Chapter Four: Back From The Dead.

"Ghhhuuuuuuuuh" Finn gasped from then sudden shock of awakening, similarly to waking up after you died in a dream. Engulfing all the dusty air he could muster and crammed it into his lungs till they felt like bursting. Respiring nether had felt so-truly awesome.

He continued to pant in and out choking over the dust particles in the air until his lungs became satisfied and his breathing finally stabilized.

"I'm alive!" He said to himself in disbelief , although he felt like death with a throbbing pain on his neck and a splitting headache, he shivered uncontrollably from the shock and cold. He could hardly move a muscle, every part of him felt numb and dead, like sleeping on your arm all night and waking in the morning only to find that you cannot move it.

His limbs started to tingle with pins and needles as his heart worked on circulating blood through them. After his limbs revived, Finn attempted a stretch to re-vigour his muscles but to no avail. He had just realized he was lying in a pitch black wooden box. The sides his bare arms brushed up against tightly were very rough and small splinters flaked off to the bottom of the old box; speaking of the bottom, unlike the rest of the box the base on which Finn rested his back on was actually cushioned and comfortable.

Finn shook about inside, with little effort he dislodged a few nails which held on the lid with his shoulder, springing the lid forward; he then had enough room to move his arms and push the lid off entirely, snapping it slightly in the process causing it to crackle, flinging a couple of splinters and wood chunks here and there. Finn hoped out, almost collapsing, his feet were still weak and lazy from being unused. He edge his way around the room, lifting the weight off his legs using the walls and tables as a support till he found a light switch.

He flicked on the lights, grunting in discomfort, instantly sheathing his eyes. Blinking them open a few times to get adjusted, he cracked them open a little still using his hand to shield them from the source. Looking around he notice he was in a square room. The room he stood in was severely un-kept, hadn't been used in years.

It was dull; the walls were left unpainted, but it was obvious a few attempts were made, with paint cans and brushes left next to a wall where a patch of painting had started, cobwebs had been made in every corner of the room but were withered down with large amounts of dust, even the spiders abandoned this place. Old machines and devices were left over in one corner, some were in open boxes; brass pipes extended out of the concrete walls and the floor, most of them sourced back to a rusty boiler.

By now Finn had noticed the old, dusty, wooden coffin that he had been encased inside. Finns coffin lied on a table in the middle of the room, it had a black cardigan that padded the bottom of it, the likely reason it was comfortable to rest in. There were withered dead flowers on the floor along with a piece of paper. They probably laid on top of the lid until Finn busted it open.

He picked up the note, it was in very good condition, considering. It had written on it in quite neat handwriting, 'Finn, I'm sorry; sorry that I failed you. I am not sure if your souls within the Nightosphere or not, but I promise I'll will look for you.'

Finn was puzzled, why would his soul go to the Nightosphere, his been a righteous hero since he can remember, and who writ this, it was no handwriting he recognised. He had to find out what was going on.

First-things-first was to get out of the current room. There was an archway with stairs on the other side, it was the only obvious exit, without hesitation he jogged over and climbed up the stairs.

At the top there was a door, Finn twisted the handle only to find it locked, he didn't have time for this. He grabbed for his demon sword, only swiping thin air he noticed it was gone along with his treasured green backpack. Finn became agitated he took three steps backwards down the stairs and charged back up, hurling himself through the door, snapping it in two.

He got up of the unhinged door piece, noticing another note crushed underneath the wood. The note just simply had 'Don't' written boldly on it in a dried up red, looked like a warning. The stilled puzzled, Finn, looked to his right, dropping the note back down, only to find himself in Marceline's living room.

None of this was adding up, he tried to remember anything that could help piece all of this together, but the more he tried his headache grew. Taking a few steps further in, walking past her green lamp towards the middle of the room in between her coach and guitar amplifier opposite of it. Nothing had really changed, everything same as it used to be. The place was relatively clean and tidy, it didn't looked trashed and abandoned like the basement. It seemed like an eternity since Finn found himself in a familiar setting.

A faint humming broke the silence, alerting Finn, it was coming from outside the house in the cave the house was situated in, it was getting closer to the house. It was vocalized in a pleasant tune, unmistakable a woman, he assumed it to be Marceline; although Finn was overjoyed to see her again he noticed he had been dead in a coffin in her basement, needless to say it could freak her out a little.

Before he could put together a plan on where to hide and how to confront her, she had already reached the back door that led into the kitchen. As she unlocked the door letting herself in Finn quickly dived up against the kitchen wall and stayed crouched below the pass-through [The little window cut out in the wall.] in a vague attempt to buy him a few extra seconds to muster up something to say when she walked in.

