Marshall Lee hated getting wet. It felt weird on his vampire skin, and it made his clothes cling to him. But he had to go after Fionna. His body was electrified with jagged emotion.

Fionna was a human flagpole in the storm, the blanket more of a hinderance than a help.

He followed after her, umbrella in hand, but when he popped it open, it caught the wind and flipped it inside out.

He was angry, livid, and very uncomfortable. Ever since PG had accused him of not being a 'real' vampire, his ego had been on thin ice. He had given her his vampire kiss, and in vampire law that meant she was supposed to get all lovey dovey for him now, but she was fighting it! Why? Why was she fighting liking him? The thought made him crack to the core, and he couldn't take it anymore. He flew in a rage after her.

Thunder crashed above her as she struggled in the wind to get home. Stupid Marshall Lee. Stupid glob brained vampire! A flash of lightning blinded her and for a second, and Fionna saw a vision of something. Marshall Lee crushing that little purple flower. She didn't want it anyways. She didn't want anything from the Vampire King! But no, she did. She did want something…

She splooshed her way through the soppy grass and into a big large puddle. Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the iridescence of the water, or that it whispered 'Yes, deeper in the water. Go deeper in the water…'.

Marshall Lee approached her and watched in horror as the puddle at her ankles spread into a small lake.

"Fionna, Look out!" He screamed, before it reared itself into an awesome wave and swallowed her whole into the ground. Marshall had no choice but to dive in after her.

Consumed by wet darkness, Fionna was thrust into a damp cave, coughing to regain her breath. She felt all around her, and found that she had no sword, and nothing but kicks and punches to defend herself with.

"Fionna!" called a voice.

"Marshall?" She called back.

"I know where we are. Don't trust anything around you, okay? Just stay very still." He said, but even as he spoke his voice drifted further and further away.

"Okay…" Fionna said unsure. She was not used to being told to sit still. Fionna was a woman of action, and anyways the darkness was making her eyes see a bunch of nonsense.

Marshall used his demon eyes the best that he could, but the place was still a maze. It was one of those dungeons that was also the guts of a monster. Complete with traps and stuff. Even as a vampire, taking one step forward made him all dizzy and turned around.

"Fionna?" He called out, and no one answered. Glob it. This was turning into a mess, and his clothes were all wet!

Fionna's eyes tried to adjust to the darkness, but it was such a thick darkness that her eyes started to see swirling lights and it made her swirl in the head. Shapes started to form and then the darkness was so thick that it became mirror-like. Fionna's reflection began to take shape before her as stared at herself in the darkness.

"Weird…" She said. The reflection said it too. She raised an arm, and it mirrored her. It would have been cool if the reflection had eyes and it wasn't so creepy to look at. Then, the mirror blinked when Fionna hadn't blinked at all.

"Marshall?" She called out again, getting the heebie jeebies. There was no answer again. Fionna turned away from her reflection, only to be faced with more darkness, and another reflection. Now there were two.

"Marshall?" They echoed. Their faces looked so scared and sad, it freaked her out. She pulled back her fist to hit one, and her fist got stuck in it's globby form, but worst still, the doppelganger's fist had reached out to punched her too, and was seeping into her own gut.

"Ah!" Fionna yelled and pulled away. The goop seeped into her insides and it made her feel queasy.

"Fionna! Are you okay?" Called a voice behind her. Fionna turned to see Marshall Lee.

"Marshall Lee! Thank Glob!" Fionna sighed.

"What's up with the twins?" He asked nonchalantly.

"I tried to punch them, but they keep copying me, and they're all gooey!"

"Hm…" Marshall walked around the figures and they transformed into Marshalls as soon as he made eye contact with them. "What the Glob?" He cried in alarm. Fionna wasted no time. As the gloop Marshalls were distracted with imitating him, she punched them in the face, and their forms reduced to piles of dark water.

Marshall's brows rose. "Dang, Fionna. Don't ever let me piss you off." Fionna rubbed her neck in slight embarrassment.

"Aw come on Marshall you've seen me kick butt before, it's nothing."

"No, really. You're impressive." He said smiling. Fionna flushed. There was something strange about Marshall complimenting her. Wasn't he still upset about how she had run off? The memory of how angry she had been felt so childish.

"Let's get out of here." Marshall took her hand, and it was cold and wet but she didn't mind. Fionna let him pull her through the darkness. Fionna could still see nothing, and shapes kept forming in the darkness. Two silver orbs kept shining back at her in the darkness and it followed her. It's just an illusion, it's not really there… she kept telling herself.

"Are you- Do you know where we are going?" She asked.

"Of course." He said. "I can see in here. I'm a demon, you know. Ah crud. Dead end. Fionna, we are going to have to swim." Marshall splashed his foot tentatively in a pool of water that was supposedly before them. The splashing echoed ominously.

"Ah… you know how I feel about… deep water." Fionna cringed, and she glanced at the silver orbs following them.

"Be brave, hero girl." Marshall said winking, and he began to unbutton his shirt.

"Marshall you don't have to-" Fionna said looking away. She had never seen the Vampire King without a shirt on and it made her feel weird. Marshall chuckled.

"Don't be shy, hero girl." He said, kicking off his shoes. "We will swim together." Fionna looked at him then, and he dipped his feet in the water. It rippled strangely around him as he reached out a hand to her.

