Chapter 7: Cursebusters
Candi sprinted down the street, panting as she approached the town hall in the middle of town. Behind her, Pete was quickly gaining, firing bolts of black magic from his hands. Every now and then, Candi fired small caramel disks, but she found that Pete was an excellent dodger. Behind them, the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe were also heading for the center of town, with the intention of helping to defeat the demon. At the very least, they could distract him. Candi ran onto the square that was in front of the town hall.
"Just... a bit... further." Candi panted.
Suddenly, Candi's foot caught under an old tree root. Losing her footing, Candi fell face first into the snow-covered grass. She slid about ten meters before she finally stopped. Groaning, Candi tried to pull herself onto her feet, but a boot quickly stamped down on her back. Pete stood over Candi, a deranged grin on his face.
"You can't win, Miss. Owens. No one's ever defeated me. And believe me... they've tried." Pete sneered.
Minty, who was in her Sakura form, lunged at Pete, tackling him into the snow. Surprised, Pete found himself registering an anti-ghost gun aimed at his face.
"Tell that to me." Minty growled.
Pete raised an eyebrow.
"An anti-ghost weapon? Did you even listen to me? I told you, I'm not a ghost!" Pete said angrily.
"Save it!" Minty snapped.
Minty pulled the trigger, but the ectoplasmic bolt bounced off Pete's face, ricocheting uselessly into the sky. Pete laughed and grabbed Minty by the collar.
"My turn." Pete whispered.
Pete climbed onto his feet and threw Minty into the snow. Before she could get up, he shot a burst of dark magic at her, encasing her completely. When it receded, Minty was shut inside a small cage of ice that disabled her powers, banging on the walls and yelling obscenities.
"Anyone else want to be a hero?" Pete asked.
Toxika made a battle pose and then turned to Candi.
"Candi, get up to that tower! We'll take care of everything down here." Toxika ordered.
Candi nodded and ran for the tower. Pete laughed again as Toxika cracked her knuckles.
"This won't take long." Pete sneered.
Candi crept up the clock tower, shivering. Even for late at night in winter, the tower was unusually frigid. Crumbelina and Nougetsia had followed Candi while the others stayed outside, and the three of them were warily looking around.
The tower was dark. A long winding staircase led to the top, passing boarded up windows and old newspaper clippings from the 1950s. Large bugs and spiders crawled over the walls and floors. It smelled rather bad. Candi walked over to one of the rows of clippings, and her eyes widened as she read them.
"Guys, look." Candi whispered.
Crumbelina and Nougetsia walked over to the wall, and they read the articles.
"1964, disappearances in Nebraska. 1968, kids disappear in Alberta. 1972, Britain. 1985, California... there's one of these for every year!" Nougetsia said in shock.
"And all of them happen on Christmas Day. There's always three of them." Candi added, pointing at the date.
"It's the curse! It's been going on since this town was abandoned!" Crumbelina said.
Candi gasped.
"And Swizzle, Adorabeezle, and Candlehead are next." Candi said.
Just then, Pete walked up the steps behind them, slowly clapping his hands.
"Very correct." Pete said.
Pete took out a box and flung it to the floor.
"I was right. It didn't take long." Pete said.
Candi, Crumbelina, and Nougetsia looked at the box. Inside were nicely made wooden figures, each carved in the shape of the other Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe. Crumbelina gasped.
"Guys." Crumbelina said in shock.
Pete nodded.
"Yes, and now it's your turn." Pete said.
"You've been cursing people since the fifties? But why? And why do they disappear on Christmas?" Nougetsia asked.
"At midnight on Christmas, your friends will be pulled into a small portal. There, they will be sent to..." Pete started to reply. He shrugged and said "Well, the naughty bin is what the old boss called it. I couldn't care less. Why do I do it? Well... because it's fun!". He grinned and said "And now, Miss Owens, you can't escape. There's no one left to defend you and your two remaining friends.".
There was a loud crash from downstairs, and the door opened. A figure raced upstairs, jumping into place behind Pete. Candi, Crumbelina, and Nougetsia's jaws dropped in surprise, and Pete's eyes widened.
"Leave my daughter, wife, and friend alone!" Timothy yelled.
There were quieter footsteps, and P.I.X.A.L. meekly crept up behind him.
"Sorry, he was all I could find." P.I.X.A.L. said.
Pete frowned.
"The elder Owens. I didn't see this one coming." Pete snarled.
"Stay back! Your not allowed to harm my daughter, my wife, or my friends!" Timothy growled.
Pete shrugged.
