The Scovillia students waited impatiently in the main hall of the Quarters. With their Champion nowhere in sight, they had grown restless and a tad bit worried about the Trial set to commence in less than an hour. Before the gathered group, the Headmaster paced expectantly back and forth, arms crossed and normally upbeat and musical demeanor changed to one of worry and contemplation.
"He isn't anywhere in the Quarters?" a worried Spicy Scovillia Student asked the Headmaster, snapping him from his thoughts.
"I even checked on the roof, not a trace of him" the Headmaster answered gruffly, mind turning back to his previous thoughts. "Surely, he didn't go home. That rascal may be up in turmoil but there's no way he'd up and leave the Tournament," he thought to himself, mind scouring the possibilities. "... then again, the amount of bottles I confiscated from those two hooligans looked like an entire liquor cabinet's worth" Molten Magma Cookie could only think that Capsaicin Cookie had gone off somewhere to die from alcohol poisoning. He quickly discarded the thought from his mind.
Lil Pepper Cookie looked up at the Headmaster, his battle axe teetering over his shoulder. "What happens if he doesn't return in time...?" he asked with rounded eyes.
The Headmaster looked reassuringly at the young student. "He'll be back, Capsaicin Cookie wouldn't ditch the Tournament even if Dark Enchantress Cookie herself stood in his way" he answered, turning his head so that he- like many of his students- could look at the Quarters' doors. "Hmph, maybe I should go out and look for him..." he thought to himself as all other possibilities had been exhausted.
"Alright, you lot make your way to the colosseum and I'll look for your Champion..." he said in exasperation. But before he could even take a step towards the door to begin his search past the Quarters, he heard a loud SLAM against its bulk.
The students tensed and he hesitated to finish his step. All eyes were locked on the door as its knob jiggled intensively before the Cookie on the other side finally grasped how to actually open a door and it swung open awkwardly.
...
Capsaicin Cookie tripped over the threshold of the door and landed square on his face as the door swung open. He didn't MEAN to be so late, but when you're trudging off to sulk, you don't exactly pay much mind to where you wander off to. It took him nearly an hour to locate the Scovillia Quarters, and he had managed to visit both the opposing schools' Quarters TWICE before he finally managed to find his own.
His hair was littered with smoldering twigs and leaves as he groaned and lifted his head up to face the Cookies that were on the other side of the door. "Oh, the entire school" he thought to himself nonchalantly as he stared at them for a few moments. Then it finally hit him. He immediately got up and swatted the -now on fire- debris from his hair. An unfortunate smoldering bird flew out from its fiery mass and and bolted out the open door, tweeting what can only be described as bird obscenities as it flew. "S-sorry I'm late!" he stammered, a warm blush of embarrassment adorning his face as he took in the sight of restless and expectant eyes. "... The mountains are bigger than they look. And more confusing" he added with a smile, hoping to explain his unfortunate predicament to his classmates.
The Headmaster finally took that step and sighed as he looked at his Champion. "Well, you made it at least! NOW GET GOING EVERYONE!" he hollered to the crowd, striking a spark that ignited the anxious crowd into one of anticipation and excitement. The Scovillia Students, who hadn't been used to standing around for more than five minutes, gleefully rushed towards the door and practically carried a flustered Capsaicin Cookie as they stampeded through it.
Capsaicin Cookie tried to get them to put him down for the Red Dragon's sake, but there was no reasoning with a rowdy Scovillia Student- much less a crowd of them! "But I need to tell the Headmaster something...!" he struggled to shout as the volume of the crowd drowned out his own naturally loud voice.
The Headmaster, seeming not to hear Capsaicin Cookie's words, followed the mob a few paces back as he egged them on with his signature guitar riffs.
Capsaicin Cookie gave up trying to fight the crowd and sighed as he accepted his fate of being hauled to the colosseum
"PRUNE JUICE COOKIE!" the gathered Parfaedia students yelled in unison as their Champion, yet again, made them late to the Trial.
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." the inky Champion replied nonchalantly, lugging an even bigger potion sack than the one brought to the first Trial. With the professors' and a few select students help, he was able to mass produce brews all night. He turned a sly eye to sympathetically look at an exhausted Berry Parfaedia Student as she accompanied him from out of his 'room'. It was more potion manufacturing plant than dormitory after last night.
"You weren't kidding, Prune Juice Cookie!" Latte Cookie said sweetly, hiding the exhaustion impeccably from her students. "I've never seen such specific brews before" she eyed Prune Juice Cookie's enormous sack as she emerged last from his potion manufacturing plant along with Eclair Cookie. "Although, are you sure you'll need that many? I fear you'll become... Encumbered with them all"
Prune Juice Cookie gave his former professor a sleek smile. "Every potion has been created to deal with specific- but likely- scenarios that I've predicted. Although since the nature of the second trial hasn't been revealed yet, I had to take some... Creative liberties" he explained to the group of impatient students and exhausted professor. "The bulk of their mass are fire-specific brews made to combat Capsaicin Cookie's flames. My latest development allows a Cookie to swim in bubbling lava for 3 minutes! That's up from 2!" he droned on.
The Parfaedia Principal, although always happy to listen to one of Prune Juice Cookie's monologues about his work, looked at the clock and decided enough was enough. "My dear Prune Juice Cookie, I do believe it is time we depart! If we're late any further they may think we've forfeit!" she said, masking her impatience with years of work.
"Oh, OH!" Prune Juice Cookie exclaimed after taking a closer look at the time. "Very well then, on we go!" he said slyly, leading his fellow students in slowness out the Quarters.
Eclair Cookie looked up from his scroll as he watched the students shuffle out the door. "B-but I'm still conducting my research! Surely we can wait a few more minutes?" he said dramatically, frantically rebinding his scroll as he hurried after the very slow crowd. "It took me nearly all night to locate these records from the archives, it dates back to when Earthbread's crust was still soft- Oh! And very few records survived from the period- t-they've all been burned...!" he stuttered as words kept trying to climb over eachother. Latte Cookie put a sympathetic hand on the frazzled scholar's shoulder as she guided him gently out the door.
