A/N
Alright guys and gals here is chapter numero six! Enjoy!
Thirty minutes before the attack:
The sound of heavy footfall echoed through the forest as Ryan sprinted for his life. His ragged breathing deafened him to the other noises around him and thus didn't know if Peppy was still behind him, ran some other way or if he was lying down dead in a pool of his own blood. All he knew was that if he stopped he was sure to share the same fate as the rest of his patrol. He was part of a six-man banana patrol sent to investigate a possible fire in the Cotton Candy forest that had been reported by one of the other guards working on the castle walls. They had been sent out to confirm whether it was indeed a fire in order to take the proper precautions to prevent a large-scale blaze. What they found, however, was the site of an old campfire and after ten minutes of fruitless searching they decided that the guard had only seen the dying flames of the campfire and they rounded about to head back in. Ryan had been part of the rear guard, along with Peppy, when a gang of brigands had suddenly ambushed them.
Brian had been the first to go down, getting an arrow straight into his right eye, and Michael followed next, impaled from behind by a javelin as he went to Brian's aid, not realizing he was already dead. Paul had frozen in place from the shock of the sudden attack and just watched as Eddy, his partner, was brutally stabbed by a pair of goblins wielding spears. Paul shared his fate several moments later and the last two survivors barely had enough time to flee as more assailants burst forth from the trees, hot on their trail.
Ryan glanced back to see if Peppy was still following but he was nowhere to be seen. His eyes darted back and forth as he scanned for any brigands on his trail but the dark shadows of the forest concealed his attackers. An awful scream echoed from within the forest of death, pushing him to the point that he couldn't tell if he was actually taking steps or simply flying over the ground. The grand walls of the kingdom could be seen over the tree line and his heart pumped harder, the promise of safety within his reach. He was so distracted by the sight that he tripped over a gnarly, upturned root and fell face first into the ground. Spitting dirt from his mouth, he stumbled as he tried to get up but was forced back down as a dagger flew into his back, a pained grunt escaping his lips. He crawled along on his stomach, his legs no longer responding to his commands, and silently pleaded with Glob to spare his life.
The crunch of footsteps behind him drew a helpless wail from his lips that was quickly silenced as a hand clamped over his mouth. He felt the dagger slide painfully out of his back and it was replaced by a heavy weight directly on top of the wound. He saw two legs with leather boots stretch past him and he realized that the assassin was straddling him. A female voice purred into his ear as his head was bent back, giving him a heartbreaking view of the castle walls. "Oh, so close. You almost made it back home. How disappointing."
Ryan desperately tried to yell but all that came out was a muffled mess. "Mchfuhsgehjgs!"
"Oh, what was that? I didn't quite catch what you said, on account of my hand being wrapped around your face." He could almost hear the smile on her lips. "I'll just assume that you said you were willing to die for your kingdom and what not. How honorable." She placed the tip of her dagger against his throat and spoke softly in his ear so that only Ryan could hear. "I can't have you disturbing our guests at the royal ball with your screams now, can we? I'm sure you wouldn't want to ruin all the hard work your princess put into it. Now, this'll only hurt a pinch." She tightened her grip around his mouth as she slowly sliced his throat open, a dark chuckle escaping her lips as he choked on his own blood. She waited until he stopped shaking before letting his head drop to the floor.
She turned and noticed the gathering crowd of mercenaries standing around her as she got up and adjusted her leather armor. "Damn Kyle, took you guys long enough to catch up."
A green humanoid stepped out from the group and approached her, an impressed look on his face. "Nice throw Rachel, you're pretty handy with a dagger."
She gave him a smile as she tossed the dagger into the air, catching it by the point. "They're a little bit easier to throw than a sword." She said jokingly. "Plus, they just slice through flesh so easily."
Kyle gave her a small laugh. "You really are twisted, and creepy."
"You must not have met my employer then." She said as she wiped down her dagger. "Creepiest guy you'll ever meet. Made me meet him in some old cave near the Forgotten Forest and offered me a deal I couldn't refuse."
Kyle snorted, "Yeah, one that doesn't pay up front."
