Screaming, I tumbled through the air in a terrifying free-fall. I flipped head-over-heels, tears streaming out of the corners of my eyes. My white hair, streaked with the colors of the rainbow, whipped around me and tore into the sky above me.

How did I get here? Who am I? I thought.

Or I would have been thinking, had I not been falling through the sky.

My brain was more like: !

I flipped around so that the ground spread out below me. The view was lovely, but I really wasn't concerned with that at the moment.

Green hills spread out below me. A pink castle glowed in the distance, and snowy mountains bordered the edge of my vision. The hills shot up towards me, growing terrifyingly close. Suddenly something became clear directly below me. A tree…

No…a treehouse?

I crashed through the roof, the wood cutting into my pale skin. I landed hard on something soft, then bounced off and onto a wooden floor. I lay there, groaning and bleeding.

I heard approaching footsteps and turned slightly from my facedown position on the floor.

A boy about my age, 13, looked down at me, his white eared hat blurry. He called out to someone. "Jake! Someone fell through our roof!"

I smiled, wincing from the pain. "Sorry…kind of…broke your roof…staining your carpet," I muttered.

Then everything went black.

I woke up in a strange bed, my head aching. "Ehhh…whattt…."

The kid from earlier was sitting next to me. "Hey! You woke up! Psycadellic entry. Are you alright?" he blurted.

I sat up, holding my head. "Yeah, I think so, which is amazing considering I fell from the sky through a roof." I looked around the room, which was small but cozy. "This your place? It's sweet."

He grinned. "Yeah! Hey, lemme go get my bro Jake. He's my bro, but not, like, my bro. You know?"

Not waiting for an answer, he leaned out the window. "Hey, Jake! She's awake!"

A dog's face appeared in the window. "No way! She's a babe!"

I stared at the face. "Uh…isn't this, like, the second floor?"

Jake grinned, stepping his stretched legs into the room. "I'm stretchy, baby! Check it: Key Hand!" He shifted his paw into the shape of a key. "No Lock? Well-Lock Hand!" and shifted it into said shape.

I laughed, though my head pounded. "Nice to meet'cha."

The boy laughed. "My name is Finn! What's yours?"

I frowned, finally able to think straight. "I…I don't know."

Finn gaped, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. "Whaaaat?" He turned to Jake, whose jaw had actually hit the floor. "What should we do, Jake?"

Jake put on an intense thinking face. "Hmmm. Hmmmmmmmm. HMMMMMMMMMMMM." He moved around the room, scratching his jowls.

"I know!" he exclaimed. "Let's take her to Princess Bubblegum! She's smart, she'll know what to do."

Finn blushed noticeably at the mention of the name. "Uh….yeah, sure. Good idea, Jake."

He turned to me. "Can you get up?"

I fumbled out of the bed, dusting off my ripped-up white skirt covered in blood. "I can, but I'm not sure I'm in a condition to meet a princess," I laughed.

Finn grinned. "Princess Bubblegum is really cool. Don't worry."

I nodded. "Alright. I don't know how far I can walk…"

"You don't have to WALK!" Jake said. "You can ride…on the Jake Express!" He stretched out the window again, leaning so that Finn and I could climb on. "Woo Woo!"

Finn laughed, climbing on. "You are one bombastic dude, bro." He extended a hand out to me. "Come on! Let's go find out who you are."

I hesitated a moment, a bit nervous to go riding around on a stretchy dog. Then I grinned. "Alright. Let's do it!"

"And then the troll was like, 'dude, I just got punched off a cliff'!"

"No way! Wow, what a troll!"

We erupted into laughter, rolling about on Jake's back. The dog called back to us, imitating a flight attendant's falsetto.

"Boop! Candy Kingdom, just up head! Please fasten your seatbelts, stuff the food down your gut and prepare for landing! Boop!"

We landed smoothly inside the walls of the castle I had seen earlier, in front of two great wooden doors. Finn called up to the figure at the top of the wall. "Hey, Cinnamon Bun! Can ya let me in?"

The figure (who I realized, to my alarm, was indeed a Cinnamon Bun) waved down at Finn. "Uh, hey, guys! Came to party?"

Finn sighed. "Not today, Cinnamon Bun! I need to see Princess Bubblegum!"

Cinnamon Bun paused before yelling back. "She's, uh, not here! She, um, went to…talk to the Ice King!"

Finn's face went pale. "What? When did she leave?"