Suppose he'd have to conclude his research while watching the second Trial.
Kouign-Amann Cookie waited patiently as she and her classmates stood outside the colosseum. The arena had been closed off for emergency repair following Capsaicin Cookie's utter disregard for its floor, though luckily, it seems the second Trial won't be held in the arena.
She flicked her head side-to-side as she tried to spot even the faintest glimpse of approaching students and schools. They'd been waiting half an hour and not word from either Headmaster or Principal had reached them.
The Preceptor merely stood there tall, cape fluttering in the wind as he waited alongside his students and Champion.
Sighing, Kouign-Amann Cookie thought back to the sparring she'd done yesterday with her senior paladins. Financier Cookie had provided her excellent insight in parrying and counterattacks, and Madeleine Cookie... Well his tips for keeping one's garments clean while in the thicket of battle translated somewhat into defensive maneuvers. Oh, how she hoped that the next trial is one-on-on sparring! "That's silly, Kouign-Amann Cookie. The arena is closed" she thought to herself dourly, her dreams of testing the training she'd gone through tossed out the airship.
"Ah, Preceptor... This doesn't count as 'winner-by-default' does it?" she asked the regal figure sheepishly. Bummer, it would've been nice to see Capsaicin Cookie again despite them being rivals. "I wonder how his apology went..." she thought to herself as she was reminded of Capsaicin Cookie's earlier tribulations.
The Preceptor looked at her, closing his eyes and giving a slight smile. "No need to wonder such things, Kouign-Amann Cookie. Both Academies have arrived"
At his words, Kouign-Amann Cookie became aware of two things: one, the sound of a mob of ravenous beasts approaching that was accompanied by electric guitar riffs, and two, the sounds of a blabbering scholar. She turned her head in the direction of the former, watching as the ground shook slightly as the crowd of spicy Scovillia Students trampled over it and rapidly approached the Crème Knights. As they stopped practically in front of her, they parted to reveal a VERY crumpled looking Capsaicin Cookie face down in the grass.
She made a face as she watched the spicy Champion groan and right himself upwards. She could only presume that he had been trampled from the Quarters all the way to the colosseum. "Pft! Poor Capsaicin Cookie!" she thought to herself humorously while attempting to stifle the laugh that was brewing.
The latter sound grew louder and she quickly turned to look at its source. Cresting the gentle hill was the Parfaedia delegation, with a scholarly Eclair Cookie still rambling about history to their tortured looking students.
"... there haven't been many descriptions of the beast, but some say it looked like a volcano given shape..." she caught the words faintly as the ebullient scholar went on.
The Parfaedia Principal greeting her Preceptor caused Eclair Cookie to finally go silent, sparing the students' ears for the first time since their departure. "Forgive our lateness, Chouquette Cookie! We... Lost track of time" she said in her aged voice, unwilling to throw her Champion under the bus.
The Headmaster parted through his crowd of rowdy students to meet with the other two Heads. "Hmph! Our Capsaicin Cookie got lost on a nature walk" he said, pointing over his shoulder to the bedraggled looking Champion.
Kouign-Amann Cookie scooted closer to the spicy Champion as the three Academy Heads went on. "... Capsaicin Cookie, where I found you was literally a minute away from the Scovillia Quarters. How on Earthbread did you manage to get so utterly lost?" she whispered to the fiery Cookie.
He looked at her sheepishly and rubbed the back of his wild hair. "Directions don't become your strong suit when you've rarely gone anywhere" he explained, mind flashing back to his escapade through the woods. He could've sworn he'd seen that Cookie shaped rock five times now.
"Oh? A little alliance forming between the two of you?" a third voice butted in, causing the two Champions to look around in surprise. Prune Juice Cookie smiled slyly as he looked upon his competitors. "I haven't found a rulebook for this thing yet, but I'm preetty sure that's against it" he replied with a cunning smile.
Kouign-Amann Cookie rolled her eyes at the inky Champion's antics. "While you were busy being antisocial, Capsaicin Cookie and I were having fun and making friends" she said, smiling at the flustered fiery Champion.
"Besides, don't think your tricks will work on us twice. I've got some... Countermeasures for Cookies like you" Capsaicin said mysteriously to the unconvinced Prune Juice Cookie. "I call it, stay 10 feet away from you at all times" he said, beaming. "Kouign-Amann Cookie and I are FRIENDS? THAT'S TOTALLY AWESOME!" he thought to himself happily on the inside while his outside was busy scrutinizing the inky Champion.
Prune Juice Cookie looked at him dumbfoundedly. "So what if this Trial is a race and I'm ahead of you?" he asked the fiery Champion.
Capsaicin Cookie scoffed at him as if he'd just asked how are baby Cookies made. Firstly, a jelly stork delivers them to Cookies who are in love. Secondly, "Easy, I'll just stay 10 feet AHEAD of you" he said matter-of-factly. "As if someone like you can beat me in a race, anyway"
Prune Juice Cookie merely gave the blazing Champion a look before deciding his intellect was better spent elsewhere. "... Oookay then. While you two are picking daisies and singing kumbaya, I'll be claiming the second relic" he said, giving them a sickeningly sweet smile before leaving the two Champions alone.
"He's bad at hiding his jealousy" Capsaicin Cookie tsk'd to himself as he watched Prune Juice Cookie leave. "We should invite him out to celebrate when I win the Trial"
Kouign-Amann Cookie gave him a smirk. "You mean when I win the Trial. And yes, you're right, that Cookie needs to learn to fraternize" she said, joining Capsaicin Cookie in watching the inky Champion trudge away.
Their visual stalking of Prune Juice Cookie was interrupted as a familiar host's voice boomed over the gathered crowds. "GOOOOOD MORNING, PRESTIGIOUS ACADEMIES!" Gelato Trio Cookie yelled in his charming and up-beat voice.
