The Human and The Shadow Part 30

Everything Changes

Marceline

"Let's go in the garden,
You'll find something waiting,
Right there where you left it,
Lying upside down,

When you finally find it,
You'll see how it's faded,
The underside is lighter,
When you turn it around,

Everything stays,
Right where you left it,
Everything stays,
But it still changes,

Ever so slightly,
Daily and nightly,
In little ways,
When everything stays."

Marceline walked through the streets of the Ice Kingdom heading towards the castle, she was still amazed by how much it had changed with Simon's rebirth into the Ice Prince. She couldn't help but let her mind drift to Simon as she entered the castle greeting Gunter on the way... it was today that Simon's very own son was going to be born and her father figure wasn't even going to be present... how was that fair.

"Hey Marcy" Marceline jumped back to reality as her eyes met with Cloud's. She had been so deep in thought she hadn't even noticed him draw near her which for a predatory species like a vampire was a big flag for her.

"Sup Cloud, your not looking so peachy? You okay?" Her comments couldn't be more true as sweat dripped down his head. His breathing was shallow and he just looked overall in discomfort.

"I guess it's this timelines way of saying that I don't belong here anymore..." He said quietly before deciding to change the subject. "Lets get going Betty and Simone could use your help"

"Wait? Ice Queen is here? Is that safe for you? Like is it normal to keep a crazy person at a birth?" Cloud chuckled at Marceline's seriousness thinking that it was totally out of character for her.

"Nahh it's all good, Simone is actually one of the best things in this situation. With my Dad still missing having her here gives the Ice Kingdoms residents some piece of mind and she would rather toss her crown in a pool of lava than let anyone hurt Mum... I don't know what happened in that trial but nothing is getting past her. Plus Ice Finn is there and he's a big help as his Snow J's are running about getting everything we need and he's unusually good at caring for people it seems."

"Hmm.. is that so... well lets get going..." Marceline, still not fully convinced, followed Cloud as they headed to the royal chambers. She still couldn't help but think of Simon and wonder just what it was he was doing.

Simon, Lumen, Flare and Bella

Simon landed on the ground first and began running as hard as he could, Flare and Lumen seemed a bit better with the falling to his bemusement and managed to fly in time to avoid colliding with the ground whereas Bella had simply just done a small roll and carried on like nothing had happened. The Cavadar was not as fortunate as it came crashing onto the ground behind them. It seemed unconscious as the ground around it began to rot and it fell into a hole of rotton waste. The foursome regrouped and caught their breath; not one of them taking their eyes of their gruesome follower.

"What...(pant)... Now" Simon managed to get out between deep breaths.

"We have to kill it before it can hurt anyone anymore" Bella retorted quickly.

"We need a plan to do so then my dear, if we go in recklessly we may die ourselves..." Flare added in to the conversation. The trio realised that Lumen hadn't made a comment so turned to see him. His body was enveloped in a weird light blue aura and he had stabbed both of his swords into the ground as if to avoid being blown away by a mighty gail.

"Lumen... Whats wrong?"

"I'm being dragged by something... I can feel something pulling me harder and harder. Since we landed here I've felt this weird feeling like I'm not whole..." Flare immediately realised what was happening to the prince of Shades and wrapped a web of golden flames around him which appeared to ease the Prince from the weird force.

"What? What did you do Flare my dear?" Simon asked her confused as to what was happening and why a golden flame stopped the weird blue aura.

"Simon what Lumen forgot to mention to you and Bella is that his body right now is his astral self, its his very soul solidified to allow him to travel time while his body healed from the unfathomable damage he did to it... so what i can guess is happening is his body is ready and wants his soul back..."

"So what should we do?" Asked Bella still confused by what was happening.

"Well... it seems like all we gotta do... is push him in the right direction.." Flare said cryptically.

"What?" The other three said together as they watched Flare weave her golden flame into a giant hammer. She began to spin it again and again before smashing it into Lumen's soul sending it flying up into the air. The blue aura wrapped around him and he vanished as if speeding into the distance.

"What did you do to him!" Bella asked frantically grabbing Flare.

"Don't worry sweetie he's going to be okay, if left too long like that he may die so he needs to be put back together with his body... don't worry your brother is safe." Bella and Simon froze with the last 5 words that left her mouth.

"How d-"

"Simon my dear don't take me for a fool, their hearts beat at almost the same rhythm, they are still so alike even with their disguises and 'Bella'? short for Isabella I presume?"

"Yes... why didn't you tell Lumen...?" Bella asked confused. She had thought that her disguise was perfect and now for some reason she was afraid; more afraid than knowing the Cadaver was only metres away. Pure fear at the idea that her true identity would be known.

