Fionna—is a 13-year-old adventurer and Cake's adoptive sister. While usually appearing as black dots, her eyes are seen as blue when enlarged. She wears a rabbit-themed hat (similar to Finn's bear-themed hat) with exposed locks of blonde hair. Unlike Finn, her neck is shown. Her outfit includes a teal blue shirt with elbow-length sleeves, a dark blue skirt, and knee-high socks with two thin horizontal stripes at the top. Fionna is heavier set than. She has a green backpack (similar to Finn's) and Mary Jane shoes. Her name was officially changed from "Fiona" to "Fionna," presumably to make it more similar to Finn's name. The pronunciation, however, has remained unchanged. Like Finn and his crush on Princess Bubblegum, it is revealed in many portraits posted that Fionna has a crush on Prince Gumball. Fionna has buck teeth like a rabbit. Fionna, like Finn, is Cake's adoptive sister.
Cake—Fionna's best friend/adoptive sister and Mo-Chro's girlfriend. She doesn't look much like Jake aside from their body proportions. She has white eyes in which the black pupils become circular if surprised, excited, shocked, or scared. She has a cat muzzle and a small nose (compared to Jake's), cat ears, white fur with many coffee colored spots, and a large bushy tail. Cake may know Morse code in order to speak to Lord Monochromicorn, similar to how Jake knows Korean in order to speak to Lady Rainicorn. Cake plays a hammered dulcimer, as opposed to a viola. Her tail "frizzes out" if it is agitated or worried. As a Lumpy Space 'cat', she is a light color of maroon with large spots of fuchsia to match her coffee-colored spots. Her tail is now lumpy and more beaver-tail-like.
Prince Gumball: An 18-year-old gum/human hybrid and Fionna's crush. He is the prince of the Candy Kingdom. Prince Gumball has the same color scheme as his female counterpart. He has pink skin and his hair is somewhat in a quiff. His head is adorned with a small golden crown with a blue jewel. He wears a hot pink shirt with orange-pink puffed sleeves with magenta stripes and under-sleeves (accompanied by dark-pink sleeve cuffs), a large matching collar with a small blue jewel inside a gold crest on it. He has a belt with another gold crest and a small blue jewel design on the buckle, purple striped dark-pink trousers, and dark-purple shoes. Unlike his female counterpart, he also has visible pink eyebrows. Also, when his eyes, enlarge, they are purple. Kind of like how when Fionna's eyes enlarge they look exactly the same, only hers are blue. He also has ears, unlike his female counterpart. His loyal companion is Lord Monochromicorn.
Marshal Lee—is a counterpart of Marceline. He has the same abilities as Marceline. Marshall Lee has pointy ears and light blue skin. His hair is shorter than Marceline's but he has a matching permanent bite mark. He initially wore a grey plaid shirt, but now wears a red and black plaid shirt. He also wears dark blue jeans, and brownish-white sneakers. His outfits differ in the episodes, though, like Prince Gumball. Though Marceline has circle-shaped eyes, his eyes are rectangular. Unlike Marceline's forked, snake-like tongue, Marshall Lee's tongue is rounded. Marshall Lee is a wild rock star. Centuries of wandering the Land of Aaa have made him a fearless daredevil. He and Marceline both have regular electric bass guitars.
BEEMA—it isn't necessarily gender-swapped. I mean, can you really tell if it's a boy or a girl? :P
Portal Lady-A character that steals people's belongings to teach them a lesson. She has the ability to appear and disappear in a swirl of purple color. She looks similar to Ki, with the same skin color, tubby cheeks, and red cap on her head, but taller and with more muscle mass. Her legs are triple-jointed, and she has long, gangly arms. She wears a small red bodysuit and a red cap, above which hovers an orb of purple color. She wears a large knapsack and a purple pendant necklace. She doesn't speak, but rather, she makes strange noises that are beyond comprehension.
WHAT WAS MISSING?
Title Card
Fionna and Cake stumble through the abyss of portals, screaming in fright and anger.
"Cupcake?"
Fionna cupped her hands around her mouth to throw her voice. She heard the clock ticking, the hum of the refrigerator, and the one crack of a nearby floorboard. But the voice of her older, adoptive sister did not answer.
"Beema? You here?"
The video game console's electronic voice did not reply, either.
Fionna carefully crept over to the sofa, stood up on its soft cushions, and lifted up the merman painting above it on the wall. She found her searched-for item: a wad of mushy, pink bubblegum, which was actually Prince Gumball's hair. She had kept the wad ever since he gave it to her in her search of hair for the Bush Wizard. Secretly, of course. Glob knows what would happen if Cake or Beema found out.
