-Down but not Out-
Jake was giving it his all to get up off the slimy surface of the cave. His beaten and possibly broken body desperately diverted energy to his arms, determined to keep the dog awake. He stared across the cavern, over to where Flame Princess and Flambo were still trying their best to take down the mysterious man whom they encountered within the waste-filled tunnel.
The powerful human had taken but a minute to relentlessly crush Jake into the floor. Frightfully, the magical dog estimated that the guy was at least three times stronger than Susan. As he watched the ongoing struggle, his arms began failing once more, unable to support him.
FP shouted out as her back hit the wall, sliding down the damp material around her and further increasing the pain as her flames reacted poorly with the surroundings. Meanwhile, the man declaring himself as Sixth Arc was rapidly swiping all over his body, trying to catch the flambit crawling on him. The little guy's plan was to cause enough burning to bring the foe down, thus saving his clearly outmatched friends.
Unfortunately, it only took a single slap to throw the fiery being right into Flame Princess, who managed to soften his hit by catching him in her arms, regardless of the stinging all over her backside.
"Are you ok, Flambo?"
The short fellow chuckled weakly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's yous I should be askin'."
FP carefully stood up and lifted herself off the ground, just enough to no longer be touching the slime. Not only was Sixth Arc immensely stronger than them, but the environment was one that he was more acquainted with. The human was swiftly patting out the embers all over his shirt, slightly hissing angrily from the pinching burns.
Flame Princess looked over to Jake, who was by now flat on his face; still attempting to crawl towards the enemy.
"It's no use. We can't win like this. I have to grab Jake too and get us out of here."
Flambo agreed with his highness. Sadly, the human did not.
"I don't think so, fire girl. I've already told you my name, and I only do so when I'm fully dedicated to exterminating my opponents. You'll die in this cavern, where your broken bodies will float endlessly down this stream of waste."
Sixth Arc charged once again, aiming to smash the princess into the wall directly behind her. Luckily, she dodged out of the way, but was surprised by how quickly the man recovered and turned around.
"Not that easy!"
He reached out and instantly grabbed FP by the throat, causing her to drop Flambo. The fiery sprite winced from the contact with the wet slime, helpless to aid his king as she struggled to break free. She managed to fire one blast of flames in his face, nearly making him lose his grip.
"Agh! Damn it! Gotta make this quick."
He ignored the searing pain and moved to snap Flame Princess's neck. Alas, he didn't get the chance.
A massive rumbling shook the cavern, forcing Sixth Arc to drop the princess and back away, staring with confusion at the ceiling. Soon enough, a huge construct burrowed its way into the cave, releasing a large pile of debris that nearly buried the human. As the mysterious object settled down and coiled itself, it was revealed to be none other than Princess Bubblegum's gigantic sand worm.
The pink monarch was visible through the beast's glass cockpit, where she was worriedly looking around the cave for the others.
"Jake! Flame Princess! Flambo! Where are you guys?"
The persons in question all emerged from the debris and gaze with astonishment at the arriving princess.
"PB! What are you doing here?" Jake asked weakly.
Peebles opened the hatch to the worm and gestured for them to climb in.
"I was major dumb for sending you guys in here. I just recently detected the radioactive signature down here, that's a major hazard for you. Plus, the moisture in here can't be easy for fire elementals."
FP and Flambo nodded, admitting the truth of that statement. Suddenly, Sixth Arc tore himself out of the pile of slime, quickly dashing over to his collected barrels of waste and hooked two of them to his massive back using heavily reinforced straps around his chest. PB narrowed her eyes.
"Don't even!"
She commanded the worm to smack the man with its huge tail. Amazingly, Sixth Arc simply leveled the approaching extremity with his fist, instantly cracking and blowing the tail apart. All faces grew stunned in utter disbelief, none more so than Bubblegum's.
"That's impossible! That biomass was meant to even withstand heavy pressure!"
