Huntress Wizard sprinted down the castle corridors, out of the sight of Princess Bubblegum, with Finn riding on her shoulders. She careened around corners and deftly vaulted over furniture, her mission singular: escape. They arrived at the main staircase. She didn't slow; she gripped the handrail and used it to pivot, carrying their momentum into the turn.

To Finn's surprise, she was taking them further up rather than back to street-level. The hero had since given up on convincing her to turn back. He decided he was merely along for the ride at this point, wherever it may lead. Huntress was hurting. More so than himself, he suspected.

"HW, we should talk about that back there," he said. No response. "Why are we going up? I thought you wanted to leave the city."

"What I want is to keep you safe, dingus. This is safer than trying to hoof it out there in the open."

"But where are we going? The Cloud Kingdom?"

She looked puzzled. "You can't hear it? I guess that makes sense. Must be subsonic to humans or they wouldn't be able to stand living on it."

Finn was at a total loss. "What?"

"The human kingdom. Or city. Whatever they call it. It's heading this way. I can hear the anti-grav engines—and they're getting louder."

"Oh." Finn wasn't too sure about this plan. He could only imagine what the other humans would think seeing Huntress Wizard carry him half-naked into their city. "I, uh...maybe we should think of something else—"

"You need to be healed, Finn. Who better than humans to treat a human? I know some minor spells, but...but not enough. Not without a detour to Wizard City, and I am not leaving you on your own."

She brought them to the crest of the highest castle turret, slipped out its window, and stood on its roof.

"There." She pointed towards the horizon. The human city was indeed floating towards them, prepared to dock with the Cloud Kingdom. "They're gonna join the party. We can get there through the clouds."

Huntress bounded from the turret roof to the branches of the tree which adorned the castle and began climbing higher with a skillful grace. She brought them to the top of its canopy and eyed the nearest cloudy ladder.

"Hang on tight," she said.

Finn shifted down off her shoulders, holding on to her torso like a backpack. He tightened his legs around her waist. She sprinted and made the jump, clearing the gap with ease. She climbed up and into the Cloud Kingdom, emerging at the edge of crowded dance floor. Much to the shock of the party-goers, she made a beeline towards the human city, unapologetically shoving aside anyone in their way. Her eyes scanned their path thoroughly—searching for any sign of aggression—but their route was thankfully uninterrupted.

By the time they reached the edge of the cloudscape, the structure had already docked, and its inhabitants flooded into the party. The enormous, gleaming city had extended a ramp from its main entrance down to the cloudy floor. Hundreds of humans rushed down it to join the other Oooians, who welcomed them excitedly. The sight was astonishing to Finn; never would he have imagined any other human, let alone a whole city of them, existing alongside the world he had always known.

They were forced to slow down as they weaved their way through the increasingly denser crowd until, finally, they boarded the ramp. Finn released his grip on Huntress and stood beside her. She gave him a knowing nod and took his hand, and they walked side-by-side up to the entrance. And there, guarding the main gate, was Minerva.

Huntress Wizard approached cautiously. She stepped in front of Finn to greet the gatekeeper first.

"Hello there," said the Minerva-bot sweetly. "I'm so sorry, but only human residents and their guests may enter Up-ton without prior authorization."

"Don't make this difficult." Huntress raised a fist.

Finn squeezed her free hand reassuringly and cleared his throat. "I'm a human."

"Please identify yourself," said the Minerva-bot.

"Oh, uh…" Finn tapped his knuckles against his head. "Oh! It's PG-87. I'm human PG-87, ma'am."

The Minerva-bot faltered for a moment, then its slight smile stretched into a familiar grin. "Finn! My beautiful baby boy!" She rushed forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Happy birthday! You're getting so tall!" She ran her fingers through his hair. "Where's your hat? Where's your—what are you wearing?" She lifted the poncho to examine it, saw he was wearing nothing underneath, and immediately averted her gaze. "Oh, goodness!"

Finn's face burned bright red. He pulled the poncho back down over his groin and groaned. "S-sorry, Mom. It's been a rough day and I—"

"He needs medical attention," Huntress interjected.