Kouign-Amann Cookie thought the host looked strange without the colosseum's floor beneath his feet.
"As you all may have noticed, the arena is... Temporarily closed off for emergency repairs" he said nervously, pointing towards the big yellow caramelized "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" sign blocking the entrance to the arena portion of the colosseum.
All eyes shifted to Capsaicin Cookie at the mention of 'emergency repairs'. The burly Champion didn't seem to register that they were all looking at him.
"However, have no fear: for the next Trial is not inside the arena, but OUTSIDE!" he said jovially, pointing his microphone-held hand to the looming forest beyond the colosseum. "Your Champions will be tasked to follow the path into the Forests of Harmony and bring back a relic of Heroes' past"
"Ah, but Gelato Trio Cookie! How will we watch what's unfolding?" Gelato Trio Cookie asked himself in a high-pitched voice. "Why, through the All-Seeing Jellyvisors, of course!" he answered himself as several floating projectors sprung to life in front of him. "While the audience sits in the rows of the colosseum- that are completely safe and not damaged in the slightest!- your Champions will be trekking through treacherous woodland teeming with sour dessert monsters!"
"Ah, joy" Prune Juice Cookie muttered to himself.
"AWE YEAH!" Capsaicin Cookie yelled to himself.
"Oh, we're so gonna get lost" Kouign-Amann Cookie sighed to herself.
"THIS WAY!" Capsaicin Cookie yelled with excitement as he charged down the path through the forest. True to his word, he stayed 10 feet ahead of Prune Juice Cookie as he and Kouign-Amann Cookie ran from the sour jelly bats gaining on them.
"Can you two... SLOW DOWN!?" Prune Juice Cookie wheezed as the bats snapped closer to his massive potion sack.
Capsaicin Cookie turned his head to look at the slow Champion, a poor move on his part as his lack of focus on what's in front of him lead to him hitting a low-hanging tree branch head on. "Ow, ow, ow" he muttered as he was sent tumbling backwards, past Prune Juice Cookie, and barreled into the encroaching sour jelly bats.
"Well, that took care of the problem" Prune Juice Cookie said happily as he sped past a dog-piled Capsaicin Cookie.
Kouign-Amann Cookie skidded to a halt and was about to fling herself to Capsaicin Cookie's aid, but the sour jelly bats were effortlessly sent flying through the air as Capsaicin Cookie burst through their feeble attempt to restrain him. "RRAHH! GET OFF OF MEEEE!" he bellowed as the bats hit the sturdy trees and erupted into piles of sour sugar.
"Guess you got that covered!" Kouign-Amann Cookie said happily as she watched the fiery Champion make little work of the enemies. As she was standing there, a nimble-footed Prune Juice Cookie took the liberty to run past her. "H-HEY! GET BACK HERE!" she yelled in shock as his potion sack disappeared through the brush. "When did he become so nimble?" she thought to herself before her eyes registered a shiny bottle laying empty on the dirt trail. "Oh that little...!"
She turned to Capsaicin Cookie- who had become fixated on turning the sour jelly bats to sour sugar piles- and quickly caught his attention. "CAPSAICIN COOKIE! Prune Juice Cookie's getting away!" she yelled.
"W-HEY!" he yelled in anger, crushing a sour jelly bat in his hand as he abandoned the mountain of sour sugar accumulated around him and charged down after Kouign-Amann Cookie. "Can't let him out of our sight!" he said in exasperation as the two Champions raced after the speedy Prune Juice Cookie.
Their speed was short lived, as they both skidded to a halt as they approached Prune Juice Cookie who stood in the middle of a clearing with three forked roads. "Ah, good you two made it! Don't want you coming down the same path as me" he said in good-spirits as his competitors panted next to him.
Capsaicin Cookie eyed the paths intently. "Which one leads to the relic?" he wondered aloud to his two competitors.
Kouign-Amann Cookie joined him in speculation. "Surely they wouldn't pick one path to contain the relic, that'd just be a test of luck rather than skill..." she said, tentatively taking a step closer to the center path. "I'll take this one"
Prune Juice Cookie eyed her with a blue eye. "Perceptive, I believe you're right" he said while nonchalantly walking towards the rightmost path. "Then I'll go down this one"
Capsaicin Cookie looked at the one remaining path. "Uggh, I guess that means I get the left..." he grumbled as he eyed the path skeptically.
"Well, it's been nice hiding behind you brutes' backs" Prune Juice Cookie said slyly as he hurried down his chosen path. "Try not to get TOO lost...!" he called out behind him, voice already getting faint.
"Why that Prune Juice Cookie...!" Kouign-Amann Cookie yelled in annoyance as she charged down her path. "Good luck, Capsaicin Cookie!" she yelled as she disappeared behind the thicket of shrubs and trees.
Capsaicin Cookie, now aware that he's alone in a totally spooky forest, quickly shook himself off and charged down his chosen path, ducking and weaving through branches as he continued.
...
"Ooh, they've split up!" a Berry Parfaedia Student announced to her peers. "Finally, Prune Juice Cookie can shine!"
A Citrus Parfaedia Student nodded her head in agreement. "T-this sounds like it's a test of intellect, i-if that's the case then P-Prune Juice Cookie will p-prevail!" she stammered quietly.
Eclair Cookie, ever buried in his scroll, paid no mind to the chattering around him.
Latte Cookie looked at her scholarly friend with concern. While it was true that Eclair Cookie obsessed over the history of the past, he wouldn't turn a blind eye to the history unfolding in front of him. He was so excited to document everything pertaining to the Triple Cone Cup... "Eclair Cookie, what's got you so immersed?" she asked curiously.
Eclair Cookie spared his scroll one moment to look at his fellow professor. "Well, you see, ever since I saw young Capsaicin Cookie's display of magmatic power, I couldn't help but think it seemed familiar" he began, eyes boring into Latte Cookie. "But as I review Earthbread's records religiously, I couldn't pinpoint WHERE it seemed so..."
