. Wait- "Uh- Though before you u-uh go off on me about that... What happened to your eye...?"

"This? Oh! Haha! I just accidentally went through time with my goggles only part-way on! It was an honest mistake, and Timekeeper found the time in their day to make this patch just for me!" That... Wasn't a good thing to hear, in Caramel's mind. Expression narrowing in worry, the mechanic found himself almost trembling at the thought of his sister slowly becoming another Timekeeper. "Oh... That's- That's unfortunate..." He mumbled, trying to find a way to speak of things without winding up seeming offensive. Especially not to someone as dear to him as Croissant. "Maybe- Maybe you really should take a break... At least let your eye recover a-and that, yea...?"

For being the weird one in the room, Croissant certainly looked at Caramel as if he had grown a second head. "Take a break? Let it recover? Haha, Caramel, quit being a jokester! Being the greatest mechanic of time is a tireless endeavor! That, and my eye won't ever heal anyways, so there's no point in stopping for that!" That grin the afflicted held... It was so similar to Timekeeper that Caramel swore the two could have swapped places at that moment. "I-I know it's something your passionate about, but... I... I'm really concerned that something is happening to- to you, you know? You're... You've been acting so different..."

"Maybe so! But that's not an excuse to just let all of my work be put on hold! I'm so close to some kind of breakthrough, I just know it! I'll keep working at it so long as time lasts!" With a yelp from the mechanic, Croissant set her hands on the other's shoulders, looking him dead in the eyes. "C'mon, brother o ' mine! Can't you see how happy this is making me? You don't want to upset your big sis, do you?"

As much as Caramel wished to look away, get away from that wickedly joyous gaze that felt as if it didn't belong to her sister at all, he... He was caught in it. "I-I don't mean to upset you, no... I... Don't..." The hero was losing his words, not even realizing that they were being lost in a haze. When had Croissant gotten her eye so bright and easy to fall into? He- He couldn't tell if it was her anymore, really. "I know you don't, silly! Which is why I want you to just look at me and tell me something!" It was an odd request, but... Caramel would nod. Slowly. "What is it that you- that you want me to say...?"

"That you love working at the TBD!"

A simple request, though one that Caramel would hesitate to comply to. "C'mon, Melly! Just say it! You'll feel better when you say it, I promise! Hehe!" Caramel's vision went blurry for a moment before focusing back on that enticing eye. If- If she said so... "I... I love working for the TBD...?" There was a joyous laugh in response, one that struck a chord in Caramel to get him to smile faintly. "You love working for the TBD, just like me! We can work together!" Together... Being with family was always a good thing, not that Caramel could really say anything of the sort with how his mind was somewhat blanking.

Some other voice, hazy as it may be, was just behind Croissant's. Caramel couldn't tell whose it was, but it wasn't as if it mattered. The TBD would be a great place to finally stay with Croissant and not have to worry about her during all of his heroic duties... "Say it again, won't you?" The voice prompted, and Caramel answered. "I love working for the TBD..." And upon being told to repeat, Caramel did so. He loved working for the TBD. It was a fantastic place to stay. He loved working for the TBD. Just like Croissant. He loved working for the TBD.

-Kimidori would be the younger brother.

-Midori and Kimidori would have polar opposite personalities to eachother. Midori is loud, stubborn, and brash, whereas Kimidori is quiet, more willing to listen, and thinks things through. Because of their opposite personalities, they often clash, and do not get along with eachother often, there are few things they agree on.

-Kimidori and Witchy would get probably get along better, and Witchy would often tell Kimidori some ridiculous stuff Midori had gotten into, as well as be interested in helping with her spells.

-Unlike his brother, Kimidori didn't join the military.

-Kimidori would be low-key jealous over how well-regarded his brother is.

-Kimidori's jealousy over his brother's fame would make him turn to the dark side briefly, where Midori has to save him (with Midori getting pretty beat up in the process), because even if they don't get along, they're still family. Once rescued, Kimidori regrets what he has done, and apologizes for his jealousy getting the better of him, Midori would forgive him, because hey, they're still family. (In IV (in an AU where Midori and Mizuiro were never removed from the plot and are still heroes), Kimidori would end up getting influenced by the Dark Biida and Midori would have to purify him by a healing shot. In V, Kimidori would get manipulated by the Devil Musketeers into building a mecha suit that they said would make him stronger, only for the trio to backstab him and use said mecha suit to trap him within it and hold him hostage.)

