Shattered Dreams

The rising sun graced the sky with a variety of colours. Pink tinged the scattering of clouds while a darker red prevailed around the outskirts. The night sky was slowly transforming from its dark blue, to the lighter blue belonging to the day. The amber glow of the sun was beginning to peak its head in the horizon. All of this natural beauty was lost on Finn.

Depression had sunk into the young hero's mind. Although he was staring into the powerful wonder of the sunrise, he was stuck in the monotony of it all. 'Glob, why does this always happen to me. First Bubblegum and now Flame Princess as well.' Finn pondered. He could not however stop his thoughts from delving into darker places. 'It's all my fault, there must be something wrong with me.'

Finn got unsteadily to his feet. Moving towards the Treehouse, he continued to let his thoughts fester. 'I can't expect them to love me if I can't be what I want to be. I should have been a better boyfriend to Flame Princess, I should have treated her better. And maybe if I wasn't so immature, PB could have loved me back. If I wasn't such an idiot I'd be happy now.'

Arriving at the front door of the Treehouse. Finn took a moment to compose himself. Normally the feel of returning home would be welcoming, but in his current funk, Finn felt nothing. All the good memories of the place seemed to have been moved to a dormant part of his mind, a part he felt, he would never access again.

After a minute of silent staring Finn finally reached for the handle of the door. He was greeted by the smell of bacon and eggs frying away in the kitchen.

"Jake?" Finn called out before remembering that Jake had spent the night at Lady Rainicron's. 'Must be BMO then.' Finn thought to himself. Deciding to see if his suspicions were true, Finn walked through the treasure room and climbed the ladder with ease to find the small robot cooking away on the stove. Hearing Finn approach BMO turned to talk with a huge grin.

"Finn! I wondered where you'd run off too, I made you breakfast!" BMO excitedly told Finn. Despite the awful mood that prevailed over Finn recently he could not help but smile slightly at the little robots enthusiastic greetings. It helped ever so slightly to know that people other than family cared for him. Although by this point, BMO was as good as family. As he settled himself down to eat, Finn's little companion started the conversation again.

"You haven't been yourself recently, so I thought that I would cheer you up by making breakfast." Although he appreciated the sentiment, Finn could not help but grimace at the reminder that he was struggling. He must have made his discomfort obvious, as BMO picked up on it in an instant.

"I'm sorry Finn. I didn't mean to upset you. I'll just get out of your way." BMO's saddened expression cut at the very centre of Finn's heart. The all too familiar feelings of guilt, remorse and self-loathing, filled his very being. How could he hurt someone who was just trying to help? Someone who he cared for so deeply. It just made Finn despise himself even more.

"Wait BMO don't go, come on we can have breakfast together." Finn blurted out in desperation. He appreciated what was being done for him. Finn used the last of his fraying emotions to try and convey to his friend just how much he needed the enthusiasm and care. Seeing the look of absolute need on Finn's face, BMO's hurting vanished in an instant. With a glowing smile, the robot returned to the table where it had artfully presented the food. Taking a seat opposite Finn, BMO began to watch Finn lift a morsel of food and smiled as the hero swiftly swallowed it down.

"Mmm BMO, this is math!" The robot gained a pixelated blush from the praise that Finn had lavished on it. It meant a lot to little console. 'I just want to help my friend.' BMO thought. It was a creed that gave the robot such a lovable disposition, and by this point in its life, it was permanently imprinted on its hard drive. BMO would do anything for Finn and Jake. They were family.

Finn smiled at BMO and whispered, "Between you and me, I may just have to replace Jake as the cook. This maybe better than his food!" Not being able to handle any more compliments, BMO squealed and ran out of the room. Chuckling to himself Finn proceeded to finish the wonderful fare that his robotic friend had provided. However without BMO there to keep him company, the food began to turn bitter in his mouth. He was alone again. Alone with his thoughts.

Forcing himself to finish his breakfast was proving difficult. His appetite had left the room with BMO. The robots efforts to cheer him up had been in vain. His thoughts again sought to pull him into the spiralling abyss of depression, trapping him inside his own mind. Looking down, Finn realised that he had finally finished his meal. Anxious to keep his mind from wondering, he quickly gathered his plate and cutlery, dumping them in the sink for later. Not knowing what else to do, Finn decided to take a quick nap due to the early hour he had awoken. Moving towards the ladder, he decided that a rest would be of benefit for now. He could go adventuring or something similar later.

