The sound of a heartbeat monitor was the first thing Phoebe was able to hear. It seemed faint at first, but then it began to increase in volume as though it was approaching. She groaned irritably the more she heard it and her body willed itself to get up to stop her ears from ringing. The only thing she could do however was roll herself to the side as the injuries she gained from her last battle drained most of her energy. She felt downright horrible as she continued to lay helpless, but then she heard someone shift on a nearby seat that gathered her attention.

"Hey," Phoebe croaked out as though she had a sore throat. "Are the lights out?"

"No, your majesty," a caretaker replied. "I thought it was best to bandage your eyes."

The monarch was put at ease, thankful she wasn't blind. Before she could reach with her hands to remove the cloth piece, she quickly asked, "Can I take it off now?"

"You may," the man replied. "It was mainly so that you wouldn't feel disoriented when you were coming to."

Phoebe nodded at this set of information and slowly adjusted her sights after the fact. Everything was still a bit too bright at first, but after a few more seconds she was able to take in her surroundings.

"The central core," Phoebe thought. "No wonder why there's so much heat around here." She shifted her gaze at the elemental before her and asked, "How long have I been out?"

"Eight days," he replied. "Prince Furnius has been running things ever since."

"Has anything important happened recently?" The princess asked as her strength was surprisingly returning fast enough to sit up.

"Other than the fact that our kingdom has officially won the war and that there's a major troop withdrawal to bring them home, not much else."

Phoebe nodded in acceptance until another thought crossed her, "Wait, what about the others?"

The caretaker answered, "Jake's returned to his family, while Marceline simply went her own way. We're hoping she'll return sooner or later."

"And Finn?!" The monarch had an alarmed expression.

The man was hesitant but answered, "That's.. a bit complicated."

"Where is he?" Phoebe asked urgently as she stood up. "I need to see him!"

"Your highness, please," he pleaded. " You shouldn't be up so quickly! Why don't we just wait for Prince Furnius and talk it through?"

Phoebe's eyes glowed red with authority as she pinned his shoulders against a nearby wall, "You're gonna tell me where Finn is or else it will be you who will be needing bed rest!"

"Okay! Okay" he complied in fear with his hands raised defensively. "H-he's in the east wing of the palace being treated for his wounds. Right after they found him underground, Prince Furnius ordered some guards in case of any further hostilities."

"Further hostilities?" Phoebe squinted questionably as though the words were foreign.

"They identified him as Princess Bubblegum's bodyguard," he explained. "The one responsible for single-handedly slaying countless elemental troops during the final stages of the war. I was told that once he recovered, he would be facing trial and then face possible execution."

"That's not going to happen under my charge!" Phoebe declared.

"Princess, I don't think your decision will bring that much appeal-"

"I don't care!" She shouted. "I need to see him, period!"

"He must really mean that much to you," he remarked nervously.

"More than you know," Phoebe shook her head slowly. Moments later she knocked the man out with a swift punch to the face, grabbed a set of knight's armor, and rushed towards Finn's location. Hopefully her disguise as a regular guard would help her pass through the palace without any problems.

So far, no one spared a glance during her trip. There were a few ranked officials and nobles who might have trailed after her form, but then they ultimately gave up as they were drawn more into their own conversations. Some of them saluted on cue as she began to venture further, but then she stopped midway when she saw a checkpoint in the far distance. At least five guards were blocking a doorway and anyone who passed through seemed to do so only with a security card present. Phoebe sighed, she could easily subdue all the guards or even reveal her identity but both of those would draw too much attention. She needed to be subtle in this scenario and plan her next move carefully.

"Sneaking through the ventilation shaft might work," Phoebe thought as she glanced upwards. "But then again, I don't know the layout. It's too risky to explore at a time like this and that is something I don't have much of right now." She calmed her shoulders and decided to sit on one of the lounge chairs nearby. "I'll just wait a bit and hope someone else is coming," she resolved. "Otherwise I'll have to wing it!"

The disguised monarch waited anxiously as the minutes went by. There were a few elementals that walked passed her way, but none of them seemed to be heading to where she needed to be. Every time it seemed promising, a passerby would end up making either a left or right towards a different door. She was just about ready to resort to her last method when suddenly a lone guard entered her sight. On one hand, he was holding a smal pack of coal while the other held what appeared to be a card piece.

"This is it!" Phoebe lit up. "Now to lure him in." She quickly jumped from her seat and signaled his attention. "Um, excuse me," she said in her best masculine voice, hoping her helmet would also help. "I was wondering if you help can me out me out with something," she motioned at a nearby door.

