Question: was the last chapter bad? Cause I feel like there weren't many reviews last chap which usually means I messed smthn up.
Really do tell if that was the case. This fic is still pretty fun to write.
Also, do you guys like the chapter format of flashback part then present story part? It feels great to write, but I wanna know what you guys think.
Anyways, Enjoy.
xxXxx
At Marceline's.
"Hey, Marsh. How do you get thing to start working?" Said Ash the Warlock, Marceline's current boyfriend, as he held a panicking Oracle Crystal in his hands. "It won't play the movie I want and just keeps yelling."
OC glared at the warlock with malicious intent. "Marshall, I'm usually an advocate against extreme violence. But I'll make an exception this time." She said with a deep frown as gestured towards Ash. "Hurt him."
Marshall, who was floating over the living room couch with a tired look on his face sighed before OC flew out from Ash's hands and into his.
"Ash, OC is not an it. Treat her with some respect." Said Marshall as he put OC on the floor before he waved his hand and a tv screen appeared from nowhere. "Use that if you want to watch a movie."
Ash immediately got excited. "Sick! You're using your powers for something cool for once." He said as he ran up to his new screen. "Still can't believe someone as boring as you is Marcy's brother. And her twin at that."
Marshall frowned as he took a deep breath, trying his best to not do anything crazy. This was his sister's boyfriend. He had to respect her decision as much as he hated it.
"I saved Ooo for this." Muttered Marshall with a frown as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why doesn't Marcy listen when we tell her he will literally sell her favorite object in the future?"
"There are a lot of reasons...like personal bias." Said OC with a shrug and a frown.
"This does mean she and PB still go on that bonding trip though." Replied Marshall calmly as he stared at the floor.
OC chuckled nervously. "Hehe. No, they don't. Maja was never born." She corrected with a smile, causing Marshall to let a sound of extreme confusion. "The Lich killed one of her ancestors before you fought him."
"What?" Marshall paused in horror as he took in what he had just heard. Someone wasn't born because he was there instead of Billy. A villain, yes. But who knew how many others this has happened to?
Crash*
"Whoops." Ash interrupted Marshall's contemplation with the sound of the tv screen he just got breaking. "Eh, it's fine. You can just make another one or two."
Marshall, who was wearing a blue shirt jacket with a white undershirt and black jeans as well as his Billy's gem earring, and OC immediately turned to the warlock and glared daggers at him. Ash saw this and was genuinely confused as if he hadn't done anything wrong.
"I'm not a screen dispenser, Ash. I'm not making you another one." Said Marshall with a frown as he returned to thinking about his dilemma.
"Come ON, why do you always have to be such a stuck up?" Asked Ash in exasperation as he crossed his arms.
Marshall let out a sound of confusion. What was this guy talking about?
"You can do whatever you want with your magic, but you keep sticking to the rules! You're probably the most powerful wizard in all of Ooo!" Said Ash with a deep frown that excluded disappointment. "You can do whatever you want, act like it."
"But I'm already doing whatever I want." Replied Marshall calmly, not understanding Ash's point.
"No, you're not! You're acting booooring!" Exclaimed Ash in exasperation. "I should have those powers. Not someone boring like you."
Marshall narrowed his eyes at the warlock and his attitude. Before the ex hero could reply to Ash, Marceline entered the room and the two went silent.
"Hey, boys. Is your bonding session doing well?" She asked cheerfully as she floated into the room.
"It's going great, babe!" Exclaimed Ash cheerfully as he flashed a thumbs up.
"I've seen better in mental asylums." Replied OC crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "Literally."
Ash frowned and covered OC's mouth with his hand before glaring at the omniscient orb.
"What happened?" Asked Marceline curiously as she crossed her arms.
Marshall tried to speak, but before he could Ash stepped in and spoke.
"Your brother and his pet are antagonizing me!" Said Ash with a deep frown.
Marceline narrowed her eyes before turning to a tired looking Marshall and a smiling OC who just pointed towards the tv screen Ash broke earlier.
The vampire queen turned to the tv and then to her boyfriend. "Are you mad he didn't fix that screen or something?" Asked Marceline with a disappointed look on her face.
"What? No...kinda." said Ash nervously before so sighing. "He's just has all that power and does nothing with it at all!"
