Time to reply to comments! Yay! XD
mholt9631: Thanks dude!
loverofyourwerk: Never surf the internet with the 3ds. It makes your typing shit! XD But thanks dude!
MrJaffaJack: Thanks dude! Im gonna need all this encouragement to write my novel!
Bleeding of Life: Thank you dude! I'm honored to be thought as one of the better writers here. I personally dont think I'm that good. lol.
Every able-bodied leader had been called into the counsel that afternoon. Everything ranged from the Queen – or King – Ember of the Fire Kingdom, who had her chin in her hands and her eyes empty, to the Leader of Marauder Village, to Aerys, of the Ice Kingdom. Queen Bubblegum herself was there of course, along with Lady Marceline, and beside her was her father Hunson Abadeer. Both the Queens looked as distraught as Ember, as if sick of worry, moreso than the others.
Finn sat beside Rebecca, who in turn sat beside Peppermint Butler, Jake and his family, and then next to him was the Abadeer Family: Marshall, Fionna, and Nathaly, who earned respect among the ranks for her quick witts in battle. To Finn's right: The Bravest Warriors. The entire roundtable was filled to the brim, barely having any room to squeeze in Wallow.
The room was hot and every breath might have been able to feed a plant for a century. The air smelled musky and the silence echoed. The sound of Queen Bubblegum clearing her shaking voice was enough to make everyone jump.
"Everyone thank you for coming," she started. "As you all know, we are all here on important matters. Surely most of you are still surprised to find that I am alive as well as Jake." The crowd grumbled in agreement before becoming slightly restless. Finn sat there with his arms crossed and Rebecca hasn't moved since her arrival. "Nevertheless!" She continued, "This is a problem that should be addressed right away. Peppermint Butler, care to enlighten us?"
He jumped from his seat and walked into the center of the large round table. "Thank you your majesty. I would tell all of you what is going on, but first, everyone must know my deepest darkest secret." His hands came from his pockets, and lifted into the air and everyone gasped. Glowing black bits of aura emanated from his body. Black magic. Some were already ready to strike him down. Nathaly grabbed a kunai from her sheath on her thigh, but Marshall held her back. Peppermint Butler continued. "I am a sorcerer of dark magic." The room transformed until everyone saw through his eyes what happened on his last visit to the underworld. "Death and I were close buds. Every now and again, he would host poker nights. But this time, Death wasn't in his castle of light. And in the distance…"
Another gasp from everyone. Except for Finn, who seemed to shake at the entering of the castle. He shivered as he remembered everything within a second. It was the touch of Rebecca's warm hand that brought him back to reality. He looked at her, and she was smiling back at him.
Everyone's attention was brought over to the massive white hole (like a black hole, but white) from the point of view of Peppermint Butler. In his eyes, Peppermint Butler stood at the edge of a mountainous hill, overlooking the undead down below and the river of memory (Jake took to calling it the River Styx). The massive white hole compared to the undead marching below was like ants marching off into a giant oblivion. The hole made the sunset look small along the horizon. For most it was the biggest and most terrifying thing that everyone has seen. Ever.
Around it, were the dead, surrounding the portal and walking in before the light devoured them completely. Billions upon billions upon billions that have gathered to walk through. Then everyone was back around the round table.
First, silence. Only the sound of the air conditioning unit. Everyone had wide eyes. After all, who wouldn't? They saw the bare minimum of what they had to face. Even Queen Bubblegum was frozen.
If all of the women and children were counted, Ooo would only have at least a population of almost 4-5 billion. In the Land of the Dead? Infinitely many more. They were outnumbered.
"It's impossible…" Nathaly Abadeer broke the ice. "The moment we go in, we're doomed!"
"She's right!" Ember added. "We're heavily outnumbered! Even with everyone fighting, we wont last!"
The room began to bicker as it once did. Kings, queens, and leaders all bickering over the best course of action, which consisted of two things: 1) Everyone dying or 2) Everyone ignoring it. But in the end, even if you chose option two, wouldn't everyone die in the end anyway? Even if not all of those souls didn't belong to Ooo, there were still infinitely many souls that can make the planet unsustainable. Rebecca knew this. Finn knew this.
