Chapter 24:
The rad-counter was clattering non-stop as Lolly Bugglegum sat before a heavily shielded console, slowly manipulating a heavy crucible over a heavy iron heating element. This was the culmination of all their work. Banks of batteries were supplying raw power that they'd been gathering for weeks–really since they'd conquered the town. Every spare watt that wasn't being used for running the assembly lines had been pumped into array after array of batteries. Melting down and reforming uranium and plutonium took a lot of electricity after all.
Now, as her husband and son watched, the plump matron carefully removed the crucible from its heat source and eased it over the mold. With deft skill and care, Lolly poured the heavy material into the mold, careful of not spilling a drop. The more they got at each attempt, the fewer cycles this was going to take. It was why Chicle wasn't on this particular job. He just didn't have the patience.
As Gumbald and Chicle watched, the older woman finished the pour. Carefully–taking her time in a hurry–Lolly moved to the next mold, carefully tipping the vessel once more. And then she did it again, upending the crucible this time. Now, she slid the heavy crucible back into the shielded storage once more. She'd been pondering how to scrape the remnants off the sides of the heavy iron jug, but that was a matter for later. In the now, they had three cores. There were three machines they could power! There was a long way to go, but she saw the path now.
Sunrise in the Candy Kingdom found Finn standing in the doorway of Lady's house, looking out at the yard. There were a lot of memories on this patch of ground. How many times had he and Jake eaten here? How many parties did Lady and Peebles throw in this place? Jake and Lady's pups had been born here. Some of the memories were bittersweet. This was the place where Bill had proposed to JJ–in front of the whole family. A part of Finn wanted to paint that as the moment that the family came apart, but really the family had been half in the ditch already, with Jake and Lady sleeping in separate rooms and Jake already cheating on his wife.
Stepping out the door, the King of Ooo strode up to the grill and began the process of firing it up. He was hungry, and he wanted breakfast. As he worked, the house slowly came to life, with first Charlie and then Lady appearing. Charlie gave him a strange look as she came out, wearing sleeping gear of baggy shorts and tee-shirt. Finn was well aware of what that was about. Bronwyn and JJ had been clingy last night, while they were all sitting around the fire pit.
Lady announced herself with a yawn. "Are you going to see Jake today," she asked? They'd talked about that last night. She wanted Finn to get the whole Bronwyn/Jake Junior thing squared away with Jake. Finn nodded. He'd promised to do just that, and he was a man of his word. It was going to be an unpleasant experience, and he knew it. Still, he'd promised her that he'd get it done. At least he wouldn't be in hock with one of Jake Junior's parents.
Charlie was out in the yard just now, stretching and doing her yoga-biz–a fucking sight to behold, given the way she was built. In a time not long past, he would have kept his eyes away. Today, it was hard not to look. "Are you planning to seduce all my daughters," Lady burbled? Finn's face snapped around. "I don't actually do that," Finn rumbled. He hadn't seduced JJ. She'd come on to him. "I don't ask people to be part of this, Lady," the big man said with a sigh. "My life isn't for the faint of heart." "Crazier than it was before," she teased? With a sigh, he said, "yeah, babe. Lots."
Putting down the tongs, the big man said, "you're... you've been part of my family... I've been... I've been thinking that you and the pups should have bodyguards." "Finn," Lady growled. "I don't want to be part of that." The big man nodded. Trouble was, in a lot of ways, she already was. The world knew that Finn the Human's companions of old were Princess Bubblegum, Jake the Dog, and Lady Rainicorn. Peebles was on King's Island, under the protection of thousands of soldiers. Jake still had his alien powers and superhuman strength. And Lady... she was here alone.
Viola appeared, wearing a silk robe over a nightgown in powder-blue, and she too gave Finn the eye. Finn acknowledged her with a jaunty wave and a smile. Vi went over to the table and sat down. Moments later, Charlie joined her, the pair staring at Finn. Yeah, it felt a lot like he needed to talk to them as much as he needed to have that chat with Jake. As he was pondering how to explain all of this to Jake's sisters, the woman herself came out of the house with Bronwyn in tow. Both were dressed in PJs today, with Bronwyn looking natty in red silk.
JJ went and sat herself next to the fire pit, and almost immediately, Charlie and Viola moved to corner their sister there. "Hey," Junior greeted the pair. She was staring back at the grill. Finn had just gone back inside to get fixings for breakfast. The meal of the day was vegetarian sausage, which she absolutely despised. Unfortunately, that was a thing in her mom's house because Lady didn't eat meat, and Viola had gone all in on trying to support her in a household that liked meat rather a lot.
