A/N: So, this chapter took FOREVER to get up. My sincerest apologies for the delay; I was dealing with some pretty major writer's block. Also, as I'm sure most of you are aware, this story would have had to occur some time before Season 6, given the status of certain limbs of certain characters. In addition, certain parts of the story are not not entirely canon, so I hope you can look past that and continue to enjoy the story! Thank you again for reading, and I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!
"MARCELINE!" Finn yelled, but she continued to stare off into the distance, like she was in some sort of weird dream. "Now would be a really good time to, you know, help us, and stuff…I guess." She kept frozen in place. With a frustrated grunt, Finn looked away from the vampire queen; the group of mutants that had been advancing was almost at their camp. With or without Marceline's help, the battle was about to begin. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the melee.
"What's the deal with Marcy?" Jake asked nervously, not taking his eyes off of the line of monsters. "We could really use her vampire powers right about now."
"I have no idea, man," Finn responded, "whatever it is, it's messing with her big time."
"Yeah well she picked a great time to zone out like that," Jake muttered. "Looks like it's just the two of us versus all of them."
"Good thing we're two radical guys, then," Finn smiled. Whether or not she was actually going to fight, Marceline had been right before: As long as they were on a mission, he couldn't let anything stop them.
Jake, however, didn't seem convinced. "I don't know man, maybe we should think-"
"WE'RE RADICAL GUYS!" Finn ignored his brother and charged headlong into the fray; thinking wasn't going to keep the mutants from reaching the camp site. The mutants, which had moved to within a few yards, were apparently caught off guard by this sudden assault. Before any of them could react, Finn was in the middle of the group, his leaf blade glinting dimly in the moonlight as it commenced its deadly dance. Within moments, three of the enemy had been felled by deep slashes across their abdomens. The mutants let loose a dull moan as their strange green blood sprayed out from their wounds.
This stuff smells like farts, Finn thought as he whirled around to guard his backside. Why couldn't I be fighting something that smells better when it dies? A claw from one of the monsters began to descend upon him, but he deftly parried it, following the move with a fatal stab. Despite the smell, Finn could feel his blood rising with excitement; he was in his element, and it looked like the training with Rattleballs was really starting to come in handy.
"Finn!" Finn heard Jake's voice as he saw his brother's oversized fist knock a group of mutants on their backside. Taking advantage of the break in the throng, the dog moved in towards Finn. "You ok, bro?"
"Yeah," Finn replied, taking a moment to yank his sword out of the mutant carcass, "I think we can take these guys."
"Don't get overconfident, dude," Jake responded warily, "we still have a bunch of them to take care of."
Finn sized up the situation. By his count, there were about fourteen mutants still standing, all of which had closed into a circle around he and Jake. Fortunately, it didn't look like any of them had made for the candy crew, though the crew didn't seem to notice they were being attacked in the first place. In fact, they didn't seem to notice anything at all.
What the math is up with these guys? Finn wondered. If these guys have Peebles' DNA, shouldn't they be smarter than that?"
Maybe it was a moment of clarity, or maybe the adrenaline was driving more thoughts through his head than he was used to dealing with, but watching the crew carry on completely oblivious made Finn think about all the other weird stuff that had been going on. He was used to danger, but Bubblegum hadn't really prepared them like she normally did, not to mention the fact that she had been acting really off that day. In fact, she looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep in days last time he talked with her on the communication crystal. On top of all that, there was zombie James, and this other pack of mutants, and now Marceline was all messed up and junk.
Is PB keeping something from me? Finn shook his head. No, I'm sure she had no idea this would happen. She would never-AAAGGGGHHHH!
Finn's thoughts were cut short as a blinding pain shot across his back. He could feel a damp pool of blood begin to drip through his shirt. Instinctively, he whipped his body around and answered the blow with a powerful upward slash. Before he even had time to size up his attacker, the foe had fallen motionless on its back. In the moment's pause that followed, the pain seemed to intensify; wincing, Finn fell to one knee.
"Dude, why'd you zone out like that?" Jake had returned to Finn's side, apparently having felled a few more mutants. "You could have been killed!"
