Chapter 35:
The evening was chill to the point of being frigid. Still, the town was jumping in spite of the chill, and there were people in the streets. Humans. Patrick didn't feel as though he were an outsider or monster. Humans jostled candy-folk who rubbed shoulders with slime folk and burly men out of warrior kingdom. The whole thing had come creeping up on Patrick. He'd been mostly occupied with building the transport vehicles for the evacuation, and when he wasn't doing that, he'd been in the palace with his daughters.
As the first of the evacuation missions launched, Patrick had spent more and more time inside the castle. With everything you could need on hand there, he'd had little reason to go out. More to the point, with no Fionna, the young father had little hunger or desire to be in the company of other people. Lonely and missing his wife, he'd been in a depressed state.
Tonight, Dr. Princess had the kids, and the young couple had the night off, so to speak. Fionna had to go back to the steamy jungles of her sister-in-law's kingdom to finish the work on the Tesla Barrier there, but tonight they had each other's company, money in their pockets, and time on their hands. When he'd come back from dropping the kids on Dr. P, his beautiful wife had greeted him with a shocking sight not seen in months. Fionna the Human Girl had been in their little parlor wearing a dress.
It was big and poofy with the fussy details he expected of Fionna's mom, but she wore it very well indeed. Patrick found himself with visions of the two of them growing older and becoming like Finn and Simone. He hadn't had any trouble embracing her this time. Then he'd gone rummaging in the back of his closet for something nice to wear that complimented his wife's beautiful gown.
As they wandered Crown City, Fionna expounded on all she'd seen while they were apart. The sum of it made Patrick's head want to spin. His beautiful wife had seen and done so much. Just as her father had predicted, life wasn't getting slower for them. It certainly wasn't getting slower for Fionna.
"I'm pleased some of them can get to the island," Fionna announced, as they rounded a corner. They were headed for Riley the Hugwolf's pub. There was a band playing there tonight, flown in by Lollipop to entertain the people here. Patrick, who'd been far more focused on his own troubles and his family, was a little surprised by the sentiment. It was only looking at that serene face that told him New Fionna was in the house. Pleased. She was pleased. Not happy. Not glad.
Almost as if she could sense the change in him, Fionna's fingers tightened on his. No pulling away. They were in this together. He knew sometimes she got tired of being a freak. Patrick twined his fingers with hers. They were in this together. He'd asked her to become this creature to safeguard their kids' futures. She'd obliged him. He had to step up and meet her halfway.
"We probably won't get home for a while," she murmured. Patrick nodded. He could see where she was going with this. The colony wasn't a colony. It was an empty desolation. It might be years before they had this place up to scratch. "I've... got some ideas," she said. "I've been thinking of having mom import some wizards... Maybe have my stepmom send some elementals." Leaning over, he kissed her cheek. The gesture seemed to say 'work tomorrow'. Fionna subsided.
Fionna's niece was on duty outside the pub when they arrived. "Hi, Aunt Fi," burbled Lady. The half-breed gave her a hug. Much to the displeasure of a couple of the people waiting in line, the pair crowded the line and slipped in ahead of them. One of the people standing in the line howled complaints at the strange creature. Looking down her elegant nose, Lady Mertens retorted, "it's Princess. As in, my aunt, Princess Fionna, is allowed into the pub ahead of you. As in, you're talking to the daughter of the Crown Prince of Ooo." Turning to the people in line behind the impertinent idiot, she shouted, "next!" Tania Stanek glared at the nasty mutant as a couple of nobodies brushed past her and walked into the club.
On the far side of the world, the haughty princess's grandfather awoke to the soft murmurs of the woman at his side. The people in his entourage had been gossiping for days about his current circumstance. Jake was up front in the landship just now, sleeping alone. The cabin's little bed was barely suitable for two, and certainly wasn't going to sleep three. Practically speaking, there was no way for that to work, and one of the women would have had to sleep alone anyway.
Finn had put the situation to use. Jake was fertile, and she didn't want to have sex just now. Finn was alright with that. Reese got to think that she was his preferred choice. She got to convince herself that she was making inroads and slowly replacing the King's bodyguard. And Finn? He got to listen to her babble and burble in her sleep.
