Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry it took so long, this chapter was a big one and an important story arc. Also, I got other stuff going on. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! You guys should expect another long wait for the next chapter, though.
Peace!
I do not own 'Adventure Time'.
Chapter 20
Hearts and Minds
"Kara… hey, Kara."
Finn gave the still asleep Kara a nudge with his foot.
"Come on, wake up."
The Seeker's eyes fluttered open, she stretched and let out a yawn like a bear waking up from hibernation. "Good morning, Finn." said Kara. "Why ya gotta wake me up so early?, that was the best sleep I had in over a month."
"It's like, eight in the morning, that's not that early." Finn said. "Plus, I'm taking you out for breakfast."
Kara sat up from her bed of blankets, she had fallen asleep wearing her purple uniform and Finn was already dressed in his normal attire, sword included. "Okay, cool. Where we going?"
"The Breakfast Kingdom." Finn replied.
Kara blinked. "Is… is that a restaurant?"
"Actually, it's a Kingdom made out of breakfast foods and inhabited by breakfast food people." Finn answered casually.
Kara blinked. "...Okay."
Finn gave Kara a smile. "Trust me, the food there is great… so I've heard. Come on, Jake's waiting for us outside."
Sure enough, the magical bulldog was outside waiting for them. Finn and Kara emerged from the treehouse to see Jake sitting on a log.
"Hey Jake." Finn greeted.
Jake bounced off of the log. "Hey Finn, hey Kara. Ready to go?"
Kara raised a hand awkwardly in greeting. "Hello Jake, sorry about… you know… electrocuting you into unconsciousness."
"Ah, water under the bridge." Jake said with a wave of his hand. "I still can't feel the left half of my body, but I'm alright." Jake then stretched into a convertible. "Enough chit-chat already, let's hit the road! In style."
Kara took a nervous step back. "Is this a normal method of transportation in Ooo?" she asked Finn.
"Nah, just for me." Finn replied. "But now that I've got the bike, I'll probably be asking Jake for a ride less often."
Jake mumbled something under his breath, it sort of sounded like bike's not that cool, then said. "Come on, hurry up! I'm getting hangry here!"
Finn hopped into the driver's seat. "Come on, Kara!" He patted the side of the Jake-car. "Let's ride!"
"Say hello to the Breakfast Kingdom, Kara." Finn said when they arrived.
Kara, seated in the passenger seat of the Jake convertible, looked up at the tower of pancakes of coffee pots. She watched as the coffee shot out of the top of the tower and fell into the coffee lake below. "That is a lot of caffeine." she commented.
"If you want decaf, then that's cool." Jake said as he stretched back to his normal shape. "They got tea and juice too if that's more your style."
Finn and Jake led Kara into the Kingdom, nothing about the place seemed at all threatening or even slightly intimidating, but Kara habitually kept her guard up all the same. Once they reached the outside of the tower, Breakfast Princess and Strudel Princess came out to greet them.
"Hello Finn and Jake, it's good to have you both in my kingdom again!" BP greeted.
"Hey hey, waddup BP?!" Jake exclaimed. "We're here for some famous Breakfast Kingdom eats!"
"Of course. In celebration of Finn being reunited with his friend, it's on the house." Breakfast Princess looked up at Kara, her smile faltered a bit but held. "A friend of our dear Finn is always welcome in this kingdom."
"Thank you. But with all due respect, your highness, he's not your dear Finn." Kara responded.
"Kara!" Finn scolded.
Breakfast Princess' smile turned into a thin line. "My little sister here will take you three to a table in our park, it's a short walk from here."
"This way please." Strudel Princess before taking off.
Finn gave BP an apologetic look before following the young princess with Jake and Kara in tow. Once they were gone, BP let the smile drop. "Muscle-bound bitch." she muttered. Her cell phone then rang and she pulled it out of her dress and answered it. "Hello, Breakfast Princess speaking."
"Are they there yet?"
"Yeah Bubblegum, they're here. Look, I'm all up for treating Finn to a nice breakfast. But that Kara lady?, she spoke one sentence to me and now I want her out of my kingdom immediately."
"Look, it's just like we planned. We help Finn show Kara what Ooo is really like, Finn tells Kara he's staying in Ooo, and Kara leaves. Finn just wants to try to get Kara to see Ooo for it's true beauty."
"Yes, I remember the plan. But if you ask me, Finn is just beating around the bush." said BP.
"Kara isn't just some hired muscle they sent to find him, she's like a sister to Finn."
BP sighed. "Yeah, they're family, and I'll respect that. But, I don't suppose that'll stop your 'hired help' from taking her down if she decides to take Finn against his will now would it?"
"I specifically said 'by non-lethal methods only', if that's what you're implying."
"I'm implying that Finn may not appreciate that."
"He'll appreciate being able to make his own choice." PB's voice was beginning to sound vexed. "I'm just making sure the choice is his to make."
BP hummed. "Okay then. So if, hypothetically speaking, Finn decides to go back to his island, then I guess we just deal with the middle finger and accept this whole day was for nothing?"
"It's not going to come to that." Bubblegum responded, although she failed to keep the worry out of her voice.
"I hope you're right Bubblegum, I sincerely do." Breakfast Princess said before hanging. BP took a deep breath and thought back to how things were before Finn had arrived in Ooo. Ever since the Lich massacre, the tension in Ooo was so thick you could cut it with a knife. She remembered receiving the news of the Lich's escape, she remembered holding her sister and praying to Glob the Lich didn't come for her and her people, and of course, she remembered the terror of learning it was the Ice King who was holding back the evil being and keeping them all alive. The Ice King! Ever since the mad wizard imprisoned the Lich, no one felt safe, and the trust and respect the rest of Ooo had for Princess Bubblegum had since dwindled. Breakfast Princess herself was one of the many outraged princesses who voiced their indignation, and she had long held respect and admiration for the brainy Bubblegum.
