A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! With longer chapters, too! I am so, so sorry for the hiatus peoples! Needed to organize a little bit, throw out useless ideas that I was gonna try to shoehorn (word of the week, word of last year was Raxacoricofallapatorius!) into the story. So, I am furious at Finn for the way he acted in The Red Throne episode, but I'm struggling to confine myself to a pairing for Finn and when I say that, I mean I'm conflicted between Finn and Fionna and Finn and FP. Please, give some feedback on which pairing I should write. But, until then, I'm turning off the pairing setting for Finn and Fionna so people don't get confused. But, I am now ready. Also, I'm gonna try to work in another name change for Inficere (pronounced een-fee-CHE-re because it's Latin) as to do away with the mouthful. So, let's get back to the old grind!
Chapter 5
In the Land of Ooo...
Finn was asleep.
Well, of course he was asleep, it was three in the morning! But, a disturbing dream played out in his brain...
Finn stood in the dark, or more so, floated, for there was no ground to stand on. He looked around frantically, put on edge by the mere atmosphere. That is, until a figure almost like a shadow on the wall appeared, except the shadow was pink. "'Sup, Finn," he said.
Finn's jaw dropped, "Prismo?! What the nuts are you doing in my dream?"
"Oh yeah, I'm supposed to give you this pretty creepy prophecy thing from, like, a thousand years ago from the Cosmic Owl. Okay, okay, here I go," Prismo dropped his voice an octave and it became gravelly:
"The laws of time and space behold
A realm in jeopardy of destruction
Stars will wilt and grow cold
Unless universes cast down obstruction
To face down the impending threat.
But, know young hero, an illness falls,
Fatal without cure once it has set.
The King of Evil grows, young hero stand tall
Prepare yourself to defend tomorrow
For, time you lack and cannot borrow."
Finn's jaw hit the imaginary floor; there was a prophecy about him?! "Yeah," Prismo voice went back to normal, "Pretty creepy right? Well, that's all I came here for. Tell Jake I said hey."
Finn shot up in his bed, covered in a cold sweat, shivering violently. His breathing was quick and shaking, his eyes darted around the room. He felt so hot in his pajamas, yet he was shivering.
He needed air.
So, he leaped stealthily out of bed and threw off his pajamas and went out on one of the balconies, putting on only a pair of navy blue cargo shorts. He left on the wife-beater he usually wore under his PJ's and it clung to his slightly-more-than-toned torso. He also left his hat inside, so his long, blond hair was free. It wasn't too unruly, but it still came down to about his shoulders, if not an inch or two higher. There was a steady breeze that quickly cooled him off, sending comforting goosebumps up his spine and across his arms.
He also tucked a stray lock of hair that had been thrown by the wind behind his ear. He sighed as he thought, 'Man, that was banaynays... I wonder what Prismo was talking about.' His mind, in a haze of random thought, wandered back to Flame Princess, or more so, his love life in general. It had been little over a few days since Cinnamon Bun proclaimed that he loved Flame Princess. 'Outdone by a pastry...' he thought bitterly, 'I don't know whether I should laugh or cry.' A single, mirthless laugh left his lips as he continued to muse, 'Seriously, what was I doing? I don't think I've ever been that awkward around someone... Maybe I was just that desperate to get back with her? Ugh, this is confusing...'
Back in Aaa...
"Ok, uh- Ah! Now, I just need to- oh, no, not that- erm..."
Inficere was currently trying to figure out how to retract his claws and needless to say, it wasn't going too well. He was fumbling about, trying to understand what to do (thus, reader, the quote above). At the same time, Fionna, Cake, and Ice Queen were dodging every which way to avoid being rent violently by the serrated claws. It was at that time that Inficere, once again became irritated, "Erg... Darn it! That's enough!"
He shut his eyes time and willed the virus to recede. It wasn't until after a minute did he feel his arms shift back to their original shape. He exhales sharply and breathed heavily, "Man, I'm... I'm gonna have to practice that."
He swallowed and sat straight down on the ice floor. "You know," he mused, "What if my difficulty with doing that is because of the cold? If the colds my weakness, I'm in for it every winter..."
With a chuckle, he continued to catch his breath. Fionna walked up to him somewhat cautiously, "You know, you're still free to stay at the Treefort if you want."
Inficere let out a mirthless laugh, "How can I be sure I won't just be contained and imprisoned."
The other human seemed to have a hurt look, "What? You don't trust me?"
"No, no," said he, "I don't trust Gumball. Not a lot of people in my universe are very fond of either of the Candy Monarchs. No offense to the people who do, but I don't like 'em very much."
Fionna looked confused, "Why?"
"Well... It's hard for me to explain," he paused, "People don't like the candy monarchs much because they do anything to protect their subjects-"
"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
Inficere took in some deep breaths, "If you had let me finish, you would have known that they don't pay mind to the consequences of protecting their subjects. They're complete sociopaths!"
"Socio-whats?"
Cake perked up, "That means they're antisocial and don't have a conscience, baby."
