Chapter 5

"MISS FRANCES!" yelled a snooty-patootie voice all of a sudden right in the middle of "Time is Running Out," forcing everyone to come to a sudden halt and turn around. At the door stood the tall rabbit with the fancy suit and monocle, looking extremely stern.

"Mr. Herriman!" Frankie gasped, putting down the guitar controller. "What's going on?"

"Is there any particular reason why you, er, 'kicked out' Master Blooregard just now?" Herriman asked. Behind his back, Bloo stuck his tongue out at Frankie.

Frankie glared down at Bloo and his taunting gesture. "'Cause we've got a guest, and we decided to let Bloo go because, let's face it, he sucks."

Herriman looked at Marceline, having finally just noticed her. "Oh! Another imaginary friend! Welcome to Foster's, Miss...er..."

"Marceline," said Marceline. "But I'm not an imag-"

"Has she been properly checked in yet?" Herriman asked, cutting over Marceline quite rudely.

"Checked in?" asked Frankie. "No. She's just a friend of Mac's."

"But she's obviously not human," said Herriman. "Look at how pale she is. Look at the sharpness of her teeth. If I'm not mistaken, she's a vampire imaginary friend. I can't imagine what sort of child would create a bloodsucking creature as a friend, but...oh goodness me, I just insulted our newest inhabitant! Please, Miss Marceline, accept my humblest apologies."

"Um...thanks?" Marceline asked, not sure what else to say.

Herriman took her by the hand and led her out the door. "Well, come on, we've got to get your paperwork in order, then!" He led her down the stairs to the lobby and almost took her through a door to one side when the Ice King barged in through the front door and spotted Marceline.

"Marcy!" he cried. "Oh, thank Glob you're here. I've been looking all over for you!"

"Ice King?" Marceline was confused. "How did you get here?"

"The same way you did," said the Ice King. "Through that closet-door portal. But we gotta hurry, Marcy. They're coming?"

"What?" Marceline asked. "Who? Please don't tell me-"

The Ice King nodded gravely. "'Fraid so, dear. All of them. Every. Single. One."

Marceline sank to the floor in shock. "Oh my Glob. This can't be happening. Not now." She took a breath to try and compose herself, then asked, "How far ahead of them were you?"

"About six hours, I think," said the Ice King. "Wait, how long have I been here again?"

"What in the name of sanity is happening here?" asked Herriman. "Wait, Miss Marceline, come back!" For Marceline had just started running back up the stairs, stopping in front of the same closet door where she'd emerged from Ooo to begin with. She opened the door with bated breath, only to find nothing inside but an ordinary closet. "Phew. All normal."

"I don't think so," said the Ice King. "They'll find a way, trust me."

"What's going on?" asked Mac, who had just come downstairs along with Frankie and Bloo to find out what was happening.

"We gotta block this door," said Marceline. "Immediately. Ice King, can you-"

"Can't do it, sweetheart," said the Ice King. "My powers don't work on this side of the door. Neither do yours, from the look of it. Look, you're not even floating anymore!"

Marceline tripped over herself in surprise as she realized that the Ice King had been right. She hadn't even noticed she was no longer hovering in the air the way she always did in Ooo.

"What's on the other side of this door?" Mac asked, turning the knob and looking inside at the closet. "Huh. Maybe if I tried it like this-" He turned the knob the other way, and instead of a closet, the door opened onto the vast, colorful plains on the edge of Ooo. "Whoa. What is this place? And who are all those guys marching over?"

"CLOSE IT!" Marceline screamed, tearing over to pull Mac's hand off the doorknob and slam the door shut. "We gotta keep those guys out. They're dangerous, don't you guys get it?"

"But why?" asked Frankie. "You're not doing a good job of explaining yourself here, Marceline."

"As a matter of fact, I would say you're not explaining yourself at all," said Herriman.

Marceline sighed and leaned against the door. "That's the land of Ooo on the other side. It's a magical place, but the whole place has been infected with-" She screamed as someone started pounding on the door from the other side.

"Infected with what?" asked Bloo. "Tell us already!"

Marceline sighed again. "Princess Bubblegum's Obsession Concoction," she said. "Now help me out here, guys! If they get in, they'll kill you all!" As if to prove her point, the tip of a sword suddenly penetrated the top part of the door, and stuck out half a foot into the hallway.