Chapter Ten: An Old Enemy's Return and the Showdown
Meanwhile, at the Lemon King's fortress...
The Lemon King was arguing in the mirror. If a passing servant paid attention, he would hear two different voices emanate from the king's mouth. "I am in control, you fool!" the king shouted, smashing his fists on his table. His eyes glazed over and a deep, threatening whisper slithered out of his throat.
"No, Lemon King; I am growing stronger by the minute. Soon, you will fall, and my evil will spread across this land." His eyes clearing up, the king shook his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. It was all coming undone: his plans, his body, and even his mind. A messenger rushed into the room, quickly kneeling before the king. His heavy breathing indicated this message was of the greatest importance, as only the gravest of news was delivered with haste.
"My king," he gasped. "The armies...they have been destroyed!" The king spun in place and lunged at the messenger, grabbing him by the front collar. He hoisted him up to eye level, his eyes burning in rage.
"WHAT!" he shouted, shaking the terrified messenger. He then threw the poor servant to the floor and clenched his fists. "Prepare all the defenses! They are likely to march upon us within hours! Go now, before I kill you for your incompetence!" The messenger, bowing his trembling head, rushed out to spread the news. The king turned back to his mirror, his rage building. "That Finn; he did this!" He smashed the mirror with his crystal fist, sending shards everywhere. He looked into it, his image splintered into many small pieces.
"I will kill him myself!"
Meanwhile, near the fortress...
Finn stood upon a hill, looking at the fortress across the plains and up the mountain's slope. He turned back: only a small portion of the surviving Ooo army was with him. The majority of his own army was with him, with several detachments assisting in burial duty back at the "Fields of the Fallen Free', as it was being called. The general of his own army had given him his full armor suit, making sure that everything was in place.
"This fortress is a stain upon the land of Ooo," he shouted, looking into the faces of the soldiers. "When we take this castle and free our friends, we will destroy this place." Turning back, he began the march towards the fortress, closely followed by the forces of freedom. The battle for the grounds around the fortress was brief. Soon, Finn and his allies swarmed the fortress and began the long process of rooting out the defenders and freeing the prisoners.
In the king's throne room...
The Lemon King could only watch out the window in anger as Finn's forces poured into the fortress. His own troops would hold out for a while, but not long enough for him to escape. He was trapped, but there was still one last card to play, one last chip to throw in. He turned to Alium Mal, the leader of the assassins. "Bring me the princess, assassin: I am in need of her." He bowed to the king and swiftly went in the direction of the dungeons. The king turned back to his throne, running trembling fingers over the arm rest. "I became the most powerful king ever to live in Ooo," he muttered. "I ruled more lands than anyone before me: I was so close to becoming an emperor in name and power. And now I lose it all, to a commoner out of place in this land." He sighed in defeat, but then suddenly hunched over, a sudden and terrible pain in his chest.
An evil voice emerged from his lips. "My time has come." Lemon King could only watch as he started to change, his body growing and his skin changing tone, swirling different colors at an astounding rate. He remained hunched over, racked with pain as his mind began to fragment. His shoulders seemed to grow as a large hump of muscle sprouted from his back and travelled all the way down to the backs of his legs. Where his feet had been clad in shoes, things similar to talons sprouted out from the tips. His long nose seemed to curve into his face, leaving it a downward-hook shape. Under his heavy shoulders, his arms seemed to stretch until they had reached almost grotesque proportions in length. His hands no longer had just fingers: several were crystalline and the thumbs now had wicked claws. He then let out a deep and throaty laugh, sinister beyond belief: the transformation was complete.
Outside, leading Princess Bubblegum from her cell, Alium Mal was having second thoughts on his employment to the Lemon King. Princess Bubblegum's words did little to ease his mind.
"You know he'll just betray you, as he has so many others," she was saying as they walked past torches on the walls.
"He would not betray me, for we are a great threat to him if we ourselves are threatened," he replied, opening a door. They walked through a series of corridors and up a spiral staircase out of the fortresses' basement. "He is the reason I am the Master Assassin: without him, I would be just another assassin. It was by his advice and his guidance that I poisoned the old master and became the new one." The princess ceased to talk at his words, instead electing to remain silent as he lead her towards the throne room.
When the master assassin walked in with Bubblegum, the Lemon King was unrecognizable. His skin looked stretched and the color of puke. Well, whatever skin had not become covered by crystals. One of his eyes had sunken into his face, the entire pupil black with a sickly yellow iris. The other was partially covered by a crystal growth covering a portion of his head and face. His teeth had become like needles, glistening with his caustic saliva.
"Yes," he hissed, his voice no longer that of the Lemon King's. "Bring Bubblegum over here, assassin."
