Several days later, Emperor Bubblegum sat in her lab, with her Power Gauntlet sitting on the desk in front of her, with most of the components and wiring detached for maintenance. Bubblegum had been working on the gauntlet for the entire duration of the war, with little success. The ancient power that went into making Billy's gauntlet had proved difficult to recreate, and Bubblegum had had no luck tracking down the wizard who had created the original. She presumed him or her to be dead. The pink scientist also found it difficult to run tests on her gauntlets. Obviously, she didn't have a sample of the Lich's DNA to try it out on, so had to settle on synthesised skin tissue she had grown, based on what she knew about the Lich.
"Ok sweetie, let's try a necrobane filter at 47% density again, but this time with the duel ion core battery." Bubblegum requested.
Perched on a stool next to Bubblegum, Mystery sat, attentively watching everything her mother did, her deep purple hair floating serenely behind her. As well as her other mother's mischief and passion, Mystery had inherited Bubblegum's genius. Peppermint Butler could barely teach her fast enough, and often requested that she sit in on Bubblegum's experiments, which the former princess agreed to wholeheartedly, so long as she promised not to touch anything without her permission.
True to her promise, Mystery sat politely with her hands on her lap, until her mother requested the new parts for the gauntlet. She gently searched the various objects spread across the desk in front of her until she found the filter and the battery.
"Thanks." The Emperor smiled sweetly as her young lab assistant passed her the parts she needed. "Now… let's see what we got."
With the freshly reassembled gauntlet on her right hand, Bubblegum stood up and punched a large, red button with her left, which caused a wall panel to slide away, revealing a metal, rectangular frame with artificial Lich skin stretched across it, like a vertical trampoline. She took aim with the gauntlet and, with no clear trigger, fired a beam of white light at the patch of skin. Mystery flinched at the high-pitched screech the weapon made.
Once the light died down, Bubblegum looked crestfallen at the frame, with the artificial Lich skin undamaged within it. She dropped the gauntlet to her side and sighed. There were only so many things she could try before she would be forced to concede that the Lich was indestructible.
Mystery hopped off her stool and walked over to reassuringly pat her mother's forearm. "It's ok mommy. You'll figure it out!" She encouraged her.
Smiling, Bubblegum removed the gauntlet and picked her daughter up. "Thanks Mystery." She said weakly.
She greatly appreciated her daughter's encouragement, but in spite of it, her faith in the seven year long gauntlet project was rapidly dwindling, but she didn't know what else to try. Billy's Power Gauntlet was the only weapon that had ever harmed the Lich. Finn's sword had once severed its arm, but that had barely slowed it down.
Bubblegum sat down at one of her computers, with Mystery in her lap, and began to study the lines of code that were the gantlet's programming, desperate to find some kind of flaw she could correct.
"The beam is like a computer virus, right?" Mystery asked her mother. "It reprogrammes undead cells and turns them into normal dead cells?"
Bubblegum smiled and kissed Mystery's forehead, pride swelling within her. "That's right honey. The trouble is, the Lich's body can reanimate them again, instantly. Most undead can't do that…"
"So… the problem is that it can heal faster than the gauntlet can kill it?"
"Yeah…"
Bubblegum often worried that she told Mystery too much about her work and the war, but it was all important and, as little as she liked to admit it, one day Mystery's knowledge of the Lich might just save her life.
"Then how come you can't trap the Lich in an energy field, that sends the code to every cell of its body at the same time?"
"Because… that would require far too much energy to deploy with portable projectors. We'd need to set up humungous generators and fix the projectors into the ground, so we'd need the Lich to just walk right into it. And unfortunately, it just isn't stupid enough…"
The young princess frowned thoughtfully. "But… the other day, Peppermint Butler taught me about a place called Sub-Ooo."
Bubblegum's head snapped around and her eyes locked with her daughter's, both of them suddenly thinking the same thing.
"The sub dimension! If we set up projectors there, they'd have no mass and ipso facto, no weight!"
