A/N: Hello! Princess of Nightmares here! This is my first ever Adventure Time fanfiction, so I'm not sure how well it's going to turn out. This is an AU story and I will be using characters from Finn and Jake's world and the ones from Fionna and Cake. Since this is an AU story everyone will be human (though hair colors and eye color may be a little weird but if you watch anime like me it's not a big deal) with some quirks. Now I'm going to say this one last time. This. Is. An. AU. That means some characters will be OOC. I got this idea from the episode "Rattleballs," which I found a pretty dark episode due to the back story. I decided to make a story with a similar idea, but without the robots. I hope you will all give this story a chance. Oh, and this will be a Fiolee story eventually. For now the rating will be T, but it could go up as the story goes on. Oh, and the title came from A City Serene song that helped inspire this idea. You should check it out.
Hello Nightmare
"Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart, for his purity, by definition, is unassailable."
- James Baldwin
Prologue: High Ruler
"Order! Order!"
The low mumble that had been echoing through the council room quickly came to a complete stop. All eyes went to the four men at the head of the room.
"This is ridiculous!" cried a voice.
"This is getting us no where!" cried another voice.
"Yeah!" a voice agreed.
"I said order!"
Everyone stilled in their seats and there was silence once again. All eyes were now on the tall man at the head of the table. He was wearing a long red robe that was pointed at the shoulders. Around his neck hung small chain. Attached to it was a bright red jewel of some sort; it appeared to glow from time to time. His skin was a slightly pinkish color and his head was bald.
"By acting this foolishly, none of you are proving yourselves worthy of being the High Ruler." The bald man growled.
"Well, Councilman Grod, we've been here for five hours! We've gotten no where and we're all tired. High King Billy is dead and his heirs are dead!" someone sighed exasperatedly.
"We don't know they're dead! We only searched for them within the perimeter of his castle. They could be alive somewhere else!" someone argued back.
"Ha! If they aren't in the castle they're dead! We all know that – I mean they were human after all. That race is so weak and fragile there is no way those babies would survive on their own. If they've been kidnapped there's no way we'll be getting them back anyways. It's safer to assume they were killed in the attack." the first voice spoke.
"If there is even the slightest chance they could still be alive, we should be looking for them!" the second voice yelled. "And what of his wife? High Queen Canyon? She could still be alive and with the children!"
"Uck! Are you mental? The entire castle was destroyed to a pile of rubble! No one got out; no one lived."
"We won't know that for sure until we actually start searching! Were bodies ever found? No! They could be alive and in need of help!"
"We can't be wasting our valuable time and money chasing after people who are obviously dead! You moron! The Lich is still out there and his army is growing! We need to just decide on a new High Ruler before the kingdom falls into chaos and then we have to move onto defeating the Lich."
The second man's face was red with anger. "Councilman Grod, surely you are not going to just give up looking for our High Queen and her children!"
Grod didn't answer right away. His expression wasn't readable, but Lincoln, the tall man beside Grod, knew he was thinking about how to phrase his answer without angering anyone further.
"We, the Council, understand that this is a hard time for everyone. We have lost Billy, the High King of Ooo. He was a fine and honorable man and we will always honor him for his sacrifice and bravery. If it were not for him we would surely already be in a state of chaos. Right now the citizens are mourning the loss of their beloved High King and Queen. As far as they are concerned they both died in the fight and so we should not disrupt what little peace we have right now by sending a search party for the High Queen or her children. It would be giving the citizens false hope. The chances of them being alive are slim – no where near high enough to risk getting the people's hopes high. For now we need to focus on finding a new High Ruler. The Lich should not be back anytime soon as far as we know so that is not a top concern as of right now anyways." Grod spoke loud but slowly, making sure everyone in the room heard him.
