Chapter 22: Wardens

Jake's constant footsteps drowned any other noise in the moonlit Grasslands. The magic dog was carrying Finn on his back, walking them both back to their treehouse to get a good night's rest. Needless to say, both adventurers were thrilled at the thought of setting foot in their home once more after so long, even if their exhausted expressions made it seem otherwise.

Simply imagining the second that they rested their heads on soft pillows was enough to nearly make them fall asleep right there. And with everything they had gone through, it would turn out be absolutely no surprise. From Wizard City, to a disserted town right underneath, and then straight to a frozen wasteland, it would definitely go down in the duo's minds as one of the longest and most tedious adventures that they had ever embarked on. And to be able to sleep in a proper bed once more made them happy beyond belief; especially Jake, since he was the one who was doing the traveling at the moment.

Finn on the other hand, while he would no doubt follow suit as soon as they arrived, also felt rather hesitant at the idea. As he looked down at the mark on his hand, imagining the phantom that always haunted his dreams as soon as he closed his eyes.

The human suddenly shivered, and tried to warm himself by folding his arms. There was a strong chill drifting through the large open fields, and there was no warm clothing currently at hand that could protect him from the breeze of night. It was especially worse when the cold made him remember his time locked away in the Witch of Tears' fortress. The cold in the deep dark cells where he and his friends were kept was similar, and whenever he closed his eyes, all he saw was the horrifying image of what had become of Huntress Wizard.

'I wonder if she's okay,' he thought worryingly. 'Weimar took her. But since I don't know where to, I can't go check on her.'

Part of him wished he could have somehow prevented everything that happened. Down in the tunnels, back when the Witch's deformed creatures had captured them, Jake had reassured him that none of it was his fault; that he, Huntress, and Ice King were willing to follow him. But deep down, he still felt responsible for everything. Perhaps it was wise to turn back as soon as things began getting too dangerous, but he was always willing to go forward anyway.

'But there's no turning back now,' he told himself. 'If I do, then what happened to Huntress was for nothing. I have to make sure that whatever comes from this quest is worth all the effort. And I also have to help Flame Princess uncover the secrets of her people.'

All of the information he had gathered from his visit to her kingdom was still bouncing around inside his head, and he was trying his hardest to make sense of it all. While some of it was simple to grasp, much of it was still up for some further analysis.

The cold made him shiver even more, and changed his train of thought. It made him miss the warmth of the Fire Kingdom, even thought they had departed from it just recently.

After he and Flame Princess had finished their discussion in the vaults of the palace, they met with Jake and Blayze once more in the throne room. There, she explained everything that she had told the human previously, although he had insisted that she kept the entire ordeal between them in her quarters to just the two of them. And she thankfully agreed. Due to her impending trip to the Diamond Kingdom, she was obviously unable to go with them on their mission. However, she had assigned the next best person she could think of to go along in her stead, and Finn was still in debate about how he felt about it.

"Would you be willing to do this?" she had asked her suitor. "I know you must have family here in the kingdom, so maybe they wouldn't take kindly to you going away."

"They'll understand," he replied. "And besides, helping our people uncover the secrets of our history? How could I possibly pass that up? Besides, if I really do plan on leading one day, I have to be willing to take up arms."

She smiled at him, and the two shared a brief embrace. Finn was neither happy nor angry at the sight. In fact, he wasn't sure what to feel anymore when it came to Blayze. He was still some getting used to, but if there was ever a time where the human could take the time to actually learn something about the elemental, a long trip such as the one awaiting them was probably the best bet for the time being.

'He makes her happy,' he realized. 'It's so obvious whenever they're around each other. I understand fully well that, even if he wasn't in the picture, Phoebe and I ending up together would still be near impossible. She made her choice, and it's one that's probably best for everyone, including me. Maybe this is all a sign that I'm meant to be with someone else. And yet…why do I still feel this way? Why am I still constantly wishing deep down that she and Blayze were apart? Glob, I really am a jerk.'

"Jake," he called out, wanting to talk about something to get his mind off the subject, and to keep himself awake. "You still have that map we got from the place in Wizard City?"

"Yep," the dog replied through a yawn. He stretched out the hand where the map was still drawn, while forming a new one so as to not lose his balance while walking. "Here it is."

Finn studied the details of the map up close, and almost instantly noticed something off.

"This map shows only one location in the Desert of Doom," he said. "The Cinder Gate that the princess showed me had four slots for the gems it needs. Do you think this map leads us to all of them, or do you think it leads to something else?"

