Chapter Text
During his consciousness, Finn was never able to pinpoint what his happiest moments were. Maybe they happened so long ago that he just forgot. He always felt disappointed with that. Why couldn't he remember? If he did, he bet he would be smiling more often despite it being only from reminiscing the past. The toon unfortunately had no comfort of that. No matter how many times, how far, he tried to dig inside his own mind. Sometimes, it would do more bad than good, accidentally fishing out memories he would rather have tucked away instead.
But now? Now that he was fading away, his memories were beginning to flood in. Was this the last seven minutes he overheard people talking about? Composed of his greatest moments as his own mind attempted to comfort him and make his death as painless as possible? He could work with that.
Finn was still adjusting to his sea legs. One foot in front of the other while he stumbled like a newborn deer. Everything was all new to him. His innocent eyes adjusted to the light around him, but the bustling noise outside easily attracted his interest. Someone much taller than him, much different from him, was holding his hand carefully. Warmly. At that moment, he was slowly getting attached to the figure. Their smile made him feel less nervous about existing. In a way, it was silently reassuring him that he would be welcomed with open arms. It was the same person who told him his name, then in return, exchanged theirs. Arthur. Arthur Walton. There was another person he had met alongside the man, Delilah, but she had to stay back. She worked more behind the scenes while Arthur did all the socializing. Finn couldn't form a proper opinion on her yet, but she wasn't cold to him. Just not as expressive and more calculated. She gave him a nod of approval at least.
He didn't know anyone else yet. Finn couldn't be annoying or take up too much space yet.
Finn was guided closer to the center stage. Arthur had informed him rather enthusiastically with that chipper voice of his that there were so many people on the other side who wanted to meet him! The little ol’ fishbowl. His creator’s tone was convincing. It made Finn eager to see them too! If everyone out there was as nice and loving as Arthur, then he couldn’t wait to be loved! Luckily for him, he didn’t have to wait too long for the curtains to open. Finn was met with a sea of different faces. Some filled with curiosity, others with awe, few confusion… and did Dazzle really look at him that hard when he was introduced? Finn was expecting him to look nervous. Right now, his eyebrows were creased and his eyes were analytical. Attentive. This wasn’t right. Even during his seven minutes, his mind still couldn’t get the memories correct.
Finn paused, taking it all in and finding room to speak. He gleamed at everyone and opened his mouth—
Ah. Another memory. The scenery changed just like that. There was no Arthur, no toons. He blinked as a soft blue hue was cast over him instead of the harsh spotlight. It glowed against his skin. The sound of water moving around filled his non-existent ears. His feet shuffled around on familiar carpet. The area was dimly lit, but he couldn't mistake the smell of saltwater with anything else. This was the aquarium! His floor! His eyes lit up and he took some steps closer to the tank in front of him. He looked up with adoration and wonder. What a sight in front of him. A pair of beautiful jellyfish moved together gracefully in unison, their tentacles trailing behind them. Almost in a flowing dance. It was so ethereal to witness, Finn felt like he shouldn’t have. Yet here he was. Maybe he was special. He couldn't keep himself from slowly reaching out and pressing his hands onto the glass with care. Although there were other lit tanks, this was the only one that existed to him right now. Nothing else on this floor mattered. It captured him in a trance. Like a sailor falling victim to a siren’s song. Finn took a deep breath in and sighed, a small smile spreading across his face. A sense of peace and serenity hung in the air. However, Finn’s focus was slowly shifting elsewhere. The more his gaze stayed on the jellyfish, the more he was thinking about how they happened to be together right now. They were naturally solitary creatures. They lacked the need to seek out companionship besides mating temporarily. Deep down, Finn wished he didn't have that need either. How come something that didn't even want a bond earned company anyway? It felt a little unfair. Not only that, but they didn’t need to think either! They didn’t process stress in the way toons did.
…He was getting jealous of jellyfish. Ugh. The size of the tank even made him feel small and insignificant in comparison.
Finn was less caught off guard this time when he transitioned over to the third memory.
“Hey, Finn!” A cheery voice chirped on his left. Finn instinctively turned his head to look, but quickly realized he had to tilt it down when he was met with nothing. Oh! It was the twins! He smiled back at Razzle’s friendly face and waved at them both. Couldn’t leave Dazzle out! Though he knew the tragedy brother couldn't care less. He didn’t want to participate in their little comedy brainstorming. Let alone play into the puns. Finn still thought he was a pretty nice guy and didn’t want to be disrespectful. Razzle softly patted the spot on the mat next to him, inviting Finn. The fishbowl sat down. Before trying to come up with new jokes, they had one of their usual conversations. How their day was, if there was any gossip, anything new that was going on…
Just like how Razzle dozed off in book club meetings, Dazzle typically slept through these sessions. But he was odd again in this memory. Why was it only him?? Everyone else behaved normally. Finn could feel his gaze on him. It was uncomfortable. He felt vulnerable. Did Dazzle have something to say? Did he do something wrong? He didn’t know how much longer he could keep eye contact with Razzle because he could see the other brother in his peripheral view. Finn soon cut the small talk short and looked at the notebook in front of him. He decided to finally open it. The first page was just completely black. Colored in with crayons. That already made him confused. He made art every now and then, but this was supposed to be his notebook for writing things down! He didn’t touch crayons either. Did he somehow grab the wrong book? It straight up looked like a copy of his on the outside. Maybe it was vandalized! Finn flipped through it in curiosity and worry for the rest of the notebook. With Finn going through them fast enough, the next pages were starting to make an animation. A fish formed in the sea of black. Then, a fishing hook with bait began to lower. Once it stopped in front of the animal’s mouth, the fish snapped forward in an attempt to snag some food. Instead, it got itself caught on the hook. The line was rising and taking the unfortunate thing with it…
“FINN!”
Finn was harshly and abruptly pulled forward.