Ooo was in mortal danger... Again. As usual, it fell on the last human to save them and to stop the great enemy, risking life and limb and all that. Why? Well...because he was the Hero right?

Right now he didn't feel like a hero though, what could he do? Everything that Princess Bubblegum had tried had failed. Everything he did too had been a failure and he was tired of getting his butt kicked, of not being able to protect everyone.

He looked down at the Ice King's Crown; he had gotten it some time ago and took to carrying it around on his waist. It glistened in the light of the fires that were blazing all around him as the story that Marceline had told them so long ago replayed in his mind, about how she survived the zombie wars and about Simon who had sacrificed his sanity to protect her when he put on that crown. He had promised himself he would never put it on because he knew there was no turning back if he did.

Severity of the situation pushed him to really think about using it though; he couldn't help but think that it was worth sacrificing his own sanity to protect all the citizens of Ooo, his friends, his family...it was worth it.

In the middle of the raging black thunder storms and howling hot winds that now surrounded him, he held the crown above his head. He was alone, and that was okay. No one needed to know what he was giving up. No one needed to know anything except that they'd be safe.

As the crown rested softly on his blonde hair, he instantly felt the surge of freezing energy spread throughout his body, and its power course through him. He felt like he could do anything...and then he felt nothing and everything at once. It overwhelmed his senses, voices screamed inside his head. Before he knew it, everything was over.

The storm still raged around him, but it wasn't the enemy's doing; the enemy was dead. It was from his own body, his own doing. The icy black blizzard came alive around him, drowning out every form of life and every sound, even his own maniacal laughter.

The vampire watched at the edge of the storm; it was a storm that was all too familiar, and he hated it with every fiber of his undead being. As the winds spun, he saw flashes of blonde hair and the glint of the crown. That crown; he was hell bent on destroying that wretched crown once and for all.

Resolute he floated into the maelstrom, ignoring the cold, he couldn't feel it anyway. He didn't care that there was debris flying at him, cutting up his pale skin, his plaid shirt and already ripped jeans. He was only focused on the boy in front of him, battling insanity.

Slowly he reached towards Finn, the blonde was startled, his first response was to fight, but the vampire didn't budge. The ice didn't hurt him, not as much as seeing Finn like this.

He touched the human's hand, grabbing unto his wrist when he tensed. "Get away from me!"

The vampire didn't "I'm not going to let this happen again..."

He pulled the blonde into an unexpected embrace; it was the only thing he could think of to get him back without hurting him. He winced at the pain that spread across his chest, the cold spread through his insides as the ice shard pierced through his back, but he didn't let go. "I'm never going to let this stupid crown take away another person I love, never again"

His sanity finally broke, and blue eyes widened as they finally saw the black hair and the pale skin, he finally felt the familiar embrace, finally heard the familiar voice. "...Marshall?"

As his consciousness faded, Marshall used the last of his strength to knock the crown from the other's head; it fell with a melancholic clink on the frozen ground, as if mockingly.

Finn's mind returned just as Marshall's left. His tears came; he didn't feel them, not even when they were long dry.

The storm around them died slowly taking everything away, even the sound of his heartbroken cries.

Hi everyone, I originally posted this on Wattpad. It was supposed to be one chapter and end here, but I decided to put an optional Epilogue type chapter up with it as well. If you wish to read it, please feel free to visit my page: user/YokoKitsune

Thanks for reading!