Chapter 25: Awaiting Disaster

Flame Princess sat along the edge of a small stream in the Citadel's rocky outskirts, having gone out to enjoy the magnificence of the temple like she had wanted to earlier. Her hand was held out into the crystal clear water; enjoying the strange feeling it gave her fiery skin. It was still weird to her, being able to make contact with the dreaded substance. However, she recalled that she could touch the liquid form the Citadel even before Finn got his desire. Heck, she had drank some of it!

As the fire elemental pondered the attributes of the mysterious streams around the fortress, Solara came up from behind and quietly sat next to the girl, making just enough noise so as to not startle her. FP gave the woman a greeting smile then looked back to the water. The Ancestral Flame noticed her curious eyes and smiled back.

"Wondering about the water, are you?"

Flame Princess nodded, continuing to run her fingers through the flow. Solara took her own hand and dipped it in, feeling the refreshing coolness of the hydrating element.

"Do you know what's special about it?" the fiery princess asked.

The angelic entity sighed a little, as if she had been asked the question before, or perhaps wondered herself at some point.

"I honestly don't know. Strange that I don't but there you have it."

FP was indeed surprised. Here sat the oldest living being and she didn't have a clue as to the defying principles of the river network running through the Citadel. The girl decided not to dwell too much or pester the precursor further; she was too busy enjoying that which no other of her kind could.

"Do you think I can touch normal water?"

Solara looked curiously at the young ruler, and then broke out a small chuckle.

"Well, I'd say it's been one of the things between you and Finn, and in that regard I would say you should be able to."

Flame Princess was in deep thought at this point, wondering how she could enjoy the freedom her man had given her. The first thing to come to mind was swimming. Finn had never really shown an interest (due to previous issues with the ocean) but now not only had he gotten past that but she could come alongside him. The girl smiled then turned to Solara.

"Have you ever been swimming before?"

The precursor was a bit caught off guard by the question but quickly recovered and let out a small laugh.

"Haha. Yes in fact. There have been many cycles where physics allow direct contact between fire and water. It's quite the feeling I tell you; very refreshing and relaxing. I know that there's no need for it since we're made of fire but you also feel cleaner, rejuvenated, like someone has peeled off all the gunk on your skin."

Solara leaned back and sighed happily.

"All this talk about it has gotten me excited for the next cycle. Maybe I can enjoy the feeling again."

Looking over, the woman saw that Flame Princess was frowning. It took a minute, but the angelic lady figured out her poor word choice.

"I'm sorry dear; I didn't mean it like that."

FP shook her head and looked back to the stream.

"No it's not what you think. I'm happy you'll be able to experience that, it's just…I've been thinking…about the whole 'precursor' thing."

Solara curiously turned to face the young fire elemental, who gazed back into the entity's eyes.

"It seems like so many of you are sad and lonely. You just sort of wander the multiverse, finding whatever you can to occupy your limitless time."

The Ancestral Flame's eyes widened a little, understanding what FP was inquiring. The woman looked up into the cosmos surrounding the Citadel, seeing numerous galaxies and stars free from any other dimension.

"It's true I'm afraid. The vast majority of precursors have quite a miserable existence. We were all ripped from our very way of life, our people, our homes; even our physical laws were taken away as the new cycle arrived."

Flame Princess was intently listening to the saddened tale. She reached out and took Solara's hand, trying to comfort the poor lady. The white entity smiled, grateful for the support.

"It's people like you, Finn, and all your friends that make each cycle worth it. To have such amazing companions is all that a precursor could ask for. Someone to be there."

The Flame chuckled all of a sudden.

"He won't admit it, but I think that's the reason Sentin offered you to stay here. You all have strong hearts filled with compassion. It would be a crime shame for all of it to go to waste."

FP gave a hard look, studying the beautiful mountain range nearby.

"What about family? Can precursors have one?"

Solara froze at the question, unable to respond for a short time. Then, she lowered her head and frowned. The princess felt bad now for the reaction she'd caused.

"No. Although the… act of 'procreation'…"

She blushed a bit.

"…is perfectly possible, the ability to have children is not. Precursors' fertility sterilizes once their cycle ends. Females in particular feel a great pain at this fact. Many of the ones I have found in the past were never old enough to become a mother. And they never will."

