Although I am too busy to write them, Canyon has gone on a few adventures with Finn and Jake without anyone else.
Enjoy.
xxXxx
"Deep breath. Breathe in, breathe out." Said Marshall wearing a black jacket with a white undershirt and black pants, standing in front of Marceline's current living spot. "Alright, you haven't talked to Marceline in centuries but you have to do this. I can't keep her out of my life forever."
He took a deep breath and approached the door. He raised his arm to knock, but froze up before he did. He was having second thoughts.
The door intimidated him. What was behind it was uncertain. Would she hate him or accept him again? A question that weighed heavy on his mind.
"Who am I kidding? I can't do this." Muttered Marshall in a panic as he held his head and paced in front of the door.
But just as he was about to leave the area, the door opened and Marshall heard a gasp. He froze in place before slowly turned around to face his sister.
"Hi, sis?" He said with a nervous smile and an awkward wave.
Silence filled the area, neither of the two moved a muscle as they kept eye contact. Every passing second felt like an hour, yet both stayed still until tears formed around Marceline's eyes as she frowned angrily.
The vampire queen quickly delivered a powerful punch straight to the wizard king's cheek. Her face transformed monstrous in anger before it transformed back to normal with tears in her eyes as she watched her brother hold his reddened cheek in pain.
Marceline looked like she wanted to punch him again, but the unresisting expression on his face made her stop. It felt like he wouldn't stop her if his life depended on it.
"...come in." She said calmly as she entered her home, gesturing for her brother to follow.
Marshall got off the ground and stood up before following his sister inside her temporary home. It was a simple, but cozy house.
"So...why are you here?" Marceline asked trying to sound intimidating. "Need a place to crash or...?"
Marshall shook his head. "No, I have a place to stay." He said fidgeting with his fingers. "I'm here to...make up with you."
Marceline took a deep breath. "You left me for CENTURIES and you think you can just back one day and I'll forgive you?" She asked narrowing her eyes and glaring at her sibling.
Marshall paused with a dejected look on his face. "No. But I want to try and make things better between us. If punching me will help, do it all you like." He replied.
Marceline glared at her brother before her expression softened. His face told of someone who went through a lot of messed up things. Someone like her.
She was angry at him for leaving her all those years ago after turning their mom into a monster, but she couldn't say it was his fault. Everything was so messed up...for the both of them. This thought calmed down her rage.
"Asking dad to check on you back then was probably a mistake." The vampire queen whispered to herself before turning to her sibling calmly. "Can you play any instruments?"
Happy that he's been given a chance Marshall smiled. "None, but I can learn if you want."
"Guess that's a place to start." Marceline shrugged. "Let me get my bass and I'll teach you how to play."
Marshall shook his head. "Let me." He said as a bass much like Marceline's, but visibly different appeared in his hands.
"Woah, you can control your magic again." Marceline remarked in surprise as she touched the bass. "Is that what you've been doing all this time?"
"Kinda. I still can't control all of it and it makes me not age...some wizards made me their king for some reason." Replied Marshall calmly as he flexed his palm in front of his face. "...I also took down the Lich."
Marceline went silent as she flew next to her brother and moved his hands onto the bass. "So you're THAT guy? Makes sense when you think about it. Same stupid magic." She grumbled with an angry, but sad frown. "You spent all that time adventuring, having fun and only now you come back?"
Marshall paused in guilt. "I didn't want to hurt you with my magic by accident, so I stayed far away." Replied Marshall dejectedly as he followed his sister hands on the bass. "I couldn't hurt him, though. Billy was...indestructible. At least, I thought he was."
Seeing the depressed look on her brother's face, Marceline's expression softened. She knew what it was like to lose someone. "Hey, I'm pretty indestructible now being the vampire queen and all." She added awkwardly.
"Yeah, uhhhh...I've noticed the bite marks?" Replied Marshall awkwardly as he brushed the back of his neck. He knew that she was a vampire way way before and knew how. "Must've been tough."
Awkward silence filled the air as both Abadeers couldn't find the words to say. Everything they could talk about didn't feel appropriate. Horrible memories plagued these subjects and neither knew how to process them.
"Let's just focus on the music." Said the vampire queen tiredly as she helped her brother play the bass by demonstration. "Do it like this."
Marshall nodded as he followed his sister's vague instructions on the instrument. It wasn't long before some music could be heard. Terrible music, but music nonetheless.
It wasn't the prettiest reunion, but the two worked through it little by little. Each knew the other had their problems and made sure not to hurt them. Unlike most siblings, the two rarely fought or argued. They kept like this until things DID get better.
xxXxx
Present day at Marceline's.