The muscular human paid no attention to her comment, but instead went over and punched a hole in the wall of the cavern, immediately revealing a hidden tunnel.
"He's got an escape plan! We have to stop him," FP cried out.
Sadly, the human had already bounded down his premade route to freedom, carrying away the large stockpile of radioactive sludge. It was much too small of an area to pursue him with, especially considering the now heavily damaged sand worm. Next, the cave began to shake, raining globs of slime all over. PB gestured once again to her companions.
"Hurry! Get in!"
Flame Princess grabbed Jake's still weak form and flew herself and her two friends into the cockpit of Peebles' transport. The candy monarch quickly closed the hatch and commanded the worm to go back up the tunnel it had carved on the way down. The beast struggled, due to its lost tail, but was able to slowly make its way up the pit and towards the open air, leaving behind the cavern to finish its structural collapse.
Princess Bubblegum took one last look at the reconstruction effort the banana guards were performing on her worm. She sighed sadly before turning and walking through the automatic doors to exit the large scale lab. The pink lady proceeded to walk a few doors down the hall, coming up to an elevator, which she hastily entered and punched in the number for the hospital floor.
As a ding signaled, the twin doors split open and revealed the front entrance to the infirmary, which the monarch walked into swiftly. There, in addition to Finn, Jake and Flame Princess sat on the edges of their own beds, one being covered in flame-retardant blankets, recovering from their injuries. FP's weren't that bad, just a few scrapes and doused spots on her back. These were covered in special tinfoil bandages that Peebles had synthesized. Flambo was loyally sitting beside her.
Jake on the other hand, was in a full arm sling and had wrappings around his head, torso, and left leg. His black eye had gone down, but still looked quite bad. Regardless, he was keeping a good spirit by smiling as the princess walked in.
"How are you guys doing?" the monarch asked.
The magical dog gave a thumbs up.
"Solid, Prubs. Just fine."
Flame Princess just nodded silently and held her gaze. She was watching over Finn, who was at the next bed over, still asleep. Bubblegum came over and checked the human's pulse.
"He's fine, Flame Princess," she proclaimed with an encouraging smile.
"His heart rate and blood flow seems normal. He's just resting at this point."
The fiery ruler nodded absentmindedly. Peebles went over to Jake and checked his head.
"You really took a beating, Jake. Who was that guy?"
The dog winced a bit at the contact to his temple but held on and looked with concern at the floor.
"He called himself Sixth Arc. And just like that girl with the similar name, he was human."
PB crossed her arms, also gazing down at the floor in thought.
"I thought so. This is getting very concerning. These individuals are planning something, and they don't want Ooo to know about it. I think it's quite clear…"
She looked out the nearby window.
"That they are connected to the falling objects from several weeks ago."
The others all looked up at the princess, who switched her vision to the assembled group.
"We must be careful. So far, three of the five kingdoms targeted by those unknown anomalies have experienced some form of thievery."
She nodded as Jake's eyes widened.
"That's right. I believe my stolen charts were these humans' doing as well."
The monarch turned to FP.
"Flame Princess, I highly suggest you put your entire staff on alert. There may be a spy among your people."
The fire elemental nodded, seeing the worth in such an act. Peebles walked off to the side.
"Now, about the Goblin Kingdom."
Before she continued, there was a groan. All eyes looked to Finn, who had finally begun waking up. Naturally, FP was the first to go over and try to help him up, but quickly stopped when she remembered the hero didn't have a flame shield. Flambo happily took care of that soon enough. As Flame Princess supported Finn's back, he shook his head and rubbed the top of it.
"Man. Still aches a bit, but I think I'm good to go."
Peebles shook her head.
"Not quite, Finn. And especially if you were planning to go out and search for those humans."
The boy was puzzled.
"Humans?"
The others recalled that he'd been out of it the whole time.
"Jake, Flame Princess, and Flambo went to investigate the Slime Kingdom. What they found was a human man stealing radioactive waste from the deepest regions of the mucus caverns."
