It was a pretty normal day in Jermaine's life: his parents both left early to work on an important case, so it was up to the 20-year-old dog to stay home and look after his little brother. Thankfully, Finn, who was nearly nine, was old enough not to need constant supervision, so Jermaine was mostly left alone while Finn watched TV, or rolled around in the dirt outside, or whatever it was that kid did all day.

At the moment, Jermaine was studying. He knew his parents intended for him to follow in their footsteps as a detective/demon hunter (even though Jake's older, he thought bitterly, I'm the one who has to be responsible.) so even though school was long behind him, he still committed himself to learning, poring over his parents' books and artifacts in preparation for the day that he would be left to carry on their legacy.

As he would soon learn, that day was much closer than he thought, and no amount of studying could've prepared him.

"Hey, Jermaine?" Finn poked his head into the room, "There's some lady at the door says she wants to talk to you."

Jermaine sighed at the interruption, and stood up, stretching out his back before following Finn downstairs, grumbling, "Probably just a door-to-door salesman."

"When have we ever gotten those out here?" Finn asked.

"Eh, good point."

At the door stood a short woman with blue skin and a serious look on her face. She was wearing some sort of work uniform and holding a manilla folder, and something about her presence made Jermaine nervous.

"Good evening," she said, "You're Jake the dog?"

"Jermaine, actually," he said, "Jake doesn't live here anymore."

"Are you looking for Jake?" Finn asked.

"Not specifically, no," she answered, opening the folder and jotting something down before closing it again. "But I do need to speak to one of you. Mind if I come in?"

"Uh, sure." Jermaine invited the woman in and showed her to the living room. She took a seat in an armchair, turning it slightly to face the couch, where she gestured at Jermaine and Finn to sit. Once they did, she spoke:

"My name is Kate. I'm an EMT, and I was asked to deliver some… unfortunate news on behalf of the Western Grasslands municipality."

Jermaine felt his stomach drop. He waited anxiously for Kate to continue, but she was hesitating, glancing at Finn, who mostly looked confused. Whatever news she had, she didn't want to say it in front of Finn, and that worried Jermaine even more.

"Don't worry about him," Jermaine said, "he can handle whatever you have to say." And he'll just listen through the door if we kick him out, anyway, he almost added.

"Very well," she said, and took a breath before continuing,

"The bodies of your parents, Joshua and Margaret, were found in the dark forest a few hours ago, after following an emergency signal flare. It was too late when we arrived. There was clearly a struggle, and the initial autopsy suggests they were killed by a demon's claws, but no culprit was found. You have my deepest sympathies." she spoke clearly but quickly, only pausing when she was finished, giving them time to process her words.

Jermaine sat, frozen. His mind reeled, trying to figure out how to respond, coming up blank again and again. There was no reason to doubt this woman, but he found himself doing so anyway. They couldn't just be gone.

Before he could bring himself to say anything, Finn stood up, balling his hands into fists. "You're lying!" He shouted at Kate, "There's no way Mom and Dad would let a stupid demon kill them! They're the best demon hunters in Ooo! You're just… you're just…" Finn looked an inch away from jumping at Kate and strangling her. Kate, to her credit, kept her expression even, probably used to this response, and shook her head.

"Finn…" Jermaine managed, putting a paw his arm. Finn turned, looking down at his brother, and his rage quickly melted into something else. Slapping Jermaine's hand away, he took off upstairs, and they heard a door slam.

"Sorry," Jermaine said, still staring at the spot Finn was standing a moment ago.

"Don't be, it's a normal response." As she spoke, Kate put down the folder she was holding and slid it across the coffee table, towards Jermaine. "This file contains the police report and autopsies, as well as the address of the hospital their bodies are being kept."

Jake nodded, but didn't open it. He couldn't, yet. He could barely even speak. Kate continued, "I recommend you call your family, before anything else. There are resources who can help you with funeral preparations, and my number is also in the file if you have any questions for me. I truly am sorry for your loss."

