Chapter 9: Welcome to Candyland!
As the portal closed above them, Aroma, Pepper, and Princess Lolly were falling down towards a green valley covered in delicious sweets of different kinds and a multi-colored road wound its way across, through lollipop forests, molasses swamps, gumdrop mountains, and a smooth ice cream sea glowed in the distance underneath a dark cloudy sky. Off to their right stood the ruins of a castle made of cake, while on their left loomed a towering black and red licorice castle with bats circling it. Below them, they saw Crème and Meringue holding onto Sugar's parents as Crème attempted to glide them to safety over a crowd of monsters on the ground, with four women surrounding a sinister-looking man at the center, who looked up at them in surprise.
"Lord Licorice," Pepper muttered, and felt Commander Dandy slipping out of her grasp.
"This isn't good," Princess Lolly said, surveying the ground. "We're too vulnerable."
"And we have to think about the safety of your parents."
Princess Lolly scuffed. "They're Sugar's adopted parents, not mine."
"But you're Sugar, aren't you?"
"Sugar was merely a personality that was created due to the environment she grew up in. But when Sugar saw her parents and comrades fall into the portal, she was overcome with grief. The final push was learning the death of Hershey, who she secretly longed to consume, and emotionally snapped, which ironically awakened the true power of the Lollypop Wand. Thus, her transformation into me, Princess Lolly."
"It doesn't matter! They're still people, and they'll die if we don't do something!"
"Well which do you think is more important, Soldier Cinnamon? My life or theirs?"
"Yours, of course, but—
"Then why are you arguing with me? Tell Vanilla and Lemon to let them go!"
Pepper frowned, but placed her arms at her sides so that she could fall lower, letting go of Commander Dandy in the process, and Princess Lolly grabbed him. Crème and Meringue were initially surprised to see her, but Pepper was more interested in Sugar's parents. They were unconscious, and were bleeding from the scars on their backs.
She cleared her throat and said, "Sugar…Princess Lolly…has ordered me to tell you to let go of Sugar's parents."
"Sugar was Princess Lolly?" Crème said with shock. "Well, I guess that does explain a lot of things, but why would she ask us to do such a thing?"
"It doesn't matter why. If the Princess ordered it, we have no choice but to obey," Meringue said, letting go of Mr. Marmalade.
Crème quickly glided down to catch him, but Meringue took her Lemon Whip out and used it to bind Crème, which prevented her from gliding any closer. But as if on instinct, one of the brown ribbons from the fencing foil suddenly expanded and tied itself around Mr. Marmalade's waist before he fell into the pit of monsters, while the other ribbon wrapped around Ms. Marmalade. Feeling surprised and relieved by this series of convenient events, Crème raised the foil once more and flew forward at a speed that was so great that Meringue was pulled along. The others saw this, but could not move.
Aroma then pointed her Mint Spear at the incoming ground and said, "Mint Ice Blizzard!"
The monsters directly below and within a five-mile radius were covered in ice, which made Lord Licorice's eyes widen as Aroma and the others touched down. But as the other monsters closed in, Pepper and Aroma fought back, holding off the monsters as much as possible. Meanwhile, Princess Lolly, who was carrying Commander Dandy, suddenly dropped him and raised her staff with the rainbow-colored lollipop on it. It glowed white, and was building up such a powerful surge that nearby monsters fled from the scene, and the four women guarding Lord Licorice immediately formed a human wall between him and the Princess.
When the white surge was at its peak, Princess Lolly shouted, "Candy Rainbow Beam!"
A burst of rainbow-colored light exploded from the lollipop and vaporized every single frozen and fleeing monster within sight. However, one of the four women had created a magical barrier made of icy winds, causing the rainbow light to deflect outwards. Behind them, Lord Licorice was flying away on a cloud made of bats. Pepper noticed this and fired a few rounds, but the bats managed to get in the way of the bullets and fell like black stones from the sky.
As for Crème and Meringue, they were now flying over a field of sugarcoated nuts after passing the gumdrop forest. Meringue, knowing that Crème wasn't going to give up, concentrated and said, "Lemon Electrical Charge!"
