Chapter 3: The Timid Soldier with the Fresh Scent of Mint!

A few weeks had passed since Sugar decided to take on the role of Soldier Candy for Princess Lolly, and was spending most of her free time these days tracking down Candyland monsters and exorcising them from the things they attached themselves to in order to cause physical destruction. Though Jill and Jane were still her friends, she noticed that they weren't hanging out with her as much as they used to, and maybe it was better that way, for safety reasons. She still admired Miloe, but couldn't talk to him because of her promise to become the strong and healthy woman he desired. But he had a new friend that kept him occupied, as Sugar found out one evening as she was watching the male tennis team practice on the courts. He had milk-chocolate hair that ran all the way down to his shoulders, and his eyes were the same color. His skin was slightly pale, but it didn't make him look ghostly in his white tennis uniform.

"Sugar, I really think we should go. I sense three parts of a monster named Gloppy out on the prowl near the shopping mall!" Hershey said, speaking from inside a red cooler Sugar carried.

"All right, fine! If going will make you happy, then I will!" Sugar snapped, irritated that she couldn't stay longer. But as she got up, she saw the boy with chocolate-brown hair walking toward her.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked in a whiny male voice.

"No one," Sugar replied, stepping down the bleachers.

"Yeah, right, I saw you clearly yelling at your cooler, so there must be something inside, or you could be crazy."

"I'm not crazy, and who I talk to is none of your business!"

"Whatever you say, crazy girl."

"It's Sugar, you jerk!" Then Sugar stormed away, swinging the cooler side to side.

"The name's Duke, sugar-pie!"

"Don't call me sugar-pie!"

Later, after transforming into Soldier Candy behind a dumpster, Sugar ran out into the parking lot of the shopping mall, which was dominated by three walking blobs made of melting molasses. People ran away in terror as the three molasses blobs rolled over cars and melted them and even caused the cement and tar in the parking lot to be covered in gooey brown liquid. It was then that Sugar used her new agility to jump on top of a lamp that stood between all three blobs and addressed them.

"Hey, Gloppy, stop what you're doing! I'm Soldier Candy, the Champion of Swe—

One of the blobs swung its gooey arms and knocked the lamp clean off the patch of grass it was standing on, which sent Sugar flying through the air. She cried for help, but all Hershey could do was watch. Then, flash of pink came out of the sky and caught Sugar before she fell. When she looked up at her savior, it was a man with bulging muscles and short brown hair spiked up underneath a pink military cap that was pointed downward to hide his face. Then as he set her down, she saw that his entire uniform was pink, complete with a billowing cape.

"Do not fear! Commander Dandy is here!" he said in a loud, booming voice.

"Well, um, thank you, I, uh, could use the extra…help," Sugar stuttered, and turned away as she felt her cheeks suddenly flush red.

"No need to thank me! Now let's get these blobs under control!"

"Oh, yeah, right!"

So while Commander Dandy ran in circles around the blobs, forcing them to join into one gigantic blob, Sugar aimed the Lollypop Wand at it and said, "Candy Kiss Explosion!"

The monster screamed horribly as the white light and pink hearts enveloped its massive body as it was absorbed into the wand. In the molasses blobs' place stood a large golden Hummer turned on its side. Then as the police arrived, Soldier Candy and Commander Dandy ran into the shadows and parted ways. Sugar stared longingly at the commander as he flew into the light of the moon, until she was snapped back into reality by Hershey jumping on her shoulders like a cat.

"Sugar, what is wrong with you? You were doing fine until that Commander Dandy showed up! You were love-stricken!"

But Sugar ignored Hershey, and shrugged her off. "Well I did defeat the monsters in the end, didn't I? And if he hadn't shown up, I would've had my brains splattered all over the pavement by now!"

"Yes, that is true, but he shouldn't be someone to rely on if you're going to get cocky from his mere presence alone. I think it's time for us to concentrate on finding the Candy Brigade!"

"But if Princess Lolly was a baby when they brought her here, they must be pretty old by now, so what would be the point in dragging veterans into this battle?"

"No, they were not adults when they came here. They were teenagers roughly your age."

"Then they must be around thirty at least, and how are we going to find them when there's a whole city full of them?"

"Leave the searching to me. You go home and get some rest."

So Sugar changed back, and took a bus back to her house, where her parents were angry that she was out so late and didn't call or tell them about it. She explained that she was out watching the tennis team practice, but they didn't entirely buy it, and grounded her again. This agitated Sugar, because it would make catching monsters difficult when she now had a strict curfew to follow. But she took Hershey's advice and went to bed, though by morning, she was sore and sleepy-eyed.

