"Princess Phoebe is down!" A flame trooper radioed as he rushed to her side. "I say again, Princess Phoebe is down!"

The flame monarch was immediately surrounded by three medics who began to administer first aid.

"Her flames are burning out," one of the medics said. "Start bandaging any open wounds and apply some heat pads to keep her steady."

The other two complied and worked swiftly following their leader's instructions. Even though it seemed like progress was being made, the monarch's overall well-being was still in a dire state.

"Sir," the second medic spoke out in distress. "Her pulse is becoming weaker by the second! We're gonna need more than tapes and bandages if she's to survive."

The leader grunted in acknowledgement and spoke into his helmet, "Command, requesting priority med-evac, over."

"I read you," an officer complied through the radio. "We're sending you our fastest transport, Jake 2 towards your location. ETA fifteen minutes."

"We don't have fifteen minutes!" The medic cried out. "It'll be too late by then."

"Calm down!" The officer ordered. "Pull yourself together and do what you can. Command out."

The third medic stood up from kneeling and spoke to the leader grimly, "She needs to go the hospital. Even if we somehow manage to keep her in good health until then, we just don't have the equipment to do so."

"What are you saying?"

The third medic took off his helmet and held it to the side, "I'm saying that all we can do now is make her comfortable at the very least."

"That's it then?!" The leader retorted. "We're just going to give up?"

"I don't like this any more than you do," the second medic argued. "But let's face it, she's done. She's made the call and passed on the leadership to Prince Furnius, knowing full well this would happen!"

"...You're right," the leader said defeated. "I just wish there would be another way."

A large crowd of elemental troops surrounded the trio moments later, many of them paying their respects to the dying leader. There was no hate or malice exchanged towards the caretakers, only sympathy and remorse. Before long, everyone looked down in sorrow as they were ready to accept the passing of another great ruler.

One particular grunt eventually lifted his head to stare at the gloomy sky after a while. His eyes remained fixated on studying the ashes that flew overhead that he didn't realize one of them began to slowly increase in size. His thoughts didn't process at first from the emotional grief, but when he blinked a couple of times he quickly realized it was actually a person who was approaching.

"Hey!" He called out to his friends. "Someone's coming!"

The army shifted their gaze to where he was pointing and then had hopeful expressions once they identified the newcomer.

"Send out a flare to mark the LZ," a sergeant ordered.

A familiar raven-haired female humanoid with pale skin was later identified through the distance and increased her speed. Once she landed, the crowd encircled her with pleading expressions.

"Marceline," a private cried out. "The princess needs your help!"

Her eyes frowned in response and asked, "What happened?"

"She just passed out right after you left," he replied. "Her flames are weakening and we don't know how long she has until it is too late. Command has requisitioned the fastest transport, but even that won't be enough to get her in time."

"I'll do it then," Marcy answered quickly. "I'm not about ready to lose another friend," she stated with conviction. She was then lead towards the downed monarch before she could pick her up.

"Radio Command that I'm escorting her personally to the palace," Marcy ordered. "I don't want any misunderstandings when I get there."

The troops pounded their chests once with their right fists, "We are in your debt."

The vampire took off at incredible speed, while clutching the unconscious elemental. As she flew past the charred remains of the Ice Kingdom, Marcy spared a quick glance to Phoebe.

"I leave for just a few minutes, only to come back and carry you around again," Marcy thought with dry humor. Her face then shifted to a determined expression, "I hope your dad can bring you back twice the same way because I've already lost enough friends as it is. You'll get through this, you just have to!"

After five minutes, the Fire Kingdom landscape was in view along with the capital building. Troops were assembling rapidly at the main streets and the palace's front lawn that it seemed like Marcy was having a deja vu moment. It also didn't help with the fact that Prince Furnius and his uncle came down outside the palace in the same fashion along with the spotlights that nearly blinded the vampire.

"She's still alive," Flame King said profoundly with watery eyes as he saw his daughter placed on a stretcher. He snapped back into reality and then ordered, "Take her to the central core immediately. She doesn't have much time."

As the doctors and nurses made their way with Phoebe, Flame King spared a glance to Marceline and said, "Thank you, Miss Abadeer. Your contributions to the preservation of the Fire Kingdom will be forever remembered for generations to come."

"You're welcome," Marcy said curtly.

"Right," FK nodded uncomfortably. "Well, you go ahead and go about your business. There is nothing more that I ask of you."

"You'll have to excuse me if I decide to stick around then," Marcy affirmed with a step forward. "The thing is, Phoebe is just as important to me as she is to Ice King and Betty. And while it seems reasonable that I am needed elsewhere, I have confidence that the others will manage just fine without me."

