Darkness fell at long last, and I rose my head from my knees as I saw the sun set.

I remembered that it was sunlight that I saw before, but after trying again to step out into the sun, I realized I couldn't. It was too painful, and I was afraid of what might happen if I refused to take shelter somewhere. Realizing there really was nothing I could do but wait, I had sat and curled up in a ball on the ground in the place I woke up.

I was alone, and so afraid, and my stomach started to hurt. I was hungry.

However, the thought of food, the food I figured I was used to, made me sick to my stomach. I wanted something else, something that I didn't know but I knew deep down it would be the only thing to satisfy my hunger.

I cried silently, tiny whimpers coming out of my throat.

"Fionna, over here! I think I heard something!"

"I'm coming!"

The sound of voices made me jump, and I panicked, making more noise than I meant to and alerting whoever was there to my presence. I heard them coming, and I thought for a second that I could feel my breath stop.

Finally, they found me.

A blonde girl, dressed in blue, with an odd white bunny hood and a bright green pack on her back. A cat, white and blonde, with a fluffed up tail and startled eyes.

I flinched away from them, desperate to get away, and they seemed to notice my fear. "Fionna, baby, this girl is whacked up pretty bad," the cat said softly, looking at the blonde girl.

"Yeah, I see that," replied the girl, her blue eyes never once breaking from me. "Hey, it's okay. We're here to help you out."

I looked at her in shock, and I opened my mouth to speak when the cat meowed loudly.

"Ooh, she's got some fangs!"

"I see them, Cake. Cool it. Do you think she might be like Marshall then, if she's got the fangs?"

"I don't know, but if she is, then that means we need to get her away from here and somewhere safer. And based on appearances, honey, I'd say she at least looks frazzled as can be. It's probably best we get her back to the tree house for now and patch her up."

"Tree...house?"

The first words I could get out.

My voice was so tiny, it might as well have not been there. It sounded so meek and broken.

The blonde girl reached her hand out to me and smiled brightly and confidently. "Yeah, our tree house," she said. "We can help you get better there. You're really beat up, and it's not safe here now. Come on; you're safe with me and Cake."

Those words were so kind, so strong, so genuine, that I couldn't even reply. Why would these random strangers help me when they didn't know me at all? It seemed unusual, and I grew skeptical and backed away a bit.

"It's okay, really. We're heroes. This is what we do for a living: help those who need it."

Help.

That word.

I knew I needed help. I was stranded, alone, and hungry, with no memories and no idea who I was or why I was in a destroyed town all alone. I knew if I refused their help, I'd never find the answers I was so desperate to get. Tagging along with them, and letting them help me, was my only chance.

So I nodded, and took the girl's hand. She pulled me up to my feet with a proud smile. "I'm Fionna," she told me. "Fionna the human. This is my best friend, Cake the cat."

"Hi there, baby," the cat, Cake, added.

"Hi," I croaked.

Fionna picked me up carefully, making sure not to hurt me more, and jumped onto Cake's back. Cake, to my amazement, grew bigger and taller, with her legs extending so much we were in the air. She just marched on, with Fionna cheering happily as she put me down in front of her.

I was amazed at how cheerful they seemed, how dedicated they were. I felt better about being with them.

"So what's your name?" Fionna asked me.

I froze for a moment. What was my name? For some reason, I kept drawing a blank. There was a sound at the end of my tongue, so I just went with it.

"Mel."

"Mel? I like that. Nice to properly meet you, Mel."