Welcome back to Something More everyone! I hope I haven't kept you all waiting too long. I also hope you all are getting ready for a fun and eventful summer. Remember to favorite and follow, and please be sure to check out my other stories if you're interested.

Enjoy the chapter!

I do not own 'Adventure Time.'

Chapter 38

What the Heart Wants

Moving as quietly as he could on his tippy toes, Jake carried the broken and busted vacuum cleaner across the living room to the couch. He used his stretchy powers to lift up the couch and hide the vacuum cleaner underneath, gently setting the couch down on top of it.

Jake pointed an angry finger beneath the couch. "You won't terrorize me anymore," he whispered. "Now to get rid of that can of spare change above the fridge."

"Jake? Cheongsogi bosyeossnayo?" Lady Rainicorn called from the kitchen.

"Oh, uh, I don't know where the vacuum cleaner is," Jake called back. "Unrelated, you wouldn't happen to know where Jake Jr. keeps all of her fireworks, would you?"

Jake's cell phone rang and vibrated in the flesh fold he kept it in. He pulled the phone out and answered the call. "Hello, Jake the Dog speaking. If this is social services again, I've already explained myself. My kids were only kids for a day. I don't owe them squat in child support."

"No, Jake, it's me, Phoebe."

"Oh, Flame Princess! Hey!" Jake said. "How's it going?"

"It's going good," FP said. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, I'm just," Jake looked at the couch. "Taking care of some stuff. So, whaddya need? Need advice on Finn or something? Totally happy for the two of you, BT dubs."

"Aww, thanks," said Flame Princess. "And, I…kind of wanted to ask for a favor."

"Sure thing. Whatcha need?" Jake asked.

"It's about Finn. I'm…I'm worried about him," FP admitted. "Ever since he helped me find my mom, something weird's been going on with him."

"You noticed that too?" Jake asked. "I didn't really wanna say anything."

"Well, can you?" FP asked. "I'm not sure what to say to him. I thought maybe you could. Well, that, and, I heard he's been hanging out with that Huntress Wizard chick, and, I don't trust myself enough not to roast him if I talk to him about it. And I don't mean heavily insult and criticize him, I mean–"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Jake said. "Don't worry, next time I see him, I'll talk to Finn about it. Maybe it's about time someone did."

"Thanks, Jake," FP said. "I really appreciate it."

"Hey, it's all good, FP," Jake said.

"Um, one more thing," Phoebe said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "Is…is Finn's asthma getting any better?"

"It's…not getting any worse," Jake offered.

"...That's good enough for me. I don't feel as bad now," the princess said before hanging up.

Jake stared down at his phone. "...Lady?!"

"Geulaeyo, nae salang?" Lady called back.

"Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you, babe!"

"Awwww. Gamsahabnida."

Finn patted the dirt around the base of the flower and stood back up. He looked down at the newest addition to the grave of the late doctor.

"There you go, Dr. Gross. Your grave looks all nice and pretty now," Finn said. "I'm sorry I don't come out to see you too often since you died. But, considering your life, who can blame me? You were kinda awful."

"You show chivalry by honoring the mad doctor with a grave." Huntress Wizard stepped up next to Finn, looking down at Gross's headstone. "Personally, I would have used whatever skin she had left to make a quilt, and tossed away the metal bits."

"That's…disturbing," said Finn.

"I never said I would ever use the quilt," HW said. "It'd be more of a decoration piece."

"That…never mind," Finn said. "Listen. I asked you over to talk about…you know…" Finn looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "That thing we talked about?"

"And here I was thinking you invited me over because you liked having me around." Huntress brought a hand to her chest. "I'm hurt."

"Uh…I…I mean…" Finn shrugged. "I don't…not like…having you around."

Huntress chuckled in amusement. "Be patient, Finn. I've already told you, this type of magic isn't quite my forte. I'll get it done when I get it done. No sooner, no later. In exchange," HW came up and playfully booped Finn on the nose. "You'd better remember to uphold your end of the bargain, mister."

