Chapter 3

Part 1

Finn was exhausted from the night before, and had only slept a couple of hours, but he was still feeling content when he woke up. He had finished Ignis' room last night, but she hasn't seen it yet. He was very excited and he was hoping that she would like it. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at his feet, as he imagined how Ignis would react when she saw her room.

He'd playfully cover her eyes as they walked into her room.

"Come on, Finn, let me see!" she'd say.

"Ah ah ah!" Finn would reply. "No peeking!"

He would guide her to the center of the room, and then he would tell her to open her eyes.

"Ok. And… open your eyes!"

She would open her eyes and gasp as she looked around at her new room. Her eyes would light up and she would have a big smile on her face. "Oh, Finn!" she would say. "It's wonderful!" Then she would run up to him and wrap her arms around his neck. Finn would wrap his arms around her as he spun her around. Their faces would be inches apart from each other.

"Thank you so much, Finn," she would say. "I'm so happy."

"Anything for you, milady," he would respond.

Then he would lean in closer, holding her tighter, and—

"Yeah right!" the crown laughed, interrupting Finn's fantasy. "Like that'll ever happen!"

The crown was on the small table next to Finn's bed and the door. Finn's room was circular, with nothing else but a small wooden dresser with clothes and a triangular window directly across from the door.

Finn sighed angrily. "It could!" he grumbled. He got up and looked out the window..

"Oh please," the crown scoffed. "She barely knows you and she was prepared to shoot you when you first met her. I swear, Mertens, sometimes I can't believe the things you think about. There's some perfectly good snow-covered land out there. Why don't you build a nice castle and start your own kingdom. You know, like we planned?"

Finn frowned. "That was more your plan. If I had things my way, everything would be back to normal, and I wouldn't have to deal with you. You're the reason why no one else survived!"

"Careful, now, Mertens," the crown warned. "I am the reason you survived at all. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but you put me on your head. I didn't force you to do that. You wanted to use my power to save your family. And it was because of your use of my power that the bomb went off. Don't you dare try to blame this predicament on me."

Finn sighed. The crown was right. And he hated that the crown spoke the truth. "Fine, I'm sorry."

"Good," the crown said. "Now then, go get it over with. Show her the room you made. I hope she appreciates it. You weren't the only one that had to stay up to make it."

"You don't want to come?"

"Not in the slightest. I still don't like that girl. I sense—"

"You sense something is wrong with her. Yeah, I know. You've said it, like, a bajillion times."

Before the crown could say his witty retort, Finn left the room and headed to the living room, where Ignis still lay asleep.

She looks so peaceful, he thought as he looked at her. She was all bundled up in the fetal position with Finn's blanket still wrapped around her. Man, he thought, she's so beautiful.

Wait, he thought. I can't just stand here looking at her. If she wakes up, it'll look totes creepy! Wake her up, dude. Just wake her up!

He tentatively placed his left hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. "Ignis," he whispered. She didn't respond, so he shook her with slightly more force. "Ignis, wake up!"

Ignis slowly opened her eyes. Not realizing where she was, her eyes widened as she quickly grabbed her rifle from her coat and pointed it straight at Finn's face, poised to fire her weapon.

"Whoa!" Finn said as he jumped back. "Take it easy! It's just me, Finn. You're ok, Ignis! You're ok!"

Ignis suddenly realized where she was, and her face softened as she put her rifle down on the ice sofa. "Oh my Glob," she said. "I'm so sorry Finn."

"It's fine," Finn said. "Just remind me not to get on your bad side."

Ignis smiled sheepishly. "I guess I'm still getting used to living with someone."

Finn smiled before noticing something about the ice sofa. The spot where Ignis was sleeping had molded to her body shape. The ice was melted.

How did the ice melt? It's freezing in here, he thought.

"Um..." he began, "Did you... do you see that?"

Ignis looked to see the melted ice sofa, and she gasped. "Whoa," she said. "How did that happen?"

Finn couldn't understand how the ice sofa could have melted. And then the crowns words echoed in his head.

"I sense something wrong with her, Mertens."

No! No no no no no! There's is nothing wrong with her. Just don't question it, he thought.

Finn shook his head to clear it before saying, "It's alright. I'll fix it. And besides, you won't have to sleep there anymore. I finished your room."

"Oh, cool! Can I see it?"

