Chapter 10
The sun rose slowly over the horizon, bathing the slumbering land of Ooo with its warming light. Birds began to sing and chirp as if to welcome the new day. With the promise of a new day, the land of Ooo slowly began to wake from their slumber. A soft breeze blew across the land, bringing with it the pleasing scent of the early morning air. All in all, it was the beginning of yet another day in the land of Ooo.
A flash of bright colors streaked across the sky as Lady Rainicorn gracefully flew above the clouds. Jake laughed as she dove beneath the clouds and skimmed the tree line of the forest that surrounded the tree fort. He had spent the entire night battling a goblin that had fortified itself in Lady's attic.
"Oh man, I can't wait to show Finn all this cool stuff that goblin had stashed away!" Jake exclaimed happily as he looked over his shoulder at the loot filled backpack. "I can't believe he managed too fit all of this stuff in your attic."
"I've been meaning to declutter for a while." Lady giggled. "Thanks to you, I won't have to now."
"Anything for my babe!" Jake laughed before planting a kiss on Lady's neck.
Despite the fun he had, Jake was really hoping that something from his bag of loot would cheer his brother up. It pained him to see Finn in the dumps. He didn't know what had caused Finn to wander into the funk that he was stuck in, but he was determined to pull him out of it. He had something planned for his brother that was certain to brighten his mood.
"Today we are gonna grab Finn and take him on a good old fashion adventure!" Jake proclaimed loudly. "With dungeons and trolls and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff! That ought to cheer him up for sure!"
Lady swiftly descended as the tree fort came into view. She gracefully spiraled before landing on the ground. Jake hopped off Lady's back and gave her a kiss on the snout.
"I'll be right back, babe. I'll go grab Finn and then we can head to Candy Kingdom and check up on Princess Bubblegum."
"I'm in no hurry." Lady responded sweetly. "Take as long as you need."
"Love you, babe!" Jake hollered as he climbed up the tree fort ladder.
"Love you more!" Lady sang back.
Jake pushed open the hatch to the tree fort and tossed his bag of loot into the entry room.
"I'm home, Finn!" Jake shouted as he hopped off the ladder and into the room. "Come check out this stuff I got from that goblin that was in Lady's attic!"
Jake arrival was met with silence. Figuring that Finn was still asleep, Jake took a deep lung full of air.
"Yo, Finn! Wake up! I got loot to show you!" Jake shouted so loudly that it rattled the windows.
Again, he was met with silence.
"Is everything alright in there?" Lady asked as she peered in through the window.
Jake looked to Lady with a confused expression.
"I'm not sure." He stated as he began to stretch his way into the living room. "There is no way he didn't hear me."
Jake stretched into the living room and looked around.
"You in here, Finn?" Jake asked as he stretched into the kitchen. "Not in there either."
Jake's body twisted as he stretched up into their bedroom.
"You napping in here?!" Jake shouted playfully as he entered the bedroom, only to find it empty.
"Hmm… where is he?" Jake asked himself as he rubbed his chin in thought. "He told me that he wasn't going anywhere last night."
There was a loud thud, as the closet door was suddenly flung open. Jake shouted shrilly before realizing that the cause of the noise was only BMO. The small robot was bound in tightly wrapped rope and had tape covering their mouth. There was a large crack on BMO's screen where it looked like something had hit the poor robot hard on the face.
"Woah, BMO, what happened to you?!" Jake asked as he tore the tape off the struggling robot.
As the tape was pulled from BMO's mouth, a small cassette tape fell to the floor.
"Jake, Lady, Finn is in big trouble!" BMO exclaimed as they sprang up off the floor. "So much trouble! Very, very, very big trouble!"
"Woah, slow down BMO." Jake ordered as he tried to calm the frightened robot. "What do you mean Finn is in trouble? What happened while I was gone?"
BMO groaned as they rubbed the crack on their screen.
"I was looking for something to cheer Finn up." BMO stated as they wobbled uneasily. "I was in the closet when-"
BMO's screen suddenly snapped to static before returning to normal.
"ERROR. MEMORY CORRUPTED." BMO announced robotically. "-then I woke up in the closet all tied up! Then I heard Finn shout, but then everything was quiet. I've been trapped in the closet all night!"
"Finn is missing?" Lady asked with a worried expression. "Is he in danger?"
