(a/n: Here you go. Enjoy and Review please!)
Act 12: Desperate Measures
Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, Tak and Jake pushed through the crowded halls of the palace, trying to find somewhere quite to talk in private.
As they pressed through the halls, Marceline mulled over what she was told.
Princess Bubblegum explained that she was found unconscious on a balcony and she was unconscious for days.
During those days, Finn went missing and nobody was able to find him.
But during that time, rumors of a mysterious tower have reached the Candy Kingdom.
Princess Bubblegum explained that the tower seemingly appeared overnight and nobody has been able to get anywhere near it.
A day later, Tak arrived in the Candy Kingdom. Tak explained that she was an alien; an Irken to be precise and she had come to Ooo to arrest Zim, who was also an alien, for crimes he committed against his own people.
Marceline told Princess Bubblegum that she knew and the vampire explained everything that had happened in her memories, even the part of Marcus being her brother.
Princess Bubblegum and Jake gasped at the revelation.
After the shock wore off, Princess Bubblegum explained that she, Tak, Jake and some soldiers were about to confront Zim but they found themselves under siege by a mysterious army of robots.
They appeared in the night and surrounded the Candy Kingdom, trapping everyone inside its walls.
For hours, Princess Bubblegum, Jake, Tak and anyone who was capable of fighting staved off the invaders.
Marceline asked about the Gumball Guardians. The princess sighed and explained that the invading army somehow disabled them, rendering them useless.
At the end of the explanations, Tak suggested that they plan a strategy to repel the invaders and to capture Zim before the robots overwhelm their defenses.
Princess Bubblegum lead them up some stairs and she opened a door "In here" she motioned for her companions to enter the room.
Marceline, Tak and Jake entered the room and Princess Bubblegum, making sure that they were alone, closed the door behind her.
Marceline glanced around and saw that they were in Princess Bubblegum's lab.
Marceline crossed her arms and said aloud "Ok, now what?"
"We go after Zim" said Princess Bubblegum. The princess walked over to her table and she rummaged through the drawers, sifting paper around muttering something under her breath.
Marceline frowned "I thought we're trapped here, surrounded by killer robots?"
"We are" said Princess Bubblegum "But I believe that we can get past that robot army unharmed and unseen"
"How?" asked Marceline.
Princess Bubblegum didn't answer. Instead she scooped up a rolled up piece of parchment and said, "Here we are". She unfurled it and smoothed it out on the table.
Tak, Marceline and Jake went to the desk and they saw a map etched on the parchment "A map?" said Marceline.
Princess Bubblegum nodded "Yes, but its not just any map. It's a map to some tunnels that lead out of the Candy Kingdom". The princess pointed to one section of the map "The closest entrance is there, somewhere beneath the library-" suddenly there was a loud boom and the entire lab quake, which caused everyone to wobble and fall.
Once the quaking stopped, Marceline got to her feet saying "That sounded close"
"We don't have much time" said Tak, she glanced up from her wrist "The outer garrison has fallen and the enemy has taken two more streets".
Princess Bubblegum nodded in understanding. She rolled up the map and she went to the door "We must hurry".
The four sprinted through the halls and down a long, winding stairway that led down, near the basement.
They reached a pair of large oak doors. Princess Bubblegum withdrew a small gold key from her pocket and she unlocked the doors.
Once the four went inside, they were met by darkness.
Even though it was dark, Marceline could see through the dark as if the room was lit. The inside of the library was huge. It was vast and it was filled with bookcases and shelves that were packed with dusty old books.
To the far side of the room, Marceline could just see that there was a large stone fireplace.
In front of the fireplace were large cushy armchairs, an old rug and stacks of books.
Marceline turned her head and she saw that the room stretched farther than she could see.
From what she could see, the library was big enough to fit everyone in the Candy Kingdom inside it and then some.
"How big is this library?" asked Marceline who was in awe at the size of the library.
Princess Bubblegum shrugged "I don't know, it's pretty big. It's one of the biggest libraries in all of Ooo" Marceline could hear the distant rumble of explosions and muffled voices of the panicked candy people, moving about the palace.
Marceline heard a match being struck and a small ball of orange light filling the dark. Marceline saw Princess Bubblegum light a candle that she found lying on a nearby table.
She handed a candle to Jake and Marceline and lit theirs saying "We have to find the entrance of the passage before its too late"
"Right, where do we start?" asked Tak.