"We can't ignore it!" Finn bursted and stood up with enough force to send his chair backward. Everyone was now paying attention to him, and he could pick out the nasty stares. Queen Bubblegum and Ember especially. He gulped and continued. "Ooo doesn't have the stuff to help everyone! What if everyone who died on this planet came back? They'll eat us dry!"
Rebecca stood beside him, and Finn's eyes caught Marceline glaring. Was Rebecca too close to him?
"He's right!" Rebecca added.
"How do you know!?" Asked Chris of the Bravest Warriors.
Rebecca glared at him, the same way Finn had glared at him earlier. "Because I manage this planet's resources. If the planet can barely handle resources for 4.8 billion, then what makes you think it can handle resources for 1 trillion or more?" The Queen and the subjects nodded in agreement. Aerys, the new ice king, still hasn't said a word. "If we ignore the issue at hand, everyone is going to die anyway! If we fight..." she took a deep breath. "If we fight, we might have a chance."
Everyone mumbled amongst themselves before nodding in agreement. Finn then looked at Peppermint Butler. "How much time do you need?"
"3 Minutes," he adjusted the collar of the shirt.
"Doesn't sound so bad," said Marshall, to which Bubblegum shook her head.
"It's not that easy," she added. "Three minutes is enough time for an army of 5 billion to be torn to shreds by an army of infinity," she turned her gaze to Finn. Her face softened into a stern emotionless expression. "But it's the only plan we're gonna get. It's all or nothing."
Finn nodded and looked at Peppermint Butler. "Pull up your vision again Peps. We need to plan."
The room faded and everyone stared into the center, where they could see the entirety of the field. The massive portal laid in the center and around it, the wandering souls frozen in time. Finn flew onto the center of the table, and tested out his light. Everywhere he touched left a streak of light. Like a marker.
"Alright…" He sighed and poked a dot. "The goal of this isn't to defend the portal, it is to defend Peppermint Butler as he seals it. This dot is him." Then he drew a circle around the dot. "This is the final line of defense. This will be where the novices are to defend him." Then a circle around that circle. "Then this is the next tier. This will consists of marauders and Banana Guards. Anything with sword skills and stuff." Then another circle around that circle. "Wizards here. This is also where the Bravest Warriors will go." They all nodded in agreement, and finally, the first line of defense was drawn. "This is the first line of defense, where the most powerful weapons, the Creators and the Leaders, will battle first. This way, we wont have to risk hurting the weak."
Everyone growled at the last bit and then came some more unnecessary banter about who's stronger than who. Then Bubblegum slammed her hammer down, and the room fell deathly silent. "I understand everyone's concern, but frankly, we don't have time for petty conflict." Everyone grumbled and Bubblegum spoke again. "Glad we all understand each other. Now does anyone have any objections to Pen's plan?"
Not a single hand was raised.
"Good. Ready your soldiers," she said sternly. "We leave in an hour."
In the infirmary, Beth screeched as her whip cracked against the wall and left a black burn mark. Her muscles flexed and loosened, and her shoulders rose and fell with every breath. Her hands shaking and her fingers ached from holding the whip too tightly.
Back at NeoMars, when the door had appeared, she tried everything in her power to get that door open, because what was on the other side of the door, or the possibility of it, was enough to open it, despite the suspicious circumstances. She had hoped that their parents would be behind the door. That her mother and father would be waiting there in the see-through zone with open arms.
But instead, what the Bravest Warriors had was a battle. A battle Beth was sure they were going to lose. And if they won, they wouldn't make it out alive.
When they opened the door, it wasn't just the door to another world. It was a door to their death.
Her whip cracked again, cutting through a vase with clean precision. She panted and raised her whip once more but stopped as soon as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.
Giant blue hands and the familiar smell of pine. A warm head rested on her shoulder. "Im sorry," said Chris.
