Chapter 38: Unconventional Counseling
"WHAT!?"
As hard as it was to believe, that single uttered word was a father-son moment. While the two full fire elementals retained a somewhat calm composure, the human and human-fire elemental were staring at each other with incredibly wide eyes and mouths that hung open. Both young men looked nearly identical, with golden blonde hair, fairly tanned skin, similar facial structure, and even the same posture. The only significant difference was their eye colors.
Flame Princess was still holding Finn's hand, although practically squeezing the blood out of it at this point. He didn't notice of course, too preoccupied with staring at Flint from several feet away. The young elemental was doing the same back at the human. He was the first one who managed to speak after a few minutes of awkward silence.
"You're…my dad?"
Flame Queen sighed disappointedly and placed a hand on her son's shoulder.
"Honestly Flint, you don't even know your father's name? It would've been a dead giveaway."
The hybrid being's face turned slightly red, embarrassed. He then resumed his gaze at Finn, who was still in shock. A second later, FP snapped her fingers in the hero's face, bringing him out of his disbelieving trance. He shook his head and refocused, gazing back at the two native beings with a look of curiosity. FQ took a step toward the visiting couple, her face shifting to a cautious expression.
"Before this goes any further, I must ask the two of you something important."
Finn and Flame Princess nodded slowly.
"Have you come to this universe to kill me?"
The couple was astonished at the insanity of such an inquiry. FP strode forward, eyes dead set on the fiery queen.
"Are you crazy?! Why would we ever try to kill someone, much less my own alternate self?"
Finn shared her concerned and bewildered thoughts, furrowing his brow as he looked at the ruler before them.
"I know there are evil Finns out there, believe me, but I would think I'd shown myself to be a pretty cool guy."
Flint interjected at this one.
"Dude, you've been in the throne room for like five minutes, that's not enough time to form a solid judgment."
The human gave in to the logic, frowning at the ground. Flame Queen held up her hands.
"Please, don't be so upset, I was just being cautious. Recent events have caused a great deal of unease in my mind."
FP and Finn calmed themselves, intrigued by the queen's comment, and walked closer to the native pair.
"What do you mean?" the princess asked.
The fiery woman let out a saddening breath and brought her hands together in front of her.
"Last night, I had a prophetic dream. It depicted an alternate version of me and my husband arriving here to the kingdom and attacking me. I awoke before any harm was done but the whole experience has left me on my nerves all day."
The other three individuals were visibly disturbed by the specifics of the vision, pondering deeply at the dream. However, Finn noticed Flint rubbing his neck nervously. He raised an eyebrow and faced the young man.
"Is there something you want to say, Flint?"
All eyes focused on the human-elemental. Finally, he gave in and swallowed.
"Well…last night, I also had a prophetic dream. I saw you and FP destroying my house, laughing like maniacs as you did."
Flame Princess was starting to get seriously hurt by all the apparent scheming against them. Finn on the other hand, simply listened carefully. Flint smirked.
"One thing that dad did teach me was to be careful with dreams, they can really jack up your mind with something questionable or fake."
He looked up to the couple.
"I couldn't believe that it was you guys. FP, you always have a smile on your face that makes it impossible to think you'd be evil in the least. And Finn, even though this is super awkward and ironic, you've been a better dad than mine has been in a long time."
Flame Queen placed her hand back on the hybrid being's shoulder.
"Flint, I know you feel resentment to him but your father does good work. Every day he's out helping those in need, he just doesn't have time to stop by that often."
The young man scoffed.
"Yeah? Then why the heck does he spend what little time he does visit only with you? What do you guys even do?"
The queen blushed a bit and avoided eye contact.
"W-well, we…catch up…and talk, and cuddle, and other things…"
The fiery woman trailed off, quite embarrassed by this point. Luckily, Flint was sort of lost and shook his head, dropping the subject. Finn was still pondering something in his head. Suddenly, the human had a theory and gazed back at the mother and son.
"So, your dreams, they had the Cosmic Owl right?"
The two natives nodded solemnly. Finn narrowed his eyes, thinking harder.
"Tell me, what did he look like?"
Flint and FQ didn't exactly see where he was going with the questioning but complied regardless.
"It was rather odd but his usual golden, star-filled feathers were vastly different. Instead, he looked like a piece of the night sky carved out of the heavens, dark with dots of stars all over."