"It…it's nothing." Finn forced a smile, "I just couldn't figure out why those colony guys don't seem to even care that they're in danger."
"Trust me, I know they're weird, but right now I think we should worry about ourselves."
As he spoke, Finn couldn't help but notice that Jake wasn't in much better shape; he was covered in bruises and scratches, several of which had drawn blood. Unfortunately, what their enemies lacked in individual skill they seemed to make up for in numbers. The remaining monsters began to close in as Finn struggled to stand back up. Grimacing, he put both hands on the hilt of his sword and pointed it towards the encroaching enemies.
"We can still take 'em," Finn said with a confidence poorly aligned with his physical state. "It'll take more than that to-"
Finn felt something brush by his shoulder as he was about to finish. In the blink of an eye, the closest mutant to him erupted in a spray of green blood. The boy glanced at Jake, who didn't seem to understand what had happened either. The mutants, while not exactly quick on the uptake, understood their own mortality enough to pause briefly and observe the sudden carnage that had come to them. A moment later, the stunned group discovered what had caused the commotion. Silently, Marceline's figure became visible hovering above the monster's corpse.
"Marceline! You're back!" Finn shouted, unsure of whether he was more excited that his friend had returned to normal or relieved that he wouldn't have to face the rest of the mutants alone.
The vampire queen's only response to the greeting was a sidelong glance. Her fierce red eyes shone with a malice that Finn had seen only a few times in the past; though they appeared to acknowledge the boy, it seemed to him that they remained focused on the same valley she had been looking at before. It was strange…Finn had never really been able to read Marceline very well, but he could feel something different about her. There was something beyond the cold fury that was typical of the girl, something that she was desperately trying to suppress but still seemed to hang around her like a cloud.
Fear.
Finn was sure of it. He couldn't explain how he knew…maybe it had been his own run-ins with the Fear Feaster that clued him into the truth behind her stare. Whatever the reason, he had no doubt that something was making Marceline afraid.
And if Marcy is afraid…Finn shuddered. If there was something here that Marceline was afraid of, then there was something very, very wrong with this place.
The mutants began to move again, apparently recovered from the shock of Marceline's appearance. Leaving Finn and Jake alone for the moment, they shifted their attention to the new enemy. As they began to encroach on her, the vampire broke her focus on the valley once more to face the creatures.
"Disgusting," Marceline muttered. "Some things never change."
Before Finn could think to ask her what she meant, Marceline rushed at the mutants. Forgoing her axe, she tore into the enemy with both claws, not even bothering to make herself invisible again. Jake and Finn simply watched as Marceline effortlessly dispatched of the group of enemies that had threatened to close in on them just moments ago. It was easy to see that the battle was over as soon as it had started; the mutants had no response to the speed and power of the princess of the Nightosphere.
As he watched the mutants fall one by one, Finn knew he should feel excited about the impending victory, and normally he would. But as he watched how quickly Marceline was ending the battle, what he saw earlier still consumed his thoughts. If she's so strong, he thought to himself, what could she possibly be afraid of?
The last mutant had fallen. Marceline was floating low above the ground, leaving her work behind her and heading towards Finn and Jake.
"Are you two OK?" she asked sullenly.
"Yeah, I think so," Jake replied, looking over his injuries. "Finn's back is bleeding, but that kinda stuff happens all the time."
Marceline nodded silently and began to head back to the camp. Finn leaned on Jake for support as he struggled to his feet and made to follow her.
"Did you notice anything weird about Marceline?" Finn asked as they walked.
"You mean besides the normal loner-angsty-vampire-demon-daddy issues thing? Nah, not really," he said.
"I don't know man, it kinda looked like she was…afraid."
"Afraid? Are you crazy? Did you see how quickly she took care of all of those mutant guys? Marceline's been kicking their butts for a thousand years. What could she possibly have to be scared of?"
"Well, maybe there's something else, something that she knows about and won't tell us."
"There's a lot of stuff Marcy won't tell us, like how she manages to change her hairstyle so quickly. It's the same with Bubblegum and Lady. Girls like to be secretive sometimes, you just gotta trust that they'll tell you what you need to know."
