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Chapter Text

Thud!

A man with light blue skin wearing a blue suit suddenly entered a strange dimension. He fell on his back inside a large, hollowed-out block that was floating in the air. The walls of the block were about 5 feet tall.

“Huh? What the-? Where am I?” the man asked out loud to himself. He sat up and scratched his head.

“Finally, someone else shows up,” said a voice.

The man looked towards the direction of the voice and saw a small hot dog creature wearing a helmet and carrying a small sword around the waist.

“Who are you?” the man asked.

“Uh, I’m a Hot Dog Knight,” the creature responded. “My name’s Frank.”

The man chuckled. “What a fitting name.” Then he cleared his throat. “I’m Simon Petrikov, also known as the Winter King. You can call me Winter for short if you want.”

“Oh, so you’re royalty? You don’t wear a crown?”

“Why it’s right here!”

Winter King patted the top of his head but realized his crown wasn’t there. He looked behind his back to see if it fell off, but couldn’t find anything.

“That’s odd…” Winter King mumbled. He tried to remember what happened before he ended up in this strange place.

Oh. That’s right.

He died.

And yet here he is, alive and well. At least it seemed so. It looked like he was still being affected by the crown’s magic though, if his light blue skin was anything to go by. Didn’t he change back to how he originally looked before he died? He could’ve sworn the crown’s magic was removed somehow. All of these thoughts swirled in Winter King’s mind, but he couldn’t make sense of the situation.

After a moment lost in thought, Winter King asked Frank, “How did you end up here? What were you doing beforehand?”

“Uh…I was walking around a marketplace with my knight buds when a singing cat started tossing me around…” Frank shrugged, “I don’t remember anything after that. I just ended up in this weird place.

“Hmm. Alright.”

“What about you?”

Winter King gushed, “I shared a kiss with a beautiful, brave woman,” he suddenly frowned, “then I shriveled up and died.”

Frank smiled. “Oh. Good for you.” But he quickly became confused. “Wait, was that a good thing?”

“I was shocked and frightened that I rapidly aged and died suddenly after kissing her. But there’s worst ways of dying!” Winter King shrugged and laughed.

“I’m not sure if I died.”

“By the way…what did the cat look like? The one that tossed you around?”

“White fur with yellow markings, and blue eyes.”

“Oh!” Winter King exclaimed. “I also met a white and yellow cat. Her name was Cake. Maybe there’s a connection.”

Winter King looked up at the dark void they were residing in. Just a bunch of floating blocks it seems.

He turned to Frank. “Say…you’ve been here longer than me. Have you seen anything else here?”

“Just the floating blocks in the air,” Frank replied. “Oh, and the red thing behind us.”

“Red thing?”

Winter King stood up and turned around to see a strange, giant, red, floating creature in the distance. He wondered how the heck he didn’t notice that sooner. The creature had a terrifying face. Possibly dangerous.

Frank jumped up on the ledge of the hollowed block. “I didn’t leave this floating block to go talk to it because it looks like it would eat me.”

“Good call,” Winter King said. “Look at those chompers!”

Suddenly the red creature directed its eyeballs in Winter King and Frank’s direction. They both gasped and ducked back down into the hollowed-out block.

“Oh, breadballs!” Winter King said.

“Do you think it saw us?” Frank whispered. “You gotta check. You’re taller than me.”

Winter King poked his head above the ledge of the hollowed block. The creature was no longer looking in their direction.

He gave a sigh of relief. “I think we’re safe,” he said.

They both sat across from each other and then slumped against the walls of the hollowed block.

“So what do we do now?” Frank asked.

Winter King shrugged. “Die, I guess. We’ll slowly starve without food.”

“Well, don’t look at me.”

Winter King gave Frank a blank stare.

“I said don’t look at me!” Frank shouted.

Winter King laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you.” He tapped his chin and looked up. “Maybe stuff like food will suddenly appear in this dimension. Perhaps even more people will show up like we did.”

“So, we just wait?” Frank asked.

“Yep. We can play a game to pass the time.” Winter King checked his clothes to see if he had anything on him. He reached into his pocket and found a deck of cards. “We can play card games.”

“Oh, oh!” Frank started waving his hand. “Let’s play the one where you gotta match the pictures! I like that one.”

Chapter Text

A considerable amount of time had gone by ever since Winter King and Frank started playing card games to keep themselves preoccupied.

“Hey, can you use ice magic?” Frank asked while flipping a card over.

“I used to. Not anymore,” Winter King responded.

“Oh, okay. You remind me of someone…but I forget…”

While in the middle of their current card game, a small robot suddenly appeared above them and fell on top of the card arrangement that was set up. The robot looked at Frank and Winter King then said, “Hello!”

“What a cute little robot!” Winter King exclaimed. He picked up the robot to get a better look.

“I’m BMO!” said the robot.

Winter King set BMO back down. “I’m Simon Petrikov. Also known as the Winter King. Or just Winter for short.”

“And I’m Frank,” Frank said.

BMO started to pace around the hollowed block as if he was looking for something. “Have you two seen my travel buddies?” he asked.

“What did they look like?” Winter King responded.

“A cat, a human with yellow hair, and an old man.”

“Oh! That sounds like Cake, Fionna, and the other Simon Petrikov!”

“There’s two of you?” Frank asked.

“He’s me, but from a different universe,” Winter King said.

“Oh, okay. That’s new.”

Then Frank addressed BMO. “Hey BMO, what were you doing before you got here?”

BMO explained, “I was trying to help my travel buddies fix a remote by charging it with my heart,” then he frowned, “but I exploded.”

“Oh, dang. That stinks.”

BMO smiled. “It’s okay. Look! I’m better now!”

After hearing about how BMO arrived in this dimension, Winter King tried to see if he could make sense of their situation now.

“It seems all three of us have a common factor among us: We were interacting with Fionna or Cake before we arrived here. My assumption is the cat you met was indeed Cake, Frank,” Winter King said.

“Did they send us here?” Frank asked.

Winter King explained, “I don’t think it was on purpose. Fionna mentioned that the world she and Cake are from depended on magic to fix it. Maybe there’s something wrong with their world that’s affecting both of them. And in turn their affliction can affect people from other worlds.”

“Oh! Like a computer virus!” BMO said.

Winter King nodded. “Yes, I think that’s a good analogy.”

“Hey wait. Does that mean we’re not dead? BMO’s a robot. Can’t he just be fixed?” Frank asked.

Winter King pointed at himself. “Well I definitely died.” Then he pointed at Frank and BMO. “My theory is all of us “died” in some way, but due to interference from Fionna and Cake, our deaths didn’t stick. And we ended up in this…weird, void place.”

BMO jumped on the ledge of the hollowed block to look at the surroundings. He noticed the red creature and tried waving at it. “Hey! Over here! Hello—”

Winter King’s eyes widened as he quickly grabbed BMO and set him back down on the ground.

“Um, BMO…we’re not sure if that creature is friendly or not. So let’s try not catching its attention for now,” Winter King said.

“Oh, okay. But they don’t seem so bad. They remind me of my friend Jerry.”

Frank walked towards the scattered cards to arrange them into a deck. “Well I guess it’s back to waiting and hoping something else will happen,” he said.

“Would you two like to play some video games?” BMO asked.

“Ohh, I wanna try one.”

“Yes! I haven’t played a video game in ages,” Winter King said.

BMO opened a compartment on his back revealing 2 small controllers. Frank and Winter King each took a controller and hooked them onto BMO.

“What kind of game do you want to play?” BMO asked.

“Uhh, I’m fine with trying anything. You can pick,” Frank said to Winter King.

“Okay. Do you have any racing games, BMO?” Winter King asked.

“Yes.” BMO responded. “Get ready.”

BMO’s screen flickered as the racing game’s title screen displayed.

Chapter Text

“Haha! I’m gonna win!” Winter King said.

“Oh yeah? I’m catching up! Frank replied back.

While playing the video game, Frank heard a strange noise. He stopped focusing on the game and looked around.

“Hey, did you hear that?” he asked. “It sounded weird.”

“Nice try, but I’m not gonna get distracted,” Winter King said.

Once Winter King crossed the finish line in the video game, he toss his arms in the air and celebrated.

“Yes, I made it!” he said. “It was pretty close though. You were a worthy opponent.”

Frank jumped on the ledge of the hollowed block to see if he could find anything regarding the strange sound he heard. He noticed a portal a short distance away that started to close. It looked like three beings fell out of it. Two of them looked unconscious. The one who was awake, a skeletal creature, was making its way towards the large red creature.

“Hey you guys, look over here,” Frank called out to Winter King and BMO. “There’s someone laying on a block way over there. I think I recognize him.”

Winter King picked up BMO and walked over to where Frank was. He set BMO on the ledge and looked over where Frank was pointing.

“That’s the other Simon Petrikov!” Winter King said.

