Chapter Text
Shadow Milk impatiently tapped his fingers along the surface of the table. That fool was late! There wasn't exactly time to spare. Sure, the audience was distracted by the scene between Moonflower and her knight right now, but it was only a matter of time before someone noticed him. He had been quite clear in his note: Meet me in the third story parlor room at midnight, tell no one. There wasn't any room for misinterpretation. Yet here he was, twenty minutes past midnight, and Pure Vanilla was nowhere to be seen. This baffled Shadow Milk. He knew Pure Vanilla could be absentminded occasionally (okay, often), but he valued other cookies' time. He shouldn't be this late! Unless… Shadow Milk had been blown off. No, that couldn't be the case. Pure Vanilla was smart enough to understand the seriousness of the situation. He was probably simply held up by something silly. Yes, that had to be it! He was likely wandering the halls utterly lost, or trapped in some meaningless conversation he was too polite to excuse himself from. In that case, Shadow Milk probably needed to go rescue him. His poor Nilly was utterly hopeless without Shadow Milk's help.
Before he could leave however, he heard the creak of the door. The parlor was suddenly cast in soft light as Pure Vanilla (no, he was called 'Viridescent' in this facsimile of a world) peeked in. A hopeful smile was on his face. Followed by a disappointed frown upon entering the room. Said disappointment was quickly hidden. It would have gone unnoticed by most cookies. Shadow Milk was not 'most cookies' however. He knew Pure Vanilla far better than that. Why was Viridescent disappointed to see him?
"Were… were you the one to write this note?" Viridescent spoke softly.
Shadow Milk tried to look at anything but Pure Vanilla. He wouldn't want Pure Vanilla to think he had been here, desperately waiting for him on bated breath. "You're late."
Viridescent entered the room. His smile was stilted. It almost seemed like a look of pity. A look that Shadow Milk had not seen directed at him in a long time. What about this situation would invite pity from Viridescent?
"So, you were." Viridescent closed the door behind him, but stayed standing at the entrance. "I'm flattered, truly, but my heart belongs to another."
Shadow Milk couldn't help himself, he burst into laughter. "Wait, you thought that that was a love note? Really?! Witches! She really did a number on you, when we get out of here I swear I'll-"
"I would caution against any threats on my Queen." Viridescent's tone was measured and sweet, but there was cold steel in his words. The threat was very, very real.
Shadow Milk backed away on impulse. There had been a time when such a tone was expected from Pure Vanilla. He had honestly deserved it. He still did really. But, over time, Pure Vanilla had come to trust him. So seeing Viridescent staring him down like that really stung.
"Relax, I wasn't referring to your 'Moonflower Queen,' there's more than one 'she' on Earthbread you know."
"I suppose," Viridescent's eyes opened slightly. His eyes were different from what Shadow Milk had expected. A pale pink haze coated the surface. Not enough to alter the colors drastically, but definitely present. "So then, if this is not a confession, why have you requested my presence?"
Here it was, the big moment. It was the climax in which Shadow Milk would take control over this shoddy story they were trapped in and masterfully write a far superior ending. One in which he and Nilly (and everyone else, he supposed) would be free from whatever magic had gotten them stuck in here to begin with. "Ah, yes. The question of the hour. How about, instead, let me ask you a question: Have you realized how fake this world is yet?"
Viridescent narrowed his eyes, "Pray tell, whatever do you mean by that? The life of royalty is certainly one rife with trickery. Yet, I would hardly call that a revelation."
"That's not- uggh" Shadow Milk groaned in frustration. "I didn't mean it in that way. Even someone as silly as you should be able to grasp that. This isn't a metaphor, or a hyperbole, or any other sort of flowery use of language. When I say that this world is fake, I mean that from the ground up it's completely fabricated."
Shadow Milk focused on the world around him. Looking not at the illusion, but the stage they were currently trapped on. Honestly, for all the critique he could give the script, the stage was quite well crafted. Shadow Milk was almost impressed. But, naturally, he could have done something much, much better. Beyond that, the playwright and her lackeys had had the gall to try and trap him here. And it worked! Shadow Milk was too insulted to give them any credit. He walked over to one of the parlor's windows. "The night sky? A painted background." He reached past the empty frame. Naturally, there wasn't any actual glass. It was a stage prop, after all. He ripped away a segment of the painted parchment mimicking a starry night. "See, it wasn't real."
Viridescent let out a short, quiet cry. For a moment, Shadow Milk congragulated himself for snapping Pure Vanilla out of this. This was cut short, however, by Viridescent rushing to his side and taking hold of his arm.
"Oh goodness, your arm!" Viridescent furrowed his brow as he examined Shadow Milk. He raised a hand to the arm and a warm glow began to emit from his palms. "Here, let me help you."
