Chapter 11: Fate's Fetters

PB, as soon as Finn and Jake made their exit, absconded, leaving her workshop and setting off down the halls of the Candy Castle. As she passed through the door, Peppermint Butler stuck to her side, ending his watch of the hallway and entrance. "Where are we headed, Princess?" he asked.

"Gearing up for a little outing, Peppermint," she responded, aiming herself towards her bedroom. "I'm going to leave you here to watch things. And also, if you can, summon up some poltergeists to finish the weapons assembly. I think we'll be using the reflex sight in the end, mounted forward for cowitness with the iron sights, so move those files from the lab to the workshop. They're titled Trijicon, SRS."

"Of course, your highness. Will you be traveling light, or heavy?"

"Light," Bubblegum responded immediately, before adding. "Oh, but bring me my pulse pistol with the full belt rig, and my eye piece and control gauntlet, and send my skimmerbike to the subhangar. If anyone asks, I'm still in my workshop, and can't be interrupted."

Peppermint Butler nodded and changed course briskly, leaving PB to enter her bedroom to change into something more fit for the task ahead of her. She selected a pair of durable cargo pants and boots colored calm lavender, and donned a light, breathable sweater of plain gray, which she rolled up till it was just covering her elbows. As she was turning to leave, she saw her manservant striding down the hall to meet her with the requested item, a blocky pistol in a thigh holster, which then hung from a belt full of pouches. She lifted her arms to allow Peppermint Butler to click the belt closed around her, and then fastening the bottom of the holster around her thigh on her own. She then took the eyepiece, a monocular device that rested on the tops of her ears and brow like glasses but with only a single lens of pale blue. As she slipped on accompanying grey gauntlet, she pressed a button on the wrist pad, and then the eyepiece, which shimmered to life with a soft glow. This was her personal computer and HUD system, linked to her primary system back in the castle. It provided information recording and playback functions, allowed immediate access to her existing databanks, special vision functions such as several magnification settings, IR and thermal filters, and a datalink to her pulse pistol, among other tools and weapons she'd designed alongside the system.

She strode to the back of her bedroom, opening what seemed to be an empty pink cabinet and stepping inside. "If something develops, contact me on my secure channel," she gave as a final order, before pressing a hidden button, disguised as part of the back of the cabinet, seemless with the rest of the painted wood. The doors slammed shut before the entire thing fell through the floor, before returning a few seconds later.

Far down below, in a hidden cave, PB straddled her skimmerbike, a flat, dagger-shaped vehicle with a hazy, shimmering hoverfield beneath it and a trio of articulated thrust vectoring boosters in the back, studded with maneuvering jets on their sides and tops. The boosters burned at a low idle, the compact fusion plant at its heart fully fueled and humming at the ready. The petals of the thrust vectoring surfaces and the aerodynamic controls of the forward section flexed responsively as she took the controls. As the bike's computer linked with her eyepiece and brought up the appropriate heads up display, she manipulated the blink-controls, winking away the parking mode, before gunning the throttle and shooting down the long launchway. She broke ground through a hidden door many miles past the city walls, completing her secret trip out of the city. PB increased altitude to about 25 meters before shooting forward at cruising velocity, her mind on the several errands she had out and about.

As Princess Bubblegum shot off in one direction, Finn and Jake made their way in the other, boy astride his loyal hound, crossing the distance in long, skyscraper strides. Finn kept careful watch of the space below them; Jake had an excellent vantage point of many far away sights, but his underbelly was vulnerable this high up. If someone tripped him, it would be a long way down, so Finn made sure that their path was clear.

"So first Marcie, then PB, and now FP," Jake began. "Are you makin' the rounds on your ladyfriends or somethin'?"

"Mmmmno, not really," Finn responded. "Just kinda played out that way, you know?"

"Yeah, I gotcha. But before we meet 'er, lemme know. You ain't still all hearthurt about FP, are ya?"

"Pbthtbthbt…" Finn blew, voicing how much he thought about that. "Good Glob, no. Bygones, bromite; me and FP are on a strict hero-princess professionalism-type deal. Friendly, open, but business-based."