She sat back down behind the sofa, her back against it, running a finger over the gum wad. Sticky but smooth, sugary-smelling. Just like him. She sighed, and held the wad close to her heart.
"WHAT CHA DOING, GIRL?"
Fionna shrieked and almost dropped the wad of gum, fumbling with it with her hands. She span around, and sure enough, Cake was standing over her, slightly enlarged and smiling. Beema sat next to her on the sofa's back. "Cupcake!" A pink blush bloomed on her skin.
"Don't worry, sis," Cake hurtled over the sofa back as Beema plopped down next to Fionna. "We won't tell anyone about the love-time you spend with PG's hair. Right, Beema?"
"Yes, Cake," Beema nodded. "We won't tell anyone about how Fionna speaks of her emotions to the piece of Prince Gumball's hair when she believes we are not hiding and listening."
Fionna's chin plopped onto her chest as she twisted the hair wad in her fingers. "You guys do that?"
"We are you're family!" Cake scolded, then smiled. "Which is why I'm gonna share my beloved keepsake...with YOU!"
Cake stretched over the sofa to one particularly large root in the floor, in which was a large nook-like hole. She reached in side and produced what looked like an old stuffed rabbit. It was a heavily faded pink color, covered in multiple, pathetic stitches. What looked like a black eye-patch was sewn onto the right side of its face.
Fionna said nothing. "Wuzzat."
"This is my-"
Cake cut off as a loud sound filled the room. It sounded very much like a mix or whirring, churning, and wavering sound-waves. A ball of purple light suddenly appeared, bright and swirling. The ball of light suddenly exploded and took the form of an odd, female creature. She stood four heads over Fionna, with pale yellow skin, chubby cheeks, and thin, gangly arms and triple-jointed long legs. A small, patchy red bodysuit covered her torso. A small red cap was on her head, above which was a small orb of purple light similar to the one that had just appeared. A large, canary yellow knapsack was slung on her back, and a purple pendant necklace hung around her thin neck. She smiled at them all. "#^$(&$~" she said. "^(#$^T !"
Fionna, Cake, and Beema jumped high in the air. "Who are you?" Fionna demanded.
The woman jumped three feet into the air and landed in front of Cake. She ripped the stuffed rabbit from Cake's paws and pushed the feline to the floor.
Cake looked up at Fionna with pleading eyes. "I got decked, Fifi."
Fionna glared at the woman and clenched her fist. The hair wad mushed in her grip. "Miss, you and I are throwin' dukes."
The woman looked up at Fionna and smiled. She frog-hopped over Cake's body and snatched the wad of gum-hair out of Fionna's fingers.
Fionna gasped. "My gum-lock!"
The woman looked over at Beema, and then at the joystick plugged into her. She ripped it out of the plug-in. Beema reached out for it with small arms, wailing "Nooo!" as 'D8' flashed on her screen, showing pathetic distress.
The woman threw her purple pendant across the room, and another ball of purple power appeared on the where it landed, little shafts of sunlight streaking out from its matter. The woman saluted to them like a soldier before hopping into it. Her form disappeared with a pop.
"C'mon!" Fionna waved a hand to her sister and computer console, hurtled over the sofa, and darted for the orb of purple light. Cake quickly lifted Beema up from its feet, carrying it on her back piggyback-style, and dashed after her sister.
When Fionna jumped into the 'portal', it actually didn't feel as weird as she expected. It felt like she had jumped through an inch-thick wall of water and reappeared on the other side. When she looked around, she saw that they had landed on one of the many rolling hills surrounding their Treehouse. A little cream-puff girl was playing with a blond-haired doll cheerily. The portal-controlling woman dashed by her, snatching the doll from her hands, causing the little girl to flinch.
Fionna ran past her, proclaiming, "I'll get your girl back, doll!"
The portal woman stopped in her tracks and turned to face them, a dopey smile on her face. Was she surrendering? Fionna guessed so and exclaimed, "Stay where you are, Crazy-Legs!"
"#^(%&#" the portal woman simply said, and took off her pendant (which had reappeared) and tossed it into the air, ten feet above. Another purple orb appeared there, and she jumped straight up, vanishing into it.
Fionna and Cake gawked.
"Who do you think her personal trainer is?" Cake whispered, almost dropping Beema
The three of them jumped into the portal.
When they reappeared, Fionna recognized the graham cracker floors, fondue wall trimmings and sugary-sweet aroma. They were somewhere inside the Candy Castle. But when she looked around, Fionna couldn't find the portal woman.
