Everyone from Ooo's kingdoms paid their respects to Finn the human. The princesses were the first ones to arrive followed by their own escorts. Before each of them left, a white flower was deposited in front of the tombstone. If they had anything to say about about the human, it was kept privately in their thoughts. Some of them sobbed quietly at the loss of a beloved hero while others planted a firm kiss on the marker itself.

The general populace from each of Ooo's kingdoms followed similarly in suit. Countless hours would go by throughout the day as they gathered into a massive line that moved like a slow, coursing river. No words were exchanged once again with the exception that some of the flame guards advised them to keep moving as the line stretched on for miles. There was no doubt the whole ordeal would carry on for more than a few days, and the guards would rotate frequently in order to protect the area with utmost vigilance. Thankfully, there were no incidents as time went on. If there were any bitter enemies Finn left behind, none bothered to show their presence fearing that they would incur the wrath of all of Ooo around them.

After a long period of sadness, the world was soon outraged. Princess Phoebe was the first to express such fury when she reviewed the video footage retrieved by Marceline that was given to Prince Furnius. The vampire warned Phoebe ahead of time that knowing Finn's fate prior to his death will only bring untold pain. The elemental acknowledged grimly, but her mind and heart demanded to know the truth as a means to reach closure. She was alone in her room at the Fire Kingdom palace when she watched the events unfold. It started with Finn's role at the train station, rescuing the last of the candy citizens from a group of thieves and rioters. Phoebe couldn't help but smile briefly in admiration at the act, seeing him help those who were desperate in need. She especially found herself mesmerized as well by seeing how well the hero showed his skills in battle before shaking the feeling away with a slight blush.

But then, her demeanor changed for the worst as she watched the candy guardsmen lob tear gas at the whole area. When Finn fell into unconsciousness from being caught in the middle, the elemental was shocked that the human was then dragged away and haphazardly thrown into the back of a transport truck. The video transitioned to the blonde adventurer strapped to a metal bed in a dark room moments later, and the elemental barred her teeth in anger when Princess Bubblegum emerged from the shadows.

Tears ran down in tandem as Phoebe balled her fists. Seeing Finn undergoing the inhumane experiments that later on followed made every fiber in the elemental's being desire to bring forth the same amount of suffering to the candy monarch. Suddenly, her mind looked back on that moment when she pummeled the candy monarch's face in front of her troops. Her anger boiled at such ferociousness that it made Phoebe believe sparing her to Marceline was a huge mistake for a fleeting second. But just when it seemed to fester, the elemental's mind subsided in realization that Bubblegum was already facing a fate that involved untold suffering. As a result, her hand switched off the screen from the recording and her head was bowed, remembering the ultimate loss.

After the news media broadcasted the same recording, the Fire Kingdom publicly dropped all charges regarding Finn's involvement in the war. While many people understood that the human was a victim of circumstance, there was still a minority that believed it was nothing more than a publicity stunt to save his reputation. Another crowd of locals soon joined in tandem, this time coming from the families of the flame troops who died from Finn's hands. Phoebe and her friends were frustrated that there were people who saw nothing more but the worst from Finn, but they moved along as they respected the people's rights to have a free opinion.

Prince Furnius remained in charge of the Fire Kingdom despite Phoebe's recovery. Although he didn't mind in the slightest to relinquish his power back to his cousin, he felt obligated to give Phoebe time off from all the emotional downpour. While he had a hard time coping by losing his eldest brother, he imagined his cousin was in a much worse state from losing her father and former best friend.

During the days, Phoebe would spend time with her two little brothers, her uncle, and Aunt Agnes. They would usually go out together to wander at the Fire Kingdom outskirts to admire the view and they would head to the nearest marketplace to go window shopping from time to time. When those passed, Phoebe was visited by her friends Marceline and Betty. The three would head towards the vampire's house in the caverns to have a jam session or even wander together elsewhere on Ooo to go sightseeing. The elemental took comfort and appreciation as she tried to be involved from the activities her friends and family provided, but the pain in her heart still lingered.

When it was night, Phoebe couldn't sleep. Her mind kept on replaying the images of Finn being tortured, followed by his untimely death. She shed so many tears trying to imagine if she could have managed to reach him before Finn casted a firewall between them. Part of her mind argued that his definite absence shouldn't be so different as the elemental proved herself in the past to successfully live a life without him by handling her responsibilities as ruler. But by using that kind of reasoning, Phoebe was also looped back to where she began. It only seemed easy to her because the world was at peace and all that mattered was working and living. Although she didn't think once of the blonde adventurer then, a part of her mind knew that he was at least still alive. She imagined several scenarios where she would visit him personally after the war, ones where Finn would be alive by staying out from the war altogether. Some of them involved the pair starting over at a slow pace, while others had them reconcile and settle as good friends. No matter how many times Phoebe tried to branch them out in her mind, it still didn't deny the fact that he was ultimately gone, the pain raw as ever.

She tried being alone a couple instances as a means to cope. When her mind felt like she was being smothered by all the people who tried to comfort her, she sought off to the open lands and unleashed her powers in a fit of rage. The skies were lit from the flames she fired off into the sky and any animals that wandered the area fled without thought. After a few minutes, the elemental would tire out on her knees and be accompanied by grief. So much time was passing by and it felt like nothing was changing for the better. Her fists balled as she realized the pain she felt was similar to her imprisonment in the lantern, and from that moment her mind could think of only one thing.

She wanted out. As much as she felt resigned and tormented among herself, the elemental wanted to move forward, to be somewhere else where her life wouldn't stagnate. It was already known to her that she couldn't hide her pain by deluding herself nor by engaging in everyday activities with her friends and family. She didn't know if she could find the means to be happy again, but she believed there was at least one thing she could do to willfully work through the pain.

Uniting the world.

"Furnius," Phoebe called from her cell with resolute. "Inform the others that I will be assuming command in three days."

"Are you sure?" The prince asked. "It's only been three weeks. Do you still need more time?"

She shook her head, "I do, but that's not important. Right now, all I care about is getting our people to move forward as a kingdom."

"Alright," he replied reluctantly. "If you ever feel the need to back out in between though, I'll understand."

"Thanks for doing this, cousin," she concluded.

The fiery monarch gazed over the distant horizon as the sun was setting. Her face was etched with a small stream of tears, but through it was a slight smile.

"Okay, Finn," she spoke to herself. "You proved your worth by helping others, now it's time I do the same."