I do not own Adventure Time. Just to be clear, this story follows the shows canon up until episode 49 of Season 5 only (Bad Timing), and with the prologue happening a few months after that episode.

~~o~~

Chapter 19 - Stalling and Stagnation

It had been a full day since Princess Bubblegum returned to her own universe. At first, she was worried and disappointed that Marceline never came back with her but she quickly figured out that Prismo planned something for the vampire. Even with that thought, she relentlessly tried to use the Enchiridion - which rematerialized in the Tree Fort for some reason - to no avail. The hidden compartments won't even open for her even if she could persuade the Princesses to lend her their Gems of Power again.

"I've never been so hopeless like this before..." Bonnibel let out a wide yawn, cupping her mouth appropriately. "I can't just sit here doing nothing either..."

I miss you, Marceline... I won't rest until I found some way to see you again. One way or another.

She still doesn't know what tall tale to tell her citizens if they demand an explanation on the whereabouts of the three, especially Finn and Jake. She just hoped the rest of the royalties who knew what exactly happened would put a lid on their mouths. LSP...

What will I tell them? 'Oh, I'm sorry my sweet citizens, our heroes got trapped on a different dimension and I can't do anything for them.'

"I'd rather eat Pepbut than admit science can't help me now!"

"Why would you eat me, Your Highness?"

She managed to hold back a scream as she nearly fell off the chair she had been reclining, balancing it on its two legs only. "Can't you knock first, Peppermint Butler?!"

"But Princess, I've knocked already but you did not answered. I just came here to bring you your breakfast!" The round peppermint servant sounded a bit alarmed, but resilient to her quirks, he knew her temper won't last.

"Oh. Thanks, I'm just startled, that's all."

"Are you planning on spending your whole day in this lab again?"

"Of course...I've got lots of work to do! That Time Machine won't modify itself."

"You need sleep, Princess Bubblegum. Sleep and a shower."

She hastily sniffed herself and almost gagged at the smell of stale onion pizza. Her natural bubblegummy scent failed to cover the traitorous smell of her snack last night. "I can do that later, Pepbut. Thanks for the reminder, you can go."

"As you wish, Princess."

She let out a sigh after her head servant closed the door behind him. Bonnibel knew she needed rest, of course, but she can't just shun away work. The Time Machine in particular needs extensive modifications. She intended to retain its function to turn back time for the subject, essentially recalibrating their biological age; but at the same time, aimed to incorporate its real function to send the subject back in time.

Ever since she heard of the whole 'Simon and Betty Incident', she relentlessly tried to outdo it by making her own time manipulating equipments. Her first foray turned out to be very limited in terms of functionality, with LSP a living and breathing testament. I needed something more absolute, and bigger.

That something lay dormant in front of her, a hulking metallic contraption of wires, monitors, pods, levers, buttons, and a large circular gate-like structure in the center. She clearly remembered how Marceline boldly stood below the arch as a test subject, only to emerge as a cute little baby. It took Bonnibel a few months to figure out what went wrong and how to turn the vampire back to her old self.

"Now, I'm going to change you again."

Suddenly, it occured to her that she haven't yet gave the her invention a proper name. In its papers, she just jotted down Prototype RX-78. It was a very generic-sounding name to be sure.

"How about Project Eternal Enhanced Body Salvation?" She was stunned for the better part of a minute, then burst out into uncontrollable laughter. "P.E.E.B.S.? Really? This powerful drive shall be called, Peebs?"

She gotta think of a shorter and more concised name, something that would instantly make a mark. Bonnibel eyed the two metal rings - one, smaller in diameter - that revolves around the subject upon operation, taking note of how those were named Infinity and Eternity. The two structures maintained the stability of the matter that was using the machine, otherwise they would destabilize and disintegrate into unrecognizable mass of atoms.

"This is hard..."

"How about Clockwork Promise?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice, although a bit inaccurate since it does not really resemble any clocks known in Ooo. It's a nice- WHO THE BAGTAG ARE YOU?!"

There, perched on her opened window a cloaked figure, the angle obstructing the face. The voice belonged to a woman though. "I thought you already knew of my plight, Your Highness?"

"You have 5 seconds to establish who you are before I test my pocket dimension on you, stranger!"

