(One hour earlier)
As she sat calmly in the grass, sharping a dagger on a grainy stone, Huntress Wizard eyed her company carefully, as Princess Bubblegum explained the situation to her. The magician's expression didn't change an inch as she listened, although personally PB wasn't sure she was listening at all. Once the monarch finished, she quietly awaited a response from the hooded sorcerer.
Unfortunately, Huntress just sat there for several more dramatically awkward minutes, with the grinding sound of metal on stone being the only source of noise around, which was frankly quite unnerving. Before anyone could bail however, she finally stopped her sharpening and tucked the dagger in its sheathe, standing up and folding her arms.
"So what do you expect me to do about it?"
Peebles frowned, but chose wisely not to barge into an argument with the wizard. Sighing, she stepped forward.
"You're an expert on handling wild and dangerous animals, so naturally you're our best hope for containing this outbreak."
Huntress blew a falling leaf out of her face.
"What's in it for me?"
For a moment, PB was silent, then, her eye twitched. As her face shifted into a scowl and the princess began stomping over to give a piece of her mind, Jake quickly wrapped her up in his stretchy arms and held her in the air, while she violently fidgeted.
"Let me down, Jake! I need a word with that self-centered little- MMM!"
The magical dog had covered the pink lady's mouth, preventing any further insult. Jake waited a moment, allowing her to scream into his muffling paws to let off steam and calm down. Once her heard a reluctant sigh from the ruler, he placed her gently back on the ground. PB folded her arms, looking away from Huntress Wizard, who secretly smirked under her hood.
"Nice trick, dog."
Ice King began walking towards her.
"Look, girl, I think we can negotiate right- yow!"
An arrow impacted a few inches in front of him, causing the old man to recoil. He let out a relieved breath, right before the arrow exploded into a ring and formed a flaming cage around him.
"Whoa! That's hot!" he cried out.
Huntress pinched the bridge of her nose.
"How many times until you understand to not come any closer, moron?"
IK gulped, then shakily raised his hands.
"H-hey, it's cool."
The female wizard snapped her fingers, causing the cage to dissipate, releasing the stiffened king inside. Seeing the whole event, Peebles came up with an idea.
"How about this, you help us and I royal promise to not let Ice King anywhere near you, forever."
Even Huntress Wizard's eyes went wide upon hearing the proposition. Ice King himself however, pouted.
"Hey! You can't make that kind of decision!"
PB ignored him, waiting for a reply. Huntress recovered from her reaction, narrowing her eyes at the princess.
"Why should I be so trusting of a dumb 'royal promise'?"
Bubblegum sighed, growing exhausted of negotiating with someone whose very way of life she refused to acknowledge.
"If I break it, you get to watch me be burned to a crisp by giant robots."
The female sorcerer hummed with intrigue, carefully considering the new information. Finally, she walked over to the princess, offering a handshake, which the monarch begrudgingly accepted.
"Alright, you've convinced me."
PB let out a breath of relief.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Huntress Wizard nudged her head in Ice King's direction.
"Your promise starts now, by the way."
Peebles was about to interject, but surrendered to the magical woman's terms and turned to the still upset wizard.
"Ice King, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to go."
The old man threw up his arms in anger.
"This is bunk! No fair! I got my own kingdom, sweetheart, you've got no hold on this stud!"
Resisting the urge to punch the dingus' lights out, the already frustrated princess walked up to IK and grabbed him by the nose, dragging him to the side as he complained with various nasally fits of "ow, ow, ow!" Jake and Huntress watched from a distance as PB talked it over with Ice King, using occasional hand gestures that seemed to slowly shift the icy wizard's expression from anger to fear. By the time she was done, the old man looked outright terrified. As Peebles returned to the others, IK waved with a barely supported smile.
"Ok, so uh, bye, guys. I'm gonna, go hang out with my boys."
