Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please... Hi. How you all doing? Ive been great, thank you for asking. Busy is the only way to describe me of late. Fencing lessons, karate lessons, school, work, it seriously doesn't end. I finally found some time to sit down and write though, because I love you guys, like a snake loves sun. I bask in your glow... SO! Lets get down to it, you know the routine, read it, review it, poke it with a slightly sharpened stick. Only slightly sharpened! Now about this chapter, I kind of had this idea that I wanted to do for a while now, and this chapter let me put it out there. If you want to feel awesome, go look up Ellie Goulding's song "Hanging On" and put it on repeat and listen to it as you read. I got some feels from that combo, especially if you manage to time it just right. Again, PLEASE review and send me your thoughts. Truth be told my motivation to write has been getting punched in the testicles by my schedule, repeatedly... Hearing you people's words of encouragement and ideas help put the spark back into my ability!
I don't own Adventure Time, if I did Id be enjoying a nice plate of pudding on my private island, on my private yacht parked in my private island's private grotto. Surrounded by women. Dressed as Marceline...And Flame Princess...In bikinis... Yeah... BUT SHE'D BE 20 YEAR OLD FLAME PRINCESS! You sicko's.
Finn's eyes cracked open, giving him a blurry view of the cottage ceiling. Slowly he adjusted to the light, letting the world around him come into focus. He was laying on the couch in Marceline's living room, the only sound came from the clock on the wall. A steady tick, tick, tick that carried through the air. Finn let out a grunt as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, he winced as the movement stretched the muscle around his wound. 'Aww man, what happened?' He thought as he rubbed his head. The world was still out of focus, everything seemed blurred.
"Finn..." A voice called out, barely a whisper but clear as a bell.
"Wha?... Who's there?... Helloooo?" The young hero called out from his seat. Silence answered back. He pulled off his hat and ran his finger through his golden locks. "I'm just hearing things I guess... But where is everyone?" He pushed himself up off of the couch with a grunt, and headed towards the kitchen. His effort was for naught, the kitchen too was deserted The same followed for the upstairs and, after a knocking first, the bathroom. He was alone.
"Dang, I was sure SOMEBODY was going to be around..." He turned back to the living room planning on going back to sleep, when it came again.
"Finn..." He heard it for sure this time, a voice, almost pleading, and definitely feminine. He turned quickly, listening for any indication of the voices direction.
"Hey! Where are you? Can you hear me?" He waited, hardly daring to breathe in case he missed the voice.
"Finn... Please..." He heard it now, it was faint, almost like it was... Outside!
"Hang on, I'm coming!" Without hesitation the young human ran towards the door and ripped it open. His jaw dropped in shock as he walked out onto the grassy soil. The dark, rocky cave that should have greeted him was replaced by a mist covered graveyard. Tombstones were neatly arranged in rows, some small with descriptions carved into their faces, others stood higher than Finn reflecting the importance of the ones buried beneath. A cool drop fell on the boy's face, and as he looked up into the churning gray sky, more followed in the wake of the first. Soon it was a steady drizzle, and in moments he was soaked. Finn turned towards the door he walked through but discovered it to be gone, it was as if he walked into the dead center of the cemetery. He was just about to yell when he heard a soft sound. A sound filled with sorrow and depression. Someone, somewhere in the mist, was crying.
"Hey! Can you hear me!?" he yelled into the silent resting grounds. Again there was no reply, just the patter of rain and the miserable sobs that joined with it. Finn screwed his eyes shut, honing in on the sadness as best he could. He opened his eyes, turned to his right, and without any hesitation, began walking into the swirling fog.
The sobs and whimpers grew steadily louder as he walked towards their source. Tombstone after tombstone passed him by as he continued forward, their engraved words leaving no interest in the hero. All that mattered was that someone needed help. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of walking in the rain, Finn began to see an outline of something in the distance. He squinted through the rain, yes, he could see it now, it was a silhouette of someone kneeling at a memorial. He started running through the lanes of graves, getting closer and closer to the figure. The closer he got, the more he could make out. It was thin, with dark clothing, a striped shirt and ripped up pair of pants along with long, black hair that cascaded down its back... wait.. he knew that figure.. It was...Marceline?
His steady pace began to slow, and soon he found himself walking up behind the weeping girl. He stood there in the rain, his wet, shining hair stuck in strands across his face. It was Marceline, there was no doubting that. Her shoulders sagged, shaking with each breath, and both hands cupped her face trying to stem the flow of tears.
"Marceline... What's wrong?" He said in a hushed voice. Marceline's shoulders tensed as she heard his voice, her face rose from her hands and she let out a shaky breath. Slowly, the vampire queen turned her head towards Finn's feet, her eyes traveled up his body finally coming to rest at his face. Her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying, and she wore an expression of disbelief, her mouth slightly agape. A thick strand of hair was plastered across her face from the moisture. He wiped the strand off to the side as he smiled down at her.
"Don't cry Marcy, it's going to be okay. I promise..." She blinked once before her face began to tighten up. Her eyes began to tear up once again as she stared into his caring eyes. "Finn.." She said before launching herself at him and burying her face into his chest. Finn staggered back falling on his rear with the sobbing girl clamped firmly around his middle. He blushed heavily as she cried against his shirt, never had he seen her so emotional, and she was certainly never this... physical...