Princess Bubblegum pointed to one side of the library "Tak, you search over there" she pointed over to another side "Jake you take that side" she pointed to another section of the library "Marceline and I will look over there".
Everyone understood and they split up and began searching their designated area of the library.
Tak sifted through the bookshelves trying to find a secret trigger to open a hidden doorway. Jake was sniffing around the floor, trying to find a scent that may not belong.
Princess Bubblegum was studying the map in her hand and tried to line the map up to the room.
Marceline glided through the dark library, searching for a clue to the hidden entrance. But after several minutes, they found nothing.
Marceline landed on her feet muttering, "Where are you?"
"Lost something?" asked a familiar voice.
Marceline spun around and she saw leaning up against a bookcase was Lucas.
He was still wearing his expensive suit and fedora. Clenched between his lips was a large cigar. Lucas snapped his fingers and a small orange flame appeared on his fingertip and he lit his cigar.
Lucas took a long drag and he sighed, expelling a large puff of grey smoke "Oh that's good" he sighed blissfully.
The redhead plucked the cigar out of his mouth saying "They just don't make 'em like they used to"
"Lucas?!" exclaimed Marceline.
Lucas held up his hands and shushed her. Marceline froze and she said in a softer tone "Lucas?"
"Yeah, I'm here" said Lucas. He tapped his cigar, knocking loose ashes to the floor and he returned to his cigar to his mouth.
The redhead studied the vampire's surprise expression "Surprised?"
the vampire nodded.
Lucas grinned "Good" "What are you doing here?" asked Marceline.
Lucas sighed and he reached into his suit jacket "I was six million light years away from here when I remembered that I forgot to give you something that could help you" his hand withdrew from his jacket holding an ancient looking pamphlet and handed it to Marceline.
Marceline frowned and she accepted the pamphlet. The vampire studied the pamphlet then her eyes widened "No"
Lucas smiled "Ah, I see that you remember him"
"no, I can't use this" said Marceline.
Lucas shoved his hands in his pockets "Well I don't need it, I mean what would I with him? In this situation, your in desperate need of a miracle"
"But-" began Marceline but suddenly there was a loud crack and a flash of orange light.
Appearing beside Lucas was a short man with jet-black hair that was slicked back. He wore a black leather jacket, dark sunglasses, jeans and boots.
The man grunted "Come on man, we're going to miss the show!"
"I'm coming Abby" said Lucas.
The man snarled and Marceline noticed the man's eyes glow orange "Don't call me that!" he snarled.
Lucas shot the man a cold look that made the man shrink back in fear.
Lucas's expression softened a little and he said, "Well what do you want me to call you?" "Don" mumbled the man.
Lucas sighed "Fine" he waved Don away "Go, I'll be there in a minute and tell Lily not to eat my popcorn"
"Ok" said Don. The man vanished in a puff of black smoke that smelled like oil and gunpowder.
Lucas turned to Marceline and he muttered to himself "Now, did I forget anything?" he snapped his fingers "Of course!" the red head reached into his jacket again and he pulled out Marceline's ax bass.
Marceline's eyes widened in shock "How did you do that?"
"I can do anything I want, remember?" said Lucas.
He tossed Marceline her bass and he said "See you around kid" Lucas took a few steps back and he was engulfed in crimson fire.
Once the fire had died down, Lucas was gone once more. Marceline stood there holding her ax and the dusty old pamphlet, looking utterly confused.
Marceline snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Princess Bubblegum call "Marceline! Marceline!"
the vampire shoved the pamphlet into her pocket and she quickly glided towards Princess Bubblegum's voice. Marceline found Princess Bubblegum, Jake and Tak gathered around the stone fireplace at the far side of the library.
Marceline asked, "What's up?"
"I believe we have found the tunnel" said Princess Bubblegum.
Jake noticed that Marceline was carrying her ax "Where did you get that?"
Marceline shrugged "You wouldn't believe me if I told you". Before Jake could ask, the roof above their heads rumbled and quaked.
There were some muffled screams and thuds. Suddenly the door to the library opened, revealing Peppermint Butler.
Peppermint Butler's face was covered in soot and his suit was covered in dust and debris
"Your highness, I'm afraid that our defenses have fallen" said Peppermint Butler calmly "The enemy is advancing on the castle as we speak".
Tak scowled "That doesn't give us much time" "Ok, so where's the entrance?" asked Marceline.
Princess Bubblegum pointed to the floor in front of the fireplace "Somewhere over here"
"I suggest that you hurry," said Peppermint Butler who was barricading the door with furniture, books and bookcases.
