Finn woke up and found himself laying down inside a cave. He looked at the outside of the cave and saw that the sun was barely rising, leaving the sky a bright pinkish hue. So that meant that he only got a couple of hours of sleep. He groggily gathered his bearings and stood up. He looked around the cave and saw that it was empty. He was half expecting to see Marceline's house behind him and was thankful that he didn't. He didn't feel like seeing her right now. Finn picked up his backpack, slung it across his back and walked out of the cave.
When he stepped out he was greeted with a breath of sunshine. The ground around him was muddy and soggy but he didn't mind. He marched along the muddy ground and looked at the sky. It was painted a brilliant hot pink with cotton clouds scattered around it. He looked to his surroundings and saw that he was in a forest. The chirping of birds could be heard all around as he walked on. He could still feel the newly opened emotional wounds from the night before. So he started to sing to himself.
"Could this be Earth? Could this be light?
Does this mean everything, is going to be alright?"
Finn touched a tree as he passed by and sighed. He patted it and walked past it. He could hear the trees whispering all around him.
"When I look outside there's trees talking like people
I've dreamt of storms, I've dreamt of sound
I've dreamt of gravity, keeping us around
I've slept in the darkness, it was lonely, and there was silence"
Finn stood in silence as he let flashes of the night from before fill his mind. He slowly swayed himself into walking forward almost as if he didn't want to go any further.
"What is this love? I don't feel the same
Don't believe what this is, could be given a name
And I forget my first love, like you forget a daydream
And what if all my wild friends, and the times I've had with them
Will all fade to grey soon, on the TV station."
Finn walked out of the forest with his head hung low and kept going without looking back.
Several hours later Finn found himself at the entrance of a small town. The town looked run down and dirty. People were hiding inside their houses and some shop keepers locked down their shops as soon as Finn walked into town.
"What is going on here?" Finn said to himself
Finn walked up to a shanty little building and looked at the sign on the door. It was a weapons shop. Finn knocked on the window gently and looked inside.
"Hello? Is anyone there? I'd like to buy a weapon."
A frightened and small voice cried out,
"We're closed! Go away!"
"You can't be closed yet. It's not even night-time yet." Finn said
"It's Sunday. We're closed on Sundays!" The voice said
Finn looked at the sign on the door. It showed a small calendar with the date. It was Thursday.
"It says here that it's Thursday, man. Not Sunday."
"Just get out of here!"
"That's not nice, dude." Finn replied
"Do you want the Hunters to hurt you? No, you don't! So get away while you still can!"
"Who are the Hunters? Are they bad?"
"Yes, they're bad. They're horrible. Now get away from here!"
Laughter and stomping could be heard as a group of people entered the town. They were all extremely fit men who were enormous in size and were covered in animal pelts. They looked over at the hero and walked up to him.
"What're you doing in our town?" One of them asked
Finn looked up at the man. He was about eight feet tall and had ragged red hair. He had a full beard on his face and an eye patch covering his right eye.
"I was just about to buy a weapon but you have these poor people so scared that they don't want to sell anything to me. I don't think you should scare these people anyways. It's not nice." Finn told them
"Are you serious?" The man asked
Finn just looked the man dead in the eye. The man began laughing uncontrollably at him. The rest of the group joined in with him. The whole town echoed with laughter as the men laughed at Finn. The red-haired man wiped away a tear and patted Finn on his head.
"I'll give you a warning since you're new in our town. We're the Hunters. We run this town and we do as we please." The man leaned in and let his hot breath hit Finn's face. "It would be wise to leave and never come back, you runt."
"Your breath smells." Finn said as he held his nose
The man stared at him and blew more of his breath into Finn's face.
"Have you ever heard of a toothbrush? Or even a bath?" Finn joked
"No one makes fun of the Hunters!" The red-haired man yelled as he raised his fist and swung it at Finn
Finn ducked before the man's fist could make contact. Finn smirked and blew a raspberry at the man. The man threw another punch at him but Finn evaded it once more.
"It's not polite to try to fight your guests. I thought that maybe since you guys "run this town" that maybe you'd show a little hospitality but I guess I was wrong." Finn said as he chuckled
The man was getting visibly angry as veins began appearing on his forehead.
