A/N: alright, another chapter. Sorry for the long wait. I've just become a brony these last couple months and let me tell you. Wow! That fandom has a sh** ton of content. I've been steeping myself in that content for a while. I've even started writing my own story on it, so you bronies that are reading this too, if there are any, go and check it out!


Chapter 3

Every time he would enter a dungeon, Amun would kneel. He would grip the hilt of the relic sword and every time, in his mind, neon orange eyes peered down at him softly. They would close, and he'd stand back up. "Sorry," he said, "It's kinda like a ritual I do when I go into caves or whatever."

Finn raise his hands in mock surrender, "Nah, man. You're good."

Flame Princess found the small display odd. Odd enough that she pondered what it might be about. What is he hiding...? Could it possibly be harmful to me or Finn? she sighed, Just focus, Phoebe.

Before anyone moved, Finn had a chance to really take in Phoebe's new appearance. A top covered her torso, the collar tall like a turtleneck. Though, it was backless, like a dress, only held together near her lower back. It was a luminescent yellow. Below that was a deep, fiery red skirt that stopped just above her knees, the hem of it licked the air as flames would.

The only thing that could lead anyone to believe she were about to enter a dungeon would be the boots she had on. The same deep red of her skirt reflected in the pair of heavy trekking boots that came up mid-shin. However, her hair remained in the same bonfire 'do. Through the enormous doors, awaiting them, the atmosphere was black as pitch. Light flooded in from the outside, but never revealed more than the floor beneath them.

Upon entering, everyone felt distinctly cooler. Even Phoebe found herself noticing. Goosebumps rippled across Finn's arms and Amun's bare chest, but he remained stoic. "You'll get used to the chill," he said simply.

He held out his right hand and it tensed a moment before a glowing flame burst forth. Amun went on to say, "I'll be able to keep this up for about an hour before I'm too drained."

Then, they walked. With nothing around them to see but the floor and walls (if they were lucky), there was a thick layer of boredom and lethargy caked to their movements. At that point, the younger human was matching Flame Princess step for step, purely for the amusement, taking moments to look down at them. She spoke, "So, hi."

"Hi back," he was far from being hostile, but he was still watching his feet.

"'Sup?"

"Oh," he sighed, "Walking. You?"

"Walking."

The two of them slightly chuckled at their exchanged. "What have you been doing over this past year?" she asked.

"A lot," he said.

Phoebe allowed a few seconds for him to say more, but he never did. So, she said, "Care to elaborate?"

The human's eyes shifted to the ceiling. "You won't understand."

"Wanna bet?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Please, FP-"

The flame monarch flared up, whisper-yelling at him, as to not alert Amun to their conversation. Finn also tapered off speed and fell behind the other human a bit. "Don't you think you've kept enough secrets, Finn?"

He flinched and looked her in the eyes; green to blue, a turquoise storm raged between them. There was a look in his eyes she'd never seen in him. It was a look that didn't suit him. She also noticed that there was a certain glimmer gone from his eyes, as well. Like a piece of his innocence had vanished.

"Let me keep this one, FP. Just this one."

She let him.

Acting on a whim, she placed a hand on his shoulder, simultaneously amazed at the feeling of cotton fabric. "Finn," her expression had softened, "If you need someone to talk to, I'm still your friend, right?"

Finn gave a small smile. She knew it was fake. "Of course," he said, "Come on. We'd better catch up to Amun."

The longer they walked, the dimmer Amun's flame got. The man kept his gaze straight ahead, firmly focused on his objective ahead, but the two teens could see beads of sweat on his brow. And then, when his flame became to dim to light the way, Phoebe took the lead. They walked for another half hour before Amun spoke, "This is where I'd turned around last time. My torches lasted for three hours"

Another half hour passed them by in walking when the previously narrow corridor opened into a deep, dark space. "I don't like this," Finn said warily.

Flame Princess replied, "Neither do I."

With the exception of the pillars that held up the ceiling, the room was barren and the floor was still rock and soil. Amun said, "Highness, can you dim your light at all?"

"I can."

"If you would."

Just barely able to see each other, the older human motioned the other two to follow. As quiet as creeping death, they slunk across the room. But, as they had almost reached the door, the earth itself shifted and the doorway disappeared. A voice, everywhere and nowhere at all, called to them, "Who encroaches upon me?"

It sounded lazy and tired, but firm in a way. Amun answered, "Me and my companions. These are Finn the Hero and Phoebe, Queen of the Fire Kingdom. As for myself, I take the name Amun."

"Amun...?" it drawled, "You take my kin's name as your own? Are you so haughty?"

Amun didn't answer; instead, he said to the other two, lowly, "Geb. He is one of the ascended beings. Far more powerful than any of us can handle."

"You do not answer. So, I will continue. To pass me by to my Father, you must answer me this: Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters."

To be completely honest, he had not expected a riddle. A mute? No. A minute passed by of guessing. Finn himself tried working it out. He could've sworn he'd heard this before, from Jake. "The wind?" the young hero tried.

Silence prevailed until the doorway appeared. "Proceed," it said.

