Bonnibel had to admit she was nervous. She and Marceline had spoken about this numerous times and the vampire queen had convinced her that this needed to happen. The princess wanted to tell her people about them first, believing if anything she could hold some sort of authoritative power over them. But that wouldn't be fair. Plus, as Marceline so kindly remarked, telling everyone in the kingdom would eventually result in the news reaching Finn's ears before she told him. This party would be composed of all of her friends, all the people she cared about, and so it only made sense to give them the news now.
Marceline didn't have as much of a reason to be nervous about this as Bonnibel. If anyone got on her case about it a hiss tended to silence him or her. But she was nervous for Bonnibel, nervous that if tonight turned into one of the princess's nightmares then what they'd been able to rekindle would extinguish all together. Marceline didn't want that. She couldn't do that again.
The pair walked towards the lit up tree house – or at least Bonnibel walked while Marceline floated next to her. Finn and Jake were having a banging party with music pouring out the windows and across the fields. It seemed like everyone in Ooo had attended and made Bonnibel feel like she was about to throw up right then and there. She stopped several yards from the party, the pair standing under a tree and hoping that the shade in the night would hide their faces. "Marcie…" she breathed, squeezing the woman's hand she was holding, "maybe…maybe we shouldn't go. Wouldn't it be more fun to just go back to your place? Watch some movies? Play some music?" She looked up at the floating vampire expectantly.
That was exactly what Marceline wanted to do, to the T, and that's half the reason it had taken them so long to even get to this point. Princess Bubblegum would always back out at the last minute and offer Marceline a night secluded from the world. Just how the vampire liked it. But they needed to do this. They couldn't keep putting it off as Marceline floated upside down so her face was level with Bonnibel's. "Bonnie, we can't keep walking away from this. It'll be fine, promise."
"But…but what if it's not?" Her voice was barely a whisper as Marceline pulled her chin gently into an upside-down kiss.
"Then I promise I'll go all sorts of ham about you embarrassing me and lying about us and then we'll go back to my place and watch a movie." Bonnibel giggled, breaking into a much louder laugh as Marceline started to laugh too, the vampire holding her stomach as she flipped back the right way up.
"Okay," she breathed, wiping a joy-filled tear form the corner of her eye as Marceline took her hand once more, pressing a kiss to the top of it.
"Now come on, I'm not known for being this fashionably late," she teased, floating forward as Bonnibel rolled her eyes.
It had been blissful being with the vampire the past few weeks. Bonnibel tried to be a little less sneaky about it, telling people where she was going if they asked. Certainly she wouldn't shout it to the heavens whenever leaving the vampire queen's cave, but Bonnibel was getting better and no longer denied questions about being there. They'd both tried to change for one another, to find a way for their weird little situation to work out. It was a little difficult with their different sleeping schedules. Half the time at least one person was going to be exhausted. Dusk was the only real time that they could be somewhat normal together.
On top of it all, Bonnibel had started to drift a little more from what she looked like and was known for wearing. Pink. She'd opted for something she liked instead, wearing clothes of all colors rather than various shades of pink. Certainly a lot of them had pink at some point, but she'd liked what she'd started to wear. Tonight, in fact, she had picked out a blue sundress, pleated at the skirt with small pink flowers dotting the fabric. Of course, she still couldn't bring herself to keep from wearing the hot pink sneakers, the black star on the ankle looking out of place.
Marceline didn't really care what sort of clothes she wore. Anything was adorable on the girl. But whether Bonnibel knew it or not, Marceline's favorite outfits were when Bonnibel had to borrow her clothes. Sometimes it was because she dirtied up a shirt, other times it was for something comfortable to wear to bed. All in all Marceline found it difficult to keep from drooling when they were on the petite girl.
The vampire was a little less springy than the princess; a little darker dressed like always. She was in a pair of ripped up jeans and some maroon ankle boots and a black t-shirt. A very old leather jacket hung on her shoulders, the sleeves pushed up to the elbows since she didn't technically need it in this weather. But it was appearance that mattered, despite what people might think the leather jacket jazzed up the "I'm tough" appearance she was going for.
Bonnibel and Marceline walked in together but not holding hands. It was a charade Bonnibel insisted on, unable to make such an obvious presence right off the bat. Marceline didn't mind, she was really only here to keep her company till Bonnibel would mutter that it was time to go to bed. Then, like always, Marceline would carry her home. She'd sit around in her room, flipping through books or looking at nick knacks on her shelves, as Bonnibel got herself ready for bed. Then the pair would cuddle up on the bed. Sometimes the princess would read to Marceline; sometimes Marceline would read or sing to Bonnibel. Most times they would spend a few tender moments kissing the other before lying together silently. Marceline would wait till she could hear Bonnibel's breathing slow and feel her heart calm before sliding from the bed, leaving for the night after a final kiss on the forehead.
It was repetitive, but for once Marceline didn't care. So much of her life had been spent trying to keep her life from falling into a boring rhythm. She would throw herself at adventures; at exploring to keep her from getting bored or even getting tempted to do things she'd done in her younger days. But being with Bonnibel, she never felt the unsettling desire to do something bad or evil. Even if she just sat around, doing nothing because Bonnibel had to work, Marceline didn't care. It was just being with her that she enjoyed. And the vampire had a funny feeling Bonnibel felt the same.
