Chapter 7: The man in the red hood

3 months later...

There was a chill in the air, Finn could feel it brushing over his skin as he stared at the moon. It had been 3 whole months since him and marceline had come up here to the mountain, he had seen this moon almost every night since they arrived and yet he was still amazed by its beauty. Marceline had already gone to bed, but Finn couldn't sleep. The thought of seeing everyone again and coming back home had been all he was thinking about all day. He was excited, but also a little afraid. What would people think of him? The hero of Ooo leaving them to fend for themselves while he ran off to train. What kind of hero was he now? Not much of one, all he had been concerned about these past 3 months was getting stronger so he could defeat the lich at some point. Finn sighed "What am I going to do?" He couldn't think of a way to justify his actions, for all he knew the lich hadn't even broken free and he might not. He had to think of some way to let everyone know that he had only their safety in mind, but he couldn't think of a way to do it. "What's keeping you up hero?" Marceline asked. Finn almost fell off the rock he was sitting on. "Marceline! I thought you went to bed." Finn said. "Yeah I did, but I couldn't sleep so I figured I'd come find you and hang out for a little bit." she said. Finn moved over so she could sit on the rock next to him. She sat down and they looked at each other. Marceline was wearing some grey short shorts with a black tank that she cut above her belly with her hair let down, it was her usual bedtime outfit, but Finn was finding it very hard to look away nonetheless. Marceline had noticed a few changes Finn had gone through over the course of this little time. He had stopped wearing shirts completely, but you wouldn't catch her complaining. His hair was longer and he had stopped wearing shoes, preferring to be barefoot most of the time. When they had come to the mountain at first Finn was muscular and defined, but he was still chubby in some places and he could only match marceline in her human form. After these three months his muscles had grown significantly, he had big biceps and his chest was defined very well. He had a six pack and his thighs and calves seemed small, but they could handle over three times what he weighed. Maybe that was why he didn't wear shirts, because they either didn't fit or they were uncomfortable. Altogether you could say marceline was very... happy, with they way the boy had developed. Regardless, Finn was now so strong he could even wrestle marceline to the ground and win while she was in her monster bat form, he tossed her around like she was nothing. He had come such a long way in such a short time and she couldn't be more proud of him. "You know Finn, you've come a long way since we started this journey." marceline said. "Yeah, but I couldn't have done It without you." Finn said. Marceline blushed and looked away. "I'm sure you could've done it without me too dummy." she said, laughing nervously. "I'm serious marceline." he said. She looked back at him and they stared into each others eyes. Finn grabbed her hand. "I'm so glad that you came here with me marceline. It seems like you're always there, cheering me on and believing in me when I don't even believe in myself. So thank you Marcy, for everything you've done and everything you will do in the future." Finn said, smiling. Marceline's blush deepened as he spoke, each word was genuine and she could tell he was reaching into his soul to find the words because he was so grateful. All she had done was be there for him in his hour of need, and she always would be. Finn looked at the ground, but he held onto her hand. "For a long time I felt like there was no one who could understand me, being human is such a strange thing in Ooo because I was supposed to be the last one. That was, until I met you, of course." Finn said. Marceline frowned and looked at the moon. "I'm not human Finn, I'm half demon and half vampire." she said. Finn frowned for a second, but his smile soon returned "Even if you're a vampire you're still human." he said. Marceline's eyes opened wide. Had he really just said that? She looked at him. He was holding her hand and staring at her with that dumb smile on his face like he didn't have a care in the world. "Finn..." marceline said. "Hm?" he said. He waited for her to say something, but she didn't. He started to feel her hand shake and he looked over at her, surprised at what he saw. Tears were streaming down her face, she was crying. Finn was on high alert "OH oh oh my glob what did I say I'm sorry!" he said. Marceline shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes with her free hand. "No, it's ok." she said. He noticed she was smiling. She hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear. "Thank you for that, you big idiot." she said, and she kissed him on the cheek. Finn could swear he almost passed out from joy overload and his blush was intense, but he couldn't show how happy he was or marceline would be onto him for sure. They sat there for a few minutes, smiling like idiots and not saying anything. Marceline thought it was funny, she had been around for more than a thousand years and yet this boy made her feel like she was a teenager again. All this flirting and insecurity of whether or not to pursue a relationship with someone you like, it was pretty fun and it kept you on your toes. "Finn..." "Marceline..." They said each others names at the same time. They stopped and laughed, each of them turning a darker shade of red. They looked into each others eyes again, they saw the trust and affection they had for one another inside their gazes and scooted closer to each other. Finn had made up his mind, this is what he wanted. He finally understood what these feelings were, he loved marceline, and not just in a friendly way. Over these three months she had pushed him, encouraged him, and believed in him. The whole time Finn had felt something pulling on him, he didn't want to believe it at first because he was scared. He was scared he would be rejected or that he would be wrong about his feelings, but here, in this moment, he knew everything that he felt up to this moment was undeniable. She wouldn't reject him, these feelings were real, and they'd last forever, he knew it. Finn was the only person to make marceline cry happy tears, and he was also the only person to come away unscathed after seeing her cry. Finn made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time, not just alive, but something more. As far as she could tell, she was in love with the hero, and her intuition told her that he felt the same. She had never let her emotions out around anyone, but for all her rage and impatience, her sadness and her bitterness, the boy had stayed and weathered through it all with her. She knew he would always be there for better or worse, to save her from herself, if no one else. Finn intertwined their hands. Marceline was going in to seal the kiss, but then they both felt it, the presence of someone nearby.

They jumped off the rock and took their fighting stances back to back. "who's out there? Show yourself!" Finn shouted. A figure with a gold trimmed red cloak stepped out of the shadows. "I am not your enemy, Finn the hero." the figure said. "Who are you? How do you know me?" Finn asked. "I am known as Jun." he said. Finn froze completely. "Finn whats wrong?" marceline asked. "So you know of me boy? Surprising." Jun said. "I still don't get it, who are you?" marceline asked. "He's the king of the dragons, also known as dragon fist Jun." Finn said nervously. Jun sighed "I'm surprised anyone still knows who I am, I disappeared over hundreds of years ago." he said. "You're one of the greatest warriors in Ooo, you even fought alongside billy" Finn said "Why did you leave? Ooo needs heroes like you." Jun sat down on a rock, he seemed to be thinking. "The greatest threat to the land in our time, as in this one, was the lich. Billy managed to seal him away within that solid piece of amber, but we knew that one day he would escape. After he was sealed away I went all across the world trying to find a way to kill him once and for all, but by the time I found it and mastered it my life had all but whithered away. Billy was a giant, so he could live for hundreds of years, but I was human-" "You're human!" Finn interrupted. "Yes, none of my legends mention that?" Jun asked. "No, they don't." Finn said. "Well that's unusual" Jun said "But back to my tale. I was at the end of my human lifespan, but the lich needed to be taken down and I couldn't wait for another hero to come along with our kind of drive to finish him. I had learned of a way to kill him once and for all, but in the condition I was in I couldn't fight him, so I took part in a magical ritual to give me eternal life." Jun pulled his hood back to reveal the skeleton underneath. "I am but a shadow of my former self." Jun said. "So what happened? Why didn't you finish the lich off?" Finn asked. "After I gained immortality, I found that the exorcism spells didn't work for me anymore, I learned that only someone living can use them." Jun said. Finn balled up his fist and punched Jun right in his skull. "So why didn't you teach it to someone else! You could've saved countless lives by teaching it to someone