The guard sighed irritably, "I swear if it's another prank, I'm gonna kill somebody!" He stepped in first and began looking around. The next thing he knew, his vision blackened instantly from a swift blow behind the head and tumbled downward.

"I'm sorry," Phoebe whispered as she kneeled at his unconscious form. "This is a matter concerning a friend of mine." She grabbed the card and adjusted herself before walking out again.

"Back from your lunch break already?" The leading security guard asked as Phoebe stepped forth. "Very well, you know the way from here." He nodded dismissively.

The next hallways she went through were occupied with dozens of guards. Some of them stood upright at attention while a few others causally leaned against a nearby surface. It was an understatement that all of them seemed disinterested and bored out of their minds. Phoebe even noticed that a small minority went as far as to watch a random video from one of their own crystal phones that she shook her head in disbelief.

After a while, Phoebe approached another doorway where eight guards stood in a column formation. Out of all the others, these men had the royal insignia embedded on their shoulder plates to show they were personally handed-picked by Prince Furnius himself. There was no way that she was going to go through without any complications, so she quickly walked away and planned for a diversion. Once she had it set in motion, the guards left their post to investigate what seemed to be a pack of firecrackers going off at a separate hallway.

"Someone's going to get reported for this!" the leading guard snarled in anger as he and the others began clearing the mess.

Phoebe had finally gazed upon the human's form as she walked into his room. Her eyes watered as she stepped closer to his beside and her hand softly brushed the side of his face. Finn was still dressed in his sleeveless dark purple battle suit and a soft groaned stirred upon initial contact. The human squinted in pain as he slowly woke up and then his blue eyes met Phoebe's amber ones until he gasped in surprise.

"F-flame Princess," he stammered as he averted his gaze.

"I'm here Finn," she comforted with a longing expression. Her brows furrowed as he still looked away, "It's alright, it's just us now."

"I should be the last person you would want to see," Finn stated with regret. "After all the death and suffering I caused and Glob was I aware of it!"

"It's not your fault," she replied. "Bubblegum was using you!"

"B-but you did believe that it was really me at some point," Finn sniffled. "How I was willing to raise my blade against you and my friends."

Phoebe sighed in admittance, "I was wrong, Finn. All that time apart made me have doubts within myself to believe you could ever be like that." As her hand still held his face, the other was grasping one of Finn's. "I should have believed, I shouldn't have given up on you, and I especially should have known better!"

"We were both learning," Finn shook his head. "Or maybe we still are. What I'm saying is that no one could have known to prepare for something like that. Not even you."

"But I still feel like I could have done something better!" Phoebe stated with tears forming. "Somehow change it to where you wouldn't be in this spot right now."

"I made my own choices, Flame Princess," Finn argued. "I had my own personal biz that I needed to take care of before going my own way. Turns out I would have been here whether or not you tried, almost as though the universe had it scripted."

The monarch had a hard time accepting that truth and decided to move to another topic, "Why don't you call me by my actual name?"

The human took a breath before answering, "Because it is reserved for someone special. It is for someone who has earned your trust, respect, and.. love."

"Can't I choose it to be you?!" Phoebe implored. "It seems clear enough that we still feel the same towards each other! Even after all these years apart, I feel as though as if it has never faded."

"I won't deny what the heart tells me," Finn nodded. "But I also know, given the circumstances, that there is no real future between us." He released her hand before continuing, "Think about it: a tool of Princess Bubblegum in relation with the Princess of Flames. The world will stop at nothing until I am gone for good, before that could happen."

"I don't care," Phoebe argued. "I once told you how I felt in our last battle and I still mean it now! No matter what, I want us to have another chance even if it seems unfavorable to others. Is it not so different when you were willing to defy nature for me?"

Before Finn could speak, a different voice was heard from outside after a brief struggle with the door.

"We have an intruder attempting to free the prisoner," the leading guard announced. "Be ready to breach and clear and eliminate all hostiles on sight!"

"You need to go," Finn paled towards Phoebe. "Before it's too late."

The elemental made no move and went back to grasping her hand with his, showing a sad smile. "There's no other place I'd rather be right now."

Finn's worried expression gradually subsided in acceptance as he then asked, "Do you.. really mean it?"

"Yes," Phoebe admitted, locking her eyes with his, "I love you, Finn the Human no matter how brief it may be. There is no life worth living for me in a world without you."

