Oh man, I am so sorry for the late update. I meant to update sooner, but then life happened, and semester finals and… ugh! Anyways, I bring you a new chapter to read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I will never, despite my wildest dreams, own or produce Doctor Who, Sherlock, or Adventure Time. They belong to their respectful owners.
Chapter 5
"Going missing? What do you mean?" Finn exclaimed.
"I mean," Princess Bubblegum explained, "Like they're vanishing off the face of the Earth!" The travelers all raised their eyebrows curiously.
"Come," the Princess beckoned for them to follow her. She walked back into the room she'd just come out of. It was vast, but slightly dark. Red drapes covered the windows, and shelves packed with books lined the walls.
In the center of the room stood a table with a lamp. The lamp was the only source of illumination, but it showered the table with a bright, white light. Photographs and other documents covered the surface.
"In scattered points inside the kingdom, citizens were reported missing. But there were almost no witnesses present!" she explained. "Some people have even left their belongings lying carelessly on the ground with no trace of their owners whatsoever."
The princess shifted through the papers that littered the table, not caring that some fell onto the floor. Quietly mumbling to herself, she retrieved an odd gadget and held it up in the light.
"I created this as soon as the first disappearance was reported. It should be able to detect a person's electromagnetic footprint," Bubblegum pressed a button on the gadget's side, and it whirred to life, blue lights gently blinking. She showed the group the readings on her little screen- seven small, pulsing dots with waves radiating off of them.
"You see, if Finn here were to walk all the way to other side of this room, I should be able to see and detect the exact route he took!"
"It's a tracking device," the Doctor's voice cut in, "An absolutely brilliant tracking device!" Before any of his friends could stop him, he stepped forward and snatched the gadget from Princess Bubblegum's hands.
He brought out a cylindrical device with a green light at the top from the depths of his jacket pocket. Clicking a button, it let out a long, high-pitched buzz. He ran the light up and down the front of Bubblegum's device.
"This is amazing! True genius!" he marveled as he checked his readings.
"What the glob are you doing?" Finn questioned, his eyes wide.
"I'm sorry, and you are?" Bubblegum asked, offended that the madman stole her invention.
"The Doctor, just the Doctor; and this is a sonic screwdriver," he replied as if that answered everything.
He handed the gadget back to Bubblegum, and Amy could tell he was about to give one of his famous elaborations.
"I was just checking to see if your device was faulty, Your Highness," he nodded at an incredulous Princess Bubblegum. "It's not don't worry! On the contrary! However," he paused dramatically, "something strange happened during those disappearances- perhaps something outside your field of expertise, Princess."
Sherlock interrupted, "So obviously, there are some aliens at work here."
Everyone stared at him. "Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective," Holmes introduced proudly.
"You might be onto something, Sherlock," the Doctor pointed out. "So has someone crossed the Void between universes before us?"
"Universes? What are you going on about?" the Princess demanded, "Who are you?"
"I told you, I'm the Doctor."
"No, who are you really? You haven't even told me your name!"
The Doctor stayed silent. The old eyes that contained their usual cheer were now solemn, as if he's heard that question before, but has never liked the answer.
"Right now, that doesn't matter."
"But why won't you tell me your name? How am I supposed to trust you?" Peebles questioned. The Doctor suddenly grinned mischievously, "Your friends do! Trust me, I'm the Doctor."
Amy smiled. She could relate to the Princess. She refused to trust the Doctor at first since he had made her wait twelve years for him to come back for her, even though he promised five minutes. However, he saved the world in just 20, and nothing can replace the memories of their first adventure together. Amy knew Bubblegum would come to sooner or later.
"What if," John broke in, "they're already from this universe? You know, the aliens!"
"Don't be daft, John!" Sherlock rolled his eyes as if he expected better from his best friend.
"Hey, that can be a good idea!" Amy put in.
"You're probably right, John," the Doctor said reassuringly, "The question is, who-or what- is behind this?"
While the travelers discussed, Finn and Jake pulled a doubtful Princess Bubblegum to the side.
"Finn, what is going on? How do you know them?" she demanded. As if the disappearances weren't enough to confuse her! Then her friends bring these mysterious people along.
"I'm not entirely sure," Finn admitted, "All I know is that they appeared in front of our house. In a big, blue box that popped out of nowhere."
Bubblegum raised her eyebrows, baffled. "Like a teleportation device?" Finn and Jake shrugged. The Princess tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"It might as well be. All that talk about alternate universes and aliens… that Doctor guy seems a lot smarter than he lets on."
"But PB! Don't you see? They're human!"
"How do you know it's not a trick, Finn?" Jake told him. The boy blushed and frowned. "Don't you see?" he repeated sadly.
"Finn, Jake may have a point," Bubblegum said.
"Yeah," Finn mumbled unhappily. At that point, PB's eyes lit up.
"I know how we can prove it!"
"Prove what?"
"To see if your friends are human or not silly!" she shook her head at Finn humorously. "Ever since the Hyoomens attacked our Kingdom," the Princess continued, "I have created an invention that can analyze one's DNA. We can program the machine to human, and send your new friends through it! That way we can see if it's a trick or not!" Peebles smiled proudly.
"Hey, not bad. Not bad at all," Jake said.
"I don't know," Finn muttered doubtfully.
"Come on, buddy. It can come out either way: if they're human, good for you. If they're not human, at least you won't be tricked. Do you remember what it's like to be tricked? Not cool, man." Jake told him.
After a moment of thought, Finn declared, "Okay, let's do it!"
Meanwhile, the four travelers debated about the case, "Well, it is parallel universe," Amy said, "Maybe the same aliens who are behind this are also in our universe. Aliens you know of, Doctor."
"Perhaps," Sherlock said, "But which one? In that case, we'll have to investigate the crime scene, isn't that right, Doctor?"
"Yes you're right! Absolutely right, Sherly!" Amy snickered and Sherlock raised his eyebrows at the Doctor.
"He doesn't do nicknames," John explained, but even he was grinning. "But for the record, can we can confirm that aliens are at work here?"
"Yes, definitely alien," they agreed.
The Doctor continued, "With you, Sherlock, and me-and of course Amy and John-we can solve this case in no time!" He laughed with excitement and Amy rolled her eyes.
Sherlock smiled. He couldn't wait! For him, it was the perfect opportunity to simultaneously be challenged, show off his brilliance, and investigate this new world.
"We should visit the place where the most recent disappearance occurred," Sherlock stated.
"Okay, off we go to solve this mystery!" the Doctor comically hopped in the air and pranced up and down the floor with anticipation.
In that moment, Princess Bubblegum reappeared with Finn and Jake.
"Not so fast, Doctor," she declared. "First, you have to answer our questions."
"But I did!" he looked back to his companions for back up, "Didn't I?"
"Eeeeehh," they mumbled.
"No, not just you," Bubblegum pointed behind the Doctor, "Your friends too."
"What? What did we do?" Amy cried indignantly.
"Nothing!" Finn shook his head nervously, "It's just that-"
"Just follow us," the Princess cut in, "We've, er, got something to show you."
There you go guys! Please review and leave me your comments.
FYI: Future updates will be a bit slower because I've got a busy schedule for all of spring. So if you think this story is being put on hiatus, don't fret. I just have to find time to type and publish new chapters in between schoolwork and swimming. (: So bear with me because I love you guys.