guest: its kind of expected. in earlier chapters, you were getting a mass slaughter. XD. I dont condone it. It just happens. Im writing the story organically while trying to keep true to my outline.

maxgentleman1: thank you! I've been screwed out of a position numerous times and just recently figured out why. Im sure I can get a job soon now.

fanficreviewer69: then you won't like what's gonna happen next.

nightstriker: thanks! And yes. They will.

Chapter 9

Finn awoke to a nightmare. He heard Marceline scream his name. She was crying while someone else had their way with her. He couldn't make out who he was, but he knew. And Pendleton will pay.

He had been sleeping on grass. Everyone had. They had no energy, and wouldn't stop shaking from the horrors of the previous battle. Many cried in their sleep after having entire families destroyed. Especially Jake. The only one who didn't seem affected was Bubblegum, and even she was growing tired from not having rest. She had to console everyone.

Marceline's screams were real. Finn could hear someone's cry for help by just screaming his name. And most times, he could help. But now, he didn't know what to do. "Rebecca."

She instantly appeared, he brunette wavy hair still flowing. "Yes, my lord."

"How's searching on Venus?"

"Nothing, my lord." She said. "The castles of Venus have been completely destroyed. All that's left is rubble. Even the canyons have been demolished."

Same news.

"And no sign of Death either?"

"No."

Finn clenched his fists. "Damn…"

Rebecca tilted her head. "Are you sure it's Pendleton? Maybe Marceline is still here." It was a pathetic attempt to inspire hope.

"Rebecca, you know she isn't here, and you know she's still alive." Finn groaned.

"Then she isn't in this Galaxy," she said. "That's about as far as my reach goes."

"Dammit!" Finn punched a hole into a tree. "How long will it take!?"

"I don't know, my lord." She replied. "The universe is infinite. It takes a while to travel between galaxies by wings. But we had a machine that did it within minutes."

Finn perked up. "What happened to it?"

"Pendleton destroyed it."

Finn growled. "Damn…" he remained silent for a while. Pendleton destroyed the machine so that he could escape anywhere into the universe and not have anyone follow him…

Something wasn't right…

"Rebecca, how long does it take the machine to transport people?" He asked.

"Instantly, my lord."

He looked at her, eyeing her body up and down. She has changed so much, and in a good way. Finn didn't know that Creators could change so much.

"Then how could he destroy it? How could Pendleton destroy the machine and transport himself at the same time?"

Rebecca stood silent as she thought. "That means…"

Finn turned to her, then to the rest of the allies who were still mostly sleeping. "We have a traitor with us."

Danny had finally gotten a grip of himself. He hadn't slept for days now. He curled up by a tree, dirty and still struggling to hold his breath. He saw Plum and Wallow killed in front of him. And Beth and Chris were nowhere to be seen. He wished Catbug could still be found.

He had lost some weight. Mostly through not eating.

A pair of pink feet appeared where he was looking at on the ground. Then a bowl of food popped into his vision. Some soup that some of the chef's were able to conjure using firewood. "Here," Bubblegum said. "Eat."

Danny curled in tighter.

"You have to eat something Danny," she said. "Your friends wouldn't want you to starve."

"My friends are dead," he said.

"Chris and Beth are missing," Bubblegum said. "That doesn't mean they're dead."

He didn't answer.

"Look," Bubblegum sighed. "If you eat and get back to full strength, we can go look for Chris and Beth, okay?"

He looked into her eyes, but it really was hard to take his eyes off of the soup. He reached out, but his hand fell short of his feet.

Bubblegum rolled her eyes but still managed to pop a smile. She set the bowl down and laid Danny's head onto her lap before stirring the soup again. "Say ahhh." She said with a smile.

Danny didn't say ahh. He wasn't a baby anymore, but he didn't resist the soup. It tasted watery. Good, but watery.

After a few more scoops, Danny asked "Why aren't you feeling anything?"

"What do you mean?" Bubblegum said.

"A lot of your friends died. Don't you feel anything for them?"

"Feelings get in the way of progress," she said as she fed him another spoonful. "People die. But life continues. A lot of the time, I can't be bothered."

"But don't you love them?"

"I do." She said. "I love all of them with all of my heart. It hurts, yeah, but I don't let it get in the way."

"What about Marceline?"

She paused, but after a brief moment, continued to feed her. "It's… weird between us."

Danny sensed a dense topic and decided not to push any further. That, and fatigue was finally winning him over. Once Bubblegum knew he was sleeping, she stayed there, looking at Danny's peacefully resting face.

"I am feeling it," she whispered. "But I've lost my tears."

She rubbed his hair as he slept on her legs, pondering their fates.

Finn scratched his chin as he sat beside Rebecca on a tree. They both have been sitting quietly for a while now, just looking at the stars. However, a new question popped into Finn's mind. "How do we fix the machine?"

"I don't know," Rebecca said. "I didn't build it."

"Someone did," Finn replied.

"They arent alive anymore."