"Oh!" she trailed off and stopped for a while, "... Yeah, I could see that. Kinda like Ice Queen."
"Hey! I'm not that antisocial! I hang with my BFFAEAE's right? -It means Best Friends Forever And Ever And Ever, by the way," Ice Queen half whined, half informed.
Inficere's eye twitched slightly, "Ice Queen... people don't call their friends tha- nevermind. Anyway, my whole point is that I need to find my way home! Virus or not, I need to go home, so!-" he turned on his heel to face Fionna, "-We need to find someone or something powerful enough to rip open the very fabric of space and time to get me home."
It was unsettling to say the least, how cheerfully he said it. Ice Queen spoke up, "Well... I could take you to Wizard City, but the last time a non-magic person went there-" she gave Fionna and Cake look, "-things didn't go so well. Y'know, 'Wizards only fools. Keep it tight'."
"Yeah," he murmured, "But, I could probably pass off as a wizard, given my ability to turn my arms into weapons."
Fionna looked over to him, "True, but me and cake are pretty much wanted criminals there!"
"Then, maybe just me and him could go," Ice Queen said, out of the blue, "Besides, he needs a certified wizard-slash-witch to say the passcode."
Inficere shrugged, then grinned, "Sounds fine to me, let's go."
"Oh, yay!" she yelled while Inficere merely chuckled at her antics.
Elsewhere...
"Everything is going according to schedule. I will strike today," the towering figure cackled.
"But what of the Mercer-like fellow?" a small, cowering goblin asked.
The withered, rotten flesh hanging over bony teeth twisted into a wicked grin filled with madness and bloodlust, "No worries, child. I don't believe he will be a threat. But..."
He pause a moment to put skeletal finger to his chin, "If he were to master his new found abilities to there fullest abilities, he could prove to be a quite troublesome adversary... Very well, we shall strike at the Wizard City!"
As he began to walk away, behind him began to reveal rows upon rows of hundreds of monstrosities whose bodies were horribly mutated to the point where the flesh, as mutated as it was, bled profusely from the pores themselves. This was the product of the BLACKLIGHT Virus.
And they were about raise Hell.
As Inficere and Ice Queen left, her flying, him running at ungodly speeds, leaving his signature crimson-gold streaks, they stay silent until the monarch couldn't stand it anymore. "Inficere?" she called out to him.
"Yeah?" he answered.
"So if your name used to be James, what made you change it?"
Immediately, he remembered the melodramatic scene at the Candy Castle caused by the virus and blushed, "Well... I might've... Sorta... had a tantrum."
She raised a long, flapping eyebrow, prompting him to continue, "You see, Prince Gumball was the one to give me this virus and then told me he would have to quarantine me until he found a vaccine for the virus. I got mad, changed my name, and stormed out. That caused you to find me in the Ice Kingdom. Now that I think about, I don't even like the name Inficere! It's such a mouthful!"
Suddenly, Ice Queen wiped her forehead of imaginary sweat and sighed, "Whew, okay, I'm not in the wrong, then!"
She never saw the deadpanned expression on his face, but he continued, "If you would help, I want to figure out a new-new name for myself."
"I dunno..." she trailed off, "Picking names is hard... but, I guess I could."
The boy gave her a sidelong glance with a smile, "Thanks... Hey! There's the gate!"
The monarch shot him an incredulous look, "How do you know that?"
Inficere rolled his eyes and sighed, "I have my ways..."
Meanwhile, his thoughts betrayed him, 'Honestly! People can't remember the concept of the whole 'different-universe-with-a-tv-show' thing!' He was pulled (more like yanked) from his thoughts by the Ice Queen's cries, "Stop!"
When he looked, he saw the rock wall of the bluff rapidly approaching, so as quickly as he could, he dug his heels into the ground to help him slide to a halt, dragging an assortment of topsoil, pebbles, and even large rocks along with his feet, momentarily putting his hand on the ground to keep balance. A sigh of relief escaped his lips in the midst of panting, but when he looked to the Ice Queen, she'd already said the password and was flying in. He muttered under his breath, "No, no. I'm fine. Nothing bruised, thanks."
Both of them were setting a slow pace, so both of them were walking when they entered the gate. Unfortunately, the one-eyed guardian stopped them, regarding them with his monotonous voice, "Halt! Who is this non-magic fool?"
Ice Queen froze in her tracks and began to stutter, "Uhh, he's well, he's..."
"-I'm the, uhh, Skinwalker Wizard!"
"What is a 'Skinwalker'?" the guardian asked.
"Well, it's kinda like this; I take someone and use their appearance. Insides and all," the young man explained.
Guardian eyed him suspiciously, "That sounds more like grotesque cannibalism than magic, you sicko!"
"No, no, no, no! It comes with my powers! I can turn my arms into claws!" he did so and the guardian relaxed a bit.
"Ah, I see," he nodded, "You are not a registered Wizard, though. Head to the northern end of the City, next to the Tavern where people usually bribe others for information on other people, and there, you'll find the registration building."
