The Human and The Shadow Part 25
Lumen
The Prince of Shades walked through the door of the strange room into the doorway labelled Simon, he began to consider what he was about to do more and more. What darkness must he bring to Simon's life? Did it justify it that 1000 years of madness had been cured by Lumen himself. The Prince also thought about the way he had been falling... it was like when he first arrived in the land of Ooo after dying in his own world. There had been a world of darkness only to wake up in a strange room and have his life changed forever except last time the person waiting to greet the Prince was...
"Leaden" Lumen stared at the figure who was waiting behind the door, it was the man who had raised him for the last year and had looked after him since he arrived. He's featured were the same as the day he had 'met' the elderly Shade being, his eyes were all white yet his hair and facial hair was black. He had a grey hue to his skin and was still donning the black and white robe that gave him a sort of majestic aura to him. It was completely different than the last time he had seen him.
"Leaden... How... Why... I'm... I'm sorry Leaden" The Prince hung his head in shame and went to turn back away when he was stopped by a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Don't apologise my Prince, you have and are amazing, you make me proud to call you my Prince but also proud to call my son" Lumen who had been trying to hold it together broke down in tears as the elderly Leaden held onto him tightly.
"I know its hard Lumen, with the light inside you... you are robbed of the very negativity and emotions that make you human but its that light that let you protect your friends from the trials that they face."
"Stop. I didn't do anything right, Fionna died... I died... BMO* died and for all i know so did some of the others and if that wasn't bad enough everyone was hurt by Dawn... I don't even know who she really is yet she wants to hurt me so much by killing everyone I love. How is that protecting them Leaden?"
"Lumen look at me" The twos eyes met and Lumen let his blue eyes be explored by Leaden's white ones. "You need to listen carefully, you are alive, Fionna is alive and although BMO* is indeed no longer in our life his death is not meaningless and he died a hero we should all be proud of, in regards to Dawn i cannot tell you too much now as all of that is awaiting you're return but now... now you have something you must do Lumen, something only you can do and its something i cannot help you with but thankfully i was given this chance to speak to you and say goodbye properly so don't let down my expectations now my young prince". Lumen wiped away his tears, stood up straight and smiled. Leaden hadn't said anything really at all but still it was exactly the right thing to say to quell the Princes heart.
"How are you here anyway Leaden? and whats with this mission anyway?"
"It appears the Lich is more sentimental than i first thought, he somehow knew that you would be coming to do this sooner or later so before I died he bound my soul to this place so when you arrived i could greet you. It was originally a spell used by the Lich to torture the living with the memories of the dead who would have believed such a spell could have such good sides to it." Leaden chuckled at his last few words. "Getting onto your mission it's not an easy one, you will literally become the cause of the darkness to your friends beginning with Simon, It will be one by one and after each mission you shall return here where i will be waiting for you but... it has to be done. It appears the voice before told a little fib about you being the cause, truth be told you are the new cause but it would have happened anyway its just this way you will be given a chance to change the darkness slightly in a way that may assist your future."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"I don't know Lumen thats your mission, but our time here for now is over so chin up my prince it's time for you to fulfill your destiny."
"See you soon Leaden"
"I will be waiting Prince Lumen Dusk of the Shade Kingdom, this time don't make me have to come find you" Leaden began to laugh as another bright light engulfed the pair blinding the Prince and he felt his whole body tingle as the ground beneath him gave way.
Present Day - Finn, Marceline, Faith and Hope
"Finn are you sure it's okay to leave Lily with Death of all people? Like personally i think the dudes chill but you know... he is best buds with my dad he's like mega evil?"
"I would usually worry Marcy but Death seems to have great respect for the Fire Kingdom's royal family and will listen to anything Lily says to him. I'm more worried about how Death's gonna manage but Lily will be safe it's not like she would come to any harm who's going to attack a flaming human and the lord of death?"
