Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time.

Chapter 2: Into the Woods

The Morrow brought Bonnie and Marceline to one of the oldest and darkest forests in all of Ooo, the Fallen Star Forest. Bonnie had chosen this forest because the trees there were thick enough to block out the sun and thus allowed Marceline to go out in the daytime, and because she thought this ancient forest would provide plenty of interesting specimens for the experiments she wanted to do. Just what these experiments were, Marceline could only guess. The vampire queen didn't ask because she was pretty sure the answer would go right over her head. The Morrow landed right at the forest's edge, allowing Marceline and Bonnie to disembark.

The couple entered the forest as the Morrow flew off. Marceline folded up her umbrella the moment they were underneath the trees. The foliage was so dense it prevented a single ray of sunlight from coming through. Marceline had to admit this forest was a good place for a vampire to be in the daytime, yet she couldn't help but note the somewhat foreboding atmosphere the place had. It was peaceful, yet at the same time it felt as though there might be some kind of creature lurking deep in those woods that could leap out at the couple at any time to rip the campers to shreds.

"Hey, why exactly is this place called the Fallen Star Forest?" Marceline asked.

"It's only a legend, but they say the first tree in this forest grew on the spot where a star supposedly fell to earth," Bonnie answered.

"Are you talking about the huge tree we saw in the middle with those blue leaves?"

"That's the one."

"Are we gonna go see it later?"

"We would, except it's in the deepest part of the forest. A lot of the legends I heard say that those who venture too far into this forest never come back. It's probably best we stay out here in the outer edge."

Marceline nodded. "Probably a good idea."

The couple kept on walking for several more minutes until they at last came to a small clearing fairly deep into the woods. A strange sort of luminous moss grew on the bark of the trees around them, providing the spot with plenty of soft ambient light.

"This looks like a good place to pitch the tent," Bonnie declared as she pulled the pink ball she had shown Marceline earlier from her bag. "Stand back."

Marceline did as instructed and watched as Bonnie clicked the button on top of the pink sphere and pitched it like a baseball. The pink ball flew through the air and exploded with a cloud of pink smoke before hitting the ground. In seconds the pink cloud faded to reveal a large pink dome made of hexagonal panels.

"Whoa!" Marceline exclaimed, impressed.

Looking smug, Bonnie led the way into the tent. Inside the spacious dome were tables already set up with various pieces of scientific equipment.

"Pretty slick, right?" Bonnie asked with her hands on her hips.

"I'm always blown away by how smart you are," Marceline declared.

Bonnie turned to her and smirked. "Is this your way of saying you love me for my mind?"

"Well, it's not the only thing I love about you," Marceline responded as she came over and pulled her close.

Bonnie laughed as Marceline kissed her on the cheek. "Okay ya goof, I'd like to get this camp lab up and running so I can go forage for specimens."

"Sure thing," Marceline replied before pulling away. "If you need me, I'll be out there trying to put together a song that doesn't suck."

With her ax bass in hand, Marceline left the tent. She went to the very edge of the small clearing and flopped backward onto the grass. A few seconds later, Marceline was floating a few feet off the ground but still lying down, strumming the strings of her instrument as she looked up towards the dark canopy of leaves above. She was waiting for inspiration to strike her like a bolt of lightning, and it felt like she was going to have a long wait.

H.W. was still tracking the beast she had decided to call the Star Stag. The creature moved faster than the wind, yet he also left behind an incredibly easy trail to follow. The grass became strangely discolored wherever the Star Stag trod, giving H.W. what might as well have been a big dotted line to where the Star Stag was. H.W. had been following the tracks for about four hours, and there was no sign she had even come remotely close to catching up to the beast. All she could do was follow the Star Stag's tracks and wait for him to stop somewhere.

Eventually H.W. came upon several piles of rubble that had once been a village. What had once been a group of simple stone huts had been reduced to nothing more than pieces of brick and mortar that had been charred black, and all of the grass surrounding these ruins had turned ashen grey like the Star Stag's hoof prints. H.W. knew this place as the village of the Traffic Cone People. She had passed through here many a time while on other hunts. So it didn't surprise the huntress a bit when saw several melted black cones scattered around the village, each with a face distorted in an expression of pure terror.

