Oh guys, your reviews make me so happy! Thanks so much to everyone who's stuck with the story this far. There's a lot going on at the minute so my updates might be a little haphazard; we had a death in the family last week and other less dramatic ongoing things. But I'm working on another full novel-length real world AU and some one shots, as soon as I get this behemoth posted you can expect to see those.
Question; if Foundlings had a sequel/s, was part of a larger series covering a pretty long span of time and eventually containing adult Finn and Jake, would you want to read that? Because I've got several chapters of a sequel already written, but I don't know if people would be interested in reading it. Please let me know.
Content warning: not too much that might be triggering in this chapter, some references to torture but nothing as graphic as previous chapters. References to mental illness, grief, etc.
Ralquinn surveyed the dancing green flames of the monstrous demon fire as they lit up Abadeer's cave. The General had known the price of failure and to his credit when the time came he had felt no fear of it. He had simply failed, and he had accepted his fate stoically, even lifting his arms to the iron peg Ralquinn bound him to before his torture began. The troops that remained were slowly burning alive inside the cave house as the magical fire consumed their flayed flesh. The General's life had been forfeit along with theirs, he could allow none of the mercenaries that they'd hired for the assault to run back to the dirty bars he'd found them in to spread tales of the Dark Majesty and his plans.
Ralquinn licked his lips, savouring the lingering flavour of The General's liver almost as much as he'd enjoyed the man's agonised screams when he pried his chest apart and ripped the organ from him. Ralquinn had healed the injury with a muttered demon spell but kept the liver, The General's own body would do the rest. It was past dawn, hours since, and when Ralquinn had left him miles from nowhere in the grasslands he was already turning a sickening shade of yellow and his breathing was becoming laboured.
Ja'an stepped up almost silently behind Ralquinn and he caught her clawed paw just before it connected with his neck, twisting her arm back at the elbow and making her hiss again with mingled pain and pleasure.
Their target had moved, and before he'd been tortured The General had told them everything. Dark Majesty's wrath was terrible, the earth had shook with it. But Ralquinn was please to bring him some good news too. It had taken his mercenaries a number of hours to discover the hidden tunnel and then several more and several lives to disarm the traps along the passageway. Abadeer was evidently a paranoid type, as well as sentimental.
Ralquinn lived to serve and after he was through questioning and slowly murdering The General he was thrilled to report back to Dark Majesty that a thorough search of the vampire's home had revealed a great trove of personal information. The Dog and human children's scents were reportedly all over the house and a rummage through the vampire's closet had proved most fruitful. They had recovered a box that contained a wealth of photographic evidence of the vampire's relationship with the lovely princess of the Candy Kingdom. Some of the photographs were much more personal in nature and most of the others were sickeningly romantic, pictures of the two of them in various romantic poses together with descriptions written on the back in a quick, messy hand. Ja'an had been a singular delight when he'd shown her them, yowling like he'd set her tail on fire. He wondered what her deal was with the vampire, there was quite obviously something unresolved in her hatred of Abadeer Junior.
Ralquinn took a few minutes to fantasize about lovingly ripping long strips of pretty pink flesh from every one of those shapely curves. If the princess screamed as nicely as she posed he was in for a real treat. He'd never tasted candy princess before, he thought she'd probably taste like blueberries and agony. Just delicious, he was very much looking forward to it.
"Ja'an, your task has just changed." he said with a vicious smile, looking down at the writhing demon in his hands almost as though he was surprised to still find her twisting in his grasp. She hissed in reply and thrashed against him, he gripped her harder her with a smirk.
"Find Princess Bubblegum. Do not harm her. Bring her to me as unhurt as you can manage. But Ja'an, do not be seen by the vampire. Do not engage her. If you break those terms I'll do worse than just tear your flesh."
Ralquinn let the tips of his fingernails slip easily through Ja'an's skin for the second time that night and for the second time she jerked and screamed.
...
Joshua the Dog liked to think he was a reasonable man. He had his prejudices like everyone else but they were based on grains of truth, such as ogres making bad parents and vampires as a rule being untrustworthy and bloodthirsty. He didn't approve of his princess getting involved with Marceline again but he held his tongue because it didn't seem like she'd listen to him in any case.
