Chapter XIX, Flame Leviathan

He emerged on the other side of the lava flow. Now that was a place he haven't visited in a while. He almost forgot about the very fact it even existed. It was old. Older than him, older than many things, perhaps even older than the Lich himself. Many great creatures came here to end their lives. Many of them searched for salvation in the cultivating flames. Some looked for redemption. Absolution perhaps. All of them found it, one way or another. The sticking out bones of old and forgotten dragons seemed to be both fire and time proof. They lingered in this forsaken place as a reminder that one day, everyone will meet Death in person and the life that passed will show if he'll smile or will he grin with disgust. The King jumped out of the lava and climbed on the top of the bridge made out of someone's ribcage. It would seem it's quite appropriate that this abomination lead him here. It was a graveyard for fiends that once thought they're divine. It was fitting that one more will lay here today. The question would be, which one. The flaming one grabbed his horn and blew into it, as it's sound echoed throughout the vast fields of dead. At first, nothing happened, and it would seem that only wind answered his calls. He knew better however. Old things like the count had their pride. You don't just let someone take your sight without consequences. No, you pursue him till the very end. Especially when your heart was forged in flames, when your blood boils, when your thoughts burn. Your pride won't let you do anything else. And just within that notion, from the lava itself the monster emerged, as it raveled around the bones like a snake that slowly approached his prey. Blood still dripped from the freshly opened wounds, quickly changing into steam as it was set loose. Perhaps at some point, there was something within this creature. Some humane feelings. At this point however, one could wonder if he could even gasp what he become. Fates of some are quite similar it would seem.

"You..." The ribcage began to shake as he slithered closer and closer. "Your pink breed took my eye. My eye." His still working, ulcer-like pulp twitched around before it fixated on him. "How I will see my beloved one without an eye?!"

The monster jumped right at him, as the bones below his huge, heavy body almost shattered. The King was hardly prepared to fight him on such unstable conditions. He preferred the comfort of the ground underneath his massive feet. The abomination had an upper hand in this place, as his massive yet fast claws sliced the air around the flaming one. He tried to repel them as much as he possibly could, yet they were overwhelming him fast. If he learned anything from his brother's demise, it would be the fact that you should always fight on your own conditions. So the flaming one did the only thing he could come up with. Before this massive creature reached him and ended his flaming reign, he swirled his spear around and drove it deep within the bones they stood on. That precise strike caused the very construction to finally collapse, as they both once again landed into the lava flood. Before the monster realized what actually happened, the blazing one rose his spear up in the sulfur sky, as his stead once again emerged from the fires itself instantly. It's unstable nature let his hooves almost float above the blazing surface. The King quickly placed himself on his back, and pointed the weapon towards the creation of chaos. He was just in time it would appear, as the monstrous being towered over the wasteland, hissing viciously. And the battle waged on once again. His stead moved fast, almost slide across the fiery pits as he stabbed the wyrm whenever he had the opportunity. He would lie if he'd said it was an easy task. As much as he hated to admit, the girls were quite the help in his struggle, since now, the monstrous being was fixated on him and only on him. His tail constantly raveled everywhere he went, trying to throw him off his wondrous mount. He avoided it's hits all that time, if only barely, as he tried to wore the creature down. This plan proven to be futile however, as with a swift dive, the massive body disappeared underneath the magma surface once again. The King knew all to well that this time he didn't plan on running, oh no. This time it was an attempt to attack. And just like he foreseen, the huge, deformed maw jumped out of the lava, almost throwing him off his mount. Before he could react, the abomination disappeared once again, only to appear behind him. This time it's attack was successful, and as it drove it's deformed teeth into the King's armor, it grabbed him and took underneath the lava flow. The ruler of the flame lands tried to bash the maw with his spear yet the deeper they went, the weaker his hits were. It wasn't quite clear what this twisted being planned on doing with him, one was certain however. It will end with death.

###

The King walked in circles around the glass vessel that contained the most precious thing in this horrendous world. His little blooming flower. His little precious gem. And as he stepped around, she fallowed him in her gaze, constantly sighting.

"So..." She tapped on the glass. "Can I get out now?"

"No."

"Why?"

"You ask too many questions child."

She rolled her eyes and stood up. It all happened when that weird pink girl appeared. Who was she anyways? Why her words were more important than the words of her father? Why he even locked her up in this place? Wasn't he the one that always told her that fire should run by it's course, that fire should be free and never contained? Well, it would seem that it was quite the opposite.

"You know that..." She took a deep breath. "...I can take care of myself."

"Yes."

"You know that I can burn whatever I want."

"Yes."

"You know that I'm almost as powerful as you are."

"Yes."

"So why?"

