Hello everyone and welcome back to Something More… that's all I really got to say, just read the damn thing.

Enjoy!

Oh yeah. And I do not own 'Adventure Time'.

Chapter Seven

This Girl is On Fire

The princesses were waiting for Finn at the bottom of the mountain trail as the sun was setting in the background, they had broken Jake out of the ice and were chewing him out pretty badly for earlier. When Finn reached them, Princess Bubblegum gave him a curious look. "What happened up there?" she asked.

Finn held up the book IK had given him. "I made friends with a wizard king and got a book about ice ninjas. Not really how I planned this day would end but you know, whatevs. Are you guys okay?"

"We are all fine thanks to you stranger." Bubblegum gave him a smile and a small curtsy. "I am Princess Bubblegum, ruler of the Candy Kingdom."

"I figured that, the pink kinda gives it away."

Bubblegum giggled. "Yeah, I just thought it proper to formally introduce myself." The princesses gathered around with grateful smiles. "We thank you for freeing us from the Ice King, what is your name good sir?"

Finn raised a hand in greeting. "Finn Campbell, pleasure to meet you all. Do uh, do I have to bow or do the whole 'your highness' bit?"

Bubblegum waved a hand. "Nah it's fine, so where are you from Finn? You don't look like you're from any Kingdom I've ever heard of."

"Ah PB you're gonna love this, check it out!" Jake stretched his arm up to Finn and yanked his white hat off his head, his hair fell to his shoulders. "He's a Human!" the dog declared.

Bubblegum covered her mouth and gasped loudly. "Oh mein Wort, ich kann es nicht glauben!" PB rushed up and grabbed Finn's face, tilting it from side to side. Finn tried his best to keep his blush down. "A living Human! This could be a game changer in the field of evolution!" the princess picked up Finn's arm and examined it. "A healthy specimen." she went back to Finn's face and opened up an eyelid. "No sign of current disease, virus or any other sickness." the princess grabbed Finn by the shoulders and held him in front of her. "Would you be willing to donate some of your time and possibly some of your bodily fluids in the name of science?" she asked.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh." was Finn's response.

The other princesses were also awestruck by Finn's appearance, for a completely different reason however.

"Good glob."

"That hair."

"Do you think he's royalty?"

"I don't care even slightly."

Jake was standing by with a big grin on this face, "Heh heh heh, man hooking this guy up is gonna be easier than I thought."

Finn escaped from PB's grasp and took a few safe steps back. "Listen Princess Bubblegum, I've come a long way to meet you. I need your help."

PB tilted her head. "Oh?"

Seeing no reason to hold back, Finn told her everything; Founder's Island, his AI mom who governed the island, his dad's suicide attempt at an escape, the Guardian sending him off across the ocean, getting marooned on the beach and making his way to the Candy Kingdom. The only thing he did leave out was LSP and Marceline, they didn't seem to like Bubblegum so he kept quiet about them in fear of the feeling being mutual.

Once he was done, the princesses were all giving him looks of pity and sympathy. The Slime Princess then formed a curious look and raised her hand. "I'm sorry but, you said your mother was the leader of your island? Soooo… that technically makes you a prince right?"

Finn blinked. "Well I mean… son of the chief at best but, I wouldn't really call myself a prince."

The princesses looked at each other and shrugged, PB just rolled her eyes. she then put a comforting hand on Finn's shoulder.

"Listen Finn Campbell, I would be more than happy to help you get back home. However, I currently have matters of my own that require my immediate attention."

"The Fire Kingdom?"

Princess Bubblegum nodded gravely. "Yes, the people are screaming for war and Flame Princess is ready to deliver. I'm sorry, but my people and my kingdom come first."

Finn knew from the get-go that that would most likely be her answer, but he still persisted. "Well is there anything I can do to help? Maybe I could go try to talk the Flame Princess out of it, I've always been pretty good at that."

PB took her hand off of Finn's shoulder and looked at him like he was crazy. "That is a terrible idea, the minute you tell Flame Princess that you came on my behalf she'll turn you into human flambe. Believe me, I've tried numerous times to get her to agree to a Princess Parley to no avail."

"Princess Parley?" Finn asked.

"In the event that a kingdom or kingdoms declare war on another kingdom or kingdoms, a princess from either side has the right to invoke a Princess Parley." Bubblegum explained. "During the Princess Parley, both sides make their demands, the Pact of Peace is made, and there is no war. The Pact of Peace cannot be broken under royal law, no princess would dare attempt to break the pact. The whole thing is managed by the Peace Overseer, an individual chosen by both sides to handle the terms and keep the peace."

Finn saw his opportunity. "Okay then, I'll go talk to Flame Princess and get her to agree to a Princess Parley. I'll even take the role as the Peace Overseer." he told the princess confidently.

