Chapter 5: Both Sides of the Armies Part 1

Ooo/ Ice Kingdom/

Time then passed from last chapter to show the group waking and getting ready in their own ways before the group went into the kitchen one by one, or in certain pairings, two by two, with Finn and Huntress getting there first with Finn supporting Huntress, she felt much better after getting a good night's rest, but still had trouble walking, she blushed a bit when Finn offered to help but she didn't say much but thanks and the duo made it to the kitchen in good time, though thanks to Huntress stumbling once, she had to be stabilized by Finn and her face went very close to Finns which caused her to blush like a green tinted tomato when she remembered the kiss, she wasn't a romantic so stuff like that really caught her off guard.

Finn blushed as well from how close the forest nymph was before he regained his composure and helped Huntress to her seat when he took her to the table.

The next group was Aiag and Autumn, and Autumn had a grin on her face when Aiag had a bright blush on her face when she saw Finn.

Finn, after making sure that Huntress was nicely seated, sees the two sisters before giving the duo a kind smile before speaking.

"Morning you two. How'd you both sleep?"

"Well I slept good… my big sis on the other hand…. Hehehe." Autumn said before she busts out in a giggle fit when she couldn't speak right now.

Aiag blushes brightly in embarrassment while Finn got what Autumn meant before blushing as well.

That's when he spoke up so he can change the subject.

"So… where are Canyon and Emerald at?"

"Over here Finn." A voice said which caused the group to see a much smaller Canyon while Emerald carried her bridal style into the room, seems she was much better to allow her to shrink down easily, guess Emerald's healing magic worked wonders… and other private things…

Canyon blushed while she was being carried while Finn and Huntress sees the duo though they had a slight awkward look since Finn and Huntress Wizard saw what happened yesterday.

Emerald then set Canyon on a chair and kissed her on the cheek before he said this when he stood up with a chipper tone.

"So everyone, what do you want to eat?, don't know about you but I worked up a real appetite this morning." Emerald said with a grin on his face… seems he had a morning moment with Canyon it seemed.

Canyon blushed knowing why he's in a good mood while Aiag sees this and believes something good maybe more happened with the Water Elemental and Emerald.

Finn on the hand had this thought when he saw Canyon blushing.

'Yeah I bet you did you sly dog.'

After a minute of not getting an answer, Emerald said this.

"Welp if no one is answering I'll ask again, Finn, Eggs and Bacon, Huntress, some kind of salad right?, or something else?, Autumn, what does a little princess like you want today?, and Canyon, what does a beauty like you want, nothing is to good for you today, should help you recover easily." Emerald said while Autumn giggles at being called a princess while Huntress raised an eyebrow when Emerald seemed really happy today.

Finn blinks for a moment before he spoke up.

"Actually Emerald, can you add some pancakes to the mix?"

"You got it bro might as well go all out and make an all you can eat Breakfast buffet for everyone, now if you'll excuse me." Emerald said while he turned and moved into the kitchen before anyone could say anything and it seemed Emerald saw Finn like a little brother or something since he taught Finn a lot over the time Finn was awake up to now… and him giving Finn the Talk was a big part as well.

Finn felt his heart beat as he saw how brotherly Emerald was to him. Now he was not bad mouthing Jake but since Finn isn't with him for the time being, Emerald is now the closest person he as for a brother.

Now he feels bad for accidentally looking at what Emerald and Canyon did through his sword.

However it won't stop him from trying to be a little brother figure to Emerald.

Finn then spoke up to the group.

"Well since we're waiting for Emerald, I have some gifts to give to you guys."

Autumn perked up greatly before looking at Finn with some excitement while Huntress looked confused.

"GIFTS!" Autumn said before bouncing in her seat a bit, seems she was the easily excited type.

Aiag and Canyon were also confused before they heard Finn clapped his hands for some odd reason.

That's when after a moment or two passes before the doors open and coming in we're some penguins carrying different types of clothing.

Finn gets up before he approaches his penguin subjects before speaking.

"To Autumn, like I promise, a nice outfit for an adorable princess." He said before showing Autumn a princess like outfit that was like a mixture of Ice, snow, and leaves, it looked like a beautiful dress with long flowing leaves that where patterned to look like it swirled down in a clockwise position, all in all, it didn't look half assed and looked like a dress fit for a plant like princess of the frosty forest.

