Chapter 5:
"What're you working on," Sarah demanded? Before Blargetha could hide the notebook, the android woman had snatched it from the table. Glaring at the plump woman, the sex-machine growled, "I told you to drop it, Blargetha! We're supposed to be working on a man-rated spaceship, and you're fucking around with this..."
Snatching her notebook back, the slime-woman retorted, "my coffee-break, sweet-cheeks. I can do what I want in my personal time." Sarah glared at her. Coolly, she responded, "shouldn't you spend your energy..." "My personal time," Blargetha snapped, tone warning. Blowing out a breath, Sarah nodded and turned away.
"I'm not a machine, Sarah," Blargetha rumbled. "Nobody can grind like you and Nadia, but I have to exercise my mind or risk losing it..." Her tone was edgy, but Sarah could see she was being conciliatory. "Since we're laying out our cards," Sarah responded, "I don't understand why it has to be a weapon. If I had the time to spare, I'd be looking at ways to harvest the asteroid for things we can use. The fusion reactors alone..."
Slicking back her 'hair', the curvy princess responded, "you've got too much of her in you, Sarah, which is funny to me, when you two get to bickering so much. The world isn't the nice place she thinks it is. I've... I've seen the uglier pieces of it."
The android-girl wanted to respond that she'd seen ugliness too. At the same time, what was the sense in picking a fight, when they were supposed to work together to save Ooo from having an asteroid fall on it? "See you after your break," Sarah responded, as she turned to go.
An irritated Blargetha returned to her sketches. She really only had five minutes left now, after that pointless conversation. The most irritating thing of all about the business was that, did Blargetha get her way, the Ark would serve a dual function—one far beyond the business of providing raw materials for the humans' colony.
Unfortunately, Bonnibel Bubblegum was afflicted with a myopic world-view that saw weapons as the problem, rather than their wielders. Sarah, in spite of all her logic, labored under the weight of that gross presumption. Muttering curses, the slime-person closed the notebook, rose, and dumped out her coffee. It was cold anyway.
Finn the King stepped out of the impromptu studio in the Botanical Gardens, where he'd been giving an interview to Channel Eight. For a man unused to public speaking, it had been a disconcerting experience to say the rise of television on Ooo had given the Candy-Kingdom a much-needed form of entertainment. At the same time, Finn had found himself dealing with the strange fallout of the new world that Bonnie's technology had fostered.
He'd had a couple of run-ins with the 'news'. Starchy in particular had been a pain in his ass, striving to catch him in 'gotcha' moments whenever he could, until Bonnie assigned a Chief Speaker for the Captain of the Guard. The change to 'New Finn' had stilled some of the angst. Finn could now hold his own in a conversation with most anybody. Trouble was, there were still blind spots he had, and he'd just gotten a reminder of some of them.
He didn't really like the insinuations that he was stocking his government with his kids just because they were his kids. Nor did he like the insinuation that his wives earned their positions in the government on their backs. Truthfully, the people asking those questions had to know better, since the women in question had been princesses before there was an Empire of Ooo.
Of course, if they were asking if he was making those choices based on who his favorite sex-buddies were, there was a dreadful counter-question waiting in the wings. How much did the various princesses support Finn because he was their stud-muffin?
Finn knew the answer as he knew the women in question. There had always been affection between he and Peebles. He'd known all those women for decades of his life, laughing with them and supporting them in their ugliest moments. He just didn't need those ugly moments getting aired out in front of the normies.
And, of course, he was dealing with fallout of a different sort just now, as he regarded Rosie out the corner of his eye. She'd weathered the storm and the idiotic questions in some ways better than he had. At the same time, she'd taken a lot of shots too, with several of the reporters asking 'how things were going' between her and Simone.
The only person who maybe knew just how sensitive a topic that was outside of Finn might have been Simone. Rosie felt an abiding guilt for the way she'd strained relationships through her actions.
