Hey everybody. As much as it pains me, this is the last chapter of Simon's Journey. The story has gotten so far and has received a lot more reception than I thought it would get. Thanks to all of those who followed, favorited, and positively reviewed the story, this was a lot of fun, and I hope to do it again in the future. You guys are the best, and remember to leave ideas of what to write in the reviews. Now to get on with the story :3

Chapter 8

In His Final Hours

Simon stepped from the portal and into the ruins of Marceline's old house. He looked at the bodies of the mutants, lifeless and covered in snow. Simon fell to his knees, sobbing. Everything he loved was gone, the world, Betty, and little Marceline, who had become the daughter he never had. Simon sat there sobbing for what seemed like hours, then he got up and walked to the bedroom at the end of the hallway. He went inside and looked down at the corpse hidden under its sheet. Simon put the crown on and blasted the rubble off the corpse. He knelt down and scooped it up wrapping it in the sheet. He carried it the front yard where he forged a shovel of ice and dug a grave. He gently dropped the body in the grave and covered it back up. As he took off the crown, he began to look for something. Then, he grabbed two sticks and used some twine from his backpack to form a cross, and then he placed it at the end of the grave. Simon then knelt down and began to speak.

"She's safe now," he began, "No longer will she have to live in fear and run from danger. You would be so proud of her. She's such a wonderful little girl. May you rest in peace."

Simon then began to walk towards the city. There he looked at the ruins of the old city, the destroyed stores, the crashed cars, and the fallen debris crushing the pavement.

'This world is rotten," Simon thought, 'Falling apart at the seams and slowly decaying, but humanity will bounce back, we will rebuild this world and make it anew."

Simon stopped in an alleyway and pulled some things from his backpack. His video camera, a small tripod, 2 photos, and some articles. He took out a pen from his pocket and took the one of the photos. There in the photo was Marceline, smiling her beautiful smile that always brought her comfort. He took the pen and began to write on the back of the photo. Writing the words he wished he could've told her, but never had the guts to.

Marceline, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world?

That must be so confusing for a little girl.

And I know you're going to need me here with you.

But I'm losing myself and I'm afraid you're going to lose me too.

With no more space on the back of the photo he grabbed for a random piece of paper and continued writing his message.

This magic keeps me alive.

But it's making me crazy.

And I need to save you.

But who's going to save me?

Please forgive me for whatever I do,

When I don't remember you

Simon paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and wiping the tears from his eyes. And thinking back to the day the wolves attacked in the forest.

Marceline, I can feel myself slipping away

I can't remember what it made me say.

But I remember that I saw you frown

I swear it wasn't me, it was the crown

"Someday she'll find this message, and understand everything. I can feel it." Simon said to himself.

He then picked up the other photo, in it stood Simon, and his fiancée Betty. He looked at it, remembering the moments he spent with her. The only person he would ever want to call his wife, was now gone. He cried while holding the photo in his hands as his tears dripped on the smiling faces captured onto the tiny piece of paper. He pocketed both photos as he grabbed his video camera. Simon watched the recordings of the old Simon Petrikov, telling the tales of his slow transformation. Simon set up the tripod and placed the camera on it. Simon grabbed for the crown, but before he put it on, he spoke his final words as the true Simon Petrikov.

"Today I slip into madness, become a monstrosity to humankind, but know this world, Simon Petrikov will be remembered as a man, a human being, someone who was loved, who had loved, and went through chaos. One day, he will return!" with that Simon put the crown on his head, hit the record button, and then he blacked out.

When Simon awoke he was in nothing but darkness. He could hear his voice, groveling and crying, telling about how he lost Betty, and only wanted her to love him again. Then a vortex of ice and snow came out of nowhere, and once it subsided, there stood the Ice King.

"Well, well, well, looks like your time is up Simon, now I shall use your body to create the world of winter and frost I so desire," The Ice King said. With a snap of his fingers, icy chains lashed at Simon's arms and legs holding him down. "Is there anything you'd like to say Petrikov?" he said with a sneer.

Simon kept a blank expression the whole time he spoke, "Yes, you may think you have won Ice King, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve,"

With that more icy chains lashed out, but this time their target was the Ice King.

"WHAT! What is this? What are you doing?" the king yelled in fury.

"With sheer willpower, I can keep us both locked in the recesses of my mind for eternity, it's my mind, and I can do whatever I want. My theory is that with both of us bound like this, it will either make my body in a coma, or create a personality entirely new. Who can say?"

"NO! I'm supposed to win, ME! NOT YOU! I'm supposed to be the god of this petty world and rule it with an icy fist!"

"Too bad Ice King, neither of us win; we have reached a stalemate,"

"NOOOO!"

Outside of Simons mind, there stood the new Ice King. Confused he looked at the camera and picked up, deciding to keep it. He gathered the rest of the things surrounding him, and then began to ponder.

"I need a kingdom," he said, "And most importantly… Princesses," with that he smiled wickedly, blasting the area in thick blankets of Ice and snow.

Epilogue

Through the course of a thousand years the Ice King became old, decrepit, and incredibly insane. All day he'd loom in his kingdom of ice with no one to confide in but his pet penguins. Day after day he'd come up with plots to capture a princess and keep her in his frigid dungeon, but was always defeated by a young boy in a white bear hat, and his magical shape shifting dog. Miserable and alone he hardly had anyone to confide in. The only person he could consolidate with was the eternally beautiful queen of the vampires. For some odd reason she was never afraid to be around him, nor did she hate him as other people would. However, when the two were together she always had a sad aura about her. She looked at him with a longing gaze as if he were someone she knew, someone she cared for deeply. But in the deep recesses of the Ice Kings mind was a man bound by chains, smiling, and crying at the same time, returning the gaze that the queen was giving the Ice King, and repeating the name "Marceline"

THE END