Final Chapter. Enjoy :)

ML

I was already wide awake when the banana guards approached my cell. I'd drifted in and out of sleep all night, dreaming of Gumball waking up and being ok, or having nightmares in which he was dead and it really was my fault. Of course, I knew it wasn't. I can't "suck the life" out of people, not like I can drink the red from things. But the nightmares were unsettling enough that it kept me awake from around the crack of dawn until now, all of which I had to witness from a window with bars. I didn't even know they had jail cells in the candy kingdom. So much for sweetness.

The guards opened the door and ordered me to follow them. I knew if I tried to escape they'd probably just hunt me down, and I wasn't going anywhere until I figured out what happened to gummy. I wished I had a way to contact Fionna somehow. I figured if anyone could talk some sense into these candy freaks, it was her. As we exited the jail, I quickly realized Fionna would be of no help to me. She and Cake were both sitting amongst a crowd of people, each sporting a pair of cuffs. Cake's looked to be infused with some sort of magic that prevented her from growing, but Fi clearly had a lot more wiggle room in hers. She eyed her bag sitting a few feet away, which I hoped contained a sword.

I was brought onto a stand in front of the crowd, and up on the balcony of the castle stood mint maid lady, looking very pleased with herself. One of the banana guards had to hold an umbrella above my head since they refused to unbind my hands, and he kept tilting it when his arm got tired. I was gonna have a nasty burn on my arm if he kept that up, but right now I've got bigger problems.

"Good people of the Candy Kingdom. This is the trial of Marshall Lee vs The Crown. We are going to get to the bottom of this whole disaster, and then you as a whole will decide if he is innocent or guilty." The crowd cheered, and after they quieted down, she turned to smirk down at me. "Now, Marshall Lee, do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I won't promise anything until you uncuff me and let me hold my own umbrella. Mr. Flabby Arms over here is gonna kill me before the jury does."

I heard a few snickers in the crowd, and peppermint lady rolled her eyes and made a slight waving motion at the guards who complied with my request. Now able to sit more comfortably, I swore to tell the truth, though I doubt they'll believe me. Peppermint lady leaned forward on the balcony and began to question me.

"Mister Lee, what was your relationship with our dear Prince Gumball?"

"We're pretty close."

"So friends?"

"You tell me. You walked in on that kiss. Did it seem like we're just friends?"

"I'm asking you, Mister Lee."

"We didn't have a chance to really talk it over, but I'd like to call him my boyfriend."

"Really? What does the word boyfriend mean to you?"

"A guy that I really like spending time with and want to know romantically."

"Do you consider killing someone romantic?"

"Did you seriously just ask me that?"

"Well Mister Lee, regardless of the circumstances, you are a monster."

"And you're a piece of candy, but here you are, pretending to be a judge."

Despite the fact that their monarch could possibly be dead, I was pretty certain that most of the candy people in attendance were only here for the entertainment value. It was also very clear to me that mint bitch was hell bent on blaming this all on me. This whole trial was probably just to make a spectacle, and she was going to throw me back in the cell anyway. However, I don't think she'd blame me without a reason. If they really didn't know what happened, they'd be looking for a solution, not someone to blame. When do you look for someone to blame? When you are the guilty one. Smarter than I look, huh?

"Let's change the subject. What can you tell me about your supernatural abilities, Mister Lee?"

"I'm not capable of sucking the life out of people. I'll just say that right now, since I know that's what you think."

"I didn't ask you what you couldn't do."

"Fine. I can float, drink the red from things, turn into a vampire bat, basic stuff really."

"Hmmm. I think we need another perspective here. Fionna the human, to the stand!"

The guards practically shoved me out of the way as Fionna was escorted up onto the stand. We exchanged looks of worry as she turned to face the balcony. The banana guards did not cuff me, but they did hold large swords on either side of me. I don't know why they thought that would stop me from floating away, but I wasn't going to try that. Not yet, anyways. Not until I can figure out what the hell is going on.

"What can you tell me about Mister Lee's powers?"

"Ummm…. I don't know. He kinda said it all."

"Really? I seem to recall an event where he kidnapped your friend Cake and raised an entire graveyard from the dead to attack you when you tried to save her."

"That's not fair. He was just-"

"Is that true or not?"

"I don't-"

"Is it true or not?"

Fionna turned around to glance at me, sadness in her eyes. Poor kid. She didn't need to get dragged into this. I nodded my head at her, letting her know it was ok. It was true, that did happen. And in this context, it wasn't helping my case at all. She appeared to get even more upset when I did this, but turned around anyway. She didn't have the strength to look up again, so she just nodded. The crowd of candy people gasped as the guards prepared to remove her from the stand.

"You see? That wasn't so hard. I believe I have presented you all with enough evidence. I will give you a few moments to talk it over among yourselves." She gave me a wicked grin and I knew I was toast. Glancing around the crowd, it was clear from the glares I was getting that I was going to be announced as guilty any moment now. My eyes fell on Fionna, who looked at me urgently. She had managed to slip out of her handcuffs without being noticed, and was clearly waiting for some sort of plan.

