Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the streets of a large city where people could be seen endlessly a lady wearing a fancy dress adorned with beautiful jewelry strode out of a store with a handbag in hand. The lady had blonde hair and fair unblemished skin. The lady smiled as she took a step forwards before she felt someone much shorter bump into her.

"S-sorry." The lady looked down to see a wretched looking child apologizing. The child wore tattered a filthy coat and hat over ripped pants and a dirty shirt. From the child's sunken cheeks, they seemed highly malnourished and not over 10 in age.

The lady took a step back as a look of pure disgust overtook her face. "Ew, how disgusting! Why did someone so dirty have to bump into me?" The lady asked with a deep frown before she pushed the child away with her heels. "Shoo, get away from me!" The child quickly ran away, pushing their hat over their face to hide it as they did. The lady rolled her eyes before turning to her handbag. "It feels lighter than usual." She muttered before looking inside.

Almost immediately, a loud scream resounded throughout the streets as a certain child grinned while shoving goodies in their pockets. "Jeez, what a banshee." Said the child with a smile as they removed their hat to reveal shoulder length brown hair. A girl with a big smile. "At least that tool bought me dinner. Could even buy a better brand of beans."

Suddenly, the girl felt dizzy as her vision turned blurry. She quickly headed towards the closest alleyway and sat down amongst the filth and trash clutching her head. "I need to eat something." She said as she started coughing, drops of blood flew stained the pavement with every cough.

"I don't care! Find that brat or else!" The girl heard the rich lady she robbed yell. The voice was getting closer.

"Stupid unfair world." Muttered the girl before her coughs became more frequent with more blood coming out. "Can't eat, can't live. I hate you." She muttered as breathing grew weaker and weaker.

"Found them!" She heard before she drew her last breath, cursing this world in her mind one last time.

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In a wasteland of a ruined world full of oozing monsters wandering about, piles of snow were riddled across the ground aplenty as the cold weather of winter overtook the air. In one such pile there layed a skinny sleeping girl with blue skin and long luscious hair white as snow that covered her from her head to her knees.

The girl groaned as she started to wake up. Her arm moving to her head as tired expression overtook her face. She felt absurdly cold, yet not uncomfortable one bit. "Is this heaven?" She slowly opened her to see a world of ruins and death. The girl blinked in confusion before rubbing her eyes and taking a better look, yet the scene didn't change. "Definitely hell." She deadpanned. "Why couldn't that rich stooge be sent here instead! I didn't even have the chance to live!" She yelled angrily.

The girl frowned, crossing her arms as the unfairness of the situation weighed on her mind before noticing her odd coloured skin and hair. She let out a noise of confusion before grabbing a lock of her hair and letting out a sound of confusion as the hair fell apart and reformed in her hand. Her hair wasn't just snow coloured, it was physically made of snow! Magic regenerating snow.

"Uhhh, what?" The girl asked in a mix of shock, fear and confusion. She quickly pinched her cheek, noting its texture. It felt mostly normal aside from the freezing cold temperatures. "What am I?" She muttered as she stood up, inspecting her new body that looked to be the same age as before. "Y'know, don't I kinda look like ice queen from Adventure time with a different hairstyle?"

Her own words lit a lightbulb inside her head. The girl quickly looked over the horizon before noticing many familiar figures in the distance. Oozers. It was at that moment that the girl realized she was not in hell. She was somewhere much worse. "Pre canon adventure time? I only watched that show a little at the orphanage! Okay, maybe a lot more than little. But why am I here?!" She yelled before quickly covering her mouth as she realized her mistake. Alas, it was too late. The oozers had heard her.

The ice girl quickly dashed away in fear, her heart beating rapidly panic settled in her mind. The girl quickly slammed into someone, causing her to fall onto her back. The girl quickly looked up to see an oozer standing right on front of her. The girl's breathing quickened to the max as her brain went into overdrive. The creature growled loudly as it towered over the little girl.

The snow girl put her hand in front of her in fear and closed her eyes shut as she waited for the worst. But it never happened. The let out a sound of confusion before opening her eyes to see the oozer encased in a block of ice. The girl looked all around her. She was the only living being here. No one else could've frozen the monster. Interrupting the girl's thoughts was the sound of growl and groans of the oozers heading to her location. She quickly stood up and ran as fast as she could.

Adrenaline rushed through her brain as she felt the energy of her new healthy body. It was not sluggish nor malnourished and came with ice powers. She jumped and spun around without feeling as if she was about to die. It was an odd feeling to her. She felt alive. Excited. "Ice powers, huh?" The girl pondered with a smile as she ran. 

There were only few beings with ice powers in this world. She didn't have a magic crown, so that left only one answer to what she was. 

"Ice elemental."

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"Oh man, don't I look super fancy right now?" Muttered the ice elemental cheerfully as she inspected her new clothes which were composed of a nice bluish black vest over a white button up shirt with bluish black leggings and skirt as well as black shoes. "Beats running around naked all day."

The girl stood in the dressing room of a ruined clothes shop where no presence other than her was in sight. She quickly jumped out of the dressing room before looking around the shop with her hand on her chin. Her eyes fell on a brown shoulder bag and quickly lit up. "Now I get why those rich pricks like shoppin' so much." She said putting on her new bag with a smile.

The ice elemental, now decked out in new clothes sat down on a spinning chair and hummed. "If I'm really an ice elemental, then Pim must've died somehow." She muttered, puffing her cheeks before blowing a raspberry. "Who cares? Less trouble for everyone." She said with a chill smile before she heard her stomach growl. "Me hungry. Me want food." She grumbled in a caveman accent patting her stomach. The icy girl quickly jumped off the chair with a determined expression. 

Walking out of the store, the girl carefully looked around and checked if the coast was clear. Seeing no oozers in sight, the ice elemental trudged forwards eyeing the building signs as she passed by not noticing where she was going. Suddenly, the girl felt something small bump into her. She looked down to see what it what and her eyes widened.

It was a little girl with peculiar features. Black hair, pointy ears and fangs. The girl stared at her in shock and fear. The ice elemental sighed before extending her arm to the younger girl. "Hi there. Who might you be?"

The little girl seemed to relax upon hearing the ice elemental speak actual words. "M-marceline." She said, confirming the elemental's suspicions.

The icy girl's eyes narrowed aas she inspected little Marceline. It felt incredibly surreal to be meeting a cartoon character. "Well, Marcy, do you have any adult I can take you to?" She asked in a serious tone as she kneeled to the younger girl's level. Marceline shook her head. "She doesn't look old enough for when Simon leaves. She must not have met him yet." She muttered to herself with a hand on her chin. She groaned, worry overtaking her mind as she feared letting the little go alone in this universe of infinite danger. "This is why I'm a solo street urchin." She whispered with a frown before signing. "Alright, Marcy, until you find a reliable adult I'll come with you. Remember, this is only temporary so don't get attached."

Marceline nodded before she and the ice elemental walked together side by side through the ruined streets. "Are you a fairy?" Asked Marcy curiously.

"No, fairies have wings and wear silly clothes." Replied the ice elemental calmly without glancing at Marceline, causing the half demon to go silent.

After a short pause, Marceline spoke once more. "Is your hair made of snow?" She asked curiously and the icy girl nodded. "Can I touch it?" The ice elemental groaned tiredly under the question before Marceline asked another question. "What's your name?"

The ice elemental froze. "I...I don't know." What WAS her name? The girl clutched her head, her fingers digging into her snow hair, as her mind raced to answer Marceline's question. Before she could find an answer, she felt a tug on her vest. She turned to Marceline and saw the girl looking nervous as she gestured towards a nearby group of oozers. Her nervousness quickly spread to the ice elemental as she gazed at the undead beings before the two slowly walked out of sight.

Suddenly, the sound of of a can being kicked by the young ice elemental and rolling across the pavement resounded all over the streets attracting all nearby oozers. "Marcy! Run!" Yelled the ice girl quickly as she stood her ground in front of all the oozers. As Marcy refused to run away, much to the elemental's dismay, the ice girl extended her arms forwards as sweat rolled down her cheeks. But nothing happened. "C'mon, ice powers activate!" She yelled as the oozers dashed towards  her viciously, causing her to clenched her teeth with her mouth wide open in fear when nothing happened. "Abracadabra!" She exclaimed in fear only for nothing once more as the oozers were a little over arm's length. "JUST WORK ALREADY YOU STUPID TURD OF A POWEEEERRRRRRRR!!!!" 

Before she knew a blast of ice shot from her hands, one so powerful the ice froze all the oozers and multiple buildings as well as part of the road. The ice elemental panted as the rush of adrenaline refused to fade. Meanwhile, Marceline had a starry eyed look on her face. "So cool!" Exclaimed the half demon before she heard a peculiar sound come from the ice elemental.

Without warning, the ice girl began puking  water mixed with snow non stop.

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Later that night.

The sound of a lighter could be heard in an empty apartment building as the ice elemental lit a campfire using a pile of clothes and some rubble. The two girl sat down on some stools in front of the fire as the ice elemental pulled out a can of beans "You don't have anything against beans, do you?" She asked tiredly before Marcy shook her head with a smile

"Hey, you said you don't know your name. Does that mean I can give you one?" Asked Marceline cheerfully as the ice girl looked highly unimpressed. "How about "Miss Snowflakes"?"

"Highly original." Deadpanned the ice elemental sarcastically before continuing as she used a knife as a can opener. "But ice elemental names are little different. They have names based on their personalities. I know one called Urgence and another called Patience. So unless you find a fitting name, drop the subject." The ice elemental's words didn't seem to discourage the half demon girl, but only encouraged her further. "Let's just eat the beans and sleep." She said handing Marcy a spoon she found.

Marceline nodded before the she dug into the beans with the ice girl, thinking of a possible name for her new friend as said friend stared at their hands with a sigh.

Suddenly, the two heard a scream familiar to the icy girl. Out of curiosity, the elemental decided to take to approach a nearby window and peek through. Almost immediately, the ice elemental dashed towards Marceline and tightly covered her mouth. Marcy struggled to get out of the ice girl's grasp before noticing the horrified expression on the older girl's face as her body shook as if it was in the middle of an earthquake. It wasn't long before she saw a large shadow fly past them and into the dark sky of the night.

"H-he's dead. He killed him!" Muttered the ice elemental as she sweat bullets. The girl's eyes fell onto Marcy. Thoughts raced across the girl's mind as she stared at the half demon before she hugged her tightly. "I-... I'll protect you. I'll keep you safe. I'll be diligent and learn all the magic and you'll be okay."

Marceline gasped as a lightbulb lit inside her head. "That's it! Your new name! Diligent! Diligence! Diligence Snowflakes. Do you like it?"

"Y-yeah. I do." Replied Diligence with a weak smile as she hugged the poor girl in front of her.

Meanwhile, across from the apartment where the two girls were there layed a corpse of a man with glasses that looked as if it was drained of all life and blood. Two holes were on the corpse's body.

The man was Simon Petrikov and he was gone. Dead at the hands of the Vampire King himself.

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Tell me if I should continue this.

Toodles.

Chapter Text

Beneath a grey and cloudy sky and in front of a ruined supermarket where trash and empty shopping carts were littered around aplenty, a duo of young girls stood firmly staring at the sign which had fallen to the ground. "Alright, Marcy, remember what we talked about?" Asked the older blue skinned and white haired girl in a serious tone as she narrowed her eyes.

The younger girl with gray skin and black hair nodded calmly. "Stay close and be lookout for oozers while you look for stuff." She said with a serious expression. 

Diligence nodded as she took a nearby shopping cart. "And be stealthy. Always check the road ahead BEFORE moving." She added before the half demon nodded prompting the duo to silently entered the supermarket hiding behind the cart. "Alright, first things first, let's find some canned veggies. With some luck, they wouldn't be spoiled." Whispered the ice elemental as she eyed the inside of the building for dangers with Marceline adorably mimicking her. "Coast is clear. Operation Beanstalk is in order."

The duo tip toed through the supermarket with absolute silence, until the ice elemental saw a certain item on display. Diligence gasped in excitement, causing Marceline to turn to her friend in a panic before seeing the ice elemental with mushrooms in her hands. Marceline tilted her head in confusion. "Mushrooms?" She asked curiously.

"Not just any mushrooms! Edible supermarket mushrooms!" Replied Diligence with a bright smile as she quickly took a plastic bag off the floor and started filling it with mushrooms. "They're easy and really fast to grow." She said as she pulled a mushroom from the bag and held it in front of Marceline's face. Marceline grabbed the mushroom before Diligence continued. "We just take it apart, put it in some dirt and spray it with some water. Then boom! Easy farm. Expert level street urchin trick right there." She said before frowning as she placed the bag inside the shopping cart and Marceline put the mushroom in her pocket. "Just never put them in a park or else they might get taken away." She said bitterly with a deep frown as she zoned out.

Marceline's eyes sparkled at the seemingly great piece of information. "Woah!" She exclaimed excitedly, bringing the ice elemental back to reality. "What else do you know?" She asked cheerfully, causing the ice elemental to flush blue with in embarrassment at the girl's admiration.

Diligence rubbed the back of her neck with a small smile before speaking. "Oh. Hehe." She muttered as a fuzzy feeling spread inside her body. "Well, I guess I could teach you some other stuff." She said before a big smile spread across her face. "Y-yeah! I'll teach you everything I know!" She said placing her hands on her hips proudly. Quickly, she noticed a box of chicken soup mixture next to her. "Did you know chicken soup helps with fevers?" She asked throwing the box in their cart.

"Cool!" Marceline stared at Diligence with starry eyes as she took in the information, causing the ice elemental to smile proudly before the she spoke once again. "How does it do it?" She asked cheerfully.

"I don't kn-" the ice elemental said before covering her mouth. Diligence froze with nervous widened eyes. "I DEFINITELY know this. It's uhhhh-" a sound of confusion left her mouth as a nervous bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. Her eyes darted around for any answer before her gaze fell onto her hand and her blue skin. "M-magic! It works with magic! Yeah!" She said, causing the younger girl to giggle cheerfully. Diligence laughed along before the duo started heading towards the canned veggies section with smiles on their faces. However, all of a sudden, an oozer stepped into their path. The two froze in their tracks and shut their mouths tight as they saw the oozer. They quickly hid behind the nearest shelf before Diligence started staring at the oozer intently.

"We should go around-" muttered the ice elemental as she stared at Marceline holding the hem of her skirt worriedly. She stared at Marcy intently for a few seconds before flashing a smug smile to the girl. She grabbed a nearby box of oat meal and spoke. "Hey, Marcy, check this out." Diligence quickly threw the box into a far away stack of cans of tomato soup, causing a loud sound that attracted the oozer before grabbing Marceline's hand quickly rushing past the distracted oozer with their shopping cart in tow. "What a dum dum. Am I right, Marcy?"

Marceline giggled at Diligence's words, causing the ice elemental to giggle along. "C'mon, let's go pack up these cans." Said the snow haired girl cheerfully as she took a can of beans off the shelf. The two started shoving canned veggies off the shelf aplenty until deemed enough. "Hmm. We could go back," she said before turning to the half demon girl. "or we could risk it for some canned meat."

Marceline went silent. "We should go back. What if those things find us?" She asked worriedly, causing Diligence to go silent. The ice elemental turned to their shopping cart which had enough food to last them quite a while before turning to Marceline. A thousand calculating thoughts swirled inside the ice elemental's head before suddenly being silenced.

