Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So, Australia, huh?” Simon asked as he settled in next to Betty in the bus seat. Impulsivity had never been his strong suit, and when he’d run to Betty at that bus stop, a part of him had assumed she wouldn’t get on the bus and that they’d stay where they were together. But, something had stopped him at that moment, remembering how she’d given up this trip once before. So now he was running away with her to Australia to study petroglyphs. As the bus pulled out of its station, and he watched the town around them fade away into a blur, Simon had never felt more alive.

“I’ve never been before… I’m really glad I get to go for the first time with you,” Betty said, a sparkle in her eyes that solidified Simon’s commitment to his choice. “We should probably get you some clothes on the way. I assume you didn’t anticipate that you’d be doing this today,” she mentioned, and she was right. Still, her hand looped around Simon’s, and he was sure that there was nowhere else he’d rather be. “Man, I’ve got to call my mom, she’s totally going to flip out about this,” she added.

“I think my mom would just be happy to hear me talk about something other than academics for once,” Simon responded. His parents had always been far more focused on his personal life than his professional work. Especially considering his decision to go into academics and accumulate degrees, they’d seen his work as more of a way to avoid relationships. After his PhD defense, they’d come up to him and asked if this meant he was finally going to get a girlfriend. “Maybe this way they’ll stop trying to set me up with their neighbors,” he offered.

“Well, I’m happy to help,” Betty said with a smile, and they settled into their seats and prepared for the long ride to the airport. Betty knew she could be something of a hopeless romantic when it came to her relationships, but in her own defense, Simon really was everything she’d ever wanted. He was smart, and kind and funny, and frankly she would have thrown away almost anything for him. But, he hadn’t made her, and that was why she knew that they were going to be the perfect couple. The trip to Australia had been wonderful.

They’d gotten accommodations near the sites that they’d be researching at, and while Simon was obviously not originally in the plan for the project, considering he was the Simon Petrikov who’d just made one of the biggest discoveries in arcological history, the rest of the team was eager to have him on. And Betty, who was quite knowledgeable about the subject they were researching as opposed to Simon, taught him so much about it. It was fascinating, and honestly romantic.

“Princess, I could listen to you talk about petroglyphs all day,” Simon said as the two of them laid in bed after a long day of research. Betty blushed, shoved her face deeper into the report that she’d been going over. When thinking about the day's events, Simon was reminded of something that left him stewing. “Can you believe what that dig site leader said to me? What a jackass,” he muttered, crossing his arms. Betty giggled at that, putting down the report and looking over at him gently. “What? Do you disagree?” he questioned.

“Well, you did threaten to knock his block off. I think him telling you that you should go cool off in the tent was pretty justified,” she offered, and Simon sighed because she was right, despite the fact that it meant he’d have to apologize. The truth was he’d already been annoyed at the guy. Simon felt he talked down to him and was interested in Betty in more than a professional capacity. However, that didn’t mean blowing up on him was the right move, especially because she could handle herself. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a little jealous,” she teased him before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“What gave it away?” he asked with a slight smile on his lips. Simon took off his glasses and sighed, ready for whatever the next day would bring. “I’ll apologize to the dig leader tomorrow,” he promised, and Betty hummed in response. He thought about the letter his parents had sent in response to his message about Betty and going to Australia. He may have used phrases like “The One” and “Soulmate” in relation to Betty, so they’d been deeply excited to meet her when they returned home.

Meanwhile, Betty’s mother was less than thrilled at the prospect of her falling so hard for Simon, but she at least appreciated that she hadn’t put her trip on hold for him once again. She chose not to tell her that if Simon had asked, she would have done it in a heartbeat. After a successful research trip, the two were on a plane back home, discussing what their next steps would be. Considering they’d essentially lived together for almost a year between both of their research trips, it was a no-brainer for Betty to move into Simon’s apartment

“Were you planning on going for a PhD?” Simon asked as he realized he’d never thought about it before. “Considering your brilliance, I’m sure you’d have no trouble with your defense,” he offered and Betty of course blushed at that, snuggled closer and looped her fingers around his. Neither of them had ever felt the way that they did with each other before, and it was scary, new waters. For Betty, who’d been engrossed in Simon’s work long before she met him, and had fallen so much faster than he had, the idea of doing anything that could hurt their relationship was out of the question.

“Well, you’re going looking for some of the objects in the Enchiridion, right? I can always do a thesis later, this is way more important,” Betty offered eagerly, and Simon stared at her for a moment because he knew that looking for these objects was his life's work, and it could change the world. But, he also knew that it could take an insanely long time, and the idea of Betty not reaching her full potential on account of him was something he couldn’t bear. He gave her hand a squeeze and looked into her eyes as he explained himself.

“The Enchiridion and all the things contained inside of it have been missing for tens of thousands of years. They can wait a few months more for you to finish your degree,” Simon said, and when Betty started to object he added something else. “Besides, the paper we write about whatever we find will be a lot cooler if it's authored by Dr. Grof and Dr. Petrikov,” he insisted and at that she smiled and nodded, agreeing. The truth was that she did desperately want to become a doctor, and giving that up would be something she knew she’d regret.

Her thesis had taken many long sleepless nights, and had undergone many revisions based on the feedback Simon had given her. The day she’d given her presentation, she’d been sweating so heavily she looked like she’d been dunked in a bucket of water. Simon had shown up early and sat in the front with a bunch of roses and when she’d succeeded he’d handed her the bouquet, given her a kiss and assured her that he’d always believed in her. Her mother had been there too, and gushed over how proud she was.

“So, Dr Grof, what’s next for one of the most brilliant minds of our generation?” Simon questioned as they returned home to their apartment after the celebratory dinner they’d had with their families. Simon’s parents had gushed over Betty, and thanked her for “taking him off of their hands,” which he hadn’t exactly appreciated. But it had been a lovely night, and now they could decide what came next. He was so glad Betty had decided to go for her PhD, and the look on her face when he called her “Dr.” was worth more money than existed in the world.

“Well, Dr Petrikov, I say we start searching for the artifacts listed in the Enchiridion, and I won’t take no for an answer this time,” she said, and Simon had no intention of arguing with her about it. That meant the next step was to try and figure out what artifact exactly they’d be hunting down. There was always the possibility that, unlike the book itself, what it pointed to was nothing but fantasy. They both spent weeks pouring over the book and analyzing all aspects of it. While Simon found himself engrossed in the artifacts, Betty was more engaged in the big picture.

The constant mentions of Golb, and of his scholars intrigued her as she wondered if he was some sort of primeval deity, or something more actively dangerous. After all, the religious aspects of many of the things they found was her field. While Simon was the antiquarian, an expert at finding and identifying artifacts, she was a religious scholar, interested in discovering the meaning behind the objects and the beliefs of the people who had made them. It was why they made such an excellent team, and also how they decided on what their first hunt would be.

“The Demonic Wishing Eye is said to be located somewhere in the lush forests of Los Naranjos in Honduras; it could be the discovery of a lifetime!” Simon explained over the phone to his parents as him and Betty packed for their trip. There was a beat and then Simon responded exasperatedly. “No, dad, you cannot use it to wish for grandkids. I have to go,” he said, the ending of the call punctuated by Betty’s giggle as she zipped up her suitcase. A moment of realization rushed over him, and he started to panic when Betty spoke.

“Don’t worry, I already printed our boarding passes, and they’re in my purse,” she offered and Simon let out a sigh of relief. “This is going to be amazing! I mean, considering the artifact’s location, it's highly likely it relates to the religious beliefs of one of the many tribes and settlements which inhabited the area thousands of years ago! Some archaeologists wait their entire lives to excavate this site, and here we are getting the chance to do it now!” she said excitedly. While Simon had initially wanted to go after a crown in Scandinavia, and she’d wanted to find the lamb relic Simon had failed to locate before, this had been their compromise.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without you, my princess,” Simon said before planting a kiss on Betty’s forehead, and it was true. Without her, Simon wouldn’t be anything other than an academic outcast, running in circles trying to find answers. Their journey to Honduras had been quite different to their trips to Pakistan or Australia, mostly due to the different geography but also due to the different circumstances. That first time they’d been trying so hard to be professional despite their growing feelings.

And on their Australia trip, they’d spent six months trying to balance doing research and being in a new relationship, not to mention dynamics with their other researchers. Now, however, they’d get to enjoy this experience alone. On the plane ride there, Betty read up extensively on jungle survival, and was happy to share whatever information she found with Simon. They joked about becoming wandering adventurers, fighting off cougars and eating plants they found in the mountains.

The journey went about as smoothly as they could have hoped for. They stayed in the town of Santa Cruz de Yojoa and spent time with the locals, both having studied extensive Spanish in preparation for the trip. The food was delicious, and the people were kind, their excavating often being cheered on by local children who found it fascinating. During their many digs, occasionally they’d find something of arcological interest, though not to themselves. It wasn’t until near the end of the second month when they discovered their prize, Betty having dug it up.

“It's beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked as she held it up for Simon to see. He looked at it transfixed, the open eye on it seeming almost alive. “I wouldn’t recommend putting on, though,” she said with a laugh that Simon shared. After all, the Enchiridion had made it very clear the wearer would lose a piece of their soul for each wish granted, and while they weren’t sure that souls or the like really existed, they were both sure that magic did, and they didn’t want to challenge fate. The plane ride back home was celebratory, as the news of their discovery was spread.

“Come on, let’s head back to the apartment,” Simon offered once they left an event they’d been at in honor of their discovery, and Betty seemed to agree considering the flood of pictures and questions they’d had to field. Dating had proven the eye was much more ancient than anything else found in the area, and the carvings on the solid gold back of it had piqued the interest of anthropologists in the field. Still, despite their exhaustion, it was exciting to be recognized for their work, and the paper they’d write together would be spectacular.

“Man, I can’t wait to get some sleep-” Betty started to say as she flicked the light switch on in the apartment, having walked inside first. Inside, the room was filled with balloons and flowers, and a banner hung on the wall. It was a picture of herself and Simon, along with the words “Marry me, Princess?”. When she turned back around, Simon was on one knee, holding a ring, and her mind was racing trying to figure out what to say. “Is…is that the Honduran opal we saw in Erandique?” she asked and Simon nodded sheepishly.

“I saw you looking at it, and I figured it would make a nice surprise. Plus, it's more durable than most opals, so I had it made into a ring for you. I know it's a little plain, but…” Simon trailed off and tears filled Betty’s eyes as she realized that this was really happening, she was being proposed to with a gem she thought was beautiful nonetheless. She started nodding before the words formed in her mouth, and Simon’s eyes seemed to widen. “Is that a yes?” he asked nervously.

“Yes! Yes Simon of course I’ll marry you,” she said and with that she threw her arms around him, the two holding each other as their future was made brighter than ever. “I’m so happy right now,” Betty added as Simon slipped the ring onto her finger. The frantic phone calls to their friends and family were met with congratulations, and finally’s, but mostly simply joy. The next few months were a whirlwind as they talked about wedding preparations and completed their paper about the Demonic Wishing Eye.

“Whatever you want to do with last names is fine,” Betty insisted as she made herself a mug of coffee. Simon sat at the kitchen table, drinking his own brew and reading the newspaper. This was a real problem with the wedding planning, as Betty was quick to insist that whatever Simon wanted was fine with her, even if it wasn’t how she actually felt. Regardless, Simon was at the very least willing to push for her real feelings when it came to important things like this. He looked at her for a long moment before she sighed. “I…want to keep my own last name,” she admitted.

“That makes perfect sense. After all, you worked hard to earn your PhD. That Dr. title should have your last name attached to it,” Simon said, even though he was personally in favor of smashing their last names together and calling it a day. As he read the paper he did as he always liked to, and made a comment to her about the news he was reading. “You know, it says here that a leaker has found that multiple world governments are developing mutagenic bombs. Can you imagine all the good that could have been done with that research? Instead, they’re making weapons,” he said, frustrated.

“It's horrible; we’ve all got the free will to do whatever we want, and the most powerful people in the world chose to create weapons strong enough to wipe us all out,” Betty responded as she sat down beside him at the table, sipping coffee as she seemed to think. “I just hope no one is stupid enough to use them. Especially not before our wedding. If the world ends before we can get married, they’re going to have more problems than just population collapse to worry about,” she added as she jokingly shook her fist.

Simon put down the newspaper and the two simply looked at each other for a moment, enjoying their coffee as the snow came down outside their window. And then, he walked over to grab their computer so they could continue their work on their new book, a follow-up to their paper on the Demonic Wishing Eye which would combine Simon’s theories on the nature of magic with Betty’s musings on Golb and his role in the creation of all things. In the background, their TV softly hummed with the theme song of Cheers, a re-run playing as they got to work.

Chapter Text

The alarm clock blared and Simon swiped blindly looking for it to shut off. He knew that it wouldn't actually prevent him from having to get up and start his day, but the idea of getting to lie in bed with Betty for the rest of the morning was too tempting not to at least consider. Still, as he shut the thing off, sat up in bed and retrieved his glasses, Simon looked over Betty before getting out of bed and stretching. She stirred slightly in place but didn’t wake up, and he smiled as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Plans for the day?” Betty asked with a yawn as she woke up, having been startled by the kiss. She already knew the answer of course, they rarely surprised each other with their plans, but she liked to ask anyway. Simon began looking through his closet for an outfit to wear for the day as Betty sat up in bed, watching him, like she enjoyed doing. Outside the window, snow was still coming down, though in soft little flurries rather than in a big storm. It was a perfect day to stay cozy inside and do nothing, if not for responsibility.

“I’ve got a lecture at the university today about decoding the Enchiridion,” he explained with a slight smile on his face. “I’ll be sure to mention the importance of finding patterns which create potential pictographs,” he added because that was exactly what Betty had taught him. Turning around from the closet, he held up two options. “What about you, Dr Grof? How do you intend to spend the day,” he questioned. Betty pretended to think for a moment, before responding to both of his queries.

“Go with the blue bow tie. And as for me, I’ll be doing more work on my upcoming book, ‘On Mystic Ruins and Ancient Gods’. My co-author, Dr Petrikov will have to take note of my edits when he returns,” she said with a laugh and the two seemed completely at ease with each other at that moment. Simon went to take a shower and get dressed, while Betty got up to brew them some coffee, which she poured into a thermos for Simon to take with him to work. When he finished getting ready, he took it from her in exchange for a kiss.

“Thanks, princess,” he said gently as she straightened his bow tie. “I’ll be back after the lecture, and then we should get lunch. I’ll look over your additions to the book then,” he established and Betty nodded, waving him off as he walked to work. They’d discussed her possibly going for a professorship now that she was a PhD, but the truth was she wasn’t as interested in teaching as Simon was. She considered herself a life-long learner more than anything, and she was content with writing and exploring as her field of work.

It was a slow morning as she made herself some toast and got to work writing, looking over her notes and thinking about Golb. A malevolent entity born to embody chaos and discord, more powerful than anything the mortal mind could comprehend. It seemed at once ridiculous and sensical. After all, while she was no astronomer, Betty did know that whatever the creation of this universe had been, it had been in essence chaotic and messy. Maybe to balance its birth, something had to be created as a counterweight.

Unfortunately, with all the madness in the modern world as weapons became more powerful and leaders became more irrational, it seemed to her that Golb’s influence only became more widespread. Maybe humanity was standing on the precipice of something like a cataclysmic event of their own creation, and this was a pivotal moment to make a choice. Betty didn’t think her book could save the world, but maybe if people knew what waited for them after everything they’d ever known and loved was destroyed, they’d think twice about blasting the planet into oblivion.

After concluding she’d written enough for now, Betty saved and closed the computer, standing up to stretch as she decided she’d go visit Simon at the University, so she could catch the end of his lecture. Betty figured they could walk to get lunch right after. As she walked to grab her coat, she heard a ring of the home phone and quickly located the remote to turn down the re-run of Cheers that had been humming away in the background. She liked the show fine enough, but considering how often her and Simon wrote with it in the background, she found it hard to focus without it playing.

“Hello?” Betty asked as she answered the phone. There was a beat, and she quickly responded. “Oh, hi Mr. and Mrs. Petrikov,” she said and after a response she quickly corrected herself. “Sorry; mom and dad,” she said sheepishly, having not quite gotten used to calling her future in-laws that. “Simon isn’t home, he’s giving a lecture today,” she started to explain before being surprised. “Oh! You wanted to talk to me?” she questioned, feeling a fluttering in her chest at the way she’d been accepted by this family.

They chatted for a while about how the book was going, if Simon was treating her well, and if she liked the ring he’d gotten her, which she insisted she did despite their opinion he should have gone with the more traditional diamond. When Betty looked at the clock, she realized Simon’s speech was nearly over, and she’d have to meet him halfway. She gave them her goodbyes, and grabbed her coat, leaving the apartment and walking briskly down the street, as light flakes of snow dotted her hair and melted on her glasses.

“Perfect timing,” Simon said as she caught sight of him right as he was exiting the building. Betty climbed up the steps to meet him at the top, and listened intently to his recap of the day’s events. “The lecture went alright, the students were very attentive, so that’s good. You know how I love to answer questions,” he said with a slight laugh, and Betty nodded because she did know that. The two walked down the university’s steps towards the street and Simon spoke again. “What should we get for lunch?” He questioned.

“Well, I’m okay with whatever you want!” she urged, and Simon seemed to accept that, mentioning that they could try the new Chinese place down the street which he’d heard from a colleague was good. As they walked down the snow lined streets, they held hands and took in the quiet stillness that seemed to be in the air. “I think I’ve made some great progress with the book,” Betty noted before adding something else. “Speaking of books, you didn’t leave our copy of the Enchiridion at the school again, did you?” she questioned.

“Ugh, I’d forget my own head if it wasn’t screwed on,” Simon muttered as he confirmed that he had in fact left the book. It wasn’t like it was the original copy, that was safely tucked away in a museum, and they could always wait and get it the next day, but that would mean coming in on a Saturday, which they could have been using to relax and sleep in. “It's fine, we can always make another copy,” he insisted, and Betty seemed to think for a moment. “Unless you want to go back and grab it,” he offered, and the two turned around back towards the school.

“I can’t believe they make you teach in this basement,” Betty noted as the two traversed the old building, walking down the worn down, winding stone steps. “I thought after your amazing discoveries, you’d get at least a little more respect,” she said, slightly discontented. “I’m pretty sure the walls of this place are just lead coated in iron. You don’t even have a window!” she said, frustrated as Simon tried the door knob on the classroom only to realize the door had been locked after he left.

“Don’t worry, it's just until a proper classroom can be built during the renovation. And anyway, the door is locked. I guess we’re out of luck for now,” Simon said and Betty paused for a moment, before getting down on her knees to look at the lock and pulling out a bobby pin from her purse, picking it expertly. “I am so in love with you,” Simon said, and he truly meant it because watching Betty take charge of things, seeing how competent she was, it made her the most attractive woman in the world.

“You’re going to make me blush,” Betty said softly, even though her face was already bright red. The two strolled inside the dank and windowless basement, having been set up with a few seats and a desk with a projector at the front. Just as Betty had anticipated earlier, the basement seemed far older than the rest of the building and was completely unfinished, pipes and metal walls completely exposed and uncovered. They spotted the copy on the desk and Simon swiped it up, Betty walking ahead of him towards the door.

“Wait. Something’s wrong.” Simon said suddenly as he grabbed Betty’s arm before she could exit the classroom. Before she could ask what he meant, the two heard the sound of a siren of some kind, though it was far different from one designed to alert for a tornado, or an earthquake. There were no windows, and as such there was no way for either of them to see what was happening outside. But they certainly heard it when the soundwave reached them, a gigantic boom which shook the very foundations of the basement.

As the two sheltered under Simon’s desk as fast as they could, they heard the sounds of destruction outside. Buildings collapsing in on themselves, nature burning around them, and wails of desperate panic from people outside the building filled their ears. The echo of the shock wave and the blast it had created seemed to continue on for several minutes. Even when it stopped, there was the sound of another, similar explosion, though gauging how far away it was proved difficult considering the sheer power of the bombs being unleashed.

And then, there was a final explosion, clearly farther away and much more powerful than the previous two, enough to rip a hole in the earth and shatter eardrums. The two clung desperately to each other as the top floors of the university crumbled like tissue paper and battered on top of the basement, though the foundation of the building was strong enough that it didn’t collapse under the immense weight. Tears filled both of their eyes as their minds tried and failed to process the horror they couldn’t see but knew was occurring outside the basement.

“Betty. Betty, are you okay?” Simon asked, after what seemed like ages, when the final shock waves seemed to have subsided. He knew she was there because he was holding her, but he needed to hear her say it, to know that she was still with him. Simon knew it was a selfish question because he wasn’t okay and couldn’t have expected her to be, but he asked regardless. Betty continued clinging to his shirt, though she looked in his eyes, seeing the tears and panic in them, and found her voice despite everything.

“Yes. Simon I’m okay, are you okay?” she asked desperately because if Simon wasn’t okay, then she didn’t know what she’d do. She couldn’t imagine losing him, imagine a world where she had to suffer through whatever was outside this room right now without him. He nodded slowly, and the two stayed beneath that desk for a long moment, terrified of what they’d have to face when they left it, and left the room they were in. And then, very slowly, the two stood and breathed, taking in this last safe haven before they ascended the stairs.

Or, at least they tried to, only to see that the stairs had been blown to smithereens by the blast. The entire city was nothing but rubble, and if anyone else was alive they were hiding because there were no apparent signs of life. Betty squeezed Simon’s hand as she dropped to her knees in agony, and her mind started to race. This couldn’t be happening, there was no way this was happening. Everything they’d ever known was lying in ruin, and the two could only bear witness to it all.

“We can fix this,” Betty said frantically as she grasped at the pale gray ashes that covered the streets. “We can get the Demonic Wishing Eye, and we can wish this never happened. We can…we can…” Betty trailed off as she grasped at Simon and cried because this shouldn’t be happening. They were supposed to get married, they were supposed to write a book. She was supposed to tell Simon the funny things his parents had told her over the phone, and now it was all gone, nothing but dust.

“We need to get out of here. The air is irradiated,” Simon said seriously, and it was clear he was right, considering the sickly green glow in the sky. They were lucky, though both of them were in far too much shock to realize it, considering they’d been shielded from the brunt of the irradiation when the bomb was dropped. They walked numbly through the ruins of their city, though it was unclear where they were going, or even if they had a destination at all. When the two arrived in front of the rubble where their apartment used to stand, both sobered immensely.

“We’ll need to try and find some protective gear, at least until we can get away from the area of greatest fallout,” Betty surmised and Simon seemed to agree, though neither knew what kind of gear they’d need. After all, this had likely been a mutagenic bomb, something designed to harness radiation to scramble DNA. What could protect them from something like that remained a mystery. Still, Betty defaulted to her scant knowledge of previous nuclear preparations. “We’ll need water, and non-perishable food too,” she added.

“We could look and try and see if there’s anything salvageable from the camping supply store,” Simon suggested, and that became their goal. The store was actually quite far on the outskirts of the city, though that was probably for the best, as it would take them away from the center of the damage. Still, on foot it would be a several days long journey, and as they set out for it, both quickly discovered that they weren’t the only things living in the ruins of their fallen society. It had been when they took a rest as night fell that they saw their first mutant.

“This camper looks like it’ll work to sleep in for tonight,” Betty offered as the sun began to set, and so they made themselves a little home in the overturned vehicle. Simon managed to start a fire, and though the two were hungry, they didn’t dare leave the safety of their shelter to go look for food. As they sat around the fire, a figure seemed to appear in shadow, standing upright and moving slowly closer to them. “Is that a person?” Betty asked, both shocked and excited about the prospect. As it came into the fire’s light, however, it was clear she couldn’t have been more wrong.

It clearly used to be a person, and you could identify the basic structure of a person, with a head, arms and legs, but its skin had turned a sickly grayish green color, its mouth was ajar and leaking a sick, irradiated fluid, the same type that spilled from the sunken in holes where its eyes used to be. Both screamed, and that seemed to send the creature into a panic as it lunged at the two of them. Without thinking, Simon grabbed the broken off faucet that laid on the floor of the RV and chucked it hard at the thing's head, which seemed to kill it, as it fell, writhing in agony.

“I guess… I guess that’s what happened to everyone else…” Simon said, out of breath and clearly still in shock over what he’d just done. That thing wasn’t human anymore, but it clearly used to be, and he’d just killed it. Neither of them spoke for a while as they sat around the fire and tried to decide what their next course of action was. “It seems like those things are attracted to sound. We should try and be quiet.” Simon noted, as he spoke first, putting out the fire so they could go to bed.

“We need to arm ourselves,” Betty added, and neither of them wanted to have to do it, but it was clearly decided. They continued their journey to the camping supply store carefully and quietly, finally arriving about two days after their first encounter with a mutant. They’d come across a few more on the way, but had managed to distract them enough to sneak past, good considering they didn’t have any weapons. When they finally did make it, the place had clearly been hit hard, but it wasn’t completely rubble, which was good news.

“If this fishing jacket was strong enough to survive a nuclear blast, that’s a good sign, right?” Simon asked as he tossed on the slightly singed coat. Meanwhile, Betty managed to grab a hunting rifle and some ammo, which she stored in the deep pockets of a green army jacket she’d found in the rubble. Simon took a pair of combat boots and stored a hunting knife he grabbed in one of them, before looking for any food which was still edible. “Should we get beans or-” he started to say before being shushed.

“There’s something else here.” Betty whispered, and the two walked towards a tent which was rustling in the corner, weapons out and prepared to strike if necessary. She slowly unzipped the front of the tent and screamed as she saw, not one of those horrible mutants, but a small, scared looking little girl clinging to a fishing rod as if it were a weapon. Both lowered their implements and Betty spoke to her softly. “Hey, it's okay, we’re not going to hurt you,” she said as she offered the girl her hand. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“Marceline,” she responded softly, still clinging to the fishing rod in one arm. “What’s going on? My mom asked me to go to the clubhouse, and then I did, but there were only skeletons there. I tried to come here to look for her but… there were only more skeletons, and those weird green things,” she said, crying. “I’m scared,” she admitted and Betty and Simon looked at each other only briefly, making a silent decision as Simon handed her an only slight burned bear plushy to calm her down, and they began making a plan.

Chapter Text

Marceline sat on the floor of the apartment she shared with her mom, coloring. Her mother was pacing around the room on the phone, speaking in hushed but firm tones. That had been happening a lot more recently, Marceline had noticed, and she seemed stressed more and more. Whenever Marceline tried to ask her if something was wrong, she insisted that everything was fine, and she had no reason to worry. Still, though she was young, Marceline wasn’t stupid, and a pit formed in her stomach every time she saw her pick up that phone.

“Today? But that’s not enough time for people to evacuate!” She insisted over the phone, and Marceline looked up at her, trying to piece together what she meant. “We need to tell people, we can’t have a drop with no warning!” she insisted frantically on the phone. “I can’t, have a daughter to think about. Please, reconsider,” she begged. Whatever the person on the other line of the phone said seemed to darken her mood significantly. “I understand. We’ll get there as soon as we can, sir,” she said solemnly, before turning to Marceline.

“Look mom, I drew a picture! That’s you, and that’s me, and that’s a cat with sunglasses, and that’s the sign from that one show, Cheer!” Marceline said happily. Her mother smiled at her, and at the drawing, but she could tell there was something sad behind her eyes. She took the drawing and folded it up in her pocket, ruffling Marceline’s hair as she seemed to try and figure out what to say next. “What’s going on?” Marceline asked as she started to search around their small apartment for something.

“It’s called Cheers with an ‘S’. And… we’re going to go to a special clubhouse, sweetheart,” her mother said as she packed some things away in a book bag. “And we need to leave right now, because we don’t want the party to get started without us,” she explained and even though Marceline believed her, she wasn’t sure if she was being told the whole truth. Her mother grabbed a small thumb drive and placed it in the corduroy pocket on the front of Marcy’s dress. “That’s very important, okay. I want you to make sure you hold onto it.” she said seriously.

“Alright mom! I’ll pack up all my toys,” she said excitedly, at least a little interested in the prospect of meeting some new people. She didn’t go to school, though she did see other kids her age walking down the street with their bookbags. When she asked her mother once when she could start school like them, her mother had given her an uncomfortable look, and told Marceline that because she was special she couldn’t do all the same things those kids did. It didn’t matter much to Marcy, though, she was content to learn from her mom.

“No!” her mom said suddenly, and Marceline stopped in her tracks, suddenly feeling embarrassed and like she’d done something wrong. Her mother softened immensely and quickly explained what she meant. “We won’t have time,” she said gently. “The party is starting soon, and so we have to go right now,” she said, and Marceline nodded. Her mother put something around her neck, a necklace with a plastic card on the end that said her name and had her photo. “Let’s go,” her mother said as she took her hand and they left the apartment.

“Will it take a long time to get to the clubhouse?” Marceline asked as the two traversed the city streets. Her mom seemed to be looking for something desperately, and seemed to spot it as she grabbed their bicycle which was chained up outside their building, and put Marceline’s helmet on, strapping her into her seat before she climbed on and began peddling as fast as she could. The city disappeared behind them quickly, and she finally started to answer Marcy’s question, though it was clear her mind was elsewhere.

“I’m not sure, sweetie,” she said as she peddled. Though Marceline could only see the back of her head, she could already imagine the look of panic on her face as she seemed to push herself incredibly hard. The plastic tag on her necklace swung against her body as Marceline watched as they passed an old looking building and civilization seemed to fall away. A loud ringing began faintly in the distance, and her mom suddenly stopped the bike. “No…no, not yet,” she seemed to say in a panic.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Marceline asked as her mother grabbed her from the bike seat and ran towards the old looking building they’d passed. “Is this the clubhouse?” she asked, but her mother didn’t answer, kicking at the boarded shut door until it opened. The place was empty and covered in spider webs. “I don’t see a party; where’s that noise coming from?” she asked again, still feeling that same concern bubbling inside her that her mother felt incapable of defusing. Her mother leaned down and looked at her seriously.

“Marceline, I need you to go into that building, and stay far away from all the windows okay? And if there’s a desk or anything else, I need you to hide underneath that. I’ll tell you when it's safe to come out, I promise,” she urged, and her mother looked so desperate that Marceline did was she asked without following up. As she entered the building, her mother pushed against the broken doors, seemingly trying to hold them closed from the outside. With the doors closed, the old building was incredibly dark, and Marceline crouched herself away from the windows.

The boom that followed only seconds after was so loud it made Marceline’s ears burn, and the windows shatter. From her safe little corner, none of the broken glass hurt her, but she began to panic as she thought about her mother. Still, she stayed put just as she was instructed when two more loud, painful explosions occurred, tossing dust and other stuff through the broken windows of the building. Marcy’s ears were ringing, and she knew tears were streaming down her face when the doors opened and her mother walked in.

“Mom!” she called out, rushing towards her and grabbing tight to her shirt. Her mother’s face looked paler than it had before, and her eyes seemed a bit more sunken in. She squeezed her eyes tight as if she had a headache, but she was there and that was what mattered. “What was that?” Marceline asked terrified, and her mother didn’t answer at first, just looking her over and checking her arms for any signs of injury. She scanned the building for any indication of breaches, and then spoke to her.

“Were you hurt? Did anything glowing touch you?” she asked and when Marceline shook her head she gave a simplified explanation. “That was… a big monster. A lot of big monsters, actually, and they’re gone now, but we really need to get to the clubhouse to make sure we don’t get hurt by anything they left behind,” she explained and Marceline nodded even though she wasn’t sure what anything she said meant. “Come on, let’s go back to the bike,” she said, but as they walked outside, it seemed whatever monster had attacked had taken the bike as well.

“Did the monster hurt you when you were standing outside?” Marceline asked, and her mother just gave her a weak smile as she took her hand and the two began walking the wasteland. The two traveled for what seemed like ages, as they stopped only occasionally to rest in overturned trailers or abandoned buildings they found. Marceline’s mother developed a nasty cough, but didn’t acknowledge it when asked about it. And when her mother had been in danger and Marceline had saved her, she’d seemed afraid.

Her mother had told her a long time ago that she was special, different from other kids her age. She’d told her that she’d have powers, and be able to do things that other people couldn’t do. And, that because of it, she needed to be very careful with how she used that power. Marceline thought she’d been doing a good thing when she stopped the mean dog, and protected her mother, but now she wasn’t so sure. That was one of the last times she saw her mom, before she sent her away, and now she was sure that she knew the reason why.

When she’d finally gotten to the clubhouse like her mom had said, there was no party like she’d said, just a bunch of skeletons. She stayed there for only a few days, but when she realized that her mother wasn’t coming back, she set out to find her and apologize for scarring her. She started back to her old apartment, but ended up turned around and lost. That was when she’d first encountered the oozing monsters, which had tried to attack her. When she tried to hurt them the same way she had the mean dog, it hadn’t worked, and she had to run.

When she found the camping supply store, she grabbed the first weapon she could find and hid out in a tent, hoping that her mom would find her before the monsters did. When she’d heard movement outside the tent, she’d been ready to wack whoever she found with her fishing rod, only to see that they weren’t monsters. Although she would have preferred to see her mom, the two of them seemed normal, and the man gave her a toy so she’d feel better. She was going to ask them their names, when what she’d been afraid of happened.

“They found us,” Simon said seriously as he turned towards the two mutants walking towards them, knife in hand. Betty readied her shotgun and took one down, but the loud blast caused the second one to lunge. Marceline screamed in panic as it almost grabbed her, only for Simon to slash it across the neck before it could touch her. Both laid still on the ground, and Simon and Betty panted for a moment, taking stock of what they’d just done. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” he said with a shutter.

“Don’t feel bad.” Marceline said quietly. When both of the adults looked at her, she explained her reasoning. “They don’t… they don’t have souls. I know, I tried to eat one of their souls once, and it didn’t work, so…” she admitted. She knew her mom had told her not to mention the specifics of her powers to strangers before, but they had saved her, so she was sure it was fine. Both of them looked at each other curiously, and Marceline figured they’d be afraid of her. “What are your names?” she asked, hoping to distract them.

“I’m Betty, and this is my fiancé, Simon.” Betty explained and Marceline nodded, though she didn’t know what a fiancé was. “Do you know where your parents are?” she asked and Marceline shook her head even though she did know where her dad was. But her mom had told her he was a bad man, and that she should stay away from him, and she didn’t want to break another one of her rules. “Well, you shouldn’t be out here alone. This is no place for a little girl,” she said, before offering Marceline her hand, which she cautiously took.

“Where are we going?” Marceline asked as the three of them walked through the remains of the store. Simon grabbed a jacket and held it up in front of her, before nodding and giving it to her. “Can I have the black one instead?” Marceline asked, pointing to the jacket hung up next to the one he’d grabbed, and he relented, handing it to her. “Thank you!” she said pleased. “Can I have a knife too? Yours is really cool, Simon,” she offered, and he shook his head quickly, explaining something important to her.

“No, you don’t need one. Adults are supposed to protect kids, not the other way around,” he said before ruffling her hair on impulse. It reminded her of the way her mom did it, and Marceline decided that she was glad she was with Simon and Betty. “It's a long walk to our next stop. I can carry you, if you want,” he offered, and Marceline took him up on the offer immediately. Simon had always liked kids, and Marceline was adorable despite the circumstances. He knew intrinsically that he needed to protect her like she was his own.

“We should try and get to the old hospital. Best case scenario, there’s more people. Worst case scenario, maybe there’s some medicine that we could use,” Betty suggested and Simon nodded in agreement. She was proud of Simon for how quickly he’d stepped up to help little Marceline, but she couldn’t help but feel conflicted. After all, she’d never been particularly close with any kids, and now for the foreseeable future she was going to be in charge of one. It wasn’t that Betty didn’t like kids, completely the opposite, in fact.

Kids didn’t tend to like her. Maybe it was her way of thinking, or maybe they knew that there was something wrong with her and gravitated away. She tucked her arms inward as she thought about the fact that when that mutant had lunged at Marceline, she’d frozen in panic, and Simon had to save her. How was she supposed to be a half decent caregiver when she wasn’t able to protect a kid from the hazards of this new world. She wondered if maybe Marceline would be better off with Simon on his own, when he spoke to her.

“She’s already dozed off,” Simon said quietly, and when she looked over, Betty found that Marceline was snoring in his arms. “Poor thing, I can’t imagine what she’s been through,” he said, and Betty nodded in acknowledgement without saying much else. Simon stopped in his tracks and held her hand with his free arm. “What’s on your mind princess?” he asked and Betty knew that she couldn’t tell him about the deeply complex feelings in her head, because he’d probably think she was a horrible person. Still, she found it impossible to lie to Simon.

“I just… I’m worried. When that thing lunged at us, I froze up completely both times. How am I supposed to keep either of you safe when I’m like this,” she offered and Simon looked at her sympathetically, gave her forehead a kiss, which made her tear up. “I mean… the world ended, Simon. Us three might be the only people left in the entire world. If…if we’d gone to get Chinese food, we’d be… we were so close to being dead. What if this is how life is forever? What if I make a dumb decision and someone gets hurt?” she offered.

“Betty… I love you so much, princess. And think back, you’re the one who said we should go back for the Enchiridion, you’re the one who picked the lock that let us into the basement. You’re the one who saved us. You don’t have to worry about keeping me and Marceline safe, we’re both going to keep her safe, and we’re both going to keep each other safe. Plus, you looked gorgeous taking down that mutant,” he added with a smile, and Betty laughed because even now he was finding a way to make her blush.

“You are everything, Dr. Petrakov,” she said with a smile, and the two continued their walk to the nearby hospital. The door was completely blown off and the windows were smashed, which was a bad sign for it having any human life, but the mutants hadn’t made their way there yet. Marceline woke up as they made their way inside, though mostly she just looked around the place, in seeming awe of the state of it. Simon and Betty had to agree, it felt wrong to see such a massive hospital emptied out.

“It’s getting dark out there,” Simon noted, before adding something else. “I’ll try and board up the doors and windows so we don’t have to worry about mutant attacks for the night. Why don’t you two go searching for some medicine,” he offered as he went about looking for smashed furniture to barricade the door. Marceline reached unconsciously for Betty’s hand, which she offered, and the two began searching empty patient rooms for any useful medications. The skeletons which littered the halls made Betty shudder, but Marceline didn’t seem to mind.

“Yes, jackpot,” Betty said as she located a bottle of penicillin. Considering the current state of the world, this was probably the second-best thing they could find, behind radiation medication. Marceline looked at her curiously as she shoved several bottles of it in the bag she’d taken from the camping store. “It’s medicine that helps you not to get sick if you get cut,” she said before grabbing several bottles of over-the-counter cold medicine, bandages, hypodermic needles, and a few cans of soup which were still labeled as good.

“Wow! You’re really smart,” Marceline offered, and Betty looked away, embarrassed. “What does this medicine do?” she asked, holding up a bottle of something called “Sildenafil”. When Betty saw it, she took it away and put it back, only mentioning that it wasn’t going to be necessary for their journey. “What about this?” she asked, holding up another bottle of pills labeled ibuprofen, which Betty looked happy about. “My mom takes these!” she said happily, and Betty put them in her bag. “Can you teach me how to shoot that?” she asked, pointing to Betty’s riffle.

“I… maybe when you’re older,” she offered, and Marceline seemed to accept that answer. “And… I’m not really that smart. Simon’s a genius though.” she said as the two walked back over to where Simon had boarded up the door and dragged some mattresses from patient rooms over to the main hall, where he’d also managed to start a fire. “Look, he even made us a little camp for the night,” she pointed out, and Marceline shook her head.

“Yeah, but you found all that good medicine, and shot that scary monster. So you’re both great,” she justified before yawning and sprawling out on the mattress Simon had laid out for her. Betty let her words sink in a little bit, letting out a sigh of relief and laying down on the mattress next to Simon, thinking about how it’d been several days since she’d slept on one. Laying there, with Simon’s heart beating next to hers as they quietly drifted off to sleep, Marceline snoring quietly next to them, Betty could almost pretend the world hadn’t ended at all.

Chapter Text

After their brief night at the hospital concluded, both Betty and Simon were met with a rude awakening when day arrived. Battering against the makeshift barricade that Simon had made against the door were at least three mutants, which they’d had to take down first thing in the morning. Neither of them had wanted this to be the way their day started, but there was little hope for better in the conditions they lived in. Marceline was already awake and sitting up when they’d finished fighting their attackers off.

“What’s for breakfast?” she asked, and despite everything, Simon cracked a smile because her ability to continuously remain sweet in the face of the nightmare they lived under was enough to lift anyone’s spirits. Still, he didn’t exactly have the best answer for her, as all they managed to find were cans of soup from the hospital and cans of beans from the camping store. Not exactly conducive to a complete breakfast. Neither of those would contain much protein, and Simon was thinking about how that would affect her health when Betty spoke.

“I’ll heat us up some beans and jerky. That’s almost like bacon,” she offered, and Marceline seemed pleased by the idea of something that was close to bacon. Simon smiled at that because of course she’d been smart enough to grab jerky at the camping supply store. His stomach growled, and he lit them another fire to heat the beans and jerky over. Without utensils, they’d have to eat with their hands, but he still insisted that Marceline wash her hands before they ate. Just because the world had ended didn’t mean germs had to win.

“These are the best beans and jerky I’ve ever tasted, princess,” Simon said and Betty looked away blushing, muttering that he only thought that because they were starving. Now that they had an extra mouth to feed, finding enough safe food to survive would be crucial, and unfortunately hunting or foraging was completely out of the question due to the fall-out. A shame too, when they’d been roughing it in the mountains of Pakistan and the jungles of Honduras the two had learned to make quite a delicious mushroom stew with bone broth.

“Are you really a princess?” Marceline asked as she scarfed down her beans and jerky, pausing only to wipe her mouth with her arm. The way she asked it, with a sparkle in her eye, made it clear she thought the idea was the coolest thing in the world. Considering the fact that Betty was absolutely not a princess, and that it was just a sweet nickname Simon had given her, she felt bad having to disappoint her. It was only when she remembered that the concept of royalty meant relatively nothing now that she decided to indulge.

