LEMON: Hi hi dear readers! Did we keep you waiting long? Heheh sorry, so I Lemon here to presenting you this chapter! So enj—
DOUGH:The hell, what are doing?
LEMON: A—..., opening the chapter greeting the readers?
DOUGH:..Oh ok...
LEMON:....
DOUGH:....
LEMON:....
DOUGH:What?
LEMON:This rare you didn't cursing me..who are you??
DOUGH:The fuck that suppose to mean?
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Inside the dungeon it was very dark, a place that sunlight had never touched. The whole place was made from mix of steel and smooth sandstone, with old dirty concrete floors and walls supported by thick pillars from the old world. The inside looked like it had once been turned into a place for some sort of ritual. Rotten and fossilized fruits and chunks of meat that turn into stone were laid out as offerings on an altar.
Some sections also looked like they used to be a bunker. There were many rooms where people must have lived once, but now the only thing left inside them were piles of human skeletons.
Drip...
Another area looked like it might have been some kind of cafeteria or food hall. There were broken tables and chairs scattered around the place that build into wall. One skeleton of a human had been crucified to a wooden board with large wooden pegs driven through its hands. Other skeletons were still lying where they fell, some frozen in the middle of a fight with mutant monsters, their bones tangled together as if the battle had never truly ended.
Drip...
The sound of water droplets echoed through the dungeon as they fell onto the smooth sandstone floor. Some of the old water pipes were exposed, others had long been broken, letting water slowly leak into one of the rooms. Each drop hit the ground again and again, slowly carving tiny holes into the stone. A small puddle had formed there from the constant dripping. But in most places, the floor was already buried under thick layers of sand that had crept in and covered almost everything.
Some rooms were blocked off by piles of sand that had fallen in over time. Others were sealed shut with old barricades—things dragged together by people from the old time world, trying to protect themselves from whatever had been hunting them. Broken furniture, metal sheets, and chunks of concrete were stacked against the doors in desperate walls.
But it seemed none of it had worked.
Beside some of those locked doors were giant holes smashed straight through the walls, as if something massive had simply torn its way inside without caring about the barricades at all.
Drip...
———
In some parts of the dungeon, a few lights flicker across the walls and floor, cutting through the darkness. The glow comes from one huge figure and two smaller ones carrying the source of the light—it's our main characters: ten-year-old Finn the human, his adopted brother Jake the dog, and their guide, a massive snapping turtle named Mr. Adl Bahadir, a figure rumored to know the location of ancient fruits. They're getting close now.
There's also a small robot popping out of Finn's backpack none other the nour beloved robot BMO as their screen glowing and adding their own little beam to the mix. The light bounces off damp stone and old metal pipes running along the ceiling. As the group walk through the dark place, Jake's nose starts sniffing the air.
"Sniff! Sniff! Man, this place smells dusty and wet. You think it's because of those leaking pipes?" Jake says.
"Hahaha ...,seem so man...this place Tranch man, Lotta skeleton...and sands everywhere... This dungeon Look like old underground bucker?...cuz it look like it...and—"reply the Ten year old as him lets out a short laugh, kicking a loose bit of stone out of his way."Oh! Oh! And rats! BMO saw some rats too!" BMO chimes in, way too excited about that as they join the conversation.
Finn snorts. "Haha… yeah. Rats. I saw that too." He flashes his light at some small rats crawling inside a skeleton, showing BMO. "That one… hehe."
Meanwhile, Jake's eyes move around the dark, his paw stretched forward holding a small flashlight. His pink backpack bounces lightly with every step he takes before he speaks. "Dude… this kinda reminds me of that underground sewer from my old college days… but less sandy."
Finn glances at him. "Ah right, you went to college once right jake? But you never told me about it. So how does it feel being a college guy, bro?"
Jake shrugs. "W-well, it's… umm… not too good and not too bad… I mean, 50/50? Heh, don't worry about it."
That makes Finn raise an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean, 50/50?"
"Don't worry 'bout it, Finn… don't worry 'bout it," Jake replies with a small smile, clearly not wanting to get into it.
"Aaaalllright then…" the boy says.
As they keep walking through the hall, their footsteps echo softly, the sound bouncing off the walls in every direction. The air starts to feel thicker and wetter the deeper they go, with dust and sand particles floating through the beams of their flashlights.
After while Jake start tilts his head back toward the giant turtle behind them. "Hey, you sure this is the place you found those sweet fruits, Mr. Adl buddy?"
The turtle smiles, low and rumbling. "Zazaza… elbette (Of course) me found them here when I was exploring… looking for something to crave."
Jake blinks. "Crave? Like… you carve stuff?"
"Zazaza, yes, yes. I do carve. Hobby of mine." The turtle sounds weirdly proud. "You see decorations in me herba'tea shop, hmm? All me. Handmade. Zazaza!"
Jake's eyes light up. "Oh dang, I gotta check that out when we get ba—"
BOOM—SPALSH!
A loud sound of Splash water cut though Jake words make Jake freezes mid-step, as his dog ears shooting up hear the voice. "What was that?!"
Finn doesn't stop walking. "Relax, dude. Just water That come out from that broken pipe."said finn point out the derection of the noise with his Flashlight, big pipe broken down into two and let out massive water to the ground and flooting downward to some holes.
Jake laughs a little, scratching the back of his head. "Heh… yeah… yeah, okay. Thought it was something else. This place is wrecked, man…"
"I know, bro… good thing we brought flashlights, huh?" Finn grins a bit, though his eyes are still scanning the dark.
Jake looks around again, slower this time. "Yeah… still creepy though."
Finn nudges him with his elbow. "What, don't dogs have like… super night vision or something?"
Jake shrugs, squinting into the shadows. "Well… yeah, kinda. But not as good as cats Finn heheh." then the group start walking again deeper.
As they walk farther inside, more bones start appearing around them. It becomes painfully clear as the group keeps moving deeper into the sandy bunker. The air around them starts getting colder… and somehow heavier.
Their footsteps crunch softly against dirt, sand, and broken concrete stone while flashlight beams slide across walls covered in cracks and faded markings.
Old skeletons—easily recognizable as people from the world after the Mushroom War, at least from Finn's point of view—lie scattered across the floor, half-buried in sand. Some still wear pieces of faded clothes and cracked helmets. Others are just piles of bones leaning against the walls, like they got tired and never stood back up again, simply accepting their fate.
Finn tries not to stare at them for too long, but it's hard not to. Some of the skeletons look like they just dropped where they stood centuries ago.
"…Man," Finn mutters quietly.
"What's wrong, little bro? You good?" Jake asks, a bit worried after hearing Finn mutter, even if it was quiet.
"It's nothing, Jake, but… look at these bones. There's thousands of them," Finn says as he moves his flashlight around.
Jake hears that and starts looking around at the piles of bones. Although they look kinda yummy to him, he's got standards—thousand-year-old bones are a hard pass.
"Yeah… this place definitely got history… look at these poor people."
"Yeah… poor people," Finn says quietly.
The flashlight beams sweep across another room as they pass through it.
They enter another giant chamber, bigger than the others. Huge broken pillars lean sideways while strange statues stand frozen around the room. One of them catches Finn's eye immediately—a tall stone warrior stabbing some giant monster-looking thing through the chest.
Only now, one of them is just a skeleton. The monster's massive ribcage curls around the cracked spear still lodged inside it, and dust coats everything thick enough to look like snow.
"Wooow… okay, that thing's ugly," Jake mutters while pointing his flashlight—and BMO's light—toward it.
Beside Jake, BMO's bright screen turns toward the statue too. "BMO thinks it looks kinda cool!" BMO says excitedly from Finn's backpack while holding onto Finn's white bear hat for balance.
The ten-year-old human slows down a little, turning his head toward the statue to look at it more carefully.
"Heh… man, they sure had lots of time to make this while they were still alive. I mean… whoever made this place was really into scary stuff…"
"Heheh, yeah. These people sure had bugozer amounts of time to make that ugly thing… and probably never had fun while doing it…" Jake says in a laid-back tone, snorting a little at the idea. "…Seeing this already gives me goosebumps."
Even as he jokes, the fur on his arms stands up slightly.
———
In some parts of the dungeon, a few lights flicker across the walls and floor, cutting through the darkness. The glow comes from one huge figure and two smaller ones carrying the source of the light—it's our main characters: ten-year-old Finn the human, his adopted brother Jake the dog, and their guide, a massive snapping turtle named Mr. Adl Bahadir, a figure rumored to know the location of ancient fruits. They're getting close now.
There's also a small robot popping out of Finn's backpack none other the nour beloved robot BMO as their screen glowing and adding their own little beam to the mix. The light bounces off damp stone and old metal pipes running along the ceiling. As the group walk through the dark place, Jake's nose starts sniffing the air.
"Sniff! Sniff! Man, this place smells dusty and wet. You think it's because of those leaking pipes?" Jake says.
"Hahaha ...,seem so man...this place Tranch man, Lotta skeleton...and sands everywhere... This dungeon Look like old underground bucker?...cuz it look like it...and—"reply the Ten year old as him lets out a short laugh, kicking a loose bit of stone out of his way."Oh! Oh! And rats! BMO saw some rats too!" BMO chimes in, way too excited about that as they join the conversation.
Finn snorts. "Haha… yeah. Rats. I saw that too." He flashes his light at some small rats crawling inside a skeleton, showing BMO. "That one… hehe."
Meanwhile, Jake's eyes move around the dark, his paw stretched forward holding a small flashlight. His pink backpack bounces lightly with every step he takes before he speaks. "Dude… this kinda reminds me of that underground sewer from my old college days… but less sandy."
Finn glances at him. "Ah right, you went to college once right jake? But you never told me about it. So how does it feel being a college guy, bro?"
Jake shrugs. "W-well, it's… umm… not too good and not too bad… I mean, 50/50? Heh, don't worry about it."
