"So all this junk is happening cuz you wanted to smooch PB a while back? Man that stinks," Jake said, after being filled in by Finn and Pyra.
"No kidding. We need everyone for this one buddy. You and I won't be enough this time."
Jake looked uncomfortable for a moment before saying, "Finn, I have to sit this one out."
"What? Why? I can't go into epic battle without my best friend at my side."
"A. Yes you can. You stronger than you know. B. Lady will be giving birth anytime now. I have to keep her safe and be there for my pups. I'm going to be a dad now. It comes with responsibilities."
"Yeah but, what about Ooo? What about me," Finn asked, afraid that he would fail without Jake.
"You'll be fine man. Flame Princess has so much offensive potential that there isn't much for me to do anyway when you adventure with her. She'll just burn through all your obstacles," Jake said with a laugh. "Plus, Simon's a mage now. Bring him along. And Marceline. She's a shapeshifter too."
"Marceline's trapped in Candy Kingdom. So is PB. And Peppermint Butler. But having Simon help will be good. I just hope he can counter the Void magic that Abracadaniel has. I've never seen anything like it, not even from the Lich."
"Well there's a lot we have yet to see man. Even those Nerdy Glasses can't show you everything."
"I guess so. We're just so short on allies for this one. And I don't know how close Abracadaniel is to sealing all the magic of Ooo. The part that worries me most is that I didn't feel any evil coming from him. No good. When I hold my sword, I can feel the alignments of people around me. I didn't feel anything from him."
"Well by definition, void means lack thereof. He probably doesn't even have an alignment anymore. That's gotta be crazy for his experience points."
"I'm surprised you know what void means."
"I've been trying to learn more big words to teach my pups," Jake said proudly.
Simon came down from the tree house's 3rd floor where everyone was trying to make Lady Rainicorn more comfortable. He walked over and placed his and on Jake's shoulder. "It's time Jake. She's beyond the herbal remedies that Betty brought with her. We need to take her to the Hospital."
"But isn't that where one of the Ley Lines intersect? There'll be a shield over it," Jake said in worry.
"Eventually, yes. But I've checked. And there isn't one yet. Honestly Jake, if we don't go and something bad happens, there isn't much any of us could do for your pups. Their best chance is the hospital, especially after the rough treatment Lady received from RIcardio," Simon explained.
Jake sighed in worry, "Fine. We'll go. But you guys better win."
"Of course we will Jake. Nothing will harm your pups. I have made sure of that personally," Simon promised.
"You did? How," Finn asked?
"One of my oldest friends will be guarding the hospital with his life. I've secured his cooperation through aggressive negotiation," Simon said with a wink.
"Maybe it's an Elemental. Or a Dragon," Jake thought.
"How are we going to move everyone to the hospital," Finn asked?
"Ahh, that is a very interesting spell I've learned. It is a larger scale version of teleport, and uses a circle as a focal point for the Space/Time energies. The circle also helps pinpoint the location that we want to go to. It's very fascinating," Simon said, quivering with excitement.
"Cool. Thanks for your help Simon. Me and Lady are very grateful," Jake said.
"You're very welcome Jake. The gift of new life is something that should be protected. I'm going to make some final adjustments to the circle's array. I'll be outside," Simon said and left the treehouse.
"Let's go see how Lady is doing," Finn suggests, and Jake follows him upstairs. Lady Rainicorn is lying on the floor, curled around pillows and blankets to keep her warm. Betty is fussing over her, checking her stomach, and feeding her some herbs to help with any labor pains she's having. It seems they're having less of an effect as they were before, as Finn noticed Lady visibly wincing after taking a deep breath.
Lady looked up and saw Finn and Jake in the room. "Jake, dangsin-eun pin i dasi sesang-eul guhaneun de doum-i geoya?"
"No ma'am. I'm staying with you to see our pups be brought into the world."
"Geuleondesegyee daehan?"
"Finn's got that locked down. Besides he'll have Flame Princess and Simon to help fight. They don't need me more than you do for this."
Lady started crying and hugged Jake tight. "Don't worry Lady. I'll save Ooo. I won't let your pups be born just to see their world destroyed," Finn declared confidently.