"Oomph! These cobwebs are everywhere...!" Kouign-Amann Cookie muttered to herself as she used her greatsword to swat the pesky cotton candy filigrees away. "And it's so dark! By the Light, how am I going to find a relic in all this vegetation?" she huffed but trudged on. Hopping over a a rather wide stream, she wiped sweat from her brow as she scoured the thicket around her.
Suddenly, her eyes came upon a peculiar object to find in a forest. It was... A door? An intricate-looking craftsmanship adorned with gilded wings and runic inscriptions. It looked eerily familiar to the young paladin-in-training.
"Well, if this isn't the biggest sign in the entire forest" she said aloud, reaching her free hand up to clasp its doorknob. Turning the stunning work of art, the door slowly swung open and she stepped inside.
Wow. This was... Not what she was expecting. How did the Triple Cone Cup host managed to fit AN ENTIRE BATTLEFIELD INSIDE A ROOM!? Kouign-Amann Cookie looked around in shock at the sepia battleground that stretched before her. Ruins and rubble dotted its rocky scape as a still breeze ruffled her dress and curls slowly.
"Draw your blade, Kouign-Amann Cookie" a voice called from behind her.
Startled, she readied her greatsword and whipped around to face the challenger. Before her was a knight clad in sterling silver armor with a grand helmet covering her face. In her hand held a long, thin sword with an ornate hilt with a wing-shaped guard. As Kouign-Amann Cookie readied her sword, the mysterious knight drew her sword and pointed it at the ballgown-wearing Champion.
"Prepare to fight"
The sour jelly bats continued to pester an ever-annoyed Capsaicin Cookie as he ran down his selected path. "Grrr, WHY ARE THEY ALL ON ME!?" he yelled in anger as he whipped around to deck another of the foul dessert beasts. It screeched as its exterior was reduced to a detestable pile of sour sugar. Capsaicin Cookie sighed as he ducked under branches and snagging thorn bushes- this place was MASSIVE! How would he ever find a tiny relic in its mass?
Not only that, but it completely sucked not using his flames. He reasoned with himself that being surrounded by so much vegetation calls for a restraint on the whole fire aspect of himself, but it was proving quite difficult to suppress himself when sour jelly bats continued to egg him on. "Ugh! This would be SO much easier if I could just burn it all...!" he grumbled internally to himself as he smashed another bat into a pile of white dust.
"This Trial is going to take all day" he said aloud, eyes scouring the dense brush. "I wonder how the others are doing..." he said as his eyes caught something... Burning? In the forest.
Panicked, he quickly ran over to it. "I didn't cause that, did I? No, I didn't use any fire- I couldn't have!" his mind raced as he traced the possibilities. Did sour jelly bats combust into flames upon disintegration? Well, he hasn't seen any do that, but that doesn't mean it's impossible! His distress was cut short as the source of the fire came into view.
It wasn't on fire, per se, more so the door WAS the fire. It was carved from rock and magma oozed from the cracks in its architecture. Capsaicin Cookie noted with curiosity that the door appeared to have been chained shut at some point, but the chains keeping it sealed seemed to have been... Melted. He felt a chill course through his body as he tentatively lifted a hand up to clasp its obsidian handle. He twisted it slowly and the door swung open on ancient hinges. Affrighted but determined to press on, he stepped through the open door.
Inside, it was... Familiar. He trudged along the rocky floor as he looked around the cavern, magma oozed from the dozens of cracks and fissures in the floor as he walked over them. Chains hung from the ceiling and attached themselves to the floor, as if anchoring something unforeseen in place. But most startling of all was the dozens of mirrors embedded in the cavern walls. In their reflection was... Himself? No matter if he was standing in front of their reflective material, he still saw his reflection clear as day staring back at him. He felt his nerves flare as he continued to quickly walk through the area, his reflections trailing him along the way.
"Hey everyone, look! It's the Spice Overlord!" a familiar voice called out from somewhere in the cavern. Whipping around, he tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. "Where, WHERE?" another familiar voice cried out frantically.
Capsaicin Cookie felt a pit open in his stomach as he realized where the voices were coming from. His... Reflections? No, not reflections, these didn't mirror his movements- they moved around freely within the confines of their crystalline structures. "What do you want...?" Capsaicin Cookie said nervously as he watched the mirrors around him.
One of his doppelgangers scoffed at such a question. "WE want to see the Spice Overlord" it huffed, ruffling its fiery hair with a shackled arm and giving Capsaicin Cookie a sharp-toothed grin. "Have you seen him?"
Another doppelganger facepalmed. "I told you, THAT'S HIM!" it said, pointing a confined finger at Capsaicin Cookie. Capsaicin Cookie shrank back at being put on the spot. Why did they all want to see the Spice Overlord? That wasn't him... They're all terribly mistaken.
The previous reflection snickered as it looked at Capsaicin Cookie with contempt. "That weakling? You'd have a better chance at convincing me that a cakehound was the Spice Overlord" it cackled balefully. Its remark brought a chorus of laughter from the other reflections.
Capsaicin Cookie's anxiety flickered into anger at his doppelganger's words. "Weak? Who do YOU think you're calling weak?! I'm the Champion of Scovillia! Just because I'm not some Spice Overlord doesn't make me any less powerful!" he yelled at the gathered mirrors.
They looked at eachother through their confines and burst out laughing. "Yeah, you WERE the Champion!" one giggled before its visage was changed to a burning room residing in the Scovillia Quarters. "Till 'ya broke down crying after a bad dream!" its voice resonated from the mirror.
Capsaicin Cookie froze and watched the mirror as it recounted the events of his first night of the Tournament. "T...That was an accident!" he thought to himself in panic as his reflections continued to laugh and taunt him.
"Oh, oh! What about getting drunk with the delinquents because he was TOO SCARED TO SLEEP!? That one really sank the title!" another reflection laughed cruelly as its visage changed to him with a bottle of chili oil ale held drunkenly in the air.