"Psh! C'mon! We can take care of those bozos. Have you seen how dumb they are?" She asked with a confident smile before she ruffled the worried little girl's hair. "Relax. We'll be in and out in a minute." With their choice locked in place, the two girls headed towards the shelf with the cans of meat only to be met with multiple oozers blocking their path. Marceline gripped Diligence's dress in fear before the ice elemental flashed a smug smile. She quickly grabbed a nearby item, planning to do the same trick as before.

But as it flew in the air, an oozer stepped between her and the stack of items Diligence planned to hit. Both Marceline and the ice elemental's eyes widened and their jaws fell in shock as the item cleanly hit the monster in the side of the head. The oozer turned to their location with a deep growl. The duo quickly hid behind their cart, hoping to not get seen as they waited for the worst. But it never came. "Phew. Like I said: dum dums." Said Diligence before noticing an oozer staring right at them. "Marcy, run. Now!"

Without hesitation, Marceline started running as Diligence took the shopping cart and pulled it with her as she followed little Marcy. The two ran together towards the entrance as the oozers followed them with Diligence lagging behind as she dragged around the weight of their groceries. "Leave the cart!" Exclaimed Marceline worriedly.

"What!" Exclaimed Diligence with an angry expression and a deep frown as she continued to run with the cart. "No! Our food's in there!" She snapped as the oozers creeped up behind her as she ran. She quickly pointed her palm towards the oozers with a scowl and yelled. "Ice powers go!" Nothing happened, causing the ice elemental to frown harder. "Dang useless power!" She grumbled before she heard a scream ahead. Her head snapped to the source of the scream to see Marceline on the ground as an oozer loomed over her. "MARCY!" The ice elemental yelled in a panic before she turned to the shopping cart and quickly threw one of canned vegetables at the oozer threatening the little girl, hitting it in the head.

The attack only slowed the oozer for so long before it focused back on Marceline. Diligence looked around her for any answer before with widened eyes and grit teeth until she admitted what had to be done. The ice elemental quickly grabbed a vegetable can and a box of chicken soup mix from the cart before kicking it towards the oozers as hard as she could before dashing towards her little companion. Diligence raised the canned vegetables high in the air as she jumped towards the oozer before smacking the monster in the head as hard as she could with the can. "MARCY! RUN!" Yelled Diligence after the oozer fell to the ground from the attack before quickly trying to get up only for the ice elemental to smack it once again before running away and putting the chicken soup mix in her vest to keep it place as well as throwing the new deformed can of veggies at the swarm of oozers.

The two girls ran as fast as they could, panting for breath as the oozers relentlessly followed them to no end. However, the entrance was just in sight. It was a race between who'd reach their target first and the two girls seemed to be losing. Marceline glanced behind her and her eyes widened as fear overtook her little heart. She tried to run faster but her tiny body failed her. Diligence saw this and quickly aimed her palm behind her downwards. "C'mon. C'mon. Please! Snow! Snow! SNOW!" Without warning, a powerful burst of wind shot out of Diligence's palms sending her flying into Marceline and taking the two of them out of the supermarket. Without letting herself catch her breath, Diligence quickly grabbed a metal bar from nearby broken shopping cart and put it over the entrance handles, effectively locking the door.

Both girls quickly began to relax and started catching their breath. "Are...we safe?" Asked Marceline in between pants as the exhaustion caught up to her. Suddenly, loud knocking came from the entrance as dozens of oozers swarmed the transparent door vigorously trying to catch them. The two girl screamed for their lives at the top of their lungs before fleeing the terrifying scene with their exhausted bodies. Only once they were near a ruined doll shop away from the supermarket and any oozers did the two girls finally stop. Marceline let out a sigh of relief before she heard a quiet sob. She quickly turned to its source to see tears falling down Diligence's cheeks. "Hey, it's okay. We're safe now!" The half demon said trying to cheer her up.

"*hic* it's not that. I-...i messed up." Replied Diligence slamming her fists into the pavement. "*Sniff* We had enough food for weeks and I RUINED IT! *Sob* Now all we have is this stupid box of chicken soup!" She yelled tearfully as she pulled the box out of her vest before curling up into a ball on the cold pavement. "It felt nice to have someone who looks up to you. It made me feel important. I wanted you to think I was cool, but I flunked it like an idiot!"

Marceline approached the crying ice elemental silently before giving her a small nudge as she pulled something out of her pocket. "We still got this!" She said showing Diligence a single mushroom. "We can still make a farm just like you said." She continued cheerfully causing the ice elemental's tears to stop. Diligence sniffed as she stared at the mushroom before letting out a small smile. The ice elemental's eyes fell the nearby doll shop. 

"Yeah." Diligence said wiping her tears away with her hands before gesturing towards the doll shop. "Hey. How about you go pick yourself something nice from over there? As a treat." Marceline's eyes sparkled before she headed towards the doll shop and started rummaging around. Meanwhile, Diligence stared at her hand that wasn't holding chicken soup mix and her lips quivered. Snapping her out of her trance was Marceline tapping her side.

"Dilly, Look!" She cheerfully said holding up a doll Diligence knew very well. "His name is Hambo!"

Diligence smiled softly. "Welcome to the squad, Hambone."

"No!" Exclaimed Marceline with a pout causing Diligence to raise a brow. "Not Hambone. Hambo!" The ice elemental smirked mischievously as she stared at the pouting little girl.

"Okay, Himbo."

"Hambo!"

"Sure thing, Bambo."

The angry yet adorable expression that adorned little Marcy's face sent Diligence into a fit of laughter that seemed to quell to fury of the half demon.

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Later that night in an abandoned apartment littered with dust, Diligence sat on a red couch as Marceline slept next to her under a blue blanket with her new stuffed friend.

The elemental let out a dejected sigh before she stared at her hands. "All this power and no way to use it. They make it look so easy in the show." She muttered bitterly before her eyes widened as an idea flew into her head. The girl quickly got off the couch and rummaged around the apartment until she found a pencil and a piece of paper. On the piece of paper she used the pencil to draw a circle before splitting into 4 equal quarters. Diligence hurried back to the couch before she brought the drawing to her face stared at intently. Quickly, she began to feel sleepy. She closed her eyes, letting the sleepiness take her away.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in an empty void standing on a circular platform made of ice and in front of her was a being with large white owl like hair and a white bushy beard as well as a long nose and bird like legs. The being wore deep blue robes and was staring at Diligence with a deep frown.

Under the heavy pressure of the being's gaze, Diligence could only nervously say one thing. "Sir Urgence Evergreen, I need your help."

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Hope this chap was good cause I was sick while making it.

Toodles.

Chapter Text

"Well well well. If it isn't the otherworldly worm that has wriggled its way into our soul." Said the ancient ice elemental crossing his arms with a frown as he stared at the little ice elemental in front of him with a disapproving gaze. "Feeling proud of yourself?"

Diligence chuckled nervously with a weak smile as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Nooo-" she said nervously trailing off as she monitored Urgence's stoic expression for any sign of approval, yet the ancient elemental's frowning expression remained unchanged. "-yeeessss? No? I mean, yes! Wait, I pick no! Wait- is this a trick question?"

The elder elemental cross hopped the little girl's head causing her to hold the top of her head in pain. "Stupid." Deadpanned Evergreen, causing young Diligence to scratch her snow hair in embarrassment as she flushed deep blue. "Luckily, I've taken pity on your situation. I'll teach you the ways of magic."

Diligence's eyes widened in surprise before she smiled. "Really? That was easy." She said cheerfully. "When do we start?"

"Slow down, ingrate." Replied Evergreen crossing his arms in displeasure. "I have some conditions first. Three to be exact. Number one, don't talk so casually to me. It's Master Evergreen to you." He said with a prideful huff, causing Diligence to cringe before pausing as she stared at the ice platform beneath them intently before a determined expression made its way onto her face

"Pride doesn't feed you on the streets." She said calmly. "I agree, Master Evergreen."

"Good." Replied Urgence calmly as he puffed his chest in pride before holding two fingers up to his student's face. "Number two, I expect you to live up to your name. I want diligence not lollygagging. Get your head in the game." He demanded in a serious tone, prompting Diligence to nod. "Now, last but not least, number three. Defeat the Lich."

Diligence froze. "What was that again?" She asked unable to process what she had just heard. He wants her to WHAT?! The Lich?! The guy who would stop at nothing to kill everything?!

"I've peeked into your memories. And found many interesting things." Said Evergreen calmly as he put his hands in front of him and cast an illusion of a writhing comet falling towards a mini Evergreen. "That thing killed me. I want to prove that was just a fluke of circumstances." He said before pointing at Diligence. "When that fiend gains a body, you must defeat him."

Diligence's jaw almost hit the floor hearing the request. "B-but it's the LICH! Do you know how hard it is to even HURT that guy?!" Exclaimed the young elemental, worry and anxiety clear in her voice. "I can't do that!"

"Don't worry, child." Said the ancient elemental confidently. "With my guidance, you'll be able to easily kick his raggedy butt AND show that I'm better." He said gesturing towards himself proudly before extending his hand towards the younger ice elemental. "Do we have a deal?"

Diligence paused as she stared at Evergreen's hand. She racked her brain, weighing her options. It was either run around like a headless chicken in this dangerous world full of monsters, unable to utilise her powers or accept Urgence's offer and be forced to fight a world ending threat. It was clear to the young elemental what she should choose. "Master Evergreen, I accept." She said shaking the her fellow elemental's hand.

"Good. Now let's get on with our first lesson. How to use your ice powers." Declared Urgence calmly as he zapped a chair of ice for himself with his powers and sat down, not bothering to give little Diligence one or even time to process the lesson starting. It took a few seconds for the girl to recover from her surprise and quickly focused on her new teacher. "Magic is madness manifest. To use magic, a being either has to be born magical with the madness being their existence itself like elementals or has to be consumed by madness. Your problem is that only your body contains madness. As a being from outside this world, your mind is severely lacking in this department. Luckily, after rummaging through your memories, I have the perfect solution to this."

"Really?" Asked Diligence, her wide with shock. "That was fast." She said blinking in amazement before the area around her starting shifting wildly causing her to lose her balance. She quickly turned to Urgence hoping he'd have an answer only to find the ancient elemental missing. The area and surroundings continued shifting wildly, causing Diligence to fall onto the ground in a dark alley. "Huh?" She let out a sound of confusion as she looked around her. It was no longer the void with the ice platform, but an alleyway that seemed to be from her old life. "Why does it feel so familiar?" The girl suddenly noticed that her clothes and skin were back to how they were before.

The girl began to hyperventilate as fear gripped into her heart. "What? Was- was all that just a dream? B-but-" She asked clutching her own head, not believing that it was all just a dream. "Evergreen. EVERGREEN! Can you hear me?!" The girl called out, but nobody answered before her body suddenly collapsed onto the pavement. A familiar feeling of weakness spread across her body as blood escaped her mouth. The coldness of death wrapped around her body like snake venom seeping into her veins. Her brain was barely able to think through the pain of the frost assaulting it. It was only then that girl realised what was going on.

This was the day she died, except it was different. She couldn't remember being this cold last time. It was equal parts painful and reassuring. She wasn't back to her horrible old life. She was still Diligence Snowflakes, the ice elemental. Taking refuge in this belief the girl stopped struggling, letting the coldness of death take over and accepting it as her own.

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Meanwhile, in the apartment where Diligence and Marceline chose to settle for the night, a small half demon woke up with a long yawn. Through the window, one could see dark clouds extending to what seemed to be forever. This weather seemed to never change recently. The little black haired girl rubbed one of her eyes tiredly as she held Hambo with her other hand before she suddenly felt a sudden wave of cold air brush past her. The little demon quickly hugged her doll to warm up before turning to the source of the cold wind. It was Diligence. Her mouth letting out cold white vapor with each breath. She could see the elemental's face dark blue as if she had her version of a fever. 

Marceline quickly approached the ice elemental, ignoring the cold wind around her and put her hand over the older girl's forehead. It was even colder than before! A lot colder! It really was as if she was having a fever! "A reverse fever." Marceline muttered with a frown, hugging Hambo before a determined expression made its way onto her face. She quickly dashed towards their bag of supplies and pulled out a box of chicken soup mixture. "Dilly said it helps with fevers."

With great determination, the little girl cut open the box and poured some of the mixture into a bowl along with some water before mixing them together vigorously. Marcy frowned as she stared at her 'soup'. She looked around the apartment until she found the kitchen or more precisely, the oven. The girl quickly placed her soup on the stove and turned up the heat.

As the soup started to heat up, Marceline paced around anxiously before rushing to the living room to check on her sick friend only to find the area covered in a thin layer of ice and snow. Little Marcy quickly rushed back to the kitchen and turned the heat up to the max on the stove. The flames of the stove grew large as they encompassed the soup. Growing so much they touched some tissues next to them, setting them on fire. Marceline yelped in fear as the flames spread from the tissues to the cabinets to the rest of the kitchen.

Surrounded by fire and flames, little Marceline hugged Hambo tightly, protecting him from danger as the flames gluttonously encompassed the kitchen leaving the little half demon nowhere to run. Marceline shut her eyes tight as she hugged Hambo hoping for a miracle to save her as tears fell down her cheeks. And that miracle manifested in the form of a powerful gust of icy wind burst through the kitchen door like a hurricane. The howls of icy wind attacked the flames like a vicious beast, putting it all out in one swift move.

"MARCY!" Diligence burst into the room with a worried expression, quickly searching the room for the half demon before finding her crying in the middle of the ashes. The ice elemental dashed towards Marcy with a tight hug before speaking. "What happened?!"

Marceline looked at the ground in shame before she spoke. "You were having a fever so I made you chicken soup." She said dejectedly, causing Diligence to turn to the now burnt soup.

"I guess this is a good time to teach you how to handle fire." Remarked Diligence calmly as her hand was covered in a blue glowing light. "Especially now that I can control my powers."

Marceline gasped at the sight of Diligence's powers. She couldn't help but stare in awe as a little Marcy made of ice appeared on top of the ice elemental's palm. 

"so cool!" Marcy exclaimed, not knowing the consequences of Diligence's choices. But for now, she and Diligence had a long talk about cooking and the dangers of fire.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

Later that night.

Marceline layed on a couch with Hambo next to Diligence in a new abandoned apartment where she and the ice elemental settled down for the night. The little half demon slept soundly and peacefully under a blanket with her doll until she felt a wave of freezing cold air brush over her skin. Unable to handle the unbearable coldness, little Marcy quickly wakes up to hear a grunt of pain coming from next to her. From Diligence. "Dilly?" Asked the little half demon in concern before a blast of ice was fired from Diligence's hand towards the wall, freezing it. Marceline's eyes widen in shock upon seeing Diligence cast magic in her sleep. "DILLY!" Exclaimed Marcy, trying to wake up the unconcious elemental before shaking her around to no avail.

Suddenly, ice began encroaching onto the couch tearing it apart as it summoned icicle over it. Marceline screamed as she jumped off the couch, away from the cold's influence. The desperate screams finally reached the elemental's ears as she woke up with widened eyes. "MARCY!" She exclaimed examining the area for threats only to see a terrified Marcy shaking in the corner and ice covering the walls and the couch. She quickly realised what was going on. "Oh no. Marcy, I'm so sorry. I don't know how this happened." Said the ice elemental clutching their hair. "I- i was just practicing with Evergreen and-"

Diligence went silent as she saw Marceline fear was not subsiding. She stared at the floor in shame she heard the little girl speak. "You have to stop!" Exclaimed Marcy with a small sniff that caused Diligence's lips to quiver. "Whatever that was, stop!"

