Chapter 1

The sun once again rose over the land of Ooo, just as it had for countless centuries. With the Lich finally defeated and all other threats dealt with, the land of Ooo had entered an era of peace. The Candy Kingdom thrived harmoniously with the neighboring kingdoms.

The people of Ooo felt safer than they ever had. Crime was at an all time low. Local economies were growing and thriving. One could buy anything they needed for the right price. Food, medicine, shelter, even protection.

Even with all of Ooo's major threats dealt with, one could still purchase the help of Ooo's local champion; Finn the Human.

With skills such as his, money was never a problem. But Finn never saw adventuring as a means to and end. He would not ask for money or a reward for his troubles. Any rewards he collected were from the spoils of his adventures. But money was never a motivation for him, nor the songs of praise those he helped sang for him. For Finn, the adventure was its own reward. He and his bother Jake would spend days at a time going on different adventures.

Whether it was slaying trolls or crawling through ancient dungeons, the two of them would give it their all, just as they always had. Life was simple and happy for the young adventurer and for the land of Ooo.

Or was it?

Jake had noticed for the last few months that his brother had been growing slowly more and more apathetic. At first, he thought nothing of it, he figured it was just a random funk that Finn would eventually shake off. But as time went on, Finn's condition did not improve. He didn't seem to be getting worse per se, but Finn certainly was not getting better.

His adventuring had slowed to a crawl, and even during their adventures, Finn seemed to lack the joy that it once gave him.

All in all, Finn seemed very tired of everything in general. What was worse for Jake was that he had absolutely no idea how this depression fell upon his brother or how to drag him out of it. Jake had done everything he could think of to pull Finn out of his sad little cloud, but nothing seemed to be helping.

Jake stood at the edge of the latter that lead to their treefort's entrance. It was getting dark out, and Jake could see the moon slowly rising on the horizon.

Lady Rainicorn was having a small issue involving a goblin that had fortified itself in her attic.

"You're sure you don't wanna come with me?" Jake asked his brother, who was currently lazing on the couch. "It might be fun."

"Naw, it's cool. Go on without me." Finn answered in an uninterested tone.

"You're sure, you're sure?" Jake asked, hoping to elicit some better response from his brother.

"Yep, I'm sure." Finn answered, just as monotoned an uninterested as he had before.

"Kay then. Bye then. I'll be going now." The dog said in a disappointed tone. "See you tomorrow then…"

"Later Jake." Finn responded, not even taking his gaze away from the ceiling of the living room.

With his brother gone, Finn was free to indulge himself in whatever he could find to pass the time.

Tonight, he was content with simply lazing in the living room in silence. He knew that his brother could handle whatever it was that needed to be handled. Finn simply didn't want to be bothered. He knew that this disinterest he was feeling wasn't good for him, but he simply couldn't bring himself to care. As Ooo had grown peaceful, the amount of adventures he had gone on had not dwindled even in the slightest. But none of them gave him that big rush that he once felt any longer.

With out the Lich, without a villain, Ooo was finally safe. No other quest could out do the vanquishing of the Lich in terms of importance. Everything else now seemed so small and insignificant. He longed for the rush had once felt, the thrill, the danger, more importantly, he wanted to feel needed again.

No more, big world ending danger meant no more need for a hero. With no need for a hero, Finn felt that there was no need for him anymore. He had tried his best to shake away such dark thoughts, but they always managed to creep back into his brain.

Having grown bored of simply wallowing in his self-pity, Finn decided that a nice cold soda would brighten his mood. Or, at least he hoped it would.

With a tired sigh, Finn pushed himself off of the couch and slowly made his way into the kitchen.

The moon was high in the night sky, and its pale light filled the tree fort thoroughly. Finn squinted his eyes as the brighter light from the refrigerator cut through the dimly light kitchen.

Finn reached into the far back of the fridge and grabbed a soda. He took a moment to caress his neck with the chilled soda can. He sighed tiredly as a chill ran up his back. With a snap, Finn cracked open the can and quickly began to drink. Not even the tingling sensation of the cold carbonated soft drink could brighten his mood.

Just as Finn shut the fridge door, he heard a sound. It was a subtle sound, almost too quiet to be heard. It sounded like one of the floorboards squeaking in the living room.

"That you, Jake?!" Finn hollered as he peered from the kitchen.

His call was met with absolute silence.

"BMO? You okay?!" Finn hollered.

Again, Finn was met with silence.

Something weird is going on. Finn thought as he entered the living room. Everything seemed to be even quieter now than it had only moments ago.

Finn carefully crept into the living room with his head on a swivel. The air grew tense as Finn's eyes slowly scanned the room. Nothing was out of place, nothing was missing, and nothing was broken. He hadn't felt this creeped out since Ice King had used the horse disguise on him and Jake. Those were simpler times, but Finn had no time to reminisce on them.

Something is wrong. Finn thought as he placed his soda on the coffee table.

As Finn leaned over the coffee table, he noticed something that he hadn't before.
Setting almost perfectly hidden under the coffee table was a small box with the words 'For Finn,' written in red paint on the lid.

Without much though, Finn quickly picked up the box and looked over it. He sniffed it and gagged. The box reeked of oil and harsh chemicals.

With his interest at an all time high, Finn placed the box down on the coffee table and gently opened the lid.

Resting inside the painted box was pre-mushroom war technological relic. A tape recorder. Written on the tape recorder were the words 'Play Me,' written in red on a white label.

Finn's eyes were quickly drawn away from the tape recorder as they fell upon four photographs secured with a paperclip. Finn gently picked up the photos and brought them closer to his face.

The first photo was of Princess Bubblegum hard at work in her lab.

The second photo was of Marceline carelessly strumming on her bass guitar in her living room.

The last photo was of Flame Princess, sleeping soundly in her bed in the depths of the Fire Kingdom.

All of the photos seemed to be taken by someone hidden but very close to his friends. Each of the photos were labeled.

'Player Two' was written under PB's photo. 'Player Three' was written under Marceline's photo. Finally, 'Player Four' was written under Phoebe's photo.

"What the Glob?!" Finn exclaimed as looked closer at the photos.

Finn's mind suddenly snapped back to the tape recorder. Fuming with anger, Finn picked it up and held it to his ear. With an audible click, the tape began to play. Through the faint crackling of static, a distorted, toneless voice spoke.

"Hello, Finn the Human. You don't know me, but I know you. If you are playing this tape, then that means I have found you wanting."

The voice on the tape filled Finn's blood with ice. The voice, while calm, hid a great evil beneath its monotone and crackling static. Finn had not felt such a sense of dread from a mere voice since the Lich first spoke to him. Whoever was speaking to him was as evil as the Lich himself. Such a thought boggled Finn's mind.

Who could be as evil as the Lich? Finn thought briefly as the tape continued.

"By the time this tape finishes playing, your friends will already be in my possession. You will be joining them shortly. Do not resist, for you, Finn, are the last player that I require"

Finn felt a sudden pinch on his neck followed by a quickly spreading numbness in his neck. Finn spun around and was greeted by a figure in a pig mask hidden under a black and red robe. Clutched tightly in the intruder's grasp was an empty syringe.

"Why you…when I get my hands on…" Finn tried to speak but quickly found that his mouth no longer wished to move.

He stepped forward, but his legs crumbled beneath him as the numbness spread throughout his body.

With a dull thud, Finn's head hit the floor. With darkness quickly creeping into his vision, the last thing Finn heard was the voice on the tape recorder.

"I want to play a game."

I have returned. Oh, how I have missed you all.