Real talk: Hey guys! Look! It's the promised mini-series! So here's the thing, one comment I kept getting on Rehearsal was the desire to know more about some of the backstory of what happened in Marceline's mind before the trio showed up. Since a lot obviously happened. Like Love Song, A cappella will be comprised of a series of thematic stories, posted non-chronologically (time has no place in a vampire's mind), this time focusing on what happened before Finn, Jake, and Bubblegum showed up.
Here's the thing, and I cannot say this loud enough. This is a REHEARSAL CONTINUATION. That means you should not read this if you have not read Rehearsal. Not only will A cappella not make any sense it will be a MASSIVE spoiler.
You know the drill, guys! If you like my multi-chapter works give me some way of knowing that (reviews/favorites/follows/etc). I write both for myself AND you all. You should know that by now.
Her footsteps echoed, drowning out the silence of the barren world. They shouldn't echo, physics shouldn't allow it, but the laws of nature had no place here, in this wasteland that she found herself confined. Logically, the whole situation would be alarming to any sane and reasonable person, but she didn't allow herself such frivolous emotions. Why would she? She knew where she was, even if she had only been there before under sharply different circumstances. Nevertheless, it was familiar. She was comfortable. Her stride was calm, even, purposeful, the walk of a woman who had a goal, a mission to complete. But she had time. She had all of the time in the world.
She had an appointment to keep, someone to meet, even if this person knew she was about to be graced with her presence. Not that her prey had any choice in the matter. Because that's what she was to the demon: prey, something to be consumed, to be tossed aside once it could provide no further nourishment. The demon had waited patiently for her quarry to show itself. She was good at waiting, a skill that came only with age and experience. Impatience was a foreign concept, vulgar and grotesque. But now her waiting had paid off; her target was exposed, vulnerable, helpless. Three of her favorite features in a victim.
She was coming into view now, unconscious and sprawled on the hard black ground. That wouldn't do, not at all. The demon preferred her food alive, savored the moment the light went out in its eyes. That was this creature's destiny. But not today. She wasn't ready to be devoured yet. She still had a purpose to serve, a higher calling that stayed the demon's hand. Claw. Whichever. But that was alright. She knew how to wait and was content to do so. Delayed gratification was another skill she was adept with.
The demon assessed the poor, hapless vampire lying before her, prone and defenseless. Pathetic. Blue jeans, torn from the tragedy that had just befallen her, grey tanktop covered in the ground's oils. 'Tar', if the demon recalled correctly. Her boots were scuffed, but intact. The demon approved. The vampire lay on her stomach, and the demon stretched over to assess her condition. She was whole, physically at least. But she wasn't waking up, and the demon assessed that she must have been unconscious for quite some time, indicative of her mind being broken rather than her body, as expected given the circumstances. That wouldn't do, not at all.
The demon extended a talon and kneeled, pinned garnet eyes raking over the pitiful vampire as the black claw tapped her forehead. No response. Very well then, the demon thought, and turned the vampire to her side. Her clothes were torn and scuffed, and she possessed minor cuts and bruises, but nothing the demon couldn't repair. In one swift movement her talon drew across her own wrist, just a small cut, enough to draw a thin line of warm, bright red blood. The demon dripped it into the vampire's mouth, just a drop or two, before rising. The vampire twitched and the demon smirked, a smug, self-satisfied gesture.
"Wake up."
She spoke softly. The demon didn't need to yell to get her point across, never had. Her mentor had taught her the importance of a calm demeanor as a vital facet of control, and oh had the demon learned that lesson well. To her pleasure the vampire twitched once more, hissed softly, groaned - a most undignified sound - and cracked a garnet eye open, taking her first figurative breath in the New World.
The first thing the vampire saw was herself.
Granted, she had never seen herself in a mirror, what with being a vampire and all, but she would know herself anywhere. The pointed ears, grey complexion, the fangs, the same garnet eyes, the same onyx hair, though the demon's was braided, whereas the vampire's was loose and just a tad ruffled from the preceding events.
But it was the outfit that curled her stomach.
It was another thing the vampire would know anywhere. The immaculate black blazer and pant combination. The lavender shirt. The red tie and burgundy boots. And the amulet, the jewel at the base of the demon's throat, the ghastly object that caused some deep, dark part of the vampire to recoil. Her father's suit. But this wasn't her father. She jolted awake now, pushing herself up onto her elbows with herculean effort. Now she could see that the demon before her was her, yes, but there were differences. Her hands weren't hands at all, they were terrible grey claws with impossibly sharp talons, identical to those of her favorite bat form. The demon stared at her, emotionless except for wry amusement. She was calm, almost passive, and when she chuckled it was a mirthless sound that made the vampire's skin crawl.
