Chapter 18


Finn's eyes fluttered open as he regained consciousness. His body ached and his head was pounding. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep with Phoebe, Marcy, and Princess Bubblegum. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Finn found that he was laying on the floor of a long dark corridor.

"Phoebe, Marcy, Princess…anyone?" Finn called out as he nervously as he pushed himself off the floor.

The corridor was deathly silent and almost too dark to see through. Finn took a small step back only to bump into a solid wall. There was no way back. He could only go forward. With no other options, Finn collected himself and began to march forward into the darkness.

As Finn made his way through the darkness, a growing sense of paranoia began to creep through his mind. He was completely alone, but he didn't feel alone. Finn felt as though he was being watched. Of course, he knew that Jigsaw had been watching all of the games, but this felt different. This time, Finn felt as though the person watching him was physically in the room with him. But for the sake of his friends, Finn would endure. He had to, he was a hero, and heroes never gave up.

After what felt like miles of walking, Finn began to notice a dim orange glow through the darkness. It was so faint that he almost couldn't see it. But slowly, the light grew brighter the closer he walked. As he came closer to the light, he noticed that it roughly human in shape. Finn's heart began to pound as he began to run towards the light.

"Phoebe?!" He shouted as he ran, hoping that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.

His calls were met with a weak shout from the orange light. It was Phoebe, it had to be!

"Don't worry, Phoebe! I'm coming to save you!" Finn shouted as he ran as fast as he could through the darkness. The air grew colder and damper as the young adventurer ran towards the princess. Soon her figure began very clear. She was a beacon that needed to be reached.

Suddenly, several bright lights snapped to life, blinding the adventurer. Finn yelped in shock as he slid to a stop. He had to cover his eyes to protect them from the harsh lights that had been activated. While he was blinded, Finn felt something snap around his neck. The sound of turning gears and pulleys filled the air as Finn was pulled to the ground. Finn kicked and flailed as he was dragged across the floor by his neck, still blinded by the harsh lights. The ground began to shake as the walls began to move and shift. Finn let out a frightened yelp as he suddenly came to a stop. With a loud snap, the blinding lights shut off, leaving the young hero in complete darkness.

Finn groaned as he sat himself upright off of the floor.

"Hello, is anyone there?" he asked nervously.

As if to answer his question, several low powered lights flickered to life, illuminating the room Finn was trapped in. Finn was not alone, standing a mere foot from him was the metal armed figure. Finn let out a startled shout as he fell back to the floor.

The masked figure remained still and silent, as if to give the young hero a chance to collect himself. Once Finn had slowed his breathing, the figure knelt down and looked him in the eyes.

"Hello, Finn." The figure finally spoke in a calm feminine voice.

Finn stared dumbfounded up at the figure before he could stammer out a response.

"W-what do you want?" Finn asked, trying his best to sound demanding. "What are gonna do to me now?"

The figure let out a soft chuckle before standing up.

"I'm not going to do anything to you, Finn." The figure spoke. "Not this time. This time, there will be no game. But there still will be a choice to be made. But the choice will be given later."

"If this isn't a game, then what do you want with me?" Finn asked nervously.

A sudden burst of panic flooded through Finn's veins.

"Where is Flame Princess?!" Finn shouted as he shot up off the ground.

Finn felt a new tension on his neck as several wires tightened. The masked figure waved their finger and shook their head.

"I wouldn't move too much if I were you." They stated calmly as they held up a remote control and pressed a button.

A large projector screen cut through the dark and showed a live stream of Flame Princess. The young princess was tied to a metal pole that was in the center of her cell. She had a thick metal blinder fastened over her eyes. Out of the walls of her cell were several metal spouts with wires connected to them.

"The more you move, the more you struggle, the more water will be pumped into the room." The figure stated coldly. "This princess's life is in your hands, Finn. All you have to do is listen."

Finn's body trembled with anger, but he dared not move. He knew that this was no bluff.

"What do you want?" Finn asked bitterly.

