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Finn and Marceline were walking for about half an hour as they drew closer to their destination, but as they did the fissures and terrain grew worse, Finn felt like he was in a valley of boulders, having to climb over raised chunks of earth to just jump down or face even more chunks in his way. The fissures lowered in quantity, but were much larger and longer than the ones from before. Marceline even had to pick Finn up to float them over a twenty foot gap than ran for miles that made a detour around the fissure difficult.
Finn was enjoying hanging out with Marceline, he started to remember the old times when he first met her, became her henchman, and all the way to the point he found out about her past. That's one of the reasons why Finn went easier on Simon, because he meant so much to the Vampire Queen.
Finn realized just how much Marceline was on his mind as they continued to travel to the mountain crater, getting closer to their destination each minute. He blamed it on the fact that they were adventuring together at the moment, but he felt deep down it was something else more complicated, he brushed it off as he looked up at the empty blue sky above. A trail of smoke caught his attention, originating not far ahead of them behind a large wall of torn earth that was raised almost ninety degrees. Finn pulled on the back of Marceline's tank top to get her attention.
Marceline was watching their surroundings carefully for loose ground that could lead to a hidden fissure below. She didn't realize how dangerous the place was since she could fly, but the thought of her human friend falling to his death made her as protective as a mother bear. She knew that they had another half hour to go at their current pace and she didn't mind. She enjoyed Finn's company even if they didn't say much. "Im glad brain lord isn't here to ruin our fun." Marceline thought to herself, bringing the pink loving princess to mind. They had rekindled their friendship a few years back, but Marceline didn't like being with her all the time, it caused people to talk behind their backs. Thanks to Marceline's heightened Vampire senses though she could hear the people talking, spreading rumors about them being in a romantic relationship, it made Marceline want to hurl. She did love Bubblegum, but it was the type of love Finn and his brother Jake shared, the love of best friends and that was all she felt. So she distanced herself from Bubblegum after telling her the situation, and spent a large amount of her unending time with Finn after he turned seventeen.
She was snapped out of her recollection of past events and observation of the area when she felt a tug on the back of her tank top. She looked back towards Finn who was pointing at a trial of smoke originating from ahead of them. "Marcy was that there when you first found this place?" Finn asked as he began to walk quickly past Marceline who was awe struck by the sight of smoke so far out here. The only thing she ever saw out here that was close to causing fires was a nomadic tribe of cyclopes that would travel to the river near the Fire Kingdom to re-supply their water.
"They would never make a fire unless it was night though, they feared the smoke getting spotted by bandits if they lit a fire during the day." Marceline thought as she gazed at the thick gray trail flowing through the sky before it disappeared only to be replaced by more smoke. "Finn, somethings wrong, the only civilization out here is a tribe of cyclopes." Finn was obviously about to ask what was wrong until he remembered how many bandits were in the Desert Lands, making a fire during the day that would have a smoke trail was a death wish. "We need to investigate now." Finn said in a serious tone, his face lowering into an alert expression as he ran forward towards the source of the smoke, his exhaustion replaced by adrenaline and the will to help anyone in danger.
Marceline quickly followed behind well holding her hat onto her head as she flew faster to keep up with Finn. She was surprised how much ground they had covered, but she also knew the area well enough to know another large fissure was coming up as the only obstacle between them and the nomad tribe. Marceline could hear Finn's black sneakers hitting the ground ahead of her. The fissure was now in view looking to be about twelve meters wide, Marceline felt terror fill her chest as she saw Finn try to stop, only to have his momentum carry him closer to the edge of the dark fate below in the fissure. Marceline luckily grabbed on Finn's hands before he fell off the edge of the cliff and lifted him up and onto the other side, dropping him a few meters away from the wall of torn earth that the nomadic tribe was supposed to be behind.
Marceline collapsed next to Finn who was panting on his hands and knees from the shock of almost falling to his death. He could have sworn he saw the sharp tips of stalagmites gleaming hungrily against the light, waiting for a new victim to fall and meet a tragic end on the sharp rock formations below. Finn stuttered over his words as he began to slowly recompose himself and speak. "T-Thank you Marcy, you saved my life." Finn looked up at Marceline with a half-smile which quickly faded to concern as the Vampire Queen glared at Finn sternly, her green eyes now blood red, her raven black hair splitting and whipping around angrily as Marceline yelled at Finn, her full set of sharp teeth visible as she raised her voice. "Be more careful you doofus! What if I didn't reach you in time!? Magic tears can't bring you back from the dead! Do you know how everyone would feel!? Especially how I would feel if you had… had…" Marceline's yelling turned to sobs as tears flowed down the sides of Marceline's face until they dripped on the cracked earth below, immediately being absorbed into the parched sand and rock. Marceline's tears fell faster as sorrow filled her being. "I don't want to lose you too Finn…" She sobbed out as Marceline shut her eyes tight to protect herself, as if the mere color of the world would offset her.