As Jake turned to look back down at BMO, he spotted the cassette that had fallen but had gone unnoticed. He picked it up and held it up to the light. Written on the tape were the words 'Play Me,' written in red. Jake held the tape under his noise and gave it a sniff. He could smell dirt, oil, something that smelled like a pig, and he could smell Finn's scent. But something was off about the scent.
"I can smell Finn on this tape, but something is weird." Jake stated as he gave it another sniff. "There are two scents that I'm smelling." He paused as he took another sniff. "One is defiantly Finn's, but the other smells like Finn but more…girly?"
"Girly?" Lady asked. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not really sure, babe." Jake admitted "My nose is telling me that there were two Finns here last night. But that's major impossible."
Jake then held the tape up to BMO.
"Can you play it, BMO?" Jake asked. "Maybe we can find something out on the tape."
BMO was hesitant, but they quickly found the courage and grabbed the tape from Jake and placed it in their tape player slot.
BMO's screen flickered as the tape began to play. The formatting on the tape was old, but BMO's programing quickly made the tape playable. BMO's screen suddenly flashed white and their speakers blared with a loud crackle of static, startling Jake and Lady greatly. As suddenly as it started, the static snapped to the image of a white-faced dummy with red spirals on its cheeks.
"What the glob?" Jake asked in a deathly quiet voice.
Slowly, the dummy's head turned towards the camera, its red eyes glaring at its audience.
"Hello, Jake. By the time you watch this tape, your brother Finn will already be in my possession. Your brother is very sick. I'm sure you have noticed the apathy, the lethargy, and the emptiness. He hasn't always been like this, we both know as much. Your brother has taken his life for granted and has found himself wandering down a dark path. A path of ruin. Please be aware that none of this is your fault. But know this; and you cannot save him. Only he can save himself. Should your brother survive my games, then he will return completely rehabilitated. Hidden inside the coding of your robotic friend here is a program of my creation. This tape contained a line of code that only my program can find and store. This line code is the first piece of the puzzle. There are four puzzle pieces in total. Find the remaining pieces to the puzzle and assemble them together. Once this task is complete, you will be one step closer to finding your brother. Whether you find him alive or dead is up to him. Whatever you decide is inconsequential. Finn's game will continue, with or without you pursuing me. You cannot stop what I have started. You cannot stop the game."
BMO's screen suddenly cut to static before going blank. There was a loud whirring noise as ribbons of the cassette tape spilled out from BMO's tape player slot. BMO's body shuttered before ejecting the ruined tape. BMO's screen flickered before changing back to their default face screen.
"I'm sorry Jake." The robot apologized. "It wasn't my fault. It was the virus from the tape. It made me do it!"
Lady scooped the sobbing robot up and cradled them, calming them down.
Jake was silent as he tried to process all the information that had just been dumped on him. He didn't understand how Finn's recent bout of depression led to his kidnapping, or how it motivated the kidnapper. To be honest, Jake didn't care about the why or the how. All knew was that his bro was in danger, and he had to go save him. But he was going to need help in finding him.
Jake picked up the shredded remains of the cassette tape and pocketed it before jumping up on Lady's back.
"Come on, babe. Let's go see Princess Bubblegum." Jake said with a determined voice as he grabbed BMO and placed them in a pouch he formed in his stomach. "If there is one person in Ooo that can solve a puzzle, it's PB."
"I agree, Jake." Lady responded as she coiled herself up like a spring. "Hold on tightly!"
With a flash bright colors, Lady rocketed out the tree fort and into the sky.
The clouds blurred past the trio as Lady Rainicorn flew as fast as she could towards the Candy Kingdom. While trying to keep themselves calm, BMO's eyes wandered down to the grasslands below them. The little robot noticed a trial of deep gashes in the ground.
"Hey, look down there!" BMO exclaimed as they pointed.
Jake and Lady were stunned as their eyes fell upon the gashes that marred the grasslands. The gashes were easily one-hundred feet wide.
"Woah, those weren't there yesterday!" Jake exclaimed. "What the heck are they?!"
"I don't know, but they are headed towards the Candy Kingdom!" Lady responded as she dove closer towards the ground and flew parallel to the gashes. "I don't like this Jake. Why would they be heading towards the Candy Kingdom?"
