Hello everyone! Now I was gonna make this a chill out chapter for Finn and just have him go to a party and maybe hook up finally, but instead I'm doing something else.

By the way, you guys remember the crab Finn ate on his first day in Ooo?… just checking.

I do not own 'Adventure Time'.

Enjoy!

Chapter 18

Icon of Hope

Jake took a drink out of his cup. "So, let's recap: You figured out that you're the infinite reincarnation of some ancient glob or something?"

Finn took a drink of his coffee. "Yup."

"And the life you lived before this one was of a girl named Shoko, who wound up dead when she tried to rob Bubblegum and now her skeleton is under the floorboard?"

Finn looked at the spot where he had uncovered Shoko's remains. "Uh-huh, I guess that's where I get my martial artistry from. Sort of a… instinctual memory I guess."

"Now Shoko like, follows you around and stuff? Like, some kind of mental, ghost buddy?"

"She's sitting right next to you actually."

Jake looked uneasily at the spot next to him at the kitchen table, he couldn't see her but Finn saw his one-armed counterpart sitting there staring at Jake. "Joice never asked this many questions, or any question for that matter." Shoko commented. "She was more of the strong and silent type."

"Uh… okay. And also, the Ice King was poisoned and you, those two guys that hang out with him sometimes- that hairy guy with the oven mitts and the pink guy whose body is kind of shaped like a wang, went to go find some cyclops tears to heal him so the Lich wouldn't break out?"

"Oh yeah, we threw down with a giant cyclops and took off his head. We asked the Huntress Wizard to help us out with that."

"Ah cool, you met Huntress Wizard?" said Jake. "I go to the Wizard Battle almost every year, she's got some major moves man!"

Finn swirled his coffee around in his cup. "Yeah, I can vouch for that."

Jake responded with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow. "Oh boy, I know that look."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on dude, really? You've got a crush on Huntress Wizard now."

Finn's widened and his cheeks flushed. "What? No I don't!"

"Yes you do." Jake and Shoko replied in unison.

Finn pointed at Shoko. "You stay out of this."

"I died when I was sixteen and yet you're the virgin, not me."

Jake looked uncomfortable. "Uh, Finn, buddy? I'm gonna have to ask you not to… communicate with Shoko when I'm around. It's kinda freaky."

"Fine by me man, believe me." Finn responded.

"All I give you is the truth, whether or not you like it." said Shoko.

Jake coughed into his fist. "So… Huntress Wizard huh? You know Finn, I'm glad to see you've got some ladies you're interested in but maybe you should try for a girl who isn't a one-woman army."

Finn blinked. "Huh?"

"You clearly have a type; Flame Princess, Marceline, Huntress Wizard, even PB has her whole mad scientist, create life thing going on. Granted she just brings candy to life, but still."

Finn groaned. "Look man, I didn't call you over to hassle me on my love interests. I called you over 'cause I was hoping we could do something fun today."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm your go-to dog if you want fun!" Jake said enthusiastically. "Where you wanna go?"

Finn shrugged. "I don't know, something less intense than dungeon crawling and monster fighting though. You know any good hangout spots or any good places to party?"

"Heck ya man! I know all the best spots!" exclaimed Jake, he raised his hand and it stretched into a map of Ooo. "We could go to the Cloud Kingdom, that place is lit twenty four seven. Or there's this monster that lives out in the woods where the Party Bears party it up in his stomach, I know it sounds gross but those bears know how to party, let me tell ya."

Finn hummed. "Is there some place that isn't in the clouds or a monster's insides?"

"Which one of us is dead? I can't remember." Shoko asked.

"Well if you're looking for something a little more mellow, than there's a bar in the Candy Kingdom we can-" Jake's phone buzzed, he took it out and checked his messages. "Oh sweet! Crab Princess is throwing a beach party and she just sent me an invite!"

Finn's phone buzzed, he took it out and looked at his messages. "Oh snap! I just got invited too! Let's see here; party in memoriam of Sir. Manfred Pinchington, honored royal advisor and beloved friend of the royal Crab family. The party will be held at Sir. Pinchington's favorite scuttling spot as shown below." Finn scrolled down and saw a beach with an old, shipwrecked sailboat in the background. "Oh hey, that's the beach I… where I…" Horror took Finn as he connected the dots. "...Ooooooo."

Jake scrolled through the invite details. "Oh man, I guess this Pinchington guy must've just disappeared one day. Yup, says here he disappeared about a month ago. Hey, that's about the same time you showed up in Ooo Finn. Man, isn't that weird?"

"...Yeah, that uh… that's super weird."

"We should totally go man! All the princesses are probably gonna be there, you could meet the rest of Ooo's royalty. I bet they'd love to meet you."

Finn drummed his fingers on the table. "You know, the Cloud Kingdom actually sounds pretty cool. Why don't we hide out-I mean, party it out there instead?"

"Nah man, these princesses are probably all hoping to meet you at this party. Meet the new muscle in town, ya know? Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. Even at parties and junk, everything they do is politics. Or maybe they just wanna see if you're as hot as LSP says you are on her blog, I dunno."

"A party full of princesses sounds like a good way to socialize." said Shoko. "You should go, like they're gonna know you ate the guy they're partying for."

Jake looked at his phone. "Well the party doesn't start 'till five, so I guess we could pre-party in the Cloud Kingdom until then."

"That sounds-"

Finn was interrupted when someone knocked on the door, it almost sounded like whoever was knocking was using a hammer.

Finn got out of his seat. "I'll get it."

