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Within the many hard rock layers that makes Hana's impressive tower, a group made of five mortals charge through it as fast as they can. Finn was in the lead, Huntress still slung over his shoulder as she watches their back in a tad annoyance, hating the fact she was being carried.
Still, she knew it was for the group's own good, as the longer they take for her fatigue hindered body to slowly limp through this huge tower, the more likely Ice Queen was going to descend upon them. Behind them was Fionna and Cake, with the heroine having Butterscotch on her back, riding atop her bag as they speed on through.
They all shoot through another door way, darting out a room full of torture furniture and devices as they enter another with a hole window, causing Finn to skid to a halt. He quickly jogs to the hole and peeks outside, looking to his right at the flattened mountains, towards the fight going on in the distance
All he sees is a massive cloud of white and black, clashing together as lightning arcs through them both while they swirl into each other. Still, it looked like the white blob was winning, triggering a mix of worry and joy to spread through Finn's body. He stares at it for a few more seconds, sends a silent wish for his queen's victory, and then snaps his head away to look at the others waiting patiently for him, "It looks like she is winning, but I have no idea how much longer until she defeats Hana."
Cake stretches her head out of the window to peek at the humongous clouds, before bringing it back to stare at Finn with worry, "Erm… And what happens when she actually does come for us?"
Finn stands completely still, actually stumped on what he could possibly do in that situation as he looks around nervously, spreading the emotion to the others as they worriedly fiddle with things and items. "... We will hide in the cupboards. If she discovers us, then I'll face her."
He hurriedly explains before swiftly spinning around and sprinting forward, causing the other three to follow as Cake sheds a tear, "So brave…"
They rush back up to his pace as he runs through the black stone corridor and into the next room, and they all discover armoured demons. The guards of Hana, red skinned demons, buffed in muscles, trained in high magic, all adorned in shiny black metal, and trained to kill on sight. With an unnatural reaction speed, they all lunge for them, long sharp spear heading for everyone's neck while some hang at the back to prepare hellfire spells.
Finn simply raises his sword, "Halt!" They all stop as the group don't stop their mad dash through the room, annoyed at how gigantic the tower was, Finn stopping to give a command, "Remain at the edges of this room and do not move until I order you to or a day has passed."
He doesn't even wait to watch them all stiffly make their way back to their places, instead he rushes out the door to catch up with everyone else as they start climbing up some spiral stairs. They dash up the rock slabs until they reach the second level, Finn taking the lead once more as the others part for him, wanting him to lead them through these dangers. Fionna does however sigh behind him, "I don't like that sword, it makes things way too easy…" She complains but doesn't stop running, her sister nodding in agreement,
"Yeah, you two may be wanting to make things all peaceful and without violence, but what about me? I want to punch someone's cheek meat!" She yells angrily, shaking her fist as Finn grins as he looks behind him,
"You can punch cheek meat when you are leading a group through the night-o-sphere with an Ice Queen coming kidnap you and cover you in kisses."
Cake closes her mouth as she shivers in disgust, "Man what is with her weird obsession with you?" Huntress Wizard perks up at that, handling the answer from her spot on Finn's shoulder,
"She loves him." They all roll their eyes, "I actually mean that. She is genuinely in love with him, I mean for how many other men that she had kidnapped did she completely rebuild her Kingdom for, or build so many defences to try and keep us away?" Fionna speaks up,
"The defences are a common thing actually, I remember a time I fought her when she had made one of her mountains into a robot! That was an awesome fight…" She says, forgetting to continue as she gets lost in her memories, causing Cake to speak up for her,
"The rebuilding of her kingdom?... It doesn't happen too often, but she sometimes does it when she kidnapped someone and doesn't want us to find them by making her home a maze."
Huntress continues to stare at the sister, "And how many times has she gone to swooning a guy over since having her curse removed?" That made them bite their tongues, Fionna looking at the ground,
"She hasn't actually, or at least I haven't heard of her doing it…"
The nymph nods, "And how many times have we seen her hitting on Finn in this trip alone?" They remain silent, before Fionna starts barfing,
"No! Ew! Ice Queen can't be in love with male me! That's gross!" She screams, flustered as she shakes her head in disgust, her sister patting her on the back in comfort, while Butterscotch leans out to look at Huntress accusingly,
"And what do you think of her dating Finn?" Huntress stares at the butler head on, doing her stoic expression as best as possible, trying to hide her facial reaction,
"I don't mind, I mean I'm not dating him so why should I care?" She casually inquires while she does her best to prevent a twitch from her left eye.
Butterscotch stares at her face for a few seconds, then shrugs, "I don't know, I thought that since you lived with him in your time in AAA that you would care about Finn, and if he was getting into a dangerous relationship." Finn takes it from here,
"And I'm not. Not only is dating Ice Queen not a 'dangerous relationship', but I'm also taken back in OOO, and I haven't given up on returning. And Huntress Wizard does care for me!" Butterscotch turns her inquisitive gaze to him,
"Does dating an all powerful wizard who could crush you in a second if you do something wrong really sounds like a safe relationship? Especially since she is well known for being mad and mentally unstable." Finn glares,
"She is not mad… about most things. She is doing much better than Ice King did under the crown's influence, I can tell you that." 'What is strange. Why is she not only more powerful than Ice King, but also not as mad as him?' He stores the question to be asked later, "The only time she is crazy or unstable is when the tiara hits her with some wacky curse. She is a kind, lonely, caring woman who was attacked when she should've been helped."
Butterscotch sighs, "As long as she stays away from my prince, she's okay in my book… but what is your relationship with Huntress?" She asks out of nowhere, startling the duo for a second, Huntress recovering instantly as she glared a little at the candy person,
"What are you trying to imply? You've poked at that topic several times now." The butler looks at her,
"That there is something more going on between you two." They immediately snap to look at her, both saying at the exact same time,
"We're not dating." The butler retreats at their synchronised denial,
"Alright, I simply thought you two were way too close at times to simply be friends."
Finn raises an eyebrow, "That's because we spend a lot of time together, we trust each other."
