*Finn's Age: 19*

Finn's P.O.V

Things have taken a rather devastating turn here recently. Ice King, despite having lived for quite a long time, has died. Jake and I didn't even find out until Marceline asked us to go check on him since he hadn't been answering her calls. We found him lying motionless on his bed, eyes closed and not breathing, and the two of us quickly raced him over to Princess Bubblegum. Marceline rushed over after I called to tell her, but by the time she got there, PB unfortunately announced that there was nothing she could do to save the Ice King. Marceline, in tears, flew away, leaving the rest of us with the heavy task of burying the old man. And though I wasn't a fan of him for so long, I felt sad since not even him should've died that way. He should've gone out in an adventurous, daring fashion.

Weeks passed and none of us hear a word from Marceline, though PB could see through the cameras she apparently planted in her house that my best friend was constantly crying and refusing to get out of bed. It tore me apart inside seeing her like that and I wished I could do something to make her feel better. And I asked Jake and Bubblegum if they had any ideas, but they came up short, leading to me attempting to wrack my brain to figure something out. Jake and I just resumed our normal, everyday lives from that point on and just continued as if nothing happened. Or, at least, we tried. Princess Bubblegum also went back to doing what she usually was doing, but lately Peppermint Butler said that she was staying up later than usual to work on something that she wouldn't tell him about. That got me curious and some part of me wanted to know, but I ultimately decided to wait until the Princess was ready to tell us herself.

And today, it seems, is that day, because Jake just got a call from her telling us to come over to her lab as soon as we can. He puts the phone back and I smile as I get to finishing my egg breakfast he made me. Finally! It's been nearly a month since we heard anything from her, so I'm excited to see what she has in store for us. Jake smiles as well, sitting back down and finishing his own bacon pancakes.

"You see, Finn? Sometimes you just have to have patience" My bro nods, getting up and bringing his plate to the sink.

"Yeah, very true, man" I agree, bringing my own plate over as well, "Though I kinda wanna visit Marceline today too. Maybe try to talk her out of her house."

"I mean, you can try it, but it hasn't worked the last few times you've tried" Jake reminds me.

"I know, Jake, but I'm not giving up on her yet" I insist.

"Hehe, sounds just like you, man" Jakes smiles, "But let's hurry up and go see Princess Bubblegum."

"Agreed" I nod, following him out the door a minute later.

It's a short trek to one of our favorite places to visit and we're meet with the usual joyful expressions and cheering from the candy citizens as we pass through the kingdom. Peppermint Butler meets us at the castle door and takes us inside without a word, leading us down to her underground lab instead of the lab closer to her bedroom. We head down some winding staircases before coming to the large, cavern-like area with technical junk strewn about the place. Pep But then leaves and Jake and I head over to where the Princess is standing. She greets us with a smile, but gets right to business once we're ready. 

"Are you guys ready to see what I've been working on?" PB asks.

Jake and I both nod and the princess pulls the cloth off the tall contraption to her right, revealing a large circular device with a ramp coming down from the center and a control panel attached to it.

"This..." PB begins to explain, walking around it in a full circle, "...is a temporal travel mechanism."

Neither my bro or I know what she means, so she sighs and simplifies her language.

"A time machine?" The princess tries again, it clicking that time.

"Oh, ok!" I nod.

"Not only that, but I've also been working on this" PB continues, pulling a small vial with some purple liquid in it from her lab coat pocket and placing it in my hand, "This is an antidote I synthesized from Ice King's DNA. After an examination of his body, I learned that it was a disease that spawned from the crown's curse on his physical health. This can save him from dying."

"Uhh, not to be rude, Princess, but in case you haven't noticed, Ice King's dead. That antidote isn't gonna help him in any way, shape, or form" Jake points out.

"Yes, but can you read between the lines here, you guys?" PB asks, "I've told you about the time machine and then I tell you about this cure for Ice King's condition. Can't you connect the dots and see that we can travel back in time and save Ice King from dying and therefore prevent Marceline from becoming a shut-in?"

"Well, when you explain it like that.." I shrug, not knowing how we were supposed to draw that conclusion on our own.

"So, how will this work?" Jake asks, eyeing the machine.

"It's actually quite elementary" PB grins proudly, going over to the control panel, "I simply activate it with this panel here, set in the timepoint, and press the button when ready."

"This still sounds dangerous, though, Peebs" I say a bit nervously.

"I know, Finn, but Marceline means a lot to us" Bubblegum points out, turning away from the panel and glancing at me tenderly, "Wouldn't she do the same for you if the roles were reversed?"

"I guess she would" I reply, the princess smiling, "Alright, I see your point. And I personally volunteer myself for this."

That's when the Princess's smile drops and Jake's face follows suit.

"Finn....I was thinking that Marceline should be the one to do it. The time will be set to before Simon leaves her and since there can't be two Marceline's in the same timeline, she would eventually be pulled back into the present. Since she's immortal, the wait wouldn't be a problem. But if you were to go..." Peebles pauses, looking scared and a bit sad, "Things would be much different. The timeline will change regardless, but if you go, there's a strong possibility that a lot more will change. Because events occur as a result of other events occurring and if you merely alter one, a huge number of events will or won't happen. And I can't estimate how long the timeline-kick will take to trigger, which means that.....you might not make it back, not to mention that depending on what is changed, the Ooo you return to won't be one you'll recognize."

"Bubblegum's right, Finn" Jake chimes in, "This is a huge, mega risk you're taking. Probably the biggest you've ever taken. None of us might even see you again. Are you sure you shouldn't let Marcy just handle this?"

I look down at the vial in my hand, remembering Marceline's memory from when Jake and I visited her memories. She was alone, scared, and sad as a kid and depending on how long it takes for the timeline to boot me back here, maybe I can make her happy if I'm still there when Simon leaves. Closing my hand around the vial, I exhale with confidence.

"Yes, I'm sure, Jake. I'll do this for her and for the Ice King" I nod.