Bubblegum in return gave Finn a concerning look. "Look, I admire your courage and respect your desire to help Finn. But this isn't your fight, I won't have you be killed at my expense. Flame Princess is too angry at me to discuss peace, she's going to come to my kingdom with all the firepower she can muster up."

"You did have her locked when she was a baby and trashed all but one of her fire giants, maybe all you need to do is apologize."

Princess Bubblegum sighed. "I am well aware I brought this on myself, I tried apologizing and it got me nowhere. You can't reason with her, Flame Princess is volatile and full of rage."

"Maybe, one thing I can tell you for sure; her volatile rage is gonna burn down your kingdom if something isn't done about it." Finn gave PB a pleading look. "Let me go and talk to the Flame Princess. If it doesn't work, then you lose nothing but one guy you barely know. If it does, then your kingdom is saved. Your people and your kingdom comes first right?"

The princesses looked both impressed and shocked at Finn's determination. Princess Bubblegum looked like she wanted to argue, but instead she took a long breath and looked Finn sternly in the eyes. "If you do this, know that there is a very high possibility you'll wind up dead." she told him.

"Uh-huh."

"If you do somehow succeed, then I will do everything in my power to see you home. You have my word."

"Got it."

"And understand this; if you do somehow get Flame Princess to simmer down and agree to a Princess Parley, and if she does agree to have you fill the role as Peace Overseer and you completely botch the job, then by Fire Kingdom law you'll be the first to die before the battle begins."

"Understood."

"...I'm sorry-you seem incredibly relaxed about this even though you'll probably end getting brutally burned alive. It's just that I can't help but find that a tad unsettling."

"Yeaaaaaaaaah, everything that I've encountered in Ooo so far, as an island dweller, has just been a complete mind-funk for me. At this point, I'm not sure there's anything you can throw my way that could really faze me too badly."

PB put a hand to her face and let out a frustrated sigh, "I can't foresee this working out in any given scenario, but if you're really serious about this, then you have my blessing to go to the Fire Kingdom on behalf of the Candy Kingdom. I would advise leaving in the morning, I can offer you a room for the night at the Candy Kingdom if you don't hav-"

"Oh no you don't!" Breakfast Princess rushed up and grabbed Finn's arm. "If he's going to die tomorrow then he can spend his last night in the Breakfast Kingdom!" she looked at Finn with starry eyes. "I can give you a room in my castle Finn, particularly a room next to mine if that's okay with you."

Finn blushed fiercely and before he could think of a reply, Engagement Ring Princess ran up and grabbed Finn's other arm. "No wait! My castle would be far more suitable than a place that is literally made of pancakes and covered in syrup!"

"Come stay at the Rag-and-Bone Kingdom Finn! I have a whole bunch of old human stuff you can look through!"

"No! Come with me to the Slime Kingdom! I promise it's not as gross as it sounds!"

"You'll love the Wildberry Kingdom! It's very fancy and we make the best meat pies! Just don't ask where the meat comes from!"

"I have a place he can crash at."

That last voice came from above, everybody looked up and saw Marceline floating leisurely in the air. "Sup everybody." she said with a wave.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Jake shrieked before quickly shrinking down and jumping into Finn's jacket pocket.

Marceline laughed, she was wearing a black and red striped shirt with a pair of ripped jeans and flip-flops. A blue scrunchy held her hair in a giant pony tail. Finn thought it was a pretty nice look on her. "Hey Jake, good seein' you again." she said. Finn could feel Jake tremble even more in his pocket.

Marceline floated to the ground and the princesses backed up a few steps, even BP and ERP let go of Finn and backed away. Bubblegum however stayed where she was, she didn't seem at all afraid of the vampire but mildly annoyed by her presence. "Hello again Marceline." she greeted in a rather flat tone.

Marceline wiggled her fingers at the pink princess. "Hey Bonnibel, did ya miss me? What I am saying?, of course you did."

Finn lifted a hand. "Hey Marcy."

Marcy lifted a hand in return. "Hey Finn, glad to see you're still alive."

"I am particularly happy about that as well."

"Heh, yeah I'll bet."

The princesses stared at Finn in disbelief, Bubblegum in particular. "You two know each other?"

"Oh yeah, she attacked me on the beach I washed up on, but we're cool though." Finn explained.

"Yeah Bonnie lighten up, no need to get jealous." Marceline remarked, earning a look of aggravation from PB.

"Why are you here Marceline?"

Finn thought he saw a flash of hurt on the vampire's face, but it was instantly gone and replaced by a breezy smirk. "Geez is that how you're gonna greet me? No 'Oh Marcy it's good to see you!' or 'Oh thank you again for fighting the Lich for me while I hid in my lab!' or something else that shows at least a little bit of gratitude? Man you're cold girl." Bubblegum's frown deepened. "Don't worry Bon-Bon, I ain't here for you. I got a place Finn can anchor down in until he heads back home."

PB turned to Finn. "Finn, I feel like I should warn you about Marceline. She is a prankster who lives for kicks, accept any offer from her and you can expect to wake up the next morning with wolves in your bedroom and your hair shaved off. I speak from experience."

