4

Finn returned to the Treehouse and barely made it inside. He collapsed in a heap on the sofa, miserable and exhausted. He could fight it no longer, he let his emotion take over and wept harder than he ever had before. Even more than when Princess Bubblegum had spurned his advances and he had met Flame Princess. He had lost his best friend- his brother- probably forever. And the worst thing was it was all his fault. He felt ashamed and stupid; it all poured out from his eyes until he was lying in a sizable puddle. Sleep overtook him without his knowledge and he started to dream…

He was chasing Jake down a long, featureless hallway. Every time he got close to the dog, Jake would vanish and reappear farther down the corridor. Eventually Finn began calling Jake's name, but Jake did not slow or turn around. Finn's desperation grew and he yelled even louder. He screwed his eyes shut and ran on blindly until he collided with something. Jake had stopped running. He didn't speak, but reached up and laid a reassuring hand on Finn's shoulder. Everything was all right…

Finn awoke with a start and felt a cool hand on his shoulder. "Jake?" he asked blearily.

"Uh, no. What's up with you anyway?" said a female voice.

Finn looked up into a pale, fanged face, surrounded by a shiny mass of black hair. Marceline the Vampire Queen was sitting next to him on the sofa, looking uncharacteristically concerned. Finn flopped on his face so she wouldn't see that he'd been crying. She didn't mention, though she could see the wet stains on the couch and smell his tears. "I don't want to talk to anybody, Marceline. Please go away," said Finn, his voice muffled.

"Look, Finn, I know what happened, and I'm not leaving," said Marceline, grabbing Finn under the arms and sitting him upright. "You don't have to let this be the end. Jake came by and told me all about it. He hates it as much as you do. And I don't like to see you guys fighting. You guy are, like, the only real friends I have, even if you are dweebs. Go talk to him. I think he'll listen."

"You don't get it, Marcy. I can't just go talk to him and make everything better. I junked up big time and I want to be alone forever." Finn sighed heavily.

"I don't think so. You're going to talk to him. Right now," said the vampire, picking him up and placing him on his feet.

I might as well just get it over with. She won't stop, thought Finn. His exhaustion was replaced with confusion. Marceline was one of his best friends, to be sure, but she'd never been the most caring person. Finn suspected a trick, as she had always enjoyed playing jokes on him and Jake. She had once convinced them that she had made them vampires. That had worked so well that they had almost gotten their entrails sucked out by ghosts. But, on that same occasion, Marceline had at least been apologetic, and it had seemed genuine enough. Finn made a tentative decision to trust her for the time being.

Marceline was holding out Finn's pack and sword. She unzipped the pack and Finn saw a pie inside. He could tell it was one of Tree Trunks' masterpieces. It was still hot and steaming.

"Peace offering," said Marceline. "Something to break the ice always helps. And everybody knows Jake loves pie."

Finn half-smiled. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

It was dark and cloudy with a slight chill in the air when Finn walked outside, as if the weather were reflecting his feelings. He almost lost his resolved, but steadied himself with a deep breath. Marceline handed him his pack and sword and he felt himself being lifted into the air.

"Wha...?" said Finn.

"Shut up, I know what I'm doing. Just try to relax," said Marceline as she glided over the fields. She was flying toward Candy Kingdom- from their height, the castle's towers were already visible.

Suddenly, Finn realized what she was doing. She was taking him to Lady Rainicorn's house. He supposed Jake had told her he was going there too. Finn wondered what kind of reaction his appearance would get, not only from Jake himself, but from Lady. The last thing he needed was someone else to reprimand him, even if he couldn't understand a word of it.

Marceline's travels over the past few centuries had served her well. She knew exactly where she was going. Before long they touched down in front of Lady's house.

"Go on," said Marceline, shoving him forward. She then turned into a bat and started to fly away.

"Wait! Marcy, aren't you going to stay?" asked Finn, hoping he would have some support during his ordeal.

"I'll be close, but I'm not gonna get involved. It'll be better if you do it one on one," whispered Marceline and she flapped into the trees.

Finn hadn't expected to be abandoned at this crucial moment. He stood in front of Lady's door, unsure of how to approach the situation. After several moments of deliberation, he strode forth and knocked on the door. He was soon greeted by a pink nose peeking out, followed by a horned head. Lady appeared groggy, her eyes clouded with sleep.

Leave it to Marceline to decide to do this when everybody's asleep, thought Finn. "Hi Lady, sorry I woke you up, but this is kinda important. I need to see Jake. Can you get him?"

Lady began speaking rapid Korean, shaking her head vigorously. Finn couldn't understand a word, but he was sure she was telling him Jake absolutely did not want to see him. Lady stopped speaking, seemed to realize that Finn couldn't understand her and said in faltering English, "Jake a-not here."

Finn knew Lady to be honest and trustworthy, so he was inclined to believe Jake really wasn't there. "Have you seen him at all?" Finn asked. He was beginning to get worried.

Lady shook her head and said something else. Finn, determined to find out where Jake was, knew what he had to do. "Hang on Lady. I'll be back soon."

