The Human and The Shadow Part 31

Time's Reward

Continued from Part 30...

"Simon, Flare, Bella, Lumen and BMO all arrived at almost the exact same time, they looked forward in horror to see the beast ready to swing at Betty with it's deadly claw as she held her baby tightly in her arms, both crying loudly.

"THIS IS THE END"

All 5 people moved together lunging at the creature hoping to stop it but it's claw was stopped halfway to Betty. To say stopped is wrong as it connected with a target. The heroes of Ooo watched in horror as the claw stopped an inch from Betty's head. It was now red with blood and blood poured all over the floor. The thing that stopped the claw was neither a weapon or magic... it was Marceline. The beast pulled back its claw grasping with it the heart of the Vampire Queen as she fell to the ground lifeless in a way she hadn't ever experienced before. The whole world seemed to freeze as everyone watched as the last light in the Demonic radical dames eyes left her body leaving it nothing but an empty corpse... devoid of life and its heart."

Isabella Mertens, or Luminescence Dawn, had only ever met Marceline the Vampire Queen once before. This occasion had ended with Bella subduing the vampire without much of a side thought but since then she had learnt that this girl was the precious adopted daughter of Simon Petrikov, a man who knew her pain twice fold. She had also learnt that Marcy was the one her brother held deeply in his heart and would do anything for, maybe it was knowing this that had caused Bella to act as she had or maybe she had finally lost all will to tolerate the existence known as the Cadaver because the moment of silence that followed the light dimming from the vampires eyes was cut short with Bella being consumed by a white aura and slashing at the creature. Her disguise lost along with her reason as she relentlessly hacked at the beast. Unbeknownst to her Lumen went through a similar loss of reason but unlike her was consumed with a black aura. The twin siblings looking like nothing but a shadow and a light severed piece after piece off of the Cadaver ignoring both each other and the shrieks of pain and anger it bellowed out.

Flare had instantly run over to Betty and Cloud wrapping them in her golden healing flame and then helping them to get away from fight to recover. She was helped by Ice Finn who had recovered enough to create a large Snow J that was already carrying the unconscious form of Simone. They retreated back towards the Ice castle as fast as they could all unwilling to see the scene a moment more.

The fight with the Cadaver raged on, the pair seemed to be beating the creature but it finally lost all patience when it had realised that the baby had escaped.

"ENOUGH!" It screamed.

It let Lumen's blade pierce it's rib cage and made it so that the Prince of Shades couldn't pull them out. It then began to beat him as hard as it could while ignoring the attacks from Dawn. When it felt that the Prince could no longer stand he wrapped his claw around him and threw him to the ground where he landed near the dead body of the girl he loved.

Lumen crawled over to her and brought her head into his lap, tears fell from his eyes and mixed with the blood that covered his body. They dropped down onto Marceline's cheeks where they made a small patting sound due to the outer part of each tear beginning to freeze in the land of Ice and Snow.

"Marc... Marceline... Please... what do I do..."

"Please Marcy I only just got back to you... where are you going..."

"I'm sorry Marcy... I'm sorry I left you for so long... please don't make me have to break my promise to you... come back please... Marcy..." Pleaded Lumen while holding her body tightly. The dark aura that enveloped his body had all but disappeared and the white had restored into his hair. He began to form the familiar white flames in his hands as he looked down at the girl... ready to face the consequences.

Bella had lost the advantage in the fight when Lumen had been sent flying and the beast had been forcing her back bit by bit.

"YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S NO WINNING DON'T YOU SCUM?"

"(Breathing Deeply) You don't... know that now do you? I'm pretty sure that your looking worse than I am right now... though i guess you always did" Bella managed to retort while dodging the swings from it's sharp claws.

"FOOLISH LITTLE GIRL... MASTER HAD SPARED YOU DEATH BUT NOW... NOW I THINK I WILL BE ALLOWED TO FULLY TASTE THAT FLESH OF YOUR'S WHILE I WATCH THE LIFE FADE FROM YOU!" The Cadaver let out a blood draining laugh and then lunged at the girl. She hadn't been expecting it and the creature had caught her round the neck. It held her up and began to tighten it's grip. She kicked and punched at its arms, tried to use her powers to get away and even tried to cut off its arms but nothing worked all she knew was that beside her she could feel a weird heat coming and her body had started to grow cold.

