Chapter Fourteen

Marshall Lee's POV

The weight of Fionna's hand brushed upon my bare shoulder as I stood there, the coldness of her skin becoming apparent; no longer warming my core the way it had earlier. Had she been that close to death?

"Can you fix it?"

Her voice was faint behind me, my attention too focused on my bass to notice the echo of pain hidden behind her words. I wouldn't have realized at all if the movement of her collapsing body hitting the floor clashed under the sound of pouring rain outside.

"Fi?"

Whipping my head around, I seen her lifeless body in a heap on the floor. Unmoving, and still, the way my lifeless heart had all these years.

"Fionna," PG screamed before I could open my lips. He was at her body before I could get a single muscle to cooperate.

Oh no, had I been too late?

No... no!

What was this? Fear? Panic? Why can't I move?!

"Fionna," I whispered to myself, teeth clenched with anger; regret maybe. I haven't felt true emotion in so long I'm not sure what this is, all I know is the image of her body sent my rage into a whole different dimension.

"She's not breathing. Marshall, she's not breathing," of all the things he could have had said, of all the things I wish he would have said, it had to be that.

Dropping my axe, I sat beside her, biting my lip so hard I could taste blood.

Brushing back her golden locks, I nearly toppled backwards when her body jerked and sucked in a sudden breath.

Gumwad had fallen on to his rear and scooted back a few inches, eyes wide as he stared at her like he had just witnessed the creation of life.

She sat up in one swift motion, graceful and fluid, before her once blue eyes flicked around the room in a panicked state. Hues that were once a deep blue like the secrets of the ocean, now an even darker shade of amethyst; tints of red peeking out brighter in certain spots like a starburst.

"Fionna, your eyes are," bubblebutt was once again at a loss for words. Though, I was at this point as well. I knew what was going on just about as much as he did.

"Gumball, I can hear your heartbeat! Everything is so bright, it's hurting my head and the sound of rain is like hail hitting a tin roof! It's giving me a headache... what's going on?!"

PG slowly let his head turn to blink his eyes in my direction, the once shocked expression now a threatening glare.

"Blue and red make purple..."

Fionna's POV

It was like waking up from the worst illness I've ever experienced. I felt like I had been laid up in bed for days, every muscle ached and my head was throbbing like someone was taking a giant hammer and going berserk on my brain.

What is that loud noise?

Is someone being stupid and dropping bowling bowls down a metal chute? Well they need to stop that, it's totes not cool!

Man, I think I'm going to barf...

Suddenly, it was like someone punched my gut, the wind being knocked from my lungs as I jerked and tried my hardest to regain my stolen breath. Sitting up as quickly as I could, I clenched my stomach, glancing around to see if I could figure out what just happened.

Finding Gumball staring at me like before, this time watching me like I had just got my face rearranged by an ogre, I looked over to see Marshall watching my every move with intense focus.

What the, what is with those guys?

It was then when I noticed I could hear the spiked rhythm in PG's heart.

"Gumball, I can hear your heartbeat! Everything is so bright, it's hurting my head and the sound of rain is like hail hitting a tin roof! It's giving me a headache... what's going on?!"

I watched as PG started talking to the Vampire King, his once worried tone now sounding disgusted.

"Blue and red make purple..."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I was so lost. First this nauseating feeling in my body and a headache that makes me want to stick my head in a blender, mixed with confusion is making for one nasty sickness.

Marshall's warm fingers curled under my chin, tilting my face just enough to look him in the eye, his other hand holding my cheek as another warmth from his touch set fire to my cheeks.

I don't remember his hands being warm, nor do I-

I lost my train of thought. All I knew, was his mouth was gently pressing into mine before a hot exhale passed his lips to coat my lips with a sigh of relief. Though his eyes were closed, his forehead pressed upon mine as arms snaked around my shoulders like a vice-grip.

"M-Marshall?"

"It worked," he murmured against my hair in the most sultry tone I could imagine; muffled though clearly audible.

I softly pulled back to stand up, wanting to get an understanding on the situation before my heart exploded from embarrassment by his embrace. Yet, it wasn't pounding... it wasn't beating at all.

