Chapter Text
The treehouse was gone.
For hundreds of years, an inspired seed rose from whence it was planted, limitlessly spreading its arms over the horizon—beckoning the light to help it continue its journey. Yet, it only took mere moments for it to all come tumbling down, crushed under the insurmountable weight of chaos incarnate itself.
Although his brothers had been trying to remain optimistic about the unprecedented situation—arranging plans to negotiate with a forest wizard to revive the fallen tree—Fern couldn’t shake the notion this tragedy was a sign.
What felt as though the last remaining tether to his flesh and blood life was now just as precarious as he himself felt.
There was little left for him now…
The wind shifted against his blades as the hangnail moon’s glow dissipated behind unseen clouds, the grasslands abroad growing silent and still. It was going to rain soon.
Across the way, on a hill where a horse once stood, protruded a tent, its contents ever so precious: two robots, a dog, and a human. His family.
He too had a space to rest under its patchwork canopy, always welcome to join as he so chose.
But tonight, he instead laid by the pond, its ripples and woes lulling him into the contemplative state he found himself swaying in and out of.
It had only been mere days since the fight against Golb. The world as he knew it had just barely begun to heal, many worked long hours repairing that which had been damaged, while others tirelessly looked after those who were injured.
In spite of the others wanting nothing more than to be close to home in these uncertain times, the grass boy couldn’t help but feel the exact opposite.
With the demon who acted as his puppeteer now eradicated, and the chances of being trapped within the Finn Sword again nonexistent, the world had never seemed so open, so free.
“Where would I even go?” he thought aloud as the first few drops of rain pattered down around him.
He couldn’t think of any familiar locations that would welcome him without judgement. The places he once frequented were a part of a life he had to leave behind; and now, he wondered if he’d ever return.
But returning to the same spots was never a burning desire in his green, chlorophyll blood. Instead, he’d always chased the lands less charted. Adventuring had been his greatest passion after all, that didn’t need to stop now.
The rain picked up speed, causing Fern to sit up lest it fall into his eyes. It felt nice as his body absorbed its share—he’d blossom brighter tomorrow.
As he idly drank, the wind’s dance caught his attention. It recklessly whipped south, the trees on the horizon bending to its will.
“South. Such an odd direction to blow.” he mumbled, grabbing hold of his leafy hat as it threatened to fly off.
It was a rare sight to witness rain headed towards the southernmost parts of Ooo—a dry desert and a kingdom of flames had no business with droplets of water or any of the prosperities they brought; and yet, the ferocity at which the sky itself seemed to challenge the borders of where it could go called to him.
It would be a perilous expedition, perhaps a death sentence if he weren’t careful, but, whether it be the unchecked hero complex still lurking within his soul or the pattern of living with reckless abandon, he knew he could survive. Thrive even.
With one last hearty gust, his hat was set free to the wilds beyond, streaks of green-tinted blond cascading into the night with its absence.
…
Finn awoke, not to the typical sounds of birds outside the window and his brother’s muffled singing from the kitchen, but to restlessness.
Through the morning haze he focused his ears—a shuffle here, a thud there. It was as if someone were looking for something, or someone.
In a heartbeat, his mind cleared and he rose to his feet, instinctively trying to summon the grass blade to his palm, but it was no use.
“Oh, right…” he whispered, letting the moment pass as he turned to quickly gather the Night Sword and his bag resting in the corner.
Not a moment later, he was out the door, suppressing a battle cry as he ran towards the perpetrator on the horizon.
The lack of light made it difficult to discern details, especially in the midst of motion, but it was easy to see the no-good thief was roughly his size—hopefully it was just some ding-dong teen on a rebellious streak.
“Yo! Stop right there, thief! This dump belongs to the Merten’s, ya’hears?” the hero called, jumping up onto a fallen branch for the high ground advantage.
The figure amongst the rubble startled, dropping whatever it was in their hands before meeting his eyes and, as he did, the fight dissipated from Finn’s bones.
“Fern? What are you doing over here this early?” He lowered his sword and headed towards his brother who looked both guilty and a bit exasperated.
“Nothing, nothing. It’s nothing. Just, trying to gather some stuff, nothing you’d miss…probably.” the plant explained, quickly grabbing whatever he’d dropped and shoving it in his mossy bag before focusing his attention on a different spot.
“Woah, slow down, I’m not mad, I just wanna know what’s up.”
His opposite didn’t respond immediately, instead continuing to scrap hunt while chewing on what to say next. An old sword here, a piece of gold there, Finn would’ve accused him of robbing them if it weren’t for the fact it was, well, Fern. He held privy to this stuff just as much as the rest of the family.
