So yeah, here I am, having a go at writing a few Adventure Time one-shots.~ I hope you enjoy what I've written so far! I'll admit that I'm not all that experienced in writing one-shots and I tend to get a bit carried away when it comes to length (so far I haven't been able to write anything under 5,000 words), so constructive criticism is welcome. I'll update whenever I get a new idea, but I will also respond to requests - that includes requests for continuing existing stories, particular AUs, love triangles, et cetera. So long as the central pairing is either Bubbline or Gumlee.

Ratings will vary. Warnings will be given in the summaries before each individual story.

And that's about it! Enjoy the two stories I've currently written, and feedback, as always, is much welcome.~

Silent Heart

Universe: A steampunk AU, set specifically within the city of Ooo. (Bubblegum is also human in this AU.)

Pairing: Bubbline

Words: 5,198

Rating: T for slight angst and some graphic imagery.

Summary: Professor Bonnibel Bubblegum of the University of Ooo, an accomplished scientist, was always far too focused on her work to take any notice of the strange rumours circulating the city. But when she hears that a rare and coveted ingredient can be found deep in the bowels of the city's sewers, potentially amongst an unidentified deadly creature, Bubblegum decides to investigate. But in doing so, she meets someone whom she is unlikely to ever forget.

A pungent, colourful cocktail of whirling and billowing gases streamed from the matrix of beakers and boiling tubes that weaved its way around the laboratory, the vapour obscuring much of the room under a sulphurous veil. Professor Bonnibel Bubblegum adjusted her brass-rimmed goggles on the bridge of her nose as she carefully measured out drops of a purplish compound into a vial of water, before stepping back and rapidly scrawling down her immediate observations. A mini-mushroom cloud of lilac gas spewed from the mouth of the vial, diffusing into the chemical cloud that permeated the area.

Bubblegum brushed off a layer of sweat forming beneath her magenta fringe, exhaling lightly as she did so. The scientist chewed thoughtfully on the end of her fountain pen as she pored over her experimental results.

"Hmm… Combining the powdered quezlcoatl fang with phoenix ash solution and pure calcium sulphide yielded very promising results… only…" She sighed, violet eyes panning the apparatus in front of her. Many of the reactions were still going at full pelt. "I've tried over one hundred different compounds, but none of the results have been exactly the same as before…"

A sudden knock on the oaken door of the laboratory interrupted Bubblegum's train of thought. "Professor Bubblegum?" called the familiar voice of her assistant through the wooden portal.

"Oh," Bubblegum murmured as she strode over to twist the door handle open, revealing the vaguely circular form of a large white peppermint that sported four limbs and a face. Crimson triangles ringed the edge of the technician's face, from which impassive dark eyes gazed patiently at her. The technician's body was swathed in a stained lab coat, permanently dyed by exposure to chemicals and other fluids in much the same fashion as the professor's own. The whitish garment barely allowed enough room for the anthropomorphic peppermint's stubby arms and legs to manoeuvre. "It's you. Peppermint Technician."

"Yes," Peppermint Technician answered, proffering a patterned china plate laden with an assortment of biscuits. "It's lunchtime, so I decided to bring you a snack. Have you come any closer to recreating your cure-all formula yet?"

The question caused the professor to emit a deep sigh. "Well… I fear it may be impossible. There is one promising candidate, but... It's too soon to say, really. I'm going to have to test it on a variety of different ailments before I can be positive."

"Of course," replied the technician, gesturing towards the plate he held. "Are you sure that you don't want to have a cup of tea and a biscuit, professor?"

"No, thank you. I'm much too busy to take a break now… Though I appreciate your concern." She smiled fondly down at her assistant – her creation, the organism that she had brought to life with her own two hands, using only a box of peppermints, an electrical generator and the unique animation formula she had developed. Bubblegum recalled that event as her most successful experiment yet. After all, it had resulted in producing something – or rather, someone – who was capable of far more than she had previously conceived. Especially considering almost all of Peppermint Technician's biomass was formed from solid peppermint.