It wasn't that he didn't think Marceline cared about the princess but he had seen how hurt Bubblegum had been when they'd fought. He'd been the one who came to visit every few days trying to cheer her up, for the first two months she barely stepped foot out of her rooms and it was a long time after that before he saw her smile again in a way that even approached normal. So letting the vampire back into her life was not something he thought was a good idea. If he was being completely honest he wanted her to find a nice man and settle down with a family, it had done him and Margaret the world of good.
Everyone made bad choices in their teens. Even he had. But they were both essentially immortal, both stuck forever in that indeterminate phase before adulthood fully kicked in and he didn't really see a way he could make them grow up. Marceline was frozen at nineteen, the age she'd been when she received the vampire bite. He'd heard rumours about how it had happened and whether or not she'd wanted to be Turned in the first place but she never spoke of it and if she had regrets about what she'd become he saw no evidence of it; she seemed to relish every last thing about being undead up to and including terrifying most regular folk she met.
There were good reasons why vampires were so rare, Marceline had taken down more than her fair share of her own kind in her time and she made no secret of that fact, although she wasn't forthcoming on the why. And Bubblegum was at least eight hundred years old, they'd know each other for centuries. Joshua wasn't sure how long they'd been sleeping together but he was willing to bet it wasn't a recent arrangement. Technically the princess could be any age she wanted but it was telling that she chose to stay forever eighteen. Joshua couldn't help but think it was a terrible decision, handicapping herself with teenage hormones when she could easily give herself a few more grams of candy biomass and add years of wisdom. She should choose to be wiser and older and he was sure she could easily do it, it was selfish to make the entire kingdom suffer simply to avoid displeasing her chosen bed warmer. It was exactly the sort of thing he'd expect from a headstrong teenager, in fact.
His head was spinning with it all. He was still shocked from the sudden attack and unnerved by Bubblegum's abrupt decision to go public with her relationship. Joshua was certain that he heard them doing unnatural things all the time, even when they were obviously doing something innocent like sitting at dinner together. It freaked him out; was the vampire somehow using telepathy to push ghostly moaning into his head?
Still, the reasonable part of his brain knew that everyone was entitled to be with whomever they wanted and the princess wouldn't drop her lover just because Joshua disapproved. He just wished she hadn't chosen to take a vampire to her bed; no matter how he tried to remember the sweet and caring Marceline who sang Jake to sleep and played with Finn his memory was overlaid with visions of blood stained fangs and cold dead hands ending in clawed fingers.
He also heard them whispering to each other and wondered why nobody else seemed to notice, when he looked in their direction they could be standing at opposite ends of the hall and not looking at each other, but he could still hear them whispering dirty secrets in the back of his head. Perhaps he was telepathic and accidentally tuning into their thoughts; they were not the thoughts of someone with a Good or Neutral alignment. The things he heard Marceline whisper made him shiver with disgust, clearly the vampire was perverted and dangerous.
Joshua was struggling to come to a decision on the best course of action. The vampire had been quite firm that her basic alignment was Good, despite being an inveterate trickster she was not someone who had any real malicious intent. Joshua had his doubts. He remembered all the things vampires were rumoured to do to their mates and was constantly watching Bubblegum for any obvious puncture marks or ripped skin. So far she'd been excellent at hiding it but he knew the evidence was there under her clothes, torn into her lovely soft flesh by merciless undead fingers and fangs.
So far he'd not actually caught Marceline trying to hurt anyone and she was as gentle as a lamb with his Jake and the human baby. Nobody else seemed to mistrust her either. But vampires were predators and candy was a foodstuff, it was only a matter of time before his heroic skills were needed. If she hurt his princess in any way again then no matter how good she was with his son, he'd be forced cut her head off himself and watch her turn to dust. This time she'd stay dead and nobody would mourn her. Olgar's outburst had been as sickening as it was unexpected; he cried over a vampire. It turned Joshua's stomach. He used to respect Olgar, too.
