A/N: I've spent so much time just trying to get through the first dungeon that I'm gonna have to remember which one I was going to have them go to next... So, this chapter will be a little scattered. Forewarning, haha.


Chapter 5

The sweltering heat of summer in the Grasslands was accompanied by an orchestra of crickets, birds, and cicadas. The sun was already set, but midsummer was relentless. Stars speckled the sky and clouds of farther stars trailed all over. There was no moon, so darkness washed over Finn, Phoebe, and Amun on their journey back to Finn's home. Only, the peace of the night was currently being interrupted.

"You lost your arm?!" Phoebe's panicked expression frightened Finn slightly.

Actually, it was enough to stop the three adventurers in their tracks. "Well, yeah. But, I mean, it's back now. See?" Finn waved the new right arm, "Good as new!"

Phoebe, however, was too caught up in the fact that Finn had gone and lost his entire arm. He had shown her the thorn in his hand when they discussed their year. It kind of saddened the fiery young woman. It sounded like he wasn't having any trouble moving on from her and was living the life of a hero. Maybe she had driven him off, even as a friend, after the incident she liked to call the "Red Throne" incident.

But, her logic still stood. Finn had been immature and a burden to the mission. Phoebe grabbed hold of his arm and inspected it, "And this is because of your grass sword?"

"Yup. Curses gonna curse, y'know."

Amun motioned for them to get moving and commented, "Cursed objects that bind to a body part, limb, or appendage are particularly hard to be rid of. I've heard of different accounts where people have cut off limbs, only to have the limb return with the object."

Finn shrugged, and the princess sighed. "What about you, FP?" he asked.

"What about me?"

"Your hair looks nice," he said, and lifted a hand to touch, only to hesitate and retract, "Have you recovered from that poison that your servant slipped you?"

Phoebe blinked, "Y-Yeah, Finn. That was a while ago."

Flustered now, the hero's face grew red and his hand flew up into his hat to scratch his hair. "Well, y'know, I worry sometimes. It's kinda my fault that things didn't go so well and you weren't looking too good then. So, when I saw that your hair was nice and glow-y, I just thought I'd ask."

"That's sweet, Finn. Thanks," she smiled, and the trio fell into silence.

They walked for a while before Amun spoke, "I won't be sticking around for too long. Sorry, but I need to gather the relics as quickly as I can."

Finn's Treefort was in sight now. Said owner was not pleased, "What? You're leaving?"

"Yes," he said, curt as ever, "You helped me get through Nut's sanctum. I won't ask for more help than I need."

"But, I really wanna help now," Finn cried out, "Whatever's going on, it sounds like the rest of Ooo is involved. I have to play my part as the Hero of Ooo!"

A laugh rang out, but not Amun's or his own. It was a laugh of amusement. The air darkened, thickened, almost suffocated the three of them. A new voice pierced the air, "So, this is your band of misfits? 'Amun', is that what you call yourself now?"

Amun froze. His eyes widened. Suddenly, he couldn't move. Fear gripped his whole body. Finn and Phoebe watched as a man no taller or older than Amun came up behind him.

He was human, and his skin was tanner than Amun's, almost bronze. Black hair was slicked back neatly, white teeth smirked jokingly at them. His clothes were a darkly colored blazer over a t-shirt with jeans and shoes. On his back, a scabbard was strapped securely, and each of his hands held an object. One held a simple yo-yo, and the other held a golden scepter with the head of a falcon.

The yoyo went down and up, down and up, then came to rest in his hand. That same arm came around Amun's shoulder, who was still frozen and slightly trembling. One of the man's eyes was closed, leaving the other open. His open eye was outlined thickly in markings that made it look distinctly like the Eye of Horus. His iris was a golden yellow and had a reptilian slit for a pupil.

On his forehead, another eye made of light glowed. "Y'know, I was in a market just the other day, 'Amun,'" he chuckled mockingly at the name, "Made me think of you. Or, at least, that tart you used to tool around with-"

Amun took in a sharp breath and tensed, glaring into the other man's face. The man came off his shoulder. He put his hands up in mock surrender before meandering to the center of the trio and continued to sling the yo-yo. "Guess I really shouldn't call her a tart. Bit rude, I guess. Ruder still, I haven't introduced myself," he turned to Finn, "My name is Set. A pleasure."

Finn's puzzled expression morphed into hatred, "You're Set? The one who murdered everyone in Amun's village?"

"Is that what he told you?"

"Yeah!" Finn said.

"And you believe him?"

"I'll believe him over scum like you," Finn snarled.

"A shame. You really shouldn't," Set's smirk widened when Finn faltered, "I mean, you're helping someone you don't even know?"

Finn's resolve returned, "I'm a hero. That's what I do."

"And how many people have you really helped in the past year, Finn?" he laughed, "I've been keeping an eye on you, Finn. You really have potential to be so much more than you are. You should be doing whatever you want, being whatever you want-" he looked at Phoebe.

