Chapter X - Soul

Jake wakes up next to Lady on the couch, he yawned a little bit before looking at the television, displaying static, although the volume was low. He rubbed his eyes and got up slowly, trying not to wake up Lady or Charlie who was laying on Lady. Jake had waked into the kitchen with his bag, and left some food on the table. The family recipe that he made the night before his departure. After doing that, he grabs his clothes from his bag and stepped into the bathroom, preparing himself to take a shower to freshen up for his day, and the journey back home. Still trying to wake up, he turned the water a bit cold so that he could be more alert.

"Finn should be doing fine at home. It's already morning and he should be waking up." Jake said to himself. He felt himself being weighed down by his yellow fur due to the water completely drenching him, although he had grown used to it for as long as he could remember. He closed his eyes and lets the water hit his face. Lady had moved a little bit, feeling the absence of Jake but she knew he had to return home. He heard the wind whistle along the bathroom window. Jake opens his eyes and clears the window using his arm shaped like a window cleaner. He sees that the clouds were a dull gray and blue. "The rain must've stopped. Should be a safe way home." Jake said to himself. Jake grabbed the soap and then started to clean the dead skin cells off his body.

Within the Dark Forest, Finn and Marceline continued down the path, with still having a long way to go before they could reach the Grasslands. The both of them were silent. However, they were in fact thinking to themselves. The drizzle continued and the wind continued to howl, stopping every now and again before picking back up again. Finn had his hands in his pockets and Marceline had her arms crossed to her chest. All that was heard was the wind howling and the dead leaves being crushed by Finn's shoes.

Finn's thoughts were ongoing. "I felt so weak during the night. There is something that Marceline is leaving out. But then again, she was weak as well. What couldn't happened last night? Because I haven't felt that weak in all my life..." Finn looked around using his eyes only. He saw dead trees, holding blackened leaves and a few birds chirping in the distant left. He looked straight and saw the path, being exposed by darkness and light. "When was the last time I've been here..? Maybe when I was Marceline's henchman for that night? After she tortured that old man? Or was it when that Tree Witch sat on Jake, and I had to get her some freaking hair because she couldn't help the fact that she was going bald.. I'm sure there is more.. but my mind can only think of so much. I just need to get home safely with Marceline. I had quite the time fighting that bear, I didn't even think that I could do it. Still, I thank her for saving me. I would've been mince meat." Finn closed his eyes, and sighed. Marceline looked at him through her long hair that covered her face, even though he didn't take notice.

Marceline's thoughts were ongoing. "Sonner or later, Finn's gonna want to know what happened last night. And I thought that Ash was fucking dead. For good. In the rubble of my burnt down house. Whether is was unfinished business or not, he should've just flew himself straight into the Nightosphere for all I care. Maybe then, he could stay down for good." Marceline moved the hair out from her face using her breath, i=which could be visible in the chilly air. "I wonder.. what was Finn even thinking when we.. well, fucked..? Heat of the moment maybe..?" She closed her eyes a little bit and opened them up again. "Must've been, because I was surely feeling it too. I just hope Ash stays dead. Maybe the I could enjoy Finn just a bit more. She dotted her eyes to him. All marked up from the bear attacks and a bit bruised up from Ash making him beat up his well being. "For a bruised boy, he sure does look really look good." Inside her head, Marceline was smiling, but did not express it on the exterior. Marceline started to think about what Finn had told her when it came to the Flame Princess, or Phoebe. She remembered the slight hurt in his grim tone that tried to mask it, but she saw through it, as Ash did the same many years ago. With another unnamed chick, and the situation where he sold Hambo to a witch in exchange for some magic potion. It wasn't easy getting him back, as she had to sneak in the dead of night and the witch had a strong sixth sense to detect certain types of movement, whether invisible or not.

"It's a shame how Phoebe treated Finn. One time was enough for me. I guess he was smart enough to finally leave, let alone me, who stayed with him. I'm just glad and happy that this bullshit is all over.. I just want to go home, and cuddle with Finn, if he allows it that is. At times he is a tough nut to crack. Still makes me wonder how I got him to crack before we had sex." Marceline puckered her lips a little bit, then sucked them back in a tad, looking at Finn again wit her eyes. "He's been good to me.." she said. "She's been good to me, in her own way, but nevertheless." Finn said to himself. It's like if both of their souls were trying to communicate from their own hearts, expressing how they felt. Finn felt a bit warm again thinking about Marceline, and Marceline's cheeks felt a little warm thinking about Finn.

