Well everyone, we have come so far in this wonderful and heart filled adventure, and as much as it pains me, this story has only one more chapter after this. But don't worry, in my last message I said that I'd still be writing, I've found that this is a great hobby, I love to write fan fictions! Probably because I don't really want to be an actual writer because I don't think I'd be a very good one, but hey we all have our limits and have to draw the line somewhere. Like I said, leave stuff for me to write in the reviews, and I'll think about all I want to write. However, lately I've been wanting to do other things, so writing stories and crap isn't going to be frequent, but don't worry, it will be very obvious when I'm done writing. Remember, M rated is still something I'm thinking about, so try to keep the suggestions within a good boundary. Do not want my friends finding some kind of smut fan fiction on my account and reading it, which would be very awkward. Enough of me wasting your time. Here it is, chapter 7 of Simon's Journey
Chapter 7: The Nightosphere
Simon walked into the living room with Marceline in his arms. He set her down and wiped her tears away as she pocketed the photo that he gave her. Simon reached into his pocket and pulled out the little slip he found. He unfolded it and began to read it.
Step 1: Draw a smiley face on a flat area
Simon took a pencil from his pocket and drew a smiley face on the wall. He tried to make the face as perfect as possible, so that nothing would go wrong.
Step 2: Douse the face in bug milk
"Ah, dang it!" Simon yelled in frustration, where in the world was he going to find bug milk. Simon thought for a moment. Then he went to the kitchen as Marceline followed him. He stopped in front of the dead refrigerator. If Marceline's mother knew how to make a portal, she surely had to have had some bug milk. He looked towards Marceline.
"Well, nothing says that the milk has to be fresh," he said
"Eww, this is going to be disgusting," Marceline said with a disgusted face.
With a deep breath Simon opened the refrigerator. Even holding his breath wasn't enough. The putrid odor of the fridge was awful. Almost a year had gone since the thing had turned off and the food and produce in there had gone so rotten, the mutants would be disgusted. Simon quickly searched for the milk, trying his best not to touch any of the moldy food. As he found the milk he shut the door and froze the whole thing solid.
"I think I felt something move in there!" Simon said repulsed
He went back into the living room and fully opened the carton of rancid milk and flung the stuff all over the face. At first it smelled horrible, but then the face absorbed the rancid chunks and began to glow an eerie light. Simon then looked at the final step.
Step 3: Speak this incantation "Meloso vobiscum et cum spiritum"
Simon looked at Marceline, and she looked back with a worried expression. Simon turned to the face and began to say the incantation.
"Meloso vobis-" and then mutant hands smashed through the windows of the house, as their mutilated faces regurgitated acid, eating away at the house. They had broken the dome and were piling on each other, causing the house to rumble and shake. Simon tried to fend them off but the acid was melting the ice faster than he could produce it. He decided it was time for close range combat. He forged a battle-axe of permafrost and used icy winds for speed in his strikes. He sliced and cut through the mutants, but they just kept coming and coming.
"Marceline! You have to say the incantation, hurry!" He yelled
He looked at her, and there she was frozen in fear, trying to form the words, but was too afraid to do anything but hold Hambo close. Simon pushed away several mutants with a blast of wind, then tried to go back to Marcy but more mutants stood in his path.
"MARCELINE! You need to focus, I can't do everything, you need to help me! You can't be the frightened little girl for your whole life! You have to strategize! Think! Even the littlest of people can make a difference! All you have to do is TRY!"
Marceline opened her eyes; she didn't look scared, now she had an expression showing the slightest hint of rage. Then her eyes glowed a dark red, and Simon swore he could see a ferocity that was nothing like his little Marcy. Then she changed. Her hands grew into razor sharp claws, her fangs grew exponentially, and her eyes literally burned with fire. With a demonic scream she lunged at the mutants with great speed and power. Simon could do nothing but watch as the little girl he knew… went on a murderous rampage. She conjured fire and blasted the mutants to ash, slashed the mutants into pieces, and completely slaughtered them one by one. Time slowed as Simon watched Marcy's onslaught. Where did this rage come from? Where did this power come from?! What happened to the sweet little girl that wouldn't hurt a fly? Then Simon thought. She's a half demon, of course she'd have some kind of powers, but never would he imagine that it would look like this… this… thing. Then like that, it was over. There stood Marceline, over the lifeless bodies of the mutants. She was breathing heavily, almost animalistic. She turned to Simon, and the fire in her eyes went away. Her claws disappeared and her fangs went back to their petite size. Then she stumbled towards him, exhausted, and he caught her as she fell. She looked at him with sleepy eyes.