"Yeah, yeah. You can have as many favors as you want from me," Finn said.

"Careful there, Finn. That's not something you should ever tell any wizard," HW said. "That being said, I promise I won't be too greedy."

"Huntress," Finn said softly. "I need this to work."

"...I know you do," HW said. "And it will. I promise."

Finn looked down at Gross's grave. "...It almost feels like I'm letting her win. Like I'm giving her the last laugh."

Huntress slowly closed her eyes. "...The worst fear of any runaway…is having to come back home."

Finn turned and gave HW a questioning look.

"I'll contact you once the job is done," the wizard said. "See ya then, Finn."

Huntress spread her arms and morphed into a giant eagle. She flapped her wings and took off into the air. Finn watched her fly off before returning his gaze to the headstone.

He was interrupted from his thinking when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Finn took a breath to recompose himself before taking out his phone. He had gotten a text message from Princess Bubblegum.

[finn help kingdom danger hiding hurry be care]

And that was it.

Finn blinked. He dialed Bubblegum's number and brought the phone up to his ear, letting it ring.

There was a click, then breathing. Nothing else.

"...Princess?" Finn asked. "Is…is that you?"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," a deep and smooth voice replied. "You have the wrong number."

Finn frowned. "No, I don't think so. Who is this? Where's the princess?"

"Like I said. Wrong number. Have a nice day."

Whoever it was hung up.

Finn tried to call PB's phone again, but it wouldn't connect. Finn instead dialed another number and waited for the call to go through.

"Yo, what's up, man?"

"Hey, Jake. Have you been to the Candy Kingdom lately?" Finn asked.

"Not recently. Why?"

"I think something's happened to the Princess," Finn said. "Meet me outside the town?"

"You got it."

Finn hung up and put his phone back in his jacket pocket. He took out his inhaler next and breathed in from the device. "Time to get back to work."

Finn rode his motorcycle up to the front gates of the Candy Kingdom town. With Nothung strapped to his back, he leaned against his bike and waited for Jake to show up. Finn looked to the raised drawbridge and closed gates. Normally, there were banana guards guarding the place. But there weren't any bananas in sight. In fact, everything was eerily silent.

Jake, in the form of a car, came out of the woods and strolled up to Finn. "Hey, bro! What's up?" The magical bulldog morphed back into his normal form. "PB in trouble?"

"Yeah, I think so. And I don't think it's just her." Finn brought a hand to his ear. "Hear that?"

Jake tilted his head and lifted up one of his ears, inflating it real big. "...No."

"Exactly," said Finn. "Stretch up and take a look at the Kingdom. See what you can see."

"On it." Jake stretched his legs and lifted himself up. He stood on high legs over the moat and above the wall to take a look.

"Well, what do you see?" Finn asked.

"Uh…nothing." Jake came back down, shrinking his legs back to normal size. "Dude, it's a freaking ghost town in there."

"That can't be good," Finn said. "Give me a boost?"

"One boost comin' up." Jake stretched into a spring-loaded platform. Finn jumped on top of him and was launched right over both the moat and the wall. With an acrobatic flip and a ninja roll, Finn landed gracefully onto the candy grass on the other side.

"Ten points," said Finn.

"Eh, I'd give you a nine." Jake stretched himself over the wall and next to Finn. "Your landing was flawless, but your entry could have used a little more work."

"You just can't please some people." Finn took a look around. "...Dang, Jake. You weren't kidding."

No, he was not. There wasn't a single Candy Person in sight. Open windows moved slightly in the wind. A nearby swingset swayed gently, making a little squeak noise with each movement. Just to complete the ghost town look, a newspaper drifted across the road, carried by the wind.

"Oh, Glob. I think I know what happened." Jake took out his phone and angrily dialed in a number, holding the phone up to his ear and tapping his foot.

"Waddup?"

"Ice King. Did you kidnap the entire Candy Kingdom?" Jake demanded.