Minerva's embarrassment instantly evaporated. "What happened? Are you hurt badly?"

"No, just...roughed up," Finn said.

"A lesser beast would have succumbed to such voracity," Huntress said. Finn could have sworn she sounded a little proud.

Minerva directed her attention to the wizard. "How rude of me! I'm Finn's mother, Minerva." She extended her hand and Huntress shook it.

"Huntress Wizard."

Minerva glanced down and noticed the dried blood on her hand. Her eyes widened. "You're injured too! Come on, let's get you both patched up."

She quickly opened the front gate and ushered them both inside. As the gate closed behind them, another Minerva-bot took her post as gatekeeper.

The city streets were unexpectedly empty. Minerva explained, "Most everyone's gone out to join the celebration. We weren't going to, originally—it's a nightmare trying to transport our entire populace to the ground and back—but word got out that the party was in honor of our famous Finn, and we had a vote. Once we realized the party had moved up into the Cloud Kingdom anyway, well, it was kismet! It's much easier for Up-ton to dock than to descend."

Finn smiled sheepishly. "The humans wanted to join because of me? I haven't even gotten to know any of them yet."

Minerva beamed. "It would seem word travels fast in Ooo. Everyone in Up-ton has heard of your heroic feats. I couldn't be more proud! Our society hasn't known such an honorable helper since…well, since the Founders guided us to safety on the Islands, I suppose. It's quite serendipitous that we had another noble hero to lead us back, isn't it?"

Before he could respond, she pulled him in for another tight hug. "We have a clinic just around the corner, if you would be so kind as to follow me." She led the two visitors down the main street.

Idle Minerva-bots stood in wait on the odd street corner, store entrance, or sidewalk—having been made unbusy by the lack of citizens to tend to. Huntress shifted uneasily at the sight, unsure of how to react.

"Uh...Finn?" she whispered. "Why are there Minervas everywhere?"

"It's a long story," Minerva and Finn said simultaneously.

"I'll explain later," he reassured her.

Minerva suddenly perked up, as though she recalled something important. "So Finn, why is it that you celebrate this particular date as your birthday?"

"It's the anniversary of the day Mo—Margaret and Joshua found me in the woods."

"Your adoptive mum and dad? It's a shame they've passed. I would have loved to thank them for raising my boy so well."

"You would'a loved them."

"Going by you and your brothers, I'm sure I would have." Minerva paused outside the clinic entrance and held the door open for them. "It slipped my mind until just a moment ago: I meant to tell you that your true birthday was actually a month before we arrived. You've been 18 for nearly ten months now."

Huntress Wizard's face reddened under her mask. Had she known Finn was already of age, she wouldn't have isolated herself from him as she had. Half the reason she had done so was because of her own fear of slipping up—of throwing aside her inhibition and giving in to temptation. The hero had that effect on her. It was easier to keep a distance than to keep her hands off him.

Before Finn could respond to the news, Minerva said, "I'll tend to Finn first." She guided him into an examination room and shut the door behind her. "Go ahead and hop on the table. I'll scan your body for any internal injury."

Finn did as instructed.

Princess Bubblegum hurriedly threw together an outfit and equipped her pack of scientific must-haves. She tucked her Ball Blam Burglerber safely inside with a few other choice weapons, then joined her girlfriend on the balcony. Marceline took her in her arms and began their ascent.

"So, did you spot them out here while I was getting dressed?" Bubblegum asked.

"No. But I did spot that." She pointed to the human city, which was in the midst of docking with the Cloud Kingdom.

"Whoa." The marvel of engineering had fascinated her since the humans first built it. "But the humans told me they wouldn't be able to come to the party…."

"Guess they changed their minds. What are the odds Huntress is taking Finn there?"

"Pretty good." PB rubbed her chin. "Up-ton has some insane security measures. It looks innocent enough but whenever I've visited, my equipment goes coco-bananas."

"Bonnie, you're not spying again, are you?"

"No, no. It's not like I'm recording data or anything. I just happen to carry my instruments with me when I leave the Kingdom."

Marceline smirked and rolled her eyes, still gaining altitude as Bonnibel spoke.

