Chapter 23: Eyes of the Falcon

"Do you see anything?"

Finn did not respond to Jake's question immediately. Instead, the human kept looking through his telescope, keeping a watchful eye out for any threats around Lady Rainicorn's home.

"Nothing yet," he replied.

"They're here," Jake said suspiciously. "I can smell them. And Lady too. They must be keeping her locked in there!"

The yellow dog felt Finn's hand grab his shoulder, but not forcefully.

"I know, man. I'm worried about her too. But we can't just go barging in there. There may be more hiding spots for us to move forward compared to the Grasslands, but there's no way of knowing what they have planned. There might magic ward traps or something."

As eager as he was to charge into the house to check on Lady, Jake accepted his brother's logic and remained in his spot. Looking through the telescope once more, the young hero continued his search for the enemy.

He wondered how a bunch of wizard police grunts could stay hidden so well. The two had faced their forces on several occasions, but they never seemed like the type who would lie in wait for so many hours on end for the off chance that the duo would pass through. And yet, no matter how hard the human scanned the barn windows, nothing came within sight.

Lady must have decided to do some redecorating since the last time he visited, because unlike the normal red color that covered a barn's walls, these were painted light purple, along with the silo further behind it. Finn could hardly be surprised however. Rainicorns loved to change the colors of anything they owned or came across, and Jake's lover was more than capable of changing the entire thing in the span of a few seconds with her magic horn.

That was another thing to consider. Magic. Lady was no stranger to it, so there was the possibility that maybe she was able to do something to avoid getting caught, even by other magic users. But if Jake was certain that he could catch her scent coming from somewhere inside, then perhaps she wasn't so lucky.

"Anything?" Jake asked, growing more and more impatient.

"No, man," Finn answered. He was grateful that there was a small flowing river near the house, so their voices would be harder to hear.

'If we can get to the house without being seen, there's a good chance that we can jump them before they even realize we're here. But it's the same problem we had with the treehouse all over again, but on a smaller scale. Once we jump out of this bush, it's nothing but open ground all the way to the doors. We'll be seen for sure, especially with the moon out.'

Once he was finished analyzing the situation, Finn turned his attention to Jake.

"I don't think there's a choice," he said. "Our best bet right now is to run towards the house as fast as possible. Maybe if we go in separate directions we can-"

Finn's plan was interrupted when the sound of breaking glass came from the barn, followed by a woman's scream. It took Finn a second to respond, but Jake was already running.

"LADY!" he shouted.

"Jake, wait!" Finn screamed in an ill attempt to stop his friend. Realizing he would not listen, he quickly drew his sword and jumped from the bush. "I suppose we're doing this the stupid way."

By the time he was able to catch up, Jake had already grown in size to bust down the main doors of the barn. Ready for a fight, both heroes jumped in, shouting war cries as they prepared to face off against an entire group of wizards. But the attack never came; instead, they were met with only Lady Rainicorn, seemingly in no trouble whatsoever, and staring at the two of them with a look of shock that quickly turned to one of anger.

"Jake! Finn!" she said, sounding more irritated than worried. "왜 문을 휴식 것입니다?!"

"What do you mean why would we break the doors down?" Jake asked. "You're in trouble, aren't you?"

"문제? 내가 들었어요 자신 차!"

"Tea?"

Finn and Jake turned their gazes to the spilled liquid on the floor, which seemed to originate from a broken cup.

"Oh," the dog said in realization. "You dropped it and got startled?"

"네입니다. 그것은 아무 입찰 계약을 했다."

Jake shrunk himself back to normal size, looking around the barn as Finn did the same. As far as the two could tell, despite the dim lighting of a few candles, the first and second floors of the house were completely clear of anyone else.

"B-but, I thought I smelled wizard police here!" Jake said, walking next to her.

"경찰? 아, 그 사람. 그래, 그들은 정말 그렇게 처리 문제가 아니었다."

"What?!" Jake exclaimed.

"Dude, what is she saying?" Finn asked, still keeping his sword at the ready.

"She says she saw them, and that they weren't a problem."

Finn raised an eyebrow, and lowered his sword. "Huh? What do you mean by that, Lady?"

