Chapter 21: Choices, Right or Wrong

"Open the gate!" a banana guard shouted as Finn, Phoebe, Mike, and Rattleballs approached the Candy Kingdom.

The massive gates creaked open as they bent edges scratched against the ground. The city didn't look much better from the inside. Most of the people were either packing to leave just outside their houses or were stubborn to stay so they were boarding up their windows.

The group received confused glazes from them but their eyes turned away on account that they had their helmets on, concealing their faces. A carriage carrying wounded soldiers passed across the street in front of them, assaulting their ears with the sound of spinning wheels and the groans of the people it carried. They kept on walking towards the palace once it passed.

A few children were running around, laughing and playing as if everything around them was fine. The air became filled with the whispers and murmurs of the people as they kept seeing the group walk by.

"Who are they?"

"Are they with the Fire Kingdom?"

"Will they help us?"

"They better not cause any trouble."

The group was finally able to reach the entrance to the palace. The guards pointed their spears at them but lowered them soon after they saw Rattleballs. The rest of their path was clear as the gates to the palace were opened and they stepped inside.

Unlike the practically dead streets of the city, the palace was booming with activity as soldiers and workers ran around the throne room. Standing near the throne itself with the captain of the guard speaking to her was Princess Bubblegum herself, drinking tea from mug that she placed on a tray Peppermint Butler held up next to her.

The bubblegum princess looked towards the group and raised an eyebrow at them.

"Thank you. Can you excuse me for a second?" she asked the captain in front of her.

The captain bowed and walked off to continue his duties. PB walked to the group and Rattleballs placed his closed fist against his chest.

"Princess," he said.

"Hello Rattleballs. Who are these people?" PB asked.

"I think it would be better to explain in a private area. But they're here to help," Rattleballs replied.

"I'm kind of busy right now, Rattleballs. Can this wait?" she asked.

"It can, but what they have to offer is worth your time."

PB looked at the three masked figures and sighed.

"Alright, but let's make this quick. We can go to my chambers," she said.

She led the way as they passed through the inner halls of the palace. Some of the workers were busy patching up holes in the walls and clearing out most of the debris. Finn had to duck underneath a long wooden beam when a worker came out of one of the rooms and nearly hit his head. Once they reached PB's room, she opened the door and stepped inside as the group followed.

Her room had changed a lot from the times Finn had seen it. The walls were lined with countless maps and battle plans. There was a table filled with even more papers and pictures of different weapons from both armies. PB closed the door once the group was in, looking even more tired than before in the dim light.

"Okay, who are you people? And why do you want to help us?" PB asked.

The group all turned to Finn, prompting him to be the first to talk. He was hesitant at first but eventually began to walk towards the waiting princess. Once he was only inches from her, he began moving his hand up slowly to remove his helmet.

Finn's hand reached the switch and the helmet began to disappear into the suit, revealing his face from the top down. PB's eyes widened and her mouth opened just from the look of Finn's recognizable blond hair, but her expression was more terrified than surprised when she saw the eyepatch over his eye. The helmet was now gone, and PB got a full view of the young hero's face after a whole month.

There was just silence for what felt like the longest time for Finn. PB's face was showing a multitude of emotions from surprise, confusion, sadness, and disbelief. Eventually, she began to walk slowly towards Finn until she was able to bring her hand up towards his cheek and over one of the eyepatch's straps.

"Finn?" PB asked as her eyes became watery.

"Yeah… it's me," Finn replied.

A single tear dripped down PB's cheek as she wrapped her arms around Finn and pulled him into a hug. Finn, after recovering from the sudden force, proceeded to wrap his own arms around her. Meanwhile, Phoebe and Mike removed their own helmets and watched as the two separated from their hug. PB sniffed and wiped away the tears from her face.

"You're alive," she said. She looked over Finn's shoulder and saw Mike and Phoebe. "Who are they? They look… human."

Finn looked towards the others and pointed at them as he introduced them.

"This is Mike. Though I think he'd like to keep it at that. And this…" he paused when he pointed towards Phoebe, "this is Flame Princess."

PB was dumbfounded until she studied Phoebe's face closer. There was no denying the similarities.

