(That was more like it with the reviews for the last chapter, those who did review the last chapter and gave their name, got a sneak preview of this chapter if they wanted it. But now you all get the whole thing.)

Chapter 12 Birds of a Feather

Jake was stretched out on the couch of the tree fort's first floor, playing one of the many games Beemo offered. The dog let out a long and depressing sigh, not taking his eyes away from the small screen.

"Beemo, you need to make some new games. Because the ones you got now are either beaten or just plain boring." Beemo crossed his arms before he spoke.

"Well I'm sorry, but what you see is what you get." Jake continued to play the game until the screen read 'YOU WIN', and then he tossed the controller in Beemo's direction.

"You're a stupid computer you know that" Jake said flatly. Beemo's face reappeared on the screen and it looked angry.

"I don't like to be called stupid, Jake." Jake realized he had taken a wrong step and was about to apologize, but was interrupted by Finn calling his name.

Finn came down the ladder that led to his room. To prepare for his date with Anna tonight he had done almost two of everything; washing his hair and body, brushing his teeth, and putting on deodorant. Finn had also left his bear hat in his room and styled his hair so that he looked very presentable. Finn wore a white T-shirt which was under a plaid short-sleeved dress shirt with turquoise as it's dominate color, dark blue jeans and his regular black shoes. Soturi had taught Finn how to compress his valta into curved lines that wrap around his right forearm. A person would only think these little lines as nothing but small tattoos if they didn't know better.

"Whatcha' think?" Finn asked. Jake was so surprised at Finn's new look, he was almost at a loss for words.

"Wow! You look great dude."

"Thanks, I've been mentally preparing myself for tonight for a while now." Finn said as he made his way to the front door.

"Well, good luck." Finn had just opened the door half way and stopped when he had to do a double take. He turned to Jake with a concerned face.

"That's it, all I'm getting is just good luck."

"What do you mean?"

"Well if anything you'd be tagging along, giving me advice whether I need it or not. Why?" Jake looked at his brother and gave him a small grin.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking ever since we dragged those three out of the cryogenic tubes. I knew that the chance of you and PB becoming a couple were between slim and none and I also knew you'd try to go for Anna since she's, well you know, human."

"That's still not answering my question, Jake."

"Well then let me finish." Jake sat silent for a few seconds so he could regain his train of thought. "And the reason that I'm letting you go by yourself is because Anna wants Finn the Human, not Finn in a lute suit." Finn nodded at Jake with a big smile.

"Thanks Jake, don't wait up." Finn said as he stepped outside the door and closed it.

Jake relaxed back on the couch as he looked around the room. He realized that Beemo had disappeared. Jake immediately sat up and called Beemo's name. The dog began to rummage around for the talking computer. Unbeknownst to him, Beemo was watching Jake from the shadows, plotting like a mad scientist. "If the dog wants a new game, I shall give him a new game."

As Finn walked to Anna's house, his mind began to wander. He started thinking about how tonight could go very, very wrong. He thought of everything from a random thief trying to mug them, to a giant rabid squirrel attack. Finn was so caught up in his worries that he didn't notice his destination was only a few feet in front of him. The only thing that snapped Finn out of his trance was him actually walking into the side of the house.

"Okay, I really need to stop thinking like that." Finn said to himself as he made his way to the front door. He took a deep breath and knocked. Several seconds later Michal opened the door and let him in.

"I'll see if she's ready. Make you self at home." The Captain gestured to the couch where Eli and Marceline were sitting together. Since Finn and Eli were nearly killed a week ago, Finn's and Anna's date had turned into a double-date. Anna gave the biggest argument for this conclusion, but she learned to live with it only because Marceline was as stubborn as she was intimidating.

Finn sat down in a chair and waited for his date. The boy was so nervous, yet so happy at the same time. He tried to make some conversation with the couple on the couch, but the way Marceline was dressed, with her very short jeans, and tight black blouse made Finn feel very uncomfortable. After a minute of awkwardness, Finn was overjoyed to hear two sets of footsteps coming down the hall. He stood up to greet his date but stopped in mid-sentence when he actually saw Anna. She was wearing a light blue dress with a glistening pink trim around the short sleeves and the edge of the dress, with the small amount of make up on her face and the new curls in her hair made Anna's face look almost as if it was glowing. She had her left arm tucked around her back and holding on to the opposite arm, which was raised to greet Finn.