“Oh, so that’s his name,” Frank said. “I just know he used to be an ice wizard who sometimes kidnapped the princess I work for. Oh, and he kinda looked like you when he was an ice wizard, but he wasn’t as good-looking.”

“Ha! You flatter me!”

“I know that guy too!” BMO said while pointing to Simon. Then he noticed the skeletal creature. “Oh look! That’s my friend Jerry over there!”

Winter King was startled by what he saw. “Is that the Lich? It looks like it could be…”

Meanwhile Simon was beginning to regain consciousness. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, noticing the portal was still open there. When he realized he didn’t have the crown in his hand he panicked, but he saw it was a short distance away. After he picked up the crown, he heard voices calling his name from a distance. He looked around and saw three people on a floating block. Two of them were too small for him to tell who they were, but the other one looked like…the Winter King? It couldn’t be…

Just then, the phone Cake gave to him began to beep. It was a text message from Fionna. She was asking if everything was alright where he was. Simon messaged her back, saying that something came up and her world might have to wait for a bit longer. He put the phone away and left for the floating block in the distance.

Once he got closer to the floating block he realized the two smaller people standing on the ledge were a Hot Dog Knight and BMO. Specifically the BMO that exploded in the last world he was in.

“Hi, so you’re Simon? The guy who used to be an ice wizard?” Frank asked.

“Yeah.  And you’re one of Hot Dog Princess’ knights right?” Simon asked.

“Yeah. I’m Frank. I think we’re from the same world.”

“We meet again, old man!” BMO said in a playful tone.”

“BMO! You’re okay!” Simon exclaimed.

“That’s right! Hey guess what? Now there’s two of you here,” BMO said while point towards Winter King.

Simon climbed into the hollowed block and looked at Winter King with a slight glare. Winter King didn’t notice and began to cheerfully greet him.

“Hi, Simon!” Winter King said. “Fancy meeting—”

But Simon immediately marched up to Winter King and pointed at him to cut him off. Winter King held his own hands in front of himself in a defensive manner.

“Don’t ‘Hi, Simon’ me, you know what you did!” he snapped. “You transferred the crown’s madness onto Princess Bubblegum! How could you do something like that?”

Winter King scratched the side of his head and turned away looking ashamed. “Oh, uh, right…I feel pretty bad about that now…In my defense, I did cast the spell as the Ice King, so I wasn’t entirely aware of what I was doing at the time. But when I did find out what I had done, I decided to just…keep Princess Bubblegum that way when I really shouldn’t have…

“Of course you shouldn’t have! Obviously!”

“So how is she? I assume she’s back to normal?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good.”

Simon walked around Winter King a few times then poked his arm.

“What?” Winter King asked.

“How are you even alive? I saw you die! You don’t have the crown's magic anymore either!” Simon said.

“Oh that. I think something about Fionna and Cake’s world is affecting them in some way and their affliction can affect people from other worlds. That’s my theory anyway. Frank, BMO and I interacted with at least one of them before we “died” and ended up here.”

“Well Fionna’s world is different from other worlds, since it’s considered unauthorized. It’s a long story.”

“I see. In any case, my death didn’t stick. Same for Frank and BMO. As for how I’m still alive without the crown’s magic…no clue.” He shrugged.

Frank was walking around the ledge of the hollowed block and spotted the other being that fell out of the portal, lying unconscious on a lower block platform.

“Hey Simon,” Frank called out.

“Yeah?” both Winter King and Simon responded at the same time.

“Oh wait. Uh, I mean the Simon from my world.”

Winter King laughed. “Right, right. Everyone should just stick to calling me Winter for now so it won’t get confusing.”

“Well both of you can come look if you want,” Frank said. “I’m just wondering if Simon knows the guy down there.”

Winter King and Simon went over to look where Frank was pointing. Simon noticed it was the Scarab.

“Ugh…that guy again? How did he even follow me here?” Simon said.

“Oh! That’s the guy I froze in a block of ice before. Well with any luck, he’s knocked out cold. No pun intended.” Winter King said.

“Hopefully he won’t notice me from way up here if he does wake up.”

Everyone moved away from looking over the ledge.

“So where’s Fionna and Cake right now?” Winter King asked. “It doesn’t look like they’re with you.”

“They’re back in their own world.” Simon said point at the glowing spot on the back of his head. “In my noggin.”

“Really? You’re full of surprises, Simon!”

Winter King noticed the item Simon was holding in his hand by his side.

“And I see you got the crown you were looking for,” Winter King said. “So what are doing here and how did you get here? I assume you didn’t die like the three of us did.”

“I was doing a ritual so Fionna and Cake could get back to their world, then before I put on the crown I thought of Betty. That’s when a portal to her location opened and I fell through it.”

Winter King was surprised by what he said. “Betty’s been here the whole time? Where is she?”

Simon turned around and pointed in the giant red creature’s direction. “That’s her. Over there.”

“What!?” Winter King shouted, incredulous at what he just heard. “That’s Betty from your universe!? She’s not a human?”

“She used to be, but she merged with GOLB to save me and everyone else from GOLB’s destruction. So she’s GOLBetty now.”

“Hey look!” BMO said while sitting on the ledge. “Jerry’s talking to GOLBetty.”

“Uh…that ‘Jerry’ guy…that’s the Lich, right?” Winter King asked Simon. “He looks a little different from when I last saw him in my universe.”

“Yeah. That’s him.” Simon responded.

All three of them watched as the Lich was transformed into a floating block by GOLBetty.

“Oh. I did not see that coming,” BMO said. “Maybe he’s happier that way.”

Winter King turned towards Simon. “So how exactly did all this happen?” he asked. “Did she merge with GOLB recently? How did she survive over 1000 years when she was a human?”

Simon told him of the time when the crown was temporarily drained of its magic and he transformed back to himself, but was also slowly dying. He opened a portal to the past to say goodbye to Betty, but she jumped through it to enter his current time instead. She said she was going to have Simon turn back into the Ice King to stop him from dying then go and find a permanent solution to cure him of the crown’s curse. Which she eventually did.

“Wow, she was really dedicated to you,” Winter King said. “I feel bad for her.”

Simon was puzzled. “Um, why?”

“Because she wasted her time saving you from the crown’s curse. You plan on putting the crown back on again, dunking her sacrifice straight into the garbage.”

Simon became irritated. He knew Winter King was right, but didn’t need to hear it from him.

“Oh, what do you care?” Simon snapped. “You don’t even care about your own Betty. She’s ‘the dead one’ as far as you’re concerned.”

Winter King was stunned for a moment before he finally said, “Oh. Yeah…I did say that, huh?”

He moved to sit down on the floor of the hollowed block, with one knee up and both hands resting on it. He looked down at the floor, contemplative.

“You know…when I was wearing the crown, I didn’t feel anything for Betty,” Winter King said. “She was just a blip in distant history as far as I was concerned at the time. But now, without the crown, that isn’t exactly true. I guess even without the madness, the crown was still able to affect my mind in other ways…”

“Well…if the crown’s form of madness is the same for both of us, it was linked to Betty. So I guess when you transferred it to Princess Bubblegum, it dulled any feelings you had for Betty too.” Simon said.

“Yeah…that makes sense.”

Simon moved to sit on the ground next to Winter King.

“So…how do you really feel about Betty?” Simon asked.

“I loved her, of course. I was devastated when she died, but I mourned and moved on.” Winter King paused for a moment, and then said, “But I should also mention that not everything was peachy during our time together. Cracks started to show in our relationship.”

“Huh? What do you mean? What happened?”

“Well…it’s a bit of a story…”

“Story?” BMO chimed. “I wanna hear! Tell us the story!” He moved to sit across from Winter King.

“Yeah, give us the deets,” Frank said and moved to sit next to BMO.

“Hmm…alright. If all of you are really that interested,” Winter King said. “This happened over 1,000 years ago…”

Chapter Text

It was a sunny day, and Winter King—just Simon Petrikov at this point in time—was holed up in his study room. A month had passed since Simon first put on the crown and went bonkers. At the time, Betty had to run away from him so she wouldn’t get hurt. Thankfully he got the crown off and was able to reunite with Betty soon afterwards. He was hoping he could put the crown incident behind him, but sadly for him, he couldn’t. Turned out some effects of the crown still lingered. He was hearing voices and seeing odd visions, even without wearing the crown. Ever since then, Simon had become distant and isolated himself a lot. And he didn’t realize that Betty had noticed.

Betty was sitting in the living room, and had just finished talking on the phone with someone. She had been feeling hopeless lately. She and Simon used to go out and spend time together often. Now, for the past month, it seemed like Simon didn’t want to do anything with her. Was there something wrong with Simon? Did she do something to upset him? Clearly something was going on yet Simon wouldn’t tell her. Betty decided to go to Simon’s study room to try talking to him again.

