Chapter 2: Jake and Jermaine

August 22, 3124...

Grasslands, OOO...

"Mom? What're you doing to Finn?"

Margaret jumped in surprise and turned around to see Jake standing behind her with a curious expression. The magical dog had seen his mother place Finn in the center of the field. Where she then threw water, dirt, objects, and other stuff at him in hopes of getting something out of him.

Jake turns his attention to his younger brother, who had a annoyed and hurt expression on his face.

"Mom...I don't think Finn likes what you're doing to him.."

He kept smelling burned dirt from Finn. Did they throw fire at him?

"Oh don't be silly Jake. I'm just...uh...oh! I'm just trying to test his reflexes."

"Oh."

Jake turns to Finn, who continues to be annoyed at the amount of things that made a mess to his clothes.

"Hey Finn!"

The human boy gave notice to his older brother and looked at him with full attention.

"You suck at dodging!"

A growl came from the boy's throat. Steam of heated water came from the clothes of the human as a small blue spark appeared in his clenched fists. With a huff, Finn knelled down and grabbed a handful of dirt. Reeling back his arm, he yelled at Jake,

"HEY JAKE!"

The yellow pup had stopped laughing and looked to his furious brother.

"DODGE THIS!"

In the last second, a blue spark bounced off of the human's hand and ignited the dirt for a bit, before cooling down. The dirt flew at blinding speed before it hit the yellow pup as he groaned.

Margaret widened her eyes as she saw a blue spark coming from the dirt. Could it be that Finn's power is slowly coming? Prismo did say that the wish may take a while because Finn's a bit young. Could this be a sign?

"OH GLOB IT STINGS!"

Margaret turned towards her pup and saw that his face was completely red from burns. She gasped as Jake ran towards a lake near their home.

"Hehe.."

The mother turned around to see her youngest have a tiny, sinister smile on his face. It sent shivers down her spine when that expression appeared on her Finn's face. The pressure of the facial intent put weight on her back.

His eyes glowed white for a second before it dimmed down to its normal shading. Steam no longer emitted from him as he looked down at his dirtied shirt.

"Man...now I have to take a bath again..."

Finn sighed as he walked back towards the house, waiting for either his mother or father to prepare the bathtub for him.

Margaret stared concerned at the human lad. That intent that came from Finn was unsettling to say the least. The mother dog had a thought process running through her mind to find out why Finn reacted the way he did.

She tensed as she finally recalled Prismo's warning.

"Alright...I don't like it, but I'll do it. I'll give him powers. BUT! You two need to know that these powers can affect Finn's mind as well. They affect his stability, emotion, and thought process. So please once they begin to show, train Finn so he won't have outburst that may cause horrifying results.."

"Oh dear..."

Margaret prayed to Glob that her Finnegan won't go down the route of Evil because of what her and Joshua wished for...

October 30, 3125...

Grasslands, OOO

"Finn?"

The flame boy turned aggressively towards the two dogs. Tears of lava dripped from his face and sparked the grass. His breathing became more and more hectic as the grip of his sword became tighter.

Jake looked towards Jermaine and motioned him to back away a little bit. The heat from the flames started to become unbearable to withstand. They locked onto Finn, who still looks like he's ready to kill.

Jermaine breathed in deeply and exhaled calmly. Yes everything came to crump the moment Mom and Dad died, but he has to become a big brother, along with Jake, in order to guide Finn in a world of Monsters and Demons.

Sweat coming down his face and the look of nervousness set on Jermaine, he began to speak to the angry child.

"Finn.."

The flame boy growled as he took one small step towards the dogs.

"Buddy please. Its ok. They're gone. They're dead..."

Deep breathing was all he was given as a response. Jermaine looked to Jake for him to speak up. Finn is clearly unstable and he needs the both of them to reach out towards their younger brother. They don't know where he got this power from, or even how he got it. But right now, they need him to control it.

He has too.

"Finn...look. You did it. You beat them all. It's ok. It's ok...You won. Mom and Dad...Mo...Mom and Dad...hic...Th...They're fine..."

Tears fell from Jake's eyes as he set his attention towards the motionless bodies of their parents. Jermaine bit back a wail as a torrent of tears flowed down his cheeks. The weight of a loss began to set in between the two. The adrenaline began to fade as despair fills in the gap.

