The princess of the Candy Kingdom strolled into Marceline's cave in early evening. Her water-walking boots, with wide flexible cups on the soles, made rhythmic splashes as she jauntily stepped across the flooded cave to the island beyond. The setting sun, barely visible through the mouth of the cave, dyed the waters red and gold, and she imagined herself sliding through an oil slick or perhaps a painter's palette.
To say that Bonnie was in a good mood would be an understatement. Her recent experiment had concluded successfully, her candy people had managed to go a whole week without blowing themselves up or running into another crisis, and as a result she was for once able to keep her plans Marceline.
She swung the picnic basket in her hand to and fro. A variety of delicious smells emanated from within. There was fruit salad with strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate seeds, and tomatoes. Peppermint Butler had given her a strange look as she prepared, perhaps not used to seeing her in the kitchen.
Also nestled within were a bottle sweet pink wine, spaghetti with marinara sauce, and a side dish of hard candy naturally. You can't have a balanced meal without candy.
She strode across the lawn, retracting the wide cups on her boots with the press of a button, and knocked on the door.
While she waited, a song sprang to mind and she sung quietly to herself. Hooked on a feeling. I'm high on believing…
The door swung open to reveal a floating Marceline. The gray-skinned girl was wearing torn blue jeans and a t-shirt showing various shapes with faces drowning in a sea of red. She was a bit underdressed for their outing compared to Bonnie, but it felt natural. Marceline always defied social etiquette.
"Hi there," Bonnie clasped the basket in front of her and smiled up.
"Uh, hi," The vampire blinked and looked her up and down. "Sorry but I don't do autographs outside of shows."
Bonnie snorted. "I don't think I need an autograph. I have enough of your stuff cluttering up my bedroom already. But if you want to leave your mark somewhere else later…" She felt her face heating at her own boldness. Glob, she was sounding like Marceline these days.
"Wow, you don't mess around, do you? Skipping right ahead to the end." Her lopsided smile was halfway been amused and incredulous. "And I assume that's supposed to be a bribe?" She pointed to the basket in the other girl's hands.
"Well, it's a little early for our picnic, but I thought maybe we could watch a movie first," she said, brushing by Marceline to enter the house.
A grey arm shot out and blocked her way like an iron bar.
"Woah, woah. It's nice that you've got all these plans in your head, Pinky, but keep me out of it."
Bonnie turned to her, confused. Marceline hadn't called her 'Pinky' in years, and she knew she hated that name.
"Thanks for being a fan and all, but if you want to see me, go to one of my shows." Marceline unceremoniously slammed the door in her face.
Bonnie stood there with her mouth hanging open for a moment. What exactly had just happened?
She grabbed the handle, and finding it unlocked, opened the door.
"Are you mad at me?" she asked, stepping into the room.
The vampire, who was now halfway across the room, whirled around, her red eyes blazing. She hissed, not in the cute, taunting way she sometimes did, but in a feral 'you're in danger' kind of way.
"What is wrong with you? Get out of my house, you psycho!"
"What's wrong with me? You're the one who's acting…" She bit her tongue to stop herself from devolving this into a shouting match. She had been looking forward to this evening for too long to let it be ruined.
Tamping down on the worry and irritation growing inside her, she asked in a calm voice, "I'm serious, Marceline. Is this a prank or are you mad at me? Please just talk to me."
"Talk to you? I don't even know who you are!"
She flew over and shoved Bonnie outside by the shoulders. The princess's heel caught on the doorframe and she tumbled backwards, landing on her back in the grass. The basket fell alongside her and threw its contents across the lawn. The fruit salad splattered the doorstep like a red bloodstain. The spaghetti sauce splashed over her skirt and sweater. And the loud shattering of the wine bottle was followed by silence.
She rolled over and rose unsteadily to her knees, surveying the wreckage of her hopes and plans. She kept her head bowed, not wanting to see the incomprehensible anger likely showing on Marceline's face or to let her see the tears forming in her eyes.
Without a word, the vampire flew away.
Why should she have to feel like garbage? Marceline fumed as she floated in the sky.