Suddenly, from an open door to Fionna's right, the portal woman dashed out, her pendant in hand. Something else was in her hands, too, but they couldn't see it before she stuffed it into her knapsack. Prince Gumball ran after her, in a Heliotrope-and-Fandango hoodie, Hot Magenta T-shirt, Fandango jeans, and Amaranth pink boots. "Get back here, ya stealing wingnut!"
Before he could catch her, the portal woman threw her pendant across the room and jumped into the portal that appeared.
Prince Gumball let out an infuriated growl. "YOU BOOB!"
"C'mon, Gumball," Fionna told him as she ran past him, pumping her fists as she did so. Cake, still carrying Beema, quickly followed.
"Fionna?" inquired the prince. But he quickly dashed after them, nonetheless.
"Let's all get 'er!" yelled Fionna as she was sucked into the portal.
They reappeared in a room with blood red walls, a pitch black carpet floor, two leather couches, an old jukebox, a small TV and pictures on the wall. Fionna recognized it as Marshall Lee's house by those familiar pieces and, of course, the fact that Marshall Lee himself was in the room.
In a button-up red shirt, long-sleeved white undershirt, high-waisted blue jeans, and brown boots, Marshall Lee was swinging his Morning Star guitar at the portal woman infuriatingly, growling in rage when the woman dodged again and again. In between two vicious dodges, the portal woman flung her pendant down to the floor.
Another orb appeared, sunlight filtering through it. It hit Marshall Lee's skin, and he immediately cowered away, his skin red and boiled where the sunlight touched it, hissing in pain.
Fionna instantly fell on her knees next to him. "Marshall Lee! Are you OK?"
"I'm fine," Marshall Lee grunted. His boils and red patches were already beginning to disappear. "What a boob..."
"Don't worry, we'll get her," Fionna said before she jumped into the portal after the portal woman.
They landed somewhere icy cold and sunny. The ground was blanketed in thick snow, and flecks of ice drifted through the air. Fionna instantly shivered and squeezed her eyes tight. When she reopened them, she saw they they were in a mountain-like area. She wasn't sure if they were in the Ice Kingdom or not. She saw the portal woman running through the thick snow on her long legs, and ran after her. A shivering Cake a chilled Prince Gumball, and an unaffected Beema followed her. Marshall Lee appeared out of the portal a few seconds later, in a large straw hat and gardening gloves to protect himself from the sun, his guitar in hand.
They ran after the portal woman for a while, both their and the woman's feet sinking in the snow, slowing them down equally. The woman took the pendant off of her neck and threw it in front of her. A purple portal appeared at once, and she threw herself into it.
Oddly, though, instead of disappearing, the orb remained there. Thick, square shapes protruded from it, clambering and squeezing into one another until they begin to take a shape. The shape grew and grew, brown and black until it finally finished.
A twelve-foot-tall, five-foot-wide crate stood in front of them now. Thick black chains wrapped around it, meeting in a thick black lock. The wooden pattern of the crate looked very much like small faces. Fionna grabbed at the chains and pulled, but it was as if they were fused to the wood. As she growled in annoyance, glowing gold letters appeared at the top of the crate. Fionna read them out loud.
This portal shall act to no command, save for a tune by a...genuine band.
"What is this clipper clap?" Fionna threw her arms into the air.
"It's a portal of a Portal Lady, Fionna," Prince Gumball wheezed when he caught up. He gripped his shoulders, obviously affected by the chilly weather. "We used to just lock them up, but they kept escaping. Because they're Portal Ladies."
Marshall Lee scoffed and leaned on his guitar. "They broke out because you didn't kill them."
Prince Gumball huffed and glared at the vampire king.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Fionna waved her arms to catch their attention. She pointed at the wooden crate. "That hag is in there. So we gotta put our heads together and get inside. So we can get our ha...stuff back." She coughed in embarrassment and smiled at them. "So what did she steal from you guys?"
Prince Gumball and Marshall Lee stared at her for a long moment, like deer caught in headlights. Marshall Lee's eyes darted immensely to the left, picking at the strings of his guitar as he made an "uhhh" sound. At the same time, Prince Gumball gripped his elbows tightly. "I...can't say I recall..." he muttered.
"I ain't ashamed," Cake shrugged and smiled at Fionna. "Alls she got from me was old Count Bumberbatch. From my kitty days."
Marshall Lee made a "ohhh" sound and Prince Gumball sighed. "I'm so sorry, Cake..."
Cake sighed and nodded, turning around in the snow to pace. "Sure, it's irreplaceable and has a ton of sentimental value-"
"Cupcake..." Fionna began. She was currently pulling her yellow sweater over her head to protect her from the cold.
