(A/N: Just to let you guys know, this isn't Finn's POV)
At night in the grasslands, the hilltops tend to be a bit chilly. Hence, I wear a cloak. Well that, and it's a full moon out tonight, so I can't risk anyone seeing me.
Something seems peculiar about the air tonight. I feel a bit colder than usual, and I don't know why. My internal anemometer tells me the wind is approximately the same as it was last night, but my thermoreceptors are making me feel colder than usual. I just feel as though something is different. Almost as if something big is about to happen.
Huh! Nerves, they're always so finicky.
While there hasn't been a temperature drop, the winds are starting to come from the north. Probably the early signs of summer ending.
Lab rats! That means I'll have to find someplace indoors to store my equipment, or at least what's left of it.
Huff…
How did it come to this? Back in the good old days, all I had to worry about was which of my test subjects would be the control group. Now I'm concerned about the weather? Pathetic! Oh, how I miss the good old days. Back when I had pure strands of DNA to work with, rather than these freak mutations living on this radioactive rock!
Oh sure, they're fascinating at first: organisms made of fire, animals that talk, and even a bizarre creature the others call "The Ice Thing", which flies around on its beard. Extraordinary species indeed, but studying them would be nothing more than a waste of time.
A waste of time…
"And so is bellyaching about the good old days," I remind myself. I'm right, of course. Reminiscing serves no purpose. I need to stay focused on the future, which, for me at this moment, is getting up this last hill.
Ugh…
I can't tell which is worse, the scratches in my throat or the soreness in my legs. Oh, how I long to have mods to ease these trivial aches and pains.
At least I'm less than a kilometer away from the land of C12H22O11. Once I'm there, I'll collect the samples I set out for and head back to camp.
Just a few more steps and… There! I've cleared the last hill and arrived at the outskirts of this so-called 'Candy Kingdom'. And what a data pool to behold.
Tall banana-shaped creatures guard from walls made of rock-hard pastry, enormous gumball machines tower over the city as they blow bubbles, and beyond those pretzel gates reside residents of various sweet assortments. Everything, including soda mugs, gumdrops, candy canes, marshmallows, ice cream cones, and even a little peppermint, all live together under the rule of some sugar-coated chicle woman.
But what's this?
My infra-red vision has picked up on some life form that's outside the walls, crouching behind the bushes at the eastern end of the cotton candy forest.
Its heat signature is much higher than the other specimens around here, too; how unusual.
Perhaps I'll investigate.
Taking a deep, I proceed to run down the hill, pulling my cloak tight around me as the cold air rushes across my skin. I keep track of the lifeform's heat signature as I go. Now, it's making its way towards a field of licorice that sits closest to the Candy Castle. In my approach, I can tell that it's some type of humanoid form, having both arms and legs, with an abnormally large pulse coming from its center. At first, I think it just might be some feral beast, but then I hear it speak.
"Yes, yes, YES! Everything is coming together. The Princess has made her third cup of tea! It's only a matter of time now before she'll have to use the lady's room, and then I can sneak in to slip these mutated zanoits into her drink."
Zanoits! Are you trying to kill her with parasitic amoebas? This creature is mad!
"This will put the Princess's candy heart into an immediate state of cardiac arrest, causing her to pass out. I'll then swoop in and steal her away."
You're using a dangerous biological weapon just for a kidnapping.
Despicable…
"And when I'm ready, I'll suppress the zanoits with a solution antiprotozoals, which only last for twenty-four hours. This dependence on treatment will leave Bubbglegum no choice but to be all mine!HUHUHAHAHA!"
"That's enough out of you psycho," I shout, kicking my body into overdrive as I lunge at the creep.
I sweep the creature's legs out from under it as we both crash into the ground with a thud. Before it has time to react, I wrestle the thing into a pinned position, rendering the creature immobile.
Once I have the monster where I want it, I take a closer look at its physical features. I must say, though, it's a rather unpleasant sight. This organism looks like it crawled straight out of a mad scientist's laboratory, a very inexperienced one too. The sloppy design of the muscle tissue, the uneven arm lengths, and that horrendous heart-shaped head makes me cringe in disgust.
"Just who do think you are, Sergei Brukhonenko?" I say, snapping myself out of an analytical daze.
"Sir, break-your-knee-o? Women, I must say I have no idea who you're talking about. Now unhand me at once!" The creature protests.