"Simon…" she mumbled, "I'm glad you're safe,"
"Likewise sweetheart," he said smiling
Simon then finished the incantation, and a crack appeared that seemed to be a rip through in the fabric of dimensions itself. He carried Marceline through the portal into a large foyer, completely empty other than the columns supporting the ceiling, and the Victorian style furniture here and there. The portal behind them closed shut as Simon looked at Marcy. Marceline inhaled a large breath and her eyes shot open.
"Hey Simon, I can walk now. Suddenly I feel great! I feel full of energy!" she said as she wriggled from his arms.
This place apparently has the power to rejuvenate a demons power. The entire place seemed to be consisted of a red marble-like substance. Simon turned and looked outside through the large windows and saw a valley of fire and mountains, with demons crawling all over the place.
"Marceline? Have you been here before?" Simon asked
"Yeah, Mom said I was born here, I've been here before, but never outside the palace. Mom didn't want me to go there, and Dad didn't really have much of a say in it, he could never win an argument against her," she said
Simon took a look around and saw a photo hanging from the wall. There in the photo was Marceline, her mother, and a man- no not a man, for this man had grey-blue skin, long pointed ears, yellow eyes with red slit pupils, and close cropped midnight black hair.
"Marceline? Is that you?" said a voice.
At the top of the foyer stairs was the very man in the photo, dressed in an ink black suit. Marcy's father, Hunson Abadeer.
"DADDY!" Marceline cried running towards the man.
She tackled him and hugged him fiercely as the man laughed with joy.
"Oh my baby girl, I've been so worried!" he said
Then Abadeer turned towards Simon and looked at him with a blank expression.
"Hello Mr. Petrikov," he said
All Simon could do was glare at him, feeling nothing but a burning rage inside.
"Hey sweetie," Hunson said, "Why don't you go upstairs and play in your room for a bit, Simon and I need to talk."
"But Dad, I just got here, I want to be with you!" she whined.
"I promise that we'll spend time together soon, but daddy has to talk with Simon for a moment, Okay?"
Marceline frowned, "Okay," then she ran up the stairs.
Simon removed his crown, but his beard and nose didn't shrink back all the way.
'Now that she's safe, I can continue what I started," the crown whispered, "the clock is ticking, Simon, tick tock, tick tock."
Simon walked up to Hunson Abadeer, the rage curdling inside.
"I suppose I should explain," Hunson began, "You see-"
But he was cut off as Simon punched him across the face with every ounce of strength he had. Abadeer fell to the floor and as he was about to get up Simon grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up.
"Where were you?" he said as his eyes looked into Abadeer's very being, "Where were you to protect her?! She was all alone in a desolate world with no one to take care of her! I was the only one there for her and I didn't even know how to save myself from this accursed crown!"
Simon punched him again "Where!" punch "Were!" punch "YOU!"
Simon looked at Abadeer full of nothing but hatred and rage. After the constant pounding he received Abadeer looked at Simon with an expression of regret and sorrow. Simon saw this and was taken aback.
"Go ahead," he said, "Keep hitting me. I deserve it. What kind of father am I? I say that I love her, but would a loving father leave his only daughter in a world full of nothing but destruction and chaos. If you want to know why I couldn't be there for her, I'll tell you, but first you have to let me go."
Simon felt such conviction and strength in Abadeer's words. He could feel the guilt and sorrow he was feeling, because Simon knew exactly how he felt. He let go of him and let him regain his composure.
"As you already know, no one can enter the Nightosphere without using a portal, of course there's a portal to the human world for those who come here, it's just upstairs in my private quarters," he explained, "But for those of us without human blood or ancestry, we cannot leave unless a portal is made from the mortal plane. Demons, such as I, can only enter your world if a person makes a portal from your world. That's how I was always able to visit Marceline, and the only person who knew how to make the portal was-" Abadeer seemed to have trouble forming the words, "was Marceline's mother."