Said technician inclined his head rather grandly. "You are very welcome, professor."

The pink-haired scientist almost chuckled at that point. She found it rather touching to see how effortlessly loyal her assistant was to her own self – willing to go above and beyond to make her life easier and more comfortable. Although he had a tendency to disappear seemingly into the ether at random intervals, he also somehow managed to rematerialise right at the moment when Bubblegum needed him most. She had no clue where he spent the brief intervals in which he appeared to vanish without a trace, but it intrigued her greatly. Peppermint Technician often returned from his mysterious destination with a rare material or specimen – once he had even brought back the venom of a legendary sand demon, which supposedly only dwelled within the fabled parallel realm of the Nightosphere.

Bubblegum turned around to face the steamy interior of her laboratory once again, half-expecting Peppermint Technician to have already departed, off on another of his "outings", in the few seconds it took her to glance back over her shoulder. But her fellow scientist still lingered; his ebony eyes, as inscrutable as dark shrouds, remained fastened to her own.

"Is there anything else?" the professor inquired.

"Nothing major," the technician reassured her. "Though it may prove useful." He cautiously entered the steamy chamber, relocating his own protective goggles over his eyes as he did so. "The original serum used manticore saliva extract as its active agent, right, Professor?"

"That's right," Bubblegum confirmed, leaning in eagerly. "Did you manage to find some more?"

"No, but…" The peppermint's features formed a tight grimace. "Surely you've heard the rumours… concerning the sewers beneath the city?"

"No, I haven't, actually," Bubblegum admitted. If the truth be told, the professor rarely left the university building, and so was blissfully unaware of any strange conspiracies or theories cooked up by the many superstitious citizens of Ooo. She was usually far too absorbed in her research to take any interest in any obscure rumour circulating the city. But if there was any possibility, any chance at all that she could get her hands on some manticore saliva…

"But what is it about these sewers, Peppermint Technician? Have you heard about any manticores living down there?"

"I have." This confirmation should have filled the professor with ecstasy and delight that she might finally have another chance to perfect her omnipotent medical formula, but any such exuberance was utterly destroyed the moment she locked eyes with her technician. His dark peppermint irises contained a foreboding tenebrosity. It was an expression of warning; of dread so profound that even the fearlessly logical mind of the scientist was defeated by fear. "But the other rumour that I heard didn't have anything to do with the manticores. Apparently, there's also something living down in those sewers that is far, far more dangerous than any manticore. Even I would never dare to enter those tunnels alone, just in case the rumour is true…"

Part of Bubblegum's mind simply wanted to defenestrate this unproven statement, but another part urged caution. If even her technician, who had never shown fear at conducting the most dangerous of experiments, was showing apprehension, then clearly this was something she had to take seriously. "But what… what is the rumour exactly?"

"It varies, if truth be told." Peppermint Technician's circular frame blurred momentarily as he paced through a wall of viridian mist. "You know how it is. Everyone who's seen it tells the story slightly differently. But I don't get the impression that they're just making it up." As he re-emerged, he pivoted on his heel and began pacing in the other direction. "The one thing that all these recounts have in common is that the victims of an unidentified serial killer have been found with two identical bite-marks on their necks, oozing blood, with dried and shrivelled-up bodies… like white prunes, as though something had sucked them completely of their colour." The technician abruptly stopped in his pacing, his back facing the professor. "Some have even claimed to have seen the killer first-hand. Like I said, the descriptions vary. I've heard tales of a huge furry beast with leathery wings, a ghost with wild black hair concealing its features… even an invisible demon. There have been reports of the creature flying and displaying supernatural strength. But every single sighting of this monster occurred mere metres away from a sewer manhole. Every single time. Some are even positive that they saw it emerge from the sewers."