"Not sure," Jake replied. "Maybe all of them were moved to just one place. I hope that's the case. That way, we'll be saved from an exhausting trip."

The young hero could hardly blame his friend. After everything they've been through, and with all of the information told to him all at once back in the Fire Kingdom, maybe it was wise to discuss the exact details after a good night's sleep.

"Finn!" Jake suddenly exclaimed in a whisper.

His sudden halt made the human nearly fall off his back. The dog grabbed him the waist with a stretched-out hand before he fell, however, and took them both behind a large rock. After shrinking back to normal size, he placed a finger against the confused hero's lips to keep him from talking to loudly.

"What is it?!" Finn asked, flustered but quietly, after his mouth was free. He looked over the rock and noticed their treehouse in the distance, only about a minute away had the two continued as they were going.

Jake ignored his question, sniffing the air several times. "Something doesn't smell right."

"What do you smell?"

"I'm not sure, but I ain't taking any chances. The smell is nothing like how it is normally around here. You have your telescope with you?"

Finn reached into his green backpack and pulled out the item in question. Leaning over the rock, he closed one eye and used the other to look through the glass, and a close up of their home came into view. But even after scanning the area for a few minutes, he never spotted anything off.

"I don't see anything, Jake."

"Keep looking, dude. Just to be sure."

The human groaned and continued his search. After a bit longer, he spotted something move on the roof of the house. For a moment, he thought it was just a shadow. But then he noticed even more movement. Then, even if it was for a split second, he noticed exactly what was wrong.

"Wizard police," Finn said. "They're waiting at our house!"

He put the telescope away and sat behind the rock with Jake.

"Ugh, great," complained Jake. "It's an ambush just for us. What are we gonna do? Those guys are packing some serious magic, and I don't know if we can take them all on. They'll see us coming no matter what. And there's also Beemo and Neptr!"

Finn remained silent for a moment, trying to come up with something. "Dang. These guys must really want us gone for them to come all this way instead of staying in Wizard City." He sighed. "We can't do anything right now, though. Like you said, they have a lot of power, and they'll definitely see us coming without any cover from here to the house."

"Can they even do this?" Jake wondered. "I mean, I know we escaped from their prison, but isn't it a little extreme to hunt us down like this? Oh Grod! What if they're waiting in Lady's house too?!"

The human sighed. "One thing's for sure, we can't just run up to our house and fight right now. Maybe our best bet is to check on your wife/girlfriend to check if she's safe. If she is, we'll spend the night there, and start our journey tomorrow."

"And Beemo? Neptr?" Jake asked worryingly.

"This isn't the first time our house's been broken into. And every time it happened, they were able to hide with no problem. We can only hope they found a safe place to hold out. But until this situation blows over, we can't risk facing off against so many opponents with magic on their side, on an open field, without some extra help. They can attack from a distance. We can't."

"What about that mark of yours? You disabled a ward with it. Can't you summon like a magic missile or something?"

"Or the pressure of being shot will make me blow up the entire house instead. We can't risk that either." He raised his hand, and the mark glowed. "I have no idea what this thing is capable of, or if I can even make it do anything again."

The magic dog seemed uncertain, but he seemed to come to terms with it. "I don't like this. But I'd hate to end up in Wizard City jail again. That one dude who was always staring at me from the other cell while slowly licking his lips…" He shuddered. "Fine. Lady's house it is."

Nodding, Finn took one last peek to make sure they hadn't been seen, and the two began to carefully make their way to their new destination.

'Grand Master Wizard sent his men all the way here to get us,' the hero thought. 'But what, or who, is driving him to do this?'

Small chunks of food blew out of Grand Master Wizard's mouth as he roared with laughter. The halls of his palace echoed with the noise, immediately followed by the sound of even more chewing after he was done.

At the foot of his throne, illuminated by a small spotlight being held above them by unseen magics, was a group of six tiny mice, all dressed in black tuxedos with a red bow tie and a top hat. Three of them got in a row, one next to the other. Then, another two ran towards them, making a few tiny hops into the air before eventually jumping to land firmly on the others' hands. And finally came the last remaining mouse, who, just like the ones before him, did a few spins in mid air before gracefully landing on top of them. And with all them together, they formed a small pyramid.

The mouse at the very top took his hat off and bowed. However, instead of being the end of the trick, six pies suddenly flew from the headwear. They spun a few times high above them before eventually plummeting, each one landing on the face of a certain mouse, and they were all left drenched in the gooey blueberries that poured from within.