"And because zombies only exist on the physical plain… they could be carried straight to the Lich's castle in Sub-Ooo!"
"Where they could project the Lich-busting field in real life!" Bubblegum stood up and hugged Mystery tight to her chest. "You. Are. Brilliant!" She cried, and kissed the purple-haired princess several times on her cheek, making her wince and struggle to get free.
Of course, Mystery's plan wasn't without flaw. For starters, the Lich and its generals walked in both worlds, so it could destroy the field generators if it was given the chance. But it was certainly something to work on. Bubblegum put Mystery down and returned to her computer.
"Right, I'll draw up the specs for the generators, you and Peppbut head to the library and find us a portable energy source that can support the signal." Before Mystery could head for the lab's exit, Bubblegum placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her lovingly in the eyes. "I'm so proud of you."
Blushing slightly, Mystery ran for the hallway, where Peppermint Butler had been waiting for her, without another word. Turning back to her computer, Bubblegum sighed. Although she was yet to find a conclusive flaw with Mystery's idea, Bubblegum was still far from getting her hopes up. Every month or so, she came up with a new variation of the technology in Billy's Gauntlet, which she deemed capable of defeating the Lich, but she had always been let down in the past. A year ago, a legion of banana and lemon soldiers had attempted to force their way through the Lich's defences and attack its castle with a bomb that Bubblegum theorised could eternally freeze the Lich in time, but they had never even gotten in range. These days, it was only in the presence of Mystery that Bubblegum let herself believe that the war could ever end, because only then could she get Mystery to believe it too.
The following day, Finn, Jake and Emperor Bubblegum waited patiently outside the Candy Castle. Nearby, several banana guards, shorter and skinnier than most of the others, and some of them wearing spectacles, worked on four large devices, shaped like street lamps with big, round lamps at the top. As they waited, they jittered and tapped their feet anxiously. As a rule, none of them ever liked to be standing around, doing nothing.
Eventually, the three of them spun around to the sound of footsteps and a voice, emerging from within the castle.
"So then… Hot Dog Princess was all 'Ooooh, Ice King! You're so handsome! Please marry me!' But I was young, and wasn't looking to settle down. People say I kept getting rejected, but I was totes a bachelor by choice!"
The Ice King appeared in the palace's huge doorway, with Princess Mystery sitting on his shoulders, hugging his forehead. Marceline floated behind them, smiling at the Ice King's story and keeping a cautious hand on her daughter's back.
"Simon, that story didn't really happen, did it?" Mystery giggled.
"Hey! Are you calling me a liar?"
"Yeah!" Mystery snapped, jokingly, gently kicking his shoulders with her feet.
Once they were close enough, Bubblegum reached up and lifted Mystery off the Ice King's shoulders. "Hey sweetie. I hope your uncle Simon was telling you some nice, appropriate stories." She shot a dirty look at the blue wizard.
"Yeah, he was just telling me what a big loser he used to be!" She grinned.
Mystery and the Ice King often exchanged childish barbs with one another like siblings, but the Ice King knew better than to say anything bad about Mystery in her moms' presence, even as a joke, so he stuck his tongue out at her and remained silent.
"Anyway, you guys all set for your mission?" Bubblegum asked.
"You know it, E-Bubs!" Finn confidently announced, drawing his sword.
"Right, all of you except the Ice King have been to the Land of the Dead before, but remember, a lot… a lot's changed since then." Bubblegum had been about to say 'A lot of people have died since then.' But changed it quickly after a glance at her daughter. "So you might have a tougher time of it. Have you packed BMO?"
The little robot poked its head out of Finn's backpack. "I am here, Princess!" It declared, waving its little arms.
"Great, I've installed the Necrometer, so you should be able to lead everyone straight to Death. And if he doesn't cooperate, you can use it to find the soul. But remember, the last thing we want is for Death to be our enemy too, so you only fight him as a last resort! You got that, Finn?" Bubblegum tried unsuccessfully to avoid her singling-out of Finn sounding like an accusation.
