-Legacy-

(2 weeks after Elodeus' defeat)

The merry chirping of birds filled the early morning air, adding to the sense of new beginning along with the pink sunrise. A gentle wind blew through the land, offering a pleasant breeze to aid in waking up. For some it was the time of day to attempt preparing for the routine activities of their lives, but for others, it was the time to begin an altogether different task.

Flame Princess streaked across the grasslands, aiming to make her way past the once more rolling green hills and simple yet serene terrain. She'd already made a stop earlier, but now it was time to make it in time for her next goal. Soon, a shade of deep blue emerged on the horizon, signalling to the fiery girl that her destination was near.

She saw the docks settled in on the edge of the beach, the cargo yet to be loaded, the numerous banana guards struggling to carry it aboard. And through it all, she spotted a human standing at the bow of the wooden ship, awaiting its departure. He was staring out into the distance, as if trying to see an island or such from the deck of the vessel.

FP silently landed on the floor, trying hard not to burn the material beneath her feet. She gazed at the boy for a moment, then carefully make her way over to him, stopping a short distance away. He looked so lost in thought that she almost didn't want to interrupt him. But then again, this was important.

"Finn."

The young hero didn't quite jump, but was clearly surprised by her sudden voice. He spun around, making sure it wasn't just his imagination. Sure enough, Flame Princess was standing there, a nervous look on her face while her head hung down slightly as her hands were held in front of her. Finn grinned.

"Wow, you sure can sneak. I knew the dungeon stuff would kick in one day."

He chuckled at the joke, as did FP, but only with a fraction of the enthusiasm that boy did. Finn noticed this, instantly toning his expression down to a frown.

"Are- are you ok?"

Suddenly, the fire elemental's hair surged with fiery energy. Her eyes were set into a glare.

"Ok? OK!? Of course not, you idiot!"

She got up close and grabbed the human's collar. She had by now gotten used to the fact that Finn's clothes were now imbued with the same power as he was.

"How do you think I feel? You're... you're leaving!"

Her anger instantly began to fade, replaced by sadness. She released Finn from her grip, then sighed and turned away from hm. The young hero watched silently as she studied something in her hands.

"I'll miss you."

Finn came up and placed his arms around the girl, giving her a hug from behind.

"And I'll miss you."

Flame Princess looked up, eyeing the ocean just as the boy had been doing earlier.

"Do you really have to go?" she asked with a slight whimper.

Finn squeezed her tightly.

"Yeah. It's important."

He joined her in gazing at the water, as it reflected the morning sunlight.

"Somewhere out there, more humans could be running around. I want to find them, and learn all I can. So I'll search, step by step."

He placed his chin on FP's shoulder.

"And don't worry, I'll stop by after every continent or so to say hi to everyone."

Flame Princess finally turned around, loosening Finn's grasp to do so. She stared into his eyes with hers, which displayed longing and apprehension. The fire elemental then held up her hands, displaying a beautiful little cherry blossom in her glowing palms. The young hero smiled warmly at it.

"I hope it never stops making these," he said thoughtfully.

The two silently shared their flower, spending their last moments together for what would probably be a long time. Unfortunately, someone decided to interrupt.

"Finn!"

The couple turned, seeing a stretched-out Jake stomping across the ground towards the docks. Once in range, he shrunk down and tackled his sibling to the floor, causing the boy to laugh.

"Dude, are you crying?" Finn asked as he heard some sniffles from his bro.

Jake let him go and stood up wiping something from under his eye.

'N-no, I'm just... sad, man."

He frowned at the young hero.

"You'll be gone who knows how long, and all by yourself. What if some crazy biz happens and a whale eats you!?"

Finn rolled his eyes with a smirk on his face, while his bro continued to hold his worried expression.

"Chill out, Jake. Nothing bad is gonna happen to me. I'm super tough, remember?"

The magical dog pouted.

"You're not one-hundo tough, man. I bet stomach acid will get you if you're in long enough."

The human was just about to give up, sighing with hopelessness. Luckily for him, his lady stepped forward and knelt down to his sibling, smiling.

"Relax, Jake. Finn knows to be careful. Besides, if he doesn't come back just as he left..."

A fiery aura engulfed her as she turned only her head to stare menacingly at the hero.

"He'll be hearing from me."

Finn gulped while wearing features of absolute fear.

"I got it," he stuttered, forcing through a smile.

Flame Princess smirked, then stood back up.

"Not just her!"

All eyes darted into the sky, spotting the definite shape of the Morrow closing in. A moment later, Princess bubblegum leapt down to the deck, brushing off her dress and walking up to the gathered three. She smiled thoughtfully.

"You're sure about not bringing anything else along, Finn?"

The hero nodded adamantly.

"Yep. No need to freak peeps out with crazy technology that my species hasn't had in a while."

