Finn instantly sprang up, panting and sweating while his blue eyes stared straight ahead. His heart beat was erratic, as was his thinking. He darted his vision around, trying to figure out where he was. It was morning, made obvious by the sunrise, but, it wasn't any place the human knew of.
Suddenly, footsteps approached. Looking over, Finn saw a figure walking along the ground, holding what appeared to be a...coconut? As he shook his head, the hero felt his body swing. It was then that he noticed he was currently lying in a hammock, tied to a pair of magnificent palm trees.
"What the-"
"Finn!"
The figure ran over to the still dazed young man, revealed to be Aqua Prince.
"Finn, are you alright?"
The human held a hand to his head as the prince helped him out of the suspended bed.
"Yeah. I think so. Where are we?"
AP smiled and gestured to the area.
"Welcome to my crib."
Finn readjusted his eyes, only to have them widen as he gazed in awe at the surroundings. There was a dense ring or tropical flora encasing the space, along with a thin perimeter of palm trees, which stood tall and proud among the vegetation. In the center of the oasis sat a small pond, no more than a foot or so deep.
"This is your...home?"
Aqua Prince nodded.
"Totally. Pretty sweet, right?"
The human nodded back.
"Yeah..."
He took a few more moments to examine the richness of the beautiful paradise before recalling previous events.
"What happened to me?"
AP frowned.
"You had a panic attack."
Finn nearly jumped.
"What? That's stupid! I'm a hero, I can't just freak out at any given moment."
The prince shrugged.
"I'm sorry, but it is what it is."
Finn sighed, holding his head up with his hand.
"So, now what?"
Aqua Prince grinned once more and held up one half of a coconut.
"Water?" he offered.
The human accepted the drink and chugged it down, instantly feeling much better.
"Wow, that's good stuff."
The hero's companion smiled proudly.
"You bet. These trees give some great fruit, and hydration."
Finn tossed the empty coconut into a pile nearby, which AP had designated.
"Already morning, huh?
The water elemental nodded.
"Yeah. Hey, want to see the pit?"
Finn raised an eyebrow.
"The pit?"
Aqua Prince gestured for the human to follow as he grabbed his cloak and pulled it on. In addition, he gave a spare to Finn. The two walked out of the oasis, heading down a rather steep dune until the prince halted himself and his companion at the edge of a small cliff. He pointed down into the hole.
Finn's eyes widened once again, seeing a multitude of fire attributed creatures running amok in the deep pit.
"Whoa, are they all..."
AP nodded.
"Yep. Ascensions."
An agitated looking magma crab suddenly crawled over and pinched down hard on a large fire wolf. The two instantly began fighting, trying to tear the other to pieces. Aqua Prince rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's a little crude, but I don't have any other way of keeping them contained. The hole is mostly solid rock, so these guys can't dig their way out. I can't do anything about those that can fly. I just hope they don't dive-bomb me on occasion."
Finn looked over to his friend.
"Hey, I have an idea, let's you and me go hunting!"
AP stared at his friend in bewilderment.
"But, Finn, you don't have any fire protection. You'll get burned in a hurry."
The human brushed it off.
"It's cool, dude. I'm crazy tough. I've handled plenty of fire before."
Aqua Prince thought it over for a moment, then shrugged and smiled.
"Ok. Let's do it."
The two fist-bumped and turned away from the pit, heading for a nearby dune that would give them a bird's eye view. The trip up the slope was difficult, but the guys eventually stepped onto the ridge and gazed out into the distance, trying to spot any quarry they could track down.
Sadly, they looked for nearly half an hour with no results. Finn's cloak was preventing sunburn, for which he was thankful for. Soon enough, Aqua Prince sighed.
"I guess today's a quiet day. Figures."
Just as the elemental was about to head back down the slope, Finn grabbed his shoulder.
"Dude, wait, look!"
He pointed out into the distance, where a small cloud of dust had emerged. AP squinted, using his desert adapted vision to get a closer look.
"Hm. I think I see flames. It might just be-"
"Let's go!" Finn shouted, jumping down the dune.
Aqua Prince tried to ask the hero to wait, but found it pointless and shrugged, jumping down as well. The two had another surfing contest on the way; this time, Finn won, although AP was insistent that he took a head start, meaning it didn't count. The two argued good-naturedly about it until they were within range of the dust cloud, which had grown since their last observation.