Joshua had missed the battle because on Billy's orders he had stayed in the nursery, defending the princess and the children in case their attackers slipped past the Guard. It was a polite way of keeping him away from the action and Joshua hadn't been fooled for a second; Billy obviously thought he didn't have what it took any more. That had been galling, given that the great hero himself was now a wrinkled old man. But Joshua knew how to follow orders and if he was with the princess then he could be certain she wasn't being defiled by anything unnatural, like a reanimated bloodsucking corpse for example. He'd angrily scoured the closet in the adjoining room to find her something else to wear; she was practically making him watch by parading herself around in just a hastily knotted bed sheet toga.
Billy had never been his formal captain but Joshua respected him, up to a point. Now Billy was watching him closely and Joshua wasn't sure he could trust the giant any more. Billy had actually encouraged the princess in her reckless declaration and he'd kept Joshua away from where he could have actually been useful during the fight.
After the battle had been won Joshua was very much back in demand; somehow he ended up as part of the clean-up crew in the royal bedchamber. He had seen the carnage of what looked to him to be hundreds of dead mercenaries neatly butchered into slips of meat and bone by Marceline's wicked axe. He'd heard many breathless accounts of how fearsome she'd been in the battle and truly he believed it. She was inhumanly strong and completely invulnerable; in defence of her favourite sex toy she'd casually murdered a hundred men, proving that the vampire insanity was strong in her no matter how she tried to hide it from him. If the rumours were true she hadn't even bothered to hide her nakedness, perhaps the sight of her bared breasts had terrified her enemy into retreat. It was revolting to throw it in his face like that, there was no way a vampire could be in his princess's bedroom naked for entirely innocent reasons. He shook his head sadly. His sweet princess must be going mad.
But Joshua's opinion of Marceline wasn't the only secret he was keeping. He didn't want to tell anyone because they wouldn't understand.
It had taken a lot for him to admit it to himself but Margaret spoke to him sometimes, when nobody else could hear. She didn't like the vampire either. She didn't like Jake being near her. She knew why Joshua had needed to find Marceline at first but she didn't like that he had to stay around her now, she constantly whispered to him that the princess wouldn't send her dangerous undead lover away from their precious boy.
At first Joshua thought he was going crazy, but now he was sure he wasn't. Margaret told him so, she told him so many things only Margaret could know; things about their wedding night and the deep secrets couples share only with each other. She was speaking beyond the grave to help guide him. It only made sense, he loved her so much that he felt her loss like a physical wound in his chest; of course she couldn't really be completely gone. And so after days of trying to ignore her he'd finally accepted that his wife's spirit was reaching across the great divide to him, guiding him.
Margaret often said Jermaine wanted him to avenge them. She wanted him to take the babies and run away from the palace; it was full of freaks and untrustworthy people anyway. He heard other whisperers too and sometimes his head was so crowded he had to go and throw up before they'd go away, or pound his fist against his ear until the pain drove them off.
He was rocking Jake in the nursery and telling him all his troubles, father to son.
"I heard them last night, Jakey. I heard the princess scream 'Stop, you're hurting me!' and I heard the vampire laugh at her. I hear them all the time. The things they do aren't fit to be repeated, but if I see any injury on her Ladyship I'll take the vampire's head off with her own axe. You'll be proud of your old man, won't you Jakey?"
Jake was nibbling Joshua's paw gently and wagged his tail when he heard his name.
"Dada!" he smiled, nuzzling into Joshua's paw. "Pick up, Dada!"
Joshua lifted his son up to his shoulder and let Jake lick his ear then expand around his neck like a living scarf. Jake still knew how to make him smile at least. In the nursery he was safe with his son.
"She talks to me more and more now. Your Mom wants me to avenge her but I don't understand what she means, son. I killed the creature she left for me in the orchard. Nobody seems very interested in finding out what that thing even was. Do you think she'll come back fully or just keep talking to us like this?"
Joshua petted Jake roughly on the head, ruffling up his fur and making him giggle. His son wriggled and yipped, excited that he was talking about Margaret.
