Chapter XXXV, To Get Out
Soon enough, they eventually came to the Candy Palace, after much aimless straying around. People gathered near the place for reasons unknown to them. Much to their amusement, they saw numerous characters they already knew, with their gender mixed up in a strange and silly way. Whenever it was Tree Trunks with a mustache or a female version of Jake, which was apparently a cat, it was quite fun to watch. A bit of refreshment after the everlasting scent of the deathless. Eventually, one of them came closer towards the two. It was the Lumpy Space Prince, who's only distinguish feature from his lady counterpart was something that looked like a beard glued over to his mouth. Knowing him, or her, that could be the case.
"Like, hello you two, like, hotness and all." He gazed at them in a rather playful matter. "I see, like, you dressed as the two royal dudes only if the royal dudes wore dresses, huh?" He coughed a couple of times, amused by this notion. "That's nice, original and nice, yes, but, like, you should dress up as the real man, if you wanted to have a nice disguise." He began to flex in a rather silly matter. "Like, there's not one more manly than me you see." Lumpy space tried to imitate a deep and soothing voice, which ended up sounding more like a squeal of a whale than anything. "While the two of them prance around in their silly fashion, I'm the one that takes care of various sorts of tasks, like, you know, saving the world and such. So, like, why dress up as some losers, when you can not only dress as the real deal, but like, hang out with the real deal."
"Well, not quite what we had in mind..."
"Yeah, we'd rather..."
But the Lumpy Prince obviously hardly listened to their words, since the most important being in this world, the one with the most charming, dulcet and seductive voice was him alone, therefore, when he wanted to talk, it was only natural for him that others shall listen to his words. One way or another.
"Rather what? Like, listen now." He chuckled at them. "So, let me tell you why you should be, like, interested in this bunch of fluff, aside from the other bunch of meat over there... like..."
He began to talk, and talk, and talk some more. Nonsenses about himself, about his being, about his birth rights, about the things he slain along on his adventures, about the girls he had and bruises he made. He got so excited during that time, that he hardly even noticed when the two slipped away. He just really, really liked the tone of his voice it would seem. Well, regardless of his gender, he was all the same as his female counterpart. For the better and for the worse. As the girls came inside, hardly noticed by anyone, Marceline went off somewhere, probably searching for her counterpart in this colorful crowd. She was always like that, yet, this was one of those times that the princess hardly wanted to be left by herself. She strove for some kind of company in this weird, strange world. As she stood there alone on the floor, a bone hand was placed over her shoulder. Once again huh? Well, it's not like she despised his company, his smile was somewhat soothing to her nerves. That, and whenever he was near, everything was a bit less complex, if only for a little while. Yet another party, yet another dance. Yeah, that was the thing she needed, that was the thing which should regain her senses, if only for a little bit. She needed Death, who would have thought. As she turned around, the grin on her face quickly faded however, since the one that she encountered wasn't quite whom she imagined it to be. The Lich looked at her with his glowing hollows, as his yellow teeth shined in his rotten mouth. No one seemed to notice him. Everyone just passed by, laughing and dancing in their own random and nonchalant fashion. She wanted to scream, however she was far too smart for that. She quickly realized that she was the only one that was capable of seeing his odd and twisted presence, and drawing attention to herself wasn't the brightest thing she could do.
"Together again, you and me, isn't that both thrilling and comforting, Bonnibel Bubblegum?" He smiled and she could swore that his horns grew larger and larger. "We're here for each other. We're here to complete one another. In yet another world. Another world to devour?"
Once again the visions clouded her mind. This time however, they were a bit different, more sophisticated perhaps? Aside from him, the ballroom was covered in light, blinding and intense, unlike anything she saw in her life. She could see the silhouettes of other guests and dancers, but much to her surprise, the only thing that stock out in each and every single one of them, was a beating heart, clearly visible throughout their frames. It both fascinated and scared her in a way, as their fragile little beings could easily be crushed by someone that would like to do such a thing. Namely – by the Lich. He was however occupied by her and her only, almost as if he played yet another game. No, not almost – that one thing was certain – she was in yet another one of his games, like a pawn that had to dance to the melodies that played around her.
"No one will save you now. No one. No one notices you, despite being in the crowd, Bonnibel Bubblegum. Isn't that the way that your whole life could be described?" His teeth once again glittered. "Isn't it that way, Bonnibel Bubblegum?"
His presence lingered further and further, as his rotten stench enclosed. It was unbearable, but she couldn't move away, clutched within his bone fingers.