"Jeez, relax Princess. It's me, Betty." The cloaked figure took off her hood and revealed a middle-aged human with a pair of peculiarly shaped glasses Her reddish-brown hair was tied in a haphazard knot, with streaks of hair loose at some places. "I'm here for your time machine, and Simon."

"I know what you're thinking... How come you can't build one yourself? Ice King was successful into bringing you into the current time period...surely you two would be more knowledgeable at this."

"That's the point...we're a team. As you know, Ice King's really not right in the head. A space-time distorting machine as complicated as yours would be too difficult to replicate with our Mystic Rituals." The woman looked down on her feet as she hopped down the lab floor.

"Heh, pseudo-Science ain't enough for you?"

For probably a minute, they stared at each other. Bonnibel recognized the tiredness lying beneath Betty's eyes. Numerous scratches and cracks adorned her glasses, even her garb was in tatters. A look of utter desperation was what the human was portraying. "Do I have to beg?"

"What? No? I'm sorry if I came across as rude... I just can't get over how successful Simon was with making a hole of passage across different times. I admit I was rather jealous. Just look at this failed machine..."

"We can share you our theories and studies after you lend me your time machine, Your Highness. Together we will build a multi-purpose time-space portal, transporter, and age reverting machine rolled into one."

Princess Bubblegum contemplated the offer, weighing her choices on the issue. It seemed genuinely beneficial to both parties involved, and she have no doubts about what Simon and Betty could do.

"I was just wondering...how come it took you months to ask for my help?"

"I knew of the troubles Simon made while he was the Ice King... I don't really have the face to seek help from people he aggravated. For all I knew then, you all probably just want him dead instead."

"No! Ice King was really troublesome but of course we don't want him dead!"

"I know." Betty cracked into a weak smile, which Princess Bubblegum replicated.

"Alright. Just let me warn you that I still had trouble in calibrating the age reversion. I don't know how many years would be trimmed out of Simon. The age reversion might stop a year short of him turning into the Ice King, or only stop when he's nothing but a pile of -"

"I know the consequences, thank you but let's bounce!"

"What?"

Betty reached for her hand and pulled her close to the window. Outside, suspended several stories above the kingdom, was Ice King sleeping on a anti-gravity carpet. She vehemently denied to call it a flying carpet.

"How?"

The woman just shrugged and instructed the carpet to enter the room. "I'll explain later, Princess, just start up Clockwork Promise please!"

Nodding, Princess Bubblegum hurriedly paced across the room and started pushing buttons on the central processor. Several screens lit up as various whirring sounds filled the laboratory. "Betty! Place Ice King inside those rings. Be careful not to disrupt the positions, okay?"

The woman nodded and did what she said. The slumbering Ice King,upon entering the controlled gravity field of the rings, rose a feet above the floor and was suspended in midair.

"Commence age reversion process, all systems go, thrusters at full power!" Princess Bubblegum pushed one final button and the rings started to revolve around Ice King, slowly picking up on speed aided by the rocket propulsions attached on the rings and creating a spherical illusion. "On the count of three, pull up that lever!"

"I've got this!"

"1...2...3...pull it!"

A loud bang imploded within the sphere as a swirling rift enveloped the rings that seemed to lightly pull at everything inside the room, ending on a huge explosion of white light. Princess Bubblegum nearly lost track of the readings that flashed across the screens, gaining on momentum only as her eyes adjusted to the excess light. "On the count of three, pull it down! 1...2...3...!"

As swift as the rift appeared, the particles dispersed. When the light show finally died down, the sphere became more and more transparent as the rings steadily slowed. "Was it a success, Princess?"

"See for yourself..." To be honest, she too felt nervous about the results but she opted to let the woman have the first look. The said woman was about to step on the platform of the rings again when a deep, coarse voice yelled loudly.

"BETTY!"

~~o~~

"Can we go back now?"

"Nope."

"Can we go back now?"

"Nein."

"What the junk, how did nine figured in this convo'?"

"Nein, not nine. It means 'no' in German. Bonnie used to hysterically repeat that word whenever I ask her if i should stop-"

"Okay, okay, okay, too much information!"

Marceline smiled internally, thinking that should stop the canine from badgering her.

"Hey, hey , hey, Marcy!"

"What?"

"...Can we go ba-"

"I swear to Glob and every deity on the Multiverse, I will rip out your eyeballs if you ask me that question again!"

The magical dog stuttered and silenced himself, for a moment that is. "Marcy?"

