•Finn•

"I'm sorry... You called me here to ask me what?"

Marshall and I are currently sitting on the porch of his house inside his and Marceline's cave drinking sodas and talking. He called me here to ask me something, something that I definitely didn't expect.

Marshall takes a breath and lets it out slowly. "I... I called you here to ask you for your permission..." he mumbles, now suddenly seeming embarrassed.

"You're asking my permission if you can sleep with my sister?"

Marshall swallows. "Well... yeah," he replies sheepishly.

I shake my head and blink rapidly, wondering if I am dreaming this whole awkward conversation or if it is really happening.

Marshall Lee Abadeer just asked me for my permission for him to have sex with Fionna.

"Wait, hold up; you want to sleep with Fionna?" That is all I can get out. My head is still spinning from what Marshall has just asked me.

Marshall nods as his cheeks turn red. "Yes, very much so. I've wanted to do it ever since I realized I liked her... but I can't exactly do that without knowing if you're okay with it first," he explains.

"Why do you care about what I think? I don't exactly control who Fionna... erm... sleeps with," I let that last part out with a shudder, being as the thought is very disturbing. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you didn't ask the brothers of the other girls you've slept with in the past for their permission to do so... So, why are you asking me for my permission?"

Marshall sighs. "Because... Because Fionna isn't like those other girls--she's different. Special. In the thousand years that I've lived, I've never felt something as strong and as right as what I'm feeling with Fionna. I was in love with Ashley once, long ago, but it was nothing like this... This is really something special, Finn. I feel it. I feel it whenever I'm with Fionna because I am so in love with her, it's crazy. That's why I'm asking for your permission. All those other girls I've slept with didn't matter because (with the exception of Ashley and a few others before her) they were all only one night stands--they knew it and I knew it. There was nothing special there. Nothing worth caring about, and I didn't care with all those girls. I didn't even really care at all with any of the previous girlfriends I had because I didn't feel anything strong for them and they didn't feel anything strong for me, so we weren't serious. And even though I was starting to get serious with Ashley, it still didn't feel at all like this. That's why I didn't ask anyone's permission before now—it wasn't important before now. But this is different; this is important to me and I care about it immensely. So, I'm going to do it right this time. It's too important to me for me to do it wrong," He snorts. "As incredibly corny as that sounds."

I smile at that. He really cares about my sister. "I know you care about Fionna, Marshall. You really love her, don't you?" I reply.

Marshall immediately nods. "Yes. More than anything," he answers without hesitation.

I keep smiling. "I know. Which is why you have my permission. I know you really love her and you aren't just gonna ditch her after she gives you what you want. You really care about her. I know that for certain."

Marshall's face lights up and he beams. "Thanks, Finn. It means a lot to know you're okay with it. You're my best friend and seeing as you're one of my girlfriend's brothers, it's really nice to know you support Fi and I's relationship in all ways," he says, and I can tell he means it.

Man, I'm really lucky Fionna fell in love with my best friend; there's no other guy out there that I'd trust more with my sister's heart than Marshall. He's one of the few people I trust with my life.

After seeing Fionna with that asshole Flame Prince, it's really comforting to know her heart is now in good hands.

I should tell Cake and Jake soon. I just know they'd be just as relieved as I am.

"Uh," Marshall derails my train of thought. "Fionna is ready... right?"

I know for a fact Fionna's ready to sleep with Marshall, mainly because not long ago we got into a discussion about her eventually sleeping with Marshall. I had asked her if she ever wanted to do it, and she immediately said yes. She never specified when she'd be ready to do that, but I got the vibe that she wanted to sooner rather than later. I also got the vibe that she wasn't entirely sure if Marshall wanted to, because she sounded nervous and sort of insecure throughout most of the conversation.

Of course I already knew that Marshall wanted to, but this somewhat awkward discussion with him just further confirms it.

I nod reassuringly. "Yes, I think she's ready. And if she's not right now, she will be soon," I answer, and Marshall looks relieved.

"Good, because I don't want to rush her into anything she doesn't want to do."

"Oh, don't worry, dude--she's definitely eager. I can tell," I reply slyly, and Marshall turns bright red again, probably now picturing something that would scar me for life.

"Thanks again, man. For supporting me, I mean."

I smile. "No problem, Marsh. I am your best friend, so you know I'll always support you, no matter what," I say before I hold out my fist. "Bros for life, right?"

Marshall chuckles and holds out his fist before he bumps it against mine. "Yeah, man," he says, still beaming. "Bros for life."

"Finn!"

Marshall and I stand up from the porch to see Fionna running towards us. She looks excited for some reason.

When she approaches us, I smile. "Hey, sis. Have fun with Marceline at the cafe?" I look around. "Hey, by the way, where is Marcy?"

"She went to the Candy Kingdom to hang with PB. And, yeah, I had fun," Fionna says with a smile, an excited one at that.

Whenever Fionna gets that look on her face, it usually means she's up to something.

I know my twin sister all too well.

Marshall greets her. "Hey, babe," he says before he presses a brief kiss against Fionna's lips. He lingers for a second before he pulls away with a smile still on his face. I playfully roll my eyes at the public show of affection.

Fionna's cheeks are tinted pink as she smiles. "Well hello to you too," she says playfully before she turns to me. "Uh, it's getting late and Cake wants us home."

I blink. "Oh. Right," I nudge Marshall. "Well, we better get going. We'll hang tomorrow?"

Marshall nods. "Sure, dude," he says before he wraps an arm around Fionna's shoulders and kisses her again, this one brief also. "See you later, Fi."

Fionna's cheeks turn pinker. "Yeah, see ya'," she squeaks awkwardly. Marshall and I chuckle at her bashfulness.

