Floating into the carved-out mountain that was his home, the elderly wizard quickly led Finn to his own personal chair. Intent on making him nice and cozy before that cough could get any worse, only to nearly trip up on an abandoned ice leash lying on the ground. "Huh?" He took a second to pick up the leash with his free hand.
BA DUM TISS
And then the sound of his drums, being beaten on, despite the fact he was nowhere near them. Momentarily forgetting his charge, he walked into the living room to see his unleashed Gunther pounding on the drums, dancing on top of one and enjoying the beat. "Gunther!" The old man shouted alerting the penguin who delivered a blank look to his master.
WENK
"Oh don't try to play cute Mister. You left your leash and touched my drum set! What do you have to say for yourself?" The father of the penguin sternly asked his animal kid.
WENK WENK
Darn, that was a really convincing argument. The ice wizard scratching his beard as he considered the deep ramifications of Gunther's words. The way he so eloquently put his need to be unshackled and free. So thought provoking, so articula-
WENK
"Huh? A boy? Where?" It was then he looked at his arm still scooped around Finn who just watched the scene with a neutral expression. Then like a wrecking ball to his brain, he remembered why he'd come back home in the first place. "Wah! We need to get you comfy!" And scrambled towards his special chair, the seat of the house where the blue-nosed wizard would often relax. Normally he didn't let anyone sit in it, but this was a special occasion.
Finn, for his part, once he was seated in said chair tried to get comfortable. As much as one could when dealing with furniture made of ice. "It's hard and cold." The child was all too right with pointing out the flaws of the chair.
Oh no! The older of the two began to panic. He needed to make Finn feel better not worse! But how he didn't know anything about this! But then he realized, maybe his library had the answers. So many books, one of them had to be able to help him. "Gunther!" He called for his favorite penguin who waddled in. "Watch over Finn until I get back. Cuddle with him while daddy's away. Can you do that for me sweetie?" He asked with a needing smile before making a mad dash for the stairs leaving the two to get to know each other.
Meanwhile
In the treehouse, where a bright orange dog was currently inspecting the inside of a cookie jar, a canine brother began to wonder where his human sibling had gone. "Finn! Are you in here?" But seeing nothing inside the jar the dog sat the lid back down. "Never hid from me this long." The talking animal scratched his head. Before getting a devious idea. Heading towards the fridge where the last Finn Cake stood, the sweetest of treats exclusive only to his little bro. "Guess Finn isn't around. Just gonna eat the last Finn Cake then!" He shouted with a sinister chuckle from his throat. The delectable cake inched closer to his lips. "Any second now! It's coming!" Even after a full five minutes of this treatment, no one emerged.
It wasn't until the final resident of their tree house, a certain BMO who had just finished going to the bathroom or had been pretending to, walked into the room to see Jake's actions. "Unhand that Finn Cake!" The robot struck a pose while doing so.
Jake sensing that his lovable friend had gotten the wrong idea, "No BMO I'm just pretending. Bring out Finn from where he's hiding." The dog took a moment to explain.
"Oh, hide and seek! I wanna play!" The robot excitedly exclaimed.
Jake, all too happy to have some extra help, let his little robot buddy participate. "Well hop on aboard. You know where our boy is hiding?" The dog asked, hoping the computer held those answers.
And it seemed BMO did know as he ran around. "I know, I know, I know!" He then stopped right at the door. "Not here!"
It took about two seconds for the stretchy dog to understand, but then, it all made sense. Guess he should have figured his boy would go run off just to make sure he wasn't caught. Whelp, that just meant he'd have to find him!
RUMBLE
After he had a sandwich of course. "I'm sure he's fine. He's 10 that's way old." And with that moment of self-assurance, Jake the Dog planned to fix himself something to eat, then find his bro.
