Chapter 24:
It was a much more pleasant return than the King's last trip abroad. The airship came hovering in for a landing, finally rolling to a stop with the disembarkation ramp already down. The trio of passengers was there in containment suits–just in case. Dr. Drusilla Princess-Mertens was waiting on them with her staff, dressed similarly. She wanted to touch her husband–to feel that he was ok. At the same time, this was business. Their love was a business, just like being a doctor. Dispensing orders, the pretty doctor got the trio off the airship and into a sealed van for the ride out to Candy Sanitarium.
The staff was waiting with full containment procedures when the van rolled up. All three Royals were hustled out of the van and into a secure wing of the facility. The worst of the worst were here. There were the criminally insane. There were the few violent remnants of Wildberry's madness plague–incurable 'meatheads' for whom the cure had failed. And there were a few examples of mystery maladies that none of Drew's colleagues understood. The trick, of course, was making sure her husband didn't become one of them.
The three patients were brought into the triage room and stripped naked. They were scrubbed down, with the doctors documenting every mark and blemish on their skins with not even Sarah getting a free pass. Sample after sample of blood and other bodily fluids got taken such that it felt to Finn that he was a pin-cushion. He took the whole business without complaint. Those samples got rushed away to the labs, while the trio got shipped to isolated rooms for their own safety.
Hours later, Drew sat down in front of the window before her husband, having shed her containment suit. "Hey," he greeted the tall doctor. "Finn," she murmured, her hand reflexively reaching up to the window. The big man placed his own hand there. "Not the first time you've seen me like this, huh," he asked? "For a good cause, honey," she replied. "How did things go?" "We found the men who were trying to get their hands on the virus," Finn rumbled. "I stopped them. I put Rose out of reach. Permanently." Drew remained calm as he talked about using a demon-seed and Quicksilver Curse to grow a living wall around the ancient laboratory that had spawned the zombie virus, transforming it into a tomb. He'd saved the world. Again.
Moving on, Drew said, "Van's been asking after you. I told him daddy would be back soon." The kids were crankier when he wasn't there to read to them or sing to them, although strangely Nadezhda–or rather Baba Yaga–had been taking some of the slack there. The witch's singing to her grand-niece would draw their toddlers from across the nursery. Finn chuckled. Talia did her best to be cunty, but there was a soft spot under her hard exterior. "I love you," she murmured. "I love you," Finn replied.
Taking a deep breath, the tall doctor said, "there's something going on with Orzsebet, Finn." The big man frowned at her. "Not like that," Drew replied. "She's not showing signs of sickness. This... I think this came before she went out to Zombie Island with you." There were bruises and wounds all over her body. "I think she's been tortured," Drew murmured. The big man took a deep breath and let it go, and his face closed to her as he became that cold 'other' that she'd come to hate. "You need to process this," she sighed. "Ok. Be careful. Something's going on there." The big man nodded. He'd look into it. "Give the kids my love," he said. Blowing him a kiss, the tall woman got up to go.
As Finn settled in with his artificial arm and a selection of puzzles to test himself, far to the east, Billy strode into Hamest's small dining salon to find the Lizard Princess waiting alongside Olesia. "What did they want," asked his girlfriend? "Gotta' go home, babe," Billy muttered. His dad was in the iso-lab. For the next week. It was a just in case, but it left Finn out of action. Billy would have to be surrogate for a while. Hamest's disappointment was plain on her face, and the big man moved swiftly to deflect her from a meltdown. "Lina's coming out with some stuff to build more permanent versions of her fly-swatters," Billy said. In soothing tones, he said, "everything's going to be ok. It shouldn't take me long at all to get back here if I need to."
It was clear to Olesia that there were no other choices on offer here. Much as the King of Ooo cared about this woman and her people, it was clear that there were politics at play here. When the cat was away, the mice got up to mischief and lit the house on fire. They could afford no more of that idiocy, and honestly Olesia herself trusted none of the Inner Council to keep the whole business in check. She saw it as one who was both an insider and an outsider. She was a princess, but so far down the list that she might as well have been invisible.
Before his untimely death, her father had sat her down and leveled with her, making it clear what her destiny was going to be. Her brothers, having been born first, were both closer to the throne and destined to inherit the majority of the family's wealth and power. Olesia and her sister were going to get very little. They were going to be fending for themselves. Moving in the circles of power that Billy lived in, Olesia had been shocked to see how little real training her supposed betters had gotten, with many of her class being little better than mopheads–useless for most anything save stirring up trouble.
