The Lich Page 3

  The citizens of the Candy Kingdom flocked from their homes and joined Jake, Finn and the Ice King by the iced princess’s side. Mr. Cupcake, Chocoberry, Peppermint Butler and Cinnamon Bun all came out to cheer for Finn’s victory. They loved their kind ruler, Princess Bubblegum, but they also knew what might have happened if she had continued to be possessed by the spirit of the Lich.

  ‘Woo hoo!’ shouted Gumdrop Girl as she patted Finn on his back.

  ‘You did good, Ice King,’ Finn said proudly.

  ‘Oh, yeah?’ the Ice King asked, surprised that Finn was even smiling at him, never mind praising his work.

  ‘Yeah, man,’ said Finn.

  Jake nodded and smiled at the Ice King, too. They would probably be fighting against him tomorrow, but for now, they were united in their quest to stop the Lich.

  A festive celebration filled the area as each citizen stopped by to shake the heroes’ hands and congratulate them. The crowd stopped ooo-ing, however, when the icy statue began to tilt backward.

  Gumball Girl gasped as the frozen Princess Bubblegum leaned back, and back, and back even more. Starchy screamed in horror when he saw her tumble to the ground, taking the Guardian of the Royal Promise with her!

  The ruler of the Candy Kingdom was spread out all over the ground, shattered into a million bubblegum pieces. Scattered within those pieces were the remains of the Gumball Guardian. It was a sight that the citizens of Ooo, especially its pair of heroes and their ice-cold nemesis, could never have foreseen.

  Finn’s jaw dropped open in shock. Jake smacked his face in dismay. The Ice King shook his head back and forth in disbelief.

  ‘Okay, I didn’t kill her this time,’ said the Ice King. ‘Everybody saw that, right?’

  ‘Dude!’ the mouth of the guardian croaked.

  ‘We’ve got to get her to the hospital!’ Finn cried anxiously.

  Finn, Jake, the Ice King and the Candy Kingdom citizens frantically worked together to gather all the frozen bubblegum pieces they could find. They rushed them to the emergency room at the Candy Hospital.

  Dr. Ice Cream and Nurse Poundcake got back to work. This time, Dr. Princess joined their top-notch candy medical team.

  ‘Start assembling,’ said Dr. Ice Cream.

  The doctors and Nurse Poundcake began to put Princess Bubblegum together as if they were figuring out a jigsaw puzzle. Pink fragments of the princess’s body had fractured into every shape imaginable. It was tedious work to be sifting through the pieces and trying to find which jagged edges lined up with each other. A mistake could prove fatal.

  ‘Here,’ Dr. Ice Cream said as he handed two fragments to Dr. Princess. ‘Try to connect these two pieces.’

  Dr. Princess deftly manoeuvered the pieces back and forth, trying different configurations until she was able to match the edges perfectly together. Then she placed the bright pink section of bubblegum against the princess’s reconstructed head. The pieces formed the right side of her royal hairdo. Yes! As they worked, fewer pieces remained unattached, making the job easier.

  The medical team was making incredible progress putting Princess Bubblegum back together when they found themselves faced with a roadblock that there was no way to get around.

  ‘Give me more pieces, Dr. Princess,’ said Dr. Ice Cream.

  Dr. Princess could not follow Dr. Ice Cream’s order. It was an impossible request. There were no more bubblegum pieces left to put together.

  ‘That’s all we have, Dr. Ice Cream,’ Dr. Princess informed her partner.

  ‘What?’ said Dr. Ice Cream, shocked. ‘That can’t be!’

  Nurse Poundcake gasped when she heard the bad news.

  ‘What do we do, Doctor?’ the confused nurse wondered aloud.

  ‘I don’t know, Nurse Poundcake,’ Dr. Ice Cream admitted.

  All the citizens of the Candy Kingdom were huddled in the waiting room outside of the operating room, eagerly awaiting news of Princess Bubblegum’s surgery.

  ‘I hope she’s okay,’ Finn said to no one in particular as he bit his nails.

  The minutes seemed like hours, and the hours seemed like days, and for at least one hour it seemed like the surgery would go on for infinity. Or longer.

  Jake looked up at the clock on the wall and blinked his eyes. He could have sworn that he just saw the minute hand move counterclockwise instead of clockwise. Did the Lich’s evil have some kind of control over Candy Kingdom time?

  The noisy room came to a complete silence when Nurse Poundcake opened the door, ready to address the crowd.

  ‘Attention, everyone,’ she said in a mild-mannered voice.

  ‘IS PB OKAY???’ Finn screamed at the top of his lungs.

  ‘Yes,’ Nurse Poundcake replied. ‘But there were some complications.’

  Finn raised his fists into the air and waved them angrily.

  ‘NOOOOOO!!!!’ he cried to the universe.

  ‘Yes,’ Nurse Poundcake continued. ‘I’m afraid there wasn’t enough gum to work with….’ She briefly turned away from the gathered worriers.

  Finn’s mind raced wildly at the possibilities. Would Princess Bubblegum be missing a crucial body part? Would it affect her ability to adventure side by side with him in the future? Would she no longer be able to show her strength in hand-to-hand combat?

  Or, even worse, was she missing a part of her mind? What if the princess was no longer scientifically inclined? Finn liked the way she could solve a physics problem as if it was as easy as licking a lollipop. He liked it a lot! And he relied on her ability to speak other languages like German and Korean. How would she talk to Lady Rainicorn if she lost that ability?

  Finn stopped himself and realised that he was speculating when he could find out the real truth by just listening to Nurse Poundcake.

  ‘I’m afraid there wasn’t enough gum to work with, so it appears Princess Bubblegum is now younger,’ said Nurse Poundcake.

  The candy citizens were delightfully surprised when they saw the beautiful princess enter the room.

  ‘She’s thirteen years old now,’ Nurse Poundcake informed them.

  ‘Oh, dang it!’ the Ice King complained. ‘Well, I’m out of here. Good-bye, everyone.’

  ‘Thirteen years old?’ Finn asked. ‘That’s how old I am.’

  Princess Bubblegum smiled at Finn as stars filled her amazing eyes. Finn smiled back at her and blushed.

  ‘Whooooaaa!’ Jake teased his best bud.

  ‘Give me a hug, hero,’ Princess Bubblegum said as she snuggled up to Finn.

  Finn hugged the new and very much improved princess. Maybe the Lich hadn’t been so bad for the Land of Ooo after all!

  The Lich

  published in 2014

  by Chirpy Bird, an imprint of Hardie Grant Egmont

  Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street

  Richmond, VIC 3121, Australia

  www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au

  This ebook is also available as a print edition in all good bookstores.

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  the logo and all related characters and elements

  are trademarks of and © Cartoon Network.

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  All rights reserved. (s14)

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  AS SEEN ON CARTOON NETWORK

  A CiP record for this title is available from

  the National Library of Australia.

  eISBN 9781743582107

  Text and design copyright © 2014 Hardie Grant Egmont

  Design by Ash Oswald @ Hey There’s Me

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  hive.