"Anyway," Bubblegum continued. "The whole place is practically a human sanctuary. And non-residents can't get in without guest privileges. They'd be safe from the other princesses there."

The duo finally breached the floor of the Cloud Kingdom. A few startled dancers jumped out of their way, narrowly avoiding impact. "Sorry!" Marceline called down, not slowing.

Now hovering far above the dance floor, she began searching for Huntress and Finn. "There." She pointed.

They had just walked onto the docking ramp. The vampire took off at top speed but they were too far to reach in time. From their vantage point, they watched the Minerva-bot escort the wizard and hero into the city and close the gates once more.

"Damn," Marceline said.

"It's okay. Just set us down on the ramp."

She did as instructed, landing lithely halfway up the ramp. They walked the remaining distance to meet the gatekeeper Minerva-bot.

"Hello there," said the Minerva-bot sweetly. "I'm so sorry, but only human residents and their guests may enter Up-ton without prior authorization."

Bubblegum took off her pack and dug through it. "We, uh...hang on…" She produced two passports and handed them to the bot. "We have our papers here. We are diplomats—envoys of the Candy Kingdom—and are therefore authorized to enter."

"I see." The Minerva-bot smiled and examined the passports dutifully. "Welcome back, Princess. Is this your wife's first visit to Up-ton?"

Marceline's eyes widened.

"Oh—uh, yes. It is." Bubblegum cleared her throat. Her face became a deeper shade of pink.

"Welcome, Queen Abadeer. As an ambassador of the Candy Kingdom, you are always welcome in Up-ton. Please do feel free to visit whenever you'd like."

The Minerva-bot handed back the passports, opened the gates, then waved them inside. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, she closed the gates behind them. They were alone once more.

Marceline stared at her girlfriend—inaudibly demanding an explanation—feeling simultaneously flattered, confused, happy, angry and…a little horny.

"C'mon, don't give me that look. I'm not—we're not—it isn't like I'm trying to rush things. I only had those passports made up so you could join me for royal functions. Unwed partners aren't allowed the same permission as full-fledged spouses, so—"

"So you married us?!"

"Ostensibly."

"Without telling me?!"

"I was going to tell you!"

"When?"

"At…" Bubblegum shifted nervously. "At our wedding. Whenever that may be."

Marceline scoffed and floated lazily along. "You need to work on your communication, Bon-Bon."

"It slipped my mind, okay? I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She doubled back and looked her girlfriend in the eye, smiling cheekily. "We're consummating as soon as we get back to the castle. You can make it up to me then."

Bubblegum bit her lip and blushed even darker.

"You should'a just asked," Marcy continued. "I would've said yes."

"I know, I know. You always—wait…you mean you would've said yes to the fake passports or to…marriage?"

The vampire elected to change the subject. "Any clue where Finn went?"

Bonnibel snapped back to the task at hand. "Hang on." She rolled up her sleeve, exposing her wrist-mounted computer. "City's almost empty. I'm only reading a dozen or so heartbeats. Closest two are up ahead and around the corner."

A beam of red light shone out of the Minerva-bot's right eye and slowly trailed up Finn's body, peering through his skin, as she spoke. "So...Huntress Wizard seems interesting."

"Yeah," Finn agreed. "She's somethin' else. Smart, disciplined, confident...she's taught me a lot since we first met."

"And are you two…?" She grinned.

"Mom!"

"I'm only curious!" She chuckled, still scanning his body. "Last time you and Jake visited, I inquired about your love life and, at first, he wouldn't tell me anything. He insisted it was your 'p-biz' or some such nonsense. When I finally stopped pressing him, he couldn't help but spill the beans. He did mention a 'huntress wizard,' though, at the time, I didn't realize that was her actual name."

Finn groaned. "It's not like that. We're just friends."

"Of course you are." She smirked. Her beam landed on his new arm and hesitated for a moment. "What an impressive prosthesis. This isn't the same one as before, is it? I thought you said you had lost it to that GOLB fellow."

Finn shuddered at the mention of GOLB. "No, this one is new. It was a birthday present from Princess Bubblegum."

"It's very impressive engineering, I must say. She is quite the brilliant woman, that princess."

