(I'm back and before I say anything I would like to personally thank everyone who has reviewed the last four chapters, especially the one PS2wizard from whose comment inspired this chapter. Anyway here's chapter 5.)
Chapter 5 Battle Music
Finn arose from the side of his brother who was still trying to recover. "How would you like it if me and Jake show you two around Ooo." He said to the Captain and his daughter. They both agreed knowing that it would be the best thing to at the moment. Finn turned back to Jake as he staggered up. "You think you're up for that?"
"Yeah I'm good, but that girl has one heck of a throwing arm." Jake looked directly at Anna who couldn't help but smile.
As everyone filled out of the tree fort, Jake stretched himself large enough so the three humans could fit on top his back. Michal and Anna were yet again dazed.
"Scooby Doo never did that." Michal said as he stepped on to the giant dog and once Anna jumped on behind him Jake stretched his legs so they were high in the sky. Anna looked over the side and immediately brought her head back up.
"This is still to freaky" Finn and Jake began the tour of the land they know and love.
Five minutes after they had left, Eli came back to the living room.
"Hey is it safe to come ba…" He stopped talking when he realized there was no one in the room but him. Eli began to look around the house for any sign of life. Kitchen, no. Bedrooms, no. The bathroom had Beemo standing on a stool talking to himself in the mirror. Eli opened a closet and a bunch of swords fell out of it. He dodged the weapons as they landed on the floor, leaving chips and scratches. "Man, those guys really like their sharp stuff." As Eli continued his search he continued find nothing, until he reached the attic. He walked up and he saw Marceline floating in mid-air, tuning her axe guitar and paying no mind to the adolescent. "Hey, is anyone else up here?"
"Huh looks like someone learned how to talk again, and no it's just you and me."
"I can't believe this!" Eli said irritably. His sudden outburst caught Marceline's attention.
"What happened?"
"I make one little joke and they just ditch me." Marceline turned herself upside down.
"What was the joke?"
Eli shrugged. "Oh it was just about Finn and Anna repopulating the human race." The Vampire Queen asked who Anna was and received an answer immediately.
"Well some people can't take a joke."
Eli noticed her instrument for the first time. "You play guitar?"
"Yeah, and pretty damn well if I might add." A smile grew on Eli's face.
"Well I don't mean to brag but I was the lead guitarist in a garage band before I was frozen."
"Oh, well in that case…" Marceline slammed the sharpened edge of the guitar onto the attic floor, wedging in the floor boards. This made Eli jump half a mile and scream. "…play something." It took Eli a minute to realize what she had said. He grabbed the neck of the guitar and removed it from the floor.
"Anything?" Eli asked. He was answered with a nod. "All right then." Eli began to strum the guitar, making a peaceful sound.
"Honey why you calling me so late"
"It's kinda hard to talk right now"
"Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?"
"I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud
"Well, my girl's in the next room"
"Sometimes I wish she was you"
"I guess we never really moved on"
"It's really good to hear your voice saying my name"
"It sounds so sweet"
"Coming from the lips of an angle"
"Hearing those words makes me weak"
"Let it die"
"Never wanna say goodbye"
"But girl you make it hard to be faithful"
"With the lips of an angle"
"It's funny that you're calling me tonight"
"And yes I've dreamt of you too"
"Does he know you're talking to me"
"Will it start a fight"
"No I don't think she has a clue"
"Honey why you calling me so late?"
Marceline just floated there, speechless. She wanted to melt at the sound of his voice. She wanted to tell him that what she had just listened to was on of the most amazing thing she had ever heard. But she wasn't going to just spill her guts to a mere mortal.
"That, was kinda good." Eli handed the axe guitar back to its owner.
"Well, I guess I'll be going then." Marceline flew in front of Eli to stop him in his tracks.
"I never said you could leave mortal…" Eli's face became a little worried at the thought of what she would do. Because when he had ran from his sister's wrath several minutes ago, he had heard Finn exclaim that Marceline is worse than him. Finn hasn't known Eli for a day, and keeping his own past in mind the thought seems unlikely. But still, a person has to keep an open mind. "… not before you tell me your name."
"Eli." He said, some of the worry vanishing from his face.
