The crossing into the Nightosphere brought goosebumps to Marceline's skin like always.
'You'd think I'd get used to this.' thought Marceline. 'I guess I'm more human than I care to admit. Maybe I'm just more like Simon than my dad.'
She stopped to get her bearings. The crossing didn't eject her exactly where she wanted to go, but it was close enough to fly there.
'One day my dad will have to teach me how his gates are so accurate. He always ends up exactly where he wants to be.'
Marceline still wasn't sure how she felt about her dad. On one hand, he was a self-entitled prick. On the other, he was the only family she had left from the old world, and that had to count for something. Of course it would help if he didn't occasionally try to force the burden of the Nightosphere on her.
'Ugh! You'd have thought I'd figure this out somewhere in the last 900 years.' she mumbled irritably. 'Lets just get this over with.'
She sped up. The Nightosphere whizzed by below her and her father's palace winked on the horizon. She slowed her approach when she got closer and landed outside the palace gates. The towers which were usually manned by some guard demons were empty, and the gates hung open.
'Strange...' thought Marceline. 'These towers should be guarded.'
She cautiously entered the palace grounds and made her way to the castle. Everything was abandoned. The nightosphere wasn't the most pleasant place, but now it felt even more eerie. Marceline ignored an impulse to flee and carried on to the throne room.
When she came closer she heard a low voice emanating from the throne room. The indistinct words sounded like bones being scraped against a stone floor. Marceline turned invisible and floated up to a window. What she saw almost made her cry out in alarm.
Every demon in the nightosphere was packed into the throne room and on the high throne sat the Lich. He was speaking in low tones but the room was so quiet his voice carried to every corner.
"I am unstoppable. I am Death's herald. Death can no more catch me than you can catch a ray of light." the Lich was draped in a cloak that looked like it was woven from the blackest souls. It writhed and boiled around him where it touched the floor, like the souls were desperately trying to escape. "But tonight friends, I will not lie to you." said the Lich. "I have been stopped before. There are some beings who have been able to do what even Death could not. Some of the old ones… opposed me."
Even here, in her father's home, the cold hatred that emanated from that sentence froze Marceline's blood. She scanned the demonic horde in search of her father but couldn't find him anywhere.
"But the old times have passed. A new age is here, and I intend to take my rightful place as Herald again!" the Lich rose and bared his chest. Marceline gasped and nearly broke her invisibility. Around the Lich's neck hung the nightosphere amulet. Her father's amulet.
"Behold! I have defeated Hunsen Abadeer and taken his stone of power!" roared the Lich. "Now there is no one to stop me! Tonight we will rise up and take all of Ooo for demonkind!"
The demonic horde roared in approval, their bloodlust driven into a frenzy by the Lich's words. For the first time in hundreds of years, Marceline was afraid. Somewhere in the bottom of her boots her fears wiggled loose and shot through her feet, up her legs and into her heart.
'My father is dead.'
The demons started changing shape. They turned from their docile little forms and grew teeth and claws. They started spitting fire and poison as if the Lich had filled them with his own hatred and it now boiled over in them.
'My father is dead.'
Marceline couldn't stand it anymore. She turned and flew out of the castle as fast as she can. Tears welled up in her eyes and blurred her vision. Her body started shaking. She had to get out of the nightosphere, had to warn Finn and Jake. They had to form an army, kingdoms needed to join forces.
'My father is dead.'
Marceline yanked open a portal, but she couldn't concentrate on its destination. She dove in regardless, she just wanted to get out of the nightosphere. The first thing she felt on the other side was cold. The portal spinned out of control and spit her out on the icy floor where she lay in a little bundle, shaking and crying.
"Whoah! What the jam was that?" exclaimed a familiar voice. "Gunther, did you get into my wiz-biz again? Why I oughta..."
Ice King's voice cut off half way. "Marceline? How did you… hey are you alright?"
Tears wet her cheeks as she slowly looked up at the familiar face of Simon.
"What's wrong Marcy?" asked the Ice King. Simon's voice seemed to break through at the edges.
"My father is dead." wept Marceline, then completely broke down.