"Marcie! PB!" Finn exclaimed, dancing his way over to them with his hole-filled smile. "I was worried you guys weren't coming," he explained as Bonnibel gave a small giggle, glancing towards the dance floor where Finn had left his partner, the Flame Princess, alone.
"We were just running a little late, you know how it is," Marceline remarked as Finn tried to mimic a cool exterior, nodding his head. He leaned closer, resting his hand on one side of his mouth to whisper towards them.
"Don't worry, you guys got here just in time for the best part." Bonnibel gave Marceline an unsure expression. Finn, being the boy he was, had a very curious outlook on what he might consider to be fun. Marceline wouldn't be surprised if he'd found a way to cage a dragon somewhere that he planned to let out at the peak of the celebration.
But at that point the two women were in the party, drinking the punch as Bonnibel mingled and insisted that Marceline join. The vampire wasn't exactly ever in the mood for schmoozing, but as long as no one asked her opinion on something she was fine just floating on the outskirts. Of course, it seemed Bonnibel had started to feel far more comfortable in the atmosphere, possibly forgetting about what she had planned to do this evening. As another electronic jam started to sound the princess grabbed Marceline's hand, dragging her from the safety of the punch bowl and onto the dance floor.
"Bonnie," Marceline whined at the girl began to dance, giggling and laughing.
"Come on, Marcie, let go a little!" Bonnibel exclaimed, forcing Marceline's hand up so she could twirl on it. The vampire laughed, deciding she could try at least a little to dance, her feet touching down on the floor and the song progressed. Admittedly it was more fun than Marceline expected, the pair shaking and twirling around the floor. The song came to a close as Marceline spun Bonnibel into her, the princess laughing and smiling as she looked up at the vampire. "Thanks for the dance," she panted as the vampire smiled, forgetting about the crowd of people as they tilted their chins towards each other.
"Psst, Marceline, Princess!" Finn called, making the two jump as Bonnibel wiggled away from Marceline's grasp. Her face was flushed, both from dancing and embarrassment as Finn looked at them, seemingly not expecting a thing as he waved them towards the tree house. Hesitantly they followed, Finn closing the door behind them.
They were in their treasure room, basically an unused room where Finn put all of the treasure that he never had any use for. Bonnibel had been given permission to use it for taxes, which Bonnibel certainly appreciated. "What's this all about, Finn?" The Flame Princess asked, seeming nervous in the wooden house and glaring accusingly at Bonnibel. It was an unfortunate relationship the two princesses had, composed almost entirely of a misunderstanding. But the last thing Bonnibel wanted to do was to get into a literally heated argument with the girl in a flammable room.
"I got a hold of the Ice King's journal where he writes all of his fanfictions," he explained as Marceline wrinkled her nose. She hated how Finn treated Simon at times. He just didn't know any better. But Marceline refused to linger on the past, to acknowledge that at one point in her life she saw him as her very own guardian angel, her hero.
"Finn, I don't really want to hear the Ice King's stories…" Bonnibel admitted as the rest of the group nodded. But Finn just shook his head, pointing at B-MO.
"I'm not gonna read them to you. We're gonna experience them!" He exclaimed but admittedly no one in the room understood what he was even talking about. It all still sounded like they would have to sit there and listen to poorly written stories while the party raged on outside. "I had B-MO scan in all of his stories."
"I didn't know B-MO could do that," Marceline remarked as the console looked up at them with sad eyes.
"I just need to read whatever is on the page and I save it."
"Oh you poor thing," Bonnibel gasped as B-MO gave a sad nod.
"Well, either way," Finn continued, "now that he has it we can be teleported into his memory and meet all of them! Isn't that math?" Marceline and Bonnibel looked at each other, turning to the rest of the group to find similar uneasy looks from Jake, Lady, and Flame Princess.
"Are you sure about this, Finn?" Jake asked as the kid gave a confused look, somehow unsure why everyone was so hesitant about this. "Don't you remember what happened the last time we went into B-MO?" Finn made a fart sound with his tongue, dismissing the worry with the shrewd noise.
"Ya, but we'll know what to expect! Come on, don't you want to at least see what it's all like?" Marceline and Bonnibel had to admit he had a bit of a point. For the few horrid pages they'd been forced to hear from the Ice King they'd been wondering just how different the world of Aaa was to the world of Ooo. "B-MO even agreed to do it. We'll go in and then at the end of the party, we'll come out. It'll be mathematical!" The group looked at one another before giving small shrugs and nods of their heads, deciding it could be fun to run around with their alter-ego selves.
B-MO positioned itself so that it could see everyone in the room, giving Finn a very angry warning about bringing anyone back before pressing the big red button on its front. Bonnibel gripped Marceline's hand as they were sucked into the fictional world.
They appeared in the same room, actually it looked exactly like Finn's treasure room. And for a moment they all thought it hadn't worked, that B-MO had just made some loud whooshing noises and shinned a bright blue light in their face. But everything was quiet; there was no music from the party or buzz of guests from outside. Jake lifted himself up to window height to look out at the empty, moonlit fields. "So…this is exciting," Marceline muttered, getting a warning jab in the side from Bonnibel. The girl was adamant at keeping Marceline from being too rude. It wasn't working too well.