"That's... true and actually makes a lot of sense Finn... are you sure your okay? Has Bubba been messing with your head and filling it with smarts or something?"
"Nahh He and Fionna have the same deal me and P-Bubs have, stay away from my noggin with all the science mumbo-jumbo it's just since I got my memory back from the Pillow world my heads been like... boom mathematical and i suddenly known all this stuff about the world. Although i got rid of my inner vault i had to create it again just to store all of the memories from that life and I'm working through it slowly as if I tried to take it all in at once i'd probably end up more junked than Magic Man".
"I see... just don't be leaving me over here in the slash and punch'em corner on my own for the science nerds okay?"
"Sure thing my radical dame" The two headed through the corridors of the Nightosphere castle in which Hunson and his wife Faith resided. Since she had gotten back it seemed like there had been a few changes to the land of chaos. The demons still ran wild like before and in fear but... oddly enough they seemed more afraid than before and were avoiding the castle. This fact seemed to bother Finn greatly... what were the demons so afraid off.
"Ermm Marcy..."
"Yeah Finn"
"Why are the demons so afraid of the castle at the moment?"
"Oh... ermm... well don't worry about it... it's best you don't know" giving Finn a smile and a thumbs up which in no way unsettled the bother he felt deep in his gut. The two entered the main throne room where Hunson sat on his throne staring at the door in a nervous way as if he was waiting for anything to happen so he could escape. Once he noticed Finn and Marceline he jumped up and began to float towards them.
"There's my favorite monster and Finn my boy... You two took ages to get here I've been expecting you."
"Ermm dude why are you so shaky is there something I should be afraid of?" Finn asked Hunson hoping to get to the bottom of the shaky feeling.
"Let me just say this Finn, when you get married never annoy your wife... okay?" Finn looked up to see Faith and Hope sparring against one another. Hope had transformed into the same height as Faith and was in demon form. Faith however was wearing a long red dress that was split on one side and other than that she had her hair tied up with a dagger in each hand. Finn at first thought this fight was a little one sided. Faith may be a vampire but Hope was part demon, part human and part shade she severely out stat'd Faith or so Finn thought.
Hope lunged at her un-dead grandmother swinging her scythe aiming to cut her in half, Faith easily jumped up avoiding the scythe, grabbed onto it and began to run down its hilt towards Hope. Hope threw the scythe up in the air sending Faith flying with it, she light morphed into a lantern that was hanging on the wall grabbing the scythe at the same time. She then jumped at Faith as she tried to regain her composure and when all seemed like Faith was about to become two parts she vanished along with Hope. Seconds later the pair came tumbling to the ground in front of the three onlookers with Faith pinning Hope to the ground and having a dagger pressed against the child's neck.
"Whoa" was all Finn could say looking at the pair. He suddenly fully understood why all the demons and Hunson was nervous... Faith was mad scary.
"Oh hello sweetie" said Faith looking up and seeing her daughter. She picked Hope up, who had returned to her original form, and floated over to her daughter. "You should have called out to us and we'd have stopped sooner".
"Nahh it's chill Mum but what was that? How in globs name did you beat Hope?"
"Grandma cheats that's how Mummy, she still does her teleporty poof trick and escapes at the last minute." spat out Hope who was clearly sulking to lose in front of both her Mum and Granddad. Faith and Marcy just started laughing while the boys shifted on the spot still kind of afraid of the women who were in their lives.
"Apparently me and little Hope here spar all the time in the future so we'd thought we'd give it a try but I'm a little rusty it seems" The fact she considered this not her best bothered every single person in the room a great deal. "Anyway what brings you two here, any news on Lumen and the others?"
"Sorry but he's still out but we do have news" Finn decided to speak up after Marceline's face dropped with the mention of her comatose boyfriend. Finn filled Hunson and Faith in on the story of Simon and Bubba and their talks with Death.
"So... Lumen's soul is wandering about and you guys don't know where?" Faith asked the pair.
"No..."
