"I'm gonna make us some dinner."

Jake stated, trying to get a reaction from the solemn boy who sat on the couch, back faced toward the dog. He hadn't spoken since leaving the castle about half an hour ago. This worried Jake because he knew Finn had plenty to talk about. And when the boy kept all his words to himself, it usually ended up with him sulking on the couch, like he was right then.

"Eating always makes you feel better!" A soft chuckle comes from the boy on the couch. " I think that's you you're referring to, Jake."

Jake turns to meet the tired yet loving look on his brothers face and smiles.

"Yeah…I guess you're right!" He sighs in relief.

Dealing with a depressed Finn was not Jakes favorite way to spend his relaxing night. Although he loved his brother and cared about his feelings, there were times when he wished the human boy was less…human.

"You know what I feel like having? Breakfast for dinner! Maybe some "feel better" waffles. Oh, and some scrambled dragon eggs with some of those spices I've been growing in the yard!"

Jake began to ramble on about all sorts of cooking chemistry, as Finn lost the effort to continue to smile. He turned his back to lie back down on the couch, replaying his fight with PB in his mind. "Why does she treat me like a child?" He thought to himself.

"It's like I can't even have my own opinions on things. It's completely redonkadonk!" Lying on his back never stayed comfortable for very long. The human flips unto his stomach and groans into the pillow. "Hey, no more sadness!"

Jake shouts, returning with a plate of waffles.

"Here's your foodie, bro! Now eat up." Jake gets no response. He gently starts probing Finn with the end of the plate.

"You know it's not cool to skip meals, man. That does all kinds of wrong to your tummos." Jakes says. Finn just groans again in annoyance.

"I'm not hungry." He mumbles, with the pillow blocking out most of what was said.

"What was that, Finn! I couldn't hear you through your pouting!"

Jake yells, in a somewhat playful manner.

It wasn't that the dog was angry at the boy's emotions, he would honestly do anything just to make Finn happy again. But most of the time these depression sessions were beyond fixing. At least, in a way Jake could help. But Jake knew that sometimes if he distracted the boy, then usually Jake could "break through his mind" just enough to get across to the human. Poking fun was the efficient way in jakes mind, to get through to Finn. However, the teen wasn't having any of it today. The boy suddenly sits up sharply, takes in a big breath, and yells.

" I SAID I'M NOT HUNGRY!"

He then shoves his face back in the pillow with a low growl.

"Woof." Jake thought. He contemplates on if he should be hurt, but decides to shake it off. Finn's going through a lot.

"After all, I haven't even made an attempt to ask him about why he's upset!"

Jake sighs and sets the plate on the coffee table, then crouches next to Finns covered face.

"Hey buddy, I'm sorry about that. Totally uncool of me, right?"

Finn turns his head to the side to see Jake.

"Nah, I'm the uncool one…yelling like that. I-I'm the one who should be sorry."

He makes eye contact with his brother for a moment, then turns his head back toward the pillow.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Jake asks. The human doesn't make a response for a minute, but then nods softly. He sits up holding the pillow to his stomach, gesturing the dog to sit on the couch. They sit in a comforting silence for a while, when Finn finally makes an attempt to speak.

"I-I thought that I could find a way to get through to Gumbald and PB. That fighting wasn't the answer. B-but they don't listen!"

Tears edged Finn's eyes, but he would let them fall.

"W-why?"

"Let me ask ya this, bro. If fighting's not the answer, what is?" Finn looks at the dog, confused for a second but then the expression was replaced with understanding.

"I haven't found that out yet"

"Don't you think that maybe PB just doesn't have time to wait for you to find the answer? I mean, Gumbald is pretty stuck on the idea of war. He's the one who wants this war! I'm sure Bumblegum's just "going with the flow."

Finn frowns a bit.

"Yeah, I didn't think about that…but I still think we could hold off the war a bit longer!.. and why doesn't Bonnie see me as someone with their own opinions? I'm not a kid!"

Jake nods in response.

"The Princess is like, hundreds of years old. She's probably been through plenty of wars, and you've had limited experience with that. So maybe she's just trying to protect you in a way."

Finn snorts. "That would make sense why her forbade me from helping in the war at all." The boy grumbles.

"Wait…she WHAT!?"

Jake asks in surprise.

"Why would she do that? Doesn't she need you?"

