Another day arrived to Ooo, the sun shone brightly and the wind flowed gently across the grasslands. Despite the sunny day outside, the mood inside the treehouse was the complete opposite.
Phoebe looked at the two downcast adventurers around her, Finn looked even worse than yesterday and even Jake was more reserved than normal. Letting out a sigh she picked up the mugs with cold coffee and placed them in the sink nearby before going back to her seat, wondering what should she do next.
As much as she wished that they could just take a few days off to get their thoughts in order there was no way the Lich would wait for them before attacking once more. At the same time she would not risk the safety or her friends by forcing them to go out and patrol once more, even with all of their experience she doubted either of the brothers would last long in a fight with the Lich in the state they were in right now.
Phoebe looked over to the phone in the table, silently grateful that Bubblegum had not called them. They were most likely late by now but they had to prepare first, taking a deep breath she picked up the phone and searched for the princess's number.
BREAK
Bubblegum smiled at the way the pink gauntlet was turning out, while it was still far from being finished the hours she had spent working in her lab where finally paying off "Are you sure that can hurt the Lich? it looks kinda... small" Alie commented while standing on two legs to take a better look. Bubblegum placed the prototype down before replying "I had to make it smaller, we need it ready as soon as posible. But don't let its size fool you, the amount of power it holds its more than enough to finally destroy the Lich once and for all!... once its ready of course".
Alie simply shrugged and walked over to a smaller table in the lab "Lets be sure to finish it soon then, we cant let the Lich roam around freely anymore" Nodding in agreement Bubblegum prepared to get back to work once more until the phone started to ring.
"I'll get it" Alie walked over to the phone and pushed herself up to two legs once more "Hello?" From the other side of the line Phoebe's confused voice replied "Alie? is that you?" Alie smiled at the familiar voice "Yep, I work with Bubblegum now. Did you want to talk to her?" Phoebe let out a sigh before replying "Yes please, its important".
Moving the phone away from her face Alie called out to the princess in the room "Phoebe wants to talk to you princess, probably about Finn and Jake" Bubblegum placed the gauntlet on the workbench once more and walked over to Alie and took the phone from her hand "Hello Phoebe... is everything okay?" A displeased grunt coming from the other line let her know that the elemental was not in the mood to talk to her but didn't comment on the matter "Its Finn and Jake, they are... not doing good".
Bubblegum sighed before replying "I was afraid this might happen, how bad is it?" Phoebe went silent for a moment as she looked at the two heroes, Finn had dark bags under his eyes no doubt thanks to a sleepless night. Jake on the other hand looked frustrated and deep in thought, as if he couldn't find the solution to whatever problem he was thinking about.
"Glob, I don't know, they look really bad princess... we can't go against the Lich like this" Bubblegum closed her eyes and steeled herself before replying "You have to Phoebe, it's your duty as heroes" Phoebe didn't miss the commanding tone in he voice "Did you not hear me? they can't fight like this, much less against someone like the Lich!".
Bubblegum pushed her worry for the brothers at the back of her mind "I can lend them a Gumball Guardian if it will make things easier but they can't just take the day off, the Lich is still out there!" Phoebe could feel her temper acting up at the hard headed princess "Listen, you, i'm not about to send my friends into a suicide mission just because you think they can take it, they are people too you know!".
Bubblegum clenched her fist trying to keep her anger in check "What then? should we just let the Lich take what he wants?" Phoebe tried to think of a way they could make sure to keep the princesses safe without having to patrol themselves, her eyes widened as someone that had experience and training popped into her mind "What if... I get Billy to help?".
The previous anger that Bubblegum felt turned to confusion at the mention of the old hero "Billy? he retired years ago, what makes you think he will pick up the sword once more?" Phoebe rubbed her forehead as she struggled to form a plan in her mind "I'll find a way... just focus on keeping those princesses safe until i'm done" Before Bubblegum could reply the call suddenly stopped as Phoebe hanged up.
Hanging the phone on the wall once more Bubblegum let out a frustrated sigh, Alie watched from the side with a nervous smile on her face "So... I guess it didn't go well uh?" Bubblegum simply shook her head "No Alie... damn it, we're going to take some risks too it seems".
Before Alie could reply Bubblegum left the lab in direction of her bedroom, Alie cached up to her in the hallway with a confused expression in her face "Risks? we're not going to fight are we?" Bubblegum giggled at the worried tone of voice of the small hot dog at her side "Of course not, we will simply have to adapt at the situation we are in".