The nap was a mistake. His thoughts started toying with him as soon as he lay himself down. Sleep had deserted him. It seemed that it made a deal with his mind and they were working in tandem to torment him.

"Useless, pathetic, irresponsible." A voice sounding like his own whispered in his mind.

"They don't love you. You were a burden. Nothing more than a child who's attention seeking immaturity they had to satisfy. You are a failure to your friends and family. You can't call yourself a hero. You're not even a sidekick. You're the one that risks the lives of everyone with his own foolish actions. You're the curse of the tale, the one the story doesn't need!"

These were but a few of the words the voice whispered to Finn, repeating everything over and over, even the volume increased until it was all he could hear. Then just at Finn's breaking point he heard it. The laugh. The laugh that was the cause of his scream of pure turmoil as he lurched forward out of the bed.

BMO climbed swiftly up the ladder, the robot had heard Finn scream and rushed to find the source. What the robot discovered, would be a source of pain for the rest of its life. BMO found Finn roaming around his room, packing random items whist tears spilt from his eyes. He kept muttering "Can't stay, they won't leave, too painful." All while throwing different items of clothing into his bag. BMO had never seen Finn acting so strangely and the green console was starting to feel its concern increase. It decided it could not do nothing and decided to try and find out what had caused a treasured friend to break down. BMO called out in a voice cracking with concern and caution, and even a hint of fear.

"Finn?"

The voice ground Finn to a sudden halt. He almost seemed scared as he levelled his penetrating gaze at BMO. His eyes bored into his friend, freezing the robot in place. They both stood like statues, eyes locked onto each other's, frozen in time. The only things that moved were the tears that continuously fell from Finn's eyes. Then in an instant, the moment ended. Finn went back wo work with a half-crazed vigour, minus the muttering.

BMO was close to panic now, Finn had not responded to its cry of concern. His reaction was frightening, almost crazy, and to add to the meltdown, it appeared that he was finished in the bedroom and was moving towards the kitchen. Finn continued his mission throwing different foods into his bag, he was ignoring the robot again and BMO could not stand it any longer.

"Finn please look at me! What are you doing? Why are you packing?"

These questions seemed to finally half Finn's mad dash around the house. He spun around to face the companion of so many years. Memories of finding his friend, movie nights, video games and even trips to various kingdoms flew clearly through Finn's mind. He knew that he would miss the tiny robot, but this was something he had to do. He was not sure what he would do if he stayed. He theorized that whatever would happen, staying would cause his family, and himself, undue pain. With all this weighing on his mind, Finn finally graced BMO's pleas with an answer.

"I'm leaving BMO. And I don't know when I will be back."

The words Finn said left BMO feeling as if it had been hit by lightning. That all of its circuitry had been overloaded by electricity all at once. Finn may as well have disowned the lovable console and cast it out to fend for itself. Although BMO could not cry real tears, it was giving it all it had at the news thrust upon it. The robot looked directly into Finn's eyes before uttering its desperate plea.

"NO! You can't! I need you here, Jake needs you! You can't leave us, you can't leave me!" The words only served to strengthen Finn's conviction. He was hurting people again; he was causing pain to those he loved. He had to leave He had to stop this.

"I'm sorry BMO, I'm so sorry, but I have to do this." The robots reply was instantaneous.

"No! I won't let you go! I'll stop you if I have to! Please don't leave me Finn you're one of my best friends! My fami-" BMO entered hibernation mode as Finn had hastily crossed the room and switched the robots mode. The words that BMO were saying were wounding him more severely than any monster he had faced, even more so than the Lich.

"Bye BMO."

Finn spoke his last goodbye to his friend knowing full well that it could not hear him. It did not trouble Finn though, the robot would be awake in a couple of hours and he would be far away, hopefully to never hurt it again. Finn turned back to his bag to find he had everything he needed. That left only one more thing left to do. Leave an explanation for Jake.

