•Finn•

Everything plunges into complete and utter chaos. People run around the palace like chickens with their heads cut off after the news spreads of Fionna, Bubblegum, and Ash leaving for the Nightosphere to recruit Hunson and Hunsona's army. Right after their departure, Gumball took charge of his and his sister's kingdom, giving orders out left and right.

The world is ending, so we've got no time to waste.

Gumball started with sending all the kings and queens and princes and princesses of Ooo home to their kingdoms to gather their guards and soldiers and prepare for war. Flame Prince's army and monster could be arriving at any moment, after all.

"And you're sure you'll all be alright without me?" Breakfast Princess asks for the millionth time when Gumball tries to send her away for the millionth time. All the rulers of Ooo's kingdoms are long gone now, except for BP because she won't stop being stubborn. "I can stay and help! I want to stay and help! With Fionna and Bubblegum gone, you can use all the help you can get! Besides, I can't just leave you guys here!"

Gumball smiles reassuringly at her and places a comforting hand on her arm. "I appreciate your concern about us, but we'll be fine here. Really. There's no need to worry about us when you yourself have a whole kingdom to worry about already. Your subjects need you, and you must be there for them, but you can't do that if you're here with us. You have to go," he tells her, still smiling reassuringly, "and it'll be okay once you do. We'll all be okay. I promise."

BP takes a breath before she wraps her arms around PG in a hug, holding him close and not seeming to want to let go. "Please stay safe," she whispers, her voice wobbling slightly.

Gumball hugs her back. "We'll try our best," he whispers back.

A few seconds later, Breakfast Princess stops hugging Gumball and lets him go. She turns to the rest of us. "I expect you all to be alive after this whole ordeal. Got it?"

I smile and nod at her serious tone. "Got it," I say, trying to seem calmer than I actually am.

Cake puts her paws on her hips, raising an eyebrow at Breakfast Princess. "And we expect the same from you, missy. Don't you go dying on us, ya' hear? I mean it; I can't possibly get through the week without at least one of your amazing breakfasts! And you can't make me any more of them if you're dead."

The rest of us laugh. After we became friends, Breakfast Princess would some times spend the night at the tree fort and wake up early in the morning to make everyone breakfast. We love it when BP makes us breakfast, mainly because every time she does it's absolutely delicious. She's Breakfast Princess, so that's not a big surprise. After she did it the first time, we all got hooked on her breakfasts and came to expect them the morning after every time she slept over. She'd make a big breakfast every time and every time we'd all sit down and eat it together, all the while talking and laughing with one another like old friends. Good times.

Will we ever have those times ever again? Or is this really the end? What if the last time BP made us breakfast was the LAST TIME she would ever make us breakfast? What if—

I clench my fists and stop myself from thinking any more of those horrible thoughts. Stop it. That won't be the case. Everyone will be fine after this is over. We will win. Heroes always win. It's the bad guys that lose. Always.

Everything and everyone will be FINE. So stop losing your shit, Finn. If people see you—a hero—freaking out, they'll only freak out even more than they already are.

The last thing we need is a mass panic when we're already on the verge of one, so, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER.

Just take deep breaths... In and out...

Breakfast Princess smiles back at Cake, though I can see the fear in her eyes. "I promise I'll come back to you all alive. You lot are stuck with me for life, so I'm not going anywhere any time soon!" she remarks playfully.

"Good to know," Jake says, giving her a playful wink. Breakfast Princess smiles at him fondly.

"Well," she says, shifting from foot to foot, "I better get going now. My brothers and sister are waiting for me."

Gumball stops smiling and gives her a serious look. His eyes burn into hers. "Be careful," he says, emphasizing both words.

BP still keeps smiling. "Of course, Bubba," she says before she does something I certainly didn't see coming. Gingerly, she leans towards PG and gives him a brief kiss on the cheek. She pulls back, blushing, and sends him a wink. "I promise I'll be careful. You do the same."

Then, without another word from anyone, Breakfast Princess turns and leaves.

After she's gone, Gumball gently puts his hand to his cheek she kissed, just holding it there, blushing red.

I nudge him and give him a sly look. "Since when did she call you Bubba?" I question. The only person who ever really calls Gumball that is Bubblegum.

Gumball seems to blush harder. "Erm... Since always... I guess..." He clears his throat and avoids all our curious gazes.

"Oooh~!" Jake squeals like a five-year-old girl, wiggling his eyebrows at PG. "Gummy's got a crush! He's got the hots for Breakfast Princess!"

Gumball blushes even harder. "I-I do not...!" he protests.

"You so do~!"

Gumball holds his hand up to silence Jake before he clears his throat and his blushing begins to calm down. "We're getting way off topic; we're at war and the world's in danger, so we need to save it. Let's do this already! I even have a plan!"