Jake and Princess Bubblegum then come forward and hug me simultaneously, crying at the thought of not being able to remember me if something changes in time that causes that. I hug them back, a few tears of my own leaking out as the thought hits me hard as well.

"Before I go, though, I want to talk to Marcy about it. Just so she knows what we're doing for her" I say, trying to keep my voice from cracking as our group hug comes to an end.

"....Ok, Finn" Bubblegums nods, Jake also nodding as I turn and walk out of the lab.

Since I don't want to prolong this and feel even more scared that I already am, I leave the Candy Kingdom quickly and head back to the treehouse. I grab my backpack once I'm inside and begin stuffing it with things like a coat, food, water, and some other useful essentials that won't be readily available where I'm heading to. I also grab my demon blood sword and also Scarlet, though I hesitate at first since I'm wondering what I'll use her for. I then leave the treehouse and head right for Marceline's place in the Mountain Kingdom. The lights are off and the cave is silent when I get there, which is how it's been pretty much every other time I've come here, so I merely walk up to her front door and gently knock.

"Marcy, are you there?" I call softly.

"Finn?" Marceline hesitantly answers, sounding like she's sitting with her back against her front door.

"Hey, Marcy" I say softly, sitting and putting my back against her door as I continue talking with her, "How are you?"

"...................Not good" She replies after a minute, the sounds of sniffling coming from inside, "I miss him so much, Finn. Out of everyone I knew, he was the one who was there for me when I needed someone the most. I just...wish I could've saved him."

"I know you do, Marceline" I nod solemnly, looking down at the vial still in my hand, "And that's why I need to go somewhere. To fix this whole thing."

"What?" Marcy asks, the door creaking from her sitting up and turning around, "What are you saying, Finn?"

"I need to head into the past to save Ice King, but if I do, everything might change when I come back. I don't even know if anything will stay the same as it is now, but it's something I have to do" I muse.

"No! Don't you go too!" Marceline cries, opening the door, picking me up, and hugging me tearfully, "I already lost Simon, I don't want to lose you too! You're only person I can count on to be here for me now! Don't leave me!"

"I have to go, Marcy" I sigh, hating to see her so sad.

"Then I'm coming with you!" The vampire protests.

Marceline clamps herself onto my back, her stronger than normal grip making a few of my back muscles pop. I feel very conflicted about what she's trying to do, since it might end in her having to be restrained while I go through the machine, but it also might be ok. Sighing, my chest clenches tight at how hard this is and how wrong it might go if I screw up. I hope to Glob that I'll see her and everyone else again if this works out fine and then begin to walk back towards the Candy Kingdom.

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

I re-enter the lab and see Bubblegum, Jake, Lady Rainicorn and her children sitting around waiting for me, all of them getting up when I walk in.

"Marceline" Princess Bubblegum says in surprise, noticing the vampire clinging to me, "What brings you out here."

"Finn told me what you guys were planning and I'm going with him!" Marcy states firmly.

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that" PB shakes her head in disapproval, "One person going back is risky enough, but having two makes it even more dangerous."

"Too bad! I'm not staying and that's final" Marceline argues angrily.

Bubblegum sighs and looks to Jake. My bro nods and pries Marceline off me, then proceeding to stretch his arms around her multiple times and essentially keep her in a bind. The vampire struggles and snaps at Jake, telling him to let her go or else she'll eat him. Jake's, however, gotten over his fear of vampires and doesn't budge, leading to PB walking away from the two and towards me.

"Are you ready for this, Finn?" PB asks, a hint of dread noticeable in her tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready" I nod, slipping the vial into my backpack.

"Ok, then, let's do this" She exhales in an attempt to be confident, "Go stand on the circle in the center of the disk and I'll handle the rest."

I give her a thumbs up and begin walking up the ramp, Bubblegum activating the panel and typing something in as Marceline still thrashes around in Jake's grip. I reach the top and stand on the spot PB told me to, turning around and seeing Jake's family waving goodbye, reassuring and hopeful smiles present on their faces. PB types a few more things in and the device hums to life, a growing vibration spreading as the disk increases in power level.

"Good luck, Finn! I know you'll succeed" The princess shouts to me over the loud machine.

"Bonnie, wait!" Marceline interjects right as Bubblegum hits the button, "That's not the right date!"

"What?!" PB exclaims, turning sharply towards the vampire and then back to me right as the device kicks in.

A sudden force pulls me backwards, almost as if I'm falling from getting punched without actually getting punched. And as I'm going to steady myself to not fall over, I look up and see that Jake, his family, Bubblegum, and Marceline are all gone. In their place is are giant, towering buildings, shattered windows, abandoned vehicles, mounds of debris, and all kinds of other destroyed stuff that definitely tell me that I'm now in the past. Looking down at my wrist, since I see something shiny out of the corner of my eye, I'm surprised to find a sort of tracker wristband that shows the date in relation to where I was just at. But Marceline's last words stick with me and I can't help but gulp at what this could mean. Bubblegum's machine worked all right, but am I back further in the past or am I forward in time from where she intended to put me? I'm almost scared to know, but for right now, I need to put that aside and find young Marceline. Because Marceline told me that her and Simon had trekked through a city like this before, so she might be nearby. And if she's nearby, hopeful so is Simon.

Sighing and lowering my arm, I do some quick glancing around to see more of my environment and try to really think hard about where Marcy could be right now. This place is huge, I don't even know where to start, and I don't want to end up going in the opposite direction. Hmm, maybe I should try looking one of these buildings that may have food it in, or would've had it at one point, since basic survival skills would teach someone to place their home base preferably close to a food/water source. Scanning the large, mostly open area around me, I see there are a couple restaurants built into the sides of the buildings nearby, but also some down the street to my right. Those places are as good as any to start at, so I walk across the street, minding the broken glass and other debris lying around as I begin to search inside for the young daughter of Hunson Abadeer.

