As the next 15 months passed by and the seasons changed, the sickness the village elder spoke of began to spread. The forests were overcome with the black trees and shrubs, and almost all the animals either ran away or acted like they had poo brain. The people started to act like the animals, repeating the same task over and over, even if it hurt them. Some of the candy citizens we forced into guarded confinement, just so they would stop hurting themselves.
Sam and Simon often crossed worlds to examine the blackness that was eating away at our worlds. Bubblegum would come here every so often to assist in the research, but she felt as though she, Marcy and Finn should stay as close to the children as possible. When Bubblegum did make it over to Aaa, Cake would go back to Ooo in her place and watch the babies. Marceline was not fond of leaving her twin boys behind for too long, and Finn would do anything to protect his sons and daughter. Cake understood that, and so she spent a lot of time in Ooo.
Gumball and I tried a quarantine, though that did no good whatsoever. Simon suggested it could be some sort of algae in the air, and it was affecting us through the oxygen, but after extensive research, no one could come up with solid evidence for it. Sam and Bubblegum tested water supplies and animal blood, but still, nothing.
Even the monsters continued to be affected, but in different ways. Everywhere, throughout all of Aaa, we were getting reports and complaints of monster rings showing up around old world architecture. Some had upwards of 30 beasts around them, while others, like the well, only had 6 or 7. Sam and Simon did extensive testing on the old world architecture, too, but they could only handle so much of it. The magic that owned them before still coursed through their veins, and being around old world items only caused them pain.
Marshall surveyed Aaa once a week, flying all over the place, documenting any changes or irregularities, while I would go and address the few villages and towns that still had some sanity left, promising them that we would find a way around it. Gumball kept in contact day in and day out with all the other kingdoms, sharing information, cataloging changes, exchanging samples. No matter what we all did, the sickness grew worse. It was beginning to swallow Aaa.
"I'm going," I announced firmly, throwing on my backpack and sheathing my sword.
"Fionna, you have another 2 months before you're supposed to go back. As desperate as we are, we can't lose you to the mountain witch," Gumball reasoned, sitting in his big red chair in the study, his body lurched forward and his hands gripping the arm rests in anxiety.
"I don't care! This is just so stupid! It's way out of control now! Gumball, more than half of Aaa has been affected by this… this plague. We can't just keep watching it build and grow like this. We can't keep documenting it, or researching it. It needs to be stopped! Children are asking me when their parents are going to get better! Parents are asking about if their child will live! Their food supplies from the forest are being swallowed by this blackness, and they look to me to save them! I'm their queen, Gumball, and already I'm failing them." I ranted and raved as I paced back and forth in front of him and his desk, waving my sword around like a lunatic.
"Fi, you're not failing them. Calm down," Marshall said, like a mother cooing her overreacting child. He was leaning up against the glowing fire place, keeping himself warm from the outside cold.
"Shut up, Marshall. I'm perfectly calm. I'm so calm, that I'm going to calmly walk out this door and march my calm ass up that mountain," I spat at him, turning on my heel and stomping my way to the door.
He caught my arm and turned me towards him, holding me tightly in front of him, his eyes burning holes into my face. "Stop! I know you're upset, but please, think this out a little. You won't do anyone any good if you just barge your way into The Seeress's home demanding an explanation and getting your heart crushed before you can finish your words. If she's as powerful and as picky as everyone, including you, says she is, then wait until she tells you to go."
I wriggled out of his grasp and took a step back, eyeing them both. "You think I don't know that? You think that I'm just going to go in there expecting her to answer my every question? What do you take me for? An id—"
Gumball stood up abruptly, one fist clenched and laying on the desk, his head hanging down and his teeth barred. "Fionna, you know damn well that we don't think anything but the absolute highest of you. We know you're frustrated. We know you're angry. We know you want answers. But that does not give you the right to talk to us the way you are. We are your partners and we are here to help you, and reason with you, and keep you safe." His words slithered out tensely through his gritted teeth. The anger, the sheer venom in his voice stopped me dead in my tracks. I had never seen Gumball so… so angry before. Ever. I don't think I've ever actually seen him angry at all, except that one time in the caverns. This… this just wasn't like him.
I hung my head in shame, taking in deep breaths and calming myself down. "You're right. I'm sorry. I had no reason to speak to you guys like that. But that doesn't change my decision. You can either support it and come with me, or stay here and hope I don't get myself killed. Either way, I'm going to get answers."
Marshall floated up to me and caught me in a huge hug, burying his face in my loose hair. "Fionna, I will follow you anywhere and protect you from anything. Just, please, give it some time."