Once inside the room Bubblegum walked out into the balcony and shouted at the top of her voice "Gumball Guardians, come to me!" Almost immediately the ground shook as the two giant guards walked towards the balcony "YES PRINCESS, WHAT IS YOUR COMMAND?" Bubblegum hesitated for a seconds as she thought about her decision, Alie watched in awe at the giant candy guardians wondering just how had Bubblegum created such a thing.
"You, go to the Emerald Princess Kingdom and make sure she and the gem of her crown dont fall at the hands of the Lich" Pointing at the remaining guard Bubblegum continued "And you, got to the Engagement ring Princess Kingdom and make sure nothing happens to her or the gem" Without another word the Gumball Guardians left the Kingdom and moved in direction of their assigned princesses.
Alie couldn't help but to feel a little scared at the sight of the best means of protection the Kingdom had walking away "Are you sure this is fine princess? I mean, I don't want to sound selfish but..." Bubblegum patted the little hot dog on the head and nodded "I know what you mean and to be honest i'm not entirely sure myself, I only hope Finn and Jake can get back on their feet soon".
Alie shivered at the thought of the trio of heroes not coming to stop the Lich at all, the two girls left the room in silence and walked towards the lab once more "Do you have a plan princess? just in case the Lich come here" Bubblegum smiled brightly trying to ease Alie's worries "As a matter of fact, i do. But i'll have to call them first" And hope the Lich doesn't show up until the sun comes down Bubblegum thought as the door to the lab came closer.
BREAK
Phoebe finished adjusting the green backpack on her back and closed the door behind them, she turned around to to look at the duo and to her relief Jake seemed a little more like himself now but sadly Finn didn't seem to notice anything that had happened "Phoebe? where are we going?" Jake questioned once he realised they were outside "We are going to ask Billy for help and get Finn a new sword".
Jake flinched at the mention of his idoliced hero "B-billy?Ii mean... we can go get Finn a new sword first right...?" Phoebe crossed her arms and shook her head, frowning at the magic dog "We are going to see Billy first, he has to help us keep the Lich at bay until you guys are back to normal" Confusion covered Jake's face for a moment before he replied "Back to normal? what are you talking about? im the same as ever!".
Phoebe frowned as Jake started playing around with his powers "Jake... I know you are scared but-" Before she could finish Jake stopped making shapes with his hands and looked directly at her "Scared? why would I be scared? we fought the Lich once no problem, everything will be fine in the end, just like before!" Phoebe sighed, it was obvious from the way he had acted in the morning that something was bothering him but they couldn't afford to waste time right now.
"Jake, please just... remember that i'm here if you need to talk, okay?" Jake suddenly looked very tired and simply turned around and slowly grew in size, Phoebe rubbed her forehead a little frustrated that the magic dog didn't trust in her enough to tell her how he really felt. She pushed those thoughts at the back of her mind and walked over to the downcast human "Finn? how are you feeling?" Finn looked at her with tired eyes but quickly looked away.
"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble... it's just, hard. If i had been better then- " His rant was cut short as Phoebe wrapped her arms around his neck "Talking like that isn't going to help Finn, instead of focusing on your mistakes you should be proud of what you have accomplished so far" Despite her words of encouragement Finn simply nodded and hugged her tighter.
Seeing as he had no intention of letting go of her she flew into the air and landed on the back of the magic dog, once the pair where ready Jake started making his way towards the legendary hero's crack.
Once again the silent ride felt unnatural to Phoebe, she hoped that with Billy's help the brothers would go back to their old selves. Deep down inside of her molten core fear of what the Lich would do now that there was no one keeping him at bay slowly raised up but she simply closed her eyes and hugged tighter at the human boy in her arms.
If it came down to making a choice, she already knew who she would pick.
BREAK
Billy grunted in pain as he got back up to his feet, he had been training recently now that the hole in his chest had been fixed, sadly, time had not been kind to him. His knees hurt after a few minutes of training and his hands felt clumsy as he adjusted his hold on his sword.
"You can do it Billy!" The old lady cheered from the side, chuckling to himself Billy started slashing and dodgin the attacks of an imaginary enemy as the many moves he learned on his youth slowly came back to him. Part of him couldn't help but to wonder how would have things turned out had he never given up in his beliefs, would he be the one out there making sure the princesses were okay? or could he perhaps have stopped the Lich from escaping the amber prison in the Candy Kingdom?.
The familiar pain that came with age in his hands and knees brought him back from his musings once more, hoping to a nearby chest he took a seat and let out a tired sigh.
