Sorry for the long wait, everyone. I'm really behind in this story because I've been putting all my energy into "The Shattered Looking Glass." I'm halfway through Chapter 8 of this fic, though, so don't worry about waiting TOO long for an update. Also, fair warning, no Bubbline in this chapter. We kinda needed to see what Jake, Finn and Ice King were up to.

As always, I don't own the AT characters.

Of Fire and Ice

Rescuing Lady Ranicorn was remarkably easy. The three armed cyclops that LSP had warned them about was actually very nearsighted. Jake was able to sneak Lady out of the cage without the cyclops ever noticing. Once free, Lady immediately rushed home, she had semi-adult pups waiting for her to return. Jake agreed that it was best he head off to find Finn and Flame Princess.

Stretching himself as tall as any tower, Jake was able to see the lake from over the top of the maze. The lake itself was hidden behind a magical spell, but Flame Princess was a force to be reckoned with even if she was surrounded by water. A billowing pillar of smoke rose high into the sky, pinpointing her location. It seemed as if she had set her entire little island on fire in a tantrum. What else was a fiery (literally) 15-year-old Princess to do? She certainly wasn't the damsel in distress type. When Jake arrived at the lake, he found Finn and the Ice King standing at the edge, staring into the water.

"Hey, bro...Ice King..." Jake greeted them as he joined them at the water's edge.

"Hey, Jake." Finn answered. He looked slightly haggard and bits of his golden blonde hair hung out from under his hood. Clearly the time spent with the Ice King had taken a toll on him.

"Jake! Glad you're here, buddy. We're having a problem crossing the lake to get to the hottie... I mean, Flame Princess." Ice King stated.

"What's wrong?"

"Its total bunk, man. If you go in the water, these merfolk try to drag you under. Ice King tried to fly me across, but then giant tentacles came out and almost grabbed us. It knocked us back to this side. Then there's a giant flame monster on the other side. It doesn't seem to be hurting FP, but it was throwing fireballs at us." Finn complained. He was starting to become disheartened and frustrated with the situation.

Jake paused and stared at them in disbelief. He strained his eyes and gazed into the water. Sure enough, imp sized merfolk were swimming around the water with tiny spears in their hands. Further below, Jake could barely make out the form of some kind of tentacle equipped monster. He raised his head and saw a humanoid elemental of flame pacing the edge of the island and Flame Princess, standing stationary with her arms folded and a scowl on her face.

"Guys, I have a plan. We're gonna need your help, Ice King." The blue wizard grinned happily as Jake brought them together in a huddle.

Moments later, Finn stood at the edge of the lake with his sword drawn. The Ice King was glaring at Finn's drawn demon sword with hands poised for attack. Jake, who was a ways off from them in the water, raised two enormous fists in the air.

Finn turned his back on the Ice King and began running into the water. Jakes giant fists slammed into the water's surface, causing the merfolk to be carried up into a giant wave. The Ice King released a large ice spell he had been building up and struck the wave. The spell materialized as lightning-like ice spears jutting from his blue hands into the wave. The wave solidified into ice. It caught up with Finn, pushing him forward like a bullet.

Lowering his stance, Finn rode the ice wave. His sword brushed the edge of the ice, absorbing its magic into the blade. Halfway through the lake, the ice wave reached its peak. The momentum shot Finn across the remainder of the lake, straight towards the fire elemental that pranced around the shore of the island. His demon blade, now encased in a coating of magical ice, glowed purple as he brandished it in front of him. In one shot, he drove a hole through the elemental like a drill. The elemental burst into a cloud of steam and fire screams. Losing his speed, Finn hit the ground on his feet, using the sword to stop himself in the sand, drawing a jagged angry line into the ground.

"Flame Princess!" he shouted.

Arms crossed and scowling, the fiery girl appeared from behind a rock where she had ducked to avoid Finn's incoming attack. "Finn?"

"I'm here to rescue you, Princess!" he said gleefully, breathing heavy and sweat forming on his brow. The flight had taken a toll on his stamina, even for a hero.