"Welcome to our mind."
The vampire blinked, stupefied. Her brain felt like it was full of cotton, her thoughts disjointed and jumbled. It was hard to hear herself think, like she was deaf in the most profound of senses. But this wasn't a safe place, this wasn't a safe person, even she knew that. With a deep breath to steady herself she pushed herself off the ground, collapsing onto one knee when her muscles failed her and she barely succeeded in preventing herself from falling, acute aware that the demon was watching her curiously. The vampire winced from the impact to her knee; it didn't feel like a break, but it wouldn't hurt to heal it just in case.
Except it wasn't healing.
Her eyes widened in alarm, and the demon watched curiously, head tilted, neither helping nor hindering. With another deep breath the vampire pushed herself into a standing position, unsteady and wobbling, but standing all the same and she was more proud of that than she would ever admit. Her body was trembling, and she reached up to rub her temples for no other reason than to prove to herself that there wasn't a spike driving through her skull. It was only then that she registered the demon's comment.
"...What?" It hurt, oh how it hurt, but the vampire turned, examining the strange new world she found herself in. As the haze in her mind lifted she began to take in the little details, not that it helped her make any more sense of her location. The ground was hard but strange, made of something she hadn't seen since she was a child: tar, covered in green dust and with a strange grey tint. If anything, it looked like a road, the kind of road she had travelled on with Simon, before the crown stole him from her. Giant cracks spanned the road, threatening to break open at any minute. Large round holes, broken at the edges, seemed to litter the path excessively. Visibly chipped and unstable, they threatened to swallow up an unsuspecting, inattentive soul. She narrowed her eyes, taking an even closer look at the world, trying in vain to make sense of it all. Poles that were more rust than metal laid collapsed on the ground, crackling wires surrounding them like a net atop more rusted hinges. Those poles that remained standing had signs with strange shapes bolted to them, strange letters that looked normal but were otherwise gibberish.
The buildings themselves were monstrous. They were tall, perhaps dozens of stories, and it was amazing that they hadn't collapsed in on themselves. They lined the road, each made of stone colored black, tan, or grey. There were no alleys. Each was also covered by the strange green tint in blotches, much of the exposed area covered with gibberish graffiti. What wasn't covered in strange green blotches were stained with the age of its decay. Regardless, most of the buildings had giant holes bored into them, as well as massive cracks. Many of these large buildings displayed signs, different from those of the poles or building walls. There were metal structures, warped and broken that would have collapsed if not for the numerous wires supporting their weight from above.
Ruined. Everything was ruined.
"Eloquent. I'd expect nothing less from you, Unifier."
She just sounded so calm, almost serene, and the vampire blinked in confusion, not the least bit sure what was going on. In her confusion she searched around her, but nope, there were only the two of them, and so the demon that wore her face must have been addressing her. But that made no sense to the vampire, because- "Unifier? Dude, my name is Marceline."
This did not deter the demon, who was infuriatingly tranquil. "It was. Once."
Something about the way she said that caused a shudder to ripple through the vampire. Only now was she realizing a greater concern, and that was how wrong her body felt. The vampire dubbed 'Unifier' glanced down at her hands, curling them into fists, willing thing into claws. Nothing. In her panic she willed forth fire, just a little flame. Nothing. As her panic grew she heard a soft, humorless chuckle and her head shot up, back to the demon. The demon who seemed to know so much about this world and found that knowledge discrepancy amusing.
"You no longer have your powers." Still serene, still infuriating. "They've been stolen from you."
That broke through the Unifier's anger. "...Stolen? By what?"
"The others."
Evidently the demon liked to be cryptic. The Unifier did not. "Others? What others?"
Now the demon seemed genuinely entertained. "You don't remember anything, do you?" It was less of a question and more of a statement. It left no room for argument. Not that the vampire had one. "When we arrived in our mind we were one. Now we are eight."
"...Why?" Her voice was quieter than she wanted.
"Does it matter?"
Her eyes narrowed and she growled, a pointless action as the vampire had no way of backing up the threat. "Of course it-"
"I'm afraid you have greater concerns at the moment." It sounded like a threat, and once more the Unifier's fist clenched. In response the demon chortled, "you're adorable."
"Who are you." It was a demand and nothing less.
The demon's eyebrow arched. "You have eyebones. You know who I am."
"...You're me." The words were out before she could stop them. A profound and horrible truth.
"And you're me. We are each other. As are the others."
They both fell silent, appraising one another. The vampire broke the stalemate first. "...The others are me?"
