Opening Notes: Well, so much for the lockdown doing anything for my update schedule, huh? Anyway, this new chapter adds new elements to this story, borrowed from Codename: Kids Next Door. (I have a headcanon that Adventure Time and KND take place at least in similar enough universes. You'll see where this all leads eventually.)

Chapter Four: Returning to Rogueport

And so, the heroes returned triumphantly to Petalburg, and the townsfolk cheered, free at last from the terrors of Hooktail. In honor of their achievements, Mayor Kroop declared a celebration was in order, and there was much rejoicing.

The next morning, Finn awoke to find BMO sitting next to him, its screen flashing "New Message", and that the sender was Princess Bubblegum. He immediately opened the message.

Finn,

As promised, I have found a method to contact you with updates on my condition. It seems the Artificial intelligence system for the place I'm being held has developed a crush on me, and I have decided to exploit that.

I heard you have obtained one of the Crystal Stars that the map I sent to you is supposed to point to, so good work, I guess? Unfortunately, in a bout of uncharacteristic sloppiness, I let my captors know that I knew who you are, so they're probably going to begin actively hunting you now. Sorry about that, by the way.

Because I am presently forced to use terminals within the base to compose these messages, I ask that you please do not reply.

Take care of yourself, Finn. I'll contact you again when I've gathered more information about my present location, or any other juicy bits of intel I happen to dig up.

"New message from the Princess?" Jake asked, suddenly popping up behind Finn. To his credit, he was only mildly spooked by that.

"Yeah, she seems to be fine, but she apparently tipped off her captors about us," Finn replied. "Things might get a bit troublesome going forward."

Jake stated at Finn for a moment before responding, "Boy, we just took down a dang dragon, and you're worried some random scrub thugs like the one you stomped back when we first got here are gonna give us trouble?"

Finn considered that, and said "Maybe you're right, I'm probably worrying too much."

After some quick preparations, Finn gathered his party and prepared to venture forth. Except someone wouldn't be joining them.

"Yeah, my story arc is pretty much complete," said Koops, when Finn asked if he'd like to continue traveling with them. "I took down Hooktail, avenged my dad, discovered that he wasn't actually dead, and came home a hero. I'm set for life in this town."

"Shame," said Finn, "we could use a heavy hitter like you. But I'm not gonna pull you away from your family if that's your descision."

Koops gave a smile, "Look, I'd honestly love to help save the world or whatever, but I kinda promised Koopie 'no more wild adventures.'"

"I totally get it, bro. You take care of yourself, okay?" Finn said, holding out his hand.

"You too, Finn," Koops replied, giving the offered hand a friendly shake. "Feel free to stop by if your adventures bring you through here again."

Finn chuckled, "I will. See you around!"

And so, Finn, Jake, and Goombella returned to Rogueport to report their progress to Dr. Frankly.

"You know, I can't help but to think we're forgetting something important..." Finn said as they entered Rogueport through the east gate. When the group was stopped by a gang of thugs, he added, "Oh, yeah. The east side of town's a gang territory."

The leader of the gang, a koopa with a snail shell, approached Finn. "So here's the deal, friend. You wanna pass through my turf, you gotta pay a toll: Fork over all your coins, or my boys will stomp you," he said, as his underlings tried to look menacing. They weren't doing a particularly good job, from Finn's perspective.

Finn held back a laugh, "Really, dude? Trust me, you do not want to tangle with us right now."

The lead thug pointed at one of his underlings. "Gus, rough this guy up a lot," he said. The underling charger at Finn, who just spun out of the way and countered with a swift kick, knocking the assailant down pretty much instantly. The rest of the thugs proceeded to charge in, only to be taken down with about as much effort.

Finn shot a withering glare at the lead thug. "You wanna go?" he asked.

The lead thug raised his hands in defeat. "Nah, I'm good. You, uh, you can go on through."

A few minutes later, they arrived back at Dr. Frankly's house. "Ah, Finn, Jake, Goombella! Good to see you all again," the old goomba greeted them, "So how goes the quest?"

"Pretty good, actually," Finn replied, "We helped a koopa from Petalburg take down a dragon to avenge his dad (who turned out to not actually be dead) and we got the first Crystal Star. We also learned that PB was, in fact, kidnapped. Probably by the same guys that almost grabbed Goombella."

The goomba professor nodded, "I see, I see. Have you been down to the Thousand-year Door yet, to see where that new star leads?"

"Uh, no. We should probably do that," said Finn. And so they did.

Later, after performing the ritual in the chamber of the Thousand-year Door, they returned to Frankly's place to discuss the next course of action.

"This is fascinating!" the goomba doctor exclaimed. "It would appear that the map is pointing you to the Great Tree of Boggly Woods. Goodness, I'd known there was something potentially mystical about that place, but my interests at the time I was there were more towards the location's historical significance."

"What do you mean, professor?" Goombella asked.

"First of all, there's reason to believe the Great Tree was once home to members of a society of young humans who were skilled in the creation and use of almost magically advanced technology, prior to the Great Mushroom War. Sadly, it seems all that's left are relics of their fantastic inventions, and a new society of highly intelligent rodents descended from the pets those children used to power a lot of the Tree's machinery." Dr. Frankly walked over to his bookshelf, and pulled out an old photo album. "I made sure to document my last visit very carefully," he said, placing the album on his desk and opening it.

The first picture showed a younger Frankly, having snapped a selfie outside the Great Tree, which seemed to be an enormous treehouse made from all sorts of strangely cobbled together materials. In a way, it reminded Finn of his own treehouse. In the picture, Dr. Frankly had his free arm around a young woman who looked rather like a fluffy cloud. The picture had a lipstick mark and an unreadable scribble of an autograph on it. "Ah, that's me, and the lady is Madame Flurrie, the renowned stage actress. She lived out there, you see, to have some modicum of privacy, away from her adoring fans. In fact, I believe she still does."

Frankly looked thoughtful for a moment, "I wonder if she still remembers me?" he asked. He shook himself out of that thought, and pointed to another picture, showing Flurrie receiving hugs from a group of hamsters. "She was very fond of the Great Tree's occupants, and the feeling was quite mutual, as you can see. If I recall, her house was somewhere on the eastern edge of the forest," he continued, "I'm certain the tree's residents would be more willing to assist you if you can get her aid. If she's still there, of course."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Finn. "Now, how do we get to Boggly Woods?"

"That is actually quite simple. There is a remnant of an old pipeline transport that is a direct line to the Great Tree. Or at least it was, last time I used it," Frankly replied. "There's always the possibility that parts of it may have collapsed since then... Regardless, it's somewhere in the catacombs, near the Door's Shrine, if I'm not mistaken."

"Gotcha, Doc. We'll be back with that next Star in no time. I hope," Finn said, as he and his companions gathered their stuff and headed out.

"As do I, my boy. Good luck!" the old goomba called after them, before going back to his album. "Goodness, so many memories in this old book..."

Endnotes: Okay, so I was going to add the scene where Punio is introduced and he guides the heroes to the Boggly Woods entrance to the end of this chapter, but seeing as it's been quite long enough since I added new content to this fic, perhaps we can just skip that and pick him up along with Madame Flurrie in Chapter Five? Sounds fair? Cool, see you all next chapter, then. (In, like, another year, lol)

(I shouldn't joke about my poor scheduling ability...)