-Author's Note-

This is my newest multi-chapter story for Adventure Time, in its own category. Bless Pendleton Ward for creating this sandbox!

The first chapter is short, and mostly in first-person perspective, but we'll be back to normal soon enough. Normal lengths and perspective, at least. Our question for the story: what happens when the hero dies too soon?

There will be a bit of drama, but I'm hoping to keep this from becoming too much of a downer. Humor, excitement, romance and all that good stuff.

Lighting The Way

Fandom: Adventure Time

Prologue: Good Bye, Ooo

-The Burning Plains-

My name is Finn. I'm the last human in all of Ooo, and I'm about to die. I mean, I guess I've thought that lots of times. I've gotten pretty close, and no matter how quickly I bounce back, I always figured I'd eventually bounce just a bit too hard. I've gotta stop using that word- I think it's just because Jake's gone superball and is herding those demons back around to me. Thanks, bro, but I definitely do not need help finding demons. I'm more or less buried in them.

I'm twenty-three, now. What's the average life expectancy for a hero? I started pretty young. As soon as mom and dad died and Jake took me in. Does that mean I got a head start on staying alive, or does it just mean a longer time that I had it coming to me? Math was never really my strong point.

Ouch. Claw to the guts. I was bleeding a lot before, but dang, that's a lot more. A fireball splashes down over me and clears the area. I have a second to breathe. Or not breathe- it's really, really hard to breathe at the moment. The fireball warms my heart though, and that's not just a bad pun- Flame Princess is on the sidelines, throwing potshots to help us out. She can't move much at the moment, cause of the baby and all, but every bit helps.

How crazy is that? I'm gonna be a dad- just like Jake, except I'll be changing diapers a lot longer than he ever did. Humans and fire elementals both grow a lot slower than rainicorns.

Another fireball hits me, but it's weaker. Fae (as any 'sexy, rugged adventurer who I'm dating', as she said, is allowed to call her) can't push herself too hard. That's okay. Unlike the demons, I'm safe from her shots no matter how strong the blasts are.

Turns out that spending a solid week without sleep to layer several thousand Flame Shield spells over your body makes it permanent. That was really, really useful once she and I, you know, made it past tier six. I think we're about where we're starting to invent new ones, to be honest.

If it weren't for my fire immunity, I'd be thinking about cauterizing my guts a bit, just about now, but even that wouldn't help much. Jake sees, now, how much trouble I'm in. His bouncing ball mode becomes a wrecking ball mode, but he won't reach me. And I still have to close the portal.

I turn, and stumble, and catch myself. My vision's swimming, but even googly-eyes don't stop me from seeing the massive azure portal. Demons are still pouring out of it, but Marceline, a platoon of banana guards, and a couple other schmucks that we roped into this are keeping them from escaping the Burning Plains. Good. I want to make this a complete victory. The only kind worth anything, at the moment. Have to keep Ooo safe...

Ow, again. Back on target, now, Finn the Human, you've got a ways to go.

I switch sword hands, and let my good arm cover my guts. Don't want them to leak out and snag on anything- that would slow me down. Around my neck, I've got the Gem of Sealing. It's one of those truth-in-advertisement artifacts, in that it just seals things. Portals, doorways, and toilet lids, which I only discovered when Jake thought he'd try to be funny during one of my bathroom night-time bathroom trips. I got him back, though, when I-

Focus, Finn!

The portal is transparent. Through it, I can see the pavilion that we just had enough time to put together. All of our long-distance fighters are there. Princess Bubblegum is sending orders out by message birds, and seems to have everything under control. But that can't last forever. Not by a long shot.

I strike down two more of the towering, demonic vanguard. I've got a feather taken from the Cosmic Owl himself (don't ask me how I managed that) tied to my wrist. The holy aura, and the sheer sharpness of my blade, helps me take them out. One gets another hit in. Swing, step forward, still forward...

I'm gonna be a dad soon. I said that already, but it's just that big a mind-bender to me, still. Fae's more beautiful than ever. I can see her, now. Past the dimensional break of the transparent portal, she's looking right at me. Trying to summon up another fireball. She looks... afraid?

Don't look like that, Princess. Please. I've had worse. Everything will be fine, I promise. I mouth the words to her, but I'm still very aware that my footing's getting worse. It's not the terrain, it's because my shoes are wet and slick. I know the reason, so I make sure not to look down. That would be a bad idea.

I'll be fine, Princess. See? I've got the Gem in my hand. It's reacting. This'll all be over soon.

Just like magic (ha ha, get it?), the portal dims. Now, if Peebles was right, the force that let the demons out should now pull them in...

I realize it just then. I'm in front of the portal. I can hear the wave of demonic flesh, living and unliving, sweeping toward me. This is going to hurt. This is where it ends. Good bye, Ooo, I did everything I could.

I look up, and I can catch her eyes. I smile for her, as brightly as I can. She always claims it cheers her up, but I can see her crying...

The first body strikes me, and I'm pulled toward the portal. For one moment, I'm drawn just that bit closer to Fae, until the light closes over my eyes.

Good bye.

-The Pavilion-

"Finn!" Princess Bubblegum was frozen still, in the face of the sudden end of hostilities. They'd done it. She'd hardly processed what exactly had taken place, however, before several of her guards rushed forward to try to restrain the Flame Princess. Her body was too dim to do more than warm them, in her late stage of pregnancy, but Bonnibel Bubblegum orders them off of her anyway- the field below is safe enough. In any case, it's far too late to do anything.

"Finn!" The name was shouted, cried, and shrieked out in tandem by nearly every party present. The princess of the Candy Kingdom, though, knew with scientific precision just how far their champion had been taken. Beyond help or communication. Beyond medical care. Beyond friends, but not beyond enemies. Princess Bubblegum knew, and so when she spoke, it was merely in a hushed whisper.

"Oh, Finn. You silly, little boy." Not so silly. Not so little. His wife (and their boy hero had indeed married) was running to the last spot he'd stood on in all of Ooo. Jake was doing likewise. Everyone was, in fact, and the princess let her feet carry her along, toward the spot.

Toward the mourners.

"Finn, oh Finn, man..." Jake looked as miserable any any dog ever had. His brother, whom he'd raised by himself after their parents' death, was gone. Godfather of his puppies.

Marceline didn't cry- she seemed too stricken and shocked to cry. Her little buddy, the lone human who'd refused to fear her, was gone.

There were others, but so few had made it to the battle on time. Fewer still were as close to the hero. But they, too, mourned.

And the Flame Princess had gone dim, and just barely been tinged blue in her despair.

"Finn? Come back, honey. You need to come back, now... please..."

Princess Bubblegum turned away. To organize the clean up. To... to prepare a memorial. To do what she could to keep her people safe in a land that had lost its greatest protector, and for all that, had become a much more dangerous place.

-Author's Note-

Short, yes, but future chapters will be much longer, per my usual habits. Things kick off, next time, with a nine-year time jump. Ooo has become, as the princess summarized above, a much more dangerous place, and even our main character knows that the land needs its hero back in the worst way.

But how to go about accomplishing that?