"Baby," Finn interrupted. "I... need to say something." "Listening," Rosie responded. Turning to face his first wife, the big man rumbled, "I know you feel responsible for some of the things that have happened, babe, but that only carries so far. You... Honey, you need to let go some of the angst. Simone could tell you, that'll kill you..."
Wincing, Roselinen responded, "obvious?" Finn nodded. Sniffing back tears, she said, "I'm trying, honey. I really am, and I have been getting better. It's tough, you know—sharing my husband with a bunch of wenches, when I can't abide some of them." Finn flinched himself, as he thought of that awful interview.
"I keep my eyes on the prize, honey," Rosie said, as she squared up. "I was in no position to save my homeland. It's gone. That wizard flattened it. I think of Persemon... mewed up in that tower, burning to death like all the rest of Woolsock. I see the folk around here, going about their lives, just like I went about mine, and I see that bastard, Gumbald, trying to harness terrible forces, just like the Wizard Sheetz. I have the means to help stop him. I'm right here at your side, just like she is—just like Nadia and Bonnibel..."
Reaching up, Rosie straightened his tie and said, "there's a price to be paid for power, and I see it. I see why a woman like Persemon kept to the shadows, even when her husband's actions ended her life. I'll walk this path at Simone's side—at your side—until I'm returned to dust."
Tweaking his nose, she said, "and I have my pleasant moments." The expression on her face gave him the willies, suggesting that she'd done something very naughty. Before he could ask, a very disturbed Princess Grace went by, talking urgently into her phone. It appeared that something unpleasant had befallen her seneschal. Glancing at the wench's retreating backside, Rosie cryptically remarked, "he'll be fine. His broken legs will heal. It isn't wise to touch what doesn't belong to him..."
Finn wasn't sure what disturbed him more—the idea that Grace 'belonged' to Finn or the realization that Roselinen had ordered someone to be beaten. Before he could say a word, his phone rang.
Drawing the phone from his pocket, he was startled to find it was Viola. He'd become unused to his brother's kids calling him over the years. The pups had been pretty vehement about kicking him out of their lives. Flicking his phone open, he answered, "hey, Vi. What's up?"
As Rosie listened, the big man did his best to deal with whatever mystery crisis his brother's kids were having at the moment. While she'd never had the opportunity to get to know Jake or Lady, she'd gotten quite an earful on the pair from Bonnibel, Simone, and numerous other members of the family. Truth? She found their parenting skills execrable, and she understood why it was that Jacob Junior and Charlene were walking shipwrecks.
As Finn finished up, Rosie said, "I'll go back with Breakfast and Sarah. You go and look in on Viola." Finn frowned down at her. "You're supposed to go and make love to Charlene, Finn," she reminded him. "It's important. Sarah's told me something of what goes on with Jacob's people... the poverty and the criminality. That needs fixing. If Charlene's child is the one to do the fixing, the sooner he's born, the better off Ooo is."
On the far side of town, Charlie sneezed several times in a row. Great, she thought. In addition to having her sister want to kick her out on the street, she was maybe coming down with something, making today a banner day.
Stepping out of the cab, she looked up at the building before her, finding her unease growing. Rian and her hubby owned the place, and Rian had suggested they could cut her some slack on the rent. Trouble was, Rian constantly feuded with her husband, and it might only take the wench getting caught fucking around to see Charlie shown the door. Get it done, Charlie, she told herself.
The candy-corn who managed the building was a pleasant enough fellow, though his buff, hard body and flirty nature suggested he was bangin' Rian like a drum. It was another red flag for staying here.
Stepping out of the building, Charlie glanced to her left to find Aziz hunkered down in a car at the end of the street. What the hell, she thought? Pretending not to have seen him, the curvy pup turned and walked up the street towards the convenience store there.
