Chapter Nine: Help me

Bubblegum often appeared self centered and stubborn. Well, she was at times but even she had the lucidity to know when she was being biased. Sometimes she just didn't care.

Then there were times when someone really needed her help. As a princess she had a duty to her people, but she also had a duty to herself. If she had the means to help someone who truly deserved it then she was obligated to. Not helping them would only be a testament to selfishness.

Marceline had more at stake here than she wanted to reveal. Her longtime vampire friend hovered within reaching distance of the Ice King and kept watch over him from the corner of her half lit eyes. There wasn't so much a hesitance about the way she looked at him, but a kind of actual concern. Concern was not something often found on Marceline.

There was a factor here that even the boys were leaving out and the princess wasn't even positive this was actually their idea. They were dutiful but lacked the emotion Marceline was trying so hard to conceal. Hoping she wasn't making a mistake, but also positive she wasn't bubblegum turned and addressed Finn with a kind smile and tone.

"You know boys", Bubblegum began sweetly. "I think me and Marceline have this…that is if you're sticking around?"

Addressed directly Marceline looked over at Bubblegum, her expression tinted with subtle shock. She gave the princess a quick nod and looked away. An embarrassed blush dusted Marceline's cheeks as she inwardly feared Bonnie had already found her out.

Finn was hesitant to accept Bubblegum's offer, half concerned of what would happen if Simon had a blackout session and half because he'd be leaving the two girls alone. At times they were quite friendly but sometimes…yikes. He'd take a thousand demons over the sight of the two of them going at each other's throats.

"You sure princess?"

"Yeah…I mean, old Simon seems pretty tame but…" Jake trailed off as he caught the embarrassment in Simon's face and actually felt bad for calling him out. "…nevermind, we can go if you want"

"Yes", she said factually. "I will send for you if there is a problem, otherwise…I believe Marceline will be ample protection. You boys go"

Jake took the invitation and scooped Finn up, placing him on his back. They left, but Finn looked back at Marceline. She had a strange look on her face, almost as if she didn't want them to go and didn't care at the same time. The human boy had a gut feeling that Marceline knew why Bubblegum wanted them to be alone. Maybe she didn't know that Finn already knew, or did and figured Marceline would spill easier if he were removed from the equation.

Simon already had an idea of why. The boys were the princess's knights and they protected her with fervor. She likely kept them from the dark side of herself as much as possible. Whatever she had to say she didn't want them to hear. He wasn't so sure he wanted to hear it either, but before he caught himself was speaking up.

"Princess?" Simon's voice called out louder than he intended, catching her attention. "There is something you want to say?"

"Yes", she looked at Simon with pity and resentment. "Simon I want to know exactly what is going on here, between you and Marceline", she paused to flick her bouncy pink lump of mass that made up her hair. "I ask this because I cannot guarantee that this method will be painless…I cannot promise that I will have the resources to help you, Simon"

In other words she couldn't promise success and whatever progress was made would be at a price. Simon had paid nearly every price there was to pay at this point so what was one more shock or shortness of breath? If it came to anything painful he decided right then and there that he'd send Marceline away too. Maybe this really was his last chance. That thought alone drove him, because he didn't want to go back into the darkness with that different kind of cold feeling. He didn't want Marceline to feel like she failed him.

When it came down to it he just felt like he was abandoning her again if he gave up.

"You don't need to know our business", she caught her breath and corrected her wording in a flash "u-uh, h-his business", Marceline snapped as she flew in front of Simon, shoving her hand in his face to keep him from talking. "Simon you don't have to tell her anything you don't want to"

"But…if the princess needs to know…" he began, buttoning his lip as Marceline starred daggers down at him. "Very well, if that's what you want"

Bubblegum wasn't taking orders from Marceline however and shoved past her and into Simon's face. There was something more important going on here and she wanted then to say it. If she was going to risk his life they were going to talk to her. Marceline wouldn't talk, she already knew, but Simon. She could tell by the way he twisted his hands together that she could make that blue canary sing if she wanted to.

