Princess Bubblegum dreamt of midnight—of half moons and a scattering of steadily glowing stars winking into existence one by one.
Midnight—the strangest time. A time when the world is blurred at the edges whether you're sleeping or not. Dreaming, or not.
The stars moved, and the deep black of the sky melted into the deep black of Marceline's hair, speckled with droplets of water, turning away from Bubblegum so that the princess was staring at an image of Marceline's face spanning the entire sky.
Marceline's mouth opened, but it wasn't words words that came out. Instead, hundreds and hundreds of pieces of candy tumbled down from space and onto the ground, piling up around Princess Bubblegum, on top of her. Burying her in sugar and the sticky sweetness of her own flesh.
Then all at once the candy melted, and Princess Bubblegum's body and consciousness merged with it. She grew taller than the sky, taller than the world, until she was face to face with Marceline, who sat cross-legged on the moon.
Marceline shook her head, and stars fell from her hair to drop back into the sky. "Too much sugar," she said, scooping a chunk out of the moon with talons of steel and shoving it into her mouth.
And then Bubblegum was shrinking, falling back to earth as she grew smaller and smaller and smaller, falling straight down—down toward the Abyss—
Princess Bublegum awoke with a start, sure she was about to be splattered on the ground like a blob of chewed gum.
Of course, she hadn't been falling, and she was still in her Tower. There was a sharp pain in her neck from sleeping as she had; resting on the top step and slumped against the wall. A quick check of her watch told her it was 9 am.
She should have jumped up and sprinted down the stairs to assemble her waiting army. She should have woken up hours ago—honestly, she shouldn't have let herself fall asleep up here in the first place. But Bubblegum just stood slowly, stretching out the kink in her neck, stifling a yawn. She shouldn't have done a lot of things, yet here she was.
She took her time walking down the stairs and making her way to her bedroom, changing her clothes and pulling her hair out of her face like she always did when conducting hands-on research. Only this time it wasn't research—it was battle.
Bubblegum stared at herself in her vanity mirror, hardly able to recognize her own face. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy from sleeping so poorly, and her skin had lost some of its rosy glow. Her hair hung limp and her shoulders sagged, turning her into the perfect picture of misery and fatigue.
At least Marcy was safe at home. That thought was what finally compelled Bubblegum to stand up and head to the courtyard where her forces awaited. Marcy was safe, protected, but Bubblegum's people weren't. Candy citizens had already been harmed, and it was Bubblegum's fault—at least partially.
She took a quick detour to the Great Hall to check on the afflicted. Peppermint Butler was there, leaning against the wall. One eyebrow raised when he saw Bubblegum surveying the makeshift camp. "Shouldn't you be outside?" he drawled in his high voice. "There's quite a crowd out there."
Bubblegum nodded. "I'm heading there now. Thanks for keeping an eye on all this." She gestured broadly to the crowd in the hall.
Peppermint Butler just cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms. Figuring that was the most she was going to get out of him, Bubblegum headed for the courtyard at last.
"Good luck, Princess." Peppermint Butler called after her.
...
The courtyard was filled with more people than the princess had expected.
Banana guards marched back and forth in a sort of loose formation, chanting something that sounded vaguely like a military cadence, but Bubbleum couldn't be sure. LSP was there, floating around in an endless pursuit of attention. Bubblegum spotted Breakfast Princess, Slime Princess, and more, plus soldiers from all the closest kingdoms come to join the battle.
Bubblegum frowned. She hadn't invited them.
"Their kingdoms were affected, too." Finn said, appearing at Bubblegum's side. "They heard about your hunt and wanted to join."
"We don't need their help," Princess Bubblegum said automatically—a bad habit of hers, pretending like she didn't need anyone. In truth, she was grateful and impressed that they would do such a thing at all. "I'm going to talk with the banana guards," she announced, walking away from Finn without so much as a backward glance.
Last night's rain had stopped, thankfully. But dark clouds still hung low enough in the sky to be cause for worry, and Bubblegum quickened her pace. It wouldn't do them any good if the weather decided to turn bad, especially since they had gotten such a late start.
"What's the plan Peebs?" Jake said, having spotted her from within the crowd and stretched himself to her side in a second.
"I'll announce it for everybody at once, so I don't have to repeat it," she said. Then a thought hit her, and she slowed her pace once again.
The day before, she had told Finn and Jake that she would call them when the soldiers were ready, but she had never called. She had fallen asleep in her tower and woken up late, and she had never actually made the call.
"How did you and Finn know to come this morning?" she asked, turning to face Jake fully.
"Marceline called us," Jake said.
"She what?"
"I think she called just about everybody here." The dog shrugged. "We assumed you had patched things up and were working together again."
Princess Bubblegum excused herself, pushing her way through the crowd. That stupid vampire—why couldn't she have just stayed home and waited?
