Its 3 in the morning. What.

Yes, yes I know. I'm a bad person. But in my defense I just got back from Japan less than a month ago only to hop into a car a week later to go to my orientation 2 states away, then come back for my and my best friend's birthdays (Mine was on the sixth—YAY LEGAL ADULT-NESS—and hers is on the twelfth) and our joint birthday/going away party thing and yeah it was hectic. But behold, a chapter! With BACKSTORY! Yay~

BdMgSbDmGs

Bad Decisions Make Great Stories

Chapter 11: The Devil has the Perfect Lover

BdMgSbDmGs

As it turned out, our "passports" were small beads that, when pressed into the skin of our wrists, formed swirling patterns that held the runes to a very complex spell. Haley's mages held their arms up as they chanted the words to open up the portal to Midnaught. I watched as the tiny runes on my wrist glowed as each word was spoken, slowly illuminating my skin until the spell was done, the portal open, and we were safe to pass.

I nodded my head in thanks before following Marshall and his brothers into the void.

I felt like I was falling and flying at the same time, my body compressing and expanding simultaneously. It was a sensation I would categorize as one of my least favorite experiences I'd ever felt in life, though it only lasted for an instant, and suddenly I found myself in a gorgeous, endless grassy plain.

Except, that couldn't even begin to describe the scene that lay in front of me.

Golden-green stalks of grass rolled out in every direction like soft fur, fading into the uncertain distance in a greenish haze. The land was flat but imperfect, gaping holes marring the landscape sporadically, as though they were pieces of a puzzle missing. I looked up, gasping as I found where those missing pieces went. The sky was the color of a summer lake, splashed with green and blue and wispy clouds, interrupted at random by blocks of floating rock, hanging above the ground like balloons tethered with invisible string. Light bounced off of the land in every which way, from the pale stone to the golden grasslands and back into the sky. I took particular note in the fact that there seemed to be no source of the light, other than the sky itself.

In the distance I saw dark shapes rising out from the grass that I assumed to be towns or cities, seeming out-of-place in this world so strange and organic that it could only be nature in its purest, unadulterated form.

I couldn't comprehend it. How could this wonderful world of creation be home to the man that invented destruction?

You're thinking too loudly, darling, I felt Marshall's warm voice whisper into my head, but paid him no mind, returning my attention to the realm surrounding me.

Midnaught.

"Oh well this is just great," I heard Kaugomme gripe from behind me. I turned to see his eyes hooded, expression unimpressed. "If I'm not mistaken, that city right up there is the southwest check-in station, which means that old hag dropped us on the exact opposite side of the realm we needed to be."

Suddenly the magic of the realm was lost as an air of irritation settled over the group. I heard Infernus sigh in front of me, shaking his head.

"Then I suppose we'd best start heading toward it," he said, starting the trek forward without looking back.

As we walked I noticed Marcie was feeling much better, now that she didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she gladly took the lead with Bonnie by her side. I trailed behind them a few steps and the three brothers followed, Kaugomme and Marshall making light conversation that I didn't quite feel like putting in the energy to listen into.

Bonnie and Marcie, on the other hand, seemed apt to include me in their conversation as we walked, which I was greatly thankful for. For being forced on a multi-dimensional adventure together, we hadn't been doing nearly as much interacting as I'd've liked.

"I hope nobody's gotten too worried over us back home," Bonnie mused, after a wane in the conversation. "Lola's probably about to explode for us not answering her texts." She giggled slightly, though there was some strain in her voice.

"We did sort of leave without a word to anybody…" Marcie reminded her.

"Oh, god. Yeah. Lola's definitely going to kill us when we get back," Bonnie said, holding her forehead in her hands.

"If we ever go back, that is," I muttered.

Bonnie and Marcie looked up at me in surprise, both unable to speak for a moment, unknowing what to say.

"W-well of course we're going back! Silly," Marcie said, smiling my way. "We just have to… get through all of this, and we'll be back in no time."

"Right," I said, not wanting to push the matter. "Back in no time."