Quite the vernacular, it must be a specimen of a lower intelligence quotient, "First, you're going to explain to me just exactly what you are, then you're going to tell me from what laboratory you stole those zanoits!"
"I don't believe that's any of your business!" the creature retorts.
Unwilling to cooperate, huh? Well, maybe a few hundred volts coursing through your body will change your mind. I point my right fist at him and release a taser from my wrist.
"Wait, why are you pointing those prongs at me? I-AGHAGHAGHAGHAGHA!"
Sigh…
A good old-fashioned tasing always brings a smile to my face.
Once the creature stops twitching, I proceed with my questions, "Okay, let's try this again. What are you?!"
"My name is Ricardio!" The creature snaps back, giving me a spiteful look.
"See, I knew you would come around," I jeer.
"Crazy hermit," He mutters,"AGHAGHAGHAGHAGHA!"
"Not a smart cookie, are you Ricardio?" I continue to tease, "Careful what you say around me, these audio amplifiers in my ears give me excellent hearing. Now, where did you steal those zanoits from?"
"Steal them? Madam, I created them." He replies, snarking a sinister grin.
"AGHAGHAGHAGHAGHA!"
This species just doesn't know when to stop lying, "You don't make those single-celled devils, they're natural organisms. The only way you could have mass-produced them is by using an incubator of some sort. So unless you just love being electrocuted, you'd best stop wasting my time and start being honest with me," I threaten, slowly moving my index finger toward the shock button on my taser.
"Woman, I swear!" He panics, "I made them, just as I made this body, from a science lab."
"Impossible, I've been to every kingdom on this continent; none of them possess the equipment for cellular development, not even this one." I retort.
His eyes grow wide in excitement, "Ah, but that is where you are wrong! Haven't you noticed, women, how all the candy people around here refer to the pink princess as their mother?"
"So, a mere coincidence," I refute.
"Wrong again! For it was she who made them. Oh, please tell me you noticed how she keeps herself locked up in that tower all day. What do you think she does in there? Write fanfictions? No, she's up there working in a lab filled with the finest microscopes, 3D printers, and organic materials, all for the purpose of creating candy life!" He says, shifting his eyes up towards the candy castle.
As much as I don't want to believe him, it sure would explain a lot. The way she walks around the kingdom, eyeing her creations so carefully, as though admiring her work. It also makes sense as to why she's the leading authority figure.
But has the answer to all my equipment needs been under my nose the entire time? There's enough correlation for it to be worth digging into.
Ricardio smiles, "I see you pondering my words, but what if I could prove it to you with action. You see, I made my right hand to match the Princess's fingerprints, allowing me to shut off the security system inside. If you let me go, I can lead you straight into her laboratory unnoticed." He wagers.
Hmm…
"I think I have a better idea," I say as the taser prongs retract and bring out my buzzsaw.
"Wha... what are you-"
I think this creature's limb will provide some excellent data.
Bleck!
The wretched stench of the arm is almost too much for my olfactory receptors to bear. But I got to hand it to the pervert; it did turn off the alarm. Thank Heavens! Now I can toss this dripping thing off the balcony.
Now then, back to the laboratory.
Let's see… beakers, bottles, bunsen burners, boring. An MRI machine, how excessive. A globule of dough next to a jar of cinnamon; that's strange. Surgical knives in the dough itself? Disturbing!
Oh, come on! Every true scientist keeps a log of their experiments somewhere… Aha! A door labeled 'Computer Room.'
A computer room…
Gosh, perhaps I've underestimated the intelligence of this princess.
Upon entering, I marvel at the scene. An extra padded, multi-adjustable, rolling chair sits underneath a sleek, surfaced desk. Pink decorative lighting covers the CPU, except for the flashing white power button. Connected to it is an elaborate array of monitors that tower over the desk, each of them having several sticky notes attached to them. As I go to turn the device on, I notice a manufacturer's label with a big 32GB on it.
"Great mother of RAM! Don't you think that's overkill?" I exclaim.
One thing is for sure. This girl spends a whole lot of time with her computer.
As expected, a text box pulls up asking for a password. I simply take out my USB, plug it into the port, and wait for the malware to do some data exfiltration. In a matter of minutes, I recover the password and download it to my drive, along with everything else.