Finn was surprised at her declaration of love and even more surprised as his lips were suddenly in contact with hers. His skin didn't burn due to his altered genes, and for the first time he was able to feel her soft, natural complexion. Both of the their eyes drifted shut as the kiss deepened and before long the whole room began to increase in brightness. Was it from the elemental's unstable matrix or perhaps from the door exploding upon entry? Neither of them cared. As far as the couple was concerned, they had each other again bonding with all the passion they could possibly muster in that one fleeting moment...

"Hey," Phoebe croaked out loud in distress as she tried looking around. "Are the lights out?"

"No, your majesty," a familiar voice replied. "I thought it was best to bandage your eyes."

All Phoebe could do in that moment was groan as she realized her past experience faded away into a grim reality.


Three pairs of footsteps echoed as Jake, Marceline, and Betty quickly made their way to Finn. All of their minds were focused on one thought, while the rest were purposely blocked. Jake didn't take in consideration at the unlikelihood of his brother's survival, nor did he bother to glance at his friends beside him to see if they had any similar thoughts. Coincidently enough, Marceline shared a similar mindset. The vampire had the life experience of a thousand years, and yet she chose not to accept the probability of Finn's demise. In her mind, she just had to believe that Finn was strong enough to go against the odds. She continued to support her reasoning by looking back at the battle they exchanged towards each other along with Jake's previous remark.

"Flambo told me the dude was even able to take an artillery to the face! The guy's bad news, Marcy."

Marcy nodded to herself in assurance. Surely a few days being buried alive would pale in comparison to all the other ordeals Finn has been through. It did however make her falter slightly in realization when she recalled Phoebe being the last person to confront him. There was no doubt the two had an intense duel, but how far did Phoebe go as to disable him? Hopefully it wasn't something that a bottle of cyclops tears couldn't fix. With that in mind, the vampire flew ahead with Jake following behind closely.

After a few minutes of running, the trio encountered the elevator shaft that lead towards the staging area. Jake stretched himself to step towards the bottom, while Marceline carried Betty in her arms to descend on the way down. Once they arrived, the fire elementals investigating the scene all glanced at them on cue. The expressions they gave out to the main trio was so recognizable that it instantly unsettled the magical dog and vampire.

"No," Jake whispered at first as he began to pick his pace.

Marceline followed behind except she slowed down with tears already building up.

"No," Jake repeated a bit loudly as the elementals backed away to clear a path for him. As he got closer, the last two troops who were kneeling beside Finn stood up and parted with resigned expressions.

Betty covered her mouth with one hand in distress while glancing at Marcy and Jake.

"Nooo!" Jake howled as his eyes took in Finn's limp form for the first time. The former adventurer was seen on his back with blood and cuts everywhere, that it surprised everybody how he managed to survive for so long. Jake began to panic at the sight and immediately shook Finn's shoulders to get his attention. "Come on, man!" Jake pleaded desperately. "Look at me, look at me!"

Finn's eyes slightly moved to meet Jake's in response, causing the latter to smile in encouragement.

"We're gonna get you out of here, bro." The canine stated with a determined expression. Right after he said that, he looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Marcy, where's that bottle of tears?!"

"Jake..." She replied near a faint whisper as she stepped closer with it in hand.

The canine immediately stood up and snatched it away with an irritated growl. He went back into a soft expression when he got back to Finn. "Drink some of this," he said gently.

The healing fluids went right into Finn's mouth, but his throat wasn't swallowing.

"Come on," Jake said impatiently as he tried a few times. "Just take a swig!"

The next thing the canine knew, his expression turned to horror when Finn's eyes glazed into lifelessness. Any warmth the human had left was gone, and his chest no longer rose from breathing. Tears began to run down Jake's face as he denied the sight before him and he went back into shaking Finn's form in vain.

"I'm sorry sir," an elemental troop comforted as he placed a hand on Jake's right shoulder.

"Get off me!" Jake growled as he aggressively shook it off.

The trooper was startled from the outburst and backed away instantly.

Jake refocused his attention back to his brother and hovered a paw over his face. Then, he gently pressed and moved downwards in one motion until Finn's eyelids were closed. The magical canine bowed over his form after the act letting his sorrow take control, while Marcy and Betty kneeled beside him. What the trio didn't realize at the time was that Finn had tears of his own, a last act of showing regret from all his actions.

"I wasn't fast enough," Jake wept bitterly as his shoulders shook and his fists tightened.