When Finn opened the door, he was met by someone he had never seen before. A lady about twice as tall as Finn with cyan-blue skin stood in front of the treehouse, her long, smooth, blue hair was a few shades darker than her skin and it went down to her knees. She wore a grass-green dress over her fit, slender body with a belt that sported a rounded, blue gem buckle and a strap bag hung down to her waist from her shoulder. A brown headband sat above her pointed ears which poked out from underneath her blue hair. A small, golden crescent moon sat in the middle of her forehead, right between her sea-green eyes.

The strange lady's green eyes focused on Finn, who cleared his throat nervously. "Can I… help you?" he asked.

"Are you Finn the Human?" the tall lady asked, revealing her chipmunk-like overbite.

"Yes, and who might you be?"

"My name's Canyon, I used to date the old hero Billy." she responded. "Although if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer not to be remembered solely as Billy's ex."

Jake chose that moment to come downstairs. "Hey man, who's at the d-" he gasped when he saw Canyon. "Oh my glob, I know you! You're Billy's ex!"

Canyon rolled her eyes. "Too late it seems."

Finn remembered Billy from his time as Shoko, the large muscular warrior on the motorcycle. Then he also remembered that he was dead. "I uh… I'm sorry about Billy, I heard the Lich killed him. It must be hard to lose someone you love like that."

Canyon gave Finn a sad but thankful smile. "That's kind of you but, me and Billy broke up years before that whole mess."

"Aw, what?" said Jake. "You guys were like, Ooo's best power couple."

"We used to be, yeah." Canyon replied. "But as the years went by, Billy started to slowly forget what it meant to be a hero. Before the Lich, he just sat in his cave and watched movies and played video games all day." Canyon smiled wistfully. "But when the Lich broke out, it put some life back into him. Sort of, relit his fire, ya know? He agreed to help Princess Bubblegum and faced down his old foe, knowing very well it could mean the end of his road. And it was." Canyon looked up at the sky, as if looking for something. "Before he died though, he left me with his will and some instructions. He wanted me to find Ooo's next great hero and bestow upon him some of his stuff. Even though we broke up, I still cared about him. So I agreed to do it."

Canyon looked back down at Finn. "Which is why I'm here. I've had my eyes on Jake for a while, but I wasn't sure he was the one I was looking for. The one that Billy would have wanted to pass down his legacy to. But just when I was about to decide on giving Billy's stuff to Jake, you came along and quickly became Ooo's top hero." Canyon offered Finn her hand. "Come with me. I believe you're the one I've been waiting for, and I believe you are worthy of receiving Billy's gifts."

Finn stared up at Canyon in disbelief. "I…" Finn closed his eyes and took a breath. "Look, Canyon… I-"

Jake raised a finger to Finn's lips. "Up up up, hold it. Pardon me miss Canyon, ya mind if I have a word with my friend here? It'll only take a minute."

Canyon brought her hand back to her side and shrugged. "Cool with me."

"Thanks." Jake said before rushing Finn back inside and closing the door.

Once inside, Jake looked at Finn sternly. "Dude, whatever she has to offer, take it." he said.

Finn gave the dog a confused look. "Wha-"

"Dude, dude, listen to me. That is Billy's ex-girlfriend out there. Billy, as in the great, legendary hero Billy. And now, Billy's ex is offering you some of Billy's stuff because of all the heroic junk you've done. Take. The. Offer."

Finn rubbed his shoulder. "Jake, she wants to give me Billy's stuff because she thinks I'm Ooo's next great hero."

"Yeah, so? You kinda fit the bill pretty well."

"Well… I don't want her to think I'm dedicating my life to the protection of Ooo, I'm still not even sure if I want to stay in Ooo or go back home. I'm like, dealing with my inner turmoil to the point where I'm hallucinating my dead, past incarnation."

Jake sighed. "Look man, I get it. You're trying to process everything and it isn't easy for you. But come on dude, if anybody deserves this, you do. She was gonna give Billy's gift to me, and let's face it, I'm not much of a hero."

Finn gave his canine friend a supportive look. "Dude, you're an awesome hero."

"Eh maybe, but I've been at the hero business for a while now and you've only been doing it for a little bit. And who's the one Canyon is saying deserves to inherit Billy's stuff?"

Finn looked to the ground. "Me." he said reluctantly.

"Exactly. Now can we please go with Canyon now? I really want to see what Billy left you."

Finn sighed. "Okay fine, we'll go."

Jake did a fist pump. "Yesssss."

Finn and Jake walked back outside, where Canyon was patiently waiting for them. "That took longer than a minute." she commented.

"Sorry about that Canyon, we're ready to go when you are." Jake said.

Canyon nodded. "Very well, follow me."

Jake bounced up and down with excitement. "Eeeeeee!"

Canyon led the two boys through the rocky mountain pass, there was no vegetation to be seen in the stone and earth terrain other than the occasional root or rebellious young tree. Finn and Jake followed Canyon up to a cliff face that spanned for miles, stuck in the ground in front of them was a large sword big enough for Canyon to wield. The sword's cross guard was made of gold and it held a blue gem in it's center. The sword's leather grip was topped off with a skull pommel, the small skull had an even smaller red swirl on its forehead. The double-edged blade itself was wicked sharp steel and a few strange symbols were engraved in its base.

Finn squinted at the familiar weapon. "Hey, I know that sword."

Jake let out an excited squeal. "Duuude! That's Billy's blade!"

Canyon smiled. "That's right, say hello to Nothung."

Finn scratched his head. "No… tongue?"

Canyon shrugged. "Close enough. The name means 'child of need' in the ancient tongue of man. Seems like a strange name for a weapon I know, but I guess it symbolizes who the blade is meant to protect: any innocent in need."