"Hmmm." Bubblegum's face displayed nothing but quiet fascination with perhaps a tinge of apprehension, though she was quite a bit more disturbed by this rumour than she let on.

"Of course, I'm not going to stop you," Peppermint Technician continued as he turned back around to face his creator. "It's not my place. But if you do intend to study this creature, I warn you that it might be more than you can handle…"

Bubblegum nodded slowly. "I see. I'll be sure to take all the equipment necessary. Thank you anyway, Peppermint Technician."

The peppermint's smile was rather grim. "Well, good luck. I think you might need it, even if the rumour isn't true. In the meantime…" The technician glanced over his shoulder, gesturing at the plethora of reaction apparatus set up around the room. Most of the reactions had now petered out. "Would you like me to clean this up for you?"

"Oh, yes," Bubblegum replied, hastily handing over her clipboard. "Also, make sure that you table these results for future reference."

And with that, she dashed out of the laboratory and into the oak-panelled corridor beyond, barely noticing the familiar portraits of deceased professors that adorned the walls. Adrenalin filled her veins and anticipation filled her body. For not only now was the chance to gather the vital ingredient for her serum, but also for something that she had not been able to do in a long time… fieldwork.

Perhaps this particular subject was a mere rumour. Perhaps it was deadly, and perhaps she was better off not studying it at all. But the intrigue had gripped her.

And there was nothing that could possibly stop her.

Distorted light shimmered on the surface of obsidian-textured water as Bubblegum navigated the brick-lined tunnel, panning her head in a wide arc as she paced along the walkway. As she did so, the lamp fitted to her helmet illuminated the shadows, revealing islands of waste and detritus that bobbed like toxic buoys on the water; mottled grey sludge, barrels bleeding rust-coloured liquid, and other things that were perhaps best left undescribed.

There was no contest as to the worst aspect of Ooo's sewers, however; as with almost every sewer in the known world, it was the stench that was the true problem. The odour was a foul mixture of human and animal waste, with sharp, acidic notes of diluted chemical vapours. Bubblegum now sincerely regretted the decision she had made not to take her specially modified gas mask – she had initially thought that the restricted vision of the mask would be a disadvantage when hunting for manticores and possibly other unknown creatures. But so far, neither of those two things were to be found.

Inhaling a gulp of putrid air, the professor unfolded a detailed map titled "The Sewers of the City of Ooo" in elaborate lettering. The map placed her at a junction just to the west of the city centre, several miles south of her entrance point at the university. Turning left at the junction ahead would lead her to the grand central chamber of the network; or the beating heart of the sewer, as some liked to call it. A wide room, as perfectly round as a penny, containing an elaborate matrix of pipes and a gigantic water pump. Bubblegum had only been there once before whilst investigating an infestation of plumbumliads – tiny pests that fed on a diet entirely composed of lead. But if the manticores that she had heard of did indeed roam these sewers, it was likely that at least some of them would have found their way to the chamber ahead.

Bubblegum's gloved fingers twitched in anticipation as she turned the corner. She began to fiddle with the cork stopper of her collection beaker as she approached, gradually nearing the steel door ahead that connected to the central chamber. A gargantuan wall of black water cascaded from above, joining the stream of refuse adjacent to the door.

For a moment, the unrelenting storm of the waterfall and the scientist's soft breathing were the only audible sounds within the tunnel.

But then, a disturbance rippled through water and air alike in the form of an unmistakeable splashing sound. Bubblegum hastily whipped around, one hand clutching a syringe loaded with sedative, ready to strike. But whatever had made the splashing had vanished into the depths, leaving only a few concentric ripples across the surface of the water to mark its passing.

The scientist's body tensed. She continued on her previous path, albeit cautiously – every step was measured and calculated, every glance full of doubt and suspicion.

When she reached the door at long last, she gripped the partially rusted handle and twisted firmly.

The door swung open with a mournful creak, as though it were lamenting the current condition of the sewers in an echoing elegy that was painful and almost haunting to hear.