Then Finn came, washed up on the shores of Ooo like a beached whale. The strange boy with pale skin and golden hair had never even heard of Ooo, and thus possessed no real motive for aiding the still enervated land. And yet, little by little, deed by deed, the Human had loosened the drum-tight tension of the kingdoms. Stopping wars and saving lives, Finn had slowly begun to heal the scars left by the dreadful Lich. Finn the Human seemed to be the exact opposite of the Lich King; Wherever the Lich went, death and destruction followed. Wherever Finn went, friends were made and hope and happiness was instilled. Finn coming to Ooo almost seemed like fate most fortuitous.
Breakfast Princess looked in the direction of the park where Finn and company had walked off to. "Finn… we need you… I hope you realize that."
Kara swallowed another bite of her omelet and chased it down with a glass of orange juice. "Dang, the food here is amazing."
Jake went to work on his third frittata. "Uh-huh, ya got that right." Jake said between bites. "The Breakfast Kingdom gets most of its income from tourism, people come here for breakfast and brunch all the time from all over Ooo." Jake looked around the park. "Not a lot of people here though, guess BP closed the place just for us. Sweet."
Kara looked over at Finn. "How's your pancakes, little guy?"
Finn swallowed another bite of his coconut pancakes. The three of them were seated at a picnic table in the center of the Breakfast Kingdom Park amidst the orange trees. It was a lovely spot and the food couldn't have tasted better, but Finn still looked uncomfortable and anxious.
Kara frowned in worry. "Finn?"
Finn looked up at Kara. "Back there with Breakfast Princess, that was kind of rude, don't you think?"
"Oh, that? I didn't mean any offense, I was just making sure she understands you're not one of them. You're one of us." Kara pointed her fork at Finn. "Which is what you should be doing."
An awkward silence hung in the air, until Jake let out a belch. "'Scuse me. Listen, Ms. Strong. I think what the princess meant was that Finn has really become… part of the community. We all see him as one of us, and that'll never change."
Finn smiled at his canine friend. Kara however, tightened her jaw. "As sweet as that is Jake, Finn doesn't belong here. I'm sorry, but that's the truth."
Finn's smile faded away, he suddenly remembered what Marceline had told him at the Candy Kingdom party. 'You start to belong when you feel like you belong, simple as that.' Finn loved it here in Ooo, he wasn't about to deny that. The denizens of Ooo revered him as a hero and he was welcome in just about every kingdom. Being Billy's successor, being Ooo's icon of hope; it felt scary, but it also felt right.
Then he thought about Founder's Island, it had been his entire world up until a month ago. And although he might've once accepted it, Finn had never actually been happy with it. What did it truly mean to belong somewhere? Did Finn belong on Founder's Island because he was Finn Campbell, or did he belong in Ooo because he was Finn the Human?
'Maybe it's up to me to decide where I belong.' "Kara… there's more to the world than Founder's Island. You and I have both seen proof of that."
"Maybe Finn, but you and I have both seen proof that Founder's Island is the only place in the world that is safe for humankind." Kara responded.
'Maybe you've got it backwards, maybe the rest of the world is safe from humankind.' "There's a difference between surviving and living, Kara." Finn said instead.
Kara seemed a little surprised as well as confused by Finn's response. Before she could say anything else though, Jake wolfed down his breakfast and cleared his throat. "Ya know what, how about we take this breakfast to go? Let's go have some fun!"
"Kara, welcome to the Ice Kingdom!" Finn exclaimed.
Kara looked at the snowy fields and mountains of ice in wonder, the entire kingdom sparkled as if it was all crafted from a titan sized diamond. "I'll admit, this place is pretty." she said. Kara knelt down and scooped up a fist full of snow. "Wow, so this is snow. It's… cold."
"You guys don't have snow on your island?" Jake asked.
"We have the occasional rainy day, but other than that, it's normally nice weather." Finn answered.
"Aren't you cold, Finn?" Kara asked in concern. "All you have on is your dad's old jacket."
Finn pulled out his ruby necklace from under his shirt for Kara to see. "This necklace is enchanted, it'll keep me warm no matter how cold it gets. Aren't you cold? The Seeker uniform isn't exactly a choice winter garb."
Kara tapped her head. "My implant can numb my nerve endings so the cold doesn't bother me, I'll be fine."
"Okay then." said Finn. "Let's have some winter fun."
Finn, Jake and Kara spent the next few hours doing exactly that. They started off by making snowmen. Jake's snowmen were always the most impressive, he would stretch himself into a giant snow-mold and make award winning snow sculptures. The magic dog made snow sculptures of the three of them in less than ten seconds. Kara's snowmen were always the least impressive, her big hands were apparently more suited to crushing than creating. Still though, the Seeker seemed to be enjoying herself, something Finn happily noticed.
Then they moved on to snowball fights, which Kara dominated at. Getting hit by one of her snowballs was like getting hit with a cannon. As Finn hid behind his Jake-shelter and rubbed the welts on his body, Kara chucked snowball after snowball at the Jake-shelter with a happy but slightly crazed laugh, earning a sharp 'ow!' from Jake whenever the snowballs hit him. Finn and Jake retaliated by sending a Jake-catapult of snow at Kara, who barely had enough time to say 'uh-oh' before she was buried under a pile of snow. When Kara emerged from the snow pile she looked like a polar bear with all that snow on her. The disguise must have been pretty convincing because an actual polar bear came up and started hitting on Kara, causing Finn and Jake to break down laughing.
