Chapter 14

Flame Princess sniffled as she wiped a tear from her eye. She had been standing for what felt like hours. Her feet hurt and her legs were sore. She was too afraid to move from her spot. She had awoken from her slumber, only to find that she was no longer with Finn or the others. She could only guess what fresh terror lay hidden within the darkness. There was no light, with the exception of the dull glow that her body gave off. She was surrounded by a darkness the likes of which she had never experienced before. What was worse was the silence. The only noise that she could hear was the dull crackling of her own flames.

"Finn…Marcy…Bonnie…anyone?" Phoebe asked nervously out into the blackness.

Of course, there was no response. Why would there be? Everything had been so deathly silent and still since she had woken up. It was as if the house of pain had died. But she knew if anything that her monstrous prison was merely sleeping, and that it would awaken once again.

The floor began to tremble beneath Phoebe's feet. The low groan of straining metal rumbled through the air. What sounded like an explosion blasted through the thick concrete walls as everything suddenly heaved forward. Flame Princess let out a squeal of surprise as she was thrown forward. With a loud smack, her body hit the floor. As she laid on the floor, several blue lights flickered and snapped to life. Phoebe opened her eyes and pushed herself off of the floor. The blue lights revealed that she was standing in the middle of a narrow hallway with arrows pointing towards an unseen exit. The pounding of pistons and the turning of gears once again could be heard through the walls. The princess's fears were validated. The machine of suffering had awakened, and the game was still to be played.


Flame Princess cautiously made her way down the hallway, following the arrows that had been painted on the walls. It wasn't like she had any choice. She had checked the opposite end of the hallway only to find that there was no door. Her only option was to follow the arrows and hope they led to the way out.

As she made her way further down the hallway, Phoebe began to notice that the air was growing colder. The temperature continued to drop the further down the hallway she walked. The walls were glistening with patches of frost. Phoebe shivered and rubbed her shoulders for warmth. She tried to bolster her flames only for the cursed collar to suppress them.

The hallway finally came to a stop. Standing before Flame Princess was a thick, frost coated metal door with the words "Face your fears" painted in big red letters. Phoebe could hardly imagine what sick trap her captors had in store for her. The memories of her first test made her body ache with phantom pain and her mind race with fear. Flame Princess looked down at her hands and then looked back up at the door. She shut her eyes and placed her hands on the door. Steam hissed off of the ice-covered door as Flame Princess pushed against it with all of her might. With a pained whimper, Flame Princess shoved the door open. A blast of cold air whooshed out as the doors opened to a darkened room. Flame Princess held her shoulders as tightly as she could to keep warm. With no other option but to press forward, Flame Princess hesitantly walked through the door and entered the room.

As Flame Princess cautiously stepped into the dimly lit room, the door behind her slammed shut. Phoebe quickly spun around and checked the door.

"Cram it, locked." She spat angrily.

Now trapped, the young princess turned her attention back towards the room. The room was built like a freezer, with cooling pipes and fans blowing ice cold air into the room. Phoebe scanned the room until her eyes fell upon a dark silhouette in the center of the room. As the princess stepped forward, at tile sank into the floor.

A dull blue light cut through the dark and unshrouded the silhouette. The silhouette was revealed to be a stark-naked woman chained by her arms hanging from the ceiling. The woman's feet were just a few feet off of the floor. They too were chained tightly in place. Flame Princess noticed a dull blue glow radiating off of the chains. For whatever reason, the woman's chains were cursed.

Four metal pipes jutted out of the floor around the woman. Two at her front and two at her back. Phoebe carefully approached the woman to get a better look at her. The woman looked like she was in her mid-thirties, with shoulder length blue hair. Confused, Phoebe carefully reached out and poked the woman's stomach. Phoebe quickly pulled her hand back as her finger sank into the woman's body as if touching the surface of a pond.

A water nymph? Flame Princess asked. That explains the cursed metal. They are probably the only things keeping her from simply seeping through the chains.

Phoebe's eyes fell upon the four pipes again. This time she noticed that there were several metal nozzles that lined the pipes. At the base of the pipes were metal tubes that snaked across the floor and into the walls. The princess then noticed the familiar shape of a tape player sitting below the nymph's feet. Phoebe quickly crouched down and picked the tape player up.

A shrill gasp suddenly escaped the chained water nymph as she awoke with a jolt. Phoebe let out a small shriek and fell backwards in shock, almost dropping the tape player. The water nymph shook violently as her body struggled against the oppressive cold.

"P-p-p-please, h-h-help me." The nymph begged through her shivering. "I'm s-s-so c-c-c-cold."

