-Never Letting Go-
The atmosphere was somehow peaceful, despite the ominous dark clouds blanketing the sky, the threatening light in the distance, and a torrential stream of high temperature flames being fired at a constant rate. Flame Princess had been holding that position for several minutes, each second filling her with fear and despair. She knew that Finn was invulnerable, but it didn't stop the girl from thinking if the rising temperature from her attack would eventually cook the human alive.
At the same time, she was holding back tears, wondering how she would go on if Finn really did fall. The boy would surely dissipate like the other Arcs, there was almost no doubt about that. Gone forever, out of her life, out of everyone elses, how would Ooo survive? How would she ever be happy again?
She halted her fire stream, exhausted and panting as her combustive body struggled to rebuild energy from the surrounding oxygen. In the meantime, a completely uninjured First Arc stood several yards away, in the middle of a charred space of ash and smoke. He blew aside a lock of hair that had fallen in his face earlier, then proceeded to walk forward.
FP looked up, hearing the human's footsteps as he came closer. The sight of him was both a relief and a burden. Nothing she did could stop him, and yet, if she didn't stop him, he would end her. Her mind desperately searched for alternate options, ones that didn't involve death.
Maybe, I could bring him back. Maybe he could break free of the control. His mind is strong after all.
Her thought process was interrupted as First Arc kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fly a few feet backwards and land on her back, groaning from the pain. She slowly propped herself up on her elbows, searching for the human. He was already walking to her again, prepared to cause further harm. Each hit was harmful in not one, but two ways.
Flame Princess was both physically injured each time and also emotionally. She could barely accept that Finn was actually attacking her, without mercy. The fire elemental was constantly reminding herself that it wasn't the hero's own actions. It was true he was strong, but not strong enough to fend off the brainwashing power of a wizard who had millennia of practice in hardening his influence.
Then I guess... I can't bring him back.
A lava tear fell to the grass, burning it up instantly. A shadow from above distracted the fiery girl from her internal pain, as she looked up to find First Arc standing over her, giving a blank expression.
"It's over."
He reached down, grabbing FP by the neck and holding her up off her feet. The elemental found it difficult to breath, as the human gave no slack to his grip. Just then, his hand gripped nothing. Flame Princess shifted into pure fire, slithering out of the boy's hold and reappearing behind him. She quickly formed a flame sword and slashed his back, hoping to at least disorient him from the strike. Unfortunately, it did nothing except set off a few sparks. FP was frozen as Finn turned around, taking hold of the blue fire that served as her weapon and crushing it, extinguishing the combustive blade. The young ruler shifted into a crimson ribbon once more, drifting out of First Arc's reach and suddenly beginning to loop that ribbon upwards, forming a towering inferno that gradually coalesced into the fire elemental's giant form. With only her face and forehead gem visible, Flame Princess looked down to the unaffected Finn, staring up at the newly sized opponent.
"Please, Finn, don't make me go on."
The human narrowed his eyes.
"That is entirely your choice. You just don't see how pointless it is for you to continue."
Seeing it hopeless, FP reluctantly drew back her fiery fist, then brought it down like a hammer on the boy below. She kept it up, sending numerous additional punches that rocked the very earth beneath her. And yet, her mind remained in conflict, knowing full well that Finn likely didn't have so much as a scratch but still worrying that he may be injured too much by her ferocity.
Unfortunately, her form was beginning to burn the landscape, forcing her to give in and shrink back to a more controlled size. Upon eyeing the smoking crater that her attacks had created, Flame Princess waited anxiously for Finn to walk out of it. As minutes pressed on however, she grew uneasy. There was no way he could've been finished by sheer brute force.
Carefully, she took one step at a time towards the pit, staying on guard in case First Arc was planning a surprise. Reaching the edge of the smoke, FP stopped, trying her best to gaze through the obstructive black air. Sadly, visibility was utterly cut, frustrating the fire elemental as she lost her patience.
"Dang it, Finn! Please just come ou-"
A fist came out of the smoke, striking her in the face and causing the fiery girl to stumble back a significant distance. A cry of pain was released from her mouth, as she placed a hand on her aching nose. The human emerged fully from the crater, unaffected by the previous beating.
