Strawberry Crepe's Interlude (Cookie Run Fanfic)

The Beginning (That Seems Like the End)

As the smoke rose from the ground all around them, they simply stared at the collection that began to cover the dark pink-toned sky of the land. They were defeated and alone at the moment, just sort of waiting for...well something. Maybe death, sleep, even maybe another cookie to talk to or help or...anything really.

Strawberry Crepe would admit to making a mistake except they really couldn't bring themselves to do it. It wasn't something programmed well into their system, it wasn't like they could control all the emotions they had because of that. So they sat, bloody and leaning against the remains of one of the wafflebots in the middle of the fiery destruction from the battle.

The other cookies had already gone into the castle so they had no use anymore. They failed and now it was their time to die. It wasn't fair that way, that they had nobody on their side. Maybe they would have but...well once again Crepe couldn't really control the whole "betrayal" thing. If only they could of then perhaps Custard would be here. It was dumb really, the companionship that Strawberry Crepe found in the cookie but it was just that he was one of the only cookies that they had seen in a long while.

Yes, the others were also the first cookies but Custard was...kind and friendly. Incredibly naïve but in an almost charming sort of way. In a way that had just made Crepe want to go against their programming to protect him. And they sort of did, in little ways. Ways such as the perhaps slight sabotage of their own wafflebots sent to stop them so he had a lesser chance of getting hurt. Whenever Custard seemed cornered perhaps Crepe would lend a far away hand using the technology they had created to disarm wafflebots in case of emergencies.

As much as all of this was stuff Crepe had done, there was nothing they could do about this. The betrayal. They had to they couldn't not it was their job. They had to not let any cookie in the castle and sadly, Custard had been going into the castle with the others. This put them on opposing sides. Nothing could be done with that.

Somehow though, if you asked Strawberry Crepe what hurt the worst they would tell you that even though the pain they felt physically was almost unbearable, it was the look of shock, sadness, and fear that Custard had given them that truly hurt. Engraved in their mind it was what they would think about when thinking of Custard. The world really wasn't fair to them sometimes.

Memories began to flood Crepe's mind of the recent events since they met Custard. Since the night Crepe had first met the cookie group, toyed with for a moment before ending with a "catch me if you can!" bit. That night, they had been tinkering with some of the wafflebots to add upgrades and such only to hear the door to their workshop swing open. When they whipped their head around to find the culprit of the door's opening, they met eyes with the blue eyed blonde cookie that smiled wide with their success.

"Found you! It took so long you know, you should have left clues!"

Crepe had been speechless, not expecting any of the cookies to actually look for them. Looking back at it now, they were pretty sure that none of the other cookies would have looked for them. It was really only a Custard thing to think of it as a sort of tag or hide and seek game. It was childish of him. But honestly...Strawberry Crepe had been pleasantly surprised that night.

That had been the beginning of many dumb visits in the night from Custard, where he would go searching for them and almost every time succeed in doing so. At one point Crepe simply started to tell Custard where to find them that next night to save him the running around. At first, the two of them simply talked, or he simply talked, Crepe mostly stayed quiet. They aren't sure when but soon enough, Custard had begun to help Crepe with their maintenance of the wafflebots. Of course, Custard was naive but not a fool so he one day found the courage to ask some questions.

Custard handed Crepe a wrench and they began to fix back on the pieces they had taken from the wafflebots to fix its wiring. Custard waited patiently for Crepe to finish, not saying anything but just watching them finish up the work. When Strawberry Crepe had finally sat up, finished fixing this bot's damage, Custard took the opportunity to ask his questions.

"Hey Crepe, I don't mean to be prying or anything but is there a reason you fix these wafflebots? They kind of attack a village under this kingdom and well they attack me and my subjects as well. Are you...the one sending them after us?"

Strawberry Crepe didn't say nor do anything. Sitting perfectly still. They had no idea what to answer, to this day they still don't know what the perfect answer would have been. In that past though, Crepe had to respond with something so they did.

"Well Custard, keeping up the wafflebots is sort of my job. I...well I can't really do much else. And I can't stop. I just...can't Custard. I'm sorry."

Crepe didn't turn around to see Custard's face after their response, they can only imagine the confusion that was evident in his pristine features. Crepe's response hadn't been satisfying for anyone there, because honestly, Crepe themselves wish they knew about why exactly they were guarding the castle. It was just what they did. Nothing could be done about it.

Maybe that's the worst part of all this. Even if a part of me, the cookie part of me, had truly wanted to stay with Custard, maybe go see his so-called kingdom and mess around with him, there is no way I could have changed my mind. If I can't truly control myself, is life even quite worth living? Well, maybe I should have thought more about that back when I had a chance to choose my fate. Ha, I'm dying on this floor no matter what now...how depressing.

Strawberry Crepe looked down from the smoky pink sky and rested their head on the broken wafflebot they sat beside. They laid on the remains and felt the weight of their eyelids that wished to close at any moment. What a humiliating way to die, being defeated in a battle they barely wanted to fight. Damnit, the more they thought about it the more they really didn't want this fate.

But there was nothing that could be done, so as their eyelids slipped closed and they began to breathe their last breaths they whispered to themselves their final words of that moment.

Aren't I too young to die?...

Screams could be ever so slightly heard in the distance...it was probably their imagination.