Even after a whole month of being with Marshall, she still gets flustered at the simplest displays of affection from him.

"Sh-Shut up, you two," Fionna mumbles before she starts toward the exit of Marshall and Marceline's cave. "Come on, Finn. Let's get going. Cake'll have a fit if we're late for dinner."

"Coming!" I call before I turn to Marshall and give him a wave goodbye. He waves back and I turn and follow Fionna out of the cave.

Soon, she and I are walking across the valley towards the direction of the tree fort. I feel my stomach growl, obviously hungry.

"Hey, do you know what's for dinner? I'm starving," I say as we walk.

"Oh, there's no dinner," Fionna replies. "Well, not yet anyway."

I stop in my tracks. "What? But you said Cake--"

Fionna stops as well. "Yeah, that was a lie," she interrupts me.

My eyes widen at her. "What? Why would you lie about something as important as dinner?" I gape, now disappointed since there won't be a meal waiting for me at home.

Fionna rolls her eyes. "Because I had to get you away from Marshall."

"And why would you want to do that?"

Now it seems like Fionna is getting impatient. "So you and I could be alone together for what I'm about to tell you!" she says, obviously irritated.

What?

I raise an eyebrow. "And what exactly are you about to tell me...?" I ask, my curiosity now piqued.

Then Fionna tells me.

By the time she is finished, my eyes are widened. "Seriously?" I ask.

Fionna nods.

I swallow. "Well, okay... But how exactly will you go about doing this? We have no idea who the witch who bought Hambo and Hamba is and we also have no idea where she might be."

"I did my research before I came here. In most cases, witches and wizards only buy and sell from each other, right? Well, the handy-dandy internet informed me that the witches and wizards hold an annual market every year at the very top of the Crystal Mountains known as the W&W Crystal Fair."

I cock my head to the side. "W&W...?" I question.

Fionna gives me a look. "W&W... Witches and Wizards..." she says in a duh tone of voice

I blink, now feeling stupid. "Oh."

"As I was saying, the W&W Crystal Fair is held every year in the month of--you guessed it--February! And what's even luckier, is that the Fair is already open and will be open all this week. Every witch and wizard attends the W&W Crystal Fair, so the witch that bought Hamba must attend also!" Fionna explains.

"Cool, but how long is the journey? You did say after all that the Fair is held on top of the Crystal Mountains... How long would it take to get there and back?" I ask her.

Fionna thinks for a second. "Well, Bubblegum told me it took her and Gumball a full day to reach the top of the mountains when they visited on their trip... So a journey there and back would have to take two, maybe three days."

"So we'll have to camp out?"

Fionna nods. "Yes... Does that mean that you'll help me?" she says hopefully.

I give her a look. "It's crazy, the odds aren't in our favor, and it's definitely dangerous trying to get to the top of the Crystal Mountains and all," I smirk. "Of course I'm coming with you! Since when have you known me to turn down an adventure?"

Fionna beams. "I love you, bro."

I smile back. "I love you too, sis. Also, think about how amazing this'll be!" I say cheerfully before I wrap my arm around Fionna's shoulders and lean against her. "Finn and Fionna Mertens, the heroes of Ooo, on an epic journey up the Crystal Mountains to a fair crawling with dangerous witches and wizards, on a mission to retrieve a long lost treasure! How awesome does that sound? It'll be like old times--just you and me, on a dangerous and epic journey, doing what heroes do!" I gesture at the vast valley beyond with my other arm for dramatic effect.

Fionna shakes her head and laughs. "Yeah," she says with a happy sigh. "Just like old times."

I remove my arm from her shoulders. "Exactly. So, when do we leave?"

Fionna crosses her arms and bites down on her lip, hard in thought. "Well, I definitely want to be here to spend Valentine's Day with Marshall and I'm pretty sure you want to be here to spend it with FP... So, since it'll take us two days to get there and back and since Valentine's Day is in four days... we should leave tomorrow, especially since it takes almost another entire day to reach the Crystal Mountains. How does that sound?" she replies.

I nod. "That sounds perfect," I say with a smile.

Fionna smiles back. "Then the adventure starts tomorrow."

Yes, it most certainly does.

-------------------------

"Wait, are you two actually doing this?" Marshall asks Fionna and I again as we quickly finish packing up all the things we'll need for the Fair and the journey up the Crystal Mountains.

The rest of the day came and went and soon it was time for my sister and I to embark on the adventure of retrieving my best friend's long lost stuffed animal.

With Valentine's Day now three days away, we really don't have any time to waste. We would be back just barely in time for Valentine's Day which we would spend with our significant others.

And after telling Marshall and Flame Princess about Fionna and I's sudden trip to the Crystal Mountains, the two of them made it very clear they want us back before Valentine's Day is over.

My sister interrupts my train of thought as she rolls her eyes at her boyfriend. "Yes, Marshall, we are actually doing this. We have to," she tells him.

Marshall cocks his head to the side. "And why?" he asks.

"Marsh, I already told you--Finn and I were called to the Crystal Mountains to help clean up the damage a monster caused to a village at the top of the mountains. We'll be gone for three days and then we'll be back," Fionna explains, using the cover story she and I had come up with earlier.

I step in. "Yeah, man, it's... you know... hero stuff. Fi and I gotta help the innocent villagers save what's left of their village. It's already bad enough Fionna and I weren't able to respond in time when the monster was attacking them; we kind of have to do this."

Marshall groans. "I know, I know... You twos' damn hero complex won't allow you to not help. And, yeah, it would be nice to help those poor villagers... but couldn't that stupid monster have at least waited to destroy the village after Valentine's Day? Why did he have to do it right before?" he says, obviously less than pleased with the whole ordeal.

