•Fionna•

"We can fight!"

I simply blink. I certainly didn't expect that response after Gumball had explained our dilemma to the citizens, and I can tell Bubblegum and Gumball didn't expect it either.

We're now all standing outside on the main balcony, looking down at all the Candy Kingdom citizens. Gumball had made an announcement for all their subjects to gather at the front of the kingdom to listen to him explain the crisis at hand.

At first, as expected, everyone freaked out at the possibility of the world ending. No surprise there. But when Gumball mentioned our problem of not having enough soldiers to fight Flame Prince's army, he was met with a very surprising response.

We can fight.

A very surprising response, indeed.

Gumball seems to do a double take at the surprising response. He blinks a few times just as I had. "What?" he asks.

"We can fight!" the citizen repeats, and afterwards a chorus of cheers is emitted by the rest of the citizens.

Bubblegum draws back slightly. "You... you want to fight Flame Prince's army and the giant monster...?" she gapes.

"Yes!" a citizen says in reply. "We can fight them! I mean, we aren't soldiers, but we're enough!"

"That's crazy," Gumball says, shaking his head. "You'd be putting yourselves in immense danger. I cannot allow my sister's and I's subjects to deliberately throw themselves into the line of fire! It's suicide."

"It's the same for your soldiers!" another citizen says. "They are going to throw themselves into the line of fire! Why can't we?"

"Because they're trained soldiers and you're not; they know what to do and are prepared for war!" Bubblegum argues.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, we've been in a period of peace for hundreds of years—no one's prepared for this," a citizen points out.

Jake nudges PB. "Dude's got a point," he tells her.

Bubblegum's jaw drops before she scoffs. "It doesn't matter if 'dude's got a point' or not; it's still incredibly dangerous and reckless to let our untrained subjects just waltz into a war against someone as crazy as Ashley and as horrific as Flame Prince!"

Gumball nods in agreement. "Agreed. It's crazy and most definitely, as I said before, suicide. My sister and I simply will NOT allow it!" he says, crossing his arms and looking down upon his and PB's many subjects.

At that, the citizens all shout angrily in protest before one of them waves their arms in the air to silence everyone else.

"Your Highnesses, this is our home. Those monsters are threatening our home—our lives. This doesn't only involve you, it involves all of us. This is our fight too!" the citizen who waved their arms speaks up, and although I'm standing all the way on the balcony, I can see a determined look on her face. "And it isn't just the Candy Kingdom, it's the entire world. They aren't just threatening our home, they're threatening everyone's home. The world is everyone's home, the world is our home, and we want to fight for it. Don't deny us the right to fight for everything we know and love."

A wave of silence cocoons the area after the citizen finishes her declaration.

I give both Bubblegum and Gumball a look. "She's right. They're all right. The world is their home as much as it is ours. They have the right to fight for it just as we do, and to deny them that right is wrong; you know it as well as I do," I tell them, being incredibly serious. I mean, I would lose it if someone denied me the right to save Marshall and Marceline. I definitely wouldn't allow it.

Ash seems to be lost in his own thoughts for a moment before he gives Bubblegum and Gumball a look. "I'm crunching the numbers right now... and if all of Ooo's kingdom's citizens fight alongside us...," His eyes widen slightly, "we'll have nearly double the soldiers Flame Prince and Ashley have."

Breakfast Princess raises an eyebrow at Ash's statement.

Ash blushes. "What? So I'm good with numbers..." he mumbled lowly, as if that's a thing to be embarrassed of.

Although, that is kind of a nerdy quality, and I'm honestly pretty surprised Ash has any qualities that are even remotely nerdy.

BP continues to stare at him along with the rest of us before he lets out a sigh and rolls his eyes. "My point is that if they all fight with us, they give us the numbers we desperately need. It may not be a good idea, but it's a chance at winning this thing," he says bluntly.

Bubblegum and Gumball both look down at the ground, avoiding everyone's eyes.

Finn then places a hand on Gumball's shoulder, causing him and his sister to look at him. My twin smiles a reassuring smile at PG. "This can work. They are strong subjects, and they always will be. Besides, if the world's really ending, it's worth a shot," he tells him and PB.

Both Bubblegum and Gumball look around at our friends and the looks on their faces. I look around as well and I notice all of us have determined expressions.

