Just Pretending (Bubbline/Sugarless Gum)

My dearest friend the rat or bug or - something.

A/N Hey y'all. Merry Halloween. Anyone dressing up this year?

She really wished right about now that she had kept her flannel on. Not that she minded the cold, but she felt like she was stuffed in a freezer on full-blast. Even the dead wouldn't like it in here.

"Oh, good, you're awake," a grating voice echoed, suggesting whatever room she was in was rather large. Not that she could visibly tell, considering she had been blindfolded. She struggled against the rope her hands were tied with, testing its durability rather than how tight it actually was, and heard something that sounded like cloth billowing in the wind against the floor, rather than actual footsteps. She thought whoever had just spoken had spoken to her and was moving towards her, until she heard another person in the room, crying softly.

"Oh, don't fret," the voice cooed, stopping somewhere that sounded to be to the right of her, "she needs you to be happy." Marceline did not trust the way that voice sounded. She felt behind her and noticed the walls felt like dirt and felt around for anything sharp she might be able to cut her ropes with. She probably could just shapeshift, but there were too many variables she didn't know enough about, like how many people or creatures of ill-intent were nearby and she didn't want to shapeshift just to get outsmarted by some bigger, smarter demon. Maybe she could just turn into a bat and fly out? But if they notice her escape, that could potentially put Bonnie in danger, and ugh, this was so much more complicated with someone else's safety on the line.

The muffled cries abruptly stopped. "Good, good, you'll need your rest," the voice murmured, and by the sounds of it, was moving away from the other captor. She felt a slight breeze drift past her and a moment later heard a door open and softly shut.

The room was silent, save for whoever had just been crying, now softly breathing. She tugged against the rope binding her hands and tapped into some demonic strength and ripped free. She pulled her blindfold up onto the top of her head and looked around, letting her eyes adjust to the dimly lit room. She figured if someone came back, she could just put her blindfold back on and hopefully be able to retie her ropes, knowing a thing or two about knots after one-thousand years of unlife. She floated over to two grates she found side by side at the top of the wall opposite of her and looked through as best as she could. She paused and realized she was staring at a field of grass. This room was underground. Just wonderful. 

She floated back down to the floor and turned to take a look at the other captor, who was huddled in a cocoon of blankets. She peered down and lifted one of the blankets. Oh my glob, she thought, it's Doctor Chienne, the group therapist. That was one person checked off her mental checklist. But what was she doing here? Marceline thought that these captures were only for couples - unless Doctor Chienne was having some hidden affair.

"Hey," Marceline hissed, pushing at Chienne, "wake up."

Chienne whimpered awake and pulled the blankets more tightly around herself.

"Hey, if you wanna get out, now's the time!" Marceline thought her skills of persuasion had dulled because Chienne just shook her head and miserably wiped her nose against a blanket. "Why don't you wanna leave? This place feels like an iceberg." She supposed if that was the biggest issue here then Chienne could've just used the blankets while getting out, but she needed some sort of reaction.

"Y-you just woke up, didn't you?" Chienne asked, shivering, pulling her blankets so tightly that only her eyes were visible.

"Yeah, it felt like ten seconds ago I was snoozing in my bed, and then I ended up here. Super weird."

"I was awake, the whole time they took me," Chienne muttered, "they-"

"Wait, hold on a sec, you saw who took you here?" Marceline interrupted, her mind spinning. She really wished she had Bonnie there with her, if anyone could figure out how to get out and defeat the mastermind, so to speak, it would be her.

"It was horrible, don't make me tell you what it looked like, I don't want to remember," she moaned, pressing a hand against her eyes, "And - and a man - I couldn't make out who it was," her eyes flitted down and she suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Wait, but why did they bring you here? I thought it was only people who were a part of a couple," Marceline asked, not being able to remember if Chienne ever mentioned a partner in their private sessions.

Chienne paled and was about to say something when the door creaked open and before Marceline could start fumbling back towards where she had originally been, she suddenly felt pinned to the ground. "It looks like someone still has a lot of energy," an oddly familiar voice said above her, and she felt something sharp pierce her left side. She hissed at the sudden pain and fought against the weight pinning her down, definitely not down with the idea of something being injected or taken out of her. Which is what she assumed was happening, considering the weirdly intense ache now blooming across her side.

"You're my most desired subject, so I try to do this as little as possible," the voice whispered into her ear, "you have so much potential for me that it hurts me almost as much as it hurts you to have to do this to you." She heard Chienne nearby yelling something but found herself frustratingly ready to take a snooze, and couldn't find the energy to make out what she was saying.

xx

When Marceline woke up, she was alone, unchained, and worryingly accompanied only by the pile of blankets Chienne had been occupying. She sighed and fiddled with one of her untied laces. Her only hope of backup had fled unless Bonnie got here seriously soon. Dismally, she thought it sounded like there was at least a rat or bug or something in here to keep her company, judging by the scuttling sound above her head.

She looked up, kind of hoping she could see where the thing making that noise was despite the almost overwhelming darkness and winced when she felt something wet and warm splat onto her face. "Ew. What. the. hell." Did she seriously just get pooped on? "C'mon down here you stupid rat, I'll fight you one on one!"

To her surprise, she heard it wheeze and rapidly crawl down towards her. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise and quickly pushed herself away from the wall, frantically trying to make herself stand as it scuttled onto the floor and she realized she majorly miscalculated - this was clearly much bigger than some stupid rat. Although she was definitely not forgetting that she just got pooped or spit on by some thing just chilling right above her head.

"Vampire Queen," it hissed, tugging on her ankle just as she was standing up, ungracefully toppling her over.

"Let go of me!" She hissed back, kicking at whatever it was that was holding her, feeling deep pleasure when she felt herself kick something that felt suspiciously like a face.

"It is time," it said, loosening its grip momentarily so she was able to escape what felt like halfway across the room before it finished speaking, "come with me."

That really didn't sound promising. Unless it was dinner time, she wasn't interested. Well, she thought, maybe it's dinner time for whoever captured you. She wasn't particularly interested in that either. "Ah, no thanks," she said, laughing nervously, "I'm kinda allergic to - to leaving this room! So, like, don't even worry about me, I'll be totally chill here."

She hadn't heard anything the entire time she had been talking, and just as she thought maybe it was considering what she said, she felt it grab onto her ankles again and dig its nails into her.

"We are leaving," it grated out, and before she could get another word in, she felt something jab at her lower right calf and she felt herself losing consciousness again. For someone who didn't need to sleep, she thought this might've been more sleep than she's ever had in her life, and just below that level of conscious awareness or thought, she deeply felt; I hope Bonnie's okay. 

A/N

HEY okay like almost three months since I last updated. A bit of improvement since last time, when it took me nine months. ALSO, all of your comments are so kind and uplifting and even if I don't reply I promise you I have read literally every comment on this story, probably multiple times. They mean so much to me, and I am grateful to you all who comment/vote/or even lurk!! 

Anyways, recently I've really been into the new Dark Crystal series (tbh I've loved the movie since I was like seven, but the Age of Resistance series is seriously something). Have any of you guys watched it?? If so, please comment your fave (if you want) - I love all of them, but especially Deet, Rian, and of course, Hup. Hup is king (in my heart).