Suddenly Marceline felt something warm pulling her close well something wrapped around her body holding her securely, yet gently as if to protect her. She slowly opened her eyes to see Finn embracing her, tears at the edges of his blue eyes as he began to run his left hand down from the top of her head to the back of her neck in an effort to comfort his dear friend.
Marceline's face flushed red hot in embarrassment at first as she continued to cry, but it died down to a soft pink blush as Finn's attempts to comfort her began to work. Due to Marceline being a vampire she was always stuck with her body temperature being cold. Even when she fooled around in the Fire Kingdom, it didn't even affect her temperature heavily. It was one of the things she both liked and hated about being a vampire. Even so she felt the warmth of Finn's body heat spread to her in a wave of comfort and exhilaration as her sobbing began to die down, only a few tears falling before all the sorrow was blown away when Finn spoke after a few minutes, speaking in a soft almost motherly tone. "You won't lose me Marcy, I promise you that. I will always be here. I made that choice and I always will. I am a hero, but not just any hero, I am also your hero Marcy." Finn's words cut deep into Marceline. She had not truly opened herself up due to all the pain she suffered from loss and betrayal, but she realized at the caring human's words and the way she acted with him helped her see that the hero she once teased and saw as a joke had quickly grew to be important to Marceline. He had not only proved himself as a dear friend, but as someone she could depend heavily on and this helped to further blossom her feelings towards Finn. She mentally laughed as a smile spread across her face well she gently stood up, gently pushing Finn off her. "I guess I will let him be my hero for a while. Even if I know these feelings will only cause us both pain." As a way for re-establishing her pride she decided to tease Finn. "Wow Finn I didn't know you had become such a smooth talker. Have you been practicing to use your skills on Bubblegum or do you say that to all the girls you like?" She said, her voice still a bit shaky, but retaining her sarcastic tone. Finn replied quickly with a serious look and a light, almost unnoticeable blush on his face. "I will have you know, neither Marcy. I truly meant the things I said to you, they came from my heart and that is how I will always feel." Finn turned around and stomped off towards the the rock formation that led to the other side of the wall well also mentally kicking himself in the ass for getting all worked up and blurting out the embarrassing things he said. "Ugh… She is going to think im weird for getting all worked up over her joke!"
Marceline had a satisfied smile on her face from her teasing being successful and from Finn's serious response to her as she watched him stomp away. She wiped the remnants of her tears away and let out a soft giggle escape her mouth from the happiness she felt before getting serious and letting everything sink in again. She then started to float again and followed after Finn who had now slowed down to a walk, looked over his shoulder from time to time to make sure she was still there and not too far away.
A smile crossed Finn's face when Marceline caught up to him, glad she was alright now. He now focused on the task at hand, investigating the nomadic tribe for the source of the smoke, Finn went around the large wall of torn earth after a minute of walking to see a sight that made his stomach lurch, causing Finn to instinctively cover his mouth well his eyes widened with shock at the sight before him, his face sickly pale as he tried not to breathe through his nose.
In a large amount of flat land in front of Finn he saw what remained of the nomad tribe. Destroyed carts, tents and other supplies, the tents and carts were horribly charred, some still having small orange flames and embers across the wood and fabric material of the tents and carts. Finn was more sickened by what else laid in the scene before him, large pools of dried or still running blood, limbs splayed about as if meant to be a sick form of decoration. The smell of rotting flesh still found its way into Finn's nose, causing him to run over to a slim fissure and hurl his stomach contents into the abyss below. Finn wiped his mouth, still feeling sick as he looked again at the scene, dead bodies of Cyclopes all around the destroyed camp, many of the bodies covered in severe burns or literally torn to shreds, these bodies were of warriors meant to protect the tribe, but Finn felt sadness and sheer pure rage at the other site before him, piles of bodies, many belonging of the defenseless. Elders, some men and woman and children were all in a large pile that had been torched like a bonfire and was the source of the smoke that Finn and Marceline had seen. "Whoever did this is a sick son of a bitch!" Finn yelled out as tears filled his eyes as he was now sitting weakly on his knees, feeling like he had failed to protect these innocent people, all their hopes and dreams cast to the wind like the ashes that filled their destroyed camp. Finn then noticed a hand fall on his shoulder gently.