Marshall is obviously planning on making a move on Fionna when Valentine's Day arrives. I'm sure he is, especially after our conversation yesterday during which I told him Fionna is ready.

And, as disgusting as Marshall—my best friend—sleeping with Fionna—my twin sister—sounds, I'm happy for them and therefore I definitely want to make it back in time for Valentine's Day. Not only because of that, but also because of the fact that I want to be with my girlfriend as well.

Fionna stands on her toes and wraps her arms around Marshall's neck. "Babe, chill. Finn and I will be back before you know it and," She gets a mischievous glint in her eyes as she lowers her voice, "you and I will be having our special Valentine's Day before you know it. How does that sound?"

I'm pretty sure I might vomit right then and there at what Fionna is probably getting at as Marshall is now blushing madly as his eyes are widened.

"I...," He swallows. "I think that sounds pretty freaking amazing," he squeaks out, turning redder. I snort at his reaction.

Then he glares right at me. "Shut it, Finn, before I shut it for you."

I hold my hands up in defense and slowly back away from my friend. "Easy, bro..." I say in a teasing voice. Marshall playfully scoffs and rolls his eyes at me.

Fionna brings one hand up and strokes the side of Marshall's face gently, regaining his attention. "Three days. That's all. Three days and Finn and I will be back. Three days and you and I will be celebrating our first Valentine's Day together as a couple. Three days will go by so fast, you'll probably barely even notice we're gone. And if you do, just know we'll be back in no time. Alright, Marshmallow?" she says reassuringly.

Marshall smiles, probably at the use of her famous nickname for him. "Alright, bunny," he says, using his nickname for her as well. "I get it. I'll be fine. But, you and Finn hurry back, though! Because God knows I can't live without you two!"

Fionna and I chuckle at how dramatically he said the last sentence.

After we bid farewell to all our friends and family, Fionna and I slip our ginormous bags of valuables over our backs like backpacks and set off towards the Crystal Mountains.

We both are carrying heavy loads, seeing as we packed everything we thought would seem valuable to witches and wizards.

Although Hamba is just a stuffed animal, we want to be prepared in case whichever witch or wizard that has her possibly wants something big in return.

Fionna said she didn't care what she had to give up, no matter how valuable it might be; she has her mind only set on getting Hamba back for Marshall.

"Hopefully, by some miracle, we might be able to find Hambo too," I say as my sister and I walk.

Fionna nods. "Yeah, that'd be nice, to not only come back with Hamba but with Hambo too as a bonus," she agrees with a smile. "I know Marceline would be pleased."

I give her a look. "Speaking of Marcy, you made sure to tell her to keep this secret, right? We don't want her telling Marshall and ruining the surprise," I point out.

"Oh no, don't worry, I definitely told her to keep this just between the three of us. Not even Cake and Jake know. You, me, and Marceline are the only ones that know what's actually happening."

I nod. "Okay, good. But what about all the stuff we packed? What do they think all this junk we brought with us is?"

"I told everyone it was all supplies to help with the cleanup," Fionna says with a wink. "They didn't suspect a thing. Gosh, our friends are gullible."

I laugh. "Yeah, they really can be. But, I think that's a good thing," I reply knowingly. Our friends definitely aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, except for Bubblegum and Gumball, but even they can be naive at times. And this, luckily, seems to be one of those times.

"It's definitely a good thing. If all our friends were geniuses, we'd never be able to get away with anything!" Fionna says with a chuckle. I laugh again.

"True. I like our friends just the way they are," I admit with an amused smile.

Fionna smiles back at me. "Same here."

-------------------------

Luckily after we have arrived at the Crystal Mountains after about a day of traveling, Fionna manages to find us a comfortable cave to spend the night in before we would start our day-long journey up the mountains.

We set up our sleeping bags in the cave and light a warm fire. After we are done eating some of the snacks we brought with us, we decide we are full and tired and that it is time to get some sleep; we need a full night's rest if we're going to travel up the Crystal Mountains for an entire day.

Fionna checks the fire we made to make sure it is still going strong. She adds about three more twigs to it before she sighs contently and heads for her sleeping bag. "Well, the fire still looks good, so I guess that means that, fortunately, we'll stay warm throughout the night. That's good, because I really wasn't looking forward to freezing to death in our sleep."

I nod from where I am in my sleeping bag. Fionna and I both know how cold the Crystal Mountains can get, especially during the night. We had been here a couple of times before and had foolishly decided against wearing layers. "Definitely not. How would our quest get done if we were frozen like ice cubes? Also, I have a feeling we would be missed. I definitely know Marshall would miss you, especially considering the fact of what he's planning to do with you on Valentine's Day..." My voice trails off and I involuntarily shiver as unwanted images of what Marshall said he and Fionna would do flashed in my mind.

Ew. Definitely ew.

Fionna's cheeks suddenly turn pink. "W-What do you mean...?" she mumbles cautiously, obviously sensing what I'm getting at.

"Don't act oblivious, Fi, anyone with a brain can tell by the way you and Marshall talk to each other about Valentine's Day that you're planning something... erm... special... That, and Marshall actually asked my permission to sleep with you. He wanted to make sure you were ready and that I, his best friend and one of your brothers, was okay with it."

Fionna's cheeks turn pinker as she frowns slightly. "He asked for your permission? Why would he do that? I mean, I doubt he asked other girls' brothers permission to sleep with them..." she says, sounding a bit confused.

I smile. "He did it because he cares about you, way more than he ever cared about those other girls. He didn't ask their brothers' permission to do anything with them because they weren't special like you are. Marshall specifically told me he was afraid of messing up what you two have by diving into something you might not be ready for, and he wanted to make sure that his best friend and a member of your family was cool with it and supported you both; I am and I do," I explain to her.