"What's going on," Viola demanded? JJ knew what she really meant. She and Bronwyn had gone to bed with Finn last night, doing nothing at all to hide it. With a shrug, she said, "he gave me a pardon..." "In exchange for...," Viola insisted? "Not for fucking him, if that's what you mean," Junior murmured. With a sigh, she said, "he pardoned me for savin' the world." "Are you saying you're not...," Charlie insisted? With a shrug, JJ retorted, "'course I am. He's a stud. And me? I'm a divorced gal who tried to murder her husband..." The trust was gone. Billy could never trust her again, and they'd both accepted that. She was moving on–starting over.
With all of the house's inhabitants outside, Finn and Bronwyn's bodyguards emerged from the house. That whole business creeped Vi out. JJ laughed, "if he'd gotten his way, we'd all have one..." More sobering thought. With Bonnie's uncle gunning for Finn, they maybe still needed bodyguards. "Our lives ain't gonna' be the same," she sighed. Finn was right. Pretending to be aloof from him wasn't going to work.
After breakfast, the family retired inside for a bit to wash and clean up. Finn graciously hung back, letting the females have the hot water, his mind going to all the cold showers he'd taken over the years of his life. Simone, Emeraude, Fionna, and Star had always gotten first crack. Billy, learning from his father, had mostly stood aside to let his mothers and sisters go. Those were much happier days.
When the big man returned to Lady's yard, he found Charlie, Viola, and Bronwyn hanging around Lady, chatting about goings on in the Candy Kingdom. Charlie, having long since decamped to the far east, near Truth Kingdom, was especially curious. Viola, the jet-setter, spent much of her time bouncing back and forth between Engagement Ring Kingdom and the Suncoast. Though Vi still kept an apartment in Bonnie's capitol, she often went months without setting foot there.
JJ was sitting on the log in front of the fire pit when Finn walked into Lady's backyard. She was dressed down today in shorts and an old tee-shirt, looking much like the kid he remembered from way-back-when. It hardly seemed like twenty years had gone by looking at her. Now, though, he could see signs of things he hadn't seen back then. The moodiness was there. And she looked... alone. She was in her mom's house with her sisters and niece, and she looked utterly alone.
The big man strolled right up to her, sat down, and slipped his arm around her. The younger woman lay her head on his shoulder almost as if he'd always been there. "I hear you're going to see my dad," she announced. "Want to share the news about Jermaine," Finn replied. "You're a rotten liar, uncle Finn," Junior murmured. "Not really an uncle anymore, am I," Finn replied. He'd been pretty rotten at that. "Hardly," Jake Junior rumbled. "We were just
too hard-headed to appreciate you."
With a wry chuckle, Junior opined, "I don't understand why guys feel like they have to get daddy's permission anyway..." "Let you in on a secret, Jake," the big man said with a chuckle. "If I saw somebody touch my daughter in a more than friendly way... let's just say it might get ugly." He was a dad. That went with the territory. A dude's job was to protect his kids, and his daughters especially. "Sometimes daughters pick dudes to make their dads upset," said Finn. He'd been blessed that neither Star nor Fionna rolled that way, but Shoko had been headed down that road with Marshall before they found out they were related.
That was a heavy thought–something that had never occurred to her. "Maybe girls have to have space to grow up," Junior responded. "Yup," Finn agreed. "It's give and take, babe, but that first meeting... It's always going to be a little crazy with all kinds of ways things can go sideways." "I'll remember that," she sighed. It gave her pause because of the dangerous thoughts she'd been having and the continual risk they were working under.
Striding up to the pair, Bronwyn announced, "let's go out on the boat, hon..." A part of him felt like she was trespassing. She'd been having a nice time with her aunts and grandmother. It was JJ that seemed to be in need. At the same time, Finn was well aware of the emotional scars Bronwyn's pretty face concealed. Rising, Finn and JJ followed the curvy half-bear down to the pond. As Charlie and Viola watched, Finn rowed the pair out into the middle of the pond and stowed the oars. No sooner had he done so than his phone began to ring. The shapechanger plucked the phone from his hand. Extending her arm to the shore, she deposited the annoyance on the rock next to his bodyguard. "You're on vacation," JJ reminded him. Thanks, Bronwyn mouthed. It was nice to have him to themselves.