This caused a circuit of electricity to run down the rope and electrocute Crème, causing her to drop Sugar's parents and fall. But the whip's grip held strong, leaving an unconscious Crème hanging as Meringue soon realized her mistake, and was falling to the ground with her. Then, an unexpected thing happened: two of the nuts from the field suddenly grew, till they were the size of houses, and cracked themselves open as if by magic, revealing hollow insides. The parents fell inside one nut, while Crème and Meringue fell into another, then they closed up and rolled towards a small house on the edge of the field, made of peanut butter brittle. There, an old woman with curly red hair with grey highlights in a bun wearing a faded blue cotton dress with white polka dots came out of the house and waved her hands over the nuts. Like obedient guard dogs, they opened their insides, causing Crème, Meringue, and Sugar's parents to fall out.
The old woman's dark eyebrows went up in surprise. "I know you two."
"Gramma Nutt," Meringue said looking up in awe. "You're alive! But how come your house and fields haven't been destroyed by Lord Licorice or the monsters yet?"
At that, Gramma Nutt's cheeks turned red and she made a heartwarming chuckle. "Just as those two nuts snatched you, they'll snatch anything that moves, including monsters, and keep them trapped in there till they starve to death. As for Lord Licorice, he said as long as I give him advice and foretell his future, he won't destroy this land."
"But you do you actually trust his word? He's a double-crosser! That's how he took over Candyland, and you failed to warn the King in time!"
Gramma Nutt shrugged. "I warned him the moment Princess Lolly was born, and he simply didn't listen. But seeing you and Vanilla here, I guess the prophecy is coming true after all, with some unexpected elements thrown in."
Seeing that she was referring to Sugar's parents, Meringue got up and helped Gramma Nutt carry them into the house. Apart from melting furniture and chocolate shavings coming off the walls, the inside was mostly empty and quaint. They lay the parents down on a king-sized bed wrapped in gold and brown tin sheets, and then went back out to bring Crème in. After putting her on the green icing couch covered in plastic, Meringue tried to revive her while Gramma Nutt quickly made a cup of hot chocolate with nutmeg powder sprinkled on top. Meringue forced Crème's mouth open so she could drink it, and woke up coughing as the nutmeg spice kicked in.
"What…happened?" Crème asked, rubbing the back of her head, then she saw Grandma Nutt and smiled. "Gramma Nutt!"
She smiled in response.
"What about Sugar's parents? They were wounded during the battle in the real world by my sword, accidently," Crème looked down in shame. "I hope they're all right."
"I don't know who this 'Sugar' is, but don't worry about the other folks. I'll see to their injuries and heal them properly. Meanwhile, you should drink the rest of that nutmeg-covered hot chocolate. It'll ease the pain."
At that, Crème suddenly hissed from the pain she felt as the electricity's sting was still strong, and Meringue looked away.
"You know I have always been protective of you, and it was for this reason that I didn't tell you about my secret identity back in Quebec. It was out of concern that a monster might hurt you, or potentially kill you. I was only following orders, but now I realize that the monster I've tried to keep you out of harm's way from…was myself."
"Don't say that, sister!" Crème shouted. "You didn't mean to hurt me, and you were only doing what you thought was right."
"Is hurting ones sister okay? Is harming innocent people, even by accident, okay?"
"Well, no, but neither of us should linger on them. Sure, I feel just as guilty for hurting Sugar's parents just as you are of hurting me, but if we're to save Candyland, we need to look past our mistakes and move on."
After that, both were silent as Crème drank the rest of her nutmeg-covered hot chocolate, and Gramma Nutt put Nutella cream mixed with minty herbs on the backs of Sugar's parents, who were still unconscious, but breathing unevenly. Meringue sat near the blinds, and glanced outside occasionally. She wanted to be with the Princess and protecting her, but she also knew that she needed to be with her sister, Sugar's parents, and Gramma Nutt to protect them from harm if Lord Licorice was already onto their location.
End of Chapter 9