"Wait… Phoebe?" PB asked.

"In the flesh," Phoebe replied.

PB slowly approached Phoebe and looked at her up and down. Without a warning she also grabbed Phoebe's arm and extended it.

"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked.

"Where did you get this kind of gear?" PB asked.

"Long story," Phoebe replied. Silence remained between them both as PB kept studying her. "PB, is there… some way you could turn me back to my old self?"

PB looked at her in the face and let go of her arm.

"Maybe… but I don't even how they were taken away to begin with. It seems like all they did was remove your power gem and I can't do much without it or something similar."

Phoebe wasn't too satisfied with the answer but nodded anyway. PB looked at the entire group, still mesmerized by the fact they were still alive and Phoebe had lost her powers.

"How did all this happen? Everyone thought you were dead," PB said.

"We've been in hiding this past month. Didn't Rattleballs tell you anything?" Finn asked.

PB looked over Finn's shoulder at Rattleballs, giving him and angry glare.

"You knew?" she asked.

"Yes," Rattleballs replied.

"And you didn't tell me?!" PB shouted.

"I didn't think you needed to know until the time was right."

Whatever sadness PB was going through a few seconds ago was now replaced with anger at Rattleballs. She walked over to the table and placed her hands on top of the many papers as she sighed to calm herself down. Once she did, she turned her head to face the group.

"I guess right now isn't the time for anger. We have bigger problems to deal with. Flame King has been constantly moving against the kingdom and I-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you just say 'Flame King'?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah. He's the one leading the army," PB replied.

"But… how?" Finn asked.

Before PB had the chance to answer, the hallway outside the room was filled with the sound of clattering and people shouting in fear. Finn, Phoebe, Rattleballs, and Mike all pulled out their swords as the sounds got closer.

"What's happening out there?" PB asked.

The sounds became louder until they were just outside the door. There were several footsteps and a man began speaking, followed by a woman's voice.

"Ma'am, you're really not supposed to be in-AHHHHHH!"

"WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS THAT LYING, NO GOOD, WEENIE?!"

"Oh no…" Finn said.

Suddenly, the door was kicked open and Marceline stepped in. Her eyes were red and her face showed she was clearly furious.

"You!" she said as she pointed at Finn.

"H-hey, Marcie. What's up?" Finn said nervously.

Marceline just growled and began to fly towards Finn at breakneck speed. Finn prepared himself to receive a punch but was instead knocked towards the ground as Marceline wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug much tighter than PB.

"I thought you were dead!" she said as her voice was muffled from pressing her mouth against Finn's shoulder.

"It's a long story," Finn said struggling through her grip. She eventually let go of him and he was able to fully stand up. "How did you even find me?

"I can smell human from a mile away. And there aren't that many around here, are there?" Marceline replied. She looked behind him and saw Phoebe and Mike. "Except those, apparently. What's going on, Finn?"

"Oh, they're-"

Before Finn could finish, Lady Rainicorn flew into the room, causing him to groan silently.

'Is everyone in Ooo gonna be coming into this room?' he thought.

"다 그래? 내가 들었어요 소리 짤," Lady said, though most of them didn't understand what she said.

"Everything is fine, Lady," PB said.

Lady looked towards Finn and her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of him.

Before Finn had any time to react, Lady flew towards him and pulled him into a tight hug, nearly knocking him to the ground again. She let go after several seconds but she still kept her arms resting on his shoulders.

"당신은 살아 있어! 어디 제이크는?"

Finn could only make out the word "Jake".

"Sorry, Lady. I don't know where Jake is," he said.

Lady just closed her eyes and bowed her head before taking her arms off his shoulders and slowly floating back. PB went over and closed the door so that no one else would barge in.

"Okay, Finn, it's time to start explaining," PB said.

"Yeah. Every single detail," Marceline said.

And so Finn began telling them the entire story from the beginning. Phoebe and Mike both spoke as well every so often to fill in details Finn missed. The girls found most of it hard to believe, especially when he talked about Olympia. He didn't say a word about the queen being his mother; he found that information unnecessary.

