A light breeze blew across the Grasslands as our hero Fionna the Human dragged her body towards the treehouse that was her home. Her furry companion and sister Cake the Cat, was tucked in under her signature though battleworn rabbit-eared hat. The adventurous duo had been out all night fighting another pack of Why-wolves that had recently chosen to harras the inhabitants of the nearby Candy Kingdom. The wolves weren`t a challenge for Fionna and Cake but their sheer numbers suggested there wasn`t enough obnoxygen in the area... Or at least that`s what Prince Gumball, ruler of the Candy Kingdom, had said. He had graciously offered them to stay at his castle after they saved his kingdom but since it was almost morning the heroes decided to simply huff it back to their treehouse. Fionna grabbed the doorhandle just as the first ray of sunlight peeked across the horizon. Opening the door she had to resist the urge to simply fall forwards and sleep in the doorway. After closing the door behind her she dragged herself across the treasure room where BMO was sleeping on a pile of her socks... She really needed to talk with it about that... Or is it him... Her? Fionna sighed as she realised she was too tired to think properly. She pulled herself up the ladder that led to their living room...slash kitchen... slash dining room... slash-
Urgh... Grumbled Fionna again. Her brain wanted to run off and go crazy it seemed...
Pulling off her hat and backpack she nudged her sister awake. Purring slightly the white-brown cat started stretching until she grew to her normal size and landed on the ground next to her sister.
Thanks baby-girl... This cat needed a cat-nap...
No problem Cake. Replied Fionna tiredly as she walked over to their fridge looking around for a snack before going to bed. That was when she realised that the curtains were all closed. The only reason she was able to see was because there was about a dozen candles all around the room.
Cake? Did you put these candles up before we left? Questioned the young hero, her sleepines vanishing immediately as she reached behind her for a sword, only to realise it was with her backpack.
No sugar it wasn`t me... Wait... Do you think it was Marshall? Replied Cake as she looked around with her beady cat eyes. Her tail wasn`t frizzing out so there shouldn`t be any danger around... At least not that she was aware of. However as soon as she had mentioned Marshall, Fionna`s body had relaxed. Of course, it was just their buddy Marshall, probably sleeping upstairs because the sun had caught him or something. He was probably even in her bed, just to drive her crazy...
But as she turned back to the fridge, she noticed her backpack and sword were gone. Then she felt it, something in the room was watching her. She turned around to see Cake starting to climb up the ladder that led to their bedroom.
Marshall? She called out, but suddenly the trapdoor that led to their room was slammed shut. Then the door to the treasure room was closed... One after another the candles in the room slowly began to fade into darkness. The room became cold... Colder than even in the Ice Kingdom. Fionna started shaking immedietely. She was definetely happy that her sister, made her throw away her old outfit. Her grayish blue jeans, long-sleeved white shirt and dark blue jacket were much better than her old shirt and skirt. But even so her body shivered in response to the extreme temperature drop in their house.
C-Cake! Wh-What do you s-see? She asked as her teeth began to chatter. Cake was meanwhile looking all around the room trying to keep an eye on every possible route of attack. She started backing away from the ladder that led to their beds as she heard a slight hiss come from behind her. As her tail began frizzing out she turned to look at what exactly was making that noise. She didn`t see anything. Then Fionna screamed and Cake looked back only to see her sister floating in the air but with an annoyed expression on her face.
Oh I KNEW it! M-MARSHALL L-LEE! P-Put me down now and s-stop messing around. Im f-freezing! Yelled the human girl looking through the air around her, expecting to see the form of her vampire friend materialise in a matter of moments. But once she heard a deep laugh coming from the air around her, a laugh not unlike Marshall Lee`s but definetely not his, she panicked. She jumped away from whatever was holding her and landed near Cake who was paralyzed with fear. They both looked at the spot where Fionna had been held as the laughter slowly faded away and the darkness around them seemed to shift. Shadows turning into monsters and back into simple pieces of furniture as the illusion around them fed upon their fear. Then without warning Cake began to float in the air just as a shadow appeared before Fionna. Looking at Cake it laughed again making her clench her teeth as they chattered not because of the cold but out of fear. But she wasn`t just going to lie down and act like a scared little girl. She got up and pulling her fist back as far as it would go, threw a punch straight at the face of the shadowy figure. Utterly surprised it dissapeared and Cake fell slowly back down to the ground. Silence... But the cold stopped affecting her. She realised she was in fact quite warm. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark now and she realised that all the shadowy monsters were just illusions. Looking around she saw the real threat hiding among them. She ran across the room tackling the shadow creature. But before she could punch it, it gripped her hands and laughed slightly. But this time its laugh wasn`t scary... It was nice and good-natured. As it began floating on its back so that she was sitting across it, its feature began to solidify. Then the curtains were pulled back slightly by someone. None other than Marshall Lee the Vampire King stood beside the window with his umbrella in hand.