"Gamsahabnida. Dangsin-eun na-ege eolmana keun uimiinji molla."
"Umm, Jake?"
"She said thanks and you have no idea how much that means to her."
"Anytime. Are you ready to go to the Hospital? Simon said Betty's herbs aren't really working anymore?"
"Geudeul-eun anieyo. Chulsan apa. Naneun ga?
"Lady, why didn't you tell me you were in pain," Jake asked?
"Nan dangsin-eul geogjeongsikigo sipji anh-assda."
"Still, it's important. Let's get you to the teleport circle," Jake said, and enlarged his hand, carefully scooping up Lady and bringing her outside through a window.
"He's so sweet to her," Betty says to Finn.
"Yeah. That's true love right there. Meet you downstairs. I'm gonna call FP and tell her to meet us at the hospital," Finn says, before going downstairs and lighting the stove.
"Pyra Pyra, Lady of Flame, Hear my call, by your name," Finn intones.
Pyra's face appears in the flames. "Hey Finn. Is Lady ready to give birth?"
"Almost. We're moving to the hospital now. Meet us there?"
"Of course. Are we gearing up to fight against the void mage?"
"Yeah. Soon."
"Good. I want to roast him alive."
"Haha. Ok then. I'll see you soon," Finn said, and turned off the stove.
Finn looked around the treehouse one last time. He wasn't sure when he would see it again. He took in all the sights and smells of his home, remembering how he and Jake would prank each other, how Ice King, and King Worm, and so many others would break in and he would beat them all. Nothing, not even the Lich stood a chance against him. And Jake. But this time would be different. Jake wouldn't be there to watch his back. Jake would be a dad. His responsibilities would shift. No matter how the battle went, Finn's life would never be the same after he left the treehouse this time. He knew it deep inside just how much change was coming, and honestly, he was afraid. More than when he fought the giant Newt near the ocean.
"Neptr," Beemo's voice called out from the floor below him?
Finn climbed down the ladder and said, "What's wrong Beemo?"
"I cannot find Neptr. I don't know if he's hiding or not."
"It's ok Beemo. I'm sure he's fine wherever he is. Can you watch the treehouse while we're gone?"
"Of course Finn. If anything tries to break in, they will be sorry," Beemo said with confidence.
"Thanks Beemo. You're the best," Finn said, taking one last look before leaving the house.
Outside, Simon was fussing over his teleportation array, while Jake and Betty comforted Lady. She seemed to be in a large amount of pain right now.
"Finished," Simon cried in triumph.
"Is the circle ready," Jake asked?
"Yes. I was able to boost the accuracy of the teleportation by twelve percent by aligning the focal point to the moon's face. And by moving the limiters around, the spell won't take much energy to perform."
"That's great Simon. Everyone in the circle," Finn said, moving where Simon indicated everyone needed to stand. Simon pulled out a big ruby and a hammer, which he used to crack the ruby. Placing it on the outer lines of the circle, he began chanting in the language of magic. As he did so, Finn felt himself being pulled around the waist, and the treehouse blurred from his vision. Finally, Simon shouted loudly, "The Hospital," and with a resounding crack, the group disappeared in a flash of light.
When they came back to coherence, the group saw the hospital in front of them and unharmed. Jake rushed Lady inside, followed quickly by Betty and the rest. The nurses brought a stretcher for Lady to lay on while, Betty began shouting orders. Jake looked worried, but Simon put his hand on Jake's shoulder, which caused Jake to relax a bit. The nurses called for Jake to come with them, as Lady was almost ready to give birth. Jake hugged Finn and shook Simon's hand, before following the nurses through the double doors.
Simon turned to Betty and said, "Are you sure you do not wish to help them, my dear?"
"They've been well trained. They don't need me like you do."
"Thank you, Betty. We're just waiting for the bodyguard to arrive and then we can depart."
At that point, Flame Princess appeared in a gout of fire. "Hey guys. Is lady already in the back?"
"Yeah, they took her back a few moments ago," Finn replied.
"Shoot. I wanted to tell her good luck. Are we ready to cook an evil mage yet?"