The first place yields nothing but turned over tables, chairs, and some weird green goo that I steer clear of and immediately leave the building because of. The next place is the same, minus the goo, but I do go a bit further inside and look around for anything to scavenge. Either Marceline came through here already or this place just had nothing to offer, since nothing valuable could be found. Sighing, I stepped out of the shattered window of that restaurant and walked down the sidewalk, gazing at the massive, towering structures made of such different materials compared to one another. Makes me feel so small. But I quickly spot another restaurant close by and cross the street yet again and get close to it. However, I pause when hearing something. I hear the sounds of crying nearby, so I walk quietly towards where it's coming from, stopping just around the corner and peeking inside the shattered window of some kind of store with tables inside. Against the wall, adjacent to me, is a small, raven-haired girl wearing a red shirt, blue coveralls and a purple skirt with a stuffed toy held tightly in her arms and her knees against her chest. The toy looks like Hambo, so that must mean I've found Marceline.

"Why, Simon? Why did you have to leave me?" The young vampire sobs.

Well, darn. Looks like I got sent back after Simon left. That makes giving him this cure a lot harder to do. Unless....I have Marceline hold onto it, since she'll see the Ice King again before I will, and ask her to give it to him to ultimately prevent him from dying in the present. Yeah, that could work! All that leaves me to do is develop a close enough bond with Marcy so that she'll trust me and promise to do that one thing I'll ask of her. But now comes the hard part of introducing myself and telling her who I am, which I'm not sure I should completely lay on her right now. Especially given how overwhelmed by sadness she is at the moment.

Biting my lip, I try to think over what I'll say to her, getting it clear in my mind. And once I do, I step away from the window corner and lightly push the door open that leads inside. It creaks as I do and Marcy looks up in fear as I enter, her clutching Hambo tighter as I look at her.

"Hi there" I say, trying to give a small smile so that I don't freak her out.

".....Ummm......hi there" Marceline says back hesitantly, sniffling and looking a bit nervous, "Who...who are you?"

"I'm Finn. Finn the Human" I introduce myself.

"No way, really?" She asks, her eyes widening, "You're human? I thought there weren't any left after..."

I know she was gonna say Simon, but she can't get herself to say his name without more tears rising to the surface.

"Yes, I am. But aren't you human too?" I ask her, merely asking her to take her mind off Simon, even though I already know she isn't.

"No. I'm a vampire. I'm....a monster" Marcy begins to cry again.

"Now why do you say that?" I ask her, taking a step forward.

"Because why wouldn't I be if my Dad left me and Simon's now gone too!" The girl sobs, burying her head in her knees, "I can't have any friends without them leaving me."

I pause, wondering how to approach this next since this hasn't quite gone how I expected it to. And so, I take a few more careful steps forward, Marcy looking up at hear the floor creak with my movement.

"If you'd like, I could be your friend. That is if you'd want me to be" I offer.

"You would?" Marceline asks in surprise, "You really, really would?"

"Yes, I would. And you know why?" I tell her, the vampire shaking her head, "Because even though it might seem too soon for me to say this, I don't see you as a monster. You're scared, alone, and don't have anyone you can love or call a friend. Yet you're still managing on your own. That's the trait of a hero, not a monster."

I feel like I went a bit overboard and might've said too much, though I did have to hold myself back from calling her by her name since she would've gotten suspicious due to not having volunteered it yet. I begin to worry that she might ask me why I can think so much of her without having known her, but Marceline just smiles and looks up at me.

"I've...never heard anyone say that about me.." She admits, not dropping her smile, "You're very kind, Finn, so I think I do want us to be friends. We can be there for each other, look out for each other, and keep each other company. Cause, after all, having friends is better than being lost and lonely."

"Thanks, um..." I seemingly blank, appearing like I don't know her name so that she can genuinely tell me.

"Oh, I'm Marceline" The vampire girls says.

"Nice to meet you, Marceline" I nod, then gesturing to a spot on the ground next to her, "You mind if I sit."

"Please. I don't mind" Marcy answers, allowing me to sit down beside her.

Strangely, she reaches over and hesitantly touches my hand, her eyes lighting up once she does.

"Your skin is so warm!" She exclaims, making me smile at her cuteness, "Do you mind if I...hold it?"

"Sure" I shrug, Marceline putting my hand in her lap alongside Hambo and touching with both of her own, "Though if your feeling cold, I can try to find you something warmer to wear or a better shelter."

"That's not a bad idea, but..." Marceline pauses, her stomach rumbling and indicating that she probably hasn't eaten yet today.

"When's the last time you ate, Marceline?" I ask her.

"Um, two days ago" She admits, a bit embarrassed that she involuntarily gave it away.

"Well that certainly won't do" I reply, bringing my pack around and opening it as Marcy watches me.

"You can have some of my food" I offer, holding a wrapped sandwich I made before being sent here, "But I won't force you to eat it if you don't want it."

"You'd...share your food with me?" The small girl asks in disbelief, incredibly shocked by all the kindness she's experiencing today.

"Of course. I have more and I don't want to see my new friend starve" I tell her.

Marcy then comes forward and hugs me, catching me a bit off guard. I can her smile as her head rests against my chest and I gently pet the top of her head, Marcy humming in a relaxed manner as she relaxes against me. I then hand her the sandwich, but before she eats, she says something to me.

"Forget friends. You're now my best friend, Finn" Marceline smiles, then biting down on the sandwich.

She scarfs it down pretty quickly and thanks me for it once she's done, not yet getting off my lap.

"Where did you come from, Finn?" The vampire girl then asks me, glancing at my swords, "Where'd you get those swords? They look so cool. Where do you plan on going or rather where do you think we can go? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, I'd just like to get to know more about my new best friend."