Diligence paused before she clenched her fists. "I- I can't." Replied the ice elemental calmly. "Training with Evergreen is the only way I can get a grip on magic. I can probably ask him for a spell to stop whatever that was."

"But he's hurting you, Dilly!" Exclaimed Marceline, sadness and anger swirling inside her like a hurricane as she hugged Hambo. Diligence froze as she averted eye contact, unable to refute the little half demon's words. "Evergreen's bad!"

"I- I need to do this Marcy." Replied Diligence with a dark expression as she stared at the floor. "Before I became an ice elemental, I was human." She said dejectedly as tears began to fall down her cheeks like waterfall. "I was a street rat who couldn't do anything to change her fate. I was weak." She said clenching her fists and teeth in anger before a determined expression made its way onto her face. "But now, I have power. I can help us both. I want to keep learning. I want to keep getting stronger. I NEED this, Marcy. Please!"

Marceline stared at Diligence's face through her tears. A million thoughts racing through her mind. Interrupting her thoughts was a hug from said elemental. "You're like the sister I never had, Marcy.  Please, for the two of us, let me do this." Pleaded the ice elemental, causing the half demon to sniffle anxiously. 

This unknowingly lit a fire inside the little half demon's soul. A fire to grow stronger along her older sister.

xxxxxXxxxxxx

I think I overdid it with the descriptions in this chap, but what do y'all think? Also, is abusive mentor Evergreen too much?

Toodles.

Chapter Text

On a throne in dark room lit up by torches a large figure sat with a gleeful smile staring out of the window at the cloudy skies above. The figure wore a white tux and pants as well as a golden crown adorned with three ruby coloured gems. The figure had the head of a lion with a humanoid body. It was none other than the Vampire King himself. "Haha." He chuckled as he stared out at his handy work. "Marvellous. Finding this crown was the best thing to ever happen to us!" He said standing up and walking towards the window as several vampires flew across the skies. "No longer do we have to fear the sun. I can walk outside whenever I want and nothing can stop me."

As the king of vampires caressed his skin with glee, he heard a peculiar sound in the distance as a bright blue hued light assaulted his eyes. The Vampire King turned towards the source of the light to see a beacon of light flying into the sky before crashing into the clouds above. Before the vampire could process what happened, the clouds started disappearing at an almost instantaneous pace, leaving the vampired roaming about prey to the sun's scorching light. The Vampire King stumbled backwards as he avoided the sunlight in fear.

"What?" He asked in shock before he quickly raised his arm towards the window, ordering the crowns power to cover the skies once more. But nothing happened. "How could this be?" He asked in shock before taking the crown off of his head and staring at it intently before putting it back on and firing a small blast of ice from his hand. The crown's power was still there yet it couldn't bring back the clouds. "It yielded to that energy? There's  a being this crown obeys more than me?" He narrowed his eyes as he stared out through the window in the direction in where the blue light appeared.

"You can't hide forever, blue light. I will find you wherever you are."

xxxxxxXxxxxxx

Meanwhile, on a rooftop amongst the buildings of the ruined city, two girls stood staring at the clear and skies above as if waiting for something. A taller girl seemingly 15 years old with long white snowy hair and blue skin wearing a dark blue sweater with a snowflake on the front and black pants hummed as she stared at her handiwork before speaking. "Looks like they won't be coming back for a while."

"Those clouds lasted FIVE YEARS, Dilly!" Exclaimed a shorter girl seemingly 10 years of age with black hair and pale skin wearing a light brown sweater and blue jeans. "There's no way they were normal."

"Yeah, in hindsight, they're probably made using the ice crown." Replied Diligence nonchalantly, causing Marceline to let out an audible sound of confusion. "It's a crown that gives you ice powers like me. The Vampire King has it."

Marceline's jaw hit the floor as she stared at Diligence. "Why haven't you told me this earlier?!" Exclaimed Marceline in a panic, causing Diligence to blow a raspberry.

"I'm more focused on this ugly sweater. Why do I have to wear this thing again?" She asked staring at the sweater with a frown.

"Don't change the subject!" Snapped Marcy crossing her arms. "There could be survivors who died to vampires because of this!" Diligence went silent as she averted her gaze with a frown, yet her eyes held no guilt or shame.

The ice elemental sighed, a puff of icy vapor escaping her mouth, before she could speak she and Marceline heard an oddly familiar voice speak. "UNHAND me beast!" The two girls raised a brow at the voice before looking over the edge of the rooftop to see who was screaming. The two were greeted with the sight of an oozer holding a penguin with an exposed green brain. "Do you not know who I am?! I'm Orgalorg! I've destroyed world!"

"That's one weird penguin." While disgust spread across Marceline's face as stars lit up in Diligence's eyes. The ice elemental jumped off the roof slide of ice appeared under her as ice skate shoes made of ice manifested onto her feet. Diligence elegantly skated on an ice path that extended in front of her each second. The moment the ice elemental made it to the oozer, she raised one leg up before spinning in a circle letting the blades of her skates cut off the monster's arms in one swift cut. With Orgalorg secured, the ice elemental quickly fired a blast of ice that froze both the oozer and his amputated arms.

Orgalorg sweat dropped at the sight of a new powerhouse before the girl in front of him grabbed him into a hug. "Gunter!" She exclaimed cheerfully as her snow hair fell onto the penguin's brain. Orgalorg quickly used his brain's...arms to push the snow away as he yelled.

"I'm not Gunter, I'm Orgalorg!"

"Not after I'm done with you." Replied Diligence with a smug smile.

"Dilly, get away from that thing!" The two heard Marceline yell as she dashed towards them in a panic. 

"But it's a Goonter, Marcy!" Exclaimed Diligence dramatically as she made puppy eyes as hugged the penguin with the leaking green brain. "How can I leave him all alone in this dangerous world?" Marceline stared at Diligence in disgust as Orgalorg shared the sentiment.

"I've destroyed worlds!"

"I can fix you." Diligence whispered into the penguin's ear with a smile before Gunter started flailing his tiny limbs around in a panic.

"UNHAND ME, WITCH!" He screamed in a desperately before turning to Marceline. "You! If you get me away from her, I'll lead you to the other humans!" He bargained desperately. "There's even a nightosphere demon in a suit with them!"

"DAD?!?" Marceline gasped in shock and panic before she grabbed her hair as worry overtook her face. "Oh no! He must be trying to eat their souls! We need to go stop him!"

Diligence froze before smiling awkwardly as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Do we though?" She asked with an awkward shrug. "I've heard that people emit lots of CO2 which is bad for the environmen-"

Before Diligence could finish her sentence, Marcy had started dragging her and Gunter away hoping to not be too late.

xxxxxXxxxxx

Hunson Abadeer, the Lord of evil, stood in front of multiple humans wearing animal like hats, some looking soulless, with a smile as he held his family axe in his hand and over his shoulder. So many souls ready to be eaten. "I should go check on Marceline after I'm done." He muttered nonchalantly as the terrified humans backed away in fear. "Maybe I should save some souls for her too." He said with a hand on his chin before a lightbulb lit up above his head. "This gives me an idea!" He exclaimed cheerfully before turning to the humans with a smile. "Alright! You guys wanna have your souls for as long as possible, right? Then follow me!" He said, vomiting out the souls he ate back to their original owners before he walked flamboyantly in a certain direction. Leading the humans onto his twisted parade.

Reluctantly, the humans obliged. Especially the ones who just regained their souls. Their fear of the soul eating demon in front of them crushing over any thought of running away. As they followed their captor silently, the demon suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Marcy!" Exclaimed Hunson cheerfully as he saw his daughter running towards him.

"Dad! What are you doing?!" As Marceline and Hunson started talking, Diligence's gaze shifted elsewhere; it moved towards the humans. A look of disdain spread across her face; one the humans clearly noticed as they flinched under her hate filled gaze. They were the ones Marceline befriended in the show, yet they still were not spared from Diligence ire.

"Wow. Where did all this aggression come from?" Asked Gunter curiously in the hands of Diligence as her grip on the penguin tightened. "Not a fan of little guys like them?" Gunter paused. "Know the feeling." He said with a small nod. "Weaklings like them trotting around like they own everything." He said calmly, causing Diligence's expression to sour. "Oh when I get to squeeze the juice out of their bodies." 

Suddenly, Diligence's expression shifted to one filled with disappointment. "Why did I think a heartless monster would understand me?" She asked with a sigh causing the small tyrant to chuckle. "Make like beans and can it, Goonts." She added, closing the penguin's beaks with her hand as her mind wandered elsewhere. By the time she zoned back in, Hunson was already gone and Marcy was holding his axe. "Uhh, why do you have that?"

"He gave it to me in case i got hungry or whatever." Replied Marceline rolling her eyes as she managed to lift the axe. "He also wanted a nibble out of your soul again." She added with a sigh as Diligence's eyes fell onto the now relieved humans resting behind Marceline. They even had babies amongst them. Noticing her friend's gaze, Marceline turned to the humans and went silent as her brain gears started turning. Suddenly, a lightbulb lit up above her head. "Why don't we join up with them?" 

Diligence coughed after choking on air hearing what Marceline had said. "What?"

"Y'know, take 'em with us?" Asked Marceline, nudging Diligence's side with a smile. "Like you did to me?"

Sweat fell down Diligence's face as she nervously stared at Marcy with a weak smile. "I- uhh, I don't think-" she said awkwardly only for Marceline to frown, causing the ice elemental to chuckle. "I'm- uhh. I'm gonna go on a walk!" She exclaimed loudly with a weak smile before running away with Gunter under her armpit as night started to fall. 

Once she was alone and sufficiently away from Marceline and the others, the snow haired girl sighed and cupped her face dropping Gunter in the process. The ice elemental took a deep breath before putting her hands in front of her, creating a swan made of ice. "Beautiful. Beautiful and fancy. Don't think about the bad stuff." She said before she kicked the swans head off. "I'm thinking about the bad stuff!"

"What's gotten into you?" Asked Gunter in frustration as he massaged his temples. "One moment you're annoying and the other you're confusing."

Diligence sighed. "I just... don't like people okay?" She said, sitting down on the pavement. "The only people I like are Marcy and you when I inevitably turn you good."

"That's sad even for me," Replied Gunter rolling his eyes in exasperation. "And I've torn millions of families apart on a whim."

Diligence chuckled, causing Gunter to freeze before she burst into laughter. "Th-that's so cute!" She said cheerfully, madness seeping into her voice. "My parents threw me away! They weren't even strapped for money and just got rid of me! And the orphanage, oh boy. The tv they had was the only thing to treat me like a person. Left and right, people pushed and kicked me down. And it's not just humans. Demon's, Vampires, whatever; they're all the same. Filth who kick the weak when they're down. This apocalypse was the best thing to happen to me and the only people I'll EVER trust are me and Marcy."

Gunter went silent, staring at the ice elemental in with widened eyes. "That's...the best thing you've said all day!" He exclaimed cheerfully. "I also enjoy the solo act. The others either sucked or picked on me-" it wasn't until Gunter had finished his sentence that he realised what he had said. "Wait! I didn't-" he said flailing around, but it was too late; a giant teasing smile spread across the ice elemental's face. "You didn't hear anything! No one can know Orgalorg got bullied!"

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me, little Goonter."

"It's not." The two heard an assertive voice declare from the other side of the road. The two turned to this figure and Diligence immediately got into a fighting position. The figure was large with the head of a lion and a golden crown on their head. It was...

"Vampire King." Muttered Diligence with a frown as her hands lit up with ice magic before her eyes landed on the ice crown. She could feel the powerful ice energy it emitted. It made her eyes light up. If she could control it, how powerful would she be? How unstoppable? Safe to say, no one would be able to hurt her again. Memories of Ice King flashed in her mind as she silently weighed the risks.

"My fame precedes me." Remarked the Vampire King calmly, snapping Diligence out of her trance.

"What do you want?" Asked the ice elemental narrowing her eyes with a deep frown.

"You." Answered VK bluntly with a low growl. "My crown yielded to your power-" before VK could say anything else, he was forced to teleport away from an ice blast coming his way to atop a building. "I see. I hoped to solve this peacefully."

Diligence glared at the Vampire King vigilantly, wait for his next move before the being disappeared in front of her eyes. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen as she was flung across the road. As strands of her snow hair fell over her face, she looked at her stomach to see claw marks ripping through her sweater. "HEY! Marcy got me that sweater!" Diligence lashed out in anger as ice crystals grew everywhere and attacked everything besides Gunter who was hiding away from the fight. Alas, the attack did nothing to the Vampire King who constantly teleported out of the way. Diligence eyed the Vampire King's teleportation carefully, looking for any opening. "Every time he sees an attack he pops out somewhere else. Why did he have to go after me now- wait- that's it!" Diligence's eyes widened as she realized a way out of her predicament.

On the ground on which she layed injured, her hands glowed a with a pale grey blue hue that seemingly did nothing as the Vampire King appeared in front of her calmly. The ice elemental quickly fired one blast of ice after another at the King of Vampires only for the being to teleport out of the way as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Each teleportation brought the Vampire King closer and closer to the injured ice elemental before he stood right in front of her. Calmly, the king grabbed the elemental by the neck and lifted her up. "I hoped not to do this. Your powers could've helped my kind. Any last words?"

Diligence chuckled in the claws of death. "I always wanted to get into professional dancing." She said with a smile as snow fell from sky onto the vampire, causing him to stare at it in mild surprise. "Also, you're screwed." Before VK could process what he had just heard, the snow on his body turned to ice and rapidly covered his arm before it broke off said arm. The Vampire King screamed in pain before all the snow around him started to avoid him like the plague. But before he could relax, more ice started growing on his body. As the Vampire King was distracted by this, Diligence fired an icicle at the Vampire without hesitation. 

However, it was all for naught as the ice on the Vampire King broke off of his body while the icicle floated in front of him. "I've played with you enough." He said firmly as he raised his remaining claws to finish Diligence off once and for all before a small orange beak stabbed his left eye. VK screamed as his focus on the ice around him broke, leaving him vulnerable to Diligence's attacks. Not letting this opportunity go, Diligence blasted the Vampire King with all she had causing the King to scream out in pain before all the sound suddenly disappeared. 

"He must've teleported away." Muttered Diligence, her breathing getting rougher by the second as it let out puffs of vapor. She quickly turned to the wound on her abdomen and placed her hand on it. Soon enough, ice grew below her touch covering the wound in ice. "I almost died." She said, her tone calm yet her mind in total panic.

"If it weren't for me." Added Gunter calmly, prompting Dilly to chuckle. This primordial being was practically begging for a thank you.

"Thanks, Gunter." Replied Diligence with a weak smile as she forced her body on its feet. She quickly created a crutch made of ice and started walking back towards Marceline with Gunter in tow. "Let's go back to Marcy."

Limping her way back, Diligence thought about one thing. She needed to get more powerful. Powerful enough that no one could hurt her. Powerful enough to beat the Vampire King, to beat the Lich and to fight off Golb if need be. "I NEED to be the strongest." She muttered as a newfound goal formed inside her mind before she heard the sounds of songs and laughter. She quickly turned to its source and saw Marceline getting along with the humans and singing to them. Seeing the sight, one thought formed inside Diligence's head. One dark, grim thought that caused tears to fall down her cheeks.

"She's gonna throw me away too."

xxxxxxXxxxxx

I hope y'all liked Diligence's flaws starting to blossom.

Toodles.

Chapter Text

In a void of nothingness black as can be there floated a platform of pure ice under the feet of two beings. One of them was the great wizard, Urgence Evergreen and the other was a seemingly 18 year old slender lady with snow hair and blue skin wearing a plain long sleeved black turtleneck top with black leggings and fancy white boots with a snowflake drawn on them. It was Diligence Snowflakes.

