*Finn's Age: 23*

Finn's P.O.V

I trudge out of the bathroom and downstairs to the living room. The house is still clean from my years of maintenance kept on it. My sword and shield bracer lay perpendicular on the couch, fitting right in with the other appliances. I trot over and grab them, slinging the Finn sword over and into its sheathe on my back, while affixing the shield bracer on my left wrist. I test to see if it still works and sure enough, the top and bottom edges spin out from within the bracer like the lens of a camera. The chains adjust and fasten themselves snugly over my wrists while my twin short swords get fastened on another sheathe on the opposite side of my back. Feeling ready for today, I head out the front door and get on my way to the Badlands. The journey there is scorching hot and brutal, but being the masochist that I am, I take the pain like it's nothing.

After trudging through miles of dehydrating desert, I finally come across the arena. Like I said before, the arena is tucked away in a more forgotten corner of the Badlands, so not very many people know of it's existence. However, walking up to the front entrance and seeing the long line of people waiting to get in, it's clear that the Contest of Champions really brought some popularity to the old joint, both in terms of people who wish to watch and people who want to participate. I bypass all those waiting in line and go up to a guy waiting near the gate. I approach him and when he sees me coming, the guy nods and thumbs to his left, pointing out the doorway in that direction. I nod back in thanks and go through the side entrance. I'm considered one of their prime contestants due to my win streak and as such, I get certain benefits that other lower tier contestants don't.

Inside are a bunch of other contestants milling around and talking to each other. I ignore their pointless banter and stride past them. They take up a great majority of the thin curvy corridor, but I maneuver around them with ease. Ducking under a couple of hulking brutes, I at last come face to face with the gate leading into the center of the arena. I set my stuff down on a wooden bench and sit alongside it. There's nothing happening in the arena right now, but in about a half hour, that'll change real quick. And as I look out at the dust-ridden center of the arena, I remember the first and last time Jake and I came here together.

| Flashback Start |

"I'm not so sure about this, Finn" Jake says as we stand at the large front entrance to the arena.

"Why not?" I frown, looking at him confused, "This is just like that train we went on with the endless rooms except this isn't endless. We've fought things before."

"Yeah, but those were monsters. These are people. It kinda feels wrong" He shifts uncomfortably.

"But they sign up for it, knowing fully well what they're heading into" I argue.

"Sure, but it doesn't mean you have to participate" My brother argues back, turning to look at me, "Finn, bro, let's go do something else. I know of some nice dungeons we haven't conquered yet."

"No offense, Jake, but dungeon crawling has gotten kinda old for me. I'd really like to do this, but you don't have to come with me if you don't want to" I insist.

"Naw, man, I'll come. I ain't gonna just leave you here on your own. I'll just watch from the sidelines instead of actively participating" Jake shrugs.

We then walk up to the person standing by the front gate and tell him what we'd like to do here. He directs Jake off to the right and tells me to head down to the left and get ready, since the fight is starting very soon. I excitedly follow his instructions, finding some other fighters, armor, and weapons lingering about in a semi-organized fashion. The armor looks too big for me and because I already have a sword with me, always carrying one around anyway, I head right for the gate leading into the center where all the fighting happens. The fight has already started and the gate is closing, so to make sure I get in, I run and roll underneath it just barely making it in time. I then dust myself off and look around to see what's going on.

It's a free-for-all, but all the fighters are going one-on-one with each other, though some occasionally stab each other in the back to give the opposition an advantage. All I knew is that I had to defeat all these guys until only I was left, since there can only ever be a single winner here. So I just pick whoever's closest to me, draw my sword, run up behind them, and stab them through the back of their head. My sword goes all the way through, but as soon as this guy's dead, the dude he was fighting comes at me next. I have to jump back a few times to dodge his strikes, but I slash him during the couple seconds he takes to recover, the cuts going deep enough that it slows him down even more. He's now losing blood, but I slash him a few more times before driving my sword up through his throat and out the top of his head. This fighter falls to the ground once I remove my sword from him too, but there are still about ten other gladiators in the ring.

