Welcome back to Something More everybody! I hope you guys are enjoying my story, remember to keep the reviews coming. Anyway, I know you guys might be getting a little impatient, I haven't given Finn a sword or a girl yet but don't worry you guys. All in good time.

Special shout out to Nuclear Pigeon One for creating the cover image for this story. I freaking love it, it's perfect. Thank you so much for that.

Here's the Fire Festival chapter, it does not end the way you think it's gonna end.

Also I would like to go ahead and apologize to any uber drivers reading this fanfic.

I thought Stuber was hilarious, you should totally watch it if you haven't already.

I do not own 'Adventure Time'.

Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Fire Festival

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you Finn?"

"Nah Jake don't worry, I'll be fine. Also the invite didn't say anything about bringing a plus one and I don't want to press my luck with these people."

Finn was walking back to the treehouse from the Wildberry Kingdom carrying a garment bag in one hand and a grocery bag hung on his arm with his phone up to his ear, Jake had called in worry about him going to the Fire Festival. It was getting late but Finn still had a while before the festival started.

"Well at least let me give you a ride to the Fire Kingdom." Jake offered.

"No need, I'm just gonna call a manticore uber." Finn said.

"Ah dude you shouldn't use that service, those hairy faced weirdos expect a way too big of a tip for a decent ride and they basically demand a five star rating."

"I have a room full of gold and I'm fine with giving them a good rating, even if I don't actually mean it."

Finn heard Jake sigh on the other end of the phone. "Look just be careful Finn, I know Flame Princess is cool with you but those Flamepeople are intense man. They get offended easily and they love to light things up if you catch my meaning."

Finn smiled at Jake's concern. "It'll be alright Jake, what's the worst that could happen?"

"You could be burned alive at the stake for the whole Fire Kingdom to see, screaming for mercy you won't receive until you finally die."

Finn began to sweat a little. "Uh… I wasn't really asking for an answer, I just… kind of meant that as a figure of speech."

"Dude I'm just worried about you, so is Lady and the kids."

"Oh that reminds me, tell Viola I thought her performance was amazing. I didn't get the chance to tell her myself the other night."

"Heh heh, okay sure. Thanks again for coming with me to see her show."

"My pleasure man."

"So you really don't want me to tag along?" he asked once more.

"I'll be fine Jake." Finn answered reassuringly.

"Oh alright, and you better be fine. Otherwise, I'm gonna have just about every princess in Ooo demanding my head for compensation. Namely Bubblegum."

Finn was glad Jake couldn't see his blush on the phone. "You've got nothing to worry about, trust me."

"I hope you're right Finn, see ya." Jake said before hanging up.

Finn flipped his phone shut and put it back in his pocket, he didn't want to worry Jake any further but he was actually incredibly nervous. Flame Princess made it clear her family was upset with him and her protection wouldn't change that. Finn was not about to let fear get the best of him though, he wanted to experience the wonders of Ooo and some angry sentient balls of fire would… probably deter any sane human, but not this human.

When Finn reached the house, he noticed that the door was unlocked. Growing suspicious, Finn summoned a dagger of ice and slowly opened the door. There was no one in the treasure room slash foyer but he could hear music coming from upstairs. Bags and knife still in hand, Finn climbed the ladder to the third floor. Still clinging to the ladder, he peeked into the living room.

And saw Marceline, LSP and BMO jamming out to some heavy metal music on the gramophone.

Finn raised an eyebrow and entered the room, he dismissed the knife and cleared his throat to get everybody's attention.

LSP, who was wearing a bunch of gold and jewelry from Finn's treasure hoard, was the first to notice Finn. She floated over to the record player and turned the music down. "Finn hey, join the party! It's like, totally lit in here!"

"Yay a party!" BMO shouted, he was wearing a gold bracelet on his head like a crown.

"...Thank you but, no thank you." Finn responded. "Quick question while I'm at it, why are you and Marceline here?"

"Because this is my house and I just let you live here." Marceline responded. "And I can come and go as I please and bring and take whoever and whatever I want." The vampire was wearing a red and grey cat sweater with her jeans and red boots.

Finn hesitated a bit, then sighed in defeat. "True." he replied.

"What is in the bags Finn?" BMO asked curiously.

"Oh this?" Finn raised his garment and grocery bag. "Just some stuff I bought from the Wildberry Kingdom for the Fire Festival."

"Ah sweet, you're going to the Fire Festival!?" Marceline asked excitedly. "I performed at the festival a few times! You're going to have a blast man, believe me."

"Assuming nobody kills you while you are there." BMO pointed out.