Diligence stared at Urgence with a serious expression as the ancient elemental frowned. Silence filled the area as the tension in the air became thicker with every second and in one second, it was all unleashed. Urgence's hands glowed a magical blue hue as icy lightning crackled around them fiercely. Urgence aimed at Diligence before the female elemental suddenly appeared in front of him and kicked him in the chin with a burst of ice that eroded his beard before sweeping one of his legs with a swift spin that transitioned into a ballet swan lake pose as her hands gracefully flew into the air.

Urgence fell to one knee as ice covered his other leg before Diligence danced into a roundhouse kick to the back of the ancient elemental's head, causing him to grunt in pain. Evergreen barely had enough time to process what just happened before the Diligence battle dance continued. She kicked Evergreen in the gut, sending him flying as ice unleashed from the kick encased his body save for his head in an icy tomb. "Woah woah woah!" He said as he slid across the platform and almost off the edge had Diligence not swiftly slid across the flood and in front of the ancient elemental. "That's enough! I've lost-" He said dejectedly as he avoided eye contact. "-I've lost enough times. We're done."

Memories of Urgence's spars with his student invaded his mind as he lowered his usually proud head in defeat. The pride that he had clung so tightly to shattered by the younger elemental. "No." Replied Diligence in a coarse tone as cold as her ice, causing Evergreen to flinch as his eyes widened.

"What?" He asked in confusion as Diligence raised her foot up and lightly pressed it against the ice covering Urgence's body. Her foot immediately broke through the ice and shattered the entire block of ice into pieces before landing on the chest the now free elemental. "Stop!" Pleaded the ancient elemental before he heard a calm yet icy voice that chilled him to the core.

"Get up, Master Evergreen." What more did she want from him? Evergreen's mind raced in a panic as sweat trickled down his nose as the pressure on his chest from his student's foot became heavier.

"You've already defeated me countless times!" He exclaimed in a panic before a slender hand grabbed him by the face and lifted him into the air as if he was a feather.

"Get. Up." Repeated Diligence in a harsh tone as her eyes glowed a snowy white glow with fierce electricity escaping said eyes. 

"I've already taught you everything! What more do you want?!" He asked in fear through Diligence's fist as he struggled in the death grip. He tried pushing away her arms and freezing everything around him to no avail. Diligence didn't budge an inch as Evergreen's ice dissipated around her rapidly leaving behind only vapor. "What are you made of, concrete?"

A frustrated expression overtook the younger elemental's face. "I still need more!" She exclaimed summoning a wall of ice in front of her and behind Evergreen before simultaneously slamming him into said wall. "Get up and FIGHT!" Evergreen's body shook with fear at Diligence's chilling voice. What has he done? What monster has he created? Her horrifying glowing gaze, searing itself into his mind. Her abnormal physical strength and speed threating to crack his skull at any moment. Evergreen's body lost all its strength as fear overtook his mind. There was no way out of this. His genius mind failed to find a single path to victory. "Weak." He heard a cold voice say before he met Diligence's eyes. Malicious intent flooded out of those eyes that terrified Urgence to the core.

"No. No! No! Stop! Please!" The ancient elemental begged and pleaded before his head was instantaneously encased in ice from Diligence's hand. Suddenly, cracks appeared in the ice before it started breaking apart with Evergreen's head still inside letting the old wizard's lifeless body fall from Diligence's hand onto the cold ice floor. The final remnants of the great ancient wizard, Urgence Evergreen were extinguished. Silence filled the area as only Diligence remained standing on the lone ice platform in the void. That was until she heard a feminine voice from behind her.

"Woah! It's been a while since I came here. Usually it's the old man who appears but whaddya know." Diligence turned around in surprise before seeing a blue skinned woman wearing sunglasses. Diligence quickly recognised her from her memories. It was Patience St Pim. "So you're the noobie I'm meant to guide." She said cheerfully with a funny robot dance before she created a chair made of ice and sat on it with a flamboyant motion. "Alright, noobie, what's your prob? It must be pretty bad if the old Evergreen couldn't- oh hey, isn't that him over the...re." she said noticing the headless body of the ancient ice elemental. Sweat rolled down Patience's cheek as she eyed the body. "Oh! Oh. Oh, he's dead. But this not- how are you-" a myriad of questions swirled inside Patience's mind like a wild hurricane. All those questions came to a halt when she saw the glowing eyes of the 'newbie'. Patience chuckled nervously. "I'm just gonna see myself out." She said turning around only to see Diligence standing inches from her face.

Before Patience could react her neck was already held in a deathly tight grip. "H-hey! We can talk about this!" Exclaimed Patience in a panic before she heard a single word that chilled her to the core as she stared at Diligence's glowing eyes.

"Weak."

xxxxxXxxxxx

Later, in a tent in the middle of the woods Diligence opened her eyes letting the temperature around her drop in her mere wake. She yawned as she rubbed her eyes before noticing fallen snow from her unkempt hair covering her pillow. The ice elemental waved her hand once, ordering her haircut to reform into a neat braided ponytail that went over her shoulder before she heard a familiar voice.

"You look like you've just killed someone." It was Gunter, the penguin with a green brain leaking out of his head. Diligence paused as she put on an open blue winter jacket before sighing, vapor escaping her mouth as she did.

"Multiple." She remarked bluntly as she pulled out a small notebook from the jacket's pocket and started reading.

"Sweet." Commented Gunter cheerfully, causing Diligence to mindlessly nod as she continued reading. "Still researching the crown?" He asked tilting his head curiously. "You've been doing this for almost a decade now, ever since our fight with VK."

"Yeah. Urgence's notes are a lifesaver." Replied Diligence calmly as she closed the notebook.

"Didn't save his life though." Replied Gunter before bursting into laughter, causing Diligence to snort.

"I didn't expect to be this fine after murdering generations of ice elementals."

"Does it count as murder if they were already dead?" Asked Gunter nudging Diligence's knee playfully, causing the elemental to smile at her friend before the duo left their tent to be met with a sunset on the horizon as night started to fall. "We should get ready; vampires are gonna come out soon."

"The humans are leaving tonight, right?" Asked Diligence calmly, causing Gunter to look surprised. "VK should attack before they leave." Hearing this, Gunter nodded in acknowledgement, but before he could answer he felt a presence watching them from the shadows. Feeling Gunter's vigilance, Diligence spoke. "We can take care of them."

"I hate this floppy weak body." Lamented the ex space tyrant with a sigh as he eyed his flippers dejectedly. "If I had my old power I would've tore them to pieces and squeezed the goo out of their guts."

A quick chop made its way onto Gunter's brain, causing him to frown grumpily. "Too graphic, Gunter, too graphic. Bad penguin. This is a family friendly household." Replied Diligence crossing her arms as she looked down at her penguin companion in disappointment.  "But if you wanna get stronger, you gotta work for it. Work your body and mind to near death." Gunter visibly frowned at the prospect before the two companions heard a rustling in nearby bushes as night finally fell upon them.

Both elemental and penguin turned around to the source of the sound to see nothing before a woman, a vampire, appeared inches away from her face. She was wearing a snake neck piece and a scarf with a purple gem over the upper part of her face. It was easy for Diligence to recognise who the person in front of her was. The Empress. "You'll make a nice maid." She said as the snake neck piece wriggled over her head and pulled back the cloth covering her eyes to reveal two hypnotic purple irises that stared right into Diligence's eyes.

Diligence's eyes glowed purple following the empress's before the snake neck piece put the cloth back on. "Hey! What are you doing!?!" Exclaimed Gunter angrily as he flailed against Empress's body helpless to do anything. "Get off her!"

"When he said she was powerful I expected a little resistance but this is just-" she said before a blast of ice caused her to jump back. She looked at her body only to find herself unharmed. She quickly turned to her hypnotized victim to see her head encased in ice. "Did she attack herself? What a weirdo." Empress muttered to herself in shock before the ice encasing Diligence's head exploded leaving behind an unharmed and unhypnotized ice elemental. Empress frowned as she got ready to fight before Diligence spoke.

"Hey," she said calmly as she stared at Empress. Her gaze held not hate nor contempt, not even a speck of anger. "do that again." Gunter looked at Diligence as if she was insane before he quickly rushed off to who know where.

Empress froze in shock. "What?" She asked in confusion, but Diligence's expression remained unwavering. "That blast must've messed up your head, little girl."

"My body stopped ageing years ago. I'm in my twenties." Deadpanned Diligence as she moved her legs and walked forwards towards the vampire. "Now, do it again." Empress took a step back. What was wrong with this weirdo in front of her? Who in their right mind would ask to be hypnotized. Empress couldn't ponder for long as Diligence appeared in front of her in onr elegant leap before grabbing the vampire by neck and uncovering her eyes.

Diligence's eyes glowed purple as her mind began to fall for Empress's hypnotic gaze once more. Crazy! Was the only thought inside Empress's head before she felt a pain in her chest. She looked down to find a wooden stake piercing through her heart before she burst into glittery smoke. "Finally, slap that crazy idiot out of it!" Exclaimed Gunter angrily as Diligence was snapped out of her hypnotized trance by an invisible chop to the head.

Diligence let out a sound of confusion as her eyes snapped awake. She looked around for her attacker only to see nothing in front of her. Suddenly, the invisible assailant appeared out of thin air. It was Marceline wearing a tank top. "What the heck, Dilly?! Why'd you try to get hypnotized by that creep?!"

Diligence pouted like a child. "...i was trying to get mind control resistance." She replied with a deep frown as she crossed her arms.

"Dilly, if that vampire actually took control of you it would've been a disaster!" Exclaimed the half demon angrily as she held Diligence by the shoulders. "The humans could've gotten hurt. I could've gotten hurt. YOU could've gotten hurt!" Snapped Marceline in complete fury, turning into a beast in anger. "This isn't even the first time! You tried to get poisoned by Hierophant!" 

"My body is made of ice and snow, Marceline! I can control every part of it! How do you think I got super strength and speed?! I would've gotten rid of the poison in seconds!!" Snapped the ice elemental angrily, causing Marceline look at her as if she was insane.

Diligence went silent as she looked away with an annoyed frown. "Why are you so obsessed with getting stronger?!" Asked the Vampire huntress pinching the bridge of her mose. "You have me and the humans! You can ask for help!" 

The ice elemental grit her teeth and clenched her fists, her eye twitching in rage at the word help. "Never." She said, her tone so full of venom one would think she was uttering a curse. "They're leaving! They'll forget you sooner or later. And you're not innocent either!"

Marceline blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?" 

"Ever since we met those humans, we've barely sat at the same table anymore!" Snapped Diligence angrily slamming her fist into a nearby tree as she glared at Marceline. "It's like you've forgotten all about me!"

Marceline went silent with shock. "You could've told me!" She said dejectedly. "We could've talked about it! Just because I have other friends doesn't mean I forgot about you!"

"Well I don't WANT other friends or someone who can forget me!" Snapped the ice elemental as her eyes glowed a white hue. "People hurt me when I was human, they'd hurt me again. The only one who will never betray me is me!"

"What about me? I'd never-" Asked Marceline with a determined expression before she noticed the look on the Diligence's face as the ice elemental refused to meet her eyes. It said everything. Tears fell down Marceline's cheeks before a sniff escaped her nose. "Is that so. Then have your stupid power and leave!"

"Only after I take VK's crown." Replied Diligence crossing her arms. An action that almost cause Marceline to go on a rampage.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"This is not fine." Added Gunter calmly before they all heard a crash in the distance. Hearing this, Marceline immediately flew away in a panic.

"It's time." Muttered Diligence calmly as she narrowed her eyes before her body floated off the ground before turning to the penguin next to her. "Gunter, stay here. I'll be back in a sec."

Without hesitation, the ice elemental flew away into the distance towards the sounds of battle between The Vampire King and Marceline.

xxxxxXxxxx

On one of the human ships.

"Marceline, there's no one left but me." Said the Vampire King calmly. "Would you wipe out an entire speices?"

"For the last time, yes! That is literally my entire plan!" Replied Marceline as she held stake in one hand and a broken guitar in the other.

"So be it then." Said the Vampire King before his hands started glowing white with ice magic as he aimed towards Marceline. But just as he was about to fire, a powerful kick made its way onto the side of his face. VK clutched his injured face before turning to his assailant. "You've become crazier with power, Diligence. I can see it in your eyes."

"Shouldn't you be worrying about something other than my mental health?" Asked Diligence with a deep frown before VK was tackled by Marceline sending the two of them falling towards the deck of the ship.

Quickly, the Vampire King tried to freeze Marceline with the power of the crown but all that came out was harmless vapor. VK let out a sound of confusion before noticing that the crown atop his head was gone. "No!"

"Yes!" Exclaimed Diligence with bloodshot in delight as she held her prize mid air. A mad cackle escaped her mouth as VK and Marceline continued their fight. "Finally, all this power is mine!" Before she put on the crown, she turned to Marceline's fight. The girl she had raised was about to turn into a vampire against her will. "I could stop it, but what the hell, she'll be happier this way."

Diligence ignored Marceline's blood curdling screams as the vampire king's fangs dug into her neck, her focus solely on the crown as she finally placed it atop her head. Almost a decade for this one moment and once the crown layed atop her head she felt it. She felt the power the crown had. She felt its madness seeping into her nerves. But she didn't fight it, she knew better. She accepted the madness, letting it mix with her own with harmony. The two threads of madness intertwined together like puzzle pieces forming a powerful bond. "I did it!" She exclaimed firing a blast of ice into the air that dropped that caused even the plants to shiver at its sight before she burst into maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the cold night.

Yet this was only the beginning of the the story. The story of the most feared princess of all, Princess Snowflakes.

xxxxxxXxxxxx

Adventure Time. C'mon grab your friends. We'll go to very distant lands. With Gunter the Penguin and Dilly the elemental the fun will never end. It's adventure time!

Just wanted to do this for fun.

xxxxxxXxxxxxx 

Do you guys like how all ice elementals are weirdos?

Toodles.

Chapter Text

In a large room composed of a black sand floor and walls of dark blue bricks, a giant behemoth of a turtle like monster stood face to face with two small figures. One was a penguin lacking the usual exposed green brain. The other was a beautiful woman with unblemished blue skin and snow hair. She wore a navy blue off-shoulder long-sleeved top with a royal red cape that hung off her neck, black leggings and fancy feminine white boots with a snow flake mark on them as well as a golden crown adorned with three red gems.

The woman, Diligence Snowflakes leaped into the air with grace in the world. Ice skate blades made of pure ice manifested under her boots as she hovered in the air above the turtle's head. The beast roared as it extended it head towards the ice elemental ready to swallow her whole. However, Diligence was prepared. She landed on the snout of the beast and slid across it, twirling over the monster's flesh in a beautiful dance as she did, towards the turtle's neck before raising her foot high in the air and without hesitation, unleashed a powerful slash to the beast's neck using her skate blades. However, the size difference made the wound as shallow as a puddle yet that didn't matter to the elemental. From the tiny wound, ice burst through the beast's neck tearing through it like a savage hyena ripping the flesh of its prey until the turtle's neck was cleanly seperated from its shoulders.

Seeing her opponent dead, Diligence jumped down from its body with a smile. "Another monster cave done!" She exclaimed cheerfully, placing her hands on her hips. "I haven't had this much exercise in a while." She said with a smile before turning to her Penguin friend. "Hey, Goonts, how much money did we make today?"

