Chapter 17: The Oldest Tales

"Princess. Princess, I think he's waking up!"

The words were muffled and echoed in Finn's ear, but it would take more than being groggy for him to not recognize Jake's voice.

A blinding light hung over him, making it hard for his vision to adjust. He could feel the soft fabric of a bed underneath him, but it did little to ease some of the pain he felt through his entire body, minor as it was, but still inconvenient. Upon turning his head to the left with a groan, he could see the needle that was currently inserted into the back of his hand, along with several patches connected to a beeping heart monitor. The prisoner clothing that he had been wearing since leaving Wizard City was gone, now replaced with a pinkish coat.

Faint footsteps caused him to turn his head back forward, allowing him to see the pink outline of none other than Princess Bubblegum.

The shadow she casted from blocking the bright light over the human gave him the chance necessary to properly open his eyes, allowing for him to properly study the monarch currently wearing her usual white lab coat. She wore round glasses, but she kept them leaning over her forehead rather than using them for her actual eyes. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, but the rather unkempt state of it suggested she had been working hard as usual.

"Finn, can you hear me?" she asked. Hearing her voice after facing certain death was always a welcome relief. Most of the time.

"Ugh, where am I?" Finn asked groggily while raising his hand up to his aching head.

"The Candy Kingdom hospital," she replied. "I've been monitoring your condition ever since Jake and the others brought you here." She chuckled. "You gave us all quite the scare."

Finn's eyes immediately widened to their fullest extent at the mention of his friends and immediately sat up on the bed, startling the princess. "Jake! Ice King! Where-OW!"

The pain across his body increased immensely with the sudden movement. Princess Bubblegum gently grabbed him by the shoulders and helped him lie back down.

"Take it easy," she said. "Give your body time to adjust before moving too much."

He did as she asked, but it did not help to ease his worries. "Where's everyone else?"

"Right here," Jake said while walking up to the side of Finn's bed. "You really had us all worried there, man."

Finn forced himself to lightly smile, glad that his brother was still okay.

"Indeed, but the human continues to impress," said a familiar voice.

The human turned his head to see Weimar standing next to Princess Bubblegum, holding his wooden staff. But what he was not expecting was to also see Blayze standing next to him as well.

"You?!" he said, motioning to Weimar. He then faced Blayze. "AND YOU?!"

There was no denying that Finn was surprised to see the elemental in the same room. Even if he was not the same as last he saw him. His clothing was shattered in multiple areas, clear signs of a power struggle. There were also several fireproof bandages placed around his arm shoulder and leg, both slightly stained with the lava that passed for blood in the Fire Kingdom. But his expression was still the same; calm, collected, showing no surprise involving Finn's shocking upon seeing him.

"Good to see you're still breathing," Blayze said, smirking. "If Weimar and I had taken a few seconds longer getting to you guys, we would've probably all died."

"Getting to us?" Finn asked. He turned to face the blind wizard. "Wait, you brought him with you to save us? Why?"

Weimar rubbed the orb atop his staff before replying. "Let's just say that, while he does not realize it, his fate ties closely to yours."

Fate. Finn's anger only grew at the mere thought of the word after witnessing what the Witch of Tears had to show him at Windar. But his anger immediately changed to confusion when he began to wonder how they were even able to exactly get out of the situation alive. Before he could ask, however, a more important question came to his mind.

"Where's Huntress?!"

Everyone looked at each other, expressions of clear worry present on their faces. The princess, Blayze, and Weimar moved out of the way so Finn could see the hospital bed a few rows away from his, where the huntress in question was currently at rest.

Despite the pain still present around his body, and Bubblegum's insistence that he stayed in bed, he removed the needle that was in his arm and stood up, relying on Jake to help him remain afoot as he limped towards his fallen friend. He saw Ice King on one of the beds as well, but the ice wizard seemed to be taking a simple nap rather than being medically attended to. The human paid him no mind.

When Jake managed to get him to Huntress' bed, Finn thanked him and supported himself from the metal bars next to it. He studied her carefully, since he was not able to during their confrontation at Windar. Her eyes were closed, but the black tendrils were still clinging on to her green skin like roots from a tree clinging to the earth. Her breathing was still raspy, but it was steady. And the heart monitor beeping next to her showed that her vitals were at least stable.