Capsaicin Cookie's breathing became erratic as he turned around to look at the mirrors surrounding him. They were laughing with malicious glee as they broadcasted his worst moments back at him.
"Stop..."
"He says he can handle himself, but he's always one push away from burning everything to the ground!" a reflection cackled, lava accumulating in the corners of its eyes like tears of laughter.
"Stop it...!"
"Everyone puts up with him because they KNOW they can't do anything if he decides to go berserk!" another reflection taunted.
"I SAID STOP IT!" Capsaicin Cookie roared, eyes wild as his gaze shifted frantically from each mirror.
"Or what? You 'gonna-" the reflection was promptly cut off as Capsaicin Cookie smashed a fist through its visage. Shards erupted from the broken mirror as Capsaicin Cookie breathed heavily, fist still clenched against its back
"Guys, look! He's losing it!" another reflection laughed cruelly. It was soon shattered, too.
"Ooooh he's mad!" yet another taunted. Its face split as its crystalline surface was smashed in.
"Spice Overlord, Spice Overlord!" the mirrors all chanted as Capsaicin Cookie ruthlessly shattered them all one by one.
Capsaicin Cookie breathed heavily as he stood in the middle of the chaos. Broken mirror shards littered the floor as he clutched his head, shaking softly as he looked around the room. Lava oozed from his hands as the cracks caused by the shards continued to spread across the surface of his dough.
That's not the Spice Overlord. This is.
...
The students of Scovillia watched in silent horror as the All-Seeing Jellyvisor projected Capsaicin Cookie's Mirror Hall into their stands. They could do nothing but watch as their Champion smashed mirror after mirror with no regard to how wounded his hands became.
"W-what's happening?" Lil Pepper Cookie stammered anxiously as he looked up to the Headmaster who sat beside him. "What's wrong with Capsaicin Cookie?"
The Headmaster watched in silence as his Capsaicin Cookie froze in the middle of the cavern and began clutching his head with a painful grip.
"This isn't good...! I need to stop him immediately before...!" he thought to himself panicked. "STOP THE TRIAL!" he suddenly boomed with a loudness rivaled by no other.
A startled Gelato Trio Cookie looked through the stands to pick out the source of the voice. Upon realizing it was the Headmaster of Scovillia, he quickly drew up his microphone. "A-ah, but we can't cancel this Trial-" he stammered as the Headmaster abruptly got up from his seat.
"FINE! I'll do it myself!" he bellowed as he charged through the stands towards the exit, axe gripped tightly in one hand as he disappeared through its doorway.
Gelato Trio Cookie, sensing the impending chaos the crowd would delve into, quickly put on a reassuring tone. "Everybody please remain calm! There's been a... Minor hiccup in this Trial, but I guarantee you we are working on fixing it! Please remain seated as..."
Kouign-Amann Cookie grunted as her opponent sent her flying backwards into a pile of rubble. Her sword landed a few feet away from her as she struggled to get up.
"That makes 9" the knight said impassively, slashing her sword through the air so that it may again rest against her hip. "If this was a real battle, you'd have crumbled 9 times"
Kouign-Amann Cookie staggered to her feet and lunged for her sword. Its comforting grip rested in her hands as she righted the blade to point at her opponent. "Good thing this isn't a real battle then, because I'm still able to fight!" she said, eyes blazing with determination.
The knight did nothing but dash towards an exhausted Kouign-Amann Cookie. Startled, she drew up her greatsword to block the impending attack. "Ack!" she cried at the force being applied against her blade. She maneuvered to parry the knight's attack, only to find her blade torn from her grasp and clattered noisily next to her. The knight pointed her sharp blade at Kouign-Amann Cookie.
"10. Do you yield?" it asked her again impassively. Like it did 9 other times.
How... How could she do this? How could she beat someone that had a countermove for every step she takes? Every thrust blocked with a parry, every slash sidestepped, her counterattacks left her stricken to the ground. There was no way she could win this. "But... I can't let them down!" she thought, determination once again igniting her limbs to do work. "They're all rooting for me! How can I betray their trust in me!?"
She picked up her blade for the tenth time and readied it against the opposing knight. Without saying a word, she charged towards the silver figure, greatsword ready to strike. The Knight merely sidestepped her with impeccable speed before slashing the her sword from her hands in one swift slash.
"11. Do. You. Yield?" it said impatiently to the crumpled Kouign-Amann Cookie. She was covered in dust, dirt, and scratches. Her gown was torn and its layers snagged as the fighting had worn her down.
She huffed hard as she stood up once more. She couldn't do this; she couldn't win. How could she break the news to the others...? "I... I failed..." she thought to herself depressively as she looked at the ground before the knight.
"Admit defeat, Kouign-Amann Cookie. What you're doing now is nothing short of recklessly throwing yourself into danger without the power to protect anything- not even yourself" the knight replied in a hardened voice to the downcast Cookie before her.
"She's right... I'm making a mockery of the Paladin's Code..." Kouign-Amann Cookie thought to herself sadly. She wanted to burst into tears, but with her pride on the line, she feared losing too much. 100 battles, 100 victories...! She couldn't lose now! But faced with the overwhelming power displayed before her, how could she continue? "Wait..." she thought to herself, thinking back to that conversation she had with Capsaicin Cookie. "'The Cookies you fear disappointing the most are also the Cookies who'll be there to pick you up when you fall short...'"
She brought her gaze up to face the knight before her. She gave a smirk as the sterling figure readied her battle stance. "You're right, Knight. I can't win." she admitted. "But that's alright, because I'm still here. I can admit that you've defeated me and I can go home and train some more." she started, pride welling up inside her as the next words seemingly spilled out of her.
"I... I can spar with Financier Cookie to learn more moves and techniques.. I can pose with Madeleine Cookie to feel better about my defeats... I can train with my classmates so we all become stronger!" she said, her voice full of resolve as she addressed the knight. "And then I'll come back and challenge you again! And again! And until that blade of yours rests before you, I will keep training and keep challenging you until YOU admit defeat!" she finished, her voice loud but full of conviction. "Because when I can't go on, I know my friends will help me to my feet so that I may fight again!"