Exhausted, the three of them decided to relax. They sat by the shores of the Ice Kingdom's great lake and watched as the penguins swam about and played. Kara fell in love with the penguins, she giggled like a giddy schoolgirl as the penguins surrounded her. The big Seeker had a few birds cuddled up on her lap and was petting every penguin that came up to her, Finn and Jake drank from a thermos of hot chocolate Jake had brought with him and watched with amusement as the penguins snuggled up against Kara and quacked happily.
"These guys are adorable!" Kara shouted.
Finn took a sip of his hot coco. "Glad to see you enjoying yourself, Kara."
Kara sighed. "Yeah. Aside from the polar bear, today has been pretty fun." she said.
Jake looked over at Finn. He jerked his head over at Kara as if to say now might be a good time. Finn took a breath. "So Kara, this place isn't so bad after all, huh?"
Kara cradled a penguin in each of her arms. "Fine, I'll admit it, maybe Ooo isn't so bad."
Finn smiled.
"But it's not our home."
Finn's smile dropped.
"Founder's Island is our home, it always has been and always will be." Kara continued.
"Not… that there's anything wrong with Ooo, right?" Finn asked.
"Well, it's still a post-apocalyptic world of monsters and mutants ruled by monarchy."
"Okay yeah, when you say it like that, then of course it sounds bad."
"You live in a house owned by a vampire."
"Hey, she's cool. Scary, but cool."
"You were stabbed through the gut and hospitalized and your recovery was nothing short of a miracle."
"...Uhhhh… well… you know, I want to say 'hey I survived, didn't I?', but that might not be a very satisfying answer."
"No, no it wouldn't."
Finn sighed. "Alright, look. Kara-"
"Hello down there!"
Finn, Jake and Kara looked up to see Ice King flying down towards them in his penguin drawn sleigh. He landed the sleigh and hopped out. "Hey Finn! Hey Jake! Hey Susan!"
"It's Kara." Kara replied.
"Yeah, whatever. Listen, I'm doing a show at the Candy Kingdom. I was on my way when I saw you guys and figured I could give you a lift."
"What if we don't want to go to your show?" Kara asked.
"Ah come on, you'll love it. Marceline the Vampire Queen is playing at the Candy Kingdom and me and Lumpy Space Princess are featuring her."
"Lumpy Space Princess?" Kara asked.
The purple chick you uppercutted into the forest."
"Oh. Wait, that was a girl?"
"I know, right? Now hop in the sleigh, I'm gonna make a quick phone call to let Marcy know I'll be running late."
Finn and Jake hopped into the sleigh. "Come on, Kara. Free concert tickets!"
Kara rolled her eyes and got into the sleigh. Ice King walked out of earshot and pulled out his phone and dialed in PB's number. "Hopefully she hasn't changed it again." he muttered.
"Bubblegum speaking."
"The chicken is in the coop. I repeat, the chicken is in the coop."
"...Beg pardon?"
"What, we aren't doing spy lingo?" Ice King asked.
Bubblegum sighed on her end of the line. "No Ice King, please just tell me if Finn and Kara are with you."
"Oh yeah, I got them in the sleigh and I was about to take them to the Candy Kingdom for the show. Me, Marcy and LSP are gonna rock the house!"
"Okay, great. take them for a ride and then bring them to the Candy Kingdom for the show."
"Can we stop for milkshakes?"
"Blutige Hölle-sure, fine. I… I don't care."
"Awesome. And by the way…" Ice King looked around nervously. "Is, uh… is she watching us?"
"She should be. She's supposed to be keeping an eye on Finn."
"Well yeah, I know that. After all, I'm the one who-"
"Ice King, we don't have forever." Bubblegum said. "Just do your part and we can put an end to all of this."
"How is all of this supposed to end, anyway?"
"That's up to Finn, Ice King. That's up to Finn." PB replied before hanging up.
Ice King pocketed his phone, he was about to head back to the sleigh when she suddenly froze. "Hold on a second." Ice King snapped his fingers. "Marceline, the Vampire Queen… that rhymes. I just now realized that."
"Enjoying the view gang?" Ice King asked.
Finn, Jake and Kara looked across the landscape of Ooo. From this high up, it all looked like an elaborate portrait. Kara gazed upon Ooo in astonishment. "Woah." whispered.
Finn took a drink of his milkshake. "Pretty amazing, huh Kara?"
Kara just stared out across Ooo's majesty in silence, showing no indication she even heard Finn even though they were seated next to each other in the back of the sleigh. "Finn," she suddenly said. "I understand how you were able to fall in love with this place, I really do."
"So you understand why I'm… not all that excited about leaving this place?" Finn asked.
Kara looked over at Finn. "It may be an incredible world full of excitement, wonder and peril, but you need to think about everybody back on the island."
"I've been thinking about everybody back on the island everyday since I got here." Finn replied.
Kara sighed. "Finn… I didn't want to have to tell you this. But you are, technically, the first Hider to leave the safety of Founder's Island."
Finn's eyes widened in shock. "What?"
Kara nodded. "Founder's law Finn; anybody who leaves the island is, by definition, a Hider."
Kara, I was-"
"Kidnapped and forced to leave. I know, and so does your mom. But although you're the son of great Minerva Campbell, you're also the son of the infamous Martin Mertens. Certain rumors have begun to spread, the number of people who believe and spread these rumors are few of course. Still though…"
Finn stared down at his feet in thought, then put on a determined face and looked back up at Kara. "You know what? I'm-"
"Here we are guys, Candy Kingdom dead ahead!" Ice King shouted.
