Hi everyone whose reading this fanfic! I appreciate all the comments you have made during its development, but sadly, I'm planning to end the series within the next two chapters. Be sure to check out my Naruto Meets the Godfather fanfic and future works that'll be coming shortly! Thank you LoveInTheBattleField for supporting my work the whole way through, and additional thanks to MadilineCheshire and TropicalRemix!

Chapter 16: The Heir to the Throne Part 1!

A heavy silence fell over the room. Large chunks of the walls around had been blasted numerous times by the beams from Princess Lolly's Rainbow Pop Staff and the energy projectiles from Lord Licorice's Licorice Saber. After Princess Lolly had come around that corner where she supposedly disappeared, she really saw Lord Licorice standing inside a hidden chamber with multiple tunnels, and went in as the door closed behind her, becoming a part of the taffy and licorice walls that decorated that hallway. That was why the girls didn't follow her, but it didn't matter as she fired her Rainbow Beam at him, while he ran from her and deflected her blasts at the same time. Occasionally, he summoned a group of licorice bats to blind her sight, but the beam fired through them. Eventually, they stopped here, which was ironically the throne-room. They fired at each other a few more times, until they collapsed from exhaustion due to the amount of running they did in the secret tunnels, which were not damaged due to them being made entirely of gum. While Lord Licorice climbed into the seat of his throne, Princess Lolly involuntarily changed back into Soldier Candy. When they both recovered, they stared at each other with odd looks.

"Who are you?" Lord Licorice asked.

"I'm…Soldier Candy," Sugar said weakly, getting to her feet. "You must be Lord Licorice."

"It's King Licorice, young lady," Lord Licorice folded his arms. "Now what have you done with the Princess?"

After looking down at herself, Sugar realized what had happened to Princess Lolly, remembering the incident the girls described to her, and decided to say nothing.

"Well if you're not going to tell me…" Lord Licorice weakly pressed a button on his chair, which caused two doors to open on either side. "…then I would like you to meet my generals and their new servants."

From the right entrance came Frostine and Ginger Snaps, with Aroma and Pepper obediently following them. Then Sugarplum and Bubblegum entered from the left, followed by Crème and Meringue. While the female generals stood by Lord Licorice, the four Candy Brigade members stood in front of him in a straight line. After giving a brief glance at each of his generals, Lord Licorice snapped his finger, causing a familiar face to appear out from behind his chair, wearing the same pink uniform he always did, swinging the same candy-cane axe, but his hat was off, which completely exposed his face.

"Duke!" Sugar exclaimed. "So…you were Commander Dandy the whole time?!"

"I don't know who this 'Commander Dandy' is," said Duke in a monotone voice. "But here, I am known as the Duke of Swirl."

"That explains the outfit," Sugar said to herself. Then she looked at her friends and noticed that like Commander Dandy, or Duke of Swirl, they wore candy necklaces and stared at her with deadbeat eyes.

"Quit staring at us, Sugar!" Pepper suddenly snapped.

"Yeah, it's kind of rude," Crème agreed, looking at Sugar distastefully.

"You're not the Princess I expected," Meringue butted in. "In fact, I am ashamed of being under your command!"

"You're not my friend," Aroma said softly. "You were just using me to fight your battles!"

"Guys, what has gotten into you?" Sugar said abruptly. "Why are you saying such mean things to me? Licorice, what did you do to them?"

"What did I do?" Lord Licorice considered the question, and then he turned his nose up in denial. "The only person I affected was the Duke of Swirl. The other girls were taken care of by my generals while you and I were fighting."

"But we weren't fighting! That was Princess Lolly, my other self!" When Sugar realized what she said, she closed her mouth with her hands.

This surprised the generals and Lord Licorice.

"How interesting," Lord Licorice grinned. "Generals, send our new servants to battle her. I am curious to see what exactly we are dealing with."

In synch, the generals snapped their fingers. This in turn caused the Duke of Swirl and the Candy Brigade to draw out their weapons, and advance towards Sugar. But Sugar only lowered her Lollipop Wand, and stood her ground.

"I will not fight my friends," Sugar said.

"Friends?" Sugarplum repeated, and burst out laughing.

"How can you call them friends when they just insulted you?" Bubblegum asked patiently.

Sugar's expression didn't change. "They're probably brainwashed, and that's why they're saying mean things to me. But underneath, they're still my friends, so I won't harm them!"

"How pathetic!" Ginger Snaps remarked, wearing bandages over her injured hands.

Frostine used her staff to stomp a plate near her foot, and a door behind them opened, revealing Sugar's parents, wide-awake, and tied up by strands of red licorice.

"If you won't fight them, then they'll have to die instead!" Frostine stated firmly.

End of Chapter 16