The whole time this had been happening Simon hadn't moved a single step. He had taken none of it in after seeing the girl he had raised have her life ripped from her. BMO had been shaking him and calling his name again and again trying to get him to act but none of her desperate plea's could be heard. He looked at Lumen about to trade his life for hers and knew somehow that it wouldn't work it would just kill them both. He looked at Bella about to have her life removed by the same beast but for some reason Simon just could not move. He tilted his head and it met Marceline's cold empty ones once more then the voice within the crown rang out.

"It is TIME! Just this once even the coldness of death will not be enough to escape your power. The promise of power from 1000 years ago is now to bear fruit but this power is yours just this once mortal. Wield the true power of the Wishing Crown and it's power of Ice and Snow. Become the man you were meant to be Simon, THE ICE KING!"

The next thing that anyone knew was that Lumen was trapped in a giant shard of Ice seemly frozen without even the chance to react. Dawn fell to the ground looking up to see the arm which had held her shatter into a thousand pieces like glass. The beast had let out a howl of pain that Bella had never heard it yell before... pure pain... it was hurt for the first time.

It looked down at Simon who hadn't even moved from where he was standing and began to run at him. BMO tried to stop it but was just swatted away it raised its other claw and went to slash at the Ice King, However once again the creature felt it's hit not collide. In fact... it's whole body was frozen in place just by having met with Simon's eyes.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!" The Cadaver's arm that was closest to Simon began to turn clear and transparent like Ice.

"SPEAK! WHAT IS HAPPENING!" The effect spread, it now covered the creature's arms, torso and upper legs.

"I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DO NOT OBEY SCU-" This time before it could even finish it's sentence it was cut short by the fist that struck it in the face. Being unable to move from even the spot the pain it had caused rippled continuously leaving the Cadaver screaming in agony. But even that was cut short as the icing effect covered the whole body below it's eyes the panicked expression it showed to Simon was clear to see. He looked up at the creature maintaining the eye contact and finally replied.

"This power I'm using... it's one i never imagined I'd ever use... I made it when I was still an insane creature trapped within my own mind but even then I knew i should never use it. You see it turns every single part of the person's body into Ice. Freezing every part of them, every nerve, every cell... everything. I can use a version of it to stop people from moving but this version... it's actually a torture method of death. You see once your whole body is Ice you won't be dead yet... just frozen but say if I was to shatter your body... you would feel the pain of being broken into all them little pieces for as long as the Ice remains... every second... every day... forever... and unfortunately for you... you are in a place where the ice... NEVER MELTS. For hurting those dear to me... for trying to hurt my darling wife and child... and for laying your filthy hands of my very own daughter... this is your reward... enjoy eternal agony." The Cadaver by this point couldn't hear Simon's words as he had become similar looking to an Ice statue. Simon drew back his fist and rammed his hand through the creatures chest ripping out of it a heart of ice. He crushed it in his hands before putting his hand to creature and blasting it with an icy wind that slowly ripped parts of it away till there was nothing there... Scattering the pieces of the beast with the wind.

Bella watched stunned and slightly scared knowing that no words should be spoken. Simon walked over to Marceline he picked her up into his arms and walked over to an empty spot. He looked down at her and brushed her hair away from her face. He used his powers to make all of the blood and dirt on her disappear like the creature had leaving his little girl looking like she was sleeping in his arms.

"Oh Marceline... My darling little Marceline... I can never thank you enough for protecting my Princess and my little prince but Marcy... protecting our family is my job so from now on please don't get yourself hurt... your still my precious daughter." Around Simon a circle began to form in the snow, the wind swirled around the circle hiding the two from view as a pillar of white and blue light fell onto them.