They all seemed to grow expressions of hatred every time Finn mentioned Cypher and everything he'd done right to the point of cutting out Finn's eye. After nearly a half-hour, he was finished and just waited for their reactions.

"If I get my hands on this Cypher guy, he'll have a lot of things coming to him," Marceline said as she wrapped her fist in her hand.

"우리는 또한 그는 제이크와 무슨 짓을 해야 합니다."

"That's true. As long as they have Jake, we can't make many hasty moves," PB said. "But why would they release Flame King? Why would they take Phoebe's powers? And what do they gain from starting a war by using him? I don't get this, and I really don't like not knowing."

"We don't know either. That's why we're here," Phoebe said.

"Unfortunately, our guesses are as good as yours," Rattleballs said. "We don't know the full scope of the situation, but we can find out."

"How?" Finn asked.

"You mentioned that Flint was supposed to be the one to rule, correct?" Rattleballs asked Phoebe.

"Right," Phoebe replied.

"So we find him," Rattleballs added. "Flame King's headquarters in knee deep inside their camp, but we might be able to find Flint among their foot soldiers on the outskirts. Whether he's on Flame King's side or not, he's our only source of information among their ranks."

"True, but it won't be easy sneaking our way in," Finn said.

"내가 그릴 수 있었다 당신의 갑옷 그들의 같은 색. 그 수 쉽게 그것은."

"That's a good idea, Lady. Yes, she could paint your armor to look like theirs to help you blend in," PB said.

"Okay, but if we're doing this, we cannot get caught. If we do, I don't think it'll just be Flame King to worry about if he is working for the Syndicate," Finn said.

"Obviously," Mike said, one of the very few words he's said since they arrived.

"I'll go with you guys. I can make myself invisible, after all," Marceline said.

"The war is at a ceasefire for now. This is a better chance to go than any other before they continue their attack tomorrow," PB said.

Finn looked around at the whole group. They all seemed to be on board with the plan, except for Mike; but then again, he didn't have much of a choice.

"Alright. Let's do this," Finn said.

After having gone through their plan a few times, the group was now ready to head out into Fire kingdom territory. They all stood on the palace's highest balcony as Lady applied the color to their armor, making them look like flame soldiers. Mostly.

Once Lady was done, the group thanked her. Lady simply bowed her head and nodded before flying to the side, allowing passage to PB and Rattleballs.

"I apologize that I won't be joining you, but someone has to keep an eye out for Fire Kingdom spies," Rattleballs said.

"It's alright. We can handle this," Finn replied.

"Be safe, Finn. You got lucky the first time you nearly died, but here…" PB said but never finished.

"I'll be fine, PB," Finn replied.

She nodded then looked towards Marceline as she hovered over the balcony's edge. She was wearing a hoodie to protect herself from any rays of the sun, even though it was currently cloudy.

"You too, Marcy," PB said.

"Pfft, when am I not careful?" Marceline asked. She noticed the worried look on PB's face and sighed. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Once goodbyes were done, Finn, Phoebe, and Mike stood at the edge of the balcony and looked down at the city below. Finn looked towards Phoebe and placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look at him.

"You ready?" Finn asked.

Phoebe responded by putting on her helmet.

"Ready," she replied.

Finn and Mike put on their own helmets and each placed one foot on top of the balcony's edge. With one hard push, they each propelled themselves off the balcony and fell towards the buildings below.

Right before they hit the ground, each of them shot their grappling hooks at a nearby tower and pulled themselves towards it. With enough momentum, they catapulted themselves across it and flew nearly halfway over the city. There was one more tower near the wall that they used to repeat the process and were launched clear over the wall, landing roughly on the grass on the other side and began running towards the nearest tree line.

Once they made sure they weren't seen by anyone from either side, they began running towards the Fire Kingdom encampment. Once some of the tents were in sight, they all knelt and scouted the area, seeing a few soldiers walking by.

"Okay, this is gonna be tricky," Finn said.

"Let's just get this over with," Mike said.

Finn nodded his head and the group ran towards the nearest tent once the guards had moved on. The camp looked empty from their current view, but the constant chatter made it clear there were many more soldiers walking around. Finn raised his hand and pointed towards another tent nearby, prompting them to run towards it.

