Awakened

Sunlight strewn from across the room managed to break through Phoebe's eyelids, convincing the fiery girl to come to her senses. She pulled away the fire blanket Bonnibel had offered her, shifting her weight to slide her legs over and sit up in bed, rubbing the corners of her eyes with two fingers. The monarch glanced outside, seeing the glowing sun in the distance. Without the omnipresent heat of her kingdom, solar rays were her only source of power at the moment.

Sighing, FP made her way to the door and gently gripped the handle so as to not melt it. Upon walking out of the room, she looked both ways down the hall, having already forgotten how to find Bubblegum's lab. Fortunately for her, Peppermint Butler was standing just to the side of her door, apparently having been waiting for the fire elemental.

"Ah, your highness, the princess asked me to wait for you. Please, come along."

Phoebe wasn't sure whether to admire or be concerned for the candy person's devotion. Who knows how long he stood there, staring at the opposite wall until she had decided to finally wake up. Pushing the thought aside, Phoebe followed Pep But past several nearly identical corridors, seeing no other candy people walking about. Granted it was early in the morning. Climbing a single stairway, the two finally came upon PB's sanctum, with the princess's servant giving the door a knock.

Flame Princess heard CB's voice call for them to enter, at which point Peppermint Butler took hold of the knob and stepped aside, offering her the open entrance. Once Phoebe moved inside, the diminutive candy person bid her farewell and left to go about his duties, closing the door behind him.

Taking a look around, FP noted how little had changed since she'd last been in the lab. If anything, the mess had expanded further. A sink nearby was overflowing with used beakers, a clear hazard, and new diagrams covered every inch of actual surface space, acting as a table cloth. Cinnamon Bun was found leaning back in a stool on the wall adjacent to Bonnibel, arms behind his back. He cracked open an eye upon hearing FP enter, then placed his seat on all four legs to properly address her.

"How'd you sleep?"

Phoebe shrugged lightly as she walked past to get behind PB, who seemed oblivious to her arrival.

"Just fine, I guess. You?"

CB stretched out his arms, letting out a groan.

"I nodded off somewhere around midnight. Should be fine."

FP acknowledged, reaching her fellow ruler and lightly shaking her by the shoulder.

"Where's JT?"

Her knight motioned his head towards the door.

"Out in the candy forest, running around. He doesn't care much for this cramped space."

Understanding, Phoebe continued shaking Bonnie, getting little response.

"Bonnibel? Bonnibel!"

At first there was a light groaning, but the princess seemed largely unaffected by the movement. Getting frustrated, FP carefully raised the temperature in her hand, reaching the point of a boiling kettle. Peebles suddenly shrieked and threw her head up, looking back and forth.

"I need Kelvin for that, not Celsius!"

Blinking, the candy monarch suddenly seemed to return to her senses, turning around in her swivel chair to face Phoebe as the fire elemental removed her hand. The pink woman rubbed the back of her neck, grinning awkwardly.

"Oh, um, sorry about that. I guess I tried pulling an all-nighter."

Cinnamon Bun raised an eyebrow across the room.

"You mean fourth all-nighter, right?"

Bonnie coughed to break the topic away from her personal health and swiveled back to face her desk, shoving aside numerous objects to find the keyboard. A holoscreen came up moments later, depicting some physics interaction Phoebe couldn't identify.

"Have you made any progress?" she asked hopefully.

PB nodded excitedly as she scrolled down to reach a number of files.

"Yes, in fact. I think I can piece together an adequate strategy based on the data I collected."

FP furrowed her brow.

"Collected? From where?"

Bubblegum stopped typing, regaining an awkward complexion.

"Um… well, those communication crystals I gave you…"

Remembering for the first time, FP reached into her dress, pulling out the pink gem and its accompanying necklace. She eyed the object briefly, before giving a stern look to her fellow princess. Bonnie chuckled nervously, tapping two fingers together. In the end, Phoebe rolled her eyes and tossed the crystal to the candy monarch, who fumbled with the catch. Upon securing the item, PB immediately fitted it into a device hooked to her computer, causing a new wave of data to appear on screen.

After a minute of studying the collected material, Peebles nodded in satisfaction, growing excited all over again.

"As I thought. This will work."

She swiveled around again, adjusting her hologram so that both her guests could see.

These 'legionaries', might look like your basic fire elemental, but they are actually much more unstable."