Finn slowly turns his attention towards the bodies and froze. His white glowing eyes widened and his breathing hitched at the sight of Margaret's and Joshua's corpses. The grip slowly loosens and the blue sword drops to the ground.

The sword slowly reverted back to its red color as the Demon Blood Sword. Finn slowly walks towards the bodies and stopped halfway. Tears of lava began to flow down furiously and burn the grass below him. Sobbing chokes came from the boy as he clenched the center of his chest and fell to his knees.

"Chk...khk...tch...Ma...D..Da.."

Words failed to leave Finn's mouth as sadness began to take control of the boy's mind. Jake and Jermaine stepped closer to their brother, even when they feel extreme heat coming from him, no pain can compare to the deaths of your parents.

The two dogs wrapped their arms around their brother and held him with them. The three brothers cried for their Mom and Dad together as the sound of fire begins to die down...

October 31, 3125

Grasslands,OOO

The morning sun shines down onto the Grasslands. Normally birds would be chirping and animals would be thriving. However, there is nothing but mournful silence as two graves were present in front of a broken and destroyed home. Three boys stood in front of the graves as they both hold a flower in each hand.

Multiple tear drops clashed with the dirt from the graves. 3 flowers were set between them as erratic breathing was heard.

Jake wipes his eyes as he put on Joshua's hat in remembrance. A picture frame was gripped tightly by his hand as he continued to stare down at the graves.

'Mom...Dad...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a bad influence...I'm sorry for being part of that gang...I'm sorry for not being there...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. Please...please forgive me'

Jake ignored the buzzing that came from his makeshift pocket and continued wiping the torrent of tears from his eyes. The magical dog looked towards his brothers and see that they too are having a hard time. Jermaine grind his teeth together as hard as he could to prevent from wailing out loud. He knew that if he did, it would start as a trigger point for all three of them.

The middle child clenched his fist tightly as he remembered that he did nothing when Kee-Oth brought that demon horde and killed Joshua and Margaret. He never felt so pathetic in his life. To be helpless. Spineless. Worthless. And the cost of being cowardly was the lives of their parents.

Jermaine looked up and set his attention to the destroyed house. His tear filled eyes grew to a glare as he made a promise in his mind.

'Mom...Dad...I'm sorry for being weak...I'm sorry for being scared...I'm sorry for doing nothing while those monsters attacked you guys...if it weren't for Finn...We've would've died too...I promise you guys...I will do anything...anything...to keep him safe. I will help him grow...I will help Jake too...I will make you proud. No matter what..'

Jake looked up and saw Jermaine walking towards their destroyed home. He could hear clatters and crashes from the broken debris as Jermaine continued to walk to his destination.

"Jermaine? Bro what are you doing?"

CRASH!

The sound of a wall breaking down startled both Finn and Jake as the eldest dog began to march rapidly towards their brother.

"JERMAINE! WHAT THE GROP ARE YOU DOING!?"

"FINDING THIS!"

Jake paused as he saw Margaret's crossbow in Jermiane's hand. The weapon looked undamaged and in clean condition as if nothing had actually touched it. Jake felt the dam breaking once again when he saw their mother's prized weapon. Jermaine walked out of the destroyed house with a determined look as tears flowed down once again.

"I'm done running away..."

"Huh?"

Jake gave a confused response to his brother's claim.

"I'm done running Jake...I'm done hiding...I'm done being weak...I'm done being a coward..."

"Wha-? Jermaine? Y-You weren't a cowar-"

"YES I WAS!"

Jake and Finn flinched at Jermaine's yell. His voice sounded so frustrated and broken. Jake had no idea that his brother felt like this. He really didn't think he was a coward. They were 14 years old in dog years for Glob's sake! They're teenagers! What would they suppose to do?

"Yes I was...I'm a coward...to my last whimper...I didn't do anything...nothing...I heard Mom's screams...I did nothing...I...I feel pathetic...Mo...Mom was right there...the sword...w...was right next to me...I..I co...I could've saved her...but I...I couldn't move..."

Jake and Finn saw Jermaine breaking down once more. To think that their brother felt this way...it's speechless. Jake gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. He refused to let his younger brother feel this way. It was not his fault.