"What, you mean recently?"

"Yeah."

"No, I don't think so."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh, hold on, let me check. Hey, Gunter! Do we have any prisoners…?! Dr. Princess? Man, I completely forgot she was still here. Any Candy handy…? Double check… You sure…? Okay, thank you Gunter sweetie. You still there, Jake?"

"What was that about Dr. Princess?"

"Not important. I don't have any Candy People held here against their will, sorry."

"What about Bubblegum?"

"Man, I wish. Sorry, don't got her here, either."

"Oh. Well, okay," Jake said. "Thanks anyway, IK."

"Don't mention it."

Jake hung up and put his phone back in his body. "We're gonna have to rescue Dr. Princess after this."

"I'll put it on the list," Finn said. "What I want to know is where the ham is everyone? You think you can sniff them out?"

"You want me to sniff out candy in a town made out of candy?" Jake asked. "You're asking me to look for a needle in a needle stack. Cram, that sounds painful."

"Let's start looking then," Finn said. "See if we can find any clues."

The two of them began their way through the Kingdom. The boys looked all around, but there was not a soul to be seen, sugary or otherwise. Finn took out his phone to try to call Bubblegum again, but he couldn't connect.

"Okay, now I'm getting worried," Finn said.

"Really? It wasn't when we noticed the ghost town?" Jake asked.

"Now I'm getting worried-er," Finn said.

"That's better," said Jake. "So, hey, listen. This might not be the best time, but, are you…you know, doing okay?"

"What? Yeah," Finn replied. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that, for the past couple of days, you've been…kind of distant," Jake said. "Flame Princess even gave me a call to ask what's up. And when the girlfriend asks one of the boyfriend's friends for help, that ain't a good sign. Ever since you helped her out with her mom, she's noticed that something is up with you."

"I've…had a lot on my mind lately, that's all," Finn said. "Seeing Phoebe with her mom, it…it really let a few things out of the vault."

"Is it something you want to talk about?" Jake asked.

"Not really, no," said Finn. "I'm fine, Jake, I promise. Let's just save the princess, alright?"

"Alright," Jake said. Although, he didn't look entirely convinced.

Finn and Jake approached the castle, walking up the steps to the front doors, which were closed.

"Should we knock?" Finn asked. "Or you wanna just bust the door down?"

"Eh, PB will throw a fit if we break down the door," Jake said. "Is it even locked?"

Finn walked to the double doors and pushed them open. "No."

"Oh, dang. Think back to all of the doors we've kicked down," Jake said. "I wonder how many of them were even locked?"

"Let's go." Finn drew his sword and walked inside. "Stay on your toes."

"I don't have toes." Jake followed Finn inside. "I mean, if I want toes, I could totally shapeshift some toes. That actually sounds like a pretty cool idea. Why haven't I ever done that before?"

The castle halls were quiet as the two of them carefully navigated through the castle to the main throne room. Bubblegum wasn't there. Nor was any other Candy Person.

"Anybody home?" Finn called out.

"Why, yes. Somebody is."

Blue lightning shot down from the ceiling and blasted Finn and Jake both off their feet. Thrown onto their backs, the boys looked up to see a cackling witch floating in the air, hands crackling with blue electricity.

The mad, cackling witch had lima bean-green skin and dark-brown hair tied into a large bun nearly the same size as her head. Hovering in the air, she wore a light-brown cape over a teal, kimono-like dress that fitted on her person quite well, and on her feet were a matching pair of boots.

The witch, calling her a witch was a safe assumption at this point, let out another mad cackle. "Well, well, well." Her voice had a strange, magical, reverberating effect. "If it isn't the famous Finn the Human and his sidekick, Jake the Mutt."

"Jake the Dog!" Jake exclaimed angrily. "And I'm his partner, not his sidekick!"

"Who the ham are you?" Finn demanded. "And where's Bubblegum?!"

