-Smoke and Mirrors-
Jake rubbed his sore cheek, where a dark bruise was now resting. The golem he and Ice King had dealt with earlier managed to suckerpunch him before the two could finish it off. The old man had a nice shiner as well, every once in a while complaining about his poor vision. Regardless of the cumbersome injuries, they proceeded onward through the maze, every so often solving a puzzle or freezing a swarm of poisonous scorpions.
It finally came to the point where they were almost too exhausted to use their powers, having not had time to rest ever since the sandworm attack back at the Candy Kingdom. As the duo reached a fork in the path, Jake looked to the scanner for guidance. Unfortunately, he found little besides static on its screen. Giving the device an irritating smack, the magical dog groaned.
"Aw, what? PB's junk is never this, well, junky. Darn thing gave out on us."
Ice King peeked over his buddy's shoulder, studying the screen as well. He frowned.
"What are you talking about? It says to go left."
Jake turned to his companion, skeptical.
"Dude, how could you be seeing through static?"
The wizard shook his head.
"It ain't staticy, man, it looks just fine."
Confused, the canine narrowed his eyes at the scanner, trying his best to figure out if he was missing something. He never got the chance however, as a familiar shout filled his ears.
"Lady!" he yelled, ditching the scanner and causing IK to run after him, snatching up the device.
The dog turned several corners, with the screaming growing louder in his mind every second. Desperate to find his honey, he ignored the countless monsters attempting to bash him, stretching on ahead while IK followed close behind, forced to fight and freeze everything the dog had completely disregarded. Jake just kept going, running through multiple random paths in search of the ranicorn.
Turning one last corner, he gasped in fright, seeing his girlfriend about to be impale by a closing set of massive spikes.
"Hold on! I'm coming!"
He stretched his body forward, pushing Lady out of the trap and allowing his own form to resist the spear-like jaws. He began struggling, while his teeth grinded together and sweat formed on his face. Just before he would've turned into swiss cheese, a chilling blast struck the jaws, freezing them open like a car jack.
Ice King landed on the ground, wiping some sweat from his own brow.
"Whew. That was close."
Jake wasn't paying attention, he was too busy examining his beloved.
"Lady, what the nuts are you doing out here?"
The ranicorn didn't answer, she just stared at him. Growing a bit nervous, the magic dog placed his hand on her cheek.
"Are you alright, sweetie?"
Suddenly, the horse-like being grinned. Quite the disturbing grin for that matter. Jake's face grew concerned.
"Uh..."
In an instant, Lady Ranicorn's mouth was thrown open, revealing both a razor sharp set of teeth and a deafening roar that threw saliva in Jake's face. The jaws clamped down on the magic dog, seconds before he found the sense to scream in fear. As he proceeded to run around with the large being stuck to his side, Ice King frantically tried aiming at the monstrous ranicorn.
As he did, he could have sworn he saw the creature flicker out of existence momentarily. Ignoring the phenomenon to save his buddy, the wizard fired an icy blast at the attached problem, freezing it solid. However, instead of thanking his friend for the assist, Jake began freaking out.
"Dude! You just zapped my girl!"
IK walked up to the dog and smacked him upside the face, then turned him to look at the frozen mass.
The ice block was empty.
Jake's eyes went wide.
"What the bjork?! Where is she?"
The wizard sighed.
"Jake, it was an illusion."
He pointed to the frozen spike trap.
"Meant to lure you into that thing."
The canine scratched his head as he made the connection.
"Oh, ok. Sorry."
He folded his arms.
"But what could've made it? There were no illusions in here last time me and Finn went in."
The two guys thought for a moment, then suddenly shot up their eyes and stared at each other.
"Fourth Arc."
The wall nearby suddenly exploded, forcing the two to cover their faces. When the dust from it settled, they looked back, shocked by the sight. A massive cyclops, carrying his tree trunk club, was towering before them, eyeing the tiny opposition hungrily. Instead of freaking out however, Jake just groaned and calmly walked up to the giant creature.
"Oh please, there weren't any of these guys last time."
IK frowned nervously.
"Hey, bro, that's not a-"
The old man trailed off, seeing as the yellow dog wasn't stopping.