That makes Finn raise an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean, 50/50?"
"Don't worry 'bout it, Finn… don't worry 'bout it," Jake replies with a small smile, clearly not wanting to get into it.
"Aaaalllright then…" the boy says.
As they keep walking through the hall, their footsteps echo softly, the sound bouncing off the walls in every direction. The air starts to feel thicker and wetter the deeper they go, with dust and sand particles floating through the beams of their flashlights.
After while Jake start tilts his head back toward the giant turtle behind them. "Hey, you sure this is the place you found those sweet fruits, Mr. Adl buddy?"
The turtle smiles, low and rumbling. "Zazaza… Elbette (Of course) me found them here when I was exploring… looking for something to crave."
Jake blinks. "Crave? Like… you carve stuff?"
"Zazaza, yes, yes. I do carve. Hobby of mine." The turtle sounds weirdly proud. "You see decorations in me herba'tea shop, hmm? All me. Handmade. Zazaza!"
Jake's eyes light up. "Oh dang, I gotta check that out when we get ba—"
BOOM—SPALSH!
A loud sound of Splash water cut though Jake words make Jake freezes mid-step, as his dog ears shooting up hear the voice. "What was that?!"
Finn doesn't stop walking. "Relax, dude. Just water That come out from that broken pipe."said finn point out the derection of the noise with his Flashlight, big pipe broken down into two and let out massive water to the ground and flooting downward to some holes.
Jake laughs a little, scratching the back of his head. "Heh… yeah… yeah, okay. Thought it was something else. This place is wrecked, man…"
"I know, bro… good thing we brought flashlights, huh?" Finn grins a bit, though his eyes are still scanning the dark.
Jake looks around again, slower this time. "Yeah… still creepy though."
Finn nudges him with his elbow. "What, don't dogs have like… super night vision or something?"
Jake shrugs, squinting into the shadows. "Well… yeah, kinda. But not as good as cats Finn heheh." then the group start walking again deeper.
As they walk farther inside, more bones start appearing around them. It becomes painfully clear as the group keeps moving deeper into the sandy bunker. The air around them starts getting colder… and somehow heavier.
Their footsteps crunch softly against dirt, sand, and broken concrete stone while flashlight beams slide across walls covered in cracks and faded markings.
Old skeletons—easily recognizable as people from the world after the Mushroom War, at least from Finn's point of view—lie scattered across the floor, half-buried in sand. Some still wear pieces of faded clothes and cracked helmets. Others are just piles of bones leaning against the walls, like they got tired and never stood back up again, simply accepting their fate.
Finn tries not to stare at them for too long, but it's hard not to. Some of the skeletons look like they just dropped where they stood centuries ago.
"…Man," Finn mutters quietly.
"What's wrong, little bro? You good?" Jake asks, a bit worried after hearing Finn mutter, even if it was quiet.
"It's nothing, Jake, but… look at these bones. There's thousands of them," Finn says as he moves his flashlight around.
Jake hears that and starts looking around at the piles of bones. Although they look kinda yummy to him, he's got standards—thousand-year-old bones are a hard pass.
"Yeah… this place definitely got history… look at these poor people."
"Yeah… poor people," Finn says quietly.
The flashlight beams sweep across another room as they pass through it.
They enter another giant chamber, bigger than the others. Huge broken pillars lean sideways while strange statues stand frozen around the room. One of them catches Finn's eye immediately—a tall stone warrior stabbing some giant monster-looking thing through the chest.
Only now, one of them is just a skeleton. The monster's massive ribcage curls around the cracked spear still lodged inside it, and dust coats everything thick enough to look like snow.
"Wooow… okay, that thing's ugly," Jake mutters while pointing his flashlight—and BMO's light—toward it.
Beside Jake, BMO's bright screen turns toward the statue too. "BMO thinks it looks kinda cool!" BMO says excitedly from Finn's backpack while holding onto Finn's white bear hat for balance.
The ten-year-old human slows down a little, turning his head toward the statue to look at it more carefully.
"Heh… man, they sure had lots of time to make this while they were still alive. I mean… whoever made this place was really into scary stuff…"
"Heheh, yeah. These people sure had bugozer amounts of time to make that ugly thing… and probably never had fun while doing it…" Jake says in a laid-back tone, snorting a little at the idea. "…Seeing this already gives me goosebumps."
Even as he jokes, the fur on his arms stands up slightly.
———
As they go more deeper they go, the more the bunker changes again as the structure being formed with a new structure the room start look like turnel and its getting smaller. The old broken concrete floor starts disappearing under rough sandstone, and rusty metal walls slowly become carved rock instead, like the dungeon has been take by the desert over time, their journey went smoothly, just a little short of breath but still manageable, but then—
Click-flick-flick-click....
Jake's flashlight flickers weakly."huh? What the—?"said Jake as he notice his Flashlight start flickers slowly.
Click-flick-flick-click.....
"Oh man… seems my flashlight's running outta battery," Jake says, tapping the side of it a few times. The light dims again before completely dying out.
"Seem my Flashlight is kinda Donked Up dude… Cuz' I'm pretty sure I put new batteries in this thing like two weeks ago!?" Jake says as he stares at it in disbelief to his Flashlight that seem brandnew."dang it ,seem choose goose rip me off when i brough this from him."
Hearing that, BMO's pixel eyes shift awkwardly to the side of their screen like they definitely didn't do anything related to Jake's flashlight batteries.
"Well, that sucks, man. Lemme see if I got spare batteries… I can probably yank some outta my radio or somethin'." Finn says as he adjusts his flashlight, holding it in his mouth while pulling his big green backpack around to reach the front pocket.
But he stops when BMO suddenly jumps out of Finn's backpack and lands on the floor with tiny thump.
"Oh! Oh! No need, Finn!" BMO says quickly. "BMO can be your light now, Jake! BMO still has HUUUGE output energy in my system!!" the little robot says proudly as their screen brightens like a tiny blue sun just like lantern in the darkness...A little too bright.
…And a little suspiciously bright.
Even though BMO sounds as innocent as always, they're definitely hiding something, the bright glow from BMO's screen shines right onto Jake's face.
Jake just smiles ear to ear seeing the little robot adorably wanting to be his flashlight. "Aw, alright! Thanks, BMO."
He stretches his arm down and easily picks the little robot up, not finding them suspicious at all. Their cute and innocent act works perfectly.
Finn, though, squints a little. Something about BMO's tone felt weird. He senses it for a second… but then just shrugs it off. Probably just the cold air messing with him.
As for BMO—
"Yaaay! BMO helping!" BMO cheers proudly from Jake's hand.
The group starts walking again, moving deeper through the tunnel. The place that once had many rooms full of massive holes and broken door frames has now fully turned into a long tunnel instead of a hallway. Their footsteps echo softly while sand and dirt crunch beneath them. Pieces of old concrete still stick out here and there under the dust, like bones buried beneath skin.
Then, after another few minutes, something starts glowing ahead of them.
"Huh? Wait, is that—?!" Finn says as he notices the faint glow in the distance.
A couple of tiny lights.
The closer they get to the source of the light, the clearer the scene becomes. Those tiny lights are coming from clusters of small crystals beginning to appear along the walls and ceiling—faint blue and green glimmers, though most of them are chocolate-colored, shining through the sandstone like stars trapped inside the rock.
"Ooooo…" Finn, Jake, and BMO say in awe as they slow down a little, staring around them.
"It's gorgeous!" BMO says, pressing their little hands against their screen to make a /` '0')`\ face.
"Shmowzow, look at these shiny crystals, dudes!" Jake says as he points BMO's light around the place. The crystals sparkle brighter whenever the light passes over them.
BMO looks even more excited seeing it all, chuckling happily while looking around and seemingly scanning the place.
"Wowie! Look at these beauties! Hehehe, these look more like diamonds! Some of them are really hard—BMO just scanned them!! Gasp! That one! It's a real diamond, and it looks like an unbreakable diamond!"
The little robot keeps looking around while still being carried by Jake.
"Wait, what?? There are real diamonds mixed in with these crystals?" Jake says as he stretches his neck around to see the diamond BMO mentioned.
"Mm-hm! Yeah, look at that big one! You see it, Jake!?" BMO says, pointing their tiny hand toward the massive crystal that actually is a diamond.
"Whoa, for real! That really is a diamond—and crazy huge too!" Jake says in amazement as BMO keeps going."Yes! That's a really big one of crazy diamond! And it looks unbreakable too!"
(Asisten: We ..we need to stop doing this)
(Author:no)
Behind them, Mr. Adl lets out another deep old chuckle."Giyazazazazaza… what lovely scene this is… ah, also çocuklar (children), we almost there… almost there… zazaza…"The grin on the snapping turtle's scarred beak stretches even wider.
Finn looks back at him. "Really?"
"Mhmm….."
Jake immediately pumps a (make new new pair of) fist into the air. "Aw yeah! You hear that, guys?! We're almost there!"
Finn laughs. "Haha, yeah… that's awesome."
Eventually, Finn turns off his flashlight completely while BMO dims their screen light a little. The crystals alone give enough glow now as they walk through the tunnel.
After a while, BMO hops out of Jake's hands and waddles around excitedly, touching the glowing rocks while making tiny noises of amazement. "Ooooo… shiny… hehehe…"
Seeing that, Jake immediately follows after them, poking one of the larger crystals with a finger. "Hey, wait up, little buddy, hahaha…"
Finn joins too, running his hand along the cool glowing stone like a little kid exploring some magical cave for the first time. Well, he is a kid—thought mentally he's older. And hey, there's no rule saying you can't still be childish sometimes, even after becoming a kid again.
As for Mr. Adl, he watches them warmly. For a moment, the old turtle just smiles quietly to himself, like the scene reminds him of something from a very long time ago. It almost makes him feel like a grandfather watching his grandkids happily wandering around in curiosity.