"You have such astonishing features." He flicked her hair with his narrow and thin fingers. She could swore that the moment he did that, the colors began to fade within her. "Such a gift you are. Such a gift..." His grinning face came even closer. "I'm starting to like you, in a way, Bonnibel Bubblegum. Do you feel the same?"
But as soon as he wanted to drag her somewhere, as soon as he wanted once again to torture her body and mind, a pink hand emerged from within his chest and grabbed her hand. Soon enough, a whole being came from within the dead shade.
"You seem to be quite lost around here." A pink smile greeted her, as the reminiscence of the Lich faded away. The one before her caught her hands and pressed towards himself. "And dressed like me? That kind off compliments me, in a way you know? Let's go, little, fragile me."
And he took her to the dancing floor, as they mangled together in their little dance, like two pink moths, summoned by the light. Much to his surprise, she knew each and every step he took, each and every lead he picked, his every move, every breath. That both worried and thrilled him beyond recognition. Eventually, he had to ask, since much like the princess, he was a curious being.
"You seem to be lost in thoughts once again." He said as he chuckled a little bit. "Is that a feat of yours, to make journeys inside of your head back and forth?" He leaned closer. "I do doubt that you're thinking about me, or are you?"
"In a way, perhaps."
"In a way?" He raised his eyebrow curiously and smiled flirtatiously. "In what way?"
"If you're as smart as you claim to be, you should figure that out."
He looked at her once again. She was right – something about her presence was out of this world. Something about the way she looked, about the way she moved – that was far beyond simple coincidence, far beyond a simple dress up game. Yes, that had to be something beyond that, something more. And she, she was something more. But there was only one way to be certain, only one way to know one's true nature, beyond words and beyond the looks. So he once again leaned towards her, and as he grabbed her hair, as he mangled it around his fingers, and finally – as he smelled it a little bit, then and just then, he realized who he's dealing with, as he took a step back.
"You're... You're me." He let her go and looked at her from head to toes. "For some reason I should be surprised, but I'm not." He flicked his hand almost as if it was a natural course of action for him. Almost as if it was an every day activity, to meet himself, to talk with himself. "Not at all. I am curious however, curious why are you here, curious what are you doing here, curious about many other things."
"Think." She shrugged. "Why would you, travel in such far, yet close places, should you be in my place? You should realize that I hardly did that for fun."
And once again, he needed to use something beyond his intellect. He looked straight into her eyes, and tried to spot the difference that would lie within them. Something different than what he would usually see within the mirror. And he saw something alright. Some spark of unknown being, drifting through her pupils. A light that hardly could be considered as the one that brings hope. He was smart, obviously, and he could easily put two and two together.
"There's something inside you." He thought about what he just said "I mean, not in that way, Glob no. Just, inside your head."
"Yes." She smiled and nodded slightly. "That's correct."
"And because of that something you travel far. I see." He scratched his chin. "I guess I would do the same, should something like that lingered within me." The prince sighted loudly. "What's that anyways? Some kind of parasite? Some kind of evil doer?"
"Both would be correct, yes. He's far more than that however, far more I'm afraid."
"I see." He began to collect his thought in a more strict matter. "Well, we have to do something about it then."
They both agreed on the matter, as they began their more complex if a bit dull chat about the possibilities and their outcomes. In the meantime, her pale lover was quite occupied in less important things, as she finally found her male counterpart. It wasn't long before the two began to waste their time, setting up numerous pranks with a rather poor taste. When they saw Fionna however, they both agreed that this will be the one they will try to confuse the most.
"Hey babe." Marshall greeted her in his usual matter, bowing slightly. "Wanna see a magic trick?"
"Um..." She hesitated. Usually seeing him in this mood meant that something was about to happen, and it wasn't necessary a good thing, oh no. "Depends on the trick?"
He shrugged playfully, and before she knew it, disappeared underneath the table. Before she could think about why he did that, a figurine emerged and appeared right before him, that looked almost like him, but a tad different at the same time.
"Voila!" The vampire laughed. "You like this new me, or..."
She swiftly charged underneath the table once again, only to reappear as her 'former' self. The girl was quite confused, trying to grasp upon those weird changes, hardly noticing the fact that each and every single one of them required him, or her, to dive underneath the table.
"Maybe this one babe?"
He flicked her on the forehead, only to disappear once again. He liked to play with people, even if said plays were only used for the stupidest pranks possible.
"I like this one better on the other hand." She grinned at the heroine. "Just think about all the possibilities this new form adds..."
As Marceline laughed at the girl, whom was more and more confused, eventually the destroyer of all fun came from behind, in her usual pink dress. It didn't took long to gather what exactly was happening here, as she simply sighted and leaned towards her pale companion.
"Having fun, Marceline?"