She slowly opened the study room’s door and said, “Hey Simon. What are you up to?”

Simon was at his desk staring at a book page. He was startled out of his daze by Betty.

“O-oh! Hey, Betty,” Simon said. “I’m just doing a bit of research.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out together for the weekend tomorrow. Maybe go to the museum, have dinner afterwards?”

“Um sorry…I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately…maybe another time?”

Betty had a feeling he was going to say something like that. “Oh…okay.” She paused then said, “So…I got a phone call from some old friends of mine. I was thinking of making plans with them to meet up tomorrow. But if you’re not feeling well, I can take you to the doctor—”

“Oh no, no, I’m not that bad off…you should go catch up with your old friends.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“Alright…”

So Betty left the study room to call up her old friends again.

The next day Simon slept until late morning. When he woke up, he saw a note on the dining table from Betty saying she left to meet with her old friends and will be back by evening.

Soon, evening arrived. Simon had just finished preparing dinner when Betty entered through front door.

“Hi, Betty,” Simon said, “How was your day?”

“It was nice.” Betty replied. “What about you?”

“Same ol’ same ol’!” Simon laughed. “You came back at the perfect time. I just finished making dinner.”

“Great! I’m starving!”

Once they were done eating dinner, they cleared the table and started washing the dishes.

Betty sighed quietly before she finally said, “Hey Simon…we need to talk.”

“About what?” Simon asked.

“About…us.”

After they were finished with the dishes, they sat on the sofa next to each other.

“Simon…” Betty started, “are you…still interested in being together?”

“Huh? Of course!” Simon said. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s just…you’ve been so distant lately…we don’t spend much time together anymore.”

“Oh Betty, I’m so sorry.” Simon began to realize he had been wallowing in his distress for a while now.

Betty gently took hold of Simon’s hand. “I know you said you haven’t been feeling well. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the doctor? Or if something else is going on, you can tell me.”

Simon hesitated before he said, “No, no, I’m fine. Really.”

Betty wasn’t convinced, but there wasn’t much she could do to get him to talk.

“Well there’s something else I wanted to say,” Betty said. “While I was out with my friends, they helped me realize something. I have a habit of putting you above everything else in my life. To the point it’s probably unhealthy…”

Simon was confused. “What do you mean?”

“I kinda gave up my dreams, because I wanted to be with you. I was happy to assist you with your career, and help you become successful…I ended up neglecting my own goals.”

“I didn’t realize…”

“Do you remember the Australia trip I was going to go on a few years ago? Well one of my old friends is going there, and she had an extra ticket. I took up the offer.”

“Oh. When are you leaving for the trip?”

“Tomorrow in the evening.”

“I didn’t expect it to be so soon…”

Betty let go of Simon’s hand and said, “I think we need to spend some time apart.”

Simon was shocked. “Are you…breaking up with me?”

“Not a break-up. Just a break,” Betty said. “Our time apart will give us a chance to re-evaluate our relationship and how we feel about each other. I’ll be gone for 6 months, so that’s plenty of time.”

Simon was sadden by this, but decided he was going to support her. “Okay. I’ll drive you to the airport tomorrow.”

The next morning, Simon helped Betty get ready for her trip. Late afternoon, they drove to the airport. Once there, they left the car and entered the airport terminal.

“I’ll be back soon.” Betty said.

“Have a safe trip.” Simon said.

They waved each other goodbye then Betty disappeared into the crowd to make her way to her plane.

Simon started to leave, thinking that it probably was a good idea to spend some time apart. At least if his mind state gets worse, Betty won’t have to deal with it.

Six months went by and Simon was at the airport terminal looking for Betty.

“Simon!” a voice called out.

Simon turns around and sees Betty.

“Betty!” he called back.

They made their way through the crowd and hugged each other.

“How was your trip?” Simon asked.

“It was amazing!” Betty said. “I have so much to tell you!”

Once they were in the car and on their way back home, Betty told Simon more about her trip and the petroglyphs she saw. She mentioned she took as many photos as she could.

“It sounds like you had a lot of fun,” Simon said.

Betty laughed. “Yeah.”

They both sat quietly for a moment before Simon asked, “So…um…how do you feel? About us?”

“There’s certain things I want to deal with career-wise,” Betty replied, “but I’m hoping we can make our relationship work. I still want to be together.”

Simon sighed in relief and smiled. “I still want to be together too.”

Betty looked out of the window next to her, up at the sky.

“Have you heard the news of rising tensions between countries for the past months?” she asked.

“I’ve heard.” Simon responded.

“My flight almost got delayed because of it. I’m hoping it’ll peter out soon.”

“Yeah…” Simon said quietly. He stared out the window in front of him, trying to ignore the voices in his head.

Simon and Betty finally arrived home. Betty started to unpack her luggage and Simon helped her out. While doing so, Simon thought he should finally come clean with what had been going on with him.

“Betty, there’s something I need to tell you.” Simon said.

“Sure what is it?” Betty asked.

“It’s about the crown, Betty!” he cried. “My brain’s been all messed up ever since I wore that thing. I keep seeing weird visions and hearing voices!”

Betty was upset by this. “Simon! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I was afraid of scaring you off again. And I was really hoping it would be temporary…”

“So that’s why you were so distant…”

“Yeah…I’m sorry.”

“Well, maybe there’s a cure.” Betty went towards a bookcase and started to search the shelf.

“Wait.” Simon said. “I don’t…want to be cured.”

“Huh? Why?”

Simon inhaled and exhaled. Then said, “I know this might sound crazy, but the crown talks to me. Lately it’s been saying that there will be a catastrophe soon. And that its ice powers will protect me.”

“Have you worn the crown recently?” Betty asked.

“No, but I can still hear it talking to me.”

“What if the crown is lying to you so you’ll wear it again?”

“Yeah, it’s possible…but with the rising tension between countries—”

“Wait.” Betty said. “Do you hear that?”

It sounded like muffled loud commotion coming from outside. Betty and Simon went to look out the window and saw people running.

“What’s going on?” Betty asked.

Simon had already ran to his study room and took the crown from inside the safe. Then he ran outside. Betty ran after him.

They looked up in the air and saw some military aircraft in the distance. One of them dropped a large bomb.

“Oh my God!” Betty yelled.

“Betty!” Simon shouted.

He put the crown on and embraced Betty. Then he used the crown’s power to shield both of them within a large block of ice just before the bomb made impact.

Chapter Text

“A bomb? That sounds scary!” Frank said.

“Were you two hurt?” BMO asked.

“We weren’t hurt, but it was the beginning of the Mushroom War. We stuck together and did our best to survive.” Winter King said.

“Did you wear the crown often?” Simon asked.

“Not too often…I could tell the crown was starting to affect my mind little by little every time I wore it. So, I tried not to…during the beginning at least. And Betty and I did okay, for a while.” Then Winter King frowned. “Until Betty got sick…”

Simon could see where this was going. “Oh…I see…” he said sadly.

“She got sick from the nuclear fallout. The crown’s magic protected me, but I couldn’t do anything to save Betty from radiation poisoning.” Winter King paused for a moment then continued. “She wanted me to go on without her, but I decided to stay and did my best to take care of her until she passed away.”

Simon rested his hand on Winter King’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to go through that…”

“Don’t worry, I’m alright,” Winter King said while giving Simon a reassuring smile. “I’m happy I was with her in her last moments, so she wouldn’t die alone.”

Once Winter King was done telling his story, Simon started to think of his own relationship with Betty. He was pretty sure everything was good before the crown incident. There weren’t any notable issues as far as he knew. Nothing off…Nothing comparable to Winter’s relationship with his Betty…right? He decided to stop dwelling on it.

Then suddenly Simon realized something. Something he was surprised he didn’t ask Winter King about sooner.

“Hey Winter, where’s your world’s Marceline?” Simon asked.

Winter King winced as soon as Simon mentioned her name.

“Oh hey, I know her!” Frank said. “She’s cool and I like her music!”

“Yes, Marceline is cool!” BMO said. “I haven’t seen her in a long time though.”

Winter King looked down at the ground. “Same here…” he said quietly.

“Oh. Is she traveling?” Simon asked.

“I guess you can say that…I don’t really know.”

Simon started to notice that Winter King was acting weird about the subject. “Did…something bad happen?”

Winter King simply turned his head away while rubbing his neck.

“Whatever happened was your fault wasn’t it? What did you do!?” Simon started to shout.

“Oh my Glob, is she dead?” Frank asked.

“What? No, she’s not dead!” Winter King said while waving both of his hands erratically.

“Then why won’t you tell us what happened!?” Simon shouted.

“Because I don’t want to think about it!” Winter King shouted back. Then he sighed. “It was my fault, though…”

“I sense another story!” BMO chimed. “I think you’ll feel better talking about it.”

