REQUEST: Hero to Zero

"HELP!" screams a mushroom villager, waving his arms around wildly. Behind him, the whole Mushroom Village is on fire. Flambo had run through the village, trying to escape more robotic owls. While running; however, his flames caused some mushroom houses to ignite, which quickly spread, setting the whole village ablaze. The villagers were able to evacuate, but one female mushroom was trapped. She tried a different path, but every way she tried, she got blocked off. She was on the verge of tears, not wanting to die. Then, from the sky, an ice bolt fires down and hits a blocked off path. The flames die down, giving the mushroom girl a way to escape.

She quickly rushes out of the village and meets up with the others, where they watch ice bolt after ice bolt hit the village. The flames quickly die out, and the villagers jump up and down for joy, happy that their village is safe. From behind the clouds in the sky, the Mushroom Village's savior emerges and lands before them. He has light blue skin, a big, white beard, a dark blue robe, a long, pointed nose, and a crown with three red gems. Standing before them is the Ice King, feeling rather proud of himself.

"Mushroom people," he calls out, "your village is saved!"

"Oh thank you, brave warrior," says the mayor of the village.

"Oh no, sir, I'm no warrior; I'm an ice wizard," Ice King says, forming a small ice bolt on the tip of his left index finger. He gets "ooos" and aaahs" from the villagers. He then hears another cry for help "That sounds like Wildberry Princess," he mutters. "Citizens of the… mushroom… village…," he calls out, uncertain if he saved a town or a village. "I must be off now, but just remember: Ice King saved you. Let's fly!" He flaps his beard and rises into the air. He then flies off toward the call for help, leaving the Mushroom people awestruck.

Ice King flies off toward the source of the cry. He stops when he sees Wildberry Princess being chased by a large, mutated fruit fly. "Don't worry, Wildberry Princess," Ice King cries, "I'll save you!" He charges down at the fly, fist first. However, he ruins the moment by hitting a tree branch he failed to see, and falls onto multiple branched, eventually hitting the ground. Wildberry Princess and the mutant fruit fly stop, confused at what they are witnessing.

Ice King slowly gets up, grumbling angrily. "Stupid branch," he mutters as he brushes his beard free of any leaves or twigs. He then turns to the fly, his hands giving off an icy static. "Okay, fruit fly, this is what happened when you try to eat a princess!" He fires a stream of ice at the insect, but it flies into the air to avoid the icy blast. It charges down on Ice King, pinning him down. A drop of green saliva drips from its tube-like mouth and onto Ice King's face, causing a powerful burn.

"GAAAH! MY FACE!" Ice King flicks his beard, causing the fruit fly to fly off of him and back into the air. It then flaps its wings at supersonic speed, causing powerful sound waves to be launched at the ice monarch. Ice King makes an icy shield, blocking the sound waves. From behind the tree with the branches Ice King hit, Wildberry Princess watches in amazement.

The fruit fly spits a stream of its acidic saliva at Ice King. He fires an ice bolt at the stream, causing it to freeze all the way up to the fruit fly itself. The mutated insect falls to the ground and bursts into a million, tiny frozen pieces. Wildberry Princess walks out from behind the tree, her eyes sparking.

"Ice King… that… was… amazing," she says.

"Oh, it was nothing," he replies.

Wildberry Princess goes to say something, but the sparkle in her eyes quickly disappears, and she frowns. "Wait… you just saved me so you could kidnap me."

"Not this time, my dear, and not ever again."

"What?" the berry princess asks with confusion.

"I'm tired of being hated by everyone in Ooo. So I figured that if I wanna be liked, I must give up my evil ways and become a hero!" he exclaims, pointing his fist in the air.

"So… this isn't some kind of scheme to get all the princesses of Ooo to fall in love with you?"

"Nope, I'm done with trying to get the princesses."

Wildberry Princess gets wide eyed and a big smile on her face. She takes his hand and they rush off.

"Where are we going?"

