A/N Hello! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 6: Temperature rising
The small group of hero's began their journey to the flame kingdom. Fin was dreading it a bit, he still felt a little awkward around Phoebe. Of course, who wouldn't be after what he did? True, he apologized and tried to make amends, but the emotional damage was hard to erase, and he feels that she may never truly forgive him, but he took solace in knowing that this wasn't a simple social call and that it was royal business. As he thought about the last and his ex, Jake and Marceline informed Mike of what they could about the flame kingdom. Marceline was of course biased agaisnt the flame kingdom because of the fire, so it was up to Jake to set certain records straight. He told Mike about how the old king was a scumbag and the new ruler, flame princess, was much better at the job than her father.
"Where is the old king these days?" Mike asked. Jake shrugged.
"Locked up in the dungeons as far as I can tell. All I know is he isn't bothering anyone for awhile."
"Ok then. Hmm... Flame kingdom right? Are we kinda... ya know? Flammable?"
"Oh, it's smoldering down there, for sure. But for the most part its bearable, it shouldn't kill you if you just walk in."
"Shouldn't?"
"Meh. Besides, we know a guy who can help. He hangs around here sometimes. Hmm..." Jake searched the area for a few moments. But Fin, who wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, accidentally found the little hiding rock their contact usually found himself.
"Wah!" Fin yelped as he fell to the ground on his face. He stood up and dusted himself off, but was confronted by a funny little flame elemental."
"What's tha matter with ya?! Why you gotta kick my home like that?" Flambo asked.
"Oh. Sorry dude. I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Hmm..." Flambo stroked his chin for a moment. "I guess I can forgive ya's just this once. Now what can I do for ya?" He asked
"I need you to cast flame shield on us. We're heading into the flame kingdom." Jake answered. Flambo crossed his arms.
"What do I get outta this deal eh?" At this moment, Marceline floated over to the tiny flame and looked him dead in the eye.
"What you get, little dude..." She then put on her scary face and screamed at Flambo. "You don't die!" The elemental cowered in fear and agreed quickly. Marceline went back to normal and smiled. Flambo, still shaking, did the Incantation and blessed them with flame shield. Their bodies turned a nice shade of blue.
"Thanks Flambo." Fin said. Flambo grumbled a bit and went back under his rock. As the group approached the flame kingdom, Fin looked at Marceline and asked her if she would really hurt him.
"Hurt him? Pshh! Nah. He wouldn't be worth it."
"Oh..." Fin replied as they continued on.
"So..." Mike said. "This is the flame kingdom?" He said as he looked upon the burning visage in front of him.
"One and only. Now lets see if FP is in." Jake said as they walked in. Fin stayed behind and rubbed his arm. Upon noticing this. Jake looked back and literally wrapped his arm around Fin and pulled him close. "C'mon dude. You can't keep living in the past. She's been real professional about it. If she had any ill will, we'd know by now."
"Yea... I guess you're-" Suddenly, the group was under siege by several flame guards who all had weapons pointed at them.
"Hmm..." Mike mumbled. "No ill will eh?"
"You're all under arrest! " A guard said.
"Why?! What did we do?!"
"Silence worm!" The guard went to strike Fin, but Mike blocked it with the flat of his blade.
"If you were smart, you wouldn't." He warned. The guard growled and went to do it again, but the lead guard stopped him.
"Save it. We were told to bring them in and that's what we'll do." The lesser guard grumbled and led the group directly to the castle.
"This must be a misunderstanding... FP knows us." Jake said to himself.
"Maybe... I dunno... I"m sure this'll all get sorted out once we-" Fin started to reply, but he was stopped by a familiar voice he wished he'd never hear again.
"Hello Fin the human." The voice said. Fin slowly shook his head.
"Flame king..." The king in question laughed as a feeling of dread set in on Fin.
"Yes, It is I. You thought you were rid of me didn't you?" He said evilly. Fin growled.
"How did you escape! And what did you do with FP!" He demanded.
"I'll answer only one: lets just say... an interested party organized my escape and allowed me to regain my thrown." Fin growled again.
"I don't care about that! Where's Flame Princess!" The flame king grinned evily again.
"You'll find out soon enough. Take them away."
"Hey! Let go of me!" Fin struggled, but him and his group were all dragged to the dungeons and tossed into a cell. Fin growled more and pull out his sword. He swung at the bars but to no avail. Jake also tried to pound the bars with a massive hammer-shaped fist but found that they withstood the blow as well.
"Dang. What's this stuff made of?" Jake asked.
"Uh... dudes?" Marceline said. They turned to her.
"What?"
"Come look what me and Snacc found." The boys raised their eyebrow but went up to Marceline and Mike anyway. Fin saw an unconscious body lying in the corner all alone. At first, he thought it was someone else Flame King captured, but it wasn't just any citizen of Ooo. Fin's eyes widened in horror. It was a fellow Flame kingdom resident, but their flame was burning so low he thought they were someone else. But moreso than that, he knew this flame person. He rushed over to the figure and held them in his arms. They were slightly warm to the touch, but this was near lethal to a flame person. Fin shook his head and tried to awaken the person.
"Come on... Wake up! Wake up!" He shook them lightly. "Wake up Phoebe!"