Alium Mal was very disturbed to see the king like this, but he did as he was told, lest he be banished from his service or even attacked. As he shackled the princess to the floor, Lemon King turned away from the princess and looked him straight in the eye.
"Guard the door," he hissed, spittle flying from his lips. "Kill any who try to enter."
Bowing, Alium Mal went outside the door and stood guard. Lemon King locked the door behind him, intent on not letting anyone in the room. Turning back to the princess, he smiled in an entirely unpleasant way and walked towards her, his arms nearly scraping his knees. His footsteps clacked against the stone floor, for his talons were chipping the stone upon every step.
"Hello, princess. Do you recognize me?" Bubblegum shook her head. "Well, that is rather understandable, as we have not been reacquainted for some time. This form cannot hold me back much longer," he said, looking down at the grotesque arms; they were intermittently covered in crystals. Bubblegum looked at him, puzzled and disgusted by the monstrosity before her.
"It is I, princess: the Lich," he said, walking back and sitting upon the throne. Bubblegum gasped in horror; how could it be the Lich? Finn, Jake and the Ice King had seen to his final defeat, had they not? "Don't be so surprised, princess," he said, laughing at her scared face. "My power is not so easily destroyed, as am I." A small set of crystalline horns suddenly sprouted from the back of his skull, giving him a somehow even more demonic appearance.
"So you have been behind all of this the entire time?" she asked, trembling. His grin split his face wider, causing more teeth to show than should be possible.
"Well, the Lemon King started much of this, though I can't say I didn't do anything," he said, taking pleasure in her confusion and horror. "Ever since I was defeated after I possessed you, I was merely biding my time. The snail's form was too slow for my liking, so I had him crawl all the way back to my well of power. When I left his body, I realized I could no longer create my own physical form." He ran his fingers up and down the sides of the throne. "It was luck that a group of goblins came by, so I possessed them and gave them power. Be that as it may, I could not take a true form since they did not have enough power within themselves to catalyze a reaction. So, I waited and waited."
He clasped his hands. "So one day, the goblins were visited by a messenger from the now Lemon King, asking for an alliance. I had heard through my puppets that he had eaten a crystal apple, so I knew he had more than enough power within to give me a new body. So I watched and waited, but something happened I could not foresee." He balled his hands into fists, causing the stone armrests he was resting on to crack.
"That blasted Finn showed up again, destroying my hosts. The power I had given them had done little to protect them from his might, much to my surprise and dismay. Luckily for me, as each one died, each little bit of me transferred from one to another. When Lemon King killed one, all of that essence flowed directly into him. It was only a matter of time before the last goblin would die, and when he did I was complete and inside Lemon King. It was only a matter of time before I completely controlled him, as I do now."
He leaned back on the throne. "Do you not see, princess? I am your worst nightmare, an evil Ooo has never known: my power has fused with that of the crystal apple. I am no longer a mere king: I am the Lich Emperor."
Meanwhile, in other parts of the fortress...
Finn ducked another sword blow and smashed his gauntlet into the defender's face, cracking his skull open. His army had all but freed the prisoners and left the fortress, but there were still stragglers to take care of. Most importantly of all, he needed to find Princess Bubblegum.
"Finn," said one his soldiers, stepping over the bodies of fallen defenders. "We have found all but one of the prisoners, and the rest of the defenders are fleeing." He didn't need to tell him who was missing, judging from Finn's expression.
"Pursue them," Finn responded, pulling his sword out of q dying defender, finishing him off quickly. "If they do not fight, capture them. I am sure the prisoners would like to prosecute those who imprisoned them." The soldier bowed his head and left, leaving Finn at a barred wooden door.
"This must lead to the throne room," he thought. Raising his gauntlet, he smashed it into the door. With a concussive force, the door flew inwards and soared out a window. When Finn walked inside, he saw he was in a hall of sorts.
"Greetings Finn the Human," called out a voice. "We meet again, though I had not expected this to happen. That was the deadliest and rarest poison in all of Ooo, and it took me weeks to procure enough for that assignment. I hope you are not so tired as you cannot fight me." Finn looked across the room. Near a heavy door, one that surely led to the throne room, stood the assassin who had poisoned him earlier. His attire suggested he had come to a ceremony: what he didn't know was that it would be his own funeral.
"Who are you?" Finn asked, his jaw setting at the memory of the poison coursing through his body.
"My name is Alium Mal, hero," he sneered, drawing a sword with a fancy flourish. "That will be the last name you ever hear."
"Prove it," said Finn, readying his sword. They stared at each other in silence, and then as if a signal had been given, they charged at each other.
Finn quickly swung his sword right-to-left while simultaneously ducking the assassin's overhand blow. His sword nicked the assassin's armor but drew no blood. Quickly pivoting, Finn brought his sword down, aiming for the assassin's head. But the assassin had thought of this: his sword was ready and met Finn's, barely staving off what would have been a lethal blow.
