Hello everyone! I've had a lot of time on my hands recently, so here's the next chapter for ya! This is a good one, hope you like it!

I saw 'Adventure Time, Distant Lands: Together Again', by the way. Pretty darn good.

I do not own 'Adventure Time'.

Chapter 23

When All Nightosphere Breaks Loose

Finn delivered a flying kick straight into the Bandit Princess's nose. "OW!" she cried. The Bandit Princess had white skin and a big, toothy mouth. Her horns on her head turned more grey as the color neared the tips, and a tuft of dark hair nestled between her horns. She wore a sky blue robe and her black feet looked like boots. "You jerk! Who punches a princess in the face?!"

"Who steals from a town of literal Soft People?!" Finn gestured to the adorable town of colorful fluffy people. The Soft People, being an easily frightened people, stood far back from the sword wielding hero and thief.

"Hey! Easy pickings! So what?" said the Bandit Princess. She balanced the bag of goods over her shoulder and kept her bronze sword aimed at Finn. "Where do you get off sticking your nose in my business? I'm gonna take that antique sword and before I sell it, I'm gonna jam it up your-"

Finn quickly summed an ice ninja star and chucked it at the Bandit Princess before she could finish. The star cut open the bag and all of it's contents of gold, jewelry, and personal belongings spilled out on the ground.

"My loot!" Bandit Princess reached down to pick up the split goods, but a trio of ice daggers being flung into the ground made the thief jump back.

Finn raised Nothung threateningly. "You better go while the going's good."

The bandit Princess growled. "You haven't heard the last from me! I'm gonna rip ya a new one, ya hear! I'll-"

Finn chucked another ice dagger and it stuck into one of the Bandit Princess's horns.

"AH! I'm leavin', I'm leavin'!" Bandit Princess turned around and ran away.

The Soft People cheered. "HOORAY! PRAISE TO FINN THE HUMAN!"

Finn sheathed Nothung and grinned. "Alright! Did ya see that, Jake! Easiest win yet!" When he didn't receive a response, Finn looked around for his bulldog buddy. "Jake?"

Jake was just now entering the Soft Town. He looked like he was running in slow motion. Sweat poured from his head like a partially opened shower cap, and he panted fiercely. When he got to Finn, he brought his hands to his knees and spoke between breaths.

"...Huff...Huff...Finn...I'm glad...you're out…of your...funk...but...this whole...week...you've been...running me...ragged."

"What?, we're heroes. It's what we do." said Finn.

"I'm pretty sure Billy took a day off every once in a while!" Jake complained, some of his stamina returning to him. "Don't get me wrong, building Neptr was the best thing that could have happened to you. But come on, man. This is like, bandit number fifty we've either put away or chased away!"

"Don't be dramatic. We did not take down fifty." Finn replied.

"And if it's not a bandit, it's a beast." Jake continued. "I'm pretty sure the evil monster community is scared to leave their homes because of you!"

"That's a sign that you and I are doing good work!" Finn responded cheerfully.

Jake groaned and rubbed his temples. "Dude, ever since you built Neptr, you've been going nonstop at this hero biz. And I'm proud of ya, for reelz, but you need to relax every now and then, man."

"Jake, I need to keep this up." Finn replied stubbornly. "Ooo is counting on me and I need to keep my hero streak going."

"You don't need to be married to your job, though. Find an activity in between. I like to cook and play the viola, and I've got Lady to hang with. That's what you should do next for an adventure; find a date. Put the sword down for a minute and ask out a princess."

"Listen to Jake!" Said Shoko, appearing by Finn's side. "For a guy who beats up baddies every day of the week, you don't get a lot of action! You're killing me here!"

Before Finn could reply, his phone rang.

"If that's a lady, ask her out." Jake ordered. "I don't care if it's Tree Trunks. I'm exhausted and I can't take it anymore."

Finn answered the phone and brought it up to his ear. "Finn Campbell speaking."

"Yo, Finn. It's Marcy."

"Who is it?" Jake demanded.

Finn brought a hand to the phone's mike. "It's Marceline."

"Eep!" Jake's exhaustion was immediately replaced with fear. "Not her! Not her!" he whispered harshly.

Finn uncovered the mike. "Hey, Marcy. What's up?"

"Listen, I got some busted sound equipment and I was hoping you could come over and fix it for me." said Marceline. "You're good with that stuff, right?"

"I recently made a robot that can bake and fire off pies." Finn offered.

"Rad. I'll text you my address. I live in a house in a cave, so you might have a little trouble finding the place."

"I'll be right over." Finn replied.

"Cool. Later." Marcy hung up.

Finn pocketed his phone. "I take it you're not coming with?" he asked Jake.