"The others are us. I dislike repeating myself, but I can tell your mind is still jacked up, so I'll let it go. When we arrived we were one, now we are eight. We are all pieces of one another. And they have stolen your powers."
She wanted to argue, wanted some sarcastic or snappy retort, but something deep within her, in the remnants of the shredded remains of her soul, knew better. The demon before her was obvs antagonizing her on purpose, and there was a sadistic glint in her eye, but she also looked honest. The vampire paled, realizing that if this demon was who she thought she was she was relishing in the agony this honesty was inflicting. The brutal sincerity. The infliction of despair. "What the flip." There was so much behind those three words.
"We all came from you. I came first, the rest came later. I know, I watched. Doesn't matter. You can't look behind you, you know? You're not going that way. Your soul cut itself into me, then it liked doing it so much I guess that it did it six more times. From what I saw when I trailed their departures they took your vampire powers as a parting gift. And… based on the weenie-esque look you're giving me I imagine your fire as well. I'm quite good at sensing fire, you know. And I dun sense any from you."
"...They take anything else?"
The demon rolled her eyes, arms crossing. "Pretty sure you can check that yourself. I can't solve all of your problems for you."
The Unifier narrowed her eyes. "You haven't solved anything, you butt!"
She smirked. "Oh? You're awake aren't you?" She paused, as if waiting for something. "You're welcome."
It was hard to argue with that. Not necessarily because the vampire agreed, but because she didn't know how to even begin doing it. Instead she resorted to her fists, drawing her right arm back and bringing down with full force, knowing that this was either a really good idea or a really bad one. To her relief the ground before her cracked and split.
"I see you still have your strength, Unifier," she teased.
The vampire narrowed her eyes, rubbing her knuckles. "Why do you keep calling me that?"
"That's your name in this new world."
"What the flip-"
"You can remove souls, which means you can absorb them as well." That effectively silenced the Unifier, and the demon did nothing to hide her smug look. Her tone shifted then, tainted with the narcissism the vampire never thought herself capable of. "Understand me, because I am a demon. The ability to remove souls is a demonic ability, granted by our lineage. But I don't have that ability. Unfair, right?"
It was a rhetorical question, but the Unifier bit anyway. "What makes you think I have it? You just said there are like… a million more of us."
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Six. There are six more." Her claw fell away, the frustration successfully quelled. "You were where we all came from, but I emerged first. Like I said, I've been watching everyone. Wanted to see what pows they ripped from you, who they were, what they were." She snickered. "Ah, that'll be funny when you figure it out. Aaaanyway, I saw your pyrokineses, telekinesis, shape-shifting, invisibility, flight, healing… they all even had our strength, but no one showed the ability to suck out souls. Which means it's gotta be in you."
Her tone was dangerous. It reminded the Unifier of why she considered herself an apex predator. "Why should I trust that-"
"Oh, I never said you should trust me. But think about it, dingus. Do you sense those pieces of yourself? Or are you missing something?"
The vampire realized then that the demon was right; something about herself felt off in a way she couldn't place. She hadn't realized it before, but now that it was brought to her attention it was becoming a vexatious itch. "So what's your point?"
"My point, mein Schatz, is that this discrepancy makes you special. Valuable."
Somehow, for some reason, that comment did not fill the Unifier with good feelings in any way, shape, or form. The demon's voice was dripping narcissistic venom, her gaze fixated on the vampire. Her eyes narrowed. "What's your deal?"
And just like that the fixation dropped, and to the Unifier's surprise the demon lifted her claws in a sign of peace. "Chill, guy. See how I'm not killing you? I didn't wake you up just to start a fight. If I wanted you dead you'd already be dead."
The vampire wanted to argue, almost called her out on her behavior, but in a rare and fleeting moment of self-preservation she snapped her jaw shut. Whatever this creature was she was a threat, there was no questioning that. But the demon seemed to know a lot more about the Unifier than the Unifier knew about her, or herself. She seemed to know a lot more about a lot. She had accurately predicted that the vampire lacked her powers, but there was no way of knowing what exactly the demon had up her sleeve, or what her goal actually was. If the demon was even telling the truth about who and what she was. She was taunting the vampire, teasing her with malicious intent, but who knew what that intent was?
And she wore her father's suit. That was also unsettling.
"So why did you wake me up? Somethin' tells me that you didn't do it just for stuff and giggles."
The demon nodded, not even bothering to hide her laughter. "Oh look, we can use our brain! I was worried for a moment there. You're already making me proud" The vampire's teeth gritted, and it brought the demon visible delight. "Fine, fine. Real talk time: I think we can help each other out."
The Unifier's eyes narrowed once more. On the one hand, that was clearly the worst idea the vampire had ever heard in her over one thousand years of Unlife. On the other hand, though- "Yeah?"