"To tell everyone about the new you!" she exclaims.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn sighs with boredom as he lies on the couch in his living room. Finn is now seventeen and not much has changed except his appearance. He still wears his awesome hat, but now has a tuff of his blond hair poke out, he wears blue jean pants now, the same light blue shirt, except it's a bigger size, and he is as tall as Marceline. His voice is somewhat deeper as well. Next to him is his best bro, Jake, who is playing Beemo, their little gaming console.

"Hey Jake," says Finn, wanting to start up a conversation.

"Yeah dude?" Jake asks, still playing Beemo.

"Have you noticed it's been quiet for the past three days?" the hero questions.
Jake pauses the game and turns toward Finn. "Yeah, I have noticed that."

"We haven't saved anyone ever since we saved Princess Bubblegum from the Ice King those three days ago."

"Yeah… hey, speaking of Bubblegum, why don't we go and visit her? It's been a while since we last saw her," suggests Jake.

Finn thought for a moment. Ever since he was thirteen and was rejected when he tried to lay his head down on her lap, he really didn't see Bubblegum much unless she needed to be saved by the Ice King. He figured it would be nice to actually go and hang out with her since it's been five years since they really hung out. "Yeah, sounds like a plan, bro-ham," says Finn, getting him and stretching his arms out.

Jake turns his game off, letting Beemo go into sleep mode. The two adventurers jump out their window and land on their feet. Finn gets on Jake's back, who grows in size as they make their way to the Candy Kingdom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two adventurers make their way through the Cotton Candy Forest, inhaling the sweet scent of Cotton Candy. Finn smiles as he takes in the aroma. Every time he smelled the forest air, he was always happy inside and out.

"Been a while since we came through here," says Jake, grabbing some cotton candy from a nearby tree with his mouth and eating it.

"Yeah, this place really hasn't changed," replies Finn, reaching out to grab some fluffy goodness; however, he instead gets a handful of a silky black substance, causing Jake to stop and for Finn to raise an eye brow in confusion. "What the hey-hey?"

"Let go of my hair," says a familiar feminine voice. Finn lets it go and out from the tree comes Marceline. She is wearing a black shirt with a cluster of strawberries in the center, a blue jeans mini-skirt, and black knee high boots that reach just below her knees.

"Oh, sorry Marceline; didn't know you were up there," says Finn.

"It's cool," she says, fixing her silky, raven black hair.

"Wait, what were you doing in that tree in the first place?" asks Jake.

"Well, I heard there was something going down in the Candy Kingdom, figured I see what Bonnibel was up to."

"But why were you in the tree?" Jake asks again.

"A gust of wind came by and blew my umbrella to the top of the tree next to the one I was in. I could've gotten it myself, but with the sun and all…"

"Don't worry, we'll get it for you," says Finn. Jake stretches up through the cotton candy leaves and sees the purple umbrella stuck to some cotton candy. Jake stretches over to it and Finn grabs it. The duo head back down to Marceline, umbrella at hand.

"Thanks guys," she says, taking it and shielding her from the sun.

Finn jumps off Jake's back. "Come on; let's see what's going down in the Candy Kingdom."

"Yeah, we were all ready going there to visit Bubblegum, so this works out perfectly," says the magic dog, shrinking down to normal size.

Marceline smiles and floats toward the kingdom, Finn and Jake following close behind.

"So how have you guys been?" the vampire queen asks. "I haven't seen you guys for quite some time."

"We've been doing pretty well, except it's been pretty quiet for the past three days," says Jake.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, no one has needed any help or anything. No princesses to save, no monsters to slay, nothing," says Finn.

"No princesses to save?" repeats Marceline. "Hmm… that's pretty weird."

As they continue on, they tell each other stories of people Finn and Jake saved over the years, or encounters Marceline had with her father and some songs she wrote. Jake then lifts his ear up and shushes Finn and Marceline. "Guys, I hear cheers coming from the Candy Kingdom; wonder what's going on."

"Only one way to find out," says Marceline as the three of them enter the clearing before the gates of the Candy Kingdom. They walk through and see some candy people rushing toward Candy Castle. Finn notices they are going around to the back.