Rising, the big man went to the tiny closet and gathered up the clothes she was to wear today. Just as he'd done it for Jake, the King laid out what his mistress was to wear for him. Then he went out to the little shower down the hall for a wash. By the time he made it back, the wax-hustler was awake and yawning. She was doing all she could to sell herself just now, trying to do the same things Jake did, little realizing just how un-natural that was. It felt a lot like an actress playing a role, when the spy-girl did those things.
Rising from her place, she stepped forward and embraced him, offering, "Tongchon is a pretty good sized town, master. Perhaps we could go out for a bit..." "Sure," Finn replied. "We'll get to the palace, get settled in, and maybe this evening we can see what's around the town." Reese wore a smile a mile wide, as she gathered on a thin robe and headed out to use the shower herself.
By the time she returned, the King was already downstairs, meeting with his coven of advisors. She'd gotten to sit in on a couple of those encounters, learning about who was who. That was important. If they could kill him here, that would advance their cause immeasurably. At the same time, Melinda knew that Finn the Human was a slippery character with an uncanny ability to sniff out threats. Killing him wasn't going to be easy or quick. If she could stay in his entourage–maybe worm her way into the Royal Family–it would make destroying his little empire much easier. The wax-hustler settled in at the King's right–the place that nasty dog-creature usually occupied, opening her ears as she prepared to absorb everything she heard.
The work of getting the army shipped back to the candy kingdom was going rather well. The airships were loaded, though they'd had one incident with a balky crew of cyborgs refusing to carry weapons at all. It was an absurdity that made Melinda want to laugh. When the world was running the way the members of Insight wanted it to run, their idiotic brand of false pacifism would be ended.
Melinda had a few nuggets of her own to spice the conversation. She had carefully sexed-up reports of Prince Gumbald being sighted up in the northeast out near the sea. Her report had him out on the blasted and radioactive peninsula that sat to the north of Truth Kingdom working on some deadly project there. It was a lie, of course, but spiced with just a hint of truth. Gumbald was seeking sources of death-metal. He was scaring the stuff up wherever he could find it. Melinda's master was helping him–directing the madman's energies. That would put weapons in Insight's hands that would let them conquer the world–or as much of it as they wanted to own.
Finn took all of that in, pondering whether or not he should go north to confront the mad genius. It was clearly a foolish idea. The blasted lands to the north were covered in belts and bands of radioactive debris that were deadly to cross, and there were horrific creatures living in and around those places who could dissolve you on contact or slay you just with a touch. Even for the 'Hero of Ooo', that was too great a lift. Of course, it did sort of suggest he ought to just stay here in the east–to keep an eye on what Gumbald was doing.
Somewhere near eight that morning, one of the cyborgs left their little control-capsule at the front of the machine to report that they had at last reached the town of Tongchon. The gathering broke up, with Melinda going back upstairs to gather up her bag. By the time she'd returned, the nasty dog-woman was back. She was clinging to the King, and it made Melinda want to cut her throat.
Still, the King was distant, suggesting that maybe sitting things out and hanging out in the room at the front of the ship wasn't such a good idea. Melinda wasn't sure if the bitch was playing hard to get, but the King was getting what he needed, so he didn't need to chase, did he? The wax-hustler sauntered up and occupied the King's knee, while Jake Junior watched. Her expression revealed nothing, though she wanted to bust up laughing.
The crew brought the machine to a halt in an empty field just outside the town. Finn and his entourage found that an escort was already waiting on them to take them in to see the lord of the city. This time it was Princess Sakura who rode outside, suggesting that she was in quite the state.
Lord Hyun Ki and his people were waiting in the throne room when Finn and his entourage arrived. The space had been laid out just as the throne room of Sonbong had been laid out, with a second, slightly less ornate chair set one step below the throne on the dais. Finn strode up, greeting the Lord by embracing him. "Your Majesty," the Lord said, as he motioned for the King to take his throne. Finn climbed the dais and settled himself on the throne, announcing, "let's begin, everyone."
