I don't own Adventure Time, unfortunately.

Chapter 3

February 5th 2016

Fuck.

Marceline backed into the stainless steel wall of the elevator, sliding down its length until she sat onto the cold tile floor with a thud. Absentmindedly, she stared at the red digits above the elevator doors as they rose at a steady pace.

The generic elevator music played its typical tune, helping Marceline drown out her thoughts of a conversation she had a few minutes earlier. But the thoughts of the redhead girl couldn't be rid of.

Really? You haven't seen her in forever. And what's the first thing you say? 'Hey, you?' What is wrong with you? You even called her Bonnie! Moron.

She buried her face into her hands, her knees supporting the weight of her chin as she winced at the words that had come out of her mouth only a few minutes before.

Well. It's not like I could've said: 'Hey Bonnie, it's me Marcie. Your best friend, remember? You almost died and forgot me but it's all good now. P.S: I'm a vampire.'

Yeah.

That would've went really well.

Is she even the same..?

And what the hell is that bastard Lenon doing to her?

A strange feeling welled up inside Marceline as she recalled how worn out Bonnie looked.

Marceline let out a long exhale as she grasped the silver hand railings, hoisting herself back onto her feet. She had almost spent a whole day without using her legs; walking was just a formality at this point. To not make others question the physics of the universe they lived in. She let go of the railing as her legs drifted into the air, levitating a few inches above the tiled floor.

It wasn't that she disliked walking, just that it had become an ingrain habit to just hover everywhere. Her dad didn't like it one bit though. Apparently it wouldn't reflect a good image on the company if someone saw her flying around. But then again, she didn't care what he thought.

The elevator began to slow down as Marceline neared her floor.

*Ding!*

The doors spread apart, revealing a small square office that couldn't have been wider than 10 feet. Furnishing the room was a standard executive desk with a single black leather chair behind it. Marceline floated towards the other side of the room where another door waited, her real destination. Upon opening it, the familiar smell of her abode instantly greeted her.

Marceline wouldn't call the 149th floor an office - it was nowhere near. She convinced her father to have the place renovated years ago into a loft. She told him it would 'improve her productivity' by living at Nighto, that living where she worked would make her more productive.

Hah.

Dad would believe anything that made him think Marceline had interest in the company.

It wasn't a bad place either; equipped with a full kitchen, bathroom and living room. She even had the luxury of her own sound-proof recording studio where she could do what she did best: record her music.

And none of this business shit.

The open design of the place also let her fly around quite easily, evident by the layers of dust on the stairway and floor. The only remnant of the old place was the small room directly outside the elevator, a structural necessity apparently.

Floating into her sanctuary, Marceline headed straight for the shower. Halogen lights blinked on as she entered, easing her eyes a bit from the strain of seeing through the dark a while back.

Shit. Would she have noticed that? Ughhh. Stupid.

She undressed, her clothes falling into a heap on the floor. Turning the hot water on, the gentle patter of droplets landing onto the shower's marble tiles soothed her ears. She drifted into the shower's light waterfall. Her hair stuck to her body as it became saturated, the contrast between it and her pale skin clear as night and day. It wasn't long before she thought of Bonnie again.

What the hell can I do?

Nothing, apparently. She had to uphold the promise she made to her father. All those years ago.

But she's right here! I literally talked to her!

It was a twisted game her father was playing. It just felt so unfair to Marceline.

Marceline's head made a thump as it rested against the glass wall of the shower, warm water streaming down the nape of her neck. She closed her eyes, contemplating her situation. Her head flicked off the glass as she formed an idea.

Fine.

She shut off the water, quickly drying herself with a towel before donning the clothes she had dropped moments before. She flew into the kitchen where her laptop sat idly on the kitchen island. Wasting little time, she flung the thing open and brought up her e-mail.

Let's see what Garb thinks about this.

Her fingers tapped the membrane keys of the laptop softly as she composed the e-mail, occasionally stopping to think of how to make the thing sound professional. It's been a while since she'd had to put up a businesslike demeanour.