"Huntress, can you hear me?" Finn whispered, leaning in closer.

She must have heard him to some extent because her soulless black eyes began to slightly open. The words from her mouth came out in quiet and incoherent mumbles as she raised her hand slowly. Finn did the sensible thing and gently grabbed it, but she was too weak to squeeze back and hold his.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked the princess without taking his eyes off Huntress.

"I'm not entirely sure," she replied. "Something was done to her by this 'Witch' you encountered, if I heard Jake's story correctly. I tried tending to her as best I could, but…she can't really function properly at the moment."

Finn sighed. It pained him emotionally to see her so weak. "This is all my fault."

"Come on, dude, no it's not," Jake reassured while placing a hand on the human's shoulder.

"It is. I got us all into this mess. I should've just let the whole thing be and never bothered to look into it."

No one commented further. Not even Princess Bubblegum, despite her obvious interest in the marking on the human's hand, which he assumed was pointless to hide any longer. After hearing Huntress mumble a few more words before going back to sleep, he gently placed her hand back down and turned to face everyone else.

"So what exactly happened?" he asked. "How did we manage to escape from Windar?"

Jake stepped forward, rubbing the back of his head. "After the Witch finished doing…whatever it is she was doing to you, she just let go of you and you landed on the floor without moving. I was worried that she had killed you, but then…"

As Jake trailed off, Blayze continued for him. "After dealing with some…unpleasantness outside, Weimar and I managed to make it inside the throne room. We saw Jake and Ice King both fighting two huge versions of those monsters. We beat them, after getting a few bruises, and managed to get to close enough to you so we could drag you away. But then, things got…weird."

Finn raised an eyebrow. He was not exactly very fond of Blayze, for the childish reason of him being Flame Princess' suitor, but he was still interested in what he had to say. "Weird how?"

Blayze collected his thoughts before resuming with his story. "The Witch, she…let us go."

The human was taken back. He turned to face his brother, who nodded in conformation of what Blayze had just said. "What do you mean 'let us go'?"

"After we grabbed you and Huntress, we began getting surrounded by a multitude of those creatures. Mongos, were they called? I couldn't even count them. Dozens? Hundreds? Whatever the case, there was no leaving without a fight. But then, just as we readied ourselves for a tough fight, the Witch called them all off and ordered them to step aside. We were confused, but we didn't even question it. We just took the chance and left. Not even the ice giants we had faced on the outskirts before arriving tried to tackle us. We simply went through the Door Lord's…well, door, and we were back home. We brought both of you here to the Candy Kingdom immediately. It's been eleven hours since then."

There were several details Finn did not fully understand in his story, such as the ice giants and how they managed to get the help of a Door Lord, but he never questioned it. He got all of the information necessary. Well, most of it.

"I take it the Witch is still alive, then?" he asked.

Blayze nodded. "Taking her on right then and there would've been suicide. So yes, she lives…for now."

For now. Finn had to somewhat admire the elemental's belief that the battle was not yet over. And he had to agree. The Witch had a lot to answer for, especially for what she did to Huntress. But it would have to wait, for there were bigger problems at hand. Literally; the marking still present on his palm.

"This thing has caused nothing but trouble ever since I got it. I thought it was a gift but it's just a curse by this point. Now all I want is for it to go away."

"How did you even get it in the first place?" Princess Bubblegum asked, with a face that showed she was extremely interested in any information regarding it. "I was running some tests on it while you were under and, to put simply for you guys, the 'magic' signature was completely off the charts. I've never seen anything quite like it even from some of the most experienced wizards in Ooo."

Finn looked at the marking. "You won't believe me if I told you."

The pink monarch crossed her arms. "Try me."

He tried his best to explain in detail how it all started. How he had a dream here a phantom resembling Flame Princess came to him and said those infamous words. Find me where skin burns but there is no fire. He also explained how she grabbed him by the hand and some sort of darkness began to envelop him before waking up. Weimar added in that the marking was only made visible after he had tinkered with it.

As expected, Bubblegum seemed indifferent about the whole thing, but she never showed signs of full disbelief.