The Scream Queens? That's kind of an odd pick for a PW. Wait a second. I saw a poster of a band named the exact same thing as the one at the vampire's cave. Why the reference? Oh, never mind that. Now, it's time to dig into some meaningful data.
Okay, what else do we have here? Security systems, no. Laboratory, yes!
Gee-whiz, hasn't this lady ever heard of a folder? These files are so unorganized it would be a miracle to find anything by scrolling. Thank you, Alan Emtage, for the search engine.
Let's try… bioengineering. What in the…why is there nothing but pictures of a pumpkin patch?
How about searching under… life forms. A bio of a screaming lemon? Uh… no.
Come on, think! What about… lab notes? Aha! "Lab Journal" that's close enough. The only folder on here, of course.
Twelve-hundred and sixty-two files!
Ugh…
Probably better just to scroll.
Apple pie trees… weird. Butler retraining… even weirder. Cinnamon Bun two… that explains what I saw earlier. Doughnut police force… okay, back to weird. Hey, what's this!? Finn's robotic arm? Now, this I got to read.
"06/02/3297 Finn and Jake tried to stop Susan after she went bonkers."
That's what those bold buffoons called X-J-7-7! And this was written on the same day they wrecked my laboratory! Oh my, this informing indeed, but what did the princess mean by bonkers?
Hmm… she must have had a malfunction with her implant. Let's see what else she wrote.
"07/09/3297 That fight they had with each other, though it was brave on Finn and Jake's part, ended up costing them a month of rehab. Well, at least for Finn and Susan. I think Jake just stuck around longer because he liked getting special treatment from the nurses…"
Is this a lab journal or diary? Learn to balance your work-life lady.
"There is some odd device embedded in Susan's cranium. Though I'm still not sure of its exact purpose, the device has a microchip processor that serves several functions. It can transmit and receive transcom signals, stimulate the brain's neurons to do about any bodily function, and even has a little compartment of steroids that can be injected into the bloodstream. Definitely a piece I'd like to get a closer look at, but considering it's latched on to the spinal cord, I doubt I'll get the chance."
"Fancy my implants do ya? Well, it's nice to meet another brilliant mind who sees the genius of my design rather than fear its use. But what's this about Finn's arm?
"After Finn's first candy arm didn't suit him, I thought of using some of his DNA to make a new arm out of biomass, just like his other one. After all, proteins and genes are pretty linear in structure, so it should be a breeze compared to glycomics."
Ha! Shows what you know about proteomics.
"08/28/3297, Wrong… dead wrong, proteins fold in more ways than I ever thought possible. After descrambling approximately twenty-thousand genes that make up a countless number of codons, I say SCREW IT! He'll just have to settle for a mechanical arm."
Not so simple, are we darling? Oh wait, there's more!
"05/17/3298, Simon found Finn's arm lying around the battlefield. Somehow, someway, Finn must have lost it during the fight, as only he can do. Well, at least this gives me a chance to make some modifications based on some of the ideas I got from Susan's device."
Inspired you have I? Well, that's how things look based on these attached blueprints. Let's see; you installed a GPS chip, excellent! For nice addition, you installed a microchip that decrypts… Oh my!
You're quite the inquisitive girl, aren't you? Wanting to know more about our species by taking a closer look inside, I presume.
Well, I should thank you, Bonnibel Bubblegum, all this reading about genetic engineering, cybernetics, and this human boy has brought up a lot of memories. Maybe reminiscing isn't so pointless after all. As for now, I'd like to know where Finn and his little orange mutt are. There's a lot we have to catch up on, and lots of tests we have to finish.
So let's see, looking at these coordinates, he's on the western edge of the grasslands sitting right by the coast.
Perhaps I'll pay him a visit.
I must have inhaled some hallucinogens in that candy laboratory because there's no way I'm seeing an entire city full of people, real human people. How in the Founder's name did they get past the Guardian? Better yet, how did they overcome all those years of indoctrination that I've been preaching into their heads?
"The world is dangerous! Stay away from it!" It's a simple message that should've stuck. I even turned it into a catchy song!
Sigh…
Okay now, let's not get carried away. There must be an apparent reason why they're here. Was it resources? No… the Island was pretty self-sufficient. Maybe they had to flee from the virus? No… they would've simply moved to another archipelago nearby, not here. Come on, think! Something would have to convince them to come here, despite how careless that would be.
Wait a sec…careless? Maybe even reckless. Like a particular group of somebodies who refused my mods and totaled my life's work!