Snarling, Finn backed up and set his stance for another attack. Rushing forward, he whirled his sword around in an overhead arc, leaving little room for the assassin to maneuver. Taking a risk, the assassin leaped out of the way and brought his sword up, parrying a blow from Finn.
As the assassin backed up, he sneered. "You have skill, boy" he said, spitting out the word as if it were a foul taste in his mouth. "But I have spent years training with my weapon: what makes you think you can defeat me?"
Finn only lowered his sword and charged again. They met blow for blow, strike for strike. Both gave and gained ground at an ever-changing pace. Swinging his sword around like a whip, Finn landed a series of blows to the assassin's raised sword. Though he did not damage him, the sword was beginning to show signs of strain. Another fierce blow from Finn caused a crack to appear in the handle.
Alium Mal saw this and used a quick series of jabs to back Finn away from him, regretting not bringing another sword. "Why do you continue to fight?" he asked.
Finn dropped his sword into a defensive stance. "Because I am Finn, the hero," he said. Snarling, Alium Mal rushed him. Just as he was about to strike, he saw Finn move faster than anything he had seen before, spinning like a whirlwind. As the hero disappeared from his field of vision, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Looking down in horror and shock, he saw the tip of Finn's sword protruding from his chest. Another thrust pushed more of the sword through him, which brought Finn's face right next to Alium Mal's ear as blood leaked from his mouth.
"Besides," whispered Finn as the assassin felt his life draining away. "I trained against real foes whose power you could not even comprehend." Leaning back, he placed an armored foot on Alium Mal's back. With a great push, he shoved the dead assassin off, sending a spurt of blood high into the air. It rained down on the corpse, riddling him with red droplets.
Finn wiped his sword on the assassin's cloak, thrust it back into his scabbard and turned to the last door. Walking up to it, he ran his gauntlet-covered hands over it to look for any way to open it. Failing at that, he looked for any weaknesses within its frame. "Damn," he muttered, finding none. "I'll have to break it down." He couldn't use his gauntlet: if Princess Bubblegum was indeed on the other side, the explosion might injure her. Walking back to the dead assassin, he turned and faced the door. Breathing deeply, he rushed the door and lowered his shoulder. When he was half way to the door, he hit top speed and was just charging through the room. Upon impact, he felt the door give way in several places. Finn flew into the room, skidding to a stop as pieces of the door flew all around him.
"Finn!" shouted a voice. He looked and saw Princess Bubblegum chained to the floor. He rushed over to her. "I've got you!" he said, trying to loosen her chain.
"Hello Finn," said another voice. Finn looked up and saw an extremely deformed Lemon-grab sitting on the throne. He watched as the insane king stood up and approached them. Finn stood up and pulled out his sword, ready to fight.
"Before anything happens, I must say; well done, Finn the Human," Lemon King said, mocking Finn with a sarcastic clapping of his hands. "I never knew how far you would go to get something done, but damn if you didn't go all the way."
"What do you want, Lemon King?" Finn asked, keeping his grip tight on the sword. The evil lemon creature smiled.
"Well, for starters I am no longer the Lemon King. He is gone, and I'm just using his body for the time being. I am really the Lich, you foolish human," he said. Finn's eyes opened wide, shocked at this revelation.
"Now that that is out of the way," he said, slightly shifting his stance. "Please, surrender before you get hurt."
Finn held his ground: "I don't think so," he said.
The Lich sighed. "Fine, have it your way." With that, he made a sudden sweeping motion with his hands. A plume of dark energy shot forth and smashed into Finn, who was taken completely by surprise. Finn soared across the room and landed on the fragments of the door. Bubblegum screamed in horror, but was silenced as the Lich walked up to her side.
"Do you see now what you are up against?" he said, laughing as Finn rose to his feet. He simply snickered as Finn drew his automatic crossbow and fired several bolts straight for his blackened heart. With a waving motion he sent the bolts flying harmlessly into the wall behind the throne. With another sweep, he sent the hero flying backward, crashing against the door frame and cracking the stone surrounding it.
"I am the most powerful being Ooo has seen!" he said, forming a crystal axe. He threw it at the hero in a rather bored manner, as one would flick a booger from the tip of one's finger. The crystal axe sped through the air, finally coming to a stop when it impacted the sword. The axe shattered into a million pieces, but the force drove Finn to his knees. Several cuts graced his face, but still the human refused to give up.
He rose once more when a ball of energy impacted his legs, sweeping them out from under him and sending him tumbling forward onto the door pieces once more. "I am the Lich Emperor!" shouted the insane creature, tossing energy balls and crystal shards at an astonishing rate. Finn blocked every one he could, but several bounced him around the room enough to crack the stone walls. Still he did not give up, and after falling a third time, the Lich grew silent and leaned over the princess.