"Come on, Fi. I'll hold onto you the whole time." Tentatively, she placed her hand in his, and he pulled her gently into the water. It filled up her shoes and soaked her socks.

"Marshall this water feels weird…" She said. In fact, this whole interaction felt weird.

"Don't worry about it, come on, we have to get across." He said pulling her deeper, but as the water climbed up her calves she clung to him and he chuckled. "You look so cute when you're scared, Fionna." He said. Fionna blushed, but not because she was flattered. It was a straight up weird thing for Marshall to say. She looked up to look into his eyes, and they were black and empty. Marshal smiled and his teeth shone in the darkness. He looked almost… predatory.

"You're not Marshall…" She said softly. Horror dawning on her as she pulled her hand from his. Marshall's smile broke into a row of fangs, and she felt the floor disappear beneath her, plunging her body into water. She gulped in a breath to hold, but then felt herself being lifted from the water from under the arms. Something had pulled her from the water.

"Let me go!" She cried squirming.

"Quit it, Fionna. It's me." Said an agitated Marshall. She could see nothing, and then suddenly two silvery orbs looked back at her.

"But… I can't see you."

"Of course, you can't. We're in complete darkness. Everything you see here is an illusion. I told you to stay still didn't I?"

"Can you see?" She asked. They floated away from the Monster Marshall below who thrashed about looking for its meal which mysteriously disappeared.

"I can see a bit, but not very well. We might be stuck here a while." He floated over further back into the cave and placed her down on the ground. Fionna was relieved that it was hard and not soggy. "You better keep your eyes closed, Fionna. This place will make you see a whole bunch of junk to eat you." Fionna closed her eyes, and felt Marshall slip from her grasp as he explored a bit further.

"Hm… Maybe this way?" He said pensively. Fionna tried to keep her eyes clasped, but the feeling of complete darkness was almost as daunting as the feeling of deep water. Completely unknown and vast.

"Marshall… where are you?" She said, dreading the return of the gloop people. She remembered the way it had punched her gut and it made her feel bilious. She shivered at the memory.

"I'm right here, bunny head. I won't get too far… hey are you shaking?" He asked. Fionna felt his hand take hold of her wrist. She had never noticed but he was not completely cold.

"I'm sorry…" She said. "I'm usually better at adventuring. This place just gives me the mad creeps and I feel… ugh." Her stomach was churning again.

"What's wrong, Fionna?" He asked, feeling her pulse quicken beneath his hand. Marshall slipped his hand over her back and rubbed it comfortingly.

"I think I'm gonna blow crumpets…" She moaned. But horribly, she didn't. The feeling stayed with her until it died down in a wave, only to threaten to crest again later.

"Here, climb on my back. Let's get out of here before you puke on me." He pulled her arms over his shoulders and floated down the tunnel, hoping it would lead to an exit. Usually these dark water things splooged out into the nearest evil swamp or something, and branched out underground in aquifers. If he could get his bearings just right, maybe it would send him in the approximate direction.

"Thanks for… Carrying me…" She said between hurling feels.

"No problem, human. Thanks for being my friend, I guess." He responded, but then their earlier argument reared in his mind and he felt little bitty guilties crawling all over him. They drifted in darkened silence for a while; Marshall quietly reflecting on his actions, Fionna trying to swallow her barf.

"Oh, Glob. I think it's happening! Put me down, put me down!" She cried, but there was no ground to put her down on. They had drifted so deep into the cavern. Marshall had to hold her in front of him by the waist and feel every weird convulsion run through her. Gross. Marshall watched the weird stuff come out of her.

"Hey, are your eyes still closed, Fionna?" He asked.

"Yeah…?"

"Good." He said. "Feel better?"

"Ugh… I guess…"

"Good." He swung her legs into his arms and carried her like a baby in a cradle. It reminded Marshall of the way heroes carried the victims back to safety. Was this his first heroic act?

"I'm not cool with being carried like a princess…" She moaned, but then provided no further complaints. The swaddle was actually very comforting and feeling very sick, Fionna dozed off. He felt her breathing slow down in sleep, and his thoughts became loud in his head. He really did act like a butt all of the time.

"You can make me feel something, Fionna." He whispered to her. "It just really freaks me out, okay? So just tell me you like me so that I don't have to be the first one to say it for crying out loud."

Marshall's ego battle with his emotions as he saw a glimpse of moonlight peak out from the cave. He had tried forcing it out of her, giving her flowers, ignoring her, pissing her off… What was a guy to do?

"Dammit, I'm really trying!" He groaned to himself as he burst through the weird watery veil of the cavern.

AN:
Hey, everyone who cares to read this. First of all, thank you for taking the time to read! I hope that you are enjoying the story. To be honest, I'm just having a good time exploring the two characters. I have a feeling that my greatest downfall is making the characters behave/ transition believably, and that is something I am working on. I would love your feedback if you have any. I am not shy of editing and rewriting.

My own reflection is this:

I wrote the first chapter nearly 10 years ago. I really liked it, but having a fragile ego did not continue due to lack of enthusiasm from my peers. I've picked it back up but I do feel a transition from my writing style compared from then and now. Do you notice a strange transition? Was this chapter too serious? Should we go back to teenage romance? Let me know! I can certainly surgically remove this chapter and put it on to something else.

CC