"I am Maja the Sky Witch," the stranger announced. "And my quarrel is not with you, Finn the human. Leave now, else suffer my wrath!"

"If you hurt the Princess, then that makes it our quarrel!" Jake shouted. "Did I use that word right?"

Maja sighed in aggravation. "So, you really wanna play? Well, okay." She floated down in front of Bubblegum's throne and sat down leisurely. "Let's play."

Maja brought her fingers to her lips and let out a sharp whistle. A bird with plumage like pure shadow flew through the open window into the room. The weird thing about the bird was that it was sporting a pair of bunny ears.

"The nuts is that thing?" Jake asked.

Maja raised her arm and let the black bird land on her hand. "This little birdie is my crabbit familiar."

"Crabbit?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, you know. Crabbit. Crow rabbit. It's what you call a portmanteau. You know, like brunch or bromance," Maja explained. "Funny thing, a portmanteau is also what you call a large trunk–"

"We don't care," Jake said.

"Fine, whatever," said Maja. "Crabbit! attack!"

The Crabbit flew off of Maja's hand and grew, developing a tall and fit, man-like body. Its beady, white eyes focused on Finn and Jake.

"Okay, that's…weird," Finn commented.

"I can take him." Jake let out a roar and grew to the Crabbit's size, charging at the black creature.

The Crabbit met Jake with, and I'm being serious here, a dance. The Crabbit danced around Jake, dodging every swing of his fists, and landing a karate chop and a kick wherever he could on the bulldog's body.

"Hold still, ya freaking crow rabbit man!" Jake shouted. "I don't care how good you are at dancing, I'm still gonna pound you!" Jake grew to twice the size of the Crabbit.

"Ah, ah. Keep it a fair fight." Maja pointed at Jake and sent a bolt of lightning at him. The lightning struck Jake and he shouted in pain.

"Jake!" Finn cried.

Jake took a knee as Maja's electricity danced across his body. As he was shrinking, the Crabbit kicked Jake across the room. Finn hopped out of the way before Jake could crash into him.

"At least it wasn't a robot this time," Jake croaked. "I'm willing to take a moment to appreciate that."

"Can you take on the Crabbit if I keep Maja off your back?" Finn asked.

"Totally." Jake got back on his feet. "Keep Cackles at bay, and I'll outdance this sucker big time."

Finn raised his sword and charged at Maja while Jake went after the Crabbit again. Maja stood up from the throne and raised a hand at Finn, sending a bolt of lightning at him. Finn raised Nothung and blocked the lightning as the witch continued to strike him bolt after bolt.

"Where's Bubblegum?!" Finn demanded.

"You're asking the wrong evil villain that question," Maja said as she fired her lightning at Finn. "I'm just the hired help who was happy for a chance to put Bubblegum in her place."

"I'll put you in yours!" Finn swung his sword at one of the bolts of lightning, deflecting the bolt and sending it back at Maja. The Sky Witch yelped before ducking out of the way, letting the deflected lightning blast Bubblegum's throne.

Finn let out a battle cry and charged at Maja again. Maja swiped her hand in front of her and began encased in a tornado. Finn was swept up off his feet and spun around Maja a couple of times before being tossed against the wall. Finn fell down to the floor and struggled to get back on his feet, using his sword for support as he lifted himself back up.

"Pitiful," Maja said. "What good is a sword against my awesome power?"

Maja raised her hands in the air and became surrounded by a cyclone, lifting up into the air. Finn raised his sword to block the bolts of lightning she fired at him. Finn struggled to keep up with the literally lightning-fast attacks, and Maja looked like she was enjoying herself.

"Oh, this is fun!" Maja shouted.

"You know what else is fun?" Finn asked. "Playing in the snow."

Finn aimed his outstretched hand at Maja and summoned a flurry of snow. Maja's cyclone sucked in the snow and spun all around the witch, blinding her vision.

"What the?" Maja looked around, trying to see past the snow whirling around her. "You're a magician?!"