As the Candy Kingdom came into view, Kara beheld the place with intense wonder. "Dang." she sniffed the air. "It smells like a kid's birthday party."
"Pretty sweet, huh Kara?" Jake asked from up front.
"Ha, sweet." Ice King commented. "'Cause it's the Candy Kingdom… and it's all made of candy… which is sweet… and-"
"Alright, we get." Jake interrupted. "Geesh."
Ice King landed his penguin-drawn sleigh near the kingdom's entrance. "Alright, everybody hop out. I got like, a hundred parking tickets on this thing and six DUI's. So I'm gonna go park somewhere out of sight." Ice King snapped the reigns. "Laters!" He shouted before taking off.
"He seems… friendly." said Kara.
"He once stole body parts from some of the princesses to make his own grotesque, Franken-princess bride." Jake said.
"...Holy shit."
"Yup. You wanna know the craziest part? They actually had a pretty good thing going on, I won't lie."
"Let's uhhh… let's just get going, huh guys?" Finn suggested before heading inside the kingdom.
Finn led the way into the Candy Kingdom. Kara looked a little weirded out by the Candy People, who in return, kept a safe distance from the massive stranger. The two humans and dog made their way to the kingdom centre where a large stage had been built. Rows of folding chairs were lined up in front of the stage. Marceline and LSP were on stage setting up their equipment, when Marcy saw Finn she floated off the stage to greet him. Kara immediately tensed up and Jake vanished like houdini straight into Finn's jacket pocket.
"Yo Finn, kickass sword, man. Ready to hear the greatest musician in Ooo rock this kingdom?" Marceline asked. She dressed accordingly, making sure not a ray of sunlight could touch her. Marcy wore an ink-black hoodie with a skull and crossbone design on the chest with a pair of black gloves, her black jeans were complimented by her ruby-red boots. If it wasn't for the black beekeeper helmet she wore, the Vampire Queen would've looked like a goth girl ready to hit up a concert or a bar.
"The greatest musician in Ooo, who's that?" Finn asked jokingly.
"Watch it, bub. You live in my house." Marcy warned.
Finn raised his hands on surrender. "Yes ma'am."
"So you're the vampire who's house Finn lives in?" Kara asked.
"Yup, that'd be me." Marcy looked Kara up and down and grinned. "And you must be Kara, Finn's musclebound sister or something like that. You work out or what?"
Kara seemed a bit uncomfortable under Marceline's gaze. "It… it's actually a series of genetic bodily modifications as well as a scheduled diet of various minerals followed by both physical and mental conditioning."
Marcy just shrugged. "Works for me."
"Your name is Marceline, yes?" Kara asked.
"Uh-huh."
"Back on Founder's Island, we have a-"
"Bedtime story about a Marceline, I know. Finn told me about it. That was me."
Kara blinked. "You're telling me you're-"
"Marceline the Vampire Slayer? Yes, yes I am. I got turned into a vampire saving your ancestor's butts, so you're welcome."
Kara stared at Marceline, unsure of how to respond. Ice King flew in and saved her the trouble though. "Yo! Sorry I'm late Marceline, I had trouble finding a good spot to park."
"Where'd you end up parking?" Finn asked.
"Oh I left my sleigh with a group of kids I hired to watch it. I'm not actually going to pay them, so win-win for Ice King!"
Ice King's sleigh suddenly flew overhead, piloted by some candy children who screamed in delight.
Ice King watched as they flew off. "Well, I gotta murder some children after this concert. So how's about we get this show started?"
"Sounds good to me." Marcy replied. "Enjoy the show, guys." she said before she and IK flew up to the stage to finish up.
Finn, Kara and Jake, who had reappeared from Finn's pocket once Marcy left, found a spot among the seated Candy People and waited for the show to start. All the Candy People looked pretty excited, Finn guessed they must have been pretty big Marceline fans. Bubblegum was nowhere to be seen though, Finn looked around but saw no sign of the pink princess. 'I wonder how she even managed to get Marcy to perform here?" He thought to himself. Finn still had no clue what the deal was with those two. They weren't rivals, per se, but the princess and vampire queen clearly had some bad blood between them. Bubblegum admitted she and Marceline had a past, maybe they were friends and just had a serious falling out?
The sound of a microphone getting tapped shook Finn out of his thoughts, he looked up and saw Marceline on stage with Ice King and Lumpy Space Princess. They formed a triangle with Marcy on the right with her base, LSP on the left with her keytar, and IK in the back on his drums.
Marcy eyes scanned the audience as if looking for someone in particular. It was hard to tell with her beekeeper helmet, but Finn thought she looked a bit disappointed. Whatever it was, it quickly left and Marcy raised a fist in the air.
"What's up, Candy Kingdom?!"
The crowd around Finn cheered.
"Man, it's been awhile since I performed for you guys. You ready to hear me SLAY?!"
The crowd cheered even louder.
Ice King took that as a cue and began to play a beat on his drums. LSP followed on her keytar and Marcy joined in on her bass. The melody had an energetic tempo. Marcy continued to play for a few minutes, nodding her head to the rhythm, before she began to sing.
'Day after day, night after night
The cycle keeps on goin', and it don't seem keen on slowin'
Who knows if anything will be alright?
But let me tell you one thing's for certain
I've got a fire inside that's burnin'
And although I'm a creature of shadow
I promise you'll be blinded by the glow
Oooh-woahhh-woahhhhhh
Do you think, that I'm scared, of that thing you call fate?