"I hope you're right…" Finn acquiesced. He wanted to believe that Jake was right, especially about Princess Bubblegum, but he knew the look he saw in Marceline's eyes. All he could do was hope that whatever she was afraid of didn't come to find them.
Back at the campsite, the candy crew was carrying as if nothing was happening outside of their work. They had pitched a large central tent and it looked as if they were in the process of unpacking and organizing their supplies. Finn wondered what, exactly, went into starting a candy colony, and how these five little guys were going to accomplish it all on their own.
Wait, five? Finn counted the crew again, and again only saw five of them.
"Holy crams. JAKE!" Finn yelled. "One of the candy guys is missing!"
"What?" the dog responded. "How? Did it wander off?"
"Not exactly," Marceline joined the two and pointed behind the central tent. "It looks like I missed one."
Finn followed her gesture and saw the missing candy person being taken away by another creature. It looked like a mutant, but in addition to the green ooze the monster had two rows of what looked like spikes jutting out from its back, and one of the holes on its face was full of razor sharp teeth.
"Crud," said Jake, who had apparently noticed the differences as well, "we're in trouble if this is another one like James."
"No time to think about it," Finn made to head towards the monster, "we have to rescue that guy!"
"And do what, bleed on it?" Marceline went in front of him. "Don't bother. I'll finish what I started."
The mutant turned to look at her as she sped towards it, the missing candy person it held making no attempt to escape from its claws. Just as Marceline was about to strike, the monster effortlessly jumped to its left, dodging the blow and sending the vampire hurtling into the ground. Growling, she rebounded and flew at the mutant again, only to have it just out of the way with just as much ease.
This guy is fast, Finn though as he watched Marceline continue to swipe at air. If Marceline is having trouble keeping up with it, this could be bad news.
Fortunately for Marceline, holding the candy person made it difficult for the mutant to counterattack, so it seemed content to just continuously dodge her attacks. Clearly growing frustrated, she grabbed the neck of her axe and unslung it from her shoulder.
"Dodge this!" Marceline shouted, swinging the weapon in a ferocious arc. The extra range seemed to catch the monster off guard, but it still managed to just avoid the attack by running to the left. The edge of the bass landed with a dull thud in the ground, the shock of its impact spraying desert sand into the air.
"Marceline, be careful!" Finn shouted. "You almost cut the candy guy!"
Marceline made no response and continued to relentlessly hack away at the enemy. Either from the added burden of the candy person it held or out of pure exhaustion, the mutant's reactions began to slow, until finally Marceline connected on a horizontal slice to the creature's leg. Being familiar with the vampire queen's monstrous strength, Finn half expected to see the limb cleaved clean off. Instead, the axe only sunk a few inches into the monster's leg, leaving a trail of emerald blood to drip down its side.
Fast and tough…this has to be another one like James.
Still, the blow had been enough to momentarily cripple the monster. With a roar of pain, the mutant fell to its knees, letting the candy crewmember fly out of its hands in the process. Yanking her bass out of the wound, Marceline floated above the mutant's head.
"And now you die." Finn watched as Marceline raised the axe over her head. Just as she was about to bring it down, however, the violet morning sky finally broke into sunlight as dawn's first ray shot out from the horizon. As the beams struck her, Marceline's skin began to boil. Hissing violently, she let down her axe and rushed into the tent in the middle of camp.
"Double clams," Finn muttered, "I forgot it was almost morning. How are we gonna beat that thing without Marcy?"
"Well, at least she got its leg pretty good," Jake replied. "Maybe it won't put up too much of a fight."
"Only one way to find out."
Finn made a shaky attempt to ready himself, though he was using his sword to support most of his weight. The mutant, who had been distracted with its leg, seemed to notice the new motion and snapped its attention towards Finn and Jake.
"I don't like the way it's looking at us," Finn gulped.
"How can you even tell?" Jake asked, "It's not like it has eyes, just those creepy holes."