She did not responded.

"Can we go back now?"

"Jake...your my friend so I'm asking you this...how fast can you run?"

"Look I'm just pranking you, okay? No need to be so violent! I promise yah I won't do it -"

Marceline hurriedly covered the dog's mouth to shut him up. In the distance, she caught whiff of a familiar smell she never thought she would smell-again. It seemed the Badlands of AltOoo proved to be more dangerous than the one in their own universe, if the prevalent sweetish-rottish smell was an indication. The scent did not yet reached the dog's nostrils, but she knew Jake will pick it up as they near their destination.

"What did you do tha for?"

"Shut up. Remember your first trip on the Badlands with Finn, Bonnie, and James? Remember the goo monsters?"

"Yeah. What about them?"

"They're everywhere. There could be one hiding under where you stand now, I really can't pinpoint their exact location though. Their scent throws me off. Can't you smell them?"

"I kinda had a faint sniff earlier. But that's it."

Marceline instinctively reached for her Axe Bass and held the heirloom in front of her. Jake on the other hand made himself tiny and hopped on the vampire's shoulder. It was what she instructed earlier in the instance they feel danger around them. Marceline can withstand head-on the radioactive goo unlike Jake, although the radioactive air was one thing she can do nothing about.

"I wish we brought Princess Bubblegum's suit...I'll definitely feel safer."

"Quit complaining...that flame shield would do the trick more or less."

"More or less? I can't believe this junk! How could you even be so sure the Pit is in the Badlands?" Jake snapped his fingers. "Dang, we're not even sure this is the Badlands!"

Marceline remembered the terrified pleading of the young mage they came across camping outside the skirts of Wizard City earlier that day. The fledgeling magician named Ron James casted a flame shield on Jake as what she ordered. She hoped it would be enough to protect the magical dog from the harmful environment of the Badlands. Finn would never forgive me if something bad happened to his bro.

The morning sunlight was easy to resist for the vampire, but the harsh afternoon sun would be different matter altogether. Luckily, they had reached the Badlands on record time. The bleak sky provided natural sunblock for Marceline, removing the need to find an umbrella.

"Marcy! Look!"

She followed where Jake's stretched armed was pointed and found a hill covered in holes filled with green goo. Each one of the holes surely contained at least three monsters, if she can remember correctly. As a further protection, Marceline hovered in the air instead of walking. In the distance, she could see the remains of once human civilization. The familiar wrecked buildings, scraps of metal and concrete, long-since corroded and faded lamp posts, and other typical Post-War junk made her remember her own bitter experiences regarding the post-apocalyptic period.

"I think I found our destination, Jake."

Below the mountain range they were standing on, lay a barren valley with nothing but dust and earth except for the huge crater in the center. If she could lift her house, Marceline was sure it would fit and fall through the hole easily. The only thing that would have halted that will be the blackened glass-like surface that covered the mouth of the crater, creating an illusion of a still, dead lake. The earth around the strange terrain structure reeked of death and negativity that made her uneasy.

"We need a closer look, are you down with that, Jake?"

"Do I even get a say in this, huh?"

"I'm glad you realized that."

Jake groaned loudly as she flew down the valley, Axe Bass held firmly in expectation of sudden attacks. She just need to tone down any unnecessary noise so as not to attract the goo monsters that probably littered the whole area.

"I can't believe this ice remained intact for a thousand years...this is some real wizardry." Marceline touched down on the hard and slippery ice, crouched down and wiped some of the black soot-like dust that covered it.

"Can't see *chatter* nothing in there, Marcy. It's too *chatter* dark." Jake trembled due to the cold waves the ice was emanating, which Marceline barely felt in turn.

"We need to let light shine through, then. C'mon, help me wipe away these stuff."

The moment the dog hopped off her and stretched to his normal size, he yelled loudly in pain as his feet touched the ice. Jake's panicked yells reverberated through the empty and desolated lands, making Marceline instantly nervous.

"What the heck is your problem now?"

"The ice's too cold for my toes! I should just have stayed-"

Collective haunting noises filled the valley, sending shivers down the vampire's spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Low groans, piercing shrieks, and pained moans echoed through the otherwise silent place. She immediately retraced her sight to the hills they stood a little while ago and saw numerous goo monsters emerging from the ground.

"Look, Marcy!"