"Guess this won't be as easy as i thought" Billy said mostly to himself, the old lady that keep him company walked over with an oversized plate and sandwich towards the tired hero "Starting over is always harder than starting up but if you keep at it i'm sure you'll go back to being the number one hero!" Billy chuckled at his companion's enthusiasm before picking both the plate and her with ease.
Making sure she was seated safely on his shoulder he took a bite of his sandwich before replying "Im not so sure about that, Finn and Jake might be inexperienced but they have much potential and now with the extra help of the Fire elemental they should be okay on their own" Billy shook his head sadly before continuing "It silly of me, thinking i could go out there and still be hero".
The old lady said nothing and simply wrapped her arms around the hero's neck, Billy moved one his hands back and gently patted her back with a finger making sure to not hurt her.
He continued his lunch in silence until his eyes caught sight of a list he had forgotten about, after placing the empty plate on the floor he picked up the parchment and opened it. A list with many activities and goals he had written some years ago covered most of the paper, most of them also had been crossed out once they had been completed.
His eyes moved over the list until the last few remaining caught his attention.
-Take Canyon out for one last ride
-Tell Finn that thing
He sighed at the reminder, wondering if he could ever get around to do them. It had been years since he last saw Canyon and even though his spirit was back, a small childish fear at the back of his mind took over him everytime he thought about checking up on her, if only to make sure she was okay.
On the other hand, his fears for the young hero's safety kept him from telling the truth about his dad. With such a heroic spirit Billy wondered how could his father commit crimes that would get him imprisoned for life and don't even feel guilty about it.
Rolling up the list once more Billy threw it to the side not caring where it went, he could worry about it some other time.
Sadly, fate had different plans for him as the wall suddenly cracked and started to split open, instinctively Billy got back up to his feet and moved out of view "Nothung" Billy's barely audible whisper worked as expected once his trusty sword came floating towards his open hand, now armed and ready Billy prepared for a fight, sparing one last pet at the old lady on his shoulders that tried to hide behind his head.
Orange light slowly moved closer and Billy could only stare in confusion until a voice called out "Um, Billy? sorry to bother you..." His stance relaxed once he recognized the voice of the newest addition to the brothers team. Walking over to the hole in the wall he saw the fire elemental followed by two dowcast heroes.
"Oh i'm glad you are here, we... need your help Billy" Phoebe confessed as she pushed Finn and Jake forward, Billy pursed his lips as he looked closely at the brothers. Both of them looked like they were seconds away from passing out, from a sleepless night most likely.
Nodding at the trio Billy turned around and walked over to the chest he used as a seat "Please follow me" Phoebe let out a relieved sigh before guiding Finn and Jake towards Billy. Once they were ready Billy motioned at Phoebe to continue "Something must have happened with the Lich but what exactly happened miss...?" Phoebe quickly replied not wanting to waste the legendary hero's time.
"Phoebe, and about the Lich, we... we failed to keep one of the gems safe" Billy opened his mouth to reply but Phoebe continued "And we also lost two princesses, princess hot dog lost her Kingdom and her people so she gave up the crown and... there were no survivors in the Embryo princess Kingdom".
Silence took over the room for a moment as Billy processed the information, after a while he finally nodded at the elemental in the room "I see, i mean no offence but, could you please give me a few minutes alone with them?" Phoebe reluctantly nodded and started making her way towards the hole in the wall "I'll just... guard outside then".
The room grew darker as Phoebe took the light away with her, Billy let out a tired sigh as he turned to look at the human "How do you feel, Finn?" Finn slowly lifted his head to look at Billy, making the dark bags under his red puffy eyes visible to everyone "I failed her, Embryo princess was counting on me and now she's dead" Tears slowly rolled down his checks once more "I just wasn't good enough Billy... im sorry, im-" Before Finn could continue Billy placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Answer me this, do you really believe that you failed? or did the Lich make you think that?" Finn's face twisted in confusion "What? how would the Lich..."
You failed once more, child.
Finn's mouth snapped shut as the Lich's words resonated in his head, Billy nodded at the familiar look on his face "He did, didn't he? I had a feeling it might be that" Finn looked with confusion at Billy "He's making me think that? but... I had the protection gem..." Billy shook his head before replying "The protection gems are far from being as good as the gems the princesses have Finn, he cannot directly control your mind but small whispers or thoughts that don't belong to you can slip by unnoticed".
"How can i get rid of them then?" Finn pleaded for an answer and almost started to cry once more as Billy shook his head "There are no cures for that Finn, as long as you believe he is right you will keep hearing them. Only once you break free of the guilt and insecurity the voice will stop" Finn's hat slipped off his head as he ran his hands over his hair and his mind raced, was he being controlled unconsciously? could the Lich hear his thoughts? .