That was all the prompt the demon needed. "You have something I want. But not something you're ready to give me yet." The Unifier clenched her fist. She knew she was being baited, and resisting acting on it was becoming difficult. "And in exchange for it I will make your life - or, you know, Unlife - a little bit more bearable." She hated the sound of that first part, but liked the sound of the second part, because even if the demon was lying about literally everything else the Unifier did seem alone in a hostile world. A hostile, silent world.
"What makes you think I wanna stay here?"
She chuckled, "I don't think we have a choice. We're stuck here, guy. At least for the foreseeable future. And let me tell you, our mind is a messed up place. You don't know that yet, but trust me, it really is. You have your strength and your ability to suck souls, but that's it. You're at a serious disadvantage. Especially compared to the rest of us."
She wasn't wrong, and the vampire knew it. However- "You're kinda assuming we aren't getting out of here anytime soon."
To her irritation, the demon only nodded. "Can you think of a reason to disagree?"
Indeed, she could. A big one. "Bonnie-"
"Isn't here to solve our problem." Her laugh was dark, her grin twisted, and it turned the Unifier's stomach. "She's not here, Unifier. Anywhere. I looked, of course. Why wouldn't I search for the other half of us? But sadly… Bon's not here to save you from yourself. Ourself. Not this time."
The vampire snarled. "Just 'cause we haven't found her yet-"
"Conversely… she hasn't found us either. Now why would that be?" She tapped her chin in faux ponderance. "She's resourceful, absolutely brilliant, and I know she's put at least one tracker on us in our five hundred-" She paused. "Six?" Shrugged. "Eh. Doesn't matter. Point is, she's not here. So either she doesn't want to find us, or she can't. The result is the same: wherever 'here' is, we're alone. Exactly as destiny intended. No Finn. No Jake. No Phoebe. No BonBon. Just you, me, and the rest of our shattered psyche."
She smirked at the vampire's expression, at the moment it struck her that she was truly torn apart from everything she knew and loved because as much as the Unifier despised this woman already her argument looked too flawless, with no cracks for her to claw and worry. "Ah, now you're beginning to understand the situation. We're on our own, mein Schatz. You can't rely on her to kiss and make this better. Not this time, perhaps never again." The Unifier grimaced at the comment, at the notion that she was in a world in which there was no Bonnibel Bubblegum. That she might never see her mate again, or hear her laugh. Or the steady, lulling beat of her heart. But then… even the vampire didn't know where she was, so how could the princess? She told herself that it was a lie, a bluff, issued by a woman with an unknown agenda and an unnerving disposition, but the idea was already poisoning her mind.
The demon knew. That much was obvious. "As I said, you're at a disadvantage. So I suggest we make an exchange. We both get what we want."
"Yeah? And what's that?"
"I can give you the ability to survive in this harsh world." Her talon extended once more, and the Unifier wasn't sure if it was meant to be a threat or was just one accidentally.
"How the buzz would you do that?" The moment the question left her she winced. It was a buying question, and it implied that she was actually interested in trading. With a jolt she realized she was.
"I have power in this world the rest of you don't. I can give you a piece of it."
Temptation, one of her greatest weaknesses. "...What kind of power?"
The demon grinned. It reminded the vampire of a shark she once met. "I bend reality. I warp perception. I can give you just enough to allow you a chance at survival. What you do with it is up to you."
A soft growl escaped the back of the vampire's throat. A sorry, impotent growl. "And what do you want from me?"
"Like I said. You have something I want, but you're not ready to give it to me yet. Sadly…" She sighed, making sure it was overdramatic. "I can't tell you what it is."
"Can't? Or won't?"
She shrugged. "Can't. Just telling you would alter the result. A fascinating phenomenon. Just ask Bonnie- Oh. Oops." She snickered and the Unifier felt a knife twist in her dead heart.
"Next you're gonna tell me I don't have a choice," she said through gritted teeth.
"Incorrect." The serenity had returned. "No matter what happens in life you always have a choice. You just don't always have a good choice."
"So what happens if I refuse? You kill me or something?"
The demon shook her head, amused. "Nah. You don't wanna trade, we don't trade. It hurts you more than it hurts me. Because you know what happens then? I let you go, and you try to survive in this world all on your lonesome, and one of two things happens. One," she raised a talon, "you leave here, try to make it on your own like the ding dong you are, and get seriously injured or maybe even killed. Since, you know, it's not like you can heal yourself. Or two," she raised a second talon, "you spend the rest of your time here avoiding this world and everything in it. For the rest of your Unlife. Then I come back after you go bonkers." She dropped her claw. "Your choice. Remember, freedom of choice is a very important facet in life."
