One shot: 80 years later
It was a beautiful day in the land of Ooo
The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and children everywhere were enjoying the sunny day outdoors. And although the weather was beginning to get a lot colder as winter was fast approaching, this sunny afternoon was there just to give everyone an opportunity to relax and play.
There was no worry, why would they? Most of the villains that once threatened this land had either been dealt with or just simply disappeared. They didn't need to fear war, why would they? It had been 80 years since the Gum war had happened, and after the heroes had been successful in dealing with the threat peace had become a given.
And no one had to fear from threats coming from the Ice kingdom either, not after the Ice King had disappeared. In his place a strange, yet kindly old man by the name of Simon Petrikov took over as the leader of the Ice Kingdom. Things had gotten a whole lot better, and even while the strange ice thing, which vaguely resembled the Ice King, was around there was no real danger.
Even when the human had passed away about 30 years ago the Ice Thing did not get violent in the slightest, instead he isolated the Ice kingdom from the outside world. And as such no one had been able to enter the Ice Kingdom for 30 years.
Relations with the other kingdoms had improved since the Gum war as well, princess Bubblegum had even gone as far as to apologize for her actions in the Cooler incident. Only after her wife Marceline had nagged to her about to no end off course, but she was still forgiven. And after that relations between the Candy Kingdom and the rest of the kingdoms of Ooo had drastically improved.
Another change that has occurred in the 80 years is the increase of the human population, before the war only one human, Finn the hero, was recorded as living in Ooo. But after the war an entire cities worth of humans arrived by boat.
And as a result a city was build, just outside of the Candy Kingdoms borders in the grasslands. And while a good portion of the humans decided to stay in Ooo others went back and forth between the mainland and the island that they had originated from.
But it hadn't all been happiness, about 40 years ago during a thunder storm the system that kept Minerva Campbell's consciousness got struck by lightning and as a result her consciousness was erased from existence. It affected Finn really badly, he had gotten a depression that lasted nearly six months. And even after that depression was over he still had moments where he would just stare off into the distance and not say a word.
But wait, where is Finn? To know that, we would have to shift our scene to a private room in the Candy Kingdom Hospital. In this room was a single bed, some chairs, and a closet to put clothes in. The bed was currently being occupied by the now 97 year old Finn Mertens, since the 80 years since we last saw our hero a lot has changed about him.
For starters his face had become a lot wrinklier, his hair was now no longer long and blond. Instead he now had much shorter white hair, and thats not all he also had grown a white beard. His eyesight had began to decrease in these last couple of years, so much so that he started wearing prescription glasses to help with his sight issues.
During the gum war he had lost his robotic arm when he jumped after Betty and the Ice King into the monster known as Golb, it fell onto the ground and was then forgotten about. Buried by the sands of time, so to replace the lost arm Princess Bubblegum created a new one. A new arm which was stronger, lighter, and had more functions.
Speaking of Finn, he himself has become a lot more fragile and tired over the last couple of years. His health had even gotten worse over the last couple of weeks, he was getting weaker, he started to get breathing issues, and his hearth would sometimes give out at the most random of times.
It has gotten so bad to the point that Princess Bubblegum had to forcefully make him a resident in the Candy Kingdom Hospital until his condition improved.
And Finn himself, he is laying in the bed in the room. With on either side of the bed Marceline and Princess Bubblegum are standing over Finn, examining the situation. But wait, hold on, they aren't examining the situation, they seem to be arguing with Finn over something.
Or more specifically Bubblegum is arguing, while Marceline just stays silent in the corner of the room.
"For Glob's sake Finn, stop being so stubborn over this." Yelled Bubblegum at the now elderly and retired hero.
"I'm sorry PB, but my decision stands. I'm not letting Marce bite me and turn me into an immortal vampire." Finn said with an elderly voice, while making some coughs throughout his speech.
Struggling to breath, as more and more of his energy is spend trying to stay focused and awake.
"Finn please, look at you. Aren't you in pain, do you think Jake would have wanted this for you. What about Huntress?" She asked in a saddened tone, trying to withhold her tears at the memory of friends that are now long gone.
"PB, yes I'm in pain. Unspeakable pain even, and while I do want the pain to end, I'm ok with it. It's all part of life, everyone eventually has to pass on. And me dying just means that I will finally be able to reunite with Huntress after five years of being separated." Said Finn while giving off a faint smile at the thought.
"And besides, Jake told me years ago to live life to the fullest and when I feel that my time has come to just let go and let life take it's course. For me, this is that moment."
"Finn, please take a moment to reconsider. Think about everything that you will be leaving behind, everyone in Ooo who will lose their friend, their hero, or in the case of your children their father." Princess Bubblegum said in a tone that gave off a feeling of dread behind it.
"Why would it matter PB? Everyone that I have befriended is either dead or is going to do die in a few years, well except for Sweet P. of course." Finn said in a gravelly tone
"As for my children, they are in a good place right now. I might not have shown much of it throughout their childhoods but I'm extremely proud of all of three of them. They all managed to find well paying jobs and even established their own families." Pausing for a bit to catch his breath and then he continued speaking.
