A/N Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 8: Friendly interrogations
"What?" Mike asked. The others simply continued to stand there, completely flabbergasted. "Hmm... Oddballs." He said. Marceline narrowed her eyes at him.
"You're the oddball! You should have died in that flaming dome, but here you are completely untouched! Hell, you still have your clothes too!"
"Meh. No big deal." Mike replied with a slight wave.
"NO BIG DEAL?!" Jake replied, clearly distraught by Mike's nonchalance. Mike went to reply, but Phoebe, who finished with her father and had him firmly secured in a prison he'd never escape from again, stared Mike down.
"Jake's right, you owe us some answers."
"And I'll spill everything you want to know, you just gotta take a look at these papers first." Mike pointed to Jake, who was confused for a second, but then realized what he meant. He pulled the fire treaty out from his body and gave it to Phoebe. She glanced at the papers and grumbled a bit.
"Princess bubblegum..." She groaned and shook her head. It was then that she saw her champion; cinnamon bun. "There you are! I've been so worried about you!" She explained. Cinnamon bun explained now he was being kept elsewhere in the dungeons. His appearance ensured he wasn't executed because he wasn't seen as a threat. Phoebe stroked her chin in thought, then made an announcement. "People of the flame kingdom! until further notice, cinnamon bun shall be the ruler until I get back!" Fin's eyes widened a bit.
"FP, what are you doing?" He asked. She looked back at him as she grabbed her armor and sword.
"I'm coming with you. There's more to this whole thing that what's being let on. My scouts told me about how PB has been getting strange visitations from that mystery guy. My dad overtaking me under the instructions of a mysterious backer, then another human comes to Ooo who's more than he lets on." She glanced at Mike, who was admiring the decor.
"Hmm? You talking to me?" He asked. She grumbled.
"You. You're gonna tell us everything we want to know, got it?" She said with authority. Mike shrugged.
"Sure. Whatever floats your boat." Phoebe shook her head.
"Flame Princess... are you sure you should come? It could be dangerous." Fin said but Flame princess shot him down.
"Really Fin? After all we went though you think I'm gonna cower behind my throne at the first sign of danger?" Fin went small and blushed in embarrassment. "I'm coming and that's that." She finished.
"So we're going then? Good. This heat is starting to get to me." Marceline said as she wiped her brow and gave Jake the hungry eyes, which made hin cower in fear. She laughed as they all headed out.
Later
They made camp in the middle of the Ooo wilderness. It was nice and peaceful. Everyone was exhausted from all the walking, but nobody was tired yet. Now was a good a time as any to get some answers.
"Michael." Phoebe stated.
"Hmm... so formal. What do you want?" He replied with a grin.
"It's time you answered some questions."
"Ask away. I got nothing to hide."
"How did you survive my father's trap?" Mike paused for a second.
"I have a few things to hide." Phoebe frowned, but Mike laughed. "I'm joking, I'm joking. But honestly, there's no easy way to answer that question. It's not so much I survived it's more the fact that I didn't die." They looked at him, confused.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jake asked.
"That, is a good question. But it's one that'll have to wait. I promise I'll answer it, just not at this time. Next question?" Phoebe grumbled at him for evading the question, but seeing as there was no getting a straight answer out of him, she decided on another question, but Fin beat her to it.
"That weapon of yours, It broke through the bars in our cage like it was butter." Mike twirled the item in question a bit.
"This thing? It's... well, I made it a while ago. It's... very close to me, it means a lot to me."
"But how did you get it?"
"I didn't get it. I made it."
"How?"
"It wasn't easy, if that's what you're asking. It's a long, painful process requiring hours of work and dedication, blood, sweat, tears, and soul." Mike chuckled. "Does that answer your question?"
"I guess so..." Fin said. Jake raised his hand.
"I got a question." He said. "Where's your family?" Mike's smile wavered a bit.
"Well... I don't really wanna talk about it right now but... they're not... here. In Ooo, at least."
"Oh... sorry man, i didn't mean anything..." He said. He didn't know if they were dead or had a falling out, or something else. He wasn't going to ask. Marceline stroked her chin.
"That smile... That dang smile. I haven't seen you frown a bit since i met you, even talking about your family made it waver, but you still kept smiling." She asked.
"Well, why shouldn't I be smiling? The land is beautiful, the people are colorful, and I got good feelings in my chest." He replied.
"Hmm... Wait a sec... Why are you even here in Ooo? what brought you here?" Mike's smile widened even more.
"Now that... is the golden question." He said. "I came to Ooo searching for someone. And I swear, I know, I can feel it in my bones, I'm gonna find them. And all will be right in the world." He finished.
"Who... are you looking for?" Fin asked. Mike smirked.
"That's for me to know, and for the rest of you to find out." Phoebe grumbled.
"I'm not gonna lie. I'm a little disappointed in your answers but... You seem trustworthy, not an enemy at least. I get the feeling that more will be made apparent later. So we should probably get some sleep so we can be ready for tomorrow." They all nodded in agreement. They lost a lot of time in the flame kingdom and only had a three days left to get to the other kingdoms. Fin stayed up for a few more moments and looked up into the night sky. He had a feeling in his gut that this was just the beginnings of their adventure, and that it was gonna get a whole lot more interesting.
