Chapter 25: Walls Have Faces
The wall was flat, pale pink, and had no pictures or anything on it. They had to relocate a bookcase and shift the bed over to get it just so. It was clean and fresh and pristine and stood there happily, bathing in its supreme Bubblegum-ness. You could almost see the smile on its all-knowing face; after all, a lot of things had happened in that room that it was sure to have seen. Yet, it kept a somber and peaceable silence on the topic, staying strong and silent, like any good wall should.
Marceline wanted to punch it right in its face; because yes, walls have faces. She could see it laughing at her. It was there when Bubblegum kicked her out, and it knew all too well what it held on the other side. The vampire could hear it taunting and jeering. It knew what was coming, just like Marceline herself did. And though the Queen had masterfully evaded it for years, Bubblegum had been more than persistent this time around and she had caved, much to her despair.
"Marceline, why are you glaring at my wall like you want to kill it?" Bubblegum said.
Not breaking the staring contest with the portal to her doom, Marceline simply said, "It's laughing at me."
Bubblegum stared for a moment, blinking her mind clear and trying to understand the girl beside her. She had been waiting patiently for Marceline, hoping in time that she would go about it without much force. Clearly, she had had no idea what the Vampire was actually thinking. "Laughing at you?" she asked, all too perplexed. "It can't…it's a wall." Bubblegum stared at the blankness of it.
Marceline sighed at the literal interpretation and decided to let it go. She felt like vomiting. Up-chucking all over that stupid wall face. That would teach it a lesson…She let out a breath and slumped her shoulders. If we do this…she'll leave me again. I know she will. She's going to leave me and there will be no reconciling. That will be it. It will be it. If we do this…it's over. She felt like she could cry, as her lungs tightened and panic set in. "Do we have to?" She asked meagerly, begging in silence for it not to be true, for this whole situation to be some whacked-out tomato-induced nightmare. She clutched at her chest, the squeezing sensation causing panic.
Bubblegum looked at her softly, and decided not to say anything. Marceline knew the answer. The Vampire gulped, and wrung her hands. "Right…right…" she paused again. Minutes passed. She wants this. It will be okay. No…no it won't be okay because she doesn't know what she's getting herself into. She doesn't know anything about this. Oh grod and we're going to get there and she's just going to flip the lump out and be all terrified and junk. Glob! Glob, glob, glob! But she wants this. And I agreed. I did. So I have to. Even if…even if the reason I'm still here now at all is the reason she'll leave me. C'mon, Marceline…just…just do it! She raised her hand.
"Okay a couple things first!" she spewed, turning frantically to Bubblegum, silently praying for a reprieve and stalling for as long as she could. "It's like, different there right? So try to ignore the blood clouds and the screams of agony and the smell of burning flesh, okay? And as for the flames, just…pretend they don't exist. And the craggy, 'I'm going to stab your face off' cliffs those are just…scenery and of no importance. Try to stay away from the windows when you're not with me or Dad and as for him don't accept anything he gives you and he'll probably do the demon-face thing and scare you and the soul-sucking thing is bad but I asked him not to which means he probably will and he has very dark humor and when he takes you out to the balcony do not look down and–"
"Marceline." Bubblegum cut off quietly, rescuing the drowning girl. She looked at her with reassurance.
A sob wracked the vampire's body. "You don't understand, Bonnibel. This is…this is why you left me. We don't have to go! I could just ring my dad and be like 'Oh hey pop, Bubblegum's sick, you know them mortals and their illnesses…' and he wouldn't care! No one would care! If we do this you-you're going to leave me again…" She said quietly, and went back to staring at that lumping wall.
Bubblegum hugged her and it went unreciprocated. Still, she didn't let go. "I am never going to leave you again Marceline, no matter where you come from. I swear on my Kingdom."
Marceline conceded defeat. "It did take a lot of work to get the 'You cannot leave the Night-O-Sphere' thing waved. I made sure of that the nine-hundred years ago I put it into effect. Took like…two weeks of paperwork and four calls to the Cosmic Owl. He wasn't happy…thought I was going to pull some soul-eating monster into the world. He lightened up when he heard I was taking you in and out. Grod sometimes I hate that dude…thinks he's all cool because he runs the Dead Worlds…" She rambled again, her mood lightening a little. Maybe it will be okay after all…
Bubblegum giggled. "You talk to the Cosmic Owl? That's…really impressive. And thank you, Marci…for doing this for me. I just…I don't know, it feels important to meet your father for some reason. I won't leave…no matter what." Bubblegum smiled up at her vampire who nodded in determination.
"All right, Bonnibel, let's do this." She raised her hand to the blank wall, fingers curled in on each other. A deep breath, and she opened her fingers.