Something else was being swept up in the cyclone, twirling all around Maja. Before she could realize what it was, a chain of ice was pulled tight into the center of the cyclone, wrapping around Maja and ensnaring her. The cyclone dissipated without Maja's control and the dreaded Sky Witch fell to the floor. Maja managed to get on her knees as she continued to struggle to escape her bonds.

Finn came up and pointed his sword at Maja's face. "Where is Bubblegum?"

Maja stared fearfully at Nothung. "S-s-she was taken to her bedroom," the witch stuttered. "I-I-I'm not sure what that creepy little monster is going to do to her, but–"

There was a loud, punching sound and the Crabbit was sent barreling into Maja. They both crashed into the throne with the Crabbit on top of Maja. The witch's familiar rolled off of Maja and landed on the floor before the throne, unconscious and groaning in pain. Maja had hit her head pretty hard on the throne and sat slouched with her tongue hanging out, put to sleep by the blow to the head.

Big Jake stomped up next to Finn and deflated back to his normal form. "Huh. You know, now that I get a closer look at her, I think I remember this crazy chick."

"Maja the Sky Witch? That's what she called herself," Finn said. "Who is she?"

"Eh, just your common nutjob looking to take over Ooo," Jake said. "Her plan was to take over the world Kingdom by Kingdom, starting with the Candy Kingdom. Maja here failed hardcore last time she tried it, and she's had it out for Bubblegum ever since. Is she really the one behind all of this? This whole biz seems way too subtle for her usual MO."

"Maja was just the enforcer, I think," Finn said. "That voice I heard on the phone. It wasn't hers. And she even mentioned she wasn't working alone."

"Did she say where the Candy People have been taken?" Jake asked.

"She told me where PB was taken," Finn said. "To her bedroom. Come on, let's move!"

Finn and Jake took off, running through the castle to get to the master bedroom.

"Hey, so, uh...Flame Princess told me that you've been hanging out with Huntress Wizard a lot lately," Jake said as they ran.

"You really wanna start talking about that right now?" Finn asked. "We're kind of in the middle of something."

"So, when you're not hanging out with your friends, or your girlfriend, you're hanging out with Huntress Wizard?" Jake asked.

"Dude. I am not cheating on Phoebe," Finn stated.

"Well, then, what have you been doing with Huntress?" Jake asked. "Why don't you wanna talk about it? Why are you acting so weird? You can see how this looks from our point of view. From Phoebe's point of view."

"HW has been…helping me cope, alright?" Finn said. "Watching Karen get zapped. Abandoning my own mom. Icing Gross. And after giving up Sarah's coin and watching Phoebe reunite with her own mom. It's been difficult. What do you want from me?"

"Man. I want to help you," Jake said. "We all do."

"...Let's just save the princess," Finn said. "That's the mission right now."

Jake gave Finn one more worried look before running alongside him in silence. They climbed the stairs of the castle to PB's bedroom. They both took a position at either side of the door, sword and fists at ready. They counted to three, nodded, then kicked down the door together, rushing into the room.

"Princess!" Finn cried.

They found Bubblegum, much to their surprise as well as relief, wearing a pink and white wedding dress. Her hands and feet were bound, tied behind her to the large, heavy dresser, and a piece of duct tape over her mouth. Although she was restrained, PB appeared unharmed.

"What the nuts?" Jake asked. "This has Ice King written all over it."

"You are not entirely wrong."

Finn blinked. "That voice."

Something stepped out of the shadowed corner. Something short, and red.

"Aw, sick," Finn said.

He was a red heart about the size of Peppermint Butler, with a disturbingly man-ish and detailed face. A featured nose and pearly-white overbite stood out the most on his face, as well as a pair of black eyebrows. A pair of arms and limbs protruded out of the heart's body, granting him mobility and basic motor function.

"What the funk is that?" Finn asked. "I've seen some creepy things in Ooo, but my Glob."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," the heart guy said in his deep and smooth voice. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know where the Candy People are all hiding, would you? It would be so much easier to get the Princess to comply if I could threaten the lives of her people. But, they are surprisingly good at hiding."

