Good evening, ladies and gentleman. I realize that over the course of this story I have not left any of my own personal notes, but I am making an exception on this occasion. I am all too aware of the fact that the periods of time between which I post my chapters have been growing larger and larger, and believe me that is not by my own design. All matters condensed, I've simply been under a very large workload in my life, so I apologize for the fact that I've simply had little time to write. That said, I assure you I have every intention of seeing this story through to the end, and at the time there are no plans to discontinue it. It will simply take a much longer time than I had originally planned. But on a higher note, this chapter may well be the longest I've ever written, if only by a small margin. So with that explanation over with, let's move on with the story.
"Bottom of the Well"
"Soooo… run this by me again." Cake said aloud, her voice carrying over to her back where the young Human girl was currently perched. "You're joking! I've explained this twice over already!" The Girl said, sounding quite annoyed. Cake just shook her enlarged head, the motion traveling along her back and slightly jarring her passenger.
"You told me a long and confusing story about some senile old woman who, for whatever reason, has got you running all over Ooo doing what, I don't know, for reasons you haven't told me." The Feline snapped back. Fionna pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, if you had actually come with me the other day like you were supposed to you would know the whole story by now!"
"I told you, Lord Monochromicorn was sick and my hubby needed someone to look after him; and I've already apologized for that, thank you very much. Plus it's not like you actually needed me there; you handled yourself just fine." Cake retorted. Even though her sister couldn't see, Fionna shot her a dull look. "You do recall the part where I told you I almost got pancaked after falling twenty stories, right?" She could hear the Cat blow air at her. "And yet, here we are. I'm sure you're just exaggerating."
Fionna withheld her own comment, merely huffing and rubbing her temples. Dealing with Cake in these situations was infuriating. She would simultaneously complain about being left out of the loop while dismissing any accusations of her own absence having made things more difficult. Fionna just did not have the will to argue with her at the moment. "…Regardless of what happened the other day, right now we've got to get these three things. Okay?"
Cake however, was still not satisfied. "No, I already get the fact that we're on a fetch quest. What I want to know is the 'what' and 'why'." The Cat sounded as annoyed as Fionna herself felt. Taking a breath, the Girl forced herself to take a step back from her conflictive attitude. After all, it really wasn't Cake's fault that she didn't know what was going on, and she herself hadn't exactly been straightforward with her sister.
The problem, as always, came back to the Girl's reluctance to give up any information about Finn. She had not wanted to discuss the mirror because that Boy was somehow tied to it, and Fionna still much preferred to keep him in the dark for the time being. But thinking it over now, Fionna was beginning to realize she'd have to give her sister something, otherwise things would just remain sour between them.
"You're right. Sorry Cake, this whole thing's just got me under a lot of stress." Fionna offered a half-hearted apology, caring more about moving forward than actually making amends. "You don't have to apologize honey, just relax a little. I know things are a little bad at the moment, but that's exactly why you can't let everything get to you at once. So just tell me what's up already, that's all." Cake offered, speaking bluntly yet sincerely.
"Alright then, here's the simple version…" Fionna began. "The old woman had some kind of magic mirror that might be able to help us, but most of it was missing, so now we've got to get the three missing pieces back, hence the reason we're going to the Slime Kingdom right now." The Girl explained. "Magic mirror, huh? What, you're so vain that you have to have some ancient spirit tell you outright that you're the 'fairest of them all'?" The Cat quipped, following with a slight chuckle.
In response, Fionna lightly punched Cake' shoulder, not that she could've done much damage if she had even tried. "No, dummy. I don't know for sure, but I think this mirror's gonna give us a way to explore the Gray World without having to go through the black holes." Despite omitting the presence of Finn, what Fionna said was more or less true; at least, as far as her own understanding went, which was itself, admittedly, not completely reliable.
"Okay, then. I can definitely see how that would give us an advantage. And if it means you won't have to get sucked into those dang holes anymore, I'll do anything you need to get that mirror fixed!" Cake exclaimed, seeming to have finally found her conviction. Fionna couldn't help but smile. She supposed that all siblings had their squabbles, but it still meant the world to her that Cake was behind her one hundred percent. "So the first piece we need is in the Slime Kingdom, right?" Cake inquired, more so for reassurance than an actual need to know.
"If the map is right, anyway. Although I don't really have a plan for how to find it once we get there." Fionna admitted. The map had given her the broad locations for the three relics, but that didn't mean at all that the items would be easy to even find, let alone obtain.
"Well, look at it this way, sugar. If that old witch was able to track it to the Slime Kingdom then I'm sure there must be some whispers or old rumors that could help us. Heck, maybe we'll even luck out and the Prince will just have it locked in a vault or something." Cake thought aloud.
"I'm sure you're right. I mean, we've been on treasure hunts before and never had too much trouble. How hard could this be?" Fionna decided to accept her sister's optimism. Considering that they'd be searching in an established city and not some ancient tomb, Fionna couldn't believe they'd be put into too much danger.
"Speaking of which, I can see the entrance up ahead." Cake interrupted, signaling that they'd reached their destination. On their journey, the two adventurers found themselves once more in the Badlands. Luckily for Fionna, they did not have to travel so far out as the mountains this time around, although she idly noted them in the distance.
Looking back to the ground, the Human saw that they had finally come upon the none-too impressive entrance to the Slime Kingdom. Fionna slung herself down to the earth as her companion shrunk herself to her standard size. The two sisters walked over to the edge of innocuous looking puddle of green sludge. Despite its appearance, the fetid little pond was, in fact, itself the main entrance to the Slime Kingdom.
"Yeesh. You mind if I hitch a ride with you?" Cake inquired, curling her nose at the sight of the pool of gunk. Fionna only flicked the Cat across the shoulder. "Oh don't be such a baby. You know it's not bad at all if you just jump in." She insisted. "Easy for you to say. You don't have full coat of fur to maintain." The Cat retorted, crossing her arms.
"Well geez, when you put it that way…" Fionna's drift lingered over to the Feline, who had her eyes closed and was completely distracted. Before she could protest, the Girl reached her hand out and forcefully shoved against the back of her companion.
Cake felt herself tip forward violently, watching as the ooze came closer and closer. "YOU LITTLE!..." Thankfully, she was cut off there with a revolting 'splat!' Fionna smirked and laughed silently to herself. 'One way to shut her up. I'll have to remember that in the future.' With that thought, Fionna readied herself and leapt forward into the green pit.
The two adventurers sank though the thin layer of cover clime quickly enough, their bodies being surrounded by a glistening coat of translucent green mucous that gently lowered them down to the soft ground. As the trails of slime separated between herself and the ceiling, Fionna cast her eyes around the massive cavern that composed the main entrance. It was a huge cavern carved from green stone, or at least appeared green as it was now, with all walls coated by a slick, shiny layer of slime. Odd greenish yellow protuberances bubbled out at intervals along the surface, giving the place a very alien look. That said, one would have a difficult time finding the place actually disgusting, just very… moist.
Throughout the very large main cavern were a multitude of small slime persons, milling about, moving to and fro and otherwise just going about their own business. Most of them immediately took notice of the two new arrivals, a few stopping what they were doing to get a better look. While certainly not to be considered an unfriendly place, it was nonetheless quite rare for the kingdom to receive non-slime visitors.
While Fionna was situating herself quite nicely, as soon as Cake hit the ground she was in a state of near panic, fretting relentlessly over herself. "UGGHHHH! You little TWIT! Look at me! I'm totally smothered in this snot!" The Cat screamed hysterically at her sister. Fionna rolled her eyes at her overreaction.