"Um…three days ago…I think…"

Finn turned back. "Flip! What the zip! Princess Bubblegum's in danger!" He climbed onto Jake's back pulling me up with him. "We gotta go, Jake! To the Ice Kingdom!"

My head spun. "What? What's going on?"

"The Ice King is a nerd, man! A really mean nerd!"

I nodded. "Dude, let's go!" A princess in the company of a nerd is extremely bad.

We landed in a freezing snow bank, the frozen particles softening our fall. We laughed as Jake emerged a blue color, shivering.

Jake pointed to a castle at the top of a long ramp. "That's the ice king's castle," he said. "PB is up there."

I nodded, massaging my aching head. "So, we just… go up there? Get PB? And go?"

Jake shook his head. "Naw, don't'cha get it? The Ice King kidnaps princesses, dude."

"Oh. So, then…do we have backup or something…"

Finn laughed. "We're heroes!" he cried, drawing a sword from his green backpack. "We'll kick his butt!"

We peered into the Ice King's castle through a window carved in the ice. A nerdy-looking man with a long ice-white beard and a blue robe was "playing" a drum set rather loudly and badly. "That's the ice king," Finn whispered.

A pretty girl with sticky-looking pink hair and an unusually pink complexion glared at the Ice King through the bars of an icy-looking cell. "And that's…" Fin swallowed. "That's…"

Jake nodded. "that's Princess Bubblegum," he whispered.

I stared at Finn's bright red face. So that's who he likes. Huh. Isn't she, like, 17? I shook my head. How did I know that?

The princess yelled at the Ice King, her voice shrill and tired. "Look, Ice King, release me now and you will avoid a life of regret! And moral failure!" she threatened, rather weakly.

Finn kicked the wall apart suddenly, his face its normal color. "ICE KING! RELEASE HER NOW!"

The Ice King stopped his "drumming", turning to face the young adventurer. "Wh-what? Finn? But, it's not time for the wedding yet! You're early!"

"I'm not here for your wedding, you sicko! I'm here to kick…your…butt!" he yelled, spattering his words with punches.

Jake and I moved over to the cell door. He shifted his hand. "Key Hand!" He unlocked the door easily.

I helped Princess Bubblegum out of the cell. "Good morning, Princess," I said.

"Good morrow," she replied, her voice now calm. "Who might you be?"

I rubbed my head. "Well, miss, I was hoping that you could tell me that."

She nodded. "I see. Well, we should get back to the castle now." She turned to Finn, who was still beating up the Ice King. "Finn, we should get going!"

He immediately turned mid-punch, grinning. "You got it, PB!" He leaped off the unconscious Ice King and onto Jake's back. Without a backwards glance to the defeated Ice King, we flew off in the direction of Candy Castle.

Back in the castle, PB thanked Finn, who blusingly accepted her praise.

She turned to me suddenly. "Now, who could you be? I don't recognize your species…you're not a candy person, and you're not a vampire or a human…"

She turned to Cinnamon Bun, who had joined us in the room. "Sir Cinnamon Bun, could you alert Lady Rainicorn and ask her to come here please?"

I frowned at the name. "Lady Rainicorn…I know…Lady Rainicorn…"

Jake started, surprised. "You know my girlfriend?"

I shook my head, not thinking about the fact that Jake was dating someone. "No, like…I know the name. But not her personally…I can't…remember…"

Just then, Lady Rainicorn entered the room. Her long white unicorn body was rimmed with a beautiful rainbow mane.

She greeted PB and Finn with a few friendly Korean words, then nuzzled Jake. When she turned to me, however, she recoiled in surprise.

"?" she asked Jake. "!"

Jake gasped. "You're kidding me!" He turned to PB. "Lady says…this is her niece!"

"WHAT?" The cry went out from all three of us remaining.

"I'm not a unicorn!" I cried. "I'm humanoid!"

Lady said something else to Jake. "She says…this girl is half-unicorn, half-human," he translated. "Her name is Iris. She's been missing for a month!"

"What the nibblets?" Finn gaped.

"Iris…yeah, that's my name," I murmured. "I lived…in the clouds? Um, I don't think there's anyone else like me. I was…really lonely." I nodded. "Yeah, I remember that part."

"But what happened between the time that you went missing and the time that you fell through the roof?" Finn asked.

I frowned. "Uh, I don't know. That part's hard. I know I ran away…because I was bored…but after that…" I trailed off, lost in thought.