Marceline frowned. "So you're jealous?" She asked calmly.
"Babe, look at that gem dangling off his right ear." Said Ash moving Marceline's head to look at an upset Marshall's earring. "I've done some research and that thing is worth a kingdom!"
Marceline winced as she saw Marshall's glowing yellow eyes. That gem and a sword were the only things he had of his now dead best friend. It was a memento and her boyfriend was trying to sell it.
"Ash, you're going too far. That's a memento from a friend."
"I'm sure his friend would've wanted it to be used for something useful." Replied Ash with a smile only to be met with glares from everyone in the room. "Fine, I'll show you how much he's wasting that magic."
OC watched as Ash pulled out a pouch of magic powder. She was intrigued about what he had in his hands and used her powers to figure out what it was and she was horrified. She tried to say something, but it was already too late as Ash already threw some of the powder at Marshall.
"This powder can swap the magic of two wizard for one day." Ash said proudly. "I'll show how power is REALLY used."
Both Abadeers panicked. "Ash! NO, YOU PSYCHO!" Exclaimed Marceline as Marshall flew in front of her protectively.
"No no no." He muttered as his eyes glowed yellow, he was panicking even more than Marceline.
Both siblings knew what was about to happen. It was the same thing that happened to their mother. The same cursed song and dance.
"Why are you looking at me like th-" asked Ash before his jaw started to unhinge. The transformation had started and Ash started to scream. Eyes began sprouting all over his body. His arms and legs became mangled messes of teeth and mouths as his skin turned yellow. "AAAAGHH!"
Marceline acted quickly. She grabbed her bass axe and sliced the monster in two before it transformed into a gas that Marshall immediately sucked in and devoured.
The room was silent. The two Abadeers sighed tiredly as they contemplated what just happened. Both were not feeling well.
"Did we just murder my boyfriend?" Asked Marceline still taking in what happened as she held her head in her hands.
"I'm sorry." Marshall apologized as he curled into a ball in the air.
Marceline's eyes widened. "No! No, it's not your fault!" She exclaimed immediately before tears leaked out of her eyes. "He's the one who tried to steal your magic. I just can't believe I fell in love with such a jerk. Can't I just have one person stay for once?!"
Marshall stared at his sister as his shoulders dropped dejectedly, he felt included in her words. He did leave her once before and only came back a few centuries later like a jerk.
He tried to say something...anything to help, but he felt his the words slip out of his grasp. He didn't know what to say nor did he have the courage to say it.
But there was always the tried and true method of hugging it out, right?
He floated to his sister and gave her the best hug he could and she returned it with one of her own.
"Aww, that's nice." Said OC cooing over the twins bonding. "But tell me when you're done. Cause if we don't clone Ash and send him back to Wizard city, Ice King and Simon will die."
Both Abadeers froze before Marshall finally woke up.
xxXxx
At Marshall's.
Marshall woke up wearing a blue t-shirt and grey shorts groggily, covered head to toe in tv screens.
"I can live with this." He said calmly, not even bothering to make the screens disappear as he got off his bed.
A mug of coffee manifested into Marshall's hands before he began floating out of his room and into the living room.
Once he made it to the living room, he was overwhelmed with the smell of apples. The smell was good, but there was too much to make it enjoyable.
"OC! Why does the living room smell like apples?" Asked Marshall, creating a forcefield to block out the smell. "You hate apples."
OC, hearing his question, ran out of the kitchen wearing a tiny cute apron and oven gloves.
"Giant pie! For our guest!" Exclaimed the omniscient orb cheerfully.
Before Marshall could ask about the guest, OC ran back excitedly into the kitchen to tend to her giant pie.
The demon wizard shrugged before floating to the couch and sipping his coffee in peace thinking about what he'd do today.
"How about I start a new comic? What if a...young girl falls into a sci-fi future...and is assumed a criminal for unauthorized time travel. She meets a gang of criminals...who were unfairly judged...nah too cliche. How about they're totally evil, but they need an innocent face to trick the guards so they teach her some scamming skills? Using these skills she scams her way through the future to find a way home. That's a good starter."