"Sure!" Finn wanted to cover her eyes like in his fantasy, but he realized it was much harder to do it in person. He felt so nervous all of a sudden, and his hand shook slightly.

"Are you ok?" Ignis asked, looking at his hand.

Finn blushed. "Yeah, I'm fine! Just a… a little cold is all!"

Ignis smiled and took his hand in hers. Finn turned a shade redder as he felt his face become hot. Her hand is so soft and warm, he thought.

"So, would you please show me to my room, sir?" she said in a warm tone.

"S-s-sure!" Finn said as he led her to her room. "R-right this way."

Finn led her to an open door just across from his room. The door was simply an open triangle shape in the wall, much like the one in his room. He led Ignis into the room as he said, "Tada!"

The room was the same structure as Finn's room. It was circular and had a triangle window across from the door. The bed next to the door was made of ice, but on top of it were some of Finn's warmest blankets. There was a small table next to the bed with an ice vase and some ice flowers inside it. There was a small dresser next to the window, and on the ceiling were some carved images of flowers growing on vines.

Ignis couldn't believe it. This is so awesome, she thought. I can't believe he stayed up all night to make this for me. I feel a little guilty that he spent his night that way. I can see the bags under his eyes. Still, I'm very happy with how the room turned out. It's so cool.

"Thank you so much, Finn," she said. "It looks amazing."

"Thanks," he said. "I'm glad you like it."

They both realized they were still holding hands and they pulled away, both of them blushing slightly.

Ignis noticed something shimmering on the dresser and went to examine it. She picked up a small three dimensional, diamond-shaped piece of ice. "Finn, what's this?" she asked.

Finn walked over to stand next to her. "It's a jewelry case," he said. "It's for your necklace. That way you have a safe place to keep it."

Ignis looked down at her necklace, then at the present Finn had left her. She turned to him and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "It's very thoughtful of you."

Finn felt a warmth inside him. Yes! Finn thought. She likes it!

Ignis' stomach growled. "Sounds like I'm hungry," she chuckled.

"Well, come on," Finn said. "Let's go see what's in the kitchen."

Part 2

They both left the room and headed into the kitchen, which was right next to the living room. It was small, and it had a few shelves on top for drinks and such. There was a counter with cabinets for food. Finn opened all the cabinets, but he realized there wasn't much food left for him or Ignis.

'Uh-oh," he said. "Looks like we need more food."

"Where are we going to find food?" Ignis asked. "Everything's covered in snow.

"Don't worry. I know a few places that still have food left." He headed towards his room. "Just let me get my crown and ten we'll go."

"Alright," Ignis said as she took out her rifle.

She wasn't very thrilled about going back outside. She still couldn't forget the monsters she had encountered throughout these last few months. She was scared. And she hated that she was scared. She needed to be strong like her father. He would always take the harder path in life, but he always came through. She needed to be like her dad. She had to suck up her feelings and be fearless. Only now, she's not doing it just for herself anymore.

Finn entered his room and spotted his crown on the table where he had left it.

"Hey," he said. "I need your help. We're out of food. I need you to show me how to get to that spot we went to last time."

"Alright, Mertens," the crown said. "Let's go then."

Finn picked up the crown and was nearly out of his room when the crown asked, "Wait. Is she coming with us?"

"Oh, come on!" Finn exclaimed. "What's your deal? There's nothing wrong with her!"

"You don't see what I see. You're love for her is blinding you."

"You're crazy," Finn muttered.

"I'm not the one who somehow melted the sofa out there!"

Finn paused. "How did you...?"

The crown sighed. "Mertens, even when I am not on your head, I am still connected to you. We have a psychic connection. Anything you think, I hear."

Wow, Finn thought. I didn't know that...

"Perhaps something happened to her after the 'incident' with her parents..."

Finn frowned. "No! She's fine! Nothing happened to her! Nothing is wrong with her!"

"Oh yeah? Well then, Mertens, ask her. Ask her what happened to her after her incident with that monster she talked about."

"Aw, man, no way! I can't ask her that! That's a sensitive topic to talk about. I don't think she'll like it very much if I start quizzing her about all that jazz. I know I wouldn't."

"And do you know why you wouldn't like it if she asked you? Because you know you are hiding the truth from her. Perhaps she is hiding something from us. Something important."

