Chapter 43:

Sunrise in the vast wasteland of Baba Yaga's domain found Princess Nadia working away with a soldering iron and bits and pieces of the goo-bro defense system. Rising from her own bed, Talia scratched at her sides a moment before letting loose a massive yawn. Clambering out from between the blankets, the former model and movie star stood staring out at the world around her for a moment.

Spying the mashina devushka working away, the rusalka strolled over. Squatting beside her, she burbled, "I thought we were going to use this in the bunker..." "New plan," Nadia responded.

Picking up the device she was working on, she explained, "years ago, my people sold a device that would surround the wearer with a thin field that would repel the mutants and even give them a mild shock if they attempted to touch you..."

Frowning, Talia responded, "what happened?" With a heavy sigh, Nadia admitted, "pacifism happened." Glancing up, she explained, "the item was sold as a peaceful means of dealing with the monsters. You weren't able to harm them, and they couldn't harm you. Or so we thought. Then a couple of loons figured out that if you ganged together, you could push the mutants into a corner and kill them easily without them being able to respond..."

Rolling her eyes, Talia surmised, "and you basically quit selling an important safety gadget because of a couple of mudak, depriving possibly thousands of folk life-saving equipment due to the bad behavior of a few." Flushing, Nadia mumbled, "da..."

Resisting the urge to curse, Talia squatted down before the younger woman. Resting a hand on her shoulder, Baba Yaga murmured, "we talked. I expect you to be better. Now, what're we doing?"

Shaking off her embarrassment, Nadia replied, "I replicated the original device. I've made enough for everyone to have one. This way, you don't all have to be crowded close around me." Nose wrinkling, she added, "I was afraid things might get dicey if someone got too far away from me."

One by one, their companions woke up, with Olga being the last. After a quick breakfast, the six gathered up their belongings and after a quick consultation with the camp by radio, set out for the bunker's entry.

The heavy structure loomed over them like a brooding gargoyle as they approached. Rust stains around concrete support posts suggested barbed wire had once guarded the flanks, and just as Katsumi surmised, signs advertised mines on the empty ground around the pathway.

"I would've expected Stars and the Hammer and Sickle," Olga rumbled. In curious tones, Betty burbled, "hmm?"

Patting Olga on the shoulder, Baba Yaga chuckled, "Olga's our Stalinist fan club. Her grandmomma used to talk about the days of Uncle Joe as if they were the coming of Christ..."

Brushing her hand off with a glare, the younger woman snapped, "I just expected something from Soviet times to be more ornate." "You're thinking the Stalinist Period," Katsumi murmured. "Dead Hand was built much later, during the malaise... There probably wasn't money to spend on decorating something only the guards and maintainers were meant to see."

Arriving at the massive steel door, they all stood there a moment, staring in awe at the massive steel structure. Finally, Talia turned to the robot girl and said, "well... we're here. What's the plan?"

"The plan," Nadia responded, "is power. Power and heat." Reaching into the bag she was carrying, the cyborg woman withdrew a cannister. "Thermite," she declared. "With this, I can burn the latches holding the door shut. Then, with some leverage, I can force the door open."

Getting down to business, the cyborg got the thermite rigged against the door and set it off. As the others watched, the terrifying chemical weapon burned into the door, digging deep. When the first can was empty, Nadia set up a second. Finally, they had a clear hole through into the mechanism beyond.

Now, the tall woman rigged up a hydraulic jack and began the laborious work of driving the two doors apart, fighting the funk of ten centuries. In the end, she was only able to drive the doors two feet apart, but it was enough.

The six women scrambled through the opening and into the dark interior beyond. Immediately, the five witches would've all conjured up lights, but Nadia stopped them, suggesting, "save it. This place is pretty big, and we don't know how long we'll be in here."

So saying, she drew another gadget from her backpack and settled it atop her head. Momentarily, a beacon blazed forth from the gadget, lighting their surroundings. "Let's go," said she. "Stay close."

As the sun rose on King's Island, the folk of the capital rose to find humans in the street. While folk from the mainland weren't unusual on the island, they typically came in small numbers and never with weapons in hand.

The burly strangers were quick to use those weapons to intimidate the various folk of the island, admonishing them to return to their homes and stay put. Meanwhile, a contingent marched on the palace itself.

Dick Stanek was in the lead, as the team approached the entry to the clinic that the staff of the castle maintained for the locals. Barging in, he made straight for the door on the far side, while his men held the staff at gunpoint.

They'd been scoping out that door for weeks now, working from the inside and the outside. His mother's maids had found the space that door opened into within the palace. Now, as Dick approached, one of those maids opened the door from the inside.

Grinning, the mayor's son grabbed the older woman and glued his lips to hers in thanks. As she giggled in embarrassment, the men Dick had been leading rushed through into the interior of the castle.

Awaking with a yawn, Lollipop Mertens sat there in bed, scratching. Sliding her legs out from under the sheets, the tall model sat there a moment, composing her thoughts before climbing to her feet. She already missed having Fionna and Bill here. Life had been simply better when everyone was at home.

