I'm baaaAAAAAaaack! Sup? Well I'm a bit dissapointed in myself for missing a week. But I have a good excuse! Its two words that will make any student shiver... Financial Aid... WoooooOOOooOooO! Yeah, they really messed me up bad, but I managed to punch them in the face and come out on top, its how I roll. Now for an update in my life for those of you that have to read every single word in a story. I'm doing well, found out I friccen love chess, and airsoft is a fantastic new hobby! In fact, that's really the reason this got done today. Resting my weary legs and writing fan fiction, a simply fabulous afternoon. Anyway, here is chapta 3! Read it, review it, you can even print it out and eat it! (Not recommended.) But seriously, I love feedback. You got ideas? Say them. If I like them, I'll twist them into barely recognizable abominations. If not, well you tried.
Oh, and a little disclaimer since I forgot on the other two. I do not own Adventure Time. If I did, the depth of that show would touch the hearts of millions and possibly create world peace. That's only a theory though.
Clouds drifted lazily in the breeze, conforming to various shapes and sizes before disappearing completely. Their shadows slid across the grasslands like water through a stream. It was a beautiful day in Ooo, and almost everyone knew it. None more so than the duo making their way across the open fields. A honey colored dog the size of an elephant, and almost three times as tall, strode purposefully across the land. His long, noodle like legs allowed him to make hours of travel into mere minutes. A speck of white sat atop his back, jerking and moving like an anxious child. Which of course, is exactly what it was.
Finn scanned the horizon from his vantage point on Jake's back, searching for anything of interest. Good, bad, friend, foe, it didn't matter. He just needed something to take his mind of the subject at hand; Flame Princess. She was everywhere. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her smiling face. The way the grass moved in waves reminded him of her hair, burning so bright and beautiful. Even the clouds seemed to shift and merge into a perfect portrait of her. He let out a heavy sigh and laid down, pulling a chunk of Jake's stretchy body and morphing it into a pillow.
Jake could hear the teenager's sigh and decided to have a chat with his brother. He moved his face up from his front onto his back and stretched a copy of himself out next to Finn. If anyone would have looked at them they would have seen a boy and his dog riding a faceless, stretchy beast across the land.
"Hey man, how ya feeling?" asked Jake as stretched himself into a cross-legged position. Finn took a deep breath before responding.
"I'm alright, I just…. I just can't stop thinking about her."
Jake smiled at his adopted brother. "That sounds like love to me." He put his hand up to his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Let me guess, everything you see reminds you of her right? The grass, the clouds, you even see her when you close your eyes." Finn looked over at him.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Jake smiled and stretched his fake body to lie beside Finn.
"It was the same for me and Lady." His eyes grew big and misty as he thought back to the beginnings of his relationship. "The more I learned about her, the more I liked her and the more I wanted to see her." He gave a happy sigh. "That's love man, and it's got the hooks in you hard." Finn nodded in agreement.
"Yeah… I think your right Jake."
"Course I'm right, I got a PHD in lovenomtry." Finn raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah man, its hanging above my dresser drawer. I'll show it to you when we get back."
"Haha, cool." Jake stopped and sniffed the air.
"Candy Kingdoms straight ahead brother. I'm going to go back to steering." His body double melted back into his larger form and his face reappeared up front. Finn got up and moved over to the back of Jake's head.
"You think PB will help us out?" he asked a bit nervously.
"Yeah dude, she'll totally help. She said it herself, she's too old. That means she wanted you to be with someone your age. I'm sure she's got some kind of machine or something that can make you into a fire proof lover boy." Finn smiled. Although going to see his old crush for help on getting together with his new crush was a bit awkward, he knew Bubblegum would understand. Besides, Jake was right, she had her chance and it's time to move on.
Finn was shaken from his thoughts by the sight of the Candy Kingdom coming into view. A massive castle, surrounded by a fair sized town and all enclosed behind towering guard walls, spread out before him. The two large candy guardians sat on opposite sides of the kingdom, blowing bubbles peacefully in the afternoon air. Jake shrunk down at the gates and Finn flipped of his back onto the ground. The two strode up to the popsicle guards at the front of the gate and Jake was the first to talk.
"Hey guys, we need to talk to Bubblegum pronto." He studied his fingernails, acting smooth.
"Of course, you are always welcome here Finn and Jake." Replied the left guard.
"The princess is in the castle, most likely in the lab." Said the right guard. The gingerbread gated opened up and the two strode through, making their way up Sugar Street towards the castle walls. Many of the candy people waved and a few even cheered as they passed by. Soon enough they made their way to the great doors of the main hall. With the push of a button a door bell chimed away, and the two giant slabs of chocolate moved inward. A small peppermint candy in a butler's uniform stood before them.
"Finn, Jake! How wonderful to see you. What do we owe the occasion?" he asked in a high pitched voice.
"Hey Peppermint Butler, is Princess Bubblegum in? We really need her help with some science stuff." Asked Finn while peering down the hallway.