Meanwhile, in the Candy Kingdom, a clandestine meeting was occurring. While much of the capitol slumbered, a car pulled up to a massive warehouse belonging to the Jimenez Produce Company. Sinister figures bundled up in heavy coats with strategic bulges under their clothes greeted the blacked-out limo at the gates. The car was swiftly checked, with the guards going through the trunk, checking under the car, and even in the engine compartment. Waving to the men manning the gates, they sent the car rolling inside.
Inside the limo, Tallulah shivered. This was it. She was committing treason. Just by being here, she was potentially committing treason. These idiots had dragged her in, and she wasn't sure how to get out from under things because of her mother's idiot councilors. She'd just dipped her toe in treason, but that was enough to remove her head from her shoulders.
Beside her, Nicia took a big swig from the glass of plum liquor she had in her hand. It was clear she was doing no better with this than Tallulah was, but then she'd come very close to the axe already. If not for her bought-and-paid-for policemen in the Suncoast, she'd be pushing up the daisies right now. How had these idiots thought they were going to succeed? They were literally going up against half the crowned heads of Ooo! They were going up against a man who had super-human powers. Tallulah saw no way for this to go anywhere but into the ditch. Shortly after, there would be more people getting their heads chopped off.
As the young nymph fidgeted, the car rolled around to the back side of the complex. The place was surprisingly well lit to say they were having a meeting about treason on the down-low. There were a number of men both inside and outside the fence warming themselves around bonfires. It made Tallulah even more nervous. The windows were darkened, but she feared someone spotting her here all the same. More to the point, with her habits of dancing for low-class losers in a strip-club, there was a risk that some of those men might know who she was. The sight of both Henrietta, Nicia, and Anwen all drinking made her want to drink as well.
More fires awaited them inside the building as their car rolled through the heavy steel gates. Burning oil-drums lit the loading dock in lurid reddish light. The doors boomed shut behind them, closing off the chill night air and leaving them at the mercy of those in the structure. Putting down the glass of schnapps she'd been drinking, Henrietta Kirchner climbed out of the car. Anwen Mallory was right behind her. Nicia was a beat slow. She'd fallen the furthest, after all. She'd come perilously close to having her head chopped off. If she'd been caught in her mansion, she might have. Tallulah was the last. There was no help for it. She couldn't pretend she hadn't been here.
Upstairs, the Dowager Princess watched in fascination as her pet stepped back from the brink as it were. Releasing the roiling flames in the fireplace, the curvy elemental turned to her master and announced, "they're here. No guards, just as promised." Frowning, Marysia Okonski said, "they seem awfully desperate. Why are we meeting with them again?" She didn't understand the point. It hardly seemed like these had anything to offer for the risk they were incurring. "Information, Masia," Odessa chuckled. "The world isn't just power and prestige. Sometimes, a peasant can give you that one bit of information that can make or break your play." Rising, the curvy princess bade her pet, "watch and wait." Striding across the room, Odessa slipped out the door, bound for the room where she was going to meet her guests.
The quartet were practically climbing the walls when Odessa appeared in the doorway. She would ask Masia later what all had gotten said while she was on her way down. The curvy princess strode in the door, taking the measure of her opposite numbers. There was a great deal of fear there. She could use that. At the same time, she knew these had limited value to her. They were hanging at the end of the rope. Information, then, thought the evil grandma.
Lady Nicia goggled in shock at the sight of the woman coming across the room, and Anwen Mallory demanded, "where's Odessa?" Amused by the posturing, the Princess Dowager laughed in her face. Henrietta Kirchner shuddered. She recognized that sinister chuckle. "That's her," she rumbled. Looking at that beautiful face, she could see it was Odessa. "How," she asked? "Nevermind," Odessa retorted. "How may I help you?"
She gestured for the quartet to sit themselves. Slowly, one by one, her guests did just that. Odessa sat herself at the end of the table. Folding her hands in her lap, the older woman waited on them to begin it. Henrietta took one breath. Then two. "Matters are in a critical state," said she. "Finn's taken out several of our allies, and our attempts to assassinate him have failed twice." Odessa stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Their attempts on the man's life had been amateurish to say the least. Much of what they'd been doing had been amateurish, and their mistakes had led the King's enforcers right back to them. "And what would you have of me," Odessa responded?
