A/N Hey everyone! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 16: Back to the candy kingdom
The group rushed though the sickness-riddled streets and past the massive doors to the castle of Lemongrab. At first glance they saw that many were still ill, and didn't look like they were getting better. However, they also noticed that nobody else had perished in their absence, so they were thankful for that. They rushed straight to Doctor Princess, who was administering anything she could to at least slow down the disease. Once she spotted them, she was elated, even more so when she saw they had the cure. They wasted no time in giving it to her.
"Thank you so much you guys. Everyone was starting to lose hope... but I knew you could do it. I'll start synthesizing more of this cure immidiatly. It shouldn't take me too long." She said. They nodded and went to sit down to wait, but DP stopped them and looked at them with sadness.
"What's wrong doc?" Jake asked.
"It's... It's Lemongrab... He came down with the sickness... and he's the worse case we got... He's too weak to even move, but he told me that as soon as you guys returned, to talk to him immediately."
"Do you know why?" Fin asked. DP shook her head in response. She ushered them out of her lab so that she could work on the cure. The group then headed to Lemongrab, who was in his bedroom, stuck to his bed, almost completly lacking any pigment at all. He looked like what Marceline's snacks would look like after she sucked the color out of them, except instead of a faint salmon-colored red, it was a dull yellow. He saw them enter and weakly waived for them to come closer. They did as they were told and surrounded his bed.
"I... Have to... tell you... something..." He rasped. His voice was barely above a whisper. They had to lean in to even hear him.
"We have the cure Lemongrab. DP is working on making more cure now. Everything will be ok." Marceline explained. Lemongrab smiled a bit and nodded, but then shook his head.
"Consciousness... fading in and out... Need to tell you... now..." He said, voice getting quieter and quieter. Fin leaned in more. The others tried to as well, but there wasn't any room.
"What is it? What's so important that you need to tell us now?" Fin asked.
"I know... Who... Did this... Saw them... do it... then left... Couldnt... believe my own eyes at first... but now... I'm certain..." He murmured. Fin's eyes widened a bit.
"Who? Who did this? Who would he so sick as to do this?" Lemongrab murmured something Fin couldn't hear. "What? What did you say?" Again, Lemongrab's voice was nearly non-existant. Fin leaned right next to Lemingrab's mouth to listen.
"..." Fin's eyes widened even more. He slowly pulled away and looked as Lemongrab nodded and finally passed out.
"What did he say? Who did this?" Phoebe asked. Everyone waited expectantly for Fin to answer them. He was about to answer, but then a blueish mist spread out of a nearby vent. They watched as it filled the room and surround Lemongrab. They watched as color slowly began to fill him back up until he was his normal golden self. Then, DP walked in and explained what was happening.
"Pipes and vents run all through the Earldom. I put the cure through the ventilation systems so it'll spread faster. Everyone should be ok now. Thank you guys so much." She said with a smile, but then it faded once she saw Fin's face. "What's wrong Fin?" She asked. Again, Fin started to speak, but then he saw a clock on the wall and his blood ran cold.
"We need to get to the candy kingdom." He said.
"But-" Jake began.
"Now!" Fin shouted. They heard the urgency in his voice and didn't question him. Jake grabbed ahold of Fin and Mike and put them on his back as he grew to a giant size. He began running straight to the candy kingdom as Marceline and Phoebe flew.
"What's this all about, Fin?! What did Lemongrab say?!" Mike asked. Fin tried to explain, but the whipping wind of Jake's sheer speed made it impossible for anyone to hear him. They figured they'd get answers at the candy kingdom, which made them haste even faster
Later
Princess Bubblgum grumbled to herself as she stood over her equipment. She didn't spend her week lazing about waiting for Fin and the others to return, she tried her best to calm her people and prevent a revolt, as well as trying to figure out who was tormenting her. She was partially successful in the former, given that she managed to sway a portion of the populace back to her side. However, a good chunk of candy people still wanted her head. She felt her mysterious enemy didn't want her kingdom, not exactly. She felt they just wanted to see the world burn. And they were doing a pretty good job of it. However, the latter of her goals yealded a bit more fruit than she anticipated. She set up a device that would attempt to triangulate any odd radio signals, energies, and readings, among other things. She put pings on nearly every corner of Ooo and a bit of the surrounding areas, but got nothing in return. She grumbled a bit.
"verdammt! Where could he be?!" She rapped her fingers on her desk and huffed in frustration. She tacked down every kingdom, every doman. Every settlement and scrap of land she could think of... Except one... "No... It's not possible... they wouldn't be that crazy... would they?" She thought out loud to herself. Sue typed away at her computer for a few minutes then punched the data in. She waited while her device loaded. She didn't expect much to happen, but she sure as heck didn't expect for a ping to be right below her very castle. "What the...?" She slowly looked to the ground below her and gulped. At the same time, Fin, Jake, and the others burst into her room. Huffing and puffing, Fin managed to spill a few words.
"PB! We know who's doing this! It's-" At that same moment, all hell broke loose. The ground rumbled, columns tumbled to the ground, the floor cracked open and pieces of the ceiling began to fall. The very ground below them began to split apart. At the same time, a nearby TV turned on.
"Bonnabel, Bonnabel, Bonnabe... I gave you so many chances. Now, watch as your whole world crumbles to dust..." The mystery voice said with a sinister chuckle as the TV went to static.
"Bonnie! What's happening?!" Marceline asked with obvious panic in her voice. Before PB could answer, a pair of ghoulish hands protruded from the cracked earth and slowly raised their master. The group took a few steps back as a figure began to rise. Fin glared at the figure, for he knew who it was. Lemongrab had told him just an hour ago. He drew his sword and stood in front of his friends protectively.
"Fin?! What are you doing?!" PB asked. Before he could answer, a cold, dark, evil voice spoke first.
"Yes, Fin. What are you planning to do? Kill me?" A demonic laugh escaped the beings throat. "You cannot kill what is already dead child." The being stepped out of the cracked ground and stood above them in all his horrible glory. Fin glared and stared down the one, the only, The Lich.