Fionna's cheeks are red now as she gets a touched look in her eyes. "He... he said all that...?" she whispers.

I nod. "All of it and more," I confirm before I sigh. "Fionna, you really have no idea how crazy he is about you."

Fionna smiles back. "Well, I do know how crazy he makes me, which is why we're doing this--going to the top of the Crystal Mountains. All I want is to make him happy, because he deserves to be happy. I firmly believe that getting his long lost favorite stuffed animal back to him will show him just how much I care about him and his happiness."

My smile stays on my face. Even though Fionna makes Marshall crazy, Marshall makes Fionna just as crazy. That just proves how insanely in love with each other they are.

Fionna suddenly yawns. "Well, I think we better go to sleep now. After all, we have to be up early tomorrow morning to start our journey," she says tiredly. I nod in agreement.

"True that," I respond, just as tired and eager to go to sleep. I lie down in my sleeping bag and roll over. "Goodnight, Fionna."

Fionna does the same, snuggling into her warm sleeping bag. "Goodnight, Finn."

-------------------------

I suddenly feel engulfed by nothing but coldness.

And... wetness...

I immediately spring up and awake to see Fionna smirking happily down at me, holding an empty bucket in her hands.

There had obviously been cold water in that bucket.

Which is now all over me.

I shoot my sister a heated glare. "What the hell, Fionna?! Why the hell did you dump a whole bucket of ice-cold water all over me?!" I shout at her, pissed off.

Fionna gives me a look. "Well, I had to wake you up somehow," she replies innocently.

I want to slap her. "Um, how about you gently wake me up by nudging me or saying 'Finn, it's time to get up' like a normal person?!" I shoot back.

Fionna rolls her eyes. "First off, I already tried that about a hundred times already! You just ignored me and kept right on snoozing! I also tried various other methods but none of them worked either! And, second off," She smirks, "what's the fun in waking you up like a normal person, anyway?"

I just sit there, staying silent while narrowing my eyes at Fionna, still mad at her for waking me up like that and for waking me up at all.

Fionna rolls her eyes and drops the bucket. "Oh come on, Finn, lighten up! Besides, it's time to head up the Crystal Mountains. So, get over it and help me pack up our things." She trails away from me and begins packing up some of our things.

I groan before I reluctantly stand up and begin doing the same.

-------------------------

"Ugh...! My feet are killing me...! How long have we been walking...?" I whine pitifully as Fionna and I trudge up the mountains.

Fionna gives me a look as she nods at the cave where we had camped, which is a couple of yards away now in the distance behind us. "Finn, we've literally been walking for seven minutes. You can still see our camp! Plus, we're just now barely beginning our climb up," she points out, rolling her eyes yet again at me.

"Well," I huff, still walking, "it feels like forever. And we have to climb like this for an entire day before we even reach the top?"

"Yes, Finn, we do. Live with it and stop whining like a privileged prima-donna. You knew what you signed up for when you agreed to do this with me, so don't act like it's such a surprise."

I sigh. "I know, but saying it and doing it are two very different things," I retort, knowing how much it makes me sound like a diva but not caring either way.

Fionna's eyes soften. "Look, I know you wanna get there and back in time for Valentine's Day, believe me, I do too. But, don't worry, because the trip back won't be as long as the trip there, remember? On our way back home, we won't camp out during the night like we did yesterday, instead we agreed we'd suck it up and keep going until we're home. It'll get us home faster than you think. And just like that, we're back home just in time for Valentine's Day. Piece of cake," she explains to me like she had before. It's true that she and I had agreed beforehand that we won't camp out on our way back so we'll get home in time for Valentine's Day.

I smile at my sister. "I know. I'm just tired and eager to get back to see Flame Princess," I say in response, now a bit embarrassed at my previous behavior.

"And I'm tired and eager to get back to Marshall. Trust me, bro, I feel you," Fionna says as she smiles back at me.

So, we continue our long climb up the Crystal Mountains to the top. Eventually, we're so high up it's hard to see the ground; we have to squint in order to catch a glimpse of it.

"Are we almost there yet?" I ask for about the millionth time as my sister and I continue to climb. "We've been going at this for hours and it's getting dark out!"

"Yes, we should almost be there," Fionna replies and I immediately let out a sigh of relief. "Hm. It seems we'll be there sooner than we thought. I'm guessing it's because how fast we climbed and that we hardly took any breaks."

"However it's happening, I really don't care; I just want to get to the top of the flipping mountains already..." I grumble as we still climb.

"Same here," Fionna grunts in reply as she tries her best to keep climbing. I can tell it's just as difficult for her as it is for me; we've been climbing for hours without rest and all those hours are starting to take their toll on our exhausted bodies.

I grunt in exhaustion as well as I will my body to keep climbing. "Okay, of all the places to hold a fair, why on top of a mountain? We both know how difficult it is to haul ourselves all the way up to the top, so who in their right mind would put a large social event on top of a mountain? Are witches and wizards all avid rock climbers or something?"

"I don't think so. What I do think, though, is they really don't care because they have magic; they can just poof themselves up here in a matter of seconds," Fionna says as she tries her best to explain it to me. I nod, understanding what she is saying.

"Oh. That makes sense."

Fionna suddenly stops climbing. I give her a look.

"Why'd you stop?" I ask her curiously.

Fionna smiles at me and points. "There's no need to keep going."

I look to where she is pointing to see we have made it to the top of the Crystal Mountains. In the near distance stands a colony of what looks like booths and stands.

The Fair.

I nearly collapse with relief. "Finally," I gasp out as Fionna and I start towards the Fair.

As we get closer, the booths and stands get larger and talking is heard. Several witches and wizards stand talking to each other loudly, trading back and forth and making deals.

