AN: Following chapter title is a subtle reference to a movie. Anyway, enjoy!

"This is it," Finn thought. "This is my chance to make a better impression with the Fire Kingdom, especially Flame Princess." He ran past the Breakfast Kingdom gates and into the outskirts. After a short while, he pulled out a spell book from his backpack and summoned a portal to teleport to the Fire Kingdom. "Why didn't I use this to go to the Breakfast Kingdom earlier? Oh yeah, that's right; you just wanted to get a work out so you can have a big appetite for brunch. Besides where's the fun in that," Finn told himself.

After he stepped through the portal, he found himself on the outskirts of the Fire Kingdom. As Finn approached the main gate entrance to the kingdom, Flambo quickly spotted the human and began running towards him with a sense of urgency. "Finn, we's need your help! The Kingdom's gone into a full blown war zone!"

"I'll see what I can do." Finn was about to leave until Flambo stopped him, "Wait! Yous need a flame shield first, remember?"

"Alright, thanks." After the spell encased Finn's body, he made his way to one of the rooftops and surveyed the city. What he saw was unsettling. Homes and business buildings were set ablaze as civilians were scrambling to evacuate. There were also several bandits raiding the market places stealing all the treasures they can carry. As Finn continued his observation, he noticed the fire elemental guards were fighting each other. "This must be some kind of civil war," Finn thought.

"Protect the King at all costs!" a fire captain shouted. He and approximately 80 elite soldiers were assembled at a barricade to the main palace. The line of defense included a balance of archers and knights along with three catapults. Unfortunately, reinforcements would arrive late because they were intercepted from one of the rebel's advance. It would take at least 10 minutes until the main military force could reach them. Meanwhile, the loyalists would have to stand their ground until then as hundreds of rebels charged towards them with vigor. The defenders launched their catapults continuously in an effort to thin out their numbers. But, the rebels kept on advancing.

"This is it, men! Archers, at the ready! Aim...OPEN FIRE!" The archers fired a volley of arrows slaying numerous enemies as a result. There was still a substantial amount of enemies left as they kept getting closer. Noticing this, the captain shouted, "Prepare for close quarters combat!" The archers immediately lined up behind the knights and waited for the inevitable clash...

Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. Finally, the two forces collided with each other and blood started splattering from both sides. "Hold the line!" the captain ordered. It was a difficult task to repel the advance, but the loyalists eventually prevailed. After 5 minutes, the rebels began to retreat. The loyalists began to cheer in celebration except for the leader. "They were just testing our defenses! The real attack's about to start!" he shouted.

The retreating rebels regrouped with rest of the main force preparing for another strike. "Is everything ready?" Flame King asked.

"Yes, my lord. Our saboteurs have the charges set. We're waiting on your go." a rebel soldier responded. Flame King looked over to Don John and said, "We have given these cowards and traitors false hope long enough."

Don John nodded, "Indeed, let's finish this." FK looked over to the rebel and ordered, "Do it."

Suddenly, three explosions erupted from the loyalist barricade. Although a dozen men were wounded, the real casualty was that all the catapults were destroyed. One of the explosions also knocked the defending captain unconscious. It felt like the he was out for a few hours when in reality it was for 1 minute. As he opened his eyes, he noticed one of his men shouting at him soundlessly. After a few moments the officer regained his hearing.

"Cap! You ok, Cap?!" the grunt shouted.

"Incoming," another loyalist shouted. The commanding officer immediately sprang to his feet after hearing another explosion. He looked straight at the enemy force that shot arrows and fireballs in his direction. Most of his comrades were on the ground either wounded or dead. The barricade only had less than 20 troops left. Then, the officer looked over to the remaining archers and shouted, "Keep shooting! Keep shooting! We're going to take out as many of them as we can. Fight to your last breath!"

The archers and knights continued their defense until Flame King and Don John joined the assault. "Oh, crud! They have backup," a loyalist cried. "Get down, this is going to get bad!"

It was too late. The remaining defenders were wiped out from another blast. The only one who survived the blast was the leader, but unfortunately he sustained critical injuries across his chest and abdomen. He watched helplessly as the rebels began to make their way past him towards the palace.

Flame King and Don John made their way inside the palace throne room, where Flame Princess and Cinnamon Bun took defensive stances. Both pairs stared at each other fiercely.

The former monarch spoke up first, "Well, daughter. It looks like your pathetic guards weren't enough to stop us. I'll give you two choices: 1) you will surrender the crown to me and marry Don John or 2) you will die."

"I will never surrender, Father. I have lived most of my life without any control over it for far too long!" Flame Princess said defiantly.

Her father took a few moments to process her answer until he shrugged and finally said, "So be it." Then, the duel commenced. Flame King faced Flame Princess, while Don John faced CB. The rebels surrounded all of them except they were merely instructed to watch the outcome of the fight.

Meanwhile, Finn was running out of time. During the chaos he rescued a small group of civilians from being executed by the rebels. In addition, he assisted the loyalist's reinforcements to arrive quicker at the kingdom's palace. They arrived at the gates but waited for the rest of the men to regroup.

"Alright, men listen up!" a fire major shouted to the company. "We have a small renegade army led by the former Flame King and Don John. We also have reports that they have already breached the palace and are possibly engaging our beloved ruler and guardian. Our mission is simple, eliminate all hostiles and save the VIP's. Any questions?" No one answered. "Good, let's take our capital back!"

Flame Princess and her father were evenly matched. Neither of them were faltering anytime soon. CB however was fighting on the defensive against Don John, losing more ground over time. Suddenly, Don exploited an opening CB left and knocked him into unconsciousness.

Flame Princess looked over and shouted, "CB!" She then intensified her flames and set her eyes back towards her father.

"Give up, daughter. You are all alone now. No one will save you," Flame King said with a smug smile. FP took a few breaths to compose herself and finally answered, "I would rather die a free woman than live again in captivity!" Before her father could retort, distant sounds of fighting echoed throughout the palace.

"What's going on?" Don asked.

Suddenly a rebel knight approached the throne room and addressed FK, "My lord, the loyalist's reinforcements have retaken most of the castle and are on their way right this instant!"

"How long will it take?" the former king asked. Before the rebel could answer, the doors to the throne room were burst open from an explosion.