Autumn's eyes widen greatly before she squealed a bit before getting up from the chair and went to hug Finn around the waist before saying this while bouncing a bit.

"Thank you Finn!, Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Autumn quickly said before she went to look closer at the dress with a happy look on her face.

Finn chuckles before he said this.

"Well that's not all. I know how much you enjoyed playing with the pups so…" He said before stopping when whistled at the opened entrance.

That's when you hear some footsteps before you see one ice wolf pup and one fire wolf pup coming in with excited looks.

Autumn squealed again before she rushed over to them and hugged the pups while being careful of the fire one by lightly petting its head before quickly petting the ice wolf pup to cool her hand off.

Finn smiles before speaking.

"Hope you like your new pets. Just remember to be responsible."

"Of course!" Autumn said before the Wood Nymph kid got dog piled by the two wolf pups before they start licking her face while she giggles happily with her sister, Canyon, and a slightly smiling Huntress watched.

Finn smiles as well before he looks at Aiag before speaking.

"For you Aiag this lovely dress." He said before showing Aiag her outfit which was like Autumn's with the same Ice, snow and leaves pattern but it was more of Aiag's size plus it was like the dress was given a little royal look with how elegant it was.

Aiag blushed brightly at that before saying this.

"Y-You didn't need to do that Finn." Aiag said with a deep blush on her face.

Finn blushed as well before speaking.

"But I wanted to."

Aiag blushed more while Huntress blinked a few times when she felt a bit off with how Finn looked when he looked at Aiag when he gave her the dress, it… wasn't pleasant and it confused her since she didn't know what was going on.

Canyon was a bit confused while Finn looks at Huntress before speaking.

"Something wrong Huntress?"

Huntress blinked a few times before saying this.

"No, do I look off?, am I bleeding or something?"

Huntress said when she looked at her bandages on her body.

"No just thought that something was bothering you. Anyway I have a gift for you." Finn said.

"For me?, I don't think that's needed Finn." Huntress said when she wondered why Finn got her a gift, even if it caused a pleasant feeling in her body, she didn't know why she felt like that.

"Nonsense. I think you'll like this." He said before he shows Huntress a cloak before speaking.

"With a bit of help from Simon, I was able to contact the Wood Nymph's from the reformed camp that Emerald help take over and with them and again Simon's help, we were able to create this cloak that can help you adapt to certain environments. Like if you were in the Fire Kingdom, automatic fire shield, Ice Kingdom, well like what you were wearing before but you get what I'm saying?"

Huntress blinked a few times before saying this when she held the cloak in her hand while she felt impressed.

"Seriously?... This seems like it would be tough to make, seems like it would be hard to make that adapting cloak, you sure you want me to have this?" Huntress asked when she could feel the material.

Finn smiles at the Wood Nymph before speaking.

"I do."

"Well… can't really change your mind then huh?... I'll use it later, don't want to get it dirty now with food or blood if my bandages leak." Huntress said before placing the cloak on the back of the chair.

Finn smiles a bit before he looks at Canyon.

Now he did have an outfit for her, but he decided to do this.

"Now for you Canyon, this is something that Emerald wanted you to have." He said even though it was a lie but was doing it to make Emerald look better when he shows Canyon an outfit that was like Satele Shan's outfit from the Old Republic game.

"Whoa… did he really do this?... he and I didn't separate much when he and I were in the training room when he was… helping me heal." Canyon said before blushing a bit when she said that.

Finn sees this before speaking.

"Well he secretly passed a message to one of the penguins to give to me after I left Huntress to rest.

Emerald wanted it to be a good surprise for you."

"I see, well I'll have to thank him later then." Canyon said before blushing a bit more.

Finn nods his head to Canyon even though the group saw her face blushing.

A minute later, Emerald walked out with many penguins following with plates on their heads before the group saw a mouth watering buffet of breakfast foods being set on the table, seems Emerald went all out here.

Finn and the others were shocked at the amount before Finn spoke.

"Wow Emerald. You really went all out."

"Eh, let's just say I worked up an appetite, don't know about you all but I am about to dig in if no one wants to." Emerald said with a grin on his face before time advanced too much later with Finn and Emerald standing in front of one another in their combat gear while they had wooden swords equipped while Huntress, Canyon, Autumn, Simon, and a few icy subjects watched the two, looks like Emerald was seeing how Finn's combat experienced held up, some training worked to get him pretty mobile again, but he hadn't wielded his sword in a long time.