"그들은 여기 얼마 전에 몇 가지 질문을 했다. 하지만 그들은 되 고 조금 거친 자를 넣어 하기로 결정 그래서. 그들은 야 묶여는 사일로에 바로 지금."

"Woah, really?!" Jake said, astonished. He turned to Finn. "She says that she tied them up in the silo when they became trouble."

The human's eyes widened. "You managed to fight off and apprehend an entire wizard police squad? Nice!"

Jake chuckled and stretched an arm around Lady and pulled her into a hug. "Ha! I knew it would take a lot more than a few grunts to stop you."

She still kept an irritated look on her face for a few moments, but she eventually gave in and smiled, returning the hug.

"감사, 호박입니다. 하지만 난 아직도 그 문을 완벽 하 게 복구를 기대."

"Heh, yeah…"

Finn finally sheathed his sword, aware that the danger was no longer present. "So where are they?"

After Jake and Lady separated, she pointed outside.

"그들은 격납고에 있어. 그들은 그래서 아침까지 거기 넣어 하기로 헛간에서 너무 많은 소음을 제작 했다."

"She put them in the silo," Jake translated.

Finn nodded, and gestured for the two to follow. "Let's go say hello then."

Jake and Lady followed the human closely behind as they stepped into the cold of night. The gentle flow of the river was the only noise aside from their footsteps, and that of the small gusts that the Rainicorn created as she levitated several inches from the ground. But soon, the air was filled with the slow creaking of a metal door as Finn opened the makeshift door into the silo, and Lady's quiet chanting as her horn began to glow to offer them some much needed light.

The amount of rust spread across the walls made it clear that the structure had been left unused for many years. Whatever once filled its inside was replaced by several miscellaneous objects, stored away by Lady during her time living in this secluded barn. Broken lamps, sealed boxes, repair tools gathering dust, the works. In the very center, however, tied back-to-back by a what Finn assumed was a magic-infused rope, were the four wizard police grunts that Lady was somehow able to defend against.

Three of them were still unconscious, with their heads slumped forward, but one of them was already awake, and reacted as soon as he heard the commotion. Judging by his minute state of grogginess, he was probably just waking up.

"Huh? Who are you?" he asked, looking around in confusion. "Where am I? All I remember was a bright flash and…some woman speaking complete gibberish."

Finn walked forward and opened his mouth to speak, but Jake grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him close before he could get a word out.

"Dude, can we do the 'good cop, bad cop' routine?" the dog asked.

Finn took a peek at the grunt. "I don't think this is the best time, Jake…"

"Aw come on, it's been forever. Please?"

Finn sighed, but he supposed that they would get answers one way or another.

"Fine," he decided. "But let's make this quick."

Jake smiled devilishly, and loosened his grip around the human. As he made his way towards his interrogation victim, he raised his hand and delivered a powerful backhand slap against his face, causing the one tied up to exclaim and nearly fall over. Before his composure was regained, he was tugged back by a large yellow hand.

"Where are the other drugs going?!" the canine shouted.

"Jake," Finn said impatiently.

Jake's response was a slight chuckle. "Sorry. I just wanted to say that for a really long time."

He slapped the other's face once again, and tugged on his shirt once more to meet his face.

"Why does Grand Master Wizard want to catch us so badly?! And why would he go through the trouble of sending you guys to our home and our family's?! Isn't against Ooo law for you enforcer types to hunt criminals outside of your jurisdiction?! Answer me!"

The grunt tried to shake free of Jake's grasp, but to no avail. "How should I know, man? Yes, we aren't supposed to get involved with anything outside of Wizard City, but the big man is really irked about something, and he promised all of us extra pay if we waited to ambush you guys and brought you back to him. As long as they provide the paychecks, we don't ask questions. Only the higher ups have access to any sort of classified info; we're just footmen!"

"You better not hide anything from us," Finn said. "This is my partner's behavior when he's in a good mood. You don't wanna see what he's like when angry. Trust me."

Jake emphasized by morphing his free hand into a spiked glove, followed by a low chuckle. The grunt struggled even more, but a quick fake swing of the large fist close to his face was enough to make him shout.