But that number gets quickly cut in half when one particular competitor uses his weapons, which are twin short, curved swords attached to long chains that wrap around his wrists, swipes outward and cuts five gladiators to pieces, some of them not even being ones that were focused on him. The remaining fighters all stop and look to him, a bit scared but also determined to crush him since he's just now proven to be the strongest here. However, unlike them, I stay back and watch the technique and moves of the fighter with the blades. The remaining gladiators are all easily dealt with, which I completely expected due to how mindlessly they ran towards him, even after witnessing what he just did. But now it's only me and him left, which makes me nervous since his gaze locks onto me and he approaches with killing intent. I'm not completely scared, though, because I'm a hero with confidence and I've seen how he uses his weapons.

So, when he swipes his swords at me, I step back and duck, the blades completely missing me. The fighter smiles, amused that I'm already proving to be a much better fighter and competitor than the others, and instead changes directions, swiping down vertically instead of horizontally. I roll forward and let the blades strike the ground where I was just at. And he's struck so hard that his swords are briefly stuck in the ground, giving me the chance to get up close and slash at him. He tries to punch me, but my sword goes through whatever hand he uses. The fighter then goes to yank his blades out, but I cut one of his arm clean off and roll to avoid the swipe from the other. And then the weirdest thing happens. The sword and chain that are on the guy's cut off arm unravel and slither across the ground towards me, getting close enough to leap up, wrap around my left arm, and coil snugly around my wrist as the sword comes to my hand. 

I'm totally surprised by what just happened, but the guy swipes at me again. But this time, I swipe back, causing both ends to wrap around each other and render them both temporarily useless. I then pull on my end and cause the fighter to stumble forward, him being more prone since he's down to one arm, coming close enough for me to stab him in the chest with my sword before yanking on the chained sword, bring it back to my hand, and stabbing him through the side of his head. And with that, I've won, the guy falling to the ground dead as I put my sword away and the other chained sword wraps around my right arm.

"Well, well, looks like our new up and coming champion has gained the cursed swords of Kragdor. Said to be indestructible but forever bound to the user they claim. Let's just hope Finn can handle them better than their previous owner" The announcer goblin explains, "But that's the end of the round for today! Everybody show some love for our victor!"

The people in the stands erupt in cheer and applause, seeing the sheer number of people praising me making me able to smile widely. I then turn around and walk out of the arena center back through the gate leading to the prep area. Only this time, there's a gaggle of women milling around nearby. They all have various shades of skin color and are dressed in thinly-layered cloth dresses, definitely attractive in more ways that one. One of them that has red skin notices me and walks over, smiling.

"Congrats on the victory, competitor" She says, walking forward and kissing my cheek, "My name is Skye. What's yours?"

"I'm Finn. Finn the Human" I answer her, smiling back.

"As in the hero of Ooo and last human alive?" Skye asks in surprise, the other nineteen ladies all watching us and whispering things to each other.

"Yeah, that's me" I nod, Skye grinning.

"Well that makes my day much better. You see, Finn, the ladies and I have a job at this arena, one that's exclusive to the winners of battle. But since you're a hero and have easily captured all of our attention, we wouldn't mind making our services even more exclusive just for you, provided that you keep coming back here to fight" Skye continues.

"You ladies are very beautiful, so I'd be stupid to say no" I reply, Skye and the women smiling happily and winking at me flirtatiously, "But what kind of service do you mean?"

"Follow me and I'll show you" Skye gestures to a door a bit down the hallway.

I begin to follow her, passing by the other females that say seductive things to me, blow kisses at me, and even get close enough to kiss me on the cheek. I'm quickly getting an idea of what this might be turning into, but this inner excitement only propels me to continue following Skye down the hall and through the door. Inside is a room with just a large bed. Skye then shuts the door and undoes the knot keeping her clothes together, her dress falling to the ground. I'm not going to describe in full detail what happened next, but it was the first of many things for me. The first time a woman has taken her clothes off and lustfully admitted to wanting me. The first time I let her remove my clothes. The first time a women let me hold her in such an intimate way. And the first time our skin touched in multiple ways while she also kissed me on the lips and upper body. Needless to say, after we're done, I feel invigorated and desire even more. Skye, though, picks up her dress and puts it back on before stopping at the door.