Well hell no, 'cause I know, that life is what you make
Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doooo-iiiiing
The cycle keeps on moooov-iiiiing
And so do I
The cycle keeps on moooov-iiiiing
And so do I'
The song went on for a while. Finn couldn't believe how good Marcy was at this, her singing voice was incredible and she played her base like she had been practicing for nearly a thousand years. The entire audience seemed as captivated as he was, even Kara looked impressed by Marceline's skill on stage. Jake still looked scared, as if Marceline was going to suddenly fly down and tear his throat open, but amazement managed to blend into his look of fear.
After a couple more songs and an encore, the crowd let out a roar of applause. "Thank you, thank you!" Marceline shouted when the applause died down. "You've been a terrific audience. My girl Chris is selling CDs and T-shirts over at the stand." Marcy pointed at a nearby stand manned by a ghost girl. "Stay awesome, everybody!"
As the candies were starting to either leave or go buy Vampire Queen merchandise, Finn made his way on stage. IK, LSP and Marcy were chatting as Finn approached them, Marcy saw him walking towards them and smirked with triumph and pride.
"Like I said Finn, greatest musician in Ooo."
Finn smiled. "Yeah, and you were right. That was awesome you guys!"
Ice King gave a big, shark-toothed grin. "Heck ya it was! Now if you'll excuse me, I have children to kill. Later!" he said before flying away.
Finn watched as the snow wizard flew off. "He's… not actually going to kill those kids, is he?"
"Nah, all the candies know to just say 'Bubblegum will break up with you if you hurt me'." Marceline told him. "Those kids will be fine as long as they remember to say it."
"...Okay… really hope they remember to say it." Finn remarked.
"Ah, they'll be fine." said LSP. "So Finn, what liked the show huh?" the outcast princess wiggled her eyebrows. "How'd ya like me to give you a personal show?"
Finn rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Ohhhhh, that sounds… nice… but uhhhhh…"
Marceline saved him. "Yo, LSP. I think I saw some guys spray painting 'Lumps R Gross' on the walls somewhere around here."
"OH, HELLLL NO!" LSP shouted before floating off. "Someone's gonna get their lumps kicked!"
"Thanks, Marcy." Finn said once LSP left.
"No prob. So how did Cardio Kara enjoy the show?" Marcy asked.
Finn looked over at Kara, who was trying to see if the girl at the stand sold T-shirts in XXXL size. "I think she liked it." he said. "Thanks for agreeing to do this, Marcy."
"You kidding? I'm always down to shred." Marcy's face turned a bit more serious. "But to be real for a second; the longer you wait, the harder it'll be to tell her you're staying."
Finn looked down to the floor, guilt flooding his face.
Marcy tilted her head. "You… are staying… right?"
"Of course I am, but…" Finn sighed. "How am I supposed to tell her? She's like my big sister. She used to read me bedtime stories as I fell asleep in her arms. And now I gotta tell her I'm leaving her and the rest of my friends and family back home to live here in Ooo."
Marcy bit her bottom lip. "Look man, I'm normally pretty bad with this touchy feely stuff. But the way I see it: if you want to live here, and if Kara loves you, then she'll accept your choice."
"And if she doesn't?"
Marcy shrugged. "Your life, your choice."
"Marcy-"
"Hey, Finn!" Kara came up on stage. "Do you have any Ooo currency? They have a T-shirt that'll fit me, but it costs money."
"I'm gonna go find LSP and make sure she isn't hurting anyone." said Marceline. "For that matter, I should find Simon too. See ya 'round Finn. And Kara," Marcy winked. "call me."
Kara's face turned beet red and Finn raised an eyebrow as Marcy flew off. "She also seemed... friendly." she commented.
"Yeah, she's pretty cool." Finn said. "Listen, Kara. We need to talk."
Kara frowned. "About what, exactly?"
Finn took a deep breath. He drew his sword and held it out for Kara to see. "Kara… this sword isn't just a piece of metal I found in a dungeon. This sword is, in short, my contract."
"Contract? Finn, what are you talking about?"
Finn stared into his reflection in the blade, he saw Shoko looking back at him. She gave Finn an encouraging nod and Finn looked back up at Kara.
"Kara, I'm not going back to Founder's Island. I'm staying here in Ooo."
Kara's eyes shot wide open. "Excuse me?"
Finn sheathed his sword. "There's no other way to tell you this, Kara. I was offered the job as the Helper of Ooo, and I took it. I'm staying here."
Kara looked like someone had slapped her and it stung. "Wha… Finn, you… you're talking about abandoning Founder's Island! You're talking about abandoning your home, your people, your family, your mom! You'll be forever known as a Hider! Your mom is going to be-"
"You think I don't know that!" Finn shouted. "Yes, I know I am ditching you guys! I'm ditching Founder's Island, I'll probably never see Sarah again, I'll probably never see Old Man Willow, or Sarah, or… or mom, or you!"
Kara was too shocked to respond.
"Kara, all my life, I've wanted to help people. And up until about a month ago, I thought all that was left of people was on the island. But look around you, there's an entire world here. And in this world, I've battled monsters and shadow demons. I've stopped a kingdom of fire people from burning down this kingdom of candy. In Ooo, I can actually be a Helper to my fullest potential. Let's be honest, the most productive thing I would've ended up doing on Founder's Island was helping old people cross the street and telling kids to stay out of caves. There's more to the world then the island. There's more to my world then the island."
"Finn, you would choose this country of mutants and monsters over your own homeland?" Kara asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "You can't stay here, I have to take you back!"
"You mean like you had to take Frieda back?"
That struck home. Kara looked like someone had suckerpunched her heart.