I pushed him off of me and shot my eyes to the ground, not wanting to see the hurt in his face. "We don't have time. We gave it all away, and now Aaa is suffering." They let the words sink in for a few moments, no one looking at each other as the air around us grew thick. "I'm going. Just… just know that I love you, both of you." I looked at them, Marshall holding his arm as he stared at the floor, Gumball leaning heavily on the desk, the frustration gone from his face.
They didn't say a word. They just looked away in shame, telling me all I needed to know about how they felt about my plan. I shook my head and headed out the doors, through the hall, and out of the palace, pulling my warm coat tightly around me. The snow and wind outside whistled and blew around me, blinding me and whipping my hair around.
Great. A blizzard. And a cold beginning to go with that cold end.
I trudged through the blinding snow for hours, wrapping the scarf Cake made for me tightly around my face to keep the cold from freezing my nose and lips. I was still angry about the two of them disagreeing with my plan, but I understood why. It was a desperate move for a desperate person. For the second time, I was seeking out The Seeress to save someone, and for the second time I left them behind because of it. But this time, I knew what I was doing.
It was no coincidence that she told me to return 2 year after I woke from the ice. This all happened so perfectly in sync that she had to know about it. And if she wanted me back when all this crap was happening, it was because she had something for me. At least, that's what I hoped…
I tried to push those thoughts away as I began to climb the mountain. There were nothing but black trees around, and as fierce as the snow storm was, not one of those eerie black trees had a speck of snow on them. It was like they had some sort of force field around them to keep them from getting damaged. And the whispering… it was light, subtle, but it was enough to drive a weaker person mad if they listened too long. I couldn't understand the words, but they felt wrong. They felt like they were trying to pull at my heart. Wait, were they getting louder?
"Fionna!" a voice called out from the blizzard. I looked around, panicking, trying to find the voice. "Fionna!" another voice called, this time closer to me. The whispers began to fade.
"I'm over here! Where are you?" I cried, searching the sea of white that surrounded me. A figure started to appear in the snow on the horizon. I sprinted to it, unsure if they could see me, too.
"Fionna?" one of the voices called. As I got closer, I recognized the voice. It was Gumball! So the other voice… that must have been Marshall!
I didn't answer them. Instead I crashed into them and brought their cold, half-frozen bodies into a big hug. "You guys came!" I cried, overwhelmed with relief and gratitude.
"We couldn't let you go alone again," Gumball said, holding me closer.
"Yeah, and besides, your dumb butt left with only a few hours of daylight. How could us gentlemen let a lady go into the night without being escorts?" Marshall mused, smiling as best he could in the snow. I hadn't noticed before, but it was darker than when I left. Did I really decide to make this trip at this time of day?
"Let's try to make camp. I brought with me an automatic tent that I designed myself. It's supposed to withstand even the deadliest of storms. Here, stand back," Gumball yelled to us, the wind picking up and making it hard for us to hear. Marshall and I took a few steps back, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny little capsule.
"Is that supposed to be our shelter?" I asked Marshall skeptically.
He just smiled down at me and said, "Hey, don't knock it. That guy has saved my butt more than once with his crazy inventions."
With that, Gumball threw the capsule onto the ground, and not even a second later, a massive, warm looking tent appeared between us. We all rushed to get inside, zipping up the door quickly so that the snow didn't follow us in.
The tent was, well, amazing. It came equipped with two king-sized air mattresses in the two rooms jutting off the center of the tent, and a tiny little travel-sized stove smack in the middle, with luxurious blankets and pillows strewn about. And, it was warm.
"Gumball… how did… how did you make this?" I asked in surprise, walking around and looking at all the wonderful amenities.
"Well, I certainly don't sit in my throne all day and mediate petty fights. In my free time, while you two are out doing your own things, I'm either baking or tinkering. This is where my tinkering got me." He smiled at us as we walked around the tent in wide-eyed wonderment.
"You're a genius, Bubba," Marshall said under his breath. I nodded at the statement in agreement, picking up one of the soft, warm blankets.
"Yes, well, we already knew that. Come on, let's get our clothes off and set them around the stove to dry. We'll just get sick if we sit here in cold, wet clothing." Gumball made a good point. We would be a sorry bunch of saps if we all caught colds on our way to The Seeress.
We all managed to get our clothes off, but with some difficulty. My boots and jeans were frozen together, Marshalls shirt froze to his neck, and Gumball wore too many layers to get them all off easily.
We were a mess, but I felt like we were a happy mess. A cold, wet, slightly frozen, happy mess. Well, happy for the time being, I suppose.