Change Everlasting (Fiona + Marshall Lee, FancFic)

Remnants

Giant candy-encrusted doors burst open, as a determined adventurer marched in. Around her guards started, immediately gathering themselves and rushing towards the intruder. They came to a halt, however, once they realized who had so gallantly rushed into Candy Kingdom. There were shouts of surprise, announcements that immediately were sent to the palace's prince, that Fionna the Human had returned.

Surely neither the guards nor Gumball had expected she would return on her own, after her last escapade. Fionna gave no reply to their countless inquires, and for the most part, ignored them completely. Her only comment was that she had come to speak with Gumball. An entourage of sixteen bananas escorted the young blonde to Gumball's study.

By the time she reached the room, news had traveled to the young prince's ears. He stood at the doorway, eyes wide and a delighted smile covering his face. Once this would have made her heart race, and her face turn noticeably red. Now, she only noticed a pinch of irritability. No doubt, he expected she had 'come to her senses' and was returning to Candy Kingdom where she would again live the life of a luxurious prisoner.

"Fionna, wel-" His face soon fell as he noticed her hardened expression. A sigh escaped him, realizing his hopes had been misguided, and knowing what she had come for. He stepped aside, allowing her to enter the room, and dismissed his guards, thanking them for their assistance. Alone, he turned to Fionna and pleaded, "Please, Fionna, reconsider. Give me time and I can surely find a–"

"Gumball," The blonde turned and regarded the candy prince in a surprisingly adult-like manner. "I've made my decision, I know what I gotta do. I just don't know how.

"I know about Fioleena and Marshall Lee, he's not the bad guy here! There's this ring that was glumping up his mind! Now it's controlling Skyfall, and she's stolen my crystal sword, and I don't know where she's gone or what to do. And I can't figure out what any of this has to do with the sword and a stupid flower!"

Gumball grasped Fionna by the shoulders, looking at her intently. "Fionna, please, forget about the prophecy. This is too much to ask of you, it's not something you have to do." A strange look crossed his face, something akin to worry. "There's no way around the fact that if you don't, you will die. No one has the right to ask this of you."

"And no one has the right to tell me what I should choose!" Fionna retorted, shoving the young prince back. "This is my choice, and I know what'll happen, okay? I'm not a coward!" She gave him a stony stare.

"So are you going to help me, or make me do this by myself?" For a long time Gumball gave no reply, only looked desperately at Fionna, thinking and processing. Finally, a second sigh escaped him. He turned his back to Fionna.

"I've done further research into the prophecy, since you've been gone." The pink boy stepped toward his desk, which was littered with papers, books, diagrams, and maps. From the table he selected an old leather-bound book. Gumball flipped through the book until he found the correct page, and stared at it thoughtfully for several long moments.

"As you said, this prophecy has come to pass once before. The incident was recorded in the journal of the Candy Kingdom's first king – King Candy." Gumball flipped through several pages before finding whatever he was looking for and continued, "You've heard of Fioleena, and that she was killed by Marshall Lee – yes, while under the influence of the Ring of Chaos, if it is how you say."

"It is! Fioleena saw it on Marshall Lee, and now Skyfall has it!" The young blonde quickly came to her friend's defense. "Nothing that happened is either of their faults!" The prince sighed.

"However it may be, in the end Fioleena died." He ignored her insistence of the twos' innocence. "There are no records in this book telling of why or how, but it is noted that her soul and spirit split, and did not enter the Underworld as most do."

"Then what happened to them?" Fionna butted in, impatient to know what had become of the two parts, and what they had to do with what was at hand. In the back of her mind Fionna wondered if the same would become of her. Would she go to the Underworld, or drift in nothingness as Cake often spoke of? What did Glob have in store for her?

"It says here that her spirit became a flower called the Flower of Virtue. It is what protects the land of Aaa from the aftermath of the Mushroom War. It is also what keeps the Ring of Chaos trapped within Aaa."

"And her soul?" A chilling feeling crept up Fionna's spine. What would happen if this was true? Would she become a flower too? It seemed so...boring.

"Her soul was imbedded in what is called the Sword of the Hero." Gumball's finger trailed across the words as he read. "The sword was lost ages ago; no one knows where it can be found, and the Flower of Virtue resides somewhere in the Unknown Lands." Again he turned the page, before handing the book to Fionna.

She snatched it, eager to see what the pages had to say. Only, instead of words she saw two pictures; one on either page, and one looked dreadfully familiar. "This...is the Sword of the Hero?" She asked, pointing to the colored sketch on the right, although Gumball could no longer see it.

"Yes," He nodded. "A blue crystal sword, made of ice that will never melt or ever shatter. The only way to destroy it, most likely, would be to drop it into the Witch's well of power." Fionna bit her lip, as she stared at the sword she had held only hours ago.

"But...you said the ring couldn't leave Aaa, that it was trapped, right?" Fionna turned desperate eyes on the young candy prince. "There's no way Skyfall could take the sword outside of Aaa, because the ring can't leave, right?"

"Well...theoretically it would be fairly simple, I suppose. The flower creates a barrier around Aaa, as the picture depicts," He commented, stepping to Fionna's side, to get a better look at the picture. As he had said, the picture showed a small barrier surrounding the flower, and although no land was drawn inside the barrier, Fionna supposed it was implied. "It could certainly be possible to uproot the flower, and wherever it was taken, the barrier would follow."

"So, you're saying if Skyfall gets her hand on that flower, then she can take it and the sword to the Witch's well of power, and destroy both?" Fionna began to panic, as Skyfall's intentions became clear, as well as the imminent danger the Land of Aaa faced. If the flower was moved, that would mean all the bunk stuff from the Mushroom War would begin to rank everything up again!

"Yes..." At Gumball's confirmation, Fionna shoved the book into the candy prince's hands, and rushed towards the open balcony door. "Fionna, wait a moment!"

"Thanks for all your help, Gumball. It's been math, but I gotta go!"