Yet another laugh escaped the wizard's lips, and he placed down some of his food items for a brief moment to clap.

"More!" he commanded.

As the mice began to perform another trick, he chuckled in between bites. After the humiliation of losing Finn and Jake after they had been captured, and having no success thus far in getting them back, he figured a moment like this would be enough to get his spirits back up. And so far, it seemed to be working splendidly.

But suddenly, in a bright flash that caused him to drop everything in his hands-scaring the mice in the process-a white orb suddenly appeared before his face. The radiance emanating from it was enough to make him cover his eyes for a moment until they adjusted.

"Grand Master Wizard," said a voice coming from the orb. It was distorted, and sounded like more than one person talking at once.

Suddenly realizing the situation, GMW wiped all of the excess food from his white fur and cleared his throat.

"My Lords, th-this is an unexpected surprise," he said nervously. "F-forgive my disorderliness. I was…attending to some important business."

"Hmm, yes," said the orb. "You seem to be extremely busy at the moment. Come to our sanctuary post haste. There is much we need to discuss. In person."

Before GMW had a chance to respond, the flashed again, and was entirely gone in an instant. He was thankful that they blunt and to the point, before he made a bigger fool of himself, but he was also extremely nervous.

'The Wardens…'

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he stood from his throne and readied himself for what was to come. Then, he noticed the mice still waiting at the foot of the throne, squeaking quietly and shaking their noses.

"Begone with you!" he commanded. "I have matters to attend to."

The mice instantly began to scatter. As the spotlight above them instantly disappeared, two of them collapsed into each other by accident, causing one of them to drop its tiny hat. After picking it up with its mouth, it scurried after the others, who had already gone. Once all were out, and the hall became silent.

GMW climbed down from the throne and made his way further inside the palace. Several guards stood straight as he walked past them on way, but he paid them no mind. He was in a hurry. The last thing he wanted was to keep the people expecting him waiting any longer than they needed to. At the end of a narrow hall, he came to an elevator big enough for him to fit at the very end, with another guard standing by to open the doors for him. Once inside, the doors closed, and began his quick descent.

When the elevator came to a stop, its doors opened, and they made way for a large, square chamber. Most of it was empty, and the walls had been reinforced with steel, unlike the stones that covered the structure above. There was very little lighting in the room, except for that of two sources. Some small lights pointed towards a wide golden arc against the far wall, and in the center of the room, a light from above illuminated towards a narrow pedestal. And on it, being kept in place by thin silver clamps, was a perfectly rounded white gem, big enough to cover someone's entire hand upon being picked up.

Carefully, GMW moved towards the gem and moved his hands close it. Focusing his mind, he began to feed magical energy into the gem, while the green one placed atop his head began to glow. Once enough energy had been used, he was forced to step back as a white flash erupted from the white gem, and an intense of beam of light shot towards the center of the golden arc, immediately creating a swirling vortex of the same white color.

After mentally preparing himself for a moment, GMW walked forward and stepped through the portal.

On the other side, the metal walls that he was surrounded by just mere seconds before were now completely gone. Behind him was still the same gateway he stepped through, but in all other directions was nothing but an almost empty void. Spread among the vastness, in the hundreds and thousands, were portals almost identical to one that he stepped through, only many of them varied in their color and size. Some were purple and enormous, some were blue and moderate, others green and small, and so on. The only thing keeping him from floating off towards them was the moonstone floor where his feet were planted.

Suddenly, he heard a faint echo come from behind him. Instead of jumping in surprise, however, he remained calm and took his time. He already knew the cause of it.

Turning around, he came face-to-face with a knight. His armor was as white as the vortex behind him, but it was decorated with golden lines that made him stand out. A small visor carved into his gladiator-like helmet revealed a pair of glowing yellow eyes. He wielded a staff with his right hand that matched his armor, and on top of it, a bright yellow orb was placed, and a long black cape hung from his back. Even though he was easily eight feet in height, he was forced to levitate in order to see GMW directly.

"Grand Master Wizard," the white knight spoke.

"Argonath," the wizard replied, slightly bowing his head.

"It's always a pleasure to have you here in the Arcane. Ah, but you didn't come here just to speak with me."

GMW shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I was called forth by-"

"The Wardens," Argonath finished. He grabbed the staff with both hands. "I know."

'Of course he does,' GMW thought to himself. 'It's to be expected from someone in charge of guarding the gateways between infinite realities.'

