Cherry’s Birthday Surprise part 1
“We continued to perform impressive feats and as we grew as a squad, we grew in power as Umbra people—I don’t really want to call us all girls because Dragon isn’t one, and I care about all of my squad. It wasn’t long before we finally hit Level 2. It was quite a shock, seeing that they were so much weaker than our Level 1 forms. I was confused, but as we continued to fight and grow I realized it had much faster growth potential, and in less than two weeks we had already surpassed our Level 1 maxed out forms. And, oh, did we surpass them. Our new spells and abilities were only just beginning to reveal how much potential an Umbra had.”
Bunberry was deep in thought as she stared at the ceiling shortly after she had woken up. So much had changed in such a short time, and with it her room also seemed to change a little bit. She willed herself out of bed, grabbed her cane, and went to check the damage. Some of the cracks in the center of the room seemed a little closed up. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but for some reason her room had a little less split in it. She looked over to her dresser and sure enough there was the same picture of her friends and lover before he showed up. Though thinking of that made her remember seeing him again, the emotions she had, the feelings that bubbled up inside of her. Then… something strange, there was the memory of arms around her. She felt warm tears falling on her shoulders, and then realized she was recalling when Cherry was hugging her. That sweet gesture was burned into her mind, and she wished to see it again. At her wish, from out of her desk, rose a frame with a picture of that exact scene, Cherry holding a crying Bunberry. How the room could get a picture of something she couldn’t see, from a perspective she didn’t have, she didn’t know. The room could do so many things that seemed impossible. She wondered if this was a perfect recreation of what had happened. It probably was, just like the picture of her time together with her squad.
She picked it up and smiled wistfully at it. This wasn’t even her other self. No, this was her, the Umbra Knight, smiling. It wasn’t like when she smiled as she sparred with Dragon, enjoying the heat of competition. This was something else, something that almost seemed to thaw her cold heart. She put it down, and with a small smile, left to get ready.
A quick shower and she was ready for her closet. The pink floral dress and flip flops along with her long blonde hair tied back in a french braid didn’t really faze her anymore. Her other side seemed to always have control of what she wore. She’d gotten used to it, though, so it didn’t really bother her. She was about to walk out of her room when she heard a knock. She couldn’t guess who it was, since she wasn’t expecting anyone. But she opened the door to find a familiar figure wearing a three-tiered jean skirt over a pair of leggings, boots, and a hoodie with the words: “Am I a boy or a girl? LUL”. It was Dagger Flower.
“Hi Bunberry. So, umm, there’s news. Raftilia is concerned for you, so she decided to hire a second veteran. So I’m here to help with your training of Cherry and Coffin Flower.”
Of course she’d already replaced her. Not like she could do much to help them. Though… that wasn’t entirely true, but it was easier to not have to use that.
“Anyway, I’m going to go get them up. You get some rest okay. Or you can join us, just don’t hurt yourself. Draggy and I both would be terribly sad if you got even more hurt.” He looked genuinely sad.
She gave a large sigh. “Dag, I can’t just stay in my room forever. She can’t freeze my Night Crystal again, that was a one-time thing. I’m stuck, for better or for worse, fighting.”
“I… I know, but I’ll be there to help, okay? I know, I’m… nowhere near as strong as you or Draggy, but I’ll do my best to pull my weight,” he vowed. “Oh, also, it’s Flower today. Not really feeling boy this time. Of course, still He/him. If that ever changes I’ll let you know.”
“Okay, Flower it is. Also, damn right you will, and don’t sell yourself short, your Trait is pretty insane. You just need to believe in yourself.”
“Thanks, Bunberry. I really wish you’d let others see this side of yourself more often. You don’t always have to be harsh and abrasive on everyone, you know? I know it’s like your… thing when you’re the Umbra Knight, but please think over how you act, okay? You don’t want to push everyone away.”
Flower’s words hit her hard. She only pushed everyone away so they wouldn’t get hurt or killed. Just like Ice Dust. Just like her squad. Though, lately… she was wondering if that was truly the correct thing to do. Perhaps Flower was right. Cherry definitely had a hand in helping her open up to this possibility. “All right, I’ll… consider it.”
“My, oh, my. Really? That Cherry girl is really doing a number on you, isn’t she? Well I’m grateful, Bunberry, you really need to stop blaming yourself so much. It wasn’t your fault.”
The attempt at reassurance, unfortunately, only caused Bunberry to doubt Flower’s words a little more. He meant well, but could he even understand why Bunberry couldn’t allow others to rely on her? Still, her more rational side had to admit that she was probably overreacting. She was, after all, in a delicate situation. It was ironic thinking of the Umbra Knight as delicate, but it was true. Her mind was like walking along a tightrope high above a pit of spikes while flamethrowers and swinging pendulums blocked her path. “Thanks, Flower. I’ll go get Cherry, actually. You go get Coffin Flower, okay? Can you do that for me?”
“Of course, Bunberry, meet in the training room. We’re just gonna discuss some training plans, then we’ll head to breakfast together, okay?”
Bunberry smirked and waved him off. “Yeah yeah, I’ll make sure.”
Flower smiled, then left. Bunberry stretched, then made her way towards Cherry’s room. Along the way though she saw something unusual. Kittenberry was there, talking to someone that Bunberry never would have thought would associate with her in a million years. The new head of the Anti Adaption Council, Gray Bubbles. She had dark skin with short teal hair with long bangs and gray eyes. She wore a pair of slacks with a loose teal top and flats. She had a crescent moon hair clip clipped on the left side of her hair, a crescent moon necklace, and crescent moon earrings, along with a single monocle on her right eye. “I’ll be taking you both on a mission. Don’t worry, you won’t be in any danger, it’s already been cleared by Raftilia. I think… perhaps we’ve treated you wrongly, Princess Kittenberry, and so I’d like to make amends.” Her voice was soft and flat. Even as she spoke kindly to Kittenberry, her tone struck Bunberry as bored, as if everyone was a waste of her time.
