[Fluff]

"You know, Kumako. If you wanted us to help, you could let us know in advance, instead of the night before."

"S-Sorry, Sakura..."

"I'm not so sure about that, Sakura. I'm more than ready to help our dear friend out in her time of need."

"Not everyone's a night owl, Sora. Even back then, I appreciated a whole night's sleep. Not a few hours."

The voices being thrown around inside the empty bakery, despite belonging to three young girls that were clearly close to one another, betrayed the sheer time they had spent together prior to this. Because they had not always been girls, nor had they been this willing to cooperate.

The pink-haired girl who had softly complained about the current state of affairs was Shirabe Sakura, otherwise known to the world as Prisma Pink. It had only been a few months since she went by another identity, however. The Oni General that had terrorized this city with his power, slaying the last Prisma Pink and making her his own. The circumstances of how he had ended up taking her place were... Questionable, to say the least, but she made the best of it.

The deep-blue haired girl who seemed more awake than both of her friends was Kobaruto Sora, known more commonly to the world as Prisma Blue. Like Pink, she had been the one to strike down one of the former members of Tri-Prisma, though her method had been through subterfuge as the devious and tricky Traitorix. In fact, just thinking back on her days of betraying everyone and everything was such a sweet delight... Ah, and her plans to betray her new friends, the ones that hadn't been monsters prior, were progressing swiftly as well.

The final girl, the yellow-haired girl with the stomach that tried to push through her uniform, was Kumato Kumako. Whenever she took on the form of a heroine, she went by Prisma Yellow. Formerly a giant bear who served more as a berserker than a cuddly friend, Kuma, the form she now took thanks to replacing the old Prisma Yellow was one that retained a lot of her old cuddly nature, though her lack of physical strength outside of her transformed state left her a rather shy and nervous girl. Especially since she had to learn so many things about humanity that made her head hurt. Why did she have to learn, why couldn't she just be nice and cuddly..?

B-But, there was a reason why she had brought everyone here. And it wasn't just to make them cuddle her like old times. She knew she really wanted that, and she had invited them over for sleepovers after their transformations to get a taste of that old delight back. But this wasn't one of those times... A-At least, not yet.

"T-Thank you so much for coming, Sakura, Sora!" Kumako cried out, as she quickly darted towards a small pile of aprons, chucking two towards her friends. "W-We gotta hurry. We gotta hurry. If we want to help Daichi out, we have to make lots and lots of sweets and bread and everything!" That was why she had called upon them. Because she wanted to make a boy happy. A boy that had made her even happier...

"...Kumako?" Sakura asked, after having put on the apron that her friend tossed towards her. "It's... Today's a Sunday. The bakery's not supposed to be open, is it?" As the leader of their little group, after what had happened to them, she had to be more perceptive than she looked. And she looked like a girl who couldn't harm a fly. Granted, she definitely acted the part whenever she wasn't with her friends, so it would be harder to realize that was far too aware of her past as an Oni...

Sora nodded slightly. "I've been trying to buy morning snacks for the children I care for every Sunday. Daichi greets me and helps me out by handing off a couple of sweets he made at night, but the bakery itself is closed during Sunday." The smartest overachiever of the three explained, as she slowly adjusted her own apron. Not realizing that she had accidently tied it around her chest, leaving plenty of the apron completely and utterly unused.

Kumako felt her heart sinking as she slumped over. "Y-Yeah. T-The bakery's not opening..." She muttered, as a couple of tears started to roll down her cheeks. "B-but it's Daichi's birthday soon, a-and I wanted to make him something to thank him, a-and I thought..!"

Before the chubby girl managed to cry her heart out like she always did when she ended up too worried about something, both of her friends gave her a hug. Sharing her between them as they pecked her on the head, causing her to blush harder in response.

"You could've just told us that from the start, you dummy." Sakura chimed as she nuzzled the blonde girl's cheek. "We'll always help you out, Kumako. That's what friends are for. Right, Sora?" She said, looking towards the dark blue-haired girl. "Riiiight?"

"Of course." Sora said, hiding a bit of a smirk. Ah yes. If she helped Kumako out like this, the girl would owe her a favor in the future. A favor that she could use to drive a wedge between them, to betray her and leave her on the side of the road without anybody to help her. It was a brilliant plan for sure. For now, she just had to act like she was helping...