She pointed to the diagram on screen, depicting one of the artificial soldiers' interior.

"They don't have a true, solid elemental matrix, but a swirling mass of energy that is kept in place by what I can only assume is the laughable framework Hades placed in their bodies. Basically, you could even take one of their heads off and they'd still be able to regenerate it and keep coming. The core functions as both heart and brain, for whatever good that will do under Aphrodite's control."

CB came closer as she spoke, studying the diagram with his king.

"So what you're saying is that only a direct strike to the heart will destroy one permanently."

Bonnibel nodded.

"Right. The 'soul' won't stay contained if the core is pierced. Alternatively, you can destroy the entire chest cavity, but that'll likely take more energy and effort."

Phoebe folded her arms, pursing her lips.

"My soldiers may be trained, but they excel at close-quarters combat, not precision shooting. And I'd rather keep them as far from the Legionaries as possible."

CB nodded in agreement. She continued, looking up at her counterpart.

"Unfortunately, energy isn't something we have extensive amounts of right now. Flint and what's left of the scattered army are likely exhausted by now."

The trio thought for a moment, trying come up with a solution. Unsurprisingly, Bonnie was the first, nearly gasping in realization.

"Wait! You do have a massive energy source!" she exclaimed.

The pink lady grinned at her confused counterpart.

"And I never thought I'd be so glad I let you keep it."

In that instant, Phoebe's eyes widened with the same realization.

As it had remained for centuries, the Fire Kingdom's core was little more than a subterranean basin of untamed magma. Beyond the constant rumbling of moving earth and hiss of steaming rock, not a single presence of life was known to the area, and the fire elementals preferred to keep it that way.

Amidst the groaning of terrestrial minerals, an additional sound soon began penetrating through the solid walls of the chamber. Rocky spires began tumbling from the ceiling, splashing into the magma and immediately being consumed. Cracks began appeared at the far edge, heralding the arrival of a most unexpected intruder. The wall gave way in a blast of dirt and dust, concealing portions of the outside force as it snaked its gigantic body out of the tunnel once hidden behind the rock face.

The sand worm settled, coiling its form comfortably as lava seeped out of the tunnel exit. The glass barrier around its mouth opened, revealing a frustrated Princess Bubblegum, who quickly disconnected the control cap from her head and stepped out onto the core surface, wearing her environmental suit. Phoebe followed her a second later, equally upset. CB and Jake 2 exited last, each carrying a burdensome piece of Peebles' tech.

"I told you to follow my directions, this is my home after all!"

"I trusted my navigational data more than your memory. Is that really so bad?"

"And I trusted you enough to help my kingdom, again. Instead, you just had to prove you're the superior one and take a wrong turn at that boulder, missing our correct path down the lava tube!"

"Oh, like you've never overshot an exit tunnel!"

Cinnamon Bun groaned as he listened to the two argue, glancing at JT, who seemed quite tired of it as well.

"Bear with it, boy," the candy knight urged.

The group gradually made their way towards the massive metal doors nestled at the back of the core chamber, tightly welded together to prevent entrance. PB had her equipment placed down beside the significant barrier, thanking the two for their efforts. Flame Princess folded her arms, watching curiously as PB checked the two module-like devices for any damage.

"So, why did you have us drag half your lab down here?"

Bonnie turned to her fellow ruler and gave a genuine smile.

"Well, I can't work without my materials, tools, and data."

She placed a hand on FP's shoulder.

"I'm not stepping foot outside this kingdom until Zeus and his cohorts are finished."

Phoebe stared in shock at the gummy lady, stunned by her words. CB smiled as he watched the two of them, suddenly feeling accomplished with carrying the heavy load. The fiery monarch at last returned the smile, placing her hand over Bonnibel's.

"Thank you."

After nodding, PB turned to the door.

"Well, let's get started."

Flame Princess stepped up to the gates, raising a hand and summoning her powers. The welded center of the gates gradually became undone, reforming into the two separate edges of the doors. As the last portion was broken off, Phoebe took another step forward and pushed them open, letting out a slightly cooler gush of air. The group proceeded inside, with PB having retrieved an object from one of her modules.

The pair of monarchs and knight stopped before their target, gazing at its intimidating size and practically alien design. Bonnie went ahead and tossed down the holocube she'd recovered, which immediately projected a screen and keyboard. As she typed away at the touch controls, Phoebe stood before the sleeping fire giant, still in awe at its mystery after all these years. Peebles looked up from her computer, seeing her companion endlessly staring.

