The Candy Shop War Vol. 1: Chapter 8

 

“Too bad they wouldn’t trust us.” Mr. Krell purred once Jay and Jalena were alone with him. “From the start I had a feeling that you two would be tougher and more committed.”

Actually, Jay was now almost 100% sure that Mr. Krell was evil. He felt bad for ‘betraying’ Josiah, but he just wanted to learn more information.

“Uh, yeah. They are always so chicken.” he replied conspiratorially.

“Are you sure you don’t want to follow your friends out?” Mr. Krell pressed.

“No way!” Jay grinned.

“Good. I need assistants that I can trust and depend on entirely, especially as we come closer to finding the treasure.”

“So who do you want us to give the Bestial Biscuit to?” Jalena inquired.

“The man is a magician like me. His name is Mr. Leslie Berta.”

“Mr. Les???? The candy man?” She exclaimed.

“That’s the one.” Mr. Krell confirmed.

“But he’s so nice!”

Jay subtly kicked Jalena under the table. Whatever they actually ended up doing, they had to play along.

“Of course he seems like that!” Mr. Krell scoffed. “But he must be eliminated. He MUST.”

 

“How will we get him to take the Bestial Biscuit?” Jay asked.

“Do you two know him well?”

“Not really, but we’re on friendly terms.”

“Maybe we could just offer it to him.” Jalena proposed.

“A plan like that is doomed to fail.” Mr. Krell warned. “Mr. Les is a magician. There’s no way he could be tricked into consuming a foreign candy.”

“Then how?” Jay repeated.

“The Bestial Biscuit is dissolvable. I suggest that you break into his house and place the treat into a drink in his refrigerator. When he drinks it, he will transform into an animal.”

“What animal?” Jalena questioned.

“Not important.” Mr. Krell said with a dismissive wave.

 

“Do we use a ProxyDoll to enter his house?”

“Yes. Remember the ProxyDoll you used on the Yoona Bourga Mission? It’s pretty small, but not small enough for a delicate job like this. Here is another tube of Proxy-Dust and a smaller version of that plastic doll: just one inch tall. One of you will become the doll, hold the Bestial Biscuit, creep into Mr. Les’ kitchen and contaminate any drink. Understand?”

“No problem. Sounds easy-peasy!” Jay replied.

“There’s more. As a magician, Mr. Les will definitely have deployed some magic to protect his home from intruders. You may only enter from his bathroom window, which is always left partially open. Do not open any other door or window. If you do, you risk triggering any alarms or defensive systems Mr. Les has set up.”

“Do we have to do it at night?” Jalena complained. “I’m losing too much sleep.”

“Actually, it would be best to do the mission when Mr. Les is out selling his candy. Then there would be no possibility of your being caught.”

“Ok, the plan sounds pretty airtight.” Jay remarked, tenderly accepting the potent Bestial Biscuit and the other equipment.

“Don’t fail me. Do it before Saturday.” Mr. Krell added. He stood up to indicate that the conversation was over, and Jalena and Jay did likewise.

 

“One more thing? Put your friendships with Josiah, Liberty and Cyboo on hold for the next two weeks or so. Just until we find the treasure. Alright?”

“I guess.” Jalena responded.

“Report back here after completing your mission, and I will have hopefully uncovered any secrets regarding the Birmingham Effigy. Good luck! Don’t be caught!”

“Yeah, sure, bye.”

 

As Jalena and Jay exited the candy store, they noticed that Tobias wasn’t behind the counter like usual. Was his absence related to their midnight museum adventure? Or perhaps he was simply on leave. Whichever the case may be, a missing employee was small fry compared to the major issues that they had to ponder. Together, the two strode straight towards the Nest. They had to talk.

 

“Why did you two decide to stay on?” Josiah accused when Jay and Jalena crawled into the Nest.

“Hey, we just wanted more info! You won’t believe who Mr. Krell wants us to eliminate!” Jay replied.

“Who?” Liberty questioned.

“Mr. Les!!!” Jalena cried.

“What?!?” Josiah almost shouted in disbelief.

“Remind me who that is.” Cyboo said, scratching his head.

“That friendly guy who goes around in his truck selling treats and stuff. Remember? Mr. Krell says that he’s a villain and a magician.” Jalena explained.