Finn stepped out first, Flame Princess close behind him. Bonnibel did have to admit she was sympathetic towards the two. The two were a good match and Flame Princess certainly deserved a boyfriend like Finn in her life. But it was sad to know that they couldn't touch each other. That Finn had to prepare himself for the burn whenever they held hands, or hugged, or kissed. Bonnibel felt like she could emphasize with them, though Marceline had yet to burn her whenever they kissed in private.
"Look over there at the Candy Kingdom!" Finn shouted, pointing towards the spotlights dancing in the sky. There was a party going on over there and Bonnibel was admittedly curious to meet her fellow Candy Kingdom royalty. "Come on guys!" Finn shouted, jumping up as Jake slid under him and grew into a much larger and taller dog with Lady flying next to him. Marceline glanced towards Bonnibel, biting down on her lip in thought as the princess trotted after the group. A mischievous smile then pulled on her lips.
Marceline flew forward, grabbing Bonnibel by the waist and lifting her into the air. She shrieked, only to quickly start giggling as she noticed who it was. "We can't keep delaying this," Marceline whispered in the princess's ear and the girl's stomach turned.
"When we get back I'll tell him…promise," she breathed as Marceline gently rested Bonnibel on the back of Lady, the gaggle making their way to the kingdom.
It didn't look like much was different except that every single Candy person seemed to be the opposite of what they were in their world. Cinnamon Bun had breasts. Pepperment Butler was in a French maid uniform. It was all a little…odd as the crew stepped through the partying streets. What was clear was that Bonnibel's alter self knew how to throw quite the celebration as they neared the town center, an every so often firework exploding into the sky.
"So…what now?" Jake asked as they all dismounted and Marceline floated closer to the ground. A lot of the Candy people seemed oblivious to their arrival, probably thinking they were just more guests invited to the party. Finn lifted himself onto his toes, looking over the crowd for people of interest before gesturing to the center of the dance floor.
"There!" In the center they could get the every so often glimpse of a white bunny-eared hat, a tuff of pink hair bouncing near it. "Come on!" He exclaimed, offering his hand to the Flame Princess as the girl giggled and blushed before taking it for a moment. There was a hiss of burning as Finn did his best to hide the pained expression fighting to get out before they started to make their way through.
"I think I'm gonna just go find some punch," Marceline admitted, "I'll be right back." She wasn't really in the mood for meeting her other self. In fact, she was a little nervous what her alter personality would be. Maybe at one point in her life he would've been the good guy, but now that she'd turned good…Marceline worried what that meant for the king of the vampires.
Bonnibel was the first to be greeted by him as the vampire floated his way through the crowd, spooking poor pedestrians whenever he had the chance. Bonnibel was just trying to take it all in as he drifted by her, stopping in his flight and backing up. He smiled at her in a charming manner, his hair black and messy like Marceline's. If anything they dressed almost exactly the same, except that rather than a leather jacket and boots, he had on a red flannel shirt and matching red sneakers. "Well hello there," he hummed as Bonnibel smiled at him, giving a kind nod of her head.
"Hello," suddenly he held his hand out to her as she took it politely, her smile fading as he lifted it to his lips. He kissed the top of her hand, the action lingering longer than Bonnibel liked as she started to tug it back, watching the vampire flick his tongue against her skin just as she snatched it away. "I'm…um…Bonnibel," she breathed, deciding it might be better to avoid her royal name (despite the tiara on her head). "Pleased to meet you…"
"Marshall Lee," he introduced, floating around Bonnibel as she tried to make herself feel as small as possible. "I don't think I've seen you around, Bonnibel" he remarked, stopping in front of her face as he looked like he was lying on an invisible bed. His head was propped up on his elbows, legs kicking back and forth as he floated eye level with her, invading some of her personal bubble. The way he said her name was unnerving, even frightening. Whenever Marceline said it Bonnibel was filled with warmth but Marshall Lee seemed to summon the exact opposite.
"Yes…well, I'm just here visiting," she remarked as Marshall Lee gave a nod, swooshing to her side and sliding an arm across her shoulders. Bonnibel tensed, wondering what was taking Marceline so long to get punch.
"Then let me take you on a tour. I know all the good…secluded…couples only places," he breathed in her ear as Bonnibel shut her eyes tight, almost like a child trying to wish the monsters away. Suddenly Bonnibel heard someone clearing his or her throat next to her as she opened an eye to look. Relief poured out of her in a loud sigh. Marceline raised a curious brow at the situation as Marshall Lee looked up at her.
"Sorry, Bonnie…there was a long line," she commented, handing the princess one of the two punches as Bonnibel stepped away from the pale boy.
"That's okay, thanks," she whispered, sipping timidly at her cup.
"Sorry, but we were having a bit of a private conversation," he hissed as Marceline chuckled, tossing her long hair over one shoulder.
"Looked more like you were about to make a very big mistake." Marshall Lee frowned, the pair floating close to each other, nose to nose.
"I think you're the one making the mistake, queen of the daddy issues parade." Anger boiled in her belly. He couldn't know who she was, couldn't know what her family life was like, her alter ego or not. She worked very hard at hiding her personal issues from the rest of the world but this jerk had to cross a line. So she did what she believed was appropriate by pouring the punch over his head. The crowd gasped as Marshall Lee looked at his drenched clothes.
