Chapter 7


Princess Bubblegum awoke with a jolt. Her head was pounding, and her neck was hurting. It felt like her head was heavier for some odd reason.
Her mouth was absolutely killing her. All she could taste was metal, and the sweet sugary syrup that acted as her blood.

Where am I now? She asked herself as she shook the dizziness from her head. And why does my mouth hurt so much?

She ran her tongue through her mouth and winced in pain She tried to open her mouth only to realize with horror that she couldn't.
Something heavy was stuck over her mouth, something made of metal. She ran her tongue through her mouth again.
This time, she noticed two thick metal plates that were wedged between her mouth. Her eyes darted from left to right.
Just out of the corner of her eyes, she could see a metal frame that was connected to several springs and two large gears.

What is this thing? She asked as she started to panic.

She tried to move and free herself but was unable to. To add to her horror, Princess Bubblegum found that she was strapped into a heavy wooden chair.
Her heart sank even further once she noticed her third tool of imprisonment. Surrounding her was a metal cage. The cage was only ten feet long and ten feet wide.
Her chair was bolted into the center of the cage. Princess Bubblegum pulled against her restraints, but it was no use, the restraints would not give out.


With a loud crackle and flash of bright light, an old pre-mushroom war television snapped to life, starling the already panicked princess.
The static heavy image sharpened to reveal the white face of a ventriloquist's dummy looking away from the camera.

Princess Bubblegum watched with bated breath as the dummy's head slowly turned towards the camera.

"Hello, Princess. Welcome to your first test." The dummy spoke with a calm yet malicious voice. "For centuries you have ruled over your people. You took a wasteland and turned it into a thriving, sugary kingdom. You took something as simple as candy and gave it life and free will. It takes a great mind to accomplish such feats. And yet, you have grown complacent in the face of these accomplishments. You no longer appreciate the lives that your science has created. You see application rather than potential. You see your people as test subjects rather than the living beings that they are. You have squandered your intelligence for personal gain, rather than the betterment of your people. Your mind was meant for better things. I know this, and should you survive this test, you will as well."

Princess Bubblegum was beside herself as she thought about the things the dummy had accused her of.

I haven't grown complacent. She told herself, denying the dummy's accusations. And I don't see my people as test subjects!

A small glimmer of doubt suddenly wormed its way into the princess' mind. She had to admit that lately, she had been a lot more focused on science then she had been before. With the Lich defeated and Ooo safe, Princess Bubblegum had more time to spend in her labs now than she had before. But never had she viewed her people as test subjects. She quickly forced these thoughts out of her mind. She had more pressing issues at hand.

"The device you are wearing is one of my oldest creations. It is hooked into your upper and lower jaws. When the timer at the back goes off, your mouth will be permanently ripped open. Think of it like a reverse bear trap."

The television flickered and showed a foam head with the same device locked over it. Princess Bubblegum watched with trepidation as she heard the ticking of the timer on the television. There was a loud clang that was immediately followed by a louder bang as the device snapped open, utterly destroying the foam head. Princess Bubblegum let out a small scream of terror at the sight of what this horrid device was capable of. Her rubber body was very malleable and could stretch to some degree, but not even her body would survive the sheer brutal force of the device.

"Once the timer starts to count down, you will only have sixty seconds to free yourself from the device and your cage. However, take note that there is no key."

No key?! Princess Bubblegum exclaimed as pure terror flooded through her body. If there is no key, then how am I supposed to free myself?!

"Look around, Princess." The dummy ordered. "Know that I am not lying. If you wish to free yourself, you will have to think quickly. Use your head, Princess."

A loud click sounded. Princess Bubblegum's blood ran cold. The timer had just been set.

"Live or die, make your choice."

The television flickered, and then turned off.


Princess Bubblegum thrashed as struggled against her restraints. She could hear the loud, constant ticking of the timer counting down in her ear.

If only I could slip my hand through one of the restraints! She thought angrily as she tugged against the restraint.

At that moment, an idea formed. Princess Bubblegum shook whatever doubt she had from her mind and readied herself for what she was about to do.
With as much strength as she could muster, Princess Bubblegum thrashed her upper body down and smashed the jagged front of the device into her left hand.
She let out a small squeal of pain before repeating the action. The sharp metal of the trap easily smashed and tore the skin on her hand, causing her sweet syrupy ichor to bleed out. It didn't take long for her to bleed enough to dampen the leather of the restraint.
Princess Bubblegum let out a scream of pain as she pulled her heavily wounded hand through the tight restraint.
With one hand now free, the princess wasted no time in undoing the restraint on her other hand.

The loud ticking of the timer only made Princess Bubblegum panic even further. While she was freed from the chair, she was still stuck in the horrid device and the small cage that imprisoned her. Time was not on her side, and she knew it. Desperate, Princess Bubblegum began to slam the front of the trap into the bars of the cage.
She tried the same action with each side of the cage. Each time, she would only leave herself more disoriented and hurt. With a loud, desperate scream, Princess Bubblegum slammed head first into the cage again. But rather than the usual 'clunk' that she would have received, she was met with a loud 'ping' sound. She paused then repeated the action. Again, the sound reverberated up and down the bars. There was only one reason the sound would be different. Those two bars were made of weaker metal, and they were hollow.

He told me to use my head, and that there was no key. The Princess recalled. What if he was being literal?