"Well Eli, how would you like to sing a few songs with me?" She said with a small smile on her face, holding guitar her with both hands. Eli returned a smile.
"Sure, sounds like fun."
As Marceline and Eli jammed in the attic of the tree fort, Finn and Jake toured Michal and Anna around the land that they know and love.
"So I was thinking we would start our little tour with just random places, is that okay with you guys." Finn said as he looked back to Michal and Anna.
"We have nothing else to do, plus we're along for the ride." Anna answered for both of them.
"Sweet, than onward to the mountains my trusty steed!" Jake knew Finn was talking to him, so he neighed like a horse and rushed towards the Mountain Kingdom.
As they began the trek, Finn told the two stories of his past adventures. He recalled the time he and Jake happily walked into the coliseum of the Fight King, how they were forced to fight and defeat ghost gladiators. Michal was the first to speak his mind.
"That seems a little farfetched, don't ya think." Finn glared at the Captain with a small frown.
"You think I made it up?"
"Well it's just that, it is kinda hard to believe that you fought ghosts." Anna said with doubt.
"Hey Jake, forget the mountains. Let's take these guys to Choose Goose." The giant dog stopped and looked at his brother.
"Are you sure Finn, Choose Goose is into some pretty weird stuff, even by our standards."
"Yeah I know, but if they don't believe in stuff like that, they will after they see that crazy bird."
About ten minutes later all four arrived at Choose Goose's magic shack. Jake shrank back down to his normal size so everyone could get off. When Choose Goose realized he had customers, he greeted them formally.
"Ah the two young adventurers have arrived, and with two friends that should not be alive." The bird's greeting raised the eyebrows on the humans.
"You wanna run that by us again." Michal said, leaning closer to Choose Goose.
"I know you two have come before, the infamous Mushroom War."
"How did you find that out Choose Goose?" Jake said.
"Word travels fast in the Land of Ooo, but what can I do for you." Finn stepped forward.
"Choose Goose, these two don't believe in magic, I want you to change that." Choose Goose rubbed his bill in thought.
"Oh I have the perfect thing…" he dove under the counter of his shack only to return with a box in hands or wings more rather. The box was about as big as a shoe box but was wooden with a metal latch. He turned the latch and opened the box to reveal an assorted collection of rings and necklaces. "…magic bling!"
Anna walked up to the box and looked at the different jewelry. She picked up a necklace. The thread was black, attached to the thread were five small beads on either sides of a bright yellow gem.
"Would you mind if I try this on." Choose Goose nodded. "Go right ahead little girl, give it a whirl." She ignored the crazy bird and tried the necklace on. But the second the black thread hit the back of her neck, a white smoke exploded around her. Causing everyone to look away for a moment and then the smoke faded away to nothing. When Finn and Michal opened their eyes, they saw Anna was gone. Michal looked around frantically for his daughter, calling her name aloud. Finn was about to do the same when Jake tapped his side, he moved his head so he could ask Jake what he wanted. That's when a flash of yellow caught his eye.
"Anna, where are you!" Michal yelled.
"Uh, dude." Michal turned to Finn who was pointing at the ground, he followed the boy's finger and saw a small stripped cat with sand colored fur. It sat on the grass where Anna was standing, looking around from its perspective. Dangling from its neck was a gem, the same color as the fur. Michal rushed over, and gently picked the cat up.
"Anna, is that you?" Michal said looking directly at the cat's face. The small cat let out a meow, but Michal wasn't sure if it really was her. "Well then, I guess it's a bad thing that I'm a dog person, huh." As a response the cat drew back its ears and hissed. "Yep, that's you." Finn walked up to Choose Goose for help.
"How do we change Anna back to normal?"
"Remove the collar, and the girl cat will be much taller." Finn turned to tell Michal what to do but he had already heard. Once the necklace was off, the cloud of smoke reappeared and then so did Anna. She yanked the necklace from Michal's hands and tossed it back into the box. Anna turned to Finn, very mad and also trying hard to fight back tears.
"You didn't have to turn me into a cat, Finn!" Finn was shocked, he didn't know what to say. "Uh that, it was, I don't…"
"You know what, save it!" The tears began to form in her eyes. "I don't wanna hear anything you have to say right now!" After that, Anna ran off into the woods. The Captain sighed.