“U-Uh… okay, Gray Bubbles. I, umm, I always believe that people can change. Umm, thank you, and… were you telling the truth? Is it… really possible?” Kittenberry seemed deep in thought, Bunberry wasn’t sure what she was thinking or what they were talking about.
“Yes, I know for a fact it is. Do not worry. You will see her again, soon.” She said matter-of-factly. It sounded as if she was planning to do something unorthodox, and she seemed way too confident for Bunberry’s taste. “Anyway, I have things to prepare. See you tomorrow,” she finished as she walked away.
Bunberry didn’t feel good about that exchange but she had another mission to deal with. She needed to get Cherry up. Flower wouldn’t like to wait too long, after all. Bunberry hobbled down the hall towards Cherry’s room with her cane, and knocked on the door. She heard shuffling as a fully dressed Cherry opened the door.
“Bunberry! It’s so good to see you. Is it a training day, today? Isn’t it a wonderful day? I hope tomorrow is just as wonderful, if not better.” Cherry was full of energy. Bunberry wondered if Kittenberry might have been infecting her.
“Yeah, it is, though you look really excited. Something good happening?”
“Yep, it’s my birthday tomorrow. I’m so excited, I’m gonna turn twelve, I guess, in Umbra years, but fourteen for real!” she said, excitedly.
“That’s wonderful, Cherry.” Bunberry smiled, her energy was just so adorable. “So, got any plans?
“Thank you, Bunberry, but, umm, I don’t really have a party or anything, but could I maybe spend some time with you?” Cherry asked.
“Of course you can.” Though, was that enough, just hanging out with her? An idea was forming inside of Bunberry’s head. She was not sure if it was the influence of her other self or not, but… just this once, she might listen to her. “Well you need to get to the training room. Flower is waiting for you there. He’s joining your squad as my co-instructor. If you want to know more he’ll explain. I have something to do, however, so take care, okay?”
“Oh, uhh, okay. Thanks Bunberry.” The young girl moved in for a hug, and Bunberry reciprocated.
Bunberry broke the hug, then waved her off as Cherry left. Then she set about her newly-formed plan. She walked down the hall and towards Dragon’s room and knocked. After about five minutes of no response, she decided to try something a little different. She contacted him through her Night Crystal. Hopefully he wasn’t doing anything important or dangerous, but even if he was, it was Dragon. He’d probably be fine.
“Hey, Dragon, Cherry’s birthday is tomorrow. I’m thinking of throwing her a surprise party, you in?”
“The fuck is this? Wait, is that you, Bunberry? Wait really, it’s her birthday? Of course I’ll join. Lemme finish eating,” Dragon responded.
Bunberry smiled, then reached into her Night Crystal to pull out a second cord. She intertwined the two cords so the one connecting to Dragon was also connected to this one. Then sent it off to someone else.
“Kittenberry, Cherry’s birthday is tomorrow, you wanna help plan a surprise birthday party for her?” Bunberry asked.
“WOULD I?! Of course, I’ll make sure she’s got the cutest birthday ever, you’ll see! OMG thank you for asking me!” Kittenberry squealed through her Night Crystal.
“Bunberry, did you really have to just put Kittenberry in here with us? She’s so loud and I’m eating…” The grown man whined.
“Yes, and I’m about to bring more, so behave.”
She heard a groan come from his end, as she took out more cords, and sort of made a magickal Skype group chat. It was all inside their heads so nobody outside of the called would hear anything, though it might throw off some concentration. She connected a cord to Flower, Coffin Flower, and Lamp Flower.
”Hey, everyone, sorry to just shove you all together like this, but Cherry’s birthday is tomorrow. I want to plan a surprise party.”
“Really, a surprise party? I remember doing those for my granddaughters. I’d love to help.” Lamp Flower responded.
“Oh? Awww, how cute. Of course I'll help.” Flower said.
“Really? Right after Kittenberry’s, huh? That’s kinda sweet. Where are we gonna have it?” Coffin Flower asked.
Bunberry had to stop and think for a minute, where could they have it? Then it came to her. “How about J.J.’s, he loves this stuff.”
“That’s a great idea. We’ll have to go to him after this. Organizing a birthday party, Bunberry, that child has made a really positive impact on you. I’m proud of you. That doesn’t mean I’ll just let you go off and get yourself hurt anymore, however. Improvement is good, self preservation is paramount.” Lamp Flower could really lecture when she wanted to.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, Lamp. I’ll be careful.”
“You’d better.” Then Lamp Flower hung up.
“Okay, I’m going to meet at J.J. 's. Coffin Flower and Flower, keep her occupied. The rest of us will get to planning.”
With a collective round of approval she cut off the call and made her way to J.J.’s restaurant. Or she would have, if she wasn’t stopped by one of the least favorite people on her list. Coarse Amethyst, wearing a tweed business skirt suit and heels, with her hair let down.
“Bunberry, why do you insist on denying our offers? We’re in desperate need of members and you would be a great help to us.”
Bunberry was utterly sick of these people, so she decided she’d try a different approach this time. “What makes you think I’d want to join an organization like yours? Have you considered that people don’t believe in your bullshit? Amethyst, my sister was transgender, what makes you think I’d join a group that would have made her life hell?”