My Seeker must have brought the boy back to the Island!
Well then, I guess I'm really the one to blame for all this, am I not? It looks like she did complete that mission I gave her all those years ago. So that's it, huh? She returns, and everyone on the Island sees a rowdy boy who survived after all these years. Then they decide that life elsewhere might be safe after all.
Hmph!
Perhaps this is all just speculation. I need to infiltrate the camp and find the boy, only then will I know for sure. But that's easier said than done. If any of the humans recognize me, then it's off to the penitentiary for life.
Oh well, I should be fine as long as my head is down.
Setting off towards the city, I do my best to stay ducked beneath the tall grass. Once I reach the outskirts, I walk in the shadows given off by the moonlight of the apartment buildings. The cover is good for now, but it's already four in the morning, and it won't be long until the sun comes up.
That's when I'll be in real trouble.
I doubt that the rags I have on will match the exotic fashion the others wear, so I'll stand out like a blue thumb. I need a disguise.
Looking through a bedroom window, I spy a woman in her nightgown lying fast asleep. Luckily for me, she left an orange hoodie on her bedpost. That'll have to do for now. I release my adjustable lockpick and undo the deadbolt on the backdoor. Then I proceed by sneaking into the bedroom and snatching the hoodie, all without being detected. That is until I make a wrong step on the hardwood floor.
CREEEAAAKKK!
The woman wakes up, "Minerva?" I hear her say in a groggy voice.
Curse the contractor who made these floors!
Should I just kill her right here? Dispose of the body and be done with it. Oh my gosh, am I kidding?! This is a human being I'm talking about, that would be an atrocity.
"Uh… Yes dear, it's me. I just came in to check up on you; now go back to sleep." I say with a gentle tone.
"Mmmm…"
Whew!
I rush out of the apartment as quietly as I can, taking extra care of where I step. Once I'm out, it dawns on me who she thought I was.
"Minerva, the boy's mother? Why would she think I'm her? How did she even get here? Did she come all the way out here just to be with her son? How can that be? I could have sworn the virus infected her," I bombard myself with questions.
None of this makes any sense, but at least now I know that she's here. Also, now that I think of it, this fact supports my prior conclusion on why the Islanders came here. And best of all, it's my first clue to finding Finn!
Tossing my old cloak in a trashcan, I switch it out for the orange hoodie. It's not the ideal disguise, wearing such a noticeable color, but as irony would have it, it's the perfect camouflage for my current situation.
I start walking down the streets, heading deeper into the city. Perhaps there I'll find some kind of hospital where Minerva will be working.
"Gasp!" What I see next surprises me more than the city itself. Two Minervas are standing side by side down the street. I swear I got to get my optics receptors checked!
I take a good long look at the identical Minervas, and after a few minutes, I notice a few things that aren't quite right. Their limbs move in a rigid motion; they step in perfect sync with each other, and the big one, they're just standing there.
I may have never known her on a personal level, but Minerva had a reputation for being one of the busiest bodies on the Island. There's no way she could be doing nothing for this long!
No, the only way she would do something so monotonous is if she wasn't autonomous. In fact, their actions almost seem…robotic!
So, a Minerva bot? I knew the Islander's Council was looking to develop a service robot, but why pick her as a template model? Well, I suppose she did serve as a good role model in the community, and maybe this is how they decided to honor her memory after she passed.
Unless…No, she wouldn't, she couldn't, the probability of it being successful at the time was too small. Yet, here she is!
Did she download herself into the Island's cloud storage?
I guess it wouldn't be too far of a stretch. She was the lead neurologist on the project 'Cloud Chamber', and she did have access to the research and development wing of the hospital. Also, considering the virus, she may have been running out of options at the time.
Alright, so if she has a mainframe on the Island, but she's also here in Ooo, then there must be some sort of internet connection between the two. Knowing the general transcom code, they would have installed a fiber optic cable connecting to the internet servers on the Island.
But for the people living here to have wi-fi, they would need a transmitter centrally located to produce the signals. But the only building tall enough here for that is…
"I think I just found the building I was looking for."
I arrive inside the white dome right as the breakfast rush comes in. Although the mob is annoying, I can use it to my advantage. All I have to do is follow the crowd until the time is right to slip away. Besides, how can I pass up a free meal? Let's see what's on the menu…
Cinnamon rolls! Oh, my poor soul! I'm not sure I can stomach them after what I've seen.