"Why did you go to the lumping Wildberry Kingdom to shop, that place is like, super expensive." LSP asked.

"I had a giftcard, plus…" Finn gestured to the treasure LSP was wearing. "I'm not really short on cash at the moment."

LSP looked down at the gold she was sporting. "I'll put it back I swear."

"You can just give it to me LSP." Marceline said. "We can call it Finn's rent money."

"Oh come on." Finn complained. "You're making me pay rent now?"

"You have a room stuffed with treasure." Marceline pointed out. "As your landlord, I think that calls for a discussion about the rent."

Finn groaned. "Look, I gotta leave soon. So let's just put a raincheck on the rent discussion."

"Fine by me, but we're gonna have that discussion so don't get your hopes up." said Marcy.

Finn went to the bathroom to change, leaving BMO and the girls to chat with heavy metal background music. LSP floated over and plopped down in the sofa chair. "Oh my glob, this place is so nice. Marceline, you think you could maybe hook me up with a rent free home like this?" the princess asked.

"Currently rent free." Marceline corrected. "Also, Finn actually takes care of this place. You remember the last time I let you crash at one of my spots?"

"Uh… no." LSP replied nervously.

"Yes you do, the shack I let you crash in?, the shack that you burned to the ground after like, day four? This ringing any bells LSP?"

"It was the raccoons fault!"

"So you do remember."

Wha… well… can you like, at least let me bunk here with Finn and BMO or whatever?" LSP pleaded.

Marceline looked over at BMO, who was standing out of LSP's line of sight. The little robot was frantically waving his arms in a 'no way in hell' fashion, a digital video of a guy getting hanged even appeared on his screen.

"Man I don't know LSP, you're gonna have to ask Finn." Marcy then floated over to the box of records and began looking through the selection. "Come on, I know I gave Finn a Van Halen record, I'm feeling like the seventies."

LSP slumped on the sofa, but when she heard Finn climbing his way back upstairs from the bathroom she leapt out of the chair and tried to make her voice as whiny and pitiful as possible. "Hey Finn, can I stay with you and BMO for a- bwaaaaaaaaaaa." LSP's voice failed her when she saw Finn.

Marceline turned around from her Van Halen search. "Yo LSP, what's…woah."

Finn was wearing a blueberry colored tuxedo with a blackberry-black undershirt and dress pants. His golden, shoulder length hair was neatly combed and sparkled from whatever conditioner he used. He was carrying a small metal jug in his hands.

"Hey BMO, did I leave the necklaces Flame Princess gave me up here?" Finn asked, looking a bit uncomfortable in his new suit.

"Why yes Finn." BMO ran over to the table and picked up the two necklaces. "They are right here under my careful watch."

Finn took the sapphire necklace and put it on, tucking the gem under his shirt. "Thank's BMO."

"Oh my glob Finn! You look lumping amazing!" LSP finally shouted.

Finn seemed taken back by LSP's remark. "Oh… thank's LSP, the Berry People at the store picked it for me. I gotta admit," Finn pulled at his collar. "I am not one for dressing fancy."

"Still though, you look great Finn." Marceline commented. "I bet Flame Princess isn't gonna want you to leave."

Finn blushed. "Uh, thank you Marceline."

"What's that in the jug?" Marcy asked.

"Oh this?" Finn held up the jug. "Kerosene, I guess it's the Fire Kingdom's version of wine."

"Is it like… a good year or whatever." LSP asked.

"I sure hope so." Finn's phone beeped and he took it out to see the new message. "My ride's here, see ya later guys."

Finn was about to head out but LSP stopped him. "Hey Finn, can I stay with you and BMO for a while?" she asked.

Finn blinked. "Uhhhhhhhhh ask BMO." he replied before hurrying downstairs.

LSP looked at BMO, who returned her gaze sternly. "The answer is no, end of discussion." was the robot's answer.

Finn walked outside to the manticore waiting for him, he took a second to marvel at the strange creature. It was a lion with wings and a scorpion tail, the manticore looked dangerous enough but spoke to Finn with a kind demeanor.

"Hi there, good evening. I'm Frank, I'll be your manticore uber for tonight. Now where we headed?"

"The Fire Kingdom please." Finn responded.

"You got it big guy. Now fair warning, because of the bone-melting heat I won't be able to take you directly into the kingdom but I can bring you to the kingdom's border. Is that alright with you?"

"That's fine yeah."

"Well alrighty then, hop on." Finn climbed onto the manticore's saddle. "There's some water and trail mix for the trip in the saddlebags for you if you get hungry or thirsty." Frank said before taking off into the sky.