PB shrugged, somewhat seeing his point. She then reached into a pocket and drew out a roll of charts.

"Here's all we have on the surrounding oceans of Ooo. I hope they'll help."

Finn smiled with delight as he accepted the maps.

"Awesome! Thanks, Prubs."

The pink monarch returned the gesture thoughtfully, knowing like the others that it might be a while.

"Hang on there, weenie."

Marceline materialized a second later on the upper mast, having apparently been lounging there for a significant amount of time. The vampire swiftly floated down to the deck, pulling up her sun hat to see better.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Marcy," Finn smirked.

The bassist raised an eyebrow and gave a mischievous grin.

"You knew I was there?"

The human threw her a cocky expression.

"Heck yeah. I've grown a sixth sense on that jazz. Kinda like Jake. He starts shivering when you're around."

The magical dog's cheeks turned red as the others all chuckled at his embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah, lay it on the old dog. I see how it is."

Finn walked over and grinded his fist playfully into his brother's noggin while holding him in a headlock. The three royals shook their heads as they smiled at the siblings' antics. Once Jake and his little bro stopped laughing, they returned to simply standing there, until Finn let out a sigh.

"Well, I guess it's time. Shame that Ice King and Susan couldn't say bye."

Jake folded his arms.

"That toot is probably taking advantage of you leaving to go snatch another princess. Don't worry buddy, I'll wonk him for you."

The boy chuckled.

"Not too hard though, remember he did help save the world."

PB stepped forward.

"Susan has a long ways to travel from her home to get here. I can't blame her for not wanting to make the trip."

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, that's true. Hey, Jake, can you give her a hug for me?"

The yellow dog suddenly grew paler.

"Uh, I kinda don't want to be crushed to death."

The human shrugged.

"Oh well, I tried."

The wind began to pick up, slightly tilting the ship back and forth. Jake frowned.

"You sure you'll be ok with the ocean and all?"

The young hero nodded.

"Totally."

He poked his head.

"When Duo was messing with my brains she turned off my fears so that I would be a better leader."

The group understood, surprised at the development.

"Well that's cool," Jake stated, almost enviously.

His brother then walked over to a nearby barrel, picking up and sliding on his jacket. His friends watched thoughtfully.

"It's great that you got to keep that," FP stated.

Finn pulled his hat over his head and pulled the ends of the collar, settling the protective clothing on his shoulders. He smiled.

"Yeah. It's all we have left to prove the Arcs really existed."

The jacket was still torn and dirty in some spots from when Finn was fighting Flame Princess, but he didn't mind. The more scars it had, the stronger the memory of the event. The grey shirt, while a bit gloomy, was no less important to him. The circle upon it was dim and faded, almost blending into the fabric, but remained a testament to his alter ego. Peebles walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You know, maybe you can still be First Arc."

The boy tilted his head curiously.

"Think about it. If you find other humans, they'll likely be nomads and wanderers. They'll need a guide who is strong, dedicated, and kind. Finn, you may yet carry the mantle of a great leader."

She patted the embroidered circle. Finn thought carefully about her words, as he studied the faces of his smiling friends. eventually, he smiled too.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm still just a kid, but maybe this traveling will help me grow up more. By the time I'm back, I might be good enough to lead a whole bunch of people!"

His enthusiasm was contagious as the group chuckled at his spirit. Jake grinned and quickly gave FP a nudge so as to avoid a burn.

"Maybe good enough to be a king, huh?"

The fiery girl blushed profusely, looking away and trying to avoid everyone's teasing gaze. Finn chuckled as well, but shared his lady's bright red complexion.

"Heh, ok, dude, let's not get carried away."

Marceline snapped her fingers.

"Oh yeah, one more thing before you go."

She reached behind to where her ax bass was normally strapped, but instead drew out a rather large dark red sword. Its crossguard contained a rather demonic looking eye design, along with an inscription written in runes. The handle was wrapped in black cloth, cross-hatched for better grip. Finn's eyes grew wide as she handed the weapon to him.

"Holy stuff! Where did you get this?"

The vampire triumphantly folded her arms.

"I asked dad to help me make it. We've been working on it for a few months now."

The young hero marveled at the blade as he studied every inch of its design. He stopped at the inscription.

"So, what does this say?" he asked, pointing to the etchings.

Marcy rolled her eyes.

"Dad never changes. It's a chant that he hoped you'd accidentally say that would suck out your soul."

She shrugged.

"Sorry, but he said he wouldn't make the thing in the first place unless I let him put that in."

She leaned in close, smirking.

"What he doesn't know is that you can't read demon runes."

She winked, earning a grin from her mortal friend. The human came forward and hugged her unexpectedly.

"You're rad, Marcy. Thanks so much."