Flint nodded.
"The same for me. Weird stuff. I just figured it was part of the warning."
Flame Queen added that she suspected the same. Finn's expression grew more concerned as he took in the information. His three companions gathered in closer to him. FP took his hand once again.
"What is it Finn?"
The hero finished his thought process and looked to his fiancée.
"Do you remember what CO looked like under the Shard's influence?"
The fire elemental looked with confusion at her man but responded nonetheless.
"Yeah, he was all black and…like the night sky!"
She caught on to what the human was trying to get across and gazed at him with fear. He nodded sadly then turned to face Flint and FQ again.
"Ok, we don't want to get into specifics because it'll take too long to explain, but here are the basics."
The two natives listened intently.
"Our universe's deities were corrupted by objects called Shards of Evil. The two of us and our friends were separated, thrown into different dimensional portals. We're figuring now that an infected divine being was sent in after us to make sure we, well…stay here permanently."
Flame Queen and Flint held a momentary expression of utter astonishment before changing to a look of deep thought. The fiery ruler spoke up.
"If the Cosmic Owl from your universe had his power augmented by this Shard you speak of, then it's all too possible that he has incapacitated our world's version of him."
Finn frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The queen gave a solemn face.
"When a deity is greatly weakened, usually due to conflict with another all-powerful being, they are automatically retracted to a place known as the astral plain to recover. If what you're piecing together is true, then I fear our universe is also in danger. CO's power could sway the minds of thousands, creating mass chaos with false prophecies embedded into peoples' subconscious."
The four humanoids in the throne room thought this over, ever growing in concern. If Cosmic Owl was attempting to turn the inhabitants of this universe against the foreign visitors then what else would come up? While contemplation continued, a large mass of unified footsteps sounded from the front of the palace.
Everyone turned to eye the entrance, which suddenly opened, allowing a massive number of fire soldiers to enter. The lines of flaming beings slowly piled into the room, each brandishing a fire spear and looking quite serious. Eventually, the troops circled around the four and halted in position, facing them with resolute stances.
The leader of the platoon stepped through and glared at the gathered individuals within the circle. Flame Queen took her own step forward and shot the man a heavy scowl.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The leader drew a flame sword and pointed it at the fiery ruler.
"Flame Queen, you have been sentenced to dethronement, on account of suspected treason. Come willingly or you will be met with force."
The blazing woman stared in utter shock and dismay at the surrounding troops, who were now all aiming their weapons at the group in the middle of their formation.
"What!? From what source are you bringing this insanity?"
The leader narrowed his eyes and gestured to the other soldiers.
"Every single one of us has experienced the same vision. You are bound to turn against your fellow fire elementals and sentence us to extinction. For this act, you must be punished accordingly, now stand down, along with the prince and your two strangers. They are potential accomplices and will be questioned."
The four cornered individuals dejected the order, instead taking defensive stances against the wall of soldiers. The leader intensified his glare.
"Very well then, take them down!"
The fire warriors charged in, intending to skewer their targets before they could act. However, they vastly underestimated the speed of all four combatants. Finn quickly brought out his sword and sent a temporal arc right into the ranks, netting them in a field of reduced time flow. Flint phased back into his elemental form and shot a large blast of fire at the foes in front of him, sending most of them hurtling across the room. FP and FQ both let loose dozens of bolts of flames from their backs, which homed in on the charging soldiers and pinned them back against the walls.
As the enemies fell to the floor at a rapid pace, their leader growled and dashed at the kingdom's monarch. Flame Queen dissipated her outer flames and simply stood there, waiting for the foolish warrior to make contact. The raging leader raised his weapon and began to bring it down upon the fiery woman.
In a split second, the flame sword was halted, its blade held tightly between FQ's palms. She smirked at the stunned soldier before kicking him hard in the stomach and sending him careening across the floor. By this time, all the forces had been defeated by the combined effort of the four companions.
Flint stared in awe at his mother as she tossed aside the flame sword she had grasped.
"How did you do that?"
His amazement was obvious. His parent just chuckled.
"A little something I picked up from your father."
She looked over and winked at Finn, who grinned and replaced his sword into his pack. The four beings gathered back together and discussed the attack.
