Chapter 5: An Extreme Case of Jetlag

Marshall Lee never gets sick.

He is a vampire for glob's sake, vampires don't get nauseous. Their heightened senses prevent those stupid side effects that mortals experience whenever they try to overexert their body's limitations. Plus, their immune system is way off the charts to catch a virus or bacteria that can cause an actual mundane illness.

That being all said, Marshall Lee is not supposed to get sick.

Yeah, supposed.

But damn, he really feels like throwing up as the male was blasted off into the unknown as he was sucked by that green portal-like vacuum. As soon as he entered it, the next thing he knew is that he was being dragged by the speed of light by some unknown force in it.

Now at the face of death, the Vampire King refuses to open his eyes and let the blackness provided by his eyelids comfort him. No, it's not because he's scared of what he might see last if he opened his eyes but he's definitely scared that he might get even more nauseous than he is right now if he did open his eyes. Which is pretty much embarrassing if ever he did puked in this glob-awful tunnel. He'd rather die than to puke for the first time in his vampire years.

Death. Such a lovely word yet feared the most by mortals. Probably any people would look at him as if he was crazy if he said it out loud, of course. The vampire had a few encounters with Death before (literally, since he's a real humanoid dude...sort of) and it was pretty awesome, considering the fact they have jammed together whenever they meet. Like him, Death was a lonesome man—probably because a lot of people feared him (which is true), yet Death claims to be "misunderstood man who is just trying to do his job".

Of course, like any other sane person who lived and walked on Earth, Marshall Lee wondered how it feels like to die. Every day, before he goes to his nocturnal slumber, he had always imagined how he will die in the next few millennia or so. Most of the images conjured by his head were kind of gore and bloody—figuratively on the bloody part, of course. Perhaps someone will claim his life with a wooden stake, or maybe he'll just burn under the sun's rays and crumble into dust.

But none of those images in his head ever imagined this.

Also, he had thought (ages ago) what will be his last words or thoughts. If he were to find a mate for him before his end came (in which he didn't, since it's totally obvious he's going to die by this crazy tunnel), he'd surely bear the thought of that person seconds before his dying breath and be the last thought he'd ever bear as Death claimed his soul (if he have one, that is). And since he was a sucker for romance (Shh! It's a secret!), he'd probably tell her some mushy, cliché words to her and then die.

But honestly, the only thought he have in his mind right now is: 'FUUUUUUUUUUCK I'M DOING TO DIIIIIIIIIIE!'

He's not Fionna—who always put her life at stake for all those adventures she had. Marshall even reckons that she's willing enough to give up her life to an annoying pixie just to save their kingdom, even. He knows he have thoughts of him dying, but he himself is afraid of dying.

The Vampire King is cruel and selfish in contrast to the adventuress' attributes. But that does not mean that he does not want to stop living—despite him being already undead, of course.

The only thing that keeps him sane from this weird reality he put himself into (With the help of Fionna's long golden hair of course. Glob, have she heard of the word "haircut"?) is that warm gem that constantly hums with its unused energy within.

You know, like a heartbeat.

He waited for his death for what it seemed like forever (trust him, he knows the sense of the word firsthand)—but it never came. And his thoughts aren't that helping him to make an escape for this either, for his mind was conjuring weird images that he'd be flattened like a pancake at the end of this tunnel because of a lumpin' wall.

Rendered powerless in this bizarre in-between realm, Marshall Lee snarled into frustration.

He hates it when he's powerless. He's a frigging king! A Vampire King, to be exact. He's supposed to be powerful.

Taking a cautious peek for the first time, he saw that greenish wall of force that holds him quiver, as if his angered qualms made it scared.

Before he can decide or rejoice that he might have a small surviving chance at this awful tunnel, Marshall Lee was suddenly flung out of that mysterious tunnel like a catapult's load.

Fionna, on the other hand, does not handle nausea well and decided to puke all of her dinner in the vortex.

She did it twice already, and she can feel another one coming from the very pit of her stomach. As dizzy was she, the blonde adventuress was glad that she have Cake with her. Murmured words of affection and worries came from her sister as she saw her turning green again.

"Oh don't you worry, sweetie," Whispered Cake as her body enclosed (literally) Fionna's soothingly. "I'm here, I'm here. I'm sure we'll get some help by the time we get there."

The two pretty much figured it out that this one might be a portal to somewhere. They've experienced travelling from one place to another using a portal. Things felt the same except one thing didn't just fit in: the duration of the time being spent while travelling in this vortex.

Shouldn't these portals can get you to any places in a blink of an eye? (Literally.)

Glob, it's been taking ages! The adventuress impatiently thought. A worried voice nagged inside of her head; whispering pessimistic stuff that Fionna do not want to dwell on.

She has to focus on her goal—which was very simple: save Marshall Lee before it's too late.

As if her surroundings (which is not that much aside from that hazy green swirl of endless tunnel) abide to her wishes, a sickening pop (mostly on Fionna's part, she's pretty much dizzy from that kind of trip) was heard before she was launched out from that tunnel in no time.

"Hang on, Fionna!" Yelled her sister, wrapping and stretching her furry arms around the human's waist. In a jiffy, Cake transformed into something a lot like a spring before turning herself into a wide trampoline to support her sister's fall.

Groaning and struggling to control her stomach's unpleasant means of emptying, the human curled up into a ball—hoping to stop the swimming of her sight. It wasn't that easy—black spots covered her vision and there were ringing sounds in her ears.

And when her eyes focused, it was blinded by the bright light from above.