The angelic woman began to cry. Flame Princess scooted closer and placed an arm around the lady's shoulders.

"I feel terrible every time I run into a young girl who has been tragically thrown into the depths of a new universe, unable to raise a bundle of joy of her own, even if she does somehow find a partner to be with."

The precursor lifted her head up and looked to FP.

"In the vast expanse of the multiverse, even finding someone to love is a monumental task. Never once have I encountered a couple while scouring the cosmos."

She laid her head into her knees, which she had brought up when she started her sobbing. The fire elemental stayed close by, knowing that people like Solara had gone through more hell than anyone could ever imagine.

"The worst part is…I have, for the most part, accomplished both of these restrictions. Anything I create with my flames grows a consciousness, a free will of its own, however limited. I enjoy the freedom I grant them, including the fire elementals that are born in every cycle. They are all my children and I have deep love for all of them."

Flame Princess leaned in and gave her distant grandmother a hug, showing that she did indeed appreciate what the Ancestral Flame had given her. Solara managed to return the embrace, still dropping some tears.

"Well I definitely am thankful for my life. And I know every other fire elemental is too."

The precursor tightened her grip on the fiery girl.

"Thank you princess, it is not often that I get to hear it directly from someone."

The two separated and looked into the flowing stream, which gently carried the stainless water down the cliffs and over the edge of the Citadel's falls.

"So, you had someone?"

Solara forgot she had mentioned that and sadly looked to the stars above.

"Many cycles ago, I made a friend with whom I had much in common. We both traveled, we both had a fair bit of immaturity, and we both wished we could somehow help our fellow precursors."

FP ventured further, interested by the story.

"Was he ever more than just a friend?"

Solara surprisingly smirked.

"Somewhere in my heart, I think I felt a stronger connection to him. He was kind and sweet, always listening to whatever I said and happily sharing his tales of adventure when we met."

The precursor grew a few new tears in her eyes.

"Sadly, everyone eventually faces the cruelty of the multiverse. The longer you live, the more chance for you to suffer."

Flame Princess maintained her hand on the woman's back, still willing to listen.

"What happened to him?"

Solara's mystical white tears splashed into the rock ledge, evaporating with a quiet wisp of blue.

"Astrum…"

FP's heart felt a sting. Her eyes trembled as the fiery lady next to her desperately attempted to hold back another downpour. The young ruler now understood the ferocity her friend had shown during her battle against the vile being. She embraced the Flame once more.

"I'm sorry Solara."

The woman controller herself.

"No, it's alright. It's healthy to let it out every once in a while. Keep the memory alive; remember what you're fighting for."

Her resolve coming back, Solara managed to crack a small smile to her friend, who returned the expression with difficulty.

"It's always more important to be happy. Make the most of the time at your disposal. I, sadly, will never know this lesson better than you."

Flame Princess stood up and helped the angelic entity to her feet as well.

"If you really think that, then don't feel so terrible that you can do things other precursors can't. One day, you might just find a way to help your people find a place in existence, no matter what cycle it is."

The two ladies shared one last grin before a sudden blaring went off in the distance. They spun their heads toward the Citadel. Solara had a nervous look upon her face.

"What is that?" Flame Princess asked with a hint of panic.

The precursor drew a hard expression.

"The dimensional alarm. Something isn't the way it should be. Come on."

She gestured for the girl to follow as she shot herself into the air. FP stayed close behind, wondering what could be happening.

Flying up the stairs, the two fiery beings hurried with all the speed they could muster, not wanting to miss the important call to attention. Upon reaching the top of the landing, both ladies slowed their momentum and landed cleanly on the floor. The entire gang saw them come in and waved them over. Apparently everyone else was in the fortress when the alarm was set off.

"What's going on Index?"

Solara walked up to the mechanical keeper with an expression of concern. Her friend motioned to the hologram the orb had expanded to fill the center of the room.

"Astrum has begun attempting to override their dimension's space-time nexus."

FP and Solara's eyes grew wide as they received the news.

"What!? But he doesn't even have enough Shards to remove all the divine influence."

Sentin stepped forward.

"Apparently, Astrum did not know the correct number of deities he would have to corrupt. Once he realizes that he cannot create a wormhole to Eternity he will assume his mistake and continue the search for the fourth Shard."