"R-right. Thank you."

Jermaine could hear Finn's sobbing from upstairs. It wasn't until Kate left that he allowed himself to follow suit.

Between how long it took Jake to actually answer the phone and travel time from wherever he lived, it was past midnight when he finally arrived. Jermaine vaguely registered the sound of the front door opening and closing, and he mumbled a greeting when his twin entered the living room.

"You look tired," Jake said, sounding just as exhausted.

"No shit," Jermaine snapped, and then regretted it. "Sorry." He rubbed his eyes. He had been reading the file Kate gave him in an effort to stay awake, but after the fourth or fifth time reading it through the words started to swim, and he found himself simply staring at a single page, seeing the words while registering none.

Jake came back with two cups of tea, and handed one to Jermaine, who hadn't even noticed him leave. For a while, they simply sat on the couch, sipping their tea and saying nothing, both depleted of tears and unsure where to start. Eventually, Jake put down his mug and curled into Jermaine's side, leaning on his brother's shoulder like he hadn't done since they were puppies. His eyes were closed, and Jermaine thought he'd fallen asleep, but then he asked, "Is Finn alright?"

"He… didn't take it well," Jermaine said, yawning. "I figured it was best to just leave him alone for a bit. He's probably asleep."

"We should be sleeping, too," said Jake.

"I don't think I can."

"You can," Jake yawned, curling up further into a ball, "Just don't think about it now. Everything'll be easier in the morning."

Jake wasn't a responsible person. If there was one thing he knew about himself, it was that. So even he was surprised when he woke up early and his first instinct was to make breakfast for his brothers.

Well, I am the oldest, after all, he thought about it as he rifled through the kitchen, quietly so as not to wake up Jermaine, who was still asleep on the couch. I guess it's natural to feel that way, now that I'm the one left to take care of them…

That realization stopped him in his tracks, and he nearly dropped the eggs he was carrying. As he woke up more, Jake's mind caught up to him, and all at once he remembered why he was here, remembered what happened the day before. "Glob, Mom and Dad… they're really gone," he whispered to himself, gripping the edge of the countertop. Jake willed himself not to cry, taking deep breaths until the stinging in his eyes subsided - he cried enough last night. He had breakfast to make.

He ended up making far too much, but the distraction that cooking brought was welcome. After setting the table, he glanced at the wall clock - 9:00 am. Jake considered letting Finn and Jermaine sleep longer, but then the food would get cold, so he marched upstairs and knocked gently on Finn's door.

"Finn? I made breakfast." Jake half-expected not to get an answer, but the door opened almost immediately, and there stood Finn, who clearly hadn't slept all night: his face was pale and splotchy, with dark circles under his sunken eyes. He looked to be still wearing yesterday's clothes, and blonde hair was sticking out of his hat in every direction.

When he saw Jake, Finn collapsed into him, falling to his knees and burying his face in Jake's fur. He wasn't quite crying, but his breathing was hitched and uneven, and Jake wrapped his arms around him, rubbing circles into his back to calm him down.

"I thought," Finn's voice was muffled by Jake's fur, "I thought, if, if I fell asleep, I would wake up, and it would just be a dream." A deep breath. "But I couldn't. I couldn't sleep at all. And it's still real no matter what I do."

Jake felt his already broken heart break even further - he had never heard Finn sound so upset. Still rubbing his back, he lifted Finn off the floor, and started carrying him downstairs. "I know," he said, "I'm here. I know."

Jermaine handled preparations for the funeral. It was a small affair - they didn't have any other family, and neither Jake nor Jermaine knew many of their parents' friends, but a few people came - old clients, people they'd saved, neighbors. Princess Bubblegum sent a card, though no one was sure how she'd found out.

Joshua and Margaret were buried in a small clearing, a little ways north of the hill their house sat atop. Jermaine came back after the service to surround their graves with anti-demon protective charms. Finn and Jake planted flowers.