Gunter turned to Diligence with narrowed eyes as he sat atop a pile of gold. "I don't know; a lot?" He answered with a shrug, causing Diligence to smile in satisfaction. "I'll grab the gold in a sec. You can leave."

"You've been weirdly attached to gold recently." Commented Diligence as she pet the penguin curiously. "Did you find a girlfriend penguin when I wasn't looking? Wanna take her on a real fancy date, huh?" She asked with a smug smile before Gunter stared at her with a disgusted expression. "Are you into bo- OW!" Before Diligence could finish her sentence, the penguin pecked her hand violently. "Okay, okay! I'm going! Geez."

Gunter eyed his companion's back as she left the area. Once she was completely gone, the penguin turned not to the pile of gold, but to dead monster. Gunter slowly approached the beast's cut neck and stared at the ice covering. "Powerful as always." He muttered as he caressed the ice with his flipper with eerie silence. Suddenly, slim yellow tendrils extended from the penguins flipper towards the ice. Once the appendages touched the ice, the two almost merged before pulses of blue light traveled through the tendrils and into Gunter's body.

Eventually, the ice disappeared into nothingness as if had never existed. Seeing this, Gunter pulled the tendrils back into his body and gave the beast's neck a satisfied gaze. "Almost there. Just a little bit more."

xxxxxXxxxxx

On a grassy plains outside the dungeon, Diligence stared at the flowery horizon containing a giant rock silently before taking a deep breath. "Ahhh, so satisfying." She said with a smile before pausing as the wind blew through her snow hair. "Ugh, who am I kidding?! This sucks!" She snapped with a deep frown, throwing her hands into the air. "I AM INCREDIBLY BORED!"

Suddenly, the giant rock across the horizon started moving and shifting to reveal a giant made of rocks. "I have tabletop games if you'd like!" Exclaimed the giant cheerfully with a bright smile before a lightning bolt fell next to him causing him to shrink away from where it fell.

"Nobody asked you!" Snapped Diligence as another bolt of lightning formed inside her fist. "Nyeh!" She exclaimed throwing the second lightning bolt near the rock giant, causing him to run away crying boulders onto the ground. Seeing the giant leave her vision, Diligence sighed dejectedly. 

"I hear sounds of misery!" Exclaimed Gunter cheerfully, leaving the dungeon with a wooden chest full of gold on his back. "Show me the loser!"

Diligence sat on the grassy ground with a dejected frown. "That'd be me, Goonts. That'd be me." She replied with a downcast expression. "I'm the loser." She said before going silent as her mind drifted away into a myriad of thoughts. 

"Will you tell why or do I have to guess?" Asked the ex tyrant calmly as he waddled towards his companion who groaned in response.

"I'm bored out of my mind! There's nothing to do!" Diligence exclaimed tiredly as she layed on her back. "All this power and nothing to do with it." She added with a deep frown as she caressed her hair. "What the point anymore?"

"Why not conquer some worlds? That's what I used to do." Replied Gunter with a proud look in his eyes as he placed his flippers on his hips, causing Diligence to give him a disturbed look. 

Diligence sighed once more before she hugged Gunter as she layed on the ground.

"Can you stop using me as a teddy bear?" Asked Gunter tiredly in a surrendered tone, accepting his fate of being a plushie.

"It's not my fault you're so huggable." Replied Diligence calmly with a smile. "Plus, I'm super hot; so I'm automatically forgiven." She added cheerfully, giving Gunter a kiss on the head before her stomach rumbled in hunger. "Ugh, I'm so hungy. But I don't wanna make food." She whined with a groan. 

"Then make someone do it for you." Replied Gunter calmly before pride filled his voice. "It worked out for me."

Memories of a certain half demon flooded Diligence's mind, causing a single tear to fall down the ice elemental's cheek "People suck."

"Not all of them. Some of them can be loyal. Really loyal. If you know the right tricks." Said the penguin as if he was speaking from experience, earning a 'bleh' from his companion. "How about we make a bet. We find some servants and see for a week if they betray you or not. Loser owes the winner a favour." Diligence went silent for what seemed to be minutes before getting up from the ground.

Falling onto the ground, Gunter let out a penguin "wenk" before he turned to Diligence flooding the area with snow. The penguin quickly focused on the ice elemental to see what she was doing before seeing her grab a clump of her snow hair. A magical light encompassed the ice elemental's hand as she clenched her snow filled fist. "From my cells and knowledge, grow." She said before opening her fist and blowing the snow inside into the air.

The snow particles fell onto the snowy ground peacefully as seemingly nothing happened. Gunter stared at the scene in confusion before three blue skinned hands broke out of the snow and out came three beings of ice and snow of different shapes and sizes all wearing clothes made of snow to cover themselves. One of them was a short man just as short as Gunter himself with a beard and pointed hat both made of snow. Another was a muscular giant with snow hair that DEEPLY covered his eyes. The third was a beautiful woman with snow hair wrapped into a pony tail. The woman looked the most like Diligence if you ignored her pointy ears.

"Shorty, I made you the smartest. Make me something fun, I'm bored." Said Diligence pointing at the short man before turning to the giant. "Big guy, protect shorty. Call me if you can't handle it." She said bluntly before turning to the snow woman and creating a knife and a crossbow made of ice. "Lady, here are some weapons. Hunt us some dinner." She added turning to Gunter before getting interrupted by the small man.

"Can you give us names?" The small man said suddenly in an Irish accent, causing Diligence to raise a brow as she placed her hands on her hips.

"A name would be nice." Added the lady cheerfully as the giant nodded. Diligence sighed before eyeing her new servants curiously.

"Norman?" She whispered to herself as she eyed the short man before pointing at him. "You'll be Snorman the Snome." She declared nonchalantly before turning to the giant as the Snome cheered his name. "You'll be...Snewt the Sniant." 

"Snewt!" Said Snewt cheerfully as Diligence turned to the last of her servants.

"Last but not least, you'll be...Snoelle the Snelf." Snoelle froze upon hearing her name before she got onto one knee. 

"I'll do my best to serve you, my-" Said Snoelle in a firm tone before Diligence cut her off.

"Princess, Princess Snowflakes." She said, narrowing her eyes at her new servants with a frown.

xxxxxXxxxxx

Later, a distance away from Snewt and Snorman doing whatever, Diligence sat on a chair made of ice eyeing her servants with a deep frown. "Find anything suspicious yet?" Asked Gunter with a smirk.

"No, but I can see it in their eyes." Replied Diligence narrowing her eyes at Snewt and Snorman as the snome made an explosive mixture and threw it onto the ground with a maniacal laugh before the sniant clapped for his friend. "Their burning desire to take me down is apparent." Hearing this, Gunter turned to Snewt in confusion and stared at where his eyes would be had they not been underneath several feet of snow.

"Huh." Whispered Gunter before he was suddenly picked up by Diligence. The penguin quickly noticed a few potion bottles flying their way. Diligence quickly waved her hand in front of her, causing a devastating wave of snow to drown the potions greedily.

"I KNEW IT! I'm taking them down!" Exclaimed Diligence getting up from her ice chair before she felt someone behind her. She quickly turned around and found nobody other than Gunter hiding behind her chair and a boulder. The elemental shrugged before dashing towards Snewt and Snorman. "You're trying to kill me, aren't you?!"

"What?" Asked Snorman in confusion scratching his head before Diligence gestured towards where the potions fell. "You were there? We were jus' throwin' 'em around."

"Snewt!" Added the snow giant cheerfully.

"So it's just a coincidence that your explosive magic made its way to my specific location?" Asked Diligence with a deep frown as she glared at the snow gnome. "Really?"

"Snewt."

"That's sus and you know it, Snewt!" Snapped Diligence glaring at the sniant. "If that is your real name."

"Snewt?!" Exclaimed Snewt in shock before turning to Snorman gesturing towards himself. "Snewt?"

"Ya named us literally 2 hours ago." Replied the snome calmly, causing Diligence to freeze. "And if you're still suspicious, you can access me memories with magic. I'm an innocent snome." Hearing this, Diligence winced at her mistake and stared at the ground.

"S-sorry." Said Diligence awkward with an embarrassed blue blush as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Suddenly, appearing to her rescue, Snoelle walked into the area holding the body of a deer. "Guys! I got food!" She said cheerfully. 

"Y-yeah! Let's eat!" Exclaimed Diligence with an awkward smile, trying her best to change the subject.

xxxxxXxxxxx 

In front of a campfire above which a deer body was being cooked, four ice beings and a penguin sat on a circular bench made of ice. Suddenly, Snorman pulled out a potion and threw it onto the ground before music reverberated in the air.

"Where do you keep getting the glass for these from?" Asked Diligence curiously staring at where Snorman threw the potion. 

Snorman gave Diligence an odd look. "Glass? What's that?" He said blinking in confusion before Snoelle cut in.

"Stop it with the magicky stuff. Let's celebrate!" She exclaimed cheerfully with a bright smile as she passed around deer meat and water. "Let's have a toast to the best princess in the world. The one who brought all three of us to life. Princess Diligence Snowflakes!" Diligence blushed at Snoelle's words as the snow elf raised her cup to the air. "To the princess!"

"To the princess!" "Snewt!" 

The newly appointed princess couldn't help but blush at the toast in her honor. Even after all those years, compliments remained to be her greatest weakness.

And that night, Diligence slept like a baby.

xxxxxXxxxxx 

In the darkness of the night where Diligence and her new servants slept on beds of snow, an ominous shadow approached the sleeping ice elemental and the penguin in her arms. The shadow's eyes were bloodshot, their breathing heavier with each step they took.

Once they were in front of the princess drooling in her sleep, they pulled a knife from behind them before the penguin in Diligence's arms woke up. "Wenk." He let out the sound of any normal penguin.

"Shhh, penguin. I'm not here for you." Said the shadow firmly as they raised their knife into the air with murderous intent before the penguin slid out of the ice elemental's arms and stood in front of the shadow. The shadow froze in confusion before a giant tendril shot out of the penguin's head towards the shadow's head. The tendril quickly wrapped around the shadow's mouth, keeping them from screaming as the penguin began to transform into a form much more primordial. A form that has not been seen for eons. Orgalorg.

"Like a mighty chrysalis pushing out of a damp cocoon, I emerge." The shadow's eyes widened in shock as they heard the penguin speak. "Do you enjoy my true form, Snoelle? Or are you too preoccupied by murdering your own princess." In the crushing grip of the primordial, Snoelle struggled to get out the best she could. But alas, she was no match for Gunter. "If you wanna live, let's keep this between us. I have a bet to win."

Without even waiting for Snoelle's reply, the being transformed back into what seemed to be a harmless penguin once again. Snoelle panted in panic and fear as the penguin slid comfortably back into Diligence's arms as if nothing had happened.

Snoelle gave her princess one last hateful glare before going back to her bed.

xxxxxXxxxxx 

Hope ya enjoyed.

Toodles.

Chapter Text

"Uhh, Gunter. Can you say that again?" Asked Diligence staring at her penguin companion with a widened eyes as he clutched a clump of her hair nervously. "Cause I don't think I heard it right." She added staring at her penguin companion as she sat cross-legged on a log of wood in a forest during an afternoon.

"As my favor for winning our bet, I want us to make a kingdom." Replied Guner in a serious tone, causing Diligence to frown. "An ice kingdom where all bows to us. Everyone will do exactly as we say."

Diligence's eyes narrowed. "Uh huh. Uh huh." She uttered as she nodded with pursed lips. "Your intergalactic tyrant is showing, Gunter." She added with a deep frown, giving Gunter a finger gun gesture.

Suddenly, Snoelle the snelf wearing clothes made of a wolf's fur with a wolf head as a shoulder pad entered the scene standing in front of Diligence. "My Princess, if I may," she said with a graceful bow.  "I agree with sir Gunter." She continued calmly, a momentary flash of panic appearing on her face as she locked eyes with the penguin that wasn't missed by Diligence.

The ice elemental stared at Snoelle with a suspicious look. "Are you being blackmailed by Goonts?" She asked seriously, raising a brow. Snoelle shook her head, causing Diligence to hum. "Are you trying something crazy?" She asked glaring before Snoelle went pale as an immense pressure weighed down on her body. The snelf's heart was pounding as if trying to bounce out of her chest. Snoelle felt like a mouse in front of a monstrous beast.

"N-NO!" The snelf screamed in a panic before hurriedly forcing a smile. "I'm just saying that as a princess, your majesty should have your own people." Diligence frowned, causing Snoelle to gulp. The snelf racked her brain for an answer before speaking. "They'll also be a great resource for you. They'll make food and have culture and- and-"

"You have to do it anyway because of our bet." Gunter chirped in cheerfully, causing Diligence to grumble angrily. The ice elemental moved around uncomfortably, a deep frown stuck on her face, before she glared at the penguin who simply stood calmly under her gaze.

"Fine!" She exclaimed angrily. "But if they turn out bad, I'm blaming you."

xxxxxXxxxxx 

A few centuries later.

"Let's conquer the candy kingdom!" Declared a pretty snelf man wearing leather and fur armour that made him look like a seasoned winter warrior. He was sitting with Gunter, Diligence, her three servants and many other snow people around a large meeting table. Suddenly, a thread thin beam of energy flew towards his face and formed ice around his mouth freezing it shut.

As the snelf let out muffled noises, Diligence spoke tiredly. "Okayyyyyy, anyone else have anything to say before I go to the meeting with Princess Bubblegum?" She said taking a pause  for anyone to speak

Suddenly, a snome stood up from his chair. "Let's make 'em a gym for their lanky weak bodies! That outta get us a STRONG alliance!" He exclaimed jumping on the table, getting a few cheers here and there. Diligence watched this with an exhausted expression on her face as she layed her head on the meeting table. "Eh, princess?"

All eyes turned to Diligence, causing her to instinctively straighten her back. "Uhh, no?" She said with a wince as she started scratching the ice making up the table with her fingernails. "Look, here's my idea. Tell me when you guys come up with something that doesn't involve violence and is actually good. No offense, Jimjam." The snome with the gym idea, Jimjam gave a dejected thumbs up before Diligence stood up from her seat. "Meeting done. I'm out." She added grabbing Gunter and leaving the meeting hall made of ice.

Outside was a land covered in snow and pine trees, a town, or one could say kingdom stood firmly amongst the cold. Their building were made of ice and the blue skinned, snow haired townsfolk wore animal fur not for warmth but for style. Many of the townsfolk's bodies had scars, ones they wore with pride. The townsfolk could be categorised into three kinds, short yet smart snomes, the beautiful and skilled snelves and lastly, the large and powerful sniants. 

Near the middle of the town stood a large building made of ice that was riddled with snowflake shaped carvings. A building that Diligence Snowflakes wearing an off shoulder blue top, black leggings, white feminine boots and a red cape around her slender neck as well as a golden crown with red gems atop her head, could be seen flying out of with a penguin in hand. "I blame you for this, Gunter." She said to the penguin under her armpit, causing said penguin to giggle as a sniant and a snome with one normal arm and another comically enlarged arm arm wrestled in the background. "Don't laugh! They're crazy!"

Gunter finally burst into laughter. "They're acting like you! You've enamoured them!" He exclaimed cheerfully. Diligence blinked in confusion before Gunter continued. "They saw your power and formed their society around your obsession with it!"

Diligence went silent as she observed her people from the sky above. They were flaunting their powers and skills to one another happily. Even the little children were playing with ice powers. "They're not like me." She frowned, not elaborating any further.

