To Save A King

"Whoa…" Finn's jaw dropped as the others finished listening to Betty's story back at the Tree Fort. In addition to Jake, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum, Lumpy Space Princess and Shelby the worm were there.

"And that's the last thing I remember before waking up in the Ice Kingdom," Betty admitted. "No wait…I remember shouting. Someone shouting and this feeling of falling but it's all fuzzy. Other than that…"

"That is some story," Jake whistled. He went to the sink to get himself a glass of water.

"What I don't get is how you ended up in the Ice Kingdom after all that and why you're old now?" LSP said aloud.

"I have a theory about why Betty's aged," Bubblegum spoke up. "Perhaps the stasis chamber got slightly damaged when you tried to escape?"

"That's the only thing that makes sense," Betty sighed. "There's something I don't understand. Why does the Ice King remind me of Simon? That's the same crown right?"

"Yes it is," Marceline let out a breath. "And it's had the same owner for over a thousand years."

"Same owner? Wait hold on! Hold on!" Betty held up her hands. "So Ice King is…?"

"Yes!" Marceline told her.

"WHAT?" LSP shouted. "I still don't get this whole Simon thing!"

"How is that possible?" Betty gasped.

"How is what possible?" LSP shouted.

"BMO I think we should show her the tape we found," Finn said.

"You never gave it back to the Ice King?" Marceline asked.

"We did, we just made a copy of it," Jake explained as he came back with a glass of water. "BMO pull the Ice King origin out of your archive files."

"I have it on hard drive," BMO nodded. The little computer turned on the video.

Betty's eyes widened as she saw the tape. "It wasn't him who…?" She gasped as she watched. Her heart broke at the end.

"Please love me again Betty!" Simon's desperate wail stabbed her in the heart.

"Oh my gosh," LSP sniffled as the recording ended. "That is like totally the saddest most pathetic thing I have ever seen! Ever!"

"That's why the Ice King is so totally obsessed with capturing princesses," Finn explained. "What he really wants deep down is his princess…"

"Betty…" Marceline looked at Betty.

"Oh Simon," Betty began to sob. "How could I have been so blind?"

"Hmph! You know lady, if you think about it, it really is kind of all your fault," LSP snorted.

"Lumpy Space Princess!" Finn snapped.

"What? It is," LSP said. "I mean because of her we got the lumpin' Ice King after us princesses all the time."

"LSP…" Marceline warned.

LSP of course didn't listen. "I mean you were supposed to love him lady. The fact that he changed suddenly out of the blue should have been a tip off. At the very least you could have come back to make sure and if he was really crazy to tell him face to face what he did. But nooo you just left him and then…"

"SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE LSP OR ELSE I'M PERSONALLY GOING TO SMOOTH OUT EVERY LUMP IN YOUR BODY!" Marceline changed into a bat form startling the purple princess.

"Whoa! Hey! Why are you so eager to defend her?" LSP was startled.

"Because I did the same thing," Marceline sighed as she changed back to her regular form. "I promised Simon that I would help cure him but when push came to shove…I dunno it just seemed easier to forget about that promise and let him…"

"Marceline you were just a kid when…" Finn began.

"This was after I became the Vampire Queen, Finn!" Marceline shouted. "I just went on my own way instead of paying back the guy who raised me. I just let him…Look we have to find a way to help him."

"I agree," Bubblegum said. "It's time we found a way to save the Ice King."

"Why would you of all people wanna save the Ice King?" LSP asked Bubblegum. "He's way more obsessed with kidnapping you than the rest of us!"

"Remember when I was possessed by the Lich?" Bubblegum asked. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Not even the Ice King. And he's been possessed longer…"

"With no one to save him from the crown," Marceline sighed.

"I can only imagine the torture that poor man has gone through," Bubblegum shook her head. "Besides, if we can save him then he won't need to kidnap princesses anymore."

"Well here's a crazy idea," Betty said, her voice getting louder. "If the crown is the problem why doesn't someone take the stupid thing off and destroy it?"

"It's not that simple," Princess Bubblegum shook her head. "First of all the crown is filled with a powerful force. I hate to call it magic but there's no better scientific explanation. And apparently it has a mind of its own so I don't think it would just let us destroy it. Secondly the Ice King has had it for more than a thousand years. If we destroy it, it could destroy him."

"And that's like a bad thing why?" LSP snorted.

"Because like it or not the Ice King plays a very important role in our ecosystem," Princess Bubblegum told her. "Haven't you ever wondered why I never asked Finn and Jake to actually destroy him?"

"I always thought it was because you were so nice," Jake asked.

"I am but for the safety and welfare of my people I am willing to make the hard choices," Princess Bubblegum said. "Fortunately killing the Ice King isn't an option. In fact we need to keep him alive or we could all face a catastrophe beyond imagination."

"What do you mean?" Finn asked.

"Do you know where our water comes from?" Princess Bubblegum asked. "All the rivers, streams, deep water wells and lakes of Ooo have one source. The melted water from the Ice Kingdom."

"Really?" Finn's eyes widened. "I didn't know that."

"Yes even the ocean surrounding Ooo benefits from the Ice Kingdom," Princess Bubblegum nodded.

"So?" LPS snorted.

"Where do you think all that ice comes from?" Princess Bubblegum gave her a look.

"So…What you're saying is the Ice King makes the ice…" Betty began. "The ice eventually melts and becomes water."