Marcy just laughed, "Yeah that was hilarious, you know, one of those wolves was me, I was the one who ripped apart your nightgown so you had to run down the halls naked."

"I swear to glob Marceline, I'm gonna-"

"Anyway Finn, I got an old crib in the Grasslands my ex-boyfriend and I used to chill in. I don't even use it anymore, the last time I even stepped foot in that place was a few years ago to grab some guitar picks and shirts. That's exactly how me and Jake know each other, found the squatter trying to move in so I gave him a good scare. Ain't that right Jake?"

Finn could hear Jake whimper in his pocket.

Marceline laughed before continuing. "The place should still be in pretty good shape; running water, plumbing, a couple woodstoves, the works." Marceline pulled out a pair of keys and tossed them to Finn. "All yours man."

Bubblegum squinted her eyes at Marceline suspiciously. "That's awfully generous of you Marceline. You barely know this guy, why are you being so nice?"

Marceline shrugged. "Finn seems cool, plus your sending him on a suicide mission in the morning so it'll only be for one night probably."

Finn smiled at Marceline. "Thanks Marcy."

Marcy smiled back. "No problem man, just head back to the Candy Kingdom from here and you'll find the place. It's a big treehouse near a pond so it shouldn't be that hard to find. Later."

Marceline floated into the air, she turned to Bubblegum and blew her a kiss before flying off laughing, leaving a red faced PB behind her. Jake chose that time to peek out of Finn's pocket.

"Is she gone?" he asked in a small voice.

"Fortunately yes." Bubblegum responded, she actually sounded embarrassed.

Jake stepped out of Finn's pocket and grew back to his normal size. "Okay good. Listen y'all, I'm gonna go home and hug my girl and have her tell me everything's going to be okay. You princesses have a good night, see you in the morning Finn."

"For what?" Finn asked.

"Whaddya mean 'for what'? I'm going with ya to the Fire Kingdom."

Finn's eyes widened. "Dude, you don't have to do that."

"Uh yeah, I kind of do bro." Jake said like it was obvious. "Come on man, you sat down and ate lunch with me and my family, you saved the princesses when I got frozen, what kind of a dog would I be if I didn't back you up on this one? I would be a bad dog that's what, a bad dog!"

Finn stared at the bulldog in surprise, then smiled gratefully. "Thanks Jake."

Jake smiled back. "Ah no problem bro, you sleep tight in your new dig, maybe take on one these fine princesses with you."

The princesses, PB excluded, looked at Finn expectantly. Finn blushed and gave Jake a dirty look.

"Heh heh heh, good night homie." he said with a goofy smile before extending his legs and walking off.

Finn pocketed the keys Marceline gave him and cleared his throat awkwardly, "So yeah, I'm gonna go and get some sleep. I'll probably find the place no problem and even if I don't I can just sleep out in the woods again, you all have a good night." he turned around and hurried off before any of the princesses could reply.

Princess Bubblegum watched Finn go with a worried look, the other princesses though let out a dreamy sigh.

"He is just extraordinary." Raggedy Princess commented.

"I can't believe we actually have a Human here in Ooo." marveled Wildberry Princess.

"Forget that, he is downright hot." said Slime Princess.

Bubblegum rolled her eyes at the princesses. 'Get a life.' she thought to herself.

PB turned and watched as Finn wandered off. 'Okay fine, I'll admit he's kinda cute.'

Finn walked at a steady pace, not in too much of a hurry. He tried to enjoy himself, the night sky had been lit up with stars and the moon was full. It was a beautiful night, but Finn still felt worried about tomorrow. If he couldn't calm down the Flame Princess, then it was over for him. He was gambling with his life and Finn was not looking forward to being burned alive, despite his relaxed act in front of Bubblegum. 'I promise you will die screaming in agony', the Lich had told him, he just might have been telling the truth. The thought of the Lich only made Finn feel worse, he remembered how terrified he had felt when he was standing next to his prison. What scared Finn the most wasn't the bone-chilling cold, or the feel of raw power emitting from the prison.

What scared Finn the most was that he felt a connection to the beast, an odd pull towards his power that he couldn't explain. The Lich; his evil aura had felt almost… familiar… kindred even.

"Hey Finn!" a voice from behind snapped him out of his thoughts. Finn turned around and saw Princess Bubblegum running to catch up with him.

'Be cool Finn, be cool.' When PB reached him, Finn smiled and raised a hand in greeting. "Hey princess, what's up?"

"Well, since Marceline's treehouse is on the way to the Candy Kingdom, I thought we could walk together for a bit." PB answered.

Finn felt his face flush. "Umm, yeah sure, that'd be great!" And so they walked side by side through the night. At first they walked in silence, not sure on how exactly to start a conversation with one another, then Bubblegum broke the ice. "So Finn, What is Founder's Island like? I imagine it has some pretty impressive feats in technology if your mother was able to download her consciousness into the web and live on as an artificial intelligence unit."