"Zazazazaza…"
A joyful old guffaw rumbles from him as he keeps walking through the glowing tunnel—then suddenly stops.
He spots the thing he's been looking for.
A massive dusty rug hangs across part of the tunnel wall, stretched over it as if hiding something behind it.
"Zazaza…"
This time his laugh comes out lower, almost like a quiet roar.
Behind the giant turtle, Finn, Jake, and BMO stop what they're doing as they finally notice the huge dusty rug hanging ahead, nearly blending into the sandstone walls.
"…Here it is, çocuklar (kids)," Mr. Adl says softly.
Finn, Jake, and BMO quickly walk over toward him.
"Is this the place?" Finn asks, while Jake stretches his arms, picks BMO up, and places them back inside Finn's green backpack—though their head still pops out.
"Sniff sniff… I smell something there!! Sniff sniff! It smells like those dates we ate earlier, dude!" Jake says cheerfully while sniffing the air.
"Zazazaza… yes! Yes, çocuklar (kids), let me show you…" the old turtle chuckles.
Mr. Adl grips the edge of the huge rug with one claw.
"Behold!"
Then, with one strong pull—
FWOOOSH!
The rug falls away and all three of their eyes immediately go wide at the sight hidden behind it.
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FIN'S POV:
What we saw behind that rug was way different from what I imagined. I mean, really—what we saw was far from anything I expected. Holy fuck, man… I was completely amazed by the view in front of me.
I couldn't believe something this lush, this green, this alive could stay buried down here all this time. I mean… how is this even possible? All of this surviving, growing, existing beneath that scorching desert outside.
It looked like a hidden paradise in the middle of an apocalyptic world, sealed away from everything above. The place was filled with large—no, HUGE—date palm trees stretching all the way toward the cave ceiling, their leaves swaying softly from air I didn't even know where it was coming from...I'm serious, I don't know where that wind comes from, but somehow it flowed gently through the cavern.
And there were thick, lush pomegranate trees growing everywhere too, their twisted branches heavy with dark red fruits that almost glowed under the cave light. Or… could you even call this a cave anymore? More like a crater? Wait no .... A giant underground cavern? Yeah, a really huge cave system, kinda like those Cheese Caves—or whatever they were called.
Yeah… that had to be it. I remember Princess Bubblegum teaching me about caves, ores, and minerals years ago and she mention of this.
All around the place, brown glowing crystals were scattered across the ground and walls, lighting the entire cavern with a soft amber glow. Some of them were taller than BMO, while others were tiny little clusters growing between roots and rocks.
"Wooooooow!!!" me, Jake, and BMO shout in amazement at the sight.
"Look at these trees, dude! This looks mad cool!" Jake says as he stretches his neck around like giraffe to look across the cavern before snapping back to normal.
"Y-yeah!" I say, grinning so hard my face hurts as I agree with my brother.
BMO was already running around the entrance with their arms up. "Hidden fruit cave! Hidden fruit cave!"
Then they ran down toward the trees, their little feet pattering across the existing path while their long boxy body maneuvered around the sharp crystals sticking out along the way. They looked small and blunt to me, but I still couldn't help feeling a little worried BMO might trip and hurt themself on one.
Thank Golb...or glob? Whatever ,i just glad there was someone keeping an eye on them.
"Hey, hahaha, wait up, little buddy!" Jake calls out as he chases after BMO, his huge pink backpack bouncing around while he runs.
"Zazazaza… that lil' bot really full of energy. They act like a real child, zazaza," the old snapping turtle says as he walks closer beside me with his walking stick—which honestly looked like it was made from solid iron,its gonna be hurt get hit by that.
He stops beside me and pats my back gently.
"Come! Zazaza, let us go there. Let me help ya harvest some meyveler (fruits) ya need, oğul (kid)," Mr. Adl says warmly.
"I guess mey… meyveler means fruits right? Hahaha i got hands on any word you say Mr adl, but… hm! Yeah."
"Zazazazaza smart kid! Smart kid! Zazaza then what you waiting for? Let's go..."
I nod, and the two of us start walking down into the hidden cavern.
———
"Woop! One huge pomegranate, here it is! Yoinks!" Jake says as he gently twists the fruit and picks the pomegranate from the tree. Then he tosses it toward the back of his body, which he shapeshifted into a large basket.
"Ooooo, smooth toss!" Jake says as the pomegranate lands perfectly in the basket on his back.
"Hahahaha, yeah! Well done, Jake!" BMO says, cheering at the action."hehehe thank you BMO,oh what you got there little buddy?"ask Jake to BMO.
"Ah! BMO also want to help to! They also picked loooooots of dates here!" they say while carrying a small bunch of dates still attached to the stem. "Hiiiyaaaah!"
The little robot throws the chunk of dates toward Jake.
"Whistle~ nice toss, little guy!" Jake praises BMO, making the little robot instantly happy.
"Hehehe, yay BMO!" BMO cheers before wandering off to grab another bunch of dates—which had actually already been picked by Mr. Adl.
"Zazazaza… you çocuklar (children)… zazazaza…" the turtle says with a booming, joyful laugh.
"Hehehe, this is fun…" Jake says as he sneaks a couple bites from some fresh undried dates. He really seems to miss the taste of the dates Mr. Adl gave us earlier.
"Man, these are good, but not as good as the ones you gave me and Finn. Although these ones are green, and the ones you gave us were brown and wrinkly. But these still taste good—really refreshing too. They're only mildly sweet, not super strong like the dried ones, and they got this nice crisp crunchy texture. Kinda similar to Tree Trunks' apples… she'd probably make pie with these!" Jake says while continuing to steal bites.
"Zazazaza… because those ones were dried under sunlight, yellow dog, zazaza. It helps remove the water. As the water evaporates, the natural sugars become more concentrated, making the dates far more sweeter, zazaza…" the turtle explains.
"Eh, is that so? Man, we should totally dry some after we get back to the Tree Fort! Dang, these taste so good it feels like you could make pie with 'em too… hehe." Jake keeps munching—then suddenly his eyes widen.
"Gasp! WAIT! I just got inspiration! From the realms above! An idea to make something super delicious with these!!" Jake says dramatically, like he's just been struck by divine knowledge.
"Zazaza… you really are one ding dong of a dog," Mr. Adl says, clearly amused by Jake.
Meanwhile, not far away, I could only shake my head as I picked up some pomegranates in my arms while watching them. My brother and his obsession with delicious food… well, that's Jake, alright. If he didn't wanna eat something tasty, that wouldn't be Jake at all. He loves food more than he loves people that ain't cool to him. Like, if he didn't like playing music or video games, that wouldn't be Jake either. Hehehe…
And man, these fruits are really something… they're huge. I mean HUGE. They're almost the size of footballs ball—American footballs, not regular footballs. Or maybe my hands are just tiny 'cause I'm ten years old again?
Well, whatever, man. At least I got the ingredients for the Panacea of Athea elixir I'm about to make. I really don't wanna behead some cyclops just for their tears, man… I'm not a psychopath. I'm a hero, heh.
"Hey Finn, you already done there, bro?" Jake calls out.
I walk over to him, still carrying the fruits in my arms.
"Yup, this is the last bunch," I say as I pour them into Jake's enlarged body, which he shaped into a massive basket.
"Niceee," Jake says as the pile of huge pomegranates drops into the basket-body on his back, already filled with pomegranates and dates, landing with a couple heavy thumps. His pink backpack is strapped to the front of his body while he stays enlarged.
"Bro, we got enough fruit here to feed, like… a whole Veggie Village."
"heheh yeah ,but i don't think they eat pomegranates, Jake. Heck, I clearly remember they don't even have mouths—especially Stanley the watermelon. I swear, that guy always gets into trouble and we rescue him like… 88 times. I clearly remember that. And if they did want pomegranates and dates, wouldn't that count as cannibalism?" I reply to my brother.
Yeah, you heard me right. That watermelon has been saved by me and Jake lots of times. He's sentient, just like the rest of the people in Ooo. Heck, I'm convinced he's got some family living in the Berry Kingdom.
But here's the thing—Stanley's the same as in the cartoon. He doesn't talk or even speak… but somehow he's still sentient. Weird, right? Well, that's Ooo for you.
"Well, if you say it like that, it does sound like cannibalism—but WAIT, hold on… you've been counting, bro?" Jake asks.
"Yeah, someone needs to. It's great saving him from danger, and we both get thrilled doing it, but it gets kinda annoying when we never know how he and his family keep getting themselves into those situations, you get me?"
Jake snorts a little. "Fair point."
Then he suddenly freezes mid-chew.
"…Wait a sec."
I raise an eyebrow. "What?"
Jake slowly lowers the half-eaten date in his hand. "Bro… what if Stanley secretly likes getting kidnapped?"
There's a pause.
"…What?" I say again.
"I'm serious!" Jake says, pointing dramatically with the date. "Think about it! Every single time that watermelon dude gets into trouble, we save him, right?"
"Yeah?"
"And every single time after we save him…" Jake narrows his eyes suspiciously. "…he's just sitting there. Smiling."
I stare at him.
"…Jake, he's a watermelon."
"Exactly."
"That doesn't explain anything."
"OR DOES IT?!"
"..."
"You've had too many pomegranates and dates, bro. All that sugar's making you go cocoo~," I say with a sigh.
"What? Hey, that makes total sense, Finn! Think about it, bro!" Jake stretches his neck like a snake and tries pressing his head against mine.
"Heey! Hahaha, stop it, bro! Your breath stinks! Hahaha, cut it out, dude!"
Jake just grins wider with his mouth still full of dates while stretching his neck around my shoulders like some giant noodle snake.
"No! You must hear the truth, Finn! Stanley's playing us! He's manipulating our heroic tendecy! He's playing with us, man! Lemme tell you—that watermelon's got some NASTY FANTASIES!"
"That is NOT what's happening!" I laugh, trying to shove his stretchy face away while he keeps pushing closer. "Dude, you literally smell like fermented fruit right now!"
