Howdy. This is my first venture into the world of writing fanfic. The impetus came from my love of the series, though I stopped around season 5. I tuned in for the finale and if I were being completely honest I felt a little empty after viewing it. So here we are, as I try to tackle some of the issues I personally had with the ending. I should note that since the last time I properly watched AT was season 5 I maybe be misinformed in some areas, though I do try to wiki dive for information feel free to point out any inaccuracies or things I just flat out got wrong.

Journey After The Destination

It was a calm day in the land of Ooo, it's inhabitants winding down from the invasion of Golb and relishing in the peaceful days that followed his, or rather her, departure. Marceline in particular was quite jovial having just finished a date with Bubblegum. All that was left was to figure out how to finish her day.

"I wonder what hero boy's been up to." She settled on hanging with Finn and Jake. A good idea considering they would be leaving soon to group with the Humans and aid them in their integration into the land of Ooo.

There was no telling how long he would be gone, perhaps the humans would colonize far from the reaches of the candy kingdom. What if Finn decided he liked the humans, enough to stay with them for the rest of his life and abandon his old friends?

"Nah. That kid's gonna get bored in a month, two tops. He'll come back to us" Marceline reassured herself. The idea still left her feeling sad, however. Finn may not have been there for even a fraction of her life but the impact he had on the Vampire Queen and all of Ooo was massive considering the short time he had spent in the world. Imagining a scenario where Finn was absent didn't sit right with her, it made her feel empty. Marceline tried her best to shake off these thoughts as she arrived at where the tree fort once stood.

She floated in noticing Jake sifting a bunch of luggage but no Finn. "Yo Jake, where's-" She was cut off by a shriek.

"AAAIIIIIEEEEeeeesh, will you quit scarin me like that?" Due to Marceline's silent floating Jake hadn't even noticed the intrusion prior to her call out.

"Dude I wasn't even trying to, you're just a pansy" she stifled a giggle to avoid annoying Jake any further.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. And for your information I haven't seen my bro since the morning. He was looking kinda messed up, but not in like the super sad way. More in the 'I got a lot occupying my mind space and I need to try and sort all this junk out' kinda way" Jake said as he rubbed his temples and closed his eyes trying to emulate someone under heavy concentration.

"Uhuh...Any idea where he went?" Marceline was only slightly concerned, after all that had happened it would be stranger if Finn wasn't troubled.

"You know Finn, he never really knows where he's goin, just that he's goin" Jake shrugged.

"Okay, well I'm gonna try and find the little guy. Catch ya later" She waved as she made her exit. "Good luck!" could be heard in the distance as Marceline left to begin her search.

Her journey would end atop Mt. Cragdor, where she found a young boy trapped in contemplation under the moon's glow. This time Marceline would intentionally scare her target. She crept behind him and morphed into her enlarged bat form before roaring her mightiest roar. It shook the ground around them startling any nearby wildlife, not Finn though.

"Sup Marceline" Finn's voice was monotone.

His response was flaccid to say the least. "Well you're no fun" she said with a pout.

"Sorry" the human's indifference was unfaltering.

The short responses annoyed her, mostly because she didn't like seeing Finn so apathetic. "You okay dude? You seem...out of it" she morphed back and sat next to him, opting not to float. Given the tone it simply didn't feel right.

"Not really" he made no attempt to hide his current mood which caught Marceline off guard. What's gotten into him? the vampire thought, she wasn't prepared for things to get so heavy this quickly. Silence filled the air briefly before Finn continued to speak, "Can I be real with you for a sec?" for the first time in this interaction he showed some emotion, and it felt dire. He gave her the option to decline but she wouldn't let herself refuse.

"Go for it man, if you think I can help I'm all ears" she tackled it with positivity to counter his negativity. She'd been having a good day so far so where was the harm in sharing those good vibes?

Finn was quite for a moment as he collected his thoughts. He took a deep breath, preparing his lungs for the jumbled mess of words that were about to escape his mind out his mouth, "I don't know where to start, I don't even know what's happening. The whole thing with the war and Golb happened so fast and I barely even did anything." Finn's pride as hero was one the more fragile aspects of him.