“Yep.” she offered and Marceline seemed to light up with excitement, firing a million questions which Betty was unequipped to answer. Simon watched on with an amused look on his face, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as she started to downplay herself as she was known to do. Simon was good at that, at making her feel like she was someone and deserving of praise or admiration. She’d fallen in love with people before she met Simon, or at least she thought it was love, but none had ever made her feel so complete as he did.

“I love princesses! I watched all of their movies back at my house with my mom,” she said pleased, though at the mention of her mother her joy seemed to falter quickly. “Do you think we can find her?” Marceline asked and Simon and Betty knew they had a responsibility to be honest and tell Marceline the truth, that her mother was almost certainly dead, but the idea of saying that and watching the light go out in those little eyes of hers was too much to bear. Instead, they said nothing, and Simon quietly put out the fire.

“What we really need is a Geiger counter. That would at least let us know if we were walking into a place with high levels of radiation. Maybe we could even test animals and plants, our food supply would be a lot higher,” Simon mentioned to himself and Betty agreed, though it was obvious to both of them that they had no chance at locating something like that. It wasn’t as though they were commonly sold in stores, especially because there had been little warning that something like this would happen.

“I know how to make one of those!” Marceline suddenly piped up as she finished her food and politely threw it in the nearby trash can. Both Betty and Simon knew that Marceline could be a bit precocious and really weren’t going to pay it any mind, when she said something else. “My mom taught me! She said, ‘Sweetheart, this is very important, so I need you to pay attention’ and she drew me this map of it to study. I can remake it, if you give me some paper and crayons,” Marceline insisted, and the two adults looked at each other and shrugged.

“Will this work?” Betty offered after grabbing a release form and turning it to the blank side, along with a pen from the reception desk. Marceline examined it for a minute and nodded, taking the materials and shooing the two adults away, insisting she couldn’t be watched while she worked. “What do you think the chance is that she actually knows what she’s talking about?” Betty asked and Simon shrugged. Neither of them were engineers and while they knew a few basics, they were practically in the dark without her.

“Probably close to zero. But worst case scenario, she feels helpful,” Simon said, and he took a pause before mentioning something else. “Do you think she’s sick? Her temperament seems fine, but her skin is ashen,” he noted, and Betty nodded, having noticed the same thing. At first, she thought it might have been a combination of hunger and exposure to radiation, but both options seemed less than plausible considering she didn’t seem to show any other symptoms. “You know, when we first met her she mentioned… sucking souls, didn’t she?” he muttered.

“Do you think there’s a possibility she’s not human?” Betty questioned, though the thought had already crossed her mind. After all, both knew well that magic existed, and with everything that had happened with the mutants, it didn’t seem too far of a stretch to imagine that monsters were real as well. It certainly wouldn’t change anything about how they took care of the girl, it seemed like she still needed to eat and sleep as much as any other child her age, but it could prove important down the line.

“I wish we had the Enchiridion to consult, it could probably help us.” Simon mused and Betty lit up in a way that he noticed, which he quickly mentioned. “You’ve got a look on your face like you have good news,” he mentioned, and Betty quickly took off her camping backpack and pulled their copy of the Enchiridion from it, much to Simon’s shock. “You still have it?” he asked surprised and, Betty nodded quickly, launching into her explanation as Simon tried to figure out how he’d missed her carrying it around this whole time.

“Us going back for it practically saved our lives, I figured it must be good luck,” she admitted before opening the thing up. It was covered in colorful post-it notes and had a complex look-up system which they’d put in place. In addition, some of the page markers had fun notes they’d written to each other about the contents of whatever section they’d been on. It was, in some ways, a small remnant of their old life, before things had gotten so bad. “Let’s see, “souls” starts with an S so we used a Salmon colored post-it note,” she mused.

“We’d be looking for monsters, so that'd be a Maroon colored post-it.” Simon added, and the two flipped to the pages with both of those Post-its on them. Finally, they came across something that seemed relevant. “Demons,” the page header said. They skimmed the page until something of note came up. “While most demons are either red or pink, and come in many different forms, especially high-ranking demons in the Nightosphere (see page 247) typically look uniform, with ashen gray skin, and an insatiable hunger for souls,” Simon read.

“Well, that seems like our answer, doesn’t it? She must be the kid of a high ranking demon,” Betty offered, before considering something else. “Although, it does seem weird that she’s out here all alone, and based on her description… I think her mother was a human,” she surmised, and Simon agreed. “Wow, a real human demon hybrid. The fact that she wasn’t immediately made some sort of science project probably means her mom was hiding her, for good reason.” Betty added, and Simon looked over at her, still drawing.

“Do you think she knows?” he asked, and when Betty raised an eyebrow, he expanded. “I mean, do you think her mother told her the specifics of her heritage. Being half demon seems… really heavy for a kid.” Simon explained, and Betty had to agree. All of that power and, more importantly, the implication that you were genetically evil seemed like it would be hard for a kid to process. And Marceline already seemed aware enough that her powers might be off-putting. It seemed irresponsible of them to further hammer it home.

“I’m done!” she called, and the two walked over to the waiting room of the hospital, where she presented them with her drawing. It did actually look like the inner workings of a Geiger counter, though clearly though a child’s eyes. The parts were even shoddily labeled, though Simon and Betty were able to decipher what she meant. “So, this doohickey you can get from an alarm clock, and this part you can get from a microwave,” she said, explaining ordinary places you could acquire any of the tech you’d need to make the thing.

“This is incredible, Marceline,” Betty said, and she seemed proud that she’d done a good job. “If we go to the old scrapyard, we should be able to find all of these parts,” she offered and Simon seemed to agree with her assessment, as the three left the hospital, though not before checking any machinery for the needed parts. They managed to find the wire and solder they needed lying around, and tearing into the EKG machines in the hospital they found several types of capacitor. With that settled, they began their journey to the scrapyard.

“My mom is really smart,” Marceline noted. “She was working on a secret project, and she was always talking on the phone about it. I don’t think it made her very happy, though. I could tell whenever she was talking about the project, she seemed upset. And when she finished working on the project, she’d teach me about making that counter thing, and she’d make me draw maps to the clubhouse,” she added as she sat on Simon’s shoulders while they traversed through the wasteland. “I wish she hadn’t been so upset,” she said quietly.

“Well,” Simon started, attempting to cheer her up. “I’m sure that you made her feel a lot less upset whenever you talked to her,” he said, and when Marceline made a confused sound, he expanded. “Well, you’re the greatest little girl in the world, so I know you brightened her spirits,“ Simon said and Marceline seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking her head sadly, seeming to remember something upsetting. She was clearly trying to hold back tears as she choked out her explanation.

“She was scarred of me. That’s why she left me. I used my scary demon powers and…” she trailed off as tears seemed to overtake her. “I’m sorry,” she said through shuddering breaths. “I’m… I’m bad. That’s why she was afraid of me. And I hurt that mean puppy because I thought it was good, but I was wrong, and I was bad,” she said. “I don’t want to be bad,” Marceline said, and Simon slowly pulled her from his shoulders, looking at her gently as she let out the emotions she’d been concealing. “I want my mom to come back,” she admitted.

“Marceline, listen to me,” Betty said as she held the little girl in her arms. She silently noted that if she was going to survive in this apocalypse, she was going to need to get stronger, because she was already a little winded. “You are not bad, I promise, okay. And you protecting your mom is incredibly admirable. I don’t think she was even a little scarred of you.” she said, and when Marceline looked unconvinced she pointed at the diagram she held in her hands. “Why do you think she taught you all this stuff? It was because she loved you, and wanted you to be okay,”

Betty knew better than most what it was like to feel as though you were inherently bad, like there was something wrong with you that pushed people away. Even in this, the end of the world, she struggled to believe that Simon loved her and would stay with her, without her having to change herself. But Marceline was just a little girl, and she was so good. Betty refused to let her feel like she was bad because of the way she was born, and she gave the girl a hug, which seemed to calm her down.

The rest of the journey to the scrapyard had much more brevity, and upon their arrival, Marceline was very helpful in telling them exactly which electronics would have the parts they needed inside of them. When they gathered what they needed, their first reaction was, of course, to try and find some way of connecting the pieces together without damaging them. Luckily, they’d also found a generator and, after some work starting it up, had managed to connect it to a hot glue gun for easy binding.

“Alright, let’s fire this baby up,” Simon said as he hooked the thing to a nine volt battery, and it immediately began clicking away heavily, noting that the surrounding air was indeed in a bad state. Still, when pointing it towards the direction of the city they’d come from, it was clear the radiation out at the scrapyard was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. With that established, and the counter in working order, Betty piled more batteries into her bag and Simon used it to determine what the best direction to head would be.

“Looks like we should follow the highway heading right,” Betty noted, as the counter was noticeably quieter in that direction. “Maybe they’ll even be survivors that way,” she offered, even though she didn’t really believe it herself. The reality was what they would actually be hoping for was safer sources of food and water. Currently, they only had a bit of drinkable water left, which had been sealed in the camping supply store, and with their Geiger counter now they could try and find more.

“What do you hope we find, Marceline?” Simon asked, and Marceline seemed to think for a moment before giving her answer.

“A toy store!” she said, and that was a fair answer, considering the plush that Simon had given her at the camping store had been leaked on by one of the oozing mutants and had to be tossed for her own safety. Even after everything, she still had her priorities straight. With a chuckle, Simon turned the question on Betty.

“What about you, princess? Anything you’re hoping to find?” he questioned and even though both of them knew that the real answer was practical things like materials for survival, for the sake of the conversation Betty offered a more wishful answer.

“Hmm… maybe a library or bookstore. I was halfway through a really good book, and I’d like to finish it,” she said, and that brought a smile to Simon’s face. Betty turned the question back on him. “What about you, Simon? A TV with a Cheers box set?” she asked with a joking tone and he laughed back.

“While that’s tempting… I think I’d like eggs. Non-irradiated eggs.” he said and when Betty looked at him curiously he explained. “I mean, you make the perfect soft-boiled eggs. I really wish I had some,” he said, and even though it was so small, it made Betty’s heart flutter that even after all this he still cared about those sorts of small things. She vowed then and there that if she ever did come across some non-irradiated eggs, she’d make them for Simon and Marcy. It dawned on her how such a small goal could become so powerful in the right context.

Chapter Text

The trip down the highway had been, as they had known it would be, tirelessly boring. The heat was bone deep beating down as they walked the path, strange considering before the bomb had dropped they’d been safely in the midst of winter. Although, neither Betty nor Simon thought to complain, considering the alternative was heavily irradiated snow falling from the sky and poisoning anyone it touched. Still, considering the lack of buildings and the fact that they were completely exposed to mutants at night, it wasn’t exactly a relaxing experience.

“I’m tired,” Marceline complained as the three continued their trek down the barren remains of human society. Currently, they were on top of one of those large highway bridges, and they were all doing their best not to look down. “It's so hot outside,” she added, wiping the sweat from her small forehead, and Simon and Betty looked at each other. With the tiny amount of drinking water they had left, it was definitely dangerous to be out in this heat without a rest. And considering they’d been on the move for the last two days, a stop was needed.

Unfortunately, all that the highway had to offer in terms of shelter were a few overturned and decimated cars. Those which hadn’t been reduced to nothing but a frame were either crawling with mutants who’d had the same idea, or were so highly irradiated that it was clear mutants had been nesting there previously. Simon looked at the sign which indicated where the next exit was, and what would be there. Several old restaurants and attractions, which could have made good shelter but would require much more walking.

“Simon, over there.” Betty said as she scooped Marceline in her arms and gestured towards a food truck. It was still upright, which was a good sign and as Simon walked closer and pointed the Geiger counter towards it, the radiation level it gave off was far lower than most of the other vehicles they’d passed. Betty readied her gun and Simon pulled out his knife as they pried the doors open and prepared to be attacked by mutants, only to see that the vehicle was empty of them. Breathing a sigh of relief, they climbed inside and shut the doors.

The first thing they noticed as soon as they were inside was the fact that it was cold inside the truck. Not enough to be concerning, more like the AC was on, which upon inspection it was. This was an immensely good sign, as it meant there was still some sort of power coursing through the vehicle. Upon further inspection they also found a generator that was attached to a fridge and grill, a tank of clean, and non-irradiated water, and most excitingly of all, a deep freezer that was still cold and filled with food.

“Do you think this thing still runs?” Simon asked excitedly after locating the keys, which were still inside the ignition. A running car would be a godsend, considering it would mean being able to cover much more ground without exposure to the elements. Not only that, but it could provide a moveable home base, which would be great for stability. Of course, that would mean they’d need to find gas, but that was a bridge they could cross later, especially considering the fuel gage said they currently had a full tank.

“Nope,” Betty said after having climbed out of the truck and popped the hood. “The engine is totally fried. Literally, it looks like someone dropped it into a deep fryer,” she explained and she tried not to let the disappointment show on her face. After all, one of the most dangerous aspects of surviving through the wasteland was the elements, and here they were with what seemed like an answer only to be let down. Still, once she looked at Marceline who had been watching the two of them, she tried to be optimistic. “We can still make the best out of this, though,” she said.

“Ooh, there’s hamburgers in here!” Marceline said after digging through the deep freezer and pulling out one of the patties. Simon shrugged and went over to grill to see if it could be turned on, and thanks to the fact that the generator was still running, it could be. Poking around for a bit he found some burger buns, and when Betty examined the fridge she found not only butter, cheese, lettuce and tomato, but something else she put to the side for herself. “Can I help make them?” Marceline asked, and Simon nodded.

“I wish I had my “Kiss the cook” apron,” Simon joked as he pulled a cardboard box full of ingredients over for Marceline to stand on. “It always made me feel more effective in the kitchen,” he mentioned, and Betty casually walked over, planting a kiss on his cheek. Simon smiled as a slight blush crossed his face, despite how far into their relationship they were. “Well, that works too.” he said before turning his attention to Marceline, directing her to not touch the grill top, and when to tell him to flip the burgers and buns.

Meanwhile, as they were distracted by cooking, Betty turned her attention to her prize, a non-irradiated carton of eggs. Taking a bit of water from the fresh water tank, she filled a small pot and placed it on top of the generator, which was hot enough for the water to start boiling. Luckily, Betty didn’t need a timer for this, as she knew the secret to perfect soft-boiled eggs was to simmer them rather than letting the water get to a full boil. That and a sprinkle of salt in the water, which she added before giving it back to Simon for the patties.

The entire truck began to smell delicious as their meal started to come together, and Marceline perfected the art of warming the buns with a bit of butter on the inside for a wonderful toasted taste. Simon expertly flipped the patties and seared them, and Betty watched, remembering the way he’d make the pancakes, and she’d make the eggs when they cooked a full breakfast. Marceline seemed transfixed by watching the process, and when they were done took pride in the fact that she’d gotten to help.

“Here you go, princess,” Simon offered as he gave Betty her burger, cooked medium and with extra tomato just the way she liked it. When they went out to restaurants together, he’d always order a burger with tomato and then give his slice to her. They way he’d described it, he liked the essence of tomato that was left over but not the actual thing, so it made sense to do it that way rather than ordering it without. They had their things like that, the two of them. They fit so perfectly into each other’s lives, even in a crisis like this.

“And here you both go,” Betty said as she offered both of them pre-peeled soft-boiled eggs. Simon’s eyes lit up as he realized what it was, and she could see how happy this tiny thing had made him, given he took the time to savor it. Marceline didn’t have any such qualms as she quickly dug into the thing, practically swallowing it whole. Betty took it as a complement of her skills, and the three of them enjoyed a quiet, hot meal together. It tasted delicious, maybe because it was something of a respite from the outside world.

“What do we do now?” Marceline asked after she finished her food. Betty had taken the liberty of bottling the clean water and putting it in her backpack so they wouldn’t be at such a high risk of dehydration going forward. “After my mom and I ate dinner, we always watched TV,” Marceline mentioned, and a wave of melancholy seeped into the room as reality set in. None of them would ever sit around watching TV with their loved ones ever again, and that was a hard pill to swallow. Still, Simon, always the creative, seemed to have an idea.

“Hold on just a second,” he offered as he located a marker and began drawing what looked like the outline of a TV on the box Marcy had been standing on. Quickly figuring out where he was going with this, Betty grabbed a smaller cardboard box and drew the buttons on a remote as Simon emptied the box and punched a hole in the front and back of it. Now, when placing the box in front of anything, it took on the appearance of it being on TV. Betty handed Marceline the remote, and she quickly caught on to the game they were playing.

“Boring, boring,” she said, laughing as she clicked the fake buttons on the remote. For each click, Simon or Betty would put something in front of the empty hole in the back of the box, as if it were a show on a new channel. “Aren’t there any cartoons on this thing?” she questioned, still clearly having a good time. It was at that moment that Betty got an idea, which she knew she’d have to see through as soon as it popped into her head. When Marceline clicked the button next, she launched into the theme song for Cheers.

Upon hearing that, Simon felt like he was falling in love with Betty all over again, and maybe he was because she was perfect, everything he’d ever dreamed of. He quickly joined in, and Marceline stopped clicking the buttons and flipping through channels, as if even she was caught up in the emotion of the moment. The truth was, this exercise was just as much for the two of them as it was for Marceline, even if they didn’t realize it at first. The theme song neared it conclusion and the two harmonized, Marceline applauding their efforts.

“Cheers is filmed in front of a live studio audience,” Simon said and, he quickly got into the character of Sam. While he wasn’t quite at the point of having whole episodes memorized, he was at least familiar enough to get their voices and style of talking down. “Now listen here Diane, you’re frigid, rude, and completely stuck up without any of the talent to back it up,” he complained, and he looked at Betty to see if she’d continue on with what they were doing. She of course did, quickly becoming the character of Diane.

“Yeah, well, you’re a boorish oaf with about as much class as one of those dancing monkeys at the circus! I’d never so much as look twice at a man like you,” she said, and Marceline laughed before hitting the mute button.

“Whenever they start arguing they start kissing right after,” she complained and the two of them mimed the actions of arguing and kissing, much to Marceline’s chagrin. She seemed to click the TV off and the two stepped from behind the box. “That was great! It was just like watching real TV,” she said, before adding something else. “I liked your singing… I like to sing too, sometimes,” she said and Simon and Betty looked at each other, and then at her, seemingly with the same thought on their mind.

“Why don’t you sing something for us, Marcy?” Betty asked and despite her usual bravado Marceline did seem a bit nervous, so she added something else. “We’ll sing with you,” she said, and Marceline seemed to think for a moment before nodding. She began into a rendition of the Golden Girl’s theme song, which was adorable in her child-like voice, and the two joined in happily, the lyrics about being a friend and having someone’s back seemingly particularly transient in the context of the apocalypse.

“I wonder if there’s anything else useful in here,” Simon mentioned once they’d completed their singing, and he began poking around the crevices of the truck before locating a pack of playing cards. His eyes lit up as he realized what he’d found, and he quickly rushed over with the intent to teach Marceline a card game. He and Betty had spent countless hours playing card games during their many research trips and long flights, though she was far better than him. “Do you know how to play Go-Fish?” Simon questioned and Marceline shook her head.

The rest of the night was spent quietly, playing multiple games of Go-Fish, with Simon losing to both Betty and Marceline respectively. Though, he couldn’t bring himself to muster up even fake indignation at the losses, considering how excited Marceline clearly was to be winning. After a few games, Betty took it upon herself to search for any non-perishable foods they could take with them without the need of a refrigerator or a grill, and while there wasn’t much, she did locate more cans of beans as well as some granola bars which she stored away.

“Hey, there’s a map in the glove box,” Betty noted and Simon perked up to look over at her, as she brought it over. “This is the city we came from, here’s the camping store and the hospital, and all the way this way is the next closest city,” she noted and Simon nodded. “It's about 27 miles from here, which should be about three days worth of walking, if we’re lucky,” she noted as she took the marker they’d been using before and began to draw their path out. “Hopefully the next city over will be more promising,” she mentioned.

“I wish we could drive. Why couldn’t I have become a doctor in something useful, like fixing cars,” Simon muttered under his breath, and the truth was it did feel frustrating to be high specialized and smart in a field that was thoroughly unuseful in the modern day. It felt as though the entire world was an airplane in need of a doctor and everyone was staring at him. Still, despite his internal frustration, Betty gave his hand a squeeze, and he felt better again. The past was unchangeable, all that he could do now was try and make a better future.

“I don’t think anyone could fix that engine. Like I said, I think someone might have actually dropped it into a deep fryer. It has a crispy breading on the outside,” Betty said and when Simon left the van to examine it himself it was confirmed which was at least a little comforting, though it was also deeply confusing. “Don’t beat yourself up,” Betty offered. “There’s no one else I’d rather be stuck in the apocalypse with,” she said, stroking his hair, and Marceline watched with a combination of interest and child-like disgust.

“Can I braid your hair?” Marceline asked Betty suddenly, probably trying to avoid having to see any kissing. Betty was surprised at the request, but Marceline gave her explanation. “I want really long hair like yours when I get older, so I want to practice braiding now,” she said and Betty couldn’t think of a reason to decline, so she nodded, and turned her back to Marceline who began braiding on one side of her hair. “Simon, you need to do the other side. And we’ll compare whose is better,” Marceline insisted.

“I have no idea how to braid, so forgive me for if my results are less than ideal,” he joked as he began the process, occasionally looking over at Marceline and trying to copy what she did with the hair. “You do have great hair,” Simon muttered and Betty thought it was hilarious considering her hair hadn’t been washed properly in several weeks, and was no doubt a greasy mess. The three of them did their best to stay as clean as they could, but when the choice was between using clean water to drink or to wash hair, drinking it won every time.

“Wow, you’re really bad at this!” Marceline said once they’d completed their braiding endeavors. Marceline retrieved a reflective pan for Betty to look at herself in, and she had to agree. While Marceline’s was messy but consistent in its looping back and forth pattern, Simon’s was all over the place, with bits of hair sticking out at random angles and the entire thing unraveling at the end. He looked away sheepishly, but that only made the entire thing more adorable. “Me and you should do Simon’s hair next!” Marceline insisted, though she began to yawn through her words.

Looking outside it was clear that night was going to fall soon and as such the three of them began preparing for bed, with Betty promising that they’d get to braiding Simon’s hair in the morning before the three of them set back out for the next closest city. They searched around for anything soft to lay on, or anything that could be used as a blanket for Marceline, while she sat in the corner, seemingly drawing a sketch of a guitar, inspired by them having sung earlier. With buns as a mattress and sheets of paper as blankets, it would have to do.

Simon and Betty settled down on their side of the truck, expecting to silently talk and make plans going forward while Marceline slept. However, much to their surprise, she dragged her makeshift bed closer over to them, muttering something about feeling safer that way. Both adults looked at each other, gentle expressions on their faces, and let it happen, knowing for a fact that they’d succeeded in taking good care of Marcy. Though they didn’t get to exchange any late night words, there was an unspoken understanding between them, that they’d become a family.

Chapter Text

The journey to the city had been arduous, but it had been done. It was during times like this, when it was nothing but the stretch of the open unending highway, signs mocking them with promises of coffee, fresh food, or amusement at the next exit, that Betty desperately missed the old world. She hadn’t had coffee in so long, and while she’d mostly gotten used to it now, she was sure if she had some caffeine she’d be far more intelligent. Unfortunately, the only thing awaiting them when they did finally escape the highway was yet another bombed out city.

“What now?” Betty had asked, as Simon seemed to think. He was holding Marceline’s hand and struggling to consider their next move. He wanted to move into the city, to find a toy store for Marcy and a bookstore for Betty, but going into the city without knowing exactly what they were walking into would be a mistake. After all, they had it on good authority that mutants were attracted to sound, and multiple of them crashing into this new city would probably be a signal to them. He seemed to come to a conclusion as he spoke to Betty.

“One of us should go and investigate the city. They can use the Geiger Counter to make sure that the area is even worth exploring, and once it's cleared they can come back, and we can all go in together,” he said and Betty frowned because the idea of separating was the exact opposite of what she wanted. Separating might have meant something happened to Simon, or that he decided herself and Marceline were dead weight, and he was going to try and make it on his own. Betty knew her fears made no sense, but that didn’t make them any less scary.

“Simon, I don’t think that’s a good idea. If we separate, what if something happens to the other, and they can’t signal for help?” she questioned as her mind panicked at the idea of being left alone and injured, or even worse, Simon being the one who was injured and alone while she was unable to help him. Her mind raced at a million miles an hour, imagining all the ways which this could go horribly wrong. And then Simon grabbed her hand, and it was as if all the noise in her brain was cut through, and he was all that she saw.

“I know it's risky, but it's far more risky to have all of us go in there and attract attention. And especially if the radiation risk is high, what’s the use of all three of us being irradiated when only one of us has to be,” he offered and Simon knew he was being selfish with his choice but how could be not be. The idea of leading Betty into a situation where she might be hurt was too much for him to bear. “I’ll go in. Stay here with Marcy and make sure everything’s alright, and I’ll be right back.” he explained despite her protests. “You’re too precious to risk. Both of you,” he added.

“Okay. I trust you, but you need to come back as quickly as possible. If you’re not back within the hour, I’m going looking for you,” she said, and Simon seemed to agree. Despite the fact that they didn’t really have any way to reliably measure time, it was an unspoken understanding that they’d play it by ear, and she’d come looking for him if she felt it had been too long. Simon let go of Marceline’s hand, giving her hair a ruffle and planting a kiss on Betty’s forehead, which she tried not to see as a goodbye kiss.

“I’ll be back before you can miss me,” he urged, even though Simon himself knew that he already missed both of them despite standing right there in front of them. Betty offered him her rifle, but he rejected it, taking his knife from his boot. “Keep it. You’ll need to protect Marceline, and to save me if I get in a pinch,” he said, trying to inject some brevity into the conversation. Betty accepted that, and so with Geiger counter in one hand and knife in the other, Simon walked towards the city while Betty and Marceline stayed back on the outskirts.

“Simon is going to be okay, right?” Marceline asked, and Betty realized that in her own panic about Simon, she hadn’t even considered how scary this must have been for Marceline. Even if she herself was freaking out, she needed to make sure that Marcy didn’t realize it, and she needed to keep a brave face on for her. With that idea solidified, Betty put on her most confident air and straightened her back, as if it would make her anymore sure about her words. And then, she lied to Marceline for her own good.

“Of course he’s going to be okay,” she said with a smile, and then she offered Marceline her hand, which she took. “Why don’t we try to make a nice camp for him to come back too? And then we can play a game?” Betty said, trying to distract the little girl, and it seemed to work for the most part, Marceline following her to the shallow wooded area where she tried to make a fire. Simon was always far better at it than her, but she eventually did manage to get one going, and Marceline gathered twigs to keep it lit.

“Can we play Go-Fish? I want a real challenge this time,” she said and when Betty looked at her curiously Marceline elaborated. “I let Simon win sometimes, so he doesn’t get sad,” she said with a chuckle, and Betty laughed at that as well because she knew that Simon didn’t care about winning or losing at all. She dug the playing cards from her backpack and the two began a game, which did seem more evenly matched than usual. It was almost enough to keep both of their minds off of worrying about Simon.

“How about we play another game?” Betty asked as she could see Marceline becoming antsy and unengaged in yet another game of Go-Fish. Marceline perked her head up at this as Betty collected the cards and put them away, racking her brain for something they could play. Picking up a stick, she drew a board in the dirt. “How about tick-tack-toe?” She asked and Marceline seemed to agree, the two of them getting into a few good games, with Betty winning most of them, and staying optimistic.

“Wow! You have to show me how to do that!” Marceline insisted after watching Betty put her in an unwinnable position where she had two ways of winning. Betty looked away sheepishly, being unequipped for even such a small compliment. “How long is ‘within the hour’?” Marceline asked as she looked around, seemingly noticing that the sun had moved through the sky quite noticeably, and Betty realized that she hadn’t been keeping track of the time. Suppressing her panic, she stood up and dusted herself off.

“It's about now,” she said, offering to pick Marceline up something which the little girl accepted. With Marceline in her arms, she slung her rifle over her shoulder with the strap and took a deep breath. “Let’s go find Simon,” she said, trying to not worry too much. After all, if she had lost track of the time maybe he had as well, and he was completely fine. She was armed, she had her backpack, and everything was going to be fine. Still, she hesitated at the border of the city before finally stepping inside and scanning the area.

The first thing she noticed was that there were quite a few mutant corpses strew around the initial area to the city, and a few of them had distinctive slashes across the throat, which indicated that Simon had been through this area. Considering it was the entrance to the city, she hadn’t really needed the confirmation, but she was happy to receive it nonetheless, and she followed the bodies deeper into the city. It seemed like the area had been swarming with mutants, and in an effort to suppress her worry, she talked to Marceline.

“Why don’t you tell me a story?” Betty asked suddenly, and Marceline stopped burying her face in Betty’s shirt and looked over at her from her spot in Betty’s arms. “Yeah, why don’t you tell me your favorite story?” she said, and Marceline seemed to think for a moment as Betty continued carrying the two of them through the wastelands. The silence was eerie, and the mutant corpses combined with the bombed out buildings certainly didn’t help the atmosphere, as Betty attempted to navigate the winding streets.

“Once upon a time there was a lady,” Marceline started. “And, that lady worked for a super secret company, which did secret things. One day, the lady and the other people at the secret company had to use a magic spell for studying, and so they did a spooky drawing and said some magic words. And then, inside a glass tube thingy, a guy appeared. The guy told the lady, ‘Wow, you’re really beautiful. Can we go on a date?’ and the lady, who was impressed with the guy, said ‘Only if I can have some of your blood for a project,’ and then the guy said ‘Fine.’ and that’s how my mom met my dad,” Marceline explained.

“Hmm,” Betty said as she thought about what that actually meant. Demon blood was mentioned several times as an important ingredient in many recipes in the Enchiridion. And though she wasn’t sure what the secret company would have wanted with the blood, it didn’t surprise her that they’d been willing to summon a demon to get it. “Did you ever meet your dad, Marceline?” Betty asked before internally cringing as she realized what a stupid question that had been. After all, Marceline herself had called him a bad man.

“No.” Marceline said with a lot more seriousness than Betty really expected from her. “I don’t think he cares about me,” she admitted, and while Betty didn’t plan on prying for more information, Marceline offered it anyway. “My mom said that her and my dad were in love, but… he had some bad ideas. And she didn’t want him to try and use me for them. So he left us,” she explained, and Betty suddenly felt her chest get tight because she knew something like what that felt like, considering her own past.

“I… understand what you’re talking about,” Betty admitted and when Marceline looked at her surprised she gave a further explanation. “When I was little, my dad left and didn’t come back, so it was just me and my mom.” she said and Marceline nodded at that, the idea of it just being her and her mother feeling very familiar. “She was a really good mom, though. She loved me a lot, just like how your mom loved you,” she offered, and Marceline seemed to sit with that idea for a moment, before saying something quietly.

“Do you think Simon is going to leave us?” She asked, and Betty felt struck to her core hearing her own deepest fears spoken to her out loud. Hearing those words come out of Marceline’s mouth, she knew it was her responsibility not to let those fears fester and manifest, and she knew she needed to reassure the little girl. Despite her also needing to be reassured, she didn’t let it show on her face, and instead spoke to her with the authority of someone who had everything figured out.

“No. Simon would never do that, because he loves us,” she said, and suddenly Betty felt compelled to add something else. “He loves you, Marceline. And so do I.” she said and though it was the first time she’d thrown that word around in relation to Marceline it felt completely correct. She did love Marceline, and she wanted to protect her, make sure she grew up safe and was shielded from the same sort of struggles that she went through. Marceline gave her a bright, toothy smile at that, before pointing something out.

“That’s Simon’s…uh… beep-box!” Marceline said, as she clearly struggled to remember the name of the Geiger counter. Looking over, Betty saw that she was right, and the device was laying on the ground, still working but utterly abandoned. That just about made her heart stop as Betty knew that that Simon was injured. After all, that device was key to what he was trying to do, and there was no way he’d just drop it. She bent down and picked it up off the ground, storing it in her backpack, before looking for more signs of Simon.

“Marceline, cover your ears,” Betty said seriously as a mutant began crawling towards them. It was clearly injured, but alive, and Betty didn’t want her ears to hurt from the discharge of the gun. When Marceline did as she was asked she shot the thing, and then examined its body, seeing that it had wild slashes across its chest, but they seemed frantic, as if the person making them hadn’t been able to properly aim. Following the trail of radioactive goo it was oozing, Betty made her way to a small enclave under the rubble of a building.

“Simon!” Marceline said happily when the two came across him huddled under the enclave. He was panting, clearly out of breath, but his eyes lit up when he saw the two of them. Betty put Marceline down, and she ran to hug him, which he accepted. Betty crouched down to look him over, and saw he had a nasty cut on his hand, which would explain him having dropped the Geiger counter as well as his uncoordinated cutting. She took a deep breath, just taking in the fact that Simon was at least alive.

“How did this happen? Did you get irradiated?” she questioned as she threw her arms around him in a desperate grasp, trying to hold onto him as if that would somehow heal his injury and ensure that another one would never happen again. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again Simon Petrakov or I swear to Golb mutants will be the least of your problems, do you understand!” she said seriously, and he nodded his head quickly. She reached for her backpack, preparing to bandage him up.

“When I was waking, one of those things lunged at me, but… it was much bigger than the others. It looked like a bunch of them sort of…fused together. I was so startled, I actually cut myself with my own knife. Luckily it was really slow, so I ran and hid out here, but I dropped the counter and wasn’t exactly in the best state. At least, I’m sure that I’m more a danger to myself than these things are,” he said with a slight chuckle as Betty slathered antibiotic cream on his skin and wrapped his hand tight with gauze.

“I wonder if you’ll get a cool scar,” Marceline mused as he flexed his hand, making sure it was still usable as Betty wiped down his knife. “I want a cool scar too!” she insisted and both Betty and Simon looked at each other, silently agreeing that if that were to happen it meant they’d done something wrong. “Can we go back to camp?” she asked. “I’m hungry for some beans,” Marceline said, and Simon seemed to light up as he remembered something. Pulling something wrapped in plastic from his pocket, he offered one to Marceline.

“I hope you save room for desert,” he said with a smile as the girl realized she was holding a fortune cookie. He handed one to Betty as well, adding something else. “I know we didn’t manage to get Chinese food, so I hope that this works as a substitute,” he said, and Betty smiled because she couldn’t stay frustrated with him for long. The two of them walked back through the city, making it back to the little camp Marceline and Betty had made. Simon complimented her fire starting skills, and they ate beans before finally cracking open their cookies.

“Your road to glory will be rocky, but fulfilling,” Marceline listened as Betty read her the fortune. Then she shrugged and scarfed down the cookie. “I haven’t had sugar in so long,” Marceline said happily, licking her lips and smiling. “What fortunes did you guys get?” she asked, watching intrigued as the two adults cracked open their cookies. Leave it to Marceline to find a way to make even the most mundane actions seem memorable and magical. Betty cracked hers open first, doing as she always did and eating the cookie before reading the fortune.

“Do not underestimate yourself. Humans have unlimited potential,” she read and even though it was just a silly scrap of paper inside a vanilla flavored cookie it made Betty tear up anyway. She’d done good today, she believed. She’d found a way to silence her own fears and criticisms of herself and be there for Marceline. She’d bandaged up Simon and saved him, and she’d even allowed herself to be vulnerable about her family history. Maybe she truly did have more power than she realized.

“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” Simon read, and he turned and looked at Betty, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and saying something to her softly. “Princess, you must have turned me into Robert Frost,” he offered and Betty melted at that, leaning in to give him a kiss despite the disgusted sounds Marceline was making at their display. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’m glad I don’t have to find out,” Simon offered, and Betty cuddled up close to him, his heart and soul full of love for her above all else.

Chapter Text

After Simon’s trek into the city, though he hadn’t gotten incredibly far in he had managed to get some readings. He found that, at least towards the entrance, the radiation levels were lower than where they’d started. And so, the three of them had set out that next day intending to explore further in and see if there was anything they could gain from the city’s resources which hadn’t yet been tapped. One of the first things they came across was a bookstore, and Simon insisted that Betty needed to go check it out.

“Simon, I was just kidding about wanting to finish that book,” she’d said, smiling despite the fact that she knew she did want to finish it. She was just trying to be pragmatic, figuring out what the most valuable use of their time would be. And besides, it wasn’t like she had a lot of downtime to read anyway. Still, she knew that a well-placed argument would break her defenses immediately, and Simon was quite good at delivering those. He began speaking, and her resolve weakened immensely.

“Come on, it's right on the way. And besides, we could get some books for Marceline. It’ll be good for her to continue being able to develop her mind even in this apocalypse. She’s at a crucial age right now,” Simon insisted and Marceline nodded along with him even though she likely had no clue what he was talking about and just liked the idea of getting a new book. Simon was so handsome when he was talking about being good surrogate parents to Marceline, and so convincing.

“Alright, let’s stop at the bookstore,” Betty relented and the three of them, Simon carrying Marceline in his arms, began their short trek towards it. When they reached the store, it was clear that it had held up quite well compared to many of the other buildings they’d entered. The door was locked and even the big glass windows were still intact, leaving them with no choice but to pick the lock to get inside. “Breaking and entering is bad, Marceline. Do as we say, not as we do,” Betty said as the lock popped open and they walked inside.

The air was musky and smelled of paper and ink, something that seemed reminiscent of their pasts in a way that was almost too much to bear. Marceline immediately ran over to the children’s books section, grabbing several coloring books and crayons. Simon looked at Betty before walking over to the little girl, trying to help her pick out a book with words rather than just pictures so she could work on her reading. Meanwhile, Betty walked over to the academic texts section, and located the book she’d been halfway through.

“Ancient Deities: Myth or Modern Concern,” she read to no one in particular. The book was actually by a colleague of hers who she’d met a few months before the war had started. The woman had given her a free copy, mentioning her work on decoding the mentions of Golb in the Enchiridion had been a huge resource during the writing process. She stored the book in her backpack and walked over to Simon and Marceline, who had seemingly located some books they could both agree on.

“Look, they have bookbags here!” Marceline had said excitedly as she put down her books and rushed over to the small section of child-sized bags that were sprawled out in the kid’s section. She selected a black bag with pink inner lining, and gave her reasoning. “It matches my jacket,” she said seriously, and Betty chuckled as she did her best to shove all of her books and coloring supplies into her small bag, zipping it shut with a sense of finality. She dusted off her hands, and Betty addressed Simon.

“Did you get anything for yourself?” she asked, and Simon shook his head, which she supposed was warranted. He’d been in between books when the war had started, and starting a new one from scratch just seemed like too heavy of a commitment for the situation that they were in. “Well, I think this trip was definitely worth it,” Betty noted as she took Marceline’s hand and the three of them began to exit the shop. “Where should we go next?” she asked, and just as Marceline started to suggest a toy store, something turned the corner of one of the shelves.

It wasn’t like any of the mutants they’d seen before, though it was clear mutated as it leaked that same disgusting fluid that the other had. Rather than being humanoid in nature, it seemed to be what remained of a large mammal, and it was at that moment that Betty and Simon remembered this city had a zoo. It was far more aggressive than the other mutants they’d encountered, teeth barred and dripping with radioactive liquid as it snarled at them. Both froze in terror as it lunged at them.

Simon attempted futilely to swipe at it with his knife, only to have it easily knocked from his hand. Betty raised her gun, but with her hands shaking like they were as it barred down at her, the gun discharged into a wall. This seemed to upset the animal even more as it tried to bite Betty and while Simon managed to pull her out of the way it was clear neither of them was equipped to stop something as strong as this creature. They grabbed for Marceline, who was staring wide-eyed at the creature, but before they could reach her, that thing swiped her with its claws.

“Ow!” she screamed, and it seemed to trigger some kind of reaction in her as her eyes glowed a bright red and narrowed severely as her finger nails became pointed, and she opened her mouth to reveal rows and rows of circular sharp teeth. She inhaled hard, and before the creature could attack again, it seemed to freeze in place. Simon and Betty watched as the color drained from the creature’s skin and the light drained from its eyes, until it was left as nothing but an empty husk where there used to be something more.

“Marceline, are you okay?” Simon asked as he and Betty rushed to her side. The swipe the creature had given her was clearly a deep wound, and it was bleeding heavily. Though she was clearly trying to conceal her pain and act like a brave girl, the tears were pin pricking in her eyes even as Simon was gently trying to examine the wound. Betty looked closer at it, and breathed a sigh of relief from what she saw. She tried to decide what the best way to go about this was, and made her choice as she directed Simon.

“It looks like none of the radiation got into the wound, so that’s good news at least,” she said before giving Marceline’s hand a squeeze while turning to Simon. “You should carry her in your arms, she shouldn’t be putting any pressure on that leg,” she assessed and Simon nodded, scooping up Marceline who winced at the feeling. Betty looked over at the mutant corpse and sighed. “It's not safe to treat her here, we need to get back to camp,” she decided, and with that the three of them headed back to their home base on the outskirts of town.

“You were so brave Marceline,” Simon said as they walked back to camp, but his mind was elsewhere. They’d needed to protect Marceline, and they’d utterly failed. She’d been badly injured, and if it wasn’t for her own powers, she’d likely be… that thought made Simon sick to his stomach. Both himself and Betty needed to get stronger if they ever hoped to protect Marceline from the dangers of this world, because right now she was far too good at protecting herself when she shouldn’t have to.

When they returned to camp, Marceline was laid in the grass, leg outstretched, while Betty dug in her bag searching for what they’d need. Considering the fact that the wound was bleeding badly, they’d need to put pressure on it to ensure the bleeding stopped. Her biggest concern at the moment was the wound getting infected, as even if the claws hadn’t had radiation on them, they’d definitely been filled with bacteria. She retrieved the hypodermic needled and small bottle of penicillin and Marceline looked away frightened.