"Hmm. Well, for now, all we can do is monitor it from time to time and see how it goes. This whole 'Shadowed One' mumbo-jumbo has everyone-OW!"

She winced as she held the spot on her head where Weimar had bonked her with his staff. "Mumbo-jumbo?! My dear girl, we are talking about one of the greatest historical events that transpired in this world! A tale as old as the land itself. One that dates back to centuries of war and bloodshed. Since before even The Lich arose to full power! And the human here is tied to all of it. It is his destiny to-"

"NO!" Finn shouted, startling everyone else in the room. Even Ice King, who snorted and sat up on his bed. "I don't care about any 'ancient history' and I don't want to fulfill whatever prophecy this marking entitles. I want it gone!"

The human winced as he grasped the side of his head in pain. He lost some of his balance before Princess Bubblegum held his shoulders to keep him straight.

"Finn, don't strain yourself," she told him with worry. "You haven't fully recovered yet and I haven't had time to fully analyze your state while conscious."

He pushed her hands away. "I'm fine."

Weimar was taken back for a moment on account of the human's outburst, but ultimately ended up grinning widely. "My dear boy, if you want the marking removed, there is still a lot you must face in the road ahead. But I warn you, one does not simply escape their fate. Many have tried, and many have failed. You are no different. The Great Crow will not abandon its chosen vessel so easily, and neither will she."

Finn felt his anger drop, replaced with more confusion. "She? What does that mean?"

"I'm afraid I cannot give you all of the answers," he replied while leaning on his staff. "But if you really want to know more, there is someone who could offer some extra clearance than what I could offer. One whose destiny is just as tied to that marking as much as you are."

The human eyed Weimar as he walked closer to Huntress' bed. "Who?"

"The ruler of the land in flames. Phoebe, I believe is her name." He snickered. "That rhymed."

Everyone grew wide-eyed at the mention of Flame Princess, none more so than Finn and Blayze.

"What would she know about any of this?" the elemental asked.

Rather than responding, Weimar slowly waved his staff around, sending out a green aurora from its orb that surrounded Huntress Wizard. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the covers were lifted from her body and she began to slightly float above the bed. Needless to say, everyone was shocked by the performance.

"Like I said, go ask the princess of flames," he said, still holding Huntress in place. "In the meantime, this is the last time we will speak for a while, Finn the Human. I will take my granddaughter to a safe place where I can hopefully find a way to better her condition. But from this point on, this journey is yours to take."

Finn narrowed his eyes, studying the wizard's words in his mind. "Forgive me if I don't seem to trust all that much, Weimar. But you haven't actually done anything to make me believe every word you say."

The blind wizard turned to face him, a wide smile spread across his wrinkled face. "Good. It is wise for one to not trust someone completely, no matter how well you think you might know them. It might help you in the long run."

With one last smile, Weimar began to walk back from the group while pulling Huntress along the air with his powers.

"Hey!" Princess Bubblegum exclaimed. "You can't just take her with you. There's paperwork involved for leaving a hospital with a patient!"

"Pbbt, a wizard does not concern himself with such trifles, pinky." Weimar responded as he raised his staff higher.

"Wait!" Finn shouted, reaching out with his hand in the direction of the wizard. "Why can't you tell me anything else? What do you know that I don't?! Can't you at least tell me that much?"

Weimar only smiled. "All in good time, lad. You've always had a knack for solving the unsolvable on your own terms. Now, I must be off. POOF!"

With one swift motion, he slammed his staff against the ground, and a green cloud of smoke surrounded him and Huntress. Once it cleared and everyone stopped coughing from inhaling some of the cloud, they had both vanished.

"Pinky?" the princess muttered. "What does that even…Who was that guy?"

Finn groaned as he leaned against the side of his own bed. Some parts of his body still ached. "I wish I could tell you, but he just confuses me the more he speaks. And the only one who could tell us anything about him was just taken away and is in a coma."

"Well, whoever he is, I don't believe a single word out of his mouth. This is why I think magic is total bunk. It makes people think they know everything, when in reality it's just simple party tricks."

"Ugh, not again with this, PB," Jake groaned. "Leave 'em be and focus on helping out my bro."