She shot him a glare. "That's what I thought at first, until he offered to reveal the location of Billy's cave. I figured with all the loot he probably had stashed away I would be set up for life. I'm a sucker for things that glitter and shine."
"You better hope it's worth it or else you're shit out of luck. I'm sure it took all of your money and favors to round these guys up. Once this is over, consider my debt paid."
"Well that was our deal, wasn't it? I get my cave full of gold and you don't owe me for sparing your life when the Guild ordered you dead."
"I still don't know whether we can even pull this off. It's a whole freaking kingdom for Grod's sake."
Rachel gave him a scowl when she heard the slight unease in his voice. "Not the whole kingdom, just the palace. We sneak in, kill anybody unlucky enough to be inside and then make our exit. Easy."
He peered at the fallen banana guard and shrugged. "Well, if this is what they have for security then maybe it will be easy."
She gave him a confident smile and gazed at the growing number of mercenaries that showed up as the time of action drew near.
Twenty mercenaries and two ex-Guild members versus an unknown number of pathetic guards and helpless royalty; I can't wait to be swimming in gold.
Rachel motioned for the group to gather around her, scratching an itch on her arm as she did. She eyed them and felt everything center within herself as her plan came together, only one step away from her golden paradise. "Ladies, gentleman, things. You know why you're here and you know what to do. Wait for Kyle and I to sneak in to open the gates for you and then head straight for the palace and nothing else. Stick to the shadows and remember, no prisoners." She lifted her hand in the air and spun it, indicating the start of the operation. "Alright, time to earn it!"
Present:
Finn stormed up to the battered man that Marceline had thrown against the wall and looked him over. The green man was somehow still conscious but he didn't respond when Finn gave him a kick. "Get up! Now!"
"Kick him again!" Marcy yelled from behind.
Finn reared his leg back for another kick but stopped when Bubblegum grabbed his arm from behind. "Finn, stop it! He's no use to us dead." She turned to give Marceline an angry stare. "And you, stop instigating him."
"Well he deserves it!" Jake shouted from behind.
Bubblegum glared at the semi-conscious man and felt her blood temperature rise by the second.
How dare you attack my kingdom and murder my people. You're lucky I still need you alive, but after you've served your purpose, you're gonna wish you were dead…
"He deserves more than a kick but I need him conscious and talking. I need answers." She said in a low voice.
Finn loosened the grip he had on his sword and felt a pain as his fingers slowly unfurled after being so tightly clenched. He let out a tense breath and sheathed his sword, turning his back to the assailant before his anger got the best of him. He noticed the small trail of blood running down Bubblegum's neck and pulled the handkerchief from his tuxedo pocket, using it to clean up the blood. PB winced but gave him a smile, letting him finish before taking the handkerchief for herself. She pressed it against her neck and looked at the human. "Thanks, Finn. I…I don't know what would have happened if you guys hadn't been here."
He leaned in and gave her a tight hug, "I'm just glad that you're safe, Peebz."
She hugged him back; greatly appreciating the hug she dearly needed at the moment. They broke the hug and Bubblegum smoothed out her dress as she went back to look at the assailant. "I have to get him to the infirmary quickly if he's going to have any chance of making it. I'll be gone for a bit, I have some things I have to arrange." The princess bid the hero farewell as she started walking toward some guards. Finn just nodded and turned around to look for Jake.
"Hey Jake," Finn said as he walked up to his brother, "you should go home and bring back the Cyclops tears. They're gonna need them badly once they start patching people up and you can get home a lot faster than I can."
Jake looked up at him and nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. I'll stop by the tree house after I make sure Lady gets home safely, I don't want her around all these bodies."
"I'll stay here for a while until everything gets sorted out." He leaned down to place a hand on Jake's shoulder. "Be careful out there, who knows if they planned anything else after this."
"Don't worry bro, I'll be back before you can say 'lickety-split'."
"Liket-"
"At least give me a head start, man."
Finn laughed, more from the nerves than from anything else. "Hurry back."