"Cry me a river. It's not like we haven't been in sticky situations before." The Girl quipped with a smirk. Cake could only glare daggers at her. "Don't you make puns at me! It's gonna take hours to scrape all this crud out of my fur!"
At the Cat's continued display of aggression, many more slime citizens were beginning to take notice. Fionna saw several of the little creatures begin to form a large partial circle around them, passing whispers between one another. As the prying eyes rapidly multiplied around them, the Human began to get rather uncomfortable, and tried to get her sister under control as soon as possible.
"Will you just get over it already! You're attracting a lot of attention." Fionna scolded the Cat. While she did not cease her fuming, Cake did note the unwanted presence starting to crowd around them. Fionna took her stony silence as the best sign she would get, and began to nudge the Cat over towards one of the multiple passageways. After leaving, the small crowd dispersed without much more commotion.
Walking through the shimmering tunnels, the duo attracted a few more curious glances from passing slime people, but so long as they weren't causing any real trouble the majority of the citizens didn't seem to pay them too much heed.
"Don't think you're off the hook for this." Cake grumbled as the two wandered down the halls. Fionna sighed in frustration. "Whatever, just save it until after we have the mirror piece." The girl was once again becoming quite frustrated with her sibling, but unlike the Cat she was infinitely more focused on the goal at hand than their own personal grievances.
To Fionna's mercy, Cake held any further comments as they continued their search through the caverns. Although the two had spent very few visits in this kingdom, they had a vague sense of the direction they were headed. Eventually the two did manage to find a large gated entry, in fact the first they had seen throughout the entire cavern complex. Two guards were stationed in front of the gate, and above the door was the crest of the Royal Slime Family. Chances were good that they would find the Prince somewhere behind that door.
Approaching the door, Fionna did her best to put on a smile. The two guards, distinguishable only by the spears they carried, noticed her approaching, and crossed their spears to bar the entrance. "Hold on there, bucko. No one gets into the royal palace without a good reason." One guard spoke, not menacingly but serious enough to let the girls know they wouldn't just let anyone through.
Fionna was mildly taken aback. She'd become so used to getting around the Candy Kingdom so easily she forgot that she wasn't so well recognized in every single city. Though she'd long known the Slime Prince personally, his subjects were another matter entirely.
"Oh, uhh… right, well… you see…" The poor Girl didn't exactly have a contingency plan, and began to stutter under the guards' scrutiny. Just as the guards were beginning to raise their eyebrows, Cake moved in, increasing her eyes and wrapping her arm around her sister's neck. "Sorry boys, this one here took a nasty fall on our way here and clonked her head, so she's been pretty far out of it for a while." Before Fionna had a chance to protest, she felt Cake's arm tighten around her neck, silently encouraging her to play along.
Grinding her teeth, the Human resigned herself to follow through with Cake's charade. "Meant no problems to being seen by the jellybeans." She babbled incoherently through a dulled expression. "What my partner here meant to say is that we're official envoys here on behalf of the Candy Kingdom, and we're here for a meeting with the Prince." Cake said. Fionna had to bite her tongue as she felt the Feline pat her on the head degradingly, like she was excusing a child.
The two slime guards looked at each, questioningly. "What do you think?" The first asked the second. "Well, that girl does seem pretty senseless, but I didn't hear anything about a meeting today. Did you?" The first guard shook his head. "Nope. I'm pretty sure there wasn't anything on the schedule."
The two adventurers' eyes met at the corners, ever so briefly exchanging their mutual worry. Cake, however, was staying on the ball, and had a quick reply ready in an instant. "You're correct in that regard. Unfortunately, our Prince Gumball was unable to send a request in advance; you see, this particular matter came up very suddenly and should be taken care of as soon as possible. The Prince sincerely regrets that he can't be here, but as stated he was already incredibly busy and this matter arose in too short a time, so we came on his behalf as quickly as we could." She lied.
The two guards listened, and then turned their attentions back on one another. "What do you think? This seems kind of suspicious, don't you think?" The first asked. "Yeah, but I actually think I recognize these two." The second replied. "Really?" "Yeah, I think I've seen them hanging around the Prince when I was in the Candy Kingdom." The first cast a quick glance back at the two guests. "So you think we should let them through?" The second nodded. "Well if they are legit and we keep them out it's our butts on the line."
The two slime guards, seemingly appeased, relaxed their spears away from the door. "All right, I guess. The Prince should be pretty close by, so we'll let you through. And this should go without saying, but don't cause any trouble in there." As the guard finished, the second pulled a nearby lever, causing the grand doors to split down the center and open inward.
Fionna felt the Cat push on her shoulders, quickly urging her forward. "Oh of course! There's no need to worry about us, I'm sure this meeting won't even take that long." The Feline said as she pushed her sister through the doorway. Before they could get even a few steps further, the guards spoke up one final time. "I should hope it doesn't. That girl really looks like she needs a hospital."
Before Fionna could suffer any more indignation, the guards closed the door behind them. Silent for a moment, the Girl did soon speak up. "For the record, don't ever make my cover story 'brain trauma,' again." Cake quickly retorted, "Well next time think a little quicker and you can be whoever you want to." With that, the Cat turned away, looking to their new surroundings. Just as her face fell out of view, Fionna could swear she saw a slight smirk.
With a groan she submitted to following Cake in to what passed as the Royal Palace in this Kingdom. The interior was much the same as the rest of the Kingdom, at least so far as the walkways went. The only real difference was the lack of citizens. The path from the entrance was not long, and already the two could see the end opening into a larger chamber.
"So, do you actually have any idea where to find the Prince?" Cake asked as the came up to the end of the tunnel. "Not really, it's been years since I've been here. I guess we'll just have get lucky." The Human replied. At that, the two stepped beyond the tunnel into a slightly larger cavernous area. Scattered about were a few official-looking slime individuals as well as a couple of guards. Standing towards the center of the room stood the Slime Prince, easily recognizable thanks to the small crown perched on top of his body.
"Well what do you know, that was easy." Cake remarked in surprise. Fionna let out a small breath, relived that at least one thing today had gone easier than expected. "Come one, let's get his attention before any more guards get nosey." She said, just slightly hastily.
As the two adventurers strode towards the center of the room, their presence did not go unnoticed. A few of the guards, understandably suspicious at the sight of two non-slime persons wandering about the Royal palace, slowly began to move to intercept them. Before any of them could reach the duo, fortunately, the Slime Prince took notice of his two unexpected guests.
"Fionna, is that you?" He called out, turning his attention away from the officials he had previously been engaged with. The two ladies instantly confirmed his presence, waving over to him from their place on the other side of the room. As soon as they did the oozing royal began to slide his way over to them, faster than any of his guards had been approaching. As they saw their ruler so warmly rush to greet his guests, they took the hint and ceased their encroachment, returning to their usual stations.
"Fionna, Cake this is quite the surprise, I have to say." The Prince said, coming upon the two with a smile. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what in the world brings you two down here?" The little Blob inquired. "Ummm, nothing exactly good, SP." Fionna admitted with a nervous smile. "Oh?" A look of mild shock crossed the Prince's face. He made a quick check of his surroundings, making sure that his subjects were all busy with their own agendas. "Fionna, is this something you feel we should be discussing in a more… private, location?"