"Then i wouldn't worry about it, trust me he'll be okay I'd say he'll be back to his usual self within a few weeks time" Faith beamed at the pair with a voice of confidence.
"What? How can you know that dear? The light boy may not wake up anytime soon i want him to but its best not to raise false hope?"
"False hope?... Hunson don't worry it's a fact he'll be fine"
"Mum how comes you know that?"
"Oh... I never did say did I? Lumen was the person who taught me to open portals in the first place, he was also the person who helped me find the Vampire King to turn me into a vampire." The whole group went silent and stared at Faith in sheer disbelief.
"How is that even possible?..."
"Beats me but I'm sure if you think hard about it Marcy you would remember him too, He's the one that looked after you after I started my journey although i believe he called himself Hambo at that time in order to keep his name a secret."
"No... it can't be... I named Hambo after the human who helped me when you died... when i thought you died... but that person died... and left me... just after that i was found by Si... it can't be Lumen... he can't be back there anyway and how could it have been him..."
"If you thought of it like this... Lumen purposely 'died' at that time in order for you to meet Simon, would that make more sense? I'm sure that's not the only time you remember him but for now that should be enough if i remember correctly right about now Lumen should have just met Simon for the very first time."
Lumen - Northern Scandinavia
"Hey"
"Hey Mister"
"Mister are you okay? You shouldn't be sleeping here?"
Lumen opened his eyes to find himself staring at a concerned looking at a man with olive skin and dark brown hair. He wore a dark suit with a red bow tie and blue eye glasses. He looked down at Lumen with a concerned look and was holding a weird book in his hands.
"Si... Simon?"
"You know my name? Who are you and why are you sleeping out here in the snow?" Lumen for the first time sat up and realised what Simon was talking about. He had been laying in the snow and it had piled up on him almost burying him completely. He suddenly remembered what he was doing here and decided to try and conceal his identity for now.
"Oh sorry... My names Ivel and sorry you looked like a friend I have, he's called Simon too and i guess i just needed a nap" He hoped his lies would be enough to fool the intellectual man... fortunately for Lumen, at this time Simon was quite Naive.
"Oh dear me what a coincidence then, the world is truly full of mysterious events is it not? I must say that here is not the best place for a nap so if you would like you can join me in my cabin. I'm meant to be catching a boat tomorrow to head home but for now i'm just enjoying my time here and maybe some company would be nice. What do you say?"
"I'd... I'd like that Simon and it's a pleasure to meet you"
"A pleasure to meet you too Ivel, now we can do our formal introductions back in my cabin with a cup of warm cocoa, lets get going shall we" Lumen picked himself up and followed Simon, it seemed that the force that had brought Lumen here had done a good job of sending him to the right place as the cabin was only a few minutes away. The walk there was mostly silent due to Lumen being stuck in thought. "This is insane how can that really be Simon? Am i really in the past... it doesn't seem like he's been affected by the crown yet... and if i'm right from what i saw of Finn and his memory's before he buys the crown at some point on this trip... maybe he already has it...".
When the two reached the door Simon let them in then headed off to make them some drinks. Lumen looked around the cabin and found it was mainly one room. Across the wooden table lay scattered a load of papers ranging from news clippings and maps with notes scribbled all over them. Lumen picked one up and it was about Simon heading on this trip for a Museum he helped in. In the photo he was holding onto the strange book he was holding when they had met. Lumen looked around the rest of the room but found most of it untouched it seemed like Simon had spent most of his time sitting at the table pondering his notes. In the wooden chair beside the table was a folded blanket which Lumen suspected Simon had wrapped around himself in case he fell asleep while working. He took a seat on the sofa as Simon came into the room with their drinks.
"Thanks" Lumen said taking the drink Simon had made him, he looked in to find cocoa with cream, chocolate sprinkles and a melted marshmallow on top. "This is quite the cup of hot chocolate"
"Yeah sorry, i guess it's habit i always end up making it for my princess.." Simon blushed almost as soon as he had finished the sentence, "I mean my girlfriend, her names Betty"
"Aha it's okay dude sounds like you have it made up."