Cautiously, they both brought out a weapon and took slow, careful steps towards the tan colored fog. There was noticeable thrashing going on inside, hinting that there was more than one entity within. This was proven a moment later, when the dust suddenly blew away in a gust of desert wind.
"Hey! It's that jerk who smacked us yesterday!"
Sure enough, the flame cobra finished swallowing its lunch whole, letting a lump slide down its throat and settle somewhere in its fiery stomach. The combustive viper suddenly noticed the two young men nearby, sending them a glare with its slitted eyes. Finn raised his sword.
"Round two, fangs."
The snake sent a hiss, revealing its twin saber-like teeth.
Next, the behemoth swung back its tail, preparing to give the two another wuppin'. However, this time, they were ready. Both guys jump-roped over the beast's strike. Aqua Prince quickly formed a giant hammer out of one arm and slammed it home on the snake's head. It hissed in pain, momentarily collapsing to the ground.
Finn charged, aiming to slice the creature's head off while it was dazed. However, he was stopped when an aqueous hand grabbed him.
"No, we can't kill it!"
The human turned to AP.
"What? Why not?"
The water elemental gave him a serious yet sorrowful gaze.
"It's not their fault that they're like this. It's mine."
Finn dropped his aggressive expression, changing it to one of sudden understanding.
"I…I understand."
He lowered his blade. The prince smiled.
"Thank you."
A second later, both guys were smacked a good distance away, landing bluntly in the sand.
"Ouch! Jeez. So how do we deal with this thing?"
AP got up along with his companion and eyed the ascension slithering towards them.
"We have to beat it up until it's knocked out."
Finn acknowledged the instructions, although not knowing how he could contribute to the fighting without the primary use of his sword. He didn't exactly have time to collaborate though, since the cobra suddenly sprang up and shot its gaping mouth at the human.
He blocked the bite with his weapon, albeit forced into the ground by the force of the reptile's strength.
"Finn!"
Aqua Prince tried to charge the snake and clobber it once more on the head, but was swiftly flicked aside by the beast's tail, which he had failed to account for. The human wanted to shout out and ask if his friend was ok, but was currently having to use all of his energy to hold back the vicious fangs of his adversary.
"Come on! You're nothing! I can take you on!"
Finn didn't know why he was taunting the creature; perhaps he was simply doing what he always did when something threatened him. Remain the tough guy. Sadly, all it was doing was agitating the ascension further. It clearly had a temper.
The snake put more force into the young man's sword, bringing his head to the sandy ground and the blade nearly to his throat. What a shameful end that would be; vanquished by one's own weapon. Finn wouldn't give up, not breaking eye contact with the monster attempting to consume him.
Suddenly, one of the fangs slipped off the blade edge, instantly sinking into the hero's shoulder and causing him to scream in pain. The hard marrow pierced effortlessly through his flesh, ruining everything underneath in the process. In a matter of seconds, Finn felt the cobra's venom washing over him.
Being a fire elemental creature, the fiery reptile's chemical was different from other poisonous snakes. Instead of rapidly destroying vital tissues and organ systems, the toxin began seeking out and vaporizing all the moisture in the human's body. Finn thought he was being drained, reduced to a dry husk. The experience was terrifying.
Under such circumstances, one's life usually flashed before their eyes, but for the hero, all that flashed was a single memory…
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Finn continued to shudder heavily as he trudged through the deep snow, his nerves begging him to lie down and give up. But he refused. It wasn't just his life he was trying to protect, but that of the fire elemental struggling to remain conscious in his arms. FP's flames were nearly out; she was a deep shade of maroon, too cold to even warm the human's hands.
The two had decided on a different activity for the day: pranking Ice King. It had all gone so well at first. They'd set up a line of grease in the corridor leading to his living room, waiting for him to come back from writing more of his crazy fan fiction stories. The end result had been worth it, as the icy wizard slipped instantly upon stepping onto the lain trap and shouted in fright while ping-ponging around the room against multiple icicles.
Unfortunately, he heard the two teens giggling from just outside the window, forcing them to fly off as he angrily shot ice lightning at them. He had missed every shot. Well, for the most part. One of the stray bolts hit a mountain near where the pair was passing, causing it to shake and start a massive avalanche.
Flame Princess was unable to avoid the tumbling snow, making it so that both she and Finn were swallowed in the storming icy wave. The human barely had the strength to pull them out of the resulting mount of slush and ice. Obviously, the princess was in worse condition that he was.