The last rays of evening light scalded her skin, but that was a familiar pain, a comforting one, compared to the guilt roiling within her.
Some strange chick she had never seen before showed up at her doorstep, acting like they were a couple. Of course she would throw her out. It was perfectly reasonable.
But the sight of her shoulders shaking—in sadness or maybe fear—as she knelt on the ground had sent a spike through her gut.
Now she was stuck out here feeling too conflicted to go back, and she didn't even have her bass to pass the time. Hopefully in an hour or so the woman would be gone from the cave, and she could return home.
It was a shame really. The girl had been cute as hell in an old-fashioned, wholesome kind of way. She wore a downy white sweater and a knee-length pink skirt. Her vibrant pink hair was pushed back over one ear and fell in a smooth cascade down to the small of her back. And her smile when she had first opened the door had been killer. Honestly, the sight had made her want to eat the girl right up.
Unfortunately, she had ended up being crazy.
The hour passed absurdly slowly for an immortal. Normally, she could pass a day in the blink of an eye, but now time seemed to stretch interminably. She hummed tunes. She searched the sky for constellations. She held her thumb and forefinger up to her eye and pretended to squish buildings down below like ants.
But mostly she ended up thinking about the pink-haired girl. Somehow the story of her being a crazed stalker didn't quite fit. Her actions had seemed a little too sincere.
She heaved a sigh and put it out of mind as she flew back to her cave. The girl would be long gone by now, and she'd never have to see her again. Just to be safe though, she turned invisible as she approached her home.
All signs of the mess from earlier were gone. The doorstep was damp as though someone had rinsed it off. The noodles and shards of glass had been picked clean from the grass. Passing by the window, she did a double take. Pink was still there sitting on her couch!
What in the ninety seven dead worlds did this girl think she was doing?
She flew up to her second story window, feeling both alarmed and intrigued, and slipped inside. Floating silently down the stairs, she entered her living room and stopped a dozen feet away from the other woman to study her.
She wore a gold circlet inlaid with a blue gem perched on her head. Somehow she had missed that detail in flurry of their altercation earlier. Was she some kind of royalty, one of the princesses that were ubiquitous to Ooo? Going by her unique hair and the sweet scent coming off her, she'd be from the Candy Kingdom.
But Marceline definitely knew all of the princesses. She had to attend that dumb Princess Day each year, so she had met everyone plenty of times. Mentally going through each of the kingdoms, she could picture the name and face of each monarch, but the princess of the Candy Kingdom remained a void in her mind.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the possible-princess rising and peering out the window, perhaps searching for Marceline herself. Finding nothing, she sank back down on the couch and appeared to be deep in thought. Her hands were clenched, and her eyes, which had looked at the vampire so brightly before, were now puffy and red.
Marceline grimaced and reflexively floated closer to the girl before stopping herself.
"Enough. We clearly need a third party to sort this out," the pink girl muttered. She pulled a cell phone out of a pocket in her skirt and dialed.
"Finn? Yeah, it's me. Listen, I need you to come over to Marceline's place. We…I think there's something wrong." The voice on the other end replied periodically but was too quiet to hear from across the room.
"No, we're not just fighting again! I think something is seriously messed up with her memory. Just get over here as soon as you can and bring Jake too, please."
She began to end the call but added, "And bring some pillows too. This couch is flipping uncomfortable."
Strange. This person was friends with Finn and Jake? Close friends too by the sound of it. But surely they would have mentioned her at some point. Marceline rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Maybe it'd be simpler to just reveal herself and have a talk with this stranger.
But before she could come to a decision, the other girl rose and climbed the ladder to her bedroom. Following behind, Marceline saw her rummaging through her closet.
"I think I left some clean clothes over here. Aha!"
She pulled out a dark purple coat with pink buttons and a pair of maroon slacks that Marceline had never seen before. She unbuttoned her skirt, letting it fall and pool around her ankles, and slid the sweater off over her head.