"What are you-?" Shadow Milk's didn't know what to even say. Healing magic? Why? His arm was fine. But, as he lost his focus on the stage, falling into the illusion once again, he saw bright red jam dripping from his arm. The prop window now had glass in it, and a jagged hole from where Shadow Milk's had reached through.
Viridescent had made short work of healing the illusory wound and was now cleaning the jam off of Shadow Milk with his cape. "There you are. Is there any lingering pain?"
"N- no." There wasn't any pain to begin with. There wasn't even a cut at all.
"Alright, just, let me know if that changes. And please," Pure Vanilla raised his gaze from Shadow Milk's arm to his face. He gently squeezed the 'healed' arm, still held in his hand. "Don't do something like that again."
Shadow Milk pulled his arm back. "Ugh, I won't. But seriously, it wasn't anything to worry about, it's all fake. Nilly, my jam isn't red. You know this."
"I do not know who this 'Nilly' you speak of is, but before this gathering, we had never met. Perhaps it would be best for you to lie down for a moment." Viridescent began walking towards the door with Shadow Milk in tow. "Here, I'll show you to a bedroom."
Shadow Milk pulled his arm free. "No! I know that you remember me. Please, just try." He sunk to the ground, grabbing hold of Viridescent's legs. "It's me, Vanilla, please. What do I need to do to bring you back?"
A trembling hand brushed against Shadow Milk's cheek. He looked up at Viridescent, not sure of what to expect. Pure Vanilla was looking back at him. His eyes were wide and watery. The haze had dissipated.
"Blue- Bluebird?"
It was him, really him! Shadow Milk stood up and wrapped his arms around Pure Vanilla tightly. Pure Vanilla let out a strained squeak. Perhaps Shadow Milk had hugged him a little too tight. He loosened his hold slightly.
"Hey, it'll be alright, I'm here." Pure Vanilla patted Shadow Milk's back. "Though, where exactly are we?"
"We're stuck in a spell. It was the Worse Half, with some help from Sugar"
"Just us?"
"No, the Okay-ish Half and Salt are here as well. I think I might have seen Tall, Dark and Grouchy also? I'm not certain about it." Shadow Milk buried his head into Pure Vanilla's shoulder. "I'll get us out of here, I promise."
He wasn't sure if Pure Vanilla even heard him. His voice was pretty muffled. Shadow Milk didn't especially care, though. His words were more for himself than for Pure Vanilla. He had some hope now. If he was able to snap Nilla out of his weird trance, then he could find a way out of here. Eternal Sugar and Dark Enchantress's spells could be broken. He might be able to pull it off. What was he saying? Of course he could do this. He was the great Shadow Milk. Those two were hardly a match for his magical ability. He'd have everyone out without breaking a sweat. Though, perhaps it would be best to hold off on any plans for the moment. It wouldn't do to attract the attention of any unwanted company. It was probably best that Shadow Milk inform Pure Vanilla that he would need to keep up the Viridescent act to keep Sugar off their tail. Pure Vanilla was a decent enough actor to pull it off, with a bit of help of course.
Shadow Milk's thoughts were cut short however, when he noticed two glowing pink eyes behind Pure Vanilla. Crumbs! He had taken too long.
"Ah, Miss Playwright!" Shadow Milk stepped between Pure Vanilla and Eternal Sugar. "Lovely to see you as always. Though, I don't think you wrote yourself a role into this act." He smiled, showing more teeth than any cookie would usually. "If there's something you need to discuss, perhaps it can wait until I'm in the green room? We wouldn't want to ruin such a wonderful performance, now would we?"
"So talented, but such a diva." Eternal Sugar tutted at him. "You love theater. This could bring you such happiness, if you'd only let it."
Pure Vanilla tightened his grip on his staff. "Eternal Sugar, this doesn't need to be a fight."
"Oh, I know dear, and it won't be." Eternal Sugar giggled. "Now, hold sti-"
Pure Vanilla moved quickly. Before Shadow Milk could register what he was doing, he had closed the distance between himself and Eternal Sugar. He raised his staff and swiftly jabbed it into Eternal Sugar's stomach. She doubled over in pain. Pure Vanilla grabbed Shadow Milk's hand and ran.
Pure Vanilla's feet pounded against the floor of the stage, while Shadow Milk floated alongside him. Shadow Milk navigated the two of them through doors and down stairs. The edge of the stage should be close. He tried to keep his sight on the stage rather than the illusory world. The longer they traveled, however, the blurrier his vision got. The stage wasn't especially large, so they should be close to the edge. Yet there seemed to be no end in sight. The two ran anyways. What other option was there? Shadow Milk turned a corner. He was met with a bookshelf and comfy looking chair up against a wall. In other words, a dead end.
"All this trouble is unnecessary. I bring only good things for you." Eternal Sugar had caught up with them.