Everyone began murmuring as Index floated to the center of attention. The being cleared his throat to calm the crowd.

"This presents a troubling issue. Astrum can sense the Shards energy. He will, eventually, find out it is here at the Citadel. However, he can obviously not attack us head on; no matter how strong he might be he could never punch through all of us and break into the fortress himself. And the temporal shielding around the temple prevents any spacial rifts from allowing entrance to more than a single individual at once."

The archivist crossed his arms.

"He cannot bring in backup, he cannot go it alone. So if he makes a move, it will be something none of us will expect. We have to be ready."

The group nodded in agreement. Princess Bubblegum spoke up.

"It's probably best if all of us return to Ooo. There may be adverse reactions to Astrum's attempted override. We should be wary of any damages to our dimension."

The gang of friends nodded again. Index hovered nearer.

"With any luck princess, you'll be able to find a way to destroy the shards for good. The Citadel is incredible but it lacks appropriate scientific equipment. I'm sure your own facilities will provide much more effective research."

PB agreed and motioned for her friends to activate their insignias. As everyone's symbols glowed, the Ooocians waved a farewell to their precursor allies.

The group reappeared right in front of the tree fort, still standing empty and waiting for its usual inhabitant sot return. After several goodbyes, the team separated and went to their respective homes. By the time all had been said and done, Finn, Jake, and Flame Princes were the only ones left.

The yellow dog turned to his bro and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Listen dude, I should really be getting back to Lady. She's probably worried sick, and mad too now that I think of it."

Finn raised his hand and smiled.

"I understand bro. Go to her, she needs her man."

Jake Grinned widely and gave the human a fist bump. He then grew 50 feet tall and began making the journey back to his wife. As he gained some significant distance from the tree house, he turned back and cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Don't do anything irresponsible you two!"

The young couple blushed before giving a stern look to the ever shrinking dog, who laughed to himself as he disappeared over the horizon. Once Jake was out of sight, Flame Princess looked into the sky, seeing where the sun was.

"Looks like it's around noon. I better go check on the kingdom to make sure nothing stupid has happened again."

She turned to Finn.

"You in?"

The young man thought for a moment before gazing sadly back at his fiancée.

"I'd love to FP but I've got some stuff to take care of at home."

The princess was highly disappointed at this and frowned. The hero noticed the saddened mood and attempted to rectify it.

"But you're welcome to come back when you're done at the palace."

He smiled hopefully at the girl, waiting for the response. To his delight, she smiled back and walked up to hug him. He gladly accepted and wrapped his arms around the fire elemental, enjoying both the warmth of her flames and the warmth of their hearts. They held on for a good few minutes before FP broke it off.

"That sounds nice. I'll be over later."

She leaned her head forward and reached for Finn's lips, which he graciously offered to her as they connected in a loving kiss. After separating, the two stood with their foreheads pressed against each other.

"I love you Finn."

The human held her closer.

"I love you too FP."

With a final goodbye, the couple split and Finn watched his beautiful lady fly off into the clear sky, leaving behind a wonderful trial of flames that slowly dissipated into the air. The young man watched the spectacle until he could no longer see the fiery girl. With that, he turned and walked into his house.

It was terribly empty, as it felt from the outside as well. Finn strolled into the kitchen and laid his pack down by the table, taking his infinity sword with him as he climbed the stairs to his room. Upon entering the humble abode, the human walked over and slung the weapon onto the holder over his bed and stood back admiring the cobalt blade.

I can't wait to smash Astrum in the face with this thing.

Grinning, Finn then left the room to go about his daily business of keeping the house in order, which at the moment included checking for cracks in the wood and weak supports in the inner trunk. Maintenance was really a bother to him, as this was a routine he had to perform once a week.

As the human proceeded up a ladder he had leaned on the house, he smiled to himself, thinking how much easier it would be once he lived in the Fire Kingdom palace with his beloved. At least there he would be able to use alchemy to simply repair any damages to the fairly basic structure and materials of the building. The tree fort was, unfortunately, constructed into quite the elaborate home, with many curves and delicate sections of wall and support that would normally collapse under the strain of a transmutation.

Finn sighed.

Boy am I going to enjoy the break we get once that psycho is taken down.