They were surrounded, she knew it. Everywhere, goo-filled holes appeared as their habitants poured out like ants. Marceline stood her ground in the middle of the ice that covered the Pit. She was just a few inches (or feet) away from the answers she was desperate to have.

"Jake, you're suppose to help me, not make things worse."

"Make it worst, then."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at the size of that greasy-slimy thing!"

Marceline's jaw nearly dropped when she witnessed firsthand a whole mountain shake and stood on all fours. She wanted to slap herself just make sure she did not imagined seeing a large mound of rocks and earth turn into a colossal bull-like monster with dragonic head and covered in goo holes. It's vacant green eyes stared unseeingly, unblinking. Suffice to say she wanted to scream.

"What are we gonna do, Marcy?!"

"I admit this wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought of our little trip..."

"Can we go back now?"

"No, Jake... we can't, not until I made sure my hunch was right."

"What hunch?"

"That the Jake-Lich is the root cause of all of this."

Sounds of hundred footfalls rang through the valley of death. Marceline never knew she had to resort to one of her least used demon-vampire powers, raising the dead. "In this crevice of black, I beckon every single dead to come back! Relish in your freedom, let my will be done!"

Around them, numerous cracks on the disturbed soil appeared as skeletal hands shot up. There were fewer than I expected...most probably just turned into these goo monsters. Tsk...and they're all way past their prime! I doubt they can even raise their bony fists...

"We're going to die, right? And it's all my fault. At least that greaseball can't fly!"

Suddenly, the colossal bull dragon spread its wings and showered the whole valley with glistening streaks of radioactive goo. "You spoke too soon, Jake."

~~o~~

Here I am again. On a dangerous task for a lady I barely knew, but at the same time I love unconditionally. That's stupid. What the heck, I'm just fifteen.

With the experiences of a 35 years old.

Sawyer kept fidgeting through the whole trip to his task. The prospect of facing improbable danger always made him antsy, and it did not help that his companions are stoic and unmoving military personnels. The two Elite Licorice Forces, or ELFs, proved to be passive co-passengers in the rather bare van. They do not engage in idle talk, other than to update one another of their current location and estimated time of arrival. Their driver, an ELF too, was the same as well.

He had experimented with his hidden swords during the ride, flicking his wrist now and then but always managed to grip the Truthsayer only; the Flamberge always end up on the floor. Then he thought of an idea, which involved Sawyer halting the blades from emerging completely. It resulted into unmovable protrusion on his wrists, long enough to stab someone, but a bit too short to slice. At least he won't risk losing the weapons in battle.

"Sir, ETA is in 15 minutes, I suggest you ready yourself, Sir."

"Alright." Sawyer was honestly creeped out of the ELFs emotionless and robotic voices, as if speaking through some voice-changing contraption on their necks. They also have identical voices, much to his confusion. He can no longer even tell who was Don and who was Jon.

He inspected his knapsack to pass the remaining time, relieved that Princess Bubblegum's servants removed his Enchiridion. In its place was the little book Sawyer recognized was the same one Turtle Princess was so eager to show him. Curious, he reached for it and eagerly opened a random page. With bewilderment, he began to read.

I always knew that the end is one of the only two, truly inevitable thing in this world. The other is change. I feel like...I never really got to accomplish what I meant to achieve in this backwater country. Before, I was really sure of my decision to stay in Junktown; to guide and teach the less fortunate children instead of snotty little brats in the city. Now, I'm not so sure.

I mean, I never even got the chance to see my parents again, if they even survived the catastrophe Finn Mertens created. That boy...I thought he would turn out okay, him and Flanna Hacksworth. I guess some things were never meant to be, the same way some things were always meant to be.

My hands were still muddy as I write this. I can't find it in my heart to wash away the stains of the soil I used to bury Mr. and Mrs. Mertens yet. I can't believe they just decided not to wake up. That's unfair. Well, the week-long suffering in their deathbed probably made up for it.

But now I have to care for the last Mertens boy. How could I even raise a child in this environment is beyond me. God help me, I'm ready to give up myself.

Miss Bonnibel B. Hamilton.

November 23, of the year 3075

Sawyer can't believe it. He can't believe he was finally holding in his hands the little black book his Mistress always wrote something on but forbid him to read. He felt his heartbeat begin to rise as he hurriedly rushed to the very last page of the diary. To his curiosity, the very last page was only held in place by a adhesive tape, the wrinkled paper barely readable.