Finn folds his arms and glares at the floor.

"Well, apparently not! I'm not allowed to fight her fight. And you know what?.. I'm perfectly fine with that." Jake stares at Finn in shock.

"Alright then." He shrugs. Grabbing a waffle from Finn's plate, the dog gulps it down.

"So, now what?"

"First, I'm gonna find a way to stop Gumbald. Like something or someone…A someone would be nice. Ya know. So we wouldn't have to do it all by ourselves!"

Jake nods, then looks to the side.

"Man, I wish Billy was here. He could figure something out."

"Yeah, that's because he was so old, and wise. He knew a lot of stuff too."

Jake snatches another waffle.

"Mmm, So, who do we know who is old, smart, and wise…and can beat up bad guys?"

Finn puts his hand on his chin to think. "Bonnibell's a big no…but what about…Betty?"

Jake gives him a look and shakes his head intensely. "Too crazy. Plus we wouldn't know where to find her."

Finn sighs "You're right. How about…Marceline? She's real old!"

"Yeah, but I don't think she's really good at decision making. To be honest, she's not the wisest person." Jakes response. They're both quiet for a few minutes, thinking about all the people they know, or knew. From Tree-trunks to their parents. Finn frowns thinking about their dead parents.

"I wish dad was here…" the boy whispers almost inaudibly. Jake heard him and grunts.

"Yeah, dad always knew what to do."

Jake watches as Finn pulls his legs to his stomach, his face downcast.

"I don't know who to ask for help…it seems like nobody's on our side anyway."

Finn lays his forehead on his knees.

"Man, what can I do." Jake questions himself as he watches the teen tense up.

Jake always wished that he was more like his dad. Especially at these times when Finn felt the worst. It was like Joshua knew Finn better than anyone, because he always knew how to make the human feel better. It was like some kind of superpower. When Finn would get scared out of nowhere when he was little. When he would cry uncontrollably and his breathing would all funny. That's when dad would just wrap his arms around the boy and whisper sweet things. Then Finn would just, be chill. Jake envied that ability his father had to make his human brother's troubles simply vanish. Even though Joshua would tell him to toughen up, he was still gentle and understanding when the boy needed reassurance.

"Finn doesn't need a brother right now. I wish I could be the parent he really needs. But I have a hard time doing that with my own kids."

This was a thought the ran through Jake's mind every now and then. But now it seemed to fulfill the question that wracked but their minds.

"I know who to ask for help!" Jake stated with excitement.

"We could ask your mom!"

Jake did not receive the reaction he expected from his little brother. Instead of a gleeful nod, he got a frow look on a face of complete incertitude.

Jake began to explain.

"Don't you see! Your mom is the ruler of a society of peace! The people there don't care about starting wars because they know they have everything they need! And it's all because of your mom."

Finn shook his head in dissent.

"That's why she has to stay there, Jake. Ooo is just needing a ruler LIKE my mom, but not her personally. The humans on that island need her, more than we do…"

Finn turned to the side so Jake could no longer see his face.

"Plus, you're forgetting the fact that she placed her entire being INSIDE a computer."

The dogs whined like a hurt puppy, disappointed in what he thought was a good idea.

The silence in the room became awkward, but went on for several minutes. Suddenly, Finn lifted his head and stared at the dog. Realization grazing his expression.

"What about Simon?"

Jake stared back in confusion. "What about him?" He asked.

"Maybe there's a way to free him from the crown, and we just don't see it." Finn states. "Maybe…there's someone who could help us."

Jake scoffed. "Like who? I'm pretty sure Marceline has already tried everything. And then there's Betty. She went far and beyond to find a way to save Ice King."

Finn shakes his head.

"I don't know. Maybe they've overlooked something. Maybe they just didn't see things in the right way."

He suddenly stood up, surprising Jake. "I'm going to Marceline's."

"Wow, wow. So that's it? That's what you're riding on? Why?"

Finn sighed. "I-I guess it's just something I feel. Maybe this is what needs to be done."

Jake knew that there was no talking Finn out of this, so he reluctantly nodded. "Fine. We'll try this out a bit. But at the first sign of going in way too deep-"

"I know, Jake. We'll stop. I promise." Finn smiled at his caring brother.

Jake smiled back and replied. "We'll go to Marceline's house. But first, let's get some sleep."