CHAPTER 11
Ash and his followers return from rampaging a village and see that Finn and Marceline have escaped. He picks up the ragged remains of the rope that binded them.
He throws it to the ground. No matter, he thinks to himself. Ash and the others retreat into the cave as the sun starts to rise.
In the morning, Princess Bubblegum visits different kingdoms in hopes of forming an alliance to fight the vampire attack that is about to happen. She convinces several of the princesses to help her. The armies of the princesses gather outside and in Bubblegum's castle to await the war that is coming.
That evening Finn and Marceline wake up and take their place on the battlefield. It won't be long now, Finn thinks to himself. Soon it will be over, and things can go back to normal. Finn also thinks about the peaceful life that Marceline, Bonnibel, and himself can have.
Then, from the horizon, Ash and his horde are seen flying in to attack. Archers from the towers start to fire and take out a few of the vampires out quickly. Some of the vampires dodge the barrage of arrows and land and start attacking.
Some of the soldiers take out some of the vampires, and vice-versa. Finn and Marceline move with precision and finesse: sweeping in, dodging attacks, then striking when the time is right. But during all of this, Ash just hovers above surveying the carnage with glee. Finn notices Ash's reluctance to get his hands dirty, or more dirty than they already are.
"What is he waiting for?" Finn asks.
"Don't mind him for now. Let's take out these monsters first." Marceline responds.
The tide begins to turn in our heroes' favor. Several of the vampires begin to retreat. Still, Ash does nothing.
The ones that don't retreat keep fighting. A few are confused why their leader still hasn't attacked yet.
"MASTER, WILL YOU NOT HELP US?" One yells out.
"PLEASE MASTER, WE NEED YOU!" Another one yells.
Ash decides the time is right. He waits until Finn's guard is down, and flies in and swoops him up into the sky.
"FINN!" Marceline yells.
"Finally decided to fight?" Finn asks as he struggles to break free.
"Only when it suits me. Not only that, you've done exactly what I wanted."
"What do you mean?"
"I knew you would have done anything for Marceline, even giving up your blood for her. I wanted you to become a vampire, so when you and her forced into exile, it'll leave this land unprotected from other threats. I never cared for conquering this land. I wanted to put the princesses' hands in a bind. After this, they'll have no choice."
"About what?"
"Implementing Eternal Dawn."
"Eternal Dawn?"
"A device that will make daylight permanent. There will never be a night sky again." Ash says as he begins to laugh maniacally.
"You're insane. Why go through all this? Why did you allow yourself to become a vampire if you want to destroy yourself and your followers?"
"The reason you already know. You took Marceline away from me. I never cared for those foolish vampires. I came across them after Marceline killed their leader. After I showed them my skills as a wizard, they were happy to turn me into one of them and follow me blindly. I convinced them to attack a village, knowing it will draw you out."
"Then why tie us up if exile was your plan?"
"To fool the vampires even more. This way, they'll never question me."
"Were you the one that freed us?"
"No. It was Ice King."
"Ice King was involved in this?"
"No. I sent him a message saying it was from a friend warning him Marceline was in danger. The old fool always had a soft spot for the ladies, especially for one he considered a daughter in the deep recesses of his mind. Of course he would come to her rescue. I would have expected no less."
Finn finally manages to break free.
"Okay, then. Let's finish this." Finn says.
"It already has." Ash says, as he takes out a stake from his jacket. "Goodbye, Finn. I'm going to savor this last moment of mine, knowing that I beat you." Ash laughs as he rams the stake into his own heart and plummets to the ground.
The other vampires see their leader fall and they retreat, convinced Finn killed him. As they fly off, they swear revenge.
Finn lands on the ground and everyone gathers around him and cheers.
Marceline wraps her arms around Finn and kisses him.
"You did it, Finn! All of Ooo is safe!" Princess Bubblegum exclaimed.
Finn shakes his head. Princess Bubblegum is worried. "What happened?"
Finn tells them what Ash told him.
Princess Bubblegum sadly nods.
"I must tell the other princesses about this." Princess Bubblegum says as she heads off to talk to them.
Finn and the others watch as the princesses talk amongst themselves. Soon after, Princess Bubblegum walks back to them. Finn can already tell by the look on her face the news isn't good.
"I talked it over with them. We are all in agreement. I'm sorry, although we will always be grateful for what you did, we can't afford another attack like this. We're going to implement Eternal Dawn."
Finn and Marceline hold each other close and sadly nod.
"We understand and agree with you all. It's the only way." Finn says.
"I'm so sorry." Princess Bubblegum says with tears in her eyes. "Where will you go?" She asks.
Finn and Marceline look at each other and sadly smile at one another and nod.
"The only place where we can." Marceline says.