Progress was being made, but it kept getting progressively difficult with the more guards walking around. Eventually they made it to the center of the camp, barely able to pass by a patrol that refused to change directions as they headed straight for them, but luckily did at the last second.

As they continued their trek across the camp, Finn was nearly caught when the tent he was walking past opened its flaps and two guards walked out. If it wasn't for Mike pulling him back and hiding him behind cover, they would've been spotted for sure.

"Be more careful," Mike said as the guards passed by.

"Thanks," Finn replied.

After multiple close calls, they finally made it to one of the busiest parts of the camp. Finn peeked his head around one of the tents and scouted the area. There were way too many guards to sneak around, and they were already too far inside the camp to find a way around. Finn was tapped on the shoulder from behind and turned around to see Phoebe. She raised her finger and pointed to a particular set of tents on the opposite side of the yard.

Between two of the tents was a cage, and in it was Phoebe's brother, Flint.

Finn was surprised at the sight. Even Flint was a prisoner of Flame King and the Syndicate. He stopped peeking and face Phoebe and Mike.

"Okay, we need to find a way to get to him," Finn said.

"How? There's too many guards," Phoebe replied.

"I'm inclined to agree with her on that one," Mike said.

Finn turned around and peeked his head once more. He scanned the area for any sort of way around without detection. There was none.

"This is gonna be tough," Finn said.

"Maybe we can just walk past," Phoebe said.

"Our disguises are good, but not that good," Mike replied.

"It may be the only option we have," Finn said.

"And risk getting captured or killed? It's a damn convention out there; there's no way we can get across without being noticed by someone, much less once we get to this Flint guy," Mike explained.

"Maybe we can create a distraction," Phoebe said.

"With what? And how are we even supposed to create one when the entire area is being watched?" Mike asked.

"You are just a huge bundle of joy, you know that, Mike?" Finn said.

"I'm just telling it like it is," Mike replied.

"THE STEEDS ARE LOOSE!" one of the soldiers shouted.

The group peeked their heads over the side of the tent and saw the soldiers running in the opposite direction of a stampede of fire steeds. The horses neighed and stomped the ground with their hooves as they ran right through the tents, causing havoc among the soldiers.

"I guess that's a good distraction as any. Let move!" Finn shouted.

The group jumped from their hiding spot and began running across the field. All of the soldiers were too preoccupied with the horses to notice them, but every so often they would nearly get stomped on by the charging beasts. One of the horses charged by with a tent hanging from it and Finn would've been dragged away if Phoebe hadn't cut through it to get him out.

After a few close calls, the group managed to make it to the other side of the field. Finn made sure that no one had noticed them in the chaos then turned to Phoebe and Mike.

"That was close," he said.

"Yeah. I wonder who released the horses," Phoebe replied.

"Forgot about me?"

The group turned to the new voice and an invisible Marceline reappeared behind them.

"How long have you been there?" Finn asked.

"I've been flying beside you the whole time. I got bored of your arguing so I went ahead and caused some chaos," Marceline replied.

"Nice," Mike said.

"Well, we won't be doing much standing here. I'll keep an eye out, you all keep going," Marceline said as she turned invisible again.

The group then continued moving across the tents until they reached Flint's cage. The fire elemental was just sitting at the corner of the cage with his legs bent so his knees would touch his chest. Each of his hands were cuffed and tied to the cage's bars. He looked towards the group with a look of little interest.

"You don't look like regular fire soldiers. Who are you?" Flint asked. Finn removed his helmet to show his face, which made Flint laugh. "Well, well, if it isn't Diaper Guy. You've seen better days."

"I'm not here for jokes, Flint," Finn replied.

"Then why are you here? Everyone thought you were dead and whatever bastards my dad is now working with have taken my sister. If you came here to find out where she is, I'm afraid I can't help you."

"I already know where she is," Finn said.

The comment seemed to have gotten Flint's interest since he raised his head and eyebrows.

"Where?" he asked.

Finn just looked back towards Phoebe and nodded for her to step forward. Once she was inches from the cage's bars, she removed her helmet, revealing her face to Flint. The fire elemental's eyebrows lowered once more and his face was filled with anger.

