A/N: Okay, so yeah. I'm not the most devoted person in the world. So terribly sorry. So, here. New chapter!

Chapter 12

It seemed like everyone, save for Ice Queen, was keeping their distance from Decker. Finn's words still echoed in all of their minds.

"I had a dream that Decker's gonna kill FP..."

When Decker himself had awoken, the only person remotely near him was the ice monarch. She was sitting in a nearby chair, seemingly deep in thought. But, he was relieved to find that the voices had receded to a dull drone of ghostly hums. Something he could ignore. He groaned as he sat up, "I-Ice Queen..." he stopped.

'Damn, my mouth is dry.' She turned to him, "Decker! Are you alright? Do you feel good? I'm-"

"H-Hey, hey, Ice Queen. I'm just a little thirsty is all," he croaked out.

The boy rolled off the couch and onto the floor. He stood up tiredly, eyes scanning the room. Black and white. Down at his hands? The glow of his veins shined swirling pools of glaring crimson and shimmering gold.

Decker stumbled his way into kitchen from there. Not bothering with a glass, he simply stuck his head under the faucet and turned it on. The cool fluid trickled over his tongue and down his throat. He continued to gulp the running water for a few more seconds before straightening back up, breathing heavily. Great, he mused, Now I feel only slightly shitty...

He sighed. Where was everyone? Now that his voice was better, he called out, "Alex...? ... Fionna, you here?"

Ice Queen came into the kitchen, "They're having some sort of meeting somewhere in here ... not sure where, though. I think they told me..."

"Leave finding them to me."

Decker sent out a wave of inaudible sound, activating his Virus Sonar. The action made his head throb, though. God, he hated headaches. Stairs, stairs, latter, hall, latter, room. Not the right room, dammit!

The Treefort was really starting to aggravate him. He sighed in relief when he reached a door with voices on the other side. Decker hadn't even realized that Simone had been following him. Upon entering, he found everyone lounging about, but he caught a fragment of their conversation. "-sn't going to get better. It's getting worse," Alex said bluntly.

"What is?" Decker asked.

Everyone, save Alex, looked at him like they'd been caught in the act of a crime. They all tried covering it up, but Alex stepped forward, "Look, kid. Your virus needs to evolve. You need to consume. If you don't, those voices will continue and you'll go insane."

"I... I appreciate you guys being concerned and all, but..." he looked down, "I don't want to kill anyone. I can kill Gentek and Blackwatch if I can force myself to, but who do I consume here? I mean, I know a lot about Ooo, but now that I'm here, I just... I just think I need time to clear my head."

Alex was suddenly very stern, "Time isn't a luxury you have, Decker. You need to evolve now. I've never been a religious or spiritual person, but what this kid just told me, what happened in his dream, it's something I'd expect from the virus. He says it's prophetic. You know anything about that, Decker?"

The teen was nervous about what he would hear, but... "What was the dream...?"

Finn replied, a downtrodden look plastered on his face, "I dreamed that you killed one of my friends."

"H-Huh?!" he squeaked.

Churning nausea filled his stomach, like he was going to be sick. Decker had to know, "Wh...Who...?"

"My... ex-girlfriend," Decker's heart dropped, "The Queen of the Fire Kingdom."

A whimper escaped the brunet and his legs wobbled beneath him. "A-And your sure it was prophetic?" the more he talked, the faster he seemed to go, "The whole kazoo, big shebang, Cosmic Owl and everything- I mean, for reals?!"

The hero nodded. Decker was becoming frantic, "B-But, I wouldn't do that! I couldn't do it! I can't kill strangers, let alone someone I know and like, like FP... It can't be prophetic, i-it just can't, I-"

A firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. Finn looked straight into Decker's eyes, blue clashing with brown, "Easy. There's probably some twist on this. Alex explained your head biz, so if we fix that, then we should be kickin'."

"Right. Yeah, I just n-need to clear my head," Decker reiterated, "Hey! M-Maybe... maybe we could go check out a nearby dungeon. There's bound to be inhuman stuff to consume there, right?"

At that moment, there was some sort of plinging that emanated from Finn's chest. That's right, the PB crystal, Decker remembered. While he didn't much care for either of the candy monarchs, he could see that Bubblegum had somewhat improved. She was trying, so he could give her the benefit of the doubt. Finn brought the crystal out from under his shirt, "'Sup, P-Bubs?"

"Finn!" the cheery monarch greeted, "Come to the Candy Kingdom. I have to speak with you and Jake."

"A'ight."

"See you soon, Finn."

The transmission ended. Decker looked at Finn, "I'm coming with you guys. She'll have something for us to do. I'm sure of it."

Finn bit the corner of his lip and looked down. He placed his hands on his hips. Decker was certainly right when he said Bubblegum would have something for them; she always did. But, he wasn't sure about bringing the brunet along. As a hero, Finn wanted to help the poor guy with his head, but he was always dedicated to the princess' safety.

