I own nothing! And yay for summer givng me inspiration to finish this! Yes! I will complete this!

Four- Connections

Waves, large monstrous black waves with angry faces crash down upon her. The sky is a thick rumbling ceiling with clouds, noise and spilling water. She's a child again, huddled in the corner holding a precious, screaming bundle in her arms. Her parents are figures half hidden in the swirling dark, doing things she only recognizes now because she's done them herself, but as a child were still mysterious. There's a rumble, a blinding flash and she's no longer holding the bundle. Now someone else is holding her, it is her mother. She is hanging on for dear life and screaming out into the dark. Bethilda looks and sees two dim figures. It is her father and surprisingly Finn. She continues to glare into the storm and what she sees confuses her more. Her father is not struggling or trying to reach them as he does in her memories, instead he is actually laughing and waving placidly. But what disturbs her more is that his cries are the same.

"Bethilda! Nadine! I'll see you in the land of Ooo! Just hang on!"

She looks to her smiling brother; Finn is laughing and waving as well…why is one of his arms made of metal? She tries to shout to them, to tell them to wait for her because she knows what happens next and she doesn't want to be alone.

She blinks; it is now dry and bright. She's in an ill-fitting black dress and standing next to a newly filled grave, she doesn't need to read the headstone to know whose it is. An old man with her father's face and her eyes weeps next to her. It is after the service and they are alone, only rows of seats as empty as the condolences from the people that once sat in them remain. Another blink and now she is older, another funeral has occurred but this time it is for only one person. She is in another black dress but it fits much better now. She stands alone and does not weep, the person this grave is for died a long time ago.

A wind begins to blow and her loose hair flies around her, it is the new shocking blue she has come to actually like. She turns and now she is on her little boat but instead of floating on an ocean of water it is a sea of molten rock. That damn sea monster is staring down at her, much bigger and fiercer then it ever truly was in life. Flames spout from the body and a forked tongue flicks around from an open maw, it gnashes its red hot teeth and lunges. She gripes her grandfather's old sword, a weapon that in reality she had had to trade to that fisherman for the boat she now stood on. She jumps impossibly high to meet her enemy, despite the fear that is screaming in her heart she is ready.

Beth gasps, a silent scream stretching her mouth into a large 'o'. She groans," I hate it when I have nightmares."

She stares at the wooden ceiling of her brother's living room, concentrating on her breath and the fact that she was no longer alone. It is early morning and all is silent, if she concentrates she can hear Finn and Jake sleeping, their snores audible but not obnoxious. With another weary sigh she knows she is not going back to sleep and sits up on the couch. She's hadn't had a nightmare or dream concerning her parents for a few months now; she guessed that the large talk yesterday was what triggered the end to that.

Stifling a yawn she looks down at her mother's old pack, an item of its contents beckoning her. After a minute worth of mental debate she relents and fishes inside for the old scrapbook. It is the "proof" that she mentioned yesterday, filled with family photos and clippings of her parents' many achievements that had made it to the public notice. She looks through it all slowly and begins to hum. It is an old song, a little thing from the days of old before the war. Her father used to sing to her as a lullaby; just as his father did for him and his mother did for him before that. In a soft voice she began the words,

"Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.

Taking a break from all your worries; sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came.

You wanna be where you can see our troubles are all the same.

You wanna be where everybody knows your name…."

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Finn turned and twisted in bed, smacking his lips as he groggily got up. He was thirsty; gazing around the room he idly took in his surroundings. Taking a look at Jake he saw his brother was still dead to the world, his back leg twitching every now and again as he snored softly. As the young man slowly came to his senses he became aware of two things: one was that it was early morning and another was a faint sound coming from downstairs. As he made his way over he realized it was slightly accented singing, the words shifting from the language he recognized to one that was similar but yet still different; as silent as a mouse he crept down the steps listening to soft words.

"…Where everybody knows your name; And they're always glad you came;

Where everybody knows your name, And they're always glad you came..."

As he makes his way into the living room he lets himself make some noise by purposefully stepping on the creaky floorboard near the couch. Beth had finished singing just as he did this and suddenly looked up, a small gasp escaping her lips.

He smiled, "That was a nice song; did you make it up?"

She returned his smile with one of her own and shook her head, "No, it's an old lullaby Dad used to sing to me when I had nightmares or was feeling low. He called it the "Cheers song" because it was supposed to "bring cheer to all who heard it because it reminds them of home or people who feel like home." Well that's what he said anyway."

She laughs at the memory of her father's whimsy and Finn laughs with her.

He looks at his sister and sees that her blue hair is loose and sits just past her shoulders, she is wearing an oversized orange shirt with a black skull on it. The neck-hole big enough for one of her shoulders to poke through, the sleeves hang limply around her slim arms. A bit of rope is looped around her neck and leads to something underneath her shirt. He notices the book in Beth's lap and sees that it is full of pictures and clippings. The picture she was waving around yesterday is also in her lap, as if to compare the past and the present side by side.

