Chapter 25:
Finn rolled up on the treehouse near three AM after a long, high-speed run across the Candy Kingdom in the middle of the night. Cherry, seated in the backseat with Van, did her best not to pay too much attention to what her lover was doing behind the wheel. This was dangerous and critically important business, and she didn't need to be distracting him from what he was doing–getting them home–with a lot of girlish screaming. Her sister and cousin thought she was a little odd that way. She was wealthy and powerful, but she didn't spend a lot of time challenging the way the world was balanced. Cherry thought it was they who had the problem. The world was working just fine the way it was, and she was more than happy to let men do what they had always done since it meant she never had to clean a filthy engine or work in a dirty field growing food.
As soon as the car was stopped, Finn was climbing from the driver's seat and coming back to get Van and his carseat out of the truck. While he fumbled with the carseat, Cherry took their son and climbed out, taking the chance to stretch her legs. No sooner had Finn wrestled the carseat out of the car than Lollipop came up out of the darkness, looking as if she'd just thrown on some clothes and rushed to get here. Finn had been afraid she wouldn't answer his call, but she looked more worried than irritated. "Is everything alright," she started to say? And that was when she caught sight of Cherry.
Her face flicked to Finn, and she turned a menacing glare on him. Finn did his best not to wilt under that burning gaze. Cherry didn't miss the by-play. She could see there was something going on there, and she halfway wondered if Finn was banging the babysitter. It was a shocking notion–her straight-laced honey, who had been having so much trouble with their relationship, plugging the babysitter on the side. But then she knew that the Hunter and the Ice-Lady had more or less run out on him. Striding forward, Lollipop kept her eyes fixed on Finn, and she said, "we're going to talk..." She would have snatched Van from Cherry, but the smaller woman coldly told her, "never forget that this is my son."
The two women had something of a staring contest, and Finn was wracking his brain for a way to intervene without getting his nads crushed by one or both–women had a way of ganging up on him–when Star came out of the treehouse. She was dressed in her working gear and limping only a little. Finn frowned at her, but Star wasn't having any of that. "You need me, daddy," she said. "I'll keep up." Her appearance broke the impasse. Lollipop slipped the baby out of Cherry's arms. "We'll talk when you get back," muttered the slim beauty. Finn grabbed the babyseat and headed up the driveway after her.
Cherry found herself alone with Star. "He's my son," the candy-person murmured. "I have a right to see him." Star said nothing to that. Instead of hashing out all the problems this woman had created for their family, she said, "we need to move. Get in if you're coming." And Star herself climbed up into the front seat. Cherry waited only a moment before getting into the rear seat and shutting the door.
Meanwhile, up in the treehouse, Finn was dealing with the fallout of what he'd hidden. "I'm not going to cut your balls off," said Lollipop as he put the carseat into its storage cubby behind the door. "I'm angry, but it's more about the fact that you didn't tell me about this..." Cradling Van, she said,"Finn, this isn't good for him." "He needs to know who his mother is," muttered Finn. "You don't know what that's like. You had your parents." Finn had to wonder if his evil father had done his mother in at some point. Squaring up, he looked her square in the eye and said, "I'm not good with this. I'm... I don't like this life I'm living right now..." The former model blushed to her hair. She was part and parcel of that.
Slipping his arms around her, he held her and his boy close to him. "I don't understand why a woman would want to be part of this," he sighed. He was still thinking of P-Bot–and how he'd hurt her. "Love," she sighed. "I got it bad, babe. I-I'm jealous. I know how this has to end, but I don't want it to stop. So... I guess I'll be waiting for you when you get home." Stepping back, she gave him a steamy kiss that had his little buddy standing tall. "Be safe, baby," she breathed, then she turned and headed up the stairs to put Van to bed.
Finn watched her go a moment before heading back outside. When he climbed into the driver's seat, Cherry had her answer. She knew he was carrying on with the sitter. He could easily have just dumped the babyseat inside the doorway and come back. He'd been gone far too long to not have had words with the other woman. Part of her felt a moment's regret. She could have called. She could have sent word of where she was. There were half a hundred things she could have done, even if she knew he was going to be angry with her. And she'd missed a lot of time with their son. So if he was railing the babysitter, well he had his reasons. They would have to solve this problem at some point, but that point wasn't now.
"Thor's meeting us there," she said. Star flushed and glanced away from her father. She could tell he was having some problems, and she imagined he'd gotten an earful from Lollipop about taking Van to see this woman. At the same time, she was a little embarrassed to hear the name of the man who'd been sending her text messages the last few days. "Where we goin', daddy," she asked? "The Mafia Princess's vaults," Finn replied, as he put the truck in gear. Star shivered as she thought of four angry ghosts that might just might be floating around that place looking for her.