"Boy don't they look cozy," Charlie muttered. Bronwyn sat behind Finn, practically draped over him, with her arms and legs wrapped around his middle, those titanic ta-tas of hers pressed into his back. Junior sat on the bench in front of him, leaning in against him, with her arms around his neck. Viola could feel the jealousy. Honestly, she felt it all the more keenly because she was just as jealous. Junior, who could never seem to stay out of trouble, had somehow come up aces with Billy, managing to get him to pop the question. She'd managed to wreck things with her stupid games, but now she'd managed to end up with Billy's dad. And her sisters? Viola had gotten divorced the previous year. Charlie had gotten divorced at the height of the crisis with the undead.
The angst alarmed Lady because it was perilously close to the conversation she'd had with Finn earlier. A part of her still wanted to see Finn as the girls' uncle–a guardian instead of a lover. She'd been mortified by the way her kids had treated the big man. She knew the whys of it. She'd been in on it–pushing Bill away to protect Junior. A part of her had felt that, if Bill and Junior hadn't gone down that road, the family wouldn't have come apart like that. Deep inside, she still hoped to somehow put things back together again–the way they had been. The older woman clucked at the younger pair, declaring, "don't expect me to go bless that." Charlie chuckled, "don't need or want the competition, mom." Viola chuckled, "it would be a little creepy to sleep with him."
Out on the pond, Bronwyn's phone began to ring. Muttering curses, she drew it out, intending to send the call to voice mail. Glancing at the face, she saw Simone's number. That was important. Toggling the phone open, she announced, "Simone?" As Jake Junior watched, Bronwyn's face went from annoyance to concern. Then she turned to her aunt, announcing, "it's for you. It's about my cousin, Liz." Jake almost fumbled the phone as she took it.
Finn watched the play of emotions on her face as she listened to Simone. He imagined that Emeraude had found something. Hanging up, Jake Junior handed the phone back to her niece. "Emeraude...," Jake murmured. "She says she's found Liz..." "Ok," Finn said. "Bronwyn's bodyguard can drive you to the train station. The shapechanger burst into tears. She didn't want to go. Who would look after him? "You have to go, Jake," Finn responded. "This is my wish. Liz is my granddaughter. One of my first grandchildren. You have to go and see to her needs. I'll be fine. I'm on vacation." He wasn't going anywhere beyond hanging out a little bit and visiting her dad. Of the two of them, he'd be the one who was safe.
The King rowed them back to shore, and Jake Junior climbed out of the boat. Her face was troubled as she strode up from the water and into the house. Lady intercepted Finn as he approached the door. "E found Liz," Finn explained. "She's in trouble." Turning to his bodyguard, the big man said, "you're to take her to the train station. There's a special train waiting there. She's going to Oceanside." Charlie shuddered. Oceanside was still a very bad place. Viola asked the obvious, "w-what're you going to do about this?" She was asking why he wasn't going. Finn chuckled humorlessly. "King's don't adventure, Vi," the big man rumbled, as he turned to follow his lover into the house. He'd see her off. That was all he could do. For now.
Far to the east, in an empty place that had once hummed with life, Gordon Wells dropped a newspaper in front of his pack of prize idiots. Lady Nicia stared glumly at the page. Finn was alive. Her assassin had failed. "You should have left this to the professionals," Gordon chuckled. "He... the train went off the bridge," Othman howled! "Except he wasn't on it, when it did," announced another voice. This one belonged to a second wax-hustler. "I was there when the rescue train rolled into the Suncoast," the little woman announced. "He's alive. He came through with nary a scratch."
"W-what do we do now," howled Nicia? "We... our weapons... they're gone." Their revolution was finished before it even started! "Most of them are gone," agreed Gordon. "There's still two-thousand sitting in a warehouse. I took the liberty of securing them after Hafgrim's... departure." They would make excellent arms for the machine-army that Gumbald was building in the east. Question was, what should he do with these two idiots. They'd squandered much of their value with their premature revolution. He could have used their powerbases in the civilized kingdoms to help further his own plans. Now those powerbases were gone.
Othman could see the calculation in the spy's eyes. He was weighing them. He was trying to determine if they had any value left at all. As Othman stared, his hand went reaching for the pistol he kept in the waist of his trousers, suggesting he'd decided. "I-I have money," Nicia howled! "I still have a fortune hidden in the east!" The spy hesitated. His eyes flicked to Othman as if to ask, 'what do you have?' "We have friends," Nicia pleaded. "Don't we, Ademir? We have friends still in the court!" The spy gave them a suspicious look, and his eyes flicked to his companion. They were clearly stalling in an effort to save their own skins, but that just might be true. With a smile, Gordon slid his jacket back down over his pistol. They got to live a little longer.