He turned with tears in his eyes to see Marceline with a somber look on her face as she gestured Finn to stand. "We have to investigate a bit more, we can't bring them back, but we can make sure their memory lives on and that we find whoever did… this." Marceline said as she tried to avoid looking at the bodies. Finn nodded at her and stood up slowly after giving a silent prayer to glob that they rest in peace. Finn was not religious like his brother or other residents of Ooo, but he did have a moral rule to always respect the dead by giving them a prayer for safe journey to the afterlife, or whatever awaited them. Finn wore the same somber expression as Marceline as the two carefully searched through the destroyed camp, checking carts for any clues. They were ready to give up when Finn saw something mysterious at the corner of his eye when he was walking next to an upside down cart that was in pieces of burnt planks by the far wall of torn up rock and stone. Finn walked close to the back of the rubble and lifted up a wooden wheel that was half his size with little effort, chucking it on top of the pile of destroyed wood as he looked at the gleaming object that had captured his attention.
"Hey Marcy come check this out! I think I found something!" Finn exclaimed well he tried to remove something from the rubble of the cart. Marceline floated over just as Finn had finished tugging the object free, causing the human to fall back slightly before he caught himself. Finn had removed a ten inch combat knife with a serrated blade, Finn noticed how the blade was incredibly heavy and had patterns drawn across the blade like a complex maze, the blade's metal had a dark navy blue hue. Finn had not seen any major groups around Ooo use weapons with this strange colored metal, Finn's search for the criminal revolved around this weapon as his only source of information. "Im going to find whoever did this, and im going to bring them to justice." Finn said out loud as he let Marceline take the strange knife to examine it.
Marceline could smell the familiar iron aroma of blood on the blade, it made her dizzy, but she retained her composure quickly and handed the blade back to Finn. He had taken a bundle of cloth and leather straps out of his old pack, he wrapped the cloth around the blade tightly several times before tying the leather straps onto the cloth in a knot so that the weapon had a makeshift sheath before Finn hesitantly put the murder's weapon in his pack "Don't blame the weapon Finn, It's not the one that decided to murder the innocent…" Finn thought as he let out a sigh. He didn't want to be here anymore, there was nothing else to find besides sorrow and grief for the dead. Finn stood up and backed away from the pile of wood, he turned around towards the crater that was their original destination. After a few minutes of silence Finn looked over at Marceline who still had a somber look on her face. Finn didn't know why, but he walked over and grasped her right hand gently with his left hand. Marceline blushed as Finn had a small smile spread across his face and without saying anything he began to walk towards the direction to the crater.
When they had gone far enough in the distance to be out of sight of the destroyed tribe Finn let go of Marceline's hand. She had the urge to grab his hand again and feel his soft and warm skin. She quickly shook her head and decided not to before she spoke. "Thank you Finn for helping me get my eyes off the scene, it means a lot from a dork like you." She laughed at the joke she made which immediately got a laugh out of Finn. She had been worried his psyche had been through a trauma from seeing the destroyed tribe in such a way. Thankfully the two were now back on track to the adventure they previously had come out to this horrible place for and were close to the entrance of the crater.
Finn had kept his guard up since they left the tribe's resting place. He had called Princess Bubblegum at some point when they had left, telling her the situation and to keep the guards on their toes, and telling her the location of the wreckage so she could send an investigation team and guards to clean up after and give the dead a proper burial. Finn still had a sliver of excitement about the journey with his vampire friend, but he was defiantly going to keep them safe from any dangers no matter the cost.
Finn and Marceline had gotten to the base of the mountain crater, a large mouth of a cave that led to darkness was in front of them now carved into the rock carefully. Finn squinted his eyes and swore he could see a small ray of light far in the distance straight ahead through the cave entrance. "I guess we have more walking to do huh?" Finn said with a sigh, taking out a long pure white crystal that didn't look to be anything special. As the two entered the cave entrance the darkness around them began to fade the crystal in Finn's hand began to emit white light from its crystalline surface as Finn held it like a torch.
As the two entered the cave they did not notice the eyes watching them, several hooded figures in black robes stepped slowly out of the shadows of the rocks after the two they had been following had gone deeper into the tunnel. Every one of the hooded figures had silver ceremonial daggers in their hands, the most prominent feature on the knives was the pommel, also made from silver was the skull of death. Well a large group of these hooded figures began to get closer to the cave entrance, still trying to stay hidden, One member began to let out a low laugh as they looked up into the sky all that was revealed under the hood was a white mask with a sinister grin carved into it well bloodthirsty eyes could been seen through the eyeholes of the mask. Well the two friends walked to their destination, they didn't realize that they were being followed and that everything they knew would soon change drastically.