Meanwhile
Running down to his own personal library, the elderly wizard tossed book after book, attempting to find something on how to take care of someone sick. It was a library for Glob's sake, certainly something was in here to help him! Eventually a book did catch his eye, "Baby birds and their natural habits." Baby birds? Well, Finn was a baby, or close to one, so this should work! And he loved birds, and bird watching!
"Aren't they beautiful Betty? Almost as beautiful as you."
And as was becoming more common place these days, he would remember little pieces of a past he had by now realized was forgotten. At any other time, he may have spent the rest of the day thinking it over and reminiscing in his princess, but right now he had a job to do. So, the old man poked through the book, specifically on ways to make the baby comfortable. "Mother birds during the winter will sit on their eggs to keep them warm… perfect!" Why didn't he think of it before?! Ready to go nurse his new charge back to health through the power of sitting!
"Not like that! You'll kill him!"
Wait… would he? Whatever that voice was in his head, it did get the bearded wizard to think. Scratching the hair as a burst of intelligence shined on through. "If I sit on him… then… I'll… squish him!" What was he thinking before?! He needed something else to warm his friend up. Just then, another book caught his eye and he reached for it and read, "Winter Sweaters for those cold nights. That's it!" He could get Finn a comfy sweater, but from where?
Just then, the forgettable man remembered, that he still had plenty of ruined but warm tunics lying around in his room! Faster than one could say freeze, the once mad wizard scurried back up to his room, forming a pair of Ice Scissors as he began cutting into one of his less tattered tunics until he'd cut out a small child-sized hole from it. With a shark-toothed smile on his face, the king of ice skipped back into the living room where he saw the most adorable sight. His little Guntie played the keyboard while Finn took to singing. Somehow in auto-tune. "I tried to hide, oh I tried to hide from my bro. The next thing I knew, I found myself in the snow! And I kept kickin', gave 'em a lickin'! Until I met a man. But not a snowman, or a human, but a new type of blue man!" Oh, he could just keel over from the cuteness.
"Yeah sing it, Finn!" The glasses-wearing elder cheered as he came onto the scene. But then he noticed the little boy shivering again and remembered why he was there. "Up, up! Let's get you dressed for success!" And lifting Finn to his feet, pulled the remnants of his tunic over the boy, its soft warm fabric fitting nicely over his thin little body. "How ya feelin' now?" He excitedly asked.
The kid looked it over, seemingly thinking about it before smiling "Feels good. Smells a bit, but warm." And on the plus side, it was also close to his favorite shade of blue. But the happiness was short-lived as only seconds later, his tummy rumbled. "I'm hungry." The boy plainly stated.
No problem, his guardian thought. Heading on over to his pantry, he was ready to whip up a sandwich. Only once he opened the cabinets and saw a poof of dust did he realize his mistake. "Oh right, the store." It took a minute to set in that he had no food, and his sick child was hungry. Needless to say, it left him angry. "Gunther, Finn, close your ears!" As soon as they did, he kicked the cabinet. "Mother! Mother! Mother! Moth-YEOW!" His fourth kick hit the rock-hard icy fridge, and the man tumbled to the ground, nursing his aching foot. A bandage later and a chance to calm down, only one solution was clear. "Pack up kiddos, we are going to the store." And that's how the ice elemental went flying out of his domain with a human in one arm and a penguin in the other. Normally he'd venture to Wizard City for groceries, but non-magical users were not allowed in the city, so he settled for going to the Candy Kingdom Food Store.
Arriving outside the kingdom, the banana guards waved towards Finn. "Hi, Finn!" The kid waved back. He was well known in the kingdom since he and Jake visited often. He'd even met the Princess a few times after he and Jake stopped a rowdy candy criminal about two months ago. As for his companion, the guards gave him a look over but didn't seem to find anything wrong with the bearded man and let him in along with Gunther.