She notices his look," It's the proof I was telling you about yesterday, would you like to see?"

As she pats the space next to her on the couch Finn feels his heart start thumping in his chest and he makes his way forward but stops when his parched throat reminds him of why he woke up in the first place. "Before that I need some water, want anything?"

"Some water sounds awesome right now, actually." Her mouth tasted of morning breath, gross.

Finn nodded his head and went to the kitchen, grabbing two glasses and filling them up he looked out the window and idly noticed all the daggers sticking out of the ground. He smiled; there would be a good harvest today. He made his way back to the living room and sat next to Beth, handing a glass to his sister he takes a sip and leans over to check out the book. After taking a drink herself and setting down her glass Beth accommodates her brother by shifting the book over until it is halfway on both their laps.

She turns back to the first page; it is full of old photos. "I made this while I was growing up, I collected all the photos and scraps I could to help myself remember them and to not feel so alone."

He looks at her sad smile and nods his head in understanding. He looks down at the photos and notices an old black and white photo of a boy about his age, on his face is a large smile and on his head is a familiar looking hat, except the ears are more to the side and fatter.

"That's our Dad's dad when he was a boy; old Grandpa Alphonse was just as much an adventurer as our dad was."

"His hat…it looks like mine."

"Yeah that hat is another tradition in Lupe; all children are given an item representing their family seal."

"Family seal?"

"Yeah it's like…a small drawing representing your family group and stuff. Like for the House of Mertens-that's the formal way they say it over there- our seal is a picture of a white bear with a green back ground." She quickly closes the book and points to the cover; on it is the said 'seal' she was talking about.

"Oooohhh, I get it now. Princess Bubblegum has the same thing except she calls it a different word I can't remember right now." Nodding her head Beth reopens the book and points to the picture they were looking at before.

"The way our family decided to do it was that all of the boys born to the family would be given a bear hat and all the girls would be given a necklace with a pendant; both made or found by the parents or current guardians." Finn felt a surge of happiness and regret that the hat he now had was not the original, but he had kept the basic principal so there was that.

Beth then reaches into her shirt for the rope and reveals that it ties to a pendant. It was a metal backed square filled with smooth, pretty, pale green stones that had been shaped to fit around a single white stone flecked with a few shiny colors in the middle. Said stone had been shaped to look like a bear when viewed from the side.

"(Whistle) is that pale jade and opal? Man, that is a nice piece of jewelry there girl." Both turned in surprise to see Jake standing in front of them, he held a mug of steaming tea in his hand.

"Jake! When did you get here?" asked a surprised Finn.

Beth simply stared at the dog that had managed to sneak up on them, she gripped her pendant in two hands as if to protect it from further scrutiny. She trusted Jake but the dog wasn't the first to appreciate its value, that's why she had taken to wearing it under her clothes instead of in the open as was custom.

The dog shrugged, "Um, about the time she started talking about your hat and why you have one."

He gave a small laugh. "Sorry about scaring you, I just didn't want to interrupt the moment until appropriate. So can I get in on this info session?"

Finn looked at Beth who had gotten over her initial shock and had re-hidden her pendant away again, she smiled. "Sure, take a seat next to Finn." The magical dog did just that and with a little readjustment all three could plainly see the book.

And that is how they spent their morning, Beth introducing the two to a family with a legacy as diverse as that of Joshua and Margaret Dog.

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The mighty ruler of the Flame Kingdom, Flame King, grumbled moodily. Reminding his daughter of her evil nature was not going as according to plan, hell, he hadn't had any progress at all! It was that damn boy's fault; his showing her how to feel and to like destroying evil instead of being evil burned the patriarch up in a way that was not good.

He growled again, he remembered how he had tried to whisper in his daughter's ear just this morning and she had effortlessly batted him away and even managed to banish him from her home. The strength held within her was already proving to be a match for his own fire powers, if this kept up and she grew to control them completely then all his plans would be for not. And even worse he most likely would be overthrown by his little Ignacia and be left alive to see her take his place and probably return his domain to how it was under his goody good brother.

How embarrassing.

He growled again and slumped a little in his throne; lost in his own head he did not hear the little flame servant until he was cowering right at his feet.

"Um…. your Majesty?" The King of Flames turned his head, the use of the ancient tongue bringing him out of his head. "What is it wyrm?"

"T-hat wizard that does the weird things with rocks and minerals is here."

Ah, that's why he spoke the old flame language. His subjects never really did like outsiders; they took to speaking the old tongue when powerful ones were around so they could not overhear anything vital. Smart yet paranoid if you asked him, but what can you do?

"Very well, I will meet with him in my study." The servant nodded and crawled away, the King then turned to his court.