As she broke into his personal space Simon found it was hard for him to breathe, like a great unseen weight was on his chest. When she prodded at him Marceline tried to discourage her, reached out and yanked her hands away.

"Cut it out!" Marceline snapped as she pulled Bonnie off center. "You know what if you're just going to bully him then we're out of here!"

"We're out of here?" Bubblegum questioned with intensity. "Why would you care anyway? Huh Marceline?"

Bubblegum stepped forward, not really wanting to push her friend and yet she did it anyway. Marceline had certain triggers for opening up and one of them was rough housing. This was what she knew. And Marceline would have to open up if Bubblegum was going to help her. She had to know that science wasn't a form of magic and had consequences as well.

"What's your problem with me?"

"I don't have a problem with you Marceline", Bubblegum pushed her again with more force this time and Marceline's face turned red. "I just want you to admit that you care! I won't have you hating me for trying to help you because you bottled everything up!"

Simon watched the girls push each other back and forth, his head turning one way and then another as if he were watching an interesting match of tennis. Eventually they got tired and stopped, but oh boy the looks they gave one another. It was kind of…Simon slapped himself in the face to shake the thought from his head.

The sound of it echoed. Both girls turned their attention on him, frazzled curiosity written all over their features. Bubblegum was the first to compose herself, standing up straight, fixing her clothes and patting down the lumps in her hair. Marceline huffed as she floated up to the ceiling and stood on the roof, looking down.

"Oh good", Simon sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I…uh, hate to see you girls fight…really it's awful"

Marceline caught his undertone and rolled her eyes.

"Listen, I just want you guys to be straightforward with me, I don't like being in the dark", Bubblegum spoke kinder to the both of them, not wanting Marceline or Simon to bolt.

"Me either princess", Simon chuckled and went frigid to hide a tremor shooting up his spine. "I…I…"

'Oh are you afraid of the dark Simon?'

"No", he answered impulsively.

"Pardon?" Bubblegum questioned, tilting her head ever so slightly.

And in that small gesture, with the light making her skin look less unnaturally bubblegum pink Simon saw Betty in her. It was like a typhoon hit his senses and suddenly he couldn't hear, he couldn't see. Trying not to panic Simon slowed his breathing but then it began.

The room started to spin. Simon wobbled when tried to walk and took a knee. His head was pounding suddenly. Marceline clutched the fabric of her shirt in tight fists, worry filling her. If he had a black out now it would not be good, not with Bonnie present. She walked so that she was right above Simon in case anything happened.

'Look at her Simon' he heard the crown's voice say with a growing echo. 'Look at how beautiful she is'

He looked up at her, not completely because he was obeying the crown. Simon really did think the princess was lovely if not too young for an old goblin like him. She actually looked back at him, down at him because he was nearly on the floor with pain he didn't know he was feeling. His body now shaking was numb.

When his vision blurred he saw a familiar face. The crown lulled him with the idea that this girl really was his princess and Simon nearly chucked arguing that she wasn't. His internal struggle grew caotic. Dry heaves came and went. When they stopped he looked up at her again and thought with a breaking mind…

"My princess"

Bubblegum squeaked when he got to his feet and rushed at her with open arms. She expected the horrors of the world but to her disclosure he wrapped those shaking arms around her like the ribbons on a precious gift. He started to cry and mumble a long forgotten prayer.

"Simon?" this was another side to him she hadn't seen and it was…sad. "Simon, please let me go"

Her quiet voice barely reached Marceline who by now had flipped over and landed on the ground. She stood ready to pounce if Simon's mood shifted which was highly likely. Right now he hadn't slipped into full black out mode, but they came so easily once he was upset. Anything could set him off.

And Bubblegum, she wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't being his usual self, the crazy obnoxious old fart she'd usually want to beat to a pulp by now. Simon was a sop, a lonely old man who'd lost everything dear to him. It made it difficult to simply shove him away.

"Simon?"

Simon held the princess only firm enough so that she couldn't get away. She fit into his arms so perfectly, like Betty always had. Betty liked chewing bubblegum. She always had some handy but never plain gum, always winter mint because it tasted better. Tilting his head to the side Simon dug his face into her shoulder and the fabric quickly darkened with tears.

