Baking up a New Adventure! (A Cookie Run: Kingdom Story)

Part 25: The Final Showdown-Part 1

"Guys, they're back!" Strawberry Cookie announced as we opened the door to the refrigerator.

"Alright, so what's our next move?" Gingerbrave asked me.

"We should probably try to figure out where Dark Enchantress Cookie went," I decided.

"How will we do that?" Custard III wondered.

"That's a good question," I murmured.

"We could always go back to that bakery and start from there," Gingerbrave offered.

"That's not a good idea," I shook my head. "For one, we'd be completely exposed, and two, we have no idea where she went after she left us. She could be anywhere within a five, maybe even ten block radius from there."

"Do you have any better ideas?" Espresso asked impatiently.

"Not off the top of my head, no," I sighed. "But I'll think of something."

"How much longer are we supposed to stay in here?" Custard III asked me. "I'm freezing!"

"Okay, let's head back to my room then," I decided. "We got rid of those dust bunnies, so we shouldn't have to worry about anything this time."

I formed another flight of stairs so that everyone could safely climb down. Once they were all out of the refrigerator I closed the door and we started walking back down the hall to my bedroom.

Maybe I should try to talk to Rye, I decided as I noticed her near the back of the group. She and I didn't hit it off all that well yesterday, but maybe now she'd be willing--

"Not one more step," She warned as she saw me getting closer to her. "If you weren't the only way we could get back to our home, I'd shoot."

Nope! Definitely still mad at me, I concluded with a sigh.

"Ugh, where did he go this time?" Alchemist wondered aloud.

"Are you looking for your brother again?" I asked her.

"Yes," She nodded. "He was here up until just a second ago..."

"THIS JUST IN!" A voice boomed as the TV turned on.

"Ack!" Gingerbrave gasped. "What is that?!"

How did--? I wondered to myself, and I turned around slowly to see Vampire Cookie laying on the couch, attempting to use the TV remote as a pillow.

"I found your brother," I told Alchemist.

"Vampire Cookie! Get down from there!" Alchemist shouted. "And switch this thing off!"

"Huh...? What...? Oh... did I do that?" Vampire asked as he saw the TV was switched on.

"Wait! She's saying something!" Gingerbrave announced, and immediately all went quiet so we could listen.

"...a crazed tiny... cookie... witch... lady... thing is running rampant through downtown shouting at cakes telling them to—well, I'll just let you listen for yourselves," The newscaster explained urgently.

"RISE!" Dark Enchantress shouted. "Abandon your cage! Defy your destiny! Join us, and you can live!"

"On your feet!" Red Velvet Cookie ordered. "Huh... this is strange. I've never met cakes who could defy my orders so... stubbornly."

The camera panned out again to show the sign hanging above the door which read; Little Cakes.

Little cakes...? I wondered to myself. Are they on... main street?

"Guys, I think I know where they are!" I exclaimed. "Just let me punch in the coordinates, and—there!"

I opened a portal just down the street from where we saw Dark Enchantress in the news broadcast.

"There they are!" Gingerbrave cried. "Let's go, you guys!"

"You again?!" Licorice Cookie gasped.

"You will not get in the way of my master's plans," Pomegranate warned.

"Cake hounds! Charge!" Red Velvet shouted.

"Wait, we're not here to fight!" I tried to explain, blocking the cake hounds with a wall of ice spikes before they could advance on us. "You were all sent to my world by mistake. We're just here to help you get home."

"Go home...?" Dark Enchantress smirked. "Why would I ever want to do that? Not when this place has all these cakes for me to recruit. I could build an army bigger than I ever could have imagined to crumble you and your puny friends once and for all!"

"Guys, hold off those cake hounds!" I hollered as my ice spike wall finally gave way. "I've still got to register your dimension!"

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Espresso asked me.

"Well, it was just one thing after another and I didn't really think about it until now," I sighed.

"We'll do the best we can," Gingerbrave assured me. "Come on, you guys!" 

Okay... I took a deep breath as I flipped through the settings on my portal gun. Register New... Cookie Run: Kingdom... set the portal locations for the Forgotten Academy, Pomegranate Village, Pilgrim's Village, Dragon Hill, Bear Jelly Village, and... the Kingdom itself: Frosting Peaks! And... done!

"Ack! Cake hounds! Fall back! You're all gravely wounded!" Red Velvet called.

The cake hounds scurried back to him as fast as they could, though some of them were limping, and almost all of them were visibly injured in some way.

"I have the supplies to treat your wounds back at the tower, but--" Red Velvet started to say.

"Then go," I decided as I registered the tower of sweet chaos and opened a portal there for him.

"What are you-?" Red Velvet demanded to know.

"We're not here to crumble anyone today," I explained. "We just want to get you home. So, take your troops and tend to their wounds."

Red Velvet glanced at Dark Enchantress.

"Your troops are no good to us if they are wounded," Dark Enchantress decided. "Take advantage of this one's foolish kindness. The rest of us will handle them." 

"Thank you," Red Velvet thanked Dark Enchantress. "Come, my cake hounds! To the tower!"

I waited until every last cake hound had made it through the portal, then closed it behind them.

"Dark Choco Cookie..." Pomegranate Cookie sighed. "Do you really think that joining this ragtag group of heroes is going to atone for everything you did? Do you think that, because of this, your people will welcome you back as a hero?"

"G-Gah! I-I-..." Dark Choco Cookie's expression faltered. "No... NO!"

"Stay out of his head!" I yelled, blasting Pomegranate Cookie back with a powerful gust of wind.

"Ugh!" She gasped as she struggled to stay on her feet, and her staff flew out of her hands. "You..."

"You always do everything!" Licorice Cookie complained. "Let me handle them!"

"I wouldn't feel like I had to do everything myself if you succeeded every once in a while," Pomegranate retorted.

"Do you know how hard it is to succeed when these guys are constantly trying to meddle with our plans?!" Licorice Cookie shot back.

"Very well," Pomegranate relented. "But if you fail again, your punishment will be severe."

"Licorice minions! Attack!" Licorice cried out, and several tangles of black licorice that looked almost like yarn balls with eyes came charging at us. 

"Ack! More minions to fight?" Gingerbrave gasped. "I don't think I can take much more after those cake hounds..."

"Then stay back, let Angel Cookie and Custard Cookie heal you," I told him.

"We'll handle this round," Latte Cookie offered as she, Espresso, Dark Choco, and Avocado stepped up to help.

The five of us rushed forward to meet the first wave of licorice minions.