"I guess we'll find out once we get there." Jake responded as he clung to Lady tightly. "Kick it into high gear, babe! Something ain't right!"
Lady reared back, then sprang forward as she bolted as fast as she could towards the Candy Kingdom, anxious at what they might find waiting for them.
After flying for what felt like forever, the trio finally made it to the Candy Kingdom. The deep gashes in the ground they had spotted earlier had stopped and changed their course a mile outside of the kingdom. The trio would investigate where they lead to later. Right now, they needed to see the princess.
There was a somber air that filled the Candy Kingdom and its people. The Gumball guardians were weeping.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Jake stated nervously.
Lady slowed her flying speed and coiled down towards Princess Bubblegum's tower. As the three entered through the open balcony window, they were greeted by several of the Banana guards.
"Halt, who goes- oh it's Lady and Sir Jake." One of the guards stated as he lowered his spear. "It's good to see you."
"What's goin' on around here?" Jake asked as he looked around at all of the security that was scouring PB's personal chambers with magnifying glasses. "Where is Princess Bubblegum?"
"Oh, glob, the princess!" one of the guards wailed before falling to floor sobbing. "The Princess has been kidnapped!"
"What?!" Both Jake and Lady exclaimed.
"How did she get kidnapped?" Lady asked in a fearful tone. "Wouldn't the Gumball guardians be able to sense the kidnapper's presence before they could even enter the kingdom?"
"Yeah, what about that?" Jake asked. "How could someone get past the guardians? Where is Peppermint Butler? He should know how that junk works."
The Banana guards all shot each other frightened looks.
"Peppermint Butler is missing as well!" one of the guards shouted, unable to bear keeping silent.
Jake could not believe what he was hearing. Not only was his brother missing, but now so was Princess Bubblegum and Peppermint Butler.
Could this day get any worse? He asked himself.
"Well, look it is!" an obnoxious voice shouted. "Jake and Lady. Haven't seen yous guys in a while."
Jake turned towards the open door of the chamber and spotted the tiny flambit, Flambo.
"Hey Flambo." Jake greeted wearily. "It has been a while. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I just dropped on by to ask the princess for emergency aid for the Fire Kingdom." Flambo answered casually. "The whole place got wrecked up bad last night. Yep, I saw the whole thing go down. Big walkin' cloud lookin' thing just waltzed on up to the castle and started smashin' it up. Awful, truly awful. Oh, and Flame Princess is missin'."
A huge vein bulged in Jake's head at this new and very unwanted development.
"Are you telling me that Flame Princess has been kidnapped too?" Jake asked, really hoping that he misheard the flambit.
"Probably, didn't see that go down. Alls I saw was the walkin' cloud thing attack the palace then it just up and left." Flambo answered. "By the time I made it to the palace, the princess was missin' and whoever was left were arguin' about who should replace her. Typical royalty, no loyalty in that bunch."
"So, I was not the only one who saw the cloud." A new voice stated bluntly, startling everyone in the room. Sitting on the window sill like she had always been there was none other than Huntress Wizard.
"Glob, I wish you wouldn't do that!" Jake exclaimed as he clutched his pounding heart. "What are you doing here?"
Huntress Wizard leaped from the window and landed in the center of the room.
"While I was out hunting last night, something tore through my forest. Something massive and concealed beneath a black cloud. I've been tracking it all night. But it somehow has managed to elude me." She spoke in a calm yet frustrated voice. "I followed it from a distance, but it led me to the home of one of your friends. The night dweller you call Marceline."
"Wait, the cloud led you to Marcy's place?" Jake asked. "Have you seen her? Is she safe?"
Huntress unslung her hunting bag and reached inside. She then threw the tattered remains of Marceline's grey t-shirt.
"I'm afraid that your friend is in danger." She stated calmly. "She fell prey to several skilled hunters. I witnessed it, but remained hidden."
"You saw Marcy in danger but you didn't try to help her?" Lady asked angrily.
"It was not my hunt, nor did I have the right to deny the hunter's their catch." Huntress answered in a very serious tone. "The hunt is between the hunter and their prey."
Huntress Wizard then reached into her bag and withdrew a badly damaged pig mask. She had snagged it from one of the hunters before they could get too far away. The hunters escaped, but she had all that she needed.
"The hunters all donned masks such as this one." She stated as she tossed it to Jake. "Their scent is now mine to follow."