“I … uhhh, didn’t know that, I suppose… that wouldn’t feel good to hear? Also, what do you mean she was transgender?” Amethyst asked.
“She’s gone. In fact she was gotten rid of by someone who held similar views to yours. Someone who didn’t accept trans people.”
“I don’t understand what you are getting at.” Amethyst had nervousness and uncertainty plastered all over her face.
“Lucid held my sister up in front of me, and tried to hammer in that he thought she was a man. Then he purified her from her feet to her head, slowly… and made me watch. When your beliefs match Lucid Allbright’s, maybe you should rethink your fucking life choices.” She brushed past leaving a stunned Amethyst in her wake.
With that dealt with, Bunberry made her way to J.J.s, luckily she had no other interruptions, and instead just went inside. The only person she saw there was Dragon, the others hadn’t arrived yet. She took a seat near him.
“So, got any ideas? You know, before Kittenberry comes in and super girlifies everything.” Dragon asked.
Bunberry gave a hearty laugh. “Yeah, she is going to do that, isn’t she? Cherry seems to like that stuff though, so it might not be too bad.”
Dragon groaned but nodded. “Fine, but I’m not wearing any fudging pink… wait… did I… oh no.”
“Heeeeey Drag drag!” Kittenberry said from behind them.
“Hey, Kittenberry. Also please… never call me that again.”
“Oh, sorry, I’ll find a different nickie. Anyway, I’m so excited, meow! Cherry’s birthday party is gonna be so cute. You‘ll love it. I got a ton of ideas, mew!”
Bunberry laughed. “Good, we’ll need your expertise, Kittenberry. Cherry likes ultra girly stuff like you do.”
“Kittenberry, Dragon, Bunberry, how great to see you all? What would you like?” J.J. said, approaching the table while they talked.
“Well, J.J., I was thinking of planning a birthday party for Cherry, see, she turns fourteen tomorrow. Well, technically twelve in Umbra years.”
“Say less. You need any kind of special birthday cake or something for her?”
“That sounds great, I also was thinking we could have the party here. Would you be okay with that?”
“Why Bunberry, I would be honored. I’m assuming Kittenberry is handling the decorations and things? It is kind of her thing.”
“Yes, mew! We’re gonna need streamers, and ribbons, and a princess crown and—”
“Calm down, little one. We’ll get it done, don’t worry.” J.J. laughed.
“Yeah, Kittenberry, it’s going to be okay. Anyway, J.J. I could use a light breakfast, how about some toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, and a glass of orange juice.”
“Okay, Bunberry, you got it.”
“Oh, I’ll have some pancakes with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, a poppyseed muffin and a glass of water, mew! I really need to get my brain juices going!”
J.J. laughed. “Always happy to help.” He walked away to the back wall, it opened up and swallowed him once again as he prepared the orders.
Bunberry worked with Kittenberry and the others as they filed in, preparing for Cherry’s surprise birthday. It would take the rest of the day, and a lot of misdirection to keep Cherry from realizing what was going on. Little did they know, however, her birthday was going to mark the beginning of the end. That the events that would transpire would change… everything.
Cherry’s Birthday Surprise part 2
“Diary I… I don’t know what to think. We got into combat, and I got separated from my squad. Then while separated I ended up encountering a Royal calling herself The Faerie Queen. She talked with me, didn’t even try to purify me or hurt me. And she told me things. Impossible things, things I can’t believe. If what she said is true then, then, I don’t know. I’m sorry, I can’t write anymore today. I need to visit Raftilia, I need to figure out if what she said was true.”
Cherry awoke with a smile on her face, today was her birthday. She got up out of bed and moved to the shower. She found herself singing a small tune, similar to the one she heard in J.J.’s restaurant as she showered. Soon it was over and she walked into her closet. A pair of sparkling pink low heels with a sparkling cherry on the toes adorned her feet. White knee highs, and a sparkly pink party dress with sparkling cherries on the ends. Her hair was braided into twin tails with two sparkling cherries holding the ends together. It screamed Cherry Sparkles and she loved it.
Cherry patted her closet, and whispered a thank you. She felt a rush of warmth from that. Sometimes she wondered if her room was alive, if the entire base was alive. It definitely seemed to be able to give good feelings and accept gratitude and honestly that wouldn’t be all that weird considering some of the things in this place. She decided to table those thoughts, though, because she was excited for her outing with Bunberry. She just hoped that Bunberry liked her outfit.
Cherry walked out of her room with confidence, and headed to Bunberry’s room. Bunberry had previously given her permission to go into her room without knocking. So she opened the door and went inside.
Bunberry’s room was definitely starting to improve. It started to look more upright, instead of the bizarre slanted mess it had been the first time she went in. She noticed a picture on the dresser and looked it over. It was when she held Bunberry after they met that horrid man, Lucid. That warmed her heart. She also noticed a door in the back she hadn’t seen before. Curiosity overtook her and so she went over to it. Once she got closer she heard the muted sounds of Bunberry and Dragon talking. She knew she shouldn’t, but the temptation was too good to pass up, so she put her ear to the door and listened.
“Okay, now that we’re done with the preparations, Dragon, we need to address something else.” Preparations? What was Bunberry talking about? Cherry was confused, was Bunberry planning something special for their outing? Well good thing she missed it, she didn’t want to ruin the surprise!
“Address what? Is this about Crushed Tourmaline? Look, she’s fine.” Dragon stated. Crushed Tourmaline? Was that another Umbra Girl she hadn’t met yet? She surmised that she really should get to know as many as possible. While the ones she knew were pretty good, maybe she could make more friends, too? She always wanted more friends, especially now that she’d met so many people who were kind and supportive.”
