Sorry for the delay of this chapter, had a bit of writers block. Hopefully I will be on schedule next week.
(Don't forget to R/R and as always: hope you enjoy)
Chapter Seven: Sense of Impending Doom.
Bubblegum woke up later than expected for another day of expedition. Jake was already awake, not being able to get much sleep in the night, waking to the thought of Marceline still watching him; something about that just itched him the wrong way. He tried cheering his mood by cooking breakfast, humming delightfully to a tune in hiss head.
"Hey Jake." The princess got out before a yawn.
Jake twisted his head around like an owl, "Oh, hey Bubbs, did I wake you?" He asked shaking the sizzling pan in his hand over one of Bubblegums Bunsen-burners.
"No, you're all right... what-cha cookin'?" She asked, trying to continue the conversation, plus the smell was making her quite hungry.
"Eh, just some bacon and syrup, there was going to be pancakes, but I forgot the botching ingredients back at the house." He said, bummed out, shaking the pan with bacon sizzling inside over the intense blue flames.
"Are you cooking for yourself?" She asked, unsure if it was simply for him or the group; she didn't want to assume some of it was hers.
"What? No, this is for both of us, including.. you know who if she wants any." He reassured Bubblegum, while suspiciously looking around him to see if the vampire heard.
She was relieved he said it was for all of them, Bubblegum loved Jakes cooking, and it also saved her from doing it herself.
The aroma of the open nature around them was peaceful, soothing, Bubblegum welcomed it, as her usual schedules with her experiments and the kingdom didn't allow such trips like this into the wild of Ooo. It was all so tranquil, it made her temporarily forget about why they came all this way, instead it felt like a camping trip.
Laying back on the ground with her upper body lifted, supported by her forearms so she could view the expanse woodland below. They were high enough to see thin layers of cloudy mist clinging to the sides of the mountain, also floating out slightly over the woods. The peaceful silence of merely the branches and leafs bristling in the wind, flocks of birds cawing distantly below, soon coupled with a comforting whistle, it was all so therapeutic; till the thought came to mind where the whistles came from.
Marceline made her way down from the mountain, landing her thick boots on the ground near Jake, scruffing up the fur on his head as she walked by. She broke her whistling tune to say, "Morning guys." before continuing again. She collected her sun hat back at her house instead of wearing the hood up, preferring to keep her hair free. Seemingly unusually serene, especially considering hers and Bubblegums chat yesterday.
'Is she planning on doing something? Or did the dungeons really mess her up?' Bubblegum thought to herself, feeling fear on one hand, but wanting to show sympathy on the other.
It was an odd predicament she found herself in, there was no telling how Marceline felt inside; she was a stone wall when it came to looking into her emotional side. Bubblegum couldn't tell if she still wanted to put actions to her words, or if she legitimately dropped it for their current task. Even so she was behaving too calm knowing that Finn was out there, somewhere in trouble; making the princess certainly question the vampires current mental state.
"You having any of this Marceline?" Jake asked, still cooking the breakfast.
She inspected it, standing over him, "Nah I'm good, too brown, can't suck anything from that; probably will make me sick or something. Um-no offence." and walked on.
Jake 'humfed' at her comment on his cooking, taking it as an insult; always overlooking the fact she survives on the colour red for a living. Marceline sat off to the side of the set-up camp, next to the steep drop on their ledge. Her whistling mellowed down into humming, tuning her guitar, staring down the drop below, same as Bubblegum was. Bubblegum couldn't help but watch her, still not getting her deal; she wanted to talk about yesterday, but only saw it ending in a bad outcome as she played through the scenario in her mind. So she settled from watching her from afar, seeing what she could gather simply bystanding.
Jake called to the princess, breaking her focus, "Yo P-Bubbs breakfast is ready." She walked over to sit with Jake and enjoyed her served meal; it wasn't much, certainly wasn't the portions she was used to, she didn't complain, nor really care. The breakfast was of good standard considering Jakes lack of ingredients and culinary equipment, and he was good company to eat with, though most of her attention throughout the meal was still devoted to the vampire. Straight away after she finished, she went back to watching Marceline, fibbing to Jake, telling him she was going back to work on her little experiments, she simply started moving equipment around, playing her hands about; it didn't take much to fool him.
