Tales of the Alternate Universe
Chapter Eighteen: Mrs. Mertens
After locking Bartram in the barn and feeding a very hungry Jake, Finn Mertens left towards his house with a merry pace. Inside, his father and his mother were getting ready to enjoy a well-deserved supper (well, Mr. Mertens didn't exactly deserve it). The farm boy approached the table as he whistled a happy made up tune, which caused his mother to arch an eyebrow in curiosity. The blonde woman curved a smile on her lips and wondered what could have made her son so joyful in one simple midsummer night as Finn took a seat at the table with them. The boy stared thoughtfully at his tomato soup for a moment and then grabbed his spoon to take a single sip from it. An unexpected question left his lips afterwards.
"Say dad, do you remember yours and mom's first date?"
Mr. Mertens was about to swallow when the query hit his eardrums. He lost his grip on his spoon, which caused a messy splash when it fell into his soup. The mid-aged man gave his son an uncomfortable glare as he tried to clean his overalls with a napkin. Seeing that the red stain wasn't going anywhere, Mr. Mertens rolled his eyes in exasperation and left towards the sink, leaving a very confused Finn behind. That night, the old farmer decided to sell all the spoons in the house.
"Geez, what's up with the old man, mom?" the boy asked.
Mrs. Mertens chuckled softly after finishing her soup and smiled at him. "Don't worry, he's just too shy to think about those times."
"Oh…" Finn scratched his head. "And what about you, mom? Do you remember your first date with dad?"
The blonde woman looked startled for a second. "Do I?" she blushed faintly as her hands picked up the dishes from the table. "How wouldn't I?"
Mr. Mertens had already left towards his bedroom when Finn and his mother walked into the kitchen to wash the dirty dishes together. Mrs. Mertens would always clean them while her son dried them up and placed them on the cupboard where they belonged.
"It was a complete disaster, I tell you!" the blonde woman laughed as she scrubbed and rinsed the soup bowls, "We were going to enjoy a tranquil picnic afternoon in the flowered meadows, you know, where Mr. Danny's horse ranch is located nowadays."
Finn nodded in understanding.
"Everything was working just fine until a bunch of storm clouds gathered in the sky and rained mercilessly upon us. The worst of all was that your father had 'apparently' forgotten about bringing an umbrella or at least a raincoat with him, and we had to take shelter beneath a nearby tree. The rain and the cold struck us hard, forcing us to hold each other in attempt to remain warm."
"So, you two didn't enjoy it at all?" the farm boy inquired in concern.
"Well, actually…" his mother grinned with another blush painting her cheeks. "We ended up cuddling lovingly underneath that old tree, and after the rain ceased, the remaining water drops that were falling from its leaves and the soothing mist that covered the meadow afterwards, made the scenery quite romantic…"
"Then your father stared into my eyes and said: 'I must be the luckiest guy in the world!' I asked him why and guess what he said..."
"What?" Finn replied in amusement.
Mrs. Mertens crossed her arms and faked an annoyed look. "He said: 'Cause a rainstorm ruined our picnic, just as I had planned it!' Can you believe it, Finn? Your father knew about the whole thing since the beginning, it wasn't just mere casualty that we had ended up snuggling beneath that tree!"
"Awww, that's cute!" her son laughed jokingly.
Once they were done with the dishes, Mrs. Mertens accompanied Finn into his bedroom and stayed to tuck him into his warm blankets after he had gotten his pajamas on. Jake hopped onto the bed subsequently, and curled himself up right beside his owner as the blonde woman leaned down to blow the room's candlelight out.
"Wait mom!" Finn cried before the light could be extinguished. "Can I ask you one last thing before you go to bed?"
"Yeah, what is it, son?"
"H-how did you and dad meet each other?"
"Oh, so you want another story, huh?" Mrs. Mertens said, taking a seat on Finn's bed, "Well you see… When we were both sixteen, your father and I weren't even acquainted. I did know that he was always stalking me 'cause he was way too shy to face me, and even more to talk to me. I must admit that I used to consider him the biggest weirdo in all of Junktown, but that was until—" she trailed off as a feeling of gratefulness struck her heart.
"Until what, mom?"
Mrs. Mertens sighed, "There was a river crosscutting the shortest path between my home and school. It wasn't an easy task to get across it by feet, but I didn't have any other option back then. My skirt and shoes would always get caked with mud, and my classmates would always make fun of me because of it."