There have always been some... Odd occurrences when it came to reflective surfaces. Perhaps it was just her experiences with how timelines often emitted strange and distorted forms of light, but Croissant couldn't help but be curious as to why this was the case. She wasn't much for figuring out the physics of light, that was more of her brother's field, but... In the very least, reflective surfaces should be accurate when a wormhole isn't involved. Reflective surfaces should act as they normally do, so long as there isn't some type of abnormality in this location. And, when it comes to being within the TBD, Croissant knew full-well there shouldn't be any oddities around here... This was the most stable place in all of the space-time continuum!

...As much of an idiotic choice it was to hide here, perhaps it was that stupidity of an idea that made it unexpected and a good place to hide!

Yet despite its stability, there was still something missing. The reflection that Croissant should have seen in the headlights of her craft should have been of herself, but... It just... Wasn't. Sure, it was about the same palette, but there was far more yellow and far less brown. If she stared close enough, she could even see a... Spiral? That wasn't a part of the mechanic's headlight, nor was it a part of anything that could be reflected. Narrowing her gaze, Croissant grew curious of what could have caused this, though the source was quite different than what one would expect.

"You really thought you could outrun me again and again, didn't you?" That voice-!

Croissant whipped around, holding out her wrench defensively to the deity that made their presence more than just a bit known. "T-Timekeeper!? I thought you were- You shouldn't be-"

"I shouldn't be where I control, and should be out looking for other places to control and bring under my grasp? Oh, how simple-minded you can be..." Backing away from the mechanic, Timekeeper grinned with an aura that shook Croissant to her core each time she encountered this devious tricker. "Come now, sweet Croissant, you may have thought your reverse psychology would have gotten me off of your trail, but you have forgotten... I know more about you than you know of yourself. In fact, you could learn such if you just gave up and joined the rest of your family."

Blinking, the fixer-upper of a cookie couldn't help but be taken aback. Sure, she knew of Caramel being taken into the TBD as some higher figure- not of his own will- but the rest of her family, too? Why... "I'm- I'm not going to give up on taking down such a poorly led organization!" There was a laugh from Timekeeper, one that brought a small growl from Croissant. "You laugh now, but- but know that no matter what happens to me or those around me, I'm not going to stop fighting!"

"No matter what happens, you say?" The deity drew closer once more, floating upon their scissors and gently bringing down that wrench that was such a 'huge threat' to them. "Now that sounds quite selfish, now doesn't it? Ruining others just so you could have your way? You really haven't considered what your actions are doing to others, have you?" Another laugh, and in the blink of an eye the keeper was gone. Croissant searched the area as fast as her eyes could process, only settling upon seeing Timekeeper within the lens of her craft.

"Everything you're doing is for naught, my dearest... If only you could see that..." Croissant huffed in response, grip tightening on her wrench as the trickster continued to spout nonsense that she wouldn't dare listen to. Not in a million years, or eons if time travel had anything to do with it! "Continue down this path and not only will you destroy yourself. Your family will be disappointed upon realizing that you have failed... And that you have done nothing more than cause more grief than joy."

"Even I, the one who believed in you the most, am doubting your capabilities... Truly, you are going down the worst of timelines." More and more would be babbled on. Any interjections Croissant would make would be heckled and retorted, with nothing new coming about from it aside from a dwelling sensation of heat that began to bubble over.

"I wish you understood just how horrifically you're ruining yourself and others... Perhaps in another time, you will finally be able to realize your true purpose. Your purpose o-"

The sound of glass shattering echoed through the room. The engineer wouldn't listen to them any longer. With glass shards stuck in her glove and her wrench thankfully undamaged... It took a few passing moments for Croissant to realize precisely what she had done. Well, it was only moments, but it could be felt to be hours. "...You really like your provocation, don't you Timekeeper?" Croissant spoke bitterly, though there wasn't anyone there to listen. Not... Not physically, anyway.