"Is this some kind of a joke?!" he asked.

Phoebe knelt down so she was level with Flint's head.

"Flint, it's me," she said.

Flint took a good long look at her face and his expression began to soften. The longer he looked, the more she actually looked like his sister. He got up from the cage and walked towards the bars as Phoebe stood up as well.

"Is it really you?" he asked.

He put his hand through the bars and touched Phoebe on the cheek with the tip of his fingers. She had to step back, however, when the fire slightly burned her cheek and she winced from the contact.

"It's me. I'm just… different," Phoebe said.

Flint stared at her with his mouth agape.

"What happened to you?" Flint asked.

"We'll explain later, but right now we gotta go. We need whatever information you've gathered if we're gonna end this," Phoebe said.

Flint still seemed rather hesitant but otherwise nodded and agreed. Phoebe pulled out her sword and cut through the metal bars, making a hole big enough for Flint to pass through. She went inside the cage and cut Flints chains as well, freeing his hands.

Before anyone could say anything else, Marceline reappeared behind them.

"The soldiers are nearly done with the horses. We gotta go," she said.

Once Flint stepped out of the cage, Finn made sure if there were any soldiers in the area. Luckily, they were all still distracted as they gathered the horses. Going across the field once more, the group began to silently trek back the way they came back to the Candy Kingdom.

The whole group knelt behind a tent as they waited for a few soldiers to pass. While they waited, Phoebe looked back at Flint.

"Flint, do you know what happened to Cinnamon Bun?" she asked.

Flint closed his eyes and sighed.

"He's gone. There was nothing we could do by the time we reached him after the attack," he explained.

Phoebe simply nodded and looked back at the front of the group, grateful that her helmet hid the single tear flowing down her cheek. Once the soldiers passed, Finn gave the signal to keep moving.

The whole trip back had been going well so far, with the exception of a few close calls. They remained hidden behind another set of tents as a group of soldiers standing between them and the forest passed by.

"Home stretch," Mike said.

Once the soldiers passed, the group began moving quietly towards the forest. Finn, Mike, and Flint and gone through, and Marceline appeared beside them as well. Right before Phoebe could enter the forest, however, she was stopped dead in her tracks.

"Stop! Who goes there?!" a guard shouted as he aimed his spear at her and began getting closer. "You are not a normal fire citizen. What are you-"

Before the soldier could finish, Mike threw his sword from the tree line and impaled him right through the chest. Phoebe gasped as he saw his body fall to the ground and his eyelids close.

"No!" she shouted.

Finn jumped from the trees and grabbed her by the hand as Mike went to get his sword back and hide the body. Nearby chatter could be heard from the soldiers as they went to investigate Phoebe's shout, but were fortunately far enough to avoid getting noticed.

As they ran through the forest, Phoebe freed herself from Finn's grasp and quickly turned to punch Mike. The Sentinel fell to the ground and groaned as he struggled to get u.

"Why did you kill him?!" Phoebe asked.

"He was gonna alert the entire camp! What else could I do?" Mike asked.

"A lot of things besides killing him! These are my people and I won't have them blindly killed!" Phoebe shouted.

"Sister," Flint said, drawing her attention, "I admit it's not right, but we have to do what it takes to make sure our dad is brought down. Even if it means killing our own."

Phoebe still wasn't convinced. Right before she could continue arguing, Finn gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Phoebe, you know the risks. If we can stop this war, we'll be saving a lot more lives than if it continues the way it is," he said.

Phoebe didn't respond, but it was clear she wasn't gonna argue any further despite still being opposed to killing her own men. She nodded, and the group ran all the way back to Candy Kingdom.

Naturally, Flint had been tied to a chair once everyone reached the Candy Kingdom's castle. The banana guards grabbed him as soon as they went through the gate while wearing protective flame suits and carried him all the way to the princess's quarters. Finn and Phoebe tried to speak against it, but PB kept saying it was just in case.

"I'm not trusting any fire elemental until this is all resolved. He stays here," PB said.

"Fire proof chair, fire proof rope… You're prepared for anything, aren't you?" Flint said.

