A/N : Well. Drama bombs. They're just. Everywhere…

She could have sworn her heart dropped.

At first, it was as simple as her not being in bed. But then she wasn't in the library, she wasn't in the garden. She wasn't in any of the labs, and her brother hadn't seen her. The cook, the maids, the butlers, Third, no one. Now the guards had taken to calling for her, but they heard no answer. Astrid, Astrid. Everyone cried out. Astrid! But nothing. Marceline, who had been jolted from her afternoon nap, soon floated through the corridors. "Hey little princess! Where ya at?" Nothing. The vampire queen floated about and decided to check the library again. Even if all she found there was silence, it'd at least be somewhere to sleep.

"Little princess! You in here?" she called. Nothing. Good. She floated passed various book shelves and piles of books. Feet pounded against the ground of the halls outside, all of them searching for the princess. They'll find her somewhere.

The queen kicked her legs up and floated just above a nice big comfy red chair. Her eyes rolled to see a stack of books on the side table. The one on the top was beaten and black. Big red letters were pressed in to the cover. "Night - O - Sphere, A guide to demons and other cursed creatures." Marceline snickered and picked the book up and opened it. "Someone's been reading up on home" she chuckled. The first paragraph had been high lighted with a bright yellow marker. "Huh" she said as she read it.

"To understand the Night-O-Sphere we must first understand it's powerful leader. Hunson Abadeer."

Marceline sighed. "Dad" she mumbled but still continued.

"Hunson is well known as one of the most powerful creatures in all of Ooo. His daughter, Marceline the Vampire Queen, is also high in the hierarchy of cursed kind."

"Damn right" she smirked.

"These demons are known to make deals for souls, to kill mercilessly, and to rule with an iron fist. They are not to be trifled with and are best killed on sight if they don't kill you first. (See Page 4 for 'Killing and Defense')."

The highlight stopped. Killing huh? Harsh. Marceline's fingers flipped the corners of the pages. Page 4, right. Lets see how they're gonna kill me. More sentences were marked, here.

"Hunson Abadeer may not be able to be killed, however, in a complete emergency, you may be able to make a deal with him. He usually only accepts one form of payment. Souls."

Marceline stared confused at the book. Who would high light this…and so recent? Her brain processed for a moment. Think about it Marceline, someone brave enough to go to the Night-O-Sphere. Foolish enough to give up their soul to your dad.

A child.

"Astrid!"

—- The Night Before —-

Astrid sat in her room, alone. Her brother had taken to sleeping in his own room for once. So there she laid, belly down, flashlight out. Her sneaking around in the afternoon had sent her fingers wiggling the diary from Marceline's sleeping hands. The girl studied the words closely and she soon realized, this was where the story got interesting.

Dear Diary,

I've made a friend today, in a strange way. His name was Hunson, Hunson Abadeer.

—-

It was exactly six o' clock when Bubblegum found the place she had been looking for. She stared in to the mouth of the cave, eyes glancing down to the map that was sloppily drawn on a napkin. She took a couple steps closer. This is it she thought to herself.

"I'll be alright now, she'll be here" she said.

"Would she protect you, if anything happened?" Peppermint asked.

"I trust her enough to find out should circumstances demand it" Bubblegum said. Peppermint nodded. He turned away and the two gumdrop guards followed him.

"Good night, your majesty" he called behind him.

"Good night, Peppermint" she said back.

She inhaled deeply and her feet began moving. In all of her eighteen years, she'd never been in a cave like this. Strange crystals hid in the walls, they acted as though they were glow sticks, neon in the dark. Something dripped in to small puddles, liquid from the roof of the cave. A glance upwards showed a few bats, hanging in a sleepy state.

Why anyone would choose to live here, she had no clue.

It was a shadow at first, large, a strange shape. The moon light glowed through the window and as she focused, it grew color and an outline across it's face. The house was quite cute, in her opinion. Small, pink, purple accents. It sort of looked like somewhere she might like to live.

A hand that clutched the strap of her bag soon reached forward to knock lightly on the door. Once, twice, three times, very proper. The hinges of the door made a slow, whining creak. Bubblegum peaked around the door.

"What do you want, Bubbles?" a voice asked.

"My name is actually Bubblegum" she corrected quietly.

"Yeah, like I care. What do you want?" the voice asked again.

"I'm here to see Marceline" she said.

"Well she ain't here and she doesn't want to see you" the voice said. The door went to close but Bubblegum's hand pressed forward.

"Please, let me see her" she said.

"I told you she's not here" the voice said.

"Can I at least come in and wait for her? It will be dark soon" Bubblegum said.