Jake, Tak, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum went to the fireplace and began to search every inch of it for the secret entrance to the catacombs but they found nothing.
Just as all seemed hopeless, they heard a loud thud coming from beneath the floor.
Everyone paused and listened for the sound. There was another thud and this time, they all saw one of the large stone blocks raise a little.
Jake whispered, "There's someone under there"
"Could it be the enemy?" asked Tak but Princess Bubblegum shrugged.
The four of them heard another thud and this time the large stone block shot up out of its place and landed a few inches away from its original spot.
Marceline and the others readied themselves in case it was an invader, but they all relaxed when they saw a familiar face climb out of the large hole
"Billy!" exclaimed Jake "Boy are we glad to see you"
"Hey guys" said Billy, waving his hand a little. The legendary hero climbed out of the hole and asked, "What's going on?"
"We're under attack, Finn's missing and we're going to confront the one responsible for all of this, all by ourselves" said Marceline, sardonically.
Billy's eyes widened in surprise "Wow"
There was a loud boom and more muffled screams.
Peppermint Butler glanced up at the ceiling saying, "They are getting closer" he looked to Princess Bubblegum and said "If you intend to stop Zim, I suggest that you leave now!"
Princess Bubblegum nodded.
Billy stepped aside and he motioned them into the tunnel's entrance "Hurry, into the tunnel!"
Jake dived in first, Tak followed, then Princess Bubblegum and Billy. Marceline went to the tunnel and she stopped.
She heard sounds of a struggle outside, followed by a familiar voice screaming over the sounds of the battle "Check over there!"
"Marcus" breathed Marceline.
Peppermint Butler turned to the vampire "Go, I'll cover your escape"
Marceline wanted to go but part of her wanted to stay and fight. But she dived into the tunnel.
Once she was in the tunnel, Peppermint Butler hid the stone block and he placed a wooden board over the tunnel's entrance and covered it with the carpet.
Peppermint Butler sighed and muttered "Good Luck"
Marceline landed on her feet in the cramped tunnel.
Tak and Princess Bubblegum were there waiting for her "Ok, lets go" whispered Tak but Marceline held up a hand "Wait"
"What, why?" asked Tak.
Marceline didn't answer, she put her finger to her lip and she floated back up till she was only a few inches beneath the tunnel's entrance.
The vampire carefully floated up to the wooden board and lifted it up a little, just enough so she could see what was happening in the library.
She saw Peppermint Butler tidy up the library a little and suddenly an explosion tore the barricade apart, allowing for the enemy to pour into the library.
Marceline's heart almost stopped at what she saw. The enemies were indeed robots but they looked entirely alien and terrifying.
They were made of mustard colored metal. They had eight long legs, two arms that had claw like hands. Their upper bodies resembled humans. Armor plating and metal coils covered every inch of their bodies.
Their heads and faces were angular.
For mouth's they had spider like pincers.
The arachnid robots skittered all over the room, crawling up walls and up the ceiling.
After a minute, one dropped down from the ceiling and said in a electronic voice "All clear".
Marceline heard footsteps and emerging from the ruined doorway was Marcus.
He wore a long black coat with a wide brimmed hat and a black cloth covered most of his face. His coat was covered in spatters of red jelly and white glittering sugar that belonged to some unfortunate candy person that crossed his path.
But what caught Marceline's eye was his cybernetic eye. The electronic eye whirred and scanned the room.
His eyes landed on Peppermint Butler who stood there looking completely calm. Marcus marched over to the butler and grabbed him by his lapels, growling in a deep electronic voice that made Marceline shiver "Where are they?"
"Who?" asked Peppermint Butler.
Marcus snarled "Don't play games with me, I'm not in the mood. Where are the Princess, the vampire and the dog?"
Peppermint Butler shrugged "I'm not sure, even if I did, I would never tell you"
Marcus tightened his grip but suddenly he began to laugh. Marcus's laugh was a dry, humorless, and slightly crazed. The arachnids all looked to each other nervously and they joined in with the laughter with laughter of their own.
Peppermint Butler frowned in confusion "What, may I ask, is so funny?"
"Oh nothing" said Marcus, wiping a tear away from his human eye "It's just that we're going to extract those answers from that sugary little noggin of yours in a very painful manner" Marcus leaned in close and whispered "And I'm going to enjoy ever moment of it".
Marcus tossed Peppermint Butler to one of the arachnid's saying "Take him to The Box, maybe it can loosen his tongue".
