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Finn was a tough kid.
Many people knew that, even the young adventurer had thought that about himself. Finn and his brother, Jake, being known as the two heroes of Ooo, were used to being asked to go on long-winded and scary adventures to protect their home.
So Finn had an inkling of an idea about why Princess Bubblegum had asked him to meet her in the Candy Kingdom.
Jake wasn't with Finn this time, something about him and Lady Rainicorn and that "we have an important date tonight and pleassee just go on this adventure without me this time bro." Which had led Finn to grab his bag and sword, and start his walk alone towards the kingdom, the big castle peaking out over the cotton-candy trees as he made his way closer to where Bubblegum had asked to meet.
Finn soon walked across the candy bridge and into the candy land that was the kingdom, waving hi to candy citizens as he strolled up to the palace door, telling the banana guards that were at the door that the princess had called for him.
He walked in and saw PB waiting for him in the main room of the castle.
"What's up PB?" he said happily, smiling at her as he walked up.
"Hello Finn! I have an important favor to ask of you." She said, smiling back at the hero.
"Of course! what weirdo do you need me to beat up today pee-dubs?"
"Well I need you to retrieve an important gem from a cave deep in the forest." She started, pulling out a map with a cave on it circled in pink marker.
"I need it to complete an experiment, but it's supposedly guarded by something dangerous. I figured that Ooo's toughest hero would be good for the job."
That's all Finn needed to hear before he was nodding happily and excepting the quest she had given him, running off from the Candy Kingdom now with a photo of the gem and the map, excited to beat up whatever weird monster was guarding the cave.
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Finn had now been walking through this magical forest for around forty minutes, humming a song to himself as he sliced through branches and thorns with his sword as he walked up to a big cave.
"Sick! this must be the cave PB was talking about" he said, checking the ground of it before walking in and grabbing a torch from his backpack, lighting it with a match he had scraped against the stone wall before he continued walking in, sword firmly held in his hand as he went down a dark path.
"Wonder what it would be like if Jake was here." Finn wondered aloud. "Guess hes just gonna miss out on donking up this idiot." he giggled, turning down another path of the stone labyrinth, starting to see crystals jutting out of the walls the further he went.
Finn stopped and knocked a crystal that looked like a kaleidoscope out of the wall, pocketing it as a souvenir for Jake, deciding that the big idiot would like it as a gift to Lady, even though he hadn't come on this adventure, Finn still wanted to bring it to him, and honestly Finn didn't mind being alone on a rare solo-adventure, having time to think and mull over his thoughts was nice.
Soon enough he stumbled into a huge part of the cave, filled with beautiful gems and a huge crystal covered, shiny, and weirdly slimy looking monster under the gem Princess Bubblegum needed, which was currently floating above the sleeping creature.
Finn whispered a "Woaahhh" before tightening his grip he had on the hilt of the sword, snuffing out the flame of his touch before walking in, prepared for a fight.
He stepped in carefully, avoiding lone gems on the floor as he made his way up to the monster, carefully climbing on it and- eww yeah, it was as slimy as it looked Finn found out, screwing up his face as his hands and legs got coated, being cautious not to slip as he made his way towards the gem that floated above him.
Finn made it to the top of the creature, wobbly standing up as he grabbed the gem, smiling until he heard a growl come from the monster he was on, slipping off the thing with a yell as it stood up, leaving Finn to fall flat on his back onto crystals with a agonized groan, feeling his nose starting to bleed as crystals and gems alike from the walls fell onto his body and face due to the rumbling and force of the monster standing up.
Maybe he would've liked it better if Jake had joined him.
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Finn had destroyed the monster on his own, but that didn't mean he wasn't in absolute pain as he trudged home, cuts, bruises, and probably more injuries he didn't even know about resulting in his painful walk. The weird slime from the monster was now coating most of his limbs making him even more uncomfortable.
On the good side of things though, the gem for PB had been secured safely in his backpack, and, even though it was cracked, the crystal he had grabbed for Jake stayed in his pocket somehow, causing him to smile despite he pain as he ran his thumb over the item.
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Soon enough Finn had made it back to the Candy Kingdom, the lights standing out against the dark night sky, limping across the bridge and back to the entrance of the castle, walking in past the banana guards.
"Princess!" he yelled tiredly, looking around as he heard her making her way down to where he was.
"Finn! your back! how was your adventure-" she said as she made her way to him, her voice trailing off when she saw the state he was in, looking at him concerned.
He smiled at her, reaching into his bag and grabbing the gem, handing it to her proudly.
"It was fine, just a stupid monster, but I got your thingy!" he said, coughing a little. She took the gem, holding it carefully while still giving him a sympathetic look.
