Finn brought Jake up to speed as they ran after the storm, Jake in his giant form and Finn riding on his back.

"Wait, let me get this straight," Jake said with disbelief. "You trespassed on sacred ground and freed that storm guy we caught a while ago? And Magic Man voluntarily took the fall?"

Finn clutched his head. "I don't know, it just all went wrong!"

"Dude, what are you worried about? They already think Magic Man did it. They're not gonna go after you now."

"What?" Finn was aghast. "I can't let someone else take the fall for what I did! That's as unheroic as you can get!"

"So you wanna get executed?"

"No! Of course not!" Finn said quickly. "That's why we're waiting until I get back. Because maybe they'll go easy on me if I fix it before anything really bad happens."

Jake shrugged. "Okay, I'm just saying. It's not like anyone important is on the line."

"No, man. I don't wanna think that way."

From behind them, a tiny voice called out, "Excuse me! Wait please!"

Finn and Jake looked over their shoulders. A small fairy man, dressed in the uniform and armor of the Fairy Royal Guard, was chasing after them. "Please... heroes," he gasped, out of breath. "King Alberich... sent me... to assist you." He bowed. "I'm Cyril, an officer of the king's royal guard."

"Cool," said Finn. "Come on. We're catching up to Louragan."

Cyril sat down on Jake's back. He bunched up a big lump of Jake for a cushy seat.

"We need a plan, though," said Finn. "We don't have a sacred jar."

"I have an idea, but it's risky," said Cyril.

"Okay, cool. What is it?"

"I can't tell you," Cyril explained. "He can read minds. The less of us who know the plan, the safer it is."

"Oh, right. So how will we know what to do?"

Cyril cupped his hands together and released a tiny, glowing ball that hovered above Jake's head. "You need to herd him like a sheepdog towards that ball. Even if he knows you're doing that, he can still be herded if you try real hard."

"Can do," said Jake.

The ball dangled in front of Jake's nose as he ran, constantly in front of his face.

"What about me?" Finn held up his sword. "Would it mess up your plan if I tried to whack him with this?"

"No, that's perfect. He frikkin' hates that."

In the short time he had been free, Louragan had covered a great distance and left a swath of destruction in his wake. Grass had been flattened, branches knocked out of trees, windows blown out of buildings, and all manner of hurricane damage littered the land. He seemed to be heading north, curving west. "We can't let it get to the Candy Kingdom," said Finn.

"We won't, bro," said Jake.

As they ran along, the clouds overhead grew thick and gray. It started to drizzle, and then to rain. The rain didn't get as fiercely strong as before, when the large drops actually stung when they landed on bare skin, but the rain was getting pretty thick. Soon enough Finn could see the bubble that was Louragan, sitting on a low storm cloud as his hurricane leveled some saplings planted in the grass.

"Ready?" Cyril asked.

"Ready," said Finn and Jake.

Louragan knew they were coming. Ah, if it isn't Fin and Take.

"What? No, dude, I'm Jake." Jake looked confused.

Sorry I forgot to kill you back at my temple, said Louragan with sincere politeness. But it looks like I won't have to pay for that mistake anyway.

"How do you mean?" Finn demanded.

Easy. If you bring me back to the Fairy Kingdom, I'll tell them what really happened. I'm sure they'll be very interested in learning what their so-called hero did.

"It was an accident!"

That won't matter to the fairies. You shouldn't have been in my lair to begin with.

"It's their own fault for having the wedding somewhere so cool and mysterious!" said Jake. He lunged to the side where Louragan was heading. Finn drew his sword as he jumped off Jake's back.

Herding me won't work, said Louragan. I'm not a sheep.

Jake darted into Louragan's path, cutting him off. "Ouf! Ouf! Ouf!" he barked.

Louragan backed towards the ball. Fine! It's your funeral, hero!

"No, it's not," said Cyril, flying above Finn. "Everything will be fine!"

"What?" Finn was shocked. "Did you hear-"

"Nothing you did could be as bad as returning Louragan is good. Not even releasing him in the first place."

Finn laughed nervously. "Uh, about that..."

Oh! Louragan sounded pleased as they forced him further north. So you're the one with the plan. You're trying to lure me to the town beside the sea where we can wander- oh, stop singing that cursed song! Gah! It's driving me crazy! Louragan clutched his head.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Finn looked down at Jake. "Sing an annoying song really loud in your head."

"Can do!" Jake pondered a moment, and then began to think: Bacon pancakes, makin' bacon pancakes/take some bacon and I'll put it in a pancake...

Finn internally sang the most annoying song he could think of: Three baby spiders, three bitty baby spiders/were playing in the sun/the rain came down and it was no fun.

Louragan staggered to the side and began to run away. For the love of High Priestess Trinity, I beg you to stop singing!

"Keep cutting him off!" Cyril shouted to Jake. "We're almost there!"

