•Marshall•

The days following Dominick and I's official make up were good. Things were no longer awkward or tense, and Dominick and I are on good terms again. He stopped flirting with Fionna, which I'm intensely grateful for. Of course, he won't stop checking her out when she's not looking, but that one I can't blame him for; he's simply seeing what I see in Fionna. Besides, tons of guys check her out every day, and if I decided to take down each and every one of them, it'd take me years and would be a huge waste of my time and energy.

Fionna and I made up, of course, and we, like Dominick and I, are on good terms.

Eventually we all got back into our normal schedules, having officially gotten used to having Dominick here every day with us.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months and before anyone knew it, spring was ending and summer was quickly approaching.

After everyone made up, spring seemed to pass by in a quick blur. Things went smoothly and everyone was happy, so I guess time flew because we simply didn't notice.

We won't notice anything else for awhile now either, because it is now the end of the month of May and a special event is about to take place, an event that occurs every year at the end of May. Not only are we getting out of school a week from now to start summer vacation, but something almost more exciting than summer is approaching.

Ooo's Annual Card Wars Tournament.

All around Ooo, the Card Wars Tournament is a very big deal, mainly because the game Card Wars dates back to right after the Great Mushroom War ended. In an attempt to cheer everyone up, people started playing a game with cards and a special board, and it eventually became extremely popular and everyone started playing it. Thus, it became known as Card Wars and is now played by pretty much everybody.

It became so popular that it even reached places like the Nightosphere and the Fire Kingdom, so as I previously mentioned, pretty much everybody plays Card Wars or, at the very least, knows the rules and how it works.

If you haven't heard of Card Wars, you've basically been living under a rock your entire life.

Card Wars is an extremely competitive and enjoyable game. Some people really get into it and practice pretty much every day to prepare for the Tournament, no matter how far away it might be. The Card Wars Tournament happens every May year round and a lot of people trip all over themselves to try and get tickets to participate.

Usually, my friends and I are able to get tickets. Each of us are pretty good. But I, not to brag, am somewhat of an expert.

I currently have tons of Card Wars Tournament trophies stashed at Marceline and I's cave. I've won many tournaments, because I practiced a lot and was exposed to the game following the end of the Great Mushroom War.

Dominick is decent at the game himself, but he doesn't enjoy it as much as I do. We used to play together some times on occasion, but most of the time neither of us really felt like it.

Now, however, both Dominick and I (including our friends) are currently camped outside the Card Wars Expo Center, waiting for it to open up so we can all immediately dash inside and get our hands on some tickets.

Each year my friends and I do this; we camp out in front of the Expo Center at night, the very day before the tickets are to be sold, and we wait patiently (or as patiently as we can) until the Expo Center opens.

Of course, we're not the only ones who do this.

Usually, the line of people waiting for the Expo Center to open wraps all the way around the entire building and continues for awhile.

The night before the Expo Center begins selling the Card Wars Tournament tickets, pretty much all the citizens of Ooo come here with their sleeping bags, tents, midnight snacks, and other personal night belongings to take up residence right outside the Expo Center for the night where they would wait until morning when the Expo Center opened and officially began selling the tickets.

There are only one hundred and fifty tickets being sold, and therefore only one hundred and fifty people can compete in the Card Wars Tournament. However, there are way more than one hundred and fifty people in Ooo, so everyone is always scrambling to get a ticket before they all run out. It's like this every year.

When Card Wars Tournament tickets are concerned, people can be pretty cutthroat. I once had an old lady almost beat me to unconsciousness with her purse. Sure, she was a frail old lady, but apparently, when Card Wars is involved, grandma's pretty fierce.

Usually, though, we're successful at getting ahold of enough tickets.

So, here we all are, two people in a tent each, waiting patiently until the Expo Center opens and we can race inside.

Every year we make sure to be near the front of the line so we can be inside first, which is where we're camped out at now.

"So," Fionna says, adjusting her cards on her side of the board we brought to practice our Card Wars skills, "who do you think will take home the trophy this year? I really hope it won't be the same person who took it home last year... and the year before that..."

I nod. "Yeah, I hope so too," I say in agreement. For the past two years in a row, Flame Prince has taken home the Card Wars Tournament trophy. I swear, he cheats somehow! "And, as for who might win it this year... I have a good shot." I smirk and brush imaginary dust off the sleeves of my jacket. I have tons of Card Wars trophies; who says I can't win another?

Fionna chuckles. "Of course, Marshall, of course."

"Still, all I really care about is Flame Prince not winning. At this point it's annoying," I say, rolling my eyes and shaking my head.

Fionna raises an eyebrow at me. "You don't think it was annoying when you kept winning year after year?" she questions.

I chuckle and give her a look in return. "Touché," I say, a smirk on my face.

We play the game until Fionna ends up beating me. To be honest, I knew it was over for me a few cards ago. I just wanted to go down fighting, at least.

Fionna pumps her fist in the air. "Whoop! I win!" she cheers, victorious.