Oblivious to the dog-icorn's escape, Aziz Binici flicked open his phone, announcing, "yes?!" The voice of Mr. Hersey greeted him from the speaker. "Yes, I made contact," Aziz growled. "It wasn't as easy as you said. I had to sleep with the nasty whore that owns the place to get an appointment with her."After a couple of irritating accusations, the tall fellow said, "what? Did you think she'd just throw herself at my feet and fuck in the studio? No, we didn't talk about her sister or anyone else. It was business... Yes, I offered to purchase dinner..."
Rolling his eyes, Aziz declared, "she's suspicious, Mr. Hersey. I can see it in her eyes when she's talking to me. I don't know if it's your mysterious client or something else, but she looks on the world with very suspicious eyes. Getting close to her isn't going to be easy. It's going to take some time..."
A long stream of invective flowed out of the speaker, telling Aziz that the mystery client was both very impatient and very interested in the mark. Aziz had seduced more than one pretty housewife to spoil a marriage and instigate a divorce on the husband's terms, but this seemed like something entirely different. He wasn't sure he really wanted this job anymore.
On the far side of the world, Captain Hahm glanced up from his work to find his cousin there. Ha Bongseon gave him a coquettish smile, belying the fact that they were first cousins and forbidden from relations. Of course, the fact that Bongseon gave that smile to every influential man she met also somewhat dampened any appetite the Captain might have had.
"How may I help you cousin," he asked? Smiling that smile, the slim beauty brushed against him suggestively and responded, "perhaps I can help you, Chul-Moo..."
Chul snorted. Unless she was planning to fix him up with one of her friends again, there was little she had to interest him. Bongseon had a bad habit of getting into deep debt with unpleasant people, adding one more strike to the list of reasons he wouldn't have touched her with his brother's dick, while his best friend did the thrusting.
The femme fatale stepped back a moment and gave him an appraising look. "I'm working, Ha Bongseon," said he. "Why don't you bugger off?" "I hear my sweet cousin-in-law is having a surgery," she remarked.
Chul's eyes narrowed. His wife was finally having her heart-defect looked at after ten years of carefully managing her illness. That was news he'd kept inside the family because it was dangerous for a soldier's superiors to know he had financial difficulties. Such news damaged trust, as it was leverage against an officer.
"You've helped me out of several problems," Bongseon purred. Drawing a small pouch of coin from her bodice, Chul's evil cousin said, "I can pay for Chaewon's surgery, or I can reveal that surgery to your commander, Chul. Take your pick." The soldier's eyes went wide in terror. Nodding, the femme fatale said, "choose quickly, Chul... Time grows short..."
With few options on hand, Chul took the bribe and slipped it into his coat pocket. "Get lost," Bongseon growled. "Disappear for an hour." Chul glanced up at the tower where a wrecked war-machine lay. His cousin's face grew hard. Swallowing, the soldier turned and strode away from his post, quickly losing himself in the darkness.
The limo carrying the King of Ooo rolled into the garage under Sweet-Tart Towers at half-past-five with the anxious occupant of the back seat squirming. Knowing that Viola had been hassling Charlie about the 'new normal' in their lives, Finn had been rehearsing his approach to this conversation the whole way over.
Far from being irritated like Charlie was, Finn understood some of what Vi was feeling. Hadn't he said it? This had consequences for all their lives.
The big man continued to rehearse what he was going to say on the long elevator ride up to the penthouse, where Viola lived. Indeed, he was still going over his words in his mind as he approached Vi's front door. The angle he'd mostly settled on was the business of prophecy. He was doing this because it was dangerous to fight prophecy. He didn't want to be Eatapuss or whatever that guy's name was, bangin' his mom or something because he was trying to duck what the Cosmic Beings had laid out.
Calming himself—at least he hoped he was calming himself—Finn knocked on Vi's door and waited. Not that the rehearsing stopped. The green-skinned giant at his back couldn't help rolling his eyes. This man could kill a hundred dudes without breaking a sweat, and he was scared to face down a girl.