"Hoo. As much as I hate to admit it... I agree with Grod and second his motion." Came a softer voice. He was on the other side of Grod. His hair hair was a golden color that slowly got darker, brownish looking color, as it went down. His hair shaped his slightly pointed face, resting on his shoulders, why the rest was pulled back into a ponytail. Throughout his hair were odd little shapes that seemed to have a white glow about them. He wore a simple brown robe, that hung past his hands, over his gold shirt and dark pants. His eyes were pointed upward slightly and were pure white with a slight glow.
"I agree with Councilman Owl. Our concerns right now need to be keeping the peace with the citizens. If we don't, there will be riots." The councilman beside Owl concerned. He was lanky, dark skinned man. Like the others, he was also tall with an odd look about him. His hair was short and curly and the color of pink cotton candy. His somewhat large eyes were yellow where they should have been white. His eye color was baby blue and he lacked pupils. He wore a plain pink robe with sleeves that stopped at his wrists.
Grod nodded at the two. "Councilman Lincoln, what are your thoughts?"
"I say our first concern should, in fact, be keeping the peace. As of right now we are in a delicate state and should not be getting the hopes of our citizens up. For the time being we need to find a new High Ruler. However, everyone should keep an open eye just in case the High Queen tries to contact someone for help." Lincoln spoke with a loud and confident voice. Councilman Lincoln was probably the most ordinary looking of them all. He had well groomed black hair with a slight beard on his chin. His skin was fair and he wore a black suit with a black bow tie. The most notable thing about him was probably his rather large ears.
Grod gave Lincoln a nod and then turned his attention to the rest of the people in the court. "Are there any objections?"
"What if High Queen Canyon is needing our help now and can't reach us? Are we just suppose to sit back and do nothing?!" an outraged voice yelled.
"Lincoln has already said to keep an eye open. We cannot risk any further action without gaining the attention of the citizens." Grod said calmly.
"This is ridiculous! The High King and High Queen would never sit back if one of us were in their position!"
"Yes, but the High King is dead and we have no word from the High Queen. I repeat, we cannot risk arousing the citizens! We have no choice but to sit back!"
"If I may interject." A new voice came. "But... I think I may have a solution."
"Ah, Simon." Grod nodded. "You have the floor."
The man named Simon was about average height with olive colored skin. His hair was dark brown and reached his neck, flair out on the sides a little. He wore a dark suit with mismatching patches on the elbows and a red bow tie. He had sky blue eyes and a pair of blue tented glasses rested on his nose.
"You see, I may not be a ruler like most of the others here but I am an antiquarian and Professor of Archeology. My studies tend to end with me traveling to some of the most remote places in all of Ooo. I could go look for the High Queen and her children myself. No one would think anything odd of me coming and going places because I am already known to do that when I do field work."
Grod seemed surprised at his offer but Lincoln looked pleased. Prismo and Owl, on the other hand, shared a concerned glance that went unnoticed by everyone else.
"Simon, that is a noble and kind thing for you to offer. Are you sure you are up to the task?" Grod asked, wanting to give Simon a chance to back out.
"I'm sure." Simon gave a firm nod. "It'll give me a chance to find more artifacts, anyways." He held his head high. "High King Billy and High Queen Canyon were always kind to me. We were very close and they gave me a home when no one else would. It's the least I could do for them. And... with my connections, if they're out there I'll find them in no time."
Lincoln smiled at Simon. "Is there anything you will need for your journey, Simon Petrikov?"
"No... well, maybe some food for the journey."
Lincoln nodded. "It will be taken care of."
"And... while I'm gone, could someone make sure Betty is safe? I hate leaving her alone."
"Of course, Simon." Lincoln grinned.
"Thank you." Simon bent slightly, giving a small bow, and took a seat once again.
"Have we reached a compromise?" Grod spoke once again.
There were a few more mumbles but no one spoke out again.
"Good. Now time to move on to the next matter at hand; finding a new High Ruler." Grod announced.
The room was loud once again and everyone was shouting. Prismo let out an exasperated sigh and slumped down in his seat a little. Owl held his forehead in his head and was rubbing his temples. Lincoln seemed to be slightly disappointed while Grod looked thoroughly irked.
"Order! Order!"