A plan quickly formed. A desperate plan, but a plan none the less. Princess Bubblegum could tell that the metal of the device was strong, but could the same be said about its internals and springs?

I really hope I'm right!

Princess Bubblegum twisted her neck to the side as much as she could and wedged the front of her trap between the cage bars.

The ticking grew louder as the timer neared its end.

Please let me be right! Princess Bubblegum pleaded as she shut her eyes and held onto the cage bars tightly.


With an earsplitting bang, the device suddenly snapped open, only to be caught between the weak cage bars.
Princess Bubblegum screamed in pain as her mouth was pried open. Syrup and saliva dripped from her wide-open mouth.
The sound of straining metal echoed throughout the room as both the trap and the metal bars fought against the other.

Princess Bubblegum sobbed as she felt the trap open further ever so slightly. She wanted to go home. She wanted to wake up and find out that this was all some horrible dream. But the pain in her jaws were all the proof that she needed to remind herself that she was indeed awake, and that this was really happening.

Princess Bubblegum let out another scream as the trap strained and opened a few inches further, splitting her lips and gums.
Just when all hope seemed lost, Princess Bubblegum heard a loud snap followed by several smaller snaps. Screw by screw and spring by spring, the device began to fall apart. Her gamble had paid off.


With a loud clang, Princess Bubblegum felt the device go slack. Carefully, she pulled her head away from the metal nightmare. A sharp pain cut through her mouth as the metal plates in her mouth cut deeply into the top of her mouth. More syrup pooled into her mouth as two needle thin holding pins snapped out of place.
With one final pull, Princess Bubblegum yanked her head out of the death trap.

Freed from the reverse bear trap, the princess coughed and gagged as she spat out a mouthful of syrup, saliva, and odd bits and pieces of metal.
The pain in her jaw was indescribable. She knew that had her plan not worked the moment it did, her jaw would have easily been broken.

After wiping the tears from her eyes, Princess Bubblegum noticed that the two bars she had used were now bent just enough for her to slip through. As though to congratulate her for her escape, a door slid open on the wall. Before leaving her cage, Princess Bubblegum kneeled down and picked up the two, small needle-like holding pins off of the floor.

"I might need these later." She said to herself.

With the way out now open, Princess Bubblegum carefully slipped through the bent cage bars and rushed to the exit.


Harsh light stung her eyes as the princess walked through the doorway. Once inside, the door slammed shut behind her.
She let out a sob of defeat.
She was back in the holding room.

Her sorrow was quickly replaced with shock as she found Finn splayed out on the floor.

"Finn, thank glob you're alive!" Princess Bubblegum exclaimed happily as she hushed to his side.

Then she noticed the blood, and the horrible state the young adventurer was in.

"Finn, what happened to you?!" she asked as she kneeled down beside him.

Finn's eyes briefly opened before closing again.

"You're not real…your just in my head." Finn muttered weakly. "All in my head…"

Princess Bubblegum carefully lifted up his arm and gasped at how wounded it was. His arm was red and blue from bruises and what looked like frostbite.
He had several massive gashes in his arm that were being held shut by sloppily applied medical staples. Several of the staples had popped out, leaving him to bleed slowly.

"Hold on Finn. I've got you." Princess Bubblegum assured the wounded adventurer as she propped him up against herself.

She withdrew the two holding pins from her pocket and then tore off a few strips from her shirt. After tying an unraveled thread to one of the holding pins, Princess Bubblegum tried her best to sew up the opened wounds on Finn's arm.

Finn let out a yelp of pain and opened his eyes.

"Y-you're real? He stammered weakly. "You're really here?"

Princess Bubblegum gave him a small smile and nodded her head.

"Yes, I'm real, you goof." She said softly. "I'll get you fixed up in a moment."

Finn smiled as his vision grew dark again. He couldn't even feel the pain in his arm anymore. He was so happy that Princess Bubblegum was alive.

"Now I just…gotta go save…Marcy…" Finn slurred sleepily as he quickly lost consciousness. "And Phoebe…"

Panic rippled through Princess Bubblegum as Finn's body went limp.

"Finn? Finn, please stay with me, Finn!" she shouted as she shook him.

She pressed her ear against his chest, then checked his pulse. He had one, but it was very weak. Princess Bubblegum wrapped Finn's arm in the strips she had torn from her shirt. They would slow the bleeding for a while.

"Please, Finn, you have to wake up." She pleaded as she dragged him from the center of the holding room. "We need you!"

With her back against the wall, Princess Bubblegum slid to the floor and propped Finn's unconscious body against her own. Tears rolled down her face as Princess Bubblegum held Finn tightly in her arms.

"Ooo needs you." She sobbed as sadness and fear crashed down over her. "The Candy Kingdom needs you."

Whatever this place was, they needed to escape it. It was evil, and it was smart, almost analytically so. It knew more about them than they wished to admit.
How long had this thing been doing this? When did it start? Why did it start? What was it? More importantly, why did it choose them?
Princess Bubblegum was too exhausted and hurt to ponder on such questions. Her friend was alive, and she needed to help him stay that way.

Princess Bubblegum shivered. She was so cold, but Finn was so warm. With tears running down her cheeks, Princess Bubblegum pressed her forehead against the back of Finn's neck and whimpered.

"I need you…"


It is only going to get more bloody after this.