The princess reached the edge of the crowd and took a step back. She saw no sign of Marceline, but that didn't mean she wasn't there. She needed to get higher above the crowd…
Inspiration hit her. She took several more steps back, and whistled sharply.
The screeee of the Morrow ripped through the dense morning air, bringing a hush to the crowd of people and soldiers as everyone turned their heads to face Princess Bubblegum, who climbed atop the bird as gracefully as she could with all those eyes on her.
She took a deep breath. "Greetings candy citizens, loyal banana guards, and everyone who has come today in the name of justice!" Bubblegum's voice echoed loud and clear through the silent courtyard. "Thank you for your service, and your bravery." A flash of red and black caught Bubblegum's eye, and her gaze flicked to the dark-haired figure who was covered in a giant sun hat and elbow length gloves. Marceline smirked at her, and even from where she stood Bubblegum could see her fangs.
The princess tried not to grind her teeth as she continued, tearing her eyes from the vampire and looking anywhere else. Bubblegum had had an entire speech planned about courage and facing adversary, but it had flown out of her mind with the shock and anger of seeing Marceline here, where she was specifically asked not to be. "The Abyss lies in the middle of a valley of sharp rock," she said instead, getting right to the plan. "The only way to access it is through the air." She did not mention the web of underground tunnels that were most likely another way in—she hadn't explored them nearly enough for them to be an option.
"I can take several at a time on the Morrow." She pointed to LSP. "Lumpy Space Princess will help lift people over as well." That's what you get for taking over my room, Bubblegum thought as LSP's face scrunched up in indignation. "Jake's stretchy powers will do most of the work, though. We should be over the rocks and into the Abyss in no time. Understood?"
There were cheers and affirmations from the crowd, but Bubblegum's eyes were back on Marceline. What in Glob's name was she thinking?
"One last thing," the princess said, looking out at the crowd again. "The Abyss is filled with toxic clouds left over from the Great Mushroom War. Do not go near these clouds under any circumstances. They're scattered enough that we should be able to avoid them easily." Bubblegum took a deep breath as the crowd let out a few more scattered cheers, realizing suddenly how hungry she was. Waking up late had caused her to miss breakfast.
"Let's march!" she cried, ignoring the pangs in her stomach. "Follow the Morrow!"
The bird launched into the sky with heart-stopping speed, and Bubblegum grasped tightly onto its harness for fear of falling. She eased the Morrow into a slower ascent—the people below were on foot, after all—and relaxed slightly once the bird's glide became smoother.
"You didn't include me in your plan." Startled, Bonnie's head whipped toward Marceline's voice. The vampire floated next to the Morrow, looking serious. Her bass was strapped to her back.
Bubblegum tried to calm her frayed, exhausted nerves. "You weren't a part of it," she said.
Marceline scoffed. "I came here to help and you tossed me as soon as you decided I wasn't useful. I'm already here, and I am useful, so let me do what I can."
Bubblegum bit her lip. Marceline's presence would allow them to cross the Abyss faster, but…
"You're not in charge of me," Marceline said. "You know that, right?"
"Yes," Bubblegum said, tightening her hold on the Morrow. "Obviously, I know that."
"Then it's settled," Marceline said, reaching for something in her pocket. "Better energize, princess." Marceline tossed something in Bubblegum's direction and the princess caught it, surprised. "This is going to be one hell of a fight," the vampire said before falling back to fly alongside LSP.
Princess Bubblegum examined the crisp, red apple Marceline had thrown at her for a moment, then took a bite.
...
The Abyss was much farther away than Bubblegum remembered it being, and it took an excruciatingly long time for them to reach it. But around noon the princess could see the tips of the craggy rocks surrounding the roiling mass of clouds, and she called for a lunch break. A short break, meant for a moment of relaxation and rest and re-energization before the last leg of their journey, and then they were on their way again.
Flying and stretching over the giant, sharp rocks wasn't difficult, but it was time consuming. Eventually, though, they made it to the edge.
Princess Bubblegum stared down into the pit with a feeling of apprehension. Her stomach felt like it was churning and rolling just like the clouds below.
Marceline landed next to her, so close their shoulders almost touched.
"Yikes," Finn said, coming up from behind to peer down the cliff, Jake following not a moment after.
Princess Bubblegum and Marceline looked at each other, and a grim sort of understanding passed between them—an acknowledgment of partnership. A look that said 'no matter what we've been through, we're in this together.' Her hand found Marceline's, and the Vampire didn't pull away.
They began to descend.
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Wow this whole thing is almost over. I'm having a lot of feelings right now.
Thank you SO much for reading and for sticking with this story this whole time! You guys are seriously the best. To everyone that has ever commented, you should know that your feedback is the reason I even kept going.