LSP watched from the window as Finn and Frank took off. "Oh my glob, I would like, totally murder for that guy." she remarked. The lumpy space princess then turned to Marceline. "Girl, I call total dibs!"

Marceline, who was trying on some of Finn's gold, raised an eyebrow at LSP. "Dibs?"

"Yeah girl, DIBS! I know you like Finn too, but there is like, no lumpin' way I'm gonna let that boy slip through my fingers!" LSP exclaimed.

Marcy's eyes widened. "Woah woah woah, hold on LSP. I like Finn, but I'm not trying to score a new boyfriend." she stated.

"Oh girl, I don't buy that for one, lumping second."

Irritation flashed in the vampire's eyes. "I'm being serious LSP, I'm not into Finn."

LSP placed her hands on her hips. "Oh yeah sure, you've just been super nice to him for no particular reason huh?"

"Yes. He is a nice guy. He is my friend. The end."

"Oh come on Marceline! You might be fooling yourself or whatever, but you can't fool me. You gave him a house for lump's sake! Whether or not you want to admit it, you got the hots for the human. And you can't have him, 'cause I called dibs."

Marceline rolled her eyes with a groan. "Listen, even if I did like Finn, which I don't, he's not interested in an immortal vampire chick who he first met when said vampire chick attacked him on a beach." Marcy floated back over to the box of records and continued her Van Halen search. "I'm not his type, simple as that." she stated nonchalantly.

"You like, never said he wasn't your type though."

Instead of answering, Marcy pulled out a record from the box. "Aha! Found it."

Frank landed on the Fire Kingdom's border, from a distance the kingdom looked the same as it did last time Finn was here- like hell's landscape. Finn hopped off the manticore with his jug of kerosene in hand and offered the beast a few gold pieces as payments. "Thanks for the ride Frank." he said.

"My pleasure Finn. Now I don't mean to pressure you or anything, but please give me a four to five star rating or else I'm gonna eat you right here and now." Frank said with his continued friendly demeanor.

Finn's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Uh… okay… how do we uh… how do we do this?, you got like a list or something or do I need to do this on my phone? 'Cause I have a flip phone, so that may be an issue."

"Oh no, nothing like that. I just need you to tell me it was a four to five star ride, we take pride and satisfaction from just hearing it from the customer."

"Oh, okay then, that's pretty simple. Well Frank, the ride was definitely a five star ride. So please don't eat me."

"Great! Thank you! Now you have a good time at the Fire Festival, please don't hesitate to call me again for a ride back to your home. And remember our motto; 'It's a five star ride or we eat you alive!'." with that said, Frank flew off.

Finn watched him fly away. "Maybe I should've just asked Jake to give me a ride." he said before walking into Fire Kingdom.

It wasn't until he made it to the lakes of lava that Finn realized he couldn't feel the heat. There was no visible effect but whatever the necklace was doing seemed to be working, there was fire and magma all around him but to Finn it just felt like a warm, sunny day. As he walked to the Fire Kingdom Castle through the same route Flambo brought him through last time, Finn noticed all the Flamepeople seemed to be in a festive mood. Everyone was dressed in fancy molten rock, there was joy and excitement in the air as everyone waited for the festival to begin.

Finn also couldn't help but notice the Flamepeople staring at him and whispering amongst themselves, Finn couldn't hear what they were saying so he just decided to ignore them. But then a couple of fire guys walked in front of Finn, blocking his way. The two of them were no bigger than Finn but their bodies of fire and stone were nothing if not intimidating.

Finn decided to play it cool. "Can I help you guys?" he asked calmly.

"You're Finn the Human, right?" one of the fire guys asked.

"Yes, that's me."

Both of the fire guys then smiled, the one that had spoken extended his hand out for a handshake. "We just wanted to say thanks for stopping the war between the Fire and Candy Kingdoms. Ever since the princess took over, things have been so much better around here. None of us wanted a war."

Finn did a mental 'phew' before he cradled his jug of kerosene in one arm and shook the fire guy's hand, the necklace protected him from being burned by the Flameperson's touch. "It was my pleasure, glad to see the entire kingdom doesn't hate me."

"Weeeeell, just be careful when you get in the castle man." the other fire guy said. "All the officials were really looking forward to the war. Flame King might have been overthrown, but the whole 'we are all evil' thing kinda stuck. All the royals stepped on us common folk, the princess was the

first to actually show some care for the little guy. So we all support her 'we aren't actually evil' thing."

"Huh, cool." Finn commented. "Well have fun at the festival guys." he said before continuing to the castle.

"You too man!"

"I hope no one kills you!"

