A/N: Challenge accepted, phantom130 5! I have been given five words to incorporate into a story, and I have decided to do so with a short Adventure Time tale. The challenge words will be underlined (only in their first usage).
Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time with Finn and Jake
Finn was in the middle of a pleasant dream when Jake tugged on his sleeping bag. "Finn. Finn, wake up!"
The sleepy boy grumbled as he rolled over to avoid his canine brother, but he rolled too far and fell off of his bed. "Ah!" he shrieked as he thudded to the floor. "Jake! What the heck, man?"
"Shh!" Jake shushed him. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked Finn as he strained to make out a sound. His eyes widened in awe when he heard a faint melodic tune gradually becoming louder much to the delight of his ears.
Jake noticed Finn's pleased expression. "You hear it?"
"Yeah, man. I hear it. It's nice. Where do you think it's coming from?"
"I say we go find out," suggested Jake.
Finn was not about to turn down an adventure, and more and more the music seemed to take over his soul, so in a few short minutes, they were on their way. Jake used his sensitive hearing to follow the sound, and they eventually found themselves in the vicinity of Marceline's home. "Do you think it could just be Marceline jamming out?" asked Finn.
"Nah. It's coming from past her house, and this sort of music doesn't really seem her style."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
They continued on through the night, following Jake's ears. After a long bout of silence, Jake suddenly asked, "Hey Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever wonder where certain phrases come from?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like why do we always use math phrases when we're excited and junk?"
Finn hummed as he considered Jake's question, then shrugged. "I don't know, man. Maybe you could come up with new phrases instead; you know, start a new trend or something."
Jake grinned at the idea. "Yeah, maybe I will!"
The sun still hadn't risen by the time the brothers reached an opening in the trees, coming across a dark lagoon. Just beyond the lagoon sat a gloomy castle illuminated by moonlight. "Whoa, creepy," observed Finn.
"Yeah," Jake agreed. "This place is so grammar." Finn glanced down at Jake and creased his eyebrows. "What?" asked Jake innocently. "Not trendy?"
Finn merely shook his head in response.
Jake shrugged. "Eh, it was worth a shot." Then he returned his attention to the castle. "Let's go check this place out."
If such a thing could even be possible, the inside of the stone castle was even gloomier and creepier than the outside, especially with the ongoing melancholy song echoing through the halls. Everything was dank, and small streams of water trickled down some of the walls from the ceiling. Dust-covered furniture and dead flowers filling aged vases gave the impression that no one had lived there in quite awhile.
"I think we're getting closer," noted Finn. "And I think I hear singing now too. A girl's singing."
"Yeah, I hear it too. It's coming from this way," Jake said, continuing to lead Finn toward the source of the music.
Finn stopped for a moment to admire a picture hanging on one of the walls. Each hallway had dozens of them hanging everywhere, but this portrait stood out to him. It appeared to be a young woman dressed in an ornate gown, but someone had slashed at the painting, making the girl unrecognizable.
"You coming, Finn?" asked Jake, breaking Finn of his stupor.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
A few moments later, Jake stopped in front of two large doors and held his finger to his lips, signaling Finn to stay quiet. He slowly pushed open one of the creaky doors, and the pair curiously peered into the large room - which seemed to be a type of music hall - where a radiant young woman sat playing a piano and softly chanted her somber hymn. She wore a tattered grayish-blue dress that nearly matched her skin color. Her long hair was ivory, and her eyes shone brightly like blue-tinted opals. She ceased playing her song when she spied Finn and Jake. "Hello?" she asked sweetly.
"He - He - H-" Finn stammered.
"Hi," offered Jake. "We could hear your song all the way from our house, so we decided to come see what was going on."
"Are you here to rescue me?" asked the girl.
Finn furrowed his brows. "Rescue you? From what?"
"An evil sorcerer has kept me trapped here, forcing me to sing for him all the time. I just want to go home and see my family again."
"What?" shouted Finn. "Who is this guy? Where can we find him?"
"Yeah!" agreed Jake. "We'll kick his butt and free ya'!"
"He's probably in the dungeon where he practices his magic. Please be careful!" she warned them. "He's very powerful and may kill you."
"No way! That guy is going down!" said Finn adamantly. "Come on Jake."
"Right behind you, Finn."
Finn and Jake hurried toward the dungeon in search of the evil sorcerer holding the young woman prisoner, swerving through corridors and eventually rushing down a long spiral staircase. When they reached the bottom, they were surprised to find no one there apart from empty jail cells and numerous skeletons. "What the-? Where's the guy?" asked Finn, wandering toward a skeleton with its arm draped over a table.
"I don't know, man. It doesn't look like he's down here."
"Hey, look at this." Finn picked up a handwritten journal off the table where the skeleton rested, and he began to read the last entry aloud. "Siren Princess has claimed yet another soul by luring him in with her enchanting voice. Though her motives are unclear, she keeps us prisoner in her dungeon and leaves us here to die. I have discovered a spell that may stop her, but I fear I will not live long enough to use it."
"Whoa, man," murmured Jake. "This is not good."
"No, it's not good," hissed a voice from behind them. They spun around to find their exit being blocked by a hideous creature wearing the same tattered gown the young woman was wearing only moments ago. Her figure was still that of a woman, but her expression was snarled and revealed several pointed teeth.
"Ew, gross!" shouted Jake. "Finn, use the spell!"
Siren Princess screeched as she lunged at Jake, preparing to either capture or kill him, while Finn anxiously scanned the journal for the spell that might stop her. He flipped through a few pages, trying to find where the sorcerer had written the words.
Jake evaded her attacks, but his energy was quickly becoming drained. "Finn! Hurry up, man!"
It was then that Finn finally found the spell. "I've got it!" he cheered. Then he recited the enchantment. "Lacking beauty, lacking poise. Now your soul will match your voice!"
Siren Princess halted mid-attack and broke into a fit of uncontrollable coughing. She stumbled back onto the steps as she glared at Finn. "What did you do to me?" she rasped. Her eyes gaped in horror as she heard her new voice. It was no longer an alluring and soft female voice, but rather a grating one resembling that of a crotchety old man. The creature, now appalled by herself, fled back up the staircase in tears as she cried out in her new, manly tone.
Finn and Jake glanced at each other. Jake shrugged. "Guess that takes care of that."
"Guess so," answered Finn with a shrug also. "Wanna get outta here?"
"Yeah."
As they wandered away from the lagoon, a familiar face came into view. Marceline was picking apples off a tree and placing them in a canvas tote. "Finn? Jake? What are you two doing out here? It's dangerous for guys to be out this way because of Siren Princess."
"You mean you knew about her?" asked Jake in shock.
"Sure," she answered casually. "She's pretty creepy, even for me. Not even Ice King goes near that chick."
"If you knew about her, why didn't you warn anyone?!" Finn asked.
Marceline scoffed, "Dude, take a look." She pointed to a small worn sign planted in the ground. It was nearly unnoticeable, and the words had almost completely faded away. It read, Warning: Men beware of Siren Princess.
Finn and Jake stared blankly at the worthless sign for several moments. "That is so grammar," Jake finally said.
Finn shook his head. "Dude, not cool."
A/N: Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed. :D