Quick info!
The land of Ooo is at war after Prince Gumball is possessed by The Lich and uses his power to create an army of darkness. Citizens who are possessed are much like the Goo monsters in Adventure time but stronger and more menacing. The land has been split into groups hiding or fighting against the reign of evil.
Not that confident with my writing yet. Hope you like it!
:3
Chapter One
At night the river would glow - the toxic waste that flowed in the water bright enough to bathe the ground with a soft emerald for a remarkable distance, almost to the point where it was appealing to those who forgot about the poison that menaced the stream. The light caught the muslin wings of brave insects that dared to fly close to the glow before fleeing back into the safe cover of darkness.
Marshall watched the insects from his own bit of shade, wondering how they knew what distance was just enough for them to not feel the dizzying effects of the gas in the air that billowed from the water - and if they had watched others get too close and drop to the ground. Ever since the Candy Kingdom had turned it was dangerous to come close to the rivers of Ooo; they attracted and spawned hellish creatures that lurked by the sides, hoping to drag innocent citizens into the depths to consume and grow from their matter. Marshall pushed his hand under his shirt collar to wipe the back of his neck as he recalled seeing candy people being pulled into the river by demons and spat out as devils.
He smiled absently - he felt no threat from these creatures. They were stupid and slow, no match for his quick movements and power. He kicked off from the ground and floated away from the river. The smell of the Candy Kingdom reached him before he could even see it. It smelt rotten yet sickly sweet due to the burned walls that oozed with blackened gunk from the countless resistance movements that had tried to save Gumball and the Candy people. Stopping by a rock, he peered over the stone at the greyed banana guards that stood along the wall.
"Feeling sentimental, are we?"
Marshall Lee felt the heat on his cheek as Flame Prince advanced from around the rock. He felt a little twinge of annoyance that he hadn't noticed the Prince sooner - he was made of fire, after all.
"Nah, it could burn to the ground for all I care. Wasn't supposed to be here in the first place." Marshall retorted, floating a few paces back so that the glare from Flame's body wasn't so sudden and painful to his dark-loving pupils.
"I don't think any of us are supposed to be here," Flame replied, coolly. Marshall hated to admit it but Flame Prince was really an impressive presence - his hair tapered to a sharp tip that would only be a spectacle on anyone else and yet he radiated this energy that made him almost impossible to look away from. Marshall narrowed his eyes as he ignored a flick of jealousy. "Yet we are here anyway. What brings you so far from your cess pit?"
"You know me - death, misery, destruction, I live for it," Marshall smirked.
Flame Prince raised his eyebrow. "Marshall, you're dead. I don't think you live for anything.'
The vampire king opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when he realised the Flame Prince had a point. Flame noticed his hesitation and his sharp face spread into a smug grin. They stood in silence for a minute, watching the smoke rise from the Candy Kingdom that reared before them. Marshall realised that it had been a few months since he had last seen Flame Prince; the usual guests of the Candy balls had been split apart by the war - those who were possessed joined the hoarde and those who fled formed factions across the land. There were those that stayed in hiding and those, like Flame Prince, who chose to fight.
"I just came to see what's going on. It's good to stay informed - you know?" Marshall finally said, resting his arms behind his head.
Flame Prince guffawed. "It's good to fight! Why waste time just watching the world go to ruin? You should be ashamed, you coward."
Marshall rolled his eyes. "Look, Flame, I've been around for so long and I know when a battle is lost. Only time will right this one, and, hell - I've got all the time in the world."
The fire creature became bright with anger and Marshall tried his best to ignore the increased temperature that licked his skin. It was true, Flame Prince was young and he was old, too old for Wars and too old for arguments with kids. He smiled, suddenly - maybe not too old for arguments with THIS kid.
Marshall Lee leaned close to Flame Prince and blinked very slowly, almost dotingly. "Don't worry, Flame. One day you'll understand." He raised a hand and flicked it at the wrist so his palm was under Flame's nose. "You're just too, well, young."
He floated back a few yards as Flame burned up so quickly Marshall was a little worried he had singed the front of his hair.
"I AM NOT TOO YOUNG!" Flame seethed, the rock wall suddenly covered with soot from his incensed fury.
Marshall smirked. "I am over a thousand years older than you, kid, I think I know a child when I see one."
Flame Prince burned brighter. "YOU ARE A COWARD!"
"Whatever you say, kiddo."
"I AM OLD ENOUGH TO FIGHT!"
"Can you even lift a sword?"
Flame Prince was glowing so hot he was almost white. His eyes had become slits that stared at the vampire and his voice lowered so that Marshall could barely hear it over the roar of the fire.
"I hate your stupid hipster shirt."
Marshall instinctively bared his fangs. "Now hold on a sec-"
There was a sudden screaming sound which caused Flame Prince to sharply reduce in size and heat, the boys looked at each other and then back towards the source of the sound. It was in the direction of the mountains where the ground got darker and rockier. Marshall and Flame both started speeding towards the source, Marshall shooting a foul look in Flame's direction as the Prince easily kept up with him on foot when faced with Marshall's flight speed.
The sound of metal making contact was loud and frantic. Goo monsters had filled the ravine - not the tame creatures that lived by sucking the earth after the first War, but powerful mutations whose strength could rival Marshall's even when feral. They leaked a toxic gunk that would claim whoever came into contact with it, emptying the host and filling them entirely with a mindless intent to feed. Marshall floated for a moment, considering whether to turn away from the hoarde, before noticing the point to where the monsters were gravitating.
A girl, drowned in her cloak and almost doubled over, was backing against the wall of the doomed ravine, swinging her sword in front of her in slow, desperate movements. The action was laboured, as if pained, and the sword sliced through one of the monsters, causing it to moan and fall to the floor. The girl's triumphant laugh was cut short when two more monsters took it's place. She managed to hold back another two before a large sphinx with gunk pouring from it's eyes sprinted forwards with a roar, trampling over the smaller monsters to claim it's prey.
"Not today!" She snarled. "You'll never have me!"
Marshall swore under his breath.
Flame Prince had run towards the scene and dived in the middle of the hoarde, suddenly growing a few miles bigger and roaring with the heat of a volcano. The Goo monsters shrunk back in fear of the sudden hot energy, falling over themselves to shrink back to the shadows. The sphinx was large enough to bound out of the path of his fire and was a few yards from the girl. She dropped her sword.
Marshall towered over her in his demon form, shrieking as his fur sprouted all over his growing arms and licking his terrifying fangs before swiping at the smaller sphinx with his sharp claws, flexing his wings to demonstrate his size. The sphinx got the message and lumbered backwards, following his hoarde into the safety of the night, leaving behind a stream of toxic waste that had fallen like tears from it's eyes.
Still in demon bat form, Marshall turned towards the girl and went to pick her up in his huge claw, the movement a little too strong causing her to yelp in pain as she was knocked off her feet. Hearing her yelp, Marshall began to decrease in size until he was normal again, his shirt a little loose on his chest; he held the girl in his arms and soon realised she was unconscious. Raising his thin hand he ran his fingers over the soft fabric of her cloak, and, slowly, pulled it over her head to reveal a cascade of golden hair that fell to his feet. His heart jumped when he realised she had opened her big eyes and was watching him observe her.
"You are so ugly as a giant bat," She moaned, burying her face in his chest before passing out again.
He narrowed his eyes and hissed. "I should have known it was you."
Waiting for a response and getting none, he dropped her sleeping body on the floor with a painful thud.
I hope that hurt, he thought.