"And what plan would that be?" Flame Princess asks, just as curious as we all are to find out.

Gumball smiles. "Follow me."

So we do, and Gumball ends up leading us back to his and PB's lab. Right after we enter the lab again, PG goes for one of the bookcases in the back. Since his and Bubblegum's lab is fairly huge, they are able to keep a reasonable number of bookcases in here.

Not very surprising. They are both huge bookworms, after all.

Gumball skims through the spines of a couple of books. "As I was explaining our dilemma to Bonnibel's and I's subjects, I remembered something I'd read awhile ago," he says as he skims. "Something about this particular spell... and I got an idea. But first I need to confirm it... confirm what I'm sure I remember..." He continues to skim spines on the shelves before he lets out, "Aha!" and grabs a book.

He makes his way over to one of the lab tables and sets the book down. We all surround the table with him and look at the book.

"This," Gumball speaks before anyone else can, "is a copy of the Enchiridion. I made this copy of the real one awhile back just in case, and I'm really glad I did. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like the real one, it just has copies of all the real one's pages. I thought this might be helpful in case anyone needed information or a guide on the Enchiridion. I'd read it before, and I remembered some of what I'd read about the monster and the army." He opens it up and flips through several pages before he gets to the thing he is looking for.

"Woah!" Jake lets out, looking wide-eyed down at the page. "Is that the giant monster Flame Prince and Ashley unleashed?! That thing looks pretty freaking horrifying!"

Gumball nods. "Yes, that is the monster. Now, while our soldiers and subjects are fighting Flame Prince and Ashley's army, we are going to be here, fighting that thing," He points at the picture of the monster. "In order to defeat it, we'll need a solid plan. According to the book, the monster is big but slow, so I think that may be an advantage to us. It'll be here at the Candy Kingdom at any moment, and if it's slow, that gives us time to throw pretty much anything we want at it."

"That's good," Cake says, still trying to calm herself down like all of us are. "That's good. That gives us a chance."

"That's not all," Gumball says before he turns the page and points at it. "Just as I remembered! According to this, the monster and the army that comes with it are linked. And, the person who this spell is cast on is linked to them, so the user, the monster, and the army all have a connection. That means, say, if the monster died, the army would perish as well, and the user would be cut off from the spell's power. If you get rid of the power, then the user will no longer be linked to it. You get what I'm saying?"

"If we kill the monster...," I say, letting myself figure out what that would mean, and once I do, I smile, "then the army would die as well, and Flame Prince would lose his power, and... we would win. If Flame Prince is cut off from the power of the spell, then he'll be left defenseless and Fionna, PB, and Ash can defeat him once they're at the Fire Kingdom, and we can win."

Everyone smiles after I say that.

"Really?" Flame Princess asks hopefully.

Gumball nods. "Oh yes. Nothing is indestructible, and that includes Flame Prince and Ashley's little spell. All we have to do is kill the monster, and if we do, we can end this. We can save the world," he says, beaming happily.

"We have a chance," Jake says, almost unbelievably before he beams as well. "We really have a chance."

Cake lets out a whoop before she smiles also. "You bet we do! And we are going to take that chance and defeat Flame Prince and Ashley and save the world!" she says excitedly before she pumps one of her fists in the air triumphantly.

Gumball keeps smiling. "And I know exactly how we're going to do that," he says before he gives me a look.

I look around nervously before I look back at him. "Um, why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, taking a small step back.

Gumball only smiles, which worries me even more. "You'll see," he replies before he turns to the rest of them. "But first, I need you each to do something for me."

Cake nods. "Anything, Gumball."

"Yeah, dude. Just say the word," Jake agrees.

"Anything to help," Flame Princess says, giving PG a warm smile.

Gumball looks grateful. He turns to Flame Princess only. "Thanks. FP, I'm going to need you to help around the palace. Help my servants with whatever they need, comfort those who are scared. And when Flame Prince's army gets through Ash's force field, I want you to help protect everyone inside the palace in case anyone from Flame Prince's army gets in," he tells her.

Flame Princess nods. "Of course!" she replies, all business, before she gives him a salute. Then she approaches me. "I'll see you after all this... right?"

I smile at her, at my amazing girlfriend that I love and will always love. I will see her again. I have to. "Of course you will. I will always be here no matter what," I say in response before I give her a brief but passionate kiss, my lips heating up slightly as they brushed hers. After I pull away, I whisper, "Be careful. Stay safe. I love you."

FP smiles back at me. "I love you too," she whispers back before she pulls away completely. "You stay safe too. I'll see you soon," Her eyes go over everyone. "I'll see you all soon."

Everyone gives her hopeful smiles before we bid her goodbye. She leaves the lab afterwards, promising us all she will stay safe and will see us after all this is over.

