Chapter 2: A "Cure"
A fifteen-year-old Princess Bubblegum slowly creaked the door to her basement lab open. "Marci? Marceline?" She whispered into the hallway, the sound echoing through the large corridor. She pulled her safety goggles onto her forehead, her right hand carefully gripping a test tube of a dark liquid.
Taking the utmost caution not to spill what she had been working all night, and for many nights prior, she tip-toed into the hall and shut the lab door behind her. Oh that Marceline, where is she? Slowly making her way down the hall, the young monarch made sure to left, right and up, knowing the vampire could fly. "Marceline I know you're here, so you had better come out this instant!" she commanded in her oh-so-royal voice, causing a seething echo to resound around her. The hall was pretty dark, and only candle-lit, and the further she got from the safety of her lab, the more unsettled she became. There is no one here. There is no one here. Except maybe Marceline. Who is most likely waiting to come out and scare you. Or bite you. Or eat you. Or terrorize you. Or otherwise inflict some sort of unknown trauma. Glob! Now I've gone and gotten myself even more worked up! And why is this frickin' hall only lit by candles anyway?
A chill ran through the air, flickering the candles in the hall, and Bubblegum jumped around, almost spilling some of her experiment with a small 'scree' of fright. Taking a trembling hand, she fished around in her pockets for a stopper to top the test tube with, so she wouldn't spill any in case another fright happened. Which it probably will because it's two in the morning and that butt Marceline is Queen of the Night and all that junk. Shaking, the Princess stood still and stammered out into the expanse, "M-Marceline I kn-know it's you so j-just stop playing and come out!" She spoke a little louder than before, willing to risk Peppermint Butler waking and finding her meeting the mysterious Marceline for a secret rendezvous if it meant no more scares.
Glob…Glob! Does she just have to be able to turn invisible and all that? She gripped her experiment with both hands, as a tickling sensation crossed over her shoulder. She jumped hastily around, quickly growing more frightened and more tired of what she hoped were Marceline's antics. She was used to being kidnapped, so alone in a dark hallway, the candy girl was incredibly jumpy and cautious. "A-all right Marceline! Y-you win! Just-just come out here!" suddenly, all the candles in the hall, save for one set, went out. Bubblegum huddled into the small circle of light as though it would protect her from the monsters in the dark. As if it could ever protect me from that butt of a butt Marceline! Glob! Why do I even like her! She's so…Ugh! The monarch was quite literally shaking in her toxic-and-other-stuff-proof boots. "I said it Marci! You win!" Those words usually caused the Vampire to appear, a triumphant look on her face. She had yet to find a situation in which she couldn't scare Bubblegum, and she relished in that.
Figuring the ghoulish girl had to be in the darkness somewhere; Bubblegum inched slowly away from the wall to peer out into the darkness. "M-Marci?" she said, squinting hard.
"Hello Bonnibel." A voice said right next to her ear. The Candy Princess let out a full-on scream, accidentally throwing the test tube into the air. Turning around rapidly, she found herself face-to-face with a pair of deep navy lace-up boots. Heaving in gasps of air, she followed the form down to see the face of her friend in half concern and half amused smirk, holding the glass tube in her hand unbroken, wild hair dancing around off the floor.
Marceline floated up, keeping her feet facing the ceiling, until she became eye-level with Bubblegum, upside down though she was. "Careful there, Bonni, you almost dropped your thingy." She handed the girl her test tube full of liquid and smirked a devilish smirk. The younger girl's fright was quickly turning into her usual frustrated anger that came out when dealing with Marceline, but before she could say anything, a concerned voice found its way down the hall.
"Princess? Are you all right? Princess?"
Bubblegum snapped her head over to see the approaching figure of Peppermint Butler carrying a flashlight and shining it down the hall. Nervously turning back to see Marceline, fearing being caught with the deviant, she was surprised to see the girl gone. "Princess?" the little man reiterated, "I thought I heard a scream. And why are all the candles out?"