Finn’s eyes adjusted to the slowly receding darkness that still lingered over the grasslands, taking in his brother’s appearance as he came more into focus.
His first observation was the other’s missing hat, Fern was never one to take it off and had only done so twice—once after nabbing Starchy’s bike, and more recently when he thought he was about to die without the Grass Demon’s influence. His hair ran long, just like his other half’s typically did, and was dotted with an abundance of flower buds, more so than the last time Finn saw it. In fact, his whole appearance seemed healthy.
The boy’s second observation was the apparent sluggishness Fern was fighting against as he worked. The uncharacteristic pep in his step was backlit by what he could only guess was a typical night of turmoil. He was still troubled.
“Yo, do you, like, need any help with whatever it is you’re doing?”
“Hm? Oh, uhm, no. No, I’m good, thanks…” the other paused, contemplation creasing his brows.
“Actually, do you happen to have that group photo we took the other day?”
“Oh for sho’s,”
He quickly took off his bag and shuffled around inside, after a moment he felt what he was looking for and produced a mini polaroid printed by BMO. The photo captured the hours following Golb’s defeat, he, Jake, and Fern were front and center, each with smiles adoring their faces that contrasted the fresh cuts and bruises scattered across their bodies. PB, Marceline, and Simon were behind them, Marcy’s left arm sat protective around her, slightly disheveled looking, father figure while her right hand made bunny ears behind her girlfriend. The photo wasn’t the greatest, it was slightly blurry and everyone just barely fit into frame, but it was a light in the dark, a reminder of the good that persisted even when all seemed lost.
The blond hopped off his perch and handed it over, “Here ya go, whatcha need that for?”
Fern’s eyes shifted, clearly wanting to avoid the topic of whatever it was he was doing just before dawn, “Well…it’s complicated…”
“Phsst, whatever it is, it can’t be nearly as complicated as the junk I-, we, have been through in the past. Lay it on me, dude”
Finn took a step back and sat on a log, patting the area next to him to him in an open invitation. Fern blinked twice before making his way over for a seat, shoulders tense and eyes still avoidant.
A gentle morning breeze began, causing Fern’s hair to flow. He seemed to take notice of this and found his voice to comment, “You see my hair? I don’t want to be like that. I want to be like my hat.”
“Your hat? Where is it anyways?”
“Dunno, it blew away last night in the rainstorm.”
A moment passed. Finn wondered what Fern could’ve been up to in the seemingly unfavorable weather conditions while the rest of them slept, blissfully unaware of his absence. Perhaps he wouldn’t have wanted others with him even if they had woken, he’d always been more of a lonewolf than his kin, but Finn was no stranger to long nights filled with unfiltered thoughts, there was nothing more debilitating. He’d do his best to focus on the adventures the next day would bring, but horrors old and new could break their ways free from the vault more easily in those dark hours, leaving him chained and trapped. All he wanted to do in those moments was—
“Ah, I see. So you wanna get outta this funky junk? Fly away like your hat and not be rooted like your hair?”
The other turned to face him properly, mouth slightly agape and eyes wide. The shock disappeared as quickly as it came however, and a small laugh escaped his throat.
“I don’t know why I didn’t think you’d understand, we have the same jacked-up brain after all.” Fern teased, to which Finn chuckled and lightly elbowed him in the side.
“If I’d known this think-machine was gonna be a two for one deal I’d have taken better care of it, you don’t deserve all the junk I’ve inadvertently put you through.”
“Nahhh, if anything, you don’t deserve all the junk I’ve inadvertently put you through. You’re the newer me after all. I was always the problem child.” Following his words, Fern raised an invisible glass in a toast before pretending to spill it onto the ground.
Finn snorted before gasping abruptly, “Wait, doesn’t that mean I’m the younger brother?! Aw man, I was totally priding myself on no longer being the baby of the group!”
Fern let out a hearty laugh at this, patting his younger brother’s back while the other sulked with crocodile tears forming in his eyes.
“I’ll add it to my list of all the times I betrayed you. Wasn’t expecting it to get any longer, but I guess that’s a train that keeps on chugging.”
Finn’s head cocked as his mouth downturned. “You’re all good, bro. I don’t hold it against you. We’ve both got things we have to work through, but that doesn’t make us any less heroic.”
“Yeah…I suppose so.” Fern drawled after a beat, his gaze wandering to the picturesque sight in front of them—it was a new dawn in the land of Ooo.