He quickly flapped his beard, leaving the forest in a hurry. One could just hear his cries of terror as whatever ascensions above the canopy began frantically assaulting him. Soon, the shouts faded away as he fled, and Jake stared questioningly at the princess.
"What did you say to him?"
PB slowly looked the dog right in his eyes, with a face that deeply frightened him. It was so hollow and eerie that he shuddered.
"You don't want to know," she replied with an empty voice.
Jake and Huntress briefly exchanged glances, then took a step back. The sorcerer shook it off first.
"Ok, now that that's done, follow me."
Gusts nearly blew Jake off the cliffside as his spider-like limbs hoisted himself and his passengers higher up the mountain. The screeches of airborne ascensions were always present, as were the shrieks from when Huntress Wizard brought one down with her bow. Each magical arrow morphed into a launch net within feet of the winged beasts, ensnaring them effortlessly and levitating for retrieval or release.
The lone wizard seemed to be enjoying herself, thrilled to have unique prey to hunt and capture. PB was busy studying the arrows themselves, determined to figure out their 'technology'. Jake however, was not in a good mood at all. A good deal of droppings had accumulated on his feet, as did several scrapes from the sharp, rocky material he was climbing. He twisted his head to face Huntress, disapproval evident upon it.
"Explain again why we're climbing this crazy tall mountain?"
The wizard smirked, firing off another projectile.
"We're not, you are."
The magical dog growled.
"Hey, don't push it, lady, I can be just as scary as Bubblegum."
The archer let out a laugh.
"I'm sure. As for what we're doing up here, it's simple. What force controls a pack of wild animals?"
Jake frowned, pondering the question. Naturally, PB had an immediate answer.
"The pack leader, of course."
Huntress smirked again.
"Right you are, princess. Guess there's more than just uptight regality in you."
Peebles wasn't quite sure if that was an insult or the wizard's version of a compliment, so she chose to let it slide. It was then that an incredibly sharp and piercing screech rang through the air, nearly causing Jake to fall off the mountainside. PB covered her ears and gritted her teeth, while their wizard companion just grinned excitedly at the peak. She jumped up to Jake's head, giving him a stomp.
"Come on, it's just at the top."
Frustrated, but reminding himself that they needed the expert's help, the yellow canine pressed on, noticing that the number of ascensions was rapidly declining as they reached higher ground.
"Uh, is that bad?"
Huntress scoffed, casually tuning her bowstring.
"No sane underling would approach so close to the leader."
Jake gulped.
"Will it think I'm an underling?"
The wizard archer reloaded her weapon.
"No, but all the same, you probably should leave this next part to me."
Bubblegum raised an eyebrow, scaling Jake's back until she could see over his head, immediately gasping as she witnessed the massive bird of prey perched atop the mountain, staring vigilantly into the distance.
"Th-that's a…"
Each feather was a blade of its own, as if dozens of swords were stripped of their hilts and guards, then puzzled together into the mosaic of a pure predator. Two silver-blue eyes rested within its head, joined by a beak likely capable of tearing through metal like a can opener. The talons were no less intimidating, tightly gripping the rock perch, forming cracks just from how strong the creature's hold was. Even gazing at it brought about a stunning glare, with light reflecting off every metallic edge of its body.
"Platinum falcon."
Huntress Wizard aimed her loaded arrow at the bird.
"Exactly," she said with a grin.
PB suddenly lunged at her.
"Wait, no!"
Huntress's shot was knocked off course by the princess's interference, causing it to strike directly below the metallic falcon's perch. Its head instantly darted in their direction, eyes trained on the ladies and stretchy dog. A powerful screech erupted from its beak, before it gave one swift flap and fired off the mountaintop. As the bird climbed, Huntress Wizard grabbed PB's collar and glared at her.
"What do you think you're doing!?"
Bubblegum tore herself away, looking back at the sorceress with the same expression.
"How could you hunt such an endangered species? After they were hunted down for their precious metals there were only a handful left!"
The wizard growled.
