Finn stared ahead as he used his sword to paddle the canoe in the direction Simon indicated.
They were now even further from Ooo. He thought of all that was back there. The kingdoms, the lands, and all of the strange inhabitants felt a world away. It had been less than a week, but it felt like a month.
The sky was dark, and the waves gentle. Finn didn't know what time it was. He felt like someone should brighten the atmosphere, but was impossible, given their circumstances.
Water Princess lay next to him, asleep in the makeshift boat. Her calm breaths were a lullaby that threatened to put Finn to sleep.
Meanwhile, Jake and the rest were a bit behind. Finn could see their boats, even in the dim light. He knew he should get some sleep, like them, but he couldn't help thinking it were all his fault, despite Simon reassuring him it wasn't. If only the Keeper hadn't been so strong. If only he had remained in that black hole.
Finn could sense the sun was about to rise. Indeed, red rays emerged from the horizon. Finn let himself succumb to sleep. He felt waves crash gently into the side of the canoe, rocking him. He closed his eyes.
When he opened them, the sun was high in the air. It must've been around noon.
Water Princess was staring down at him, a soft smile on her face. Even with everything, she thought Finn sleeping was calming. The sea seemed to stetch on endlessly. Suddenly, Simon shouted from his boat.
"Land!"
Indeed, it was land. A ways in the distance. It looked like a dark smudge against the sun. As the sun traveled around the sky, like the hands of a clock, they canoes got closer, until they finally reached the beach of the island.
"This is it!" Simon shouted. "This the island. Now we just have to find out where that statue is."
As they searched through the island, the sun started to go down. Finn chopped down some wood, and they built a campfire. Finn chopped some more trees to make (uncomfortable) platforms to sleep on.
Throughout all of this, Flame Princess quitely walked around the cave. The quiet and lack of any activity was driving her crazy, but the lóngguī statue assured her that they were about one or two days from the temple that they were under. She groaned as she layed on the rock and stretched out her legs. Once more, she thought of the rip in her suit, and how close the ocean water had been to entering the suit and...
Her friends would know she was alive and well soon enough.
In the dead of night, the group was awakened by the strange snarling and growling of some creature.
"What was that?" Jake scared, his voice pitched higher than usual.
A roar was heard, and an enormous, black, tiger-like creature emerged from the jungle, only illuminated by the campfire, which no one had remembered to put out.
The beast roared again, and lunged toward the group. Finn's sword activated on instinct, and Finn jumped up toward the animal. The massive beast towered over Finn. It howled as Finn cut it with his sword. Finn made short work of the beast, and it ran off, whimpering.
Finn's sword resisted deactivation, and no matter how hard Finn tried, his arm was stuck permanently in sword mode.
They put out the fire, and they went back to sleep, half-paranoid. As the sun came up, the group continued to search, until they had at last found the temple.
It was made of tan stone, with mysterious carvings etched into it. The entrance was blocked by some unknown mechanism, but Jake stretched his fist, and bashed his way in.
The small temple, which had resembled an ancient, trapezoid-shaped pyramid, held only a small, round, bird bath-shaped table, with some kind of orb-like gem in the center. Upon removing the orb, Jake noticed that the floor shifted into a spiral staircase. The stair case led to a narrow hallway.
As they traveled down and down the seemingly endless (and spiral) hallway, they finally reached the exit. There were several caverns, and each one held several strange statues, with gems in the eyes. Finally, they came across the furthest cavern, a dragon-turtle statue.
"Flame Princess!" Finn was shocked. Flame Princess had been here the whole time?
"I rescued her," the statue spoke. "I am Nanam. An Ancient One. You may recieve my judgement."
Its eyes glowed intensely.
"First, Pheobe." Flame Princess walked up to him.
"Worthy. All of you. You fight for the survival of the universe, and to escape eternal subjugation. Now child, ask what you will."
"Why did my father lock me up?" Flame Princess asked.
"Your father considered you a threat to his rule, and exiled you. However, the Princess of Candy feared your power, and asked that your father keep you imprisoned as a compromise. Next, Dark One."
Peppermint Butler stepped forward.
"Is this place your origin?"
"I have existed since the dawn of this planet's formation. The primordial elements gave birth to all of the Ancient Ones. The answer you seek is 'yes.' Next, Jake the Dog."
"Uh, can I get a sandwich?"
The statue's eyes glowed brighter for a few seconds, and a sandwich appeared on a plain, ceramic plate.
"Alright," Jake said in delight.
"Step forward, Marceline."
"Mind if I ask for something?"
"No, if it is one gift."
Marceline whispered to the statue, and its eyes glowed again. Marceline glowed in bright, white light. The light died down.
"Done. You are free from your vulnerabilty. The sun affects you now as before you were a vampire. Now, Simon Petrikov."
"Where is Princess Bubblegum located?"
"I will reveal all later. For now, you may ask another question."
"Who were those mem who abducted me?"
"The Seekers are fools who believe they can unlock the mysteries of the universe and bend it to their will. They are, however, responsible for returning you to sanity, and thereby a chance to save the universe. In any case, they will realize that their efforts are in vain. Now, Wendy."
Water Princess' cheeks turned purple at the use of her real name, which no one, except for her grandmother, used. She stepped forward.
She whispered to the statue.
"That I do not know. You will find out when he makes his decision. Step forward, Comet."l
The group looked around, confused.
"Finn the Human."
Finn stepped forward. "Will we defeat the Keeper?"
"I do not know. The fate of the universe is something beyond even my knowledge. But, so is everything involving you, Comet. I know there is conflict in you, young one. But you must accept your destiny as a hero. I will bestow upon you two gifts."
Its eyes glowed. Finn's metal arm glowed in bright light, like Marceline had. So did Finn's eye. When the light faded, Finn had two flesh arms, and his eye had been restored. The statue's eyes glowed again, and a sword of stone appeared before Finn. It was the same tan color as the temple, and had several patches of moss. It had a big green gem at the hilt.
"The sword you possessed previously was cursed, and would have attempted to take over its host eventually. Accept this weapon, Finn the Human. It is the Ancient Sword. Now, I will reveal all regarding the Keeper."
The group prepared for the end of their journey.