"Because I saw no reason to? Your lie was clearly to protect him and to protect yourself as at the moment you two are not ready to know each other but right now my dear you are Bella, Dawn's friend that is his key to his sister and he is your brother who has to first rediscover the effects of his troubles in the past. I also would very much like to meet my daughter soon and I have a feeling that dealing with your past may take a bit too much time for my current liking" The Flame Queen explained clearly to the two bewildered individuals. Lumen had time to prepare for the fact that Firenze Flame was basically an intellectual equal to even the greatest minds and with a scarily good intuition she could basically get an idea on most situations however Simon and Isabella were stunned that they had been seen through so easily.

"...Your scary smart lady..." Bella said quietly still in shock.

"Your brother said almost the exact same thing to me" chuckled Flare.

BOOM!

The three turned round to see the Cadaver rising from the rot clearly furious at them but completely unharmed. The unholy creature stared away into the distance and then spoke to the trio.

"WHAT IS THAT!" The three watched it confused.

"ANSWER ME! WHY IS THERE SO MUCH GOOD MAGIC COMING FROM OVER THERE YOU SCUM! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" The Cadaver screamed in a rage at the trio.

They watched as it began to claw at its own head making it bleed as if trying to rid itself from some unknown ailment.

"What do we do now..." Bella whispered to the elemental royals.

"I don't know... I can feel the power it speaks of... it feels familiar somehow but i don't know why..." Simon replied.

"Simon do you still have the necklace Lumen made you?... if so give it to Isabella now" Without question the two listened to what she said.

"Now Isabella dear... focus on that frequency of Lumen's light and try to see if the power is coming from one of those sources." Confused but obediently Dawn did as she was told and felt for Lumen's light. She felt like she was looking down at a blacked out world lit only by a handful of small lights. There were three main clusters... one surrounded by pink and other bright colours... one surrounded by red and orange and finally one surrounded by blue and white. There were 4 main lights and then one that glowed differently. One of the four lights was flickering as if someone was turning it up and up.

"I found it... Someone named... Betty is holding the light and her power is rising... but its like its not her own power but... its coming from within her... i don't understand"

"Betty? My Betty? is she okay? Where is she?"

"I don't know but it was somewhere blue and white."

"White and blue... that must be my Ice Kingdom... we have to go there now!"

"Yes Simon i think you better... If i'm right i have a feeling your about to be a Dad!" Flare exclaimed excitedly. Simon stared at her confused but realised what Dawn had said suddenly made sense.

"I'm going to be a Dad?!"

"NO. I WON'T ALLOW IT. IT SHALL NOT BE BORN INTO THE WORLD THAT BELONGS TO MY MASTER!" Everyone turned to see the Cadaver running right at them. Flare fired a barrage of fire balls at it. It did nothing but give off a horrid smell of burning flesh. The Cadaver swung its fist at her head so quickly she had no time to respond and was sent flying to the floor leaving her unconscious. Simon and Bella who had fought it before knew how to fight it. Simon froze the ground it was running on causing it to fall to the floor before binding it's hands with Ice. Dawn returned to her original form and jumped up high before materializing her blades and bringing them down into the chest of the Cadaver. The beast tore its arms free and grabbed onto Bella's before swinging her down onto the ground again and again before tossing her unconscious body at Simon. He managed to catch her but the Cadaver then hit him in his face leaving all of them unconscious.

"I WILL DEAL WITH YOU BASTARDS LATER. NOW THAT BABY DIES!."

Lumen and BMO

The world around Lumen was flashing past as he zoomed towards his body. He went through every object, past people and life that could no longer see him. He knew he was getting closer as the pull got stronger and stronger. He began to make out the tree-house in the distance and before he knew it the tree-house was right in front of him.

His eyes flew open as he lay on the bed. He shot up and looked around the room. He realised he was finally back in his own body. He tried to stand quickly but his body after being immobile for so long wasn't ready and he came crashing down onto the floor hitting his head. He tried to get up but he wasn't able to move so soon.

"Finn? Jake? Is that you?" came a familiar voice from downstairs. Lumen managed to turn his head towards the door way and noticed a weird blue and green girl with static hair standing there.

"Dusky? Is that you? Are you awake?" asked the girl. She could only have been between 14 - 18 but Lumen couldn't see straight. He was trying to remember her when something came to his mind. That voice... "Dusky?".

"BMO?"...

"Yes Dusky?"

"Is that really you?"

"Yes Dusky, BMO is now BMO2, the new and improved adventuress with new weapons and new skills ready to take the world by storm... Do you like it?... I don't look too weird do i...?"