"Then one day, your father (who was stalking me as usual) decided to reach that river before I did, and once he had arrived there, he began to roll down boulders and carry heavy stones with his bare hands so that I could hop them across the water and reach the other side without getting myself wet. Your father's intention was to do it in secret, but I discovered him, whining and weeping behind a bush after one of those rocks squashed his fingers."
"Hehe, and then what happened?" Finn inquired eagerly.
"I, of course, sat down with him and treated his injured hands... That's how everything began. The rest is history, I guess…"
"Whoa…! Now tell me about your first kiss!" the boy exclaimed excitedly.
"What? No!" his mother reeled back in amusement, "It's getting late and besides, what's up with you being so curious about this kind of romantic stuff all of a sudden?!"
Now it was Finn's turn to look down and blush. Where to begin? The boy had no idea of how he would explain his mother about Flanna. It wasn't that there was something wrong with that, but it was certainly an embarrassing subject to share with one's own mother.
"I well…Today I ugh…" Finn mumbled nervously, "Kissed a beautiful girl…"
Mrs. Mertens received the news with a tender smile. She got up from Finn's bed, wishing to hear everything about that lovely event in a more comfortable seat, and pulled a nearby chair towards her son excitedly.
"So," she chuckled, "Who's gonna be my future daughter-in-law? Joanna Miller, Hanna Jackson, Mary Adams…?" his mother said as she listed the few names of the town's girls that she could remember, not really realizing that most of them had already left because of the Destiny Gang and the misery that had struck Junktown in recent times.
The farm boy turned his gaze towards the window, probably trying to track the messy red-haired girl in the distance, and sighed dreamily. "Flanna Hacksworth…"
Mrs. Mertens was in the process of sitting when she heard Finn's wishful response. Flanna's name produced some sort of startling impression in her, causing the blonde woman to miss the chair and hit the wooden floor with her rear end, shortly after gasping "Who?!"
"Mom! Are you alright?!" Finn cried, leaping out of his blankets to aid her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Mrs. Mertens whispered to calm him down. "These old buns can still cushion my clumsy falls, you know…"
No, there was nothing wrong about the Hacksworth girl. It was just somewhat hard for Mrs. Mertens to believe that her son was actually getting along with that red-haired gal after so many years of conflict between each other. She could still remember every apology call that she had to give to Mr. Hacksworth after Finn had gotten into a fight with his daughter —and that used to happen very often. People say that there's a thin line between love and hate. Mrs. Mertens never understood what that phrase meant as clearly as she did now. After all, what else could explain Finn's sudden joyful behavior and curiosity for her own love life?
"You mischievous rascal, why didn't you tell me that Flanna Hacksworth was back in town, huh?" she laughed as her hand messed Finn's hair."Were you trying to keep her all for yourself?"
"No! What the heck, mom?!" her son replied in annoyance.
Mrs. Mertens rolled her eyes and suggested Finn to go back into his bed and get some sleep. She excused herself, saying that she was exhausted. She kissed his forehead and blew out the light before leaving the room.
"Hey mom!" Finn called. The blonde woman stopped her pace before she could cross the door and turned back at him in curiously. "I love you mom, you and dad are the best..."
"We love you too, son…" she whispered sweetly in response and closed his bedroom's door softly.
Mrs. Mertens' features changed drastically shortly after she descended the staircase. She met her husband at the living room. "Darling, did you know that Flanna Hacksworth is staying right here, at Junktown?"
Mr. Mertens nodded, not really getting the point of his wife's sudden state of disconcertment.
"Well, haven't you read the news? Mr. Hacksworth was convicted to ten years of prison for murdering his own brother and trying to disguise it as an act of suicide…" the blonde woman sat beside her husband with a sorrowful look in her eyes. "It seems that nobody really cared about his daughter's condition right after he was thrown into jail, except for a loyal servant of the family. Nobody noticed that she had left the residence except for him…"
Mr. Mertens replied her with a grieving glance, he didn't like was listening to…
"The authorities are not searching for her, so that means that not even her own family is interested in her well-being…" his wife paused for a moment "Do you think that… Flanna Hacksworth came here seeking for shelter?" Mrs. Mertens whispered in concern. "Shouldn't we… take care of her? Perhaps we should let the girl stay with us, make some room for her..."
