Gumball was pacing his bedchambers thoughtfully. He starred into space thinking miserably about Fionna. He had been awake since she had set off his small alarm at 3am, and by now it was almost 7. He would crash at some point during the day, but for now he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts, his mind half crazed with worry and questions. He had thought about Fionna non-stop for five years, the last two especially in particular. He really worried about what she was doing, if she was taking care of herself, if she was ok. He wanted her to come home so badly. She belonged here after all, didn't she? Wasn't this her home?
But he guessed it wasn't anymore. She hadn't returned in 2 whole years, and she hadn't even planned on saying hi. Did she really care that little for him now?
Gumball had always considered their friendship to be extremely strong, maybe even more than friendship. He knew he had always loved Fionna, but after she left and he realized how much her presence meant to him, he began to think about her much more often, and in a different light too. He missed her so much. He was constantly feeling distracted by her absence, and his mind was always drifting to her. He thought everyday about when she left.
"But where will you go?" He had said.
"Somewhere, anywhere, everywhere." She had said simply.
"But when will you come back?" He asked, her hand in his.
"Come back?" She had asked blankly.
"You…you weren't planning on coming back?" He asked quietly
All she had done was stare at him sadly, a guilty look in her face.
"But you will come back, wont you?" He asked again, a little desperation in his voice.
She had hugged him tightly, and he held her in his arms for what felt like a very long time before she pulled away, throwing her bag over her shoulder.
"I promise I'll visit." She said softly, and disappeared out the door. He had been the last person she said goodbye to. She had told Cake first, and then Marshal Lee. They had both taken it hard.
It was still hard for him to understand why she had left at all. Cake said Fionna had been moving towards it for a while, even before she announced her engagement with Mocro. It was really when Cake announced it that Fionna had really seemed to change. She became distant, not cold, but not as warm either. Cake knew Fionna would have been fine on her own in the tree house, and Fionna had agreed fully, and the wedding had been planed and proceeded. Fionna had been by Cake's side every moment, but all the while there had been that change…..that small part of her that was just off. And then the marriage, and Fionna was the maid of honor, and Gumball thought she had never looked more beautiful, but her eyes had been so sad. And the next day she told the three of them, and she left.
That was 5 years ago, when Fionna was 15 and Gumball was 20. Now Fionna was 20 and he was 25. It felt so strange to see her change so drastically over such long periods of time. The older she got, the younger he felt. Just last night, she had been so tall, so graceful and elegant in all her glory and adulthood. She showed the signs of growth and understanding, of new comprehension and intelligence. Her image would be frozen in his mind for at least three weeks, his memory observing every piece of her. She wore a thick cape, suggesting cold climates and a need to secrecy, and she had leather armor, so she was protecting herself more than she had before. Her hair was still long golden curls, impossible to contain within the hood. And her eyes, so large and blue, but so full of knowledge and worry, so full of everything wonderful and terrible.
A heavy thud came from his wall. He turned his head, his deeps thoughts interrupted. He stared at the place where the sound had come from.
He looked to his small alarm indicator, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. If a bird landed on the window sill, the light would beep mildly, something heavier and it would awake him with a soft hum and red light. Right now it was ticking away happily, not showing any signs of worry.
But the heavy thud came again, this time in the same place. Part of the wall actually shook, and dust fell from the shelves. Gumball walked over to the wall and placed his ear against it. He listened carefully. He couldn't hear a thing. He moved to the window and cautiously opened it, ignoring the small beep of the alarm. He stuck his head out and examined the surroundings. It was a bright day, and people were walking about in town. The palace gardens were in bloom, and no one was around.
"Figured you'd get curious." A voice came from behind Gumball. He spun around, only to find a sharp knife pointed in between his eyes. He looked up at the knife's owner.
It was a man, maybe younger than him, but very tall and strong. His hood covered his face, and Gumball could barely make out a mouth moving.
"Shut the window." He commanded. Gumball obeyed, his eyebrows furrowed in anger at this stranger.
"Good. Now turn off the alarm thing." He said, making a small motion with his other arm at the alarm indicator. Again, Gumball begrudgingly did so. He continued to look at the man, trying to make out his face, or even a hint of where he was from. But he was covering himself well.