"Thanks, Mort!" Ice Queen exclaimed overzealously as they walked away.
"Ice Queen," he replied in greeting, his monotone breaking to show his annoyance.
Her smiled didn't falter as the both of them walked on, but something about the twitch in the woman's smile made Inficere realize that maybe, just maybe, the monarch wasn't as naive as he had thought she was when he watched the show. It saddened him further to think, 'Simone... just how lonely are you?' They traveled the whole way to the northern end of the city in silence, Ice Queen leading the way, until they came to the registration building, which they weren't actually going in. Instead, they went inside the beat up tavern to the side of it. The place was crawling with dirty wizards and looked, from Inficere's standpoint, more like a bar from the late seventeenth century Caribbeans.
In fact, some of the wizards were so wasted, they were fistfighting instead of just using their magic and, unfortunately, he knew exactly what kind of headache they were in for in the morning. Although there were many strangers in this place, he did see someone he at least saw in the show; Huntress Wizard. Knowing she probably didn't like Ice Queen, just as she didn't like Ice King in Ooo, he motioned the ice wizard/witch to stay there while he went over and leaned on the bar next to her. Almost immediately, she turned her head from her drink to glare at him, "You must be new, or you'd know I like to drink in peace..."
In a moment of brashness, he listened the voice in his head tell him, "Assertive~..." so what came out of his mouth was, "All I want is information, toots."
He half regretted it, half didn't when she'd pinned him to the bar, a magic arrow to his throat, causing all eyes to be on them. "What did you call me?" she hissed.
Even though he was scared of the woman, it was like he couldn't control his mouth letting out a snarky reply, "I called you toots, toots. Problem?"
What came next terrified both him, her, and Ice Queen. Him and Ice Queen because Huntress Wizard had stabbed him through his neck with the arrow, but it terrified Huntress Wizard because the arrow broke in half inside his throat and was pushed out of their respective sides and any blood that came from the puncture wound was near instantly pulled back into the wound as it closed. Inficere's clamped-shut eyes slowly opened, then began to smirk at the memory of being able to take multiple puncture wounds without truly being injured. A smirk crawled across his face as he stood up slowly, Huntress Wizard getting off him equally slow, an incredulous look plastered to her face. When the both of them were upright and facing each other, his smirk came undone into a half-smile as he looked down to his hands.
He closed and opened each one, "Huh... I've never done that before..." he looked up to the woman in front of him and bent his elbows to make a mock-surrender gesture, "We got off on the wrong foot. Sorry I called you toots. I am Skinwalker Wizard, but most just cut off the 'Wizard' part."
He held out his hand to her, but there was a look in his eye that neither Huntress Wizard or Ice Queen liked. It was an intimidating look, goading her, challenging her to defy him and his eyes even flashed his glowing crimson-gold color that seemed to be unique to him, for the colors didn't mesh and were distinguishable. Nevertheless, she took his hand and shook it firmly, "Yeah... Huntress Wizard."
Suddenly, the barflies went back to whatever they were doing and his attitude did a one-eighty as he smiled genuinely and said, "Now, I just want to see if you have some info 'cause, yeah... I'm new."
"And...?" she asked.
At this point, they both sat down at the bar, "And, I need to know who to go to if I wanted to travel dimensions. Like, certain dimensions."
She leaned over her drink and scrunched her lips off to the side as she thought. She sighed, "Well, there are two options..."
Ice Queen came over and stood next to him as he replied, "Yeah?"
"Well, first there's that dingus, Magic Man," a firm shake of his head told her his answer to that one, "Well, then you're gonna want to go see Ron James. I swear he's got a potion for just about anything. That's about as far as I can help."
"Thanks," Inficere said, "I'll find a way to pay you back somehow."
All he received was a nod in reply and, with that, the monarch and young man left for Ron James' place.
When they both walked into the potions shop, Inficere's jaw hit the floor. The shear number of voluminous racks of potions was enough to stun him. Then, the man himself came into view; Ron James, "'Sup, guy and gal. Are you jonesing for a potion? Buy somethin' to fly? Or maybe a love potion for that special gal? Whatever you need, Ron James has got it!"
"You want a true challenge?" the boy asked.
"Lay it on me, brother! Ron James can handle anything put in front of him!" he exclaimed.
Inficere smirked, "I need a dimension potion."
As quickly as the words left his mouth, the man behind the counter had a bottle on the table, accompanied by Ron James spouting, "Bam! Get a load of this! one splash of this in your face, and you'll be seeing other dimensions for-"
"I don't think you understand," the boy's smirk widened, "I need something to travel dimensions."
Ron James' smile faltered.
The reason why I didn't reverse the genders of all the wizards is because (A), I'm lazy, and (B), I'm not creative enough to create whole new characters from their opposite genders. Yeah, bad excuse I know. Once again, I am so sorry for the hiatus. I feel absolutely terrible for making you wait, but no more! HaHa!