The figure chuckled and slowly approached Finn. Each step they took made Finn's heart race.

"All I want is to talk to you, Finn." They stated calmly as they pulled the hood of their robe back. "I have been watching your progress, and I must say that you and the young princess are proceeding far better than most of our players do."

With a subtle motion, the figure let their robe slide off their shoulders and crumple to the floor.

"You, as predicted have a great resolve within you. A resolve that can't ever truly be broken. I should know, I was the one that designed your challenges."

Finn's mind went blank as the words resonated within him. This person was the one that had put him through all that pain and suffering.

"The videos…the tapes…you made those?" Finn asked with a tremble in his voice. "How did you know all that stuff about me?"

The figure let out a sigh and stared down at their metal arm.

"I know more about you than you could imagine." They stated softly. "It was your father that was responsible for the loss of your arm, wasn't it? And it was your mother that made you that robotic prosthetic to replace it, wasn't it?"

Finn froze, and blood felt frozen. How could they have known that? How could someone he had never met before know something that he hardly told anyone else?

"For me, it was my mother." The figure stated in an almost sad tone. "And my father was the one who built my first replacement. But…I lost it during my game. Jigsaw was the one who built me this arm."

The figure reached behind their mask and began to loosen the straps holding it in place.

"You see, Finn. We are very much more alike than you think."

Finn bared their teeth in a bitter scowl.

"I'm nothing like you!" Finn shouted angrily. "I don't hurt people. I don't torturer people. And I don't kill people who aren't evil!"

The figure froze for a moment before they continued their approach.

"People who aren't evil." They repeated softly. "I remember when I used to think like that. I remember believing that doing the right thing would always result in the right outcome. I used to go on adventures, fight goblins, slay a few dragons, all the while hoping to impress a prince or two. But what I slowly realized, was that no matter how much evil I fought, the world never changed. Nothing ever changed. The cruel monotony of it everything finally broke me, and before I knew it, I had pushed everyone I cared for away. That is…until Jigsaw found me. Jigsaw took me in, and rehabilitated me. And now I wish to do the same for you."

"You're crazy!" Finn shouted. "I'm nothing like you! I'm not!"

The figure suddenly stopped in front of Finn. With a gentle, fluid motion, the figure pulled off their mask. Long locks of golden hair spilled out and fell to their shoulders. Clear blue eyes stared deep into Finn's eyes. Finn felt his body grow cold and rigid as he gazed upon the figure's features.

"F-F-Fionna?" Finn stammered out as his brain struggled to understand what was happening.

A small smile grew on Fionna's face. He knew who she was.

"I wasn't lying, Finn." She stated proudly. "We are more alike than anyone could know."

"B-but you aren't real." Finn spluttered out weakly. "Y-you're just a character in Ice King's fanfic."

Fionna smiled as she tied her hair back into a ponytail.

"Fiction in one world. Reality in another." She stated firmly. "Now, back to the task at hand. I have brought you here to warn you."

"Warn me of what?" Finn asked, barely keeping his sanity intact.

Fionna raised her metal arm and flexed her fingers.

"Princess Bubblegum, and Marceline are planning to escape. How is unclear, but their plan will fail. They are going to break the rules of this game, and I don't want you or Fire Princess to suffer from their foolishness. Do not help them with their plan."

"Why shouldn't I help them escape?" Finn asked angrily. "They are my friends and you are hurting them."

"Yes, we are hurting them." Fionna stated firmly. "It is part of the rehabilitation process. To earn their freedom, they must follow the rules of the game. We are trying to heal you and your friends by making them fight for the lives they took for granted. You know what Jigsaw is capable of, do you truly think they will allow you to break the rules?"

Fionna's arm clicked and a large blade sprang out of her wrist. She calmly walked up to Finn and held the blade inches from his face.

"Play by the rules and complete your game. Or, aid your friends in their escape plan and suffer the consequences."