I can't really tell a partial truth and say I'm an adventurer from Ooo, since she'll want me to take her there and there won't be any place for me to take her to since none of the kingdoms have been formed yet. And now that I think about it, it's no wonder she feels sad despite not having Simon here. When you don't have anywhere to go, you feel like you're just wandering aimlessly with no certified home to return to. But maybe I can implore what Jake said a home can be, which he told me, ironically when Marceline initially kicked us out of the treehouse all those years ago.

"I consider myself an adventurer and an explorer. I found these swords after scavenging dungeons across this land, this one being my favorite" I tell her, unsheathing Scarlet and showing it to Marceline, her glancing at the blade before looking back up at me, "As to where I come from....it's a long way away from here. But by this point, I can't even remember where it was at. After my parents abandoned me and I lost my brother Jake along the way, it got hard for a while. But he told me that a home doesn't have to be just a place, it can be people. That I could be home as long as we stuck together."

"I'm so so sorry, Finn" Marceline frowns, sounding sad after hearing my story as I put Scarlet away, "It hurts to hear that someone as nice as you had to go through that and end up alone. But Jake was right. And I can be home as long I'm with you just as much as you can be home as long as you're with me. We'll stick together and never be lonely again."

"That sounds great, Little Marcy" I say, her giggling at the nickname.

"...I like that nickname" She admits, then looking at me hopefully, "But can you promise me something, Finn? Can you promise me we'll stay together no matter what? Please?"

"Yes, Marceline, I promise that we'll stay together" I nod, internally cursing at myself for agreeing since she'll be so heartbroken when the timeline boots me back to the present.

The vampire girl gives me another hug, this one even tighter than the last. She then gets off my lap and stands up, holding Hambo close as I kneel in front of her.

"As for where we might go....who knows? Maybe we can make it our own adventure. Defeating baddies, finding treasure, having memorable experiences. All the while just getting by" I say, her eyes sparkling at the idea.

"Yeah! Adventures with Marceline and Finn!" She jumps up and down excitedly, "That sounds like quite a life I can't wait to starting living."

"Then let's get it started right now" I smile, standing all the way up.

"I wish I could've met you much sooner, Finn" Marceline admits honestly, "You're the kind of person I need most in life."

"That's very sweet of you, Marcy" I tell her, the girl blushing, "Now, where shall we go, first?"

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out together" The girl states confidently, taking my hand as we leave the building and begin walking towards the start of our adventure.

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

Marceline's fallen asleep, her small hands clutching my shirt as I hold her to my chest. After walking away from the city for a while, she began to yawn and get sleepy, but we were still not within range of any place suitable to establish a temporary home base. So I just opted to carry her, which she didn't mind, Marcy snuggling her head against my shoulder as she lets out soft, little breaths. Luckily, up to this point, we've managed to get some food supplies from the trunks of some wrecked cars just sitting around in this wasteland. Marcy was so proud when she found some, jumping up and down like a little kid and telling me about it. Well, I guess she is a little kid, so that would only make sense.

She begins to stir, shifting a little as I continue walking, one arm holding her while the other is the one holding the sword that acts as our protection. I gently pat her on the head, Marcy smiling in her sleep as I squint my eyes at something in the near distance. I've just walked into the remains of what Bubblegum would call a 'suburban housing complex', lots of homes, streets, and backyards all around me in shambles. The ground is gray and black, as if a sea of fire washed through this place. Houses are either destroyed or are charred remnants of what they'd usually look like, but that's not what I'm interested in at the moment. Cautiously opening a fence gate, I walk into a backyard and see this opening in the ground that has concrete steps leading down to a closed off door. Seems like a solid place to establish a base, even if it's only temporary. Though there might be monsters inside, so I'll have to deal with that if it comes to that. I then have to decide whether I should wake Marceline up or not. It's been about three hours, so she should be fine, and I'd rather have her aware of what's going on instead of her being scared when waking up and seeing what's happening without any warning.

"Marcy. Marcy, wake up" I tell her gently, the vampire girl moving and opening her eyes.

"Yes, Finn?" She yawns, showing her tiny fangs as she rubs her eyes. 

"I think I found us a place to hunker down" I say, her face brightening, "But I'll need to check it out and see if there are any monsters or whatnot inside before we can officially call it ours."

"Oh, ok" She nods, her smile dropping slightly after hearing the 'monsters' part.

I then set her down and approach the door, grabbing it with both hands and attempting to turn it. And either I'm incredibly weak or this thing was sealed tight when it was initially closed because I can't make it budge. I push with all my might, gritting my teeth as I strain. I begin to think we're screwed, but finally I feel it move. Letting out a sigh, I keep turning the crank, it getting easier the more I do, before I can feel it loosen up and am able to pull the door outward. It's rather squeaky, but I peer down inside, Marcy walking up to me with her hands clutched together nervously.

"Stick close to me and run if something gets too close" I instruct her, the girl nodding as we descend down into the darkness.

I feel around the wall for a light switch, though, keeping my ears open for any strange noises. And I actually find one, flicking it and turning on some overhead lights. The area around us is actually smaller than I thought, consisting of about five rooms all connected by this short hallway. I carefully investigate each room, checking for monsters and finding none as Marceline goes into the rooms after I've cleared them. We'll have plenty of food and water and a nice place to sleep, that's for sure, but even after I go back into the main hallway, I feel a bit dissatisfied at the lack of monsters in here. After all, who would close a place like this that had all these supplies down here if they were just going to leave it? Maybe they intended to come back but ultimately died? Maybe they still will come back? I don't know.

"Finn, help!" Marceline screams, her cries bringing me out of my thoughts as I see two crudely-shaped monsters oozing green goo coming down the stairs toward her.

I move fast, my hands quickly removing both swords from their sheathes as I charge past Marceline and deal with the creatures. I stab one through the head before yanking my sword up and splitting the monster's head vertically in half before I swiftly slice the other across the neck before ultimately taking its head off. It's a quick and effective double kill, but when I look back to Marceline, she's staring at me with awe instead of horror or fright.

"That was so cool!" Marcy gushes, "Could you teach me how to use a sword too?"

