Chapter Text
Agar-Agar Cookie
Stepping through the tear left me feeling... distorted, almost like existence itself was pressing down.
My crystal-like body felt as if it were being put into a new mold, one that would likely end up with me being more... volatile, should it complete.
However, my current form was already satisfactory enough, and I didn't need anything but myself messing with it.
So, in a show of force, my abilities stretched themselves out, subsequently halting the change in its path and reverting the minor shifts it had managed to make.
"How... testing..." I spoke while my maroon orbs narrowed at the swirling white space around me, its form seemingly flickering with millions upon millions of stars.
However, despite my frustration, the space was immense in power, almost to an overwhelming degree, so acting upon my anger would likely amount to nothing.
"No... matter; there's always... later," were my words to the space as I decided to set an expiration date for the realm around me; I was petty, and I'd make sure it knew that.
Fortunately for it, I couldn't dwell on the pettiness for long, as another tear in space popped into existence in front of me, the canvas it revealed behind it drawing me in with the promise of sweet sustenance.
My voided stomach rumbled in pain at the sight, its form barely being soothed by my shaky hand as I hastily made my way forward, eager to get something to help ease the painful gluttony ravaging me.
Upon setting foot inside the tear, I was left stupefied and confused, as one second I was in the realm of stars, and the next, I was stuck in my mirror as it lay looking up at a wall.
I tried to pull myself out of my personal domain and sleeping quarters, but to no avail, as I could feel the world's natural order locking me inside. It was barring me from consuming my fill.
The most frustrating thing about that wasn't even being stuck; no, it was the fact that I could still see the outside, but couldn't touch it; it was a torturous tease that left me with mixed feelings.
Trying one last time, I sighed in dismay and frustration before lying down on the mountain of pillows I had stored in here, taking solace in the comfort and feeling of acclimation trickling through my body.
Time would be needed for the world order to make me its embodiment, thus allowing me free roam of the outside.
However, I could tell there were a few stones here and there, as I could feel a few other beings somewhere outside that were also interacting with the world order, meaning if I don't kill them first, they might become the embodiment before me.
That stupid GingerBrave Cookie popped into mind at the thought, as that waste of dough had been the result of such a thing, and it was by far the most absurd and difficult thing to deal with on my path thus far, with the very universe itself allying with him to battle against me.
Even more frustratingly, had he not had the personality he did, I'd be dead right now, as he had bested me far too many times before I eventually managed to take advantage of his kindness.
It was the most satisfying and gratifying thing I'd ever seen when I watched a shard of Ice-Queen cookie's magic pierce his chest from my seemingly shattered mirror behind him; the shock on his face and following sadness left me angry, triumphant, and confused, but I had long since discarded the questions of why, as I didn't want to delve into my psyche, lest I break something that's already in shambles.
I shook my head with a scoff before closing my eyes; I didn't want to sleep with the image of that fool on my mind, nor the stupid and unnecessary feelings of guilt that followed it... It was just too much.
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Midoriya Izuku
"Oi! Deku! What do you think you're doing, you quirkless Nobody!?" Came the harsh words of my best friend, Kachan, his fist slamming down on my desk as he looked down at me with nothing but hate and disgust.
"Wha-What do you m-mean?" I questioned, not knowing what it was I had done wrong this time.
He scoffed before finding some words that suited his taste.
"Wow! Quirkless and retarded; what a brilliant fucking surprise. Well, since your dumbass can't seem to grasp or acknowledge what you've done, let me so kindly touch you up on the subject, nerd."
What followed was one of the more problematic beatings of today, one that left me... damaged; it was going to be a difficult cover-up, especially given the fact that Mom's going to be home early today, or so I've been told.
It was a hard tell these days, as ever since she graduated medical school, she's been working nonstop, having to pick up the slack the other doctors left in their laziness, however, I had a feeling that was just a convenient excuse to cover up the fact that she's been seeing someone.
The fact made me kind of sad, as knowing she was actively trying to keep her new relationship a secret from me meant she was still treading on eggshells around me.
Though I suppose there's no one else but me to blame for that kind of behavior, as the last time she tried to date someone after Dad passed away, I lost my temper.
The guilt of that day still embeds away at me to this day.
My thoughts were interrupted as Kachan's fist made one final blow to my lower gut, and with my form already lying back-first on the ground, it was extremely painful; so much so that I could swear on my life that I tasted blood in the back of my throat.
With a click of his tongue and a swing of his head, Kachan spoke while walking away from my battered form, his voice full of anger and mobid satisfaction.