"Marcy, I'm proud to announce that I am publishing my first comic into the world! Just gotta figure out how to do that." Exclaimed Marshall wearing a black jacket with a white undershirt and black pants as well as his earring cheerfully after arriving at his sister's via portal only to find nobody inside. "Marcy?"
The wizard looked all around the living room with a comic book in his hand and found no one. Suddenly, he heard music coming from outside. He headed to the window to see Marceline and Canyon playing music together. Confused by why Canyon was here, he walked through the wall and headed out to meet them.
"Hey, you two." He asked awkwardly. "Watcha doin'?"
"Oh, hey Marshall. We're just hanging out." Replied Canyon calmly, wearing a yellow scarf around her neck with a green t-shirt, dark blue pants, a circle shaped water bottle hanging off her waist, black boots and a giant braided ponytail as well as a brown headband.
"Yeah, Canyon is really good at playing music with her sacred spring water." Added Marceline as she held her bass. "Did something happen? You looked excited for a second."
Marshall glanced at Canyon, gripping his comic book behind his back hiding it from the water elemental.
"Uhh, just wanted to see you?" Lied Marshall with a nervous chuckle as he gripped his comic tighter. "Sorry, I came at a bad time."
The lie was horrible enough for Marceline and Canyon to easily see through prompting latter to smile at the ex hero.
"Wanna join us?" She asked calmly as she held an instrument made out of water. "We could use a third."
Marshall flushed in embarrassment. "I'm not very good at music." He said scratching his hair with a nervous smile. "Or singing...or anything pleasing to the ears."
"Oh c'mon, Marsh. It's not that bad." Replied Marceline with a smile and a shrug. "Plus, you just gotta have fun."
Marshall glanced at Canyon before his eyes snapped back to his sister with an uncomfortable look. "I'll pass. I can come back later."
As Marshall was about to open a portal home, a door appeared in the air and an odd looking person that Marshall quickly recognized jumped through. It was the door lord!
The door lord snatched Marshall's comic book and Canyon's yellow scarf, dodging attacks from both of them as well as an axe swing from Marceline on the way before hopping into a new door he created.
Realizing what day this was, the wizard began to panic as Finn, Jake, BMO and Bonnie all entered the scene chasing the door lord.
Marshall and Canyon both glanced at Marceline knowing she couldn't follow them into the sunlight right away.
"I'll be there in a sec, just get that jerk!" The vampire queen exclaimed angrily prompting the two go after the door lord.
Once they made it, they were met with the scenery of red rock pass and a giant door that filled Marshall with dread.
"'This door shall yield to no command save for a song from a genuine band.' What is this gripagrap?!" Finn said as he read the words on the door.
"It's the door of the Door Lord, Finn," Bubblegum explained with a frown as she crossed her arms. "we used to lock them up, but they kept breaking out. Cause they're Door Lords."
Marceline, who was now wearing a large hat and long gloves to protect herself from the sun, blew a raspberry. "They broke out because you let them live."
Marshall snorted at his sister's morbid logic. "Geez, you're messed up." Said Marshall with a hearty chuckle before lightly elbowing his sister's side. "You just have to curve a portion of spacetime until you create an enclosed pocket dimension around them. Ordinary portals can't lead to other dimensions. Easy. Even PB...can make this."
Marshall quickly averted any eye contact with the candy princess, remembering what she did and it seemed she remembered too.
"Oh, yeah. Is your little friend okay? The little purple orb." Said PB calmly as she held the back of her neck. "Sorry about what happened last time."
Marshall froze. "She's okay now." He said nervously.
Marceline stared at PB the moment she asked her question, putting puzzle pieces together. "Wait, you mean OC? DID YOU-" she said as she began transforming into a bat monster.
Marshall glanced at Canyon with a pleading look, prompting her to not before picking up both Marceline and Bubblegum with separating them, causing the former to glare at her brother for lying to her.
"We can talk about this later. For now, let's focus on the door." Canyon said breaking up the fight and placing the two far apart before turning to Finn. "Finn, Jake, any ideas?"
Finn and Jake who were watching the scene of Marceline angry at both Marshall and PB in confusion snapped back to reality at Canyon's question.
"Hmm...The door said it will open for a genuine band." Said Finn with a hand on his chin. "Let's try and music this door open as a septet."
"Can I be the jerk in the band? Cause that's an important part of a band's success." Added Jake with a smug expression. "Hmph."
Marshall winced as he realized he would have to play some music. While Marceline got her musical talent from their mom, he got it from their dad and one parent was a lot better than the other at music.