The Girl slowly nodded. "I mean, it isn't something like, incredibly dangerous… I think. But yeah, we'd probably be better off with less people around." The Prince hummed in thought. "Alright then, follow me." The Prince began to move towards one of the many entrances, the two sisters following. A couple of the guards asked if he'd like them to escort the trio, but the Prince refused and informed them that they'd be fine on their own.
The three took a passage taking them up a short flight of stairs. Opening a door at the top, the Prince ushered the heroes into a small room, closing the door after he'd passed the frame. "This is one of my secretaries' offices, but he should be gone for a good while." Fionna quickly glanced around the room, noting it felt very much like a standard office or even a lobby… just a lot stickier. All of the furniture, even a computer which seemed fully operational, was built from slimes, molds, and other such materials. The majority of the back wall held a massive version of the yellow pustules that dotted the walls, though this one was transparent and acted as a sort of window overlooking the cavern.
The Prince moved over to the secretary's desk, jumping up and situating himself on the chair behind it. "Why don't you two make yourselves comfortable. Then you can tell me what you're doing all the way out here." Accepting his offer, the two sat themselves down on a couch set against the wall, facing the Prince. The seat was not exactly like the standard cushioning the girls were used to, feeling more like an incredibly spongey mushroom, coated in a generous layer of slime. Fionna noticed that Cake just barely managed to suppress another groan as she sat; she doubtless would've made a much bigger scene if she weren't already lathered in mucous.
"Well like I said, this probably shouldn't affect you in any major way, but we were hoping you might be able to help us with something." Fionna began to explain. "To spare you all the lengthy details, we're actually looking for a, uhh… a magic mirror. Or, at least a piece of it. And we think it might be somewhere inside your Kingdom." The Human couldn't help but still feel a bit of embarrassment at having to explain her incredibly clichéd quest.
"Really? A magic mirror you say? Magic mirror, hmm… Oh!... Oh dear…" A bout of realization seemed to come across the Prince's face, and was immediately followed by a darker expression. "Well… There's a chance I may know about the mirror you're looking for… But if it is, that could be a problem."
"Why, it's not hanging in your vanity is it?" Cake asked, dully. For her trouble, Fionna elbowed her in the shoulder. "No, that's not the problem." The Prince elaborated, unfazed by the joke. "The thing is, there's a bit of, well, history, behind this mirror."
The Prince paused from his speech, turning and pressing a button on the desk. "You were right to want to keep this meeting quiet, but I think, given the circumstances, we'll want to involve the Elder Drips." Fionna raised an eyebrow, becoming more than a little curious, but said nothing.
The three waited in silence for a minute or so before they heard the door open. A small slime woman entered into the room. Like most all slime peoples her own features were rather unremarkable, however she would certainly stound out amongst a crowd thanks to the very odd, tall, ovular hat she wore as well as the large gold rod she held by her side.
"You called for me, Prince?" She immediately inquired, hardly even taking note Fionna or Cake. "Yes I did, Elder Drips. You remember Fionna and Cake here, don't you?" The Prince said, gesturing to his two guests. The Elder finally looked over to the two, gracing them with a small smile. "Of course. After all, how could I forget the girl that walked out of her marriage to our lord?" She said, without a hint of malice.
Fionna blushed a deep crimson. Memories surfaced of the last and only other time she had actually been in the Slime Kingdom, when the Slime Prince had asked her to "marry" him to secure his throne and keep his insane brother from waging war across Ooo. The entire farce, though ending in a technical success, had been incredibly embarrassing for the young Girl, and she had been hoping that that little incident would not be brought up today.
The Human kept her face glued to the floor while her sister snickered obnoxiously beside her. The Prince cast an unpleasant glare at his subordinate. "That's enough, Elder. You know well by now that I am solely responsible for that debacle, and Fionna's cooperation helped keep our kingdom out of a pointless war." He scolded the older woman.
The Elder's face never fell; she merely closed her eyes and bowed herself slightly. "Of course I meant no disrespect. I'd hope you forgive me Miss Fionna." The Girl pulled her head back up, some redness beginning to recede. "Sure thing…" She muttered.
"Now then, if we could get back to our business…" The Prince spoke up, garnering everyone's attention once again. "Elder Drips, these two are here for the mirror… the uh, special one." As he said that, the Elder's smile finally fell, her eyes growing wide. "Prince… are you certain you should have even told these two about that?" She asked, very obviously nervous. "They already knew of it before I mentioned anything. And frankly, I'm sure it'll do more good in their hands than in ours. So go ahead and tell them the story." He commanded.
The Elder let out a heavily reluctant sigh. "By your request Prince, though I'm still uncertain about all this." Protest noted, Drips turned her attention to the two adventurers. "There is a legend, centuries old, that is known throughout our kingdom; a terrible legend regarding an awful power." She spoke unusually grimly, drawing Fionna's attention far more sharply. "Hundreds of years ago, mere decades after this very kingdom was first founded, a traveler found her way to our city. The knowledge of who this person was has long been forgotten, but it is well remembered what she brought along with her."
"This stranger had approached the King at the time, claiming to have a tremendously powerful object in their possession. The story goes that this person was deeply afraid that her object would cause some sort of tragedy, so she brought it to what she thought to be the safest, most well hidden Kingdom in Ooo. She urged the King to take it, and keep it locked away, deep underground. I'm sure by now you've guessed that this object was a piece of a mirror. Well, the King certainly accepted the gift, but not with the intention of keeping it hidden."
"The legend gets a little hazy in the details at this point; no one quite remembers what the King actually did with the shard. Some say the King discovered a demon living within the shard, and made a wish for money or power or prestige or something. Others say he attempted to harness the raw power of the mirror himself. Still some rumors claim he really did intend to lock it away, but the mirror unleashed its' power on its own accord."
"But whatever the King's intent, the mirror really did prove to have some sort of power beyond his control. Again, the story seems to have been lost somewhat over the generations, but we know that something terrible happened; the King went missing and a huge portion of the kingdom was outright destroyed. When the dust settled, all that was left of the ruined part of the city was an old well."
"The people found the mirror shard rather easily, which was apparently totally unscathed. There wasn't even a discussion on the matter; they threw the mirror into the old well, and vowed to keep it hidden away. Eventually the city was rebuilt, but the well chamber was kept more or less untouched, sealed away behind locked doors."
Fionna hung on the Elder's story, her face the portrait of focus. When Drips was finally finished, the Girl's mind was already racing toward the next steps she would have to take. "So what you're saying is the mirror piece is here, but it's at the bottom of a well?" She asked of both the Prince and Elder. "And not only that, but it's like, super cursed too?" Cake chimed in. "In a nutshell." The Prince replied.
A short silence fell; the two sisters stewed in their frustration while the two Slimes reflected on this old shame. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Fiona finally asked, breaking the silence. "Hmmm?" The Prince hummed in confusion. "This mirror piece should still be in that well, right? So go ahead and show us there so we can get it." The Girl said, as though that should have been obvious.
"Now just hold on a minute. I would've thought that the story should have made it clear that that mirror is too dangerous to take out of the Kingdom!" The Elder argued. "And that's to say nothing of how dangerous it would have to be just to retrieve the darn thing!" At her outburst, Cake released a scoff. "Yeah, so what? In case you haven't heard about anything big happening in Ooo in the past few weeks, we've kind of been in constant danger for a while now."
The Prince chose that time to extricate himself from his seat, and moved himself in front of the Elder. "They're right, Drips. That mirror is of no use to us, in fact it's a danger, a time bomb we've been perfectly content to let sit under our noses for centuries, and frankly we should've gotten it into more qualified hands a long time ago." He then turned himself to face the Human. "Okay Fionna, we'll take you to the well and help you retrieve the mirror."
