Chapter 9: Return to the Citadel, Part 2
As Finn managed to force open one eye, he attempted to orient himself to the ground on which he was laying on. This proved impossible due to the fact that the entire room appeared to be illuminated by a near blinding light. Desperately hoping to figure out what was happening, the human pried open his other lid to increase his vision. After focusing for a few seconds, he finally found his answer.
Several yards away, Flame Princess was in close combat with her replica. Despite being five times her normal size, she swiftly delivered blow after blow to her adolescent opponent. The reflection was completely overwhelmed by the experienced fighter's form and balance, forcing the enlarged being of blames to be forced against the wall of the cave. Finn couldn't help but beam with pride and the level of proficiency his princess was battling. After all, he was the one who taught her.
Realizing that no blast of fire would be able to deal with the might of the Ancestral Flame, the fake fire elemental instantly dissipated her beast form and ducked around FP's legs, rolling beyond the girl's reach. The young queen reacted quickly, shrinking back down to her normal size while still maintaining the blaze of the Flame upon her body.
It was at this point that Finn stared in awe at the girl. Her appearance was, at the least, angelic. Her skin was glowing a white beyond that of her exquisite dress. Her normally crimson hair was flowing as if suspended by an unseen wind, forming gentle ribbons of a heavenly electric blue that swirled around the soft yet determined features of her face. A feeling of grand admiration peaked in Finn's heart at the amount of strength he could observe in the ruler's golden eyes.
As the princess dashed to reach her enemy, the hero followed her movements. His vision zoomed out, taking in her complete composure. The curves of her elegant form reminded him of another comforting thought, the warm candle that was kept by his bedside. He had gazed at the small pillar of wax every night, watching the graceful flame dance upon its slowly melting stage. Finn realized he had never seen Flame Princess dance before, but just imagining the beauty of the event formed an odd warmth in his heart.
Really, it was a strange warmth. Finn snapped out of his trance watching his lady fight and managed to gain control of his partially burned hand. With significant effort, he raised his palm and rested it over his chest, where the beating object rested within him. Luckily, it was one of the few spots that wasn't burned, offering no interference for the young man to seek the anomalous heat.
Expectantly, his heart rate was below normal, but his focus stayed on the odd rise in temperature within. Finn felt no physical difference in heat between his hand and his chest, the occurrence was directly inside his body. The human was concerned, then began looking for possible explanations.
Hm. I think I remember something like this from that human anatomy lecture PB made me listen to. What did she call it? Heartburn?
This was as good a guess as he could come up with and he was too exhausted to continue to dwell on the matter. He refocused his attention to the battle at hand. FP stood weakly, struggling to control her breathing as her gaze was locked on the defeated form of her reflection on its hands and knees. The younger fire elemental shook heavily as she regained her stance, looking at the true princess with the same look of hate she had earlier. Frustrated that a head on fight was not working in her favor, the devious elemental looked around the room. It was useless; with FP's far outclassing fighting skills and the power of the Ancestral Flame fully activated out of need to protect the young man she loved, there was no chance for the illusionary monarch to continue much longer.
Boiling with disgust at the source of her opponent's strength, the false girl looked over to the semiconscious human lying in the dirt. His eyes were glued to the shimmering white princess that stood to defend his honor and life. The look of compassion upon his face only kindled the fire of loathing, and now, envy, which was present in the twisted reflection's glaring pupils.
"Glob I hate you!" the being shouted at her older counterpart.
She took a step toward FP, earning a heightened defensive stance from the young queen.
"Evil should get me whatever I want, I am a princess! But you just have to repeatedly shove that human in my face, the one that supposedly gave you the hope to find all that power you possess. Well I've had enough! If I can't convince you to embrace your own nature, then at the least I'll remove that weakling from this world!"
The fiery clone shifted into a form of pure fire and spearheaded herself at the helpless hero in her path. She completely abandoned her physical body, converting it into pure flames to obliterate the young man from the face of the planet. This was her final strike. As the blazing javelin of living fire charged at Finn, the dark-sided girl let out one last laugh.