“Is she, though? You understand she’s an actual child, right? She was recruited a bit before Cherry. She’s about her age, too. Even if her Trait is a shield which was able to block your attack, you never should have tried to hit her in the first place!” Bunberry’s scolding was definitely warranted. Cherry remembered how scared she was when he was gonna hit Amethyst. He was so strong. He shouldn’t be hitting anyone. He could seriously hurt someone… or worse.
“Look, maybe I overreacted. But I didn’t know she was a kid, I honestly never even saw her around. She’s just… I…” Dragon was stammering over himself.
“Dragon, I’m your best friend. I care about you. I’ve seen you spiraling lately and I’m concerned. Have you considered going to Fluffy Ruby?”
“Her?! You mean for her to tell me to look inside myself or some other stupid shit? She helped me before, and I can’t recommend her enough, but ever since then she keeps giving me bad advice.” Dragon’s voice dripped with disdain. Wasn’t Fluffy Ruby the one he told her to go to? If he wouldn’t go himself, why would he recommend her?
After that Bunberry’s sigh could be heard even through the door. “Fine, have you at least decided to finally say something to Kittenberry? You’ve been avoiding her for forever. I know you used to be friends, you told me. Why did you stop?”
“You really want to know? It’s because of how she—” Dragon gave pause.
“Not being able to swear bothers you that much? Or is it the emotional empathy thing she does? Yeah, that can be a bit annoying, but not enough to make you hate her, right?” Cherry agreed, it was really minor. Cherry never swore, but the emotional thing could be hard at times. Still, it wasn’t enough to make her never want to see Kibby or be kind to her.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that she’s so. Damn. Girly. Like, why is she fucking femininity personified? Just being around her makes you feel more fucking feminine. It’s fucking weird. Like her trait just brings out your feminine side or some shit.” Cherry wasn’t sure if this was true. She never really felt more girly around Kibby at all. Strange.
“I don’t think that’s how it works, Dragon. Air Dust, rest his soul, never seemed to get less masculine despite being a trans guy like you as well. And he didn’t have any issues with her.” Cherry had never heard of Air Dust, but it sounded like he might not be alive anymore, and that made her a little sad.
“Well, it definitely messes with my fucking head. Not all the time, but sometimes, okay? I know that doesn’t make sense but sometimes it’s like… I almost want to… nevermind.”
“Is this seriously the reason why you’ve been treating her like shit?” Even Cherry agreed he was overreacting. It wasn’t clear what he was trying to say, but outright alienating Kibby felt wrong. She was such a ray of sunshine, and Cherry really liked her.
“I… well… umm—” There was a pause, and then. “—yes.”
“Dragon, you promised to make up with her the last time we talked. What happened to that?”
“Look, I’ll just wait till her birthday, then I’ll try.” Cherry felt a pit in her stomach. Had he really not realized?
“Her birthday has already passed, according to Coffin Flower. She and Cherry apparently had a small party for her. It was quite adorable, I heard.” Cherry smiled at that, she recalled the party and Kibby’s smile. It was a blast.
“I missed it? Fuck, really? Damn it!”
“I missed it too, so don’t feel too bad.” Another sigh was heard. “Dragon. I’m the anti-social bitch that everyone avoids. You’re supposed to be the hero. What’s happened to you? People used to praise you, because you’d literally dive into a portal to go save someone even when you didn’t know them. You used to really care about other Umbra.”
“There’s a reason, but I don’t feel comfortable talking about it, yet, Bunberry. I’m sorry.”
“That’s fine. Just remember I’m your best friend, okay? I just want you to be okay.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you should go. Cherry is probably waiting for you.”
“All right, I’ll head on out.” Once Bunberry said that, Cherry started to panic. She heard footsteps approaching but she couldn’t move her body. Her fear had frozen her in place. She wanted to hide, but she ran out of options as the door opened and she was face to face with Bunberry. Bunberry was wearing a light pink floral dress with flip flops, and her hair straightened with a light pink floral headband.
“Uh… hi? I’m here for … yay?” Cherry couldn’t get a coherent sentence out of her mouth.
Bunberry sighed, and led her to her bed, closing the door behind her. “How much did you hear?” Her voice wasn’t judgmental, instead it was concerned, which perhaps had been worse.
“I heard you and Dragon talking about Kibby and someone named Crushed Tourmaline?”
“And?” she asked.
“Honest, that’s all I heard.”
“Okay, good. That conversation was private, but I’m not mad at you, okay?” She reassured her with a head pat. “Just remember it’s not good to snoop on someone’s private talk.”
“O-Okay. I’m sorry.” The head pat felt warm and good but at the same time it might have made it worse.
“It’s fine, anyway, you wanted to go out right? You look cute by the way.” Bunberry’s words instantly lifted her mood to the moon. Any and all doubts or fears melted away.
“Thank you. You look good, too!” Cherry said.
“Yeah, my other side is very good at girly fashions. Anyway, let’s head to the main lobby. We can talk there.”
Cherry followed Bunberry to the main lobby. It was rather empty which made it nice to have a couch all to themselves. Cherry leaned against it, and Bunberry sat next to her.
Cherry bit her lip and was lost in thought. There was something she really wanted to know, but wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask.
“Something on your mind, Cherry?” Bunberry asked, seemingly picking up on her uncertainty.
“Bunberry, can I ask you something? Something private?”
“Yeah, sure. What’s up?”
“Why are there two of you? There’s like… The cool you, and then there’s this really sweet version of you. It always kind of confused me.”
“Ah, it’s the price of my sin, for lack of a better term. I torture Luminescent for power, and it comes at a cost.” She gave a deep heavy sigh. “It’s why my dress has armor plates, and why I’m split into two. My current self, and my past self.”