Lumen managed to sit up and lean against the bed getting a good look at BMO for the first time. Her skin was the same green her old body's shell use to be with light blue lines glowing at every joint. She wore blue and green leggings. She was wearing a long sleeveless hoodie that went all the way down to her knees. It was the same green again but was decorated with images of all her old buttons and she had a pair of headphones with her yellow d-pad image that sat around her neck. Along her arms she had tattoo's either side of BMO to give her more resemblance to her last form. Her eyes were bright blue; The final part of her appearance to notice was her hair, her hair wasn't like normal hair it was pure light blue electricity that appeared like static. She had her old controller around her waist like a belt.

Lumen stared at the young robotic girl taking it all in, this is the little robot who rode about on his bag just a year ago was all he could think in his mind. The room was silent and when his eyes finally adjusted to light after so long Lumen could see that BMO was nervous and tense waiting for his response.

"BMO...2"

"Yes Dusky!"

"You look radical!" he told her with a beaming smile. BMO face lit up and her hair let out a few sparks to show her joy. The moment may have remained light hearted and warming if not for the fact that BMO's body began to glow red and let out a beeping.

"Oh dear... Oh no..."

"BMO whats wrong?!"

"Dusky... something bad is heading to the Ice Kingdom... something really bad... it's setting off my Lich alarm but at a level that BMO can't even process..."

"That's the Cadaver it's a creature from a destroyed darkness world, my world to be exact BMO and we brought it here to kill it. Simon should be taking care of it right now." Lumen tried to reassure the worried girl. He was still adjusting to the changes she went through but he put his hand on her forehead and ruffled it, he sort of expected to be shocked but he found her electrical hair tingly and for some unknown reason to him he found it comforting.

"...But Dusky... BMO's scanner shows that it's already at the Ice Kingdom and BMO's picking up distress calls from Marcy and the Kingdom... I don't think he made it in time... and Dusky... Betty's gone into labour" Lumen looked at BMO in horror, he grabbed her pulling her into a position like one would carry a princess and flew full speed out the window.

BMO's sensors could barley keep up with the speed he was going; since the last time that BMO had rode Lumen's bag with him he had grown stronger and more powerful leading to him being faster. She 'felt' the wind blow against her new outer shell for the first time and was memorised with it. She would have tried to take it in more but Lumen span them around just as he crashed into the ground. She didn't take much damage from the fall but looked back to see Lumen trying to stand back up. He was covered with cuts and was bleeding from his lip. BMO scanned his body and found that he had next to no energy left.

"Dus- no Lumen stop this! BMO doesn't want to see you hurting like this"

"No BMO we have to hurry I brought this monster to this world and I will not let it take away anymore than it already has" All the white faded from Lumen's hair as a black aura seemed to swallow his body his eyes turned from blue to black and he seemed to give off a more evil aura. BMO didn't like what he was becoming but before she could say anything he had picked her up again and started to fly faster and faster than before leaving nothing but air behind them.

"Please... Please hold out till i get there..."

Betty, Cloud, Simone, Marceline and Ice Finn

"CLOUD! FINN! HURRY WE HAVE TO TRY TO BUY AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE!" Screamed Marceline as she ran across the Ice rubble that littered the ground. She jumped over the Ice Shield that Cloud had begun to form over the shelter that Betty was resting in.

"YOU DARE TO DISTURB THE BIRTH OF MY BRETHREN AND FAMILY! YOU DARE TO SLAUGHTER MY SNOW JAKE'S! HOW DARE YOU TRY TO HURT MY FRIENDS!" Yelled Ice Finn as he fired a barrage of Icicles and clumps of Ice at the creature. Once the Icicles had pinned him to a wall he ran form wielding a sword of the purest Ice. He slashed at the creature in a blind rage turning the white land a mixture of red and black. He thought he was winning but was pulled away from the creatures giant claw by Marceline at the last minute.

"Admire the enthusiasm kiddo but we need to work together if we're going to stop it in time." Ice Finn looked up to see Marceline's blood lust etched on her face. He had great respect for the Vampire Queen and wished to see her victorious.

"Drop me"

"What! Kiddo are you crazy!?" Ice Finn had already began to form a giant number of Ice Blades that followed the pair as they flew. His eyes were now focused on the creature with the intend to kill, he removed this gaze for all of seconds to look at Marcy and meet their eyes.

"YES!" He yelled at her, she smiled at his spirit and then let the Insane Ice version of her favorite henchmen fall to the earth. As he fell he fired blade after blade at the beast pinning it to the ground. He kept going till the beast was nothing but a pile of spiked ice. He put all his power into one last blade. One the size of the tree-house twice over and slammed it into the ground on top of the creature. The force instantly shattered all his blades into nothing but flakes of snow that glittered as they blow away. He exhausted so much power that he began to lose consciousness but was once again picked up by the flying vampire who dropped him into the shelter where he could get some rest.

"Cloud how much longer for that shield to be ready?"