Flame Princess opened her mouth to respond, but could not find the words she needed. There was so much that she didn't understand. Why was there another victim with her? Was the nymph somehow related to her second test? Should she help her? How could she help her? The young princess's eyes darted back and forth from the nymph and the tape player. Out of the two of them, there was only one person that knew how they should proceed, and that person was the monster that trapped them in their frozen prison. After swallowing the lump in her throat, Flame Princess held up the tape player and pressed the button.

A loud crackle escaped from the speaker as the tape began to play. Through the crackling of old technology, a familiar, cold, and toneless voice spoke.

"Hello Flame Princess, welcome to your second test. By surviving your first test, you have proven that you have the strength and the determination to face the anger and mistrust that has gripped your heart. Now, I offer you another chance to break the chains of anger that bind you, much like the chains that bind the woman you see before you. Her name is Simone Petrikov. She is the magic user that I sent to apprehend you. The one responsible for the untimely death of your lieutenant; Cinnamon Bun."

A hatch in the ceiling opened up as something was dropped into the room. It was a frost-bitten pig mask, the same pig mask that Flame Princess remembered from the night she was attacked. A second object was dropped from the ceiling. It was a golden tiara that had been broken in-half, its red gemstones cracked and shattered. Weak magical energies could still be felt radiating off of the broken tiara.

"As you can see, Simone is no longer blessed with her resistance to the cold. She is just a powerless water nymph. You no doubt wish to see justice be done for the death of your lieutenant. Now it is you, who has the chance to bring his killer to justice. You alone can grant her the gift of life, before she is frozen, much like she froze your lieutenant. Behind the pipes on the back wall, you will find the key that will free her and bring you one step closer to facing your sins and earning your freedom. Can you find it within you to save another, or will you claim the key to save only yourself?"

A loud roar bellowed across the room as the industrial fans kicked into overdrive, turning the cold air in the freezer into a skin searing blizzard.

"Make your choice."


Flame Princess's body burned bright as anger burned through her. Even with the cursed collar around her neck, her body burned brightly. The young princess had Cinnamon Bun's killer right in front of her, and this time with no ice magic to stop her. When was she ever going to have another chance at bringing her lieutenant's killer to justice?

Terror quickly spread across Simone's face as the gravity of her situation crashed down on her. As if to assure the nymph of her dire situation, the sound of groaning pipes rattled across the room. Suddenly, several jets of liquid coolant sprayed out of the nozzles that surrounded her. She screamed in pain as the freezing liquid covered her body only to be made worse by the brutal cold of the freezer. After what felt like an eternity, the nozzles stopped spraying the freezing nymph. Simone whimpered and cried as her body fought its hardest against the cold.

"I-I-I didn't mean to kill him." Simone stammered desperately. "I wasn't given a choice!"

"Shut up!" Flame Princess shouted fiercely. She wasn't about to let Simone lie her way out of this. "You attacked me! You attacked my kingdom! You killed my best friend! You killed Cinnamon Bun!"

The nozzles unleashed another blast of coolant, forcing more agonized screams from Simone.

"All I did was freeze him!" Simone snapped viciously through the torrent of coolant. "If you hadn't thrown that fireball at me, he might still be alive!"

"Shut up!" Phoebe screamed angrily. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

The flow of coolant subsided once again, leaving Simone deathly cold. Ice now clung heavily to her body, sapping more of the life from her. Weak, pitiful sobs slipped through her numb lips as her body grew colder and colder.

"Please…I'm so sorry. J-J-Jigsaw…he has my prince…"

"You're lying." Phoebe hissed bitterly as she clung to herself for warmth. "You would say anything to save yourself."

The pipes groaned again as more coolant was forced through the nozzles. Simone didn't even have the strength to scream as her body was coated in the freezing liquid. Her vision was darkening, but she could still see the young princess's angry flames fighting against the cold.

Phoebe paced back and forth across the room, never breaking eye contact with the water nymph. It was so cold that even she couldn't think straight. The bighting cold and the razor-like wind was slowly taking their toll. She thought about simply grabbing the key and leaving the water nymph to her icy fate. Everything she had ever been taught as the queen of the Fire Kingdom told her to let the nymph suffer and die in the same manner that her lieutenant had. And yet, she couldn't seem to shake a small lingering doubt that sat in the back of her mind.

What if Simone was telling the truth and Jigsaw really did have her prince? It would explain why she was so determined in her attack at the palace. Flame Princess paced back and forth across the room as she fought with her growing doubts and fears. Was she even capable of leaving another living being to die? Was Simone truly the only one to blame for Cinnamon Bun's death? All of these doubts spun and twisted angrily in her mind. If she hadn't thrown that fireball, if she had only controlled her anger…maybe none of this would be happening.