Back in the west, Jake Junior stared off into space as the limo took the twists and turns, headed for the train station. She'd had just a few moments to grab some clothes. It wasn't going to be sexy minis and see-through panties this time. The King slid a comforting arm around her thin shoulders, whispering comforting words. From her message, Emeraude believed Liz was ok. She was in trouble, but it wasn't yet irretrievable. Where there was life, there was hope.
The limo rolled into the train station and straight up to the secure section in the back corner of the yard where the various royals of Ooo stashed their trains when they were here. Finn piled out right alongside JJ, following her up to the platform where her train awaited. Out on the deck, Finn pulled his girlfriend into his arms and kissed her. His roamin' hands got a double handful of her ass. "Baby," she whined. "W-why?" He was getting her hot, and she had to get on a fucking train and go. "Because I want you to remember that I'm waiting to see you when you're home," Finn replied. "Bring my granddaughter back, and bring yourself back. Ok?" "Yes, baby," she sighed. Jake turned and stepped onto the private car. Finn waited patiently as the little train pulled out of the station, bound north and west for Oceanside. When the train had disappeared from sight, Finn turned and headed out to the car. He had a job to do himself. It was time to see his brother.
As the car rolled through the streets of the Candy Kingdom, the big man rehearsed how he was going to approach this. He didn't really want to have this meeting. Part of him felt a little dirty. He was a dad, and he understood how Jake might not react very well. At the same time, things weren't the same anymore. They couldn't be the same anymore. Make it as easy on him, as you can, his inner voice suggested. Maybe he could keep it out of the realm of sex. Maybe if he suggested he was courting JJ. Like his son had.
"We're here, sire," the driver announced. Finn sighed. Out of time. The car rolled to a stop in front of Jake's place, and his bodyguard drew the door for him. Jake's yard was just as he remembered it–overgrown and littered with debris from Jake's collecting habit. There were bits of old mailboxes–vintage collectibles–and shredded bits of old magazines strewn all around. Finn remembered Emeraude suggesting that she needed a shot each time she came to this place. Leaving the bodyguard on the walkway, Finn knocked on the door. Minutes later, Samantha opened the door, looking natty in a blue dress that showed off her stunning figure and heavy endowment of titty-flesh.
It was funny to the King. They were both tit-men. Jake liked him some boobies. A lifetime ago, they would have bonded over that, trading raunchy jokes about girls they saw. At least they might have, if they'd still been together when Finn got to that phase of his life. Finn had been forced to grow up when he had Simone fall into his life. He still liked boobies, but he knew he wasn't the same man he'd been.
"Sam," Finn greeted the plush puppy. "Hi, Finn," the dog-woman greeted him. "How have you been?" With a shrug, the big man said, "been better. Jake around?" "Out back," she said, as she turned to let him in. The big man brushed past her, and she shut the door behind him. Setting off, big, round butt swaying rhythmically, the dog-woman motioned for Finn to follow. As he followed that beautiful body, the big man scanned the sights around him. The house was becoming more and more like Joshua and Margaret's house. Whether he knew it or not, Jake was becoming more and more like their parents.
Arriving at the back of the house, Samantha opened the door for Finn, ushering him out onto the deck. The sloppily built structure swayed and creaked as the big man stepped out onto it, and Finn found himself thinking of the last time he'd had Jake over at the Treehouse helping him work on something. Jake had spent most of the time drinking bark beer and sleeping. He wasn't doing well. He was clearly getting fatter and not taking care of himself.
"Finn," Jake greeted him. "Jake," Finn replied. The stretchy dog said, "pull up a chair. Have a beer." Finn stepped down off the rickety deck and grabbed a chair. Settling into the chair, Finn cracked open a beer, though he didn't take a sip just yet. "Been a while," he said. Jake snorted. They'd seen each other just weeks ago, and they hadn't exactly had a good conversation. Silence reigned.
"So what brings ya, man," Jake asked? "Personal business," Finn replied. Leaning forward, he said, "I wanted to try again to get things straight between us." Crude to the last, Jake let out a colossal burp. He wanted to be offensive. He thought Finn's new life had turned him into a rich douche-bag, and he wanted to be a jerk. Finn didn't rise to the bait. Truth was, he was still the brash kid who thought nothing of cutting a fart in public. There was a time and a place to be rough, and there were people who appreciated the frankness. Unlike Jake, he didn't feel the need to be an edgy dick all the time though.