"I'll go talk to her." He said as he walked after his daughter.
"Oh my, bye bye." Finn was a little annoyed by his retort.
"Choose Goose, shut up." He said as he started walking after Anna as well, only to be stopped by Jake's overly outstretched hand. Finn turned to see his brother shaking his head, telling him to let her own father handle the situation.
Michal wandered through the forest, looking for Anna. Every now and then he would call out her name. While he was walking Michal could have sworn heard the soft sounds of crying. Michal followed the sound and they lead him straight to Anna. She was sitting at the base of a tree. Her arms wrapped the legs that were pressed up against her chest, crying into her knees. The Captain knelt next to the weeping girl. "What's wrong?" Anna looked up at her father with her tear stained face.
"I want to go home." She said in a shaky voice.
"Um, Anna we…"
"Yeah I know, we can't! It got blown up, along with the rest of the world. When we got in those tubes, you promised everything is gonna be okay. How can you see a bright future?" Anna was right and Michal knew it. No matter how many times he broke down the current turn of events, life would never be the same for their small family. Michal sat down to try and comforted her
"Anna I'm gunna tell you the truth, people almost never see a bright future in anything." Anna buried her face back into her knees.
"You're not very good at this are you, Dad."
"Would you let me finish, but those who can't see that future, make it happen. And the blood of a Marine that runs through your veins, says that you're strong, you're willing, you're stubborn…" He placed his hand on her shoulder, making her bring her head up to look deep into his eyes "…and that you're ready for almost anything that life has to throw at you." Anna looked back up at Michal and tilted her head onto his upper arm. The captain stood up and reached for her hand. "How 'bout we stop this tour and just go back to Finn and Jake's tree house." With a sniffle, Anna took her father's hand.
"Okay."
The two humans made their way back to Choose Goose's shack to find Finn and Jake waiting for them.
"You all right Anna?" Finn asked.
"Yes everything's fine Finn." She said still with an unsteady voice and Finn knew she was lying. He wanted to make her smile, so he thought what would make anyone happy and then it hit him.
"Hey Anna, how much do you like apple pie?" Jake gaped at Finn's question, as he exactly what he was talking about, but Anna didn't really know how to respond.
"Well I did like the apple pies from McDonald's." A wide grin appeared on Finn's face.
"Then I know exactly where you need to go."
After some time they reached the little pink house, which belonged to the one and only Tree Trunks. Whose apple pies are almost as famous as the hero Billy. "Trust us Anna, if Tree Trunk's pie won't put a smile on that face, nothing will." Jake said as the three humans hopped off of him. Finn knocked on the door and the little green elephant opened the door.
"Finn, Jake come in. Oh and I see you brought friends." Michal and Anna followed the two adventurers in the small house, which was a bit crowded with the five people inside of it.
"Tree Trunks, this is Michal and Anna, they're new to Ooo and need to taste the delight that is your apple pie."
"Well you're in luck, I just put a fresh pie in the oven. It should be ready in a few minutes. You all can wait outside till then." Everyone walked toward the door, except for Michal who was waddling due to the low ceiling. "But not you Anna, I want to talk to you." Anna stayed behind as the rest of them wandered outside. "What did Finn mean when he said you and Michal are new to Ooo?" She sat down at the table and told Tree Trunks her family's story as if it were nothing, but Anna knew how to fake being happy about something, and Tree Trunks knew how to spot that.
"Let me tell you a story, one pretty girl to another." Anna just nodded. "One day, I went on an adventure with Finn and Jake to find the crystal gem apple. When we found it in a dark and scary forest, I took a bite out of it. Then I was transported to a crystal dimension, where became a bit crazy with power, and was named Quartzia, Queen of the crystal men."
"Umm."
"Several weeks later, I had Finn captured to be made my king. But Finn and Jake stopped me before I did anything I'd regret." The young girl waited for Tree Trunks to finish before she started to talk.
"Nice story, but why are you telling it to me?"
"Because your eyes said that you needed some comfort." Anna was shocked
"M-my eyes."