"You're definitely a keeper, Finn" She smiles in satisfaction, "I can't wait for you to win again and my friends can't wait either. See you soon."

Skye then leaves the room and I sit up on the bed, gathering my clothes and weapons and putting them back on before I also leave the room. Going back the way I came, I wave to the other ladies, them waving back and giggling as Skye tells them of our exchange. I walk down the front hall and out the front gate, Jake running up behind me as I'm about to step outside into the Badlands.

"You really kicked butt out there, Finn" He compliments me, "But I'm a bit worried about how violent these things are and if they're really healthy for you."

"Well, if anything, I'm gonna keep coming back for the ladies" I grin, "One of them did Tier 15 with me and I have no idea why you kept me from it for so long. It's great, Jake!"

"Finn, the reason I kept that from you is because you can easily get women preggers by doing Tier 15 with them. But the gals here do it because they make money off of sleeping around and can't get pregnant because they're...well, the kind of ladies that can't get pregnant. They asked you to pay, right?" Jake asks.

"No. Skye said that her and the ladies would 'make their services more exclusive to me' because I was the hero of Ooo" I answer him.

"That's a bit suspicious, Finn. Nothing in Ooo is without cost, so they must have some kind of ulterior motive up their sleeve. Who knows, they might even be succubi. Let's just get out of here" My brother ushers.

"I'm sorry, Jake, but I really like it here. I do want to come back and come back at least every week" I tell him straightforwardly.

"...If that's what you want, bro" Jake sighs, "But be careful."

He then walks out of the arena and out into the Badlands, disappearing after a while. I needed to think for a moment on what he said, but I eventually walk out of the arena as well, but with the eager determination to return.

| Flashback End |

I haven't seen Jake as much since that day, but I don't believe it was because I said something I shouldn't have. Was I selfish in insisting on doing it? Probably. But I called Jake a day or so later and apologized after coming to that conclusion. We've argued about things before and that time went a lot better than others, so I'm willing to bet he's just giving me space. It's not like we haven't talked at all since then, either, because we have on a numerous occasions. But it's been over the phone. Given what he said, maybe he's thinking I'll come to my senses and realize this arena fighting lifestyle isn't healthy for me. But I don't see it the same way he does, though that doesn't mean I can't understanding where he's coming from. And I don't want to ruin my relationship with my brother just over this, which is why I didn't make a huge fuss about it. Still, I miss seeing him. 

As I sit there waiting, my mind wanders to Marceline, wondering if I'll ever look out into the crowd and see her watching me. I wonder what she'd think about all this. Would she support me and tell me to do what I feel I want to do or will she say the same thing Jake did in a slightly different way with the same overall meaning? I won't know until I ask, but she hasn't been home when I've gone to see her. Some small part of me thinks that more and more people are purposefully trying to avoid me, but I always dismiss that part of me since there are more people beyond her and Jake and they wouldn't have a reason to avoid me. Not when they've clearly expressed I'm their friend.

"Good luck today, Finn" Jazminde says softly, approaching me and planting a kiss on my cheek, "I can't wait to celebrate your victory."

"Me too" I reply, sending a smile at her as she winks back at me.

Sighing, I see the seats are filling up and the arena getting noisier. I hope she comes. I would love nothing more than to see her again.

Marceline's P.O.V

"Come on, Phoebe, we're going to be late" I urge Flame Princess, her sighing and rolling her eyes. 

"Don't look at me, it's PB that's holding us up" The Princess of the Fire Kingdom replies. 

I smirk and look over my shoulder at Bonnie, who's kneeling down on the ground and studying some kind of plant while Phoebe and I stand nearby.

"Or we could just go without her. Bonnibel's always been the type of over-analyze things anyway, so simple entertainment probably wouldn't be her jam" I suggest.

"Or, we could give her a little wake-up call" Phoebe smirks, a small flame extending from her pointer finger, "I haven't tried burning her on her bum before."

"Take it from me, that would only get her mad" I reply, "You gotta try something more frightening. Like sneaking in her room at night and scaring her half to death."