"I really don't know!" he exclaimed. "He was super secretive about most of the details. All I heard was something about a 'Cinder Gate'. And how you were not allowed to get your hands on some gems or whatever." His voice was beginning to break. "Please don't tell him I gave you guys this information. I just wanna go home!"

As the grunt shivered, Jake turned to Finn. "I think that's all we're getting from this guy. Should we just leave him here and let Lady free them when we're gone?"

Finn analyzed the situation for a moment.

'Hunting down the gems is gonna be really difficult with these guys chasing us around Ooo. I have no idea who to trust anymore. Grand Master Wizard won't specify the meaning of his actions for some reason, and despite being related to Huntress, can I really trust Weimar? Who's in the right in all of this?!'

After much debating, an idea hatched in his head. "I think there might be one more use for this guy."

He knelt in front of the law enforcer as Jake released his grip. He was still shaking, but the human gently placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"We'll let you and your friends go, don't worry," he said. "Despite of what my partner may have shown you, we're not bad guys. We can show mercy. But I need a favor from you."

"W-what?"

Finn raised his hand to show the glowing mark. "Have you seen anything like this before?"

The grunt studied the mark for minute, and his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Woah. That is some…very dark magic right there. I've only seen that mark in one other place during patrol. Where did you get it?"

"That's not important. What I want to know is if there's someone in Wizard City, or really anywhere else in Ooo, who has the knowledge to remove it."

There was a moment of silence. "Maybe? Such powers have been outlawed, and barely any wizards practice them. Although…there are those who secretly perform necromantic rituals in the more abandoned parts of the city. There's a chance that they might know something."

"And you let them continue?" Jake asked.

"They offer us a good ransom to let them continue their operations," the grunt replied. "And besides, all of their experiments are done with non-sentient animals, not people. But don't tell the boss that I told you that either."

Jake scoffed. "Corruption. Typical."

Finn took a minute to analyze the situation, and to plan his next words carefully.

"Okay," he began. "Grand Master Wizard doesn't want us to open the Cinder Gate, but he hasn't really given us much reason as to why we shouldn't, or why we should trust him. He's been doing nothing but trying to lock us up nonstop. But I have a suggestion that could benefit both of us. Instead of attacking each other, you'll go back to Wizard City and tell the Grand Master this: he'll stop his pursuit of us while we continue our search for the gems that open the Cinder Gate. In exchange, he'll be more than welcome to come speak to me and Flame Princess in the Fire Kingdom once we've gathered all of them, and once she's back from the Diamond Kingdom.

"If he can properly convince us that opening the gate is really harmful to Ooo somehow, then we'll hand over the gems so that he can do whatever he wants with them. And also, he has to fully assure me that he'll do everything in his power to get this mark removed if we do hand them over. We can solve all of this peacefully, and with no further useless fighting between us. That sound good to you? Or am I being unfair somehow?"

More silence followed as Finn's words were pondered. Some seconds later, the grunt raised his head.

"I guess he'll consider the terms," he said. "From what I heard him say, he would be more than happy to obtain those gems, rather than having them be hidden all the time for anyone to find."

Finn nodded, and gestured to Lady Rainicorn. With a swift motion of her horn, the rope that kept the enforcer bound were loosened, and he was able to free himself and stand on his feet. Once he was out, the rope tightened, keeping the other three still in place.

"Now go," Finn said. "Deliver the message."

"But what about my friends?"

Finn pointed to Lady. "She'll let them go in the morning, after we're long gone from here. And for your sake, you better not try anything you'll regret. Go."

No more words were exchanged afterwards. The man who so desperately wanted to leave was now making his way out of the silo and across the grassy fields as quick as his legs would allow. Once he was out of sight, the human sighed.

"Do you think Grand Master Wizard will accept our terms?" Jake asked.

"Let's hope so, man." Finn yawned. "For now, Lady, can we crash in your home for the night?"

"물론. 당신은 항상 환영 여기입니다."

"She says yes, and that we're always welcome here," Jake translated. "Thanks, sweetie."