The clouds had moved in and it had begun to rain when Finn pulled up outside of the Mafia Princess's Grand Vault that morning. The colossal structure loomed out of the darkness like a brooding concrete mountain. In its shadow sat Bonnie's limousine with a small handful of guards around it. Scanning the scene, Finn found Bonnie herself standing near the door with Billy holding an umbrella over her head. She'd come dressed in a rather severe business suit in a dark pink that looked a little like dried blood in the lighting they had.
She wore her irritation and fear like a coat when Finn got out of the truck, but that expression turned to rage when she caught sight of Cherry. "There wasn't time to coordinate this," said Finn. Brushing past, he stared up at the facade of the building. He'd thought of coming here a couple of times. He'd thought of stealing the Ice Tiara and hiding it where even Bonnie couldn't find it. After taking a look at the precautions, he'd decided against that. He didn't have the money to pay hundreds of anonymous armed guards a salary to watch after the thing, and it was a certainty that if he just tucked it away somewhere, some fool would find it. While he didn't trust Bonnie with it, he didn't know any better place to go.
"Bill," said Finn, "remember. Whatever happens, PB takes precedence. Get her out of..." "Not this time, Finn," said the princess. "If these men are really thinking of stealing dangerous things and blackmailing the Kingdoms of Ooo, that takes precedence." She stepped around in front of him and stopped him there in his tracks. She looked all of them in the eye and said, "all of us are expendable. We still don't know if they managed to free the Lich. We cannot allow them to seize the Ice Tiara. That would make them potentially unstoppable." She looked Finn in the eyes and said, "I can handle myself, Finn. I brought the Ice Tiara here myself, fourteen years ago." "I know," said Finn, as he stepped past her.
Bonnie gasped in startlement, but Finn was already walking up to the door. "He's not as dumb as you think he is," murmured Cherry, as she walked past. Billy said something then that shocked the proud princess even more. "I can sense it, dad," said he. "It's... below us." "Directly," asked Finn? Frowning in concentration, the younger man said, "no. It's... I can tell it's inside the building." "That's a little better," said the hero. He knew how extensive the vaults were, and he'd been afraid that their enemy could just dig their way to the Ice Tiara.
"It's not so simple as that, Finn," said Bonnie, as she came even with him again. "Nobody's ever penetrated the vaults." Cherry chuckled, "there was one..." Bonnie spun around again, her face gone very pale. Cherry's eyes flicked to the blond wood nymph, who was just now staring at anything but the vault. The princess looked up to Finn, who said, "we needed to find out where you might be hidden." It had been a time for extraordinary measures.
Bonnie was a little frazzled when they reached the interior of the vast, impenetrable vaults. All those sudden revelations left her in quite the state, such that it took three tries to get through the procedure for entering. The guards here left nothing to chance. Somewhere far above, the Mafia Princess herself held court, and she was almost paranoid about her security. "Ever meet her," asked Cherry, as they walked towards the bank of elevators? "No," murmured Bonnie. "She doesn't come to the Biannual Royal Conclave." There were a lot of minor Royals who didn't come. Indeed, Simon, when he'd been Ice King, had never come. "I've met her," murmured the little mob-boss. She shivered involuntarily, and that sort of set the tone for the elevator ride.
The Grand Vaults were only one piece of a vast structure that was fortress and prison for the evil woman who sat at the top of the massive tower. The elevator passed sprawling gambling dens and ugly pits where every imaginable vice got practiced. Bonnie found herself fearing a little for Finn's emotional health as they passed sights that made her queasy. On her side, Cherry felt an undeniable pride at the way her man was handling all of this. Finn found himself with two hands holding his, and a blush suffused his face. Fortunately Star and Billy were focused outward towards the elevator doors.
When the door opened, both women relinquished their grip on his hands, and Finn–all business–loosened his sword as he stepped into the darkened hall beyond the elevator. With Thor bringing up the rear, the little group strode past the dozen guards lying in wait in the hallway and into the opulent space that housed the evil creature they'd come to see. Finn's keen eyes could pick out most every detail in spite of the dim lighting. It was like walking into a treasure vault. There were riches everywhere he looked. And all in the middle of Bonnie's kingdom.
Closer to hand, Finn's keen eyes picked out traps. This room was full of them. Their host seemed not to like visitors very much–as in at all. Finn prayed nobody mis-stepped or wandered. The little group wove its way in and out among the scattered artifacts, finally arriving at a small inner sanctum at the center of the space. There an unlikely figure sat on a heavily bolstered couch. Frail and thin, with long, silvery hair, the masked figure was barely recognizable as female. Indeed, she looked to have more in common with Beemo's dad than anyone else. Finn could see tubes and other crazy junk sticking out of her and running into that couch.