The vile copy's moment of satisfaction and victory was short lived. As she passed by Flame Princess on her way to the hero, she felt an unimaginable pain in what used to be her abdomen. However sickly the feeling was, it was unable to push through the disbelieving thought inside the evil elemental's mind: What just happened?
In the split second that the illusion had fired herself at Finn, FP had produced a concentrated blade of flames on her hand. Using a mastered technique of sword strikes that were given to her by the young man, she effortlessly bisected the fake fire elemental's weaponized body. In her final moments of existence, the mirrored image of the princess heard the young ruler speak one last time.
"Evil's nature has always suffered the fate of being alone. For this reason, you cannot hope to understand the power that has been united and shared between me and Finn. The infection of hate in your heart will never match the blazing pyre that connects ours."
As the final word drifted into the dying reflection's ears, her expression was still frozen in disbelief. Finally dissipating into the air, the only part of the extinguished phantasm that made it to Finn were a small cluster of embers, which harmlessly bounced off of the human's ever vigilant flame shield.
His vision having improved slightly, the hero stared through the evaporating remains of the princess's copy, only to see the enchanting girl making her way toward the disabled young man. Again, Finn felt the odd heat within his chest. If anything the disappearing embers around her only increased the serenity of the girl before him. His best description for her was that of a goddess. Before he knew it, the human's mind veered off course, taking over the controls in his eyes and moving them down to once again stare at the approaching girl's figure. Finn was once more lost in the flawless curves of the elemental's body, all the way from her hips, to her waist, and even her chest.
A painful fist flew into the hero's face. It was his. His righteous spirit had put its foot down, demanding the young man snap out of it and stop acting like some kind of pervert. Finn shook his head and held his hand up to his chest once more. The slight burning feeling was fading, as were the 'un-righteous' thoughts that moments ago had dislodged his logical thinking.
What in Grod's name was that!? I would never…! Does this heartburn junk cause some kind of hormone imbalance? Ugh! I've got to pay attention to those darn lectures. I can't act like that with FP, jeez!
The human thanked the four faced deity that Flame Princess hadn't noticed his wandering eyes. As the girl reached his numb body, the Ancestral Flame returned to its dormant state. FP's hair dropped to her back, restored to its striking red spectrum. Her skin dimmed to the yellowish hue it normally emitted. The fire elemental got to her knees and pulled Finn up to her lap, brushing away the few locks of hair that had been thrown out of the hero's hat.
She smiled at him with a sense of relief, seeing that he was breathing normally and that he was able to return the smile. Clearing his throat, the young human began to speak.
"I'm sorry, FP."
The princess was surprised at the choice of words.
"For what, Finn? You saved my life back there."
The human brought his gaze to the ceiling of the cave.
"It wasn't this bad when me and Ferrum encountered this gate. We're just good friends, and we knew how to handle each other's fighting styles without any emotional distractions. It might have still been a challenge but at least our heads were messed up so badly."
A look of shame appeared on the hero's face, concerning his princess.
"But I should have guessed the gate would use every opportunity to tear into our feelings. Pitting us against the other's copy was especially devastating, as you saw. I shouldn't have put you in this situation, I almost lost you in more ways than one."
Finn began an act that he rarely did. Light tears were slowly running down his slightly burned cheeks. He felt awful for not anticipating the dangers of their relationship during the battle, and now he rested all fault of every injury upon himself.
A gentle finger brushed off the human's sorrow, removing the thin line of salty water racing down his face. Finn looked back at Flame Princess to see her smiling again. She brought the hero closer to her and gave him a reassuring embrace. The young man wished he could return it. After setting him back down, FP replied.
"It's not your fault, Finn, they wouldn't make it easy on us to get to the portal. Besides, I think we grew a little stronger together facing our immaturity. Don't you think so?"
As always, his princess knew exactly what to say to bring a positive thought to Finn's mind. The hero smiled as best he could, placing his hand on the fiery girl's cheek.
"I suppose so," he responded in a confident tone.