"Exactly! The smell of genius! The smell of a man who sees through that watermelon's awful fantasy!"
"More like smells of cavities! Hahaha..."
While we were joking around, I could hear footsteps approaching us. It was the old giant snapping turtle, Mr. Adl, walking over with his usual joyful personality.
"Çocuklar (children), is that everything you guys needed?" he asked.
Both Jake and I nodded.
"Yes, sir! We already picked enough!" Jake said with a wide grin while chomping down on some pomegranates, unable to stop himself from eating something delicious.
"Yeah! We found everything we needed. Thank you, Mr. Adl Bahadir, for being our guide. We seriously can't thank you enough, hehe. And if you ever get into trouble, you can call us anytime and count on us!" I said with a grin.
"Yeah, yeah! You can count on us to help you—or beat up the butts of any bad guys bothering you!" Jake added as the two of us fist-bumped, him shapeshifting a new paw just for it.
"Giyazazazazq! That would be wonderful, zazaza! Alright then, I will call you two whenever I'm in danger, zazaza!" the turtle said with a booming laugh.
"Although… this old guy is still a little curious, zazaza. Why do you two need these ancient fruits? I know they're delicious, and they make some good ol' dried herbal tea mixes and snack ingredients, zazaza, but…"
He looked at us warmly, but somehow that gentle stare still made cold sweat run down my face.
Oh boy… I knew this was coming.
Listen, I already had an alibi prepared. Earlier, back at his shop in Cassian City, I told him I'd heard rumors about these fruits from some old merchants, and that it made me curious enough to search for them as an adventurer.
…But judging from the look in his eyes right now?
Yeah. That excuse definitely wasn't working anymore.
"What exactly do you guys want them for?" the turtle asks, tilting his head slightly.
Oh boy… how am I supposed to explain this?
I side-eye Jake, and our eyes meet. I nudge him a little, silently begging him to help me say something.
Thank Glob, my brother nods like he knows what to do.
"Well sir, the truth is…" Jake says, making the turtle's attention shift toward him.
"…my little brother's the one who wanted to find these wonderful sweet fruits. You can ask him."
Broooooo!
Mr. Adl hears that and grows even more curious."Ah, is that so? Then Finn, oğul (son/kid), what do you need it for? Zazaza… there's no way you came this far just to find me because you were curious about ancient extinct food, giyazazaza…" the turtle asks.
I scratch the back of my neck a little after Mr. Adl asks that.
"Heh… well…" I glance down at the huge pomegranates sitting inside Jake's basket-body. "It's kinda complicated."
"Is that so?" the turtle asks again.
"Well…" I still hesitate to tell them the real reason for it.
"'Cause the truth is, my brother wants to make an all-healing juice with that!" Jake suddenly blurts out while I'm still hesitating to explain it. Since the recipe came from the Enchiridion—a book for heroes that literally says DO NOT SHOW ANYONE WHAT'S INSIDE in giant letters—I really shouldn't be telling people about it…
"Jake!" I quickly cover his mouth… but the damage is already done.
Jake's mouth squishes under my hand while he gives me the most offended look possible.
"Mmmfff?!"
"Bro!" I whisper-yell at him. "Why would you say that?! I was literally about to make up another excuse!"
Jake gently pulls my hand off his mouth with one stretchy finger. "Sorry! You were taking forever, dude. I only said some of it!"
"Still!"
Meanwhile, Mr. Adl just stares at us for a second after seeing our reaction.
Then the old turtle suddenly bursts into booming laughter loud enough to echo through the entire cave.
"GYAHAHAZAZAZA!"
Even the crystal walls seem to vibrate a little from it."So that's why you çocuklar (children) were trying to find it, giyazazaza! You çocuklar are terrible liars, zazazaza!" he laughs, wiping one claw under his eye. "Especially you, Finn oğul (son). Yer face gives away everything whenever you make excuses at my place."
The turtle shakes his head, still laughing hard.
After while Mr. Adl finally calms down enough to breathe again, though he's still chuckling. "Zazaza… an all-healing juice, ey? Hmm? So that's what yer trying to make?"
I scratch my cheek awkwardly. "…Kinda?"
The giant turtle tilts his head. "Kinda? Zazaza… mind explaining more, Finn?"
"Well…" I sigh. "..it...It's called the Elixir Panacea of Athea. Truth is, I found the recipe in an old book I've been reading. I thought the elixir sounded really interesting, and I wanted to make it because it could be really useful for adventure around carry it for can heal injured bit faster… and maybe I could even use it to help people who are seriously hurt too."
I look down a little"…Sorry for not telling the truth."Man… now I feel bad. But still, I couldn't tell him about it in the first place.
I look up at the old turtle's expression, trying to find even a hint of disappointment… but I don't see any."…Then this was not some random adventure out of curiosity," he says.
I rub the back of my neck again. "N-no…"
"Zazaza… that explains many things, oğul (kid). Seeing young adventurers—not to mention young heroes—coming all way lookin' for ol' dang turtle like me in place no map of OOO even knowing about, zazaza…" the turtle says, sounding amused.
He doesn't show any hostile look. No anger. No disappointment. If anything… he almost looks nostalgic."And that booook… hmm… it must be The Enchiridion… no?"
"Huh..."My eyes widen instantly as he bluntly says the name out loud....How did he know that?...Does he know about the Enchiridion??? That should be impossible. I thought onlyheroes knew about it… right?…Besides Princess Bubblegum."H-how did you?!" I ask in surprise, but my words—and all our attention—get cut short as we suddenly hear loud footsteps slowly approaching us.
'What the—did someone follow us? How did they even get here? I thought.'
"Well, well, well… look what we have here, so. I've been searchin' high and low, every nook and cranny of this place, for these beautiful hidden treasures—the grandest fruits in this whole bloody dungeon—all just to be lookin' for you…"
The voice comes from a huge silhouette walking toward us.
A mutant.
———
The Brute looked almost 6'7 tall… and he wasn't alone either. I could see several people following behind him through the glowing cavern.
"Who… are you guys?" Jake says as he stops chewing, staring at them warily. These mutants definitely looked like bad news.
They came in different shapes and sizes, all wearing hoods, while the crystal light around the pomegranate and date trees illuminated their figures.
And the brute standing in front of them had to be the leader.
He looked hairy—almost like an ape? No… more like some mutated orangutan. But even then, not fully. He wore a tank top and long baggy pants with a red cloth tied around his waist. He had four hairy arms, all bulging like massive tree branches… and one of those arms was holding something.
Both mine and Jake's stomachs dropped, as our veins bulging pomping up almost like about to burst out on our faces as the moment we saw what this guy was holding.
The monster opened his mouth.
"No kiddin'—I mean, this dungeon is absolutely massive, so it is! I haven't a clue how yous didn't fall into a trap… because I'm after findin' a right crowd of them out there, let me tell ya. A whole bleedin' army of them!"he said with grin on it monkey face."Hah, with the place built like a complete maze, and here yous are, standin' all cozy-like in this absolute paradise of sweet, sweet fruits the likes of which I've never seen before. Aren't yous the lucky divils, haha! But look—thanks to this grand little robot here, we found you."
He says that while holding BMO in one of his giant hands. Their screen was cracked.
"F… Finn… J… Jake…"their Little voice calling both me and Jake with their voice glitching a little.
"This is not good," says the old turtle as his joyful warm grin disappears. He stares at them coldly.
Meanwhile, us—"BMO?!" me and Jake yell out at the exact same time.
I feel my chest tighten instantly seeing the crack on BMO's screen. It wasn't huge, but just seeing it at all already made my blood boil.
I'm fucking mad now.
Seem I'm not the only one here that want to break someone neck, my brother—jake looked just as furious. His eyes sharpened, his playful grin completely gone as he showed his canine teeth. Jake's whole face changes.
"Hey… we don't know who you are, buddy, but I would really like you to…" Jake says quietly.
"…Put… BMO… down." Jake warns them, but the ape-looking mutant just smirks.
"Ah, easy now, easy! No need to be gettin' your knickers in a twist, are we? You're meant to be one of the big dogs, are ya? Well, that bark of yours wouldn't frighten a child, hahaha! I've seen plenty of dog-mad fellas tryin' the exact same thing—all bark and no bite, so they are. Doesn't matter what size they come in, they're all the same loopers at the end of the day.
"And as for you, human… aren't ya just adorable with that funny head on ya? Hahahaha!"
He was obviously trying to provoke us. I could tell that much, even though every part of me wanted to run over there and slash his head off.
But I needed to stay cool-headed.
Even if my face probably already showed how badly I wanted to kick him. And Jake seemed to be thinking the exact same thing as me.
Seeing that, the ugly ape snorts and shakes his head before looking back at us."Hmmm? No chill at all, eh? Hah, standard! Bold as brass and thick as two short planks, the pair of ya… always stubborn."
He says that while moving one of the arms reach and to BMO side."Huh!?" BMO jolts weakly as the ape grabs one of their little arms.
"Calm yourselves down, I'm sayin' it for the absolute last time. Because if ya don't, let me tell ya lads, this grand little robot here is gonna feel a fair bit of pain if the two of ya keep… insistin' on actin' the maggot like that."
Then he suddenly squeezes BMO's tiny arm hard and yanks it painfully.
"BMO!!!!!!"
The scream bursts out from both me and Jake at the exact same time after seeing what this PIECE OF SHIT just did. Our eyes lock onto him in pure rage.
BMO's screen glitches violently for a second from the sudden pain.
"Ahhh! BMO arm! BMO arm!!"
The little robot screams hysterically as they feel their parts being forcibly pulled apart. Even if robots technically aren't supposed to feel pain, BMO still knows exactly what it feels like to be torn apart.
And through all of it, that brute ape-like mutant just laughs.
"AHAHAHA! There we are now! Finally gettin' some proper reactions outta ya!"