Marceline, after strumming a few tunes with her guitar, still sat in the same spot since princess went to eat. She put down her instrument and started fiddling about in the bag she brought along. Bubblegum somehow saw this as a gateway in to construct a conversation, genuinely wondering what she had brought in the bag.
Yet her thoughts began to trail off again. 'What if she has got a dagger in there, she wants to stab me while I sleep... No-no, why would she bother, she has a frigging axe! Her body itself is a weapon! Best case scenario: we sort out our problems. Worst case: I loose my head, or my blood, or both... This isn't exactly calming my nerves, lets just do this...' She quietly walked over, not intending to sneak, but wanted to see if she could get a sneak-peek of what she had in there without alerting the vampires attention, though that plan quickly fell through when Marceline called her out.
"There's no need to be shy around me Bonnie, I'm not going to bite your face off," She said, not turning around to look to even see if the princess was there, she was confident in her senses. "What is it that you want?"
Bubblegum didn't know whether to talk were she stood or come closer or... "Like I said I'm not going to bite your pink little head off your shoulders, sit down, your standing behind me makes me uncomfortable, and we don't want that now do we." Bubblegum didn't know if she was trying to make a joke or if that was a substantial threat, either way she took her invitation and sat besides her, a little further back from the drop.
Marceline closed up her bag and threw it aside the moment she sat down; Bubblegum let out a silent 'Noooo.' seeing the vampire toss aside the bag, it being her means of conversation, and still actually curious to what was inside. "So what's up?" Marceline spoke casually, it was like there talk the day before never happened.
"Erm-" She quickly tried to think of something else to divert to. "I just-uh – wanted to discuss plans, you-know like strategy and stuff."
"Strategy huh?" Marceline raised her eyebrows, all ears to Bubblegums enlightening plan, and excuse to babble off and buy her sometime to segway into the actual reason she came to talk.
"Yeah, we should prepare a plan of attack, like formations and..."
"Lemmi just stop you there for a second Bonnie. One: No plan ain't gonna matter when we are actually there and in the thick of it. Only thing you'll have is your ability to adapt to the situation. Trying to stick to a plan that's falling apart will only get you hurt, or worse. Two: I know damn right that's not why you came to chat, it's written all over your face, props to the effort of trying to be spontaneous though."
"Oh-um..." Bubblegum didn't anticipate getting caught red handed like this. 'Should I just get straight to the point? No-no, it feels too sudden to just ask it like that, I need to work my way too it.'
"How did you know I was coming? you looked pretty focused on your bag, and I as trying to be quite, I didn't want to intrude." She chuckled nervously, slightly lying through her teeth.
Yet again Marceline called her out, "You mean you were spying on me - you think I haven't noticed you looking over your shoulder my way the entire morning..." She sounded a bit irked at Bubblegums way of sugar-coating her intentions with innocence, still remaining cordial however.
"How did you..."
"I'm a vampire Bonnibel, I have a sense, a tingling down my spine when I'm being gawked at. Its a defence thing or something." She rubbed her right shoulder, she looked uncomforted, at least from what Bubblegum could tell. She always got this way when talking about herself, even more so when it was about anything to do with being a vampire.
Bubblegums mind was more taxed on the thought of what else those senses of hers could pick up on, but she had a discussion to continue before it got awkward. "You really don't know much about being what you are, do you?" She hoped to go down this route of topic to learn more about her kind...
"And you are telling me that you do?" Marceline, without delay, parried off the question.
"Well no, but I..."
"Just tell me what you want." But Marceline made it clear it wasn't something she wanted to discuss.
It sounded strange to say now that she was asked, but she had no other questions to fall back on, at least none that came to mind, "Um, I was – I came over wondering what you had in your bag."
"Oh.. that was it. Well-erm-its private. Look but you don't see me coming up to you and asking what's in your bag, or what tests you're working on."
"I wouldn't mind if you asked." She smiled fluttering her eyes, almost inviting the question to make this conversation go smoother.
Marceline dropped her brows and rolled her eyes, and succumbed to Bubblegums puppy-dog face "Its just a few personal bits I thought I'd bring along seeing as we were going to be travelling for a while. Does that answer your question?"
"Well – yes, not as directly as I wanted, but yeah."
Marceline expected her to leave by now, yet the princess still sat there. "Sigh, Is there anything else you wanted?" She was becoming impatient with Bubblegums presence and sudden odd clingy-ness.
"Don't you like company now and again?" Trying to get Marceline off the impression that she wanted something from her and onto a casual conversation.