“W-Why do you torture Luminescent for power? That seems so…cruel.”
“I dunno, anymore. Maybe I’m still angry at them for what they did, maybe I’m just a crazy bitch who's too far gone.” She shrugged. “Either way, until I’m given a reason, I’m not going to stop. I need to be strong enough to kill anyone that gets in my path. And thanks to it I’ve reached record speeds of growth.”
Cherry wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Mostly because sometimes she felt almost kinship with the Luminescent. Which didn’t make sense, as they took away her friends and hurt people, but, the fleetest of feelings made her really wonder. What are the Luminescent, really? Who are they? Is it really as simple as aliens from space?
“Anyway, what do you want to do? It’s your birthday. Want to play a game or just keep talking?” Bunberry asked.
“Umm, I wouldn’t mind more talking. I just want to spend time with you.” As she said that, Dragon walked on by.
“Oh, hey Cherry, I got stuff to do. See you later.” He waved and walked away towards the hallway, presumably towards his own room. She’d have liked him to have wished her happy birthday, but he didn’t say anything and instead went on his way. Wouldn’t Bunberry have told him? Or, did he not want to wish her a happy birthday because of how he felt about his own birthday? She wasn’t sure, but she felt a pang of sadness at that.
“Okay, we can go to the recreational room then. I got a movie I think you’ll like.” That made her spirits immediately rise. A movie Bunberry recommended? She’d want nothing more.
“Yes, yes, let’s go do that!” The excitement in her voice was palpable. Bunberry just smiled, got up out of the chair, and walked towards the recreational room, while Cherry followed.
Inside, things were just like she remembered, and luckily it was free. No one was watching any movies or playing any games. She sat down as Bunberry loaded the movie in. It was a cute movie called Encanto by Disney. It was about a magickal family that went through many hardships. Including reuniting with an estranged uncle, learning to let others shoulder your burdens, accept yourself for who you are, and recognizing past trauma to help work on it.
After the credits rolled Cherry thought about her own family. What would they have been like had she not been put in the orphanage? Would her mother be doting on her? Would she be judgmental? Would she have been cruel? Or kind? And did she have any siblings? If she did, what were they like? Were they older than her? younger? She really hoped she’d find her mother, she had so many questions to ask.
“Did you like it?” Bunberry asked. Cherry nodded her head furiously. “Good. Want to get something to eat?”
Cherry wasn’t sure until she heard her tummy rumble rather loudly. Bunberry gave out a laugh, and shook her head.
“Come on, Cherry. Let’s go eat.” She offered her hand and Cherry stared at it. Was she going to hold her hand? Like a little kid with her big sister? Cherry smiled at that thought. Bunberry would make a great big sister. Cherry took it and she led her to J.J.’s, though something was strange. The lights were all off, and there was no music.
“Bunberry, it’s really dark in here. Did something happen?” Bunberry didn’t answer her. She froze, suddenly unable to feel Bunberry’s hand anymore. Terror crept into her heart, as she thought she saw figures moving in the dark. Was this a nightmare? Was this the end? Had something happened to the Umbra Base? As she suddenly felt something grab her hand, she screamed.
Cherry’s Birthday Surprise Part 3
“Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. Raftilia is lying. She is not who she says she is!”
Cherry screamed as suddenly she heard—
“SURPRISE!” The lights burst on, and there was a big pink ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERRY’ banner above written with little hearts and sparkling cherries. There were tables with pink sparkly cherry patterns, along with all kinds of streamers and decorations of sparkling cherries. All her friends were there, and they were dressed in various dog themed outfits. Kittenberry even had on a pair of pink puppy ears to go with her pink lolita dress. Bunberry had apparently slipped on a pair of doberman puppy ears. Dragon had on a poodle onesie, while Dag stood next to him in a bulldog onesie. J.J. had on a yellow suit with brown paw prints on it, and a pair of golden retriever ears. Lamp Flower had on a gray paw print dress with a pair of scott terrier ears. Coffin flower had on a dark black gothic dress with a corset, and a pair of great dane ears. She figured it out quickly, they all wore dog themed outfits because her animal aspect was a puppy. “Happy birthday, Cherry!” They said in unison and cheered.
“How did you put this together?” she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Kittenberry put up the streamers and banners and decorations. Dragon helped, because of how strong he is,” Bunberry said, waving her arms at them.
Dragon blushed and Kittenberry giggled, infecting everyone with her joy, eliciting giggles from all, even Dragon. Then Kittenberry walked over, and put a crown with the words ‘birthday princess’ on Cherry’s head. “Thanks Kibby.”
“Anytime, mew. I’d never miss an opportunity to give someone a super cute birthday!” Kittenberry responded.
Bunberry moved it along, giving a fancy wave towards Dag. “Dag helped with some of the coordination, while Kittenberry is good at cuteness, Dag is great with proper placement.”
Dag gave a theatrical bow. “Anything for the birthday princess.”
“Lamp Flower came up with the idea of the costumes. Though we all put our own spin on it of course.” Bunberry waved at Lamp.
Lamp gave a warm smile. “When you’ve had children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren you learn a few things.”
“Coffin Flower procured most of the things we needed while we were setting everything up.” Bunberry pointed to Coffin Flower.
Coffin Flower blushed herself. “Well, someone had to get the supplies.”
“J.J. allowed us to use his restaurant for the surprise party.” Bunberry waved towards him.
“Ol’ J.J. would never miss an opportunity for a surprise party.” He gave his signature smile.
“And I am the mastermind behind it all. We all worked together to get you this party, Cherry. Because we love you and want you to know how much we care.”