The tears poured out of Kumako's eyes as she hugged the two as tightly as she could, compressing their bodies against hers in the process because even though she wasn't quite as strong as she was when she was transformed, she was still stronger than both of them. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!"

"E-Ease up a bit, Kumako..." Sakura sighed and smiled. It hurt a bit. But it was worth it to see her friend happy. Just like when she praised her old Monster self...

'Just hold on, So- Traitorix. Just hold on. Your time will come.' Sora thought to herself as she had trouble breathing while being hugged...

With their hearts unified, they could do anything. Daichi's birthday gift was as good as done..!

---

"Sora."

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Why did you pour salt in the sweets?"

"...That's sugar."

"No, that's salt."

"Oh, Sakura. Are you saying that I can't distinguish between Salt and Sugar?"

"Please, go ahead and taste the dough. Then tell me what it is."

"I will-"

Almost immediately after Sora tried to take a bite out of the dough, her eyes started to water as she felt her body dehydrating from a single lick. Every little bit of water in her body was trying to escape the sheer quantity of salt. Now, she enjoyed a good bit of salt, especially when she betrayed somebody... But THIS?!

The dignified dark-haired girl spat out the piece of dough as she toppled over, coughing rapidly to try and get all the salt out of her mouth. "W-Water..." She muttered, her throat having grown completely parched over the course of that single lick. She needed something to hydrate her. Something. Anything. So she could regain control of her tastebuds before it was too late.

Kumako kneeled down, collapsing onto her belly in the process because she wasn't used to kneeling, before handing her friend a bottle full of fresh milk. "H-Here, Sora!" She cried out, panting and shivering as her belly rubbed up against the cold floor. A-ah, she really needed a bigger uniform. B-But then Daichi probably wouldn't look at her the same way that he always did. T-To pursue comfort, or to try and make him happy with her looks... A-Ah...

Sora chugged from the bottle, before flinching as she recognized the taste. And then she finished it without another word, because there was no way in hell she'd blow her plan right this second, even though she realized why it was both sweet and thick. "Thank you, Kumako..." She muttered as she put the bottle down on the ground.

Sakura offered her dark-haired friend a hand, lifting Sora up once the strength returned to her body. "For how smart you try to act, Sora... You're just faking it, aren't you?" She said, holding her hand as softly as she could. Because this wasn't intended to be an interrogation. Just a bit of support from a leader to her close friend.

"Humans are easy to trick. It's just a matter of time." Sora said, smiling a little as she let go of her friend's hand. "Besides, I've heard this nice saying. Fake it until you make it. And who better to fake it than the betraying jester herself?" She grinned, before taking a seat on a chair in the corner of the kitchen. She didn't want to get in the way after fucking up, since she'd just make another mistake and lose more time. And that would put her behind on schedule and probably ruin her chances of getting Kumako in her pocket.

Sora watched as the two other girls went right back to work. Sakura arranging the right measurements and the pace of everything, while Kumako put her strength to work to try and make sure everything was properly mixed, rolled out, and otherwise doing most of the physical work that went into baking a big pile of sweets.

As a bit of chaos unfolded before her eyes, because they were hardly any better at working together despite their best efforts, Soa closed her eyes. And the smug smile that had been coating it just moments prior faded, as she grimaced and remembered a certain incident when she had still been the little doll that betrayed everyone.

Traitorix's last task as part of the Shade Empire was to corrupt the original Prisma Blue. To that end, he snuck into her friend circle and imitated a shy student, not unlike the form that Kumako now took. He did everything to act the part, bit by bit wittling down the old Blue's defenses as she left herself wide open emotionally.

Of course he betrayed her. He lured her to one of the lesser monsters that Tri Prisma hadn't yet eliminated. A living cake, still waiting to be taken out of the oven as it used humans to fuel itself. It was a dangerous Monster, yet it wouldn't take more than one of the Prismas to take it down.

At least, when they currently weren't being betrayed. When Prisma Blue thought she protected her shy friend... Traitorix kicked her into the cake. And the last thing the girl saw before the Monster and her fused on a fundamental level, turning into the perfectly sweet and villainous Corpulent Countess Cake .. Was the smile of her friend, who had pulled the rug out from underneath her.