“I don’t want a shot!” she insisted, and Betty felt incredibly bad, not just about having to inject the girl, but also about allowing this to happen in the first place. After all, if she had been a better shot and less scared, she wouldn’t have been hurt at all. Betty had a gun, the height of human weaponry, and she’d still failed to keep someone she cared about safe. “It doesn’t really hurt!” Marceline insisted, even though Betty could tell that she felt a shooting pain every time she moved her leg. She sighed and stroked Marceline’s cheek, trying to calm her down.

“Hey, you’re a brave girl, Marceline,” she insisted. “You can handle a little shot,” she promised, and Marceline looked unconvinced. Betty tried the more direct approach. “If we don’t give you the shot, that cut will get worse, and you’ll get very sick. So, it's going to hurt a little bit now, so it doesn’t hurt a lot later,” she offered and Marceline seemed to accept this reasoning a bit more, though it was clear she still wasn’t enthused about the idea of getting a needle stuck in her arm. Betty couldn’t blame her, she hated getting shots too.

“Hey Marcy, just look at me, okay,” Simon offered and Marceline looked at him curiously. “Don’t look at the shot, just look into my eyes and when it hurts give my hand a squeeze,” he offered and Marceline nodded, doing just that. Betty removed the needle from the package and stuck it into the bottle, taking in as much fluid as the bottle said was necessary, before locating a vein in Marcy’s arm to inject it into. She tried her best to be gentle, but she could see Marceline squeezing Simon’s hand tight as she got her shot.

“Is it over?” Marceline asked, and she seemed surprised when they both nodded. “That wasn’t so bad!” she said as Betty put a bandage on her arm and began tending to her leg wound, wrapping it tight in bandages and being relieved that the bleeding was already naturally subsiding. “Can I color now?” she asked and both Betty and Simon nodded, feeling it was for the best as the two of them needed to have a serious talk without Marceline listening. There was an elephant in the room neither of them wanted to address.

“We messed up bad,” Simon said, and Betty was inclined to agree with his statement of abject failure. “I mean, Marceline could have been killed, and we just…we just froze,” he said, clearly disappointed in himself. They’d taken Marcy in as a part of their family, and they were being wholly ineffective parents at the moment. “I can never let something like that happen again. Not to her, and not to you.” Simon said as he seemed to carry the weight of what happened heavy on his shoulders. Meanwhile, Betty was thinking the same thing.

“I agree, of course, but we have no idea how to handle something like what came at us in that bookstore. There are so many more dangers than we anticipated, and how are we supposed to fight them off if we don’t even know what we’re fighting?” she asked, and Simon seemed to think of an answer. “Well, regardless we’re going to have to start training if we want a chance at being effective. That means I need to get better at shooting and you,” she gestured to Simon’s hand, “Need to get better at stabbing things other than yourself,” she said.

“You’re right. What we really need is some target practice, something that we can shoot at that will simulate the monsters we’re dealing with, without any of the danger,” he offered before saying something else. “We are near the woods… we can start hunting,” he said, and Betty seemed to think on it. “In all of our encounters with mutants, we’ve been reactive, constantly on the defensive. Maybe It's time we go on the attack.” he offered, slamming his fist down in his palm. With that settled, they began making a plan on a hunting schedule.

Meanwhile, Marceline sat by the fire, coloring and trying not to listen in on the hushed tones that Simon and Betty spoke in. She looked at her leg and thought nervously about the fact that she’d fought against that mutant and eaten its soul in front of them. The soul had tasted nasty, like bitter medicine, and it hadn’t made her feel any fuller. It had just made her feel like she was going to be left behind again. As the two of them talked in the corner, Marceline imagined all the awful things they must have been saying.

They were probably talking about how she was a monster, and how scary she was. She was sure they were going to leave her as soon as she went to sleep that night, and she felt herself start to cry as she imagined being all alone again. The tears dropped down on her workbook pages, and she was so concerned with it that she didn’t even notice when Simon and Betty returned to her side. As soon as they did, they swept her up into a cuddle and began stroking her hair and cooing.

“Oh Marceline, you were so amazing today. We’re so proud of you,” Betty said and Marceline felt confused as she hadn’t expected it. “We’re so sorry we didn’t protect you. We promise that from here on out, we’re going to make sure you don’t get hurt again,” she added, and all Marceline could think was that this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. They were supposed to be scared of her and leave her all on her own, because she was a monster. She grabbed on to their arms and emotion bubbled heavily in her soul as she began to cry even more.

“You’re not mad at me?” she asked through tears, and Simon quickly wiped them away. “Even though I did the scary thing?” and Simon and Betty looked at her as though being scared of her was something that haven’t even crossed their minds. “I promise I won’t do it again, I won’t be scary again,” she urged, and they continued wiping her tears and holding her close. Marceline took in that feeling, knowing how it felt to be utterly loved and to feel completely safe in their arms. Simon broke the silence when he spoke to her.

“You’re not scary, Marceline. You’re an amazing little girl. And you used your powers to protect yourself, and to protect us. You did a good thing,” he said, and it was with so much sincerity that she believed it. “In fact, Betty and I want to get big and strong like you.” he said, and Marceline considered their words. That she was strong, and that she was someone worth protecting. “We’re going to fight all of the monsters and keep you safe from now on,” he added, and Marceline finally smiled at that.

“How about we read one of those books you got,” Betty offered and Marceline obliged, pulling one of the books from her backpack and reading it aloud to them, both Simon and Betty helping her with the hard words. Once she fell asleep that night, they left in shifts, taking turns hunting and keeping watch over Marceline, securing their little safe haven and making themselves more effective. Being the ones doing the chasing, and doing the hunting, severely reduced the fear both of them had felt, which had been the root of their problem.

By the time the sun rose, and they got ready to make themselves a makeshift breakfast and start their day, the two of them had cleared the entire nearby area of mutants and were much better with fighting back under pressure. Moreover, they knew how to be the pressure rather than just face it. As they started cooking, watching Marceline sleep as they did so, they thought about how precious what they had here was, and how they’d do anything to protect it. Marceline was their little girl, and if they had to become stronger to protect her, it was fine by them.

Chapter Text

It’d been something like a few days since Betty, Simon and Marceline had last entered the city, and they’d managed to accomplish a few goals, i.e. locating consistent sources of food and making a small but safe camp in the woods outside the city. However, they were currently grappling with the most difficult challenge they’d ever faced. That challenge was boredom, and while it may have seemed low on the priority list, it was actually far more dangerous than people realized. That was for the simple reason that when people are bored, they make bad decisions.

When the three of them had been roughing it, doing their best to just find water, food, and any form of shelter they could, they’d had goals to work towards. When every mutant was a life-threatening challenge, and any wrong move could have meant their untimely ends, it was scarier, yes, but it was also more invigorating. They hadn’t had the time to feel bored and discontented, when all they’d wanted was to make it to tomorrow. What they needed now was something to do, to keep them from going stir-crazy.

“Sitting by the fire, staring at a tire, singing so long I feel like…um…” Marceline said, as she struggled to come up with the next line of her song. She was feeling the effects of boredom much worse than her caretakers, likely due to her young mind needing stimulation. She’d managed to make a makeshift guitar out of old strings and cardboard tubes and boxes she’d found, and had been working on this tune for at least five minutes, which was an eternity. Simon looked up at her from where he’d been mending a hole in his coat with some thread and offered her a rhyming word.

“What about choir, sweetheart?” he asked, and Marceline thought for a moment before nodding and incorporating that into her lyrics. Simon chuckled to himself watching her work through her creative process, and as he finished fixing the hole in his fishing jacket, he took a moment to take in the little home they’d made here. They had enough clean water now that Betty was able to wash clothes, which she was doing at the moment, and he couldn’t help but stare at her in awe of how lucky he was to have her.

“When you’re finished with your coat, I’ll wash that too,” Betty offered as she began hanging the newly cleaned clothes up to dry on the clothes line they’d run across a few trees. Simon walked over to her, planting a kiss on her lips before handing her the newly fixed coat, and she blushed at him, before turning her attention to the basin filled with soapy water she’d been using. They’d managed to scavenge a few articles of clothing which meant they could wash their old ones, and though they hadn’t managed to actually build a house or anything, this little clearing in the forest really did feel cozy with their clothes hanging and their fire raging.

“I’ve been thinking, it might be a good idea to try and write down what we come across during our journey. It might prove useful,” Simon noted, and he took out a blank journal that he’d located at some point for a demonstration. “Here, I’ve already written the first page, as an example,” he offered and Betty took it from him. On the page was a crudely sketched image of her, clearly based on a Polaroid of hers clipped into the book. The label underneath the image read “The most beautiful woman in the world,” and Betty felt herself get emotional.

“Simon… I love you so much,” she said with a smile, unable to think of any other way to respond to the sweet gesture. She took a moment to study his face before taking the journal into her pocket. “I think I’ll have to express my gratitude through art as well,” she said with a smile, clearly having decided to draw him in return. Over in the corner, Marceline let out a loud groan of frustration, and both looked over at her. She was draped across the log she’d been sitting on, cardboard guitar on the ground as she looked melancholy.

“I’m bored. Can’t we go to the city and do something fun?” Marceline asked, and Betty and Simon looked at each other and then her. There was, after all, a reason why they hadn’t been back to the city in a few days and that was because the last time they’d been there Marceline had gotten severely injured. Her leg was still bandaged up, and while neither Betty nor Simon were medical doctors both were sure it wasn’t fully healed and didn’t want to risk it reopening while it was still vulnerable. Betty walked towards Marceline and began to speak with her.

“Marcy, honey, last time we went to the city you got hurt. Your leg still isn’t well enough to make the journey again,” she said, and Marceline gave her a look like she wanted to cry. Betty steeled herself and tried to fight against the guilt she felt from denying the girl her closely held wishes. “Let me see the cut on your leg,” she offered and Betty removed the bandages to see that while the leg had stopped bleeding and was starting to heal, it was still very clearly raw, and shouldn’t be walked on for long periods of time.

“Is it better yet?” Marceline asked, already totally sick and tired of having to lie around waiting to get better. After all, they’d given her that shot and put the bandage on so that she could get better quicker. Betty shook her head and Marceline started to pout. “But it's so boring here; can we please leave? I’ll be really careful with my leg,” she offered, and when Betty refused to relent she turned her attention to Simon, who’d been watching this whole ordeal from the sidelines. “Please? You promised we could find a toy store and I could have a new toy,” she said.

And that was how Simon and Betty found themselves trekking through the ruined city once again, Marceline pleased as the cat who got the canary as she sat on Simon’s shoulders. While Betty may have been strong enough to resist, Simon had fallen victim to the puppy dog eyes Marceline had shot him, and he’d managed to convince Betty that if he carried the girl her leg wouldn’t be agitated. Marceline was strumming her guitar from her perch on his shoulders, singing a silly song she was making up on the stop.

“In the city, it takes three to tango, Simon and Betty and Marcy-mango, I’ll make up a game and call it crambo, and when I get a toy I’ll name him Hambo,” she said and both Simon and Betty chuckled and clapped at her song, though both were pretty sure that she was making up words to fit her rhyme scheme. “How much farther is it to the store?” Marceline asked curiously and while neither of them was quite sure, they hoped it’d be close by. “Ooh, look at that apartment!” Marceline pointed out.

“Huh. That’s…weird,” Betty noted as among the seemingly endless rows of broken down and ruined buildings, having been attacked by the shockwave of the bomb, there was one building which seemed completely intact. It stood proud and tall over the rest of the ruined city and stuck out like a sore thumb, seemingly beckoning to be investigated. Betty looked over at Simon and asked him a question. “How much do you want to bet that’s some sort of trap,” she asked as they walked past it.

“Hmm, I’m not so convinced. Sometimes things just survive, like an act of Golb. It could be worth checking out,” he offered, and when Marceline began to complain he added something. “After we get Marcy her toy, of course.” he said, and Betty still seemed skeptical. “Well I, Simon Petrakov, do hereby declare that if I’m wrong you can call me an idiot and say ‘I told you so,’” he said and Betty cracked a smile at that, laughing as they passed the building. She gave his hand a squeeze and shook her head.

“You’re not an idiot,” she said. “Never to me,” she added, and so it was settled what they’d do after locating their first stop. When what seemed to be the remains of a toy store came into sight, Simon stopped before walking inside, scanning the building with his Geiger Counter before nodding, and the three of them entered. Plenty of the plushies were in a sorry state, some being burned, half melted, or even fused together, something which was uncomfortable to look at considering the state of the humans who used to live here.

“There! That’s Hambo!” Marceline insisted from on high, and Simon bent down to pick out a slightly ragged looking pink bear plush, though it was in a much better state than many of its companions. Betty had him scan the plush for good measure to ensure it was safe before handing it to Marceline. She squeezed it tight and seemed genuinely pleased at the development as she began singing her silly song about the toy again. Both were just happy they’d been able to fulfil her wish, and they both silently decided that the look in her eyes had been well worth the trip.

As they made their way back towards the randomly surviving building, they noticed even more odd things about it. The building was fully constructed out of metal, unlike the rest of the apartment blocks, which seemed to have been constructed of brick and concrete. All the windows had been blown out save for those on the very top floor, which should have been the first to go. The door at the bottom, which was made of glass, was still intact save for some cracks in it. Betty approached the building first and touched it.

“What the-” she started to say before stopping herself, and remembering she was in polite company. Still, it had been quite a shock because the building was hot to the touch. She gestured to Simon for the Geiger Counter, and he handed it over to her, allowing a quick scan of the building, which revealed it was practically off the charts for radiation. “Huh. It looks like the building kind of absorbed the radiation, if that makes any sense,” she said, and Simon nodded solemnly at the revelation.

“Well, it may not have been a trap, but you were definitely right about it being dangerous,” he said, and he knew it was his own fault for not trusting Betty in the first place. Though she hated it when he said it, the truth was he did think she was much smarter than him, and when they’d go to academic events together he’d always tell people the same, though she’d always blush wildly and deny it. He began to turn around and head back towards camp, Marceline still holding tight to her plush when Betty added something.

“I think we should go inside,” Betty said, and Simon looked at her shocked. “I’m serious. It seems like the outside of the building absorbed the brunt of the radiation, which means the inside should be pretty safe. And considering it's intact, who knows what we could find inside. I think the middle floors are our safest bet, considering the bottom probably took the brunt of the radiation and the top is probably unstable.” she explained, and though she knew that she probably sounded crazy, Simon trusted her anyway and they entered inside.

“Wow!” Marceline said looking around the building, which seemed to be a very high-end apartment complex, basically preserved in its prewar state. There was electricity running through the building, as the gorgeously lit chandelier in the lobby indicated. There was an intricate design on the tile, and the front desk stood just as neat and presentable as it had when the war started, save for the thin layer of dust which covered everything. A quick look at the Geiger Counter confirmed Betty’s theory, as the inside of the building was less irradiated than the rest of the city.

“It looks like whoever designed this building had an idea of what was coming,” Simon noted, though as they walked past the old elevator, which was stuck open, there was a massive pile of skeletons, clearly desperately trying to enter into what was obviously the least safe place in the building. “But it looks like the people living here didn’t,” he offered with a shudder, and Betty had to agree. The three of them made their way up the stairs, ignoring the many bodies and few mutants that they found littering the halls and near windows, again the worst place they could have been.

“Why didn’t they stay in their rooms?” Marceline asked in reference to the bodies, having picked up bits and pieces from their conversation. She remembered very clearly her mom telling her that if she was in a safe building when a loud alarm went off, the best thing to do was stay in that safe building, and stay in your room. The fact that these people didn’t listen was probably why they weren’t around anymore, and she silently shook her head about how silly they’d been for not following instructions.

“I’m not sure, Marcy,” Betty noted before adding something. “Maybe they thought they were smarter than they were,” she added slightly sardonically, before coming to one of the middle floors, approaching the first door she saw, and kicking it in. Simon watched this in awe, once again completely enamored with how amazing his fiancé was. Examining the room, it was even more clear this building had catered to high class clientele, with the room being massive, ornately decorated, and clearly very expensive.

As they poked around the rooms in the apartment, Betty located massive amounts of jewelry, Marceline had fun trying on the clothes that were far too big for her in the walk-in closet, and Simon examined the bookshelf full of world-famous texts which looked like they’d never been read. Marceline insisted on putting a fashion show on for the two of them, and they sat on the edge of the incredibly comfortable bed as she paraded herself and Hambo around, announcing that they were famous fashion icons, accepting the applause they gave her after every outfit.

“Hey, looks like there’s a box under here,” Simon noticed as he was digging around beneath the bed. “Oh look, it's a Polaroid camera! Looks like it's still got film in it,” he noted, much to his own delight at the idea of being able to take more pictures of his beloved princess. “There are some pictures in here t-” started to say before quickly slamming the box shut upon noticing the content of those pictures was far from family friendly. Betty laughed a bit at his embarrassment, despite knowing that she would have done the exact same thing.

“We should take some photos,” Betty noted just as Marceline came over, having finished with her fashion show and still itching for something to do. Betty dug in her bag and retrieved a can of spray paint, which she handed to the little girl. “I found this while we were looking around the toy store,” she explained to Simon, before addressing Marceline more directly. “Be careful with this, okay, Marcy? Now, go paint whatever you want,” she said, and Marceline obliged her, quickly running to tag the walls with her imaginative artwork. “Want to join her?” Betty asked, offering Simon his own can of spray paint.

He smiled and accepted, and the three of them spent a bit of time wrecking up the fancy apartment with whatever thoughts entered their minds, writing them happily on the walls. Betty thought to write a message explaining to any hypothetical survivors that they should avoid the box under the bed, which made Simon laugh. Simon himself added a plug for their book, despite the fact that there was little hope of anyone ever finding it in these circumstances, before taking the camera and snapping pictures of their work.

“Done!” Marceline announced, stepping away from the wall to reveal a picture she’d drawn of the three of them, Betty on one side and Simon on the other, both holding Marceline’s hands. In the drawing, they both wore big smiles and were standing happily in the sun. “Wait, hold on, I have to add one more thing!” she said before quickly painting Hambo in, sitting at Marceline’s feet. Betty and Simon’s hearts just about melted, knowing that this was how Marceline saw them despite everything.

“It's perfect,” Betty added. “Do you mind if I add a caption?” she asked and Marceline shook her head that she didn’t care, leaving Betty to write the words “Betty + Simon + Marcy,” right above the drawing. “Now, anyone who comes through here will know what they’re looking at,” she said and Marceline seemed to think that it made the drawing come together quite nicely, though Simon had one final suggestion.

“Do you mind if I add something?” he asked, and both girls shook their heads. He crouched down and wrote below the picture the words “Family Forever” solidifying the exact meaning of the picture. “Now, it's perfect,” he offered, and everyone seemed to be in agreement. “Well, I think art this good requires a photo,” he said, pulling the camera out and pushing the nightstand to be in front of the wall. He then set the camera on a timer and the three stood in frame in front of their art, waiting until they heard the click and saw their picture print out.

It was beautiful, no one could deny that, and Betty saved it inside of her backpack along with all the other photos they’d taken. Marceline let out a yawn, clearly having been tired out from the day's activities, and considering the relative safety of the area they’d found, both Betty and Simon agreed to stay there for the night. Marceline grabbed Hambo and curled up in the center of the bed, Betty giving her a pillow to lay down on top of. And, when sleep overtook Betty and Simon as well, they joined her atop the comfortable mattress. The three of them sleeping happily together, an image which would have been worth a photo had anyone been awake to take it.

Chapter Text

When the three woke from their rest the next day, a rainstorm was raging outside, much to Betty and Simon’s chagrin considering the clothes they’d hung to dry would no doubt be completely soaked by the time they got back, not to mention the concerns of animals. Luckily, most of what they needed to keep safe and dry was stored in Betty’s backpack, but everything else would be ruined. As the three of them stared out of the heavily cracked windows of the suite they were in, it was Marceline who made the obvious comment.

“Wow! I haven’t seen rain in a long time,” she noted, and it was completely true. Since the war had occurred, there hadn’t been any precipitation, either in the form of rain or snow. Betty and Simon had both considered it to be a good thing, considering anything that fell from the sky was doomed to cover the world in yet another fresh layer of radiation. That meant, at least until this storm was over, they’d be hiding out in this, admittedly fairly nice building, for shelter. As Marceline moved towards the windows to get a better look, Betty pulled her back.

“Stay away from the windows, okay, Marcy?” she offered and Marceline nodded, letting Betty turn her attention to Simon. “We should head up to the top floor. None of the windows there were broken, and I know that I said the top floors might be more unstable, but that’s a risk we might have to take,” Betty explained and Simon nodded solemnly at her, gathering their things from the room while Betty picked up and carried Marceline, only slightly less terrible at it then she had been before.

Simon suppressed his desire to tell Betty how nice she looked carrying Marceline in her arms like she was, because he didn’t know if he could make the words come out right. The truth was, though they hadn’t even been married yet, the two had occasionally discussed having children and both were excited by the prospect. With the state of the world being what it was, Simon was tempted to consider the idea from a pragmatic standpoint, even if he knew it wasn’t going to happen. After all, more humans would be key to rebuilding society back to the way it was.

Betty was almost completely out of breath by the time they reached the top floor, but the cheer Marceline let out when they did made the entire endeavor worth it. On that top floor there were only two rooms as opposed to the several rows of rooms on the lower floors, and when the first door they tried didn’t immediately open, they entered into the second room. The place was even more massive than the last apartment they’d been in, and honestly looked more like a museum than a place someone would live.

The apartment was covered top to bottom in statues, bookshelves, and even honest to God exhibits behind plexiglass, housing different artifacts and other ancient relics. Even the areas that did seem to act as living quarters were themed to the owner's odd tastes, as the dining room was themed after ancient Rome, the bedroom after Ancient Egypt and the bathroom after Han Dynasty Era China, along with the appropriate precursor to the modern flush toilet. It was both incredibly cool and deeply off-putting.

“Hey, look at this,” Betty noted as she beckoned Simon over to one of the many gigantic bookshelves, and when he joined her in looking she pointed something out on the wall. “This guy even has a card cataloging system!” she said excitedly, and though she knew it was silly, she couldn’t help but revel in it because libraries were a special place for the two of them. Without proper card cataloging, the two of them might never have met. Simon seemed to scan the bookshelf for something, and he lit up when he found it.

“Remember this, princess?” he said, showing off the text he’d grabbed, and Betty just about melted when he did. It seemed as though the library had inspired the same feelings in him as it had in her, because the book he was holding up was the same one that they’d both reached for. Betty never thought a book as awful as that one could make her feel so happy as she did at that moment, and she wished desperately to get them back to the old world, the way things used to be when everything was simple.

“How long until we can go back to the camp?” Marceline asked. “I want to show Hambo my cool clothes,” she offered, but upon seeing the look in the adults' faces, her smile wavered a bit. “We can’t go back, can we?” she asked seriously, and Betty and Simon considered the question. While they could go back after the rain stopped, the reality was that with the irradiated rain, their little safe haven was safe no longer, and any clothes or items like books Marceline had there were no longer viable to use.

“When the rain clears up, we can try and poke around,” Betty offered nervously, even though she knew it wasn’t going to help much. She just felt awful about the entire situation, considering how much time Marceline had spent bouncing around and constantly having to be on the move. That camp was probably the most stable home she’d had since the war, and here they were taking it away from her. Betty thought again about the old world, and about how simple things would be if they were still there, how they needed to get there again.

“Nobody ever tells me anything,” Marceline rightfully complained. “I’m not a baby, just tell me when we can go back. Tell me when things can go back to normal,” she said, and it was clear she was just saying out loud what Betty and Simon were both thinking. It had only been a few weeks, a month at most, since the war had destroyed everything they’d ever known, and it was clear a part of their brains just hadn’t accepted that no one was coming to fix things, and that if they wanted things back the way they were the only one who could do that was them.

“We… don’t know when. I wish we did. But, we’ve just got to take it one day at a time trying to get back to normal,” Simon offered and, true to her word, Marceline took the news fine, like the brave girl she was. It was her confidence that made Simon start thinking about what it would take to get back to a functioning society, and he made a bold declaration. “And, to start getting things normal again, we should try and find more people.” he said and Marceline looked at him in wide-eyed shock, as the topic of other people wasn’t one they discussed often.

Mostly it was just to avoid disappointment, after all if they searched the entire wasteland and came up empty that would be a very sad and definitive end to the human race. But, on the other hand, though she absolutely knew it was wrong, Betty liked the fact that it was just her, Simon and Marceline around. They had so much love between the three of them, the idea of introducing more people to that, and risking the dynamic that was the very thing keeping her going, it seemed like a nightmare.

“Where would we even look?” Betty asked nervously, hoping slightly that her hesitation would give Simon pause. Of course, she knew better than anyone that if Simon had his heart set on doing this, she’d stand behind him, but she also knew the idea of finding more people made her want to spiral. She had to mentally repeat her words to Marceline on why Simon wasn’t going to leave them to combat the sinking feeling in her stomach that he’d join up with these new humans, and they’d never see him again.

“We can start right where we are. This place is the safest stronghold we’ve come across, if someone survived the bombs, there’s a good chance they’re right here.” Simon offered, and he thought about what finding more humans could mean. They could make a safe haven for Marceline to grow up in, a place for Betty and him to settle down and marry, to have the kids they’d always wished for. More people meant a chance at the life that they’d been promised, the life that had been ripped away from them.

“Let’s go next door!” Marceline asked, having clearly been invigorated by the idea of finding more people. After all, in her admittedly short life she’d had scant few opportunities to interact with other people outside of her mother, so other people meant other kids, and that could mean so many things she couldn’t even think straight. Even though they were only going across the hall, Simon still insisted on carrying her due to her leg, and when they reached the other door, Betty politely knocked.

Both Betty and Simon were at least smart enough to carry their weapons, even if they were hoping for the best, knowing it was far better to be safe than sorry, especially considering what happened last time. They heard, for a moment, what sounded like muttering and shuffling behind the door, a sound that got closer and farther away at the same time. Finally, when the group was prepared to give up for the moment, the door squeaked open, and they cautiously stepped inside.

“Who are you?” a voice seemed to echo from somewhere in the room. The voice sounded wrong somehow, as if rather than one voice, it was hundreds of quieter, smaller voices speaking in unison. “You come to hurt.” the voices boomed, bouncing off of the walls. Simon steeled himself, preparing to convince whoever was speaking to come out, and that they could be trusted. “You bring pain,” the voice spoke, though not as commanding and much more afraid. Simon decided to make a gamble as he put down his knife, much to Betty’s shock, though she followed suit with her gun.

“We don’t want to hurt you. Now please, come out and talk to us,” Simon asked and there was more skittering and whispering as, for a moment, it seemed like the person wasn’t going to face them at all. And then, poking out from all the tiny crevices, under beds, behind bookcases and beneath floorboards, hundreds of tiny yellow eyes started back at them. And then slowly, hundreds of rats creeped out, ready to run at any second. Betty screamed and clutched Simon, who turned Marceline away from them, though she didn’t seem to mind.

“The great boom came. Humans left. We stayed. We think together. We think more than before. We speak together. We speak different than before.” the rats noted, and Simon tried to conceive of what he was seeing. These were rats, and rats couldn’t talk, he knew that. He knew that they didn’t have the structures for it, and that all the depictions in fiction of highly intelligent mutated creatures were just that, fiction. But none of that mattered now because he was staring at them, and there was nothing he could do.

“Cool!” Marceline said, turning herself around in Simon’s arms to face the horde of speaking rats. “Are there more talking animals? Can we meet them? Do you know how to do karate?” Marceline asked, making a chopping motion with her arm. The rats all took a moment to look at each other, as if trying to collectively comprehend what she was asking them. She added something else. “Do you like being able to talk and think and stuff?” Marceline asked, and at this, the rats did come to an answer.

“All things are more alive now than before. Not all can speak. But many can. It is frightening to think. We would like to keep doing it.” the rats said, and Betty mentally considered their words. The mention of all things being more alive now was of particular interest, as her mind raced at the possibility of plants, animals, and even man made creations being alive in the way that she was. “You no come to hurt. You good humans. You no give us poison. Take our gift.” the rats said, and with that they skittered into another room.

Cautiously, Simon and Betty followed them, and for the first time took a moment to actually examine the place they found themselves in. Unlike the elaborately themed and intricate room they’d shacked up in, this apartment seemingly only had one theme: hunting. The walls were lined with the mounted heads and bones of several large animals, some of which were definitely endangered. Pictures of the smug owner of the apartment with many large guns and animal bodies were the only other decor.

“Woah,” Betty said as she, Simon and Marcy stepped inside what was clearly the weapons cache of the giant apartment. There were endless amounts of increasingly ridiculous looking guns, along with tons of other smaller weapons, and stockpiles of ammo. Uninterested in taking one of these guns which had definitely been used to do some illegal hunting, Betty simply slipped a few boxes of bullets which fit her gun inside her back. Simon took a new hunting knife which was still in the box, also not wanting a used one. “T-thank you,” Betty said.

“Humans no thank us. Feels… nice.” The rats offered, and with that they skittered away to hide again, leaving the three of them alone in the apartment. Slowly, the three walked out, making sure to close the door behind them as they found it. Upon returning to the apartment they’d been hiding out in, they found the rain still battering down on the city, and as such they prepared to hunker down. Marceline went into the vast library to locate some books to replace her old ones, leaving the two adults alone to grapple with what they’d seen.

“So… that was… different.” was all Simon could muster up in response to what they’d seen. His mind was racing as he thought about how quickly it felt like the idea of rebuilding the old world was slipping away. Still, he tried to be positive despite him feeling anything but that. “But, this is a huge building, so we’ve still got a good chance of finding more people. I bet they’re probably just on the floor below us,” he said with an awkward chuckle, as if it would make the existential dread he was feeling lessen. Betty put her hand on his shoulder sympathetically.

“It's okay Simon,” she said and something about the way she said, the gentle care in her eyes got to him because Simon started to cry and so did she, and they held each other there crying for a minute before finally pulling themselves back together. “The old world is gone, and we can’t bring it back,” Betty admitted to herself for the first time since all this began. “We’re not… humans, aren’t in charge anymore. This world belongs to them,” Betty vaguely gestured in the direction of across the hall. “We’re just the last holdouts of a dead society,” she said.

“Oh, princess, don’t say that.” Simon said, pressing his forehead against Betty’s and holding her close. He couldn’t let Betty feel that way, because he never wanted her to hurt. “Maybe our version of normal doesn’t exist anymore. That just means we get used to this one,” he offered before adding something else. “If you’re there, I could get used to anything,” Simon said, and he was telling the truth. As long as he had Betty, and Marceline too, he would be able to adjust to anything because they were the only things of the old world he wanted.

“I found a journal!” Marceline said, as she returned from her foray into the library, a pile of books in hand. “I’m going to start writing about the things I see, just like you guys,” Marceline said cheerily as she made herself comfortable in between them. “I hope we meet other things like talk! Like tables! Or books! Or robots!” Marceline said, scribbling down everything that she was writing, and suddenly Betty and Simon really did believe everything would be okay. With each for stability and Marceline for open mindedness, they’d make it alright.

Chapter Text

It had been days before the rain finally stopped, and those had been days of poking around the building and trying to surmise if there was anything else of interest with regard to new life forms. While they hadn’t located any talking tables like Marceline had wanted, the group had managed to come across of a group of talking cockroaches, as well as a large pile of slime which seemed to be non-radioactive, but did convulse and move as if it was trying to speak which was uncomfortable in its own way.

Regardless, just because the rain had stopped didn’t mean that it was safe to go outside, and in fact it was just the beginning of their quarantine inside. At the very least, the building did make a good home base, and the place was so big the three were constantly finding unique places to explore. They even managed to make a sort of routine for themselves, something that was sorely lacking in their existence ever since the end of the world. They’d wake up, using the surviving alarm clock in their museum room.

They’d use their collected bucket of non-radioactive water to get themselves some semblance of clean for the day, and then they’d select from their scavenged collection of clothes from other rooms on what to wear. They’d make their way across the hall to speak with the rat collective and ask them if they wanted anything from anywhere in the building, which they almost never did, and then they’d set out towards the restaurant on the main floor. They’d say high to the pulsating slime which sat outside the door of the place, and it would wiggle in response.

And then, the three would set about fixing themselves breakfast while trying to decide exactly where they wanted to go in the building for the day. Considering they didn’t know how long the electricity in this building was going to last, they’d been spending their time trying to make their way through the fridge and all the perishable ingredients inside before they all went bad, while saving the non-perishable ingredients for when things got dire again, if they did. No one was quite sure how long this little paradise could last after all.

“We haven’t explored the basement yet,” Simon noted while looking at his faded building map. “It says there’s a spa down there, along with a gym and a pool,” Simon said and Betty chuckled at him because having a relaxing time in the pool was the last of their concerns, especially because that water had been likely sitting stagnant since the bomb dropped and was the last thing you’d want to swim in. Marceline, who’d been engrossed in one of the children’s books she’d found in a room’s library, perked up at the mention of a pool.

“I don’t know how to swim!” she noted. “I only went to the beach one time, and I just played in the sand,” she added, and Marceline smiled thinking about the memory. Simon and Betty wished they could teach her, but for as cushy as their current life was, it still wasn’t that cushy. Then again, if they could find enough clean water, maybe they could make her a little kiddy pool… Betty had to stop herself from trailing down that rabbit hole by reminding herself that any clean water they accessed was for washing clothes and washing themselves.

“We won’t be doing any swimming today,” Betty said, before adding something else. “We don’t even have swimsuits,” she mentioned, and Marceline seemed to take that as a valid reason not to swim. Simon put down the map he was reading and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving the back of her neck a kiss, which made her blush hard despite the amount of times he’d done it before. She thought back to their trip to find the Enchiridion, and how it’d gotten so hot one day that they’d swum in their clothes, just to get a break.

“What’s this word mean?” Marceline piped up, and the two adults stopped being all sappy for a moment to pay attention to her question. The face she was making was adorable as she stared hard at the page, squinting like that would give the words more clarity. They were both proud of her for picking up a chapter book, though obviously one that was only a little off from her reading level so that she could comfortably expand her vocabulary. While they’d only glanced at the cover, she seemed to be eating it up.

“Why don’t you spell it for us,” Simon asked, and this was a tactic that both himself and Betty had picked up from the parenting books they’d been diving into. After all, they were professionals and if they were going to be parents, they’d do it the right way. Of course, some things like mentions of school and developing friendships with other kids were slightly out of their depth at the moment given the world had ended, but little things like encouraging spelling were something they both tried to emphasize.

“F-I-A-N-C-E, but the E has a weird little line on top,” she said and Simon smiled because this would serve not just as a good teaching moment for words, but also a fun language lesson. He sat next to her and tried to think of what the book had said about defining words for Marceline’s age level. Never mind the fact that he didn’t know when her birthday was, and therefore couldn’t tailor her learning to the amount of progress kids make in a year, he would ballpark it and hope for the best.

“The word is fiancé. It's a word borrowed from French, which is why it has that line on top. The line is called an accent,” he said, pointing at the line in her book, and she nodded at that. “The word means someone who you’re going to marry, and haven’t married yet. So when you plan to marry someone, but haven’t had a wedding, they’re your fiancé,” he explained and Marceline’s face seemed to light up with recognition as she realized where she’d heard the word before. She looked back and forth from Betty to Simon before saying what was on her mind.

“Oh! Like you two,” she said, and both blushed sheepishly and nodded. “When you first told me that’s what you were, I just pretended to know what you were talking about,” she admitted and both Simon and Betty chuckled at how sweet, and silly the little girl was, and how good she was at making the two of them feel unconditionally loved. The conversation died down as Simon started planning for them to go to the basement, while washing the dishes they’d used in the basin of wash water.

“Let me check on your leg,” Betty said as she bent down to change the bandages on Marceline’s leg. Upon taking them off, she found that the leg looked far better, and she breathed a sigh of relief that their attempts at making sure she got well were paying off. It had closed up completely and scabbed over, and as long as the scab wasn’t picked at, it’d probably scar just fine. “Looks like your leg is healing up Marcy,” Betty said. “You won’t need to wear a bandage anymore, and you’ll be able to walk on your own,” she said.

“But…” Marceline started, before flashing Betty those diabolical puppy dog eyes she seemed to have mastered. “I want to be carried,” she said, and though Betty was usually stronger than the eyes, she faltered, and that was how she found herself carrying Marceline down a flight of stairs as they made their way to the basement of the building. Upon reaching it they discovered there was even more down there than what Simon had initially mentioned, being that along with doors labeled spa, gym, and pool, there were signs pointing elsewhere on the property.

“What does that say?” Betty asked, pointing to one of the signs while continuing to hold Marceline in her arms. She figured it was a good idea to prompt Marceline on occasion with words that should be on target for her reading level, and she watched as she adorably sounded the word out, before seeming to recognize it and getting that rush of pride from having figured it out. She began to happily explain what it meant, much to Betty’s surprise, as she hadn’t expected her to have a definition prepared.

“It says “chapel”! It means a place where people do religion stuff,” she said and both Simon and Betty clapped at her accomplishment, something the two of them had become quite adept at doing to continuously boost Marcy’s confidence. “Can we please go there? Please please please?” she asked and Simon shrugged, which she took as an acceptance, and she wiggled herself free from Betty’s arms to run ahead of them. “Wow! It's so neat here!” Marceline said from up ahead as she entered inside.

The place was legitimately gorgeous, and the colors of the stained glass fixtures were mesmerizing. Like the rest of the building, it was still completely intact, and Marceline stood at the podium in the front of the room, digging for something beneath it before pulling out whatever it was sneakily, and beckoning Betty and Simon over to the front with her. It was only when they reached the front of the chapel that the two of them realized the seats in the pews were filled with the talking rats from next door.

“It's time for you two to get married!” Marceline announced, before revealing what she’d snuck beneath the podium, were rings, almost certainly stolen from the room of someone who lived in the building. “While you two were asleep last night, I snuck and talked to the rats, and also I snuck and put the rings here for you two,” she said pleasantly, and while Betty and Simon were both going to have to talk to her about how dangerous separating from them was, they couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed with emotion when seeing how far she’d gone for them.

“Oh, Marceline,” Simon said sweetly. “Are you going to marry us?” he asked, and Marceline looked at him like he was crazy, shaking her head. She then reached beneath the podium again and pulled out a basket of flowers, something which drew attention to the fact that many of the plastic flowers in the chapel had been reduced to plastic stems, seemingly having been attacked by Marceline in her quest to collect them. Simon and Betty supposed it didn’t matter, considering there was no formal government to recognize their marriage anyway, but Marceline added something.

“Hambo is going to marry you two, silly.” She said before setting the stuffed toy on top of the podium. Betty and Simon couldn’t help but notice that Marceline had put a slightly too small suit on the toy, likely taken from a doll of some kind and repurposed. “I’m going to be the flower girl, of course,” she said, and with that she walked to the front of the chapel, throwing flowers despite the fact that Betty and Simon were already at the front. Once she finished, she went behind the podium and spoke from the perspective of her toy.

“Simon, are you going to love Betty forever and ever, no matter what?” Hambo asked them, and Simon nodded, taking Betty’s hands in his own. Betty looked at him the way that she had when they’d first fallen in love all those years ago, and his heart felt full. “And Betty, are you going to love Simon forever and ever no matter what?” Hambo asked as Marceline turned the toy towards her. Betty nodded and of course she did because they were getting married, what she’d dreamed about, even if it wasn’t how she expected it. “Then you can kiss and stuff,”

“Actually, I had some vows prepared that I wanted to-” Simon started to say, and Marceline made Hambo shake his head. “Well why not?” he asked and upon hearing that Marceline popped out from her hiding place behind the podium and looked at him seriously. “I’m just saying, you know at a ceremony like this typically you let the people getting married say what they want to,” he offered and Marceline crossed her arms and shook her head, offering an excellent counterpoint to his argument.

“Just kiss before I change my mind!” She insisted and Simon couldn’t argue with that logic, leaning in towards Betty as they closed their eyes, preparing for a chaste kiss for the sake of Marceline and the audience. Simon silently decided that he’d tell Betty his vows later that night. While they’d kissed a million times before this, and certainly more passionately than this, something about this kiss was special. It didn’t matter that they’d been married by a stuffed toy for an audience of speaking rats, they were married now, and it came through in the kiss.

“We’ll keep our regular rings, if that’s alright with you,” Betty said and Marceline smiled and nodded, seemingly not caring. With that taken care of, the three were now free to poke around the rest of the building, Simon joking that simply entering the spa room was close enough to a honeymoon. “Where do you think the safest place is right now?” Betty asked Simon. “Like, if we could just teleport to anywhere,” she mentioned, and Simon seemed to consider the question. He gave an answer in two parts.

“If we could go anywhere, probably a secluded island in the Pacific. There’s likely to be survivors there and, considering where the bombs fell, an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean would quite possibly be completely untouched. Of course, we’re nowhere near any ocean right now so there’s no chance of that. If I were to pick something more realistic, the middle of the woods is probably the most shielded from radiation, and mutants really only seem to congregate in the cities, so I’d head for there,” Simon noted as they entered the parking garage.

The place was practically stripped bare, with all the cars in quite a sorry state, not to mention the fact that most of them seemed to be missing. Betty thought back to when they’d discovered that food truck, which seemed like ages ago. Back then, they’d been so excited at the prospect of simply getting the chance to drive a car, despite the fact that the thing hadn’t worked. Now, Betty didn’t even bother getting her hopes up as they traversed through the rows of cars whose owners were doomed to never return.

“Hey, this one is open,” Marceline noted as she pulled on the door of a red truck, and it popped open without much resistance. Simon and Betty looked at each other, shrugging as they decided they might as well give it a shot, especially when they noticed the keys were still in the ignition. Simon sat in the driver’s seat and turned the key, listening to the engine sputter once, twice, and then suddenly out of nowhere it sprang to life. Simon was so unprepared for that outcome, he just stared in awe at the thing.

“It’s… got a full tank of gas,” Simon noted, and Betty was similarly shocked. Their luck was never this good, it always came with some sort of caveat. Marceline sat in the backseat smiling, and Betty noticed that next to her in the backseat was a fuel canister, which upon picking up she saw was also filled with gas, meaning they potentially had the chance to drive even further. She climbed out of the car to put the gas in the trunk and Simon followed her, the two deciding to discuss what to do next.