It was still a valid question. Finn hadn't handled losing his first girlfriend well, and it'd made things awkward in years past. That wasn't surprising to Jake, who'd seen the whole thing as a learning experience that lil' bro would've gone through sooner or later, one way or the other, but it still had made past correspondences awkward. "That's good to hear, Finn," Jake said. "That stuff used to eat on ya somethin' fierce."

Finn rolled his eyes as much at his younger self as at Jake's comments, but his exasperation was tinged with a brotherly urge; why are you now so concretely not interested in hottie-hot-hot Flame Princess? It dug into his mind like a thorn in the foot that you stepped on repeatedly before realizing what it was. Soon as it was there, it wouldn't let him go until he pulled it out. Finn could never hide anything from Jake, because bros were bros. That'd always been how it was. "Well," he began haltingly. "I've just had my eyes… Elsewhere."

Jake stretch-swiveled his face around, fixing a smugly amused face on his little bro. "Oh, really?" he asked. "And might I ask who the new crush is? Ooh, ooh, wait! Lemme guess…" Jake paused, looking aside before turning back to Finn. "Nope, I got nothing."

The Last Human lasted about seven seconds under Jake's eager, expectant expression. "It's…" He chewed the word around. "…Marceline."

In an instant, their forward motion ceased, Jake relaxing his stretched limbs till they stood at normal height. "What?" Jake asked, dropping the word hard like a heavy cinderblock. "Stop pullin' my leg, Finn. That ain't funny, and it ain't bro-like."

Finn sighed, scratching the back of his head, eyes on the ground. "I'm not pullin' your leg buddy. Dead serious."

He had expected his bro-dog to be mad, but the expression on Jake's face became more one of quiet, concerned distress. "Bro-man, I know I don't have to tell you…"

"Yeah, I know," the boy said glumly, kicking at a rock as some critter in the trees caught his eye. "It's a dead end. Honestly, I dunno how it even happened. Kinda got me all sneaky-sneak."

Jake's frown deepened as he laid an arm over Finn's shoulder, pulling him close. "I'm sorry, buddy," he said quietly. "I know you might not be up for hearin' it, but you gotta know that life runs on luck, and luck comes in runs. I promise, you'll see your day."

Finn returned the hug snugly. "Thanks, bro-dog," he said. "That actually really helps."

"Hey, listen here," Jake continued, letting Finn climb back on his back so they could get going again. "When we get back to the Tree House, I've got somethin' that'll cheer you right up, guaranteed."

"Hm, guaranteed?" That word sounded nice in the boy's head. "Sounds radical. What is it?"

Jake cast a mischievous grin over his shoulder. "It's a surpriiise…" He insisted. Finn just chuckled, going back to watching the ground pass below them.

As PB soared through the air towards her first objective, she ran through the coming conversation in her mind, and frustratingly so. There were too many variables; too much that could have been said, too much that she couldn't verify. The damage done could be immense, it could be nonexistent. Until she got more info, it was impossible to say.

Normally, Bonnibel would tell her spy networks know what she was listening for and simply continue working, but that wouldn't do here, the intel was too obscure, and too sensitive. There'd been a breach of security involving info of the most dangerous, destructive kind. This breach needed to be sealed, personally, no matter the cost or effort.

"Here we are," she said to herself, bringing the skimmerbike in. "The easy part…"

The noise had given her away very early, which was surprising; the enhanced hearing was uncanny. "Bubblegum?" Marceline said from within the shadows at the lip of her cave. "What're you doing here? It's not like you to just show up without calling first… And what's all the firepower?"

"Marceline, are you aware who Thoros actually is?"

The question hit the Vampire Queen like a left hook of surprise. "Wow, word spreads quick, I guess. He's a dude out of Ash's journal. Forge Titan, awesome custom guitar, rides around in a giant robosuit… You know, you still haven't told me why you're here. Just a little rude, you know?" Marcie seemed unamused.

Bubblegum pinched her brow, sighing with exasperation before laying a hand on her friend's shoulder. "He's from before, Marceline. Before. He's the craftsman, the one who they made to build all of their works."