"Not yet. We're waiting for Simon's bodyguard friend."
"Anyone we know?"
"Simon didn't say. He just said it was one of his oldest friends."
"I didn't know Simon had any friends besides us."
"Yeah but the guy knows what he's doing. If he says this guy will protect Lady, then I believe him."
"I do too," Pyra said, before sitting next to Finn and laying her head on his shoulder. "Are we going to be ok?"
"Between you, me and, Simon, I don't think we have anything to worry about. We just need to stop Abracadaniel before he does any real damage to Ooo."
"Shouldn't we have Simon break the shield over Candy Kingdom and bring Marceline with us?"
"Honestly I don't know how she would help. Most physical attacks would probably be ineffective against him and breaking out Marceline would take time that I'm not sure we have. The three of us will have to be enough."
"I believe in you Finn," Pyra said before locking Finn's lips in a passionate kiss that lit up the waiting room with her light.
About an hour passed in the waiting room, as Simon paced back and forth in the waiting room, his eyes and posture filled with worry. "It shouldn't have taken him this long to get here. He knows where we are. He knows how to get here. What if something happened? We can't leave Lady unguarded. I may have to summon an Elemental. I've never done it before but, desperate times. I don't think I even have the material components necessary for the spell. This is troubling indeed," he muttered to himself. Betty passed out some sandwiches to everyone to eat while they waited.
After everyone had eaten, the waiting room went back to silence once again. Simon's pacing was becoming more frantic the more time passed and Finn was starting to worry that Simon was worrying. He was about to ask him what was wrong when the door opened again, and in walked Gunter.
"There you are Gunter. I was so worried about you," Simon said in relief, running over and hugging the penguin tightly.
"Wenk Wenk."
"I understand. Things happen. I'm just glad you're ok."
"Wenk."
"So are you ready to protect Lady and her soon to be born pups?"
"Wenk," Gunter said with a salute.
"Wait, Gunter is the bodyguard," Finn asked, skeptical?
"Yes. He will be perfect. Anyone trying to harm them won't look twice at Gunter, and by then it will be too late."
"But how will he fight? He's just a penguin."
"Never judge a book by his cover Finn. However you do bring up a good point about Gunter's lack of martial skill. That's why I'm giving him this to use," Simon said, and pulled out the Demonic Wishing Eye and placed it around Gunter's neck. A solid, yet green copy of Gunter appeared next to him, as did twelve others, and they began to space themselves around the hospital.
"I remember that thing. Gunter almost conquered Ooo with it before until Ice King stopped him. Why can't we just use it to fight Abracadaniel? Those clones that thing makes are super strong."
"We can't wield it. Only a being of pure darkness can bring out the full power of the Demonic Wishing Eye," Simon explained.
"So…. Gunter is pure evil then?"
"Absolutely," Simon said cheerfully.
"Huh. Never knew that. Are we ready to go?"
Betty walked next to Simon in a nurse's uniform and holding a Blue Crystal Staff. "Yes. Simon and I are ready to go."
"You're coming too?"
"You guys may need a healer. I can fill that role. I don't like the idea of Simon leaving to save Ooo without my by his side. I'm fully capable of defending myself if you're worried about that," she said, twirling the glowing rod.
"What is that Betty," Pyra asked?
"This is a Blue Crystal Staff of healing . It can heal wounds and disease. It also hurts those that aren't good that try and hold it or touch it. If this void mage comes in contact with it, he'll get the shock of his life."
"How do we find Abracadaniel," Finn asks?
"We go to the center of Magic in Ooo," Simon says. "Where the lich went to regain his powers, beyond Iceberg Lake, the epicenter of the Mushroom Bomb: Dark Edenia."
A/N: Whew. That was tough to write. Especially the last two words. Magi crater just didn't do it justice. So I changed it. I like it better now. So next chapter if the showdown. And we all know how much people love showdowns. So tell your friends. Bring your neighbors. Share some popcorn. And follow, favorite, and review. It makes me want to write knowing you guys are paying attention. Hopefully I'll have the next one out soon. Until next time friends.