"Whatever's going on must be happening outside in the back," says Finn, following after the candy people. Jake and Marceline quickly follow behind. Finn pokes his head around the corner of the castle and gasps at the site. He can't believe what he is seeing and is in complete and utter shock. Standing before him on a large stage is Ice King and everyone is cheering for him. Jake and Marceline catch up and see the look on Finn's face.

"Dude, you okay?" asks Jake, waving his hand in front of his face in concern. Finn doesn't respond and just blinks. Marceline taps Jake shoulder to show him why Finn is so shocked. Jake nearly faints when he sees Ice King on stage.

From behind, Princess Bubblegum comes by, holding a medal of honor. Bubblegum has not changed a bit in the past five years… literally. She still looks like she's eighteen. Over the past five years, Bubblegum has managed to keep her candy biomass up so she can keep her eighteen year old looks. In reality, she's twenty three.

Marceline grabs her shoulder, wanting some answers from the pink princess herself. "Bonnie, what in globs name is going on here? Why is Ice King on stage being cheered for?" asks Marceline.

"Well, I guess recently, he's become a hero," says Bubblegum.

"What? That princess-napping nerd became a hero? How did that happen?" asks Jake in confusion.

"Well, Wildberry Princess told me that he saved her from a mutant fruit fly and that he told her he's sick of being evil and being hated by everyone, so he decided to become a hero three days ago."

"Well, that would explain why everything has been quiet for the past three days."

Finn just continues staring at Ice King with his mouth hanging open as he waves his arms out at the candy people. He can't believe that the evil king of ice as actually become a hero. Finn frowns and walks away unnoticed, or so he thinks.

"You guys are more than welcome to stay and watch me give him this medal, because after I do, there's going to be a party for him," says Bubblegum, smiling and walking toward the stage.

"Well… I guess we could for a little while; what do you think, Finn?" asks Jake. He waits for a reply, but doesn't get one. He looks back and sees he's gone. "All right, looks like it's just you and me, Marceline," he says, turning to where she is floating. However, she too is gone. "Marceline?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn sits on top of a hill, looking down at Candy Castle as balloons fly up in celebration of Ice King turning into a hero. With Ice King being a hero, Finn realizes that he'll have an easier time to getting to where the person in need is thanks to his beard, and he'll be able to beat the monsters easily thanks to his ice powers. Finn sighs as he lists off the things that give Ice King an advantage to being a hero. A gentle, cool gust of wind goes by as he brings his knees to his chest.

"Why so glum, hero?" asks a voice of concern. Finn turns around and sees Marceline floating behind him, her raven black hair blowing in the breeze.

"It's nothing," he says, putting his head down onto his knees.

Marceline floats over to him and takes a seat next to him, her umbrella still at hand. "Come on, you can tell me, I'm your friend."

Finn brings his head up and turns to her. "It's just… Ice King's a better hero than me."

"Come on, we don't know that."

"Marceline, Jake and I haven't done anything heroic for the past three days; he beat us to everything that has happened in those three days."

Marceline looks at him, a frown on her face. Maybe he's right. Maybe Ice King is a better hero than Finn is. "Well Finn, since your position of "hero" has been taken, maybe you should start trying to be evil," she jokes around, hoping to get a smile on her friend's face.

Finn gets a weird look on his face, he then turns to Marceline. "Maybe you're right, Marceline."

Marceline stares at him, unable to believe what her vampire ears heard. "…what?"

"Maybe I should try being evil."

"No, Finn, I was just-" She stops mid-sentence when Finn puts a finger over her mouth, shushing her.

"No, you're right, if Ice King is taking my title as a hero, than I should try becoming evil. And I've got the perfect idea." Finn rushes off, excited to start his spree of evil doing. Marceline gets up and follows after him, shaking her head in disapproval.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Right in the center of the Goblin Kingdom, a lemonade stand is seen. Finn is seen putting the finishing touches on it. Sitting on the stand is a pitcher of lemonade, and a couple paper cups. Finn chuckles evilly, rubbing his hands together.

Marceline comes up from behind, looking at the stand with a raised eye brow. "What the plum is this?" she blurts out, scaring Finn.