"What, you afraid of the dark, Bubbles?"

"No! I just don't want to be sitting outside at night alone in the cold" she said. The voice let out a groan and the door pulled open.

"Get in here before I change my mind" the girl before her had an odd color of skin, more blue than Marceline's. She had long blonde hair that was shaved on one side of her head. She wore a black tank top that read "Alkaline Trio" in red letters and her legs were covered with baggy gray sweatpants.

"Thank you" Bubblegum said. She stepped inside the door and glanced around. A kitchen, it was quaint. Surprisingly Marceline's house was…normal. Normal for a house inside a cave anyway.

"Whatever"

"I'm Princess Bonnibel Bu-"

"I know who you are, Bubbles" the girl interrupted.

"You could be more polite" Bubblegum snapped. The girl laughed at her.

"Polite enough to flirt with someone else's girlfriend?" she asked.

"What are you-" Bubblegum was stopped.

"Don't play dumb, Bubbles. Marceline is mine and you can't have her" Ashley said, taking steps closer to the princess. Bubblegum dropped her bag to the floor and began to step back.

"Marceline!" Bubblegum called, but there was no answer. Ashley laughed, no, cackled.

"I told you, she isn't here. There will be no one to hear you scream, princess"

Bubblegum only remembered her eyes closing. Just that brief second of darkness that felt like an eternity. When her eyes opened again, she wasn't in the house. She was laying on the ground, or, something. Eyes slowly opened and everything around her was red. Endlessly, red. No walls, no floor, no ceiling. It seemed to stretch on forever, and yet she wasn't falling or floating. It felt as though there was ground there.

"Where am I?" she asked groggily.

"You're bleeding to death on the floor!" a voice said cheerfully.

"What?" the princess's elbows pushed down and she sat herself up.

"You're bleeding to death on my daughter's floor" the voice repeated. Now there was a face to place to the voice. A blue-skinned man stood smiling. He was dressed in a black suit, he looked like a business man.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Hunson Abadeer" he said. "Lord of Evil" he added his title. "And you're Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum of the Candy Kingdom" he said.

"Yes, I…am" she said confused.

"I have a deal to offer you!" Hunson said.

"What sort of deal?" she asked.

"Well, you won't live more than a few minutes the way you are now" he said, his smile never leaving. "But I can pull some strings and let you live."

"And what would I have to do?" she asked.

"Live!" he answered simply. "Your life will be shortened, of course. You won't quite live as long as the candy monarchs usually do"

"How long will I live?"

"When you turn 75, you'll become ill. You'll die just before your 76th birthday. It'll seem completely natural"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Tomorrow is my little girl's birthday! I can't have her grieving over a dead princess on her birthday" he explained.

"Is there anything else?" she asked.

"Yes. When you die, you'll be turned in to one of my demon minions! Isn't that great?" he asked.

"Not exactly" she said. "But, if I agree, you'll let me live?"

"Until you're 76. Then you're mine" he said.

"Can I ask just one more thing?"

"What is it?"

—-

The diary snapped shut and the princess let out a loud gasp. Granny! Corners of covers tossed aside and little feet began to smack against the hallway floor. Granny! Granny! I'm coming granny!

—-

"She's in the what?!" The king shouted.

"Night-O-Sphere" Marceline said.

"We'll send troops! We'll - We'll!" Mark went to yell again but Marceline shook her head.

"She's with my dad. I'll just go down and sort this junk out" she shrugged. "No big deal"

"Are you sure? Will she be alright down there alone?" Ellie asked.

"She's a tough little munchkin" Marceline said. "I'll bring her back in one piece" and with that a large, swirling, mix of purple and orange appeared on the ground behind her.

"Be careful!" Ellie called.

"And tell grandpa I said hello!" Mark called next.

She nodded and gave something alone the lines of a salute and then she was gone, and so was her portal.

—-

"I'm not afraid of you" Astrid said, she had a small dagger made of gummi candi in her hand. "Tell me where my granny is!"

Hunson stared down at her curiously, something seemed familiar about her. "I got it! You're the princess of the candy kingdom. It's been a while since I've seen one of your family"

"Yeah and you're a butt!" she yelled. "Where is my granny?" she asked again.

"Would you like some orange juice? Kids like juice right?" he asked.

"Are you even listening to me?" she asked.

"Orange juice it is" he said. The girl let out a groan as the man opened the fridge that was behind him. She had to admit, she was surprised he lived somewhere so…normal. "You know you're my great grand daughter" he said, pouring juice in to a glass.

"I am not" the girl said.

"Of course you are!" he said happily. He sat the juice on the table and pulled out a chair. The girl eyed him suspiciously but still climbed to sit where he had placed the glass.