"-But whatevs!" Cake smiled like a Cheshire cat and did a little cheery gig. "Fionna's thing is WAAAAY more embarrassing!" Fionna blanched in horror.
Before Cake could reveal 'Fionna's thing', Marshall Lee scoffed and said, "It doesn't matter what got stolen."
Prince Gumball nodded and smiled. "Agreed. Retrieving our junk with all expedience is what's vital." He leaned forward to the two girls, whispering behind his hand and giving Marshall Lee a skunk-eye. "So I can get away from the Train-Wreck King as soon as possible."
Marshall Lee's vampire ears must have heard the prince's whisper, because he gave Prince Gumball a very nasty glare.
"Alright, then!" announced Fionna. The last thing they needed right now was a fist fight. She reached into her backpack and pulled out two blankets, one brown and one gray, and handed them to Prince Gumball and Cake. Marshall Lee was obviously unaffected by the icy surroundings. "Let's music this crate open!"
"I got this!" Cake put a paw in the air excitedly. Her eyes were sparkling and her tail was trembling. Quickly, she reached behind Fionna into the green backpack and produced her hammered dulcimer. She set it down in the snow, tied her blanket under her chin, and gripped the hammers, counting under her breath before starting.
Lovely, melodic tunes emitted from the plucked strings, mixing in with the snow that fell. Fionna let this go on for a while before she began to clap her hands with the rhythm, nodding her head to the beat.
Prince Gumball had an amused smile on his lips as he shook his head at the girls. Marshall Lee bit his lip to keep down a laugh as he said, "I don't think it's working, girls." He flew over to them and pointed at the wood of the crate, more specifically one of the many '-_-' faces on it. "I don't think the crate likes it."
Fionna stopped clapping and Cake stopped plucking at the dulcimer. Fionna frowned and asked, "What are we doing wrong?"
Marshall Lee leaned back in midair and pointed up at the golden scrawl on the wood. "The crate says it'll open for a genuine band. Claps and a toy harp won't work."
Cake loudly gasped in offense of her dulcimer being called a 'toy harp' and opened her mouth to retort. Instead, Fionna pulled Cake back and said, "No, Cupcake. He's right. We're gonna have to quintet this crate if we want our stuff back. There is no 'I' in band. Apparently."
Cake raised a paw in the air, to which Fionna nodded. "Can I be the brainy snoot in the band? Because that's an important part of a band's success." She said this with a slight accent and raised nose.
Marshall Lee floated higher into the air, adjusting the strings of his guitar. "I'll be the leader."
At this, Prince Gumball took a hand out of his gray blanket and tried to say, "Perhaps I-"
Marshall Lee completely ignored him and smirked down at the two sisters. "I know how to get this door open." He began to pick at his guitar in deep, soft notes. "We're gonna lay down a chill jam..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Fionna nodded so much and so fast it's a surprise her head didn't pop off.
Marshall Lee waved a hand at her in a silent 'calm down'. "Just keep it cool." He smirked down at Prince Gumball. "Understand, your royal highness?"
Prince Gumball grumbled at the sarcastic tone in the vampire king's voice, but stooped down and picked Beema from the snowy ground. He took off the plastic face off of the computer console (Beema's screen gave off a pixelized blush) and sat down on a large stone behind him. He began to pick and press Beema's inside cords and switches. Electronic blips, beeps, and whirs came out in a nice rhythm. Beema giggled.
"Let us see if we can maintain our raw talent," drawled Cake. She waved one of her hammers around like a teacher's wand.
Fionna quickly reached into her backpack and took out her cordless, battery-running microphone. She began to beat-box in a fitting beat.
Marshall Lee, continuously playing his guitar, drifted higher and higher into the air. He began to sing in a slow, soft tune.
"La da da da da,
I'm gonna bury you in the ground,
La da da da da,
I'm gonna bury you with my sound,
I'm gonna drink the red from your little pink face,
I'm gonna..."
Before Marshall Lee could finish his line, Prince Gumball sharply looked up from Beema and sternly said, "Marshall Lee, that's rather dismal for a song."
Marshall Lee gave Prince Gumball a look icier than the snow around them. Flashing sharp fangs, he asked, "You don't like that?" Then, with his forked tongue darting between his teeth, he hissed, "Or do you just not like me?"
Before anyone could react, Marshall Lee did a midair back-flip and landed on top of the crate, his heels on the edge of the wood. The beat of his previous song got slightly faster and lower. He gave Prince Gumball a nasty smile as he began a new song.
"Sorry I don't treat you like you're a god
Is that what you want me to do?