"You're going to grow up strong and fine, you're going to be a hero too. And if any undead monsters try to bite you then you take my demon blood sword and you take their heads clean off their shoulders, do you understand?"
He hefted Jake and looked him dead in the eyes. Jake licked the tip of his nose and wriggled again. Joshua took that as a 'yes' and nodded gravely to his son while Margaret whispered on and on into his ear about justice and revenge and spilling blood.
Just then the nursery door opened and the princess entered carrying Finn, looking flushed and happy. He supposed it was good to see her smile, since the attack last night she'd been tense and jumpy, constantly looking over her shoulder. Now she seemed in surprisingly high spirits for someone who'd just thrown their reputation away for a walking corpse. For a moment Joshua could see the outline of the vampire behind her, ready to pounce on his beautiful princess and drink her dry right there on the nursery rug. He let out a startled gasp and the vision went weirdly thin and faded into nothingness. Just a trick of the light. He shook his head like he was trying to get water out of his ears, clearing his mind for a moment.
"He said 'Bobobo', I think he was trying to say my name!"
She smiled at him, holding the little boy out proudly. Finn waved to him and Jake barked happily at the arrival of his playmate. Bubblegum obviously hadn't noticed anything amiss and he told himself sternly to get a grip and stop thinking badly of the princess's girlfriend. Even if she was a demonic bloodsucker.
Somehow whenever Joshua tried to think of Marceline his mind was filled with a foggy rage, he shook his head again and it cleared further. What was he thinking? He trusted Marceline with his son's life, she wasn't a close friend but he'd known her for years and she was fun to be around, a real party animal and generous spirited. What was going on in his head?
Joshua tried to smile but Margaret was screaming at him about vengeance and honour, about that dangerous and unpredictable undead abomination and how they needed proof she was going to hurt their son.
"That's great, your Ladyship. I need to go to the bathroom now."
He rushed upright and dumped Jake unceremoniously onto the rug. The princess's mouth was frozen halfway open and his son blinked at him in confusion as he hurried out of the room, muttering under his breath.
"Moma?" Jake asked, looking around for the lady his Dad had been talking about, bottom lip beginning to shake when he didn't see her anywhere.
...
Billy was becoming increasingly worried about Joshua. Several times now he'd walked in on the old Dog muttering to himself and once he'd heard him say quite clearly "Margaret I love you beyond anything in this world but please just be quiet and let me think for a second." Billy had asked him who he'd been talking to and Joshua just looked at him with unfocussed eyes then wandered away, still muttering.
Somehow it was worse in the days immediately after the mercenary attack, more often Joshua looked like he was caught in a waking dream. Everyone went about their business in the palace, cleaning broken things away and setting the tower back to rights, blocking up the other secret tunnels that lead from anywhere outside of the building's perimeter. Billy made it his special business to keep an eye on Joshua in case he did anything crazy. At strategy meetings the Dog sat quietly and stared intently at each of their faces in turn, sometimes seeming as though he wanted to speak but never quite managing it. Any other time Billy would have put it down to grief and the frustration of having no leads on who had sent the mercs, but now he wasn't so sure.
Joshua was watching Marceline and Princess Bubblegum like a hawk; they weren't flaunting anything but they often smiled at each other and shared private jokes in a totally natural way for a couple who had been together for decades. Billy couldn't figure what Joshua's problem was with them, but he resolved to keep a close eye on his old friend and on Jake too, just in case.
Billy had personal experience of guilt and grief and he knew how it could mess with the most reasonable men. Sometimes in his nightmares he still heard Goltan's agonised screams as the flesh slowly peeled from his bones under The General's monstrous demon fire. But he didn't hold full conversations with Goltan's ghost, even in the privacy of his own head. He was quite clear that his old mentor was dead and that it was his fault, he didn't let that knowledge warp his mind any more. He'd spent years in retreat refusing to adventure or lift a finger for another being until he'd discovered that Joshua and his little boy were in danger; that had been the kick he needed to start caring about the world again. Billy was worried that Joshua's guilt over leaving his wife and other son to die had broken something massive inside of him.