A sigh escaped him, "I don't know, Deck. How do I know you're not gonna flip again?"

Okay, that hurt. Decker was being rejected by his hero. Harsh. If the slack-jaw expression was anything to go by, they could tell in his eyes that he was hurt. His eyes darted from place to place, all around the room, but the floor drew his attention most, "I-I... Well, that... I won't! Really..."

Decker's hands were balled into white-knuckled fists. Damn it! He doesn't even trust me! A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders. It was Larkspur, "Don't worry, Finn. I know he's got this. He's a stubborn little thing."

"L-Little thing?!" Decker repeated.

"Yes. 'Cause even if you go all Big Bad Wolf, you're still baby brother to me!" she ended with a intentionally big and sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Decker whined, "Lark!"

Completely ignored, Decker sighed as Lark continued to relax, arms simply draping over his shoulders, "So, please tell me you'll give him a chance."

"Okay... You can come with me and Jake to the Candy Kingdom," Finn gazed into Decker's eyes happily and pumped up a fist, "I promise we're gonna help you!"

Decker formed a smile of mock insanity, "Ah, don't worry, Finn! I'm only the craziest person you've ever met!"

Before they left, Ice Queen dragged Decker into another room, much to the boy dismay. He hated being manhandled. She looked worried and for a brief, insane little moment, it was like she was sane, "Are you sure about this? Do you really believe you won't go crazy?"

Decker sighed; he was getting tired of everyone asking him the same questions, "I appreciate your concern, it really means a lot, but trust me. Even if I felt myself slipping, I could run far enough in time."

It didn't appear to relax the queen, though. The teen smiled softly as he touched her arm, "C'mon. I've had this virus long enough to know that it's hard to trust me. But, stop worrying. Let me do that."

"I just don't want to lose you, too..."

Decker's eyes widened. She must be remembering, to a certain extent, Brett Grof. That was the name of Betty Grof's genderbent counterpart. There was a strong pang of pity in the brunet's heart for her. "You're not gonna lose me that easily, Simone. I'm a hard sucker to get rid of!"

He stepped forward and grabbed her in a hug, "I'm like gum on the bottom of your shoe-"

"That's kinda gross..."

He chuckled, "It's a metaphor."

"A gross metaphor," she replied.

Finally, she rested her head on his shoulder, "So this is a friend? Gunther's never been good company."

"Yeah. And I feel like I'm gonna be here for a long time."

Finn and Decker rode on Jake's back as they headed for the Candy Kingdom. Finn didn't have any doubts that Bubblegum would want to examine or experiment on Decker if she found out about the virus, so they had to keep it from her. He didn't think badly of her for it, it was just her nature to be all science-y and stuff. It's how she worked. So he discussed it with Decker.

"When we get to the kingdom, you'll want to make that thing with the veins disappear. I don't want the princess knowing about whatever this BLACKLIGHT thing is. Is that fine?"

"Yeah," he replied, "I just need to make and adjustment."

The virus' black, red, and gold enveloped his entire body. When it receded, the veins and dragon-like pattern in his skin were hidden from sight. "There we go," he said.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Looking back, Finn wished he'd brought someone who could control Decker in case he did lose it. But, it appeared that that Alex Mercer guy was the only one who could and he didn't trust him. Unfortunately, recent adventures have made Finn less than eager to trust new people. After what happened with Flame Princess, he had trouble trusting himself, even.

But, he planned to make it all right with her soon.

After whatever Bubblegum had set up for them, he would go to the Fire Kingdom and make sure that Flame Princess was alright. Then, he wanted to catch up with her. It'd been too long since they last hung out. Even with her royal duties, he wanted to make time for the both of them. Coincidentally, Decker had been silently staring a hole in the back of Finn's head.

Now that he was there, now that Finn and Flame Princess were reality, he made it a priority to help them. He needed to. It didn't feel right to leave something like that for Finn to figure out on his own. The guy was smart, but he needed help. "Hey, Finn...?" the boy looked back at him quizzically, "Look, uh... I'm sorry if my being here is messing stuff up, but I still remember my promise to you. FP's gonna be alright and I'm gonna help you with her, 'kay?"

Decker wanted so bad to prove himself to his hero. Adventure Time had helped him out through the toughest of times. He was able to numb himself with it when he lost his parents. Just completely immerse himself in the good feelings the show brought. It was high time that Decker returned the favor paid to him.

Finn kind of stared at him. He felt bad that he didn't trust him, especially with what Decker had done for him so far. Even if he went berserk on those military people, it saved all their lives. Not to mention he was willing to help him with his girl problems when they hardly even knew each other on a personal basis. As they arrived at the Candy Kingdom, Finn chuckled, "Thanks, Decker."

Maybe you're someone I can trust...

A/N: Oh my God, gais! Yes, I'm still alive and breathing. There is no need for alarm! Eat drinks, drink foods, do everything the wrong way because I've stopped the earth moving! So, until the next chapter... Ja ne!