"Simon, have you ever heard of the Night-o-sphere?" Little Marcy takes care to sound the word out carefully.

"Wha? Huh, um, no, I-I can't remember..." Simon, forehead creased, tries to line the fire with old papers, "What is it? Some theme park, or...?"

"Hmm," Marceline takes a deep whiff of the post-apocalyptic air, "Daddy says I'm the Princess there. He calls me his little monster princess."

"Princess, huh? Then I guess..." His hands are shaking slightly at the word, "He's king?"

"Mm, he calls himself a 'lord.' Wonder what that is, like a king I guess..." She turns and glances at the crown sideways, Hambo dangling from one hand, "But you're much more of a king with that crown, Simon."

"Not a very good king, though," The 47-year old plops down with bones of an octogenarian, "Just some crazy old man, heh..."

"That's not true, Simon..." The little girl wraps her arms around him from behind, uncomprehending of the underlying troubles, "Besides, I don't want to be a princess. They aren't any fun. I want to be a queen."

"Oh yeah? And a kingdom and everything? All on your own?"

"No, I'd have you with me silly. You're my king."

"Oh, Marceline..." He pulls her into a bear hug, whispering inaudibly, "How do I explain all this madness to you?"

...

"And so, I lay all my troubles down and..." I pause. That last note sounded wrong. Frowning, I pluck at the string repeatedly with different levels of tautness.

"Yo, Marceline!" Ash calls to me from below the canopy. I flit down and make him flinch from behind, "Yow! Hey, that is not fair."

"Yeah, sorry," I give him a hug, "So, how's it going?"

"Check this out," He conjures a snow ball out of thin air, "Neat huh?"

"Yeah..."

"What's up?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about this new song in my head..." Actually, the song was about Bonnie. After the whole meeting collapsed, I haven't seen her in a while now. Her little butler doesn't seem too fond of me anyway. I could honestly go another year without seeing her again. Maybe then she'd forget what happened and I won't have to apologize.

"Oh, I got you something," Ash digs in his endless pouch, "Today's our one year anniversary."

"Ohh, Ash..." That's nice he remembered. Me, I'd forgotten completely. It sucks I didn't get him anything.

"Don't freak out, but … I figured you needed a change of scenery. So I found you a new house!"

"WHAT?!" I screech like a crazed fangirl.

"Here, get on," He pats a spot next to him on the carpet. I get on and he closes my eyes, "No peeking. Go, carpet!"

It's not that trees are anything bad, but I have to admit, I'm dying to feel a couch or mattress after so long. Floating and lying in the air is fun too, but I feel like I'm missing out. I ride on his magic carpet to a shack on a secluded beach area. I can tell because the salt breeze is ticklish to my sensitive nose.

"Wow, I didn't even know there was a place like this that existed..." I breathe a little sigh of awe when he uncovers my eyes.

"You should explore more, Marceline. What's the fun in being immortal if you're just a homebody?"

"Umph," I kick some sand into the waves, "Ash... How long do wizards live?"

"Ha, longer than humans if that's what you mean. We can extend our lifespans through magic potions and junk," He opens the shack door, "Come on in."

It's a cozy setting. There's a spot on the floor for a fire, a pelt bed propped up against some old fishing rods and nets, and some other stuff to give the place a homey feel.

"Nice... And no one'll bother me out here," Through a small crack in the roof, I glimpse the stars, "Thanks again, Ash."

"Oh, it's not over yet!" Ash fishes out a piece of paper from his hip pouch, "You'll find my other present at the end of this treasure hunt!"

There are scribbles of words and instructions. Well, this ought to be fun.

"Are you coming with?"

"Hmm, pshaw, why not?"

"Ok, 'the old ruins south of Wizard City' – Hey, no fair, I don't know where the jack that place is! You never told me!"

Ash laughs as I punch his arm, "Wizards only, fool! Ok, ok, stop, that's hurts. I'll take you to the ruins, but that's your one freebie."

To my surprise, we arrive at the old human city, the parts that haven't been washed away by the tides of time, anyway. I shudder a little as we near a familiar section of the city. Then I see the name of that diner where me and Simon had visited before. It was the same diner I stayed with my dad. The name Schwabl is still visible.

"Remember you once told me about this place? You used to come here, right?"