The determined hero had carried her for what seemed like miles in the now blizzard-infested lands of the Ice Kingdom. At last however, he found salvation, in the form of a cave unfettered with the hazardous element. Darting inside, Finn immediately set FP down and began examining her condition.
He gave her a shake.
"FP, you awake?"
The fiery girl weakly opened her eyes and locked them onto the young man's.
"Ye-yeah. Well…sort of."
Her voice was also diminished, worrying the human more. He retook the princess in his arms and put an ear to her chest. Her heart beat was slow, and the lungs weren't doing that much better. Finn looked with heavy concern at the fire elemental's face, which was set in a frown.
"Am I…going to die?"
Finn rapidly shook his head, refusing to even allow such a thought.
"No way, FP! I won't let that happen!"
She actually grinned.
"But…what can you do, Finn?"
Her smile gave the hero one last idea. He briefly closed his eyes, reiterating to himself the importance of saving this girl.
"Flame Princess, try to stay calm."
Before the young ruler could question what he meant, the hero covered her mouth with his, pushing in a blast of air that quickly entered the elemental's body. Her flames reignited, not fully, but enough to grant her an acceptable level of consciousness. Using that alertness, she shot open her eyes, stunned by the human's action.
Finn quickly pulled away, immediately gazed hopefully at the girl.
"Are you feeling better?"
FP didn't really have to say anything to respond to that, her reddened face clearly stated that she'd regained enough bodily activity to blush.
"Uh…yeah."
Finn smiled, happy to see her glowing faintly. However, her flames were quickly dying down again. He grew worried again, leaning in once more. Another breath of air was sent her way, powering up her combustion. And again, her face was set in shock. After the human pulled back, he was basically panting. Flame Princess shook off her trance and looked worriedly at her companion.
"Finn, you're just using up your own energy. You have to stop."
The human frowned, then hit upon an idea. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out one of the many do-dads he kept inside: Princess Bubblegum's old spicy potion.
"Na, I'll be fine, as soon as I take a shot of this stuff."
FP watched with curiosity as the human uncorked the tiny tube and let a single drop fall on his tongue. Immediately, his face turned bright red and his expression scrunched up.
"Ohhh! So spicy! Hot!"
He freaked out for a few moments, actually managing to make FP giggle. Pleasantly enough, the super-powered spice warmed up the young man's body in seconds.
"Whew, man that stuff packs a punch."
Suddenly, he got an idea.
"Here, FP. Maybe it'll help you too."
The human handed the tube to Flame Princess, who studied it carefully before allowing a drop to fall into her own mouth. Predictably, she didn't freak out, but the elemental's flames spiked a fair amount, filling Finn with relief.
"Awesome, it helps!"
Flame Princess remained in her blank expression, looking at the potion again before glugging the whole thing down. Her flames shot up, hitting the roof of the cave and instantly melting the ice encasing it. Regrettably, it came down right on the two teens, drenching them.
Finn panicked as FP's fire was once again weakened. He ignored the freezing hold clothes he was now soaking it.
"Oh no! Flame Princess, please say something!"
The fiery girl groaned for a moment, before shaking her head and looking up at Finn.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so impulsive."
The hero just smiled as he held her tighter.
"It's fine, FP. We'll make it."
The princess awkwardly darted her eyes around the cave, apparently trying to string up the guts to ask the young man something.
"Um, Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"My…my flames, they're…"
The hero studied her condition again. She was maroon once more.
"Aw darn."
He hesitated, catching the girl's eyes in his momentarily. They both turned away. Finn had gotten enough heat from the spice to regain his ability to rush blood to his cheeks. Clearing his head, he nodded to himself and took in a deep breath. Flame Princess didn't seem prepared when the hero placed his open mouth to hers a third time. Finn pushed in all the air he could, hoping to keep the elemental strong until they waited out the blizzard.
Cracking open one lid to peek at the girl's face, he was surprised to see how relaxed her facial expression was. Her eyes were closed too, but softly. In the meantime, her flames shot out again, beginning to actually burn the human's lips. His flame shield had long since dissipated.
Pulling out, the hero licked his singed mouth skin, hoping it wasn't too bad. While doing this, he felt FP place her head against the crook of his neck. Peering down at the young ruler, Finn saw that she had begun falling asleep. He smiled, now hearing her soft breathing.
