Chapter XXXIV, Frost
To get out of the Ice Chambers, that would be a hard task. A challenging one even. It was good that the princess always enjoyed and loved those types of missions, as they challenged both her wits, her body, alongside with her intelligence. She enjoyed the last part the most, for obvious reasons. Marceline hardly cared for all of the above, she always enjoyed a couple of cheap thrills however, and when given the opportunity, she simply wouldn't miss a sneak mission like that. So they went off, slowly moving close to the wall, trying to hide from the sight of every pesky penguin that came into their way. And there were many of them, in every single place, on every single part of the furniture and in every single possible hole. Good thing that both the princess and the vampire knew they way around. After all, she was a creature of shadows, unmatched with her stealth skills. And the pink one? The pink one, while being bright as the morning light, had her share of sneaking out of the palace in her younger days, despite all the eyes fixated at her. One flex after another, one slide after yet another perfectly performed acrobatic move, and they were closer to their goal. What troubled them was the lack of the host, but that was a matter that will resolve itself sooner or later, one way or another. And just as they almost reached the doors, just as they almost could feel the wind outside, ice cold hands tapped them on their shoulders, as white fingernails driven deep inside their skin. It was the Queen, obviously, looking at them blankly. There was something odd about her, they simply could not comprehend what exactly.
"And where do you think you going young man?"
"Wha?"
"Yes, I'm talking to you!" She pointed at Marceline. "Don't you try to weasel out of this!"
She stared at the girls blankly, apparently hardly recognizing them. Her eyes were somewhat hazed, almost as if in her head, she tried to comprehend what's actually happening. Perhaps that was just the case, since when you're insane, things tend to look different. Things tend to go weird. That, and you tend to forget. The two just looked at each other in confusion.
"Walking out on me like that!" She tapped his foot. "And who's she? Another one of your girlfriends? Marshall, I'm getting tired of your nonsense! You know it's like another harpy that will tear your chest open and rip your heart out..." She pondered briefly. "...should you have beating heart in there to begin with. See where I'm going with this?"
She looked straight into the vampire's eyes. Just now, the pale one understood. It was all the same, just a different world, and while the person standing before him looked quite different, deep inside, she was still the same. She was like Simon, lost somewhere within her head, with the dire need to get out somehow. Unlike him however, she was more... vile and bitter.
"Now, I mean no disrespect!" She turned towards the princess. "I'm sure you're a fine lady, a fine, well mannered, well behaving lady, it's just that is getting out of hand really!" She shook her head, almost as if she was disappointed. "Which one are you anyhow? Sixth? Seventh? Something like that!"
She began to swirl around in a dramatic fashion. The penguins began to gather somewhere in the back, as they quite enjoyed her outbursts. Not much happened in those walls anyway, so they at least had some kind of show to participate into. The princess could swore that some of them even brought snacks with themselves. Wretched beings.
"And what's with that hair again Marshall? I swear to Glob..." She hid her face in the palm of her hand. "It's another one of your phases, is it? What's next, you'll go bald again? Or will you shave one side to show how much of a rebel you are?"
The faces she made were somewhat funny. Almost as if she was mad on a child that hardly understood the consequences of his action. Was the one in this world behaving in such childish matters that it was required? It was hard to tell. The vampire saw her flaws at times, but the one in this one seemed to take quite a different rout.
"It's still better than last time, I must say..." She sighted deeply. "At least I didn't caught you two on our sofa. Who was it, a water nymph of sorts? Yeah right. Nymph alright. I could find another word to describe her, quite similar actually."
The vampire thought about it. It would seem that her counterpart in this world was a bit more, how to put it, vigorous about some things. Well, she was at times as well, yes, but at least she was somewhat stable in her feelings. Somewhat.
"Besides I thought that right now you're swirling around that one with the white..."
"Um..." Marceline finally managed to say something, even if that something hardly classified as a word. She hardly enjoyed the notion that she will be defending this other self, since this so called Marshall should be the one that should do the talking. Then again, she never had this talk with Simon as well. "I'm old enough for my choices. And I know this time will be different."
"Heard that a couple of times you know."
Her face got sadder all of a sudden. Almost as if something stung right in her chest. Perhaps within the thoughts that swirled and drifted in her head full of nonsense, some memories bared more significance than the others. It was hard to tell with her however. Much like with Simon.
"I'm afraid to be alone, alright Marshall? When you'll be gone, who else will visit me? Who else will talk to me? Who else will..."