"I can't let you go Betty", he sobbed quietly into the fabric. "I just…I miss you so much…"

"Simon…" she didn't need to be told why he had always gone after her, it was in his eyes when he leaned back to look at her. "You have to let me go now"

She meant for him to unwind his arms from around her but Simon heard different. She was trying to give him peace, help him move on. And there lied the conflict because Simon knew she wasn't Betty and yet the Ice King all but convinced himself that she was. It nearly tore his skull in half until the two personas were fighting for control and lashing out as one.

Unfortunately for the princess she was the target of frustration rage; frustration that Betty had died thousands of years ago in a horrible gruesome death and rage for the fact that he would never even win the heart of the closest thing to her. Rage for the simple fact he would never be the man he was, nothing would ever be the way it was.

"You're not Betty", his voice low, shaking in a hushed and darkened whisper. "You're not my Betty…"

Bubblegum stepped back, her hand subconsciously raising to shield herself as blue ice magic emanated from the hand that clutched the crown. It was the source of his power, she had known that but to be faced with the realization that it was also the source of madness? She felt pity for the old man. But even as she pitied him there was a matter of preserving her life.

Marceline leapt onto Simon's back and he lashed out as if fighting for his life. He managed to throw her to the ground, the tussle unwinding the crown from his side. All eyes fell on the golden object as it hit the tile and settled as if it weighed a hundred pounds. The Vampire Queen felt her pride hurt, but she wasn't fighting an enemy, or even play fighting with Finn…this was Simon. Not even Ice King, but Simon. And it hurt her even more to see him in such pain.

And he didn't see her, Simon's mind was too far gone at this point. Whenever he got angry like this he'd lose control. Marceline picked herself up knowing that she'd have to protect Bonnie.

"That's right you pink seductress, I know. I know you're not my Betty", he growled as he reached down for the crown. "My Betty was sweeter than sugar, but her heart was soft. Too soft", he shook his head as he held the crown up above his head, Simon's movements forced like that of a stringed puppet. "Betty was weak that was why she left me. That was why I scared her away, because she wasn't strong, she didn't want to listen to the ice and snow!"

Blistery winds surrounded Simon, with enough force to push the girl's back if they weren't careful. Both shielded their eyes from the frostbite in the air. It bit at their skin and sent their hair flying wildly behind them. There was so much pain in Simon as he nearly bent in half, holding back his sudden urge to throw up. He saw the faces of the people burning, skin melting off their bones as they screamed and stopped screaming.

How he had wanted to protect her, but she just didn't understand. She wouldn't give him the chance to save her. That thought festered in the back of his mind, made into a disease by the crown. It blackened a part of him erasing the idea that he'd ever find that kind of love again.

"She didn't love me enough…and when the fire came…she burned"

"Stop it!" Marceline called out to him as she fought against the powerful winds. "You're freaking her out!"

Horror spread across Bubblegum's face as she was forced into the corner. Simon's face had contorted into sharpened angles, his razor sharp teeth clutched together as he scowled. As he placed the crown atop his head the temperature in the lab dropped and a few beakers exploded as a storm formed above his head. It began to spread across the ceiling, growing and blackening. The shade covered Bubblegum in an ominous darkness. The anger and misery pent up in Simon Petrikov reflected itself around him as he clenched his fists and fought tears.

"I thought you could be different, but I was wrong", his voice cracked with remorse. "I thought this time things would be different, that you wouldn't run away. But you hate me!" he screamed in the voice the princess knew to fear. "But you won't burn like Betty…that fire's all gone now", he hissed his hand vacillating with unstable pure energy.

"That's enough!" Marceline shouted as she flew at Simon.

As Simon rose his hand to attack the princess Marceline wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled back. He choked a little as she struggled to fully subdue him. Even as he was unable to gather a full breath he choked out pitiful curses at the princess between sobs, his voice sounding like that of a demonic frog.