"I'm fine, Jake. I just…" the human gently rubbed his head. "I just need a sec to get my head straight. Also, wearing anything aside from these hospital clothes would be nice. It's cold in here."

"Oh," Jake suddenly exclaimed, stretching himself to the other end of the room to grab something from a chair and bring it back. It was Finn's belongings; his clothing, his hat, his backpack, and his sword. "After bringing you here, I went on a quick trip back home to get your stuff back."

Finn took them all with pleasure, but he could not bring himself to smile. "Thanks."

"I really think you shouldn't be up yet, Finn," the princess said, concerned for the human's well-being. "But if you have to leave, at least promise me you'll get some rest soon."

"I've rested enough already. And justice never sleeps. Isn't that right, Jake?"

"Agreed," said Blayze. "If you recall, we have to go see Phoebe about figuring all of this out. Good thing too, cause I was planning to bring you to her anyway."

As Finn began to dig through his bag for some food and drink, he stopped when Blayze finished his statement.

"What do you mean you were planning to bring me back?" asked the human.

"I think Phoebe more than deserves to know why her suitor was forced to go save you from a witch in a snow-covered wasteland while accompanied by a deranged wizard. So not only are we going to ask some questions, you are going to give some answers in return."

Finn could feel some of his disdain for Blayze rise within him once more, but he hid it by turning his attention back to his backpack to pull out a half-empty bottle of water.

He took a few sips and turned his eyes to the elementals. "I suppose that's fair. But from what you told me, it sounds like I didn't need much saving from you to begin with."

Before he could get a good look at Blayze's reaction, Jake stretched himself behind Finn and pulled him closer.

"Dude, can you bring yourself to treat this guy nicely this one time?" the dog said in a whisper. "Your constant jealously isn't getting is anywhere."

Finn's face grew red with a mixture of rage and embarrassment. "I'm not jealous!"

"Call it whatever you like, but please keep your feelings on the down low for the time being. No one finds your awkwardness around Flame Princess more hilarious than me, but even I know when poo stars to hit the fan. And if you keep going, there's gonna be an enormous mess to clean up."

Though he refused to admit out loud, Finn had to agree with his brother. His feelings for his ex were beginning to get the best of him, and he knew fully well that Blayze did them a favor by coming to their aid.

Before any more words could be exchanged, a sudden door opening caught everyone's attention, revealing a banana guard carrying what seemed to be a letter in his empty hand, while the other held a spear. From his lack of breath, and the abrupt manner in which he entered the room, it was clear he had run all the way here.

"Princess!" he saluted as he stopped in front of the gummy ruler. His breathing was heavy, and he struggled to complete full sentences. "I bring an important message…from the Floating Gems…Requires attention…Glob, I'm out of shape…"

The princess took the sealed letter in her hands with curiosity. "The Floating Gems? Is this from the Diamond Kingdom?"

The banana guard nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Finn and Jake had never been to the Floating Gems, but they had heard of them. Three enormous diamonds the size of islands located off Ooo's eastern coast. The Diamond Kingdom itself is supposed to be beautiful beyond imagining, but not many people can take the ship ride to go see it since tourism is not allowed. What news of such import was written inside the letter handed to the princess?

She turned to face everyone else. "I have to go see what this is, guys. You can go ahead and leave if you have to but remember, don't strain yourselves after your recent journey."

Everyone nodded, even if Finn could not confirm with one-hundred percent certainty that everything would turn out smoothly. And with that, the princess left them, off to attend to her duties of ruling the kingdom along with the banana guard.

"Alright then," said Blayze, breaking the silence. "If you feel up to it, we should start getting ready to head out. The day is still young, so we have plenty of time to visit the Fire Kingdom before night comes. Then we can all get the proper rest we need."

"What about me?" asked Ice King, floating next to everyone else. Finn had almost completely forgotten he was there the entire time.

"I don't think we'll really need you for the time being," Fin said. "I guess you can go back to the Ice Kingdom for now."

The ice wizard seemed a bit upset about leaving, but ultimately nodded. "Okay. You guys call me if we ever go on that road trip you promised. Kay?"

With that, Ice King flew out of the room as the sound of his beard flapping fading in the distance.

