Marceline lied on her stomach as she gritted her teeth in pain. The sudden swipe she took from behind exposed a large area on her upper back to the sun and her ears tremendously rang. All she remembered a few seconds ago was that she heard a beast-like creature roar loudly like a jet engine as it pounced at her. And because the vampire had a keen sense of hearing, Marcy cried out in pain instead of having the chance to react accordingly.
"Marceline!" Betty shouted in distress. She immediately pivoted to the vampire's direction and fired off a powerful ice beam from both hands. The stream of energy flew towards the overgrown wolf that had Marcy pinned and whimpered as he flew backwards several feet from the impact. Once that was done, Betty rushed towards the vampire and took on a defensive stance to prevent any more wolves from attacking her friend.
"Marcy!" Betty yelled as she fired off another ice blast towards another charging wolf. "Just stay down! Don't move, we're gonna get you out of this!"
"Mooom!" The vampire cried out in agony as the sun burned her face since her grey cap was knocked down.
This caused Betty to grit her teeth in fury as she fired off more streams of ice with greater intensity. The next wolf she hit this time was pelted with several bits of shards that it instantly reduced him into a gruesome mess. Betty didn't have time to be shocked from the sudden act as her instincts took over, and soon enough three more canines decided to spring towards her simultaneously.
At that moment however, Ice King jumped in front of Betty and slammed his palms into the ground with his hands crossed. A blue energy-like geyser sprung out forwards at an angle, killing all three wolves instantly as they flew backwards several feet.
"You ok?" The wizard asked seriously as he glanced over his shoulder.
"Marcy's been hit," Betty replied as she quickly placed the hat back on the vampire. "Give me some cover!" As she was saying this, she tore a piece of cloth and began to patch the tear from being exposed to the sun. Her hands fumbled in between as Ice King protected them and soon enough Marcy was starting to recover.
"Betty," the vampire grunted as her wounds slowly healed by themselves.
"Can you still fight?" the woman asked with a hand on Marcy's cheek.
"I can't switch into monsters with the skies too clear," she shook her head. "I'll just have to hack and slash the old-fashioned way," Marcy concluded as she drew out her ax bass.
"Fine, just don't scare me like that again okay?" Betty finalized as she resumed fighting.
"I'll try not to!" The vampire said as she charged at a wolf with her instrument in hand with a battle cry.
Meanwhile, Phoebe and Jake 2 used their flame powers and burned the rest of the wolf pack from a distance. Some canines were instantly incinerated to ashes, while others kept fighting despite being covered in flames. As the fight progressed, both defenders were surprised to discover that the next wave of wolves were suddenly tolerable to the natural destructive element and were forced to engage in close quarters combat. Phoebe looked at her blue flame sword briefly when she realized it didn't cause anymore significant damage and then she studied the blade she picked up earlier and switched to it instead.
"If they bleed," Phoebe thought to herself with a tense expression as she readied the sword like a baseball bat. "We can kill them!"
Jake 2 wrestled with another canine his size as the fight progressed. Both of them were growling ferociously as they attempted to go for each other's jugular. As they parted and scratched each other with their prominent paws, Jake 2 summoned more of his inner strength and managed to land his teeth into his opponent's neck. Blood and guts stained the meadows as the fiery canine tore away with vigor, and moments later he was confronted by another wolf.
The battle continued seemingly for ten minutes as the travelers defended themselves. By the time they had slain approximately twenty wolves, the rest of the pack decided to retreat at the sound of a distinct howl. Betty and her friends watched with shock as the canines swiftly disappeared into the horizon and they remained in place with defensive stances until the former spoke up.
"Ice King," Betty asked cautiously as her eyes darted left and right for any more attacks. "Are they all gone?"
"They.. are," IK replied as his eyes widened at the discovery. "It's almost like they were never there to begin with!"
"Well the cuts tell me otherwise," Betty winced as she pulled out a spray can filled with Cyclops tears. After a few minutes, her arms and sides were healed instantly. The only indication that she and the others were ever injured was from their torn clothing. "Marcy, how's your back by the way?"
"It's all good now," she answered as she patted herself after healing quickly with her vampiric powers. "I only panicked because those things managed to take a cheap shot!" Right after she said that, her eyes widened in surprise when Betty hugged her tightly.
"I almost lost you," the woman whispered with tears building up. "I should have done a better job looking after you. I'm so sorry!"