"Are you giving us Nothung?!" Jake asked like a twelve year old girl asking 'Are you getting me a pony?!'

"I'm giving Finn Nothung, and more."

Canyon walked up and pulled the sword out of the ground, she held the blade up to her face. "Hello Nothung, remember me?" she asked. Canyon then made a downward slicing motion at the cliff face and the ground began to rumble, a triangular opening tall enough for Canyon to walk through appeared in the stone cliff.

Jake gasped. "Billy's legendary crack!" the dog exclaimed.

Finn raised an eyebrow. "Billy's crack? That's seriously what he called it?"

Canyon sighed. "Yes, yes he did. I had to hear the joke every time we came here, I tried getting him to just call it Billy's Cave but he wouldn't do it. Please no more comments and questions about the name." Canyon rested the flat of the blade against her shoulder. "Follow me." She instructed as she went right into Billy's crack, Finn and Jake followed Canyon straight into Billy's huge crack as well.

Finn and Jake found themselves in a large cave, the air was clean and cool inside the cave and the glowing stalactites that hung from the ceiling illuminated the whole place. The entire cave was filled with even more treasure than Finn's foyer, great piles of gold took up nearly half of the cave's space and various jewels and weapons lied here and there along with a skull or two. Something the size of a car sat off to the side with a big white tarp covering it.

Jake's mouth was wide open. "No way! This is awesome!"

Finn looked around at the cave, he started opening and closing his hands anxiously. 'I was thinking about getting myself a man cave, but…'

"You know what she's gonna ask of you."

Finn looked to his side and saw Shoko standing next to him. "She's gonna want you to take up the mantle as Ooo's great hero. She believes in you, as does everybody else. Will you accept it?"

Finn looked away.

Canyon walked up to the box TV in the cave, she knelt down and pulled out a VHS tape from her strap bag. "Over here Finn." she called out. "I need you to watch this."

Finn walked over to Canyon as she put in the tape, the screen was static for a minute before the image of Billy appeared on the screen. He looked much older than he did in Finn's memory of Shoko, his skin was grey and his white beard hung down to his knees. Billy's head was now completely bald and his beard merged into his back hair. He wasn't as muscular as he used to be and he had a slight hunch. Billy looked to be sitting in his cave surrounded by his treasure, Billy leaned up and readjusted the camera.

"Hello? Is this thing on? The light is red so I'm guessing it's on." Billy spoke with a slight lisp with a voice that matched his aged body. "Alright I'm just gonna go ahead and get on with it." He leaned back and cleared his throat. "So first off; hi, I'm Billy, Ooo's famous hero and such. I'm about to go and fight my old foe the Lich King with that weird snow guy, the vampire, and that fire girl. Something the Bubblegum Princess put together to stop the Lich once and for all. I'm probably gonna die, so I've asked my ex-girlfriend to find someone worthy of being Ooo's next champion."

Finn winched at the 'Ooo's champion' part.

"I trust Canyon's intuition, so if she brought you here then listen up." Billy spread his arms out. "Let Canyon take what she wants, but the rest is yours. I leave you with everything: the cave, the treasure, my bike, even Nothung. All I ask in return, is that you keep Ooo safe." Billy paused for a few heartbeats, then frowned and let out a sad, defeated sigh.

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my time; but if I had to choose the worst one I've ever made, it would have to be giving up on being the hero. It drove away the only woman I've ever loved and it left me sitting in this cave doing nothing with my life for decades."

Canyon's expression grew soft and mournful.

"I spent so many years thinking that the hero business was a pointless effort, it was a job with no retirement plan. Every time I brought down evil, more evil just popped back up like weeds. But I was wrong." Billy leaned towards the camera.

"Evil might be never ending, but so is good. It's because of people like us that the evil can't triumph. I'm not saying that evil never wins, but I am saying that the world needs you to make sure those few wins don't mean anything. Whether you're feeling scared or stoked about this, you need to understand: This world needs you. You have to be there for it." The old hero smiled. "Here's a tip for the road ahead rookie: do what you can, and don't fret over what you can't. Being a hero isn't about being invincible and fearless, it's about being strong and courageous. Remember that."

Billy leaned over and picked up a large gauntlet with a green eye on the back, he stared at the gauntlet with a sad but proud look on his face before putting it on. "One last thing." he looked up at the camera. "Canyon, if you're listening to this… well what else can I say? I'm sorry, for everything."

Canyon looked to the floor.

"Good luck out there rookie." The legendary hero Billy reached up to the camera and the video ended, Finn, Jake and Canyon stared at the static in silence.

Canyon took a deep breath and turned to Finn.

"Finn."

Finn looked up at Canyon.

Canyon knelt down and rested Nothung on her palms, she presented the great blade to Finn. "Billy is gone, Ooo needs another to take his place. Take this blade, use it to smite the evil that endangers these lands. Forged from divine metal, heated by holy fire, cooled with the tears of angels, Nothung is a true hero's weapon. Don't worry about the size; if the blade likes you, it will accept you."

Finn stared at the blade, looking a bit scared. Shoko appeared by his side, her yellow eyes saw right into his mind. "...Make your choice."

Finn raised his hand to take hold of the sword.

But he drew his hand back right before he could even touch the sword's leather grip.

Finn stared at the blade, he refused to look Canyon or Jake in the eyes. "I… I'm sorry, I…"

Finn ran out of the cave.

Canyon and Jake watched him leave. "Finn, wait!" Jake called out.