"We're working with Gumbald and Wells right now," Nicia declared. "They've got Finn occupied in the east chasing some fool who thinks he's a warlord, while Gumbald builds fighting machines able to take on Finn's war machines." In tones that suggested puzzlement, the Dowager asked, "if you've got war machines, what, pray tell, could I offer?" It was the facade of humility that wanted to grate on Anwen's nerves. This bitch had the food supply for the civilized kingdoms in her hands right now. She had massive influence.
Henrietta said, "you have the power to cripple his kingdom. The less we have to fight, the better off we are. We don't want to destroy the civilized kingdoms. We want control. Having machines fighting over our lands and smashing everything in sight doesn't benefit us. Surely, you see that." The nasty harridan before them put on an expression as if she was considering that.
Watching the subtle play of emotions on the older woman's face told Henrietta several things. Odessa wasn't the same. Oh, she was still the same treacherous witch who'd steered and controlled her sons and daughters like chessmen, but she wasn't the bent and aged old bitch she had been. There was a supreme and terrifying confidence in those dark eyes. She didn't need them. Rendered young again, she had time and options to pursue her own agenda, and she didn't need their help for any of it.
"What happened with your secret army," asked the Muscle Princess? Nicia flushed. If only the bitch was a man. This would be a lot easier, if they were dealing with a man. She'd been able to manipulate Hafgrim the Red with ease. Her pheremones had him eating out of her hand. She'd seduced him and gotten him to rebel against his master for her cause. Hafgrim was dead now, and they had no idea what was going on with the army he'd been raising.
"We've given our weapons to Gordon and Gumbald," Nicia lied. "Better an army of machines to confront an army of machines. A flesh-and-blood army wouldn't have sufficed. Are you in or out? We need an answer." "Then the answer is no," Odessa retorted. "You come to me with nothing and ask me to risk everything, but you offer me nothing in exchange, not even to tell me about what your plan is..." "There... there is an heir," Tallulah interrupted.
Every face snapped around to hers. Face gone a deep shade of emerald, the nymph stared at the table. It had taken her quite a while to see what had been right in front of her face. She'd been down deep in a place of anger and hatred. She'd been ignoring the increasingly shrill demands from the council, and she'd been ignoring the messenger. She'd given no thought to what Astartes had been going through. Even now, a part of her mind wondered. Was it the night Finn was in the club? She'd told Astartes to go handle the problem herself if she was so concerned about it.
"There's an heir that no-one knows of," Tallulah rumbled. "Say on," Odessa burbled. The various conspirators going in against the King of Ooo had been stuck with one seminal problem. The King's adult children were far too well established to be controlled and far too loyal to be turned against him. Everybody had been searching for a way to lay hands on one of the young children, as that was their best hope of having an heir in hand that they could steer and mold. That would let them just murder the adult kids and take control of Finn's empire from behind the scenes.
Taking a deep breath as she contemplated just how deep into the depths of evil and treachery she was going, Tallulah announced, "the council's messenger. She... she had a one-night tryst with Finn. I... she got pregnant." Nicia shot to her feet. Anwen turned a look of utter rage on the younger woman. She'd been holding out on them! Before the pair could get to violence, Odessa interrupted the looming confrontation, asking, "and you know this... how...?" "I figured it out," Tallulah sighed.
Staring at the table, she began the tale–telling them how Finn had shown up at the strip-club one night. Tallulah hadn't wanted to deal with him, and she'd told Astartes to take care of the matter herself. Flushing to her hair, the young heiress said, "I... I never dreamed she'd take me seriously. I... one of the other girls... Her dress went missing, and somebody remembered seeing Astartes wearing it... She... she went out the door with Finn that night, and she didn't come back."
"How do you know she's pregnant," Odessa asked? "I... she... I heard her throwing up," Tallulah murmured. "I think it's been going on for a while... She's... She's been hiding in her room..." Just like a woman with an ugly secret. Nicia had seen the same signs plenty of times in her homeland. "Where is she now," Henrietta demanded? "I don't know," Tallulah replied. "She's... She left. She left a note saying that she was no longer working for the council." "We need to find her," Nicia snapped! "This is our chance! We'd have an heir that we controlled!"