The two teens were startled by the next event. The colossal mirror in front of them shattered, revealing the path ahead. The couple looked behind them and were instantly shocked. Standing in the gate's mirror were the images of the illusions they had moments ago just defeated. Only this time, something was different.
The two independent reflections were smiling, a humble smile, as if silently thanking the older ones. The two youngsters looked at each other and their smiles grew, taking each other's hand before waving back at their true counterparts. Finn and FP barely managed to shake off their astonishment and smile back at the purified images. As the two waved back at their past selves, the reflections faded away, along with the massive mirror upon which they had existed.
The force field that had formed the second mirror had shifted in color, turning a light green and emanating a peaceful aura. Finn motioned for Flame Princess to help him up. The young queen complied and stretched a flaming arm to quickly retrieve the hero's demon sword before giving it to him for added support. Putting his arm around her shoulder, FP helped the human toward the calming barrier in front of them.
"At the very least, the Gate of Reflection has a sense of mercy."
The fire elemental wondered what Finn mean by that statement, but determined that getting the young man to the translucent wall would explain it to her. With a combination of steady steps and limping, the couple reached the barrier, where the human motioned for the young ruler to pass right on through.
As Finn's beaten and burned body slid into the barrier, his wounds were instantly healed. What little damage FP had sustained was also removed. Not only were they free of any cuts and bruises but the two felt revitalized, ready to continue on to the next challenge. Finn slid his blood sword back into his pack and pulled out the ancient scroll. After studying the map for a moment he replaced it and turned to his princess.
"You ready to move on?"
FP nodded, taking Finn's hand and entwining her fingers with his.
"Yes."
After another patience-testing trek through the hall of the cave, the couple finally saw their next obstacle. The Gate of Repression loomed over them with an ominous aura. The arch was far different from the last. It was extensively degraded, appearing to be crumbling in several spots while its single feature was a bizarre looking orb hanging from its peak. FP stared at the green artifact in wonder. Finn followed her gaze and gulped.
"Well, that's what'll suck us into our minds when we step through."
He was definitely nervous, this much the girl could tell. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Finn, it'll be fine. Together, remember?" She held up her hand, which was bound to the human's.
Finn's expression only turned to a frown.
"That's the thing, inside our own minds, it will be no different than if we were several miles apart."
Flame Princess was shocked at the realization. Unknowingly, her grip on the human's hand tightened. She didn't ever want to be apart from him again. A feeling of dread for the challenge ahead sprouted in her mind. Seeing the girl's distress, Finn shook off his saddened expression and turned to the young queen, raising up her chin with his free hand as he spoke softly.
"Hey, come on, we can do this FP."
He gently placed a kiss on her cheek and stroked the girl's flaming hair. She seemed to lighten up a bit, forcing a smile to her face. Finn reacted by returning the grin.
"Well," the princess began, parting some locks that had fallen across her face. "At least we'll still be together in one way."
She held up their joined hands, making them both smile brighter and press their foreheads together.
"I love you, FP."
"I love you too, Finn."
Switching to a look of determination, the couple approached the foreboding gate, taking a deep breath before stepping through. Immediately the enchanted arch reacted, releasing a ghostly pulse from the now glowing green orb hanging above the two beings' heads. They fell over onto the ground, as if their minds had been punched out of their skulls. While they remained unmoving, the one noticeable feature of their unconscious forms was the ever present bond shown in their entwined hands.
Flame Princess opened her eyes to find herself tumbling through a large wormhole. Looking around, she saw multiple memories of her life passing by in the apparent current the tunnel was creating. Looking ahead made the princess dizzy, nearly hypnotized by the unending path deeper into her subconscious. Eventually, a bright light was seen approaching. FP covered her eyes as the blinding essence absorbed her, leaving nothing but white in its place.
Opening her eyes again, the girl found herself stopped in a single point of the tunnel. Before her was an object she knew all too well: the Ancestral Flame. The white source of combusting might suddenly began shifting its form, eventually conforming itself into the apparent shape of a fire elemental. Though it was hard to tell since it was only the silhouette of a humanoid figure, FP determined that the Flame had changed into a female form, which was appropriate considering its background.