else forever ago, but you chose not to! You're no hero, you're a fraud." Finn shouted coldly. Marceline sighed, she knew that Finn acted almost completely on impulse. She had never seen him get this angry before, but she agreed that it was a pretty crappy thing to do. Jun picked himself up off the ground. "I couldn't teach it to anyone else, only humans can use the spells, and they have to have an immense pool of magic power." Jun said. "You could've taught it to Marcy, she's been around for a thousand years." Finn said. "She is a half demon, she would only hurt herself." Jun stated. "What about the ice king?" Finn asked. "His magic power comes from the crown he wears, he has no innate magical skill, nor does he have a big enough supply of magic power." Jun said. "What about my dad then?" Finn asked, disgusted. "Your father didn't have a big enough pool of magic power either, your mother did, but she was gone before I ever learned of her." Jun said. Finn kept trying to find a way to blame him for this, for all the lives that had been lost, but in the end he knew that he had no right to blame Jun for any of this, it wasn't anyones fault but the lich's. "I'm sorry for hitting you Jun, my anger got the better of me." Finn said. "It's fine boy, it just shows me you have the heart of a true hero, to be so upset over any cost of life." Jun said. "So wait, does this mean I have the potential to send him away forever?" Finn asked. "Yes, it does" Jun said "I have been watching you these past three months and since the beginning you've made immense progress in your physical abilities, but I'm sure that by now you've realized you're going to need a lot more than brute strength to bring him down." It was true, Finn had known from the very beginning that he would need more than just muscle to bring the lich down, but before Jun had come along he hadn't known what to do to get around it, he was just going hope for the best. "Yeah, I know, but until now I didn't know what to do about it." Finn admitted. "Well now you do, I'm going to teach you fire magic and master level exorcism spells." Jun stated. "You're going to teach me the way of the fire fist?!" Finn asked excitedly. "No" Jun said "My magic is a kind so rare it can only be taught by dragons, instead, I'm going to teach you demon slaying magic, but it will take a whole year to completely master." Finn was still upset he couldn't learn the fire fist magic Jun had used, but he was happy that he was going to be learning magic at all. "First things first though, your name is marceline is it not?" Jun asked. "Yes it is, why?" marceline asked. "The lich, while we were speaking, has broken free of the baby's hold on him." Jun said. Jun pulled back his cloak some more to reveal a glowing pentagram on the side of his skull that started to flicker and finally faded. Finn and marceline were on high alert. "Holy shit we have to go, NOW!" Finn yelled. Marceline was ready to pick him up and go, but Jun stepped in their path. "No boy, your time to fight him has not come yet. He will be releasing his armies in two weeks, right before he leaves to the underworld to regain strength." Jun said. "Then we should attack him now while he's weak!" Finn argued. "We need him at full power in order to destroy him completely, otherwise the cycle will just continue." Jun stated. Finn didn't know what to do, he wanted to go and save everyone, but he knew Jun knew a lot more about the lich than he did, so he wanted to trust him and his judgment. "I don't know what to do..." Finn said. He put his head in his hands. What am I supposed to do? Why am I so damn useless, I cant even make a decision and if I don't people are gonna die he thought. Marceline put her hand on his shoulder. "Do what you feel Finn." she said. Finn pulled his head out of his hands and looked into her eyes with tears in his. "Right." Finn said. He wiped his tears away and picked himself up off the ground. "I'm going to go save them, training can wait until later." Finn said. "If you're going to save anyone, you're going to have to get past me first boy." Jun said. Finn was caught off guard. "Why are you doing this? Aren't you a hero? Don't you want me to help those people?!" Finn asked. "I do, but you aren't going to help anyone by fighting every single battle for them, nor are you going to help them by letting the lich's cycle of rebirth continue. You need to stay here and train to take him at his full power when the time comes." Jun said. Finn clenched his teeth and drew his sword. He was scared, he knew jun was stronger than him, and he knew he would probably lose, but he had to try. Jun stood opposite him, waiting for the boy to make a move.