"Indeed," Odessa murmured. "That changes the dynamic quite a bit, doesn't it?" "We need your support," Henrietta said. "I can't pledge support, dear," Odessa replied. "You still don't have an heir that we would control. Not yet. I can pledge nonaggression. I don't need to be at war with you. If you can lay hands on this woman and her child, we can revisit things." The trio of bitches before her glared daggers, but the Dowager Princess was unmoved. Calmly, Odessa said, "let's agree to disagree for now. You need to go and find this Astartes. In the now, I'll still be here..." Controlling the food supply for the kingdoms of Ooo.
With no further word, the curvy princess rose and offered them a polite, "good night." Spinning on her heel, she strode out, leaving the quartet there in the room. Her guards would handle removing them from the building. In the right now, she had to get back upstairs. She had plans of her own to put in place.
Masia was standing before the fire, monitoring things, when she arrived. "They're leaving," the elemental announced, as the door shut behind her. Releasing the flames, the hot little number turned to face her master and said, "I see what you mean. We did learn some things..." At the same time, there were clearly things that troubled her. "Are we really going to side with them," she asked? "Of course not," Odessa tutted. "Why would I want to share my power? Right now, I need you to find this Astartes, preferably before they do." "And then," asked Marysia? "Burn her to death," Odessa replied. "Make it look... accidental..."
As the clock in the palace of Tongchon, Finn the King rose from the throne to conclude the audience. The chamberlain called for the gathered supplicants to rise. Almost as soon as the King started walking, Princess Sakura stepped off, rushing out the side door ahead of him. She'd been angry and distant the whole trip down from Sonbong. Finn had done his best to work around that. The landship wasn't so large that you could effectively talk without being overheard, though, and he'd been forced to let her stew a bit.
With a heavy sigh, the King turned to his entourage and said, "I need to go and speak to Princess Sakura. Alone." "Mending fences," rumbled Lord Hyun Ki. He offered the King of Ooo a bow and took his own entourage down another passage. Melinda wanted to hear what he was going to say to the little bitch. It was funny that she was so against warfare that she would happily let this man do the warring for her. At the same time, the double-agent knew that her presence wouldn't be welcome and might attract suspicion.
Standing on her toes, the spy-girl kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later, darling," she said. Then she and the rest dispersed, heading off to their own work. Finn stepped off smartly, following Sakura down the hall towards the garden. The guards he'd assigned her were standing at the entry. They'd been given strict orders to watch over her but give her space. Much as with Toast, Finn was well aware of the mental state she might be in. He'd had his own close-encounters with negative mental health over the years. Though his life had drastically turned around, he would never forget the months he'd spent at the bottom of a bottle when Simone and Emeraude abandoned him. Now, the King strode out into the garden, entering his old friend's space. They needed to talk. He couldn't let this go on any longer.
"Finn," the Truth Princess greeted him. "TFPP," Finn replied. Her nose wrinkled. It had been forever since he called her that. He was breaking the ice. "Walk with me," Finn said. It was just as she'd so often said it to him. He'd been an awkward youth, and she'd tried to make him comfortable in her world. It hadn't really worked, and, looking back, she wondered if a lot of it wasn't her failings.
Taking his hand, the little woman wandered off into the garden. "I'm sorry for doing that to you," Finn declared. Her eyes flicked up to his face. He was staring off into the distance. His expression was... off. It was only his next words that told her she was talking to 'New Finn'. "The subterfuge was necessary," he said. It was shocking hearing that word coming out of Finn's mouth. No matter how many times she got treated to this, it was always a jarring experience. He could go from being the folksy man who treated the Lord of Sonbong like they were brothers to a man who looked and sounded like a King.
"What subterfuge," she demanded? She'd been in an ugly place these last few days. Truth? Finn had seemed to embrace her own ideals more than she embraced them. She'd been all for peace and resolving conflict through negotiation–until it was her with the knife at her throat. Then she'd wanted Finn to go marching in at the head of an army and smash the man who'd wronged her. So much for pacifism.
