That morning, Finn was extraordinarily comfortable in his bed.
It was one of those days, where everything in bed just feels so nice that you just know there's no reason to get up, because nothing would ever top this.
All snuggled up in his sleeping bag.
The gentle wind breezing over him from the outside, low sounds of Jake walking around with BMO downstairs, nothing could disturb Finn in this state. It was perfect, he would happy to lay there foreever and ever in his near zen state.
Well of course when you live in Ooo there's a million times that could go wrong, this one though was particularly annoying to Finn as it just felt like such a unnecessary blast from the past as the phone rang.
Jake was gracious enough to pick it up without disturbing Finn, but then the message came.
"Yo Finn, Peppermint Butler called. Sounds like Ice King is up to his old tricks, Princess Bubblegum has been snatched up." Jake informed.
Finn groaned annoyed as he turned around. "Seriously dude? I thought we were over this kind of stuff a long time ago." he yawned deeply. "Can't you just call Marceline so she can go talk to Ice King?" he asked. "I don't want to beat him up, doesn't feel right anymore you know."
"Well I could try and call Marceline, but she would just get major mad, it's the middle of the day dude. She must be sleeping right now." Jake pointed up. "And you've been in bed all day, you should get up anyhow, it'll be good for you."
Finn groaned. "Can't I just wait until there's a real emergency?" he asked.
"You don't think the Ice King kidnapping princess's again is an emergency?" Jake asked.
"No, he wont hurt them, he never has." Finn yawned deeply. "He's just lonely is all, just need to hang out with him ones in a while and he's cool."
"Hey that may be it!" Jake exclaimed. "He totally saved our behinds when Ooo was all weird being controlled by the four elementals, but we havn't hung out with him since, not even as a thank you. So lets go out there and invite him for a game of ball, what do you say?"
And Finn sat up with squinted eyes and he smacked his lips. "Well fine." he muttered. "I suppose we do owe him." he admitted. "But let us only invite him for a little while. Ice king can be nice, but only in very moderate amounts."
"That we can agree on." Jake admitted. "For our own sake and his, just one game of ball and perhaps a bite of lunch. Then we'll have energy enough to tolerate him another day in the near future."
"Cool." Finn nodded as he unzipped his sleeping bag and jumped out.
Riding on Jake the travel to the ice kingdom was rather short, though as they neared the ice castle Finn had to blink. "Looks like Ice King has re-decorated." he pointed out.
"Yeah, he added spikes." Jake replied as true enough, the giant ice fortress suddenly had a massive amount of ice spikes poking out from the walls making the place look even more unwelcome then it already was.
Then a big scream sounded, a very familiar voice yelling. "WHERE'S MY PRINCESS!?" and a huge beam of ice shot out the window nearly hitting Finn and Jake if Jake hadn't moved out of the way.
"NUTBALLS!" Finn shouted as the ice beam hit behind them and created a massive ice spike, wide-eyed they both turned around to look at it.
"Woah, Ice King must really be out of it, I wonder what's up." Jake blinked.
"Yeah, me to." Finn agreed.
The newly aquired spikes of the ice palace wasn't really any problem, easily Finn and Jake got up to the window the beam had come from only to be met by quite a site.
Because there were a ton of princess's, all captured in various ice blokes and the ice king himself standing in the middle of the room screaming. "GIVE ME MY PRINCESS! GIVE HER TO ME NOW!"
Wide-eyed Finn looked at it, then glanced to his side and saw Princess Bubblegum sitting right next to the window her feet trapped in a block of ice.
"Yo PB." Finn addressed Princess Bubblegum. "What's the deal?" he asked.
Bubblegum sighed deeply as she sat there leaning her head in her hand, looking outright bored. "Looks like Ice King is having an episode, he's gone way mad." she commented then exhaled. "Well, I suppose it really has been a while since he's been acting like this, he has been remarkable stable for a while, so really it shouldn't be to surprising. Could you make him calm down please?" she asked. "I'm kind of in the middle of an rather important experiment back at my own castle."
"I also just want to go home." Slim princess added from the other side and all the princess's nodded, all looking like they were just tired of this.
"No problemo, I suppose we have neglected Ice King for a while, my bad." Finn stated as he jumped in through the window and Jake followed.
"YO SIMON!" Finn shouted as Ice King walking towards him. "How's it hanging?"
The Ice king didn't respond, he stood with his back to Finn, his fist clinched and his body shaking.
"Sorry it's been a while that's my bad." Finn stated. "But you know, Jake and I have been thinking. Do you wanna come with us and go for a round of ball?" he asked. Still the ice King didn't respond. "Come on, playing a bit of ball with your best buddies, it'll be fun! So what do you say Simon? Let's go play some ball." he suggested.
"I DON'T WANT TO GO PLAY BALL!" Ice king suddenly shouted. "I WANT MY PRINCESS!"
That made Finns eyes widen, he had never seen the ice king decline an invitation for social activities before. Ever! And already the Ice King had dismissed Finn as he turned around, his white eyes looking furious, his teethes clenched and magic sizzling around his fingers.