Finn had a determined look on his face as he readied his weapon while he gauged Emerald's combat stance.

Emerald had a pretty relaxed stance while he just held his weapon in front of him while he waits to see how Finn would react, even if Emerald had plenty of openings, Emerald had a stronger body then Finn from his years of training while Finn slept, so compared to Finn, Emerald was holding back to stay at Finn's level.

Finn took a couple of breaths before he starts to attack.

Emerald grins before he starts to block and dodge Finn's attacks before saying this.

"Dude, try and be tricky, you're fighting style, while good for a brawl, is not subtle, I can see each attack like its coming a mile away, and I can do stuff like…" Emerald said when he dodged a hit and swings the wooden sword when he passed Finn and hit him on the ass which caused Finn to stumble.

"...That…" Emerald said with a grin on his face while he turned to Finn.

Finn groans when he felt that before attack before he looks at Emerald and went for another attack but made sure to be tricky.

Emerald had to grin from that, granted it was still sloppy but Finn's moves were much sharper then before before Emerald said this.

"Not bad… but another tip for battle, try and piss the opponent off, you may do that sometimes, but that's more like to get them in a fight… for example… and sorry for this… but I would feel bad for everyone if they saw you now, weak, helpless… in need of a hero yourself…" Emerald said while he keeps his grin on his face.

Finn was at first angry but then sees what Emerald meant before he tries to counter as well.

"If you're talking about yourself then I suppose Canyon won't mind if you saved the day since she does like strong dudes." He said with a fanged grin.

Emerald gave a one armed shrugged before he said this.

"Maybe, I wouldn't mind if she saved the day as well, I mean at least I can get lucky with a lady I care about." Emerald said with a grin on his face.

Finn was a bit pissed before he spoke as he tries to push Emerald back.

"You got lucky because of that dumb green mist's effects."

"Maybe, but I'm sure I could just use a bit of charm on her to get a similar result, I mean I was kind, helpful, and did help rescue her from rapists after all, and unlike you who would stumble when you first see a woman… I knew what I was doing to get it on with her… granted I was a virgin at the time but I did man up in the end." Emerald said with a grin on his face while everyone listened in to the back and forth.

"So what, I was able to get a girlfriend and I was still a virgin back then while you probably didn't."

Finn countered.

"True… but at least I didn't cause my girlfriend to fight a freaking king of Ice, bit cruel of you to do that you know." Emerald said with a shrug of his arms.

However, instead of getting pissed, Finn just dropped his sword before he got on his knees and ferociously punch the floor of the arena before tears start to leak a bit from Finn's eyes.

Emerald cringed a bit from that before he facepalmed and said this when he got close to Finn and held a hand out for him to take.

"Look Finn, I'll admit that was a low blow, I was just trying to get you pissed or something since it would cause a person to get sloppy." Emerald said while he leaned down a bit with his hand held out.

Finn did take Emerald's hand however, he did a surprise counter by quickly grabbing his sword and goes in for a quick attack.

However before he could even swing the sword, Finn felt the side of his head get attack before he got launched away while everyone saw that Emerald was already swinging the weapon when Finn took Emerald's hand before Emerald said this to the downed Ice Prince with a disinterested tone.

"Not bad trying to trick me, unfortunately for you, my master was a real demon in terms of training, and long story short, you hammed up that act a bit too much." Emerald said before he looked at Finn.

Finn groans as he got up before speaking.

"Thought it could work." He said with a slight frown.

"Well can't say it didn't, was actually worried but you tighten your grip too much when you grabbed my hand, better work on that grip thing later, now got anymore tricks for me?, trust me my Master was a slave driver in training and it was traumatic for me so I learned plenty of tells." Emerald said before shuddering a bit when it looked like he had flashbacks.

The women sweatdrop before wondering what training did Emerald's Master gave him while Finn, who finally gets up before speaking.

"Hey do we have to get you a blanket and bottle or are we gonna keep sparring?" He said with a taunting grin.

Emerald blinked a few times before he said this with a creepy grin.

"Cute Finn…. Really cute… why don't I personally show you a bit of what my Master did for training and see how you feel after a session." Emerald said while he got a dark mist around him… uh-oh… seems Finn accidently pushed one of Emerald's buttons.

