The blade never reached its goal as Bubblegum caught Phoebe's wrist with one hand. As the fiery monarch tried to add more weight to push through the block, PB used the former's momentum by strafing to the side. At the same time, she grabbed onto the back of Phoebe's hair and proceeded to slam her face against the wall in one quick motion. The elemental's flames dimmed significantly to show she lost her energy and her body fell backwards with a tired sigh. The anger Phoebe had was suddenly replaced with pain and overall fatigue that it seemed like closing her eyes was the best thing to do. Bubblegum smiled grimly as her tactic to feign helplessness worked in her favor and she paced around the downed elemental victoriously. PB then pulled out a combat knife that was tucked behind her lower back and prepared to end the war on her own terms.

Phoebe thought she was dreaming as she blacked out in between seconds. But when she noticed PB was in the motions of delivering the final blow in one fatal swoop, her mind flashed at the recollection of the Cosmic Owl's warning. From that moment, her adrenaline spiked as she quickly rolled on her side to the left. PB grunted in disappointment from the last minute recovery as her knife stabbed the dirt instead, and her focus was lost briefly as she tried to pull it back out. Phoebe didn't give her that chance however, as the elemental followed up with a sweeping kick that caused the pink ruler to buckle backwards and release her weapon. Phoebe took this opportunity to get back on her feet and she remained distant until her enemy recovered the same way. Both of them were unarmed at this point, and they circled around each other with their fists raised defensively.

The fiery elemental made the first move as her left fist flew straight towards PB's face. The blow however was too slow and obvious that PB easily parried before unleashing a quick counter. Phoebe staggered backwards a little as her face was struck instead, but remained driven to continue forward.

Both fighters were sluggish as they clashed. Punches were thrown from both sides, but neither of them would land successfully as they were seen a mile away to perfectly dodge or counter. Whenever one of them would miss, a great deal of fatigue would settle. But when one of them would hit, the pain would linger significantly for a long time that would allow for another follow-up attack. A mixture of blood and sweat ran down profusely from both combatants that eventually their battle stances became inadequate. Neither of them had the strength to keep their arms up anymore and instead opted for a crude competition of who could deliver the hardest blow on the other's face.

Dazed and weary beyond belief, Phoebe clutched onto her anger in an effort to gain the upper hand. Her chest and shoulders heaved as she recovered from a particular right hook and her fists tightened as she imagined herself delivering a punch twice as hard. To her surprise, PB yelled in pain as the knuckles collided with a sickening thud to the forehead. The pink monarch groaned in agony as she staggered backwards with a palm covering her features, appearing completely defenseless. Taking the opportunity, Phoebe mustered whatever energy she had left and tackled the waistline with a definite battle cry. PB lost her breath right on impact as her back landed towards the ground and her vision instantly blackened before she realized it.

"Was this worth it?!" Phoebe yelled in outrage as she started pummeling her rival's face. Her mind suddenly restrained her in place as she thought out loud, "No, Finn wouldn't want this." The anger on her face subsided as she calmed down surprisingly which also threw PB off guard. Two seconds later, her flames began to intensify again and her fury returned, "Except that YOU killed him!"

PB's head violently turned to the sides as she was hit with alternative strikes. Her face became deformed overtime with a combination of being struck with burning fists along with the sheer strength behind them. She was certain that she was in a world full of pain and yet somehow, she managed to give out a broken smile during the exchange. Phoebe became disgusted in response and added more ferociousness to her power.

"You think this is funny, you sick freak?!" The elemental roared in between strikes. "A lot of good people died senselessly and for what!? Why couldn't you just own up to your mistakes in the beginning? Why couldn't you just stop and see reason? WHY COULDN'T YOU STILL JUST TRUST ME?!"

One sickening punch followed another as Phoebe embraced her emotions. She continued relentlessly like a demon incarnate until her mind demanded to stop and hear an answer.

"B-because," PB replied weakly, "your people are a constant threat to the world of Ooo.. They always have." She rolled her eyes upward in pain briefly before meeting her gaze back with Phoebe's. "All my life, I have known them to be crude, violent, ambitious, and destructive.. just like the human race." She grunted, "You may have ideals to.. deviate from the traditions your generations have been known to practice. But in the end, it will take more than just a single voice to sway an entire civilization."

"You forget who you're talking to!" Phoebe seethed as she clutched PB's throat and leaned her face closer with hers. "I am the one in power. I am the one who says who does what and how. I am the one who decides the best interests for my people." Her fingers tightened as she finished, "I have done nothing but offer peace and friendship with the neighboring kingdoms, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since forever! And yet, despite all that I've said and all that I have done, you continued to disregard the facts with the obsession of achieving one ultimate goal: the eradication of the fire elemental race." She released her with disdain moments later.

"I have kept tabs on your accomplishments," PB rasped as she struggled to regain her breath. "But the thing is, your kingdom also has a history of cycling through its rulers with one craving for conquest and the other for peace. Sure, you may prove yourself to be fair and noble, but what about the next leaders in a few years time?"

This made Phoebe's blood boil with renewed energy as she threw a left hook in response followed by another, "So you just go out of your way to assume the worst already by taking everything to the extreme? You just go on ahead by taking a cold calculated risk?!" She started pummeling PB's face again with her pace gradually increasing. "YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE!"

One punch was thrown after another as the elemental surrendered to her primal instincts. Even though her hands and arms ached from all the exertion, Phoebe continued relentlessly until she was at her heart's content. The problem however, was that it seemed like an endless need to fulfill. Minutes passed by as scattered units of the Fire Army slowly joined the spectacle, watching their leader collectively with somber expressions. Some wanted to intervene as a means to preserve whatever good character Phoebe had left, while the others held them back and condoned the beat down. No one said a word surprisingly as they used their eyes and small hand gestures to make an unspoken agreement of standing down.

