High-Grade Red

Chapter 4: Out of Their Element

On one of the northwestern shores of Ooo, little more than two months after Marceline's lightning incident, Princess Bubblegum stands on a sand dune, a denim jacket around her shoulders. Finn stands to one side, while Marceline sits under a parasol on the other. The Vampire Queen wears all black, including sunglasses, and tiredly slouches forwards.

The three watch as Jake and Susan load up the boat, as they prepare to go on a journey to the islands where the humans had retreated to. As Susan tosses one duffel bag onboard, a quiet mechanical voice grunts, "Ouch!" from within, although nobody hears it.

"Thanks for seeing us off, guys," Finn says, turning to the two women next to him.

"Yeah, of course," Bonnibel responds, turning to look at him. "It's my boat."

"And we care about them, ya dingus! Come on!" Marceline harshly shouts, eliciting a scowl from Bonnibel. As soon as she sees this, she bashfully turns away and quickly adds, "Sorry. Marcy is up past her bedtime." She rests her head on her hand once more, looking away from the princess.

"No, it's true," Bubblegum agrees, placing a hand on Finn's shoulder. Looking him in the eye, she states, "I want you to be really careful out there."

"Don't worry. We've got Susan," the human assures, pointing at the tank of a woman just up the coast from them.

"That's not what I mean." Finn looks back towards her. "Finn, I get the feeling that this trip's more important to you that you're letting on. I mean, if you make it to that island, you might find out some pretty heavy stuff. About the humans, where you came from... about yourself." She removes her hand. "All's I'm saying is you have to promise me—promise me—that you'll come home safe."

The blond-haired boy looks at her, surprised at the serious tone of her voice. He opens his mouth and starts to respond, "I—"

"Hi, Bonnie!" a voice like Finn's, although still distinctly different, suddenly interjects, causing them to jump. Marceline glances up in surprise; she's normally the only one who calls the princess by her first name. "I'm Fern." He offers his hand, which Bubblegum shakes with a nervousness and suspicion in equal measure. "I kinda already know you. I have a bunch of... fuzzy half-memories from when I was this guy." He looks to his human counterpart.

"Just keep the ones where she's our boss," Finn states, before sternly adding, "And forget everything else!"

"Finn!" Everyone looks over as Susan calls, walking up to the group.

"Hey, good morning!" Marceline exclaims as she takes off her sunglasses, suddenly intrigued by the woman in front of her. Bonnibel feels a twinge in her chest, but externally shows no reaction.

"Boat's loaded. Ready to go," Susan states simply, gesturing with one massive hand. Finn gives the princess a hug, then goes to high-five Fern, whose eyes widen for a split second before he palms him on the nose, a look of shock appearing on both his grassy face and Bubblegum's. Marceline simply smirks.

"Gah! I flinched!" he cries, bringing his hands up as Finn rubs his nose.

"It's cool," his human counterpart responds. He quickly shakes his head, then walks down towards the dunes by Susan. He waves back at the two, and Marceline simply raises a hand in response.

As he turns his back, a cold sea breeze causes the Vampire Queen to shiver slightly. Bonnibel, seeing this, slides her jacket off of her shoulders and puts it around her friend. "Here," the princess whispers. Marceline grasps it with one hand and smiles gratefully at her.

Before long, Finn and Jake had embarked on their ship. They wave back to the three figures on the shore, while Susan wades through the water and pushes it further out to sea. "We'll be back soon!" Finn calls. "I promise!"