The knight looked at Kouign-Amann Cookie as she breathed heavily from the speech she had delivered. She sighed and gave the exhausted Champion a chuckle as she eyed her up and down. "Congratulations, Kouign-Amann Cookie. I yield" she said, her impassive voice replaced by one of love and compassion. She lifted her free hand up to remove her obscuring helmet.
"I... W-what?" Kouign-Amann Cookie breathed as the knight revealed herself to be... Herself?
"That voice... THAT VOICE!" Capsaicin Cookie thought in anger as he turned around to meet the source of that voice he loathed so much. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" he yelled in disgust as his eyes locked onto the last un-shattered mirror.
His final reflection gave him a cruel, maniacal smile. Finally taking off your blindfold and showing you the TRUE SPICE OVERLORD! it yelled jovially as the cavern erupted in volcanic activity.
Capsaicin Cookie stared in utter horror as the destroyed mirrors all came alight with the monster he had locked away. Its terrifying magmatic corpse thrashed wildly around the flame it was imprisoned in as it fought to free itself from the shackles he had placed upon it. Its eyes widened and locked onto the frozen Capsaicin Cookie as it let loose a ghastly screech that emanated from each destroyed mirror.
"I..." Capsaicin Cookie choked out, lava tears streaming down his face as he couldn't get away from his reflections- from his past. "I'M THE SPICE OVERLORD! ARE YOU HAPPY!?" he sobbed as he clutched his head, the screams of his time imprisoned filling his ears. "I... I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" he cried as cracks began to spread themselves across his torso, revealing burning magma underneath.
"I TRIED. I... I tried SO HARD to put everything behind me and just... JUST BE HAPPY!" he choked out, eyes transfixed on his reflection. "I didn't want to be you anymore... I HATED BEING YOU!" he yelled to his doppelganger who stood there, eyes overshadowed. "I joined Scovillia and became their CHAMPION! I MADE FRIENDS! THE HEADMASTER LOOKED AFTER ME! BUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH!"
"Nothing I did WORKED! Anytime I did ANYTHING... YOU'D COME OUT!" he yelled in anguish. "I CAN'T DO THIS ANY LONGER! I CAN'T KEEP SUPRESSING MYSELF TO NO END!" the cracks grew into deep fissures which seeping lava onto the floor around him. Lava began to pool around him as his steel-grey dough slowly replaced itself with shifting magma. "I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK THERE!" he cried in agony as the memories of his imprisonment broke away from the restraints he'd put on them. "I... I can't..."
He dropped to his knees as the lava swirled around him.
He... He didn't want to think anymore. He tried so hard in every aspect to forget about his past and... And to just move on. "I'm sorry..." he thought to himself bleakly as the Mirror Hall started to crack from the heat and pressure.
Closing his blazing tangerine eyes, he allowed himself to be pulled under.
Kouign-Amann Cookie stared at herself dumbstruck as the knight she had been fighting approached her. "You've grown, Kouign-Amann Cookie. I'm proud" she said, bringing a closed fist towards the confused Champion. Opening it, she revealed the Crème Knights' relic: a small but regal looking gilded key. "Take it, young one. It's the Mark of Victory"
Kouign-Amann Cookie shook herself off from her past befuddlement and gingerly reached up to grab the relic. "Thank you... But I'll be back for that victory" she said while winking at herself.
The landscape around her shattered into a thousand pieces of reflective mirror shards as Kouign-Amann Cookie suddenly found herself in a crystalline room. Unfazed by the sudden change in scenery, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. "101 battles, 100 victories" she said happily, the Mark of Victory clutched in her hand.
...
"It appears Kouign-Amann Cookie is the first to emerge from the Mirr-" Gelato Trio Cookie began exuberantly before his joy was quickly turned to fear as a horrific screech emanated from every All-Seeing Jellyvisor stationed around the colosseum. The crowd went silent as they were transfixed upon the screens. "What the...?" he breathed as he quickly looked to one of the projected holographic screens. The one hovering above the Scovillia stands was heavily damaged from heat, but still managed to capture something... SOMETHING BIG! Emerging from Capsaicin Cookie's Mirror Hall.
"What on Earthbread..." Latte Cookie breathed as she watched the flaming creature burst through the wreckage of what once was the Mirror Hall. It's terrifying horns studded with sharp obsidian spikes jutted to the sky as it let loose another agonized screech.
"Ah... T-that's... The Spice Overlord" Eclair Cookie trembled as he turned to his academic equal. "The monster that ravaged ancient Earthbread...!" he breathed as his eyes were transfixed on the depiction he'd encountered on scrolls now brought to real life.
The Parfaedia Principal's eyes widened as she pieced two things together upon looking at the monster. "Molten Magma Cookie and Prune Juice Cookie are out there! We have to help them...!" she said aloud as her students started to panic.
Latte Cookie quickly got up, her normally sweet smile replaced by one one of seriousness. "I'll go, Crème Fouettée Cookie" she said, spoon-esque wand at the ready. "You protect the students"
Eclair Cookie quickly looked to her. "I'll come, as well! I've garnered some knowledge about the Spice Overlord's existence, I'm sure it'll be helpful!" he said in his charming voice, any previous hesitancy banished.
Crème Fouettée looked at her two professors before narrowing her eyes and nodding. "Be careful!" she called out to them as Latte Cookie and Eclair Cookie both hurried to the exit of the colosseum.
At the Crème Knights portion of the stands, a calm and level-headed Preceptor belted out instructions to his paladin-trainees as they began uniformly evacuating the colosseum. "Kouign-Amann Cookie is still in her Mirror Hall" he said, eyes turning to his senior paladins. "Madeleine Cookie, Financier Cookie, please assist the others and save Kouign-Amann Cookie as I evacuate the paladin-trainees and Scovillian students"
"As you order, Preceptor" Financier Cookie said in her monotone voice. Worry edged its way into her tone as she thought about the young Kouign-Amann Cookie. "She's strong, she'll handle it before you arrive" she reasoned with herself but still put in an extra burst of speed as she diligently ran towards the exit.
