Description: This story is a bit different. The very premise of it is that it's a little more dark, perhaps bit grim, with a mature tag added for a good measure. Since it's set thirty years in the future, many weird things will occur. As the title suggest – mostly bad things, with some sparks of hope. Either way, hopefully you'll find it enjoyable, as I sure enjoy writing it. It's always fun to write the 'what if' stories. As always, feedback and whatnot much appreciated.

Prologue

Marceline sat in her room surrounded by darkness, as all the blinds were shut tight. Not that she complained. In reality, the girl preferred it to be that way. Besides, lately, she was glad that no one was around to spy on her. She didn't really enjoyed her new home, nor the company surrounding her, as rats were more trustworthy than people next door. Thoughts stormed through her little head, piercing her mind like sharp needles. It was never easy. It never meant to be easy. Finally she sighted and got up. There was only one last thing to do before her venture. To leave something after her. To leave a token for others perhaps. To make sure that one day, someone will remember this little vampire. Or not. That was a possibility as well. As the cogs in her Dictaphone began to roll, she sighted once more.

"Marceline. Vampire Queen. Empty title, if you're the only one that's left." She shook her head. "Thirty years has passed since Finn and Jake found Giovanni. Weird. It feels like it was just few days ago." She delicately smudged the curtains on her windows. "Strange how fast things change when you're hardly interested. I guess that's part of my problem. Never caring... And I should, right? To take one for the team they say, eh?"

The velvet pieces of clothe absorbed her greatly. They were the only colorful thing in her room after all. She preferred her own cavern so much more. Another thing to thank those that craved for progress, as they tore the thing down. They claimed that there was something rare and precious underneath it. That the princess herself was interested. Was it worth it? Deep inside, the girl hoped that they were somehow buried alive in there. A fitting end. But, that was only a playful notion.

"Giovanni was the mind that the Candy Kingdom needed. His theories made the city grow, beyond the boundaries of former limitations... But his creations needed a certain thing. Such power required something beyond his grasp. That's where Bonnibel came along. "She sighted. "I wonder sometimes, whenever it was for the good or for the worse with Giovanni. For Giovanni." She fixated the little broken vase on her table. "Each time I look outside the window, I know I would pick a different rout."

She hesitated whenever she wanted to gaze at the world, viciously lingering out there. Was she ready? Was she prepared? That was her everyday struggle, everyday burden.

"Two greatest minds in Ooo met exactly thirty years ago. He came with machines. She, figured out the way to power them. She created soul from scratch once..." Marceline got sadder and sadder. "She obviously knew how to create one that will power his creations. Who would have thought that everything will change like that. Who would have thought that Bonnibel will change like that..."

Finally she uncovered the curtains. The world before her hardly resembled the lands she once knew. Vast, tall buildings pierced the air, with numerous lights amongst them. They looked almost like metal ant hives. Gruesome. Clouds of smoke covered the sky long time ago, twisting the inhabitants of the New Candy Kingdom into grotesque beings, hardly resembling their former selves. Sharp, cynical, short living. Yet, prosperous. Who would have thought that the lack of light will work on them like that. Who would have thought that indeed. Not that she complained. She never liked the sun either way. It was all about progress those days. Faster, better, more precise. Who would have thought that the subjects of the beloved princess were driven that much by the notion of technology. Were driven so much by the very notion of enhancing themselves the same way Giovanni did. Not the little vampire, that's for sure.

"It seemed so natural that the two worked together. On great things. Astonishing things. Things that brew new power into the old, dusty place! Things that meant to change the foundations of this world!" She gazed lifelessly through the window. "Oh, they changed it alright!"

Something noisy just flew by. Probably one of the many patrolling mosquitoes, or whatever the princess liked to call those flying pieces of steel. Marceline always pondered if the two inventors created them because they wanted to keep piece on the streets, or perhaps because they themselves felt endangered by something. If so, what could that be. Was someone so desperate that he finally snapped? Was someone so troubled?