It was not his fault. It wasn't Finn's either...It was no one's but Kee-Oth. When that donk died by Finn's hand, Jake felt joy. Joy that their parents' were avenged. But that didn't fill in the gap in their hearts.

Jake walked up to Jermaine and hugged his brother tightly.

"Stop...stop it...Stop blaming yourself...its...it wasn't your fault. We're still kids bro...you were scared...I was scared...Finn was scared...We can't...We can't stay like this...Blaming ourselves because they're gone...They don't want that.."

Jake used his powers to stretch his arm to fetch Finn. He wrapped his arm around Finn's waist and carried him directly towards the hug.

"I promise you guys...No matter what...Promise that we stay together...We grow together...Fight together...Make names together...Make Mom and Dad proud together. No matter what...I'll always be there for you two."

'No matter what...'

Jake ignored the buzzing once more as he held both Jermaine and Finn together tightly. He felt Finn's tears hit his shoulder, but that's ok. He needs to let it all out so they can continue on with their lives.

Finn trembled and held onto Jake with every ounce of his remaining strength. He failed to save them. He failed to be a hero. He failed as a son. While he did receive his powers during the ambush, it wasn't worth it in Finn's eyes since the trigger was his parents' deaths.

Finn held the Demon Blood Sword tightly as he fell to the ground onto his knees. He stared at the broken home, a home he once called his happy place, and walked towards it. Jake and Jermaine glanced at the little guy to see what was he planning and waited for him to finish.

"Finn?"

The human ignored his brother as he continued to walk to the remains of his parents' room. He pushed away the broken debris of the wall and saw a box hidden under the floor. Finn used the sword to cut the wood in order to get an opening to the box.

The human reached within the hole he created and opened the hidden box. What he saw made him tear up even greater.

Jake and Jermaine rushed towards their little brother and widened their eyes when they saw an oversized green backpack with a note attached to it.

Jake pulled the letter off of the backup and began scanning it to see what it said.

Hey buddy! Yer mom and I got you this here backpack so you can keep your stuff in it. We see you have trouble keeping your weapons and treasures everytime we take you boys out to dungeons. Hopefully this'll help you champ. You're gonna be a great hero one day Finn. I know you will be.

Happy Birthday champ!

Love Mom and Dad...

Drip...

Drip...

Shaking breathes left Jake's mouth as tears dripped from his eyes and fell onto the letter. His hand shaking as he tries to hold it together. Jermaine took a glimpse at the letter as well and felt the dam breaking once more.

The brothers gathered again as they stared at the green backpack, the last gift from their parents.

Finn clenched his fists together as he stood up along with Jake and Jermaine. The three boys walked away from the broken home and looked towards the valley of grass.

'Mom...Dad...I will make you proud. I'll use these powers to help people...people that are helpless. Powerless...I won't make the same mistake like I did with you guys.'

Finn's facial expression changed to a determined glare.

'I will become the hero that you will be proud of.'

Jake wiped his eyes and looked back to the graves. He clenched his fist and tipped his father's hat as he looked back to the horizon.

'Mom...Dad. I won't disappoint you anymore. Not again. I can't afford to mess up. Not when I have Finn and Jermaine looking up to me. I promise to be the best gosh darn brother in the world. I promise you...'

Jermaine collected his mother's crossbow and stared at it for a moment. He closed his eyes and basked in the feeling. He could feel their mother guiding him about how to hold a crossbow. He opened his eyes and glared at the valley.

'Mom...Dad...I'm going to learn how to fight. I know I didn't care when you guys tried to teach me...And I was a idiot for not taking those lessons seriously. Because look what happened...You're both gone...and we're all alone. I promise you that I'll look after Finn. I'll help Jake. I will be someone that you will be proud of.'

The three boys walked towards the valley, not noticing two shadows looking over them. Smiling...and Proud...They dispersed for a brief moment as the boys looked back to their graves once more.

'Bye mom...bye dad...I love you guys so much...We'll miss you...'

And just like that...a new journey has been made. The world will soon gain three heroes and three warriors. No matter the outcome, they will find a way.

Hehe...

2nd chapter done. Man coming up with this stuff is harder than I thought. But it is what it is.

Till next time!