Jay quickly summarised the conversation they had had after Josiah left, finishing with Mr. Krell’s instruction to temporarily terminate their friendship.

 

“So you are supposed to sneak into his house, dissolve the Bestial Biscuit into a drink and make him turn into an animal?” Josiah exclaimed. “You aren’t really going to do that, are you?”

“No way!” Jalena responded emphatically.

“Then what are we going to do?” Liberty groaned.

“Well, I have the Biscuit and the Proxy stuff.” Jay unhelpfully reminded everyone.

“The way I see it, we don’t have many options.” Cyboo mused. “The two of you could do as Mr. Krell says, kill Mr. Les and continue helping him.”

“No!” Jalena interrupted.

Cyboo ignored her and continued. “You could resign like we did, and we can still have some fun with the candy we have. But knowing what you know, I have a feeling Mr. Krell will retaliate strongly. Obviously he is not below killing his enemies. And even if he doesn’t react negatively, when you quit, Mr. Krell will just find other kids to help him.”

“We can’t let that happen. Mr. Krell is definitely up to no good. If anything, we need to stop him!” Liberty said.

 

“Which brings me to my third proposition. We go to Mr. Les, spill our guts, and hope that with his help, we can defeat Mr. Krell. We can show the Bestial Biscuit as proof. I’m sure he will be immeasurably grateful to us having spared his life.” Cyboo finished.

“Yeah! I bet that Mr. Les is one of the good guys.” Jay agreed. “He’s been around here much longer that Mr. Krell, and leads a pretty quiet life.”

“It’s not just that Mr. Krell is asking us to do bad things. He’s harming our families! I’m quite certain of that already. Try having a conversation with your parents. I’ve attempted several times, and they always become instantly distracted. It’s like as if they have been blinded by the Minty Ice Cream!” Josiah added.

“It looks like our only way to fight back is to swap sides and join Mr. Les.” Jalena agreed.

“When should we talk to him?” Liberty asked.

“Before Saturday. We are supposed to transform him by then. If we fail and don’t report back, Mr. Krell will become suspicious.” Jay replied.

 

“I just thought of a fourth option.” Cyboo remarked. “The two of you go back to Mr. Krell and pretend the mission failed. But I don’t like this idea very much. Failing would lower your value as reliable assistants, and we would be no closer to stopping him.”

“Let’s go see Mr. Les tonight.” Josiah suggested.

“Yeah, the sooner the better.” Liberty agreed.

“Just in case Mr. Les really is dangerous or our conversation turns nasty, bring along all our defensive candy. Energy Beans, Laser Liquorice and Spider-Bites.” instructed Jalena.

“Sure. We should do it in the night. I don’t know how, but Mr. Krell always seems to know things. Under cover of darkness, it’ll be safer.” Jay said.

“Where does Mr. Les stay?” Cyboo asked.

“17-12, Lowland Circle.” Josiah informed him.

“Ok. I think I know where that is. I’ll meet you all at the roundabout that turns into Lowland Circle.”

“See you tonight!”

 

The five CHTers quietly left the Nest — first Liberty, Cyboo and Josiah, then Jay and Jalena several minutes later by a different exit. Just in case Mr. Krell was spying on them.

 

“Should we all go in? Or maybe just a few of us?”

“It’s ok, Lib. Better all or nothing if you know what I’m talking about.” Josiah responded.

“Do we ring the doorbell?” Cyboo asked.

“How else do you propose we get in?” Jay replied sarcastically.

In response, Cyboo shrugged and held up a Moon Rock.

 

It was slightly past midnight, and the five CHTers were directly outside Mr. Les’ front gate, preparing to switch allegiances. Although the conversation was expected to be pleasant, Josiah had one strip of Laser Liquorice in his pocket, and the rest were equipped with Energy Beans and Shock-Bits—just in case.

 

“Hey, look at this!” Jalena whisper-shouted. “The gate is open!”

“Was it open before?” Cyboo inquired.

“Before what? I’m just saying that it’s open!” Jalena huffed.

“Oh goody, then we can just go in.” Jay said, ringing the doorbell before barging past Cyboo and Jalena. “Remember, let me do the talking.” he remarked, as he swung the gate open and strolled towards the front door.

“What? Since when did we agree to make you our spokesman?” Liberty argued.

“Do you want to tell him?” Jay countered.

“Uh. . .”