And just like that, her mood shifted once again, as a vague smile appeared on her face, while the haze disappeared from within her round, white eyes. It was painful to watch for the vampire, luckily for her, there was someone around her. Someone who held her hand tightly. She never thought about that. She never thought about the fact that someone will be supportive for her. Someone else than Simon back in the days that is.
"...at least I will have a lot of time for myself, right? Beauty sleeps and what not, looking like that takes quite the effort, did you know that? Ah-hahhah!"
She began to swirl around and dance to the music that was in her head. Marceline sighted, knowing that there's not much that she could do. At least the Queen hardly tried to attack them at this point, apparently forgetting why she dragged them into the palace in the first place. Right about now, she began to count down her fingers, to see if any of them is missing. The vampire pondered, whenever she was an intelligent sort like her friend, back in her word. Probably she was the same, before the thing on her head devoured what little sanity she had in the first place. She also began to wonder, what does exactly her lover think about this whole affair. She never asked her about those types of things. Perhaps, in the future, with her help and most importantly – with her brain, she'll be able to do something about her friend? Yes, that was something to consider. Not now however. Not now.
"We're going, alright?"
She said silently, as the Ice Queen looked at them, almost as if she longed something. There was a sign of a great struggle in her eyes, as she winked a couple of times. And then it all passed away, just like that, as it was replaced by yet another persona that sit in her head and just waited to emerge. Luckily for the girls, this one hardly wanted to keep them occupied, at least for now.
"Right, right, you kids have fun, yes!" She grinned once again with her pointy teeth, as they seemed to glitter in the light. "Just don't forget protection. Protection is the best for " She scratched her head. "Oh, did I embarrassed you in front of your damsel? Oh, don't listen to me too much, no, no, off you go now, enough of my rambling." She chuckled. "Rambling sounds almost like riding. I'm sure that's what you'll do right? Oh, I did it again, silly me. Ta-taa!"
Without thinking much, and those words could sum up her whole existence, she turned around on her feet and left the spot, singing something to herself happily, while the penguins followed her. Apparently it was feeding time, judging by the way they wobbled their short bodies. While the princess nodded in silence and left almost instantly, knowing that words won't bring much here, Marceline just looked after the icy being. She doubted that she will remember any part of their encounter. That, and she wasn't even the one she talked about, at least she wasn't last time she checked. Still, she was always full of compassion to the likes of her. She reminded her of Simon, and those weren't nice memories, that's for sure. In the end, she cut a flick of her hair, and left it on the table. She pondered whenever this act will mean something to the Queen, or was it just a sentimental act from her side, just to feel better about herself? No one could answer her, as this question echoed in her head. Hair will grow back in it's place. Shame it's always a different story when it comes to people.
###
Scorcher ventured forth in search for his prey. No one ever escaped his grasp, and he hardly planned to change this state any time soon, even if he had to visit each and every single plane of existence, even if he had to search for them for the whole eternity. No, he never gave up the scent of his victims. Like a deadly shadow, he traveled through endless space, searching for a hole in which the rabbits hid. His targets were here before, he could clearly feel their scent. He even managed to saw their silhouettes, like memories of the past still lingering in this place. Every attempt to touch them however, to catch them in his slim hands failed. He quickly realized that they were beyond this world. But, since they were just that, they had to emerge somewhere at some point. All he had to do was to wait for them in a perfect spot. Wait and do his bidding. Their goal was to find the master of this place? He figured he should do the same. Just faster. As he moved from one rock to another, he eventually reached a dead end. He pondered, as the red dots in his eyes began to swirl. Seeing as there was only one way to go, he jumped right into the endless, black void underneath him. He felt down, in a place so dark that one could barely see a thing. He was a creature of shadows and fire however, so it was hardly an issue. As he ignited his slim body, it wasn't long before a big blob of light found him, fixating it's beams over his frame. It was an enormous, glowing owl that flapped with it's huge wings right above him. Not the adversary he expected to encounter, that's for sure.
"You are trespassing here, hoo! Trespassing" It's eyes eliminated with bright light. "Who-hoo, are you?"
The celestial being looked closer at his slim figurine. It's glowing bulbs of light opened wider, as he came to a realization whom he's dealing with. It opened it's beak, to let out a screeching, terrifying noise. The assassin was hardly impressed, as it was more of a nuisance than anything else. After all, this bag of feathers was only yet another obstacle on his way. And he had a talent to erase those kind of obstacles.