"Well, this won't take long either. I'll just charge..." Pete started to say.
Before Pete could finish speaking, Timothy grabbed Pete's arm and pulled him towards him. He spun around and hurled the hooded demon down the stairs, barely missing P.I.X.A.L.
"Run, guys!" Timothy shouted.
Candi, Crumbelina, and Nougetsia ran upstairs. Pete slammed into the ground at the bottom of the stairs. Letting out a roar, he jumped to his feet and shot a blast of dark magic at Timothy. Timothy dodged the blast and launched into a jump kick. He missed and crashed into an old cabinet.
"How do you do that?" Pete asked.
Timothy got up and faced Pete.
"Never underestimate the power of parental instincts!" Timothy replied.
Pete attempted to launch another blast, but before he could, Timothy raced headfirst towards him and bit his arm. Pete gave a sharp cry and lost focus of the dark magic. The bolt fired, hit a mirror, and rebounded towards Pete's face. With a thud, it hit the demon, causing him to fall backwards into a pail of water. Upon contact with the water, Pete screamed and began to glow.
"Holy water?" P.I.X.A.L. asked, running downstairs to meet them.
"No, you twit! This is processed tap-water that's been here fifty years! Do you know what is in this stuff?" Pete asked angrily.
Pete gave another piercing cry before falling out of the pail and onto his face. He laid on his face for about thirty seconds before he groaned and began to climb to his feet, his vision blurred.
"Do you think it wore off when we threw him in the pail? He's been weakened pretty badly." Pete heard P.I.X.A.L. asking.
"Great. I've got some stuff to say about that ice prison." a voice replied.
Pete's vision focused. He found himself looking up at Timothy, the Sugar Rush racers, Cinndon, Candace, Toxika, Damon, and Crepe, none of them looking especially pleased.
"Oh, your kidding." Pete muttered.
"Save it, Pete." Taffyta ordered.
The Strawberry themed racer gave a swift kick and Pete blacked out.
Candi eased open the door at the top of the stairs, and she winced when it creaked. She stepped into the bell room, Crumbelina and Nougetsia cautiously following her. Candi could see from the large clock face that the time was 11:55. She had five minutes to work out what to do.
"I believe you have something that belongs to me, Candi." a voice said.
Candi, Crumbelina, and Nougetsia jumped, and the three of them looked around at the shadows.
"Who's there?" Candi asked.
"I'm the judge." the voice replied.
A figure in a purple cloak floated out of the shadows, a knowing grin on his face.
"Clockwork?" Candi asked in confusion.
Clockwork nodded and shifted into his elder form.
"Yes, I do believe you have something that belongs to me." Clockwork replied.
Candi felt her pocket.
"The gems? They're your's?" Candi asked.
Clockwork nodded.
"They were only supposed to be used once, but they were stolen. I may be the ghost of time, but I cannot control demons. It's very lucky that you were the girl who would find them. Then again, I saw it coming." Clockwork replied.
Candi pulled the gems from her pocket.
"You see everything coming." Candi said.
Clockwork grinned and grabbed the gems.
"You make a good point." Clockwork said.
"But I don't get it. If you knew we were going to get the gems, why didn't you just take them when we found them?" Nougetsia asked
"Non-interference. I'm flaunting the Observants rules just by waiting until now. Besides, I wanted to see how well you could manage in breaking the curse yourselves." Clockwork replied.
Clockwork then turned his back.
"Wait, Clockwork!" Crumbelina said.
Clockwork turned around.
"The curse?" Crumbelina asked.
Clockwork nodded. At 11:59 that night, he held the gems to the roof. They glowed brilliantly, floated above his hand, and exploded into light.
"Location: Tennessee, December 25th 2108"
Swizzle woke up with his face in the snow. Climbing onto his hands and spitting out the snow, he glanced around quickly and then looked at his hands.
"I'm not a rock anymore?" Swizzle asked in shock.
Swizzle looked over at Adorabeezle, who had slipped off the van. The girl was juggling a piece of metal in her hands, and she smiled as it consistently failed to stick to her limbs. Candlehead was running around them both, laughing and singing as she hugged her own body. He waved gleefully at Swizzle and Adorabeezle, who waved back.
"Candi did it." Adorabeezle said, shaking her head.
"Of course she did! She's a Sugar Rusher! We do this kind of stuff all the time!" Candlehead said happily.
Just then, there was the sound of bells in the distance as the clock tower chimed twelve, but it was lost as a wave of euphoria hit Swizzle and Adorabeezle, and they joined Candlehead in celebrating and dancing in the snow.
The curse was broken.