He stretched his arm out long, then used it to latch onto a section of the wall that was intact. With a bit of struggle, he broke off the piece of stone, expecting it to fall right through the beast. He knew from the data Duo had provided that Fourth Arc's illusions couldn't truly interact with the environment.
Unfortunately, the mass smacked into the cyclops' shoulder, immediately angering him. Jake felt his body freeze up.
"Oops."
After letting out a roar, the creature raised its club, aiming to squash the petrified Jake below. Luckily, Ice King swooped in for the save, yet again, removing the dog from danger just as a rumble echoed from the impact of the enemy's weapon. The pair flew away from the monster, as it shook its huge fist at them. Jake looked up at his savior.
"How do you know when it's real?"
The wizard pointed to his peepers.
"If I focus enough, I can tell they're fake with my 'wizard eyes'."
The magic dog frowned.
"Then how come Fourth Arc kicked your butt last time?"
IK's face flushed, as he embarrassingly turned away. Jake rolled his eyes.
"He used princesses to beat you up, didn't he?"
The old man remained silent, answering the dog's question regardless of his lack of verbal reply. The two rounded a corner and landed, checking back to make sure their adversary wasn't following them.
"Now what?" Jake asked his elderly companion.
Ice King looked around, seeing if there were any more false images scattered along the path.
"Well, looks clear enough from here. Let's just keep going and hopefully not run into more psycho junk."
The pair nodded, but the second they turned around, they witnessed a nightmarish monster charging at them, causing both to scream and high-tail it in the opposite direction. As they both huffed from the intense running, Jake looked over to his companion.
"Real or fake!? Real or fake!?"
IK swung his neck to look back, seeing the beast gaining on them. His eyes frantically attempted to see through the creature, to no avail.
"Real, bro!"
The icy wizard shot his powers at the ground, creating an ice sheet that was sure to trip up the hideous threat behind them. Upon hearing a frightful struggle and the sounds of slipping, he and Jake turned around just in time to see the monster fall right on his jaw, disoriented and groaning with pain. The magic dog gave his friend a high-five.
"Whoo! Nice one, man."
Just as they were about to relax, the ground began to rumble again, drawing their attention to the other end of the maze path. Faces grew pale as a horde of poisonous scorpions, each about the size of a car, scurried along on six legs, preparing their claws for ripping and their tails for stinging. Jake's senses practically shut off. He passed out. Panicking, Ice King slung the poor guy over his shoulder and got into the air, avoiding collision with the oncoming creatures.
He was about to laugh and make fun of the dozens of deadly beasts, but stopped himself when they started piling on top of each other to gain height.
"Oh beans," the old man gulped.
He flew off as one of the scorpions slashed at him with an open claw, narrowly missing its target. IK rapidly turned corner after corner, desperate to find the last hedron so that the nightmare could be over. In the meantime, Jake was slowly regaining consciousness on the wizard's back.
"Huh...wha...What's goin' on?"
Ice King stopped at an intersection, trying to decide which way way best.
"Stay with me, bro, we're looking for the thingy."
The magical dog sniffed the air, having briefly caught the scent of something familiar.
"Hey, dude. I think I smell...human!"
Drawn by the utterance, IK took Jake off of his shoulder and held him out.
"That's perfect! Take us to him, buddy."
The canine nodded and took another whiff. He pointed to the right.
"That way!"
Ice King acknowledged and shot off in the indicated direction. Numerous traps were set off as they made their way. Luckily, a combination of the wizard's icy powers and Jake's stretchy, versatile limbs fended off all hazardous objects and contraptions, keeping the two safe until they finally homed in on the source of the smell.
IK set himself and his buddy on the ground, as they scanned the dead-end they'd arrived at for any sign of one of the Arcs. Surprisingly, there was one simply standing there, casually kicking dirt around as if waiting. He smiled as he saw the two Ooocians come closer.
"Ah, an audience, wonderful!" Fourth Arc exclaimed, giving a small round of applause.
Jake brandished his giant fists, while Ice King sparked his hands with his magic. Both didn't spare a second in firing their respective offensive techniques at the human, who gasped as his body was encased in ice. Helpless, the Arc watched as Jake's heavy massive hand smashed his icy prison into smithereens, astonishing the magic dog, as it appeared he had destroyed Fourth Arc along with it.