The two looked at each other and started for a little bit. "How are your wounds?" Finn said to Marceline. Marceline whipped her hair back a bit since it was going into her face again. "Never better." She said. "What about yours?" She returned the question, looking at his wrapped up arm, seeing some blood stains on the surface. "It still stings but I'll be fine. I've endured worst." Finn said as he moved his hands inside his pocket. "How far do you think we have until we reach the Grasslands?" Marceline asked him. "Well I'm not seeing green yet so we still have a ways to go." Finn said. "You think Jake's worried about it?" Marceline asked further. "Possibly. I'll have my answer depending on his tone. Heh." Finn chuckled, thinking of what Jake would say if he told him that he got into a fight with a grizzly bear. Marceline chuckled along side him. "What about Bonnie?" Marceline continued. "Bonnie? Bubblegum?" Finn questioned back? Marceline nodded her head. "Well I assume she didn't further investigate the fact that you were missing and your house burning down and such. But still, we should keep it on a low term." Finn said, thinking of multiple possibilities of what could happen if the case were to evolve deeper. Marceline scoffed. "It's none of her business." She said. "Exactly." Finn said. Marceline took off his tattered bear hat and ran her fingers through his hair. Finn looked at the small grin on her face. "Sexy.." Finn mumbled. Marceline hears this and instantly her temperature increased, but in a good way. Pretending she didn't hear it the first time, she played along. "What?" Marceline asked with a straight face.

"Huh?" Finn said, with small but noticeable rosy cheeks. The coloring of his cheeks was a dead give away, but she continued to play along. "What did you say?" Marceline decided to ask in levels, with him trying to deny it in away, would give her a chance to scare him into repeating what he said. "Nothing. I sighed." Finn said, looking ahead. Her hair slowly started to rise, floating in the air. She looked at Finn again. "Come on Finn, what did you say?" Marceline asked, now speaking in a gruff voice. "I said nothing Marceline." Finn laughed a little. She grew her claws and her eyes started to glow red, slowly going in front of him. "What.. did you say Finn!?" Marceline stretched her arms out, showing her demonic appearance. Finn wasn't too worried about her appearance, since it was a simple question. "Nothing." Finn started to laugh. Marceline goes for a bear hug and only lifts him a couple of feet from the air, since she still can not float that high. She figured she tried and already felt a bit of strain on her conscious. She barked at his face "What did you say!?" Marceline couldn't hold back her laughter and started going into a laughing fit. Her laughing caused Finn to laugh too. The both of them were in a laughing fit, and Marceline laughed her way back to her normal self, she laughed into Finn's chest. Finn tiled his head back laughing, trying to catch his breathe but he couldn't. They stopped laughing and looked at each other, automatically triggering their laughing fits, Finn wheezed, then laughed. Marceline covered her mouth but still held Finn up with her arm before hugging him again. After bout another minute of laughter, they caught their breath and cooled down from their laughter. Marceline sets him on the grown and came back to her natural floating stance and Finn continued to walk, with Marceline floating with him. Finn wiped the tears from his face with his hand and Marceline wiped hers off with her arm.

"Alright.. alright.." Finn was about to laugh again but he caught himself. "Sexy. That's what I said." Finn said, placing his hands in his pockets. Marceline smiled. "What's sexy? Me?" Marceline pointed to herself. "Who else would it be?" Finn chuckled. "Well it couldn't be Phoebe. I highly doubt they would do what I would do to you." Marceline said. "Of course it's you. I wouldn't be talking to a tree." Finn said looking at her. The wind slowly stopped but it continued to drizzle. As they went down the long path, they start to see some sunlight through the trees, although they weren't out the Dark Forest yet. "Don't get smart with me, Finn." Marceline said as she chuckled and scoffed. "I'm not doin any such thing." Finn responded. "You know, I haven't laughed like that in a while." Marceline stated. Finn begin to become a tiny bit confused, for a person filled with quips such a Marceline, this was a small surprise that came from her lips. "Why is that?" Finn asked.

"Well, Ash would be the reason. Happiness died down when I was around him. Even when we lived together, after all those years, It had died down. Getting away from him helped a little bit, but then again, his presence was felt where ever I went. Whether to visit my dad in the Nightosphere, or grab some food from the Grocery Kingdom, or even eat some of the ground at the Candy Kingdom at night, when I would sneak out, just to get away from his ass." Marceline said, having a straight face now. Finn dotted his eyes towards the road. "Well, how come you didn't leave sooner?" Finn asked. "Believe me, I tried. It's wasn't easy years ago. Didn't have no where else to go at the time. I was basically stuck with him, no matter where I went." Marceline said. Some of her hair draped down over her grey pale face. "Well you would've thought that I had gotten over Phoebe or Bubblegum, I think Phoebe was the hardest in my honest opinion." Finn said. It caused Marceline to float closer to his side.

"Yea? Tell me why." Marceline insisted. "Well, After that talk we had on the cliff, where she was devoid of no feelings what so ever for why she even cheated on me. I laid by the the phone for days and days, without a shower." Marceline arched her eyebrows in shock after hearing that. "Oh yea, It felt like I was literally dying and rotting from the inside out. I waited and waited, expecting from a call from Phoebe. Jake saw just how deteriorating I was laying on that damn couch. It was to a point where he threw a bucket of water and soap on me because I smelled that badly. I still didn't move for hours, but I was someone clean. He took me to the Ice King to see if he could help. Yea, the Ice King, out of all people. But he did tell me something that help me feel just a tad bit better. I'll never forget that day."