Finn made it to the castle entrance, flanked by a pair of tall, imposing Flameguards. "Hey what's up?, Finn Campbell here. I was invited by the princess." he told them.

"Ah yes, we've been expecting you." the one on the right said. "Go on inside and ask for Sir Cinnamon Bun, he'll take you to the princess." the two guards then stepped aside.

"Thank you." Finn said before walking inside, once he was gone the two guards looked at each other.

"You think he's gonna die this time?"

"I wouldn't bet against it."

Finn walked down the hall in search of Cinnamon Bun, the castle staff he passed by gave him a friendly nod or greeting but anybody who looked like an official either ignored him or gave him a dirty look. He was getting a lot of dirty looks. Finn was beginning to feel like a lamb who entered the lion's den, he began to sweat despite his heat protective necklace.

"Yo Finn!"

Finn nearly jumped out of his skin, he spun around and summoned an ice knife. "Don't even try it a- awwwww." Finn's knife melted almost instantly in the Fire Kingdom's heat.

It was just Flambo though, the tiny flambit watched as the knife melted and the water steamed off of the floor. "Wow, it makes ya feel any betta, that's actually pretty scary to a guy made outta fire."

Finn sighed. "Sorry Flambo, I guess I'm just a little on edge."

"Yeah and who can plan ya brudda?, FP's the only royal who actually likes yous. Don't worry though man, she made it clear to the udda royals that no ones allowed to harm a golden hair on your pretty head. Lookin' good by the way man."

Finn smiled. "Thanks Flambo. Say listen, you think you could take me to Cinnamon Bun? The guards outside said he would take me to the princess."

"I'll do ya one betta man, I'll just take yous to the princess myself. Pretty sure CB's busy with last minute party preps anyways, the guy's a bit of a dope but he sure knows how to decorate."

"Oh alright, cool. Lead the way my flamin' friend."

"Ha… yeah… flamin' friend… none of us Flamepeople have ever heard that one before, it's totally original. Come on, I'll take yous to the princess."

Flambo led Finn through the castle, earning Finn more dirty looks from any passing officials. The two of them eventually came to a fancy double door. "Alright man she's in there, that's her bedroom so I woulds advise against walking in unannounced unless you want your insides to be smoked like a rack of ribs. See ya!" the flambit said before scampering off.

Finn watched Flambo run off. "...This might be messed up but that made me kind of hungry." he turned around and was about to knock on the door, but stopped when he heard something like singing on the other side. Finn put an ear to the door and listened in, it sounded like singing but it was unlike any style of singing Finn had ever heard. It was a series of quick rhymes and it had an upbeat rhythm.

'Yo yo waddup, it's the Fire Festival tonight.'

'The entire Fire Kingdom burning ever so bright.'

'Here with my peeps, lighting it up for all of ya.'

'Diagnosed with a case of severe pyromania.'

'If you can't take the heat, then you'd best be on your way.'

'This is my kingdom, this is our day.'

'We are the masters of the fire, we are the lords of the flame.'

'And I'm the wicked queen of fire, I'm a pyrotechnic dame. Word!'

The song sounded like it was over, so Finn knocked on the door. A moment later Flame Princess opened the door, the sight of Finn seemed to surprise her. "Finn! I wasn't expecting you here so soon, didn't Cinnamon Bun find you?"

Finn took a minute to return to his senses, the princess looked lovely in her flaming dress. The fabric of the dress was woven from flame and danced like torchlight. The garment was decorated with onyx and garnets and her black, high heeled boots completed the look. Her hair was straightened down in a fiery sleek blunt. "Uh… yeah well, Flambo found me first so he just brought me straight to you." Finn explained. "You look great by the way princess."

The princess' cheeks reddened at that. "Thanks Finn, you look amazing too. Also when no one else is around, you can just call me Phoebe."

Finn offered Phoebe the jug. "I brought some kerosene for the party."

"Oh, how thoughtful." Phoebe took the jug and unscrewed the top before giving in a whiff. "Dang, you brought the good stuff."

'Score one for the human.' "Hey I heard you singing in there, what was that?" Finn then asked.

Phoebe's cheeks reddened even more, then her eyes literally blazed with rage. "Were you eavesdropping on me?!" she demanded.

Finn took a fearful step back. 'Minus one for the human.' "I'm sorry I'm sorry! I heard you singing and I thought it was nice! I've never heard that kind of singing before! Please don't smoke me!"

Phoebe's rage faded from her eyes, replaced by vague suspicion. "You've never heard free-style rapping before?"

"The term is entirely foreign to me."

"You don't have rap music on your island?"