"All is adjourned, return tomorrow to resume court."

No one argued, as his subjects left his halls Flame King made his way to his study. When he entered he saw his visitor lounging in a flaming metal chair, the tell-tale blue glow of flame-shield coming from a spelled amulet stating why the fleshy man wasn't writhing in agony at the moment. He didn't know how old exactly the man was but he knew the wizard had been around for a long time, his young appearance making things more confusing.

Under the obscuring haze of blue the man had red-gray skin and coal-black hair growing as long hair tied back and a long, wispy mustache-goatee combo that had managed to grow to his mid chest. He wore clothes made of a combination of dark grey cloth, metal and dark leathers; to cover it all he wore a matching grey cloak with the hood up.

Making his way into the room and taking a seat on the other side of his special desk Flame King put on a grin and said "Ah Jarlath the Alchemist, what reason brings you here?"

Jarlath looked over and pasted on a grin of his own, "Good morn Flame King, not good news I'm afraid. I'm sure you know of the failed attack on your daughter?"

"Yes, seems your golems were subdued by that boy Finn and his company." The King laughed heartily at the man, making him visibly blush with anger.

"I would have succeeded if I had been given the right times on when she would be alone, instead of my small army of special-lava rock golems overpowering the little firebird they were defeated by those two humans and that magical dog! All thanks to your information."

The sorcerer was fuming with indignant rage at not being able to claim his prize. Flame King had promised his daughter's hand to the wizard years ago in exchange for a co-ruling spot in the sorcerer's plan to take control of Ooo.

The dark-caster had insisted that his interest in his child was purely for her volatile powers but the King knew the man had been smitten the moment he laid eyes on the girl years ago. Even if he wasn't power hungry he would want to marry his "little firebug"; the King had approved because none the less things would work out for the Fire Kingdom.

Whether the man took control of Ooo or not his daughter would have been released on the world and-due to have being confined in that lamp- would destroy it all in the interest of her domain. And her husband would do nothing because he cared about her too much. Hah.

Or that's how it would have been if not for that thrice blasted boy, may he be cursed to die by fire before ascending to the 39th Dead World. He should not have ever allowed him in his court. Now the king would be lucky if his daughter at least killed the sorcerer, let alone go along with his plans. She had met the fleshy before and had expressed no interest in him whatsoever. She had even made fun of him when their interview was over. So that's why the monarch never got around to telling her they were betrothed, just simply decided to tell her after it happened. Not like she would recognize the rituals for a flame wedding anyway.

Flame King would have laughed again at the "young" man but something occurred to him.

" Wait did you say two humans?"

The sorcerer grumped, "Yes, at first it was just the boy and the dog. And my golems were still wearing them down because they did not know how to defeat my lovely creatures but then she had to show up! That new human that's been running around Ooo just had to appear and aid them."

The King raised a crackling brow, "I thought that was just rumor spreading around, I mean everyone knows there hasn't been another human in this part of the world for quite a number of years. And now suddenly one shows up and it just happens to be the sister of the one resident human hero? And has connections to that isolationist Huntress Wizard? Impossible."

"It's not, believe me. I had met her before. A few days before hand I had been testing the effectiveness of my golems on some stupid village of tree people. They had just barely began to do some good damage when Huntress Wizard and that woman…Beth-something, decided to crash the party. Immediately they begin knocking apart my golems thanks to that sorceress detecting their power source and saved all the villagers."

The King simply stared; "One of your own kind aided in defeating you and you only seem to hold ire for the human woman."

The Alchemist shrugged, "Meh, sometimes wizards stop or mess with other wizards. All it really does is aid us in perfecting our stuff but that….human….." He trailed off for a moment and grumped again, his agitation obvious.

After a moment he said, "Only wizards or heroes should interfere with another wizard's business. Plebian fleshies should mind their own business unless they're being victims."

Flame King had to resist the urge to grip the bridge of his non-existent nose. Sorcerers. They were all the same.

"You realize that since she helped "save" a princess-my daughter- from danger she's at this point technically a hero?"

Another grump, "Don't remind me."

Heaving a small sigh Flame King said, "Was there some reason you came by other than to inform me of your failure?"

With a small frown on the his face Jarlath said, "Yes actually, I wanted to take a look at that lamp you used to house Flame Princess in, I have a new plan in the works to capture her.

"Ah, yes. Come along then, I'll show it to you."

Good, if the Alchemist could manage to capture his daughter she would be under both of their power. He had been unable to take her himself because his damned family defended her choice, even his own sons had threatened him if he dared go near her or the human boy. Not that he really feared their strength but pushing all of his offspring against himself would be a very stupid idea. So here he was with this sorcerer of rocks and minerals doing what he could to get his girl back.

The two malignantly aligned males left the study and walked down the corridor toward Flame Princess's old prison.