Billy looked over at the magic dog while Finn processed the information, while Jake was in better shape compared to his brother it was obvious that something was bothering him too. Jake felt a little nervous now that the attention was placed on him "It looks like there is something bothering you too Jake" Billy prodded and Jake let out a nervous laugh "H-a ha ha, no way. Everything is fine with me, no problems here!" Billy simply raised an eyebrow looking unimpressed at the blatant lie the dog told him.
Jake felt bad for lying at his idol but as much as he tried he couldn't open up an voice his fears, Billy smiled at him nodding in understanding "Its okay to feel scared, there is nothing wrong in admitting it" Jake's eyes widened in surprise "H-how can you tell? are psiquic too Billy?" The legendary hero chuckled slightly before replying "I fought against the Lich time and time again back in the day Jake, im familiar with most of his tricks now".
Despite the friendliness in his voice it was clear that Billy was waiting for an answer, Jake groaned and reluctantly started "I mean... it's not that im scared about him, it's just, i'm afraid of what will happen to my friends" Billy nodded and motioned at him to continue, swallowing his pride jake continued with the confession "He's strong, stronger than before I mean. And I don't want Finn getting hurt so of course I try to protect him but... m-my girlfriend lady rainicorn is no fighter and neither is my brother Jermaine, I just can't help but to worry about them. If the Lich got to them and did the same thing he did with Hot Dog princess royal guards then... I could not take something like that, not with them".
Billy looked very serious at the magic dog's words before replying "But you are protecting them Jake, by fighting and stopping the Lich you are making sure he has no chance to get close to your loved ones, do you think you would feel better by watching over them?" Jake pondered the question for a moment "No... because then Bubblegum would be all on her own, everyone else would be vulnerable".
Jake suddenly looked shocked at the revelation and Billy simply chuckled "You see now? the only way to keep everyone safe if by taking care of the problem" Jake then rubbed his head with a worried expression on his face "Oh no, did i got mind controlled too?" This time Billy laughed out loud at the magic dog's worries "Of course not, you just worry too much Jake".
The loud laugh of the legendary hero interrupted Finn's thoughts and Billy watched happily as his spirits seemed to be nearly back to normal "Oh glob!" Finn nearly screamed as he remembered "The Lich is still out there! we can't just stay here!" Turning around Finn tried to sprint back outside, only to trip and fall as his legs gave out under him at the sudden effort "You are not going anywhere like that Finn, you can barely walk as is its" Billy picked up the human from the floor and placed him on his feet once more.
"Y-you are right Billy... maybe if i use some magic tears or- " Finn was interrupted as Billy suddenly stood up and grabbed his trusty sword "No Finn, you don't have to worry about today. Take this day to prepare yourself once more, i will make sure the Lich does not get anymore gems" Both brothers looked amazed at their idol's determination but the mood disappeared instantly once another voice appeared.
"Didn't think i'd see the day, old man" Billy's eyes immediately moved towards the hole in the wall, standing there with her arms crossed was Canyon with a nervous looking elemental next to her "She said she was a friend of yours..." Phoebe said but neither of the giants in the room seemed to have heard her.
Billy's cheeks burned red at the sight of his ex-girlfriend "C-canyon? why, I mean, i'm not saying im not happy to see you but-" Canyon lifted her hand stopping the hero from further embarrassing himself "Don't go getting your hopes up, i'm here because the Lich is out there and rumors are starting to run wild across the Kingdoms".
Finn perked up the mention of the other Kingdoms "What kind of rumors?" Canyon turned to look a the human in the room "The kind that say that the Lich destroyed two Kingdoms and killed their princesses, that's what Lumpy space princess says anyway" The three adventurers cringed at the misfortune of having LSP been the one to find out about their failures.
Having had a moment to calm down after the sudden entrance of his ex-girlfriend Billy walked further into the cave, everyone else watched curiously at the hero until he placed his hands over a dirty cloth that covered something nearly as big as the hero himself "Its true that i have failed before, my determination faltered and I gave up" In one swift movement a red motorcycle was revealed to be under the dirty cloth "But now that the Lich is out there again I can't afford to sit back and watch, but even so... i'm afraid I can't do this on my own".
Canyon watched wide eyed at the renewed spirit in Billy "I... wait, what is that on your shoulders?" Billy looked at her with a confused expression on his face until he suddenly remembered, the old lady walked out from behind his head and sat on his shoulder "Hello everyone!" Canyon and Phoebe looked completely lost at the sudden appearance but Finn slowly recognized the lady.