“We could get out of the city,” Betty said excitedly. “Fill the trunk with non-perishables and make it to the woods like you said!” Betty offered, and she could tell Simon was nervous, and she knew why. She was nervous too, after all. “I know that leaving is a risk, after all this place is probably our safest bet at surviving,” she offered and Simon nodded. “But,” she added. “I’m a married woman now, Simon, and I don’t just want to survive. I want to live,” she said, and Simon looked at her awe struck, giving her the sort of kiss Marceline hated.

“Alright then,” he said once the kiss was broken. We can consult the map,” he said, and Betty nodded, grabbing the thing out of her backpack. “Me you and Marcy can round up our clothes and food, anything else we think could be useful. And we can go live,” he offered, and Betty was sure for once in her life she’d made the right choice. They turned the car off to save battery, and gathered Marceline so they could load up their things. As the three closed the trunk and put on their seatbelts, staring at the exit to the parking garage, all were sure that whatever came next, they wouldn’t squander the chance to live that they’d been given.

Chapter Text

It had been years since they’d left that parking garage and decided to start their new life off the grid. The journey had been long and hard, but eventually they had made it safely to a lowly irradiated spot in the woods, surrounded by trees and other greenery, and they’d decided to start fresh there. It had been hard at first, what with having to learn things all over again, but it didn’t have the dangerous mutants of the city, and the few mutants they did come across seemed friendly, the beginning of new sentient life on a grand scale.

And they’d done it, starting from scratch in their new little home. The first thing that they decided upon was building a home, not just a camp in the clearing, but an honest to Golb home. Neither Simon nor Betty were what could be described as handy, and Marceline was a child, but it didn’t matter because they had the determination to try. So they’d gathered wood, and the few tools they’d borrowed from the complex’s maintenance room, and they’d gotten to work. Before they knew it, they had a little cabin with two bedrooms and a kitchen.

They’d managed to find ways to ingeniously make their little cabin a real home. From Betty using clay to purify rainwater and weaving leaves into blankets, to Simon sewing scattered feathers into mattresses and pillows and making a wood burning stove from the metal shell of their car once it no longer worked, they had all the important tools to make a good life. Of course, with their non-perishable food items depleting every day, they’d had to trial and error their way around agriculture too, but they’d made it work. It had taken nearly a year, but still.

Mostly, though, they read a lot of books. Aside from food and tools which they’d taken from the hotel, the thing that was most important for their new life had been gathering any and all texts that they thought would contain useful information on restarting the world from that old complex. One of the first things they’d done when starting to build their home was to make a bookshelf, and it was those instructions that had made all the difference. Everyone had a role in their new life, and they did their best to celebrate each other.

“Alright, she’s still out in the field pulling weeds, so she should be busy for a while,” Simon said as he walked back into their cabin, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Is everything almost ready?” he asked as Betty stood in front of their stove, nervously tapping her foot as she read over the recipe book for the fifth time. She and Simon had spent all the previous night making test cakes, to varying degrees of success, but she wanted this one to be perfect. Marceline had grown up before their very eyes, and that was something worth celebrating.

“We’ll see,” she said nervously as she opened the door to the oven which was, hilariously, just the door from that car, and pulled out a perfect looking cake. She let out a sigh of relief, as did Simon. With the cake done she could take a break from feeling so nervous while he finished the rest of it, and finish it he did as he combined the very crude sugar they’d managed to find along with the whites of some eggs they’d purchased from a talking bird in exchange for corn, and purified water to make frosting, which he covered the top of the cake with.

“We agreed on writing ‘Happy Birthday Marcy’ didn’t we?” Simon questioned and Betty nodded from where she was sitting as he wrote it in frosting. The truth was they didn’t actually know when Marceline’s birthday was, or exactly how old she was turning. Keeping time was hard when you had to manually count the days, and especially when after the bombs had dropped the seasons seemed to switch, with what used to be winter being hot and rainy, and what used to be summer being cold and snowy. Still, they had a ballpark estimate and they were doing their best.

“I’ll go grab her,” Betty said with a smile as Simon carefully stuck a few candles in the top of the cake, made of wax they’d acquired from an abnormally large bee, who didn’t speak but did seem to understand the concept of a barter based economy. They all tried not to think too much about the ethics of acquiring animal products from sentient animals, because as long as they agreed, it seemed to be fine. Once the cake looked presentable, he quickly checked on their present for Marceline, which was wrapped nicely with a ribbon.

“While I was weeding, I found these super cool dandelions,” Marceline said as she walked into the cabin, Betty in tow behind her. “They move in the other direction when you try to touch them, look!” she said, showing off the fist full of flowers in her hand, and when she reached to poke them they did indeed move away from her finger. “Cool right? Now, what’s going on?” Marceline asked, and Betty and Simon failed to conceal their smiles as they ushered Marceline to sit down at the table and brought the cake over from the counter.

They both launched happily into the birthday song, and Marceline lit up upon seeing the cake with the candles aglow. They hadn’t put a number of candles corresponding to any age, Simon had just decorated the cake with them. From the best guesses of the three of them, she was roughly thirteen at this point, and while Betty and Simon certainly didn’t feel like it’d been six years since their little life out here had begun, Marcy getting older was all the proof they could have asked for.

“Aww, guys,” Marceline said, tearing up because even though they tried to celebrate each other’s birthdays whenever they could, this was the first time they’d been able to put together the ingredients for a cake, thanks to their acquisition of eggs, and something about that made the whole thing feel much more special. She wiped the tears building in her eyes on her sleeve as she blew out the candles. Betty cut her a slice, and then cut ones for herself and Simon as well, as they enjoyed the confectionary.

“So, what did you wish for?” Simon asked in between bites of cake, and both Betty and Marceline looked at each other scandalized before looking at Simon in mock shock. It was nice to get to play games like this, when they got to be a normal family for a moment. They all believed in magic, even if it wasn’t something that they often discussed and as anyone who believes in magic knows, sharing your wish was the fastest way to ensure it never came true. Simon seemed to realize this, but it was far too late.

“Dad,” Marceline complained. “You know that I can’t tell you that,” she said, snickering. None of them could remember the first time Marceline had started calling them mom and dad rather than by their names, but they all knew that when it had happened for the first time, it had felt so natural and right that they all knew it was the names Simon and Betty would go by from here on out. Simon shook his head at her playfully, before going to retrieve her birthday present. “No way, no way!” Marceline said as she tore off the ribbon to reveal a guitar.

“Do you like it?” Betty asked, even though how much she liked it was clear on Marceline’s face. They both knew that she seemed like more of an electric guitar girl, but considering that they didn’t exactly have the means or the desire to travel back to the cities and scavenge for amps or find a way to harness electricity again, they’d decided on acoustic for her. It had taken months of work carving the body of the guitar out of wood, melting down metal to make the strings, and finding a way to tune it, but it was done.

“I love it! Thank you!” she said, grabbing both of them tight for a hug. It was everything she could have ever asked for, being that she’d always had something of a musical streak. “I’m going to write so many cool songs! I’ve got so much to say,” she said and Betty and Simon chuckled under their breath because being thirteen or twelve years old was the height of feeling as though you had a lot to say, while actually saying very little. Though your early twenties were a close second in that regard.

“Hold on,” Simon said suddenly, and their hug was broken as the sound of something running through the field nearby confirmed what he’d been sure he’d hear. “Vampires,” he said with a sigh, and the three of them began their regular protocol. While the city had mutants, the countryside had vampires, and they were more predictable, but just as aggressive. Luckily, the Enchiridion had extensive research on them, and their copy was well-worn, so they knew what to do when they heard their telltale signs. They weren’t former humans, or at least most of them weren’t, so they couldn’t be reasoned with.

Luckily, they did have a few exploitable weaknesses, and the ones that tended to exist in the nearby area to them weren’t very good at their jobs. They were out during the day, which was a clear indication of that, because it meant they were in feral mode. When they hadn’t fed in a while it was how they got, and while it made them much more aggressive, it also made them far stupider, as several vampires burned up before even getting near their house. Simon and Betty barricaded the doors and windows, save for one, out of which Marcy shot garlic they’d grown.

Her good eye took out most of the rest of the vampires and those that hadn’t been burned up by the sun or taken out with garlic were stopped when they got closer to the house, and were immediately met with stakes to the chest that Betty and Simon had carefully stowed on their hips. With the vampires taken care of they could unblock the windows and doors and get back to their previous activities, though as Simon was removing the barricade, he did slam his finger in between the door and the wooden block.

“Ow! Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, hoping that it hadn’t been heard, though it was clearly a wish that wouldn’t be met, as Marceline stared at him wide-eyed with a smile on her face. They had an agreement that any time Betty or Simon cussed in front of Marceline, she was allowed to use that cuss word once. It had vastly dropped the amount of slip ups they had, and they’d read it was a good technique in a parenting book, though they hadn’t had a word that harsh yet, and they knew Marceline would wait until an opportune time to drop it.

“Since it's my birthday, do I have to finish weeding?” Marceline asked, and Betty and Simon gave her a look before relenting and allowing her to run off to play with her guitar while they cleaned up the cake. The most frustrating part of their life was that despite having an oven and ingredients to make non-perishable foods, they hadn’t exactly been able to figure out a consistent way to keep food cold to preserve it yet. It was their next goal, a freezer was their main hope so they could keep food longer, but even a refrigerator would have been a good thing.

“Are you going to judge me if I polish off a few more slices of this cake?” Betty asked nervously, even though she knew what Simon would say. She knew he’d never judge her, but they’d been together, been married for years by this point, and she was still silently waiting for him to decide that this life that they’d carved out for themselves wasn’t what he wanted anymore and to leave. She remembered the day the car had finally conked out and Simon had made an oven from it, and the sick joy she got from the idea that they couldn’t go far from each other anymore.

“Princess, there is nothing in the world that would ever make me judge you,” he said before cutting himself another slice of cake. “Can you believe Marceline is thirteen-ish now,” Simon offered, looking wistfully towards her room as he remembered when they’d found her, just a scared, small child who had no idea what was going on and who’d just lost her mom. Now she was growing up so fast, fighting to keep their home safe and functional, and just as dedicated as any adult.

“I know right,” Betty said before pausing and adding something else. “We are so old, aren’t we?” She asked and Simon laughed, pulling her close into a hug and then a gentle kiss, as if to confirm that they were in fact getting old, but it didn’t really matter to him. Betty tried to think about how she thought this point in her life would be when she was younger, and she decided that it wasn’t that far off. She was married to the man of her dreams, she had a wonderful kid, the only thing she was missing was career success, but she could find that fulfillment in other ways.

After all, the fact that she’d managed to figure out how to purify irradiated water using clay was pretty great, even she could admit that. Still, there was a part of her still waiting to figure out exactly who she was despite her age. She thought about her research, about Golb and the other ancient primordial deities who she’d studied, and she wondered if she’d ever confirm her theories, if she would even if she could. Betty decided to put those thoughts out of mind for now as Marceline walked out of her room with a request.

“Can I go adventuring?” Marceline asked, and when both of the adults looked at her shocked, she gave her explanation. “If I’m going to be a great songwriter, I have to do stuff and go places! I have to accomplish things, I mean, what am I going to write about here? My parents eating the rest of my birthday cake without me?” she asked and Betty and Simon, who still had crumbs of cake on their faces, wiped them off and tried to consider her question. “Come on please? I’m basically thirteen, which is nearly an adult,” she offered and both laughed.

“Sorry, Marcy,” Simon said. “But we don’t need to do stuff like that anymore,” Simon offered, and it was true. Their days of scavenging and scraping by to survive were over, and none of them needed to return to that. Besides, thirteen was too young to be braving the land all on your own, especially with the threat of vampires. Marceline crossed her arms and pouted, but after years together that wasn’t going to work anymore, and she knew it. Finally, she threw her arms up in exasperation and walked away.

“You two never let me do anything,” she complained as she picked her guitar up from the ground. “That’s what I’m going to write a song about, about how you never let me do anything I want,” she called as she walked to her room and closed the door behind her, but didn’t slam it, showing she wasn’t as mad as she could have been. The truth was, though Marcy longed for adventure, she didn’t know what she wanted out of it. Maybe she just wanted to be seen as the adult she wished she was. Whatever the case, she knew that something had to change soon. It was just a matter of when.

Chapter Text

It was a fairly average day for Marceline, and that meant it was a very boring day. She’d woken up like usual and gotten the chance to fiddle on her guitar in the morning while Simon had made breakfast and Betty had written up a list of errands they’d have to do. Unlike in previous days when she was younger, and they tried never to separate, sometimes one person would split off from the rest of the group and do something on their own, and the other would take Marceline with them. Today, though, she was given some autonomy.

“We’ve been thinking about what you asked on your birthday,” Simon mentioned, and it was true that they had. Him and Betty often spent their nights laying awake and talking about the day's events, occasionally reminiscing on a flicker of a memory that had returned to them and that they wanted to preserve. They also often took the chance to write things down in their journals, and more than anything else, to talk about Marceline. Both had agreed it would be good for her to get some agency, and so they came to a compromise.

“I can go adventuring on my own today?” she asked excitedly, even though she knew that wouldn’t be the answer. Betty and Simon could be pretty stuck in their ways when it came to raising her, though Marceline sometimes wanted to tell them that whatever they’d read in their latest parenting book wasn’t always helpful. Still, she knew they loved her and that she loved them, and that love tended to override her feelings of annoyance. That was why she didn’t complain when she got her response.

“Well, no.” Betty said before adding something else. “But, we thought it would be a good idea to start letting you pick who you spend the day with when it comes to chores,” Betty explained, and she hoped that Marceline would appreciate it. Secretly, she always worried that Marcy loved her less than Simon, and that she was doing a bad job being a mother figure to her. After all, Marcy’s dad had been absent, while she had to live up to Marceline’s mother, which seemed like an impossible task, not helped by her own low self-image.

“Hm, gardening with dad or actually going out and doing interesting stuff with mom?” Marceline mock pondered, showing it was an easy choice, “Yeah, I’m going with mom on this one,” she said as she grabbed her guitar, which she’d already woven an shoulder strap for, and set off with Betty to do some trading for the day. “So, what’s on our list?” she asks asked as Betty scanned over what they needed to acquire. Far from a trip to the grocery store, they’d have to go individually trade for any items they wanted.

“Well, we’re headed deeper into the forest to trade seeds with the wood sprites, and then we’ll be talking with the foxes to see if they’ve come across any human tech. The last thing we have to do is find some ammo for my gun, and see if we can trade for a new stake because my old one is wearing down,” Betty answered and Marceline nodded, before beginning to strum idly at her guitar, seemingly trying to take inspiration from their daily tasks as song lyrics, which Betty enjoyed immensely as they walked.

“Deep into the forest, the belly of the beast, will the seeds provide sustenance, or will we become a feast? Searching for tech from the foxes that scavenge day and night, will they trade it peacefully or not without a fight? Gathering weapons to make vampires run, but are they the true monsters or is that who we'll become,” she sang, still learning how to construct song lyrics that weren’t just direct observation. Unfortunately for her, things went perfectly fine unlike in her song, and before she knew it they were walking back home.

“Sorry that nothing cool happened, Marceline,” Betty admitted and while she was certainly glad there hadn’t been any disasters, she knew that Marceline craved the sort of excitement that a quiet life in the woods just couldn’t provide. As for Betty, however, she could live the rest of her life without anything big or important happening and be just fine with that, considering she’d had enough excitement for many lifetimes. The fact that talking animals, forest sprites, and vampires had become a part of her daily routine was excitement enough for her.

“It's fine,” Marceline said, trailing off, as she stopped walking to pick up a stick and draw in the dirt. “Hey, can I ask you something?” Marcy questioned, and Betty perked up because the idea that Marceline was coming to her for something, anything, made her puff up a bit. She nodded and Marceline began her question. “Do you think you and dad will ever have a kid?” she asked, and of all the questions that Betty could have expected Marceline to want to know the answer to, this one was very low on her list.

“Well, we’ve talked about it but… the world is dangerous right now, and the idea of trying to give birth with things being the way they are…” she offered before trailing off herself. Marceline figured that would be the answer but it sort of bummed her out anyway because writing about having a new sibling, and maybe writing some more serious lyrics about feeling replaced in her own home, would have made for a great emotional subject for a song. “Besides, we’ve already got the best kid in the world,” Betty added,

“Well, I can’t argue with that logic,” Marceline said, trying to project cool confidence. “Do you think I’ll ever fall in love like you and dad did?” Marceline asked, using the stick she’d picked up to draw a heart in the dirt. She didn’t really think that she would, or at least not if she wasn’t willing to marry a vaporous forest spirit or a talking lizard. Her parents seemed to her like they were made for each other, and with how weird the world was, she highly doubted she’d find anyone she felt made for in that way.

“Well, I don’t know.” Betty admitted, and it was true that considering the very likely possibility that there weren’t any humans left, she’d be out of luck. But, she also knew that new life, new ways of being alive, were being created every day. “What I do know is if you do fall in love, it won’t be like me and Simon did. I was head over heels for months and I couldn’t bring myself to say anything; same with him. You’re a lot braver than we’ve ever been,” she said before adding something else. “Don’t grow up too fast on us, okay Marcy?” she said and Marceline promised she wouldn’t.

She didn’t even really care about romance to be honest, it was just something that existed in concept for her. It was something she read about in books and saw in her kitchen when her parents would give each other a kiss just because they felt like it. It wasn’t exactly something she was chasing, what she was chasing was newness and freedom, and on that count Betty was also right that Marceline was much braver than they were. It was why that night, when Simon and Betty were asleep, she enacted her plan.

She wrote up a note explaining that she wasn’t running away, that she was armed, and that she’d be back before sunrise. That she just needed to experience adventure and freedom because being cooped up in this house was driving her crazy. And she put that note on top of her pillow, slung her guitar over her shoulder, and grabbed a stake which she hid under her clothes, before climbing out of her bedroom window and beginning her journey. The world seemed so different, late at night.

Usually their last chore before going to bed was barricading the windows and doors against vampire attacks, but Marceline had purposefully not done the one in her bedroom so she could get outside easier. She did block it from the outside once she was out, to ensure her parents weren’t attacked by vampires in the night, but now that it was done she could do whatever she wanted. She took in the night sky, and how many stars she could see from just where she was standing, tried to remember the names for them her mom had taught her.

She had nowhere in particular to go, so she walked, thinking about stars and how far away they were, despite how brightly they shined. She wished at that moment that she could fly and get a better look at them. How amazing it would be if she had more powers than just the ability to eat people’s souls. She thought about vampires and how unfair it was that those jerks got to do a bunch of cool stuff, and they wasted that power on being nuisances that liked to hurt people. She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped when she heard rustling in the nearby bushes.

Her hand immediately flew to her stake as she stalked closer and closer to it, thinking about how if she could take down a vampire on her own, she’d be able to prove to her parents that she should be allowed to explore on her own. It did cross her mind that it was possible the vampire would win, but that thought made her nervous and she tried to suppress it as she readied herself for combat. Whatever was in the bushes clearly hadn’t heard her, and that meant it was up to Marceline to rip the bushes open and start the fight.

“Gotcha!” Marceline said, stake readied over her head, trying to project cool confidence as she opened her eyes to reveal… something that was not a vampire. It wasn’t a vampire, and it wasn’t a mutant, it was a human. A little boy who seemed to be about the same age as Marcy was when Simon and Betty found her, and when he saw her standing there in the dark, weapon raised above her head he screamed and ran. This startled Marceline, who also screamed and ran quickly in the opposite direction.

She’d wandered pretty deep into the forest, and that meant she’d very predictably gotten lost as she did her best to weave through rows of identical looking trees and animals who seemed very confused as to what she was doing here, and very frightened of her loud screaming. Her mind was racing a thousand miles a minute as she tried to process what she’d just seen. An honest to Golb human being. As Marcy did some quick math based on their age, they would have had to have been a baby when the bombs fell, or not even alive. Which meant there must be other humans taking care of that kid.

“Marceline!” Simon said as she slammed into him in her frantic running, and he grabbed tight to her. When she looked up, Simon and Betty were staring at her, clearly frazzled and terrified, tears pin-pricking in their eyes, Betty clutching Marceline’s letter in her hand. “Are you hurt? Did something hurt you?” Simon asked as he rapidly checked her arms and legs for scratches, and her neck for any vampire bites. “What in the world were you thinking?” he asked as soon as he’d confirmed she wasn’t injured.

“Humans!” Marceline blurted out, still processing the information she’d just learned. “There are other humans, I saw another human, and he was so young that there must have been other humans, probably nearby we’ve got to go find them!” she said, grabbing Simon and Betty’s hands trying to pull them back into the woods, something which quickly failed. “Come on, we have to go, if we run maybe we can still catch him,” Marceline added, and her parents just looked at her disappointed.

“Marcy, we thought something horrible happened to you!” Betty said seriously. “We woke up, and you were gone, and then we heard you screaming… you could have been killed.” She insisted, and that idea made Betty feel awful. Had Marceline really wanted to get away from them that much, that she’d risk her own life? Marceline looked down at her feet, embarrassed as they escorted her home, and informed her they’d be having a serious discussion in the morning. Once she was back home, Betty and Simon returned to their bedroom to talk.

“Princess, did you hear what she said? There are more humans out there after all,” Simon said as he seemed to try and process the information he’d been given. He’d all but given up on the idea of finding more people, and now here he was with the chance to find some, the first real lead he’d ever had. “We need to go looking for them tomorrow.” he insisted, and Betty felt a pit grow in her stomach as those fears she thought she’d put to bed years ago were revived in her head, the idea of Simon needing more than she could give.

“Someone will need to watch Marceline, though, right? I mean, after what she did tonight she can’t exactly be trusted to stay on her own,” Betty offered, hoping to put a damper on Simon’s plans at least a little. Of course, that just led to a new fear, that he’d go on without her or Marceline and abandon both of them in the pursuit of new people. Betty knew that Simon would never even think about doing something like that, but knowing and accepting were different things, and she couldn’t accept that Simon would stay if he had other options.

“Flo-Jo over there can come with us. She may be in a lot of trouble, but this means a lot to her, and she did find us that lead,” Simon said, and his mind was still racing thinking about what this could mean. A human settlement could mean a community, friends for Marceline, a new group to brave this brand-new world with. Other people who might have information on how to make a freezer, which would massively improve their lives. Or maybe there’d be a doctor, and their conversation about having kids could be unpinned.

“Okay,” Betty said, suppressing her own feelings because she lacked the ability to do anything she thought might push Simon away, especially now. She’d slept fitfully that night, and breakfast that morning had felt more like a death row meal, as the three of them ate in silence, each contemplating the ways their lives would change if they found humans. And the ways their lives would change if they didn’t. Betty had insisted on washing the dishes before they left, delaying the inevitable.

“I found the kid right here,” Marceline said once they reached the same bush that she’d been at before, still damaged from where she’d ripped it open. “And then he ran that way,” Marceline added, pointing straight ahead, where small footprints were still left in the mud as evidence of her claim. The three took each other’s hands, very carefully walking to avoid messing up the tracks as they maneuvered through the forest and into yet another clearing, only about two miles from where their house was.

“Woah…” Betty said, staring, as she looked upon a thriving settlement of actual living humans. At that moment, all of her worry and fear became only background radiation to the feeling of seeing so many people again, alive and surviving. She watched mother’s cuddle with their babies, teenagers in the corner talking and someone she presumed to be in charge speaking with someone writing down his words. And Betty began to cry, something which alerted the other people of their presence.

“That’s her!” The little boy Marceline had met earlier announced, and that seemed to be some sort of signal because everyone ran and hid in terror. Marceline didn’t care in the slightest though because she’d been right, and she’d seen humans. She saw people her own age, doing things and while maybe they were scared of her now that could change. She would have friends, have something to write songs about, have something to make like an adventure. She’d taken a risk, and this here was the reward.

Chapter Text

Betty, Simon and Marceline had stayed at the human settlement a bit longer, trying to coax them to come out, but when it became clear that wouldn’t be happening, the three of them decided to return home and decompress. After all, emotions were high, and they’d have a lot to think about with regard to next steps. Luckily for the three of them, the settlement looked fairly stable and so it was unlikely they’d be able to pack everything up and move in a day, so they’d be able to return and try to make progress again later.

Simon brewed them some tea, his own blend of pine needles and other dried plants he’d first made on one of his expeditions, and as the three of them sat in the kitchen for a moment all was quiet as they thought. Simon was no longer preoccupied with bringing back a world that didn’t exist anymore, but humanity hadn’t doomed itself, there was still a chance that it could continue in this new world, with the knowledge to avoid its previous mistakes. That was something worth cherishing, in his opinion.

“Did you see those cool animal hats everyone was wearing?” Marceline asked excitedly as she finished drinking down her tea. “That must be a new fashion trend! I want one, so I can fit in with all the cool kids,” she said, and her heart was so full that any fears of rejection from her peers had practically vanished. Now all she could think about were the scant few episodes of TV shows focused on teens she’d seen as a kid, and the teen focused book series she’d read in which cliques and fitting in were determined by looks.

“You don’t need to worry about fitting in, Marceline. You need to worry about not sneaking out and scarring us half to death again,” Betty said, reminding Marceline that though she’d been right and showed them something important, she was still on the hook for breaking the rules. Marceline looked away embarrassed and Betty ruffled her hair, not wanting to put a damper on her well-earned joy. “I guess I could try to find the materials to sew you one,” she said, and Marceline lit up with joy at the idea of fitting in.

The truth was Betty was probably having the most conflicted experience out of the three of them, and even she couldn’t stay worried for long. They knew for a fact that other humans still existed now, and the settlement looked to be at least a few hundred people. From the very little research she’d done in college about human populations before going into archeology and religious software, she knew that their group would be enough to actively repopulate the earth if they so chose. That was something exciting to consider, even if it meant a return to the concerns she’d had back when the earth was filled with humans.

“When should we try going back?” Simon asked, and the three seemed to consider it for a moment. Simon added something. “Whenever we do go back, we should bring a gift of some kind. And Marcy, you’ve got to apologize to that kid,” Simon said and Marceline seemed to know he was right considering if she’d been attacked by someone in the bushes she probably wouldn’t be thrilled to see them either. “Now, as your punishment for sneaking out in the middle of the night, go wash the dishes.” Simon said.

“Dad you make me wash the dishes anyway,” Marceline said, though she didn’t actually complain, taking their now empty cups, which they’d made by digging clay from the earth, shaping it, and throwing them in the oven, and walking over to the sink. While she did so, she hummed a little tune, a melody she was working on which she hoped would blossom into a fully formed song. She thought about all the great adventures that she was going to have, and wondered if she’d have anything in common with her peers.

“Simon, can I talk to you in the bedroom for a second?” Betty asked and Simon nodded, following her over into their room and closing the door. “Do you think it's possible that their fear of Marceline comes from her appearance?” Betty asked, and it was a question both of them had considered but neither wanted to discuss. After all, Marceline was their little girl, they knew she was wonderful, sassy, intelligent and incredibly sweet. But they also knew that these people didn’t know that, and could judge her based on appearance.

“It… crossed my mind,” Simon admitted, but to him, it was a foregone conclusion. If they rejected his daughter because of her heritage, then he didn’t care about anything they had to offer. His family always came first for him, and he refused to put Marceline in a situation where she felt she had to prove she deserved to be trusted, where she had to prove she wasn’t dangerous just because of how she looked. “But, let’s try and stay optimistic,” he offered, and that was because he really did want this to work out for them.

“You’re right. But the second they give us any indication they’re treating Marcy differently. We’re going scorched earth.” she insisted and Simon gave a nod in response. Betty had been the most nervous about them meeting with other humans for a reason, and while this hadn’t been that reason, she would treat it just as seriously. “Let’s go back tomorrow,” Betty offered and Simon nodded in agreement, both of them anxious to return and discover if this was going to be a good thing or just a diversion.

“I finished the dishes! I’m going to play guitar on the porch,” Marceline called out from the kitchen to alert her parents, and she did just that, sitting on the porch and strumming away. She was happy they hadn’t given her a real punishment, considering it probably would have just made her feel worse. Knowing she’d panicked her parents so badly was enough of a punishment for her. She hoped that she’d done a good job seeming confident in the fact that she’d make friends, rather than the fear that she really felt.

She hummed as she strummed her guitar and thought about something her mother had told her once, when she’d asked about being friends with other kids. She’d told her that she was wonderful, an amazing and perfect little girl. But, that some people wouldn’t know that, and would treat her differently based on her appearance. She reminded her that it didn’t mean there was anything wrong with her at all, and that not all people would do that. Only that she wanted Marceline to be aware that it could happen.

“Mama once told me, be careful who you trust…” Marceline muttered to herself as she continued her playing, still with that melody that she’d been mulling over in her mind for a while. She knew not everyone was like that, Betty and Simon had taken good care of her and never let her feel anything less than normal. But then again, that had been under very specific circumstances, and maybe outside of those they would have seen her as a freak too. Maybe she was a freak, no more a person than the vampires were.

“We’re going back to the settlement tomorrow,” Simon noted as himself and Betty stepped out onto their cabin’s front porch. When Marceline looked up at them, there were tears in her eyes that she couldn’t will away before they saw her. “Oh, Marcy, what’s wrong?” Simon said as he sat down next to her, and Betty followed suit. Marceline didn’t know what to tell them, technically nothing had happened at all. But her own thoughts were cutting her up inside, and she didn’t know how to explain it.

“Am I… am I a monster?” Marceline asked, even though she knew they were going to tell her she wasn’t. Maybe she just needed to hear it come out of their mouths. Maybe she wanted to challenge them on it. “And don’t say, ‘Oh no, of course not Marceline,’ because you know as well as I do that my dad is a straight-up demon. And that makes me a monster.” she said, and Betty looked long and hard at her. Maybe she was gearing up to tell her she was right, that she was a freak and no one would ever be her friend.

“That doesn’t make you a monster, Marcy.” Betty said seriously and before Marceline could question what did, she gave her answer. “A monster isn’t something that you inherently are, it's something you become by doing monstrous things. Some of the biggest monsters throughout history were humans. And some of the greatest people weren’t human.” she said, and that made Marceline start to wipe her tears. “You’re a good person, Marcy,” Betty insisted. “And anyone who spends time around you knows it.” she added.

At a loss for words, Marceline simply pulled them close, into a group hug and Betty and Simon took to it well, enjoying the feeling of pulling each other close. Tomorrow, they’d try again with the humans, but this was what really mattered. They had a lovely dinner that night, and then the three of them went to bed, confident that whatever came in the morning they’d have each other. As they were packing for the day, the characteristic sound of running started to approach their cabin, and they all groaned.

“Really? A swarm right now?” Simon questioned to himself. It was an overcast day, so they weren’t burning themselves up, and such a large swarm could only mean one thing. Vampires were hierarchical in nature, and while typically minion vampires were sent out in small groups to do their own thing, sometimes large swarms would go out hunting together, but only when a master vampire was with them. They were stronger, capable of speaking, and far more annoying to deal with.

“Wait… they’re not stopping,” Betty noted as they seemed to run right past their cabin, and this was true. It made sense, for a master vampire three measly people weren’t typically worth the effort of coming out of the hive. It was then when it clicked for Betty exactly where they were going. “They’re headed to the human settlement!” Betty said, and the three of them began booking it there because they refused to lose this thing they’d just found.

When the three of them arrived, the humans in the settlement were hiding, clearly aware of what was coming, though it was likely futile regardless. From what Betty and Simon knew from their extensive research into vampires, master vampires were far more quick and cunning than their minions, with unique powers to match, and none of them would ever be dissuaded when people hid. As minions searched the camp for people, a small, gnome like vampire laughed and fluttered about, doing loops in the air until he caught sight of them.

“Well, hello!” he said, seemingly quite pleased at having people who weren’t in hiding. Marceline Betty and Simon got into a fighting stance as the minion vampires’ heads all snapped to the three of them, seemingly ready to pounce, when the master vampire spoke again. “Now now, don’t get them while I’m still talking,” he insisted, floating over to the three of them. “I’m The Fool,” he said with a laugh. “And I’m currently playing hide and seek with the humans around here. Say, you all look pretty human. Are you bad at this game or something?” he asked.

“Um… I guess?” Simon offered, and he was frankly deeply confused. After all, according to everything he knew about vampire masters, they were supposed to be dangerous and cunning. This one was just acting like a child. “So, what exactly do you plan to do if you win this game of hide and seek,” he questioned, considering the idea that maybe he’d gotten this entire thing completely wrong, and he was completely harmless. The Fool laughed and flew in loops as he began to explain his end game.

“Oh, well once I catch them, my minions and I are going to kill and eat every last person here!” he said happily and that was more along the lines of what they’d been expecting from a vampire master. “Why do you ask? Because, it seems to me like I found you. Which, of course, means I’ll have to kill and eat you-” he started to say before Simon through a bulb of garlic in his face. “Ow! What the heck!” he said, and though it was clear it hurt, it hadn’t actually killed him, which was expected from the more durable vampire masters.

“Have another!” Betty said as she too through a bulb of garlic in his face. The three of them had come up with this plan while in the woods, though it had mostly been Marcy’s plan. When taking down a vampire master, all of their minions went down, so all they had to do was take out the master. Betty and Simon were supposed to stun them with garlic and holy water, which they were currently doing. Though, when they’d discussed the plan, the three of them had anticipated it being a lot harder than it currently was.

“You two are total jerks! I’m gonna have my minions eat you!” The Fool insisted, as his skin was still burned from the bulbs of garlic that had been thrown at him. “Wait, weren’t there three of you earlier?” he began to ask, but before he could consider it, Marceline launched into the last phase of their plan and staked him from behind. “Aw dang it,” The Fool said, and his minions quickly poofed into dust around him, before he did the same himself. But, unlike the other vampires, there was something left behind.

“Woah. I didn’t think any vampires had souls,” Marceline said as she looked at the little glowing cloud. She thought again, about being a monster and the difference between her being born who she was, and The Fool who did monstrous things. Without even thinking about it, she inhaled the thing, hoping that it would mean The Fool couldn’t return, only to find that as she did something coursed through her veins. She felt taller, and lighter, and she quickly figured out why as she looked down to see herself floating above the ground.

“Huh. So when you absorb a vampire master’s soul, you get their powers.” Simon noted, and himself and Betty walked over to Marceline, grabbing her tight in a hug. “You did a great job Marcy, we’re so proud of you.” he said and Marceline looked away sheepishly. Hearing her parents being so unabashedly proud of her was great, even if they’d had a huge part in her success. “You better not fly away on us though,” he insisted and Marceline promised that she wouldn’t, and she was already thinking about song lyrics she could write.

“Saviors!” a voice called out, and the three of them turned from their own conversation to see that the humans of the tribe had come out from hiding and were staring in awe at the three of them. “You’ve saved us from the terror of the vampires, and you’ve taken his power,” someone said, pointing at Marceline, who was still floating slightly above the ground. The man who they assumed was the leader of the tribe walked over to the three of them and spoke to his people. “What are your names, champions?” he asked, and everyone waited for their answer.

“Um… I’m Betty and this is my husband Simon, and our daughter Marceline,” she managed to spit out as both Marceline and Simon were too awestruck by being called saviors to speak. A cheer went up in the crowd as everyone chanted their names, and suddenly her fears about meeting the new humans and about how they’d take to Marceline seemed far away as the three of them were hoisted on shoulders and paraded around. It was new, and it was scary. But their family unit was doing it together, and that made all the difference.

Chapter Text

After their victory over The Fool, things had changed quite rapidly for the family of three. For one, not only were they welcomed into the human community, but they were being hailed as a type of saviors. That first night after their fight, the leaders of the settlement had insisted on making them a big feast, cooked from wild game and with vegetables that they had farmed, and had asked them to talk about how the experience had felt. To be honest, it hadn’t really been all that exhilarating or interesting, so there wasn’t much to say.

“Did you all ever try to kill a vampire before?” Betty questioned in the midst of the festivities and all the people looked at her like she was crazy, which made her want to shrink into her seat. Of course, they hadn’t tried that, and now she’d made them feel bad about it. Being around all these people, she worried about if she had a place among them, and worried that she’d somehow ruin this for Simon. Simon, who was taking so well to being around new people, and who looked so happy here talking with them.

“Killing vampires was far too dangerous,” one of the founders, a man who asked they call him Two Bread Tom, explained. “We’ve spent our entire time here on the defensive, running and hiding when they came to our home. We never even considered the idea that we could do anything other than react. In fact, It's why we wear these animal hats, in the hopes that when we got caught they’d prevent the vampire's teeth from penetrating.” Two Bread Tom explained and over at the other side of the table, there was snickering.

“Aw come on man, don’t talk about penetrating when I’m eating,” one of the teenagers said between laughs, and Two Bread Tom shot him a disapproving look, which only seemed to spur him on more as the group of teens he was sitting with joined in making inappropriate jokes. Marceline stared down the table at them. She was sitting with Betty and Simon at the head, but she longed to be down there, sitting with the other people her age, joining in on their jokes. She was so close to what she wanted now and yet so far away.

“Please excuse Jason,” one of the founders, a woman named Gina, offered. “I’m sure you know that teenagers can be a complete handful,” she offered to Simon, who nodded, thinking about how Marceline’s reckless adventure attempt had led them here. “So, where exactly do you live? I don’t know about everyone else, but I’d feel a lot safer if I knew where our great protectors were,” she offered, and Simon figured it was a fair point considering they couldn’t exactly protect themselves. He made them an offer.

“Say, are you all particularly attached to this spot? If not, you could always move closer to our settlement. We could combine resources, hey, maybe one of you could teach me how to build a freezer!” Simon mentioned, and a murmur went up across the table as they seemed to consider the idea. Simon thought it would be great, getting to have a community close by in exchange for offering protection. Even more than that, they could start teaching the other humans to defend themselves from vampire attacks as well.

“That’s quite a generous suggestion,” Two Bread Tom responded, before whispering something to the other community leaders and turning back to Simon. “We’ll take you up on your offer! We’ll begin the moving process as soon as possible,” he said before announcing the news to the rest of the group. Yet another cheer went up, and the thing was settled, the night being concluded with dancing and singing from everyone, Betty and Simon enjoying their chance to just relax and feel normal for a bit.

That feeling of safety and comfort was short-lived, however, as when they returned to their home that night, Marceline turning into bed and Simon and Betty preparing to get to rest themselves, Betty’s mind was racing. This would be the last night of the life that she’d loved, with Simon and Marcy, and now she’d have to contend with the fact there would be other, better people around constantly. She barely slept that night, and when the sun rose, the humans were already setting up a new based right in front of Betty and Simon’s old house.

“Ah, it's good to see you,” Gina offered when she saw the three of them exit their house. “We got a head start on moving, and everything should be set up by this evening,” she mentioned, and looking out over the settlement it was clear that everyone was working to recreate their safe haven nearby their new protectors. She looked at Simon then and spoke, as if Betty wasn’t standing there at all. “You mentioned wanting to build a freezer, right? I should be able to help with that,” she said, and Simon lit up.

“Wonderful! Come inside, I’ll put on some tea,” he said, and Betty felt sick to her stomach. She knew that nothing wrong was happening, that this woman was just being helpful and responding to a request Simon had, but she couldn’t help but feel as though this was the beginning of her being replaced. She stood on the porch, stewing and watching as her entire world was changing, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Marceline sat down next to her for a moment before asking her something upon seeing some teens.

“Can I go hang out with them?” she asked nervously, staring at Jason, who seemed to be the most popular of all the teenagers, and his group of friends. She wanted to be with them, talking and laughing with them, instead of just watching them talk and laugh with each other. Jason turned his head to look at her and smiled, and she felt like she was going to burst into flames. She wondered if this was love, if this was what it felt like, and she waited patiently for Betty’s answer, clutching tight to her guitar.

“Yeah, of course. Go have fun, Marcy,” Betty offered, and Marceline gave her a big smile before running off towards the other people her age. And then Betty was truly alone on that porch, watching Marcy no longer need her, and Simon replace her. There was no place for her here in this new life they were building, that much was clear. She took a deep breath and tried to think rationally, she knew she was just spiraling despite how much it felt real. She decided to address some of the chore she needed to do for the day and keep herself busy.

“Hey, where are you headed off to?” Two Bread Tom asked as Betty began walking towards the woods. “You know it's dangerous that way, crawling with mutants,” he explained and Betty softened because though she didn’t know him very well, Two Bread Tom did remind her of a friend she’d had in college years ago, and some part of her found his presence comforting as a result. He looked at her expectantly, seemingly having noticed the list in her hands, which had been made of the random bits of recycled paper scraps they’d come across over their time.

“I’m going to run some errands,” she explained. “There are some white goats in the forest that will let you milk them if you offer them some hay” she said, pulling a handful out from her pockets. “I kind of miss milk from cows, but the only one we’ve managed to come across was both talking and didn’t have a normal utter anymore, so I’ve gotten used to goat. That and I’ve got to speak with the wolf pack. We have a deal with they give me their bones, so I can make broth and I give them belly rubs,” Betty explained, and Two Bread Tom stared at her.

“Wait, you interact with the mutants?” he asked shocked and Betty gave him a nod, though she was suddenly feeling very self-conscious about the entire thing. She knew it was a lot for most people to take in, but she’d become very used to and comfortable with the idea of dealing with mutants, and the fact that many of them operated much like people did. “But isn’t that dangerous? I mean, animals and other creatures who’ve been effected by mutations, don’t they have an insatiable bloodlust?” he questioned and Betty laughed.

“What? No.” she said before she began her explanation. “Some of them, like the goats, are just the same as always. And others, like the wolves, are way less dangerous because you can communicate with them. They’re… like people,” Betty said before correcting herself. “They are people.” she said, and Two Bread Tom seemed to think about this long and hard for a moment, nodding to himself before walking off. Betty set off on her journey feeling just slightly better than before, which was something worth celebrating.