At the same time, she understood the Lizard Princess's angst. These people were vulnerable. They were decent fighters, but they'd never faced anything like this before. There was no one kingdom able to handle this on their own. There was a reason Billy's father had placed his famous wall where he had. The Kingdoms with the most resources were in the worst shape, right now. They'd given all they had in the Lich war, and all but bankrupted themselves in the war against Wildberry and the Dipped. There's other resources, she thought. Private resources.
Lina Yuvchenko arrived with a small group of her fellows in the early morning hours, prompting Billy and Olesia to climb out of bed to go down and meet her. They found the sexy cyborg standing at the ramp of her airship, supervising as a pack of unhappy lizard folk braved the chill to unload the flying machine's cavernous hold. Heedful of just how miserable the lizards were, Olesia moved in and placed herself at the bottom of the ramp, even shedding her wrap, giving the workers something to help them stay warm in the cold. Unlike Billy, Lina had seen Olesia a couple of times since she'd gone away to war. She wholeheartedly approved of the changes. As the workers hauled machines and materials, the two chatted like the best friends they'd become. In between catching up, the three friends talked through what was going on and what they'd seen here.
Lina had a crate full of electronics to rebuild the two fly-swatters in a more durable configuration. She'd also brought tools and equipment to survey the site of the new walls. She planned to search down through the sand to find firmer ground and put together a plan for the engineers coming to help. It was all very good news. It was so good, in fact, that both Billy and Olesia dropped going back to bed in favor of helping the cyborgs get settled in.
The Lizard-Princess herself climbed out of bed just past dawn to find no boyfriend in sight and her maids packing her things. It was a jarring wake-up call for a distraught mind. In a bit of a panic, she rushed to take a shower, shrieking from the icy-cold water. Then she hurriedly dressed and rushed down to the grand hall, arriving to find a half-dozen cyborgs setting up shop there. Adding to her fear, Billy was nowhere in sight, though the little elemental bitch was in the middle of the hall talking on the phone with someone.
Lina glanced up from her work to find the Lizard Princess standing just inside the door of the hall, looking like a woman in distress. She'd clearly just rolled out of bed, thrown on some clothes, and rushed down here without having had a chance to put on even a hint of makeup. The sexy cyborg found herself tempted to get up and talk to the woman, because she could see the distress from here. The reason was obvious. She was losing more than just her boyfriend. She was losing her defenses and maybe even her kingdom.
Putting aside the circuit-board she'd been running diagnostics on, the tall woman rose to go and speak to her host, but, momentarily Hamest's distress was the least interesting thing going on in the hall. As Olesia hung up the phone from her mysterious conversation, a burst of flame in the fireplace sent lizard-folk scrambling, and to Lina's surprise, an elemental came striding out of the conflagration.
She was a younger, thinner version of Olesia with a youthful face suggesting that she was a young teen. Still with the tits, though, thought Lina, as she eyed the midriff-bearing top the girl wore. That girl was built like a brick shit-house with knockers that gave Lina a run for her money. Rolling her eyes, Olesia greeted the younger woman with, "thanks for scaring the locals, Marysia..." Hips wig-wagging sensuously in hip-hugging pantaloons, the younger sister, for such she clearly was, strode up to the elder sister and looked her up and down. "What," Olesia rumbled? "You been dieting, sister," burbled the young teen? "I've been working," Olesia retorted, though that was clearly a sore point for the plump girl. Lina already didn't like this little bitch. She was proud of Olesia for taking better care of herself.
Fluffing her long, burning hair, the young girl scanned the scene with the expression of a woman looking for trouble. That was when Billy strode into view through one of the side entrances. Spying the newcomer, he announced, "I'd heard an elemental showed up. Olesia, who's your friend?" Stepping past her older sister, the young woman announced, "it's Marysia. I'm princess Marysia Okonski, twenty-first in line for the Red Throne." Lina rolled her eyes. What was it about airheads with a title? The only woman Lina had ever seen who didn't play that game was Olesia herself. It was another strike against this little cunt. "My sister, William," Olesia explained. "I asked her to come and help out." "About that," Marysia interrupted. "Our agreement... When do I get it..." Rolling her eyes, Olesia muttered, "you know I'm good for it, Masia." "Of course, of course," the young girl said, as she studied William Mertens.