I glanced back up at the peppermint lady. She was behind all this, but I didn't know why. Regardless of her motive, I knew I would have to expose her. I stared at her for a good minute, trying to figure her out. She stared right back at me, playing with her big ugly necklace in her hand. Talk about creepy. I'd expect to see somebody wearing something like that in the Nightosphere. I squinted to see it better, noticing the eerily familiar symbol on the front. It hit me all at once.

She's possessed.

I wasted no time springing into action. Despite the pain, I ditched the umbrella, chucking it at the banana guards. I quickly flew up in the air and towards Fionna. She must have had some idea of what I had in mind, as she quickly retrieved a sword from her bag. When I reached her, I grabbed her off the ground and darted through the air towards the castle. "Hit the necklace!" Was all I had time to say, before we reached the balcony and Fionna lunged at her.

-3 Days Later-

So, turns out I was wrong. Peppermint lady wasn't possessed. She was just, in a trance or something. After the amulet was smashed she snapped out of it, but she still seemed pretty shaken. We filled in the gaps in her memory and she gave us a list of ingredients for what she was pretty sure was an antidote for gummy boy. Next day, she was gone. Her room was empty and no one had seen her all morning. I'd probably want to leave too if I was unknowingly involved in a major scandal.

Oh yeah. That amulet? From the nightosphere. My mom used to warn me about evil demons who would be trapped in inanimate objects and then thrown into the nightosphere. Guess we were a dumping ground for any other lands to put their villains. Apparently maid lady got her hands on one and fell victim to its tricks. The symbol on it was actually from an ancient language that meant something along the lines of "do not wear". If only she'd known. Oh well.

I'm not too good with mixing potions and junk, so I left that to Fi and Cake. They claim this time they finally got it right, so we made our way into gummy's room. Even though it's sad to see him so still and lifeless, it gives me time to look at him without him knowing. I can't drool too much though. The girls tease me enough about it as it is. Maybe your kiss will wake him up Marshall. If only.

Since he couldn't drink, they had to inject him with the liquid using a needle. So, either this would wake him up, or we just stabbed him in his sleep for no reason. Fi got squeamish at the last second, so Cake (not too gently) stuck it in, pumped the potion through, and said "now wake up!". There seemed to be no effect at first, but then he slowly started to blink his eyes open. Cake removed the needle and bandaged his arm as he sat up, no one speaking a word. He took a minute to focus, then finally noticed all three of us sitting there.

"Um...what's going on?"

"Girl, you've been asleep for days." Cake got right to the point.

"WHAT? That can't be right! I'm going to be so behind on my work! Who's been taking care of the kingdom? How could I-"

"You missed our date." He stopped his babbling and looked at me. I couldn't help but smile at the worried look on his face. He's so cute when he's having a breakdown.

"Would someone PLEASE explain to me what's going on?"

The three of us burst out laughing, only adding to his stress. Fi gave me a sly glance. "Maybe we shouldn't overwhelm him. Come on Cake, we'll let Marshall sort this out." And with that, the girls were gone. I got up from my chair and slid onto the bed next to my gummy. He didn't seem to be in the mood for cuddling.

"Marshall, please. Can you just tell-"

"Alright alright. I'll give you the fast version. Peppermint found a magic evil amulet that hypnotized her into trying to take over the world. She had a super elaborate plan and she poisoned you to make you fall into a coma. She pinned it on me and put me, Fi, and Cake in jail for a night. Then she held a totally biased trial but because I'm so awesome, we saved you anyway. There, happy?"

"...wow. I'm not sure what I expected, but that definitely wasn't it."

"Well, now you know. And, since you skipped out on our date, you need to make up for that." I slid my arm around him and prepared to pull him in for our second kiss. Fionna had left the door open, but I was pretty sure she knew I'd come get her when I was done. But, gummy had other ideas, putting his hand up to stop me.

"Marshall, wait."

"What? You're skipping out on me again?"

"No. I need to ask you something."

"Better be important."

"It is…..I know the last few days have been crazy for you, or so you make it sound anyway. But if we're gonna do this, I need to know that you're intentions are pure. It's not that I don't trust you, but I'm a prince. And a prince can't have casual relationships. Everything is very serious. And…" he started to blush, "...in this case that's good, because I want to be with you. But I still have a duty to my people to make the right choices. And I meant to bring this up on our date, but then I got poisoned. Where was I going with this….."I don't think he was confused at all. The look in his eyes told me he was afraid, and I didn't want him to feel that way with me. I knew what he was getting at, and to be honest, it was something I wanted too.

"Listen gummy boy, I don't know what you thought this was, but let me set the record straight."

His eyes gleamed up at mine, and I stared into them intensely.

"You're mine, I'm yours, and we can stay like that forever."

His response wasn't verbal, but rather the smashing of his lips against mine. And all I have left to say is: we definitely shut the door after that.

Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :)

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Will I ever write for this paring again? I don't see it in the near future, but maybe some day. I have other trash ships to chase now XD

Anyway, I wish you all the best!