Finn had arrived at the entrance to Marceline's cave. It was damp and a heavy, musty odor pervaded the air. He brought his arms close to his body and shivered as a strong breeze made its gusty pass through the cavern. He saw a quaint little house on a land strip up ahead. The interior lights were glowing through the windows and faint sounds of electric bass chords could be heard resounding throughout the cave, echoing into the darkness. It was a sharp contrast to the howling of the wind ripping its way through the surrounding rocky structure, but one that Finn was glad to hear none the less.

Finn hoisted himself onto the pier connected to the land's edge and made strides toward the little abode. He stopped at the front door and wiped his shoes on the matting. Just as he raised his hand to knock on the door, the head pain shot back through him like the crack of a whip. He bent over a bit and clenched his teeth, aggressively rubbing his temples.

"Aggghhh! What the blizz!?" he loudly grunted in frustration. He began feeling slightly light-headed and could swear that his vision was blurring. The pain was much more keen than before. It eventually calmed as Finn grabbed a hold of the nearby porch railing to keep his balance. His legs felt a bit wobbly.

"-llo? Hello? Who's there!?" demanded a voice from inside the house.

The bass riffs had stopped. Finn realized that his little episode probably caused some undue ruckus and piped up "H-hey! Marceline! It's Finn."

"Finn? Huh? What the metz are you doing out there dude?" she called out.

"I was about to knock, but it didn't happen. 'Cause stuff and whatever. It's hard to explain look can I come in?" he blurted out embarrassedly.

The door swung open moments later to reveal Marceline, axe bass firmly gripped and ready to obliterate any unwanted visitors trying to pull a fast one. She eyed Finn up and down and relaxed her stance a bit.

"Dude, it's almost four in the morning. This is a weird time to fumble around on my porch, dontcha think?" she asked quizzically. "What's up?"

Finn regained his posture a bit and met Marceline's puzzled expression. She was slowly levitating in her doorway wearing a blue and black flannel shirt a size too big for her along with a pair of denim jeans worn and frayed at the knees. Her raven hair was tied back in a ponytail with a few wisps of her bangs hanging freely in her face.

"O-oh..well, I was having this dumb thing where I couldn't sleep. I came over to see if you wanted to hang since you don't sleep and all, ya know?" he explained.

"Uhhhhh-huh. I see." she said, leaning her bass against the house wall. "I'm down to hang with you and all that junk, Finn. Are you okay, though? You seem a bit...pale." The vampire wore a look of concern.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just having these weird headaches all of a sudden."

"Weird headaches?" she questioned.

"Yeah, it's like...a sharp pain in my brains and things go sorta bright. It sucks. Not sure what it is."

"Huh. Well, you'd better come on inside in any case. Kinda cold out there, aint it fleshy-boy?" she said with a smirk and sarcastically raised an eyebrow.

"Ha ha! Yeah. Colder than Grod on ice! Daaang!" Finn whooped. He let go of the railing and headed towards the doorway. The two high-fived and heartily laughed, clearly stoked to see one another. Marceline motioned for him to enter and closed the door behind him.

The house interior was surprisingly warm. There was a sofa adorned with a floral pattern up against the wall. Some potted plants were scattered about here and there. Musical equipment was carefully set up all around and Finn realized he totally waltzed into a jam session.

"What kind of songs are you working on tonight?"

"That's a tough question, kiddo. I don't even know."

She floated to the middle of the room and picked up her guitar pick she'd dropped before answering the door. Finn fiddled with a strange keyboard looking contraption. He absent-mindedly mashed a few keys and remarked "You gotta have some kind of idea. I mean, how are you feeling right now?"

Marceline scrunched her lips and gave it some thought.

"I guess I feel like...like..."

Finn stopped messing with the instrument and turned to the vampire queen.

"..."

"..."

"...like a jello mold that's trying to reflect light before it's stuck in a dark fridge, you know?"

Finn didn't know. He didn't know at all. He removed his hat and scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"Heh heh...no, Marcie. I don't think I do."

Marceline cocked her head to the side and grinned a very wide grin. She hovered over to Finn and ran her fingers through his thick blonde hair.

"I like your golden locks there, fleshy-boy" she teased. Finn blushed deeply and avoided eye contact. He fidgeted with his hat in his hands.

"I'm just messing with you, kid."

"Heh heh...yeah, I know..." Finn mumbled, pulling his hat back on with cheeks still fire-red. Marceline couldn't help but giggle at the little hero's bashfulness. So brave in battle yet still so typically shy around girls. It was cute.

Finn finished adjusting his hat and felt the heavy rumble start up in his guts again. "W-what the heck...is..." he stammered. This time it came on incredibly strong, so much so that his legs felt like rubber. Then, before he could even finish his statement, the sharp pain in his head tore through him like a bullet. He yelped and crumbled to his knees like a house of cards, his palms forcefully gripping his skull. The pain wasn't subsiding. He couldn't feel his legs at all anymore. All he could think about was the searing hell frying his brain right out of his head.

He tried screaming, but couldn't manage to force any wind out of his throat. He cracked an eye lid and tried to examine where he was. His vision was distorted to the point of a blurry void. He saw shadows dancing and darting across his view-scape. The colors of the room were warped. They were a mangled collage of muddy hues clinging to misshapen forms of what used to be the living room. A sharp whine rang out in his ears.

He tried looking up to see if Marceline was still there, but was met with a god damned nightmare. His eyes took in what could only be described as a looming reaper with an immense, terrorizing presence. The features were twisted and sinister, much like a demon engulfed in a cloak of hanging, rotten skin. It seemed to be trying to reach out to him...clawing and scraping to get at his body. Finn's entire mind swelled with horror in the wake of this unknown menace. Was he delusional? He had to be. Marceline was just right there in front of him tussling his hair. Snap back to reality, Finn. Come on, Finn. Stay calm and reel yourself out of this. You've got to get a hold of yourself.

"agh...AgGh...AGGHHHH!" Finn gurgled in a frenzy. He then screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Finn! Finn! Snap out of it!" Marceline exclaimed, gripping Finn's arm and pulling him in close to her. "Please, Finn! Try to relax! I want to help you but you have to relax!"

Finn shivered in agony. He tried with all his might to steady himself. He forced himself to take one deep breath after another, slowly relieving his convulsions. Breathe in...and breathe out. Yes, just like that. Don't even think about the pain. Just keep breathing.

The whining din in his ears began to die down and coherence was beginning to return. He kept breathing deeply and relaxed his grip. The sharp pain began to subside once more. Just keep breathing. Yes, just like that. Just keep breathing.

"M-m-mar...Marce-..." Finn struggled to speak.

"Finn!"

"He..help me up. Help me up, please."

She placed his arm around her neck and lifted him over onto the couch.