"You mean my tasty cool drink of water is all because of the Ice King?" Jake stopped drinking his water. "That's way wacko Princess!"

"It's true. Furthermore there is evidence through my studies that Ooo would not have such fertile lands and perfect growing conditions if not for the centuries of water flowing from not only the melted water of the Ice Kingdom, but the precipitation the Ice King puts in the air," Princess Bubblegum explained. "In other words, if the Ice King didn't exist…Ooo and the Candy Kingdom wouldn't exist."

"So you're saying if it wasn't for the Ice King none of us would be here? That's heavy," Finn said. "I had no idea that crazy old dude would be so important."

"Whoa, that like blows my mind," LSP whistled. "And like my mind is like a steel trap so it takes a lot to blow it!"

"Huh, must really peeve you off Princess, being so all about the science and your entire kingdom depends on magic," Marceline smirked.

"Technically cryokinesis isn't magic. It is a proven scientific ability," Bubblegum sniffed.

"But you just said the crown itself was magic," Finn pointed out.

"All magic is unexplained science anyway! The only reason I called it that was because I have no idea how it works!" Bubblegum fumed. "Look this is just splitting hairs. The point is the Ice King has the ability to make water which we all need in order to survive."

"Our lives depend on a crazy old man and his crazy evil crown," Shelby agreed. "Suddenly I have an urge to look at some real estate listings…"

"So what do we do now?" Betty said. "We can't just let Simon be controlled by that…thing forever!"

"If only there was a way for the Ice King to get his memories back," Finn sighed.

"But nothing works! We showed him the tape of himself and I've shown him his own writings and nothing!" Marceline was frustrated. "He's my dearest friend and he can't even remember me."

"He remembers you somewhat," Bubblegum said. "You said so yourself he was always finding out where you lived throughout the centuries."

"Yeah but he never remembers me," Marceline sighed. "He doesn't remember why he always shows up. I guess I didn't love him enough."

"I don't think that's it," Betty said. "Maybe he needs more than your love to break the spell? Maybe he…? He needs me too Marceline. He needs both of us to break the spell."

"That makes sense," Jake spoke up. "Love is powerful magic in itself. But that crown has got some powerful magic too. So maybe the Ice King just needs some extra powerful love?"

"You know something…" Marceline said. "It's crazy enough that it might work. I mean it's not like I have any other plan to help him."

"Dealing with magic is always risky," Bubblegum said. "But I'm willing to do what I can to break the crown's curse."

"But what if the crown gets broken in the process and the Ice Kingdom gets destroyed?" Shelby asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Bubblegum said. "I can't allow my kingdom's prosperity be at the suffering of another. Not like this. Besides I can always come up with some kind of ice making machine if I had to. And I'm really getting tired of his stalking me so…"

"Bubblegum's right," Finn nodded. "I'm a hero and I'm supposed to help anyone in need. And nobody needs our help more than the Ice King. It's the crown that's evil, not him."

"So we find a way to break the curse," Jake nodded. "I'm in! You up for it Betty?"

"I ran away from Simon when he needed me once," Betty said, her voice firm with resolve. "I won't do it a second time."

"We're both going to help save him," Marceline nodded.

"BMO help too! BMO is on the case!" BMO beamed.

"I'll just uh…Wait and see what happens," Shelby said.

"Yeah I'm gonna let you guys handle it," LSP nodded.

"I'm going to look up information in the archives about the crown," Bubblegum told them. "There must be some clues about its origin and how to break the spell. Or at the very least allow the Ice King to regain his memory."

"Right. Betty and I will take turns watching him," Marceline said. "We're gonna love bomb his sorry butt until something cracks."

"We can't tell him who I am," Betty sighed. "It would only confuse him."

"Agreed, he's not ready for that," Bubblegum nodded. "Even if you two don't get him to jog his memory, at least you can delay him from kidnapping princesses for a while."

"What do you want Jake and I do to?" Finn asked.

"Hey! We can watch Betty and Marceline who is watching the Ice King," Jake spoke up. "That way if there's any trouble…"

"Hold on, you two hanging around might make the old dude suspicious," Marceline said. "Even he isn't that dumb. But I can secretly watch Betty if she needs me without him seeing."

"Good plan. Finn, Jake. Most likely the book we are seeking is in the Secret Archives Library Dungeon," Bubblegum said. "I'm going to need your help to get through it."

"Now that we can do," Finn nodded. "Okay so Operation Save The Ice King is a go!"

"I'm gonna like go now," LSP said. "See ya around guys."

"Yeah I'm gonna check the newspaper listings for uh…real estate stuff just in case this don't work out," Shelby agreed as he slunk into a hole in the wall.

"You know…Marceline I need to know things that happened with you and Simon," Betty said. "Maybe by comparing notes about what we know about him…?"

"We can jog his memory," Marceline finished.

"Marceline start by telling her that first story you told us," Finn remembered. "That was a good one."

"We'll take the princess back to the Candy Kingdom and start looking up clues," Jake said.

"There must be something in my library on where in the secret archives we can find clues about the crown's past," Bubblegum nodded. "You two start comparing notes and get to know each other better. After all you both love Simon."

"Yeah we do. How exactly did you meet Simon anyway?" Betty asked. "You said he raised you?"

"He did. It was right after the bombs dropped at the Mushroom War," Marceline got comfortable floating on the floor with her legs crossed. "I was only five years old and all alone when a strange blue man found me…"