"...Yeah … Why are we here...?" I shakily dismount the carpet.

"Go on inside. I put your present there," Ash lays down on the carpet, "I'll be out here for my 'thank-you' kiss."

"Haha..." I nervously laugh as I float near the entrance, "Don't push your luck..."

My hand hesitates before I grab the handle. In that instant, the glass just shattered to smithereens. I float over the little pile of glass into the store. It's dark, and I would have been afraid if not for my night vision. Those … things used to be here. They disturbed me and Simon when we would raid for food. I look down on the floor to see dried green ooze. It's been here a while.

There's a low whine from the back of the store. I quickly go to see what it is. And I see red. Red fur.

It's a poodle. A red poodle. It looks at me with black, shiny eyes and yawns before casually trotting up to me. It barks at me just once.

I guess I hadn't eaten much that day, because I was ravenous. This red thing in front of me suddenly seemed like a giant meatball or something drenched in red. I grab it before it can yip and sink my fangs into the small, warm body.

It flails in my grip helplessly. I can feel the bones about to snap as I grip harder, bite deeper. The red fur becomes white and the legs dangle by the time I snap out of it and pull back.

"Ah..." I feel sick looking at this lifeless body in my hands. I still feel its heart beat faintly, but it's dying. All because of me …

"ASH!"

I burst out of the diner. Ash falls off his carpet. He quickly scrambles to his feet and runs to me. I feel his hand against my trembling body. I'm sure I'm a fright right now, with blood and fur on my clothes and face.

"M-Marcy … What happened … Oh."

His eyes rest on the white lump in my arms. His gaze shifts between the dog and my face. Then he swallows, mounting the carpet.

"Come on. I know what to do."

…

"I can't believe you got me a red dog! What were you thinking?!"

"Oh I dunno! I thought maybe you'd like it, and, oh, not chew on it?" He yells to me as the scenery flies by atop the magic carpet.

I sniff, too busy to retort. The poor thing is just shivering. I nearly drained it all. Wherever Ash is taking us, I hope it works. It'd suck if the gift he got me just died the day I got it.

"... I'm sorry Ash..." My voice lowers, "You must've worked your butt off to find this..."

"... It's alright. I shoulda gotten another color."

I feel something wet on my hand. I look down to see the little dog licking my hand with its little tongue. Strange, after I almost killed it, its licking me so endearingly...

"I'll call you Schwabl, cuz' I found you there. And don't worry. Ash'll fix you right up," I doubt it understood me. I call out to Ash, "Are we there yet?"

"Wait … Ah, yep!" The carpet jerks to a sudden stop by some bushes. We both dismount and Ash gestures me to hide behind the bushes, "Keep quiet, alright? This is a delicate process..."

I peer over the foliage a little. A ring of weirdos are having lunch around some old dusty book. Gob they look ridiculous! One has a yellow pointed head and green jeweled eyes. Another has pitch black hair covering every inch of his body.

"What do we want with these old farts?" I whisper to Ash a little impatiently. The weirdos started talking about the weather and scones.

"We gotta ask them for that tome. But we gotta be smooth. These are heads of the traveling Magic Troupe. They are seriously-"

I shove Schwabl into his arms and turn invisible before he can protest. Then, quickly, I snatch the heavy book from its place. The weirdos jump up and start hopping for the book, which was not invisible. I landed my foot and a fist in their faces and they dropped like a rock. I revert to visibility.

"Done."

Ash's jaw drops, "I can't … I can't believe you just did that! Those were-"

"Yeah, yeah, now what do we do with this book?"

Ash looks a bit miffed I threw his diplomacy plan out the window, but he gives up and gets down to flippin' through the book with me. Eventually, he finds a page labeled "Zombification for the Dying."

"Alright, this is the spell. We just gotta follow the instructions..."

…

Schwabl, a newly made zombie poodle, runs playfully about in the sandbar by my new home. I laugh a little as it runs between my legs. It's as if it's still a live animal. I can't tell the difference.

"This is great, Ash. Thanks so much."

"How about that kiss now?"

"Heh, I'm a little tired, to be honest," I smile wryly, "But sure. Close your eyes."

He does as I tell him to. I pick Schwabl up to his face and he gets a big helping of zombie dog slobber.