“Um… hi, everyone,” Marceline said nervously as she made her way over to the group of teens. She’d been standing just outside their group for a while but hadn’t managed to actually open her mouth to say anything until that moment. They stared at her expectantly, and she realized she didn’t have any idea of what she was supposed to say to people her age. “I’m, uh, Marceline. I mean, uh, I’m the girl who staked the vampire the other day. I don’t know if you remember,” she rambled, feeling nervous under Jason’s gaze.

“We know who you are, Marceline,” Jason said, before adding something. “You’re a hero.” he said and Marceline felt her heart racing at those words, the idea of being a hero, of being someone who people looked up to. Jason turned to the rest of his friend group and whispered something into one of their ears, before speaking again. “Why don’t you all leave me and Marceline alone, so we can get to know each other,” he asked, and they did so, leaving Marceline alone with Jason, save for the hundreds of people bustling around nearby.

“S-so, uh, you think I’m a hero?” Marceline asked nervously and Jason nodded. She looked away, rubbing her neck sheepishly. Even though it was still bright outside, the day having just begun, Marceline wished it was night, because night was more romantic, or at least that was what she perceived. “I’m not really a hero or anything, I just did what I always do,” she said, staring down at her guitar and thinking about how she hoped he asked about it. Her wish was quickly granted when Jason spoke again.

“Do you know how to play guitar, Marceline?” Jason asked and Marceline nodded quickly, as she felt her mouth dry out, and she couldn’t figure out how to form words. “Hey guys, come over here, Marceline is going to play us a song,” Jason announced to the rest of the group and his friends returned to sit now them. “That’s Alice, that’s Emmett, she’s Rosalie, and he’s Edward.” Jason explained, and Marceline nodded nervously. “Well, go ahead, don’t be shy,” he offered and Marceline took a deep breath, focused on trying to impress her peers.

“Thought I knew the cost of loving you, thought I was sitting pretty, but then you destroyed me faster than the bombs destroyed the city. How could I have known the damage you had in store, you wiped me off the map and now my heart is at war.” she said, doing her best impression of what she thought a cool and edgy girl would sound like. Most of her songs were more personal than then, and less goofy, but she was trying to impress these older teenagers, and she figured romance was probably relatable to them.

“Wow, that was great, Marcy. Can I call you Marcy?” Alice asked, and Marceline nodded her head as fast as she could, because whatever nickname they wanted to offer to her was good enough for her. “How old are you, Marcy?” Alice asked, and Marceline panicked because she could tell that these guys were older than her, and they didn’t want her to think she was a baby or something like that. They were all looking at her expectantly, and she blurted out an age that she thought she could probably get away with.

“Uh, fifteen. But I’ll be sixteen really soon, like any day now.” she said, even though she was barely thirteen. They all nodded, seemingly accepting her answer, and Marceline did her best to not breathe a sigh of relief that she’d gotten away with her lie. She was just about to ask them what they did for fun around here, when she noticed Edward whispering to Rosalie, who then giggled. She wanted to know what it was, to be in on the joke, but before she could ask, Rosalie turned to ask her something.

“So, did you really get the power of flight from The Fool?” she asked and Marceline nodded quickly, demonstrating her floating ability, seemingly to their approval. “Can you go any higher?” she questioned and though Marceline had never tried, she was determined to make these people like her, so she allowed herself to be propelled higher in the sky, doing a few loops before coming down. “Wow. You’re hardcore Marceline,” Rosalie said and the approval in her voice made the exhaustion she was feeling worth it.

“The key to building a fridge is the right semiconductor, which you might think rules out building one in the apocalypse, but you can actually find them in basically any old electrical device. I found these two in a light switch and an LED bulb respectively. Even if the tech is broken the semiconductor could still work,” Gina explained, before screwing the newly working cooling component together, and attaching it, along with the power circuit, to the wood and foam freezer shell she’d had Simon construct.

“Wow! This is great,” Simon said as he filled the small switch she’d attached to the front of the box, and listened as the cooler began whirling and the inside of the box cooled significantly. “Betty will love this, we’ll be able to save food for longer than a day or two,” he offered and Gina nodded, reminding him that with the variation of the dial if they needed to use it as a refrigerator, that was also a possibility now. “Man, I can’t wait to get to have leftovers again. I haven’t had leftovers in so long,” Simon reminisced.

“I’m back with the milk and the bones,” Betty announced as she walked in, to see Gina still there, and Simon smiling looking at the box on the counter. He quickly rushed over to take what she was struggling to hold from her hands. “Is that the new freezer?” she asked, and Simon nodded, explaining it could also be a refrigerator. “If I had known this would be here when I got back, I would have gotten more milk. I only got enough to cook dinner tonight,” she admitted, and when Gina eyed the several glass bottles of milk Simon had put on the counter. “I thought I’d try and cook dinner for everyone,” she explained.

“Oh princess, you are too wonderful,” Simon said before planting a kiss on her lips. “I take it this is for that delicious soup we all love so much?” he questioned, and Betty nodded. “I’ll call Marcy and have her start picking the veggies from the garden. If we want this done by dinner time, I’ll have to get started now,” he offered and Betty blushed at him, just happy to get to enjoy a moment of love and normalcy. She didn’t even care that Gina was there, because Simon talked to her like she was the only person in the world.

“You two are going to make me blush,” Gina said with a laugh. “I’ll get Tom, we’d be happy to help. It’ll be like one of those couples cooking classes we took before we got married. Oh, and I’ll get Alice too. It's about time that girl learned to cook,” Gina offered and while surprised that she was married to Two Bread Tom and that they had a daughter, neither Betty nor Simon minded the help, and the six of them spent the rest of the afternoon making massive pots of the soup, using venison and other wild meat they had on hand to add protein.

“This is delicious, is this your original recipe?” Two Bread Tom asked as they and the rest of the settlement sat around the fire that night, enjoying the soup and trading stories about before the war. It felt like it was heaven, a community and comradery working together and helping each other out. Betty felt her worries melt away as Simon pulled her close, and Marceline went back for seconds, sitting close to them. Her family was still here, still intact, and nothing was taking it away from her. In fact, it felt stronger than ever.

Chapter Text

It was a great day to be alive, or at least that was what Marceline thought. In her opinion, it was a great day to be alive because the sun was shining, breakfast was cooking in the kitchen, and neither of her parents had called her to help do chores. That was one benefit Marceline hadn’t considered about having more humans around, having more people to help out. The main benefit she had considered was friends, and now she had a whole group of them. Not to mention Jason, who made her stomach tie up in knots just looking at him.

“Marcy, breakfast!” she heard Betty call from the kitchen, and figuring it would just be the three of them like it usually was, she didn’t bother changing from her pajamas into something more presentable, just walking out like she always did. And then she saw Alice and her family sitting in Marceline’s kitchen, along with her own parents, and she wanted to just about die. That was one downside to having an entire community, she supposed. More people to embarrass yourself in front of.

“I-I’ll be right back-” Marceline said as she zipped towards her bedroom, flying all the way there and shutting her door as she tried and failed to think about what she wanted to wear, and more importantly thinking about how she totally needed to brush her teeth. Eventually, she did manage to get herself into a state she figured was presentable enough, and returned to the kitchen, trying not to seem like she’d totally freaked out before. “Dad!” she complained as Simon ruffled her hair before putting her plate down in front of her.

“What?” Simon asked, clearly confused. “You’ve never minded that before,” he said, though it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what exactly she was upset. He knew Marceline was just getting to that age where she wanted to impress her peers, and where everything that himself and Betty did was likely to be met with eye rolling at best and very loud annoyance at worst. “So, what was it you two wanted to talk with us about?” Simon asked addressing Two Bread Tom, and his wife Gina who’d asked to meet for breakfast.

“We’re concerned about vampires,” Two Bread Tom spoke, and Marceline’s ears perked up upon hearing that. After all, the fact that she’d helped slay a vampire had made her cool, so helping slay another and gaining another awesome power would only make her more cool. It was obvious why they’d come here to discuss their fears about vampires returning. After all, before Betty, Simon and Marcy arrived their best strategy for dealing with them had been to wear silly hats and do their best to hide.

“But we took out The Fool and his gang,” Betty spoke up. “Vampire masters tend to have very strict borders, and with him gone this area should be vampire free,” she insisted, and they knew from their study of the Enchiridion that historically they would have been right. Vampires didn’t care about the death of their comrades enough to take over their territory, because they were so resilient, those vampire masters tended to come back. Then again, with Marceline’s soul sucking ability, the game might have changed a bit.

“We’re seeing signs that the next closest vampire master is planning to move her hive closer in,” Gina explained, clearly frightened. “Can we count on the three of you if it comes to that?” she asked and the three of them all nodded. That was the end of the major concerns, and the rest of the meal was spent chatting, the adults with each other and Marceline with Alice, who she desperately wanted to impress. “Thank you again for having us, breakfast was lovely,” Gina insisted as she and her family left the cabin.

“The next closest hive, that would be… The Empress,” Simon said as he scanned over their passages of the Enchiridion, seemingly trying to determine what they’d be going up against. “I’ll say this much, she seems at least a bit tougher than The Fool,” he noted, and Betty stopped washing dishes to observe what he’d been looking at. Marceline meanwhile simply yawned at their research, hoping at least a little that they’d get the hint. Unfortunately for her, nothing could break the two of them away from learning.

“You know, looking at the names of the documented vampire masters, they all seem to relate to the major arcana. I wonder if the two are connected somehow. I mean, obviously vampires are occult in nature, but perhaps they also have some sort of divine significance as a part of the chaos Golb has infused this world with,” she pondered, and it did make sense as an extension of her research regarding ancient Gods and mysticisms. Simon stared at her, completely infatuated, capturing her attention as he spoke.

“Oh, you know I love it when you talk about niche academic topics princess,” he said breathless before planting a kiss on her lips, which was responded to with very exaggerated gagging from a very annoyed Marceline. After all, her parents kissing was one thing, but them kissing when there were vampires to slay and powers to acquire was downright ridiculous. Besides, she didn’t want them getting the impression she was interested in their research. She was, of course, but she’d heard her new friends complain about having boring, nerdy parents, and she wanted to do the same.

“Who cares about them being named after magic playing cards or whatever, what’s it going to take to get this lady taken down? And what new awesome power am I going to get after beating her, that’s the real question,” Marceline offered, and her parents gave her that concerned look she hated getting from them, because she loved them and didn’t want them to worry. She suppressed that down as she remembered that cool people didn’t care about their parents feelings, and she was cool and powerful. “What?” she asked indignantly.

“You know Marcy, Gina told us something kind of interesting while you were getting dressed,” Betty mentioned and Marceline started to sweat because the truth was she’d maybe told her new friends a lot of things that weren’t strictly true, and if Alice shared those things with her mom, Marcy’s entire world could be in trouble. “She told me that you looked so young for being almost sixteen. Now, where would she have gotten the idea that you were sixteen?” Betty asked, and Marceline wished she could disappear.

“Uh… I don’t know!” Marceline said, lying to her parents faces. “Must have been a weird rumor that someone started,” she offered, and Betty and Simon looked at her disapprovingly. The truth was, Betty had already pieced together the entire story, including Marceline’s crush on that boy, Jason, who was entirely too old for her at the ripe age of seventeen. But she also knew that telling Marceline that he was too old for her would only make him more desirable to her. Still, she also knew that having her going around lying was a bad idea.

“Marcy,” Betty started, speaking to her gently in that way only a mother can. “Just… you know, you don’t have to lie for people to like you, okay? You’re wonderful the way you are,” she offered and Simon stood next to her, nodding in agreement. Marceline wished that they were right, and she also wished she could disappear so she didn’t have to deal with all the complex feeling bubbling inside of her. Luckily. She was saved by the bell, as the sound of screaming and running from outside their cabin alerted them to the presence of vampires.

“Let’s see, who do I want to make my man-slave,” The vampire who they assumed was the Empress said as she walked around the camp, staring down at all the humans quivering in fear. “Too scrawny, too beefy, too hairy-” she said, before turning her sights upon Betty, Simon and Marceline who’d rushed out of their cabin, garlic and stakes at the ready. “Oh. Hello you,” The Empress said as the approached Simon. “Alright everyone, time to die, I've found my man,” she said with a sick smile.

“I don’t think so you old bat, I’m already spoken for,” Simon said seriously, though this build up was mostly just distraction. After all, both himself and Betty knew that the Empress’ favorite game was to use her power of hypnosis to take on a servant, while slaughtering everyone else. Her hordes of vampiric minions watches on hungrily, as their mistress having picked a slave meant soon they’d get to feast. “And for the record, I wouldn’t be so quick to judge other people’s appearances, all things considered,” he added snarkily.

“Ugh, enough chit-chat, can please get to the vampire slaying?” Marceline asked, and with that she lunged forward with her stake. The Empress anticipated this move and slide to the side, bearing her teeth as she prepared to make Marceline her first meal. Panic coursed through Betty’s veins as she saw Marceline lose her balance and almost fall right into The Empress’ waiting mouth. Thinking quickly, she threw a handful of minced garlic at her, which didn’t seem to hurt very much, but did make her stumble enough that Marcy could stake and absorb her.

“Marceline, what were you thinking being that reckless!” Betty said, as the rest of the settlement came out of their hiding places, seemingly expecting to celebrate but being met with a much different atmosphere as Marceline was chewed out. “We had a plan, why didn’t you stick to it?” Betty asked and Marceline just looked away from her, muttering something under her breath. “Speak up,” Betty asked and noticing her friends, including Jason, were watching her Marceline decided to try and be rebellious instead of following her instincts and apologizing.

“I said, I totally had that if you didn’t get in the way,” Marceline insisted, even though she herself didn’t even believe that she’d had it under control. Simon looked like he was going to say something, but Marcy could tell it would probably be right, and make her look bad, so she turned her head away from him. “Whatever,” she tried to say as nonchalantly as possible, and she closed her eyes and did her best to concentrate on using whatever new power she’d gotten. She didn’t feel any different when she opened her eyes, but she could tell things had changed.

“Great. Now she’s disappeared on us, literally.” Betty said, frustrated, having figured out that this was Marceline’s new power. It was only when she noticed the large amount of eyes on herself and Simon that she decided maybe dealing with this private family matter at this moment would be a bad idea. “Uh, we’re just gonna go inside…” Betty said nervously, holding on to Simon’s arm as he pulled her into the cabin and shut the door behind them. “I can’t believe this, I mean, she’s acting totally out of control,” Betty insisted when they were alone.

“She’s being reckless, selfish, and image obsessed.” Simon assessed. “We’ve got a teenager on our hands,” he added, and both of them took a moment to soak in the absolute terror they were feeling at the moment. “I just thought we had more time,” Simon lamented, and Betty nodded her head in agreement. “It's that boy, Jason, he must have her head all messed up. I should knock his block off,” Simon insisted, and Betty shook her head at him. He expected her to offer a more sensible perspective, but he was pleasantly surprised.

“Simon, no. You shouldn’t fight a teenage boy,” she said, before adding something seriously. “I’ll fight him.” She said, starting to get up from the table before being stopped. “No, I know we can’t actually do that. But I swear she wasn’t like this before. I know Marcy’s becoming a teenager, but with these powers, I’m worried she’s going to handle normal teenager things in a way we’re completely unprepared for.” Betty admitted, and Simon had to agree, that parenting a teenager was hard enough when they didn’t have magic powers, let alone when they did.

Unbeknownst to them, after having turned invisible, Marceline had immediately flown into one of the windows in their house, and had been silently listening to their entire conversation, floating above the ground in their kitchen. Of course, the entire conversation left her fuming and made her feel even more awful. Her own parents were talking about her like she was a menace to society, saying that they didn’t like who she was anymore, didn’t like who she hung out with. Well, Marceline would show them just how terrible she could be if that’s what they wanted.

“We’re so glad you made it, Marceline,” Jason said that night. Marceline knew she wasn’t supposed to be out this late, that her parents set a curfew, but now equipped with the powers of invisibility and flight, slipping out of the house undetected had never been easier. “You know, you looked really awesome taking down that ugly vampire lady,” he said, and Marceline fought the urge to turn invisible just to hide the blush that was threatening to show up on her face. All of her friends were gathered and seemed excited, except Alice, who seemed slightly concerned.

“So, what are we going to do?” she asked hopefully and Jason looked at all the other members of their friend group with a sly smile, one that only seemed to make Alice cross her arms in frustration while the rest of them seemed galvanized. Marceline did her best to act like she knew what was going on, and to put on the sort of cool girl image she figured this group would be down for. It was Rosalie who spoke to her and explained exactly what their plan for the night was, and what she explained left Marceline shocked.

“All the adults, those greedy jerks, have a truckload of fresh-made wine hidden in that little silo they just built. If any of us get close to it, we’ll totally get caught, but with your awesome new powers, it should be a total breeze for you, right Marceline?” Rosalie asked, and Marcy’s mind was racing because she knew what they were asking was wrong, and knew she’d be in massive trouble if they got caught. But they were all looking at her expectantly, like they believed in her, and Jason was smiling at her.

“Guys, this is a terrible idea. Marceline, don’t do this,” Alice said and despite the fact that this was exactly what she was thinking, Marcy got the sinking feeling that if she did agree with Alice, she’d be lame and there was nothing she was more afraid of at that moment than being lame. When it became clear no one was siding with Alice, she gave Marceline a long look, before sighing and seemingly giving in, the same way Marceline had. Noticing that the rest of the group seemed ambivalent to her, Marceline said something she immediately regretted.

“Come on, don’t be such a loser Alice,” she said and the rest of the group laughed, they were laughing with her because they were her friends and she was succeeding. Alice looked embarrassed and Marceline felt awful, but she swallowed that down and focused on the task at hand. “So, where’s this silo?” Marceline had asked, and the group led her there, coaching her on what bottle of wine to grab and how she was going to do great. Getting in had gone just fine, but when attempting to get out, Marceline had broken a bottle, alerting someone to their presence.

“Hey! What are you kids doing?” The man asked and predictably her friends bolted quickly, leaving Marceline trapped inside the silo. The door was opened, and Marceline knew she should have stayed quiet and stayed invisible, but in her panic her control over her new power had faltered, and she’d been caught red-handed. The man took the broken bottle away from her, which was fine by her, but more importantly he walked her straight back to the cabin she lived in, loudly banging on the door and waking up her parents before explaining what she’d done.

“Go to your room.” Simon said, sounding exhausted, after the man had left and the three of them were alone again. Marceline had expected to be chewed out, to be punished. She expected to be told that she was untrustworthy, that she was bad, and that she was to never speak to her friends again. She had been prepared for all that, for explaining herself and begging for forgiveness, but as her parents walked back towards their bedroom without another word, she realized it wasn’t coming. And somehow, being made to sit with her own thoughts was far worse.

Chapter Text

That next morning, Marceline laid in bed for far longer than she usually did. She could smell breakfast cooking in the kitchen, and hear her parents speaking in hushed whispers, but no one had called for her yet, so she hid out. She knew that the longer she waited for her punishment, the worse it was going to be built up in her mind, so she decided to leave her room without alerting them to her presence, hoping that it would calm her down to hear what they were saying. She turned invisible and crept into the kitchen, and abruptly the talking stopped.

“We know you’re there, Marcy,” Simon said without looking up from the book he was reading, and Marceline sighed and made herself visible again. In actuality, it had only been a lucky guess on Simon’s part, but he was glad his gambit had worked. Betty sat down at the table with their food, and Marceline joined them, picking at her breakfast as they sat in silence. It was driving her crazy not to have some sort of idea of what was going on in their heads, and eventually she snapped, wondering if this was supposed to be her punishment.

“Aren’t you going to chew me out and tell me what I did was wrong?” Marceline asked, and she’d never before thought that she’d be wanting to get yelled at. At least then she’d know what was going through her parents minds, and wouldn’t have to guess at what was going on. They looked at her blankly, which just made her feel more upset and frustrated. “Well, aren’t you at least going to ask me why I did it? Isn’t that something you want to know?” she asked, and Betty just sighed, and looked at her seriously.

“Marceline, you knew what you were doing was wrong before you did it, and you still did it anyway. What would us telling you what you already know after the fact help?” Betty asked, and she knew it was true. They’d raised Marceline with strong morals on purpose, and she knew that stealing was wrong, just like she knew breaking curfew was wrong. And she hadn’t cared, that was the problem, not the fact that she didn’t know. “And besides, we have a pretty good guess as to why you did it,” Betty offered, and Marceline felt her face get hot with embarrassment.

“Well, actually, you don’t know that I knew it was wrong. And also, you don’t know why I did it, so don’t make assumptions.” she said crossing her arms and attempting to deflect blame. She remembered what her friends had told her before she broke into the silo, telling her that no matter what happened, she just needed to deny. That felt wrong to Marceline, but she was upset that her parents were assuming that they had everything figured out and under control, and maybe she wanted them to feel as riled up as she did.

“Marceline, we raised you. We taught you the difference between right and wrong, and you know as well as we do that explaining what you already knew back to you won’t help. We want you to think about what you did and show us you care about what we taught you,” Betty offered, and it was true. It was hard to see their little girl so clearly upset and being strayed onto the wrong path, but the only way this would end would be for her to analyze what she did wrong and admit to it herself. They couldn’t hold her hand through self-reflection, as much as they wanted to.

“Yeah? Well, I’ve got news for you. I’m a demon, so right and wrong just can’t be taught to me. It's in my nature, and you’re probably right not to waste your breath on a lecture when I don’t care and never will.” she said, standing up suddenly. Simon sighed and shook his head at her, and tensions flared up inside of her. “What? Are you disappointed in me? You can’t be mad at me for acting like what I am when you’re the ones trying to change me.” Marceline insisted, and she felt her eyes get red, her demonic nature being proven.

“Marceline, that’s not true, and we all know it,” Simon said. And Marceline could feel frustration building inside of her, though she couldn’t tell if it was about her parents or herself. All she knew was that she was angry that they were acting so calm and rational, when all that she was feeling was completely emotional and irrational. Maybe she just wanted to hurt them so that they’d understand that she was a bad person who did bad things and stop expecting better from her. Maybe that was why she blurted out what she did in that next moment.

“No I don’t and neither do you, because you’re not even my real parents!” she yelled and Betty and Simon looked at her shocked. Never in her life had Marceline wanted to die more, but that couldn’t be done, so instead she vanished and left the house, left her parents and tried to get the echoing words out of her head. She couldn’t even comprehend why she’d said something that awful, but as she flew outside, still cloaked in invisibility, she figured she’d just lost her parents forever, and she might as well accept it.

“Simon…” Betty started before she burst into tears upon being sure that Marceline was gone. Simon held her close and stroked her hair, but Betty felt like she’d been stabbed in the heart. She’d helped raise Marceline, had seen her through so many key moments, had become her mother and had dealt with the fear that she was shadow-boxing the ghost of a dead woman and finally making progress, only to see that Marceline didn’t see her that way at all. “She hates us, Simon, she really does.” Betty said through tears.

“She doesn’t hate us, princess, she didn’t mean it.” Simon said, even though he himself was questioning it. He loved his daughter so much, and himself and Betty were doing their best to be good parents to her, to help her in the only way they knew how, only to be shut down again and again. Maybe they were wrong, maybe both of them had failed at being the type of parents who Marceline needed. Marcy had left the house and left them, and who knew when she’d come back, and if she’d come back.

Marceline, meanwhile, had flown deep out into the woods to sit and cry about how terrible she’d acted, and about how now she’d ruined her family for no reason other than pettiness. There was no way Simon and Betty would ever accept her as their daughter again, not after what she’d said to them. She’d been bluffing before, when she’d said she was a demon and being evil was in her nature, but now she wasn’t so sure. Marceline felt like a monster in a way she hadn’t since her mother died, and this time it really was all her fault.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” Jason asked, and Marceline jumped because she hadn’t been expecting to see anyone out here in the woods, let alone Jason. Suddenly, all of her angst and concern about how horrible she’d been were put on the back burner for the moment as she tried to figure out what to say to Jason. He had an axe, and it seemed like he was supposed to be chopping wood, but instead he was looking at some book in his head instead. Marceline finally managed to open her mouth, but only to blurt out a question.

“I could ask you the same thing,” she mentioned, and Jason let out a chuckle as he sat down next to her. Marceline felt her stomach tie up in knots hearing his laugh, and it occurred to her that they were completely alone now, which made her more nervous than she thought was possible. Jason put down is axe and seemingly stopped having any pretense of chopping wood, though he kept the book in his hands. The thing was old and black, with words written on it in what seemed to be Latin, in red scrawling writing.

“I found this old book, and wanted to get a good look at it before my old man confiscated it as contraband,” Jason said, rolling his eyes at the idea of his father. “Parents are the worst, aren’t they?” he asked with that amazing smile of his and Marceline nodded blindly even though at that moment all she wanted was to give her parents a hug and an apology. “Say, Betty and Simon, they’re not your real parents, are they?” Jason asked, and even in her love struck state, Marceline couldn’t find it in her to agree completely.

“They… they found me and raised me.” she said instead, and Jason looked at her like he wanted her to keep talking, so she did despite herself. “My mom passed away right after the war and… my dad is a demon. I’ve never actually met him,” Marceline said and Jason seemed to light up upon hearing that information, handing Marceline the book which she could now see had the title of “Liber Daemonum”. Her scant knowledge of Latin taught to her by Betty allowed her to translate. “The Book of Demons…” she said quietly out loud.

“Do you think your dad’s in there?” Jason asked, and Marceline opened the pages, flipping through until she saw an illustration of the man she knew was her father, complete with his name adorned on top of the page. Marceline felt sick, like she shouldn’t be seeing this, when Jason added something. “Wouldn’t it be cool to meet your real dad?” he asked in a leading tone, and Marceline knew she should have said no, said she had parents she loved and didn’t need him. But she’d just ruined her relationship with those parents, and now she was all alone.

“You mean you think I should summon him?” Marceline asked, and Jason picked up his axe, giving her a shrug which she could tell meant he thought she’d be cool if she did. He walked back towards the settlement and left the book with Marceline, leaving her to look at the face of her father on the page. Maybe this would be for the best, summoning him. Then she could leave Betty and Simon alone forever, and they wouldn’t have to deal with having such an awful kid. She read over the instructions and picked up a stick.

She followed the instructions to draw a smiley face, which she did, and read the note that the next step was to douse the circle in bug milk. She had no clue what that mean, but doing her best, she plucked the shockingly large bug from the tree and squeezed it gentle, releasing it after some white liquid escaped from it and landed on the circle. And then was the final step, to chant the unsealing phrase which would allow cross over by the Lord of Evil, Ruler of the Nightosphere, her father.

“Maloso vobiscum et cum spiritum,” said nervously, and for a moment nothing happened. Marceline did her best to reread the instructions, specifically the part which had been underlined and written in bold script, but before she could translate past the word amulet, her father appeared before her inside the circle. He looked just like her, same skin and hair, and he looked at her as though he was trying to figure out where he knew her from. “Dad?” Marceline squeaked out nervously and recognition flashed in his eyes.

“Marceline! Wow, you got really big, last time I saw you, you were about yay big, couldn’t speak, and totally dependent on your mother! Anyway, It's good to see you, glad you summoned me, what’s going on, are there some souls you want to suck?” he questioned, and before she could even answer, her dad was stomping towards the village, seemingly to make good on his promise to suck up some souls. “Wow, an entire village of humans? You really know how to treat your old man,” Hunson said as he gazed upon the people, just outside their view.

“Dad, no!” Marceline insisted and finally Hunson looked at her. Marceline did her best to explain what her reasoning was. “I don’t want you to hurt them. I summoned you because… because I want to go live with you.” Marceline insisted, and Hunson looked shocked at the request, mostly because this was the first time she’d seen him since she was a baby. “I mean… I can’t stay here anymore, so I want to come with you. I need a parent right now,” she offered, and Hunson scratched the back of his neck with his axe awkwardly.

“Oh! Well, you know, I haven’t really kid proofed the Nightosphere and everything, I honestly wasn’t expecting you so that’d take a while and…” he trailed off awkwardly. “Say what, why don’t we go ahead and suck the human souls, and then we can talk about everything else later?” he questioned, and he once again attempted to enter the village only to be stopped by Marceline. “What is it this time?” he asked and before Marceline could answer, he seemed to come up with his own idea. “Oh, I’ve got it!” he said before handing her the ax. “That’s a family heirloom you know, but I want you to have it.” he explained and Marceline struggled to hold the heavy thing.

“Wow… thanks dad.” Marceline said. “But… I can’t accept this,” she said, giving it back. “I don’t want to hurt any of these people, they’re all good, it's me whose bad. So can we just please get out of here?” she asked desperately, and Hunson seemed incapable of understanding what she was asking. “I don’t want to hurt people,” Marceline explained even though she’d hurt Betty and Simon on purpose earlier, and now was going to leave without apologizing. Hunson snapped his fingers, seemingly having put it together.

“Okay, I think I’ve got it,” Hunson said, and before Marceline could breathe a sigh of relief he explained his new plan. “You want to watch your old man work! Well don’t worry,” he explained “I’ll make sure you’ve got a front row seat to the show,” and with that he began chanting something in Latin, something which made Marceline’s muscles tense up as she found herself unable to leave. “Now you just stay right there while I suck some souls, and then maybe we can get out of here,” he offered, only to be stopped by being hit by a rock.

“Stay away from our daughter!” Betty yelled as she threw another rock and Hunson looked at her confused, as both herself and Simon stood there armed, Betty raising her gun up at his face. Both of them knew better than most that a gun was going to be no use against a demon, but there was no way that they were going to let that thing take away their kid without a fight. “Marceline, are you hurt? Don’t worry, we’re coming to help.” Betty insisted, moving closer as she still held the gun aimed at Hunson.

“Mom! Dad! You… you came to save me?” Marceline asked nervously as tears pricked in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what I said, I’m sorry…” she said as tears ran down her face rapidly, her body still unable to move. Simon rushed towards her in a hug and Betty joined him, grabbing tight to her despite Hunson staring at them deeply confused. “I’ll never say anything like that again, I didn’t mean it, I don’t even know why I said it. You’re the best parents in the world, and I’m so sorry-” she said, still crying before being cut off.

“Um, Marceline, who exactly are these two goobers with glasses, and why do they think they’re your parents?” Hunson questioned and Simon gave him a fierce look. He circled around him, sizing him up, or at least it looked like he was. In actuality, he was drawing the summoning circle, which he knew was the first step of desummoning a demon. Simon gave Betty a nod to keep distracting him while Simon fetched the bug milk, and did his best to remember what the Latin phrase he needed to hear was. Betty gave a curt response.

“These two goobers are the ones who’ve been raising Marceline for the last six years. These two goobers are the ones who’ve been making sure she was safe, and healthy, and loved for the last six years. So what I want to know is who exactly you are, and why you think you have the right to call Marceline your daughter,” Betty insisted, and this actually did seem to give Hunson pause as he considered their words. This was enough time for Simon to get the bug milk, and as he prepared to splash it on the circle, Hunson turned to the still paralyzed Marceline and asked a question.

“Well, why did Marceline summon me if not for the fact that I’m her actual parent,” Hunson asked smugly, seemingly thinking he’d found a checkmate in their little back and forth. Betty simply looked at Marcy in disbelief as she waited for justification. Marceline did her best to shake her head no, despite being frozen still and she gave her own explanation, though it wasn’t the one which Hunson had been hoping for. It also wasn’t the one that Betty and Simon had been expecting, as she finally confessed to what her plan had been.

“I summoned you because I upset my real mom and dad, and I figured I didn’t deserve to be their daughter, so I thought I’d go with you instead. Except, surprise surprise, all you care about is eating souls, and trapping me, so I’m forced to watch.” She insisted, and Hunson started to say something, probably nothing good so Marceline yelled “Maloso vobiscum et cum spiritum” and the portal opened up beneath him sucking him back to where he’d come from. This also managed to break the spell Marceline was under, and she ran to her parents, hugging them tight.

“Oh Marceline, you don’t ever need to think you don’t deserve us. Even when you say something really mean, you know we’re always going to love you.” Simon said, squeezing her tight along with Betty and Marceline cried hard because she was still loved, even after what she’d said and done. “Seriously, though, you are super grounded.” Simon insisted and Marceline wiped her tears on her sleeve and actually smiled, because being stuck in the house with her parents, her real parents, felt like heaven right now.

Chapter Text

Marceline was enjoying her grounding, all things considered. It was actually kind of easy to, because being grounded meant being in the house with her parents, who she loved despite the fact that she hadn’t been treating them as well as she should have been since they’d integrated with the human tribe. It had been the exclusive focus for her to try and fit in with her friends and peers, but when she was here, she didn’t have to do that. Marceline didn’t have to be cool or awesome, she could just be herself.

“Marcy, did you clean the entire house? You really didn’t have to,” Betty said ruffling her hair, and Marceline didn’t have to pretend that she didn’t like it, because she had no one she was trying to impress. “You’ve been a big help since you’ve been grounded, I almost want to keep you around the house,” Betty teased, though the truth was that comment was a little more serious than implied. She missed having Marceline around, being happy and sweet the way she’d always been, and it felt like the outside world was taking that away from her.

“I wouldn’t mind,” Marceline muttered under her breath, and the truth was she really wouldn’t have. The idea of having to go face her friends after being grounded and having to go back to acting like a different person made her stomach turn. She wished there was a way to go back to the way things used to be between the three of them, while keeping the good parts of this new society of people. Of course, she’d never admit that considering how happy her parents were with the new arrangement, she didn’t want to let them down any more than she already had.

“You’re so silly,” Betty said, thinking Marceline was just trying to comfort her. “Well, you’re officially ungrounded, so that means you’ve got a choice. Do you want to help me with lunch, or go help Simon with his history preservation lecture he’s giving?” Betty asked, and she hoped Marceline would choose her, even if she was objectively the more boring option. She just wanted the chance to spend time with her daughter after everything that had happened, especially with Marceline having summoned her dad.

“I’ll help you out!” Marceline said, joining her in the kitchen. “What do you want me to do?” Marceline asked and Betty gestured to the bottle of vinegar she’d been given by Two Bread Tom, which apparently he’d made himself, and Marceline handed it over. Marceline also handed her the goat milk and the lemons which they’d managed to grow, which Betty accepted similarly. She put the milk into a pot over the stove, and mixed the vinegar and lemon juice, which she added to the pot right after.

“Just go check the cheese cloth I put out earlier and see if it's firmed up,” Betty asked, and Marceline confirmed that it had, so following Betty’s instructions, she mixed in some herbs from their garden and wrapped the cheese loosely, before placing it in their brand-new cooler. “Are you excited to have some cheese?” Betty asked and Marceline nodded, not having had cheese in quite a while. “That mixture on the oven should be done, you can put it in the cheesecloth just like a had it,” Betty said and Marceline followed her instructions.

“So, is the cheese what we’re having for lunch?” Marceline asked, and Betty shook her head, grabbing the loaf of bread Simon had baked and cutting it into slices. Once they’d managed to grow grain, making bread was the first thing they’d done, though Simon took to it a lot more naturally than Betty had, so he was typically in charge of anything that required baking. That was what made their relationship work so well, even here. They knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and they’d take over where the other stumbled.

“This is so good,” Marceline said as she finished eating her meal of bread, goat cheese and cold meats. “You know what would make this better, though? Some french fries,” Marceline assessed and Betty chuckled because there was no way for them to make french fries with the lack of deep fryer. The best they could offer was probably baking them in the oven, and that just wouldn’t be the same. Still, she appreciated the fact that Marceline seemed to think she could do it. “Do you want me to take lunch to dad?” she asked once her plate was clean.

“Yeah, actually, that’s a good idea. Why don’t you wrap up the bread, meat and cheese and take it to Simon? He should be done with his lecture soon,” she offered and Betty thought about how often she used to take Simon food after his work was done, and how if he had the day off from lecturing and Betty went to write or discuss her writing with other, Simon would always bring her food. It made her happy to think about, how easily Marceline fit into their life. She let out a wistful sigh, and Marceline looked at her curiously.

“What are you thinking about?” Marcy asked, and when Betty told her that she was just thinking about the things herself and Simon had done before the war, Marceline’s eyes lit up. She always loved hearing about Betty and Simon before the war, but now that she had a crush of her own she thought their stories would be even more fascinating, even if seeing them be all lovey-dovey in real life rarely got a positive reaction from her. “Will you tell me about it when I get back?” Marceline asked, and Betty nodded.

“Well, are there any questions?” Simon asked the audience of young people he was lecturing to, and a few hands went up, which was more than he expected. “Yes, you back there?” he questioned and one of the younger kids, one who’d been an infant when the war broke out, asked him how many humans there had been before the war. “Well, before the war, there were almost six billion people on the planet! Can you believe that?” he asked, and the younger kids in the crowd murmured about how many that was.

“Boring!” someone called from the back of the group, and Simon gritted his teeth because this person had been rudely interrupting his work during the entire presentation. It wasn’t exactly his normal field to begin with, but preserving pre-war history was very important to him, because without pre-war history all the time periods he was truly passionate about would mean basically nothing. And yet, despite doing his best to try and help educate the children in the settlement, certain people wanted to make his life more difficult.

“Did you have a question, Jason?” Simon asked, and he couldn’t believe how much he disliked this particular young man. He knew that Marceline was friends with him, and that was why he was doing his best to keep it together and not make a scene. But Jason was one of those people who felt the need to be the center of attention at all times, and to deride anything they didn’t understand. He didn’t have to be here, at all, but for some reason had shown up to make exaggerated yawning sounds and unasked for comments.

“Why are you bothering to talk about all this stuff? That’s stuff’s all ancient history now!” he insisted, despite the fact that it had been less than a decade since the war, and the vast majority of people in the camp, including Jason himself, had many memories of that old world. Simon only sighed and did his best to explain that preserving culture and history was always a valuable pursuit. “Whatever,” Jason had scoffed before walking away, and Simon used that as the opportunity to dismiss the rest of the people who’d actually been listening and learning.

“Dad! I brought you lunch; me and mom made cheese!” Marceline said as she ran up to him as everyone else was leaving. Simon ruffled her hair affectionately at the gesture, and he was glad she seemed to be back to her old self again, though he was upset at had bad things had gotten before they’d gotten good again. “How did your lecture go?” Marceline asked, as Simon did his best to not tell Marceline about how much he hated Jason and wished she’d pick anyone to be friends with. Instead, he did his best to deflect.

“It went really well,” he said, and that was mostly true. “Say, Marcy, I want to show you something,” Simon offered and Marceline looked a bit surprised, but nodded and followed behind him. “Me, Betty, and a few of the leaders of the community have been talking about this project for a while, and we’ve actually agreed to do it,” he mentioned as he led her into one of the small structures where she knew the adults met up to talk sometimes. Inside, there was a drawing on a white board of a map. “What do you think?” Simon asked.

“What am I looking at?” Marceline questioned and Simon followed her eye line to his, honestly quite unimpressive artists' rendition, which he directed her attention away from. He gestured towards the table in the center of the room, which had something on it, being covered by a sheet. When Simon removed it, it was a much better looking scale model of a boat, with little figures representing people, and notes on the base of it talking about aspects of culture that would be preserved, and new rules for the human race.

“It's a boat. We’ve plotted a course and found a small chain of islands, which would be completely untouched by the bombs. We could set up a new society with that as its home base. We could bring back all of our favorite aspects of cultures past, without any of the flaws. With a two percent population increase per year, we’d have more humans than ever before in less than a thousand years!” Simon said excitedly, and he was excited because this was what he’d been waiting for, a chance for a better world.

“Wow! Are you serious?” Marceline asked, and Simon nodded his head as she looked around the ship, and over at the crudely drawn map. “So, when is this going to happen? How long, I mean,” she questioned, but before she could get her answer, she heard the sound of clopping outside. “Did some goats get loose in the settlement?” Marceline asked as she and Simon poked their heads out to see that a goat was indeed standing in the center of town, but as someone approached it, Marceline felt something wrong. “Look out!” she yelled.

“My my, you have a good eye,” the thing pretending to be a goat said, before shifting to a wolf and beginning to chase the poor villager it was about to attack, only just barely missing them as they took shelter inside their home. As soon as it became clear what exactly the creature was, everyone went and locked themselves inside their own house, cowering. Simon held Marceline close as they closed the door to the meeting room they were in, and watched as the vampire reverted to his normal form and stared them down.

“The Hierophant,” Simon said frustratedly and when Marceline looked at him confused, he gave her an answer. “Right about the time we grounded you, he started showing up to claim the territory the last two vampire masters had lost. He’s slippery, because he can shape-shift into just about anything. The only way to tell is the eyes, and if you’ve gotten that close, it's usually too late,” he said and Marceline was shocked there had been a vampire on the loose, and she hadn’t known. “Luckily, Betty did her research and learned he can’t enter a building without an invite,”

“So, we just try and wait him out?” Marceline asked and Simon nodded. Marceline began to think, then, about how to actually take down the vampire once and for all. According to Simon, himself and Betty had managed to scare him off a few times, but without Marceline to absorb his soul, expending the energy to stake him and risking their lives wasn’t worth it. “I see,” Marceline said as she watched him walk from door to door, knocking politely and being rejected, before shifting into something fearsome and running to the next door. “What happens if he comes inside without an invite?” Marceline questioned.

“Well,” Simon said. “According to our research, it's a self-imposed rule. All vampires used to follow it before it was phased out, but he’s bound himself to it. If he tried to break his own rule, nobody’s sure what would happen.” he admitted before looking at Marceline, and seemingly realizing where her thinking was going. “It would be very risky,” Simon said, and Marceline had to agree. “But it might work,” he added just as the knock came on their door. The form the vampire had chosen was Betty, and Simon wanted to open the door and lunge at him.

“Is this really your entire plan?” Marceline asked, using that same cutting derogatory tone that only teenagers could. Simon stepped aside and pulled out his stake, ready to kill the thing if it managed to get too close. “I mean, no one is going to let you in; aren’t you embarrassed being rejected so many times?” she asked, and The Hierophant shape-shifted back to himself to look at Marceline up and down. “If I were you, and I’m so glad I’m not, I’d just give up and quit dragging out my failure,” she said with a smile.