"It's good to see you, my child."
Flame Princess gasped with astonishment, covering her mouth with her hands. Recovering from initial shock, the fiery ruler pointed at the feminine outline in front of her.
"You! You're that fourth voice from before!"
FP's memory briefly flashed back to the internal argument she was having about herself and Finn. The three voices within her were trying to convince her to let the human go and search for another man to be with, but this fourth had stepped forward and encouraged her to seek him out.
The white entity chuckled a little.
"Ah yes, I was happy to see you make your decision. Given that some time has passed, do you think it was the right one?"
Flame Princess stood straight and proudly.
"I have no doubt."
The ancestral being raised its arms in the air.
"Wonderful! It brings me joy to see the both of you so happy."
The woman brought her arms together in front of her.
"Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to assist you through this trial as much as I can."
She motioned to the wormhole path on the right.
"Through this portal you shall face your fears one at a time, you goal being to confront the inner hauntings of your mind and find peace."
She motioned to the portal on the left.
"Through this one however, I've managed to create a second option. If you choose this portal you will face all your fears simultaneously. Though this choice may seem faster, it will also be far more difficult to accomplish."
The entity took a few steps toward FP, who noticed that they were simply floating in a void with no floor. She chose not to look down.
The Flame's astral projection stopped a few feet from the fiery elemental.
"I'm giving you the choice to perform either option. It's up to you which but you won't escape the Gate of Repression's hold until you confront the nightmares in your mind."
FP thought for a moment and nodded. Before she proceeded though, she took a few steps toward the white figure.
"Before I go, may I ask why you're so intent on keeping me and Finn together?"
The white entity giggled a bit before backing away and slowly dissipating.
"Make it to the Citadel and I might just tell you. Good luck, my child."
Flame Princess wanted to interject but the Flame had already vanished. Flustered but knowing she had no way of dealing with it right now, the girl shook off her curiosity and stepped toward the two portals. After taking a long look at both, she dove into the one on the left.
I can do this. With Finn and the Flame cheering me on in my heart, I'll beat this gate in no time.
When the portal spit out the princess, she found herself, surprisingly, in an all too familiar place. The sun was shining and a few puffy clouds were scattered across the blue sky. The grasslands brought back warm memories, all of which manifested themselves as she relived them. She saw her and Finn running through the plain, laughing and occasionally tripping and rolling on the grass. The young queen sighed with a smile as she remembered the old days. On her right she saw herself on a distant hill, staring out into a sunset without saying a word.
The princess smiled brightly when she saw the tree fort in front of her, with various memories of her and her hero playing and hanging out around the boy's house. As she shook the rejuvenating pleasant memories out of her head, a look of surprise crossed her face. As the happy memories vanished, she saw the tree house for what it really was in the seemingly peaceful landscape.
What remained of Finn and Jake's home was piled in several heaps of ashes at the top of the hill where it once stood. A few objects where still distinguishable, like the golden coins that were piled in the treasure room, now blackened and nearly unrecognizable. Where the kitchen once stood she could make out the shape of the stove and refrigerator, both ruined. As FP took in every detail of the destruction, her despair grew.
It was then that her ears caught a multitude of sobs. She quickly spun around to see a mass gathering of people dressed in black. Before them was a grave, marked with a noble tombstone. Flame Princess's heart dropped when she noticed a familiar object resting against the grey slab of stone: Finn's demon blood sword.
Fear crept into her as the fiery girl rushed to the site. As she appeared near the crowd, they all turned to look at the new arrival. Everyone who knew Finn the Human was present. All had a look of absolute misery on their faces. The broken figure of Jake stepped toward FP and fell to his knees.
"Why, why couldn't you control yourself? Everything is gone now, including my brother."
The yellow canine's eyes began leaking fresh tears, as did everyone else's. FP stared unbelieving at the dog's words and pushed past him to look for herself. As she approached the tombstone, her anguish was confirmed:
Finn the Human
Friend, Hero, and Brother
You will be missed but never forgotten
The fire elemental fell to her hands and knees, feeling tears well up in her eyes. As she began to sob, her mind was unable to remind her that none of it was real. Within a few minutes the princess was lost in a state of grieving. She was only interrupted by a large amount of approaching footsteps. Summoning the strength to turn around, the girl was met with the sight of an entire legion of fire soldiers.
