Chapter Two – "Where He Went"

Days passed, and Jay was nowhere to be found. Finn and Jake searched every possible place where Jay could be; but Finn refused to give up, even though Bubblegum already had. She never talked to anyone, even Finn and Jake, and instead spent all her time soaking her pillow with tears. No one knew of her "condition" outside of the missing father, her heroes, the loyal butler, the doctor that diagnosed her condition, and somehow a purple lumpy gossip. Finn and Jake convince L.S.P. from talking and spreading the truth. It was not until about a week after Jay's disappearance when Finn and Jake heard anything about him, from Peppermint Butler. Apparently, Peppermint Butler has a friend whom is a captain on a cargo ship and docked at a nearby harbor. He heard about a purple man looking for a captain that will take him to an island off the coast. Eventually, Jay succeeded in his search.

"Oh, Glob! We have to follow him!" Finn shouted upon hearing the news of Jay's naval departure.

"My friend, The Captain, is indebted to me. I have arranged for you two to be guests on his ship while delivering cargo to and from the Jellyjam Kingdom," the butler replied.

"How many people owe you favors?" Jake asked, even though he only half-wanted to know.

"That's something we should never get into."

The next day, Finn and Jake travelled to the harbor with luggage in tow. Upon reaching the dock, Jake stepped onto it, but Finn stopped just before placing his foot onto the dock. He stared at his horizon of the shimmered blue sea, and the salty scent of fear filled his nostrils every time he breathed. Jake turned back to Finn, muttered to himself, "Glob," then yelled to Finn, "Come on, Finn, really?" Finn did not answer. Reluctantly, Jake stretched out his luggage-free arm and coiled it around Finn. Finn was released from his trance and realized what was happening.

"Jake, what're you doing?" Finn yelled, struggling in his binds.

"Making sure you get on this ship!" Jake yelled back. He pulled his captive to him and held over his head. He then made the rest of his way to the ship.

The ship was the only one docked in the harbor. Seafaring, for hundreds of years after the Mushroom War, was virtually nonexistent. Then, for whatever reason, it became a way of travelling and shipping. Ship and shipyards were being built. Sailors and captains were employed to carry cargo and people to their destinations. Ooo's overall economy improved remarkably well. All ships, whether cargo or passenger, were made from wooden planks covering a steel skeleton. The ship Finn and Jake were boarding had three sets of cloth sails. Ropes and pulleys clotted the deck. The ship's planks were a dark gray.

Upon boarding the ship, Jake, with Finn, immediately headed to the ship's guest quarters below the deck. The below-decks had wooden walls, floors, and ceiling. Jake shut the quarter's door behind him. Finn was breathing heavily. Jake dropped his luggage and Finn. Finn sat on the floor, next to the twin-sized bed.

Jake took out an orange bottle of round azure pills form his suitcase. He offered one to Finn.

"Here, take this," he said.

Finn took the pill from Jake and inspected it.

"It's one of Lady's pills," Jake said.

"I thought she didn't take those pills, and that's why she got pregnant."

"Not those pills. This is a pill Lady takes when she can't sleep." Finn shrugged his shoulders and swallowed the pill. "Now lie down on the bed and try to relax. I'm going to go speak with the captain," Jake said before leaving. Finn did as he was told. He closed his eyes and soon became relaxed. The ship jerked suddenly, and Finn could feel it moving in a forward direction. There was a sudden creaking, separate from the other noises of the waves breaking against the ship and the ship moving through the sea. Finn got up and looked in the starboard direction, the creaking's direction. Finn gulped and lied back down. The sound returned, louder. Finn began to worry. He got up and, again, looked in the creaking's direction. The noise grew sharper. It grew so sharp it began to sound more like splintering and crackling. Then, in absolute suddenness, the walls yielded to a tidal assault. The seawater quickly filled the room, and Finn was caught in its salty clutches. He struggled, flailing to survive while yelling for Jake.

Jake opened the quarter's door to see Finn flailing on a dry bed. He ran to Finn and held him down. Finn blinked twice and lied still.