Almost where? You thought it! We're going to a cliff under a tree bacon pancakes that's what it's gonna make he grew up very tall and he lived inside a wall sometimes the sun- oh, please, make it stop! Louragan shrieked in agony.

Cyril's magic ball darted northeast, and Finn and Jake saw that it was leading him away from the Candy Kingdom, although it was still going north, away from the entrance to the Fairy Kingdom. The closer they got to the Ice King's lair, the chillier it got; the ground was soon covered in a thin layer of snow, then a thicker one. Louragan's hurricane slowly became a blizzard. Finn didn't think about how long it had taken them to get this far. Neither he nor his companions nor Louragan seemed to be getting tired at all.

By the time they had gotten into the Ice Kingdom proper, Ice King figured out that they were there. He came flying down at them from his mountain ice cave, hands glowing with ice magic. "Hey, whoa, hold up! You can't bring that thing into my kingdom!"

"Ice King!" Jake shouted. "You need to sing us one of your songs. They're so perfect for right now!"

Ice King lowered his hands. "Huh? Hey, what's this about? Why do you want to hear my songs all of a sudden? I'm suspicious."

"Do you want to sing or not?"

Ice King started singing, "Slime Princess, you're all right... Wildberry Princess, you're okay..."

"Perfect!"

Louragan turned and lashed out at Ice King. Not another one! he snarled. His snow had turned to sleet. The thousands of water droplets that formed his body were freezing solid. His movements grew jerky and stiff. Finally, he landed a blow on the Ice King; a single, light tap.

"Ow," said Ice King "That hurt, kinda. Well, not really. Don't touch me."

Ah. Louragan was frozen solid. He twitched a bit, but couldn't move. Cold weather freezes water... it's all coming back to me. I haven't seen cold weather in two thousand years. He sounded apologetic. Is there any chance you could keep this between us?

"No. Way." Finn put away his sword. "It's just that funny. Now, how do I get him back to the Fairy Kingdom?"

"It doesn't matter now," said Cyril. "As long as he's here in the cold, he's completely neutralized. Tell the fairies where he is, and they'll know what to do."

"Yeah. I gotta get back fast," said Finn.

Ice King tapped Louragan. "Whoa, what is this thing?"

"Ice King, don't touch that!"

Ice King pulled his hands back. "I wasn't touching it!"

"I'll stay here and set up some magic barriers," said Cyril. "You go back to King Alberich."

"Come on, Jake," said Finn.

"I'm gonna make sure Ice King goes back home first," said Jake.

"What, I wasn't gonna do anything!" Ice King said defensively.

"Yeah, yeah." Jake grabbed Ice King's arms behind his back and nudged him forward. "Let's go."

Finn took off running.

"Wow," he thought out loud. "We ran a lot further than I realized." Jake, in his increased size, had chased Louragan clear across the grasslands in a surprisingly short amount of time. On his own, Finn wasn't sure he could make it back to the Fairy Kingdom anytime soon. Still, he had to try. There was still a chance to fix this.

Finn was running so fast he didn't see what he collided with until he was flat on his back looking at the sky. "Oh, excuse me," said four voices.

Finn sat up. "Magic Man's brother!" he shouted. He was looking right at Grob Gob Glob Grod.

"Oh!" Grob Gob Glob Grod looked surprised. "You're the human boy, the one who followed the dog to Mars."

"I'm in a hurry," said Finn, scrambling to his feet. Grob Gob Glob Grod helped him up. "Magic Man's in trouble."

"I'm not surprised," said Grob Gob Glob Grod. "I will be sure to add it to the very long list-"

"No, it's not that!" Finn said desperately. "He took the fall for something I did!"

Grob Gob Glob Grod looked down at Finn. "You mean you stood by while a not-guilty-this-particular-instance-man was punished for your crimes?"

Finn shook his head. "Not exactly- well, yeah, kinda. I mean- okay, I donked up huge time! And he said I needed to undo the damage I did- look, I don't have time to explain! We need to get to the Fairy Kingdom!"

"Climb on my back, child," said Grob Gob Glob Grod. "You can explain on the way."

"Uh..." Finn looked at Grob Gob Glob Grod's body. "Which side is..."

Grob Gob Glob Grod held their arms straight out. "Does this help?"

Finn jumped on Grob Gob Glob Grod on the side opposite where their arms were sticking out and wrapped his arms around their chest. Grob Gob Glob Grod hooked their arms around Finn's legs to keep him in place. "Hold tight," they said.

Finn felt his stomach plunge as Grob Gob Glob Grod took off across the prairie, holding tight and realizing that though they were going absurdly fast, it might not be fast enough. He explained, as best he could, everything that had happened in the temple, even how Magic Man had followed him and how they'd had a lot of fun solving the back-door puzzles.

"I just don't believe it," said Grob Gob Glob Grod. "After all these centuries, why has he finally done something in the interest of someone else?"