"Oh yeah, we got a whole lot of impressive tech back on the island." Finn responded. "I grew up with all of it surrounding me though, so to me it was all more natural than impressive really. Still though, it's a great place. You've got the Seekers securing the island, you've got the Experimenters handling the tech, and you've got the Helpers, making sure the people are safe and well."

PB smiled sympathetically. "You must really miss your friends and family huh?"

Finn rubbed his arm. "Yeah, I miss my mom, Kara, Old Man Willow, Sarah, heck I even miss my dad, and he's the reason I got separated from my island in the first place."

Bubblegum giggled. "Yeah, families are complicated, that's something I can completely understand."

Finn turned to PB. "So Princess, you're really into science and tech huh?"

Bubblegum smiled pridefully. "Yeah, I'm basically Ooo's top scientist, I created the Gumball Guardians, I created the Candypeople, I created the whole Candy Kingdom yo."

'Geesh, mom would love this chick.' "You created all of that? I saw the Candy Kingdom and I've gotta say it really took my breath away, you're a freakin' genius your highness!"

PB blushed a bit. "That's kind of you to say Finn, thank you. And please, you don't have to call me 'your highness' like that."

"Okay do you prefer Bonnie then, that's what Marceline called you right?" Finn asked.

Bubblegum's smile dropped and she looked away. "I would… prefer it if you called me something else. Jake likes to call me Peebles sometimes, PB works as well."

Finn cleared his throat nervously, "Okay then, sorry if I offended you in any way."

Bubblegum waved it off and smiled at the Human. "It's fine, as you may have guessed, me and Marceline have a past. The thing is, I would rather not get into a discussion about that past."

Finn held up his hands in return. "That's cool." He then looked ahead and spotted a large tree, "Hey I think I see the treehouse."

"Oh yeah that's it." confirmed Bubblegum.

The treehouse was a truly neat place, the willow tree had four canopies, the largest one sitting in the center, various windows and doors could be seen in the green growth of the tree. A couple wooden bridges and walkways connected sections of the house, a small rowboat served as an observatory on a branch on the upper side of the main canopy and a thin metal chimney extended from the opposite side. Near the house sat a well and a small pond, the entrance to the house appeared to be a small wooden shack connected to the tree. Finn and Bubblegum walked up the front door.

PB looked up at the house. "Dang, Marcy actually kept this place in pretty good shape. I'm gonna be honest, I thought this place was gonna be run down and falling apart."

Finn took note of how the princess had said 'Marcy' instead of Marceline. 'It's what my friends call me', the vampire had told him. Finn however, decided not to bring it up. "Yeah, it looks pretty nice." he instead said.

PB didn't respond right away, but she eventually turned to Finn and looked him in the eyes, suddenly looking and sounding serious. "Listen Finn, I'm giving you one last chance to back out of this insane mission to reason with Flame Princess. I'm not your only hope of getting home you know, ask Crab Princess or Gridface Princess or heck, ask the Ice King. Are you really prepared to die for someone you just met? Are you really prepared to be burned alive in a world you barely know?"

Finn looked to the ground, contemplating his answer. He then looked back up to the princess. "I'm a Helper; this is what I do, this is what I'm willing to die doing." he told the princess matter-of-factly.

Princess Bubblegum stared at Finn in bewilderment, appearing astonished at the Humans dedication. Then she leaned in and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Finn's eyes widened and his cheeks blushed, he stared at Bubblegum unsure of what to say. PB just giggled at the boy's state of shock. "For good luck." she said, then the princess turned away and walked off to the Candy Kingdom.

Finn just stood there and watched her walk away, then snapped back to his senses and pulled out the keys Marceline had given him. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. Finn entered what looked like the treehouse's foyer, only it was just a wooden flooring and a ladder that led up to more wooden flooring. Finn climbed the ladder to the next room, it was dark but the moonlight through the open windows provided sufficient visibility. Finn saw a crescent shaped row of seats around a wooden table, a large cooking stove sat in the kitchen area, and a chest freezer sat nearby against the wall. Finn walked over to the table, where a note laid next to a candlestick lamp and a book of matches. Finn picked up the note.

Hey Finn

Hope you like the place, the bathrooms on this floor so go nuts. I left you some soap and a toothbrush and junk in there for you, don't worry the toothbrush is clean, can't tell you how tempted I was to do something to it though so you're welcome. Bedroom's on the top floor, there's no lighting so it's candlesticks by night for you man. I think there's a box of candles under the bed I'm not sure, I think you'll be fine though ya dang mooch.

M

Finn stared at the note in slight disbelief, the vampire was being really nice to him. Finn wondered what he did that got him so high up on Marceline's good side, 'Maybe she thinks I'm gonna die tomorrow and she's just taking pity on me.' Finn wasn't about to complain though, he had a roof over his head and a bathroom finally. Speaking of which.