Catastrophe… What is the meaning of this singular word? Some define it as a violent and sudden disaster, a horrible event. You may also describe it as an utter failure or a destructive incident. I'd personally like to find its meaning in a more literary term: the final event of a dramatic action, the closing of a tragedy.

I never thought that this word would be the perfect adjective to describe the history of our world…

An ancient war ragged upon the planet, sowing a seed of destruction beneath our bare feet. For centuries it remained unnoticed, buried underground, sterile and dead within the darkness… It was never meant to germinate… Or so we thought.

It was fate or just pure misfortune what led young Finn Mertens to set that bomb off. Vested with the power of a mysterious crown, the enraged boy unleashed his freezing wrath against the ominous flames that threatened to eat away everything he once knew and loved.

As he lost control over his mind, his newly acquired powers began to run wild, ultimately bursting the atomic power of the hidden missile after striking the earth mercilessly with his frozen bolts.

Oblivious to those hazardous events, we the common folk, suffered great uncertainty while the once blue skies above us grew dark and a mass of crying phantoms rose in the horizon, shortly after a blinding light exploded somewhere in our beloved land.

Just a few villagers managed to survive the explosion. We were left behind to wonder why were we destined to live another day in an already condemned world. Then, hunger drove us to leave our homes and everything we had once possessed. It was a never-ending journey of peril and sickness.

Our quest for food and shelter was nothing but a failure, another catastrophe. A mysterious wave of cold weakened our exhausted bodies, destroyed every crop in the fields and killed most of our livestock. Those who managed to survive the continued swarm of winter storms that struck the land, suffered from other unknown diseases. We noticed blisters and changes in the color of our skin, as well as many other physical alterations in our bodies. I guess I could blame the atomic radiation for that…

In the end we were too weak and weary to continue venturing into the bleakness of our new world, which forced us to leave our nomadic ways and get established in the middle of nowhere. The years came and went, never bringing news of other towns or cities with them. We began to believe that we were the last humans on Earth…

We became endangered species; at least that is what the gradual appearance of ferocious creatures in the land made us think. It all started with a glimpse of a gigantic winged-reptile, crossing the greyish skies. Then, eight months after that strange sighting, our small village was attacked by a herd of colorful equines, which came from within strange crystal portals that were suddenly opened around us.

Those beautiful but frightening beasts could have devoured us all if it wasn't for the bravery of our youngest member, the last Mertens boy. Using the sharpness of an old rusty blade, the young man managed to scare away those monsters and save what remained of our village.

Right after obtaining his victory, the brown-haired lad left our side, swearing to return with news of the outside world, food and medicines. We never saw him again since then…

This is the last piece of humanity's history. As I feel my own life slipping through my fingers, I'll devote the last of my strength to finish this paragraph just in case someone out there finds these writings…

Just in case someone manages to survive this… catastrophe…

Miss Bonnibel B. Hamilton.

May 21, of the year 3087

He choked back a cough that was forming in his throat, being way past the the point of crying. Sawyer had enough of everything. He felt like nothing could surprise him now. Calming himself, he placed back the diary on his knapsack and sat still for a second or two.

Then he punched the metallic wall behind him, which piqued the interest of the ELF nearest to him.

"Sir, that's made of hard alloy sturdy enough to withstand our own weapons. You can't punch -"

"Shut up or I'll punch you in the face!"

We noticed blisters and changes in the color of our skin, as well as many other physical alterations in our bodies. I guess I could blame the atomic radiation for that…

If the personnel had a reaction, the black tinted glass of his helmet prevented Sawyer from seeing it. He was about to say sorry for his outburst when their driver spoke in the same robotic voice.

"We've arrived, Sir. Permission to deploy."

...just in case someone out there finds these writings… Just in case someone manages to survive this… catastrophe…

"Deploy...? Wait. No. Wait for my signal. Just... stay here until you hear the word 'hurt', okay?"

"Affirmative, Sir!" All three spoke in unison. To be honest with himself, Sawyer wasn't really optimistic with the plan he hastily formed in his head.

Nodding and donning the hood of his jacket, Sawyer opened the doors on the back of the van and was momentarily blinded by the afternoon sunlight. He immediately climbed on the roof and flicked his wrist to draw the blades, nearly losing hold of the Flamberge again. He spotted his brother below him directly in front of their vehicle, as well as numerous knights made of ice and snow.

