Silence was the only thing that lingered in Phoebe's thoughts. Even after the elemental watched Marceline fly away with Princess Bubblegum, Phoebe remained motionless staring aimlessly towards the horizon. So many lives were lost to win a war that was expected to last weeks as opposed to months. While her people were able to defend their lives from ultimate extinction, Phoebe considered the outcome to be a pyrrhic victory. She had tried so hard to remain true to her beliefs by using diplomacy, but in the end she was forced to compromise. Taking the lives of the Candy Army had suddenly become necessary as well as destroying every trace of its civilization. It was an outcome she hoped would never come to fruition, and yet here she was with her hands stained with blood. She had become the one thing she swore she would be never be, a savage monster in the eyes of her people.
"It's not your fault," Flame King suddenly spoke up as his face projected from one of the small flames nearby.
Tears immediately ran down Phoebe's cheeks as she kept her back to him. "It is my fault," she argued with her voice breaking. "You said it yourself that I am just as responsible as her!" She began to sniffle moments later.
"It was.. cruel of me to put you in that position," FK admitted regrettably. "But at the same time, when push comes to shove, you'll have to be willing to sacrifice everything in order to survive. Being good or evil becomes irrelevant."
Phoebe frowned as she glanced over her shoulder.
"The thing is," FK resumed. "Ideals are peaceful, but history is violent. There's only two types of people in this world. Those who live and those who die. You've done all you could before you would cross the line, and for that I am proud of you more than you'll ever know."
"I thought I would be somewhat happy that it's finally over, but I'm not. I am ashamed of how I got here, what I have become." She dropped to her knees as she covered her face with both hands.
"You did what you had to do!" Her father argued matter of fact. "You did it for the sole basis of protecting our people and our way of life! In all the short time I have truly known you, you have always sought to see the good in everybody. You have shown mercy, love, and compassion to your enemies as a means to commune in a world full of peace."
"I thought it would make us weak," Phoebe recalled using his words in the past. "That it's only them or us."
"Such strength is derived from the bonds we make through our friends and allies," FK replied. "To say we can overcome anything solely through our pride and arrogance will only lead to our ultimate downfall."
"And since when did you begin to spout such truths!" Phoebe exclaimed in anger as she faced him on cue. "Whatever happened to the person who would love to condescend his daughter at every chance he gets? What happened to the one who would kill his own brother.. my uncle without remorse? What happened to the one who would preach violence and death as the core values of our society?!"
FK tightened his lip as he looked down in acknowledgement.
"You went out of your way to undermine everything I have changed for the good of our kingdom," Phoebe seethed. "And now all of a sudden, you decide to act as the caring father I have longed for, after nearly eighteen years?!"
FK remained silent with a remorseful expression.
"Get out of my sight," she said bitterly in resolute as she turned her back to him.
A tense silence lingered between the two. Flame King had previously thought he would be able to handle the backlash from his own daughter, but somehow he felt his his heart breaking in two again. His mouth was open in shock and disbelief and his eyes watered from the emotional downpour. He managed to steady his nerves for a brief moment as he breathed deeply before saying two more words.
"...I'm sorry," he admitted in a defeated voice. The former king then vanished from the burning debris he projected himself from before wiping his face from a stray tear that managed to escape. It was a pointless gesture however, as more followed shortly after. Flame King thought his wife's death was the hardest endeavor he had ever endured, but then he was met with a shocking pain of realization. His own daughter had now hated him.
Phoebe kept to herself after the fact. Any troops who overheard the conversation distanced themselves further, while keeping a watchful eye on their ruler's well-being. Some of them wanted to comfort her or even reprimand her attitude regarding her father, but in the end none of them were brave enough to approach her on the matter.
More minutes of silence followed as the fiery monarch recomposed herself. Once she did, her right hand blindly dug into one of her side pockets before emerging with a small red phone crystal.
"Furnius," Phoebe said wearily.
"Phoebe," her cousin replied. "I'm getting reports that the war is finally over. Is it actually true?"
"It is," the monarch answered as exhaustion began to settle. "I have personally saw to it that Princess Bubblegum will not be a threat to us ever again."
"I don't mean to ask," Furnius hesitated. "But did you-"
"She has been transferred over to Marceline Abadeer where Bubblegum will be escorted to a high-security prison. And if there's one thing I know for sure about that place, is that no one leaves the Nightosphere."
"I guess that settles that," the prince shrugged before shifting to another topic. "What happens now?"
"Start withdrawing the troops," Phoebe ordered as she clutched her side with one hand. "Have them return back to the homeland and see to it that their families are taken care of. Send one of the reserve units over to the front to safeguard the remains of the Fire Giant and then deploy an excavation team on site."
"What are we looking for?"
"Anything that we can salvage from the underground lab," Phoebe said blandly as her mind recalled Finn's last moments.