Finn was struggling to find the right words to say to his brother. He had been at work meticulously for half an hour and only came up with a handful of words. The right words just kept eluding him, dangling close then fleeing when he finally reached out for them. Finn began to question the necessity of an explanation. Feeling that not explaining was the right course of action due to how much of an inconvenient trouble-maker he was, Finn snatched up his travelling gear and headed for the door.

As he grasped the handle inspiration struck. Rushing back to the table, Finn finally wrote his explanation and farewell. Glad with the results of his endeavours, Finn stood and toured the Treehouse for what he felt could be the final time. Moving to the outside, Finn started to head south through the Grasslands, however a deep rooted feeling would not allow him to venture to far from his home without a goodbye. Turning under the midday sun, Finn took in the Treehouse one final time. What seemed like hours was the work of but a few moments as Finn viewed his home, engraving the image in his mind. A single tear fell as Finn sighed deeply before turning and starting his journey.

"I guess it's adventure time."

Jake was on top of the world. He adored spending time with Lady Rainicorn, she was slowly turning into his everything. She had given him five wonderful children, all of which were growing up rapidly. He could not help but feel his pride surge for his pups. All of this was turning Jake into a family man, a notion he strongly denied despite the evidence to the contrary. His days of adventuring looked to be over, however thoughts of adventuring had brought up the ever-present worry for his brother.

Finn had grown distant to Jake over the past three months or so. Jake knew that it was not due to his increased time spent at Lady's. He had been visiting for years and it never seemed to bother Finn. Jake knew it was something to do with Flame Princess. What irked him the most however, was how Finn did not discuss the issue with him. Since the day Finn learned to talk, the brothers had been nigh inseparable, always having each other's backs no matter what came their way. Yet Finn seemed to forget all that as he dropped into his sorrow.

In the past couple of months, Finn's actions had grown, frankly bizarre. He knew that he could tell Jake anything and his brother would listen free from judgement. Yet he had not come to Jake with anything. Conversations with his brother had grown slightly awkward. At first Finn attempted to respond to the dog, but as days past, he began using single word answers. Eventually, he just responded with grunts and the occasional gesture.

His adventuring had taken a battering too. Lately, all Finn seemed to do was sit around all day and play BMO. It even seemed that he had forgotten basic necessities. He abstain from showering for days on end, just sitting in the same spot wallowing in his own filth. Other days Jake would not even see Finn. He had no idea where the human vanished to but it worried the canine. He did not thing that Finn even gave much time to eat.

"This needs to stop!" Jake muttered to himself as he begun to cross the Grasslands on his way home.

"I've been silent on this for long enough! I need him to know that I'm worried for him; he needs to know I care. As soon as I get home, I'll talk to him. Even if we don't make great progress, I'll be patient, Every little bit of my bro I get back will be worth it." With renewed vigour, the canine headed ever quicker for home.

Standing a small distance to the south from the Treehouse, Jake could not help but crack a smile. He really did love his home. Sighing deeply, he let the good memories roll over him. Most of them involving adventures, and misadventures of himself and Finn. Jake frowned slightly at the thought of his brother and what he had to do. Steeling himself for the confrontation ahead, Jake bounded through the last few yards with ease. Throwing open the door the yellow canine yelled out,

"Finn?! We need to talk man. Right now!" Expecting and answer, Jake waited in silence, but he did not hear an answer. He heard something else entirely.

Sobbing, Jake swore he could hear sobbing; Diving for the ladder the canine rushed up them, damning the consequences and the danger of what he may have faced. He needed to know that his brother was okay, he would never forgive himself if Finn broke down and he was not there for him. What he found shocked the magical being. BMO was bawling its eyes out, pixelated tears were streaming down its face constantly, never stopping in their wild course down the robots face. Its eyes were closed as if the very thought of sight was too painful a gift. The console was in a state of absolute hysteria.

"Gob BMO what's wrong!? Why are you crying like that!?" Jake did not mean to be quite as demanding as he did, yet what he was seeing was terrifying him. BMO had never lost control quite so drastically before. No response was forthcoming though, as the robot resumed it crying as if its primary function in life had been switched to mourn.