"No," Marceline said in disbelief. "No flobbin' way… And I… Urgh, Grod damn it!"

"Yeah, exactly. So I need to know exactly what Thoros said to Finn. All of it." She tapped her foot impatiently. "And quickly, because I've gotta talk to Thoros after."

"I… I don't know!" Marceline growled, wracking her brain. "I don't think I was there, I… I must have left the room while they were talking. I'm so sorry Bonnie, I didn't know!"

PB made a zipping motion. "Not a word, Marcie. You said it yourself, you didn't know." She turned, jogging off to her waiting skimmerbike. "I gotta run, but just don't blame yourself! I'll phone in how it goes!"

Leaping astride her skimmerbike, the pink princess gunned the throttle and sped away, pushing hard with the boosters as the sun edged closer to the horizon.

"Man, this is a looooooong trip," Finn whined, watching the glow of the approaching sunset grow on the line of the horizon. "I honestly never really noticed before."

"Yeah, I'll bet you used to be a lot more excited to make it," Jake pointed out, which Finn confirmed with a mild grunt and a nod of his head. The human boy opened his mouth to respond verbally, but Jake had to cut him off. "Hold that thought, beboy. Movement at… 900ish meters, two o' clock."

"Hm. Fire?" Finn fished a telescope out of his bag, extending it and fiddling with the focus dial. Off in the distance, familiar gouts of hot gas passed between collections of roiling shapes. "Yep, fire. 9/10, it's our girl." A grim energy came about them, dark and dirty, but also flecked through with a passionate love of the imminent fight.

"It's a long way to walk," Jake said. "How's about a little ballistic delivery?"

Finn grinned mischievously. "Sounds like a plan, man; go ahead and toss me."

Jake offered Finn a hand at the end of a long arm, which he took firmly as his bro-dog began to swing backwards, winding up a long ways as he stood upright on his stiltlike perch. "Alleyoooop!" He called, as his arm whipped forward, his bro-man Finn at the end, reaching breakneck velocity. At the apex of the swing, Jake shrank dramatically to the size of a mouse, letting Finn's momentum carry the both of them on a long, arcing trajectory.

The scene in the distance quickly became near, wind whipping past the human missile as it flew. "Now!" Finn commanded, prompting Jake to let himself stretch, whistling wind catching him as his body flattened into a parachute, saving them from a splattering end as they drifted over the target zone.

Finn released his grip on his bro's hand, falling the last meters with a battlecry on his lips. "You get to be my new sword's test dummy, dummy!" he roared, unsheathing his pale blade before sheathing it again in the body of his selected foe; it was a wide, squat thing, a round body of dull metal supported on four skittering legs with a long, thin, nozzle-ended projection jutting from its face. The wound the Last Human had struck spat sparks as the blade was withdrawn, and Finn leapt down from its bulk, eyeing his next target. His eyes flicked barely to he left as his peripheral vison scouted a telltale trail of fire zip across the ground, but he didn't have time to register it fully.

The next spider robo he approached swung its long nose around, but Finn was already within its arc, slicing away with his pale blade. The long snout fell to the dirt as Finn whipped the blade through its arc, flowing energy through a series of strikes that picked apart the jointed legs before plunging through the red glowing strip that split the foe's dull surface, what he assumed was an eye. The thrust produced results, stealing his foe's coordination, so Finn followed with two more before dancing off again.

There was a flash and a streak of blue past Finn's face, and as he turned to respond he faced down a glowing muzzle at the end of the pointing barrel borne by another of the spider drones. Finn growled in frustration and anticipation, too far to attack immediately, cursing the distance he needed to cover, but he didn't have time to take a step in any direction before a searing ray ran the bot through, melting a dripping hole through the dull hull. A red and orange shape flashed passed him in a streak, sprouting upwards in a flare of heat as his fiery old friend formed behind him. "Careful Finn, those bolts are crazy strong!"

"Heh, thanks for the save," he responded, not having the time to face his friend. "You take 'em far, I'll take 'em short?"

"Hehe, just like old times."

