Frustrated at being unable to deliver the first strike, Phoebe reluctantly moved her giant to a defensive stance. All of the drones were converging in a surrounding fashion and it wouldn't be long until they would be closer in range. Phoebe doubted the giant's armor would be able to withhold such a volume of firepower that she quickly rummaged through her thoughts. Swatting them with her arms was out of the question as well as shooting plasma rays from her hands and eyes. She could take out a significant number of drones with the second option, but it will still involve her taking critical damage. The fiery monarch needed to figure out a way to counter from all angles simultaneously or else she would never have the chance to confront Bubblegum.

Suddenly, an idea surfaced. Phoebe powered up the plasma beams in the giant's eyes and palms while taking a widened stance. Once done, she lifted her arms to the sides posing in a "T" formation and began spinning wildly in place. As the bluish beams fired into the skies, Phoebe manipulated them to break into multiple branches as though she were casting arcs of electricity. The result proved to be very effective as two-thirds of the fleet was rapidly lost that it prompted Bubblegum to withdraw on the attack. By then, the fighting had stopped momentarily when the two royals made a bitter verbal exchange.

"You're not the only one with upgrades, Bonnibel!" Phoebe taunted.

"It won't save you," PB retorted as she ordered the remaining drones to fly out of range. "My technology will always be far more superior."

"Says the one who went out of their way to destroy my weapons stockpile!" Phoebe argued with tightened fists.

The two giants strode towards each other shortly afterward. Once they were close, they began to throw basic punches at each other's face and chest area. Sparks and shards of metal from both giants rained towards the ground as they blocked. Each time one landed a successful hit, the other would stumble slightly from the impact before delivering a strike seemingly more brutal than the last. Although the close combat exchange lasted roughly around 90 seconds, many of Ooo's general population thought they were caught in a severe thunderstorm that persisted for ages. With the skies blackened several miles from the ongoing destruction and volcanic ashes, many assumed it was the end of the world.

Bubblegum skipped backwards a little when she realized the fight wasn't progressing to her liking. As she distanced herself from Phoebe, the candy monarch ordered some of her drones for a diversional attack, while using the other portion to repair the gumball guardian back to full health. Phoebe's giant was slightly damaged during the exchange, but overall the attack was negligible. Most of the missiles and bullets were deflected from the Fire Giant's adequately sloped armor that they simply ricocheted right into the ground.

The drone fleet continued to dwindle swiftly in numbers as Phoebe utilized the same defensive strategy. Arcs of plasma would illuminate the darkened skies creating a chain of explosions, while Bubblegum watched idly in chagrin. As the gumball guardian finished its self-repairs, PB became more clouded in judgement. She looked over to her terminal to order every single drone deploy all its ordinance in one single pass before having them crash into the Fire Giant directly. The Fire Giant would hunch and flinch occasionally as it was struck with miniature explosions, but it remained intact and kept its sights focused on its main adversary, wary that the gumball guardian would use a crucial sneak attack.

"It certainly makes a difference now that you're fighting someone your own size, isn't it?" Phoebe seethed as the dust settled.

"I may have lost my air support," PB admitted with ire. "But I still have more knowledge and the means to defeat you!"

"Bring it on, old hag!" Phoebe taunted as she recalled the candy monarch's age.

Neither of the giants used their ranged weaponry after that as they opted for an up-close and personal battle. One was fueled with absolute frustration, while the other was driven with boundless fury. The ground shook tremendously as they briskly approached each other until they were close enough to flail each other with jabs, hooks and uppercuts. They had tried to block and parry each other's strikes at first, but then their emotions took over as their rivalry intensified. As the duel progressed, neither of them made the effort to block anymore as they traded direct hits to the face. The guardians along with their operators were tiring out from exertion overtime that it eventually stopped into a power struggle with both hands pressing against each other in a widened stance. Sparks and small jets of steam escaped from the cracks of their arms and it wouldn't be long until one guardian would gain the advantage of forcing the other to buckle.

Fortunately as fate would have it, PB found herself on the receiving end as Phoebe towered over. Shortly afterward, the Fire Giant delivered a swift knee strike to the stomach before it quickly followed up with two alternative hooks. The gumball guardian staggered backwards clumsily as it rotated its neck in place, appearing to be worn out and badly damaged. None of the controls were responding as PB tried to keep on fighting, but sadly as she could was watch. The internal alarms got on her nerves indicating that she had lost her shields again, and her pupils narrowed in horror as she watched the Fire Giant prep itself for one last devastating attack. The fiery monarch had taken an offensive side-stance with one palm extending before she finally unleashed a ball of explosive energy right at the gumball guardian's face. The Candy giant was effectively disabled as it collapsed backwards into a massive thud, forming a matching crater. A series of explosions followed as the giant broke into several pieces, but ultimately the fiery monarch remained skeptical.

Although the battle among the Titans had been decided, victory had come at a cost. Phoebe had a frown etched on her face when her HUD indicated the Fire Giant was severely damaged at fifteen percent. The weapons were disabled from being overused and the guardian's mobility was effectively disabled. She was advised to initiate an emergency shutdown as a means to preserve whatever power the guardian had left, and she adhered to it moments later. She let out a tired sigh of relief, grateful that all the upgrades the guardian received saved her life. However, the fiery monarch was far from resting as far as anyone else was concerned.