Shadow Milk launched various offensive spells in Eternal Sugar's direction. Unfortunately, she seemed to have learned from Pure Vanilla's earlier actions, as she was able dodge most of them. Though, Shadow Milk was pleased to see quite a few singe marks across her hair. He continued to fire every spell he could think of in her direction, and Shadow Milk could think of quite a few spells. However, this seemed to do very little to fend her off. Regardless of the hits he managed to land, Eternal Sugar continued to approach them. He had to think of another approach.
Pure Vanilla squeezed Shadow Milk's hand. Then, he cast a spell of his own. Not one of offense, Pure Vanilla had very few of those to begin with, but of defense. A shield spell, protecting not himself, but Shadow Milk. The self-sacrificial fool! Shadow Milk was nearly certain that Eternal Sugar wasn't even targeting Shadow Milk to begin with!
"Run, now! I can keep her distracted, one of us escaping is preferable to none." Pure Vanilla smiled sheepishly, as though he had any right to feel guilty for something he was in the middle of doing!
But, with the shield already up, the best option really was to find a way out and come back for the others later. So, Shadow Milk bolted. He ducked under Eternal Sugar and turned the corner. She didn't follow him. He hadn't expected her to. The actual stage was still to difficult to see. However, if Shadow Milk had to guess, the most stage-like area would likely be the main ballroom. At the very least, there were enough major scenes there that it had a high probability of being the center stage at any moment. So, he moved through hallway and courtyard, eventually reaching the ballroom. Various party goers stared at him. With his clothes all wrinkled from the chase, and any jam that Nilly hadn't managed to clean, he likely looked an absolute mess. This was hardly a concern, though, the crowd was just extras.
Disregarding the odd looks, Shadow Milk once more looked past the spell to the real world. His theory had proven correct. Mere feet away from him was the edge of the stage. He took a breath, and jumped off into the theater below. Instead of reaching the ground, however, everything went dark.
Shadow Milk slowly started to wake up. He was not in his bed, but instead being carried. The arms around him were warm and familiar. Pure Vanilla. Had he fallen asleep while reading again? That didn't sound quite right. Shadow Milk tried to recall what he had been doing before falling asleep, but he couldn't quite grasp hold of the memory.
"Nilla? What's going on?" Shadow Milk asked.
Pure Vanilla looked down at him. "I am not 'Nilla'. You may call me Viridescent. As for what is happening, you fainted while dancing. I am taking you somewhere you can rest."
It all came back to Shadow Milk now, the play, Pure Vanilla's haze, the chase and his near escape. He really thought he had pulled it off. He should have known better though. That, that would have been a far too easy victory. Witches forbid anything ever be easy for Shadow Milk. Witches forbid anyone ever listened to what he had to say. Witches forbid he ever dare to expect that he could be heard and understood. He grumbled to himself about the unfairness of it all as 'Viridescent' continued to carry him. Actually, why was he allowing himself to be carried by Viridescent? The only cookies he permitted to touch him were Pure Vanilla, Candy Apple, and Black Sapphire. By Viridescent's own words, he was not Pure Vanilla, and he certainly wasn't the other two. Shadow Milk shouldn't be tolerating this!
"Right, thank you for looking out for me or whatever, but I can manage on my own now. So, let me down." He tried to scramble free but Viridescent held fast.
"Hmm, I am sorry, but I have my doubts." Viridescent was surprisingly strong, or maybe Shadow Milk was just especially weak at the moment. "You fainted in the middle of the ballroom, I would hardly consider that 'managing on your own.'"
Shadow Milk silently glared at Viridescent. He considered biting the other. On one hand, he wasn't entirely certain that he could get very far if Viridescent did indeed drop him. On the other hand, it would be pretty funny. In the end, he decided against it. Though he did chuckle a little to himself imagining it. Viridecent either didn't notice, or chose not to comment on it.
Viridescent carried Shadow Milk into a bedroom. It was on the sparser side, but as it was likely a guest bedroom, that was to be expected. Viridescent carefully placed Shadow Milk onto the bed. He tucked him in and moved his hair out of his face. Even with his mind all scrambled, Pure Vanilla was gentle and caring. It frustrated Shadow Milk to no end!
"There you are, I'll go fetch a healer. In the meantime, please try and get some rest." Viridescent received general grumbling in response. "Hush now. Keep your eyes closed."
Shadow Milk had little interest in obliging. But, he really was exhausted and it was nice to have Pure Vanilla fussing over him. Even if it wasn't quite the Pure Vanilla he knew and tolerated. He buried his head into the pillow. He heard Viridescent's light footsteps as he left the room, softly closing the door behind him. Once more, Shadow Milk's consciousness sunk into darkness. He'd figure this all out when he was more awake.