Finn spent the next several minutes getting ready in the bathroom. Donning his shirt, pants, backpack, and most importantly, his hat. Once that was done, he, Jake, and Blayze all made their way out of the candy hospital, being met immediately by the full force of the midday sun shining down upon them on the streets.

The human had to cover his eyes as they adjusted to the light. The air was suddenly filled with the joyous sound of chatter and laughter from the people that inhabited the kingdom. Several children ran past as they played with a bouncing ball, and on the far side of the streets, he could see several couples enjoying some milkshakes together in different tables set up just outside the shop. Overall, after everything that had transpired in the past week, being among the crowd of happy candy people once more brought a warm smile to Finn's face.

Several pedestrians kept their distance from the three in fear of Blayze. The elemental did not seem bothered by it, however. In fact, it almost seemed as if he was used to it.

Once the trio reached the main gate, they were bid farewell by the two banana guards standing watch at its sides, and they were now free to roam the lands of the Candy Kingdom at full pace. But before they could, Blayze stopped them in their tracks.

"Stand still, guys," he said.

Confused as to the elemental's intention, Finn and Jake followed his command. As he rubbed both of his palms together, Blayze then began to chant the flame shield spell, and cast it on the two adventurers, making them look blue as always.

Now protected from fire, Jake stretched to his large form, placed both Finn and Blayze on his back, and began his trek across the candy forest.

As they reached the Grasslands, Finn's mind was racing with all sorts of questions. The biggest one being if Weimar would be able to help Huntress with her condition. Just imagining the thought of seeing her as practically a lifeless corpse filled his mind with great worry.

"Jake?" said the human to gain his brother's attention. "Do you think Huntress will be okay?"

The dog replied while still walking. "Yeah, man. She's a tough one, I'm sure she'll pull through. Especially with her own grandpa looking out for her."

Whether that was true or not was debatable, but Finn appreciated the comfort nonetheless. He then leaned close enough for Blayze not to hear. "By the way, do you still have that map we found in Wizard City?"

Jake responded by simply raising his paw and showing the map in question still shaped into his skin, pinpointing an exact location within the Desert of Doom. Once all business within the Fire Kingdom was done, it was time to go there and find out what secrets might be held. But for now, more answers awaited with Flame Princess.

As the warm sun shined down upon the Grasslands, Finn, Jake, and Blayze made haste towards the Fire Kingdom.

The constant echoing of the Grand Master Wizard's fingers tapping against the armrest of his throne was the only sound withing his grand hall. There was the occasional ruffling as his pet cat rolled around on the floor while playing with its ball of yarn, but the room was mostly silent. The grand master had gone years without going into such a deep state of thought, but the current situation was too delicate to be ignored, and it made him uneasy with each passing day that Finn the Human was free and roaming around Ooo without leaving a single trace.

Suddenly, the silence broke as the giant doors into the hall were opened, allowing some light from the outside to momentarily enter before they were once again closed. the Grand Master's trustworthy captain of the wizard police came marching forward. He straightened himself on his throne as the smaller man stood straight before him.

"So?" the Grand Master asked. "Anything?"

"Yes, sir," the captain replied. "Our scouts have reported sightings of Finn the Human and several of his companions within the Candy Kingdom," he said. "We found him."

The Grand Master lowered his head in thought, then raised it to face his captain once more. "Send out a squadron. Discreetly; we don't want any other kingdoms to know of this. Their number one priority is to bring Finn the Human back no matter the cost. It would be preferable to have him remain alive, but if he refuses to cooperate and causes a problem...kill him. He must be stopped before he brings ruin upon us all."

The captain bowed and turned to make his way out of the palace once more. As the doors opened and closed with his departure, the Grand Master was once again left alone in the silence with his cat and the echoing of his tapping upon the armrest.

As the image of Finn came into his mind, his teeth barred in anger.

'Finn, may Glob forgive me if I must summon the Wardens to bring you down...'

Note: I apologize for that small hiatus. But good news, I've officially started summer break, so hopefully I'll be able to update both this story and Sentinels more often. And maybe even finally finish the latter.

-An Amber Pen: I definitely will. Thanks for the review.

-Awolfx9: We shall see what transpires.

Next Chapter: Split Journeys