"You two realize I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Bonnie remarks rather pointedly.

"Then let's cease this completely fascinating nature gazing session and get to the arena so we don't miss the fighting" I sarcastically retort back at her. 

She looks up from her stupid mushroom plant and quickly scans over her digital watch.

"Mein Glob, you're right! We better get moving!" Bonnibel exclaims, putting away her scientific stuff in the satchel she carries.

I float over and grab her by her wrist, then floating back over to Flame Princess. I grab her the same way I did Bubblegum and together, we fly away from Phoebe's house. We had met up here to try and become friends again after the whole scandal with our all-female band breaking up. Me and Flamey got along alright, but Bonnie and I still don't see eye to eye on as many things as we used to. She still hasn't shaken that controlling nature of hers, which isn't something I like to hear.

I jet the three of us through the sky and towards the arena in the Badlands. As we near the place, my mind wanders to Finn. I feel bad that I've missed all the times he's tried coming over to visit me, which I only know about since he left notes, and also keep forgetting to call him back or invite him over. I feel like a bad friend, though the way I view friends makes it come across to me that Finn is more than my friend, though that doesn't make me feel any better about not being there for him. There's been rumors floating around that I've heard being whispered between the princesses at Princess Day that Finn is now actively involved in the Contest of Champions at the arena in the Badlands. And though I won't lie and say that I'm going completely for different reasons, I haven't told Bonnie or Flamey about it, even though they were there when the rumors were spreading, so they can probably figure it out. And, who knows, maybe Finn's the reason we're all going but we just haven't vocally confirmed it with each other.

I'm snapped out of my deep thinking when we arrive at the Badlands Arena. I can see a massively long line stretching out from the main entrance, but being me, I don't like waiting in such petty things. Instead of going to the back of the line, I fly Bonnie, Flamey, and myself over the side of the arena wall and into the stands. A great many people are already seated, but just enough seats are still available for me to choose from.

"How about those?" Phoebe asks, pointing to some that are at the very front. I frown. That would put us right in front of the fighting, but since when did I ever shy away from potential danger?

"Sounds good!" I shout over the chatting. 

I fly us right to a pair of three seats and plop the princesses down. I take the center seat of the three because I flew us here and I call dibs, the flame elemental and Bonnie actually looking really excited.

"I can't wait to see all the cool weapons!" Phoebe exclaims giddy.

"Please, I'm here to see all the action!" Bubblegum responds, but in a lower tone so that she's only heard by us. 

I smirk at her and look at the center of the arena. I wonder who'll be fighting here today. I sigh deeply and wish that Finn was right here beside me. He could cure me of my sadness. He always did. About half an hour then goes by and before I know it, all of the seats in the stands are full. The rows are filled with goblins, candy citizens, flame people, and cloud people. They look just as excited as Phoebe and Bonnie next to me, so that's good at least. A jumbo screen directly across from me turns on and the crowd cheers as the announcer, who's apparently this lanky goblin with sunglasses on, comes into view. 

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to another day of the Contest of Champions!" He says, voice all gravelly. 

The audience gets more rowdy and jumps up and down in their seats. But it's only after they've settled down a bit when the goblin continues.

"For our first fighter, we have a rising champion that I'm sure many of you already know. he first joined this contest nine months ago before it even began and has slayed every challenge that's been thrown his way. Not to mention he's a real hit with the ladies. Everyone, please welcome Finn the Human" He announces. 

My eyes go wider than dinner plates as the crowd goes ballistic. A heavy gate slowly rumbles open on my left and out walks Finn himself. As the gorgeous boy trudges up to the center of the arena, I take in his amazing looks. His hair is wavy and combed to the side, along with some hair growing on his upper lip and lower chin. Finn's also dressed in a medium blue shirt and faded jeans, his regular black shoes finishing off the look. He also wears dark gold armor on his shoulders, ankles, thighs, and chest, accompanied by this kind of gauntlet on left wrist and his Finn sword on his back. But there are also chains wrapped around his wrists and two shorter but thicker curved swords on his back, weapons I haven't ever seen before. Finn comes to a stop at the center and stands perfectly still. I hear Bonnie and Flamey squeal with delight beside me, but I ignore them and focus on Finn. I frown when I see his serious and stern expression. I worry that something's wrong with him, but I won't be able to ask him until after the round has concluded.