"Hey Finn." She said timidly.

Finn honestly couldn't process much of anything, he was struck in awe at how beautiful Anna looked. The only thing that brought Finn back to earth was Soturi's voice. 'Are you just going to stand there like an idiot, or are you going to do something.'

"Wow Anna, you-you look amazing." He said, and the girl thanked him with a small smile. Finn turned his head to tell Eli and Marceline that they were ready to leave but found that both of them were already outside, waiting for the adventurer and his date. So Finn and Anna walked side by side to the door.

"Finn." Michal said from across the room. Finn stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the Captain, who was now sitting on the couch. "Don't you forget what I told you now." Finn let out a nervous laugh.

"I don't think that's possible." Finn said as he rubbed his throat. Before Finn walked out to rejoin the group, he saw a very satisfied smile on Michal's face.

"So where exactly are we going?" Anna asked.

"It's a new club that's kinda like your house, except it's carved out of a small mountain just on the other side of Red Rock pass. And we better leave now or the place might be packed, 'cause it's couple's night." Marceline happily answered. Yet the only person who had a problem with it was Finn.

"Uh Marce', Red Rock pass is like a two hour walk from here."

"Who said we were walking." Eli said as he wrapped on of his arms around Marceline's waist.

Marceline was holding Finn and Eli by the arms as she flew through the air at very fast speeds. She twisted her head to see Anna on her back, holding on for dear life. "You okay, kid?" Marceline asked. Anna shook her head 'yes' slowly, then changed her mind and shook her head fiercely 'no'. The Queen brought down her speed for the girl's sake, and after ten minutes of flight, they reached their destination. The inside of Club Cave was an amazing display of flashing lights and loud music, with the dance floor packed with creatures of every shape, color, size, and weight class.

"This place is actually kinda cool." Anna said before the two couples parted from each other and joined the dancing crowd.

For about an hour the scene didn't change much. Only when the DJ dimmed the flashing lights and put on a slow song, did most of the crowd decide to take a breather. Whoever was left on the dance floor had found a partner to share a dance with. Marceline's and Eli's arms were wrapped around each other, and neither one wanted to be anywhere else. Marceline looked up into Eli's brown eyes and bared the tips of her fangs as she smiled. Eli did the same as he slowly leaned in for a kiss, but before he closed his eyes, they saw something that he thought was just plain crazy. He turned his head slightly to make sure what he had seen was correct, and it was.

"Unbelievable." He whispered. Marceline turned her head as well, only because of her curiosity.

"What, what is… oh." Both could hardly believe what they seeing, Finn and Anna were sitting at a table with drinks in hands and just talking to each other. Eli and Marceline tried to ignore the picture and returned to their dance, but the expressions on both of their faces said that they couldn't just stand there and let this happen, so they gave in. "I'll get Anna if you get Finn." Marceline blurted out.

"Works for me." Eli said as he broke away from his girlfriend and walked toward Finn and Anna.

"Okay you two, up now!" Eli commanded. Finn and Anna were a little surprised when Eli barged in on their conversation.

"Why?" Finn asked.

"Because we can't just watch you two waste an opportunity like this."

"We?" Anna asked before she was yanked up by invisible hands and dragged toward the dance floor. Marceline made herself visible as Eli did the same thing with Finn. They hauled Finn and Anna to the center of the dance floor, where they were forced together. Eli put Finn's hands on Anna's waist and Marceline wrapped Anna's arms around Finn's neck. Before the two left to return to their own dance, Eli whispered in Finn's ear.

"Have fun."

After a brief moment of awkwardness , Finn and Anna started their dance. If past experiences had taught anyone, anything, it would be that Finn's entire face would be about as red as a cherry right now. But the only thing on his face at the moment was a smile. As the new couple enjoyed their dance, Soturi's voice rang through Finn's mind once again.

'You are a very lucky man, Finn.' The boy kept up his calm actions as he spoke his mind.

'Soturi, with all due respect, shut the hell up.'

