Chapter 7

The Doctor stood on Jake's giant head, waving his flashing screwdriver around as they traveled.

"So, what is that thing actually?" Marceline asked as she floated in the air beside him.

"It's a Sonic Screwdriver, and I've equipped it with a detector that searches for anomalies and strange energy. It should be able to find the tentacle creature."

"What are you going to do when we find it?"

"I'm going to talk to it, learn from it…."

"What if it attacks?"

"Then I want you all to run away."

"What!?" Everyone said.

"I won't have innocent people being hurt in my company. There have been far too many casualties and-FOUND IT!" The Doctor pointed north. "I've picked up a very odd energy signature coming in that direction!"
Jake ran north, carrying the bunch. "Stop! Look over there." He pointed to a dark spot in the distance. "Look, it looks like a black hole, almost. But what are those…tentacles! All right everyone, off I go!" The Doctor hopped down and Jake shrank back down to normal size. "Listen, I'll go to it first and talk to it. If thinks get bad, I want you to leave me."

"No way!" Finn yelled.

"All of you protect each other. Promise me."

After a pause, they all promised. "Good. If I don't see you again, it was a pleasure to meet you all."

"Doctor, wait…"Marceline said.

"Yes, Marceline?"

"I…nothing. Just be careful."

The Doctor smiled. "Careful is my middle name." He walked off towards the black mass.

As he got closer, the air got thicker, he noticed. If he was human, he'd find it difficult to breath. The whole area just felt…bad. Oh, there is a crater here. He went through the darkness, and peered inside.

"Hello, there." He called.

After a pause, a voice answered.

"Hello, Doctor."

"Ah, you know of me."

"Not of you. I know everything about you."

"Really? And how is that?"

"I've been waiting for you, Doctor…." The creature said slowly.

"Why? Who are you?"

"I am a manifestation of all that you despise. I reach out to humans and make them angry and afraid. It makes me strong. I started the War, long ago. Such a feast…and that little girl and her father. They were so afraid, I couldn't resist. I was lucky in coming to this planet when I fell…"

"Fell from where? What are you?"

"Well, maybe 'fell' isn't the right word…I was banished from my dimension. I did unforgivable things there."

"And you came here and do no better. You are a parasite. A greedy, glutton of a being. "The Doctor was angry. "You come here and hurt humans. My humans. My favorite beings. You sought to destroy them, to eat them all up. Well, you failed. There are humans left here, and they are stronger than you. They are resilient and will last till the end of the world. I believe in them. They will not be taken down by so pathetic a creature. "

"I've already eliminated most of them! I've destroyed a whole continent! I could rule this place, once I eat up the mutants…"

"Mutants. You mean the candy people, and beings like Jake the Dog."

"They are a result of the magic that came into the world after the bombs fell. They adapted to the new world. They will taste so sweet…"

"You messed with their minds, all of them. You put a perception filter on them all, that's why Marceline can't remember her home, and why the Ice King needed to save that tape. They can't remember on their own, you're keeping them away from the truth. Keeping yourself safe."

"Those worms are no threat to me…"

"You're lying. You know they are stronger than what you do. They could easily destroy you. I could. I could kill you right now, or imprison you. You are at my mercy. Because you are weak now. The people on this planet get stronger every day. They are becoming better."

A tentacle grasped the Doctor, its slimy form snaking around his body.

"I will kill you! You are no better than me! You are the Destroyer of Worlds!"

"They destroyed themselves!"

"You let them!" The creature roared.

The Doctor was silent. The creature had picked at his deepest wounds. "If I hadn't let them be destroyed, the destruction would have spread. It was for the greater good…" He said quietly. "And I am sorry for it. Not a day goes by where I don't mourn the loss of those worlds, of those people, of my home…Many have died because of my absence, but many have also died because of my mercy!"

"So what will you do, Doctor? Will you destroy me, or let the inevitable happen?"

"It doesn't have to happen. Time can be rewritten."

"The Great Mushroom War is a fixed point."

"I was talking about the future. There is always a future. And there is always hope. And hope is more powerful than fear."

The creature roared and squeezed. The Doctor gasped as he was constricted, pain making tears come to his eyes.

"I will eat you, Doctor, and all in the universe! I will rule—OW!"

The creature released him as a kick came in contact with its slimy body. It was Finn! And Simon, and Jake and Marceline.

"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU FREAK!" Finn yelled as he punched it. A tentacle came out to strike him, but the Ice King had started to freeze its body into immobility. Jake picked him up and prepared to throw him into the sky. Marceline glared at the creature that sired her, and said," Bye-bye, baby!" Jake threw him hard and the creature wailed as it hurtled through space and time, through a wormhole and being sucked back to its own dimension where it was imprisoned. The Doctor shook the slime off his coat and smiled at his friends. "I thought I told you to stay put."

"Well, my heart told me something else." Finn said.

"That's pretty mushy, Finn," Jake said.

"Shut up!" He laughed.

"Well, the bad news is that the War is a fixed point in time and cannot be altered. The good news is, you all have the hope of a better future. And I believe you will get there. Because you all are absolutely brilliant and good!" He hugged each of them. "You just forget it sometimes."