"Let him go." said Canyon, her voice had become full of guilt and regret.

Jake sighed. "I'm really sorry about this Canyon, Finn's dealing with a lot of stuff. He just-"

Canyon held up her hand. "It doesn't matter. I have no right to force this burden on him, I just… I was just hoping I could finally put Billy's spirit at peace."

Jake stared at the cave entrance looking troubled.

Finn walked through the mountain pass in silence, never in his life had he ever felt so afraid and ashamed. Finn reached into his pocket and pulled out the golden coin Sarah had given him. He stared at the coin suddenly feeling homesick, none of this would have been an issue if he had never come to Ooo. Finn could have been studying for his doctorate's degree right now, on his way to becoming a certified Helper and would have probably ended up going out with Sarah who he would have eventually married.

But instead, Finn ended up in Ooo, with everyone looking at him and expecting him to be their saving grace. Finn never wanted this, sure he wanted to be a hero, but not like this. Finn realized the irony of his situation, he had gotten exactly what he had wished for. Back on the island, Finn had always felt like he could have been more than just an island Helper. And now, he was being asked to be an entire world's Helper.

"I need to go home." he said to himself.

"Couldn't help but notice you didn't say 'want'."

Finn looked over at Shoko, who was walking right beside him. "My wants and my needs are oceans apart." Finn told her.

"So is Ooo and Founder's Island. It's one or the other and you know that now." Shoko responded. "And it seems you've chosen-"

"Chosen?!" Finn stopped walking and turned to Shoko angrily. "I haven't chosen anything! I'm the universe's puppet who can't catch a break! Yeah, I've always wanted to be a Helper but if I had known all of this was coming I would have just tried for a job in the freaking sewers! I never wanted any of this! I never chose any of this!"

Finn and Shoko stared each other down, Finn was panting from his outburst.

"Feel any better?" Shoko asked.

Finn shut his eyes as the tears came. "Shoko." his voice was soft and fragile. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Exactly what you think you can't do." Shoko answered. "You have to choose. Do you want to go back home? Or do you want to make this place your home? Go back to your family? Or stay here with these people that care for you and adore you? A Helper of Founder's Island? Or a hero of Ooo? The choice is yours Finn, no one else's."

Finn looked at Shoko with desperation in his eyes. "Everything Billy said in his video, he might've been right about being a hero but… why me?"

Shoko's eyes bore into his own. "...Because no else will… because no one else can."

Finn blinked and Shoko was gone, he wiped away his tears and stood there in the barren mountain pass. The wind picked up slightly and blew against Finn, almost like it was trying to comfort him.

"Finn!"

Finn looked over and saw Jake running towards him on all fours, when he reached Finn the dog stood up and looked around. "I heard you shouting, what's wrong?! Is there something here trying to attack you?! I hear Swamp Giants sometimes roam these parts! Maybe it's a-"

"Dude, dude, relax." Finn placed a hand on Jake's shoulder and smiled. "I was just… arguing with myself."

Jake blinked. "Oh, okay." Jake then gave Finn a look of worry. "Sooooo… is there something you wanna talk about or did you and Shoko cover everything?"

Finn sighed. "Jake… do you think I did the wrong thing back there? Do you think I should have taken the sword?"

Jake shrugged. "I mean… having Billy's sword would have been mathematical but, you do you man. Who am I to tell you what to do?"

Finn raised an eyebrow. "Mathematical?"

"Yeah, you know. Rad, awesome, totally lit. You Humans don't say that?"

"No, no we do not."

"Oh well, you get the idea though." Jake inflated himself big enough for Finn to ride. "Crab Princess' beach party is about to start, how about we go have a good time and forget this whole thing ever happened?"

Finn hopped onto Jake's back. "That sounds mathematical as a mathematician."

"Heh heh, now you're talking." Jake said before stretching out his legs and walking off.

It was weird for Finn to be back at the beach he had washed up on, a month later and the place was just as he had left it. Except for the large group of princesses partying of course. The sun was almost about to dip under the ocean's horizon, making for a wonderful view. Jake stopped before they could enter the party and be spotted, he turned his head around so he was looking at Finn who was still on his back.

"Alright listen up man, you got a whole group of princesses down there and I'm willing to bet every cent I have that over half of them are into you. I know you are terrible at talking to chicks but you have to at least try to communicate with a female in a proper fashion."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "I am not 'terrible' at talking to chicks."

"That's the spirit, let's go!" Jake made his way to the beach, he shrunk down and placed Finn in the sand next to him. "Hey everybody! Finn and Jake in the house!"

The princesses cheered at the two boys, there were more princesses at the party than Finn had yet to meet. Bubblegum and the rest of the princesses Finn had saved from Ice King were there plus Turtle and Hot Dog Princess, even Lumpy Space Princess managed to either get invited or crash the party without anyone bothering to check if she was invited or not.

One of the princesses Finn hadn't met yet was big and buff enough to try out to be a Seeker, her green skin was packed with muscle and her large body flexed against her blue dress.

Another princess wore a revealing two-piece fur bathing suit over her blue skin which was covered with various paints. A skull wearing a gold crown nestled in her large, purple hair.

There was a princess who wore a large, green dress over her green skin and an emerald the size of her own head sat above her own head fitted into her lime green cowl.

One odd looking princess looked like an alien, her thin, orange body was long and lanky and her rounded head had a grid faced front. It was like she wore some kind of hazmat suit or something.

Another princess was a skeleton girl wearing a faded brown dress, another was a bee girl with a crown, and another was a peanut wearing a long purple party cone.