A curious soul wandering through the City of Wizards was an expected sight around such an area. In fact, it was common for children around this time of year to wind up in such an extravagant place, taken for a day or less to explore under the watchful eye of the moon and her protective gaze whilst kids would take in the sights of a time long past. When grand wizards with power beyond one's imagination ruled over the vast expanse of the Cookie Kingdom with the knights as their loyal allies...

Though when it comes to children remaining behind, there were very few instances of such. Even rarer was the moon becoming unseen as night fell over the city... Keeping a young child in the dark when all of her classmates have left her behind.

Blueberry Pie, or as her classmates called her 'Bluebs', was never one to stray or break the rules. Clutching her history book in her dainty hands, it would come as a shock to her that she had been left behind by her class. Every call that she made to her teacher, her classmates, her friends... Nothing but the cold wind would blow in response. Without a star in the sky to light the way, without a sight of the moon, it was dreadfully dark. For Bluebs, it was terrifying. She whimpered, looking all around and desperately trying to find someone else... Anyone else... So that she wouldn't be alone in her endeavors to get home. Sure, she typically spent her time alone, but this was different!

Trembling steps upon the pavement that so many souls had walked on before her, the child kept searching. Though she couldn't find a singular soul to speak to, there was a type of sparkle- like that of a star- that flickered before her. Blinking, Blueberry then placed her efforts into following the mysterious light. She had heard of Will O' Wisps, but this was certainly different... And it wasn't as if she had anywhere else she could go for the time being. May as well follow the only source of light she had.

Following such a mysterious source was strange, it was comforting all the same for the small soul. Stuttered steps became smooth as she approached a large library of sorts- an archive- and opened the doors that protected the place with ease. It was then that the sparkles shined bright, spreading light that Bluebs had to cover her eyes for. One hand still on the book and the other over her eyes. She hoped she wouldn't need glasses after this- the stigma behind those would certainly lead to her getting bullied... There was a bit of a wince from the child over how blinding it had been, but once she opened her eyes and placed her grip back over her history book...

That book dropped to the floor, the fantastical sight freezing Blueb's senses in the most wondrous sense imaginable. "Miss..." Her voice spoke softly, the awe in her voice clearer than how her sight now was. "Miss... M-Moonlight?!" Indeed, before the child stood the deity of the moon herself, Moonlight. Her Majesty gave a gentle bow, smiling down at the child in awe with soothing warmth. "The very same as you and your class have read, dear..."

There was a squeal from the child as she scrambled to get herself together. Was her shirt buttoned correctly? Was her headband on right? Were her shoes tied? Aaaah, this was such an honor! "Calm yourself, child." The moon stated quietly, getting the child to pause and look up at the deity with a minor look of embarrassment. "M-my apologies, Miss Moon...!" She'd sputter, only getting a soft chuckle in response. "I understand. No need for apologies. Though... I do require something of you, child." There was a gaze of sparkling curiosity from the child, one that Moonlight couldn't help but feel just the smallest pang of guilt for creating such hope.

"You see, young one... These towering shelves require a protector... The Wizards of old have renounced their oath, and their spawn are receiving their dues..." Bluebs barely understood, but her fascination kept her attention hooked. "These archives are now unsafe due to the Wizards forsaking their promises to me, and I require a new protector. And it is with you, another one of their kin, that I wish to keep this place protected due to its sacred nature and countless tomes of magical and historical information..."

"S-so, you're going to make me a librarian?" Moonlight was taken aback by the question, though answered accordingly. "Ah... Yes, but I am sure you would prefer being called something more akin to the Archive's Overseer, wouldn't you?" There was an eager nod, one that her majesty found endearing. "Well then, Archive's Overseer... Do you accept your role as a protector over this very place? Relinquish all that you have, atone for the ancestors, and dedicate yourself to a special portion of my dear home, the City of Wizards?"

Bow drawn, eyes blinded, target still... The seeker of truth, Night Raven, had finally found his chance. Staring down from the highest point on Temple of Millennial Tree, adjusting his aim ever so slightly, a huff was let out. Laced with crimson poison just as he'd been blessed with, his arrow would surely put an end to that accursed tree. A purification ritual on a centaur? To Raven, this was nothing more than brainwashing. That poor soul would be saved soon enough.