Oh glob, does that mean I'm dead?

That makes no sense.

Just as soon as I stood, my body wobbled in a slight hover, the weirdest sounding gasp I could have produced bouncing off the walls in the tiny lab. Great, so much for not embarrassing myself.

"I need to work out a formula for the creatures. Marshall, I leave her in your hands. There's nothing more I can do here," the hurt in Gumball's voice was obvious. The pain in his eyes was even more obvious as he looked to my face with what seemed to be the expression of someone who just watched the love of their life get married to someone else.

Without another word he was across the room gathering things I don't know the names of. I felt a part of me break at that moment, and if I could have become anymore confused I think my brain would drizzle out from my ears like a smoothie.

I turned to face Marshall, his wet hair framing his face as he watched me from the crouching position he kept on the floor. He said nothing, just a glimpse of a smirk creeping at the corner of his mouth before he composed himself once again.

Then, expressionless, he floated up to look my face over. Looking over my arms and legs next, stomach, pretty much I felt like a rag doll as he tugged and pulled on my limbs.

"Dude, what are you doing?! That doesn't detach."

"Does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt?"

He sighed heavily, almost like he was talking to a child and growing bored with the conversation that seemed to be in a never-ending loop of stupidity.

"Come here," he grabbed my hand and floated to the mirror, tugging me not far behind.

It took once glance in the reflectionless mirror before I accepted the cold, hard truth.

Man, I had thought Cake was going to be mad before, now she's really going to be furious.

"I'm no longer a..."

"That's right, the last human in Aaa, is no more."

"And that means..."

"That means you're a vampire and-"

"No, that means I can kick even more butt now with my new powers! Wait, can I go through walls?! Can I stop time, or, oh my glob can I shoot lasers?"

He smacked his face, laughing into his palm before pushing back his hair once more as usual.

"Fi, you're a vampire, not a super hero."

Disappointment major!

Marshall Lee's POV

Was this going to change everything?

Is she the same Fionna I need in my life? The same girl I long for?

"No, that means I can kick even more butt now with my new powers! Wait, can I go through walls?! Can I stop time, or, oh my glob can I shoot lasers?"

Yeah, she's definitely the same Fi.

The look of disappointment on her face was cute, I just wanted to lick her cheek by how sweet and tempting she looked. And those eyes, man was that new color perfect for her.

"I think I have it!"

Gumwad ran over with a piece of paper in his hand, waving it around like a maniac high on paint fumes.

"Eh?"

"The formula. Can you for once keep up, Marshall? I think I've devised a correct equation to take the physical matter they consists of, and reverse it where the tangible and solid presence in which the creatures are evidently fabricated, if I can reverse the structure perhaps I can cause them to collapse violently inward."

Again, I ask, huh? What planet is this guy from and is he even speaking in a known language anymore?

"Care to explain what alien language you're speaking?"

"Ugh... make the monsters explode in on themselves."

"Dude, why didn't you just say that? You're like a giant waste of hot air. Do you just speak to hear yourself talk?"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. If you will excuse me, I need to gather materials and you're in the way."

He scurried around my body, opening some cabinet before pulling down bottles of bubbling liquids in various colors. Hurrying over to the table, he started mixing and stirring, for what felt like hours. After he had finished, he called Peppermint Maid into the room, asking her to fetch him some water guns.

When she had returned, he filled each gun with an equal amount of chemical, Cake and Lord Monochromicorn showing up just then drenched and looking like they were going to collapse from exhaustion.

"Cake," Fi yelled, floating over to catch her sister as she slipped off Lord Monochromicorn's back.

"Gurl I was so worried about you! When we got separated, I looked all over but couldn't find you or Marshall. I got cornered and had to climb a tree. I don't know how long I was up there until sweetcakes here found me."

He nodded his head to cake, nuzzling her with his muzzle as she purred contentedly. Though her pur faded when she had a chance to look Fionna over.

"Fi, what happened?!"

Cake eyed her sister more intently now, mouth clicking open with an audible jaw snap.

"It's a long story..."