An hour had passed before Marceline struck the enter key, sending her message to its haughty recipients. The laptop's lid snapped close as she let out a satisfied sigh.

A yawn escaped her lips, reminding her that morning was just around the corner and thus so was the dreaded sun. Floating upwards past the interior balcony, she hovered over to her bed, being careful to avoid the linen canopy surrounding it. Her hair fell onto the pillow as she hovered inches above the bed's surface, memories of a certain girl flashed her mind before sleep finally snatched her away.

As morning finally arrived, Bonnibel waited in the printing room for Garb's report to finish printing. The rhythmic buzz of the printer itself sounded like a lullaby as she hadn't slept since her encounter with the other girl hours before. Their conversation was still fresh in Bonnie's mind.

How can they let someone with that sort of attitude work here?

As the final page finished printing, Bonnie couldn't help but feel a little satisfied as she clipped the page's corner with a staple. Another job well-done. Hopefully that's what Garb thought too. She strode down the office corridor, acknowledging the standard greetings from her well-rested co-workers.

"Morning Bonnibel, how's it going?" they would ask, a mandatory smile plastered across their faces.

Like I'm drowning in air.

"Fine, thank you," Bonnie would respond, giving them a civil smile of her own.

It wasn't until she saw Garb walking towards his office did she fully focus on what she was doing. With the blasted report in hand, she walked up to Garb who had a sourer glare than usual.

"Good morning Mr. Garb," Bonnie greeted, presenting the report to the taller man. "Here's that report you want-"

"What do you think you're playing at?" Garb snarled loudly, snatching the report out of Bonnie's hands.

Bonnie stepped back, perturbed by the man's sudden outburst.

"I-I'm sorry but isn't this what you asked me to do last night?"

"I'm not talking about this, you harlot," Garb growled, smacking the report against the wall, creasing the product of Bonnie's all-nighter. She couldn't help but wince, feeling a little hurt.

"I-I don't understand, sir," Bonnie uttered, her voice falling to almost a whisper.

What the hell is he on about!?

"Don't play coy with me," Garb sputtered, his voice becoming louder.

Bonnie desperately looked around her, her heart pounding in her chest, hoping for someone to intervene. All she got in return were the plastic looks of her co-workers, curious as to why the new girl was getting a rant from Garb. Noticing the stares as well, Garb leaned forward next to Bonnie's ear, the man's breath a pungent odour.

"You're lucky I can't fire you right here and now," Garb uttered, his hands clenched into fists. "Because believe me… I would."

Bonnie could do nothing but nod excessively in return, hoping that it would be enough for the old brute to leave her be. After huffing another snarl, Garb trudged to his office, leaving Bonnibel wide-eyed at what had just occurred. She stood frozen for a while, processing what had just happened. Looking around again, her co-workers were doing their own thing again, pretending as if nothing had happened. It wasn't until she heard a pair of familiar voices behind her did her shoulders relax a bit.

"Yo, Bonnie!"

Bonnie turned around, shifting her gaze in the direction to the sound of her name. She could see two men briskly walking towards her.

Finn and Jake Mertens. 24 year-old brothers in the IT department. Bonnie met them her first day when she brought her phone into their office for a fix. Apparently those 'cleaner' apps she installed were nothing but malware. Typical. She got along with the brothers well but wouldn't quite call them friends - despite their over-friendly nature. They were only doing their job after all. You couldn't be sure if someone was friendly here simply because they have to work with you. No-one likes office drama after all.

"Holy heck," Finn began, his voice a low murmur when he reached Bonnie, eyeing Garb as he routed to his office. "I knew he'd be mad but geez, not like that."

"Yeah, you alright Bonnie?" Jake asked, a genuine look of concern on his face.

No. What the dill was that?

"I'm fine…" Bonnie fibbed, her lips pressed together tightly. "Just… what was that?"

"Woah, woah," the blonde brother started, waving his hands in front of him. "You can drop the act with us, Bonnie. We're cool with what you did. The old jerk-wad deserved it anyway."