"You should go home and change, mommy's lil lumberjack," Marceline hissed as Marshall Lee growled, his body growing into a giant bat-like monster. Quickly Marceline copied him, the music cutting off as the pair prepared to battle, snapping and hissing at one another.
"Marceline Abadeer!" Bonnibel shouted as the two vampires glanced down at her. Marceline gritted her teeth together, wanting nothing more than to put this punk in his place. But if she did then that meant she would have to deal with Bonnibel's wraith later. She certainly wasn't up for that as she shifted back to her normal size. Marshall Lee laughed, shrinking down as well.
"What kind of vampire are you? Scared?" He laughed as the crowd parted to expose Finn and Flame Princess with their new friends.
"Marshall, cut it out!" The female Finn snapped.
"She started it!" He exclaimed, gesturing over to the pair just as Marceline offered Bonnibel her jacket, noticing the princess shivering in the evening air. His face fell, stunned at the charade this woman had suddenly put on.
"By doing what exactly?" The Candy Prince asked, arms crossed over his chest. "I only invited you here because Fionna asked me. She promised you would behave, Marshall Lee."
"What? Am I going crazy here? Who even are these people?" Bonnibel looked over at the prince, blinking at how he held himself. It was certainly regal, far more than she did on a daily basis. His clothing looked expensive and well taken care of, even his hair looked perfect. Bonnibel rarely did much to her chewy waves other than put it up into something simple like a ponytail – such as how it was tonight. If anything she felt like she was looking up on what would happen if she'd been the ideal princess her parents had always wanted from her.
"I believe I can explain that," Bonnibel chirped, rolling up the sleeves so that they didn't hang over her hands. The jacket was big on Marceline, but it was huge on her.
"Maybe," the prince interrupted, gesturing to the rest of the party, "we should take this somewhere more private. So that our guests can continue enjoying their night." He was so…so not like her. Sure, she was appropriate when she needed to be, but also a lot less focused on playing the part of princess (or at least as of recently). It was more important to just take care of her people rather than rule over them. But maybe the prince was right about the current conversation topic as they made their way into the castle and a small sitting room just off of it. It looked exactly the same as Bonnibel's did at home. Then again, maybe that was because neither of them had put any effort into how they wanted it to look.
"So now that we're all here," Bonnibel started, standing at the front of the room as she looked out at everyone, "let me explain." Her eyes then lingered on the girl Finn and the Candy Prince, a blush falling on her cheeks as she realized their close proximity. Not just sitting on the couch…but also in age. In this world they both looked eighteen, maybe even with a budding romance as Bonnibel forced herself to focus. "We're from another world…the real world. You all are in a world made up of the Ice King's fantasies and composed of all of our alter egos."
"The real world? I don't understand," the prince remarked as Bonnibel gave a small sigh.
"This isn't real," she explained, "you are all in a story written by a power-crazed wizard."
"Or maybe you're the ones in the story. Because I certainly don't know any world where you two would be the best of friends," Marshall hissed, gesturing to Marceline and Bonnibel.
"Exactly. Why is your Fionna so young? And what is the Flame Prince doing out of captivity?" The prince asked as Finn stood up defiantly.
"Please, everyone let's just calm down. This doesn't need to be violent. You're all from the man's imagination. He wishes to be with you Fionna, so he made you eighteen rather than thirteen. In our world the Flame Princess has no reason to be in captivity."
"You keep saying the Ice King, don't you mean the Ice Queen? I would never think of her to write any sort of stories. She's bat-crap crazy," Fionna remarked as the candy prince nodded slowly along. Bonnibel gave a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. Glob, she hoped she wasn't this bad when she was the one that was supposed to be listening.
"Look, why don't we just go home? It's obvious we shouldn't be here," Marceline remarked and Bonnibel thought that would be a great idea. She was having much more fun at the other party anyway.
"We can't. B-MO doesn't know to let us out until it ends," Jake explained, seeming to give Fionna's cat-companion a suspicious look.
"Look, to be honest I only came to this party cause I was bored," Marshall Lee started; drifting away from the reading chair he wasn't actually sitting in. "Why don't you all go visit Sylvia and see if she's up for helping you out? Otherwise, I'm out for the night." Marceline then snorted, breaking into a loud laugh as the group turned to her.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…just Sylvia? He couldn't come up with anything better than Sylvia? Glob, Simon you have lost all sense of creativity over the years," she remarked only for a collection of shrieks to sound outside. The group snapped up, looking over at the large doors as candy people came bursting. Finn and Fionna were quick on their feet, running into the throne room without any care for what might be waiting for them.
The shrieks were followed by an insane laugh as the rest of the group followed, Jake and the cat, Cake, stepping up after their best friends. And then in came Sylvia, the Ice Queen. She was certainly much more shapely compared to the Ice King. If anything she looked attractive with gentle curves and stunningly long, white hair. But it was clear just how crazy she was (if her lightning shaped eyebrows didn't make it obvious) by her predatory stare, moving around the room in search of her prey. "Oh Prince Gumball!" She called, zapping fleeing candy people. "Where's my Prince Gumball?"
"Get out of here, Ice Queen!" Fionna shouted, pulling out her sword and aiming it at the woman.
"Ya…what she said!" Finn agreed triumphantly, seeming to confuse the woman as she floated there.