All Finn could see was darkness and, in the distance, Princess Bubblegum with some sort of oddness about her. He was confused about how he could be drowning at one moment and then standing inside this blackness, and he was then intrigued by this strange Bubblegum. He tried to walk to her; but no matter how much he moved, she never got any closer. He looked at her carefully and noticed she was walking toward him. Within seconds, Finn recognized her oddness—she was pregnant, eight-to-nine months. She was wearing a pink regal dress with a stretchy, purple patch over her baby-bump. She also seemed to be saying something and held out her arms to embrace Finn. Finn realized what she was saying, which was, "Hold me; hold me, my king!" Finn was disturbed by this, but he held out his arms for Bubblegum anyway. She came closer and seemed to float like a phantom in the night. She eventually came to Finn; but instead of hugging him, she passed through him. Then suddenly, Finn felt himself drop and falling, falling into a deep, dark abyss. He continued to fall for a minute or two, until he hit solid ground and knocked himself unconscious for a moment.

Eventually, Finn awoke and saw a clear blue sky with his fiery princess looking down onto him.

"Feel better, honey?" she asked with a warming smile. Finn sat up and looked around. They were on a hill in the midst of the Grass Lands with a forest to Finn's left. He looked over to Flame Princess, who was sitting on some unhurt grass and hugging her knees.

"What happened?" Finn asked her.

"You fell asleep while lying down. Don't you remember?"

"No, sorry." Finn stood up; and his hand was offered to his lady, who accepted it. They gazed passionately into each other's eyes and kissed. Something wet hit Finn's forehead. He pulled back and looked up. The once clear sky was now a gloomy gray. Rain began pouring down onto the couple. Finn looked down to his gal. She was a blazing princess no more; she was reduced to nothing more than a glob of dark reddish-orange, melting through Finn's fingers. Depression hammered Finn's heart, causing him to fall down, roll over to his side, and start crying. Eventually, he passed out, seeing nothing but a dark, deep, Marceline-impersonating blackness.

When Finn awoke, he was on his back and could feel the ship idly rocking from port to starboard to port. He heard gulls, a band of brass instruments, and much chatter. Finn rose from the floor; and the sudden movement, along with nameless pharmaceuticals and emotional confusion, caused a pounding and aching within his head. He stumbled, but that could have been from the swaying of the ship. Finn eventually made his way to the stairs leading up to the deck and ascended them. Sunlight pierced his eyes upon reaching the deck, and he had to use his right forearm for shade.

Finn looked around himself and saw that the ship was docked at a port. The locks were adjacent to the main plaza of the city. A large fountain, spewing clean blue water, was the plaza's centerpiece. To the sides of the dock were small shops where fishermen could sell their daily catches. The smell of salty sailors and frozen fish filets hung in the air surrounding the docks. The plaza's floor was made from lain cobblestone, partially eroded from the weather and massive amount of foot-traffic; and there seemed to be a lot that day. Crowds of differently-colored people walked the plaza and in and out of buildings and shops. Even though they were different colors—oranges, reds, blacks, and miscellaneous others—Finn could tell they looked somewhat similar to Jay; they were jelly-people. Jelly sailors were busy loading cargo ship, and jelly fishermen prepared themselves for their voyage. Carriages, with or without passengers, occasionally wheeled through the plaza, pulled by peach-colored jelly-horses. Finn noticed how peaceful the city seemed to be, and then he heard someone climbing onto the ship, looked over in the ramp's direction, and saw Jake.

"Hey, man, I'm glad to see you're awake! How do you feel?" Jake said.

"Hung-over, I guess. I thought you said that pill was a sleeping pill."

"I never said it was a sleeping pill."

Finn grew concerned for himself, "Then, what was it?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that it causes hallucinations and you to pass out. Lady takes it when she can't sleep, and I just can't stay there at that point."

"What?! You knew what would happen to me?!" Finn yelled.

"Hehehe, yeah, I did," Jake laughed.

Finn squinted his eyes, disappointed and angry, "How long was I out anyway?"

"About a week."

"A week?! And you never thought to wake me up?!"

"If I did, you would just start freaking out again."

"True," Finn turned to the plaza, "So, where are we anyway?"

"On the deck of a ship."

"Okay, smart-ass," Finn said as Jake giggled to himself, "What's the name of this place?"

"Preserves Port, it's the only port in the Jellyjam Kingdom, so Jay had to land here."

"Where is he anyway?"

"According to some citizens, he arrived here a couple days ago and left to the palace as quickly as he arrived."

"Palace? How do we get there, or in?"

"I have a carriage to get us there. As for getting inside the palace, I have an idea."

Finn shrugged his shoulders and followed Jake off the ship.

"Hey, Finn, what did you hallucinate about?" Jake curiously asked as he and Finn walked down the ship's ramp.

"Well, first, I thought the ship wrecked and I was drowning. Then, I dreamed about P.B. and Flame Princess."

"Together? Nice."

"Sick, dude."