"Is that... the old lady we brought back that one time?" Billy cleared his throat as his cheeks turned red "O-oh, yes, she has been keeping me company for a while now... it was lonely in here on my own" The two giants in the room looked at each other for a moment before turning their heads.
Phoebe walked over to the two brothers with a hopeful expression on her face "Hey guys... are you feeling better?" Jake smiled at her and nodded "Don't worry Feebs, I know what we have to do now" A small smile appeared on her face but it quickly fell as she turned to look at Finn, while he didn't look as sad as before now he seemed to be more worried about something.
"Finn?" The human in question turned to look at the elemental and gave her a shaky smile "H-hey Phoebe, im okay too" Phoebe froned and crossed her arms but before she could reply Billy called out to them "I trust that you will take care of them while they rest, right Phoebe?" The elemental turned to look at the giant already mounted in his motorcycle with his sword strapped to his back.
"Of course I will, thank you again for doing this Billy" Billy simply waved away her thanks as he reved up the engine "No need to thank me, im just doing what I should have done years ago" The sound of the motorcycle echoed in the cave as Billy accelerated towards the entrance, stopping right next to Canyon "Have you decided yet?" Billy asked with a straight face, ready for rejection.
Canyon still looked in disbelief at her ex, part of her was surprised that even with his age he would still consider fighting but what really shocked her was the look in his eyes. The same determined look that he had when they had first meet was there once more, the same spirit that made him jump head first into a fight to save someone in need was back. She knew that even if she rejected him now he would still go out there, even if it lead to his death at the hands of the Lich.
With her decision made, she tried to hide her smile as she got on the motorcycle and hugged him from behind "I'll go, I have to make sure the Lich doesn't wipe the floor with you, old man" The two heroes share a laugh for a moment before leaving the cave at full speed in direction of the targeted kingdoms.
Finn and Jake look in awe at the spot where their idol had been just a second ago, Phoebe simply looked at the giant figures disappearing over the horizon before turning towards the brothers "Alright then, let's go home you guys" Jake nodded in agreement "Good idea... i'm about to pass out over here. How are you holding up bro?" Finn's eyes slowly closed and his already slow walk stopped completely "I'm... pretty tired man...".
Just as Phoebe was about to grab his arm to help him, Finn fell face first on the floor "Finn!" Phoebe quickly picked him off the floor only to find he was out cold "I'll have to carry hi-" Another falling sound echoed in the cave and Phoebe didn't need to turn around to see what had caused it.
"Looks like your friends had a hard night" Phoebe turned to look at the old lady Billy lived with turning Jake's body around so that his face wasn't squished against the ground "They sure did, thank you for the help but we have to leave now" Phoebe said as she moved over to Jake and tried to pick him up too "Ugh-heavier than he looks".
Once she made sure neither of them would fall Phoebe made her way towards the exit and slowly flew towards the tree house.
BREAK
The Lich glanced at the entrance of the cavern and quickly finished his work with the well of power, the usual green light that came from it now was a cold blue. With his preparations ready The Lich placed one of his skeletal hands inside and pulled it back with as much of the liquid as he could get before drinking it.
He felt the change right away, a cold breeze inside of his decaying body mixed with the warm and sickening fire. He turned around and prepared to test his newest powers on his unwilling followers, a few animals lined up in front of him but neither of them made any move to run or hide, their minds were long gone and replaced with the will of their master.
The Lich said nothing but all of the animals understood clearly his command, they ran as fast as they could towards the exit. The Lich placed his hand on the floor and smiled, ice dark as coal moved in all directions of the cavern way faster that any of the animals could. The ice didn't stop at their legs however, it swallowed their entire bodies in seconds both inside and outside.
Turning around The Lich saw the black ice statues that retained just enough form to still recognise what creature had perished inside, satisfied with the results he drinked as much as the well's contents as he could before leaving, he had wasted enough time already.
AN
Hello everyone, sorry about the delay... but i'm back now. I managed to find to time to write after many long months of playing video games and doing nothing, so this story can officially begin again!
And that's pretty much it, many thanks to all that read and liked the story!
Deathclaw2010: I'm sorry you feel that way, if other readers feel the same way I'll make sure to fix it! Also, I guess I should have said this story will have a more... human? approach to fight wounds and things like that, so that's the reason Alie's royal guard had such a gruesome end.
Ooobserver: I'm very glad you like it! And same, I made sure to search far and wide through all the Finn/FP stories to make sure no one had made a story like this one before I started. So stay tuned for future chapters, things will change more as time goes on.
et-reader97, The Book of Eli: Glad you like the story! thank you for the review.