The duo was walking through the empty streets, in the middle of the city. It was near silent and only the voice of the Simon and Marcy can be heard, apart from the burning fires and wind howls. "So what're you gonna name your new friend?" Simon asked Marcy as he looked at her teddybear.

At the top, Ice King was watching them, creeping to roof and rubble, spying on them as he eavesdropped and observed their conversation. He was curious about these two and why he ended up on this part of her timeline.

"Oh darn, the gem only takes me to when I was in a person's timeline!" Ice King remembered, he wanted to pound the gem somewhere but he seemed to inclined in knowing how he was involved in this. "Maybe I should go home later" Ice King doubted, he was curious and curiosity was the reason this situation started.

"Hmm… Maybe Franky?" Marcy answered unsurely, Simon chuckled at her answer.

"That's too simple, how about Hambo?" Simon remarked sarcastically, he pointed to a billboard which advertised a brand name "Hambo" which was roast ham. Marcy laughed at his suggestion.

"Yeah, Hambo's a nice name" Marcy answered.

"You sure?" Simon asked, he was sarcastic but he didn't expect her to accept the name.

"Yup, you said it and it sounds good too. He's gonna be my second best-friend, next to you, of course" Marcy answered happily. She then placed Hambo in a space between the laces of her shirt. Simon was a bit flattered by her warm answer.

"Well, I'm sure he'll make a good friend" Simon affirmed strongly. Marcy smiled and they continued to walk.

Ice King continued to watch them from afar. He noticed how Simon's voice was quite similar to his, only with a more smoother difference.

Ice King started to see a group of strange creatures fast approaching them in the distance. It seemed to be disgusting square shaped humanoids with three large holes that had green slime dripping out. The duo was quickly alerted by the creature's presence of hostility.

"Simon, what are those?" Marcy asked fearfully, it looked horrifying and they started to moan.

"Stand back, Marcy!" Simon commanded, Marcy took a step back and watched Simon. He seemed to know these creatures.

Simon grabbed the crown from his belt and stood in front of the group of mutants. The mutants started to sprint towards him, their slimes were now oozing out more, they were hungry for flesh.

"C'mon Simon, you can do this" Simon mumbled to encourage himself. Marcy watched, there was something not right with the crown that Simon was about to wear.

Ice King watched the scene from a glassless window, he knew the effects of the crown and he thought Simon was crazy to try it on.

Simon then placed the crown on his head, his beard and hair grew larger and his teeth became sharper. "Come children! Let me make you feel the powers of frost and snow!" Simon was no longer himself, he was a madman.

He casted powerful ice winds toward the group of mutants, freezing anything in its path. Marcy watched in horror, Simon didn't seem the same when he was wearing the crown.

Ice King was astonished that Simon became him for a time, Ice King started to have this idea that Simon was really him. "Was that me? I sound too royal..." Ice King asked himself in his mind.

Simon faced Marcy and made a grin. "Come Gunter! We will teach all the people my power!" Simon eyes glowed as he shouted to Marcy.

"Simon! Stop!" Marcy grabbed a rock on the ground and threw it to the crown. Fortunately, the rock was able to topple the crown off Simon's head. Ice King was impressed with this heroic act and slightly whistled when the rock hit the crown

Simon fell down and the crown landed right beside him.

Marcy ran towards his limp body to see if he was alright. She kneeled, held his head and tried slapping him. "Simon, wake up!" Marcy shouted as she slapped him gently on the cheek.

For a split-second, Ice King thought Simon was gone. "M-Marceline? What happened?" Simon whispered as his eyes slowly opened to her face.

"You became crazy and you froze all those monsters!" Marcy explained quickly. Simon stood up and Marcy let go of him. He picked up his crown and placed it on his belt. Marcy approached him and grabbed his belt. "Simon, please don't ever do that again" Marcy pleaded softly as she looked at him with a sad face.

"I...I'll try…" Simon hesitated, the crown was the reason he was still alive, he couldn't just let it go. Marcy nodded and they continued walking. She had this horrible thought, she started fear that the crown would one day take Simon away,

Forever.

Ice King continued to follow them from the buildings, he felt pity for the small duo and he wondered if Simon would ever let go and slip away from reality.

"How'd you get that crown anyway?" Marcy curiously asked.

