Bones Exposed - Fourteen
Marshall Lee hits the ground with a loud thud. He gets covered in dirt and his own blood as soon as he makes impact.
But he doesn't let the grime faze him. He gets up despite the pain. His knees wobble a little, but he stands his ground.
It is not fear that's causing Marshall Lee to shake. Adrenaline is coursing through his veins. Maybe he is a little scared somewhere deep down, but he's mostly excited. Finally being able to take out his anger is so cathartic, even though he's losing.
Sucks they're not in the Nightosphere anymore, but what can ya do?
A gentle afterglow from the sun still paints the night sky. This is not enough light to hurt Marshall Lee, fortunately. What a perfectly-timed battle.
His mother's imposing figure looms over him. The aura surrounding her is damn near deadly.
Marshall Lee smirks and lunges at her.
"Don't look so cocky," HyeSung's swift karate kick sends him into the air. When he comes back down, she delivers a back kick - a taekwondo move, if he's remembering correctly - that leads him crashing into several trees, "You cannot defeat me."
He knows this already. It's probably totally pointless to try, but he's gonna do it anyway. He gets back up and wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I need.. to do this."
HyeSung furrows her brows. "No you don't. Why not just talk to me, Marshall Lee?"
"As if you'll listen!" Marshall Lee's fist is stopped by a tentacle. It wraps firmly around his arm before swinging him around. He's in the air again when it lets go, and he crashes down onto the grass. His breath escapes his lungs through a strangled gasp.
Everything hurts. Even his pride and determination are starting to crumble a little, but he keeps at it anyway. This is the thing he's needed most his whole adult life. He can't let anything stop him.
His mother sighs as he rises again. "Please, just give this up, Marshall Lee."
"No way," he says lowly. His voice barely manages to leave his throat; it sounds guttural yet scratchy, "I'm not.. giving up until I win." He runs at full speed towards his opponent.
She sighs again before delivering another karate kick to his abdomen.
Marshall Lee hits something hard - a giant rock, maybe? - and coughs up a bit of blood. His vision starts to blur as he reverts back to his normal form.
There's.. something large in the distance. Approaching their direction. It looks like.. a giant cat? Could it be...?
He's panting and can't see very well, but he stands yet again anyway. No way he's gonna let Fionna and Cake catch him slacking.
He needs to get this done as quickly as possible. It's now or never.
"Marshall Lee, seriously," HyeSung sounds impatient now. She has a hand on her hip, "You are not going to win this. Stop trying and just use your words."
"Don't... don't tell me what to do."
A third sigh. "You are so stubborn."
Marshall Lee gets ready to attack again.
Before he can, white and tan fur blocks him.
"Stop this, Marshall Lee!" Fionna looks worried but sounds angry.
"Get out of my way."
"No! The both of you need to calm down!"
"My, my," his mother's sultry tone sends a chill down his spine, "Young Lady, you have such a gorgeous soul."
Usually, he'd think the darkening of Fionna's cheeks is cute, but he doesn't like where he thinks this conversation is going. "Huh? Um, thanks? I guess..?"
"You'll make a fine meal once I finish teaching this boy a lesson."
Yep, he was right.
Something snaps inside him. He musters all his strength to leap over Cake and fling himself towards his mother.
"Don't you even think about hurting my friends!"
HyeSung dodges his attack and places a foot on him when he lands on the ground. There's enough pressure to hold him down firmly, but not enough for her heel to puncture his back.
"Marshall Lee!" Fionna and Cake yell in unison.
"Are you ready to come back to your senses?"
No matter how much he struggles, he can't push himself up.
"I'm assuming this means you are not."
Marshall Lee doesn't want to give up. He can't give up. Admitting defeat isn't an option. There has to be something he can do.., but he can't think of anything.
He feels so tired.
"Hey, demon lady," Fionna's words prevent Marshall Lee from closing his eyes, "Why are you two fighting?"
"Because this kid came and picked a fight with me. He accused me of ruining his life, and instead of wanting to talk about our problems, he wanted to duke it out," she sighs for a fourth time, "You know how men can be sometimes."
"Ruining his life..?" Cake asks curiously. She tilts her head in thought briefly before her eyes widen, "Wait a minute. Marshall Lee, is this your mom?"
"Unfortunately."
Fionna gasps. "What? I can't believe you're out here fighting with your mom! How the heck is violence going to solve the issues you have with her?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell him," HyeSung says. She sounds exasperated.