"You ready, Phoebe?"

She received only a nod initially, but the use of a computer drew FP's attention, having her turn only her neck to address the candy lady.

"What's with the nerd gear?" she asked sarcastically.

PB seemed to ignore the obvious teasing, answering swiftly.

"This thing hasn't been activated in a long time. It's best if I keep an eye on its operation until we're sure it's fully functional."

FP nodded, returning her sight to the giant. Cinnamon Bun came up beside his former princess, shifting his sight between Phoebe and the holographic screen.

"What exactly is supposed to happen?" he asked with a hint of nervousness.

Bonnibel pressed one last button, bringing up a statistical cross-section of the fire giant.

"The fire elementals are free to call it whatever they want, but in actuality this device is a geothermal extractor. It can siphon heat energy from deep within the earth's core, far further than any surface activity could hope to capture. Whoever built it likely wanted to give humanity an alternative fuel source, one that wasn't harmful to the planet, and themselves."

CB raised an eyebrow, glancing quickly at Flame Princess.

"Geothermal? So it can potentially stir up volcanic activity?"

Peebles smirked.

"You don't really think a wasteland like this just popped up by chance, do you?"

She looked back at Phoebe, who was taking a moment to steady her breathing.

"If she can successfully control the giant's power, she'll be able to distribute its energy as she pleases, denying the enemy any additional strength while buffing up her own soldiers."

CB seemed skeptical, furrowing his brow.

"There's got to be a catch."

Bonnie nodded regretfully.

"We certainly can't lug this huge thing around with us into battle. It'll have to remain stationary for the most part. For now though…"

PB reached behind her, pulling out half a dozen tripod-like gadgets, which she sequentially tossed around the fire giant's perimeter. She then pressed a button on her watch, causing the devices to activate. Each one emitted a strange wave of energy, just before they lifted off the ground without any visible force. To CB and Phoebe's astonishment, the fire giant itself managed to break away from its housing, beginning to hover up towards the ceiling along with the tripods. Peebles nodded to the fire elemental.

"Start it up, Phoebe."

"Right!"

The fire elemental lifted herself off the ground, hovering at a pace matching the slowly rising giant. She eyed the statue one last time, posed as if its arms were in sleeves, its slim eyes watching her without flinching. The very image made Phoebe think the giant was judging her, asking if she was worthy to wield its power. Perhaps that's what her ancestors thought of it too.

I'll show you I'm worthy, she repeated to herself.

Holding both hands outward, FP fired off twin streams of combustion, which she swiftly weaved in towards the vent-like collar of the fire giant. The flames entered without resistance, instantly causing a reaction from the ancient idol. The glowing blue lines running across its body turned a bright orange, while Phoebe could hear the inner workings come to life. A powerful humming echoed from within, bouncing off the walls of the chamber and nearly causing everyone to cover their ears.

The ground beneath PB's feet suddenly began shaking, with a network of thin cracks beginning to encompass the entire room. As it did, the princess started sweating, despite her protective suit. Cinnamon Bun even wiped some off his forehead. Recognizing the dangers, Peebles grabbed her computer and dashed back out of the metal gates, telling CB to stay with Phoebe.

Running up to the two lab modules, Bonnie proceeded to toss her remaining antigravity tripods around them. She then fired a strange ray from her watch, which snagged the two weightless objects and began tugging them along as she reentered the relic vault. CB had gotten onto Jake 2 by now and held out a hand as PB came close, pulling her up to sit behind him as the cracks on the floor began expanding further. While JT jumped into the air, his passengers took a look at Phoebe, who was close to the chamber's ceiling.

The fire elemental's body was glowing nearly white by now, absorbing the staggering amounts of energy the giant was pulling from far below the crust. She glanced at the solid rock above her, knowing what she had to do. Taking a deep breath, Phoebe channeled all the heat she could muster directly in front of her chest, containing it in a swirling orb. The resulting concentration automatically generated a sphere of flames, which she placed her hands on either side of. With a growl of determination, she instantly put all her effort into condensing the sphere further, only able to hold for a few seconds before allowing the energy to escape outwards.

The resulting inferno raged towards the ceiling like an erupting volcano, savagely incinerating any chunks of rock that happened to be falling as a result of the tremors and fast approaching its intended target.

