Chapter Text
Fern put his hand over his eyes to pretend the sun bothered him. He saw Finn doing the same beside him and wanted to appear genuinely concerned about the situation.
They were on their way to a desolate dungeon.
That morning, Princess Bubblegum had warned about a possible threat in a dungeon, where the forest ended and the beach began. Fern still disliked the beach; Finn had overcome that fear, but Fern hadn't.
Jake had caught a slight cold and refused to go. Finn took advantage of this and insisted Fern accompany him. In the end, Fern reluctantly agreed because, although he loved spending time with Neptr, Jake intimidated him with his poorly disguised looks of disdain.
Along the way, the grass demon hadn't spoken much, he rarely felt like it, and whenever he did have something to say, it was always the wrong thing to say. Finn, in turn, had filled the silence, talking about how happy he was to have Fern by his side and to be able to share experiences that would bring them closer.
Fern still didn't like it when he spoke of his affection for him. He didn't think he deserved it after having tried to kill him a few weeks ago, when he locked him in a dungeon and almost stabbed him in the stomach. The worst part was that he didn't feel bad about having tried, but about having failed.
A rage surged through him, and when he awoke, Finn was waiting for him, alive, while he lay defeated on the ground. He didn't want to feel grateful, he had stolen his life and then tried to play the hero. It was unfair.
The anger returned to him in waves at the memory; the frustration and unease in his chest were old friends of his. It snaked its way from the pit of his stomach to his throat, only stopping when it hurt itself or others.
Just as he was about to tell Finn to shut up, Finn stopped dead in his tracks, causing the other blond to bump into him and fall on his butt.
"It's here!" Finn said, oblivious to what he'd done, too focused on the holographic map projected onto his arm. Fern's face burned, but he tried to ignore it.
"This place doesn't look like a dungeon..." Fern said, observing the stream in front of him.
"That's because it's under the stream." A voice sounded behind them. They both jumped at the sound of the newcomer and spun around, Finn letting out a shriek that nearly deafened Fern.
Behind them was Huntress Wizard, perched upside down on a tree trunk like a spider. She slid down swiftly and stood upright, grinning.
“What’s up?” she greeted.
Finn smiled, happy to see her, and went to hug her. She didn’t hug him back, but she didn’t seem uncomfortable. Fern looked away, feeling like she shouldn’t be there.
“What are you guys doing here?” she asked when Finn pulled away. He explained the situation a bit. “According to Bonnie, there are humanoids remains made of mold here, and they’re believed to be cursed since several of them attacked the Banana Guards in strange ways when they were trying to escape the Bubblegum War. They even left strange wounds on the Guards’ bodies.”
He fiddled with a couple of things on his robotic arm, and a pink hologram appeared with several images. Fern had seen them before; they were unpleasant. The banana peels wrinkled and flaked, and at the tips, they cracked and broke like dry grass.
Fern was a little scared; he didn't know if it was infectious or if it only attacked plants.
"Well, looks like a work of three huntresses." she commented upon seeing the images. "We'll destroy those vile beasts and get that antidote."
"That's the spirit, Hun!" Finn replied excitedly.
Fern tried not to sound too much of a killjoy, "But how do we get in?"
The other two present looked at him and pondered.
"Could we... just dive down and find the route by swimming?" Finn suggested.
With that, Finn dropped his backpack to the ground and dove into the water without hesitation. For a second, Fern feared he might break something since the stream didn't seem very deep or fast-flowing.
Several minutes passed, and no air bubbles rose from the stream, perhaps he had hurt himself.
Huntress approached him from behind. “Are you worried?”
“Worried about what?” Fern asked.
“Finn,” she replied. The blond boy didn't want to answer that question; there wasn't a clear answer. He wished he would drown, but he also felt a certain concern born of the empathy he couldn't shake. He didn't remember ever feeling so conflicted, and this angered him again.
He growled and turned to confront the wizard for interfering, but just then Finn appeared.
“I found him!” he roared with joy. Better to focus on the hero's return than start a stupid fight, he thought. Finn emerged from the water, soaked from head to toe, and went to pick up his backpack lying to one side. He took out his phone and two short books, hid them among some bushes, and went back to them. “I'd rather they didn't get wet.” he explained.
HW checked his layers of clothing, and Fern waited. He had no valuables that could be damaged; he had nothing to lose or break.
Once ready, Finn led the way, plunging back into the water. Huntress followed without hesitation. The blond man stared at the sloping water, wondering if he really wanted to go in there with the two of them alone. He could leave them alone; it would be a better plan. They probably didn't even need him.
He took a few steps back, ready to leave, but noticed the books Finn had decided to safeguard: Dream Journal of a Boring Man, Vol. 5 and Poisonous Plants and How to Approach.
His mind went blank. He ran back to the stream and jumped in, trying not to think about what it meant for Finn to keep those books. He'd been reading the first one a couple of days ago, and Finn had taken it with him on his adventures.
He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to. He tried to concentrate on swimming against the current. Once submerged, the water was incredibly deep, and small freshwater fish swarmed around him, ignoring him. He searched for a possible entrance that might resemble a dungeon, but found nothing of the sort, only sand, some jewels, and aquatic animals.
Suddenly, he felt something grab his arm and pull him hard. Without fighting back, he was dragged into a small hole in the escarpment of the stream.
He was pulled into a deep burrow. Terrified, he tried to get away, but it was impossible. Whatever was pulling him was too strong, making it impossible to go against the current. Eventually, it dragged him so deep that he couldn't see the way out.
Abruptly, he was out of the water, and something was pressing down on his stomach. When he opened his eyes, Huntress Wizard was on top of him, her knee pressing uncomfortably.
"You were taking a long time," she explained when she saw Fern looking at her doubtfully.
"Okay, but you're still crushing me." He answered. She looked down at where her knee was digging into his ribs and pulled it away. As he sat up, she extended her hand to help him to his feet.
Fern took it and sat up as well. He kept his hand connected to hers longer than he was comfortable with and then pulled away, avoiding her gaze and focusing on his surroundings.
They were old catacombs with a smell of decay and dampness. The stones that made up the walls looked worn and covered in greenish moss, as if this place had once been submerged. Behind him was a small puddle, he deduced that the exit was somewhere in there.
Finn was on the other side of the room, between two large oak doors, swollen with dampness. Plants and mushrooms grew freely on them.
She approached him. “So, which way do we go?” Fern asked.
“Oh, well, I thought you could help! Do you have some connection with plants, so maybe they can guide us?” She smiled as if it were a great idea.
“No,” he answered without even thinking much about it.
“Oh, well…” Finn’s smile vanished instantly. Fern would be lying if he said he enjoyed this.
“Try it.” Huntress said from behind him. Fern was starting to get irritated that she was there too. Even so, she touched his shoulder to encourage him.
He sighed "...okay."
Fern approached the piece that took up most of the door and abruptly pulled his hand away, as if it were burning him.