"Oh Wishing Crown of Power, granter of Snow and Ice, freeze the time, freeze the years and then thaw out the life within this girl. I wish upon you to save her with your powers, to bring forth her life that the coldness has already taken. I call upon you, the Ice King calls you, RETURN MY DAUGHTER TO ME!" Simon's voice rang out as the light pillar went so bright that it could be seen everywhere across Ooo. From the Candy Kingdom to the Fire Kingdom, From the Tree-house to Treetrunk's House every resident looked up and felt a small cold breeze blow past them. The light began to fall back into the ground where Simon and Marcy were. Bella looked on to see that the wound in Marceline's chest had faded and instead a snowflake-like pattern glowing blue was there. As the light faded the mark turned to a red colour and stayed like that. Many would probably assume it was a tattoo rather than the kiss of life from before the predecessors of their world.

Marceline opened her eyes to look up at Simon who was smiling down at her.

"Si... Simon... what happened?... Is everyone okay?" Simon let the girl stand, she had to lean on him as she was a bit wobbly but then regained her posture.

"Yes my dear... everyone is okay now... thanks to you" He hugged her tightly and although she was very confused she let herself fall deeply into his arms and hugged him back.

Although the two stayed like that for a while Marceline opened her eyes and looked behind Simon at the destroyed buildings. She saw the blood that was splashed across the ground covering the white snow. Her eyes then drifted to the last part that she could see and was left speechless. She pulled apart from Simon and looked him in the eye.

"Si... answer me something quickly... why is Lumen's crazy sister sitting there smiling at us weirdly?... and why is... a girl that sorta looks like what I imagine BMO would look like if she was a girl tapping on a giant block of Ice that seems to be holding my boyfriend?" She wanted to be more shocked at the situation but was just shocked more than anything.

"Well in regards to Bella, that's Lumen's sisters real name, it seems like I've picked up another daughter" he said chuckling to himself. He told her about the many months he had spent in the world of Lll. The trials he had to face and the truths he had learnt about Bella. He told her about his meeting Lumen 1000 years ago from his side of the story and the fact that the girl was alive right now due to him doing so. He told her the story of meeting Bella and discovering the truth about her broken mind and that he felt he needed to be there for her.

"So... looks like I've just got a new sis and a bro in one day doesn't it... so Marshall, Cloud and Bella... wow... my family just keeps growing" Marceline was beaming with a big smile she had always been alone but now she had her real parents, her daughter, Simon and Betty, Bonnie, Lumen and her makeshift siblings and even her friends, never before had the Queen of Vampires felt so surrounded by love.

"Okay Si... I think the whole Bella trying to kill us and the BMO* thing is gonna be a bit of an issue but can you now explain to me why you turned my boyfriend into an Ice-pop".

"He tried to save you... but I could tell that it would have failed..."

"He broke his promise?..."

"No Lumen didn't actually do it, he was hesitating i think hoping that some miracle would happen so he didn't have to save you by hurting you even more... but I didn't really have time to explain to him that I could save you with everything going on so... I paused him"

"Paused... (Marcy started to laugh).. Si he isn't a rerun of Cheers you know" She continued to chuckle to herself.

"Yeah but... Well I'll let you explain it to him... I have a meeting with my son and I kind of have to tell my wife that our daughter isn't dead and that everyone is okay because I have a feeling that Flare is doing all she can to reason with her but my princess can be wild sometimes."

"Don't worry get going Simon, oh and take BMO with you I don't think she's ready to deal with the whole Bella thing just yet"

"Sure thing Marcy". He gave her a kiss on the forehead before flying away, he picked up the robot and flew towards the castle to meet with his family.

Marcy went over to the frozen Lumen and made a chair out of the snow. She invited Bella to sit with her and for a while the two girls just sat in silence.