"I do wonder if Giovanni knew what Bonnibel will do with his works, if he'd agree. Was he that deep into those thoughts as well? Did he knew that this kind of technology will shatter this place?" She bit her lip."Maybe if left alone, he'd make things even worse." She tried as hard as she could to reason the way her beloved acted. "Maybe from her side, it was more of a damage control... yeah..."

The girl looked down below. Now that was the true hell those days. Her visits in Nightosphere way back in the days looked like child's play compared to the streets of New Candy Kingdom. She always guessed it was only a natural course of action, that those that can stay up in the sky will be the ones smiling, while those that cannot will live their lives in the sewage of others. Especially the spews of those that grin. That's what the old movies always claimed at least. She wasn't all that lucky too, since she belonged to those that actually had the need to venture through the lower parts of the city at times. Not that she minded. For some reason those lowlifes were closer to her than those with the stick up their butt in the higher floors. Figures.

"Magic is forbidden now in the world of Ooo." She tried to sound as clear as she could, still focusing on recording, even if her thoughts drifted. "Funny how one certain feature changes everything in us. Was Bonnie always like that? Oh, pardon. Bonnibel." The vampire smirked to herself. Should remember that. Walls have ears... "Proud, proud Bonnibel Bubblegum."

She covered the window once again, as she hardly had the patience to look at what has happened with this world. She preferred to stay in the blissful ignorance just for a few more moments. But, wasn't that blissful ignorance the reason why she began to live in a hellhole like that? Probably.

"Finn... oh, pardon, Finnegan is working along her side. Guess everyone needs a guarding dog those days. Such a nice boy he was..." She took a look inside her drawer. The white hat was still present there. After much consideration, she decided to take it with her. "Wonder if he still remembers the days he was a kid." She grinned to herself. "Wonder if any of us does. Wonder if Bubblegum does, huh?"

There were still happy memories in her head. Notion of their playful dances. Of cheerful adventures they had. Splendorous parties they held. Lustful moments they bare together. But from this point, it meant almost nothing.

"With all this nonsense going with all the magic users, I do wonder why I'm still around. I'm made of magic. Kind of. Convenience, Bonnibel? Or, do you still remember the old days? Do you still remember mine breath on your neck?" She shook her head as she grabbed the paycheck that lied next to her wardrobe. The pink writings around it's surface indicated that despite the anonymity, only a complete moron wouldn't notice the connection. "Why do you even care, I wonder. Conscience?" She bit her lip. "Nostalgia?"

The girl began to ponder. And the more she pondered, the more thoughts spanned in her head. She hardly liked that notion, therefore she quickly began to speak with herself once again.

"But there's one last job. One last thing I guess I'll need her for." She rubbed her forehead. "Wonder if she even leaves her castle nowadays. Wonder if she remembers how it looks down here, eh? Probably not, all things considered."

The vampire swirled around, as her mood changed. Almost as if she was unstable with her emotions. It probably was just that, all things considered.

"One last job... Oh, and what would that be?" For the first time she giggled. Her laugh was bitter however. "I'm sure that whomever will listen to this will want to hear about it, right?" She increased the volume of the recording. "Guess someone should said it out loud. Simon is dead."

The girl began to walk around the table, faster and faster, as her steps echoed through her room and made the weak, wooden floor tremble.

"Guess I should say it with more feeling? Perhaps so. Perhaps I should. The reigns of B&G how they like to call themselves however, made all of us sore. Still. For someone so dear to me... to die like that... forgotten..." She looked around just to make sure. No one seem be there, but she never was certain. Walls had ears and eyes. From within her clothes, she pulled out a small, yellow crown, still intact by the time that passed. "Funny that all that's left after him, is the thing that he despised the most back in the days." She grinned once again. "Should someone found me with this, I'd be dead as well."

The vampire looked at the reflection on the surface. Obviously she could not see herself, yet, she pondered. She wondered how the little contraption would look on her head. It was tempting. It's shining metal felt so nice in her hands. It probably would feel even better on her forehead.

"Still. I need to know. I need to know if Bonnibel Bubblegum is somehow responsible. And if not." She shrugged the thoughts off and hid the artifact in her backpack. "If not I hope she'll help me. Whoever did this, needs to pay. Severely. With blood."