"The killer! The blazing flame! The bounty hunter! Scorcher!" The bird shouted loudly, as it's voice trembled in the surrounding void.. "Hoo! We don't want you here! You have one chance to leave this place, w-hoo-se it wisely!"
He didn't moved an inch. That was easy to foresee, as he was always a stubborn individual, hardly ever retreating from a fight. And with an enemy like that, what could go wrong? All he had to do was to ignite it and let it burn, just like other feathered nuisances. Hardly a big deal. A big meal afterward if anything. Seeing as words hardly made him tremble, and that he was unable to reason with him, the owl fixated his light upon him once again, in an attempt to blind him. Meantime, Scorcher hands were set ablaze, as he readied himself.
"You should have stay dead in Ooo, hoo!" It clicked it's beak in a furious matter. "You shouldn't have show your face too me, you! Hoo!"
The hitman didn't hesitated anymore. He began to throw numerous fireballs straight into the animal, attempting to set the feathers ablaze, just like he planed. That proven to be futile however, as the bird resisted every single attack that came onto it, every single missile, every single spark of fire, simply covering itself with it's wings. It's skin simply glittered a bit more than before But, this assassin was one of those stubborn types, and that only encouraged him to unleash his full force, as the beams from his hands intensified even more so. Even that failed him however, as this time around, the bird hardly even cared about trying to cover, as it began to laugh straight into his face. This celestial being was simply harder to kill than he anticipated. That's alright however, he always tried to have at least one ace upon his sleeve. And this card had a simple name. Retreat.
"Ahoohoo! Not so brave now, hoo?" The swirled in the air, as it dived right after him. He was a hunter too after all, and it was like chasing a rodent. "Come here!"
But he was far ahead, circling around numerous flying rocks, passing by numerous holes, gliding through the empty space. Thoughts appeared in his head constantly. He was always like that – he thought about several possible solutions to a problem and then, then he decided which one is the most probable one. Trying every single one was out of the picture, as every mistake could end up badly. Errors were unacceptable. That's simply how his mind ticked. As he turned around to let out a single fireball, he saw that the bird was right behind him. Not good, he thought to himself, not good. As usual however, he refused to say a single word. Professional should act, not chitchat around with everyone lesser than him.
"Hoo-will come after your corpse, assassin? Hoo-will cry after the mighty Scorcher?" The owl spanned once again, as it began to mock him endlessly. "You don't speak because you refuse too, hoo? Or because you cannot, huh? Hoo!"
It's wings began to shine even brighter, as the bird started to shoot out it's feathers in the direction of his adversary. They were like sharp, glowing knives, and each one of them was aimed at him. He did his best to avoid them, bending, swirling and deflecting most of them, as he even managed to catch some of them within the dark mists. There were simply too many of them however, and he knew that this barrage has to end quickly, as one of them was able to reach his shoulder.
"Hoo! The end of mighty Scorcher, such a shame, such a shame! Hoo-miliating!"
The creature enjoyed toying with it's prey. That, and it loved the moments when it could show off it's powers, since it happened so rarely. With that notion in mind, the owl shattered into numerous tiny ones that swarmed the Scorcher like furious bees, biting his body everywhere they could, ripping out his bandages inch after inch. He tried to smash some of them within the grasp of his hands, while burning the others with his mighty flames, but there simply were too many for him to handle. He jumped down to lower levels of this abyss once again, as once more, an idea appeared in his head. The bird followed him there, forging itself once again into one single being that smashed onto the ground like a divine hammer.
"You obviously don't know what death in this abyss means, hoo!"
In it's final attack, the owl began to pour a beam of burning light out of it's mouth. Despite being a creature forged in fires, this was too much even for his likings. He tried to dodge it at first, but the bird simply smiled, as the beam intensified. Soon, the assassin was nowhere to be seen. The celestial being hardly needed any kind of proof. Dead is dead.
"Hoo. You blew it."
The owl stated one last time, and flew back towards it's home. The bird could not know, that the Scorcher was still alive, hidden right within it's shadow, in a form of a dark mist that simply floated around. Without a body, without a scent. A perfect disguise. A perfect contraption. He reached the outer realms, and eventually found himself at the very entrance to the Time Room. He parted from his gracious, unwilling host, as soon as this divine being flew right inside it's nest. Seeing as no one was around, he laid down and waited for the rift to open, enjoying the silence of this endless void. There was no scent of his prey around. That would only indicate that they haven't managed to reach this place. All for the better. Dead is dead? It's all a matter of perspective, he thought to himself.