“Yeah I gotta know, now. The suspense is too much!” Frank said.

Simon, now calm, said, “C’mon Winter, tell us what happened.”

Winter King sighed heavily and dragged the palm of his hand down his face. Finally, he said—

“Fine…”

Chapter Text

The sun had just set on the Winter Kingdom. Winter King was on his throne, thinking back on recent events. It had been two weeks since he got rid of the crown’s madness and, oh boy, was it great! Using magic is so much fun when you’re sane! He was even able to make a gorgeous kingdom full of living ice citizens. Sure, the tradeoff was getting kidnapped sometimes, but getting trapped in a cage was nothing compared to being trapped in a state of insanity. And yeah, Princess Bubblegum got all the crown’s crazy, but she’s magic candy or something. She can probably handle the madness a lot better than a human can. This was the best outcome. Things were looking up. How could it possibly get any better?

Just then, Winter King’s two Ice Scouts entered the throne room and approached him.

“Your Grace, you have a visitor in the courtyard,” they both said.

“Ah, splendid!” Winter King said.

He left to go greet the visitor. When he saw who it was, he was taken aback a bit. The visitor was a young adult floating around, looking at the sights while strumming an ax-shaped instrument. And this visitor was someone Winter King hadn’t seen for a long time.

“Marceline?” Winter King called out.

Marceline turned to look at Winter King. She thought he kind of looked like the Ice King but he also looked like…well she started to think she shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

“Uh hey, what’s up?” Marceline said. “So have we met or am I just famous around here?”

“Marcy, it’s me. Simon Petrikov.” Winter King said.

Marceline was shocked. “S…Simon? You…remember me?

Winter King smiled. “Yes. I remember you and everything!”

With tears welling up in her eyes, Marceline floated to the Winter King and hugged him tightly. He returned the embrace, happy to finally see her again after long.

“I can’t believe you’re okay now!” Marceline exclaimed.

“I can hardly believe it myself!” Winter King said.

Once they were done hugging, Marceline looked at the crown on Winter King’s head.

“How did this happen? I mean, you’re still affected by the crown, but you’re yourself now.”

Winter King stood with one fist on his hip while pointing in the air with his other hand. “I fought off the crown’s madness through sheer willpower!” he said proudly. “And now I can freely use the crown’s ice magic while being in control!”

“I’ll say! Seems like you’re good at using the magic how you want already, because this place looks amazing! It wasn’t even sure if this was the Ice Kingdom, at first. It’s like something out of those Christmas specials that used to air on TV!”

“I thought I’d spruce up the kingdom, make it look more refined. I even gave it a rebrand! It’s the Winter Kingdom now and the citizens here know me as the Winter King.”

“Wow, you’re really going all out,” Marceline said with a smirk.

She continued to float around the castle courtyard, taking in the sights, as Winter King walked beside her.

“So what’s that you got there with you? A musical weapon?” Winter King asked while point towards it.

“It’s my ax bass,” Marceline said. “I made it myself from an ax.” She strummed the bass a few times.

“I bet you’re really good at playing it, huh?”

“Yeah,” she said with an air of confidence, yet was trying to stay humble. “I’ve played and sung at a couple of concerts.”

Winter King was amazed. “So you’re not just good, you’re phenomenal! No wonder you asked if you were famous around here!” Then he suddenly got an idea. “I know! How about we hold a small concert here, together?”

“Whoa, really?”

“Yeah! I can play on piano and you can play on your bass. I’ll let my citizens know. It’s gonna be a hit!”

“Sounds…cool,” Marceline said while making a finger gun gesture.

“Haha, icy what you did there,” Winter King said while also making a finger gun gesture.

Marceline laughed a bit then quickly said, “Okay, we should stop now.”

“Right! Time for preparations!”

Winter King was giddy with delight, excited that he could spend time with Marceline after so long.

After the musical performance, Winter King and Marceline roamed inside the castle while making conversation. Marceline was telling Winter King of events that happened in her life ever since he left.

“And then my dad ate my fries even though he knew I needed food to eat!” Marceline growled.

“Geez, I would have never contacted him if I’d known he’d be such a jerk to you…”

Marceline sighed. “It’s not your fault. You were just…trying to help when you couldn’t take care of me anymore.”

“Well I’m here now, so if you ever need my help with anything just ask,” Winter King said while giving Marceline a reassuring smile.

She smiled back. “Thanks, Simon.”

They passed by a window, but Marceline immediately floated back. She looked out the window, noting the unusual scenery in the distance.

“Whoa, is that the Candy Kingdom? What the heck is Bonnie doing?” she said while laughing.

“Bonnie?” Winter King asked.

“Princess Bubblegum.”

“Oh. So that’s her first name.”

“Yep, Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum.”

Winter King was starting to get worried. “So do you know her?”

“Yeah, we used to date but we had a bad breakup. We haven’t spoken since then.”

“Oh, I see.” Winter King was relieved to hear they weren’t on speaking terms.

“Bonnie’s always doing these wild science experiments and she’s obsessed with having the perfect kingdom. Looks like she screwed up big time.”

“Oh…well, that’s life I guess.” Winter King desperately wanted to change the subject. “Hey, how about I show you the rest of the castle?”

“I’m gonna go make fun of her,” Marceline said with a smirk.

Now Winter King was feeling nervous. “Right now?”

“Yeah, I might even play a little song while I’m at it.” Marceline strummed a short tune on her ax bass. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a bit.”

So Marceline flew out the window towards the Candy Kingdom.

Winter King fiddled with his fingers while clenching his teeth. But then he suddenly relaxed. “What am I worried about?” he said out loud to himself. “They’re exes. Marcy won’t care.”

A couple of minutes later, Marceline flew back to the Winter Kingdom castle in a panic.

“Simon! Simon! Where are you?” she called out.

Winter King heard Marceline and climbed up the stairs to where she was. She was near the window they were at previously.

“Hi, Marcy. So how did it go?” he asked casually.

“Simon, I just came back from the Candy Kingdom and it was awful!” Marceline said.

“What happened?”

“There’s something seriously wrong with Bonnie!”

“Oh, what do you mean?” Winter King asked, pretending not to know what was going on.

“I mean she’s all donked up in the head! She’s like a totally different person!”

“Maybe it’s just a quirky performance.”

Marceline shook her head. “Nuh-uh. Not like this. Her kingdom is a mess, Simon. Even the candy people—seriously you have to see for yourself.”

Winter King shrugged. “It’s probably something temporary that’ll fade on its own.”

“But what if it doesn’t? We should try to help her.”

“I just don’t see the point.”

Marceline started to get confused at how dismissive Winter King was being about the situation. “What? Why? If we work together I’m sure we can figure something out. And you said I could ask you for help if I needed it.”

“Helping her would be a waste of time.”

Marceline tightened her grip on the neck of her ax bass and scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Winter King tried to backtrack on what he just said. “I mean, why do you want to help her? She’s your ex and you had a bad breakup. And it’s not like you’re friends, right?

Marceline sighed and averted her eyes. “…Look, it’s complicated. It’s not like I hate her. And I can’t just leave her like that.”

“What if this is what she wants for her kingdom?”

“Trust me, it’s not. That’s way too chaotic and messy for Bonnie.”

It was apparent to Winter King that Marceline wanted to help Princess Bubblegum, but he desperately hoped he could convince her otherwise.

“Marcy, you should stop worrying about her. She’s smart; she can solve her own mess. In the meantime, you can get a good laugh out of seeing her all weird, right?”

Marceline clenched her teeth and flung her ax bass across the room in frustration. It struck the ice wall with the blade of the ax bass hanging embedded in the ice.

“No, Simon! It’s not funny!” Marceline shouted. “Why are you acting like this?”

“What? I didn’t say anything bad.” Winter King said.

“Gah, it’s that crown isn’t it? It’s still mucking up your brain!”

“Huh? No, I’m fine. Why would you say that?”

“Then what’s your problem? You’re acting like a real jerk!”

Winter King started to think it would be a good time to try and change to subject. “Marcy, let’s just relax for a moment. I know! Let’s have a snack break and talk about something else. I’ll get you some frozen strawberries.”

At that point, Marceline was both agitated and demoralized. She sighed. “Why did I even bother? I should’ve known you being back to yourself was too good to be true. I’m outta here.” She started to float toward the window.

“Huh? You’re leaving? When are you coming back?”

“I’m not coming back,” Marceline said with her back turned. She floated out the window and was now a short distance away from the castle.

Winter King ran towards the window and called out to her. “Marceline, wait!”

“You’re dead to me!” Marceline yelled, unable to hold back her tears. She quickly flew off.

Winter King outstretched his hand in vain as Marceline disappeared in the distance.

“Don’t go…”

Chapter Text

“Wow, that sounded pretty bad,” BMO said.

“You donked up big time,” Frank said.