"Outstanding, Phoebe!" Furnius called through the radio as communications were being restored. "You destroyed the enemy Goliath. Now just sit back and wait for reinforcements to secure the area."

"It's not over yet," Phoebe replied stoically. "I have to see Bonnibel just to make sure."

"Are you crazy?! Let the troops handle it! I'm sending the closest unit to converge on your position. They'll be there in five."

"That's not enough time! By then she'll have slipped away somehow." Phoebe argued.

"Cousin, wait," Furnius urged. "Let's talk about this!"

"Phoebe," Flame King radioed as he joined in the conversation. "Your life essence is merged with the giant's core. If you decide to bail out, you will notice the difference."

"So what, I'll feel a little woozy?" Phoebe challenged.

"More than that," FK replied sternly. "Let's just say you'll have the weight of a mountain on your legs and shoulders. Not only that, but you'll have a never-ending headache, a twisting stomach, and all that pain that you once accumulated will come back rushing to you in full swing. You will essentially face a horrible fate similar to when a handicap person tries to move without his support, and there would be no one to help you until it is too late."

"I'm not weak!" Phoebe lashed out. "And I didn't come so far to just simply sit back and lose my chance for vengeance. She's still out there with the fact of being extremely dangerous and I'll be damned if that gumwad somehow gets the last laugh!"

"So that's it then," FK stated leaning back in acknowledgement with a frown. "You'll just call upon the anger of a burning sun and simply disregard everything I told you. That's fine, what do I know anyway?" He finished ruefully.

"You. Know. Nothing!" Phoebe roared with ferocity before she switched off her comms.

"She's lost it, hasn't she," Furnius stated solemnly.

"Her mind is only driven on one goal now," FK sighed knowingly as he began to take a seat. "And she will not rest until there is no enemy, but peace..." He hunched forward with his hands folded and closed his eyes. Throughout all his life, FK had proven to be cruel and heartless with people inside and outside his family. But somehow in that moment, he felt a pain that ached beneath his chest that seemed vaguely familiar. He thought he would be proud for his daughter to adopt the destructive lifestyle he desperately wanted in the past, but instead he felt guilt and shame. Phoebe was always the person to show mercy, compassion, and understanding, and it tore him apart when he realized the war was corrupting her with its chaos and tragedies.

It was like losing his wife all over again and he was helpless to stop it.

Meanwhile at the Grasslands, Phoebe had materialized outside one of the Fire Giant's palms. As she glanced at her surroundings, her mind began to spin with a vertigo feeling. Her breath was suddenly heavy and her matrix throbbed from experiencing a sudden loss of heat without the guardian's life support. Things began to grow even worse as she took her first step forward, which instantly made her feel nauseous. She had only managed to travel only three paces before her body decided she needed to fall on all fours and expel whatever contents she had in her stomach. She stayed in that spot for two long minutes as she tried to catch her breath, and even then she still felt horrible. The fiery monarch was able to gather some strength overtime however, and she slowly stood back up until she was strong enough to conjure a flame dagger on right hand. She frowned in concentration as she materialized the blade more effectively and her hand rotated the weapon in place until it settled in the reverse grip.

Phoebe wandered aimlessly in the crash site's general direction as she searched for PB. A major dust cloud from the giant's collapse obscured her vision, and the only thing the elemental could only rely on was the sudden change of sound. However, this tracking method was far from ideal as the winds began to pick up speed and push away loose scraps of metal. Every now and then, the elemental would glance over her shoulder anxiously, but the pink monarch was nowhere to be found. At the same time, more of Phoebe's strength began to return to her as the winds supplied her with more oxygen, an element that her kind thrive on especially.

The search seemed like a hopeless endeavor and there was a fleeting moment that Phoebe regretted her actions for being so reckless. But then, there was the sound of a metallic panel being tilted over followed by a set of footsteps somewhere out in the front. Phoebe narrowed her eyes as she investigated and her senses spiked when she saw a pink silhouette shuffle away in a hurried fashion. A trail of footsteps was visible as Phoebe looked down, further indicating that she was not following an illusion. Her pace quickened as she could hear someone panting until she stopped altogether when she realized the other had already done the same. Strangely enough, the winds died down on cue as well as the overall obscurity that distorted each other's visions.

Bubblegum was caught with a right arm draping over her stomach as she leaned against a large wall of scrap metal. Her gaze is focused at a perpendicular angle from Phoebe's but she knows she is being watched by her adversary. As the former gazed at the desolated landscape from all the fighting, she began to contemplate on everything she did to get to this point. A part of her knew she was repeating history prior to the Mushroom War, but at the same time she knew it was already too late to turn back. She was going to have to end this one way or another, and the moment of truth was nearing as Phoebe took a few steps closer. They both stared into each other's eyes, studying their battered forms, and allowed for a brief moment of silence. Once it passed, PB looked down and drew a breath saying, "You know what they say about revenge.. You better be ready to dig two graves..." She finished with a dry ironic chuckle.

Phoebe's limits went past its breaking point from that moment. Her flames intensified as her anger rose exceedingly high and her eyes glowed completely red orange. Her hand with the dagger grasped the handle with the knuckles whitening before she lifted it up high and swung downward without remorse.