Finn looked around at the bizarre assortment of royalty. 'Eesh what's next? A freaking… baby in an embryo princess or some-holy shit there's one and I got it right on the money.'

A giant, red crab princess, who Finn was able to expertly identify as Crab Princess, scuttled up to Finn and Jake on her four legs. The Crab Princess was a few feet taller than Finn and a golden crown adorned her head, marking her as a royal. "Finn and Jake! I'm so glad the two of you could make it! Thank you for attending Sir. Pinchington's wake party, knowing that Ooo's two greatest heroes came to celebrate his passing will make his family so proud."

"Ooooh… he had a family too?" A distraught Finn asked. "That is… just awful."

Crab Princess nodded. "Indeed, Sir. Pinchington's disappearance was an untimely one. I am Crab Princess by the way, I apologize for not properly addressing myself."

"Don't worry about it, in all honesty I don't think an introduction was really needed."

"Yeah good point. Anyway it is an honor to meet you Finn the Human and it is an even bigger honor to have you attend this party with us." the rest of the princesses cheered in agreement. Crab Princess pointed at PB, who was working the sound system. "Play the good stuff Bubblegum!"

Bubblegum gave a thumbs up and pressed a few buttons and turned a few dials. Pretty soon the princesses were jamming to a fresh new tune.

"Ah yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Jake shouted. "Now if you'll excuse me Finn, I think I see Lady Rainicorn over by Bubblegum. Later!" Jake stretched away.

Shoko appeared by Finn's side. "Well you lost your canine wing man but that doesn't mean you can't take home a prize." Shoko scanned the beach full of princesses. "Hmmmm. A nice selection, let's try the princess wearing nothing but fur underwear first. Then we can work our way from there."

Finn just walked away.

"Oh don't judge me, you and I are literally the same person."

Finn made it halfway to the punch bowl when a few princesses stepped in his path, it was the big and buff one, the skeleton one, and the fur wearing one Shoko suggested.

"Hi there."

"Hello."

"What's up."

Finn raised a hand in friendly greeting. "Evening princesses. Enjoying the party?"

"Oh yeah, crab parties are always pretty lit." the muscular princess said.

"I admire how they celebrate death with a party." the wild-looking princess said.

"Death is not the end, they are celebrating the start of a new journey." the undead princess said.

Finn nodded. "Cool. So I don't think I've seen you princesses before, what's your names?"

"Well, I'm Muscle Princess."

"I'm Jungle Princess."

"And I'm Skeleton Princess."

"So Finn, how are you liking Ooo so far?" Jungle Princess asked.

Finn kept a straight face, not wanting to reveal anything about his encounter with Canyon. "Ooo has been… hands down the best time of my life."

"Glad to hear it Finn." Muscle Princess said.

"You know Finn, you don't ever have to leave." Jungle Princess walked up and placed a hand on Finn's chest. "I can make you feel right at home." she said in a low flirty voice.

Finn gulped. "Uhhhhh…"

Before he could think of what to say, Muscle Princess pulled the Jungle Princess away from Finn. "Hey! I saw him first ya jungle tranch!"

Jungle Princess wrenched herself from MP's grip. "Oh yeah, so what you big, green ogre?!"

The two of them started hurling insults at each other, Finn was about to step between them when Skeleton Princess grabbed a hold of him and dragged him away from the two distracted princesses. The princess led Finn to a nearby log bench and sat Finn down, she took a seat right next to him and stared into Finn's eyes. Truth be told, Finn found it a bit eerie.

"So tell me… as a courageous hero, does death frighten you?" SP scooted a little closer. "Or do the dead fill you with excitement rather than dread?"

'I'd be fine with death right about now.' Finn took a shaky breath. "Uh, well… I-"

"Finn! Finn!"

Raggedy Princess ran up to Finn. "Finn, could you help me get a drink of punch? I don't have arms."

"Oh sure, no problem." Finn got up and escorted RP to the beverage table, Skeleton Princess shot Raggedy Princess a dirty look before they left though.

Finn grabbed a cup of punch and poured it into RP's mouth, RP licked her licks. "'Ahhhh', thank you Finn."

Finn smiled. "No prob."

"So, listen, Finn." Raggedy Princess rubbed her foot in the sand nervously. "I was wondering… If you're free later… we could-"

"Oh my glob, Finn!"

Lumpy Space Princess floated over to Finn and RP. "Finn! I need a quick selfie with you for my blog! Maybe somewhere away from all these other princesses who can't understand the lumping meaning of dibs!"

Raggedy Princess gave LSP an angry look. "Were you even invited to this party?"

LSP placed her hips on her sides. "What the lump is that supposed to mean?! Am I not good enough to hang around you?! Is that it, you lumping sock puppet?!"

"Call me that again, and I'll rip out your eyes and replace them with buttons."

Before Finn could step between them something picked him up off his feet. Finn was afraid it was another princess but it was just Jake, who reeled him in like a trout and placed him by his side with Bubblegum and Lady Rainicorn next to the sound system. "It looked like you needed a save." Jake said.

"Thank you Jake." Finn said with utmost sincerity.

"Glob, I don't think I have ever heard Raggedy Princess threaten anybody." PB said. She was wearing a casual yellow shirt with a pair of white shorts.

"Namjaleul wihae gyeongjaeng hal ttae yeojaneun dongmullo byeonhal geos-ibnida." said Lady.

Jake laughed. "Apparently, yeah. Doesn't help that basically every babe in Ooo is in love with him."

PB giggled. "Well, it's his own fault for being such a great hero."

Finn smiled half halfheartedly, something Bubblegum was able to notice. "What's wrong, was it something I said?"