Jake narrowed his eyes. "Wait a stinkin' minute. I remember this weirdo." He pointed a finger at the heart guy. "You're Ricardio! Ice King made you or something."

"Indeed." Ricardio spread his arms and smiled his creepy smile. "A love spell gone wrong resulted in my creation. I am, quite literally, the heart of the Ice King."

"And…because of that, you're after Ice King's favorite princess," Finn guessed.

Ricardio shrugged. "Say what you will about the Ice King, he sure knows how to pick em'." He raised a hand at Bubblegum, who continued to try to struggle out of her ensnarement. "The lovely Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum is to be my bride. I would have no other. My original plan was to cut out her heart and marry that. But, then I thought,"

Ricardio looked at PB, an unsettling smile on his face. "You just can't argue with that gummy body of hers."

Bubblegum responded with more angry struggling and muffled screaming.

"And, what's to stop us from turning you into a literal bleeding heart?" Finn asked.

"Well, originally, it was supposed to be Maja," said Ricardio. "But, since you were able to get past her and her Crabbit-thing, I suppose I'll have to rely on this."

With surprising speed, Ricardio pulled out a blowpipe and shot a pair of darts at Finn and Jake. They couldn't react fast enough to stop a dart with a red-puff end from sticking into their necks.

Jake pulled the dart out of his neck to examine it. "...That can't be good."

Finn pulled the dart out of his own neck. He dropped the dart onto the floor and began to sway on his feet. Although his head felt fine, Finn's whole body felt like it was shutting down. Jake seemed to be in a similar predicament. The two of them fell to the floor, unable to get back up or even move.

"What…happened?" Finn struggled to say.

"Highly concentrated zanoits," Ricardio explained. "Highly poisonous. Effective in small doses, lethal in larger doses."

"Can't…move," Jake tried to shapeshift, but instead ended up deflating like a balloon. "...Crud."

"Now that I have a best man and a groomsman, you two can pick who gets to be what, I'll go and grab the maid of honor." Ricardio headed out of the throne room. "You left Maja in the throne room, right? BRB."

The bedroom door opened and closed, leaving a poisoned and paralyzed boy and dog with a bound and gagged princess in a wedding dress.

"Boy, imagine the look on anybody's face who walks in on this scene," Jake commented.

"Sorry, PB," Finn said. "For what it's worth, you look really nice."

"Mmmmm," PB replied sweetly. "Mmm mmm."

"I'm gonna kill that little, red butthead," Jake growled. "Just as soon as I can move my arms."

"I don't have any trouble believing that he's Ice King's heart," Finn said.

"Mmm mmm mmm mm-mm-mm," said PB.

"The Princess is right…I think," Finn said. "We need to stop Ricardio. Any plans?"

"We could wait until someone comes to rescue us," Jake offered.

"That seems lazy and highly unlikely to happen," said Finn.

There was suddenly the sound of tapping on glass. Everybody craned their necks to look over at the bedroom window. Marceline was tapping on the window, wearing a red tank top, blue jeans, brown boots, and a look of great confusion. Her sunhat protected her from the light of the cloudy day.

"Marceline!" Finn cried out happily.

"Mmm-mm-mm!" said PB.

"Yay, my plan worked!" Jake cheered.

Marceline opened the window and floated into the room. Wordlessly, she looked at Jake, then at Finn, then finally, at Bubblegum.

"...O…kay…" Marcy began slowly. "...Someone wanna fill me in?"

"Mmm-mm-mm! Mm mm. Mmm-mmm-mmm. Mmm-mmm MMM MMM MMM!" Bubblegum explained.

"Finn, care to translate?" Marceline asked.

"A heart guy named Ricardio wants to marry PB," Finn said.

"You mean Simon's heart thing?" Marceline asked.

"Oh, and a witch named Maja," Finn said.