"Thank you, Finn, really, but do you want to stay at the castle tonight? Or do you want me to call Jake to come get you? I don't think you should be walking around like this." she said, putting the gem in her lab coat's pocket as she eyed his injuries, eyes lingering on deep cuts and his bloody nose.
"Nah man, I can walk home just fine." He said, looking at her face that read "I don't believe you at all"
He sighed, "Really Princess, I'll be okay, nothing that Finn the human can't handle!" He said with a smile, hopefully easing her concerns.
she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Alright fine, but be careful, Okay Finn?" she says soft but stern.
"Of course PB, have fun with your experiment!" he says before turning around and walking back out of the castle and the Candy Kingdom, wincing in pain as he made his way back to the treehouse.
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Soon enough Finn was in front of his house, still in pain but happy to be home, he eagerly walked through the door and into the treasure room. He climbed up the ladder to the living room, seeing Jake cooking in the kitchen right next to it.
"Jake?" he said, walking up behind his brother.
"Finn! what's up man? how was your adventure?" he said, asking many questions at once about the adventure he missed, still not turning around and focusing on the.. soup? At least Finn thought it was soup he was making.
"Y'know, just some weird crystal guy protecting a gem PB needed. I beat that dingus up like crazy though." he said with a smile, tasting a metallic tang in his mouth, presumably from whatever blood had dripped into his mouth.
Dang maybe he got dinged up like crazy.
"Nuts dude! That does sound like a cool adventure! Sorry i couldn't go with you bro." Jake said, stirring some spices into the soup.
"Nah man it's okay- Oh! I got this sick crystal for you to give to Lady!" Finn said as he remembered the crystal in his pocket grabbing it and holding it out to Jake.
"Aww man, you didn't need to do that- Finn!"
"What? do you not like the crystal?" Finn questioned his brother's sudden outburst when he turned around to face the boy.
"No the crystal is great, but dude, you're beat up like crazy! Not cool, man" Jake said, doting on his brother and carefully inspecting his cuts and bruises, taking Finn's hat off.
He inspected the kid's face and the cuts there, moving blonde hair out of the way as he checked over his brother.
"Man- Jake i'm fine, i'm a tough guy! I'll be okay dude, I promise." Finn tried to ease his brother's worries, giving a painful smile to the dog in front of him.
"You're strong but that doesn't mean you can walk around all donked up like that! Sit down, I'll patch you up in a few minutes bro." Jake told the kid, no room for arguments.
Finn just sighed and sat down on the couch, falling back into the plush cushions as Jake finished up whatever soup he was making. And soon enough Jake finished up, bringing a bowl to Finn while he set his down on the table.
"Eat some soup man, I don't need ya passing out on me." Jake said as he stretched across to the bathroom.
The human just rolled his eyes but took a sip anyways, sighing at the warmness.
Yeah he definitely missed Jake.
In less than a minute he saw the dog stretch back into the room, holding a first-aid kit as he said down beside Finn. He looked at the boy with a worried expression, watching as he set the bowl down and turned to face his older brother.
"Dang dude. It looks like you got messed up like crazy! You could've called me." Jake said with a somber voice, starting to wipe away dried blood from cuts, making Finn hiss as he cleaned whatever wounds the boy had.
"I didn't want to mess up your date with Lady. Plus, I handled it anyways!" He said, licking blood from his lip as he talked, closing his eyes when Jake started wiping at a cut on his forehead.
"Man- you're my brother, I would rather you crash a date then have you all dinged up like this. I can replace a date, I can't replace you."
And if Finn had to hold back tears at that, only he would know.
The boy smiled at the dog as he put bandages on the cuts and scrapes he had, making sure to be careful not to hurt his younger brother.
They sat together in a comfortable silence, only making small jokes as Jake finished taking care of his brother, Finn now being wrapped in bandages as well as a big, stupid looking band-aid right the corner of his forehead.
'There you go dude. But be careful the next few days okay? And i'm gonna hold you to that." The dog said sternly but with a smile, picking his bowl of soup up and taking a few big gulps of it,
"Yeah, yeah. Whatver dude, i'll be careful." Finn said with a smile, before yawning and leaning against his brother's side, closing his eyes as he slumped against the dog's warm, yellow fur. Jake smiled and wrapped an arm around Finn, careful to avoid any cuts or bruises.
"Get some sleep dude. I'll be here when you wake up." The dog said in a soft voice, petting his younger brother's hair affectionately as the boy's breathing evened out. Soon, the two fell asleep together on the couch, Finn curled into his brother's side with a protective arm stretched around him.
Finn was a tough kid.
But even though he's tough, that doesn't mean he can't be soft sometimes.