She was right. She was right and the vampire hated it, hated it like she hadn't anything since her Turning. Hated the demon's arrogance, her logic, her self-satisfied grin, her arrogance, her everything.
She wanted to go home.
Was this home now?
"...Fine." The Unifier wanted it to sound strong, determined, maybe even intimidating, but it didn't. It sounded defeated. She was defeated.
"Wonderful!," she chirped. Without hesitation she reached out, tapping the vampire's forehead lightly with her talon. It felt almost like something, some piece of her being, was sliding into some hole in her soul she hadn't even realized existed, and despite the absurdity of it all she wondered if there were any other gaps to claw. It was a slithery sensation, cool and wet. Whatever it was burrowed deep and the Unifier shuddered involuntarily. To the demon's credit she didn't draw attention to, only withdrawing her talon. Tactful. It left the vampire disoriented and she blinked hard, trying to straighten her mind and succeeding in only making herself dizzy. "I've given you a small piece of my power. You will be able to warp reality in a limited capacity. Heal, manipulate objects, junk like that. It'll make this game a little more fair."
Her eyes focused on the demon just in time to catch the word- "...Game? What do you mean-"
She snickered, "Oh, don't worry about that, just a slip of the tongue. 'Sides, you got bigger problems right now. But you know, you've been a pretty good sport about all this, so I have a parting gift for you." The Unifier definitely liked the sound of that 'parting' she mentioned, but who knew what this thing's 'gifts' were like? Once more the claw reached out, and the vampire drew back instinctively. But the demon wasn't focused on the vampire. She stretched her claw, the air in her palm rippling for just a moment. Then her claw wasn't empty anymore, a familiar object having manifested in it.
"My bass!" Her dread turned to elation at the sight of her most precious item, her one connection to the outside world. Her one memento of home. The demon flipped it over, handing the instrument to the vampire staff first, a sign of peace. Without hesitation the Unifier grabbed the axe, clutching it like the lifeline it was. Forgetting where she was and who she was with she flipped it over to inspect it. To her relief it was in absolutely perfect condition, and for the first time since she regained consciousness she beamed.
"Touching. If you're finished-"
"You want your payment?"
The demon sighed. "Manners, Unifier. Don't interrupt. Rude. And yes, I do. But like I said, you're not ready to give it to me yet. Don't worry. You will. Not that you'll remember this conversation." Alarm bells rang in the Unifier's mind, but by then it was too late. The demon, the predator, had waited until her prey was ripe, was at its tastiest before striking. One moment the vampire was standing proud, the next she was on the ground, concussed from the blunt force strike of the demon's own bass, identical to the vampire's in every way, drawn the moment the Unifier had turned her gaze. An uncouth maneuver to be certain, equal parts crass and effective. She hit the ground hard, but that was no longer of concern to the demon. Now that she could heal herself the vampire was her own problem. Her bass fell to the side, within reach. If she was conscious to reach it, that is. With a twinge of pity the demon reached out for the fallen bass, reuniting it with its unconscious partner.
Whistling softly to herself she bared her talon a third time, kneeling beside her other self, appraising her condition before and once more touching her forehead. "I'm afraid I need this memory. It's the first part of my payment, you see. Consider this a life lesson in reading the fine print." Had she been awake the Unifier would have felt violated, choked in the sensation of having her mind picked apart by a malevolent force. Mercifully, her mind was nowhere near conscious, too far gone to even dream. When her talon withdrew a tiny black ball came with it, somehow fuzzy, somehow reflecting what little light pierced through the sky of dust. Beautiful. The claw wrapped around it, and when it opened once more it was gone.
Memory recovered from its previous owner, the demon stood. With a tilted head she regarded the unconscious piece of herself. Soon the Unifier would be left to her own devices, abandoned in a harsh and unforgiving world. Alone, with only their six other selves to keep them company, and who knew what they were like? But that was of no concern to the demon. Her task was complete, and now her guise of an emotional gamut fell away, replaced with stoicism. "You have been given the tools necessary to survive. You can live, or you can die. You can ally yourself, or you can live in solitude. You can search for our friends, or you can accept our fate. You can flourish, or you can cower. The freedom of choice is a very important facet of life, Unifier. And now the choice is yours." The demon stood, turning away from the vampire, footsteps echoing across the barren wasteland that was her mind, her home, her prison.
It was time to set to work.
If you guys enjoyed the teaser do me a big favor and tell me who your favorite misfit is! 1.) I'm curious, and 2.) I want to have that knowledge informing my writing as I move forward.
Also because I love them all.