Sorry I don't treat you like you're perfect
Like all your little loyal subjects do."
Marshall Lee lazily walked across the edge of the crate with his eyes closed.
"Sorry I'm not made of sugar
And I'm not sweet enough for you.
Is that why you always avoid me?
Because I'm such an inconvenience to you?"
Marshall Lee opened one eye to look at Prince Gumball. The royal's pink eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was in a deep, open-mouthed frown. Just the kind of reaction Marshall Lee wanted. He smirked, floated down in front of the crate, and quickly continued to the chorus, arching his back.
"Well
I'm just your problem
I'm just your problem
It's like I'm not
Even a person, am I?
I'm just your problem"
As Marshall Lee continued, Prince Gumball grumbled under his breath. All Fionna heard was 'sounds horrible.'
"Well
I-I-I-I-I-I-I shouldn't have to justify what I do
I-I-I-I-I-I-I shouldn't have to prove anything to you"
Fionna tore her eyes away from Marshall Lee to the crate behind him and jumped high. She gave Prince Gumball a big smile and exclaimed, "It's working! Look at the door!" Sure enough, all of the faces that had previously been '-_-' were now '0o0', with big smiles. Their open mouths were letting out beams of bright white light.
"I'm sorry that I exist,
I forgot what landed me on your blacklist.
But I-I-I-I-I-I-I shouldn't have to be the one who makes friends with you,
So"
The faces' smiles got wider and wider, until they resembled '0O0'
"Why do I want to?
Why do I want to...?
Uh..."
Marshall Lee's continuous guitar-playing suddenly halted down to occasional strumming. The smiles went from '0O0' to '0.0', as if confused.
"To...
Bury you in the ground
And drink the blood from your-
Ugh..."
The faces finally went back to '-_-'
Marshall Lee, frustrated and annoyed, looked down at Prince Gumball. Prince Gumball's lips were closed in a straight line, but his eyebrows were raised.
"STOP STARING AT ME!" Marshall Lee suddenly shouted at him angrily. He let out a very loud growl and hissed, "You threw me off!"
"Don't stop now!" Fionna quickly leaped to her feet, clapping to bring attention to herself. "The door was responding to our music!" She whirled around to face Cake. "I wonder what it liked? Or what was missing?"
"I can answer that question, Fionna," said Cake, in the same snooty, accented voice as before. She picked up her dulcimer and held her head high. "What is absent from this quintet. Talent."
She began to stride away, only to stop beside Marshall Lee and whisper through the corner of her mouth. "Marshall Lee, can I borrow some clothes from your house?"
"What?!" Marshall Lee cried loudly.
"It's for the band!" insisted Cake.
"Ugh...Fine..."
"Good day, accomplices." Cake stuck her nose back into the air and strode back into the portal back to Marshall Lee's house.
Marshall Lee sighed and turned to look at Fionna. "I liked her more when she was scared of me."
Fionna watched as Cake disappeared into the purple portal. She paused, then swung her backpack off of her shoulders. She reached inside and began to dig through its contents. "Maybe to be a genuine band, we have to be nicer to each other and hang out as buds." She took out a bag of frozen Cavatappi noodles from her backpack, well-preserved from the icy environment. "Pasta break!"
Marshall Lee and Prince Gumball stared for a moment before exchanging a look and looking back.
"C'mon~! It'll help."
Marshall Lee stood and began to float in the direction of the exiting portal. Fionna reached out a desperate hand. "No! Don't go!"
Marshall Lee gave Fionna an amused smirk. "I'm just getting something to cook that."
Fionna, who was having great difficulty gnawing on a rock-hard Cavatappi noodle, stopped and spat it out into the snow. "Oh...OK..."
Marshall Lee chuckled and vanished into the portal.
Prince Gumball made sure he was gone before he turned and smiled at Fionna. "That was nice, what you said about 'being buds.'"
Fionna smiled at him, too embarrassed to respond. She looked over her shoulder at the crate and quickly did a double-take. The straight lines of the multiple faces' mouths seemed to be curled up into small smirks.
Just as she was about to point this out to Prince Gumball, Marshall Lee reappeared from the portal with an electric, water-filled cooking pot in hand. Fionna looked back at the crate.
The faces' smirks had returned to straight lines.
Marshall Lee set the cooking pot down and waved Beema over. "C'mere, babe." Beema obediently waddled over and let out a gasp of surprise when Marshall Lee plugged the cooking pot's cord into its plug-in. Beema closed its screen and drifted off into a nap.
