Family
Chapter 474 Family Dinner
By: Major144
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is just a story for fun.
(Author's Note: Alright folks this will be the last Dark Future chapter and then it's back to the Underground. Enjoy.)
Bubblegum woke up and found herself in a bed in what appeared to be a hospital room. She looked around and saw Neddy sitting in a chair by the bed. Neddy saw that his mom was awake and smiled. Bubblegum rose out of bed with tears in her eyes as she warmly embraced her son.
"Oh Neddy you went through so much hardship because of me!" Cried Bubblegum.
"Mom, it's ok. I did go through a rough time, but I had a lot of good people to help me get through it. It wasn't easy, but I recovered and now I have a wife and kids. Everything is good and now you're back in my life, which is great." Said Neddy.
The two of them stopped hugging and Bubblegum wiped the tears from her eyes.
"So I take it, you spoke with dad in your dreams and he told you what happened to him and me." Said Neddy.
Bubblegum nodded her head.
"Even as a spirit, dad helped and comforted me as best as he could. After Phoebe rescued me from the Infernos, I was a real wreck. My body had to go through a lot of physical and mental healing to recover from what the Infernos did to me, but dad, Simon, Lolly, Chicle, Betty, Eria, and Phoebe helped me out. Phoebe was incredibly guilty about what happened to me, but I was never angry or upset at her. She kept apologizing to me as she used her magical flames to heal my injuries. Phoebe really was a good person." Said Neddy.
"She really is." Agreed Bubblegum feeling thankful for what Phoebe had done, but she still felt guilty about how she had done to the Flame Princess and her kingdom.
There was an awkward silence, before Neddy spoke and changed topics.
"Do you want me to tell you about your grandchildren?"
"Yes please. I would love to hear that."
"Well the girl is named Nora and the boy is named Ezra. The two of them were born the old fashioned way, they're twins with a mix of both my and Eria's powers, and they're eight years old. Nora and Ezra are just sweet kids and they mean the world to me and Eria." Said Neddy with a smile.
"So how long have you and Eria been married and when did you decide to have kids?" Asked Bubblegum.
"We've been married for a few hundred years and we decided to have our kids once Sanctuary was secure and things in Ooo settled down. It took some time, but we got there." Said Neddy.
"So what kind of security are we talking about?" Asked Bubblegum.
"Al of Sanctuary is surrounded by a barrier that was created by magic and science. No one with evil or harmful intentions can get through it and there are scramblers in place to keep any enemy robots or machines out as well. It can withstand just about any weapon or attack. The barrier also gives a pleasant view illusion to look out. There are also detectors in the ground to alert us of any attacks from below." Said Neddy.
"Very impressive." Said Bubblegum.
"We had a lot of time and brilliant people working on it." Said Neddy.
Neddy checked a watch on his left wrist.
"If you're up to it. You can join me and the others for family dinner." Said Neddy.
"I would love that. Um...whose all going to be there?" Said Bubblegum.
"Eria, Nora, Ezra, Simon, Betty, Lolly, Chicle, Marceline, Lance, Mavis, Marcus, Lucinda, Henry, Noah, and Lilly." Said Neddy.
"I see." Bubblegum said looking a bit uncomfortable about seeing Marceline.
"Don't worry about Marceline. Eria made her promise to cause a scene at the table and to be polite." Said Neddy.
"Alright then. I'll join you." Said Bubblegum.
"Great." Said Neddy.
Bubblegum got out of the bed and she and Neddy headed out of the room. The two of them headed down some hallways, until they entered a large room that had a large round wooden dinning table. Simon and the others were already sitting at the table. Nora and Ezra saw Neddy and Bubblegum and raced over to greet them. The two children hugged their father and then they went over and hugged their grandmother. Bubblegum was a little surprised by the affection, but she recovered and hugged her grandchildren.
Bubblegum glanced over at Marceline, Lance, Henry, and Lucinda. Marceline and Lucinda physically looked the same though their hair was cut shorter. Lucinda was wearing a blue short sleeved shirt with jeans and Marceline was wearing a short grey sleeved shirt with jeans. Lance was physically the same, though he now had a scar over his left eye. He wore a black shirt and jeans. Henry was physically the same, though his righthand seemed to have been replaced by a hand made completely made out of water. He wore a blue shirt and jeans.
"Bubblegum." Said Marceline with a slight frown and nod.
"Hey...Marceline." Said Bubblegum as she took a seat next to Neddy and Eria.
Simon stood up with a glass to give a toast.
"I want to give a toast to Chicle, Eria, Mavis, and Noah for their brave actions this day. The four of them snuck into Gumbaldia and managed to rescue Bubblegum from Gumbald's clutches. It wasn't an easy task, but they pulled it off. Now Bubblegum is back and has been reunited with her son, Neddy. This is a happy and glorious day and I'm very happy for our family."
The others raised their glasses to the toast. After the toast Bubblegum spoke.
"Thank you all for the rescue and hospitality. I know you all took a great risk rescuing me and are now giving me a place to stay. My uncle is no doubt furious about this and he will come after me. I don't wish to be a burden or bring you any trouble."
"It's no trouble at all Bubblegum, you are a part of this family and you are welcome here. Don't you worry about Gumbald, we can handle him." Said Simon.
"I know that. Right now my goals are to collect as much information as I can on all the events that have occurred in my absence, so I can best use the knowledge once I return to my original time." Said Bubblegum.
"How exactly are you going to do that?" Asked Marceline.
"I plan to use the Timenado." Said Bubblegum.
"Good luck with that! Gumbald won't let use it." Said Marceline.
"I have no choice. I need to use it, so I can return to my time, attend the trial, and fix everything. I messed up and I need to take responsibility. Braco and Neddy paid and suffered for my mistakes. I will face Gumbald and whatever he can throw at me, either alone or with everyone's help to make it right." Said Bubblegum looking determined.
"Mom." Said Neddy looking at his mom in wonder.
"Gotta admit you have some guts, but you've been away for a long long time. The world is different from what you remember and Gumbald has a whole empire of goons and nasty tricks up his sleeve." Said Marceline.
"I'm fully aware of all that. Please help figure out a way to get to the Timenado and make things right." Said Bubblegum.
"You will have our full support Bubblegum. We will help you anyway that we can." Said Simon.
Bubblegum looked at everyone at the table who nodded their heads in agreement with Simon, even Marceline gave a small nod.
"Thank you." Said Bubblegum with a bow.
"Yeah great." Grumbled Marceline.
They all ate dinner and exchanged small talk, before going to bed. Bubblegum was shown to a guest room. She laid in bed and thought about her current situation and made a few plans on how to combat her uncle and get to the Timenado before drifting off to sleep.
To be continued.