"This is bad. Cosmic Owl already just marked us for dead by one group of psychos. We've got to find him and knock his lights out."
Finn smacked his fist into his palm while the others nodded in agreement. FQ spoke next.
"It will be difficult though to reach him. We have no way of traveling to the realm where he resides. I'm afraid the best option is to lure the great bird here."
Flame Princess crossed her arms and looked to the floor.
"But how can we do that?"
Before additional conversation could take place however, a loud crash followed by a quake shook the palace. Massive cracks formed in the volcanic walls as the ceiling destabilized rapidly. Everyone panicked while swinging their heads around trying to figure out what was happening.
"Let's get out of here!" Flint yelled with fright.
The others nodded in agreement and began to flee. Unfortunately, they found that none of them could move more than a foot or two. Bewildered, the four looked down to see that each and every one of their ankles was being bound by fiery whips. The beaten soldiers across the floor struggled to focus their flame powers on the blazing ropes trapping the group in the space where they stood, helpless to escape the crumbling castle.
The captured beings all did their best to sever the ropes, only to have the mass of soldiers create more and more to bind their arms and legs. The leader gave a death glare at the quartet of struggling elementals and humans.
"The visions also promised us reward in the afterlife, so long as we did whatever possible to end your rule. Now you shall be buried with us!"
Finn, FP, FQ, and Flint stared in horror at the ropes and the fanatic faces of the downed soldiers. The building continued to topple, clearly being slammed repeatedly by a massive force from outside, likely a team of lava golems. As the bashing continued, large chunks of the ceiling and walls began raining down onto the floor, crushing several of the fire warriors in the process. Many of the pieces came close to hitting the captured group, who huddled together in an attempt to stay away from the plummeting rocks.
Finn held Flame Princess tightly while Flint did the same with his mother. The two pairs were up against each other when the ceiling finally gave way completely. The last thing the group did before vanishing from sight was try whatever they could to soften the impact while crouching down to the ground, including several domes of fire and the blades of their weapons.
A moment later, a huge crash signaled the complete collapse of the Fire Kingdom's palace.
Finn awoke to total darkness, unable to make out the slightest detail in the environment around him. Experimentally, he tested each limb to see if he could move. His legs gave no response, sadly. One of his arms sent a nasty shot of pain to his brain upon use, telling him that something was broken. Mercifully, the other arm was able to function normally, although it was mostly stuck beneath something.
The balancing sense within him told Finn that he was lying on his stomach, with a soft object under him. With a bit of feeling from his fingers, he determined that it was Flame Princess, motionless and quiet. The human assumed the worst and forced his body to give a burst of adrenaline to his muscles. With much groaning, the young man was able to push his chest up and use his single good arm for support.
His legs were revealed to be trapped under a large object, which felt much like a slab of rock. Thinking desperately, the hero got down on his elbow and held his palm up. A few flashes of purple light were generated from the electricity shooting out of his hand before the reaction finalized, producing a constant flame. The calming illumination provided little real comfort.
Finn looked around despairingly to see that Flint and Flame Queen had their flames out, just like FP. All three elementals appeared extremely weak. It was then that Finn realized the enclosing rubble around them was cutting off oxygen. He himself was having trouble breathing.
The human tossed his alchemic flame to the center of the group, where it landed elegantly on the small area of exposed floor and remained burning. He knew it would only consume more air but light was a survival tool at this point. The hero acted fast and did his best to reach into his backpack while his chin held his face off the ground. With a bit more struggling, he was able to pull out a glowing orb.
Finn smiled gratefully at the glass sphere, reminding himself to thank Ferrum next time he sees him. He set the object on the floor and placed his hand upon its smooth surface. He need to get his other arm back fast, his friends' time was limited in such surroundings.
"Harmonic Catalyst."
The orb brightened slightly before suddenly dimming significantly. Finn moved his hand to his busted limb and gripped it firmly, transferring the energy within his chest through his free appendage and into the damaged part of his body. After a moment of reacting, the orb's glow stabilized and the human tested his second arm again. Delightfully, he had regained use of it.
Pushing aside the minor success, he used his newly acquired support to stretch his arms behind him and touch the slab of rock immobilizing his legs. With some well-placed weakening in the object's structure, the young man's alchemy swiftly disintegrated the rock, allowing him to roll off of Flame Princess with a groan.