When the door opened, Finn found himself facing the skinny pup herself. Jake's daughter came dressed in a sexy, low-cut sleeveless top in grey silk over a tight pencil skirt in deep blue.
"Viola," Finn greeted his brother's daughter. "I wanted to apologize for any offense I might have given..." The slim woman stared up at him, expression unreadable, while his bodyguard stared at the four plump, pear-shaped knockers the dog-girl had making quadruple dents in the front of her blouse.
As the silence stretched on, a nervous Finn decided to break the impasse. Reaching out, he drew Viola into his arms and hugged her. As the big man embraced her, the slim woman felt a shock of something and gasped in fear. Images danced before her inner eyes in a stream that left her shaking. The curse, she realized. This was what Charlie and Jake had felt. Just as those thoughts went through her mind, the last of those images passed, leaving her more than a little daze.
Turning away from Finn, the slim pup headed for the dining room, showing the King's bodyguard that the sister had just as nice an ass as the other girl, while revealing that the lady's top had no back. As His Majesty shut the door in his bodyguard's face, the last sight he had was of the straps of the lady's custom boulder-holder. Off to sleep in the limo, thought the giant, as he turned for the elevator.
"I... uh...," Finn babbled. He knew he was babbling. He just was at a loss as to what to do about it. "Have a seat," Viola murmured, as she gestured to the table. "Dinner'll be ready in a moment."
If her uncle was having troubles, Viola was having some serious issues of her own. She was starting to think of backing out of this.
She needed help because she'd been striking out on the 'Grand Project' and had been for years. The truth of the matter was that everything people thought of the average member of the acting community was true. Most actors and actresses had small brains and even smaller consciences. If she was ever going to get her dream of a dog homeland off the ground, Finn was her only real hope.
At the same time, she was terrified by the things she'd glimpsed in that brief contact. She could understand how Charlie had gotten scrambled because her head wanted to start throbbing. A part of her wanted to punch her uncle, even though she knew he had no control over it.
Someone did that to him, Vi, she reminded herself. He was trying to save Ooo and all the people on it, and that nasty motherfucker still decided to curse him. Shaking off the feelings she was having, Viola moved into the kitchen.
At a loss for what to do, Finn moved to the dining room table, his mind going back to the dinner he'd shared with Charlie before he'd gone to the Kingdom of Glass. Jake's kids were all various flavors of messed up, with Junior and Kim neck-and-neck and the others somewhere further back in the pack. Vi hid it better, but Finn was starting to realize she was just as screwed up as the others.
As Viola exited the kitchen with a platter bearing a big chunk of roasted beef on a bed of diced meat, Finn sat himself at the table. Dog, Finn, he thought. Meat on top of meat, just like her dad. In spite of her efforts at solidarity with her mom, it didn't take much for the dog to come out of Vi.
Laying out the platter, she dashed back to the kitchen for a couple of side-dishes before settling herself at the table beside him. "Where's Charlie," he asked? He immediately regretted it, when Vi glared at him. Calming herself, Viola responded, "not back from work yet." "Oh," Finn burbled. He'd feared that Viola had kicked her out.
The pair helped themselves to dinner, with Finn doing his best to figure out how to talk his way through the current angst while he worked his way through his plate. On her side, Viola was doing her best not to look straight at him.
Blowing out a breath, Viola said, "I have to propose something." Finn's face snapped up. Face hot, he said, "you don't have to say it like that. We're family. How can I help?" With a heavy sigh, she responded, "in for a coin..."
Resting her elbows on the table and crossing her arms, the sexy dog-icorn said, "the dog-race has wandered for centuries since the end of the dog/rainicorn war, Finn. They don't have a home, and they often live in abject poverty. I mean... is it any real surprise that my dad was a delinquent."
Finn blushed in memory. Jake had been a thief before coming home to take care of Finn after their dad died.
