-Semi Struggle-
The barren wastes of the badlands provided a perfect ground setting against the black skies of Ooo, regardless of how overall depressing the image was. Worse was the negative impact it was having on everyone's integrity. As Jake stomped through the area, fifty feet tall with Susan upon his back, the magical dog couldn't help but get a feeling of a premonition for the end of the world.
The Earth looked dead in this part of the continent, as it soon would look all over, if Elodeus wasn't stopped. Shaking away the twinge of fear, he continued along, bringing them closer to the congressional hall, located high atop a lone mountain. Under normal circumstances it served as the house for the Grand Meeting of Ooo Royalty, or perhaps the Annual Back Rubbing Ceremony. Today, it was the housing of the third hedron, positioned on the roof.
Ice King volunteered to fly up and grab it, as the remaining trio finally reached the base of the mountain. As quick as he could, the wizard flew himself up to the device and attempted to remove it. Unfortunately, the old guy wasn't particularly strong. After trying for a few minutes at pulling, IK gave up and flew behind the hedron, placing his back against it and grunting as he put his best effort into pushing the object.
Slowly, the server scraped against the roof, gradually being nudged closer to the edge. Just as Ice King was about to pass out from the extensive activity, he fell backwards, having lost the support of the hedron, which was now plummeting downward. The ice wizard quickly flipped onto his hands and knees, watching the device fall. It made an awful sounding smash upon impacting the side of the mountain, before suffering numerous additional hits as it made its way to the ground.
At long last, gravity finished its job, causing a cloud of dust to shoot into the air as it completed the hedron's drop to earth. When the floating debris at last subsided, the three gazed at the twisted and broken scraps of the node, which lay in a mangled pile of metal and wires. Next, the sky flickered momentarily, signifying HAVEN's continued weakening.
Ice King hopped into the air, performing a few flips.
"Whoo! One more to go! We're awesome!"
He flew back down to the others, still celebrating. Jake resumed walking, now heading for the location of the last hedron. Along the way, he ducked underneath the extremely well protected path to the hall, which Cinnamon Bun had previously used to deliver the royal tarts. However, as soon as the yellow canine was beneath the suspended walkway, a clang was heard, along with a metallic groaning.
Jake looked up, just in time to see the path collapsing on him.
"Ah! Watch out!" IK shouted, firing his ice magic at the falling pieces.
He managed to stop the masses just in time, preventing a most painful squishing.
"Whew, nice save, dude," Jake thanked the old man.
IK was about to reply, but was interrupted as an icy smash was heard, followed by the continued fall of the path section. Panicking, Jake quickly switched forms into a ball-like shape, protecting Susan inside as he bounced himself away from the hazard. The ground shook as the walkway fell to the dirt, ruining the safety of the promenade. Jake flattened into what looked like a dog pancake, sweating from the quick act he was forced to perform.
Meanwhile, Susan had stepped off of the two-dimensional dog, narrowing her eyes at the massive dust cloud obscuring the path that had just been destroyed. Ice King made his way over, noticing the woman's suspicion.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
The human pointed firmly to the dust mass, which began to settle and reveal the damages to the path. More importantly, it revealed a glowing crimson circle floating within. IK grew scared and hid behind Susan, shaking. Jake meanwhile, reformed into his normal shape and joined the others in staring at the approaching threat.
"Uh oh."
Out of the dust, Sixth Arc stepped out, carrying a massive section of the steel beams that made up the structure he'd just tried bringing down on the group. With one swift motion, he hurled the metal, which forced everyone to dodge out of the way, falling to the ground as the impact of the twisted steel scraped violently against the badlands' rough surface.
The Arc kept at it, grabbing nearby chunks of glass, metal, and rock that would easily crush any of the three Ooocians. They repeatedly avoided each strike, only to slowly become more exhausted. Ice King tried forming an ice shield to protect himself, but this only provoked Sixth Arc into charging and bringing a fist to the chilled material, shattering it effortlessly.
The wizard yelped and fell back, covering his face as the human came upon him. Luckily, the super powered being was shoved aside by his sister, falling to the dirt himself and grunting from the hit. Susan glanced at IK as he lay shocked.