Jake looked widely around as if trying to find some way of comforting the console from the air around them, it was then that the dog noticed a singular piece of paper lying on the table. Moving slowly towards it, the canine gained a deep gnawing sense of foreboding, something was not right. After an eternity he reached the single sheet. Picking it up he began to read.

Dear Jake

I know this will come as a shock to you but it is something that I had to do. I'm leaving Jake. This will be difficult for you but please accept this, I don't want you coming after me. If I didn't do this I would have become a shadow of myself. I could feel myself slipping away every day and I reached my breaking point. I don't want to be the person that hates themselves, who can't face themselves in the mirror. I'm at that point Jake, and it frightens me.

Like this I can't be the hero of Ooo. I failed Ooo and all its people. I can't defend them anymore They deserve some righteous and pure, not tainted like me. I failed you Jake, I'm a terrible brother and adventuring partner. I've been nothing but a thorn in your side, blocking you off from your family. With me gone you'll finally be able to commit to them. I've failed BMO, I couldn't be the friend our little sibling needed. All I've done is cause my family worry and grief. My disappearance will cure you of that. I've failed Marceline, I haven't been the friend she needs and deserves. I haven't been to any jam sessions and we haven't even hung out as much as we did. It's all my fault, she's been through so much and all I've done is bring her more pain. She doesn't deserve that, she never deserved that. Hopefully with me gone she can find some happiness.

I've failed PB, I was her knight, her champion, and all I did was distract her with my immaturity and foolish crush. She deserves a better protector for her people and a champion who can do the job with no distractions. I've failed the girl I will always have in my heart, yet if I've remained in hers, I don't deserve that honour. Flame Princess was a passionate, beautiful person who I only manipulated and hurt in the name of a dumb Cosmic Owl dream. She needed someone to commit to her fully to unlock her potential to be the most amazing woman in the world. All I did though was crush her heart and hurt her. I can't be forgiven for it.

In failing Flame Princess I failed my heart, and in turn, myself. I can't call myself a hero anymore, in fact, at this moment, I am barley even a human. I don't know if I'll come back, this journey maybe my last. I may even be able to find a place to settle down and forget that I'm a failure to the people I love the most. I hope the rest of your life is algerbraic bro. Glob knows you deserve that much. I'm going to set off now. This land was too good for me.

With regrets,

Finn.

Jake did not know how to react to what he just read. He wanted to shout, cry and scream all at once, but could not quite find the voice to do any of it. Instead he just moved to the sofa next to the still crying BMO, and sat starring into the night's sky.

Marceline was flying towards the Treehouse at top speed. She had not seen Finn in almost three months and she was not amused. It was too long since they had chilled out with a movie or jammed some amazing songs and the Vampire Queen did not appreciate being forced from her home to find her wayward friend. She would never admit it but she was concerned, she had heard about his break up with Flame Princess and his apparent erratic behaviour after. Although she felt deeply for the young human, she had no qualms about punishing him for not being social. With a mischievous smirk, she flew ever onwards as the Treehouse appeared in her vision.

Floating outside of a window, Marceline took in the lay of the land on the home of her favourite human. Noticing that Jake was still up and sitting on the sofa, the smirk returned to her face as a prank began to form in her mind. Turning invisible, Marceline slyly opened the window and drifted through it over to Jake. Morphing into her demon wolf form, she suddenly shifted out of her invisibility and roared. Jake did not even flinch.

Marceline could not help but feel disappointed at how her prank had turned out. It was at this point that Marceline began to notice her surroundings. BMO was softly sobbing next to Jake who looked as if his emotions had been drained from him. Even the room was in disarray. It was cluttered as if someone had ransacked it. With a look of concern the Vampire Queen shifted her focus back to the yellow canine.

"Jake? What's going on? Why is this place so depressing all of a sudden?" Jake's respond was to lift the piece of paper in his hands to Marceline. The vampire took it in slight confusion at the canines' actions. After reading the contents, the vampire who was so professional at masking her pain and negative emotions collapsed on the sofa between Jake and BMO in despair. Tears sprung unbidden to her eyes as the information finally began to seep through to her. Her sadness brought fresh tears to BMO's eyes as it too began to cry again. Jake stretched his arms out and gathered everyone into a hug. They had lost Finn. And there was no guarantee he would ever come back.