Chapter 6: Beginning of the Second Nightmare
Finn was relaxing around the Candy Kingdom, just dreading the night for what might happen to him and his friend in their nightmares next time. He had no real remorse over what he told Jake or what he did, more glad about it if anything. He stared blankly into the gold key that had a #1 print on it. The teeth of the key were odd. It was like the tip of a dagger more than an actual key. He had his mind just set on it, remembering how Astaroth claimed it would summon someone to help him, one thing after another he just kept feeling more like he was the cause of this.
Finn couldn't look away until he heard someone call for him. "Hello, Finn!" a person said from behind him, startling the boy as he quickly pocketed the key before turning around, seeing another boy with pink skin and pink hair somewhat done up in a quaff fashion, also adorning a small crown and wearing a hot pink colored shirt, with light pink puffed sleeves, magenta slits and a large matching collar with a small blue jewel inside a gold crest on it. Finn got up, standing in front of him and chuckling. "Hey, Gumball, you scared me," he claimed as he shook his hand.
The person was Prince Gumball, the friendly prince of the candy kingdom. "Sorry, I was just doing the usual rounds around town. Can't trust some of these guards to do their job right, and I saw you and couldn't resist," Gumball responded. Finn just sighed while calming down. "It's alright, man. I just left my home is all," he responded as he sat down.
"Hm? And why is that?" Prince Gumball asked while sitting beside him. Finn was not sure if he should bother to tell him. "Jake was always paranoid, so I told him off and left," he explained what had mainly happened. "Ah, I know what you mean. Ever since I arrived, Bubblegum's been doing more science stuff then ever," Gumball exclaimed in reassurance before they both went silent for a while. "So… where are you going to stay now?" he asked. Finn just scratched his chin unsure. "I dunno, but don't tell anyone. That's all I want you to do," he responded, but realized it was starting to get dark outside.
"I'll keep it a secret. Goodbye, Finn," Gumball told him before getting up and walking away back to the castle. Finn sighed in relief as he walked off to a nearby inn, seeing a few candy people sitting and chatting in the lobby like normal. He went up to the worker behind the counter. "Yo, dude, I need a room for a night," Finn told the cookie working behind the counter, giving him some gold pieces before heading upstairs to the room.
Finn got to the room and closed the door behind him, seeing barely any furniture in there except for just one bed and a fire place. It seemed very old, but he didn't want to complain, so he just sat down on the bed. "Alright… find the rings and survive. Simple," he told himself what he expected to do in the next nightmare. He lay back on the bed, gulping while trying to get some rest. He sighed as he was still annoyed about the fight he had with Jake today, but he hoped that Fionna had better luck with Cake.
Finn groaned and woke back up, looking around and finding himself in a strange hallway that was poorly lit by nothing more than a flickering light. He just ignored it and began to walk on with his sword in hand. He was relieved to find that the blood filled halls were empty, with no monsters in them whatsoever, although he was worried about Fionna. He groaned in deep worry before he exited the building, finding himself outside. Multiple buildings were damaged and burnt down, and each one was stained with blood, with corpses lying on the streets and road.
Suddenly, Finn heard a hissing noise. He turned around and saw a women walking towards him in the streets. She had long grey hair covering her face and was in a white dress. Finn didn't know how to react, considering it was another human, but so far the humans he had met were monsters as he just heard a faint cry continuing to echo through the dark streets. "Um, excuse me, ma'am? You okay?" he asked while approaching her, but he went in front of her, getting no real response. He just rubbed the back of his head from the silence. "Listen, can you tell me if you've seen any odd rings?" Finn asked her as well, but didn't get a response as she continued crying.
Finn sighed, unable to see her face as he shook his head. "I know it's bad in this town… but I can help you. What's wrong?" he asked. Her cries seemed to stop just after he said it. "M-my… family wedding… ruined…" her voice sounded weak, like she couldn't do a full sentence properly.
Finn sheathed his sword before seeing her lift her head, revealing herself as monster with her face, looking mostly burnt off. Finn let out a shriek of terror before getting grabbed by her. He tried to break free, feeling the maggots on her arms on his skin. Her flesh was rotting like a zombie, and before long they had attracted more monsters, and they were coming to the area from the noise. Finn looked at the monstrous girl while she had her unbreakable grip on him. "Come on, honey… we can finish the wedding... then we'll be happy together… forever… and ever… and ever…" she repeated with a maniacal laugh seeming to be mistaking him for someone else. Before Finn could even react, he suddenly got knocked out.
End of Chapter 6