Finn shrugged. "I dunno, man. He wasn't like this before- well, he kinda was. After he came back from Mars. He wasn't like this, but he wasn't like that. You know?"

"I think I understand."

As they approached the portal to the Fairy Kingdom, Grob Gob Glob Grod began to shrink themselves and Finn so that by the time they crossed the threshold, they were both fairy-sized. Grob Gob Glob Grod slowed down only marginally so that they could steer through the city. They put on the brakes right when it was time to land on the front steps of the Sacred Temple of Storms.

Finn jumped off Grob Gob Glob Grod's back and ran through the front doors. King Alberich was standing just off to the side of the entrance, talking quietly with several of his guards. As soon as he saw Finn, and Grob Gob Glob Grod behind him, he stopped talking and waved the guards away. "You're back quickly," said King Alberich. "I hope everything went well."

"He's frozen," Finn said. "We tricked him into going to the Ice Kingdom and he's frozen solid. I need, like, a jar to put him in or something. But he can't do nothin' right now."

"Wonderful. I'll get our court wizards enchanting a new sacred jar immediately." He turned around. "Roscoe, would you deliver that message?"

"Now what about Magic Man?" Finn asked desparately.

"Don't worry, Finn," said King Alberich. "He's been taken care of."

"You mean-"

"Execution by beheading. And cremation of the remains, since he's a magic man and all. You can't be too careful."

Finn muttered an excuse under his breath as his face turned pale. He pushed past Grob Gob Glob Grod and stepped outside the temple. Glob watched him, leaving Grob facing the king. "I... I see," he said.

"You don't look well."

"He was our brother," explained Grob.

King Alberich looked quite distraught by the news. "Oh. Oh, my. I am so dreadfully sorry you had to find out this way. Please... I-"

"No," said Grob Gob Glob Grod. "Believe me. He had it coming." Then Grob Gob Glob Grod turned around and went after Finn.

Finn was crouched on the edge of the front steps of the castle, leaning over one of the gaudy pink bushes that lined the path as he wiped his mouth. Clearly he had just thrown up.

"Are you okay?" asked Grod.

"Yeah," said Finn as he rubbed his stomach. "Yeah... but you, man. Are you okay? That was your brother."

"I think so," said Grob Gob Glob Grod.

"It may be hard to understand," said Gob, "but we're actually relieved, in a way."

"That's right," said Grod, turning their head around. "We've already lost him, from the brother we loved to the man he'd become."

"This time," Grob continued, "at least there's closure. No more what-if's for the future. It's over."

"And if what you say is true," said Glob, "then our greatest wish has come true: Magic Man has finally, finally learned to care about other people again."

"So we feel confident in saying that he is finally with his Margles once again," said Gob.

"We will not tell anyone what you told us," added Glob. "If Magic Man's final wish was to save you from the punishment of the fairy kingdom, we see fit to honor that. Please live your life well."

Just then one of the Royal Guard exited the temple, holding in front of him what seemed to be a small urn. One of Grob Gob Glob Grod had to look at it, and that was Grob. The guard caught Grob's eye, and looked away quickly as he flew off towards the castle.

"We must go now," said Grob in a choked voice. He turned to Finn, and Finn saw his eyes slightly watered.

"We're not coming back," said Grob Gob Glob Grod, before taking off into the sky through dimensions, back to Mars where they came from.

Finn stood there on the temple steps, wondering if the gut-punched feeling he had would go away anytime soon. Also he wondered if anybody was going to fix his size when he left.

At precisely three in the morning, Ephermelda gathered up the backpack and fluttered out of her room in the castle, leaving her new husband behind asleep. She went straight to the rendezvous point just outside the entrance to the Fairy Kingdom. Cyril was there waiting for her.

"I wish you didn't have to do this," said Ephermelda.

"Did you get my stuff?"

She tossed him his pack. "Everything's in there. You don't have to check."

Cyril opened the bag and began to paw through it anyway. "Did everything go okay?"

"Exactly the way you said it would go. There was only one 'hitch' today and it weren't anywhere near the plan."

"Good." He slung the pack onto his back. "I gotta go now. Far away. So... we're splitsville."

"I wondered what took you so long."

Ephermelda was quite surprised when he just suddenly reached out and hugged her. It took her a moment to remember to hug him back. "Thanks for everything," he said.

"Uh... yeah. Anytime. It was a blast." She patted his back. "I'll miss you. If I'm ever in your neighborhood, I'll look you up."

"Don't go near my neighborhood," he said. "It's awful there." He broke the hug. "Be good, now, Mrs. Manticore."

"You're telling me to be good." She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Okay. I will if you will."

"That's a promise. I'll miss you, too." With that, he turned and took off. She watched him go, a dim silhouette in the moonlight. Though he got further and further away his shape didn't get any smaller, although it did change a bit.

Ephermelda leaned back against the nearest tree, hands wringing her ponytail. "Take care, Magic Man," she said to herself. Then she turned and went back through the portal to her new life.