The ape laughs loudly, clearly enjoying our reaction after ripping one of BMO's arms off.
Something inside me snaps a little hearing that. I wanted to slash—
'…Calm down, Finn… calm down… cool your head. Don't do anything reckless or else… BMO's gonna get hurt even more,' I tell myself but it looks like Jake's can't holding himself back.
FWOOOM!
Jake's arm suddenly stretches forward at insane speed like a cannon shot straight toward the ape mutant's face. His fist—no, his paw—swells up to the size of a soccer ball to make the impact even stronger.
But the brute moves faster than expected.
He instantly jerks BMO in front of himself like a shield against Jake's attack.
"JAKE! STOP!!" I yell at my brother.
Hearing me, Jake forcefully twists his stretched fist away at the very last second, barely missing BMO by inches before it slams into the crystal wall beside them instead.
BOOOOM!!
Blue and brown crystals explode everywhere across the cavern, some of them smashing into the pomegranate and date trees. Jake's massive attack even cracks part of the sandstone wall.
"RRRGH—!" Jake grits his teeth hard as he snaps his arm back like rubber.
"You! You! You!! …Rek donkus! How dare you use BMO as a shield!!" Jake screams furiously as he stretches back to his original size.
The sudden movement makes all the pomegranates and dates he was carrying spill onto the floor behind him.
Meanwhile, the ape mutant lets out a loud whistle.
"Now that's more like it! Hah! Thought the dog had no bite in him after all!" he says mockingly as he approaches us with his men.
"But ey, I can tell that was one helluva nasty punch, heh. Dog, your fist's really somethin'. But ey… that still ain't very nice now, is it? Punchin' someone while they're givin' ya a friendly greetin', hahaha…"
He grins wider, showing yellow crooked teeth.
"But to be fair, I'm absolutely delighted, so I am. Proper satisfied seein' the two of ya growlin' and ragin' just because I did one tiny little thing to your walkin' robot here, haha… right, boys?"
"Aye, boss, that's right…" one hooded mutant says with a chuckle.
"These kids ain't got any manners after all, hahaha," says another mutant—a sentient English bulldog—nodding in agreement while the others snicker behind him.
"Aye! Of course ya'll agree, hahaha! I love my boys. Sigh… yet still, it's also an honor! Finn the Human, Jake the Dog… ohhh! The grand heroes of the entire Land of Ooo! We've heard an awful lot about ya, even way out in unknown places like Cassian City, so we have."
The ape mutant spreads his arms dramatically while laughing.
"Hahaha, the pair of ya are dead easy to spot. I saw yous comin' through the gates a couple hours back, and my eyes went wide open, I tell ya! Just like a bleedin' fangirl seein' her favorite person, hahah…"
He presses one hairy hand against his chest mockingly.
"I'm a massive fan, so I am—and same goes for my boys here… haha…"the fucker said with massive grin as we can see his Caine shown.
"Fans? My butt! Shut your trap, you spit-roasted rutameck! How dare you even say that junk?! You beat up our little bro BMO and used 'em like some kinda meat shield! Don't come at me with that weak-sauce, bullsap excuse, man!" Jake barked as he clenched his fists even harder.
"I'm gonna knock your teeth out! Like—like all those bruises that BMO's got on his adorable square body! Every single one of 'em, man! You hear me?!"
"Hahaha! That'd be an honor! Ooooh, we're so scared~!" one of the ape's men mocked.
"Yeah, yeah, we're terrified! Ouchy, hahaha!" snorted another.
"Aye, boss, I'm tremblin' over here! Should we run away? Suahahaha!" cackled the shortest one of the group.
"Ah, hahaha, lads! Lads, don't be rude now, are ya daft? We're meetin' two absolute CELEBRITIES of OOO here, so we are! Hahaha! Don't go showin' your nasty side straight away... we're not a bunch of bloody hooligans, are we? Show a bit of respect, for the love of Glob, hahaha..."
The ape smirked as one of his four arms slowly tightened around BMO.
"Hmm—ZIPZZ!!...ZIIZZ..—mpf!!!"The sound of BMO cries out from that ape doing, as I hear a bunch of cracking noises coming from them.
Shit! Shit! Shit! Why is this happening? I need to do something, but...I can't even think straight right now. My head's a mess The only words I can force out are."Who are you...?" I ask calmly.
But the ape doesn't seem to hear me over his own laughter.
The ape-like mutant looks back at us with a smirk, clearly enjoying our reactions. He looks completely satisfied seeing how angry we are, like he just can't get enough of it.
"But I can tell ya, the dog looks absolutely ragin', hahaha! Proper furious right now after I gave the little robot in my hand a gentle wee squeeze, hahaha!"
He grins wider.
"Unlike the other fella keepin' his cool. Aye, that's it—you, Finn. That's what I heard in the rumours, ain't it? You're a sure cold-headed child... hahaha. A right calm-headed child indeed, so ya are...me impress,a child have that kind of behavior."
But then he suddenly smacks himself on the head after one of his men leans over and whispers something into his ear.
"Ah, wait—did ya ask who I am, cha? Oh! Mother of larp, where are my manners? Oh, bumba, dark biscuits, hahaha! Seems I'm the absolute rudest looper outta the lot of us here!"
The ape lets out another loud laugh.
"Sorry, sorry! I'm proper ashamed, so I am. I haven't even introduced meself, have I? Hahaha! Sorry now, lads, and sorry, dear heroes, hahaha!"
He places a hand over his chest in an exaggerated gesture.
"I'm terribly forgetful, globy! By all the gold in Ooo, my poor mam would be mortified seein' me actin' the savage like this, hahah... though, to be fair, she wouldn't be, 'cause she's dead, hahaha!"He said as follow by few of the mutants behind him snicker.
"But I'm glad ya asked, Finn boy! That's why you're my favorite, hahaha! Although I can't hardly hear that tiny little voice of yours earlier, bhahaha!"The ape's grin widens...And despite all the laughter...there's something dark underneath his tone of words.
"Aye, no more chat-chattin' then! Let me introduce meself. I'm—wait, what time is it anyway? Top of the mornin' to ya, or maybe noon, hahaha! I'm—"
But his words are suddenly cut short when Mr. Adl finally speaks after being silent this whole time.
"Zaon Ock Mer... is it?" the old turtle says.
The ape blinks after someone just said out loud his name.
"I know you very well, oğul. Ya, you are Rank Four in the famous bounty hunter group of the city, değil mi? (Isn't that right?) The Red Sandy Group, ha?"
The turtle's scarred face doesn't flinch in the slightest as he stares directly at the mutant.
"Zaon?" I say, raising an eyebrow.
Jake just shoots a confused side-eye between the two of them while Mr. Adl continues looking at the ape. Meanwhile, one of Zoan's men looks irritated by the interruption and immediately opens his mouth.
"Hey! How dare ya interrupt the boss's introduction when he was in the middle of speakin'!" shouted one of the mutants, clearly furious at Mr. Adl.
The creature pulled out a whole handful of small knives, ready to hurl them straight at Mr. Adl's head.
But he was stopped dead by his boss—the ape-like mutant known as Zoan.
"Ah, calm yourselves down, lads... no need to be gettin' all hasty, even for an old... rusty, big-bodied turtle like this fella here," Zoan says mockingly, a smirk spreading across his face before then he looks back at Mr. Adl.
"But aye, I'm genuinely surprised. You know me and my squad, old man? I have to say, I'm proper impressed..." he says with a wide smirk.
"I mean, wow, you old turtle, you. Ya sure know exactly who I am, don't ya? I feel like a bloody celebrity here, hahaha! Although there's already two of 'em standin' right in front of me, and I wouldn't want to go stealin' their spotlight, like."He gestures toward me and Jake with one of his free arms.
"But bein' known by a bystander, a nobody, a right old-timer... well, that must mean I'm famous too, so I am! Hahaha!"His booming laughter echoes through the place. The massive mutant shook with every laugh, two of his four free arms clutching his huge stomach. Meanwhile, BMO dangled from one of his other arms, shaking along with every movement.
"F... Finn..ZIPZ.. J-Jake..." the little robot whimpered weakly.
After a while, Zoan wiped a few tears of laughter from his left eye before looking back at the turtle.
"Hahahahah... hahah... huhuhu... haaah... sigh..."
"That's grand, so it is. Absolutely grand. Saves me an awful lot of time havin' to do a proper self-introduction. I mean, I wanted to make a whole big dramatic production outta it—tell ya me hobbies, me age, me favorite bits and bobs—but sure, look, seems I didn't need to at all, eh?"He spread one of his free arms wide."Ahahaha! A free introduction! I'll take it!"
"Giyazazaza! Tanrı aşkına, Golb aşkına! (For Golb's sake!) Of course I know you very well. I hear lots of things. You do many unbelievable things in this city. Well... bana ne? I don't care about that."
Mr. Adl replies, but his words don't carry the usual joyful warmth he always has. His voice is calm and cold instead, and he clearly doesn't seem to like them.
"But I wonder..." the old turtle continues. "Why did you follow us, ha? I'm pretty sure bounty hunters aren't interested in old ruins and expeditions."
His eyes narrow slightly.
"Bounty, perhaps?"
As he speaks, I can hear his claws tightening around the iron walking staff.
Crack... crack...
The sound of three sharp claws scraping against the metal echoes faintly through the cavern. Zoan stares at the old turtle for a long moment. Then that massive grin of his stretches right back across his face — wide, easy, as he completely unbothered by Mr adl cold tone of words that been throw at him.
"Bounty? Ah, here... easy now, easy... nah, nah, nah! Hahaha! Now now, old timer don't get yer Shell ahead of ya, don't go jumpin' to conclusions like that, shall we, eh?" Zoan waves one of his free arms dismissively. "Me and me boys aren't here on business today. Today? Sure, today is purely personal, so it is... we aren't here for a bounty at all," said the Ape with a wide grin.