As they were exiting, Amun turned, "Good spirit, can you answer this: How is a raven like a writing desk?"

"It can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front."

Beneath his mask, he smiled, and then left through the door. Once again, the corridor became narrow. Phoebe took the lead again and brightened her flames. Meanwhile, Finn was getting uneasy. Well, it was him getting bored more than anything.

He got kind of paranoid when he got bored. Crazy ideas start popping up in his head if it goes on too long. But, this dungeon was dreadfully boring. When this Amun guy first told him about these ruins they'd have to go through, he thought they'd be up to their knees in baddies. But, no.

Instead, it's hours upon hours of walking. He sighed, hanging his head just a bit. A small chuckle drew his attention. It was Amun's, surprisingly. "Hanging in there, Finn?"

"Yeah," he said, "Just bored."

"Just be patient. By the time this is all over, none of us are gonna want to do anything for a while," he said, "Take it from me. Finn, we all gotta slow down someday. It's better sooner, rather than later. Things pass you by that you regret not holding on to."

Flame Princess piped in, "That's good advice. Fourteen years slipped by me while I was in that lamp. I'm cherishing every moment I have outside of it."

The cloaked man gained a devious gleam in his eyes, "I'm well aware of your story, Highness. I'm not too much older than you two, but I remember visiting the Fire Kingdom as a boy. However did you get out?"

The other two became a tad flustered. Phoebe crossed her arms and Finn shoved his hands in his pockets. "Finn got me out, and-"

"Well, it was all Jake. I mean-"

"By extension, you had some part in it."

They both were flushed and laughed nervously. So that's how it is. Young love, Amun mused wistfully. But, damn a thought like that made him feel old. "Well, by the Divine, you two must certainly have quite the history. Perhaps you two could spin me a yarn?"

Finn and Phoebe exchanged soulful glances, if only for a moment. Then, they began telling the masked man their story, a story three years in the making. The young hero hardly believed it had already been three years since they met. The more crucial details of their relationship were covered in more detail. However, it seemed as though Finn's side only got more sorrowful.

The breakup was not where they ended it, though. After that, Phoebe told how she usurped the throne from her evil father, and then how he tried to take it back with Don Jon. Finn's mind sunk into shame with each detail told from the young queen's view. The guilt he felt with hindsight grew on him. He wished that he hadn't waited so long to mature.

"... but, we're really good friends now," she wrapped up, "And Finn's one of the only true friends I have."

"That's a very intriguing story you have. Very complicated. I like it," Amun said.

It was unclear just how long the story had lasted, but by that time, they had come to yet another chamber. This one was different from the last in the fact that instead of being a wide open room with stone everything, it was room with hardly anything but the pathway. The thin strip of stone dropped off on either side into an abyss without any end in sight. At the very end, beneath a ray of sunlight, was a torso mannequin figure, draped in a pitch black cloak. Amun stopped Finn and the queen with a hand to each shoulder.

He stared ahead, "Behind me. We don't know what's next."

They crossed the threshold onto the pathway, only for another voice to speak to them. Unlike the last, this one was a loud, yet a murmur. A whisper that resounded in their ears. "Who encroaches upon me?"

"I am called Amun," a breeze whisked through his violet hair.

"You are not of my kin, yet you take their name. Are you a thief?" it asked, then a stronger wind came with its sigh, "Never you mind. I wish not to know. What do you wish of me?"

The man stood firm and answered with as much confidence as he could, "I wish to proceed to the relic."

"What of my Son? Was it the mind or matter that defeated him?"

Amun was puzzled. He answered, "The mind?"

"Children. This man's words ring true?"

Phoebe and Finn looked to each other, then nodded to what they hoped was the voice. There was a long silence. Then, the spirit said, "The air does not lie. The air embraces and rarely buffets those who are surrounded by it. Lo, I have seen you pass my son's trial.

"My own trial was but a test of truth and honor and gentleness. You have but one trial remaining. Step into the arena."

The great room shook with vigor. All three of them struggled to maintain their balances. Two pillars of stone, both semi-circular, arose from the depths of the blackness. The came to meet the rest of the pathway with a resounding crash. Together, they made a huge circular floor.

"When the air is passive, you move with equal peace," the voice announced, "But, when the air buffets. You must learn to buffet back!"

The ground also shifted below their feet, forcing them into the arena. Amun's wide eyes didn't do anything to comfort the two younger teens either. Inside, he was panicking. Shit! We're not fighting Shu, are we?! We'll be slaughtered! "Both of you, be on guard! This is gonna be a hell of a fight!" he shouted.

With that, Phoebe was dropped into a combat stance and Finn's pure white sword was unsheathed. Amun stood straight up, left hand up and gripping the haft of his sword. They waited. The stone floor across from them softened into mud and rippled. It undulated and shifted until it rose out of its place in the ground to form two humanoid figures.

Amun's grip tightened, "Get ready."


Woo! I am back, baby! Hopefully, you liked this little chapter. Next chapter will include a nice battle, and maybe build on Finn and FP's little rekindle. Y'know. Stuff... Thangs...