She'd been on a carousel of emotion, turning from rage and hate at Nagumo, to anger at Finn, to shame for feeling the way she did. Now, she stared in shock as Finn explained, "I sent the army down to the Burn. They're almost finished with the move. We had a couple of problems with some of Nadia's peeps not wanting to move weapons, but we're almost done. We'll probably move in a week or so."
Sakura's jaw came unhinged, and she stared at him. She didn't know honestly if she should kiss him or punch him. "I needed an honest reaction," Finn rumbled. The Truth Princess frowned at him. "You're the Truth Field Princess," Finn reminded her. "If you'd just gone along with it, she would have thought something was up. By getting that rise out of you, it sells the lie." The little woman turned and stared back at the palace, where they'd last seen Finn's mistress. "She's a traitor," Sakura surmised. The Truth Field Princess turned to her old beau. Face twisted in a frown, as she realized just how deep his plan went, she demanded, "how do you know that?" Finn gave her a grin and said, "she talks in her sleep."
Sakura flushed to her hair. That was nasty. At the same time, she wanted to kiss him. She would get her kingdom back! He was going to get her kingdom back and rescue her babies after all! Though her conscience nagged at her for embracing war-by-proxy, a part of her saw it as being a very necessary evil just now, when someone had just decided to make war on her.
Meanwhile, at the front of the palace, the woman in question stood in an isolated corner of the courtyard, with her phone up to her ear. With one eye on the people passing through the area, she gave her status report to her true master. "I couldn't report earlier," she said. "We were on that landship of his. I couldn't get any privacy." Gordon Wells brushed that aside. He wanted to know what she'd managed to get done in the interim.
"I'm in," she said. "You're certain," Gordon demanded? She'd been making very little progress. With a sniff of feigned irritation, Melinda Griffin responded, "as if I can't work magic on a male..." Truth? She'd feared she was striking out. Finn the Human was surprisingly suspicious. She didn't need Gordon to know that, though. "Clark Reynolds," muttered Gordon. "He was one of the most successful of our people in history until he got greedy and played the game too deep."
The self-styled King of Ooo had managed to grift an entire kingdom out from under its master, but he'd fumbled the play at the end and ended up dead. More to the point, he'd pissed off a number of folk along the way. There were some corners of Ooo where people attacked wax-folk on sight! That had been getting better, but there was still a great deal of distrust in the realms.
Moving on, Melinda announced, "he's dismissed the army..." She could hear Gordon sitting up violently in his chair. She was supposed to be preventing that! "He's... I don't know what the hell he's thinking," Melinda admitted. "He's been preaching about peace and love... all that shite the cyborgs and peaceniks talk of." It didn't make any sense at all. "Haven't you been giving him the information we created," Gordon demanded? "I need him there. I need his army to stay there." "I've shared all of that with him," Melinda replied. "I'm working it. He's planning on staying here... I think he's looking at driving around to all the city-states here in these lands and talking up his empire. It's something... Maybe if... Maybe if Nagumo makes another move, he might bring the army back."
In tones that spoke of his irritation, Gordon Wells demanded, "what good are you to me, if you can't get the job done, Melinda?" He sounded more like he was going to issue that TOS order than he had last time, which made her wonder how his end was going. Forcing calm into her voice, the younger woman replied, "it's not easy seducing a man who has his pick of women, sir. It took forever to freeze out that nasty dog-woman." Which Gordon well knew. Post-nut clarity tended to eliminate the various means a woman had to get leverage on a man.
"Alright," the master spy said. "I'll push Nagumo to take action. How long until the army's gone?" "They're taking the last of them out of here today," Melinda replied. "These lands will be vulnerable by the end of the week, latest." "Alright," Gordon said. "Hold off on any more reports of Gumbald. I'll push Nagumo to act." The master spy hung up on her, leaving her feeling cold and isolated. She'd signed with Gordon half as a whim and half because she hated the idea of being somebody's dog. That now seemed reckless. Unfortunately, she and Eisthir had made their bed.
The nobles have almost finished sawing through the limb they're sitting on. The fall is just moments away. And it appears that Finn's opponents in the east have bitten the hook. Time to release the kraken. And our evil grandma is evilling. Murdering pregnant girls... For shame...