The First Hero Returns
Chapter 4: The Missing Queen
It was five days later by the time that Finn and Jake had finished with their quests. They where currently walking from the tree house to Marceline's cave. "Finn, are you sure we couldn't have taken a longer nap? I am so exhausted after us getting back from the Scarlet Berry Patch. I don't think I like strawberries anymore." comments Jake. Finn laughs as he replies to his brother, "Jake, it's not as bad as you make it out. Honestly, it was totally rhombus. Who knew that strawberry bush monsters where so feisty?" The young boy grins at the thought of the monstrous strawberry bush that tried to eat him and his brother yesterday. "At least it was more fun than fighting the Goblins again for Party Pat and the Party Bears. That Honey Juice that they stole from the bears was great though. I'm glad they gave us some to keep and decorated the stage for us too." stated Finn. Finn was getting more excited the closer they got to Marceline's.
"Finn, it has taken us days to help out for this concert. Do you think Marceline can wait until tomorrow night to have it? I think that both of us really need some sleep before we can party it up with everyone." Jake complained. Slumping his shoulders as the reached the cave. Finn rolled his eyes at his brother's antics and shrugged. "Don't be such a downer, Jake. Besides we're here." Finn knocked on the door of the little pink house and called for the Vampire Queen. When he checked the door knob, he came to the realization that the door was unlocked. "NO! MARCELINE!" Jake seemed to come to the same conclusion. Marceline always had her door locked, as she was a private person. If the door was unlocked then that meant that something was wrong.
Finn and Jake went into the house prepared for anything that may come. When they noticed that it was empty of people; they also realized that the place had been tossed. Now they were worried. They had heard that Ash had escaped from Wizard Jail, what if he came to capture Marceline? The boys looked at each other and decided that first they needed Princess Bubblegum, then they needed to get King Simon's help. He was able to defeat the wizards last time. Maybe, just maybe he would know how to find out where they had taken Marceline too. With that thought in mind, Jake started to grow as Finn jumped on his back and a huge Jake towering over the land raced off towards the Candy Kingdom.
Meanwhile, in another part of Ooo, Ash was speaking to the wizards he had recruited to his cause days before. Forest Wizard, Laser Wizard, Bufo and Don Jon where there. He gathered them up with the offer that if they helped him become all powerful, they could majorly up their wiz biz. They were all apart of a secret society that wanted to over-throw the current leaders of Wizard City. It also didn't hurt that once about a hundred years ago, they tried to recruit the Ice King into their group only for him to turn them down. Then when they wouldn't take no for an answer and tried to capture him, he attacked them. This caused the death of two members of their group and they never confronted him again. However, it didn't mean that they didn't want revenge. If they could capture or even kill the Ruler of the Ice Kingdom, then they would prove their power to the other wizards and gain enough standing to over-throw the Grand-Master Wizard. They were in.
Once they gathered, Ash explained to them his plan to control the world and amass a huge amount of dark magic. "With your help, I'll be sure to unlock the secrets of darkness. Then I will reward all of you for your loyalty to me. If all goes well, my friends. Wizard City won't be the only thing in our control, it will be all of Ooo. Our moment to strike is soon approaching." he preached to the four evil power-hungry wizards. The four cheered and shouted, as a dark smile graced their leader's face.
When Finn and Jake reached the Candy Kingdom, Princess Bubblegum was standing by the stage helping with the final preparations for the concert. At the rate things where going, she was confident that everything would be ready for tomorrow night. Unfortunately, the two Heroes of Ooo seemed to be frightened of something, she knew that this couldn't be anything good. Jake shrunk down as Finn jumped off his back, landing before the Candy Princess. "PB! We have some BAD news, it seems that someone kidnapped Marceline! The door to her house was unlocked and she wasn't there! Marceline never leaves her door unlocked even when she is home! Jake and I are going to the Ice Kingdom to get King Simon's help, then start looking for her! We wanted to know if you would like to help or not! I know that you're super smart and if anyone can help us find her, it's you!" Finn shouts so fast that Bubblegum thought that it could have easily all been one huge sentence. She shakes her head to try and get the ringing in her ears to stop after the boy finish yelling. The Princess could understand the panic the two Heroes felt now. To tell the truth even she felt fearful of what could have become of her friend. However, Bubblegum knew the dangers of upsetting the Ice King. It was said that a group of bandits thought that it would be a good idea to try and take over the Ice Kingdom. The whole land of Ooo was coated with snow for a week, and the bandits where never heard from or seen again. That was about 400 years ago when she was still a little girl learning from, her uncle, King Gumbald.
"No, Finn. I don't think that it would be a good idea to involve the Ice King." stated Princess Bubblegum as firmly as possible. This seemed to confuse the boy. "What do you mean? King Simon protected Marceline before." stated Finn. "Finn, I don't think you understand. The Ice King is the most powerful force of nature in all of Ooo. His powers could become deadly if he is upset. It is actually a great thing that he lives in the Ice Kingdom all alone with the penguins. That way he can do no harm to himself or others. I think that it would be for the best if you find Marceline before he ever finds out that she was missing." the Princess really thought this was the best course of action. She was surprised by the look of anger on the young humans face. "Fine! You do what you want, but I am going to the Ice Kingdom. He deserves to know the truth. You need to learn that you can't control everything, and you are only hurting other people when you try. I thought that you may have learned you lesson with Flame Princess. I can see now that I was wrong." With that Finn stomped off toward the frozen lands. Jake stopped by Princess Bubblegum. "You know he's right. I am not as smart as most. However, even I know that no-one can control everything. Besides, Finn will feel strongly about this. King Simon used to be human. That means he is the closest thing Finn can ever have to knowing his own people. You know how Finn is. Maybe you should start taking things a little easier; you know, before you end up losing all of your friends." Jake shrugs, "Just a friendly suggestion." Jake then leaves a stunned Princess in his wake as he chases after his brother.
Princess Bubblegum drops her head in shame as she realizes what she had done. She basically just told Finn that the only human other than himself was a monster. With determination, she knew that she had to make it right. Quickly she ran to her lab. If she was going to help she would need supplies.