The Prince and Elder led the two heroes inwards towards the innermost portion of the Royal 'Palace,' where the actual well room was kept hidden. Fionna noted with some curiosity that these last few halls and chambers were slightly different from the rest of the grounds. It was difficult to describe, they simply seemed… older, she guessed. The colors seemed duller, the walls… drier. It dawned on her that she hadn't even seen any guards, officials, or any other slime people around this area, and wondered just how out of the way this well had to be for the whole area to have apparently been left utterly unattended for so long.
Her thoughts must've been all too obvious, as the Prince began to explain the state of their surroundings. "This is the oldest section of the palace grounds. In fact, these walls are among the first things rebuilt after the destruction of the first palace. The whole place was built to completely surround the well chamber, and the more years passed the more palace was built, and the further away from the actual well got from the main areas. Eventually my family just began to discourage the use of these inner chambers, so we could better keep the chamber a secret."
Eventually the party reached a door that seemed particularly ornamental compared to the others. The Elder cast a glance over to the Prince, who gave her a confirmatory nod. Drips brought the bulb of her rod down to manipulate it, activating some sort of mechanism. A small hole opened at the tip of the staff, and a key-like apparatus popped out of the top. She raised up her rod to the handle of the door, inserting her key into the lock and releasing the latch.
Opening the door, the two slimes led their guests into the room, which turned out to be the old main bedchamber. While the decorum of the room would've no doubt once been considered luxurious, the whole of the room had decayed rather extensively. Everything around them seemed to be falling to tatters, and looked to be coated in a generous layer of some filth that Fionna couldn't decide seemed more like slime or dust.
The Prince didn't pay any mind to the state of the room, simply made his way over towards an oversized wardrobe situated against the grayed wall. He opened the doors, the ancient wood creaking loudly, sounding as though it would splinter into a million pieces just for being disturbed. Neither sister knew what the Prince was trying to accomplish, as the interior was completely empty, save for mold. The Prince, however, knew exactly what he was doing.
Reaching down, he apparently activated some kind of hidden switch. The wood creaked even louder as mechanisms centuries old ground themselves to life. The back wall of the wardrobe split down the middle, opening up like a second set of doors. Fionna peered inside the wardrobe, but whatever lay behind the hidden door seemed to lay entirely in darkness.
A few more moments passed as strained mechanical sounds whispered out of the walls. The crackling of wires and switches rang out as electricity trickled into this incredibly old system. Fionna caught a slight odor of ozone before a bright light shone out from behind the hidden door, nearly blinding the girl. Once her vision returned, she looked again to the hidden room, now fully illuminated by many old floodlights.
"Well, here it is." The Prince said before pulling himself through the large wardrobe and into the concealed alcove. Drips followed him, and after that Fiona began to make her way through the secret passage, with Cake following just after. The small cave felt unnerving, if only because it felt so out of place compared to the rest of the underground kingdom.
The fact that this place had been so purposefully sealed away from the rest of the area was quite obvious. In contrast to the slick, green stone walls of the other caverns, this cave was composed of only solid, gray rock, completely dry and otherwise devoid of any tell-tale signs of slime construction. The walls of the cave themselves seemed very unnatural; too smooth, but not as though they were carved by hand, more like they were merely worn flat by some immaterial force.
The cave was barren save for two features; the floodlights that were clearly brought in and set up in haste, as opposed to in a more permanent manner, and the small cobblestone well set towards the center of the cave. It was an incredibly basic structure, a small cylinder, perhaps only three feet high, and built of various stones and cement. The group was quickly approaching the well.
"Here, the mirror piece should be down at the bottom of this well… that is, assuming the legends are even true." The Prince explained. Despite his doubt, Fionna was totally sure that they had found the correct spot. "My map said that the mirror was in this kingdom, so it has to be down there."
As those two spoke, Cake brought herself right to the wall of the well, having to pull herself up slightly to look over the ledge. Unable to see much through the prevailing blackness, the Cat quickly looked around the cavern. Quickly getting an idea, she extended her arm out to grab one of the floodlight stands, effortlessly raising it and bringing it back over to the well. Angling it right over the ledge allowed her to finally see down into the pit, and perhaps see just how deep it actually went. Her mouth curled into a frown once she was finally able to look down.
Fionna saw her sister bring over a light, smiling at her forethought without actually checking into the well herself. "Good idea Cake. Now you can just lower me down to the bottom and I'll grab the mirror." Her Feline companion looked back towards her, but her expression caused her some concern. "Yeah, one small problem with that…" She groaned. Confused, the Human wandered over to see for herself what the problem was. "Oh you've got to be kidding me." She breathed in frustration.
With the light shining down, one could now easily see that the well was not actually dry, but was filled, nearly to the brim, with pale, greenish slime. Equally confused, both the Slime Prince and Elder drips also approached the well to peer inside. "Ahhhh… that is rather inconvenient." The Prince pointed out.
Fionna couldn't help but cast an angry glare at the royal. "This is more than a little inconvenient. I can't search down there without drowning or suffocating or… dissolving! Or whatever happens when a person is submerged in slime!" Before her outburst could continue any further, Elder Drips loudly cleared her throat, grabbing the Girl's attention. "Calm yourself dear. I promise you that our slime should not have any adverse effect on any other organisms. As for your drowning concern, I may be able to circumvent that threat."
Having said that, the Elder set her gold rod down for a moment. Raising he stubby arms up to her face, she brought them together and to her mouth, blowing in between them. As she blew, a large bubble began to grow out from the space between her hands. It was just a little smaller than the Elder's entire body by the time she had finished. Holding the bubble out as though it were a ball, she asked Fionna, "Would you mind getting down on my level?"
Curious, Fionna lowered herself down to her knees, getting herself as close to the Elder as she could. Drips reached the bubble up towards her face, pressing it against her. The Girl had to admit that she was at least a little weirded out by this act, but kept her composure. The bubble made contact with her face, seamlessly melding onto the layer of slime already coating her body. The bubble spread itself over the entirety of her face, lifting the slime there off of her skin directly, and creating small breathing space, somewhat like a scuba mask.
"There, this charm should provide you with enough breathable air to search the bottom of the well for your mirror piece." Drips explained to the young woman. Rising to her feet, Fionna gently prodded at the bubble now surrounding her face. It seemed durable enough that it wouldn't pop if she dived down into the slime.
While she played with her new mucous meniscus, Fionna looked back over the ledge of the well, this time staring intently down into the slime. The light that her sister had set up shone some way down into the goop, but it didn't penetrate clear down to the bottom, which still seemed a black pit. She turned back to the Elder. "Hey do you think there's a smaller light around here I could take down with me? Otherwise I don't think I'll be able to find anything down there." She asked.
The Prince answered her. "I'm sure there must be a portable light in here somewhere. Check around the rest of the equipment." Getting the idea that neither of the slimes would actually be assisting her in that matter she flicked her head at her sister, the Cat getting the message and walking over to search by the floodlights. Fionna herself went to the other side of the room to look among the equipment over there.
It didn't take long to check through everything, only because there was so little equipment left down in the cave. Unfortunately, the Human came up empty handed on her end. Dissatisfied, she made her way back over to the well. "I've got nothing, how about you?" She asked as her companion strode back over. "Well there aren't any flashlights or anything small like that. But I did see a small generator and a couple extra lights. I figure maybe we turn em on, dump em down there and you should be able to see."