He had been to the Arcane on many occasions, though the sight of it still made him uneasy. The thought of so many gateways, and all of them leading to many universes different than his own; he could only imagine what awaited within each one. The Arcane was the empty space between all of them. Every single possibility was accessible through this place. Once, he had even seen himself walk through one of the gates, but he was different. The hair around his body had been black instead of white. After that short experience, a chill went through his spine whenever he was forced to come here.

Argonath flew past the wizard, and with a wave of the orb atop his staff, a path of moonstone was fabricated before them.

"This way," said the guardian.

As the two of them walked, the path before them continued to fabricate itself. Meanwhile, GMW would occasionally look over the edge, where even more countless portals could be seen, stretching out as far as his eyes could see. If he were to fall, there was no way of knowing how far he would go before he fell into a portal. Or if he even would.

After several minutes of walking, the path ended on another vortex. But unlike the one that was used to enter the Arcane, this one was the complete opposite. Rather than being a vibrant white, it was a deep black that made it nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the emptiness around it. It was bigger as well, going up a few meters past the top of the wizard's head. Once they reached it, Argonath turned and gestured his hand towards it.

"Good luck," he said.

GMW was about to go through, but he stopped to look at the knight. "Argonath, you have the gift of foreseeing the future…"

The guardian raised his hand before the conversation continued. "I know what you mean to ask me, Grand Master. But you know the laws of the Arcane. As great as my powers might be, I cannot get directly involved with the history that will transpire within a universe. The path you walk is yours, and yours alone. To ask me of events yet to come would be most unwise. And it would also be unwise to keep the Wardens waiting for you any longer than is needed."

There was no point in continuing the conversation. Argonath was the oldest and most powerful being to ever exist, and there was no convincing him otherwise once he set his mind to something. Disappointed as he was, GMW turned his attention back to the vortex, and hesitantly walked through.

If he wasn't nervous enough before, setting foot in the chamber of the Wardens was enough to tie his stomach in knots. What awaited before the wizard was a long path, similar to the one he had walked on just moments before. But rather than being made of moonstone, it was made of polished ebony, and over the edges on both sides was a pit with no bottom in sight. At the very end of the long walkway was a round platform with five large square columns placed around the edges. At the top of each was a throne made of the same ebony as everything else, and sitting on them were the Wardens.

While GMW made his way towards the platform, he took the time to analyze each one from a distance. On the far right, sitting on his throne like the rest, was a knight donned in armor that looked black from a distance, but was actually a very dark shade of blue. His helmet was shaped like a growling wolf, and his eyes glowed with a vibrant cyan color. On his back was half of what was once a full battle-axe, but only half of the beautifully carved blades remained.

'Nox. Warden of Shadows,' Grand Master Wizard told himself, making sure he remembered their names and titles, so as to not make a bigger fool of himself than he already had.

The one following Nox looked almost identical in every way, and the other half of the battle-axe hung from his back. A few of the noticeable differences were how his armor was golden instead of blue, the same as his eyes, and his helmet was carved after a ram instead of a wolf.

'Lumen. Warden of Light.'

Opposite from the two that he had studied, on the far-left throne, was a woman with a ghostly appearance to her. It looked as if she was made of mist, and the only noticeable features to her were the glowing white eyes on her face. The way she sat made it clear she was not as professional as the rest; with her legs hanging over one of the armrests. However, that did not make her any less menacing. While not carrying any weapons, her sharp claws would be enough to tear anyone to shreds in seconds.

'Phantasma. Warden of Souls.'

Following Phantasma was another woman, but she was not ghostly in any way. While baring the face and arms of a human, the rest of her body was covered in stunning brown and white feathers, and two large, folded wings protruded from her back. On both sides of he beak-like nose, her eyes resembled an eagle's, and glowed orange like fire. She carried a pair of silver chakrams; one on each hip.

'Aquila. Warden of the Skies.'

Finally, in the center of the entire group, was the fifth Warden. His body highly resembled that of a fully-grown man, was donned with finely crafted crimson armor, and held a beautiful broadsword with a black hilt and blade that matched the color of his armor. His head, on the other hand, was a different story. It looked identical to a dragon's, and his scales were as pale as snow. Both horns on the back of his skull, like his wings, were black. They curved all the way around towards the front of his face, and they were sharpened enough to pierce through the toughest of hides. His eyes, like his armor and sword, were bright crimson, and they stared deeply into the Grand Master's mind more than any of the others.