Marshall Lee looked up at the sky. The sun had vanished from the sky, leaving a cloudless, indigo blanket in its wake. He took off his straw hat, running a hand through his hair.
Fionna watched as the water began to heat up on the cooking pad and began to hum.
"Pasta
Water
Getting
Hotter
A song about pasta?" She proposed to the two.
Marshall Lee paused in adjusting the heat of the cooking pot, as if evaluating, then shrugged and smirked. "Maybe."
At the same time, Prince Gumball said, "I like it."
Fionna smiled and handed over the bag of noodles to Marshall Lee, singing softly whilst developing the lyrics in the process.
"Everybody eat
noo-dles
Everybody draw
noo-dles"
Marshall Lee laughed out loud as he stirred the noodles in the pot.
Fionna set her elbows on her knees and cupped her face in her hands. "You know...I like this. This is really fun...I like it..." A light-bulb almost visibly appeared over her head, and she gasped. "A song about not having an idea for a song?"
Immediately: "NO!"
Fionna made a sort of squeaking sound. Marshall Lee and Prince Gumball laughed heartily, their laughs coming out in puffs of white air.
Finally, Prince Gumball ceased his laughter and sighed. "For our next attempt, I want to be the lead." Marshall Lee's amused smile was replaced by an annoyed glare faster than the speed of light.
Fionna nodded. "Cool."
Approaching footsteps, crunching in the thick snow, caught their attention and they looked at the direction of the portal. Cake was standing there, looking very different from her usual self. She had stretched up to a woman's average height, and had molded her body to fit a woman's average size as well. She had pulled on a maroon sweater vest with a gold-and-blue argyle pattern. A pair of round black reading glasses was pressed to her face. Her tail had been groomed to perfection. She held her head high.
"Cupcake, you're back!" exclaimed Fionna with a smile.
Cake sniffed, "I returned for the music."
"OK. Gumball's leader of the band this time."
Prince Gumball nodded in pride and explained his plan. "I've constructed a mathematically perfect band construct."
Beside him, Marshall Lee made a loud 'psh' sound. Prince Gumball shot him a glare. Marshall Lee flicked his tongue at him in response. Eventually, Prince Gumball just rolled his eyes and began to explain further. "I know many musical facts and figures. For strings, you divide into halves, thirds, quarters, fifths..."
Fionna's head jumped up as she let out a small exclamation of surprise. She had been nodding off in the middle of Prince Gumball's explanation without even realizing it. As to not offend him, she smiled and said, "Sounds good."
And so, after they ate the momentarily forgotten pasta, they went to work.
Prince Gumball began to twiddle with Beema's controls once more. Soft thrumming emitted from it. "Beema, execute song structure alpha." Beeping accompanied the thrumming. "Marshall Lee, play quadruplet minims in the Khamaj mode."
Fionna expected Marshall Lee to scoff or deny, but instead, he just breathed, "Fine." Then, his eyebrows shot down and he said, "Wait. What's a minim?"
"Fionna, vibrate your uvula by dampening and undampening your larynx."
"...What?"
"Like thi-i-i-i-i-i-is, s-i-i-i-i-i-illy..." Prince Gumball rubbed his index finger up and down his throat so that his voice wavered as he spoke.
"Oh, alright." Fionna complied, rubbing her finger on her throat whilst emitting a 'wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a' tune.
Prince Gumball continued to say 'OK, OK', but Fionna didn't really feel any music coming on. It just sounded like a bunch of beeping, thrumming, complicated string plucking, and wavering vocal sounds. Prince Gumball, with one hand controlling Beema and the other holding a stick to draw his plan in the snow, said, "Cake, are you going to join?"
In response, Cake huffed and turned her back on him.
Marshall Lee let out a loud growl of frustration as he continued to difficultly pluck the strings of his guitar.
Fionna's face began to turn red from being unable to take a breath between her vocal dampening.
"Everyone, just stick to my blueprints," Prince Gumball shouted once he saw how quickly everything was falling apart.
A moment later, his hands shot away from Beema as sparks jumped up into the air with a loud hiss and a plume of smoke. Beema's screen went to static.
Fionna stopped dampening-and-undampening, took several deep breaths, and asked, "Maybe we should try again?"
Prince Gumball stared down at Beema, as if confused by what went wrong. "I...might have...miscalculated...?"
Marshall Lee let out a loud, short laugh and floated over to Prince Gumball to stare him in the face. "Guess you aren't as perfect as you thought you were, huh? Can't judge me anymore."
Prince Gumball set Beema down in the snow behind him and stood up, causing Marshall Lee to float back a bit. Prince Gumball gave him a hard glare in the face. "I never said you had to be perfect..."