He turns around and breathes a sigh of relief knowing it's just Marceline. "It's my evil plan," he states, walking behind the stand.

"A lemonade stand? That's the worst kind of evil doing possible," says Marceline.

"Just wait and see what I got planned," he replies, seeing a goblin carrying heavy objects walk by Finn notices the sweat coming off of him and the tired look on his face. "Excuse me sir!"

The goblin looks over and sets his stuff down. He cracks his back and walks to the stand. "Yes?"

"You seem pretty tired from carrying all that heavy stuff, how about some lemonade," Finn offers, picking up the pitcher.

"Hmm, well, I am rather parched… all right, I'll take a cup," says the goblin, reaching into his pocket to get some money. "How much?"

"Just a quarter." The goblin takes out a quarter and hands it to Finn. He pours some lemonade into a paper cup and hands it to him. "There you are, sir."

"Thanks," the goblin says happily. He takes a sip and smacks his lips together. "Hmm… it's a little on the warm side."

"That's because I didn't put any ice in it! Hahahahaha!" Finn exclaims, laughing evilly. The goblin looks at him with a weird look and walks away, muttering 'weirdo' under his breath. "Yeah that's right, you better run!"

Marceline just stares at Finn, slapping her forehead in disapproval. "Dude, that was terrible! That wasn't even close to evil. Heck, that wasn't even funny enough to be a prank!"

Finn frowns and looks at the ground in sadness. She was right; it wasn't even worth calling it a prank. Finn then walks away, leaving the stand. He's too good to do anything evil. He only knows how to be a hero, but that position has been taken from him. He sighs as he sulks his way back to the Candy Kingdom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And for your heroic deeds, you are hereby known as the most awesome hero of Ooo!" cries Bubblegum. Everyone begins cheering and clapping for Ice King. Bubblegum approaches him and puts his medal around his neck.

"How 'bout a little smooch," Ice King whispers to her.

"Don't push it," she mutters back. She'll admit, she's beginning to like the Ice King a bit now that he's become a hero, but kissing him is out of the question.

"Worth a shot," he mutters, turning back to the crowd of candy people. He then spots Jake actually cheering for him. The Ice King smiles, knowing one of his "friends" is actually here for him. "Thank you everyone!" Ice King calls out. "I'm glad you are all taking a liking to the new me. Now, how about we get this party started!"

"Before we do," says Bubblegum, taking the mike from him, "we have a little surprise for you." Ice King looks at her with curiosity. "I have sent my candy constructers to build you a new mansion in the Ice Kingdom so you won't have to live in a giant, icy mountain."

Ice King's eyes sparkle with joy as he hugs Princess Bubblegum. "Oh thank you! Thank you everyone!"

"Now, let's party!" Bubblegum yells. Music begins playing and balloons rise into the air as everyone begins dancing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From a distance, Finn watches as everyone begins partying. He had heard everything and couldn't be sadder. Finn doesn't know what to do with his life anymore, should he be a hero or a villain? Well, if he tried to be a hero again, there wouldn't be anything or anyone to save because Ice King will beat him to it. And if he tries being evil, he'll just end up sucking at it. He lies down on the soft, green grass, not sure what to do anymore.

Marceline sees him in his saddened state. Despite her mixed alignment, she couldn't stand seeing Finn sad. She remembers all the times he helped her out of a saddened state, now it was time for her to help him. She floats over to him, taking a seat next to him and putting her umbrella over the both of them. "Finn, come on, you realize the only reason Ice King has been able to do heroic deeds is because he has magic?"

Finn looks up at her, a frown still plastered on his face. "So what?"

"So what? Dude, if Ice King didn't have those powers, he'd be a huge wimp! Ice King isn't an awesome hero like you because he has powers that make it easy for him. You fight evil the old fashioned way: hand to hand combat or swords. You save everyone out of the goodness of your heart, Ice King is only doing it so he can be liked by everyone. And even though Ice King is a hero now, you're still an awesome hero in my book," she says, bringing him closer.

Finn continues staring off in the distance, taking in every word Marceline said. Then, he hears a small voice.