"Mmhm, they also say you're scared, like you don't belong here and they're wrong."
"But I don't belong here, Princess Bubblegum told me basically everything that's out there. Demons, giants and basically everything in between. I was born and raised in the suburbia of San Francisco. If that stupid war had never happened, I'd be with my friends at the mall, living the life I was supposed to live." She said bowing her head, the tears reforming in her eyes.
"Hey now…" Tree Trunks used her trunk to raise her head. "… I don't know what you're talking 'bout, but I know how I can make you feel better." Anna wiped her eyes with her hands.
"How?"
"You need to find something in this world that brings you joy."
"Like what?"
"Well I have my apples, the Princess has her Kingdom, and Finn and Jake just like lending a hand where it's needed." Anna still had her doubts about the subject.
"Does it really work?"
"Well of course, how else do you think I got used to living next door to a troll family?" Out of the courner of Anna's eyes, she could see movement. She turned her head and saw her Dad, Finn, and Jake, talking. Tree Trunks words ran through her mind as she focused on Finn,
'Joy'.
The timer on the stove went off, making Anna jump. "Oh my pie is done." Before Tree Trunks removed the pie from the oven she went to the open window. "Now y'all boys come in now, the pie is ready." Within ten seconds Finn and Jake were at the door, Michal right behind them. As everyone took their seats, Tree Trunks served the pie slices. Jake wasted no time eating
"If by any chance you two don't like your pie, me and Jake would be happy to take it." Finn said taking the first bite of his slice. Anna and Michal raised their pies at the same time, but Anna hesitated.
"This isn't going to turn me into anything, is it?" Michal sighed.
"Anna just eat the thing, it's actually really good." She followed her father's command and tasted the pie, and it was a glorious explosion of flavor. Everyone relished every bite until only the crumbs remained.
"You were right Jake, that was perfect." Anna said, hands on her stomach. "Yeah, I haven't eaten anything with that strong a flavor in a long time."
Finn's mind raced as he heard Michal's words, then he had the feeling as if he was forgetting something.
"Strong, strong?" Finn continued to think until he realized what he had forgotten and Finn's hand meet his forehead. "I can't believe I almost forgot about her." Jake raised his head from the table.
"Forget about who, Finn?"
"Susan."
Anna tilted her head. "Who's Susan?"
"She's another human." Finn answered immediately. Michal and Anna were very surprised, so surprised that it would have been a textbook, spit take moment, had they been drinking something.
"How does something like that slip your mind?" Michal asked. The human boy shrugged.
"I don't know my mind sometimes works in…" Finn wiggled his fingers on either side of his head. "… mysterious ways. Do you two wanna' meet her?"
"Well yeah!" Anna said leaning forward. Jake then jumped on to the top of the table.
"Then our next stop is Beautopia!" Jake at that moment did a backflip off the table and bounced like a ball out the door.
"Sometimes I worry about him." Finn said as he made his way to the door but he turned around half-way. "But that's ok, 'cause sometimes I worry about myself too." Finn then turned back and ran after Jake to make sure he didn't disappear. Michal turned to Anna.
"That kid is some kind of strange, ain't he."
"Well when you get past some of the randomness, he's actually seems kinda fun." The two humans said goodbye to Tree Trunks and followed the two adventurers.
"Now y'all come back anytime you want, oh and Anna don't you forget about what you need to find." Tree Trunks called out after them.
"I won't." Anna shouted back.
Once the group reached the hatch that leads to Beautopia, Michal saw the Candy kingdom in the distance and asked Jake if he could retrieve the duffle bags he and Eli had left there. The dog was happy to grant the wish. That left Finn, Michal, and Anna to go by themselves to the underground city. As they made their way down the ladder, it got darker and darker. Finn was the first to step off the ladder, so he blinked several times so his eyes could adjust to the darkness. Michal and Anna appeared in Finn's eyesight, along with millions of random objects that littered the ground.
"Come on, it's this w…" Finn stopped dead as he held out his arms to stop the other two as well. Twenty-five feet in front of them was a green animal pool toy, just sitting on the edge of a platform and completely oblivious to the humans. Michal was the only one to speak.
"Finn, what the hell?"