The women and Simon blinked for a moment while Finn sees this before spoke up to Simon.

"Uhhh… Simon? Is that even allowed?"

"Well… you two are ability users… but compared to Emerald… well, unless he's doing that to look creepy… I would suggest running." Simon said while Emerald slowly walked to Finn with a creepy chuckle.

Finn pales before he said this.

"Uh-oh." He said before he tries to run.

Time then skipped to much later, though Emerald did tease Finn a bit when he remembered that Finn teased him about Canyon and teased him about peaking for a few hours, they even apologized for the insults thrown to one another, even if Emerald was trying to provoke Finn to make a point.

A few days passed with many things happening, one was Finn getting the beatdown of his life when Emerald put him through training hell, Huntress and Canyon healing up, and the scene went to Finn, Emerald, and Simon in the forge before Simon explained what he was doing when he had Finn place the crown of Ice on a slab in the middle of the room and Finn asked why he did that.

"Well Finn, simply put I'm hoping to change the Crown if Ice's shape to be more mask like, even with your current changes, you'll still be recognized by others who know you well." Simon said while he waits for Finn's response.

Finn can see the logic but was still unsure before he spoke up.

"But… what if something happens to the crown that might go wrong in the forging."

"Well, then I could die, and you would lose the crown, no real biggy since my body would still live and all that, but I did the math and the chances of that happening are slim, all I'm doing is just shifting some things around so that it will hide your face somewhat…. Now better hid behind Emerald in case this explodes." Simon said which caused the two men to get wide eyes before saying this when Simon casts a spell on the crown.

"WHAT!?" the duo said before the crown starts to shift with a glowing light, and like Simon, said, some of the gold went to form a mask while the gems oddly went to form eye and mouth like objects, the rest of the gold on top of the crown thinned a bit to give it a more jagged look before it was finished, and the Crown mask looked both interesting… and intimidating...

Finn blinked for a moment before he said one word.

"Whoa."

"You can say that again." Emerald said before Simon looked to Finn before he said this.

"Why not try it on Finn?" Simon suggests while he gestured for Finn to approach the Mask of Ice.

Finn was a little hesitant before he approaches the mask and picks it up before wearing it.

Surprisingly, aside from a slight red tint, everything else looked normal… except for Emerald who had a slight red outline for some reason.

Finn blinks behind his new mask before he spoke up.

"How come I'm seeing a red outline on Emerald's body?"

"Red outline?/Red outline?" The duo said before looking down at Emerald's body to see it normally before saying this.

"Er… you sure your not seeing things Finn?"

Emerald asked while Finn pulled the mask on and off to see Emerald looking normal when the mask was off, but when it was on, Emerald gained a red outline before Simon said this after a moment of thought.

"Emerald, mind walking out of the room?" Simon asked which confused Emerald and he starts walking out of the room while Simon gestures for Finn to equip the mask and watch Emerald.

Finn was confused before he puts on the mask again to see what's all the hubbub.

For some reason, when Emerald left, he could see his outline still like an X-Ray of sorts even though Finn couldn't see the rest of his body.

"Whoa… I can still see where he's at. Well the outline part anyway."

"I see, could be a thermal X-Ray to detect heat sources, should help with later missions, I doubt I have a heat source since I have no body right now, so why don't we tell Emerald the good news, he also helped pick a mission outfit for you after he heard about the *gift* to Canyon that you said was from him." Simon said while quoting the word gift.

Finn blinks for a moment before he remembers what he said before speaking.

"Oh right the *gift*... hehe… well Emerald, and you, have helped me a lot. Plus we had spend a bunch of times together since I woke up. Made us look like brothers which I don't mind at all. Could use another brother. Plus I wanted to help him out even though he could use those charms."

Simon chuckles before he said this.

"Well hopefully that charm rubs off on you so you can get your own ladies, who knows, you could get Marceline since you did peek on her so you should take responsibility right?" Simon said with a grin on his face.

Even though Finn was wearing the mask, he still blushed red in embarrassment before he spoke up.

"That's if Marcy and Phoebe... and maybe Breakfast Princess don't clobber me to death."

"Well, I will wish you luck then, but for now, we should go before Emerald wonders what is going on." Simon said before he vanished in a flash of light.

Finn sighs a bit before he said this.