"Finn the human!" a small, high pitched male voice calls. Finn and Marceline look around, trying to find the source. "Down here!" They look down and see a snail with black and green eyes. Finn notices the color of the snail's eyes and realizes he's seen those before.

"Lich," he says glumly.

"That's the Lich? You told me he was this big, giant skeleton dude who wants to destroy the world! But all I see is a tiny snail," Marceline says, laughing.

"Just you wait, vampire queen, when I get my body back, I'll show you what I'm truly capable of!" the snail exclaims, raising his small arms into the air. He then turns back to Finn. "Finn, I'm going to kill everyone in Ooo, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

Finn looks down at the snail and shrugs. "Whatever."

"You will tremble when I- what did you say?" asks the snail, very confused. "I must be missing something."

Finn sits up, looking down at the snail. "I'm not the hero of Ooo anymore, Ice King is."

"The ice wizard? That weak old fool?"

"Yeah, so Marceline recommended that I try being evil, but that didn't work now. Now I'm not sure what to do," says Finn bitterly.

"Not sure what to do, huh? Maybe I can help."

Finn looks down at him with curiosity. "How so?"

"I'll let you become my evil henchman; all you have to do is take me back to my old lair and help me get my body back. Once I get it back, we'll spread chaos all over the Land of Ooo!" exclaims the snail, laughing evilly.

While Finn ponders about the Lich's offer, Marceline looks at Finn, a worried look on her face. She's a bit annoyed with this whole scene right now and is wondering why Finn doesn't just smash him right here and now and forget about his offer.

"…you've got yourself a deal."

"What?! Finn, don't do this!"

"A wise choice, now, both of you, get me back to my lair," he says. Finn picks him up and walks off. During the whole trip, Marceline tries to convince Finn that being the Lich's evil henchman is a bad idea, but Finn just ignores her, leaving Marceline peeved off. They reach the lair after they cross Iceberg Lake by boat and head down to the lowest part, where the power well sits.

"What now, master?" asks Finn.

"Just drop me into the well, and my chemicals will do the rest," he says. Finn does so and hears a small splash.

Marceline floats over to Finn's side. "Finn, do you realize what you've done?"

Finn just ignores her as the well begins bubbling. Then, the Lich slowly rises out of the well with his old body. He floats above the well, laughing evilly. "Yes! All of Ooo will tremble before me! Come along, Finn, our first stop is the Candy Kingdom," he says. Finn shrugs and follows after the Lich. Marceline groans in anger, following after them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This party is crazy sick!" cries Ice King, waving his arms around to the music.

"Yeah it is," says Jake, dancing next to him.

"Glad you like the party," says Bubblegum, who is dancing with them.

Everyone in the Candy Kingdom is at the party either dancing or just chatting with others. However, everything stops when a green burst of flames appear in the center of the party. The flames die down and Finn, Marceline, and the Lich are seen. Everyone gasps at Finn being at the Lich's side.

"Finn, you've obviously gone bonkers, but there's still time to back out of this. Please, I like you the way you all ready were: a hero," she pleads.

Finn looks at the ground, thinking about what Marceline said. He goes to say something, but stops when he sees the Ice King step forward. Finn sighs. "I'm gonna go ransack the pudding supply," he tells the Lich as he walks off toward the castle.

Marceline watches as he walks off. She cannot believe this. "It's like Finn has just given up…" she mutters.

"So, ice wizard, Finn tells me you're the new hero of Ooo," the Lich says.

"Yup, and I'm going to kick your butt," he says, getting ready to attack with his ice bolts.

The Lich's hands ignite with green fire. "Try it, you weak fool!"

Ice King growls and zaps the Lich; however, he feels nothing. Ice King gasps and flies up to the Lich's face. "Maybe some hand to hand combat with do the trick." He cracks his fingers and looks as if he's going to punch him. However, he merely begins sissy slapping his face. The Lich laughs uncontrollably and punched the king of ice with a fiery fist. Ice King hits the ground and groans in pain. The Lich looms over him, ready to finish him.