"The princess is currently in the middle of an important experiment, but I'd be more than happy to assist you!" he ushered the two heroes in and closed the doors before heading down the hallway. He continued to talk as they made their way toward the labs.
"If I may, what is the situation that requires scientific attention?" This time it was Jake who spoke up.
"We want to make Finn here into a fire elemental so he can get his smooch on with Flame Princess!"
"DUUUDE!" Finn yelled. "What? Its true man, you can't deny it."
"Yeah… But you don't have to say it that way…" Said Finn through a blush.
"Oh my!" said Peppermint Butler. "That is quite a conundrum." The trio took a left and headed down into the castle basement passing doors of various sizes as they went.
"I'm sorry to say that we don't have that kind of machinery at this time. To change anything alive into a being of pure fire would require a momentous amount of energy, even more so to stabilize it." Finn immediately felt the excitement leave his body. The one lead he thought they had just disappeared in a puff of smoke. He stopped walking and slumped against the wall.
"Oh…. Okay… We'll just leave then…" Jake looked at his brother with pity, while Peppermint Butler gave him a smile.
"Although we don't yet have the technology, we still have our research." Finn looked at the small candy man, confusion etched into his features.
"Over the years, the Candy Kingdom has compiled much data on the other kingdoms of the land; The Jungle Kingdom, Dead Kingdom, Wildberry Kingdom, and others. As I recall we had quite a collection on the Fire Kingdom." Finn still didn't understand what the red and white butler was saying, but Jake snapped his fingers in realization.
"So what you're saying is that there could be something in all that info that could help us out!" Peppermint nodded. "Precisely."
"What do you say Finn, some light reading couldn't hurt right?" Finn gave a light smile. "Yeah man, let's give it a shot."
A large set of arched double doors marked the entrance to the royal library. The two adventurers could only gasp at the sheer size of it. Bookshelves spread out before them, each crammed to bursting point with literature. Scrolls, tomes, tablets, and many others mixed into the shelves and added to the diversity of the selection. Peppermint Butler guided the two heroes through the maze like structure of the library, weaving through the piles of books with a sense of guidance that only years of practice could achieve. Once or twice Finn and Jake almost lost the sugary servant, but he would stand and wait for them to return to his side. Finally after what seemed like half an hour of walking they came to a dead end. The shelves were arranged into a larger square with a small table in the middle, each shelf was neatly organized and all the books had red binding with golden lettering.
"This," gestured Peppermint Butler to the books around him. "Is all the compiled data on the Fire Kingdom and its inhabitants. Everything from history, to biology, to culture can be found on these shelves." Finn could only stare wide eyed at the work ahead of him, could he really read all these? A picture of Flame Princess alone flashed in his mind. "Let's do this." He said aloud. Jake gave him a thumbs up before turning to Peppermint Butler.
"Alright PPB, you heard the boy. We're gonna need sandwiches, drinks and ice cream to make it through this study session." He looked around at the shelves, the wrinkles on his forehead furrowed in thought. "Yeah, gonna need lots of ice cream." He said under his breath.
"I'll see to it immediately and notify the princess of your presence." He gave a slight bow and began to turn away.
"Wait!" said Finn. "Don't bother the Bubblegum with this. I don't want to distract her from her work." Peppermint Butler smiled at the young human. "Of course, Master Finn. I'll be back momentarily with your requests." And like that he began to walk back through the labyrinth of bookshelves, leaving the duo to their mission. Jake was the first one to speak up.
"Alright buddy, you take culture and I'll take biology. Don't want you scarring that precious mind of yours." He patted Finn, who had become red enough to be made of fire, on top of his hat.
"Alright, quit it!" he pushed his brother's magically extended arm away. "Let's get started."
After nine and a half hrs of reading and nearly 125 gallons of ice cream, Finn closed the final book. Mind you they didn't read every word of every book. That would have taken way to long. They set up a system of important and unimportant information. Other than the original fire elementals creation, and the occasional cross kingdom marriage, the Fire Kingdom history was mostly unimportant. Biology proved to be the biggest hit out of any of them, at least that what Jake had assured Finn. This came into question after Finn watched the golden dog turn a page, scream, and then hurl the book over the shelves and into the abyss of the library to be lost forever. That is until a certain red and white butler came into view; book slung under one arm and large amounts of ice cream covering most of his body. Jake sheepishly took the book back and started reading again, carefully peeking at each page before turning over to it.
Finn found the culture to be his favorite subject. Although they were a violent race, they balanced their aggression with chivalry. Other than the royal bloodline for the king and queen, there were no restrictions to how far a commoner can go. Through hard work and many trials a peasant could gain a seat in the royal court. This ensured that the ruling class understood what it takes to live and how it affects judgment.
So when the two brothers stepped into the cool night air of the outside, they both smiled in accomplishment. They may not have found an answer to their problem, but they gained enough knowledge to take one more step towards their goal. And as everyone know, knowing is half the battle… Then Finn's legs gave out from exhaustion and he fell, face first, into the candy cement of the front steps. Jake yawned and stretched himself up. He grabbed Finn and threw him on his back as he headed towards the grasslands.