"Guess that's better than nothing." The Girl agreed, not seeing any other alternatives. Cake nodded emphatically, and went back over to grab the equipment. While she was busy, Elder Drips once again grabbed Fionna's attention. "Please listen close Fionna. The bubble I've lent you can recycle the air well enough out here, but once you're in the slime you will have a limited amount of time before your air runs out. I'd give you ten minutes maximum, and less if you overexert yourself. So once you're down there, be sure to find that thing quickly, understand?"
Fionna smiled in response, unworried about her prospects. "No sweat. I figure that even if I'm unlucky, the worst thing that could happen is the thing's buried under some mud and I'll have to dig it out." The Elder, however, seemed more reserved. "I hope you're right. Please do not forget that this item is powerful. There's no telling what could happen if you so much as touch it."
Leaving Fionna to dwell on that, Drips went over to say something to the Prince. Meanwhile, Cake returned with an enlarged armful of electrical equipment. All together she had found a portable generator, a few smaller lights, and a generous portion of cables holding it all together and all small enough to fit down the hole. Pressing a button on the generator, she brought the motor roaring to life. Light began to pour form the lamps as energy was fed into them.
"Hope this thing's sealed up tight." The Cat muttered as she gathered her bundle back in her arms. Hefting it over the stone wall, she tipped the bundle down into the hole. The equipment hit the surface of the liquid gunk with a massive splunk! The goo recoiled under the stress of the machinery, only to bounce back, engulfing the riggings whole and splashing up over the rim of the stone wall. Very quickly after that the slime fell back into place, settling itself rather quickly.
Cake brought herself to gaze over the ledge, watching the bundle of artificial light as it sunk down through the slime, sinking relatively slowly. She first saw as the equipment sink down past the point that the surface light reached, falling into the blackness, serving as a sort of beacon as it sunk through the shadows. The ball of light continued to fall further and further, going much deeper than she would've thought a normal well should've went. Eventually it seemed to come to rest, at least it didn't seem to be growing any dimmer. Even so, by the time it had stopped it had become just spot of light in her vision, like a half moon in a sky with no stars.
After her light had reached the bottom, Fionna came over to check the well herself. "So I'm thinking this might be a little harder than we thought." Cake drawled out. Fionna nearly choked when she saw just how deep the well went. What's more, the light didn't seem to reflect off of any sort of walls, as though the well simply stopped after a point.
"Well, when is it ever as easy as we hoped?" Fionna asked with a nervous smile. With all their preparation complete, and no longer willing to put this off any longer, the Girl began to steel herself for the dive. Shrugging her goo-coated backpack off and to the floor, she took a hold of the stone wall of the well.
"Are you sure you're up for this, Fionna?" She heard the Prince ask from behind her. "One way or another I need that mirror." She replied honestly. Just as she was about to jump the ledge, she felt something coil tightly around her waist. Glancing over, she saw that Cake had wrapped around her like a rope. "Don't think I'd let you dive all the way down there without a lifeline. Just tug my arm a couple times when you want me to reel you in."
The Human offered her a sincerer smile. "Got it." With that, she turned her focus back to the well. Without any further hesitation, she hauled herself up over the stones, tipping herself over and diving headfirst into the muck.
Once her full body was submerged, Fionna immediately noticed that swimming through the slime would not be quite as easy as going through water. It was thicker, not quite so thick as most of the other slime she'd encountered in the kingdom, or even the portion coating her body, but certainly more viscous than normal water. Even so, it didn't seem she'd have much trouble maneuvering through it.
The bubble over her face seemed to be holding well, and she didn't feel any difficulties in breathing. The slime was translucent for the most part, and she was able to see through it with no real trouble, at least the parts where light could permeate, though everything was tinted in a slight green. So assuming she'd be able to maneuver the lighting down at the bottom, she figured she'd be able to search out the mirror fairly easily.
With no other marker in sight, she began to pull herself down into the slime, aiming towards the faint spot of light where the generator had landed. The thought occurred that she could've taken a ride down with the generator or otherwise allowed something heavy to take her straight to the bottom. Unfortunately it was too late for that now, so she'd have to get down to the bottom by her own strength. On the positive side, she didn't seem to have any buoyancy down in the sludge, meaning she wasn't rising towards the surface, rather she simply remained suspended if she wasn't actually moving.
The light grew closer much faster than she had thought; perhaps the well did not run as deep as she once thought. She reached the bottom maybe only a minute after passing through the surface, the small lights provided by the generator providing a slight comfort in the otherwise pitch black void she now found herself in. Grabbing on the handles of the generator, she pulled herself down so she could stand on the bottom of the well. The ground had some slight give, but seemed sturdy just beneath the surface, enough so that she didn't sink right into the ground. She figured the ground was probably bedrock with a small layer of slime or mud coating it.
Staring straight up, the opening of the well was now little more than a bright spot in the void. Her concern had been correct, the well did not simply consist of a single tunnel. Rather, it opened at some point into some manner of larger underground reservoir. In fact, there was no possible way that she could tell just how big the cavern was considering there was no light besides the one she had brought, and that didn't reach more than maybe a dozen feet out.
Sighing to herself, the Human leant over to pick up one of the more easily movable lights connected to the generator. There was a lot more ground to cover than she had anticipated, but she doubted that the mirror could have been completely buried by the very slight layer of sludge, so it should be very visible as soon as any light touched it.
The light she had was not really directed, so it merely created an area of light rather than a direct beam, so she herself would have to move around the area in order to find the mirror. Light in hand, she kicked up off of the ground, and began to sluggishly move herself through the slurry. The Human kept herself low, just skimming above the ground, he eyes darting over every square inch that became illuminated. She did her best to keep her breathing measured, keeping in mind that she now had fewer than ten minutes in which to search.
She likely spent another full minute traveling in a relatively straight line. A slight tug at her cable stopped her from moving any further, evidently this light had reached the end of its line. Fionna grunted in aggravation. Looking back to the dim light of her starting point, she saw that she had indeed come a fair distance away, she could've guessed just under a quarter mile. Even so, she failed to find the mirror shard, or even discover the extent to which the cave reached.
Turning back, the Girl spent a couple of seconds just staring into the seemingly infinite blackness. 'This cave could go on forever for all I know, but the Elder said they threw the mirror into the well itself. Even if the cave got bigger in that time, there's no way the well itself could've moved, so the mirror has to be within a short range of the well.' She realized that if she was ever going to find the mirror, she would have to limit the area she searched.
Fionna had just started to paddle her way back to the generator when she felt a very odd sensation, like a very slight vibration traveling through the slime. She stopped dead in her tracks, a seed of worry taking a hold in her chest. The sensation was incredibly mild, but she was positive she had felt it, and that it had come from the outside. Her mind raced to find a suitable reason that might have happened.
Her first thoughts were that some kind of earthquake or mild tremor had shook the cave, or that perhaps the slime people were doing something to shake the cave. She remained perfectly still, holding her breath for a few tense seconds. But when anything else failed to happen, she simply began to move back towards the generator once more, hoping that whatever had happened would turn out to be a onetime event.
Fionna was a little over halfway back when she felt another vibration, somewhat stronger this time. The Girl did not stop herself this time, but her sense of worry began to grow even further. When she had finally gotten back to the generator, she felt another disturbance in the slime. This time it seemed less like a distant vibration, and more like a direct movement of liquid across her skin, as though it were being drawn somewhere.
