First thing I have to say before this chapter, is that I haven't actually watched the beginning of the sixth series of Adventure Time but when reviews started coming in mentioning stuff such as the Citadel I had to do a bit of research. Spoilers for anybody who hasn't watched the sixth series, Finn actually does lose his arm. This was something I actually hadn't expected, I brought inspiration off that by the fact that both Farmworld Finn and Shoko (Finn's past life) both lost their arm. So...yea...
Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time
...
Opposed to using the carriage that they had ridden to arrive at the port, the group now rode atop Jake's back, the shapeshifting dog having had enlarged himself to giant proportions as to cross the country quickly. With Finn's returning, one could expect the human to be giving detailed accounts of how he slayed some giant beast. That was the Finn they remembered though, the Finn sitting before them seemed nothing other than a husk of what he once was.
It was clear that he was uncomfortable, whenever somebody looked at him their eyes couldn't help but drift to where his right arm once was. These were looks he'd know that he'd have to get used to however. "So if you're here, who's looking after the Fire Kingdom?" Finn asked of Flame Princess, trying to create some manner of small talk that didn't revolve around his adventures.
"The Fire Kingdom's actually run by a prime minister now who's assisted by a board of advisors," explained Flame Princess.
"Neat," said Finn, the first word he'd said that actually sounded like part of his fifteen year old self still existed. "So who's in charge?"
"Cinnamon Bun," said Flame Princess casually, something which caused Princess Bubblegum to almost fall off of Jake.
"Cinnamon Bun's in charge!" she shouted.
"Yea, he was elected by the citizens of the Fire Kingdom," explained Flame Princess. "He actually won by a landslide, barely any of the other candidates got any votes."
"That's...absurd," commented the leader of the Candy Kingdom unsure what else to say on the situation. The Flame Princess merely shrugged her shoulders in response, the kingdom being one of the last things she thought about during recent times. That being said however, if there was another uprising she wouldn't hesitate to right what was wronged, hopefully with Finn by her side once more.
"Alright guys, we're here," announced Jake as he begun to shrink, Marceline floating off of his back before Jake returned to his normal size.
"I'm going to head in and organise a party celebrating Finn's return," announced Princess Bubblegum.
"Please, don't," said Finn slowly.
"Are you sure Finn?" asked Princess Bubblegum.
"Maybe tomorrow, for now I just need to rest," said Finn.
"You're not resting until you tell us where you've been all this time," said Flame Princess putting her foot down.
"Don't force him," said Marceline looking out for her friend.
"No, I deserve to tell you guys that much," said Finn as he ran his fingers through his hair before rubbing the back of his head. "Mind if we do it back at my house though, I just feel like sitting down somewhere where I'm not going to be mobbed."
"There's going to be a problem on that one man," said Jake.
"What do you mean?" asked Finn confused.
"Well after you'd left, I couldn't really stay living there by myself," explained Jake. "I moved out three years ago and moved in with Lady. Nobodies been at the house for ages, it's probably full of spiders and junk."
"Not really," said Marceline as she floated nearby. Her comment caused all eyes to fall on her as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Once a month, I head to your old place and give it a once over with a rag and whatnot, just to keep it clean."
"What, were you thinking of moving in or something?" asked Flame Princess curiously.
"Actually I was just keeping it clean on the off chance that one day Finn was going to come back," said Marceline with the slightest of blushes on her cheeks, something which went relatively unseen.
"That was nice of you," said Princess Bubblegum.
"Thanks for that," said Finn.
"Yea well it just so happens that your house gets some wicked sick acoustic vibrations so I also did some solo jamming there," said Marceline as she did her best to save face.
"That's fine," said Finn. "I guess if you want we can all meet up there tonight, I reckon I'm just going to try and get a nap in or something. I'm pretty exhausted."
"Sure thing Finn," said Princess Bubblegum. "I'll arrange for a party tomorrow but I won't tell any of the citizens what it's about. Marceline, will you be willing to play some music during the festivities?"
"Shouldn't be a problem," said Marceline with a shrug of the shoulders.
"Alright then, I'll see you all tonight," said Princess Bubblegum before giving a polite wave and making her way towards the towering doors to her kingdom.
