Well. I guess we shall move on with the story, huh?
So you guys (who actually read and review) got a taste of Marshall's past (which we will look deeper into in later chapters) and what happened during the Great Mushroom War that he could remember. Now what?
I'm still taking song ideas and headcannons. If you want to submit one, send me a PM or review and I'll put your name in the next chapter with either a headcannon caption or the song in the story.
Disclaimer: I will never own Adventure Time (I would love to work on the show though). :3
A deafening silence fell like a cloak over the four friends as Marshall trailed off, looking into his hands, a single tear sliding down his cheek but wasn't seen by the others. He, of course, didn't want to show them any kind of weakness and getting angry about Simone's leaving and emotional about his father was bad enough. Fionna was awkwardly shifting on the couch, her thoughts about her race's extinction not fully confirmed or explained. Although she was grateful towards Marshall Lee for telling her this personal information, he was there when the humans were being mutated by toxic waste or killed by the Lich Queen. It wasn't his fault though. He was young and only saw the actual blast, hearing stories of how the Lich and Becky emerged from the crater on the other side of the world. Cake suddenly felt guilty for asking Marshall to recall those painful events from his childhood. And Gumball, who was truly fascinated by the war, was surprised at all of the hatred that humans had for one another enough to provoke an all out war. A war that would last until the point of extinction.
Marshall knew that his story wasn't exactly clear on the death of humans but he told them all he could. He uncrossed his legs and floated up with a heavy sigh. Fionna glanced up at him and blue met red. She gave him a smile of thanks and reassurance and he returned it, his fangs gliding smoothly over his perfect smirk.
"Sorry it wasn't too clear," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "But it's hard to remember that much, y'know?"
"I bet," Cake said, her paws nervously fumbling over one another, trying to distract herself from the inevitable awkwardness of the situation.
"Humans," Marshall suddenly spat, his teeth baring dangerously. "I swear to Glob they're just stupid creatures that brought their extinction on themselves. All they knew was hate and death. Nothing more, nothing less." Gumball and Cake grimaced and looked at Fionna carefully, seeing how hurt she was by this statement. It took Marshall Lee a second to realize what he had just said in front of her and his eyes widened.
"Oh, no, Fionna!" he said, shaking his head. "I didn't mean you! In fact, you're one of the few good ones- ah! I mean, uh, you're better than any human I've ever met. In fact, I think you're lucky to be born in a world like this. You're the most kind and selfless person I've ever met." His words were honest and his face ached with an apology he was to arrogant to utter. It wasn't like he didn't want to apologize but Fionna knew a genuine "I'm sorry, Fionna" wasn't something to always expect from the Vampire King.
"Thank you, Marshall," Fionna said before Cake could open her mouth and ask for another explanation about the human race. "It gave me a lot to think about. I don't think I'll be having those nightmares anymore." Marshall was the only one who caught the emptiness of her last few words. He forced an approving nod and bid them goodbye before going off to sleep again.
Fionna, Cake, and Gumball made their way out of the vampire's home and walked back to the Tree Fort to have lunch. They didn't say anything to one another, trying to keep in their personal thoughts about Marshall's story. How he was surviver of such a terrible event was beyond them. It must have been so traumatizing to live in an era like that. Fionna then thought back at what he had said about humans. She wasn't offended by the accusation that humans were stupid or that they were the cause of their own demise. It still weighed in her chest that she was the last one in known existence. And it bothered her more than it used to. It was like their was a hole in her chest that she had to fulfill. She wanted to know the real answer to why the humans did go extinct. Obviously some survived since Fionna was born into the world. She didn't just appear out of thin air. That was impossible for her kind. She had to have parents; even siblings. They just weren't in Aaa or anywhere she's ever been. Not even on Mars.
They had to be somewhere. But even if her parents were dead, there had to be humans on this planet. There just had to be. After lunch, Gumball left the two girls to return to the Candy Kingdom. Cake told Fionna she was going over to Lord Monochromicorn's house to play dulcimer and would be back in two hours. So Fionna was left alone to ponder her situation as the last human in known existence. And, to no-one in particular, Fionna started to speak, mulling over her options.
"So... according to almost everyone in Aaa, I am the last human in this existence. How I came to be in this world of fantasy is unknown," she said, never speaking so seriously in her life. "All I can do now is hope that humans will return. And yet... Marshall Lee told me humans are ruthless and were the cause of their own undoing. But even he's still fuzzy on all of the facts. They did drop the bomb and destroyed everything around them. If they come back will they put an end to the land that I call home? What would become of me? Of my friends? Where would we go if the world were to be plunged into war once again? I can't even imagine my life without them."