The chamber beyond was engulfed almost entirely in darkness. Only the vaguest outlines of the haphazard pipes overhead and the behemoth water pump were visible. Bubblegum's headlamp meant that she could only clearly see a few paces in front of her.

A couple of steps forward and the professor's face collided with a curtain of slimy weed that dangled over the side of a flaking pipe. As she disentangled herself from the offending plant, she saw that the leaves and stem were coloured an unnatural bright scarlet hue. The slimy substance it secreted was azure; a colour that reminded Bubblegum of pure copper sulphide solution.

"Hydronicus scarletta," the professor whispered. Her voice ricocheted off the nearby pipes, resulting in an endless reverberation that filled the entire chamber. Ignoring the insistent echo, Bubblegum focused on the fact that the discovery of a specimen like this was a good sign. After all, manticores had sometimes been known to eat scarletta plants when other types of food were scarce.

A sudden metallic clang sounded directly above, instantly alerting the scientist. Bubblegum braced herself, this time unhooking the syringe from her belt. Perhaps this was the moment she had been waiting for. She pivoted in a full circle, keeping her eyes trained on the pipes overhead as the small circle of light cast by her headlamp illuminated each area in turn.

She waited patiently but restlessly, unmoving yet trembling from the vibrations caused by her hammering heart. The minutes melted into the surrounding darkness. But there was nothing.

A sudden black streak. A pain in the back of her head. An abrupt descent into oblivion.

These three events occurred so quickly and in such rapid succession, the sharp mind of Professor Bonnibel Bubblegum was at a loss to notice them, let alone comprehend them.

She felt herself crumple to the cold ceramic floor.

After that, she felt nothing.

Her senses were returned to her one by one.

Firstly, scent assaulted her nostrils; the pungent stench of the contaminated sewer water, but also with an underlying hint of something perhaps a little more pleasant. Bubblegum's newly awakened mind could not yet find the words to properly describe the scent, but it was a substantial, musky odour; somehow it just made her feel warm and comfortable.

The scientist felt soft and tickly strands of fur beneath her cheek. For a moment she was almost certain that she was leaning against the hide of some sort of animal, but dismissed the idea once she found she could not detect the distinctive thud of a beating pulse from within. She also became aware of an incessant throb near the back of her head; the bruise left by the head injury that caused her to fall unconscious. However, as far as Bubblegum knew, that was the extent of the damage.

Her amethystine eyes opened slowly and painfully. An incomprehensible blur was all she could see until she had managed to blink away the sticky film coating her cornea. Her sight confirmed what she had initially suspected; she was curled in a foetal position on a fluffy, albeit horrendously stained and battered, rug that was strewn across the brick floor of the sewer. From what she could see in the negligible illumination cast from a small drainage grate in the ceiling overhead, she was still in the central chamber. The rusty pipes criss-crossing above were unmistakeable.

Bubblegum's tongue detected the faint ferrous tang of haemoglobin, but she did not appear to be bleeding elsewhere. Her throat was constricted and dry, positively crying out for a drink – but unfortunately for the professor, not a drop of safe, edible water was in sight.

Finally, sound returned to the world as Bubblegum's senses ascended into full wakefulness. The ceaseless sound of running water practically surrounded her, flowing through the monstrous pump before being redirected through an elaborate, although decrepit, system of waterways. The beating heart of the city of Ooo.

However, it was not the only sound the scientist could hear.

A loud and rather distasteful slurping noise emanated from a point not three metres away. As Bubblegum swivelled her eyes in the direction of the noise, her gaze settled on a woman who could not have been much older than twenty, floating lackadaisically above the water, as though settled on a cushion of air. Thick black hair sprouted from her scalp, forming tangled and messy strands that reached down to the small of her back. Her ebony clothes were little more than rags; her ripped trousers ended just below the knee, exposing pale legs and bare feet. Her shirt and jacket were in a similar condition, peppered with holes and slash marks, the black fabric fraying at the hem. It was difficult to see her face, since she was out of the direct range of the light streaming in from above, but she seemed to be clutching a clump of the scarletta weed in her hand, and was… eating it? No, not quite. As Bubblegum's eyes adjusted further to the darkness, she could see that was not the case.