Finn was astonished by this.
"There's…more?"
He gazed down to his lap, trying to absorb all the information.
"This is…this is incredible. After all this time, more humans."
Before his bro could get too excited, Jake walked over and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I hate to tell you this, dude, but these ones are nasty. The guy we ran into nearly cooked our gooses."
Finn's expression held to its awed state, then shifted to one of determination.
"You never know, Jake! They might be…I don't know, doing something really important and it's just too sensitive and junk. Stuff like that can happen."
The dog was about to argue but his best friend turned to PB to strengthen his argument.
"Isn't that right, Prubs?"
His tone was noticeably a bit darker, slightly putting off the princess.
"Y-yes, but-"
Finn hopped off the bed, startling everyone. Remarkably, his injuries didn't instantly force him to fall down.
"No buts, I'm going to find these humans and either get some answers or take them down."
Jake stretched his arm around his bro before Finn could take one more step towards the door.
"Dude, the three of us couldn't even take down one of them. Who knows how many super-powered psychos are roaming Ooo right now."
The hero shook off the rope-like limb and continued walking.
"I don't care. I've never gotten this close. Whether you help or not, I'm hunting them down one by-"
A warm hand fell onto his shoulder. Finn swung around to face the obstructive individual, only to receive a firm slap across the face. His fanatic attitude instantly vanished as he laid eyes on Flame Princess, who was looking at him with a worried expression. The human just stood there, ignoring the stinging on his cheek.
"FP…"
The fire elemental closed her eyes.
"For once, Finn, don't be stupid, please."
Stunned, the hero simply stared into the girl's glowing face. There was nothing but concern etched into her features.
"…Ok."
He hung his head, but in turn, was caught in a hug by the fiery ruler.
"Thank you."
After FP backed away, Finn turned to face PB.
"If we're dealing with crazy humans, then it's probably best to gather some peeps to help us out."
The princess nodded.
"Right. I'll call Marceline. She can help us keep an eye on the other kingdoms."
Flame Princess stepped forward.
"I should be getting back, no telling if there's something bad going on right now."
The others nodded, offering a goodbye as the fire elemental shot out of the window. Finn returned to his bed, lying back down with a sigh. His bro walked over and patted the boy's knee.
"It'll be alright, dude, these guys can't be unstoppable."
The hero grinned.
"Yeah. No one is unstoppable."
Jake chuckled a bit.
"Well, I don't know about that. You're pretty tough there, man. I've seen- er, been with you, while you aimlessly jumped into volcanoes. I can't think of anyone who can take more of a beating than you."
Finn smiled at his supportive friend.
"Thanks, Jake."
With that, Peebles left the room, leaving the two adventurers to rest up after their rather painful encounters with the mysterious humans.
Deep beneath the grounds of the Candy Kingdom, well hidden and ravaged by the worst criminal scum imaginable, lay Princess Bubblegum's secret royal dungeon. Within its near infinite catacombs, a blur was streaking further and further down the various floors of the structure. It whisked by at such speeds that the villains trapped within didn't even get the chance to make out a feature.
The blur shot down flight after flight of cold stone stairs, intent on reaching its destination as fast as possible. It took but a minute until the unknown force arrived in an average sized chamber, inhabited by not a single prisoner. The anomaly instantly stopped, decelerating to zero in a split second. This revealed it to be a young girl.
"I'm back."
She waited. Then, several figures, cloaked by the darkness the surrounding torches just couldn't cut, stepped forward. They converged on the female, as if studying if she were an intruder. One of the silhouettes came right up to her and held out a slender hand. She complied and removed a good sized lightning bolt from within her jacket, handing it to the other bieng.
The shrouded figure examined the item briefly, before slipping it into a pocket that wasn't visible to the eye.
"Well done, V."
The now distinctly more mature feminine voice made a small pause.