"Oh, hey, hey there." She dragged Marshall from underneath the table. "Met me. You know, other me."
"Um." He looked at the princess from head to toes. "You sure are better looking than Gumball." He raised his eyebrow. "And how to put it... somehow more manly than him, but no offense! That's not an achievement."
"Charmed." She turned towards the female vampire. "We have to go."
"Already?" As she saw her lovers face, she knew that this wasn't the time for games. "Okay, okay."
As the girls reached the throne, the pink one nodded towards the prince. Their wordls may differ in a way, still, the citizens of candy kingdom were easily scared of things out of ordinary. And everyone knew what happened to them in that state. To avoid that, during their previous chat, Gumball decided to take the whole attention towards himself. Not that he minded that fact.
"A toast for our kingdom, a toast for everyone around!" He smiled and slightly gestured towards the two. "For it's prosperity, goodness and whatnot."
They just nodded and went in, as the worlds shifted once again right around them. It would seem that they were just on the spot however, as the time cubicle floated right before them, with it's narrow entrance indicating the end of their little venture.
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He closed his eyes, only to see the flames within his mind, the flames that covered his thoughts. Those, and numerous shades that came from within every hole, that came from within every narrow angle, every burning ditch, just to remind him who he is. Just to whisper his name to him. Scorcher. A name that finally made people tremble. A name that finally gave him the power he always strove for. A name that he always wanted. And as he walked towards the narrow paths made out of flame and shadows, he thought deeply. He always enjoyed to recall moments from his past, each and every single victim, the grimaces on their faces. There wasn't anything good within him. He liked to think, that there wasn't anything bad within him either, as he killed numerous villains as well. Everyone was the same, either way. A chamberlain that bit too much for him to chew, a knight that challenged one too many, a mother that hardly wanted to get rid of her unwanted child. A child that hardly wanted to let go. It's all the same. Flames turn everything to ashes, and everyone is equal in the end. From within the dust and smoke, a figurine appeared before him.
"Get away from me, vermin!" The man said, as his long beard began to... scorch. "Get away I tell you. No... no, no! I'll pay more, double, triple, just..."
And just like that, the man erupted into flames, only to disappear. A good memory, which almost made him chuckle, should he be capable of doing so. He liked to recall them. He liked to store those memories within his head, to remember each and every scream, curses, pleads. Every single one of them ended with death, but not his, obviously. And that would only indicate, that he was a fine craftsman, the one that never worries about getting his hands dirty, the one that lives for his job, as his job tends to die in his hands.
"Where... where are my men? You dealt with them? What..." A man in his thick armor pulled out his sword and pointed it right at his slim silhouette. "What kind of monstrosity are you. What kind of thing are you... get away from me... No, no!"
Obviously, the man that once encountered him, hardly realized that his shiny armor, when heated from each and every angle, hardly protected him from the damage. The memory of his burnt flesh still lingered somewhere within his nostrils. Did he even had one? That was a mystery only the Scorcher knew about.
"A scourge is what you are... a scourge and... no, don't touch my books, they're too valuable..." The old man began to run around from one spot to another, trying his best to put out the everlasting flames surrounding him. "No, don't burn them, no! No, leave them alone!"
This one was charming and appealing as well. Soothing even to the black thing that still somewhat pumped within his chest. But not all memories were as pleasing. Not all memories were as good. Some were... different.
"You... you are not you anymore." The girl turned her back to him. "Whatever was in that empty shell, whatever sympathy that empty shell had within it... all is gone. You can do whatever you want. You can burn things however you please. Some things won't bend however. No matter how much you'll lit them on fire." She suddenly turned around and grabbed his wrist as hard as she could. "So what are you waiting for, do it. Do it! That's the only thing you're capable of. Burn, leave a trail. Destroy, never fix."
This memory was somewhat touching. Perhaps because this one single person, this one being, was strong enough to act differently. She did something he hardly expected after all. She took it with dignity. There were no tears. No pleas. No begging. Were there more memories like that? Perhaps. But there was always one certain to recall. One certain when others failed to entertain him.
"Why would you do this..." The small, hunchbacked figurine said as she reached her hand for him. "Why would you ever do this to one of your own..." She almost touched his shoulder. "Heard they call you Scorcher now. You like that name?" She shook her head, disappointed. "That's not your name dear... Your name is..."
And just like that, she also disappeared in flames. Pleasing things, charming things. He enjoyed the share memories of them. He enjoyed their very notion. But all good things come to an end at times, as his deranged mind sensed someone near. As he opened his eyes, he saw the two figurines in the distance. The very same he waited for. The very same which were his prey.