An elongated canine had sunk into the scarlet weed, and as the woman slurped, more and more of the weed's claret hue disappeared, until the entire plant was bone-white but for the bluish liquid it secreted. As soon as the scarletta had been reduced of its redness, the black-haired woman tossed the plant over her shoulder, for it to fall with a splash into the water.

Bubblegum felt the hairs on her arms jump upward as though electrostatically charged. In that instant, she recalled what Peppermint Technician had said to her: "As though something had sucked them completely of their colour…"

Could this really be it? Could that woman really be the terrifying killer she had heard so much about?

The professor made a rapid grab for her sedative syringe, only for her fingers to close on empty air.

"Oh, Glob," she breathed. But as the memories returned, she realised that it made sense. After being attacked, she would've been stripped of all her technology and weaponry – even her goggles and collection beaker had disappeared. Whoever her captor was, she clearly didn't approve of scientific equipment and apparatus.

The floating woman turned her face in the scientist's direction, having heard Bubblegum's muttered curse. Eyes of a dark crimson that seemed to glow like molten lava in the darkness met with the professor's own. The indirect light outlined sharply pointed ears and thin, angular features. As she casually approached the place where Bubblegum lay, the scientist noticed that she carefully avoided the bars of sunlight that blazed in from above.

"So you're finally awake, huh?" the crimson-eyed woman observed as she floated almost directly above Bubblegum's body. The claret irises contained intrigue, although there was also a hint of ravenous desire there; she regarded Bubblegum as though she were an oddly shaped or curiously coloured joint of meat, but still a joint of meat none the less. Her elongated canines glinted dangerously in the meagre light. "Well, good morning."

Bubblegum tried to ignore the aching sensation in the back of her head as she awkwardly sat up. "I… I suppose that means I slept all night."

"You did," the other woman confirmed, absently scratching the back of her ear. "After I knocked you out, I injected you with some of that sedative stuff you were carrying for good measure."

"Oh. Right. I see…" Despite her internal panic, Bubblegum did her utmost to remain calm and courteous on the outside. "So… who are you, exactly? My name is Professor Bonnibel Bubblegum, but you can call me Bonnibel if you prefer." She smiled as genially as she could under the circumstances.

The other girl's dark eyebrows rose. "So you're willing to go on first name terms with someone you've just met? Glob, you surface people can be so weird sometimes." She shrugged. "Well, whatever. My name's Marceline. Marceline Abadeer. I don't care what you call me. Chances are that I've already been called it anyway."

"So…" Bubblegum made a wide gesture with both arms, to indicate the entire chamber. "Do you live here? In the sewers?"

"Yeah. Home sweet home." Marceline's voice had a sharp, underlying note of bitterness to it. She floated right over Bubblegum's head before continuing, causing the scientist to twist her body around in order to follow her movements. "And this is my pad, right here."

Marceline's "pad" consisted only of the rug that Bubblegum sat on, a battered pink soft toy with the fabric of its head and arms stitched together like patchwork, a dark umbrella and a large acoustic guitar fitted with steel strings. The latter was painted a violent red hue similar to Marceline's irises, and the headstock was fashioned in the shape of a skull, with bony tuning forks protruding from the instrument. The dark-haired woman hefted the guitar onto her knees and strummed the metal strings whilst still floating. The bright, clear sound vibrated throughout the entire room, echoing gradually into emptiness.

"Yep, it's just me, my guitar, and Hambo. There used to be a group of manticores in here, too. But they cleared out a few weeks ago."

Bubblegum blinked at that revelation, remembering her original goal. "You know where the manticores can be found?" she asked eagerly.