"Who in the blue blazes-?"

Just for the heck of it, he swung the fiery blade and sent an arc of fire at his direction. His attack was unsurprisingly negated by an ice shield. "By the order of Princess Bubblegum, I command you to stand down and nobody will get hurt!"

At the mention of the word 'hurt', his small team burst out of the vehicle and rolled expertly on the ground with guns trained on their enemies. "Sir, permission to engage!"

"Shoot down those knights, leave the two bastards to me!"

Sawyer took his brother's momentary stunned condition to throw the Flamberge at him, the blade doing 360° spins before reaching its target.

~~o~~

Mertens!

A big flat expanse of ice blocked the spinning fiery blade, but before it even hit the floor, Ice Prince was shocked to see the hooded boy crashing down on him with the longsword drawn. He met the attack head on and planted his feet firmly on the ground, pushing away his enemy. He stole quick glances at his ice knights, who were easily decimated by the familiar weapons the other enemies held.

Guns, Prince. They're frigging, guns.

"What the gleaming rhymes do you want now?!"

"Shut up!"

Ice Prince couldn't fathom the reason for the unfound hatred plainly fixated on the boy's eyes. If looks could only kill, he would have been nothing but minced meat. He broke away from his stare and started to run in Finn's direction, who was vomiting on the grass. Taking his moment of distraction, Ice Prince grabbed Flame Princess and hoisted her on his shoulder. He was about to summon another ice ramp when an arc of fire nearly lashed him on his back.

We can't just get away from here now...

He spun and found the boy dashing towards him, his two swords half-concealed within his the sleeves of his jacket. With one swift motion, Ice Prince gently dropped the sleeping Princess back on the ground and clashed his crimson blade with the two protrusions.

"Just who the heck are you?"

"I'm Sawyer, the Third Pillar!"

"I don't even know you, dude? What did I ever do to you?!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!"

The longer sword at his adversary's disposal emerged completely and almost impaled his head, managing to swerve his neck to the right in the nick of time. Ice Prince lashed out and froze his weapon, the ice continuing to envelop even Sawyer's hidden blades.

That's a rather bad idea.

The wider orange-colored sword burst into flames, blasting through his ice sheet and nearly incinerated his face, stopped only by an extra layer of ice. Ice Prince reinforced his ice armor, donning a full body set for further protection.

Look out for Finn! He recovered already!

Just then, a ear-splitting soundwave hit him and Sawyer that dropped them both to their knees. Being more accustomed to the harsh noise, Ice Prince punched the boy square in the face with his mechanical arm. The force of his bionic arm caused Sawyer to drop both of his weapons, which Ice Prince took the chance to snatch the longer weapon. He was about to hack the boy into pieces with the two weapons in his hands when a volley of bullets rained on him. All except one were stopped by his ice armor, resulting into major bleeding on his left, fleshy arm.

"My Ice Knights!"

All were taken down brutally by the two strangers garbed with peculiar battle gears. Their guns trained on him, probably unaware that another combatant was present in the battlefield. Just then, Finn resumed making sounds with his mouth that sent another batch of disorienting soundwaves. The two were unfazed.

"I want one of those headgears."

Ice Prince ducked instinctively as he felt Finn approaching from behind, rolled over and covered his bleeding arm with a thick sheet of ice. Gripping the two weapons in his hands, he used the Demon Blood Sword to guard against Finn's weapon and used Sawyer's own weapon against him. The boy deflected the attack with his burning blade, but got sloppy as Ice Prince aggressively pushed down and stabbed his forearm - the tip puncturing a few inches into the boy's hand.

"What the?"

A large volume of bluish aura emanated from the weapon, enveloping him and its owner. In mere split-second, memories not his own mixed with his. At that moment, he knew, this boy, this angry and unfocused boy, was his brother. He survived the millennium through a powerful contraption, all in order to find him and get revenge for everything Ice Prince had done. But then, discordant images of a golden structure suspended in an infinitely beautiful sky, draped with countless stars, emerged.

He shook his head and threw away the weapon, just in time to evade a stab aimed at him by the persistent Finn. "Enough, man! I said enough!"

Mertens! That's...! But how? The Citadel...of Truth?

"The what?"

Nevermind! Here comes your brother!