Then Bubblegum and Gumball look back at the leaders of the kingdoms of Ooo. They each have determined looks on their faces as well. Breakfast Prince actually gives PB and PG a nod.

Bubblegum suddenly lets out a sigh and looks to Gumball. "We've got no other choice, Bubba. This is a chance," she whispers, and she sounds absolutely terrified, just as we all feel.

At that, Gumball shuts his eyes tightly and clenches his fists together before he takes in a breath and slowly lets it out. He then opens his eyes and slowly unclenches his fists before he looks down again at his and Bubblegum's subjects. "Fine. You can all join us in battle. But," He raises his voice and holds up a hand to quiet the cheering citizens, "be warned that this will NOT be easy. In fact, this will likely be the hardest thing any of you will ever go through in your entire lives. War's never been easy, and it's not going to be easy now."

"In life," one of the citizens calls up to the balcony, "nothing is ever easy."

True.

And finally, a determined look crosses Gumball's face. "Then, by all means, let's do this," he says before he takes a deep breath. "Let's win a war."

The citizens' loud cheers seem to sound us off as we turn around and head back inside the palace.

Once we are back inside, Flame Princess turns to Bubblegum and Gumball. "So... what now?" she asks them.

Bubblegum swallows before the determined look makes its way back on to her face again.

"Now we plan."

——————————

"If our assumptions are correct, and they most definitely are," Bubblegum says as we all stand over a map of all the kingdoms in Ooo, "then Flame Prince will first send his army to the Candy Kingdom where he knows we all are. He'll probably send the monster here too just to make sure there are no survivors. When he does that, we'll have to be ready."

After Bubblegum and Gumball had sent Ooo's leaders back to their kingdoms to prepare themselves and their subjects for what's about to happen, they led us into another conference room and laid a giant map on the long table and had us all look over it as they explained what's probably going to go down.

"Yes, but that will probably take a good amount of time," Gumball points out as he looks at the map, deep in thought. "Flame Prince's army and his monster are probably already on their way to our kingdom right now. What happens if they get here and we're not ready?"

No one said the answer even though we all know what will happen. If Flame Prince's army arrives before we're ready, it'll be a total bloodbath.

Ash narrows his eyes and shakes his head. "I'll make sure that won't happen. I'll put up a force field around the Candy Kingdom. Unfortunately, it won't be permanent, but it'll keep them busy for awhile as we prepare," he says, looking to Bubblegum and Gumball for their say.

Bubblegum nods. "Good idea, Ash. It may not be permanent, but it buys us some time and that's better than nothing."

Breakfast Princess's eyes widen at Ash. "You can make force fields...?" she asks in awe.

Ash nods. "Of course. I'm a wizard, after all. And, even though my magic isn't as developed as my sister's, it's definitely not useless. I can do some things," he explains.

"So that's settled," Gumball says, getting us back on topic. "Now we have the time we need to get ready. Obviously, we'll assemble all our soldiers and we'll somehow get our subjects prepared for what's to come...," He winces, probably at mentioning putting his and PB's subjects in danger. "Meanwhile, we have the problem of Marshall and Marceline. They need to be rescued and fast; God knows what Flame Prince could be doing to them! So, I propose a small yet highly qualified rescue team be sent to the Fire Kingdom to safely retrieve Marshall and Marceline. I can probably get a suitable team together in an hour or two—"

"I'm going," I state, effectively cutting Gumball off.

Gumball looks up from the map and blinks as if he heard me wrong. "Pardon?"

"I said I'm going. There's no need to put together a rescue team especially when it's going to take as long as an hour or two, because I'm going. I'm going to the Fire Kingdom to save Marshall and Marcy myself," I say firmly, making it clear that not letting me go is NOT an option.

"What?" Cake cries.

"You can't go to the Fire Kingdom now, especially since that psychopath Ashley and that power-hungry fiend Flame Prince are there right now!" Gumball cries right after Cake.

"I can go, and I will go," I snap, narrowing my eyes at them both. "You can't stop me. None of you can, because I won't let you. Marshall is my boyfriend, and Marceline is like a sister to me. I care about them too much to just stay here not do anything."

"Fionna, you won't be here not doing anything, you'll be here helping us plan war strategies and coming up with a way to save the world which will certainly be beneficial to both Marshall and Marcy," Gumball tells me, crossing his arms.

