Finn and Betty screamed as they were pulled into the Ice King's crown. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the crown's ice realm. They were disoriented as they landed on the ground face first. Fortunately, their impact from the fall was cushioned by a large blanket of snow. When they got up, Finn dusted himself and observed his surroundings.
The crown's realm did not have much to offer. All he could find were some icy mountains and vast open plains of snow. It didn't help much that there was a constant blizzard limiting his vision. On top of that, the realm's time of day was permanently fixed on night.
Betty observed her surroundings and said, "Well, this place is definitely a snowy wasteland."
"Wasteland?! How about a snowy wonderland!" The humanoid entity said as he twirled around with his arms spread wide.
Finn and Betty immediately turned to face him at the sound of his voice. He was an imposing figure standing 7 feet tall wearing knight's armor. The color scheme was mostly dark purple with gold outlines. His skin was light blue, while his face had similar features which made him resemble the Ice King. They drew their weapons and got into combat stances. The entity paid no mind to it and acted indifferently, "So, it looks like you're here to free that pathetic friend of yours, am I right?"
They kept their stances in place as he paced back and forth. Then he stopped and said, "Well, it seems you've wasted your time. Simon is under my control and there's nothing YOU can do about it." He smirked at them.
"Why do you continue to torment him? Because of you, I've lost my fiancé twice!" Betty lashed out.
"Simon does not need anyone. I have given him powers that could help him rule the world! In fact, he could even usher a new Ice Age on this lousy planet." The entity shook his fist.
"You do not speak for him! I've spent too much time apart from Simon long enough! If you're not going to let him go quietly, then prepare to fight." Betty readied her double-bladed sword.
The vile entity narrowed his eyes and spoke menacingly, "You two mortals aren't worth my time." He summoned 20 ice warriors that surrounded the heroes. "My minions shall dispose of you and then I can rule in peace." He snapped his fingers then flew towards the mountains.
"Well that's just great. Typical villain sends in bad guys to do all the dirty work," Finn said sarcastically.
Betty frowned, "Are we doing this or what?"
Finn lifted an eyebrow, "A woman of action, eh? Alright, let's do this."
The duo expertly dispatched all the ice warriors in 5 minutes. After the skirmish, Finn withdrew his sword and began to put down his backpack. He shuffled through his belongings until he managed to find two special belts. He tossed one over to Betty, "Here take this, this is a thermal belt that will keep you insulated from extreme temperatures. From the looks of things, that entity fled to the far mountains hoping we would freeze to death if we followed him."
"Thanks Finn." Betty caught the belt and began fastening it under her cloak.
"Come on, let's hurry before he decides to send in more backup. Glob knows what else could be lurking out in this realm." Finn motioned over to her.
The trip to the mountains took at least half an hour. Luckily, the only resistance they encountered so far were just a couple of ice warriors. When they arrived, Betty noticed an icy fortress in the distance.
"Over there!" She pointed.
They went inside the fortress to discover it was deserted. They were shocked as they expected to encounter heavy resistance. Instead, there were no guards or any signs of life. The only thing they could hear was the howling blizzard outside.
Finn whispered to Betty, "Keep your eyes open."
She nodded in response.
The two cautiously searched each area of the complex starting from the entrance, the study hall, the kitchen, the dining room, and all the personal chambers. Finally, the last area they needed to search was the rooftop. Once there, they noticed the entity observing his domain with his hands and back toward them.
He stared aimlessly at the vast plains until he said, "You are to be commended for making it this far." Then he faced them and continued, "You two have managed to endure this freezing environment, something I did not think was possible. No matter, once I'm done, you two can join your lost friend into oblivion!" He materialized a sky blue double-bladed sword in his hands.
Finn and Betty drew their swords once again to face the humanoid. Then, they dashed towards him and clashed their blades. Sparks flew as they blocked each other's attacks. As the fight progressed, the blizzard intensified. Eventually, the entity stumbled backwards a little as Finn kicked him in the stomach. The humanoid brushed himself as he showed a look of frustration, "I will not go down easily!" He faced Betty, "Let's even the odds, shall we?"
Moments later, 3 ice warriors appeared near Finn and started attacking him. Finn was able to defeat them, but the villain kept on sending another set continuously. "You call this even," Finn yelled whilst fighting.
The entity shrugged, "Oh well, I was never really good at math." Feeling satisfied, the ice being twirled his sword, "It's just you and me now, Betty. Let's settle this for good."
"The only thing standing in my way for my chance at happiness is you!" She charged at him. Their blades clashed again, neither of them faltering.
After a while, Finn began to lose his endurance and got slashed a few times. The incisions were mostly superficial, but he cried out in pain. "Argh, their ice weaponry is so cold it burns me!" He thought to himself. Finn was accustomed to coping with hot temperatures before he became fire proof, but the problem was that he was dealing with freeze burns.
"Finn!" Betty cried out.
He made a dismissive gesture and said, "I'm fine... Just beat that menace."
She nodded and continued her duel. Moments later, she and her opponent slammed their swords into a power exchange. She started to falter as the humanoid towered over her.
"Your strength betrays you. Just give up and join your lover in peace," he said sadistically.
"I will NEVER give up!" With that, she summoned more willpower to channel into the blade. As a result, she began to gain the upper hand, "My love for Simon is unwavering. I've spent four years finding a way to bring him back. And now that I know I'm close, my determination far exceeds your mere desire for power!"
Betty continued to lean forward more as her rival was gradually losing ground. Once he leaned back far enough, Betty shoved his sword away and split it in two. The entity was astonished as he only had one blade left at his disposal. Then, Betty pushed on the offensive and sent a flurry of slashes. Her opponent began to struggle and eventually dropped his guard. Finally, Betty defeated him by severing his forearm wielding the sword. He was completely speechless as he stared dumbfounded at his wound.
The ice entity clutched his severed arm and then fell to his knees. Then, Betty readied her blade one more time and delivered a quick swipe across his neck, decapitating him. From that moment, the ice warriors fighting Finn disappeared. Seconds later, the two heroes found themselves being pulled back away from the crown's realm into the physical world.
"I can't believe it! You actually did it," Grand Master Wizard exclaimed. "Now the last thing we need to do is put this crown back on Simon's head to reverse the effects."
"Alright, let's hope this works," Betty said wearily. They went over to a still unconscious Ice King and placed the crown on his head. The effects were almost instantaneous and Simon became normal again.
"W-wha-what happened?" Simon asked as he rubbed his head.
"Simon, you're finally back!" Betty launched herself at him kissing him repeatedly. Then she gave him some room.
"How am I not aging rapidly?" Simon asked worriedly.
"Finn and I warped inside the crown's realm with Grand Master's help and defeated the evil influence. When that happened, he said that you would be able to live a natural life."
Simon brightened his smile, "That's wonderful!" They embraced and kissed each other again.
The Grand Master was emotional and then cleared his throat at the newly reunited couple, "You know, I don't think all humans are bad. I've never seen anyone go through great lengths to be with someone they care about for a long time. So, I've decided to welcome you three as respectable guests."
Betty turned and faced him, "Thank you, Grand Master."
Finn asked, "Does this also mean we could bring our friends here too?"
GM answered, "Of course, as long as they respect the laws and say wizards rule."
"No problem, you guys definitely rule." Finn smiled as he held a thumbs up.