"I'm gonna kill you, you little shit!" The man screamed
"Whoa! Language, my dear sir. We're all adults here. No need for such words." Finn teased as he kept evading the man's punches
"Shut up!" The man yelled
"If only you took your own advice.." Finn muttered to himself
"Are you guys gonna help me crush this runt or what?" The man yelled out to his comrades
The rest of the gang ran towards Finn and began throwing punches as well. Finn dodged all their punches with ease. The whole gang of Hunters began to get frustrated. They all started swinging their fists everywhere. Finn backed out of the crowd and watched as the Hunters began to unknowingly fight each other.
"I think I got him!" One cried out
"Bugger won't stay down!" Another cried out
Finn began chuckling to himself as he leaned back against the weapons building. The store owner opened his glass door slowly.
"How did you do that?" The store owner asked
Finn looked back at him and got off the building.
"It was pretty easy. They just wanted to fight something so they used me as an excuse. I kept dodging their punches until they started punching each other. Luckily they aren't smart enough to figure out that I'm not even a part of their fighting now."
The group of Hunters were beginning to get bloody and bruised. One of them punched the man with the eye patch so hard that he fell unconscious. Every single one of them gasped and held their breath. Then all hell broke loose among them.
"You punched the boss!" One of the brutes cried out
"It was an accident I swear!"
"Let's get him!"
And so they began to chase the man who knocked out their boss. Finn and the store owner laughed to themselves.
"I'm so sorry for the way I treated you, stranger." The store owner apologized to Finn
"It's ok, dude. The name's Finn by the way."
"Ok, Finn. So you wanted to buy a weapon? Come in and I'll show you what I have." The store owner said as he pushed the door open and walked inside
Finn walked inside the store and closed the door behind him.
A couple of hours earlier..
Marceline woke up and saw that she was huddled in the corner of her room. She brought herself up from the floor and floated on over to her bed and threw herself on to it. She touched her cheek and felt dry tears on her face. The events of the night before filled her head. She couldn't believe that all of that had transpired so quickly and badly. She felt a pang of regret hit her as she knew that things would be different between Finn and her now.
Her house phone then started to ring downstairs. She didn't feel like answering the phone so she just let it ring. The ringing persisted as the moments went by.
She floated off her bed and went downstairs.
She approached her phone and picked it up.
"What do you want?" She asked roughly
"Marceline?" Jake's voice came on from the other end
Marceline sighed. Finn told him and now he's gonna chew her out big time.
"Listen, I was just calling to see if Finn is still at your house. Is he there?"
"Wait, what?" Marceline asked confusedly
"Is Finn at your house?"
Marceline shook her head and said,
"No, he went home."
"Are you sure? Because he's not here."
Marceline felt a prickle of worry inside her mind.
"What do you mean he's not there?" She asked him
"He's not here. I just got back and there's no sign of him here. Do you know where he went at all?"
"No. Me and Finn kinda.." She trailed off
"What happened, Marceline?" Jake asked her
"A lot of stuff happened, Jake."
"Like what?"
"Well, Finn told me he liked me last night.." She said slowly
"Well yeah you're his friend."
"No, Jake. That he like-likes me and that he wanted to be more than friends."
"Oh."
"I told him that I liked him too and-"
"Wait you told him you like him too? I don't see the problem here." Jake interrupted her
Marceline hung her head a little and let her hair cover her face.
"I told him no, Jake.." She said so lowly that it almost came out as a whisper
Jake became quiet.
"I told him that we wouldn't work out because we had so many things against us."
Jake was still silent. A rustling sound could be heard on the other end.
"Jake?"
"This is bad.." Jake said lowly
"What?"
"I was looking through our room and a lot of Finn's clothes are missing and Beemo just told me that Finn did come home earlier this morning but left." Jake said on the other end
"Well, where did you think he went?" Marceline asked him
"Hold on..." Jake said as more rustling could be heard on his end
Marceline waited a couple of moments. She then heard Jake sigh.
"What happened?" Marceline asked
"Finn left a note."
"What does it say?"
She could hear Jake mumbling to himself as he read the note on the other end.
"Marceline, I don't think he's coming back.."
This caught Marceline off guard.
"What do you mean he's not coming back?" She asked worriedly
"He ran away, Marceline. Finn's gone."
A couple of hours later..