"Now, let's start this round. And remember, the round will not end until there is only one left standing. Without any further instruction, FIGHT!" The self-proclaimed Rakzo exclaims, disappearing from the jumbo screen. 

The gate on the opposite side of the arena then opens and about twelve warriors with swords, axes, spears, and other sorts of weapons charge out to meet Finn head on. Judging by how uncoordinated their movements are, they appear a bit sloppy, though I guess there wouldn't be much point in working given how it's a last-man-standing type of situation that this arena goes for. But since the crowd seemingly already loves him, Finn probably won't really need to take his time and draw out the round.

The first fighter dies quickly, a curved blade getting thrust through this face and pulled back out before he can even get close enough to land a blow. Finn lets the second fighter get closer before swiping at his legs and cutting them both off before stabbing him through the front of his head. The third comes at him from the side and tries to slice him in half with his axe, but the hero blocks it with this pop-out shield on his wrist and backhands him across the face. While he's stunned, Finn turns his sword around in his hand so that the pointed side is down and brings his arm around to stab him through the side of his head. Next comes the forth and fifth fighters, both appear on opposite sides of the boy. They attempt to attack simultaneously from both sides, but only end up killing each other once he ducks out of the way. Seven still remain, but they all come in one big group, making me roll my eyes and shake my head at their foolish maneuver. Finn spins in a whirlwind formation and releases the blades, them slicing apart six out of the seven into various bloody chunks. The final competitor looks determined to beat him, but that determination quickly fades when one of Finn's blades goes into his stomach and he's tossed skyward from the chain getting flicked upwards. Finn then catches him with the opposite blade and slams him back down, the fighter hitting the ground with a loud crack. The hero then finishes him off by releasing his shield and backhanding him across his face.

Blood splatters on Finn's face and the crowd goes wild, clapping and cheering at all the death. I am among those and clap quite excitedly. Finn's shield retracts back into the gauntlet and the cute boy stands in place, not moving until that goblin comes back on the jumbo screen.

"And, to nobody's surprise, Finn has done it again!" He says enthusiastically, the people around me, Bonnie, and Phoebe not getting any quieter, "And he'll be back in 15 for Round 2, so don't go nowhere."

The gate that Finn came through then opens back up, Finn himself walking out of the arena center and into whatever sort of room lies beyond that gate. I can tell that Bonnie and Phoebe want to talk to him, just like I do, so we get up from our seats and heads over to some stairs that lead down and inside the inner hallways of the arena. I float ahead of them and reach the bottom of the steps before they do, noticing Finn resting near the gate. Once FP and PB join me, the three of us walk over together and stand nearby, waiting for Finn to turn around and see us, his back towards us due to him washing the blood off his face.

"Finn?" I say, announcing my presence. 

He turns around and sees all of us standing there.

"Oh, hey guys" Finn replies casually, Bonnie, Flamey, and I walking closer, "I honestly didn't expect to see you here, but I'm glad you've come."

I float up to him and give him a hug, one that he returns without question. Flame Princess gets the same treatment, but Bonnibel doesn't go for one, though it doesn't seem to bother him. I can tell she has something on her mind that she wants to say to him and knowing Bonnie, it'll be lecturing him on how she doesn't approve of all this. But before she has a chance to open her mouth, a women with charcoal black skin, long dark red hair, and a cloth dress comes up to Finn, boldly kissing him on the neck and making all of us take a step back in shock.

"Fine work as always, Finn" The woman says seductively to him, running a finger over his collarbone, before sparing a glance at us, "Oh, are these your friends?"

"Yes, but don't worry, Jazminde. I won't be long" He reassures her.

"I'll be waiting" The lady smiles, licking her lips with excitement as she walks away.

I don't know why but they way her and Finn interacted so closely just makes me feel all sorts of uneasy and uncomfortable. Though it might have something to do with the fact that I recognize by her clothes and mannerism that she's prostitute, which makes me worry that Finn's getting the wrong idea of how a relationship between a man and a woman typically goes. That and he might get addicted to her and her honeypot.