"I can see you ran into some…complications."
The younger girl frowned and looked at her beltline, which held a strange device clipped onto her pants. It was slightly damaged.
"Yeah. I'm sorry, but…I blew my cover."
The older one thought for a moment.
"I know. I know every detail. The reports are easy enough to obtain from the princess's desk. You told them your name."
The younger one's expression became frightful.
"I-I just, I felt so…bad. This guy, he's human, but he's never met another one of us."
The owner of the older voice reached out and placed a reassuring hand on the girl.
"It is alright, V. I understand. But, we cannot afford any more mistakes. They have already started investigating, and we have a ways to go before completing our objective. When the time is right, we can make contact."
The one known as V nodded.
"Alright. Thank you, Duo."
A nod came from the barely visible head of the woman as well. Suddenly, a rumbling sounded through the damp corridors of the dungeon.
"Speaking of mistakes…"
A nearby wall burst into pieces, revealing the towering figure of a man, carrying two large objects on his back. V turned and looked at him, an expression of shock on her face.
"Hex! What the heck is wrong with you? You can't just bash your way through everything!"
The man grumbled and set down the two massive barrels he'd been carrying in the corner of the room.
"Too bad, I was in a hurry."
A masculine scoff came from beside Duo.
"Nice going, you moron. You'll lead them right down here with all the noise you make."
The muscular man growled at the hidden being.
"Shut up, Quad! Or I'll plant your head into the floor."
The other man held up his hands.
"Whoa, chill, man!"
"Enough!"
Duo stamped her foot down, earning the room's attention.
"No more. We function together, that is a given. Nothing is gained if we argue."
The two men withdrew their attitudes and nodded.
"Right," they both responded.
Having settled the confrontation, Duo looked to the barrels of toxic waste.
"Just a few more resources left."
She swung around to face the last figure, who was quietly waiting in the shadows.
"How is it going on your end, Tres?"
The final being took a step forward.
"I'm getting closer, I should be able to reach it in a matter of days."
Duo nodded.
"Well done."
She turned to address her entire group.
"Alright. Let us get back to our posts. There may arise suspicion if we are gone too long."
The two on either side of her acknowledged, departing for their separate destinations. The others however, remained standing in front of their ally.
"What about me and Hex? What can we do?"
Duo pondered the question for only a moment, before looked down at the young girl.
"Do what you do best, V. You will act as our scout. Keep track of that human and his companions. If they get too close, inform me."
V nodded happily and was off, disappearing at breakneck speed. In the meantime, the juggernaut of a man gazed down at Duo.
"And me?"
The woman reached into another unknown pocket and held a rolled up parchment out to the man, who retrieved it.
"I managed to acquire this in addition to the data. It leads to the location of the Candy Kingdom's now buried toxic river. We still need more of the chemicals. But please, this time, do not be so arrogant as to assume your foes will fall without having the chance to grab valuable information from you."
Hex grunted in reply, accepting the terms.
"I know. I'm sorry, Duo."
The woman smiled, although it was unseen beneath the darkness.
"All is well, my friend. Sadly, as enlightened as I am, I fear I am no leader. That is a role to be filled by another."
The two beings stood in momentary silence, before Hex gave a final goodbye and 'carefully' broke down a nearby wall, following the instructions on the map. Duo sighed and walked over to a nearby pillar of stone. She gently pressed one of the bricks, which reacted, cranking a system of gears from somewhere nearby.
The result lowered an elevator-like platform, which the lady promptly walked onto. After pulling the lever within the housing, the lift was strung into the air, slowly raising Duo back up to the top of the dungeon, where she could exit and return to her infiltration.
As the top floor emerged, she activated the holographic modulator clipped to her beltline, reforming her appearance into the being she was impersonating. She stepped out of the dungeon, and back into the sugar coated kingdom.
A/N: More reviews! Awesome! Thank you! I see I've been making each chapter shorter. Don't worry, that'll change.