"No, I'm coming to the slow realization that the place I was born and grew up in may in fact suck ass."

"...Okay… and… you liked it?"

"I loved it!"

Phoebe put on an embarrassed smile and rubbed her arm. "Thanks."

"Are you gonna sing that at the festival?" Finn asked.

Phoebe's eyes widened. "No! No no no! Dear glob no!"

"Aw, why not?"

That only seemed to fluster the princess further. "Well I mean… It's just something I do in my freetime, a hobby really. Not even a hobby, it's just my substitute for writing in a diary or screaming into my pillow after each day. Being a princess is flippin' stressful man."

"Well what's the harm in singing at the festival?"

"Well first off, it's rapping not singing. Second… I just don't think it's a good idea. It's hard enough getting everyone in my family to take me seriously as it is, if they figure out that I free-style rap in my spare time then they'll just continue to see me as a kid who ran away from home only to come back and throw a tantrum." the princess explained solemnly.

"Well, I still think you should totally do it." said Finn with an encouraging smile.

Flame Princess smiled back. "Come on, the Festival is about to begin soon."

The princess led Finn to a large, decorated courtyard, outside of the castle Finn saw a large volcano in the distance. The courtyard was filled with Flamepeople musicians, dancers and actors gathered around numerous buffet tables. A lot of the buffet tables had coals for the guests but Finn was happy to see some real food on some of the tables, it was mostly fruits and veggies but it beat the hell out of eating coals.

"Where are all the commoners?" Finn asked.

"The gate doesn't open for them until sundown." Flame Princess explained. "Pretty soon the gate will open and my people shall come forth to celebrate the founding of our kingdom." Phoebe then pointed to the volcano. "And when the volcano finally erupts, we let out a cheer and the festival ends. Until then, we party like gods!"

Finn eyed the volcano wearily. "Does the necklace you gave me make me lava-proof too?"

"No but don't worry, we're not in the splash zone. Glad to see the necklace is working by the way. Come on, as my guest of honor you'll be seated next to me to watch the festivities."

"Sweet." Finn responded, but before either of them could move an angry voice sounded out.

"Phoebe!" It was Flint, he stormed up to Flame Princess looking angry. He wore the same suit of armor as the last time Finn saw him but it looked like it had been polished and was now decorated with a few medals. A sheathed sword hung on the prince's belt.

"Yes Flint?" the princess asked in a mildly annoyed tone.

Flint pointed a finger at Finn but kept his eyes on FP. "Why is this interloper here? He is not welcome here on our most sacred of days!" he spoke like Finn wasn't even there.

"I already explained this Flint, you should really learn to listen more. I invited him, he is my guest of honor." Phoebe responded calmly.

"WHAT!" Flint's fiery head burned white hot. "This an outrage! This glory stealing nobody doesn't deserve the honor of scrubbing my boots clean! We should toss him in the volcano as a sacrifice for-"

"ENOUGH!" the princess' whole body burned bright and grew a few feet taller than Flint, the sight of the enraged princess made Flint stumble backwards and fall on his backside. The prince looked up at her sister in terror. Everyone in the courtyard watched in fear as their ruler shouted at Flint. "I am tired of listening to you constantly question my rule!"

Finn had backed up a safe distance from the princess, he watched as Phoebe shrunk back down to her normal size and appearance. She glared at Flint with blazing eyes. "You are to keep your distance from both me and Finn for the rest of the day, understood?"

Flint nodded.

"Good, now go. Enjoy the festival."

Flint picked himself up, he gave Finn a glare before leaving in a huff. Once he was gone, Phoebe unscrewed the jug of kerosene which had miraculously survived and took a few gulps. Her fire intensified a bit before settling back down. "Ahhhhhh, thank glob you brought this, I'm gonna need it."

Finn gulped down his terror before responding. "Pleasure to be of service."

Flame Princess led Finn to the courtyard dais where they would be seated during the festival, the princess' chair was expertly crafted from molten rock and Finn's guest chair of brimstone and red cushions looked comfy enough. The two of them sat down and the princess waved over a serving maid to bring her a couple of goblets. The princess poured the kerosene into the two goblets and gave one to Finn.

Phoebe then raised her goblet up for a toast. "Here's to the fires of friendship."

"You guys do a lot of fire metaphors huh?"

"More often than any other kingdom, yeah."

Finn and Phoebe shared a laugh and clanked their cups together, Phoebe took a drink but Finn stopped himself before the cup could touch his lips. He placed his goblet on the floor next to his seat while the Flame Princess wasn't looking.