So good little girl... I see you`ve met Nexus.
Fionna blushed a bit as she saw Marshall standing at the window smirking at her. Her blush only deepened when she looked down and realised she was sitting on a boy only slightly older than her. Or so she thought until he smiled at her revealing sharp fangs. She then used her legs to launch off the young vampire and landed next to Cake who was glaring at Marshall with unbridled hatred.
ARE YOU CRAZY BOY? YOU TWO ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK! I SWEAR IF I WASN`T SO TIRED I WOULD CLAW YOUR EYES OUT!
Marshall was taken aback by the feline`s fury but the other one... Nexus... He merely laughed and floated over to the Vampire King. As he got into the safety of the shadows he removed his black hood so that the girls could see his face. Fionna wasn`t sure why but she felt like it was familiar. His black hair swept down over his forehead casually. His pale skin almost shining with its own glow. His eyes were a deep purple colour that seemed to hypnotize her. Looking away, her blush reappearing on her face she asked...
What are you doing here Marshall? And who`s your friend?
Marshall smirked at the blonde before faking a hurt expression and asking...
Why, can`t I the lowly Vampire King visit a dear little bunny friend unnanounced? He finished his act with a laugh and a bow, as Nexus clapped his hands and rolled his eyes.
Seriously Marshall I`m about one minute away from whooping both your butts!
The other vampire smirked at this statement.
Is that a challenge? He asked. His voice came out slightly deeper than Marshall`s. Quite claming... In any other situation that is...
Yeah it is! I could kick your butts outta my house in under 3 minutes! Replied the human with confidence...
Hey Fi, don`t get carried away now... Said Marshall trying to calm the situation down as the other vampire walked towards the center of the large room and faced Fionna in a battle-ready stance.
Come on Marshall, I wanna see her try. He mused...
OOOOH you`re ASKING for it! Yelled the blonde adventuress as she tried to grab her sword from her back only to yet again get empty space for her troubles...
Here... Said Nexus as he threw a small crystallic item to her. She caught it and it transformed into a large purple, crystal sword. She didn`t even spare a moment`s thought as to how he knew to close it down to its compact form. She got into a ready stance that showed she was not new to swordplay. Nexus acknowledged this with a simple nod but instead of trying to attack her he simply straightened up and flashed her a smirk that greatly resembled Marshall`s. Blushing again she decided to make the first move and attempted to charge him head-on. Nexus however didn`t move from his spot. Fionna then quickly spun around and brought her sword in for a horizontal slash across the chest. But before she knew it, he had ducked and swept away her feet with a kick from the side. Impaling her sword in the ground she quickly got back up and jumped away. He began circling her slowly, on foot. She kept her eyes on him and then jumped at him. Before he could counter she changed tactics and threw her sword at him, then swept down to kick his legs out from under him as he had done to her. But instead of dodging the blade he merely grabbed it in his hand. The blade cut through his palm which began bleeding a purple and red liquid. Unfazed, he then jumped over her kick and landed back on his feet as she slid underneath him. Looking back she saw that he had thrown the sword towards her feet. The cut on his hand bled slightly but it was already healing at an incredibly fast rate. In no time, it seemed like he had never been injured.
You`ll have to try better than that. He said, as she picked up her sword and then took another from the pile next to her. It really was a good thing that she collected so many weapons. If Cake and her were ever attacked at home the enemy would be under-armed... Unless they took her weapons and used them against-
Hey blondie? You gonna fight or brood? Mused Nexus from across the room. She blushed again and then shook her head. She really couldn`t focus nowadays. Running towards him she tried impaling him with the sword she had picked up. A normal steel blade, with a white cross running across the hilt. But Nexus suddenly jumped into the air and floated off behind her. Angry at him for using his powers she jumped at the wall where he had been and kicked off towards him. She twirled her swords around intending to stab him with her crystal sword while distracting him with an obvious slash from her other blade.
Her counter-attack was so swift that he wouldn`t have time to dodge it... Not without using his... No... Nexus quickly snapped back to the present as two blades made their way towards him. Closing his eyes he let his instincts take over. He knew that he couldnt block the slashing blade with his hand. While she probably didn`t realise it, the blade was made of silver, not metal. So he had to dodge that attack and block the other. He definetely couldn`t dodge both. This girl was quick and had a knack for fighting... He laughed on the inside... She was fun...

Her blades were only a few inches away from him when he moved. Dodging low below the slashing steel sword in her left hand he grabbed the crystal sword in her right hand and pushed it down with enough force for it to get stuck in the floorboards. He then jumped out of the way of her counter-attack.