He presses a huge, hairy hand against his chest dramatically. "Like what I was after sayin' earlier, didn't I? We'refans. Genuine, proper fans. THE biggest fans in the whole entire Land of Ooo, never mind Cassian City—isn't that right, lads?"
"AYE, boss!!" his crew hollered behind him."bahahahah yes we are.."said the slim muntant Wearing panco. "Been followin' their adventures for years, we have!!"said other one that build that look like freeza...but orange.
"Nonsense."
The word slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. My face stays calm, but I don't bother hiding the venom in my voice anymore.
"Who would believe that load of bullcrap?" I say flatly. "You followed us into an ancient buried dungeon full of traps... for autographs? That's nonsense on top of nonsense."
My grip tightens around my sword.
"While you..." I pause, my eyes flicking toward BMO hanging helplessly in his hand. "...you just hueting our friend right in front of our eyes,that already bunch alies u sprouting on."
The calmness in my voice starts to crack as im start speak full of venom in my words.
"So cut the chase."
I pull my sword from its sheath with a sharp metallic hiss. Beside me, Jake has already enlarged both of his fists again. This time they're even bigger than before, covered in thick rubbery spikes. His eyes never leave Zoan for a single second.
"WHOA! WHOA! Hold the horses! Why in God's name have ya pulled a sword on me, Finn?! Hey! Hey, you there, dog—why are ya liftin' your paws at me, eh?"
Zoan shifts his weight to one side and starts gesturing wildly with three of his four free arms, acting like he's the one being threatened.
"Hey, look! I'm plain honest, so I am! Are yous always this touchy when a fan tries to have a bit of a chat with ya?"
"Knock it off! I said cut the bullsap, dude!" Jake barks back, showing his canines.
His enlarged fists tighten even further.
The dog's large black eyes, with his white bean-shaped reflections, narrow into an angry glare as he stares at the mutant."Ah, for Globby's sake, calm down, doggy, calm down! Hey! Listen!"
Zoan says it almost like he's trying to calm down an angry pet instead of a furious hero."I know a few of me lads here were actin' the maggot, and look, I didn't mean to go breakin' this little bot either! I only wanted to hold its wee hand. Sure, I didn't think it'd go and snap right off!"
He spreads three of his free arms dramatically.
"Hey, come on now, don't be like that!"The words come out almost sing-songy, paired with a massive playful smirk. He keeps acting panicked, but it's obvious he's watching us closely, trying to see our reaction.
Unfortunately for him, there isn't much to see.
Neither me nor Jake buy a single word coming out of his mouth—Our eyes are dead cold as both of us are staring straight at his neck.
After a while, seeing that our reactions didn't change at all, he lets out a long sigh and opens his mouth."...Haaaah... oh gheeeeeeh, for Glob's sake, you really get straight to the point, don't ya? Hehehe. See... you're not even listenin' to a word I say, are ya? What a Grand, so. Have it your way."
He rubs his ape-like face before showing us a nasty grin as one of his lower arms slowly starts crushing BMO.
"Agh!" cries BMO as they suddenly feel the pressure.
Hearing that, me and Jake immediately launch forward and charge at them, running through the trees and glowing crystals that light up the cavern.
I'm holding onto Jake's back fur, riding on his back as he stretches forward at insane speed, multiple legs forming beneath his body and pounding across the sandstone ground.
He was just standing there, looking like we could knock him out as easily as every other bad guy we'd come across before.
But his reaction still looked... calm.
He shifted his weight to one side, two of his four arms folding across his broad chest while the other two hung loosely at his sides.
...Something is wrong.
Why wasn't he even trying to dodge?
As he sees us coming, he takes a single step forward and slightly tilts his body.
And finally, I see it.
I should've seen it coming.
Even though I kept a cool head and tried not to let my rage control me, it seems... I was wrong after all.
I forgot something important.
He wasn't alone.
He had his subordinates.
Behind him, the entire group moves in unison. Their hoods are pushed back, revealing their nasty faces. One by one, they draw their weapons—swords, daggers, axes—ready for a fight but there something that look defferent, something that used for range weapon...bit its not crossbow or bow ..its something else, as they pull out something I never thought I'd run into down here...
Flintlock pistols.
And every single one of them.... is aimed straight to us.
'Fuck!!!!'
I yell it inside my head the moment I recognize what they're holding.
"JAKE, DODGE!!! THEY HAVE GUNS!" I scream at the top of my lungs.
My hands squeeze Jake's yellow fur so hard that he winces a little.
"Ouch! What?!" he shouts, only to finally notice what they're holding under the amber glow of the crystals.
"IS... IS THA—"
Jake's words are cut short as a loud gunshot suddenly echoes through the cavern.
BANG!!
.....!!
[[CONTINUE..]]
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OMAKE TITLE:
"Shark & Cat"
FINN'S POV
"CHIRP... CHIRP ~"The light, melodious sound of birds flying across the grass land indicates a day without dark clouds.
Well, what a great day! A bright sunny morning, I can tell you that. Not too hot, not too cold. The air is warm, the breeze feels nice against my skin, and honestly, it's the perfect kind of day to go outside, touch some grass, or take a nap on top of your tree house.
...If the place you live in didn't have giant mutated monsters.
Or, more specifically, a giant mutated monster the size of a cat lying dead in front of my tree house....and yeah its dead..
The thing's stomach is split wide open, and my golden sword is still stuck in the ground beside it.
Well, it's kinda there because the stupid thing interrupted my morning activities.
And by that, I mean my workout.
"58... 59... 60... 61..."
I count between heavy breaths while doing push-ups.
This is what I do every morning after running around the Tree House for two hours.
Yup.
Just a normal morning activity for a human boy living in an apocalyptic world.
"63... 64... 65... 66... 67... 68... 69..."
Man, this hurts.
I know that's exactly what most people say the first time they try training or working out. Most people want instant results after all.
But hey, nothing gained without pain, right?
So this is important.
I'm still young, which means now's the best time to build up my body. Since you're asking for edited story text, here's the grammar-fixed version in proper fanfic paragraphs without making it sound overly formal:
And hey, if I keep this up, maybe by the time I'm eleven or twelve, I'll already be a bit taller than the original Finn would've been.
If my memories aren't wrong, after I used the Glasses of Nerdicon to jog some of my memories about the show, I could remember a few things.
In the show, I clearly remember Finn still having a lot of baby fat on him. It made him look kinda chubby and like he could get smacked around with a hammer or some other blunt object. Not that he was weak or anything—the dude was still agile as heck—but he could still get hurt pretty easily by all sorts of stuff.
And dang, I don't want that.
That's why I wanna change my build a little. Need to be more prepared.
And if you know how this world works, normal workouts ain't gonna cut it, bro.
That's why after this I'm gonna do sword training too. You know, swinging weighted swords like what Zoro did. I already made a few training weights shaped like swords and got them ready beside the Tree House.
Sure, it sounds kinda crazy for a ten-year-old kid.
But then again, this is Ooo.
Crazy is basically the normal setting around here."89... 90... 91... huff... huff... 92... 93... 94... 95... 96... 97... 98... 99... ...100!! Gah!"
THUP!
I let myself collapse onto the grass, stomach-first. My whole body feels glossy with sweat from all the push-ups as I try to catch my breath.
"Maaaan... doing 100 push-ups... two repeats really starts making my ...huff ..huff...arms feel like spaghetti, hehehe..."
I let out a small laugh, though while I'm still gasping for air.
"Man....I hope I can go make that... huff... huff... Panacea Elixir soon... but hehe... huff... huff... I enjoy saving people too much, so I never get time to go gather all the ingredients... heheh. Heck, this is the only time... huff... huff... I can actually train and work out properly... for four whole hours... huff..."
A stupid grin spreads across my face.
Yeah, it sounds kinda insane.
I've been really busy going around being a hero lately. Honestly, it feels great being a hero , helping make me feel great dude...seem that some of finn that still inside this body, that gave me those kinda good feeling doing that, did i already mention it? Oh well. Even Jake has started saying I'm developing some kind of hero complex.
Well... nah.
...Ummm...
Probably.
But besides that, I'm just happy I finally have time to work out. I've been training for four hours straight already, and yeah, I know that's pretty insane, especially when you're still ten years old. You don't need to remind me...and i shouldn't repeat that
I mean, if people saw me doing this, most normal folks would probably get concerned and think I'm weird.
But honestly?
I don't really mind.
If it makes me stronger, helps me save more people, and lets me become a better Finn, then it's worth it.
After spending enough time kissing the grass, I slowly push myself up. One knee presses against the ground, taking most of my weight as I force myself back onto my feet.
"HMMM! Heeeeegh!... Yah!... Phewww..."
"Man, I'm thirsty after all that running and those push-ups. I didn't even drink any water after the run, did I?"
"Meh. Welp, guess it's time for a rehydration break, replace all the water I lost... aaaand then continue with another set of training for the day."
A sweaty grin spreads across my face.
"After that, hmmmm...seem i can head around Ooo and go on a little solo adventure? Little walk after training wouldn't hurt anybody imma right?!"i said to myself slighly Wiping sweats from my body still covered in sweat, I start walking toward a tree stump resting in the shade of a large tree beside the tree house.
As I reach the tree stump in the shade, I grab my canteen from the top of it, pop the cap open, and chug about half of it in one go.
Cold water hits the back of my throat, and honestly... I could cry.
That's how good it feels after sweating into the grass for four straight hours.
"PUAAAAAAAH! HOOO! THAT HITS THE SPOT!"
I lower the canteen and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, staring out across the wide open fields and the clear blue sky surrounding the Tree House.
A gentle breeze brushes against my sweaty skin.
Dang...
This is great.
And quiet.
I mean... really quiet.
Normally Jake would be out here too, doing something very Jake.