Well then, let's just see about finding a way to get the dome's mainframe. Getting deeper into the building would be a good start.
There's a hallway to my right, so let's try this one. Okay, now a T-section with a sign, I want the HQ of the facility, so I go left and…Wallah! There's an elevator. I take a step inside and press the number for the top floor.
I assume everything is going well, but then I notice a camera in the elevator.
Lab Rats! Has she seen my face?
I pull the strings on my hoodie tight, making sure to conceal my face. The last thing I need is Minerva tracking me down after I kidnap her son. If anything, I should wipe the camera system's memory just to be safe.
As the elevator opens up, I ready my syringe to do the old sedate and escape. But all I end up seeing is a walkway through a pool of submerged processors.
"And here I thought the thirty-two gigabytes was overkill," I tease myself, admiring the facilities state of the arch computer system.
At the end of the walkway, there's an empty sofa with a blank flat-screen standing across from it. My first thought was just to leave and resume my search for them. But something catches my eye.
The flat-screen is sitting on a CPU unit that's connected to the rest of the system, and it has USB ports.
You know, that strange feeling I had last night might have been more than a coincidence. It may have been a sign that my luck was about to change, and if I didn't know any better, I might even say it was destiny. Of course, this is nothing but a fallacy of logic.
However…
I wonder what else my destiny has in store.
"Well, let us find out!" I take out a signal-activated USB designed to short-circuit any system.
"Well, what do you know," I sing with glee as I run up to the computer.
"It's time for me to show," I beam, flicking out the USB.
"Who not to mess with," I shout as I plug it into the CPU.
"Destroying my lab was a death wish!" I finish on an upbeat note.
I run back to the elevator for cover. Don't wanna be around when sparks start flying. However, before I push the kill switch, another thought crosses my mind.
"The mainframe on the Island! Even if I take out Minerva's mainframe here in Ooo, she can easily zip across the channel to the other one."
Hmm…
I'll just leave the USB plugged in, for now. It'll just have to wait until I find some way to sneak back into Island. Then, I can have my revenge.
Upon exiting the mainframe, I see the crowd is just starting to leave the cafeteria; perfect timing, too. As I walk out of the white dome, I merge myself back into the crowd.
Escaping the facility was a breeze, though now I fear that finding Finn will be a much more difficult task. There are too many people out and about. I reconsider staking out in the mainframe, but then a familiar face walks by.
"Excuse me! Coming through! On my way to see my best bud! Excuse Me!" says the orange dog, walking through the foot traffic on hyperextended legs.
I would never have imagined that I'd actually be happy to see that mutated mutt. Oh, how things have changed.
Following him through the crowd, I stumble upon the oddest group in the city. The bubblegum princess, a vampire woman, a walking game console, a human professor, a flame-lady, a blue pastry, a green creature with antlers, a monitor of Minerva herself, and the one I've been after this whole time, Finn, are all standing around a small vessel that's packed with suitcases and people.
After a few moments, I begin to understand the context of the situation. Judging by their waves of goodbye, and the ship that's ready to leave. I would say that Finn is heading back to the Island.
Oh, lucky me! This is my golden opportunity!
Ruffling my hair to conceal my eyes, I prepare my next move.
"Wait!" I yell, running up to the gathering of freaks.
"I want to go back to the Island as well," I demand, trying to my best to keep an altered voice.
"My dear, are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Minerva asks, "After all, you did ask to come here in the first place."
I beg to differ
"Yes, I'm sure,"
"Sigh… Very well, do you have all your things ready?" She questions.
"Yep, I'm all set!"
Minerva gives me a curious look, "My dear, you've only got on your sweatshirt and shorts. Where are the rest of your things?"
"I-I uh… left them on the Island! Yes, that's why I need to go back!"
"Well, if it's just your luggage you forgot, we could bring them back for you!" Finn adds.
"No! I uh… see now that coming here was a big mistake! Uh… yeah, it was a horrible idea, and I should just go back home."
"Oh… You really miss the Island huh?" The boy remarks.
"Darling, you have no idea!"
(A/N: So, were you guys able to guess who that was? I believe I made it fairly easy to guess, considering I dropped a ton of hints. If you can't guess, just know that this person will play a big role later on in the story. As always, please feel free to critique my work and leave a review. I really appreciate the feedback!)