"So this is how you spend your free time? Shedding blood and sleeping with prostitutes?" Bubblegum says, shaking her head, "This isn't good for you, Finn."

"Oh, dear glob. Have you been talking with Jake recently?" Finn sighs in annoyance, going over to the sword sharpening slab and running it across its surface.

"No, but he's right. And quite frankly so am I, since I'm always right" Bonnie replies, her arrogance not helping her case, "Finn, I can understand wanting to try new things, but this is rather desensitizing pastime. All that violence will weight down on you eventually and you'll also get tired of those women, since they don't genuine care about you."

"Princess, with all due respect, but could you not come here and rain on my parade?" The hero huffs, putting his sword back in it's sheathe, "I've got a good thing going on here and I don't want you ruining it just because you can't keep your opinions to yourself."

It's the harshest I've ever heard him speak to Bonnie, but getting older does tend to do that to you sometimes. Bonnie opens her mouth, but closes it just as fast, at a true loss for words. And probably feeling like Finn no longer wants to see her there, she turns around and heads back for the stairs leading back into the stands. I want to say something to him to make him feel better, though also because I don't want him angry at me or Phoebe either. But, once Phoebe remarks on his armor, my guessing is proven wrong.

"That's some pretty cool armor, Finn" Flame Princess compliments him.

"You think so too?" He shrugs, slowly spinning in a circle, "I kinda wasn't a fan of it at first, but I've now grown to like it as well."

"This also seems quite fun. Do you know if they have any openings for new fighters?" The fire elemental asks, though I'm finding it hard to tell if she's serious or just trying to find some common ground to talk with Finn about.

"Well, I don't know for sure, but if you really want to, I can always put in a good word for you, us being good friends and all" Finn smiles.

"Thanks, Finn" She nods appreciatively, "Well, I better get back to my seat, but good luck out there."

"Thanks, Phoebe" The boy nods, Flame Princess walking away and leaving me alone with him.

"What's up, Marcy?" Finn then asks, turning his attention to me.

"Finn...I just want to say I'm sorry for not being there for you when you wanted someone to talk to" I sigh, "I should've done better and I feel like I'm being a bad friend of yours. Just please know that I'll always be around if you need to talk."

"Well, I appreciate that, Marceline" The hero smiles.

"Aside from that, though, are you doing ok?" I ask, my question from the beginning of Round 1 coming back to me.

"Better after hearing what you just said" He replies, a smile of my own appearing, "Sorry to cut this short, Marcy, but I gotta go. Jazminde's waiting for me."

"Right, right" I nod, floating towards the stairs and away from Finn.

I return to my seat to find Bonnibel not looking happy while Phoebe is on her phone talking to someone. But as I sit there and the next fifteen minutes pass by at an agonizingly slow pace, I find myself picturing Finn and that women screwing each other and the feeling of wanting to vomit rising up in my throat. I can't help but feel bothered by it and just can't seem to let it go, the thought feeling so wrong to think about despite it being reality. I just hope that woman doesn't end up giving Finn an STD, given how he's not the first person they've 'serviced' in this arena.

The second round then starts a few minutes later, Finn coming back out as the announcer goblin prattles on dramatically about whether Finn can manage to beat the next before the gate opens again and this time twenty fighters come out to face him. The fight commences, but I have trouble paying attention to it, my mind refusing to break away from the thought of Finn and those women. It isn't helped when I hear some loud cheers coming from the stands to my left and see a group of fangirls that only look to be here for Finn. I'm still pretty popular myself due to my music, so why is the fact that Finn's much more popular with girls bothering me so much? It is jealousy? It can't be, can it? I mean, maybe, but is it just from the fact that I feel like those women and these girls don't care about him as much as I do or remotely understand him as well as I do? Perhaps it is.

The round ends more quickly than I thought, my focus brought back to it once the goblin, who refers to himself as Rakzo, says Finn's victorious again. I can't sit still anymore, though, so I turn invisible and float out of my seat, flying over the heads of all the people in the stands and down the stairs into the preparation area. Finn enters right as I'm getting there, the other fighters around him congratulating him on his victory too, but he nods and thanks them before walking over to that group of women. I follow him and hover nearby to listen to what they're saying.