Finn pondered this. Could she be hiding something? What could it be? Should I ask her?

"Fine," the crown said. "How about this? I won't show you where there is food if you don't ask her."

"What? Oh, come on! How do you know if she's hiding anything at all!"

"I just know."

Glob it! She is hungry.

"Going once!"

But man, I don't want to upset her.

"Going twice!"

But we need food!

"Alright, fine!' Finn said in defeat. "I'll ask her what happened after."

"Ah, wonderful!" Finn carried the crown with him as he headed towards the living room. "Isn't it great when you and I can work things out, Mertens?"

Finn saw his green backpack underneath the bed and picked it up, placing the crown inside so that it was sticking out a little bit.

"Jerk," Finn muttered under his breath.

He walked up to Ignis, who was checking her gun for ammo.

"You ready to go?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Ignis said, forcing a convincing smile.

"Alright, let's go."

Part 3

Finn and Ignis were trudging through the snow up a hill not too far from the igloo. Finn was walking in front of Ignis as his crown told him which direction to go.

"Now, Mertens," the crown said, "as soon as you come up this hill, you should reach a frozen lake on the other side. You'll have to cross it to reach a small cave. That's where you'll find some food."

Good, Finn thought. The sooner we get home, the better.

"And remember our deal Mertens," the crown warned.

Crop. I don't want to! I don't think she'll like it…

Finn took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "So Ignis," he began. "I was wondering, um, if you don't mind me asking, um… what happened to you after your parents, um… you know…"

Ugh, he thought. I didn't want to ask her! Stupid crown…

"Oh, um…" Ignis was caught off guard. She didn't think he'd ask about her past again. Or at least she hoped he wouldn't. She sighed before she began.

"Well… after I got rid of that thing, I gathered as much as I could from the cellar. I grabbed cans of food, bottles of water, and some ammo. Those were my essentials. I grabbed a small satchel that was in the cellar to put the food and water. Then I put the ammo in my coat, along with my rifle when I didn't have it out. Once I got everything I needed, I left. I left everything I ever knew for good.

"I wandered the land for a while. Any time I found a small place to hide, I would stay there to rest. Sometimes I woke up to a monster trying to attack me. But I always slept with my rifle in my hands, fully loaded, so I would simply begin to shoot. That's how my life was for the months after the bomb went off. But, eventually, I started running low on food and water. I started rationing how much I ate each day, but I knew that soon I would have to go out and search for food. So that's what I did. I left what little food I had in a small crevice in the ground, and then I went to search for food. I walked for hours searching for food. After a while, I started noticing that the number of pools of green goop that surrounded me grew larger. I was feeling really edgy. I felt it in my gut that something was going to happen. Something bad."

Should I tell him? She thought. What will he think? Will he send me away? Glob, I hope not. Alright, here it goes.

"And I was right," she continued. "There was a big skeleton monster that popped out of the green goop, covered in slime. It only had one eyeball in its socket while the other socket was empty, and its skin was decaying in patches. I raised my gun to fire, but it took a swipe at me, sweeping my feet off the ground and making me fall flat on my back. I tried to get up as quickly as I could, but the monster grabbed me by the legs and started pulling me into the goop. As it grabbed me, its sharp skeleton finger clawed at me leg, leaving a scar." She turned around to show Finn a long run in her tights, showing a nasty looking scar underneath, her skin red and singed. "It hurt like hell. And I let go of my rifle when I fell, so it was just inches away. I tried to reach for it, but the stupid monster kept pulling me away. Then I felt a stinging sensation from my ankles to my feet. I looked back to see that the monster was pulling me into the green goop! I tried to get away, but the monster was strong, and he pulled me in completely.

"I was in pain everywhere. My whole body felt like it was engulfed in flames. I could see the monsters face in front of me, laughing as it opened its mouth to eat me." She paused for a moment before she continued. "I thought about it for a minute. I thought about letting the monster eat me. Then I'd see my mom and dad again. We'd be a family again.

"But my dad wouldn't want that. He'd want me to be brave and strong and fight back. He wouldn't want me to back down. So here's what I did. I let the monster put me in his mouth. But instead of being eaten, I held on to a chunk of rotting gums that was hanging loose from his teeth. Then, as he went back up to the surface, I kicked his teeth out from the inside and jumped out of his mouth onto the ground.