No one had ever been this kind to her. She couldn’t think of a single birthday that was worth remembering, she had almost come to dread them, as it meant she was getting closer to being expelled from the orphanage like the other big kids had been. There was no callousness here, however, there was only love. She had never felt so much love in her life. These thoughts made her eyes tear up. “Thank you all, so much. This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
“It’s not over yet. J.J., you got it ready?” Bunberry asked.
“You know it!” J.J. walked on over as the lights dimmed and he was holding a big chocolate cake on a platter. It had 12 pink candles on it, and two gray ones. The two gray to symbolize the years she lost, apparently. That was a bit melancholic but any sadness she had towards it instantly evaporated when she smelled how good the cake was. J.J. cut a slice out and handed it to her. “Birthday girl always gets the first slice, house rules.” When she looked at the slice she realized it wasn’t just chocolate cream cake, there was also ice cream! This was a sugary nightmare but for someone her age it was heaven.
She sat down, while Bunberry got a slice and sat next to her. Everyone got slices and they all sat down around the tables. J.J. went to his kitchen and came back with a bunch of huge bowls full of special punch. He gave everyone a glass and filled it up. It was red and tasted really fruity and a bit sour too. Cherry liked it.
After everyone finished their meal. Bunberry stood up. “We got one more thing planned just for you. Dag, if you would?”
Dagger Flower rose from his seat happily and turned to J.J. “Just this once, J.J., to make her happy?”
J.J. shook his head with a smile. “All right, but don’t make a habit of this, just this once.”
Cherry watched in anticipation as Dag moved some tables and chairs around. “It’s been awhile since I did this. You see, I used to be a circus clown. My name was the Great Enigma. I don’t know if you ever saw Magnum’s Magnificent Oddities, you were probably too young. There were several performers there I think you would have liked. Anyway, let’s see if I still got it. J.J. if you would!”
J.J. nodded and then a different music played. A cheerful, airy music which seemed to fill the room with a sensation of excitement. Cherry was sure she’d heard it somewhere before, but she wasn’t sure where. Maybe when she was very small. She’d learn later it was called circus music.
Dag wasted no time. Immediately he backflipped onto a table, then front flipped right on top of a chair in perfect balance. He didn’t stop there though, he was just warming up. He backflipped back on the table, cartwheeled around it in a circle, then front flipped onto another chair. Afterwards he immediately executed a 360 degrees pirouette mid air, turning himself upside down and landing on his hands, lifting himself up by just one of them. It seemed his onesie allowed for quite a bit of flexibility. Everyone clapped excitedly, especially Cherry. It was really freaking cool.
Suddenly he did something really weird. He walked over to her, and pulled out of thin air what looked like a black circle. He placed it in the air right next to her and it didn’t move, it somehow was just floating there. Then, moving farther away, he placed one in the air above a table. “If you’ve never seen my performance, you’re in for a real treat.” He stuck his hand through the hole which was at least twenty or thirty feet away, and it appeared right next to Cherry. Cherry gasped and then he took it out and stuck his head in the hole, and it appeared right next to Cherry too. It was incredible. Like those holes were a portal of some sort.
Then he walked over, grabbed the hole from Cherry’s side, and moved to a new location. He slapped it on the table then he grabbed the other one. He leaped into the air and slapped it about twenty feet upwards right above it. “Geranimo!” He cried out as he leaped and spun himself like a drill into the hole. Only to appear above, and then continuing his corkscrew he flew out of the top hole, to the bottom hole, then to the top hole and the bottom hole, going faster and faster and faster in a seemingly infinite loop. His body began to blur as it fell faster and faster through the portal. To the point it was getting hard to see if he was even there anymore. Cherry watched with morbid fascination as suddenly he and the black holes were gone.
“Dag? Where did Dag go? Is he okay?!” Cherry was worried. Dragon pointed upwards. Cherry looked up, to see Dag hanging upside down on a flying broom, his twin tails falling from above.
“Awww, Dragon, I’m going to punish you for that later. Don’t ruin the trick.” Cherry wasn’t sure what he meant by punishing him, but the red mark on Dragon’s face definitely implied something.
Despite whatever thing was going on with Dragon and Dag, Cherry’s mouth was agape in awe. “H-How did you do that?”
“It’s my Trait, Mischief. I can perform cartoon-like abilities in real life, transformed or not.” Dag said, as he flew down on his broom, right next to Cherry.
“Wow! That’s really cool!”
“I know right? Anyway, that’s enough for me. I’ll be going now,” he said, getting off his broom as it vanished in a puff of smoke. However, he suddenly started walking backwards. Cherry wasn’t sure how he would be going anywhere walking towards the back table, until Cherry saw something impossible. Dag had walked past the table and just disappeared. As if where Cherry was, was a center stage and Dag had just walked off of it.
After watching this, Cherry began to wonder if the world itself was Dag’s plaything.
“Nah, I’d never leave you like that,” he said, as he walked out right from behind Cherry. Cherry leaped into the air in shock. “Sorry, that’s my last trick, but that was fun, wasn’t it?”
Cherry was a bit spooked but definitely agreed. Dag was incredible. She’d want to see more of this later. After the show Dragon started clapping and everyone else joined in. They clearly enjoyed it too.
“That was incredible, Dag. Can you use your powers on others? Like you know the cartoon where their eyes go swirly and they hypnotize them?” Coffin Flower asked enthusiastically.
“Yeah, I can, but uhh…” He looked over to Dragon, unsure. Dragon shrugged. “Well, sit still then.” His eyes swirled with rainbow lights, and Cherry watched Coffin Flower’s body stiffen as her expression became blank. “You are under my spell… uhh… touch your toes.” Coffin Flower touched her toes. “Poke Dragon in the nose.”