"Uhh... Marceline... Iiii, uh, I mean..." He said as he raised his arms in the air, unsure of what to do with them. She pulled him tighter, hiccupping out words in between her whimpers.
"I.. Never thought.. never thought I... Was going to see you again!" She sniffed as she tried to talk. "Please Finn (hic) don't leave me...I.. I don't want to be alone anymore..." Finn pushed the uncomfortable feelings away, he knew what needed to be done. He wrapped his arms around the crying queen, holding her against him. She tensed for a moment before relaxing entirely. As he stroked the back of her head, Finn could feel the sobs still wracking her body.
"Shhh, it's okay Marceline, I'm here." he said in the most calming voice he could muster. Her shaking began to subside as he held her. "I won't leave you Marcy, I promise..." She pulled away and looked at him with tear filled eyes.
"Everyone leaves me Finn, they all leave me... and I... I can't go with them..." She sniffed. "Please stay with me Finn.. I... Don't want to see you..." The tears were starting to push through again. Finn quickly put his finger to her lips and gave her another warming smile. "Marceline. I'll stay with you, and make it so you'll never have to be alone again." A single tear rolled down her cheek and mixed with the falling rain as she looked up at him, and a small smile dawned on her face. Once more she leaned against him, nuzzling into his shirt. "That's why you're a hero Finn... You can save anyone.."
Finn closed his eyes, letting the sound of rain envelope him. It pinged of the surrounding stones and soaked the two beings through their clothes. The drops of liquid crystal began to trace the words of the tombstone at which the Vampire queen knelt."Here lies Finn the Human. Hero to many. Friend to all."
He began to hear it lighten, little by little, and feel the raindrops hitting him less and less. Finally it stopped, and he was surrounded by silence. "See? The rain even stopped... Marceline?" He opened his eyes and was once again shocked at what he saw.
He was kneeling in the center of a demolished city, debris littered the area around him, small spots of it still burning. Not a single building was left standing in the hellish warzone, and of Marceline there was no trace. Finn rose shakily to his feet, wondering what could cause such devastation. He started walking deeper into the destruction, gaining the slightest sense of deja vu as he went. It wasn't until he reached the center that the realization finally hit him. It was the Candy kingdom.
A gumball guardian laid motionless on the ground, its head smashed open and its body twisted and bent. The great castle no longer existed, a rubble filled crater now took its place, small portions of it still ablaze. Finn could only stand at the edge and stare as his brain tried to take it all in. The place where he spent so much time, all the candy people he saved, everything was gone and he couldn't do a thing to save them. His thoughts began to turn against him.
All those people, all my friends, gone. Was it because I wasn't here? Is it my fault this happened? No.. No it can't be... I always kept them safe... I always helped everyone! Then why... why did this happen?
A stirring in the crater snapped him back to attention. He watched closely thinking it could be dust in the breeze... There! Under the section of roofing, there was something stirring. Throwing caution to the wind , Finn slid down the side of the of the pit, in moments he was at the bottom running towards the spot he saw motion. He felt a sharp pang in his chest as he made out a clump of pink gum sticking out under the wreckage. He quickly reached the person in distress and knelt down beside them. It was none other than Princess Bubblegum.
"Princess! Princess please speak to me! Are you okay?" Finn did a once over to assess the situation. Bubblegum was trapped under a pile of rubble from the waist down, undoubtedly the weight must have been crushing. The princess replied weakly.
"Finn.. I'm trapped... Please get me out..." He voice was faint, filled with exhaustion.
"Don't worry PB, I'll take care of this!" He quickly reached under the debris covering her back and heaved upwards. The material creaked and cracked under pressure.
"PB..Ha..Ha.. Can you... crawl out?" He panted. The weight was taking its toll on his arms as he tried desperately to hold on. Bubblegum grunted and started pulling herself from the wreckage, inching out from under the crushing rubble. Finally she was free, no sooner pulling had she pulled her feet away than Finn's arms gave out. The pile collapsed in on itself, crushing the spot the candy princess laid only moments before. Finn moved to her side, flipping her over and cradling her head in his lap.
"PB! PB speak to me! Come on Bubblegum..." She coughed and sputtered, her eyes slowly blinking open. "Finn... You came..."
"What happened here? Who did this?" He asked as he looked around at the wreckage.
"I don't know.. We were..cough, cough,...caught off guard..." The princess took a shaky breath. "We didn't stand a chance, and everyone... everyone just died..." Finn's features blanked as he heard those last words. He moved his lips, the word "Everyone" slipping out in barely a whisper.
"Everyone.. Everyone is dead?" His mind flashed through the many faces of his friends. Peppermint Butler, Mister Cupcake, Cinnamon Bun, Lady Rainicorn... All the people he had grown up with, now lost to the void.
"I'm sorry princess..." He whispered. "If I was here, I could have..." Bubblegum cut him off.
"No Finn, it's my fault..."
"What? But you.."