"Why would I want to become immortal knowing full well that I'm going to be outliving them, and then what in a few centuries I'll have lost contact with their descendants and the only people in Ooo that I'll still have some contact with being you and Marceline?" Taking a pause to catch his breath after that outburst.
Bubblegum wanted to speak, but instead she stayed silent. Looking at the ground, and realizing her selfishness "What's the point you know?" Finn asked to no one particular in the room
"Living for a few millennia, and then when all life in Ooo is gone, and then being the only living being left in the world. As, lets be honest here, in time were going to lose track of each other." Finn said, after which he closed his eyes and fell into a light sleep.
Marceline had been listening to the old hero arguing with her wife for about an hour now, and each minute that passed she had been growing more impatient. Now she couldn't take it anymore, the old hero was stubborn when he was younger. Back then she could deal with it, laugh it off as him not being mature and understanding the world properly. But now, she just can't handle his stubbornness anymore.
She began to walk out of the corner of the hospital room, her teeth began to extend. She was upset, no not upset, she was angry. She wasn't going to wait for his permission, she was going to bite him, drain him of his blood, and turn him into a vampire. She didn't care anymore, she was going to save her friend from himself.
While she was slowly making her way to the bed she began to change, she began to turn into her demonic form. Bubblegum noticed it, and tried to block her path so she wouldn't be able to get to Finn, Marceline not wanting to hurt Bubblegum spoke up in a demonic voice "Bonnie! Get out of my way Bonnie, I'm not going to hurt you, so get out of my way."
"No! I'm not letting you get to him, not in the state that you are in right now. We can find an option that doesn't involve force, remember Marceline, remember how we talked about our communication issues. This is just like that."
The Princess said desperately in an attempt to calm down her wife "Not an option!" Shouted the demonic Marceline, using her telepathy to float Bubblegum out of her way. But she used too much force while using telepathy and slammed Bubblegum into the wall.
After making impact into the wall Bubblegum swore something out of anger in German that the narrator wasn't able to understand, because the narrator doesn't speak German.
Marceline ignored her wife and floated towards Finn's bed, and began to lower her teeth into Finn's neck. She was about to fully bite down on it when she heard Finn waking up and saying something "Marceline... please... don't do this..." He said in a sweet childlike voice that gave her a sense of nostalgia to when she first met the hero.
"Marceline... please... what if what you do goes wrong, what if instead of saving me, you end up killing me with that bite. Do you want that, do you want to live with the knowledge that instead of saving a person close to you, you instead killed him because you were blinded with rage. Do you want to live with that guilt for all of eternity." Finn said in a calm yet gravelly voice, not bothered in the slightest that his life might be in danger.
As she heard those words Marceline began to transform back into her normal form, but she didn't let go of Finn's neck as she still had her fangs above it.
She then spoke up "And what if you wouldn't die from it? And I wouldn't try it, then what? Would I live with the knowledge that I let my friend die, that I might have failed one of my best friends." She said trying to hide the sadness in her voice as tears started to get form in her eyes.
"No, quite the opposite actually. You'll live for the rest of eternity with the knowledge that you were able to protect your friends to the point that they were able to live full lives, and die in peace. Rather than having them be slaughtered at the hands of monsters or other vampires. Don't feel guilty that you can't change anything about me dying, feel happy that thanks to you and everyone else I was able to live a full life." Finn said with a smile on his face, awaiting the moment that Marceline would sink her teeth into his neck.
But that moment never came, instead Marceline removed her fangs from his neck and let go off Finn. Softly laying him down on the bed, and going back to her wife and helping her up "I'm sorry, please don't be mad." she said in a soft yet regretful tone to the princess "I know, I'm not mad. Just disappointed." The Princess said.
The two went to Finn, then Princess bubblegum spoke up "So, you really don't want to rethink your choice?" She asked in the friendly tone that Finn had always seen her use.
The tone in her voice she used in times of peace, in times of relaxation, in the times when he first met her and things hadn't become so complicated. "Yes, I'm sorry, but my time on this plane has come to an end. Don't feel sad about me dying, be glad that we were able to meet in the first place." He said in a calm tone, one which gave off the essence of wisdom.
After which he added, "And who knows, maybe I'll get reincarnated again." He said as a huge coughing fit overtook him, the girls looked worried at their friend, but let out a sign of relief when the coughing stopped and he looked fine.
Princess bubblegum smiled at the memory as she remembered Finn's earlier lives as a butterfly, Shoko, and a candy knight that gave his life to save the princess from the Ice King.
"And if you can't wait that long, either talk to the part of my soul stuck in the Finn sword, or have Peppermint Butler ask death to fetch my soul." He said, after saying that both Princess Bubblegum and Marceline stepped closer to Finn and held onto his arm that was still fleshy. Gone was the youthful warmth, replaced with chilling coldness.
"Where did the time go?" asked Princess Bubblegum. Both Marceline and Finn gave the Candy Monarch a look of confusion, Bubblegum noticed the confusion and quickly elaborated
"You know, it just feels like these last 80 years have flown by so fast. It started with a child and his dog brother going on your stereotypical adventure to save the princess, but it ended with them having to help the princess prevent the world from being torn up by war and then stopping an ultimate evil from destroying the world."