In no time Fionna and I approach the W&W Crystal Fair. I scan it all quickly. There's at least three hundred witches and wizards here, minimum.

"We're here!" Fionna says triumphantly, her hands on her hips. "Now, let's hurry up and find what we need to find so we can get out of here and go back home."

I nod, agreeing with her. We then begin moving around the Fair, looking carefully at each booth and stand for Hamba.

After minutes of intense searching, I sigh. "I don't see Hamba anywhere. Maybe the witch that has her isn't even selling her; she's probably not even here," I groan and drop my arms at my sides. "Ugh. I guess that means we came all the way here for nothing."

Fionna stops looking before she gives me a look. "Finn, we've literally only been looking for about ten minutes! You can't seriously be considering throwing in the towel already. We haven't even been here a full hour yet...! You can't just give up!"

I sigh once again before I return the look my sister gives me. "Look, Fionna, I get how much you want to find Marshall's long lost childhood stuffed animal that he loved and return it to him as a present for Valentine's Day," I say with a soft smile. "I think that's really sweet of you as his girlfriend to want to do something like that for him, especially after how long it took us to get here and how far we had to travel. But, Fi, this is sort of a lost cause; I should have realized that at the beginning of this journey. For all we know, the witch that bought Hambo and Hamba could've died or simply just decided to skip out on the Fair this year. Besides, there are way too many booths and stands here--it'd take us forever to search them all! Even a hero has to know when to quit. And, there's just no way that we'll be able to find Hamba in all this--"

"I found her!" Fionna cuts me off as she suddenly starts off in a random direction.

What?!

I immediately follow her. "You what? You found her? This soon? How is that possible?" I say as I trail after my sister.

Fionna stops in front of a light green stand. Inside the stand, a witch's back is turned to us as she is organizing some of her things in the back.

Fionna smiles as she points at something on one of the many shelves. "It has to be her...!" she says as she reaches in her pocket and pulls out a wrinkled and faded photo of a young Marshall holding a new-looking Hamba. Marshall had given this photo to Fionna awhile back after he and Marceline had told us the story of how they got Hambo and Hamba from Simon and Simone hundreds of years ago during the Great Mushroom War.

Fionna had decided to bring the photo along with us as a reference guide to remember what Hamba looks like. She smiles even wider as she compares Hamba in the photo to the stuffed animal she's pointing to on the shelf.

It's an exact match, minus how old Hamba looks now.

I scan the stand for any signs of Hambo, hoping we'll score a bonus, but I don't catch any sight of him. I frown.

"Yep! That's it! It's her, I knew it was her!" Fionna exclaims excitedly before she turns to me and gives me a look. "See? What did I tell you, Finn? I knew we would be able to find her, no problem! Not only that, but we found her within a few minutes of getting here!" She now has a smug and satisfied look on her face. "This was even easier than I thought it would be!"

Before I can open my mouth to reply, Fionna knocks on the side of the stand, catching the witch's attention. "Um, excuse me! I'd like to trade!" she calls.

The witch stops organizing and turns to face Fionna. She smiles. "Well. A human," Then her eyes go to me. "Two, actually. How odd; it's a rare thing seeing not only one but two humans at the W&W Crystal Fair. Well, actually, it's rare to see any at all. What brings you here?"

Fionna smiles back kindly. "We just came here to browse. And, I'm glad we did because I see something of yours that I like," she replies smoothly.

The witch raises an eyebrow as her smile turns to a smirk. "Oh really? Well, before I trade you anything, know it comes with a price. And, let it be known that I drive a rather hard bargain."

Fionna's smile stays glued to her face. "I'm sure you do, ma'am, but let it also be known that I do as well," she says before she takes her large backpack off her back and motions for me to do the same. "As you can see, my companion and I brought a large collection of valuables to trade."

"I can see that. Now, what is it that you're interested in from my stand?"

Fionna doesn't waste any time as she points straight at Hamba. "That."

The witch looks to Hamba and back at my sister, a bewildered and puzzled expression on her face. "Really? You want that old thing? Why, I've had that tattered up rag doll for years. God knows how old the thing is. What I do know is, in all the years since I bought her, no one's ever shown an interest in her," she says, obviously surprised and confused as to why Fionna wants Hamba.

"You could say I have unique taste. I like old things, I suppose. Always have," Fionna tells her. "Now, let's get down to business; what out of all our valuables do you want to trade for her? Since I'm nice, I'll make an exception--you can have anything you wish."

The witch takes her time as she looks carefully at all the stuff Fionna and I brought. I mentally cross my fingers and hope for the witch to find something she likes so Fi and I can just take Hamba and go home.

Suddenly, the witch's eyes are back on Fionna and me.

Fionna waits for her response for about two seconds before she speaks. "Well?" she asks as politely as she can, but I can tell she's already impatient.

"I'm sorry, dearie, but I don't have the slightest interest in anything you two presented to me," the witch replies.

Fionna's body immediately sags and I feel mine do the same. "Are you sure?" my sister asks desperately. "Like, absolutely sure? Maybe you missed something...?"

The witch shakes her head. "No, I didn't miss anything, and yes, I'm sure I don't want anything you have. So sorry," she says. But in my opinion, she doesn't sound very sorry at all.

Great. Just great! This entire journey counted on us being able to trade something to get Hamba! But that isn't going to happen, seeing as Fionna and I's hopes of getting my best friend the perfect Valentine's Day gift were shot down faster than Gumball after asking a girl out.

But, apparently, Fionna isn't giving up that easily.

She plants her hands against the stand and leans forward towards the witch. "Please. I'll give you anything! I'll do anything! Anything you want! I just really need that stuffed animal for someone I really care about! Can't you make an exception just this once?"