Ring*
Interrupting Marshall's brainstorming session, was the doorbell ringing. Believing this must be their mysterious guest, Marshall quickly flew to the door and opened it.
His eyes widened upon seeing who it was. "Canyon?" He asked in surprise.
"Hey. How've you been?" Asked Canyon wearing a white shirt and pants with a yellow sash over shoulder with her hair tied in a ponytail calmly as she crouched down to look through the door.
"Just let me make the house bigger so you can come in." Said Marshall awkwardly before he waved his hand and the house magical expanded into a size Canyon can fit in. "Uh, great."
"I heard the Lich came back." Said Canyon calmly as she entered the house. "But you were nowhere to be found. So I thought something might've happened to you."
"Yeah, I was busy being retired." Said Marshall scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he led Canyon to the now giant couch. "Sorry, it's awkward to talk to you after... y'know."
"After you went hero crazy when Billy died? After I bailed on you after that?" Asked Canyon calmly as she sat across from Marshall. "Yeah, it's awkward for me too."
"Yeah, haven't forgiven you for that yet." Said Marshall with a weak smile. "Felt really betrayed."
Awkward silence filled the air around the two. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"I'm not here to ask for forgiveness. I left you when you needed me the most, all for adventures that were...boring without you two." Said Canyon dejectedly. "Still sorry though."
"It's...fine." said Marshall awkwardly. "Why are you here?"
"To wake you up from this dream." Said Canyon calmly.
"What?" Asked Marshall in confusion.
"You accidentally sent yourself into your own mind. Making you awake inside your mind which is dangerous considering you can't tell what's a dream or not because of your magic." Said Canyon calmly, causing Marshall to panic. "OC helped send me into your mind to get you out."
Marshall was suspicious . "Hold on! I'm supposed to be immune to mental magic. How-"
"This isn't mental magic. You sent your body inside your mind. You're is currently in a paradox, collapsing onto yourself. With your body inside your mind and vice versa, you will disappear from existence soon. That's what OC told me."
Marshall gulped in horror. He really hated this magic sometimes. As he contemplated his horrific reality, he realized something. "Wait- My MIND?! You have to get out of here! You'll-"
"Turn into a horrific monster? Been there. Plus, I'm the most disposable person willing to help." Said Canyon calmly, not comforting Marshall one bit. "Now let's get you out of here."
Canyon then picked up the ex hero effortlessly before running out of the door and into a different part of Marshall's brain.
"I can teleport us, you know." Grumbled Marshall.
"I know. But using your magic is really dangerous right now." Replied Canyon calmly. "Who knows where we'll end up outside."
The two quickly fell into another part of Marshall's mind. It looked like a ruined city with lava pits and buildings twisted beyond recognition.
"Oh, not this place again." Muttered Marshall with a deep frown.
"Is this a bad memory?" Canyon asked curiously as she put him on her shoulder.
"You...can say that." Replied Marshall with a frown. "How are we even supposed to get out of my brain anyways? I've never exactly been in this situation before."
"OC said we need to go through the door." Said Canyon calmly. "You know what she meant?"
"Yeah- uhhh." Said Marshall nervously before turning to Canyon's ponytail which grew a mouth with teeth.
Canyon took one look at her ponytail before taking a deep breath. "We need to hurry." She said leaping into the ruined city with Marshall on her shoulder.
Canyon dashed through the ruined city at high speed, trying find a way out of this area. But suddenly, she stopped; causing Marshall a lot of pain and confusion.
Canyon quickly pointed at a small crying figure in the distance. Marshall winced as he stared at the figure. It was a very young Marshall.
"Please, ignore him." He said dejectedly, trying to look away from his past self.
Canyon paused as she stared at her former friend. He didn't even want to look at his old self. What he felt at this moment was not her business to pry into. She felt like she owed him this much and more.
"That glowing hole next to him should be the next exit." Marshall pointed out prompting Canyon to nod before leaping straight into the air and into the glowing hole. "Wow, I always forget how athletic you giants are."
"It comes with practice." Said Canyon with a smile as a third eye grew on her forehead, causing her to immediately stop in her tracks in the middle of a grassy plain. "Why is my vision all weird?"
Marshall frowned. "You have an eye where the moon on your forehead was." He said wincing at the sight.