His back was killing him, as well as his whole lower body. He once again slapped away the negative feedback and reached for the orb again. This time, he used the Catalyst to heal up his aching spine and legs. Once he wiggled around his limbs and bent his back a little, the human progressively got to his knees and looked back to his incapacitated companions.
FP looked fairly unhurt, likely due to Finn's body shielding her from any falling debris. Flint and Flame Queen however, both had a significant injury that momentarily caused the hero to gasp in fear. The hybrid human-elemental had a large shard of volcanic rock right next to his side. It had unfortunately cut through, leaking the teenager's magma blood all over the floor.
FQ was almost completely covered by a pile of rock, only exposing her head, left arm, and shoulder. Finn reacted with increasing desperation, choosing randomly to tend to the queen first. He limped over and placed both hands against the hill of debris burying the woman. After making short work of the obstruction, the young man got to his knees and gathered Flame Queen in his arms. She wasn't breathing.
The human panicked, running ideas through his head. He finally settled on the only logical option. It was however, quite awkward. His mind argued for a few seconds, but ultimately agreed that this was no time for embarrassment.
It might be weird Finn, but put that aside.
The human placed his mouth over FQ's and blew air down her throat. The initial oxygen briefly reignited her flames, lighting up the area further. A second later they died back down. Finn placed his ear against the woman's chest, listening to her lungs. Nothing was happening. Refusing to give up, he breathed into the queen once again, flaring up her fire once more.
It took several more tries before the hero finally heard a small but distinct movement of air running back and forth within the fiery lady. He let out a sigh of relief then carefully gathered the ruler in his arms, bringing her closer to FP. Next, he went over to Flint.
The young man was luckily breathing, in fact even grinding his teeth subconsciously from the pain of his bleeding side. Immediately, Finn vaporized the sliver of rock tormenting the young man with a dash of alchemy. Acted quickly once again, he brought up the thermal orb, which had barely any energy left at this point. Praying to Glob for one last Catalyst, the human pressed his palm against his alternate son's injury and initiated the reaction.
With great relief, Finn watched Flint's chest rise and fall peacefully as his side was made good as new. Sadly, his breathing was still quite weak compared to where it should have been. The human cursed under his breath, angry for the lack of extra oxygen that his companions desperately needed.
After dragging Flint over to the two ladies, Finn racked his brain for any way to supply air to the slowly fading fire elementals. His own shortage of oxygen was beginning to shut down his mind, creating blurred vision and a sense of dizziness. He shook it off as best he could and looked to his hands, pleading for an answer.
Suddenly, it came to him. The hero quickly got to his feet and lumbered over to a chunk of volcanic rock. After placing his palms against it, he let loose purple jolts from his hands, rapidly converting the molecular structure of the material in front of him. He stared hopefully at the dissolving rock as he witnesses a gaseous substance emanate off of the once solid stone.
The vapor floated around to slowly encompass the entire isolated area, filling it with the newly created element. Finn kept up the reaction, swiftly seeking out more rocks to convert. As he did so, his friends' flames gradually began to strengthen, growing brighter and larger. Eventually, the three elementals opened their eyes and moaned from the initial soreness of their bodies.
Afterwards, the trio slowly sat up and gazed around the enclosed rubble that trapped them. They spotted Finn nearby, letting out purple electricity as another rock was converted into precious oxygen. Flint and Flame Queen were particularly surprised by the action, but FP just stared in modest wonder.
"Finn, what are you doing with your alchemy?"
The human smiled with triumph seeing his girl awake and breathing normally.
"I'm transmuting the structure of the stone's molecules into oxygen so you guys can breathe. I'll keep it up as long as I can. Try not to use your flame powers in the meantime."
Flint was still amazed at the act his alternate father was performing.
"Wow, alchemy. That is so awesome. Can you teach me how to do that?"
Finn smirked.
"I think I should stop taking credit for so much of your learning."
The hybrid being frowned suddenly and looked to the ground. Flame Queen scooted over and placed her arm around the young man's shoulders.
"Dear, I know you still don't accept his constant absence but try to understand, he's a very important man."
Flint let out a deep sigh.
"It's fine mom, I know from Finn here that dad would be great at raising a family, I just wish he could set aside more time for us."