Legionaries tossed aside various pieces of rubble, scanning the site for anything useful. After the prison break from the other day, a platoon was left behind to monitor in the event that Phoebe wanted her home turf back, for whatever reason one could imagine. Incapable of boredom, the puppet elementals went about this order without protest, turning over every inch of the rubble while awaiting any form of resistance.

This, they received, but were not in any way able to respond.

The ground was quickly shaking as if a random earthquake had been triggered, setting most of the legionaries off balance. Upon steadying themselves, each one looked around in bewilderment, unsure of what was happening. If anything, the sudden eruption near the palace landmass's center made them believe a new volcano had just been born. A handful of soldiers were vaporized when the ground at their feet practically vanished, the souls trapped within escaping back to the Underworld. The eruption sailed high into the air like a beacon, all while raining down countless pebbles that battered at the stunned platoon.

As the towering flames dissipated into the Fire Kingdom's atmosphere, all remaining forces stared at the pit left behind, still unsure how to react. A deafening hum filled the open air, causing most to take a step away from the hole. This was followed with an imposing figure rising from below, casting a terrifying shadow over numerous infantry. The orange eyes of the fire giant seemed to glare at the enemy force, as its emissary hovered by its arms. Phoebe stared down at the artificial elementals with a neutral gaze, remembering that these poor souls had no say in their actions.

It was time to free them.

Throwing her arms forward, Phoebe unleashed a flurry of scatter fire shots at the enemies below. While they pointlessly attempted to move, the bolts pierced their bodies as if they were butter, striking right through their cores and causing each legionnaire to crumble to the ground. FP heard faint, ghostly screams from each fallen foe, signaling that their spirits were released. She was relieved the attacks worked at all, figuring that the energy she used was primarily the earth's and so were not absorbed by the soldiers like last time.

The enemies behind her finally found the sense to attack, launching everything from spears to fireballs at the airborne elemental. Phoebe simply swiped her hand in the projectiles' direction, casting a wall of flame that easily absorbed them all. She then broke the wall into a hailstorm of her own shots, raining down upon the legionaries like a meteor shower. While their bodies attempted to regenerate, the sheer volume of impacts gradually exposed their cores, whereupon a follow-up blast rendered them nothing but volcanic rock on the ground.

Once the last soldier had been destroyed, Phoebe turned to the fire giant, seeing its antigravity support beginning to fade. Acting with haste, she rammed herself into the statue's front, shoving it back toward solid ground and clearing out the pit she'd carved through the earth minutes ago. JT was soon able to fly out thanks to her efforts, circling around and landing nearby as Flame Princess just made it, allowing the fire giant to crash down atop the ruins of her home. She soon found herself dizzy, forced down to the site as well.

Bonnibel and Cinnamon Bun quickly dismounted Jake 2 and were at her side, catching the girl before she fell over, panting from the effort. The fire giant's markings returned to their original blue glow, shutting down once again. As Phoebe was gently sat down against a wall fragment, PB raised her watch, taking a quick look at her companion's health.

"You exerted yourself way too much. You should've let us help," she argued.

FP took a few more seconds to steady her breathing, shaking her head.

"It's fine. I needed to make sure the area was clear. I don't want you two in any unnecessary danger."

Her friends sighed, somewhat frustrated by her stubbornness.

"We're in this together, FP," her knight declared, patting her shoulder.

While CB and Jake 2 kept the fiery ruler company, Peebles stepped over to one of her lab modules, activating it by pressing a trigger on her watch. The cube-shaped device quickly unfolded into an entire table of equipment and data drives, which she proceeded to connect her computer to. She talked as she worked.

"We can't move the fire giant any further at this point. It's best if we have your brother and his men use this site as an FOB and build up from here."

Cinnamon Bun nodded in agreement.

"That'll allow the civilians taking shelter back at Flint's hideout to stay safe as well, ensuring only combatants are exposed to any conflict."

Phoebe grunted in acknowledgement of their statements, gazing out in the direction of the underground refinery her sibling had mentioned.

"Flint's lookout will definitely have seen that blast I used to tunnel our way up. He'll know that nothing short of his powered-up sister could've done it."

Taking her word for it, PB kept at her computer.

"I hope he hurries. More legionaries could spring from the lava at any moment."

Cinnamon Bun shook his head, scanning the edge of the lava lake.

"I don't think so."