Butterscotch shifts her gaze away, signalling the end of the conversation as the OOO duo return back to focusing on the task at hand. Yet as they looked away, the butler glances back at them, 'I suspect those two are dating, but if they really aren't… then I can inform Gumball, and he can try to manipulate him and Ice Queen into a relationship. If she is with him then there is no chance she'll go for my prince, what is exactly what he wants.' With her nosing done, ideas fill her mind, 'They probably are dating, but for me to get definitive answers I need to spy on them. I'll asks Gumball if possible.' With her secret personal mission of spying on the OOO duo to learn more done, she begins to suspect that they were keeping a secret from everyone, 'If so, Gumball can use their love for each other as blackmail, a chink in their previously impenetrable armour.'
Suddenly they turn a corner, and practically run face first into a secretary desk sitting before two large doors. They were luckily able to stop themselves in time, saving them the embarrassment of face planting into the finely varnished dark oak table. They stare at the demon with strong male hints, making Huntress smirk a little, 'I forgot all the genders are reversed.' As Fionna stares at the hot demon with teenage hormones, Finn walks up to it calmly and peacefully, "Excuse me?"
"Yes, welcome to Hana incorporated, where all your suffering comes true! How may I help you today?" He responds in a joyful tune, making Finn smirk a little,
"Sorry, we don't have an appointment with Hana, but this is an emergency visit, is her son in?" He nods while replying,
"Marshall Lee is in! You're lucky, that guy is simply never in, am I right?" He jokes, making Finn shift his gaze around nervously,
"Yeah, tell me about it, but seriously, I need to see him as soon as possible because we're on a tight timer, does he have an open slot right now?"
The demon presses a button located on his desk, and the intercom was activated. And immediately everyone but the secretary winces as they hear the sounds of destruction happening on the other side, Marshall's roars of rage mixing in as he obliterates his own room. The demon speaks calmly into the mic, "Excuse me sir-"
"WHAT!?" Marshall screams in reply,
"I have those mortals here, they are wondering if you have an open slot right this instant?"
All they hear are heavy thumps as Marshall storms towards his mic, and leans so close they can hear his breathing, "NO! SEND THEM AWAY FOREVER! TELL THEM TO NEVER RETURN!" There was a loud roar of rage before a smashing sound, then complete silence, causing Finn to sigh as he finally drops Huntress from his shoulder, making sure she was alright before looking at the demon.
"Sorry, you heard my boss, no available appointment… or a working mic system." He says casually, quickly clicking a pen as he wrote something down on a piece of paper, before looking back up at them, "So yeah, I'm sorry to say but he won't be able to see you right now."
Finn sighs, 'Ice Queen is coming, I can't waste time.' "Look, we're going in." Finn says defiantly, walking around past the table and towards the large double doors, Marshall hiding behind it. Yet his actions spur the demon to swiftly stand up from his seat, glaring at Finn as he raises his fist,
"Sorry, I can't let you do that." Finn continues to walk towards the door, the others moving forward as well, raising their weapons defensively as they have a stare down with the demon. It growls, it's fists becoming engulfed in green flame as red hellfire burns below it, causing Cake to leap at it as it aims its hands at her, "You!-"
"Halt." Finn says tiredly, the demon and cat freezing up at his words. "Walk to the end of the room and do not bother us."
The massive bulky demon's flames go out, and it begins walking stiffly down the room, reaching a wall and standing completely still, triggering Finn to nod in approval. "Stay there until I either give you new orders, or a day passes." A groan escapes Cake as she slouches, looking up in annoyance,
"Again!? You seriously just stopped me from having another fight! I don't know why you're trying to keep us safe because we're going to die of boredom!" She yells as she slowly drags herself towards the massive, black, double doors that lead into the abode of Marshall Lee. Finn only chuckles in response, but quickly goes quiet upon gazing at the entrance to their next fight, and their goal,
"Well, I hope things are about to become exciting for you Cake…" Everyone goes silent as they stare, steeling themselves for the upcoming battle, "... Remember, we need to be quick, because if Hana can stand up to Ice Queen right now…"
Huntress nods, already creating the vine to muzzle the super demon, "Then he'll likely obliterate us." He grimaces,
"The only good thing I can say we have is that he hasn't got any souls right now, or at least not many. Hana used them to make herself so powerful, but I know she wasn't lacking in power before doing so. He'll be tough, just hopefully not as tough as Hana. Remember the plan: I distract him, using my sword to block any magic, Huntress will seal his mouth shut, Cake will stretch to hold his limbs back, and Fionna will rip the necklace off."
They all nod, getting into position as Finn cautiously reaches for the doors, Fionna clenching as she prepares herself, 'Hold on Marshall, I'm coming to save you!' The boy grabs the handles, glancing at everyone to make sure they were ready, then yanked the doors open as quickly as possible.
There was a massive table flying towards him.
His eyes widen as he instinctively throws himself out of harm's way, diving next to the door with everyone else as the table smashed into where he just was. The impact was so hard that it exploded on impact, the wooden table shattering into splintering projectiles down the room. They pierce into the walls around everyone, just barely missing the demon secretary as it continues to remain completely still, though definitely looking around nervously.
Finn surveys the damage, and is relieved to find out no one was injured, but then hardens as spells fill the doorway. Marshall lights the doorway up with his magic as he releases an enraged roar, making the group look at each other. Fionna shouts to Finn, "Why aren't you blocking the spells?"
"Because he is spamming them! I think the sword can only store one demon spell at a time! And I would rather not test it when he is trying to kill me!" He shouts, making Huntress nod,
"Yeah, don't risk your life for an experiment Finn." The spells don't halt, but they were at least much weaker than Hana's, making Finn sighed in relief a little,
"So… anyone has got a plan?" They all look at their leader expectantly, making him sigh, "I'll think of something, give me a minute."
Meanwhile with Ice Queen, she grins as the next horror forms before her, remembering she wasn't alone, that she has a promise with her knight to keep. 'Bring it Hana! I'll floor you when I next see you, because as long as Finn and Huntress are alive, I'll have the strength to bitch slap you!' Her fear takes form. It was an awkward, regretful looking Finn.