Giving a nervous laugh, she waved him off. "Oh Peppermint, you know me; working 'till all hours of the morning. I opened my big ol' door from the lab and the shift in air pressure caused most of the lights to go out and it startled me is all. A-ha. A-ha-ha."
"Then why are you here, in the middle of the hall?"
"Well you see…this was the only set of candles to remain lit-for unknown reasons which I shall have to look into-so I walked out here to wait for you because I knew you would be coming and I did not wish to scare you." Unlike that…that…patoot Marceline!
"Oh! Why how thoughtful of you, your highness!" The butler gave a little bow, his sleeping cap flopping down onto his face a bit. Bubblegum giggled. Blushing a bit, the small servant readjusted himself, "Well if there is no trouble and nothing you require, majesty, I'll be back off to bed."
Bubblegum had been glancing around as inconspicuously as possible, still looking for her Vampire-in-hiding. "Huh? Oh! Yes Peppermint, you have a good night now!" And with that, he gave a small bow and disappeared down the hall and back into his own chambers. Ooooh, that Marceline!
The candles all slowly re-lit themselves and the floating girl was revealed to the peeved monarch, wearing a triumphant, apologetic, sheepish grin all at once, something Bonnibel was sure only the Vampire Queen could pull off. Without saying a word, Bubblegum grabbed Marceline by her pointed hear and dragged her through the air and into her private chambers, ignoring the girl's quiet calls of discomfort and slight pain.
Locking the door behind her, Bubbegum finally released Marceline, who wasrubbing rapidly at her reddening ear, looking like a kicked dog. "Oh no, Miss Night Stalker, no puppy dog eyes this time! It is not going to work! You almost ruined my experiment! Not the mention frightened the heart guts right out of me!"
Marceline sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry, Bonni…I did go a little too far this time, didn't I?"
"You're darn right you did!" was the curt response, and with a cross of her arms, Bubblegum huffed her way to the other side of the room.
Floating behind her and coming to a stop right in front of the embarrassed girl, Marceline sighed again, shaking her head ever-so-slightly at her own deviancy. "Forgive me Bonni?" She asked, but a firm 'humph' was her only response. Using the trump card, Marceline leaned in close to the princess, brushed her bluish/grey lips past pink ones, touching them ever-so-slightly and eliciting and almost-silent gasp from Bubblegum, and planted a sweet kiss right on the girl's cheek. "I really am sorry." She whispered into the younger girl's ear, bringing a blush to already-pink cheeks.
As the Vampire pulled away, Bonni gave a stern look. "Oh you…I forgive you. But don't do anything as terrifying as that again; do I make myself clear?"
Marceline nodded furiously then, with a sly grin, added, "It could have been worse, Bonni. I could have come out as a werebeast of some kind and really given you the fright of your life!" She laughed a hearty laugh and got slapped playfully by the soon-to-be ruler of the Candy Kingdom, not that she wasn't in charge already, it just wasn't 'official' yet. Not until her eighteenth birthday. "Love the outfit, by the way. Very geek-chick, what with the tousled hair, goggles and stained lab coat." She gave another laugh, causing the scientist to blush from embarrassment once more. "It's cute, Bonni." She floated over to the bad and crossed her legs over it, and was followed immediately by Bubblegum, who actually sat on the piece of furniture. "What have you been working on in that dungeon of yours any who? It's been a while since anything new has come out, so this must be something big."
Bubblegum beamed excitement and sat up on her haunches to better look Marceline in the face. She pulled out the test tube of dark liquid goop. "This," she began triumphantly, "is the first sample of what I believe to be, or will develop into, the cure for vampirism!"
The amused and interested smile that had been on Marceline's face slowly faded at the announcement. "The what?" she whispered.
"It could be that beginnings of a cure for vampirism! Oh think of it Marci! You could go out into the sun and eat food again and walk around and we wouldn't have to hide our being together or anything! You would be alive again!"