Cake shakes her head. "You two should talk, not battle."
Marshall Lee huffs.
It seems the thing he least wanted to do is his only option.
Will she actually listen to him, though?
The pressure disappears from his back. Marshall Lee sits up with a grunt, and his mother crouches down to meet his eyes. She, too, is back to her usual appearance. He glares at her, annoyed at how he didn't manage to land a single hit on her. Skin unscathed, not a single strand of hair out of place, suit perfectly intact - whereas Marshall Lee knows he looks like a freaking train wreck. Damn.
"Do you want us to leave?" Fionna asks.
"Stay." He feels kind of cheesy saying it, but she and Cake should probably hear all of this. They don't know Marshall Lee's story, but they deserve to. Friends should know practically everything about each other, right?
HyeSung smiles devilishly. "What exactly does this girl mean to you, Marshall Lee?"
"Not whatever you're thinking. These two are not only some of my closest friends, but the closest friends of the person most important to me."
"Oh? This is the second time you've brought up this mysterious 'most important person'. Who are they?"
Aw, damn it. He can't be direct with Fionna and Cake here. They still might even figure it out anyway if he's subtle, though. He's already given it away.
To hell with it.
"The one I love. The person who made me happier than anything else in the world. The guy I pushed away because of all the bullshit you put me through." Marshall Lee doesn't realize his vision is red again until Cake stretches to block his mother from his view. The understanding yet terrified look in her eyes calms him down. He needs to keep his cool from now on; he can't risk hurting either of them.
Cake cautiously moves back after a few quiet seconds, revealing his mother's confused expression.
"What exactly are you talking about, Marshall Lee?"
Marshall Lee scoffs and jumps to a stand. He regrets it instantly, because holy crap is moving painful, but he doesn't let it stop him. "This again? Your ignorance is a part of the problem, you know. All those years 'raising' me, you never once bothered trying to get to know me for me. You didn't tell me you loved me, either! Simone even did that once, and she's not my real mom! All you cared about was my strength, and my journey to becoming stronger, and all those things that didn't matter. Our whole time together was stiff and awkward, and I hated it. Despite that, I still tried so hard to get your attention and validation, but you didn't even seem to notice. And worse of all, you didn't even apologize after drinking my milkshake!"
"Wait," Fionna furrows her brows, "what?"
"All this nonsense was because of a milkshake?" Cake deadpans.
HyeSung's cheeks flush lightly and she lowers her head enough to where she's only looking at him with her eyes, "I'm sorry, Marshall Lee. I didn't know those things were so important to you."
It feels.. strange to see her like this. His heart does a weird squeeze-y thing. He feels bad, he thinks, but also something else. Love? Victory? He can't really tell. Whatever the emotion is, it reminds Marshall Lee of his injuries and brings him to his knees.
Not even a second later, his mother's arms wrap around him. He freezes, briefly, before relaxing into her touch.
"I had a lot of pent-up anger, and this weird belief that I needed to destroy to get appreciated," Marshall Lee continues. "I don't hate ruling by fear, even though I do feel kinda bad afterwards, but... I do hate hurting the few people I care about. Makes me feel even more worthless."
"You're not worthless," his mother responds immediately, running a hand over his hair, "I truly am sorry, Marshall Lee.. I guess I forgot that human children have different needs than demon ones do. I should have tried harder to nurture you properly."
Marshall Lee doesn't know how to respond to that, so he says nothing.
"I'd like to make it up to you, if you'll let me."
Crickets chirp. He's always thought it was cool how those guys are basically living instruments, each one born a musician destined to rock the earth's stage until their final moment. Their repetitive melody, performed almost exclusively under the stars, contrasts this moment. While their song is unchanging, the beat Marshall Lee's emotions are playing inside him is all over the place.
The conflict brings tears to his eyes, and he hugs his mother in return. "Okay," is all he says.
What Bubba said is right. If Marshall Lee is capable of change, it's very likely HyeSung is, too. All wounds take time to heal. Bubba is waiting for him - still, after all these years. Marshall Lee will have to be patient, too.
Though, he doesn't plan on keeping his prince waiting much longer.
Later, when the three are helping Marshall Lee patch and clean up, his mother looks at Fionna.
"You're sure I can't eat your soul?"
Fionna laughs awkwardly. "I'm.. pretty sure, yeah."
HyeSung frowns. "That's a shame."