"Guys!" Fionna waved her arms in an attempt to catch attention. "Time out!"
With his pink face flushed red and his eyebrows scrunched in anger, Prince Gumball shouted out the rest of his sentence. "JUST DON'T BE A TOTAL SCREW-UP!"
Marshall Lee made a guttural sound in his throat. Before Fionna could make any move to stop him, he hawked up a big wad of spit and shot it at Prince Gumball.
It hit the prince's jacket's left chest. Prince Gumball gasped very loudly, eyes bulging and eyebrows shot up to the hairline. He gasped again, standing to his feet. Gasping for the third time, he turned on his heel and began to walk away to the portal. Beema followed. "PG, wait!" called Fionna.
Marshall Lee let out a snake-like hiss, glaring at Prince Gumball's retreating back. "Whatever!" But just a moment later, he was raising a trembling fist up in the air. Fionna saw the tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. He sniffed angrily. "Friggin' Bubba...Always..." He growled loudly. "And I-I...I'm outta here, too!" And began to angrily float in the direction of the portal as well.
Fionna weakly-as she was still very stunned to see Marshall Lee so emotionally damaged-called, "Marshall Lee..."
Cake sniffed and stood straighter, straightening her sweater vest. "You've all forgotten the beauty of music. I daresay I'm retiring from this quintet." She turned on her heel and began to walk away, but morphed her face to the back of her head to whisper-call "I'm just pretending!" to Fionna.
"Cupcake!" Fionna called, but she didn't turn around. "Everybody—We can beat the Portal Lady!" Her voice dropped to a whisper in the icy air. "Together..."
Before she knew what she was doing, she began to clap her hands together in a rhythm.
"All of y'all
Gumball
I've no gall
I should've just told you
What I lost
Was a piece of your hair!"
Fionna saw Prince Gumball's form freeze like stone. His shoulders were rigid and his feet were pin-straight.
"Now it's gone
Gone forever
But I guess
What doesn't matter
When I just...
...Just had all of you there?"
Fionna sighed and turned around to lean against the crate, her forehead pressed against the cold wood.
"Oh~
I just had all of you there,
With me,
My friends
If you're even my friends..."
Fionna opened her eyes and jumped away from the crate in surprise. The faces of the crate had opened ever-so-slightly, from '-_-' to 'o.o' They seemed to stare down at Fionna almost pleadingly, as if to say 'keep singing!'
"You like this?" Fionna asked. (Of course, they didn't answer) Then, she felt a large jolt of electricity through her body. 'Lightning bolt of brilliance', Cake would've called it. She gasped and jumped into the air. "This is what you meant by genuine! This is what you want! THE TRUTH!"
She quickly span around. Thankfully, Prince Gumball, Cake, and Marshall Lee had all stopped retreating to stare at her expectantly. She went on with her song.
"What am I to you?"
Marshall Lee didn't even hesitate a beat before he began to strum his guitar with her.
"Am I a joke,
Your bud,
Or your sister?
What am I to you?
What am I to you?
Do you look down on me 'cos I'm younger?
Do you think that I don't understand?
I just wanted us together and to play as a band
Last night was the most fun I've ever had
Even liked it when the two of you would get mad
At each other..."
Prince Gumball and Marshall Lee exchanged small smiles. Marshall Lee floated into a more comfortable playing position as Prince Gumball sat down on his boulder and began to play Beema once more. At the same time, Cake smiled and began to prick at her dulcimer. Fionna quickly picked her microphone out of her backpack once more.
"Oh, you
A-a-a-a-are
My best friends in the world
You a-a-a-a-are
My best friends in the world
That's ri-i-i-i-ight
I'm talking 'bout the two of you dudes
And you, Cupcake"
Cake smile turned soft. She shrank back down to her normal self, letting her sweater vest and glasses fall to the snow.
"I wanna sing a song to you
And I refuse to make it fake
What am I to you?"
Marshall Lee flew over beside Fionna and sang the next four lines with her.
"Am I a joke,
Your bud,
Or your sister?
What am I to you?"
Marshall Lee floated up to the top of the crate and stood on its edge, strumming his guitar flawlessly.
"Do you look down on me 'cos I'm younger?
Do you think that I don't understand?
I just wanted us together and to play as a band
I'll forget that I lost a piece of your hair
I'll remember the pasta that we shared
Over there"
Above her, Marshall Lee curved backwards in the icy air before stooping down to join her in the next few lines once more. Prince Gumball and Cake smiled.
