Sometime later, Phoebe was dressed in her royal armor as she meditated privately. The troops at the campsite remained idle as they awaited their next set of orders. They weren't in a hurry to rush into battle this time. Instead they felt anxious, reluctant even to return to the Candy Kingdom. Thoughts of desertion became widespread with most of the Fire Army. They reasoned if the princess and the Supreme General couldn't handle yesterday's situation first-hand, then it was time to flee to safety.
Various elementals from other campsites debated amongst themselves about their next decision. One side wanted to stay and fight with renewed confidence, while the other insisted on abandoning their posts. Neither of the parties gained an advantage, however as none of them had an acting leader to support them.
The fiery monarch knew her emotions were conflicted long before the war. She lied to herself and to her own father to show a display of strength, only to appear foolish beforehand. Her heart and conscious became aware of a personal problem that she ignored throughout the years that it eventually plagued her performance in battle.
"How did I fall?" She thought to herself.
It was an obvious question she already knew the answer to. She could vividly recall the key moments that led her to extreme happiness to the ones that lead to dreadful feelings. She felt her powers spike at her peak when she had her first kiss. However, because she was raised in a lantern, she had no basic control with her elemental matrix and was nearly consumed by her own flames as a result. In time, she practiced to control her natural strengths as she spent more time exploring life and the outside world.
As Phoebe delved further within her memories, she realized only her emotions were able to bring forth her full potential. In this case, Phoebe resented the fact because she wanted, no needed to access them at will without having to exhaust herself mentally. But before she could gain an actual chance at progress, a guard approached her with his head bowed.
"My apologies," he said. "But we have received an urgent message from Prince Torcho to order all forces to regroup at the Fire Kingdom borderlands."
She casted a worrisome expression, "Are we under attack?!"
He comforted, "No, my liege. He intends to gather everyone within seventy-two hours to mount up a final offensive towards the Candy Kingdom. Since our communications are down for the moment, he's sent out of team of messengers to spread the word."
"Any whereabouts with my brother?"
"He's probably in another camp," the guard replied. "If we can't find him now, I can guarantee we'll find him at the rally point."
"Thank you," Pheobe nodded.
The guard saluted before dismissing himself.
"Where's everyone going?" The Supreme General groggily asked as troops shuffled around his sleeping bag. The injuries he sustained from yesterday made his body sore overall to point where he overslept.
A private paused mid-jog and answered, "New orders from the palace have told us to get to the Fire Kingdom borderlands."
SG blinked a couple times as adrenaline shot through his body, "We've been invaded already?!"
The private made a crossing motion with his arms, "No, general! Prince Torcho has explained that it's just to bring the main force back together. The Fire Kingdom is fine, they're all fine, sir."
SG sighed in relief, "Okay. How soon do they expect us to be there?"
"Within three days," he answered. "Some of our units reportedly fled a few more miles in the far reaches of the Grasslands, so I can imagine it'll take a while for them get moving."
SG slowly stood up from his sleeping bag and started donning his armor, "What about Phoebe and the others? Are they aware as well?"
"Several infantry divisions are already en route to the rally point. Comms are down to contact the princess's whereabouts though, so our best bet is to get there asap."
The superior nodded in determination, "Then let's get a move on!"
"Yes sir!"
Large columns of elementals were seen marching east towards one single location. Some of them arrived within the first day, while others arrived later. Most of the troops were accounted for with only a small portion considered dead or missing. As the Fire Army resupplied on weapons and resources, SG heard someone call his name.
He looked over in confusion until he realized it was his sister and the two ran towards each other exchanging a massive hug.
"I was so worried about you," Phoebe said as she parted.
"You and me both," SG concurred. "I tried to get to you during the last battle, but you were already gone."
"It certainly was hectic when we fled all over the place," she said thoughtfully. "But that's behind us now. We're both still in one piece and so is the army."
SG nodded, "I see our archers have been recently upgraded." He looked around noticing the men were now marching with automatic rifles.
"Artillery's been recently upgraded too," Phoebe added. "They told me we could engage targets from longer distances with increased firepower without having our golems to move them around."
"I like the sound of that already! Heh, let's see if that one guy can handle himself now," he snarked.