"Jermaine's in therapy," Finn announced. "Yeah," Jake rumbled. "Bryce told me. Stopped by a little bit ago." The stretchy dog gave his brother the fisheye. "Bryce been snatching up dudes," Jake announced. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Finn?" With a shrug, Finn responded, "breaking a Royal Promise is a very bad idea, Jake. You know that." "Huh," Jake responded. "Nothing else involved..." He was edging up on the obvious. Some of the dudes Bryce took to hell had been Kim's allies. "Does there need to be," Finn retorted? Some of the dummies who'd been working with Kim had decided to make promises they hadn't planned to keep. They'd been planning to screw him, and in the process screw the people of Ooo, so fuck them.
Moving on, Finn announced, "I gave Junior a pardon. She had to go out of town, but she's due back in a couple days. Do you want to see her? I know it's been a while..." There hadn't been much in the way of time for Jake to see his wayward daughter in the big kerfuffle with Jay's wish. Jake had more or less just stormed out of Finn's palace as if, somehow, the whole mess was Finn's fault. Really, Finn knew what the problem was. Jake was jealous of the things Finn had, and he didn't like having his face rubbed in Finn's success. Things were different when Jake was Postmaster and Finn Captain of the Guard. They were equals, with the same access to the things that Jake loved and wanted.
It helped not at all that Finn was basically living Jake's fantasy life now–seemingly a hundred pretty girls to fuck and women throwing themselves at him wherever he went. Jake had shamelessly enjoyed that life when he was younger, and he'd always laughed at Finn for staying on the straight and narrow with Simone and Emeraude. Finn had always suspected Jake of running around behind Lady's back, but he'd kept his mouth shut on those suspicions. Now Finn had the sort of power most men dreamed about, and Jake was here in this house going slowly to seed.
"Ah, she can stop by when she wants to," Jake retorted. He was trying to sound indifferent, and Finn halfway wanted to belt him. Junior, even more than her siblings, needed the love of a father, but Jake had never been good at being a dad. He was having trouble being much of a brother just now, as the silence stretched on. "How's Sam doing," Finn asked? "What did you come here for, man," Jake retorted? "You ain't really come to see me in years." "I've had all I can do to keep the world from self-destructing, Jake," Finn shot back. "Do you have any idea what it's like...?" Jake cut a fart, telling Finn how much that mattered to him. It was time to cut his losses.
"I don't know that I'll be back, Jake," Finn said. "I came here to tell you that your daughter and I are dating. We haven't yet decided where that will go, but I thought you should know how things stand." Jake tensed, but Finn kept right on talking. "I will treat her just as honorably as I've treated every woman I've ever had a relationship with," he said. Pausing for that to sink in, the big man said, "there's a place for her at my side and a chance to redeem herself and all the awful things she's done. That may mean that someday we're married. It may mean we go our separate ways again, but I wanted you to know that she's doing well."
Jake's hands gripped the edges of his chair, and Finn could see the anger. He was banging Jake's daughter. He'd known going in with JJ that they were headed for a possible confrontation. "I didn't want things to be this way, Jake," Finn rumbled. "I didn't want to talk to you this way." "You're fucking my daughter, man," Jake growled. "What do you want from me, Jake," Finn retorted? "I treated your kids as if they were my own. You guys dumped on me. Now, I take your daughter in and give her a second chance, and you're angry at me. As if I'm the bad dude." "Fuck you, man," Jake snarled! Nodding, Finn put the beer aside and rose to go.
"Don't you turn your back on me," Jake snarled! "I'm not turning my back on you, Jake," Finn muttered. "You turned your back on me, years ago. When I really needed you, you and the pups dumped on me and my family." Without a word, the big man went back up into the house, bound for the car.
As the car took the turns, Finn's anger grew. He was angry at Jake. He found himself angry at the pups. He even found a little anger for himself. He was in quite a state, and he knew he couldn't take that rage back to Lady's place because he'd be snapping at everybody. That wasn't right. "Take me into town," the King muttered. "Sire," the driver burbled. "Town," Finn growled. "Now."
With Finn giving the directions, the limo rolled down into the capitol and down to the rough red light district. His bodyguard grew increasingly nervous as they took in the sights around them. This certainly didn't seem to be the place for a king. As the car rolled up to a titty-bar, the big man growled, "stop here." And, without a further word, he stepped out. Alarmed, his bodyguard jumped out. "I want a drink," Finn growled, which his bodyguard interpreted as 'fuck off'. The King of Ooo strode into Riley's old club and went straight up to the bar.
Teri had been bar-tending the last time he'd been here. There had been a rogue banana guard stealing from them and chasing the customers away. Today, the club was jumping, with a massive crowd before the stage watching the woman known as Cupcake strut her stuff. Behind the bar, a tall Froyo-person was mixing up drinks. "Bark beer," Finn muttered. "Cover charge," retorted the barkeep. That was new. Finn paid up, collected his beer, and tried to find a table. At the door, his bodyguard hung about, debating whether or not to go in. At the same time, he sent urgent text messages to his superiors. This was dangerous, and he didn't know what to do.