"My brother had some land," said Viola. "It wasn't much, but Charlie and I thought it was enough for a start. It was up in the nook between Cocoa City and the Berry Kingdom. It was just rocks and such... not really usable for farming. Mostly he's used it as a tax write-off because of the wars..." Finn rolled his eyes. Kim was just as big a thief as his dad. He just didn't admit it to himself.
"Kim turned us down," said Viola. "He's not interested in any damned thing but his money. I'm... hoping you won't." "I'm listening," Finn responded.
His voice was neutral, but Viola had come to understand from things Junior let slip and things she'd heard from others that Finn had changed drastically over the last few years. He took this 'King of Ooo' gig more seriously than he'd taken being a father, and he'd taken being daddy to a bunch of kids very fucking serious indeed if Charlie was to be believed.
"We need land," said Viola, "and I'm one of the few wealthy dogs to have the means to gain it. Dad had money, but... he threw it away in Berry Kingdom."
Face flushed, Finn admitted, "that wasn't a very good time in my life. We lost a good friend, most of our cash, and almost our lives." Viola glanced away. She knew who was responsible for that mess.
Shaking off the bad mood, Finn admitted, "I have some of the money." Viola's face whipped around, her eyes narrowing on him. His blue eyes met hers, and the big man admitted, "Wildberry confiscated a lot of it. She melted it all down into bars and stuffed it in a vault under her palace. The Dipped buried the place, but never touched the money..."
"Because they had no need for it," Viola burbled. "How long," she asked? With a heavy sigh, Finn responded, "I put Jake's share in a trust-fund..." "...because my dad is an idiot with money, and some stripper named Candy would get it," Viola sighed. Shaking her head, she said, "it needs to stay in that fund, Finn. I can't spend my dad's retirement money on my dream."
Finn glanced away, and she could see the sadness there. Though he never said those words to the man he called brother, she knew he saw the same faults.
"We have other options, Finn," she said. "I've got some money saved. It's not enough, but I'm thinking that maybe money's not really the issue..."
Looking up with a frown, the big man adopted a listening attitude. Viola explained, "there's land beyond Lizard Kingdom. There's land north and east of Elbow Kingdom..." "It's burned," Finn reminded her. "Android-Bonnie is fixing it," she retorted. "I've seen the headlines and the vids."
"It's going to take a lot of work to fix it all, Vi," Finn replied. "Years and years of work. I don't have money to fix it... Sarah's work is just a pilot to prove that it can be done." "But we have strong backs, Finn," Viola replied, "and I'm willing to sweeten the deal by working for you."
Sitting up straight, she reminded him, "I'm an actress with years of experience and hundreds of contacts in the entertainment biz. Soldiers need entertaining. You've got more soldiers under arms than anybody's had for centuries. Men at war get restless. They need something to boost their morale..."
Giving him an impish smile, she added, "I'm willing to get the whole thing put together and find people to back it and support it. I'm not richer than sin, like Bronwyn, but I can contribute. Consider it a down-payment." "Ok," he said. "Deal."
The duo spent the next half-hour exchanging thoughts and ideas. Far from being disinterested, Finn had a lot of ideas on ways to help the dog race. Hadn't Rosie said it? The criminality and poverty needed fixing. Yesterday.
As the plates got emptied and the conversation wound down, Finn found himself sitting in Viola's living room, looking out at the beautiful view of Bonnie's capitol, while his host cleared the table. He'd had a lot on his plate—a fuck-ton of troubles—and he'd given no thought at all to what was going on amongst the dogs. Even back in the day, when he'd had far fewer problems, he'd spent very little time or energy on the dog nation.
It's not exactly like I didn't care, he decided. If he realistically thought about it, he'd never had the power to do anything about Jake's people. Even when that power finally fell in his hands, there had been much, much bigger fish to fry.
"What're you thinking about," Viola asked, as she came around the couch? Finn looked up to find her carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Thought we could celebrate," she said, as she put the glasses down. Still troubled by what was going on with the dogs, Finn nodded absently.