Next, Gumball faces Cake and Jake. "You two, I want you to fight beside my guards and soldiers. Your skills will definitely benefit us on the battlefield. We need all the help we can get in the fight and I strongly believe you two are up to the task. Can you handle it?" he tells them, slowly but surely. He's asking Cake and Jake to go to war, to fight for our lives—for everyone's lives. They could very well go out there and die for us, though I really hope they DON'T.

Neither Cake nor Jake hesitate. "Absolutely," Cake tells Gumball, a determined look crossing her face.

Jake nods in agreement. "Definitely, we can handle it. We're heroes, and heroes always win. We got this, Gumball." He looks just as determined as Cake.

"You are two of the bravest individuals I have ever met," Gumball tells them, looking at them fondly, "and I've met a lot of people. You are strong and capable; don't let anyone tell you otherwise," He takes a deep breath before he gives them a nod. "Godspeed, the both of you."

"You too," Cake says, looking at both me and PG.

"We'll see each other again. I promise, dudes," Jake tells us both. "We've got this."

With that, they both dash out of the lab, the door swinging shut behind them.

Lastly, Gumball turns to me. "Finn, I know a way to kill the monster, but I need your help."

I blink. My help? "With what?" I ask.

Just as Gumball opens his mouth to reply, a deafening booming sound is heard.

It came from outside.

Gumball and I immediately rush to the window and looked out.

At the force field, which now has several cracks running up and down it.

Our eyes trail down the force field to where the cracks are coming from to see that, around its base, hundreds disfigured creatures are banging their fists against the force field.

"Flame Prince's army," Gumball mutters as we watch them try to break the force field.

But that's not all.

Standing right behind them, slamming its own fists—giant fists—into the force field is a huge, towering creature that would give anyone nightmares.

I think back to the picture of it in the copy of the Enchiridion, and my eyes widen as my jaw drops. I have a feeling Gumball's eyes and jaw do the same.

The monster.

As it keeps pounding its fists against Ash's force field, more cracks appear on it, like a window on the verge of shattering.

"Good glob," Gumball gapes once he finds his voice. He continues to watch the monster in horror, just as I do. "It's huge...!"

I nod, flabbergasted. "Uh huh..." I mutter, still watching it. More cracks appear in Ash's force field.

The screams of many citizens below sound off as they watch the monster and soldiers chip away at the one thing standing between them, protecting them. Gumball suddenly snaps out of his trace and turns to me. He grabs me by my shoulders.

"We've got no time to waste," he says, panicked, before he runs around the lab and opens up several random cabinets. "We've got to do this now! That force field could break at any moment!"

I watch as he continues to run around his lab, opening cabinets and taking out science-y things. "Gumball, what are you talking about? What's the plan?" I question him. He said he has one, yet he hasn't bothered to mention what it is.

Gumball stops what he is doing and looks at me. "I'll explain it to you as we go along, but right now I just need you to help me," He nods at a wall, where several lab safety equipment resides. "Grab some gloves and goggles. You'll need them for what we're about to do."

I go over to the wall and grab them just as he puts his on. I stop short. "Can I wear a lab coat too? I wanna look science-y."

"What? No. Now come on and help me!" Gumball says, urging me over.

"Come on! If I'm gonna die, I want to look cool when I do!" I whine before I grab a random lab coat off a hanger. "Cool people wear lab coats, and I want to be a super smart nerd for a day!"

Gumball rolls his eyes and groans. "Fine. Just hurry up and put it on and get over here! You need to help me, and I need to explain to you what we're going to do," he says, and I beam as he caves. I then throw on the coat, goggles, and gloves before I join Gumball. He resumes going through the cabinets and I wait patiently before he finishes and lays all the stuff he gathered on one of the lab tables.

"What's with all this stuff? What are we about to do?" I ask.

Gumball looks me in the eye before he swallows and speaks calmly, which certainly doesn't fit the next thing he says.

"We're going to make a bomb."

•Fionna•

After the doors to Hunson and Hunsona's house of horrors are open, we only hesitate a second before we all storm inside.

The world is ending, after all, and we've got no time to waste.

"Where's the throne room again?" I ask as we run down one of the many halls. It's been awhile since the last time I was here, so I don't completely remember where everything is.

Dominick takes the lead. "This way," he says before he turns down a random hallway and we all follow.

We turn down a couple more hallways before we come upon a large set of double doors, black and sinister-looking.

I nod. "Yeah, I remember now," I say as I gesture at the doors. This is definitely the entrance to Hunson and Hunsona's throne room.

"Of course the place we need to go is behind the creepy doors," Bubblegum grumbles, shaking her head. "Go figure."

Without another word, Dominick pushes the doors open and marches inside the throne room, no second thoughts.