Finn was in there for a few hours, enjoying indoor plumbing once more. He had taken off his clothes and washed them in the tub before bathing, his clothes were currently drying by the fire he had lit in the metal fireplace up in the next level of the house. Finn sat down wearing a towel on the purple sofa, a gramophone record player sat next to him on a coffee table, but Finn preferred silence at the moment. The book Ice King had given him sat on the small wooden table in front of him, he decided to give it a read some other time. Finn let out a yawn and decided it was time to kick it, he crawled up to the bedroom, which consisted of a wooden bed with animal fur bedding, a desk and an old wardrobe. Finn crawled under the animal furs and for the first time since he could remember, fell asleep almost immediately.

When Finn woke up, the sun was up and the treehouse was filled with natural light. Finn stretched and let out a loud yawn, that had to have been the best night's sleep he had ever gotten. Something about this treehouse just made Finn feel… at home. He got out of bed and made his way downstairs to grab his now dry clothes, once he had everything on he brushed his teeth and went outside. Finn noticed that he wasn't alone, in the pond nearby a trio of rather pretty girls sat in the water. The girls had baby blue skin with water for hair, which streamed down in different hairstyles. Finn blushed when he saw that they were wearing nothing but bikinis. They seemed to be in some sort of discussion, when the one with the short hair spotted Finn she pointed and shouted, "Look see! I told you someone went inside last night!"

Finn, not wanting to be rude, walked up and introduced himself. "Uh, hi. I'm Finn, how's it going?"

The one with long hair and lipstick looked at him with worry on her face. "Did you just spend the night in that house?, do you know the Vampire Queen owns that house?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, she's letting me stay here for a bit." Finn responded.

The one with the long ponytail raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? Are you like, her new boyfriend or something?"

Finn blushed again and waved his hands, "No no no, I'm just a friend."

"That means he's single ladies!"

Finn and the three girls looked to see Jake gliding towards them with his ears stretched out into wings, Jake landed next to Finn and gave him a grin. "What up homie?, man you got some water nymphs living next to you? I just might have to move in with you, hah! That was just a joke I love my GF please don't tell Lady I said that."

Finn gave Jake an annoyed look. "You ready to go?" he asked the dog.

"Yeah yeah, just let me do one thing before we go." without warning, Jake stretched up and pulled Finn's hat off his head. The water nymphs stared at Finn with sparkling eyes.

"The dog said you were single right?" one of them asked.

Finn blushed and grabbed his hat from Jake. "Come on dude let's just get going."

Jake sighed in defeat, "Alright fine, hop on." Jake stretched under Finn before inflating to the size of a bus. "Let's go!" he stretched out his legs and walked off to the Fire Kingdom. The nymphs watched as they left.

"I am not going to mind living next door to this guy."

"Nope."

"Me neither."

"Dude you really oughta keep the hat off, the babes are digging you with a shovel!" Jake told Finn as they traveled. Finn however, kept his hat on.

"Jake, why are you so keen on getting me a date? You're almost as bad as my mother." complained Finn.

"I just like playing matchmaker, I'm the guy that hooked up Kim Kil Whan with his wife Pat."

"Really?"

"Nah, in all honesty, I wasn't even aware of my own granddaughter's existence for a whole year."

"Hey if you already have a granddaughter, then how old are you?" asked Finn.

"Well here's the thing with me and my family, you know how dogs age faster than people?"

"We don't have dogs on the island but yeah I've read that before."

"Well Rainicorns age even faster, when my pups were born I only spent like, a day raising them before KKW started growing his beard. And with their shapeshifter blood they inherited from me, well, age is a way different concept to them than it is to you or even me."

"Huh, neat. Well while we're on the topic, Bubblegum had the Flame Princess locked up when she was a baby right?"

"Right."

"And now, she's old enough to be running a kingdom right?"

"I think she's seventeen or eighteen yeah."

"Well isn't Bubblegum around that age too? Wouldn't she have been a baby when the Flame Princess was locked up?"

"Oh. That. Well ya see Finn, and please don't tell her I told you this, Peebles is actually over eight hundred years old or so."

"What?!" Finn exclaimed.

"Yeah it's true, I guess gum years are like, reverse Rainicorn years or something. That doesn't mean you can't ask her out though, some guys prefer older women, it's no big deal."

"Dude, please stop that." Finn begged the dog. "I'm trying to get home not get laid."

"Whoa whoa whoa! I never said anything about reaching tier fifteen so quickly! You should never rush to that tier! Well I mean… if the mood is right and you're both feeling it, then I guess whatever happens-"

"Look Jake, I don't plan on staying in Ooo. I don't want a girlfriend I'll have to say goodbye to, heck it's gonna be hard enough saying goodbye to you."

Jake turned his head and gave the Human a warm smile. "Ahhhhhh, you da best bro."

"No you da best bro."

