Chapter 6: City of Secrets

Cinnamon Bun dropped Finn and Jake off in front of their house. Jake thanked the pastry for the ride after jumping down from Jake Two, but Finn did not bother to stay for long and walked inside the house as soon as he got off.

Jake was worried for the human, and bid farewell to Cinnamon Bun once more before he departed. The door had been left wide open, and Jake simply pushed it gently as he walked inside, finding Finn sitting on the living room couch with his legs pressed against his chest while his arms remained wrapped around them. His hat had been thrown to the ground along with his backpack and sword, and the human had the face of malcontent.

Without saying a word, Jake moved to sit down right next to the human, who made no moves to gain Jake's attention when he sat down. The canine interlocked his fingers together, nervous to say anything that might come off as offensive to Finn. One moment he would open his mouth to speak, and the other he would close it again.

The only sound in the room was the ticking of a wall clock nearby, counting the uncomfortable seconds as they passed by. It was hard to tell what was going through Finn's mind, but Jake could only imagine he was going through a very tough time at the moment. His eyes were always fixed forward, looking at nothing in particular, and he continuously tapped his fingers against the side of his leg softly. The silence was only broken when Beemo walked into the room.

"Finn, Jake, how did it go?" the little game console asked.

"Fantastic," Finn replied in a monotone.

"Aw, come on, man," Jake said. "Cheer up. It's not like it's the end of the world."

"Yes it is," Finn replied.

"No, it's not. So what if Flame Princess has a suitor that isn't you? I mean, it could be worse…"

"You don't get it, dude!" Finn snapped. "The love of my life is going out with some other guy and will probably end up getting married as well!"

"But don't you want her to be happy? It was her decision, after all."

Finn's expression calmed a bit and he sighed. "I am; it's just…I thought that one day, when the two of us became really good friends again like before, I would be able to muster the courage to…I don't know. Tell her how I still feel and somehow get back together with her."

"Don't you remember what she said? The two of you are way too different to be in a relationship together. And honestly, I kinda agree. Trust me, this'll all blow over soon and you'll be able to start an actual working relationship with a girl that won't make your clothing burst into flames every time you hug her. Right, Beemo?"

"R-right," he nervously replied.

"It's like Dad always used to say," Jake continued. "There are plenty of frogs in the swamp. One day, you will find your own frog to kiss."

"That's gross," Finn replied. "But…Flame Princess was the only girl I ever truly cared about after everything that went down with PB. I know I can't be with her, and yet I still want to."

"And I want to rule a kingdom where there is always an endless supply of Everything Burritos, but even dreams as great as that can't come true."

"Finn said no other word for a moment until a sigh escaped his mouth. "I guess you're right. Heh, of course you are. Here I am moping when we have other important junk to deal with."

"Other junk?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, man." Finn stood from the sofa. "Wizard City."

The dog raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're okay with going right now?"

"Trust me. Doing some actual work is exactly what I need. I'm not gonna lie down on the ground and mope over something that shouldn't be moped about. I refuse to be like that anymore. I did it with PB once but I won't do it now. If Flame Princess wants to be with a suitor, then that's her choice. I won't interfere…Unless Blayze does something he'll regret."

Jake smiled. "Alright! But how are we gonna get into Wizard City? If I recall correctly, it's 'Wizards only, fools'."

"We'll just use our wizard disguises. Where did we put those?"

"Oh, they're…Um…" Jake trailed off for a moment and rubbed the back of his head. "They're somewhere."

Finn sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Let's start looking, then. It's not like this house is enormous and full of junk, anyway."

Jake chuckled nervously and stretched out to begin looking. Finn grabbed his hat and backpack from the floor and turned to Beemo. "Beemo, you and Neptr look around as well."

Beemo saluted and ran off. It took the better part of the entire day, but Finn they were able to find both outfits in the treasure room, buried under a hill of gold coins. The human put his disguise on; a dark blue vest with lighter blue gloves, along with a gold necklace around his neck. He also put on a pair of black boots and a hat that resembled his own, but without the tiny ears. As a final touch, he painted an eye on the center of his forehead.