A roaring fire engulfed him completely, easily melting away his ice armor and almost killed him if not for his quick reaction time in jumping away. In his haste, he completely forgot to watch out for the two guards, which caused him to stumble in panic to avoid the bullets. In response, he blasted the two pesky scums with sharpened discs of ice.

Everyone stopped moving at once.

Then the heads of the two guards dropped to the ground and rolled a few feet away from their respective bodies. The said bodies kneeled over a full second later.

"What the junk, man? You killed 'em!"

"Wait, I didn't mean to! I...I ...They were going to kill me!"

Well, your brother doesn't really share your view on the matter, Mertens.

A fist collided hard on his unprotected face, knocking him down on the grassy earth. His head instantly throbbed painfully.

"Stop it, Ben! I'm your brother! I'm sorry I didn't knew! Let me ex-"

"Explain with this!"

Ice Prince closed his eyes as he saw the flaming sword soaring towards him, but no impact came. He opened his blue eyes and saw Finn leaning over him, his own blade in direct path against his brother's.

"You could die with that filth of a sibling!" The words stung him deeper than he thought.

An intense burning inferno unleashed from the orange weapon, enveloping them all. He can't let everything end that way. Not after he finally knew his brother is still alive.

Are you sure, Finn? This could permanently change you to the Ice Prince again.

I know I'm in the right hands, Flanna. I know you can make this work.

In a matter of split-second, he changed into the Ice Prince instantly. With one fluid motion, he reached for the flaming sword and touched the orange blade. The fire was instantly snuffed out. He savored the dumbfounded look on its wielder, taking his distraction as a chance to grab him by his hood and drive a knee to his face.

Enough, Prince!

The moment the mad Prince persona faded, his senses dulled again. This caused him to receive his brother's retaliation by headbutting him. Dazed, he saw that everyone was frantically scrambling away from one another. Ben was practically crawling towards the dead guards, reaching for one of the guns. Finn, on the other hand, was just a few feet away from Flame Princess.

He groggily stood up and ran after Finn, no longer having the strength to hover. "Don't take her away, man, please! Don't take away my Princess!"

"You! Finn! Suck on this!"

He watched as his brother fired indiscriminately with the gun in his hands. The force of each shot made him buckle his hands, causing wild shots zipping everywhere. Panicking, he instantly shielded Finn and Flame Princess with a wall of ice. By then, he was ready to close his eyes as he dropped down on all fours. He did not know what to do. He's exhausted, his brother is probably no longer right in the head, and his Princess could be taken away from him again. He killed what seemed to be humans.

"All for love. All for her."

Mertens...Finn. Oh Finn...

~~o~~

"Oh Glob." Finn frantically repeated the words as he saw the icy barrier get hailed down by flying metal thingies. He dared not to think what would those little bits of metal would do to his teenage boy body.

If I took off now, Sawyer would instantly kill me with that thing...

With one final resolve, he changed the Imatari into the combination of Demon Blood Soundsword and Grass Sword he was planning to use earlier. The transformation instantly made him dizzy, like his brain was ready to give away. Nevertheless, he raised the crimson weapon high in the air, flicked the blade to make it rotate, and shouted at the top of his lungs. The result was magnificent, the grass within a certain range around him elongated and produced a swirling vortex of wind and leaves that magnified the sound to heightened proportions. Inside the vortex, the sound was nulled though.

"Take this, Sawyer!"

A razor-sharp leaf guided by the wind launched directly at his enemy, who evaded just in time. Finn can't really see clearly through the harsh winds and leaves, but he knew the sound was disorienting Ice Prince and Sawyer.

"I can't keep this up for long..." The Imatari slowly lost its red coloring, even the rotation slowed a bit, and the sound lowered in intensity. Something red and hot dribbled from his left nostril, which he wiped. Blood. His blood. "This is bad."

Marceline, Jake, where are you two? I'm about to die here, in this place I know little of. I knew things are totes the same here, but they're really not. There's...death. Real death. I don't even...

Even my thoughts aren't junkly in the right places, man. Forgive me, Cosmic Owl, I think my boy heart isn't enough to save their souls... Forgive me Prismo, I don't really know how to end this.

"All for you, Flame Princess, even if you're not the Princess I know..."

~~o~~

Princess Bubblegum patiently persuaded her citizens to keep calm, to no avail. Some citizens cried that their hero probably died on his first real mission, pointing out to weird view live-streamed from the camera attached to the two Elite Licorice Force. The two cameras pointed straight into the blue sky, and the audio was cut off by a teeth chattering noise a few minutes later.