Elsewhere in Ooo

The cave was dark lit only by the cracks and trails of Lava that ran down the wall. The terrain was harsh littered with shards of stone and bones from creatures that couldn't handle the heat of a cave that connected deep to the core of the Fire Kingdom's main volcano. Even getting permission to enter this cave required either Royal status or Royal approval so for Phoebe Flame it was like walking into her own back garden. She flew deeper into the cave following the crude arrows that were carved into the walls. She flew past rivers of Lava and dangerous fire beasts that existence was hidden to protect the population from worrying too much. She was nearing the destination she could feel but she began to wonder to herself "What was Finn doing all the way down here underneath the Fire Kingdom? and why had he randomly sent me a message to meet him?".

She was hoping meeting him would provide her with all the answers that she was seeking so she flew into a giant clearing and found Finn sitting in the middle looking nervous.

"Hey Finn what are you doing here?" Finn was caught so much in his mind that he hadn't even noticed her enter.

"Oh hey Phoebes okay... I know it's gonna seem weird with me inviting you underground to a dark cave but I'm gonna need you to close your eyes for me..." Phoebe gave Finn a confused and skeptical look but judging from his big, goofy and nervous grin she decided to play alone. She closed her eyes and felt Finn move away from her. She heard a various few sounds go on around her. A cranking sound, some crackling and then through her eye lids she few light try to come through.

"Okay Phoebe... You can open your eyes now."

Phoebe let her eyes open slowly and saw that the dark clearing around her had transformed, there was giant shards of different minerals and crystals coming from the ground and walls that were now lighting up making their colours glow and bounce around the cave. She looked to the floor and found that it was a huge crystal itself that showed the colour orange of the lava flowing underneath her. She twirled taking the whole room in as the light colours filled her eyes. It was like she had been taken to a wonderland. She heard a sound behind her and turned hoping to see Finn but instead she just saw a little flame on the ground letting out a purple smoke. More of these flames appeared and now there was multi-coloured smoke filling the room and finally she heard a flapping sound and the room filled with light-bats. These were a rare type of bat only found this deep in the Fire Kingdom. Their body's glowed the colour of their favorite mineral or crystal that they ate but each one had a different preference so showed a different colour. If you were to look into Phoebe's eyes you would think that their was a multi-coloured stary sky flying past but to Phoebe she just saw the pure beauty that her land held. She turned round again to see Finn smiling at her.

"Finn-" He held a finger to her lip and in his eyes she saw his need for her to listen to she waited.

"Phoebe... from the very moment I saw you all I could see is that you were an amazing and beautiful girl. I liked... even loved you from that very moment and every moment since through the good and the bad you have been the flame that lit my heart and my soul." Finn got down onto one knee. "Phoebe I brought you here because I wanted to show you all the beautiful things I have found in the place you call home. From the crystals that glow to the minerals that burn different colours even to the wild animals that light even the darkest corners of your kingdom. I wanted to show you all of these things because I want to ask you to let me have the most beautiful and most precious thing your kingdom has inside it. I wanna be the one to hold, to be next to and to treasure the most beautiful gem that is the very heart of this kingdom. I guess what I want to say... is what I said that day we let our love show again... I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore I want to be your Fiance and soon I want to be known as your Husband... so Phoebe will you give me the greatest treasure of your people and become my wife?" Finn looked so innocent and so nervous that although Phoebe wanted nothing more than to scream yes so loudly that even the Ice Kingdom could hear her across Ooo she couldn't help but want to tease him.

"Finn..."

"Yes!" His voice cracked due to his nerves but he didn't notice and listened attentively to his girlfriend.

"...On one of the first times I hung out at Marceline's I was playing around with her music player and a song began to play. It sorta reminded me of us... I think I wanna sing a version of it to you now if that's okay and then I'll give you my answer." Finn looked at her baffled he was prepared for a no but this was something he hadn't been expecting so unable to speak he just nodded.

"Okay Finn... it's called Love Story." Phoebe took a step back and let out her flame sense. It cleared a small circle of the light bats and smoke letting there seem to be nothing but Finn and Her within the circle of dancing lights.

"We were both young when I first saw you.
I close my eyes and the flashback starts:
I'm standing there drenched with wet hair.

See the lights, see the hurt me, the burnt ground.
See you brave your way through the storm cloud
And say, "Hello, "
Little did I know...