"More and more, you prove how capable you are, Finn" A women with light green skin cooes, wrapping her filthy arms around his neck and and seductively running her foot up and down his ankle, "And I love capable men~."

"How about we treat you to three of us at once~?" Another with purple skin asks, wrapping herself around him too, "I bet you've never had a foursome before, have you~?"

"No, but I'm willing to try it if you're up to it" Finn smiles back.

"That's what I like to hear~" She smiles back, then looking to a women with light tan skin, "Cookie. You, me, and Ivy here are gonna give this hero the time of his life. Are you ready~?"

"Oh, I'm ready alright~" Cookie replies eagerly.

The three women then lead Finn away from the group and into a nearby room, the door shutting as they begin to get down to business. I don't follow them in, since I don't want to have that image seared into my brain, and instead wait around to hear if these remaining women will say anything that might lead to malicious ulterior motives they have planned for Finn.

"Did you hear about the next ones up to fight Finn?" A woman with red skin whispers to one with light blue skin.

"That they're the toughest to enter yet? Yeah, I heard. But too many tough guys come in here thinking they're hot stuff and quickly learn their place on the end of a sword" The light blue skinned woman replies, "But that's why we like Finn, right, Skye? He's humble, kind, and not too overconfident."

"True, true" Skye nods, "Hey, what do you think about all 20 of us going in with him if he beats this next round? I quite like the sound of it."

"Oh, I can definitely get down with that" Her friend smiles eagerly.

Gaining little from the conversation, I float away from them and hover outside the door Finn and those other women went into. I can hear their moans from out here and it almost makes me want to vomit. But after a few more minutes of them going at it, the door opens and the women walk out, heading back to their huddle while Finn comes out last. I lightly tap him on the back of the shoulder, remaining invisible since I'd still be within sight of the prostitutes.

"Finn, it's me" I say quietly to him.

"What-Marceline?" He frowns, looking around, "What are you doing here?"

"Look, I heard that these next opponents will be really tough. And though I don't doubt your capabilities, I want to come fight with you in the event they're too much to handle" I tell him, Finn following the sound of my voice to look right at me.

"I mean, if you really want to, but please look after yourself. I don't want to see you hurt" Finn tells me sweetly.

"Don't worry, Hero. I'll be perfectly fine" I grin at him.

Finn's P.O.V

It's time for the third and final round and Marceline is apparently going to fight with me. I have no idea why, but it's not like I can stop her or tell her no even if I wanted to prevent her from going out there with me. She floats beside me, invisible, as I walk to the opening gates and then trudge into the arena center for the last time today. The audience is no different, though I am able to look up and spot Princess Bubblegum and Flame Princess in their spots, FP giving me two thumbs up. I nod at her and look up at the screen, waiting for Rakzo to appear. But he doesn't, the screen remaining black as the crowd begins to whisper to each other as they catch on.

"What's going on?" Marceline asks me.

"I don't know" I reply in a low tone, "Just stay close to me and we'll get through this."

Then, without any sort of introduction or warning, the other gate creaks open, my attackers pouring through into the arena center. And once they do, the crowd loses any of the concern they had and instantly go back to normal, cheering me on again. Though one of the attackers in the back looks short and a tad familiar. Nevertheless, I run towards the fighters with my blades at the ready. But the ground trembles at my feet and right as I'm about to clash with the first of the gladiators, the ground explodes open from underneath me. I fly backwards through the air, but get caught by Marceline before I smack into the floor. I regain my footing and see that this big hole now separates me and Marcy from the other fighters, a huge goblin with some kind of sparking device on his head rising out of the hole. It slams its fists into the ground and growls loudly, the audience members going to flee as the gladiators on the other side form stances to fight it.

"Marcy, we gotta get these people out of here" I say, Marceline becoming visible again.

"Way ahead of you, Hero" She nods, the both of us leaving the fighters to deal with the goblin and running towards the gate.