He stares at the ground for a couple of seconds, then shifts his pained gaze to her, "I'm sorry… but I refuse. I don't want a three way relationship… I don't love you." The royal grimaces as she feels an emotional punch to her gut, 'Low blow Hana! Low blow!' Despite knowing it wasn't real, that this was all some trick made by the Lady of the night-o-sphere, she still can't help but be devastated by the news.
'It's because this is a serious probability… he might actually reject me.' She sniffs a little, finding that despite the illusion, it still scared her, it still devastated her heart, her tears making Finn wince, "I see I'm causing pain for you… and I know that seeing me in the future will always bring more, that the sight of me will hurt you… so I'll go, for your sake. I don't want to hurt you ever, so I guess… I must leave you forever… goodbye Ice Queen." He says somberly, then turns around and starts walking away, not looking back as he keeps his head down low.
Ice Queen bolts after him, "Finn wait!"
"No… I'll only cause you pain!" He yells, making her jolt as he spins to face her, a slight glare, "I already told you my answer, I don't want to date you!"
"I'm fine with that." She says, some tears leaking from her eyes, startling Finn for a second, before he recovers with a shake of his head,
"Are you?"
She nods somberly, but acceptingly, "I am… I just still can't help but cry Finn… it's only natural. But yes, I'm fine with you not dating me, but I'm not fine with you leaving! Not forever!" She explains, and swiftly steps forward, grabbing the small boy by his shoulders as she looks down at him, "You're my knight… and you want to leave me? Because sticking around will cause me pain?" She rests her head on his, "No. I've experienced worse pain than looking at you… despite your appearance." She says with a soft chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood. "Yes, it might hurt a little… but you bring me much more pleasure and happiness than what you take from me. Think about our time together, from the get go you said you weren't going to date me, but you stuck around then, didn't you? Think about all you've done for me, the joy you brought, the sense of safety you gave me, the relief of my pain…"
She brings him into a tight hug, holding him close, "You've cheered me up when I've felt down, you've stuck by me when I felt lonely, you helped me reform my Kingdom, heck you even got me my first actual people to rule." She pulled away from the hug, staring him in the eyes, "You've done so much for me, and I've been the happiest I've ever been in all my memory despite the slight pains of jealousy I get when watching you and Huntress. But at the same time I'm happy for you two." She does a weak smile at him, her strongly contrasting emotions showing as she gets a weird, confusing mix of joy and sadness dominating her emotions, "If you don't want to date me, that's alright with me, I respect your choice. I hope you live a long, beautiful life with Huntress… but do not leave me alone. Don't abandon me for me, because at the end of the day, all you'll do is hurt me more than help me… isn't that what you meant to do as a hero and my knight?"
The Finn illusion remains silent, then brings her into a hug, holding her tightly as she returns it, only for him to disappear in her arms. She blinks in confusion, but eventually stands tall and proud as the dark world shakes around her, becoming a few shades lighter as the light on her brightens, growing larger as she wipes a tear away with a small smile. 'My fear of being rejected by Finn, and as a consequence leaving me. I was using Finn as my way to conquer whatever Hana could throw at me, a guiding light. So she tried to strip it away immediately.'
A whisper fills the air, and she turns to face what is next, finding two spirits forming before her as she stands ready. It was her and Marshall Lee, yet she was sitting in an ice chair uncaringly, slurping a drink as she stares at something that wasn't the vampire boy. He himself was covered in wounds and bruises, looking glumly at the floor as he waits patiently next to her lazy self.
She flicks her eyes to him disapprovingly, as if slightly disgusted or annoyed at his mere presence, "Fetch me some food, and be quick about it!" He hurriedly darts off, Ice Queen only just now spotting the chain attached to his feet as it clatters on the floor, causing her to trace it to its other end. It was in the hand of her lazy self, casually swinging it around her finger as she slurps her drink loudly, grinning smugly about her life as she scratches her armpit.
A few seconds later Marshall rushes in, plate in hand with chicken on top as he hands it to her with slightly shaky hands, flinching when she looks at him. She snatches the food from his hand and immediately starts eating it, not thanking him as he scurries backwards, then grabs something from behind him. It was his favourite, precious red guitar. "I wrote a song… do you want to hear it mother?" She doesn't reply, still chewing her food noisily, causing him to look down and start playing a loving, beautiful tune.
She immediately snaps to him, never giving him a chance as she smacks his guitar from his hand, smashing it onto the floor as she glares at the vampire. She stands from her chair and grabs both wrists, glaring at him as she bares her teeth, throwing him backwards onto the floor and stomping on his gut, "Don't play such trash again! Your music, your style, your talent, it's all absolute rubbish! Forgetting about playing some stupid instrument-" She boots his favourite special axe that's been with him his entire immortal life, sending it flying away as she picks him up from the floor, "- And get back to serving me!"
She slams him back down, the boy hitting the floor hard as he curls up, whimpering slightly with tears in his eyes as the blue bitch uncaringly turned around and drop back into her seat, returning to gorging herself. The real royal glares at her with a fury, and snaps her hand up to release a spell, planning to send an icicle through that smug smile.
Unfortunately, nothing happens, making her grumble and scowl in extreme hatred and annoyance, before practically leaping at her down Marshall. She holds his shoulders, her caring motherly side taking over despite him being nearly a thousand years old and looking like an old teen. He flinches at her touch, curling up even tighter as her heart shatters at the sight before her, causing her to remain silent for a few seconds, trying her best to think of an answer.
She reaches out for him, gently cupping his face and semi forcing him to look up at her from his laid down position on the ground, curled up on his side as he hugs his hurting body. "There there… it's going to be alright, don't listen to that blue bitch." He gazes up at her, focusing on her sweet smile and warm, glowing expression, the woman trying her best to comfort him as she pulls him up to her.
"You're her… what do you want me to do mother?" He inquires almost robotically, showing the sign that he had said that many times , and worse, was taught into him. Ice Queen bites her lips, trying to contain her rage as she goes to deny any request,
"I'm good Marshall, thank you anywa-"
"There must be a way for me to serve you!" He cuts her off, making Ice Queen blink before silently seething in rage at her lazy, evil self that was likely immune to all she could do to her, 'I doubt Hana would allow me to stop her torture.' She murmured in thought, looking at Marshall caringly as she brushes her hand through his ruffled, unkempt hair,
"... You want to serve me?..." She glances at his favourite guitar, and immediately picks it up, carefully bringing it over as she hands it to him with a huge grin, "You were about to play a song before she slapped it from your hands. I'm not her, I would love to hear you play, to see you do what you enjoy." He glances down at his scratched up instrument, and shifts his hands and fingers, moving them to their desired position.