Flame Princess nods. "Exactly! Besides, we need you here. In case you haven't noticed, we're kind of at war, and therefore can use any and all help we can possibly get."

"Come on. I'm NOT the only capable person in this room! You all can manage perfectly fine on your own, and can therefore manage perfectly fine without me. I'm just one person, anyway—what difference could I possibly make?" I protest. I'll say anything I have to say if it's going to get me to the Fire Kingdom to rescue Marshall and Marceline.

Bubblegum moves towards me. "Fionna—"

I cut her off and move away. "You guys know I'm capable of doing this. You guys know I can do this. I've been to the Fire Kingdom plenty of times before and I know how Flame Prince ticks! I know self defense which means I can easily take care of and protect myself and kick the ass of anyone who tries to get in my way. Plus, I'm a damn hero for God's sake; I've carried out rescue missions several times before and I've come out alive after every one of them! And, frankly, I pity the fool that tries to get in the way of me saving two of the people I love. No one's more qualified to do this than I am, and everyone in this room knows it."

"Yeah, well," Finn says, breaking the short period of silence that fell over everyone after I finished, "you're not the only person who's the most qualified to do this—you and I are both heroes, and we're both the most qualified to carry this out. So, I'm coming with you."

I take a step towards him. "Finn, you can't come with me. They need you here because, like me, you are a hero; people will be looking to you for guidance. There's no way the both of us can go off on a quest to the Fire Kingdom. You know as well as I do that at least one of us has to stay here to help everyone," I tell him gently.

Finn draws back as if I'd hit him. "That's not fair! Marceline is my friend too, and Marshall is my friend too!" he instantly protests, just as I knew he would.

I don't miss a beat and nearly cut him off. "Marshall is your friend; he's the love of my life," I shoot back.

Finn's face falls, and I know I won and that he realizes that. "But... but I care deeply about Marshall too..." he mumbles.

Bubblegum suddenly steps forward. "But you aren't madly in love with him," she points out, and I give her a nod as a thank you.

I then look my twin brother in the eye. "You know I'm right, Finn," I tell him, giving him a look.

He sighs before he nods. "Yeah, I know, and I also know that if Flame Princess was out there and I was in your place..." His voice trails off as he gives me a weak smile. He doesn't have to finish what he's going to say, because I know exactly what he means.

I put my hands on my hips. "Then it's decided—I'm going," I start towards Flame Princess. "Obviously, I'm going to need a flame shield chant so I can actually go into the Fire Kingdom—"

Bubblegum suddenly steps toward me again, this time putting a hand on my shoulder. "But, Fionna—"

I cut her off again and stop. "What, PB? You can't honestly be against me going too! I mean, you just said to Finn—" However, I don't get to finish.

Bubblegum narrows her eyes at me and takes her hand off my shoulder. "Fionna, you didn't even let me finish. What I was going to say, before I was rudely interrupted, is that you can't go alone," She takes a breath before looking me directly in the eye. "So, since you can't go alone, I'll be going with you."

I sigh. "Bubblegum—"

I'm cut off yet again. "Don't even try to get me to stay here. I'm not critically needed here, and my subjects have Bubba to look out for them. You'll all be perfectly fine without me," Bubblegum says sternly.

This time, I put my hand on Bubblegum's shoulder. "PB, this is going to be extremely dangerous. There's a chance something could happen to me, and I couldn't bear it if something bad happened to you—to any of you. Besides, Flame Prince asked for me and only me in his war declaration. This is something I should do alone," I tell her gently, as gently as I can.

Bubblegum narrows her eyes at me even more. "Fionna Mertens, I don't care if this is something you should or shouldn't do alone, because you're NOT doing it alone. I am coming with you, whether you like it or not. Now, Marshall may be the love of your life, but Marceline is the love of my life, and I won't just stay here and let one of my best friends go off alone on a dangerous journey to rescue the love of my life without me coming along as well!" She puts her hands on her hips and casts me a steely glare. "Fionna, you've got no choice. I'm going with you. I won't let you do this alone."

I am about to state the many reasons why it's a bad idea that she come along, but she gives me a look that shuts me up before I can even start. "Don't even, Fionna. I'm coming, like it or not. End of discussion. I mean, Marcy is my everything, just as Marshall is your everything. You can't ask me to just stay here while the love of my life is in danger. You get to go save your soulmate, so why can't I save mine?" she says, giving me another look, this one pleading.