"그것은 아무 문제가 없다. 하지만, 내 생각 엔 적어도 신세 정확히 무엇으로 설명에가 고 두에는이 퀘스트입니다."

"It's a really long story," Jake replied. "I'll tell you about it in the morning during breakfast. And I promise I'll find a way to get the doors fixed, alright?"

Lady nodded, and the three of them left the silo to sleep the night away.

Huntress failed to decide what was worse: the times when her entire body felt numb and she was unable to move, or the few moments when her senses actually returned, but were accompanied by a wave of endless pain across her entire person.

The pain had been coming in faster pulses recently. One second, her ability to move her limbs came, but the next she was back to going limp when the aching sensation every time she tried to move was too much to bear. The same happened when she tried to move her eyes at all. They felt extremely heavy, and even when she did manage to slightly open her eyelids, she could see nothing but pure darkness.

"He…Help…"

Her words were barely audible. She doubted that even someone standing in the same room as her would be able to hear them.

Once more, the pain returned, and she tried her hardest to move. But the ordeal was fruitless. No matter how much she tried, all she could manage to do was lift her arms a few inches off of wherever she was laying, before the numbness took over as she felt nothing. With a weak sigh, she gave up, and refused to try and move when the opportunities kept coming.

All she could hear was the steady, raspy breathing coming from herself, and the slow beating of her heart. Where she was, or how much time had passed since she entered this state, it was impossible to know. All she could remember was being in the clutches of the Witch, and then the most painful sensation she had ever felt as icy fingers dug into her head. Afterwards, it was nothing; just an endless void before her, and no way of telling which direction was up, down, left, or right anymore. She was noting but an empty shell now.

Would she ever be able to run through the forests again? Would she be able to feel the adrenaline of chasing down worthy prey? Will people just grow to forget about her as the years went by?

Was she even still alive?

That last question made her more uneasy than the rest. Maybe this is what death was; just an endless void, where nothing exists, and all you can feel is whatever sensation you were going through during your last moments. Maybe it was her eternal damnation to feel the pain she had gone through before her life was stripped away entirely. Perhaps her heartbeat and breathing were just echoes of the very last times she experienced both sounds.

'Don't be stupid,' she told herself. 'You know better than to find some sort of symbolic meaning behind something you've made yourself familiar with in the past. This isn't some kind of punishment, nor is it the end. It's just the childish ploy of a witch who'll soon learn her lesson.'

Putting aside all thoughts inside her head, Huntress allowed herself to relax her muscles and eyes, making the pain tolerable every time it came back. And as the numbness returned, she allowed herself to try and sleep, but it was in vain. As lessened as the pain might have been, there was still no possible way of ignoring it, and it prevented her from drifting away completely.

As frustrating as it was, she had to come to terms with the fact that there was no way out of her current predicament. At least, not on her own. But for all she knew, she had been thrown back into the same cage the Witch's minions had taken her from, left on the cold floor to die slowly, if that was the case, it would only be a matter of time before she was truly dead, and even longer still if they were lucky enough to escape in order to find someone capable of helping her out of this vegetable-like state. However, maybe that was not the case. Through the pain, she never felt herself lying on stone, but rather a soft surface.

"Broke it…"

The words startled Huntress, and her sudden jolt made another wave of pain wash over her. But try as she might, all that surrounded her was still darkness, and the source of what she heard was nowhere to be found.

Was she hearing things now? That was the last thing she needed.

"You broke it…"

Now Huntress knew she was definitely not just hearing things. The first time, it was just a whisper that she could barely make out, but now, she could hear the feminine voices clearly, and all she felt at the point was a mixture of anger and utter sadness.

"Go away…" Huntress tried to speak, but her voice was still low. "I know I'm just hallucinating. You're long gone…"

There was silence for a brief time, but the voices continued. They spoke in unison.

"We were always so kind to you. Always willing to help you, and you were willing to help us. But then you left. Why? Why did you leave?"

Huntress was hesitant to respond, but something deep within told her to.