"Well...I suppose if you really want to, then sure" I chuckle, putting Scarlet and the demon blood sword back into their sheathes, "But do you think you're strong enough to wield one of these? And I mean physically, not mentally."

"I can try!" She says with determination.

"Ok, let me get these things out of here and then I'll let you try holding one of these" I tell her, pointing to my weapons before I start dragging the monster corpses up the stairs one by one.

I pull each of them up onto the surface and toss the bodies over the fence so that won't be something we immediately see when coming up. Marceline joins me as I finish, her eyes full of eagerness and excitement and her smile wide. It's a cute thing to see, so I take out Scarlet and gently hand it over to the girl. She grabs the hilt and is surprisingly able to hold it without it being too heavy for her. Well, she's always had an increased amount of strength as I've known the older version of her, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised that she's also like that when she's younger too. Marcy then tries swinging it like she saw me do, but she's quite clumsy with it, which is to be expected given how she's a novice at sword fighting.

"Good, good" I nod, "I think you have what it takes, but if you're serious about learning, I'll gladly train you."

"Absolutely! When do we start?!" Marcy asks with giddiness in her voice.

"Tell you what, let me put some of our stuff inside and I'll train you as we do some live practice as we search through these nearby houses for more supplies" I offer, gesturing around us.

"Heck yeah!" The young vampire cheers, pumping her fists in the air, "This is the best day ever!"

I continue to smile at her eagerness, heading down into the bunker and depositing some stuff we wouldn't need to carry around anymore before I head back up, seal the door and return to Marcy. I then look around for a place that we could practice/scavenge from and find a suitable place just a bit down the street, the house still mostly intact. I point her in that direction and she nods, following me as I open the fence and lead her outside. As the two of us walk down the quiet and debris-filled streets, I take my sword out and keep an eye out for danger since those monsters came out of nowhere. Marceline keeps her eyes open too, pointing Scarlet in front of her and remaining cautious until we come to a stop on the sidewalk just in front of the house. It's a two-story house, much smaller and in more of a box shape compared to the treehouse, that's had it's outer white coloring get tarnished by weather. I have to stop myself from immediately going towards the entrance, pausing and kneeling down in front of Marceline.

"Your training begins now. I learned on the job, so let's see if you can do the same. First things first, always check your corners when heading into a confined, potentially hostile area so that you're not caught off-guard. Getting surprised can cause you to falter and, depending on your enemy, may give them enough of an opening to kill you" I explain to her, my hand on her shoulder as she nods, "Next, keep your enemies at a distance as much as you can. Going right up to them will work, but you have to be able to know that you'll be able to wound them more than they can wound you, otherwise you'll again end up in a bad situation. You can handle the sword just fine, now just swiping at a monster or two if we come across any."

"But, how do I do that?" She frowns.

"Well, treat the sword as if it's just an extension of you. Move with the weapon and you'll find yourself flowing with it. It's more than just alternatively swinging it back and forth, but I'll help you master that too" I answer her, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be" Marcy nods, now looking a bit nervous as she glances at the house in front of us.

I nod and stand back up, leading the way up to the door and trying it. It's unlocked and I carefully push it inwards, immediately checking the area for any monsters in the corners. There aren't any, so I step further inside as Marceline walks in after me. Unlike the bunker, this place is plenty lit, but looks very trashed, the wallpaper fading and crumpling away and the other walls and floor being blackened by time. A living room is off to our left while a kitchen with a connecting dining room sits off to our right. I let Marcy take the living room while I head into the kitchen first. And I'm glad I did because some flies are buzzing around and I find the reason why after I step on some decayed human bodies. I get a little scared, but don't let out any signs of alarm so that Marcy doesn't worry. The smell is awful and I hold my breath as I get to searching through the drawers, pantry, and fridge. The food in the fridge is all rotten and expired, but there is a reasonable amount to find in the pantry and I grab as much as I can and stuff it in my pack. Good thing I emptied it out a bit before we came here.

I then pass through the dining room, not finding anything of merit there, and go over into the living room to see how Marceline's doing. And right as I walk in, a monster on the floor wakes up near the girl, but she brings the sword down quickly and stabs it through the head. She then pulls Scarlet out, staring at the thing as Marcy processes what she just did before realizing that I'm here. I nod at her, telling her I saw, and she smiles proudly. I then gesture for her to follow me and we both leave the room, going for the stairs leading further up into the house. Another monster tumbles down the steps right as we walk up to them, but I merely copy Marcy's previous actions and stab it through the head when it rolls near my feet, both of us stepping over it and heading upstairs. A short hallway runs down the opposite direction that we came up and connects to three bedrooms near the end, Marcy taking the closest one and managing to slice a monster in half that comes at her once the door is opened. She beams proudly at me and checks inside as I look through the two others, one being rather plain and boring which made it easy to skip and go onto the next one. The second room must've been a teenager's room, since it has that look to it, but what catches my attention most is a bass guitar sitting against the wall next to some amps. I pick it up and pluck at the strings, the instrument still functional, while smiling at all the memories of Marceline really enjoying herself with something like this. I keep it and leave the room, finding the girl waiting for me.

"Any luck?" She asks, not yet noticing the guitar.

"Yes" I nod, "And I have something for you."

The girl is excited to hear it and I kneel down in front of her again and hand her the guitar. She doesn't quite know what to do with it at first, holding it oddly before finding a more natural way. Marcy then plucks at the strings and perks up at the sounds they make, plucking them more and more as she grows to like it. She holds it in her other hand and gives me a thank you hug, really grateful for my thoughtfulness. I pat her on the head and nod, making sure she follows me as we head downstairs and out of the house. But I don't have us leave yet, walking around the side of the place to see if the backyard has anything. There's no bunker, but there's a swing and a colorful slide, which I think is the perfect opportunity to let Marceline have some kid fun, seeing as I don't ever remember her saying that she got to.