The arachnids nodded and they cleared out of the room, carrying Peppermint Butler out of sight.
Marceline decided that she has seen enough. She dropped down and she said to Tak and Princess Bubblegum "Lets go".
Marceline, Tak and Princess Bubblegum began making their way deeper into the tunnel that lead away from the Candy Kingdom.
Meanwhile on the surface, the army of arachnid robots herded the candy people like cattle into large pens that were set up in separate sections of the city.
Gir was helping some of the arachnid robots clean up the city, by eating the rubble. The rubble happened to be ginger bread and other forms of baked treats.
A large portion of the outer walls that protected the city was decimated along with several neighborhoods.
Marcus stood atop a massive mound of rubble where an ornate fountain once stood.
His cybernetic eye scanned the herds of candy people but he didn't find the princess, Marceline or Jake.
The cyborg growled, "Where are you?" suddenly the communicator in his brain began to beep.
Marcus sighed in annoyance and he answered "What?"
"Status report, Gravemaker" said Zim.
Marcus looked around at the conquered candy city saying, "As you can see, the army that the tower generated worked like a charm. We are now in charge of the Candy Kingdom"
"Excellent" said Zim.
Marcus nodded "Yes but there's just one little problem"
"What? A problem?" said Zim, "What is it?"
"Marceline, Bubblegum and Jake escaped" said Marcus.
"What! How could you let them escape!" screamed Zim.
Marcus growled "It was unavoidable, besides we have the princess's butler in custody and we're using your box on him, so we should know where they are within the hour"
"You better, or else I will deactivate you" threatened Zim "Got it?".
Marcus clenched his fist and growled "Yes sir"
"Good, now keep up the search and report back to the tower in an hour" said Zim "Soon we will activate the final stage and this world will be no more!"
"Roger that" said Marcus and he switched off his communicator, muttering "Sweet silence at last".
Marceline, Bubblegum and Tak reached the end of the tunnel after a few hours of stumbling and crawling.
Tak crawled up and she helped Princess Bubblegum climb out.
Marceline floated out of the tunnel and she glanced around at where the tunnel had led them. Marceline saw that the tunnel's exit deposited them in the middle of a strange meadow. All around them were dozens of old grey stone slabs that stood three feet tall and were a few inches wide.
In the distance there was a large stone that stood taller than everyone in the group. Surrounding the meadow were a thick forest of trees.
The ground beneath their feet was covered in daisies Marceline frowned and scowled at their surroundings. Something about it was familiar.
Jake and Billy emerged from the trees "Where were you guys?" asked Jake.
Tak jerked a thumb at Marceline "She held us up"
"I just wanted to be sure of something" said Marceline.
Tak shrugged "Whatever"
Tak scowled at Jake and Billy "Where were you?"
"Scouting the area" answered Billy "Making sure we weren't followed".
Princess Bubblegum studied the stone slabs that populated the meadow "Where are we?"
"Don't know" said Billy, shrugging.
Jake approached one of the slabs. He squinted and he sniffed the slab "Smells, old" the dog scratched his head "It smells…weird".
Suddenly Marceline heard a faint voice whisper "Marceline…Marceline". The vampire spun around, searching for the source of the voice till she was facing north and she took off like a shot.
She soared through the thick forest of trees. Dozens of other stone slabs passed beneath her. Marceline followed the voice.
As she approached the source, it grew louder and louder then finally it stopped.
Marceline stopped and looked around her. All she saw were more woods and a few stone pillars.
She heard the voice whisper, only this time she was able to lock on to where it was coming from.
The vampire glided over to one of the pillars and she landed in front of one of the larger ones. It stood several feet tall and it showed signs that it was once a sculpture but years of weathering and decay changed it into a pillar of misshapen stone.
Its base was covered in grass and flowers. Marceline pushed the flowers and grass aside and she muttered under her breath "What the?"
Inscribed in the base of the pillar was the name of Marceline's mother.
The vampire backed away and she glanced around her. She saw a few other stone pillars, some still standing, some were knocked down and shattered.
Princess Bubblegum and Tak emerged from the trees "Marceline, what the cabbage are you doing?" asked the princess "You can't just take off like that, its dangerous"
"I…I know what this place is" said Marceline. The princess and the alien shared questioning looks then asked, "What is this place?"
"This is a graveyard" answered Marceline, grimly.
Miles away, Zim stepped out of the elevator and marched into the control room with his head held high.
