Hey, there! I'm back now readers! I gotta say I'm sorry because I haven't been back for a great while. I've been caught up with my final exams and they ain't fun. They're just one of the things causing me to stop writing. But now the tests are over and holiday had started. Time to write! So to those who were patient enough to keep up with this, I thank you so much and I give you this chapter and more are coming soon. So have fun and read on! Archwroter (out!)

Chapter 21: Childish

Finn sat in the his office, his mind far lost in thought. As he sat on the chair with his feet propped up on the desk before him, he thought about this recent request from the so-called Flame Princess. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, it was just the fact that she wasn't as mature as he expected her to be. Although she seemed a lot more mature when she was caught making out with Marceline earlier that morning.

A knock on the door disturbed Finn's thoughts as he looked and saw Nelo entering the room. "I've got the info on the Pyrex Family like you asked, brother..." the older brother spoke. Finn simply nodded and his brother immediately noticed that he was disturbed. "What's the matter? You're still worked up on your fiancee kissin' that Pyrex chick?" Nelo asked. Finn scratched his head and replied, "Nah, not really... Actually it was quite hot. But that ain't what's troubling me...". "It's that girl's demeanor. Did ya' notice? I mean, if I didn't know any better I'd say she's still in high school..." Finn continued. Nelo snickered and said, "You're not wrong. She has some childish behavior that explains her attitude and everything. Much like a lil' Miss Priss... I mean, even her request sounded like it wasn't completely thought about or considered...". "It's like she said 'I want the Pyrex throne' and expected shit to come rollin' towards her," Finn continued, which his older brother nodded to. Moments later, Marceline entered the office and said, "Hey, guys. Are we gonna help Phoebe or what?". "We COULD help, but there's a bit of a problem with her request. We think you should bring her in here so we can discuss..." Nelo replied. Marceline raised her eyebrow and asked back, "This hasn't got anything to do with what happened earlier, does it?". "No! Not at all... Just bring her in and we'll talk about it together..." Finn replied as he blushed at the thought of what he saw earlier. And with that she left to call Phoebe Pyrex and bring her to the Underboss Office.

"So, are you guys gonna help me?" Phoebe asked as she entered and sat on a chair in front of the desk. Nelo was standing next to Finn's chair, his eyes studying her and watching her demeanor and attitude. As for Marceline, she had taken a seat at the edge of the desk. Finn sat in his chair with his arms crossed and his eyes staring deep into her soul. Phoebe thought he was trying to intimidate her and after a WHILE of silence, she spoke again, "Look, I'm being serious here! Are you guys gonna help me out or not?". "Are you? Are you REALLY being serious right now?" Finn asked back, without moving any part of his face but his mouth. "What the fuck is THAT supposed to mean?" she asked back, obviously perplexed by his question. "You wanted your father's throne, si?" he asked again. "That's right..." she replied, calming herself down a bit. "So you want to, as you said it yourself, to destroy your father's empire and then take the throne away from him. Is that right?" Finn asked again, this time raising an eyebrow at her. She nodded to this, and Nelo simply laughed.

"What's so funny?" Phoebe asked as Nelo's laughter came to a stop. He sighed and spoke, "You really are childish...". "Look, if you guys won't help me, I'll go talk to the Don about this!" she said as she stood up and walked away. "Don Abadeer won't help you and you know it! Especially with your childish request!" Nelo spoke again. This made her hesitate while reaching for the doorknob of the Underboss Office door. "You just want to see your father dead, si?" Nelo said, which made her stop dead in her tracks. "SHUT UP! You know nothing about me!" she yelled as she turned towards them again, her eyes as if blazing red in such anger. "Actually, I know a lot about you and the Pyrex Family. And by that I mean, A LOT..." he said again. "But do enlighten me and tell me that I was wrong..." he continued. Phoebe actually had no response. She knew deep known what Nelo said was actually true. "So it is true, you want to do all this just to have revenge on your father..." Finn asked back. "Yes, but I still want to take over the throne! I want to be the head of the Pyrex Family! I want to replace my father!" she stated. Finn sighed and replied, "You are simply saying that! You actually have no idea how to manage a Family or it's businesses!". "If you do, you'll know that you'll have absolutely nothing to control once you've taken your father's place if you choose to destroy his empire completely!" Finn continued as he raised his voice. That statement actually made sense to Phoebe. It made her realize how foolish she had been for getting herself blinded by this vengeance. "You're being childish because you simply say you wanna take control of something and never actually thinkin' of anything else..." Marceline finally spoke after staying silent throughout the conversation. "You never actually thought how you're gonna do it and never even considered the consequences of the actions you took," the older girl spoke to the younger.