Marcy is able to open it with her vampire strength and we both run to the anxious flowing crowd of people that are streaming out of the arena. I can't see FP or Princess Bubblegum, but I'm pretty sure they've made their escape by now. I also don't see Skye, Jazminde, Cookie, or any of the other ladies, so I assume their fate is the same. And since we didn't really need to do anything to help these people, I should go back and help those gladiators, especially since the ground shakes and the fighters cry out in pain.

"I'm heading back" I tell her, Marceline grabbing my arm to stop me.

But she only keeps me there long enough to press a kiss against my cheek.

"Knock em dead, Finn" She says softly, letting my arm go.

I nod at her and running back through the hallway and into the arena center again. The fighters have been turned into red paste on the ground all except for one, the goblin fighting this lone gladiator. But as the monster swipes at the fighter and knocks it against the ground, the gladiator's helmet comes off and my eyes widen at the sight of Jake. What is he doing here? I thought he didn't like this type of stuff. But I push these questions aside and run at the goblin, jumping when I get close enough and stabbing him in the back with both blades. I then climb up to his head and reach around to stab his eyes out, but that doesn't kill him. Instead, he throws me off and I hit the ground next to Jake, beating his fists angrily as I get up and help Jake up too. We just look at each other and a plan is silently agreed upon.

I start running at the now blinded goblin, Jake grabbing me and throwing me hard and fast at it, my blades ramming into the monster's stomach.  I then backflip, leaving my swords in the goblin, and pull on my chains to slam it into the ground a couple of times. The monster's dazed and Jake only has to raise his axe and bring it down on the goblin's neck to finish the job. But even after it goes limp and I pull my swords out of it, I still wonder what it was doing underneath the arena and why it had some sparking device on its head. I walk around the body and look down into the hole, see some kind of computer set-up down there with more sparking equipment. But the stand out is the name R.4.K.Z.0 printed on the side, which tells me all I need to know. Rakzo was a monster kept hooked up to this machine and was imprisoned to facilitate the rounds, all the while having his mind connected to the screen and appearing as someone he wasn't. It's a bit sad now that I think about it, but at least he's now free.

"What were you doing here, Jake?" I finally ask him, sheathing my blades.

"I had done some research about this place and I found out about Rakzo. Seemed cruel to keep him trapped here, so I came to free him. Course, the only way to get in was to say I was competing, which let me walk right through the front door. From there, it was just a matter of getting to where I was told he was kept and destroying the machine. What I didn't know was how brutish and violent he'd be when awoken, but what's done is done" Jake explains, lazily tossing his axe to the ground.

Knowing what I want to say to him, I walk up to my brother and make sure he's looking at me.

"You know, Jake, I think I've come to realize that you were right. This isn't good for me. After Rakzo and all the on-going violence, I don't think I want to do this anymore" I tell him sincerely.

Jake smiles, but not as a smirk or smug grin. He smiles in a relieved, happy way that any brother would have if he saw that his brother learned what he was trying to teach him.

"I'm not going to say 'I told you so', Finn, but I'm glad you see what I've been saying. It's a dangerously addictive loop to be caught in and I didn't want my kind-hearted bro to get ensnared in its clutches" He replies genuinely.

"Yeah" I nod, looking around at the carnage, "Let's go home."

"Could agree more" Jake agrees, hopping on top of Rakzo's body and walking across it like a bridge to the other side of the hole.

"But I am going to keep these swords" I add, following him and reaching the other side, "They're too cool to let go."

"Oh, I totally understand that" Jake chuckles, both of us heading through the gate towards the front entrance, "Besides, it's not like you to let a good weapon go to waste."

Jake then continues on out the front entrance, but I lag behind, seeing someone in my peripheral vision. I turn to my right and see Marceline waiting nearby, seemingly waiting for me since she floats over once I notice her. She greets me with a hug and I give her one back without hesitating in the slightest.

"So I hear you're giving up gladiator fighting" Marcy says as we break the contact.

"Yeah, but if there's one thing I learned, it's that I can be more than just a hero" I tell her, holding her hands in my own as she smiles warmly at me.

"I can be a warrior too" I grin proudly.