Walking in, at first things were good. A few people would look their way, but it was only natural. Yet, the further he stepped into the city, the more a sense of unease crawled up the old man's back. He didn't know why, but being in this city with all these buildings, surrounded by strange gooey creatures, it… it felt nerve-wracking. "Hehe. What are you nervous about? You're the Ice…" He couldn't even finish that sentence, once again reminded that the name of Ice King was reminiscent of his previous villainous acts. It didn't help his nervousness at all, and only garnered more looks from nearby candy citizens, which heightened his fear.
Running! Running! Running! He had to get away from them! His feet frantically scurrying through alleyways and destroyed buildings as he held the last valuable thing on this planet from those freaky monsters! Malevolent groans reaching the human's ears with each step, they never stopped, never grew tired, all they knew what to do was hunt for any remaining survivors! This city was a death trap, he should have never come here! Oh they were going to die, and it was all his fault!
"Hey! Are you ok man?" The little boy's voice broke the man out of his thoughts. The cursed human's heart thundered in his chest, images and feelings hitting him like a boulder. His eyes were wide upon looking down at Finn, and even though his body was at a temperature in the negatives, he sweated bullets. The little boy himself looked back with worry. "You went totally bizonkers there." And a sense of guilt dredged itself in his heart. He knew that look, and he knew that it was one he received numerous times even if his memory as he'd come to realize, was extremely foggy.
"Me? Pfft! Course I am!" Faking assurance, which wasn't hard to see. Thankfully, a child like Finn bought it hook, line, and sinker. Even better, they'd arrived at the store while he was out of it. Walking in, they were greeted by Chet, the chocolate-covered peanut who ran the shop. "Welcome to my wares. What can I do you for?" The friendly candy person greeted them with a wave.
Finn, seeing all the delightful stuff on sale, felt his tummy rumble even worse this time. "We're looking for some food. Tum tums getting upset." The boy replied, feeling the need to run across the aisle as was common in young children. Already running to scoop up a bag of chips, only stopped by the older gentleman who looked at the bag with squinted eyes. This didn't seem right to heal a sick boy.
"This is pure junk food!"
Wait, why was that a problem? The blue-skinned wizard's jumbled thoughts proved difficult to get under control. He ate junk food all the time. "And I'm as fit as a…" He opened his jacket to see skin and bones. "You know what. You're right, mysterious voice that sounds like me. This is pure junk food." And looked back to Finn. "Sorry kiddo, but we need something a little more nutritious." But what? Something that not only tasted good but could feed a growing boy. Something that could go down easily and was known to heal the sick. Oh, he knew there was a food that could do all that, but what was it?!
DING
Suddenly a magical ice bulb formed above his head, which a candy citizen snatched. "Thanks." And went to replace one of their broken light. Bringing a nice blue hue to the store.
"I got it!" A wide-open grin from his sharp teeth spread from ear to ear. "You need soup!" And rushed off to find it. "Get some soup in your belly, and you'll be ready to start the day!" The man practically sang on the way skipping with delight.
Not even noticing Finn had walked off to explore other aisles, where he soon came into contact with the affable yet unintelligent Cinnamon Bun. "Finn." The goofy bun greeted. "Wanna see me do a flip?" The sugary treat oh so excited to show his new trick he'd been practicing. Confident, he could accomplish a front flip.
Over at the soup aisle, the aged wizard poked through their selection. Sugary soup, Cookie soup, Vegetable soup. "Bleh!" He could only stick his tongue out in disgust and increasing frustration. None of these were right! He needed… he needed… "Chicken!" It finally came to him as he spotted a single lone can at the dustiest corner of the shelf. Long abandoned it seemed, the can aged close to a year, but to the ice man, it was perfect! Strolling up to it, he failed even notice a green gumdrop walking by.
"Oof." The foot of the blue-nosed man impacted a soft gooey stomach. It took a moment to register what had happened, dazed and confused until a soft squishy arm grabbed at his leg. Looking down, all he could see was the green goo coming out of the gumdrop's mouth, a small groan on their lips as they used his pant leg for support having their breath knocked away from the sudden collision. The feeling of the hand tugging on his pants, the sugary goo leaking out, and just the color, it was all the perfect ingredients to trigger memories best left forgotten.