"That should teach you, maybe next time you won't be a piss baby and cheat to get first."
'What...?' I thought as my dull, hurt eyes looked at his retreating back, expressing growing feelings of conflict that warped my vision and left me far more dazed than any of his punches could ever leave me.
Grunting in pain, I forced my broken mind, spirit, and body up; I didn't want to think of the whys right now, I just wanted to disappear for a moment, and hope that everything that's happened to me thus far had just been yet another nightmare.
So, taking my concussion, broken nose, and likely internal bleeding with me, I slowly walked home, hoping that for once, Mom lied about being home early, as the music I'd have to face otherwise was just draining to think about.
There was no easy way to say it, but I'd like for her to just disappear for a while, to leave me be while I tended to my wounds.
'Maybe if I confronted her boyfriend, he'd be willing to take her on a vacation for a while.'
I nodded painfully to myself. 'It could work, and I could use my quirklessness to my advantage, as the condition often made people pity her, so much so that I couldn't count how many times she's received gifts of condolences and offers to have me shipped off to some random Island, to, and I quote, 'Live out a fruitful life without discrimination'.
Had the offer not come from Detnerat, I'd even actively encourage the contract, but unfortunately, that was a no-go; it also helped that I was smart enough to dig into the depths the dark web without setting things off, letting me get access and knowledge on their true front as the second coming of the Meta Liberation Army.
They didn't send their 'Solution' to Mom for no reason, and had it been accepted, I'd likely be strung up and stripped of my skin as they slowly tortured me to death; the links I've clicked had videos attached to them.
Sighing, I reluctantly ascended the stairs that led to our apartment, noting the lack of Mom's car in the parking lot below me, a good sign for my disgusting situation.
The final nail in the coffin was the fact that I had to use a key to get inside, a telling sign that she wasn't here, as every time without fail, she'd leave the door unlocked for me if she got home first, a bad habit that she needed to shake sooner or later, as the kind of neighbourhood we lived in wasn't exactly the nicest.
But, I suppose that would be hypocritical, as I left the door just as unlocked while making my way over to the bathroom. He'd regret that later.
Upon seeing myself in the mirror, I thanked the heavens that Mom wasn't here, as I looked far worse than my blind diagnosis had predicted, with my broken nose basically being flush with my cheeks; I was surprised I didn't feel any bone pokeing at my brain.
And speaking of cheeks, a very large gash had since found its home on my left one, revealing the bone underneath, and the cracks it bore; that was a scar that would need a lot of makeup to cover, if I could even go that long without mom discovering it.
Lifting my shirt proved my earlier feeling true as well, as almost the entirety of my stomach was a deep purple, a key sign of internal bleeding.
I wanted to cry in dismay, but I kept myself together as I was sure the salt in my tears would only make the numb pain in my cheek worsen enough that I could actually feel it, an outcome I'd like to avoid if at all possible.
Seeing as I didn't really know what to do about the internal things, I opted to ignore it and hope it would heal on its own in due time.
Dropping my shirt, I moved onto things I could fix, like my nose, for example; I've reset it plenty of times, and while this time is a bit worse, it shouldn't be something too difficult to deal with.
My point was proven when a quick and agonizing yank later left it uncaved, if not a bit crooked, but as long as it healed normally, I wouldn't bother too much with adjusting.
After applying the necessary wraps and props, I moved onto the easier wound to deal with, the gash; said wound was still leaking a large amount of blood, and if not dealt with in swiftness, would leave me to either bleed out or unconscious, neither a preferable outcome, as I didn't want to die, nor did I want Mom to find me in my current state.
Grabbing some cotton balls and a bottle of alcohol, I snatched at a hidden case of sewing supplies, its form tinted red with blood from my past wounds as it was in desperate need of cleaning, or at least replacement; the first option was the only realistic one as I didn't get an allowance anymore so I couldn't buy a new set.
Opening the tinted container, I grabbed a pair of tweezers and a needle with tan thread. I wouldn't be able to hide the gash, but at the very least, I could make it look better than it actually was.
Without much fanfare, I dosed a cotton ball with the alcohol before mind-numbingly shoving it into the open wound, only staving off the screams of pain due to prior experience in the activity, the first time was hell, resulting in lots of screaming and check biting as the needle pirced my skin and dug through my muscle before reapearing on the other side, an action that had to be repeated over fifty times.
Now was a little different, though, as the past experiences have left me morbidly good at actively suppressing physical pain; hell, I'd even say I was a pro with how good I was at it.