...So why did victory feel so bittersweet..?

---

"Sora! Soooora! Wake up!"

The betraying girl blinked a little as her eyes fluttered. She... She fell asleep. No wonder she was stuck remembering her past, she was dreaming. "You don't need to shout, Sakura..." She muttered, slowly getting back up from her chair, all while idly wiping away the tears that had quietly rolled down her cheeks.

"Well, SOMEBODY decided to nap when we still needed her!" Sakura pouted. It wasn't often that she got angry. Especially after she had become this adorable little girl. But that didn't mean she could tolerate being left hanging like that.

Which was why, in the blink of an eye, a katana the size of her body materialized in her hands. And a second later, she used it to softly bonk her dark-haired friend on the head to compensate for how she had neglected her.

"Ow." Sora muttered as she rubbed the slightest bruise that formed on her head. "I don't get why you can still summon that. I thought it would've left you, after we ended up like this." She complained. At least she didn't hit her with the flat of the blade this time, like she had a tendency of doing back when they were still Monsters.

Sakura shook her head slightly. "I don't know either. All I know is that I can't draw it." She said, demonstrating by trying to grab the handle and pull it from its sheath... A failure in and of itself, as her hand phased through. "But... I suppose it is a good memento. Something to remember the good times by." She muttered, as the blade disappeared, leaving her emptyhanded as the two friends looked at one another.

"...Were we ever truly happy, Sakura? Will we ever be..?" Sora asked, looking past the girl. Past everything. Was there a point to everything they were doing? Whether when they were part of the Empire, working for their beloved Empress... Or now that they stood against her, trying to protect those that had accepted them like they were nothing but ordinary humans..? For a betrayer, like she was at heart, she wasn't sure. She never did understand what it meant to be satisfied with one's actions, always focusing on the next betrayal.

Sakura let the question dwell on her mind, before she put her hands into the pockets of her apron, deftly avoiding the many blotches of chocolate that had decorated it thanks to the chaos of making sweets with Kumako. "Happiness is what you make of it, Sora. Kumako's found hers, maybe you'll find yours if you keep looking." The surprisingly mature response from the pink-haired young girl was then quickly followed by a giggle. "Now come on. We didn't work so hard on sweets to have you miss out on the first taste."

"Is she awake, Sakuraaaaa?" Kumako shouted from the other side of the kitchen, her face completely covered in chocolate. Because like the glutton that she was, she had licked the bowl full of leftover chocolate clean. Not even a speck remained. All of it was either in her tummy, or on her face. What a silly girl...

"I'm awake, Kumako. Thank you both for your concern." Sora muttered a little as she let the words dwell on her mind, while putting on a brave face. Even to her friends... When she had plans to betray them, she needed to keep calm. Otherwise, the betrayal wouldn't land.

Sitting nicely on a little baking tray were adorable little cookies with the features colored in using chocolate cream. Adorable tiny eyes that peeked up at the betrayer while smiling up at her with the equally adorable smile. Sora picked one up, her heart still wavering between her ideals as a human and her nature as a Monster, as she slowly sank her teeth into the surface of the cookie...

"...Delicious." Sora muttered. That was the only thing she could say, because her heart was overdosing on sweetness. And not just the kind that came with sugar... The kind that came with love. "May I..?"

"You can have a few more, Sora!" Kumako smiled, as she held out a bag full of those very same cookies. "We made lots, Daichi's going to be so happy!" She giggled, happier than she ever had been in her entire life.

Sakura walked over and patted her friend's back. "Just dig in, Sora. No need to hold back." She said, as she picked up a cookie of her own. These things were really sweet, and it was all thanks to Kumako...

Slowly but surely, a few tears started to roll down Sora's cheeks. Perhaps it wasn't the sweet treat of betrayal that made her life as a Monster so sweet... Maybe it was the betrayal itself that added that bitter tinge.

And with her emotions toiling through her heart, Sora dug in. All while her friends were shocked to find her pigging out all of a sudden...

"H-Hey! When I said don't hold back, I meant save some for me!"

"M-My sweets!"

Thus, another day came to a close for Tri-Prisma. And on some level, the three felt that they understood each other a little better...