“You little-” The Hierophant started, before taking a deep breath. “Young vampires have no head for tradition. I’m upholding what used to be universal vampire law, and I will not be talked down to by a little brat who has no clue what she’s talking about,” he complained, and Marceline mock yawned, rolling her eyes at his speech, which only seemed to infuriate him more. “You will get sloppy, and when you do, it won’t matter that my victory took time,” he offered, and Marceline pretended to check a watch she wasn’t wearing.

“Let’s face it, you’re the easiest vampire I’ve ever faced. I mean, seriously, all I have to do is sit here and relax,” Marceline said, stretching to prove a point. “Even The Fool was harder than you, at least he managed to try and get a hit in,” she said and that was the final blow to The Hierophant’s confidence as he attempted to lunge at her tripping inside the structure. Before Simon could even stake him, he turned to dust as soon as he crossed the threshold, and Marceline happily sucked up his soul.

With yet another vampire taken down, and another power acquired Betty and Simon both made her promise not to use her powers for anything bad, which she happily agreed to, and with that completed Marceline walked over to where Jason and the rest of her friends were hanging out. They each gave her a pat on the back for defeating yet another vampire, and made her show off her powers by shifting into a bunch of different people, something which she obliged them on. When she stopped, she was exhausted, but at least they were entertained.

“Man, it’s too bad you couldn’t have taken down that vampire earlier. This power would have totally been useful when taking that wine,” Rosalie said, and Alice elbowed her, as if to tell her that she needed to be quiet and stop mentioning that incident. Alice, for her part, seemed the least interested in making Marceline use her powers, and instead asked her about being grounded and how she was doing after everything. She also apologized for bailing, which the rest of the group teased her for despite the fact that they’d done the same.

“Your parents are so lame, Marceline,” Jason said apropos of nothing before adding something. “I mean, who do they think they are trying to ground you? You’re way more powerful than they’d ever hope to be. You should just ignore them next time they try to pull something like that,” he offered and while a previous version of Marceline would have blindly agreed with whatever Jason said to win his favor, this version of Marceline was done putting down her parents for cool points, and for the first time spoke her mind around her friends.

“Actually, I didn’t mind it.” she said before adding something. “I love my parents. So, I don’t actually care about having to spend time with them,” she admitted and while the rest of the group gave her an odd look, Alice gave her a smile and Marceline decided that was good enough. They sit and talked for a while longer before Marceline decided to get home in time for her curfew, and have dinner with her parents. They talked about her new powers about who was a better cook, and about how their days had done. And when Marceline turned in for the night, she was sure she’d made the right choice.

Chapter Text

Word has spread quickly about the boat project to the point where Two Bread Tom and the other leaders hadn’t even bothered to announce it to the rest of the settlement, considering everyone seemed aware enough about it already. Reactions were mixed to say the least, with some being like Simon and completely enamored with the idea, and others being more cautious. Regardless, the consensus was that it was going to happen, and those who had a problem would simply have to get used to it. Secretly, Betty was one of those skeptics, though she wouldn’t say it out loud.

It wasn’t that she didn’t think it could happen, in fact, she was one hundred percent sure that it could. More, it was that she thought things wouldn’t be as peachy as Simon believed they’d be. After all, people were still people, and the people who lived in the settlement were saddled with some of the worst trauma imaginable. The idea that they’d be able to cast all of that aside when building a new world seemed unlikely at best and dangerous at worst. After all, humanity had put itself in this position, and ignoring what happened would simply prime them to do it again.

Still, she looked into Simon’s eyes and saw how happy he was, how excited he was for the future he could envision, and how could Betty not help him? She loved Simon so much, probably too much, and that meant she’d often cast aside her own fears, her own desires if it meant appeasing him. After all, if she made Simon happy, maybe he wouldn’t want to leave her, and things could stay the way that they were. So that was why she found herself hammering away at the metal shell of an old freighter which they’d spent the last while dragging into the settlement.

Practically every able-bodied adult had been put to work on the project, while the older teens took over the rest of the settlement’s operations. Betty certainly wasn’t an engineer, but she thought they were doing a pretty decent job fixing the old boat up and making it seaworthy again. Marceline brought them lemonade during regular intervals in the day, and asked about progress, which was sweet of her. And she and Simon would laugh and tease each other, like they used to do on their expeditions.

“You look lovely, by the way,” Simon offered, and Betty blushed because she knew he was just teasing her. Her hair was stuck to her face with sweat, she was squinting since she’d put her glasses away to keep them from getting broken, and her clothes were stained with the crude oil they were using to power the boat’s makeshift generator. And yet, when she looked into his eyes, Betty saw no deception, only love. It almost scared her, the idea that Simon could love her even like this, because that meant him leaving would hurt all the more.

“You’re just saying that,” she deflected as she finished up her section of the boat. Night was falling and that meant they got to rest, eat, and she’d get to stop thinking about this project and what it meant to them for a while. Simon offered his hand and Betty took it, the two walking through the settlement together like teenagers on a date. She quietly hummed their song, which she wished she could hear one more time, before she snapped and remembered something she wanted to ask. “Is it true The Hierophant shifted into me?” She questioned.

“Yes he did,” Simon said with a shiver, considering the fact that it had been supremely creepy. “He wasn’t half as smart as you, though, Princess. And not even a third as pretty,” Simon added, and Betty felt her heart race because it felt like so long since the two of them had time to flirt with each other, talk casually and enjoy being in love. Their old lives, where that had been the norm, seemed like eons ago and everything had shifted so radically since then. They had a daughter to take care of, a community they were a part of. Sometimes, though, it was nice to just be Betty and Simon again.

“What’s got you all romantic all of a sudden?” Betty asked and Simon knew the answer but was worried about mentioning it. The truth was, he wanted them to have a baby, and after discussing things with a few of the doctors in the settlement, the ones who were actually useful in an apocalypse unlike the two of them, he thought they should do it soon. He knew they both wanted kids, and that they’d both agreed to put a pin in the subject until later, but the last thing he wanted to do was put pressure on her.

“Betty, my princess,” Simon said, looking into her gorgeous eyes, and suddenly he felt all choked up again like he was standing with her in front of that bus stop. “I… I think we should have a baby.” He said, and she looked at him for a moment like she didn’t know what to say. In his traditional awkward fashion, Simon took the opportunity to ramble nervously. “I know we said we’d put a pin in the subject, but I love you so much, and I want that with you. Another member of our little family, another life we can pour our love into,” Simon said wistfully.

“Oh Simon, that sounds,” and Betty trailed off because in all truth it sounded amazing, like something she wanted to do right now caution thrown to the wind. She wanted to have the child they’d always talked about, to give Marceline a sibling, and to truly extend the fulfillment she got from being a mother. But, there was a deeper, selfish part of Betty who knew that at least in some ways she hoped having a child would keep her and Simon tied together forever. And she knew a desire like that wouldn’t be a healthy reason to bring a kid into this world.

“You don’t have to give me an answer now, or at all,” Simon urged as he saw Betty start to falter. “I just want you to know that if and when you’re ready, I am too. And if you’re not, that’s okay with me.” He said, and then Simon added something he knew he probably should have opened with. “You are the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. Any life I have with you in it is already the best life I could ask for,” Simon mentioned as they reached their cabin and stepped inside. As soon as they did, Betty burst into tears and Simon panicked.

“Oh Simon; I can’t have a baby with you,” Betty said through tears, and the truth was she couldn’t. Simon thought she was good, that she was perfect, but she was lying to him, because she wasn’t that at all. She’d tricked him and Marceline into thinking she was a good person, and a good mother, when in reality she wasn’t. Finally, after years of holding it back out of fear she’d push Simon away, Betty finally confessed something she’d learned before she met him. “Simon, I’m Borderline,” she said, and he looked at her curiously.

“On the borderline of what?” He asked, and the truth was that while Simon had no idea what she was talking about, he knew whatever it was they’d get through it together. Betty walked away from him and towards their bookshelf, pulling something out which looked like an old psychology textbook, and flipped through to a bookmarked page. Simon read over what was written there, and the pieces clicked into place, as Betty ran to their bedroom to escape the situation. Simon followed behind her, entering quietly and sitting next to her on the bed. “Princess, have you been struggling like this the entire time?” Simon asked.

“I didn’t tell you because I thought at first you wouldn’t want to be with me if you knew. And then so much time has passed and so much had happened I didn’t know how to say it, or if I should,” she confessed, looking at him teary-eyed. “Do you hate me now?” She asked and Simon rapidly shook his head. “Well, I guess you probably won’t want me to be the mother of your children. It’s partially genetic, you know.” She said, unable to look him in the eyes. Simon hooked a finger under her chin and redirected her gaze.

“Betty, you are the love of my life. There is absolutely nothing that could change the way I feel about you, certainly not this,” he gestured towards the book when saying that. “And for the record, you already are a mother, and a great one at that.” He said, and Betty did give a weak smile thinking about the fact that she was, and that they’d done a pretty alright job with Marcy. “I just wish you would have told me, not because it would have changed the way I felt about you, but because maybe I could have helped.” Simon confessed.

“You were already completely amazing without even trying,” Betty said, drying her arm on her sleeve. She went in for a kiss, which Simon reciprocated. “I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my chest,” Betty confessed, and Simon stroked her hair gently. “I don’t know how I got so lucky,” she admitted, and Simon shook his head at her, indicating that he was the lucky one. “About having kids,” she started, and Simon gave her hand a comforting squeeze. She still did want kids, but she felt like a raw wound at the moment.

“What I said before still stands, if you feel ready, just tell me. Though, I don’t know how we’re ever going to find the time to make the baby with Marceline around,” he joked, and at that moment there was a knock on their door. “Speaking of,” Simon said as Betty got up to answer. Marceline was standing there with her guitar, shifting nervously, and both could tell that she wanted to ask something. She seemed startled that they’d answered the door so quickly, as she hadn’t had time to fully prepare.

“Mom, dad, a few of my friends are having a bonfire tonight, and I really want to go, but it’s past curfew, so I was wondering if I could maybe possibly get an extension just for tonight,” she asked nervously. “I kind of mentioned I’d bring my guitar and play.” Marceline added, which was half true. The whole truth was, after watching her parents’ embarrassing flirting when she came to bring them lemonade, she decided today was the day she confessed her feelings to Jason. She figured that the bonfire was the perfect place to do it.

“I don’t see why not, but be safe, okay, Marcy?” Betty asked and Marceline nodded quickly, thanking them both for being the best before she scampered off. She’d considered writing a song to tell Jason her feelings, but she didn’t want to come off as too vulnerable, which would have been embarrassing. She was pretty sure that Simon and Betty hadn’t told anyone about the true nature of her age, which meant as far as Jason knew, they were close enough in age to date. She figured she’d tell him the truth down the line.

“Marceline, glad you could make it!” Edward said as she approached the bonfire. Scanning over the people gathered there, it seemed all her friends were there, save for the exception of Alice, who was nowhere to be seen. Marceline assumed she’d be there later, and sat down next to Jason, trying to conceal her nerves. She couldn’t believe this was about to happen, and when Jason smiled at her, she was sure that this was going to go well. After all, what other reason would he have to look at her like that, if not for feeling the same way.

“So, where’s Alice?” Marceline said, trying to put off the conversation a bit longer, and everyone chuckled at her question but didn’t answer. Marceline probably should have found this suspicious, but her heart was beating so hard in her chest she could barely think. “So um, Jason there was something I kind of wanted to talk to you about alone,” Marceline finally got the courage to mention, and Jason raised an eyebrow at her, before giving her that same radiant smile that put her at ease. With that in mind, she swallowed thickly and tried to keep her cool.

“Aw, come on Marceline, we’re all friends here, aren’t we? Anything you want to say to me can be said in front of everyone, right guys?” Jason asked, and Emmett nodded, while Rosalie and Edward looked at her expecting. Rosalie even gave her a thumbs up, and Marceline figured they probably knew what she was going to say and were rooting for her, so she might as well rip the bandage off and say what she’d been waiting to say since the day she met him. Taking a deep breath, Marceline started.

“Well, Jason, I feel like we’re really good friends and… well, I was hoping we could be more than friends. Like, boyfriend and girlfriend.” She said, and for a moment everyone was silent, like everyone was holding their breath. It felt like Marceline was waiting for the other shoe to drop, completely exposed. And then, Edward broke as he let out a deep, guttural laugh and the rest of the group quickly followed suit, as everyone began pointing and laughing at her. Marceline’s face flushed from embarrassment as Jason spoke through his laughter.

“I can’t believe you were actually stupid enough to fall for it.” Jason said, and Marceline looked like a deer in the headlights as he insulted her. “I mean, seriously, how gullible do you have to be to think that I’d ever be interested in a little freak like you? Aren’t you like ten? Did you really think we’d ever be friends with you?” he asked, wiping a tear from his eye, and Marceline did her best not to burst into tears and run away like the child she was because she’d never thought something this awful could happen to her, and yet here it was.

“I- I don’t…” Marceline stuttered out as she did her best to wrap her head around what was happening here. These people were her friends, we’re supposed to be her friends and yet they were making fun of her, treating her like a joke, like a monster. Had this been their plan the entire time? To make her think she was actually succeeding and making progress, just to rip it all away from her? She couldn’t believe people this rotten could actually exist outside of fiction, and yet here they were in front of her.

“I don’t- I don’t understand?” Rosalie mocked in a whiny voice. “I’m Marceline, and I’m too stupid to figure out when people don’t like me! I’m just a little kid, but I think everyone is buying that I’m a teenager.” She asked, continuing her awful impression, which made the boys howl with laughter. “Be careful, if you upset me, I might call my evil daddy on you! Or maybe I’ll suck your soul!” She added through her own laughter. “Who wants to hear one of my crappy songs?” she added, and finally Marceline snapped and began to cry.

“Jeez, don’t be such a baby,” Edward said as Marceline sobbed. “Why don’t you go home to your mommy and daddy? I’m sure they can get you a pacifier or something,” he added, and with that Marceline did take their advice, flying back home as fast as she could, tears stinging her eyes as she went back inside the house and pounded on her parents' door, hoping that she wasn’t interrupting them doing anything gross. It was Betty who opened the door, and her jaw dropped when she saw her as Marceline stepped inside.

“Marcy, what happened?” Simon asked, and hearing that, genuine concern and care for her just made Marceline cry more as she considered that her parents might just be the only people on the planet who loved her, and she’d almost pushed them away for some jerks who only saw her as a clown to laugh at. Eventually, she did manage to choke out what had happened, and she’d never seen her parents look so upset in their lives, not even when she’d said horrible things to them and had definitely deserved to be glared at.

“Do you want me to beat them up for you? Because I’m not above beating up teenagers, Marceline, especially when they do something to hurt my kid.” Betty said, standing up and pacing around, getting ready to make those little brats regret what they’d done to her daughter, but much to her shock, Marceline shook her head. Betty figured Marceline was better than her and Simon, not immediately resorting to violence. She wiped her tears and laid down on their bed, burying her face into their pillow as she tried to regain composure.

“No, don’t do anything, just… can I sleep in your room tonight?” Marceline asked, and she knew it was childish and silly, that it was more proof she was a pathetic little girl who they’d been right to make fun of. But as both her parents gave her a kiss on the forehead and tucked her in, one sleeping on either side of her, Marceline felt safe in a way she hadn’t since she was very young. And when she’d been so cruelly exposed to the harsh reality that some people are hateful for no reason, unconditional parental love was the healing ointment she needed.

Chapter Text

The boat was beautiful. It was an old, cobbled together thing made of different parts of different boats, combined with hammers and rivets, long nights of sweat and tears, and it was a bit lopsided. But, it was finished, and now the entire community was getting their chance to put their mark on it. Everyone writing their name, or a symbol, or something that they felt represented them with waterproof paint on the boat’s hull, which had been expertly made by some of the earth scientists in the group.

The discussion on what to call the boat had been fierce, but ultimately a vote had been held and the name, “Humanitas”, had been chosen as a light nod to this vessel’s role as the last vestige of humanity. It was an exciting time, that was to be sure, and everyone was happy to contribute what they could. Currently, Simon was painting a very poorly done but still earnest depiction of his family on the side of the boat in the coral blue paint which they had managed to make up, and he was pleased to see how it was turning out.

He looked over at Marceline, who was sitting next to him and painting depictions of guitars and flowers, and chuckled softly, enjoying how concentrated she was on her work. Soon, before he even knew it, this would be over and that was both bitter and sweet. He looked over at the cabin that himself and Betty had built with their two hands for their little family, looked into the woods, and thought about the relationships they’d built with the new inhabitants of this world. There was a part of him that wanted to know how they’d turn out, how all of this would turn out.

“Don’t forget, there’s a meeting in an hour,” one of the other adults said, lightly slapping Simon on the back as he walked past. Neither he nor Betty were quite sure how it had happened, but somehow they’d been welcomed into the inner circle, so to speak, and the other people in the settlement listened to them and respected their opinions. In fact, it was how they’d gotten this boat project idea off the ground in the first place. While Two Bread Tom had cooked it up, it was Simon who proposed the idea of charting a course to some far away islands.

“What’s that about?” Marceline asked as she looked up from where she was working. The man who’d patted Simon on the back was, as she’d learned recently, Jason’s father. Ever since the events at the bonfire, Marceline had been keeping her distance from all of her former friends, and she was painfully ashamed. Now, she’d have to spend the rest of her life with these people, doing her best to avoid them on a small island and a cramped boat. Alice had tried to approach her a few times, and each time Marceline had run away, too embarrassed to face her.

“Probably just finishing touches on the boat project and last minute planning. Your drawing looks great by the way Marceline,” Simon offered with a ruffle of her hair, which Marceline accepted. Simon could tell how torn up she was about everything that had happened with those teenagers, despite the fact that she was seemingly holding it together well. It took everything in Simon not to offer her whatever he thought she wanted to cheer her up, and he reassured himself that once they reached their new home, she’d be able to spread out and meet new, better friends.

“Thanks dad, yours isn’t too shabby either,” she said jokingly, and with that she got up and stretched, deciding to spend the rest of the evening inside before she got caught by her former friends and mocked. Marceline had longed for and wished for other people her age to befriend and talk to, she’d been so desperate for it that she’d risked her life, and now all she wanted to do was hide out in her house and read, the same thing she’d derided her parents for. She didn’t realize how good her old life was until she was due to lose it any day now.

“Where are you going Marceline? Off to eat some human souls?” Marceline heard the voice of one of the teens call from behind her as she walked, and she power walked faster to escape it, not bothering to turn around and face them. As she shut the cabin door behind her, she lamented that she hadn’t given her parents the full picture of how bad the bullying had gotten. The idea of being stuck on a boat with these people make her sick to her stomach, but she’d keep it to herself. She just didn’t want to worry them and ruin what they were working on.

“Wow, it looks great,” Betty said as she approached Simon from behind, seeing him finish up his painting. She had also been informed there’d be a meeting soon, and had stopped by the boat to make sure Simon made it as well. Simon could sometimes be so forgetful, and her mind briefly wandered to that fateful day when he’d forgotten the Enchiridion in his classroom. It was strange to think about how his forgetfulness saved their lives. “I’m afraid my contribution to the hull is a little less intricate.” she mentioned, pointing at the other side of the boat.

“Oh princess, it's perfect,” Simon said as he saw that she’d inscribed the lyrics to their song in her neat handwriting. Even after all this time, those lyrics still managed to make his heart flutter thinking about her. He gave her a brief but sweet kiss on the lips, and the two left the boat behind to join the rest of the inner circle in the abandoned rotary milking facility that they’d converted into a makeshift meeting room. Simon was honestly surprised he hadn’t put together that this land used to be a farm; it should have been obvious considering the fertility of the soil.

“Alright, we can get started,” Andrew, the father of Jason and the man who’d told both of them about the meeting earlier, announced as soon as the two of them walked in. Looking around the room, the building was about half empty and Two Bread Tom and Gina, the people who’d always acted as the informal leaders of the entire group, along with several others, were nowhere to be seen. This was of course the first clue that something was going on, and considering neither of them were stupid, both Betty and Simon went to raise an objection.

“Shouldn’t we wait until everyone else is here?” Betty asked and Andrew didn’t give her an answer, just gestured for her to sit down, which she did, despite her reservations. Both of them couldn’t help but notice that the atmosphere of the room seemed tense, and everyone seemed slightly on edge, which didn’t bode well for the rest of the meeting. Simon gave Betty’s hand a squeeze, part reassurance, and part a signal that he too felt the weird energy as much as she did, and that he was prepared to run if she was.

“We called this informal meeting to talk about departure time for the boat, namely, we’d like to do it as soon as possible,” Andrew said and the rest of the crowd murmured in agreement, while Betty and Simon waited for the other shoe to drop. “As a result, we figured it would be important to inform the two of you that Marceline’s services would no longer be needed.” he added and Betty and Simon took a moment to process what had just been said, as though maybe they heard him wrong. That was the only explanation that they could think of for the words they’d just heard.

“I’m sorry, what?” Simon said with a forced chuckle, trying to inject some brevity into the very uncomfortable situation. Unfortunately, this only caused Andrew to look slightly annoyed, and for an awkward murmur to start up among the people who were in attendance. Andrew gave both of them a long look, as if he was expecting them to both suddenly get what he was talking about, and when it was clear it wasn’t clicking, he let out a sigh and walked over to them from where he was standing at the front of the room.

“Listen, we get no one wants to say it, and we also knew that Tom and Gina wouldn’t exactly approve, which is why we pulled you aside to do it like this, in a safe space.” he started, trying and failing to feign empathy and community despite never taking much of an interest in them before. “The entire point of this voyage is to start over, without any of the baggage of the war and the things that came out of it. No mutants, no vampires, no monsters if you catch my drift.” he said and Betty and Simon did understand him.

“What exactly are you trying to say?” Betty asked as she stood up suddenly, Simon following suit. They both knew exactly what Andrew meant, but they weren’t going to let him get away with dancing around the issue with euphemisms and sanitized language. If Andrew was asking what they knew he was, they wanted him to say it, so they’d have a good reason to slap him across the face. Andrew let out a groan, like the two of them were making this more difficult than it needed to be, and finally he came out with the truth.

“There won’t be any vampires where we’re going. So you don’t need to keep pretending that thing is your daughter so she won’t eat us all. We can bolt before she gets wise, and before she gets too powerful for you to control,” Andrew said and upon letting him finish his sentence, Simon immediately punched him without remorse. After staggering back a second, Andrew attempted to retaliate only to be punched again by Betty, who wasn’t going to let Simon be the only one to get his revenge. She stared at him as fell down to the floor.

“Don’t you ever talk about our daughter that way again. And unless you want us to do worse than punch you, I suggest you stay away from our family. Take your boat, and get off of our property.” Simon said and though a murmur once again washed over the crowd, neither he nor Betty waited to stay and hear whatever justification that the group had come up with, and left to head back to their cabin and break the news to Marceline that they wouldn’t be leaving home after all. They could hear people yelling at them as they exited the meeting, but neither cared.

“I’m coming,” Marceline said as she heard a knock on the cabin door, assuming it was her parents back from their meeting. Instead, as she opened her door, she found none other than Alice, standing there looking at her feet. Marceline felt like she might jump in the air from shock, but instead she just stammered awkwardly as she tried to figure out what to say. “Um… uh… you can- uh… you can come in,” she finally settled on, and Alice nodded, stepping inside and taking a seat at her kitchen table.

“I heard about what happened,” Alice said as she sat down, speaking before Marceline could borrow a trick from her father’s book and offer her guest some tea. She expected Alice to start laughing at her now that she’d been made aware, but instead she got something completely different. “I’m so sorry, Marceline.” Alice admitted, and Marceline stared at her wide-eyed. “I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but I really had no idea that they were planning to do that to you. If I’d know, I’d have…” Alice trailed off. “I’m just sorry,” she said.

“A-Alice…” Marceline choked out, unsure about what to say. It felt like too much of a trap to believe that Alice could have actually been her friend unironically, that the person who she’d pushed away the most was actually the one with her best interests at heart. “It's not your fault,” Marceline finally settled on, as she too stared at her feet, unable to look the other girl in the eyes. Alice shook her head quickly then, and looked sadly at Marceline as she began to explain everything.

“When we first met you, Jason said it’d be funny to pull a little prank on you. He didn’t say what it was, so I went along, at first. But, then the incident with the wine happened, and I heard him mentioning that he was going to try and get you to summon your dad and I did call him out! But… it didn’t matter, him and the rest of the group had their minds made up. I should have told you then but… I don’t know, I guess I didn’t want to get involved,” she admitted and Marceline’s chest tightened knowing this had been the plan the entire time.

“Oh.” was all she’d managed to say, and that was a fair response. All at once, all of her nostalgic feelings about her friend group and what they could have been came crumbling down as she realized she really had never had friends, all she’d had were people waiting for the right moment to hurt her. Alice still couldn’t look her in the eyes, and maybe that was for the best, because Marceline didn’t know what to think at the moment. All her mind could come up with was the idea that she should be offering tea.

“I… I did tell my parents, about what they were trying to do and… it caused a fight between some of the adults. I don’t know exactly what happened but, I do know me and my family, and a few others, aren’t going on the boat anymore. I just… I don’t know why it took me so long to tell you this, or why I told you now. I… I admire you, Marceline. I guess I just didn’t want you to leave without knowing that.” she admitted and Marceline felt her stomach twist in knots, knowing she had her first chance at a real friend, and soon she’d have to leave her behind forever.

“Alice, I-” Marceline started, but before she could dig deeper into what she was going to say, she heard a dark, demonic sounding hum from outside the door. “Oh no,” Marceline said before turning to Alice. “I knew it was going to happen soon, but I thought my parents would be here,” she said, and Alice looked at her curiously before noticing the panic in her eyes. “Take this, and this,” Marceline said, slamming a knife on the table along with a large log which had been half whittled into a stake. “We’ve got to move fast.” Marceline added.

“I don’t… what’s going on?” Alice said as she began to help Marceline whittle, though the fact they were making a stake tipped her off somewhat. “Why do we need a stake this big?” she asked before her eyes widened in fear. “Oh God, is that the vampire king?” she asked and Marceline shook her head quickly, whittling so fast she was getting splinters. Looking out of the window, she could see the sun was beginning to set, and that meant they were running out of time rapidly. She explained as quickly as she could.

“That outside, is The Moon.” she said before adding a quick rundown which Betty and Simon had given her. “She sleeps during the day, and she’s active at night. You can’t kill her when she’s sleeping, and when she’s awake she’s very fast and able to freeze you in place. That means dusk is the only time you can really kill her, and even then, only the biggest stake would be able to even take her down because she heals so fast,” Marceline said, having determined they were finally finished. “Do you really want to apologize?” Marceline asked.

“Yes, more than anything,” Alice admitted and Marceline foisted one end of the giant log into her arms while Marceline took the front half, seemingly indicating that this was the best apology that she could offer. Marceline kicked the door open, and as soon as she did, The Moon lunged at her. Alice helped thrust the stake all the way through The Moon’s chest, but she didn’t dissipate. Instead, she only laughed, even as the thing dug deeper inside of her and Marceline began to suck, waiting for the brief second where she’d disassemble before healing, which came as the stake exited the other side of her body.

“Are you girls okay?” Betty yelled as she and Simon reached the cabin, having seen what was happening and done their best to distract The Moon long enough for the girls to finish the giant stake the two had been working on. Betty checked Marceline for any signs of damage and there were none, even her splinters having healed thanks to her new power. Betty looked at Simon and spoke, “We really should have finished that stake this morning,” she said and Simon nodded along, before informing Marceline of something, feeling a bit bad that it had to come now.

“Also, Marcy… the boat is leaving later tonight… and we won’t be on it.” Simon said uncomfortably, hoping she wouldn’t be too upset. He also hoped she wouldn’t ask about why, considering admitting that himself and Betty had gotten into fisticuffs at a meeting probably wasn’t setting the best example. Much to his surprise, and total relief, however, Marceline looked at them wide-eyed, and then smiled, throwing her arms around them. She looked up with them, tears slightly in her eyes as she gave her explanation.

“Good. I… I like our life here. I don’t want to be anywhere else,” she said, and it was true. Here, with her parents, with her first chance at a real friend, Marceline was actually happy. And so, later that night, herself, her parents, and Alice’s family along with a few others who had stayed behind watched as the Humanitus sailed away on its maiden voyage. Maybe they’d make it, successfully insulate themselves from this brave new world, or maybe they’d all end up at the bottom of the sea, forgotten by time.

“You know, I met a turtle in the woods, and she invited me to a forest party, we could do that,” one of the remaining humans mentioned, and with nothing better to do, everyone else decided to come along. The humans who’d left could have their pristine world cut off from whatever earth was becoming, that was what Simon decided. Himself and his family lived in this world now, and as he found himself at a forest party, watching his wife and daughter as well as several other humans dance to a song sung by a talented turtle, Simon decided he liked this world better.

Chapter Text

There was something sweet in the air when Betty rose from her bed, and when she looked over to see Simon was already out of bed, she had a good idea of what it was. She walked to the door of her bedroom, but didn’t open it quite yet, instead deciding to press her ear against the door and listen in quietly. On the other side, she heard giggling in the distinct voices of Simon and Marcy, and the sound of feet shuffling around in the kitchen. It didn’t sound like they were done yet, so Betty took the opportunity to lie in bed and read until they were ready for her.

“Princess,” She heard Simon call from the other side of the door. “We have a surprise for you,” Simon said, and with that Betty decided to get up, trying to decide exactly what kind of event they were celebrating. After all, her birthday celebration hadn’t been too long ago, she thought, but maybe she was misremembering. The thing about celebrating important dates is that they often played it by ear. They’d both get the sense they should be celebrating soon, and work on gifts, but when the actual day came it was because one of them had secretly decided it was time.

“Happy Anniversary!” Marceline said as she showed off the kitchen, decorated with the petals of flowers she’d scattered around. “I’ll leave you two alone,” she said with a wink before walking off with a small bundle of food she’d made for breakfast to give them the house to themselves. They had such a good kid. Betty looked at the kitchen table to see the sweet surprise along with their normal breakfast fare was a golden brown loaf of pound cake, which made her mouth water. She hadn’t had it in such a long time, and Simon remembered it was her favorite.

“Oh Simon, this is just perfect,” She said as she pulled him in for a longer kiss than normal considering they were finally alone. When the kiss was broken, she lit up, seemingly remembering something, and informed him of it. “Just stay right here, I’ll grab your gift,” She said with a giggle, and she laughed because she’d become a master of finding nooks and crannies to hide little surprises for her family without them knowing. Simon had begged her a few times to tell her where exactly she hid things, but she intended on keeping the secret.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll love it,” Simon said, and that was completely true. As long as it came from Betty, Simon could accept basically anything, and that was because she was truly the love of his life, the type of love people write stories about. Betty returned from their room in the cabin with a square shaped package, wrapped in reconstituted paper, which was the closest they could get to wrapping paper. Meanwhile, Simon’s gift, which he’d been holding behind his back, was stuck with a cloth ribbon he’d woven himself. “You first,” he said, giving her the gift.

“Simon, how did you ever find this?” Betty asked shocked, and it was a fair question because she was holding in her hands a working, battery powered record player, very similar to the one they used to have back at their apartment. They’d both had CDs as well, but those were mostly used in their cars. The record player, though, that was for their home. Simon rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, before handing her a second part of her gift, a seven-inch inch vinyl single, containing their song, Everything In You by The Bitters.

“May I have this dance?” Simon asked as he extended his hand out to her. As Betty placed the single on the record player and the dulcet tones of soft 90s pop rock filled the room, she accepted his offer. They danced there, slow and sweet, in their kitchen, until the song came to a close and Betty took the needle off of the record. She’d been so entranced that she’d almost forgotten to give Simon his gift, but she quickly remembered, grabbing the package from the table and handing it to Simon, who tore it open quickly.

“What do you think?” asked as Simon was too stunned to speak upon seeing what it was. An actual book, titled “On Mystic Ruins And Ancient Gods,” the book they’d been working on before the world had ended. It was listed as having been written by Dr Simon Petrakov and Dr Betty Groff, and had all the features of a regular book, having been expertly bound, having a hard cover and even a shiny dust jacket on top of the hard cover. Turning to the inside page, there was a dedication, which Simon read out loud.

“To my husband, my true love, the light of my life and the man without whom I don’t know if I’d have made it half this far,” Simon read and tears filled his eyes as he had a million questions on how she’d managed to do it, and on how professional the entire thing looked, but he didn’t bother to ask, just threw his arms around her. Flipping to random pages, he could tell the book was a combination of notes and research they’d done before the world collapsed, and new discoveries which they’d written in their respective journals.

“This has been a lovely anniversary,” Betty said as the two of them put their gifts to the side, feeding each other pound cake as the record spun in the background and the book sat right next to it. There was so much love between the two of them, and as they ate, staring into each other’s eyes, Betty thought about what Simon had said to her the last time they’d discussed children, thought about how all she needed to do was say the word. Marceline was getting older, and wouldn’t need them as much soon. Maybe now was that time.

“I’m coming in, please don’t be doing anything gross!” Marceline said as she walked into the kitchen, covering her eyes with her sleeve. She didn’t actually think her parents would be doing anything gross inside their kitchen, but she did want to embarrass them a little, and that had been the major purpose of the exercise. She removed her sleeve from her face and launched into her explanation about why she was back. “So, you know how me and Alice killed The Moon not too long ago?” Marceline asked.

“Yes, of course,” Simon said, and suddenly he got a sinking feeling in his stomach, like something very bad was about to happen. “What’s going on, Marcy?” Simon asked as he realized that Marceline seemed to be shaking, seemingly scared deeply of whatever it was that she’d come across. She slid something across the table, and Betty and Simon looked over it. It was a tarot card, The Wheel of Fortune on one side, though on the back of the card there was something written in scratchy handwriting.

“I am a fair man, so I will give you a fair fight. Tomorrow as the sun sets, I will arrive, and I will kill you. Put your affairs in order.” the card read, with the bottom of it being signed VK. Marceline further explained how she’d come into possession of the card. “I was out playing guitar in the field when a horde of vampires came towards me. I flew up above them and didn’t get hurt or anything, but when they cleared out, they’d left this behind.” she explained and Simon and Betty looked at each other concerned, knowing what this meant.

“We need to start preparing,” Betty said seriously as she got up from the table and grabbed the Enchiridion off of their shelf. She’d been foolish to think that this was the right time to have kids, when Marceline still needed them, and the world was so dangerous for the three of them. She was glad she hadn’t got the chance to tell Simon what she was thinking and get his hopes up. She slammed the book on the table and flipped to the page on the Vampire King. He was like none of the other vampires they’d faced before.

“So, what are we going to do? I mean, how strong is he?” Marceline asked, despite being able to see the laundry list of powers he possessed. If the Vampire King wanted to, this fight could be over before it ever began, and that was a terrifying thought. He didn’t seem to have any obviously exploitable weaknesses, and seemed to be a brick wall of utter calm and seriousness. She said something, with a slight laugh, in the hopes that it would conceal her terror. “At- at least he said he’d fight fair, right?” Marceline offered, and Simon seemed to realize something.

“That’s it!” he said as he stood up and prepared to launch into an explanation. “The Vampire King has all of these powers, and he’s almost certainly going to use them. But, he’s also something like honorable, or at least as much as he can be. So what we need to do, is to use that against him. There’s no way any of us beats him in a fair fight. So what we need is an unfair fight.” Simon said, and Betty seemed to agree, knowing that she’d do anything to ensure that this monster didn’t take her daughter away.

“I’ll start harvesting garlic, Simon, you start carving stakes. Tonight, we’re going on a vampire hunt.” Betty asserted, and Simon had never been so attracted to her as he was at that moment. She gave Marceline’s hair a ruffle and spoke to her gently, motherly. “I promise nothing is going to take you away from us Marcy,” she said before giving the girl a kiss, and going to harvest before sunset. They’d have to use what level of surprise they could get, and that meant attacking when the Vampire King didn’t expect them to.

“Before we leave, I have an idea,” Marceline offered. It had taken about an hour before the three of them were prepared, garlic holstered and in tow, and stakes at the ready. “There is one more thing that can hurt vampires, and we haven’t been using it,” Marceline offered. “We need holy water.” she said, and there was a reason they’d never used it before. For one, with the collapse of society there weren’t many old world religions left with people to bless the water, and for another with Marceline being part demon herself there was a fear Betty and Simon both shared that it might hurt her.

“Okay, we trust you.” Simon said because they didn’t have time for maybe’s and what-ifs if they wanted the chance to attack the Vampire King before he got to them. The three of them set off according to Marceline’s instructions which led them to the home which Jason and his family used to inhabit, now empty after their departure, one room of which was filled with holy water. “How’d you know about this?” Simon asked, and Marceline seemed uncomfortable and embarrassed as she gave her response.

“Jason’s mom was some sort of religious weirdo, I think she was trying to start a cult, and she blessed the water. Jason used to throw the holy water at me. It didn’t hurt, which is cool, but it is blessed by a religious figure and the book says that’s all it takes, so hopefully this should work,” she explained as she and her parents loaded up, and as Simon and Betty both thought about how they should have beat up that teenage boy. “So, how are we getting to the Vampire King?” Marceline asked and Simon explained.

“We managed to track down the hive where the Vampire King rules from, using the coordinates in the Enchiridion. It's probably going to be a bit of a distance,” Betty admitted and Marceline looked at both of them, before scooping them up to the best of her ability and beginning to fly. “Marcy, you know we trust you, but please don’t drop us,” Betty said nervously as she saw the ground below her rush by as Marceline flew quickly towards the anthill like monument in which the Vampire King lived. They landed gently on top and began to debrief.

“It's very possible he knows we’re here already, so it's imperative that we go as quickly as possible. No holds barred, we fight with everything we have. Throw garlic, splash holy water, and stake anything that moves.” Simon insisted, and Betty and Marceline nodded, having been resigned to what they were going to do. The three of them shared a group hug and though none of them wanted to think of it that way, all of their minds were filled with the fear that it might be a goodbye hug. They dropped in through one of the windows, and immediately found themselves frozen.

“I suppose it's my fault, for trying to treat you with respect,” a voice said from the shadows, as the three of them were suspended in the air. All three did their best to struggle, but it was clearly to no avail as the shadowed figure simply chuckled, before revealing himself to be the Vampire King. He approached them and looked them over, paying attention to Marceline. “Hm. You are far younger than I expected. These must be your guardians,” he noted as he crouched down to Marceline’s level. She spit in his eye as soon as he was close enough.

“Fuck you!” she said, finally getting to use the F-bomb in front of her parents that she’d been saving, and both Betty and Simon agreed it was an appropriate use. The Vampire King wiped the spit from his eye, and looked the three of them over, seemingly sizing them up. It was at that moment that Simon and Betty realized the hive was completely empty, none of the weaker vampires hanging around and waiting to strike. The Vampire King simply walked over to his throne and sat down.

“Don’t you see what you’ve done? All of my people are wiped out. None left to tell the tale,” he said casually, sizing up Marceline. “When I prepared to fight you, I imagined a great warrior would have been necessary to wipe out all of my kind. And instead what do I find but a child, and her parents.” he scoffed and without even lifting a finger, he freed Marceline from her telekinetic restraints and let her fall to the ground. “I’ll make you an offer. I will not kill you, nor will I kill your humans. If, you let me turn you, and continue on my legacy.” he offered.

“Counteroffer, I stake you right now, and we all go home without becoming vampires,” Marceline offered, and the Vampire King simply laughed, disintegrating the wooden stake in her hand with his mind. Of course, they had more, but the simple image of it was enough to strike fear into Marceline’s heart. Betty and Simon both felt their hearts pounding as this creature circled around their daughter, wanting to do anything to save her, even if it meant loosing their humanity in the process. The Vampire King looked at both of them.

“Perhaps I overestimated you. I believed a fair fight would just be between you and me, but considering your age and stature,” he said as he ran a claw through Marceline’s hair. “Perhaps it would be best for me to let the three of you fight together.” he said and with a nod Betty and Simon too fell to the floor, joining Marceline there as they prepared. He sat down in his throne and waved a hand at them. “Well? Go on ahead. Kill me,” the Vampire King offered, and they didn’t wait for a second longer as the three of them launched heavily into their attacks, throwing stakes and garlic and holy water, much to no avail.

“Why isn’t it working?” Marceline asked, terrified as she saw him simply shrug off any and all attacks they offered. He yawned, like he wasn’t even trying and this infuriated her, the idea that she could be trying so hard, risking her life and the lives of her parents, while it meant nothing to the Vampire King. She felt sick to her stomach and that was when Marceline got reckless, felt her eyes glow as she flew up to the Vampire King’s eye level and yelled. “Why won’t you die already?” she asked before dive-bombing a stake to his heart.

The Vampire King did seem briefly stunned, with the stake pressing in hard but not quite breaking skin, and Betty and Simon both used the opportunity to focus their attacks on the vampire king’s legs, leaving him unbalanced enough to topple backwards. Though he was falling away from her stake, Marceline followed after him, continuing to dig it into his chest the best she could. And Betty and Simon quickly joined her atop him, all three pressing stakes towards his heart, hoping even one would break through.

“There is a price you must pay for power in this world. Madness, Sadness, or both. Nothing comes without strings attached,” he offered and then, so quickly they could barely follow it happening, he sat up, allowing their stakes to penetrate into his chest and allowing his teeth to get close enough that they sunk into the soft flesh of Marceline’s neck. The Vampire King dissipated, leaving only his soul, which Marceline inhaled as she screamed, eyes turning red as every part of her body ached. It felt worse than anything she could have imagined.

“Marcy!” Betty screamed as she stared at her limp body, examining the wounds as tears fell from her eyes. Marceline was still alive, but her heart was beating incredibly slowly, and her teeth lengthened, not to the point of most other vampires but enough to be noticeable. Simon rushed to her side, and they cradled their daughter as she breathed shallowly. “It's okay, it's going to be okay, we’re going to take you home, and it’ll be okay,” Betty offered and Simon agreed. Marceline gave them a weak smile as they carried her all the way home, like they had when she was little.