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles,
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you, "Please don't go"
And I said...

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.
I'll be waiting; all that's left to do is run.
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess,
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes".

So I sneak out of the lantern to see you.
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew
So close your eyes... escape this town for a little while.
Oh, oh.

'Cause you were Romeo - I was a scarlet letter,
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"
But you were everything to me,
I was begging you, "Please don't go"
And I said...

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.
I'll be waiting; all that's left to do is run.
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess.
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes".

Romeo, save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel.
This love is difficult but it's real.
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess.
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes".

Oh, oh, oh.

I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around.
My faith in you was fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town.
And I said...

Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone.
I keep waiting for you but you never come.
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think.
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said...

Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone.
I love you, and that's all I really know.
I talked to your dad - go pick out a white dress
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes".

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

'Cause we were both young when I first saw you."

Finn watched never letting his eyes leave her for even a second. He watched as she danced in the lights and sang her heart out. He could hear the parts of their story and the parts of another's blend together to show their love and their triumph through the past. He was spellbound and still couldn't say a word. She stopped and let herself catch her breath before kneeling on the ground where Finn still was.

"Finn... To misquote that song once more... 'It's a love story, baby, my answer's yes'". Finn grabbed her pulling her in for a deep and passionate kiss. The two were caught in a picture perfect moment as the light bats flew away, the fires died out and the crystals glow died down again leaving the only light Phoebe as if she were candle light. The two let themselves unravel from each other and then Finn pulled out a ring. It was a simple gold wedding band apart from two hearts decorating the top. They were two precious jewels that Phoebe bet Finn had fought threw thick and thin to get. One was bright blue like Finn's eyes and the other Dark red. She let her finger caress it and the moment both of them were touching it an engraving lit up by magic within the ring "To My Princess x".

Phoebe's hand shot to her mouth as if to contain the gasp that it gave her, she had never seen a ring more beautiful and never seen one that could mean so much to her. A tear slid down her cheek containing all of her joy and all of her happiness so Finn lent in closely and kissed her tear away. She then pulled him close and kissed his lips deeply again. When they finally pulled apart she leant close to his ear and whispered the last words either of them heard for a while.

"I will give you the heart of my kingdom... all of my soul too but for right now... please take the body of the treasure you wish so much to keep to yourself".

Marceline, Bella and Lumen

Marcy and Bella sat by the still frozen Lumen, they had been sitting in awkward silence. Around them a large group of the Ice Kingdom citizens had cleaned up all the after effects of battle and removed the remains of the building leaving the 3 in a clearing just on their own.

"You can speak you know Bella... you being quiet is just kinda creepy" Marceline decided to break the silence with the other girl.

"...You know I can get him out of there right now if you really want..."

"No no missy we're gonna have a little girly chat... you see we're sisters now since Simon has decided he wants to be there for you, something about him understanding your pain but kiddo let me tell you this... I don't fully approve of you, just because you went through 500 years of hell doesn't mean you get to hurt the people close to me and doesn't mean you get away with killing BMO*... You will have to carry that with you forever... now hows about you tell me why I should even let you be here when my boyfriend wakes up when given that nearly a year ago when you first met him you promised to kill him and everyone he loves?" Marceline had been holding back due to the fact that Simon had given his approval, in reality this was all she needed to trust Bella but decided to test the girl herself.

"I... er...I'm..."

"Yes?" Encouraged Marcy, Bella let out a big sigh knowing she would probably have to go through this a lot.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I hurt you... everyone... especially Ivel..no Lumen... I have no right to expect anyone to forgive me or want to help me. The fact that you and Simon have been through hell for twice as much as I have and that your still worthy of being this worlds champions prove that I was nothing but shallow... weak and conceited... I just wanted to hurry up and die so I said and did anything I could to make Lumen kill me."

"Wait... what? You wanted him to kill you? Why?"

"He's the only person who can kill me... the Darkness changed me to be like him with my powers and since he killed our worlds Death for saving Lumen he controls the right to our worlds dead... if I die on that world or even on this one... he can bring me back like a never ending cycle. Lumen's different... the Death of this world welcomed him with open arms and that stops the darkness taking him back the two times he's died since being here."