I bite my lip. She's right. She's absolutely right and she knows it. I know it. And she knows I know it. There's no way I can keep her from doing everything she possibly can to save the love of her life, especially after I had complained about saving mine. It wouldn't be right for me to do that to Bubblegum. She loves Marcy just as much as I love Marshall.

So, I let out a groan before I reluctantly answer, "Fine. You're coming. But," I narrow my eyes at her, "I still think it's a bad idea. And if something happens, just know I warned you."

Bubblegum beams and stops glaring me down. "Don't worry, nothing will happen. You know I can handle myself perfectly fine. Plus, you'll be with me. You're Fionna the Human, the Heroine of Ooo, after all," She gives me a wink. "You won't let anything happen to me. I know you."

Again, she's right.

"Then it's settled!" I say before I turn to Flame Princess. "You said you learned the flame shield chant, right? Well, go on, get to it! We need to hurry!"

"Hold it!" Gumball calls out just as PB and I start toward FP. We stop and turn to him.

"You guys can go, but that doesn't mean I don't have terms," he says, giving Bubblegum and me a look. "I need you two to do something for me. Now, I was planning on sending someone else to do it, perhaps an elite team, but Fionna's stated several times that she can handle herself, and I know you can too, Bonnibel. Perhaps better than any elite team."

All my friends look at Gumball and I raise an eyebrow at him. "What exactly do you want us to do...?" I ask him, only slightly suspicious.

Gumball coughs. "Well... even though, as Ash confirmed, we have the numbers on our side because of the citizens, I want to have extra insurance. One can never be too sure, after all," he replies, looking nervous.

Bubblegum raises an eyebrow at her brother. "What are you saying, Bubba?" she asks him.

Gumball meets her eyes. "The Nightosphere. There have been rumors over the years about their army, and the rumors say their army is strong. If Marshall and Marceline were here right now, I'd ask them all about it. But they aren't, so all I have is rumors to go on, so that'll have to be enough."

I blink. What is he talking about? "Gumball, what are you saying?" I question him.

PG swallows before he answers my question. "I need the both of you to go to the Nightosphere and ask Hunson and Hunsona to borrow their army so they can aid us in battle," he says, clasping his hands together.

"What?" I gape, my eyes widening. "You're saying you want PB and I to go to the Nightosphere and beg Marshall and Marcy's parents to borrow their army? Gumball, that's crazy."

Gumball sighs. "I know it sounds crazy, but it can really help us. If we have their army, our chances of pulling all this off increase tremendously."

I swallow. Our relationship with Hunson and Hunsona Abadeer has always been... strained, to say the least. They're both powerful demons and the ruthless dictators of the Nightosphere, and they never liked Finn and me. Why? Mainly because we got Marshall and Marceline out of the Nightosphere when Hunson and Hunsona wanted them to stay so they could rule even though they made it clear they didn't want to. They also tried to consume Finn's and I's souls and eat us, but luckily we prevented that from happening.

Yeah, that's right; the first time we met Marshall and Marceline's parents, they almost ate us, so anyone can imagine we aren't the best of buddies.

And now Gumball is asking Bubblegum and I to go to the Nightosphere and just ask them for their army to help us?

Craziness. Complete and utter craziness.

But, then again, PG kind of has a point—if we can get the Nightosphere army on our side, we could very well be unstoppable, win this war, and save the world.

So, is the risk worth the reward?

Definitely.

I give Bubblegum a look and she gives it right back to me, and right then I know we're in agreement.

I turn to Gumball and sigh. "Alright. We'll do it," I tell him.

He smiles. "Excellent! You had better get on that right now. Recruiting an army takes a good amount of time which we don't have much of!"

Um, what?

"What?" Bubblegum replies before she narrows her eyes. "No."

Gumball's eyes widen. "Huh?"

"Yeah, Gumball," I tell him, narrowing my eyes as well. "We're not going to the Nightosphere right now, we're going to the Fire Kingdom to save Marshall and Marceline. After we do that, then we can go to the Nightosphere."

Gumball shakes his head, as if he heard us wrong. "What? But, guys, I just said that recruiting an army takes a good amount of time that we don't have. Look, I want to save Marshall and Marceline just as much as anyone here, but winning this war is our top priority, so you need to go to the Nightosphere first. You can rescue Marshall and Marceline afterwards, but right now we need you to head to the Nightosphere and talk with Hunson and Hunsona."