After a few more balls of alcohol, I began the process of stitching the gash back together. Said task ended relatively quickly, as what was left behind was an X-like stitch pattern that stretched from the bottom of my chin all the way up to just before my ear.
The sight wasn't pretty, but it looked to be enough for a few layers of makeup to completely cover it up. Couldn't say I was excited for that notion, as even makeup had the chance to react violently with an open wound, or stitched one, thus leaving the chance for infection higher than it would be if I just let the wound sit in the open.
Sighing, I applied a wrap or two before putting down a thick patch of cotton, and from there, things were pretty simple, with me putting away my kit after rinsing it off and using a throwaway rag to clean up the blood that had spilled onto the floor from the stimulation of my makeshift operation.
The clothes I was wearing would have to go too, as they were also somewhat caked in my blood, and I didn't want to deal with the risk of staining our washer red and gaining the suspicion of Mom in the process, she was busy, not neglectful, and it wouldn't be hard for her to use that kind of clue to uncover my entire sham.
Tiredly sighing, I popped off the lights before dumping my clothes in the trash, subsequently leaving me to change the bag as I took the original one and through it into a trash disposal shaft not too far from the front door.
Now naked, tired, and just all around done with today, I made my way over to my door before pushing it open and stepping inside, said door was locked behind me as I wasn't in the mood to put anything on right now, nor did I think my body would let me, as every step made it clear that one of my legs had gone limp.
I sighed before lying down; however, sleep wouldn't come just yet, as there was a sharp point digging into my leg, its form feeling metallic on the edges and smooth in the center, almost like a mirror.
Reluctantly reaching down, I grappled with the item for a second before pulling it out from under me, leaving me to stare at a mirror that remained spotless, ensnared by a red trim that had a few dull points at the very top; had I not seen it attached to the mirror, I would have thought it to be a part of a heart, with the extension looking like the large veins a heart bore to efitently pump blood through the body.
After I was done just admiring the simplistic complexity of the piece, I sighed before bringing it to my bare chest, wrapping as much of myself around it as possible, with my form even lying on its side to get my leg in on the action; the other was still unresponsive, and would likely reamian that way for a few days.
There was no further reason to do this other than the seeking of comfort, and I didn't want to go through the effort of snagging a pillow from behind me, so the mirror would have to suffice.
After I was done curling up into a partial ball, my weary mind finally died, leaving me to fall into a pit of darkness that was my nightmares. Nothing new.
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Agar-Agar Cookie
"What... Luck," Were the words that left my elegant-looking form as another eerie giggle left my throat.
Not only had I found a perfect vessel to help push along my Acclimation with the world's order, but said vessel was also one of the few that I needed to find, matter of fact, upon taking a closer look, he feels like the one that would have given me the most trouble had he been allowed to grow.
Deciding there was no time to waste, I rose from my comforting mound of pillows before walking forward, almost like I was going to try and break out again; however, that wasn't the case. No, instead, I was planning to pry myself into his mind, to invade and manipulate it, to twist it into something more of my style, and that plan shouldn't be too hard to carry out, because from the looked of it, his life outside had already done all the breaking for me, leaving the molding part to me.
Reaching out with one of my transparent hands, the black wall that represented the barrier into his mind appeared before me, its form once supposed to be a force to be reckoned with, now nothing more than a thin sheet of paper that gave way under the slightest graze of my fingers.
Truly, the situation I was in was elementary, if not downright stupid proof.
With graceful ease, I stepped into the boy's mind, my form appearing before the sight of his current slumbering dream, its being depicting him on the ground surrounded by twisted shadows full of teeth and mocking laughter.
It was a pathetic sight that I could so easily take advantage of.
Approaching the boy on the ground, I ignored how, even curled up into a ball, he was as tall as me before gently stroking the young boy's back, posing mock comfort as the starting point to my manipulation and molding.
He flinched violently, and his whimpering and whining halted, leaving the black atmosphere to fade into white as he was pulled back to a very loose state that left his gaze and body metaphorically blurry, a tell that any more tampering would result in the regaining of consciousness; an outcome unwelcome at the moment.
Hastily pulling on Moonlight Cookie's powers, I sewed myself into his dream realm before cradling his head in my lap; this successfully stopped any of my tampering from waking him, but I couldn't use Moonlight Cookie's powers for long lest I succumb to the curse of eternal rest she put on herself before she was devoured and integrated into me. A smart cookie she was.