The destruction of this village was indeed a pity, but it was also the way of things. The Traffic Cone People were kind and peaceful, but they were also weak and ordinary. In the end the weak and ordinary always fell victim to the strong and exceptional, whether that strong and exceptional force be a predator or the forces of nature herself. H.W. had to believe this Star Stag she pursued was a force of nature no different from a storm. She now felt more certain than ever she would regain the true strength she thought she'd lost and be free from all desire by killing the Star Stag and eating his heart. H.W. was about to move on from the ruins of the village when she heard groaning coming from under one of the piles of rubble.

H.W. quickly went over to where she heard the groaning and began removing the pieces of charred brick. She thought the survivor might give her some important clues about the Star Stag that could help her kill the beast. Plus saving this person was something Finn would do. H.W. quickly pushed this last thought out of her mind. Thinking of Finn would only make her weaker.

H.W. removed the last piece of rubble to find an older traffic cone person with a bushy grey mustache. Much of his body was still its original orange, but his little arms and legs had turned an ashen grey like the grass around the village. There was a large hole in his back and the top of his cone had been bent forward.

The old traffic cone person looked up at H.W. and coughed. "Thank you…traveler."

"Hey old guy, can you tell me what happened here exactly?" H.W. asked.

"A great stag. It showed up and began trampling our village. Its very touch seemed to burn our homes to cinders. Our bravest warriors tried to stop the creature, but before they could even raid their spears…he reared up on his kind legs and let out a brilliant light that burned out everything…just drained the life out of all of us like a kid sucking too hard on a juice box. Even I…don't have much time left."

"Can you tell me anything else about the stag?"

The old traffic cone guy coughed again. "Only…that he seemed to be heading for the ancient Fallen Star Forest. Do you know of it traveler?"

H.W. nodded. "It's a really old forest with this great big tree in the middle. They say it's one of the biggest trees in all of Ooo."

"Legends say that not long after the Great Mushroom War, a great star fell from the heavens and buried itself in the land. From this star grew a great tree no one could cut down. As the years passed and the tree quickly grew, smaller trees sprang up beneath it, each one just as indestructible as their elder. In a relatively short amount of time these trees grew into a vast forest with leaves so thick not even the sun can pass through."

"Any idea why the stag is heading there?"

"No idea. Unless…maybe it's after the legendary spring said to be beneath the great tree at the forest's center." Suddenly the traffic cone guy coughed heavily. "Well, I'm checking out."

With those final words, the old traffic cone person suddenly shriveled up into a piece of grey plastic. H.W. gently set down the little fellow's remains where she had found him and continued on her journey. She at least had a better idea of where she was going. It was also clear to H.W. it would take everything she had to kill this great beast from the stars.

Marceline had spent nearly five hours floating in the same spot strumming her bass as she looked up at the canopy of the forest. During that time, Bonnie had gone out to collect some specimens for her experiments. The candy princess had since returned from her expedition about half an hour ago and had been inside the tent ever since. Marceline was just thinking of calling it a day when Bonnie came out of the tent with a pair of safety goggles hanging from around her neck.

"How's it going?" Bonnie asked as she walked up. "Get any inspiration yet?"

"Sort of," Marceline answered. "I do have this one idea for a new song I'm still kind of figuring out, but I'm not sure if I can get the sound I want for it."

"What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking of doing sort of a collaboration with Finn's weird girlfriend, Huntress Wizard," Marceline explained as she finally shifted into a sitting position in midair. "Remember that tune she played on her flute right after the whole Candice thing? You know, the one that mellowed us all out? I was thinking I could work something like it into part of a song."

Bonnie put a hand to her chin. "I think that'd sound pretty good."

"Right? But the thing is I'm not sure I'd get Huntress Wizard to agree."

"True. Especially since she's pretty hard to find most of the time."

"Doesn't she mostly hang out with Finn these days?"

"Not recently," Bonnie answered as she put a hand on her hip. "According to Bronwyn, H.W. took off a few days ago without a word and hasn't been back since."

"Whoa! Seriously? How's Finn taking it?"

"Fine, supposedly. Finn and H.W. have never put a label on their relationship. From the sound of it they have strong feelings for one another but don't fully act on them."