Jake held the mask up to his nose and sniffed it. He gagged as the mask's stench stung his nose. It was the same pig smell that he picked up at the tree fort.
"Oh yeah, that's ripe." Jake groaned as he tossed the mask back to Huntress. "These were definitely the same guys that nabbed Finn last night."
Huntress Wizard suddenly perked up at the sound of Finn's name.
"Something has happened to Finn?" she asked with great alarm. "Is he safe? Is he hurt?"
Jake shook his head and withdrew the ruined cassette tape.
"Finn was kidnapped last night." Jake stated somberly. "The kidnappers left us this tape pretty much telling us that we can't save him. But-"
Huntress Wizard reached into her bag and withdrew a similar tape and tossed it to Jake.
"I found this in Marceline's home last night after the hunters had left." She stated with a sense of urgency that was unlike her. "Will it help lead us to Finn?"
"Oh, yeah, I found one of those old tapes too." Flambo announced as he tossed a similar cassette tape that was covered in runes of fire protection. "I was gonna sell the thing, but yous guys seem to need it more."
"Uh, we found one too." One of the Banana guards announced as they held the tape up.
"That's a total of four tapes." Lady stated with an anxious tone. "Just like our tape said there would be."
Jake nodded his head. Whoever kidnapped Finn, PB, Marcy, and Phoebe had been planning this for a while. But they saw fit to leave clues behind for them to find. Why? What was the reasoning behind it? Did they want to be found out, or was it really nothing more than a game to them?
"Alright, BMO, you up for this?" Jake asked the robot.
BMO nodded their head and gathered the tapes in their arms.
"I will do whatever I can to help find our friends!" the robot stated firmly.
BMO took the tapes and placed the first one in their tape player slot. Much like before, their screen flickered and went black. Their screen flickered back to life as they ejected the cassette.
"One down." BMO stated as they picked up the second tape. "Two more to go."
Each of the following tapes took longer to process as the aged technology strained the tiny robot's hardware. After about thirty minutes, the last tape was finished being processed. BMO ejected the tape and laid on their back.
"I don't feel so good." They groaned as their screen flickered and their speakers crackled.
Suddenly, BMO's screen flickered to white and their speakers blared loudly. Just as it had before, the image of the white-faced dummy appeared on BMO's screen. The room watched with bated breath as the dummy's head turned towards the viewer.
"Congratulations, you have found all the pieces to the puzzle that I left for you. You are now one step closer to finding your friends. Are you prepared to find them, in whatever state they are in once you find them? If they have the piece to their own puzzle, then you will find them rehabilitated and more appreciative of the life they have been given. However, if they lack the piece, then you will only find their bodies.
BMO's screen flickered to a still image of Finn, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, and Flame Princess all huddled together in a dark empty room.
"Finn!" Both Jake and Huntress exclaimed at the sight of Finn's huddled form.
"Your hide is mine!" Huntress growled angrily as she picked up BMO and held the screen up to her face. Jake quickly pulled BMO from her hands and placed them back on the floor for all to see. BMO's screen flickered and changed back to the dummy's face.
"As I said before, you cannot save them. Only they can save themselves.
The image on the screen suddenly changed to an image of an old pre-mushroom war building with red jittering text that read "Four walls build a home," placed over the image. Almost as quickly as it had been shown, the screen flickered back to the dummy.
"Did you catch all of that? Search the ruins of the old world. You will find that the dead are not as quiet as you would think. Find this building, and you will find the next piece of the puzzle and you will be one step closer to finding your friends. If you follow the clues that I have left you, you will be able to see how I heal the sickness of the soul. Or you can abandon your pursuit of me, and let the game continue unhindered. The choice is yours."
With a loud pop, BMO's screen flickered off. The tiny robot was still for a moment before their screen blinked back to life.
"Oww…my insides hurt." BMO moaned. "I need a nap."
The room was silent as everyone mulled over what they had been shown. They now knew without a doubt that their friends were in grave danger. They knew that they needed to find their friends before it was too late.
"Did anyone catch the image of the building?" Jake asked as he looked over the group. "'Four walls build a home,' is as much as I could take in."
"I got nothin'." Flambo announced.
"I don't hunt in the ruins enough to know the territory." Huntress stated bitterly. "But the hunt will go on."
"Sorry, Jake. It went by too fast." Lady responded sadly.