"Hey," Marcy hugged back with a comforting voice. "You couldn't have known, not even the Ice King!"
"I'm starting to think bringing you along was a bad idea," Betty said regretfully as she parted.
The vampire frowned, "I know the risks. If I had left you alone, you'd probably be dinner by now!"
Betty wanted to argue more, but deep down she knew Marcy was right. Even with all the past feats the woman had accomplished, she was still human. That being said, she could have been easily overpowered had she not brought help along. Furthermore, she didn't want to be yelling at her adoptive daughter and antagonize her all day.
"I could also point out that you and Simon went out of your way into the middle of a war zone, but it's pointless. Any day we live on this rock could easily be our last, and it's both our jobs to make sure we try to live up to it," Marcy resolved as she wiped her ax bass clean. "Look, it's been a tense day, Betty. Let's just rest for now and pick up tomorrow."
Phoebe, Ice King, and Jake 2 nodded unanimously and they began to set up camp once again. While Jake 2 sat on the lookout, Phoebe and Marceline assisted each other disposing the slain bodies. A frown was then etched on the elemental's face as she studied a particular one on the ground, and soon the vampire tilted her head in question.
"Look familiar?" Marcy asked.
"This one's grey with a red mane around its neck unlike the others that are simply black," Phoebe replied. "If my hunch is correct, I'd say we're looking at a Kathhound, a species thought to be extinct from the ancient times of the Fire Kingdom. That would explain why my flames were not able to phase them as much."
"Must be a long way from home to be found here," Marcy commented.
"At the rate things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if I find anything else thought to be long forgotten," Phoebe joked before forming a serious expression. "But whatever this place is, I can sense a lot of darkness.. and death."
"We've been through worse," Marcy shrugged off-handedly. "It sure isn't going to stop me or Betty for that matter."
The next day, Betty and Ice King traveled on foot with the rest of the group behind them. They had carefully treaded through the meadows, being vigilant for any future ambushes. They had walked together in silence for nearly an hour until Betty's eyes lit up at her sudden discovery. As she ran forward ahead, her friends followed her quickly until they finally stopped at an incline that dove inwards toward the plateau in the distance.
"It's.. It's the temple!" Betty cried out in joy as she hugged the entrance like it was a long lost friend.
While the rest of the group shared her enthusiasm, Jake 2 however felt compelled not to advance any further. Noticing this, Phoebe comforted him by cupping his cheeks.
"Just wait for us, okay?" The elemental spoke softly as she rested her forehead against his. "I promise we won't take too long."
"We're gonna need someone to stay behind anyway in case if there's anymore company," Betty said out loud. "Ice King, do think you'll be alright with Jake 2?"
"Oh, yeah of course!" He replied enthusiastically. "I was getting bad vibes from going in anyway," he muttered in relief.
"There's one other thing," Betty continued. "I'm also going to need your crown as well. It's really essential for me to get you this gift, and I promise I'll bring it back okay?"
"Royal promise?" IK asked as he held the headpiece out.
"Royal promise," she nodded as she took it. "Stay with Jake 2 and look after each other. Here's some food rations to keep you both going for at least three days, but hopefully we won't be that long. If you run out, Jake 2 will fly you over to that store outlet we went through last time and call for help. Phoebe's cousin Furnius will then send out a rescue team, but like I said before, hopefully it won't happen. Think you can do that?"
IK was still with a pained expression as he processed the information until he finally said, "Okay."
"Geez, this place is dark around here," Phoebe commented as she walked in the wide main passageway with a stone interior.
"You know what to do from here?" Marcy asked Betty from the side. "Where to go?"
"I do," Betty answered proudly. "Everything I need to know is right here," she said while producing a small scroll. "To tell you the truth, the only obstacle that needed to be done was finding this place. And now that it's taken care of, the rest should be a bit easy."
"Somehow I doubt 'easy' is a great way to describe the plan," Phoebe cut in, earning a nod from Marcy.
"It's only easy as in understanding the steps needed to be done," Betty amended. "To put everything in action.. that's a whole different story. It would be rather redundant for me to warn you all that we should expect heavy resistance."
"Okay, that sounds a lot better," Marcy said sarcastically, feigning relief.
"We should be encountering a main room up ahead to the right that has a pedestal in the center," Betty said going back to business. "From there, there will be three passageways that will lead to three separate rooms."