Both monarchs glanced at him in confusion, curious of his confidence.

"Think about this; last time these things attacked us, the other Olympians were in relatively close proximity."

He pointed out towards the destroyed marketplace in the distance. The seismic hammer was no longer there.

"They've clearly abandoned this area and left little more than a guard to take care of any stragglers. I'm sure that as strong as Aphrodite is, even she can't have unlimited range on her control powers. Any further legionaries will have to be sent out, meaning we can see them coming a mile away."

Bonnie considered his theory, finding no real reason to doubt it based on the given data.

"That's certainly a possibility. Even so, we should get a base set up as fast as possible. No telling if they'll send an Olympian to personally take care of us once and for all."

Phoebe grinned as she glanced over at the fire giant, inactive but clearly able to bolster her people's abilities to levels capable of matching the Phoenixian Legion.

"I doubt it."

Naturally, the first thing Flint did upon arriving at the palace site was walk up to and embrace his sister tightly, having been worried about never seeing her again. She returned the gesture as best she could, still feeling weakened from her use of the fire giant.

"I felt like Glob had answered my prayers when my men told me about that flare you set off."

FP giggled, giving her brother a light punch on the shoulder before sitting down.

"Come on, you know I can handle myself."

Flint shrugged, looking over to see how his soldiers were doing. Tents were already being set up all over the various patches of clear ground, with additional elementals doing their best to set up the rubble into makeshift barricades around the perimeter. Others still kept a firm vigil on the fire giant, which rested at the center of the camp. Cinnamon Bun and Jake 2 were assisting where they could, while Flame Princess was requested to sit and rest by her knight.

As the royal siblings watched the work being carried out, Bubblegum approached them. Her mobile lab had been set up beside the fire giant in order to have a reliable source of power, which Phoebe had managed to allow despite protests from most of her militants. Flint obviously forbade it, but his authority was still usurped by the king.

"Feeling any better, Phoebe?" she asked as she sat by the weary elemental.

The fiery girl nodded, giving a small smile.

"Yeah, a bit."

Flint narrowed his eyes as he watched the two converse, folding his arms.

"Have you no sense of proper etiquette, candy princess? My sister is not just some gal-pal you can chat it up with!"

Peebles gave the fire elemental a frown, opening her mouth to try politely responding. However, Flame Princess beat her to it, glaring at her hostile sibling.

"Flint, I'm only going to say this once. Bonnibel is here to help us, despite the fact that she'd have to deal with your hostility, as well as that of the others. That in itself deserves some respect. Without her, the fire giant would still be stuck hundreds of feet underground and I'd be aimlessly wandering Ooo looking for allies."

She stood up, getting right in Flint's face as he blinked in surprise at her forcefulness.

"So I suggest you take your own advice about etiquette and accept the help of those who are putting themselves on the line for our sake."

The ruler jabbed a finger into her brother's chest.

"As well, kindly refer to her as Princess Bubblegum. That'll be all, bro."

Speechless, Flint simply stood there for a good long moment, processing everything he'd just been told. A few soldiers who'd been walking by snickered behind his back, never seeing their commander so badly told off. Eventually, the man grinded his teeth and hung his head, then turned away and walked off, grumbling to himself. Phoebe let out a breath, sitting back down. PB gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you for that."

FP shrugged.

"I love the guy, but he's too confrontational for his own good sometimes. I'm grateful for your help in saving my people, and no one is going to give you a hard time for that on my watch."

Bonnibel leaned forward, a curious expression mixing with her smile.

"But… you still don't trust me."

Her counterpart smirked.

"Mm, na."

PB sighed expectedly, getting to her feet.

"I'll take what I can get. Get some sleep, ok?"

She walked off to her setup even before she got an answer. Meanwhile, Phoebe looked up to the ashen clouds blanketing her realm. It would be night soon, not that it was easy to tell. Deciding it would be best to follow Bonnibel's advice, she got up and walked to the tent Flint had set aside for her personal use. As she parted the flap to enter, the fiery girl looked back one last time into the far off mountain ranges that dotted the land. Her hand twirled the silver locket on her neck a few times as she stared into the unknown wilderness of the kingdom.

"Come on, you idiot. I need your help too," she whispered.

There you go. As promised, to make up for that dreadful and unexplained absence from this story earlier, a DOUBLE UPDATE! It works well since both chapters take place at roughly the same time.

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!