Ice King shivers in fear, realizing he will actually die. "Forget this! I didn't sign up for this crud! I just wanted people to like me! I'm outta here!" he cries. He tries to rush off, but Bubblegum stops him.

"Ice King, heroes are supposed to be willing to die for their cause," she says. Ice King ignores her and flies off back to the Ice Kingdom.

The Lich laughs and reaches into his robe. "Time to start the chaos!" he exclaims. He pulls out a purple bag and points it at Bubblegum. She is then sucked into the bag.

"Princess Bubblegum!" cries Jake. The Lich laughs evilly and begins sucking up everyone in the Candy Kingdom. Jake tries to stop him and trying to take the bag away from the Lich, but fails when the Lich sends a fireball right in his face. Jake falls down and gets sucked into the bag. Marceline backs away from the Lich and flies off to find Finn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn scoops up another spoon of pudding and puts it in his mouth. He is seen sitting up against the wall, a bucket of vanilla pudding next to him. He swallows and sighs, wondering what it will be like being the Lich's evil henchman when they begin spreading chaos across Ooo. The door to the pudding pantry slams open, and Marceline floats through and toward Finn. She closes her umbrella and tosses it against the wall where Finn sits.

"Finn, you've got to come outside and stop the Lich! He's sucking all of the Candy Kingdom into his magic bag of evil! He's all ready got Bonnibel, Jake, and half the candy people when I left. Ice King bailed when he found out he might actually die. You've got to stop being a bum and start being a hero again!" she cries, kneeling down beside him.

Finn looks at her and simply puts more pudding in his mouth. At that point, Marceline snaps and smacks him across the face, knocking the spoon out of his hand as well. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE HERO! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD!" she yells.

The Lich appears in the door way to the pudding pantry and makes his way over to Finn and Marceline, holding a bag filled with everything from the Candy Kingdom but the castle.

"Good news, after I suck up this castle that imprisoned me many years ago into my magical bag, we're going to be not only causing chaos, but also corrupting all the good souls of Ooo, steal, and destroy everything!" exclaims the Lich, laughing manically.

Finn gets up, brushing himself off. "Yes, my king," he says nonchalantly.

The Lich grins evilly and turns to Marceline. "You, I want you to gather up a vampire army; we're going to need help spreading all the chaos I got in store for Ooo."

Marceline looks up at him, very peeved. "No, I don't flipping work for you, I'm a freakin' Queen, and neither does Finn!" she yells, still mad from Finn being bummed out.

Finn looks at Marceline and takes a step back, starting to get concerned "Marcie…"

"NO!" she yells at Finn. She flies up to the Lich's face so she's eye level with him. "Give us back our friends and get the plum outta here!" she screams in his face. She extends out her left hand and summons her axe-bass.

The room is silent for a few moments as Finn watches Marceline and the Lich stare at each other.

Finally, the Lich speaks. "You… you… vampire SCUM!" he screams. He then points a finger at Marceline and zaps her with a powerful burst of electricity. She screams in pain and is sent into the wall. She slides down slowly and falls to the ground face first. The second her face hits the ground, something inside Finn bursts, and that something is concern. He rushes over to Marceline, where he finds out she's been injured badly.

Finn turns to the Lich, very angry. "What'd you do that for?!"

"She had to be punished for her insolence, so I did just that," the Lich says. "Now come, let's leave her and suck up this entire castle into my bag of evil."

Finn stares at the Lich, fire in his eyes. "No! You hurt my friend, and now you're the one who needs to be punished!" he exclaims. He looks over at Marceline and grabs her axe-bass. "Marceline was right; I am a hero, an awesome hero at that!"

"You dare defy my orders? You're a joke to me!" The Lich drops his bag and sends green fireballs at Finn. The hero charges at the Lich, jumping over the fireballs and sliding under them. He jumps up to slash him, but he is smacked into the wall. Finn gets up, showing no signs of giving up. He rushes the Lich and climbs up barrels filled with pudding. The Lich raises his hands and sends a large, green fireball at the barrels. He makes contact and they begin to fall. Finn picks up speed, reaches the top, and jumps toward the Lich's face before the barrels of pudding tumble. He grabs his horn and swings up to his head. Finn brings the musical weapon down on the Lich's head and breaks through. The skeletal monster screams in pain and grabs Finn and brings him to his face.