Princess Bubblegum stepped forward, saying, "thank-you for taking the time to see me..." The other princess interrupted, "you've never known how to leave well enough alone. I should have fixed you at the start..." Bonnie flushed, and Finn suddenly had the feeling that Mo wasn't the only ancient still hanging around. At a loss, Bonnie tried to gather her wits while the Mafia Princess railed against her, shouting about how her father and brothers had built the business and how these two mooks were about to wreck the whole shebang!
"I understand your concerns," said Cherry, "but I think we need to..." The hostile princess growled, "I shoulda' had you touched at the start too, bitch. You think you can take ovah by whackin' everybody in the Cupola?! You'll never be in charge goil! I got half a mind t'fix you for havin' that little bitch in here tryin'a rob the place! This is your fault too..." Finn could see where this was going, and he headed the ancient being off at the pass, snapping, "if we're done pointing fingers and making threats, it's about time we figure out how to protect this place..." The evil old woman glared at him, but few people dared push Finn the Human.
Calmly, Finn said, "they're moving. Probably tonight. Weatherman says the rain goes on until midnight. I got the Cookie County Sheriff outside manning a barricade, but I'm thinking we should move it..." Bonnie and Cherry both blurted, "no!" Glaring at her enemy, the candy Royal said, "we tried that with Sweet-P and played right into their hands, Finn. I won't make that mistake again." Cherry reminded him, "this is the strongest vault in all the lands, honey..." Coolly, the big man retorted, "it was until Star used four losers to get in..." Turning to Bonnie, he said, "I need permission to clear the nearby buildings, Peebles. We don't want them getting on the roof." "Permission granted, Finn," replied the Princess. "Star," said the hero. "Stay here. Billy, Thor, with me..."
The big man strode out, leaving the four women alone in that big, grotesque treasury. With a sheepish glance at his boss, Thor turned and followed the hero outside to the hall. Finn was hardly in a mood for pleasantries after that ugly conversation–a state of mind not at all helped by the tedious job of weaving their way back through that house of horrors. Indeed neither Billy nor Thor spoke until they were on the elevator headed down.
Thor opined, "your daughter is most beautiful." It was out of the blue, and it had both the other men staring at him. The big man glanced away, telling Billy something about where he was going with that. It appeared the big, bad gangster had been knocked for a loop by the pint-sized wizard-girl. Billy thought that maybe he even wanted to date the little woman. Unfortunately for him, the timing was all kinds of bad, and Finn's mind was about as far from courtship as it was possible to get. Indeed, when he was in hock with six women–seven with P-Bot–the last thing the Captain of the Guard wanted to dwell on was female companionship right now.
"When we hit the streets," said Finn, "Thor's guys are going to form an inner barrier..." Both the younger men stood up and took notice now as the Captain laid out exactly how this was going to go. He trusted his men. He trusted them to be screwy and unfocused. They weren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer to begin with, but stress just seemed to make it worse. He could trust them with simple orders, though. Keep everyone out, that kind of thing. Thor's guys were a lot more savvy, and they had some idea just what they were looking for.
At the end of that awkward elevator ride, the three men exited into the bottom floor of the massive fortress. Billy immediately set the Banana Guard and the Cookie County Sheriff's men to marching. Their troops fanned out, setting up barricades two blocks out from the Grand Vault. Others went door-to-door, clearing the buildings inside the barricade and putting the occupants in vans and trucks and cars to get them out of there. When they had cleared a building, Thor's dudes went behind them, checking to make sure every little candy-citizen had actually vacated the premises and insuring there were no stay-behinds. Finn knew some of those men would get light-fingered and steal people's shit, but he didn't really have a choice. He could only hope Thor and his lieutenants could keep them from getting too distracted.
As the day wore on, and the city came alive, they had the near buildings evacuated, and Finn was able to pull the barricade back a bit, so they were only keeping one block's worth of buildings empty. Bonnie wanted to go down and check on the Ice Tiara, but Finn actually told her that she couldn't. That nearly started another epic row, but the look on his dad's face told Billy that Finn would quite likely have slapped her if she tried. He was in another place right now. He was... different.
There had always been a difference between the big man and most dudes that Billy saw on the streets of the Candy Kingdom. He'd chalked a lot of that up to the fact that most of the creatures in the Candy Kingdom were loons. They could barely get through the day without losing the plot. Still, Finn the Human was different than even the mutants and humanoids that sometimes came in out of the darkness outside the kingdom. There weren't many men who would have told a Royal to shut her gob, but Finn was one of them. Fewer still could make that command stick.
