Princess Bubblegum tapped impatiently on Marceline's front door, again. "Marcy? You home?"

There was no answer. Bubblegum sighed and looked down at the box in her hands, tied nicely with a large pink ribbon. "I brought rocks," she yelled at the silent house. "You know, for the Abyss?" Bubblegum bit her lip, setting the box down at the bottom of the steps and then plonking herself down beside it with a huff.

Leave it to Marcy to make her beg.

"Look, I felt bad about yesterday and I moved my schedule around so we can hang out." Bubblegum twisted a lock of pink hair around her finger. "I know I don't make a lot of time for you, and it's not your fault and I'm trying to fix it." She rested her chin on her knees, blushing slightly, although it was always hard to tell against her pink skin. Nevertheless, she was almost glad Marceline wasn't out here with her now. "I guess I'm not so good at apologies either, huh?"

After a few more long moments of silence, she stood and banged on the door. "Marceline it's still daytime, I know you're in there. Open. Up!"

On the last pound of her fist on the door, it creaked open—she had to remind Marcy to fix that lock one of these days—revealing nothing but an empty house. "Hiding, are we?" she scoffed. "Marcy, you know I always beat you at hide and seek." The halfhearted taunt died between the four walls of the front room, much to Bublegum's immense surprise. Marceline wasn't usually one to pass up an opportunity to tease her, especially when it came to such a blatant lie as that one.

Bubblegum never won at hide and seek.

"Okay, getting worried now," Bubblegum called weakly at what was clearly an empty house, abandoned and quite obviously missing one sassy half-demon queen with a bass.

Bubblegum frowned. Where could she be? It was close to evening, but the sun had only just began to set. Marceline didn't usually venture out of her house during these hours; the sun had much more opportunity to make contact with her skin when it was so low in the sky.

Unless she had spent the night somewhere else…

Bubblegum placed her hands on her heated cheeks and closed her eyes, shook her head, told herself it didn't matter, that she wasn't allowed to be upset about stuff like that, even if it were the case.

Which, knowing Marcy, it probably wasn't.

But still…

She was startled by a sudden buzzing and a sharp rrrrrnnnnnngggg coming from her backpack. She fished it out roughly, dropping it only once, willing her heart to slow it's panicked beating. This whole Missing Marceline business was freaking her out more than it should have. "Come on Bubblegum, it's just your phone," she muttered to herself before bringing the phone to her ear and answering with a clipped "yes?"

"It's me."

"Pep But?" Bubblegum raised her eyebrows. "You never call me on this phone unless it's an emergency." He stomach dropped. "Has something happened to the candy people?"

"It's Marceline, actually." Peppermint Butler intoned from the other side of the line. "She's here at the castle. You should probably get back right away, your majesty."

"On my way." She was already walking briskly toward the cave's entrance as she said the words and hung up the phone.

The ride back to her kingdom was agonizing, Bubblegum having almost immediately realized upon mounting her bird that she should have asked just exactly what the problem was. Unfortunately, she had not, which gave her the whole stretch of the flight to worry and fret and invent scenarios in her head.

She burst into the front doors of the castle minutes later. "Marceline!" she cried, prepared to fight with fists or words if it became necessary, but all she was greeted with was confusion as she beheld the scene in front of her: Finn and Jake and Marceline, crowded around a small table, sipping tea out of small plastic cups and eating cookies. An odd scene, but nothing compared to what Marceline was wearing. The punk-rock, half-torn clothes she usually wore were replaced by a lacy, pink gown, and her usual bedhead was twisted into ringlets of curls.

"Weiird, right?" Peppermint Butler was beside her now—although she hadn't seen him come in—leaning against the wall and staring at Marceline with a look of blatant horror.

"Yeah it's weird." She agreed irritably, "but I thought you said it was an emergency."

"A fashion emergency." Peppermint Butler agreed, nodding his entire body. "Look at that dress."

"Peps, that's my dress."

He held up his hands. "I tell it like it is, Princess."

"Princess!" Finn yelled, having just noticed her. "Come join our party!" He waved his arm above his head, as if she hadn't heard him.

She stomped over, was about to start in on where Marceline had been and what had she been doing etc. etc., but that fluffy lacy number really did look bizarre on the Vampire Queen. So bizarre that Bubblegum found herself laughing instead. "Marceline why are you dressed like that?"

To her surprise, Marceline's eyes began to water. She looked helplessly at Finn and sniffled. "Why is the pink lady laughing at me?"

Bubblegum opened her mouth to answer: "You must be joking." But Finn was out of his chair with his hand over her mouth in seconds.

"HAHAHAHA, she's kidding! You look great Marceline!" He pulled a confused and struggling Bubblegum aside, expression turning darkly serious, and removed his hand. "We found her wandering around Breakfast Kingdom last night, looking lost. She didn't remember her name and she has no idea who she is. It's some crazy bananas stuff, Peebles. Like her whole brain has been wiped or something."

Finn sat back down, smiling once again, and poured Marceline some more tea.

Princess Bubblegum crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. She would have to get to the bottom of this, somehow.

Well at least there is one upside to all of this, she thought, looking at the vampire with appreciation. She's certainly never dressed better.