"Yeah... I hope so, I proposed just before i headed out on this exhibition... i just hope she's still keen when i get back and that i didn't rush it."
"Si I'm sure it's fine, Betty loves you and I bet she can't wait for you to get back man"
"Yeah... I'm sure your right... you sure we haven't met because i have a weird feeling this isn't the first time you've met me"
"No No it's the first time, I'm just overly friendly sorry about that, I still haven't introduced myself. My name is Ivel Mertens and I'm a... traveler who goes around looking up superstitions and followed a rumor that there was some supernatural secret being unearthed here" Lumen hoped this lie would be enough to take away the doubt Simon was having and also hopefully lead to information about the crown.
"Well a pleasure to meet you, My name is Simon Petrikov and I'm studying to be an antiquarian of ancient artifacts. Now, I don't believe in the supernatural stuff myself—just have a fascination with superstitions like yourself. I am actually on an exhibition here in order to look into that rumor myself. I can't believe i wandered upon someone just like me. Well have you had any progress Ivel as so far I've found literally diddly squat."
"Really? I'd heard that there was a crown around here that held some supernatural significance." Lumen felt bad for keep deceiving someone he cared about so much but felt he needed to bait information our of Simon just in case.
"What? I haven't heard anything like this even though I've been investigating here for weeks? Where did you hear about this? and is there anything else i should know?" Simon's eyes seem to burn with passion as if someone had set a fire in each one.
"Ermm I heard about it from someone who worked near the boatyard. He said he had a friend who found it when exploring some caves up north."
"Interesting... I had heard someone mention that there use to be ruins up north maybe this cave and that are one and the same? Do you reckon you could point me in the direction of this worker i'd love to ask him a bit more about it?"
"Sorry Simon I don't think i could to be honest with you but if i hear anything else i'll let you know"
"Ahh... never mind my boy... thank you anyway" Simon tried but failed to hide the disappointment in his voice, hearing it hurt Lumen in a way as he knew what fate awaited the gentleman who bore the cursed crown. Lumen looked out the window and noticed it was already nighttime.
"Dear me... Look at the time i best get going Si"
"Oh do you really have to go, I'm sure that i could ruffle up something to eat and somewhere for you to sleep?"
"I'm grateful Simon I am but i have some business to attend to that can't be delayed" And with that the two said their farewells and Lumen headed out.
Lumen headed in the directions of the docks hoping that the idea that came to his head was more based on fact than fiction. When he got their he began to ask the workers if anyone knew anything about a crown with weird powers. Quite a few of the men just looked at him like he was some weird crown himself but eventually one pointed him to the far end of the docks where a worker named Felix was said to have something like a crown from his travels of the land.
"Mr. Felix?"
"Yes Whose's there?" came a deep voice from the dark room in which Lumen entered.
"My names Lumen and I'm here to see you about the crown that you found?"
"No."
"No? What do you mean no?"
"I mean no as in go back to where you come from and forget everything about that damned crown!"
"Damned crown? Let me guess... it feels cold and when you put it on you feel like something is trying to claw its way into your mind..."
"How do you know that? I haven't told anyone about that... I planned to just dump it into the sea on our next voyage..."
"I just know okay, i need you to trust me can you let me see it?"
"Look i don't know how you know but trust me its best not to get involved with that thing!" Lumen finally got a chance to look at the man with light on him and he could see the fear on the mans face. Even more than before he felt guilty about what he was trying to thrust on Simon. Lumen held his hand to the mans head and let his light powers fill Felix's mind clearing away the power the crown had on him. The fear started to fade as Lumen's power worked. He took his hand back and stared at the man removing the disguise he had been wearing his hair turned back from brown to black and white, his skin turned from peachy pink to its grey hue and he stared at the mans shocked.