Now, the big man walked the perimeter, checking up on his guards, checking up on Thor's thugs, and making sure everybody was doing his or her part. He put his boot into the bottom of one of their bananas when he caught the loon window-shopping at a hobby-shop down the street. He brutally sanctioned two of Thor's dudes when he caught the pair dicing away their stolen gains from the day. He left the two swearing up and down that they'd put the box of jewelry right back where they found it. After the thumping the big man gave them, Billy thought they might just do that.
The Captain of the Guard walked those streets across most of the day, in spite of the pouring rain and the blowing wind that tried to sneak inside Billy's jacket to soak him to the skin. Knowing how critical things were, Billy kept his conversations with Ragnhild to a minimum. She was missing him, and he was almost desperate to see her. Of course he wasn't the only fellow with a problem. He caught Thor looking at a picture of his sister twice when Finn wasn't looking. It appeared the gangster was smitten. Of course it was easy to see why. Star could easily give Emeraude a run for her money. Question was, what was their dad going to say? He and the moms had done their best to keep the kids away from anybody they saw as being trouble. That had been one of the reasons Billy had hid his relationship with JJ so long. Trouble didn't come much bigger than Thor.
As the sun took the turn for afternoon and the dudes started hunting up food for lunch, Star found herself listening to yet another iteration of the ugly theme that had been playing nonstop since the men had left. Mafia Princess wasn't very happy that the pair of them had brought this much trouble to her Happy Place. She had nothing nice to say to Princess Bubblegum or Cherry Cream Soda, and Star imagined it was only her presence that kept the old witch from stringing the pair of them up by their tits.
Bonnie was insistent that the Mafia Princess enhance security. She would have brought in her own assets and simply put them in charge. Cherry's advice was simply variations on the theme. The mysterious Mafia Council had a pack of expendable thugs who's loyalty was unquestioned. Both options took away the ancient gangster's autonomy, and she wasn't having any of that.
When discussions broke down, the Bubblegum Princess began to suggest that maybe she was tempted to clean this place out altogether and just pick through what she wanted afterwards. That unsubtle threat had the older woman ready to wring the candy-person's neck. This was her home and had been since before the Candy Kingdom ever existed. Outsiders would be running the show here over her dead body. Already mostly there, thought Star. Even in the darkness, it was obvious that this wrinkled old hag was more machine than person. The wizard was, of course, careful not to voice that thought. Things were delicate enough already.
As the hours went by, and her stomach began to rumble, the little woman found herself daydreaming a little. What if she let him? What would her father say? How would her mothers feel about it? He'd been hitting her with text messages off and on all day–asking her how things were going, asking about what sort of food she liked, and suggesting that maybe he'd take her out somewhere nice. Of course they had to get out of here first. Those three had been arguing–and even screaming at each other at the tops of their lungs–for hours with no sign of letting up. Star half feared they'd go on all night.
As the trio were hotly debating just who's fault this all was, a powerful thump shook the building, sort of like the alarm that lets you know that you're all out of time. Rising, Star strode towards the door, her hand going to her phone. Her dad was on the line the minute she had it open. "Don't know, yet," said Star. "Whatever it was, it was inside..." "The Princess," asked Finn? Star glanced back into Bonnie's worried face. "She's ok," said Star. "They both are." She knew her father wouldn't ask the question, even if he needed the answer, so she gave him the answer anyway. "Sit tight," said Finn. "Make sure nothing gets into that room."
Downstairs, a large, yellow-skinned mutant, with rippling muscles came through the grand casino, wearing an elegant suit and tie and carrying a massive handheld cannon. Behind him came a quartet of mercenaries dressed as servers and bartenders and all carrying dart-rifles, clubs, and swords. As one of the mutant mercs strolled through the casino, he casually tossed bombs at groups of people and through any open doorways he saw, sowing death and mayhem. It didn't take long at all before there was a stampede of people headed towards the exits, overwhelming the guards as they tried to respond to the attack.
Outside, Finn found himself listening to the chaos with a growing sense of fear. With each new report, his sense of unease grew. He'd thought of everything. At least he'd believed that. They'd sealed the building, preventing anyone from getting in. No-one could have gotten past the double barricade. Which just means they were already here, he thought with a sick, wrenching feeling. As if to punctuate his feelings of failure, an explosion disturbed the cool, evening air, shattering one of the walls on the upper floors and hurling glass and concrete to the ground far below.
Hopefully, this makes up for the small update last week.