First order of business, she thought. Get the workmen harvesting stone again. That would require a trip ashore, which would require dragging Tasha along. Mrs. Stanek had been increasingly reluctant to leave the palace, but she tended to stick her nose in places she shouldn't when Lollipop was out.

Slipping on her robe and slippers, the slim candy-person wandered out into the common space to find Tasha already up and dressed. Lollipop couldn't help noticing the sneer on her face.

Something's up, she thought. "I'm planning to head to shore today," Lollipop offered. "I'm afraid that plan's been canceled," New York's first-lady responded. "We're now in control of this island."

Face splitting in a smile, Lollipop chuckled, "so you've finally decided to make your move..." The blond woman's face fell.

Shaking her head, the tall model chuckled, "I'd hoped you'd see what we were trying to do to help you all and change course..." Just then, a familiar figure burst in. "We're in, ma," Dick Stanek announced.

Lollipop said not a word as a half a dozen strangers entered her family's space. Her fingers carefully stroked the charm bracelet on her wrist, as the mayor's thuggish son crossed the room.

As he approached, he said, "you need to tell them guys on the other side of the island to surrender." Lollipop laughed in his face. Shaking her head, she said, "I'll do nothing of the kind. You'll surrender. You and these others will be jailed for such time as the King decides..."

Drawing back his hand, Dick Stanek snarled, "I'm not play..." Catching his arm, as he tried to slap her, Lollipop threw him against the wall.

"W-wait," shrieked Tasha! It was clear his pals would've shot her. Brown eyes burning into the trash on the floor, Lollipop declared, "you're about as good at fighting as you are at seduction."

Leaping to his feet in a rage, Mr. Stanek threw a punch, failing to connect again. "Stop that right now," Tasha shrieked! "We need this little bitch!"

Getting control of himself, Dick growled, "we control the castle. If you want those little bastards upstairs to keep their skins..."

"You can't reach them," Lollipop chuckled. "The nursery and its staff are sealed away. They'll stay that way until the King's army arrives. I recommend you surrender. You're not gonna' win this."

"She's bluffing," Tasha declared. Dick grabbed Lollipop by the arm and spun her around. Moments later, she was being frog-marched across the room in her bathrobe.

As they dragged her down the hall to the elevator, Lollipop murmured, "I'm going to say this once. After this, you own the consequences of what you're doing. My husband has issued a Royal Decree. Harm a member of the First Family and suffer the ultimate sanction. Now, you've been warned..."

"We have control of this castle and the island," Tasha responded. "Those little bastards will get hungry and have to come out eventually."

Shaking her head, Lollipop chuckled, "your best case is that the King doesn't learn of this until our phone call this afternoon. Worst case, the airships are already on their way. That's even assuming he doesn't turn the war-machines loose on your people."

Dick Stanek, who'd been in the lead, stopped stock-still, almost causing his mother to run into his back. "We need to get t'that machine in the basement," Dick muttered. "We need to get into that nursery," Tasha retorted. "We get in there, we hold those bastards hostage."

An argument broke out. Lollipop let them shout, while she pondered how she would get the stone from up the coast now. There were likely a lot of innocent people who were still homeless who would remain so if she couldn't get those houses built.

In the end, Tasha won, and they continued on to the elevators, only to find them locked out. Dick stabbed the call button over and over, with no effect. Spinning to face her, Tasha snarled, "you did this!"

Far from denying that, Lollipop replied, "do you really think my husband is that big a fool? Hmm? I would never have allowed you to stay here if there was any risk..."

Spinning around, Dick Stanek backhanded her. "C'mon," he growled, as he grabbed her by the hair, "we'll take the stairs."

Chuckling, Lollipop remarked, "I hope you don't mind when my husband tears him apart..." "Shut up," Dick snarled!

The climb to the twelfth floor left everyone winded. "Need more cardio," Lollipop muttered, as they stepped out into the nursery's lobby.

Ignoring her, Tasha Stanek strode forward and positioned herself in front of the sensor for the door. Just as expected, the door stayed shut. Snapping her finger, she summoned her son, who stepped forward dragging Lollipop.

"Open it," Tasha snarled. "Can't," Lollipop replied. "Requires at least two adult members of the Royal Family to open that door now."

Dick declared, "we need t'get downstairs t'that machine..." Lollipop rolled her eyes. There was no scenario where they could access the War Room.

Nonetheless, she found herself being dragged down, down, down to one of the sub-levels of the palace. Finally, they emerged into the cool darkness down there. The younger Stanek strode straight up to the door, shouting, "right! Open it! Open it, now!"

"Can't," Lollipop chuckled. "I'm just the seneschal. I don't have access to this room. Only the council does." Taking her by the face, Dick Stanek growled, "I'm going to beat the ever-living shit out of you. I'm going to keep hitting you until you open that door."

With a sweet smile, Lollipop replied, "if you want to dance, be aware that I hit back, Mr. Stanek. You won't get through the door, but you might get your teeth knocked in."

Dick Stanek raised the spear-gun he carried, muttering, "I guess we don't need you after all..." With a shrug, Lollipop replied, "you go right ahead. I'll be dancing on your grave..."