"Holy shmow! I didn't mean to kill him!"
It didn't take long before Simon suddenly let out a jagged yelp. When Jake turned to look, his eyes went wide.
"Oh my Grod!"
A sword was impaled straight through the old man's chest, who stared down at it with absolute fear and surprise. A sinister laugh wafted through the air. It was only then that Jake drew his attention to the space behind the wizard.
"Quad!"
Fourth Arc stood behind Ice King, with a nasty smirk across his face, setting his corrupted red eyes on the magical canine. Instead of furthering contact with the revealed human however, Jake turned back to his friend, as the Arc pulled out his wicked blade. The dog helped IK stand, as the poor guy groaned from apparent pain.
"Please, tell me that was an illusion."
His voice was desperate, obviously fearful for the potential damage done to Ice King's internal organs. Regrettably, the wizard frowned at him.
"Sorry, bro...it wasn't."
Jake could hardly believe his ears. In the meantime, Fourth Arc began cackling.
"Hahaha! That was too easy! At least now I can have some fun with you, dog, since there won't be any interruptions from your pal there."
His insane mannerism placed Jake on edge, especially when he looked back to Simon and saw the old man turning pale.
"Stay with me, man!" he shouted while shaking the wizard by his tunic.
It was no use. Ice King let out one last grunt, then collapsed face down on the ground, motionless. Jake couldn't move, he just stared at the lifeless form, eyes beginning to water. Fourth Arc chuckled as he dragged his sword along the ground, approaching the heartbroken Jake.
"You're next, doggie."
Too hurt to try defending himself, the yellow canine watched the tip of the weapon come closer to his heart. He was frozen in panic, afraid that the others may have perished in their fights as well. Fourth Arc smiled as he saw the despair in his foe's eyes, relishing the sadistic strategy he'd put in motion.
Suddenly, his entire body, excluding his head, was frozen in a thick sheet of ice.
Utterly dumbfounded, the human's eyes remained unblinking, as his pupils trembled and his neck struggled to look behind him. Jake, in the meantime, garnered a similar reaction, but his resulted in positive surprise rather than shock.
"Ice King!"
The old man stood at the Arc's back, his hand on the guy's shoulder and wearing a grin of satisfaction.
"You didn't really think I'd make it that easy for him, did you?"
Quad stuttered as Jake grew a massive grin and ran into the wizard, giving him a relieved embrace while laughing.
"How...how did you...do that?" the human stuttered.
IK and his friend separated, whereupon the wizard pointed to his supposed dead body. A second after observing it, the Arc watched it shatter, then melt away the pieces. He gasped again.
"Wh-what?!"
Ice King laughed victoriously.
"The file on me must have been pretty bad. I guess none if it mentioned I was a..."
He held up his arms in a stealthy combat pose.
"Ninja!"
Fourth Arc couldn't speak, too stunned. Luckily, Ice King explained it to him.
"See, right before me and my bro attacked you, I thought I saw you flicker a bit. Going with my gut, I used fridjitsu to summon an Ice Clone, followed by a little disappearing act with Thin Ice. After you revealed the fake illusion dude used to distract us, I waited for the chance to freeze you."
The human was baffled.
"Im-impossible...out-deceived by a loon!"
The old man laughed.
"Haha, yeah! I got you good, man."
IK then reached into a pocket of his tunic, pulling out an evil looking amulet with a slit pupil in its center. He placed the object against Fourth Arc's forehead, whereupon it began to glow.
"Now, let's get that psycho out of your head."
Quad could've screamed as the Demonic Wishing Eye bored into his mind, feeling out the man's thoughts and subconscious, hunting down the source of his corruption. Eventually, the amulet's power found Elodeus' grip, and the psychotic secondary personality that was currently overshadowing the Arc's actions and mannerisms. The essence shouted numerous curses as the bond to the evil wizard was shattered, freeing Quad not only from his control, but from the insanity of his other self.