Thus, with limited time, I began the true processes of molding him into my image.
"There, there, little one, there's no need to fear anymore... for 'I am here'..." were my starting words as I felt the dip in his fear, its missing gap quickly filling with comfort and warmth as both my words and stroking lulled him into trust.
His childlike arms quickly snaked around me as he pulled himself further into my stomach, his face rubbing on my graceful garbs, their near-silver forms weting with fictional tears as he seeked comfort from my form, a thing he seemingly found as after a few more second of just cuddling, he let all of his woes and sorrows flow.
"That's... right... Little one... just let it all... out... woes of reality can't touch you here..."
I began humming while channeling Parfait Cookie's voice, her powers and skill in the craft, aiding in giving my usually eerie tone a lull of comfort, leaving my hums to stoke his consciousness.
With how easy this process was going, I'd predict it would take no more than ten more sessions of this before he was fully underfoot and in my control.
However, I was unfortunately reaching the edge of the curse's activation, so I had to let go of Moonlight Cookie's power before that.
With one last nuzzle, I spoke. "Hear this, little one... The mirror is the guide... Follow it for the purpose and comfort it provides... You shalln't suffer your fate any longer."
With that, Moonlight Cookie's powers were let go, leaving the boy to become fully distorted and me back in the mirror, an outcome to be expected, but also one to be appreciated, as I could feel a minuscule piece of myself in the boys wakeing mind, meaning the manipulation was already showing glowing results.
I giggled with Parfait Cookie's voice, its form becoming distorted and mangled as it reverted back to my natural tone.
"Truly, the desperate are so easy to manage; only a few sickly sweet words, and he's already clinging to a part of me for the false comfort I provided; I should do this more often..."
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Midoriya Izuku
My eyes snapped open as the sight of darkness was the only thing to greet them, but my focus wasn't on the time right now, as it was too busy pondering the mock dream I just had and the odd girl who was in it.
Her words were... something, they were the very same words I've wanted to hear from anyone, yet never got.
It was at this point that I felt the tears painting lines on my cheeks, their trails making it very obvious how I felt about the dream, and the girl inside; I was grateful, elated even.
Recalling her words before I was forced awake, I quickly brought up the mirror I still had in a death grip before truly gazing upon it, its near spotless form once again gleaming with my reflection.
However, this time was different, as the mirror didn't just reflect me, it reflected what I wanted to be: a hero.
The image it presented had me giddy with excitement as an older version of myself was shown staring back at me with a smile too bright for even the sun to compare with, my visible form displaying reflective silver fabric that looked identical to the clothes the girl wore in my dream; better yet, not even the gash that I thought would leave a nasty scar was their, instead just my pale skin that looked to be transparent.
That's when I started to notice the vast change in appearance my older self had gone through.
My skin, for the most part, looked about the same, if not a bit transparent, as I mentioned, but my eyes, the emerald jewels they once were, had been no more, with deep maroon rubies sitting comfortably in their place as they lacked pupils; they looked dull, lifless even, but I chalked that up to that being because, as I mentioned, they lacked pupils of any kind.
However, the last thing I could note to be different was my hair, as it too lost its emerald glow, instead becoming even more transparent than my skin. However, if I had to be honest, it made me look cool, so I didn't mind it.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard the groaning of a few floorboards outside.
'Was Mom home?'
There was another; however, this one was heavier, far heavier than what Mom would cause given her expert navigation of which boards to step and not to step on to cause noise. These ones sounded cautious and lost, almost like this was their first time going through the trial of practice.
All the signs pointed to a very scary option: these people were not Mom, they were burglars.
My heart quickened as I hastily fell in line behind my bed, knowing that any half-decent criminal would have no trouble with my locked door; matter of fact, even my own mother had very little trouble in dealing with a locked door; past sights had proven that true a mouth or two ago.
Quickly reaching my phone, I crouched behind my bed, making sure to hide both the phone's screen's glare and my bright green hair before hurriedly calling Nine Nine One.
Someone picked up almost immediately after dialing the number, much to my relief.
"You have dialed the Mustafa High-Night; how can we be of service to you this fine moon?"
Nervously yet quietly, I replied, "Hi, yes, um, there's someone in my house right now, and I don't think their my Mom."
After a brief silence, the original voice that first spoke was replaced by a more gruff and tired one, however, this one radiated professionalism and seriousness, as well as bluntness.
"Let's get this out of the way now, kid; where do you live?"
A bit stunned by his tone, I barely managed to stutter out a response.