Canyon, without hesitation, took off her sash and wrapped it around her forehead and over her new third eye.
Now with her vision back to normal, Canyon dashed through the grassy plains only for fire to surround them from all corners.
"Oh, this is when I met Billy." Remarked Marshall with a smile as he saw himself threatening Billy in the distance.
"Yeah, you two told me that story. Those were good times." Replied Canyon calmly as she continued to dash forwards.
Marshall went silent for a few seconds. "...how can you be so calm about all of this? It feels like nothing phases you."
"You grow into it with a family like mine."
"Heh. Yeah. " Said Marshall awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry for imprisoning your grandpa, again."
"It's cool. He deserved it." Said Canyon as she found a glowing hole she immediately jumped into. "Actually, you probs shoulda killed him. He's gonna try to drown all of Ooo again if he ever gets out."
"Yeah. It's just gonna be a little hard considering he's a sentient evil ocean." Said Marshall with a frown as he and Canyon fell into another memory.
This memory was entirely black before the area was filled with a scene that both Marshall and Canyon knew well.
Their past selves were standing alone together in an empty desert.
"So you're just... gonna leave?" Asked past Marshall tearfully.
"Sorry, Marsh. You're just not the same anymore. And after Billy died...I have no reason to stay." Said past Canyon calmly as she sat on a giant motorcycle.
Past Marshall's eyes began to water as he clenched his fists. "Guess you lied when you promised together forever."
"That was when Billy was alive...when you weren't crazy about being a hero." Said past Canyon calmly as she revved up the motorcycle. "Sorry." She finished before she drove away into the distance.
Present Marshall frowned in pain before turning away from present Canyon. Canyon saw that and her calm demeanor fell apart as regret was painted all over her face.
"I lied." She said dejectedly as she sat on the ground. "I didn't originally come here to save you. I...did come to ask for forgiveness."
Marshall turned to Canyon and glared at the water elemental as she placed him on the ground and curled into a ball.
"Back then, after Billy died, we didn't have adventures anymore. We had responsibilities." She said as tears began flowing out of her eyes. "I didn't want that responsibility. I only wanted the cool fun adventures we used to have. So...I bailed. But it wasn't the same without you and Billy."
Marshall's glare didn't cease as the water elemental continued.
"So when I heard that the Lich came back, I thought you'd be there and I'd have a chance to somewhat redeem myself. But...you never came and some other hero defeated the guy. So I headed to your home and found you in this situation and wanted to help." Canyon said turning to Marshall with a serious look on her face. "I want to hold the responsibility for once even if you don't forgive me. So I'll get you out of here even if I turn into a monster trying."
Marshall couldn't cease his glare before Canyon's face started melting. The two were quickly horrified, causing Canyon to grab Marshall and run as fast as she could.
She quickly found the path to the next area and leaped through, leading them to a black room with a giant door in the middle. "There! That's the door we need to go through!" Exclaimed Marshall upon seeing the door leading to the core of his powers.
As they got closer and closer to the door, Canyon melted more and more as she transformed into a horrific creature until she couldn't walk anymore.
Marshall saw that and started using his magic to telekinetically pick her up as he flew to the door that opened and enveloped the two of them in a blinding white light.
xxXxx
In Marshall's home.
Marshall, on the floor, opened his eyes to see Finn, Jake, Marceline and Canyon without any of the effects of Marshall's magic on her standing over him.
"Hey." Said Marshall awkwardly only to be met with a glare from his sister. "I'll put a spell on myself so this doesn't happen again."
"You better!" Marceline glared at him with a monster face.
"Canyon? How's...y'know?"
"Your magic must've been expelled from my body when we left through the door. Now it's in the kitchen." Said Canyon calmly before Marshall heard OC yell angrily.
"My kitchen!"
Marshall paused as he stared at the water elemental. "I still haven't forgiven you for what happened." Said Marshall calmly. "But maybe we can work through it...slowly."
Canyon smiled before flashing a thumbs up for her old friend. It was a start.
xxXxx
Tell me how I did. Leave a review.
Tell me if you think I did well to establish their relationship and their future romance. I saw that in the show Canyon said she bailed on Billy when he lost hope. So I capitalized on that and turned it into a source of guilt.
Toodles.