Bonnie frowned, not entirely convinced at my easy answer. "Hey," she said, putting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it. "We will go back at the end of this. Whatever this is, we'll get through it. Together. We're here with you. Every step of the way. I promise." She let go of my shoulder and I smiled up at her.

"Thanks."

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My legs were sore from all of the walking and travelling I'd been doing for the past few days, but my body was buzzing with restless energy. We'd made it into the city in a couple hours' time and were then setting ourselves up in a hotel for the night. Apparently the city was used to large groups such as ours passing through, as they had many suite options available that beat the cost of getting two or three rooms for one night, though it wasn't like I was responsible for paying for anything, anyway.

The six of us were settled in the living room, vegetating before heading off to bed in a few hours, for the sun hadn't quite set yet; however, I struggled to sit still. I noticed that I hadn't gotten hungry for the past day or two, which was a bit alarming and I told myself I'd ask someone about it later. That observation had sent my mind spiraling down a road of other uncomfortable questions and observations that I really didn't want to be focusing on. If I were still in Ordolholm, the weight of my worries would have pushed me six feet underground.

"I think I'll take a walk," I said suddenly, standing up and heading toward the door, pausing before I opened it. "Infernus, would you mind coming with me? I don't want to get lost…" Which was half true. But really I just wanted someone there to ease my thoughts without a certain prying mind around to listen in. It wasn't that I didn't trust him; I just wanted to feel like I had some semblance of privacy for once, without any snide comments sneaking their way into my head. I made sure to keep that thought out of the front of my mind, however, as I requested Infernus's presence and we walked down the few flights of stairs to the ground level. "I think I want to walk outside of the city," I said as I pushed open wooden doors to the stone walls outside.

"Alright," Infernus agreed easily, nodding his head and following my lead as I made my way down the main street to one of the many city gates. I didn't let my guard down until we'd made it to the grassy flats outside, sighing in a breath of fresh, green air. Infernus and I set an easy pace as we walked along the edges of Southwest Point in silence. It was almost comfortable, except for the thoughts buzzing around in my head making it hard for me to concentrate on anything.

At last, I couldn't keep it in anymore, the thought that kept coming back, no matter how hard I pushed it away. "How many times?" I blurted out.

Infernus looked at me quizzically. "How many times what?" he said.

"How many times have you…" but I couldn't bring myself to complete the thought out loud.

"I'm not Abadeer, Fionna, I can't just read your mind and answer your questions," he said, sighing.

"…died," I said.

Infernus instantly stiffened, slowing down his pace to a stop and looking at me with eyes that almost seemed fearful.

He opened his mouth to speak then closed it, looking down. "I—" but he stopped himself again, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. He suddenly seemed much smaller than he usually did. The worry in his brow aged him as the confliction in his eyes brought him back to childhood. "…Eight," he finally answered. I noticed his hands clench and unclench, some sort of light coming from each fist he made.

"And Kaugomme?" I asked, my earlier restraint starting to ebb away.

"Six, I think."

"And… Marshall?"

He took a while longer to answer the last one, a mixture of emotions coming off of him in waves so strong, the ring on my thumb could do nothing to stop me from feeling them. "More than both of us combined."

I cringed as the number flitted through my head. Seventeen. Seventeen deaths. Seventeen horrible, unique ends.

"What's… what's it like?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

Infernus flashed a wry grin toward the ground under him. "What, didn't Marshall tell you already?"

The question was rhetorical. I didn't expect him to go on, but he did. "It's… worse than anything you've ever seen, heard of, felt before." He shook his head, smile wavering more into a grimace as he continued to stare into the dirt. "It's pain and agony and emptiness and loneliness and nothingness and—and it just doesn't end. It never ends." He looked up at me, the smile on his face like a stab in the gut. "Even after you wake up. It's still there. It's always there. It watches you. Waits for you to come back." He shook his head again, looking up into the sky and starting to walk again.