"Wait…" the room watched her slowly process, glancing around till her eyes fell on the mound of pink hair that belonged to Bonnibel. Her mouth curled into a grin, clapping her hands together. Immediately ice started to crawl into the room from the open door as Fionna charged, Cake propelling her higher. Casually the Ice Queen tossed a handful of ice at the girl, freezing her hands and feet together as well as Cake's. Finn tried next, but he and Jake were both cast into and ice statue of a man on his horse. Flame Princess threw a ball of fire at the woman as she froze it, the mass crashing and exploding to the floor. Fear filled the girl's eyes as her body was slowly frozen in place, the fire of her body unable to melt the ice quickly enough as it crawled up her body.
"Stop it!" Bonnibel hissed, pulling the Ice Queen's attention as Prince Gumball stepped up behind her, pulling at her arm. The Ice King was crazy, but this woman was malicious, as if for every time the Ice King had stepped back, the Ice Queen had taken two steps forward.
"Don't bring attention to yourself, princess," he hissed, shying away as she gave him a startled look. The man was frightened like his own people. Rather than sticking up for them, attempting to protect them, he would rather protect himself.
"Finally, a princess I can really sink my teeth into!" The Ice Queen cackled as she threw her hands towards them. Gumball darted behind Bonnibel just as Marceline dashed in front of the girl. She yelped, the cold slamming into her stomach as she was hurled against a wall.
"Marceline!" Bonnibel shrieked, watching as the woman lay there unconscious, nothing but a small pile of ice crystals resting on her stomach. The queen tried again, encasing both the Prince and Princess in ice and dragging them from the room. Bonnibel glanced over her shoulder in panic, catching Marshall Lee's somewhat distant look. It was as if he knew he shouldn't get involved, that he wanted to but he was holding himself back. "Marshall Lee, please!" Bonnibel begged before they were flung out of reach and dragged to the woman's home.
Marshall Lee stepped into the doorway, watching them float away with his hands in his pockets. It was their fault for getting involved. She would be safe back at home if she'd just kept her mouth shut. "Marshall," Fionna called, slamming her hands against a wall to break her bindings, "why did you just stand there?" She accused, hitting the butt of her sword into her feet-shackles before starting to free the rest of the people.
Marceline held her head as she slowly got up. When was the last time she'd been knocked out cold? In her younger days, maybe, when she got into fights she shouldn't have started. Her vision blurred and then focused, her hair a mess over and around her face as she narrowed in on her male equivalent. For all she knew he planned this, that he wanted this. Marceline grew into a bat-like monster, swooping him off the ground in one of her clawed hands as he chuckled. "I guess you've gone soft in your world," he hissed a laugh. "Here, I'm still very evil," he remarked as Marceline started to squeeze. She felt like she couldn't control herself. She was so angry, begging that she hadn't just watched any of that happen.
"Marceline," Finn called, forcing her to reduce to her normal size as the boy pulled Flame Princess's unlit body from the ice. She coughed, reaching up and touching his face with a smile, still too cold to burn him. "We have to go get them," he stated as Marceline nodded, watching Finn relight the girl with a tender kiss. It was precious, but she attempted to ignore it as she watched Marshall Lee make his escape. Had she really been like that? Some sort of evil and cowardly vampire? Had her return to Ooo changed her that much? It was startling to think so as Finn, Fionna, Jake, Cake, and the vampire queen made their way to the Ice Queen's fortress.
"Let us out!" Bonnibel screamed through the ice bars, "I'm warning you! You won't get away with this!" Suddenly the Ice Queen swooped forward, Bonnibel gripping the bars tight so she wouldn't stumble back in surprise.
"Well you are a lively one. Far better than Prince Gumball," she commented, gesturing to the man that had made himself at home in the corner of the cell. Bonnibel was losing patience with him and how he just sort of gave up. Had Marceline and Finn made such an impact in her life that she was so different than what she was looking at now? Because at one point in time she was like him, frail and helpless, she had fit the roll of a perfect princess…well, perfectly. And yet here she was, in no way willing to go out without a fight.
"Bite me," she snapped as the queen cackled, floating into a backflip before sliding back forward again.
"You have no idea how much I have been waiting for this from the Prince. I thought I could put up with him, being the sissy of a prince he is. But you…you will be delicious," she hummed, licking her lips as her eyes crawled down Bonnibel's body and then back up. The princess was suddenly nervous, uncomfortable, and trying to find any sort of strength that she could muster.
"What are you talking about?" Bonnibel asked as the woman let her feet touch the ground, glancing towards the prince who seemed to cower under her gaze.
"I'm here to take a piece of the princess I've always wanted," she reached out, grabbing Princess Bubblegum's breast greedily. Instantly Bonnibel retracted, swatting away the woman's hand and retreating to the back of the cage. The woman laughed, "Oh yes, it will be very fun with you. Your counterpart is far more submissive. You might actually enjoy when I tie you up on display." Bonnibel gasped, finally looking past her at the room that surrounded them. It didn't look anything like the Ice Kings. She wasn't in someone's room. She was in a torture chamber. Chains decorated the walls in all manner of patterns with tables covered in…items. Rather than having a horde of penguins the queen seemed to have a single large polar bear that slept soundly in front of the only door to the place.
