A/N Hello everyone! I've been thinking about upping the word count from 1k to 2k. What do you all think? Let me know please! Enjoy!
Chapter 15: The journey back
In the end, only smoke and ash remained. Fin, Jake, and Marceline crawled out from the pool of water mostly unharmed. However, the high heat caused by Phoebe sent the water to near-boiling, causing the trio to have slightly reddened skin, but they were otherwise alright. They looked around and saw only charred remains of the once green room. The massive hydra lay dead in the center of the room, most of its matter had been burnt away and its roots torn apart. Thankfully, the container that housed the cure was fireproof. Fin thanked the precursors for their foresight and approached the container. But as he did, he stumbled on a lump of something. He looked down and immediately his eyes shot open wide in surprise. Lying there, weak, barely moving, was Mike. He groaned in the pain of being accidentally kicked
"Oh my glob! Mike!" He knelt beside him and nearly touched him, but his common sense kicked in. "What... How... Why?!" He demanded. The others began to crowd around him at this point as well as phoebe, who had calmed down and realized what she had done. She joined Fin, wracked with guilt.
"Mike... I'm so sorry... So sorry..." She wept a bit at his broken body.
"Eh... save it flame girl.." Mike groaned in pain as he forced himself to sit up. "You got nothing to apologize for..."
"Look at what I did to you. I did this..."
"You did... exactly what I wanted you to do." He paused and caught his breath. "I knew what I was getting into. It was the only way, and I was prepared to make that sacrafise." He said with a smile.
"How can you smile at a time like this? You're... You're gonna die man." Marceline said. At this moment, Mike's smile turned to a grin.
"Now, who said I was gonna die?" Mike groaned and began to stand, much to the other's shock. They stumbled back as Mike rose to his feet and stretched out. He arched his back and a few joints popped. But most surprisingly? His burns, which were mostly third degree and covered nearly his whole body, began to heal at an astonishing rate. "You're a heck of a lot stronger than that dome hour dad put me in, Phoebe. That's for sure." After a few minutes, Mike was looking good as if he had never got burned. He kicked away some ash and picked his scythe back up. He then turned to the dumbfounded group and smiled. "What?"
"What... are you?" Phoebe asked. Mike simply shook his head with a chuckle and patted her on the shoulder. With his bare hand. He shrugged and simply said:
"I'm only human." He walked off towards the exit, leaving them to stare at him some more.
Later
Mike began to hum a tune to himself as they left the ancient city behind. After getting to a safe distance, the group decided enough was enough and that they wanted answers. They stood in front of Mike and would not let him continue walking.
"You're not taking another step until you explain yourself." Fin demanded.
"There's nothing to explain." He replied.
"Liar! Nothing could have walked away from that blast without being reduced to cinders!"
"Not to mention surviving My dad's dome." Phoebe chimed in.
"And taking on Ash, who had the power of the amulet on his side." Marceline added.
"And how you so easily broke out of the flame prison, killed that sewer monster, and-" Jake started to say, but Fin stopped him.
"And the fact that I've been the only human in Ooo since my dad left me here" Fin stared Mike down. "Explain. Yourself. Now." Mike narrowed his eyes a bit.
"You don't get it. Nobody does. The pre war humans sure didn't either."
"Know what? What is there to know?" Mike gritted his teeth, but did not allow his smile to falter.
"Humans, are not weak." Before any more could be said, a carrier pidgeon fluttered up to them, sweating and panting heavilly.
"M-message for you! Doctor princess needs the cure urgently! The sickness has gotten worse and is at risk of spreading!" The bird said to them in a hurry.
"No..." Fin mumbled. He glanced at Mike and grumbled in frustration. "We will deal with thi, but after we get the cure to DP. Go back and tell her we're on our way and are coming as quick as we can." He told the bird. The bird nodded and flew back to DP. The others glanced at Mike and shook their heads a bit. They began walking back to the Earldom of Lemongrab. Mike hung back for a few moments.
"They'll understand soon..." He mumbled as he placed a hand on his chest. He felt his own heartbeat for a few moments and simply stood there, soaking everything in. He took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled. "At least I hope they do..." He shook his head and caught up with them. Their journey back was in relative silence, with only the ambience of the area around them breaking it. It took some time, but they made it back to the Earldome faster than it took for them to get to the city, and just in the nick of time it seemed. They were worn out and exhausted, but they used the rest of their energy to race into the castle and straight to Doctor Princess.
