Chapter 3: Lollipop Woods
Amelia fingered the charm bracelet around her wrist, deep in thought as she walked beside Rachel, who was carrying Crystal. Kairi was leading the way while Spellslamzer and Thumpback brought up the rear. The tall Spell Punk noticed the Light Portal Master seemed lost in thought. "Ami, are you alright?" He asked gently, calling her by her nickname.
She nodded. "I'm okay, Spells. I was just...thinking about how we're going to beat Lord Licorice and Kaos," she said.
"Lord Licorice can be defeated," Rachel said. "But we may have to deal with Kaos first before we deal with him."
"Before he can take over," Kairi said with a nod. "We can't let Licorice succeed and he might try while we're battling Kaos."
"My mermaid is right," Thumpback said. "Perhaps we could split up and one group take on Kaos and the other group take on Lord Licorice?"
"Not a bad idea," Spellslamzer said with a nod.
Crystal, who had been quiet as she was listening to Princess Lolli, who had told her that the lollipops were nearly gone. She now took a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking at her older sister. "Is Lord Licorice scary?" She asked.
"No, just mean and power hungry," Kairi said reassuringly. "But we can't underestimate him as Kaos just might give him a power boost."
"I think we can count on that," Rachel said before thinking to herself. "Okay, how about Thumpback, Kairi, and Amelia go against Kaos while Crystal, Spellslamzer, and myself go against Lord Licorice?"
"Perfect," Amelia said with a nod. "I'm going to make Kaos see so much light, he'll need sunglasses just to look at me."
They all laughed heartily at that, Amelia's humor boosting their spirits before they noted that the grass was green and it was beginning to feel like summer. "Hey, is it just me, or does it feel like summer?" Thumpback asked.
"It feels like summer," Kairi answered. "Each part of Candy Land is in a certain season, depending on what candy is grown in that area."
"So like Peppermint Forest would be what season?" Amelia asked.
"Winter," the Water Portal Master said.
"That makes sense," Spellslamzer said. "Since peppermint is mostly a winter flavor."
"Ice Cream Sea would no doubt be winter, correct?" Rachel asked.
"Actually, that's more late summer," Kairi said gently. "Lollipop Woods, Grandma Nutt's house, and the Kandy Castle are all summer time while Gingerbread Orchard and Gumdrop Mountains are more spring time."
"We might need some warmer clothes for when we go into the Peppermint Forest," Thumpback said.
"I could whip us up some warm clothes in a jiffy," Spellslamzer said.
Crystal, still in Rachel's arms, began to see the very tops of something colorful. "Is that it?" She asked, pointing.
"Let's go see," Amelia said as they walked a little faster. It wasn't long before they saw that it was indeed lollipops they saw, but the forest looked a bit...thin.
"It looks like someone's been cutting down the lollipops," Kairi said.
"But it needs replenishing so that there'll always be lollipops," Rachel said before getting an idea and turning to Spellslamzer, who immediately caught on her train of thought.
"Let's see," he said, magic flowing from his hands.
"Wait!" A voice called out, making them jump. "Magic is good, but you can't regrow the Lollipop Woods with magic alone."
They all looked around, wondering who had said that. "Who said that?" Amelia asked.
"I did," came the voice again.
Thumpback looked up and blinked. "A talking sun?" He asked in surprise.
The others looked up and sure enough, they saw the sun smiling at them in a friendly manner. Kairi gasped happily. "Hello," she said pleasantly.
He smiled wider. "So you are the ones to save Candy Land," he said, his smile never fading. "If you're here, then perhaps one of you knows Princess Lolli?"
"No, but my sister has her magic," Rachel said, indicating to Crystal.
The sun looked happy to hear that. "Yes, I can sense their magics in you," he said. "The magic of the protectors. It's good to see their magic is in good hands."
Spellslamzer looked curious. "What did you mean when you said this forest can't be replenished by magic alone?" He asked.
"Magic is only part of the key, but for the forest to grow, you must plant new lollipops," the sun said. "See those saplings there?"
They turned to see where he pointed and they could see a bunch of saplings that looked ready to be transplanted. "Put those into the ground and then water them. After that, your magic will do what you wish it to do."
Amelia picked up a sapling. "Well, we better get started," she said.
"I can provide the water," Kairi said.
"And I can provide places to plant," Rachel said, her hands glowing with her telekinesis as she carefully dug holes into the ground.
Amelia, Thumpback, and Spellslamzer placed the new saplings into the holes and patted the soil into place around them. Crystal, who was watching, smiled as she then heard Princess Lolli's voice again.
"Sing a little song. The lollipop plants love that," she said.
The little girl gave it some thought before smiling and she suddenly began singing.
"Little or big, some teeny small,
Colorful, bright, and ten feet tall,
Lollipop Woods needs them all,
For that's its name and call."
The catchy ditty made the others smile and they sang along with the young girl, noticing how the lollipop saplings were growing with each word. Spellslamzer called up his magic, which seemed to react to the song and Crystal suddenly began glowing with a rainbow aura, an aura that reached out over all the lollipops and in mere moments, the lollipops they had planted had grown to stand over their heads and more popped up, making the forest look like new again.
"We did it!" Amelia said happily.
"Alright!" Thumpback said.
"Yes!" Spellslamzer cheered.
"Ya-hoo!" Kairi cheered happily.
"Hooray!" Rachel and Crystal said happily, the young girl dancing around as the rainbow aura grew brighter before it faded away gently, allowing them to see that the forest was replenished again.
The sun smiled. "Well done," he said as something swirled in front of him. "You've earned these."
The items floated closer to them and they each grabbed one, gasping as they saw what the items were. "They're charms!" Kairi said in excitement.
"Rainbow charms!" Amelia said happily.
"Awesome!" Rachel cheered.
"Yay!" Crystal squealed in excitement.
Spellslamzer chuckled. "So that's why Mr. Pop gave these to us," he said, holding up the charm bracelet he had, the rainbow charm merging with the bracelet. The others did the same to the others' charm bracelets.
"Okay, that's pretty cool," Thumpback said with a smile.
The sun smiled again. "Good luck to you all," he said.
"Thanks," Kairi said and the others echoed her statement before they headed out, eager to see where they would head to next.
In Lord Licorice's dungeon...
Princess Lolli smiled. "They did it," she said, making the others look at her. "They replenished the Lollipop Woods."
Hope filled the others. "I wonder where they're heading for now," Queen Frostine said softly.
Kaos came storming in and he didn't look happy. "The Lollipop Woods have been replenished!" He yelled.
Lord Licorice sighed. "Unfortunately," he said. "But no matter. They can restore Candy Land, but they'll never find our prisoners."
The dark Portal Master's mood didn't improve. "That better be the case or I'll destroy this place myself!" He declared before settling down somewhat. "Where are they heading for now?"
"It looks like Gingerbread Orchard."
"Oh, good. They'll never be able to do that challenge that we put there."
Plumpy smirked as he nodded. "My turn," he said, closing his eyes and concentrating.
Well, looks like the gang has completed the first part of their journey, but will they be able to do the task that waits for them in Gingerbread Orchard? Stay tuned to find out! :)
And please leave a review, but no flames!~ And Happy Thanksgiving! :)
GoldGuardian2418