"I'm involved with something much much bigger than that crown and trust me it's influence will not work on me... please" Felix's face clearly showed that he'd given up trying to hide the crown, he reached over to a crate behind him and pullled out a object wrapped in blanket before passing it to Lumen, he unwrapped it to find the crown he'd always seen on Simon's head and the crown that would ruin so many lives. He ran his hand across its cold surface and suddenly he was inside the crown to a place he'd been once before.
"Who are you."
"Why do you disturb my slumber" bellowed a voice from within the darkness. Lumen was looking around to find the dark Simon he'd seen here before but realised since Simon had never worn it and he'd disrupted the last hosts influence the entity within the crown had no form.
"My name is Lumen and I am the Prince of the Shade Kingdom, I come from 1000 years in the future where we are fighting against the darkness, I've come to you to find a way to improve the future... you will possess and torture a dear friend of mine for all 1000 of them years and I want you to give me something to make up for that!" Lumen didn't really know what to say so he decided to blow off some steam he had about this whole affair. His demand was answered back with a cold, vile laugh.
"You dare to demand things of me? I, who have controlled this crown from the day it was created? You are either a fool or someone who wants to die... but... you mentioned the darkness... is it true that he had returned?"
"He will return in 1000 years and we need all the help we can get so I need to know if there is anyway to boost your powers or anything you can do to help your next host to have a fighting chance" The shadowy domain fell silent apart from the whistling of the wind. Lumen thought that the entity had given up and was about to leave or find a way to do so when the voice replied.
"Before I entered this crown it was made for a very different purpose... it was a crown made to grant a wish, any wish... the wish of the first host was to be given the power of Ice and Snow which is why that is the embodiment of this crown however since it was such a small wish there is a chance that this crown may still have power to grant wishes however i have nothing to say this is true. The bearer of this power must become one with the crown to even have a chance to bring forth this gift? Does this suit your request?"
"Yes... thank you..."
"Now i have done what you have asked i demand something from you, Find me a host, one who would bond with this crown and one who is pure enough to bring forth the gift it bares, do this for me and i will reward you with more than that simple gift"
"Reward?"
"You are a being of Light and Darkness, I can feel a similar darkness from you but at the same time you are different... the host i had just started to take over was robbed of my influence and i feel you have had a hand in this. If i am correct you also bear the power of the Lich... if this is all true then you are the being that will destroy me when we meet again? Speak is it the truth?"
"Yes..."
"Good"
"Good?"
"Yes Good?"
"Why Good?"
"Because if you can beat me and beat the Lich then you stand a chance... the whole of creation stands a chance so when we meet again I will allow your light to pierce me as much as i can making it easier for you, I shall also keep hold of all of the host memories so that if he should even regain his mind he has them. The reward I spoke of is something for the host and you will find out sometime when you return to your own world... now any more and i feel our little mortal watcher might think you've been possessed by me. Find my host." And with that Lumen was back in reality, Felix was staring at him as if he was a rabid dog about to bite. He wrapped up the crown and put it back in the crate.
"Felix I need you to be by the docks tomorrow and wait for a man with glasses carrying a book, when you see him tell him about the crown, how you found it and about its weird power. Do not tell him about more or this meeting and do not worry. He has the ability to control the crown and save the world do you understand." The confused man just nodded and headed off into the night, keen to be away from the weird boy and the freaky crown. Lumen headed back into the night himself and back to Simon's Cabin, he wrote a note for him.
"If you want to know more about the item in which you seek, find the dockworker called Felix tomorrow on the docks before you board your boat. He has all the answers"
Lumen finished his note and slid it underneath his door. He began to walk away when he was hit with a memory that had been created from his actions...
"Hello. My name is Simon Petrikov. I am recording this tape so that people will know my story."
"I was studying to be an antiquarian of ancient artifacts. Now, I never believed in the supernatural stuff myself—just had a fascination with superstitions... but everything changed when I came into contact with this item..."