The mother held her boy tighter, sadly gazing into his solemn expression. Flame Princess also scooted closer and placed a hand on the young man's knee. He smiled appreciatively at both the ladies' efforts to comfort him. Over at the perimeter of the area, Finn was starting to visibly struggle to transmute the rocks. His test with Ferrum had determined his limit with alchemy, making it increasingly dire for the group unless they managed to escape the position they were in.
"This isn't looking too good guys. I can't keep this up forever."
FP gazed with worry at her fiancé.
"Finn, you have to stop. You're exhausting yourself."
The human shook his head as he converted another boulder.
"I can't. If I stop then you'll all start dying again."
The princess of flames stood up with difficulty and walked over to her man, placing a supportive arm around his midsection.
"Why don't you just blow away the wall with a Catalyst?"
The hero shook his head.
"The debris is too unstable. I'd bring the whole place further down on us."
The three elementals stared with solace at the frustrated human. His movements progressively slowed as his energy faded. It was hazardous to continue at this point, his reactions could start to consume his own body soon. Reluctantly, Finn fell to his knees, unable to go on. Hope was starting to leak out of his heart, believing that there was no way to escape the dreaded prison they had been buried in. Flame Princess gently helped him to crawl over to Flint and FQ, who helped the couple settle in close to them and provide additional support.
The fiery queen grinned through her obvious despair.
"At least…with a special twist…we are as a family right now."
The others managed to grow brave smiles of their own and the group joined hands, waiting for the oxygen to fade away and end them. Their eyes closed slowly, wanting to only appreciate the sense of togetherness that was prevalent between them. Tears regrettably began flowing from all of their shut lids, producing drips and sizzles as they struck the floor.
RUMBLE.
The companions' eyes flashed open immediately upon hearing the noise. They carefully listened for another. It came a moment later, louder.
RUMBLE.
The sound was closing in on them. After a minute, certain parts of the wall of debris began to vibrate from an ever-growing shaking in the ground. The shocks became more violent, more definite. Someone was making their way through the rubble to them. The group waited in hopeful silence, wondering who had come to their aid.
CRASH.
A single crack of light was produced in the mess of rocks and slabs. Another strike widened the gap significantly, forcing the group to partially cover their eyes or be blinded. Once vision had readjusted, the four peered into the now clear void in the wall. What came next was surprising.
A massive mechanical limb stretched its way through the opening, placing itself against the vibrating roof of the miniature cave. Instantly, the ceiling stabilized. The metal arm was seen to be equipped with heavy hydraulics, dishing out enormous amounts of power to support the crumbling surroundings. A head poked its way into the opening next. Finn and FP gasped, while Flint and FQ gazed with joy and disbelief.
The face was of a man, around his late 20's, with flowing golden hair reaching to shoulder level, and distinct blue eyes that seemed to light up the room. His face was set in a mix of happiness and relief. He quickly stepped further into the area and was at the two natives' side in seconds.
Still supporting the ceiling, he placed his other arm endearingly around Flint and the queen, who returned the embrace with great intent. The three remained so for what felt like forever, letting the feeling of reuniting sink in. Eventually though, the man released his hold on the two and stared into their faces lovingly.
"Come on, we're getting out of here."
Practically the entire population of the Fire Kingdom was gathered at the ruins of the palace, desperately trying to sort through the wreckage and find their beloved queen and prince. Luckily, a certain person had showed up at the most opportune moment, fearlessly bashing his way into the rubble to find his family. The lava golems that were demolishing the building had been subjugated, under tight guard by several groups of fire soldiers.
The assembled fire elementals cheered with joy as Flame Queen, Flint, Finn, FP, and a towering man with a mechanical right arm emerged from the opening that had been punched in earlier. Several citizens stepped forward to offer the newly freed group refreshment and a place to sit.
Finn quickly requested a thermal orb, hoping that they existed in this universe. Lucky for him, there was one nearby being carried by a trader. He gladly gave it up when the human explained it would help fully restore the two royals that were now safely out of the mess. When Finn arrived back by the side of his native companions, they were talking with the blonde man who had saved them. The human discreetly performed a Conduit Catalyst to revive the mother and son's energy, but they were too busy chatting it up to notice.