Most terrifying of all was what they had brought with them. Held upon a massive platform was an object that struck absolute terror into the young ruler. The yellow fireproof lantern which had separated her from the world now loomed before her, empty and prepared to contain any fire elemental fated to be thrown into its hollow space. FP cowered on the ground as several fire soldiers approached her and pointed their spears at her.
"Flame Princess, ruler of the Fire Kingdom, for the death of Finn the Human, you have been deemed too dangerous and unstable to walk the earth freely."
Two of the soldiers stepped forward and quickly locked two braces around the girl's wrists. She attempted to blast the men away, but to her horror, her fire powers had been negated. Helplessly kicking and screaming, the terrified princess was dragged to the lantern that was now lowered to the ground and open. She was swiftly tossed into the prison and the doors shut behind her.
Standing up with great effort, she placed her hands on the glass, only to see the miserable faces of all the people that had been hurt by the loss of Ooo's greatest hero. Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, BMO, Lady Rainicorn, the candy people, all the princesses, countless other citizens of Ooo. All were giving the girl a pleading look, wordlessly asking why the fiery ruler why she had committed such a heinous deed. Even the Ice King was present, sadly holding his crown in his hands with closed eyes and streams of tears from his closed eyes.
Flame Princess turned away, devastated at the scene. As she continued her weeping, the fire soldiers lifted up the lamp once more and began walking back to the Fire Kingdom. As the legion made its way to the blazing peaks of the kingdom, dark storm clouds gathered in the sky instantly, followed by crashing thunder and crackling lightning. Before long, a heavy downpour commenced. FP now noticed that the top of the lantern had a much larger opening than she remembered.
The rain began to pound every inch of the grasslands. Strangely enough, none of the fiery soldiers were being affected. The princess on the other hand, began feeling the distinct stings of water hitting her body. As the storm only grew more intense, the drops grew bigger, fell faster, and came in greater numbers. Each second was filled with agony as buckets worth of liquid splashed onto the helpless girl. She collapsed to the floor of her prison, which had a grate in the bottom to allow the water to drain out.
It won't let the water gather and submerge me, this is to torment, not kill.
Sobbing of both inner and outer pain, FP lost herself in the swirling chaos that was her fear. All of it had been thrown in her face at once, combined in the worst possible way to truly destroy the teenager's sanity. Feeling herself slipping away, the girl barely noticed a tiny white flame that appeared before her face.
"Flame Princess, you can't give up! If you allow yourself to die here you will be trapped in the deepest part of your mind forever! Please, you must fight back!"
The Flame's plea went unanswered and it dissipated, unable to manifest for very long in the maelstrom of misery and woe that existed in the girl's subconscious. FP looked up into the sky. The roof of the world was solid black. It seemed impossible for her to continue. She slowly lost herself in darkness as her eyes closed.
A faint echo was heard in the back of Flame Princess's mind. She struggled to open her vision. She still had her head facing up, but this time all she saw was a red tinted roof made of stone. Recognizing the material, FP slowly tilted her head to the side and saw that she was suspended in the throne room, still held within the lantern. Defeated and without hope, the girl lay there. The pain had stopped, there was nothing but silence, except for the faint echo which kept springing into her ears. She attempted to listen closely and made out words.
"What?"
A pause.
"Good morning, FP."
"Good morning, Finn."
The princess's attention shot up, reanimating her body as if something had restarted her heart. The girl dragged herself to the edge of her prison and looked down, encountering her favorite memory that happened within this room.
An image of Finn and herself were standing near the throne, standing close together as the human passionately kissed the girl on the lips. The brilliant flames of the manifested princess grew white as the young man placed a hand to the girl's cheek, who did the same with him. From her perch above the scene, Flame Princess found herself growing a smile as tears came to her eyes. This moment was among her most treasured, mainly because secretly, she wanted this to be the norm if Finn accepted her offer to rule beside her. To every morning sit down in her throne while her king joined her in his own seat. They would lean across their seats of power and share a sweet kiss before taking on the day's work and challenges, together.
