It was a warm, sunny day in the land of Ooo. The warm, spring breeze ruffled the verdant crowns of the candy trees, and settled on the shores to smooth the sand. But in the darkness of the Ice Kingdom, no amount of sunlight would warm that icy fortress, where penguins played and snow beasts roamed...

Finn the Human, now a brawny youth of eighteen years, sat upon the meadow-green grass, waiting for his pal, Jake the Dog, to arrive. He stared up at the home of his long-time foe, the Ice King, a snowy spike upon the horizon. No one had seen the Ice King for years, and Finn wondered what evil plot that could be brewing upon the mountain-top...

Jake walked through the woods, growing large to see over the tree-tops to find his best friend. He found Finn, much like he did every day, staring at the Ice Kingdom. He shrunk, and walked to stand beside the sitting Finn. "Dude, you have to let it go. He's gone." Finn looked up at Jake, his soft blue eyes growing hard. "He'll never be gone, Jake. He's immortal, and he'll keep coming back, even until long after we're dead." Jake sighed. Finn would never give up his grudge. Four years ago, during another of Ice King's princess captures, Ice King had hurt Princess Bubblegum with one of his icy blades. Finn blamed himself, and swore revenge against him. Bubblegum had forgiven Ice King, as he had left no lasting damage, but her cry of pain had scarred Finn deeply. Ice King had run soon after, and had disappeared, leaving Finn with no outlet for his rage, which had been burning within him since the incident. Jake knew Finn would never give up on it, not until he had had his vengeance...

The sun sets on the land of Ooo, casting golden beams across the candy trees, which danced across the sugared leaves, and blending into the yellow of the nearby Lemon Kingdom. When the cool breezes of night soothed the brows of the day-weary creatures, the land still pulsed with life. The moon replaced the sun, with silver blades of light slicing across the forest floor, illuminating the path of the queen of the night...

Marceline wafted through the forest, the moonlight casting a shadow over her reminiscent of jail bars. She was unaffected by the passage of time, and still looked exactly as she had when she had met Finn and Jake. The Vampire Queen was on a mission tonight. It had been too long since she had since her friend Simon. Even though she knew he was no longer the kindly man she knew, she still cared for his well-being. As she traveled through the night, the air grew colder as she traveled towards the Ice Kingdom, to check up on her friend...

She floated outside of the icy window, staring into the dark, empty throne room. She called out into the darkness, "Hey, Ice King!";. Her voice echoed, met with only silence after it faded. She heard a door open, and floated closer, now over the balcony. She heard soft footsteps, and she tensed, ready for anything. Out of the darkness came Gunter, who greeted her with a quiet quack. "Oh hello, how are you little one?" Marceline asked of the penguin. Gunter didn't respond, but instead turned, and walked back into the darkness, down the hall. Marceline followed, expecting to be led to Simon.

Gunter stopped in front of a door, a sliver of torchlight streaming out from the ajar frame. Marceline floated over, and pushed the door open, and was momentarily blinded by the increasing light. Suddenly, she was smashed against the wall by a block of ice with a loud crash. The ice shattered, but Marceline, disoriented and confused, sunk to the floor. She raised her head, and was met by the point of a sword inches from her face. Gazing up, she met hard, white eyes, surrounded by matching hair, and pale, blue skin. The newcomer resembled her friend Simon, but much younger, a teenager even. He looked down at Marceline, his expression as cold as the ice surrounding them. "I am the Ice Prince," he said in a soft, chilling tone, "who are you, and what do you want?"