"Ahh ahh
You a-a-a-a-are
My best friends in the world
You a-a-a-a-are
My best friends in the world
That's ri-i-i-i-ight
I'm talking 'bout the two of you dudes
And you, Cupcake
I'm going to sing a song to you
And I refuse to make it fake"
Marshall Lee flew back to Prince Gumball's side. Together, they both made an identical 'oooooooo' chorus to background Fionna's singing.
"Make no mistake
I'm gonna sing a song
that feels so real
It'll make this
do-o-o-o-o-o-o-or
Break"
The crate exploded into blinding light.
A minute later, Fionna, Cake, Prince Gumball, Marceline and Beema stepped out of the portal.
The room they were now in was expansive, with tile floors and blue walls. At least, what could be seen of the walls was blue. Almost every single inch was covered in filing drawers, metal with labels. They seemed to be in the 'D' section right now, from what they could tell. They all seemed to be locked tight. Fionna could only imagine what they held: possessions of other people.
The Portal Lady stood ten feet away, her back against three rows of drawers behind her. She was munching on a banana, halfway done already. Her knapsack lay beside her limply. When she saw the human girl, feline, gummy royal, vampire king and video game console in the room with her, she spat out a wad of banana. "&#)%)#!"
"It's over, Portal Witch," Fionna glared at the tall humanoid menacingly.
"Hand over our stuff!" exclaimed Cake.
" *&#$)*#" replied the Portal Lady. She stood up and continued. " &$)*$ &(#&$ $(R% #($U"
Fionna threw her hands in the air in frustration. "What the grub is she saying?"
"I totally get it," Marshall Lee smiled brightly as he floated next to Fionna. "She may have stolen our treasure..."
Prince Gumball appeared next to him with the same smile. "But by doing so, she's taught us..."
Cake finished brightly. "That the real treasure...is friendship."
The Portal Lady cheered.
Five minutes later, she was bound, gagged, bloodied and bruised.
"OK." Cake grabbed the Portal Lady's knapsack, ripped open the flap, and began to dig around inside. Her paw reappeared a few moments later, holding a wad of pink bubblegum. She turned, smiling, at Fionna. "Here's that wad of Gumball's hair that you love so much."
Fionna took the wad of gum graciously as Prince Gumball chuckled under his breath. "Oh, you." Fionna sighed, her cheeks flushed pink.
Cake reached back into her knapsack and took out Beema's joystick. She handed it to said console, who instantly plugged it back into its rightful place, pushing the joystick in circles.
Cake then took out a black T-shirt, looking at the front. The picture painted onto it was very odd. It looked like two dead gumdrops speared on toothpicks in a river of murky water. A panther circled the spears, green slitted eyes narrowed and mouth open in a snarl. She held it out to Marshall Lee. "Here's your T-shirt, Marshall Lee."
Marshall Lee gave the T-shirt a look of shock and confusion. "That's not—"
"It's mine!" Prince Gumball suddenly appeared in front of Marshall Lee, taking the T-shirt out of Cake's paw with care. Flustered, he said again, "It's mine."
Marshall Lee couldn't help it. His face tinged pink in embarrassment. "You kept the shirt I gave you." Statement, not a question.
"Yeah, it uh..." Prince Gumball gave a dry laugh—as in, he laughed in a way that made you think his throat was dry—and coughed. "...means a lot to me."
Marshall Lee's black eyebrows furrowed at this. "But you never wear it."
"Dude, I wear this thing all the time." Prince Gumball pulled the T-shirt over his head and pulled it over his torso. He paused, then said, "As pajamas."
"Wait." Fionna stared at the T-shirt, then at Marshall Lee, then back. "If that's Gumball's T-shirt..." She turned to face the teenage vampire king. "Marshall Lee, what did you lose?"
Marshall Lee said nothing. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.
You could see the light-bulb going off over Fionna's head. Her eyes flew wide open and her jaw dropped. "Waaaait a second." Then, loudly, with a smile of disbelief, she repeated, "WAIT A SECOND! You don't HAVE a thing! You just wanted to hang out with us!"
"No, I didn't," Marshall Lee tried to protest, but the crack in his voice on the last word gave him away.
"No way! You're caught! I've figured you out!"
Marshall Lee growled, and before anyone could do anything, his skin broke out in fur, his face contorted into beady eyes and a snout, and his teeth shot out into razors. He towered over all four friends in no time. Said friends ran, laughing, into and out of the portal. Marshall Lee quickly followed, howling, "I'LL KILL YOU!"
TRIVIA
When the Portal Lady steals the girl's toy, Fionna jumbles the words up, shouting, "I'll get your girl back, doll," instead of, "I'll get your doll back, girl."