"But how—"
"An accident. A tiny little lab accident." Lemongrab says. "And yet still, I'm still the vile creature I've always been. Why is that Finn? Why? Why would Glob trap me in this body? Why couldn't he just have turned me into you, huh?" I don't think he's talking to me anymore. He looks so distant, I'm not sure if he's even here.
"I…. I don't belong in this body…" He whispers to himself.
Ice King is still in the corner, listening on to the entire conversation. He's cleverly hid in the shadows, the room being unlit making it an even better camouflage.
But for the first time since I got here, in this stupid horrible mess… I'm scared. I'm terrified. I'm mortified by yellow scoundrel… because he's not yellow anymore. He's human. He's me.
"If only I could die… but that would break the link. Everything would go back to normal, my imprint on the world gone forever." He looks at me.
"That's right Finn. All you've got to do is kill me. You'll have your friends back, the world back, everything the same as it was before. Sadly… that isn't going to happen."
"You… the only one…" He chuckles to himself.
"I guess now, you're my only friend, my only brother. But I won't hurt you. Not like my first one. I have no desire to do that at all. Just your presence is enough… Ice King." He reaches for the light switch and switches the lights on. Ice King is there still in the corner, standing still.
"I am not your brother, nor am I your friend. I already told you, I won't be part of this." He says in possibly the most serious tone he's ever had. Finally.
"Ah, but you already are. Your magic made this all happen, don't you see?"
Full of shame, he sees me and is silent. I obviously wasn't supposed to hear that.
Once I hear that, I don't have to scream, or yell at him. All I do is stare at him. But I don't even have to do that. He knows what he's done. He knows what I'll do to him when I get out of here. And I will. In due time.
"It was a mistake." He looks at a random spot in the room, refusing to face me or anyone else. "It'll never happen again. You can count on it."
"Alright. Fine. I don't need your magic any more. All I need is you." Lemongrab says darkly.
Without summoning, a pair of large bulky lemons burst in. Ice King scrambles to find an exit. There isn't one. Unwillingly, he is dragged away, kicking and screaming to be unhanded.
"HEY! Lemme go! I want my lawyer!"
The door closes, and my captor turns his head my way.
Oh Glob. Oh freaking Globbit. Here we go. Here it is. I'm gonna die for sure.
But to my surprise, that's not what he says at all.
Instead he says, "Time to sleep."
Sleep?
Right then, I notice the air vents in the sound room. I know what they're for.
Putrid yellow gas is released from the vents, permeating the room with a sour smell. I try to cover my mouth but realize my hands are still restrained. I'm helpless.
Suddenly, I feel slightly drowsy.
NO! Stay awake!
I can't. I just can't. My eyelids begin to droop and I can't keep them open. Slowly, they lower and lower and lower until they're completely closed.
I'm gone.
Screaming. The nice little gumdrop lady from yesterday told me that I was screaming in my sleep. She came to check up on me and found that I fell out of bed and woke me up.
"I'm Ms. Millie. I'm a neurologist." She says sweetly. I sit up from my bed.
"Why does Dr. Peppermint need a neurologist?" I ask, perhaps sounding rather childish.
"Well, Jaundice 18 affects the brain also."
"You were quite rattled yesterday."
"I was?"
"You were."
I'm confused. Oh yeah… I strangled Peppermint Butler….
"Where am I?"
" 's Lab, of course!"
"Oh… sorry…" I say, puzzled. "I just forgot for a second." I normally don't forget things like that. Maybe I'm just tired 'is all. I never realized how tired you get after you get some sleep. Kind of ironic, isn't it?
"That's alright." She smiles tenderly. I hear a voice from around the corner.
"Does anyone want an apple pie?" says Tree Trunks. The small little grandma enters the room accompanied by the smell of baked apples topped with cinnamon concealed in a wonderfully crunchy crust. We all share some. It tastes just as good as it always does.
"Why is Tree Trunks here?" I ask Ms. Millie.
"Well, scientists need to eat, hon." She laughs. "She escaped the gassing just in time. Since then, she's been our cook." A smile starts at the corner of her mouth.
"I love her apple pies. They're simply delicious." I nod in agreement, as we dig in.
"That dream of yours must have given you quite a scare. What was it about?"
"I… I don't think I remember."
"Oh, that's quite alright, hon. It's fine."
The rest of the day, Ms. Millie and I talk about things like Mom and her music box and Dad and his wonderful fedora. It turns out Mrs. Millie was a friend of Mom's.
"Back when we were kids, she used fall on her face practically every other moment! It was hilarious." She chuckled. "You should've seen her, Finn. She just could not stand!"
I can imagine Mom as a kid. Short and stout like a teapot, and always wearing some kind of flowery hat. I don't know why but that's how she looks in my head. I imagine her falling flat on the ground constantly and laugh too.
It's very nice here.
I like it very much.