“Yeah, I know…” Winter King said. “I was the cause of making Princess Bubblegum crazy, but I didn’t want Marceline to find out, and I desperately wanted for her to not care. I just wanted everything to be hunky-dory. But in the end, I just made her angry and drove her away.”

“And you haven’t seen Marceline ever since…” Simon said.

Winter King clutched his head with one hand and started to laugh mirthlessly. “Looking back on everything, I feel so much worse now.” Then he frowned. “I can’t believe how selfish I was, shoving all the crown’s madness onto some else just so I didn’t have to deal with it! And how could I say all those things I said to Marceline? I was so awful, of course she hates me! It’s all my fault! I ruined everything!”

Winter King buried his face in his hands and began to sob. Simon moved closer to Winter King and gently pulled him into a hug. BMO and Frank also approached Winter King to give him some comfort by patting him.

After Winter King was done crying, he took a moment to regain his composure. Then he slumped against the wall and sighed.

“I really am better off dead…” he said quietly.

“Hey look, you messed up, but you’re alive now. Maybe there’s a chance you’ll see Marceline again and you can make amends,” Simon said.

“I doubt it,” Winter King said. “She never even came back for her ax bass.” He paused then said, “In fact…at some point, I decided to make an ice version of Marcy when she was younger to take care of.”

Simon was shocked. “What? Really?”

“Yeah. To fill the void and help myself feel better about the situation. But with the magic gone, I’m sure she’s gone too.”

Winter King stopped slumping against the wall and sat up.

“The best case scenario is Marceline finds out Princess Bubblegum is back to normal,” Winter King said.

“Pretty sure Bubblegum will tell Marceline what happened.” Simon said.

“I’ll just have to accept whatever comes next.” Winter King sighed heavily then said, “I’m okay now. Thanks everyone.”

Frank and BMO moved back to sit in their original spots across from Winter King and Simon.

Winter King turned to Simon and said, “It was sweet of you to hug me.” He laughed then patted Simon’s shoulder.

“Uh, yeah sure,” Simon said. “It’s nice to see you’re feeling better.”

Winter King started to ponder for a moment. “Y’know…I realized that when we were talking, you made it sound like I’ll be able to get back to my world. But it doesn’t look like there’s a way out of this weird, void place.”

“GOLBetty probably knows a way.”

Winter King stared at Simon and blinked a few times. “Wait…you plan on…approaching GOLBetty? And you’re going to try talking to her?”

“Yeah. It was the original reason why I did the ritual in the first place. I didn’t get it right until now.”

“Do you think she’ll recognize you? Seems a bit risky…”

“I don’t know, but I want to try talking to her anyway. It’ll be my last chance to, before I put the crown on.” Simon tapped the crown that was sat beside him.

“Oh. Right. The crown.” Winter King paused then asked, “Is Marceline from your world still in your life?”

“Yeah.”

Winter King was shocked. “What? And you plan on putting the crown on anyways?

“She has her own life to live. She’ll be fine.” Simon said matter-of-factly.

“But you’re dooming yourself to a lifetime of madness! We both know how horrible it was!”

“I’m doing this to save Fionna’s world.”

“That sounds noble and all…but I don’t fully believe you. There’s another reason, huh?”

“Believe what you want.”

Winter King sighed. “So you’re really going through with this?”

“Yeah.” Simon said.

“Well, it’s your choice in the end.”

Simon tapped the crown again, then nodded.

Winter King looked at Simon then said, “Oh! But one more thing before you go…”

He leaned toward Simon and kissed him on the cheek. Simon recoiled in surprised while blushing intensely.

“Oooooh!” Frank and BMO cooed in a teasing tone.

“W-what was that?!” Simon stammered.

“A kiss of course!” Winter King said. “It’s been on my mind for a while, so I just thought I’d take my chance now!” Then he laughed.

Simon lightly touched his own cheek. “Well...if that’s all, it’s time for me to leave now. Goodbye, everyone.”

Everyone stood up and said their goodbyes to Simon. With the crown held in his arm, Simon climbed out of the hollowed block and stepped on a block platform close by.

Meanwhile, Winter King rested his arms on the ledge of the hollowed block. BMO and Frank sat on the ledge. They all watched as Simon made his way to GOLBetty.

“Sooooo, I think he’s gonna get chomped,” Frank said suddenly. “What do you guys think?”

“I’m thinking he’ll get laser-beamed and reduced to ashes. Quick and instant,” Winter King said. “If not that, I just hope it’s nothing gory. Watching my alternate self die in a gory mess would be horrifying!”

“Hmm…I think he’ll be okay!” BMO said with a smile.

Winter King patted BMO on the head. “I admire your optimism, BMO…”

Chapter Text

Once Simon made it to GOLBetty, he told her about how out of place he felt in Ooo and that he was sorry for wasting the second chance she gave him. Then he told her how meeting Fionna and Cake gave him a new purpose: to change their world back to how it used to be by putting the crown on. Unbeknown to Simon, this agitated GOLBetty.

Just before Simon could put the crown on, he felt…something…happen. He was suddenly in a white void and the crown was gone. The void changed into the inside of a library. One that was very familiar to Simon. No one else was there and all of the bookshelves were empty. In front of him was a small table with two chairs placed opposite of each other. The atmosphere was peaceful.

He saw someone emerge from behind one of the bookshelves. It was a woman wearing a green sweater, blue jeans, and eyeglasses. She approached Simon.

“…Betty? Is it…is it really you?” Simon asked.

“Hey, Simon. Long time, no see,” Betty replied.

Simon turned his head left and right, looking around the area. “Um…where are we? I mean…I know this is where we first met but…”

“We’re in your mind. It’s easier to interact with you this way.” Betty motioned her hand towards the table and chairs. “We need to talk.”

They each went to take a seat and sat at the table.

“So…what do you want to talk about?” Simon asked. Though he already had an idea of what it would be.

“Are you really going to put the crown on again? Was it really all for nothing?” Betty asked, sounding slightly distraught.

Simon looked away, feeling ashamed. “I’m so sorry for wasting your sacrifice. My life just feels so meaningless and worthless. At least once I put the crown on again, I’ll be helping someone who will make the most of their life.”

 “Tell me Simon, what’s the plan if you do put on the crown?” Betty asked. “Were you going to stay here? Go back to Ooo?”

Simon realized he never thought about that. “Um…well I guess it wouldn’t matter. I won’t be aware of anything at that point.”

“You don’t think you’ll be missed? What about Finn? What about Marceline?”

Simon preferred to not think about that too much. “They…They’re living happy lives. I don’t think it’ll matter if I’m there or not.”

“And…you’re unhappy?” Betty asked with a somber tone in her voice.

Simon clutched the side of his head. “For a while, I’ve been feeling so miserable. I don’t fit with the humans in Ooo and I’m so used to being Ice King I don’t know what to do with myself!” He sighed heavily. “And I just…I miss you, Betty. If you were there with me, things would be a lot better.”

“I see,” Betty said. “In a way, the crown is the easy way out. So you don’t have to deal with the pain.”

Simon responded by laying his head on the table and covering his face with his arms.

Betty looked at Simon quietly for a moment. Then she finally said, “I want to show you something.” She made a book appear on the table in front of Simon.

Simon lifted his head off the table and sat up. “What’s this?”

“Certain memories of mine. The pictures move, so it’s like watching video clips of my memories.”

Simon opened the book and watched as the memories played before him on the page.

“In an attempt to find a way to cure you from the crown, I helped Magic Man with a transmutation ritual. It got bungled and I ended up with his magic powers. It also made me crazy,” Betty said.

Simon flipped the page.

“I tried using my new magic abilities to my advantage to cure you. I tried to adjust the crown’s circuitry, which failed. Then I tried the old-fashioned jogging your memory approach, that didn’t work either,” she said.

He flipped the page.

Betty clutched her head with a mirthless smile on her face. “It was so frustrating! It was maddening, it was saddening, I just wanted you back to normal! I was so laser-focused on saving you that nothing else mattered to me. I was willing to take drastic measures to cure you.”

Another page flip.

She continued, “I ended up on Mars and went through a trial. Everyone around me was telling me I should stop obsessing over saving you and start focusing on myself. Annnd I didn’t listen. Which lead to me summoning GOLB. And you know the rest.”

Simon closed the book and it disappeared from the table. He stared at the table for a moment, speechless from what he watched and what Betty said.

“You went through a lot of trouble just to save me,” he said. “Was it the magic that made you obsessed?

“Hmm…yes and no,” Betty said. “If anything, the magic just made it worse. Because even way then, I was kind of obsessed with you.”

Simon was shocked and frowned. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah. Thinking on it now…our relationship was kind of lopsided,” Betty said. “I just went along with whatever you wanted to do and I was happy to assist you with your work so you could be successful. I gave up on my own goals so I could be with you.”