They got him! They got him! Ugh so sticky, these monsters were going to kill them both! Get away Si*** GET AWAY!
"Yah!" Before he knew it the wizard kicked out jabbing his foot into the gumdrop's face after snatching the last can of chicken soup. Adrenaline coursed through his brain like sugar water. A panic settled into his bones while his vision began to go in and out. One moment, he was in the candy shop, and the next, it felt like he was running through a dilapidated store. Whatever sanity he had snatched back fell by the wayside to the madness of his mind, only this time the crown was not entirely the cause, but memories of running! Of evading monsters for years tore at his psyche!
"Woah!" And then, to make matters worse, he heard the soft cry of a child. Running in a panicked fever to the next aisle, what he saw only sent that terror through the roof. There he was, Finn, buried under a giant gooey monster that was about to eat him! All the wizard could see was green, and without a second thought, he ran forward punting Cinamon Bun right in the face. Knocking him off of Finn, who was just as startled as his companion was but for entirely different reasons. Sure being fallen onto by the gooey treat was surprising, but suddenly seeing the friendly candy creature kicked away had shocked him so much worse. "Hey! What was that fo- wah!" The kid unable to finish his sentence before being lifted into the air in a rush.
Before he knew it, the little boy found himself rushed out of the store, a loud yell from Chet who noticed the can of soup hadn't been paid for. "Mama! Mama!" Which only confused the human boy further. And of course, the sudden display by his new friend attracted attention. Candy citizens were curious to what was going on, which unknowingly only made things worse for the frightened elder. Any recollection he was in the Candy Kingdom had abandoned his mind. All he could see in the madness of his memories were hordes of Oozers surrounding them. "MAMA! MAMA!" Each shout only grabbed more attention from everyone around him, who saw a strange blue man haphazardly running around.
And as if things couldn't get any worse, the nearby banana guards who heard the commotion going on, began to run towards the duo. To the wizard, it only looked as if those green monsters were finally making their move. Trying to kill or eat them as he'd feared! In a last-ditch effort to get away, he veered a hard left and bounded between two nearby houses, running into the alleyways in an attempt to get away!
POW
But what he hadn't counted on was only ensuring they were trapped as he ran nose-first into a solid structure of cake. Knocking the crown off of his head, but he barely noticed in his flailing. Blindly reaching for a way out, but the large circular walls of the candy kingdom were effectively blocking their exit, and the two had nowhere to run as the guards and citizens drew closer and closer. Their mutterings jumbled together to create a cacophony of unfiltered noise that sent pools of sweat running down the ice wizard's beard.
What was he going to do?! How were they going to get away?! Wait, the crown! He looked down to see the golden source of his power lying there, promising safety and protection as it always did! It was then he looked back down at Finn, but in his haze the visage of his buddy would switch and morph into that of the little grey girl with black hair, staring up at him with naïve confusion. Oh breadballs it was so hard to think let alone focus, his mind felt as if it was going to snap in two! But he had to protect them, he had to. "Ma- Finn get behind me." Without even waiting, he sat the boy down against the cake wall, and Finn, still too shocked to say or do anything else. "Brb." He gently kissed the girl/boy on the forehead as a parent would to their beloved child.
Now he turned his attention back towards the oncoming crowd. Their spears gleamed in the light, signaling danger to a man whose sanity had long since given way to unrelenting fear. He cuddled the crown in his hands, and then, it came to him. A song he would always play when he needed to focus. One that gave him as much comfort as it did focus.
He let out an icy breath, doing everything he could to prepare himself. Closing his eyes, he saw the words laid out before him. The key to saving the child he loved so much is now on the tip of his tongue. "Dun du du du du du dun." The past and the present came together for their combined purpose. And with that, he slid the crown back onto his head, summoning forth the power of ice and snow.