'Dominus. Lord of the Wardens.'

When GMW reached the center of the platform, he knelt before the five beings sitting above him. A thin layer of fog that covered the ground ran through his fingers, and the sensation was cold enough to make him slightly shiver. All he could see was his own barely-visible shadow on the ground, crated by the source of a light coming from a high above. But what was creating it, he could never tell.

"My Lords," he said respectfully.

"Stand, Grand Master, and meet our gaze," echoed the deep voice of Dominus.

The wizard did as he was bid, and stood on both feet. He turned his head upwards to see those who looked down upon him.

"We are not happy," said the leader. "Not happy at all."

GMW nervously rubbed his hands together. "M-may I ask why?"

It was a stupid question. He knew the answer, but his mind was currently incapable of forming logical sense.

Nox leaned forward. "Argonath may not be willing to give us news of the future, but he is more than capable of providing alternate methods for us to see what is currently happening throughout the universes. And from what we've seen and heard, you have been too incompetent in putting a stop to the events regarding the mortals, Finn Mertens, and the Flame Princess, Phoebe, in your reality."

"This is unacceptable," said Lumen. "Apparently, she has disclosed information about the Cinder Gate, and the human is now on a quest to retrieve the gems necessary to activate it."

"I don't think we need to remind you of what awaits on the other side of that dammed construct, Grand Master," said Aquila. "What they find could mean the end of not just your universe, but ALL of them. The Arcane would be compromised like never before. And it is YOUR job to prevent these catastrophic events from starting."

GMW lowered his head. "I'm more than aware of this. But please understand, I am doing all within my power to put an end to this. I just need more time."

"Time?!" Phantasma cackled. "Time is not a luxury for us to give anymore."

The ghostly Warden flew down from her throne, and dived straight into the layer of fog covering the ground. A moment later, a large cloud of it suddenly erupted upwards, and a larger version of her, tall enough to be on par with the Grand Master's own height, stood before him. Without a chance to react, he could stand perfectly still as she dashed behind him and placed one of her sharp claws against his neck.

"Perhaps it's time we found someone new to take your place," she whispered. Her voice was like a constant hiss. "Someone who won't screw up at every turn, and slack off when all of existence is at stake. And I would love a soul like yours for my collection. There's always plenty of other Grand Masters to go around."

"No, please!" he begged. "I will do everything in my power to ensure the situation is fixed! You have my word, I'll put and end to it by myself if I have to! Just give me this one chance!"

"Phantasma, leave him be," Dominus commanded. His voice was always calm no matter the situation, but that's what made him so terrifying.

Phantasma did as she was told and shrunk back to her normal size before flying back to her seat. GMW sighed in relief and rubbed the part of his neck where her claw had been.

"Is it still possible to drive the boy and the girl from their current path?" Aquila asked. "Or are we dealing with mortals who are now beyond reasoning?"

"I believe it's possible," the wizard replied. "At least, I severely hope it is. The human has always been altruistic at heart, and I doubt he will ever stray from that formula of his own volition. However, since my vows have kept me from revealing the truth, it's near impossible to stop him without succumbing to violence, since he holds very little trust for me. And I suspect there might be lies being fed to him as well. As for the princess of flames, I believe that she has unfortunately become a victim of the same ploy. And while temperamental, there's still a chance that she could be persuaded."

"Whatever the case, they must be stopped," said Dominus.

The Warden leader stood from his seat, prompting GMW to kneel once more.

"I don't care if it must be done by force, we must figure out a way to end their pursuit. And if words will not convince them otherwise, I'm afraid drastic measures must be taken. Go back to your realm, Grand Master Wizard. Find the human and the elemental, along with any allies they might be working with. And if someone is indeed pushing them on, I also want this stranger found and brought directly to us. Have your men continue their search, and be as thorough as you possibly can. We would hate to face these mortals in person should the worse come to pass. It would be most unpleasant…for both you and them, that is. You are dismissed."

Note: As you may have noticed, yes, I decided to make Huntress Wizard a main character. Why? Well, I feel like it'll make things a bit more interesting and different than what I normally do by not having it be strictly about Finn and Phoebe all the time. Plus, I wanna expand her character in a way that I feel the show hasn't really succeeded in doing so far.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this one. And I'm especially eager to hear what those who have been reading my stories for a while thought of the little added references.

-Guest: You're welcome.

-Ooobserver: Rest assured, nothing in this story is added "just because".

Next Chapter: Eyes of the Falcon