Finn charged Jun head on, he didn't know what else to try so he chose the most straightforward option, but as expected, Jun stepped out of the way of Finn's thrust. Finn swung his sword to the left to catch him, but Jun caught the sword with his skeletal hand. Finn tried his hardest to wrestle the blade from him, but Jun held onto it with little effort. "Pretty damn strong for a dead man aren't ya?" Finn asked. "I suppose so, though, while I was alive I was easily three times stronger than this." Jun said. Jun set his right hand on fire and chopped at the sword, breaking it in two. Finn stumbled back and landed on his butt on the ground. He stared at the broken blade he held in his hands. Shit, how am I going to win now? Finn thought. Finn picked himself up and threw the broken sword to the ground. "Get out of my way, I have to save those innocent people!" Finn yelled. "If your will is enough to save them from the lich then it should be enough to move me out of your way, don't you think?" Jun asked, cocky. Finn started grinding his teeth, he had no idea what to do against Jun's overwhelming power. Finn disappeared and reappeared in front of Jun, throwing a punch with all his strength. Jun caught the blow like it was nothing and tossed Finn into a tree. Finn was starting to get irritated, he got up and rushed him again at the same speed. Marceline was watching them go at it and even her eyes couldn't see Finn moving around at such high speed, all she could see was Jun throwing his hands up to deflect the blows and feel the resounding shock waves after each one was deflected. She knew that Finn had gotten stronger, but she could never have imagined the kind of power that could result from him using his full speed and full strength all at once. She was impressed with Finn, but she was also impressed with Jun. He had to be one of the most powerful heroes in the world to have been three times stronger than what she was seeing when he was alive. The fact that he could hold back Finn at this level both impressed and struck fear in her. If he was so much more powerful in life, how powerful was the lich when he was at full power? If even Jun and billy together couldn't beat him, how strong was he really? Marceline was finally starting to grasp the scale of the situation. Finn landed one last hit and Jun sent him flying into another tree. Finn got up again "I admire your tenacity boy, but will alone doesn't win a fight." Jun said. Finn fell to his hands and knees in sadness and anger, realizing there was nothing he could do "I accept defeat." he said. Marceline was shocked, Finn would rather die than giving up on saving people, what had happened? "Long ago one of our kind said something that I find so true, even to this day." Jun started "It is at our lowest point that we become susceptible to change." he looked toward Finn and Finn stared at him. Finn hadn't felt this weak in a long time, perhaps there was some truth to what jun was saying after all. "Teach me all you know." Finn said with a cold glare in his eyes. "I'm glad you finally see it from a rational perspective boy, we'll get started tomorrow." Jun said. Marceline flew over to Finn and he looked up at her "Finn why're you giving up?!" she yelled. "Because marceline, he's too powerful for me to beat." Finn said, smiling. Marceline couldn't figure out why he was smiling, it was pissing her off. "Do you think this is funny? Innocent people are going to die if you don't go right now!" marceline yelled. Finn laughed "I thought you didn't care what happened to others." Finn said. Marceline blushed "I don't! But you do, thats why I don't understand why you're smiling when you just quit!" she yelled. "I'm smiling because I finally realized he's right Marcy, I need to keep training if I'm going to beat the lich once and for all." Finn said. "So you're going to stay here for a year and learn from Jun?" marceline asked. "Yeah, it's the only way I'm going to be able to fully destroy the lich, and Ooo deserves to finally be free of him once and for all." Finn said. She could see the resolve in his eyes, this was the path he had chosen and there was no taking him off of it. "Even you had to notice from watching me attack him, Jun is way faster and way stronger than me. I need that kind of strength and speed and more if I'm going to pull off something even him and billy couldn't do together." Finn said "I've thought this through Marcy, I'm not an idiot and I know what I'm doing." Marceline smiled and smacked him upside the head "No one said you didn't, but I'm going to be here every step of the way to make sure you remember what you're fighting for." she said. Finn was rubbing his head and his face went dark "Actually Marcy, I think it's better that you go