“Wait what, Dag what are you—” Before Dragon could finish, Coffin Flower minced over and poked him right in his tiny button nose. She had to lean down since he was quite a bit shorter than her, only four feet nine inches tall, but she did it with that same blank expression. “Gah! Please stop! That feels so weird.” Cherry giggled at the spectacle. It was pretty funny.
“All right, now bark like a dog,” Dag commanded, and with sudden enthusiasm Coffin Flower barked like a dog. Cherry swore she could see an almost imaginary tail behind her, her performance was so good. “Okay, now return to normal.” He snapped his fingers.
Coffin Flower looked back and forth, momentarily confused, then let out a delighted giggle as she blushed. “Mmmm, if only a girl had your Trait. Oh well, thank you, that was lovely.” Cherry loved her, she was so goofy and silly.
Dag just looked at Dragon again, he responded with another shrug. “Uhhh, sure. Anyway, we should get going. First though.” He moved up to whisper something into Dragon’s ear. Dragon seized up and nodded. “Good boy. Anyway, goodbye everyone. Happy birthday again, Cherry.” Dag waved, then walked out of the restaurant.
Dragon walked over to Kittenberry near Cherry, and took a deep breath. “Kittenberry, can we talk?”
“D-Dragon, you sure, mew? You, umm, I…” Before she could respond further, he walked over and gave her a hug.
“I’m sorry, Kittenberry, I’m sorry for every horrible thing I ever said or did to you. I was wrong. I am dealing with some harsh ice cream and it's not fair to take it out on you.” Dragon said, remorseful. Cherry was proud of Dragon for admitting that.
Kittenberry’s eyes teared up. “D-Dragon I.. I only wanted to be your friend, mew. I’m sorry what happened to Fluffy Ruby… it…”
“It doesn’t matter. I got stuff I got to work through, and I never should have taken it out on you. If you will have me. I’d love to try to make a friendship work with you again.” Kittenberry responded with another hug and a nod as tears filled her eyes. Cherry was glad they made up. She couldn’t have imagined how long ago this should have been done. At least now though, it was finished.
The festivities over, everyone began to shuffle out, Kittenberry stayed behind, but everyone else went their merry way. Cherry felt more warmth and love today than she ever had. Though she had one more surprise left.
Kittenberry walked over to Cherry. “Hey, Cher Cher. We got a mission, if you are up for it. We’re gonna go with Gray Bubbles.” Cherry had never met Gray Bubbles. She was kind of excited too. Cherry agreed, and walked with Kittenberry to the portal area. There she saw someone who interestingly had the same skin color as Lamp Flower. Huh.
“Ah, Cherry Sparkles, good to see you. Happy birthday, I have a surprise for you. Let’s go.” She walked over to Blue Bubbles.
Blue Bubbles was someone that Cherry loved seeing. Her radiant navy blue afro complimented her dark skin well and looked gorgeous with her beautiful blue eyes. She wore a dark blue ankle length dress with white lace decoration on the hem, sleeves, and collar. Along with a pair of stockings, and dark blue heels.
“Ah, you’re all ready. Okay, here’s your portal. Nothing is really there though, but I know better than to mistrust your judgment, Gray.”
Gray Bubbles smirked. “Excellent.” She walked inside.
Kittenberry smiled at Cherry. “See you on the other side, mew!”
Cherry was about to walk in, when suddenly she realized, she’d never actually asked Blue Bubbles what she wanted to be called. She stopped for a moment and turned to her. “Blue Bubbles, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, what’s up Cherry?”
“Gender has been on my mind lately and I realized I never asked yours. Could you tell me? For now I’m trying out being a girl and using She/her pronouns.”
Blue Bubbles started to tear up. “Literally no one has asked me that besides Dag. I’m agender, I don’t really feel male, female, or anything. I use they/them pronouns. If you forget it’s fine, everyone else does but… if you want to use them. I wouldn’t be against it.”
Cherry smiled warmly at them. “I’ll remember that for the future. Thank you.” She then walked inside happily, and she swore she saw Blue Bubbles smile for the first time ever since she had met them.
On the other end of the portal was just a simple open field. Gray and Kittenberry were waiting. Cherry looked left and right but didn’t see anything all that dangerous. Was there even any Luminescent here? Gray started walking away and Cherry followed.
It was about a few minutes before Gray suddenly stopped. “This is the spot. Now we wait.”
“Now we wait for what?” Cherry asked. To answer her two golden portals opened up. And out walked… Lucid Allbright.
Kittenberry looked at Gray Bubbles with fear. “This isn’t what you said would happen! Why is he here?!”
“It seems you kept your end of the bargain, Gray Bubbles,” he said.
Cherry’s brain went into overtime, what did he mean?
“Yes, now give me Lightning Dust! You promised!”
“Of course. Lightina Allbright. You can come out now,” he called out.
From out of the other golden portal walked out a woman with olive green hair, golden eyes, and wearing a lavish forest green gown. She looked over towards the group.. “Huh… been such a long time. I suppose I owe you an apology, Cherry Sparkles.”
Cherry was utterly freaking out. Two Royals were here, including Lucid Allbright, what could she possibly do against this? On top of that Gray Bubbles was in league with them? She’d never even met her until now. What in the world was going on?
Kittenberry also was afraid. “Y-you didn’t say anything like this. You said I could see her again! Gray what did you do?!”
“Oh, right, the decoy,” Lucid said, then from behind him, brought out an Umbra girl with light Orange hair and light orange eyes. She wore a dirty white blouse with a red jumper and a red ribbon in her hair.