These symptoms followed her the rest of the day, and she even fell asleep during Math class. Ms. Hamstring slammed the ruler on her desk to get Sugar's attention, threatening detention if Sugar slept again. Then she went through her other classes in a blurry haze, until she collapsed onto the couch in the library. It seemed like hours before someone woke her up. She opened her eyes, and saw a girl with short black-blue hair tied in downward pigtails and square-framed glasses standing in front of her with a steaming plastic cup in her hands.

"Um, excuse me, but would you like some um, coffee?" she asked in a quiet, whispered voice.

"Yeah, sure," Sugar replied, and took the cup from the girl's hands. As she drank the coffee, she caught the scent of something cool and fresh, but oddly familiar. Then Sugar looked up at the girl and said, "Thank you."

"Oh, you're um, welcome."

"Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Well, um, I do assistant work…here in the library."

"You're usually shelving books, right?"

"Yes, that is my main job."

"It looks difficult."

"No, it's not bad. I like it because I um, don't have to um, interact with people, not a lot anyway."

"But are you comfortable with that?"

"Not really, but I…have a hard time g-getting along with people, because I-I'm shy, and it m-m-makes me s-s-stutter." The girl's face flushed, and she fled between two bookshelves.

Before Sugar could catch up to her, the bell rang. So she left the library and went to her other classes, but instead of going home, she waited outside the library for the girl. When the girl came out, she was surprised, and ran away in embarrassment. Luckily, Sugar managed to catch up to her. Apart from the glasses, the girl wore a blue sweater and wool skirt that went down to her ankles, where a pair of black dress shoes stood out. Her dark blue eyes avoided eye-contact with Sugar as she spoke.

"W-Why did you wait for me? We're not f-friends, so I don't u-understand."

"I wanted to offer to walk home with you, as thanks for that coffee you gave me," Sugar replied, and then pointed to the door that was past the girl. "You're heading that way, right? That's where I'm heading too."

"Oh, well I…I guess it would be rude t-to say no," the girl said, as they both walked out the door and down the sidewalk next to the tennis courts.

The tennis team wasn't there, which made Sugar upset. But when she tried to think of Miloe, all she could think about was Commander Dandy. She quickly brushed the image out of her head, and convinced herself that Miloe was the one, and nobody else could take his place. Then her thoughts were distracted by that same aroma she smelled earlier when the girl gave her coffee.

"Um, this may sound like an awkward question, but," Sugar stumbled, making the other girl stop. "Are you wearing perfume?"

"No, I-I don't usually have perfume on," the girl replied, blushing slightly.

"Just wondering. Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name's Sugar Marmalade."

"I'm uh…Aroma. Aroma Frost."

"That's a pretty name!"

This made the girl, Aroma, smile a little bit. But she didn't talk much as she and Sugar walked home. The sun was down by the time they reached a crosswalk, where Sugar went one way and Aroma went the other. Then just as Sugar was about to cross the street to the boulevard where her house was, she heard a piercing scream and ran toward the source. It came from an alley next to the sidewalk, and there, Sugar saw Aroma struggling against a tall black creature with sharp claws and curved horns that were orange, yellow, and white, like candy corn. Looking at the time, she knew her parents were expecting her home, but she couldn't leave Aroma to die either. So she quickly changed and ran into the alley, tackling the creature and pinning it against the wall beyond it and Aroma, who watched in amazement.

"W-Where in the world did you come from, and who the hell are you?"

"I'm Soldier Candy, Champion of Sweet Justice, and that means trouble for you!" Sugar said, holding the wand up to his face. "Candy Ki—

But the creature jabbed her in the ribs with its pointed elbow and knocked her down. In the street lamp from above, it was revealed to be a devil-like creature with slender arms and legs with candy-corn patterned horns and claws. It picked Sugar up by her ankle, and shook her violently till she dropped the wand.

"You thought one blow would finish me off, did you? Well I'm Corn Devil, the most devilish fiend in Candyland, apart from Lord Licorice of course, who granted me and the others freedom to destroy this pathetic place that is the human world! When I'm finished with you and your friend, I'm going to take that wand of yours and break it in half!"

"No! I won't let you!"

"Says the girl whose dangling by her feet," Corn Devil said as his hand turned red, and the smell of burning flesh lingered in the air as Corn Devil was about to reach for the wand with his free hand, when he noticed it was gone. He wheeled around and saw Aroma holding it in front of her, backing away slowly. "If you think you can use that wand, think again! Only the Princess of Candyland can wield it."

"I-I don't care if I can use it, but I won't let you hurt my friend!"

"Friend?" Then Sugar smelled that scent again, but it was much stronger than before, and it seemed to be radiating from somewhere. After getting a good whiff, she finally recognized it. "Mint! That's what I'm smelling!"