"Why can't you just stop?"
Flame Princess looked the boy in his eyes, an expression of unyielding will etched into her amber gaze.
"Because, although you're not the free Finn that I know, your true self is still in there somewhere. I won't give up on you. You never gave up on me, so I couldn't live with myself knowing I didn't do the same."
First Arc scoffed.
"Pointless. Luckily, Elodeus doesn't have to deal with the likes of you. Such feeble reasoning will only get you killed."
He ran at the fire elemental, who braced herself and shot out several balls of combustion, which Finn naturally didn't bother to dodge, since they didn't impede his stride in the least. Just before he could lay another hit however, FP shifted into a fiery coil, wrapping herself around the human, who meaninglessly swatted at the cyclone of crimson fire surrounding him.
Growling in irritation, Finn attempted again and again to leave the swirling flames, only to be pushed back in by their high-speed turbulence. Flame Princess's face suddenly appeared on the wall of the blaze, staring with concern at the trapped human.
"Finn, you're stronger than this. Your heart is powerful."
Rather than listening, First Arc wiped off the sweat gathering on his forehead and flicked the salty drops rght into FP's eye. She yelped, retreating from her manifestation and reappearing outside the cyclone. Since control of the power was weakened, Finn had no trouble swiping his hand through the wall of the rapidly oscillating blaze, distorting it and allowing him to walk through without issue.
Flame Princess was quite exhausted by this point, barely able to stay on her feet. Finn, stoic as ever, stopped in front of her as the girl tried to back away. He grabbed her by the collar of her dress and brought his face closer to his.
"Any last words?"
The fire elemental gazed helplessly into his crimson eyes, unable to find even a hint of the Finn she knew inside their overshadowed pupils. However, if she was truly about to die, there was no reason to pass off the chance to prove to the human that she cared for him.
"Yes."
She weakly placed her hand on the boy's cheek, tears leaking out of her ducts as the Arc remained emotionless.
"I love you."
Being as he was impervious to harm, Flame Princess felt no remorse setting her lips on his. She could already feel her destructive core beginning to rise in power. Any moment now, it would cause her to explode, plummeting her down into the ground. However, due to her weakened state, it was highly unlikely that her ignition could burn out the planet, as predicted.
Suddenly, something unusual happened. Nothing. FP was so stunned, she opened her eyes and drew back her head, staring with bewilderment at First Arc. He seemed unaffected by what she'd just done.
"Strange that you didn't burn out, but it makes no difference."
He drew back his hand, forming it flat in preparation for impaling the elemental's abdomen. Meanwhile, FP still gazed with wide eyes, ignoring the flow of time as her mind wondered why no reaction had occurred. She thought back, replaying all recent events as if pressing the rewind button on her memories. The arrival of the Arcs, the investigations, the fighting, Third Arc's 'gift'.
The young ruler gasped mentally.
Tres...
A gift. What that gift was, Flame Princess had never quite understood. Until now. Reaching deep inside herself, the fiery girl focused on her volatile elemental matrix, only to realize it was quite volatile anymore. Such a bestowment went far further than simply correcting a genetic abnormality. The Arc had removed the danger she posed to others, granted her peace, and, most notably of all, brought her one step closer to being with the one she loved.
Of course, it meant nothing due to current events. At least, until FP's heart took over. In a flash, the elemental's hand reacted on its own, catching First Arc's attack and startling the human. He didn't have time to react, as FP's body temperature instantly skyrocketed, consuming both her and Finn in a column of light. It by no means rivaled the one far in the distance, but was definitely familiar enough so that those who knew the princess had an idea of what she'd done.
Now having complete control of her powers, Flame Princess had drilled an impressive pit into the ground, plummeting herself and the Arc far below the surface. However, the further they fell. the weaker she became, until finally, she was forced to stop, cut off from her abundant, fueling oxygen.
The feeling of weakness was prevalent, almost as if death was physically crushing her. Moving around her blurring vision, FP spotted Finn, getting to his feet in the limited space of the chamber where they had stopped falling. He groaned, unharmed, but clearly disoriented.
"What did you do?" he demanded in a groggy voice.