Hearing this, Gunter went silent; choosing not to talk for the rest of the trip to the most colourful place in Ooo, the candy kingdom.

xxxxxXxxxxx 

Once Diligence made it to the skies of the candy kingdom, the ice elemental stared at the delicious land with awe in her eyes. "It's so magical." She whispered to herself as her eyes gleamed with childlike wonder. With more flamboyant joy than grace, Princess Snowflakes spun into the air before landing in front of the main gate of the palace in a beautiful hurricane of snowflakes as Gunter landed next to her.

The banana guards, who Diligence assumed were waiting for her, clapped in applause at the magnificent show of power. "Thank you. Thank you." She said with a bright smile.

"You seem to like this kingdom far more than ours." Remarked Gunter bluntly only to be ignored by Diligence as the banana guards started leading them inside. The ice elemental was in visible awe every step of the way. The building, the people, everything made the child in her spark with joy and it didn't stop when the short walk ended for she was led to a room with a long table with two chairs at each end. One of the chairs was obviously hers, in the other sat who Diligence was waiting for. Princess Bubblegum! Next to her was Peppermint Butler standing with a smile.

The ice elemental could barely keep in her excitement as she sat face to face with THE Princess Bubblegum. "Heya, Bubblegum! ICE to meet you!" She said trying to sound nice and approachable as she sat in her chair before Gunter and Peppermint Butler locked eyes. The two attendants stared at each other silently before their eyes narrowed warily at each other.

"Welcome, Princess Snowflakes." Said PB cheerfully with a bright smile. "Thank you for agreeing to this urgent meeting."

Diligence chuckled nervously. "No prob. I love meetings." She lied with a smile as she crossed her legs. "So, what's up?" She asked leaning her head onto her knuckle as Gunter and Peppermint Butler headed to another room. "Wanna make a cool alliance or something?" A hint of embarrassment made its way onto the ice elemental's face as she waited for her fellow princess and elemental to speak. "We can even maybe a little be friends?"

PB's expression became serious. "Absolutely! And an alliance is very much why I brought you here." She said before clearing her throat. "Right now, there's a threat looming over us. As the two largest kingdoms, we must join forces to survive this threat."

Diligence blinked. "There's a threat?" She asked in confusion. "Where?" She continued, looking around her before PB cleared her throat before speaking in the deepest voice she could muster.

"The Lich." She said in a grim tone, expecting a similar reaction from the other princess only for her to blink in confusion when Diligence looked calmer than ever.

"Oh yeah." She said as if she forgot her keys. "I promised a dead jerk to take that guy down. Do you know where he is?" She asked nonchalantly, causing PB to panic.

"NO!" She exclaimed before massaging her temples. "Listen. I understand your people are... eccentric when it comes to combat, but this is no laughing matter! I have a plan. I have done extensive research on your powers and they can block his from causing more damage. I'm calling for Billy to take down the Lich. We just need to use your powers to hold out until he arrives."

Diligence smiled mischievously. "ORRRR I can go take him out myself." She remarked proudly, causing PB to groan as she held her own head.

"I knew I shouldn't have put my faith in the barbarians." She muttered under her breath, not going unheard by the ice Princess.

Diligence blinked. "Barbarians?" She asked, her heart skipping a beat. PB froze staring at Diligence before sighing in defeat.

"You and your people are too violent." She remarked with a frown as she crossed her arms. "All you do is fight or try to get other people to fight." She added crossing her arms with a deep frown. "It's utterly barbaric!"

Diligence frowned. She didn't care onr bit what Bonnie had said about her or her people. No. Something else boiled her frozen blood. "You didn't want to be friends or anything." She said clenching her teeth and fists. Princess Bubblegum didn't want anything to do with the 'barbarians'. "You just wanted my power to protect your kingdom, didn't you?" Princess Bubblegum didn't deny the accusation, causing Diligence's lips to quiver. The ice elemental held back her inner child from bursting into tears at the candy princess' response. 

The entire room's temperature dropped instantly, causing Bonnie to be visibly shocked. Princess Bubblegum quickly pulled out some kind of remote with the intention to push its single big red button immediately. But before she could, the whole remote was frozen over simply from the cold aura Diligence was emitting. An expression of panic washed over Bonnie as she stood under the glare of the ice elemental.

"Take me to the Lich." Diligence said, venom seeping into her voice. PB's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to interject but she found she could open her mouth. A band of ice formed around her mouth, keeping her silent. Diligence raised a finger up to her mouth before continuing. "Shhh. No more tricks. No more sweet words. Just point."

Before Bonnie could process what Diligence had said, the ice elemental had already picked her up and flew into the air breaking through the ceiling and only then did Bubblegum understand what the ice elemental wanted of her.

And so she did as asked.

xxxxxXxxxxx 

Meanwhile, The Lich sat underground next to his well of power with a grin on his face. Soon, all of Ooo would be gone. All life extinguished. He simply needed to gather more power from his well and- *crash*

He couldn't finish his thought before he heard the sound of a crash breaking through his roof. The Lich looked up to see an angry ice elemental floating in the air and holding a nervous candy elemental. The ice elemental slowly floated down and placed the candy elemental down next to her. "And watch as I show you how wrong you are."

"Elementals." The lich greeted his visitors with deathly calmness as he stared at the two elementals. "Once more you surrender yourselves to death at my hands."

Diligence blew a raspberry. "No. I'm here to prove to TWO people I can beat you up." She deadpanned with a frown. "Now put 'em up." She ordered sternly.

The Lich laughed. "Ice elemental, you think you can succeed where generations of your predecessors have failed?" He said mockingly. "Your strength may be admirable but I am beyond such things." The ice elemental raised a brow as the lich's jaw fell for him to speak. "Fa-" Before he could finish a single word, a powerful kick into his jaw forced his mouth shut as ice covered the lower half of his face.

The ice elemental sighed. "I don't think you understand your situation; so let me spell it out for you." She said in a tone as cold as her ice. "You're not BEYOND strength. No; you're BEYOND screwed." She said as her eyes glowed white as snow. The Lich quickly encased his hands in fiendish green flames before firing a blast of flames towards the ice elemental only for her to unleash a blizzard of icy winds with a wave of her hands, pushing the flames away with ease before disappearing from sight.

Suddenly, the ice elemental reappeared right in front of the Lich. "Fall." She said coldly before kicking him in the chest, sending him flying into the ceiling before he fell to the ground on his knees. The Lich paused on the floor, gathering his strength. The ice elemental waited for the Lich to act before she heard bubbling from behind her. The lich's well of power was rising. Noticing this, the ice elemental fired a thin beam of energy towards the well freezing it solid. "Look, there's nothing you can do to beat me. So let's skip to the important part." She said rolling her eyes.

Before the Lich could process what he'd heard, the ice elemental had began to wail attacks onto the Lich without mercy. Every attack made the Lich look more miserable, more dead than he used to be. The candy elemental who was watching from behind had long changed her expression from nervousness to fear. 

Finally, when the ice elemental became satisfied. She held the unmoving and miserable body of the lich by the horn and flew into the air above his lair. Suddenly, her eyes started to glow white as a cyan hued light projection of the ice elemental herself holding the lich appeared in front of the candy elemental; no, in front of every kingdom and monarch in Ooo.

"I am Diligence Snowflakes, Princess of the ice kingdom and THIS is the Lich." She said in a tone somehow colder than her ice as she lightly raised the lich in her hand. "THIS is a warning to all! THIS is what happens to those who cross me! Any kingdom, any ruler, any IDIOT who DARES to mess with me will be annihilated." And with that, the projections were gone leaving kingdoms in disarray. Diligence suddenly froze the Lich in a block of ice before dropping him down next to the horrified candy elemental, Princess Bubblegum.

"Where are you going?" Asked Bonnie anxiously as she stared at the ice Princess floating in the sunset sky.

"To the barbarians." Replied Diligence in a tone full of venom before she blasted through the air towards her kingdom. As she flew through the sky, tears began to fall out of her eyes. Diligence stopped mid air before her voice cracked as she cupped her face to the sun set.

The most feared princess in the world wept her heart out that day.

xxxxxXxxxxx 

Btw. Gunter and Peppermint Butler were having a heated knife fight in the kitchen while all of this happened.

Toodles.

Chapter Text

In a dark back alley in the candy kingdom, a short cloaked figure walked as they vigilantly looked around. The figure's face was obscured by darkness, but underneath the sleeves of black cloak one could see icy blue skin. It didn't take long for company to arrive for the cloaked figure. Peppermint Butler entered the alley with a serious expression as he held a sack of unknown content. 

"You got the goods?" Asked the cloaked figure in a serious tone, their voice dripping with a hint of excitement. Peppermint butler nodded as he opened the sack to reveal dozens of brownies inside before closing it up once again. "Beautiful."

"Don't forget your end of the bargain." Replied the butler calmly and the figure nodded.

"Lure Princess Snowflakes to the predetermined area." Said the figure calmly. "You're not gonna beat her, so I'm wondering why you even want this." Peppermint Butler went silent; sensing that prying any further was useless, the figure took the sack away from Peppermint Butler and walked away.

The figure soon left the candy kingdom, removing the cloak hiding their face to reveal none other than Jimjam the snome.

xxxxxXxxxxx 

Later, in the ice kingdom's palace Diligence Snowflakes stood wearing a golden crown, a short sleeved white t shirt, black shorts and sneakers in front of Gunter who had a pile of dodgeballs behind him. "Alright, Goonts. Hit me!" Said the ice elemental before Gunter nodded. Without waiting a second, Gunter began throwing dodgeballs at Diligence as it was his life's purpose; the princess, one the other hand, dodged each and every single one while making comical poses with each dodge including but not limited to damsel in distress, using her arms as a hoop for the ball and spinning door.

Eventually, Gunter grunted in frustration. "This is unfair!" He argued grumpily, crossing his flippers. "I can't throw properly with these flippers." Diligence chuckled and rolled her eyes playfully.

"What about your brain?" She asked with a mischievous grin. "You could've pulled it out and used its hands." She added, causing the penguin to pause before groaning in frustration. "And yes, it still wouldn't have helped." Diligence added proudly as she brushed through her snow hair, not hearing Gunter's grumbling before a snome entered the room with a panicked expression.

"Princess! Princess!" It was Jimjam the snome wearing a panicked expression, causing Diligence to raspberry.

"Not now, Jimjam. It's dodgeball time." She said picking up a dodgeball off the floor before turning to Gunter. "How many do you think you can dodge?" The penguin gave her an unamused expression as she smiled mischievously.

Jimjam paused. "But princess! I've been attacked!" He exclaimed waving his noodle arms around dramatically causing Diligence to let out an aloof nod, as she focused on Gunter. "And they called you names!" Diligence once again did not reply, focusing on her time with Gunter. Seeing this, Jimjam got on his knees. "Please! Princess, they stole my gym potions. I won't be able to work out anymore!" He begged, desperation dripping from every word prompting the ice princess to massage her temples. "I'll become like the other scrawny snomes!"

The elemental sighed tiredly. "Do you NOT have someone else to bother with this?" She asked with a frown and the snome shook his head. Diligence groaned. "Alright, Goonts. Let's go wipe out a group of bandits or species or whatever." She remarked unenthusiastically, causing Gunter's eyes to narrow.  Alas, the penguin stayed silent leaving his friend to carry him and the snome before jumping out a nearby window and flying away. Soon enough, the three made it to the edges of the ice kingdom before landing on the grassy plains somewhat from the snow. Diligence put her two short companies on the ground before speaking. "So? Where are these so called thieves?"

Before Jimjam could reply, a massive figure fell down from the sky with mind boggling agility. It was a giant red haired humanoid with six fingers and cyan skin wearing only pants and wielding a giant sword. The ice elemental recognised the figure as quickly as he appeared. "Billy." And at his peak as well. She muttered with widened eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Ice Princess, I'm here to stop you." Said the hero firmly, causing Diligence to raise a brow as Jimjam smiled in satisfaction. Suddenly Gunter's eyes widened as he realised the current situation.

"Dilly! This is a trap!" Exclaimed the penguin in a serious tone. "Jimjam set us up!" Not a second after Gunter finished his words did the temperature suddenly drop into freezing levels. The ice elemental stared at the snome with widened eyes before all motion from Diligence halted immediately. Jimjam, however, didn't look worried as he backed away enough to be safe from the fight.

"Go! Princess! I know you can beat him!" He cheered gleefully before a blade of ice coated the princess' arm. The ice elemental raised her arm in the air, ready to slice the snome in two before Billy dashed between the two ice beings and spoke.

"Look! I don't wanna fight you either, but after the stunt you pulled with the Lich every princess is after you!" He said  trying to calm Diligence down. "You've caused too much fear. Everyone wants ME to do something. But I'm a hero; it's my job to rescue princesses, not fight them. I have to ask you to either stay in your kingdom and not come out or apologize or something else; I don't know." He added with a shrug. "I'm still figuring this out." 

Diligence glared at the hero. "I'm not doing any of that and once I find who set this, I'll shove my arm into their ribcage." She said as her eyes glowed white with ice magic. "Now get out of my way!" Pillars of ice formed around the furious ice elemental before she shot towards the snome at lightning speed.

However, before she could reach Jimjam and slice him apart with her arm blade, her attack was met another blade. Nothung, Billy's sword. The ice elemental glared at the hero before he swung he sword against Dilly's. Like a hot knife through butter, Diligence's arm was amputated. The Princess blinked in shock, her breathing quickening as the pain assaulted her brain like vicious scorpions. Yet she stayed silent. Her arm quickly regenerated as the gears in her mind turned. 

Her mind was focused on the hero's swing.  It told her many things. Billy was strong. The strongest person she had ever faced. He was also much MUCH stronger than her physically. That made physical combat akin to suicide. Diligence took a deep breath before floating into the air as her arm fully regenerated. Suddenly, her hands started to glow with ice magic before she aimed at Billy and fired a beam of icy blueish energy at Billy. The hero jumped out of the way before noticing the beam following him around. Seeing this, Billy landed and stood firm, raising his blade above his head before slashing the beam in two letting the icy vapor cover him entirely.

The vapour soon settled to reveal Billy with a frozen shoulder with a pained expression. He looked at Diligence with a serious expression as Diligence did the same, a silent agreement to a duel. And so, the battle of Ooo's most powerful had begun. Billy rushed towards Diligence with a his sword ready to attack and Diligence's hands glowed magically in retaliation. Once the hero had reached her and raised his sword, Diligence quickly moved out of the way and fired a thunderbolt of ice towards Billy's face. But before the bolt hit, Billy's sword finally hit the ground causing a powerful shockwave that shook the earth and sent Diligence crashing like meteor into a nearby hill. Her bones cracked from the impact, causing her to grit her teeth as she climbed out of the crater she was in to see Billy's state. Half of the hero's face was frozen over. Both sides silently acknowledged the other's prowess before they both charged once again, yet the results were largely the same. Diligence dodged the Billy's sword and attacked only to be blown away by the shock of Billy's attack.

This repeated again and again and again. It was no stalemate; it was a battle of attrition. Neither could truly avoid the other's attacks without sacrificing their own. All that was left was to see which would prevail, Diligence's stamina or Billy's endurance. The two, standing face to face painting in exhaustion from the battle recognised this. Determined expressions decorated their faces as both were unwilling to surrender.

"You're a monster, y'know that?" Remarked the ice elemental with a frown, panting between each word as her disheveled hair covered one of her eyes.

"You're one to talk." Replied Billy with a somewhat cheerful, yet exhausted voice. "I've never had a fight last this long before!" Billy raised his sword as Diligence's hands glowed, both ready for another exchange before a beam of purple energy slammed into Diligence's back, causing her to scream in pain. Billy's eyes widened in shock as his enemy fell to the ground groaning and grunting as she clutched the dirt below her. "What?" He asked before noticing a gumball guardian standing in the distance behind Diligence. 