"And why is that?" Marceline asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Something about H.W. becoming soft and no longer mattering in the world if she ever gained what she truly desired. At least that's how Bronwyn explained it to me and how Finn once explained it to her."

"Well that's just dumb!"

"Exactly what Bronwyn said when she told me about it."

"And Finn's cool with this?"

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. Though I can't help but think Finn is just playing along in the hopes H.W. might one day change her mind about how their relationship should be."

Marceline shook her head. "Whatever. Anyway, I'm not sure if I can make this new song work without H.W.'s help."

"Maybe you could get Finn to help you. From what I understand, he's pretty good on the flute himself."

"Hmm…maybe. I think I'll stay out here a little longer and think about it some more."

"Okay. Well if you need me, I'll be in the tent shooting stuff with gamma rays."

With those words, Bonnie put her safety goggles on over her eyes and started back towards the tent. Meanwhile Marceline had started to strum her bass again. The two immediately stopped though when they suddenly heard a galloping noise coming from the surrounding forest. The sound quickly came closer, and in the next few seconds the Star Stag burst from the trees. It stood before the couple and stared at them with his white star-like eyes.

As the Star Stag gazed at the couple, his eyes suddenly changed from a cold white to a gentle pink. The shifting colors of the celestial deer's body changed to gentle shades of blue and green. Pink star-shaped flowers suddenly bloomed from the stag's antlers. In another moment the Star Stag bolted off into the woods away from the camp, and the glowing petals of his flowers fell from his antlers as he fled, shattering into particles of light before hitting the ground. Meanwhile, flowers bloomed in the hoof prints the beast left behind.

"What the heck was that?" Marceline wondered. "You saw it too, right Bonnie? Bonnie?"

Bonnie stood as if rooted to the ground. Her body was shuddering and an expression of fear was frozen on her face.

Marceline became concerned and immediately went over to her girlfriend's side. "Bonnie, you okay?"

"A deer," Bonnie whispered. "A huge deer."

"Bonnie!" Marceline called again, this time shaking her a little bit.

Bonnie shook her head as she snapped back to reality. "I'm okay. It's just…I had really bad experience with deer. A few years ago a really weird one attacked my kingdom. It managed to capture us all and cocooned us down in the sewers so it could feed on our sugar. I was trapped down there for I don't know how long but it felt like a really long time, perhaps months. Ever since then I get a little freaked out whenever I see a deer."

"Where the heck were Finn and Jake when all this happened?"

"They did stop the deer eventually, but it took them a long time because during their first battle against it they got hurt pretty bad. Finn broke both his legs and ended up in a coma for a while. Meanwhile Jake bonked his head and went totally bananas for a while. Apparently Jake thought everyone in the kingdom had been hiding in order to throw him a surprise birthday party."

Marceline pulled Bonnie into a hug and began kicking herself mentally for not being there when the girl she loved needed someone to save her. It was true they weren't together back then, but even so Marceline would've torn that freak deer to shreds if she had been there. Had she known such a horrible thing had been happening to Bonnie at the time, she would've rushed right over to save her. But instead she had probably been off somewhere doing something stupid. Marceline once again felt like she didn't deserve Bonnie.

Bonnie smiled and hugged Marceline back. "I'm okay Marcy. It was a long time ago."

"Yeah, but you're still a little messed up over it," Marceline pointed out as a tear rolled down her cheek. "If only I had been there for you back then!" She sighed. "I'm starting to think this trip was a bad idea."

"Don't be silly. Sure, I saw a deer. And yeah, it was a big freaky glowing deer. But aside from that part, I've been having a lot of fun on this trip, especially since you're here with me."

Marceline gave Bonnie a tearful smile. "Say, do you need help with that gamma ray thing you were talking about earlier?"

"Sure. In fact I think you might get a kick out of this sort of experiment."

Marceline and Bonnie walked back to the tent hand-in-hand, not giving another thought to the strange creature they had just encountered.

