Oh, How I've Fallen Because of You

Battlefield

The song that was in my head when I thought of this lol

...

Pastry Cookie had fallen.

"She fell into the ultimate dough!" Red Velvet Cookie exclaimed.

"Pastry Cookie!" Espresso exclaimed, rushing forth to try and desperately grab the cookie, only to be slammed away from the edge with a shield.

His body skids across the warm metal surface of the tray, groaning in pain.

Madeleine- no...Dark Madeleine Cookie made his way towards him as Red Velvet Cookie and Pomegranate Cookie watched Pastry Cookie's fall with hushed whispers. He looks up at him with crimson red eyes, no longer a smile on his face.

"Madeleine..." he hissed, wheezing out in pain.

"I can't let you help her," he states, "after all, I have unfinished business with you, Espresso Cookie."

He fires an exploding coffee spell, but Madeleine was quick to put up his shield, coffee grinds dusting over the knight. He continued to make his way over as Espresso tried to get up and push the knight back.

"Why..." he rasped as he tried to get up, "Why did you join them? What about the Divine you speak of all the time?"

"Didn't I tell you?" The blond cookie was finally close enough to Espresso that he kicked him down, "that Madeleine is dead. I'm surprised you're asking for him so much, despite the fact that you despise him for who he was."

Expresso's eyes widened with horror.

"Wh-what...?"

He chuckled, kneeling down as his sword pinned the coffee mage's cape to the ground.

"Don't act like a fool, Espresso," Madeleine huffed, "you seem to despise me for everything I once stood for. You despise my use of light magic, my arrogance, my ego."

"No... No!" Espresso grunted, struggling to free himself desperately, "Madeleine, you've got it all wrong. Did they tell you this?"

The knight chuckled darkly, "No...not at all. I...hmmm...I simply came into a realization a long time ago."

He leaned in with a smirk, "As they say, Espresso Cookie, actions do speak louder than words."

Madeleine chuckled darkly as he grabbed the mage harshly by the chin, "You know...I think I like seeing your face in horror."

"Madeleine, you-!"

"Idiot? Fool? Oaf?" The dark knight murmured, "Say all you want, Espresso—nothing will change."

"I love you!"

A desperate cry.

Madeleine seemed to freeze, shock on his face.

"You..." He got up, covering his face with a hand before chuckling.

Slowly it turned into horrifying laughter. Nothing like those deep laughs of confidence and joy. The kind that made Espresso's heart feel too big for his chest.

No, it was still deep and boisterous as ever, but its tone was mocking, disbelief.

"I didn't-!" Madeleine shrieked, a face full of mockery, "I didn't think you'd stoop so low, Espresso!"

Maybe it was the laughter, maybe it was the grim acceptance that maybe the Madeleine he knew was gone for good. Espresso Cookie wasn't sure how he mustered up the guts to fire a spell right at the corrupted knight. It caught Madeleine Cookie off guard, causing him to stumble back. Coffee grinds got all over the two of them but Espresso didn't care.

He quickly unclasped his cape and fired another spell, only this time Madeleine was able to block it with his shield. The knight snarled, going to grab his sword as Espresso dashed off to the edge of the tray.

He had to save Pastry Cookie and get the hell out of here! They're outnumbered and screwed.

Red Velvet Cookie seemed to notice this, quickly joining in by commanding a few cake hounds to go after him.

Shit.

Well, it looks like he had no choice, lest he wants to be caught by all of these ruffians.

"Before you try and catch me, escape this!"

He used his most powerful spell: Grinding.

The tray illuminated with sigils, growing a faint red light before it started to pull everything in.

"GAHH!"

"Fear not! I got you!"

Madeleine stabbed his sword into the ground to prevent himself from getting pulled in, hand reaching out to grab Red Velvet Cookie by his weapon. The other cookie was quick to grab a small cake hound pup that had followed them, holding onto the pup for dear life.

Meanwhile, Pomegranate Cookie was caught off guard and clung onto the edge. Though she was slowly losing her grip.

Espresso didn't have time to look at what had happened, however, as he jumped straight down to the Ultimate Dough, levitating himself to prevent him from sinking in as Pastry Cookie did. He had to hurry, as he couldn't levitate himself for long.

He quickly searched around for any sign of Pastry Cookie before spotting her golden veil of phyllo dough. Reaching out to grab it, he pulled.

Once did Pastry Cookie's head popped up into the surface, did Espresso heaved her up by her arms. The other cookie gasped, coughed, and sputtered as the coffee mage shakily levitated their way up the nearest tray.

Just barely after they reached the edge of the tray did his levitation spell falter, and the two collapsed.

That was close. Too close for comfort.

"Pastry Cookie, are you alright?" He asked as the other coughed out old dough and gasped for air.

"I'm..." she wheezed, "fine..."

"To witness our Master's magnificent past! How fortune!" A voice sounded.

Espresso turns to see Pomegranate Cookie, a bit dusty and disheveled but somehow retaining her cool composure. Dark Madeline and Red Velvet Cookie on the other hand? Not so much.

"What is she talking about?" The coffee mage could not help but ask, "What did you see Pastry Cookie!?"

"I..." the veiled cookie wheezed, "I...cannot say. Not here."

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

Espresso could only nod, "we have to get out of here."

But he was out of energy and nearly defenseless.

"Cannot say?" Pomegranate Cookie mused, "Why not? Enlighten him. Show him what terrible truth you witnessed from our creators."

"What are you planning to do?!" Pastry demanded, her voice raspy.

"Our plan is to rebuild this world," Madeleine spoke, "a wonderful large task for glorious cookies and cakes as ourselves!"

"We so-called 'monsters', desire a world to live too!" Red Velvet Cookie exclaimed.

"And your idea of a solution is by destruction?" Espresso Cookie couldn't help but scoff, heaving Pastry Cookie up to lean against him, "that is quite inefficient."

"Cookies will never see cakes the same." The red-doughed cookie murmured darkly, "not until this world is born again!"

Espresso paled upon seeing dozens of eyes.

"Run." Pastry Cookie hissed.

And then they did.

They didn't know how long they ran, cashed by an army of cake hounds. Only when he turned to cast another spell of Grinding did he turn—

Only to get slammed by a shield.

"Espresso!" Pastry Cookie cried before he hears her firing her crossbow.

The coffee mage's body hits the metal ground several times—until a final hit on the head sent him into the dark sea of unconsciousness.