"Who are you?" Gumball asked determinedly.
"That's something you don't need to know. Not yet anyways." The stranger replied, smiling a little at Gumball, which infuriated him further. Yet the man did not seem cruel, rather determined. Gumball felt as though he didn't necessarily have to worry about the knife actually piercing his skin, much like how Marshal Lee was constantly pestering him about the possibility of death even though he would never bite Gumball.
"Why are you here?" Gumball said sternly, trying to make eye contact with the figure, but he was still unable to.
"I saw her here last night. The girl. I know she was here." The man said. Gumball's insides froze. He immediately put on a blank face, and stared dumbly at the stranger.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Gumball said with what he hoped was a convincing voice.
"You're not a good liar." The man's voice suddenly became low and slightly menacing. "I need information you have. Now tell me about the girl." He continued.
Again, Gumball played dumb, looking at the stranger with confusion and anger, a fair mask for fear and worry.
"Do you mean my maid? I can assure you-
"Don't. Lie. To me. I don't like it when people lie." The man said sternly, and Gumball felt the icy tip of the dagger touch his skin. Gumball remained silent.
"I know she was here. It took me months to find her and I saw her come here. And judging by how you were looking at her when she disappeared again, you care about her. Is this correct?" The man asked in a calmer voice. If Gumball hadn't been furious and shocked by the extent of the stranger's knowledge, he would have noticed the man's voice was gentle.
"What exactly do you want?" Gumball asked through clenched teeth.
"I want to know where she is." The stranger replied. Gumball laughed coldly.
"And you think I do? You think anyone does?" He said bitterly. The man stood very still for a moment before speaking.
"But surely if you care so much for her you would know her whereabouts?" The stranger asked softly.
"You don't know anything. You have no idea who I am." Gumball replied stubbornly.
"Ha! You're even more clueless than I thought! I got past your little alarm, I snuck into your room, and I have you at knife point and you STILL refuse to accept that I have bettered you!" The stranger said, in a different voice now. It was more playful, and a bit triumphant. Gumball clenched his teeth harder, and balled his hands into fists.
"You listen-
"No. you listen to me," He began, cutting off Gumball. "I've been tracking her for over a year now, and I want to see her. Every single time I even get close to her she disappears like the wind. She never stays in the same place for more than a minute, but last night…..last night she came here. This was the one place I was able to see her at, and I almost had her. But then I saw you looking out the window, and I knew she was gone. And don't you DARE think I don't know anything about YOU, Prince Gumball of the Candy Kingdom, 25 years old, brainy but somewhat ignorant, and very, very distracted." He finished, pulling out a slip of paper and wagging it in Gumball's face. To the Prince's horror, it was Fionna's letter. His eyes widened before he could stop himself.
"And there it is. I can see it in you eyes. Your feelings for the girl. Any yet you still don't know where she is, or even the exact places she has been." As the stranger spoke, Gumball felt himself heating up, his anger boiling inside of him.
"Stop it! You have no idea what this has been like for me!" He shouted, feeling the metal brush his skin again warningly.
"Keep your voice down. And I know exactly what you've been feeling, because I've felt the same way. While you sit in your candy castle all day, I've been relentlessly tracking a person who I want to meet more than anything in the world, a person who simply comes to you while you do nothing. You may think you care about her, but you've done nothing. Now tell me. Who is she?" He asked seriously, moving even closer to Gumball, tucking the letter away in his cloak. Gumball watched it until it disappeared.
"I'll die before I let you touch her." Gumball said quietly. He felt the knife cut his skin as the stranger's arm flexed in agitation.
"Then you have chosen to be nothing but a coward. You-
He broke off suddenly, looking at the window. Gumball looked too, but he found himself being flung across the room before he could see what was happening. He heard a loud noise like flesh on wood, and looked up.
"Haha I broke your window Bubba-
Marshal Lee stopped at the sight of Gumball on the ground. Bewildered, Marshal came into the room, too quickly for Gumball to shout.

DADADAAAAA! can you POSSIBLY guess who the mysterious man iiiiissssss? ya i no its really obvious but come on i cant just bring him in without a little action. up next: first meeting