The weeks leading up to the funeral had passed in a blur, but now that it was over, everything seemed far too slow. All their focus had been on preparations, on getting to this point, and now no one knew what was supposed to come next.

Bit by bit, they found some normalcy. Finn's birthday came and went - Finn insisted he wasn't in the mood to celebrate, but Jake refused to do nothing, so he bought a bunch of ice cream and they ate it until they got sick and spent the night marathoning Heat Signature.

Jake got a job at a stall in the Grocery Kingdom, which lasted all of two weeks before he got fired for cursing out customers and taking all the free samples.

Jermaine didn't paint much anymore. Jake wasn't too sure what he was doing, but he insisted that it was important. He tried asking him, once, whether he was planning on continuing the family business. Instead of answering, Jermaine asked, "Are you?" and when Jake didn't respond, he said "Thought not." and went back to his room.

Thinking about it, Jake was pretty sure he wasn't cut out to be a detective. Demon hunter, maybe, but the risks involved weighed heavy on his mind. He didn't know if he was cut out for anything, really, other than crime, and he certainly wasn't going back to that - it would be a betrayal to his parents, and he couldn't leave Finn again. (He cringed, remembering all the unread messages on his phone. Before leaving, he briefly told his gang the situation, but didn't say he'd be gone for good, and he wondered if the others were still awaiting his return.)

He asked Finn for advice, and got a predictable answer:

"You could be an adventurer!"

"Pssh," Jake responded. They were outside, enjoying the warm weather, while Finn practiced with his flute, and Jake with his viola. "I meant, like, a real job."

"It is a real job!" Finn insisted.

"Besides," he continued, "Jakey's not exactly a hero."

"You could be," Finn said, grinning. He was in a good mood today, and Jake was elated to see Finn finally starting to act like his old self again. "Anyone can be a hero. You're super strong, and cool, and you have crazy powers! It's like, the perfect hero package!" Finn punctuated each point by waving his flute around, brandishing it like a sword, and Jake held himself back from scolding his brother for mistreating his instrument.

"I dunno, Finn," Jake said, absentmindedly plucking at his viola's strings. "I was away from home for so long, I don't wanna up and leave you alone with lame-o Jermaine-o again while I go on adventures."

Finn snickered at the nickname, then looked down at his flute, seeming pensive. He muttered something that Jake couldn't quite hear over his viola.

"What was that?"

"What if I came with you?" Finn said, louder, turning to look at Jake. "Think about it, Jake: we could go off, find our own cool place to live, and just spend the day exploring dungeons and fighting evil and doing whatever we want!" Jake realized this was Finn's plan all along, and wondered how long the kid had been planning this conversation.

Finn kept talking; he was rambling at this point, but Jake hung on every word, and the more he said, the more the idea… didn't seem so bad? Jake couldn't picture himself as a hero of legend, trekking through trap-laden dungeons and rescuing damsels from evil kings, but he could picture Finn as such, and, well, what's a hero without a trusted sidekick?

Plus, Jake was pretty much taking care of Finn solo now, anyway. Jermaine did some chores here and there, but for the most part, he was cooped up in his room, or the basement, reading and writing and casting protection spells on everything they owned, for some reason.

This was possible. They could really do this. They could start their lives anew.

"No way."

Finn's heart sank. He was so excited to tell Jermaine about their idea at dinner, he hadn't even considered the possibility of him not approving.

Jake seemed unbothered. "Jermaine, think about. This could be awesome for me and Finn."

"You really think I'm gonna let you," Finn wasn't sure what Jermaine meant by the emphasis, "raise our nine year old brother, alone, while getting into whatever dangerous nonsense you feel like? No. Way."

The fur on Jake's spine was starting to raise. "Pretty sure we don't need your permission," he said, "I'm the oldest. That makes me Finn's guardian."