Jake's disguise was a simple red tunic with a pair of black boots and a matching hat with several violet outlines. He used his shape-shifting powers to form a long mustache along his upper lip and over his jowls. When both were ready, they began to set out for Wizard City.

Finn had to unfortunately leave his backpack and sword behind, seeing as how it would probably cause suspicion in a place where everyone only used magic. To make matters more tedious, they had to walk all the way normally since Jake's outfit would be ruined if he stretched to his large form.

As they walked, Finn still could not keep his mind off the events that took place in Fire Kingdom. He had to say something to Jake, but the truth was that he was definitely not okay. Could he be completely wrong? Had he really stooped so low that he was letting jealousy get the best of him? What would Billy think? Or Rattleballs? Both mentors who told him that a hero's duty was to put everyone else before him. Was he being selfish by thinking of his own needs and wishing for Flame Princess to choose him instead?

So many questions raced through his mind. He barely even knew Blayze and he already decided he hated the fire elemental. Not because he was probably evil; not because he was a complete stranger; but because Finn felt resentment for him for no particular reason other than him being Flame Princess' suitor. And because of it, the human had made her angry with him again; something that he swore he never wanted to do again.

'What's wrong with me?' he wondered. 'Am I really so selfish that I can't bring myself to be happy for her unless she's happy with me? How can a true hero have such a mindset?' His thoughts ran silent for a while. 'She doesn't deserve me. Not unless I learn to accept her choices. No, even if I do, I have to also accept that the two of us will never be together again. We'll remain friends. Heh, easier said than done.'

The sun was already setting, and the sky was orange by the time they reached the secret entrance to Wizard City.

Jake said the secret phrase to enter, "Wizards rule," and the large illusion of a canyon wall disappeared. They were fortunate enough to not run into any members of the wizard police on their way in. Even with their disguises, it was best to avoid as much interaction as possible. But that would not last long.

Wizard City was enormous, and almost every building had some sort of symbol engraved into the wall. It would take hours, if not days to find the correct building they were looking for. For that to be possible with little effort, they would have to speak to the one in charge of the city.

The Grand Master Wizard.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jake asked as they walked towards the city's palace.

"It's gonna take forever to find what we're looking for if we don't," Finn replied.

"But still, if they find out we're not actually wizard, we're boned."

"It won't come to that, dude. Trust me, just stay calm and act natural."

As they walked, two members of the wizard police were both standing at the side of the road, talking to each other. Finn and Jake walked past them, making doubly sure they did not do anything to draw unnecessary atten-

"BOY, IT SURE IS GREAT BEING A REAL, GENUINE WIZARD!" Jake said, too loud for comfort. "ISN'T THAT RIGHT, FRALAMBODIOUS?!"

Finn was very close to slapping Jake but refrained from doing so. The two guards on the side of the streets were now looking at them. "It sure is…Jakaar," Finn replied as casually as possible. "Although, that's pretty obvious. Why would you shout it?"

"I JUST THINK IT'S GREAT HOW WE WIZARDS GET TO LIVE A LIFE OF MAGIC AND SORCERY AWAY FROM THE PETTY NON-MAGIC USERS OF THE OUTSIDE."

"Hey, you!" a mysterious male voice shouted from behind. Finn and Jake both squinted their eyes shut and reopened them as they turned around.

The two wizard police members were standing before them. Long wooden sticks that acted as their wands were sheathed on their belts. A large yellow gem was fused onto the center of their face, where their eyes would have been. Long hair hung over their shoulders and their arms were fully exposed on account of the white sleeveless shirts they wore. "Do you mind telling me what's with all of the ruckus?" one of them asked while placing his hands on his hips.

Jake was about to speak up but Finn covered his mouth with his hand. "My name is…Fralambodious. And this is my fellow wizard friend, Jakaar. We were simply looking to gain an audience with the Grand Master Wizard."