"Nah. They used to be here, though." She struck a chord on her guitar, once again causing the sound to reverberate through the area.

"Oh." To Bubblegum's surprise, her tone didn't sound very disappointed. But then, why would it be? She may have lost the manticores, but instead she had landed herself with a rare and very intriguing specimen. A very potentially dangerous specimen, but still…

"Hmm… You know, I was wondering… just how, exactly, do you do that?" she asked, her eyes shining with fascination.

"Huh?" Marceline muttered, looking up from her instrument. "You mean… this guitar…?"

"Oh, no, no," clarified Bubblegum. "I was referring to your ability to float. Is it natural? Is it the result of a genetic mutation? Are you perhaps using some sort of magnetic field or electrostatic charge to levitate off the ground?"

Silence ensued between the two women. For several seconds, Marceline simply stared at Bubblegum as though she had suggested something completely ridiculous. Then she threw back her head and howled with laughter – so shrilly that the scientist before her flinched.

"Hah hah! You surface people are nuts! Heh heh…" The noirette shook her head. "I don't really know, to be honest. I've had this ability since I died. I've just accepted it since then."

It was Bubblegum's turn to stare silently at Marceline, and she did so with an expression of utter incredulity plastered on her face. "What… what do you mean… you don't know?! You just accepted it like it was nothing?!" She sighed. "Well, that mystery has just made me even more intrigued to find out…" Her fingers itched. She wished she still had her syringe of sedative so she could tranquilise and dissect this woman on the spot. She desperately wanted to know just what was going on in there…

Marceline smirked. "And here I thought you'd be worried about the fact that I just told you I'm dead."

"Yes, that's quite strange, too…" Bubblegum mused. "Clearly, your neurons are still firing and your muscles can contract… so how exactly are you dead?"

"Well… for starters, I'm a vampire." Her scarlet eyes met with the professor's, as though expecting another outburst, but she continued without interruption. "I can float. I can morph into a huge bat-like creature. I'm impervious to almost anything you can throw at me. Swords, poison, bullets, whatever. I've been alive – well, undead – for almost a thousand years. I've seen hundreds of lifetimes come and go…" As Marceline pronounced the last word, she abruptly vanished. "Oh, and I can turn invisible as well." The vampire re-materialised inches from Bubblegum's face, hanging upside-down as though suspended from a trapeze rope.

The scientist merely blinked in response. Her heart thudded even faster – now not just from fear, but from excitement. This moment felt truly special – as though she were the first to make direct contact with a living, or rather, undead vampire.

"There are disadvantages," Marceline continued. "I can't go directly into the sunlight, or I'll burn up and get blisters all over my body. I can only eat the colour red. Literally, just the colour –"

"How does it taste?" Bubblegum interrupted. "And for that matter, how does that even work?"

"You ask a lot of weird questions," replied Marceline.

"Well, I'm a scientist." Bubblegum grinned. "It's kind of my job."

Marceline flipped her body around so she now floated right-side up. "Well, then. Aren't you wondering why I live down here, in the sewers, rather than up top in that fancy city of yours? Aren't you curious as to why I haven't decided to eat you yet?"

Bubblegum's grin melted into a serious expression. It was true. The vampire could've taken any opportunity in their conversation so far to suck her dry of all colour. But so far, she hadn't even come close. However, the professor decided to answer Marceline's questions with one of her own.

"To what extent would you say the rumours are true?"

"Hm?" The crimson-eyed vampire looked puzzled for a moment, but upon realising what the other woman was referring to, she burst into peals of sarcastic laughter. "Oh, those rumours! Tell me, what are they saying about me? Actually, no, don't. I know the gist of it already. They think I'm a monster." The word echoed around the spacious chamber, reflecting off the walls, as though the entire sewer was in agreement with the people of the city; that Marceline Abadeer was, in fact, a monster.