He stopped. Not that he didn't know the answer - he obviously did. Not that he wanted to avoid telling her - one day he will have to. Somehow however this brave soul, this bold king, this fearless ruler could not spell out those words out loud.

"Because."

She got mad, as she almost burst inside her little cellar. Her efforts were futile however, as the glass vessel stopped her from using her power at full. It perfectly smothered every attempt she made to free herself.

"So I can't get out?"

"No." He paused, seeing now that there was a trap in her words. "I mean, yes, you can't. Until someone will come for you."

"Well, at least I tried." She rolled her eyes. "Eh... I don't understand you at times pap."

"Well." He stopped right next to the glass and looked her in the eyes. "One day you will understand child."

"It's just..." She said, as she once again tried to jump out from her little prison. "I don't know. Where's mother anyways? Since you locked me up in here, can you at least answer me that? You avoid it all the time."

"She's far away."

"Where?"

"Nightosphere."
"I want to go there then."

Those words made the flames on his head shiver. The very notion that his daughter would end up in that place terrified him. It would mean that he failed. That he failed to protect her, that he failed to contain her. That he failed as a father. He looked at her once again, as his flaming hand touched the glass surface.

"Dad?"

###

His eyes opened, as the fury rose within his copper armor. He almost exploded inside the monstrous maw, as with the share strength of his arms, he ripped out few of it's teeth. The abomination spat him out almost instantly and he used that opportunity to get to the surface. There he simply waited. The fiend quickly appeared before him, grinning a bit with even more blood pouring from it's mouth.

"You merely took out my tooth." He spat with the red liquid, as it vaporized instantly. "What this puny ember has to do now, huh? Huh? I'm half blind, but I see more, yes. I see that ripping out a teeth won't slay a thing like me, oh no! What even are you, blind one, huh, huh?!"

The King remained silent, as he rose his hands up in the air once again. The flames began to circle around his frame, as this time he began to float above the blazing liquid. It looked almost as if his body left his copper ornament, only to become one with the fire. Perhaps that was the case. And as he opened his mouth, the bones surrounding them trembled.

"I AM THIS LAND."

He pointed his flaming hand towards the Count. Before the creature could even attempt to jest over this gesture, numerous flaming knights emerged from the fiery surface. Were they phantoms just created by his hatred? Were they his army, that just waited for his sign all this time, bound to his everlasting will? Were they both? No one could tell. They were tied to his words however and waited for his orders.

"I AM THE FLAME."

They charged at the creature. Numerous spears and swords, countless blazing arrows, all drove into the fiend's skin. Despite their fiery nature, they were sharp. They cut. They sliced. They brought pain. The abomination couldn't shrug them off, no matter how many he drove within the fiery lake, no matter how many he smashed with his horrendous hands, no matter how many were squished by his long, raveling tail, as more constantly poured in. They simply overwhelmed him, as the King looked and commanded his army.

"YOU SAY I'M BLIND?..."

Within his voice, not only his flaming army rose from the depths of the lake. It would seem that the fiery souls of the once deceased dragons also moved by his tone, commanded by his chords, as they began to fly in and blow right into the creature's face. He was immune to fire obviously, yet every explosion next to his skin, left a bruising mark. That wasn't enough for the King however, no. He rose even higher, as his flaming spear emerged from the depths and went straight into his hand.

"...THEN LET'S BE BLIND TOGETHER!"

He shouted, as his army disappeared, as every drake turned into the stench of sulfur. And from within the blazing explosions, he came almost like a righteous missile, gauging the fiend's other eye with quite the impact. The monster twitched and hissed, as he wasn't even able to spat out curses anymore. It was only a matter of time before he felt on his back. That was the opportunity for which the King waited for. He jumped at him almost instantly and as the defenseless abomination screamed in pain, he began to punch him on the chest. It was only a matter of time before his hard gauntlets burst through the flesh, revealing the beating heart of the wyrm. And within this very organ, driven deep inside, lied the very artifact he came here for. That would explain a lot of things, should someone would care for explanations. Flame King hardly cared, as he took out the blazing thing, crushing the heart in the palm of his hand.

###

He finally emerged from within the fiery abyss. In his blazing hand he held the ember, pulsing constantly, almost like the heart it was driven into. He saw the girls, sitting and waiting for him in anticipation. For the first time in her life, the princess was actually glad that she saw him. Without needless words, he passed her the artifact.

"The fiend is dead. This is yours. Do with it what you must."

"You did that for us..." She looked at the ember curiously. "Part of me wants to ask you why."

"I did that for my child." He looked at her. This time around, there was no hate in there. No ferocity. He was weirdly calm. "For her. Only for her. Nothing more, nothing less. If she is happy, she is happy. In the end, that's the only thing I care about, pink one."

"You do realize that if I will fail, she won't be safe, huh?"

"Then don't fail. Simple? Simple."