He'd probably shapeshift into a lawn chair and take a nap under the sun, or play his viola while Shelby listened, or play games with BMO after I finished training.
But nope.
Right now it's just me, the gentle breeze, the dead giant mutated cat monster lying by the front door, and the distant sound of birds doing bird things somewhere in the treeline.
I take another sip.
"Aaaah..."
See, the reason Jake isn't here is because—and I say this with absolutely zero judgment and one hundred percent of my teasing energy saved up for later—Jake is currently on a date.
And yep, you guessed it.
He's on a date with none other than the adorable, long rainbow, Korean-speaking Uma Musume unicorn herself...
Lady Rainicorn.
Hehehe.
And let me tell you, while I was doing my laps around the Tree House this morning, he came crawling out the window with the goofiest grin on his face. Looked like he'd just gotten a call from a certain "cute" someone who made his heart pound. I could hear part of it earlier too. Pffft.
The funniest part was that he actually tried to play it cool.
He climbed out the window with his viola strapped to his back and a bag of oranges slung over his shoulder. Then he grew a couple of extra arms and went, "Oh hey, Finn. I'm just... going out. For a walk with Lady Rainicorn. Just a regular walk. Outside. Nothing going on."
And I just looked at him while jogging past.
I look at him in second before i make smug face and said "Heh...Riiiiight... well... have fun on your date, Jake."then continue doing laps while i try not to laugh.
Let me tell you, his yellow face instantly turned the color of a tomato."F-FINN! IT'S NOT A DATE! IT'S JUST— WE'RE JUST— SHE ASKED IF I WANTED TO— IT'S JUST A WALK!"
Then he stretched out his legs and bolted away as fast as he could toward Lady Rainicorn's house.
Oh man...
I can't wait to tease the heck out of him later.
What?
He keeps teasing me about having a crush on PB—even though I don't. It gets annoying sometimes, especially when it's coming from your own brother.
But now I finally have a good excuse to tease him back.
Heheheh.
I grin to myself, swishing the water around inside my canteen. Although... this seems like it's still the tooooearly for those two relationship is it?.
From what I remember in the show, Jake and Lady Rainicorn were already together by the time the series started. But this? This feels pretty fresh. Like I'm actually getting to see the beginning of their relationship—back when Jake was still nervous and trying way too hard to act like he wasn't.
Although... now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure Jake once dated a horse back in his college.
And now he's acting like a guy who's never been in a relationship before.
That part always makes me wonder.
Is everything still going the same way as it did in the original show, or are things a little different now that I'm here?
Probably... mostly the same...i hope so... because i believe,i don't think I've done anything drastic enough to butterfly-effect their love life.. .
I take another long sip of water.
But hey, they honestly look adorable together.
Jake and Lady Rainicorn were one of the healthiest couples in the original show, and I'll always support my big bro. Those two are just too cute together, man.
I'll be the greatest wingman Jake could ever ask for. I'll support those two until my last drop of blood.
As for BMO, they're inside the Tree House, probably doing their usual thing. Maybe talking to the bathroom mirror.
Meh...That's classic BMO..they love playing pretend and role-playing. I actually caught them doing it once, but I didn't interrupt. I just quietly watched from the hallway...same like in show its look damm adorable,yet also sad...still adorable.
I take another sip.
...
Okay... why am I monologuing again?
I'm literally talking to myself inside my own head and narrating my entire morning like somebody's watching or reading everything I'm thinking... even though there's nobody here. It's just me, the dead giant monster, my canteen in my hand, the weighted sword-shaped barbells lying on the grass, and seem i need to get going used them before i g—
"Nyan! Furrinn the Hurrman!!"
"GAH—COUGH! COUGH! HIEAAAAAAK!!"
I nearly choke on my water.
"We finally furrnd you, nyan!!"
I whip my head around, still coughing my lungs out with water dribbling down my chin.
And there, running across the field toward me...
...is the single most impossible thing I have ever seen in Ooo so far.
And trust me.
I've seen a lot of impossible weirdly things.
It's...
A shark.
Walking on its tail fin.
Carrying a sword.
And sitting on top of the shark, riding it like a ridiculously confident jockey, is a small orange cat wearing a white lab coat, one tiny paw raised triumphantly into the air.
...
I stare at them.
They stare at me.
And nobody moves.
For a couple of long, awkward seconds, we just stand there... locked in the dumbest staring contest I've ever been part of.
The shark keeps walking toward me on its tail fin like that's just a completely normal thing to do, oh wait it is....this ooo after all."...Huh," I said as I was still coughing a little from choking on my drink as i clearly see them now they really close...these two stranger look at me with smirk....weirdly,they look damm familiar tho, where i have been see them? Then I remember there ar—
"Wait... you two..." I mumble as memories sparked by their familiar faces come rushing back into my head.
A cat...
And a shark...
They are—
But my thoughts are cut short as the pair stop right in front of me.
The cat plants both tiny paws on its hips and puffs out its little chest.
"FURRRINN THE HURRMAN! YURRNG HERO OF OOO!!" it shouts again, like maybe I didn't hear it the first time from across the field. "WE HAVE SEARCHED FURRR YOU EVERRRYWHERE!"it said it proudly.
"Mewhahahaha!! Lerrt me intrroduce urrselves!!" it announces, with the energy of someone making a royal proclamation. "I am Alex — frorr the Science Academy!! A SCIENCE CAT!!" It sweeps one tiny arm toward the shark below it. "And this is merr loyal partner — Sworrd Shark!! The land sworrd shark!! Fearred by many!! Respected by all Nyan!!"said the cat from monster hunter games. the small orange jump down from the shark head to grassy ground as their small little paws on their hip after that.
The shark nods once...Dignified,bro face look scary but seem he chill.
"...Sup," says the shark as he raised his left fin like a greeting gesture.
Ah right these two were two sub charather on that the show,i didn't clearly which episode of it ,but I'm pretty sure they a adventure time character.
The cat spins back toward me dramatically. "WE have come — specifically, purposefully, and with GRREAT determination — to find YOU!! Finn the Human!! Hero of Ooo!! Because we have heard of your reputation and your deeds — and we have come to issue a CHALLENGE!!"
...
Well...
Heh.
This is something.
I scratch the back of my neck, glancing back and forth between the two of them.
The shark's sword actually looks pretty decent. Long blade... really worn out. It reminds me of that boar-headed guy from some anime I watched back in my first life.
This guy seems to have a lot of experience.
Meanwhile, the orange cat is practically vibrating with excitement, trying really hard to look intimidating.
"A duel, huh?" I say.
"A DUEL!!" Alex confirms, raising a tiny fist. "Werrr been hearrrin' a lot about yourrr, Furrinn the Hurrman, nyan! And yourrr dog compan— wait, nyan... wherrre's yourrr partner, nyan!? Two vs. two, nyan!"
The cat points a tiny paw straight at me like they're pointing a finger."Ah, you mean Jake? My brother's out on a date," I say.
"Ah, I see, nyan... wait?! Brrotherrr, nyan?? But... that's brrriologically impossible, nyan! You two arrre completely differrrent species, nyan!" the cat says, looking utterly confused.
"I'm adopted," I reply flatly.
"Ah... I see, nyan..." The cat's ears droop. "I'm sorrry, nyan..."
But then its ears suddenly perk back up.
"B-but that won't stop us frrrom challengin' yourrr, nyan!"
A slow grin starts creeping across my face as I set my canteen down on the tree stump.
"One against two isn't really a duel anymore... but alright."
"I accept your challenge."
The cat's eyes light up for a second.
"G-GASP! Yherrr accepted, nyan! That's gr— I mean... ahem! Of courrrse yohrr should accept it, nyan! Mewhahaha! Yherrr arrre a hero after all, nyan! Right, Sharky, nyan?"
The shark standing beside the cat simply gives a slow nod.
"Yeah..."
"Alright... let's do this."
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I spring to my feet and sprint straight at them, catching them off guard just like they caught me while I was drinking.
"WA-WAIT, NYAN! HE'S SPRRINTING TOWARRD US, NYAN!" the science cat yells.
"I-I'M NOTRRR READY YET, NYAN!" the cat cries again as it fumbles through the stuff on its back, hurriedly mixing some chemicals.
"SHARKY! COVERRR ME, NYAN!"
The shark immediately rushes forward and swings his blade straight down at me.
The sword slams into the ground as I leap out of the way, barely dodging it.
BOOM!
The impact leaves several small sword-shaped craters across the grassy ground.
...This guy's strong.
But sadly for them...
I...I wasn't planning on fighting them with my bare hands.
My real objective was the monster corpse behind them.
I sprint right past the two of them and reach the dead mutant cat I killed earlier.
Without slowing down, I yank my golden sword clean out of the corpse mid-stride.
As I rush toward a nearby boulder, I drive the blade against the stone and use it like a vaulting pole. The sword scrapes loudly across the rock with a sharp metallic screech, launching me high into the air.
I spin over their heads before landing in front of them, one heel slamming into the ground as I face them.
With sweat still glistening across my face and a stupid grin I just can't stop showing, I swing my golden sword up into a ready stance. They both stare at me, completely dumbfounded.
I look back at them and grin.
"What're those faces for? Got nothing to say? What, cat got your tongues? Let's go!!"
I throw the words at them, trying to provoke them.
Alex just blinks a couple of times before shaking his furry little head.
Then he breaks into a huge grin.
"MEWHAHAHA!! I LIKERRR HIM!!"
He laughs while frantically mixing a bunch of glowing chemicals in his tiny paws.
"SWORRD SHARK! LET'S GO, NYAN! ATTACK HIM! I NEEDR MORRE TIME!"
"Okay..."
The shark slams his tail fin against the ground.
FWOOM!!
He launches straight at me. I was not expecting that kind of speed from a shark on land. And I'll absolutely admit it...I also wasn't expecting him to actually be ABLE to do that.
I throw myself sideways—but not quite fast enough—and feel the flat of the shark's blade smack into my left shoulder as I tumble through the grass.