All those thoughts quickly fell apart when he felt his sister's burning glare.
"I know how to get through this door." Said Marceline with a bitter look on her face. "We're gonna lay down a chill...jam."
Thus immediately got Finn excited. "Hey, yeah. Yeah, yeah!"
"Just keep it cool." Added Marceline glancing at PB. "Got that, Princess?" She asked before sending her sibling a sharp glare.
Marshall chuckled nervously as he created a bass from thin air for him to use. Canyon saw this and water started flowing out of her circular water bottle. Under her command, the water quickly transformed into a guitar for her to use. Meanwhile, Princess Bubblegum just used BMO as an instrument.
"Let's see if you hacks can keep up with my raw talent!" Exclaimed Jake acting arrogant as he held a violin.
And as Finn began to beatbox, they began the song. A song that ended prematurely when PB expressed her dislike of the lyrics causing Marceline to play one of Marshall's favorite songs to spite the candy princess.
The giant door made by the door lord began glowing as Marceline continued to sing indicating that her song was working. But just as Marshall knew, the song fell apart soon enough.
"Stop staring at me!" The vampire queen yelled at the candy princess. "Ugh, you threw me off!"
"Come on, everybody! Don't stop now." Said Finn trying to cheer everyone up. "The door was responding to our music. I wonder what it liked or what was missing."
"Well, I know what's missing," Said Jake acting like a jerk once again as he left the area without looking back. "Talent. I'm getting out of here, you hacks! Talentless hacks!"
Ignoring Jake's...acting, Marshall turned to Marceline scratching the back of his head.
"Hey, I thought it was great." Marshall complimented his sister. "You got super close to opening the door and it was a great song."
Marceline glared at Marshall. "Don't, for a second, think you can compliment your way out of this. I'm still angry at you for lying to me." She hissed. "We promised to be honest with each other."
"I know, I know. I just didn't want you to freak out." Marshall replied dejectedly before sighing. "I'll tell you everything later, okay?"
Seeing the pleading look on her brother's face, Marceline paused. "Fine." She grumbled begrudgingly.
Marshall let out a sigh of relief before floating in the air crosslegged to relax for a bit. Canyon also found a boulder to sit on. In the midst of consequent silence, Finn decided to speak up
"Maybe to be a genuine band we need to be nicer to each other and hang out as buds." He said taking off his bag and pulling out a block of noodles. "Let's take a noodle break. Come on, it will help!"
"Want me to cook that for you?" Asked Marshall as he raised his hand ready to cook the noodles.
"Cook?" Asked Finn in confusion as he took a bite out of the raw noodles.
Seeing Finn's reaction, Canyon chuckled. "You know, Finn? You're a pretty cool guy. That whole buds thing was really sweet."
"Oh, thanks." Replied Finn cheerfully.
The sun soon began to set, prompting Marceline to take off her hat now that she was no longer under threat from the sun.
"For our next attempt, I wanna be the lead." PB suggested cheerfully.
Having no better ideas, everyone agreed as Jake arrived just in time to join in. He was dressed like a punk rock player, even transformed his body to look the part.
Sadly, PB only managed to make things worse. Jake smashed his violin, BMO caught fire, Marceline was angry and the rest were clueless to her instructions.
And in the end, Marceline snapped. She and PB fought and yelled. Meanwhile, Marshall and Canyon watched with bitter looks on their faces.
Just as everyone was about to give up and leave, Finn pulled them back with a song of his own. A song about his best friends in the world. A song that opened the door lord's door.
Behind it was the door lord, there to reveal that the real treasure was friendship and everyone agreed. That didn't stop them from beating the living heck out of him. Canyon even kicked him into a boulder like a football and Marshall set him on fire.
After the group was done torturing the poor door lord, they began getting back their stuff. Jake opened the door lord's sack and began taking their stuff out one by one.
"Okay, here's that lock of Bubblegum's hair you love so much." Said Jake handing Finn a piece of PB's hair.
"Oh, you." Said PB, causing Finn to sigh.
"Ah, yeesh."
Jake pulled out a blanket from the sack. "And here's Jakey's blankey." He said putting said blanket on his face before pulling out a controller. "Here's your controller, BMO."
BMO immediately started twirling the controller in the air happily the moment he got it.
"A giant scarf for Canyon." Said Jake pulling out a giant yellow scarf and handing it to the water elemental. "And issue one of a comic book written and drawn by Lee Abadeer."
Marshall immediately flushed as he realized Canyon and PB both knew about his hobby now. He snatched the comic book and chuckled nervously.