home. They're going to need someone to warn them and coordinate them on the battlefield against the lich's armies." he said sadly. The whole mountain seemed to go quiet. Marceline's heart sunk, she wanted to be here with Finn. If she left she wasn't going to see him for a whole year and even though she never could've imagined admitting it, she couldn't bear to be away from him for that long. These new feelings she felt were so amazing, every day with him was an adventure. Even something simple like sitting on the couch and watching movies with him or jamming with him was awesome because they were together, but if she left she had no idea what she would feel. However it felt she feared it because it wasn't going to be the same without him. "Finn I don't want to go back, I want to be here with you." marceline said, giving him a pleading look. Finn took her hand "I know how you feel marceline, but someone needs to be there to help them in their time of need." Finn said. She just stared into his eyes, he had to know this was tearing her apart from the inside. "Spending time with you is... I dunno how to describe it. Its like the most awesomest thing ever! It sets my soul on fire and makes me smile and feel all sorts of junk I don't fully understand, but it feels right you know?" Finn asked. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean..." marceline said. Finn looked deep into her eyes "As much as its gonna kill me to put that feeling off, we have to in order to keep Ooo safe. Marcy, will you help me protect everyone?" he asked. She felt herself getting ready to cry, she didn't care about anyone but Finn, but she knew that his heroes heart couldn't rest unless she did this for him. "Yeah Finn, I will." she said. They hugged and she felt the pain tugging on her even more. Marceline pulled away and flew over to the camp they had made three months ago, it was funny how fast time flew by, one minute she was coming up the mountain with him, he was so excited about getting stronger, and her feelings were still undecided. Now he was a well built man, stronger and faster than almost anyone and spending all this time with him had made her fall in love. After she packed everything up she started to float down the mountain and Finn met her halfway down. It was the same scenario he had with Jake before he left, he didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say to make this goodbye less painful than it already was. "I guess we wont see each other for awhile huh?" Finn asked nervously. "Yeah, I guess not." marceline said sadly. Finn walked over to her and hugged her. She wanted to push him and fly away, to leave without saying anything and cry her eyes out the whole way back, but she wanted to be close to him more, even if it was just one last time before they parted. She clutched his shirt hard in her hands "I cant believe I'm saying this, but I'm really going to miss you finny." she said. "I'm gonna miss you too Marcy, more than you can imagine." Finn said. They stood there for only minutes, but it seemed like hours. Neither of them wanted to let the other go, but finally marceline pulled away. Marceline smiled "Get even stronger and come kick the lich's ass hero." she said. Finn smiled too "I promise I will." he said. "Finn about what happened on the rock..." marceline started. "We'll talk about it when I come back Marcy." Finn interrupted. She smiled, he knew if they started having this conversation it was only going to make this harder than it already was. "See you in a year hero." marceline said. They looked into each others eyes one last time before she flew away, he could see it before she started flying, she was crying. Finn sighed, walking back up to camp to see Jun sitting on marceline's log. "You really care about that girl, don't you boy?" Jun asked. "Yeah, you could say that." Finn said. Finn sat down on his log and stared at the fire. Jun inhaled some of the flame "Whoa! How did you do that?" Finn asked. "It's part of my magic, I can consume external sources of fire to nourish myself and replenish my magic power." Jun explained. "Will I be able to do that?" Finn asked. "Yes, but probably not for awhile. We need to get you used to basic fire magic first before you can be resistant to it, let alone eating it." Jun said "You should get some rest, I'm sure you're emotionally exhausted and you're going to need your sleep. We get started on your training tomorrow." Finn left Jun to the fire and headed to his tent, he just wanted to go to sleep and forget about all that had happened today. Finn zipped up his tent and laid down "I'm so sorry Marcy, I cant imagine how this must make you feel..." Finn turned over, the regret of sending the vampire away fresh in his mind as he fell asleep.