"That's not how custody law works," Jermaine said, "And we're not even subject to custody law, we don't live within any kingdom borders."

"Then I still don't need your permission!"

Jermaine was rubbing his temples. "Jake, I'm disappointed. I expect this sort of thing from Finn, but I really thought you were starting to grow up."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Finn chimed in, and the dogs both started, like they'd forgotten he was there.

Jermaine turned to Finn, looking like he really wanted this conversation to be over. "Look, Finn, I know you want to be an adventurer. But part of growing up is realizing that that sort of thing isn't always realistic." Jake looked like he wanted to say something, but Jermaine cut him off. "That kind of lifestyle isn't sustainable."

"Why not? Plenty of people do it."

"Finn, you know why 'Legendary Heroes' are always so young in those stories?" Finn shook his head. "Because most of 'em don't live much longer past the final page. Adventuring is hard, and it's dangerous, and it's not something a kid or anyone should be doing."

Finn was getting annoyed. Jermaine just wasn't listening, he wasn't getting it. "Dude, you can't just not do something cause you could get hurt. Anything can hurt you. And Jake and I can handle that stuff - we're strong!"

Jermaine slammed his hands on the table. "THAT'S WHAT WE THOUGHT ABOUT MOM AND DAD, AND LOOK HOW THEY ENDED UP!"

For a moment, the room was silent, save for Jermaine's heavy breathing. Then, a chair scraped against the tile floor, then footsteps, then a door slamming, and Finn was back in his room, slouched against the door, sobbing, the same way he'd been when his parents died. He heard more yelling from downstairs, and then the front door slammed as well, and then Jermaine was knocking at Finn's bedroom door, trying to apologize. Finn ignored him until he went away.

Finn wasn't stupid. He knew why his parents died. He thought back every day to the last moment he saw them, waving goodbye as they left for work He wished with all his heart that he could go back and warn them, tell them not to take this case, tell them to never fight a demon again.

He knew the world was dangerous. But what did Jermaine expect him to do? Stay at home reading books all day because the outside world was scary? Ignore his hero instincts for some guise of safety.

Finn sniffed, and wiped his eyes dry. If that's what growing up means, he thought as he stood up, then I'm never growing up. He dug through his closet until he found his backpack, and started shoving in whatever he could fit. Jake could help him pack when he came back inside. They didn't need Jermaine. They'd be fine on their own.

In his haste, Finn bumped into the shelf on his wall, knocking down a few books - and something else. "Oh, crud!" He exclaimed, picking up the pieces of the faulty console Jake had bought him all those years ago. Despite its inert state, it was a treasured gift - a memory from a time when his family was all together, and happy, and the world was simple.

Thankfully, investigating the pieces, Finn could see that it wasn't actually broken - the plastic cover on the front had popped off, and there were slots on the edges, proving it was meant to be detachable. Finn, relieved, was about to put it back on when he noticed something else: The inside of the console contained a mass of wires and circuitry, and while Finn didn't know much about computers, even he could recognize when one of those wires was disconnected.

"Was this all you needed to be fixed the whole time?" Finn wondered out loud, reaching in and grabbing the loose wire. It wasn't broken, just unplugged, and Finn could see a empty port where it was clearly meant to connect. He plugged it in, there was a spark, and-

"Ow!" Finn shook out his hand where he'd just been shocked. "Probably shouldn't've been poking around in there with my bare mitts, huh?" Being a bit more careful, he replaced the plastic cover, and then, with bated breath, pushed the big red button.

Immediately, the screen turned on, bathing the room in soft teal light. On the screen was a loading bar, which filled up fast, and Finn was so distracted watching the bar that he almost didn't notice the sliding panels on the side and bottom of the console open, revealing arms and legs.

When the bar reached 100%, it was replaced with a pixelated, smiling face. The console - which now looked more like a robot - pushed itself onto its feet, wobbling slightly, and then spoke.

"Hello! I am BMO! Are you a little boy?"