"You're insane!" Bonnibel shouted, her voice quivering as the frightening realization came to her. The queen was capable of what the Ice King wasn't. The wizard simple wanted a wife, a woman to love him, which at some points was an innocent desire. But the witch wanted more. She wanted the physical side, hardly caring about what was felt emotionally.
"No!" The queen hissed, turning away from a wall where she'd plucked what looked like a whip from one of the tables. "Simply passionate."
"Finn and Fionna will stop you!" The woman smirked, snapping her whip down as it bit on the ice floor with a sharp clap.
"Oh I'm sure they will stop me…right after I've finished with you." Bonnibel pressed her body tight to the corner, looking towards Gumball as he pulled his knees to his chest. What sort of world was this? Did the Ice King even know what he had created? "You wait here while I make a bit of a costume change." She turned her back and discarded the blue robe from her torso. Bonnibel blushed; everything about the Ice Queen was different than the old wizard, even physically. Her body was perfect in a way, dressed only in a pair of panties, her spine defined as she stepped away from the cage and behind some curtains on the far end of the room.
"Gumball," Bonnibel hissed, stepping quietly across the space and kneeling down to his level. "Gumball we have to get out of here," he looked up at her, fear filling his gaze.
"What's the point? She always has a way of delaying Fionna till she doesn't care if I get saved or not. By then…by then…oh Glob," he started to cry and Bonnibel found herself feeling uncomfortable. He was broken, holding onto a secret he was too scared to tell his friends. She rolled her lips together before holding his head in her hands.
"There's always a point, Gumball, there's always a reason to fight back. If she wants to delay them, then we'll delay her. Fionna cares for you, and she will continue to care about you if she finds out." Bonnibel felt like she was mimicking Marceline, repeating the reassuring words the vampire queen had told her earlier that evening. A comforting smile pulled on her lips as she pulled her hands away to tighten the jacket around her. It smelled of the woman and settled a warm strength into her bones.
"O-Okay, I believe you," he nodded as Bonnibel helped him to his feet, the pair turning just as the Ice Queen made her grand entrance. A blush fell over both their cheeks as Bonnibel attempted to process what she was looking at. The woman was mostly in black, the first startling piece of clothing being the thigh-high leather boots that laced loosely up the sides, exposing skin. It was open at the toe and almost seemed to be an impossible height to actually walk in. Next were the black leather bands around her thighs, connected to the girder that rested under the leather panties. A bright silver zipper ran up the middle. Her belly was exposed apart from the v-shaped front of the black corset. It pressed her bust upwards and once again was laced up the sides. Finally a pair of leather gloves, zippered from her elbow up to the heel of her hands, held themselves tight to her as she playfully stroked the whip in her hand.
"Look who decided to come out and play with the rest of us," she chuckled as Bonnibel gripped his hand, attempting to give him the same sort of strength she was feeling.
"Wait," came a voice from the back of the room, a figure stepping from the shadows. "Let me…warm up the princess," Marshall Lee smiled as Bonnibel gave an unexpected gasp.
What the queen had done to delay the group was set up a trap, sending tons of snow crumbling down on them as Marceline barely got out of the way in time. "Marceline!" Finn gasped, his hand getting covered by the snow as the ocean of white finally settled. Quickly she started to dig, finding Finn and Jake easily enough. But they didn't have the time to get everyone out, they had to move, she had to get to Bonnibel.
"Finn, are you okay?" She asked as Finn yanked one of his hands free, wiggling his fingers with a small smile and a nod. The party would be over soon, they were be teleported back and while the rest of them would appear in a semi-safe place, Bonnibel would still be captured. She had to get her free.
"Just give me a second," Finn grunted, pulling at one of his knees as Marceline ignored him, starting her way up. "Marceline!" He shouted again only for Jake's hand to slap over his mouth, his other hand finding Cake and Fionna as they tried to get out.
"Don't start up another avalanche, dude. Just let her go, maybe she'll be able to distract her until we get there." Finn gave a firm nod, turning away from the disappearing vampire as he got back to his self-rescue.
Marceline turned herself invisible as she climbed up the tower, hesitating at the window as she looked into the room, horrified. Bonnibel was being dragged out by her hair, Marshall Lee cackling as he threw her against a wall, catching her hands and clapping them into some shackles. "I knew you were no good," Bonnibel hissed, pulling at the chains as Marshall Lee stepped just out of reach, laughing.
"You royalty and your stupid beliefs in 'goodness.' Gumball also thought he could change me, could change both of us. But he didn't. Instead he just made it worse for himself." He gestured over, showing Gumball with an exposed chest, his arms bound high above his head, forcing him to stand on his toes as the queen swung the whip against his chest. Bonnibel flinched with each snap and cry from the prince.
"Don't you touch him!" She shouted, spitting into the vampire's face as Marshall Lee gave a disappointed sigh. Slowly he wiped it away, his hand snapped out and wrapped tightly around Bonnibel's throat. His face shifted into a wolf's mussel, teeth sharp as his lip pulled back into a violent growl.
"I gave you a chance to make this easy. All you had to do was come with me. You're goodie-two-shoes Marceline is the one at fault here." Bonnibel gasped for air, eyes looking around before watching in amazement as a nearby riding crop lifted from the table. It looked like it was levitating as it moved slowly and quietly across the room, the princess not having enough air to say anything.
