As the Fire Army commenced its major troop withdrawal at the Grasslands, the three heroes known as Jake, Betty and Marceline began their search for Finn the human. It was going to take a long time even with the Fire Kingdom's aid, but the main group persisted nonetheless. Some of the guards stationed at the excavation areas noticed that Jake and Marceline worked with the most diligence, and kept their distance from interfering. The troops couldn't blame them. When it came to searching for one of their own, they were willing to exert themselves past their limits until they were able to reach closure. They just hoped for the duo's sake it would ultimately lead to a positive outcome.
Meanwhile, Betty remained on the surface assisting the elementals coordinate the excavation. So far the map they charted slowly increased in size as they rediscovered more of the underground lab. Large chunks of dirt and debris were gathered outside in piles as time progressed. Breaks were given out on a routine basis, but Jake and Marcy would either take them briefly or skip out with the constant obsession to locate Finn. Betty had scolded them for their stubbornness, but all of her words fell to deaf ears. She had even considered the idea to go down the tunnels and persuade them in person, but decided against it. It was abundantly clear that Finn meant so much for the magical dog and vampire to work tirelessly, and the woman made a mental reminder to broach Marcy on the subject later. At the same time, her mind wandered as she recalled her heartfelt conversation from last night.
"The guest room's all set up," Marcy announced to Ice King and Betty over at the house in the caverns. "There's a tv, radio, and some food if you get hungry. Just make sure you don't take too many strawberries from the fridge because.. you know." She shrugged with a slight chuckle.
"I never thought I'd be under someone else's roof again," Ice King commented. "You know just like that one time when Fi-"
"Alright," Marcy quickly interrupted. "Why don't you go relax for a bit? I'm sure you've gone through a lot after everything today."
"Yeah," IK nodded, completely forgetting his train of thought. "No kidding! I mean with all the shooting and explosions, who's to say that it wasn't enough excitement?"
"I don't think that would be the best way to describe things," Betty chastised to IK.
The ice wizard dropped his head in shame and replied, "Low blow, got it. I'm gonna go head inside now."
After the door was closed, Betty and Marcy stared at each other. Marcy clamped her left bicep with her right hand and looked away until Betty spoke up.
"Care to tell me what's on your mind?" The woman asked in concern.
"It's that obvious isn't it?" Marcy feigned a smile.
"Only because I saw something in your eyes earlier," Betty replied. "Not to mention you promised to tell me later."
Marcy winced at Betty's recollection and hesitantly answered, "..It's about the cyclops tears." Not long after she said that, her eyes began to water. "When I learned that.. Simon was wounded. I had so much anger built up inside of me. Even after I pursued the one responsible, it still wasn't enough for me to just settle down." Her hands dropped to her sides and balled them into fists, "I was supposed to gather some magical tears and go about my way, but instead I..."
"It's okay, Marcy," Betty soothed.
"I-I turned into a savage, Betty," the vampire said with her voice shaking. "For the first time in hundreds of years, I became someone who would fit the role as the Lord of Evil's daughter!" Tears began running down her cheeks, "I made the cyclops die in the worst way possible, mom. I gave into the sadistic nature of dishing out my pain and suffering from everything I've been through, and the worst part is that I actually liked it!" She sniffled before continuing, "All those people who saw the whole thing turned away, while I didn't bat an eyelash. But once it was over, the rush was gone and the next thing I know I feel so ashamed of myself."
"You've gone through so much," Betty began as she hugged her tightly. "First, you grow up in a world set to destroy itself and then you deal with the pains of immortality. It would be unrealistic for anybody to keep to themselves or to just brush it aside." She slightly pulled back to see Marcy's face. "You did what you had to do, Marcy. The important thing is that you are willing to own up to it and move on."
The vampire looked down in response with tears running.
"I wish I could make the pain go away," Betty comforted with a saddened expression. "Have you live a life that doesn't revolve around death and violence on such a scale. I wish for a lot of things for everything to be better, but we are left to manage with what we have now." She placed a hand on Marcy's right cheek. "Right or wrong, I'm with you all the way, Marceline Abadeer," Betty vowed. "I will stay at your side for as long I can, so that I may inspire you to better yourself regardless of the past."
Marceline nodded in acknowledgement, while her emotions continued to run loose. Her tears kept streaming down her face, but she didn't care. All that mattered to her in that moment was to cherish the fact she had someone who she could trust and give her heart to without regret or shame. She still kept her biological mother close to her memories, but she also regarded Betty as the next maternal figure. She had Simon to guide her throughout the early years of the apocalypse, but once he was lost to the ice crown's curse, the vampire was forced to grow up alone without any further guidance. Marcy had felt so lost with herself as the years went by, but now that Betty Grof entered her life, she was able to gain a better sense of hope. It wasn't the kind that would falter easily from encountering the next personal struggle, but one that would endure until the end of time.
"I really needed this," Marcy admitted as she began to compose herself. "Thank you."
Betty kissed the top of the vampire's forehead before parting with a tender smile, "Come on, let's head back inside. I'll make you something to eat."
Back in the present, Betty answered her phone when it started to ring.
"Jake and I have finally managed to locate one of the main hallways," Marceline announced as she changed from using her giant bat form. "Both of us are heading up right now to take a break."
"Okay, Marcy. I'll update the map layout and save your last known location," Betty replied. "A fresh team of excavators are on the way to take over. They'll report anything right away if they see anything."
"Copy."
As Jake and Marceline made their way to the surface, the canine spoke up.
"You know it's hard to believe that this place goes so far down," he commented.
"We were in the middle of a battle," Marcy nodded. "Going after Finn and Bonnibel made us lose track of time. It's not like we had a chance to explore or go sight-seeing."
"Yeah," Jake said glumly. Suddenly his mind clicked in realization recalling recent events, "Wait a minute! What happens if they find Finn first?!"
"Furnius told me they're a reserve unit stationed at the homefront," Marcy comforted. "They have no clue what to expect or how to put the pieces together."
"And you believe him?" Jake asked worriedly.
"I do," Marcy stated with conviction.
The magical canine shook his head in disbelief while chuckling briefly, "Suppose that's not an issue, what about taking him in?"
"You let me worry about that," the vampire ordered with authority. "If I feel so much as a twinge of doubt, I will go looking for them." She emphasized curling her right fist.
They walked together in silence from that moment until Jake asked, "Do you.. think he's back to his normal self at least?"
"I would like to think so," Marcy answered with a melancholic expression. "But whatever the case, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Eight days later, the excavators announced they had uncovered the remains of the laboratory. The blast door to the elevator marked 70599 was still remarkably intact and the team of fire elementals slowly made their way to the staging area. All of the supercomputers and nearby electronics were already reduced to smoldering heaps of scrap metal and the area was cramped with large chunks of debris. Torches and lanterns were placed in corners for the troops to navigate the room safely, and in time power tools were distributed to clear the obstructions. So far they had found nothing of interest that could be salvaged to bolster the Fire Army, but then their attention was diverted towards the center where a lone silhouette could be heard groaning weakly. Jake, Marceline, and Betty quickly made their way down upon hearing this bit of news and they prayed they would finally have a long, overdue reunion with their fellow blonde adventurer.
All bets were off. Whatever was bound to happen now would be a major, defining moment for all of them.