I ask her if she wants to try them and she curiously tilts her head in thought. After a short bit, the young vampire agrees and hands me Scarlet and the guitar, running towards the slide. I smile and put both of the swords away, holding the guitar in one hand as I watch her go down the slide and excitedly run back to the steps to do it again, over and over and over again. But after a bit, she wants to try the swing, just a little ball of energy now. She gets on the swing, but wants me to push her, which I chuckle at and set the guitar down before getting behind her and pushing her. Marcy starts off slow, but begins to get the hang of swinging her legs to go higher, also asking me to push her higher. She giggles and laughs at the wind brushing across her skin, feeling happy and free in a place where it seems like none can be found even if we tried.

"That was great, Finn!" Marceline exclaims joyfully, being done with the swing about fifteen minutes later.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Little Marcy" I reply, using her nickname again, "Are you tired? Do you want to go back?"

"No, no, let's keep going!" The vampire girl says energetically.

I shrug, handing her the guitar and Scarlet back as we leave the backyard and walk away from the house. Over the next couple of hours, we head further into the suburban neighborhood and search a few other houses for supplies, some yielding more than others. But then, after finishing with the second house, I notice a fenced-off pool near this one-story building down the road. Marceline is eating something, since she confessed to being hungry, but I guide in her in that direction as I walk that way. She's finished eating when we get there, but asks why we're here since it doesn't look like a house. I tell her that it's another fun thing we can do and the girl gets excited again. Instead of entering through the building, though, I boost Marcy over the fence before climbing over myself. Chairs, tables, and a large rectangular pool spreads out in front of us, the water surprisingly clean for a post-apocalyptic world.

"Would you like to go swimming, Marcy?" I ask her.

"Sure, but won't we get wet?" She asks in confusion.

"That's the joy of it. But we'll be wearing different clothes so that don't have to head back with one's we're wearing being all sopping wet" I explain, setting my back down and digging around inside until I pull out the swimsuits I found in one of the houses, luckily managing to find some that looked to our size.

I let her change first, turning around and giving her some privacy until she does the same for me once she's all changed. With my backpack and our weapons on a table, I jump in the water first, it being rather cold at first, but eventually not being so bad after I get used to it. Marcy's a bit nervous though, standing there in a purple one-piece as she sees how I got in. I hold out my arms and tell her I'll catch her and she trusts me, jumping and landing in my arms like I said she would. She holds on a bit tightly at first, but then tries to relax as I set her down in the water. I tell her to paddle her feet back and forth to keep herself afloat and she follows my instructions, getting the hang of it quite naturally. I then tell her to lay down on her back and she listens again, laughing in joy at how good it feels before she starts paddling on her own down the length of the pool. After she plays around like that for a while, we get into a splash war, Marcy giggling plenty during it and making me melt inside at how happy she looks.

We play around some more, doing a variety of fun things until we both get a bit tired, which is when I decide to call it for the day. We both get out, drying ourselves off, and put our regular clothes back on before the two of us climb back over the fence and head back towards our bunker hideout. She's made great progress as far as learning how to use Scarlet today, so I can only imagine how quickly she'll improve in the coming days. I think about this all the way back, having to make sure I don't run into the door since I'm so deep in thought. Once we get inside and the door's sealed shut behind us, Marceline says that she'd like to go to sleep. But when I go to give her some space, she tells me to wait and I turn and see that she wants me to cuddle her, pouting to get what she wants. I don't mind, so I go lie down and she lies down on top of my chest, snuggling her small head under my chin as her hands clutch my shirt. With a smile on her face, her fangs showing, Marcy falls asleep and I just lay there and keep an eye on her before I eventually fall asleep too.

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

A couple months have passed and quite a lot has transpired. Marceline had a growth spurt and apparently vampires grow faster than humans because she grew an entire foot taller. I ended up having to find and even make some bigger clothes for her, which she greatly appreciated and rewarded me with many hugs as thanks. The bunker ended up being too scary for her so after a week of hunting for food and just exploring the area to pass the time and get closer to each other, we packed up and moved again. We ended up wandering through this prehistoric Ooo with no idea where we would go, but still making the most out of it by sticking together. We tried a couple places out, stayed in some longer than others, and also faced some harsh weather here and there. 

Many nights, Marceline would either hug me in her sleep or snuggle up close to me for warmth. And when I looked down at her sleeping form, I felt like a proud protector at how well she was taking to my sword training, learning quickly and getting quite used to being able to hold her own. But even as we kept going into the unknown, sleeping in different places, finding food where we could, and staying close to each other, I found myself getting so attached to her that the thought of leaving her when I'd be sent back was heartbreaking. I've gotten so used to this life and have come to thoroughly enjoy it just because she's a part of it. I don't really ever want this to end, but I know it'll have to one day. But the scariest and saddest thing is that I don't know when.

"Hey, Finn? Wanna go exploring?" Marcy asks me, all eager and full of joy as she comes up to me.

"Sure" I nod, reaching for something on the log beside beside me, "But first, would you mind sitting down please?"

"Yeah, of course" The young vampire nods, sitting right next to me.

I then take Scarlet, in her sheathe, and gently place her in Marceline's lap. The girl's eyes widen as she looks down at it and then at me, obviously able to piece together what I'm going to tell her before I've even said it.

"You're ready" I tell her, putting my hand on her knee, "You've learned fast and learned well. Better than I ever did when starting out. And as a reward, I want you to have Scarlet. She'll protect you like she protected me all these years."

"But...Scarlet's your favorite!" Marcy protests.

"She was...but now I have something else that means even more to me than her. Someone else that means more to me than her" I hint, Marceline beginning to cry, "And I'd rather have her take care of Scarlet than me, since she can take it places that I have yet to venture."

The vampire then gives me a tearful hug and I hug her back, rubbing her back as she cries happily.

"I'll take care of her the best I can, Finn!" Marceline promises, slinging Scarlet over her back next to her guitar.

