Author's Note: Just for clarification, the iPop at the end of the chapter is supposed to be the Sugar Rush version of an iPod – it's a play on words, like an iPod and a lollipop. Enjoy! :)

Chapter Eleven: Apartment Ambush

Felix didn't notice the others leaving. He was climbing up to the roof, which had an ice rink instead of a swimming pool. He formed a tiny snowball in his palm and put it on the ground.

"Okay," he said to himself, "if I can just unfreeze this snowball, I'll know I can stop this whole winter."

He waited for a few long seconds, and then held a hand over the snowball. "And . . . thaw!"

Nothing happened.

"And, thaw!"

Still nothing.

Felix sighed. "Come on, up and out." He raised his hand. A tiny stalagmite of ice rose from the snowball.

"No," said Felix through gritted teeth, "not like that!"

But the spike only grew bigger and faster.

"Stop it!"

By now it was as tall as a tree. Sharp branches spread out – a few heading towards Felix.

Felix tried to stay calm. "Conceal, d-d-d-don't f-f-feel," he stammered. "Don't f-feel. Don't . . . FEEL!"

It was hard not to feel when a pointy twig was threatening to impale him. At the last minute he dived back through the stairwell and tumbled into the penthouse again.

This is hopeless. I couldn't get rid of one tiny snowball. What am I –?

An orange glow in the window caught his eye.

. . .

The Sorceress approached the apartment complex hesitantly, with quiet footsteps. Behind her was a line of ten trolls, closely followed by candies carrying marshmallow torches. They gathered around their leader.

"Our purpose is to find Felix," she told them. "That is all. Be on your guard, by all means, but no harm is to come to him." At least, not now, she thought.

Two particularly bulky trolls rolled their eyes. "Yeah, right," one of them muttered. He slammed his mallet into the palm of his hand. "I'm gonna whack him. Whack him good."

His friend sneered.

The Sorceress called out, "Felix? Are you there? Come out with your hands up."

There was no reply.

"We're not going anywhere," she continued. "We'll wait all day if we have to. We could even melt this place if that's what it took."

Right on cue, a gang of anthropomorphic heart lollipops marched up the steps with their burning marshmallows. They stood in a line along the left-hand side.

"This negotiation is gonna take forever," the second bulky troll moaned. He noticed someone peeping through the balcony doors. Could it be . . .?

"It's him!"

He and his friend dashed past the lollipops into the building.

"What are you doing?" the Sorceress screeched.

But the surrounding candies hindered her movement, and the trolls were too fast for her. Soon they were charging into the penthouse, mallets raised.

Felix swung round. "Trolls?! Jiminy jaminy, this day can't get any worse."

"Oh, yes, it can!" the first troll chuckled. He lobbed his mallet at Felix. But a frozen screen stopped its flight just inches from Felix's face.

The troll growled and scrambled over the minibar, hoping for another shot. Felix spotted him in the corner of his eye; in two swift moves the troll was trapped against the wall by a cage of spikes. Two threatened to poke his eyes out. "Pointy," he squeaked.

The second troll crept along the other wall until he was right behind the handyman. Felix felt hot breaths on his neck. He threw his free hand up, forming a wall of ice. A rushing wind pushed it back against the balcony doors. They cracked and shattered.

At the same time, another set of doors burst open. The Sorceress found herself in a scene of destruction. One troll was close to being blinded, the other about to fall from a great height.

"Felix!" she shouted. "Don't be the monster they think you are!"

The wind died down.

Silence.

Felix gawked at the two trolls who had been moments from death. He looked to the Sorceress. "I didn't want to fight," he whimpered.

Outside, it was a different story.

Meltwater dribbled down the wall where the marshmallow-wielding lollipops were poised for action. They were pushed aside by the eight remaining trolls. One poked the wall and ended up with a wet finger. "It's weaker," he confirmed. "Let's whack it!"

All eight trolls drove their mallets into the wall at the same time. The ice smashed like glass. The whole building juddered, leaned over and began to fall on its side. Both candies and trolls screamed and ran away.

Felix was flung backwards. He scrambled for safety. "Help!"

Two blue-skinned arms snatched him.

The last thing Felix heard before he blacked out was the sound of shattering ice.

. . .

Felix's eyes fluttered open. He groggily lifted his head. He was surrounded by brown stone.

Where am I?

He sat up and noticed that he had been lying on a bright pink bench. White light filtered through a barred window. Felix tried to stand up, but was pulled taught by giant shackles fitting his hands like iron gloves. He was chained to the floor.

Felix strained to peer out. Sugar Rush was frozen solid, and the falling snow buried it even more. "Oh my land," he gulped.

"Our thoughts exactly."

Felix leapt out of his skin. An éclair and a doughnut – Wynnchel and Duncan, he thought their names were – had entered his cell.

"What am I doing in the Fungeon?" Felix asked.

"The Sorceress put you here," Wynnchel explained. "She wasn't about to let her trolls kill you."

"But I deserve it. I'm a danger to the arcade."

"And the real world," Duncan added. "Check this out."

He showed Felix a video on his iPop.

"By the time the fifth fire engine arrived at the scene, the cat had found its own way down the tree," a female human droned. "In other, more interesting news, the frozen phenomenon at Litwak's Family Fun Centre continues to amaze the world."

The video flashed up a picture of the arcade, now adorned with icicles. Snow drifted from a fluffy, low-lying, white cloud and settled in the parking lot.

"Scientists are still clueless as to how and why the sudden cold weather has chosen to manifest itself here," the newsreader continued. "While some are fascinated by the event and liken it to something out of Disney's 'Frozen,' others already fear the coming of a second Ice Age. The arcade's owner, Stan Litwak, currently on vacation in Brazil, called us earlier today with this message."

An all-too-familiar portrait of Mr Litwak filled the screen. According to the audio clip, he was "taking the first flight home. If something's wrong with the arcade, I wanna see it for myself. I care about my games like I care about my nana."

The newsreader added, "You can hear more about the 'Freezing Fun Centre' on our website-"

Duncan paused the video.

The colour drained from Felix's cheeks. "What have I done?"

"Whatever it is," said Duncan, "it's out of control. You have to unfreeze the arcade."

"I've tried!" Felix snapped. "And I can't." He collapsed on the bench. Wynnchel and Duncan exchanged sad looks.

Suddenly, Felix had an idea. "Where's Ralph?"

Wynnchel shrugged. "We haven't seen him."

"I need to find Ralph. Tell the Sorceress to let me go."

Wynnchel saw the desperation in Felix's eyes. "We'll give it a shot, but . . . no guarantees."

The doughnut cops left, locking the thick chocolate door behind them. Felix was alone again.

His shackles iced over. The storm outside worsened.