"Huh? Oh, no no. I-It's nothing princess." Finn told her.

"He's just having a hard time handling the 'hero of Ooo' title." Jake said.

"Jake!" Finn complained.

Bubblegum tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Finn sighed. "Look I just… I appreciate the praise but, I'm not some legendary hero. I'm just a guy far from home who washed up on Ooo. Sure I managed to help out some but… well…"

Bubblegum just stared at Finn for a minute, then walked up to the sound system and turned off the music. The princesses all turned their attention to Bubblegum.

"Princesses of Ooo! I wish to take this opportunity to give thanks to our dear hero, Finn the Human!"

The princesses cheered and clapped, Finn waved politely but gave PB a confused look. 'What is she doing?'

"I think I speak for everybody when I say that we are more than grateful for everything he has done for us. He has freed us from the Ice King, he has stopped a war, he has saved lives from dragons, giants, wolves and creepy deer, just the other day he saved the Ice King's life, thus preserving the Lich's prison."

Bubblegum turned and looked Finn in the eyes. "He's only been in Ooo for a month, and yet we care for him like he was one of our own. The selflessness and bravery he has displayed can never be repaid, and I hope he realizes just how much he means to us. Ever since the Lich massacre, we have been in need of a new hope. Someone we can trust, someone we can rely on. Finn has not only saved us from catastrophe, but he has given us hope for a better tomorrow."

Finn stared at Bubblegum in astonishment. Shoko appeared by his side. "An icon of hope… is stronger and more significant than you may think."

"Perhaps he will choose to live out the rest of his life in Ooo, perhaps he shall choose to return home." PB continued. "I just hope he knows that he will always have a home here, until the end of his days. That's how much he means to us, even if he doesn't realize how much simply being here means to us, let alone the deeds he's done."

Finn felt like he was about to cry.

Bubblegum turned back to the crowd of Princesses. "And so I say, long live Finnegan Campbell the Human! May his legacy never die!"

The princesses erupted in cheers and shouts, Princess Bubblegum turned the music back on and they resumed their party. Although it seemed they partied with a little more vigor than before. PB walked up to Finn, who gave Bubblegum a genuine smile. "Princess… that was… thank you."

Bubblegum smiled back. "I just said it how it is Finn, that's all."

Finn looked down at the ground in thought, he stood there in silence for a while before turning to Jake. "Jake, I need a ride."

Bubblegum frowned. "You're leaving already?"

"There's something I need to do."

Finn hopped off of Jake's back the second they arrived back at Billy's crack, Finn looked at the cave entrance with an unreadable look. Before he could enter the cave, Jake stretched a hand up on his shoulder. "Bro, no one is saying you have to do this." he told him sympathetically.

Finn gently took Jake's hand off of his shoulder. "No one else can." he said. "You can go back to the party man, I'll be fine from here." Jake didn't seem happy about it, but he reluctantly did as Finn wished and left. Now alone, Finn walked into Billy's cave.

Finn looked around at the piles of gold and other loot. "Canyon? You still here?" Finn received no response, he walked around the cave until he saw Nothung leaning against the large, tarped object with it's pommel on the ground. Finn walked to the sword and looked into his reflection on the blade.

"So this is it huh?"

Shoko reappeared by Finn's side. "You take that blade, and you take the Ooo road."

Finn took a deep breath. "These people need me, more than Founder's Island ever did. And besides, It's already sorta written into my destiny or whatever."

"Is it? It's still not too late to back down, to choose a simpler, easier life. You still haven't answered the real question Finn." Shoko reached up and placed a hand on Finn's shoulder, he couldn't 'feel it' exactly but Finn would have known her hand was there even if his eyes were closed.

"What do you want?"

Finn didn't answer right away, he just kept his gaze on Nothung. "I want to help the people I care about." he finally said. "But… I can't do that if I go back to Founder's Island."

Shoko smiled. "This place has really grown on you huh?"

Finn smiled back. "Yeah. It has."

"But… what about your mom and everybody else back on the island?"

"I'll wait until Bubblegum finishes finding a way to send a message to Founder's Island and… tell them everything."

"Speaking of Bubblegum, would you please hurry up and tap that?"

"Woah, What?!" Finn backed away from Shoko. "Come on! We were having a nice, spirit-guide talk and you completely ruined it!"

"Hey, I never got to hit that so I'm hoping you get to." Shoko replied casually.

"Oh my glob, I don't remember you being this-oh glob, I'm remembering you and Reese together. Oh glob no. Dear glob no!" Finn looked at Shoko in horror. "You're disgusting."

"I'm you."

"I would never do that!"

"Sure you would, I know because I'm in your thoughts." Shoko tilted her head. "You said 'glob' by the way. Sounds like you really are adapting to Ooo."

Finn blinked. 'I did, didn't I?' he turned back towards the sword and stared at the grip. He slowly reached to take hold of the sword. Finn stopped his hands a few inches away from the sword.

Then grabbed a hold of Nothung.

Canyon had said that if the blade liked him, it would accept him. Apparently it did, because after Finn grabbed the sword it glowed with a faint, white light before shrinking down to a proper size for Finn. Finn held the sword in his right hand, he gave it a few swings and stabs. It felt perfectly balanced in his hand, like it was fitted exactly to his dimensions.

"This… this feels right."

"Good."

Finn twirled around and saw Canyon standing in front of him, a smile on her face. "I had a feeling you might be back."

"Canyon! Uh, how much of what I said did you hear?" Finn asked nervously.

"Enough to know that you're haunted by the ghost of one of your past lives."