"You know why. Everything you did…"

"We did for you," the voices interrupted. "Don't you remember that night? The fire. The screams. Their laughter as they saw everything burn. And we watched. Scared and without hope. Lost and without guidance. It was up to us to create something new with our lives. With our great gifts. But you didn't see it that way, despite everything we went through. We made a promise to each other, that we would look after ourselves. But then…you broke that promise. Broke it…"

They continued to repeat the same two words, and Huntress tried her best to not hear them.

"Broke it. Broke it! BROKE IT!"

Just before she let out a scream, the voices came to a sudden halt, and the only sounds were her breathing and heartbeat once again.

It took a moment for her to realize, but the pain had subsided. It was still there, but weak enough so that she could actually move her limbs more than just a few inches. Also, it was rather blurry, but she could swear that she was starting to see something.

"Huntress," spoke a voice right in front of her. She instantly recognized it as Weimar.

"Master?" she asked, her voice now sounding a bit better and clearer than before.

"Easy, child," the old wizard said, while holding onto her left shoulder. She was unsure how she got to the position, but from what she could feel, Huntress was sitting at the edge of a bed.

As her vision began to clear, she could now see him standing in front of her, concern showing on his face despite his having no color to them. She tried to blink a few times, and she felt her eyelids close, but for some odd reason the brief darkness that came with it never showed itself. In any case, as her grandfather's face became fully clear, along with the warm candlelight that showed she was in his abode, she sighed in relief.

"You healed me," she said.

He smiled, but there was no happiness to it. "I did the best I could to free you from the curse that the Witch had placed upon you. You may feel weak for a time, but you should be back to your normal self soon. At least, most of your normal self."

Huntress was confused. "What do you mean?"

Weimar said nothing. Instead, he stepped to the side, giving her a helping hand as she stood from the bed. During the process, she noticed other odd things; when she briefly turned her head down, her sights remained forward, and she also felt slightly taller than usual, and her sight was somewhat sharper than she once remembered it being.

A brief look at the window showed her that it was nighttime. And as Weimar helped her move across the room with one arm, while holding his staff with the other, a thought occurred to her.

"Master, what happened to Finn?" she asked worryingly. "And Jake? And Ice King?"

"They're all safe," he replied. "Help came just in time, and you were all brought back to safety."

"I need to go to them. I have to make sure…"

"You will do no such thing. You need to recover first. You're weak from the experience. Plus…there is a matter that we must discuss."

Huntress was confused. But as she and Weimar reached a nearby mirror, she nearly tumbled in shock of what she saw.

On her shoulder, scratching one of its wings, was small brown and white falcon. The tip of its beak was black, while the part that connected with the rest of his face was bright yellow. Its tendons were sharp, but just short enough so that they didn't pierce her clothing while on his current position. As it raised its head entirely, its yellow eyes glowed with the small amount of light in the room, but its wide pupils were as black as the void she had been forced to see before she had awoken; its look was stern, and it showed signs of wisdom.

But one of the details that unnerved Huntress the most, and it was the first she noticed, was that her eyes were the exact same as the feathery creature.

"What…is this…?" she asked, still staring at the mirror.

Weimar seemed saddened. "I'm afraid that, while I was able to bring full function back to your motor skills, the curse placed upon your eyes was too great for me to fix. While the one placed upon my own eyes is far worse and cannot be undone, I refused to let you remain blind as well. So, I had to find alternative means of giving you your sight back."

The falcon suddenly screeched, and flew away as it spread its wings. Weimar was forced to keep Huntress from falling over as she was suddenly taken across the entire room, but never without touching the ground. As wings flapped in front of her, she was suddenly turned around, and was left firmly placed on the archway over the house's door. But in the distance, still standing in front of the mirror, was she and her grandfather.

As Huntress turned around slowly, she met her own gaze from across the room.

"His name is Gaile," said Weimar. "He will be your eyes from now on."

Note: Another day, even more mystery.

-Guest: Thanks!

-Ooobserver: Meh, I don't blame you. I suppose it's for the best if people forget where those references are from… (Argonath and the Arcane were both in The Dragonstone)

-Fiery Crusader: I swear your reviews get longer with every chapter lol. Not complaining though. I love to read theories.

Next Chapter: Biology Lessons