Once they had made it to the cabin, Marceline was feeling a bit better, and they were both able to examine her wounds. The teeth had only gone in about halfway before the Vampire King had been killed, which meant the extent of Marceline being effected by vamparism was yet to be seen. Simon and Betty both felt awful that they’d failed her, failed to protect her from the dangers of this world. As they tucked her into bed that night, there was a silent understanding between the two of them that they could never put Marceline in a position to be hurt again.

Chapter Text

It had been years since that fateful fight with the vampire king, so many years that it felt like it was ages ago to Marceline. She was as far away from thirteen now as she had been from seven when she was that age, having reached the age of twenty some point recently if her birthday celebrations were to be believed. The world really had changed outside their door since then, mutants becoming more advanced and complex, becoming more humanoid in nature. Or, at least that was what Marcy heard.

The truth was, though the world had moved on, she was still here, in her childhood bedroom her parents had built when she was just a kid. There had been changes, they’d helped her make a new, larger bed, but other than that the actual content of her days hadn’t changed all that much. When she was thirteen, she’d gone through a phase of wanting adventure and escape, only to find that being home was where she wanted to be more than anything. Silently, she kicked the younger version of herself for her betrayal.

Marceline had gotten what she wanted, she had her powers, she had her parents, and they’d stopped the Vampire King. But it’d come at a price, and that price was her last connection to humanity, and her freedom. Marceline, having only been half bitten, received less severe versions of the afflictions vampires had to deal with. If her parents hadn’t been there, also staking the Vampire King, she’d have been a full vampire, and she didn’t know if that would have been better or worse.

Now, Marceline found she needed to subsist on food, as well as the color red, not just one or the other. So she ate less than a regular person, and fed less than a normal vampire. Holy water would sting her, but not enough to leave a visible mark, and eating garlic made her throat close and tingle like she had an allergy. And direct sunlight wouldn’t dust her, or even give her severe burns. It was more like a bad sunburn, though that wasn’t exactly ideal. She’d had to learn all of this in secret, and through trial and error.

That was because she’d lost her freedom, though it wasn’t through malicious means. Her parents clearly blamed themselves for her vampirism, and had seemingly dedicated themselves to ensuring she could never be hurt again. Never mind the fact that it was impossible, it also meant any time Marceline wanted to take any risk, even testing her own limits, they wouldn’t allow it. It was annoying, but she knew she couldn’t really blame them. Being turned was traumatic for her, and they’d been forced to just stand there and watch.

“Marceline, what were you thinking?” Simon tutted, as he gently carried her to her bed and laid her down. Marceline had decided to go out into the sun, to see how long she could take it. She’d snuck out without her sun hat that they’d woven for her, or the sunblock concoction which Betty made out of soy beans which they now grew, just for her. She’d gone on a long walk and had made it about a half hour without sun protection before her burn became too unbearable. “You could have been killed,” Simon insisted, and Marceline rolled onto her side away from him despite the pain.

“No one’s ever been killed from a sunburn,” she muttered, even though she knew that technically she could get skin cancer and die from that. But considering how much time they’d spent in an irradiated wasteland, she was honestly pretty sure that cancer was in their futures regardless. Well, not hers due to her healing powers, but her parents. Marceline thought about that, her parents getting old and withering away while she stayed young, her body no longer aging after a certain point, and she felt sad at the prospect.

“What you have isn’t just a sunburn, it's part of your vamparism, and you need to be more careful,” Betty insisted as she entered her room with a moisturizer she’d made out of aloe vera, along with a few wet rags. “Lay still,” Betty said in that same motherly voice that always made Marceline want to do what she was asking, and she did as she was told, letting Betty slather her concoction on her skin, before placing wet rags on the affected area. Marceline let out a sigh of relief at the feeling, and her muscles relaxed.

“Any mail for me,” Marceline asked, still turned away from her parents. She didn’t want them to see her like this, like she was still some vulnerable child they needed to take care of. They should have their own kids by now, have their own lives by now, and instead they were stuck here taking care of like when she was a kid. She’d sucked up all of their youth without realizing it, and maybe now they’d never have the chance at the life they’d wanted. Marceline was glad she was still turned away from them, because she was starting to tear up.

“Alice sent you something,” Simon said, pulling the letter from his pocket and giving it to Marceline, who’d outstretched her hand without turning to look at them. After the boat left, the humans who’d stayed had kept things the same for a while, living in their old settlement. But slowly and surely, certain people went off to explore, and others integrated with the newly developed mutants, and others had more kids and moved to build their own settlements further away so they’d have more room, and Betty, Simon and Marcy found themselves alone again.

“I’ll read it later,” Marceline said, and her parents nodded, watching over her for a moment longer before finally leaving her and allowing her to be alone. Alice, her best and frankly only friend, had left home about a year ago, maybe a little longer. She sent Marceline letters about all the amazing things she saw, and all the cool people she met. Marceline hated reading her messages because they contained everything she ever wanted and couldn’t have, and yet she always read them anyway.

“I came across a settlement of fish people, and by fish people I don’t just mean talking fish, I mean they looked like people with gills. They didn’t speak much, but I think they were looking for someone to play a concert. You would have been perfect for it, Marceline, which is why I hope you don’t hate me when I say I mentioned you to them. They seemed really excited about the prospect, so if you want to play a concert here are the coordinates,” the letter read in its final portion, with the aforementioned coordinates written down.

Marceline felt her heart racing because she couldn’t believe what she was reading. She had the real possibility of a concert, of sharing her music with people, and here she was cooped up inside of her room instead of living her dream. Marceline was an adult, and she knew it, they all knew it, but she wasn’t acting like one. Maybe a part of her was afraid of leaving home and standing on her own two feet, having gotten too comfortable being coddled. Maybe she was afraid she’d get hurt. But, she’d always been a brave person, and maybe it was time to be brave again.

“Mom, dad, we need to talk,” Marceline said as she sat her parents down at the table that night for dinner. Simon was serving them pasta, his first time trying to make it, and since he’d had to cut the noodles by hand they were uneven. Still, he’d made tomato sauce from the vegetables in their garden, and it smelled delicious. Betty and Simon looked at her curiously as she spoke, but in their hearts, fear began to bubble like it would when you realized you were about to be broken up with. Marceline stared at her food as she let them speak.

“Talk about what? We spend every day together, what could we have to talk about?” Betty said nervously as she speared her pasta with her fork, trying to come up with a way to change the subject from where she knew it was going. All Betty wanted was her family, and she could tell she was about to lose an important piece of it. Simon gave her hand a gentle squeeze under the table because he was always adept at assuaging her fears. “How’d the salve work out? Don’t you think this pasta is delicious,” Betty said, trying to steer the conversation, though Marceline quickly regained control.

“The salve worked out fine, and the pasta is great, but that’s not really what I wanted to talk about,” Marceline said, and finally she looked up, looked into her parent's eyes, the same eyes she’d been avoiding all day. She expected it to make her fold like paper, to swallow her words and to stay here with them, but instead she felt more invigorated to leave than ever. She saw the scant few gray hairs popping up in her parents' heads, the crows feet developing under her eyes. She was draining their youth, and she wanted them to have a chance to correct that.

“What is it, Marcy?” Simon asked even though he was already sure of the answer. He wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t willfully blind. He could see the way Marceline stared longingly out of her bedroom window, at the world she was missing out on. He noticed that she struggled to look the two of them in the eyes most days. Simon and Betty had really believed they were doing what was best for Marcy, protecting her from being hurt again, but they couldn’t change the past and stop her from being bitten. And right now they were in the way of her future.

“I want to…” Marceline started, before rephrasing. She couldn’t pose this as something she was asking permission for, couldn’t make it seem like this was up for debate or discussion. If she wanted to be treated like an adult and do adult things, she needed to be willing to stand in front of her parents and talk like an adult. “Alice got me a gig performing for some fish people, and I’m going to take it.” Marceline insisted, even though that was only half of her plan. She allowed them to process that part before giving the rest of the details.

“How far away is it?” Betty asked, and Marceline looked at her in a way that told her all she needed to know. Betty was trying to be strong, trying to keep herself from crying because she knew a good parent wouldn’t put their own selfish desire before what their kid needed. “When will you be back?” Betty asked, twirling the pasta on her fork, suddenly unable to look at her daughter. She felt awful about it, but she didn’t know how to look at her and see anything other than the little girl she’d spent years caring for.

“Mom, will you please look at me?” Marceline asked, and she knew it was an unfair request considering how often she failed to do the same thing, but she needed to see her mother’s eyes. She wasn’t asking for permission, but she needed it all the same after years of conditioning. “I’m moving out. I don’t know if I’ll be back,” Marceline said, and for a long moment there was silence. And then, the quiet tears began to fall down Betty’s face and Marceline did want to take it all back, to stay here and never leave.

“Did I- did we do something wrong, Marceline?” Betty asked, even though she knew it was selfish. Marceline wasn’t doing this to hurt her, she wasn’t doing this out of spite. She probably had thought long and hard about this, and now Betty was ruining her moment. Simon went over to hold her, and she felt awful about her reaction to all of this. “I’m sorry,” Betty said, wiping her tears and directing Simon to sit back down. “I’m just worried you’ll get hurt out there,” Betty offered, and Marceline let out a sigh as she explained herself.

“I know that you’re afraid. But I can’t stay here forever; I just can’t. I’m an adult, and it's time I started acting like it,” she said before she leaned over, grabbing each of her parent's hands. “And it's time you two started getting to be people again, instead of parents.” Marceline said, and when they looked at her curiously, she expanded. “You’ve spent the last forever having to take care of me, meanwhile before that you were adventurers and academics. You’re in a whole new world of possibilities, it's time you both explored them.” Marceline added.

“Marcy…” Simon said, and he trailed off for a moment. His gut reaction was to reject what she said, to try and keep her here, but Marceline was right. They’d lost themselves in being her caregivers, and maybe now it was time to find themselves again. He looked over at the book Betty had given him on an anniversary years ago, their own research finally bound and published. Maybe now it was time to start working on their next literary endeavor. “Thank you for telling us.” Simon said, and that gave Betty the strength to agree.

“You really are an amazing kid- no, an amazing young woman. I’m so happy I get to be your mother,” Betty said, and she really did mean it. They finished dinner, with Marceline talking about how she’d miss their cooking and both promising to pack her food to take with her on her journey. She promised that she’d do her best to write, and they assured her she didn’t need to force herself, and that moreover their home would always be here for her if she needed to come back. It was concluded with a tight hug that Marceline hadn’t realized she needed so badly.

Later that night, Marceline looked over at her guitars. Betty and Simon had made her more for her birthdays which had passed, and her current one was a bass, constructed out of a shovel and with the actual capability for electric amplification. The entire thing had clearly taken a lot of effort and technical know-how that came through in the love the thing contained, and she knew that if she was going to take any of her guitars, it was going to have to be this one. Marceline packed what few things she could fit into a backpack, including Hambo who she still embarrassingly slept with every night.

“Do you have sunscreen?” Betty asked that next day as Marceline prepared to leave. She nodded, and Betty quizzed her on a few other things. “Your sun hat? The food me and Simon cooked? Red objects? Clean clothes?” she asked, even though she knew she was being slightly over bearing. Marceline nodded repeatedly and finally Betty let out a sigh of relief, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Go out there and show the world what you’re made of,” she said, and Marceline smiled at her words.

“Stay safe, and if anyone gives you trouble, tell them your parents have weapons and aren’t afraid to use them,” Simon said giving her hair a ruffle, and Marceline leaned into it, knowing it might be the last time she got to experience it in a long while. “And remember, you can always come back home, okay?” Simon offered, and Marceline gave him a serious nod, knowing she could always return to where she’d come from if she needed to. It was a safety net she was glad to have, even if she was leaving the nest.

“You two better not stay in the house missing me, okay? When I come back I expect some awesome adventure stories; and maybe a sibling,” Marceline said, playfully elbowing both of them in the sides, embracing them after they finished blushing embarrassed. “I love you both,” Marceline said once she finished her hug, and she flew up into the night sky, highlighted by the moon behind her. She gave her parents one last wave, and then she was off. And with that, the culmination of the last decade or so of Betty and Simon’s life, was gone.

Chapter Text

Marceline was gone, and Betty and Simon had no clue when she was coming back. The two of them had known that this was going to happen, they’d sent her off and packed her up, given her a speech about how much they loved her and watched her fly away lit by the moon. And yet, when they woke up that next morning after seeing Marceline off, Simon had almost knocked on her door, and Betty had almost set down a plate in front of the chair she always sat in. Both herself and Simon had stared at it awkwardly for the entire meal, until the silence was finally broken.

“It feels strange to not have Marcy around,” Simon commented, and the truth was the word strange felt like an understatement. She was their daughter, and while all kids grow up and leave the nest sometime, that was usually for something like college, or a new apartment, a place their parents could vet and visit. They had no address for Marceline, and they didn’t want to risk smothering her after how difficult it’d been for her to tell them that she was leaving. She trusted them with her announcement, and they wanted to earn that trust.

“I’m sure she’s doing fine,” Betty said, even though she wasn’t at all sure that Marceline was doing fine. Every time Marceline’s name was mentioned, Betty felt her chest get tight as she wondered who she was supposed to be now. She’d been so happy to have found identity in the people around her, and now a huge piece of that identity was missing. Betty felt like part of her soul was missing, and she had to try and carry on without it. “I’m sure she blew them away with her performance,” she added, hopefully.

“Exactly, like when she performed that adorable little show for our old neighbors with that first guitar, don’t you remember how cute that was?” Simon said with a sigh, thinking about when Marcy had first been starting out, and first had been trying to figure out music and her style. She was so wonderful, and now she’d figured it out, figured herself out. And yet Simon felt more aimless and lost than ever without her around. She was a cornerstone of their family dynamic, and he didn’t know how to operate as an empty nester.

“Wait,” Betty said as she picked up their plates from the table and went to put them in the sink to wash. “This is exactly what Marceline was warning us about. She specifically told us not to sit around missing her,” Betty insisted, and that was true. Marceline had explicitly not wanted this for them, and here they were disrespecting her wishes by ignoring them. “We can’t spend the rest of our lives waiting around for Marceline to come back,” Betty said with more conviction than she’d known that she had inside of her.

“You’re completely right, Princess. We should be exploring or researching, finding something academic and important to occupy our time. Or at least taking up a hobby.” Simon said, lowering the stakes a little bit. Both himself and Betty tried not to think too much about age considering they could track their progress via Marceline, and feeling as old as that made them out to be was something they didn’t like. But the truth was they weren’t as young and nimble as they’d been when they met, and both were concerned they couldn’t do what they used to.

“Come on, there’s a million cool and interesting things in this book for us to study,” Betty said as she placed the Enchiridion down on the table. “At least one of these has to be achievable,” Betty offered and her and Simon flipped through the book. This part was actually quite nostalgic, reminding both of them of their month deciding on what they’d search for before settling on the Demonic Wishing Eye. Their hands brushed as they flipped a page, and Simon went in for a kiss, which Betty eagerly accepted.

“What about this?” Simon asked, pointing to a page in the book. “The crystal apple,” Simon read aloud, and the truth was he’d chosen it because it seemed at least somewhat easy. A simple apple sitting in the center of a forest, clearly identifiable and interesting to the eye. If the two of them were going to go on some sort of adventure, then Simon wanted their first success to be some sort of slam dunk, so they wouldn’t go home empty-handed and wallow about Marceline.

“What does it do?” Betty asked as she scanned the page and read over the history of the apple, how it came to be and sit undisturbed, and strange and near indecipherable tales about some sort of crystal dimension and the men who inhabited it. To be honest, Betty didn’t really care about what the apple actually did, all that she wanted was to get out of the house and feel alive again, like she had when herself and Simon first met and went on their adventures. It seemed like a good choice, so she wouldn’t object either way.

“I don’t think it’s that important, it's not like we’re going to eat it,” Simon said and Betty nodded as the two of them had a very strict no eating or wearing policy when it came to the artifacts they worked with, due to the possible presence of very powerful magic, and that rule had probably saved their lives more times than they’d ever know. “We could display it, build a special shelf for all of our discoveries,” Simon said and suddenly this all felt like it was coming together, he was seeing a vision of the life they could build without Marceline.

“Well, let’s go exploring,” Betty offered and Simon agreed, the two of them heading out of their cabin and towards the forest where the apple was said to lie in wait. Maybe if the two of them hadn’t been so focused on escaping their feelings of missing Marceline, they would have remembered they needed to pack and prepare, but it slipped their minds. After all, they’d spent so long trying to make the world safe for Marceline, they forgot it was dangerous to begin with. The two stood at the mouth of the forest, and entered, hands intertwined.

Their first obstacle was also the only one not listed in the Enchiridion, and possibly the most disturbing thing Betty and Simon had ever seen in their lives. It rose from the earth, like some sort of motion activated wall. It had only a single eye, and veins covering the stretched, taut skin which made up the bulk of it. It had a mouth, with small, child-like teeth, and its tiny misshapen arms reached for the both of them. It’d been so long since the two of them had seen something which so clearly used to be human, but wasn’t anymore.

“I think going to be sick,” Simon said as he did his best to figure out a way around the wall. Every time the two of them moved to pass it, it would move and shift in that direction, not letting them past. “You know, if Marcy was here she could probably just turn invisible and sneak past,” Simon said wistfully, even though he knew he was slipping into the trap of missing Marceline instead of living his life in the now. Luckily, Betty had already figured out a solution to their problem, and was happy to keep them from getting bogged down in nostalgia and sadness.

“Simon,” she whispered, unsure if the wall of human remains could understand them but not wanting to take the chance. “There’s two of us, right? What if I go one direction, and you go in the other. Maybe it’ll get stuck,” she offered and Simon nodded, the two walking up to the wall together once again, before booking it in opposite directions. Just as Betty had hoped, the wall had no clue which way to go and had stayed frozen, paralyzed in choice, until the two had made it to the other side.

“You are such a genius, my princess.” Simon said with a kiss, and Betty blushed, turning away embarrassed. “Let’s keep going!” Simon added, suddenly invigorated by Betty’s success, and the two walked deeper into the forest, hand in hand. That was at least until they came across their next body-horror Eldridge monster, something like the remains of a human brain which had grown long pink tendrils it used like legs and arms. It seemed to catch sight of them and immediately lunged at Betty, grabbing her in its tendrils.

“Oh God, Simon, these things are really slimy and gross,” Betty assessed as the snake-like brain tubes held her hostage. “I wish Marcy were here, she’d just transform into something and smash this guy to bits,” Betty assessed, falling into the same trap as Simon had. To his credit, Simon was panicking, but he did his best to surmise what the best way to free her was. The beast began running, turning its back to Simon and taking his wife with it. However, upon noticing the shiny gem on its back, Simon grabbed the nearest large stick and threw it at the gem, hard. It shattered like glass and the creature dissolved into air, dropping Betty on top of him.

“In my head, that was a lot smoother,” Simon admitted, having imagined he’d catch her in his arms rather than having her collapse on top of him. Still, he looked up and saw his beautiful wife above him and couldn’t help making a comment. “I don’t actually mind. This is quite the view,” he added, reaching up to stroke Betty’s face, something she blushed at before climbing off of him. The two rejoined hands and began talking as they walked deeper in the forest, still on the quest for the apple. “What horrifying monstrosity do you think we’ll find next?” Simon asked.

“Hmm… how about tiny human skeleton butterflies,” Betty asked and one landed on her shoulder and she shuddered. Upon looking closer, she noticed something interesting. “Wait, do these things have tiny instruments?” she asked and when Simon looked closer, they did have what looked like crudely carved versions of drums guitars, and other instruments. “Okay, weird,” Betty noted as the butterflies flew past them. “But Marcy would have probably loved them,” she added and herself and Simon stared at them, flying away just like Marceline had before continuing forward.

“Hm, I’m going to be honest, I think the brain monster was scarier,” Simon noted as they saw a crystallized looking man guarding the apple. The crystal man caught sight of them, and quickly shifted into Simon, repeating what he’d said. “Interesting,” he said, and the creature repeated what he said again. It was obvious that physical force would be utterly useless against the creature, and so that meant it was up to them to solve the problem using some other method. It was Betty who came up with the answer.

“Hello,” she said to the guard, and it quickly shifted into her, repeating what she said. “You two can go on through,” she said and the guard, still in her form, repeated it back to her. This seemed to work, as the creature reverted to its normal form and moved out of their way, allowing them access to the tree where the crystal apple grew. “Sometimes the simplest option is the correct one,” Betty noted, before seeing how high up the apple was. “How are we going to get up there without Marceline’s flight?” Betty questioned and Simon snapped his fingers.

“Want to climb on my shoulders?” he asked, and Betty blushed, but accepted. With the added height, Betty was easily able to pluck the apple from the tree, and carefully got down from Simon’s shoulders holding their new prize. “Wow, it does look quite stunning,” Simon said as the light hit the apple and refracted the same way it would with any other crystal. “Let’s get this baby home and start building a shelf,” Simon noted and Betty agreed, the two being able to leave the area much easier than entering it.

“Simon,” Betty spoke when they returned home, and Simon and Betty found themselves collecting scattered wood to build themselves a display case. “Do you think we were bad parents?” Betty asked and Simon looked at her surprised when she elaborated. “I mean, every time we came across an obstacle in that forest, all we thought about was how Marceline could solve it for us. Have we been using our daughter to fix our problems?” Betty asked nervously, and Simon thought for a moment before responding.

“Nah,” he said, and when Betty looked at him shocked, he explained his reasoning. “Remember when we came across those butterflies? They weren’t dangerous at all, and yet we still brought up Marcy. I think we just miss her, and were trying to come up with any reason to bring her up.” Simon admitted as he hammered the final nail into their shelf. “I mean, I don’t want to brag, but Marceline is awesome, so we must have done something right,” Simon said and Betty had to wholeheartedly agree as they put up the case and placed the apple on it.

“Hey, Simon,” Betty said as she turned from looking at the apple on the shelf to him. Her husband, the love of her life, the man who she felt lucky to get to spend a day with, let alone the rest of her life. Suddenly, Betty was overcome with an emotion that was almost fulfillment, but not quite. Betty felt, prepared, like she was finally ready to do something she’d been waiting for and whatever she was going to say before completely slipped away. Simon just stared at her, slightly confused, though still with a smile on his face.

“Yes?” he questioned because he wasn’t sure what Betty was about to say to him, and honestly he didn’t really mind if she didn’t have much to say at all. He just wanted to hear her voice, to see her face, and Simon felt so lucky that this was the woman he’d married, that she’d accepted him at all, considering she was very out of his league. Betty gave his hand a squeeze, and then leaned in to whisper something to him. Simon moved in close so she could do it easier, and so he could hear whatever she wanted to tell him.

“I’m ready,” she said, and it took a moment for Simon to process what she was saying to him, but when he did, he very quickly turned beet red. “I mean, I don’t know how successful we’ll be, considering I’m getting up there in years but,” and Simon cut her off with a kiss because he couldn’t stand to hear the most perfect woman in the world deprecate herself, even if she was just trying to temper expectations. Betty looked at him, utterly in love, once the kiss was broken and Simon said something to her.

“Oh, Princess, I don’t care how it ends up.” Simon said, before adding something slightly more playfully. “After all, the trying is the fun part, isn’t it?” he asked and Betty nodded, utterly embarrassed but completely excited. “May I?” Simon asked and Betty allowed him to scoop her up bridal style,
and though she wanted to tell him to be careful of his back, she didn’t want to ruin the mood. Truthfully, neither was sure anything would come from this attempt, considering they weren’t tracking cycles or doing anything to increase their chances of conception. No, this time was just for fun.

Chapter Text

Marceline couldn’t believe that she’d actually left home. It seemed at once impossible and terrifying, especially considering how much she’d cherished her home and been desperate to stay there. She’d spent so long without stability, and now here she was giving it up on purpose and for what? A pipe dream of being a performer, a musician. Doubt quickly crept into Marcy’s mind and she decided that she’d made a huge mistake, and that she needed to turn around and apologize, go home and give up.

And then Marceline made it above the clouds. She’d never been this high up before, nevering having been allowed for frankly valid safety reasons. But now, she was here, flying above them and looking below she could see the entire world spread out before her. She hadn’t realized just how small her little corner of the world was until she saw her home, the ruins of the city, and the desert fly past in an instant. How was it possible that her entire life could have been contained in a radius of less than a hundred miles?

Before Marceline knew it she was seing areas she’d never seen before and sure, most of them looked fairly similar at first, ruined cities and abandoned farms, but soon there was so much more. Wandering parties of creatures and people, some human and most not. The beginnings of towns and villages, people building things that were completely separate from whatever had come before, wholly unique. Marceline put the location of the concert out of mind for a moment, as all that she wanted was to absorb this new world.

It was at that moment that Marceline remembered her shapeshifting power, another she was told to use only sparingly for her own safety, and she decided now was the time to use it. She thought long and hard about what she wanted to be, and about how she wanted to look. Marceline ultimately decided that she should turn into a bat, a humongous scary one because why not? There was no one to stop her or hold her back now, so why not become something terrifying. She saw her reflection in a pool of water and laughed at her appearance.

Now that she was on this kick, Marceline wanted to see what other powers she’s been neglecting that she was now free to explore. She zoomed, bobbing and weaving through trees as she decided that she’d test something out she’d never had the ability to. After being turned while absorbing the Vampire King, her parents had become so protective she’d never gotten the chance to see if she inherited any power from him. She landed, and stared at an apple on a tree, feeling slightly peckish.

And as she did, with immense concentration, the apple picked itself and floated right into her hands. Knowing she had this power Marceline took a moment to consider all of the things she could use it for, before studying the apple. She couldn’t tell if she was hungry for red, or for food, and she knew that sucking the red out and then eating the apple would leave it flavorless mush. Still, she’d been given leftovers by her parents before leaving, so she figured the color was more valuable to her at the moment, and drained it.

With that done Marcy knew she should focus her attention on getting to this supposed venue and trying to score herself a gig, but the truth was she’d never been this free in her life and she wasn’t quite ready to give it up. Setting a goal for herself, having a place to be would tie her down and Marceline wasn’t ready for that. So, she decidedt to set off on foot for a bit, seeing what she could find, if anything. She was ready to meet people in this brave new world she found herself suited to.

“Woah, what’s your deal?” Marceline said to herself as she came across what looked like a large statue of a man, carved in blue marble. Upon closer inspection however, what seemed to at first be a statue was instead living and breathing, and the man looked down at her, smiled and offered his hand for her to climb into. Instead, Marceline floated up to his eye level, not wanting to risk being crushed, which he didn’t seem to mind. Examining his face, his nose was a blue gem, and his eyes were a radioactive shade of green.

“The names Billy,” he offered and Marceline was excited, Billy being clearly an alive and thinking person, and yet so far from any type of person she’d ever seen before. This was exactly what she’d been hoping for when exploring, and now it was here in front of here. “What are you doing around here,” Billy asked and Marceline considered what to tell him. As cool as this guy seemed, she also didn’t know him, and she refused to be made a fool of on her first foray into the real world.

“You know, just hanging around,” Marceline offered and Billy seemed to accept this without question, which Marceline thought was a good sign. “The names Marceline by the way,” she added and Billy seemed to ponder her words for a moment, before accepting them. “I’m kind of supposed to be working on some music for a show I’m playing, I don’t suppose you have any opinions on music,” Marceline asked and Billy seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head sadly.

“Sorry, I can’t say I do. You’d love my girl Canyon though, she plays the lute.” Billy offered, before sitting down and allowing Marceline to fly down to his new eye level. “Although, if you want my opinion, Marceline isn’t going to cut it as a stage name. It's not punchy enough on its own, you need some sort of subtitle. Something that tells people what you’re about,” he said, and Marceline figured for someone without any opinions on music, he sure did like to talk about what she could be doing better.

“What is it that you do, Billy?” Marceline asked slightly incrediously, unclear on what exactly gave him the authority to say her name wouldn’t work as a stage name. He just looked at her curiously, before gesturig vaguely to his sword, which didn’t help to clear up Marceline’s questions at all. Finally, when he realized that it wasn’t helping, Billy stood tall, raised his sword aloft to the sky, moon seeming to twinkle off of it and wind coming from nowhere to blow his luscious locks in the breeze.

“I’m a hero. Soon, I’ll be the greatest hero this world has ever seen. Also, I give directions sometimes, so if there’s anywhere you want to go you can ask me,” he offered and Marceline found herself far more interested in the second half of his description than the first half. After all, Betty and Simon had taught her how to navigate with coordinates on a map, but she wasn’t the best at it, and some more concrete directions would have been much appreciated. Marceline quickly took him up on his offer to tell her how to get where she wanted to go.

“I’m trying to find a tribe of like, fish people. And I don’t mean talking fish, I mean fish that look like humans except they have gills and stuff,” Marceline offered, reciting the description Alice had given her. She hoped she’d run into Alice sometime on her journey, considering it was her prodding that had allowed Marceline the courage to leave in the first place. Besides, there were definitely benefits to be had from having a friend who knew their way around more than the small area Marceline did.

“Oh, yeah, they live about fifteen miles in that direction,” Billy said, pointing his massive swords as a gesture of where Marceline should be headed, and she nodded and thanked him, beginning to fly off. “Don’t forget about what I said about your stage name!” Billy called out after her, and Marceline chose to ignore it because that guy didn’t know what he was talking about. The rest of her flight was highly uneventful, other than the building nerves in her stomach as self doubt crept in about whether or not she’d actually be able to succeed.

After all, what was she even doing here, so far from home, trying to play her first show based on a tip in a letter from a friend. Though she didn’t want to admit it, Marceline was sheltered, growing up in a cabin with her parents, spending most of her days dealing with the mundanity of chores. She didn’t know what it was like to live every day in a world so dangerous it needed dedicated hereos, despite the fact that when it came to vampires she arguably was one. She saw what looked like the settlement, and landed.

Upon closer inspection however, the place was completely empty, save for a small fire which had made the smoke Marceline assumed was indicative of life. She was prepared to write this off as it being fate for her to not play this show, a sign that she wasn’t cut out for this life, until she saw an actaul sign. The writing was in a child-like script and the spelling was fairly bad, Marceline only barely being able to work out what “Wellcum 2 Butopeah” meant when she saw that below the words was an arrow pointing down, towards a hatch in the ground.

Marceline took a moment to try and decide what she wanted to do. On the one hand, there was a high likelihood that at the bottom of this hatch there was some sort of trap which would lead to her horrible and untimely death. On the other hand, if this really was the gig, this could be the beginning of the rest of her life. Well, Marceline was a brave girl, she’d always been told that by her parents, and so, after only a moment of hesitation, she threw open the hatch and shimmied her way down the ladder.

Marceline didn’t know what she expected, but the half submerged remains of the old Beautopia mall was very low on the list. She remembered seeing commercials for this place as a kid, though she never went because it was a state away. In those commercials it had been made to look like a shining city on a hill, protected by a dome and having a beautiful lighthouse at its center. Now it was mostly broken down, stores crumbling and plant life growing everywhere. It was also bustling with mutant life.

“Hi, um, I’m looking for the person in charge here?” Marceline said as she approached one of the people walking around. She assumed they were maybe a human who’d stayed behind after the leaving of the boat, considering they were wearing an animal hat, and seemed fully human. They just stared at her blankly, and made a strange sound. “I’m sorry, what does that mean?” Marceline asked hopefully, and they just took off their panda hat to reveal a head covered in fins and gills. “Wow, Alice was not kidding,” Marceline mused.

“You Marceline?” She heard from behind, and when Marceline turned around she saw a person who was also wearing an animal hat, though upon removal he was indeed fully human. “I’m like a translator for these guys, and I taught them everything they know about fashion,” he added, gesturing to the hat. “Anyway, you’re too late to play tonight, the line-up’s already set,” the man said before addressing the fish person in his own language. They seemned to go back and forth for a moment, before the man sighed.

“What did he say?” Marceline asked nervously, curious about whatever this discussion involving her was. Nervously, she fiddled with her guitar strings, and she looked around what remained of the old mall. It seemed in the destroyed stores little apartments had been made, and a stage had been built in front of the lighthouse, which was now lit with fire rather than electricity. Walking around there were more fish people, a few humans, and other humanoid people with distinctive features like antlers and green skin.

“He said one of our acts is sick with food poisoning, so we need a replacement. Congrats kid,” he offered and Marceline felt her stomach bubble with excitement at the idea as well as fear. “If you head onto the stage there should be some roadies to help you set up. They speak a little more English than this guy, and they know what they’re doing so listen to them. You’re on after the first opener and before the man guy. You’ve got fifteen minutes to perform and not a second more,” he explained and Marceline nodded rapidly.

“You’ve got it, I won’t disappoint.” Marceline said, trying to sound confident despite her fear. After all, she was sandwiched in the middle of two acts, and her job was to keep the crowd from falling asleep before the main guy got on stage. Fifteen minutes was barely any time at all to perform, but she didn’t mind since it wasn’t like she had a huge catelgue of songs to perform anyway. She clutched the neck of her guitar tight as she hopped up on stage and did her best to talk to the fish people setting things up.

The microphone seemed to be made out of old cardboard rolls, a paper cup, and magnets, but it worked fine and that was enough for Marceline. The amp at the very least seemed like the real deal, probaby salvaged from what used to be an electronics store in the mall, and they easily hooked her guitar to it. And then, all that was left to do was wait anxiously backstage, regretting leaving home, missing her parents, and wanting to bolt as the first performer played beautifully and got a good reaction.

“Kid, what’s your stage name,” the man who she’d talked to before asked, and of course Marceline should have expected it because the first guy had a stage name, and this man was also the announcer, but she panicked, unclear about exactly what she should say. She thought about Billy’s words, about picking a name that was punchy, and told people what she was all about. “Listen kid, you’re on in a minute so give me a name or I’m making something up,” the man insisted and Marceline couldn’t have that, being named by someone else.

“Marceline the Vampire Queen,” she blurted out without thinking, and the man nodded, walking out on stage to announce her. Marceline felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment over the name, just knowing everyone would laugh at it and think she was embarrassing. The voices of her fake friends from ages ago echoed in her head as she thought about them calling her songs crappy, about how embarrassing it would be if she was laughed off stage. The announcer returned backstage, and that meant it was time for Marceline to perform.

“This song is called Love In Its Place, and it came to me in a dream about my mom and dad,” Marceline started, and she knew this was a risky one to begin with, it mostly being acapella and being very short, but if she only had fifteen minutes, she wanted to show off her singing talent. She finished, and with a breath looked out into the audience, to see stunned faces at the ethereal quality of her vocals. And Marcline knew she’d never be able to stop performing, even if she wanted to because this feeling was like a drug and she was hooked.

“You did good out there kid,” the announcer said, and the stage manager gave her a thumbs up before saying something in his strange fish language, which was translated for her benefit. “He says he wants you to perform again tomorrow. It’ll be an outdoor concert, so you’ll draw a bigger crowd.” he offered and Marceline wanted to fly around in loopty loops over how amazing this felt, over how happy she was that she’d made this choice. She thought about her parents, how a song partially inspired by them had gotten her foot in the door.

“I’ll be there.” Marceline said and the announcer nodded, going on stage to announce the headliner for the evening. Marceline knew that’d be her someday, if only she could get some experience. She needed failure, and love and heartbreak, the adult kind not what happened when she was thirteen. However, she figured that now that she was in the real world it would all come in due time. At the moment, all she needed to do was sit back, relax, and soak in this world she was finally a part of.

Chapter Text

Betty and Simon were enjoying having the house to themselves more than they’d anticipated that they would. Marceline was right that they’d missed out on getting to be who they were because they’d been so focused on raising her to be the best person she could be, and surviving the immediate aftermath of the apocalypse. But they had survived, and they had raised Marceline, which meant now it was time to enjoy the rewards of that freedom. It had taken a bit to get into the swing of things, but they certainly had now.

After locating and displaying the crystal apple Betty and Simon had decided to work on a few projects they’d been putting off for a while. The first was building a couch, which both of them found surprising that they’d never bothered to do before. Whenever they were in the front room, the family just sat at the kitchen table, and whenever they wanted to relax they just laid in bed. But, Betty and Simon had wanted a project, so they went about cutting and shaping wood into a proper couch frame.

And then, they went about sewing couch cushions and pillows, which they just needed to stuff with something to make them comfortable. They ultimately decided on goose feathers, mostly because they were known for their softness, which meant all they needed to do was locate a goose who’d be willing to part with their feathers. A trip to a nearby pond allowed them to locate a nesting ground for geese which was covered in down feathers, which they collected, though it wasn’t enough to stuff the pillows that they needed.

“I mean, we could just kill one of these guys and get the feathers that way,” Betty offered as herself and Simon walked back towards their cabin, with the feathers they collected. Simon gave her an amused look at the prospect, which made her giggle and ruffle his hair. Upon returning to the cabin, they both sat on the floor and began stuffing, only to quickly realize that they didn’t even have enough for one pillow, let alone the couch cushions. “That killing and harvesting feathers idea seems pretty good right about now,” Betty offered.

“I don’t know,” Simon said, pondering the idea. “I’ve always liked geese, I don’t know if I’d want to kill one,” he said, and Betty offered him the half stuffed pillow to lay his head on, which he did. “Oh wow this is soft,” Simon noted before sitting up suddenly. “I’m getting my knife, the goose will die a hero,” he said, only half joking. Upon himself and Betty collecting enough down feathers for the pillows and cushions, they sat them in the frame and took a moment to sit down on their couch, absorbing the luxurious comfort.

“You know how sometimes you don’t realize how much you missed something until you have it back? That’s how I feel about couches,” Betty offered and Simon nodded rapidly, agreeing to not having realized how much he needed another comfortable piece of furniture in their house until having it. Betty looked out of the window at the setting sun and noted something. “Wow, the entire time we were doing that, we weren’t worrying about Marcy at all,” she noted and that was a good thing because their normal state was worrying about Marceline.

“You’re right!” Simon said excitedly before coming to a realization. “And now that we’re done, all I want to do is worry about Marceline,” he admitted and Betty nodded solemnly. The two of them had this bad habit of picking up a project or something which would occupy them for a day or two, and then immediately falling back into their same patterns. “It's fine,” Simon insisted, standing up and stretching. “We just need a new project, something else to keep us busy,” he noted and Betty had to agree.

“You’re right, and we can figure that out in the morning. For now though… do you want to break in this couch?” she asked suggestively, though she still couldn’t manage to ask Simon while looking him in the eyes. That next morning, when they woke up still on the couch, the two got up and prepared to get ready. As they were doing this, their next project came to Betty suddenly. “Hey,” she started as she was doing her hair. “Why don’t we try and make alcohol? I haven’t had any in years,” she noted and Simon agreed.

“That sounds like a good idea, since we never got any from the old settlement,” Simon noted and it was true, considering after Marceline and her cohorts' escapades, both of them had been too frustrated to try and enjoy it. Not to mention they wanted to set a good example for their daughter. However, neither of them mentioned that reasoning, because this was an exercise to not think about Marceline, and reminiscing would not help their goal. “The only question is what kind,” Simon noted.

“Let’s see, we’ve got honey so we could make mead. We’ve also got rice and grain both growing, and I’m sure we could find a way to acquire some grapes,” Betty offered, their options on what kind of alcoholic beverage that they wanted to whip up being fairly wide-ranging. However, Betty did have a preference and she wondered if Simon would know and bring it up. There wasn’t any reason for her to be playing this game, this little test in her mind, but Betty was doing it anyway, and Simon passed with flying colors.

“Why don’t we make cider? We’ve got that big apple tree, and besides, it's your favorite isn’t it?” he mentioned and there was no way Simon could have known what such a casual comment meant to her. They’d been married for years, and yet he still remembered such tiny insignifgant details about her, and about their old life. And so, the two of them went out to the tree and picked several bushels of apples, which they then pressed into juice and sealed in a closed cask. “Now, we wait.” Simon said once the day-long process was over.

“Yep, we wait, for approximately three to six months at the earliest.” Betty noted as the two of them stared at the cask and it became clear that once again they’d pinned their hopes for distraction on a short term project which had no hope of actually helping them. As Betty stared at the cask a moment longer, she turned to Simon. “We need to stop doing this,” Betty started. “Marceline didn’t want us just doing this to keep us busy, she wanted us to actually do something we’re passionate about, something that takes work.” she said.

“You’re absolutely right,” Simon said and it was a hard thing to admit because doing what Marceline was asking and trying to dedicate themselves to something outside of simple home improvement projects was difficult, and possibly dangerous. But it would also be worth it. “The most fun we’ve had since Marcy’s been gone, other than the obvious,” he interjected playfully just to make Betty blush. “Was when we went looking for the crystal apple, and yeah it doesn’t do anything but sit on the shelf and look pretty but I loved it. I think… I think I just missed going on adventures with you,” Simon said and Betty agreed.

“Well… let’s go on another adventure then,” Betty asserted. “The entire world is different now, filled with new weird and messed up stuff, and weird and messed up stuff that was recreated, like with vampires becoming a thing again. Let’s pick something that’s interesting, not just something at random but something we really want to go after, and let’s do it!” Betty said and Simon looked at her awestruck because even after all this time she still had the power to fill his heart with love and his brain with excitement.

“Oh princess, you know I love it when you get all excited,” he said, sealing the compliment with a kiss, and with that their new goal was set. “Let’s break out the old Enchridion and see what we’ve got,” Simon said and they flipped through the pages, trying to see if anything piqued their interest. “We could always try and find what’s left of Scandinavia and look for that magic crown,” he joked despite having no intention of doing so, mostly because that would be so monsterously far away they’d never reach it.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Betty said teasingly before adding something. “Although, the idea of searching for something to do with wishes is a good idea. After all, the Enchiridion does claim its the most powerful form of magic. I have no clue what we’d wish for though,” Betty mused though she wasn’t all that concerned about it. After all, most of the fun involved in adventuring was searching, looking at clues and eventually locating your prize. The actual contents of the victory were worth less than what they’d write about it.