Turning to Billy, Olesia said, "I asked my sister to... look after things while we're out. She's going to do a little patrolling... That kind of thing... Then, if it comes down to it, she can back Lina up." Frowning, Billy murmured, "that's kind of dangerous, O... Does she know what she's getting into...?" Reaching out to the tall man and almost-but-not-quite touching him, the flirtatious little bitch said, "oh, but of course, big sister told me all about your little problems... I'm sure it'll be ok. Those nasty men don't have a chance..." Far from being enticed by the flirty little bitch, Billy was immediately irritated. It was a strange pattern of behavior for a man who clearly liked sex and pretty women. "It isn't a game, your highness," growled the Ice Prince. The young woman snatched her hand back as if she herself had gotten burned, and Lina imagined she'd felt the preternatural cold that tended to seep out of William when he was angry.
Striding past her, the big man said, "ok, Lina. We've gotta' go. The ship's here. You got this, babe?" "We'll be fine, Bill," Lina replied. "I can hold off whatever they've got out there for at least a couple of days... long enough for you to get back here. If I can get her to cooperate, maybe longer." "Thanks," Billy said, as he hugged his friend. "I'll give Leo your love." Heading over to the door, he picked up Hamest's and Olesia's bags and walked out. "Stay out of trouble, Masia," Olesia said. "Listen to Lina..." Then she too turned to go. The young teen watched her sister go, and it was almost as though she was counting. "Alright," announced Marysia Okonski. "I guess I'm in charge..." Lina howled laughter. It was going to be an interesting stay!
Far to the west, Chelsea the Wax Hustler stepped off her airship into the sweltering heat of a summer night in the southern hemisphere. She'd left the relatively gentle winter of Ooo's north only a day ago, and the difference was something of a shock. It reminded her of the nightmare–of being burned alive like her brother for the entertainment of Bonnibel Bubblegum. "Well, look who just turned up," announced Peihong. The Bandit Princess was in quite the mood. Dressed in a short skirt and midriff bearing top that showed off her much-heavier bosom, the ogress came sauntering up to her partner wearing a smile that suggested life was going well.
"You're in something of a mood," muttered Chelsea. "I have my rockets," the evil ogress retorted, as she gestured at the ancient facility around them. Blanca the Coca Princess was fixated on the west-coast of her land, where their agents were feverishly stealing the harvest and converting it into weapon-grade intoxicants that could be used against the people of Ooo. Peihong's agents were spreading rumors and misinformation pointing the finger squarely northwards–at the territories of Tequila and Deer Princess. Blanca was now almost ready to go to war against her neighbors over her sacred coca-leaves. Meanwhile, Peihong was here, just miles from Blanca's capitol, making use of the ancient rocket-base that Blanca's people were supposed to be guarding.
Motioning for the ornery witch to come along, the ogress set off, walking down through the ruins of the facility. As they walked, she pointed out things that had lain dormant under the vastness of the southern jungles. Steel and concrete structures that had lain under a preserving layer of filth and earth and forest had been cleared off. Some of their kidnaped eggheads had certified the safety of the structures. Other had been forced to stabilize buildings that had been undermined by the centuries of neglect. A weapon was slowly taking shape here under the noses of the people intended to safeguard it.
"Question is, when do my rockets start to arrive, Chelse," Peihong growled? "The first shipment of structures is on the way," Chelsea retorted. "I'm good for it, Peihong. I sent you the receipts from the guys in Jungle Kingdom." The unwitting fools in Jungle Kingdom had used their death-metal-powered forges to hammer out the steel tubes needed to make the rockets the slime-bitch had designed. They thought they were making sewer pipes for some grand project in the north. Chelsea had told them that Kim Kil Wan's company was building a massive system of irrigation pipes to 'cure' the burned lands in the east.
Even though she was doing her part to make it happen, Chelsea was a little uneasy about this whole idea. That nasty snot-ball had been insistent that she needed more time to refine her ideas, but they'd lost control of her before that business got done. Peihong had insisted on moving forward with the rockets by simply making them bigger. She'd had their captured eggheads make them wider and taller. Having lived around airships all her life, Chelsea was less certain about the idea. Rarely did making something bigger and heavier work for an airship.
"The men you brought me are working on scaling the engines up," Peihong continued. "I've got a line on a source for the refined alcohol to power them." She was putting a severe dent in the liquor trade in Tequila Kingdom, and she'd had to switch over to buying rum from that cunt, Pirate Princess. Neither of those two bitches had any idea she was doing anything other than throwing a massive party. "I need that wax you promised," grumbled the tall woman. That was where things were now between them. Peihong was moving forward with her ideas with a single-minded devotion–damn anything in her way. The world around her was just a vast field of resources to fuel her dream of conquest. She would burn anything–or anyone–standing in her way.