It was late afternoon by the time the hero finished touching up the heavily degraded exterior of the house. He was so exhausted in fact, that he had fallen asleep on the roof, not having the energy to even crawl through the window and lie on the floor where at least he'd be protected from the elements.

Lucky for him, the evening sky showed no signs of rain, wind, or even a knife storm. He peacefully remained passed out on the green surface of the fort's topside for several hours, not even once waking up to see what time it was.

Eventually though, the human managed to snap out of his slumber and groggily got to his feet, taking a big yawn.

Shoot. How long was I out?

Looking at the sky, Finn saw it was straight night out. He frowned, upset that all that time had gone to waste. Sadly, he made his way to the ladder and climbed down with a slightly slow pace, worried he might hurt himself if he fell from this height due to still being a little woozy.

As his feet reached the ground, Finn realized just how numb his joints were, as he nearly fell over from the landing. Shaking his head in an attempt to throw aside his blurry vision the young man stumbled to the door, taking a minute to find the door knob. Once inside, he could swear he was feeling something strange on his hand, but was still too dazed to worry about it.

Maybe a nice cold shower will slap some sense into me.

Acting on a good hunch, the human slowly made his way up the ladder to the bathroom, trying very hard not to lose his weak grip and fall all the way back down. It was a hard task but not impossible. He continued to feel the strange sensation on his hand however. He hoped that a bee had not gotten the idea to sting him while he was knocked out on the roof.

Reaching the right landing, Finn gave up on walking and crawled on his hands and knees toward the bathroom. The feeling on his hand only grew stronger. As the young man neared the door, he saw that there was light coming out from beneath the space between it and the floor. His eyes went wide as some focus returned to him.

Oh great. I'm passed out for a few hours and somebody breaks in to use the can. I really should get some kind of locks on the place.

Crawling nearer to the room however, the human suddenly heard running water. He grew more irritated.

And they're using my shower! That's it, when they walk out, I'm gonna wonk them on the head!

Realistically, the exhausted hero didn't have the energy to even fight off a pigeon if one had the mind to attack him. Realizing the dilemma, Finn sighed and dragged himself right in front of the door, letting his drained body fall flat on the wooden floor. He let out an agitated breath, knowing he might just end up getting beat up by whoever was inside his bathroom, and possibly also robbed, and humiliated as well. After all, for one of the greatest heroes in Ooo to be stolen from as he lay helpless on the ground was indeed something to laugh at.

As the young man was contemplating his awful positioning, the water turned off and the being inside took a minute to apparently dry off. The human frowned, awaiting the expected laughter from the intruder at the pathetic stance he was it. As the door was swung open however, his face instantly dropped to a dumbfounded and completely flabbergasted expression.

Standing in the doorway, shaking off the last bits of water still clinging to her gorgeous crimson hair, and wearing only a towel around herself, was Flame Princess. The fiery girl waved her locks around a few more seconds and finally opened her golden eyes, giving a refreshing sigh as she proceeded to step out of the bathroom. Of course, she immediately stopped when she noticed the half-passed out human lying on the floor.

What followed was an extremely loud scream that Finn could have sworn shattered an eardrum or two. He regretted that he couldn't cover his poor sound holes but was even more regretful of how red his face was and how badly his position must have looked to the fire elemental standing before him.

"FINN! WHAT THE BJORK ARE YOU DOING?!"

FP immediately held her arms in front of her covered form, turning quite red herself as her face was consumed by absolute surprise and embarrassment. The exhausted young man summoned unknown strength to hold his arms up into the air and shake them as much as he could. He also put great effort into making his voice sound as urgent as he could.

"Flame Princess it's not what you think! I was passed out on the roof and when I came in I thought someone had broken into the house and I couldn't keep myself up anymore and fell over in front of the bathroom!"

He spoke, surprisingly, very fast for someone with his current level of energy. Sadly, his arms ran out of steam again a moment later and fell with a clunk onto the floor. It was no different than if the hero was chained to the floor. He couldn't move whatsoever.

Meanwhile, FP slowly inched her way back over to the collapsed young man, still nervous about her lack of appropriate coverage. She was relieved when she saw that Finn was so dazed he was just staring at the ceiling. His blue eyes were rolling around in his sockets, unable to focus clearly on anything. He tried to speak again, but being out of breath for the moment, all that came out was basically gibberish.