Finn looked down and muttered, "Don't let Huntress hear you say that."

"Why not? Because the princess is your ex?"

"Mom! It's not—we never even went steady." He blushed.

"I'm sorry. Jake is an incorrigible gossip, but evidently his information is less than reliable." She finished her scan. "Goodness, I have never seen this much scar tissue on one patient in all my career." She shook her head. "You have some hairline fractures on your pelvis and a litany of soft tissue damage below the waist. A very mild concussion as well. And some older troubles too: a few missing teeth, red/green color blindness, a wee bit of hearing damage, some sort of mini computer lodged in your larynx, a small ulcer...adventuring isn't the most forgiving occupation, I take it?"

"Not really." Finn smiled.

"We'll get you fixed up, good as new." The tip of the Minerva-bot's finger swung open to reveal a hypodermic needle. She gave Finn an injection in his thigh. "Medical nanites. They will accelerate the body's natural healing process to fix those fractures and bruises. You'll feel right as rain by morning."

"That's math—almost as quick as the cyclops' tears."

"And as for the rest, we have excellent optometrist, dentist, and audiologist facilities here in Up-ton—entirely at your disposal. Whenever you have a free afternoon, we can touch up whatever you'd like." She looked at his new arm. "We could also reprogram your cells to generate a new arm, if that's something you're interested in."

"I'll pass," he said. "New arms never last long. At least when it's metal, it hurts a lot less."

"Fair enough. It's your choice, of course. And if ever you find yourself needing some mental recuperation, we also have excellent psychiatric resources. I could vacate a Minerva-bot entirely so that you have a neutral therapist to talk to, if it would make you more comfortable."

"Thanks, Mom." Finn hugged her. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Now, let's tend to your 'just-a-friend.'"

Finn groaned again.

Minerva opened the door to welcome Huntress in, but found that the clinic lobby was empty.

Bubblegum and Marceline followed the heartbeat monitor to the turn, but when they rounded the corner they were greeted by a flying manhole cover. Marcy darted forward to absorb the blow. She sucked her teeth in pain.

"Leave. Now." Huntress Wizard guarded the entrance to the clinic, wielding a traffic sign.

The Vampire Queen growled.

Bubblegum raised her hands. "We're not here to fight. We just want to see Finn. That's all we're here for."

Huntress didn't budge.

Marceline leaned towards her girlfriend and whispered, "C'mon, Bonnie. I can take her out instantly."

The princess shook her head, maintaining eye contact with Huntress Wizard. "No more violence tonight. Let's work together." She took a single, cautious step forward.

Huntress raised the sign and poised herself for attack. Marceline lengthened her nails and teeth, in turn. And Bubblegum pulled the Ball Bam Burglerber from her pack.

Then Minerva stepped out of the clinic. "What's going on out here?"

All three women froze like deer in headlights. They each moved to hide their weapons. Huntress unconvincingly stashed the sign behind her back; despite herself, she didn't want to make a bad impression with Finn's mother.

"Um...hello, Minerva." Bubblegum offered a weak smile.

Minerva returned the smile and shook her hand. "Princess Bubblegum. It's always a treat to have you here in Up-ton. And you must be Marceline the Vampire Queen. I've heard so much about you. You were the only thing back here in Ooo that the Founders spoke fondly of." She shook Marcy's hand. "What can I help you two with this evening?"

"We're uh...well, we're just looking for Finn."

"Ah, I see. He's just inside. I was patching him up." Minerva looked between the three women, her demeanor suddenly less cheery. "So, which of you is going to tell me what's really happened tonight?" Dead silence. "My boy has some...unusual patterns of damage, particularly between his legs. And now the three of you—having absconded from the party—show up unannounced. You—" She pointed to Huntress. "Carrying him like a sack of flour, sprinting all the way here. And you two—" She pointed at Marcy and Bonnie. "Chasing her to my doorstep. Why might that be?"

Huntress' eyes widened. "You saw all that?"

Minerva's mechanical eyes whirred and shone brightly. "My vision is not what it used to be. And, as it happens, I have eyes everywhere." She smirked. Every Minerva-bot in the city turned to face them simultaneously. "So spill it, then. What's happened?"