"It's like a lover, the best lover you'll ever have," he went on. "It never leaves you alone for too long. Waits for you to come home every night, then wraps its arms around you and holds you tight the moment you're alone. It keeps you up all night and begs you to stay in bed each morning for 'just one more round.' It consumes your every thought, always there at the back of your mind, always inviting you back, always waiting and waiting and waiting. It's patient, loyal, forgiving. Everything you could ever ask for…" He trailed off and I let the silence hang between us.

"Empty and endless…" I said.

"Empty and endless."

Neither of us spoke for a while longer, letting the weight of the conversation hang and eventually fade away. I relished in the warm air, slight breeze blowing my hair away from my face as the light in the sky began to yellow.

"So, Fionna," Infernus started. "How are you?"

I flashed him a confused expression. "How am I? Fine, I guess?"

His gaze hardened as if he were trying to guess what I was thinking with just a look. He wasn't nearly as good at reading people as Marshall, though, and the expression fell away after just a few moments. "That's not what I meant," he said.

I looked down and didn't answer him.

He sighed and softened his expression again. "I just figure, with all that's been going on around you, all this stuff that relies on you to work, we aren't giving you and your emotions nearly enough attention. So I'm asking you now. How are you feeling? About all of this?"

"I'm…" I started, but I didn't know what to say. I supposed honesty was the best route. "I guess I don't really know. I'm still not entirely sure what all is going on or how everything works, but I know there's no way I'll be able to go back to my old life, so I guess there's no use trying to fight it or regret anything."

Infernus nodded thoughtfully. "So what about your old life, then? You were a student, right? What were you studying?"

I caught myself smiling the smallest bit. His sudden questioning rather caught me off guard, but I'd always been a fan of talking about myself. "Well, I was undecided for my first two years of college, but I eventually decided to go into education. I figured kids could learn a little from some of the bad decisions I've made in the past."

Infernus smiled at me, one of the more genuine expressions I'd ever seen him wear. "My mother was a teacher," he said. "I've always respected teachers, because of her. They're some of the multiverse's most valuable people."

I smiled back at him and nodded. "I think so, too."

"What about your family?"

"My family?" My family was rather unremarkable, in my mind, so I had to think a bit, picking and choosing the most interesting information. "Well, we were a pretty normal family of four, I suppose. My parents had to work a lot so I wasn't too close with them, but I have an older brother that works in architecture now, and a cat back at home. I don't know; I've never really had a lot to say about my family." I grinned sheepishly. "What about you? You seemed to speak very fondly of your mother."

"Did I?" Infernus flashed a smirk my direction and looked ahead, into the fading sky. "My mother was the sweetest woman in the world. Couldn't hurt a fly if she tried. She helped children in my realm learn to control their magic, as well as helping them find where their strengths lay."

I nodded, urging him to continue.

"In my realm, Elymentos, children are given temporary names until they discover their hierarchies, that is, the order of their three or four strongest magics, and are then named by a teacher or government official in accordance to their aptitude. Naming ceremonies are a big event where I come from. My mother often helped with that," he explained.

"So what's your name, then? Your full name?" I asked.

"Infernus Gnomen Windor Aquer."

"Wow, so you're like the four main elements, then, huh?"

"Yes. It's… actually a rather uncommon occurrence. Usually someone has strengths in similar areas, like fire, lightning and light or something of the sort. But my mother was strong in a diverse set of magics as well, and my father… well, you know. So that makes me the way I am."

"Then… what's your mother's name?"

Infernus's eyes seemed to turn a shade warmer at the question. "Fiersta Aqi Tecta Sylphie."

"So she was a big fire-user, too."

Infernus nodded. "The most amazing one I've ever seen. I strive every moment of every day to be just as strong and graceful as she was, someday." His expression clouded over as memories coursed through him. "She was like an actress. Spells were her lines and runes her choreography. She lit up the whole world when she used her magic. It truly was a sight like no other." The warmth faded from his gaze as he brought himself back to reality. "Sorry. I'm talking a lot. I tend not to bring up my past very often. I must be boring you."

I shook my head vigorously. "No, no! It's all very interesting, really. Your mother really sounds like a great person."