"Where the fuck am I supposed to get ten-thousand tons of wax," Chelsa snapped. "You wax-folk have a fucking ocean of it on your island," Peihong retorted. Wax sculptures and alchemical creatures made of wax were the center of life on the Island of the Wax Hustlers. She needed the wax for the other rocket-engine that she wanted to try. One of her captives had brought her an idea for a rocket-motor made like a candle–with a long, stick of burning wax in a tube. He'd glimpsed it in an ancient book in Bonnie Bubblegum's science academy. Wax was a lot more innocuous than oceans of alcohol, especially when her partner's people traded in wax.
"I'll see what I can do," muttered Chelsea. "Why did you call me here?" "To show you our progress," the ogress retorted. "And to warn you off of pushing too hard." Chelsea stopped where she was and turned to her partner, and it was clear she was about to go shrill. Calmly, Peihong said, "we're making progress, Chelse. "The King of Ooo is chasing shadows in the east. His fucking cunt of a general is tied down at the open border, and I've got men making sure that his nasty fucking daughter never has a chance to finish that barrier. We're going to keep them terrified of shutting the wall down long enough to finish the last few miles of it."
She had dumped the problem of feeding her unwilling army on Finn the Human. Now his people were tied up and occupied taking care of her army. He had to feed them, and he had to simultaneously deal with the acts of violence and sabotage they committed. She still had his son tied down and committed to business in the Lizard Kingdom, chasing after a phantom army that didn't really exist, and while the expedition to steal the Zombie Virus had been a failure, it had accidentally born fruit in keeping the King himself tied down. They were winning. "And striking at his family risks fucking up all the progress, Chelse," Peihong muttered. "Lay low. Don't fuck this up."
"He's not going to be tied up in that fucking isolation ward for long, Peihong," muttered the wax-hustler. Taking her colleague by the arm, the tall woman said, "he doesn't have to be, Chelse. I have something else planned to keep him busy... something that strikes at the core of who he is as a man." She had the capacity to threaten something–someone he loved. The King of Ooo would have no choice but to respond, keeping him tied up indefinitely.
As the two continued their tour of their new weapon, in the Candy Kingdom, their foe was huddled over a puzzle, slowly putting it together for the twentieth time. This was the most intricate of the puzzles, and he was slowly mastering it, forcing his mechanical arm to cooperate. The sound of the door opening in the outer room announced he had a visitor. The big man put the puzzle aside and walked over to the window to find Hurletta coming towards him. "Hey," he greeted her, as he sat down. "Hi," she replied, as she put her hand to the window. It said something about the toll this was taking. They all did that. Six visits and six women reaching out to touch a man who was on the other side of a glass window three inches thick. It was moments like these that he most felt like a fuck-up.
Resting his palm over 'Letta's, the big man asked, "how did your session go?" "It was good," she replied. Finn was a little startled to realize that she was wearing something new today. Today's gown was something tight and hip-hugging with a cleavage-window like Blargetha was accustomed to wearing. His mind couldn't help but think that the session had gone well indeed if she was wearing that. "Came to talk about Lollipop's spending," she said. Resting her hands on the table before the window, the plump woman said, "she won't tell me what she's working on, but it's draining the treasury at a precipitous rate... that is... she's spending a lot." "Don't dumb it down for me, 'Letta," he admonished her. "Habit," she chuckled. "You were a dummy for a lot of years, dear." He knew.
Sitting back in his chair, he said, "the project I have Lollipop working is important, 'Letta. It's one of the most important things in the world right now. Bear with me. I'll... I hope to be able to tell you what it is soon, ok?" Hurletta sighed. She didn't like all the secrecy. She burned to know what he was doing. At the same time, there were other things she wanted to talk about. "I'd... like you to go dancing with me...," she said. "When you get out of there." "Love to," he agreed.
Her eyes said that there were other things she wanted to say. Her lips were parted in the manner of someone who has words on the tip of their tongue. Leaning forward, he put his hand back on the glass and said, "it's ok... I know this isn't a great place, but you can say whatever you want to say, 'Letta." Resting her hand over his, she agreed, "I know. We'll talk when you're out of there. Rest well, my King. Know that we're handling things while you're... occupied. Billy'll be here late today to keep our treacherous bitches in check." Gathering herself to her feet, the plump woman asked, "do you like my dress?" "You look lovely," Finn replied. The way he said that brought a flush to her face. Wearing a sunny smile, the plump woman turned and got on her way, round ass wig-wagging with every step. At the door, she glanced back and gave him another sunny smile before disappearing from view.
Death rockets taking shape, the Finn Crew running around like crazy, and Finn out of commission for the week. The war for Ooo's destiny is heating up.