"I know you will" I nod, patting the young vampire on top of her head, "You're an exceptional young lady, Marceline, and the kindest vampire I've ever met. I'm sure you'll do great things if you so desire."

Marcy blushes at the praise, looking down at the ground while not saying anything.

"So" I change the topic, standing up and looking down at her, "Shall we go exploring like you suggested we do?"

She nods and stands up as well, waving at me to follow her as she runs off into the woods. Smiling and seeing how much she reminds me of my younger self, I chase after her, pushing through branches and jumping over upturned roots. The trees here have tops shaped like mushrooms, which is definitely a little odd, but then again prehistoric Ooo itself is odd because it's over a thousand years of difference compared to my time. Marceline then stops outside the treeline up ahead, waiting for me as I catch up to her. She brags about how she beat me and I playfully indulge her while also looking ahead. Before us is a large grass and stone temple with steady slopes and railroad tracks leading down from the top. From the size and shape, there's bound to be plenty of adventure to find inside. Marceline then says she'll race me to the top and that's just what we do.

The two of us take off at a run, racing up the side of the grassy hillside slope of the temple. As expected, she gets to the top before me and beats me again, but I sort of let her anyway since I'm trying to make sure she has a fun time. When we both go over to the entrance and look down inside, it's pitch black. But that doesn't stop Marceline from lighting a torch, like I showed her how to, and going in, to which I follow her as I feel a slight pull in my gut.

What transpires over the next couple of hours is nothing short of frequent calamity and mayhem. Marcy and I encounter all sorts of enemies at nearly every turn, have to save each other from getting caught in numerous traps, and keep each other emotionally in check, though more so for Marceline since she's incredibly worried about losing me. And as we fend off skeletons, hyenas, slime monsters, and all sorts of other things, I feel that same pull in my gut getting stronger, which worries me greatly. I don't want to jinx myself, but my mind can only ever go back to thinking that it's that. I do my best to put it out of my mind and focus on our adventure, but it's harder than it sounds. Unlike the dungeons I've crawled through before, this one has no treasure at the end, even after we've traversed all the different floors and levels. Instead, we just get chased out by a large boulder that's hot on our trail as we run down a thin hallway until we jump out of an exit that's opening in front of us, the boulder being too big to follow us any further. Marceline and I have a good laugh as we lay there on the ground, her admitting that that was really fun. I get up and agree with her, but then I feel a tug stronger than any other before it and I fall back to the ground.

"Finn? Finn!" Marceline cries out, rushing to my side and kneeling down next to me as I keep myself from completely collapsing to the ground, "What's wrong?!"

"I had dreaded it would happen this soon, but looks like it's come at last" I grunt, going back on my legs as I see my hands and arms beginning to fade back and forth out of existence.

"What is it?! What's going on?!" The vampire girl stresses, looking so scared, "I-I can help! I'll..I'll find something to save you!"

"Marceline" I say, getting her to stop and look at me, "There's nothing you can do."

"WHY?!?! Why does this keep happening to me?!?!" She wails, tears streaming down her face, "Why does everyone I care about have to die or leave me?!?! Why?!?!"

"I'm not leaving you and neither did Simon" I say, her gaze snapping back to me as I take out the cure and undo my wristband, "You'll see us both again, sooner than you think. Don't give up on us. Please, Marceline."

"O-Ok...I-I won't" Marcy nods, trying to keep herself from sobbing.

"This will help save Simon from the crown and this will tell you when you'll see me again" I say, handing her the cure and also putting the wristband on her right wrist, "I don't have much time left, Marcy, so please listen, because there's something I need to tell you."

The vampire girl nods, listening intently as more and more of me fades in and out of existence.

"I came from the future to help save him, because you became devastated without him. That cure will save him, but I need you to give it to him. I'm being sent back to the present, but if you save him, history will be changed and I'll arrive back in a time where we'll see each other again. That wristband shows you the exact date and time that I left, which means that'll be the same time I'll return" I explain, her face becoming hopeful, "Don't let anyone tell you who you are and don't ever stop being awesome. Because you're the most special girl I've ever known."

Marcy sniffles and nods, trying her best to hug me even though I'm going right through her. And as I feel myself being kicked back to the present, I look at her with one last smile, hoping that Marcy will be alright after everything I've taught her. 

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

When I feel myself become whole again, I feel grass beneath me, my fingers instinctively weaving into it. But I also feel different, so I lift up my arms and look down at myself, seeing that I'm wearing different clothing than before. There's also a weight on my back and I reach behind me to feel that I'm wearing two swords on my back, though neither of them are ones I recognize. Standing up, a barrage of unknown memories assaults my brain, them feeling familiar despite the fact that I don't ever remember doing them. All this must be a result from the timeline change, but I'm curious as to how much as changed. Was Marceline able to save Ice King? A memory surfaces of her introducing me to a man called Simon, which makes me smile since that confirms what I was wondering. But then I pause, recognizing the general landscape of the area I'm in. I'm where the Ice Kingdom would typically be, but Marceline must've saved him pretty quickly because now that kingdom isn't here anymore. Marceline! I should go find her!

A thought comes to mind that she said she'd be meeting with Bubblegum in the Candy Kingdom, so that's where I must go. I take it slow going there, looking around at everything to see if there's a distinct difference from what I remember Ooo previously looking like. But with all the new memories flooding my thoughts, they get all mixed in as to where it's hard for me to think that it's meant to be different from my other memories. After a bit of walking, I come to the top of a hill and get a clear view of the Candy Kingdom ahead. It's way busier than in the previous Ooo and a much larger kingdom overall, especially in regards to the castle. But when I'm actually walking up to the front gate and get let inside by the nicer but more disciplined Banana Guards, it becomes even more surreal. I smile widely and continue looking around as I set my sights on the castle, marveling at how much it reminds me of a livelier version of the cities Marceline and I went through back in the past.