"Does this guy have a death wish?" Ash asks PB and I as he watches Dominick fearlessly enter the throne room of two evil soul-sucking dictators. Bubblegum and I merely shrug in response before we follow Dominick. Ash seems to hesitate for only a moment before he follows us in.

The double doors shut behind us of their own will.

It takes approximately a second before Hunson and Hunsona spot us.

I swallow nervously as their gazes settle on the four of us. "Well," Hunson says, a look of surprise crossing his face, "look who it is, my dear! Dominick, who's supposed to be on boat-whack duty," His eyes go to Dominick, who avoids his stare before they flicker to me, "and that delectable-looking human girl! Fionna, is it? Where's your annoying snack of a brother? I would've liked to take a bite of out him, have at least a little nibble of his soul," I narrow my eyes at him and try to look braver than I actually am. Next, Hunson looks to Bubblegum. "Also... Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum of the insufferable Candy Kingdom? Alrighty then," His eyes finally land on Ash. "Oh. Dominick, Fionna the human-snack, Princess Bubblegum, and Ash. What are you doing here, you pathetic excuse for a worm? I thought my wife and I made ourselves perfectly clear when we said that if you and your bitchy sister try to get in contact with our Marceline and Marshall ever again we'd suck your miserable souls and send you both straight to the fiery depths of hell itself!"

Ash instantly holds up his hands in defense and steps back. "I swear, I mean you no harm! I'm not here for Marceline or Marshall!" He swallows and looks straight at them. "I'm here because I need your help."

Hunsona scoffs. "You hurt our daughter and your sister hurt our son, and you're here asking us for a favor?" She emits a strangled sort of laugh. "You must be suicidal! Or incredibly stupid... or both!"

Hunson laughs. "Certainly! He must be asking to be killed!" he says before his eyes darken and a sinister smile spreads across his face. "Perhaps we should oblige."

I step in front of Ash, blocking him from Hunson and Hunsona's glares. "Oh no you don't. Not on my watch. He's with me, and he isn't going to do anything to Marceline or Marshall, and you aren't going to do anything to him," I tell both dictators sternly.

Hunson raises an eyebrow. "Who says we have to listen to you, a puny human? You're no threat to us," He leans forward, his disturbing smile still plastered on his face. "We could eat you right now if we wanted to," He turns to Hunsona. "Right, darling?"

Hunsona licks her lips, looking at me like I'm a piece of meat. I feel a shiver run down my spine. "Definitely. Humans aren't around much anymore, and I have so missed the taste of their delectable souls...!" she says excitedly, gazing hungrily at me. "We could certainly eat you if we wanted to, so why should we listen to anything you and your friends say when we could just eat you instead?"

I take a step forward, eyeing the both of them. "Because that would make your son and daughter very unhappy," I tell them, making sure I look serious. "Ash isn't the only one that needs your help. Marshall and Marceline need it too. We all do. Something very bad could possibly happen, and we need your help to prevent it."

Hunson raises an eyebrow. "Marshall and Marceline need our help? For what?" he questions.

"The world is coming to an end," Bubblegum speaks up, taking a step forward as well. "Flame Prince—I'm sure you've heard of him—has somehow gotten ahold of one of the most powerful and dangerous artifacts in existence and he plans on using it to cause mass destruction to everything. He declared war on us, and the only way to prevent the destruction of everyone and everything is to win the war and stop him."

Hunson and Hunsona's eyes widen, but before they get the chance to speak, Ash speaks up. "It's not just Flame Prince, either. Ashley is helping him, although she has her own agenda. She thinks she can overpower him and take over the world before he has the chance to completely destroy it. So, either Flame Prince destroys the entire world—including you guys—or Ashley takes over the entire world and enslaves everyone. The only way to stop both these outcomes from happening is if we all fight back together, no matter our history. If we don't, the world is as good as gone; everything and everyone we hold dear will die," he explains gravely.

Bubblegum nods along. "However, if we win this war and stop them, we can save everything and everyone will be fine. But, to win the war, we need an army, which we're currently working on. Now, we need as many warriors as we can get, because Flame Prince and Ashley are NOT holding back. So... it'd be real nice if... we could have... your army...," Before Hunson or Hunsona can say anything, PB speaks again. "We already have the support from all the kingdoms of Ooo, and it'd really help us if your army was part of that. If we could get your army to fight with us, we'd have the numbers on our side and it would make it significantly harder for Flame Prince and Ashley to best us."

"And before you answer, think about Marshall and Marceline. If we fail, everyone dies or gets enslaved, including them and you and everyone who lives here in the Nightosphere, so before you say anything, I want you to think about that. Think about that real hard," I say, my gaze burning into them.

Hunson and Hunsona eye us for a moment, completely silent.

Then Hunson breaks the silence. "Ashley wants to take over the world, you say? And enslave everyone?"