"You called?" A voice suddenly said as Marshall Lee blinked, turning towards it just in time for the whip to snap across his face and propel him across the room. Marceline reappeared, dropping the riding crop and pulling at the chains, snapping them easier than the shackles. "We have to get out of here before B-MO takes us back." Marceline wished she could have gotten here sooner, but at least she was able to stop him before anything else happened. Bonnibel had been more willing since the past week, being a little closer, a little touchier, but it was clear that she still wasn't ready. Marceline didn't mind, it was frustrating at times physically but as long as Bonnibel stayed around she didn't care how long she waited.
"But what about Gumball!" Bonnibel breathed, gesturing to him as the queen drew her finger down the center of his chest. Each inch a pile of ice formed and seemed to burn into his skin as tears dripped form the corners of his eyes. Marceline looked at Bonnibel and then back to him. She just wanted to get home, get some place safe. But the princess was right. They couldn't just leave him. Why did she have to be so adorably chivalrous?
"Don't move," she ordered, giving a loud hiss as she pulled the queen's attention from her toy.
"You," the Ice Queen gawked, her shock quickly turning to anger as she flung spears of ice at the woman. "You're out of your element, vampire! What should you care about some fruity prince and princess?" Marceline gritted her teeth, growing into a terrifying combination of wolf, demon, and bat, and was almost too tall for the ceilings. Her bottom half was that of a wolf's hindquarters, the fur growing in a V-shape around the brown scales on her chest. Large bat wings grew from her back and the scales had grown into her face, her nose expanding into a mussel full of teeth. Marceline's eyes were red and diamond shaped, black horns curling out of the top of her hair. The queen's polar bear roared at her and Marceline slowly turned. Breathing in, she screeched at the animal, terrifying it enough to send it scampering off as quickly as its paws would let it.
"Because she's mine to protect!" She roared, about to slam a fist down only for it to be intercepted by a clawed hand. Marshall Lee hissed, his bat head unsettling as the pair started to tussle in the room, making it shudder and crumble. Marceline wasn't paying much attention, her anger focused on the singular being in front of her. She didn't notice when Finn and Fionna flung their selves into the room, entering a fight with the startlingly dressed Ice Queen.
"I can't imagine you ever running the Nightosphere," Marshall Lee sneered, swatting a hand out to catch Marceline in the face. Three claw marks began to bleed on her cheek as Marceline kick a hind leg into his stomach.
"I don't wish to run the Nightosphere."
"Ha, like you have a choice in it," he cackled, attempting for another swat only for Marceline to be ready. She caught his wrist and twisted it slamming him against the front of the cage and shattering the bars.
"You always have a choice. I would've figured my own self could have gotten that through my own thick head by now." Marshall Lee hissed, twisting his body as he bit down on Marceline's shoulder. She screeched, stumbling back and grabbing at the blood.
"I did, and I chose the stronger path, the better one. Being good is for the weak." Suddenly a shackle was flung into the side of his head, startling both of them as he looked down at Bonnibel.
"Back off!" She shouted, making him chuckle. Marceline growled, anger filling her bones as she lashed out at the distracted vampire, sinking her teeth into his neck with her powerful jaws. And then she started to drink, slowly sucking the blood from his body as the pair shrunk down to their normal sizes. Marshall Lee grabbed weakly at her, trying to push her off as he found it difficult to continue standing, slumping to the floor. "Okay Marceline," Bonnibel breathed, touching her shoulder. But the woman couldn't stop herself.
It had been so long since she'd had actual blood flowing across her tongue and down her throat, actual warm and energy-filled blood. So delicious. Maybe she would pick this up again, just a few here and there. She wouldn't kill them…maybe.
"Marcie…please," Bonnibel breathed, pressing a delicate kiss to her cheek. Suddenly Marceline's eyes dilated, the angry red that had surrounded her black irises disappeared as she looked down at the dying boy. Quickly she pulled back, blood still dripping down her chin as she wiped some of it off with the back of her hand.
"Oh Glob…Bonnie tell me I didn't," she begged as Bonnibel reached for Marshall Lee's chin, pulling it to open his mouth as she lower her ear hesitantly towards it. Her eyes closed in relief as the soft breathing that blew against her skin.
"No, you didn't. He just needs some rest and probably something to eat." Marceline cleaned the last of her mess off on the bottom of her ship, giving a slow nod as Cake stepped over to put him onto her back, the Ice Queen was vanquished to a corner of the room, tied up in her own collection of rope. Fionna was helping Gumball down, the two blushing and sharing a few embarrassed words as she handed him back his shirt. There were old and new scars on the skin, leading one to believe there where other times this had occurred. Bonnibel didn't know if Gumball would tell Fionna everything, but it seemed he'd taken some of her advice, as Fionna's face grew serious and then concerned, pulling him into a hug. It was sweet.
"Wow, Marceline. I hate to tell you but your alter ego is a real butt," Finn remarked as Marceline chuckled, nodding. If anything he reminded her a lot of herself when she was younger, much younger. Those were the days where she rebelled against everything and anything, doing whatever she pleased. Those were the days she felt most lost in the world, where she felt like her future was inevitable.