"No."

Fionna's face crumples before she lifts her hands from the stand and uses them to hold her head, obviously now not in the mood to look at anyone or anything.

I move my hand, preparing to lay it on Fionna's shoulder to comfort her, when suddenly the witch speaks up.

"Well... there is one thing you can do that would quite possibly get you the stuffed animal."

My hand freezes where it is just as Fionna's head immediately snaps up and her eyes lock on the witch.

"What? What is it? As I said before, I'll do anything!" Fionna instantly says, and I can see her regaining a bit of hope.

The witch leans forward. "Here's the deal, I can't do this myself because I can't possibly leave my stand with all the business that's going on; I need to be here for my customers, after all. Therefore, I definitely cannot leave my stand unattended for any amount of time," She sighs. "This is quite unfortunate for me, seeing as I have my eye on a booth that's across the Fair. I've been wanting something from it for awhile now, but I can't go over there to trade because I need to stay with my stand."

I cock my head to the side out of curiosity. "What exactly do you have your eye on?" I question her.

"It's the booth that sells the one-of-a-kind, limited edition glass ornaments. That booth has a certain ornament that would complete my collection. It's a small diamond-shaped little thing that's ruby-red and has little gold birds all over it. Get that ornament for me, and the stuffed animal's yours," the witch replies without uncertainty.

Fionna's eyes light up. "Done! I'll definitely get you that ornament! In fact, I'll go get it right now."

Then Fionna instantly puts her backpack on her back and grabs my hand before she drags me away from the light green stand. I barely have enough time to grab my backpack.

"Wha--Fionna, what are you doing? Slow down!" I say, but Fionna continues to pull me.

"Can't. Sorry. We gotta get to that ornament booth as fast as we can so we can get that ornament to trade for Hamba! You heard the witch! Besides, we gotta hurry so no one else but us gets Hamba. So, hurry!"

After a few minutes of her running and dragging me, we come across a blue booth with a sign of an ornament on it.

Fionna smiles. "This must be the booth! Let's go!" she says before we both approach it.

This booth is managed by a wizard, who seems to be taking stock of all his ornaments when he sees us approach. He smiles at us. "Hello. What can I do for you two?" he says to us.

"Uh, do you happen to have an ornament that's shaped like a diamond and is ruby-red with little gold birds all over it?" I ask him.

He keeps smiling. "You've come to the right place," he says before he goes to the back of his booth and comes back seconds later with the very ornament we are after. "Now, I already know what I want in return for it."

"And what would that be?" Fionna asks him.

"A lamp," the wizard answers, and Fionna and I frown.

"A lamp?" I repeat.

The wizard nods. "A lamp," he repeats. "I'm a collector, you see."

Fionna curses under her breath. "Ugh! We don't have any lamps!" she grumbles before she turns to me. "Now what? We need to get that ornament so we can trade it for Hamba, but apparently, we can't get the ornament without getting a lamp!"

"Well," the wizard interrupts before I can answer Fionna, "there's a lamp stand about six stands over. I'd go there myself, but I can't leave my booth alone."

"Let's go then!" Fionna says before she pulls me along again.

The second we arrive at the lamp stand, Fionna doesn't waste any time.

"Okay, we need a lamp to trade for an ornament to trade for a stuffed animal!" she tells the witch who runs the stand. "What do ya' got?"

Smiling, the witch gestures to all the lamps her stand has. "As you can see, I have a variety of lovely lamps. Choose any one you like."

Fionna and I look at all the lamps for a couple of seconds, our eyes scanning over them.

Then, I turn to Fionna. "Which one do we get? He never told us which specific one he wanted."

"Um... it doesn't matter. Let's just take one," Fionna says before she looks around for a second, then points to a random lamp. "We'll take that one. What do you want for it?"

The witch thinks for a moment. "Um... Oh, I know!" she says before she smiles. "I've always wanted a ship in a bottle."

Fionna's face falls. "We don't have one."

The witch frowns. "Oh," she mumbles, disappointed.

"Do you maybe want anything else? We have several things here," I offer.

The witch shakes her head. "Sorry. I'm only interested in a ship in a bottle at the moment," Then, her face suddenly brightens. "You know, I actually remember seeing a booth that has a bunch of ship-related memorabilia somewhere over in that direction," She points straight to the left of us. "I bet there's a ship in a bottle there."

"Then why are we still standing here?" Fionna says. "Let's go find it!"

We look for a few minutes before we find the booth with a bunch of ship-related things.

"We need a ship in a bottle to trade for a lamp to trade for an ornament to trade for a stuffed animal," Fionna tells the wizard that runs the ship-related booth. "Do ya' got one or what?"

The wizard blinks. "I'm sorry, you lost me."

Fionna seems like she is running on very low patience, so I step in. "Uh, we're looking for a ship in a bottle. Do you happen to have one?" I say to the wizard.

He turns around and grabs something before he turns back to face us. He sets none other than a ship in a bottle in front of us. "Yep. Right here."

"What do you want for it?" Fionna asks, and I can tell she is silently praying for whatever he wants to be something we already have.

The wizard doesn't hesitate. "One of those pretty-smelling scented candles," he says.

Fionna and I give him a look.

He flushes. "Quit looking at me like that! Guys can like scented candles too, ya' know! There's nothing wrong about a guy wanting his house to smell decent!"

Fionna groans. "It doesn't matter; we don't have one anyway," she grumbles.

I raise my hand. "Um, I actually think I saw a stand a few miles back that was filled with scented candles," I speak up, thankful I remembered.

"Let's go then," Fionna says before she pulls me along.

-------------------------

"Ugh... Finn... how much farther...?" Fionna pants as we run, still searching for the scented candle stand.