The other guard scratched the top of his head. "Hmm, well I highly doubt the Grand Master Wizard would even want to see you. Especially wizards with names as stupid as yours. But, if it'll get you to shut up, you may be on your way."

"Thanks," Finn said. "We will."

Finn tugged Jake by his tunic and the two began walking away.

"Hold it!" the first guard shouted, causing them both to stop and turn around again. "If you really are wizards, then show us some magic."

Finn and Jake both gulped at the same time. "Uh, now?" the dog asked.

"Yeah. Now," the guard replied.

Jake was the first to go. He used his powers to stretch out both of his arms and tied them together to form the shape of a flower. "Tada!" he said.

The guards looked at each other for a brief moment. "Stretching magic," one of them said. "Pfft, the lowest of all magic. But still magic nonetheless."

"What about you?" the other guard asked Finn.

"Oh, I uh…" Finn thought for a moment as the guards waited, tapping their feet on the ground. He took the first thing he saw on the floor: two small pebbles that he held out to both guards.

"What is this?" one of them asked.

"It's part of my magic using," Finn replied. "Each of you take a pebble."

They both reached for the pebbles after a moment of confusion. "Okay, now what?"

"Now, look at each other closely," Finn instructed.

The guards followed and stared at one another. "Where is this going?"

Rather than responding, Finn dashed forward and grabbed both of their heads in his hands. Before they had any time to react, the human bashed their heads together, successfully knocking both of them out and causing them to fall to the ground. Jake's eyes widened at the display while the human wiped some dust that had gathered on his tunic.

"Well, that's one way to deal with them," Jake said. "But we better go before more of them-"

"Hey!"

Another guard had appeared from around the corner at the end of the street, just far enough to notice two of his comrades fallen on the ground. Finn and Jake waited no time to start running as the guard began to chase after them, firing beams of energy at them from behind. It took very little time for other guards to join in afterwards due to the commotion.

The two heroes bolted left and right, throwing off the wizard police's aim. The further they ran, the more Wizard City began to become more of a maze. Every street was narrow and they often had difficulty moving out of the way of other passing wizards. It reached a point where their outfits did not matter anymore, so Jake stretched out of his and carried Finn with him to the rooftops, where the wizard police was out of reach. This did not stop their pursuit, however. They were certainly a stubborn bunch.

"This took such a drastic turn all of a sudden!" Jake said as they ran.

"It's you own fault!" Finn replied. "Why would you shout at the top of your lungs when were supposed to keep a low profile?!"

"I was nervous! You know I'm terrible at stealth! I may be able to fight like a ninja, but that doesn't mean I'm a good one!"

Finn groaned. He took off his outfit's white hat and tossed it down over the edge of the roof, effectively throwing one of the guards off balance and forcing him to fall. One of them was able to shoot another blast of energy at the human before falling, but it luckily missed him completely, even if it came very close to his arm. Form what they could gather, the wizard police had fallen fairly behind after the ordeal.

They kept running along the rooftops for a good while to make sure they were in the clear. When they saw that there were no more guards chasing them, Jake wrapped his arm around Finn and stretched them both up to the roof of a nearby tower, which was high enough to overlook almost the entirety of Wizard City.

Both adventurers took a moment to catch their breath. Finn sat on the edge of the tower's roof, letting his feet dangle over the high fall. "This day has gone wrong in so many ways…" he said.

"Aw, come on," Jake replied. "It's not so bad."

"Yes it is. With the Wizard Police chasing us, there's no way we'll be able to speak to Grand Master Wizard. We won't be able to get answers…AND ME STILL BEING MAD ABOUT FLAME PRINCESS IS THROWING ME OFF!"

"Oh come on, I thought you said you got over that already."

"Well I haven't, dude! And I probably never will no matter how hard I try!" Finn took some time to calm himself down, taking deep breaths. "But that's not important right now. Now we'll never be able to find out about the Order of the Crow without being chased by everyone in this city."