"Go! I hold him back!"
Jake's stretchy arm wrapped itself around the old man's waist before he could reply, tugging the wizard onto the dog's back, which was once again stretched into large proportions.
"Kick his butt, Susie, you've done it before!"
With that, Jake charged into the distance, heading for their final target. The woman nodded towards them, then redirected her attention to the Arc, who had gotten back to his feet, scoffing.
"Maybe, but last time, I was held back by emotion."
He raised his fists. Susan did the same, slightly discouraged by the truth of the matter. With Elodeus warping his mind, Sixth Arc wouldn't hold back; and he was throwing objects that she couldn't even pick up. However, she was strong enough to knock him out with a single well-placed punch to the face. If she could just get the right opening, the fight would be over, and perhaps the hit would push the wizard's mind control out of him.
With hope in her heart, Susan took the first move, running directly at the Arc, as he followed suite.
Peebles stood carefully as the gumball guardian approached the rim of her kingdom, looking out over the horizon that was the grasslands. In the distance, she could clearly make out the strange beacon of energy pinpointing Elodues' location. Why the wizard hadn't moved from his original landing point, she had no idea. But it definitely worried her greatly.
What's your game, you loonatic?
She tightened her free hand into a fist, while the other pressed harder against the gumball guardian's head. Its twin stomped over a moment later, facing the same direction and waiting for an order. PB gazed carefully at the anomaly, desperately contemplating how to stop the vile wizard from completing his destruction of the planet.
"Alright, you two, stand by until I give an order. For all we know, that phenomenon could be a shield of sorts. I'm ruling out long-range strikes until I'm sure about his defenses."
The two guardians acknowledged the command, before Peebles was suddenly surrounded by a pink aura and lifted off of the robot's shoulder. She was gently placed down on an undamaged section of the kingdom's wall, whereupon two figures approached her.
"What about us?" Goliad asked.
The candy sphinxes had awoken from their coma, but were still recovering the majority of their psychic abilities. Peebles walked up to the pink being and placed a hand on her paw.
"I don't want you two to strain yourselves. You're still recovering from the fight."
Stormo squawked, his heroic genes disagreeing with the monarch. PB frowned and did some thinking, staring at the ground.
"Well, I suppose if you really wish to help..."
The sphinxes nodded.
"Alright. It's time to let the rest of Ooo know what's happening. This is their home too, after all."
She looked up to the pink creature.
"Goliad, can you visit the other kingdoms and warn them? I'm sure most of them are flipping out from the black sky. You know how panicky the other princesses can be."
The sphinx nodded.
"Yes. I can do that."
Bubblegum smiled.
"Thank you."
Upon finishing the conversation, Goliad bounded over the wall, landing cleanly on the ground outside and dashing away through the cotton candy forest. Once the pink cat was gone, Peebles walked over to Stormo and climbed onto his back. Situated, she patted the heroic being on his neck.
"Stormo, I need you to take me to that anomaly. We need to analyze that butt's activities so that once we regroup, there might be a chance to find a weakness."
The sphinx squawked, then leapt over the wall just like his sibling had. Immediately upon landing, he ran off in the direction of the beacon of ominous light, with his creator growing more nervous with each closing step.
Jake and Ice King quickly made it to their final destination: the Labyrinth. Both groaned as they spotted the sign that was still posted outside the entrance: NO CHEATING OR YOU DIE. Regrettably, the final hedron was deep within the maze, guarded by the multitude of deadly creatures, traps, and tricks it was packed full of.
"Glob dang it. This'll take forever!" Jake shouted, remembering the experience of his and Finn's previous trek through the deadly construct.
IK scratched his head.
"Well, how'd you do it the first time?"
Jake looked over to the stump he'd used previously to latch his legs and stretch through the length of the maze.
"I kinda... almost... died."
A beep caught his attention. He took out PB's scanner, seeing that it still flashed the hedron's location.
"Wait a minute, we can just use this thing! It'll take us right to the dumb computer and we can smash it."