Tall walls made of bricks (or was it concrete?) enclosed her sides, also noticing a few windows popping out of those said walls. Whispers of animated chattering were heard from the background as well as the fast paces of those things that owned those murmurs. She was facing the wall—the dead end of the corridor (or was it an alleyway?). Sooner she found out that the light that half-blinded her was coming from the sun; and boy, it's really hot in here!

"Fionna! Baby! Thank goodness you're okay!" Another set of fluffy arms wrapped around her waist, squeezing the air out of her in relief. The female returned the gesture warmly and thanked her lucky stars that they are alive. "I'm glad you're okay, too, Cake." An affectionate pat in the head comes from the human before standing up and brushing away the dust from their clothes and fur.

And very faintly, from afar, a manly groan was heard.

"Marshall!" The siblings met each other's eyes in anxiousness before coming to his aid, hoping that their friend was okay.

What really set his senses on fire was that blinding pain from the sun's rays.

Even though he cannot see it, he felt the blisters forming on his skin as the scalding pain continues to attack every inch of his grey-toned skin. The Vampire King did the natural thing that his kind does: he let his instincts control him.

He did not felt the gem slipping away from his grasp as his body for a shady place to hide. Reason was not possible if a vampire acted on instincts. Cries of pain lay unbidden from his lips as he settled on a metal box that was large enough to hold his slowly combusting body.

A hiss of triumph was heard from him as he tucked his body on the darkest part of that box he temporarily made shelter with, glaring at the sunlight that forced him to hide in this metal box.

However, what struck him the most is that he is still alive.

Regardless of that fact that he is dead already in his state, Marshall Lee was genuinely happy that he is still a breathing, living man.

Now that his life was not in stake anymore, his thought gathered on one solitary female: Fionna.

Letting his senses roam to check if the adventuress was on a 50-radius mile from here, he can't help but to be astonished by what have his acute senses gathered up for him.

Aside from the stench coming from the garbage he's in (he just noticed that this one's a dumpster or something), he caught the polluted hint colouring the air he was breathing in. Though the air was impure, what struck him the most was the almost synchronized beating of many human hearts in this area. Human hearts have a .01 milisecond difference from any creature he had met in Aaa (don't ask him how he knows this one, he just knows)—which is small, yes; but it was a big difference enough for the vampire to have his shields up.

Sweet, sweet blood that was enclosed to their systems made Marshall's mouth water. A feral growl came from his throat, every inch of him begging to have a taste. It has been ages since he drank an actual blood from somebody—a fact that he still regrets up to this day.

But the temptation being laid in front of him was too much. Perhaps it was better if he was off dead.

The most fascinating of all? These humans he detected are alive.

Humans are very much extinct in Aaa—with Fionna as an exception. So what is this place that just reeks with the scent of human population everywhere?

Oh, no. Has Marshall Lee travelled back in time?

A groan made by the vampire was loud as the last blister that formed in his skin closed up, only to be followed by sigh of relief that the pain from the sun is gone.

"Marshall? Marshall!"

Another hiss was spat towards the sunlight as it has gotten bigger, he can feel the close proximity of the sun's rays as the familiar voice called unto him.

"Oh, glob. The sunlight! Cake! Help!"

Frozen in his place, he felt his eyes change from being a sadistic demon face to his normal one. Shaking his head in disbelief, he answered: "Fionna?"

A pair of arms snapped the breath out his easily. Luckily, the female got the hint and pulled away just as easily. A light punch in the arm was thrown at him as she laughed. "Glad you're alive and well, Marshall!"

The shock he felt from his discovery, plus the distracting beat of her pulse made him say something really intelligent like: "Uh-huh, me too."

Fionna offered him a ride on her green backpack as his tiny bat-self (which he initially refused because of his stubborn pride) so the sunlight wouldn't hurt him as they asked around for directions. Though their voices are muffled, he can hear their inquiries such as: "Do you know where are we?" to "Glob, I smell tacos from afar, sugarcakes."

Peeking though that tiny hole that her bag allowed without getting in contact with the sunlight, Marshall Lee tried to look at the two females as they interact with a huge looking dude with square glasses. His attempts were futile, but the man's face can be only seen from the hole.

"Excuse me, sir, but where are we?" Asked Fionna, who seemed very oblivious by the fact that dude is a flipping human like her.

The man looked at her like she was crazy, "Uh, Lower East Side?"

"Of?" She prompted; confusion at the unfamiliar name was evident in her tone.

"Manhattan." He said rather impatiently, as if eager to leave the two.

"Listen here, homeboy, you need to be very specific so we can pinpoint where are we in Aaa. Got it?" The vampire imagined the feline putting her paws on her hips as she said those words.

The male took a step back, shaking his head in disbelief. "Man, I'm so trippy right now, lady. I'm imagining your cat talking to me!"

"Excuuuuuuuuuse you!" Cake took offense, "Do ya have any problems with me talking, mister?"

Marshall thought he was going to brush the two away rudely, but instead, the man just laughed and walked away, muttering: "A talking cat!"

Lower East Side. Manhattan. Why do these names seem to be familiar to him?

The vampire stared into distance as he tried to remember what are the significance of those names to him—leaving Fionna and Cake discussing tactics in this unfamiliar territory.

A/N:

Hey! Thank you so much for your lovely reviews! Sorry if the updates are not that fast as before, been busy with school and whatnot. D:

(Also, sorry for those typos and grammar error because I type at night and yep!)

What do you think of this chapter? Leave a review, if you want to! :D

—A