What happened last:

Princess Bubblegum went to the Nightosphere to recruit the help of the Lord of Evil. After mostly having success, she left and went back to the Candy Kingdom to reflect on everything that was going on. Hunson ended up pouring out more feelings that he had in the past few hundred years and he is unsure if he'll even be able to help the people of Ooo. Now, only time will tell.

Shortly after the sun was completely down, Finn, Jake and Marceline woke up and prepared themselves to continue their journey to observe what Maja was up to.

Marceline woke up comfortably in Finn's thick jacket with him hugging her from behind and Finn was wearing the sweater that Bubblegum knitted for him.

M: "*yawn* good night everyone." She said, not feeling as if it was odd to say it.

F: "Uh… good night, Marcy." Finn said, recognizing how weird it sounded. He yawned a few seconds after the vampire queen.

Because yawns are contagious.

F: "Hey, Jake! Get up, bro! We gotta go." It didn't really matter how loud Finn was. They had enough snow between them and the surface so that it acted as a sound barrier.

M: "Hmmm… I wonder how we didn't like, run out of oxygen or something."

F: "Eh, who cares?" He responded to her, ignoring that Jake didn't respond.

Finn walked over to the wall of soft snow that was separating them and dug through it just enough so that he could fit. He walked over to Jake and shook him a bit in order to wake him up.

F: "Hey dude, we gotta go now."

J: "C'mon man… just five more minutes?" He lazily swung his arm towards Finn to get him to leave him alone.

F: "It's late already, Man. We gotta do this biz."

J: "*sigh* Alright, I'm up." He said as he slowly sat up, sounding as if he was regretting every second of it. He rubbed his eyes a bit then finally stood up.

M: "I guess another boring night of walking is all that we're gonna do tonight." She said with a sour attitude. She wished that she could just fly across the Ice Kingdom but she knew why that wouldn't work.

F: "Yeah, looks like it." He agreed

J: "Well… I don't know about you guys, but I'm not going anywhere without eating. Jakey needs food." He rubbed his rumbling stomach.

F: "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." He said as Jake took food out of his backpack.

Jake only ended up packing food for the most part so he had enough for him and Finn. They made sandwiches with meat from Meat Man and they took a few minutes to eat. Marceline just took a few random red things out of her backpack and sucked the red out of them. They were mostly sheets of paper with red crayon and paint on them. It wasn't the most delicious shade of red but it was good enough.

Once the group gathered all of their belongings, they exited the underground campsite. When they were all on the surface, Jake destroyed the campsite by breaking the support beams inside, forcing it to capsize. He and Finn knew that hiding all traces of them being there was an important part of covert missions.

With their stomachs feeling content, the group began the second night of their journey.

It wasn't long before they came up on a very familiar looking group of mountains. For the most part, they all looked the same but one artificially placed group of mountains stood out from the rest to the trained eye. Marceline was the first to notice the mountain with an entryway near the summit. It was none other than Ice King's home.

Marceline though to herself that it's been awhile since she last saw the Ice King. Not since she and Bubblegum used that odd memory-boosting chemical to help him remember his past. She remembers how bad his mental state was before they last saw him so she was wondering how he would be now.

F: "You can go, Marcy." He said in a smooth voice.

M: "W-what?" She turned to look at him, noticing that he was probably staring at her.

She didn't even realize that she was staring at the Ice King's home. She wanted to see how he was doing and that thought was sitting in the back of her mind, eating away at her.

F: "I know you want to go check on him. Me and Jake can keep going. You're faster than us so you can just catch up."

J: "Jake and I… *cough*" He quietly interjected, correcting Finn's grammatical error. Everyone ignored him, of course.

M: "Y-yeah. That'll work. Thanks, Finn." She said as she stepped towards him to give him a hug.

She then flew away and went straight towards the entrance to the Ice King's home while Finn and Jake kept on walking.

After a few minutes of quietly walking, Jake asked Finn a serious question to break the silence.

J: "So Finn…" He said in a normal tone.

F: "Sup man?" He responded more quietly to Jake, trying to keep the conversation as quiet as possible.

J: "How's everything with Marcy?"

Finn didn't expect that kind of question so it made his mind skip for a split second but he recovered quickly.

F: "It's going pretty good, man."

J: "It's going good? Just good? C'mon man, I know you can be more descriptive than that." He was prying to get his brother to open up to him more. He realized that he never really asked Finn about him and the vampire queen and felt bad. Finn has asked him about his relationship with Lady Rainicorn a million times before and Jake felt as though he should at least try to do the same.

F: "Well, ya know man. It's going pretty good. We don't really argue or anything like that."

J: "So you mean to tell me that what you just said is the sum of all of your thoughts and emotions about Marcy?" He was trying to get Finn's mind thinking about her.

F: "No I… *sigh*" He was getting frustrated.

J: "Hey bro, sorry. I didn't mean to get you all upset or nothin'." He felt as if he approached the situation a bit wrong.