"Before you go on," Furnius interrupted with courtesy. "But shouldn't you be telling this to Torcho instead? Or better yet, why not carry out the orders yourself?"
"I don't have much time," Phoebe answered with a grunt as more pain settled in her body. "I feel like I'm gonna give out in minute or so. These orders that I have are both you and your brother's responsibility. Work together to secure the kingdom's well-being and make sure you start establishing ties with the other rulers."
"Phoebe," Furnius said in realization. "You sound like you're giving up the throne from the way things are going! Or even worse, you make it sound like you're already on your deathbed!"
Phoebe glanced over her form briefly as her flames dimmed dangerously low.
"I-I've done my part," she resolved weakly as she felt faint. "And besides, you guys are the true heirs in a matter of speaking. All I ever cared about was to put our people on the right track. Now that it's done and we're on terms, I can trust the two of you will do the same."
"No, no, no," Furnius protested as he became upset. "I'll send for a medic, get you all patched up, and then all three of us can work together. Just give me your location!"
"...Don't bother," Phoebe waved dismissively near a whisper. "There is.. nothing else for me... here." Her eyelids felt heavy in that moment and then she fell shortly after.
Meanwhile, far away at the cosmos, an urgent meeting between three deities began to take place. A pink humanoid, two-dimensional being named Prismo hosted the gathering while the other two participants included the Cosmic Owl and a skeletal humanoid with a horse skull named Death.
"We can agree that the war between the Fire and Candy elementals has been truly destructive," Prismo began as he showed screenshot images of the Candy Kingdom, Ice Kingdom, and Grasslands.
Death and Cosmic Owl solemnly nodded as all three territories resembled a barren wasteland with ashes and craters.
"Tons of lives have been lost because of the poor actions of a certain individual," Prismo resumed. "However, in spite of all this, both elemental forces are finally freed from a genocidal conflict." He pressed his remote that switched to a video feed of the surviving Candy refugees.
"She always did value the Desert of Wonders," Death shook his head. "Once the goo monsters were evicted, Bonnibel took the liberty to explore and colonize the rest of the land."
"It is a neat place," CO commented. "The inhabitants have been given resources to live comfortably on their own, while the natural arid climate keeps out any outsiders or invading forces."
"Starchie has been elected by his peers to lead the remnants of the Candy Kingdom," Prismo stated. "With his leadership, the world can rest easy from any belligerent acts of conquest. It will take some time for him to reconnect with the rest of the royals due to 'recent' negative appeal, but until then his people will have to live in isolation."
He pressed his remote again, this time showing Prince Furnius and his military officials.
"The Fire Kingdom's going to need a major breakthrough with the neighboring civilizations," Prismo resumed. "Even after its victory and just leadership, a few royals will still stand against them due to fear and personal vendettas."
"It will collapse into economic decay if they can't make friendly relations. If it does not conduct any trade from this point on, the kingdom will suffer a slow death until it is forced to resort to conquest for survival," CO affirmed. "But perhaps with our intervention, we can prevent the possibility of another elemental imbalance."
"It is crucial that the Fire Kingdom becomes the leading figurehead of the Royals Council," Prismo replied. "Not so much as they can prosper for their own benefit-"
"But to prepare the others for a greater threat that looms far beyond the edges of our galaxy," Death finished. "I have also foreseen this danger as well. And if all three of us are blatantly aware of this.. ancient threat, then there is no greater reason for Ooo to become united in these desperate times."
"You know," CO began. "If Grob, Glob, Gob, and Grod were still here, I wouldn't have been concerned as to get involved into the world's affairs. But then again," he sighed regrettably. "I suppose this is to make up for that mishap I had from earlier."
"Perhaps we should reevaluate your duties and conduct a thorough investigation," Death sternly suggested. "But time is short and there are other priorities." He checked his watch. "I have to go, there are a bunch of souls that need to be tend to."
"I, uh better go too," CO said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Prismo was by himself as he viewed two more screens. The one on his left showed what appeared to be a dark room filled with metallic debris. Upon closer observation however, a lone figure could be seen lying down on his face at the center of it all. Prismo then pressed a button to fast forward time at that location until he found a team of fire elementals prying the debris buried right on top of the downed individual. After a split second, Prismo looked away in dismay and had his thoughts regarding his best friend Jake.
"Man, he's not gonna like this," Prismo thought.
As for the screen on his right, the deity put on a hardened expression as he studied what appeared to be a gigantic green fireball that traveled through outer space. It was no doubt heading on its way towards earth, but for some reason whenever Prismo tried to gain a preview of its arrival, the screen would either freeze or turn to static. If there was one thing the two-dimensional being learned from his personal experience was that the future was encountering another time for uncertainty. The Catalyst Comet was coming, and it will take a collaboration between gods and mortals to have a chance to stop it.