"WHERE IS SHE?! WHERE'S MY PRINCESS!" Ice king screamed then turned to Breakfast princess. "You're not my princess! GO AWAY!" he shouted sending an ice beam at breakfast princess throwing her out of the castle window, and she was screaming all the way until a thump sounded, indicating Breakfast princess had landed in the snow outside.
Gaping Finn and Jake saw it happening.
"Dude." Jake gaped.
Then Ice King turned to Wildberry princess. "YOU'RE NOT MY PRINCESS EITHER!" he screamed picking up the poor screaming princess and then aimed for the window.
"HEY HOLD ON! STOP!" Finn shouted as he jumped and just managed to catch Wildberry princess before she had been flunged out of the window as well.
The ice king huffed and hissed as he starred Finn down, it was almost like he was changing form as he stood, his noes becoming even longer, his eyes glowing, his teethes suddenly looking dangerously sharp. "Do you know where my princess is?" he asked Finn as his hands started to glow. "ANSWER ME!"
"Erhh…" Finn swallowed.
"THEN I DON'T NEED YOU!" The ice king exclaimed as he raised his hands ready to fire his ice magic. And he would have if Jake hadn't tackled Ice King sending him to the floor, then pinned it down.
"Hey cut it out!" Jake exclaimed. "I thought we had become friends now!"
"Friends?!" The Ice King asked. "I don't even know you! LET GO OF ME!"
Wide-eyed Finn walked towards the struggling Ice King. "Don't know us?" he asked. "Of course you know us, we are Finn and Jake. We are your friends."
"Why would I ever be friends with such losers as you, all I want is my princess!" The Ice king hissed. "GIVE ME MY PRINCESS!"
"Wow, he's really far out this time." Jake commented. "I wonder what's wrong."
"The crown!" Bubblegum suddenly yelled. "Finn! Jake! Look!"
And they both looked down at the crown now sitting slightly askew on the Ice kings head, at first nothing looked odd about it but then Finn realized, there was a crack in the crown! With tiny sparks escaping from it. "A crack?" Finn asked. "How can there be a crack in the crown? What does that mean?"
"I don't know." Jake commented. "Maybe the crown became weak after Betty messed with it, it probably didn't help any when LSP used it to safe the world, then all it needed was an impact of some kind and well. You know Ice King, sometimes he just walks into the wall because he's confused."
"I don't like this." Finn stated as he picked up the crown removing it from Ice Kings head.
"HEY!" The Ice king shouted. "GIVE THAT BACK!"
"PB, I know you said you were busy but… Do you think you could?" Finn turned to Bubblegum holding the crown.
Bubblegum exhaled deeply. "I think this takes priority." she then admitted then she reached out and took the crown. "I'll look at it." she assured.
"HEY! That's my crown!" The Ice King shouted. "You can't just take that, GIVE IT BACK!"
"No can't do." Bubblegum stated holding the crown in her hands. "Both you and the crown are coming with me, time for an examination."
The Ice King huffed angrily, his white eyes glaring at Bubblegum with a look that promised hurt.
"Come on Simon, it'll be like a vacation for you, you'll even be close to PB" Finn pointed out.
"She's not my princess." The Ice king seethed. "Give me the crown, with it I can find my princess, if you wont let me find my princess. The crown will make you pay."
"Wow jeesh." Finn blinked. "Cool down Ice king… I mean, calm down. This isn't like you." he had to admit. "You're a weirdo but you're not vicious." he stated only for the Ice king to try and bite at him with his big pointy teethes. "I erh.." Finn hesitated. "I'm just going to go free the princess." he stated walking towards the nearest princess.
"Do that, i'll keep an close eye on our friend here." Jake stated from where he sat un top of Ice King having taken a rather large form to keep Ice King down.
The Ice King though kept on cursing, throwing threats at Finn, but Finn ignored as he pulled his sword, ready to free Raggedy princess whom had been entirely capsulated in ice.
"DON'T TOUCH MY PRINCESS!" The Ice King shouted. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Finn sighed as he raised a sword, ready to make the first break in the ice when suddenly an ice beam came for him and Finn jumped aside just in time.
Then his eyes widened, slowly he turned to the Ice King whom had thrown Jake away, his hands glowing with ice magic… And he wasn't wearing his crown.
Jake as well gaped and so did Princess Bubblegum.
"Urhm… How can the Ice king do ice magic without his crown?" Finn asked as he backed away. "This shouldn't be possible… Right?"
"Actually, I did speculate this." Bubblegum admitted. "The Ice king has been wearing the crown for a thousand years you know, absorbing it's magic changed his body. He's been soaking it up for a thousand years. That he is able to cast magic without the crown after such a long time is well... Natural." she bit her lip.
"And this means what exactly?" Finn asked. "From what I understand the more corrupted he gets by the crown the meaner he becomes!"
"Where…. Is… My princess?" The Ice king asked in a hiss.
"I have no idea what it means." Bubblegum admitted. "Finn i'm sorry, but I have to ask you to neutralize the Ice King." she said. "Either tie him down or knock him out, I'll have to examine him."
"Oh great. This was seriously not what I had hoped for today." Finn groaned.
"We can handle it Finn." Jake assured. "It's just old Ice King, we just have to tie him down."
Finn exhaled as he closed his eyes. "Marceline is going to be so mad." he commented, but stood ready to do what he knew he had to do.