A Change of Fate - A Cookie Run AU

Chapter Nine - Memory lane

Shroomie wasn't sure how to feel about this as anxiety rises. everything felt like the end of the world, but it also wasn't, like a witch will come and crush them, like his master had warned them of, but nothing changed. They were still in Choco's arms as he talks on the phone, gripping his shoulders as he paced with them. 

it felt like everything and nothing was happening at once. The air buzzes with sparking, lingering power and stress.  

Their head buzzes like a beehive, struggling to hear their own thoughts over every other thought that clouded their muddled head. They knew very little, but enough. Licorice hadn't come home and their ears started ringing as the air shifted slightly, and suddenly they were here. Perhaps they had a moment again? Who knows. All they know is that their partner in crime was missing and that needs to be fixed.

Choco continues to speak on the phone with someone as the moon rises up in the sky. It was such a beautiful night, the full moon evoking awe in them. They hope Licorice came home soon. He wanted to have bedtime stories with him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just clear his thoughts, that's all he wanted to do. Just stop thinking for a while, take a walk- but he couldn't. 

Gumball hadn't been so scared before. Going into the woods was probably the worst idea he had ever had. He honestly hadn't thought about what he was gonna do in there, just that he wanted to get out for a bit to think openly about the things buzzing around in his head. 

So as he sat on the dirt, looking up at the open starry sky Gumball thought about how he ended up here in the first place, scared and alone...

The news of defeat, brining a new age. The celebrations all over the kingdom. The shuffling of the expedition teams to continue exploring further out. Yes, that was it- Gumball supposes he could blame those in charge of them, maybe even the king himself. 

-

Pa was obviously frustrated, glaring down at the letter. Dad stood beside him with a worried expression. "Why do they need to shuffle the teams anyway? I worked with my team just fine! Ugh, I might as well work the bar full time at this point."

Dad leans into him as he finished his breakfast. "You could. Would be good for business. You know most of the regulars come just to see us hun." Dad chuckled as his bright golden frosting sparkled in the sun, looking up from the official paper. "You okay Gummy?"

"Yeah! Me and the others decided..."

-

They had said it was supposed to be a close-to-home mission- nothing extreme before his dad quit to work on his bar and breakfast full time. Gumball was personally excited to start working as a dish washer there with him to get some extra cash. There was an... unexpected incident though. 

His chest tightens, tears pricking his eyes at the memory. He doesn't want to think about it.

That was around the time he met Licorice, the newest member of their group, and probably the coolest of them. He remembered wanting to introduce him to his papa and his dad so bad so they could have sleepovers, but with the news that came that night he just hasn't had the opportunity 

-

The stairs creeked under his own weight, hand in hand with Onion as they listen into the hushed conversation at the front door in their pyjamas. The moonlight pours into the dark house. He could make out Sir Madilane's baritone voice, even though it was less confidant then it usual. Onion spares him a small glace before gliding down the stairs to stand with their adopted father at the door. 

He couldn't really hear what was being said, but guessed they told the little ghost to come back upstairs. He saw her shake her head, tearing up a bit. He hears her haunting voice mumble out something akin to "what's wrong" before Madiline looked down solemnly. He spoke again, louder, but Gumball barely was able to hear the words. He clung to the ones that did make it to him. 

Sparkling. Hospital. Coma. A mission gone wrong.

His father and sibling burst into tears. He could only watch.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys! just to clear up the timeline a little, licorice and shroomie have been in school for about 2-3 weeks now. 

Edit: I have been informed this chapter is a bit confusing. I am now going elaborate further on what any of this means.

Gumball cookie in this AU lives with Herb cookie (dad), Sparkling cookie (papa), and his adopted sister Onion cookie (this will be explained later, please don't come at me). Sparkling works part-time as an "adventurer," which means he goes on expeditions for the kingdom to explore various wild places in search of supplies. This is based on the expedition mechanic in the CR:K. After the "defeat" of dark enchantress cookie they decided to shake up the kingdom a bit to make things work better, including expedition teams. These are assigned groups that go together. Sparkling puts in his resignation, planning on working his bar full time again but an incident occurs, making him hospitalized. THIS IS IMPORTANT LORE which is why I'm not leaving y'all lost and confused on this. Feel free to theorize and ask questions in the comments :)