Jake strolled off to find his girlfriend, leaving Finn to find something to do. He heard several grunts and immediately turned around, his body once again preparing for the worst. It was only a pair of guards who were picking up the green man to take him to the infirmary with a troubled Bubblegum trailing behind.
Marceline stomped up next to Finn and eyed his drawn sword. "Easy there, hero. No need to go crazy."
Finn looked up at her and then at the sword held in front of him. He stared at the reflection in the blue orb and noticed that he had a cut on his right cheek that was bleeding. The hero sheathed his sword again and sighed. "Sorry, I'm still on edge."
He wiped his cheek with his hand and immediately regretted it. His cheek burned from the contact and he could hear loud sniffing coming from Marcy's direction. He cast a curious glance at the Vampire Queen and noticed that her large eyes were focused on the red smear on the back of his hand. He slowly wiped it off on his pant leg and almost jumped when she abruptly drew closer to him. "Alright shorty, time to pay up for me saving your butt earlier." The vampire said as she lowered her hand next to him.
"But I don't have gold or anything else on me." Finn replied, confused.
"Remember what happened the last time I went into this form?"
Finn's eyebrows shot up as he realized what she was asking. "No way! Then I'll be the one naked!"
She leaned in even closer and revealed her sharp teeth in a small smile. "You better start stripping Finn, I don't plan on giving anybody a free show."
He mumbled a few words under his breath as he began to undress, taking off his jacket and various shirts. He handed her his white tee and dress shirt and slipped his jacket back on again. When he didn't make a move to take off his pants she gave him an expectant cough.
He gave her an annoyed glance. "That's all you're getting Marcy, I'm not taking off my pants."
She raised an eyebrow and gave him a smirk. "That's the first time anybody's ever said that to me." She stomped her way out of the room and left Finn pondering over her remark.
He sighed when he finally understood it and walked over to help some of the nurses who were attending the wounded guards. He helped place them on stretchers and even held some of them down as emergency procedures were performed on the spot. Marceline appeared a few minutes later wearing his white tee and dress shirt, which stretched down past her thighs, and began to help as well, using her telekinetic powers to move multiple guards at once. As he was helping a guard limp over to a chair, he heard a sizzling sound followed by a shriek. He set the guard down at the table and turned to see Phoebe struggling to calm down another injured guard. He ran up next to her and realized that he wasn't merely injured; he was missing the lower half of his left leg. She tried desperately to keep him still without touching him but he kept squirming around in agony as he grabbed what was left of his leg.
She noticed Finn run up next to her and gave him a worried look. "If I don't cauterize his leg he will bleed to death before we can get him to the infirmary. You have to hold him down."
Finn walked up to the sitting guard and forced him down, pinning him to the ground. "Sorry homie."
The guard let out another yell as she placed her hand against his wound for several long and agonizing seconds, finally backing away when the wound was no longer bleeding. He held the guard for another minute, listening to his pained whimpers as they waited for a stretcher to come pick him up. A pair of nurses arrived shortly after and took him away, leaving Finn and Phoebe alone.
He walked up next to her and tried to give her an uplifting smile, knowing how hard it must be to do that to someone even if it was meant to save their life. "That was some quick thinking back there, a few minutes longer and he would have bled out."
She looked down at the small bits of charred banana flesh stuck to her hand and gave him a sad sigh. "It's all I can do to help. There's not much else I can do here."
Finn peered into her sad, yellow eyes. "You should head back home Phoebe, you've helped more than enough already. Get some rest."
She created a small fireball in her hand, incinerating the bits of charred flesh. "Bronson called in an escort from our kingdom to make sure we get home safe. It'll take at least half an hour to get here. I'll just see what else I can help with until then."
He felt a cold knot in his chest at the mention of her husband's name but buried it beneath his current layer of aches and pains. "That sounds like a good idea, you never know what else might happen."
He turned to the side to look at another guard and Phoebe noticed the cut on his cheek. "Finn, you have a cut on your cheek. You should get it taken care of before you get an infection."
"Ah, its nothing. There are more important things to take care of right now."