After a moment of hesitation, he strums the strings, and immediately flinches, holding his instrument out in fear as he grimaces. He remains like that for a couple of seconds, but when the royal doesn't slap his beloved axe from his hands, he relaxes, staring at her in confusion. She gives him another warm smile. He blinks, then stands up with his precious instrument in hand, looking down at it as he floats into the air and gains a small grin. His fingers return back to their original spot, then strum again, starting over as he begins to play off his beautiful melody, his body relaxing as his smile grows.
He closes his eyes and loses himself to the song, floating around as he enjoys himself for the first time in a long time. Ice Queen beams at his joyful expression, and immediately flaps her eyebrows, flying after him as he peeks at her. They begin a strange dance in the air, the royal humming the tune to his song as they bob and weave around each other in the air. They both bare massive grins as they occasionally bump into each other playfully, Marshall's voice and music becoming more confident, louder, with more heart as it starts to change. The royal stops her hum as she listens to him play his new tune, finding it much more upbeat than before, exploring a lost freedom he had forgotten about. A much better tune than the one he had before, that somehow just tugged at someone's heart string.
She joins him once more as they float around, until Marshall nears the end of his ice chain still held by his cruel mother, making Ice Queen hover over to it calculatingly. She tries making a huge axe and drops it in the chain, yet it simply bounces off, making her glare at the instrument of imprisonment. She lifts both hands up and creates an even larger axe, twice her size, and lets gravity swing it for her, slamming it down so hard it made Marshall flinch, his tune halting as he stares at Ice Queen.
The axe bounces off again, not even leaving a scratch, making her scream in anger, melting the weapon again as she raises her hands. An even larger axe is made, and is swiftly brought down, only to get the exact same results. The royal doesn't give up however, and tries again, and again, and again, each time creating a weapon larger than before. It was only now that Marshall was staring at her creations did he realise she was making his axe, all in stunning detail. She wasn't faking her attention to please him, she was focusing all her attention on his little show, she wasn't just creating some standard axe, she was creating his axe, her mind was constantly thinking about him.
He watches as she keeps making weapons bigger and larger than before, the woman starting to sweat as she pushes her magical limits, her weapons becoming absolutely huge as she does her best to free him from his chains.
She yells as her magic pool starts to deplete, as despite her crown replenishing it instantly it can't boost her magic pool's actual size. She is quickly reaching the end of said pool. Still she pushes on, eyes fixated on the chain as her magic gets pushed to it limits. Strong emotions shove her to the very brink of magic madness as she creates an absolutely huge axe, one so large it could rival what she could make in her mad state. With a cry of anger, she lets the axe drop, the sharp blade coming rushing down onto the blue cold chains.
And shatters it.
The ice restraints on Marshall disappear, disintegrating as he stares down at his freed leg in wonder and joy, then glances back at Ice Queen. He finds her panting, giggling as she stares at his free form while leaning on the handle of her huge weapon, recovering her breath as she gives him a pleased, joyed smile. She melts her weapon, and groans as she stands back up, becoming her tall, proud self again… if you don't count the heavy breathing and the sweat.
She immediately makes her way over to him with a wobbly, limp walk, exhausted after her endeavours. Marshall instantly flies to her, and plays one final happy tune, before putting his axe down carefully on the ground and placing his hands on her shoulders. Despite his attempts to steady her, she still falls, but deliberately so as she collapses into his arms, bringing him a tight hug. He blinks at it, surprised at the warm feeling of her pressed against his chest, but slowly wraps his arms around her as well.
The royal quickly brings them both down, making them both get onto their knees as she recovers from her limit pushing ordeal. She slips out his arms and quickly move around behind him, wrapping her arms around front as her tall body allows her to grin over his shoulder, pulling him into a tight hug.
He doesn't resist, finding her soft, caring touch comforting, yet he wasn't brain-dead, he could tell she was hurting a little, "How... much effort did that take?" He inquires unsurely, still slightly worried about questioning her decisions. She sighs, resting her head onto his with a calm, relaxed smile,
"A lot… but it was worth every drop of strength I put in." Marshall does his best to look up at her without moving his head, curiosity and confusion slightly etched onto his face.
"Why? Why did you do it for me?" Ice Queen beams, looking down to meet his gaze,
"Because a little pain for me is well worth the price for you to be happy. I will always and gladly go that extra distance for you, to make sure your life is as good as possible, that you get to be whoever you want to be." She glances at his body, finding all the cuts and bruises still there as she grimaces, and moves her hands to them.
With a slight focus of her regenerated magic, Ice Queen creates a small block of ice in her hand, then grabs Marshall's shirt. He lifts his arms up obediently as she pulls it off him, revealing to her the many wounds that has covered his body, 'Why haven't they healed? Doesn't he have really good regeneration abilities?' She shakes her head, 'Help first, ask later.'
She puts the ice cube in his shirt, getting a one layer of fabric protection to prevent the ice sticking to his body, then presses the chilled object on his many wounds. He sighs in relief, the cold object soothing many flaring wounds, calming his nerves down as the pain reduces a little. She continues to help her Marshall, bringing peace to old wounds with a smile, joyed at seeing his condition improve with every action she did, no matter how little it was. He quickly relaxes under her calming, gentle touches of nursing, yet still doesn't do anything about his wounds, making Ice Queen hum in thought.
"... Is there an actual reason why you aren't healing yourself? Can you not do it in this… place? I saw you do it just fine in the arena when you fought Finn." She inquires, but he doesn't answer, remaining silent as he looks straight at the ground, making her worry, "Tell me, please. I want to help you." He continues to remain muted, making her huff and take off the ice cube, "Don't make me stop-"
"Don't!" He suddenly says, shocking Ice Queen for a second, "Don't stop… don't go..." She blinks for a second before immediately moving the ice cube back, 'I would of kept going even if he didn't talk…' She presses on more wounds, causing him to sigh in relief, "... I'm not healing them because she told me not to."