"I'm not going to kill it, genius!"
A screech interrupted them, forcing the two to throw themselves down on Jake's head as the platinum falcon swooped down for a strike. The magical dog managed to avoid getting hit, but was worried for his passengers.
"You two alight?" he called with concern.
PB and Huntress shakily got back to their feet, looking themselves over for any damage. They seemed fine. That was, until one of the wizard's branch antlers broke clean off and began the long fall back to earth. She stared after it until it was no longer visible, then, slowly raised her gaze until her eyes locked with the falcon, which was analyzing its foe from a distance.
Both stares were icy cold, both with the intent on winning the engagement. Huntress loaded another arrow.
"It's on now."
The falcon shot towards them. The archer stomped on Jake again.
"Forward!"
Grumbling at the abuse, the stretchy canine reluctantly rushed up the mountain, rapidly closing the distance between his group and the deadly predator. Huntress pulled back her bowstring, sight fixed firmly on the target. The falcon tucked in its wings, dive-bombing at incredible speeds.
Even so, the exchange of blows appeared to both adversaries in slow-motion. The wizard took one last split second to finish aiming, while the bird tightened its limbs and narrowed its icy gaze. The bowstring was released, letting the arrow fly like a bullet at its intended target. What happened next went unseen by either Peebles or Jake, as they were both too frightened from the occurrence to even look as it transpired. Once it was all over though, the magical dog wrapped his limbs around the thinning peak and dared to see if their rather rude companion was still alive.
Huntress stood proudly atop the canine's head, shoulder bleeding enough to warrant medical attention, but seemingly ignoring it as she smiled victoriously at the magically suspended cage in front of them, containing the falcon, which was letting out weak coos of pain. Jake was silent, awed by the catch, but PB's mouth full on dropped.
"But, but, how…"
The wizard smirked at her royal company.
"What, did you think I was just some grunt with a fancy bow?"
She held up a hand, levitating one of her arrows above it. Strangely, the tip was blunt.
"Vibrational projectiles. A good hit will definitely rattle the bones of whatever's in the way."
Huntress shrugged.
"Of course, one hit won't do it."
The arrow suddenly duplicated, forming an exact copy above the original, head-to-head. Its owner was continuing to enjoy Peebles' dumbfounded expression.
"A platinum falcon has a weaker wing joint near the connection to its body. If struck from both sides, it'll completely throw off the bird's flight. And naturally, any predator is most vulnerable when it's about to strike."
She dissipated the arrow replica, then spun the first casually before tucking it into her quiver. PB still stared at the wizard, disbelieving that she'd performed such a precision shot while also using her 'magic' to complete the pinch and disorient the falcon. Huntress motioned for Jake to stretch a paw over to the floating cage, rather politely, and retrieved her prize. The shimmering bird seemed to have recovered from its sore joint, but was pacified within the magical prison.
As Jake casually climbed back down the mountain, their wizard companion wrapped up her wound with a piece of cloth, insisting she'd grab a healing potion next time she drops by Wizard City. PB finally couldn't help herself and began questioning the archer's extensive knowledge on the anatomy of various rare creatures. Huntress chuckled lightly as she laid back to rest.
"What, did you think I was going to try to rust it? Platinum is immune to oxidation, as you probably know. And any kind of chemical reaction wouldn't have fared much better."
Peebles eventually sighed, realizing it was one of those moments where her prejudice nature got the better of her. Once the trio had reached the ground, Jake twisted his head around to face his fellows.
"Hey, so how come we didn't get pecked at on the way down? Those birds are just circling around in the air."
Huntress held up the captured falcon.
"Without their alpha in the skies, the various flocks of… ascensions, were they?... are in disarray. Even with that idiot controlling them with his fancy scale, magical conservation suggests that it works like a chain of command. The artifact's power concentrates on these alpha predators, which in turn gives them significantly more intelligence and sanity than normal ascensions."
She set the enchanted cage down.