Beneath his covered eyes, he narrowed to adjust his aim once more... And let the arrow fly. The end of the deity, surely, would befall the filthy excuse for someone 'holy'. Birds flew, branches shook, and yet... The target wasn't reached. From the freed archer's ears, the arrow had pierced flesh, not bark. Unfortunate, but still useful. He lowered his bow, standing silently and taking in the reprocussions of his actions.

Below, Raven could spy the tree and the centaur, the centaur pierced through their stomach and the tree in shock. It wasn't long until the Millennial noticed precisely what was occuring, and rather than staying to help, he made a break to escape. 'Cowardly as always,' Night Raven thought, 'leaving the guardians to suffer rather than helping them with his power.'

With a beat of his wings, the archer took to the air, only to swiftly glide down to the grassy floor, and take a closer look at the individual he had injured. No blood, just... A mix of purple and crimson flowing through the centaur's body, seeping toward through viens and arteries. Fig- that was their name, yes?- was all but alright. Panicked, pained, and trembling at the very sight of Night Raven. They sputtered that they didn't want to be hurt, covering their 'wound' with one hand while the other reached out in defense to Raven's danger.

"Worry not, child of the tree." Raven's voice spoke low, near silent, like the whisper of the wind itself. The familiarity gave Fig chills, so much so it weakened their legs... Or was it the arrow and whatever it was doing to them? "Scarlet will flow through you soon. You will no longer have to worry about following the deity that will do nothing to aid you. You will be free."

In thier confusion, Fig was given only seconds to react as the arrow that had been shot into them was grabbed and torn from their body. There was a yelp from the poor centaur as their legs gave out, pain coursing over them...

...and the petting that they recieved upon their head sickening them, yet- yet it still held a tinge of comfort they couldn't deny.

"Dear Fig, thou who was stuck being nothing more than a custodian... Allow the power of scarlet to release you, and may you rise as someone free of control and inhibitions..."

The moonlight had not shined through for what felt to be eons. The sliver of light and gentle joy Blueberry Pie waited endlessly for the ray of blessings to flow its way into the archives. Even now, her hopes to see the moonlight again were fading.

Standing before where the moon once shared its solace with her, Blueberry clutched her tome close, feeling it's desire to brust forth and cause a havoc of the organized tomes that she had spent so very long ensuring their correct placement.

Doubts clouded her mind. She knew it was simply the tome attempting to break her, as it always had. Yet, instead of coming to rampage to try and ruin it physical form, it aimed elsewhere. It aimed precisely for where she had grown weakened. The archive's protector could not help but express a fleeting look of fright. If the sweet, gentle hold of the moon's reflection never returned, she would have no reason to continue in her solace.

The shelves surrounding her melted into what she felt to be imprisoning bars. Blueberry took a step back from the bookcase by her side, nearly a stumble as she watched her home appear more and more akin to a place of captivity.

'How lonely it must be, trapped here with all these tomes.' The librarian, shaken by the sudden familiar voice, looked down to her tome. 'Not a soul to appriciate you, nor even visit you. All because of a stupid, long forgotten promise those wizards never kept.' Blueberry huffed, the edges of the book digging into her hands as frustration welled. It was unknown to her if this was caused by the book's words or her own forsaken agreement to them.

The book rattled and shook in her hands, yet she wouldn't let go, no matter how forcefully the crimson glow pried into her mind. 'The Wizards had broken their promise and disappeared from the world. You broke your own promise to never read us accursed sealed pages of literature on a moonless night, so do you intend on disappearing just like them?'

Blueberry Pie shook her head, breathing strong as her composure was being prodded. She didn't wish to disappear- No one would wish that! No one in their right mind, anyways...

'Then listen, and listen close...' The librarian's gaze affixed itself to the tome. Her grip loosened ever so much, and the tome popped right open. It was difficult to tell whether the action was purposeful or accidental. From the cursed book, a scarlet and voided snake-like shadow slithered its way right out of the pages to face the one that held them. The overwhelming saturation of the creature was far more inviting than the dulled colors of the trap she called her residence. 'Let us break the promise of the archives and go free.'