Today well will be focusing on the lovely Marshall Lee and his struggle with Ice Queen and that whole ordeal. It's just he and Simone in the beginning and maybe some Marshall Lee and Gumball talk but it's mostly that. Possible Fionna and Charlie near the end. Sorry if this chapter seems a little short but... the plot isn't about Marshall as a whole.

And that Puhoy episode with the pillows and all... it was adorbs at first but then I laughed at Finn's cluelessness at the end. OMG what a mind scramble.

Still taking son requests. And please people, review! It means more than you think.

BY THE WAY:

For those of you who enjoy my writing, I might start posting my original story on a website called Wattpad. I'll post an announcement on an A/N in a while if I end up doing so. If I do, I would love it if you guys would look me up.

Name: ATHPluver (duh)

But keep an eye out until I decide. :)

Disclaimer: Pen Ward=Adventure Time. Me=Rabid Fan with hopes and dreams.

It was ten times colder in this room than usual. Even if he was wearing his red and grey sweater, he still felt the occasional chill run over his skin. Marshall Lee was sitting in Ice Queen's recliner as she read through some old journal entries. The picture of Simone and Bertram was hanging on the wall in a brand new frame that had been buffered and the glass clean without a chip in sight. Boxes upon boxes were stacked along the icy walls, full of Simone's old trinkets and other things that survived the war.

Ever since she received the picture from Fionna, Ice Queen was actually giving in to all of Marshall's advice, wanting to know what all of this meant. Who she was and why. Thoughts were buzzing in her head but were incredibly fuzzy and unclear. She just couldn't piece it all together and it was driving her insane. Marshall was strumming on his guitar, humming a song and nodding his head and wiggling one foot to the rhythm. He was letting Ice Queen try on her own for once and was happy to see her so involved with her past. At least they were actually getting somewhere. Marshall would even go so far to say that he was proud of her for taking matters into her own hands.

A surge of appreciation and affection for Fionna went through his body. How amazing it was for Fionna to actually send the photo to Ice Queen helped the cause and she didn't even know! Even thousands of miles away, Fionna was a hero.

He sighed and tuned his guitar, his heart feeling heavy as he dwelled upon his bunny-eared buddy. He shouldn't be thinking about her now. She was gone on her own adventure and wouldn't be back for months. For now, he just had to focus on Ice Queen and her troubles.

"How's it coming, Simone?" Marshall asked, glancing over at his frosty companion.

"Eh," she mumbled, her eyes squinting at a entry and scratching her tiara free head. "What's... uh... oh, never mind. I got it."

Marshall sniggered. She had been doing this all night long. Asking a question but suddenly understanding the meaning. Not only was it making progress but it amused Marshall Lee to no end. The old Simone used to do that all the time so it warmed his heart... well once beating heart, hearing her saying that. Gabrielle waddled in, making little shuffling noises with her flippers, peering over her master's shoulder at the old entries.

"Wank?" she quacked at Ice Queen.

"What is it, Gabrielle?" Ice Queen said distractedly. "Can't you see Mommy is busy?"

"That's another thing," Marshall Lee said, sitting up. "You used to call me Gabrielle when you put on the crown. Why?"

Ice Queen looked up at him and then her face changed to confusion. "I did?"

"Yeah... why was that?" he wondered.

"I dunno, Marshall," she said, shrugging.

His eyes widened. "Maybe you named your penguins that because you remembered me as a kid!"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," she said. He pointed to her and grinned.

"Again! You're talking like her again!" he said, getting excited. "And look at your hands!"

Ice Queen realized that her hands were raised as if she were about to adjust a pair of invisible glasses on her face. "Oh... I... I don't wear glasses though."

"You used to," he said. "Simone did." He spread his arms out wide with a source of childish excitement he never knew he had, as if he were about to embrace the room. "Simone, you're coming back!"

"Who-mone?" she said, her eyes blanking out.

"Nothing." He looked down at the floor, his hands dropping to his sides. "It's just... I'm proud of you."

"Thank you?" Ice Queen said, raising an eyebrow and burying her face back in her journal.

Marshall sighed and mentally slapped himself. He was getting excited over nothing. Little improvements like that were tearing him apart. She would be Simone and then completely forget what she had just said or done. And he would get so hopeful and then come crashing down. He loved Simone so much... how in the world could he not get excited about her coming back? She was like a mother to him and he had lost her. Now he was losing her all over again each and every time he came to call. And it pained him to the very core.

Still, the little sparks of hope kept him coming back. Ice Queen loved to company too so she was always happy to have him over. Even though she didn't usually remember why, she was glad someone at least cared about her. Ice Queen yawned and told Marshall he should head home. She wanted nothing more than to sleep. Marshall nodded, bid her goodbye, and slung his guitar over her shoulder before flying off. He reached his cave just as the sun was starting to peek over the hills of the grasslands.