This new sensation was an entirely new cause of concern. A tremor could have explained the vibrations in the sludge, but nothing like that could actually pull the slime around her. Fionna wondered briefly if perhaps there was some kind of leak or exit in the cave where the slime could flow out, but that just didn't seem an adequate explanation.
Finally she got the idea that perhaps she wasn't the only thing alive down here. That would've made the least sense, as not only did the Elder and Prince fail to mention anything of the sort, but she didn't see how any creature could manage to survive down here, in this pit devoid entirely of light and life. Another rush of slime, stronger still, drew the Girl's attention in the direction it was drawn.
Confusion was the first feeling to worm itself into Fionna's mind. Staring out into the blackness, the Girl thought she could just barely begin to make out some massive, blobbish form that almost seemed to glow, but if so it was an incredibly dim light. She strained her eyes, hoping that she could better see whatever it was that was lurking just beyond her small ring of light.
Another rush of slime moved toward the mass, actually moving her an inch or so towards it. She thought she saw the shape beginning to grow brighter, more defined; either her eyes were better adjusting or the thing itself was glowing brighter. A giant black spot began to open up on the front of the mass, spreading and stretching like the maw on some massive creature.
Fionna realized then that whatever she was looking at WAS alive, and from the looks of things none too friendly. This was incredibly bad, she had absolutely no way to defend herself against something like that, especially not while submerged. The obvious course of action was to get out of the well as fast as possible; after all she could easily come back later with a better plan.
Giving it no more thought, Fionna quickly reached back and tugged several times on the furry limb that kept her tethered to the surface. Instantly Cake's arm began to retract back up, pulling the young girl up towards the mouth of the well. Unfortunately for her, whatever entity she had just disturbed had no desire to let her escape.
Out of the corner of her eye, Fionna could just barely see a dull glowing tendril extend out from the main mass, reaching straight for her! Much quicker than she could react, the thin tendril struck at her waist, worming itself in between her body and her sister's limb. The tendril threaded itself all around her torso, effectively forming a net between herself and Cake's arm. The Girl had no idea how it happened, whether by reducing friction or simply overpowering the Cat, but somehow the tendril managed to wrench the poor Human clean out from the protective loop of her sister's arm.
Fionna let out a shrill scream that couldn't even penetrate past her own bubble, as she was wrenched several feet into the slime by the creature's tendril. Her body was turned towards the light of the well just in time to see the long limb retreating up into the open air, a sight that felt like a hammer blow to her stomach.
"What in the name of…" Cake said with a start once she felt a foreign object slide itself across her skin, immediately after which her load seemed to lessen considerably. Her brow furrowed in the beginnings of panic while her flexible appendage continued to return from its dip in the sludge. Both she and the Slime folk accompanying her looked on in horror as her hand finally came above the surface, empty.
"Oh Glob, Oh Glob…" The Cat muttered in disbelief. "What in the world happened? Where's Fionna?" The Prince asked, sounding utterly flabbergasted. Cake wasn't even sure how to answer. She barely had a better idea of what happened than the Prince himself.
"I don't… I have no clue… It almost felt like something… something grabbed her from me." She said, still refusing to acknowledge the entire situation. While the Cat had been thrown into a state of stun, the Prince had grown nearly manic. "Well what are you waiting for? Reach back down there so she can grab on to you!" He screamed at the near catatonic Feline.
"I, uh… oh… oh geez!" Cake finally seemed to shake herself out of her stupor. In an instant she was back over the side of the wall, furiously plunging her arm back into the depths of the ooze, unable to do little more than hope her girl would be able to find it and grab on herself.
After several seconds had passed, the Prince realized that Cake wasn't going to immediately withdraw the Human. "What are you doing? Why haven't you pulled her up yet?" Although Cake had felt her sister taking her arm well beyond the reach of what the well should've exceeded, she realized that the Prince and likely the Elder had no clue that there was anything more than the bottom of a small hole.
"You don't get it. This thing doesn't just drop straight down. From what I felt, there's a whole other cave beneath this thing, a big one." The Cat explained. Finally the Elder decided to speak up. "So what your saying is there's no way for you to get her back?" Cake couldn't bear to meet her eyes. "Not unless she can find her way back herself."
After being separated from her lifeline, Fionna was thrown into a state of disarray. The tentacle had ripped her clean way from Cake and sent her spinning into the slime. As soon as she had any semblance of clarity, her first reaction was to begin scrambling towards the nearest light, in this case the entry of the well, through which Cake's arm was just about to vanish.
The girl was far too late, and her only tether disappeared beyond the liquid barrier, leaving her alone in the pit with whatever monster she had just awoken. Frantically, she pulled herself in the direction of the well, but the creature had already demonstrated its' intention to keep her down, and quickly moved to intercept its victim.
Fionna felt another slim tendril loop around her ankle, bringing her body to a jarring halt. An instant afterwards, it was pulling her body back away from the well at a disorienting speed. The tendril loosed her leg, sending her careening through the viscous fluid. The slime at least offered some resistance on her behalf, so she did eventually come to rest, though she'd certainly been shaken up. The Girl regained her sense of direction just in time to spot the now quite distant light of the well a second before the bulbous mass moved directly below it, eclipsing the small circle behind a wall of dully glowing slime.
The Human had grown past the point of panic and now truly feared for her life. The creature obviously did not want her escaping, and more than likely wished her dead; and it was clearly confident enough to toy with her instead of just killing her immediately. Not that that hardly mattered; even if it didn't want to end her quickly she was losing air with every passing second, in fact she assumed she had less than five minutes worth at this point.
Her mind was gripped in a torrent of terror, and she couldn't have even begun to form a plausible idea even if she had any options to work with. Adrenaline coursed across her neurons, stripping away any of the remaining rationality she could have mustered. Fionna was running purely in a state of fight or flight, driven solely by base instinct, and by this point there was little she could do but cower in fear.
But down below the creature the generator was still running, now providing the only real light in this entire void. Its light couldn't reach Fionna's position, but she could still see it through the darkness. It was the only other thing she could cling to besides the vague form of the monster. It was also the only concept her primal mind could manage to grip at the moment; light was safety, she had to get to the light.
With as much strength as she still had, she began to paddle her way down to the paltry collection of lights. She had no thoughts as to what she could do when and even if she reached them. All she could do was get back into the light. She didn't look up at the monster, didn't watch as it sent several more of its tentacle down towards her, only kept her eyes focused on the lights.
Whether by some fluke, or perhaps even at the whim of the creature, Fionna did manage to bring herself into the circle of light given off by the few instruments she'd brought down with her. She brought herself as close to the floor as she could, taking hold of one the light shafts and… nothing. This was as far as she thought she could get, this was the extent of her abilities.
Unfortunately, whatever solace she found with her lights would be brief. Once again, the creature grabbed at the Girl, constricting her with multiple limbs now, crushing down harder than it had before. She gasped out as her chest was forcibly compressed, wasting even more of the precious little oxygen she had left.
Whatever this monster was, it clearly had at least some small measure of intelligence. It was cruel, sadistic. It was aware of the damage it was inflicting on its' helpless victim. It didn't act on any sort of predatory instinct, it had an evil intent. It was driven by something, some manner of malevolent force.
Rearing its' tentacles back, it once again sent the poor Girl flying off into the blackness, now tangled in a length of cables and metal and glass. It was much more forceful, and far more direct in its violence, purposefully hurling Fionna down towards the stone floor. She collided with the stone, shock reverberating through her body and expelling even more air from her lungs. The metal lighting structures fell with her, crashing down on her body. The remainder of the lights were sent flying in various directions by the monster's assault.