FP just smiled, despite her dimming flames.
"I remembered what happened when we first kissed. It was in that hole of the Earth that you risked your life to save mine. Now, I wanted to do the same for you."
First Arc narrowed his eyes.
"Saving me? You've got to be joking."
FP nodded weakly.
"Yes. Now, at the bottom of this pit, we can't even fight. The air is too thin for either of us to take much action."
The Arc bared his teeth.
"You fool."
Flame Princess's expression grew a hint of concern.
"What do you mean?"
The boy scoffed.
"Don't you understand? The air down here, it is too thin and scarce to keep us both alive. In trying to sacrifice yourself to save the one you care for, you only succeeded in the opposite."
He was visibly panting by this point.
"I may be an Arc, but I am still human. I still need to breath."
Finn slumped to his knees, too weak to stand.
"I suppose... I should congratulate you. You... figured out how to beat me."
Flame Princess watched, in horror, as the human slowly succumbed to the lack of oxygen. She hadn't thought it through, too impulsive and desperate. The fire elemental crawled over to him, placing her hand on his.
"Finn, don't give up. You can't let yourself go!"
The Arc took his hand away.
"Too... late. You and I... will perish here, and your friends... will soon follow. Elodeus will finally be free of... all interruptions and finish... his destruction... of the planet's life..."
First Arc collapsed, unable to stay conscious any longer. FP gathered him up in her arms, staring despairingly into his unresponsive shut eyes.
"Finn... no."
She began to sob into the boy's shirt, unable to accept how stupid she had been, and that the human was fading fast in her grasp. At that moment, she felt no different than if she were still locked in that accursed lantern. Trapped, alone, miserable, it all came back to her as Finn's form remained silent in her arms.
"No... no... NO!"
The chamber grew to unimaginable brightness, obscuring the activity within as the walls of the hole nearly vaporized from the intense heat following immediately afterward. After a few seconds, a body of light burst from the opening, quickly coming back down and crash landing several feet away, instantly burning the grass that happened to be anywhere near it.
As struggling embers attempted to continue glowing, Flame Princess cradled the unconscious Finn, waiting for something, anything, to occur. Her prayers were answered a moment later, when the boy's eyes slowly cracked open, moving around it their sockets before falling on the fire elemental's glowing face.
"FP..."
His ocean blue irises had returned, while the red circle on his chest shifted to blue as well. Flame Princess pulled him in as soon as her mind registered his voice, sobbing once again into his shoulder. The human struggled, but managed to place his hands around her back.
"I'm so sorry."
The fiery girl drew back, still gripping tightly to Finn's arms.
"You don't have to apologize, you weren't you."
The young hero frowned.
"I should've been stronger."
FP couldn't help but chuckle.
"Seriously? How could you get any stronger than you are now?"
At that, Finn let out a smile. He couldn't help it. Her laughter, her shining beauty, it just triggered something inside him.
"I guess."
He placed a hand on the princess's cheek.
"Goodbye... Flame Princess."
The fire elemental couldn't believe what he had just said, shaking him while her expression grew into panic.
"What!? What are you talking about?!"
Finn pointed to the beacon of light in the distance.
"The others will need your help, there's no time to waste watching me go."
FP frantically shook her head.
"No! You're not going to die! Y-you can't!"
The human sighed, setting his eyes down on his own body.
"It's too late."
Flame Princess followed his gaze, only to gasp in horror at seeing the phantasmal particles that were Finn's body blowing away in the gentle wind. Her grip on the boy's arms increased dramatically, as lava spilled onto his shirt.
"Not you... not you!"
Her voice was rapidly deteriorating, overwhelmed by the breaking of her hope that the hero's fate would somehow be different than his fellow Arcs. It was all a farce. After all, what did the world care how important he was? He was just another human, just like the rest of them. Finn held his smile, wiping away the fiery girl's tears.
"Please don't cry, FP."
The fire elemental suddenly tried to appear angry.
"I will! How could you expect me not to?"
The young hero simply widened his smile.
"Because, you're so strong."