Marceline spun around but not before catching an eyeful of lacy red underwear and a generous expanse of pale pink skin. Marceline felt her face flushing as she floated downstairs. She certainly hadn't expected the girl to be so, uh, well-proportioned under that loose sweater.
Turning visible again before she became any more a voyeur, the vampire settled down to wait for the princess's return.
Once Finn and Jake had arrived, the princess—Bonnibel Bubblegum apparently—had explained her theory: somehow Marceline had forgotten her existence while the rest of her memories remained intact.
"Do you remember Finn's 17th birthday?" Bonnibel asked. She sat in between Finn and Jake on the couch, on cushions now, while Marceline floated across from them.
"Yeah, there were all these party games set up in the...Candy Kingdom castle."
Logically the princess would be in her own castle, but even after going over the memory in detail, Marceline couldn't recall her being there.
"Anyways, all of Finn's friend were there, and by that I mean three of us and a whole bunch of banana guards."
"Hey, that wasn't my idea!" Finn interjected.
"Uh huh," she smiled at him. "Then later, Finn almost got decapitated by some green dude with an axe. Oh and at the end, when Simon burst out the cake dressed as Flame Princess…! Ah, good times."
"Yes, I enjoy being emotionally traumatized," Finn spoke in a deadpan tone. "But what about Peebs being there?"
"Peebs?" She looked over to the princess. "Uh, no, not that I recall."
"What about the part where my family showed up? They were talking directly to me, so how do you remember that?" Bonnibel asked.
"I remember something stopping the green dude, but I don't know what."
The memory just ended there like a jagged rip in a painting, and the more she tried to stitch it back together, the more her headache throbbed. There was something though, like a horse but also people? And she had jumped in front of someone?
It was like grasping at smoke. Each time she tried to force the images to stay in play, they morphed and blew away. A low growl of frustration rumbled in her throat.
"We can stop there. This is probably pretty upsetting for you," Bonnibel said in a gentle voice. She reached out a hand to Marceline but hesitated before touching her and pulled back.
Marceline shrugged and shoved her hands in her jean pockets.
"Nah, it's cool. I don't remember what I forgot, so it's more like an annoyance than anything."
It bugged her, like there were secrets being whispered behind her back, but it wasn't painful. Maybe if she knew what she had forgotten, it'd be different.
"It looks like it's harder on you," she said quietly. The princess seemed downright depressed.
"You believe me?" Bonnibel blinked in surprise.
"Yep."
Despite the absurdity of it, forgetting one single thing and nothing else, her instincts told her it was true. Her memories were messed up, Bonnibel seemed truly upset, and Finn and Jake supported her story. What more did she need?
Assuming that the princess was right all along, Marceline thought back to how she acted earlier in the night.
"Uh, Bonnibel?" She tried out her name. It sounded too formal. Wasn't there something else she could call her? "About earlier, I was a real jerk to you. I'm sorry."
The princess waved it off.
"It was understandable."
"No it wasn't! I ruined your dinner, I'm guessing."
"A picnic, yeah." Bonnibel shrugged. "In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal."
The princess gave her a weak smile which quickly floundered. Surprisingly, it bothered Marceline to see her upset like this.
"How about you give me a smack? It'll make you feel better," she said with a smile.
"I'm not going to hit you, Marceline." She rolled her eyes.
"Come on, just one." She grabbed Bonnibel's wrist and guided the princess's fist into her cheek.
The princess scoffed, giving a small laugh, and relaxed her hand to cup Marceline's cheek. Her palm was soft, and the warmth seemed to bleed into Marceline's cold skin. A moment later though she pulled back, acting stiff again.
"Sorry. It probably bothers you."
"No, it's…" It honestly didn't bother her, quite the opposite, but Marceline couldn't explain why.
"Uhh, so," Jake interrupted, reminding them of the boys' presence. "You lost your memory of PB then? That's a doozy."
"Yeah, you guys are like best friends," Finn added, looking between them.
Were they? The vibe she had gotten from Bonnibel earlier had been friendly, sure, but also something else. Since no one seemed in a hurry to tell her, maybe she would just find out for herself.
With a wide smile, she looked in Bonnibel's eyes and placed a hand on the princess's knee.