The wall split open angrily, flames and heat and red, so much red, filtered into the room. Marceline stepped halfway through the portal and offered her hand to Bubblegum. As the candy princess stepped through, Marceline made a sarcastic grand gesture and said, "Welcome to the Night-O-Sphere." The portal closed behind them.
Bubblegum took it in. The demons outside the window, cries of pain and suffering, blood clouds, flames, red cliffs stained in fluids from glob-knows what, and the craggily appearance of the well-kept but sparse home. She gulped, knowing full well how out of her element she was.
"Marceline? Is that you?" A voice called from the next room.
"Remember; don't accept any object he gives you." She whispered hurriedly to Bubblegum, who gave an almost imperceptible quiver of fear. The vampire grabbed her hand for support. "Yeah dad, it's us!" She called back to her father. "You okay?" she asked, bubblegum could only nod. "Alright, the living room is through here." she said, and the two of them walked through the archway. Oh man she is so not made for this. Oh man this was such a bad idea. Why in the name of Ooo did I ever agree to this? Glob. Glob. Fuck!
Bubblegum had to admit, Marceline's father was nothing like she was expecting. She thought of some horrific demon creature who shlucked about in blood all day and ate faces. In truth, he was a well kept, humanoid-looking creature who seemed all-business. "Well, aren't you going to introduce us, Marceline, sweetie?" He asked.
"Grod dad…" she mumbled at the term of endearment. "Dad, this is Princess Bubblegum; Bubblegum, my dad, Hunson Abadeer." She said, making gestures from one to the other sheepishly and expecting the worst. Oh here it comes…oh he's going to suck her soul.
"H-hello, your highness." Bubblegum squeaked, and bowed to the man.
Hunson laughed his slick laugh. (It reminded Bubblegum of Marceline.) "Is she serious?" He asked to no one, and laughed again. "Look sugar cube, you can call me Mr. Abadeer…if you live long enough for words!" And sure enough (just as Marceline had expected)," He unhinged his jaw slightly and began sucking a very sweet soul from a very sweet girl.
The feeling was excruciatingly unpleasant. Like being torn in two from the inside. It lasted only a moment before Marceline stepped in and shoved the man a little. "Damn it dad, I asked you not to do that! You're so lumping embarrassing! This is why I didn't want to bring her here; you totally suck when you meet mortals!" She screamed, floating facing at him and hair whipping around. Grod, he's such an ass hole sometimes!
"Now Marceline, is that any way to treat your father? I was just having a bit of fun with the mortal…" He said reprimandingly.
Bubblegum remained still, trying to catch her breath after the sensation of having a soul sucked. "Dad she's my girlfriend! You know that! And just because she's mortal, doesn't mean you can treat her like a second class being! Grod!"
The princess finally retrieved her breath from wherever it had run off to and decided to sit on the uncomfortable couch as the two relations argued.
Hunson laughed, making his way slightly towards Bubblegum only to be blocked by his daughter. "Come, now, Marceline, learn to take a joke." For her part the vampire princess only huffed, crossing her arms. Joke…yeah tell that to my frightened girlfriend. Oh ha, ha, real funny, here let me just suck your soul… He crossed the room to the couch. "Princess, would you like to see the view?"
Bubblegum had been taught to be polite in others' homes and he had been very gentlemanly with the request. "Of course, Mr. Abadeer." She responded cordially. He walked her out to the balcony where the princess got her first full look at the Night-O-Sphere. There were beings standing in long lines and eating one another and shooting beams at one another and whose insides you could see and the whole place was surrounded in flames and red. Worm-like things and humanoid things and things that had no description whatsoever flew and squirmed and walked about, tearing down buildings and crushing things or being crushed. Bubblegum decided to heed Marceline's advice on not looking down. Mr. Abadeer sighed out, obviously full of pride.
"Yes my dear, finest view in all the Night-O-Sphere. Naturally of course as I'm its ruler." Bubblegum was pale. So pale she swore she verged on white. "Well, that's enough of that, back inside, then!" He said cheerily.
Wide-eyed and shocked, the candy princess made her way back to the couch where Marceline sat waiting for her, glowering lightly at her father. She took a seat next to Marceline and Hunson took a chair. "Dad, look what you did to her…" Marceline shot out quietly before putting an arm around her girlfriend.
"What? Those other two didn't seem to have a problem with it…"
Marceline scoffed. "One, Finn and Jake are adventurers who have seen loads of stuff and two, yeah they did. You were just too preoccupied to notice." She rubbed lightly on Bubblegum's back and cooed into her ear. Good glob she's never going to survive this meeting.