"...And… that seems normal to you?"

"What exactly is 'normal' here in Ooo?"

"Fair point."

Finn held the blade up to get a good look at it. "So… Nothung is now mine?"

Canyon nodded. "He will be your partner, call his name and he will come."

Finn's eyes widened. "Really?" he leaned the sword back against the tarped thing and walked to the other side of the room. Once in position, he held his hand out. "Nothung!" The sword flew into the air and spun right towards a panicking Finn, but instead of getting sliced in half Finn caught the sword by the leather grip. "Woah."

Finn walked backed to an amused Canyon. "Having fun?" she asked.

"Does fun nearly give you a heart attack?"

"Yes."

"Then yes."

Canyon laughed. "One last thing I wanna show you." She walked over to the tarp and pulled it away, revealing the huge motorcycle from Finn's memories of Shoko. It was red with a design of Billy's gauntlet on either side of the gas tank. "In addition to giving you Nothung, the cave, and everything in it, you also get Billy's motorcycle." Canyon placed her hand on the bike and smiled. "Me and Billy used to ride this thing into battle back in the day." She gave a sigh. "Those were good times."

"How old are you?" Finn asked.

"Ya know, you really shouldn't ask any female that question. But to answer your question, I'm a few years younger than Billy was. I'm a Water Giant you see; as long as the body of water we emerged from stays fresh and lifeful, so do we. Same goes for Water Nymphs or any other Water Elemental."

"Cool." Finn looked at the bike. "You sure you want to give me Billy's motorcycle? It holds more sentimental value to you, also it's a little big for me."

"That's sweet of you to consider, but it's Billy's wish that it goes to you. Also," Canyon pulled out a small bag of something. "I can take care of the size thing no sweat."

Finn looked back at the bike. "Well, my usual method of transportation is either a magic dog or manticore. I guess this is a step up."

Canyon smiled wistfully. "You're gonna have some good rides on this old thing, believe me. You want me to shrink it down now?"

Finn rubbed his chin in thought. "Before we do that…"

'This was a freaking terrible idea!' Finn thought to himself. 'I have got to stop being so freaking nice to people!"

Finn and Canyon rode the motorcycle across the desert plain, Canyon sat in the seat while Finn sat on the gas tank and drove by steering the bike with a pair of giant, monkey wrenches he attached to the handles. In hindsight, Finn should have just let Canyon drive. Canyon seemed to be enjoying the ride though, she gripped Finn's shoulders and let out a joyful laugh.

The two of them finally arrived at Finn's treehouse, Finn parked the bike in front of the house with a little help from Canyon. The Water Giant got off the bike and let out another laugh. "Glob, I needed that. Thanks Finn."

Finn let go of the wrenches and slid down the bike and onto the ground. "No problem at all Canyon."

Canyon helped Finn to his feet. "Hold on." She measured Finn with her fingers and pulled out her bag of something. Canyon then poured a specific amount of the something, which happened to be pink dust, onto her hand. She blew the dust at the motorcycle and it shrunk down small enough for Finn to ride, it shrunk down slowly, with a comical slide-whistling sound.

Finn looked at Canyon. "It was the only brand they had in stock." She explained. "The motorcycle runs on distilled water, by the way. One of the perks of knowing a Water Elemental, we prefer to go green."

Finn readjusted Nothung on his back, now fitted in a brown sheath Canyon had given him. "Listen Canyon, don't get me wrong, I'm totally grateful for all the stuff. But, I gotta ask." Finn looked up into Canyon's green eyes. "Why did you pick me? You could have picked Jake or anybody else, so why me?"

Canyon just smiled. "That right there, is one of the reasons. As for the rest of the reasons," Canyon shrugged. "What's it really matter?"

Finn was about to press further but for whatever reason, decided to drop it. "Do you… do you really think I can do this?" Was all he asked.

Canyon nodded. "Yes." with that said, she turned around and walked away. "See later Finn!" she called out.

Finn watched Canyon walk off into the distance, he took a deep breath. "Well, here we go."

Shoko appeared by his side. "Yup."

The three Water Nymphs suddenly appeared from out of their pond, they crossed their arms and gave Finn an accusing look. "Uh, who was that Water Giant?" Merry demanded.

'Oh boy.' Finn thought.

"Jackpot." said Shoko.

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" The princesses cheered as Jake downed his fifth keg of punch. The dog got a fierce round of applause when he finished the keg and threw it to the side.

"Ah yeah!" Jake shouted.

Princess Bubblegum came over and lifted Jake's hand in the air. "We have a new record everyone!" she exclaimed, earning another cheer from the princesses.

Jake let out a belch. "Aw man, Finn's missing out. Wish he'd hurry up and come back to the party."

"What did you say Finn was doing again?" PB asked.

"Oh, Finn inherited all of the hero Billy's stuff and he's working out the details with Billy's ex-girlfriend." said Jake.

PB's eyes widened. "Woah, say what now?!"

"Oh yeah, Canyon asked Finn to take the job as Ooo's champion. Even gave him Billy's sword and everything."

Bubblegum blinked. "Then… that would mean he-"

"Hey-yo!"

PB was interrupted by Ice King landing next to her and Jake. "Heard there was a party going on!"

PB grunted in annoyance. "Ice King. Good to see you as always, but I'm afraid you were not invited to this party."

"Ah come on!" IK complained. "You invited that guy!"

PB raised an eyebrow. "What guy?"

Ice King pointed towards the ocean. "That guy, flying this way."

Bubblegum turned towards the ocean, she saw something flying towards them but couldn't quite make it out. As it got closer, PB could see that it looked some kind of manta ray.