Fourth Arc's head hung in unconsciousness as Ice King tucked his Wishing Eye safely away. The old man also defrosted the ice encasing the human, at which point Jake caught the man before he fell to the ground. The two Ooocians nervously waited for the Arc to awaken, hoping he hadn't been scrambled mentally by the trauma in his brain.
Opening his eyes slowly, Quad saw the pair let out a relieved sigh and smile.
"You ok there, dude?" Jake asked.
The red circle on the human had vanished, replaced with his white one. However, the light from it quickly began to fade, worrying his supporters.
"Hey, what's happening?" Ice King inquired with great concern.
Quad looked down at himself, seeing a fairly hollow body, literally. Initially stunned, he let out a sighful smirk.
"I guess it's my time."
He looked up at the two.
"I can't thank you enough. Even after all we did, all that I did, you still helped to free me."
Jake held his frown, remaining worried.
"Of course we did, it wasn't your fault for getting involved with that magic wacko."
He forced a smile.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, homie, we've all got hopes and dreams that will drive us to do crazy things."
The Arc hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
"Well, then I wish the best of luck in yours..."
He closed his eyes, almost completely gone by now. Jake grabbed his arms.
"No way, man! Don't quit on us! You hear me? You're a human like my bro, that should mean you're tough!"
Quad just held his smile, up until he broke down into shimmering particles that drifted off into the sky. Jake and Ice King stared with mixed expressions of helplessness and sorrow, cursing their inability to completely save the departed human. As the last of Fourth Arc disappeared into the heavens, Jake tightened his fists and stared with sharp eyes up at the dark clouds above.
Having left the world, the human's illusionary powers dissipated, allowing something laying against the wall to materialize. It was the final hedron. Acting quickly, Ice King fired his ice lightning at it, destroying the device with a single blow. The sky flickered violently, until a sharp snap rang through the air, signifying that HAVEN had at last been brought offline. IK looked back to Jake, who was still eyeing the heavens.
"Come on, man, we've got a monster to take down."
Jake's fifty-foot form stomped across the grasslands, heading along with Ice King for the most prominent sight in the entire Land of Ooo; the mysterious beacon of ominous light. Upon nearing the phenomenon, the two spotted a familiar figure, or rather two, observing the brightness from a safe distance.
"Prubs!"
The pink princess turned, along with the candy sphinx to her right. Jake shrunk down to his normal form, gazing at the being in awe.
"Is that...Stormo?" he questioned with disbelief.
As the sphinx squawked, Bubblegum patted his fur.
"Yes. I freed him along with Goliad to help fight off Duo."
At this, the magic dog panicked.
"You freed her too?! Are you nuts?!"
As if to answer him, a brief rumbling occurred from the ground beneath his feet, along with a massive shadow behind him. Shaking as he turned, Jake found the pink sphinx smiling at him.
"Eeek!"
He jumped into IK's arms, shivering in fright. Goliad just giggled.
"It's alright, Jake. I'm not going to hurt you."
The canine gulped as Ice King set him back on the ground.
"Wh-whatever you say, girl."
he turned to PB.
"So...Duo. she's...?"
The princess hung her head, nodding solemnly. The guys did the same.
"Dang wizard, I'm punching his false lights out!" Jake raged, as he pounded his fist into his palm.
Just then, two shapes from the sky landed beside the group, giving everyone a sigh of relief.
"Marcy! FP! You're ok!"
Jake ran to and hugged both girls with his stretchy arms, even ignoring the burning from Flame Princess for the moment. Ice King gave him some ice for the tender skin afterward, as Marceline got to her knee and let off someone who had been riding on her back. All the others were stunned.
"Marcy, who is this?" Peebles inquired.
The old man approached her and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, your highness. I am Aaros, the True Light."
Upon hearing his name, PB's eyes went wide.
"True Light? Are you...related in any way to Elodeus?"
The elder nodded while placing both hands on his cane.
"Indeed. I am the one who sealed him away, so many years ago."
The gang was absolutely stunned, gazing at the old man who had defeated the dire threat to their home and the planet. Peebles took a step towards the elder, looking like she was about to plead with him.
"Then...can you tell us how to stop him?"
Aaros smiled.
"I can. In fact, that is the only thing I can do. This body has grown frail and useless. This will be my final act before passing on to the dead world."