"Only if Flame Prince doesn't destroy everything first," I tell them.

Hunson's gaze hardens. "That's not going to happen," he says slowly, looking at all of us, "because we're going to help you."

I'm sure my entire face lights up as I smile in shock. "Really? You'll help us?" I gasp in surprise and relief.

Hunson nods. "Yes. If you want our army, you can have it. We will help. We'd do anything for our Marshall and Marceline, and since you people are so important to them... we will help," he replies.

"That," Hunsona speaks up, her gaze hard as well, "and if we can't take over and enslave the world, than no one can. Plus, Ashley's a crazy bitch—" That's ONE thing we can agree on. "—and we really hate her because she hurt our Marshy! So, really, if it hurts Ashley, then my husband and I will help you win a thousand wars. Also, it'd be real inconvenient if the world ended since we live in it. We'll help you save it."

Bubblegum looks extremely relieved. "Thank you. But, how will we get them to Ooo?"

"We'll take care of that," Hunsona answers, giving Bubblegum a look. "You guys look like you've got somewhere to be. While you're there, we'll send our army over."

I just keep on smiling. "Thank you so much! Marshall and Marceline will be so proud of you both when they hear about this," I say, thinking about what Marshall's and Marceline's reactions will be when we tell them. If we get to tell them. No. WHEN we get to tell them. We WILL see them again, alive and well.

Both Hunson and Hunsona look uncomfortable by the flattery, but they muster small smiles. "Th-Thank you, delicious-looking human," Hunsona says awkwardly. Hunson just shifts around in his throne. I don't think either of them are used to receiving compliments.

Dominick nudges me. "Well, we better get going!" he says, nodding at the exit.

I raise an eyebrow at him and place a hand on my hip. "We?" I question.

Dominick smiles. "Well, obviously I'm coming with you! You could use me and my many talents in helping to save the world! Plus, I'm such a delight to be around!" he replies, looking smug. He eyes Ash yet again and winks at him yet again. "And I wanna keep enjoying the eye candy, of course."

Ash turns scarlet yet again and looks away. Yet again, I find it hard to determine whether he's annoyed or flattered.

Bubblegum sighs. "Oh joy. More people," she says before she takes a breath. "Then again, I suppose the more help we have, the easier and much safer it'll be. Safety in numbers, you know?"

Ash nods in agreement. "Good point. Now, we really should be going. We don't exactly have all the time in the world."

"He's right. We've gotta go," I say before the four of us start towards the exit. I wave to Hunson and Hunsona as we leave. "Thanks again!"

They both awkwardly wave back before we disappear behind the double doors. From there we let Dominick lead us all out of their palace and back outside the gate. On the river of citizens, Damien is busy rowing around and smacking them upside the head with the paddle, looking a little too overjoyed.

"Okay!" Dominick says, clapping his hands together once we are outside the gate. "We recruited an army, so now what?"

I narrow my eyes and make sure I look serious, because I am. "Now we get to the Fire Kingdom, save Marshall and Marceline, and defeat Flame Prince and Ashley. That's what happens now," I answer him. About time too! Throughout this entire day, all I've wanted to do was go to the freaking Fire Kingdom and save Marshall and Marceline. I didn't even care if I had to do it alone.

But now I have help, and I have to admit, I feel a lot more secure than I felt when I said I would go it alone if I had to.

PB nods. "Exactly," she agrees, looking serious as well. "Now, we need to find Flambo or Flamba and get one of them to perform the flame shield chant on us so we can enter the Fire Kingdom. If we don't, we'll all burn up the second we enter."

I turn to Ash. "Ash, take us back to Ooo."

Ash nods. "My pleasure," he says before he snaps his fingers and a portal appears right next to him. He gestures at it with one arm. "Ladies first!"

Without hesitation, I step through the portal. When I'm through, I'm greeted by Ooo's comforting atmosphere. I sigh, glad to be home.

A few seconds later, Bubblegum comes through the portal. She smiles as I had when she sees she's home. Not long after she arrived, Dominick comes through the portal as well, followed lastly by Ash. After he's completely through, Ash closes the portal and looks around.

"Well. Here we are, back again," he says, hands on his hips as he continues to look around. We're in the valley, though, so there isn't much to look at; just a bunch of grass and a few trees and...

And hundreds—maybe thousands—of misshapen creatures that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

When Ash and Dominick spot them, all marching across the valley, their eyes widen to the size of saucers.

Bubblegum grabs both of their shirt collars. "Get down," she hisses quietly, and nods at a fallen down tree in the distance. Luckily, it looks big and wide enough to hide the four of us, so we all make our way as discreetly as we can to the tree and crouch down behind it.

We watch as the creatures march in sync across the valley, heading for not only the Candy Kingdom, but some splitting off to head to the other kingdoms as well.