The vampire was a bit flustered but gave in and patted the boy on the back.

"Yeah, ok, weenie. Come on, I've got a rep to keep."

Finn backed away, sliding the sword into his pack. he noticed the banana guards had finished loading all of his supplies for the trip. The team of candy soldiers saluted both him and Princess Bubblegum before making haste for the Candy Kingdom. Once they were out of sight, everyone turned to face the open ocean, in wonder of what lay beyond its waters.

"Looks like it's time," Finn mused.

Jake stretched out his arms and gave his brother one last constricting hug. PB did the same, albeit much softer, then the two backed away to let Flame Princess have her moment with the young hero. The teens took each others hands, wishing the feeling wouldn't have to go away. Slowly, they leaned in and shared one last kiss, thinking the fuzzies from it would last the entire time Finn was gone.

It was followed up by a gentle embrace, with them closing their eyes and focusing on one another's heartbeat.

"Be safe."

"I will. Promise."

With that, the two gradually stepped away from each other, until their interlaced fingers finally separated. FP, Peebles, Marcy, and Jake walked off the deck and onto the dock, whereupon Finn retracted the gangplank and pulled in the anchor. The ship started moving immediately, seeing as a wind had stirred up.

The human watched as his beloved companions waved from afar, as his own shape was surely shrinking in the distance. Even though he was leaving, a smile was the only expression he could come up with for that moment, as he waved back just the same. Ooo was soon nothing but a line on the horizon, with nothing but open sea ahead. Knowing it was time to begin, Finn finally turned away from the direction of his home, walking up to the helm and taking hold of the wheel.

Throughout everything, the entire ordeal of Elodeus and the Arcs, he had gained so much. Not just self-growth, or power, or even his beloved fire elemental, but also knowledge; the fact that there were others of his kind still out there, perhaps even waiting for a savior or simply a friend. It was his responsibility now to find out for sure. Humanity had caused a great deal of damage to the world, but the Arcs had proven that the species was desperate to redeem themselves.

Finn's eyes were glued to the ocean's rim, suddenly causing him to frown. It was then that he realized just how isolated he would be for the upcoming weeks. There was no way of knowing how long it would be until he reached land, much less intelligent life. He sighed, now quite disappointed.

Alone. Not the best feeling.

Before he could fall to sulking, the young hero felt the slightest sensation on his shoulder. Looking over, he was shocked to find a near transparent image of Duo standing next to him, smiling gently with her caramel eyes. A similar feeling came from his other shoulder, where he found a vision of Tres smiling as well. Soon enough, the rest of the Arcs appeared beside him, all giving the boy their warmest expression of company as the ship continued its path through the waters.

Finn studied the humans intently, until Duo and Tres' hands slipped off his shoulders and the group began to disappear. The hero watched as they finally vanished, leaving him stunned and amazed. He stood there motionless for a few moments, until he found the sense to place his hand on his shirt. Surprisingly, the faded circle that was embroidered into it briefly flashed blue, then returned to its normal, uneventful state. At last, the hero smiled, looking back up to the horizon with renewed confidence.

No. I'm never alone. I have my people beside me, always.

He pulled a small photo from his jacket pocket, admiring it with a heartfelt grin. It depicted himself, Jake, PB, Flame Princess, Ice King, Susan, and many other inhabitants of Ooo as they stood on the newly restored grasslands, celebrating. A tear fell down the boy's cheek, forcing him to wipe it away and put the picture back.

And I'll always have my friends and family.

The skies were clear as Finn's ship sailed on, towards unknown frontiers. As it did, the young hero glanced at the cherry blossom he'd placed in a jar, smiling at it's beauty and significance.

Human, fire elemental, candy person. When we all come together, it doesn't really matter what our race is.

We're all just simply...

...Earthlings.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, I've been really busy with other things. Now, for that bombshell I promised. I'm quite the psychology person, especially when it comes to speech and writing. So, just for fun, I created this second profile to see if I could pass off as a new writer. I have to say, it's been awesome, I got a lot of positive feedback and I thank you all for that. All I can say is, I hope you're not upset. If you are, then my humblest apologies. As for who I really am, I'll leave that up to you guys.

I hope you enjoyed this story and thank you for all the reviews, support, and well-worth experience that has come from it.

Fleightfire: Thanks, I'd feel happy for them too.

DJ Rodriguez: And thank you for giving your two cents on every chapter of it. It really helped.

Fiery Crusader: I hope so too.

TeamOfOne: I am grateful for the kind words.

I am The7: Probably nothing more for this. I figured it'd be best as a stand-alone.

TheMentalAdventurer: I will definitely write more...well, not under this name, heh heh.

invisibleredhead: Sorry, I know I should've worked a bit harder to get it up. I get lazy sometimes.