"Well," I say, trying to save what's left of my ego, "I went easy on you. You're lucky for now; it won't be that way during the Tournament, so don't get used to it."

"Spare me. Plus, I'm not sure we'll get tickets this year," Fionna says before she opens the flap of our tent slightly and we both peek outside before she closes it. "There seem to be a lot more people going for it this year."

I shake my head and give my girlfriend a reassuring smile. "It seems that way every year, and every year we manage to get tickets. It won't be any different this year, I'm sure. Don't worry," I say, because I am sure.

I mean, why would this year be any different from years before?

——————————

I sleep with Fionna nuzzled against my side, her head gently tucked in the crook of my neck, my arm wrapped securely around her side, laying against her stomach.

We sleep peacefully, all the other tents around us quiet, their inhabitants seemingly asleep as well.

All is peaceful and quiet.

Until it suddenly isn't.

Out of nowhere, the opening of our tent is unzipped and ripped open, sunlight now falling through the opening.

I instantly feel it against me, singeing and burning my skin.

My eyes immediately pop open and I hiss in pain, scrambling to find my umbrella to protect myself. Then the sunlight burns my eyes as well, so I shut them, now having to feel around the tent for my umbrella.

Once I feel my fingers graze the handle of my umbrella, I grab it and quickly use it to shield myself, blocking out the harsh sun. As always, my umbrella does its job.

At all the commotion, Fionna is roused from her sleep and sits up in surprise. "W-What...?" she mumbles, only half-awake.

I glare at Jake, who is standing by our tent's opening. He smiles sheepishly.

"Dude! You can't just open a Vampire's tent when the sun is out! At least give me a warning...!" I complain, making sure to stay shielded from the sun.

"Sorry, bro! I forgot you're a Vampire for, like, a split second," Jake apologizes before he smiles. "But it's time to wake up! The Expo Center opens in five minutes!"

The second that sentence leaves his mouth, Fionna abandons her sleepy state and jumps up. "What?! Five minutes?! Why didn't you wake us up earlier?!" she gapes in shock.

Jake just shrugs. "I dunno."

Fionna rolls her eyes before she begins getting ready. "Whatever! Let's just hurry or they'll open without us and before you know it, the tickets will be sold out!" she says as quickly as she works.

As Fionna gets ready, I stalk out of the tent and look around outside. With my umbrella raised above my head, I scan the line of tents alongside the Expo Center. Most are open with their owners out and roaming around near their spot in line, waiting anxiously for the Expo Center to open so they can immediately dash inside and get their hands on a ticket. The people that aren't roaming are probably in their tents, planning how they'll get in the Expo Center first and quickly snag a ticket.

As for me and my friends, we fall under the category of "roamers"; Marceline and Bubblegum are outside their tent as well, seeming as if they've been out awhile, Finn and Flame Princess are carefully watching the doors of the Expo Center, probably counting down the seconds until they'll open, of course Cake and Jake are out of their tent and were probably the first ones awake and out, and Breakfast Princess is out with them, because they had shared their tent with her. The only people that aren't out of their tents are Dominick and Gumball, who shared a tent as well.

I am standing right next to the Expo Center, waiting for the doors to open at any second when I hear a yawn and someone shuffle up next to me.

I turn to see it's Dominick. He has a tired look on his face and is barely keeping his eyes open. He lazily holds his umbrella up, just enough to barely keep the sunlight off himself.

"Morning," I greet him.

He grumbles incoherently.

All the years I've known Dominick, he has never been a morning person. Granted, he's a Vampire and all Vampires hate mornings, but he's a special case. For some reason, Dominick especially hates mornings. And being woke up, period. If he's taking a nap and you decide to wake him up and it's morning no less, you better be prepared that it'll probably be the last thing you ever do. Just saying.

"Ready for the Card Wars Tournament?" I ask him, trying to ease him into fully waking up.

This time, he actually speaks. "You know the Tournament isn't until two days after all the tickets are sold, like it has been every year. Also, you know I'm not participating," he points out, using his free hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Dominick's never believed he's good at Card Wars, mainly because every time we played I beat him, but I think he's a decent player. Now, is he decent enough to win the Card Wars Tournament? I don't know. Probably not, because there are a lot of very skilled Card Wars players who compete in the Tournament every year.

I correct myself. "I mean, are you ready to watch us play? I bet I'll take home another trophy this year," I say with a smug smile.

Dominick smiles back and playfully rolls his eyes. "Sure you will, Mars, sure you will."

I place my free hand on my hip in an overly-sassy gesture. "Don't act like I won't! I'm a champion. All these peasants ain't got nothing on me!" I say in a fake voice, causing Dominick to snort heartily.

"Whatever you say, pal," he says, chuckling.

And suddenly, the doors to the Expo Center are open.