She placed a hand on her hip. "You won't be saying that when you're lying in a bed, dying. Who knows what kind of diseases these guys were carrying." She began to look him over for any other injuries and motioned for him to sit in a nearby chair.
"Look, I said I was fine."
She gave him a stern look and the human plopped down into the chair, preferring to sit than to listen to another lecture. The fire elemental walked over to a nurse and they spoke briefly, the nurse reaching into her medical kit to hand her a small metallic box.
She walked back over and handed the box to him. "Here Finn, you can clean and close the wound with this. I would do it but…" She finished by raising her glowing hands. He simply nodded and pulled out the medical supplies. After disinfecting and cleaning the wound, he pulled out a thread and needle for stitching the wound closed. He realized that he wouldn't be able to do it properly by himself and he looked up at her.
"I'm gonna need some help with this part."
She looked at the curved needle with unease. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. I'll just end up hurting you."
His eyes peered into the flaming monarch's face and felt something deep within him when he spoke up. "I can take it."
She let out a breath and took the needle and thread from him. "Alright Finn, if you say so."
She ran the needle between two fingers to sterilize it and then reached up to begin stitching. Phoebe stopped when she saw the sad look on his face and lowered the needle. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"
Finn quickly answered. "Yeah, I'm sure." He looked back down again and felt foolish. He had hoped that he would get some kind of reaction from her with his previous remark but she didn't even seem to notice.
And why would she? Its been three years already, three. She's got a kingdom and a husband, what else can she want? Maybe I just imagined something happening, like in some desperate fantasy. Why is this still bothering me?
He stood still as she skillfully stitched him up, priding himself on not even wincing once. She finished and carefully burnt off the remaining medical thread, satisfied with her handiwork. Finn stood up and lightly touched the stitches as he blew out an impressed whistle. "Radical, where did you learn to stitch like this? I thought fire elementals used a different method to close wounds?"
She gave him a smile. "I learned a few things over the past couple of years. I can also make a mean bowl of chili and I know how to kill a man with one finger, amongst other things."
He chuckled. "I think you were always able to do that last one." He boxed up the remaining medical supplies in order to return them to the nurse. "Thanks Phoebe, I'm gonna go return these and see if there's anything else I can do to help."
"I'm gonna do the same." The Flame Queen replied, giving him a small wave as he left.
He helped for about an hour until his brother showed up with the large jar of tears. They carried it over to the infirmary and helped distribute them to the most critically injured. A familiar pink princess, who was now wearing a doctor's coat, walked up to them with a tired look on her face. "Thank you guys so much. These tears have saved many of my guards, I can't thank you enough."
Jake lifted a hand. "Don't worry about it princess, your guards need them way more than we do. Besides, Finn is the one you should be thanking. He's the one who went out yesterday to collect them."
Bubblegum opened her mouth to say something but Finn stopped her. "Take as much as you need, I can always go back to get some more. I'm cool with the Cyclops."
She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Finn." Her face turned serious. "The man we captured is responding well to my treatments. If all goes as planned he should be talking in a few hours."
"Well make sure to call me when he does, I don't want him trying to escape." Finn replied.
"Don't worry, I've got him strapped to the bed and I posted guards inside and outside of the room. He's not going anywhere."
"Well if you need help getting him to talk," Jake enlarged his fists and smacked them together, "just let me know."
"Oh I don't think that'll be a problem. I've got a special 'truth' serum that will help get him to talk. The problem is whether or not he actually knows anything. He could just lie and send us on a wild goose chase or he simply won't talk."
Finn placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll figure this out and bring whoever else is involved with this to justice."
She gave him a brave smile. "I know we will. I have to get back in case he wakes up early. I'll send you a text when he does, okay?"
"Word."
She walked off and Jake looked up at the human. "Do you think we'll actually find something?"
Finn clenched and unclenched his fists several times. "We better, someone has to pay for what happened tonight."
"Hold your horses, hombre. We'll get there soon enough."
"The sooner, the better."
Jake stretched up so he could whisper in his ear. "I don't know about you, but I plan on doing some fridge raiding pretty soon, I'm starving. You in?"