The shouts slowly came to an end as attention was returned to the four councilmen.
"Now, in all our time, we have never been without a High Ruler. Each High King and High Queen always had an heir to take their place. Seeing that that is not possible we are going to have decide on a completely new person. We the Council have decided to choose out of the Kings and Queens since they already have experience ruling over land. Understand that this is a big responsibility that should not be taken lightly. You will be responsible for keeping all the citizens of Ooo calm. You will be giving up your current area of rule but will gain more control. Understand that this power is not limitless and we the Councilmen have the final say in who will be elected High Ruler."
"Well we don't want it! We refuse to take it!" said a slightly shrill woman. She had light purple skin with a short bob cut that was a slightly darker purple than her skin. On her forehead was yellow star with a pink outline. She was slightly large, making her appear lumpy in her poof-y purple dress.
"Our kingdom is hard enough as it." The man next to her agreed. "We only came to this thing because we had no choice." He huffed. Like the woman he had light purple skin but he was bald with only a little bit of dark purple scruff on his prominent chin. He, too, had a matching yellow star with a pink outline on it. Like the woman he was also rather large and his dark purple business suit made him appear somewhat lumpy.
Grod nodded. "We can respect that Lars."
The purple man only huffed in response.
"If you do not wish to become High Ruler, please raise your hand now." Grod's voice echoed through the room.
More than half the rulers raised their hands.
"Of course you would want to be High Ruler, Flame King." Sneered a high pitch, almost girly, voice. The man who spoke had slightly grayish skin and was quite short. He had pink hair that was styled in a way that made his head appear to have a slight mushroom shape to it. His shirt was split horizontally into two colors – light blue and yellow. Instead of pants he wore red tights.
"Don't you dare call me that, King Snuggadoodle." The "Flame King" growled back. "I would be a far better ruler than you!" The so called "Flame King" was in copper colored armor lined with rhombus shaped red gems on the collar. There was a larger, pentagon-shaped red gem in the center at his chest. The limb pieces of the armor had horizontal stripes with copper and brown colors. His skin was a reddish-orange color with a faint yellowish glow. His red hair was the color of fire with a faint orange mixed in. His yellow eyes were pointed upward slightly and seemed to have a slight glow to them.
"Shut it you two! This is serious." growled a high-pitched voiced woman. She was somewhat short and had pale pink skin. Her curly hair had a leaf-green bow in it and rested on her shoulders and was the color of raspberries. She wore a dress a shade darker than her hair with a belt around her waist that matched the bow in her hair.
"Watch your tongue, Wildberry." the "Flame King" snarled.
Her face became red with anger. "That is is Queen Wildberry to you." she snapped back. "Can you stop being an arrogant ass and just listen for once? Everyone knows you just want more power. That's why you don't want children." she huffed. "You're afraid they'll be better than you!"
The "Flame King" narrowed his eyes at the bold woman. He wanted to strike her down where she stood but knew such an act would cause him more trouble than it was worth.
"At least I know how to keep my citizens under control." he retorted, his voice low.
"How dare yo-"
"Enough!" Grod yelled. "I am tired of all this petty arguing."
"Hoo. Indeed." Owl mumbled.
"U-um... if I-I may?" a soft voice spoke up.
"Hoo. Ah, Samantha." Owl gave a calming smile. "You may have the floor."
Samantha appeared to no more than a mere girl. She was of average height with light green skin. She had curly dark green hair tied into pigtails that reached her waist. Her lime green dress was simple and was slightly poof-y at the shoulders.
"T-thank you, Owl." She nodded and took a deep breath, speaking a bit louder so others could hear her. "I-I had an idea... a-about who c-could be the new H-high R-ruler."
"Dear god! Spit it out and stop sputtering!" the "Flame King" growled.
"Watch your mouth!" Queen Wildberry frowned.
The "Flame King" just rolled his eyes.
"Hoo. Continue, Samantha." Owl encourged.
"W-well..." Samantha began to nervously play with her fingers. "Queen Bubblegum a-and King Gumball have one of the l-largest holds at the m-moment. They are already u-use to caring for m-many citizens."