They traveled in silence briefly as Phoebe was given directions to lead the way. Once they were able to make the turn, Betty smiled briefly when the area they arrived at matched the description.
"The crown's essence is derived from its gems," Betty informed as she peered through the scroll in hand. "To restore them from driving the next user insane with its curse, each of us must confront an entity that is a manifestation of madness, sadness, and chaos."
"How does that work?" Marcy asked.
"First, I will need to set the crown on this pedestal to be able to remove the gems," Betty began. "Then, each of us will carry one on our person and enter a personal chamber where we can summon our respective enemies."
"Wouldn't it make sense to take on the entities together at a time?" Phoebe asked.
"Absolutely," Betty nodded. "But as the ritual states, the entities can only be summoned if there is only one person to confront them."
"Got it," Phoebe pressed her lips flatly, being slightly disappointed.
"There are a few things I must go over first before I do this," Betty announced to everyone out loud. "Marcy, Phoebe, you two have given me more than enough help that I could possibly ask for. This part of the quest is something that I can handle alone. If you two want to leave at this point, you may do so now."
"No way in the Nightosphere am I going to abandon you!" Marcy said defiantly. "You're going to need someone to bail you out in case if this whole thing goes south!"
"Same here," Phoebe joined. "It's not in my nature to leave anyone behind. We've come so far to find this lousy place and to cure Simon from his curse. This is more than just bringing a lost couple back together, this is something that will stop a deranged, misunderstood man from causing anymore mischief. I will not stand aside and allow the possiblitiy that he may be manipulated again for one's benefit."
"Another thing," Betty nodded. "Once you enter the rooms, you cannot go back until you've defeated the entities."
"Pff," Marcy scoffed. "I could have known that!"
"The sooner we nab all three of them, the better," the elemental concurred.
"Ok," Betty said cautiously as she hovered the crown over the pedestal. "If you two need to rest up a bit first-" she stopped as Marcy and Phoebe shook their heads simultaneously. "Here we go then."
The crown was placed moments later and then it glowed briefly from the three red gems. At the same time, the entrance they walked in from earlier sealed from behind, indicating the trials had begun. Betty took the one from the center, Marcy with the left, and Phoebe with right. They all parted to stand at their own corridor where each one lead to a large blast door.
"Good luck," Betty said to her friends. "We'll meet back here once it's done."
The trio parted into the darkness and the next step for restoring the ice crown was underway.
Phoebe could feel a chill run down her spine as she approached the door. There were many symbols and characters that ran alongside it in vertical columns that she couldn't understand, and yet her eyes settled on the protruding square that was placed right in the middle. There was a carving directly on it that suggested it needed a piece and the elemental quickly pulled out the gem in her pocket. She hovered it over the lock as she was surprised that it matched and then she placed it inside until it clicked in place. Once done, the elemental pushed the lock firmly until it evened out by itself with rest of the surface. The doors parted vertically in two on cue and what happened next was something the elemental was at lost for words.
There were three people standing in the middle of the room expectantly with blank expressions. The one on the left appeared to be Marceline wearing her default outfit that consisted of her grey tank top, jeans, and red cowboy boots. The one on the right appeared to be Phoebe herself, except she wore the Fire Kingdom royal armor. Lastly, the one in the middle was a man her height dressed in a sky blue T-shirt, a light-green backpack, jeans, and black sneakers. On his head, he wore an iconic white bear cap. His face and features were easily recognizable for the elemental to distinguish, but somehow his blue eyes were hidden beneath a thick veil of shadows. He had two weapons already drawn as he let them dangle to his sides. The one on his right appeared to be a sword colored completely green, while the other hand held one that was white with a blue round gem placed at the hilt's center. He moved only a few steps forward for Phoebe to get a closer look at him, all while mustering a stoic expression. Strangely enough, the two people behind him faded into nothing like ghosts, but this was easily ignored when the elemental stared at the human with longing.
"It can't be.." Phoebe said with her voice caught and her eyes slightly watering. "Why are you here?"
The only thing Finn did in response was to take a sideways battle stance. His left foot was in front facing forward, while his right foot faced perpendicular as a base, both knees slightly bent. His head and shoulders were arched forward as he prepared for battle and he held both of his blades upward at an angle. One second later, he briskly approached the elemental, twirled his right blade in place, and then delivered a swift blow downwards diagonally from right to left.