"Is this what he would have w-w-wanted you to d-d-do?" Simone asked as clearly as her chattering jaws would allow her. "W-w-would your Cinnamon Bun w-w-want you to let me die?"

Flame Princess froze as Simone's question jarred through her mind. Images of the happy, loyal, caring face of Cinnamon Bun flashed in the young princess's mind. Cinnamon Bun was always so hopeful and happy. He knew of her anger and he was the one to calm her down during her outbursts. He was the one that she would come to when the weight and strain of her royal duties became too much. He was the shoulder she cried on when the pain of Finn's betrayal came burning back up to the surface. Cinnamon Bun was more than her lieutenant, he was her best friend. He was just a sweet hearted person, incapable of cruelty. What would he think of her if he could see her right now?

Phoebe stopped her pacing and looked back towards the ice-covered Simone. Even with the burning anger that she still held within her heart, Flame Princess knew that she couldn't leave Simone to die. Cinnamon Bun would never forgive her if she did. Flame Princess heard the sound of the pipes groaning again as more coolant was pumped out of the nozzles and sprayed onto Simone's body. Flame Princess needed to get the key, and get it fast.


Half frozen and blinded by the blizzard-like winds, Flame Princess made her way to the pipes on the back wall. The pipes were covered in ice and dripping with coolant. She peered through the gaps in the line of pipes and saw the key to the locks on Simone's chains and to the exit. The young princess reached for the key, but it dangled just out of reach. Phoebe stretched her arm out as far as she could, but could not reach the keys. Her eyes darted back to Simone and felt her heart drop. Simone was now completely covered in a layer of ice. But her eyes were still moving. There was still time to save her.

Phoebe braced herself and then pressed her body against the frozen pipes and reached for the key. Steam rose off of Phoebe as her skin hissed as it seared against the ice-cold pipes. She screamed as her cheek stuck to the pipe. With one final strain, Flame Princess snatched the key off of the chain and then peeled herself off of the frozen pipe with a painful scream.

"I got the key! I got the-"

Phoebe fell silent as she turned and saw what had become of Simone. The water nymph's body was now nothing but a pillar of ice. Flame Princess had wasted too much time. She was too late.

"No, no, no, no!" The young princess shouted as she rushed over to Simone's frozen body. "I got the key, I got the key, we can both get out now!"

Phoebe reached for the lock on Simone's shackles only to find them completely frozen in thick blue ice. Desperate, Phoebe placed her hands over the chains, hoping that her heat would be enough to melt the ice. But try as she might, nothing worked. Dread and guilt began to fester in the young princess as she ran her hands over Simone's frozen figure. She was responsible for her death, and there was no denying it. She could have stopped it, but she lingered for too long.

Tears of liquid fire fell from Phoebe's cheeks only to fade in a puff of steam in the cold. She couldn't deny it now. Her anger had claimed another life. Defeated, Phoebe gave one last look at Simone's frozen body.

"I'm sorry." She muttered weakly. "I wanted justice…but not like this…"

With nothing left to be said, the young princess limped over towards the opposite end of the freezer and slid the key into the lock on the door. With a loud hiss and cracking of ice, the door opened to the familiar light of the holding room.

As the doors shut behind the young princess, the fans and coolant pipes grew silent. Simone's body glimmered in the dull blue light of the room. Perfectly frozen, forever stuck in her tomb of ice.


The sound of the door sliding open was followed by a sudden blast of frigid air. Finn and Marceline both huddled around the gravely weak Princess Bubblegum to protect her from the sudden cold. The blast of cold air subsided as the doors slide shut and locked behind the trembling and weeping Flame Princess.

No one spoke as Phoebe slowly walked into the room. They could all sense that something terrible had been done to the young princess. Though she lacked any serious injuries, they could tell that the wounds she had been inflicted with were of the heart. Her flames were burning low and she wouldn't make eye contact with anyone.

With a whimper, Phoebe slid to her knees, curled up into a ball, and began to sob loudly.

Unable to see his friend in such turmoil, Finn left Bonnie and Marcy and crept over to Phoebe's side. With caution, Finn reached his hand out and placed it on Phoebe's shoulder. Her body tensed and her flames flared brightly at Finn's touch.

"You don't have to tell us, Princess." Finn stated calmly. "You don't have to tell us anything."

Flame Princess smoldered sadly as Finn gently rubbed his hand on her shoulder. Finn's touch was so gentle, so comforting. She didn't even question how he was managing to touch her without being burned. Right now, she simply didn't wish to question anything. She simply needed the small comfort of her friend's touch.