"Lady and I will head on back to our place and mix up a big bowl of spaghetti for you, how does that sound?" asked Jake.
"Sounds great man," said Finn.
"Alright then, see you later," said Jake as he hopped on to Lady's back.
"God dangsin-eulbogo," said Lady before she took off, her form painting a vibrant display of colours in front of a blue background.
"I guess I'll head back to my place for now and get ready for tonight," said Flame Princess before moving forward and embracing Finn in a split second hug as to not burn anymore of his clothes. "Thanks for coming home."
Before Finn could utter a response, Flame Princess burned her way across the fields at a rate that could barely be followed by the naked eye leaving only Finn and Marceline alone outside of the Candy Kingdom. "So what are your plans?" asked Finn.
"Might just come chill at yours for a while, kind of got some new inspirations for songs so I might take a crack at writing them down," said Marceline with a shrug of the shoulders. "Not like I got anything better to do these days."
"I thought you usually slept during the middle of the day," said Finn as he began the steady walk back to his old house, Marceline floating beside him.
"I don't really need that much sleep in general," said Marceline. "So long as I can get a few hours in around sunrise I should be fine for the rest of the day. Mostly though if I don't actually have anything on then I don't bother getting up."
"So you had something to do today?" asked Finn.
"Well me, Bonnibel and Flame Princess keep meeting every now and again, today just happened to be one of those days," said the vampire. "If you had rocked up any other day then chances were that you weren't going to be getting a welcome part like the one that you did."
"That may have been better," said Finn honestly causing Marceline to give him a curious look. "I would've just liked a few days to settle back in, find a routine or something before being paraded around like a hero."
"But you are a hero," said Marceline recalling all of the heroics that Finn had achieved.
"Was," said Finn solemnly which caused the vampire to go silent. She could see that he was uncomfortable about the topic and knew not to press into anything that he wouldn't want to speak of just yet, much how he had been patient with in the past.
The rest of the walk was a silent one as Marceline hid underneath the shade that the umbrella offered. As they reached the ever familiar building, Finn paused a moment to look it all over. "Looks like it's grown," he commented.
"Only a couple of feet," said Marceline. "Some of the branches might need clipping but it's nothing too serious."
"Guess I'll get on to that in the next couple of days," said Finn as he moved the final few steps before reaching his front door. A little rust had formed on the hinges over the years but it still wielded easily to Finn's force. Just as Marceline had said, the scene Finn found himself looking at was a rather clean one albeit that Jake had obviously taken most of the stuff when he had left years earlier.
"Home sweet home?" said Marceline hoping to get a cheerful reaction from the blond.
"I guess, at least I have a roof over my head," said Finn as Marceline closed the door behind her before putting away the umbrella, no longer needing it now that she was inside. "How much stuff did Jake take with him?"
"He left most of the larger stuff here," explained the vampire. "Couches and the fridge, along with your bed and most of your clothes. Don't really think he had it in him to chuck them all away."
"That's good to know," said Finn as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I trust you can entertain yourself for a few hours before everybody else gets here."
"Might as well work on a few tracks for tomorrow night," said Marceline remembering how Princess Bubblegum had asked her to play at Finn's return party. "You just get some sleep, you look knackered."
"I feel knackered," said Finn before a loud yawn escaped his lips. "Excuse me. Anyways, I'll see you shortly."
"Sure thing," said Marceline as she watched Finn ascend the ladder towards his bedroom before making her way to the music studio she had installed in the building. Finn was set on auto mode however as he moved instinctually through the house, even though years had passed by his body seemed to know where to go before his mind had registered what was going on. It didn't take him long to reach his safehaven and he quickly tossed the covers of his bed aside and crawled underneath the sheats. Almost immediately he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him sapping whatever remaining strength he had left. Barely a minute passed after he had covered himself with his sheets before sleep overtook him.
...
Finn awoke groggily, his eyes only just opening to find that the sun was setting on the horizon. The reason he had been awoken was the melody he could hear reverberating through the house. It wasn't loud by any means, but it had broken him out of his sleep.
