Hey everyone I'm back again for another chapter. This chapter is by far the most epic of the ones I have written, so I hope that everyone will enjoy it. Also, if it wouldn't be too much trouble I'd appreciate it if you guys would spread the word of this story; I really want a lot of people to read this and for me to get as much feedback as possible. Just as an explanation, this takes place a couple months after the Simon and Marcy episode. Now, so I can stop wasting your time, let's get on with the story, shall we?

Chapter 5: The Rise of Darkness

It'd had been only 4 months after Marceline's birthday and things had only gotten worse. Simon's condition with the crown had evolved. Now when he put on the crown his beard and hair grew down to his waistline, his nose would grow even longer, and his beard somehow gives him the ability to fly. But this was only one of the problems. Mutants. Horribly disfigured human corpses brought to life from the radiation of the bombing. It must have taken a while for the bodies of the humans to absorb the raw energy and mutate into those monsters. Now they hardly even looked human, with acidic goo dripping from their bodies and their strange infatuation for attacking living people. Now Simon and Marceline were traveling along a stretch of road, until they came across an abandoned shop. They decided to stop and rest, as well as gather supplies. They stepped inside and began to look for any supplies that they would need, but not before checking for any mutants in the store. After their search Simon sat down on a stool from behind the counter, when something caught his eye. A camera was on the ground next to him. He picked it up and examined it, seeing that it was in a fairly good and working condition. He saw that there was a little film left.

"Hey Marceline, look what I found!" he said

Marceline walked over and saw the camera in his hands.

"A camera? Does it work?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so, why don't we go try it out?"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" she said with a smile.

They walked back outside where there was better light for the camera.

"Alright, there's a little bit of film left for the photos, so let's make sure these count, alright now stand over there, and I'll get the camera ready," he said

"Okay, gimme a minute" Marceline said, brushing dirt off her clothes and straightening her hair out.

Simon was checking the camera and making sure he'd be able to use it right. This camera was an older model of the ones he used to use in his line of work, and it didn't work like the ones he used to have.

"Okay, on the count of 3 smile and say 'cheese!', 1, 2, 3!"

Marceline gave a big grin and said cheese, as Simon took the photo. He grabbed the little photo that the camera spit out and took a look at it. Sure enough, the camera had worked, as Marceline's smile was looking right at him.

"Well, well, I believe I've captured the beauty of the most beautiful princess in the world!" he said smiling.

Marceline giggled, "Now it's your turn, Simon. Let's take one of us together."

Simon stood next to Marceline as he knelt down to her height and pulled her close and aimed the camera at them. Together they smiled and took the picture. There on a little piece of paper was their likeness, forever framed in one moment in time.

"Well there's a saying I like Marceline," he told her, "Take a photo, it'll make the moments we have last even longer." He ruffled her hair affectionately as he put the photos in his pocket, then took her hand, and continued their journey down the road.

They walked for a little over an hour, only stopping to take a rest, all while keeping an eye out for mutants. Simon could hear the low moans coming from down in the valley, but tried his best to ignore them as they continued walking. But then Simon saw something. There was white smoke rising in the distance. He quickly picked up Marceline and ran over to it as fast as he could. There they found a campsite, and judging from the smoke issuing from the fire pit, and the empty cans of food on the ground, the people who were here couldn't have gone too far. Simon couldn't breathe, after months of searching; they had finally found a sign of other people nearby. As he looked, he saw some equipment was left behind, a map and some military grade weapons. It was just a hunch, but Simon guessed, this was a camp for a reconnaissance group, going out for supplies. A group with a campsite this small wouldn't have been able to get their hands on military weapons in such a good condition. However, it seemed that the group had left in a hurry, because no sane person would leave weapons like this in the middle of nowhere unless they were in a hurry, and this sent a chill down Simon's spine.

"Simon, were people here?" Marceline asked

"I believe so Marcy, it seems that they left a little while ago, let's keep going, and maybe we'll find them up the road,"

He continued walking with Marceline in his arms. They walked, and walked, but were finding no signs of any people. Just when Simon was going to give up hope Marceline gasped.

"Simon! Look over there!" she exclaimed.

Simon turned and saw in the distance a city. However, the city had been fortified, walls spanning across miles, blocked off mutants from the city, and Simon saw that those walls were the ones the military used in the early days to block entrance to major cities. Simon rummaged through his pack and grabbed a pair of binoculars and quickly looked through them. Simon could she people, walking along the top of the walls, and letting a group of people in through the main gate, who Simon guessed were the ones who were at the campsite earlier.

"Marceline," he said struggling to find the words "I think we've found our home."