Madeleine Cookie looked startled as he watched the square-cut paladin race away. "Don't worry, we'll vanquish the beast!" he said to the Preceptor vigorously as he readied his blade and floating madeleine shield. After making his grand exit, he ran after the -now much farther ahead- Financier Cookie.
"Kouign-Amann Cookie! If even a single crumb is out of place on you, I promise I'll smite that monster back to whence it came!" Madeleine Cookie thought to himself as he continued his sprint. "Just hold on!"
The Headmaster charged through the wilderness as he approached Capsaicin Cookie's mirror hall. He didn't have to look hard through the thicket, as the towering figure of shifting lava rose well above the canopy of the forest.
"I'm too late...!" he thought to himself as he clutched his axe and prepared to face an out-of-control Capsaicin Cookie. "What were they thinking when they came up with that Trial!? I'll never let them keep me in the dark about Tournament planning again!" he thought angrily as he ducked and weaved through the thicket.
His mind raced with the images of Capsaicin Cookie. "He must be in so much pain right now...!" he thought to himself gravely. "I don't think that I can calm him down when he's like this"
His first roadblock emerged in the form of a blazing forest fire emanating from the center of Capsaicin Cookie's destroyed Mirror Hall. It tore through the ancient woods like a ravenous beast as fire and flame consumed the verdant trees and thorny bushes, sending crackling embers and smoke airborne.
"Oh that's not good" he said aloud as the blazing fire blocked his access deeper in the forest. He may be the head honcho of Scovillia, but even he couldn't run through a fire of that magnitude. There had to be another way around...! Whipping his head side-to-side, he attempted to find an opening of any kind in the blazing wall of flames. "Gr, no good. The forest is so thick- it'll take hours for it to burn itself out" he sighed internally as his options dwindled.
Another pained screech racked the air.
Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Thinking back to the first Trial, he remembered watching Parfaedia's Champion downing a potion that allowed him to... RUN THROUGH FIRE! "I need to find his Mirror Hall!" he thought to himself as he whipped his head in the direction of the other two Champions' Mirror Halls and began a furious sprint towards their location.
Billowing smoke hung low in the air as he swatted past branches and leapt over fallen logs, still maintaining his speed as the dashed towards the nearest Mirror Hall. A sparkling glint halted him in his tracks and he pivoted to his side to reach the crystalline structure. As he neared its hypnotizingly reflective door, he thanked the Wizards that Mirror Halls could only be calibrated for one Cookie at a time.
Before he could hurriedly open it, the door swung open and one happy-looking Kouign-Amann Cookie strode out. She looked curiously at the skull-wearing Cookie before her. "Scovillia Headmaster? What are you doing here?" she asked as she rested her mighty greatsword against her shoulder. A nightmarish screech emanating from the the lands next to her seemingly answered her question.
She snapped her head upwards and her eyes widened in shock as she caught glimpses of the flickering flames tearing upwards towards the sky. "What the heck happened?!" she yelled, her question half directed at the universe and half directed at the fiery Headmaster.
The Headmaster shook his masked head quickly. "No time to explain, I need to get you and the Parfaedia Champion outta here before the flames reach your Mirror Halls" he said hurriedly. "And to steal his potion sack"
Kouign-Amann Cookie tore he gaze from the encroaching flames and nodded to the Scovillia Headmaster. "Prune Juice Cookie's Mirror Hall should be over here- follow me!" she shouted with determination as she dashed from the crystalline structure closer to the flames, the Headmaster practically breathing down her neck as his speed waned to match hers. "Wait- why do you need Prune Juice Cookie's potions? Can't we just leave the forest?" she asked the Headmaster through gasps as they neared the whereabouts of the Mirror Hall.
"I... I've got some business to attend to" he said, his voice not even labored as he raced through the forest. "I'm gonna stop that kid before he hurts himself" he said, angling his head to look at the source of the flames in the near distance.
Kouign-Amann Cookie nearly tripped over a log as she realized something. "W-WAIT. THAT'S CAPSAICIN COOKIE!?" she yelled in disbelief as the monster towering over the canopy let loose another agonized screech.
"Hmph, 'fraid so" he said gruffly, his voice becoming serious.
Kouign-Amann Cookie thought back to her Trial as the two continued to race through the smoldering forest, the smoke growing thicker as they neared Prune Juice Cookie's Mirror Hall. She had to quite literally defeat herself in order to break free from the Mirror Hall's reflections and retrieve the relic... What on Earthbread did Capsaicin Cookie see in those mirrors to cause this!?
The two stopped their running as yet another reflective structure neared their sights. "I'll get him, you watch the fire!" she belted out to the MUCH senior Academy Head as she dashed through its crystalline door.
"What are they teaching those kids!?" the Headmaster huffed at being ordered around by a student.
Prune Juice Cookie yawned in boredom as his old magic professor droned on about how he was impossible to teach magic and that he couldn't even utilize a glyph. "Gee, this conversation is just as unpleasant and LONG as I remember it..." he thought to himself in annoyance as the professor droned on.
"Okay, OKAY! I get it, I'm utterly useless and I should drop out to become a pastry chef or something" he snarked to the overshadowed professor. "I'm quite happy with my studies in potion brewing, so if we're done here then I'll be taking my exit" he said, turning around before his ancient professor could get another word in.
The world fell away as its scenery shattered into thousands of fragments of glistening mirror shards. Prune Juice Cookie eyed the room's true nature in confusion as he stood there. "Oh? But I didn't even do anything yet" he remarked.
"PRUNE JUICE COOKIE!" a familiar and not-so-annoying voice yelled to him. He quickly turned around to see an out of breath Kouign-Amann Cookie clutching her signature greatsword in her hands as she fought to catch her breath. "We... We have to get out of here, it's dangerous!" she said, grabbing hold of the inky Champion's torso and quickly hauling him over her shoulder and out of the Mirror Hall.