"C'mon lover boy, you did enough for today." A few sleepy grumbles came in reply. Jake just chuckled. "Yeah bro, now you'll be ready for her." He stretched his legs and started taking long strides towards their tree house home.
Meanwhile, in the candy castle labs.
Princess Bubblegum fell back into her chair, letting out a huge sigh. For 3 days now she had been working nonstop on her latest project, the sugargenics matrix. With it, her subjects could finally be able to stand against fear without exploding. An evolutionary breakthrough for all candy kind. A knock on the door brought her back to the world.
"Enter." The door opened and Peppermint Butler walked through, silver platter in hand.
"My lady, it's been twelve hours since your last meal. You must keep your strength up." He sat the tray on the desk in front of her, pulling off the top to reveal a plate of spaghetti with a slice of garlic bread and a glass of water. She could tell it was made fresh from the steam that still wafted off the noodles. The sauce filled the air with its mouth watering aroma, rich with just a hint of red pepper spice. Bubblegum's stomach sent out a growl, letting everyone know of the torture it's endured. She blushed and started to dig in, reveling in the taste of her favorite dish. Peppermint nodded his approval and handed his mistress a napkin.
The pink humanoid dabbed her face before smiling down at her butler. "Thank you PB, you always take care of me." He smiled at the praise. "It is my job your highness."
The princess began talking in between bites of her pasta. "So tell me…. Has anything interesting happened….. While I've been working?"
"I'm afraid not ma'am. Everything has been pleasant and calm in the kingdom. Although Finn and Jake did visit for quite a while today." Bubblegum tilted her head. 'Odd, they usually talk to me when they come here. "Really? Was everything ok?
"Just fine, they merely did some research on the fire kingdom."
"Huh, I wonder what for..." She reached down for her glass and drained it in one gulp.
"From what I gathered they were trying to find some way to change Finn into a fire elemental." Bubblegum slammed her glass onto the desk and turned to face Peppermint Butler.
"WHAAAT?" he shout echoed through the lab. "Why would they want to do that!?"
Peppermint Butler stepped back nervously, his eyes downcast. "I believe Finn has fallen in love with the princess of the Flame Kingdom and is searching for a way to be with her without getting injured."
Bubblegum sat in silence for a moment, contemplating what was said. Finn, the hero of Ooo, her hero, was in love with Flame Princess? It was at this point the pink genius's mind broke apart to analyze the situation. When dealing with a scientific problem she often debated with herself, but this was on a whole new level. The first to speak was her voice of reason. 'This is a good thing! You told him you didn't like him in that way so he found someone who does! You should encourage it!' Emotion was next to speak. 'But he liked me.. How could he just move on like that?'
'You try being rejected REPEATEDLY! Even after saving the person in question countless times.'
'Its not that I didn't like him! I just couldn't…. I'm a princess, he's a hero, and he's so young!'
'But you didn't even give him a chance. The one creature in Ooo who would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need. Orphaned as a child, the last of his kind, all he wanted was to be loved by someone and you pushed him away.
Reason was right. She had done nothing for the poor boy while he put himself in danger for her and and everyone else countless times. She was responsible for this. A new voice entered the argument.
'And now he'll never come back.'
'What?' Asked Reason and Emotion.
'Why would he? There's nothing here for him. He saves the kingdom and gets what? A free dinner and a thank you from a friend? No, she will be the center of his attention. Nothing else will matter as long as she's safe. And who knows, he might even become the champion of the Fire Kingdom!
Emotion was quiet. What was there to say? Reason spoke up.
'No, he's not like that. Finn would come back for us, he would keep us safe. Reason's voice was unsure, shaky.
'You said it yourself. We turned him away.
'But he still came back!'
'Because he still thought there might be a chance. Now he doesn't need us anymore…
The was a silence that felt like it stretched for eternity.
'So what do we do?
'We make him ours.'
The sound of shattering glass jolted Princess Bubblegum from her thoughts. She looked down to see jags of broken glass scattered across the desk, several of them had embedded themselves into her hand as well.
"Princess!" cried Peppermint Butler as he ran to her injured hand.
"It's okay Peppermint, I'll take care of it." Her voice was calm, with a hint of determination. "I need you to do something for me." The red and white candy person looked up at her, eyes filled with concern.
"Yes my lady?"
She started picking the shards of glass out of her hand. Wincing as each sparkling piece was pulled out. "Keep tabs on Finn and Jake, I want reports at least twice daily. And they are not to be aware of your presence." The final piece from her hand fell to the floor with a tinkling noise. Peppermint Butler took on a serious tone.
"Of course your highness, I'll send my shadow. Anything else?"
Bubblegum wrapped her hand with a nearby towel before answering. "Yes, first thing tomorrow bring the tailor in. I'm going to need some new clothes."