"Four walls build a home." A new voice spoke from behind the group. Standing in the doorway of the princess' chambers was the last person they would expect to see; Peace Master.
"Four walls build a home." He repeated as he lifted the tip of his hat. "That is what the message said, correct?"
"Yeah…but what does that mean?" Jake asked, uneasily.
Peace Master walked past the Banana guards and withdrew a map from his charm sack.
"I've been mapping out the ruins of the old world ever since this kingdom turned its back on me and my family." He stated coldly. "If I am not allowed to fight evil in my own home, then I will fight it in the dead places, where few people dare to tread."
The map that he showed them was relatively detailed and covered at least a one-hundred-mile radius of the ruins.
"Here, this is the building that you seek." Peace Master stated as he pointed it out on the map. "It's about a two-day's journey, even by air. You will need someone who knows the territory. The ruins are a dark and treacherous place."
"Are you saying your coming with us?" Jake asked astonished. "Why, you know that Peppermint Butler was kidnapped too, right?"
Peace Master frowned bitterly and tugged on his bandages.
"I'm not doing this for him." He spat venomously. "I'm doing it because a great evil is afoot, and I can't sit idly by and let it do as it wishes."
"It makes no difference to me." Huntress stated firmly. "I'll hunt down these kidnappers, with or without anyone's help."
"You won't be without help, because I'm coming along too." Lady stated proudly as she coiled herself around Jake.
"You do you, girl." Flambo responded casually as he walked past the guards and out the door. "I ain't gettin' roped in to all this. Yous guys have fun though. Say hi to Phoebe for me, if she ain't snuffed out by the time to see her."
Jake took a moment to collect himself before looking back up towards the group.
"Alright, listen up." Jake ordered firmly. "Our friends are in trouble, and we are gonna go save them. We are all in this together now. Got that?"
"Agreed."
"As you say."
"The hunt begins…"
"Good, now everyone, go grab your stuff. We will meet back here tomorrow morning. We're gonna be gone for a while, so pack for the long haul."
Jake put his hand out in front of him and smiled.
"Come on, bring it in."
Lady giggled and placed her paw on top of his. Peace Master rolled his eye before placing his hand in the circle. Huntress Wizard gave the three of them a skeptical look, but finally placed her hand in the circle as well.
"One, two, three, GO TEAM RESCUE FRIENDS!" Jake shouted excitedly as he threw his hands up in the air.
"Go team rescue friends!" Lady giggled happily as she threw her paws up in the air.
"Hmm…go team." Peace Master muttered as he pulled his hand out of the circle.
"Tomorrow, I'll be here at first light." Huntress Wizard stated flatly. "Be ready."
Huntress then bolted for the window and dove off the ledge.
Jake smiled and picked up the still sleeping BMO.
"Let's go, babe." He stated as he climbed up on Lady's back.
"We got packing to do."
The room was filled with the cheers of the banana guard as Jake and Lady set out to prepare for their quest. Once again, hope was slowly restored.
The masked figure hummed softly to themselves as they measured the dimensions of the room that they were in.
"Five steps forward, then two steps left. Dead end here. Three steps right, then four steps forward." The figure muttered to themselves as they jotted down numbers in a notebook.
After they were satisfied, the figure rolled up their sleeves and pulled a thick protective glove over their left hand. Using their metallic right hand, the figure began to unwind a large spool of razor wire. With a loud crack and hiss of steam, the line of razor wire was driven deep into the concrete wall with a thick metal bolt.
"Five steps forward, then two steps left. Dead end here"
Another crack and hiss echoed through the room as a section of the razor wire was driven into the floor.
"Three steps right, then four steps forward."
Slowly, but surely, the mess of razor wire began to take shape. Its twisting and jagged edges were woven into a deadly maze of razor-sharp metal.
The figure gently tugged in the line of wire to test its strength.
"Nice and tight." The figure hissed happily as the wire sprang into place. "Nice and sharp."
A shiver ran up their spine as the scars on their back tingled with phantom pain. After taking a moment to calm themselves down, the figure let out a content sigh.
"He can handle it." The figure stated softly to themselves as they walked towards the open door. "I know that he can."
The figure took one last look at their handy work and felt a sense of excitement. They were looking forward to the next game.
"I survived it…so will he."
I am not dead.