"B-but why? The only 'danger' I was in was being bored to death by my old magic professor!" he protested at being lugged away like a child.
"It's a long story and I didn't get many details, but to sum it up: the entire forest is on fire and Capsaicin Cookie turned into a giant monster" she said matter-of-factly as Prune Juice Cookie's normally slant eyes flew open in shock.
"He WHAT?!" Prune Juice cried in disbelief, not even caring anymore that he's being carried out of the Mirror Hall. "That's a big step away from demolishing sour jelly bats!" he groaned, attempting to comprehend how the fiery Champion he saw sulking about splitting up not even an hour ago could become such a force of destruction.
They burst out through the Mirror Hall's doors just as the Headmaster was contemplating busting down the door himself. "There you two are!" he hollered in his loud voice before snatching Prune Juice Cookie's potion bag from his grasp. "Gimme that-"
"Um. Rude" Prune Juice Cookie said in annoyance as the Headmaster began rummaging through all his hard work.
He picked up a bottle and scrutinized its label before tossing it aside in the ashen grass. "Why do you label everything so badly?!" he yelled in exasperation as he picked up another potion. "What the hell even is a 'I'll Be Back' potion?!"
"That'd be the brew that allows Cookies to walk through fire and swim through lava. I'm ASSUMING you're looking for it" Prune Juice Cookie sighed. "Kouign-Amann Cookie, can you PLEASE put me down?" he said while looking at the ballgown-wearing Champion expectantly.
"Oops, you're just so light I forgot I was carrying you!" she said sheepishly before plopping the inky Champion down.
The Headmaster quickly strode over to Prune Juice Cookie, 'I'll Be Back' potion clutched firmly in his free hand. "How many of these do you have?" he asked the Parfaedian Champion.
Prune Juice Cookie thought for a moment at the question. "I'll be honest, the bulk of the potions I brought all give some type of fire immunity. I couldn't be too sure with Capsaicin Cookie..." he gulped while looking up towards the distance. The towering figure let loose another barrage of screeches as it set more segments of the forest ablaze. "... Good to see that it paid off"
The Headmaster stared at them for a few moments as if in thought before chucking his axe to the sooty floor and uncorking the potion. "ALRIGHT! Here's what's 'gonna happen: you lot are 'gonna rejoin your classmates while I take down my boy" he said, pointing his free hand AWAY from the blaze as he attempted to persuade the Champions to leave.
Kouign-Amann Cookie stood her ground and brought her greatsword to her shoulder once more. "Oh, no way. We're helping you save Capsaicin Cookie- we're his friends!" she said with determination in her voice.
Prune Juice Cookie looked dumbfoundedly at the pink Champion. He mouthed the words "Seriously?" to her. She gave him a look in return.
Another screech rang out in the distance.
"GRRRALRIGHT! I'm not standing around here ANY LONGER and argue with you kids- just come with me and STAY. OUT. OF. THE. WAY!" he punctuated greatly as he fetched his axe.
Prune juice Cookie shook his head but began rummaging through his ransacked potion bag and distributing more fire-resistance potions among them. "These last for 3 minutes a pop, so make them last!" he said as he gave the Headmaster 4 more and Kouign-Amann Cookie 3. "I'm staying well away from the thicket of this whole mess, so I'm only keeping one"
The group chugged their potions and discarded their empty casings as they ran towards the encroaching wall of flame and bounded through it without hesitation. The smoke was thick and the fire blazed all around them, lapping at their invulnerable dough but singing their vulnerable clothing. Prune Juice Cookie kept one hand firmly planted on his hat as he ran after the two impossibly fast Cookies. He was just happy that he swapped his previous canvas potion sack for a fire-proof variety.
"Uh, so Headmaster... Do you have an actual plan for tackling Capsaicin Cookie?" Prune Juice Cookie asked loudly from his position in the rear.
"... Nottt exactly. I've only seen something like this once- and it was NOT to this magnitude" he yelled as he kept his head firmly planted in front of him.
"Erm, you've 'seen something like this' before?! Well what happened?" Prune Juice Cookie pried, annoyed that he's being dragged along to fight a threat that he's had NO time to prepare for. A little shed light would be MUCH appreciated!
They ran in silence for a few moments as the Headmaster seemed split on whether to speak or not. "When Capsaicin Cookie first enrolled in Scovillia, he didn't have anywhere to stay, so I gave him one of the senior dorm rooms at the Academy" he began in his gruff voice. "Except it burned down in a week's time during the night, and when I kicked down the door to confront the flames, I found my poor Capsaicin Cookie in a..." he paused for a moment. "... not so great state, physically and mentally. It took me all night to calm him down" he finished. Both Kouign-Amann Cookie and Prune Juice Cookie listened intently as the Headmaster continued.
"It's the reason why his horns look so busted up, they really took a beating before I got to him" he sighed as they approached a less blazing portion of the woods. They were getting close to the source of the fire now, and the ghastly screeches coming from the out-of-control Capsaicin Cookie intensified as they drew ever near.
Prune Juice Cookie spoke up as their time before engagement was drawing to a close. "... If you knew he was like this, then why did you let him become Champion?" he said logically as Kouign-Amann Cookie gave him a bitter look.
"I just wanted him to feel relieved for once, to stop worrying and just have fun. He always put on a brave face and prevented people from worrying about him" he admitted, his normally up-beat and gruff voice taking on a tone of sadness. "It partly came true, as he met you two" he added as he mentioned the two Champions fondly.
Kouign-Amann Cookie's gaze hardened as she fixed them onto the charred remains of trees bordering the clearing that Capsaicin Cookie had cleared out in his rampage. The group came to an abrupt halt as they were finally face-to-face with the monster looming in front of them.
"We probably should've stopped to come up with a plan" Prune juice muttered aloud as the fiery beast locked eyes with the group and released a pained screech.