F: "It's not that man. I… I just don't know how to explain how I feel about her. I mean… I like being around her and everything about her. And she's pretty much the best person ever I just…" He stopped for a second although he did not stop walking.

Jake looked over at his brother's face and noticed his very troubled expression. He was worrying about what was going on in his mind but he knew that he was about to find out.

F: "It's really weird actually. I love Marceline, and I can easily say that because I know it's true but… I'm also afraid of loving her." He lowered his head and stared at the ground. Finn noticed the moon's bright light reflecting on the untouched snow on the ground. He could see the snow sparkle as if someone sprinkled glitter all over the Ice Kingdom. It was a short moment of beauty while Finn's mind was slowly slipping into sad thoughts.

The human boy didn't notice it much, but he always had sad thoughts when Marceline was gone. Even if those thoughts were subtle and in the back of his mind, they were still there. And now that someone actually asked him about her, he really noticed it now.

J: "You're afraid? Of what?"

F: "Eh… it's dumb, Jake. I don't really want to talk about it. And we're supposed to be quiet anyway." He tried to find a way to change the subject so he wouldn't have to talk about this very sensitive matter.

J: "Finn, you can't just leave me with a cliffhanger like that. Just tell me, man. I won't tell her nothin'." Jake smiled at Finn to try to convince him.

The human boy was convinced obviously. He knew that he could always trust Jake. He also knew that Jake didn't always keep secrets, but he usually knew when it was best for those secrets to be brought to light. It was a bit confusing but Finn knew that telling Jake would only be a good thing.

F: "I… uh… I've been thinking about her being immortal a lot lately and… how's it gonna work when I eventually die of old age and she stays the same age forever? I mean… if we end up being together for a long time, it's gonna really mess her up when I'm gone and she's still here. Isn't it?"

J: "Finn I-"

F: "- and I know that she's dealt with this kind of stuff a bunch before, but I'm pretty sure that it's never been like this. Just from what she's told me, she hasn't really ever been close to people before. Not as much as now anyway. I just… I don't know." He was beginning to almost feel selfish, thinking that she's never felt this strongly for anyone else before. Maybe he just didn't want to think of her being this attached to someone else.

J: "Finn, buddy… I know you might not want to hear this... but that's not really your call, man. And I already know what you're thinking. And to be honest bro, if losing you would put her over the edge in like a hundred years or so, then so be it. And-"

F: "-what are you saying?" He was feeling a bit odd from Jake's opinion.

J: "What I'm saying is… just think of it like this; everything you remember throughout your life so far… take all that and relive it one hundred times over."

F: "O-ok. I don't see w-"

J: "And after that 10th time of repeating the same life over and over, something finally changes. You meet a totally awesome bro like me, except he's way cooler."

F: "That's pretty cool." Finn's eyes grew wide.

J: "Yeah, now put yourself in Marcy's shoes. You've lived your whole life with totally rad people but one day…" He paused for dramatic effect.

Finn leaned in as he focused his undivided attention on Jake.

J: "One day she meets someone that isn't like anyone else. All of those jerks she's known all her life will never compare to this new person. This guy is awesome and a cool bro and she's never met anyone like him before. And that guy is…" He paused once again.

F: "Who, Jake? Who is it?" He was getting anxious.

J: "Wha-? It's you, Finn. It's you!" It was a bit disappointed.

F: "Oh uh… he heh. I was getting too excited I guess."

J: "Anyway, so after meeting this amazing person and knowing him for a really long time, he dies. And when he dies… maybe it won't exactly be the saddest moment in her life…?" He was straying away from his hypothetical situation a bit from the deep thought and began using the potential future situation as the example.

J: "Maybe instead of feeling crushed from losing the greatest person ever to Glob, she feels happy for ever have met you. Why should she mourn death? Why can't she just celebrate your life and everything that you've been through? …So instead of living out her eternal days feeling very lonely, she keeps her mind in its most peaceful state by blissfully joining you."

F: "Are you suggesting that she would…?"

J: "Yeah man. It's just a thought. Don't think about it too much. But when you think of it as a way of being with the person you love forever rather than "ending it all" then it sounds pretty logical."

F: "I… I think I understand. That's some heavy stuff…" He felt a bit breathless from the immensely deep hypothetical situation that Jake just proposed.

J: "I know man. But like I said, don't think about it too much. Who knows, maybe there's a different way to do things?"

F: "Like… dying in an epic battle?" He was still thinking of ways that he would end up dying but that's not what Jake was hinting at.

J: " Wha… Hey Finn…?"

F: "Yes?" He sounded irritated and turned his head away. He knew exactly what Jake was about to ask.

J: "Did you eat your-"

Finn ignored him by covering his ears and began to walk faster. Jake thought that it was a bit comical but he didn't bother to keep the joke going so as to not draw all of the attention away from what they were actually here to do.