And they parted, just like that. No further words were required, as they both knew what they needed to do. All in all, she hardly expected him to act this way. Maybe in the end, he was something more than a flame inside a copper ornament. Maybe somewhere deep inside, there was a heart still beating. Beating for someone special to him. But that only made the task more difficult, as the stakes risen. When he disappeared in the depths of the lake once again, venturing back to his kingdom, the girls looked at each other, smirking a little bit.

"So..." Marceline chuckled. "Can't say we really did much there."

"I think we did... just not necessary on the surface..." She pondered. "Either way. Heat hardly works well with my skin. The occasional burns here and there are a bit of a nuisance."

"Aw, what's the matter Bonnie?" The vampire swirled around. "Our precious princess scorched her bubble butt?"

"I'll let this one slide." She giggled. "We still need to get out from here, remember?" The princess shrugged. "Last I checked, someone collapsed one of the exits."

"Minor details..." She blinked a couple of times. "What's that?"

She pointed way in the distance. Something in fact came their way, floating above the lava flow. It looked like a boat made out of bones, which drifted with a chilling trail that almost froze the magma down below. It had numerous oars from each side that cut the space in the air constantly. It even had a skeletal crew that worked around the place. And at the ship's beak, Death stood gracefully. Almost as if he planed his entrance in advance.

"Hey there babes." He chuckled. "Hotties in a hot spot, huh?"

"Well, that's the least place I'd expect you, mister Death."

"Why's that?" He clicked his teeth. "Oh, it's because I'm too hot even for this place? Tsk, tsk, sugar babe."

"If you wish to put it that way."

"Either way. Care to hop in? Just passing by."

"Not that I oppose, still, you said no helping, huh?"

"Help? Where's the help in here? I'm just taking you for a merry ride." He bowed down playfully taking off his straw hat. "Consider it a pleasant entertainment!"

Who were they to argue about that. They jumped on board and the ship quickly sailed away. It defined all the laws of gravity, physics and everything else. And that obviously fascinated the princess. Marceline on the other hand was more amused by the skeleton's straw hat. The moment she saw it for the first time, she wanted to snatch it badly. One day, she thought to herself. One day. Either way, their little venture was quite silent, which seemed weird, knowing the fact that their host liked to talk. A lot. Eventually Bubblegum got quite sleepy, which didn't go without notice.

"Sweet babe, if you wish, you can grab a snooze." He snapped his fingers and almost instantly, two bone servants appeared. "And don't worry about our... deathless. He won't show up when I'm near."

"You won't mind?"

"Not at all, sweet cheeks, not at all."

"And..."

"Don't look at me Bonnie." Marceline put her arm around Death's shoulders which made him chuckle. "Gonna stay around with boney here." She just thought about what she said. "Bonnie and boney. Has a ring to it!"

His servants quickly took the princess to her quarters, leaving the two alone. Silence occurred once again. The skeleton gazed at her from time to time. She was Abadeer's daughter alright, even if she looked more like her mother. Eventually, Death figured that he can hardly blame the girl for having a father like that. A father that tricked him once as well, and never paid off his debt.

"Think we haven't exchanged much pleasantries..." He finally said. "Huh, pale cheeks?"

"Not really boney."

"Well. Heard much about you." He shrugged, as he began to pour sand into the lava. It was quite amusing, for him at least. "Guess Hunson's offspring leaves a trail after her, huh, sweet tooth?"

"Hm..." She pondered, still inspecting his straw cap. It would look so nice on her head. "May I ask you a thing or two?"

"Shoot."

"What's with all the nicknames?"

"Quite simple." He scratched his chin. "Don't get attached to things that will die, when you're dealing with my line of business, toothie."

"I don't plan on dying any time soon you know." She poked him in his skull. "She doesn't as well."

"You may live for a while, true. Still, time has no means to me."

"You never get attached?"

"Nope."

"Hard for me to believe."

"Well, batsy. I won't change that, huh? But nope. No attachment... never..."

Marceline, being whom she is, had to check things her way. It hardly matter that the subject of her jests would be Death himself. No, that only made it more thrilling. When he turned his sight from her, she quickly grabbed his arms and placed them on her waist. He seemed to be quite surprised by that notion, yet he never was one of those that say no to such entertainment.

"Isn't your..."

"Hush..."

She placed a finger on his mouth. And as she tangled her hands around his bone nape, as she looked him deeply in his two black dots, she saw exactly what she wanted to saw. Sparks. Embers. But there was something else. Longing for something. Someone perhaps? That she will need to acknowledge one day. Untold story she simply needs to know. She was the curious sort after all.

"Death, I want..." She finally whispered, as she enclosed her lips. He got more and more surprised by her doings. "...your hat."

"Hah!" He began to laugh loudly. "You! You I like!"