Finn knew that he should have been hungry by now but he and his stomach were not on the same page. "Nah man, maybe later."
Jake shrugged his shoulders and shrunk down into a small mouse. "I'll try to save you something. No promises, though."
Knowing Jake, Finn knew there would be candy staff going hungry in the morning. "Don't eat PB's pudding, you know how she gets."
"No promises on that, either." Finn watched as the little Jake mouse slipped between the doors as he went on his way to clear out the kitchen.
Once he knew that all the surviving guards were taken care of, he walked outside to get some fresh air. On his way through the hallways he passed by candy staff that were cleaning up pools of blood and other debris. In some places there were even streaks of blood that ran across the walls. Finn felt a familiar anger rise up out of the pit of his stomach.
I was busy dancing like nothing was happening and there were guards fighting for their lives only a few rooms away. I should have realized something was wrong when those guards ran past me.
He continued to berate himself as he walked out of the palace to catch the night's cool air. The young man sat down on the palace steps and looked up at the large moon for a while, trying to clear his thoughts. Lying on his back, he pulled his sword from its sheath for easy access and closed his eyes to meditate for a bit. After a few minutes, he could feel himself falling asleep but he got the sudden urge to sneeze when something tickled his nose. He looked up and saw Marceline floating over him, her hair falling over his face. He opened his mouth to say something but ended up getting a mouthful of hair. Spitting it out as he sat up, he turned to face the child of the Nightosphere. "Hey Marcy, I thought you would have left by now."
She floated down and took a seat next to him. "Not yet, I wanted to see if things picked back up again but I guess the party is busted."
"Yeah…"
She picked up his sword and flipped it over in her hands as she studied it. She looked into the blue orb and didn't see her own reflection, of course, but she could've sworn that she saw something else. Marcy used her demon eyes to try to see what it was but the object proved elusive. She let out an irritated "tch" and placed it back down next to the human. "It was fun while it lasted, I guess." She punched him in the shoulder to get his attention. "Hey, you wanna blow this joint? Maybe strangle a pixie or twelve?"
"Not right now, babe. I'm pooped." He replied as he idly scratched the stitches on his cheek.
"You're no fun."
He lay back down with his hands behind his head to gaze up at the stars. "Sorry."
She pulled down on the borrowed dress shirt and lay down next to him with her head on his chest. She could feel the slight thumping of his heart and it almost seemed like it picked up for a couple seconds. She joined him in admiring the night sky and they stayed like that for several minutes before Finn finally spoke. "Do you ever look at the stars and wonder if some alien on some planet is looking back at ours? Maybe they have the same troubles that we do, or maybe they see our fight for life as we see an ant's. If you think about the grand scheme of things, we're small and insignificant. We're just a tiny letter in the Multiverse's giant pot of alphabet soup."
"Wow Finn, I didn't expect you to get all philosophical. Careful, you might hurt your brain."
Finn reached over and grabbed a small strain of her hair and gave it a tug, drawing an "Ow!" from the Vampire Queen. She slid her hand under his tuxedo jacket and squeezed one of his nipples, causing Finn to give her hair another pull. They engaged in this contest of pain for another minute until Finn finally gave in. "Ow! Alright, alright!"
He released her hair and she his nipple, Finn checking just to make sure it was still attached to his chest. Marceline massaged the base of her hair and shifted to look him in the eyes. "You almost left me bald. Next time, you're going home with one less nipple."
"Whatevs."
They went back to stargazing and lay in silence for a while. There were soft booming sounds in the background as the Gumball Guardians paced throughout the Candy Kingdom in search of any more hidden assassins. Marceline was entranced by the shining dots in the sky; it had been a while since she had actually paid attention to them. She was so used to the night sky that the stars had eventually become nothing but a blur in the background. Finn's chest began to rise and fall in a slow and steady rhythm, prompting the vampire to glance at him. He was asleep, no doubt tired from the battle several hours ago. She looked at him for a few minutes, checking out his not-so-young features, when her eyes settled on his blond hair. It shifted from the slight breeze and she once again felt the temptation to run her hands through it. It reflected the moon's light, which made it look like more of a pale blond than its usual golden hue. The tips around his forehead curled in slightly and were a darker color than the rest of his hair, almost as if a fire had singed them. Checking to make sure he was truly asleep, she carefully lifted a hand to fumble with his golden locks when his pants suddenly vibrated, causing her to quickly retract her hand.