It was strange. I really couldn't remember anything past sneaking out of the castle in the clouds.

"I went…to the forest there," I said. "A big cloud forest."

Princess Bubblehum nodded. "That would be the Cloudy Forest," she said. "This is quite interesting. Finn, are you otherwise engaged?"

"Naw, PB, just being cool," Finn sang.

"Then I have a quest for you. Find out what happened to Iris by retracing her steps. I'm sure that going back to the Cloudy Forest will help her to regain her memories," the princess said. "Take someone who can fly with you…Lady and I must go to another one of those vegetable shows, but I'm sure that LSP or…Marcelline would be willing to help you," she said, shuddering slightly at the second name.

Finn nodded enthusiastically. "Sure thing! LSP is in some sort of beauty pagent, but I'm sure Marcelline can help!"

PB nodded hesitantly. "Yes, just…be careful around her, Finn, alright?"

Finn and I climbed onto Jake's back again. "Right," Finn laughed.

And we were off to the house of the mysterious Marcelline.

I peered through the branches of the dark forest. "Are you sure she lives here? It's kind of…dark," I shuddered.

"Hey, your hair is turning white," Finn told me.

"Yeah, that's because of the lack of sunlight down here," Jake said. "It messes with their rainbow hair."

I shook my head, trying to clear what felt like cobwebs on the inside of my skull. "It makes me feel all funny," I said. "Like, funny weird, not funny haha." I winced as another shiver ran down my spine. "Definitely not funny haha."

Finn pointed through the branches. "No worries, my lady, we're almost there," he declared gallantly.

I blushed. "Just Iris, Iris is fine," I muttered.

Finally we arrived at the small house built into the trees. I shivered as Finn knocked on the door.

"What kind of person is Marcelline anyways?" I asked. "Princess Bubblegum seemed not to like her…"

The door creaked open suddenly. A tall girl with long black hair and an ash-gray complexion stood just inside the door. She smiled, her lips pulled back to reveal two sharp fangs. A demonic-looking bass was clutched in her hand.

"Hey, Finn and Jake. What's up, you guys?"

She spotted me and snarled, her face scrunching into a terrifying shape. "Wh…what is THAT?"

Finn glanced between the two girls: one snarling and the other shivering in fear. He said the only thing that could be said in that moment:

"Marcelline, this is Iris! Iris, this is Marcelline. Marcelline is a vampire; Iris is half-human, half-unicorn."

I trembled a bit, but extended my hand politely. "N-nice to meet you," I mumbled.

Marcelline calmed down, but obviously retained some fear. "She…She's a light creature! We're, like, dangerous to each other! What is she doing here?"

"I, um…need to figure out where I was between the Cloud Forest and falling through Finn's roof," I said cautiously. "I ran away from home and lost my memories."

Marcelline nodded. "Been there-well, the running away part. Not fun." She turned to Finn. "So you need a way to fly, huh?"

Finn nodded. "Need some fly, though I'm pretty fly already…" He danced around for a second.

Both Marcelline and I laughed, then shot a look at the other, surprised that we could share in something. "Well, I guess I can help you out this one time. Just a sec." She disappeared into her house, floating along.

"Wow, she's… a vampire. And I'm not dead. Wow." I grinned nervously.

Finn looked at me, tilting his head to the side curiously. "Of course. Vampires aren't all bad, you know."

"I always learned that vampires—and all other creatures of the dark—are all bad. Like, they'll kill you if they can."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it was the focal point of every lesson. Even math!" We laughed, though I felt a little sick. What other lies had I learned in that school?

Marcelline returned with two amulets in her hands. "These will let you fly. Just put them on, and they're pretty easy to control."

Finn slipped the red jewel over his head. "Cool. Floaty stones."

Jake slipped his on as well. "Alrighty, let's get going! Just pull out that map, sweety, and lead the way!"

Marcelline waved as we sped off into the sky. "Nice meeting you," she called to me.

I smiled, thinking of how my professor would scream at what I was about to do. "Nice to meet you too! You're really great!"

I laugh as we speed up into the clouds. I remember how to fly now, and the action comes naturally now. I can feel the sun on my face, and grin as the colors spread up my hair.

I pause, waiting for my new friends to catch up to me. Jake is speeding really fast, though not quite as fast as me. His eyelids are pulled back from the wind. Finn laughs as he zooms past his canine friend. "THIIIIIIS IIIISSS AAAAAWEEEEESOOOOOMEEEEE!" he screams, his voice cracking with the intensity of his euphoria.