He excitedly ran into the entrance, with Ice King close behind. Once the two turned a corner, the labyrinth's front was quiet and barren once more.
But only for a moment.
A single lone figure crunched the dirt beneath his shoes, before stopping in front of the towering walls and letting out a smirk. The place was perfect for him. Such an environment would suit his desired method of toying with his victims. Especially now, with his insane personality completely free of the suppressive drugs. As a hard chuckle escaped his mouth, the red circle on his chest brightened, signifying that his master was laughing as well. Fourth Arc casually strolled into the maze, beginning to conjure and manipulate the horrifying monsters and perils inside.
Susan spat another glob of blood out of her mouth, readjusted her aching jaw, and shook her head to remove the dizziness. Sixth Arc didn't give her the chance. With one quick swoop, he was right in front of her, leveling the girl right in her stomach with a strong punch. She grunted as the breath was knocked out of her, stumbling back and allowing the Arc to kick her to the ground.
The woman wouldn't give up, getting back to her feet and raising her fists once more. It wasn't like the fight was completely against her. Sixth Arc had numerous bruises and bumps all over his face, being attempts by his sister to knock some sense into him. Sadly, none met the perfect mark to remove his consciousness, resulting in a drawn out and very tiring engagement.
Both humans were panting heavily, shaking, and looking like they were about to collapse. Eventually, Susan tried for another charge, but this time, she used a strategy she'd learned by watching Finn. Having figured out Hex's technique of fighting, the woman could now adapt her own attacks to take advantage of the man's weak spots. Namely of these, was the Arc's tendency to aim for the upper body, always hoping for a critical strike to down his opponent.
But Susan had the upper hand here. When first meeting Finn and Jake, she had used a very primitive form of combat, utilizing pure strength to take out obstacles. She tended to aim low, tackling or grasping in order to fight. Seeing as, for once, she was facing someone as tall as she was, there was a use in her previous style.
At the last possible moment before Sixth Arc brought his fist forward, Susan pounced, grabbing the man's legs and stunning him to the point that she dragged him down like a rag doll. Once both were grounded, Susie kept up the streak and brought her elbow down on the Arc's midsection, earning a pained shout from him. This was followed by a body slam.
Hex, unaccustomed to such a disorganized pattern of attack, was unable to adapt to the various hits he was receiving. Even with his enormous strength, his body was no more resistant than his opponent. What he wouldn't give for First Arc's power at that moment. His limbs wouldn't respond, seeing as Susan was hitting him in all the right places to permanently keep him on the ground.
Spotting the final opportunity, she brought her fist around in a downward swing, gaining all the momentum she could. When the intended hit finally connected, the ground beneath Sixth Arc's head practically formed a crater. The human went limp, initially startling Susan and causing her to grab the man's shoulders and shake.
"Brother!" her worried voice sounded.
A groan came from the poor guy, as his eyes fluttered open. They were normal colored. A second later, the red circle on his chest shattered, leaving behind his own purple one. Susan next bear hugged the man, who instantly yelped from the pain. His sister immediately stopped and gave him a frown.
"Sorry."
Hex attempted to smile.
"It's alright. It won't matter anyway."
The woman was confused.
"What you mean?"
Sixth Arc motioned towards his body. Susie looked him over, gasping as she saw his legs and arms beginning to phase out.
"What happening!?" she cried out, looking desperately into her brother's eyes.
He just held his smile.
"I'm the one who's sorry, sis. I have to go now."
Susan's eyes shimmered as they became wet.
"W-why?"
The Arc sighed.
"When you beat me, Elodeus found no reason to keep me around. He's taking back his power, which apparently means...I leave."
Tears fell from the woman's ducts, splashing onto her sibling's chest as it faded away. With his last source of solidity, Hex reached up and wiped away the flowing salty liquid from his sister's cheeks.
"Hey now, don't cry."
His smile, Susan thought, was stronger than his body ever could be. Even as he drifted away, his spirit never ceased to stop caring for his long-lost family.
"I know about the Hyooman's, Susan. You lead them, you protect them. Even when I'm gone, you'll still have a family. A big one at that."