"Sniff, sniff, hmm, what's that smell?" Marceline mumbled to herself, smelling a familiar yet misplaced odour. She walked over to the door that was connected to the living room to investigate. She opened it, noticing the basement door smashed open across her living room.

Finn was still crouched to the side of her about three meters away, shaking from his unbalanced position, attempting to remain still. Smelling his fear and noticing movement in the corner of her eye she turned to the right, only to find Finn cowering against the wall.

"Uh-h-hi." Finn was flustered, being put on the spot he didn't know what else to say. He squinted his eyes up in her general direction with a uncontrollable smile along with a blush and found it difficult to remain eye contact with her. He felt as if he stood upon a stage with thousands watching his every move, a spotlight shining over his position, everyone there expecting him to do something, but he didn't know what.

Marceline's jaw dropped along with her eyes popping out of her head [Figuratively] and staggered slightly backwards against the door frame.

"Did you um, miss me?" Finn uncomfortably joked in hope of gaining some of his confidence back or at least to get Marceline to say something.

After his remark Marceline's eyes started to swell up with tears, controlling them, refusing to let him see her cry she took back her balance, stomping her way over to him.

Finn worked his way backwards into a corner to enlarge the gap between them. "I'm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you!" Finn said noticing the held back pool of tears on her bottom eyelid, his comment only seemed to make her madder as she failed to hide her emotions in front of him.

Marceline pursued him. Once she reached Finn, she yanked him of the floor onto his feet and paused for a second still in disbelief of his presence. Finn squinted nervously, not knowing what she was going to do.

Marceline grabbed both his upper arms and tugged him towards her. He bounced off her chest falling back into her arms which securely wrapped themselves around his upper back, pulling him in again to her chest. She squeezed the life out of him in an enormous hug, lifting him off the floor, getting tighter and tighter.

He gasped for air. "Gah-Marcy, p-put me down please, I think you crack a few ribs!"

Marceline dropped him, he could hardly stand after that, he took in a few hefty gulps of air, preparing his speech before being interrupted by Marceline again. She forcefully pinned him against the wall with one arm on his shoulder and the other tying around his head, she pulled his head forward and collided his lips with her own.

This was no friendly kiss like she would do sometimes in the past, pecking him on the cheek or lips. This was a full blown, passionate make-out, fuelled by allot of pent up feelings.

Startled by Marceline's actions, Finn didn't know how to act, he just possumed in her grasp, remaining pined up against the wall and posed little resistance against her. Finn had never been kissed in such a way, and he certainly didn't expect Marceline out of all people to be the one he'd experience it with.

Marceline was getting carried away, forgetting who she held against her lips and started to prod Finns lips with her forked tongue in an attempt to gain access. However Finn pulled away, weirded out by the whole situation, now having plenty of feelings of his own arise, feelings he used to feel when in the presence of Bubblegum, and other feelings that were new and felt alien to him. He needed time to process these thoughts and emotions; something he couldn't do while Marceline's tongue attacked him.

Marceline snapped out of it after Finn dodge his head back from her tongue. She let go, pushing herself away from him, as if he pounced on her, returning back his personal space. He was about to speak, but noticed Marceline's face flood red with anger, she gave a sloppy punch to the side of his jaw and screamed shaking unstably, morphing back and forth between her reptilian and bat forms.

Finn had no clue what she was doing, first she hugs and kisses him and now she seems mad his here.

"Ow!" yelled Finn. "What the fu-fudge was that for!" Finn felt like swearing, yet he refrained from doing so, it would just make things more tense and it wasn't part of his natural dialect.

"Grrrrah." Marceline growled, looking over her shoulder; intimidating him with her contracted, green slitted irises. "Get out of my HEAD!" Screaming at Finn she hovered up the ladder to her room, closing the hatch behind her.

'What was that all about?' Finn asked himself, 'Should I just leave, let her cool down.' Sighing with slight depression, not knowing what he did wrong, he didn't know anything at this point, he was still left in the dark. He exited through the front door, slamming it shut behind him.

He walked off the porch, hands in his pockets, towards the cave exit. Immediately he stalled in his steps to Marceline crying out at him.

"Wait!" She shouted down the cave in a forgiving tone. Hovering around, intercepting between him and the entrance. " Sigh, I'm sorry for the way I acted in there, I'm sure you've got a million questions, huh."

Finn looked at her, the area underneath her eyes looked chafed from drying her tears. They both innocently smiled.

"C'mon lets head back in and try again, I'll try and explain everything." She rested her arm around Finns shoulders guiding him back inside.

Yay, no cliffhanger.