Clouds began to form overhead and rain slowly dripped from the sky. Fionna paused her pacing and looked through the window, her eyes skimming her home. Her mind was reeling with conflicting emotions and her body felt ironically heavy with the empty feeling she held in her chest.
"Maybe humans were meant to die out," she told herself, trying to convince the room that everything happened for a reason. "But what would that mean for me? Am I really the last human standing? Is it okay not to have any humans in the world?"
No. It wasn't okay with her. There had to be some explanation to the extinction. Not just the war or the bomb. What caused them to mutate into the people of Aaa. And was Aaa the only landmass on Earth? Marshall had mentioned places like Greece, Northern Scandinavia, and Germany but Fionna had never heard of those kingdoms. Did they really exist in the world Simone used to inhabit? If humans were as great as she used to be and used to tell Marshall, didn't that mean she wasn't the only human like that? Fionna knew of Simone's history but not the full story... and she seemed like someone who would get along with Fionna in general. That means that Simone was a kind hearted human like Fionna.
And what of the hyoomans that lived underground in Beautopia with Samson Strong? They were the closest things to humans that Fionna had ever seen. Even those that resembled humans in Aaa were more mutated humanoids than pure-blood humans. Not only did humans die during the Mushroom War but were eaten too. By Monochromicorns and skeletons of the underworld that might have come up for food after the war and people like Peppermint Maid. They were consumed for their flesh and that could have been the initial destruction of humans...
An uproar of anger and resentment flood through Fionna's being as her fist clenched. She had to find out what happened to her species. The secret to their death that has been baffling everyone in Aaa. If she had to save or slay the humans left, so be it. As long as she finds out what happened to them. It was eating her inside out and an itching to find the truth drove her heroic blood wild, pumping with a lust for adventure.
With her amazing agility, Fionna leapt around the house, grabbing everything she could for her plan. From baggies full of food, to bottles of water, to the remaining pages of The Enchiridion that hadn't been torn apart from her last encounter with the Lich, two extra pairs of clothes, a hairbrush, the bag of little people she received mysteriously, the "like-like" sweater that Gumball had knitted for her, a fragment of the wizard cloak she still possessed, her recording tape and headphones, a book from Jay T. Dawgzone, and other things that she felt essential to her trip. She would take two swords with her. The Family Sword and her Golden Sword that had been out of use for years. It was almost symbolic to bring it since it was her very first official sword of adventure. She stuffed all she could in her Adventure Pack, making sure not to overpack so she wouldn't rise suspicion to Cake. This had to be a secret leaving that no-one could no about. Fionna had to go alone. This was personal and Fionna didn't want to endanger any of her friends. Even if that meant leaving them behind.
Fionna hid her pack behind a bunch of treasure in the front room and found herself getting the feeling she was being watched. She turned and saw BMO standing, staring at her with its digital eyes.
"Are you leaving, Fionna?" it asked her.
"No," Fionna lied hastily.
BMO narrowed its eyes accusingly and Fionna sighed, sinking into the pile of gold. "Yes I am, BMO. I'm sorry but I have to go."
"Why? Can you bring BMO so I may entertain you?" BMO said with a smile.
Fionna laughed a little. "Sorry, BMO. But you have to stay and take care of Cake for me while I'm gone."
"Will you come back?" BMO said.
Fionna didn't answer right away. She had no idea what this journey was going to bring her. She didn't know if she'll live or die on the way there, on the way back, or when she got to the location she was heading for. All Fionna did was pat the video game system on the head and whisper, "we'll see." BMO looked up at her sadly but Fionna went on.
"Just promise to keep it a secret until they notice I'm gone, okay?" Fionna said.
"I promise," BMO said heavily. "One last game before you go, though?"
The human grinned and took it upstairs to play a few rounds of Guardians of Sunshine. Cake arrived home a while later and Fionna pressed a finger to her lips at BMO, who was crying muted tears. She tenderly picked up BMO and hugged the electronic before Cake saw them sharing a strange but tender moment.
To Fionna's surprise, Cake made meatloaf that night. It was almost as if the feline knew that Fionna was leaving and was making her a meal to remember. It took all Fionna's strength not to say anything about her journey because she knew that either Cake would want to go or would try and prevent her from going. When Cake asked Fionna why she was so quiet, all the human did was smile serenely at Cake and spoke the only thing that came to her mind.
"I love you, Cake. You're the best sister anyone could ever ask for. I hope you know that," Fionna said.
Cake was very taken aback by this sudden show of affection but returned the smile nevertheless and gave Fionna a hug.