Simon could feel the pain that Abadeer was feeling. He lost the woman he loved because he wasn't there to protect her, now all he had left was his daughter. Simon looked at Hunson, and began to pity the man, he may not be human, but in Simon's eyes, he was just like any other person when it comes to family.
Then Simon felt a sharp pain in his head, like knives were digging into the core of mind. Soon he was forgetting things, all of the memories of his life. His job, his studies, all his former friends were suddenly leaving his mind, he felt them disappearing, but desperately he tried to cling to the ones he cared about the most. The hardships on his journey, the happiness he shared with others, especially the happiness he shared with Marcy and… Betty.
"No! The crown is taking my memories," Simon thought, "I can feel them fading into nothing; I'm even having trouble remembering my own name!"
Once it was over, Simon could feel some of his memories were gone, leaving nothing but the faintest hint that they were ever there.
"I don't have much time left," he said, "Please, just give me enough time to say goodbye to Marcy, that's all I ask of you."
Abadeer smiled at this, "And what exactly made you think I wouldn't let you say goodbye?"
Simon smiled at this, "Thank you," Hunson smiled back and extended his hand to shake Simon's. "No, thank you Simon Petrikov, for bringing back my daughter, her bedrooms the third door on the right." Simon shook his hand and proceeded upstairs. Once he found the bedroom he knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Marceline cried.
Simon walked in and saw her on her bed playing with Hambo. Marceline's room was so different from the rest of the castle. It was just like a little girls bedroom, toys scattered across the floor, redish pink wallpaper, and a pink bedspread.
"Hey Simon," she said smiling.
"Hey sweetheart," Simon said, forcing a smile. His stomach twisted and churned, this was going to be the most difficult moment in his life.
"So are you done talking with my dad? What were you guys talking about anyway?" she asked
"Oh nothing, he just wanted to ask me a few questions," he lied, "do you mind if I sit with you?"
"Of course not, have a seat," she said patting the spot on the bed next to her.
Simon sat down and let out a deep breath. He was gathering his thoughts which were scrambled all around his head.
"Is something wrong Simon?"
"No, I'm just thinking," he said trying not to sound miserable, "Marceline, I never did tell you, who Betty was, do you still want to know?"
Marceline nodded and looked at Simon with full attention.
"Betty was my fiancée," Simon began, "We were going to get married one day and we were as happy as we could be. I loved her more than anything and she loved me just the same," Simon was starting to choke up, "But one day, that all changed. It was the day I found the crown." Marceline's eyes widened at this. "The day I found the crown, it was the day I started changing, and the day that Betty left me in fear of what I was becoming. I was depressed, scared, and most of all, lost. I was lost for so long, so very, very long. But that all changed that day. The day I met you Marcy. You helped me become better, happier, and you always made me smile. Thank you Marceline."
And with that Marceline hugged him, and started crying, "I know why you're saying all this Simon, and I don't want you to leave! I don't want you to go; I don't know what I'll do! Please Simon! Don't leave me!"
Simon held her close, "I can't do that darling. It's too dangerous for me to be here. If I could stay here I would do it in a heartbeat, but I just can't! Marcy look at me," Marceline looked up at him with teary eyes, "if I could be with you forever believe me I would, but I have to leave you, I'm sorry. But promise me you'll be strong, every time you think of me, don't cry, instead I want you to smile that smile that's as bright as a thousand suns."
Marceline's lip quivered, "I promise Simon!"
"Don't worry sweetheart, I promise we'll see each other again, someday, but for now, just know this. I will always love you; through time and space I will love you no matter what,"
"I love you too, Simon,"
Together they sat there holding each other. Once it was time to go, Marceline and Simon held hands all the way to the portal with Hunson standing next to it. Simon knelt down in front of Marceline and pulled a photo from his pocket and gave it to her. There in the photo was Simon and Marceline smiling, captured in time at a moment of pure happiness. Marceline hugged him one last time.
"I love you Simon"
"I love you too Marceline"
As Simon walked to the portal he shook hands with Abadeer and smiled, but before he stepped through, he looked back at Marceline. Marcy looked back and smiled through her tears, and Simon couldn't help but smile back as tears began to well in his eyes. Then Simon turned and began his trip to the mortal world.