It was with a heavy heart that he pulled Marceline aside two evenings after the attack, as Joshua brusquely refused her offer to put the boys to bed with a lullaby. She'd only been awake for a few hours but was up with more regularity through the day now to spend time with her partner, and he suspected to keep an eye out for trouble. Billy had waited until she seemed a little more alert after dinner to speak to her, he didn't want her to miss the importance of his information. He caught her arm as she drifted past looking perplexed.
"Marceline, do you have a moment to talk?"
His voice was quiet but she started in surprise, lost in her thoughts and apparently not realising he'd been addressing her at first. Billy supposed they hadn't ever really talked much in the past so it might be a good opportunity to get to know her a little better.
"Uh, yeah. I've got nothing planned for just now." she replied, looking just as confused as ever. They'd never shared a conversation longer than a few words but Billy trusted her on principle, Bubblegum was usually an excellent judge of character. Billy did not like to waste words so he opened his mouth and just laid it out to her as he saw things.
"Joshua is acting weird, even for someone who just found half his family burned to death in the wreckage of their home. He's staring at you and talking to his dead wife and I'm worried he's lost it. Marceline, just look after yourself, ok? Joshua's been a friend for most of my life and I've never seen him like this before. He's unhinged. I know you don't know me so well but you're important to the princess and I respect you. I'm just looking out for you."
She nodded slowly, looking pensively in the direction Joshua had just hurried off to.
"Do you think he's a threat to the children?" she asked, still staring after the Dog. Billy thought for a moment.
"Naw, he loves those little guys. It's you he's got a problem with. I think it's you and the princess and the fact that you basically forced her to stop treating you like a dirty little secret. Well done for that, by the way. It's about time she publicly acknowledged you. Joshua's never been funny about vampires, you'd think he'd have noticed by now that you're not about to torture, drain and turn the princess for your own sick pleasure. He's a good guy but he's stubborn and really messed up right now. Mix that with being unhinged from grief, it's a bad combination and there's no predicting what he might do. Just keep your eyes open, ok? I'd hate for you to have to hurt him." Billy explained with a frown.
In a fight between Marceline and Joshua there would only ever be one winner. Joshua was a great hero and a skilled fighter but Marceline had a thousand years' experience of surviving assassination attempts. She was easily the strangest vampire Billy had ever met; he assumed her half demon side kept the usual undead insanity in check. Ironic that the things that had made her less human before the Mushroom War now helped her keep her humanity better than most other vampires. No wonder she'd risen to the rank of queen.
Marceline nodded slowly, looking lost in thought again.
"I won't hurt him unless I absolutely have to but I won't stand there and show him exactly where to aim his stake either. I'll speak to Bonnie about it tonight; she always knows how to handle people better than I do. Perhaps there's a quest or something we can send him on, get him away from the palace and give him something else to focus on?"
She turned hopeful eyes to Billy. He shook his head, if only it were that easy with Joshua.
"He won't go. He's convinced himself that you're a problem and he won't just leave his son in your care and go tearing off around the kingdoms on some obvious wild goose chase." Billy shook his head again with a sigh. "You gotta hope the princess has some better ideas because otherwise he's gonna sneak into your bedroom and try to chop your head off. Like I said, try not to hurt him any more than you have to. He's really messed in the head right now.
"Vampire's honour." she replied, smiling widely to show off her fangs. Despite being as open minded as he possibly could be it still slightly disturbed Billy to see the length of those needle sharp teeth, he understood why plenty of people found the vampire unnerving. But a promise was a promise, Joshua would only be hurt proportional to the hurt he attempted to deal out, that was only fair. It was up to the Dog how badly he wanted Marceline to kick his buns if he decided to try to take her down. Billy nodded his goodbyes and lumbered off to the courtyard; he and Eagle had promised to run through some training with the Banana Guard tonight; Glob knew they needed it.
Billy jogged through the halls, big feet slapping against the polished tiles. He was humming tunelessly to himself and completely missed the slatted golden eyes following him from high in the corner of a vaulted window.
