This is my first story ever so be kind but let me know if I should continue or not. If this goes well I will add a lot more and even maybe some back story of what happened before "What Was Missing." Let me know guys!
Marceline's hair fell forward, hiding her face and muffling her sobs.
In her 1000 years she had rarely cried and it remained a mystery to her how an insignificant bubblegum princess could be the current reason for her tears.
For a brief moment she contemplated how it was possible for a heart that no longer beat to still ache so thoroughly. She chuckled to herself through tears, "best to leave scientific questions like that for Bonnib—." Marceline choked on the third syllable of her name finding it too painful to finish.
On the other side of Ooo Princess Bubblegum fell onto her bed face first, clenching the shirt the 4 friends had just retrieved from the Door Lord. Her mind raced with questions, the speed matched only by her heartbeat.
Had Marceline noticed her blushing when she admitted her attachment to the shirt? her shirt?
Did she see through her admission of wearing it to bed every night?
Was it obvious to Jake...to Finn... to Marceline what she had been trying to suppress for the last year?
"I'll have to talk to her tomorrow," Bubblegum thought aloud, "I have to know where I stand... where all of this stands."
Unable to quiet her mind, she stood, adjusting her dress and crown. She carefully folded the shirt and placed it under her pillow. As she headed out of her room she caught her reflection in the mirror and paused.
Bubblegum looked at her reflection and for the first time was unsure of just exactly who it was looking back at her. With a heavy sigh she turned and headed for her laboratory, exhausted but desperately needing the distraction.
The morning sun found Princess Bubblegum slumped over her lab table, unintentionally catching up on the sleep she had missed the night before. When she finally awoke it was only to investigate the source of an unfamiliar and extremely strong smell.
With a gasp she discovered the sleeve of her jacket, engulfed in flames thanks to the burner she had failed to turn off and apparently had just knocked over during her slumber.
"OH GLOB, OH GLOB!" she shouted. Uncharacteristically, she hesitated for a moment, then waved her hands in panic lighting herself on fire.
She only came to her senses when Peppermint Butler (who, as it turned out, had been standing outside the lab door since sunrise contemplating the propriety of entering a room where his royal highness was resting) busted through the door to check on her.
"My lady, are you alright?!" he asked, eying the smoldering remains of the princess's favorite hoodie and detecting the unmistakeable smell of slightly charred sugar.
"Um.. er… uh.. yes, everything is fine. You may go!" she finally sputtered out and jumped in front of the smoking jacket in a failed attempt to conceal it.
With a skeptical bow and a quick glance at the brownish tinge that now adorned her usually bright pink arm, he left the room and Bubblegum was alone with her thoughts once more.
The sooner I talk to Marceline the better, she thought to herself. The princess knew full well that it was the situation at hand… and more specifically the plaid-wearing Vampire Queen herself that was to blame for her recent "un-Bubblegum-ness."
I'm so distracted… Today my jacket. Tomorrow it will be my entire lab. She shuddered at the thought. I'll summon for her tonight.
As dawn broke, Marceline retreated to her home in the cave. She floated around her living room without purpose until finally, as always, her pale grey hands found their way to her bass.
Exhausted from the last few days and her miserable night, she absentmindedly plucked at the strings and lost herself further in the sound.
She barely noticed the knock at her door.
"Leave me alone" she lazily drawled in the door's direction.
A second knock.
"Oh Glob, seriously?!" She exhaled deeply and opened the door.
A small cupcake wearing a messenger bag handed a pink envelope to Marceline and nervously looked back at the ground.
"What's this?" she questioned, knowing very well whom it was from but fearing the contents all the more.
Her heart sank as she awaited a response.
"A-a-a-a-S-s-s-s-umm-mmmm-ons… A summons from h-h-her r-r-royal h-…" Marceline rolled her eyes and glared with impatience "h-highness the Princess of the c-c-c-andy—"
"ENOUGH" shouted Marceline, sending the young cupcake fleeing from the door in fear.
As he sprinted for the cave's exit, Marceline shouted after him "TELL HER IF SHE WANTS TO SEE ME, SHE KNOWS WHERE TO FIND ME!" "AND NEXT TIME SHE SENDS A CUPCAKE MESSENGER TO MY CAVE, TELL HER TO MAKE IT RED VELVET!" she added, flashing her fangs and hissing for good measure.
Princess Bubblegum was not pleased. As usual, Marceline was making life difficult.
I swear sometimes she just says no because I was the one who asked…
Though if she was to be honest with herself, Bubblegum had wanted Marceline to come on to "her turf" for a reason. She thought it would make the situation more bearable… more easy for her to manage and direct.
This constant demand for control was the source of many fights between the two girls and so in the end Bubblegum was unhappy but not at all surprised by Marceline's response (or rather the response she had managed to put together from the terrified cupcake's story.)
At dusk she set out for Marceline's cave. The princess hoped to avoid traveling in darkness by perfectly timing her arrival with night fall- right as Marcy will be waking up, thought Bubblegum, unable to hide the smug satisfaction she got from her cleverness.
Princess Bubblegum had no way of knowing, but she need not have factored Marceline's sleep schedule into her travel plans.
Marceline had not slept a wink for the second day in a row. Nor, come to that, had she eaten at ALL during that time.
Cycling through self doubt, anger, sadness, exhaustion and what was now IMMENSE hunger, Marceline was a wreck.
Should have eaten that stupid cupcake before he ran out of here, Marceline thought angrily.
As the final rays of sunshine began to fade, she resigned herself to ending the previous days' masochism.
I'll eat as soon as the sun goes down, but tonight I want to hunt... I want blood, she thought as her eyes flashed red for a moment.
It was unusual for Marceline to crave a kill, but 2 days worth of unchecked hunger and a re-broken heart had made for a very bad intentioned vampire.
Soon, Marceline was in a frenzy. She found such a release in allowing her primal instincts to take over, quieting her mind and focusing entirely on bloodlust.
The first THING with a heartbeat to cross my path will not survive the night. She closed her eyes and with violent intensity shifted into a wolfish form, shredding her clothing and howling with rage and delight.
Four paws thudded in rhythm on the ground, nose searching the air for a scent. As she neared the cave's exit, the final ray of sunlight just disappearing completely, a sickeningly sweet scent hit her nose full force. As she ran faster, now much more beast than girl, she closed in on the sugary scent and with delight heard the pounding of a heartbeat.
With another howl and a sudden leap, she was upon her prey.