"Eugh! Zombie spit...!"

"Hey, watch it," I laugh, "I'm undead too,"

"Ha ha, very funny... Alright. I gotta get going for my night lesson. I'll be back tomorrow," He clambers onto his carpet, "See you."

I wave good bye and he swooshes away. I do feel a little bad about winging my gift like that. The forest's edge rustles lightly in the night wind. I close the door and jump on the bed. It's like being a little kid, rolling on new sheets to get a good feel. Only these weren't new. I spend a good deal picking dust and lint out of my hair. Then I get an idea.

"Y'know, even if we're undead, it doesn't mean we have to smell the part."

I grab Schwabl and take off my clothes on the sandbar. Without another thought, I dive into the freezing seawater. Immediately I regret the idea.

"Yow!" That water is COLD! I jump out, shivering on shore. Schwabl trots on top of a protruding rock and shakes the water droplets from his fur.

"Sorry, boy," I hastily don my clothes, feeling the night chill, "Geez, it's cold..."

"그곳에!"

"WAH!" I jump as a multicolored laser of some sort blasts just near where I'm standing. I grab Schwabl and take to the air, "What the junk?! Hey, who's there?!"

"그 개!" A couple of weird looking unicorns come out from the fringe of bushes, "빠른 , 그것을 얻을!"

They rapidly seem to expand before my eyes. Their bodies are longer than a normal horse, and are more like a snake's body. Plus, they look like walking rainbows with a mop of hair on both ends. They shoot those colorful lasers from their horn. One grazes my leg, turning it purple. It doesn't exactly hurt but you'd be pretty freaked out if your leg suddenly turned purple.

"What the jizz!?" I had to ditch these guys. So I whiz past them and into the forest. I'll admit I was flying a bit blindly. Next thing I know, I fly right into a tree. The impact should have split my face. I slide down slowly, like in cartoons.

"Oww..." I flop on my back. Schwabl licks my face in his cute, little zombie way. I can't help but feel ticklish, "Okay, hey. I'm alright."

I dust myself and look around. I think I lost those weird horses, but what part of the woods is this? Well, I had a whole night to kill, so I'll see if I can't find my way back myself. Schwabls could use a walk, so fly low. The forest is pretty quiet. I take a turn at some tree and all of a sudden, it's snowing.

"Oh, wow..." I look up and up at some giant icy mountain surrounded by snow clouds. Then I remember the creep who must live here.

"C-C'mon Schwabl, let's-"

"Wenk."

That stupid penguin! I don't know, I still remember when this thing gave me a nightmare or something... I get weird vibes from it. Ice King calls it Gunther, I think.

"Gunther, shoo!" But the penguin just starts clinging onto my leg, "Hey, get-get off!"

"Hey, Gunther, have you seen my - OH!" Of course Ice King would fly in at the worst possible moment, "Dude! Respect a lady's private space! Not cool!"

Luckily, he does pry the penguin off my leg. Then he's just looking at me. Schwabl hides behind my legs.

"So... You okay now or..."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply scathingly, though he did rescue me and Bonnie at that lake, "I didn't need your concern."

"Fine, fine, Ice King gets the hint. For a second there though," He rubs his hairy beard, "I thought Gunther saw more of those humans or something. I dunno, something weird's been prowlin' around, taking my snow!"

"Humans?" I can't believe my ears. There are other survivors of the war? Leaving the old man to his mumbling, I grab Schwabl and fly back into the forest. That's right, if I draw deep into my power of smell, I should be able to … found 'em! I immediately fly in the scents direction.

Something in me jumps at knowing there may still be some normal people alive. Even if I'm no longer normal. The part of me that's happy also has this weird elation to it. Like what happens when a predator has finally cornered prey-

I stop mid flight. I can feel it. Vampiric hunger. All those souls of deceased vampires the King showed me … they desire blood. Real red, not color. That water of life that circulates the living body. I hadn't fed before, never. I was always too afraid to kill.

But now, I'm in control. I force the voices to quell and I resolve to meet those humans. These people who are possibly the last in existence … I feel an urge to protect them, like a farmer watches his cattle grow for slaughter. What horrifying thoughts.