Marceline sat there for a second, thinking about it. She felt like opening up just once. It's tough sometimes for her to contain all her thoughts and feelings, sometimes it felt like a good idea to let someone in briefly. 'Wait, this is exactly what she wants...' And instead shielded her emotions with her stubbornness. "...No I've came used to being alone for the past thousand years. The rest of my kind are dwindling dimwits. And that time you gave me in that cell, yeah that certainly helped me realise I don't need anyone else."
"What about Finn?"
"...He's... different..." She was unable to say without getting a small knot in her throat. She gave a quick go of clearing it before continuing. "Sigh. Just give it up, tell me what you are really here for or go, I know you don't really care."
Feeling guilt and sorrow for her she couldn't help but try and explain herself even though she knew the vampire didn't want to her it. "Marceline.. you're wrong of course I care..."
"Grrgh! Don't tell me I am wrong! Don't try and make up some sob story, I don't need it. Why do you always have to lie, trying to make up that you are being nice and trying to help me, but really it's me helping you, you need me... You want me to help you, then just don't go there. Now are you going to tell me what you wanted or are you going to lie even more?"
Bubblegum still was debating whether or not it was wise to ask, Marceline was now agitated, but maybe it was best to get it out now rather than never. Plus if Marceline called out another of her lies, she'd likely never trust Bubblegum again. "I didn't want to make you mad or anything. I-um was just wondering, about yester..."
Her question was cut in by Jake calling over to them both, after he finished cleaning up. "Ladies, we should probably make tracks while its early."
"...Yeah, common Bonnie." Her voice still lightly trembled, she tried masking over it, like it was nothing. "I was getting bored sitting round here all day, lets get going. We'll talk whatever it is you want to talk about when we set up next camp." She said sternly walking by the princess. It almost sounded threatening to Bubblegum.
She didn't really have a choice as the vampire picked up her gear and hovered over to the pass that went up the mountain. Maybe it was a good thing anyway. Maybe Marceline wanted to forget about it, Bubblegum was still worried. She gathered up her things and put them I her bag, walking over to the pass with Jake and Marceline.
It took them another twenty or so minuets of climbing before the gaping maw's of the Badlands displayed itself to them. Along the climb down the wind gusted up and down the mountain face got warmer and warmer, bringing up twists of dust and sand picked up from below. The only view they had so high up was a draining reminder of how far of open, dead, nothing-but-yellow and beige wasteland they'd soon step foot in and have to endure through.
Gazing down into the miles of nothingness, Jake posed a question, "How exactly do we plan on finding him anyway?" He yelled over, to combat to heavy wind in his ear, from behind Bubblegum as she took lead directing them down the steep rocky paths.
She swung her duffle bag to the front of her unzipping one of its many side pockets, jumbling around inside. "We'll find him... hold on a sec – with this!..." She pulled out a small hand-held gadget, obviously pink, with a small screen, three antennas, two on top and one protruding out of the side, two buttons and a switch.
Jake stretched his neck ahead of him to get a better look at the device. "Cool... Um-what is it?"
"This is-um... hmm.. W-I-C-N-E-D!" She oddly enough seemed unsure herself.
"Right... what does that stand for?"
"Well-I-Can't-Name-Everything-Device." - "Oh..." Jake sounded, quite unsatisfyingly. "Look basically it's a detector, it picks up on algorithms, distortions and manipulations of particles and energy." Jake looked at her obliviously. "...Sigh, in other words 'magic'."
"Oh, right.. right." He retracted his head back to his shoulders.
"Wait so we're relaying on your little magic tracker to find him in the miles of desert? Doesn't that seem a little far fetched? Who's to say his even using any magic." Marceline hovered forward beside Bubblegum.
"Well I'm certain that in order for the Lich to uphold his form inside Finns head would require compression on his atomic structure, and then constant pressure to keep him such an abnormal size, this will pick up on that."
"Wait - I thought the Lich was inside-inside his head, not just him floating around in his skull."
"Well.. it's a bit of both, you see he did compress himself down, but he ain't just floating about in Finns head, his threading himself throughout Finns neural network, that's got to be how he takes control of him.