"Bubblegum," Marceline began, floating down to sit on the bed with her girl, "I'm not sick; I'm dead…or undead. Trust me, there is not ever going to be a cure, and if there ever was, I'm not sure it's something to mess around with. I've been this was for a little over a thousand years now…I don't think it's a good idea to try and change a thousand years worth of whatever is keeping me the way I am." She had tried to let the younger down gently, not betraying any of the hurt she was feeling.
"But Marceline, don't you see? This is your chance to be normal again! To be human again! The first one of your kind since the Mushroom War!" The princess said earnestly, grabbing hold of Marceline's slightly chilled hands in hers.
Marceline shied away, stung by the word 'normal' and how desperately Bubblegum seemed to want that from her. "Is there something wrong with the way that I am now, Princess?"
Bubblegum knew she had plucked a bad heartstring on the raven-haired girl, as she only called her 'Princess' when something was really wrong. And then it dawned on her. Oh glob…
"Marci…Marci no, no…look at me, hon." She placed a kind palm on Marceline's cheek, "You are absolutely fine whatever form you are in. I got so caught up in the experiment, I wasn't even thinking. You don't take it if you don't want to. In retrospect, it's probably better if you don't because we don't know if there are any side effects that could be temporary or permanent or even fatal." She took the tube and put it in a shoe box under her bed.
Marceline looked up and Bubblegum offered a kind smile in return. However, as much as it sounded like an apology, the words never fell from Bonnibel's mouth, a fact the Vampire took note of, and had taken many notes prior. It seemed she was always the one apologizing to the picture-perfect candy princess.
Sighing a little, Marceline said, "Thanks Bonni," Then watched at the girl gave a hearty yawn. Marceline laughed. "Looks like someone's ready for bed." She made her way to Bubblegum's closet and pulled out a matching pair of pick silky pajamas. Handing them over to the girl, she turned away shyly as Bubblegum changed.
"Will you stay with me tonight, Marci?" Bonnibel asked with slight seduction in her voice, as she had almost every night since she turned fifteen.
"Bonni we talked about this…not until you are at least sixteen. Or the fates align and it feels right." Marceline was all about going with the moment, but begging was definitely not the moment. It should be romantic, natural. But Bonnibel the scientist never really understood those things. She wanted to test, learn, dissect.
"Marceline I know everything there is to know about it! I don't understand what the big deal is."
Marceline turned around, hands covering her eyes. It wouldn't be the first time Bubblegum had carried on a conversation scantily clad in order to tempt Marceline, and it had been very tempting indeed. "Just because you read about it in books, doesn't mean you like, know, okay? It's different. Just…please don't fight me on this one, Bubblegum" Marceline heard a huff, and knew she'd be having an almost identical conversation the next night if she decided to pop in, and when did she not?
"I'm dressed," Bonnibel said, and Marceline removed her hand from her eyes, offering a kind smile, which the princess took gratefully. Lying down in bed and snuggling under the covers, Marceline leaned over her princess and gave her a peck on the lips.
"Goodnight, Bonni. Sleep well."
"Goodnight, My Marceline…"
She stayed until the princess was fast asleep and then floated out the window back to her tree house. Upon entering, she slumped onto her fluffy bed, giving a sigh. "Normal…what's so bad with me this way…?" she mumbled into her pillow.
Marceline waited for the sun to rise so she could get some sleep.
A/N
I STILL WANT TO KNOW WHAT SCENES YOU WANT! Specifics people! Specifics! Say my first chapter was a suggestion...it would have been : "What happened to Marci after the gang defeated the Door Lord?"
This one could have been : "Bubblegum was excited about an experiment, Marci wasn't. Why?"
I want to know what you want to read! You can even say if you want it in the past or future! Not afraid to go M! (As a side-note: in the original word doc, when I got to the phrase 'devilish smirk' there were 666 words. Hehe)
-JD