"Dang, when you put it like that PB you're right. I mean after the first few times it almost felt like our story was under new management." Finn said with a feeling of nostalgia, "But I'm glad it ended the way it did, I'm pretty sure that if it had gone any other way the people that read the story wouldn't have accepted the ending."
Marceline took in his words, thinking back to when she first met him and how much he had changed in the amount of time that she had known him.
She turned to the hero and spoke up "Finn, you have truly grown. Gone is the immature and naive ding dong that I met on that day, one that would charge into battle without a second thought. To be replaced with a matured and grown up hero." The compliment making Finn give off a faint smile.
While Finn was smiling, making the princess and the vampire queen feel relieved. But on the inside Finn had a burning sensation, and not the one that he felt when he first kissed Flame Princess.
Instead it be compared to the feeling of getting stabbed by a thousand swords. He feels that his time is nearing, and so he spoke up "I have one last request to make of both of you." He said with more gravel in his voice.
This caught the attention of both girls, and instead of responding they just nodded. "Promise me that if you ever have a disagreement that you two talk things out, that if there is something bothering you that you communicate, cause this time neither me or Jake will be able to help you solve the issue. So please, don't bottle up your emotions. And please, don't ever lose track of each other, that could be disastrous"
Both Marceline and Princess Bubblegum looked at Finn and understood what he was referring to. Both hesitated with speaking, but after a bit of hesitation Bubblegum spoke up "We promise, we won't bottle up any emotions-" she said as Finn softly whispered "Thank you" Before closing his eyes completely and taking his final breath, while Princess Bubblegum continued speaking "And we won't ever lose track of each other."
As Princess Bubblegum said that she and Marceline both noticed that Finn had his eyes closed, they tried to nudge Finn awake.
But when that didn't work Bubblegum tried to wake up Finn by talking to him "Finn? Can you hear me? Please wake up?" When he didn't wake up she tried to tug at him and tried to wake him up again "Please, wake up... wake up! Finn, please be ok, Finn!" She cried out in desperation, while she was ok with his decision she still didn't want her friend and hero to leave her.
Marceline noticed the hearth-monitor that didn't show any signs of life within the hero, she led out a sigh of acceptance as she had felt Finn's essence leave his body. She floated towards her wife and began to hold her tight, she then began to reassure her as Princess Bubblegum didn't hold back anymore. The floodgates had opened completely "Shshshshshhhhhhh, it's going to be alright. Were going to be alright." She said in a reassuring and calm tone.
The two royals stayed by Finn's bed for a little while longer, letting out their emotions until they were completely empty of tears. After which they began to inform everyone of what had just happened and started to plan the hero's funeral.
One week later
Finn's funeral was held a week later. His burial happened in between the hero's old tree fort and the cave that had previously belonged to Marceline.
The guests that attended included Finn's own children and their loved ones. Jake's children who had take their own children and significant others with them.
Some of the princesses that were still alive had shown up out of respect for the hero, and even some villains looked on from a nearby hill. Cursing internally that they couldn't take down the hero when they first met him.
The service itself was done respectfully as well, with some of the attendees giving speeches. Telling tales of Finn's early life and all the adventures that he had gone over time. As when he was younger, it was always adventure time.
Telling tales of the many foes that Finn helped defeat, telling tales of everything that Finn had accomplished in both his young and adult life.
After the stories had been told the people in attendance each got a moment to talk to the hero and pay their final respects to him.
Then once everyone was done paying their final respects to their hero or friend, the coffin containing Finn was lowered into its final resting place. The words on the tombstone of his grave reading:
Here lies
Finn "The Human" Mertens
87 years old
Father
Husband
Friend
Hero
After the funeral was done with, everyone returned to their homes. Getting ready to continue with their daily lives and look forward to what the future had in store for them. Without their hero, without Finn.
However, Finn wasn't completely gone. As Finn's spirit was watching the funeral unfold from the afterlife. He had a faint smile on his face, happy to have lived, happy to have made all of these great friends. But also happy to have been reunited with those that he had lost over the years.
His spirit however looked a lot younger than his appearance before he passed away. Having traded his older appearance for the appearance of that of a young adult. And his arm had returned in this state.
While he was watching the final respects given off by his closest friends, he was being approached by a familiar yellow magic dog. The magic dog approached Finn and spoke up "Finn, come along with me." He said in a relaxed and happy tone, indicating that he was glad to have been reunited with his adopted brother.
As Finn didn't give a response as he was too busy watching the scene Jake tried again "Common bro, it's time. Everyone has been gathered to see you again." The yellow dog said in a more demanding tone.
This time Finn did hear what was said to him, turned off the tv that he was watching and responded "Sure Jake, lets go." he said as he walked towards his brother and embraced him in a bear hug.
As the two began to walk towards a bright door Jake asked for one final time "What time is it?"
"Adventure time!" The two said in unison as they walked through the bright door towards the future.