Pushing himself to a sitting position, he stretched out his arm before rubbing the place where his right arm once was, the skin tender to the touch. Considering the size of the scar, he doubted whether it would ever lose the tenderness. Perhaps it was better this way, a reminder of what had happened.
It would always be a reminder.
Rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes, Finn got to his feet and made his way to the wardrobe. Thankfully when Jake had vacated years earlier he had chosen not to toss out all of Finn's old clothes, whether out of nostalgia or some other reason Finn didn't know. Even though everything was a little small it would still do until he went and picked up some new clothes over the coming days.
The music continued to play as he got himself dressed. Every now and again the music would cut out, Finn imagined that Marceline was using these breaks to write either lyrics or add to a sheet of music. Working his way through the familiar rooms of the house, Finn followed the noise trail and peaked his head through the doorway where the sound was originating from. Marceline, seemingly sensing that she was suddenly being watched, turned around just in time to see Finn appear.
"Thought you would have been asleep for longer," she commented. "Sorry if I woke you."
"I'll sleep later," said Finn. "Finish your song?"
"Just about, adding the final touches now," said Marceline.
"Is it appropriate for the party tomorrow, I remember you like to sing some stuff which gets on PB's nerves," said Finn recalling past memories.
"It's a little bleak, but there's happiness to it as well," said Marceline. "Not my usual style but it fits the situation."
"Can I hear it?" asked Finn innocently.
"Well...I guess it's okay," said Marceline as she picked up her bass. "It's still a rough draft, the final product will be ready by tomorrow but a demo session won't hurt."
Finn made his way over to a couch that had been left behind from when Jake vacated all those years ago while Marceline tuned her instrument appropriately, plucking the strings several times to make sure the tuning was just right. As her song began Finn couldn't help but become immediately entranced by the music, lost in the rhythm that the vampire created. As she began to sing however he became even more captivated to the song, leaning in as to not miss a single lyric.
"There is something that I fear
Everytime that you are near
Feelings burning at my core
Something I cannot ignore
We have gone our separate ways
Making our emotions sway
Please don't let it end like this
Friendships drowning in abyss
It's like there's fire in my veins
Slowly driving me insane
I'm not meant to feel this way
Please tell me I am not okay
Churning deep inside
Twisting at my mind
Burning with desire
This internal fire
It's like there's fire in my veins
Slowly driving me insane
I'm not meant to feel this way
Please tell me I am not okay
It's like there's fire in my veins
Slowly driving me insane
There is nothing I can do
Every time I think of you"
Finn blinked a handful of times as the song came to a conclusion, Marceline allowing the last note to hang in the air for several seconds. "Marci," said Finn slowly as the vampire put down her instrument. "While it's great, I'm not quite sure if that song would be suitable tomorrow."
"Yea...I guess you're right," said Marceline as she struggled to look Finn in the eye. "It is kind of a personal song."
"Is it for someone special?" asked Finn.
Thankfully his question went unanswered as the someone knocked on the door several times causing Finn's attention to shift. "Yo Finn, you up yet?" shouted Jake from the other side of the house.
"Sweet, Jake and Lady must be here," said Finn as he got up from his seat and made his way to go welcome his brother back to the old house. Marceline hung in the air, her arms crossing as she rubbed her shoulders as if a shiver had travelled across her spine.
"It's for you Finn," she said softly, answering Finn's question to an empty area.
"Are you coming Marceline?" asked Finn as he poked his head back into the room.
"Give me a minute," said Marceline dismissing the human before spending a handful of seconds composing herself. Before anybody else decided to pop their head in to check on her she made her way out into the central room where the guests that had arrived were whilst waiting for the rest to soon follow.
...
Once everybody had arrived and had eaten the food that Jake had prepared, they had all gathered around in a circle where all attention was on Finn, the human seemingly not minding being the centre of attention.
"Geulaeseo museun il-i iss-eossneunji malhae Finn," said Lady Rainicorn as she rested with her head in Jake's lap, her body circling round itself several times as to not take up too much space.
"Yea Finn, tell us," said Princess Bubblegum hoping that she wasn't putting too much pressure on the human.
Finn looked around at his closest friends, breathing deeply as he prepared to tell his tale.
...
Hope you enjoyed.
