2

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a teaser of the sequel, which is still a work in progress. I did want to go ahead and publish this just to show you all that it is coming and that I'm not just saying that. But, because I am a complete ass, this will be the only thing published until the rest is finished, whereupon it will be posted as part of this same story. This is quite rough, with only minimal editing, so be nice. Or don't. Once again, I don't care.

He ran across the burning plain, chasing the faint shape far in front of him. The heat was so intense he was having difficulty breathing, but still he managed to scream, "COME BACK!"

The shape paid no heed.

"COME BACK! PLEASE!"

Nothing. The shape kept running, not bothering to turn around or respond at all.

He ran on, dodging flames and burning ash falling from the sky. Fatigue was making his movements clumsy and forcing him to slow his pace. "Come back…" he gasped, but there was no way the figure ahead could hear him. It was much too far away, seeming not to be plagued by the exhaustion hindering him.

Not paying attention to where he was placing his feet, he tripped over a rock and landed face-first on the grass. He felt a sudden intense blast of heat and lifted his head just in time to see the shape he had been pursuing consumed by a flaming effigy. It was trapped in a tower of pure fire, which was resolving itself into a vaguely human form. As the head came into focus, the figure's mouth opened.

"Look at what you did!" it boomed. "Behold the price of abandoning your friends! Feel the pain!"
"NOOOO!" He let out a strangled yell, and pulled out his sword. He struggled to his feet and resumed running. The heat was unbearable, but he pressed on. I've got to save him, he thought. When he got close enough, he leapt into the air and sailed toward the inferno. His sword caught fire. He looked at it in dismay briefly, then felt himself beginning to burn. He looked down into his best friend's face. It was staring at him, eyes full of hatred.

"You did this," it rasped. "And you will pay… Finn the human…"

*"Finn? Finn?"

He woke, heart hammering, breathing hard. He expected to see Jake's face before him, peering out through the gloom. Instead he found himself looking into a different pair of eyes, filled with concern rather than loathing. These eyes were set into a pale face surrounded by a mass of inky black hair. It was Marceline the Vampire Queen, shaking him awake. "Finn, are you OK?" she asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "It was the dream again…"

"Again? I'm so sorry, Finn," said Marcy.

Finn said nothing. He had been having the same dream for over 3 years now- ever since Jake had died. Finn had never completely forgiven himself for causing the events that had led to his best friend's death, and he knew the memory would haunt him forever.

It had started with an argument that now seemed trivial at best. Finn had gotten irrationally angry and kicked Jake out of the house, after which the dog had gone missing. Finn, accompanied by the Candy princess, Bonnibel Bubblegum and Jake's girlfriend, Lady Rainicorn, had gone on an extensive search for Jake. They had scoured the land until eventually discovering that he had journeyed to the Fire Kingdom.

Jake had told the unstable and very dangerous Flame Princess- Finn's girlfriend at the time- what had happened, and she had quite literally exploded. Incinerating Jake in the process. She had begun rampaging through the surrounding fields, burning everything in her path until Finn confronted her. She had told him what she had done and that she never wanted to see him again, then stormed off. Princess Bubblegum and Lady Rainicorn had left without another word, and he had been left completely alone.

Alone except for Marceline, now his only true friend in the world, who continued to look into his face, looking worried. She had told him in a note to come to her for solace if he so desired. He had accepted. She had offered to let him stay with her in her home, which he had also accepted, after which she had confessed that she was in love with him. So it had been since.

Marcy had done her best to help Finn cope, and her attempts had been fairly successful. Finn no longer felt the pain of loss quite as strongly, and was acting more like himself, if perhaps a bit darker and significantly more mature than the boy she had first met. It was the morning of his 18th birthday, and she thought he had come along well.

Finn was just as tall as Marceline now, and had he still been Ooo's go-to hero, would've looked the part. He had a hardness and toughness about him now, which Marcy liked. She thought it suited him.

As far as his appearance, Marceline had (of course) shaped it to suit her. He was hers, and she insisted that he look the part. He had been fairly receptive, which pleased her. He had replaced his former blue shirt and shorts with clothing mainly in black and other dark hues. Most striking of all, he had dispensed with wearing the bear hats which had once been so important to him, and now his golden hair feel loose to his shoulders. That was the only thing he had resisted- he wouldn't let her dye his hair black. "I still want to look a little like me," he had said. But, overall, she was quite happy with him.

Marcy continued looking into Finn's face, and saw that his eyes had the haunted look that they still had at times since Jake's death. It wasn't as bad as it had been, but she still noticed it from time to time. After the nightmares especially, which occurred like clockwork on certain days that Finn still associated with Jake.

Birthdays, especially, were difficult for him. They reminded him of the special times he and his friend had shared. Jake had always gone to ridiculous lengths to make Finn's birthdays memorable, setting up elaborate adventures or throwing huge parties- usually both. Now Marceline had taken over the task, and while she might not have been quite as good at it as Jake, she at least made the days bearable, and often enjoyable.

She had given him a guitar for his 15th, and had been teaching him how to play. It passed the time now that his hero duties and all but ceased, and he found it therapeutic as well. Next, Marcy had given him the most meaningful gift she could. She had spent a year compiling her life story from her journals and memories and writing them into a book, revealing her deepest secrets and details of her life she had never shared with anyone.

This had all been in an effort to gain Finn's trust, for now that he had turned 18, she was going to give him an entirely different kind of gift. She would give him the chance to rescue Jake from death itself…