"No. I drove you away... You used to care about me, and you protected me and the kingdom because of that, but... But I pushed you away..." Her eyes glazed over, sparkling tears glinted off the firelight as they began to slide down the side of her face.
"I took you for granted Finn, and that was the biggest mistake I ever made..." She started giggling as she cried, her hiccups and sobs filling the air. "I...I really did like you Finn... Even though I said it couldn't happen I... I secretly wanted it to... But I was scared.." She gulped, still smiling, tears continuing their ceaseless flow. "Imagine that, princess of an entire kingdom scared of being close to someone...Ha, ha...Maybe if I would have let you in, if I said I like you too... Everything would have been okay, and I wouldn't be..."She went into a coughing fit, specks of red decorating her chest. "Stop talking Princess, you're hurt!" Finn told her as he held her tighter. She smiled again, flecks of blood decorating her lips.
"I'm sorry Finn... I'm so sorry... No one... Should treat a hero...like I did..." Princess Bubblegum let out her last breath, closing her eyes as she slipped into eternal slumber. Finn was awestruck, he shook her slightly, trying in vain to rouse her.
"PB... Come on PB, wake up... Please.. Please don't leave me!" He put his forehead against hers, tears began to drop onto her pink features. "You can't just leave! Not like this... Not like this..." He rocked back and forth as he held her, sobbing for the sake of his old crush.
The fires around him began crackling louder, growing and spreading among the rubble. The temperature began to climb, forcing the young human to look up with bloodshot eyes. The world around him had become one of fire and heat. Flames covered everything, crackling and burning the very soil. The young woman in his arms began to lose her color, turning grey in mere moments. Her arms and face began to swirl and distort, and in an instant she burst into a puff of smoke, the swirling vapors snaking through his arms and into the sky. He looked at his now empty arms, they started to shake as his emotions began to stir.
"First Marceline... Now PB... Why? Why is this happening?" The flames around him began to jump and grow, feeding on his feelings.
"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!" He yelled into the blistering air. The flames around him skyrocketed, turning into great, churning pillars of fire. He began punching the ground in front of him in frustration. "WHY. CANT. I. HELP THEEEEM!" His knuckles impacted the dirt with every word. In moments he had tired himself out, his shoulders slumped in defeat. The maelstrom of flames continued unhindered, surrounding him in ever shifting walls of fire. He could feel the heat on his bare skin, it was nearly painful.
"Finn." A voice, weak and barely a whisper, called out to him from the flames. Even though the temperature was nearly blistering, his blood ran cold. He knew that voice. The wall of flame parted in front of him revealing a path through the inferno. Standing only a short distance away was Flame Princess.
"No... No I won't let you have her..." Finn's resolve resurfaced from seeing the girl he was fighting so hard for. He pulled himself to his feet and bolted through the path. Burning tendrils of fire licked at his arms, singeing skin and clothing alike. He put the pain behind him, all that mattered now was Flame Princess. He ran, and ran, and ran. She looked only yards away, but still he got no closer when he sprinted towards her. Finn tried calling out to her.
"PRINCESS! HOLD ON!" "She turned her head towards the sound of his voice, he doubled his pace as he saw her features, carved into a mask of sadness. Although he couldn't hear her, he watched as her lips formed a word. Finn.
"I WONT LET ANYTHING HURT YOU! I WONT LET YOU GO BACK TO BEING ALONE!" Still he ran towards her, suddenly gaining ground, it was his determination, his heart, that pushed him forward. Flame princess reached out an arm towards him, a smile filled with hope gracing her face. Finn reached out, he was only feet away now. The roaring of the flames around him had disappeared, replaced by silence, the echo of his feet hitting the ground, and his own labored breathing. Flame princess was all that mattered. At once, the two met, their fingers barely brushing each other. And then time slowed to a crawl. Flame Princess's voice seemed to surround him. "I've been waiting for a hero..." She smiled at him in the silence, and he smiled back. Then he noticed her arm.
It began where the two had touched, her glowing, orange skin had faded and lost its color. Grey was moving along her arm, like a virus, it snuffed out her glow and made her skin crack. In moments she was completely grey, and she began to crumble away before his eyes. Her hair fell in a fine dust, her arms in miniature clumps, and cracks spider webbed along her face, chipping off and falling away. Then, it was as if a gust of wind pushed through an ash pile. She left him standing there alone, the last to go was her still smiling face... Words had escaped him. He was about to scream when he suddenly felt a presence looming over him.
A voice, so much deeper than any previously heard surrounded him.
"For every gain there must be sacrifice. This is the rule of the world. You, are no exception."
Finn's eyes snapped open, his body tense and alert. He recognized Marceline's soft features only inches from his own. He had fallen asleep in her lap and she hadn't moved in the slightest. He glimpsed at the wall clock, 2:20 AM. It was all... a dream? No. A nightmare. The final words echoed around his skull as he began to relax once more. Sacrifice? Sacrifice what though? But these thoughts were no match for exhaustion. Slowly his eyelids began to fall, and in moments he asleep once more.
At the mouth of the cave.
A snail, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, turned its back to the cave entrance. It turned to the north west, moving slow and steady towards the Candy Kingdom.