I get ready to argue with Gumball. "But, Gumball—"

I don't even get to start my argument. "Fionna, Bonnibel, I know how much you love Marshall and Marceline and you're both eager to save them and bring them back home safely, but every minute that ticks by is a minute that Flame Prince's army and monster are closing in on this kingdom and it's another minute that our army isn't ready for them; it's another minute we're exposed. We need the Nightosphere army as soon as we can get them, because Ash's force field won't last forever and we need all the numbers we can get! You both know what the right thing to do here is," Gumball interrupts me, giving PB and me a knowing look.

I curse and look away from PG because damn it I know he's right but I desperately wish he wasn't so I could go to the Fire Kingdom and turn the whole place upside down looking for Marshall and Marceline.

But Gumball's right, so I know I can't do what I really want to do.

Bubblegum turns to me. "Fionna," she says, urging me to convince Gumball that we should go to the Fire Kingdom first and rescue Marshall and Marceline.

I look away from her and back to Gumball. "I hate to say this, like really hate to say this, but you're right, Gumball. Going to the Nightosphere first is what's best for all of us, so... that's what we'll do," I say, and it is incredibly hard to say.

Gumball looks relieved. "Thank you," he says, definitely looking thankful.

"But, the very second we're done recruiting the army, we are going to the Fire Kingdom and saving Marshall and Marcy. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Am I clear?" I say forcefully.

Gumball nods like a bobblehead. "Crystal clear. That's perfect."

Bubblegum takes a deep breath and let it out. "Fine. I agree that this is the course of action that is the best for everyone, so I'll go along with it," Her eyes flicker to me. "But only on Fionna's terms—afterward, we immediately head to the Fire Kingdom to save Marshall and Marceline."

Gumball nods again. "Perfect. But, before you leave, you'll need a few things," he says before he turns and starts for the exit of the conference room. He opens the door. "Follow me." He then leaves the room and we all follow.

We continue to follow Gumball down one of the grand hallways of the palace until we come upon a door. I instantly recognize it.

Bubblegum and Gumball's lab.

Gumball opens the door and Bubblegum and I follow him inside. He flicks on a light switch and light instantly floods the room. The lab looks like it always does—several vials and test tubes and other fancy and sciencey-looking equipment.

"What are we doing in your lab?" I ask PG, and PB looks curious as well. The rest of my friends file inside the lab behind us.

"Well, if you're going to the Nightosphere and the Fire Kingdom," Gumball says, walking over to a wall and grabbing a remote that was sitting on a nearby table before pressing a button on it, and suddenly the wall opens up to reveal several high-tech and fancy-looking weapons, "you're going to need some weapons to defend yourselves." He gestures at the whole display after he finishes speaking.

My jaw drops, as I'm sure everyone else's does as well. Bubblegum, however, just smirks as she watches our reactions.

"Well, I guess if we were to pick a time to show these off, this would be a good one," PB says, still smirking.

Gumball nods and smiles. "Quite," he agrees before he turns to all of us. "Bonnibel and I have been working on these for months now. They're high-tech, top of line weapons that execute flawlessly," He has a bragging looking on his face as he gestures to each weapon. "This sleek bow and arrow set is for you, Fionna. We designed it especially for you and your remarkable skill set in archery. This was originally meant to be your next birthday present, but considering our current situation, I feel that this would be a better time to give it to you," He grabs a high-quality and impressive black bow and several arrows in a black arrow bag. He then hands them to me. "There you go. Happy early birthday."

I carefully take them from him, afraid that if I so much as take them the wrong way I might break them. They're a lot more expensive-looking then my old bow and arrows. The arrow bag is definitely a higher quality also. My eyes widen as I look them over. "Wow... I don't know what to say...," I gape before my eyes meet PG's. "They're beautiful, Gumball. I love them. Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Fionna," Gumball replies, smiling again, before he snaps his fingers. "Oh! I almost forgot! This bow and arrow aren't like most bow and arrows; there are special sensors embedded in the tips of all the arrows that are in sync or connected to other sensors embedded inside the arrow bag. That means, when you shoot at somebody, the arrow will not only pierce their skin, but will go through it and return to the bag. You'll never run out of arrows!"