Nearby, a stunned face took note of the sight of the King here in the bar. Rising from the place she'd been sitting, Astartes the wizard slipped through the crowd, bound for the back of the room–and the entry to the dancers' dressing room. She'd been here for days, pleading and cajoling Tallulah to get off her ass to go try to meet with Finn, but the young heir had ignored her. Now he'd all but delivered himself to them–with no Simone in the way.
Tallulah was prepping to go into the lapdance booth when Astartes entered her dressing room. "Not again," growled the young heir. "Don't you have children to curse or something?" "Listen, Tallulah," Astartes interrutped. "I'm not interested," the heir retorted. "Finn's here," Astartes insistently declared. Rolling her eyes, Tallulah shot back, "it was on the news!" "No," the wizard replied, shaking her head. "He's in the audience outside." Tallulah stared at her. That was... odd.
Finn had started coming here with his brother, seemingly a lifetime ago. His wives had dumped on him, and he'd been desperate/hungry for snatch, like every other loser in that audience. Now, he had a surfeit of pussy to choose from. Why was he here? "Who cares," Astartes replied, when she voiced that question? "What's important is that he's here. We should go meet him."
Tallulah glared at the bitch. We. Did she have a mouse in her pocket? Finn had rejected Tallulah. On numerous occasions. He'd been far more interested in that aging whore, Riley, and her whore of a partner, Teri. The young nymph was insulted to have a man choose an old hag over her! Patiently, Astartes reminded the little idiot of the threats Cenobia had levied against them both. "The council's angry, Tallulah," she said. "They're expecting an heir. A Royal Heir. We need to make some progress." The young nymph gave the wizard a contemptuous look and shot back, "if you're so concerned about Royal Heirs, go and make one yourself." She was out. And that, appeared to be that. The little bitch turned back to the makeup table. Her set was just five minutes out.
A frustrated and worried Astartes walked out of the dressing room, her mind in turmoil. What was she going to do? She couldn't make the wench perform. She wasn't a pimp. Grabbing at her hair, she glared at the dressing room door. As she was turning to go, her eyes caught sight of a beautiful, filmy little dress in another dressing room, and her desperate mind began to hatch a plan.
Meanwhile, in the palace, Simone was sitting around the table with her cospouses, playing cards, when her phone buzzed. Waggling a finger, she caused the phone to drift up next to her face. A glance showed that it was a message from Finn's bodyguard. Carefully laying her cards face-down, the wizard grasped the phone and flicked it open to read the message. She immediately found herself rolling her eyes as she took in what the bodyguard had written.
She was hardly surprised by the row that Finn and Jake had. Jake had been going further and further off the rails. It was like his half of the family was in the middle of a slow-motion meltdown. Finn was far from the only person to suspect Jake of cheating, and Simone had gotten an earful from Lady when Jake finally bounced. She'd seen the hurt in Finn's eyes when Kim threatened to put them out of the treehouse years back, and she'd done her best to mend fences with Jake and Lady when Finn had to run Junior out of the kingdom. And Jake? Well, he'd been far more interested in raising hell and doing the same shit he always did. Now he was fucking up again.
Finn rarely got out of pocket. He just didn't have the time. Simone could imagine where his mind was now if he was sitting in a bar, drinking. The curvy wizard typed a response: Monitor, but leave him be. Get him home in the morning. Putting the phone down, she took up her cards again, trusting that Finn would cool off the same way he always did. Turning to her fellows, the curvy wizard lay the cards out, announcing, "Gin."
Back in the club, Finn glanced up to find Astartes standing there in a soft, white something that seemed mostly made of strategic bits of creamy silk held together at her hips and bust with brass rings. Two long slits down either leg revealed her pale blue skin. The big man's jaw came open at the sight of her. He'd honestly gotten himself used to the thought of the wizard as Tallulah's employee. His mind scanned the scene, remembering that the younger nymph had once worked here for Riley. Yet, of Tallulah, there was no sign.
"What brings you," he asked? "Having a drink," she replied. It was a lie. What would a woman want in this place? Did she dance? He knew that nymphs here in the kingdoms led hard lives. E was the exception, and he halfway suspected the notorious Huntress Wizard had shaken her ass a time or two on a stage like this one to pay the bills between jobs. The big man signaled the waitress. A little ice-cream girl in a bunny-costume came over and took the order. As he would have broached the conversation, a plump breakfast person came out on stage in a skimpy costume. As Maple Bacon's routine started, the DJ began playing a thumping beat that drowned out conversation. Finn muttered curses.