"The Sky Witch?" Marcy said, looking angry.

"You know her?" Finn asked.

"Unfortunately," Marcy replied. "She's here?"

"Ricardio is bringing her up to be the maid of honor. She should still be knocked out, though," Finn said. "Hey, you think you could untie the Princess and, I don't know, prop me and Jake up against the bed or something? I can't tell for sure, but I think I'm starting to cramp."

Marceline looked down at her paralyzed ex-boyfriend. Then she looked over at her bound and gagged ex-girlfriend. "Oh, if only Jake weren't here."

"Wait, what?"

The bedroom door opened again and Ricardio struggled to drag Maja's limp body through the door. "Bubblegum, darling, you wouldn't happen to have any smelling salts stowed away somewhere, would you?" Ricardio then looked up and saw Marceline floating in the air. "Oh, hello."

"Sup," Marcy replied flatly.

"Marceline the Vampire Queen, I presume," Ricardio said with a smooth smile.

"Yeah, that's me," Marcy said.

"Well, this is just perfect!" Ricardio exclaimed. "No wedding would be complete without musical talent."

Marceline stared at Ricardio for a long couple of seconds. Then, she casually sighed and took off her sunhat, safe from the daylight inside PB's room, and tossed the hat on the bed.

"Here's what's gonna happen," Marcy calmly said. "I'm gonna give you one, and only one, chance to cut your losses and beat it. Said the vampire to the heart." Marcy's head tilted slightly to the right. "But, if you keep up the delusion that this is a fight you can actually win, I will show you personally that you are wrong. And you will bleed for it…said the vampire to the heart."

Ricardio laughed as if he had heard a moderately funny joke. He dropped Maja, letting her head hit the floor and resulting in a painful moan from the unconscious Sky Witch. The heart guy took a couple brave steps toward Marceline.

"Queen Marceline of the Vampires. The Princess is mine," Ricardio said in a tone one would use when speaking to a child. "And there is nothing that the Queen of Nothing and No One, a pale child with no beating heart to speak of, a creature that belongs in the shadows, can do to stop me from claiming my prize."

Finn, Jake, and PB all stared in disbelief at Ricardio, then they all shifted their gazes at the stone-faced Marceline.

(Somewhere between ten to fifteen seconds later)

Marceline slammed the trash can lid down with an almost dramatic flow of motion. She picked up Maja's cloak and used it to wipe her mouth clean. Finn, Jake, and PB all stared in utter horror at Marcy as she cleaned her face.

"...What?" Marceline asked. "I'm a vampire. It's like, my whole thing in addition to my music career."

"And, just like that, my sanguivoriphobia is fully restored," Jake muttered. "Look it up."

"I've…I've kissed that mouth," Finn said weakly.

"Mm–mm." PB looked down at the floor. "...Mm-mm."

Marceline floated up to Bubblegum and morphed a claw to cut the Princess free. Once she was free, Bubblegum carefully peeled the duct tape off of her mouth.

"Oh, Glob. Thank you, Marceline," said PB. "I am so sick of psychopaths wanting to marry me."

"That only makes two of them," Marcy pointed out.

"That's still two too many," Bubblegum replied.

"Fair enough," Marcy said. "Hey, me juicing Ricardio won't kill Simon, will it?"

"Nah, don't worry. I made the Ice King an artificial heart years ago after he first made Ricardio, when he came crawling to me about to die." PB walked over to Finn and Jake and propped them both up against the bed. "I'd better get some antidote into your systems before the zanoits start to work their way into your brains."

"That sounds like a plan, man," said Finn. "I didn't wanna say anything, but my head is starting to hurt. It's getting harder to…to think…about…about stuff, and…and stuff."

"Ho, boy." Bubblegum reached under the bed and pulled out a chemistry kit. "Oh, by the way, Finn. I think I'm making some pretty good progress with that communication link to your island. I was hoping you could give me some com frequencies and maybe your island's exact coordinates, latitude and longitude."