Finn gave a low, awkward bow. "You have my word, milady."
"And finally, when you meet Death, make sure you let Marceline do all the talking." That time, the Emperor shot another glance at the Ice King.
"Mystery, tell your other mom she worries too much." Marceline joked, ruffling the little girl's hair.
"Geez Marceline, I'm sorry." Bubblegum began, her apology dripping with sarcasm. "The way I'm fussing, you'd think you were going to the Land of the Dead!"
"Bonnie, it's gonna be fine, I am dead, you know." Marceline reminded her.
"Marceline!" Bubblegum snapped, accusingly, wrapping an arm around Mystery's ears. Mystery knew everything there was to know about vampires and the undead, and she knew that her mother was one of them, but Bubblegum despised her talking like that in front of their daughter.
"Sorry… Vascularly Challenged." She corrected herself with air quotes, and then softened her tone. "I'm gonna be fine."
Reluctantly accepting Marceline's non-verbal apology, Bubblegum held Mystery in one arm, allowing her wife to float forwards and hug them both.
"Don't wait up for me, kay Bonnie? You need sleep." Before Bubblegum could respond, Marceline floated backwards towards the gate, pointing at the Candy Emperor accusingly.
"…Well… See ya gals." Finn said, after having awkwardly waited out Bubblegum and Marceline's row. Then began to shuffle after Marceline.
"Yeah… Have fun doin' princess stuff." Jake agreed, and then followed his brother.
By the time Finn, Jake and the Ice King caught up with Marceline at the Candy Kingdom border, she was almost done clearing security. She scanned her eyes while simultaneously punching a series of passwords into a keypad built into the wall. Next to her, a Banana Guard ran a scanner over her axe, checking its authenticity.
Once she had effectively proved that she was, indeed, Marceline, she floated through the energy field, along with the others, and set out across the bleak and desolate landscape.
"Man… it's gonna be tough going back after so long." Finn remarked. "You guys been back since it died?"
"Yeah man, I go pay tribute once a week!" Jake said, like he was shocked to hear that Finn didn't do the same. "Hehe, nah, just kidding. I never went back."
Mystery and Peppermint Butler had researched magical artefacts for hours, looking up obscure and exotic relics and more familiar devices such as Bubblegum's amulet and the Ice King's crown, but none promised to be capable of sustaining the energy levels EB's device would require. It had been Mystery's idea to think outside the box and brainstorm some things that wouldn't necessarily be on record, and eventually realised that one of Ooo's most powerful objects only became available a few years ago. It was the soul of Finn and Jake's tree. It was the fourth oldest living thing in all of Ooo, third if you didn't count Marceline, and its collected wisdom and life force made it more than powerful enough to meet their requirements.
"It's a real bummer that the Lichite tore it down…" Marceline solemnly pointed out, referring to the Lich's general.
"It was a real tree-bro." Finn agreed.
"Sleepovers in a palace just ain't the same…" The Ice King pitched in.
The five of them continued in silence for a few minutes, sadly remembering the mighty vegetation they had all once called home.
As they approached their former home, a distant lightning bolt revealed the silhouette of a giant, wooden shard, at the top of a hill, pointing skywards. A colossal cage of bare, lifeless branches surrounded it, as well as cold, grey logs, the size of trains.
The twelve-foot, armoured skeleton pressed Marceline's neck against the ground. Even in her bat form, her struggles to get free were futile. With its spare hand, the Lich's General raised a sword as big as itself, but before it could strike, a jagged mountain of ice erupted from the ground between it and Marceline, separating them.
"Hey, get your own Vampire Queen!" The Ice King snarled, descending from the tree and towards the creature, his hands glowing blue.
As the general looked up at the Ice King, two orange bands ensnared its arms and dragged them behind its back. Marceline climbed to her feet and pounced on the skeleton, and as she did, Finn leapt from behind, thrusting a golden sword at its back. Once his sword collided with the general's armour, it bent and warped, without so much as scratching the dense plating.