"What are those things?" Dominick gapes in shock.

Bubblegum narrows her eyes at them. "Flame Prince's army. They're here, and they're about to attack," she explains gravely.

Suddenly, Ash lets out a cry of pain and clutches his side. He nearly falls over, and if Dominick hadn't held him steady, he would have.

"Easy..." Dominick soothes, trying to keep Ash from falling.

I watch in concern. "What's the matter?!" I demand.

Ash goes silent for a few seconds before he looks me in the eyes. "They're... already attacking...," he mutters, "They're... they're breaking my force field..." He points weakly at the Candy Kingdom in the far distance.

My eyes widen and my jaw drops at the sight. I have to squint to see it since we're so far away, but there are hundreds of the disfigured creatures slamming against Ash's force field.

And among them...

"Oh my God," Bubblegum speaks, watching the scene as well. "The... the monster is here..."

A giant, towering beast is slamming its huge fists against the force field just as the creatures are. Although we're far away, I can tell how big the monster is—certainly just as big as Ash described it to be.

The pain seems to be better as Dominick draws away from Ash and Ash is able to sit straight on his own. He grits his teeth. "We need to find Flambo and Flamba now. They're breaking away at my force field, and it won't be long until they get through and are able to cause massive amounts of damage."

Stunned and horrified, I stare at all that's happening around us; the soldiers, the monster...

It's a complete war zone.

I really hope Finn and the others are ready.

"How are we supposed to find what's-their-faces in all this?" Dominick demands, gesturing all around at the chaos. "They could literally be anywhere. It'll take us forever to find them!"

Bubblegum narrows her eyes again. "We have to find them! If we don't, we won't be able to get into the Fire Kingdom to save Marcy and Marshall and defeat Flame Prince and Ashley! Flambo and Flamba are the only key to getting into the Fire Kingdom! We absolutely have to find them!" she argues. She's right; if we don't find them, there no way we'll be able to get into the Fire Kingdom.

"You called?"

We all spin around at the sound of the sudden voice.

"Um... down here!"

We all look down to see Flambo.

"Flambo?!" I gasp in utter shock. "How... how are you here?! How did you find us?!"

"Flame Princess sent Flamba and I to look for you guys awhile ago! We split up and have been looking everywhere!" Flambo says before he smirks. "Looks like I won the bet! Flamba now owes me big bucks because I found y'all first! Ha!"

Thank God for Flame Princess.

We just stare at him in surprised silence.

Flambo cocks his little fiery head to the side. "Did someone order a flame shield chant?" he asks, still smirking.

Ash raises his hand excitedly. "We did!"

Bubblegum gives him a look. "You don't need to raise your hand, Ash," she tells him, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

Ash drops his hand to the side and looks away. "Sorry. I'm just... eager to get his done and over with, that's all..." he mutters, sounding a bit irritated. With Bubblegum or our current situation (or both), I can't tell.

Bubblegum continues to give him a look, only now it seems a bit more judgmental. "Everyone's eager to get his done and over with. Your point?"

Ash narrows his eyes at her slightly. It's no surprise the two of them aren't getting along—Ash hurt Marcy, even if it was a long time ago, and PB hates him for that. Now, Ash must think Bubblegum isn't being understanding since he said he's changed, and he must detest her for it. I expected they'd be at each other's throats.

Ash clears his throat. "Well, I—"

"Easy," Dominick says again, only for a different reason this time. "Seriously, guys, now is not the time to argue; we're kind of in the middle of something...!"

I nod in agreement. "Dominick's right," I tell the both of them. "You two can fight plenty after we've won the war and defeated Flame Prince and Ashley."

Dominick nods also before he turns to Flambo. "Now, little flame-thingy, I believe you were about to enact the flame shield chant?" he asks expectantly.

Flambo raises an unimpressed eyebrow up at him. "My name is Flambo, pretty boy," he says, his little hands on on his little hips.

An amuses smile crosses Dominick's face. "That's twice today that I've been called pretty boy," he says, now smirking. "Well, I can't blame you and the other guy; I am very pretty."

Flambo rolls his eyes. "Let's just do this, shall we?"

We all nod, giving him the go-ahead. He then begins to chant several foreign words—the words that need to be said to perform the flame shield chant—before he finishes and spits on each of us, turning all of us blue.

"Well, there ya' go!" Flambo says after he has finished up. "Good luck on saving the world, by the way. You'd be doing me a real good solid if you pulled it off!"

I smile at him. "We'll try our best," I reply, eager to just get to the Fire Kingdom and save Marshall and Marceline already.

Flambo nods. "You do that," he says before he gives us a small salute and disappears.

Shortly after he's left, I turn to Ash. "Ash?"

He nods. "On it." He waves a hand and just like that another portal appears next to him.