"What the fudge is that thing?"

The manta ray was getting closer, close enough that Bubblegum could see that it was actually made of metal. "It's a machine." PB realized. Sure enough, the metal craft was indeed mechanical. The metal manta ray had two blue, glowing eyes on its flat face and a glass dome sat on it's back. When it reached the beach the princesses began to panic and backed away in fear of the strange machine. Whoever or whatever was inside the glass dome couldn't be seen, some kind of tinting on the glass. The eyes however, changed from blue to red. The craft hovered in front of the frightened princesses.

"Scanning bioforms. Scanning… Scanning… Scan Complete. Dangerous mutants identified." The ship spoke with a feminine computer voice, void of any emotion.

"Mutants?!" Ice King cried out. "Sure maybe some of these freaks, but not good 'ol Ice King! Screw you ya dang metal bird!"

"Scanning large, loud, blue lifeform. Scan complete. Human male identified. Bioscan showing signs of an unknown form of disease within the subject, causing incredibly low body temperature and serious bodily mutations."

Ice King crossed his arms. "You don't got nothing nice to say, do ya?"

Metal tentacles extended from the machine's body. "Commencing neutralization of dangerous mutant lifeforms."

The princesses screamed as the tentacles moved towards them, but before they could touch anyone Gridface Princess pressed a button on the device on her wrist and a pyramidal force field formed around the group of royals plus a dog and a rainicorn. The tentacles pounded against the force field.

"What does that thing want from us?" Wildberry Princess shouted.

"Where did it come from?" shouted Slime Princess.

Bubblegum turned to IK. "Ice King, did that machine call you a Human?"

Ice King blinked. "Did it? I was focusing on how hot it's voice sounded."

"It called you a human male. So you're a Human? Like Finn?"

The machine seemed to be able to hear them. Shortly after the name 'Finn' had left PB's mouth the craft stopped pounding it's tentacles against the force field.

"Potential information on the whereabouts of objective Finnegan Campbell found." the machine retracted its tentacles. "Commencing force field countermeasure." The craft began to hum with energy, then the craft released a shockwave that shattered the force field.

Gridface Princess looked at her wrist device, which now sparked and smoked. "Okay, that's not good."

"Please reveal the location of objective Finnegan Campbell or face annihilation." Twin plasma cannons sprouted from the craft's belly.

"That thing's after Finn!" Jake exclaimed.

"Oh, so you want to nab my home-boy Finn?!" Ice King asked. "Big mistake!" IK shot a beam of energy at the machine, trapping it in a block of ice. The frozen craft fell into the sea, half submerged in salt water.

The princesses cheered and Ice King grinned victoriously. "Ice King for the win again!"

The craft began to glow red within the ice and the ice started to melt away. The ice continued to melt until the machine was able to break free from the ice and and hover back into the air. "Please do not do that."

"Oh glob, never mind!" Ice King shouted. "You want Finn?, you can have him!"

"That's it, my turn!" Jake grew until he towered over everyone else. "I'll turn this thing into spare parts!" Jake a fist in the air, ready to smash.

"Gigantic canine identified. Deploying countermeasures now." A couple hatches opened up on the craft's back and a team of mini-crafts flew out of the craft and towards Jake.

Jake began swatting at the tiny machines. "Ew, it's like a bunch of robot flies! Shoo! Shoo ya pests!"

The drones attached themselves all over Jake's body.

"Uh-oh. This ain't good."

Jake lit up like a light bulb the second he finished that sentence, the drones administered an electric shock powerful enough to bring the giant down. Jake fell head-first into the sand and shrunk back down to his normal size.

"Jake!" Lady Rainicorn shouted, she rushed over to Jake's side and glared up at the craft. "Bil-eo meog-eul gigye goemul!"

"Giant, mutant canine neutralized. Returning to primary objective." The crafts locked it's guns on Princess Bubblegum. "Please reveal the location of objective Finnegan Campbell or face annihilation."

PB gulped. 'Okay, time for plan D.' She raised her hands in surrender and walked up to the craft. "Please, I beg of you! Whoever you are, whatever you want, there is no reason we can't settle this in a civilized manner! You are searching for Finnegan Campbell yes? I know him, he is a friend of mine! Please exit the craft so we can talk peacefully!" 'Please let there actually be someone in there, and please let them be civilized.'

The craft just floated in the air for a bit, plasma cannons still aimed right at Bubblegum. After a while though, the drones were called back to the craft but the guns remained locked on PB.

"I am exiting the ship now." Said a voice from the craft. This was a different voice, it sounded more like a living person was talking. "I will only warn you once not to try anything."

A rectangular section of the glass dome opened and a ramp extended down to the beach, a woman big and burly enough to put Muscle Princess to shame walked out of the glass dome. She wore a purple uniform and a matching purple cat hat similar in fashion to Finn's bear hat.

"Holy smokes. That chick is ripped." Ice King commented.

"That chick is human." Bubblegum realized.

The buff lady made her way down to the beach, everyone but Bubblegum took a step back once she reached the sandy ground. The woman in purple looked tense and ready for a fight, her eyes scanned the group of royals in a combination of fear, anger, and anxiety.

Princess Bubblegum put on a friendly, diplomatic smile. "Greetings stranger, I am Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum. I welcome you to-"

"I don't care." The big lady interrupted, she pulled out a circular device and held it up for Bubblegum to see. A hologram of Finn appeared above the device. "Tell me where Finnegan Campbell is… now."

There we go, I gave Finn a sword. And some other stuff happened too.

Until next chapter!