Lumpy Space Prince, who works part time at the Expo Center and helps manage the Card Wars Tournament every year with his sister Lumpy Space Princess, floats right in front of the now opened doors, hands on his lumpy hips. "Okay, everyone, you know how this goes! Single file, in an orderly fashion--"

Chaos erupts. People immediately shove past and over each other, desperate to get inside before anyone else. Everyone in the crowd surges forward and practically throws themselves through the open doors and into the Expo Center. Lumpy Space Prince was almost certainly trampled half to death, and I feel sorry for him, but I keep moving forward anyway, as determined as anyone to get ahold of a ticket. Besides, this happens every year, so he and Lumpy Space Princess should be used to it by now.

Once everyone is past the doors and Lumpy Space Prince, they all file inside the Expo Center, filling the building and starting towards the stand where all the tickets are sold.

As always, it's right in the middle of the room, holding the promised one hundred and fifty tickets, Lumpy Space Princess manning the stand safely behind a counter that's always right next to it.

Before I or any one of my friends can even make a move to go for it, there are suddenly about fifty people in front of us, pushing and shoving their way forward.

There's no way we'll get to the tickets like this.

Without thinking twice, mainly because no one has a better idea, I turn into a bat and fly above the crowd.

Marceline and Dominick seem to catch on to what I am doing and turn into bats as well, flying up next to me.

Then, we all immediately fly downwards to the ticket stand.

A couple of people notice and shriek at the sight of three vampire bats dive-bombing out of nowhere. They don't run away screaming, though.

I guess the Card Wars Tournament is more important than three pesky bats that might or might not suck the blood out of you.

Meanwhile, Lumpy Space Princess has taken shelter behind the counter, watching everyone grab at the tickets like deranged animals.

My eyes widen, worried, as I notice tickets are already beginning to run out. It's now or never if we want some for ourselves.

So as Dominick, Marceline, and I fly over the stand, we each snatch up as many tickets as our little, now bat-sized mouths can hold.

In a matter of seconds, every single ticket from the stand is taken and money is practically being thrown at Lumpy Space Princess who, by the way, is still cowering behind the counter.

When we realize all the tickets are gone, Dominick, Marcy, and I fly back down and turn back into our normal selves, the tickets we took now clutched in our hands.

As the people that have gotten ahold of tickets exit the Expo Center, our friends bound up to us excitedly.

"How many did you guys get?" Finn questions us eagerly. He looks nervous as well.

The three of us show our tickets and begin counting.

Apparently, Marceline is a faster counter than Dominick and me, because seconds later she smiles and says, "Nine! We got nine tickets in total!"

We all let out victorious cheer and pump our fists in the air.

"Wait," Bubblegum suddenly says, cutting off our celebration. "If there's only nine tickets, then that means two of us can't participate; there aren't enough tickets for all of us."

Slowly, we all realize she's right. Two of us won't get to be in the Card Wars Tournament.

Dominick raises his hand. "I already wasn't going to participate, so that's one," he points out helpfully.

"Well, that still leaves one person who can't be in the Tournament..." Gumball grumbles.

We all go silent, staring at each other, none of us wanting to be that one unlucky person.

The silence continues until someone breaks it.

Namely Flame Princess, who gingerly holds a hand up. "I'll sit this one out, guys. It's okay. The rest of you can participate. I was never a big fan of Card Wars, anyway."

Finn gives her a look. "Are you sure, FP?" he asks her carefully.

Flame Princess shrugs. "It's alright, really. I don't care. I like watching you guys play Card Wars, and I'd much rather prefer to see you all happy," she says with a smile.

Fionna smiles back. "That's real sweet, FP. Thanks."

"So," Jake says happily, clapping his paws together, "that means everyone else gets to compete?"

"Yes, that means everyone else gets to compete. And I, for one, am glad," Gumball says in response before he smiles smugly. "I've been perfecting my Card Wars skills and I'm actually quite confident I have a shot at winning that trophy this year."

I clasp a hand on his shoulder. "You might, Gumball," I say, and he smiles wider before I continue. "That is, if I wasn't here."

Gumball's smile disappears and he narrows his eyes at me. "We'll see who's laughing, Marshall, after I take home this year's trophy!" he shoots back, looking smug again.

I give him a pat on the back. "Sure, Gumball, sure..." I say before Gumball glares again and rolls his eyes. He then swats my hand off his shoulder.

"What are we waiting around here for?!" Cake suddenly bursts out. "We all need to go home to practice our Card Wars skills! The Tournament is in two days, which means we only have forty-eight hours to practice!"

At that, we all scramble out the door after saying goodbye to Lumpy Space Prince and Lumpy Space Princess. Our tickets are clenched tightly in our hands so they won't fly out of our grasps or be taken from us. There have been cases where people stole other people's tickets so they could compete.

As we leave the grounds of the Expo Center, Gumball says to me, "Well. May the best man win tomorrow, Marshall."

I shoot him a smile. "Oh, I plan to."

Gumball just chuckles at that. "Good luck tomorrow. You'll need it," he says with a smirk.

I smirk back.

We'll see about that, Gummy.