"Simon?" Marceline barely whispered, not daring to hope that it could be him.

Sure enough, the icy, spectral image of Marceline's former best friend showed no sign of having heard her, and a second later, his distorted voice returned.

"I'm losing the fight, Marceline. I've started to see and hear myself when I change, but I'm unable to control what I do. It's like I'm trapped in another man's head. I know I don't have long, so I'm using the crown's psychic capabilities to project this message. If it doesn't go straight to you, then my best guess is that you'll find it in my old apartment, the place where I first put on the crown. I don't know how, or why you'd ever end up there, but I sincerely hope that you do, because I need you to know… I'm sorry Marceline…"

Marceline sighed. She had never been angry at Simon, far from it. His apology was meaningless to her and brought her little comfort. She floated around the room, poking idly at the rotten furniture as Simon spoke.

"I don't know what you must think of me now, Marceline, but I can't help but feel I let you down. Maybe if I'd been a better man, I wouldn't have had to be a 'King of Ice and Snow' to protect you."

Marceline spun around in shock. Icy tears had formed in the corners of Simon's eyes. Had he thought that she had hated him for leaving? Resented his choice to wear the crown? She floated over to him and placed a hand on the image's shoulder.

"Oh Simon… You moron…" She whispered, sadly.

"When you hear this, I think it's a safe bet that there'll be nothing left of me." Simon continued. "And I want you to remember that, because when I used to put on the crown, I was always in there, influencing my own actions, even if it was only slightly. The point is that I would never hurt you… but I can't promise the same for… him. Just stay away from me, Marcy. I'm no good for you anymore…" Simon's voice shook slightly and he stared at his feet.

It was getting painful for Marceline to listen. She desperately wanted to find the Enchiridion and leave, but it was Simon's last wish that she'd hear these words, so that meant she would.

"I taught you how to survive, Marceline, and I think you're going to be ok. But I don't just want you to survive, I want you to be happy. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I want you to find someone… just don't be alone. I know our circumstances were beyond extraordinary, me being the owner of a magic crown, and you being a half-demon from another dimension." He chuckled weakly. Marceline had never been sure whether or not Simon had believed her when she had told him that. "But those things opened up my mind to a universe of possibilities, so I refuse to believe that no one else survived the war." He paused for a while. "So find someone who makes you happy… and don't let them go…" Simon whispered sadly.

Marceline frowned at that last comment, it sounded like a warning based on Simon's own life. Was he talking about letting Marceline go? No, that didn't make sense… Simon had never liked to talk about his personal life, before the war.

Suddenly, Simon winced and gasped in pain, like he had a migraine. "I'm sorry Marceline, I think I have less time than I thought. I had some other things I wanted to say, but the main thing I want you to know is just how grateful I am. You might not realise this, but you did far more for me than I ever did for you. The time we spent together were the happiest days of my life…"

Simon cried out in pain as, with a gleam of blue light, the crown slowly materialised on his head. He began breathing rapidly.

"And… I wouldn't have changed it for the world…"

Simon's beard and nose elongated, as it used to when he wore the crown. He squinted his wide, milky white eyes in immense concentration.

"I love you Marceline..."

His cries of anguish and pain returned, but slowly, they were replaced with a maniacal cackle. The Ice King's laughter wasn't deterred as cracks ran along the icy figure and he slowly crumbled to the floor in a pile of snow and mist. It echoed around the apartment for a solid minute after the Ice King's image crumbled.

Shaken by the experience overall, Marceline sat down on the floor. She had never dreamed that she'd hear Simon's voice again, and for a fleeting moment, it felt like he was there with her again, but now, as she sat in the thin layer of snow covering the floor of his apartment, cruel reality had settled back in.

Simon hadn't really told Marceline much she didn't already know, although if she wasn't already sure about apologising to Bubblegum, she certainly was now. What had surprised her was that Simon had been grateful of her. Of course, she knew Simon had loved her, but there had been several occasions, back in the day, when Marceline had felt guilty for slowing Simon down. She had never said anything, of course.

After a couple of minutes, Marceline lethargically lifted into the air and left the room, slowly floating around the apartment in search of the Enchiridion. Simon hadn't been boasting when he had said his apartment was large, there were several rooms for Marceline to search through. Some of them were still just about identifiable, like bathrooms and bedrooms, while some of them had decomposed to the point where Marceline had no idea what they once were.

Eventually, Marceline found what she assumed to have been Simon's bedroom. She floated in slowly and found herself painting a mental imagine of how it once must have looked. She could just picture a clean-shaven Simon getting out of his large, double bed in the morning and gazing out at the bustling city on the other side of the bay windows. She thought enviously of the normal life Simon must have had, back before civilisation collapsed. Marceline fantasised about a world in which Simon had found Marceline, lost and abandoned, not in crumbling ruins, but in a thriving, crowded street. How he could have paid for Hambo and taken her back to his apartment with him to live a safe, happy life. She's have gone to school, made friends, maybe had a girlfriend before she was 300 years old…

Marceline shook the images out of her head. Simon wanted her to be happy, and not to dwell on how much happier she could have been. Right now she had a wonderful woman in her life and she needed to focus on securing that so she didn't lose her, just like Simon had said. Marceline quickly flew from the room and continued her search, and, moments later, she found what she was looking for.

Tucked away at the back of the apartment, was an average-sized room, lined with bookcases, glass cabinets and podiums, all housing artefacts and relics that had, by definition, stood the test of time. There were busts and jewellery, paintings and weapons, and right at the back, on a waist high table, was the Enchiridion.

Marceline felt another wave of nostalgia as she gazed at Simon legacy, but, having wasted more than enough time, Marceline pushed it to the back of her mind and, with an excited giggle, floated across the room to the ancient book. She carefully opened the book and began to look through it. It was in amazingly good condition. Despite her rush, it was just common sense to inspect the Enchiridion, after all, it would be terrible if she returned to the Candy Kingdom with a decoy for deterring thieves.

Marceline flicked through the Enchiridion with great interest. It seemed to be everything from a reference guide, to a spell book, and even, on a few pages, a recipe book. Sure enough, there were scores of pages on inspiring bravery and heroism. There was also a section on portals, mostly to places Marceline had never heard of, like the Time Room and Lumpy Space. There was also one that supposedly took one to hell itself, and another that led to… the Nightosphere? Marceline had way too much on her plate to even begin to deal with that possibility, so she abruptly tore out the page and pocketed it.

A few minutes later, Marceline was just about ready to pick up the book and leave, when she came across a page that made her shoot backwards across the room in shock. Slowly, she eased herself back towards the book, and double-checked the title of the page. Sure enough, it read 'How to Kiss a Princess'. Blushing furiously, Marceline studied the section. It went into great detail, and every step was paired with a picture of a beautiful girl wearing a tiara and a blank silhouette of a person, enacting the current instructions. Blushing even harder, Marceline looked around the still empty room, and slowly raised her hands and put them on the sides of an imaginary Bonnibel's face. Constantly referring to the book, Marceline moved her head and tongue, surprised to find how natural it felt.

"Marceline!?"

Marceline spun around in terror, screaming loudly as she did. Standing in the gallery's doorway, wearing a radiation suit with a white, gun-like device mounted to the right arm, was Princess Bubblegum.


Awkward...