Mr. Abadeer decided to let it go. "So, Princess, you're my Marceline's new girlfriend, eh? I must say when I heard it was a princess and a mortal I was a bit surprised. My little monster doesn't have a penchant for mortals so much, and she almost always steers clear of royalty, isn't that right, Marceline?" He said, casting her a glance.
Bubblegum blinked, finally snapping out of whatever horrific trance she was in. "What? Oh yes well…what can I say?" she laughed nervously. There was no denying that Hunson Abadeer was off-putting. There was just something inherently evil about the man.
He continued. "I'm just glad she's over that last one of hers."
Marceline's eyes went wide. "Dad–" She said, trying to cut him off, but he rambled on.
"You should have seen her. She was in such a state. Stayed right there on the couch for a whole year, crying her eyes out every day."
"Dad–"
"It was really quite depressing. After all, this one is only one thousand years old; she doesn't know anything yet, really. All that over some boy or girl? Ridiculous!"
"Dad!" Marceline yelled, finally succeeding in retrieving his attention. He looked at her expectantly. "Um…this…I mean…Bubblegum was the last one."
Hunson looked between the two of them several times, before standing up, bending his body, and rearing back, full demon form and blood and guts spewing from his mouth as he roared at the pink girl.
"Dad, knock it off!" Marceline yelled, as Bubblegum cowered behind her.
He shifted back. "I'm just trying to protect you, Marceline. Do you think it's wise to get back together with her? What else are fathers supposed to do?"
Marceline grasped at the air for the right words. "I don't know, dad, but they aren't supposed to scare significant others onto the brink of catatonia! Grod, dad, can't you just ask her polite questions like a normal thing? You know, 'what are your intentions' and stuff like that!" She glanced at Bubblegum, who was beyond pale. "Look dad we gotta go before she passes out. Righteous performance, dad, really; scaring my girlfriend half to death. You're so embarrassing! Just like…I don't know, be normal sometime!" She lifted the princes and floated into the room they had entered from. Facing the wall she lifted her hand and opened the portal back to the Candy Kingdom.
"Wait, you can't leave the Night-O-Sphere!" He yelled after them.
"Can it, dad, I got the paper work!" Marceline hollered back, before stepping back into Ooo and closing the gateway behind them. She placed Bubblegum on her bed, who had immediately regained some color upon reentry to her kingdom. Marceline could see the wall staring smugly at her. Both it and she had known it was a terrible idea. This is it. It's over. My fucking father ruined it. My fucking homeland ruined it. Everything is over. She fought back tears as she sat onto the flood, face cradled in both her hands. Minutes passed.
"Marci?" Bubblegum finally inquired, breaking the silence. Fuck. Fuckity fuck shit fuck here it comes. 'Get out of here!' or 'Banished!' or 'Guards come get the monster!' She had been looking at the vampire for quite some time. Marceline sniffled and looked over at her. "I didn't know you're last name was Abadeer." She said lightly, smiling.
Marceline hiccupped out a small laugh, and then another, until she was bellowing and Bubblegum had no choice but to join her. She floated up and sat on the bed next to the princess. "It isn't really. I inherit his blood but not his name. It's like…a demon thing or whatever. I don't remember my last name." she said softly.
Bubblegum hummed. "Demons have strange customs." She breathed, her mind wandering its scientific ways to the variation of demon and candy-person customs, traditions, and ideals. She hadn't been in the Night-O-Sphere for long, but she could easily write an essay on the contrasting environments.
"Yeah…sorry about that Bonnibel." Marceline replied, thoroughly apologetic and both disappointed and embarrassed.
Bubblegum whipped her head to face the vampire. "I know you are and it's okay, really. Even if it was…an experience–"
"That's putting it nicely…" Marceline mumbled over her.
"I'm still glad I at least got to meet your father. I…I just forgot that you were different. Not a full demon. Not a monster. I expected him to be like you is all. Foolish mistake." She smiled, and placed a hand on the vampire's cheek.
Marceline gulped, leaning into the touch. "Are…are we still okay?"
"Yeah…we're still okay. Wonderful. Magnificent. In love." She giggled and the vampire smirked, bumping her shoulder into the candy princess lightly.
Marceline stared at the wall and smirked, knowing that it saw her. Because glib-globbit, walls do have faces.
A/N
So...this one is from Amelia Sprightly, AlexandraAuditore and toolazytosignupforanaccount who all wanted Marci's dad. I'm not sure if I'm 100% with this one but this is where it led. I'll probably do another Night-O-Sphere chapter later on.
PLEASE REVIEW AND SUGGEST!
I'll try to get to all of you but methinks a smut chapter might be next. (Lots of people loved dominant Marceline) Thanks all so much for the reviews! See you on the flip side!
-JD