They didn't know how far they needed to walk to find where Maja was but that didn't matter. They weren't going to stop until the job was done.

Suddenly, Finn and Jake heard a very faint beeping sound coming from inside of Finn's backpack. It was the same tool that Bubblegum used to find Maja the first time. Finn made sure to keep the volume on the device low so that It could still be heard without being too loud.

The human boy pulled out the device and looked at the screen and saw an arrow pointing in the direction that evil magic was coming from. It was showing for only a few seconds but disappeared. There is a good chance that Maja knows that she could be found because of her magic but she probably needed to use it for some reason. Unlucky for her, Finn and Jake were ready when she slipped up for that short few seconds. And that's all they needed.

They were already headed in the right direction, and now they had proof that Maja was more than likely where Princess Bubblegum suspected.

J: "Let's hurry up and figure out what Maja's doing so we can get home. I could really go for some spaghetti right about now." Jake sounded more motivated than he even felt. Seeing proof that they were headed in the right direction put him in a much better mood.

F: "*sigh*"

J: "Hey man, is something wrong?" He was suspecting that it was the same problem as earlier but he didn't want to be too sure.

F: "Nah man. I'm good. It's just that… well, I've just been thinking a lot lately, ya know? And It's not just about the thing with Marcy never aging, it's been other stuff. And the main thing is about this whole war." Finn was sounding very upset.

J: "Do you wanna talk about it, man?"

F: "No… not really. But every time I talk to you about junk that bothers me it seems to get better, so I will anyway." Finn took a deep breath before speaking so that he could compose his thoughts.

F: "The main thing that bothers me is that, if Maja attacks this time with her entire army all at once, there's a good chance that they'll destroy the Candy Kingdom before we can stop them."

J: "Finn, don't you remember how easily we crushed those dudes? They were super easy!"

F: "Yeah. We can fight like, a few hundred of them like we did. But we're talking about in the thousands of them. Like… a lot of thousands. It's not even close to the same thing."

J: "Oh… I see what you mean." He was a bit dumbfounded. He almost felt dumb for not thinking of things that way.

F: "Yeah, see? And that's not even the part that scares me the most… If they can destroy an entire kingdom, then they could very easily destroy the people that live there. And I know that nobody really got hurt too bad last time, but I know Maja was just testing us. Her army might be inexperienced but that doesn't mean they're incapable of causing massive damage and casualties." Finn articulated his thoughts and fears in a very intelligent way. He's sounding more and more adult-like as all of the problems that he encounters test his resilience.

Finn thought to himself and it was something that he knew that had to always remain true deep down.

F: "I can't give up. I can't falter. I can't let everyone down. If I fail, then who am I but the enemy?" He always thought that it sounded a bit too poetic but it was fitting.

J: "I hear ya man. I know that the outcome might seem bleak, and victory seems uncertain, but you just need to never give up. We're all in this together; it's not just on our shoulders for once. So remember that and don't stress out too much. Together we fight and together we'll win. Maja doesn't stand a chance. We got this bro."

F: "Yeah ok, man." Finn cracked a half-smile. Jake always had a way with words and he knew what to say.

With the collective motivation levels a bit higher that before, Finn and Jake kept on walking in the direction that their evil magic finder told them to go; feeling ready for anything.

At Ice King's House

Marceline approached Ice King's home and gracefully flew in through a window. The house wasn't as messy as it was last time. It was still more unorganized than usual but it appeared that he at least tried to clean up. Marceline carefully looked around the room, making sure not to miss any details. He was confusing to figure out based on his habits but a lot can be learned about someone just by looking at how they live when they're alone.

Usually, there would be some sort of pathway of light in his house; or at least a small amount of light shining through a doorway to indicate where he was, but not this time. It wasn't exactly alarming to Marceline, but it didn't seem normal either.

Suddenly, Marceline heard a subtle thumping sound coming from one of the lower levels of Ice King's home. She figured that he was just in his "The Past Room". She probably should have guessed it. He's been there more and more recently; probably now even more so after Bubblegum's chemical experiment with Ice King's memory. Now he knows that he's forgotten a large portion of his life; the portion that defined him as a person. And now he's nothing but an empty husk of his former self.

Marceline cautiously approached the stairs that led downward. She floated down the staircase, occasionally hearing what heard like a switchblade flicking in the open position. To Marceline, that's exactly what it sounded like and it worried her.

Why does he have a knife?

What is he doing?

What might he do?

Those were all questions that Marcy immediately thought of. She almost became scared for Ice King's safety so she hurried. After a few moments of quickly floating through the darkness, she came upon the room. She could see Ice King's silhouette sitting in a chair although it was a bit too dark to really get a good look at anything. She placed her feet on the ground and stepped into the room.

M: "Simon?"

Finally! Chapter 67 is out. So many things contributed to the hiatus but it was mainly the whole work/business trip thing. Anyway, here it is everyone. Let me know what you think. :p