The eyes weren't exactly what Finn was focused on. The monster's mouth was still gaping open, the familiar green fluid dripping out both sides between its massive teeth. It hadn't tried to bite Marceline, but it was busy with the candy person. Charging it head-on might work, but there was no way to tell how severely it was injured. Against his instincts, or maybe because of them, Finn remained motionless, not taking his eyes off the foe.
You can make the first move, freak, he said to himself, I'll be waiting.
Moments later, Finn's strategy appeared to have been correct. The mutant growled and made to stand, but the instant it attempted to put weight on its injured leg, it collapsed face first into the ground. If he had thought it was capable of being embarrassed, Finn might have thought it was ashamed as it lay there motionless. Allowing himself a momentary satisfaction, he gripped his sword with both hands and prepared to charge.
"All right Jake, now's the time," Finn turned to his brother. "Let's get this guy while he's down!"
"Uh, I hate to burst your bubble," Jake hadn't taken his gaze off of their foe. "It looks like he's down but not out."
Finn didn't take long to figure out what Jake was talking about. Though the mutant was still on its knees, it had extended its arms out to either side. Instead of massive claws on the end of its arms, however, there were two symmetric balls of the same kind of green flame they had seen James spewing earlier.
So it can do that it too, Finn thought, feeling his stomach dropping. When James had used the fire, he thought it had just been a coincidence. Even though this guy was tough, he had held out hope that it wouldn't use that sort of attack. But there was no running from it now, that was definitely the same sort of attack that-
"Looks like you need to COOL DOWN!"
"What the…" Finn paused. He was sure he knew exactly who the voice belonged to, but he didn't expect, and really couldn't believe, that he would hear it at a time like this.
"Oh crap," Jake muttered, apparently thinking the same thing.
The two's thoughts were confirmed as a chill ran through the air, making its way towards the enemy in front of them. Within seconds, the mutant was encased in a solid block of ice, the once malignant flames extinguished by the overwhelming cold.
The Ice King had found Finn and Jake…again.
"Looks like I made it just in time, as usual," Ice King said as he landed in front of the now frozen mutant. "Well, come on, don't you have something to say? Hmmmm?"
Finn and Jake could only stare in a stunned silence.
"Sheesh, you guys are colder than him," the Ice King responded, motioning towards the icicle behind him. "I just came out here to help my buds!"
"How did you even know we were out here?" Finn asked somewhere between relieved and annoyed.
"Now, now, I can't tell you all my secrets. The important thing is, I'm here to help."
"Well we don't need your help, old man." Finn turned to see Marceline emerge scowling from the tent, holding an umbrella to protect her from the sun. "Why don't you just get back to your penguins?"
"But I just thought I could…"
"Leave," Marceline hissed.
"What, I save you guys and this is how I get treated? Fine! But I'm taking my new friend with me. Maybe he'll take my help," Ice king picked up the frozen mutant and began to fly off.
For a split second, Finn wanted to call Simon back. With Marceline out of whack, they could use his powers, even if he was a nut-job. Besides, maybe he remembered something about this crazy place. One look at Marceline, though, and he knew that he was better off not saying anything.
"Ugh, good riddance," Marceline turned at went back to her tent.
"Hey, wait! That thing is more dangerous and less stupid than you!" Jake left the scene as well, running after the Ice King and his cargo.
Alone in the middle of the campsite, Finn watched as the candy crew went shuffling silently about their work around him. Exhausted, he sighed and collapsed onto the ground. The Ice King was a pain, but there was no denying he had saved their butts. If these things kept showing up, he wasn't sure how much longer they could hold out, especially without Marcy at full throttle.
It's no wonder, he thought with a frown, the only other thing we've ever fought with that kind of power is the Lich.
Falling onto his back, Finn started up at the bright morning sky. He couldn't help but wonder if these monsters and Marceline's issues had anything to do with each other. But there was one thought that bothered him even more, something that slowly began to gnaw at him like the dull pain from the wound on his back.
If the Lich really is involved, did Princess Bubblegum know?
A/N: Hope the chapter was worth the wait! Thanks again for every read/review/favorite/follow. You guys are the best!