"After purchasing this crown from an old dock worker in northern Scandinavia, I brought it home and excitedly showed my fiancée Betty, and jokingly put it on my head just for a laugh or something... and that's when it started... The visions... I fought with them... Shouted at them until I realized it wasn't real—it was the crown! I quickly took it off... and saw my fiancée in front of me... looking at me with such contempt. What had I said? What had I done when I wore this crown? All I know is I never saw Betty again."
"Since then, I see the visions always whether or not I wear the crown. They tell me the secrets... the secrets of the ice and snow... that the power of the crown will save me with its frost. I don't yet know what this means. As you can see, my skin is beginning to turn blue. My body temperature has been lowering at a supernatural rate, to what is now about 30°C. I don't know when it will end... I'm really scared..."
"I know my mind is changing... but I'm already too far gone to know what to do. I want people to know that... if I do things... if I do things that hurt anyone, please... please forgive me."
"Just watch over me until I can find a way out of this labyrinth in my brain and regain my sanity! And then maybe Betty, my princess... maybe you will love me again. Please love me again, Betty!"
Lumen fell to the floor in pain and in tears... What had he just done... he'd just subject Simon to that horrid existence and for what? If's and Maybe's, Lumen stood up to go back to the door and take back the note but the ground suddenly gave way and he was back in the room with Leaden.
"Congratulations Lumen you succeeded your first task"
"I don't feel like I've succeeded anything... I've just cursed Simon to torment for 1000 years... I've just doomed my friend... to that life... How can i even call him my friend after this..."
"I know its hard and that he will have to suffer a lot because of this but you've also allowed him to meet Marceline, to be her father, to become a stepping stone for Finn to turn into a Hero and for him to become an amazing King of Ooo. You've also sown the seeds within the crown to create a power even we can not imagine. You've done a good job Lumen don't doubt that."
"...sure... Whats next" It was clear to Leaden that this time his words hadn't reached the Prince and that he was still struggling with the task he had just undertook.
"Next you continue the story, your next visit involves a girl named Faith and her daughter Marceline... be ready, this one is much much more difficult than your first"
Lumen looked up at the door and read the name plate... Marceline.
Present Day - Marceline and Faith
The two women sat in a room in silence. Finn, Hunson and Faith had gone off to look at the research Peppermint Butler had compiled on the darkness leaving them to talk about the past.
"So your telling me the reason you left was because you met Lumen"
"No I didn't leave because i met him... I met him because i left and he helped me survive and helped look after you."
"How comes i can't really remember it? I remember you leaving... well i thought you died and i remember meeting Simon... i do remember someone called Hambo helping me but... i can't remember what he looked like or anything from that time..."
"You've experienced memory dust right?"
"The gold power that lets you enter someones mind and take a memory?"
"Yes that... has Lumen ever seen any of this?"
"Yeah I showed it to him when he was at mine, he thought it was cool but then he pulled a weird face and smiled."
"I think he worked out a way to use his powers to produce an effect similar to tat powder... He used a weird power when i met him to remove me from a few of the survivors memories so me and you could escape before they turned on us... In fact when i first found memory dust i thought that it was actually based on Lumen's powers"
"Why would he wipe my memory? What's he doing..."
"I have a feeling we can easily find out... do you have the necklace he gave you?" Marcy reached into her pocket and pulled out the little red fang pendant. She gave it to her mum who looked at it carefully before handing it back.
"Okay if i'm right if you hold onto this tight and really focus on remembering that time it should give you back your memories... this is Lumen's power and is still connected to him so should reverse the effects... give it a try sweetie". Marceline followed her Mother's instructions and tried to remember everything she had forgotten... she remembered her and her mum fleeing the fighting and from the monsters... she remembered meeting Simon and naming her Hambo... She remembered her Hambo... the person who'd helped her... the person with the cool hair and the nice smile... she remembered... everything.