"Pwez don kill mweee effpea. I swearzies I'zzz din no was yousss…."

Flame Princess couldn't help it, she burst out laughing, impossibly trying to contain the need to react to her man's hysterical antics. The best Finn could do to show his confusion was tilt his head slightly, wondering why the fiery girl wasn't burning him alive or at the least giving him a good kick in the stomach. FP eventually couldn't keep herself on her feet with her hysteria, sinking to her knees next to the human's head.

At long last, she calmed down and managed to look at her fiancé with a straight face, albeit still holding a massive grin on her sweet lips . She gazed into his barely open eyes as she began running her fingers through several strands of golden hair that were sticking out from his hat.

"It's ok Finn. I understand you've always got to be the big 'tough guy' and protect your turf, even if you can't move."

The girl giggled, still recovering from the laugh-fest she had earlier. Finn just struggled to hold his eyes on her amber ones, which were reflected in his black pupils. The effect caused the ocean colored gaze to appear so benevolent, making Flame Princess stare even deeper into them. Slowly, she leaned down and placed her upside down lips against his, which he was unable to react to beyond tightening the muscles in his mouth so as to not leave his lady hanging.

Raising her head back up, FP gently pulled the hero up to her lap, stroking his cheeks as he continued to lose consciousness. Somehow, he gave out a small grin.

"Wow…the warmth of your thighs feels nice against my neck."

Flame Princess blushed when she remembered how little of her legs were covered by the towel, but then again, Finn was in no position to question her attire. The poor young man was now intently looking at the door frame above. He noticed a large crack in the wood, causing him to make a small gasp. FP gave a concerned look.

"What's wrong Finn?"

The human frowned.

"That time I was asleep…I didn't get the chance to do the interior repairs."

Before FP could ask why he had brought up the subject, the door frame cracked more and a good sized piece of wood fell from the damaged portion of the wall. It lightly conked Finn on the head, nearly knocking him out for good.

"Finn!"

Flame Princess got up and dragged the human away from the crumbled frame and, after managed to get her hands under his arms, pulled him slowly into his bedroom across the hall. Once inside, she used a great deal of effort into lifting the hero onto his bed. She groaned, wishing again that the young man wasn't so heavy.

Darn muscles, with their weight and their size…and strength…and attractiveness…and WHAT!

The fire elemental shook her head rapidly, trying to shake out both the thoughts and the crimson coloring of her cheeks. Sitting down next to her love, she gently slid off his hat and placed it on the night stand, then giving him one last kiss on the cheek before he finally passed out.

"Goodnight Finn, I love you."

The human couldn't make a smile but managed to blurt out, likely out of delusion from the blow to his head, a single sentence.

"Goodnight Flame Princess, I love you too and you're soooo hot…."

He was out, leaving a dangerously red FP sitting next to him. Determined to shake off the embarrassment, she stood up and went over to the other side of the room, thinking to herself.

Hm. Well, acting like a human was fun, especially the shower. Solara was right about that rejuvenated feeling. I guess the last thing to do is get dressed like one.

While the princess was busy getting ready for bed, Finn was talking to himself in the space between sleep and awake, somewhat of a limbo state. His physical face formed a proud smile.

Good job Finn, you avoided an accidental tier 12. Thank Glob I was too zoned out to let my eyes wander.

While the human was savoring the preservation of his righteous, the ceiling of his room began to crack. A few chips of wood fell down onto the young man's face, tickling his nose. It didn't stir him, but what happened next definitely would.

A large chunk of the wooden flooring above gave way, falling fast and striking the hero between his legs. Unfortunately, his nerves didn't need his permission to react. The shock caused him to instantly spring up and knock his head on the infinity sword hanging above. This was clearly a bad day for his cranium; he'd be surprised if he didn't get brain damage. Aside from the expected shout of pain for both his crotch and head injuries, there was also another loud scream from the other side of the room.

Instinctually, Finn's eyes flashed open, looking directly forward for a split second. Even that was enough to make his face gather up all the blood in his body. For the final time, the human's head fell back down to the pillow underneath. One last thought moved through his head as darkness enveloped his mind.

What was that saying Marcy told me about one time? Oh yeah…Murphy's Law.