Dominick blinks. "Was it really necessary for him to spit on us?" he questions.

I shrug. "I have no idea," I reply before I nod at the portal to the Fire Kingdom. "We better get going. We can't waste any more time!"

My companions each give me a look that says they understand before we each approach the portal. The entrance to the final showdown—the final showdown between us and Flame Prince and Ashley. To be honest, this "final showdown" has been coming for awhile we all knew, but we just didn't see it happening this way.

It doesn't matter how any of us saw it coming. It came this way and we'll have to finish it this way, not just for our sake, but for everyone's sake. I mean, if we don't deal with it, the entire world ends or gets taken over, neither of which is good at all.

We all stand silently, staring at the portal, all afraid to go in. Just because we're going to try to save the world, doesn't mean we aren't pee-our-pants terrified. One wrong move, and everything goes to hell.

We continue to stand silently and stare at the portal until Dominick clears his throat, breaking the silence.

He smiles at us all nervously. "Well," he lets out, licking his lips as a determined look appears on his face. "Let's go kick some ass and save the world. How does that sound?"

I smile back just as nervously, once again doing my best not to let it show. "That sounds great."

Bubblegum and Ash nod, also nervous.

"Alright then," Dominick says in response. He then sticks his arm through the portal before he steps all the way though and ends up in the Fire Kingdom. He waves at us, gesturing for us to come on.

I immediately follow him through. Marshall and Marceline are in danger—I'm sure as hell NOT going to take my sweet time getting to them!

PB seems to agree as she races in right after me. I can tell she is about to snap at Ash to hurry the fuck up just as he comes through the portal and joins us in the Fire Kingdom. He closes the portal and we look around.

Here we are—the Fire Kingdom, aka Flame Prince's and Ashley's Home Base.

We have officially entered the lion's den.

•Finn•

I hand Gumball what he asked me to hand him. "Here," I say, holding it out.

He grabs it from me and continues working. "Thanks."

"We're going to make a bomb."

"WHAT?!"

"Calm down, Finn. It's part of the plan, and it's a good plan! Well... it's the only plan I've got..."

I lean over Gumball's shoulder slightly, being careful not to mess him up. "Is it almost done?" I ask, curious. He's been working for awhile, and for every minute he works, another crack appears in Ash's force field.

When PG told me we'd be making a bomb, I definitely freaked out at first. I mean, a bomb? In what way is that safe? Besides, after Flame Prince's package arrived not too long ago, I'm not too keen on the idea of bombs at the moment!

"Why on earth do you need a BOMB for the plan?!"

"Because we're going to fight fire with fire. The monster is essentially an explosion, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, we're going to stop an explosion with another explosion."

"Gumball, that makes NO SENSE!"

"It makes sense for what we're going to do."

"And what exactly is THAT?"

"Yeah," Gumball replies, still working, "it's almost done. Just a few more minutes..."

I nervously look outside the window to see the monster and creatures still attacking Ash's force field. More cracks. I swallow a bundle of nerves.

"We're going to blow the monster up—blow it up before IT blows US up."

"I-I'm not sure we have that long..." I mutter, still looking outside as Gumball makes the bomb.

PG glances outside for a brief moment before he returns to working. "I know; that's what I'm afraid of..." he mutters back, his hands shaking slightly as he continues.

I really wish his hands would be still. He's making a BOMB, and the last time I checked, bombs don't typically do well around things that move.

But I'm not a scientist, so I'm not going to complain or tell Gumball how to do what he's trying to do.

As Gumball works, my gaze continues to go from him to the window to him again and back to the window. My left foot taps anxiously on the ground. My fingers drum randomly against my thigh. My eyes keep on shifting from the window and Gumball. I just can't seem to be still right now, especially with what's currently going on!

"We're going to do WHAT?!"

"We're going to blow the monster up, I said. Like, BOOM."

"I know what blowing something up means, PG! I'm NOT stupid! It's just... HOW are we supposed to do that?!"

"We make a bomb, we get it near the monster, and the monster explodes. Then we win the war and the world is saved! Easy-peasy, right?"

"Um, WRONG. And really, Gumball, HOW are we supposed to do that?"

"Remember that bow and arrow I gave Fionna before she left?"

"Yes... why?"

"Well, let's just say our plan involves... a little archery."

"A little WHAT?"

"Archery, I said. Would you stop acting so surprised at everything I say so I can concentrate?"

"But... but WHY archery? What's the point of involving ARCHERY of all things in this?"

The creatures and monster continue to pound against the force field, and the citizens continue to scream and panic.

Another crack appears on the force field.

"Please hurry, Gumball...!" I urge him, still nervously eyeing what's going on outside.

"I'm almost done," Gumball replies, still hard at work. "Finn, do you have the bow and arrow?"