The sun rose steadily into the waiting sky, casting a radiant glow of oranges and reds that valiantly fought off the blues and purples of the night. It was a sight he’d seen many times before, but it never got old. How lucky it is that he and his family are to see a new day after all they’ve been through.
Turning his attention back to Fern, he noticed several of his flowers opening their petals at first light, brilliant baby blues and pastel yellows making their presences known. The swordsman wondered what having flowers growing out of him would feel like, and not a moment later, his passing question was all but answered as his double shook like a dog—it must be itchy, at least in the morning.
“Sooo, what you were doing all the way over here…you never really answered me earlier.” Finn started, slapping his hands on his knees.
Fern’s tail twitched and curled apprehensively by his side, it appeared as if he were searching for a way to escape the situation, but before the other could speak again he finally let out a breathy sigh.
“Look, I need you to hear me out before cutting me off and telling me I’ve gone completely crazy town banana pants.”
Finn simply nodded, trying to keep his thoughts open-minded.
The grass boy returned the nod, tail unfurling a little. “Okay, this is probably all sorts of selfish, but ever since that dank demon was slain I've been having these mad impulses to go see the world, reconnect with nature, and maybe find myself or some poetic buiss—I don’t really know.”
He stopped and clapped his hands together in front of his face before heaving another sigh. “I know I should be helping rebuild the world I had a part in destroying, but…augh, what’s the point in trying to think of a ‘but,’ there’s no excuse for this.”
His demeanor was frail and compromised, gone were the days of confidence his time as the Green Knight provided.
Without thinking, Finn leaned over and rested his head on his brother’s shoulder—physical contact always seemed to be the greatest medicine when it came to quickly reeling Fern in from his spiraling thoughts.
“I get it, dude. I really do. You’re free now, unchained from all the junk that locked you down the entire time you’ve been a separate being,” he sat up, twisting the other and placing both his hands on his shoulders. “While you may think it’s an inconvenient time to be feeling all this freedom coursing through your veins, I couldn't disagree more!”
Fern’s brow rose, eyes lighting up at the realization he wasn’t about to be dismissed once again for his desires.
“I…whaaat?”
Finn’s hands started flailing excitedly as he spoke, “Think about it, bro-bro, it’s like when you’re playing one of the games on BMO, after you defeat the final boss sometimes there’s quests to do afterwards, you get to see the all the stuff going on while the world is both at peace but also still fractured as it adjusts. I think that might be happening in the real world now, everyone is kind of in some weird middle ground, so it’s as good a-time as ever to go meet new peeps, give ‘em a kind new face to help make things easier, y’knows? Take advantage of the changing times.”
Nerdy logic be damned, Finn felt as if he nailed that pep talk, his eyes closed and fist raised slightly in pride—leading him to miss the puzzled look that befell Fern’s face.
It didn’t stay for long though, hope gradually snaked its way over his features as he processed all that was said, just in time for Finn to see.
“There’s the look I’ve been waiting for! Glad to see ya smiling again!”
The other just rolled his eyes lightheartedly, tail finally falling limp and relaxed.
“Thanks, man. I’m glad you’re not upset. I do wish I could help y’all’s with the cleanup, but I doubt even if I stayed I’d get much done with how deep I’ve been sinking into my chrome dome lately.”
“No probs, bobs. And we’ve got the whole Candy Kingdom on clean up duty, the least we could all do is take one for you like you’ve taken so much for us.”
“Finn, I don’t think I took a single anything for you guys, I was like, evil, remember?”
“Nah, just misguided and possessed, there’s a big difference, my mans.”
Fern once again looked burdened with confusion, a look that Finn was tired of seeing on his face. Everything came with a caveat when it came to him, there never just was a good thing, and as such, he could never stay happy for long, it hurt to see.
“Alright, you're making me do this the hard way.” Finn suddenly spoke, standing up and briskly pointing down at this doppelgänger.
“Fern Merten’s, I hereby banish you from the treehouse—uhh, the rumble that once was the treehouse, until you come back with an epic tale to tell, ya’s hears mes?”
Fern blinked before nodding skeptically, fingers rhythmically tapping along the log.
“The only exceptions to this rule are weekends and holidays and every weekday ending in the letter ‘Y,’ and Talk Like a Pirate Tuesdays, and when Marcy and PB come to visit, and when you’re feeling sad—kapeesh?”
The other nodded again, this time with more vigor
“That’s what I’m talking about! Now, let’s go wake the others and get yourself all packed and ready!”
Before the grass boy could protest in any manner, Finn yoinked his arm and began running towards the tent. While his journey had come to a close for now, he couldn’t hide the excitement he felt over his brother just starting his, he truly was part of the family, an adventurer by blood.