The control room was a round room that had a wide window that gave a panoramic view of the land around him.
Computer consoles lined the walls, controlling every aspect of the tower. Zim marched over to one of control consoles and he began prepping for the final phase.
As Zim was typing away on the consoles, the tower's communicator beeped.
Zim smiled and he hit the answer button "Malice, what's your status?"
"Status green" said the blond assassin
Zim's smile widened "Excellent"
"What do we do now?" asked Malice "Marcus and Gir are getting a little twitchy"
"I want you to order the evacuation" ordered Zim.
Malice paused then asked "What about the prisoners?"
"Leave them" said Zim, waving a hand "They're part of the test".
Malice went silent then said hesitantly, "Ok, I'll give the order"
"Good and return to the tower immediately for the launch of the Eclipse Blast" said Zim "Zim out".
Zim switched off the communicator and he continued working on his ultimate weapon.
Hours passed, the sun had sunken beyond the horizon and the sky be came black as ink.
Marceline, Tak, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Billy sat around a small campfire, a short distance away from the graveyard.
For the past several hours, Princess Bubblegum and Tak have been trying to devise a plan on how to assault Zim's tower but so far everything they came up with was a dud.
After a while, Tak and the princess decided to take a break.
Everyone sat in gloomy silence.
Princess Bubblegum sighed and rested her chin in the palms of her hands "It's hopeless, everything I can think of is useless against that tower"
"I hate to say it but your right" grumbled Tak "that tower is one of the most advanced pieces of technology in the galaxy, nothing can get in, unless Zim wills it"
"Don't you have some sort of alien gadget that could get us in there?" asked Jake.
Tak shook her head "Nope, even if I did, there's still the matter of avoiding internal security"
"Oh, right" sighed Jake.
Jake looked into the fire and mumbled, "I wish Finn was here, he'd know what to do".
Marceline nodded in agreement but suddenly her eyes widened.
Lucas's words echoed in her head "In this situation, your in desperate need of a miracle".
Marceline jumped to her feet and exclaimed, "Wait! That's it!"
Everyone looked to her "What is?" asked Jake.
Marceline didn't answer.
Instead, she glided towards the graveyard saying "Come on, I got an idea" .
Everyone looked at each other in confusion and they decided to follow her. Once they reached the main section of the graveyard where the tunnel entrance was, Marceline stopped and she pulled out the ancient pamphlet from her pocket.
The vampire flipped through the pages then she read a section on the page. She glanced up at the starry night sky and she mumbled, "I hope this is the right thing".
Marceline shoved the pamphlet back into her pocket and she turned to the others "You might want to take a few steps back".
Everyone obeyed, and Marceline looked up at the sky saying "It's beginning"
"What is?" asked Jake
"Watch" said Marceline.
The clear sky became cloudy and thunder rumbled and jagged streaks of lightning flashed across the sky. The ground in the heart of the graveyard quaked and rumbled like thunder.
The black clouds began to converge together and they began to swirl over the graveyard.
A loud crack pierced the evening air and the earth split open. More cracks filled the air and more openings formed in the earth in the graveyard.
From an aerial perspective, the openings formed a wicked smiling face.
An emerald light began to glow from the earth then the smiling face disintegrated, revealing a swirling green vortex that laid buried in the earth.
High pitched screeches filled the air and thousands of black bats flew out of the vortex and they took to the skies. The wind howled and more thunder crashed.
Suddenly a massive black shape shot out of the green vortex and landed a few feet away from the opening in the earth.
Once the figure had landed, the wind began to die down, the thunder stopped, the clouds dissipated and the hole where the vortex was sealed itself up.
Marceline noticed the figure moving. The figure rose to its feet and it scratched itself.
The vampire approached the figure and saw it for the first time in a thousand years.
Standing there was a massive demon.
He had paper white skin, long black hair, red eyes, pointed ears with earrings. He wore a dirty, old suit and tie.
He wore tight, stretchy pants that hugged his body.
Lastly he wore fuzzy slippers on his feet.
Marceline coughed "Excuse me?" "Hm?" grunted the demon as he turned and faced Marceline.
Marceline asked, "Do you happen to be the one spoken to of in the ancient pamphlet?"
The demon nodded than screamed in a deep booming voice, "Yes! I am Mortos Der Soulstealer!"
Marceline grimaced and said meekly "Yes…you are".
The vampire queen got a bad feeling about this but it was the only way that she and the others could find Finn.
End of Chapter
(a/n: well here you go. please review!)