The two laughed, then they looked ahead and realized they had arrived at the outskirts of the Fire Kingdom. Finn had once read that hell used to be portrayed as fields of fire and brimstone, that was basically the Fire Kingdom. Miles upon miles of fire, lava and volcanoes covered the area in front of Finn and Jake. They hadn't even stepped into the kingdom and they could feel the intense heat. Finn was already working up a sweat.

"Okay, we may have been poorly prepared for this." Finn pointed out.

Jake shrunk down to his normal size and deposited Finn on the ground. "Nah it's cool man, I called up a buddy of mine to help us get inside. He should be here by now though."

As if on cue, something that looked like a rat that had caught on fire raced on all fours towards them. When it reached Finn and Jake, it looked to be some kind of gremlin that was literally made of fire from head to toe. "Hey Jake, sorry I'm late brudda, the whole kingdom's going nuts these days with war on the horizon." it said with a strange high pitched voice.

"Yeah yeah don't care. Listen Flambo, my friend Finn here has come on Bubblegum's behalf to speak with Flame Princess about agreeing to a parley. So put some flame shield on us and take us to her pronto."

"This guy? What's he gonna do, offer the princess a compliment and a date? No offense pretty boy but yous betta scram while ya still can." said Flambo.

Jake growled at the little flambit, who in return raised his hands in surrender. "Alright alright geez, woulds it kill ya to say please every now and then. Okay hold still." Flambo began to chant in a strange language and fiery symbols danced in front of him. Once he was done, the flambit reached up and bopped Finn and Jake on the forehead. The two of them turned dark blue all over, clothing and all.

Finn examined his now blue body. "Woah." he commented.

"Listen bub, don't go thinkin' that'll make you invincible. If Flame Princess wants you dead then she will end you widda flick of her wrist." Flambo warned.

"Gotcha." Finn replied.

Flambo's eyes narrowed. "Ya got guts man, I'll gives ya that. I just hopes for your sake you know what you're doing. Come on, I'll take yous two to the princess."

Flambo led Finn and Jake through the Fire Kingdom, Finn had to admit the place was beautiful in it's own sorta way. He saw Flamepeople walking about, fire golems made of flame and stone. Despite their fiery appearance, they appeared to be as normal as any other denizens of a kingdom. Finn and Jake were led to what he assumed was the castle, a large volcano with multiple geyser holes. Two large imposing guards stood watch at the entrance, they wore black brimstone armor, with jets on their helms each producing a large flame. In their hand they each held a fiery spear, they were far more intimidating than the banana guards had been.

"Halt, state your business outsiders." one guard said.

Flambo and Jake backed up behind Finn, signifying him to say something. "Greetings, I am here to speak with Flame Princess about agreeing to a Princess Parley with Princess Bubblegum." he said.

The guards looked at each other before responding. "Very well, the throne room is straight down the hall." they stepped aside to let them in. "You may proceed."

Finn, Jake and Flambo walked inside, when they were gone the guards looked back to each other.

"He's dead."

"Yup."

The three of them had made it to a large intricate stone door, Flambo turned to Finn and Jake. "Listen fellas, I'm gonna skedaddle. Before I go, word of warning for yous two. The FP hates it when people lie to her, everything you say to her, make sure it's the truth." Flambo paused for a minute. "She ain't a bad person man, anybody who gets burned even once ends up at least a little bit afraid of fire." and with that the flambit ran off. Leaving Finn to think about what he had just said.

Finn turned to Jake, "You ready?"

"No not really." Jake answered, "But let's do it anyway."

Together they pushed open the door and walked into the throne room. The red room had a set of bleachers on either side currently filled with Flamepeople. The throne was made of volcanic vents and flanked by a pair of flame guards, in it sat Flame Princess herself. She was the most humanoid Flameperson Finn had seen so far, like someone had crafted a girl out of fire. Her orange skin glowed bright and her red fiery hair danced on her head. She wore a well crafted suit of bronze armor, it's red crest on the top had a ruby embedded above her heart. A red diamond was fixed in the princesses' forehead, and a gold crown decorated with another ruby sat on her head amidst her hair of fire.

Finn found himself staring, the Flame Princess' fire was rather mesmerizing. And she looked incredible, sitting on that throne like a goddess of flame.

Next to the throne stood another official looking Flameperson and oddly enough, a Candyperson. The Flameperson stood tall and straight like a soldier, he wore black volcanic armor with a large ruby displayed on the chest. His head was an angry looking jet of fire, his eyes squinted suspiciously at the newcomers. The Candyperson looked to be far more friendly, he was a large cinnamon bun wearing a fancy tunic. A ball of fire hovered above his head and his body and clothes were covered in the blue hue of the flame shield spell like Finn and Jake were. Next to him sat a large firewolf.

The Candyperson waved. "Hey Jake!" he called out with a nasally voice and a smile.