Finn softened his gaze. "That… that was unfair, I'm sorry. It's just…" Finn rubbed his shoulder. "All my life, we've been told that even thinking about leaving the island is wrong. That to be a Hider is to go against the Founder's plan and everything our ancestors stood for. But tell me the truth Kara, and don't just repeat what Dr. Gross taught you, what do you think?"
Kara thought about Frieda in her toy store, fixing and making little toy trains and cars. She used to hate being confined. Frieda used to be all over the place, testing out her own devices, testing her own limits. She was an incredible person. But all it took was one unpopular idea to destroy all of that, and re-education destroyed the very foundation of who Frieda used to be. Kara loved who Freida used to be, and would have given anything to have her back.
If Frieda could've expanded her horizons, what kind of person could she have become? It remained a mystery to this day.
And now, Finn wanted that same expansion. A chance to become something more, just like Frieda had wanted.
Kara looked into Finn's eyes. "Finn… is this really what you want?" she asked softly. "To stay here in Ooo? You choose this place over Founder's Island, and these people over us?"
Finn nodded, although he looked to be on the verge of tears.
Kara released a heavy sigh. "Then I-"
Kara suddenly stood up straight and her eyes turned white.
Finn took a step back. "Kara?"
"Automatic psychological override engaged." Kara said, her voice had become as robotic and emotionless as the hovership's. "Commencing retrieval of primary objective."
Finn's eyes widened. "Oh crap."
Kara stepped up closer to Finn. "Come. We are returning to Founder's Island." She reached out to grab Finn. "Do not resist-"
A giant fist shot out of Finn's pocket and sent Kara flying. Jake emerged from Finn's pocket. "Sorry, Kara!" he shouted.
"Jake! You were in my pocket this whole time?!" Finn asked.
"Yeah, sorry for eavesdropping. You can chew me out later, but for now we should scram before-"
Kara jumped back onstage and swatted Jake away with the back of her hand, sending the bulldog flying through somebody's house. She grabbed Finn and made a run for it towards the entrance. Kara was halfway there when in a blink of an eye, a shadow slammed into her. Finn was slung out of the Seeker's grip and landed in Marceline's arms.
"She didn't take it too well, huh?" Marcy asked.
Finn hopped out of Marcy's arms. "It's the implant in her head, it's taken control of her! She won't stop until her mission is complete!" Finn exclaimed. "And her mission is to bring me back to Founder's Island!"
"Implant? Dude, that is messed up."
Before Finn could agree with her, Kara stepped out of the wreckage of the house she had smashed into. "You are interfering with my mission." Kara said. "Cease your interference or be destroyed."
"To be honest, I was kinda hoping to get you to destroy me." Marcy replied with a smirk.
Kara clenched her fists menacingly.
"Kara, please stop!" Finn pleaded.
"The mission must be completed." Kara responded. "I must bring you back to Founder's Island. We are returning home."
"I am home."
"Negative."
Kara rushed towards Marcy and Finn. Kara was quick, but Marcy proved to be quicker. She planted a flying kick on Kara's chest that sent flying into another house.
"Dangit! Starchy just remodeled his kitchen!"
"Sorry, Starchy!" Marcy turned to Finn. "Dude, I can't keep this up forever. It's like kicking a block of iron, I seriously would've let her do whatever she wanted to me-look, is there any weakness these guys have? Anything we can use against her?"
Finn shook his head. "The Seekers are trained to have no weaknesses, to loyally follow their orders without question nor hesitation. They're trained to be machines."
"That's hot, but still doesn't help us."
Kara crawled out of the wreckage, her face was void of any emotion but her body language made it seem like she was getting irritated.
"If the sun wasn't still up, I could probably take her, no sweat." Marceline said. "But my attacks are limited until the sun goes down."
"I don't want to hurt her." Finn said.
As Kara made her way towards them, the ground began to shake. Kara, Finn and Marcy looked around to see what was causing the shaking. The Gumball Guardians stepped into the town square. It wasn't until he saw the Gumball Guardians up close and looming over him that Finn could truly admire them. Even with their gumball machine bodies and ice cream cone hats, the mechanical twin giants were quite intimidating. Nothing compared to the Island Guardian, in Finn's opinion. But still, they looked to be quite powerful.
"Think they'll hurt her?" Marcy asked.
Bubblegum stepped into view. The Guardians stood at attention to either side of the princess, seemingly awaiting her order.
"Kara Strong!" Bubblegum shouted. "Stop this violence! If Finn wishes to stay, then he stays!"
"PB, that's not gonna work!" Finn shouted. "And don't hurt Kara! She's not in control!"
"Gumball Guardians! Neutralize, but do not harm, Kara Strong!"
"Yes, princess." the Guardians spoke in unison. They began to stomp towards Kara.
Then Kara's hovership appeared in the skies. It floated towards the Gumball Guardians like a bee towards a flower. "Hostile mechanical giants detected. Commencing neutralization." The ship then emmited a powerful shockwave. When the shockwave hit the two guardians they went stiff as a board and fell on their backs, crashing into a couple of candy houses.
"Oh come on! I just got those guys working again!" PB shouted.
The ship brought out it's cannons and aimed it at Bubblegum. "You will discontinue your interference."
Kara made her way towards Finn. She moved menacingly slow, as if she was sure she had won.
Marcy got into a fighting stance and growled like an angry animal. "You ain't taking this guy nowhere! He owes me money!"
Finn gulped, his eyes began to water. "Kara… please stop. I can't go back… Founder's Island… isn't my home… not anymore."
"It is where you belong, Finnegan Campbell." Kara replied with no emotion in her voice. "We are returning to Founder's Island immediantly."