Together…
A loud crack rang through the room. FP broke out of her loving thoughts and looked around for the source of the noise. A massive fissure had appeared in the ground of the throne room. Through it radiated a bright light. A delicate feeling of happiness could be felt from it by the princess high above.
Fight back. Fight back with the fire in my heart. I have the two greatest beings of love and support by my side, always, no matter how distant they might be.
Two brief manifestations appeared alongside the fiery girl in the lamp. Both had a hand on her shoulders. One was Finn, giving an encouraging smile. The other was the humanoid form of the Ancestral Flame. FP looked at both then observed the yellow glass in front of her, nodding with determination. The two images nodded as well and vanished.
Flame Princess walked up to the tempered surface that imprisoned her.
"Thanks to Finn, I never had to step inside you again, thanks to Finn, I proved I am in control."
With that statement, she swung a strong fist at the glass, which shattered to pieces at the impact. A few more fissures appeared on the floor and a few on the walls. FP jumped down from her destroyed cell and landed on the ground hard. She slammed her wrists together and broke the suppressive braces off of her arms. Before long, legions of fire guards stormed the room, aiming their weapons at the princess.
Having no time to deal with them, she simply shot straight into the air and blasted her way through the floors of the palace, breaking several stone platforms until she blasted through the roof of the building. Outside was a bizarre sight. Instead of the Fire Kingdom, there was a long tunnel that went straight up.
The deepest part of my mind. No way out huh? We'll see about that!
Concentrating extreme heat and pressure below her, FP released a monstrous burst of energy with her Ancestral Flame, skyrocketing up the deep pit that led to higher levels of her mind. As she raced up the hole, light eventually shown at the top. Determined, the girl boosted her speed more and made a strong push for the entrance to the pit.
Bursting out of the miles deep cavern, FP quickly looked around and saw Finn's grave site in the distance. She changed direction and sped toward it. A slight sting caught her off guard. Looking up, she encountered the blackened sky once again. A mass of rain suddenly poured form the clouds, aiming to slam the elemental back down the pit.
Flame Princess smirked and unleashed the full fury of the white flame within her, evaporating any water within several feet of her skin. Concentrating energy deep in her body, the fiery girl then let loose a cataclysmic pillar of flames. The towering inferno vaporized the dark shroud above her, leaving the sky once again clear, the sun happily shining down upon the victorious young queen. Several enormous fissures opened up in the grasslands around her.
With that done, she continued her way toward her hero's resting place. As FP neared the ground, she decelerated and landed right in front of the recently buried plot. Without hesitation, she began digging the grave out with her hands, throwing heaps of dirt everywhere. By the time she made it to the coffin below her she couldn't feel her fingers. Regardless, she threw aside the cover of the box and peered inside.
Finn lay peacefully in his casket, his arms gently crossed across his chest. FP quickly placed her hand against his heart and pushed, sending a blast of inner heat into the young man's silent organ. As if reigniting a flame, a steady beat grew from the human's chest. Next, Flame Princess leaned in and pressed her lips against the hero's, forcing air into his empty lungs. She remained at his mouth longer than necessary, caught in the moment, but soon snapped out of it and backed away, holding her hands to Finn's cheeks.
After several agonizing minutes, FP saw the human's chest begin to rise and fall. Tears fell down her face as deep blue eyes appeared from underneath the young man's lids. He was astonished but quickly shook it off.
"Flame Princess!"
Finn embraced the girl tightly within his arms, not daring to let go. The princess returned the hug with the same intent. They remained in each other's hold so long they lost track of time. Finally, the girl spoke.
"I would never hurt you Finn, I love you so much."
The human broke the embrace to look his princess in the eyes with a smile.
"I know you wouldn't. I love you too, FP."