Cloud looked up to see the points of the shield meeting completing it, this should have been a moment of joy for them but he could feel it... his time running out. The strain just breathing put on his body was tremendous; with each second closing to new Ice heir being born was a second less Cloud had and he was worried that the creature would not be stopped before then but he didn't wanna worry Marcy when what they needed now was the confidence to win.

"It's done! Let loose!" He managed to send her a smile which she returned before turning to the beast and drawing her axe.

From the rubble and the snow rose the creature, it picked up it's arms which had been torn off and pushed them back onto it's body. It looked down at the little girl in front of it holding her red axe and let out a high pitched roar.

"TIME TO LEARN WHAT THE WORDS FEAR, MONSTER AND DEATH MEAN LITTLE GIRL!"

Marceline just smirked at the creature before jumping at it slashing her axe furiously.

"Bring it on"

Simon

"Simon, Simon dear you have to wake up" came a voice from the darkness. Simon was lost in his own mind and in respects to the last time he was in here it was considerably lighter here. He walked through the frozen forest to a little house that stood out, he opened the door and inside found only a chair. On the chair sat his beautiful Princess, his Betty and in her arms was a baby. He went to hug them both but they vanished into a puff of smoke he walked out of the house to find that the light woods had once again turned into the dark forest and then a voice rang out.

"Simon Petrikov, The time has come for you to use the full force of your power, it is time to awaken Simon... Simon The ICE KING!"

Cloud, Simone, Ice Finn, Marceline and Betty

Marceline lay on the ground trying to stop the monsters foot as it pushed harder onto her neck. She tried desperately to reach for the axe but her broken arm was no use to her anymore. She felt the pressure lift as the creature walked away... she was no longer even worth killing to that beast. She had tried to slash away at it and seemed to be winning, she took it out by the legs and sliced off it's head. Finally she cut off its arms and legs leaving it a pile of limbs on the ground. She smiled and began to walk back to Cloud victorious. Marcy had expected to see joy, awe or even a smile on his face... instead she found fear. She span round but was too slow as the claw that was flying at her pierced through her body pinning her to the ice shield. She had washed in horror as the creatures limbs began to shift back to each other as it began to reform. What followed the beasts rising again was beating after beating. Slashes and fists rained down on her body leaving Cloud to watch as her blood splattered all over his shield.

"DO NOT DROP THE SHI-" She tried to yell out but that was when the creature had torn out its arm from her body letting her fall to the floor before crushing her arm, kicking her away and getting ready to end it all.

She turned her head to see it smash against the shield but it held it was strong enough which only served to anger it more. She coughed up some blood and felt her demon aura kick in and begin to heal her. She almost felt that she had done enough and now the creature wouldn't be able to get past the shield... almost.

Cloud's body began to glow and then fade away as if he no longer existed. His eyes met with Marceline and mouthed something to her that she never heard "Guess time's up... good luck".

With Cloud gone the beast torn through the shield like it was paper and swung it's giant claws down on the shelter destroying it. Behind the cloud of snow and ice that the rubble caused were Simone and Ice Finn holding up the claw and debris with their Ice. Finn launched himself at the creature slashing at it like before but it grabbed him by the arm and slammed him into the ground before hurling him crashing into a different building. Simone let loose all her fury, all her rage and all of her power at the creature freezing it in a tomb of ice. "YES!" Marceline thought filled with hope but that hope was immediately swept away as the Ice cracked leaving the beast standing there unharmed.

"How-" Simone never got the chance to finish her sentence as the beast swept its fist at her sending her into a wall and knocking her unconscious leaving no one to protect Betty.

Simon, Flare, Bella, Lumen and BMO all arrived at almost the exact same time, they looked forward in horror to see the beast ready to swing at Betty with it's deadly claw as she held her baby tightly in her arms, both crying loudly.

"THIS IS THE END"

All 5 people moved together lunging at the creature hoping to stop it but it's claw was stopped halfway to Betty. To say stopped is wrong as it connected with a target. The heroes of Ooo watched in horror as the claw stopped an inch from Betty's head. It was now red with blood and blood poured all over the floor. The thing that stopped the claw was neither a weapon or magic... it was Marceline. The beast pulled back its claw grasping with it the heart of the Vampire Queen as she fell to the ground lifeless in a way she hadn't ever experienced before. The whole world seemed to freeze as everyone watched as the last light in the Demonic radical dames eyes left her body leaving it nothing but an empty corpse... devoid of life and its heart.

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD that's where I'm going to leave it for now. I would like to thank everyone for the reviews so far and the new people that have fav'd the story. I'm really sorry it has taken this long to publish this chapter. It has been 3/4 ready for almost 2 months now but I just could not finish it the way I wanted to no matter how much I tried but I've finally managed to find the way I want that will connect with where I want to go so thank you for your patience and I hope it paid of with this Drama Bomb ;)