Princess Bubblegum tapped Marceline on the shoulder and motioned for her to take her over to the younger princess. Marceline tenderly picked up Bonnie and hovered over towards Finn and Phoebe.

"Easy, don't strain yourself." Marceline stated softly. "You might tear open the staples on your arm."

Bonnie ignored Marceline's worrying and placed her hand over Finn's.

"You must be strong, Flame Princess." She stated firmly yet softly. "No matter how much you hurt, you must be strong."

Phoebe whimpered at the sound of the princess's voice. There was such a strength within her voice. It was subtle, but there was no denying it. Princess Bubblegum was speaking to her not just as a fellow prisoner, but as a fellow princess. It was moving, to say nothing else. Phoebe only wished that Bonnie had spoken to her in such a manner before they were held prisoner by an ancient killer from a time now long dead.

Marceline sighed and slid in next to Bonnie.

"We are all in this together, Phoebe." She stated in a warm tone. "As long as we have each other. Nothing will break us apart."


The earsplitting crackle of the loud speaker once again blared to life, startling the prisoners.

"Congratulations, you all have survived your second round of tests." The voice of Jigsaw spoke coldly. "You are all one more step towards facing your sins and earning your freedom. I would advise you all to take this time to rest. For more tests and trails still stand between you, and your rehabilitation. And the games will only get harder from this point forward. For now, you all should rest. Rest, sleep, dream, and reflect."

Just as before, the lights in the room all shut off, leaving the four in near complete darkness.


Once again, the group all huddled around Flame Princess for warmth and light. Through the howling darkness, the sound of toiling machinery could be heard pounding as the ancient machine moved and shifted. The dull rumbling of the machine and the gentle vibrations that it sent through the floor felt strangely similar to a beating heart. The low beating began to lull the prisoners into an unwanted sleep.

Finn rested his head against Marceline's shoulder. Phoebe had curled up on the floor and was resting her head in Marceline's lap. Bonnie gently nuzzled against Marceline's neck. She planted a tiny kiss on her neck before shutting her eyes and falling asleep.

"Yeah, yeah, catch some z's while you can." Marceline stated quietly. "I'll take first watch."

As the minutes turned to hours, Marceline stood watch as the others slept. As she stood watch, a sweet, tangy smell wafted into her nose. Then she felt something wet run down her shoulder. She looked down and noticed a tiny droplet of blood had fallen off of Finn's head and had dripped down onto her shoulder. Marceline swallowed the lump that was quickly forming in her throat. Her eyes darted from Finn, to Phoebe, and then to Bonnie. They were all sleeping soundly, despite the circumstances.

He wouldn't know. Marcy told herself as she stared at the crimson droplet. Phoebe wouldn't know, and neither would Bonnie.

Without another moment of hesitation, Marceline's tongue carefully snaked out of her mouth and gently licked Finn's blood off of her shoulder. Her tongue twisted and tenderly licked another droplet off of Finn's check. The taste of blood sent tingles through Marceline's body. It was like scratching an itch that she couldn't reach. It made her feel warm, it made her feel calm, it made her feel alive.

Marceline gave Finn a tiny kiss on his forehead.

I'm so sorry Finn, but you are just too sweet.


The freezer had been deathly silent as the hours passed. Simone stood frozen in her pillar of ice. Suddenly, a large crack split from within the pillar of ice. Soon other, larger cracks began to split through the ice. Without warning, the pillar of ice erupted, sending huge chunks of ice flying everywhere. The cursed chains slid to the floor like silken threads.

The water nymph's eyes snapped open with a piercing white glow. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head as her blue hair grew and turned a snow-white color.

"That was fun." She said in a cool tone. "I haven't acted in so long."

Her white eyes fell to the floor and stared at the broken tiara. A vestige of her old life. The life that she gave up. The life that Jigsaw saved her from. She smiled and reached for the frost-bitten pig mask that laid next to it.

"This is all I need now." She said firmly as she held the mask up to her face.

"Well, well, well…still as dashing as ever, I see." A velvety voice spoke.

Simone smiled as she felt a familiar set of hands slip around her waist.

"Aw, did you like my little show?" she asked in a honeyed tone.

"How could I not?" her invisible suitor responded. "Seeing your body all cold and wet made my mouth water."

Simone shivered with a smile as she felt the familiar feeling of vampire fangs gently grazing against her neck.

"Come now, we can play later, you little imp. We still have work to see to." She stated firmly yet invitingly.

"As you wish, my queen." The vampire answered huskily. "And then…?"

Simone smiled and locked the young vampire in a passionate kiss.

"Then…we can play. My little king."


Chilling...