He moved into the shade of the trees. "Marceline?" he called softly, "You still there?" There was a fluttering of wings and a "poof" behind him. He turned to find Marceline staring at him.

"Not there, huh?" she asked.

"No. And I can't understand anything Lady says. Can you take me to see Princess Bubblegum so I can get her to translate?"

"Ugh… Can't it wait?"

Finn's eyes grew huge and pleading. Marceline sighed and frowned. A meeting with Bonnibel was the last thing she wanted right now. They were always strained and awkward, though she tried her best not to show it. She relented under his gaze. "OK, if it's that important to you, let's go," she said. I can always just hide if I need to, she thought.

"Alright, dweeb, hang on."

Finn wrapped his arms tight around her waist and she took off, gliding silently above the fluffy pink tops of the cotton candy trees. As they approached the castle, Finn could see that the windows were all dark. He hoped the princess would understand why he was waking her up. He trusted her to understand the importance of his mission and help him.

Marceline dropped Finn through a window directly into PB's bedroom, looked at him for a moment, thinking, and then pulled him back out of the window and into a tight embrace. "Good luck Finn," she whispered in his ear. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." She kissed him on the cheek and deposited him back in the princess's room, feeling relief that she would not have to deal with Bonnie, but guilt at abandoning her friend. It was an alien feeling.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Finn noticed some pictures of himself on PB's walls. It emboldened him to see them, for it told him she was likely to help without getting too upset.

Finn crept up to PB's bed. She looked peaceful in her sleep, all the cares of ruling a kingdom gone for now, lost in the realm of dreams. Finn felt a stirring inside him, like his old love for her was rekindling, but the moment passed quickly. He shook her shoulder gently. "Princess? Priiiiiiiincess? Wake up, it's important." He shook a bit harder.

Bubblegum's eyes snapped open. "Who the plum…? Finn! What are you doing here!? How did you even get in!?" she asked in surprise.

"Uh… Marceline sorta… flew me in through the window…" Finn said sheepishly.

"Marceline!? What is going on!? What is she doing here!?" The princess was becoming visibly upset.

"She's not here anymore! She left! But I need your help. I'm sorry princess, but it's urgent. Jake's-gone-and-I-can't-find-him-and-he-said-he-was-going-to-stay-with-Lady-and-Marcy-took-me-to-see-her-and-she-said-he's-not-there-but-I-can't-understand-what-she's-saying-and-I-need-your-help-will-you-please-come-please-please-plase?" Finn's words tumbled out in one breath. He heaved, trying to catch his breath.

PB stared at him.

"OK, I understand. I'll go." Finn turned to walk away.

"Wait Finn. Of course I'll help. Let's go find Jake. Wait outside while I dress more appropriately."

Finn stood outside the door until the princess emerged. "Let's go," she said, stifling a yawn.

As they made their way into the forest, neither of them speaking, Finn found himself wishing Marceline was still there. Flying was much faster than having to walk. The first faint glow of dawn was on the horizon, though, and Finn knew she must have gone back home to avoid melting in the sun.

They stopped in front of Lady's house, and Finn grabbed PB's hand on impulse. To his surprise, she did not try to loosen his grip and even gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Thanks, princess," was all he could say.

"Of course, Finn. I know how important this is to you. To all of us, really." She released his hand and walked up to Lady's door. Finn trailed behind her and waited as she knocked on the door. He saw Lady's head appear.

"Hi Lady," said PB. "Jakes gone missing and we need your help. I don't suppose you've seen him?"

Lady shook her head and spoke rapidly. Finn could make no sense of it, but Princess Bubblegum seemed to be able to. She nodded in places, taking in the information.

As they conversed, Finn's mind began to wander and he found himself mulling over one horrid possibility after another. He saw images of dark creatures in the night, of traps and dungeons, of the ultimate evil itself… What if The Lich got Jake? he thought. That was unbearable. He knew no one could survive an encounter like that. He was so lost in thought it took him a moment to notice a pink figure standing over him, babbling in a language Finn couldn't quite understand.

"Finn? Finn, are you even paying attention?" asked Bubblegum.

Finn returned to reality. "Huh? Sorry princess, I was just thinking. What is it?"

PB rolled her eyes, her exasperation obvious. "I said that Lady hasn't seen Jake at all in three days, but she has seen the Ice King snooping around here more often than usual. She thinks is possible he took Jake back to his castle as a prisoner."

Relief flooded through Finn. If that was indeed what had happened, there was nothing to worry about. Ice King didn't usually pose much of a threat- in fact, he was rather stupid most of the time. Finn was certain Ice King had captured Jake in a lame attempt to lure him to some insipid "friendship party" or something. Finn would just give the old man a firm talking to, or if that didn't work he'd knock the crown off of Ice King's head and beat him up until he released Jake. Easy.

"We'll have Jake back in an hour!" exclaimed Finn, a real smile appearing for the first time since the argument.

"Don't forget, there are other poss-," began PB, but Finn cut her off. The feeling of adventure had overtaken him.