Beth dropped her whip, and her hand fell down like it was lifeless. "You didn't mean for any of this to happen Chris," she said softly.
"Neither did you."
Her heart dropped, and her lip quivered. Her vision blurred behind her eyes, and all smells dulled due to the water buildup. Her fists clenched again, and she looked down, tears falling from her cheek down to her neck before ruining her white vest. "It's all my fault Chris. If it wasn't for me pressuring all of you to open the door, none of this would have happened. If I wasn't so jealous that I didn't get any gifts…"
He didn't need to hear the rest of it before turning Beth around and planting a kiss on her lips. And all the hope that was lost suddenly returned. Her body felt like candle wax, melting and relaxing before she pushed back with her arms around his neck. Her hand in his hair, pulling him closer to her. There were friends at her side, and they would stay by her side no matter what. Especially Chris… Especially Chris…
Together, the two were no longer broken, nor alone. The door to the infirmary was now shut, and the clock struck twenty minutes before the hour. Beth remained tucked underneath the blankets, curled facing the edge. On her face, a smile and shut eyes. Her body rose and fell with each deep breath, and around her waist, an arm that belonged to Chris. Underneath the blanket, the two were nude. Chris clung closely to her as if afraid to let her go in fear that she would disappear forever.
Which might actually be the truth in about twenty minutes…
The last hour, and they spent it together.
"I love you Beth," Chris mumbled.
"I love you too Chris."
Silence.
Then sniffs.
"Chris?" Beth asked. "What's wrong?"
"Don't say yes."
"Yes to what?"
"Will you marry me?"
Silence.
"Yes."
The clock's minute hand struck the nine, and time continued to count down, and Marceline sat on the railing. The sun was down early today, and it was only five o'clock. As if the day was pushing forward so fast, that it was pushing them towards their doom.
Just a little more than three days ago, things were different. Sure, she was sitting on the side of two graves, but it was much simpler. And much more real. No constant threat of an invasion of the dead, for instance. And neither of her past lovers were there with her at the same time.
She placed her hands on her ears and covered them. Her legs scrunched until her knees leaned upward and almost tapped her chin.
You cheated. You ruined everything!
But I didn't cheat. I love Finn! Always!
You broke Bonnie! Do you know how essential she is to this battle!?
I… I couldn't help it…
Couldn't help it?! You stupd li-
A warm hand brushed against her cheek and she opened her eyes. Finn stood there beside her with a smile. His hand smeared a tear. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. He stared at her with his green and blue eyes. His eyes looked down, and against her forehead, his brows furrowed. Down his face, tears flowed.
"Finn…"
"I love you."
"I love you too." She wiped his cheek and gave him a smile enough to melt his heart. "You wont lose me," she said. "I promise."
"I know…"
He leaned in and sealed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and her hands pulled him closer. Her heart raced, and her body rose in temperature. Everything was hot now… then cold suddenly. What she was resting on wasn't the cool railing of the balcony anymore. It was harder as… brick.
She opened her eyes to a dark room that reeked enough to make her nose scrunch. She turned her head at the sound of water dripping. "Finn?"
Nothing.
She reached her hand out as her eyes blinked again and again. She wrapped her fingers around something cold. Then she dragged her hands across them all. Metal bars. "Finn!?"
Nothing again.
She turned around to the only source of light: the moonlight creeping its way through a barred off hole in the wall. Her breathing began to increase in speed, this time for an entirely different reason. She ran to the barred window and looked down below. She could see it. In the distance, Peppermint Butler was opening the portal, and next to him, Finn, Rebecca, and the rest of the Creators. Then the other soldiers. Bonnibel, Ember, Aerys, Marshall, Nathaly, Fionna, Hunson… Everyone but her.
The moon smudged behind her fog of tears. She gripped the cold bars that separated her from the rest of the world and tugged hard. Nothing. Again, but harder. Still nothing. Not even her vampire strength could tear through these bars.
"FINN!"
And the rest of the world had stepped into the portal, where they could hear her scream no more.
Leave a review! Am i getting better? I feel like I have a long way to go.