"You're gushing over a chick that clearly does not want you." The Ice King said to Finn. He throw an ice cube at his chest. Finn was looking down at his shoes as Ice King talked to him. "Of course you're not gonna get over her in one day or three, or a whole month. That's just what happens when you love a girl like that so much. That your everything, including your heart, goes inot that one person. And it is not, I repeat, NOT a good feeling when they just cut your heart strings. I mean, look at me, I've captured princesses, even tried to get with Bubblegum but as you ca see, just by looking around, with all of my fruitful attempts, that has never happened." Ice King pointed at him. "You know what I did? I gave up doing that, but I also kept going with my life, finding any and every source I could get my hands on in order to keep me afloat, like taking care of Gunter's child while she was away getting food, or sitting at the peak of my kingdom and overlooking parts of Ooo. Anything. I even tried to gain some muscle. Now I'm no adrenaline junkie, but somehow working out has helped me. It kept my mind off of the things I was trying to avoid doing again. Soon enough. That lonely void will close, and you began to love yourself." Ice King said as he knelt down in front of Finn. "Look at me Finn." He demanded. Finn looks at him. "What does not kill you, other than my ice powers, can surely make you stronger in the end of all of this." He forms an icicle from his right hand. "I've learned my lesson time and time again, and I figured that simply capturing princesses just wasn't doing it for me anymore, even tried to marry them. I grew sick of it." He pokes the icicle at his heart, with no intention on harming him. "One day, you are gonna grow sick of feeling sick mushing over a girl. Break the mold." He crushes the icicle in his hand, breaking it into pieces.

The Ice King stood up. "The worst thing you can do is follow my advice. But I know this all too well. Why? I went through the exact same thing as you when I was little, many many.. many years ago. Follow what's right for you.." Ice King said. "Do yourself the favor and move on from that madness, that.. chick. In a few years from now, you'll find someone else that will surely have better qualities that suits you. Or, you can be alone, nothing wrong with both." Ice King cackled. Jake took at the bottom of Ice King's home, giving them their privacy talk. "Seriously, try to get over it. It's gonna be hard. But if you aren't dying by it, then you will make it in the end."

"I told Jake what the Ice King said to me. And he had agreed to it." Finn said to Marceline. "I never knew Simon could be so preachy. You got to hand it to the guy. He's been through a lot in his past. He's the type to keep it to himself." Marceline added. "He pretty much talked to me like a father would. Which is weird.." Finn said with a certain look on his face." Marceline blinked and saw a little bit of a clearing ahead, but still looked at Finn. "Could you say that it had helped you over the years?" Marceline asked. She sent behind him and placed her arms on his head as Finn continued to walk down the path. She made sure that her hair didn't cover his eyes. "Yes. In fact, I could say that it had helped me quite a bit." Finn said as he saw a clearing too, finally looking up. Marceline arched her body over to his face in mid air, staring at him from upside down. "Well, this should help you too." Marceline puckered her lips and kissed Finn on his lips. She held his cheeks and even slipped in a little tongue. It caused Finn's face to warm up a bit more, but slowed down his walking due to Marceline being in his face. She pulled back and looked at him. Finn noticed that her pupils had slowly shrunk, like a feline's eyes. She smiled and he kissed back for a few more seconds. Marceline retreated and placed her arms on Finn's head again, enjoying the ride as she floated. "You sure taste good still, for a battered boy." Marceline added. "Why do you keep saying that?" Finn asked as he laughed a bit. "Well I wouldn't lie to you. Would I?" Marceline lays her head on her arms. "Well let's hope not." Finn said. "You can trust me.." Marceline said, stoic. "I didn't mean it like that." Finn said, feeling slightly bad with the tone he had used. "I know Finn, believe me. I'm not Phoebe.." Marceline plucked his forehead. "That, I'm certain of that." Finn said.

The clearing got larger as they went down the now crooked path, but they still followed the opening. The rain slowly stopped but the clouds still remained in dull blue and grey colors. "Looks like we should be out of this damn forest finally." Marceline said. "You said it. There is more light now.." The opening got a bit larger. Finn began to whistle a tune, passing a little bit of time. Marceline tapped her finger on his head, giving his whistling a small beat. He continued to whistle a tune, and Marceline started to sing softly, but enough for the both of them to hear.

" I cant wait to get out of this dreaded forest, it's been about an hour. What happened last night turned sour. But hopefully things could be better, for just the two of us. Walking seems to be better than taking a bus. This blond haired boy has saved me, and I saved him too. Together with just you and I, my boo... "

Finn blushed when she said that. At times he would alter the tone of his whistling, extending it and changing it's pitch, to which Marceline followed in sync. From deep voice to high voice.

" My home burnt down but now, I'm in a tree, maybe now, I could finally be free. Thankfully this madness is clear, I felt like I was being stabbed by a spear. I feel much safer when with Finn. When we fight others, we always seem to win. Ash to ashes. Gave him all those bad bashes. Soon enough we will both be home, hoping we wont run into a gnome. It's gonna be the and of this song, it wasn't going to be this long. By the very end, if you are willing Finn, I could be just more than a friend. "

Finn stretched the note and it faded away. Finn closed his eyes and smiled, as they exited the Dark Forest, with the Treehouse in the far distance. Finn remembered the words that she sung. He chuckled to himself. With the treehouse in sight, the pair embarked on their second part of the journey.

-End Of Chapter-