The carriage pulled the heroes out of the city and onto a dusty country road. The kingdom reminded Finn and Jake of Ooo's Grass Lands, with splendid green hills (a snail was on one hill), spectacular woods, and a gentle, spring-like breeze. Jelly-people farmed cotton plants, picking the cotton and separating the seeds from the fluff. At the midpoint of the road between the port and the palace, Finn and could see the Jellyjam Palace; and it was huge! The palace was fully uncovered from the horizon even though they still had a few miles to travel to reach the town. Finn and Jake were amazed by the marvelous palace. It was a faded purple with golden trimmings. Multiples of the kingdom's flag flapped with the wind atop the palace's many steeples, beckoning the travelers.

The town was as lively as the port. People bustled themselves chaotically along the streets, which were smoothly paved.

The carriage took its passengers to the destination, the palace. Finn and Jake hopped out of the carriage, and Jake paid the driver. Gates and guards separated them from Jay. Jake approached the gate, with Finn following. A young-looking yellow jelly-person came to the gate form the other side.

"Halt! Who are you?" the guard said.

Jake looked at Finn and winked. He turned back to the guard, "We are here on the behalf of Princess Bubblegum of the Candy Kingdom."

"Wait, Princess Bubblegum, you said?" the guard asked with a transitioned mood, from suspicion into disbelief. Finn and Jake nodded. "Oh, I and everyone in the palace have heard of the Prince's dear Bon-Bon." Finn and Jake snickered at Jay's nickname for Bubblegum. "For months, the King thought Prince Jay was dead after he ran away." Finn and Jake looked at each other.

"Jay ran away from home?" Finn inquired.

"Yes," the guard replied.

"Why?" Jake asked.

"Well, originally the Prince had an arranged marriage to Princess Peanut Butter, but at the last second he called off the marriage. He and His Majesty had a heated argument about it—I was on throne duty when they fought—and the Prince stole a ship and sailed away."

Finn and Jake glanced at each other again. "So, how do you know of our princess?" Finn asked.

"Well, a little bit after we received word of his shipwreck, we began getting letters from the Prince, speaking of his life on the mainland. He said he was washed ashore, found by some heroes, and brought to a beautiful princess named Bonnibel Bubblegum. In those letters, he spoke of how he loves this princess."

Jake leaned into Finn's ear and whispered, "Yeah, he had to love her for her to get knocked up." Finn punched Jake in the arm.

"Hey," the guard said, pointing at Finn and Jake, "no secrets."

"Sorry, inside joke," Jake replied.

"Can you take us to see the prince?" Finn asked.

"I suppose I can. Jerry, cover for me!" The guard said to another guard behind him. Jerry gave a thumbs-up.

The guard led Finn and Jake to the palace doors. "Let them in—they're friends of Princess Bubblegum!" he yelled up to the guards that control the doors. The palace doors could only be opened by pulling ropes through a series of pulleys. The guards up top scrambled to open the doors after hearing Bubblegum's name.

The inside of the castle was magnificent. Tapestries and rugs were decorated to a colorful theme of purple and gold. The walls were built with smooth white stones; and the ceiling was several feet above them. The hallway in front of the doors ran parallel to them, ultimately dividing the palace into two wings: the East Wing and the West Wing. The guard led them down the East Wing, to their right, where servants passed by them, wearing purple outfits and being too busy for any kind of acknowledgement for anyone. The guard led Finn and Jake up the stairs at the end of the hall up to the second floor, down the hall, and to the first door on the right. The guard knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a voice said from behind the door. Finn and Jake recognized the voice to be Jay's.

"Joseph, my Lord. You have visitors from the candy Kingdom," the guard said. There was a silence, then a reply.

"Send them in." The guard opened the door and let them inside. Jay was standing beside a bookshelf, wearing a purple-and-gold tunic, and holding an open book. Jake identified the book as "Mind Games." The room was a very luxurious bedroom. There were two bookcases made from redwood and filled with books, many of them about botany or chemistry or filled with stories of the macabre. The bookcases were placed side-by-side on the wall opposite to the door and next to the desk. A canopy bed, colored to the theme of the rest of the palace, sat in the corner near the bookshelves, with a lamp on a nightstand between them. A large dresser stretched from the foot of the bed to the door leading into the adjoining bathroom. A framed picture of P.B. with a rose, one exactly like the one Finn had before Flame Princess accidentally burned it when she and Finn first actually met, sat on the nightstand.