Jake in return raised a hand in greeting. "Yo waddup Cinnamon Bun?! How's the Fire Kingdom been treatin' ya?!"

"Pretty good, how's the Candy Kingdom doing?"

Before Jake could answer, the Flameperson next to CB spoke up. "It's about to be burnt to ash! Right sister?!" he turned to the Flame Princess.

The princess raised a hand to silence him. "Now is not the time to discuss that matter Flint, right now we have guests in our home." She smiled at Finn and Jake. "Welcome travelers, what brings you two to my kingdom?" She spoke kindly but not without authority, like a parent would.

'Huh, she seems nice. Not sure what PB was so worried about.' Thought Finn, he stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Greetings your highness, my name is Finnegan Campbell, Finn for short, and this is Jake."

"Jake the Dog, yes I've heard of you." Replied the Flame Princess, "I heard you used to be a criminal before you became a hero, quite a nice change in career you chose."

Jake gave a modest wave, "Ah thanks your highness."

Cinnamon Bun perked up. "Hey wait a minute, your name is Finn?"

"Yes."

"Oh! I know you! You're Finn the Human, you saved a group of princesses from the Ice King!"

Finn stared at the blue pastry in slight confusion. "That happened like, last night, how did you already hear about?"

"I heard it on The Graveyard Shift, a late-night candy radio show. Anyone in Ooo who listens to the show knows about you by now." explained CB.

Flame Princess smiled at that. "So it's true, a Human here in Ooo." she put a finger to her chin in thought, "Hey that rhymed, I could use later that for my… never mind. Anyway, to what do we owe the honor of your visit Finn the Human?"

Finn was actually feeling pretty confident about this. "Well your majesty, I come on behalf of Princess Bubblegum, she wants to partake in a Princess Parley with you."

The room suddenly got quiet, Flame Princess' smile faded away like smoke in the wind. "Is that so?" she asked, an edge now formed on her voice.

Finn gulped, his confidence beginning to slip away. "Y-yes your highness, Bubblegum is willing to agree to any of your terms. She wants to avoid war at all costs."

Flame Princess just stared at him, anger beginning to seep into her features.

"Get out." she finally said.

Finn began to sweat nervously but he held his ground. "Please your highness, if you don't agree to th-"

"I SAID GET OUT!" she stood from her throne and her flames intensified, her facial features turned jagged and ghostly. "I WILL HEAR NO MORE LIES FROM THAT PINK TYRANT!"

Finn and Jake jumped back, Jake let out a frightened yelp. "Please don't kill me! I have five kids! The entire day I spent raising them was the most beautiful day of my life!" he glanced at Finn. "Oh and don't kill him either! He's still a virgin! It's really sad!"

"Dude, come on."

Cinnamon Bun ran up to the enraged princess and whispered into her flaming ear, whatever he said must have worked because after a few seconds Flame Princess' fire went down, returning her features to normal. The princess sat back down on her throne, she still looked pissed though. "Finn the Human, my trusted knight and advisor Cinnamon Bun has reminded me of my own law of courtesy. Speak, then get out of my kingdom." she told Finn, all the kindness from earlier had left her voice entirely.

Finn steadied himself and took a deep breath, 'You're the one who wanted to be Helper jackass, now here you go.' "Your highness, I understand why you're mad at Bubblegum but a war will solve nothing. Surely you see that."

Flame Princess narrowed her eyes, "You understand nothing Finn the Human. Bubblegum had me locked up since I was an infant! My own dad left me out in the middle of the woods to die and Bubblegum carried me right back to him and demanded I be 'properly contained'! The only reason she had me released was because she was desperate in an attempt to clean up her own mess! And then, right when I'm about to just mark her off as old stale news, she destroys several of the Fire Kingdoms most sacred and ancient relics simply because she felt it necessary! What exactly would someone like you understand of any of that!"

Finn flinched at her intensity, but kept eye contact. "Nothing to that extent, but more than you would think."

Flame Princess raised an eyebrow, but allowed him to continue. "When I was a baby, my dad tried to use me to escape the authorities. He figured as long as he had me with him, he was safe. We both almost died that day."

The Princess' eyes widened, her flames lost a touch of their intensity. Finn continued, "As for the 'locked up since a baby' part." he paused and began to speak without really even thinking. "My whole life, nothing has ever really been my choice. Everything was sort of just… laid out for me. I didn't know anything else, so I went along with it. No one is allowed to even leave my island, hell we're not even allowed to go surfing. So to answer your question your highness, I know what it's like to feel… trapped… unable to really go anywhere or do anything about it." The Flame Princess stared at Finn with a mostly blank face, bewilderment nudged its way onto her mask however. She drummed her fingers against the thrones armrest in thought.

When she finally spoke the edge was still there but the fury had vanished. "Finn Campbell the Human, if what you say is the truth, then you've proven your understanding of my anger. So let me ask you this; why are you trying to help Bubblegum?, the very princess who had a baby locked up? Why risk your life to stop a war that doesn't even involve you? This isn't your fight, it would be wiser to just stay out of it."