The two couples made their way out of the cave, enjoying the conversation that all of them were sharing. But the minute they were far enough from the club, Marceline drifted up about a foot in the air. "So, are you guys ready to go home?" Eli and Finn had established their answers with a simple nod, but Anna knew that they'd be flying back and she didn't want to go through that again.

"No!" She exclaimed. Anna salvaged her composure and spoke in a calmer tone. "Why do we have to be in such a rush? We could just walk, I mean, it is a beautiful night." With that said, everyone looked up towards the heavens. Their eyes widened as the sky held every star in the Milky Way Galaxy as if it were a gargantuan work of art, without a single cloud to shield their view. They were struck with awe at the sight. "Oh thank God, it is." Anna whispered to herself.

"Out of my thousand years of existence, I don't think I've ever seen the night sky like this." Marceline said.

"Then I think we can all agree with Anna that we should walk." Eli said as he took hold of Marceline and held her close.

The four began their two hour walk home, but as far as they knew, they were alone. After they had crossed Red Rock pass, they were feeling as if they were being watched. Yet they overlooked it because of the joyous time they were having.

"We've been in Ooo for what, half a year now."

"That sounds about right."

"Then Anna, that means that this is the first year that we've missed our Christmas tradition."

"That's right. I guess it'll never happen again anyway."

"What was your tradition?" Finn asked. Eli was happy to answer first.

"Well every year, we'd sit down as a family and watch 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'." "Even when Dad was overseas, we still watched it as a family with our dad watching through a webcam. All three of us know the song by heart."

"Then can me and Finn hear this song?" Marceline asked. The two siblings looked at each other with enlightened faces before they spoke in unison. "Why not." Eli and Anna cleared their throats prior to singing the long forgotten song.

"You're a mean one, Mister Grinch
You really are a heel,
You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as
charming as an eel, Mister Grinch,

You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel!

You're a monster, Mister Grinch,
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in you soul, Mister Grinch

I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!

You're a vile one, Mister Grinch,
You have termites in your smile,
You have all the tender sweetness of a
seasick crocodile, Mister Grinch,

Given the choice between the two of you I'd take the… seasick crocodi…"

Eli was cut short in the middle of the verse, when an invisible hand grasped his neck and lifted him up. Marceline, Finn and Anna were very surprised at this. Eli grabbed the arm that was attached the invisible hand around his throat and pulled himself up so that he could breath. As the hand became visible, along with the rest of the body it was attached to. The figure had bluish-gray skin like Marceline's, he only had three long stands of snow white hair on the top of his head. He was wearing a black shirt and pants, the shirt sleeves torn at the shoulders. He was looking at the human in his grip with an expression of frustration. Marceline instantly recognized the person who was holding her boyfriend was an angry ex-boyfriend.

"Ash! What the hell are you doing!?"

"I'm making you realize that you're still in love with me, Mar-Mar." Ash said, not taking his red eyes off of Eli. Finn and Marceline could have easily fought off the Vampire Queen's ex-boyfriend, but because he could easily snap Eli's neck like a twig, they stayed at a distance.

Ash maneuvered his right hand into the small pouch at his waist and pulled out a small crystal that he kept in his fist. "Do you know what's in my hand, mortal?" Ash said as calmly as he could manage. Eli answered in that way he almost always does, in joke form.

"I'm hoping, anti-psychotic meds that you haven't taken yet." Ash tightened his grip on Eli's neck to shut him up.

"No, this is a crystal with magic properties. All I need to do is break the crystal and speak the name of what ever I want dead and the crystal will kill that person, slowly and painfully. It only works once and with a simple touch of the hand, and if it's any consolation to you mortal. Getting back Marceline and bringing the human race that much closer to extinction, will bring me lots of satisfaction"

"Ash." Marceline walked cautiously towards him as she spoke. "Please just listen to me, I broke up with you for a damn good reason and then I moved on. You should have done the same. I love Eli and I know I always will, no matter what you do to him." Eli couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Marceline, his grip ain't gettin' any looser." Marceline ignore Eli and continued on.

"What I'm trying to say is that you need someone else to obsess over." She didn't know it, not at first anyway, but what Marceline said made one of Ash's nerves snap. Ash clenched his right hand in anger, and accidentally broke the crystal.