“Then it’s settled!”

“It’s not important who talks when!” Josiah growled. “But we must be very careful to—“

Just then, the door creaked open revealing Mr. Les in a striped nightgown and bedtime slippers. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he mumbled: “Tracked me down, eh? Pretty late for some candy.” He squinted at Josiah. “I remember you. Josiah, right? And Jalena. Jay. Liberty. And your Chinese friend, Kybom, or Kaboom or something. What do you’ll want?”

“Actually, we need to talk to you in private. It’s about the Tasty Treats candy store.” Josiah explained. “The owner, Mr. Krell, wants to hurt you.”

 

Immediately, Mr. Les’ eyes lit up, and he frowned. He looked past the kids, and into the street beyond, glancing in all directions. Absentmindedly scratching his cheek, Mr. Les finally turned back to Josiah. “You mean by running me out of business?” he asked cautiously.

“We mean by using magic to destroy you.” Jalena clarified.

Mr. Les puffed up his cheeks and blew the air out slowly. Then, he ran a hand through his disheveled hair and opened the door wider. “I guess you five had better come inside.

 

.         .         .         .         .         .

 

“Could you elaborate on what you said just now?” Mr. Les questioned once everyone was in his living room.

“Yes, let’s get straight to the heart of the matter, shall we? First and foremost, I know I have yellowish skin, but I am Malaysian, not Chinese, and my name is Cyboo, not Kaboom or Kabosh or whatever you thought my name was.” Cyboo began, sitting down on the three-seater sofa and ignoring the glares from his companions.

“Sorry, my mistake. Uh, how do you spell ‘Cyboo’?” Mr. Les asked.

“That’s not important right now!” Jay interrupted. “It’s like this, Mr. Les. Mr. Krell employed us to do what he called ‘assignments’ which involved magical candy. We love the candy, but the assignments just got shadier and shadier: we even stole something from the Koulson museum! Mr. Krell says he’s after a treasure of some sort, and today, he told us you were an evil magician and wants us to get rid of you! Using a Bestial Biscuit that will destroy your memory and transform you into an animal!”

“I had heard rumours that Krell could concoct a powerful type of edible exterminator. . .how were you supposed to give me the Bestial Biscuit?” Mr. Les asked.

“We were going to use a ProxyDoll to enter from your bathroom window. The Bestial Biscuit is dissolvable, so we just had to contaminate a drink in your refrigerator.” Jalena supplied.

“Proxy-Dust! Huh, I had no idea. . .” Mr. Les muttered to himself before addressing the five:

“Since you have come to tell me all this, I’m assuming you aren’t going to kill me, and for that I am eternally grateful. You have told me everything, and now I will try to return the gesture. Can I get you anything? Hot chocolate? No? Alrighty. How much do you know about the treasure and about Mr. Krell?”

 

“Almost nothing! All he’s said is that the treasure is a family heirloom. . .” Liberty replied.

For the first time that night, Mr. Les smiled. “He claimed it was a what? I happen to know about this so-called family heirloom; it’s a talisman of supreme power, and has nothing to do with Lincoln Krell. I have been aware of it”s existence for many years, but do not know exactly where it currently lies. In other words, I don’t know much more than you do. However, I do know a lot about Lincoln Krell.

 

“He is one of the most devious members of our order, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He has been known to lie, cheat, steal and kill to achieve his ends. In our circles, he is better known as Plasming because of the time he attempted to steal the Plasma Disc of the Ethereal Galaxy. Thankfully, he was stopped, but I know this means nothing to you. If he succeeds in getting this particular treasure, he will become the most powerful magician of all time.”

 

“How do we know you are telling the truth?” Josiah demanded. “Mr. Krell makes the exact same claims about you as you make about him!”

Mr. Les chuckled. “Firstly, I’m not after what he is after. If I was, I’d probably have found it long ago; I’ve lived in Koulson for years, you know? Secondly, the reason I’m not looking for the talisman is because I’m sort of a magical policeman. I help keep the other magicians in check. I know that the treasure was somewhere in this vicinity, so that’s why I’m staying here to be on the lookout for any miscreant magician looking to get it. It’s no wonder Plasming tried to have me killed.”

 

“So Mr. Krell is evil. . .we kind of suspected that, but what do we do? We have to stop him!” Liberty exclaimed.