He lifted his head, placing his lips again those of the glowing gal holding him. She accepted the contact, returning it as if by instinct. For a brief moment, they both forgot about the current situation, choosing instead to enjoy the time they had. The position remained up until FP lost sense of touch with the human's mouth. She opened her eyes, watching with heavy grief as Finn became harder and harder to see.
"Jake... said he loves you."
The hero nodded slightly.
"Tell him the same for me. And Flame Princess?"
She stared into his fading blue eyes.
"Y-yes?"
He squeezed her hand in his with the last of his solidity.
"I love you too..."
FP lost her hold on the boy, as his form finally disintegrated into the wind. The last thing she saw was his face, smiling warmly and those blue eyes filled with nothing but joy at having been with her until the very end.
She went on her knees, head hung, as Finn's essence floated away, taking a large part of her heart with it.
Remarkably, the closer everyone got to the beacon of light, the less actual light it gave off. Eventually, the gang caught sight of an object resting on the ground at the light's origin. The very same comet that Elodeus had landed with was still present, acting as his temporary base from which to eradicate the Earth's life. Once everyone made it close to the cosmic rock, Aaros warned them to stop.
Elodeus' robes shifted to black as he turned to face the newly arrived group, having noticed their approach. Immediately upon setting eyes on Aaros, he looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"Im-impossible..." the vile being stuttered.
The two wizards stared each other down, inseparable in their mental confrontation.
"It's been some time, Elodeus." responded a calm Aaros.
The gang fully expected their enemy to charge straight into an attack on their new ally, but were surprised to see no reaction beyond a deep glare of hatred.
"Uh, shouldn't you two be like, beating each other up?" Jake asked with confusion.
Aaros sighed.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. False light cannot fully interact with true light, and vice versa."
PB faced the wizard, wanting a fair bit of clarification.
"Tell us, what exactly is the difference between the two?"
Aaros hummed mnemonically and placed both hands on his cane.
"It is actually quite simple. False light is the core of corruption, the wellspring of lies, fake promises, arrogance, and delusions of grandeur."
He looked up to Elodeus, as the two steadily continued their face off.
"True light is the source of virtue, vindication, love, honesty, and selflessness."
The wizard pointed to the comet beneath Elodeus' feet.
"Due to the natural boundaries between us, I could not outright destroy this vicious man. All I could do was seal him away and hope that his power could never threaten the world again."
He sighed once more.
"I should have realized my own ignorance."
Elodeus smirked as he listened to the old man's confession.
"Indeed."
The wizard looked up, sensing an incoming presence. A grin was drawn on his lips as he saw a stream of particles approaching fast. The others noticed as well, captivated by the event.
"Wh-what is that?" Marceline asked in astonishment.
Elodeus held out his arms, revealing for the first time an ominous black circle embedded into his robes, which was independent of the shift between white and black. However, as everyone noticed, a part of the circle was missing. The particles quickly homed in on the evil being, finally being absorbed into the symbol and instantly filling in the last section of the ring. As it did so, the wizard laughed.
"And so, the Arcs have fallen."
The Ooo gang gasped, horrified by what those words meant. Jake shrunk down to his normal size, then fell to his knees.
"Finn... he was..."
Elodeus chuckled as he sat down on the comet, so consumed by his confidence that he saw no reason to take a defensive stance.
"That's right, dog. You're precious hero has failed me, as have the other humans. Such a pity. I was rather hoping at least one of you would have been killed by them."
He shrugged.
"Oh well. At least now, I'm back to full power!"
The beacon of light surged with energy, unleashing a white shockwave that spread out all over the grasslands and expanded the radius of influence the illumination held. Everyone kept their distance as Elodeus got back to his feet, twirling around his staff while grinning with villainous glee.
"Now, I believe it's time I ended this game."
A/N: Ok, so the scheduling is pretty much down the toilet, due to my inability to find enough time. But worry not, there are only four chapters left so you won't have to deal with my disorganization much longer.
Fiery Crusader: Suspense huh? Alright, I'll keep that in mind.
TheMentalAdventurer: Yep, final skirmish is up next.
DJ Rodriguez: I guess that counts as getting through.
OMAC001: It definitely took me a bit to figure out a way for him to lose.
I am The7: Nope, no worries at all.