The pain seemed to have some effect on the Girl's mental state, bringing her back to a more lucid state. She was still very much afraid, and now wracked with pain, but at least now she could interpret that fear a little more clearly. But even as her thoughts had been freed, all she could think now was how she almost certainly about to die, either under the creature's torture or by slow suffocation.
Fionna had landed on her back, among the various equipment she'd been tossed with. A couple of the lighting fixtures had landed atop her, and there was a small bunch of cables beneath her neck, propping her head slightly. At this angle she was forced to stare directly at the mass of glowing gel, still placed tauntingly between herself and the well. The thing seemed to flicker, pulse almost, it's dull light glowing bright enough to set it as a distinct feature against the black before dimming down until it was just barely recognizable.
Her head swiveled, if for no other reason than to ignore the blinking mass. If it was going to kill her, she'd rather not see it coming at this point. Even though she knew there was nothing down here but blackness, she still searched something out, anything else she could focus on to ignore her approaching demise.
Oddly enough, not quite everything was pure abyss in her sight. All around her in various spots were small lights, the last remnants of the equipment the beast had scattered, still somehow coursing with energy. They were perfectly still, suspended in the thick slime, almost like stars in the night sky. She could even swear that they were twinkling as well.
'…Wait…' Fionna's sight set on one of the more distant lights, noting that it somehow seemed more brilliant than the others. It was brighter, almost blindingly so. But as she continued to stare, she realized it wasn't the light itself that was brighter, but rather the light seemed to be reflected off of something. That didn't seem to make any sense, so far she hadn't seen any sort of lustrous stone or anything that could possibly catch light down here.
Her eyes grew wide behind her sheen of slime as the realization hit her; the only thing that could possibly be gleaming like that down here was the mirror shard! And then immediately following that came the crushing thought that she wouldn't possibly be able to reach it, that she was going to die down here and the mirror would forever rest in this puddle of filth.
Catching the barest trace of movement, her eyes moved back to the main mass of the creature. She could see its' tendrils beginning to move again, encroaching maliciously over her. At the same time she noticed that her own breaths were growing shallower, in fact just breathing was becoming more and more of a strained task; her air was growing dangerously low. Whether by asphyxiation or at the hands of the horrid monster, her final moments seemed to be fast approaching.
'That means… it's now or never…' By her count, the tentacles were in the lead for what would be the ultimate cause of her death, just as she had hoped. As the repulsive limbs approached, the Girl readied herself. One hand clutched tight at the body of the light lain atop her torso. The other she shuffled around the ground, finding and loosening as much of the electrical cable as she could reach.
The beast lashed out at Fionna, just as she had anticipated. Even faster than the monster moved, she had shoved the lighting fixture up off of her, and directly into the clutches of the monster. Anticipating only some body to wrap around, the creature's tentacles took the bait, viciously snatching it away while leaving Fionna on the ground.
As the light was snapped away, the Human quickly grabbed hold of the cables piled beneath her. Just as she had expected, the creature seemed to realize its' mistake very quickly, and flung away the light just as it had herself. But as the light was sent flying, Fionna kept a hold of the line running from it. Just before the creature could reach her again, she was caught by the momentum of the light and harshly dragged away, tailing after the unfortunate equipment and being momentarily removed from the creature's grasp. The best part was that the creature had been courteous enough to toss her in the direction of the mirror.
After her relatively short trip, Fionna released her grip on the cable, using the momentum to propel herself that much closer to her goal. By the time she was freely suspended in the dark slime she figured that the monster would have caught up and would once more be reaching for her. So the Girl used every last bit of her remaining energy to frantically swim down towards the mirror.
She could see the twinkling glass inch closer and closer. Against the otherwise pitch black void, the shimmering gleam was almost blinding, certainly irritating. The Girl's muscles began to quiver in equal parts anticipation and terror. Her heart beat erratically as the struggle to draw breath become more and more difficult. Her head ached, like her brain was being squeezed by her own skull.
Finally she passed into the ring of light. She desperately reached out her hand, the mirror was barely a finger's length away. She could feel the slime tremble by her feet, the creature's limbs were literally on her heels. She felt the pads of her fingers just brush over the smooth glass when the tentacle captured her ankle.
Time felt as though it had come to a standstill for the Girl. She couldn't say that she felt paralyzed, rather it went beyond that. She couldn't feel the beads of sweat running down her face, or the slight current of slime across her skin, or even the monster pulling her away; it had all stopped completely for her. But all it took was for her to blink, and everything shot back into motion.
Her body was whipped backwards and her ankle nearly broke as the monster wrenched her back out of the light. However, unlike her previous encounters, it didn't seem interested in tossing her about any longer. Instead it appeared to be drawing her directly towards its main body. As she was practically laying down as it drew her in, the Human had a clear view of the bulbous mass as she approached. Though she had been growing less and less trustful of her vision, she was certain that the blob was glowing brighter
Fionna was practically face to face with the monster now, and her nerves felt as tense as a rubber band about to snap. Instinctively, her fingers tightened, and it was only at that point she felt something sharp cutting into her palm. Somehow she had managed to grab the mirror without even noticing.
Even though that find should have lent some relief to the poor Girl, the fact was she was still in an incredibly dire situation, and from her perspective there was almost nothing she could do by this point. She didn't have any weapons, she didn't have any help, and she didn't even have any strength. But, it dawned on her that she did have something left.
'The mirror… it's supposed to be cursed, so maybe it's the cause behind this thing…' Curse or no curse, it was now her only option. Fionna was completely out of time, actually within arm's reach of the main blob. So before it engulfed her completely, she readied the mirror like a dagger, and cut out across the goopy mass.
The ancient glass carved easily through the monster's membrane, giving almost no resistance to the Human. She cut as big a scar as she could across the beast, and as she finished her sweeping motion it halted entirely, only holding the Girl still. It became eerily immobile, as though needing a moment to realize that it had just been torn open.
Fionna could do little more than wait out those few tense seconds. Eventually it did begin to move again, but completely different from before. It was not making the precise, calculated motions of a creature driven with purpose. Now it was trembling, quaking violently, and Fionna along with it.
The Girl's eyes squinted in disbelief. She was almost willing to believe the lack of oxygen was causing her to hallucinate, but the slight suction of the slime around her suggested that what she was witnessing was in fact very real. The cut she'd opened instantly turned dark, darker even then the pit around her. Not only that, but it also seemed to be drawing in the surrounding fluid, and at a much greater rate than the monster itself had.
The monster continued to tremble more and more violently as the vacuum force of the wound gradually increased. Very quickly it became too much for the monster, and it began to lose control over itself. As soon as Fionna felt the tentacle loosen around her ankle she pulled herself free and began to move, desperately trying to back away from the creature. Fortunately, she managed to get far enough away that the suction had little impact on her, but even so she turned down and swam back to the bottom.
As soon as she felt solid rock beneath her she felt safe enough to look back up. The monster was shaking so much it seemed to be utterly losing its' cohesion. Its membrane squirmed like a swarm of hornets was furiously buzzing beneath the surface. Its body pulsed and shook erratically, like a cancerous lung that was taking its final breaths.
Fionna couldn't tell how long this went on, but at some point she heard a dull 'pop' sound out, as though a large bubble had just burst somewhere nearby. The monster never stopped twitching, but it looked almost as though it were bending over. The Girl quickly realized that wasn't the extent of it, rather the entire thing was collapsing in on itself. Its main form bent and folded inwards, being drawn in towards the sucking wound. And once the gel of the creature touched the gaping hole, it vanished.