Woah.

I simply blink. "That's... Wow, Gumball. That's awesome!"

Bubblegum still continues to smirk. "We know," she says proudly.

"And you, Bonnibel," Gumball says, again gesturing to the several weapons. "Which one do you want?"

Bubblegum approaches the weapons on the wall and thinks for a moment before she grabs a handgun. "I'll just take a gun. I'm a pretty good shot. I presume this is fully loaded?"

"Yes. All these weapons are fully loaded. I made sure to be prepared just in case of a situation like this one," Gumball says in response.

"There's one more thing before you two go," Ash says, stepping toward us. "I'm going with you too, Fionna."

Seriously? Why doesn't EVERYONE just volunteer to come along at this point?

I am about to protest, but Ash speaks first. "And don't even try to convince me otherwise. You two need me. I know the Nightosphere like the back of my hand. My sister and I grew up there for a large majority of our lives, after all. And you'll need my magic as protection, just in case. You can never be too careful."

"Wait a second," Gumball says, turning to Ash. "We need you here to put up the force field. You can't leave!"

Ash gives Gumball a look. "Relax, Gum. I'll put the force field up. Besides, I don't need to be here in order to keep it up. I can be halfway across the world and still keep it up and running. It's not too hard. As long as I use my magic," he says before he cocks his head to the side. "Speaking of which," He waves the wrist that has Bubblegum and Gumball's special bracelet around it in the air, "I'll need this off. I can't use my magic when it's being neutralized because of this bracelet, and I can't put up a force field if I can't use my magic."

Gumball raises an eyebrow, looking incredibly doubtful. I don't blame him—unleashing the brother of a psychopathic witch without some way to keep him in check to make sure he doesn't try anything doesn't sound too promising.

But he DID save Breakfast Princess and me... and why would he do that if he was just going to turn around and betray us later? Also, he kind of risked his life to get to us and give us the information about how Flame Prince is going to use the Enchiridion...

It wouldn't make much sense for him to betray us now.

Ash sighs. "I know what you're all thinking, but I promise you that I will NOT try anything. I have made it one hundred percent clear where my loyalties lie and where they don't, and they certainly don't lie with Ashley anymore. I haven't been loyal to Ashley for years now. I promise you all that you can trust me. If I'm going to help you, I need to be able to use my magic, and I can't do that unless this bracelet comes off."

We all look to Gumball, who is clearly in charge of making this decision since he was the one who put the bracelet on Ash. PG shifts from one foot to another for a few seconds before he stops and sighs. "Very well," he says before he approaches Ash and removes the bracelet. I half-expected Ash to attack him and then us, but he just stands still and rubs his wrist after the bracelet is taken off. "There you go. You're free to use your magic once again. But I'm warning you, Ash," Gumball's eyes narrow at the wizard. "No funny business, or you will definitely pay the price. Clear?"

Ash continues to gingerly rub his wrist as he nods, the expression on his face seeming serious. "Crystal," he replies evenly, and I detect no trace of anything suspicious in his appearance or tone. He actually seems like he's being honest.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Flame Princess suddenly says to Ash, gesturing at the ceiling. "Put up the force field, already!"

And so Ash does. He clenches one of his fists and takes a breath. I see a few little green sparks run up and down the fingers on his other hand. Magic. I stare at them in fascination. I've heard about magic, seen it some times, but I've never been this close to it before. I can practically feel a charge in the air, like it's from Ash's magic itself. Everyone watches him as well until, suddenly, there is a low rumble. The sparks on Ash's fingers go away and he unclenches his other fist.

Gumball runs to one of the windows in his lab and looks outside. We all follow him again and look as well.

A green dome now covers the entire Candy Kingdom, though it can barely be seen. It's nearly invisible. In fact, the only reason I know it's green is because the outline of it is a faint green that's enhanced when light bounces off of it.

"Woah," Jake breathes against the glass of the window.

"Mathematical..." Finn and I both whisper together at the sight of Ash's force field.

"Well, there you have it," Ash says before he gestures at the window. "One force field. Can we go now? We don't exactly have all the time in the world, momentarily."

We all seem to snap out of staring in a trance at his force field. Gumball steps away from the window and clears his throat. "Right. Of course. You all better get going. Flame Prince's army could be here soon! We haven't a second to waste!" he says, the rest of us stepping away from the window also.

