Okay guys, I'm becoming the kind of person that I hate with this posting crap. Screw the weekly dump, I'm just going to update when I have something to post. Enjoy this next installation of Marceline's Regrets! (I really should have come up with a better name...)
Chapter Eleven: Revenge
When she came to, Marceline had no idea where she could possibly be. She was lying on the outer edge of a grove, and it was the middle of the night. She tried in vain to remember the events that had brought her to this strange place. But the sound of a familiar voice yelling "Marceline!" brought her memory back with painful speed.
"Finn?!" she thought suddenly. She lurched up rather quickly and her head screamed with pain in response. Dots of sharp light swam across her vision and she lifted her hand to feel her throbbing temple. What she found didn't surprise her: a rather large lump had arisen on her forehead, presumably from whatever Cyrus had done to incapacitate her. Another yell of fury, however, yanked Marceline from her thoughts and into the real world. She looked up further with her impaired vision and saw Finn lunging towards Cyrus, unarmed, and without reservation.
Bubblegum was standing off to the side, taking on the five banana guards at once. They were no match for her hand-to-hand combat skills, and she was obviously just trying not to hurt them while keeping them out of Finn's way.
Marceline watched in alarm as Cyrus knocked Finn aside as if he was a rag doll, and winced as she saw him hit the ground with not much grace. The look on Finn's face was one of agony, but one glance at Marceline had him up and lunging again, only to get thrown backwards by Cyrus.
Marceline was getting angry watching Finn stupidly throw himself at Cyrus, so she made an effort to stand up so she could intervene. But on her attempt to rise, a fresh wave of unbearable pain shot through her head and nearly made her lose consciousness. She fell back down to the ground in a heap, breathing heavily as her temple throbbed from the immense discomfort. "Damn you Cyrus, you will not hurt Finn!" Summoning all the strength she could muster, she forced herself upwards, screaming quietly as more and more pain washed over her weak body. When she finally reached her full height she let out a long breath and her eyes widened as she wallowed in the agony that was flooding her mind, threatening to make her head explode. She gasped in short breaths and let them out long and slowly. As she tried to get a grip on controlling her body, she watched Finn fall to the floor over and over again, each time taking longer to get up and launch an attack.
Marceline couldn't bear to watch Finn purposely put himself at risk with no hope of success, but she also couldn't do anything to help him in this state. She may heal quickly, but by the time she was in a proper state to fight, Finn would be dead and Cyrus would already be attacking her. She tried to think of some way to get in a cheap shot on Cyrus, but nothing came to mind. She got more and more frustrated as she stood on the sidelines uselessly watching, until Finn got knocked back and didn't get back up. She waited for a few seconds, and after he still didn't move, she saw Cyrus move in towards him. He was still alive, that much was for sure. His chest was heaving heavily and his hand was twitching a little. Upon reaching Finn's body, Cyrus loosed a sharp kick into his ribs, and Finn moaned, then coughed a little. A little bit of blood spewed from Finn's mouth as he coughed, but that was enough.
Marceline let out a loud growl of pure rage, and ignoring the crippling pain emanating from her forehead, she sprinted towards the man who had been causing Finn so much pain. Cyrus was too caught off guard to react before her fist connected with his jaw, inciting a loud crack as his lower jaw disconnected from the upper.
A guttural cry emanated from the depths of Cyrus's throat, and his mouth hung agape and swung loosely as he fumbled backwards from the recoil of the powerful blow. Marceline wasn't doing too much better, however. The pain was now too overwhelming to ignore, and she collapsed again, not able to keep herself upright. She slipped into a state of semi-consciousness, only barely noticing Cyrus stumble over to where Finn laid, tired and beaten.
A soft, inaudible "No…" escaped her lips as she weakly tried to raise her arm. She got it about an inch above the ground before a pang of pure agony erupted from her hand. She let it fall and kept watching Cyrus as he pulled out his wand from its holster and took aim at Finn. He was about to perform an incantation, but as he began to speak he let out a horrible shout as pain gripped his entire jaw. The wand dropped from his hand and he fell to his knees, dropping his head downwards and resting his weight in his hands. He breathed heavily and his body shuddered.
Finn knew an opportunity when he saw one. Cyrus was incapacitated and Finn still had the energy to make one more move. But he had to plan it properly. "What do I have to work with here?" he thought as he scanned his surroundings for anything that could be used to defeat Cyrus. His eyes fell upon Cyrus's wand, and suddenly, Finn knew exactly what he had to do. But it wasn't going to be pretty.
He reached for the wand, and Cyrus just stayed where he was, too weak to even lift his head. Grasping the wand powerfully, Finn shuddered upward slowly, wincing at his smarting wounds. When finally he was in a seated position, he placed his hands on the floor and hoisted himself up, coming to a rest on his knees. Then, with a great deal of struggle, he managed to stand all the way up. He staggered a little as he came to his full height, but he stood strong and caught his breath.
From Marceline's view, Finn looked more powerful and determined than ever. He had a look of confidence on his face, and his stance was rigid despite the amount of fatigue he must have been experiencing. She had no idea what Finn was planning, nor did she see that Finn held the pointed wand tightly in his hand. So naturally, what Marceline saw next sent a chill down her spine that seeped into her bloodstream and infected her entire being.
Finn stepped forward, raised the wand above his head while reaching with his other hand to grip it. He said robustly "This is for torturing me, for starving me, and for giving me reason to worry for Marceline." He looked over to where Marceline was lying, weak and hurt, her hair disheveled and her clothes torn. He continued, with even more strength than before. "But more importantly, this is for starving Marceline, and for putting her through the agony of thinking I was dead. That, I will never forgive you for."
As he finished, he finally looked back from Marceline sadly, turning to face Cyrus. His eyes began to water, and as they welled up a stream of tears flowed from his right eye, but he paid no heed to it. He merely swung his arms downwards with all his remaining strength, and gasped as he felt the tip of the wand pierce the back of Cyrus's skull. Finn fell to his knees and began to sob with full intensity. Cyrus just crumpled, his arms folding beneath him as his weight fell to the ground, and his head thudded as it too met the cold, unforgiving Earth.
Finn turned away, still sobbing, and inched his way over to Marceline, upon reaching her, he stretched out next to her tortured frame and stared into her beautiful violet eyes. They were only half open, but he could feel the torrent of empathy wordlessly flowing through their gaze as she too peered gladly into his bright blue eyes. Their troubles finally over, Marceline lost consciousness and Finn fell asleep.