"A-Apartment C of d-district seven; third floor, f-fourth room down."
I could hear a hum of confirmation on the other side, accompanying it was the whistling of wind, before there was a brief and straightforward response.
"Alright, problem child, can you stay hidden for five minutes, because that's how long it's going to take before I can get there."
I nodded dumbly before realizing the man on the other side wasn't actually here, so he couldn't see that I nodded.
"Y-ya, I think I can manage for five m-minutes."
There was a huff in acceptance before the man hung up, which, last I checked, wasn't something they should have done, but who was I to judge, as I've done similar actions in the past.
Sighing shakily, I slid myself under the bed, hoping I'd be safe until the man got here.
However, this seemed to be an illusion of safety, as relatively quickly, my door was violently shoved open, splinters of its form crashing into the wall across from it, as some of the shards went as far as to shatter the window next to my bed.
Managing to muffle my whimpers, I was horrified to notice that the single person that I thought was inside was actually two, meaning even if the man on the phone did make it in time, he'd be in for a nasty surprise, one that could lead to him getting hurt.
I didn't want that, but what could I do? The two intruders were right there, and I couldn't very well just call him again lest I get caught; only god knows what would happen then.
My panic was interrupted when one of the people out there spoke.
"Remind me why we're here again?" Came the even gruffer and jagged voice of one, said voice was quickly and sharply followed up by another more feminine one, her words dancing with a chill that had my spine rattling.
"Well, if your dumbass was paying attention to the boss, you'd know we were here to nab that doctor bitchs son; fuckers gonna be guted and given to dear mommy as a present."
The man whistled. "Damn, what did the gal do to piss off the boss that much?"
There was a sharp click from the girl before she responded.
"Hell if I know, besides, its not like it matters anyway; the brats quirkless, so its not like anyone would care if he died; hell, I'd even go as far as to say most would celabreat, the doctor bitch might even do so as well."
A snort left the man as he seemed to find his partner's words amusing.
"Ok, I wasn't going to mention it out of respect for you, but what up with you calling the gal bitch so much? You got history or something?"
The Girl clicked her teeth again.
"You could say that, but it's more of her occupation that I have a problem with."
A chuckle was let out as the man continued.
"What, you get a bad shot when you were younger, and now you hate all doctors?" he asked with what sounded like genuine curiosity.
However, the line of questions seemed to end as an eerie silence filled the room.
The sudden halt in dialogue had me on edge, so much so that the slightest sway of the pair's legs had me panicking on the inside while I tried desperately to figure out why they had suddenly gone radio silent.
Unfortunately, the answer to that wonder would come with a price that I was in no way, shape, or form prepared to deal with.
Without much time to react, a palm found its way to my face, its solid form feeling as if it were crushing my skull from the pressure it was putting on it, and from there, I was dragged out of my hiding space into full view of the two who were looking for me.
'God, I hate jinxes,' were my thoughts as I was thrown against the wall next to the splintered door, my back making the drywall slightly cave as air was completely forced from my lungs.
However, I wouldn't get even a second of respite, as in a show of pure speed, a slender pair of hands wrapped themselves around my throat, stopping me from reaching for the air that I was forcefully taken away from.
My Emerald eyes managed to bring themselves down enough to see a red-haired woman with a nasty smirk.
It took me everything I had to register a few words and sentences she was speaking, and what I heard didn't sound pleasant.
"You know, they never said we had to bring you back alive, and I'm really in need of some new material to get off to; you wouldn't mind giving me some pics, right?"
I had stopped listening after that point, but not by choice, as the extended lack of oxygen sent me spiraling into unconsciousness, the life I was once so full of slowly trickling away as my body began to shut down due to obvious reasons.
It wasn't long before everything stopped.
There were a few things I expected when death claimed me, however, none of them involved me lying in the lap of the girl in my dream, as she was once again caressing my hair with a gentle smile.
Unfortunately, her entire being was blurred, blinding me to everything except her shining maroon orbs, their gaze looking down at me with nothing but care and warmth that I didn't often find from even my own mother.
With nothing else to do aside from accepting my anticlimactic reaction to my own death, I sighed before snuggling closer; hopefully, I'd get a better night's sleep here.
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Narration
The mirror of Agar-Agar Cookie lit up in the now-empty room as the visage of a clear body no bigger than your average Cookie began to form.
Inside the mirror, still caressing the snatched soul of her host, Agar-Agar Cookie grinned before-
"Shut up... Your annoying..."
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