The human gently placed his cheek against the top of her head, also about to snooze off. Her flames were calm enough that the worst he would receive was a few first-degree burns. Nothing he couldn't handle.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Finn's clouded vision picked up on a massive shape smashing right into the side of the cobra's face, throwing it off of him. The draining feeling had stopped, but he was still sure he was going to fade away right there in the sand. He could barely hear the sounds of more bashing in the background. Eventually, this ended in a heavy thud, shaking the loose material around him.
The blurred figure of Aqua Prince appeared before him, desperately trying to shake the human back to his senses. Thinking it was truly the end, the hero gave his last request.
"AP…the…ruler of the Fire Kingdom…tell her…I…love her…"
Aqua Prince's eyes went wide as he shook his head.
"Don't you give up on me, Finn!"
He quickly snatched off the young man's backpack, hoping to find some sort of method for curing the sizzling venom inside him. The water elemental pulled out a fat bottle, marked 'cyclops tears: emergencies only'. Heck yes this was an emergency. He tore off the cork and splashed the liquid onto the shoulder wound.
Instantly, the mangled flesh began to rejuvenate, growing back the ruined tendons, nerves, and skin until nothing remained but a tiny scar. However, Finn's body was still drained of its fluids, and the desert wasn't going to offer anything to remedy the situation. At least, nothing close enough.
"Dang, if only I could get you back to the oasis, but, there's no time."
AP frustratingly looked down at his hands, seeing their fluid material cycling through his elemental body. He stared at the water for a minute, before finally realizing what he had to do. The prince helped Finn sit up, since he was too weak to do so himself. The royal teen then held his arm up in front of the young man's face.
"Finn, I need you to bite off a piece of my arm."
The human was still able to express disbelief, apparently.
"Wh-what!...you can't be serious!"
AP narrowed his eyes.
"It's fine, Finn. I can lose some of my mass, just take it, otherwise you're finished."
The hero was hesitant.
"But-"
"Grod damn it, Finn, just do it! If you don't, I swear, I won't be telling the fire ruler anything!"
Giving in, the human opened his mouth with his last remaining energy and sunk his teeth as hard as possible into the aqueous flesh. The prince screeched in agony for a moment, quickly falling to both knees and holding his now injured limb. Meanwhile, the disconnected water flooded easily down Finn's throat, instantly hydrating him to a degree.
AP struggled to stand back up. His forearm healed itself, replacing the bitten portion with more water. After a quick recovery to his senses, he leaned down and helped Finn stand up. The hero was able to function normally for the time being, having enough liquid in his system to last the trip to the oasis.
The two hobbled along, leaving behind the now unconscious fire cobra.
It took nearly a whole hour of half limping half walking, but Aqua Prince managed to get his friend back to his humble home, immediately tossing the hero into his pond. It only required a few minutes for Finn to regain his fluids, at which time he slowly lifted himself out of the water and stepped out of the pool.
AP stood up from his rest and strolled over to the guy.
"You alright, dude?"
Finn nodded, still a bit dizzy.
"Yeah. Thanks, man. I owe you."
He smiled. AP suddenly had an idea.
"You know what? We busted our butts today. I'm sure that dumb snake will stay knocked out for a while; how about you pay me back right now?"
Finn raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
The prince grinned and nudged his head in the direction of the rest of Ooo.
"How about you show me those awesome lava streams?"
The human instantly perked up, his head filling with excitement.
"Whoa! For reals? Hang on though, we've got to get you there without exposing you to a friendly element."
The hero rubbed his chin in deep thought, before snapping his fingers.
"I've got it!"
He cupped his hands over his mouth, letting out a piercing screech that caused AP to cover his ears. Finn repeated the sound several times, before finally dropping his arms and beginning to wait. Aqua Prince was about to ask if the guy was nuts, but decided against it when he noticed a massive flying creature headed their way.
"What the heck is that!?"
Finn just grinned at his friend.
"Hope you're not afraid of heights."
Before the elemental could respond, he and Finn were snatched off the ground, now in the grip of a massive pterodactyl, which screeched much like Finn did earlier. As the human amusedly watched his watery companion flip out, the flying beast gently soared through the skies, heading towards the distant Fire Kingdom.
Jeez. It's been way too long. I've got to step my game up.
JTOM: Don't worry, flambo will have his shot. I've wondered about the food too, ever since I watched the episode 'Ignition Point'.
Star: Yes, it's very sad and inconvenient.
I am The7: Haha, I'll bet you have. And don't worry, we'll be getting some deets on AP and Pyris soon enough.
hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!