Finn thought of his answer this time, when he came up with something he took a breath. "It would be smarter yeah but, there's a big difference between the smart thing and the right thing. Bubblegum failed to see the difference when she had you locked away, and you clearly don't see the difference if you really think this war will make anything better. Look I get it; you're angry and have the right to be, some guy who isn't even from Ooo shows up and says he wants you to cool it, but you have to listen to me. This war is a mistake princess, you have to see that. You remember the Lich, you remember the carnage, right now a senile ice wizard is keeping him frozen in his basement. You go through with this war and you're doing the Lich's work for him. You're a good person your highness and despite your personal but fair vendetta, so is Bubblegum. As a ruler who cares for her people, is more death and destruction really what you want?"

The room was dead silent, no one dared so much as twitch. Flame Princess stared at Finn, mouth slightly agape. She looked away, looking almost defeated. "Fire burns, it's what we do." she stated.

"Fire also keeps you warm at night." Finn countered. "Fire cooks your s'mores, fire lights up the dark for you, fire creates a nice background for scary stories. 'Man, I really oughta go camping more often that sounds nice.'

FP looked back to Finn, her mouth formed a thin line of a smile. "So you think I'm a campfire huh? Most people think I'm a firestorm."

"I think you're both, or at least have it in you to be both. It's your call princess, I'm not even gonna pretend that I have the right to tell you what you have to do. But just consider this; what's better, an unsteady peace or a full-on war? Even if you are on the winning side, are you ready to be responsible for genocide?"

Everyone in the room turned their attention from Finn to Flame Princess, they were all on the edge of their seats waiting to see what would happen next. Flame Princess stared at Finn, she was as still as a statue for the longest time. Then she suddenly spoke.

"I think you're a fool Finn the Human, risking an early cremation for the sake of strangers."

'Please say but, please say but, I swear I'm not trying to start a dirty joke just please say but.'

"However."

'Close enough.'

Flame Princess let out a sigh, "If Princess Bubblegum is willing to meet my demands, then I am willing to meet for a Parley."

Finn and Jake let their joy show, 'I did it. Holy crap.'

FP's brother Flint didn't seem thrilled though, amongst the voices now filing the room, his was the loudest. "What?! You can't be serious Phoebe, we were gonna burn down the Candy Kingdom! Candy burns really good! And the smell!, the smell is the best part-"

"Silence Flint!" Flame Princess shouted, the edge in her voice returned. "I am the ruling monarch of this kingdom and I have made my decision." the princess turned back to Finn. "Tell Princess Bubblegum to send me the time and place for the Princess Parley, I assume you will be taking the role of Peace Overseer?"

Finn nodded. "Yup, and I know you'll have to kill me if I screw it up. But don't worry though I'm cool."

"No you're not!" shouted Flint. "You are definitely not cool! You're totally gonna screw up the Princess Parley because you suck! And no one likes you! And the dog said you were a virgin! And-"

"FLINT!"

"Okay fine!, I'm just gonna go light something on fire." he walked off grumbling, looking like an angry kid who just got grounded.

Jake walked up and stretched an arm over Finn's neck. "Finn… that was awesome. Now I think I'm about to either puke or pass out or possibly both from the excitement, fear and sudden relief. So how about we get going before I do that in front of the princess?"

Finn smiled at the dog, then turned to FP. "Thank you princess." is all he said before carrying Jake out of the castle.

"Bye Finn! Bye Jake!" Cinnamon Bun called out with a wave. He then turned to the princess, "Man, that Finn guy is awesome."

Flame Princess smiled, "Yeah… yeah he kinda is."

After Jake threw up his breakfast in a bush, he placed Finn on his inflated back and made his way towards the Candy Kingdom on long legs. "Oh. My. Glob. Finn, you just stopped two of the most powerful and influential Kingdoms of Ooo from going to war. PB is going to marry you after we tell her you actually did it."

Finn smiled, "Were there ever any doubts?" he asked.

"Uh yeah. From like, everybody. Heck I was straight up ready to grab you and cheez it basically the whole time. But dude, you are officially going to be a hero after this Princess Parfait."

"Princess Parley." Finn corrected.

"Yeah I know, but mine sounds way tastier." the two shared a laugh at the corny joke. Jake then turned his big head towards Finn, suddenly sounding a kinda worried. "Hey listen man, that stuff you told Flame Princess back there, you know, the 'feeling trapped' thing. Was all that for real or just an act to get her to listen to you?" he asked.

Finn looked ahead, refusing to meet the dog's gaze. "Like Flambo said, everything I tell her better be the truth… and it was."

Booyah! Looks like Finn is coming to the slow realization that his birthplace and home kinda sucks. Finn is becoming a bit of celebrity in Ooo, who knows?, he may not even want to go home at all.

Until next time ya'll!