“Let’s see, wish magic is WM so it should be filed under a white and magenta sticky note…” Simon muttered as he flipped through their copy of the book, their precise color coding system being one of the few things from the old world that the two managed to keep up from their old lives. “What about this?” Simon asked, pointing to a particular page he’d flipped to. “A crumbling labyrinth built by a long dead civilization, full of interesting artifacts. And, at the center a shrine to a primordial wish granting creature who was worshipped by ancient peoples,” Simon read.

“Artifacts, ancient Gods, and wish magic? This place was made for us!” Betty said as she read on, seeing the accounts of the deadly traps and puzzles, as well as the words ‘Be careful what you wish for’ written in huge bold letters and underlined. “It sounds like it’d be really dangerous though,” Betty said and Simon agreed. Still, this wouldn’t be a deterinet, not now that they’d finally found something that made them excited again. “Which means we’ve got to prepare!” Betty added, and Simon gave her that same lovestruck look he always did when she was passionate about something.

“We’ll probably need nonperishable food. I imagine the journey might take a few days so we may want something to start a fire with, a map to get there, multiple changes of clothes based on weather temperature, and I’ll see if I can find a polariod camera so we can document things for our future paper.” Simon noted and he tried to remember if going on adventures had always required this much preparation. He could hardly believe he was the same person who’d hopped on a bus to Australia with only the clothes on his back.

“You know what else we’ll need? Lots and lots of string. It's the best way to navigate a labyrinth,” Betty noted and Simon agreed, which meant all there was left to do now was acquire the items they’d need for their trip. Betty located her old camping bag, which had long been left under her and Simon’s bed, no longer being needed when they weren’t on the run from monsters constantly, and they first began to pack clothing. Heavy winter jackets in case the labyrinth was abnormally cold were their first selections, mostly because of the magical nature of the place.

While they didn’t have a polaroid in their own home, exploring the remains of the old settlement did allow them to locate one, along with a full roll of film which was similarly stored in the bag, both of them knowing photographic documentation would help the entire thing feel more official. The lack of easy access to photo taking equipment was one of the worst parts of the apocalypse after all, the two having only a scant few pre war photos of themselves, and the occasional photograph of them and Marcy, taken whenever they had the chance.

Next was something to start a fire, and that of course came down to a trusty book of matches they had. It was very impressive how even after the bombs had dropped and society had crumbled, there were so many matchsticks just floating around, perfectly usable. Both of them prayed they never reached the day when the last matches ran out, because the idea of having to start fire from scratch was a complete and total nightmare to them. Along with the matches, they packed themselves a decently drawn map to the labryth, and several miles worth of hand woven string.

“Boy I hope this works,” Simon said as he sealed their last batch of vegtables in a jar and handed the thing to Betty. They were attempting something they’d never done before and that was canning food for long term preservation. They knew it could be done, and in fact they’d watched people in the old settlement do it before, but they knew ensuring that the food stayed good for their entire journey to and through the labyrinth would be a challenge. They placed the jars inside of their makeshift pressure canner, and waited until the recommended time.

“Well, either we’ll be having delicious meals in that labyrinth, or we’re both going to die of botulism,” Betty noted when the jars had finished cooling, and she placed them in her camping bag. “Have you got your knife?” Betty asked and Simon was rinsing the remains of goose blood from it when he nodded and stowed it away. “Well, I guess that’s everything,” Betty nodded and there was a brief moment where the two stayed silent, taking in their home, knowing it would sit empty without them while they tried to figure out what there was out there for them.

“We should write Marceline a note, in case she comes back home, or sends us a letter or something,” Simon said and Betty agreed, as the two took the time to document where they were going and what they were doing for their daughter if she were to come back. Both of them knew it was highly unlikely Marceline would ever see the letter, but it was cathartic to write, like the finishing touch before they did something new and scary. Once the letter was done, they stuck it to the door of their cabin.

“How about we go in the morning?” Betty offered. “We did a lot today, might as well have one last rest in the bed before we head out for who-knows how long,” Betty said, though the way she said the word rest clearly implied something else. Despite that, the two did end up sleeping well that night, and awoke in the morning relaxed and refreshed, ready to take on the day. As they regathered their items and put the lock they’d traded some raccoons for on their door, the key being the last thing in their bag.

“Day one of exploration,” Simon spoke into his tape recorder. “Me and my lovely wife Betty have set out in search of a fabled labyrinth, guided only by the vague map in the Enchiridion, and fueled only by love.” he spoke and Betty giggled in the background because it was incredibly corny, and immensely sweet. “What we will wish for should our goal be accomplished remains a mystery, but one thing is certain, whatever we find will be documented for future research.” Simon added before puting the thing away and taking Betty’s hand as they began this new journey.

Chapter Text

Marceline was on again tonight, for an outdoor show which meant more people were about to see her perform than ever before. She was terrified, frankly but she refused to let it show. Where would the fun in that be, coming all this way just to chicken out when things started to get scary. That was why she stood backstage, hyping herself up. This time she was the only opener, which meant she’d get thirty minutes of playing time, though to be honest Marceline wasn’t sure she had thirty minutes of songs.

Sure, she could drag it out with some noodling on her bass and ad-libing, but she really needed to think about writing more material. The thing was, she didn’t want to write new material until she felt like she had something to say, and Marceline wasn’t sure that she did yet. She’d outgrown the days of writing songs about whatever was directly happening to and around her, and now she needed actual inspiration to write. But, as of the moment nothing had inspired her so she was out of luck.

“And now, Marceline the Vampire Queen,” the announcer said, and there was a smattering of light applause in the crowd, the few people who’d seen her play before seemingly invested enough to come to her next show. The more she heard that name and got used to it, the more Marceline got annoyed that Billy was completely right. It really did have a ring to it that her name by itself just didn’t. As she began to walk on stage, Marceline looked down at her bass, crafted by her parents out of a shovel, and smiled thinking about them.

“This is the theme song to an old tv show my parents liked,” Marceline said of her opening performance, before launching into an electric version of the theme song from Cheers. It made her smile to think that two nights in a row she’d opened her shows with some sort of tribute to her parents, considering they were in large part the reason she was even here. They’d always encouraged her musical proclivates, they’d made her this guitar, and most importantly they’d hummed and muttered and belted this theme song so often the lyrics were etched into Marceline’s brain forever.

“Another good one out there kid, and the audience is loving those little stories you put before your songs,” the human who Marceline had learned was named Brian said. “I’ve got to go announce the main act but stick around after the show, the stage manager wants to talk to you,” Brian noted before heading on stage to announce their headliner, and Marceline hoped she was in for good news. After all, these two shows had filled her with a need to perform that she was sure she’d die without now that she’d gotten a taste.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Marceline asked as she leaned against the outdoor stage. Roadies who were mostly fish people were packing everything up, and the crowd had long since departed. She felt knots in her stomach she did her best to ignore as she waited for an explanation. In front of her there was Brian, and Brian’s boss whose name Marceline had not yet learned. Though even if she did learn it Marceline wasn’t sure she’d be able to pronounce it considering he was a fish person. He spoke in his lanague and Brian translated.

“He says the last few concerts we’ve had have been big hits, and he wants to make this a traveling show, take it all around Ooo,” he began and Marceline considered that she had no idea what Ooo was, whether a country, a state, or whatever else. It was funny for her to think about the fact that her mother while homeschooling her had done her best to ensure Marceline knew all about the proper place names and countries, only for none of it to matter shortly after. Well, it was funny in a sort of sad way.

“What’s Ooo?” Marceline asked because she figured she might as well if she was going to be touring it. This too was evidence of just how sheltered she’d been by Betty and Simon, and just how little she’d come to know about the world she inhabited. Brian looked at her a little confused for a moment, before realizing that perhaps not everyone was as well versed in this apocalypse as him, including what exactly everything was called. He scratched the back of his neck as he seemingly tried to formulate an answer.

“Oh, that’s just what everyone has been calling the piece of land we’re on, you know, the continent?” he offered. “After the bombs some crazy stuff hapened with the water levels and everything smashing together, so it felt wrong to keep calling it by the same name,” Brian said and when he sensed Marceline was satisfied he continued. “Anyway, like I said we want to take this show on the road, but our headliner won’t be able to join us until night two. We were wondering if you’d like to headline the first stop of the tour,” he asked.

“Are you serious?” Marceline asked, half expecting that she was being pranked and was about to be laughed at. Brian nodded while the fish-man stared at her blankly but gave a thumbs up, and Marceline felt like flying around in the air out of joy. “Yes! Absolutely,” she said, completely energized and excited. Brian and the fish person both gave her a nod and Marceline tried to keep her cool, and think about how now she definitely needed to start writing more songs if she ever hoped to fill the length of being the main act.

“One thing though,” Brian said. “We’re going to need you to do something about those clothes, you lookn like your parents dressed you,” he said and Marceline felt embarssed, because while they hadn’t dressed her, all the clothes she had were made by her parents, and as such they were sensible. Flowing, long sleeved shirts to help keep her from burning in the sun while not being too heavy and constricting, and similarly styled skirts with the same reasoning. Marceline had never really thought about her clothes before, but now she was very conscious of them.

“Where can I get some better clothes?” Marceline asked hopefully, even though she knew it probably made seem even more sheltered and sad. After all, what kind of young woman who was trying to become a rock star didn’t know where to find some decent clothes. Still, Marceline didn’t think she had many other options, and it was better than trying and failing to find something fashionable and being chastised by the audience and her bosses. Brian seemed to think for a moment before giving his answer.

“I’d say go down to Beautopia and see if any of the wrecked stores have anything nice,” Brian offered and the fish man made a gurgling sound Marceline assumed was agreement. “Just make yourself look presentable, and be back here in the morning so we can leave,” he offered and that was that. Marceline made her way down to the old mall, looking for anything which wasn’t water damaged or utterly destroyed, and managed to find some ripped jeans, a cool looking t-shirt, and a few other fashionable clothing items.

“I’m here!” Marceline said when she arrived at the caravan to their first show, a bit late and of course wearing the sunhat her parents had sent her with. After all, she was showing a lot more of her arms and legs than usual, and it was important that she not get all burned up before her show. If she did, she wouldn’t have Betty and Simon to take care of her after. She loaded up into the wagon-like vehicle being pulled by a creature Marceline didn’t recongize, along with the everyone else on the tour and their stuff.

The rest of the day was uneventful, most of it being taken up by Marceline quietly playing guitar to herself and trying to figure out some new songs quickly before she had to perform her show. They stopped a few times, once to let their beast of burden rest, and the other time to rest themselves. Marceline impressed the people in the wagon with her by drinking the red out of the playing cards they were using as entertainment, though the loss of that color certainly made the game much harder afterwards.

“Alright kid, everything’s being set up so be ready. You’ve never headlined before, so let me give you some advice,” Brian offered that night, and Marceline listened closely, because though she wouldn’t trust his opinion on music, he seemed earnest enough. “Forget about music for a second, forget about songs and lyrics and talent. You need to first and foremost act like a headliner. Be cool, be confident, the type of person that makes people go crazy. Be good at that, and worry about the other stuff later,” he said before going on stage to announce the opener.

Marceline didn’t know how she felt about the advice despite herself. She knew it certainly felt wrong to not focus on her art as the most important thing, but she also knew that she wouldn’t be exactly invested in an artist that didn’t seem interesting and cool even if their music was okay. She had the look now, all she needed to do was project the power. As the first performer played Marceline thought about how she’d play it cool, as if she was already a star instead of someone trying and failing to be one.

“How’s everyone doing tonight?” Marceline asked as she walked on stage and the crowd let out a cheer which invigorated her. “Is everyone ready to rock?” she asked and the crowd went wild. It was a bigger audience than her last two shows but not by much. The way the lights were set up on this particular stage, Marceline could actually see the faces of the audience, and she scanned them over, fish people and humaniods, one or two humans and some talking animals dotted the crowd. And then Marceline saw her for the first time.

She was candy pink, with messy shoulder length hair and dark eyes which seemed to sparkle under the stage lights, and she was looking at her. Of course, Marceline was performing on stage so everyone was looking at her but this girl was different. She seemed to actually see her, and that was something Marceline was completely unprepared for. She did her electric guitar cover of the Cheers theme song and the crowd liked it, but all she could do at the moment was stare at her and no one else.

“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?” Marceline asked in between songs, bantering with the audience, and she got an idea suddenly, as she stripped off her shirt much to the delight of the crowd. She held it aloft above her head, and made direct eye contact with the pretty pink girl in the crowd, before speaking ostensibly to everyone, though her words were only for her. “You want it?” she asked and everyone in the crowd screamed excitedly. She needed to make sure this shirt got to the girl, and luckily she had a foolproof plan.

She chucked the shirt into the crowd, and while it looked like it sailed naturally, using the telekinetic powers she was just now getting used to, she made sure it flew right into the pink girl’s range, and she caught it. Marceline figured it must be a good sign if she wanted her shirt, figured maybe that meant she had a shot. With that exercise over, she decided to go back to performing, though making sure to keep her eyes on the pink girl the entire time, seeing the way she clutched the shirt to her chest like a prize.

“Hey, can you do me a favor?” Marceline asked as soon as she went backstage, having finished her set. She knew if she wanted to get what she was asking for, she’d have to ask quickly before the crowd left and she lost her chance forever. The roadie looked at her curiously as she gave her explanation. “Could one of you guys please bring the pink girl from the crowd backstage? The one who caught my shirt?” Marceline questioned and the man looked at her, slightly amused.

“What, do you want the shirt back?” he asked and Marceline looked away, not wanting anyone to see her blushing but especially not her roadies. Unfortunately he seemed to piece things together, and he gave her a light slap on the back. “You’re the headliner, what you say goes,” he offered and Marceline nodded, and walked back to the small waiting area where she’d asked to have the pink girl brought. Unfortunately, that spot was already occupied by Brian and his boss, the fish man, who were currently making out.

“What? You’ve got a problem with me dating a fish-person?” Brian asked upon seeing her standing there shocked. “It's a new world Marceline, don’t be closed minded,” he insisted and Marceline simply rolled her eyes because that was the last thing on her mind. Mostly she just wanted the two of them to move so she could privately talk to that girl, and they did leave just in the nick of time as she arrived backstage. She was even more pretty up close and suddenly Marceline felt terrified.

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m meeting you,” the girl said and Marceline realized with a start that the feeling she had in her chest was one she’d felt before, a crush. The last time she’d had a crush she’d been utterly humiliated, and she refused to have that happen again, not after things had just started to go well. But then again the girl was looking at her with those gorgeous eyes and that soft pink skin, and that light, sweet smelling perfume and Marceline decided that she was an adult and should be allowed a little leeway.

“What’s your name?” Marceline asked, trying to come off as cool and suave instead of completely embarrassed, not wanting a repeat of the past. But, much to her surprise, the pink girl looked nervous at her. She realized at that moment that despite her utter terror she was the one with the power here. Marceline was a singer who’d just called this girl backstage, and that meant she held all the sway. She vowed not to be like Jason and hurt someone who liked her just because she wanted to.

“Bonnibel, Bonnibel Bubblegum,” she said, still clearly nervous about the situation and giving Marceline that same cute smile. Marceline supposed that the reason for her being so cute and pink was because she was made of bubble gum, and that was certainly something to consider. She wondered if she just naturally smelled that sweet because of what she was made of, and Marceline resistsed the urge to get far too close to her and take her in. “I really like the shirt,” Bonnibel mentioned, starting to hand it back.

“It's all yours,” Marceline said before adding something. “Bonnibel is a really pretty name, by the way,” she said leaning in slightly closer, hoping she was giving off the correct air of coolness. Bonnibel pushed her hair to the side, seemingly trying to distract herself. “Tell me about yourself Bonnie. Can I call you Bonnie?” Marceline asked, immediately embarrassing herself as she asked about calling her a nickname after having already used it. Bonnie for her credit didn’t seem to mind at all as she nodded.

“I’m a scientist.” she said and Marceline wanted to facepalm herself as she’d apparently inherited her parents taste in academics. “But, I’m working on some big plans. I’m going to rule my own kingdom, with my own citizens,” Bonnie added and Marceline loved the way her face looked when she talked about her future plans, how excited she seemed to get about the subject. She could see that behind those eyes was a spark that desired power, control, to steer her own destiny and Marceline liked it. “I’m going to be a princess,” Bonnie added.

“Well, princess,” Marceline said, trying not to cringe at the fact that she sounded like her dad. “I hope you’re not too busy to come to another one of my shows. I’d feel honored to have royalty in the crowd again,” she said, adding a wink and Bonnibel blushed, waving Marceline off as if to say that she was just kidding. Marceline desperately wanted to make a move, but she wouldn’t, not yet. She didn’t want to end up hurt again, even though her heart was telling her what she wanted. Marceline looked at Bonnie and heard a million new songs she wanted to write, and it excited her to the point of fear.

Chapter Text

Betty and Simon’s journey towards the labyrinth was off to a good start as the two powered towards their goal, having been traveling for about a day and a half at that point. At the moment, the two were making camp for the evening, figuring they were only about a day’s journey from their final destination. Something the two of them found incredible about their relationship was that they could talk endlessly about anything and never get bored. The sound of the other’s voice was like music to their ears, and it was a song they’d always sing.

As Simon gathered more wood for the campfire, Betty opened one of their jars of canned vegetables and retrieved a fork to eat with, before popping open another can for Simon. He tossed the wood into the fire, and it flared up, roaring away nicely as they heated up by it, and Betty couldn’t help herself as she snuck out the camera and snapped a photo of her husband lit by fire light. Simon seemed a bit surprised by the picture, not having expected it, and Betty shook the printed photo out before putting it and the camera in her bag.

“What was that for?” Simon asked jokingly as he walked over to her side, pushing the hair from his face as the heat from the fire was starting to make him sweat slightly. Betty handed him the opened can of preserved carrots, his favorite, and he nodded at the gesture. “Thank you,” he said politely, even though they really had no need to thank each other for anything anymore. The two of them were so in love they’d walk to the ends of the earth for the other without a second thought, and yet they still thanked each other for the small things.

“I just thought you looked handsome and wanted a picture,” Betty admitted, and Simon smiled slightly at that, at the way she seemed to think he was a lot more than he actually was. “Simon, do you remember when we first went searching for the Enchiridion?” Betty asked and Simon swallowed the carrots he was eating and nodded because of course he did. How could he ever forget the most important time in his life, the time when he met the woman he’d fall in love with. Betty let out a wistful sigh and turned to look at him.

“Yeah, I remember,” Simon said, grabbing on to Betty’s hand and raising it towards the sky. “I remember when we couldn’t get up the tent that one night, and had to sleep under the stars,” Simon said, and Betty let a smile come to her face as she remembered how romantic she’d found the whole thing, and how embarrassed she’d felt about it. “And you listed off all the constellations you could remember,” Simon added as he snuggled in even closer to her, the two just wanting to be near each other.

“And then you saw that mongoose in the bushes and freaked out,” Betty added with a slight laugh, before positioning her hand around the edges of the moon, and making half a heart with it. Simon did the same, their little hand-heart encircling the moon for a brief moment, and the two just sat there enjoying the sight. “It's funny, isn’t it? Everything down here had changed, but it's the same sky from back then,” Betty offered, and it was nice how no matter how much they changed, and the planet changed, something's were still consistent.

“Humans may have been able to donk up the planet and themselves, but the rest of the universe doesn’t care. It just keeps on moving,” Simon offered and Betty nodded before the two sealed their moment with a kiss and decided to turn in for the evening, ready to continue their travels the next day. They rinsed out their now empty jars and stored them in Betty’s bag for future use, and with that they were cuddling and drifting off to sleep, secure in the fact that the more some things changed, the more others stayed the same.

That next morning they were up and ready to start the day, putting out their fire and beginning yet another hike. Even when it was hot and sticky, and slightly uncomfortable to do so, Betty and Simon always held hands with one and another. It was just natural for them to hold tight to the other, as if it was a way to never drift apart. As though both of them were slightly afraid that if they broke contact, something would pull them apart. It was the same reason why they ruffled Marceline’s hair, to keep the three of them close.

“Huh, fascinating,” Simon said as he stopped walking and picked something off of the ground. Betty stopped with him and examined what looked to be a broken off piece of a statue, or pottery with a simplistic looking eye carved into it. “Without any reference it’d be hard to date this,” Simon noted and one of the small tragedies of the Mushroom War was that now that everything was broken and destroyed, it was hard to tell what was actually ancient. “But, the stone it's made out of is characteristic of early Mesopotamia,” Simon noted.

“Let’s keep going and see if we can find a better sample,” Betty offered and Simon nodded in agreement as they made their way to the base of a large hill, both having to stop on occasion to catch their breath as neither were quite as nimble as they used to be, and the hill was huge. Still, they tried to look on the bright side. “At least when we reach the top, we’ll get a good view,” Betty said, turning towards Simon only to find herself having her picture taken unexpectedly. Simon shook the photo out as he explained himself.

“I already have the best view right here,” he said, teasing, before putting the camera and photo back inside of Betty’s bag. “Seriously, though, how big is this hill? Was it this big when we started?” Simon asked jokingly, as the size of the hill hadn’t changed, but how daunting it seemed certainly had. Still, they were determined to make their way up there and make their way to the labyrinth because they’d promised it to themselves. Simon was going to see those artifacts, and Betty would study that ancient God.

“Woah,” Betty said breathlessly when they made it to the top of the hill, and she was right to because looking down they could see the expanse of the labyrinth spread out before them. It was even bigger than they’d assumed, many miles long and Betty suddenly worried if they had enough string. And then she noticed something only able to be seen from above. “Those walls in the center, their pattern spells out April,” Betty noted excitedly. “The month April derives from the Julian calendar, and it's been theorized It's named after one of the ‘lost’ Greek Gods!” she said excitedly, and she was right to be excited because this was a good sign for her research.

“And it looks like this is where that fragment came from,” Simon noted as the entrance of the maze was dotted in tall, almost totem like stone structures with those same simplistically carved eyes on sections, along with long, ornately carved beaks. They seemed to be more common towards the front of the maze, but there were at least two towards what Simon assumed was the center. The two made their way down the hill and approached the entrance to the maze, which was graced with a plaque. “No cheating, or you die,” Simon read.

“Well, this isn’t cheating, it's just resourceful,” Betty said as she tied the end of the string they’d brought to a nearby tree, while Simon began taking pictures of the statues and their carvings, finally being able to start setting a rough date for them. Betty walked over to the plaque to get a better look at it herself, and was surprised to see that while the line was written in English, it was also written in various languages, some of them long dead, and others she didn’t even recognize. “Woah, that’s definitely got to mean something,” Betty said, snapping a picture.

“Alright, Dr Groff,” Simon said, trying to put on an air of exaggerated professionalism. “Shall we conquer this ancient labyrinth and unlock its secrets?” Simon asked, and Betty giggled at him for being silly. He was proud that even after all this time he could still do that, make her smile and laugh like when they’d first started out. She still made him feel everything, like he was still a young man feeling all of these emotions for the first time. Betty gave an exaggerated gesture towards the entrance and matched his previous tone.

“After you, Dr Petrikov,” she said with a smile before the two joined hands and entered at the same time, Betty pulling the thread along with them and using it to direct them from where they’d come. The first few feet were fine, which was to be expected as it was meant to allow for people to turn back if need be. When the two came to their first fork in the road, they decided to take the path on the left, only to be led to a dead end. Betty regathered the string they’d used going that way as they returned to the fork and went right.

“Hold on,” Simon said suddenly before the looped the corner, and the two peaked over to see what looked like a stone Gollum blocking the path. “There’s no way we can beat this thing with brute force,” Simon assessed as he looked at the thing, made of solid rock and pacing menacingly. “Can I have a can of vegetables? Which ever one you’re least attached to,” Simon said, and Betty handed him the jar of tomatoes. Simon crept a bit closer to the creature and threw the glass jar in the opposite direction, causing the golem to chase after the noise.

“Nice work, Dr Petrikov,” Betty teased as they made their way forward and continued deeper inside the labyrinth. As they continued on, they were stopped once again by what looked to be a pressure plate puzzle, and Betty tossed a nearby rock onto one of the plates, only for it to trigger spikes. “I’m going to need a lot more rocks,” Betty offered and Simon supplied them until she was able to carve out a safe passage for the two of them, following the trail of the rocks which hadn’t been turned into dust.

“This is actually kind of relaxing,” Simon noted as the two made their way through a relatively quiet section of the maze. They’d gotten a bit turned around earlier, but thanks to Betty’s string they were able to get back on track, and were now a good distance in. “Some of the stuff here really is incredible,” Simon noted as they passed a giant caged worm, with sharp teeth. He felt very thankful they hadn’t taken whatever path led to that creature, and he felt even more thankful to be here with his wife.

“Scorpions nest up ahead,” Betty noted, and Simon looked ahead to note that there were a few scorpions skittering in the little cracks in the stone floor, clearly waiting to sting anyone who crossed their path. “Do you remember what I taught you?” Betty asked with a smile and Simon couldn’t help but smile back in return because it was one of those moments where he’d first started to truly fall for her, and it was a beloved memory of his. Betty took off running and shouting across the floor, and Simon followed after.

“I think we’re almost there,” Simon said after a bit more walking, and he was proven right as they turned the corner into a room with a sliding puzzle depicting a cat. Simon quickly snapped a picture of it, the cat’s depiction being interesting as it matched the zoomorphic depictions of animals common during the prehistoric Halaf period, meaning that his theory about the artifacts being Mesopotamian in nature was gaining credence. Working together like they always did, the two were able to solve the puzzle and enter through the now opened door.

“Wow,” Betty said breathless as they came across what could only be described as an ancient shrine. You could see the open air and sky beautifully, and in the air glowing orbs resembling eel eggs floated around, not quite close enough to touch but beautiful nonetheless. And in the center, sleeping peacefully, a muddy serpent lying on a pedestal, who Betty correctly assumed was the one they were looking for. “You know, in ancient Mesopotamia, there was a serpent God,” Betty said as their two theories were tied together.

“I think the floor is trapped,” Simon said as he looked down and saw skeletons littered in front of them. Unsurprisingly, even the slightest bit of pressure opened a pit of snakes, and throwing rocks at other plates only led to the same outcome, with other deadly traps being revealed on the floor and no clear path forward. “I don’t get it,” Simon mused as he used up all the rocks near him and didn’t see a single safe bit of the ground. “How are we supposed to walk across?” Simon asked and Betty studied the surrounding trees.

“I don’t think we’re supposed to walk,” she said, gesturing at how by entering the nearest tree they could cross the floor and end up right in front of the platform. “This is going to be horrible for my back,” Betty muttered and Simon had to agree as they very slowly and carefully climbed the nearest tree, and then the next one and the one after that until they were finally able to drop down safely in front of the serpent. Betty took a picture of the creature, and a picture of the platform it was on, which had writing in what looked to be Sumerian.

“Congratulations travelers,” the serpent hissed out. “You may step forward and take your wishes,” it added, gesturing towards the floating orbs. Betty and Simon continued taking pictures, and Simon had already taken out his tape recorder to make verbal notes. “What are you two doing? Don’t you want your wishes?” the serpent asked, clearly confused, and Simon made a note of that before putting the tape away and addressing the creature directly. It was covered in mud, with yellow eyes and a long, slippery looking body.

“We’re actually not sure what to wish for. But, we do want to know everything about you, if you wouldn’t mind telling us,” Simon offered and the creature looked utterly shocked, clearly having never been asked anything like that before. “So, tell us about yourself, the labyrinth, the people who built it, your shine, your powers, everything!” Simon said, and Betty nodded in agreement, ready to hear whatever came to mind for this creature and deeply excited to learn about this ancient God she was actually standing right in front of.

“You… want to know about me?” the creature asked, and both of them nodded again. “In the thousands of years since I was first summoned and came to live in this shrine, no one has ever asked me about myself,” the creature said and Simon wrote down the length of time it’d been here and the fact that it had been summoned. “I’m Aquandrius, and I am a wish master. Many millennia ago, I was summoned here, by humans who worshiped me. They made me this labyrinth and this shrine,” Aquandrius explained, and both Betty and Simon were engrossed.

“A wish master?” Betty questioned as she recognized that title. According to the Enchiridion, the wish masters were ancient cosmic entities, only a step below Golb in terms of power, being able to grant any wish as long as it didn’t interfere with Golb directly. They had utter power over space time, and were the entire reason Betty had become fascinated by the subject, and now here she was talking to them. “You’re one of the most powerful entities in the universe!” Betty said excitedly, and Aquandrius seemed embarrassed.

“This is true, however… I am typically not a kind wish master,” Aquandrius explained before launching into a story. “When the humans first summoned me here they were kind, caring for me and building me a temple but, soon, they became greedy. All they wanted were my wishes, they demanded them without regard for me and so… I began to make the wishes backfire ironically,” the serpent explained. “When that happened, they filled the labyrinth with traps, keeping me here,” Aquandrius added.

“So the ancient people built the traps not just to keep people out, but to keep you in,” Simon said as he recorded this as part of his notes. “Well, I suppose it's a good thing we didn’t know what to wish for,” Simon admitted and Aquandrius looked sadly at the two of them, as they finished taking notes and asking a few more questions before preparing to follow Betty’s string back out of the labyrinth. Suddenly, before they could start climbing the tree, Aquandrius spoke up again.

“Wait,” the serpent said. “If anyone deserves proper wishes, it's the two of you, for caring about me and not just what I can offer you,” Aquandrius added. “I can see you two have a deep love for adventure, and wish to learn more about the state of the wish masters, and the universe. I will offer you instructions on how to reach the most powerful wish master, Prismo, and a map with which to find the necessary objects to get there,” Aquandrius added and Betty and Simon agreed, the map and instructions being summoned into Betty’s bag. “I will also teleport you out, as a freebie,” Aquandrius added.

“Well, that was nice of them,” Betty added as the two of them began their journey home, instructions and map in hand. “Prismo the wish master, huh,” she said, clearly pondering what they’d just learned. “It looks like that paper is going to have to wait until after our next adventure,” she added as they took one last look at the labyrinth. Simon pulled out the camera and snapped a picture of them in front of it, for posterity, before taking Betty’s hand as the two prepared to discover the secrets of the universe together.

Chapter Text

Marceline had just finished up another show, and she’d gotten some applause for it. After her kicking off the tour, she’d returned back to Beautopia to perform there for the duration of the tour. Brian had offered to let her stay on as an opening act, but Marceline figured she’d have better luck playing more free outdoor concerts and getting her name out there. Besides, it would give her the chance to refine her set list, not to mention the fact that with the regular headliner on tour, Marceline got the chance to headline the Beautopia stage.

Well, the truth was she hadn’t exactly figured all of that out on her own, she’d had some help. That help was in the form of one Bonnibel Bubblegum, who’d given her some good advice on what would be best for her career. And Marceline had of course listened because despite the short time she’d known Bonnie, she trusted her implicitly. Though, part of that was no doubt because she’d found herself with a massive crush on the girl. It was hard not to, though, when Bonnie was so sweet and interesting.

“You know, Marceline, I have to tell you something,” Bonnie said as soon as Marceline stepped backstage from the performance. Marceline perked up at the idea that this was going to be some kind of confession, which she was kind of hoping for. The truth was, Marceline knew she wanted to be more than just friends with Bonnie, but considering how badly things had gone the last time she’d made such a confession, she was understandably nervous. “The truth is, your career isn’t the only thing I considered when saying you should stay and perform here,” Bonnie said.

“Oh?” Marceline asked, as she decided that whether or not Bonnibel confessed to her, she was going to do it after she finished talking. She had always been brave, it was part of who she was, and she refused to let a small heartbreak when she was thirteen determine how things were going to go with the very pretty girl standing right in front of her. Bonnie looked away, slightly nervous and Marceline decided to be bold, hooking a finger under her chin, so the two could make eye contact, making Bonnie blush hard.

“Well, the truth is, I wanted you to stay here because I couldn’t go with you if you went on the tour, and I wanted to see you more, Marcy,” Bonnibel said and something about the way that Bonnie said that old familiar nickname just made Marceline melt. She started to hype herself up to confess to Bonnie the way she felt, and suddenly she was thirteen again, trying to figure out how to sound cool and smooth. Luckily, Bonnie took the pressure off immediately. “I think I’d to be more than friends with you,” Bonnie offered.

“That’s funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Marceline said with a toothy smile before going in for a kiss, which Bonnie accepted eagerly. Marceline had never kissed anyone before, and after kissing Bonnie, she wasn’t sure she wanted to kiss anyone but her ever again. Her lips were as soft and sweet as Marceline had imagined, their pliability allowing them to meld right against Marceline’s lips in a way that was intoxicating. She was absolutely in love, and she’d barely been hanging out with Bonnibel for a few weeks.

“You’re a really good kisser,” Bonnie said with a look of inspiration in her eyes and the way they twinkled made Marceline want to kiss her again, and she was feeling bold, so she did. The look on her face after that was worth every agonizing second, Marceline had spent over the last few weeks not confessing despite really wanting to. “There’s someone I want you to meet,” Bonnibel said suddenly, and she grabbed Marceline’s hand. There really wasn’t anywhere that Marceline needed to be after her show, so she followed around blindly.

“Woah, what is this place?” Marceline asked as they approached what looked like the outer walls of a large city, though the walls were clearly unfinished. Behind them, a few layers of the central tower had started to go up, though it was clear they weren’t finished either. Behind the wall she could see candy colored rocks and trees which would need to be cleared. As they approached the area, Marceline quickly grabbed Bonnie away. “Careful! I think that’s radioactive sludge,” Marceline said, and Bonnie nodded at her.

“I know, I’m in the process of covering it with candy, but for the moment it's just in the open air,” she said regretfully, and it dawned on Marceline that Bonnie hadn’t been kidding or exaggerating when she mentioned she was going to rule her own kingdom. “I don’t know how long this place will take to finish, probably at least a few more years. But, someday it’ll be the Candy Kingdom, and it’ll be filled with happy citizens. Come on, let me give you the tour,” Bonnibel said, taking Marceline’s hand.

“So, where are you going to get all of the people to live in this kingdom?” Marceline asked, as Bonnie had shown her where she intended to build houses directly inside of the walls and below the central castle, where they could be protected from danger. She could tell that Bonnie was uncomfortable with the question, probably because so far only three people seemed to live there outside of her, so she didn’t ask any further. “Hey, didn’t you say there was someone you wanted me to meet?” Marceline asked, and Bonnie lit up.

“Come on, we’re going to travel deep in the castle,” Bonnie said, and with that the two of them began their careful journey down the half built creation of the castle, descending deeper. Beneath the castle, Marceline could see the exposed brick was actual brick just coated in fondant and chocolate, which wasn’t a surprise to Marceline considering building an entire kingdom out only candy would be difficult. When they finally reached the center, Marceline saw a large tree, and a pink dragon-like creature alongside it. “This is Neddy, my brother,” Bonnie said.

“Wow,” Marceline said, attempting to wave at him. Neddy simply cowered and went back to suckling on the root of the tree he was near, which Marceline accepted. “What’s that stuff he’s oozing?” she asked upon noticing that his body was covered in folds which seemed to secrete juices that flowed out of the castle and mixed with radioactive lake not too far away. Marceline was careful, using the scaffolding to look at what Bonnie had already built. It was pretty incredible, even she had to admit that.

“It's candy juice,” Bonnibel explained. “It’ll be crucial for my kingdom’s development, it has healing properties, it helps keep people clean, and it tastes delicious,” Bonnie explained and Marceline tried not to be disturbed at the idea of drinking something that came out of your own family member. Clearly she didn’t hide it well because Bonnie quickly added something. “That last one was a joke,” she said teasingly, and Marceline breathed a sigh of relief. “So,” Bonnie said as she looped her hands around Marceline’s. “Tell me about your family,” she said.

“My family?” Marceline asked and Bonnibel nodded. The two sat on the scaffolding, staring ahead of them at Neddy and the giant tree which would end up as the centerpiece of this kingdom. “Well, before the bombs went off, I lived with my mom,” Marceline started, and then she stopped as she saw that there was a slight look of confusion in Bonnibel’s eyes, and she realized that she would have been created after the bombs went off. “How much do you know about the old world?” Marceline asked.

“Not much,” Bonnie admitted. “I’m curious about it, so I do my research, but there’s not exactly a wealth of knowledge about it,” Bonnie said before seemingly having something click into place in her mind. “Wait… did you say you lived before the bombs?” she asked and Marceline nodded, making Bonnibel’s eyes widen. “Wow, I’m sorry I just assumed… well, I just assumed,” Bonnibel said and Marceline didn’t hold it against her. She knew how she looked, and she knew she fit better in this world than she had in the old one, anyway.

“Hey, let me show you something,” Marceline said, an idea having popped into her head. “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?” Marceline asked as they began to make their way out of the castle’s underground, and Bonnibel shook her head. “Perfect,” she said with a smile, and she wrapped her arms around Bonnie’s waist, which made her blush even pinker than she already was. “Hold on tight, princess.” she said, trying to be flirty, and the two made their way into the sky, with Marceline flying them above the clouds.

“Wow. This is invigorating,” Bonniebel said, and Marceline enjoyed the way she clung to her, maybe a little closer than necessary, though it could have been her imagination. “So, what are you going to show me all the way up here?” Bonnibel asked, and Marceline flew them towards the city, the one she’d grown up in. It was weird to see her old building after all of these years, and she debated with herself if she should land considering the threat of mutants, but she knew she’d be able to protect them, so she did.

“This is the city I grew up in, before the bombs. It was full of people, and that building,” Marceline said, gesturing at one of the apartment blocks. “Is where I lived with my mom. She was a scientist, and she was one of the people who worked on the bombs. When they dropped, she did her best to protect me, but… well. That’s war.” Marceline said, without wanting to think any more about it. She vowed that she’d never end up complicit in something like this, something that cost so many lives.

“Well, she must have done a good job, because you’re incredible.” Bonnie said, trying to lighten the mood, and it occurred to Marceline that she somehow hadn’t even mentioned Betty and Simon yet, despite them being her parents a lot longer than her mom was in her life. Maybe she just felt guilty, because she’d left home and left them, and hadn’t even written to them yet. Still, they were the most important people in her life and she’d already learned long ago that they were her parents, and she was proud of that fact.

“Actually, she doesn’t get credit for that one. Not too long after she passed I was found by my adoptive parents, Betty and Simon, and they raised me ever since.” Marceline said, and Bonnibel nodded. Marceline knew that they’d love Bonnie, especially her dad, considering her interest in everything about the old world. And they’d both adore her ambition, and now she felt even worse about the fact that she hadn’t written. “I haven’t been the best kid lately,” Marceline admitted. “I haven’t even written,” she admitted.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. I’m sure they know how much you care about them. I can tell just from hearing you talk about them.” Bonnie said, and Marceline rewarded her for that little nugget of comfort with another kiss. “Now, I want to hear all about the old world, if you’re willing to tell me,” Bonnie said and Marceline scooped her up in her arms, bridal style this time as they took off flying again, and Marceline told her about TV, and popular foods, and everything else she could remember from a child’s perspective about that time.

“And then, we slayed the last vampire,” Marceline concluded as herself and Bonnie landed after a long time of just flying through the air, Marceline telling her entire life story. “After that, mom and dad got really paranoid about something bad happening to me, and as people moved away and started their own lives, it was just the three of us, until I left home,” Marceline explained and Bonnie seemed engrossed in her story. No one had ever seemed as interested in her as Bonnie was, and it was scary and exciting.

“Wow, you’ve lived quite the life. Compared to that, mine has been,” Bonnie caught sight of one of her three subjects out of the corner of her eye, a bowl of punch who was running around acting all silly. “Boring. My life has been boring.” she said seriously, and with that the subject was dropped. Marceline sat down on the ground, carefully staying away from the radioactive lake, and pulled out her guitar, which made Bonnie’s eyes sparkle again in that way that made Marceline want to throw everything away.

“I think I want to write a song about you,” Marceline said without thinking, and it was simply because Bonnibel was making her feel all sorts of emotions that she’d never experienced before. The sorts of things that made her question everything, that made her want to just soak in the feeling. She strummed idly as she thought about what to say about Bonnie, and all that came to mind was that she never wanted this, their time together, to end. She began to strum idly as Bonnie put her head on her shoulder, and they stayed like that for a bit longer.

“You know, you can stay here for a bit, if you want,” Bonnie said nervously, not wanting to be too forward but also not wanting Marceline to leave quite yet. Marceline considered the question, knowing that she hadn’t exactly intended to be tied down to one place quite yet, but also knowing she wanted to stay by Bonnibel’s side for a bit longer. She figured she could stay for the night, she’d find her own place soon, but It’d to be able to sleep over with Bonnie on occasion. Besides, she really did need to get herself someone safe before sunrise.

“Okay, I’ll stay the night,” Marceline said, and she flew them up to Bonnie’s bedroom, which, being that it was on the top floor of the half finished castle, only partially had walls, and had half a ceiling. Despite this, it did have quite a comfortable bed, and before Marceline could offer to sleep on the bed, Bonnie was pulling her close to cuddle with her. Marceline couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this safe and comfortable, as it must have been cuddling with her parents as a little girl.

“Hey Marceline?” Bonnie whispered, and Marceline made a sound of affirmation. “I really like you, okay?” Bonnie offered, which Marceline thought was so cute considering they were literally cuddling and has already kissed multiple times. Still, Marceline maneuvered herself in the bed, and gave Bonnie another kiss before they finally settled into sleep, and Marceline thought about how she was going to write to Simon and Betty tomorrow, and tell them about everything that had been going on in her life.

They were great parents, and they deserved a great daughter. Besides, she really wanted to tell them about the amazing girl they’d met, and how she’d occasionally call her princess too, though she had better justification than her dad. Still, everything was changing so fast for Marceline, her career was taking off, she was finding romance, and she was inspired to write more songs. But one thing that hadn’t changed was how much she loved her parents, and how much they loved her. And in a fast moving, ever-changing world, that sort of stability deserved to be rewarded.