Finn's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat upright, almost knocking Marceline down the palace steps. "Wha? Huh?" He reached for his sword as he scanned the area around him, tense and ready for another fight.
Marcy pinched him and he settled down when he saw her next to him, finally remembering where he was. "Calm down weenie, it was probably just your phone going off."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, noticing the text from Bubblegum.
He woke up earlier than expected and he's putting up a fight, trying to break the restraints. I asked him some questions but he is not cooperating, I could use your help.
He felt one worry drop and another one surface. He rapidly typed in a response and sent it.
Be there in a few.
"Looks like its time to have ourselves a little chat with the green man." Finn said as he got up. "You coming?"
Marcy floated up and gave him a bored shrug. "Might as well, there's nothing else to do."
He picked up his sword, sheathed it, and proceeded to make his way inside. Peppermint Butler was already waiting for them and he escorted them to the room, parting ways when they arrived. As they walked up they saw two guards standing outside and a restless Bubblegum pacing back and forth across the hallway. She saw them coming and simply motioned for them to follow her as she stepped inside the room. As they entered they noticed the large bed the green man was strapped into and the medical equipment surrounding him. There was a guard posted in each corner of the room and a nurse that was adjusting one of the machines gave them a shy glance. She quickly finished and stepped out, leaving them to their business.
Before they got any closer, PB turned around to whisper to them. "I just gave him the 'truth' serum several minutes ago but, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure how long it'll take before it goes into effect."
Marceline clicked her tongue and gave her a smug look. "Ah, the great scientist is just as fallible as the rest of us. It must suck not knowing something for once."
Bubblegum gave her an irritated roll of the eyes. "Bite me."
Marcy gave her an evil smile, fangs elongating as it widened. "Don't tempt me, princess."
Finn lifted an arm between them and coughed. "We don't have time for this junk."
Bubblegum broke off first and went to stand by the bed, waiting for the others to follow. Finn walked up to the green man and looked down at him as the man stared back, brows furrowed in apparent anger. Bubblegum removed the oxygen mask he was wearing and put it to the side. "What is your name?"
The man stayed quiet so she asked again with a slight hint of ice this time. "What is your name?"
He ignored her and just stared at the ceiling, deadpan. Finn noticed Bubblegum clenching one of her fists so he decided to give it a try. "Hey jerk, the princess asked you a question so you better start answering."
They were surprised when he turned to look at Finn with a menacing stare and Finn matched it just as well. "How about you ask your mom." He broke into laughter and immediately stopped at the sharp pain in his chest.
Finn looked him over with a scowl as he tried to contain the fire rising in his belly.
"Don't make this any harder than it has to be. I'm a little impatient today."
"Fuck off."
I'm gonna pound this guy's face in if he-
PB suddenly spoke up, breaking Finn's train of thought. "Listen, just tell me what I want to know and this won't have to end badly."
The man looked at her like she was an idiot. "Do you really think I'm stupid? I know I'm not getting out of here; I'll either be executed or sent away to rot in the dungeon. You're not the sweet and fluffy princess everyone makes you out to be. There's no happy ending for me, so why should there be one for you?"
She studied him, trying to figure out why he wasn't cooperating like he should have been.
Why isn't my serum working? I made it exactly as it was formulated in the book with no mistakes. He should be spilling the beans by now.
She stepped outside, Finn and Marcy trailing behind her. "It seems like the serum isn't working. What if I give him another dose?"
"Well it hasn't been that long since the first dose, right? Maybe it takes longer than you thought." Finn replied.
Bubblegum looked down and appeared lost in thought as she worked out formulas and complex equations in a few seconds.