"Bonnibel," Gumball called, holding Fionna's hand as they stepped into the group. "I would like to thank you for everything today. You saved me in more ways then one." He then glanced towards Marceline with a gentle smile. "I hope you too find the courage and strength you gave to me." Finn looked at the encounter confused as Bonnibel nodded, giving a small blush.
"F-Finn…I-" Bonnibel was cut off by a loud beeping noise that echoed above them. Realization seemed to smack everyone in the face. They had to get out of here before B-MO teleported them back.
The group charged back to the tree house, Lady and the Flame Princess made their way over while the rest were off saving the Candy royalty. They stood in the treasure room, waving at their fellow counter parts as Bonnibel gripped Marceline's hand tightly. "Marcie," she breathed, turning to her as a bright blue light began to flash around them. "I'm ready to tell them," she leaned forward, her free hand rested on Marceline's hip, using it to push her up the few inches to her lips. All the times before, when she told the vampire queen she was going to do it, it was more because she knew she had to; because it wasn't fair to Marceline to have to hide around all the time. But now she truly wanted them to know about what they shared.
There was a final loud beep as they appeared back in their world, the music was still playing outside but the commotion of people had died down. Bonnibel pulled slowly away from the vampire queen, Marceline having reached up to hold her face during the kiss. "What…the…Glob…" Finn breathed, breaking their moment as the pair turned to the stunned group of friends. The women felt like Flame Princess had come over and slapped both of them across their cheeks. Nervousness swirled in their stomachs as Bonnibel tightened her grip on Marceline's hand.
"F-Finn…I've been meaning to tell you but…"
"Is this why you never wanted anything to do with me? Is this why you changed back?" He snapped as Bonnibel jumped, startled by the sudden hurt in his voice.
"Finn, calm down, man, just let her explain," Jake asked as Finn's face crinkled into an angry expression.
"No, Finn, Marceline wasn't the reason. She wasn't the reason for a very, very long time. You have to understand how much I care about you, Finn and how much of a struggle this has been for me to confess to you. I don't know how it happened…it just sort of did. But I'm really glad it did. I want you to be happy about it too but…" she looked back at Marceline, a sad sigh falling from her lips, "if you can't…then I'm sorry. I just don't want to lose our friendship." Tear glazed over her eyes as Finn bowed his head. Hesitantly Flame Princess reached over, touching his should for a moment to catch his attention but not burn him.
"You moved on…didn't you? Shouldn't Princess Bubblegum be allowed to?" Finn glanced towards the fiery girl and then back up at the princess and vampire. "Why should it matter who it is. Can't you see she's happy? Don't you want it that way?" There was another pause as silence hung heavy in the air.
"Finn," Marceline finally spoke, the injuries on her face and shoulder already starting to slowly heal. "I don't care if you hate me, but Bonnibel doesn't deserve that from you." In truth, Marceline did care. Finn was her first real friend in Ooo, the first real friend that she'd been herself around and he hadn't run away. She didn't want to lose him as a friend either but she was used to living alone. Marceline would learn to live her days without seeing the almost annoyingly happy boy regularly. But Bonnibel shouldn't have to.
"I'm sorry this had to be so difficult for you," Finn finally responded, his voice much more calm as he pulled a boyish grin back onto his face, looking at both of the women. "I'm glad you two are happy…together." The pair smiled as Bonnibel gave a gleeful giggle and pecked him on the cheek.
"Thank you, Finn!" She cheered as the room emptied, the two women thanking Finn yet again for inviting them as they walked away. The two stopped back at the tree where they had started, turning to one another as Marceline smirked. "What?" Bonnibel asked, Marceline shaking her head.
"You're such a moron sometimes, you know?"
"Ya? Well…well you're not really as cool as you think," Bonnibel jabbed back as Marceline held her chest, faking pain.
"You wound me, princess," Marceline teased as she floated towards the Candy kingdom, stopping and turning back to wait for Bonnibel to catch up. "I do have a question, though. When you saw Gumball and Fionna together…did it make you wonder?"
"Wonder what?"
"What would it would be like if you'd stayed with Finn." Bonnibel looked towards the ground in thought before glancing back up and smiling at Marceline. Slowly she shook her head.
"They're their own people. You wanna know what I really thought about seeing them together?" Marceline raised an intrigued brow as Bonnibel smirked, charging forward and tackling the vampire queen to the ground. Marceline yelped, floating again just in time so her landing wasn't as painful before laughing. Bonnibel panted above her, her head titling slightly to the side. "I was really thinking about how much I wanted everyone to know about us." She leaned down, kissing the woman as Marceline wrapped her arms tightly around her, hugging her close. Bonnibel broke slowly away and rolled onto her back next to Marceline. They looked up at the clear skies with content smiles, holding hands. "Marcie," Bonnibel whispered.
"Ya?"
"If we got married would that make you a double queen?" Marceline snorted, pulling Bonnibel's hand up to kiss the top of her fingers.
"Why don't we just focus on getting to tier fifteen before we talk about marriage?"
"What's tier fifteen?"
"Exactly."
COMMENTS: Had to make a quick edit here. Was told Bonnibelle is actually spelled as Bonnibel and Nethersphere is supposed to be Nightosphere. Without spell check my spelling is terrible so I always appreciate the suggestions (as long as they're polite). Enjoy! c:
The third in this trilogy is "Fighting the Hunger" if you wanna take a look!