A/N: and here it is. The final chapter of the arc. I've had this chapter in my head since I charted this arc out and I doubt it will change much as I write it. But prepare for the final battle coming soon.
Abracadaniel was gone, swallowed by a black hole. Not even a drop of blood remained on the 4-D Sword in Finn's hand. He stood there, staring at the space once occupied by his adversary, as if in shock.
"It is done," Neutral Ant projected. "I will return to my home. Rebuilding your home is on your shoulders, Heroes of Ooo. Farewell." And he disappeared in a flash of white light.
Simon and Betty held each other, grateful that the victory didn't claim their lives. Betty checked over Jake with the Blue Crystal Staff and healed the minor burned he had acquired while Flame Princess was on her rampage.
Meanwhile, Pyra slide to Finn's side, placing her hand on his shoulder to try and gently bring him back from his stupor. When that didn't work, she whispered his name without success. Finally resorting to shaking him a bit, Finn shook his head and blinked, his eyes registering the present around him finally.
"Are you hurt Finn?"
"No. I'm… I don't know… numb I guess," he said before his hero instincts kicked in. "We should get back to Ooo. We need to break down those barriers as soon as possible."
"Don't worry about that my boy," Simon says walking towards Finn with Betty and Jake trailing behind him. "I will handle that. Having a teleport spell at my disposal greatly reduces travel time. Ooo will return to normal in no time."
"Yeah man. We won. We saved the world," Jake said with pride.
"I guess we did," Finn said, still gripping his sword tightly.
"Finn, Simon will teleport us to the Hospital first, so Jake can be with his family and I can watch over Lady for any complications. Simon will then take you and Flame Princess to the tree house," Betty explained.
"Then I'll have my own quest to break the shields on my own. I'm quite excited to go on a solo adventure," Simon spoke.
The group gathered around Simon, who teleported them to the hospital. After some magic, the barrier shattered and the Hospital was freed. Jake rushed inside and was assailed by green construct penguins, all trying to smash the intruder. As Jake jumped around them, more and more penguins spawned to try and stop him, until Simon cast dispel magic, banishing the constructs and allowing Jake and the group safe passage.
After reaching Lady's room and Simon and Betty calming down Gunter and removing the Demonic Wishing Eye from the penguin, everyone relaxed and allowed Jake to have family time with his children in peace.
Simon teleported the final duo to the treehouse. After arriving, he pulled Flame Princess aside for a moment while Finn was distracted. "Flame Princess, have you noticed how Finn is withdrawn and not his usual jovial self?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's about killing Abracadaniel."
"I think It runs much deeper than that. I need to have a talk with him. Would you mind disappearing for an hour or so. This is something that should be just between himself and I."
"I understand Simon. Please bring him back to me. I don't know what to say this time to make everything better."
"I think I do. I will do my best to bring him back to his old self. You have my word."
"That you Simon," She said and left through the door, intent on just walking around for an hour.
Simon watched as she left the house and the nearby vicinity. Sure she was away, Simon sighed, weary. He was about to have a conversation about guilt with a boy with an inner struggle. Simon just hoped the right words would come to him. He didn't want to fail in his promise to Flame Princess.
Simon climbed up the ladder to the second floor to find Finn sitting at the kitchen table, still holding the 4-D Sword. He had to get that away from Finn. "Finn, you really should put that away. There's no imminent danger here to defeat."
Finn looked around and noticed he was at the treehouse finally. "Yeah. I guess you're right," was the reply while Finn stood and placed the Sword on the rack where his Angel Blood Sword was, strangely enough. Simon would ponder on that later.
"Come sit Finn. We need to talk," Simon said politely.
Finn sat at the table across from Simon, looking more through him than anything. 'Finn is already showing signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. At least the shock is starting to wear off,' Simon thought as Finn shook himself and came back to the present.
"I have to ask you some questions Finn. Please be straight with me. It's important." When Finn nodded in his affirmation, Simon continued. "How did you feel when you thought Jake had died for you?"
"How did I… feel?"
"Yes."
Finn squirmed for a moment before remembering this was Simon, the smartest guy he knew, a mentor figure to be trusted. "I was numb. Then I got really angry. If I had the Demon Blood Sword, it would have turned me evil again."
"Those feelings are natural and normal Finn," Simon explained calmly. "Jake is your brother. If someone took someone I loved with all my heart, like Betty or Gunter or Neptr, I would hunt them down, or at the very least I would want to. Negative emotions, like rage and hate, are the mind's responses to threats and loss."
Finn took this all in and nodded before Simon began again, "When you died, what did you see?"
"I was My Dad. And Marceline. Dad offered to let me go with him. To pass on if I wanted to. He warned me of a greater evil coming soon. I couldn't leave you guys to fight Abracadaniel and this new threat by yourselves. So I came back. Marceline took me to Death and he sent me back to my body. He even gave me the 4-D Sword to fight with."
"Marceline took you to Death," Simon said, pondering. "And he sent you back? With no price? No condition?"
"No. He just held my hands and poof."
Simon didn't like the sound of that. Something was very wrong. He just couldn't figure out what. He was missing something big.
"And how did you feel when you saw what happened while you were gone? Flame Princess channeled negative emotions to gain more power to avenge you, but nearly lost herself and the whole planet in the process."
Finn didn't know what to think about that. He knew what he saw. He couldn't deny that. He just couldn't believe that Pyra would think so much of him that she would destroy the world in his name to kill his killer. It was both flattering and frightening. Finn didn't know how to handle that. Pyra seemed to be back to her old self. Beyond being happy for that, he wasn't sure where to go with that train of thought.
