The explan- oh no wait... toilet break

"Ok seriously dude, what da florp?" Jake the deeply confused magical dog asked his equally confused adopted human brother Finn.

"I dunno bro, should we ask Marceline?" Finn turned to Jake sharing each other's dumbfounded look.

"I guess it can't hurt." Jake shrugged not seeing the harm in talking to a clearly emotional vampire queen about the subject that had put in her that state.

Meanwhile Marceline leant against her door contemplating on all the information she had just learned. She remembered that he had littered her floors with random scraps of paper, sighing while walking to them with her emotionally exhausted body.

She slumped down picking the papers up, most were just junk but she focused on the newspaper clipping of Simon as he was before she knew him.

"Oh Simon" she sighed smelling the tears that have long since dried into the paper "why didn't you tell me you old jerk. I could've at least tried to help." She said wondering if there was a way she could punch the guy in the picture.

A knock at her gave Marceline a slim hope that she might get that chance though she doubted that even the Ice king was crazy enough to pester a demonic vampire on a bad day. She set the papers on the coffee table before she collected herself. It didn't matter who was at the door she didn't want anyone to see her weaker side.

She casually floated to the door honestly half expecting it to be the Ice king with some half baked excuse. 'It's not like it would be the first time.' She thought to herself remembering the time when he visited her in the fire kingdom claiming that his air conditioner broke and his ice castle was too hot for him.

It took her half a day and her favourite flame resistant wig to convince him that the fire kingdom was indeed hotter than the ice castle no matter the conditioning conditions.

Opening the door she was relieved and annoyed to be greeted by the two clueless faces of her newest friends an energetic teenager and optimistic dog. Both were good company and their naivety made them fun to mess with occasionally but they weren't too good when it came to the complicated emotional stuff.

"Hey Marceline" Finn greeted

"Yo Marceline" Jake added

"Hey guys, you came back huh? Well Si- I mean the ice king just left and I don't feel much like jamming anymore for the day." Marceline said letting herself droop a little just so they'll realise she's not in the best of moods.

Finn guiltily rubbed the back of his neck "yeah we saw him leave." Finn continued despite Jakes desperate hand waving for him to stop talking. "We've kinda been watching you and we saw the wh-"

He was stopped mid-word by a vampirric death grip of his and his brother's throat.

"WHAT? YOU GUYS WERE SPYING ON ME?!" Marceline hissed dropping the veil completely as her face warped into that of a demonic beast with her hair swimming in a private wind.

Jake immediately thinned and stretched his neck out so he could talk clearly to the angry friend "Whoa there Marceline, we only spied because we were worried that the Ice king might try something." He justified defensively as his best friend turned a bad shade of purple.

"Fine" Marceline huffed letting the two down. She couldn't completely blame the two for watching out for her and for doing something that was coincidentally one of her favourite ways of messing with them.

"...thanks..." Finn grasped for air like a fish out of water while Jake patted his back.

"You guys might as well come in" she gestured floating back to the couch still in an irritated mood, dreading the inevitable questions.

The guys looked at each other as they walked in feeling more awkward in Marceline's home than they ever have.

"So... the ice king..." Finn started unsure how to continue or end while Jake's eyes wondered to the coffee table. "Hey look it's Simon" the dog smiled stretching out to pick up the newspaper clipping to show Finn.

"Hey don't touch- wait, hold up, you two know Simon?" she looked at them stunned. Finn took a quick look at the picture to remind him. "Hey yeah, that's the guy the ice king was before the crown completely gan-flewgle-florped his mind." Finn said twirling his finger to the side of his head not knowing what the information meant the Marceline.

"And you guys have been beating him up even after you knew?" She asked as her mind felt close to exploding again.

"Well we have been taking it easy on him lately" Finn shrugged. "Yeah and after the videos it just started to feel like hitting some crazy old dude and that ain't what heroes do." Jake said crossing his arms sternly.

"But that's exactly what it is, you guys have been "hitting some crazy old dude" who, yeah ok, pretty much asks for it sometimes but still." Marceline defended Simon though after all this time she wasn't quite sure why.

"Hey crazy old dude or not, the guy still flies around kidnapping princess most of the time" Finn argued back defending his own sense of right and wrong.

Marceline stared at the teenager angrily then sighed as she ran her hands through her hair letting the pent up anger go. "Yeah I know" she grunted "it's just you don't know the Ice King or Simon like I used to."

"So why don't you tell us?" Finn simply suggested putting a hand on her cold shoulder.

"Hey yeah Marceline you never know how much getting something like that of your chest can help." Jake nodded munching an apple he found on the floor. "Like this one time where I was wearing this heavy metal chest armour when I confessed about eating all the sandwiches for the picnic. Woo, that was a load off."

Marceline had to admit that the yellow dog did have a point, a confusing one full of apple chunks but a point none the less.

"Ok I'll tell but both of you have to promise not to tell anyone specially Bonnibel." She narrowed her eyes at Finn and Jake.

"We promise." The pair responded simultaneously by putting their right hands in the air as if they were pledging an oath.

The vampire looked at the boys still not quite sure if these two could handle her past without freaking out but to her the ship had already sailed. She knew if she didn't explain it to them, they won't stop asking questions until she snaps and loose a worthwhile friendship.

'Wouldn't be the first time' Marceline thought once again this time thinking back to a certain princess she liked to hang out and go to concerts with.

"You better make yourselves comfortable, this is gonna be long one." She said floating off the sofa and crossing her legs in midair before noticing Jake's arm in the air. "What?" she asked a little irritated.

"Will there be bathroom breaks?"

"...no"

"So..."

"Upstairs second door on the left"

"Thanks" Jake smiled walking up the stairs. Watching him go, Marceline turned to Finn who was just standing there with an awkward blank expression. "You need to go don't you?" She stared at him half temped to attempt to scare it out of him but decided against having to deal with the carpet stain.

Finn nodded as quietly as he could manage.

Marceline sighed heavily, slouching her body posture while wishing for something to repeatedly bang her head against. "Just go" she growled.