"You're the best too, Baby-cakes," Cake promised. "I love you too, girl. Together to the end, right?"
It nearly broke Fionna to hear that. "Yeah," she managed to choke before breaking the hug.
Going to bed that night was the hardest part for Fionna. Saying goodnight to Cake for the last time and feeling the warmth of her animal skin blankets on her body would be replaced with the cool air passing through her cocoon-like sleeping bag that she packed. When midnight hit, Fionna crept out of bed, dressed back into her day clothes and tucked her hair inside her hat. She packed her pajamas into her bag, still thinking how incredible that thing was to hold everything she had brought, and slowly opened the door into the partly cloudy, cold evening. In one hand, she held her Golden Sword and the Family Sword was slung on her back, tucked between her shirt and Adventure Pack. In the other hand was a holographic globe of the current state of the Earth. The one with the giant crater in the side.
Her feet made soft, squishing noises on the ground since it was still moist from the rain. Her blue eyes were set on her destination: the crater itself. Caused by the Mushroom Bomb, creating the Lich and Becky, and spreading a mutating plague across the world, killing humans off one by one. This was her greatest adventure yet...
"Fionna?" said a voice behind her.
She turned quickly and saw Marshall Lee floating a few feet away from her, his axe-guitar in his hands.
"Marshall?" Fionna said, getting a little irritated. Was he always going to get into her business.
"Where are you going?" he demanded, eyeing the swords.
"To find the truth," Fionna said simply.
He groaned. "Fionna, just because I told you about the humans doesn't mean I'm right."
"I know. That's why I'm going. I have to find out what happened."
"Are you a moron? You'll get killed."
"Says you! I'm the greatest Adventurer in all of Aaa!"
"Fionna, this isn't some dungeon that you can waltz into and defeat easy foes. This isn't a task Gumball has sent you on. This is the real world. A world that's been left for dead by everyone a long time ago. All it is out there is desert wasteland, crawling with radiation and certain death."
She had never seen him so serious in his life. His face was stonier than it got when she used to ask him about the war. He was looking her dead in the eye and had taken to grabbing her shoulders with his cool hands to try and shake some sense into her.
"As soon as you cross the borders, it's not going to be Aaa anymore," he said. "It's worse. Far worse."
"I know," she said again. "And I'm willing to take that risk. Marshall, this is something I need to do. Not just for me. But for all of mankind, for you, and Simone. You two deserve to be avenged, in a way. You as the last known survivors need to know the truth. You were lied to about the war and only know fragments of the truth." She cupped his face in her hands and closed her eyes. "I'll be back with answers. I promise this won't be the last time you'll see me."
"I hope not," he said gently with a fanged smile. "There's still so much we have to talk about."
"Then let's talk about it when I come back," she said, opening her eyes.
"Can I at least go with you?" he pressed.
"No, Marshall. I need to do this alone," she said.
They stayed like that for a few seconds until he brought her into a hug. The pranking, flirty, and "bad" Marshall Lee was gone and replaced by a tender, emotional one, longing for his friend to be okay through her journey. They broke the hug and dropped their arms. But before Marshall Lee could turn away and fly off, wishing her good and safe travels, Fionna grabbed his neck and planted a gentle kiss on his lips, which he returned after a few seconds. And after the kiss, Fionna punched him in the arm and turned away, walking down an unknown path to the most dangerous part of the world. Marshall watched her go with a grin, strumming his guitar and singing a familiar song.
"Good little girl," he sang, floating farther and farther away, letting smile fade and let himself watch her figure get smaller and smaller as he flew towards his previous destination. Then he closed his eyes, his smile returned. "Admit it, Fionna; you're in love with me." And with that, he took off towards his gig, still strumming a tune to Good Little Girl and then transitioning to his rap Bad Little Boy.
And on went Fionna, who soon stuck the Golden Sword in the hilt on her waist, running now to her destination. She knew it was going to be a long journey ahead of her but she had to get a head start before anyone tried to take her back home. She didn't look back. She couldn't. Shamelessly, she let tears flow down her face as she said goodbye to Cake. Goodbye to Gumball. Goodbye to Marshall Lee. To BMO, Flame Prince, Lord Monochromicorn, Ice Queen, LSP, Tree Stumps.
Goodbye to Aaa.
What will happen to Fionna? How will Cake take the impact of her sister's leaving? Stay tuned!
And I had to have some Fiolee in this. It's my AT OTP. (Adventure Time One True Pairing). It's mostly just that part and her thinking about him but you'll see what happens.
Please review! I really like it when people review my stories. It makes me feel like people are actually reading it.
Thanks for reading, though! See you next time.