He was really enjoying himself by now. He smiled as she pulled her crystal sword from the wooden floor and turned to face him. Looking at him she suddenly smiled and her eyes glinted in an almost evil manner that made even him apprehensive. While he knew she wasn`t intentionally trying to kill him, he was sure that she probably could if she got carried away. Her jumping towards him and throwing her sword at him, snapped him back to reality. He internally cursed himself for letting his mind slip away from the fight. However her sword flew past his left ear without him even dodging... He was quite dissapointed. That is, until he heard the twang of a broken rope behind him. Looking up he realised there was a shelf above him being held up by a rope... Well a shelf that "had been" held up by a rope... A now cut rope... What was more, the shelf was apparently holding another huge pile of weapons... Where on Earth did this girl get so many swords? He thought as, looking back at her he realised that he was cooked. He couldn`t block the mass of weapons falling down on him as well as a powerful swing from her sword. Well played...He thought as he smiled at her.

She had him right where she wanted him... The weapons above his head were slowly falling down as she came nearer. But in the split second that she tried to swing her sword at him... He smiled. And suddenly she was stopped dead in the air. Fionna heard Cake gasp as Marshall said...
Well, guess she`s better than you thought, ey Nexus?
Looking up at the mass of weapons she saw what seemed like solid shadows holding the weapons just above Nexus` head. He smirked at her as the shadows slowly put each weapon on the ground all around the pair.
I admit. You really are good... Fionna was it? He said offering her his hand. But before she could take it she realised he was actually lowering his hand down and she was being lowered with it. Looking down at her arms she saw a shadow holding her in place. As the shadows melted into the ground below her her feet touched the ground. Then she looked back at him and blushed as she saw his smirk... Just like Marshall`s... He offered her his hand again and this time she took it and said...
Yeah. Fionna the Human. And ehmmm... What`s your name? I mean I know your name is Nexus but...
Who am I, you mean? Asked the vampire Nexus as he shook her hand and looked at Marshall and Cake as they joined them next to the mass of weaponry.
You never even mentioned me? I`m insulted Marshall. He said in a hurt voice. But she knew he didn`t mean it. It was the same voice Marshall used when he talked to her. Just playful joking... Never serious.
Well, it never came up. Anyway, Fi, Kitty-
Don`t call me that, boy! Hissed Cake angrily. Her sleep-deprived state only helped add to her anger.
Alright. Fionna, Cake I`d like to introduce you to Nexus, my little brother.
Humph... Little is kinda redundant don`t you think?
Marshall just laughed as Fionna said...
Rhe-dunn-dhant? What`s that?
Nexus looked at her. He didn`t know why but her innocent, curious expression just calmed him. He smiled at her and was rewarded with another blush as he said...
Redundant means not needed. Like Marshall saying I`m his "little" brother is redundant seeing as I was born only 3 minutes after him...
Yeah but you`ll always be my little bro. Said the Vampire King with a smirk as he gave his brother a nuggie and was rewarded with a punch to the arm in return.
Well girls I`m sure you two are tired from adventuring, not to mention Nexus` illusions. Continued Marshall with a laugh as he remembered how scared the two had been before. Cake agreed immediately and without saying goodbye she simply left to go to bed. But Fionna stayed saying...
Well I`m sure he`ll remember not to mess with me again now that I`ve shown him I`m stronger.
I think "you" lost in the end didn`t you? Contradicted Nexus as he crossed his arms.
Nuh-uh! You used your powers! That TOTALLY breaks the rules... Said Fionna as Marshall rolled his eyes and floated up to their bedroom. Off to scare Cake no doubt...
Well, to be fair, I wasn`t exactly eager to get cut in half by a silver sword... Noted Nexus.
Fionna blushed as she looked at the sword in her hands realising that she really could have killed him if she had hit him. Her face went red fairly quickly as she placed the sword on the couch, away from the rest of her weapons.
Sorry... She mumbled in embarrasment.
No worries, I had fun... You`re quite good. He said complimenting her as a shriek was heard from upstairs and Marshall flew down saying...
Well we`d better go Nexus. I think Cake is gonna kill me if we stay any longer. He then opened his umbrella and flew out into the early morning sun.
Well I guess I`d better go make sure Cake is okay... See ya later I guess and sorry about the whole silver thing. Said Fionna as she started walking towards the ladder to her bedroom.
Nexus merely shrugged as she continued in a joking tone...
But remember, don`t mess with me or my sister again or you`ll really get a butt-whooping!
Nexus gave her another smirk. Just like- Well duhh, they`re brothers doofus! Thought Fionna as he said goodbye. But before leaving he looked back at her and said...
To be honest I might just mess with you guys again...
Huh? Why? Questioned Fionna whose lack of sleep was catching up to her.
I rather enjoyed seeing you blush all the time. Said her new friend as he gave her another Abadeer-trademark grin that made her blush scarlet again. He laughed seeing her face and said goodbye again before pulling down his cloak and flying out the window...