The practically towering individual however, caught sight of the young man and smiled, standing up from his family and reaching out his flesh arm to take his other's hand. Finn gladly accepted and gave a firm shake. The man's grin grew.
"I'm sure you'll be glad to be this tall someday," he joked.
Finn chuckled.
"Totally! And that arm is awesome!"
Finn's alternate self gazed whimsically at his own bionic limb.
"Yeah. It's quite something. Comes in handy."
The blonde man settled back down next to Flame Queen, embracing his wife tightly while kissing her forehead. FP had come up next to Finn and stared curiously at the family before them. She had a nagging question.
"I've been wondering, how are you able to touch without burning? Did you find some sort of flame resistance?"
Finn's older self smiled memorably and gazed at the girl with his friendly eyes.
"You remember that old babble that Bubblegum always spouts, 'responsibility demands sacrifice'?"
The foreign couple nodded. Older Finn chuckled.
"Well, I flipped the script. Sacrifice…"
He held up his mechanical arm.
"…demands love."
Finn and FP smiled with great admiration at the man, who went back to holding his beloved queen close while she explained further.
"This dummy gave up his arm for a mythical artifact that nullified the laws of nature. It took me a few days to forgive him for his stupidity, but eventually, I accepted his act as only wanting to be closer to me."
The woman leaned in and placed her lips against older Finn's. They held for a moment before separating and smiling warmly. The blonde man grinned towards the couple.
"And come on, you've got to admit this is a way greater arm."
Flint scoffed nearby.
"I don't know dad, it ain't natchy."
The young man's father smirked.
"Pssh, I don't care about natchy. I said the same thing to your uncle and I'm sticking with my opinion."
The man's son shook his head with a grin at his old man's stubbornness. Suddenly, older Finn frowned and moved over to be within reached of both members of his family.
"But, listen you two. I've…I've been wrong, to leave for so long. Look what happened here, if I hadn't shown up when I did, I would've lost you two."
His eyes were watering slightly. Flint smiled supportively and patted his dad's back.
"Dad, it's ok, really. I can accept your busy schedule."
FQ nodded.
"The same goes for me honey, you're a big deal and I live with that, because I love you very much."
Adult Finn gazed with amazement at the two most important people in his life. In another second, he embraced both of them in his arms. After a moment, Flint grunted a bit and chuckled.
"Uh, dad, ease up on the hydraulics, ok?"
The man instantly released his hold and laughed nervously.
"Sorry about that, kiddo."
The three burst into hearty laughter as Finn and FP watched nearby. The couple joined hands and the princess leaned her head onto the human's shoulder. She sighed.
"You know, I'd better not have to convince you to spend time with me and our kids by being in a life or death situation."
The hero chuckled and tilted his cheek to rest on his lady's head.
"After this, no way."
The two lovers went into their own embrace as they observed the rekindled harmony of the royal family before them. Finn's older version cleared his throat.
"In all honesty though, I'm cutting down on the away time hugely, I need to be more involved with you guys. I fact, let's all stay in the treehouse until the castle gets rebuilt, we can go out every day and explore a different kingdom, or ever a few old dungeons."
He locked eyes with Flint and grinned.
"I have a lot to talk to you about, kiddo, we need to catch up on the mechanics of adventuring."
The human-fire elemental snickered a bit.
"I'm afraid Finn over there beat you to it, dad."
The man looked over to his younger self, raising an eyebrow. The foreign human shrugged with a silly smile. The older one just smiled back and gave a thumbs up."
"Thanks for the kick in the head you two."
Finn and FP did a small bow.
"Our pleasure, Flame King."
Older Finn was caught off by the statement but let out a bellowing laugh.
"Haha! Please, just call me Finn, er, the older one, I don't know, make something up."
The assembled group once again fell into laughter, simply enjoying the joyful emotions. Older Finn let out a yawn.
"Oh boy, looks like I've been up for several days again. I'd better go catch some sweet dreams."
Flint froze in place, sparked by his dad's words.
"Dreams!"
He jumped up and ran to the nearest informant, who was waiting patiently to deliver the king and queen's news of the attack on the palace.
"Tell the whole land, everyone you can: do not listen to any prophetic dreams, they are being created by a corrupted version of Cosmic Owl and only lead to chaos!"