"The poor thing must be really scared and confused now..."
x+x+x+x+x
The red-haired girl and the strange old woman exchanged defiant glares as they both tried to survey their situation in the calmest way possible. Flanna's green eyes kept glancing back at the eggs in the old woman's basket every now and then, until she noticed that her pale wrinkled hand had shoved one of them into her mouth with a sudden movement.
"W-what are you planning to do with those eggs, huh?!" Flanna demanded an explanation in a harsh way. "They aren't yours! Did you know that Finn's family was forced to sell their mule Cecile two months ago, and all because of you?!"
The old woman remained stoic as she listened to the intruder in front of her. The egg was still being held inside her mouth. Then, not really caring about her manners at all, the grim-looking woman suddenly crunched the egg with her fangs and then spat its shell at Flanna's feet.
"Ewww! Wait, you can't eat those eggs!" Hacksworth yelled in disgust. "At least not like that!"
"Why not?!" the old woman questioned in an intimidating tone.
"B-because… Because they hatch!" Flanna defended nervously, "That's why!"
"Heh! Do you think that a thousand-year old demon like me would listen to a pathetic human girl like you?"
Flanna's eyes were widened in astonishment "D-demon, you said?"
"Well, half-demon but that's beyond the—AH!" the fanged woman spotted the antique book in Flanna's hands, "That book! Where did you get that book?! Give it back in this instant!"
"Not until you hand those eggs first!" the red-haired girl challenged.
"Fool! You don't understand anything, do you? That's Simon's most important discovery, and I'm its guardian! I'm the guardian of everything inside this stinky tunnel and it's my duty to keep it all —including that frigging book— away from foolish mortals… LIKE YOU!"
The half-demon pulled a strange gun out of the blue and aimed it at Flanna's chest.
"Whoa! Careful there!" Flanna gulped, making some steps backwards. "Fine, you want this 'Enchir–whatever book'? Then, I'll give it to you…"
"Heh, it was about time!" the old woman grinned. "Good for you!"
"If you… can… CATCH IT!"
Flanna tossed the book into the half-demon's arms, causing her to throw the eggs into the air. The red-haired girl ducked the old woman and snatched the basket in midair, running towards a faint light that was shining at the end of the tunnel as fast she could.
"Come back here, you goblin! That's my nourishment, dang it!"
The old woman chased Flanna through a dark hallway. The young girl turned her head back for a moment, checking on her pursuer and failed to notice a flight of steps just ahead of her. Flanna tripped with the stairs and rolled along the dirt until she crashed with a wall, completely covered with roots. Her green eyes were opened slowly and then she glimpsed a thin ray of moonlight passing through a tiny hole above her. It wasn't the kind of hole that she was expecting. There was no way out.
"Ugh! What have you done?!" the half-demon growled angrily. "You have scattered Simon's bones all over the place!"
"I…what?" Flanna murmured wearily.
With a soft moan, the red-haired girl managed to sit up. She was still holding the egg basket, and miraculously they didn't even have a single scratch on them. Flanna shook her head to clear her aching temple from all the confused thoughts in her mind. She then laid her gaze on a gigantic frozen bomb, which was lying upon a broken skeleton. She noticed with bewilderment that the skull still kept some of its white hair and beard. Small round broken glasses were still lying over its empty eye sockets, and a shiny golden crown with three gleaming rubies rested on top of its head.
"The crown…?" Hacksworth whispered in astonishment as she remembered the notes on the back of the Echiridion. "Wait… Are you… are you Marceline?"
"Who wants to know?!" the half-demon woman replied as she loomed over Flanna, still aiming at her with her gun. "Did you read the book?! That's what you did, didn't you?! Are you after the crown's magic?!"
"There's no magic in this world…" Flanna said.
"Yes there IS magic!" Marceline assured, the gun was now being aimed directly at Flanna's forehead. "Powerful Dark Magic! I know that's why you're here… But you won't get to posses it, 'cause your time in this miserable planet ends NOW!"
The red-haired girl reacted just in time, kicking the gun upwards to direct the powerful laser beam towards the tiny hole above her. The laser destroyed the wall, opening a larger hole and causing some rocks and dirt to collapse over Flanna and Marceline, who had lost her weapon after the girl's sudden attack.