"Give up Finn," he said, forming a crystal dagger next to her throat. "Or else she dies."
"Finn, don't do as he says!" she shouted as Finn rose once again to his feet. Finn took one look at the eyes of the insane Lich Emperor and knew he couldn't do that. His bruised and battered body could take more punishment than the Lich had dealt, but Bubblegum was not trained as he was: she would die unless he did something. The plan was insane and positively suicidal, but he had no other choice.
"I surrender," he said, laying his sword on the ground. Raising his hands in defeat, he stood up straight with his head hung low. "I will give myself to you, if in exchange you let her go. She is of no use to you now." His shoulders seemed to sag, as if a great burden had been placed upon them.
The Lich withdrew his dagger from near Bubblegum's throat and smiled. "Well now, why the sudden change of tone? Has the hero finally come to realize he cannot stand against me?" He zapped the chains restraining Bubblegum, who quickly rushed to Finn.
"Why did you do that?" she asked, throwing her arms around his neck. "Why would you give yourself up for me? You were destined to save Ooo, not to help hasten it towards oblivion!"
Finn looked her straight in the eyes. "Because I had to, Bonnibel," he said, calling her by her first name. "It's because I love you. Everything will be all right: just trust me." He gently pushed her away and walked towards the Lich and kneeled at his feet, his face obscured by his hood.
"You will do as I command from now on," the Lich said, loosely holding his dagger. "Fail to do so, and I will torture and kill your precious 'beloved' in front of you. Understand?" Finn could only nod: there was no other way this could work. He could not fail her again: he could not let her die.
"This means that she cannot leave," the Lich said, his evil smile growing larger. Bubblegum gasped at this, but stopped when she heard a slight humming. It was coming from Finn's sword, the blade positively vibrating with energy.
"Furthermore, you will command your forces to disband," the Lich continued, not hearing the noise. Finn, from under his hood, was smiling. He accidentally let out a small chuckle, which the Lich heard.
"What are you laughing at?" he said, dropping his dagger and grabbing Finn by the head, forcing him to look the Lich in the face. Bubblegum saw Finn's sword leap from its resting place and fly through the air.
"Because," Finn said, feeling his sword's handle rest in his palm. With a lunging motion, he plunged the sword into the chest of the Lich. Standing up with the shocked Lich still impaled on his sword, Finn whispered: "I win." The Lich's dagger dropped from his hand as the sword surged heroic energies into him, corroding away the evil within. The light in its evil eyes began to go out and the black blood began seeping out, almost tar-like in nature.
Raising his other gauntlet-covered hand, he slammed it down on the hilt of his sword. Like a thunderstorm, it unleashed a bolt of lightning into the Lich, sending flying off the sword and into a wall, crashing through his throne in the process. When he impacted, the entire fortress shook, causing failures of the rock deep within the volcano. The wall was splattered with his tar blood, oozing towards the floor in great globs.
As Finn watched the body of the Lich began to crumble in on itself, he noticed a large crack where the monster had impacted the wall. Another ominous rumble from the mountain made it go wider and suddenly become bright. He was shocked when a small stream of magma started to flow out of it: he had penetrated into the very heart of the volcano. He turned to the shocked princess and sheathed his sword.
"Time to go," he said as he picked her up, throwing her arms around his neck as he ran out the door. More and more magma poured in behind him, quickly filling the room and burying the body of the Lich under hot molten rock. He ran through the corridors and rooms, feeling the heat of the lava closing in behind him. Rushing out the front door, he saw his army had already moved farther away from the fortress in pursuit of the fleeing defenders.
"Get back!" he shouted. "The volcano's heart has been breached!" He watched as his army started to move back. Judging from the distance, they would be fine. Within minutes, he had reached their lines and set Bubblegum down. Turning back, he saw the lava finally flow from every part of the fortress. Seconds later, a massive explosion spread from the throne room, destroying everything and sending forth a noise that sounded like a scream. A geyser of magma shot into the air, cooling on its way down and crashing back into the remains of the fortress. Within seconds, the great stone structure collapsed, leaving behind a pile of rubble and slowly-cooling molten stone.
"It's over," Finn said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He turned to look at Princess Bubblegum just as he saw a pink mass jumped on him. Startled, he fell backwards to the ground. Bubblegum was lying on top of him, smiling with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you Finn," she said. "Thank you for everything." With that, she leaned in and gave him a lasting kiss, all the while his troops celebrated and cheered. But he ignored them: he was with the one he loved, and nothing else could change that.
A/N: SO SORRY FOR NOT MENTIONING THIS! This is NOT the final chapter, and wait until you see what I have in store... That is, if the people running the site will let me publish it... grrrrr stupid enforcement of rules...