"I bought it from an old man in Scandinavia, really far north" He explained near quietly. "He said it was cursed, I didn't believe him and I just payed him and went on my way" He continued, "I put it on when I got home and… crazy stuff happened and my slowly life began to crumble: I lost my fiancé, I accidentally froze my home, everyone moved out of town and I became...alone" Simon said sadly.

"Sad…" Marcy remarked, she felt sympathy for Simon. "Well, at least you got me" Marcy looked back up to him with a smile, meeting each other's eyes.

Simon was flattered much, he believed that both of them were the only friends of each other. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Ice King smiled at that bit of conversation, he was warmed by her words.

"What an angel…" Ice King commented softly at her response.

Ice King continued to eavesdrop them, they would talk about each other and how their lives turned out. He was able to get some information about Simon, he had a wealthy past but with a bad ending. He was an archeologist with wealth, he had earned himself a fiancé and he had mansion near his hometown. Marcy was fascinated by his past. "Wow… That's some past" Ice King thought. He seemed to be a bit more interested in his far past.

Marcy talked about her life in turn, she lived in the city with her mother. She had a caring mother and a father that she rarely saw, her dad would always be on "business trips" that he won't explain to her.

Simon took pity for the little girl, even her own father would allow her to feel alone.

As they were walking, they noticed a run-down fast-food restaurant, it still seemed to be good enough and the windows and doors were shut, meaning that it still wasn't scavenged so much.

Marcy's stomach grumbled at the sight of the restaurant. Simon chuckled and Marcy laughed along. "So, Marcy lets take a quick meal on that fast food, I bet they still got some burgers in there" Simon said.

"Yeah, let's go, I'm really hungry" Marcy remarked happily. The duo ran toward the restaurant. Ice King observed them from afar but he was forced to go to ground level and listen to them as they were going indoors. He sneaked inside from the backdoor of the restaurant and crawled under a large dusty counter. There was space enough for him to be in a fetal position. He then heard the glass pane of the restaurant shatter. The duo entered the restaurant through the windows.

"Wow, this place sure needs some renovation" Simon commented as he looked around.

"I'll go check the place behind the counters" Marcy said as she walked to the counters, searching for food.

Luckily, Ice King was well hidden by the darkness of the space, there was no light to activate the small lightbulb inside the space.

Marcy went inside the counter stations to look for something to eat. She was right next to of Ice King, trying to see if there was food on the stations.

"I hope she doesn't see me, I hope she doesn't see me…" Ice King babbled in his thoughts, he then noticed two burgers wrapped in plastic just right beside him.

He threw them on the floor. Marcy noticed the burgers and leaned down to get them. Ice King could see her face as she picked up the burgers but thankfully, she wasn't able to notice him.

"Hey, Simon! I found something to eat!" Marcy yelled, she raised the hamburgers in the air and she went outside the counter area. Ice King sighed with relief.

"Woah! Burgers, hadn't eaten those for awhile" Simon remarked. He sat down on a table, ready to eat his meal.

"Do you drink soda, Marcy?" Simon asked. Marceline smiled at the mention of the drink.

"Are you kidding? Of course, I love soda" Marcy exclaimed, she didn't have soda for some time.

"Oh, because I only have water" Simon said sarcastically, sounding sad.

"Aww…" Marcy reacted disappointingly.

She walked towards his table and sat in front of him.

"Psst… Marcy, I have surprise" Simon whispered.

"What?" Marcy whispered back.

"I got soda!" Simon pulled out bottled soda out of his backpack on the floor. He was toying with little girl

"Simon, you got me!" Marcy said happily as they both laughed.

Marcy gave Simon a burger and Simon gave Marcy soda. He then pulled out bottled water from his backpack. Marcy was a bit embarrassed knowing that she had some privilege.

Simon took a bite from his burger and drank a bit from his water while Marcy ate her burger fast, and quickly drank her soda.

"You really love eating don't you?" Simon asked.

"I've been waiting food for hours" Marcy remarked.

Ice King found the conversation kinda comforting, they sounded like they were good friends even if they just met. Their companionship was well-built even from the start.

After a few more minutes, Ice King heard their burps and was soon accompany by laughs. "So, Simon, where are we gonna go next?" Marcy asked happily.

"Anywhere the wind takes us, there's nothing to do left but try to live" Simon answered sadly.

"I think we should find things to do" Marcy suggested. Simon nodded slowly as he picked up his backpack.

Marcy stood up and held Simon's hand.

"Let's go find things to do" Simon said cheerfully.