In his speed, his hat blows off, revealing a mop of beautiful blond hair as radiant as the sun.

"E…Eh?" I gasp, doubling over in laughter. "Wow! Your hair…"

"Aah!" he screams, grabbing his hat and pulling it over his head, obviously embarrassed. He looks at me pleadingly. "Don't laugh, I know I have ridiculous hair!"

I float over to him, smiling at his embarassment. "Naw, man! It's awesome!"

His face flushes a light red with embarassement. "Thanks."

I blushtoo, without knowing why. "Um…Look! The forest is over there," I say, pointing to the tall cloud formation in front of us.

"Hey, yeah! Mathematical!" Finn flies over to the entrance with Jake and me in tow.

I stand, pausing, at the spot where I had entered a month ago. "I reeeeeally don't want to go in here," I say, glancing hesitantly at the dark shadows that covered the clouds. "Bad feeling, dude."

Finn grins. "Naw, it's good!" He looks into my eyes, staring in a way that makes me blush again. "You scared?"

I mumble something about not being a coward or anything under my breath. Finn grabs my hand, smiling at me. "Come on, Iris. I'll hold your hand. Nothing'll happen to you. I promise."

I swallow, trying not to think about the fact that a HAND, a BOY'S HAND, is HOLDING MY HAND. His hand is soft and warm and so unlike a unicorn's hoof. It's small and perfect and makes me want to scream.

Finn looks at me, and for a second I'm worried that he's read my mind or something or has noticed how red my face is when he laughs.

"Iris, your hair! It's…red!"

I gasp, grabbing a handful of my hair and staring at it. Sure enough, it's a deep red color reminiscent of roses and the shade of my face.

"Oh, my god!" I murmur. "Whoops." I know that it's changed color because I was feeling so blushy at the moment, and refrain from telling him this.

Jake looks at me, then at my hair, and then at my hand in Finn's.

"Hmm, maybe it changes with your mood," he comments. I make a note to strangle him later.

"Yeah…I guess I just feel really brave?" I suggest weakly.

Finn shrugs, evidently deciding not to think about this. "Um, okay then," he says, and my hair is able to fade back into its usual wide spectrum of colors.

We step into the Cloud Forest, walking except not really walking, since we're like 10,000 feet up and I'm not really sure how Finn and Jake are still breathing. But if Princess Bubblegum, who is evidently some kind of genius, is okay with it, then, I'm fine with it too. Anyways.

I stay kind of close to Finn and Jake, knowing that something happened here and that it was the reason I was gone for a month and fell through the sky.

Finn laughs at the way I look around, paranoid and afraid. "Iris, it's okay! We're heroes. Nothing will happen to you."

I sigh, hoping like crazy that I can trust his promise. I take a deep breath, in…out. My body calms down and I smile at them, a real smile that shows my strength.

We continue walking, with me gently guiding us on the path that I took a month ago. Then I had been crying and howling with anger, stumbling into the clouds and kicking them , then screaming when the dissolved into nothing. Now I walk slowly and confidently, with friends by my side and a smile on my face.

I pause, glancing around and trying to figure out where I went next. I figured that about this time I was tired of kicking the trees, so I start looking for a gap.

I point to where I can finally see light flickering through the puffy white branches. "There…"

As we step through the gap, Finn smiles. "See, nothing happened. Iris safe."

Jake grinned. "I musta' scared 'em off."

I laugh. "You da bro, Jake. You da bro." I turn into the light happily. "You know, I—"

I stop, staring at what I see ahead. Finn looks back at me, boyish face full of curiosity. "Iris, what's wrong?"

I can't explain. All I can do is swallow the tears that come into my eyes and point at the castle in front of us, the one that dominates the sky and looks like it's woven from storm clouds and misery. Mostly misery. My hair turns an ashen gray. I tremble, wondering what memories are withheld from me that make me feel this overpowering fear at seeing this castle.

Finn looks at the castle, then at me, then at the castle again. "So," he says, determination setting into his voice, "We're going there, huh?"

I tremble, my whole body feeling an intense fear and nearly becoming overcome with terror and the instinct to flee as far away this Creeper Castle as I can. "You…promise I'll be okay?" I ask, rubbing my hand through Jake's fur.

"Yes," they both say, with no other words tacked on. Nothing else needs to be said. I swallow again and walk with them towards the castle, my heart pounding but my fear controlled.