Tasha Stanek stared back and forth between her son and the mutant in shock and horror. It seemed astounding that this mousy little woman could stare down death that way. More to the point, everything they'd planned was going to hell.

Just when her son might've pulled the trigger, she shoved the gun aside, shouting, "no! We need her for a hostage! If we can't get in that room, we need every hostage we can get!"

Time stood still, while Dick considered that. Finally, he lowered the gun, saying, "where's that other console?" "Upstairs in her office on the ground floor," Tasha responded.

Once again, the little group took to the stairs. Lollipop found herself thinking that she needed to get out and exercise more. The Staneks weren't the only ones getting a little winded from going up and down the stairs.

Of course, the good news was that the decision to go to her office neatly locked them out of the private section of the palace. Once they went through the last door, the resounding click of the door latching put a smile on Lollipop's face.

Arriving in the Seneschal's office, the little group of thugs Mr. Stanek brought would've started ransacking the place if not for his treacherous momma. Pointing a bony finger for emphasis, she declared, "it's in that cabinet..."

Two of the men tore the doors off the cabinet, exposing the remote terminal. Striding forward, Dick Stanek ran his hands all over the thing, even resting his hand on the palm pad.

Glancing at his mother, he asked, "how does it work?" Tasha replied, "she puts her hand on the pad, spouts some gibberish, and issues orders."

Glancing at Lollipop, the mayor's son demanded, "how many of those machines can we take control of?" "None," Lollipop replied. "Without an access code, you can't do anything."

The hostile playboy spun to face her, leveling his weapon at her chest. Lollipop shrugged. They weren't ready for bloodshed. They truly didn't know what bloodshed was.

On the far side of the ocean, Breakfast Mertens sat exchanging gossip with one of her favorite members of the staff of the Candy Palace. She was a little amused but unsurprised to find her daughter was irritated with her son-in-law. It seemed the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Whenever the time came to care for the kids, Boniface Bubblegum could be counted on to head down into the basement to his laboratory. Frenchie had closed up shop on him twice now to get the point across.

As the slim princess considered how to help her daughter out, a soldier came tearing up the hall towards her. "I need to see the King," he shouted!

"Hold on," Breakfast insisted! "Hold on!" Dismissing the maid, Breakfast went to her husband's door and stuck her head in to find Finn huddled with Bonnie over a document.

"There's a soldier here to see you," she announced. "Send him in," Finn responded.

Finn had been surprised to find Bonnie waiting on him, when he 'got to work' that morning. He was used to peebles working all night, swilling coffee and even taking pills to keep going. That business had gotten shut down recently, or so he had thought.

Bonnie had dropped a pile of paper on his desk and proceeded to tell him all about the things they needed to get done to fix all the problems they'd been ignoring.

The list ran the gamut from the reflecting node at the border in the Grey Forest to the problematic dams in Purple Kingdom. Finn had ended up canceling the formal audiences for the day in favor of digging into the issues and the potential solutions. Now, he found himself putting the whole business aside as one more crisis reared its head.

No sooner had the guard entered than he was announcing, "King's Island is under siege..." Breakfast spun around, her eyes gone wide in terror and shock. He'd have to get that squared away. In the now, he calmly responded, "how many?"

The guard stared at him a moment, his expression suggesting that he was still in shock and not handling this at all well. "We are not sure, sire," he stammered.

Coolly, Finn replied, "what do we know?" "Lord Thor contacted us to report that humans have come onto King's Island armed with spear-guns from Jungle Kingdom. They're blocking the road to Crown City and making demands..."

"What demands," Finn asked? "They demand that we turn over King's Island to them," the soldier responded, "or return the Ark and supply the fuel to sustain it. If we don't, they will terminate the lives of the Royal Children..."

Bonnie opined, "looks like Orzsebet was wrong, Finn. We should move soldiers to shore up the defense of King's Island. The nursery's secure, or we would've been alerted by now. However, the clock is ticking. They only have a month's worth of food inside."

Uneasily, Finn stared at the far wall, while the soldier fidgeted. Bonnie was all but crowing, though Finn knew there was no love lost there. He only had a few companies of soldiers left in Coca Kingdom.

"It would take a monster like Darren the Sleeper to get into the rocket base, Finn," Bonnie opined, "and the only great beast left is the Fire Bleeder..."

She continued on in that vain, and Finn could tell she was holding onto her temper. She was used to him obeying her—doing what she'd told him he should do. Somehow, in spite of the fact that he was now King of everything and she his vassal, that hadn't changed.

You gave in too much, when you were younger, he thought. He'd spent a lot of time making excuses for peebles' bad behavior and busy-body habits. Unfortunately, it appeared he would be giving in today too. He really didn't have a better answer, and he was just as concerned about their kids and the people on King's Island as she was.

"Ok," Finn said, "send out orders under my seal. Reinforce the garrison on King's Island with the troops from Coca Kingdom." Bowing, the soldier responded, "at once, sire!"

And the battle is underway. Lollipop has grown a bit from the frightened candy-person. :)