"I'm gonna need a lot more than luck." He said before he walks out of the room to meet with Emerald.

Time then passed a bit to a bit later with Emerald and Canyon walking next to one another while Emerald had his weapon on his back while he carries a picnic basket on one hand, looks like Emerald and Canyon were on a date and we're walking along a pathway to some kind of snowy field that overlooked a village, the past few days to nearly a week was productive for everyone when Emerald and a small group of highly trained ice based creatures went around nearby territories that were under enemy control and freed them, some were goblin people lived in small villages, some were street Flame people, and some were other wood Nymphs, heck, some were even surprisingly interesting people like Me-Mow and Guardian Angel. Guardian Angel got forced out of her home and Me-Mow got jumped recently, if it wasn't for Finn who located them thanks to some rumors giving enough descriptions to identify them, and Emerald for the physical combat, then the two would have been turned into slaves.

There were also non combatants who moved into the Ice Kingdom for protection and as a result, a large City was forming that Emerald and Canyon looked over, it wasn't massive but it was approving the Fire Kingdom in size, give it a year or so and it would be the same size.

Canyon smiles for a moment before she spoke up.

"Who knew that so much has changed since then."

"Eh, well we got plenty of magic users and others as well, so it was simple these two weeks, and thanks to Guardian Angel and Me-Mow joining, we got our own Angel who guards our city and our own assassin who trains others so we got our own scout squad, granted it's still in the works but still an improvement nonetheless." Emerald said when he remembers the two missions where he had to help both and it was tough fights, seems the Dark Lord was putting up more of a fight when he or she realized that the Ice Kingdom was becoming a threat and send some small armies to try and deal with it before it got out of hand, but thanks to Emerald and the others, that was easily forced back and there was a short break for some reason so it allowed Emerald to ask Canyon out on a date officially, and the scene now shows the duo sitting down before they start to eat on the food that Emerald made and talked about things.

"Hmmm, this food is delicious Emerald." She said before taking another bite.

"Thanks, I made it all myself with Gunter helping me, long story short, do not underestimate the little guy when it comes to cutting fish just right." Emerald said while he made chopping gestures with his hand.

Canyon chuckles after hearing that before she spoke up.

"I'm very happy we're on this date Emerald." She said while smiling a bit before blushing.

"Same here, sorry if I can't do more… but there is when the date ends and we can have some serious fun later in bed now that we know you won't grow by accident." Emerald said with a grin on his face while he drank some soda he had.

Canyon blushed brightly when she heard that before giving a seductive smirk before speaking.

"That is true." She said before she slides her hand closer to Emerald's hand.

Emerald grins before he starts to reach over before a Wenk was heard which made the duo look over to show Gunter waddling towards them with some kind of note in hand.

"Hey Gunter, what's wrong?" Canyon asked with a confused look.

Gunter wenked a bit before passing a note to Emerald who read it before his eyes widen in shock before he said this.

"Glob… The Candy Kingdom's being attacked." Emerald said with a shocked look on his face.

Canyon's eyes widen in shock before she spoke up.

"We gotta go help them!"

"You mean I Canyon, you and Huntress are still injured, Finn is not only still hiding his identity and still training, but I know that won't stop you so if you come, I want you to listen to one condition that I have." Emerald said with a serious look on his face.

Canyon blinks for a moment before she spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Simple, either stick near me or Finn and Huntress, or any good guy who can kick ass, sorry that this date was cut short, if you'll excuse me, got a new outfit for this battle." Emerald said before he kissed Canyon on the lips and ran off a moment later to change.

Canyon blushed brightly from that kiss.

Even though she was disappointed that her date with Emerald was cut short, she knew that saving the Candy Kingdom was important.

So the Water Elemental got up and gathered everything before she went to go change to her new outfit.

A bit later, everyone but Emerald and Finn was gathering in the Throne room of the Ice Kingdom, Huntress was wearing the new cloak that Finn got her, Aiag and Autumn were wearing the new dresses, Canyon was in her new outfit, Gunter looked like he was ready for war with the ice shifting sword at his side, all in all, everyone looked battle ready aside from Autumn and Aiag.

Said duo had heard that the Candy Kingdom was in trouble and were already worried if Finn and Emerald will be okay.

Thankfully Autumn's pups were with them to help calm them down as they continue to wait for Finn and Emerald.

(End of Part 1, Part 2 will be soon.)