"But they don't know me. I never chose to live like this. It's not my fault that I can only eat the colour red. It's not my fault that everyone just shuns me, abandons me, just because of the way I am! It's not my fault that I have to kill so many people just to stay alive. There's a limited supply of red around, and I need enough to nourish me!" Marceline was practically screaming at this point. Anger pulsated in her red irises, along with a malevolent desire for destruction, directed primarily at Bubblegum. "And the only reason I haven't eaten you yet…" She broke off, hesitating, as she struggled to continue.

The lack of words caused her anger to seep right out of her, and she gradually descended from her lofty perch until she settled on the rug, directly opposite Bubblegum, her guitar still balanced across her thighs. "It's… it's complicated…" She looked down momentarily, her long obsidian hair concealing her features from view. "I wanted… I needed… someone to talk to. When I first saw you, scuttling along in the sewers by yourself, I thought at first that you were some moron who had come down here hoping to prove that I didn't exist, or something. But… that's not why you're here. You're… interesting, I guess. And, well, I can't remember the last time I saw someone as cute as you walk into the sewers."

For a second, Bubblegum wondered if she had heard right. "Cu-cute?"

"Well, yeah. You've got a bit of a pretty-princess look about you. It's not something I usually dig, but…"

"I'm a professor, actually," Bubblegum interjected gently.

"Fine. Pretty-professor look, then. Whatever." Marceline's gaze bored into the twin amethysts of the other girl. "And don't get me wrong… that pink hair of yours looks delicious. Maybe I'll have it for dessert."

The vampire was now a bit too close for comfort. Bubblegum attempted to edge away, but Marceline clamped a hand on her shoulder, restricting her movement. The scientist rapidly searched for something, anything to say that would distract from the awkwardness of the situation. "Uh, so… what's it like… being immortal?"

Marceline scoffed. "Not as good as you think. Just imagine this, Bonnie: imagine all your friends, family, loved ones… your best friends, your parents, children… imagine watching them all grow up while you stayed young forever. Imagine losing them, one after another, until there's no-one left. And then you're somewhere close to my situation. But you're still not quite there. Because you won't ever experience that feeling.

"It's wrong. It's unnatural. Everything just becomes meaningless. So what if you love someone? It'll only be about fifty or sixty years, at most, before they die. Sometimes I wonder if there's any point at all…"

"Is there a point in anything, Marceline?" Bubblegum asked. The name sounded strange on her lips, but she continued without hesitation. "Eventually my own legacy as a scientist will die. All my work will be lost, turned to ashes. There will only be a few who will still remember my name. But that doesn't matter to me. You-"

"You've got to live in the present, enjoy it while it lasts, yeah, I get it." Marceline made a face. "But do you not think that I didn't try to make the most of things? It doesn't work. I'm stuck in an endless cycle, forever and constantly. It just won't get better for me. Every time I try to use that sort of philosophy, I'll just be brought down again in the end." She paused. "You should try it, Bonnibel. Being undead. I don't even have a heartbeat. Feel it."

Before Bubblegum could protest, Marceline grabbed her arm by the wrist and guided it to the centre of her chest. The professor's face flushed at the contact. But her words held true. Nothing could be heard from the silent void that was Marceline's chest. It was… empty. The vampire was, quite literally, a heartless being.

Marceline took the professor's pink face in her pale hands. "I'll show you what it's like… and you can experience it…" Her left hand travelled down to the lapel of Bubblegum's jacket, pulling the fabric away to fully expose the scientist's neck. "Forever."

Before Bubblegum fully realised what Marceline was about to do, before she could utter any words of protest, before she could even think of doing such a thing – the vampire's fangs had pierced her carotid artery. A millisecond before she even knew it, she was dying… undying.

Oddly, she felt no pain. Only the sensation that she and Marceline were becoming conjoined… as though merging together, becoming one entity, their bodies, their genes, their very atoms intermingling and intertwining with one another.

Forever.