"Why does it have to be him? and TWO?!"

"He's my twin brother, we have the same powers... He's like my other half... it's something the darkness can't control so if Lumen was to kill me I would really die and he couldn't bring me back... The Cadaver would lie to me promising if I killed Lumen then I would be allowed a peaceful death but I knew that was too good to be true... and yeah... I believe he died once in the trial using reviving magic and once again recently for the same reason... I can't say how i know but i just do..."

"That's gotta be hard sister... having to either kill the one you love the most or let him kill you by being the bad guy... but why kill BMO*? You don't sound that crazy... and make that Lumen death counter in this world to 3 for me because he's gonna regret getting out of that Ice cube". Bella laughed at the last bit which made Marcy happy, it was a hard conversation and anything to make it easier seemed like a good thing.

"...Truth be told when the little robot used that ability to suck me in I was surprised, I'd been alone for 500 years with only that creature as company... it followed me everywhere so the moment I saw a survivor i ran away as fast as I could so they would be spared... but whenever I saw it again it had the person's body with it... like it was trying to show me that I had caused it... With your whole group with your wacko powers and stuff I was in shock... I didn't want to hurt him anymore than I had to but I had to hurry and get Lumen to kill me... Everyone kept getting in my way and slowing me down... I just lost it... I didn't want to be on this world and watch it end like my one had... I was desperate... but all this just sounds like an excuse now..." Bella reached into her pocket and pulled out a little box. "Please don't kill my brother too much... I would like to apologise to him too... but I guess if i could return this to that BMO girl it might give her some peace of mind". She opened the box to show BMO* little golden heart. Marceline's eyes opened wide.

"Bella! You kept it with you!?"

"Oh.. I guess that's pretty messed up isn't it..."

"No you don't realise... that heart is like the core of BMO*... without it there's no way he can be brought back but with it... there's a chance that he could be restored even slightly!"

"...You guys realise the amount of times you lot die and can come back should be considered less of a miracle and more like a cheat on life right?" Marceline looked at her face to see tears rolling down her face and a big smile on her face. It was like a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

"If it ain't broke Bells..."

"...Don't fix it I got ya?" Marceline leaned over and gave Bella a hug, she had Simon's approval and she now had the Vampire Queen's too. Marcy looked at her boyfriend in the Ice and decided it was time.

"Say Bells wanna do me a solid and get my boyfriend out of here while I try to decide whether to hit him first or kiss him?"

"...Sure...". Bella let her light powers cover her body and then focus in her arm. She then stretched into the Ice like someone putting their hand into water, grabbed Lumen and then pulled the Shade Prince out of the Ice. He landed on the ground with the white flames in tact ready to try to revive his lost love except he found her gone. He looked up to see Bella and Marcy looking down at him both looking annoyed.

Marceline decided to hit him first by kicking him in the ribs. "That's for almost breaking our promise." She then got on her knees pulled him as close as she could and letting the months of longing and wanting be felt to him through their lips. "Annnnddd... That's for coming back to me... don't worry Simon's told me everything you got up to in your mission my lil' time traveler... thank you so much... thank you for keeping the promise to come back to me okay... and don't worry about Bells beside me... she's cool but if she wants to punch you just once... I'ma let her for you being a dufus". She had tried the whole time to keep her composure but it finally let out. She began to burst into tears and hold onto him as tightly as before and he held her too, he let his hands run through her raven and white coloured hair and let every sense in his body fill with her essence... he was home.

Bella stood there awkwardly for the two's reunion not really knowing what to do, her centuries of solitude had all but erased her socialising skills so she just decided to turn around and admire the view. She continued to do so till Lumen tapped her on her shoulder. She turned round with her lip trembling and puffy eyes trying to not let it all out but he pulled her into his arms and whispered into her ear. "I'm so sorry I left you behind and that I couldn't save you sooner... but don't worry your bro's here now and I'm never leaving you again". With this Isabella Mertens finally discarded the shell known as Dawn and let herself cry in the arms of her big brother and the girl who in more sense than one would become her sister. The trio stayed like that for some time before heading towards the Ice Kingdom to meet up with the Ice Family and BMO.