"Why don't we get a little more, 'persuasive'?" The Vampire Queen suggested.
Bubblegum looked up at her and asked the question she already had the answer to. "What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
She glanced briefly at the human standing beside her before she answered. "You mean 'extreme' interrogation?"
The vampire smirked. "Well that's one way to put it."
Finn had been standing there silent as if he didn't understand but he knew what they were suggesting. "Torture?"
PB reluctantly nodded. "There are not many options left, Finn. It's either that or dose him again and wait for it to kick in but who knows how long that could take."
Finn wasn't very comfortable with the idea of torturing somebody but he did understand that sometimes bad things had to be done in order to catch bad people. He had to try one more time though, to salve his conscience. "Look, why don't we try again? Maybe the serum just kicked in and we don't even know it."
Bubblegum's face was doubtful but she decided to give it another shot. "Okay, we can try again."
Marceline let out a disappointed sigh. "Lame. Come get me when you want results."
Bubblegum just shook her head as she walked in and Finn followed her. The man was in the same position they had left him in and he stared at them when they came up bedside. "What? You here to try again?"
"What is you name?" PB asked.
"This again? I thought I already made it clear. Fuck. Off."
Finn stepped up next to him. "Just answer the damn question!"
He laughed, a little more softly this time. "You call this an interrogation? Pathetic. I've seen little rabbits more intimidating than you. How about we strike a deal?" He offered.
PB wasn't in the mood for negotiating but decided that he might open up if he felt like he had a chance so she asked anyways. "What do you have in mind?"
The man gave her a lewd grin. "How about you get the banana guards and pretty boy over here out of the room and come lay down here next to me. Spend the night with me and I'll tell you anything you want, sweetheart."
Finn's anger threatened to burst forth but she held him back. "Yeah, keep dreaming, sicko." Finn replied. He pulled his sword and placed the tip by the man's throat. "I was the one who convinced them to give you another chance. Looks like things are about to get unpleasant for you."
The man's eyes opened wide and stuttered as he spoke. "N-Now there's no need to get hasty guys. Look, I'll talk but only to the princess."
Finn narrowed his eyes, "I don't trust you."
"What do you think I'm gonna do, break from these restraints and kidnap the princess?"
"Now I definitely don't trust you."
"Fine, suit yourself."
Bubblegum patted Finn's arm and gave him a slight nod. "Its okay."
Finn retracted the sword and shot the man a glare as he walked up next to one of the banana guards standing in the corner. He could hear the man begin whispering to PB but she couldn't hear him so she leaned it a bit closer. As she did, he hacked up a bloody loogie and spat it right in Bubblegum's face. She recoiled back in disgust and dry heaved as Finn stormed up to the man, furious. Finn felt the white hot fire in his belly travel up into his balled fist and then down into the man's face as his fist savagely connected with his jaw. He could hear PB retching behind him and it only added fuel to the fire as Finn snarled, another blow connecting with the man's left eye. The crazy man merely smiled and painfully laughed through bloodied lips and teeth.
It took all his will power not to pummel the helpless man into oblivion but after a few tense breaths the human finally began settle down. Finn turned to check on PB as she wiped her mouth and he instantly regretted giving the heinous man another chance. "Sorry PB, this was a stupid idea."
She shook her head in disagreement as she ordered the guards to leave the room. "No Finn, we had to try at least one more time."
Finn followed her back out of the room and found Marceline leaning against one of the walls in the hallway. "Sounds like things didn't go as planned." She said.
"No, they didn't." PB answered, dryly.
"I could help you out if you ask nicely enough." She offered, as she glanced at her nails.
Bubblegum bit her lip to keep in the unfriendly retort that was threatening to come out. She waited until the urge passed and then faked the best smile she could. "I would greatly appreciate your assistance."
"I'm not buying that smile."
PB let out an impatient grunt so Finn stepped in, knowing she would get mad if this kept up. "Come on Marcy, help us out. Please?"
"Ugh, fine. But only because I haven't done this in a while and because I'm bored." She floated halfway through the open door and glanced back at them. "This should only take a couple of minutes. Those with delicate sensibilities might want to leave." She floated into the room and locked the door behind her.