I go over to a nearby lab table and grab them. I hold them up. "Y-Yeah," I say in response, my hands shaking like PG's, feeling like I'm about to throw up and pee my pants all at once again. I've been feeling that way since I found out Flame Prince plans on destroying the world and Ashley plans on taking it over, but for last several minutes it's been amplified.

Gumball must notice the nervousness in my tone, because he stops what he was doing and turns to look at me. "Finn, are you alright?" he asks me, sounding concerned.

I hate it. The concerned look on his face and the concerned tone in his voice. It's all I've been getting from him ever since he told me what I need to do.

"The point is you, Finn. That's the point."

"What do you mean by that? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you're Finn the Human, Hero of Ooo. You and Fionna have saved my kingdom and many others countless times. You're capable of great things. I know that, and... and I believe you're also capable of doing what I'm about to tell you to do."

"What is it, Gumball? Don't sugarcoat it."

"Okay. This bomb we're making? It's for the monster, obviously, because we're going to blow it up. I know you've been wondering how on earth we're supposed to get close enough to it without it killing us or the bomb going off in our faces. Am I right?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"I thought so. Now, HOW are we supposed to get close enough? The answer is we don't."

"What?"

"That's where the archery comes in. I have a bow and arrow. We are going to strap the bomb to the arrow and light it. Once it's lit, it'll only be a couple of seconds before it goes off, so the arrow is going to be shot with the bomb attached to it at the monster. Once it blows up, it'll be right in the monster, and the monster will explode, killing it and winning us this war and saving the world."

"What do you mean by... IN the monster...?"

"Well, for it to do the max amount of damage, I hope to get it inside the monster's mouth. That way, it'll go off inside the monster and kill it for sure. Make sense?"

Even now, as we work to make the bomb several minutes later, Gumball's plan still baffles me and seems completely impossible.

But it's all we've got.

I narrow my eyes at him. "No, Gumball, I am NOT alright. The world is possibly coming to an end, we're at war, and all my family and friends are in danger. So, no, for the millionth time, I am NOT alright, PG! Now, would you please quit asking me that?!" I snap, feeling a little bad immediately after. Gumball's my friend, and I know I shouldn't snap at him, but I'm just so... scared. This is the most scared I've been in my entire life, and I've been scared plenty of times. And I'm not scared just because of the world possibly ending, but I'm scared because of my roll in this plan—how major it is. One wrong move, one mistake, and I basically destroy the entire world and everything in it.

"I... I guess... but, how are you going to pull that off? I mean, you've never used a bow and arrow before..."

"Oh, I won't be using them; you will. You'll be the one to kill the monster. It has to be you—you're a hero, after all, and you've slain DOZENS of monsters before."

"W-WHAT?! G-Gumball, that's... that's CRAZY! I can't do THAT! I can't... SHOOT a BOMB into a MONSTER! That's... INSANE...!"

"I know, which is one of the reasons why I can't do it. You are a HERO, Finn, and this is your sort of thing. I know you're capable. I know you can do this."

"B-But... but, Gumball-"

"Finn, I know you can do this. I believe in you."

But do I believe in me? That's the real question. A million people can believe in someone, but if that person feels worthless and doesn't believe in his or herself, than all the belief and praise in the world means nothing.

Gumball sighs, hanging his head, no longer looking at me. "I'm sorry, Finn. That was insensitive of me. I know you're not alright—no one is alright. Not today. Not now."

I fall silent and stay that way for a few seconds before I speak up. "I'm sorry, Gumball. I know you're just worried about me. I shouldn't have snapped at you, I'm just... really stressed out right now... really stressed out and scared..." I mutters, and I feel my eyes start to water. No! You will NOT cry! Not right now! I viciously blink the tears away. There's no time to cry right now, especially with everything that's at stake.

Gumball looks at me sympathetically. "We're all scared, Finn. This is terrifying. I may not look it, but I'm very scared," He gestures all around in a wild, freaked out way. "I have no idea what the hell I'm doing! No one does! We're all going off of instinct and intuition. Everyone is panicked and trying their best to keep calm and help. You're not the only one, trust me."

I chew my lip nervously until I taste blood. I stop and look at PG, trying my absolute best not to completely fall apart. I nod, not able to form a coherent sentence at the moment.

Gumball gives a small nod back before he turns back to his work. I shadow him, giving him whatever he tells me to give him.

This goes on for approximately two more seconds before there is suddenly another loud BOOM, only this one is followed by a spine-chilling vibration.

I don't even have to look outside the window to know what's about to happen, but I do anyway. Gumball does too.

Right when we look out the window, we see Ash's force field develop cracks all along the sides, up and down, everywhere. The monster and creatures have given it one last hit, and a brief second hangs in the air before the inevitable.

The force field shatters.