When Finn next woke up it was morning. Several things were different. For one, there was a layer of bandages around the top of his head, which still ached a bit from the relentless beatings it took the night before. Another difference was the lack of his sword hanging from the wall. Looking around, he spotted it by the cabinet where Jake used to sleep. It easily rested against the wooden drawers, not bothering anyone. Finn frowned.

I guess I've been too paranoid with the whole idea of keeping a weapon within reaching distance at all times.

The human groaned as he got up from his bed, realizing his whole body was sore. He became worried that he'd be useless to his friends if Astrum showed up.

"No way! I'll always be ready to punch that guy's lights out!"

The self-pep talk helped, allowing him to stretch out his arms and legs and give his neck a few cracks. Once his joints were moving again, he heard a light knock near the entrance to the room. Spinning around, Finn found himself facing Flame princess, who was leaning against the doorframe, a stoic look upon her face. The human instantly felt several beads of sweat gather on his neck.

"Fl-Flame Princess, uh, good morning."

He stuttered a bit and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to avoid eye contact. FP strolled into the room and stood in front of the hero, who still refused to look her in the amber gaze. He tried to come up with an apology.

"Listen I know I messed up bad last night and I'm really sorry and I totally understand if you want some time apart in addition to throwing me through a few walls or burning my butt off or whatever you might think of t-"

He was interrupted as the fiery girl threw herself into him, wrapping her arms around the young man's back and holding on tightly. Finn was completely lost, disbelieving that this was the response to his blundering. He only managed to spit out the next sentences in chunks.

"How…could you…just…hug me? Not even…like a slap…or something?"

Flame Princess raised he head to look the human in the eyes. Her expression was one of concern. The hero didn't know what to say. Finally, she spoke.

"Finn, you got hurt a lot. I was worried. I tried waking you up several times this morning but you wouldn't even twitch. I could barely sleep at all last night, thinking that there was just some dead person next to me."

The human's eyes shot wide open.

"You, slept in my bed?"

The fire elemental gazed into his blue eyes, still holding the look of concern.

"Of course I did, I love you and always what to be right there next to you."

Finn had apparently missed a whole section of the 'logic' rulebook, or perhaps a newer section of the 'love conquers all' handbook. Either way, he was touched that the incident had been forgiven in light of his wellbeing. Finally, he managed to smile.

"Wow, that means a lot FP."

The girl smiled back giving her man a quick kiss before finally releasing her hold on him.

"Come on dummy, let's go eat breakfast."

Finn just stood there as the princess began to walk toward the doorway. She stopped when she noticed the young man wasn't following. She turned and crossed her arms, giving the human an irritated stare.

"Finn, come on. I'm like crazy hungry."

The hero remained standing. He looked nervously at the ground.

"I still think…you should hit me or something."

The fire elemental groaned and walked back over to the stubborn guy.

"You've taken enough hits for one day, or more like a week's worth. Just let it go Finn, I'm not mad, it wasn't your fault."

The human still stood vigilantly.

"Sorry FP, but my righteous heart demands a consequence."

Another groan escaped the fiery girl's mouth as she rolled her eyes. She began looking around the room, trying to spot something to satisfy his need for a punishment. Finally, she spotted a rather large object on a shelf nearby. The fire elemental grinned, making Finn a bit nervous. He didn't look however, as FP strolled over and picked up an object that sounded fairly heavy.

At first he thought the girl was going to drop a few bricks on him, but this was disproved when a massive text was thrown down at his feet. On its cover was the Fire Kingdom emblem. The human looked at the book with curiosity, wondering where it came from. Flame Princess crossed her arms and smirked.

"I brought this over for you to study bit by bit. But since you're so desperate to take some pain, I'm having you read the entire code of laws for the Fire Kingdom. And trust me, I'll know if you skipped pages. I had to read it myself a few years ago."

Finn gazed at the text with disbelief then shifted the look to his lady. She held the smirk for another moment, then turned and walked off.

"Flame Princess…." the human whined from behind her.

She just smiled.

At least he can do something productive.

I really appreciate you guys bearing with me on all the grammar errors in these chapters. Thing is I submit these literally the minute before I go to sleep so there's not really time to proofread.

Hope you enjoyed and please review!

next:Chapter 26: The Honorable King