"What do you mean he ran away?" Princess Bubblegum said softly
"He's gone. He left earlier this morning and nobody knows where he went. Not even Jake." Peppermint Butler said
Princess Bubblegum sighed deeply.
"Should we send a search party after him?" The tiny butler asked
"No, there's probably a reason why he left and it's most likely a personal one. We shouldn't drag him back here. He'll probably come back in a couple of days. Two weeks tops."
Peppermint Butler nodded and walked out of her room. Princess Bubblegum sat down on her bed and sighed.
"Why would you want to leave, Finn? What happened?" She asked herself
"So what kind of weapon were you looking for?" The store owner asked him as he stepped behind his counter
The store's interior had an old feeling to it. The floors and walls were old wood. Dozens of swords, claymores, daggers, throwing knives and other kinds of weapons lined up the walls and shelves. Finn could sense that this building was really old. Maybe even Pre-Mushroom War old. The smell of old wood could confirm that.
"The best sword you got." Finn told him
The owner gave him a nod and walked into the back of his store. He came back a few moments later carrying a Katana and it's sheath. Finn gave him a quizzical look.
"I know what you're thinking but this baby is battle ready I'm telling you. This can cut through stuff like crazy." He said as he handed Finn the blade.
Finn grabbed it and wrapped his hands around the hilt. It felt smooth and natural in his hands. He gave it a slow practice swing. The store owner looked at him and saw the smile on Finn's face. Finn pulled out a small piece of paper and placed it against the katana. He dragged it down and watched as the blade cut right through it with no effort. Finn turned around and placed it back on the counter.
"I'll take it." Finn told him as he took off his backpack
Finn pulled out a small sack of gold from his backpack and placed it on the counter. He then grabbed the sword and sheathed it.
"This is more than enough to pay for it." The owner told him
"Keep it." Finn said as he picked up his backpack and threw it on his back
"Ok. Well thank you for helping us!" The store owner thanked him
"No problem. It's what I do." Finn said as he walked out the front door and closed it behind him
Finn began walking through the town with a little more enthusiasm in his steps. A loud grumble from his stomach caught his attention. Then he felt his hunger hit him like a train.
"Oh man. I need foods for my tum-tums" He said to himself
He looked around the town and saw that more people were coming back out and opening their shops back up. Finn saw a food store across the road and made his way towards it. As he walked on he heard murmurs all around him.
"Is that Finn?" A man asked
"What's he doing in a dump like this?" A woman asked
"He's so dreamy." A girl said to herself
Finn laughed nervously and went inside the food store. He came out several minutes later and started walking again. An immense crowd of people ran up to Finn and picked him off his feet and cheered for him.
"Whoa!" Finn cried out
"You go, Finn!" Someone cheered
"You're awesome, Finn!" A small brown-haired boy shouted out
The cheering crowd was certainly a big lift to Finn's spirits but they were a little too close for his comfort.
"Finn, I want you to have my babies!" A blonde haired girl screamed out
"Wait, what?!" Finn said as he began blushing heavily
"No, Finn! Have my babies!" A red-haired woman shouted
"I don't think I want to have anyone's babies." Finn replied nervously
Finn managed to hop down from being lifted by the crowd and started navigating his way through the crowd.
"Finn, can you marry my daughter? It would be such an honor if you could." An old man said as he came up to the hero
"Sorry, but I have to say no."
"Finn, can you punch my face?!" A marshmallow man asked him
"What? No!"
"C'mon Finn! Punch me in the face!"
The crowd began to close in on Finn. He needed to get out of the crowd or else he'd end up being a pancake.
'C'mon, Finn. We need a distraction.' Finn thought to himself
Finn looked at his surroundings and found nothing useful to his situation.
"Finn, let me have your backpack!" A guy cried out
"I need it!" Finn yelled back
Then an idea popped in his head.
'They'd practically eat anything that's mine. So what about..'
Finn pulled his backpack off his back and began digging through it. Finn pulled out another bear hat similar to the one stitched on his zip-up sweatshirt. He always kept a spare hat with him wherever he went and was pretty lucky because of that. He held his hat high in the air and everyone became silent.
"Whoever wants my hat can have it!" He shouted out as he tossed the hat as far as he could
The whole crowd ran away from him and went for the hat. Finn quickly ran in the opposite direction and sped off.