Simon started to realize it now. “Like your trip to Australia…”

Betty nodded.

“I wasn’t very considerate was I? I’m really sorry Betty. I should have done more to support you and your goals, like you supported me,” Simon said.

“We could have made better choices, but I don’t regret our time together, and I’m glad I was able to save you.”

“You’ve done so much for me…” Simon said quietly.

“I hope you don’t throw your life away for someone else’s sake. Your life is important too. And sure, you might feel sad and out of place right now, but I know you’ll be able to live a fulfilling life without me. It’ll just take a little work.”

Simon smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. I…I think I’ll be okay. And I don’t want your sacrifice to be in vain. I’m going to try and do what I can.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Betty said, smiling back.

Simon and Betty stood up from their seats and walked away from the table. Then Betty stopped in her tracks.

“Oh. One more thing. That man who looks like a handsome version of Ice King…he’s you, right? But from a different universe?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Simon replied.

“There’s something odd about him.”

Simon chuckled. “His personality—”

“No, I mean his physical state. There’s something odd about it.” Betty tapped her chin. “It’s hard to tell from this distance, though. I’ll need to get a closer look.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll let him know.”

There was a flash of white light. Simon looked around. The location changed to a familiar bus stop. Betty was now wearing a trench coat and carrying a briefcase. The bus arrived and she approached the bus’ door entrance. Then she turned to face Simon.

“So…this is it…” Simon said.

Betty nodded. “Goodbye Simon. You were a wonderful experience.”

“You were…everything…”

Chapter Text

Meanwhile from Winter King, BMO, and Frank’s perspective, GOLBetty zapped Simon with a beam. Then he suddenly froze in place with his eyes closed while holding the crown above his head. A few events had already taken place since then. The Scarab woke up and tried to kill Simon. GOLBetty stopped that from happening by crushing the Scarab, turning him in to multiple beetle-like creatures. Those beetles scurried into the portal in Simon’s head to get away from GOLBetty as quickly as possible. At the moment, Winter King, BMO, and Frank were waiting to see if Simon would start moving again.

When Simon finally started to move again, he noticed his phone ringing and picked it up. Fionna told him of the havoc the Scarab was wreaking in her world but she wanted to fight for her world as it was without magic. Simon considered putting the crown on anyway, but ultimately tossed it into the abyss. He became frustrated over the circumstances, then GOLBetty made him cough up Fionna’s world from out of his head. It took the form of a dandelion puff with wish-making properties. He used the portal in his head to give it to Fionna and she used it to make her world officially part of the multiverse, saving it from being eradicated by the Scarab.

After everything settled, Simon turned toward Winter King, BMO, and Frank’s direction and waved for them to come down to the platform he was on. Winter King picked up BMO and Frank in his arms and made his way to where Simon was.

“Hey, you didn’t die!” Frank said to Simon.

“And you didn’t wear the crown!” Winter King exclaimed.

“I knew you’d be okay,” BMO said proudly.

Winter King laughed. “I was half right though. I predicted you would get zapped. I was wrong about it killing you.” He set Frank and BMO on the ground. “So what happened?”

“Betty spoke to me through my mind,” Simon said. “We talked and she convinced me not to wear the crown. And I got some much needed closure with her.”

“That’s great! I’m happy for you!” Winter King said as he patted Simon on the back.

Suddenly the phone in Simon’s pocket beeped. He checked the phone and looked at the message. “It’s a text from Fionna. She said everything is okay.”

“Fionna? Tell her I said ‘hi’!” Winter King said cheerfully.

Simon sent a message on the phone and looked at the response. “She said ‘OMG he’s alive? Tell him I’m sorry for killing him, I didn’t mean it’. There’s a little sad face, too.”

Winter King chuckled. “It’s okay, I know it wasn’t intentional. I’m all better now!”

Simon sent another message on the phone. “I told her what you said and she sent a happy face. Oh wait, I just got another text.” He quickly read it. “Uh, here. Cake wants to tell you something,” he said as he handed the phone to Winter King.

“Oh? I wonder what it could be,” Winter King said as he took the phone.

Winter King and Cake messaged each other for a bit. Then Winter King looked at Simon with a sly smile.

Simon raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Winter King walked over and put his arm around Simon’s shoulder. He showed Simon a string of phone messages:

(Winter King) << Cake? It’s Winter King. I have the phone now. >>

(Cake) << Hey it’s Cake! Is Simon still there with you? >>

(Winter King) << Yep! >>

(Cake) << Now kiss >:3c >>

After Simon read the messages, he averted his eyes away from the phone. “Um…”

“I kissed you, now it’s your turn to kiss me!” Winter King said as he pointed at his own cheek.

“You gotta,” Frank said.

“Yes, you gotta!” BMO said.

Simon cheeks began to develop a reddish hue. He shuffled away from Winter King, then covered his face with one of his hands.

“I know you want to. I can tell you’re blushing.” Winter King teased in a singsong tone.

Simon tried to use both of his hands to cover his face.

Winter King walked towards Simon and stood next to him. “Aww…don’t be shy, Simon. I’d love a kiss from you!”

Simon dropped his hands from his face and stared straight ahead for a moment. Then he quickly kissed Winter King on the cheek and turned away. “There. Happy?”

Winter King smiled. “Why yes, I am! I bet you are too!” He sent a message on the phone and chuckled at the response. “Cake is pretty happy about it too!” He handed the phone back to Simon. “It’s funny when you’re flustered.”

Simon took the phone and put it back in his pocket. “Okay, okay, enough about that—”

His words trailed off when he looked at GOLBetty. It seemed like she was…amused?

The only thing Simon could muster in response was, “Uhhhhhh…”

Winter King laughed and patted Simon’s shoulder a few times. “See? Even she finds it funny!”

Simon could feel his cheeks getting warm again. He walked away and paced around to try and keep his composure. “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine—”

“Yes you are, Simon,” Winter King said in a flirtatious tone.

His cheeks now flushed, Simon walked up to Winter King and clutched his shoulders. “I’m trying to calm myself down and you’re not helping!”

Winter King chuckled. “Okay, okay...”

Simon walked away then closed his eyes. He took a deep breath then exhaled.

“All better?” Winter King asked.

“Yeah.” Simon said.

“Great!” Winter King walked toward Simon and stood next to him. “So, what now? Do you know if there’s a way out of here?”

“Yeah, GOLBetty can—“ Simon suddenly realized something. “Wait, I almost forgot! When Betty and I were talking, she mentioned that there was something odd about your physical state.”

Winter King frowned. “Oh…I guess I should’ve expected this since I should be dead without the crown…” He sighed in resignation. “So…am I going to spontaneously die?”

“I don’t know. Go stand in front of GOLBetty so she can check.”

Winter King approached GOLBetty and stood in place. He waved at her and smiled nervously. GOLBetty stared at him for a moment. Then she lifted her finger and the fingertip began to glow. She lightly tapped Winter King on the head with her finger and he instantly fell into a trance, closing his eyes.

Simon walked up to Winter King and waved his hand in front of Winter King’s face. Then he addressed Frank and BMO.

“So that’s what happened to me earlier?” Simon asked.

“Yeah. Except she didn’t tap you on the head, she zapped you with her laser eyes,” Frank said.

“It’s like you fell asleep standing up. Or like you were pretending to be a statue while holding the crown up,” BMO said.

After a minute or so, Winter King opened his eyes and looked around, becoming aware of his surroundings again. Then he turned toward Simon.

 “…I saw Betty,” Winter King said. “I mean, I know she’s not Betty from my universe, but…it threw me for a loop, seeing her. It was strange…but kind of nostalgic in a way…”

“What did she say?” Simon asked.

“Well, she confirmed that I’m no longer under the crown’s influence. She would’ve notice if anything was affecting my mind.”

Simon smiled. “Hey, that’s good!”

“She also explained why I suddenly ended up here. It applies to Frank and BMO as well.”

“Really? What happened?”

Winter King placed his finger under his chin. “Due to the unauthorized nature of Fionna’s world, Fionna and Cake had a nullification effect that sometimes activated when they came into contact with people from other universes. When Frank, BMO, and I came into contact with them and their nullification effect activated, it booted the three of us out of our own universes and we ended up here: a place that exists outside of the multiverse. The nullification effect also negated our deaths.”

“Is that what’s affecting your physical state?” Simon asked.

“That’s the most fascinating part!” Winter King said excitedly. “So while I should be dead without the crown’s magic, the nullification effect caused something strange to happen when it negated my death. Now my physical state is imitating some of the life-giving effects of the crown so I stay alive.”

Simon tilted his head. “Does that mean you’re immortal even without the crown?”

“Not quite. It’s more of a middle ground. I have a slightly longer lifespan and I’ll age slowly, but Betty said I’m essentially human at this point. I just don’t look the part.”