Thinking quickly, the wizard mouthed, 'let's leave.' Taking him by the hand, the curvy wizard led the King to the door. The King's ernest bodyguard all but jumped back when the King came walking back out the door. Far from saying anything to him, the big man headed down the street towards the bar on the corner. Muttering curses, the hapless bodyguard rushed after him. This was well outside his wheelhouse and comfort zone.
On the far side of town, Jay Mertens woke up to the feel of something soft at his side in bed. Annabelle. His mind came back to what he'd done the night before, and he sat up and turned to stare out the window. His monstrous lover sat up with a yawn. Draping herself across his back, the entity that masqueraded as a doll burbled, "they were awful men, Jay. Don't trouble yourself." In her eyes, he'd given them every chance. Too many chances, in fact.
Jay looked around him, noticing things he hadn't noticed last night. "Where are we," he asked? "A forgotten house," she said. "The owner beat her children. She beat them every day until the day they turned the tables." Jay spun to face her. "It's not a bad life," she burbled. "I empower the innocent to deal with the guilty. And then I take the souls of those bad, bad peeps." She licked her lips. Jay shuddered. He'd... He'd given those men's souls to her! "We're going to have a great life together," she said, adding a terrifying little growl for the effect.
The entity shoved him back down on the bed. Grinding that beautiful body against his, she raised his little demon, getting him hot and hard. "I'm not so bad, Jay," she moaned, as she eased her snatch down that fat thickness. "Mmmm," she moaned. "Like daddy..." Jay flushed at the notion that he was built like his father. The evil creature began to ride him. "I only want those evil old souls, honey," she said. "Just give them to me. We can be together. For eternity." The creature pressed those plush knockers into his face, almost as if she'd smother him. Her snatch gripped him hard.
"I tried so hard for your daddy," she said, "but I couldn't land him... He was never broken enough... never wounded enough to listen." Jay was disturbed by the thought that he was broken. At the same time, he knew she was right. He was broken and walking the edge of darkness. He'd been delighted to kill those men last night. He'd enjoyed making their last moments a living hell. He was burned up with remorse now and terrified that he was slipping into the very darkness his father had always warned of. And, at the same time, he was so very tempted because it was so hard to turn down a beautiful female.
Back in the red-light district, Finn found himself sitting in a corner of the bar with a meal of nachos and a bottle of bark beer. He was hungry. He hadn't eaten since breakfast. Between the drive through town and traffic to the train station and the drive back to Jake's place, he'd missed lunch. The food was the kind of garbage you found in these places, and he hadn't really eaten nachos in years (decades?). Simone and Emeraude made sure of that, with Drew's blessing. Even now, his mind wanted to rebel. He'd been trained to keep such things out of his mouth. But he was hungry.
"I'm surprised to find you here," Astartes murmured. "I could say the same," Finn replied. He didn't see why a wizard would be in a stripclub. "I'm an employee," she reminded him. It took a moment. Finn frowned. Why would Tallulah be back at the club? A deeper question: why had she ever decided to dance there? He didn't understand what her game was. The wizard murmured, "I'd like to thank you for your forbearance." Finn sighed. "Forget it," he said. He didn't want to go there tonight.
Moving on, the wizard decided to treat him just the way he'd treated her the night they'd played chess. She talked about unimportant things, wrapping him up in aimless conversations about his many adventures and his visits to Wizard City. The King finished the nachos and then polished off two beers, while his nervous bodyguard stood near the door and fretted. Meanwhile, the wizard brought the King around to dancing.
There was a band playing, and Astartes led the target to the dance floor. She was hardly surprised to find that he was light on his feet and just as good at dancing as at everything else. He was a top-tier man, and her employer's daughter was a pathetic little phony with a heart of darkness and few, if any, redeeming qualities. If Tallulah was having trouble closing the deal, Astartes could easily understand why.
Finn lost himself in the moment, forgetting his troubles for a moment and putting aside the anger at his brother. As he danced with the stranger hour after hour, his rage began to abate. Some. At the same time, Astartes the wizard studied her target. His expression was hard to read, making it hard to tell if she was making any progress at all. They'd been here in this club, eating, dancing, and chatting for several hours. Now, with the sun headed down in the sky, Astartes found herself thinking that it was now or never.
