Chapter Three: The Human

Finn took a seat, and he stared deep into the map on the table, his fingers tapping the wood surface one by one; he looked stressed, and lines across his forehead showed how much he had changed, physically and emotionally.

I pulled out a box from under the table: A gift. And slid it across until it reached him. He opens his eyes wide in surprise. As he slowly opened the carefully wrapped box. 

"What is this?" he asked curiously. 

"A token" is all I managed to say. 

He had managed to break through the wraps of the packaging and opened the box inside a new hat like the one that he used to wear as a child, ears and all. His expression changed, one with childlike wonder, probably reminiscing of an earlier time, of when things were simple, easier. 

"Why?"

"Is my way of saying – I'm sorry." I looked at him. "I'm sorry for not being there." 

He nodded. "I understood. You had your own issues, PB…We all did." He half-way smiled. 

That was an understatement. He suffered the most significant loss of us all. 

"Why am I here PB?" he said while admiring the hat, feeling the edges of the ears. 

"Because I need a hero," I circled around the map. "We all do. I messed up, big Finn." 

He took a deep breath. "How? PB, what did you do?" 

A tear traveled through my face. It was a single drop of sadness; I was making a significant effort not to break down again. 

"I spoke with Hunson Abadeer. We made a deal, but it had bigger consequences than I anticipated," I continued calmly, forcing myself to sit back. "He is killing my people, one by one. It started small creatures in the forest, but he has moved into the city." 

Finn let out an audible gasp. "Oh, PB, What have you done?" 

"I tried to get out of our deal. He was meant to help protect us when the war against the fire kingdom first started, but it backfired on us. He said that if we try to get out of this deal, we will get it back a thousandfold. There won't be any Candy left when he is done with us." 

Finn stood up and walked around the room, probably debating what to say to me. I could feel the tension in the air; his back tightened with every step, and his eyes wouldn't meet mine. He was probably disappointed, and for once, I couldn't blame him. 

He finally stopped before the table and grabbed the red gummy bears representing the fire kingdom from the map. He stared at it deeply for what felt like days when, in reality, it was only a few seconds. His eyes narrowed and darkened, and his lips formed a straight line. 

"PB… How did the war start?" he asked a little too calmly for my liking. 

"I… Harbored a fugitive, someone meant to be killed for their crimes." 

His eyes gazed away from the bear and into my eyes. "Who?" 

"Betty." I couldn't help but, to be honest, I owed him that much. "When she first arrived, her magical abilities started taking over her. She caused all kinds of trouble at the Ice Kingdom, but she somehow ended up at the Fire Kingdom… She – killed their Queen." 

Finn's eyes widened, quickly replaced by a red flush of anger. His jaw tightened, and he clenched his fists. He looked like the fire had exploded inside him, and he wanted to explode with it. 

"I haven't seen the Flame Princess since that war," he said angrily as he pointed his finger towards me. "The Flame King closed the border. to grieve, and he hasn't opened them since." 

He fell backward towards the chair. 

"Finn, you don't understand. She wasn't in control. It wasn't her fault." I grabbed his arm. "she wasn't in control." I said again, trying to emphasize this as much as I could. 

Finn's rage continued to increase; we heard a slight knock on the door next to us, and we both looked at the visitor. 

"I wasn't in control, Finn," said Betty. "I would never want to cause harm like this." 

Finn's expression softened; Betty was hardly a monster-looking creature. She was Human, after all; her long red hair gave her a certain youthful air, and her green sweater complimented her features quite well. Her small stature made her even less intimidating, especially since she wore big glasses and a pointy straw hat that made her look even smaller than she was. Its hard to believe that someone so put together and calm like Bee would cause so much trouble. 

He looked at her, analyzing her like he always did when encountered a new character; he probably was thinking friend or foe. In his mind, I wanted to scream FRIEND! She is A FRIEND! But I couldn't. This was a decision I couldnt take for him. He had to choose to join us in this quest. 

Betty extended her hand as a polite introduction; as Finn hesitated to grab it, I pushed my chair back, giving him some much-needed space. He pulled forward and shook her hand. At that time, his eyes glowed, and white streaks of light emanated from it. 

"Betty, STOP!" That is all I could say as I came closer to them and pulled from Finn's hand, trying to break them apart. Whatever it did, it pulled me into whatever Betty was doing with him; I felt my body warm up, and the light enveloped my vision. 

I was suddenly Betty. I could feel her fear and Sadness as she approached some man through a portal, then the room changed, and suddenly we, Betty, were standing in front of the Ice King. He had trapped us in a cage and walked back and forth as if he was debating what to do with us, and suddenly, my skin started burning. I blinked, and before me was the fire kingdom. The Queen was admiring us. She also had some magic in her as she attempted to remove the straw hat that had somehow become attached to Bee. The hat rejected the advances of the Queen, and it had started weighing down my head, Betty's head. The next thing we see is the Sovereign of the Fire Kingdom, whose flame was extinguished, and the look of the Flame King as he walked in looking at his beloved one's lifeless body. Then I saw me, how I took care of her the days that followed, how the messenger of the Fire Kingdom came and warned us of the fight ahead. And then it was all black. Finn, Betty, and I sat in the void of Betty's mind. 

Finn was astonished. 

"I didn't know you could do that Bee." 

"I didn't know either," she said as she extended her arms, looking at what she had created in her mind. "I just wanted Finn to see… to know – That this wasn't intentional." 

"I believe you, Betty," Finn said, looking at her with a newfound appreciation for what had just happened. "And I will help you." 

That was the last thing he said before Betty returned us back to our plane of existence outside of the void. 

"Where do we start?" he asked. 

"The Enchiridion," we said in unison.