“So this ‘Winter King’ appearance is now permanent for you?”

“Yep! Which is fine by me. I’m handsome either way.” Winter King laughed.

“Wow, sounds like everything is okay for you then!" Simon said. "You’re cured from the crown and you get to live the rest of your life without it.”

Winter King grinned and nodded. “Looks like Fionna accidentally killing me ended up saving me. How’s that for irony?”

Simon looked around the area and up in the air. “Well I guess we’re done here. Is everyone ready to go?”

“Wooo, we’re going home!” Frank shouted in excitement.

Simon kneeled down and held his hand out for Frank to walk on. Then he jumped into Simon’s blazer front pocket.

“Waaaait!” BMO yelled. He ran towards Winter King and tugged at the bottom of his pants. “Take me with you!”

“Huh?” Winter King crouched down to BMO’s level. “You want to live in my world?”

“Yes. Now that Jerry is gone, there’s no one else to hang out with in my world. That can get boring, so I think I should live somewhere else. I like you, so I want to live with you. Let’s be friends!”

“Are you sure? I don’t think I have a place to live in my world right now…”

BMO smiled. “That’s okay. It will be like a quest for us to find a new home. You could use the support. And there’s a chance for me to see Princess Bubblegum and Marceline again.”

“Okay then!” Winter King said in delight. He carried BMO off the ground and stood up. “Happy to have you, BMO!”

“Hooray!” BMO shouted.

Winter King walked over towards Simon and gave him a thumbs-up. Simon smiled at him, then he looked up at GOLBetty.

“We’re all set,” Simon said. “Goodbye, Betty. And thank you.”

GOLBetty scooped them all up in her hands and sent them away from her dimension. As they flew further away from the void, GOLBetty’s dimension shrunk and disappeared in the distance.

They eventually entered an area full of floating rocks. After touching one of the rocks, Winter King and Simon realized the rocks represented different universes. They both searched through different rocks until—

“I found my world!” Winter King said. Then he looked at Simon. “Looks like this is where we part ways.”

Simon nodded. “I hope things work out for you.”

Everyone said their goodbyes to each other. Then Simon and Frank continued on their way to find their own universe.

Winter King held BMO out in front of him. “Ready to go?”

“Let’s goooooo!” BMO said waving in excitement.

And with BMO in his arms, Winter King entered his home universe.

Chapter Text

It was evening and Marceline, while invisible, was on her way to the Candy Kingdom with a bag of magical items in hand. For the past one hundred years, every now and then, she would check on Princess Bubblegum and her current state. So far, nothing changed. Sometimes Marceline would find some magic items and try and see if they could cure whatever was affecting Bubblegum. So far, nothing worked. Still, Marceline couldn’t help but to hope that Bubblegum would return to normal somehow, some way.

Once she made it to the Candy Kingdom, she was surprised by what she saw. Everything looked a little more organized. The Candy People looked more messed up than usual, but they were lined up against a wall near the entrance of the mountain castle. Marceline took a peek inside. She saw someone standing at a large drafting table working on something. Marceline, recognizing the person, was overjoyed and relieved. She turned visible and dropped the bag of items.

“Bonnie!” Marceline exclaimed. She quickly flew towards Princess Bubblegum.

Before Bubblegum could say anything, she found herself caught in a hug. “Huh? Marceline?”

“I can’t believe you’re finally back to normal after all these years!”

Bubblegum grimaced out of embarrassment. “Oh…you saw me like…that. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s okay, go ahead and laugh…”

Marceline stopped hugging Bubblegum and floated back. “Wha— no Bonnie, that wasn’t funny. You we’re all messed up and crazy in the head. I tried to help you, but nothing worked. I was super worried!”

Bubblegum was surprised. “O-oh…I guess I thought you wouldn’t care…”

“Of course I care!” Marceline said, trying to prevent herself from tearing up.

Bubblegum looked away and rubbed her hand awkwardly. Then she looked at Marceline and smiled. “Well…thanks for trying to help me. And it’s nice to finally see you, again.”

“Same here,” Marceline said, smiling back and rubbing the tears from her eyes.

Just then, someone else entered the room to address Princess Bubblegum. “Madam, I gathered all of the Candy People.”

“That’s great. Thanks, Peps,” Bubblegum said.

Marceline was surprise that he looked unscathed. “Peppermint Butler? How is he okay?”

“Oh, hello Marceline,” Peppermint Butler said. “A hundred years ago, after a small vacation, I came back to this mess. When I tried asking Princess Bubblegum what was going on, she was acting all weird. Then she said I needed to help her test an invention. I don’t remember anything after that.

“I found his pieces in a box labeled ‘Oops, gotta fix this guy up later’. I’m guessing I broke him while I was crazy.” Bubblegum said.

“Oh. We’re you just completely knocked out for the past one hundred years?” Marceline asked.

“Yes,” Peppermint Butler said. “I think I fared better than the other Candy People because of that, though.”

“Yeah, thankfully Peps was an easy fix,” Bubblegum said. “Fixing the rest of the Candy People is going to require more work, but it’s doable. It’s what I’m working on right now.”

“I’ll be outside inspecting the rest of the kingdom, Princess. Let me know if you need anything,” he said as he left the room.

 “So Bonnie, how did you turn back to normal?” Marceline asked.

Bubblegum pressed her palms together and smiled. “It was due to a brave knight from another world. She broke the spell that was cast upon me.”

“Wow, that’s lucky.”

“Yes, very fortunate.”

“Do you know who cast the spell on you?” Marceline asked.

Bubblegum placed her hands on her hips and scowled. “Yeah. Ice King did it. Or Winter King. Whatever he was calling himself. He transferred all of the crown’s crazy into my brain.”

“What!?” Marceline shouted angrily. “Ugh! No wonder he didn’t want to help!”

Bubblegum tilted her head. “Did something happen?”

“Yeah. This was a hundred years ago and I’ve avoided him since then. When I saw there was something wrong going on with you, I asked for his help, but he didn’t want to and was being a real jerk about it. He didn’t even want me to help you! Now I know why!” Marceline started to float towards the exit.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna tell him off, that’s what!” Marceline said while scowling.

Bubblegum chuckled and waved her hand up and down. “You can’t do that. He’s dead.”

Marceline stopped in her tracks and turned around, stunned. “W…what?”

“Yes, once the crown stopped working, he crumbled into dust. He won’t be a problem for anyone, anymore.”

“O…oh…” Marceline hunched over and floated back toward Bubblegum.

Bubblegum noticed Marceline’s mood turned glum. “What’s wrong?”

Marceline sighed. “Well…it’s just…a long time ago he was just Simon. He was kind and he took care of me when I was a kid, back when I was alone and the world was all messed up. It’s like…yeah I’m mad about what he did to you, but I didn’t want him dead. So I’m pretty bummed about it.”

“Oh. I can see why you still hold some affection for him.” Bubblegum walked toward Marceline and placed her hand on Marceline’s shoulder. “You have my condolences, Marcy.”

“Thanks Bonnie. I wish it didn’t end like this, but maybe it’s for the best…I guess he was too far gone.” Marceline looked around the area. “So… uh, did he die here or somewhere else?”

“Here in the castle,” Bubblegum said. “Peps swept up his remains already. They’re in a trash bag somewhere in the castle.”

“I can deal with his remains for you,” Marceline said. “I feel I should give him a burial somewhere or something. I don’t know.”

“Do you want the dust right now?”

“No, I’m gonna go find a burial spot first. I’ll be back later.”

“Okay. See you soon,” Bubblegum said as Marceline took her leave.

Chapter Text

Winter King was lying on the ground on his back with his eyes closed. When he felt his forehead being poked, he slowly opened his eyes.

“Wake up, sleepyhead. We’re here!” BMO said as he stopped poking Winter King’s forehead.

Winter King stood up and saw a large body of water in front of him.

BMO ran up to the water to look at his own reflection. “This is a big lake. It’s very clean.

“This is where the Winter Kingdom used to be,” Winter King said. “Nearly everything was made of ice and now all of it melted.”

BMO jumped on top of a nearby rock then looked around. “Hmm…I spy…something…red!”

He jumped down from the rock and ran off. Winter King followed him until BMO stopped by an item near the edge of the water.

“Oh! It’s Marceline’s ax bass,” Winter King said. He picked up the ax bass and plucked the strings. “It’s a little damp, but I think it’s okay.” He placed it on the ground away from the water to let it dry.

“We should look for more things,” BMO said. “I’ll search over here and you search over there.”

Winter King walked around the perimeter of the large body of water to see if he could find anything salvageable. Then he noticed a faint shadow on top of the water. He looked up and saw someone floating above in the air. As the person slowly descended to the ground, Winter King backed up.

“Marceline…?” he said quietly.

“…You’re alive…” Marceline said. She floated up to Winter King and gave him a hug.