There was a sharp whistling sound. Kara looked around in confusion, then she looked down.
There was an arrow embedded in the ground between her feet.
Before Kara could react, a cluster of green vines erupted from the ground. They grabbed ahold of the Seeker, wrapping around her body. In just a few seconds, Kara was wrapped up like a birthday present. Only her head was visible, the rest of Kara was covered in green plantlife. She struggled like a madwomen to get out of her binds, but to no avail.
The ship turned it's attention on Kara. "Seeker XJ-7-7 has been nutralized, commencing-"
With a mightly roar, Jake came out of nowhere and grew into the size of a Gumball Guardian. He raised a big, inflated fist and brought it down on the ship. The enraged dog hit it pretty hard, the ship slammed into the ground and crumbled like a soda can.
"That's for trying to cook me, you damn hunk of metal!" Jake shouted.
"Not cool, krrrrrrr-not cool, krrrrrrr-not cool, krrrrrrr-not cool." the ship said before it remained silent.
Finn and Marcy stared at the now bound Kara in confusion. "Did… did we just win?" Finn asked.
"Your welcome."
Finn and Marcy turned around to see Huntress Wizard standing behind them, she had a bow in her hand and a smirk on her face. "Sup, donks?"
"Huntress Wizard? What are you doing here?" Finn asked.
"Man, your gratitude is just overwhelming." HW commented. "To answer your question though, Ice King called me up and asked me to keep an eye on you for the day. I told him to go make love to one of his penguins of course, but then he told me about your friend's visit and Bubblegum's plan."
Finn tilted his head. "So… why'd you agree?"
"Because you aren't going anywhere until you repay me with that favor. By the way, you now owe me another favor."
Finn shrugged. "That's cool."
Marcy looked over at the still struggling Kara. "Geesh, she looks like an angry gorilla trying to break free from it's chains. How long can your vines hold her?"
"Oh, don't worry. That's a spell of my own design she's stuck in, I call it a spider binder."
"Nice."
"Thank you. Anyway, she won't break free anytime soon. The vines are strong as steel and the more she struggles the stronger the bonds become."
Bubblegum and Jake walked up to the three of them. "You guys okay?" PB asked.
"Yeah… yeah, we're fine." Finn replied, although he didn't sound all that fine.
Marceline placed a hand on Finn's shoulder. "You gonna be okay, man?"
Finn looked over at Kara. "I'm more worried about her and if she'll be okay."
Kara continued to struggle against her bonds. "Release me!"
"Dang, she's still going?" Huntress marveled. "I once trapped a ten foot ogre in one of those traps. He only struggled for a like, a minute before quitting."
"The Seekers don't quit." Finn explained. "Their bodies are trained to withstand just about anything, and their minds," Finn paused. "they're trained to get the job done, above all else."
Jake walked up to Finn looking and gave him a look of sympathy. Just like the time they were in the ER together, he didn't freak out in fear next to Marceline. "I'm really sorry about this, bro." he said.
"Don't be." Finn said rather bluntly. "This is all my fault. This was the choice I made."
"You should be proud of the choice you made, Finn." Huntress said. "You may very well be the first of your kind in a long time to be able to make a choice like that."
"Huntress!" Bubblegum scolded.
"Nah, she's right." said Finn, he gazed at the ground. "I don't regret what I've done, I stand by it all. Do I wish some things could have been different?, of course I do. But if I wasn't at the point of no return before, I sure as hell am now."
Finn looked up at his sister figure, still struggling against the foliage. "Humans… are a mess. We always have been. We brought ourselves up and knocked ourselves right back down. Even now, we've got a lot of issues to work out. Once upon a time, I couldn't see anything wrong with the way things were. Then, I thought maybe I could fix a few things. And now… I can't help but think to myself… there's no hope for us, and it's best for the entire world if we just keep to the one island. It's best if we… stay extinct."
For a while, nobody spoke. The only sound anybody made was Kara, straining against HW's spell.
Then Bubblegum walked up to Finn and placed a comforting hand on his back. "Finn… you-"
With the sound of a dozen whips being cracked all at once, Kara broke free of her bonds. She lunged at Finn at lightning speed.
As Huntress was raising her bow, an actual bolt of blue lightning struck Kara. The Seeker went rigid, then fell on her back, occasionally twitching.
"Kara!" Finn shouted. He rushed to her side, praying she was okay.
Ice King flew in and joined the group. "Phew, that was close. Your welcome."
"What is wrong with you!" Finn shouted. "You might've killed her!"
IK waved it off. "Oh please, I know my own strength. She'll be fine, as long as there isn't some kind of mechanical implant in her head or something."
"There is!"
IK blinked. "Oh… well then, dang."
Kara groaned, much to Finn's relief, and sat up on the ground.
"See?, she's fine." Ice King said. "You okay Susan?"
Kara binked. "...Su...sun?"
Finn frowned in worry. "Uh, Kara? Are you feeling okay?"
"...Su...sun." Kara repeated, the look in her eyes was like a scared child's.
'Oh no.' Finn reached up to pull off Kara's hat. She flinched against Finn's touch but didn't resist. Finn pulled off her purple cat hat, revealing her blonde, skrillex haircut. Kara's implant was visible on the shaved side of her head. The implant didn't really look like much, just a circular piece of metal the size of a tennis ball embedded in Kara's cranium. Three quarter sized metal pieces surrounded the bigger piece on her head, connecting to the bigger one by thin metal wires embedded in the skin.
Finn gently tapped the implant, causing Kara's eye to twitch. "Must have short circuited." he said.