They turned and spun around each other then, coordinating their facings so that any of the drones that stood afar aiming its cannon was met with searing lances of orange, and any that came near with a swinging barrel or clawed foot was cut down by the whickering edge, its smooth metal unmarred no matter how deep Finn cut. Off to the side, Finn spied Jake, shifting rapidly between large and small sizes as he struck long, heavy blows while evading shots from the drones. "We've gotta back up my bro!" he shouted above the din of the fight.

FP shook her head, though Finn didn't see it. "Don't worry," she insisted. "My bodyguard has him."

The four of them, Finn, Jake, FP, and the unnamed guardian, quickly reduced the rest of the drones to scrap, leaving the clearing of the fight eerily still and silent. "Jake!" the Last Human called. "You good bro-dog?"

"Just peachy," the hound replied, grinning wide without a scratch on him. "Thanks to this buddy of FP's."

The dude in question was a flame-person like FP, clad in greaves on his shins, segmented breastplate and pauldrons, and manica of segmented armor that reached down his arms like long sleeves, all made of dull blackish metal and bearing designs like roiling tongues of flame. He planted the buttcap of a long spear with a broad double-edged head like a short sword or dagger, passing the back of his hand along his jaw. "Princess," he said, seemingly ignoring both Jake's thanks and Finn entirely as he moved to FP's side. His voice had a blunt tension to it, like poorly-hidden anger. "Are you unharmed?"

"Completely," Flame Princess responded. "Thanks to my old friends, Finn and Jake. Boys, this is Guy, my bodyguard and personal aide."

The two waved friendlylike, with Finn adding a warm "Howdy", but Guy seemed unamused. "Thank you, Finn and Jake, for protecting Flame Princess while I was… Diverted. Now, I believe we should be off. The sooner Princess Bubblegum is aware of the things that lurk within her own sphere, the better." Guy turned, starting off.

"Sheesh," Jake whined before lowering his voice. "For a guy made of fire, he's awfully cold…"

Far off in the Ice Kingdom, in a deep, warm cave, strife bubbled to a head as the strife Finn and Jake faced ended.

With a percussive thoom-clap , blue bolts spat from the muzzle of Bonnibel's pulse pistol, blasting forgelings apart as the sheer heat of the blasts rendered them to molten splashes. She advanced slowly, calmly, the weapon held out in a steady two-handed grip, dealing out double and triple taps with practiced precision and experienced discipline. She'd been fighting since she arrived, and her power pack was still 73% full. "Thoros, this is pointless!" she hollered. "Just come on out so we can talk!"

Ranks of forgelings parted as the wizened master came forth. "We could have had this conference in its time if you had been content to simply wait, though I see you've been more interested in slaying my children…"

"Oh, don't give me that molasses," PB said with a dark chuckle. "For one, I know that you can remake them as many times as you like, and for two, this is too important to delay for anything."

Thoros was sour; it'd been his reading time. "Yes yes, of course. Now what is it you need from me, candy witch?"

Bubblegum didn't respond to that jab; there was no point while there was business to be done. "Finn," she said. "Finn the Human. He was here, and you two spoke; what was said? And don't even think about lying, or I won't stop at vaping your minions."

Thoros sighed, unimpressed at the Princess's bluster, but also seeing his lack of other options. "I said nothing to him, nothing that violates our agreement."

"Nothing? You expect me to believe you said nothing to your rightful master?"

"Yes, nothing!" Thoros spat spitefully. "He inquired, and I responded in the vaguest terms I could while sending him on his way."

PB holstered her pulse pistol, crossing her arms over her chest. "But you gave him the blade," she stated bluntly.

"How could I not? As you say, it is his birthright, as am I; I could not resist, but I did withhold all I could, as per our agreement, this I insist!" Thoros turned away from the princess, sighing heavily. "I don't see why you shelter him like this. I never have. You know that he is the son of his father, and of his people. He will need to know all I can tell him and more, sooner before later. Fate cannot be fought, or you will find all you have worked to build these long years destroyed like kindling before a firestorm. This too, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Bonnie said, turning to leave. "But when it does happen, it'll happen when he is ready. That's always been my pitch, you know that." She took long strides away, before pausing to mutter one more phrase.

"Soon, Thoros," she said. "Soon."