He picked her up and hugged her and the two laughed with joy. But the happiness soon ended. In the sky, fleets, upon fleets of fighter planes, were encircling a larger aircraft, holding a bomb, the size of an SUV. The fleet was making their way to the city and the large aircraft dropped the bomb. Time slowed, Simon stood there, scared, and drawing a blank on what to do. Dangling at his side was the crown, with the power to prevent the disaster about to fall upon the people of this city. If he could use it he could save the city, he could die saving it or die trying, but would Marceline be safe? All the possible outcomes were running through his mind, faster than he could even process. Simon reached for the crown, put it on his head, and with its powers, he shielded Marceline and him in a dome of thick ice to shield them from the blast.

'People of the city, please forgive me,' he thought

Then the bomb hit as a green mushroom cloud made of pure radiation rose, clouding the sky in an eerie green darkness. The ground beneath their feet shook and rumbled, the noise of the blast nearly destroying Simon's ears. He kept his eyes closed, not daring to look at the horrors outside the dome where they were safe. Soon the rumbling stopped and Simon was still holding Marceline as close as possible. He didn't want to face the horror that was awaiting him, but he needed to. He let go of Marcy and broke through the ice dome with a rock and walked out. The area around them was this sickening radiation green that swirled and twisted in the light of the glowing mushroom cloud. Then Simon looked to see that the city… was gone. Demolished. Wiped from the face of the planet. Simon dropped to his knees and saw the horror he could have tried to prevent, if only he could have saved them and Marceline.

"Marceline!" he said turning to face her.

But this wasn't the happy faced Marcy he knew, this was a small little girl in the fetal position rocking back and forth, tears streaming from her eyes. Simon was about to walk over to her, until he felt a great darkness. He turned and looked at the looming mushroom cloud, and felt the pure evil resonating from its core. Whatever was there was whispering. Whispering a language that Simon had never heard of. Then, a dark shadow flew from the cloud, with the speed of lightning, towards Simon. It knocked him to the ground with the force of an iron clad punch. Simon got to his feet and looked over at Marceline. A dark shadow, standing ten feet tall was looming behind the little girl. It bore a cloak of shadowy material that moved as though it were sentient, with 2 giant horns sticking from its head, and the face… oh the face was the most terrifying of all. It face was a pale bluish green, with the skin of its mouth ripped off, and 2 little green glows coming from its lifeless eye sockets. Marceline looked behind her and screamed as the monster picked her up with skeletal hands, and eyed her with a dark lust

"MARCELINE!" Simon yelled, "PUT HER DOWN! NOW!"

The creature simply looked at him and tilted its head to one side, then turned its focus back to Marceline, who was screaming and writhing in his grasp.

"I SAID," Simon froze his hand into a giant ice fist and hit the creature across the face with such force; it sent several snaggled teeth flying from the monster's mouth, and the creature fell to its hands and knees. "PUT HER DOWN!"

He then blasted the monster with snow blast upon snow blast, burying the creature in the ice and snow. Simon stopped for a moment, seeing that he had a short window of time to go over to Marceline. He got to his knees and grabbed her shoulder, and gave her Hambo to hold.

"Marceline, I need you to get out of here as fast as you can, no questions, just run! As far as you can and don't stop for anything, do you understand?!" he told her in a hurried tone.

She merely nodded, and then proceeded to run back down the road, from where they came from, holding onto Hambo as tight as she could. Simon turned with an absolutely livid look on his face, tears running down the side of his face. The monster was getting out of the snow, and turned to face Simon. It then laughed with a laugh as horrible as knives being scraped across a chalkboard.

"Ah, you are strong, mortal," it said in a deep and horrible voice, "You are able to best me, the Lich, in a fit of rage, but such childish acts will get you killed."

Simon laughed an icy laugh, "Me? Get killed? HA! The only person who's going to die today is you! You think you can hurt the ones I love, and expect to get away with it?"

"Well, since I'm about to be king of this petty world, I feel that I can do whatever I want,"

"Wrong answer!"

Simon formed a blade made of pure ice, and flew at the Lich with great speed. He slashed with such force and speed, that the Lich couldn't have any time to react. He slashed it across the face, and then blasted it with wind as strong as a hurricane. However the Lich quickly regained his stance and then, conjured green flames from his bony palms. He chucked them at Simon with incredible speed and power. As he deflected one with his sword, the blade melted in an instance and then Simon was hit with the second one, which singed a whole through his shirt. Then the Lich grabbed him in his undead hands, and howled with blood curdling rage.

"YOU DARE TO ATTACK ME!" he screamed, "I AM THE NEW GOD OF THIS WORLD AND I WILL BE TREATED WITH THE RESPECT I DESERVE!"

"RESPECT THIS!" Simon wriggled his hand free and put it in front of the Lich's face. He mustered all the strength he could manage and blasted the Lich with the force of a thousand blizzards.

There lay the Lich, barely moving in the ice and snow. Simon walked up to it and stared down at the pathetic sight. He had no pity for this thing. He then kicked it in the face, and spat on its head.

'Now, I need to find Marceline,' Simon thought, and he soared in the direction Marceline ran in, desperately looking for her.