"Evil bitch me?" He nods, making her sigh as he continues,
"She wanted them to remain, as reminders of what I did wrong and to not make mistakes again." Ice Queen scowls,
"Well ignore that order, heal these wounds!" She says in slight horror, and with a slight twitch he turns his regeneration back on, wounds sealing before her eyes as she pulls her ice cube back. Taking the ice out of his shirt, she frowns at the wet spot, but Marshall simply shrugs,
"I don't mind, I've had worse on it…" Ice Queen puts her hand on the liquid mark, and freezes it, before then pulling it off with her magic, sending the ice flying away. Marshall blinks, but accepts the completely dry article of clothing, putting it back on his healed grey body again, "... Thanks… why are you helping me?" She pulls him back into a hug, and he accepts it, clinging to the only warmth he has felt in a long time as she opens her mouth,
"Because I want to support you. In all your endeavours, no matter what they are, I want to help you grow to be the person you want to be." She says caringly, and Marshall sighs, opening up to the friendly woman.
"And what if you don't like what I want to do?" She sighs,
"Depends really. If it's just my opinion, I would just state it, let you know that I don't approve of what you're doing, but ultimately, it's up to you to decide. If you want to do something, I won't stop you, and will so my beat to support you every step of the way. The only exception is when it is a crime, or you're doing something illegal or acting like a jackass. Then that I will put a stop to, even with force if need be, but you wouldn't do that, would you? You wouldn't put me in a spot where you would have to make me take that decision, would you?" She asks with genuine curiosity, worried deeply about what his answer could be. He only sighed,
"I hope not… but by force? What do you mean stop me by force?" He looks at her evil self, now moving her arm constantly at her crotch as she pants, covered in sweat, "Would you chain me and cage me up? Blackmail me?"
She sighs, "... Possibly." He tenses at that, "I won't lie to you, that is what I might have to do. I don't want to, and I hope I never have to, but if you were about to go on a murderous rampage then I would have to stop you in anyway." She sighs, and hugs him a bit more firmly, "And for any harm that may come to you, know that I don't mean it. Please, please forgive me for hurting you." Marshall stands up at that, spinning around and grabbing his shoulder, looking deep into her eyes with a squint,
"... Simone?" Ice Queen blinks, then shakes her head,
"No… I don't think so, I'm pretty sure it's still Sarah." He groans in annoyance, hands on his head as he turns away, making the royal look at the ground as she listens to him pace,
"Sorry, it's just that I heard her say that once… I thought she had broken through, a moment of clarity." Ice Queen brings her knees to her chest, hugging them as she sighed,
"There is no escaping the tiara… trust me, I know."
Marshall stares at her saddened form, and winces, swiftly moving back to her before putting a hand on her shoulder, "Sorry, I didn't mean any offense or bring back any bad thoughts… it's just infuriating at times to see you, and not her… and all this time I've been uncaring of you, ignoring your pain despite you suffering the exact same problem. Heck, it being even worse than Simone! She had me, a focus point to remain sane for, someone to help her when things got rough with her madness!"
Ice Queen chuckles, shaking her head, "It's alright, I've actually come around to enjoying being Ice Queen! And… I did have someone to keep me attached to this world, someone who will help me through these curses of the tiara… his name is Finn…" She looks at him and beams, "... And I'm hoping you as well." He nods, making her heart leap in her chest, "Good… It feels so good to hear that…"
She then stares at him curiously, "I know you're not the real Marshall… but you seem to act like him…" He nods,
"I… think I act like the real Marshall… though I don't know how my thoughts have been twisted by being her… slave." They glance at her, finding her all sweaty and panting as her arm speeds up its rubbing, making them both wince and fill with gladness. Disgust at what she was doing, but glad they could not see her do it, still behind her. Ice Queen looks back at Marshall,
"... But what I was going to say was that I sometimes see Simone, whenever I enter the tiara… if you want, I can pass a message."
His breath gets caught in his throat, and he freezes up, then grabs her, "Seriously!?" She nods, and he takes deep breaths, trying his best to calm himself down,
"Alright, one second…" She waits patiently, preparing to remember the message despite it not being the real Marshall Lee. He takes a deep breath, "I… tell Simone, that I miss her, and that even after all these years of not being here that I haven't forgotten her, and that I haven't given up on a way of freeing her from that tiara. That I wish we could both just sit down and watch a really boring film on a broken TV while eating chicken soup."
He nods, signalling the end of his message, and the royal returns it, "I'll try to pass it on when I next see her."
"I understand, that's why I kept it short… there's so much more I want to say to her, but I already know your mind is weak enough with the curse on your head." They both drop to the floor, sitting down to rest a little, before Marshall spins around behind her, making them back to back. Both immortals sit together, enjoying the silence as they remember their mentally traumatising past. Marshall suddenly sighs, finally opening up to the woman who had been so nice in a long time,
"So… you want to be my friend, a big ass like me?" He says, well remembering how he use to act, yet Ice Queen remains silent for a few seconds,
"Well… I was actually hoping for more. Just not in a relationship sort of way!" She quickly adds before he could panic or misinterpret, what works as he raises an eyebrow,
"What do you mean? There is no higher than friend, unless you mean best friend." She shakes her head,
"No… I meant in a family way."
He stiffens at that, "What?"
"Like… be your mother. Before you say anything, you can't really decline, I'll likely still be doing this even if you don't want me to." He sputters,
"But! I! Like! How!? I mean you're technically younger than me!" He yells in shock, getting off her back.
She spins to look at him with a deadpan stare, "... A. Do I look young to you. B. Which one of us is more mature? Especially in the royal department."
Marshall opens his mouth to respond, but then closes it, "All right, good points. But don't I have a say in this?" She sighs,
"I'm afraid not, heck I didn't really get one either, though not that I really mind…" He raises an eyebrow,
"What do you mean you don't really have an opinion, you're the one doing it!"
"No I'm not. This is." She explains, pointing to her tiara, causing Marshall to sag and look down,
"I see… it's cursing you to do that? To me specifically?"