Phoebe hummed in affirmation. Although the mysterious soldier was able to deflect multiple arrows without struggle, she imagined it would be even difficult to stop a hail of bullets. Perhaps with the advancement in technology, things will finally work in their favor for once. She could only hope.
"Hey, princess!" A flambit called out.
Pheobe and SG turned to see it was Flambo who was walking with Jake. Recognizing the magical canine, SG frowned, "What's he doing here?!"
"Relax," Phoebe comforted. "He wouldn't have gone this far into the base unless we didn't want him to." She looked over to Jake and said, "It's been a while. I take it this isn't a personal meeting?"
Jake shook his head, "I would have picked a better time in that case, your highness. But I'm here to join the fight."
SG interrupted with skepticism, "You would turn on your leader so easily?"
Jake scowled at him defensively, "Hey, screw you 'pal'! She was no longer my friend after I heard about what happened. I just minded own business!"
SG crossed his arms and challenged, "So what made you decide to get involved all of a sudden? Because right now, I don't trust you."
"My brother's been kidnapped by Bubblegum," he retorted. "I wouldn't be here for any lumpin' other reason unless it involved my family."
Phoebe blinked in realization, "Y-you mean Finn's in trouble?" Suddenly, her heart skipped.
"I can vouch for him," Flambo said. "He told me about how Finn assisted the Candy evacuation and that he never came back."
SG tensed, "He was aiding the enemy?! For all I know, he's already made his decision!"
"He was just getting the civvies outta there," Jake defended, throwing his hands in frustration.
"Or maybe he decided to rekindle things with the Candy princess," SG stated. "Did you ever think of that?"
"He wanted nothin' to do with her! All he cared about was saving the bystanders."
SG shook his head, "I'm not convinced. Guards! Arrest him and the flambit at once!"
Flambo yelled in protest, "Hey, what did I do?"
"For harboring an outsider in a restricted area," SG answered with clenched teeth.
A dozen men surrounded Jake and Flambo with their guns pointed at them.
"Wait," Phoebe said as she suddenly lifted a palm.
The guards froze as the monarch walked forward and kneeled before Jake and whispered, "I'm going to ask you a couple questions and I expect you to be truthful, understand?"
Jake nodded.
"Are you sure he's not involved for personal reasons?"
"Yes." He answered while maintaining eye contact.
"And do you know anything about the man who attacked us?"
"All I know is that he has Finn's sword. Doubt my bro would let anyone borrow his stuff last time I checked."
She nodded in understanding, stood back up, and said to the men, "Stand down. They're with us."
SG protested, "Are you kidding me?! We don't need them!"
"We need all the help we could get," Phoebe countered. "I don't care if we seem strong enough on our own. If they want to help, it's their decision." She looked back to Jake, "Does anyone else know?
"I left Marceline a message," the canine answered as SG threw his hands at the disclosure. "She might be joining us sometime later, I dunno. I'm still waiting for her response."
"Oh, that's just great!" SG said disapprovingly. "Why don't you tell the whole world too while you're at it!"
Phoebe interrupted, "That's enough."
"The Candy Kingdom will surely be ready for us at this rate!"
Phoebe intensified her flames and shouted, "I said that's enough!"
He backed down indignantly.
She narrowed her eyes at him and said in a low voice, "If you act with this kind of insubordination in front of the men again, I will strip your rank and send you back home in shame at this exact moment. Do you understand me?"
He grumbled, "Yes.. your majesty."
"You have your orders, general," she said out loud authoritatively. "Dismissed!"
SG nodded sharply before making a swift departure.
Phoebe turned to Jake and Flambo and said, "Feel free to help yourselves with some weapons and ammo. In a few hours, we're moving out. If Finn is truly there for a fact, then we'll do the best we can to find him."
"Thanks princess," Jake replied.
"This will be the largest military operation as of today," she stated. "We're going to take the fight head-on to Bubblegum's castle all in one stroke. I need you two to be ready when the time comes. Everything is at stake here and our forces will have only one chance."
"Got it," Flambo said.
Phoebe nodded and left. As she walked away, the pain in her heart began to stir once more with anxiety. There were so many things to worry about at this point and the only comfort she could find was through prayer.
"Grod, help me through this," she said distressed in her thoughts. "Please give me strength."
Millions of flame troops assembled into columns, ready to march once the order was given.
It was all or nothing...
Closing OST: Ending theme from Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
