Cold.

He's so cold.

A frozen wind whips around him, slicing him, till he thinks he must be nothing but bone. The wind carries things; flickering bits of warmth that disappear almost before he is aware of them. Places, people, things he knows he should recognize, the memories flicker at the edge of his mind, but he just can't reach them...some appear more than others, faces mostly. A copper-haired woman...a pale little girl with haunted eyes...he wants to reach out to them, he knows they have the power to rescue him from this icy hell, but he just...can't...

The Ice King gasped, eyes flying open. He hated having that dream. It made him feel...lost, left him with an emptyness he didn't know how to fill. He groaned, stretched, and pushed Gunter out of the bed, yawning. He was already forgetting about the dream.

He became aware of a strange thudding noise, echoing down the main hall. Were Gunty and Goonther fighting again? He was going to have to separate them from the other penguins if they kept this up. But, no, he wasn't hearing the indignant squawks he would expect if that were the case...

With delight, he realized that it was knocking. Someone had come to visit him! Maybe Princess Bubblegum was finally coming around...

"Gunter! Go tend to our guest while I freshen up."

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Finn stomped his feet, shivering. He hadn't had time to find a sweater this morning, as he had had to convince Jake, do his best to ensure that they would be alone, and help Marceline with preparations, all in less than a day. He hadn't even been able to sleep much. What was keeping Ice King so long? It was almost noon; surely he couldn't still be in bed.

He raised his hand to knock again, then straightened, hearing the shuffling waddle that signified a penguin's approach. He took a deep breath, mentally running over his script again. I'm asking him over to play video games. Jake is visiting Lady Rainicorn, so he can't join us. Nothing suspicious about any of it, just stay calm and everything should go fine.

The heavy door swung open, making him jump to attention. The penguin...Gunther, or something like that...stared at him blankly.

"Uh...hi...is Ice King home?"

The penguin made one of its odd quacking noises. I guess that's a yes, then.

"So...can I come inside, or..."

It gestured inward and began waddling to one of the many doorways that dotted the hallway, making him jog a bit to catch up. He peered at the ones he passed, noting that most of them seemed locked. I wonder what he has in all those rooms? Surely he and the penguins couldn't use all of them.

Finally they arrived at their destination, a large chamber furnished with packed-snow chairs. The penguin pointed at them, indicating for him to sit. Finn hesitated. They don't look very stable...

He shuffled across the room and gingerly placed himself on one, relaxing a bit when it remained sturdy. When he looked up, the penguin had gone, presumably to tell the Ice King who the visitor was. He took the opportunity to have a closer look at his surroundings. The room was spacious and appeared to be some kind of living-room, yet was surprisingly empty - except for those few chairs, you wouldn't know anyone lived here at all.

"Finn?"

He jumped. "Oh, uh, Ice King! Hi!"

The Ice King glanced around, looking surprised.

"Jake isn't with you? I thought you guys were practically joined at the hip."

Finn laughed nervously. "He's, ah, spending the day with Lady Rainicorn. So, since I have the day free, I was wondering if you wanted to come over and play video games."

The Ice King appeared to think for a moment.

"Sure!"

-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-OoO-

Marceline etched the final rune into the earth, hurriedly scanning each symbol. She couldn't afford to mess this up. The ingredients had been hard enough to procure this time around, and she had still had to call in many of her favors and connections around Ooo. Next time, she wouldn't have nearly as much help.

Also...she wasn't sure she was strong enough to try this again. She'd failed all the other times (and there had been many times), and it had almost broken her to see him still like that, to feel that she was somehow responsible. If this attempt flopped, she didn't think she could stand anymore.

"Marceline!"

Finn sprinted over the field, panting as he skidded to a halt a few feet away from her.

"He's almost here! Is everything ready?"

She inspected the arrangement one more time, checking to make sure nothing was forgotten or out of place. Everything looked perfect...no more time for preparation, this would be the final test. I guess it's now or never...

She begin chanting the spell, slowly, to ensure that it would be ready just as Ice King appeared over the ridge. She heard the distinctive flapping of his beard. Concentrate...this has to be just right...

Finally, he appeared in the field, flying over to Finn. He didn't notice her immediately; as her low chanting reached a crescendo, however, he turned, looking baffled.

"Marceline, what are you doing here? What are you singing? Is this some new kind of rap?"

Come on...come on...just a few inches further...

He advanced towards her...and landed right in the middle of the array, as the spell reached its pinnacle. A wall of light encased him, completely obscuring him from her. She could hear something, though...was that...screaming? Oh glob, what if something went wrong, what if he's worse...

But it was too late to change things; she had done her best, and she would deal with any...consequences...when they arose. To interfere now would undoubtably make it worse, much as the agonized wails tore at her heart.

As she watched, the glowing veil dissolved, leaving a figure crumpled on the ground. She flew towards him, grabbing a cold brown hand to check for life. Brown...?

She shifted him, pulling his face onto her lap. He looked like a stranger. She knew he wasn't, of course, she had glimpsed his old face in pictures. But it was still so weird, seeing this young, healthy-looking man in place of the half-frozen, sad-eyed creature she had always known, the one who had raised her. I wonder if this really is the person I knew...

She squeezed his hand. He felt alive enough.

"Marceline...is he..."

She turned to Finn, giving him a small smile to reassure him. He sighed in relief.

"That's wonderful. When he started screaming...I thought..."

Finn shuddered.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. We should get him into the house or something. I'll make him some soup."

"Thanks, Finn. I'll be there in a second."

"Want me to help you carry him?"

"No, I...I got it."

As Marceline flew into the house, she glanced down at the man in her arms. Of course he looks different, without his Crown warping him...

However, she couldn't help shuddering.

I'm sure he hasn't changed that much...