"However, I don't think the alphas themselves are being controlled, they are simply being given a subconscious 'suggestion' on where to herd the others that rampage across the place, acting as unwilling amplifiers."
PB raised an eyebrow.
"So you're saying that they can choose not to follow Flame King's orders?"
Huntress nodded.
"If they're smart enough, or old enough, yeah."
She tapped the falcon's cage.
"This guy's fairly young, and I could see it in his movements that he isn't refined in his hunting technique."
Jake hummed thoughtfully as he listened to the conversation.
"Oh, so it's like TV! We cut the connection and steal- I mean, lose cable."
He frowned.
"Dumb knife storm made me miss my show last week."
Peebles rolled her eyes, then looked ahead.
"Now where are we going?"
Huntress pointed out towards the distance, right at the smoky mountain range of the Fire Kingdom.
"The pack leader for the earthbound ascensions is in there."
PB and Jake's eyes went wide.
"That's where Finn is!" cried the magical dog.
Huntress raised an eyebrow.
"You mean the human kid?"
Bubblegum nodded.
"Yes. He went out to retrieve the Equinox Scale. It's the only way he can save Flame Princess's life."
The archer wizard's features, what little of them that could be seen, seemed to soften a little as she stared at the ash-riddled peaks.
"I see."
Brushing away the feeling, Huntress let out a breath and rubbed her palms together. She began chanting, while simultaneously using a dash of basic fire magic to produce various runes that hung in the air around her. Once the incantation was complete, she gently placed one hand on Jake's back and one on PB's shoulder. A blue aura quickly enveloped both of them, then finally herself.
Fully protected, Jake proceeded into the crack between mountains to enter the fiery realm, bracing himself for any oncoming attacks.
The first thing the group came upon was a pair of passed out gem creatures, lying beside a rock wall which had a large crack in it. Jake chuckled, admiring his bro's handiwork. Pressing on, they encountered no other guards and finally emerged into the open, eyeing the chaos that was hidden within the kingdom. As predicted, the earthbound ascensions were still somewhat satisfying their orders, destroying whatever they could find, although there was great doubt Flame King intended to wreck his own land.
Confirming that the grounded ascension pack leader was still free and 'broadcasting' the scale's control, Huntress took in a deep breath and stood tall on Jake's back, her green eyes wide and steady, scanning the surroundings. Jake and PB remained quiet, afraid of interrupting her.
"What is she doing?" the princess whispered.
The magic canine shrugged slightly.
"No idea. Maybe it's some kind of hunter-vision."
Peebles frowned.
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
Ignoring the argument in the background, Huntress Wizard continued to search the area, seeking out the pack leader. Unfortunately, she found nothing, groaning and sitting back down.
"I can't find it. Let's go in deeper."
Jake nodded and pressed on, careful to avoid pools of lava on his way to the palace. Several ascensions noticed them right away upon approach, but Huntress insisted that the dog just keep walking. He followed the advice, occasionally seeing some of the beasts that the archer trapped within her magical cages, formed upon impact of her arrows. Others exploded into tangling vines, wrapping up a charging animal before it could delay them.
PB watched as well, although with more skepticism.
"So… is it material displacement forced on by dark matter?"
"No," Huntress said irritably.
"Rapidly expanding ionic chains?"
"No."
"High-density collapsible scaffolding triggered upon impact?"
"NO!"
The platinum falcon screeched within its cage, with Jake guessing it was becoming just as annoyed as he was. Luckily, they made it to the entrance of the palace a moment later, leaving behind a trail of captured ascensions. Huntress jumped off Jake's back, landing firmly and examining the door. Flame King hadn't bothered to have it fixed, meaning they could simply stroll right in.
PB joined the wizard on the volcanic dirt while Jake returned to his normal size. The three carefully made their way inside, swinging heads side to side in preparation of an ambush. There wasn't one, but they did hear a strange bashing noise further ahead. It grew louder with every step and eventually the ground shook in sync with each sound. Wary of potential hazards within a flaming castle, everyone braced themselves upon entering the throne room.
