Chapter 15: Refreshing Mint! Bitter Frosting!

When Bubblegum made the gas explode, Aroma took her Mint Spear and pointed it at herself. By doing this, she was able to temporarily freeze herself in order to prevent the gas from entering her nostrils. By the time the ice broke, the gas had subsided and none of the other girls were there, including Bubblegum. So after an initial episode of stiffness, Aroma ran down the hallway and continuously called their names. She was only met by a faint echo.

Then she heard the sound of clicking heels. Immediately, she ran towards them, and the sound began to move further away. She managed to follow it, and eventually ended up in a wide circular room with a large ice-rink inside bordered by four tall pillars. On the opposite side stood a series of chairs and benches littered with frozen ice-skates, which were dominated by a large throne with three seats. One of which was occupied by the woman Aroma recognized during the battle in the Gumdrop Forest.

"Frostine," Aroma said, though she hesitated to say it.

"I never expected you to return home," Frostine said, standing up. "After all, it has been ten years, sister."

"But it's only been three years on earth," Aroma muttered. Now it made sense why she remembered this woman.

"Time passes more quickly in this realm than on earth, and since then, I've grown to despise you."

"Why? We've never had any quarrel before I left."

"Don't be a fool, Mint," Frostine turned away, and picked up the staff with the snowflake on it. "You knew that I didn't approve of the Princess the minute she was born, because if it weren't for her, I would've been the heir to the throne!"

In a split second, Frostine pointed her staff at Aroma, and fired a blast of white light encrusted with snowflakes. Aroma managed to dodge it, and hid behind one of the pillars. Frostine redirected her staff at it, causing frost to scatter up and down the length of the pillar, which in turn made it completely shatter. Aroma was thrown back, and ran as the next blast nearly hit her. Irritated, Frostine then aimed her staff at the floor, turning the taffy flooring into frosting, which made Aroma slow down, due its thick gooey texture.

"It looks like you haven't changed much since you joined the Candy Brigade," Frostine noted, aiming the staff at Aroma. "Then again, you were always the frightened one."

But before the next blast hit her, Aroma managed to pull the spear out in front of her and say, "Mint Ice Blizzard!"

She froze the blast, causing it shatter.

"You've…never done that before," Frostine said in disbelief.

"I'm not the same girl you knew!" Aroma said, stepping onto the ice-rink. "I'm now a full-fledged Soldier who has been through a lot these past few months, and isn't going to go down so easily!"

Frostine seemed taken aback by these bold statements, but then she frowned.

"So…that's how it's going to be, then."

She fired at the ice-rink, which broke into many fragments. Before Aroma fell in, she pointed her spear at the water underneath, and created a platform of ice with her Mint Ice Blizzard. Frostine fired at Aroma, but Aroma dodged the blast and made another ice platform where she landed. This continued a few more rounds until Aroma managed to land on the other side of the former ice-rink, but then her feet were frozen solid upon impact. She fell face-first onto the floor, but quickly rolled out of the way of the following blast. Hiding behind another pillar, she pointed the spear at her frozen feet, and said, "Mint Breath Refreshment!"

The ice on her feet immediately broke, just as Frostine caused the pillar she was hiding behind to shatter like the first one. To avoid the frost, Aroma stood up and backed away; she ended up getting a good aim at Frostine after the pillar was removed. Without hesitation, she fired at Frostine, but Frostine counteracted by spinning her staff in a counterclockwise direction, causing the icy blast of wind to scatter in different directions, freezing any surface it contacted except Frostine herself. Frustrated, Aroma ran towards the next pillar, but Frostine shattered that before she could hide behind it. So she ran to the next one, and that got frozen too.

"There's nowhere to hide anymore," Frostine smirked, pointing the staff at Aroma once again. "Now face me like the so-called Soldier you are!"

Aroma suddenly started to giggle.

"What's so funny? Have you finally realized how hopeless your situation is?"

"No," Aroma answered, tracing her steps to the door behind her. "You're the one whose situation is hopeless!"

A faint rumble followed Aroma's words, and then the ceiling above the ice-rink started to sink. Frostine looked up in horror, and immediately used her staff to freeze the collapsing ceiling. While she was distracted, Aroma ran out of the room and was about to close the door when something forced her to look back. Despite Frostine's efforts, the ceiling was still sinking and even started to crack in some places.

"Frostine! I know you're my enemy!" Aroma called. "But you're still my sister! Come with me if you want to live!"

Just then, an unseen hand placed a candy necklace on Aroma, causing her to collapse from the shock of crimson sparks that followed. As for Frostine, she did not hear Aroma, and noticed that her beam was becoming weaker and she started to find it difficult to stand due to her own growing physical weakness. But the sudden cry that Aroma gave out drew her attention, and she saw Meringue standing over Aroma, with Bubblegum standing behind her. As parts of the ceiling fell, Meringue then stepped into the room and shouted, "Lemon Swirl Shield!"

The lemon-shaped energy shield managed to prevent Meringue from getting hurt as she leaped over the ice-rink, grabbed Frostine before the last of her energy gave out, and made it back through the door as the ceiling completely fell onto the ice-rink, causing the floor to crack, the ice to crack, and the water to rise. While Bubblegum closed the door, Meringue let go of Frostine and picked up the unconscious Aroma.

After a brief sigh, Bubblegum said, "You know King Licorice isn't going to be pleased when he learns about the amount of damage done to the ice-rink."

"Does that really matter?!" Frostine yelled, causing Aroma's eyes to flicker open. "I could've died in there!"

"It looks like your servant has awoken," Bubblegum pointed at Aroma, which got Frostine's attention. "Now we must be going. King Licorice is waiting for us."

"I know," Frostine said, looking at Aroma as Bubblegum and Meringue walked away. "Forgive me, Mint, but once this is over, you'll be ruling at my side once I take my rightful place as the Queen of Candyland!"

End of Chapter 15