"Yeah, to you specifically… because it's Simone's wish." He blinks, "She asked me to take care of you because she no longer could." He bites his lips and looks down,
"I see…"
"... Hey, at least it gives you the chance to examine the tiara!" She feels it punish her with a wave of pain, but she doesn't show it as she beams at him, an act that causes him to sigh,
"Good point… alright, I'll give this whole thing a chance." Ice Queen immediately whoops in celebration,
"Thank you! I know we both don't really have a choice in this, but let's make the best of this. You don't have to face the world alone anymore." He looks at the ground,
"Yeah, let's try. But I'll be honest…" He stares into her eyes, "The only reason I accepted then was to help Simone be free, and because I'm about to disappear probably, one last crazy idea to be a little more happy before I die. If you want the real world Marshall to accept you, then you must tell him of the free Simone opportunities first, then warm up to him, get to know him properly, then ask him about this kid/mother thing."
She nods, then smirks, "Well, if this is our last few moments together, then goodbye Marshall." He raises an eyebrow,
"Why the smile?" She shrugs,
"Because shouldn't a mother be smiling as she says goodbye to her child?"
"Err… right. Goodbye Ice Queen."
With that he and her bitch version disappear, the world shaking as it lightens, Ice Queen getting up with a smile but a bit of heartache. 'It prayed on my fear of not being a good mother to Marshall, that I wouldn't treat him right.' She looks around her as the entire environment around her started shifting, becoming a whisper that closes in, "Next." She says with a determined tone, glaring at her next challenge, but then her eyes widen as she feels something familiar in her mind shift.
Back with the others, they were still huddled at the door, waiting for a break in Marshall's magic fire. They glance at Finn as he attempts to figure out a plan, racking his head as he thinks, Butterscotch speaking up worriedly, "Got something yet?" He growls in slight anger, annoyed at his own incompetence,
"No! Ah! I'm not the one that thinks of them! It's usually Bubblegum or some other really smart person! I'm just the guy that gets told the plan and does it!" He sighs, making Huntress speak up,
"And what do you do if they're not around? Because I doubt they followed you into dungeons and space."
He blinks, and stares at the door, 'Everyone else is in no position to move, which means someone has to take the first step. Cake can stretch and Butterscotch can probably make a shield or something…' "I wing it."
He jumps into the doorway, much to Huntress's horror as she darts with him into the danger a second later, the hero grimacing as he raises his blade up defensively, 'Someone has to take the first step, and I'm not risking their lives for mine.' He stares at Marshall in the eye as the demon snaps all arms and tendrils to him, not stopping his barrage of spells.
The first one, a homing rocket, gets absorbed into his blade, but the others don't as Finn grimaces. He leaps as spells singe him, an explosion behind him propelling him forward as he slams into the wall behind the demon. Immediately Marshall spins to face him, yet discovers him perfectly alright, legs on the wall as he springs back at the hell spawn.
With sword facing forward, he yells a war cry as he flies into his neck, his night sword piercing Marshall's soul sack as the demon stumbles back. Just as the hell spawn moves his arms to swat him off and clutch his wound, five arrows shoot over his head then harshly spinning, arcing into his face. They pierced his eyes, making Marshall roar in pain as Huntress leaps at him, grabbing Finn and his blade, yanking them both off the demon.
They land on the ground, and the nymph immediately carries Finn away from the struggling Marshall, who was now flailing his limbs around. The other three finally rush into the room with the danger definitely gone, all moving into position to surround and nullify the hell spawn. With him distracted by pain and the others, it gives Huntress a chance to look Finn over, "Good work Finn, but don't be so stupid again." He shrugs,
"But that's my thing!" She smiles at his joke as she stares at his body.
He had a few cuts on him from flying shrapnel and debris, and his skin was singed in a few places, making her frown, "You're injured, you still good to go?" He laughs as he stands up, shaking his head,
"I've had plenty worse, in fact my ex has given me much worse." She gets up, and calls all her arrows back, the weapons ripping themselves out of Marshall's face while he spins to face Butterscotch. Huntress darts forward with Finn, planning to stop the demon before he could do any harm,
"I know Finn, but I still can't help but worry when you're not at your fittest." He nods in understanding before aiming his sword at the turned demon, and unleashing his stored spell. The homing rocket shoots out his blade, immediately locking onto Marshall and slamming into him, exploding in a green magic explosion on his back. The force of the attack rips his tendrils off, severing them at the base as he yells in pain.
He turns his bloodied body to them, then all his wounds regenerate.
Huntress blinks, then yells the obvious, "He's got Marshall's powers!" He lifts his hand, blasting out a green beam from his palm at the nymph, but Finn jumps in the way with his sword. The weapon tugs at the spell as it absorbs it, making Marshall growl in anger and cancel his attack, using the moment to lift his other arm and blast at Cake, sending her flying backwards. Finn's eyes widen as he watches Cake fly, hitting the wall hard and flopping to the floor.
He snaps back to the demon and releases his stored spell, the laser shooting out his sword tip. It slams into him, burning a massive hole in his body as he tumbles backwards, collapsing into the wall as he regenerates. The hero uses the break to shout loudly, "Everyone! Remember the plan!" They nod as they move in on the quickly recovering immortal, causing Finn to glance at Cake, finding her standing up and making her way over.
He stares at her as she stumbles forward while rubbing her head injury, then nods cautiously at her the second they make eye contact. She nods back with a small grin, signifying she was alright as Finn releases a sigh of relief, but then focuses back on his target of an enraged Marshall. While he leaps back at the demon to do his risky part of being a distraction, Cake groans a little, her head fuzzy from the impact.
She shakes herself free of her confusion and rushes towards the fight, 'But what did Finn say just then? It was a blur…' She glances at him to ask, but finds him occupied with dodging Marshall's attacks as he focuses all his wrath on him, ignoring the others as they start to circle him, 'I better not distract him then.' Hoping to figure it out in time, she ignores her question as she leaps next to her sister.