The gumball guardian's eyes shot out a holographic screen to reveal Princess Bubblegum looking at Billy. "Sorry, Billy. But I can't risk you losing to her." She said calmly. "Gumball guardian, capture her." The gumball guardian immediately obeyed. 

"Wait!" Billy screamed out before his body gave out, forcing him to collapse onto the ground and pass out as the guardian got ever closer, keeping the call with PB on.

The guardian carefully picked up the fallen elemental before turning around to leave only to be met with a larger yellow being that was holding an unconcious Jimjam with yellow tendrils. Princess Bubblegum's eyes widened at the creature that seemingly arrived from nowhere. "Hello, Bubblegum."

"Who are you?" Asked the candy princess in a serious tone. 

"I'm Gunter." Stated the being calmly as he swiftly swiped Diligence out of the guardian's hands.

"The penguin?" Asked PB narrowing her eyes before yellow tendrils started wrapping around the guardian's neck. Gunter nodded.

"We all have secrets." He said calmly, staring deep into PB's eyes. "Now, enough about that. Here's the deal. You leave now and I don't kill your toy." He said tightening his grip on the guardian's neck, a sense of urgency in his voice, before it fired a eye beam of energy at him. One that left an injury that quickly healed. "Do it now!" He ordered angrily unleashing hundreds of tendrils to show his impatience.

The Princess paused for a second before turning to the guardian. "Come back." The guardian did as ordered and began to leave quickly. Seeing this, Gunter sighed in relief before walking to the snow of the ice kingdom next to them. He buried Diligence and Jimjam both deep inside the snow before transforming back into his penguin form. The penguin then sat down on the snow patiently.

Minutes later, Gunter heard a sniffle from where he had buried Diligence. "It's okay, Dilly. I managed to hide you in the snow before they got you. They left now." He said calmly before the sniffles suddenly turned to laughter. Worried, Gunterr quickly dug through the snow to see Diligence's face covered in tears and snot as a big broken smile decorated her expression.

"Ha...haha...hahahahaha! I've figured it out, Gunter." She said with a hic, madness and hysteria seeping into her voice. "They're all scum. Everyone in every world is a monster. THEY WANNA PUT ME IN RAGS ON THE STREETS AGAIN!!!!" Gunter almost jumped back at Diligence's screams. The once proud ice elemental was in tears and panting as she clutched her face. It was as if she was about to go mad as laughter and sobs followed each other rapidly.

"Dilly! Calm down! You'll be fine!" Gunter reassured her softly as he placed a flipped onto her cheek.

"No!" She exclaimed as the tears continued to stream down her face with her eyes filled with horror. "I need to stay somewhere safe or they'll eat me ALIVE the moment I sleep!" Gunter winced knowing this had happened once. "It doesn't matter if I'm stronger anymore!" She said panting as fear and hysteria took over her eyes. Panic clear in her heart. She quickly grabbed Gunter and hugged him tightly as she spoke. "I'm locking the castle and keeping them out. Not just those traitors, but everyone! I can't trust anyone else! Only you, Gunter. Only you."

And to this, Gunter could only say one thing. "You can trust me."

xxxxxXxxxxx 

Diligence has lost her trust in everything, her people, the characters she loved, even her own strength. But her trust in Goonts remains strong.

Toodles.

Chapter Text

Inside the locked and fortified ice castle, Diligence sat down in front of a piano. She was wearing glasses a blue sweater and black legging as well as a golden crown. "Alright, Gunter. How do I look?" She asked with a satisfied smile.

Gunter's eyes narrowed. "Like a nerd." He deadpanned causing Diligence to launch her arms into the air happily.

"Perfect!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "I have now become a seemingly harmless nerd!" She declared proudly, readjusting her glasses with a smile. "Who'd try to kill a harmless nerd like me?" Gunter hummed in response, pondering the question before a loud scream was heard from outside the ice castle.

"SLAY THE NERDS!" Both Diligence and Gunter went silent. The ice elemental quickly made a square shaped cut in her wall, a window to see outside. The two quickly looked through the newly made window with curious expressions before laying their eyes on the battlefield outside under a UFO in the shape of a star. The ice folk were battling said UFO as it fired beams of energy at them.

Diligence's eyes widened before she rubbed them and looked again at the scene. "Are those...aliens?" She asked in disbelief. Gunter nodded.

"A nasty bunch too." He added narrowing his eyes. "They're shapeshifters who sneak into planets and transform to look like the locals so they could live in their societies and climb social ladders until they rule the world. They probably would've tried to assassinate you." A look of curiosity made its way onto the penguins face as Diligence gulped. "I suppose they weren't good enough to fool these guys."

The ice elemental went silent, not hearing anything beyond the assassination part. Quickly, the square window in Diligence's palace widened into a giant opening enough to house the UFO. The ice Princess formed a chain of ice around her wrist with a hook on the other side before throwing the hook at the UFO. The hook cleanly caught the alien ship, breaking through parts of it. Acknowledging her successful throw, the ice elemental pulled the chain. The effect was immediate. The ship hurled through the air towards Diligence's home, unable to resist the might of the ice elemental.

Once the ship was an inch from Diligence, the princess pressed her hand onto the hull of the ship stopping it in its tracks. "What do you guys want, aliens?" Diligence asked with a voice full of authority. Recognising this, two snelves jumped out of the ship with blaster like weapons strapped to their arms.

"Your kingdom is ours!" Exclaimed one of them in an unnatural voice as they aimed their blasters at Diligence before the ice elemental immediately fired two beams of ice from her eyes that froze them both in blocks of ice. 

Diligence sighed as she took off her glasses. "Nerd look is a fail." She said throwing the glasses away calmly and putting her hands on her hips. "I need a new idea."

"I suggest a bunker." Gunter chirped in before he and Diligence heard soft gurgling from inside the alien ship. The elemental raised a brow with a hum before turning around to look inside the UFO. Inside was a small being made of black sludge and a single completely red eye. Diligence stared at the being intently as it eyed her curiously with stars in its eyes. The princess' hands glowed as she got ready to eliminate the being before it suddenly changed. 

The being took the form of a baby similar to Diligence. A baby with blue skin, snow hair and limbs. It also, somehow, had a diaper on. The ice elemental blinked. "Uhhhh- is this their baby?" She asked picking the baby up by its foot as it adorably tried to reach her. "What should we do?"

"Kill it." Replied Gunter nonchalantly, causing Diligence's eyes to bulge.

"No!" She exclaimed with a deep frown. "I'm not killing a baby! Especially not an orphan!" She added firmly before a sudden wave of realisation washed upon her, causing horror to seep into her eyes. "Oh no. I orphaned a baby!" She exclaimed clutching her hair.

"So, let's send it to its parents." Deadpanned Gunter with a frustrated expression only to be met with a hesitant expression. "It's a parasite, Dilly. They sneak into societies and conquer them from the inside. It's dangerous." Upon hearing this, Dilly shook the baby by its foot as if to show how helpless it was. The Baby, on the other hand, let out indecipherable baby noises as it drooled all over its own face.

Seeing the drooling, Diligence quickly flipped the baby and cradled it in her arms before giving it a serious glare. "Are you evil?" She asked with a menacing aura befitting her power, yet the baby was unfazed as it started chewing on its own foot. "Hey, don't do that. You might get sick." She quickly took the baby's foot out of its mouth before looking around her. "Do we have anything safe for it to chew on?" Gunter crossed his arms, shooting Dilly a disappointed look. "Right, parasite. Maybe I can just give it to someone else."

Diligence walked to a wall before said wall dissipated in front of her to form a large balcony. "Hey, anyone want a bab-" before she could finish her sentence, a scream cut her off.

"DEATH TO THE CANDY PEOPLE!" A sniant yelled angrily as they held a giant club, causing Diligence to sweatdrop before she averted her gaze from the sniant only to land her eyes on a gathering of snomes.

"WHAT DO WE WANT?" Asked one of the snomes.

"BLOOD!" Replied the rest.

"WHEN DO WE WANT IT?" The snome spoke again.

"ALL THE TIME!" They replied once more before a snelf passed by them with a smile.

"I JUST LIKE SCREAMIN'! AAAAHHHHHH!" Screamed the snelf happily at the top of his lungs, prompting Diligence to slowly back away and return the balcony into a wall, muffling the screaming outside to silence as she did.

Diligence took a long, deep breath before turning to Gunter. "I'm keeping it." Gunter hissed immediately upon hearing those words. 

"It'll only bring trouble!" Exclaimed the penguin angrily. A conflicted look covered the face of the ice elemental as she eyed the baby, its adorable baby noises unceasing.

"Maybe it won't?" She said with a shrug before a serious expression made its way onto her face. The ice elemental waved her hand in front of her, creating an arena with baby proof walls reminiscent of a large crib and placed a snowman as well as a dull ice knife inside. Diligence carefully placed the baby in front of the knife and the snowman. "Alright, baby. In front of you, is a knife and a victim. Go commit crime."

Gunter immediately facepalmed at the absurd situation and the baby wasn't faring any better. The baby looked in front of it with its eyes set on the vast horizon. Pressure was on and the baby's face scrunched up in discomfort. The ice elemental waited with bated breath before the baby unleashed his attack. A fart.

"Ew! Not that kind of crime!" Exclaimed Diligence in frustration as the baby giggled happily.

"Enough!" Gunter snapped. "I'm getting rid of that thing!" Without hesitation, Gunter jumped into the baby arena and grabbed the baby, before jumping out of the arena and heading for the door.

"Gunter, no!" Exclaimed Diligence, jumping over the baby arena and landing in front of her friend. Seeing this, Gunter fell to his stomach and used it to slide past the ice elemental. Diligence quickly turned around to only to find Gunter had already went past the flap door she had set for him. The ice elemental frowned before the door fell apart in front of her presence. She dashed through the hallways after Gunter. "Gunter! When I catch you, you'll be in so much trouble!"

The penguin, on the other hand, was sliding around the palace and towards the basement with the baby still on his back. Suddenly, the hallways in front of him started to close block by block. The penguin remained unfazed. He weaved through the blocks blocking his path, his balance remaining impeccable and the baby still firm on his back. 

Soon enough, they made it to the basement of the palace where several weapons and artifacts rested. Gunter placed the baby down and grabbed a sword off of a wall. "Gunter, stop!" Diligence exclaimed, stopping the penguin in his tracks.

"No." Replied Gunter in a serious tone. "This is a parasite that's manipulating your mind!" He exclaimed, bringing the blade closer to the baby's neck. "It steals your looks to make you care for it. It's a leech." 

The ice elemental paused. "I know. I know. But..." Muttered Diligence with a dejected frown before she sat down on the cold ice floor. "...I see myself in this baby. It's all alone in this world with no one to take care of it. It'll suffer and starve on the streets if we leave it alone. I don't wish that life upon anyone and I don't wanna kill it either." Gunter frowned, pulling the sword away slowly.

"It's a mortal, Dilly." He replied softly. "Its lifespan is an inconsequential blip in your life." Diligence frowned. "It'll die with time."

The ice elemental went silent before sighing. "I know, but I still want to" She said, a a serious expression searing itself onto her face. Gunter sighed before laying down his weapon. Diligence smiled before walking up to her friend and picking him up into a hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Replied the penguin calmly before turning in Dilly's arms to the baby. "What are you gonna name it?"

"I'm thinking Crystal. Crys for short. Crystal Snowflakes." Replied Diligence with a smile, putting down Gunter and picking the baby up.

Gunter blinked. "It's gonna hate that joke when it grows up." He said, earning a glare from the ice elemental.

xxxxxXxxxxx 

Years later.

In a homey living room of ice and snow, Diligence Snowflakes sat in a comfy chair with a cup of hot cocoa in hand. She hummed cheerfully as she drank without a care in the world before Gunter entered the room

"Hey, Crys challenged some weird kid in a funny hat and blue shorts to a battle to the death." He said nonchalantly, causing Diligence to spit out the cocoa in her mouth.

"WHAT?!"

xxxxxXxxxxx 

The reason I wanted to give Diligence a kid is because of the main characters of the show and their familial relationships.

Finn and Jake, adoptive brothers.

PB and Marcy, lovers.

And now

Dilly and Crys, parent and child.

So yeah. That's why I did this. I didn't want Dilly to be the odd one out.

Toodles.

Chapter Text

Finn the human and Jake the dog, a duo of heroes and adventurers who fight monsters and save princesses were now walking in the hallways of the candy kingdom's palace. At the behest of Princess Bubblegum, the two travelled here. 

Soon enough, they made it to the princess' lab where she stood in front of a scientific contraption containing a cone of ice cream. "Finn! Jake! You're finally here!" Exclaimed the princess cheerfully upon seeing the two. "Check this out." She added flipping a switch, causing multiple flamethrowers to fire at the ice cream. However, the ice cream remained strong and cold again the mighty flames. 

"Woah!" Exclaimed Finn in awe as the cover on the ice cream was removed, letting Jake the magic dog turn his hand into a scooper and scoop a bit of it. The dog downed the dessert without hesitation and took in the taste with a contemplative expression.

"Hmm. Tastes kinda burnt." Remarked Jake with a frown. The princess smiled at this reaction as she eyed the ice cream

"This ice cream was made using snow from the ice kingdom." Explained the princess. "If we can uncover more of its secrets, we would be able to make more than that. Imagine, food that never spoils or goes bad." She explained, passion seeping into her voice. "But for that, I need more snow for experiments. I need you to bring me some of that snow."

Finn immediately spoke with vigor and eagerness. "You got it, princess!" He exclaimed cheerfully as Jake gave a thumbs up with a mouth full of burnt ice cream.

"Be careful, Finn." Replied Bonnie in a worried tone as she closed her eyes to imagine the two's adventure. "The ice kingdom is home to the ice barbarians. They're VERY dangerous. Especially their princess." When Bonnie opened her eyes, she found the duo missing. She looked out of the window to find that they were already on their way to the ice kingdom.

All she could do was hope they would be okay.

xxxxxXxxxxx

At the edges of the ice kingdom, Finn and Jake stood wearing winter clothes with smiles on their faces. "Hey, Jake?" Finn called out to his brother with a pondering expression as he walked into the snow. "What do you think the Princess was trying to tell us before we left?" 

Jake hummed. "She was probably warning us of the ice folk." He said as he transformed into a giant bowl with legs. "They're battle maniacs who are obsessed with strength. They say they feed their weak babies to other babies so they can make super babies. Even monsters don't wander here because they're so scared of them." He added as he began filling himself with snow. "And their leader, Ice Princess is the most powerful and brutal of all. Some say she even beat Billy!"

"Woah." Muttered Finn in shock and awe. "We should totally fight one." He added excitedly. Jake nodded in agreement before the two stopped their tracks.

"Ow!" The two suddenly heard a voice from the snow. "Get off me!" Finn and Jake both stared at the snow in confusion before turning to each other.

"Did the snow just talk?" Asked Jake in shock and horror as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. 

"Snow can't talk." Asked the voice in confusion before the upper half of a 10 year old boy rose from beneath the snow. The boy had short hair as white as snow and blue skin. He wore a dark blue vest with a white undershirt, dark blue pants and boots as well as a comfy green winter scarf around his neck. "Unless you count snowmen. I'm Crys, nice to meet you." Said the boy cheerfully as he got out of the snow completely. "So, what's got a duo of outsiders like you travelling the ice kingdom?"