"Yeah, glad someone finally stood up to his browbeating. Hated when he pulled that junk on the newer peeps," Jake commented.

Bonnie darted her eyes between the brothers, her puzzled look having not changed.

Is this some sort of ill-thought out joke?

The two men were obviously waiting for a confession of sorts. A confession that they wouldn't receive because Bonnie had nothing to confess.

"What?" Bonnie said, raising her hands in front of her. "I didn't do anything."

The brothers looked at one another, the blonde one's eyebrow slanted slightly. "You saying you didn't rat the old man out?" Finn asked, giving Bonnie a suspicious look.

"What? Rat him out? About what?"

It was Jake's turn to tilt his brow as he seemed to stare at Bonnie for what felt like ages before huddling with his brother to whisper something. The two nodded at one another before turning back to Bonnie.

"Alright," Jake said. "Come on down to our office, we'll show you."

"Okay..?" Bonnie agreed, an unsure feeling in her chest.

The pair took Bonnie to the IT office on the floor, being careful navigate the longer route in order to avoid Garb's office. Wouldn't want to get another dose of… whatever that was. When they entered the men's office, Bonnie couldn't help but admire their workplace. Two large mahogany tables were positioned opposite one another, each with multiple monitors bracketed together to make up a large display. It was the sort of stuff you'd expect on the trading floor of the London Stock Exchange.

The perks of being an IT administrator, I suppose.

"Here, we'll show it on mine," Finn said.

The trio gathered around the leftmost table, the brothers offering the single seat behind it to Bonnie to which she gladly took, an uncertain look remained on her face.

"Alright, let's see here…" Finn began, moving windows and tabs across the screens that made it a complete blur to Bonnie. Windows popped up and closed until he full screened what looked to be an e-mail of sorts.

"So earlier this morning, Jake and I had to approve this e-mail that was being sent from the top to all the floor managers."

"Yeah, standard stuff. Wouldn't want a virus getting into all the manager's computers now. No-one would have to come in for a while!"

I would be fine with that. "Okay… so what does this have to do with me?" Bonnie inquired.

"Well, see for yourself," Finn said, pointing a finger at the screen.

Bonnie gave a curious glance at the brothers across her shoulders before focussing her attention on the e-mail in front of her.

TO: Nighto Incorporated Floor Managers,
FROM: Executive Management

It has come to my attention that certain floor managers have been forcing newer staff members to work well beyond normal operating time. This is clearly against company policy. As a result, all floor managers are to attend compulsory re-training with HR on floor 60 at 11AM this morning. Violations include section 21(d) on worker management, 22(f) on time resource allocation…

Bonnie skipped the rest. Given the amount of sleep she's had, she would rather not read coma-inducing company policy citations. She got the gist of it anyway.

So. That's why he went nuts.

The old codger had to attend some sort of re-training because someone upstairs found out he was forcing her to work late. And he obviously thought she was the one who told them. Bonnie couldn't blame the man. She was the only newbie she knew of that had to endure his trials. Surely there were others, though?

"…So this is what you meant by ratting him out," Bonnie confirmed.

"We were sure it was you since… well… you're the only person he's been pushing around," Jake croaked, a hint of guilt in his voice. "Sorry about that, for being the new girl and all."

"It's fine. There's nothing you can do about me being new," Bonnie said, her expression easing a bit at Jake's apology.

"Thanks," Jake smiled. "Lucky for you too, eh?"

"Hmm? Lucky?"

"Heh - I thought the high-academic intern would read it all the way through," Jake commented, letting out a chuckle. "You're getting the next couple workdays off!"

Wait, what?

Attempting to contain her newfound excitement, Bonnie quickly looked back at the e-mail, scrolling the mouse wheel, scanning for any mention of time off from her cubicle prison.

… all overtimed staff are to take 2 business days off with full pay. We apologise that this issue had not been brought up earlier…

Bonnie's mouth curled up into a relieved smile, a bit of stress having left her body. 2 days off? It would definitely do her some good considering she had a week's worth of sleep to catch up on.