"I'm supposed to be the Glob dang hero of Ooo! I mean, sure, I managed to get Bubblegum to calm down but then Gumbald tried to backstab her anyway! She could've gotten seriously hurt cause of me." The thought didn't strike him at the time, but upon reflection he realized how much danger he put the princess in.

"Then there's Fern...Fern...I wish I could talk to him again. I feel like I said the wrong things, but I was panicking! I wanted him to feel like we were riding on the same wavelength, that I knew what he was going through. That wasn't his deal though, he hated me because he felt like he had to be me. You don't gotta be me dude! That's what's so mathematical about being your own person! You can be better than me, you can be the hero you wanna be and make people love you for you! And he died never knowing that…" Finn dreaded looking back on this moment, the aching regret he would feel.

"Simon and Betty... Maybe there was nothing I could do about what happened there but my heart feels all jank everytime I think about it. And Huntress! We have this thing, err, had? Still have? I don't know. She's so mysterious and I can't figure it out but I really wanna make it work and-"

Marceline put her hand to his mouth signaling that he needed to calm down. "Deep breaths, Finn" she said removing her hand. "I think...that...hmmm…" it was her turn to delve in to the realm of deep thought. His worried expression didn't help her concentration.

Marceline started with a sigh "Yeah things did kind of go by in the blink of an eye huh? But who cares if you didn't play a big role in the end of it? It wouldn't be far fetched to say that we made it this far because of you, so what if you took the backseat on this one and got to enjoy the ride? I think you earned the break."

"You managed to talk bonnie down and that was something even I couldn't do, and were dating! Seriously, you gotta pat yourself on the back for that one. When I saw Fern, I dunno about you but he looked like he went out pretty happy. Besides, you planted him like he asked so there's always a chance you'll be able to talk to him again."

"Betty is gone, you're gonna have to let that one go Finn. What you can do is make sure to keep contact with Simon and make him happy, I know I will. He's going through a lot right now and he needs our help, plus, it's what Betty would've wanted. As for your tree girl, ehhh I don't got much info on her. But I know you, Finn, and I know that you're capable of learning from your past experiences and those around you. Learn from what Jake does wrong and what me and Bonnie do right. And don't be afraid to ask me for help yeah? I wanna see you happy dude." Marceline gave him a reassuring smile and nudge of the elbow.

"Marcy I...That was...Thank you." He said giving her a content smile and a hug. Marceline returned the hug in full. They embraced each other for a few more moments before parting.

"So you're gonna be leaving soon huh?" She sighed with a hint of sadness.

"Yeah, it's an chance I never thought I'd get. To hang with my people. Show em the best parts of Ooo and fight the worst together. It's rad." Finn noticed a frown creep on her face as she looked away. "I'm gonna miss you guys, but I ain't gonna be gone forever. What kinda henchman would I be leaving my master all alone like that" Finn elbowed back in jest with a smile.

"Finn…" Marceline contemplated for a brief moment commanding him to stay.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"...you're a dork" she giggled. She couldn't take this away from him, it wasn't her place to do so. Marceline might've done it near the beginning of their friendship, but her respect for the boy had grown all too much.

"If I'm a dork then you must be a turbo dork" They shared laughter before returning to silence.

"Well, I should be going then" Marceline began to float away until Finn spoke up one last time.

"Hey, Marcy. Is it weird that I've been thinking about all that stuff so much? I mean, it's just that I usually try to deal with these things as they come or ignore em. But ever since I got rid of my vault it doesn't feel right to just let these things sit at the back of my head anymore. I can't help but try and think about my problems more and how to fix them. Even if it makes me feel like junk."

A look of concern washed over his face. Finn always let the bad vibes pass through him and kept the worst vibes locked away. With his vault gone that was no longer an option. He didn't want to escape these feelings by running and hiding anymore. But he was hurting and he didn't know if he was supposed to be.

Marceline raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You kidding? I mean yeah it's weird to see you do it, never took you for the type to try and solve your issues like that. But that's super mature of you Finn. Our little boy is growin up where it counts the most" she tapped her skull with a single figner. "I'm really proud of you dude. Excited to see how you'll turn out." She said floating away.

"Peace homie" he said throwing up a peace sign.

"Peace" she returned the gesture.

I'm excited too, he thought to himself.