The glow of the eye over his forehead intensified.

"- and having whatever you want-" he was cut off by a quick blow to his face.

Finn snarled at Set, "You don't look at her like that!"

"Finn," Amun's voice stern, "Don't pick a fight with him!"

Once again, Set's amused laugh echoed in the night, "That was cute, Finn, defending your girlfriend like that. But, I digress."

Amun watched as Set turned back to him and sling the yo-yo once more, "I think I've done enough in terms of introductions. I think I'm gonna go and try to get some more of the relics. There's only four left to get, y'know. Go ahead and keep the cloak. It'll give me a nice challenge."

He went up to Amun and patted his masked face with the backside of his yo-yo hand, "I look forward to seeing how much you've grown in these past years, 'Amun.' Maybe it'll be like old times again."

And with that, he vanished into a cloud of smoke.

When Set was gone, Amun's eyes hardened, "Then, we don't have time to relax."

His breath was still shaking, but his fists were clenched. He continued, "Finn. I'm going to need your help to retrieve these relics before Set can."

Amun looked up at the stars and then to the pair of teens, "If we move now, we can make it to the next sanctum-"

"Amun, I know you wanna get the relics before that guy," Finn started, his fists were also clenched, "But, we're all tired. I can see the bags under your eyes. You haven't slept in days, even before you got to the Fire Kingdom. If we try to go now, we won't get far."

Now, the oldest of them looked down, glaring at the ground. Phoebe pitched in, "Finn's right. We don't want you to cause more harm to yourself than necessary getting these relics."

Wordlessly, and still glaring downward, Amun made his way to the Treefort and sat down next to the door. "Wake me at first light. That's when we leave."

Finn sighed and went over to him, "C'mon. You're not sleeping out here when I've got a perfectly good couch."

But, when the man refused, Finn huffed and made to lift him to his feet by his underarms. Unfortunately, his hand caught in the cloth around Amun's shoulders. As this happened, Amun's eyes widened and his hand flew to keep it pressed to his body. He put a couple feet between himself and the other human, still covering where his mouth was presumed to be. "Don't you get it?" he shouted, "If we don't get these things and keep them away from Set, or better yet, kill Set, the world as we know it will end! I don't know what you think this is- a quest or a silly game- but it is neither. This is the fate of Ooo!"

At this point, Jake was drawn outside, "What's goin' on? Finn, y'all okay out here?"

Finn, who was more than a little stunned (as well as Phoebe), nodded, "Yeah, Jake. Let's... Let's just go get some sleep."

"Alrighty," he saw them in, but stopped Finn at the door, "Wait, what about New Guy?"

"He wants to sleep outside," Finn sounded irritated at first, but he then sighed, "Leave the door unlocked, Jake."

The dog nodded to his brother. Later on that same night, Phoebe sat on the couch with Finn. Of course, there was a layer of tin foil beneath her. But that was hardly a problem before, and it still wasn't a problem. It was late into the night and they were hardly awake. Finn drowsily asked, "Can we trust him?

Phoebe's response was slurred with sleep, "I dunno. Whateves you pick, I trust you, Finn."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Briefly, the pair laughed softly. They were then silent until Finn's breath steadied and he fell into slumber. Phoebe, with one final thought, pondered the fact that she had never slept over at the Treefort.

And the small rock the Finn kept, carefully preserved on the coffee table; the one that had a pair of lip marks scorched into the surface.


In front of a small fire, a figure sat, slinging a yo-yo up and down. The glow beneath the skin of his forehead was not as bright as before, but Set's mind was elsewhere. He had two of the relics and Amun now had three. Breathing deeply, he mused aloud, "All heroes are corruptible, if you plant a little doubt in 'em. Finn, my friend, you will share my fate or you will suffer his."

Set sunk to the ground from atop the log, lounged against it, and enjoyed the forest noises. His rich voice echoed with a chuckle, "Just a little bit of time. And a little lust."

A series of clicks behind him drew him from his thoughts. Another one of those towering, grey abominations stood hunched over to meet his eyes. It clicked, he responded, "You've found the circlets? Then, we don't need to worry about the amulet. Let them have it.

"I'll just take it from him when the time comes. Who knows? Maybe he'll hand it over and see things my way."

Again, just once more, Set laughed at the future and murmured, "I will bring order to this world, just as the Divine wishes of me."

His available eye closed and the markings vanished, along with the glowing eye, as he slept.


IMPORTANT WEIRD NOTES: Sorry if this chapter is shorter than the other chapters, but I'm not so great at in between chapters. And since I didn't want this to merely be filler, I decided to introduce the villain and expand upon what our heroes are facing. Also, apologies if the fluff is a bit lacking. I feel like things would need to go relatively slowly and carefully with these two after what all happened between them. So, next chapter, we dive into the next dungeon. Until then, bye!