The fire elemental nodded, understanding the urgency. The specially trained man backed up a few feet and ignited his lower body flames, rocketing himself into the sky and out into the vastness of Ooo to deliver the royal family's message. Flint went back over to his companions, looking relived.
"Well, that would've been bad."
His friends grinned before noticing adult Finn walk back up to them.
"They filled me in on everything. I can't thank you enough for helping keep them alive in there. You have my humblest appreciation."
Finn waved him off.
"It's no big deal dude; you would've done the same."
Older Finn chuckled.
"I suppose so."
As the two alternate selves struck up a conversation, an impact was heard nearby, as if something had landed with great precision yet great force on a surface. A group of fire elementals shouted and pointed to the top of the destroyed palace. Finn and the group all turned to see what the commotion was about and instantly gasped at the sight.
Perched on top of a slab of the castle's roof, glaring down at the royals and couple with his massive hollow eyes, was the darkened Cosmic Owl. The great bird was motionless, staring carefully at the Ooocian's below. Finn and his older self both drew out swords, glaring back at the owl. FP, FQ, and Flint ignited their fists with powerful flames.
"Looks like the manipulative butt decided to take us on directly."
The king's proclamation was all too likely. CO would never have descended for a close confrontation unless his previous method seemed unusable. Now that word would be sent from the most trusted kingdom in the land as to the great bird's plot, prophecies were pointless.
Cosmic Owl spread out his wings. Those below braced themselves, prepared to defend. However, instead of an attack, a strange orb was generated above the bird's head. Dark streams of energy were sucked into the object from the surroundings, making it grow progressively.
Suddenly, multiple citizens below began to fidget. As the royals and couple watched with horror, dark energy streams were drawn out of each and every fire elemental's head as they struggled against a mysterious pain in their temple. The streams gathered and swirled around CO's orb, vastly increasing its size.
Finn began hearing voices in the dark streams. Screams, shouts, cried of pain or fear. In a moment, he figured it out.
"He's absorbing everyone's nightmares!"
As he said it, the human's own skull began to pulse painfully. He used his free hand to press hard against his head, hoping to relieve the sharp pain. It accomplished little and soon, his companions were suffering the same fate. Finn begged the hurting to stop, comparing his sense to that of someone taking a drill to his brain and scrambling it. So great was the effect on his nerves that it brought him to his knees.
Mercifully, the pain left his needled mind a minute later. The human panted for a while as he got to his feet, recovering from the awful experience. He looked around to see that his friends were doing the same. However, the moment of recovery was spoiled by the sight beneath Cosmic Owl. The darkened bird was now gently floating in the air, staying well above the final form of the dark orb he had created earlier.
The nightmares had been given shape by the chaotic Shard CO held, granting it the distinct body of a terrifying demon, complete with massive red eyes that existed as slits, huge, clawed arms, dozens of tentacles on its back, each sporting a hundred spikes along its length, and a size that dwarfed that of the previously undestroyed fire palace.
Everyone covered their ears as the monster let loose an earth-shattering roar. The sound itself caused a minor tremor in the ground, nearly knocking Finn and his companions off their feet. When the group regained their stances and gazed at the demonic giant in front of them, older Finn voiced the thoughts of the whole gathering.
"We're gonna need something bigger to kill with."
200 reviews, nice. Thanks guys!
Brony225: There are still some characters to be introduced later on. I already have their designs planned out and stuff, they're just waiting to show up at this point. The story does have an end planned out, which by my best guess will come anywhere from chapter 70 to possibly 90. The order I use for this section of the fic that jumps between universes goes as such- Finn & FP, PB & Marcy, Jake & Ice King, Ferrum & Solara. I realize this creates a cliffhanger at each chapter, lol.
Riset36: Wow, blending in OC's, that's a nice accomplishment. Thanks dude!
Xerion: This is pretty fun, responding to the viewers. Good suggestion :)
Death Punch: Sorry but I only ship Finn with FP. Not likely that I'd dwell anywhere else.
PhantomHermit: Always good to know what I'm doing right and wrong. I appreciate your consistent feedback!
Ventus Uzumaki: While I'm ok at writing I am TERRIBLE at drawing. As much as I'd love to have a visual of all the guys in the story I just don't have the skill to do so :/
Hope you enjoyed and thank you for any comments/reviews!
next: Chapter 39: Siege on New Babylon