Adventure Time Rebellion: Fight for the Throne

Chapter 45: Artistic Masterpiece (1)

"Look at this and this and this... Oh Lady, there's this thing here," Jake said with a goofy grin, waving a small blue gift in his paw as he stood knee-deep in the chaos of colorfully wrapped presents. His wife glanced at the item with polite curiosity, clearly used to his antics by now.

The dog and his wife stood in the middle of a wild mess—thousands of gifts, big and small, extravagant and handmade, all tossed around the Treehouse in no particular order. Some were stacked neatly in corners, others had burst open mid-pile, spilling glitter, ribbons, and candy onto the floor like some kind of festive explosion.

These weren't ordinary gifts. They were tokens of gratitude, celebration, and admiration from across the Kingdoms of Ooo, offered in honor of Finn's return. His sudden reappearance had shaken the world to its core, stirring awe, fear, and even reverence in places where his name had become more myth than memory.

Still, not everyone gave something. In truth, many couldn't afford to. The average citizen in most kingdoms struggled with day-to-day living, barely scraping by. Yet, despite that, the mountain of gifts stood tall—a symbol of just how deeply his presence still resonated, even among the poorest.

And yet, Finn didn't care. Not even a glance. To him, the towering piles of offerings were just clutter, distractions he couldn't afford to waste time on.

Because he had something more important to do.

It was time to visit the Fire Kingdom.

Compared to the openness and transparency of the Candy Kingdom, the Fire Kingdom was a different beast entirely. Shrouded in mystery, closed off from outsiders, and fiercely traditional, it followed its own rigid customs—customs it refused to share, even with long-standing allies. It was a land of burning secrets and buried truths.

By mid-afternoon, Finn had already set his sights on it. His mind was locked on the Fire Lands, the brutal, ever-burning terrain that surrounded the Fire Kingdom like a molten moat.

And here's where most people got confused: the Fire Lands and the Fire Kingdom weren't the same.

The Fire Lands were vast—an immense expanse of scorched earth and magma rivers, forged in some ancient calamity that shaped the landscape into a near-perfect circle. It was a blistering wasteland of rock and fire that seemed to go on forever.

The Fire Kingdom, though? That was the crown jewel nestled at the very heart of that inferno. A massive city-fortress, thick with residents who had adapted to the heat and lived in towering spires that shimmered like glass under the flames. While other settlements existed throughout the Fire Lands, none rivaled the sheer scale and influence of the central kingdom.

The distance between the outer rim of the Fire Lands and the Fire Kingdom itself was roughly 800 kilometers—a punishing trek even under ideal conditions.

And Finn had no illusions about it. He knew what that distance meant. He'd barely survived the desert ordeal not long ago, and the thought of another long, draining journey made his muscles ache just thinking about it.

Worse yet, he had once believed that the Fire Queen's palace on the edge of the Fire Lands would save him the trouble. But that was a trap of assumption. What he had seen before was only one of her seasonal palaces—a summer retreat of all things. Which raised the question: why would someone in a kingdom that never cooled down need a summer palace?

Still, the truth was clear. If he wanted to see her, if he wanted to carry out the next phase of his plan, he'd have to reach the main palace. And that meant covering every last one of those 800 kilometers.

He needed a way to get there. Fast.

Spending LIB coins wasn't an option. Healing Sika and those two reckless flights had already drained his resources. He had to be smart now.

That left one solid option: Princess Bubblegum.

She was the only one who had something powerful enough—the super ship that had once cut across a longer route in just four hours. That ship could cut through anything, and if it still worked, it was his best bet.

He had hoped to give her more time. Let her stew a little. Let the absence make her hunger for him build into something sweeter.

But survival came first. And right now, he needed speed.

So he made his way to her castle.

The moment the candy people saw him, chaos erupted. Cheers turned to obsession, and obsession turned into pursuit. They mobbed him, overwhelmed him, tried to grab at him like he was some kind of miracle they couldn't let slip away again.

He barely escaped with his clothes intact, bolting through the manic crowds until he slipped into the Royal Pink Palace and slammed the door behind him, finally catching a breath.

He didn't find the princess in her room, which wasn't a surprise—someone like her rarely stayed idle. But time was short, and he couldn't afford to wait around. Without hesitation, he turned and made his way toward the lab.

The hallways of the Royal Pink Palace were pristine and oddly quiet, the kind of silence that made his boots sound louder than they should've. As he approached the main research wing, he rounded a corner and nearly collided with a familiar, stubby figure moving in the opposite direction.

"Whoa—!" the red-striped candy dwarf stumbled back, blinking up at him with wide eyes. "Finn?!"

It was Peppermint Butler, and the moment recognition hit, the little servant's entire face lit up. Without thinking, he sprinted forward on his tiny legs and threw his arms around Finn's lower body in a tight embrace.

"Oh Finn, I can't believe it, really. You know how sad I was for you, man," he cried, voice trembling with uncharacteristic emotion. The usual calm, cryptic butler was nowhere to be seen—this was someone who had clearly missed him.

"Peppermint... let go of my knees, man, this is weird," Finn muttered, trying not to stumble as the small arms clung to him.

"Oh hehe, sorry. I can't reach anything higher," Peppermint Butler laughed nervously, scratching his head with a sheepish grin, clearly embarrassed by the not-so-subtle reminder of his stature.

"Where's PB?" Finn asked, cutting to the point.

"Oh, she's in the lab. I just left her. She's working on something important. Please don't disturb her, Fi—"

But Finn was already walking past him, eyes set and shoulders squared. He didn't need the rest of the sentence. There were few things more important than what he had to deal with right now.