Also Elsewhere in Ooo

Hope and Light.

"Just us two Hope?"

"Yeah Belle's working with her parents on a way to bring back Phoenix and knowing how crazy smart they are I'm sure they're gonna succeed... Where's Lily?"

"Granddad Keith's not letting her out of his sight unless she's with my Mum or Dad. He's just over the moon waiting for my Grandma to come back I guess... I just wonder when that will be..."

"Oh... don't worry she's already back, so's my Dad and Cloud's Dad"

"How do you know that?"

"I worked out how my Dad's necklace things work and I can tell Granddad Simon's back in Ooo and since your parents haven't left the Fire Kingdom I can only guess that the Fire Elemental that's in the Ice Kingdom is your Nanna.."

"Your awesome you know that don't you Hope..."

"Oh is that a compliment from the ever charming Flame Human been a while since something like that from you"

"Hope come on don't be like that... It's not my fault it's just awkward with Cloud around so much..."

"Why... because you still think I like him? That's Belle remember not me... Your the one who thinks that he's inferior to Cloud since your Dad choice him to be Ooo's Hero"

"I never said that you did and that's not true!"

"Light... come on... it is... Cloud was raised from birth to control his powers, he had Simon and Betty to guide him as well as Ice Finn and Uncle Marshy to teach him so it's obvious he'd be strong... he got picked because at that time you were still too young to do it and you were helping lead the Fire Kingdom... don't pretend it's not the truth Light we all pretend that we're still good children and get along for Lily's sake but I know you and Cloud still haven't made up and I know Belle still blames you for that fight."

"Hope none of this matters... we're not here to deal with our lives we're here to live in a story that's not our own... our parents... what we want isn't important right now..."

"Of course... because that's all that matters... don't worry Light... hide behind your excuses but I'm one year younger than your Mum when she met your dad and the two of them knew it was love even then... even if you continue to ignore that I know what I want but do you? I'll leave you with that... I'm going to see my parents... bye... Flame Prince". Before Light had a chance to retort Hope had already Shadow morphed away... "She knows I hate being called that!...".

Light began to walk back to the Fire Kingdom... he hadn't been expecting to deal with all the drama from their own time while on this trip... Hope loved him... he knew it... everyone did... Belle loved Cloud and no body knew what that Ice pop was thinking considering he spent half of his life playing with snow in the mountains... Lily was still only 11 and they'd tried to keep her from their relationship drama... but Light had always tried to hide how he felt. He wanted to be a good Prince for his mother but deep down wanted to become a Hero that his Dad of his time could respect.

"What I want huh?... Isn't it obvious that I want you too Hope..."

I hope you didn't get too agitated with the cliff hanger I left it on last time and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too :) Lumen and Bella have made up and Bella has been accepted into Simon's family finding a place where she belongs. Finn and Phoebe are engaged and... well let's just say Light had to be conceived somehow but lets ignore that for now ;) and I decided to add a bit more to the Future Child's characters we have a HopeXLight and BelleXCloud relationship going on as well as some history for them that may be explored more.

Next Time: To the Future?

Location:

Simon, Betty, Baby Cloud, BMO2, Simone, Ice Finn, Flare, Marcy, Lumen and Bella (with Hope on her way) - Ice Kingdom

Bonnibel, Bubba and Belle - Candy Kingdom (working on Phoenix's Revival)

Lily, Finn, Phoebe and Martin? (with Light on his way) - Fire Kingdom

Benny and Ivy - The Rose Kingdom

Marshall and Fionna - Marceline's Basement Room

Jake - Lady's Place

Phoenix - ...yup still in Hell

Hunter - ?

Additional Info - I'm probably not going to include Benny and Ivy much in the story and Betty and Simon will not be taking part in the rest of the trials in order to make sure Cloud has he's parents close to him but will still be part of the main group.