"No! My gun!" the half-demon shrieked as a heavy boulder plunged down and crushed it. "Argh! It better not be broken now, you hear me!?"
Flanna ignored her. All she wanted was to climb and jump through the new opening in the ground as soon as she got the chance to do it.
"Fool! You could have destroyed the entire world with that reckless stunt you just pulled out, did ya hear me?! The bomb could have—! Oh, come back here! I still have to kill you!" Marceline fell onto her butt and sighed in resignation. "Ugh…my knees…"
Hacksworth leaped out of the ground, losing her left shoulder strap in the process. She didn't know where she was going or what was she doing. Her feet were only focused on running. Nothing else. Drove by fear and her own recklessness, Flanna met her destiny at an unsuspected cliff, waiting for her within the darkness. She fell, but her hands managed to save her just in time from the fatal fall.
The red-haired girl clung onto the cold sharp rock with every last ounce of her fading strength. She could feel how the skin of her bare palms was being slowly torn open, her dripping blood making it even harder to hold onto the edge. Flanna wanted to scream for help, but that meant attracting the attention of either the Destiny Gang or that half-demon psycho.
"No…" she sobbed. "T-this can end like this, can it? Finn… you said would protect me… I know you will. You will catch me… Just like the last time…"
"Flanna, how the heck did ya get up there?!" a six-year old Finn shouted in annoyance.
A young Flanna Hacksworth of the same age was weeping desperately as she tried to keep herself on a small tree's branch.
"I climbed, you donk!" the girl replied between sobs.
"Get down here, dump-head! Miss Bonnie is going to get mad if you fall and break your leg! W-why would you even climb that tree in the fist place?!"
"This is all your stupid fault! Why did you have to chase me with that ugly frog?!" Flanna cried.
"My fault?! Is not my fault that you're so coward! Who's afraid of a dead toad anyway?! Get down here, fool!"
"I am and I can't! I'm stuck!" young Flanna cried.
"Then let yourself go! I'll catch you!" Finn yelled as he stretched his short arms upwards.
"No! I don't trust you! You will let me hit the ground!"
"I won't, I swear! Just let yourself go! Let yourself go, Flanna!"
"Should I… just let myself go like back then?" Flanna wondered, losing her perception of reality. She wanted to believe in her memories.
"Fine! I will do it!"
The small girl released her grip on the thin branch and landed on top of the young Mertens boy.
"You see, I got ya!" Finn yelled, "And now your heavy butt is crushing me, get off me!"
"That's what you get for chasing me around with a dead toad, you idiot!"
Flanna felt her hands slipping off the rocky edge. "You'll catch me, won't you Finn?" she chuckled wearily, "I know you will… just like the last time…"
She let herself plunge into the darkness. The fresh wind blew, carrying her ripped shoulder strap aimlessly. The torn piece of orange fabric got stuck on a hollow tree's branch near the farming fields…
x+x+x+x+x
The next morning, right after letting Bartram wander freely around the farm, Finn ran towards the tree where he had promised to wait for Flanna so that they could leave on their date. He sat on one of the tree's bulging roots and Jake gladly ran to his side to wait beside him. The minutes were slowly turned into hours and there was still no sign of the messy red-haired girl. Finn began to feel impatient. "She's just a little bit late." he thought, "She'll be here soon!" The boy heard Jake yawning lazily. The golden bulldog was bored, and soon he was snoring right at his owner's feet.
"I know!" Finn said as he rummaged through the contents of his backpack. "I'll make Flanna a nice song with my flute! Maybe she'll think I'm sweet, like mom did when dad took her on their first date!"
The boy began to blow into his wooden flute, his high-pitched notes easily woke Jake from his slumber. The dog heard the odd music and instantly joined the messy melody with his howling.
"Finn!" his mother called all of a sudden, silencing the boy's music. "Finn… Will you come hear, please? Hurry, it's very important!"
Finn frowned faintly, feeling a hint of disdain in his mother's voice. "Coming Mom!" he looked back at his furry friend. "Man, she seems steamed! Guess I've don donked somethin' up yet again... Come on Jake…."
The two got back on their feet and paws, and rushed towards their home... Dashing to attend Mrs. Mertens' call.
Update: Grammar checked and corrected.