"Thank you, Joseph. You may leave us alone," Jay then looked at Finn and said, "But don't go far." Joseph nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Jay closed his book, walked over to the bookcase on the left and shelved it. "I suppose Bonnibel sent you," he said with his back to Finn and Jake.

"We came here of our own free will," Finn replied.

"Look, I know it looks like I ran out on her, but—"

"You did run out on her, and now you gotta do the right thing!" Jake yelled.

"Oh, Joseph didn't tell you? Well, I'm surprised, seeing how spongy the staff is around here. I'm going to ask my father for my mother's ring so I can ask Bonny to marry me."

Finn and Jake looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door.

"Yes?" Jay said.

"His Majesty has some free time if you still want to—"

"I'll be down in a minute."

"What should we do?" Finn asked.

"Come with me," Jay said, going out the door. Finn and Jake followed Jay down the stairs, through the hallway to the West Wing, and through the first floor's first door on the right. The room they entered was enormous in all dimensions. The walls were pure white; the floor was a lavender carpet; and a large round table, decorated with purple-and-gold of course, sat in the middle of the room. A small, silky, golden rug, with matching tassels, crawled up the small set of stairs to the throne, which was mainly made of ivory with purple cushions. Sitting on the throne was a large, purple man, looking like Jay, only in his forties. He was even wearing the same outfit as Jay!

"Ah, my son, what is it you want?" the king said. He looked at Finn and Jake, "but first, who are they?"

"They are Finn and Jake, friends of Princess Bubblegum. They are here on her behalf, for me."

"Welcome, young diplomats, to our kingdom! Jay, what do you want to ask me?" His Majesty asked.

"Father, I want Mother's ring."

"What? Why?" the king asked, unsure of what was to come.

"I want to marry Princess Bubblegum," Jay said sternly, giving his father a look just as stern.

"What?!" the king yelled, rising from his throne, "How dare you disrespect me and this kingdom by not honoring your arrangement with Princess Peanut Butter and instead marrying this, this whore?!"

"Bubblegum is no whore!" Finn, Jake, and Jay all said in unison.

"Jay, I forbid you from seeing this 'Princess Whore' ever again! Guards, escort Jay to his quarters and the other two outside." The guards came to them, one guard for each person, and grabbed each one by the arm and escorted them to their respective destinations.

Finn and Jake were walking down a street an hour later, discussing how to get Jay out of the palace. Then, they heard a voice shouting after them. They turned around to see Jay running up to them. He stopped when he reached them, to catch them.

"How did you get out?" Jake asked.

"I snuck out my bedroom after taking this from my father's room," Jay said, pulling out a gold ring from his pocket. Finn and Jake leaned in to inspect the ring. On the outside was an engraving that read, "Amor est in aeternum." "After climbing down my bed sheet rope, I just walked out the front gate."

"Why didn't the guards stop you?" Finn asked.

"They're all incompetent and lack the skills of communicating about things other than gossip."

"Like the Banana Guards?"

"Worse."

Jake scrunched his face, "How's that possible?"

"I don't know, but we might want to go before they do find out that I'm gone and start looking for me."

The trio grabbed a ride back to Preserves Port and their ship home.

Eight days later, Finn, Jake, and Jay finally arrived in the Candy Kingdom. Finn was surprisingly calm about sailing, considering Jake's bottle of medical alternatives. Bubblegum's pregnancy was still kept a secret.

When they reached the palace, Peppermint Butler greeted them at the door.

"Why isn't he in chains?" he said, pointing at Jay.

"Because," Jay pulled out the ring and said, "I'm going to propose to Bonnibel." He put the ring back in his pocket, "Where is she anyway?"

Peppermint Butler looked doubtful, but answered, "She's in her bedroom, crying."

Jay ran ahead to Bubblegum's room. When he reached her door, he knocked. She yelled, "Go away!" from behind her door and resumed her sobbing. Jay sighed, and he turned the doorknob to open her door. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, and crying into her pillow; but she turned over to see her baby-daddy in the doorway. Jay walked over to her, and she got up from her bed and wiped her eyes. With a sudden, cat-like motion, she slapped him across his right cheek.

"Why are you here?" she sniffled. "Where did you go?"

"I went back to the Jellyjam Kingdom. As for why I'm here now," Jay knelt down on one knee and pulled out the ring. Bubblegum gasped. Jay continued, "I'm here to ask you to marry me." Bubblegum was speechless and unresponsive to all. "Bonny? Bon-Bon, are you okay? Nothing. Jay decided to try another approach. He stood up and kissed the princess. She blinked, smiled and said, "Yes."