"Are not" she mumbled. Still, she slurped the juice. Hunson stared down at the girl and he had to admit, the more he looked at her, the more he was reminded of someone else. Her skin was a smooth white, as she was part jawbreaker. Her hair was black, it fell just passed her shoulders. She wore a pretty little blue dress. She was fearless, and well…grumpy.

"You remind me of your grandmother" he said.

"Granny Bonnibel is my hero" she smiled.

"No, your other grandmother" this earned quite the stare from the little one.

"I hate that bloodsucker and she isn't my granny" the girl mumbled.

Hunson didn't like these words, his smile faded. "I can't change your mind, but I know someone who can" he said.

"Who?" she asked.

"Oh, Bonnibel!" he called. The girl gasped, as standing before her, tall and proud as ever, was her grandmother.

"Back off, you psycho!" the scream echoed through the room.

"You're mine!" Ashley screamed back. Bonnibel's eyes weren't even half wide, she could only see shadows, blobs, moving above her. It seemed as though Marceline were standing over her, her ax blocking something. Bonnibel's eyelids grew heavy again. They only opened at the sound of her name being called.

"Bonni?" it was…Marceline, definitely Marceline. Pink eyes twitched under lids. "Are you awake?"

Bonnibel groaned in response. Her eyes opened slowly.

"You are awake!" Marceline shouted happily.

"Whaaa" Bonnibel's eyes opened completely. Grey walls…ceiling. Where was she now?

"Thank glob you're alright, princess. You lost like…a lot of blood" Marceline explained.

"Huh?" Just when she thought she could assume it was all a dream, there was Marceline, her hands and face covered in blood. The vampire floated over her.

"Is that my blood…on you?" she asked.

"Nope! Well…some of it is. Most of it is Ashley's though. I haven't taken a bath…or moved or nothin' since I brought you up here" she said.

"Why not?" Bonnibel asked.

"I couldn't leave you" she said.

Bonnibel felt a blush creep on her face. "A-and what of Ashley?"

"Decapitated. It's gonna take a while to clean up after that…" Marceline said.

"You decapitated her?"

"Well yeah! She tried to kill you"

"You protected me" Bonnibel said. Harmless.

"Y-yeah I guess" Marceline shrugged.

"My hero" Bonnibel smiled. The vampire who floated above her eased a small smile. Bonnibel reached her hand forward, waving for the vampire to float closer, and so she obeyed. Bonnibel's hand reached forward, pulling at the vampire's shirt. Down she came, until lips touched lips.

"What was that?"

"A reward of sorts"

"Can I have another?"

"You have to earn them"

"Just one more?"

"Oh, fine. Just one!"

Pink skin had taken a new color, it was now a light shade of red. Hair was no longer made of bubblegum, it was black and long. She had fangs and creepy yellow eyes. The princess jumped from her chair and walked slowly over to the creature.

"Astrid" the demon said.

"Is that really you, granny?" Astrid asked. Bonnibel nodded and the little girl immediately grabbed on to the demon's leg.

"Granny! I've missed you so much!" the little girl was nearly in tears.

"I've missed you too Astrid"

"I have been reading your diary" the girl admitted, letting go of her granny.

"That's supposed to be private" her grandmother said sternly.

"Then you shouldn't have left it where someone would find it" the little one replied. "Now. Why did you love Marceline?" she asked.

"Well it's simply reall-"

Crash! There went the window and a battle cry soon sent a large shining ax bass swinging.

"Get away from her!" Marceline yelled. Swing! Swish. Cut. Miss. Way to go, Marcy.

"Oh no" Marceline gasped.

"Look what you did!" Bonnibel yelled.

"Bonni?"

"Shut up!" she yelled back. The former queen sank down to her knees. "Astrid?" she said softly. "Astrid" no answer. A hand nudged the little girl's shoulder. She then rolled to lay on her back. A large, deep wound went through her torso.

"Look what you did!" Bonnibel screamed up at Marceline.

"I was trying to hit you!"

"That doesn't make it any better!"

"Well - Well! I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't fix it this time!"

Sorry wouldn't fix it. The little girl's chest was moving up and down in faint, slow movements.

"Astrid, can you hear me?" tears streamed down her face. "Astrid."

"Good" the little girl said softly. "Is shown through heroic acts" she paused. "And good deeds"

"You're going to be alright" Bonnibel promised.

"You're my hero, granny" the little girl ignored her words.

"And you're mine, Astrid" Bonnibel said. With that, the little one's head fell back. Her eyes shut, and her words ceased.

To be continued.