Excusing herself, the curvy nymph headed for the ladies' room. Sitting on the toilet there, she took care of two pieces of her plan. First, she dialed up the hump-hump hotel across the street, securing a room for the night. Then she cast a fertility charm on herself, feeling the effects almost immediately. There was a rush of heat in the pit of her belly as her body made ready to make a baby, and then came the horniness. She was instantly, desperately horny. And for a woman who'd been getting by with toys, that was some kind of horny.
Fighting the urge to play with herself, the wizard climbed to her feet and headed back out to the bar. She found Finn sitting there with his back to the wall, watching the various couples dancing. Taking his wrist, she pulled him out of his seat, announcing, "let's go." With a frown, Finn followed her to the door. His bodyguard was just steps behind as the pair reached the exit. Outside, the wizard nodded at the love-hotel across the street. Finn found his face going hot. He'd fucked Alexia there, trying to make a baby with her. Astartes stepped off, half-dragging him after her.
The King began to follow, slowly at first, and then a little faster. The wizard led him straight through the door and right up to the counter. "I called ahead," she announced. "Room for two." She put some money on the counter and barely waited to get the key before heading for the stairs up. Finn knew the way. He'd screwed the shit out of Alexia in a room on the third floor, facing out on the street. Behind him, his bodyguard came following up the stairs, wondering how he was going to explain this. What was he going to say to the Ice Queen, or, for that matter, Princess Ingrid?
The wizard led Finn into the room and shut the door, latching it behind them. Finn stood there a moment, looking around him. The room was the kind of shabby that he was used to staying in. He'd never had much money, and this would have been all he could afford the few times he and Simone or Emeraude made it out of town. They'd been happy to have something with no bugs. As he watched Astartes draw the shades, the King sighed. He wasn't any happier with himself now than he'd been earlier. Did he really want to screw this girl?
On her side, Astartes took a deep, deep breath. She could still back out. She could say this was a mistake and back out. Could she really do this? Was it worth it with all her handicaps? There was a lot at stake, not least of which was her sanity. The wizard took another deep breath. Much as the Matriarch had promised no repercussions, it wasn't truly the Matriarch's wrath that she feared. Cenobia was a treacherous bitch, and Catalina was quite willing to murder those who offended her. The two governors had many ways to harm Astartes' family, and it wouldn't be easy to get them out of there.
Striding towards the big man, broad hips wig-wagging sensually, the wizard reached up and stroked his chest, giving him her most winning smile. He did nothing, and, for a moment, she felt a tremor of fear. It had been rather a while. Was she doing this right? Standing on her toes, she murmured, "you'll be gentle, won't you? It's been a while for me..." Finn flushed to his hair.
When the wizard tried to kiss him, the big man scarcely reacted. A part of him wasn't excited about this. He was wound up and still a little angry. Drawing back, the woman gave him a hurt look. Her expression said it. Wasn't she pretty enough? How many times had he found himself facing down that unhappy expression? Fuck it, he decided. He was constantly being accused of hunting down girls to bang, when he really did nothing of the sort. Why not have the pleasure to go with the guilt?
Taking her by the shoulders, the big man pushed her back to the bed and shoved her down on it. Grabbing those meaty thighs, he jerked them wide apart and went for the snatch. Naturally she wasn't wearing any panties. Indeed, her pussy was practically dripping. Her cream tasted like the sweet vanilla Simone used to put in his coffee. The wizard-woman shrieked loud enough that the King's ernest bodyguard heard her. Her fingers tangled in his hair as he went down on her a long five minutes, driving her wild.
Her hips jumped and wriggled about as the big man had his way with her, teasing her g-spot with his fingers and working over her joy-button. His technique was fucking amazing. His hands were supple and subtle, and his tongue was very agile. It was some of the best she'd gotten across her long life, and her mind screamed at her that she shouldn't be doing this. She shouldn't be doing this because she'd be love-bombing him in short-order. She'd be love-bombing him, and then things would get a lot, lot worse.
The King straightened up from going at her. Striding across the room, the big man got out of his jacket, shirt, and tie, baring a body that made her lick her lips in hunger. He looked like a god. As her eyes worked lower, she caught sight of that giant, princess-slaying pecker, and her jaw dropped. She couldn't tear her eyes away, as he rolled a rubber down the length of his mean meat. When he reached the bed, the big man grabbed her by her ankles and pulled her to the edge of the bed. And when he got down to business, half of the people in the hotel heard the scream.
Well, Finn's confrontation over his new girlfriends has finally arrived. Hopefully, he and Jake can forgive each other and become friends again. Meanwhile Jake Junior rushes off to rescue her kid from an ugly fate. And, of course, Finn defeats Astartes' cunning plan right out of the gate. Don't be a fool. Wrap your tool.