After a couple more hours of walking, Finn was quite far away from the town and found himself walking down a small trail in a heavily forested area. He looked up and saw that the sky was a faded baby blue with a tint of pink quickly overtaking it. It was probably around six in the afternoon right now and the sun was setting fast. He needed some form of shelter and there weren't any caves nearby so that wasn't an option. He kept on walking forward, hoping to find some sort of shelter for the night. As he was walking he noticed something out in the distance. A small group of lights were flickering about half a mile away. A small ray of hope presented itself in front of the human and he quickly began running in the direction of the lights.
"Marceline, I don't think it's exactly the best idea to go after him." Jake said as he stood in front of the Vampire Queen
"Why not, Jake?" Marceline asked as she floated past him
"Because he needs his space. Finn needs time to think and to be alone."
"Why won't you help me look for him, Jake?" Marceline asked as she grunted
"Because he'll come back on his own eventually. Just give it time." Jake said as he walked into the kitchen
Marceline sat down on the couch and let herself sink into it. She let her axe-bass rest next to the couch and sighed. A lot had changed since the last time she was here in the old treehouse. It was certainly a lot more emptier than usual but she figured that the reason as to why it was so empty was because of when Jake moved out of the house. Jake always did have a lot of stuff. Finn's scent completely covered the house and she could feel herself drowning in it. It was pleasant and sweet-smelling. She inhaled deeply, letting the scent fill her lungs and overtake her senses. She closed her eyes and let herself relax.
An image began to conjure itself into her vision. Colors and sounds mixed together in a swirl and soon enough she was looking at herself talking to Finn and laughing. She remembers this memory clearly. It was the first time that they ever talked about love. She smiled as she watched herself and Finn lay down on the roof of the treehouse and talk. She remembered how it felt to be the center of his attention. It was like she was the only thing that existed in his eyes. He even blew off Princess Bubblegum several times just so he could hang out with her. She really got a kick out of that. Memory Finn began to speak up so she decided to pay attention.
"Hey, Marceline."
"What's up?" Memory Marceline asked
Memory Finn looked like he was getting nervous as he tried to spit out his next sentence. Memory Marceline looked over at Finn.
"What's wrong?" She asked him
"Nothing. I just wanted to ask you something."
"Okay." She said uneasily
Memory Finn looked over at Memory Marceline and finally managed to make eye contact.
"Do you believe in love?"
"What?"
"Do you believe in love?" Memory Finn repeated
"Uhh.. I don't know, Finn. Love is a strong word."
Memory Marceline looked over at Memory Finn and asked,
"Do you?"
"I think it exists. We probably just haven't found it yet." Memory Finn said as he yawned slightly
Marceline looked over at Memory Marceline and Finn and waited for the next part of the conversation to roll in.
"Maybe that's the problem." Memory Finn said
"Maybe." Memory Marceline replied
Memory Marceline looked back up at the night sky. Memory Finn kept looking at Memory Marceline. A soft smile appeared on his face.
"Or maybe the one we love is right in front of us and we just haven't seen it yet.."
The scenery around Marceline melted away and she opened her eyes.
She found herself with a blanket thrown over her. She sat up on the couch and rubbed her eyes. She looked out the window and saw that it was night-time outside. She threw the blanket off and stood up. She picked up her axe-bass and slung it over her shoulder. She floated upstairs and saw that Beemo was asleep in Finn's bed with one of his hats. Jake was nowhere to be found. She floated back downstairs and headed for the door. She picked up an umbrella that was leaning in the corner and opened the front door. She floated outside and closed the door behind her.
(The song used in this chapter is called White by Odd Future. It's a nice slow song. I made some minor edits to the song so it could fit into the story though.)
Author's Note: First off I'd like to say that this is the most I've written in a long time for a single chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
This story is going to be updated more often than my other ones because this one is so damn fun to write. Finn also has a new sword and it's a katana. I'm thinking of naming the katana Shoko in honor of his former self.
I tried to put a bit of everything into this chapter and I hope that it blended well into the story and to you readers. Nothing much has happened except for that tussle Finn had with the Hunters but I will tell you that Finn will end up putting his new sword to good use. Things will surely pick up in the next two chapter so stay tuned!
Once again, thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review!
-Samuel The Racounteur