Suddenly, from down the alley, Hershey bounded out of the shadows with her forehead heart glowing as a spear made of blue leaves shot out toward Aroma, who tossed the wand to Sugar and caught the spear. Then as Sugar caught the wand and was about to aim it at Corn Devil, Aroma took the spear in both hands, and stomped it on the ground with the blade pointing straight up, saying "Mint Power!" as a blue, misty light surrounded her.

While Corn Devil tried to grab Sugar's wand, Sugar managed to use a Candy Sucker Punch on his chest, which knocked the air out of him, forcing him to drop her. She quickly got on her feet and stood in front of the blue light with the Lollypop Wand raised. But Corn Devil didn't hesitate and threw fireballs at her. It was at that moment that the light cleared, and in Aroma's place stood a girl with blue eyes and long blue hair tied in braids, wearing a short blue military shirt with a white tie and gloves with blue mint leaves, matching blue shorts, white stockings, and blue army boots with white mint leaves, carrying that same spear. Quickly, she nudged Sugar out of the way, and pointed the spear at Corn Devil's heart as she said, "Mint Ice Blizzard!"

A blast of icy wind came out of the spear and froze the fireballs and Corn Devil in his place. Then Sugar, despite the horrible pain in her leg, raised the wand at him and said, "Candy Kiss Explosion!" which turned Corn Devil into light and was absorbed into the Lollypop Wand, leaving a trashcan behind. Shortly afterward, Sugar collapsed from exhaustion and pain, as she noticed her lower leg was burned when Corn Devil's grip had tightened before. The girl with the blue-haired braids crouched down next to her, placing her hand on Sugar's leg while holding the spear in the other and whispered, "Mint Breath Refreshment."

As an icy substance covered the burn-marks, Hershey hopped up to them and looked at the girl in surprise. "Well, Soldier Mint, I never expected you to stay as a young girl for this long. How did you manage?"

"It was actually quite simple," the girl replied. "When me and the other Candy Brigade girls sealed our powers and our memories, we also stopped our natural aging processes, appearing as young teenage girls until Soldier Candy called for help, which would not only activate our abilities but also regain our memories and allow us to start aging again."

"Okay, everything you said doesn't make sense, but I guess this is typical for most magical girl stories anyway," Sugar said, shivering from the ice. "By the way, Hershey, how did you know where to find us, let alone get here in the nick of time?"

"Plot convenience."

"Oh." Then as the ice cleared, Sugar's eyes widened to see that the burn-marks were completely gone. "How did you do that?"

"Soldier Mint is the Champion of Cool-Headedness, which means she has ice and healing-related powers," Hershey explained, while Soldier Mint lowered her spear, changing into Aroma.

"Wait a minute, so Soldier Mint was Aroma?"

"You must have somehow triggered her transformation."

"Well, I did smell something that lingered around Aroma all day, and it was only during the battle with Corn Devil that I recognized it as mint. Then you showed up, gave Aroma the spear-thing, and poof! Solider Mint was there."

"Um, the spear is actually called the Mint Spear," Aroma said, holding her head. "I remember so many things, that it's hurting my head."

"My Gumdrop, you caught her Scent!" Hershey exclaimed.

"Her Scent?"

"In order to make it easier for Soldier Candy to distinguish us from regular people, we gave ourselves a magical Scent that was affiliated with our names, and the catalyst of activating our powers when Soldier Candy says that Scent's name out loud," Aroma said, and rubbed her head again.

"How very clever of you girls, I never would've guessed that you planned that far in advance," Hershey said, and hopped into Aroma's hands. "If it isn't too much trouble, do you think you could tell us what the other Candy Brigade members look like and maybe even Princess Lolly?"

"It was so long ago that I don't remember, and the Princess was so little that she only had one tuft of curly purple hair on her head, until her power was sealed away, that is."

"You sealed the Princess' powers away too?!"

"We did it…for her safety," Aroma said faintly, and passed out, holding a blue bracelet decorated in glossy blue mint leaves.

"She's exhausted not only from using her power after so long, but from all the memories returning to her as well," Hershey said, hopping down from Aroma's hands. "You should probably take her to your house Sugar, and allow her to stay for the night, if that's alright with your parents."

"My parents won't mind, but they'll be pissed at me for being late again, and I'm supposed to be grounded!" Sugar groaned as she changed back and helped Aroma up, dragging her back to the sidewalk and across the street to the boulevard. She noticed Aroma's bracelet falling off, and quickly caught it, clipping it onto her wrist. Then she looked at her own lollipop necklace, and said to herself, "A friend, huh?"

End of Chapter 3