"I landed on the ground front first, and I landed hard. I threw my hands out in front of me to break my fall. Then I looked back and saw the monster catch sight of me, and it let out a loud roar.

"I got up quickly and grabbed my rifle from the ground. As I turned around, I saw the monsters fist coming at me. I waited, and as soon as his fist was close enough, I jumped up high. His attack missed and I landed on top of his fist. Then I climbed up his arm while he was trying to grab me with his other hand. I reached his head and climbed on top of it. He couldn't see me, so I took my rifle and pointed it directly in his eye socket. I shot him multiple times, and his eyeball burst out in chunks of red. He screamed, but I didn't stop there. I went inside his other eye socket and started breaking his skull from the inside. He kept shaking his head to try to get me to stop, but I kept going. I eventually broke his skull completely, and he fell back into the goop. I had to swim out of his skull to the surface, and then I just lay in the snow. My skin was burning again, so I covered my skin in snow. I stayed like that for a while..."

She trailed off. She looked down at her feet. Finn stared past her, thinking about what she had just said.

Whoa, mama, he thought. I can't believe she took down so many monsters. But... that green goop she fell in... If it changed Jake into that scary monster... what did it do to her?

"Perhaps this explains the melted sofa," the crown suggested.

But what exactly did the goop do to her?

Finn moved towards Ignis. "Do you... do you feel... alright?"

Ignis looked up at Finn. "If you mean to ask if the goop did anything to me, the most that has changed is that my skin still burns slightly," she said.

Finn moved closer to her. He wanted to hug her. He wanted to comfort her and protect her. He wanted to hold her and say 'Everything's going to be ok'.

"Ignis..."

"Finn..." she said. "We should keep going." She walked past him down to the foot of the hill. Finn followed, still worried for Ignis.

At the bottom of the hill, there was a frozen lake. Across the lake was a small cave with icicles hanging from the roof of the entrance.

"What does your crown say?" Ignis asked.

"We have to cross the lake to get to that cave over there," he said.

"Alright." Ignis took a cautious step onto the ice to test it. The ice was stable. She took another step towards the cave. "Let's go."

"Ignis," Finn said. "Be careful-"

"Don't worry Finn. I got it." She smiled.

Finn got an idea to lighten the mood. "Hey Ignis!" he called out. "Check this out!" He took a few steps back before running onto the ice. He slid on the ice and was headed in Ignis' direction.

"Hahaha! Cool!" she said. She reached out and grabbed Finn by his arms, and they spun around in a circle. They each laughed and giggled as they began to slow down to a stop. They each smiled at each other as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I'm so happy to be here with you," Finn said.

Ignis blushed slightly. "So am I."

"It's nice to finally have someone to talk to," Finn continued. "Someone I can just hang out with."

"Yeah," Ignis said. "Someone to be my friend."

Someone to live for, Finn thought to himself.

"Mertens," the crown said. "I hate to interrupt your little 'moment', but look at what your standing on."

"Yeah, it's a lake," he said. "Don't worry though, it's stable. No bigggie."

"What is it?" Ignis asked.

"The crown's saying some stuff about the lake," Finn said casually.

"Oh," Ignis said simply. She was still getting used to the idea of the crown being alive.

"Mertens, you idiot!" the crown yelled. "Really look at the lake! Look at what color it is!"

Finn looked again, and he felt his stomach sink.

The lake was green…

It was that green goop.

Finn looked up at Ignis, terrified. "Ignis, we need to get to the cave now."

"Why? What's wrong? Finn?"

"Look at the lake! It's—"

As he looked down at the lake again, he stopped. He could see a skeleton face coming towards him in the lake. It's eye sockets glowed green, and it was coming towards the surface fast.

Finn took Ignis by the arm and said to her in a panicked voice, "Run, Ignis, run!"

They both tried to get out of the way, but the monster had already broken through the surface of the lake, sending Finn and Ignis flying towards the other side of the lake. Finn landed on the snow at the entrance of the cave while Ignis landed and slid on the ice. The monster spotted Ignis and charged at her.

Ignis saw the monster and searched for her rifle. She saw it in the snow only a few inches away. She pulled herself towards it and grabbed her rifle just as the monster reached his bony hand out and picked her up off the ice.

Finn watched in horror. "No…"

"FINN!" she screamed.

"IGNIS!"