"Ahh nutmeg!" Finn cried.
The general seized Marceline, who was savagely gnawing on its skull, and threw her like a ball at Finn, then seized Jakes arms, oblivious to his attempts to restrain it, and swung him over his head like a whip, striking the Ice King out of the air.
Bludgeoned and bruised, the four of them staggered stubbornly to their feet.
"Why don't you go back to the Lich, you butt!?" Finn snarled.
In response to Finn's taunt, the general turned around, swung its sword over its head and brought it crashing down. It was defensively met by Finn's robotic forearm and Marceline's axe. The two of them struggled against the undead warrior's might, Finn furrowing his brow and Marceline hissing angrily.
Suddenly, the general's back was pelted by a salvo of icicles. The Ice King had risen back into the air and was launching the attack.
"STOP MESSING WITH MY BROS!" He roared.
Before either of them could react, the general seized Finn and Marceline with its free hand and hurled them at the Ice King, sending the three of them crashing through the wall of the tree fort. Angrily, Jake began to expand. He morphed his body into that of a gargantuan dragon, then roared, flicking strands of orange flesh from his mouth, imitating fire.
As Jake charged at the general, it gave a mighty swing of its sword, sending a diagonal beam of green light coursing at the polymorphic dog. Jake yelped and reverted as quickly as he could, barely managing to converse on a spot just above the beam, missing it by inches, but it sailed on, expanding as it did, and sliced the tree fort in half, creating an ear-shattering explosion as it tore the gas lines.
"FINN!" Jake cried in dismay.
Oblivious to the deadly monster behind him, Jake stared, horrified at the chunks of debris that rained from the colossal smoke cloud the explosion had caused. Suddenly, something glinted in the moonlight, catching Jake's eye. Sailing high above the wreckage, just beginning to descend again, was a small, icy cocoon, with three blurred figures suspended inside.
Jake's legs morphed into tightly coiled springs and he launched himself into the air. As he shot towards the block of ice, he shot his tongue out like a chameleon, ensnaring his frozen friends, and then landed on four spindly, elongated legs.
Feeling a stab of regret for his cherished former home, Jake sucked the block of ice into his mouth and, without turning around, sprinted towards the Candy Kingdom.
"This place should do fine."
Marceline floated in what was once the tree fort's entrance. Treasure piled all around her and a wooden ladder reached towards where the upper floors had used to be. As Marceline was picking out the most intact corner of the room for them to use to access the Land of the Dead, Finn and Jake stood, sadly surveying the circular husk of the tree's upper half. Their couch, tables and oven lay smashed and broken on the ground. They also spotted the cracked remains of their clock, with the hands shaped like the two of them.
"Hey look." The Ice King pointed up at a small alcove, next to the ladder that led to Finn and Jake's old room. "That's where my room used to be."
"Yeah… good times." Finn sighed.
Marceline floated up above the half of the tree that was still routed to the ground. "Come on you dweebs!" She groaned. "Portal time!" She tapped the back of her wrist, where one might wear a watch.
The three of them reluctantly left their nostalgia and joined the vampire in the treasure room. They stood, shoulder to shoulder, facing the corner of the room.
"Right, now cross your eyes." Marceline instructed.
As they did so, their respective fields of vision split, showing two creases in the wall, and between the two, a swirling vortex appeared, which then parted, revealing a dark, Nightosphere-like environment. Suddenly, what seemed like a hurricane tore through the tree fort and into the portal. Finn, Jake, Marceline and the Ice King struggled to keep their footing as the wind threatened to drag them into the portal. They slowly realised that the wind was made of hundreds of blurred faces and was accompanied by a spine-chilling shriek. The menacing wraiths spiraled around the hill and into the portal, like water going down a drain, and mere moments after the portal opened, dragged the tree fort's former residents in with them.