Fragments - A Cookie Run Fanfiction

Chapter Forty-Eight: Stumble

//"Road work ahead? Ugh- yeah- I sure hope it does."//

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The Jelly Forest was quiet as it always had been. The limbs of the trees wafted along in the breeze, rustling of leaves and branches heard from all directions. Licorice knew this forest well. He often scoured it for more organic resources- stuff that he couldn't gain from minerals.

So far, nothing had been out of the ordinary. Everything was as nature-tranquil as it usually was. The small noises of animals hiding in trees- the rustling of grass under their feet and the unstopping breeze that produced the most noise, for one reason, or another. It really depended on where he was. That didn't seem to ease the man's mind though.

Licorice kept his hand firmly grasped around his weapon of preferance as he steadily moved forward.

Poison Mushroom walked along behind the taller man. The child seemed to be amusing themselves with a mushroom that they had summoned up from who knows where.

Overall, Mushroom wasn't really all that noisy to begin with. They tended to keep to themselves, unless they were asking others if they wanted 'Shroomies'. Honestly, sometimes, Licorice wondered how he got saddled with the estranged, younger cookie most of the time. Despite that, he hasn't had a reason to complain. Not even once.

"Have you seen anything yet?" he asked down to the younger companion, who, in turn, looked up to him with naturally wide eyes.

Poison Mushroom simply shook their head 'no' before looking away from the purple capped mushroom they were carrying. They glanced from left to right- before suddenly stopping in their tracks.

The child seemed to star off to the right for a moment before tugging on Licorice's robe. Once they had the older cookie's attention, they pointed in the directio they were looking. "I don't see anything. Doesn't feel right." they stated.

Licorice, too, looked in the direction that the child had guide him to look at. With a nod, and the slightest sigh- the dark magic user walked ahead, casting an aura of magic over himself and the child who had come to help him. The magic barrier would help them keep from being detected. Much like being invisible.

"Come on, let's go." the man walked ahead, bringing his scythe down a bit, to ensure that he was ready, in case something went wrong. He quietly shifted his way through the grass and around the bushes that rested between the trees- Mushroom tailing right behind him. "Do you know exactly where you felt it from?" he questioned back to the companion.

"No. Feeling was brief." Poison Mushroom muttered, before looking down. "Definintely this direction." they continued.

Nodding, the older cookie held a long branch out of Poison Mushroom's way, before continuing ahead. They walked for a good 10 minutes, at least. At first, nothing seemed to be changing. However, the dark magic user didn't doubt Poison Mushroom's ability to sense something was wrong. The younger cookie was more aware than most thought they were. They could tell something was off in an atmosphere. Physically, or socially.

Upon stumbling over a branch that suddenly sprouted up out of the ground, Licorice fell forward- struggling as he regained his balance. He blinked a couple times- and when he had- the entire world around him changed.

There was a pink mist in the air, and the trees were all looming over the two cookies.

Instinctively, Licorice moved back, and grit his teeth, aiming the blade of his weapon toward the trees defensively. Namely out of habit.

Poison Mushroom didn't seem to understand the reason behind Licorice's movent. They looked up, with a curious, confused glint in their eye. They didn't seem bothered by anything around them. Not even the vines, that were crawling closer and closer from the ground.

Instinctively, Licorice picked up the younger cookie, and looked down to the vines, stomping them out. It seemed the shielding spell either wasn't working- or it was malfunctioning.

"What are you doing..?" Poison Mushroom asked, from where they were being held. "What are you stepping on?" the darkened eyes looked down to the ground, seeing nothing but the green foliage.

"Do you not see that shit on the ground trying to grab you?" the dark haired male questioned to the child companion, who only shook his head no in response. Licorice's face went from partly incredulous to pensive. "... hm.. maybe..." he cut himself off, before setting Mushroom back down on the ground, when the ground looked safe enough for them.

The wheels in his head were spinning, causing him to pace a little bit, looking up every couple seconds to make sure nothing was making it's way closer to them.

After some thought, the man snapped his fingers, and walked back over to the tree root he had tripped over. Making a large stride- he quickly walks forward, before causing himself to trip over it again. As soon as he had- he blinked couple times, like before. Upon opening his eyes, the world was back to normal. There was no dark pink smoke or mist- and the dark tinted trees, with moving vines were no longer around. It was as if they all disappeared.

"Ah, that's it..!" he exclaimed aloud, which made Poison Mushroom only tilt their head in curiosity. The child walked forward, expecting Licorice to explain what happened- which surely would happen.

"What's wrong?" they asked up to the man, who calmed himself, and cleared his throat, before looking dow to the purple clad child.

"This root right here. I tripped over it, and everything changed. I am guessing you weren't seeing what I saw, because you didn't trip over it like I had. There is only one effective way to test out this theory though. I am guessing you know what I am talking about." An expecting gaze fell on Purple Mushroom, who, in turn, pondered for a moment, before nodding.

"I need to help test it out..?"

Licorice nodded, before stepping back a bit, and looking toward the root.

Poison Mushroom walked over to where Licorice was, standing still, and waiting for some instructions from the older cookie. Licorice set himself up as well, before letting ot a sigh, and looking down to Poison Mushroom. "With luck this will work. We just may have the answer to our problems, for this obsticle. Are you ready?"

"I am." Poison Mushroom nodded their bead, before looking down to the same root that Licorice had tripped over in the frist place.

With that, both of them started to quickly walk forward.

((To Be Continued))