In the mighty Candy Kingdom, Gumball was getting out of bed to address his citizens a good morning. He combed through his sticky hair and shaved off some stubble that was forcing its way onto his pink face. He tugged on his tunic and pulled on his pants before gently placing his crown atop his head. He smiled at his reflection with confidence before going out onto his balcony. He wasn't a fan of addressing the kingdom because he felt it was too traditional and old fashioned but he did so anyway to make the candy people happy.

He stepped out onto his balcony and felt a surge of affection for his citizens as they cheered for their king. Humbled by their praise, he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck a little, still getting used to the kingly lifestyle. He waved at them and said his good mornings before retreating back into his castle. Gumball replaced his kingly posture with a more casual one before telling Peppermint Maid that he was going out for a walk in the grasslands.

It was surprisingly easy to take a stroll without Ice Queen trying to capture him. He felt freer and silently thanked Marshall Lee for preoccupying the ice witch with other means. Not only did it distract her from kidnapping princes and, in Gumball's case, kings but it tired her out being up all night. Ice Queen wasn't complaining so it didn't bother anyone or made them feel bad about keeping her up until the late hours of the evening. Gumball passed by the treehouse and smiled serenely at it, his eyes glazing over a little, imagining a younger Fionna and Cake running around the trunk playing tag or watching the stars with he and Marshall atop their home. If he listened hard enough, he could almost hear Fionna's laughter coming from inside the tree and her little battle cries as she practiced knife throwing with Cake.

He missed her a lot. His friend and protector was gone and she didn't even say goodbye. At first, Gumball felt that it was selfish of her not to explain herself but after a few days of thinking it through, he realized what she was doing was something she had to do alone and didn't want to say goodbye because... well because it might have been the last thing she would have said to them if she never comes back. Gumball kept walking and he prayed to Glob that Fionna would return safely and that she would have found everything she was looking for.

After walking around a bit more, he came across a cliff where a burning house was standing tall and proud. Flame Prince was walking around it, adding some fire every few seconds, observing the effect. Gumball strode over to him and called his name.

"Good morning, Flame Prince," he said pleasantly.

The fiery boy looked over at the king and waved. "Hello, King Gumball."

"How have you been?" Gumball asked.

"I've been doing fine. How's Fionna?"

Oh, dear. Flame Prince hadn't heard yet?

"Uh... don't you know?" Gumball said nervously.

"Know what?" Flame Prince said.

"Fionna's not in Aaa anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Fionna's been gone for months. She left to go look for the humans."

Flame Prince looked stunned. "When did she leave?"

"Maybe about... five or some odd months ago. Hard to tell considering it feels like an eternity."

"Oh... will she come back?"

"Well I certainly hope so. Cake is tearing her fur out with nerves, I'm worried as heck about her-."

"And Marshall Lee?"

Gumball smiled. "He's more worried than me but I don't think he realizes it or wants to admit it." He sighed. "I guess it's good that you know now. Better late than never, hm?"

Flame Prince nodded. "She's tough. I know she'll be okay. When I dated her, her ideal date was a dungeon. Not my favorite kind of date but I learned a lot from her. She's got guts."

Gumball laughed. "She certainly does."

The two boys shared a smile before Gumball bid him goodbye. He started to walk away but Flame Prince called after him.

"Come by more often, Gumball," he said. "I've always enjoyed talking to you."

Gumball turned and waved. "I'd like that." He proceeded to walk away towards Marshall Lee's cave. He arrived at the mouth a few minutes later and heard Marshall riffing on his guitar inside. Gumball began to wonder how the vampire was able to get through days on end without sleeping. The king knocked on the red door and the music stopped. Marshall opened the door and raised his eyebrows as he saw Gumball standing at his threshold. Marshall stepped aside and let his friend in.

"What's up, Bubba?" Marshall said, shutting the door behind them.

"I was wondering how you were doing."

"You know, just because we're trying to 'rekindle' our friendship doesn't mean you have to be on constant Marshall watch."

"I know," Gumball said. "But I think we need to work on our friendship a little more."

"You've done more than enough, Bro. I mean, staying up every other day with me, Cake, and Ice Queen is pretty radical. I appreciate the whole 'I actually care for you' thing but you have to understand-."

"Marshall, I know you're not as happy as you seem."

The vampire stared at the piece of candy, looking bewildered. Then he started laughing.

"Whaaat? You're kidding right?" he said, grinning. "Of course I'm happy. Spending time with my buds is great."

"I'm talking about Fionna's leaving."

"Well, no-one is happy about that," Marshall pointed out, floating on his back and looking uninterested. "Not you, me, Cake, and even Simone is happy about Fionna leaving Aaa in pursuit of finding the humans."

"Are you afraid?"

"Me? Afraid? Don't make me laugh." Marshall turned on his stomach and rested his head between his hands. He hissed at Gumball and his eyes turned demonic and red. "I'm the son of a demon and the Vampire King. Who's afraid now, Benson?"