Marshall swings at Finn, but he is able to leap out of the way just in time, letting the claws rack the floor in front of him. The hero suddenly shouts to the others, "Now!" And nothing happens, causing the group to snap their gaze at Cake, who panics, 'What are we doing? I didn't hear Finn!... The plan!' She stretches forward at Marshall, het her moment of confusion cost her, the massive demon having recovered from his attack, and the opening now gone.
He grabs the stretching cat, who yelps in pain as he swings her around, causing everyone to dive to the floor to avoid being wacked. The hell spawn then laughs as he releases Cake, sending her flying into the wall again so hard she created a crater, then flops to the floor limply, struggling to regain her consciousness. "Cake!" Fionna immediately yells, and is promptly slapped by Marshall, launching her as well.
Straight towards a fire with a demon's remains inside.
She screams in fear, frantically flaying her limbs in a desperate attempt to stop herself in time. Just before she reaches the roaring fire, Finn dives at her from the side, sending them both flying to the ground and away from the roaring flames. Fionna gasps, "I'm having way too close encounters with death!" She yells, the sight of the fire engraved in her eyes. Finn quickly gets up,
"Help your sister! I'll see if I can help the others!" He yells, and dashes away before the girl could reply, his eyes locked on the battle as the still tired Huntress attempts to dodge Marshall as he unleashes his magic at her.
He immediately leaps at the demons and thrusts his sword into his leg, the blade sinking in deep as Marshall stumbles, falling onto one knee. He spins and glares at the hero, his hands moving to slam onto him, but the hero was already gone, yanking his blade free as he dashes at Huntress. The nymph grins as he slides by her side with his sword held up, ready to absorb the next spell, causing her to inquire, "How's Cake and Fionna?"
"They're fine, but I don't know if Cake is coming back in for a while." Huntress watches as Marshall regenerates his leg wound while putting his hand on the ground, dark magic shooting out, causing Butterscotch to point both hands at it,
"Be gone magic of the demons!" She blasts out a green beam from both hands, aiming them at the spell approaching the OOO duo, her counter striking true. Immediately the spell backfires, exploding in a huge fireball of red magic directly on Marshall as he screams in pain. His body gets torn up by the explosion, falling to the floor with many wounds as Finn winces, 'Sorry Marshall… did that throw off the necklace?'
He glances at the demon, and finds his huge form still regenerating, necklace still on. He looks at Huntress, who yells, "We've got a chance as he is regenerating!" She explains just as Finn was about to rush Marshall Lee, when his tentacles start flailing around him, hearing her words.
Finn grimaces, "We can't get near him like that… we need to make a new plan while he is not trying to kill us." Huntress nods,
"I've still got to muzzle his mouth, we're lucky our attacks have kept him distracted from sucking our souls out so far." She explains quietly to avoid the same mistake as before, causing Finn to nod,
"Yeah, but how do I and Butterscotch get the amulet?"
The nymph grimaces in thought just as Marshall gets up, causing them to immediately leap into action, the nymph yelling, "Find a way to get to him! Remove some threats! Make it up as you go along!"
He nods, and stares at the towering demon, 'Remove threats…' He stares at Marshall's arms and tentacles as he stands tall over him, all limbs prepared to shred. He immediately darts into action with his night sword, leaping at Marshall's left arm as the demon goes to swat him. He thrusts the blade into the demon's arm just as it hits him, causing him to be hooked on as he rides the limb.
He flies off it mid arc, hitting the roof with both feet, the hero springing back down with a war cry, stabbing Marshall right in the face. Black blood squirts from the wound, and he hears a groan, the wound inflicted by his blade growing in size until suddenly something jumps out.
It was Marshall Lee, hissing in anger as the black blood from the wound latches onto him, pulling on him, yanking him back inside his monstrous form. In desperation he immediately looks around and spots Finn, his eyes furrowing in anger, "You!? What are you doing here!?" Finn pushes on his blade, making the wound bigger as he tries to buy as much time as possible,
"Trying to free you! Hold on, we'll get you out!" He hisses at Finn showing off his fangs,
"Back off you asshole! You got me here!" He yells in anger, then his eyes widen as he locks onto a bruised Fionna in the background, on the ground as she tries to help Cake, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM!?" He yells in absolute rage, eyes going black with pinpoint red pupils, trying to yank his arm free to strangle the human to death.
"Nothing!" Finn yells, then notices Marshall Lee was rapidly getting sucked back inside his forced monster form, "We'll explain in a bit, just hold on Marshall!" With that, the vampire is sucked back inside, his final look is a glare straight at Finn.
The hero yanked his sword free, and pushed off the head, 'I'm not making a move for that emulate with his soul sucking powers still there.' He lunges for the demon again, just as the hell spawn raises an arm to unleash more spells at the hero, causing Finn to grin.
A green glow appears in his hand, and Finn raises his sword just in time for Marshall to release a death sphere. The moment it hit his blade it was instantly absorbed, the eye of the blade glowing with the stored spell as the hell spawn squints at it.
Finn swings his blade, releasing the orb straight back into Marshall, slamming into his chest and exploding in its volatile way. A huge chunk was ripped from the demon, splattering flesh and black blood around as the hell spawn stumbles back. His arms weren't moving properly, his chest muscles that helped move the limbs gone, leaving them limp as Finn approaches with a grin.
Suddenly a vine wrapped around Marshall's head as well as a loud feminine groan came from behind him, Huntress pulling so hard to keep his mouth shut that she was bending the demon backwards. She strains against her own limits, 'I'm too tired to do this!' "HURRY FINN! NOW!" She yells in slight pain
Finn yells a war cry as he leaps for Marshall, landing on his leg to jump even further. But gets sent flying but some random flesh, slamming him into the roof hard as Huntress's eyes widen.
She immediately abandons her vine, rushing towards Finn as she dives out of the way of the rapidly recovering Marshall. Unfortunately, her reaction speed was hindered by her fatigue, and upon seeing a fist flying towards her, she attempted to dodge in time, only to fail. It hits her hard, sending her flying as she yelps in pain, yet still holds her hand out for Finn falling from the ceiling.