"Very well," FK complied with resignation. "If that is what you wish."


As the medical staff worked intensely to save Phoebe, Marcy sat over at a nearby waiting room. Sitting next to her left was Prince Furnius, who leaned forward with his head down and hands folded, while Flame King sat further away on the other side. There were twelve royal guards that accompanied them with one half posted at the walls and exits, while the other half sat near the main group.

Marceline stared aimlessly at the wall in front of her as she recalled recent events. The first thing that came to mind was rescuing Simon. When the vampire had arrived back from delivering Phoebe back to the Fire Kingdom the first time, she quickly met up with Betty and had a brief discussion.

"So," Betty began. "How should we do this?"

"It's too risky to bring him outside," Marcy replied. "There are drones flying all over the place and my hands will freeze before I can carry him far enough. As much as I hate to say this, we'll have a better chance if we bring the help to him."

"I was worried you would say that," Betty said reluctantly while glancing at Ice King's body encased in ice.

"Thankfully," Marcy said in a slight uplifting voice. "I know just the guy. Give me a couple minutes to make a call first and then I'll be on my way."

"Alright," Betty nodded.

The vampire walked away to pull out her phone and dialed a number shortly after. It rang for a few moments until a feminine voice answered, "Hello?"

"Doctor Princess," Marcy greeted. "It's Marceline, listen I need a favor. I have a friend who's in dire need of medical attention and I was wondering if you could help."

"Okay, who is the patient?"

"Ice King," Marceline replied with a bit of hesitation. "Look, I know what I'm asking you sounds crazy but there is more to him than you think."

"I swore a Hippocratic oath, Miss Abadeer," DP argued. "That being said, I will not let my personal judgement nor the opinions of others interfere with my profession. Ice King like everyone else is a living being and must be cared for regardless. Now that I've established that, I will need to know your location."

Marceline felt tremendously relieved from those words but focused back on the conversation, "We're at the Grasslands. The way I plan to do it is to bring you myself to save time."

"I'll send you a text where to pick me up," DP said in acceptance. "Just give me some time to get my things ready."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

Doctor Princess went straight to work once Marcy brought her to the underground bunker. An assortment of tools and electronic equipment was placed near Ice King's defrosted body and the only thing Marcy and Betty could do was watch. Despite the ground shaking frequently from all the explosions outside, the doctor kept her composure sealing up any wounds as well as removing the bullet lodged in Ice King's back.

"How is he?" Betty asked once DP finished.

"Stabilized," she replied tiredly. "His right leg will take at least a year to heal up and he'll need plenty of bed rest. His recovery can be accelerated with the use of some Cyclops Tears, but unfortunately I am low on supplies.

"That's something I can take of," Marcy nodded confidently. "And thank you so much for doing this."

"Doctor Princess, I cannot express how you've done such a wonderful job," Betty said as she shook hands with her.

"Don't mention it," DP smiled. "Sorry I didn't have time for the acquaintances earlier."

"It's fine," Betty brushed it off casually.

DP tilted her head thoughtfully and said, "You know when I think about it, I guess it makes sense as to why Ice King took an interest in me."

"Yeah," Betty concurred. "He mentioned that to me earlier saying that I looked just like you! Well anyway, how much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it," DP simply answered. "I can manage."

Several minutes passed and the trio suddenly ducked as they felt the ground rumble tremendously. Dozen of explosions were going off in quick succession and the whole group huddled together as streams of dirt leaked from the ceiling. Once it was over, everyone remained still and silent.

"How's Simon?" Marcy asked whispering to Betty.

The latter looked over at IK's direction and exhaled in relief when he seemed undisturbed.

"He's okay," Betty whispered back.

"This is going to sound crazy," Marcy began. "But I'm going outside to check things out."

Betty shook her head disapproving but sighed, "Just stay out of trouble, Marceline."

The vampire mustered a toothy grin, "I'll be right back, I promise."


Marceline rubbed her eyes as she snapped back into reality. Everyone around her was still frozen in the same spot and Prince Furnius bowed with his hands on top of his head. Marcy stared at the young Fire prince with empathy and then jolted in realization when another memory surfaced.

"Um, Furnius," Marcy began.

"Yes?" He replied sadly.

"I have some news about your brother..."

What followed moments later were tears and a long embrace exchanged from both partners. Everyone was hurting physically and emotionally, and the vampire frowned in thought when she recalled the source of the pain responsible.

"Damn you, Bonnibel." Marcy whispered in her thoughts.

Even though the Candy monarch was already dealt with, everyone had suffered a great deal of loss. The damage had already been done and it would take a long time for the world to reorient itself from yet another destructive conflict since the days of the Mushroom War.