"You are. You're afraid that Fionna will come back with a human boy and want to be with him instead of you," Gumball said, making Marshall's evil face fade. "You're in love with Fionna-"

"Shut up."

"-and you really don't want her to find humans-"

"Shut up!"

"-because when she comes back empty handed-"

"Knock it off!"

"-she'll turn to you to console her-"

"I'm warning you."

"-but you feel guilty."

"Why in Glob's name do I feel guilty?"

"Because you want Fionna to be happy even if it's not with you," Gumball said. "But you want her to be with you but you don't want her to be sad about it."

Marshall stared at Gumball, his mouth parted slightly so his fangs showed. He itched the bite mark on his neck and mumbled something about "crossing the line". But Gumball had him pegged. He read Marshall like one of his Chemistry books and it suddenly felt like the two boys were back to the way they were before they started fighting. When they could understand each others innermost thoughts and feelings even if they didn't talk about it. Marshall stopped floating and he sat on his couch, running a hand through his hair.

"How in... how do you do that?" Marshall asked, grinning a little.

"Practice," Gumball said, sitting beside him. "Look, it's not your fault you feel like this. But you're aware of it and that's what is important. Just focus on Simone and getting her memory back. And when Fionna comes home-"

"If she comes home," Marshall muttered.

"No- when she comes home," Gumball assured with a smile, "I'm sure you two can talk it all out."

Marshall grinned again and slugged his buddy in the shoulder. "Geez, that speech was so good I'm so close to admitting how smart you are."

"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take that as a compliment or..."

"It's a good thing but it'll never happen."

Gumball laughed. "Let's hope not because that will be the end of days."

Marshall leaned back in his seat and sighed. "I just hope she's doing okay..."

About ten miles away in a multi-story treehouse, Cake was wandering around her home, looking for something to do. To keep herself occupied and her mind off of her little sister, the feline was trying to collect things again. Her old eyepatch collection was no longer mint after Fionna and Cake's little encounter with the Jiggler so Cake couldn't start that up again without thinking about Fionna. BMO waddled in and sat on the floor.

"Cake, do you want to build a pillow fort?" BMO asked.

"Uh... no thanks, BMO," Cake said.

"I do not think Fionna would want you to mope anymore," it pointed out. "Did she not say that in her letter?"

"Yeah but-."

"Then you should listen to Fionna. Be happy, Cake!" BMO started to play little beeping music, making Cake nod her head to the beat. The cat started to smile as she started to get into the music. BMO turned up the volume and Cake began to dance.

"Aw, BMO! That's not fair," Cake said with a grin. "You know I like your remixes."

"Dance, Cake!" the computer cried, running circles around her friend. "Let the music take you in and fly!"

Cake laughed and picked up the electronic. "You're something else. Thanks, BMO."

Even though everything was different without Fionna, her friends were slowly returning to themselves. Cake knew that everyone was preparing themselves for Fionna's return and they all hoped to welcome her home with big smiles and better lives. Cake smiled out the window, thinking about her sister in a new light. BMO was right, Fionna wouldn't like Cake moping about; especially after she had sent her a letter telling her to get out of her slump. And now the feline was happily thinking about Fionna and anxiously awaiting her return.

Fionna was hunched over, her shoulder shaking, and stifled noises coming from the back of her throat. Charlie was on the ground, eyes wide open with a surprised look on his face, his green orbs sparkling in the rising sun's rays. Fionna titled her head back and started to laugh, falling over and clutching her stomach. The British boy blinked and started to grin after realizing what had just happened. Adam was hovering overhead, apologizing profusely to his traveling companion.

"Oh my Glob!" Fionna cried, tears falling from her eyes. "That was hilarious!"

They had been traveling down a rather windy road and Adam was flying a little ahead of them. Fionna and Charlie had been whispering about something involving the map when a particularly strong wind blew Adam backwards. The bird had squawked and slammed into the boy, sending him toppling over. It had all happened so fast and Fionna was left standing with the map in her arms, registering the event. Then they had started to laugh.

"Again, Sir, I do apologize for that," Adam said, struggling against the current of the wind.

"Ah, don't worry about it, mate," Charlie said with a breathless smile, sitting up and watching Fionna laugh and roll on the ground, her fist pounding into the dirt. "Besides, she's laughing so it's a good thing right?"

"Can you do that again?" Fionna giggled, lying on her back, arms eagle-spread and a grin splayed across her dust covered face. "Oh man, that made my life!"

Charlie got to his feet and he helped the sniggering Fionna up off the ground. Adam suggested he fly behind them, not wanting to bump into Charlie again. So the bird gave directions from behind, Fionna still giggling like mad, and Charlie shaking his head, grinning.

Kind of a weird chapter. I know. Sorry it was really short but my brain has been on another planet two universes away so... yeah. Sorry again.

But I'm glad I pushed through this chapter so I can move on with more Fionna and Charlie. I just felt like Marshall and Gumball and Cake could have gotten a little more attention. BMO too. Tell me what you thought!

And, as always:

See you next time!