"Not much farther, I think," I reply before my eyes suddenly land on what we are looking for. "I see it!"

Fionna's head whips around before she spots it. "Thank glob!" she says before we immediately head over to it.

When we approach it, Fionna speaks rapidly before the witch who runs the stand can welcome us.

"We need a scented candle to trade for a ship in a bottle to trade for a lamp to trade for an ornament to trade for a stuffed animal. Do you have any pretty-smelling scented candles on you?"

The witch gestures behind herself and Fionna and I immediately begin looking.

We grab several candles and began sniffing them.

A few seconds later, Fionna holds up a random candle. "This one smells really nice!" she tells me.

"Okay," I say before I turn to the witch. "We want that one. What do you want in return?"

"There's a booth across the Fair that has a bunch of colorful kites. I've always wanted a kite. Get me one and you can have the candle," the witch replies.

Fionna groans. By now she's getting tired of running all across the Fair. I am too. "Great. Another trip across the entire Fair. Oh joy," she grumbles again before she and I trudge away from the scented candle stand to find the kite booth, wherever it is.

About half an hour passes before we find it.

"We need a kite to trade for a scented candle to trade for a ship in a bottle to trade for a lamp to trade for an ornament to trade for a stuffed animal! You better have what we're looking for," Fionna says bluntly, all her patience gone.

The wizard running the booth grabs a random kite from behind himself. "How about this one?" he asks us.

"Sure. We'll take it. What do you want for it?" Fionna says.

"I guess I'd like a vase. I really need something to give my mother-in-law for her birthday," the wizard says before he sighs. "If I don't she'll get on my case and just nag, and nag, and nag, and nag, and nag--"

"Okay, we get it. Now, is there a stand or a booth that sells vases because we, of course, don't have one," Fionna cuts him off.

The wizard nods. "There's a vase stand about four stands that-a-way." He points to our right.

Fionna turns and leaves, this time not even bothering to grab me. I follow her as we search for the vase stand.

-------------------------

"Okay, lady, here's what's up," Fionna tells the witch that runs the vase stand. "We need a vase to trade for a kite to trade for a scented candle to trade for a ship in a bottle to trade for a lamp to trade for an ornament to trade for a stuffed animal. Now, you can give us whatever vase you want. I really couldn't care less."

The witch grabs the vase that was right next to her and shows it to Fionna.

"That's great. We'll take it. Now, what is it you want for it?" Fionna says, and just as the witch is about to reply, Fionna speaks before the witch can. "Let me guess--you probably want something that's located in a booth that's all the way across the Fair that'll probably take several minutes to find, and once we get there and find the thing you want, the witch or wizard that runs that booth will probably want something else we don't have and the stupid cycle will start all over again, as it has been doing since we got here. So, come on, say you want something all the way across the Fair. Say it. Give it your best shot because, lady, we've heard it all."

The witch is silent for a moment before she clears her throat. "Um... I was actually just going to say I'd like to trade you my vase for that toaster you have there," she says before she points at the toaster that is sticking out of Fionna's large backpack. "Mine broke last week."

Fionna just stands there for a few seconds before she speaks. "You... you actually want something we have...?" she mumbles in shock.

"Yeah," the witch replies.

Fionna is silent again for a moment before she suddenly leaps forward and grabs the witch in a hug. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You're a saint, lady!" she cries before she separates from the witch and grabs the toaster sticking out of her backpack, giving it to the witch before the witch gives her the vase. "God bless you!"

The witch gives my sister a look, looking confused. "Uh... thanks...?" she mumbles.

"Don't mind my sister," I tell her with a shrug. "We've... been through some things today."

Before the witch can reply, I am grabbed by Fionna and dragged in the direction of where we came from.

-------------------------

"Here," Fionna says as she gives the wizard that runs the ornament booth the lamp. "One lamp! Enjoy!"

The wizard gladly takes it before he hands Fionna the diamond-shaped ornament that is ruby-red with little gold birds on it. "Thanks, kids. It was a pleasure doing business with you. Enjoy the ornament."

Fionna and I smile at him before we turn and walk away towards the stand that has the real prize we are after.

"Finally this is over! That was a lot harder than I thought it would be...!" Fionna sighs as she and I walk in the direction of where Hamba's stand is.

I raise an eyebrow at my sister. "And you said this was easy and you drove a hard bargain."

Fionna gives me a look. "Yeah, well, that was before all those witches and wizards sent us on the scavenger hunt of hell all across the entire freaking Fair," she responds.

I shrug. "That's fair," I reply before we spot Hamba's stand. "I see the stand."

The second I say that, Fionna immediately rushes over to it and I follow.

When we approach it, Fionna lays the ornament the witch requested right in front of her. "One diamond-shaped ornament that's ruby-red with gold birds on it! Now, you take it and we'll take the stuffed animal and be on our way!" she says before she reaches for Hamba.

The witch stops her. "Wait a second," she says before she eyes the ornament we brought her. She frowns. "I don't want this."

What now?

Fionna and I freeze as Fionna just stares at the witch. "W-What? Excuse me?" she huffs, her voice having a slight growl to it. Every shred of my sister's patience has officially run out. "What do you mean you don't want it? This is exactly what you asked for! We traveled all across the fricking Fair just to get our hands on this ornament and give it to you! You have no idea what we had to do to get this thing! We traded a toaster for a vase for a kite for a scented candle for a ship in a bottle for a lamp for this ornament to trade for the stuffed animal!"

"Yeah! With all due respect, ma'am, we walked around the Fair forever just to get you this ornament. Now, why exactly don't you want it when you specifically told us you did?" I say as calmly as I possibly can.