"I was afraid for her. I don't know what to say to her now though. To see her go that far…"
"She loves you Finn. She is Fire. Her loves consumes and burns. She is passion and destruction and life incarnate. A living bomb should she wish it, or a gentle flame to warm others in the winter. Without your influence, I fear she will follow her Uncle into a descent to darkness."
"Simon, what do I do about that? How can I be responsible for her like that? I love her. I really do, but how can I have that kind of responsibility on my shoulders?"
"You now see it as a responsibility? A chore," Simon asked, surprised?
"No. Not that. But if I mess up, she could destroy everything."
"You are afraid of you own shortcomings causing her to destroy the world?"
Finn sighed before answering, "Something like that."
"Just do as you've been doing. She is coming along. For her to see you die was like you watching Jake die. Can you blame her for feeling what she did when you felt the same way?"
"I.. I didn't think of it like that," Finn admitted.
"She loves you with her whole being. It's her nature. Just as it is to enact her vengeance should you be ripped from her."
Finn just looked at the table in thought, taking in all Simon was telling him. Simon always had a unique way of viewing a situation and seeing what was underneath the surface.
"I have one more question for you Finn. It is the most important I will ask today," Simon informed him as Finn readied himself for the question that they both knew he would ask. "How did you feel when you ended Abracandaniel's life?"
"I felt guilty. But it was my mess. I created him. I wanted to be with PB however I could and I didn't care who I hurt in the process. Everything that's happened to Ooo because of him is on me."
"No it's not Finn," Simon said simply. "People make their own choices. They deal with adversity differently. Abracadaniel chose to become evil on his own. You didn't show him kindness in Wizard Battle, but that doesn't mean you made him evil. He could have chosen to let it go, but instead it poisoned his mind and he made his choice. That's not something you can take the blame for. Understand that Finn. You are not at fault here."
"But Simon, I-"
"No buts Finn. I'm being objective, not biased here. I told you where you went wrong. The rest is on him. And you did your duty as the Hero of Ooo. You've killed plenty of monsters before. He was just another that threatened the world. You lived up to your responsibility. Being a hero is about making hard choices that no one else can. That's why the Enchirideon chose you, like it did me."
"I'm going to let you on a secret Finn," Simon said, standing and walking around the kitchen for a moment before sighing. "Negative emotions like wrath, and greed, and envy, while they are known as the seven deadly sins, aren't evil. People just become so engrossed in them that they become evil. Wrath can make you run faster and hit harder, but it can also make you become vicious and unkind. Emotions all have baggage. You have to deal with them in the proper way so one's alignment doesn't change. Moderation is the key. It's ok to want more in life. It's ok to be angry or want something some else has. It's ok to sleep in all day sometimes."
Finn listened and absorbed all that Simon was telling him. He wasn't sure where Simon was going with all this but he knew it was important somehow.
"The keys to happiness are moderation and choice my friend. Abracadaniel choose to become evil. He chose to become steeped in greed and gluttony. He is to be pitied, not mourned. He is a cautionary tale for others. Don't blame yourself Finn. Do you understand?"
"I… I think I do. Thanks Simon," Finn said, smiling for a change.
"Alright everyone, you can come in now," Simon called to the outside.
Flame Princess, Jake, and Betty all climbed to the second floor of the tree house and took turned hugging Finn.
"They were worried about you," Simon explained. "I sensed them waiting outside."
"How are the pups Jake," Finn asked?
"They're already a handful. They can fly like Lady. It's gonna be tough keeping up, but I'm ready for them," Jake explained.
"They learn very quickly," Betty said.
"So when do I get to meet them," Finn asked?
Suddenly, a portal opened in the kitchen and a blast of blackish green fire shot out and slammed into Finn, knocking him into the wall.
"Finn," Flame Princess yelled, running towards him.
From the portal, the Lich stepped out and bellowed, "Give me the Heart."
Jake, Simon and Betty ran to engage the Lich in combat while Flame Princess tended to a groggy Finn. Seeing he's still alive, Flame Princess moves to help the others fight off the Lich.
As Finn watches, nearly unconscious, The Lich defeats the group with multiple evil fire blasts, injuring everyone until it's just the Lich and Simon left. Simon pants heavily, on his last legs, while the Lich seems unfazed by the power it's already used. Simon has enough power for two final spells, so he has to make them count.
Concentrating with everything he has, he makes a Magic Circle against Evil around everyone but himself. Following that, he pulls a sunstone from his belt and casts the strongest offensive spell that could work on the Lich he knows.
"SUNBURST," Simon cries as he throws the sunstone at the Lich. The stone explodes and bright light envelopes the Lich, causing it to shriek in pain. This continued until the light faded and the spell ended. Simon fell to the ground bleed from his nose and mouth. He risked his own life with that spell, far outside what he can normally cast. He was surprised he wasn't dead. His head hit the ground, unconscious, just as the skeletal hand of the Lich grabbed him and pulled him towards the reopened portal.
Flame Princess shot a Fireball at the retreating Lich, but it was deflected, the lich declaring, "The Heart is MINE," before disappearing along with the portal.
The Hero of Ooo watched, powerless as his friend was kidnapped. 'Have to warn Ooo,' he thought. 'Lich is back.' Finn reached for where Simon was before his arm fell, unconsciousness finally claiming him.
A/N: And that's it for Abracadaniel. And the Lich is back. What will happen now. And Why did Lich take Simon? All questions that will be answered soon. Review and let me know what you think. TTFN, Raistlin 99.