With that, they leaned in for a true kiss, feeling each other's real skin, with no need for protection. Before Flame Princess knew it, the ground began to rumble. She opened her eyes and pulled out of the kiss. Finn gave her one last smile before he faded away. FP shot out of the grave and flew up into the sky. All around her cracks were forming in the earth, producing more and more light until the world below her vanished from the glare. A few seconds later, a massive shattering sound was shot through the air, deafening the princess of flames, who covered her ears as her vision was blinded by the light.
Flame Princess awoke with a start, breathing irregularly as she clutched her chest. Looking around, she found herself in the cave, the Gate of Repression towering above her, its glowing orb still active. She shook off the experience she had after remembering Finn. The human was still unconscious and had his face in a pained and contorted expression. FP felt her hand being squeezed. They were still together, the whole time.
The girl smiled before noticing the Ancestral Flame surround the two of them. The princess put a hand to the young man's cheek, concern growing on her face as she watched her man struggling with the gate's trial.
"I had the Flame, but he's got no one in there to help him. What can I do?"
The white ribbons of fire concentrated along Finn's backpack, attracting the fiery ruler's attention. She reached over and opened the pack. Rummaging around inside, she looked for anything that she could use to help the suffering human. After a few minutes, she came upon a pouch full of a smooth and loose substance. Opening and sprinkling a bit onto her hand, FP discovered it was Sleep Powder. She knew this since Finn told her about his and Jake's journey into Marceline's memory after being tricked by her ex-boyfriend.
"This is it, this will let me help Finn."
Excitement grew upon the princess's face as the Ancestral Flame did a quick display of activity before returning to her. She carefully dragged Finn to the side of the cave and laid him against the smoothest part of the rock she could find. She then gently laid next to him, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Hold on Finn, I'm coming."
With that, she threw a handful of the powder in her face, quickly losing consciousness and diving after the human into his mind.
Unlike her own journey into sub consciousness, Finn's was relatively short and ended with her standing in an absolutely empty plain. It appeared to comprise of space itself, with twinkling stars and nebulae shining in the distance. Even a comet streaked by. The single visible object was a massive hedron structure, each face having five sides. FP understood immediately what it was: Finn's Vault. What else would require such a complex object to contain the human's deepest fears?
Taking a deep breath, the princess approached the container, looking around for an entrance. She found none, even after flying around the entire surface of the object. Frustrated, the fiery girl punched one of the Vault's walls, earning several sore knuckles in the process. Floating back down to the ground, she sat down, bringing her knees to her chin.
Dang it. I'm so close, how do I get in there?
The young queen was too distracted to notice someone approaching. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, the elemental nearly jumped out of her skin. Quickly turning around with a fiery fist of blue flames, she gazed at the person who had startled her. It was a girl. She had long black hair flowing behind her, slanted yellow eyes, and very fair greenish skin.
The girl smiled at FP, not at all intimidated by the girl's flames. It was then that the princess saw the girl's right arm. It was mechanical.
"Who, who are you?"
The girl held out her flesh arm, urging Flame Princess for a handshake.
"I'm Shoko," she said, holding her smile. "You must be Flame Princess."
FP accepted the shake and then stared with astonishment at the girl before her.
"Why are you in Finn's mind? I've never seen you before, and Finn definitely never mentioned you."
Shoko started to laugh, confusing FP further. She waited patiently for the black haired girl to stop her amusement, which she did after a few more moments.
"Haha, I'll bet he hasn't. He probably thought you'd laugh too."
The princess just stood there with a blank stare. Shoko placed her mechanical arm against her chest.
"I'm Finn's past life. When I died, I was reincarnated as him."
The fiery ruler was stunned.
"Ha! I knew that would get you. Yeah Finn had me locked in the Vault a while back, he was repressing my memory. I just wanted his help to redeem myself for stealing something from Princess Bubblegum."
At this information FP jumped.
"Wait, you've been in the Vault? Could you show me how to get in?"
Shoko gave a friendly nod.
"Sure, follow me."
The girl led Flame Princess to one side of the hedron and knocked on the massive wall in three different places. Almost immediately, several panels opened in the side, creating a doorway through which FP could step into the Vault. Shoko gave the fiery princess a pat on the back.