They stood outside the room, trying to tune out the loud smacks and screams that filtered through the walls. At one moment there was even a loud crash, as if the whole bed had been thrown across the room. After about twenty minutes, she emerged from the room with a victorious smile on her face. "His name is Kyle, he was hired by an ex-partner named Rachel, and he used to be part of the Guild of Assassins. Also, he has a sock fetish."
Finn gave her an impressed smile. "Good job."
"Is that it? No locations or anything else?" PB asked.
"Hmmm, well he did mention that the guy who was supposedly paying Rachel to kill us met her in some old cave near the Forgotten Forest."
Finn crossed his arms and processed the information. "Well that's the first lead we have. Also, we need to find this Rachel lady, see if she survived."
"No dice, hero. She was the one who was holding Bonnibel hostage before you came to her rescue. You already put her out of commission."
"I guess that only leaves us with the cave. I'll go check it out right now in case there is anyone waiting for Rachel to return. The thing is, I have no idea where it's at."
"Well I do, I can draw you a map if you want."
Finn walked up to her and grabbed her hand as he began to lead her out. "Sorry Marcy but that'll take too long. We have to go now or we might miss them."
She planted her feet as she resisted him. "No Finn, I don't want to go back there."
Finn turned and gave her his best puppy dog eyes. "Please?"
"No."
He leaned in even closer. "Pretty please?"
She quickly looked away before she could fall prey to his eyes but they eventually broke through. "Ah, you're such a pain. Fine. Can I at least get some clothes from my house? I'm not flying over Ooo in just a dress shirt."
"I'll let you borrow something from my closet, Marceline." PB offered. "Plus, there's something I need to give you guys before you leave." Bubblegum led the grumbling vampire to her quarters as Finn turned to the guards who were still waiting outside.
"Well I guess you guys can go back in there, although, I'm not sure if Marcy left anything to go back to." Finn began jogging down the hallway as he gave them a quick wave goodbye. "Tell the princess I'll be outside."
He searched the palace for his brother to ask for his help but he was nowhere to be found.
He probably got locked in the fridge.
Finn laughed to himself as he stepped out of the palace and saw a waiting princess and vampire. Marceline was floating with her hands crossed, wearing a pink hoodie with matching pink sweat pants. She gave Finn a scowl as he approached and huffed. "This is so not my color."
Finn gave her a smile. "What? You look cute, Mar-Mar."
She muttered a few obscenities under her breath as she floated down the palace steps. "Hurry up, Finn. I don't have all night."
He chuckled and accepted the small crystal device that Bubblegum placed in his hand. "This will allow me to track your movements and it can also be used as a communication device. You can wear it around your neck and if you press and hold the little green button it'll light up."
"Thanks, Peebz. Guess I'll get going now." He slipped on the necklace device and turned to leave.
Bubblegum lightly grasped his arm before he got out of reach. "Finn, be careful." She said softly. "I don't want to either of you getting hurt, or worse."
Finn gave her a brief hug and one of his confident smiles. "Don't worry PB, I'll be careful. Besides, I got the Vampire Queen watching my back. I'll give you a call when we find the cave, so don't worry."
He started making his way down the steps as Bubblegum gave him a wave. "Alright Finn, good luck!"
Jumping down the last few steps, he found Marcy tying her hair into a ponytail. "You ready, Finn?"
"Ready as Jake at an ice cream eating contest."
"I'm sure there's a funny story behind that."
Finn checked to make sure he still had his crystal communicator and made sure his sword was fully sheathed.
Don't want it falling out and giving someone a haircut.
"Ready for lift off, captain." He said, giving her a thumbs up.
She flew behind him and looped her arms under his, making sure her grip was solid. Satisfied, she slowly lifted into the air and began flying towards the forest. "Let's go find us a bad guy."
A/N
I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter and I want to say thanks for all the awesome reviews/favorites/follows you wonderful people have left me! It feels nice to know that people are actually enjoying it and coming back for more so once again, thank you! Till the next time!