"Lub-glub, it's really hard to explain what it is. But what it is is just horrible. But don't worry I have…" Finn reached back to right above his pack. He stopped in mid sentence when he realized he went to grab air. "I'm such an idiot! My sword is back at the tree fort!" Finn yelled. The pool toy turned its head and stared at them.
"Michal, give me your jacket."
"Why?" Michal asked.
"I don't have time to explain, just give me your jacket and please don't go near that thing." Michal decided to just give Finn his light camo jacket. Finn took the article of clothing and ran off out of sight. Michal glanced at the pool toy that was staring back and started to walk toward it.
"Uh, Dad." Anna whispered. The Captain stopped to whisper back.
"I didn't promise anything, now did I?" He kept on until the pool toy was at his feet. "Horrible." Michal laughed and kicked the pool toy back a foot into the water. He raised an eyebrow as the pool toy began to shake. It deflated as a black mass with tentacles and teeth pierced through the green rubber and roared at the Captain. "Holy crap!" was the only thing Michal said before the lub-glub grabbed him and pinned him to the ground. Michal placed his hands on the thing to keep it from biting off his face. As the lub-glub snapped it's misshapen teeth before drawing back for a better attack pose. But before it could strike, Michal pulled out his Glock and fired off two rounds. The lub-glub screamed in pain, not from the bullets but from flash of the gun. Michal quickly got up and tackled the lub-glub into the water. Anna didn't know what just happened. She walked slowly and cautiously toward the vanishing ripples.
"D-Dad." She said wearily. Everything was still, the only thing that was audible was Anna's accelerated heart beat. The lub-glub jumped out of the water and roared at Anna, she would have screamed but she was paralyzed with fear. Before the lub-glub could reach her, Finn grabbed Anna's arm and flung her back behind him. She scrapped her hands as she fell, but it's still better than what would have happened to her if Finn hadn't gotten to her first.
While Finn was gone, he had found a pointed piece of wood that would work as a make-shift sword. He tied Michal's jacket to the pointed end and lit it on fire with a match. Before the lub-glub could attack the new target, Finn drove the flaming wood into the black flesh of the strange being. It cried in pain as the light from the flame reduced it to nothing but shreds of rubber. Once it was dead, Finn made sure Anna was okay.
"I'm fine. I-I'm just a little freaked out." The two of them then heard something emerge from the water. Finn, acting on his warrior instinct, turned and pointed the burning wood at whatever came out of the water. He instantly lowered the make-shift weapon when he saw it was Michal. He couldn't help but look angry at him.
"I told you not to go near that thing, Michal." The Captain put both of his hands above his head.
"I know, but in defense, you never told me something like that would happen."
"What took you so long to come up, anyway?" Finn asked. Michal answered as he pointed to his holster.
"Dropped my gun." Both of them smiled at each other, but Finn's smile faded when he saw what was on Michal's shoulder. A green frog with orange polka dots, roughly the size of a baseball made Finn back up slowly.
"Michal, don't make any sudden movements." He glanced at his shoulder and let out a small laugh as he stepped out of the water.
"You were brave when it came to that glub thing, but you're scared of this little frog." Michal removed the frog from his shoulder, set it on the ground and took two steps forward. What Michal did not realize, that when he set the frog down it started to expand. "That's kinda' pathetic, don't you think." Finn stepped back from the Captain and he looked back at the amphibian. Michal looked back at the frog that was once the size of a baseball but is now the size of a yoga ball. "Oh come on." Michal said right before the frog exploded, sending green slime all over him. Finn stayed where he was, which was a few inches away from the splash zone.
"Well there's good news and bad news, Michal." Michal wiped some slime from his face so he could see. "The good news, the slime comes off with water. The bad news…" Anna had walked up behind Finn and toward her father.
"Whoa Dad, you look like you just got honored at the kid's choice awar…" Anna instantly slid back with her hand covering her nose and mouth. "Eeewww! That's disgusting!" Finn continued with the bad news.
"…the smell is the tricky part."
(The name of the song Eli sang was originally 'Not Alone', by likin park. But then I found a better song to place in this chapter, 'Lips of an Angle' by Hinder.)