"Best friends, huh? Earlier this evening, was that normally how you greet your friends, Bonnibel?"
"Ah, well…" Her checks turned red, but the vampire noticed this time she didn't move away. "It's…complicated."
The embarrassment was a good sign. Wait, 'good'? What was she hoping for exactly?
She considered how to tease the truth out of her next, when Jake asked "What's complicated about it? You guys were smoochin, right?"
"Wait, you knew?" Bonnibel's head whipped towards him, her flush deepening.
"Nope, but now we do! Right, bro?" He leaned around her to fist-bump Finn, but the kid just stared at them slack jawed.
"You are?! I had no idea! Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because apparently it was a secret," Marceline said, fighting back the smile that had inadvertently formed on her face.
Why was she feeling elated over being in a relationship with someone she just met? But technically they had known each other a long time. Ah, this was all so confusing.
"Okay, you say it's complicated. Could you explain it to me?" She asked the princess.
"Sure, let me just summarize a couple hundred years in a few words," she smiled helplessly. "Where to even begin? We've known each other a long time, Marceline. We've been a lot of things, but one thing we were never particularly good at was talking."
Her eyes took on a faraway look. "Sometimes we were close. We'd be friends or allies at the very least. No one else lived as long, so it's like we were bound together. But also sometimes decades would go by where we were apart, where I was convinced you hated me, and I probably did the same to you." She grimaced at that.
"About a year ago we became something else, but I don't know what you thought it was. We never put it into words. Sometimes I thought, were you just messing around with me as long as it was fun, and then you'd disappear again?" She clenched her hands until her knuckles were white.
"Or were you actually…" She couldn't finish the thought. "But I guess it doesn't really matter now, does it? All that's gone."
Marceline felt her heart clench and saw Jake silently gesturing between her and the hunched over form of Bubblegum. Hesitantly she put a hand on the girl's shoulder, feeling weird about comforting someone in front of her friends.
She was never any good at being gentle, so instead she put her in a headlock and rubbed her knuckles back and forth on the top of her head until she pulled away with a squawk. The princess, hair in disarray, sat up with a look of utmost confusion.
"So what?" She declared boldly. "So what if my memories are gone? This is Ooo. We just have to go find them. And even if we can't, whatever! It sounds like a lot of the memories I gave you in the past were complete crap anyways. We'll just make new, better ones."
She chuckled at Bonnibel's surprised look.
"Oh yeah, it's like that time when Ash stole your memories of him," said Finn. "We just gotta go beat him up and get them back."
"He was probably all jelly of Peebs and Marcy being together," Jake added.
"But, how would even know about them?" said Finn.
The two boys broke off in a discussion about how likely it was for Ash to be the culprit based on him being a wizard and all. That left Bonnibel and her alone.
"You're right," said Bonnibel, clapping her cheeks. "This is just another problem where need to work towards a solution. The first step is to put together a list of possible suspects and scenarios."
The princess's eyes and voice were as clear and strong as when Marceline had first seen her.
"Ash is an obvious consideration, but there are other possibilities. Mnemonoid can consume memories, and maybe someone else could have used magic to steal your memory cores. I'll need to go back to the castle to do research. How long are cores stable outside of a person? Do they radiate any detectable energy?"
This other side of the princess showed Marceline just how much she didn't know about the girl. It was a little disheartening, to know that she had lost something, but it was also exciting to think of how much more she could get back.
Perhaps sensing her unease, Bonnibel looked up with a steadfast gaze.
"I promise I'll do everything I can to help you."
Marceline smiled back.
"I trust you."
She genuinely did.
With a plan in place, everyone agreed to head home for the night and meet again tomorrow. She held the door as they filed past, each one giving her a reassuring smile or a pat on the back and telling her they'd get her memories back in no time.
As they headed for the gate, she heard Jake whisper to the princess.
"So, what tier did you get to? She let you her feel her horn yet? Or wait, maybe you found her hidden eighth color?!"
"Jake," the princess sighed. "You really need to find a system that applies to non-rainicorns."