One building in particular, though, stands out from the rest. A smaller, one floor building that looks like an inn, but has people with adventure-type clothes and weapons on them going in and out. Briefly glancing at the sign after waving to some that give me a passing greeting, I read that it says 'Hero's Guild'. Huh, that's definitely new. Did Marceline have something to do with this too? Maybe she felt inspired by me and wanted to train more people to become like me. Or maybe that's just my ego talking. Lightly shaking my head, I keep going through the city-like kingdom and reach the castle, going up the large steps and heading inside via the Banana Guards opening the doors. The main hall/throne room is much more detailed and majestic than before, but I only passively glance at it before heading to a meeting room on my immediate right. Lightly knocking, I then go inside and stop in place, seeing Marceline, Simon, and Bubblegum all leaning over a table with a map on it in deep discussion. Marceline looks amazing, her decked out in a red shirt, a thin, black adventuring jacket, a scarf/pull-up mask that would go over the lower part of her face, dark brown hunting pants, and all-weather boots. She also has her hair up in a small ponytail, has two swords on her back like me, along with the same bass guitar I gave her in that house, with one of them being Scarlet, and has the timeline tracker wristband that I gave her on her right arm. In other words, she's dressed like a hero. She really took after me.

"Finn!" Marceline exclaims, her face brightening immensely upon seeing me as she looks down at the wristband before back up to me, "You're back!"

"I am indeed" I nod, smiling also as she knows it's the same me from the past that she remembers.

Princess Bubblegum and Simon pause in their conversation, Marceline flying around them and rushing over to me ecstatically, hugging me like she hasn't seen me in forever. I suppose, in a way, she hasn't. I can feel my shoulder getting wet and as Marceline pulls back, I can see her crying happy tears, her hands holding my own.

"Looks like you did it" PB remarks proudly, smiling at me as she briefly glances at both Marceline and Simon, "You saved Simon."

"Thank you, Finn" The former Ice King says gratefully, "Marceline had told me about what you said to her all those years ago. How you had come from the future, how I had died because of that crown, and how you gave her the way to save me. Thank you."

"Did you also tell them that the me from then would arrive back here at the exact same time I left before, even though nobody else would know what happened since the timeline had been altered?" I ask Marceline.

"Bonnie here figured it out pretty easily after I showed her this thing and told her what I told Simon" The vampire still smiles, gesturing to the wristband before caressing my face, "What do you think? Is this Ooo different than the one you remember?"

"In a number of ways, yeah, but all these new memories I've been getting makes it feel like it isn't so unfamiliar" I tell her.

"Hmm, that must be the temporal overlap effect" Bubblegum surmises, "Since you're coming back to a timeline that's not the same as the one you're originally from, and can't go back to since this is the permanently altered version of that one, your memories are clashing with the ones already made in this timeline. Eventually, your memories of your old timeline will fade into occasional bits that are thought of here and there and you'll only remember what's already happened in this one. But that shouldn't be anything to worry about since Marceline here would probably be more than happy to remind you of all the fun you and her had if you'd like to remember those times."

"I sure would" Marceline nods, not taking her eyes off me.

"You mind if I have a moment with her so that we can talk?" I ask Simon and Bubblegum.

"Sure" Simon shrugs, "It's not like we're talking about anything super important right now."

"Speak for yourself, Simon" Bubblegum frowns at the former Ice King.

Marceline and I chuckle before she follows me out of the room, the two of us then walking to the center of the large, majestic throne room and just looking at each other with happiness in our eyes.

"Do you like my look, Finn?" She asks, spinning in a circle for me, "I really looked up to you back then, so much so that I developed a childhood crush on you and wanted to be just like you after you left. Nowadays, people look up to me as the Hero of Ooo, but they also think very highly of you too since you turned out to be a great hero in this timeline too. That and we're the power couple of the land after I asked you out."

As she says that, I feel the loving emotions that are held for her rise up inside of me. And even though they're from an alternate version of me, I accept them and embrace them, Marceline being too beautiful, caring, and perfect to pass up a chance on. I gently cup her face with my right hand and she goes right on ahead and gently leans in for a kiss. The two of us just stay like that, softly breathing and not pulling back for a while until Marceline smiles and lets me go. I can tell that she's happy that I love her no matter which timeline I'm from.

"There's so much I want to tell you, but you'll probably remember a lot of it in time so I'll just tell you what happened after you left" My vampire girlfriend tells me softly, "I was quite sad to see you gone after you meant so much to me. Nobody had cared for me and done as much for me as you did. But I told myself that you wouldn't want me to be sad, so I did my best not to be. As I grew older, I got stronger and tougher, but never forgot about you. A lot of time passed and I was able to find Simon. He had fully succumbed to the crown, but that cure did help him, but not in the way I expected it to. It reversed the effects of the crown on him, making him back into the man I recognized him to be. He was so happy to see me all grown-up and for the next several hundred years, we worked on restoring a society to the best of our ability with the humans we found. The crown kept him alive until Bubblegum came around and through her help, we found a way for him to not rely on it anymore. Things grew and developed, even though hundreds of years was hard to endure without you. People were born and then also died all before my eyes, kingdoms rose and more kept coming, but all the while, I waited to find you. I created the Hero's Guild to ensure that this land would always have more people like you in it. And then, finally, I found you when you were a baby. I took care of you for some time until you were 5, then letting you be with a family. But I still watched over you and protected you from anything that could've hurt you. When you were 17, that was when I introduced myself and we quickly became friends, to which our relationship spawned only a year and half later. It was the most emotional journey I ever faced, from you helping me as a child to me finding you as a child and helping you all the same."

Marceline then floats down so that she's touching the ground and takes my hand to put it over her stomach, tears beginning to come out of her eyes.

"And now I can experience that same joy all over again, but being able to have you with me at the same time" She says, my smile never fading as she continues, "I have a surprise for you. One that I hadn't told the alternate version of you yet, but I'm now ready to tell you. Finn, I'm pregnant."