For some reason, those words angered her. And as the ferocity grew within her little frame, as she felt she need to do something about it, she smashed the table with her bare hands. That calmed her down, if only for a bit.

"As for me." She smudged her own cheek. "For me, it was all the same. I always lived in interesting times, one way or another. You're bound to when you're as old as me. Those are interesting as well. When you live as long as I do, you learn how to shrug things off, right?" She placed the palm of her hand on her heart. "Even if I wish it to be different. That's not the world that I can pick those things however, is it?" She took one last deep breath. "Changes are coming to Ooo yet again. For the best, or for the worse." She sighted, as she covered her head in a hood. "Well Marceline. Either live dull or die entertained, eh?" Vague smile appeared on the vampire's face. "That was my last entry. Last entry of Marceline, the Vampire Queen."

She went out without looking around. She knew better not to catch a glimpse of anything that wasn't her business. As the elevator took her down, the streets greeted her with the stench of decay and sewage. The girl despised that smell. She hated it with all her heart, especially since somewhere in her head, the little fiends still remembered it's previous sweet smell. The most dulcet thing in the world. Either way, she had a job to do. She sneaked in between this maze made out of streets, it was bound that she'll encounter someone sooner or later. As she ran through one of more sterile corridors, three thugs jumped right before her, grinning menacingly.

"Well, well cutie. Aren't you in a wrong part of town, eh?" Said the one with large headphones. He was the thinnest of them all. "Or maybe you're looking just for that, ey?"

"I think she is Blombo." Said the one in a cone hat with many holes in it. "I think she looks for some thrills, ey?"

"Naw. She a good girl." Said the third one, with a red scarf across his neck. "Good girls are willing in the end, eh? Eh?"

"Ah... the in-famous Pup Gang..." Her eyes glittered from within the depths of her hood. "So you do come out from the clutches of Trunk's Pie borthel after all, eh?" She shook her head. "Should have stayed there."

They just smiled one to another. Old Candy Kingdom perhaps had it's rules. Perhaps even the worse of it's inhabitants had some remorse. Nowadays however, things changed. The one in the cone hat was first to rush at her, using a steel pipe as a makeshift club. His companions just smirked one to another, seeing her as an easy prey. They obviously didn't know who they're dealing with. Hardly anyone remembered about this ferocious vampire. After so many years, who would bother. Yet the lessons of the past came quickly, as she began to swirl around the thug, avoiding each and every possible hit he made. Her body almost tangled around him, as with one, swift swipe she broke his arm. As the bones came through his skin, as the first drops of blood landed on the ground, the three knew that the jokes are over. Before they could help their colleague however, the dashing vampire spanned once more, swooping him off the ground. His head quickly hit the concrete.

"You'll pay for this you little bitch!"

The one in the scarf screamed. They seemed to be quite dumb, as once again, he was the only one to attack. And he was hardly an opponent for her slick moves. She raveled like a snake, dodging his every movement, predicting his every hit, slowly waging numerous counterattacks that left marks on his skin. But that wasn't the worse, no. Eventually she disarmed him completely, grabbing his hands and pressing them hard on his back. As the vampire spanned around, using him like a dancing pole, she quickly met him face to face. And then, she simply smiled. Before he could comprehend what's happening, she unlocked a can of paint that she conveniently wore by her belt and sprayed it all into his face. He s creamed in agony, as she tossed him away. The thug tried to creep around, blindly bumping into the dumpsters.

"Well. One on one. Romantic, huh?"

Marceline smirked towards the last one. His whole body shivered, as he looked around for a place he could run, for a cave he could crawl into. Anything really. There was non however. The girl slowly began to walk in his direction.

"Vampire..." She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He was already close to wetting his pants. "...queen..." The fiend playfully began to scratch him on the chin. "...does that..." Her grip tightened, as she began to strangle him. "...says something..." As he was close to spilling out his last breath, she let him go. "...to you?"

The last of them hit the ground with quite the impact. Marceline didn't even bothered to check if they're alive or not. If they were, good for them. Maybe they will menage to get up before the rats and other fiends from within the garbage cans will show up and finish her job. Changes are coming to Ooo.