The Human could only watch with morbid curiosity as the mass collapsed inwards and disappeared. When finally the last bit of monster had passed the barrier, a pulse shot out through the slime, certainly not strong enough to move Fionna where she was, but strong enough that she noticed. After that last burst of energy was lost, the black gash snapped shut, leaving only the normal black of the pit remaining.
Finally she had a moment of peace to collect her thoughts. She was finding it rather difficult to fully grasp the gravity of what had just happened. She'd come very near to dying, and that was not a fact she felt that she'd be getting over any time soon. On top of that, she was starting to realize that the wound she'd inflicted, which had swallowed the monster whole, acted almost identically to the very black holes that she was trying to stop.
'I guess if nothing else that proves the mirror is definitely tied into this mess.' As her blood began to settle, Fionna felt she could finally relax a little. Looking down she could just barely see the mirror in her hand; she'd finally obtained it.
A small smirk began to crease her lips, no small amount of pride begging to flood her ego. The Girl attempted to take a deep breath, only to find that she wasn't actually able to do so. In fact, the small trickle of air she managed to get seemed to be just about the last bit of breathable oxygen she had left, meaning she'd either reached her time limit or used up the rest of her air in her struggle against the monster.
Her sense of relief immediately dissipated. If she was going to make it out of this pit alive she had to move now. Her eyes bolted upwards, now again able to make out the light of the well with the creature removed. Without any hesitation, she kicked up into the slime and broke into a mad dash for the entrance.
She paddled her way through the slime with all the strength she could muster, but with so little oxygen left her muscles could barely function. Her vision began to blur as the light of the well grew closer and closer. Her mouth gaped as she sucked desperately at nothing.
She didn't want to quit now, the light was so close she could actually make out the cobblestone of the well itself. But as she realized she still had to make it all the way up the well, she began to think she simply couldn't hold out any more. She could feel her mind shutting down, starved of oxygen.
Fionna passed into the light, moving just above the bottom ledge of the well. She could barely see anything anymore as she felt the rest of her senses switch off one by one. The last thing she could see before her mind blacked out was something long and ropey hanging down in front of her. She reached out a weak hand towards it, losing herself just as her fingers brushed the matted fur.
"This isn't good, her oxygen supply should be nearly out by now." Elder Drips mentioned. The mood on the surface could almost be considered as tense as the one down below. It'd been several minutes since Cake had lost her grip on Fionna, and after that the trio couldn't do any more than wait in silence, hoping for any sign of the Girl's return.
"You're absolutely sure you haven't felt anything down there?" The Prince asked Cake, his desperation evident. The Feline shot him an agitated look. "If I had I would've brought her back by now, but the only thing I've felt were some weird vibrations." The Prince buckled under the Cat's glare, knowing full well she was as unable to do anything as he was.
However, before anything could be reconciled, Cake's expression shifted drastically. The anger in her eyes gave way in an instant to shock. Immediately her attention was off of the Prince and back on the well. She had felt something brush her hand, something solid. It had only just tapped her, but Cake knew that there was only one thing down there that could've caused that.
The Cat stretched her arm even further, frantically searching the diameter of the well for any further signs of life. To her extreme relief, she felt her arm snag on something much larger, the size of a body. She quickly looped her arm around the form, securing her cargo much tighter this time. As soon as her grip was tightened she immediately hauled up her load. This time, she did not come up empty handed.
Cake and the two slimes watched with hope as the mysterious object came closer and closer to the surface. Finally the Cat staggered backward, wrenching the dripping form of her younger sister up and out of the muck, and then quickly deposited her on the floor.
Fionna coughed and sputtered as fresh air filtered in through the lining of her bubble, finally giving her lungs a much needed reprieve from their starvation. Once her breathing finally began to stabilize and oxygen could again reach her brain, she was able to look up and see three very concerned faces staring back at her.
"Sweetie… are you okay?" Cake asked gently, still clearly recovering from her own terror. The Girl could muster just enough breath to weakly reply. "That depends… how's my hair look?" She wheezed out with a smirk. The trio surrounding her let out a collective sigh of relief. "Matted and sticky, so about as good as your sense of humor." Cake replied, trying her best to sound unamused.
The mood lightened considerably as all were assured of Fionna's safety. But while Cake remained totally concerned over her sister's well-being, both the Slime Prince and Elder Drips had other concerns they'd prefer to address. "Well, what about the mirror? Did you find it?" The Prince demanded.
Once again Cake had to force him to back down with a savage glare. "Will you relax already? Sheesh, give the poor girl a chance to catch her breath!" The Prince pursed his lips, but Elder Drips was still adamant on the matter. "I'd ask you forgive the Prince's impatience, but this is an important issue. So please Fionna, did you manage to retrieve the mirror shard?" Though she spoke much more politely than her sovereign, she was still quite firm in her questioning.
Before Cake could chastise the Elder as well, Fionna replied with her own gesture. Rolling over slightly, the Girl retrieved the mirror shard that she'd been laying on since Cake had hurled her onto the floor. "Yeah… I found the mirror…" Holding it up, she quickly snatched it back as the Elder moved to inspect it up close, and then shot the slime an accusatory look. "…I also found a giant slime monster… that manhandled me like a ragdoll… so thanks for giving me a heads up on that." She huffed sarcastically.
"Hold on a sec, there was a WHAT down there!?" Cake demanded to know. As the Cat's anger rose, the Elder could only look in utter confusion. "What are you talking about? What monster?" The Elder pleaded her ignorance. "I'm talking about the giant ball of slime that wrung me like a wet towel. It definitely would've killed me if it weren't for the mirror." Fionna explained darkly, recovering a bit more of her breath.
"Fionna please, I'm sorry if you faced more difficulty in your task than you were expecting, but I had absolutely no knowledge of any 'monster' living down there." The Elder attempted to ease the mood. "That's your best excuse? You throw my girl down into some monster's lair, a monster that's been living under YOUR kingdom for centuries, and you say you didn't even know about it?!" Cake screamed at the older slime.
As the hostilities mounted the Prince attempted to diffuse the situation. "Look Cake, Fionna, your both right. It's completely inexcusable that we sent you down there without actually knowing what to expect. Your being in danger is totally on our heads, and I'm deeply sorry for that. But look at what your accomplished, you got the mirror back! Maybe we should just be thankful for that."
Cake appeared ready to fly off the handle again, but Fionna grabbed her wrist, drawing her attention and silently asking her to hold back. "He's right Cake. I found the mirror and that's all that matters. And its' not like they deliberately sent me down there without telling me about the monster." The Cat huffed indignantly, but held her tongue. "Thank you for understanding Fionna. If there's ever anything I can do to make it up you, you need only ask." The Prince smiled nervously, still clearly embarrassed at his negligence.
"So Cake, you think you can help me out of here? I want a bath and a nap." The Girl asked. Perhaps she could've maintained her grievance a little longer, but she was far too exhausted to care that much. She accomplished what she set out to do, even if it was far more catastrophic than she had been anticipating.
"Alright then. Glob knows if anyone deserves a rest its' you." Cake said to her younger sibling. Bending down, she helped the young woman latch onto her back before increasing her size enough to carry the Girl. "But you're dreaming if you think I'm letting you have the first bath. I am literally going to lose my mind if I don't scrape this crud out of my fur soon."