“You say you stole from a museum. What did you take?”

“Some weird thingy called the Birmingham Effigy.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell. What else have you taken?”

“We took a tiny chest from his ancestor’s underwater monument.”

“What did it contain?”

“Apparently some hair which had words burnt onto them telling us to steal the Effigy.” Josiah said, taking over from Liberty.

“Who’s monument did you raid?” Mr. Les asked.

“Umm. . .Calypso Morsels or something.” Josiah replied, frowning. Somehow, the name sounded wrong.

“Kallisto Morphals!” Jalena laughed. “Oh boy, if she were here right now she’d be so mad.”

“And for more reasons than Josiah mispronouncing her name. She was no ancestor of Plasming. Indeed, Krell had been creating magical candies long before she was even born!” Mr. Les informed the group with a wink.

 

“That reminds me of a thought that’s been bothering me. Why doesn’t Mr. Krell handle the missions himself?” Liberty inquired.

“Ahh. . .I see that Krell has told you little about our kind. The reason magicians use, or rather, NEED children is because the magic will only work on the young. That’s the paradox of learning magic: by the time you have mastered the art, you are too old to reap the rewards for yourself. Hence Krell’s need to employ children.”

 

“You mentioned that Mr. Krell was making candy before Kallisto’s time. If so, he must have been pretty old already, and now Kallisto is dead, meaning that many many years have passed. But he stills looks like he’s in his early forties! How is this possible?” This time, it was Cyboo who put forward the question.

“Although even the most skilled magicians cannot reverse the natural ageing process, we can slow it down considerably. As a matter of fact, I’ll probably see your great-great-grandchildren unless some fatal incident robs me of the opportunity. The downside to our prolonged existence is limited mobility. A magician is confined to his or her lair, you see. If I were to leave my lair, I would immediately transform into a pile of bones: in other words, my true age would catch up with me. Because of this liability, it is almost certain that Plasming lives entirely at Tasty Treats.”

“So the magic that keeps you from growing old is tied to your lair?” Josiah asked.

“Precisely.”

“But what about your candy truck?”

“A temporary lair! The truck has extremely limited defences, but for me, the added mobility is totally worth it.”

 

“If Mr. Krell can’t leave his shop, then how does he know so much? For all the assignments, he gives us such detailed instructions.”

“Each and every magicians has adapted to our need to ‘stay put’. Some magicians have engineered apprentices, or sidekicks: these people are not confined to the lair, so they can collect outside information. Most also have their own little ways of...knowing things. Like by sending one of their eyeballs to ‘float’ around town.”

“Wait, what?? That’s just freaky!” Jalena whispered with a shudder.

Mr. Les gave a hearty laugh. “It definitely sounds strange, but if you think about it, not much more freaky than kids that can transport their minds into inanimate dolls, eh?”

 

“Thanks for answering our questions, Mr. Les,” Josiah said, “We just have one more: how can we stop Mr. Krell? We don’t want him to become all-powerful!”

“In order to defeat Plasming, we need to beat him at his own game. The Effigy must contain a clue, hence we need to steal it back from him. If only I could get my — sorry, I meant OUR hands on the clue it must contain! But don’t get me wrong. You five are in way over your heads. This is dangerous. If I were your guardians, I’d tell you’ll to forget all of this magical stuff.”

“But you aren’t our guardians, and we have to stop him. He’s harming our families! Besides, we need to act. When he finds out that we didn’t kill you, we’ll be in boiling hot water.” Jay argued.

“You kids are serious about working against Krell?” Mr. Les clarified.

“Yes!” Everyone chorused.

Mr. Les stretched out his legs. “I suppose this could also be an elaborate plot by Krell to find out everything I know. I need proof that you are on my side before I lend assistance.”

Jalena glanced meaningfully at Jay. It was time to reveal the Bestial Biscuit.

Jay rummaged in his pocket. “Is this proof enough?” he asked, holding out the small cookie. “This was what we were supposed to use to kill you. But we aren’t going to. We want to stop Mr. Krell and all the harm he is doing.”

Mr. Les examined the treat. “Its definitely genuine. I can sense the power within. Alright, I’ll help you, though perhaps you five will end up helping me and the world by saving us from the whims and fancies of an evil maniacal magician, who knows? Here’s what I suggest. . .”

 

 

 

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