Fionna was twitching all that night.

Every time a branch brushed up against the window, she was up on her feet, throwing the door open; obviously waiting for someone to come and bring us news about the lost prince. Hour after hour, me, Cake, and Fionna all sat around the fire and curled up in blankets. At first, the cat and I didn't get along so well, and just about every other few minutes, a small fight would break out, usually ending up with Fionna smacking us both down and telling us to be quiet. Then as time started to wear us out, we just talked. It started raining about halfway through, and Fionna got quieter as the night went on.

"Hey, Fionna, remember when that Flame Prince ran through here, and you were all like, 'Man, he's hot!'" I said, poking her on the shoulder and chuckling.

"Yeah," she replied softly. "Gumball's water-work things kept him from setting the treehouse on fire."

Cake and I exchanged looks. She was really worried about Fionna, and I couldn't blame her. I was worried, too. I leaned closer, trying to catch those beautiful blue eyes with my own.

"You're not crying, are you?" I asked, half joking and half feeling like an idiot.

"No way, man," she pushed me away, hard, and a grin began creeping across my face. She looked up, her face defiant. Now, there was the girl I knew. Looking just like she could take on the world itself without a second thought. All strong and junk.

"What about you, Marshall?"

"Eh?"

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Who's your crush?"

You.

"I'm a thousand-year-old vampire," I laughed, though it sounded fake and nervous to me. "I don't have little kid 'crushes'. I've gone out with a bunch of girls, though-"

"No, no, I mean, someone that you really liked. Not just went out with, stupid."

"Oh…" I paused for a moment. Should I tell her the truth? "I…"

"I'll get it," Cake called, getting up to open the front door. Both me and Fionna looked at her in surprise. Had someone knocked on the door? Forgetting me entirely in a flash, Fionna jumped up just as Cake opened the door. There, standing in the doorway, was Peppermint Maid, soaked thoroughly from the rain. Though I couldn't really see much between Fionna and Cake, she looked haggard.

"Come on inside, you must be freezing!" Cake exclaimed, pulling her in.

"Did you find him?" Fionna asked, that desperate look seeping into her eyes again.

"Thank you very much," Peppermint Maid sighed, pulling up a chair and sitting down on it. I floated over to them, realizing with a pang that her hands were covered in mud; probably from the wrecked tower. She flopped over in it, as though she were dead tired, and didn't speak for a moment. I could tell with a quick glance at Fionna that she was itching to have her question answered, but knew that right now the small candy person needed her breath. Finally, Peppermint Maid looked up, her eyes hollow.

"The prince," she said quietly, "is dead."

The treehouse tilted crazily, and I wondered dully if someone was trying to chop it down. The prince is dead. Those four words ran around and around in my head, like some twisted game of chase. I felt sick, even though I was a vampire and couldn't get sick. The prince is dead.

"No," Fionna said firmly, her shoulders shaking. She turned and walked straight past me, shouldering me out of the way without meeting my eyes. I didn't look back, but I could hear her door slam shut; hard enough that the treehouse gave a little shake.

Cake was trying to talk to the maid, but she waved off her questions and said something about a service tomorrow. A funeral for the former prince of the Candy Kingdom.

A funeral? No way. A funeral for Gumball. I found my way to a chair and fell down on it more than sat, running a hand through my hair. I was a jerk. I was a real jerk. Gumball was dead, and I felt like it was my fault. Maybe if Fionna had stayed, she could have saved him. Maybe she could have helped, and this wouldn't have happened at all.

"Can't you just put him back together?" I asked quietly; the words appearing out of my mouth before I realized I was speaking. "Like you did when he fell into the Lich's pool."

"He wasn't dead, then," Peppermint Maid replied. "We were able to put him together because he wasn't fully dead. This time, he did not survive." She barely managed to get that sentence out before she burst into tears. Cake patted her on the back, murmuring comforting things.

"Marshall," Cake hissed to me. "What. Did you tell. Fionna?"

"I told her he was alive," I breathed, hiding my face in my hands. "I told her he was fine, that he was just waiting for the right moment to come out."

"Marshall," her eyes went wide and disbelieving. Then she got angry. Her arm stretched over to where I was and slapped me soundly across the cheek. My head snapped to the side from the impact, but otherwise, I didn't move. I felt hollow, and drained. This wasn't supposed to happen, I kept thinking. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

"Get out. Get out and don't you dare come back. You hear me?!" she growled, keeping her voice just low enough that Fionna wouldn't hear, her fur bristling. "If I see you so much as five feet from Fionna, I'll kick your vampire behind so hard you'll be feeling it for weeks."

I didn't say anything; couldn't say anything. There was nothing that could make this better, and I knew it. So, without a single word in reply, I stood up, opened the door, and walked out.

I didn't realize I had reached my cave until I was standing at the mouth of it, staring dully up at it and watching the rain turn the rock slick and shiny. What had I done? Gumball was gone, half the Candy Kingdom was in ruins…and I'd lied to Fionna. Oh, Glob. Fionna. I'm sorry. I felt tears build up in my eyes, something that hadn't happened for a long while. They mixed with the rain, running down my cheeks, and as I stood there, I could only think of how badly I'd screwed up.

I'm sorry, Fionna. I'm so sorry.

A/N: And here we are again, folks. The PLOT thickens. Not really.

Review and tell me how badly it sucked! 8Db