A/N: Guess who's back with two brand new chapters and a steady updating schedule! Updates will now be every week on Friday. I've got this story back on track!

"Tell me what's wrong." Tree Trunks sighed as she turned towards Flame.

"You couldn't have waited until Beemo was asleep?" Flame frowned but stared the woman down. He wouldn't be distracted by her anger.

"I'm worried about you Tree Trunks. What did the Ice King say? You haven't been the same since you spoke with him." Tree Trunks looked away from the man, eyes sad. She was still shocked from what Simon told her. She knew that people would begin to panic if this information got out but she trusted Flame. He wouldn't spread this information.

"He killed the witch." Flame took a step back. That wasn't what he expected.

"What?" The Ice King had killed someone? He knew the man could be threatening but he'd never thought that he could kill someone. Tree Trunks nodded absently.

"The witch that changed us. He killed her a few hundred years ago. When I lost his crown." Flame frowned.

"You wanted to be normal again." At this Tree Trunks finally turned towards him. She looked so angry and lost that Flame wasn't sure if he should back away or reach out and comfort her.

"I don't know!" Tree trunks huffed, wrapping her arms around herself. She could feel tears prickling at her eyes and shook her head. "This curse has brought so much good! So many lives have been bettered! But I'd love to have my old body back. To see the friends I once cared for again and I can't. My husband left when he found out what I had become and there are days I wish I could have him back. I don't know what I want."

Flame wrapped his arms around the woman, his chest muffling her sobs as Tree Trunks finally broke down. How could she have let this happen? How could she have been so blind to Simon's descent into madness? Flame whispered words of encouragement to her, hand rubbing comfortably up and down her back.

"I'm sorry." Tree Trunks laughed and shook her head.

"It's been nearly a thousand years since we changed. No matter what we do we can't go back to what we were before." Flame embraced her again, letting the woman cling to him for comfort. He wasn't sure what would make Tree Trunks happy but he knew he could ease her pain.

Finn bit his lip as he watched Magic Man set up potions around him. He'd been here for at least two weeks. Two weeks of Magic Man's... experiments. Finn shuddered as he remembered the feel the man's magic washing over him. He was absurdly grateful for the injury Ice King had given him. Magic Man was hesitant to do too much with him if Finn was still injured.

"Fionna?" Finn looked up, eyes softening at the child he was met with. Neptr had been a surprise. He hadn't expected to see a child near Magic Man and yet Neptr seemed to be his son. The boy was normal, both in looks and disposition. He wasn't green like his father, instead having darker brown skin and brown eyes. He was missing an arm, something that had shocked Finn when he first realized it. Still, Neptr was as sweet as any child and Finn came to adore him. How a man of magic came to have a human child was beyond Finn.

"I'm fine Neptr." The boy frowned. He knew Fionna was lying, he had seen the blonde wince when he tried to move his arm. Magic Man cleared his throat and the two snapped their attention to the man.

"It's time." Neptr nodded and moved to sit across from Finn, careful of the circle of runes encasing them. Finn sighed but sat straighter and stared at Neptr. Magic Man handed both of them bowls of greenish liquid. Neptr drank his quickly without any hesitation. Finn took a little longer, wincing at the horrid taste and glaring at Magic Man. He could feel the change almost instantly, the world around him melting away until only he and Neptr remained. Magic Man's chanting served as a faint ambiance for the two of them in the blank space that they now inhabited.

"Fionna?" Finn stood, walking over to Neptr and pulling the small boy into his arms. Neptr eagerly hugged him back, smile still in place. The boy poked at the white runes that covered Finn's body, taking special care with the dark blue one on the other's stomach.

"What are we looking for this time?" Neptr pulled back, biting his lip and looking shyly up at Finn.

"Darkness." Finn raised an eyebrow, picking up the boy and shifting him to his hip.

"And why is that?" Neptr ducked his head, suddenly finding the nothingness they were standing on very interesting. Finn gently turned the boy's head back to him, smiling to encourage Neptr to talk.

"Papa wants to know if he can use it to change you." Finn frowned and Neptr dropped his gaze once more.

"Into Margles?" Neptr hesitated before nodding. Finn sighed, having already known the answer. Ever since he'd become the man's prisoner Magic Man seemed obsessed with finding ways to turn him into a woman named Margles. He'd learned enough about the woman to know that they shared a few similar features and a unique magical signature. The last point seemed to be what Magic Man focused on the most as he prodded at Finn's newly discovered magic and tried to find a way to shape it into Margles's magic. He shook his head, discarding the thought and focusing on the task at hand.

"Where to?" Neptr pointed to a random area in the darkness and Finn began walking. It would take awhile for them to find whatever it was they were looking for in this empty purgatory. Neptr stayed silent, playing with the golden band on Finn's wrist that bound his new magic. He could still feel it, the magic, but he couldn't access it. Neptr suddenly shifted, wrapping his arm around Finn's neck and burying his face deeper into the blonde's chest.

"Fionna?" Finn smiled despite himself. Neptr was far too innocent for his own good.

"Yes Neptr?" The boy was quiet and Finn's smile dropped into a concerned frown. Finally the boy spoke again and Finn sighed.

"Will you tell me a story?" Finn nodded, allowing himself to press a kiss to Neptr's forehead. He knew he was becoming too attached to the boy but it didn't matter. He would just have to incorporate Neptr into his plan to escape. Neptr stared up at him expectantly and Finn chuckled.

"Of course. Once upon a time..."

A/N: Neptr and Magic Man know Finn is a boy but call him Fionna because that is the only name Finn gave them.