"What are you doing, Marshall?" Gumball demanded, stepping into his friend's 'lair'.

"Planning world domination. Didn't Fionna tell you?"

"Yes, she did, which is why I'm here."

"Does she know you're such good friends with The Demon?" Marshall snorted.

Gumball frowned. "You don't know... hm. Yes, in a way, she does. Why do you hang out here anyway? It's a bunch of dirty tunnels."

"Yeah, here it's a bunch of dirty tunnels." Marshall scoffed. "I have an area where I change and stuff. It's nicer."

"...alright then. Stop stalling, you know why I'm here."

"You're here to scold me about my plot to take over the entire planet in an attempt to be a good villain for Fionna." Marshall said in a bored tone.

Gumball nodded. "Exactly."

"I'm still gonna do it."

"You know that she doesn't want this. What'll it prove, Marshall? Are you trying to impress her?"

"Clearly, you misunderstand."

"I don't know if I do. For all I know, this is to reinforce the idea that you are this all powerful, uncontrollable, wild mess."

"Hmmph. Maybe I am."

"I think you're more lonely than wild." Gumball commented. "And I think you know it too."

"I am not lonely!"

"You don't have any real friends. You have drinking buddies, but that's not the same thing, is it?" Gumball continued.

Marshall took a deep breath. "Did you just come here to tell me what I already know?"

"No. I came here to deter you. Because you know who does care about you? Fionna. And you know what this will do?"

Marshall didn't answer, though he glared at Gumball.

Gumball glared back. "It wasn't a rhetorical question, Marshall. You're about to throw away your entire relationship with her— for what, exactly?"

"World domination. Wasn't that clear?"

"You don't care about world domination. You don't even go to work. You're a trust fund baby." Gumball said disinterestedly.

"Maybe I got tired of being generalized for my financial support. Besides, I'll get a job when I'm out of college."

"Unless you take over the world." Gumball commented.

Marshall rolled his eyes. "Did you just come here to talk about my career?"

"No. What do you think will happen if you actually win? How do you think Fionna will feel about you? If you've suceeded in driving her away... what then? Will you... force her to stay by your side?"

"What?! No, Gumbutt!" Marshall growled. "Nothing like that! She goes her way, I go mine!"

"Thank God. But what if she dies during the war that will undoubtedly ensue from your actions?" Gumball pressed. "What if you die? What if you fail before you even get out of the state?"

"If I die, then it won't matter, will it?" Marshall snapped. "If I fail, so be it."

"And what about if Fionna dies?"

Marshall froze. "She won't. She can't. She was never... she just can't. She can't leave me like that!"

"Well, she's hardly going to sit at home and do nothing. But I'm more concerned about what you said earlier. Marshall... it wouldn't be okay if you died. Fionna would feel like you betrayed her, just like you would if she died. You matter."

"Not like her. Fionna is important, okay? And no matter what happens to me, she has to stay alive."

"Are you focused on protecting the girl, or on driving her a... oh." Gumball trailed off as Marshall leaned against the wall, his head in his hands.

"You think you're protecting her?" Gumball asked.

Marshall shook his head. "I'm protecting myself. That doesn't mean I want her hurt!"

"Explain what you think you're doing, then. If you're trying to break up with her, words usually suffice."

"For the moment, I'm trying to get as much time with her as I can."

"Forcing her to spend time with you won't keep her... hm. Why are you so self-destructive? Why don't you let people past your shell?"

"Because they'd hurt me, and I can't take anymore." Marshall hissed.

Gumball raised an eyebrow. "But Fionna's getting past your shell, isn't she? That's why you're so worried. If she ends up hurting you in the end..."

"I don't want to talk about that." Marshall said shortly.

Gumball sat down on a large rock. "Alright. So, why are you like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like this. People don't go out of their way not to form lasting relationships unless something is wrong, Marshall. Unless something happened to them."