"Oh, that," Finn said as PB put on her goggles and started mixing chemicals. "Actually, I've been thinking about that. Ow, my head. And, I've decided that…you don't have to worry about that."

PB stopped what she was doing and frowned at Finn. "Huh?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "After giving it some thought, you know, talking it over with Shoko and stuff,"

"Hey, leave me out of your lie, man, come on," Shoko said, appearing on the bed. "There we go, I've made my appearance."

"I've decided that…I don't need to contact Founder's Island," Finn went on.

"Oh, uh…okay," PB said, sounding confused. "What exactly changed your mind?"

"I don't wanna sound impatient, but aren't me and Jake poisoned?" Finn asked.

"Right, right, I should take care of that," PB said, getting back to work.

"By the way, you look good in that dress, Bonnie," Marceline commented.

"I do, don't I?"

As Marceline set the sleeping Jake in one of the hospital beds, Bubblegum checked Finn's vitals, who was lying asleep in the bed next to Jake's.

"It seems I got those antidotes into the boys' systems just in time," Bubblegum commented. She was changed out of the wedding dress into her doctor's uniform, complete with glasses. "Those zanoits were pretty potent. The sudden introduction of the antidote into their systems nearly put them into shock. I was able to stabilize them into a simple state of deep sleep. They'll be fine after some rest."

"Good to hear." Marceline came up and tapped the metal palm of Finn's prosthetic, robot arm. "Heh. Sweet."

Bubblegum looked at Finn's sleeping face. "...Why do you think Finn doesn't want me to contact his island anymore? What's gotten into him?"

"Bonnie. Let it go," Marcy said. "Whatever it is. Whatever his reasons are. Let it go."

PB blinked. "What?"

"Look, Finn's been through a lot, alright?" Marcy said. "Going out with Flame Princess has helped, that much is obvious, but he's still dealing with some stuff. Believe me, I know how much tragedy can leave you all messed up in the noggin. Just give him some time to properly process everything that's happened. If he needs help, then we'll help him. But in the meantime, it's best to just give him some breathing room."

"Are you sure?" PB asked.

"Positive," said Marcy. "Whatever's gotten into Finn, just let him deal with it on his own. Knowing Finn, odds are it'll pass, and we'll have our good ol' hero back."

"Well…okay," Bubblegum said. "Maybe…maybe you're right."

"Sure I'm right," Marcy said. "Give Finn some time, and he'll be fine."

"I just…don't you think it's weird?" Bubblegum asked. "He wanted so badly to be able to talk to his mom, and now he…suddenly doesn't want to?"

"That's Finn's business, not ours," Marcy said. "Bonnie, I know you want to help Finn. I do too. But the best thing we can do for Finn is let him battle his own demons. He's got Jake and Flame Princess for emotional support if he needs it. BMO and Neptr too. We're hardly his only friends."

Bubblegum looked down at Finn again. "...I heard he's been hanging out with Huntress Wizard a lot recently."

"And I bet that's ticking off Flame Princess, but we both know Finn wouldn't cheat on FP. He's not that low, and he's not that stupid," Marcy said. "Huntress Wizard is into that whole druid, crystals and smoke, one with nature, meditation bunk. That's probably what Finn's going to her for. You know, to clear his head and stuff. No offense to FP and her peeps, but the Flame Kingdom isn't exactly a calm beach with a tropical breeze."

"Yeah…" Bubblegum nodded, still looking unsure. "Yeah."

Marcy smiled and placed a hand on Bubblegum's shoulder. "Let the boys sleep. We should probably go tell the Candy People that it's safe to come out from wherever they're hiding."

"Good idea," said BP. "Last time I took too long to give them the clear, they started eating each other."

Marcy laughed at that before floating toward the exit. Bubblegum gave Finn one more concerned look before following after her vampire friend.

I hope my return began with a good one. My apologies if you were hoping for another Fiona chapter. Maybe next chapter. Maybe. Don't bet on it, though.