"... Come on, Schwabl," I pick up my pet and ruffle his curls a little before floating back to the beach, "Let's go exploring tomorrow. We've got a lot of time on our hands anyway."

…

Those weird unicorns from yesterday are gone. I stretch out leisurely, feeling the sand under my toes. It's weird. At night, the sand is cold but the water is warmer. Still too cold to go swimming, though. At least my leg's back to normal.

"Yo, Marceline."

"Hey!" I hug Ash, "How're your lessons going? Do you have any free time? I wanna make up for getting you slobbered."

"Aw, sorry, babe," He chuckles, "Magic Man is just so awesome. I wanna be a wizard as powerful as him. So I can't take off any time soon. Maybe after the classes are over?"

"Pfft, whatever," I didn't mean to sound mercurial, but being blown off for magic classes is pretty pooching.

"C'mon, don't be like that …" He leans in and smooches my cheek lightly. That always made me feel a little better, "How're you liking your new neighborhood?"

"It's nice. I see the stars at night, and it's quiet. Oh," I jump up, "I almost forgot, the weirdest junk happened after you left yesterday."

I tell him about the weird horses I saw with sausage bods. He listens, I think.

"...So, any idea what they were?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, they're color-unicorns or somethin'..." He yawns, "Dang, these night classes really take the pump outta ya..."

"You gotta take a break. Dang son," I pull the sides of his face so they stretch, "I see those dark circles. They might be permanent."

"Wha?! Really?!" He straightens up quick, then sees me laughing, "Oh, very funny, Marceline."

"No, seriously. I don't age, but you do, right?"

"Pfft. Maybe not for long. Magic Man's got some sweet magic all the way from Mars! I'll bet he can make me immortal too!"

"Immortal and eternal youth are two different things, Ash," Still, I can't help but hope he could find some way to live forever young. Then we could be together forever, "So what about those unicorns..."

"Uh, le'see... after the war, they were responsible for reducing a lot of the humans. Nowadays, they're at war or something. Who knows, they don't got much to do with us wizards."

"Woof. They turned my leg purple! It turned back, but still. They are some nasty biz," I look down at the sand, "Wonder if any humans are out there...?"

I must've spoken too softly, because Ash is just going on and on now about whatever Mars is, like he didn't eve hear what I said. I can only listen, albeit bored. He's really on board with this Magic Man dude and whatevs. Maybe I should meet this guy sometime.

"Oh yeah," Ash turns to me suddenly, "Whatever happened to that band you were shootin' for?"

Oh, he remembered.

Truth is, I'd been a little embarrassed about the whole thing. It kinda fell apart before it ever came true. After the thing with Shouko and the Honey Kingdom, PB and I were definitely not talking to each other any time soon. My three gang members probably skedaddled back to the Underworld. Can't trust those guys for nothin'. So yeah, that never really amounted to anything, not one concert.

"...We disbanded."

"Oh," He places a hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry. I've heard you play, and you don't need a band. Maybe another time."

"Thanks Ash."

"Now I gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow okay?" He looks to Schwabl, "And you be a good boy, okay?"

My poodle looks at him with that vacant expression. He laughs and speeds off on his carpet. As I watch him leave, a huge wave catches me off guard, dousing me and Schwabl.

"Puh! Ugh, gross..." I lift my arms to find slimy seaweed, "Schwabl, you okay bo-"

I turn to see a Giant Goldfish dredged in the sand with Schwabl's hind legs sticking out of its fish lips. I grab my bass and swing it up. The fish begins frantically flopping towards the water.

"OH NO YOU DON"T! GIMME BACK MY DOG!"

Even though the stupid fish didn't make a sound, a wave came up as though summoned. With it can a whole school of the same fish. They were huge! And they all looked the same! Which one ate Schwabl?! I gotta find him before they flop back to the water. So I start hacking them up one by one. Let me tell you now, fish are not fun to cut up. They smell and they're just, ugh...

Before I knew it, I'd pretty much hacked up the whole school of beached fish. Schwabl pokes his little head out innocently from one of the fish's guts.

"Schwabl! Ugh..." I scoop him up but hold him away from me. Being inside a fish's guts makes you smell worse than Death with bad breath, "We both probably smell like Simon's old socks..."

So I spent the rest of the evening bathing myself and my dog.