Jake sat down next to Finn and placed a hand on the human's shoulder. The sun was shining its light directly at them, but since it was setting, they did not feel hot. A gentle breeze blew over them as well from being so high up. "It's not all lost," Jake said. "Let me see that mark on your hand real quick."

Finn removed the bands from around his hand and showed the palm to Jake. The canine pulled the hand closer and studied it.

"At least I got a cool tattoo out of this," Finn said.

Jake let go of Finn's hand. "If this is the symbol of a club here in Wizard City, then we just have to find it," he said. "Every club here has their symbol engraved on the outside of the buildings as far as I can tell. We just have to find one with a crow on it."

"Are you serious, Jake? This city is really big. It'll take ages to find what we're looking for."

"I know that. And yes, it could take a while to find. And we're not exactly welcome to roam around here freely. But no matter what it takes, no matter the struggles we might go through, we will-Oh, there it is."

"What?!" Finn asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's right there, see?" Jake replied while pointing at a specific location down below.

Finn looked in the same direction; Jake was right. At the far distance, near the edge of the city, was a tower made of concrete. The same symbol of the crow that was engraved on Finn's hand was also engraved on the stone, clear enough for almost the entire city to see.

"Looks like we found our destination," Jake said.

Finn actually managed a smile and rubbed the dog's head playfully. "Way to go," he said. "Come on. Let's get down there as quick as we can."

Jake wrapped his arm around Finn again and stretched them both down from the tower. He kept them both up in the rooftops to not attract any attention from the wizards below. The tower with the crow drew closer, and building that served as its base came into view. The tower itself was not as tall as the previous, but it was still a massive sight to behold. There was small courtyard in front of the building, but it seemed mostly abandoned due to the unkempt stone path leading up to the entrance and the overgrown grass. In fact, the entire place seemed baron.

Wooden panels covered all of the windows; chunks of the concrete were falling off from the walls; and the door itself was also barred shut. Finn and Jake stood in the courtyard, looking at the derelict structure. "What a mess," Jake said. "Maybe this isn't the place."

"No, it has to be," Finn replied. "It has the exact same symbol that's on my hand." 'But Ice King said he had been trying a lot of times to join the Order of the Crow. This place looks like it's been abandoned for decades.'

"I don't know about you, but I don't think we'll be finding anyone in there," Jake added.

"Well, it won't hurt to look. Let's head inside and see what we can find."

Jake increased the size of his hand and punched right through the front door, paving the way for both of them to step inside. The whole place was a bigger mess on the inside: broken chairs; a chandelier hanging from the ceiling that seemed just about ready to fall; grass growing out of the rotting wooden floor; there was absolutely no sign of recent life.

There were a lot of books lying on the ground, but most of them had either had their pages ripped or were burned, so that was already dozens of possible clues down. A fireplace stood at the very end of the large room, black and cold from lack of use; there were two doors beside it, and the symbol of the crow was carved over the hearth. The only light was the one coming from the hole Jake had created and the small rays of light coming from the cracks of the boarded windows, but even they were growing weak as night approached.

Finn and Jake split up to search each side of the room. They looked underneath the broken furniture, looked for any sort of hidden path, but no matter how hard they tried, it only seemed to be a just another abandoned building.

"Dude, I'm not getting anything from this place," Jake said while trying to smell for anything or anyone.

Finn groaned and kicked one of the broken chairs, breaking it into even more pieces. "There has to be something. Why else would my dream lead me here if there was nothing for me to find? The members of the Order must've left something behind. Anything!"

Jake wrapped both of his arms around Finn, trying to calm him down. "Come on, man! I mean, I know you feel like this is something you have to do, but you really don't. No one is forcing you. Let's face it, this place is dead!"

"That's just what they want you to think," a familiar voice said from behind the duo.

Finn and Jake both turned around to find the source. It was none other than Ice King, floating near the broke doorway.

"Ice King?!" Finn said. "What are you doing here?!"

"Like I said, I come here every so often to try and join the club. After I found out that they let you in of all people, I wanted to come give them a piece of my mind!" He floated near the two adventurers. "So, how do you open the door?"