Winter King stood there rigid with his arms to the side. He felt awkward that this was her response to seeing him after what he did to Princess Bubblegum. Does she not know yet?

Suddenly Marceline shoved him away with enough force that Winter King stumbled and fell on his back.

“Bonnie told me what happened. This whole time it was your fault she was all crazy in the head! Why would you do that?! What’s wrong with you?!” Marceline shouted angrily.

Winter King sat up from the ground. “I was being selfish so I didn’t have to deal with the crown’s madness…and I guess the crown was still affecting my mind more than I initially thought…”

Marceline’s angry expression relaxed slightly. She raised an eyebrow, but continued to listen.

“Marceline, I’m sorry for what I did to Princess Bubblegum and for my callous behavior back then. I understand if you’re still mad at me. I’ll move far away from here so you never have to see me again. And—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Marceline held her hand out in front of him.

“It’s good to have you back, Simon,” she said.

Winter King was stunned at her response, but he took hold of Marceline’s hand to help himself stand up.

“I’m surprised you’re not still upset with me…” he said.

Marceline shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I feel better about you being back to yourself after your apology, especially since that dumb crown stopped working.”

“I still caused a lot of grief though…Is there any way I can make it up to you?”

Marceline thought for a moment. “Hmm, for now, just apologize to Bonnie. It’s her brain you donked up.”

“Yes, of course,” Winter King said. “But…would it even be okay for me to approach her? I don’t think she’ll be very happy to see me…”

“I’ll let her know what’s going on ahead of you, first. In the meantime, you can wait just outside of the Candy Kingdom.”

“Okay.”

“Great! Let’s get moving.”

“Oh, um…wait,” Winter King said. “I have something for you. It’s over there.”

Marceline followed Winter King and stopped when they reached a small pile of items.

“Hey, it’s my ax bass,” Marceline picked it up. She strummed the strings to play a short tune, then smiled. “It’s still in good shape too.” She turned to Winter King. “By the way, I already realized I forgot it, but I was too mad at you to come back for it.”

“Oh. That’s fair,” Winter King said. “Um…I gave your bass to a younger ice version of you I created in the meantime, though.”

Marceline found that odd but was amused. “Sheesh, Simon. You missed me that much?”

Winter King twiddled his index fingers together and smiled nervously. “Maybe?”

Just then, BMO ran towards them while adding another item he found to the pile.

“Hey, you found Marceline! Hello, Marceline! Long time, no see!” BMO said.

“’Sup?” Marceline said.

“His name is BMO. He’s from another world,” Winter King said. “That world had a Marceline too which is why he knows you. I met him in a weird void place after I died. Oh and he died too. Uh…it’s kind of a long story.”

Marceline was fascinated. “Wow, you gotta tell me all about it later then.”

Winter King nodded. “Absolutely!”

“For now, let’s go to the Candy Kingdom.”

Winter King held BMO in his hands while Marceline transformed into a large bat creature. Then she picked up Winter King and flew toward the Candy Kingdom. When they got close, Marceline landed and transformed back so she could drop Winter King off just outside of the kingdom.

“I’ll come back and let you know if Bonnie is okay with seeing you,” Marceline said.

“Oh, can you take BMO with you?” Winter King asked while holding BMO out towards her. “He wants to see Princess Bubblegum.”

“Sure!” Marceline took BMO and looked at him. “I’m guessing there was a Bonnie in your world too?”

“That’s right!” BMO said.

Marceline and BMO continued on into the Candy Kingdom. They approached the entrance of the mountain castle and entered the room.

“Hey, Bonnie. I’m back.” Marceline said as she set BMO on the floor.

BMO ran up to Bubblegum. “Princess Bubblegum! Long time, no see!”

“Hey, Marcy. Welcome back.” Bubblegum picked BMO up and set him on a stool next to her drafting table. “I like your little robot.”

“That’s BMO. He’s from another world.” Marceline said.

“Wow, we’re getting a lot of interdimensional travelers, huh? So how did your search go?”

“Okay, so you’re not gonna believe this…but Simon is alive.”

Bubblegum stopped her work and gave Marceline a blank stare. Then she suddenly laughed. “Ohhh. You must have seen the other Simon. The one from another world. He left earlier, but I guess he came back.”

“Uh actually, it’s definitely Simon from this world. You know…Winter King,” Marceline said.

“What?!” Bubblegum shouted angrily as she slammed her fists on the table. “How is he alive?!” She shuffled through some papers, clenching her teeth. “I didn’t even get time to set up any defenses!”

Marceline floated toward Bubblegum and patted her shoulder. “Whoa Bonnie, it’s okay. He doesn’t have the crown and you said it stopped working, remember?”

Bubblegum dragged her hand down her face and calmed down. “Right.”

“Also…he wants to apologize to you.”

Bubblegum looked at Marceline, unimpressed. “Seriously?”

“I know, I know. But he’s being sincere.” Marceline said. “He’s more like how he used to be, the Simon I remember. I’m not saying you have to forgive him or anything, but I think you deserve an apology at least. So what do you think?”

Bubblegum thought about it for a moment. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to hear what he has to say. She wasn’t gonna expect anything to come from it though. At least she can let off some steam. She shrugged with her hands. “Fine. Bring him in.”

Marceline left and after a few minutes came back with Winter King.

“Hello, Princess Bubblegum. I bet you’re surprised to see me,” Winter King said, while meekly waving at her.

Bubblegum responded by crossing her arms and squinting her eyes.

Winter King cleared his throat. “Princess Bubblegum, I deeply apologize for projecting the crown’s madness onto you and making you crazy. It’s completely understandable that you’re angry with me—”

“Yuh-duh!” Bubblegum snapped.

“—but if there’s any way I can make it up to you, just say the word.”

Bubblegum threw her arms in the air. “How about you fix my danggone kingdom!?”

“Fantastic! Where do I start?”

Bubblegum was taken aback and dropped her arms. “Huh?”

Winter King scratched his head. “Well, unfortunately I can’t magically poof your kingdom back to its original state. But if there’s anything I can do to make fixing your kingdom easier for you, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes to get everything restored to a state that you’re happy with. Um, but only if that’s what you want from me, of course.

Bubblegum mulled it over. She paced a bit then looked at the papers on her drafting table. Then she looked back at Winter King.

“Okay, I accept your offer,” Bubblegum said. “You’ll mainly deal with demolition, clean-up, and some other tasks I’ll assign you. Peppermint Butler will be your supervisor. He’ll give you a work outfit as well.”

“Wow. I’m actually surprised you took it,” Marceline said.

“Well, I’m being practical. He handles the stuff I don’t want to deal with, while I get to focus on science, engineering, and construction work. Plus the sooner I can fix my kingdom, the better.”

“Sounds good to me,” Winter King said. “Sooo, should I leave and come back tomorrow?”

“Actually I think it’s best that you live here for now. It’s easier to have you on-call that way,” Bubblegum said. “I even have a room for you. It’s a good thing I haven’t torn it down yet. Follow me.”

Bubblegum lead Winter King to the upper floor and into a room that was completely empty of furniture aside from a large cage. Winter King stood in the room, feeling awkward, darting his eyes left and right.

“O-oh…it’s uh, the room you used to lock me up in…” Winter King said.

“Yes, you’re already accustomed to this room so it’s perfect for you,” Bubblegum said. “It will serve as a reminder for why you’re here in the first place.” Her smile and calm demeanor never faltered as she spoke yet it was evident her words were dripping with hostility.

Winter King chuckled awkwardly. “I guess I’ll just sleep in the cage?”

Bubblegum sighed in annoyance. “There will be a bed in here before the day is over. You’ll have to wait for any other furniture, though.” She tapped her chin. “Hmm, I think that’s everything for now. Don’t get too comfortable living here, because I’m kicking you out as soon as my kingdom is how I want it.”

“Understood.”

Bubblegum left the room, then Marceline entered the room with BMO in her hands.

“Hey Simon, I got some of your stuff and brought it here. It’s outside,” she said.

Winter King rubbed his upper arm. “You didn’t have to go through the trouble, Marcy…”

“It’s fine. BMO found and piled the stuff earlier, so why not?”

“I’m great at scavenger hunting,” BMO said.

Winter King chuckled. “You are! So, what do you think of staying here for a while?”

“Hooray! Ooooh, I’m gonna explore then!” BMO jumped out of Marceline’s hands then ran off to explore the castle.

“Good luck with everything, Simon.” Marceline said as she left the room.

Winter King sat on floor, then laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. He touched the top of his head, still amazed that he was cured from the crown. Then he thought about what had happened since he returned back to his universe. Marceline is back in his life and Princess Bubblegum is giving him a chance to make up for all the trouble he caused for her and her kingdom. It was hard for him to believe he was getting a second chance at life, but he was grateful all the same. He closed his eyes and smiled.

Things were looking up.