"What about the flame shield chant? Flame Princess can't do it because we aren't going to the Fire Kingdom first!" I point out. How are we supposed to be protected now?

"We can always get Flambo or Flamba to do it; you know they're always around," Bubblegum suggests.

"Good point, but how are we supposed to get to the Fire Kingdom from the Nightosphere? It'll take awhile, and that's time we don't have!" I point out again.

Ash raises his hand awkwardly. "I could always create a portal to get us there. I can even create a portal to the Nightosphere so we won't have go through the whole long process of creating the official portal there."

Well, the process isn't that long, but whatever saves us time.

PB nods. "That would work."

I look at Ash. "You can really create a portal to the Nightosphere yourself?" I question him.

Ash smirks. "As I said before, you can do anything with magic," he replies, looking smug.

"Well then," Bubblegum says, clapping her hands together. "Just let me change into something more fit for a journey and then we'll be ready to go!"

"No need," Ash says before he snaps his fingers, and suddenly a whole different outfit appears on Bubblegum in a flash. A few green sparks rain down on her before they quickly disappear. "There you go."

All our eyes widen as Bubblegum looks down at her new outfit, the dress she usually wears now gone. The new outfit definitely looks like something someone would wear when embarking on a life threatening journey.

BP's eyes practically pop out of her head at what Ash had just done. "Okay, that's freaking awesome!" she exclaim. "Imagine how quickly I could get dressed if I could do that!"

"Okay," I say, eager to just leave. "Now we can leave! Let's hurry up and go!"

The sooner we get to the Nightosphere, the sooner we can recruit the army and go to the Fire Kingdom to rescue Marshall and Marceline.

Bubblegum nods at me, a serious expression on her face. "Of course. You ready to do this?" She puts her gun in the holster on her hip that had come with her new outfit.

I swallow before I sling my new arrow bag filled with my new arrows over one shoulder with my new bow as well. "As ready as I'll ever be," I reply as calmly as I can. On the inside I feel like I'm about to fall apart. There's so much riding on this. Not only Marshall and Marceline's lives, but the lives of everyone in the world.

We've got this. We have to. If we don't, the world ends.

I definitely can't let that happen.

But, hey, no pressure!

"Hey," Finn says, seeming to sense my nervousness as he places a hand on my shoulder. "We've got this. We can do this. You know we can."

"Yeah...," I say nervously before I take a deep breath. Calm down. We've got this. We've got this. We can do this. We can. I give my twin a determined look. "Yeah. You're right. We've got this."

You're a hero. You can do this.

But, then again, these aren't problems heroes can solve. It'll take ALL of us to solve THIS problem.

We can do this. I know we can.

"Well then," Finn says with a smile before he removes his hand from my shoulder. "Let's save the world."

I smile back. "Yeah, let's do that."

Ash smiles. "Alright then!" he says before he waves his arm and a portal suddenly appears out of nowhere, right in front of us. "Let's do this before I lose what little confidence and courage I have!"

Cake approaches us, looking as terrified as everyone probably feels. "You guys, please be careful. This is incredibly dangerous. Are you sure you can do this by yourselves?"

I gulp. "No. I'm not sure, and none of us are. Honestly, no one's ever sure about stuff like this," I say as I gesture all around me for emphasis. "However, that doesn't matter. We have to do this. Marshall is the love of my life, and Marceline is my best friend—we will bring them home, or we'll die trying. And we will succeed and save the world, or... or we'll die trying for that too."

Cake, along with the rest of our friends, smiles at us with tears in her eyes. "Then good luck," she says, looking at Bubblegum, Ash, and me.

Ash gives her and the rest of them a nod of acknowledgement. "We better get going," he points out, nodding at the portal to the Nightosphere.

Bubblegum and I look at our friends one last time, and I make sure to take them all in completely in case this is the last time I'll ever see them.

No, Fionna, don't think like that. This WON'T be the last time you see the most important people in your life. You WILL see them again. ALL of them, alive and well.

Bubblegum and I smile weakly at our friends before we both reluctantly turn away from them and to the portal. Ash steps through the portal and disappears. Bubblegum hesitates for a moment before she steps through after him and disappears as well.

I approach the portal and take a deep breath in before I slowly let it out. Okay.

Let's do this.

Then I step through the portal and I'm gone.