"I... I never thought... I just..." Phoebe struggled with her words as she held back her tears. Seeing her childhood friend before her like this, Marceline immediately went to Phoebe's side and held her as she cried. Her crying eventually slowed down and stopped, so Finn took the opportunity and said, "Listen, Phoebe. Whatever it is that you have against your father, it's personal. But if you wanted to take over his work, then that makes it business. Now we will help you get revenge on your old man, but for business' sake, we'll leave his work alone so you can take over afterwards, capiche?". She wiped some tears off her cheeks and nodded silently in response. There was a moment of silence before someone knocked on the door to the office. "Come in..." Finn spoke as he looked at the door. Maya stepped into the room and said, "Um, I have the mansion blueprints and some other info that you asked for...". "Well, then. Let's see it..." Nelo said to his wife as she got to the desk and displayed a detailed blueprint of a mansion. "Whoa! What the heck is this?" Finn said as he looked at the displayed item. "Oh, yeah. Nelo and I got to work and looked for a few things we should know about Don Leonard Pyrex. It turns out, he ain't here in NYC because he has a mansion somewhere in Miami, California!" Maya explained. "Then who's holdin' the fort at the Pyrex Compound?" Marceline asked back. "Some bastard named Don John. But he's not our main concern..." Nelo replied. "Then what are these blueprints for?" Phoebe asked as she gazed at the item. "For infiltration. We're gonna sneak into his mansion at night and kill him while he's in bed. Take out anything else that gets in our way, si?" Nelo replied. "What's with this 'sneaking in' thing, huh? What's wrong with simply busting in there and then killing anyone on sight?" Phoebe asked back. "Get a hold of your street smarts, girl. That much action can attract much attention. And the police in Miami ain't like our fine law enforcers. We're not familiar with em' and we can't just convince them to look the other way while we wage a war in a civil residence..." Maya explained to the orange-haired girl. As she slowly understood the statement, Finn sighed and said, "You still got a LOT to learn before you can start ruling the Pyrex Family... You need to work on your street smarts! It can help you survive this business and make sure that it succeeds, capiche?". Phoebe nodded and blushed in embarrassment as Maya continued, "Now, the Don had permitted us to go on this mission and hired a private jet to take us to Miami. So pack up, because our flight is at midnight...". "Before departure, I've got a few useful equipment we can bring with us..." Nelo stated.

At about 2 A.M, that night...

Finn and his crew along with Phoebe were on a flight towards Miami. Although Marceline and Maya had fallen asleep next to each other, Nelo was still wide awake. He looked out the window next to his seat and occasionally, he would glance towards his wife and his future sister in-law. Since Maya was slightly shorter than Marceline, she slept with her head rested on Marceline's shoulder while Marceline leaned towards her. He chuckled as he saw the two constantly snuggle into each other due to the cold. However, he didn't notice that his younger brother was passing by from behind his seat. "And I thought you'll rest easy after we avenged our mother..." Finn spoke, startling his older brother. "Wha? Oh, no. I... I was just wonderin' what she'd think if she could see us now," Nelo replied. Finn sat across from his brother and looked at the girls, before saying, "If she could see us now, she'll be smiling in happiness and pride. I'm sure of it...". With that statement, he held out their mother's old locket in his hand. Nelo smiled and said, "No, man. You can keep it. Keep it close and it could remind ya' why you shouldn't run off again...". The two brothers shared a laugh to that for a while. "What's that all about?" Phoebe spoke as she showed up, seemingly out of nowhere. "There's a long story behind it..." Finn stated as he placed the old locket on the table. "Well, we've got less than two hours on this plane..." she replied as she sat across from them, prepared to hear the story from the Albatross brothers.

Finn and his friends ended up at their hotel room in Miami, California at 5 o'clock in the morning. "Boy, that trip was tiring!" Finn said as he threw his bag to the corner of the hotel room and removed his bear hat. The girls got inside, also tired and a little jet-lagged. As Nelo laid on one of the beds, he said, "Okay, then. Those who are tired can sleep now. Our job is more than 12 hours from now, so get some rest...". "Well... We had a good night's sleep on the plane... So we're just gonna go shopping for a while. There's this huge mall not far from here and..." Maya spoke. "Honey, please. Just go with Marceline and Phoebe already..." her husband interrupted, knowing how much the girls have been hoping to go shopping in Miami. "That's the idea..." Marceline spoke as she joined Maya and left the hotel room. Phoebe wanted to go after them, but before she did, she stopped at the front door and asked, "Wait, guys. Is it really true what you told me on the plane?". "As true as it gets. So you see, you ain't alone. Everyone here either has or had daddy issues..." Finn replied without bothering to look at her. "Even Marceline and Maya?" she asked back. Finn sat up and replied, "Marcy used to have issues with her old man. But I ain't so sure about Maya...". "Oh, si. She does have daddy issues..." Nelo replied casually. As Phoebe left and slowly understood the story that was told by them, she actually felt that her life wasn't as bad as the others. They were all no different. These people suffered a similar childhood fate as her, yet they worked hard their entire life to redeem their lives and finally get to where they were right now. Therefore, she intended to do the same herself. She would have revenge on her father for abandoning her when she was just a toddler. Then, she would take complete control over everything that her father had owned. "No more childish girl..." Phoebe murmured to herself as she walked away and went after the other two girls.

Meanwhile, Finn sat on the bed in the hotel room with a confused look on his face and finally asked, "What the hell did you mean when you said Maya does have daddy issues?". "Well, why do ya' think that before she joined the Family she lived with her cousin, Canyon?" Nelo replied with a grin. Finn had an interested look on his face as he said, "Do tell, fratello...".