"I wanted a one of a kind, limited edition diamond-shaped ornament that's ruby-red and has gold birds on it," the witch says before she points at the ornament. "This ain't that. This is a fake."

My eyes widen. "What? A fake?" I look down at the ornament. "It looks exactly how you described it! How can you possibly tell it's a fake?"

"Because, kid, I'm a collector. I've been tracking the ornament I described to you and many others for years; I know an authentic when I see one, and this isn't one of them," the witch explains. "It looks like you kids have been swindled. The owner of the ornament booth probably knew you kids had no knowledge on ornaments and therefore figured they could easily fool you into thinking a fake is the real thing. Sorry."

Fionna groans. "What do we do now? We've got nothing you like and the ornament we traveled the whole Fair for isn't even the ornament we traveled the whole Fair for!" she spits, obviously pissed off. To be honest, I'm pretty pissed too. I mean, we traveled for two days and searched this entire fair just to be fooled and ultimately fail in the end.

I sigh. "Fi... I'm really sorry to say this, but there's nothing else we can do," I say sadly. "We need to just go home. Valentine's Day is in only a day now, and you know we promised Marshall and FP we'd be back by then."

Fionna looks like she is about to protest before she takes a second and sighs back. "Y-Yeah... you're right. I just... I just really wanted to do this for Marshall and, if we got lucky, for Marceline too...," She shrugs. "Well, I guess we can't," She grabs my arm and begins to pull me along. "Come on, let's go. If we leave now, I think we'll make it back in time."

Just as Fionna and I turn away from the stand to leave, the witch suddenly speaks up.

"Oh my goodness... Is that a crystal sword...?"

Fionna and I stop and turn back around to face the witch, who is now eyeing Fionna's sword, another one of the things that is sticking out of Fionna's large backpack. I have my sword sticking out of my large backpack as well; we take our swords everywhere we go.

Fionna gives the witch an odd look. "Yes..." she mumbles.

The witch's eyes are now widened as she continues to ogle Fionna's sword. "Crystal swords like that one are extremely rare and very valuable... Child, do you have any idea what your sword is worth? Especially to witches and wizards?" she says to us in awe.

Fionna's sword is rare and valuable? We certainly had no idea!

Fionna looks at her sword. "Uh, no... I had no idea it was rare or valuable or anything you just said... My brother and I found it along with another sword years ago when we were only ten..." she explains, still probably surprised that the witch brought it up at all.

All the while talking to us, the witch never once takes her eyes off my sister's sword. "My, my... That's lovely that is...," she whispers before she suddenly smiles. "Say, I'll make you a deal; instead of giving you the stuffed animal and you giving me the ornament in return, I'll give you the stuffed animal," She nods at Fionna's sword, "for that lovely, lovely crystal sword you've got there."

My eyes widen probably as far as they've ever gone in my entire life.

Trade Fionna's sword for Hamba?

Fionna's had that sword for YEARS! Ever since we were TEN! She's used that sword to kill God knows how many monsters and she's used that sword to save God knows how many kingdoms and villages!

Fionna falls silent as she just looks at her sword before she gently grabs it and looks at it some more.

I nudge her. "Fionna... you can't seriously be thinking about this... I mean, you've had that sword for years--since we were kids! You used that sword to slay our first monster and save our first kingdom, and then used it to slay even more monsters and save even more kingdoms! You... you can't honestly be thinking about trading it for Hamba..." I mutter.

Fionna stays silent and just stands there, staring at her sword for a couple more seconds before she speaks up. "You're right, Finn--I'm not thinking about it," she says before she grips the handle of her sword and thrusts it out towards the witch. "Here. Take it, it's yours."

I swear my eyes nearly pop out of my head. "What?!" I gape, completely and utterly shocked at what my sister just did. The witch wastes no time in snatching the sword from Fionna and then handing Hamba over.

Then Fionna looks at Hamba with a smile, getting a good look at Marshall's long lost stuffed animal that is now in her arms. "Hello there, Hamba. We've been looking for you," she hums before she turns Hamba over and looks on her bottom. "Huh. Look at that; M for Marshall, I'm guessing."

I would have paid more attention to the black, slightly fancy-looking letter M that is on Hamba's bottom if I wasn't so shocked and flabbergasted at what has just gone down.

"What?!" I say again as Fionna looks at her sword again, which the witch now holds.

"Goodbye, swordy. It's been great. We've had a good run. I know you'll miss me, and I'll definitely miss you too, but this is something I have to do. We'll see each other again," Fionna says dramatically, "someday. Until then, I'll see you in my dreams when I'm dreaming about slaying tons of sick and cool-looking monsters. So long, my friend. See you later."

"What?!" I gasp yet again, still trying to process what is happening and what just happened.

Fionna simply turns around and begins walking. "Come on, Finn, we gotta go. We did what we came here to do, and now it's time to head home. Mission accomplished, bro!" she chirps.

I just turn away from the witch and follow Fionna. "What?!"

"It's fine, Finn, really. I'm alright. It's cool. You can stop losing your shit now," Fionna tells me as we walk.

"Wh--"

Fionna stops walking and gives me a look. "Finn, I swear, if you say what again--"

I cut her off. "Wh--How--When--Really--," I shake my head. "Did that just happen...?"

"Yes, Finn, that just happened."

"But...," I mutter, almost at a loss for words, "but why would you do that? Why would you give one of the things you value the most, something that holds so many great memories, something you had since you were a kid, to a witch just so you can get a stuffed animal in return? Why? You loved that sword!"

Fionna nods. "You're right, Finn, I did love that sword," she says before she smiles at me. "But I love Marshall more."

With that, my sister turns and walks off.

I stand there for a moment before I follow her again, continuing to walk.

And we continue to go, heading in the direction of home for Valentine's Day.