With a sudden motion, Fionna began to sever the wires from Finn's caller. Finn heard a click before the caller finally fell off. He looked up at the projection and saw that Phoebe was being released by the giant in the rotting pig mask.

"The choice is yours Finn." Fionna stated coldly.

Finn suddenly felt Fionna's metallic fingers snap around his arm as she lifted him off the ground. A door hissed open, flooding the room with a bright light.

"Follow your heart."

Before Finn could respond, Fionna effortlessly tossed him across the room and through the door.


Marceline and Bonnie were torn from their quiet plotting by the sound of two doors opening followed by Finn flying into the room only to hit the floor and roll to a stop. A scream was heard as Phoebe was also tossed into the room.

"Finn, Phoebe!" Both Marcy and Bubblegum exclaimed as they rushed to their friend's aid. "Are you guys okay."

Phoebe groaned as she pushed herself off of the floor.

"More or less." She stated tiredly. "They didn't hurt me this time."

"Same here." Finn grunted as he shook the stars from his eyes.

Bubblegum gave Marceline a concerned look.

"What if Jigsaw already knows?" she asked in a hushed but panicked tone. "What if they are on to us?"

"On to you about what?" Phoebe asked. "What are you two talking about."

Marceline held her finger up to her mouth and shushed them before motioning for everyone to huddle together.

"We are busting out of here." Marcy stated almost silently. "But we can't do it without you two."

"Busting out, are you crazy?" Phoebe responded in a shock but hushed voice. "You remember what they said at the beginning. The part about them killing us if we break the rules? You remember that part?"

"Phoebe, please listen to us." Bonnie pleaded. "None of us are going to survive these games for much longer. We need to escape before it's too late."

"Me and Bonnie have already figured out a plan. All we need now is you two to help." Marcy stated firmly. "Do you want to go home, Phoebe?"

Phoebe was quiet before meekly answering.

"Yes…I want to go home. But what about the rules? What if they catch us?"

"They won't, because we have each other." Marceline answered with a reassuring smile. "If we work together, we can get out of this dump and go home."

"Finn…what do you think?" Bonnie asked the young hero. "You are being awfully quiet."

Finn sat in silence as he stared at the floor. His poor brain was still trying to make sense of everything that had been revealed to him. The existence of Fionna was enough to drive Finn up the wall, but the fact that she was helping Jigsaw shook him to the core. How did Jigsaw break her? What made her want to stay and work for such and evil being? Was it too late to save her?

"Finn, are you in there?" Marcy asked as she waved her hand in front of his eyes.

Finn's eyes snapped forward as he looked over his friends. He loved all of them, and he wanted nothing more than to help them. But a part of him knew that breaking the rules would get them all killed. But what if they were successful? What if they pulled it off? What if they escaped? It was worth trying, wasn't it?

Finn licked his lips and steadied his breathing.

"I'm game." He stated softly. "Tell me what to do."

Marceline smiled and motioned everyone to get closer.

"Okay, so here is the plan-"


The glow of several monitors flooded the room with an eerie light. The gentle sounds of data taps being spooled and recorded meshed with the subtle hum of super processors. In the distance, the sounds of the infernal machine were softened almost into a heartbeat. A pair of old wizened eyes watched over the monitors patiently. They knew that the players were planning an escapee. They a calculated that they would, but they had hoped that they wouldn't.

"They are so close." They stated softly. "Perhaps they need a harsher lesson."

An aged finger pressed a series of buttons before pressing the intercom button.

"Be cautious, they are planning something. Whatever you do, do not kill them."

With a tired groan, they pushed themselves out of their chair. They grabbed a gurney and wheeled it over to their work station. Carefully, they picked the tools they needed and laid them on the gurney. They slid their arms into the sleeves of their black and red robes and placed a pig mask over their face. It had been some time since they had directly been involved in a game. But rule breakers needed to be dealt with.

"I will see to them myself."


Sorry for the long absence. I will try to update this as much as I can.

We are nearing the end now folks.