The princess emptied her goblet and called over Cinnamon Bun, the knighted pastry ran over to Phoebe's side wearing his usual official garment. "Yes your highness?"

"How much longer until the festival begins?" Phoebe asked.

"Well let me see." CB reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a pocket watch. "We have exactly…" his eyes went wide. "Oh glob!" he then turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs. "OPEN THE FLIPPING GATE!"

A few seconds later, Flamepeople came pouring into the courtyard. After that, it was nothing but good times and fun for several hours. Finn was left speechless and awestruck by the performances, everyone enjoyed an entourage of dancers, singers, actors and fencers. Finn was glad he decided to come, it really was one heck of a festival. He saw what looked like a giant, floating wolf-head in the crowd partying it out, he was pretty sure he saw that same wolf-head at Bubblegum's party but decided not to ask about it and just enjoy the party. The princess called over another server to bring some coals for herself and a bowl of blueberries for Finn, who was beginning to get hungry enough to try the coals.

As they snacked and enjoyed the festivities, Phoebe taught Finn a little Flame Kingdom history. "Many years ago, the volcano you see off in the distance erupted so violently it shook the entire world." the princess pointed to the volcano looming over them. "The cause of that eruption was the work of a legion of giants; sentinels of fire who came crashing down from the heavens right into the heart of the volcano." her voice had gotten excited. "The explosion these giants created laid out the foundation of our kingdom, along with the first of the flame folk. The giants that survived the explosion became the eternal guardians of the Fire Kingdom, forever in slumber until they are needed."

The Flame Princess' hand gripped into fists and her tone became edged with hatred. "Until of course, Princess Bubblegum came and destroyed all but one of the great sentinels. She would have destroyed all of them, but I managed to chase her out of my kingdom before she could. Looking back on it, I wonder if I should have just killed her."

Finn thought on how to respond to that, he didn't really want to choose sides but at the same time he could understand Phoebe's hatred towards Bubblegum. "Sometimes… we do the wrong thing for the right reason. Bubblegum was just scared, that's all." is what he said to the princess.

The princess in return looked Finn in the eyes, her expression was part curious and part angry. "You truly believe she's a good person? You truly see fit to defend her?" she asked.

Finn nodded, too scared to actually speak.

Phoebe looked at Finn for a bit longer, then turned her attention back to the festival. "After the festival is over, there's something I want to show you." was all she would say.

This made Finn uneasy but he kept quiet and watched the performances, the last thing he wanted to do was push one of the few friends he had in the Fire Kingdom- especially since this particular friend ran the place. A troupe of dancers were currently entertaining their audience with an intricate series of dances, it looked like a giant brazier fire dancing in the wind.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. It started out as a faint tremor but the second it started everyone in the courtyard stopped what they were doing and looked up at the volcano. The dancers, who were in the middle of their dance, lost concentration and fell on top of each other in a tangle of fiery limbs. The shaking intensified and Finn began to panic, the scared human gripped his armrests so tightly his knuckles turned white. Finn looked at the princess, who like everyone else, gazed in anticipation at the peak of the volcano. The quake's magnitude grew even more.

Then the volcano erupted, Finn expected a loud, fiery explosion but nothing like this. It was like a large scale cannon had gone off, Finn was pretty sure he could have heard it from the treehouse. Magma shot out of the volcano like a giant, cola and mentos experiment. It was a beautiful sight but it was twice as terrifying, Finn sat practically paralyzed in his seat as he beheld the spectacle but all of the Flamepeople around him shouted and cheered. 'The might and beauty of the Fire Kingdom.' Finn thought. He couldn't help but quickly glance at Flame Princess.

The eruption went on for a little while longer, then as if someone slowly closed the valve, the volcano returned to it's more peaceful state. The Flamepeople cheered and began to chant 'Fire Kingdom' over and over until their ruling monarch stood up and raised her hands for silence, once all eyes were on her she began to speak.

"People of the Fire Kingdom, we have once again witnessed the raw power of this kingdom. Each and every year, we gather here in this courtyard and bare witness to the very power that created us!" the people cheered. "I trust you all took a good look at the eruption, I believe it was a keen reminder of the firepower we all possess as a people!" Another cheer. "And as we conclude this year's Fire Festival, I want you all to remember this; we are powerful, we are dangerous, the Candy Kingdom was the only kingdom foolish enough to mess with us in over a hundred years!" the princess stood a little straighter. "But we are not evil, we are not the bad guys. We are scary yes, but we are also honorable and we care for one another." Phoebe spread her arms out. "Now go home to your families, go home and tuck in your children, and in the morning, greet your neighbor with a friendly smile and maybe invite him over for lunch or something. Because that is the kind of people we are. We are good people, and I swear to you that as long I live I will protect my people from whatever may threaten us!"