Eventually the fiery monarch paused as she noticed the ever-growing audience. Her chest was heaving, but the glances she received from everybody placed her mind into a brief conflict. A part of her still wanted to go on regardless, while the other desperately urged her to stop out of principle. As her personal conflict persisted considerably however, her focus was then diverted back to PB who realized the former had froze in place.

"W-what are you waiting for?" PB whispered in absolute pain as her face was contorted dramatically from being struck with a combination of burns and blunt force . "Y-you've come this far to win the war, go ahead and finish it!" She hissed.

Phoebe conjured a flame dagger in response as she caught her breath. As she held the blade up high in the reverse grip, her eyes met PB's to read out her last thoughts.

Suddenly, the blade dematerialized. Phoebe relaxed her features but her weight remained settled on the pink monarch. "It's too easy," the elemental resolved out loud.

"W-what do you mean?" PB asked with a hint of worry.

"The only thing you look forward to now is a swift death to avoid your guilt and shame," Phoebe replied. "And if you were to settle the score solely between the two of us as intended, perhaps I would have granted you that mercy." She averted her gaze as she trailed off, "But you had to drag everyone into this mess and make the world suffer." The elemental got off PB and forcefully pulled the latter back on her feet. "Take a look around," Phoebe said icily as she restrained her from behind. "You think I wanted this to happen?!"

PB struggled in response as the surrounding elementals gave her mixed expressions of resentment and numbness. "A-at least my people are safe." She replied with a hint of solace. "The vision I recalled only showed me the destruction of my homeland, but not the complete annihilation of the candy race."

Phoebe clenched her teeth irritably and forced her captive to face her, "This was never about them! All that talk of protecting your people from us has truly amounted to nothing. You, for all intents and purposes have sent your subjects to die in exile in a faraway land! And I could care even less." The elemental then threw PB down to the side, "You said earlier that I was fair?" She said it as a statement. "Well that, I plan to."

The pink monarch slowly got up in place, but stayed down on all fours. Just when she tried to stand back up, her head was pulled back by a fiery hand.

"I should send you to the wolves," Phoebe whispered unnervingly in PB's ear with a new dark voice. "Give them a chance to chew you apart piece by piece until there is nothing left."

Her captive squirmed at the thought.

"Or better yet," the elemental mused. "Perhaps you'll fare better with the ones already in front of you! I'm sure they'll show you a real good time."

Some of the troops already began leering at the pink monarch on cue.

"Yeah," Phoebe nodded to herself. "I think I'll do just that. Once they're through with you, I will personally drag you back to the streets of my kingdom, where you can bear witness to the shame of what you failed to do! And then when it is all over-" A sadistic grin crossed her features, "I will look down on your corpse and smile."

"HOLD IT!" A new voice called before anything happened.

"Stay out of this, Marceline." Phoebe ordered as she glanced over her right shoulder. "This is a personal matter between Bonnibel and myself!"

"Don't you get it?" The vampire reasoned with a frown. "She's down, she's beaten, the war's over. There's no need to go on."

"And what do you suggest I do?" The elemental asked irritably with an unyielding expression.

"Bring her to me," Marcy replied calmly.

"Out of the question," Phoebe said sharply in defiance as she tightened her grip.

Despite the harsh response, Marcy remained composed. "I ask you, from one royal to another, to bring Princess Bubblegum under my custody."

Phoebe was puzzled at her friend's formality, but remained guarded in place.

"The world doesn't need to see your people act as the savages Bubblegum depicted," Marcy reasoned. "With the decadence of the Candy Kingdom, Ooo will need a new leading superpower that they could look up to. Right now, they are uncertain if your people will qualify for the task. Prove to them you are worthy to obtain such a role, prove to them that she was wrong all along, but above all else prove that you are above reproach."

The elemental was slowly considering the thought.

"Bonnibel was foolish," Marcy resumed. "I won't deny that her actions are far from forgivable. Heck, I can even make the argument that I actually hate her more than you do! Believe or not."

Phoebe arched an eyebrow.

"Know this," the vampire advised in a dead serious tone with a right index finger raised. "There isn't a place here on Earth that'll make her suffer for the things she's done. If you want to continue on with your little scheme for revenge, then go right ahead. Just know that whatever you do now will ultimately decide the fate for your people."

The fiery monarch thought long and hard about her friend's cryptic warning. She knew right away that Marcy wasn't trying to threaten her from doing what she wanted, but at the same time she felt uncertain. Marcy had given her the chance to do whatever she wanted, which was something Phoebe did not suspect. As a result, she tried to recall the overall conversation and search for any clues that could help with her decision-making. Her face slowly blossomed into realization the more she pieced everything together and before anyone knew it, her eyes and flames returned to their normal state.

"You promise she'll be taken care of?" Phoebe finally asked after a while with a hint of reluctance.

The vampire nodded confidently with her own dark expression, "Trust me, where she's going she won't be a threat to you or to anyone else, ever again."

"Very well," Phoebe leaned her head back in acceptance as she began to announce out loud. "As ruler of the Fire Kingdom, I hereby transfer my custody of Princess Bubblegum to the Queen of the Vampires, Marceline Abadeer."

Some of the troops couldn't help but protest in response.

"This war is over and the Fire Kingdom has claimed victory!" Phoebe declared. "Anyone who challenges my rule now will be dealt with.. severely."

The banter ceased as the grunts complied.

"Go now," Phoebe waved. "Spread the word!"

As the crowd of elementals dispersed, the flame monarch turned to Marcy one last time. "Please don't make me regret this," she said imploringly as her heart ached.

"You won't," the vampire reassured as her eyes began to blacken.