The "Flame King" scoffed. "Bubblegum and Gumball? What a stupid idea." He spat. "They are young and too naïve."
"O-oh, but I thought them being y-young would be a g-good thing!" She nodded. "Y-young people tend to give others h-hope. Having such y-young and happy r-rulers would definitely give the c-citizens hope! And... they... they're s-so pure of h-heart!"
Grod pondered this for a moment. "Hm... that is an excellent idea. Queen Bubblegum and King Gumball may be young but maybe that's what we need. Councilman Lincoln, what do you think?" He turned to Lincoln.
"I think those two would be lovely rulers. Samantha speaks the truth when she says youth tends to renew people's hope. And they do already rule over one of the largest holds in all of Ooo and they seem to do a fine job at it."
"Hoo. True." Owl nodded. His voice seemed to be weary though, but only Prismo seemed to notice.
Prismo nodded, decided he didn't want to comment.
"Queen Bubblegum and Prince Gumball." Grod spoke.
"Yes?" the two spoke in unison.
"Do you think you two are up to the task of being the High Rulers?"
"What do you think, brother?"
Queen Bubblegum was slightly taller than average and had light pink skin. Her perfectly straight hair – true to her name – was the color of pink bubblegum and to her thighs. Her round eyes were light purple. She wore a puffy-sleeved flowing pink gown that had a purple lace belt and purple trim at the spoon neck collar.
"I think it would be a lovely way to help the citizens, sister."
King Bubblegum was also slightly taller than average, but was much taller than his sister. His hair was also bubblegum pink and was somewhat in a coiffe (1). His shirt was hot pink with light pink puffed sleeves and magenta slits. His under sleeves were magenta as well with dark-pink cuffs. His collar matched his sleeves and was adorned by a small blue jewel inside a gold crest. On his belt was another small blue jewel inside a blue crest. His trousers were dark pink with purple seams running down the sides, followed by indigo dress shoes. Like his sister he, too, had round, light-purple eyes.
"Oh come on!" The "Flame King" scoffed. "You can't seriously be considering them as High Rulers! The twin freaks? Really?!"
"It's not up to you." Queen Wildberry huffed.
The four councilmen started to whisper among themselves as the two argued with each other. After about five minutes they reached a decision.
"Attention!" Grod ordered.
There was silence once more and everyone was on edge.
"We the Council have decided it is in the best interest of Ooo that Queen Bubblegum and King Gumball become the High Rulers. Our decision is final." Grod's voice echoed throughout the chamber.
Whispers broke out amongst everyone. Samantha seemed to be trying to hide, not seeming to like the attention she was getting. Simon appeared to be in deep thought about about something. Prismo and Owl appeared to be having some sort of conversation without words.
"Thank you, Council." Gumball smiled, bowing in respect.
Bubblegum bowed with him, smiling as well. "I promise, you won't regret this."
A/N: (1) I wasn't sure how to describe Prince Gumball's hair so I used the Adventure Time wiki and that was the work they used. If it's wrong I apologize.
So, what did you guys think? Instead of Princesses I changed everyone to kings and queens. Also, Samantha is not an OC. I wanted to use another one of the Princesses so I got on the Adventure Time wiki and got a list of all them and Samantha was one of them. It said she was in the comics. There wasn't much about her though so I wasn't too sure on how to portray her. Oh and Grod is Grob Gob Glob Grod if you couldn't figure that out. Owl is the Cosmic Owl. Lincoln is obviously Abe Lincoln and Prismo is obviously Prismo. Oh and I didn't know what to call Lumpy Space King so I just named him Lars. Did you like the name? What should I name Lumpy Space Princess? Any name ideas for some of the other characters would be awesome too! I didn't have anything to use as the cover art either. If anyone has anything I can use, please let me know.
I gave this a quick re-read but I'm sure there is still mistakes and so I apologize for any that you found.
Be sure to leave a review and give me your thoughts!