PB groaned in annoyance but had the courage to approach him.

"You've been around the Fire Kingdom's army long enough to know something. What is Flame King planning?" she asked.

"What he's always been planning: taking over this kingdom," Flint replied.

"But why now? There's no way the fire citizens would agree to this," Phoebe said.

"They do if you set things right beforehand," Flint replied.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked.

"It started with my sister's kidnapping. Everyone was angry that their ruler had been taken away and were asking for whoever was responsible. And they got all the proof they needed when they found the body of a banana guard at the scene."

Finn remembered that day all too well. After Phoebe had been kidnapped and he had been left for dead, a banana guard's corpse was dropped onto the throne room.

"I tried to hold them back as much as possible, but every day people kept coming to the palace demanding war on the Candy Kingdom. Believe me, I would've done it, but I didn't for two reasons: I wanted to find my sister first, and I wanted to avoid bloodshed on our side by using the Fire Giant, which was taken. It was when my father arrived out of nowhere that things began getting complicated."

Flint adjusted his position on the chair and continued.

"A lot of people still preferred my father's rule over Phoebe's, so it didn't take long for him to win a large amount of supporters, even from the guards. He marched into the palace by force and either killed or kidnapped any who were still against him, myself included. And then, just like that, he declared war on the Candy Kingdom. That's all I know."

The whole group looked at each other and turned away from Flint, speaking in whispers so he couldn't hear them.

"Can we trust this guy? He could just be setting us up," Marceline said.

"A lot of what he's said makes sense. Plus, he's right about the banana guard. The Syndicate intentionally set up the Candy Kingdom and started a war," Finn explained.

"But what would the Syndicate gain from starting a war here on Ooo?" Phoebe asked.

"Cypher's grudge has always been against Olympia, so it doesn't make much sense. Though this could just be some sort of distraction. He knows about you, after all," Mike said while nodding at Finn. "Cypher has always been very unpredictable, and I wouldn't rule out any possibilities."

"If this man is responsible for putting my people and Phoebe's in danger, he's got another thing coming," PB said.

"Oh, I'll make sure he learns his manners," Marceline replied.

"또는 어쩌면 그는 그냥 데 도움이 됩니다. 누가 알아."

"Hmm, true. Let's just see where this goes," PB replied.

The group turned back to Flint as he waited their response.

"Alright Flint, we're willing to do whatever it takes to end this war. And you're gonna help us," Phoebe said.

"Seems fair. As long as I don't have to be tied to this chair anymore," Flint replied.

"Get comfy, cause you're staying there until tomorrow," Marceline said.

Flint just groaned in annoyance. The whole group gathered again in a circle and Phoebe spoke in a quiet voice.

"Okay, the Fire Kingdom will end the ceasefire tomorrow. When they do, we'll have hundreds, if not thousands of soldiers knocking our doorstep. I suggest we all get some rest. We're gonna need it."

Night had fallen all across Ooo hours after Flint's rescue. The view from the balcony Finn stood on showed the large orange glow in the distance covering the sky over the Grasslands.

The streets below were mostly empty, save for a very few amount of people. The kingdom seemed completely different than Finn had remembered. It almost seemed like a ghost town, and it would soon be gone unless the war came to a stop. And stopping it was easier said than done.

Finn sighed and went inside the palace, walking through the now deserted hallways as everyone else slept. He made sure not to make too much noise as he walked past some of the rooms in fear of alerting anyone inside. The only other people he ran into as he walked was the occasional guards keeping watch through the windows. One particular door in the hallway was still slightly open, and Finn walked inside.

It was the room assigned to him, Mike, and Phoebe. Phoebe was lying on her side on one of the two beds while Mike sat down on a desk near the back of the room. The only light entering the room was the moonlight from a window and some candles scattered along the floor.

As Finn walked over to lie in bed, he noticed Mike was holding something in his hand, though he still couldn't make out what it was. Taking the opportunity that Mike was looking away from him, Finn began to slowly walk towards him, hoping to get a good view of the item. A few feet away and Finn could make out the outline of a picture frame, but Mike noticed him and hid the picture before Finn could see it.