Finn groaned. "Dammit." He continued to work with this idea… if only he knew someone who was good at technology… someone who could reverse engineer something…

"What about Princess Bubblegum?" Finn asked.

Rebecca paused. "It may work, my lord."

"Good," Finn said as he stood. "Let's do it."

The branches made way as Finn and Rebecca appeared by Princess Bubblegum and the sleeping Danny. Her pink gummy hair blew in the wind. "Don't wake him," Bubblegum said coldly. "He's had a long day."

"As have we," Rebecca said.

"Princess," Finn said. "We need your help."

"Why?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of Danny. "Why should I help you, Pen. After what you did, why?"

Finn had forgotten that she didn't know his real name yet.

"Look PB. I know we're not on good terms right now but…"

"Cut it out Pen."

"It's actually Finn," Rebecca said. "You might as well know his real name if we're in the same predicament."

"Finn…" it started to come back to her now. Everything they went through together. And her dying in the arms of two people she loved. "Finn… you're alive…" she finally mustered the courage to look up at him. "You came back…"

"Yes PB. I'm back…" he knelt down to her. "I need you to do something for me… please…"

She looked down again. Back to Danny. "Why…"

"Because I'm going to save Marceline."

She paused and spoke tiredly. "What do I need to do?"

Finn looked at Rebecca, and nodded for her to give Bubblegum the details. "We need you to rebuild a transportation device that would allow for travel throughout the universe."

Bubblegum paused. "Does he have her?"

"Yeah," Finn said.

Bubblegum chuckled sadly. "You're way over your head Finn."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Look around you, man." Her hand pointed at everyone around them. "You have less than 500 people sleeping on the grass of this forest. The remaining 500 people in the world! They need you Finn. They need us."

"But," he said. "Marceline…"

"I know," she said. "I love her too. As much as you do. More than anyone else. But this is more important. We're vulnerable, Finn. If we left, Pendleton can strike and kill off what is left of the population." She paused. "I hate to say it, but you're needed here. There's nothing we can do about Marceline…"

Finn growled before jerking his gaze away from Bubblegum and walking past Rebecca.

"My Lord?" Rebecca asked.

He vanished.

"My Lord!" She called out to him afterwards, then glanced back at Bubblegum. Then vanished.

Bubblegum returned her gaze to Danny once again, running his hair until she fell asleep beside him.

Finn's mother has been resting a while. She actually hasn't had a chance to awaken yet, though she has been dead for quite some time. The battle had drained her immensely.

When Finn appeared before her, he didn't know whether to confide in her or not. After all, this person had abandoned him. Granted, it had been for the best reasons, but she still abandoned him. She should have known that one day he would have had to face his father.

Where did her loyalties lie exactly? Was she the spy?

She can't be. There's no way. His own flesh and blood…

His father had been his own flesh and blood…

He couldn't believe he was thinking it. Marceline had been the only person he trusted entirely. And now he doesn't trust anyone.

So many things happened. So many people died. So many emotions swirled in his mind that be would have vomit if he had some food in his gut. The dam of sanity was being held by one last metal rod.

And though he appreciated his mother for what she'd done, he can't bear to cry in front of her. His mother still is, after all, a complete stranger to him.

So he vanished once more, never bothering to wake her.

"I knew I'd find you here," Rebecca said to Finn, who was sitting on a branch at his old treehouse. "I remember this place. I remember despising it, but now I can appreciate the aesthetic."

Finn said nothing as Rebecca sat beside him.

"My Lord, I don't exactly agree with Bubblegum's plans,-"

"You should agree with her," Finn interrupted. "because she's right."

"My Lord?"

"I thought I was protecting her Rebecca. I thought by getting her out of the battle, she'd be safe. Now, by the time I get to her, she'll be dead!"

Rebecca didn't say anything. She knew he was right.

"I should have let her fight with me. I shouldn't have been too protective. And now, Pendleton is using her to toy with me. He's taunting me and I can't fight him back!"

"You did what you thought was best," she said. "Like the King you are."

He remained silent. He thought back to Marceline screaming in his mind. Calling for Finn. He can't help her now. Or anymore.

That was when he decided to shut out Marceline's cries for help. And in doing so, a flood of tears came rushing out. It was just like the first time, before he gave himself to Death. Now he doesn't have Death to make a deal with.

Rebecca say there for a while, rubbing Finn's back as he cried. "My Lord, if I may…"

He looked at her, tears still in his eyes.

She smiled and knelt both knees on the tree branch. "I know you're struggling. But I have a second duty…" she crawled into his lap, gingerly wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. "If I can do nothing else, the least I can do…" she leaned forward and kissed him deeply, even biting his lower lip. "... Is pleasure you , my Lord." She kissed him again. "Please... let me do my duty."

Finn wanted to back away. He wanted to leave. But he needed someone. Marceline was going to die and Finn couldn't do a thing about it.

He needed someone.

He jerked forward and kissed Rebecca's lips and felt her soft skin. He began unravelling her clothes before he pinned her against the branch, locking lips.

I'm sorry Marceline. I love you.