The man chuckled, as his face finally dissipated.
"Goodbye, sis, I love you."
Susie closed her eyes, squeezing out the last of her pain. Her sibling was gone, lost again to who knows where.
"I...love you too, brother."
Flame Princess was knelt by the ashes of her once beautiful home, grabbing a handful of the cinders and letting them seep through her glowing fingers. Throughout the battle with the puppeteered Third Arc, the 'planted' aluminum flower had held strong, as if a true rooted piece of life buried in the rich soil. A small puddle of hardened lava was beside the fire elemental, resulting from her final grieving for the brave girl she'd been forced to fight earlier.
Suddenly, a whooshing sound from behind gathered her attention. Turning, she found Marceline landing gently on the ground. Although, the vampire did cringe a bit from her injuries. FP ran to help, supporting the girl.
"Are you ok?" she asked with concern.
Marcy was grinding her teeth, trying to get out of the fire elemental's hold. Flame Princess realized the problem, and backed away.
"Sorry."
The dark-haired girl grinned, dismissing the minor burns.
"Na, it's fine. Besides, I'm plenty tough to handle a bit of fire."
FP then frowned, looking despairingly at the vampire.
"V...did she..."
Marceline frowned back, nodding once. Both girls hung their heads, giving a moment of silence to the fallen humans.
"It seems I am too late. How pitiful of me."
The two ladies instantly reacted, swinging around and arming themselves with bass and flames.
"Who are you?!" Marcy shouted with a glare.
Between the two girls and the newcomer was the bed of ashes, a natural barrier to stop the mysterious one from coming any closer. Instead, he held up his only free hand, as the other was occupied with a cane.
"Please. I mean you no harm."
His voice was incredibly aged and rough, suggesting he was quite old indeed. This was confirmed when he removed his hood, revealing a white-haired elder with pale blue skin and an emerald embedded in his forehead. Now that Marcy got a good look at him, she noticed his cloak.
"What are you doing here? You're just some wizard."
The old man chuckled weakly, beginning to walk around the ash pile towards the two girls.
"Correct, but, a wizard who has been waiting a long time for just such a disaster as the one that's been unleashed."
This certainly confused the ladies.
"What do you mean?" FP inquired.
The wizard stopped as he came within a few feet of them. He smiled humbly, then reached up and took hold of the green gem in his forehead. With one motion, he plucked it off. A second later, his skin's tone faded away, leaving a pale peach complexion. The change definitely startled Flame Princess and Marcy, who knew of only one species to compare the elder's appearance to.
"Are you...human?"
The old man held his grin, then nodded.
"Indeed. One who has grown very tired of having to keep himself alive all this time."
He knelt down to the ashes, gazing thoughtfully at the tinfoil rose FP had planted. The fire elemental tilted her head curious.
"But, why?"
The wizard looked back up to the two girls.
"I was hoping that I would have the chance to end this madness for good, before I passed on."
Marceline's eyes went wide, as she pieced together what the aged fellow was getting at.
"Wait, could you be...the wizard who stopped Elodeus?"
Instead of answering right away, the magical user held out his brittle hand to the flower, gently making a caressing motion over it without actually touching the delicate object. Suddenly, it twitched, shocking Flame Princess and Marceline. Then, the silvery material expanded, sending out thin roots that dug into the soil for real. Once secure, the flower fully bloomed, revealing a real, pollen-infused center than was a brilliant orange in color.
While the pair of ladies were frozen in shock, the wizard stood back up and faced them fully.
"I am. My name is Aaros, the True Light."
A/N: Well, getting back to the normal schedule. Hoping that Friday will go smoothly.
DJ Rodriguez: Cooperation is a big theme here, I'm glad it's being noticed.
Adventureinoooh: You'll find out very soon.
Fiery Crusader: Very much worse, and I aim to truly dramatize the final act.
Himaru: Sweet, it's great when a character is connectable. Happy to hear it!
OMAC001: Not quite next, but getting there.
TheMentalAdventurer: Totally, I thought hard about how to develop the humans. It's an interesting effect that certain readings can have.