"I'm not obsessed with some bitch vampire!" Ash screamed as he back-handed Marceline. The magic from the crystal amplified the force of Ash's slap and it sent Marceline down to the ground. Ash realized his mistake and dropped Eli so he could help Marceline, who was screaming in pain.

Once Eli was no longer in jeopardy, Finn lunged forward, tackling Ash like a linebacker. Ash easily threw Finn off of him and towards a thick tree. The only reason Finn didn't get up immediately was that he was activating his valta. Ash staggered back up, only to be confronted with a furious Eli.

"You're gonna' pay for all of that you son of a bitch." Eli said as he took out the one of his swords he had brought and ignited the blade. He swung the weapon twice before plunging the tip into the vampire's gut.

"You think that's gonna hurt me?" Ash said with almost a laugh in his voice.

"Then tell me how this feels." Finn said as he shot a beam of energy from hiss palm and with the angle from which he shot from, the beam had obliterated Ash's entire left arm. He stumbled backward, with Eli's sword still implanted in his abdomen. Eli didn't question the strange beam of energy, he merely took the opportunity to retrieve his sword and use the crescent-shaped hilt like brass knuckles on Ash, who was still screaming in pain from his lost arm. With Ash lying on his back, Eli stepped up to him and lifted his chin with the end of his sword.

"If you ever come back for Marceline, I swear that I'll hold nothing back and kill you. Now get out of my sight." Ash didn't want to admit it, but he had been beaten by two mortals. One had blown his arm clean off. He growled as he slowly stood up and disappeared. With Ash gone, everything grew silent and Eli then realized that Marceline wasn't screaming anymore.

He had realized this around the same time Finn did, because they both ran towards her, yet Eli was running a bit faster. The three humans herded around the vampire. Eli knelt down and lifted her up.

"Is she okay?" Anna asked. Eli didn't exactly know if she was in fact 'all right', mainly because he was feeling something that a vampire shouldn't have, a pulse.

"Finn, take Anna home." Eli said firmly as he stood up with Marceline in his arms, her head fell backwards as if she was a asleep.

"But Eli, I can…"

"I said take my sister home!" Eli was known for his childlike attitude, but when he addressed Finn, it was like a drill sergeant had spoken those words. Finn didn't want to argue with Eli, so he did as he was told. He took Anna by the hand and led her away. The both kept on walking, but occasionally looked back to see if Eli was following them. He wasn't. Eli was walking in the opposite direction, headed for Marceline's house. The entire walk back to Anna's home was void of any kind of conversation, even though the two walked hand in hand. When they reached the front door, Finn got the nerve to say something.

"So, aside from all of that, did you have a good time?" Anna gave him an innocent smile before she answered.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"Then do you think that we should do this again, with just the two of us." Anna leaned in and kissed Finn on the cheek.

"Definitely." She bid Finn goodnight as she entered her house. Finn began his trek back to his own house, but as he took the first few steps, he raised both of his arms in the air triumphantly.

Eli still had Marceline in his arms when he saw the cave where her house was. Marceline might have been a light weight, but after the long walk she was starting to get heavy. Slowly Marceline regained her consciousness and when she opened her eyes she looked up to Eli and mumbled his name. Eli stopped dead in his tracks and looked down.

"Marce, are you okay?" She took a few seconds to respond, but she did.

"Yea I'm fine. Where are we?"

"We're about a hundred feet from your cave."

"Okay, put me down, I want to walk the rest of the way." Eli slowly set Marceline on her feet. She wobbled a little but maintained her balance. As the two walked on, Eli helped Marceline only when she needed it. The couple walked up onto her porch and through the door.

Once Eli had found the light switch he flipped it on, and when he turned back to Marceline, his breath had been catch in his throat. It was the first time Eli saw her in the light. Her bluish-gray skin had been turned into a very pale pink, the two bite marks on her neck had disappeared just the same as her fangs did.

"Marceline, I-I think that crystal that Ash had, turned you into a human." She gave herself an exanimation and Eli was right, Marceline was now as human as Eli. "I'm kinda sorry tonight ended the way it did." Eli said.

"Eli, you don't have to be sorry, I'm actually happy that I'm a human now." Marceline walked back to the door and shut it with a mischievous smile. "Besides, who said tonight was over."

( I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, or a happy What Ever Doesn't Offend You)