Also he'll need to defend himself every once and awhile from bandits or wildlife. That 'magic' you think he uses is nothing more than him collecting up the millions and billions of protons, neutrons and electrons in our atmosphere, bonding and fusing them together to a set structure, and CAB-WHAMO! Forms that green fire; which I can only imagine being a mixture of boron and phosphorus elements. We'll trace it all until we find him. I admit it is not a solid solution to tracking him down, but I far more prefer it than wondering aimlessly in the desert." Bubblegum almost forgot to breath between her stops to explain the science, not realising it made her almost incapable of understanding, a quite frankly sound a bit mad.
"Uh-huh, this is going to take forever." She folded her arms, floating her way to the back again; harvesting little information from whatever Bubblegum said, she just preyed she knew what she was doing.
"Hmm, I estimate a maximum of four-point-seven days." Bubblegum said, genuinely. Marceline thought she was joking only to look ahead and see her imputing the time on her watch.
"Jeez, you're thrilling me with numbers back here."
Making it miles inwards, the mountains from where they came, were now unable to be seen, the hills of sand dunes they covered were the only sight behind them, and in every other direction. The sun was beating down relentlessly upon them. Marceline was managing to cope with it for the time being, under the shelter of her sun hat, and her hands tucked in the pockets of the hoodie; still the heat was unbearable, the hoodie itself was baking her on the inside.
Bubblegums skin was irritatingly sticky, the detector was sticking to her palm and fingers, she felt as though she was melting; and Jake, he was flopping into moulds, arms dragged behind him like straw making tracks in the sand, so exhausted to even keep up his normal figure. The lot of them were almost in synchronised panting, their bodies making it clear they needed a break.
Bubblegum rallied them to keep pushing a little further, from the sounds of their panting, it wouldn't be long till they exert themselves, "We just... have to make it... to those... red rocks... The tracker's picking.. picking up... some whacky energy spikes..." She panted out each word with all her breathes.
Jake, with his destination of rest in sight, a promise of shade, seeing the distance it was between them and there, "Oh flub this!" pumped himself up, taking in a deep gust of air into his lungs, grabbing the two girls in his stretched out arms, twirled his legs tightly into a double helix and let them spring himself and the girls over in the general direction.
Too fast and tired to slow down, he rolled up into a hollow ball-ish shape, cocooning the girls inside; he slid his face along his flesh away from the point of impact to not literally hit face-first against the sandstone. Bouncing his lumpy moulds against the wall of sandstone cushioned them to a comfortable stop - well for most of them at least. Jake tumbled down to the surface, crashing on the floor, unfolding himself around PB and Marceline.
With just about all the air expelled from his body from the crash, he groaned out, "That's it I'm done..." and remained laying limp in the shade, not bothering to return to his form, attempting to catch his breath, widening his mouth bigger than his face. Both girls sat to his side basking in the shade.
Thump
"What was that?" The ghoul voice ask apprehensively, hearing the loud thump, and watching the patches of sand unsettle, and rocks vibrate.
"Guh-hmmrrgh, its, yawn, just an animal or something." Finn mumbled back, passing it off with some excuse, trying to get some rest in the shaded stone surface, using his backpack as a pillow.
"Get up you fool! Go see what it was; if you die out here I'll be stuck with your corpse until someone stupid enough comes close for me to take." He was unusually on edge, the Lich was the one always mocking, taunting or belittling the situation being in the secure confines of Finns head. Now he felt vulnerable. He almost sounded scared, like his plan had ran out and now he didn't know what to do.
"Arrngh, ever thought that's what I've been planning on this entire time! Now let me rest..."
Even worse, his host was starting to rebel against him in a way he could not combat. "You.. ungrateful RUNT! I give my gift and you..."
"Ugh, yeah, yeah! I know the story! If I check it out will you SHUT-UP for five minuets and let me sleep!"
"...Watch your tongue boy, or I'll make you bite it off..."
The two then both went back into a mutual silence. He was feeling pressured in, he could almost sense it, after surviving a millennium, not once did he feel the walls crashing down around him. At this point Finn had all his humanity taken, the Lich no longer scared him twisting and turning his reality. He coped with it for so long, and saw so much he was just fed up of being this doomsdays keeper, he wanted it over, the Lich refused to let him do such drastic conclusions for reasons that benefited him. But the Lich was slowly losing his grasp, his intimidation.
Finn sat up, shook his head awake, giving his poncho a few flaps in the wind to rid it of any unwanted materials. Throwing his bag over his shoulders he dragged on to were the noise came from...