"Didn't hear you come in," Mike said.

"I was just taking a quick walk. What do you have there?" Finn asked.

"It's… it's nothing," Mike replied.

"Okay," Finn said as he nodded. He respected Mike's privacy and made his way towards the empty bed.

"Wait," Mike said, prompting Finn to stop. Mike sighed and said, "I'll… I'll show you."

Finn walked back towards Mike and he raised the picture he held.

In the picture there was a woman sitting on chair, smiling. She had pale skin, black hair, and emerald green eyes. In her lap sat an infant boy, with a tuff of blonde hair and the same green eyes as the woman. Finn studied the picture and his eye widened as he looked back at Mike.

"Is that…" Finn began.

"My wife… and my son," Mike replied.

Finn's eye remained fully open as he gazed at the picture than back at Mike.

"Then… why were you hitting on Phoebe that one time?" Finn asked.

Mike chuckled at his statement.

"You really need to learn when someone is just messing with you, Finn," Mike's smile slowly disappeared as he looked back down at the picture. "I once said that I made a promise never to come back down to Earth. I did suffer some problems the first time I came here, but that's not the reason I never came back. I had to think about what my death would mean to them both."

"Are they waiting for you at Olympia?" Finn asked.

"My son is. My wife died a year after this picture was taken, back when that damn disease hadn't taken away all of her beauty. My son is six years old now, and living with his aunt. I barely see him anymore, and she always says he hopes to see me walk through the door of the house one day."

"Where do they live?"

"Ruby district. One of the nicer parts of it, anyway."

Mike remained looking at the picture as Finn placed his hand on his shoulder.

"What's your son's name?" Finn asked.

"Ethan. His… his name is Ethan," Mike replied.

"We'll get back to Olympia and you'll see him again. I promise, Mike," Finn said.

Mike just looked up at Finn and smiled at him.

"You see, that's why I grew to hate you, Finn. You're the only real friend I have."

Finn simply chuckled and tapped Mike on the shoulder before heading back towards the bed. As he raised the covers and raised his leg over the edge, he noticed Phoebe had turned on her bed and was wide awake, looking at him.

Finn looked back towards the distracted Mike then stood back up as he headed towards her. He sat on the edge of the bed and Phoebe sat up as well as she rubbed her eye.

"How are you doing?" Finn asked.

Phoebe sighed and crossed her legs to sit better.

"You really wanna know?" she asked. Finn nodded. "I'm terrified. If my kingdom and this one go to war tomorrow, I'll have to kill some of my own people."

"If we can stop Flame King, those numbers will be very few," Finn replied.

Phoebe simply remained quiet before rubbing her other eye.

"I heard you and Mike talking," she said.

"I know," Finn replied.

"Do you think maybe we were wrong getting him involved in this?" she asked.

"Maybe… though at the time we didn't know. I promised him he would be back to see his son, and I plan to keep that promise."

The two of them remained silent for an uncomfortable amount of time before Finn began to get up from the bed.

"Well, I'll leave you to sleep," he said.

Before he could get too far, Phoebe grabbed him by the arm, making him look back down at her.

"Finn… leave the other bed to Mike. Will you sleep next to me tonight?" she asked.

Finn remained hesitant as he kept looking between the empty bed and the one Phoebe laid in.

"S-sure," he replied.

Phoebe placed her head back on her pillow as Finn lied down face-up on his side of the bed. As his eyes began closing, he felt Phoebe's hand rest on his arm and she snuggled closer to him.

"Goodnight, Finn," she said as she yawned.

"Goodnight, Phoebe," Finn replied.

Phoebe was already asleep by the time Finn had finished his sentence. His gaze remained on the room's ceiling for a while before he too closed his eye.

Note: The episode "Bun Bun" is proof that Glob still lives.

I just wanna point some stuff out. This is my first attempt at writing in Korean, so forgive anyone who can understand it if the sentences don't make much sense. Also, I know Flame King is technically "good" now, but I'm still going for the angry tyrant role. Anyway, see you in the next chapter.

Ooobserver: He might remain fully intact. Who knows?

CoolDudeAgent: Let's hope they can pull through.