"...Su-san." Kara said.
"Your name is Kara." Finn told her.
Kara shook her head. "No no, me Susan." she pointed at Ice King. "Big fat blue man, say so." she spoke as if she was just learning how.
"Hey, I'm not fat!" Ice King protested. "It's just the robe, it makes me look big!"
Bubblegum walked up and examined Kara/Susan's implant. "Hmm… I can't say I'm too familiar with this kind of technology, but I can still take a look. With your permission of course, Finn."
Finn shook his head. "I appreciate it PB, but I'd prefer if you didn't. No offense to your profession, but the only person who truly understands these implants is Dr. Gross. I don't want to risk further damage."
The princess nodded. "Very well."
Kara stood up on shaky legs, everyone but Finn took a weary step back. She looked around, looking a bit skittish. She looked down and jumped at the sight of her own shadow. "Wuh wuh wuh!" She hopped on her two feet as if she was hopping on hot coals, making the ground shake a little.
"Kara, calm down!" Finn shouted.
Kara did not calm down.
"Uh… Susan, calm down!"
Susan stopped hopping up and down and stared at Finn.
"Oh glob dammit Ice King-Susan, calm down, you are safe." he continued softly.
"...Susan… safe?"
Finn nodded. "Yes, Susan safe."
Susan smiled. "Susan is safe. Susan is happy to be safe."
"Susan apparently enjoys referring to herself in the third person." Mareline commented.
Susan shrunk under Marcy's gaze. "Talking shadow is scaring Susan."
"Talking shadow is named Marceline." said talking shadow. "And Marceline is a friend."
"Is Marceline friend?" Susan asked Finn.
Finn nodded. "Yes, Marceline is friend. We are all friends."
"Even big fat blue man?"
"Even big fat blue man."
Susan smiled. "Susan has friends."
"Do you know who I am?" Finn asked.
Susan tilted her head. "You are...friend."
"My name is Finn. Don't… don't you remember?"
"Finn." Susan repeated. "Finn is friend."
Finn gaved a defeated sigh and nodded. "Yeah…Finn is...your friend," he placed a hand on Susan's arm. "and I always will be."
Susan smiled. Finn removed his hand and turned towards his friends. "Listen guys. Thanks for all of this. It's getting late, so now I'm just gonna go back to the treehouse and call it a day." Finn began to walk away. "Come on, Susan."
"Goodbye doggie, big fat blue man, talking shadow, pink lady and green lady." Susan said before following Finn.
Finn suddenly stopped, causing Susan to follow suit. "...Before I go."
His friends watched in confusion as Finn walked over to the wrecked ship. He crawled into the pilot seat and pressed a few buttons. "Come on, come on."
"Audio recorder ready."
"Good, still works."
"Commencing recording in 3...2...1…"
Finn took a deep breath. "...Hey, mom. I hope this reaches you."
Jake turned to the group and jerked his head to the side, signaling to give Finn some space. They all moved out of earshot.
"So uhhhh… I'm alive." Finn continued. "Thought I'd… start off by letting you know I survived that whole thing with dad and the Guardian. I'm in our old homeland, although the people here call it Ooo nowadays. Oh yeah, by the way, our homeland is now a series of kingdoms ruled monarchies where the eldest princess is put on the throne. This place is…in no way, like Founder's Island. There is so much crazy stuff here that it would take me forever to go through all of it, and you'd probably think I've lost my mind once I was done. I know what you're thinking, mom. But don't worry, I'm fine. So is Kara, although she had a little… accident. Got in a fight with some of my friends. They're great guys, don't get the wrong idea about them."
Finn cleared his throat. "Let's see, what else? I got a job… kind of, and a place to live. It's really nice here mom, I kinda like here. In fact, I love it here." Finn closed his eyes and took a breath. "Listen mom, I need to just come out with it… I'm not coming back." Finn sniffed. "I… I found myself here, I found my purpose. I'm staying here in Ooo to be a Helper for the people here. I…"
Finn wiped away his tears.
"I hope you can forgive me for this, for leaving. I need to do this, mom. you might not understand that, but that's how it is. I'm not saying I never want to see you again, I really hope one day we'll see each other again. Tell Mr. Willow that I'll miss his cooking, although tell him I never actually liked his cod and clam chowder. I know he's like, super proud of that dish, but I never actually liked it. Thought I'd get that off my chest. Tell Helper Grover I always looked up to him, and that I always thought his mustache looked kinda funny. Like a caterpillar had crawled under his nose. Tell Sarah… oh boy… tell Sarah that I… always valued our friendship. She's always meant a lot to me. Tell dad he was a terrible father, that should go without saying, but I'll still miss him regardless. And mom,"
Finn sighed.
"I'll miss you the most. I love you, mom. More than anything in the world… Goodbye."
Finn ened the recording and pressed a few more buttons.
"Recording ended. Sending recording to Lady Minerva… sending… sending… recording sent. Have a nice day."
Finn hopped out of the ship and turned to Susan. "Come on Susan, let's go."
Susan followed Finn out of the Candy Kingdom. Jake and the gang watched as the two of them left.
"Think he'll be okay?" Ice King asked.
"Removing a weight can leave you feeling empty." Huntress said. "Give him time, that's all he needs."
"I hope you're right Huntress." PB said.
LSP suddenly showed up, she floated towards the group while typing away on her phone. "Hey Marcy, you think you could be my plus one to Melissa's engagement party? I wanna show up that lumping tranch by bringing a celebrity with me." LSP looked up from her phone. "...Something happen while I was gone?"
I'm pretty proud of this chapter, I look forward to your reviews. Until next chapter, everyone.