The Flamepeople let out one final cheer before departing back to their homes, once they were gone Finn stood up and walked up to the princess' side. "Phoebe, that was…" Finn took a breath. "I can't even think of a strong enough word to describe it."

Phoebe laughed at Finn's rattled look. "Yeah, maybe I should've given you some warning but wanted it to be a surprise."

"I've had my fair share of surprises here in Ooo, believe me."

Phoebe chuckled, then she frowned like she just remembered something. "Before you go Finn, there's someone I want you to meet."

Finn tilted his head. "Okay."

The princess nodded before heading back into the castle with Finn following her, she led the curious boy deep within the castle until they came upon a large metal door. FP then pulled out a key from her dress and unlocked the door, she pushed it open and Finn followed her through. The inside of the room had nothing in it except a giant glass lantern suspended in the air. Inside the lantern sat a Flameperson a little bigger than Donny the grass ogre was. He looked a bit like Flint, a large bronze suit of armor studded at the collar and breastplate with rubies and his head was a large, roaring flame. The big guy sat in his lantern looking downright bummed, but when he saw Phoebe, he stood up and glowered at the princess.

"Well well, so nice of you to pay your old man a visit." the large flame man spoke in a deep voice.

"How's it going dad?" Phoebe greeted bluntly.

Finn looked at FP in shock. "Dad?"

FP nodded. "Yup, this here's my dad. The guy I told you about, remember? The guy that left out in the wild to die, then locked me up in that very lantern until I was thirteen?"

"Sweetheart, are you still mad about that? I already told you, I did that so you wouldn't overthrow me. It's what any evil king would do." the former Flame King said. "And now you're running the kingdom; telling everyone that we aren't evil, going about actually helping the people when you should be ruling them with an iron fist, you even..." he shuddered. "Donate to charity. At least you wouldn't let me watch the Fire Festival, you know I love the festival."

Finn stared up at the imprisoned king. "Wow, and I thought I had a crummy dad."

The former Flame King narrowed his eyes at Finn. "I'm sorry, who are you now? Phoebe's new boyfriend?"

Finn and Phoebe both blushed. "No dad, he's just a friend. This is Finn, I invited him to the Fire Festival." the princess said.

"Oh, good. This guy is a terrible match for you. You know, you should really give Don John another chance Phoebe."

"He's dead, I threw him in the execution pool."

"Ha ha ha! That's my girl! A shame about DJ though, but it's still a step in the right direction."

Phoebe growled, Finn raised an eyebrow. "Execution pool?"

"Yeah, it's a swimming pool we use to execute criminal Flamepeople. You're welcome to take a swim if you'd like, we don't have any executions planned for today."

"Uh… no thank you. Phoebe, I don't wanna sound rude but, why are showing me this?"

Phoebe turned to Finn and looked him sternly in the eyes. "I want you to see the guy who left me to die when I was a baby, I want you to see the lantern that I spent thirteen years in from that day, and I want you to understand that it was Princess Bubblegum who ordered it."

"She did not order it!" Flame King exclaimed. "No one gives me orders! She just offered me a solution and I took it. You were burning down everything you came into contact with like any normal baby and Bubblegum wanted to put a stop to it. So she brought you back to me and demanded that you be contained. She built this lantern for you for free so I figured 'hey, it's free and it works'. And well, you know the rest."

Finn stared at the Flame King in disgust. "How could you do that to your own daughter?"

Flame King just shrugged. "I took no joy in the task boy, but we are the fire folk, relentless and forever burning. I did what had to be done to secure my rule. And besides, I let her out when she turned thirteen, thought it would be good for her to meet new people to burn alive. After the whole Lich ordeal, she went to the Goblin Kingdom and roasted the place. I was so proud."

Flame Princess looked away and grunted.

"And she was about to kill the Ice King and melt Princess Bubblegum into a gross, puddle of goop. A shame she got cold feet though, nothing's more disappointing than a Flameperson with cold feet."

Finn turned to Phoebe. "Okay I'll admit, this guy is a terrible father and what Bubblegum did was cruel and messed up. But I still don't think she's a bad person."

Phoebe glared at him. "Open your eyes Finn, she might seem sweet and kind but underneath that facade Bubblegum is cold and calculating!"

"I once considered arranging a marriage between Bubblegum and Flint." Flame King added.

"Do you think she was justified in her actions, is that it? Do you think I deserved to be locked up for thirteen years!?" Phoebe demanded, her flames intensified.