"Good luck. Finn went in there a few hours ago but never came out."
Thanking the young thief, FP walked into the void that led to Finn's fears.
The innards of Finn's prison for fears were rather simplistic, or at the least very straight forward. A basic path led right ahead, with no other possible ways to go. Flame Princess giggled a bit.
I forgot Finn had a terrible imagination.
Continuing down the path, FP came to a coastline. Beyond was an expansive ocean which disappeared into the horizon. Many fissures could be seen along the beach, each one producing a bright light.
Ok, I at least know he's fighting back.
She stopped walking just before the waves would start hitting her feet. Gazing out into the open water, FP thought for a moment what it symbolized. Then she remembered this was, as far as anyone could tell, Finn's greatest fear. Sighing at the fact that the young man remained terrified of a body of water, the princess fired herself off the beach, heading out into the wide expanse of liquid. She had to admit though, flying over this much of the substance made her nervous about falling too far.
Eventually, after miles of drifting over the apparently endless body, Flame Princess spotted an object floating on the water. Quickly changing her path of flight, she shot herself at the anomaly. Getting closer, she saw that it was a makeshift raft, and lying upon it was none other than Finn, albeit on his back, looking totally freaked out. Descending to the raft, Flame Princess was careful to land so as to not tip it into the waters below.
Finn was startled by the appearance of the princess, nearly falling off his craft.
"FP!? How the nuts did you get in here?"
The fiery girl ran to hug the hero. Unfortunately, as soon as she embraced him, he began to burn up.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
She released her hold on him and backed away disappointed. Finn examined his burns but decided to shrug them off.
"Sorry FP, but if where both in the same subconscious you can still burn me."
The girl was a little disheartened but quickly shook it off, remembering why she was there.
"Finn, it's been a while, why haven't you gotten out yet?"
The human sat back down, looking out into the ocean.
"Well, I started out doing pretty good. I let myself be kissed to death by a bunch of clown nurses, fought off the Lich, and carried you through a rainstorm to safety before you burned out."
He brought his head down.
"But then I got dropped in the middle of the ocean, and that's just too much."
Flame Princess was skeptical.
"So you'll take on a dead guy several times your size who shoots green fire but you can't jump into a little water?"
Finn looked at the fire elemental with hopelessness.
"It's not that easy! I just…I don't know…I've never gotten past this fear, ok?"
This time FP was really confused.
"But then, how did you make it through the Gate of Repression the first time?"
Finn blushed of embarrassment.
"I, I took out my memory of the ocean. I went into my head and yanked it before stepping through the gate."
The princess sat down next to the human, just far enough to not burn him.
"Then why didn't you do it this time?"
Finn looked at the young queen with sadness, but also a touch of shame.
"Because I, I didn't want to take the easy way out, for you."
FP was first shocked, then touched. She smiled at the hero with a little admiration.
"Remind me to give you a kiss when we get back from the Citadel. I mean, you know, besides the others I would probably give you."
She blushed at that point, as did Finn. But it wasn't enough to get him over the fear right in front of him.
"Well from how it's going now, I won't ever escape my mind. I'll be trapped here forever."
Flame Princess hated to admit it but it was true. Until Finn could face the ocean they would both be unable to leave the Vault. She stood up and wandered to the other side of the raft, crossing her arms in thought. She remembered that the Flame had helped her realize that the good memories of Finn could help her escape, but how could she do the same for the young man?
FP stared into the water in front of her, seeing her reflection in the calm waters. A nagging question popped into her mind. The one that had slipped in the day she found out Finn's true feelings for her.
He will give you everything he has just so you'll be happy, what are you going to do about it?
FP looked over at Finn, still shuddering from the sight of the ocean, and then back into the water. The young queen grew a face of determination, realizing the only way she could get Finn to conquer his fear.
"I shall do the same."
Finn turned at the statement.
"What?"
His eyes grew wide with shock as Flame Princess allowed herself to fall into the waters below, creating a mixed sound of splashes and singing flames.