They grasp hands as Huntress momentum carries them both, bringing Finn with her as they embrace in a protective hug. Finn twists himself, spinning him beneath her as they hit the floor, bouncing with a grunt before landing again, ending up in a painful roll. Finn groans in pain, his entire body flaring up as it yells at him, yet he still immediately looks at Huntress in his arms, relieved to see her alright, the only visible problem being slightly shaky breaths from her chest hurting from the bounce they suffered. Finn carefully moves her even as Marshall rises in the distance, letting the last of his wounds heal before attacking the group.
The hero picks her up and places her over his shoulder, swiftly moving to Fionna and carefully handing her to the human girl, "Well, the plan just got complicated." He says, placing Huntress next to Cake as they both rest on the floor, 'Fatigue and injuries got her out cold-' She snaps opens her glowing eyes, instantly locking them onto Finn as she coughs,
"Finn, get me up, I'm not letting him defeat me… I'm hard meat after all." He shakes his head, and looks over his shoulder at Butterscotch, finding her using fire to try and scorch Marshall.
"Nope, you also remember what we said, you're not softer for having someone help you, so let me do that for you now. I'll buy time for you to recover, come back into this when you're actually ready. Please. I don't want you to get hurt for me."
She bites her lip, looking down at the ground then sighing, "Fine, we fly higher together after all…" He nods, and looks at Fionna, finding her both twitching for a fight and hesitating at who her foe was,
"How about you, have you recovered from Marshall's attack?" She nods eagerly,
"Don't worry Finn! I'm in good to punch buns!" She flinches a little as she stares at Marshall, "I think…" Finn sighs as he stands up,
"Yeah, that's partly why I started learning to be a pacifist, had to fight someone I didn't want to…" They both face Marshall, but just as they were about to join Butterscotch in the fight, she gets swatted by a random third arm, sending her flying at the duo.
She slams into Fionna, hitting her hard and smashing her into the wall, the girl gasping as she hits her head. Both the heroine and butler flop to the floor unconscious, making Finn grimace and spin back to face Marshall, shifting himself to act as much of a shield as possible for them.
The hero stands tall as he stares at Marshall, trying to figure out what not only what hit him but where the fifth limb came from that had slapped Butterscotch. He grimaces in realisation as he watches Marshall shift his monster form to having massive spikes, 'I forgot he still had his normal powers, so he is a Hana that can shape shift. Great.'
He glances behind him as Huntress attempts to get up, struggling and ultimately failing as she flops back down with an angry groan, "Glob damn it…" Finn shakes his head,
"Don't Huntress. Don't hurt yourself." She sighs and stares at him, causing her to try again,
"And I can't let you face him alone!" She yells, then quietens her voice, "What about his soul sucking? You need me to muzzle him!" Finn grimaces, then flicks his eyes at his blade,
"I'll use my sword to jam his mouth shut, I don't need it to grab the necklace." She was about to speak up even more when he quickly gives her pleading eyes, "I've got this, trust me, but I'm not sure about the others…" Huntress glances at them all laying limp on the floor, all of them unconscious with wounds already present, "They got hit pretty hard and your not doing too well yourself, and don't lie to look tough Huntress, I just saw you fail to get up. Also, it's only me awake right now, and we both know you don't have to act hard meat with me." She sighs, and continues to stare at the others, "They're injured, so until they and you are good enough to fight again, look after them." She sighs, and immediately grabs Fionna,
"Alright, but don't do anything stupid!" He grins,
"Please, that's what I'm known for!" She shakes her head as she opens Fionna's bag, hoping to find the cyclops tears, 'I'll help and protect the ones you care about Finn…'
The hero meanwhile walks forward with steeled determination, walking towards Marshall standing completely still, using their chat as a moment to recover his strength.
He suddenly starts to shapeshift, smirking as his arms become humongous scythes, razor sharp edges glinting from the fire that sat in the room. "Are you ready to end here mortal? For your soul to be trapped here for all of eternity?" Finn shakes his head as he readies his blade,
"I'm going to free you Marshall, then we're going home to explain everything." The massive demon glares before opening his mouth to roar in anger, his body shifting rapidly, growing larger and larger as his body becomes covered in spikes.
The black tentacles of the kraken take over his legs, his dual limbs becoming a writhing mess of eight black tendrils, while the four on his back stretch to their full length. He uses his vampire powers to float into the air, his six still increasing as he lifts both scythe hands and opens his mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.
He releases a deep demonic roar as his scythes glow with green flaming magic, yet Finn simply holds his blade offensively, and then charged straight at Marshall Lee.
Damn I wanted to finish the fights this chapter. I guess it will end (hopefully) next chapter.
As something pointed out by my beta reader, I didn't clarify something. And that is how the demonic wishing eye can take a bit of Ice Queen's soul, yet Hana can't with her soul sucking powers:
The crown/tiara claims the soul of whoever puts it on, and allows the manipulation and change of said soul. That's partly how they change the wearer into the Ice King/Queen. So it allows the changing and manipulation of their soul, yet not the complete taking of it. So the size of Ice Queen's soul can be changed by the wishing eye taking some, but it can not take it all.
Review response:
Healeroffates, on FF, chapter 34:
That's great to hear, I will do my best to keep this going!
The Book of Eli, on FF, chapter 34:
I hope you enjoyed the fights! I know I'm drawing them out a bit but I've been having too much fun writing them. Yeah the madness of magic was never really explored in Adventure Time, what is a real shame, hence the little five here. Yep, a nice long cuddle session with Finn, I doubt anyone could stop her really. Indeed, that little butler is definitely getting nosy now! And an appearance from Magic Woman (or as I prefer, Magic Ma'am)? Maybe, I don't have any real plots surrounding her since her story has already been told, but if you want I can add her in as a foe or some hindrance to other goals.
Eternal Violets, on FF, chapter 34:
I'm so happy you enjoyed the chapter! And yeah, that was a little teasing of me to say that about the cutaways XD.
You want to see Hana defeated? I believe that is feasible. But yeah, things will return to normal afterwards... or will it?
I'm glad you liked the fight scenes! My biggest problem is trying to think of imaginative ways in which ice could be used to fight, but I'm slowly getting a nice collection of spells for our queen to use.
I'll try my best to make the chapter match your expectations! Until next time Violets, peace.
Nos482reborn, on FF, chapter 34:
Thank you, I'm glad you're loving this so far!