Clearing the arched lobby, the three were stunned.
Flame King groggily moaned, pinned to a much damaged wall by a massive clawed hand. The hand belonged to an incredible dragon hovering in the center of the room, looking with anger at the tyrant. PB and Jake spotted a figure lying nearby, gasping as they recognized who it was.
"Finn!" they both shouted, running to the human.
The dragon noticed their entrance, briefly eyeing them, but appeared disinterested and returned to smashing FK repeatedly against the wall. Making it to Finn, his two friends gathered the hero up and gave him a shake. It took a minute, but his blue eyes finally revealed themselves, staring weakly into his companions' relieved faces.
"Finn, what happened?."
The young man groaned as he tried sitting up.
"My… matrix. It's… breaking up."
Shocked, Jake and Peebles quickly began putting together a plan to get him out of the chaotic kingdom, seeing as it had gone to the Nightosphere. PB noticed Huntress Wizard wasn't with them, spotting the magical lady staring in awe at the dragon. She didn't move a muscle, observing the beating the mystical beast was delivering to Flame King.
"A dragon… the ultimate hunt."
There was definitely anticipation in her voice, but also a dark sense of excitement. She unhooked her bow, slowly and carefully placing an arrow into bowstring and holding up the weapon, aiming it directly at the dragon's heart. It wasn't moving much, making it easier to aim. As a wide grin broke in on her face, Huntress let the projectile fly, undeterred and likely lethal.
There was a small ping noise as the tip bounced off the creature's scales, then several more as the object settled on the floor.
Flame King's punishment was halted, as the beast holding him slowly turned its large head to face the origin of the arrow, finding Huntress Wizard just standing there, a blank expression on her face.
"Uh…"
Opening its jaws, her intended target breathed a deadly stream of flames directly at wizard, who jumped out of the way just in time. She dashed for cover behind some rubble, avoiding further assault. As the dragon fully turned, intent on finishing what it started, PB and Jake decided it was safest to follow the archer's lead and duck behind her cover.
Finding pause in the engagement, the two glared at their unwilling companion.
"Why the junk did you shoot it?!" Jake growled.
Huntress gave him a return glare.
"It's a dragon, fool! Do you know how hard it is to find one?"
Jake brushed it off.
"Finn slays one practically every other week. What's the big deal?"
The wizard shook her head.
"No. Not that kind. This is an old world dragon, I can tell from its features."
Bubblegum furrowed her brow.
"Old world?"
Huntress sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, look I didn't read the whole book about it, I just know these are rare finds."
She suddenly frowned and turned away.
"I uh, guess I underestimated how hard it would be."
Jake crossed his arms.
"Ya think?"
A fire blast rocked the cover, blowing off pieces of it. Huntress cursed under her breath, then thought hard. Eventually, she reached under her cloak and pulled out the platinum falcon's cage.
"Ok, I think I've served my end of the deal. Here."
She tossed the cage at Jake, who somewhat caught it.
"Wait, what are you-"
Before her could finish, the wizard had pulled out a strange bottle and smashed it on the ground in front of her, causing purple smoke to erupt and consume her. When the colorful dust was gone, so was the hunter. PB and Jake's mouths lay open, disbelief written in their expressions. Another blast hit their cover. Finn groaned again, barely conscious in his condition. Peebles bared her teeth as she thought of a way out for the three of them.
"This is why I hate wizards!"
Hm, best estimate, about six chapters left.
nrbuer: It's nice when mutual understanding is achieved.
Ventus Uzumaki: Yep, but we won't get to it till next time.
Awolfx9: This one was a bit off schedule, but I'm sure it's still a far shorter wait than last time.
TheMentalAdventurer: There's plenty of good stuff out there.
Broken In7: Thanks. I was hoping integration would go well.
Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!