"Gah!"
I roll across the ground before coming up on one knee.
But I barely have a second to breathe before I have to duck again.
Alex has already hurled the glowing green chemical vial he'd been mixing.
The bottle whistles past my head and shatters against the ground behind me, right where the monster's corpse was lying.
I scramble back into my ready stance, putting a little more distance between myself and where the vial landed.
"Heh... that was close. I don't know what that stuff is, but it seems dan—"
My words die in my throat.
The shattered vial suddenly bursts into a small cloud of green smoke that billows into the air.
When the smoke clears...
The dead monster's corpse is... gone.
In its place, a small swarm of bright yellow butterflies gently rises into the morning sky.
...
I just stare at them.
"Huh ...wow"
I whistle low, soft.
'So that's what those potions do. Transmutation. That's... actually really interesting it look the same as in show now it bring my memory a bit about it. Also that would have hit me square in the face although its not permanent.... More careful. Need to be more careful.'
Heh.."MERYAAAAH!! I ALMOURRS GOT HIMRR!!" Alex is hopping on top of the the grassy field, with it tiny fists balled up, looking absolutely delighted despite the complaint. "AGAIN!! AGAIN!! Nyan!!"
I look at both of them again.
The shark has already repositioned himself.
He's calm. Quiet.
Like he's already measured every possible outcome of what could happen next. Unlike before, he doesn't charge at me again Instead, he watches and start studies every movement I make, settling into his fighting stance as he waits for me to make the first move....This guy's a real warrior. He's the one I need to watch. I need to stay wary of both of them. But at the same time, I can feel the grin finally settle across my face.
"Hahaha!!"i start laugh out my lungs then i point my sword straight at them."Okay! OKAY!! You guys are actually interesting!!"
Alex puffs up proudly.
"Sooo—?" the cat says, waiting for my answer.
A wide smile spreads across my face, no longer just a grin. I flash my teeth as I drop into a lower stance, my weight shifting forward into a proper fighting position.
"Let's go!! Until one of us goes DOWN!!"
"MEWHAHAHA! AGREEE, NYAN! SWORRD SHARRRK—CHARRRGE!!"
The orange cat points at me, and the shark gives a silent nod before rushing straight in.
I charge at him too.
CLANG!!
Our blades crash together.
I'm smaller and nowhere near as strong as he is, but I'm faster and more agile. I weave around his attacks, dodging what I can while throwing slash after slash back at him.
"HIYAAAAA!! OOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
——————————————————————————
Several Hours Later.
——————————————————————————
Adter several hours has been passed, The sun is low and orange and warm across the yard as everything is very quiet now.
Alex, the orange science cat, is lying flat on his back in the grass, his tiny lab coat spread out around him like a fallen leaf as he stares up at the sky, trying to catch his breath.
"Huff... nyan... huff... nyan... huff... nyan..."
Meanwhile, Sword Shark is sitting against the trusty old tree stump, his sword resting across his lap.
The shark's body is covered in a bunch of small cuts from our fight, though none of them managed to break through his thick hide. Not a single drop of blood came out.
This guy's skin is seriously tough. As for how he's calmly breathing through his gills while sitting on that tree stump...Yeah...I have absolutely no idea...how he can breathe air. And I'm standing between them.
Breathing hard.
Harder than I'd like to admit, honestly.
...That fight really wore me down.
My muscles ache from the intense battle we just had, and I've got plenty of small cuts all over my body from the places Sword Shark managed to tag me during the second hour.
The guy was genuinely good. I mean Seriously., he was way better than I expected, and at one point he almost had me cornered against the Tree House wall. Twice. I've got grass stains on both knees from all the rolling around, a scrape across my chin, and my arms feel like somebody replaced all the bones in them with wet noodles.
Then there were all the different vials the science cat kept throwing at me.
One turned me into an octopus.
Another turned me into a deer.
One even turned me into a butterfly like it happened earlier with monster corpses
And another almost froze me solid.
Seriously, you name it...Thankfully, every effect only lasted a few minutes, so I managed to tough it out....But even after all that...I'm still standing.
I tip my head back and just... breathe for a second need lots air in this lung of mine i told ya,need keep lumping this heart of mine,after that then I start laughing.
Not a big dramatic laugh or maniac crazy fight laught. Just a a Tired and happy and genuine laught "MAN," I say out loud to no one in particular. "That was SO good."
Alex lifts one tiny arm from the grass and points it at the sky."Werre... lourrs..." he says, barely above a whisper."Yeah you did," I agree cheerfully. The tiny arm falls back down."...Merryahh..."Sword Shark sighs through its gills. A long, slow sigh. I walk over and drop myself cross-legged into the grass near them and rest my scarlet sword across my knees.
Alex has one arm thrown over his face now. His little whiskers are twitching. He's definitely not crying. He is absolutely not crying....He is simply lying in the grass experiencing some private emotions with great intensity.
"Hey," I say.
There nothing.
"Hey. Science Cat."
"Sniff..What..nyan"
"Stand proud."i said with warm smile on my face.
Alex moves his arm just enough to glare at me with one glassy teary green eye. "sniff...Don't morrck me...nyan"
"Heheh..hey,I'm not mocking you," I say, and I mean it. "Seriously. Stand proud buddy you guys are strong...and tuff apponet to me,almost can Conner me,i give it to you that."
The glare doesn't move.
"I mean it," I say. "That was the most fun fight I've had today!!" I scratch my cheek, thinking about it. "You guys ran me for hours. HOURS. Alex, those potions — that you threw last one? The purple one? If I hadn't jumped when I did that would've gotten me clean i see it would turn me into snail earlier..heheh I'm gonna be bad situation for real. And Sword Shark—"
The shark's eye shifts toward me slightly."Dude,You almost had me against the wall the second time and almost got my head dude! Haha that was intents,and almost cut my right arm Twice, TWICE!"I hold up two fingers for emphasis. "That was genuinely scary."A long pause.
Sword Shark makes a small sound that might be a grunt. Or possibly a chuckle. It's hard to tell with a shark...bro didn't talk much,remind me of Rammus.
After hearing that , Alex slowly lowers his arm from his face. He's still pouting hard with teary glassy green eyes His little mouth is pushed out and his ears are flat and he looks exactly like a cat that has been mildly wronged. But,The tips of his ears are a little pink. "Sniff....We almourrs had you nyan," he mutters.
"You almost had me like twenty two times," I confirm.
"...thiffrty."
"Okay, thirty. Fair."
Alex slowly sits up, brushing the grass off his lab coat with as much dignity as he can manage while still being extremely small and lying in somebody's front yard.
He gives a little sniff, then wipes his face with the back of his paw.
Sword Shark quietly stands up and walks over to his cat friend. Reaching out with one of his big fins, he gently pats Alex on the back twice, silently trying to comfort him.
I watch the two of them for a second with a warm look on my face.
Then something pops into my head.
I scratch my cheek and ask as casually as I can.
"Hey... so... I know this is kind of random, but I've got a really weird question."
Both of them look at me,as Alex gave small sound of curious as he take off his glasses to wipe more of his eyes and put in on again."huh,Nyan?"
"Could you guys... come back? Like. Regularly?"
Both of them look at me.
"What,Nyan?"
"Huh?"
"I mean... every day," I clarify. "Like... on a schedule. Around four in the afternoon? If that works."
I pause.
"You don't have to. I just..." I gesture vaguely at the general wreckage of my front yard—the flattened grass, the scattered butterfly remnants from Alex's potions.
"This..."
"Oh, Glob, this is gonna sound weird, but... that was the best training fight—sparring match—I've had in a long time."
I grin sheepishly.
"It was exciting. Really exciting. My heart's still pounding."
"I work out alone most of the time, so it gets kinda boring. Just lifting, running, doing push-ups, and swinging my sword over and over because there's nobody to train with."
"Don't get me wrong. My brother Jake helps sometimes, but he's..." I think about the blue scarf and smirk. "...busy."
"More lately."
"Soooooo..."
Silence.
For a couple of minutes, I just stand there scratching the back of my head while Alex stares at me.
"Sooo... if... you two don't mind?"
His ears are definitely turning pink beneath his orange fur.
Sword Shark's face slowly curls into a grin, showing off those rows of sharp teeth. Then the two of them glance at each other.
The shark lets out a quiet chuckle.
Meanwhile, Alex's orange fur seems to turn even pinker, his whole expression caught somewhere between surprise... and bashful embarrassment.
Something passes between them.
The kind of silent conversation that only happens between two friends who've known each other so long they don't even need words anymore.
Then Alex stands up straight with it two feet as it face still red, Both tiny hands on his lapels and look at me.
"...Forre PM," he says.
"Four PM," I confirm.
"Every day."
"Every day."
Another pause.
"...MERWHAHAHA!! THEN IT IS SETTLED!!"
Alex throws both tiny arms toward the orange evening sky like he's just conquered the world.
"EVERRRY DAY AT FOURR PM—ALEX OF THE SCIENCE ACADEMY AND SWORRD SHARRKK—WILL ARRRIVE HERRE!! AND EVERRRY DAY!!"
He spins around and points a tiny, dramatic paw straight at me.
"WE'RRE GONNA KEEP CHALLENGIN' YHOURR OVERRR AND OVERRR UNTIL WERRR DEFEAT YHOURR, NYAN!!"
"Looking forward to it," I reply with a grin.
Sword Shark gives a single nod.
Then the two of them turn and walk across the yard.
Alex climbs back onto Sword Shark's head, his little lab coat flapping in the evening breeze as he starts muttering to himself about improving his potion formulas.
I watch them go.
The sun is almost down. The yard is a mess. My everything hurts. I lean back on both hands in the grass and look up at the sky going pink and gold overhead....Jake's probably on his way back by now.
I smile to myself a little. I'm definitely going to ask him how the "walk" went.
.....