"There are a lot of Lee's in the world." He said with a nervous smile. "That last name's probably a typo."
Marceline raised a brow at this, knowing her brother was overreacting. Meanwhile, Canyon quickly understood what was going on.
"Are you scared I'm gonna judge you for this?" Asked Canyon with a smile. "Dude, I love comics. Basically the only kind of book I can read without falling asleep halfway."
"Really?" Asked Marshall in surprise.
"Yeah. Can I get a waterproof copy?" Asked Canyon with a calm smile. "Living underwater is not good for most books."
"Oh, sure. I was planning on publishing this anyways...once I've figured out how to do it."
"I can help with that." Declared PB with a smile. "Consider it an apology for what I did."
Marshall immediately broke into a happy grin as he tightly gripped his comic book, his happiness causing him to lightly float above the ground.
"Dude! That's amazing!" Exclaimed Finn cheerfully.
"My baby boy is all grown up." Said Jake brushing away a tear from his eye before opening the door lord's sack for the last time and pulling out a shirt. "And then we have a rock shirt for Marceline."
"Hey, that's not-" said Marceline before PB cut in.
"It's mine! That's mine!" She exclaimed snatching the shirt.
"You kept the shirt I gave you?" Marceline asked in surprise.
"Yeah. It, uh, means a lot to me." Said PB as she hugged the shirt.
"But you never wore it." Marceline said in confusion.
"Dude, I wear it all the time..." Said PB putting the shirt on. "As pajamas."
Seeing the interaction between the candy princess and the vampire, Finn was confused. "Wait, if that's Bubblegum's shirt, what are you missing, Marceline?"
"Uhh...my brother's comic book got stolen and Canyon's scarf. I had to help." Marceline explained in a non convincing tone.
Finn was completely unconvinced. "Your brother can just remake everything he has with magic. Wait! You just wanted to hang out with us!"
"No, I didn't!" Exclaimed the vampire queen in a panic.
"No way, you're caught. I figured you out!" Exclaimed Finn as Marceline transformed into a monster.
"I'll kill you!" Marceline yelled playfully as she chased everyone in her monster form.
Everyone ran away with smiled on their faces. It was a nice day.
xxXxx
Later, on the way to Canyon's home.
Marshall and Canyon were heading together towards the latter's home, chatting.
"Hey, you totally could've blown that door open with your magic." Canyon said calmly with a smile. "Why didn't you?"
Marshall paused and put a hand on his chin. "A lot of reasons." He said calmly. "Mostly because that big door had a good lesson to teach. Also wanted to hear Marcy sing."
"Her songs ARE very beautiful." Agreed Canyon calmly. "But I'm curious about her relationship with Bubblegum. OC was shipping them so I thought they wouldn't have as much baggage between them as they do."
Marshall nodded. OC was quite a hopeless romantic. It was hard to tell whether two people were basically married or bitter enemies when the omniscient being treated them the same way.
"Makes me wonder why WE don't have as much baggage between us." Asked Canyon raising a brow. "Despite everything that happened with us, we're not fighting one bit."
Marshall paused. "We both changed for the better, accepted that change and moved on...I-." He said with a shrug. "- think we grew up."
Silence filled the area as the two headed to the water elemental's house. The two were both seriously thinking about the situation.
"This feels weird. We can't really be THIS sensible." Said Canyon crossing her arms. "I'm a thrill seeker who ditched you when needed me most just because you weren't fun anymore and you went all hero crazy and only ever personally interacted with your sister and OC until you retired."
The two went silent. They were both crazy in their own right. A thrill seeker who only thought about herself and a crazy hero who never thought about himself both acting sensibly? It shouldn't happen, they thought.
"Yeah, we're acting way healthier than we should." Muttered Marshall in surprise as he put a hand on his chin before turning to the water elemental. "Wanna insult each other a little? Y'know? Argue a little?"
Canyon shrugged. "Sure, wanna start?" She asked with a smile.
"Okay. Uhh, how are you, you friend ditching loser?" Marshall said cheerfully.
"Ouch, right where it hurts." Said Canyon calmly as she thought of her own insult. "Uhh, how about this? I'm great just like your insecurities."
Silence filled the area as the two stared each other in the eyes without moving a muscle. After a minute of silence, Marshall spoke.
"That was...not as bad as I'd imagined."
Canyon nodded. "Yeah, I even feel a little better that we're acknowledging what happened more." she said calmly before turning to the ex hero. "...still wanna hang out with me after everything?"
Marshall paused before smiling. "Sure."
xxXxx
Tell me how I did. Leave a review.
Toodles.