"She was," he said. "She was…"

"So… how did she die?"

Infernus sighed, his regularly stony exterior starting to come forward once again. "She was old. One autumn she fell ill and she didn't make it to see the next spring. It was… really inevitable, with her age. I couldn't stop by and see her as often anymore. She was almost one-thousand years old, a bit young to die for a woman of my realm but with the sickness…"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's really fine. It's been a long time since then. I moved on long ago."

"I'm still sorry, though. Bringing up the death of a loved one is hard no matter how long it's been."

"I suppose so…"

Infernus and I continued our walk in silence, wordlessly deciding to start heading back the direction we came. The sky was a shade of deep emerald green, slowly fading into indigo.

"Are you not going to ask me about Hayley?" Infernus asked, all of a sudden.

"What about her?" I said.

"You just seemed so interested before. I assumed you might have some questions. About her and Abadeer, in particular."

"I guess I just don't really…" I trailed off, the image of the frail old woman clutching herself and sobbing taking over my thoughts. "I don't know what to think anymore. She seemed so hateful and obviously she and Marshall don't get along very well, but then she just…"

"Wasn't quite what you were expecting, was it?"

I shook my head. "No, not at all."

"To be honest, I thought the same thing when I first met her. She is… an unfortunate soul to say the least."

"I can imagine."

Infernus paused, casting his gaze across the grassy plains and halting his stride. "Look," he said, pointing out toward one of the gaping holes in the landscape.

I followed his finger and watched in awe as the hole slowly started to light up from the inside. "What's happening?" I asked.

"It's sunrise, on the other side."

"The other side…?" I looked back at him as he continued to stare out at the grasslands, ground being lit from below.

Infernus nodded. "South Midnaught is flat, two-sided. As one side falls into night, the other returns to day."

"Amazing," I said, turning back toward the landscape. As the sky grew darker, the light from the other side shined brighter, dappling the ground with bursts of light like stars and stretching out ahead of me for eternity.

Endless, but not so empty.

BdMgSbDmGs

Whoa, that got kinda dark toward the middle, there…

I really hekka love Infernus and his backstory, okay? I know, I know. No FioLee this chapter. It's just that at this point the characters' relationship is entirely physical. As far as anything emotional runs, Fionna sees Marshall more as a puzzle, or a project that she's trying to figure out and maybe even fix, meanwhile Marshall sees Fionna as a giant, sentient cake with legs.
Great imagery, I know. I've been thinking about this for a long time, as you can obviously tell…

WELL ANYWAY. With college starting up for me around the 20th, the next chapter'll be up who knows when.
No, really. Who knows? Can anybody tell me? /punched
I'll do my best to update whenever I can, but I make no promises. I'm definitely gonna keep working at this story, though. That you can be sure of.

Anon Reviewers:

Tatiana: Hey, thanks so much for your review! It tickles me to see that my story amused you so much that you had to censor yourself for it. XDD Sorry for the long wait, but I do hope that you'll stick with me and keep reading this thing! Thanks again!

Guest: Uhhh whoa now I deeeefinitely wouldn't go so far to say this thing is perfect. ^^; But I'm glad that you've enjoyed it! Look! More backstory! Yey. Thanks so much for reviewing, and I hope you stick with me, yeah~?

NoYoloAllowedBro: Yeeeey you're still here reading my stuff. Thank you~~!

fioleelover91702: Goodness, that name is quite the mouthful. XD Ahh I love you too? Well anyway, sorry it took forever, but next chapter is here! I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks so much for the review!

lalalaila2: Fear not! This story is nowhere near its end. Trust me, you'll know when it's ended because your heart will be filled with an irrational sadness and anger that may tempt you to come looking for me and turn me into a corpse. ^^ Oh gosh, staying up all night? Well, that isn't good for you. Hopefully with just one chapter at a time now you won't have to harm your sleep schedule for me? ^^; Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, and I hope you continue to keep up with this story!

And another big thanks to everyone who's still here! You guys keep me going, and I absolutely adore each and every one of you. Thank you so much for sticking with me, and please review!