"You're going to pay! You and that piece of vampire scum!" screams the Lich, throwing him where Marceline lies. Finn lands next to her, glaring at him.

"She's… not… vampire… scum! She's a beautiful being who was right about me this whole time!" Finn screams. Something inside Finn just burst. He completely lost it when the Lich called Marceline 'vampire scum'. What is this feeling? Is it… love?

Finn goes ba-nay-nay and charges at the Lich, dodges everything the Lich throws at him. Finn then jumps high toward the Lich's chest, grabs his robe, and swings up into the air above the Lich. He then comes down axe-bass first and slices through the Lich's head and down the center of his body. The Lich screams in pain and he splits apart, both parts of him turning into nothing but dust.

Finn pants heavily as he walks toward the bag and opens it. Every candy person is shot out, including Bubblegum and Jake. Finn then closes the bag, drags it outside, and opens it again to release all the buildings of the Candy Kingdom. They are put back in their place, leaving the bag empty. Finn drops it and walks back inside, where he is greeted by cheers and every candy person chanting his name.

"Dude, you did it! You defeated this Lich!" exclaims Jake.

"That's something the Ice King could never do," Finn replies.

Bubblegum approaches him and hugs him. "Thank you Finn, you truly are the most awesome hero of Ooo."

"Thanks Bubblegum," says Finn, returning the hug.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must tend to the injuries the candy people received," says Bubblegum, pointing to most of the candy people who were injured while inside the bag. All the candy people that weren't injured begin helping candy people that were up to the infirmary.

"Hey dude, wasn't Marceline with you? I didn't see her while I was in the bag," says Jake.

Finn quickly gasps, almost forgetting about Marceline. He rushes over to her injured body and kneels down beside it. "Dude, help me get her back to the Tree Fort."

Jake nods and picks her up, putting her on his back. Finn grabs her umbrella and jumps on Jake's back, shielding her from the sun as Jake takes them back to the Tree Fort.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dude, she's still not waking up," says a worried Finn.

"Calm down, she'll wake up, don't worry," assures Jake.

"We've been home for five hours, what if she never wakes up!"

"Yeah, about that, ever since we've gotten home, you've never left her side. What's up with that?"

Finn ignores him and picks up a warm, wet rag and wipes Marceline's face with it. "Please be okay," he mutters. As he finishes wiping her face, Marceline's beady black eyes open up. Finn gasps and hugs her. "Marceline, you're all right!" he cries.

"See dude, I told you she'd be all right," says Jake.

"Yeah… I'm all right," says Marceline, rubbing her head. "What happened? How long have I been out?"

"About five hours," says Finn. "But after the Lich zapped you and knocked you out, I went ba-nay-nay on his boney butt and killed him, saving all of Ooo."

"So… you're no longer depressed?" asks Marceline.

"Nope, after the Lich knocked you out, I realized that everything you said was right. So I stopped being a bum and kicked the Lich's butt."

Marceline smiles, and reaches for Finn, but winces in pain. "Whoa, you all right?" Jake asks.

"Yeah, guess I'm still a little weak. I should be fine as long as I rest," she assures the adventurers. They smile, glad to see their friend is all right, the Lich is dead for sure, and everything is back to normal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little after midnight, Jake is seen sleeping in his bed. Downstairs sitting on the couch are Finn and Marceline watching old movies. Marceline is wrapped in a blanket, feeling much better than earlier. Finn turns to her as they watch the movie.

"You sure you don't need anything?" asks Finn. Ever since she woke up, Finn has been asking Marceline if she needs anything or not. Marceline just chuckles.

"I'm gonna be fine, it's not like I'm gonna die or anything," she says. She then looks at him. "Hey Finn?"

"Yeah?"

She then plants a kiss on his cheek. "That's for being the awesome hero I know and… love," she says, blushing at the last part.

Finn blushes as well, but smiles and pulls Marceline closer as she rests her head on his shoulder as they continue watching the movie.