"Well, that's nice," Bonnie said, faking her nonchalance the best she could.

"Good news? That's awesome news! Jake and I would do anything for a few days off! People here don't realise that restarting their computer solves like half their problems. Then again… we get to keep our jobs that way."

"Yeah, good for you Bonnie. You deserve it after all, for having to put up with the old man," Jake said.

"Mhmm," Bonnie nodded in agreeance. "This explains why Garb was so mad. But... since it wasn't me that told upper, who was it?"

The two brothers went silent for a few moments, considering Bonnie's words, Finn placing his fingers on his chin whilst Jake just had a neutral expression. If they were thinking of a culprit, they had a better chance than Bonnie since they'd been at Nighto a couple of years already.

Wait.

The quiet dragged out enough for Bonnie to deliberate the possible third party.

It couldn't have been… her?

Bonnie swivelled around in her chair, the brothers looking at her expectantly.

"Last night…" Well, technically this morning. "There was this girl that came onto the floor when I was the only one here," Bonnie began.

"Okay, so?" Finn asked, still stroking his chin in thought.

"Long story short, she asked me what I was doing here so late... So I told her Garb usually makes me do the floor's work after-hours."

The brothers were listening intently now, Finn's hand paused on his chin upon hearing Bonnie's words whilst Jake just nodded.

"She said she was working upstairs too," Bonnie said, now looking down at her lap. "I'm pretty sure she has something to do with it."

"Hmm… that's a thin lead at best. What'd she look like?" Jake asked, musing the possibility that the perpetrator was the girl. "Finn and I have been to almost every floor pretty much to fix everyone's junk. We know half the company by heart. Maybe we know her?"

"Black hair. My height," Bonnie replied, recalling the woman's appearance with ease. It was clear that the brothers hadn't received an epiphany to the identity of the woman yet. She had to be more specific "Around my age, actually. That was a bit surprising. Casual-wear. Like, tank-top sneakers casual. She also had a bit of an attitude." A pretentious one at that.

At the sound of Bonnie's last word, Jake put his hand up, stopping Bonnie from describing the woman any further.

"Hold up."

Jake turned his gaze to his brother, the two of them sharing a knowing look of sorts.

"Black hair? Your age? Attitude?" Jake asked, to which Bonnie just nodded in return to each of his descriptions.

"She have a flannel jacket too? A bit pale?"

Bonnie's eyes went wide.

"Yeah, how'd you-"

"Bonnie! Do you realise who that was!?" Finn blurted out, almost grabbing Bonnie by the shoulders.

"Dude, she's been here less than a week. Doubt she knows the people or the drama that happens around here," Jake said, resting a hand on Finn's shoulder.

"Oh… right, yeah."

"But you're right anyway – what would she be doing down here? She barely does anything here… despite her title," Jake pondered. "We were a bit surprised that she even wrote that e-mail in the first place."

Wait, what.

"The girl that I saw… did you just say she wrote this e-mail?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, yeah. When you work here for a bit, everyone knows her," Jake answered.

"Oh boy, I thought the whole place was going to go broke when they told us the prez was going overseas," Finn said.

"Me too, bro. She's barely done anything for Nighto. So what's up with the sudden interest in meeting interns…" Jake said, pointing to Bonnie. "… and making changes to management?"

Bonnie could only listen as the two brothers continued bickering back and forth, trying to come up with an explanation as to why the girl came down to the fourth floor. Bonnie was tempted to interject, still out of the loop as to who the brothers were talking about. She figured she could find out another way, however.

Turning back to the e-mail, she scrolled to the very bottom of it, hoping that the author of it had left a signature.

They did.

When Bonnie read the bottom of the e-mail, her confusion was only amplified ten-fold. It couldn't have been right. Someone her age? No way. Because at the bottom of the e-mail, it was written:

Sincerely,

Vice-President; Marceline Abadeer.

A/N: This chapter was touched up a bit from an older version, no change in content though. I need a beta :(. Thanks for reading up to this point ^^ -SnowyZoe