Finn held up his hands in defense. "No, of course not! But think about this, did the Goblin Kingdom deserve to be ruthlessly burned down?"

That had some apparent effect, Phoebe's flames settled back down and she blinked a few times. "I… I… I didn't…" she sounded embarrassed, she looked down at the ground. "I didn't burn it down, I just… burned part of it down. I was just…" she shut her eyes tightly. "so angry. Angry at everything that happened to me. I was raised that lantern and I was only released so I could fight, like I was just some weapon instead of a person."

Finn nodded. "Your emotions got out of whack and as a result, you made a mistake. A mistake that got a lot of innocent goblins killed."

"No one was killed; severely burned, yeah, and I'm pretty sure King Zergioc's eyes melted out of his skull, but no one died." said FP.

"Oh yeah, that's a whole lot better." Flame King remarked.

"You be quiet." Finn told him. He turned back to the princess. "Listen Phoebe, I'm not saying you need to forgive Bubblegum. But you do need to let that anger and hatred go, you can't keep letting it fester inside. I understand if you can never forgive Bubblegum but I can promise you she's not a bad person, and if you can't trust her, then can you at least trust me?"

Phoebe stared at Finn for a while, her face unreadable. Then she let out a sigh. "Finn, I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive Bubblegum, I still don't believe that she's a good person. But as of now, I am done making that my problem and from here on out it can just be her problem. I know you trust her Finn, but as your friend, I suggest you be careful around her."

Finn smiled at her. 'It's a start.'

The princess turned to her father. "Bye dad, I'll see you when I decide to see you." she said before heading for the door with Finn behind her.

"Wait! Can you at least put a TV in here or something? It's torture sitting in a lamp all day everyday with nothing to do!" Flame King begged.

Phoebe turned around and narrowed her eyes at Flame King. "Uh yeah, I know dad."

"I think you should give him a TV or a radio at least." Finn said. "No point in torturing the poor guy."

Flame King looked at Finn suspiciously. "What do you care what happens to me?" he asked.

Finn rubbed the back of his head. "My dad was put in jail when I was a baby, he spent eighteen years imprisoned in a tiny cell for trying to use me to escape the authorities. It was torture for him to spend all those years crammed in that cell, cut off from the outside world. I think you're an even worse dad than mine but still, making you suffer isn't going to fix anything." he looked at Phoebe. "Right?"

Flame Princess looked at Finn in thought, then looked at Flame King. "I guess… I could put a TV in here for you dad."

"Could I get a few posters too? Maybe a couple magazines?"

"Don't push it."

"Oh nevermind then."

Finn and Phoebe left the former king's room and walked down the hall. "I think a few posters would be cool, you could put a stereo in there too, turn the place into a sweet man cave for your dad." Finn suggested.

Phoebe gave Finn an annoyed look but her thin line of a smile betrayed amusement. "That kinda defeats the purpose of being imprisoned doesn't it?"

"Well yeah, but it still would be cool. Ya know what?, I think I'm gonna build me a man cave when I get back to the treehouse."

Phoebe giggled. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna put in your man cave?"

"I don't know, standard man cave stuff I guess. A dartboard, a minifridge, a recliner, a pingpong table that I also sleep on, a sign with a man cave joke on it, I have a lot of gold but I feel like it would be more fitting to dig through the dump to find all that stuff." This earned a laugh from the fiery princess.

Neither of them noticed Flint silently following them.

Phoebe twiddled her thumbs as they walked, she looked like there was something she wanted to say. Finn took notice of this. "You alright Phoebe?"

"Yeah I'm fine, there's just… something I wanted to ask you." she sounded almost scared, like she was about to confess to a crime.

"Okay, what's up?" Finn asked curiously.

"Well Finn… I… um…" she wouldn't even look at Finn, she just kept her eyes on the floor. "If you were to build that man cave of yours, you think maybe… we could hang out in it together?"

Finn's heart began to race but he kept his cool. "Well yeah, sure. I-I'm down to hang out anytime."

"That's not what I meant." Phoebe closed her eyes and took a breath. "Finn… I-"

She was cut short when Flint thrust his fiery sword through Finn's gut, a backstab that went through his spine and stomach. Finn gasped for breath but the pain was so intense he couldn't even scream. He looked down at the flaming blade in his gut.

"For the Fire Kingdom." Flint hissed before pulling the blade out. Finn fell to the ground like a puppet free from it's strings. He could hear Phoebe screaming his name as everything went black.

Finn's dead, the story's over, thanks for reading… Nah I'm just kidding, had ya going for a second though.