He looked over at the beacon.
"That body of light is Elodeus performing a spell to extinguish the planet's core. With the heat from inside gone out, life on the surface will wither and die, until the whole Earth shall remain as a lifeless rock."
The Ooocians were horrified by the premise, imagining how such a barren wasteland could come to fruition. PB turned to her sphinx daughter.
"Goliad, did you do as I asked?"
The candy being nodded.
"Yes, the kingdom's are preparing their best offenses to strike that light."
Pb nodded.
"Good. Thank you."
She turned to the others, suddenly concerned.
"Wait, where's-"
"I here!"
Everyone turned to the sound, seeing Susan lumbering over, holding her injured arm and looking like she could barely stand. The gang ran to help her, worried of any internal injuries. Luckily, with help from Goliad and Stormo's powers, she recovered swiftly and felt good as new, listening carefully to the plan.
Once everyone was on the same page, they broke out of their huddle and turned to the light, only to gasp as they saw a lone figure standing against the bright background. Readjusting to the illumination surrounding the newcomer, the group gazed with surprise and dread.
"Finn..."
The last Arc stood between them and Elodeus, glaring at the group with the complete instinct to eliminate. PB acted fast, pointing at the brainwashed human.
Goliad, Stormo! Restrain him!"
The two sphinxes produced their third eye, immediately sending out a pink aura that surrounded the boy, beginning to lift him off the ground. He struggled, grinding his teeth as he tried to break free. The candy sphinxes looked to be under pressure too, doing their best to focus. Suddenly, the human yelled and threw out his limbs, breaking out of the hold and forcing a backlash onto the two psychic creatures, shoving them back.
As the two recovered, Peebles bit her lip.
"This isn't good. He's too resistant to be contained."
Jake let out a breath, then stepped forward.
"Alright, guys, you go on ahead. I'll keep him busy."
Before he could stretch his fists huge, a glowing arm was held in front of him. Flame Princess stared adamantly at First Arc, with nothing but determination on her face.
"No. I've got this. You all go."
Jake frowned.
"But, FP, he's my brother, I should be the one to-"
The fire elemental switched her gaze to him, startling the dog with how hardened her resolve seemed to be, judging by facial expression alone. Still, he was concerned.
"But, even if you do find some way to stop him, then..."
The gang all had the same thought. Losing the other Arcs was already heartbreaking, but to lose their greatest friend... it would be devastating. FP closed her eyes.
"I know."
The others all gazed sadly at Finn, who was waiting patiently for their next move. Finally, they decided, preparing themselves for the run past the last obstacle between them and Elodeus. Jake took one last look at his brother, then at Flame Princess.
"If it comes to it, tell him I love him."
The fiery ruler held her stoic face.
"I would've asked you the same."
Jake briefly looked surprised, but then recovered, nodded, and grew back to his giant size, allowing PB, Susan, and Aaros to hop on, while the sphinxes went on foot and Marcy and Ice King took to the sky. Flame Princess took a deep breath, then ignited her fists. With unrelenting force, she launched a dozen large fireballs at Finn, who made no effort whatsoever to avoid them.
As he was concealed by the resulting smoke, everyone but the fiery princess bounded forward, getting past the human and making their way towards Elodeus' final location. When the obscuring fog lifted, Finn was, not surprisingly, unharmed. He briefly looked behind him at the fleeing group, then faced his single opponent, who was suddenly in front of him.
"I'm sorry about this, Finn."
She leveled him in the face with a blue fire-infused fist. Regrettably, all it did was injure her own knuckles. FP backed away, holding in the urge to grunt at the pain in her hand. Meanwhile, First Arc looked back at her with his unphased face.
"I'm not."
A/N: Yeah so, I hit some writer's block and that's why Friday didn't work out. Sorry about that.
Fiery Crusader: You won't have to wait long, this story is drawing to it's close.
DJ Rodriguez: I hope this was worth the wait too, not that I want to make you wait of course.
I am The7: It will be explained soon about his continued life-span.
TheMentalAdventurer: You'll get your answer next.
OMAC001: Well, not soon, but at least I'm still going.
Quiet Brilliance: You were right!