Finn immediately responded. "I'm Finn. This is Jake." He said gesturing towards Jake. "We're just taking some snow." He said nonchalantly. "For science." He added in a serious tone, causing Crys's eyes to gleam like stars as the image of himself riding a giant snow monster entered his mind.

"Would you describe the results as...magical?" He asked as a big smile overtook his face. Finn and Jake shrugged in unison before nodding. "Forget about this snow. I'll show you where the real quality is!" Without hesitation, Crys grabbed the duo by the hands and dragged them along as he rushed towards the heart of the ice kingdom with clear excitement. "I'm finally gonna be able to use magic!" He whispered happily.

The three headed quickly towards the beautiful icy gates of the kingdom, hearing a grunt of pain as they passed through. Finn and Jake looked back to find a fluffy cyan footrug with a pained expression. "Don't worry." Crys reassured them, gesturing towards the footrug. "That's just Jimjam. He's been turned into the gate's footrug for some crime. Forget about him."

The two quickly entered through the gate and were struck with awe by the not only the buildings or ice folk, but the magical snowmen that walked about the streets. "Woah! There's enough snow here for the princess to make a mountain of ice cream!" Crys immediately stopped in his tracks.

The ice boy blinked as he he turned to the duo. "Which princess are you talking about?" He asked narrowing his eyes vigilantly.

"Princess Bubblegum." Replied Finn nonchalantly, causing Crys's eyes to widen. The ice boy took a deep breath before pulling a dagger out of his pocket and aiming it at the human boy.

"How DARE you step in here!" Crys exclaimed firmly, causing the eyes of ice folk around them to focus on the scene. "Finn, I challenge you to a DUEL TO THE DEATH!"

The ice folk cheered as they circled the two, not leaving a chance for any escape. Jake saw this and immediately grabbed Finn before trying to escape. The surrounding snow folk immediately pinned the dog down and knocked the human off into the arena. "Finn!" Exclaimed Jake in a panic as he pinned down by Sniants.

"Jake!" Exclaimed Finn as the ice folk started chanting 'fight' excitedly. Left with no choice, the human quickly pulled his sword out of his back and got into a battle stance before he felt a burning pain in his waist. He looked down to find that he'd been slashed. He turned around to find Crys behind him, twirling his ice knife with a frown.

"What is it, candy boy?" He asked mockingly as he approached the human confidently. "Can't fight?" He asked, prompting Finn to raise his sword and rush towards the ice boy for an attack. Crys blocked Finn's blade before redirecting it to the ground in an instant. Finn's eyes widened before Crys spun in a circle into a kick into his kneepit, forcing the human onto one knee. "Pathetic! Is this the best Bubblegum has to offer? An untrained kid? You're not even worth the fight." He said with a haughty unamused expression despite his enemy being older than him. Without even bothering with grace, the ice boy pinned Finn down to the snowy ground with his foot before stabbing his dagger into the snow next to the human as he breathed down his neck. "I'm taking out your dog too when this is done." He whispered into the humans ear.

Sweat rolled down Finn's cheeks as he faced down an overwhelming foe. If he couldn't defeat Crys, he'd lose not only his life, but Jake's as well. Finn summoned all the power he could muster, pushing Crys off of him. The ice boy was surprised for a second before quickly regaining his balance only to find Finn rushing towards him with his sword above his head primed for an attack. Crys braced himself for the attack before a familiar figure landed between them from the sky above.

Before Finn could truly take in that the beautiful ice woman in front of him was a princess and not an enemy, he was already swinging. However, before his sword could hit anything, he felt his sword fly out of his hands before an attack to his kneepit forced him onto one knee. His eyes widened in shock. He couldn't even see her move yet she already beat him. 

Fear began to seep into Finn's veins before he heard the beautiful woman speak angrily. "EVERYONE OUT!"

xxxxxXxxxxx

Diligence Snowflakes ran through her castle wearing a blue sweater and black jeans as well as white boots in a panic. "WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!" She yelled as she leaped out of a window into the village below. She looked around her, trying to find Crys. Without much looking around, she found a large gathering of ice people and she knew where ice people gathered there was a fight.

The ice elemental leaped into the air in a swift and graceful motion before landing into the middle of the gathering with anger on her face before she felt a presence dashing towards her for an attack. Without hesitation or thought, she quickly kicked the sword in the presence's hand before spinning in a circle into a kick into their kneepit, forcing them onto one knee. As she was about to execute the final blow, her eyes finally landed on the presence to see a familiar boy. Finn the human. Diligence's eyes widened and she quickly turned to her people.

"Everyone out! This battle to the death has been invalidated!" She snapped angrily, causing the ice folk to whine. "NOW!" Hearing the incandescent rage within their princess' voice lit a flame of fear inside the ice folk, causing them to run away immediately. Now without distractions, the princess turned to Crys who was smiling nervously. "What were YOU THINKING?!"

"But I had to!" Countered Crys firmly. "They were working for Bubblegum! She HURT you!"

"I know what she did, but I don't want you risking your LIFE for anything!" Snapped Diligence angrily, causing her son to scowl.

"But I was winning!" Refuted the boy in frustration, causing Diligence to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"And I don't care! You shouldn't be risking your life either way!" She snapped back, causing tears to well up in Crys's eyes. "Go to your room! You're grounded!" Against his mother's stern words, Crys could do nothing but rush back to his home trying not to cry. Seeing this, Diligence sighed before turning to Finn and Jake. Finn stared at her almost in awe while Jake looked utterly terrified. Finn's body had a large cut on the waist, her son's doing.

"Finn, we have to go! That's Ice Princess! She eats babies for breakfast." Jake whispered to Finn not going unheard by the elemental, yet Finn didn't listen. 

Diligence sighed audibly. "Is that really what they say about me?" She asked eyeing Jake tiredly, causing the dog to shake in fear. The ice elemental sighed once again before eyeing the two intently. Once the adrenaline of the situation had wore off, she could feel herself truly appreciate the situation. She was meeting THE Finn and Jake. Excitement bubbled in her heart as she examined the duo. "Finn the Human and Jake the Dog, right?"

"How do you know our names?!" Asked Jake in panic, causing the princess to laugh menacingly.

"Because I'm in your lungs, Jake." She said with a menacing smile, causing more horror to spread across his face. "Every breath you take has my snow inside." The dog quickly stopped his breathing and Diligence smiled. "It's too late, Jake. I'm in your blood!" Diligence magically manipulated the wind around Jake's arms, causing them to move slightly. Jake screamed in fear as his unintentional motion, causing Diligence to giggle. The elemental quickly extended her hand towards the dog and began scratching his head with a happy smile. The dog quickly began to relax under the comfort of scratches as Finn watched silently.

"Can everyone here fight like that kid?" Asked Finn curiously, causing Diligence to raise a brow as she continued to scratch Jake's head. 

"Crys? I mean, pretty much." Diligence replied with a sigh. "That's their whole deal. They have to be good at it."

Finn frowned before he sat on the snow next to Diligence. "I couldn't even land a hit on him." He said dejectedly. "And he was making fun of me the whole time."

Diligence let out a hearty chuckle. "Makes you feel like a big fish in a small pond, right?" She said calmly. "Don't worry about it. Crys just had professional training." She added with a smile. "The lesson here is to know your own limits and prioritise love over-"

"Teach me how to fight!" Exclaimed Finn, cutting Diligence off. The ice elemental blinked and stood up.

"What? No! Finn, that's not the lesson here." Replied Diligence in surprise before Finn latched onto her leg. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not letting you go until you teach me." He replied, determination dripping from every word as he tightening his lock on her leg.

"Glob flippin' damn it."

xxxxxXxxxxx 

Hope you guys liked Crys as a character.

Toodles.

Chapter Text

"Trainees! Give me a hurrah!" Exclaimed Diligence wearing a dark blue crop turtleneck top and pants, her crown and fancy white boots. Crys stood next to her with a deep frown.

"Hurrah!" Exclaimed Finn wearing a sweater as Jake yawned sleepily. Crys's face became bluer in anger watching the two. The four were currently in an empty field of snow where no other soul could be seen.

"Can you tell me WHY candy boy is here again?" The ice Prince asked crossing his arms with a grumpy expression, causing his mother to sigh. "This is OUR training spot where we have OUR training!"

Diligence glanced at the very excited Finn with a tired expression before turning back to her child. "I couldn't get him off my leg." She replied in a whisper as a small smile crept onto her face. "Besides, we desperately could use some non ice people friends other than Gunter." Crys grumbled, yet he didn't object as his mother turned to the human. "Okay, Finn, let's start with the most important thing you have to learn. Can you guess what it is?"

Finn placed a hand on his chin, pondering the question with utmost seriousness. "How to cut a mountain in half with your sword?" He asked only to receive a chop to the head from Diligence. "Ow!" 

"Wrong." Deadpanned the ice princess. "It's dodging." She added sternly, her expression cold as ice as she walked back and forth in front of the boy. "You have a squishy human body that can break and die easily. So your priority should be avoiding getting hit." Finn deflated upon hearing those words. "Now, I'm a little too extreme for you so I'm having my most trusted friend and advisor train you today. Gunter, you can come out now."

Finn and Jake immediately focused in unison upon hearing Diligence's words. Sweat rolled down their skin as they imagined what kind of monster the ice princess trusted the most. A giant shadow loomed over a hill as the being trudged through the snow. Fear began to seep into their bones before Gunter showed himself. "A penguin?" Asked Jake in surprise before extending his arm to Gunter. "What's up, little gu-" before Jake could finish his sentence, Gunter slapped him across the face.

"Listen here, peons!" Exclaimed Gunter firmly before crossing his flippers as Dilly removed her crown off her head and placed on Gunter's. "I'm Gunter and I'm your teacher for today. Now, fifty laps around the track! Dodge as you run!"

Finn and Jake blinked in confusion. "What track?" Asked Jake before Gunter fired a bolt of lightning towards the magic dog.

"FIND ONE!" Shouted Gunter furiously, causing the him, Finn and Crys to start running. Dilly smiled as she crossed her arms.

"Whip them good, Goonts." She said cheerfully as she headed back towards her palace with her hands on her hips. Gunter obliged and fired another bolt of magical lightning towards the three, causing Finn to scream.

"Why does he have ice powers?!" Screamed the human boy in fear before he was forced to dodge another icy bolt of lightning.

"It's the crown." Replied Crys with a deep frown as he ran beside Finn and Jake. "It gives its wearer ice powers."

Jake blinked. "So if we snatch it, he's powerless." He said, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "We could even use the crown to-"

"No!" Crys quickly interjected. "The crown makes anyone who wears it go insane!" Finn blinked before he turned to Gunter who fired another bolt of ice their way, forcing them to dodge.

"He doesn't look that insane." Remarked the boy. "Ice Princess didn't look like it either."

"That's because they're immune to the insanity." Replied Crys in a serious tone, effortlessly dodging a bolt of lightning as he ran.

Hearing this, Jake blew a raspberry. "It just sounds like your mom told you that so you wouldn't touch her crown." He said calmly. "We should steal it." Crys glared at Jake with the power of a thousands suns only for the dog to chuckle. "Cmon, man, you don't want ice powers? Oh, right, you already got those."

Crys went silent as a dejected expression spread across his face. "I don't." He said, his shoulders slumping down as he dodged another ice attack. "I'm the only ice person who doesn't."

"Dude, you should totally wear that crown." Remarked Finn nonchalantly before Jake smiled mischievously. His arms stretched out sneakily towards Gunter and just before the penguin could fire another blast, Jake took the crown off his head and threw it towards Finn.

Gunter's eyes widened as he saw Finn catch said crown mid air before placing onto Crys' head. A panicked expression covered the penguin's face as Crys' pupils dilated before a visible cold breath left his throat. "You dumdums! Do you understand what you've just done?!" He snapped angrily. "Take it off his head now!"

"Psh, c'mon, let the guy have-" Jake couldn't finish his sentence before he heard an ominous laugh leave Crys.

"The crown, it whispers to me the secrets of ice and snow." The ice boy said with a maniacal chuckle, causing Finn ad Jake to back away from him slightly. 

"I'm immune to the insanity of the crown, you idiot!" Shouted the penguin angrily. "I'll get Dilly." He added before rushing away from the scene. "Try not to die!" Finn and Jake blinked before they saw the world begin to darken around them. They looked up to find Crys' snow-white hair growing longer as twirled a snowstorm into existence.

Mid flight, Crys noticed something in the distance and grinned. "Oooh! The candy kingdom!" He exclaimed happily. "Yes...yes, I'm going to destroy it!" Finn and Jake went pale almost immediately. Jake quickly stretched upwards as Finn jumped on his back.

"You can't destroy the candy kingdom!" Exclaimed Finn causing the maddened Crys to tilt his head.

"But I can, look." He replied aiming his hand upwards before firing a bolt of lightning from his palm. The bolt of lightning moved arched through the air and over the distance before hitting one of the Candy Kingdom's palace's towers, freezing it entirely.

"Notwhatimeant! Notwhatimeant!" Shouted Finn in panic before pouncing off of Jake onto the ice prince taking them both down to the snowy ground. Both were unharmed, but Crys was not happy. He took a deep breath, filing his lungs wit air before blowing on Finn above him sending the boy flying into the air in a gust of wind.

Finn screamed before Jake caught him. However, Crys wasn't keen on letting them relax. He fired one bolt of icy lightning after another at the duo without mercy. However, the two zig zaged, jumped and titled away from all of them with minimal harm. "Hey, Ice Princess was right. Dodging is really-" before he could finish, a bolt of lightning smacked him in the chest before freezing everything below his neck in a block of ice.

"Finn!" Exclaimed Jake before a bolt of lightning hit him as well, freezing him completely. With the duo now subdued, Crys laughed at his victory reveling in his power to the point that he didn't notice someone appearing behind him from thin air. The figure merely took the crown off the boy's head as if it were the simplest task in the world and placed it on her head. It was none other than Diligence herself.

The princess of ice and snow waved her hand, freeing Finn and Jake in a single motion. "Can someone explain to me what happened here?" She asked angrily. 

Crys groaned as his hair shortened back to normal. He massaged his temples as he spoke. "It's my fault." He said dejectedly before Finn jumped in literally.

"NO!" He said firmly with his face planted into the snow. "It's mine! I made him wear the crown! Punish me instead!"

Diligence pinched the bridge of her nose. "Anything to say, Jake the dog?" She said in a disappointed tone, causing said dog's ears to perk up.

"Oh yeah, why does it not make the talking penguin crazy?" Asked Jake curiously, causing Diligence to facepalm.

"Because Gunter is special and I'm already crazy so I'm not affected either." She replied calmly only to get confused gazed from everyone minus Gunter. "For example, I once murdered a group of people because they had no power to offer me. One of them was the guy who taught me everything I know about magic." Everyone's gazes immediately transformed from confused to terrified, causing Diligence to awkwardly avoid eye contact. "Now that I look back at it, that was extremely messed up. I need to make a snow therapist."

"Soooo, I'm not grounded?" Asked Crys with a hopeful expression and a weak smile.

Diligence shrugged. "Sure, no harm done." She said calmly before a giant hologram of princess Bubblegum appeared in the distance.

"Princess Diligence Snowflakes! For your aggression against the candy kingdom, I declare war between our kingdoms!" She said firmly.

Diligence took a deep exasperated breath as she gazed at Finn, Jake and Crys who all smiled nervously at what they had caused.

xxxxxXxxxxx

Sorry for the delay and stuff. I'm working on other project rn.

Toodles.