I'm having issues with emotional things lately. I've also been repeatedly listening to the Adriana Figueroa cover of I Remember You, so... yeah. I'm just purging my feels. I hope I'm only hurting myself with this.
xXx
"Marceline, get away from me!"
The little girl stumbled back, eyes wide with terror as the only person who had ever watched out for her gripped his head in pain, the crown tied to his belt glowing ominously. He yelled out, fingers entangled in his coarse white hair.
"Simon?!" Marceline cried, tears rising in her eyes. This wasn't supposed to be happening, Simon had said he was getting better, he said that nothing like this would happen. They were supposed to go find a place to live. They were supposed to find happiness in a world where such a thing was now practically nonexistent. Even as a little girl, Marceline understood that much. She clutched Hambo to her chest and backed away a few steps, staring at her friend in horror.
Simon doubled over, breathing heavily. He looked up at the child with blank white eyes and his lips twisted into a grin, revealing sharp teeth. They contrasted brightly against the pale blue of his skin. A hoarse chuckle broke its way free of his chest. Simon—or whatever possessed him—reached a skeletal hand out to Marceline, beckoning her forward.
"Come with me, Marceline," he said, demeanor now frighteningly lucid. "We'll go to a land of ice and snow together. We can be happy."
She backed up more, shaking her head. "No! That's not what you said we were going to do! You said we were going to find a really warm place where there are lots of food and lots of people and we'll never be unhappy again! That's what you said!"
His smile wavered for a moment. "That's not what I said. Come on, Marceline. Let's go."
"No! That is what you said. This isn't you! The crown's making you say this stuff!"
That's what Simon had told her to say whenever he had a relapse. 'The crown is making you say this!' It had always worked. He'd always snapped out of it within moments, apologizing for scaring her and ruffling her black hair like she always wished her father would. Marceline didn't understand much about the crown that Simon always carried with him, but she knew it was a scary, bad thing she was not allowed to touch. Not that she wanted to, anyway; it was the thing that made him act crazy.
Simon was her best friend. He'd comforted her when nobody else would even spare the half-demon girl a passing glance. He'd given her Hambo. He wiped her tears away whenever they came across one of the many dead bodies that seemed to litter the streets everywhere nowadays. Marceline loved him.
She didn't love the person the crown was making him into.
Simon clutched his head again, almost childlike in his whining about the pain. "It's happening..." he gasped out, voice becoming raspier with each passing syllable. "I'll be nothing but snow and ice and power soon enough...nothing can get in my way..."
"Stop it!" Marceline shrieked, twisting the hem of her dress, a nervous habit. Simon's eyes rose to meet hers, and for a moment they looked almost normal. A small bubble of hope rose up in the little girl's chest. He was coming back to his usual self!
The hope was dashed when he said, in a voice that switched between his usual tone and the creepy, lilting rasp of the crazy Simon, "Get away from me, Marcy. It's not safe."
"B-but..."
"No buts. Run away. I'll get better and catch you up, alright? Just like every time."
Marceline wanted to argue. She wanted to scream and cry and demand that he stop acting crazy, and slap his stupid blue head until he was back to normal. She didn't do any of those things, though.
She just turned and ran and didn't look back.
xXx
"Hey, are you Marceline?"
Marceline's dark eyes widened in shock as she took in the bulky blue figure in front of her, hand gripping the door frame so tightly her knuckles turned white. She'd just decided to settle into her tree house after breaking up with Ash, figuring that she'd finally be able to relax and get back on her feet. A few days into her new independence, she'd gotten a knock on her door, and...
And there he was. He was much different, wearing a dark blue robe and sporting a full beard. The crown she had never been allowed to touch was now perched on his head. At the same time though, he was the same. Same voice, same smile.
"S-Simon?" Marceline gasped breathlessly. "Is that you?"
He frowned and tilted his head in confusion, then exclaimed in surprise as the vampire flung her thin arms around his neck.
"It is you!" she squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I haven't seen you in forever! You caught up, just like you promised!" She laughed out loud. "Sure took you long enough, you big dork!"
Simon had stiffened in her embrace, and he said in an offended voice, "What are you talking about? What's a Simon? I'm the Ice King, sister!" He wriggled out of Marceline's arms and put his hands on his hips.
"What are you saying?" Marceline asked, apprehension twisting in her stomach. "It's me, Marcy. You came here to see me, didn't you?"
His face visibly brightened. "Yeah, I did! I heard you're a really great songwriter or something so I came to ask if you could help with something. It took me a while to find out where you lived, but it turns out you aren't so far away from my place after all! Nice to meet you, by the way."
Nice to meet you.
"Y-You..." Marceline's eyes locked on the crown, and she understood in an instant. "You...don't remember me, do you?"
"Remember you?" he scoffed, "This is the first time we've met. You sure are a weirdo!"
Her breath hitched in her throat. "...It finally got you then, huh?"
Simon—no, the Ice King—stared at her like she had suddenly grown three heads.
Marceline let out a heavy breath, trying to suppress the rising tears in her eyes. "Hey...sorry. I can't help you with whatever it is you need. Please leave."
"Oh, come on! I came all the way here and—"
"GET OUT!" she screamed, eyes flashing red and fangs elongating. "Get out, get out!" Without waiting for a reaction, she slammed the door in his face.
He knocked for hours, attempting to change her mind, to no avail. That night, Marceline packed up what little she had and moved out of the tree house immediately. She didn't want him finding her again, and began the process of home-jumping as often as possible to throw the persistent Ice King off her trail.
I really am better off alone, aren't I?
xXx
"...and then Peebles threw this party, and Candy Kingdom parties are pretty math, you know?" Finn sighed contentedly at the memory, leaning back on Marceline's couch.
Marceline smiled despite herself. she was still getting used to having Finn and Jake around, after centuries of being alone. Jake certainly didn't trust her yet, especially not after the henchman incident (the dog had gotten a rather nasty shock when he discovered he hadn't managed to slay the vampire queen after all) but he was warming up to her, and her to him. Finn, on the other hand, was completely at ease with Marceline at this point and came over to her lair quite often, with or without Jake. Though she wouldn't admit it, Marceline did like the younger boy as a friend (as a friend!) and really enjoyed having him around after hundreds of years of being alone.
"That sounds cool," she replied offhandedly, tuning her bass and feigning disinterest. Finn really did have a talent for storytelling, but hey, she had an image to protect.
"Yeah, it was," the human agreed. "It all fell down the toilet when the Ice King showed up and wrecked everything, though."
A string on Marceline's bass snapped at that moment, but she paid no attention. "I-Ice King?" she asked, trying to control the shakiness of her voice.
"Yeah." Finn shrugged. "Not too bad of an evil guy, I guess. Blue skin, big beard, funky-junk ice powers."
"Crazy crown?" Marceline added before she could stop herself.
Finn blinked. "Yeah, a big one. Why? You know the Ice King, Marcy?"
Marcy. That was a nickname she hadn't heard in a while. Simon used to call her than all the time, back before...
I'll always be here for you, Marcy. I'll protect you.
Get away from me, Marceline!
Hey, are you Marceline?
What are you talking about? What's a Simon? I'm the Ice King, sister!
Remember you? This is the first time we've met. You sure are a weirdo!
"...No," she answered finally, setting about fixing the string on her guitar. "I don't know him."