It was night by the time H.W. had entered the Fallen Star Forest in pursuit of the Star Stag. She was still able to easily follow the beast's tracks despite the pitch-blackness of the forest thanks to her keen night vision. As she continued to follow the Star Stag's hoof prints, H.W. began to smell a familiar scent in the air. It was the scent of two of Finn's friends, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum. H.W. had no idea why the two of them were in the forest, but she dwelled on it little. Her only concern was finding the Star Stag.

The tracks at last brought H.W. to a clearing lit by glowing moss and occupied by a pink dome-shaped tent. The huntress deduced the tent belonged to Bonnie and Marceline and paid no further attention to it. The Star Stag was still H.W.'s only concern. When H.W. turned her attention back to the tracks though, she noticed something was off. Before, the earth and grass upon which the Star Stag stepped was left brittle and discolored, but these new tracks had wildflowers and long blades of grass growing in them.

H.W. didn't know how to account for this change, but she realized she knew very little about the Star Stag in general. She needed more information and decided to ask the only two people around who might give her some insight into this change. What happened next happened in the space of a few seconds. H.W. burst into the pink tent and found Marceline and Bonnie asleep and cuddled together in one large sleeping bag. She called to the couple loudly, causing them both to awaken and sit bolt upright. Bonnie and Marceline both let out a startled cry when they saw H.W. standing before them and frantically tried to cover themselves. It was at this point when H.W. realized the two of them were both naked.

H.W. blushed as Marceline and Bonnie glared at her. "Sorry! Didn't realize the two of you had been in here…getting back to nature. I'll uh…I'll just give you a minute."

With those words, H.W. bolted out of the tent and crouched down next to the remains of what had been the couple's campfire, her knees hugged tightly to her chest. Eventually Marceline and Bonnie emerged from the tent fully dressed, glaring daggers at H.W.

Bonnie crossed her arms. "Explain yourself, Huntress Wizard! Why'd you come bursting into our tent?"

"Sorry 'bout that. I just needed your help," H.W. explained as she got to her feet. "I was hoping you could tell me something about the Star Stag."

"Star Stag?" Marceline repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, are you talking about a really big glowing deer that changes color? Sometimes has flowers glowing from its antlers?"

H.W. nodded. "Sounds about right except for maybe the last part. I've been after the beast all day."

"Well he's not here anymore, dude. He did show up for a little bit but then ran off deeper into the forest."

"I figured, but I was hoping you could tell me a little more about it. The beast's tracks have changed since coming to your camp."

"Changed? In what way?" Bonnie asked.

"Before, the stag's tracks only left behind destruction, like the life was whatever it stepped on was burned away or sucked out. But now it looks like new life grows wherever it steps."

Bonnie put a hand to her chin. "Do you know where this creature came from H.W.?"

"It fell from space as a falling star. That's kinda why I call it the Star Stag."

"Interesting. It could be this Star Stag's body puts out different forms of radiation at certain times. I'd have to get a closer look to be sure. H.W., I'd like to help you track this thing down."

H.W. shrugged her shoulders. "Guess I could use a little help tracking him. But I get to be the one to kill him and eat his heart."

"Fine by me. I'm only interested in studying the creature."

"But Bonnie, what about your…deer issues?" Marceline asked.

"Right now my scientific curiosity more than outweighs my fears," Bonnie answered. "Besides, if we do end up having to help H.W. kill the thing, it'll be my chance to settle an old score."

Marceline shrugged her shoulders. "Guess we're going deer hunting again."

"Just let me get a few special pieces of equipment from the tent and we'll be off."

Marceline and H.W. waited around outside while Bonnie went back into the tent to fetch what she needed. The candy princess finally came back out about ten minutes later wearing her large pack, her pith helmet, some sort of blaster holstered at her hip, and a pair the pair of night vision goggles she had brought. In her right hand Bonnie carried some sort of small black scanning device. As soon as Bonnie came out, Marceline quickly flew back into the tent to grab her own pack. Once the vampire queen came back out, Bonnie went around to the back of the tent and pressed a small purple button near its base.

There was a massive burst of pink smoke, and when it cleared the tent was once again nothing more than a small pink ball. Bonnie picked up the ball and stowed it in her pack. With Bonnie and Marceline all set to depart, H.W. led the way deeper into the forest in the direction the Star Stag had fled. None of them had any idea what sort of ancient secrets the forest had in store for them.

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