"Stop looking at me like that!" he screamed between broken sobs. "Please s-stop starring at me like that…with t-that face…her face", he pleaded, suddenly being back in their apartment.

"Please, just stop!" Marceline wrestled Simon off balance, her voice starting to break.

But he was undeterred. Simon temporarily threw Marceline from his back with an icy tornado. He balled his fists and tucked them into his chest, tears hitting the floor as little clear crystals of ice. It had gotten so cold Bubblegum felt her hair growing brittle.

"It wasn't my fault…It's not my fault I said those things, did those terrible things!"

Simon shot an ice blast and Bubblegum rolled out of the way just in time though her dress got torn at the bottom. Punching the crown off Simon's head Marceline stripped him of its powers. He continued to struggle but Marceline found it easier to hold him and with grace pulled his arm behind his back. As it snapped painfully into place Marceline reflexively loosened her hold, but the empathic act nearly allowed Simon to escape her grip.

She bit her lip as she used full force and forced him to his knees. Simon shuttered at the sharp pain for only a moment before looking up. Hysterical, crying and screaming, Simon directed his never ending sorrow and torment towards Bubblegum.

"It's not my fault I'm a monster…" he sniffled a little as the sobs died down. "I-I tried to tell you, Betty", his bottom lip trembled as he went limp in Marceline's arms. "You looked back at me…once…and then poof", he sadly chimed "Poof…all gone", his head fell low, bangs completely covering his face as the only thing keeping from hitting the floor was his Marci. "You walked out into the fire. No more Betty, no more people…no more Simon"

Marceline knelt behind him. She didn't want Bonnie to see her watering eyes. And it was the first warm tear that hit his back that woke Simon from his nightmare. He began to remember where he was and who was with him. Marceline, he thought woefully as he realized the hands holding him were a pale gray. This venture wasn't about him, at least to Simon. It was about the person who needed him as much as he needed her.

"I miss the man I was princess", he said in a timid sorrowful tone. "I miss the warmth of the light", he took a moment to catch his breath and even his tone as the grip on himself strengthened. "Please help me bring that man back…if not for me, for the little girl that misses him even more than I"

The princess's pink eyes opened wide with understanding. Bubblegum looked through Simon, the Ice King and to her old friend Marceline; Marceline who was wild and unruly, Marceline who dared to say she cared for no one, Marceline…who was without someone to love. Everything made sense.

"Are you happy now?" Marceline growled, hiding her face in his hair after seeing the shocked realization on her friend. "Now you know! Little miss princess knows everything!"

"Marceline", Bubblegum looked toward her friend with empathy even if she was hiding in the white tendrils of Simon's hair. "…Marci why didn't you tell me? All this time…I could have helped you, him…I could have…"

"Why do you think Bonnie", Marceline snorted as she tried to get a better hold on Simon as he began to fall forward.

Bubblegum, Bonnie bit her bottom lip. Sure she could be off putting at times but she had never known that the Ice King was suffering from a disease of this magnitude. Marceline had put a lot of thought into asking her, but had already decided what the princess's answer would be. She never wanted her friends to avoid asking for her help.

"I would have helped you", she repeated, tender as to not offend Marceline or make her feel guilty.

"Well I'm here now", sarcasm dripped from Marceline's voice but it still failed to hide her humility. "So help him or don't help him, just you know tell me now"

Bubblegum's expression softened, "Oh Marci…" she said softly. "Of course I'll help you..."

And despite the craziness of most recent events Bubblegum approached Simon and Marceline. The princess kneeled down to be level with her fellow royalty with a warm smile. Marceline turned her head, tears still pricking the corners of her eyes. Bonnie reached out and tucked a piece of ebony hair behind Marceline's pointed ear.

Marceline smiled.

((Author's Note))

R&R It's time to start wrapping this story up so a few more chapters...I usually wrap em up by twelve or so. How do you guys think this is gonna end? Can you guess? If you've been following my Tumblr odds are you've seen the concept sketches i've been doing to try and figure out just the right ending. That's JenjoInk on Tumblr just in case you wanted to see some AT art