“Fuck, Kitten, why did you listen to that asshole!” the girl shouted. “Damn it, Cherry, run! Run as fast as you can!” The girl could swear. That should be impossible, right?
Lucid grabbed onto the girl. “That’s not part of the deal. Look, we don’t have a choice in the matter, neither do you. You don’t understand what’s at stake here, Acorn Flower. The girl cannot escape or we’re all doomed.”
It was Acorn Flower, but hadn’t Lightning Dust killed her!? Cherry had no idea what was going on!
“Acorny I’m sorry. I wanted to see you so bad, but I didn’t think this would happen. I’d never betray my friends, I just wanted to see you again. I’m so sorry, she tricked me, I…” Kittenberry’s eyes filled with tears.
“Just complete the exchange already. Lightning Dust, it’s so good to see you again. Shall we pick up where we left off?” Gray looked extremely happy to see this girl.
“Gray, we weren’t even married, and even if we were, ‘til death do us part kind of sailed already. I was purified, became a Luminescent and then a Royal. Lightning Dust is basically dead at this point. I’m Lightina now. Besides, we were wrong, trans people are real. I’ve seen it first hand.”
Kittenberry and Cherry were both horrified by this revelation. “What do you mean became a Luminescent…” Cherry asked.
“Simple. Sorry to put this on you so soon. When a human is purified, they can become a Luminescent, and certain ones can become Royals. You’ll learn more at the base. Come, Cherry, it’s time to meet Mother,” Lucid said matter-of-factly. He didn’t seem as cruel as before. Something was definitely off about him.
“What is this utter sugar muffins?! Lightning Dust, Adaption hater Lightning Dust is telling me she suddenly believes in trans people? After all we fought for? After everything we did?” Gray was furious, and Cherry was confused.
Nothing made sense, everything was upside down. Humans were Luminescent?! How was that possible? Also to meet his mother, did he mean the Glimmering Queen? Everything was crumbling around her.
“Gray, go home. Cherry, I’m sorry but you have to come with us. The fate of the entire world depends on it. Thanks to my errant ex-girlfriend.”
“No, no no no no! I didn’t make a fey pact so you could just leave me. I got you saved, Lightning Dust! You can’t abandon me!” she cried out. Then Lightina sighed and bashed her upside the head, knocking her out.
“But I-I don’t want to leave Bunberry and the others.”
“It is up to you if you ever see them again. I haven’t got all day, the clock is ticking. Either come with us, or else I’ll be forced to take Acorn back.”
“No! Please, no!” Kittenberry cried out.
Cherry knew what she had to do. Kibby had suffered for so long, even had her girlfriend miss her birthday party. Cherry couldn’t let that happen to her again. “I’ll go.”
“Great, then here.” He tossed Acorn Flower towards them. “She’s unharmed, as promised.”
“Yeah but I was locked in a cage for a fucking week. I got to say, Hotel Luminescent sucks ass, I’m so giving you a bad Yelp review.” Acorn Flower seemed kinda snarky. Cherry would have appreciated it had she not been heading to certain doom. She only hoped Kibby would be happy.
“I will not miss that mouth of yours.” Lucid seemed exasperated. Then held his hand out to Cherry. “Come, Cherry. It’s time.” A golden portal opened up. Cherry gulped as she took his hand.
“I’m sorry Cherry, I really didn’t know, I’m so sorry please don’t hate me…”
“I don’t hate you Kibby, please let the others know what happened,” she said, as she was swallowed into the golden portal.
Bright, that was all that could be described. It was so bright, the lights were blinding. She couldn’t see at all. “It burns! My eyes!” she cried out.
“Don’t worry, it’ll pass, just give it a second,” Lucid reassured her.
Sure enough, he was right. Suddenly she could see, it kind of reminded her of the Umbra base and how it had been too dark to see at first. Looking around she looked to be in some kind of abandoned temple. There were stone pillars, stone floors, and stone walls. She was in some kind of lobby. There was a hallway to the right, but behind her was a single wooden door. In front of her was a massive staircase with an even more massive set of stone doors at the top of it.
“Come with me,” he said, and then took her up the stairs. He pushed open the doors and walked inside. She followed closely behind him, afraid. “I’m not going to hurt you, I know that’s hard to believe but you’ll understand soon enough.”
Inside of the doors was a massive throne room. There was a layer of pillars on each side that encircled a giant room. At the end was a large stone throne and to the left of that throne was a smaller throne. Sitting on the large throne was a strange female figure. She was glowing with such bright light that it was impossible to tell what age she was, or even what her skin color was. She surmised this must be the Glimmering Queen. Next to her was someone that nearly made Cherry’s heart stop. A woman with light skin, pink hair and eyes, and faerie-like wings. She was the Faerie Royal that Bunberry described, and Lucid was leading her right to her! She started to struggle but Lucid kept his grip.
“Calm down, Cherry, it’ll all make sense soon.”
Suddenly the faerie royal got up out of her throne and ran over to her as fast as she could, enveloping her in a hug as Lucid released her. “Cherry! Oh, Cherry, finally! I’m so glad!”
“Wh-What do you want?! Who are you?” Cherry asked, taken aback by the hug. Then suddenly a shiver ran up her spine as the faerie royal broke her hug.
“Oh, Cherry, my sweet Cherry,” she said, and suddenly transformed before Cherry’s eyes, losing all of her fey attributes to start, then changing her body entirely. After it was over, there was a woman very familiar to Cherry, a woman in her thirties with brown skin, the same color skin as Cherry, with pink hair and pink eyes. “I’m your mother.”