"Like my view," Viola asked, as she poured the wine. "Not as good as mine," Finn remarked. "Oh," she responded? Chuckling, as he accepted his glass, the big man remarked, "no sky, Vi. The city's pretty, but you can't see the stars..." "Good point," she agreed.
Taking up her glass, the dog-icorn slipped into his lap, startling Finn. Clearing his throat, Finn announced, "I'm not one of those dudes who trades sex for favors..." Leaning in against him, Viola replied, "not looking to trade. Just looking for a good time. We already cut our deal, remember? This is personal."
That did little to help Finn get over his concern. "Uh...," he stammered. Viola turned and straddled his lap, putting those plump knockers under his nose. "I imagined you'd come to associate my home with pussy," she chuckled. The big man flushed to his crown. Slipping her fingers through his long, blonde hair, Viola murmured, "didn't you promise to take care of us?"
Even as she spoke, she was grinding her snatch against his bulge. Leaning in, she put her lips to his ear and whispered, "or do I need a prophecy..."
Slipping his arms around her, the big man rested them on the small of her back, whispering, "Vi... It's dangerous for you to go down this ro..." Viola shut him up by the expedient of shoving her plump tits into his face. At the same time, she grabbed his hand and slapped it on her ass. "I want to be taken care of, Finn," she breathed. "Take care of me."
Hours later, Charlie Rainicorn opened the door to her sister's apartment and stepped in, shutting the door behind her. She honestly did that a lot faster than she was accustomed to doing it. Getting that ugly confirmation that her new client was creeping on her was doing a number on her sanity.
She was halfway to incandescent rage at Finn, edging towards wanting to call the whole thing off. Two things stood in the way.
Her former uncle, now boyfriend had told her, hadn't he. He'd warned her about the life he now lived, and he'd been brutally honest about its effects. More to the point, the fact that they were 'an item' wasn't really known, was it? He'd as much as said that anybody who was 'family' with him was fair game for the sick fucks who'd declared open season on him.
They were going to rape my niece, Charlie thought, simply because she's Finn's granddaughter. The idea horrified her, and she found herself clutching her tummy in terror of that being her child. And of course, that led to the other barrier. She couldn't get off this train if she wanted. Finn was going to father her child. It was going to happen.
Muttering curses, the plush-puppy kicked off her shoes in favor of a set of slippers. Crossing the room, she found her eyes drawn to the couch. There were clothes there. Men's clothing.
Changing course, she went over to the couch, wondering if her sister was entertaining somebody. A chill went up her spine, as she thought of the risks of that with an angry Royal on the loose looking to go after anybody connected to Bonnibel Bubblegum. Wait, she thought, as she fingered the fine silk trousers. These look awful familiar.
Folding the pants and shirt up so they didn't take wrinkles, the plush-puppy turned and crossed the living room to her sister's bedroom. Opening the door, she was confronted with the sight of Viola, curled up in bed against Finn.
The panties on the floor and bra hanging from the ceiling fan told her what had been going on. "Well," announced Charlie. "My sister's sleeping with my boyfriend..." Viola yawned, "we're both sleeping with Junior's boyfriend." It was pretty nasty when you put it that way, especially as this man was also their niece's husband, and Charlie barked a laugh.
Crossing the room, shedding her tank-top and sports-bra as she went, Charlie arrived at the bed. Slipping out of the shorts and panties she'd been wearing, she slipped into bed on Finn's other side. The King of Ooo had given up on being embarrassed by this. Slipping his arm around Charlie's middle, he pulled the plush-puppy close to him. In short order, Charlie's soft snores told him she was asleep.
It appears Roselinen is getting all too used to the idea of being the King's wife. A whole lot of slutty princesses better watch out. Of course, in the background the King's enemies are making dangerous moves, and it seems that Finn may arrive too late to prevent looting of at least one of the war machines. Wonder why Kim is now spying on his sisters?