"...when I was little, I was shut away, in the dark, because I was illegitimate. And half-human, so I'm mortal, and age like a human. My mother didn't care about me, she just left me to my own devices. My father was gone, I never knew him. I don't think I would have liked him. So, tired of the loneliness and the darkness and the abandonment, I ran away, to up here. And I met a human woman who took me in and treated me like a son, and I used to pretend that she was my real mother and I'd really just been given to the wrong family."

Marshall took a deep breath, before continuing. "But then... Mom showed up. Apparently, she thought I was kidnapped, I don't know. But it took her nearly a year to figure it out, and then she came up and she made the human woman go insane, before leaving me again. I had to watch as my foster mother slowly lost herself, and forgot me, and forgot everyone. So I was abandoned again. My mom eventually took me back down, but let me come up here for college, since that's what my dad wanted. And... apparently, if I choose to stay up here at the end of college, I never have to go back down there."

"What does this have to do with Fionna?"

"Don't you get it? Everyone always leaves me. Maybe I'm cursed or something, I don't know. But what I do know is, she's going to leave too, and I don't think I can handle that."

"Marshall, I don't think—"

"She will. And so, she has to go now, before it hurts me too badly."

Gumball was silent for a few minutes, before he said, "Thank you for being so open with me."

"You don't count for that, by the way. You won't go away, no matter what I do."

"I share the same sentiment. In any case, I can't dissuade you?"

Marshall scoffed, stretching out. "As if."

"...do I have your permission to share your story?"

Marshall hesitated, before shaking his head. "That's just between us. I don't want anyone's pity." He narrowed his eyes at Gumball. "Least of all, Fionna's."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey, Fionna. May I please speak with you in my office?" Gumball asked formally.

One of the nearby tour guides snickered, and Gumball shot him a glare.

"I promise that you're not getting fired." He continued to Fionna.

She looked apprehensive. "Okay... but I thought you wanted me to catalogue the Greek shipment that we're getting in..."

"Trust me, it can wait." Gumball pulled her into his office, before sitting down at his desk. Fionna hovered awkwardly by the door.

"Sit." He motioned to the chair across from his desk, and she sat down carefully. "What is this about?"

"Marshall Lee Abadeer. You can't walk out of his life, no matter what."

"What?" Fionna asked, caught off-guard.

"The man has severe trust issues, and he's just beginning to let you in. You can't walk away, unless he attacks you, outside of your duties as The Demon and the Shieldmaiden."

"Why is it so important that I do it?"

"Please. He... he needs your help."

"He's also threatening to take over the world." Fionna reminded him.

"But you like him." Gumball pointed out. "A lot."

"Look, I can't let myself be corrupted by him... I have a duty to the people..."

"The people won't care about your private life. Please, you just need to be there for him."

Fionna didn't answer, and Gumball sighed. "Let's talk about something else. Fionna, why did you become the Shieldmaiden?"

"When I was really little, there was this woman named Martine. Technically, she's my mom, but I haven't thought of her that way in years. And, one day, she just put me down in the middle of the street, and walked off. I was too little to do anything but sit and cry. Lucky for me, my mom and dad came along, and they brought me home to my sisters, and adopted me. They taught me that the greatest thing that I can ever be is a good person, and help people, so..."

"And the Shieldmaiden part?"

"I figured... it takes a superheroine to take down a supervillain, right? And Marshall's not just a normal burglar. And I guess I was still thinking about the Scandinavian exhibit because you had geeked out over it so much that day, so..."

"I don't 'geek out'. I was excited about our upcoming exhibit." Gumball said crisply, but he was smiling softly. "Anyway, it's time for both of us to return to work. And if anyone else asks... I was talking to you about the plans for the Scandinavian exhibit, okay?"

*Author's Note*

Yeah, I know that Hunson didn't make Simon go insane, the crown did.

But A) this was from Marshall's point of view. He would have assumed that it was his mother that did it. And B) it fits a lot better. Yes, I know Marceline wasn't found by Simon until much later. But this is a different timeline. Shush now.

Issue 2: I feel lazy naming Martine as such, but that is the most widely accepted feminization of Martin around.