Finn and Jake looked at each other briefly. "Door?" the dog asked.

"Yes, the door! How do you open it? If you're a member, you must know."

Finn sighed. "Ice King, I'm not a member of any stupid club. In fact, there is no club here at all, and you're just as crazy as always for thinking that there is. Look around you."

"They make the clubhouse look like this on purpose," Ice King replied. "They want people to believe that there really is no Order of the Crow. But I figured out their game. I know where they really hide out. Behind the door."

"What door?" Finn asked.

"Why should I tell you? After all, you're a mem-GAH!"

Ice King's crown fell of as Finn jumped to grab him by the beard and pin him to the ground. "I'm not playing games right now, Ice King! This entire day has been a roller coaster of emotions for me, and anger has been the worst one so far! Tell me where this 'door' is or the next time you wake up, you won't have a beard!"

"Okay, okay," said the frightened Ice King. "I'll take you to it. Just let me go!"

Finn did so and the first thing he did was grab his crown from the floor. He began to float again when he put in on his head and motioned for Finn and Jake to follow him through one of the doors next to the fireplace.

The door creaked as it opened, letting a gust of wind enter the dark staircase beyond. There was just enough light for them to see all the way to the bottom before the hall turned left. Ice King made it to the bottom a lot faster than they did since they were minding their steps, but the old wizard made no remarks as he waited patiently. He only moved when Finn and Jake both reached him. It was hard to tell, but it seemed as if the hallway ended with another staircase leading back up to the main room through the other door. The door that they were looking for, however, was located to the right at the center of the hall.

There was something definitely odd about it. Rather than being made of wood, like all other doors, it was made of metal. The metal itself seemed like it had been polished every day and did not have a single hint of rust on its surface. Once again, the symbol of the crow that was also on Finn's hand was carved into the center. But the most compelling feature of the door was its glow.

A strange purple aurora surrounded the frames, and sparks seemed to float upwards from them. Some kind of magical ward? Finn and Jake could not say. Luckily, Ice King had the answers. "They shielded this door with some weird incantation biz or whatever so that no anyone who wasn't from the club could enter. No matter how hard you knock, no one ever opens it. Maybe you have to speak some password or something…"

Jake tested Ice King's theory. He was right; no matter how hard the dog pushed or pulled on the door, it would not budge. "Man, they really didn't want anyone in there," he said.

"Well, I'm going in one way or another," Finn said.

He walked closer to the door, studying every single one of its details. Slowly, he raised his hand where the crow marking lied and placed it against the door, and for a split second, the aurora around it seemed to shift.

It began to pulse, as if it was alive and had a beating heart. The purple light morphed into small tendrils that began to wrap themselves around Finn's arm. Needless to say, the three of them were shocked at the sight, not moving as the tendrils stopped at the base of his shoulder. It was very faint and quick, but after a while longer Finn could swear he heard a voice whisper two words inside of his head.

Shadowed One.

The strange tendrils then retreated from his arm and the aurora began to disappear from the door. A loud 'clang' came from it and it slightly moved, opening itself to the trio standing in the hall. No one said a word for the longest time, but there was no need. They were all thinking the same thing.

"What are we getting ourselves into?" Jake wondered.

"You know what?" Ice King added. "Maybe getting into this club isn't such a great idea after all. We should head back."

"No," Finn firmly replied. "You can go, but I'm seeing this through to the very end."

Neither Ice King nor Jake argued or budged from their position, though their nervousness was obvious in their faces.

Preparing himself, Finn reached for the door once more and began to push it open.

Note: It's only been six chapters but I'm pretty sure I've already used Jake more than I have ever used him in any other Adventure Time stories of mine.

-WaffleTron9000: You'll get to see what I'm planning…soon enough.

-TimeManipulator99: Thanks. I'm not really aiming for long chapters on this one but I will write a long one if it is ever required.

-Fiery Crusader: It won't be easy, but Finn will pull through…I hope.

Next Chapter: Seeking Answers