"Why didn't I attached one to the third one? Grod!" Well, that one was just a driver. I doubt he'll actually see some action.

She gritted her teeth in annoyance, contemplating against contacting her champion in fear that she would just get in the way. As if on cue, her necklace communicator rang, which she hastily answered. On the other line was Say, of course, his voice garbled.

"Bonnie! Help me! Finn encased himself and the Princess of Flames in a tornado of leaves and winds. I can't come close enough to use my weapons! The moment he sees me, he tries to slice me apart!"

"Keep calm, Say! On your left biceps is the button for full body transparency. It'll make you virtually invisible from the naked eye, but the battery pack on your jacket won't last for long."

"How much time do I have?"

"Approximately 2 minutes before your jacket lose power altogether. Even communications won't work, Say!"

"Okay, Princess. I love you, if I survive this, I swear I'll make it- Shi-! Gotta go, bye!"

With a soft click, Say's voice was gone. Princess Bubblegum bit through her fingernails in nervousness, then she broke into a wide smile.

~~o~~

Deftly charging through the swirling winds and sharp grass, Sawyer ran to retrieve his Truthsayer which was stuck to the hard earth a few meters from the Prince, who was just staring at him passively with steadily drooping eyes. He contemplated on knocking him out. You'll have your moment later.

""I can do this!"

Sawyer broke into a run while he tucked away his weapons underneath his bloody sleeves, letting them jut out just by a feet. That way, he won't lose them against the foreboding wind and his steadily weakening grip because of bloodloss. In his haste, he failed to avoid a sharpened grass aimed at him which struck his right knee. He tripped and rolled along the grassy ground. Blood was freely pouring out of his knee making him cry in pain and frustration. He wasn't really near enough to the tornado to use the invisibility feature of his jacket.

"If I have to crawl..." I will effing do everything for Bonnie, my Mistress...

~~o~~

Vera can't believe what she was seeing with her very own eyes. Three skilled warriors were fighting to the death. She just wished, Sawyer won't die prematurely in this particular battle, else her own plans would fail.

"This bush is a perfect hiding place, I guess."

She attentively watched how the three fought. Taking note of how Sawyer favor using cheap tricks and relying on his rage, Prince's calculated and well-thought attack patterns, and Finn's wild and unpredictable moves. In the end, it looked like Finn would win the day.

"Who wouldn't by summoning a frigging grass tornado?"

Sawyer was on the move now, limping badly by the wound on his right knee. Vera couldn't't believe that he was still up after that savage swipe, and he could even run in short bursts. That is until the boy touched something in his biceps that made him disappear completely. Vera rubbed her eyes vigorously and found out that Sawyer really disappeared, in plain sight.

"Bloody spawn of Nightosphere! What -"

The tornado was visually ripped along the side, a momentary hole appearing, before the whole towering turbulence exploded into violent blasts of wind and dangerous leaves. The force was enough to uproot the bush she was crouching behind and she flying high in the air, landing hard on her back a few feet away. She was about to sit up when a particular leaf nearly cleaved her head.

"My Assassin trainings failed to prepare me for this, huh?"

Some of her Tarot cards were strewn about the immediate area. Six to be exact, she was about to retrieve them when she notice that they were grouped into three and lay in parallel with the Ice Prince and Finn. The Fate have spoken, again?

A loud pained yell disrupted her thoughts, easily grabbing her attention. There in the middle of a nicely-sized crater, were two figures; one was standing apprehensively in a low stance, the other shaking uncontrollably on the ground.

"I'll need a closer look."

~~o~~

I tell yah, this chapter is actually shorter than the previous one. Seems like, you folks don't really have the time to read super long chapters. I'm sorry for that. I'm planning to divide that and this one if that was true.

The Season Finale was...a bit meh. At least they're using the Crystal Citadel now! I'm really excited to know how inaccurate my depiction of it! Haha!

Nephilim: Hey dude. If you think the Earth Armor is cool, wait for some more ideas I have in mind!

Ooobserver: Howdy! I think I went overboard with the 7k words. It's a bit too long, but nothing plot related really happened. Haha.

Thanks for the reviews guys! Feel free to criticize me whenever you like!

Better get back to work on my final editing of my thesis now!