"That's all well and good, Finn, but how are we to get across? I can't go through the water and there are evil little merpeople in there." Flame Princess's hair whipped about like an excited blaze as she narrowed her eyes across the water to where two figures were moving across the ice wave.

"No sweat, Princess. We've got it." Finn looked in the same direction as the Princess's gaze to Jake and the Ice King who were creating a bridge out of water and ice.

"Finn, if I walk across an ice bridge, it will just melt. Remember? Fire elemental."

The Ice King and Jake made it to the other side safely and looked back at their ice bridge. Encased in the ice were the merfolk who had risen up from the depths in attempts to attack them.

"Hey FP. Nice work, buddy. That fire elemental didn't know what hit him." Jake said proudly, as if it had been him who had taken out the fire elemental.

"Me too!" the Ice King chimed in. "I helped! We're an awesome team, guys!"

"Guys!" Flame Princess stomped her foot to get their attention, "I still can't cross the ice bridge!"

"Ice King?" Finn asked with a smile. The Ice King nodded and raised his hands, wiggling blue fingers excitedly. He shot a small spell at Finn, turning his entire body blue. "Awesome. Check it out, Princess. Ice Ward. It'll protect me from your flames but won't do anything to you."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at him rather warily. Finn walked over to her and thrust his sword into his backpack holster. He lifted her up into his arms, quite happy that the Ice King's spell worked.

"I've been working on that spell for awhile," the Ice King announced, "You know, in case we ever got married, Flame Princess."

"Dude, that's not okay." Jake said. "Here, get on my back and I'll carry us across the bridge.

Carrying Flame Princess in his arms, Finn jumped onto a growing Jake's back. The Ice King simply used his magical beard to fly along side them. They hurried on to the ice bridge towards the other end where they came.

As they crossed the halfway point of the bridge, large black tentacles shot out of the unfrozen water and wrapped themselves around the bridge. The tentacles constricted around the bridge, shattering the ice and dropping large chunks into the water.

"Hurry, Jake!" Finn pleaded.

"I'm trying, dude! I can't run on ice!" his friend answered back.

Multiple tentacles shot out, each one nearly catching them in its path to crush the bridge behind them.

"FP, don't hate me for this!" Finn shouted. He stood up on Jake's back and hurled Flame Princess into the air towards the shore. The distance wasn't far, but as a human, Finn's throwing speed was not as powerful as one would think.

"Finn!" Flame Princess flew through the air. At the peak of her arc, Ice King caught her by the hands with his and carried her across to safety. To her surprise, the Ice King's blue hands didn't burn nor did she feel her flames be threatened by him.

Just as Jake reached the other shore with Finn on his back, a tentacle shot out and grabbed Finn by the leg, dragging him below the now icy water. He yanked out his sword and slashed at the beast with slowed force from the water. The ice spell had worn off in the water and he was slowly losing air and feeling in his body. He thrust his sword into the tentacle. Whatever beast it was attached to let out a shriek of pain and tossed him out of the water like a rag. His body sailed through the air and landed roughly onto the beach.

Jake, Flame Princess and Ice King rushed to Finn's side where he lay unconscious in the sand. Jake touched Finn's arm and turned to Flame Princess. "He's totally frozen! I don't think he's breathing!"

Desperate to not lose her hero, Flame Princess threw her arms around Finn, her flames engulfing his body. Slowly the ice in his system began to melt from her embrace. He opened his eyes and coughed up bits of ice and water. She released him immediately so to not burn his body.

"Finn, you're all right!"

"Dude," he coughed, looking up at Jake. "That was awesome! Ice King... thanks, man. You totally rocked this time."

The Ice King's face lit up excitedly, relishing in the praise from his new friends.

"Glad you made it, bro. Let's get out of this bunk maze and find Marceline and PB." Jake said, helping Finn up on his feet.

"For sure, man. Let's go home."

This one was a little short... give me a few more days and Chapter 8 will be up. almost done. =)