"Yeah-no." Jake responded. "I'm gonna take a nap and let these Soft People pet me." Jake dropped to the ground and began snoring. A couple of Soft People came up and started petting Jake while he slept. The dog began grunting and barking in his sleep.

Finn watched the display with a weird look on his face, until Shoko came up and placed her hand on Finn's shoulder. "I, for one, love the idea of going to visit the sexy Vampire Queen's house. You think maybe you can get her to bite us?"

Finn just walked away.

"I'm not asking you to get married! I just want you to get laid!" Shoko complained. "We haven't had sex in literally hundreds of years!"

Finn rode his motorcycle to the cave entrance. He read Marcy's text one more time to make sure he was in the right place. "This has gotta be it." Finn said to himself. "I hope this is it. The last three caves had bears in them."

"Those bears were really rude." said Shoko, seated behind Finn on the bike. "I know we went into their cave, but come on, we're lost. Show a little decency, right?"

"We're not lost, this is the place." Finn confirmed. Finn parked his bike in the cave's mouth. Before he could enter the cave, Finn's phone rang.

Finn answered his phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Finn. It's me, Bubblegum."

"Hey, PB. Whatcha need?"

"Well… there's something I think you and I should talk about." PB said. "Something...important. Can you come over to the Candy Kingdom?"

"I can come by later. Right now, I'm heading to Marcy's place. She invited me over to fix something for her." Finn replied.

"...She did, huh?"

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" Finn asked.

"...Just come over as soon as you're able." the princess replied. "It's important, so I'd appreciate a little haste."

"No prob-"

PB had already hung up.

Finn stared at his phone in confusion. "What do you think she wants to talk about?" he asked Shoko.

Shoko shrugged. "Whatever it is, it feels like we're walking into the crossfire."

That only mixed worry in with Finn's confusion. He pocketed his phone and wandered inside the cave. It was a short walk to the Vampire Queen's home. Finn had to admit, Marceline had a nice place. The cave was cool and damp, both from being underground and from the pond by the house. The house itself was small, but cozy. A violet, pitched roof with white, wooden walls. A deck stood above the water at the front door, and the back door led into a square of grass, surrounded by a picket fence.

Finn walked up and knocked on the front door. Marcy opened the door, wearing her red and black flannel with a pair of ripped jeans and black boots. "Finn, hey!" she greeted. "Glad you could make it!"

Marceline moved aside so Finn could come in. The interior of the house was simple and decorous. Nothing you would think a Vampire Queen would live in. The living room had blue carpet and pink walls. A red, three-man couch sat against the wall with a small, wooden, rectangular table in front of it. Next to the couch, a funky, green lamp sat on a stand. Several picture frames hung on the wall. Most were of Marceline looking like she was having a good time, either rocking, partying, or fighting. A ladder against the wall led up to the second floor. The kitchen area was connected to the living room with a wooden door and a window bar, with a couple of red stool chairs. Finn could see a checkered tile floor in the kitchen and an old looking refrigerator. The only vampiric looking thing in the house was the large, horned skull that hung on the wall above the couch.

"Sweet digs." Finn commented. He pointed at the skull on the wall. "Who's that?"

"I don't take kindly to trespassers." Marceline replied. "You want anything? I've got apples, strawberries, cherries… red stuff."

"I'm good, thanks." Finn replied. "What did you want me to look at?"

"Wait here." Marceline flew into the kitchen and wheeled in a pair of large amplifiers. They looked old, but Marceline smiled proudly as she rolled them in front of Finn. "Pretty sick, right? Found these bag boys in the Rag-and-Bone Kingdom."

Finn nodded. "Pretty cool, yeah. So, what's wrong with them?"

"They don't work. Duh." Marcy said. "Nothing I've tried has gotten any sound out of these things. Figured you might be able to help out."

Finn walked over to the two large amps and examined them. "Hmm. Might be something wrong with the wiring." Finn got behind the first amp and knelt down. He opened up the back panel and a large rat's nest of wires sprung out.

"...This might take a while."

(after a while)

"This should go here, that should go there… Good thing you had all of that spare wire, Marcy."

Marcy was float-lounging above the couch as Finn worked. She sucked the red out of her apple. "Waste not, want not… or whatnot."

Finn closed the back panel and stood up. "Alright. I can't make any promises, but that should hopefully do the trick."

"Let's give 'em a test then." Marcy flew up into the second floor of the house and came back down with her bass-axe in one hand and a couple cords in the other. In a few seconds, Marceline had her bass hooked up to both of the amps. She played a beat and it sounded off on the amplifiers.

"Ah, yeah! That's the stuff!" Marceline cheered as she played.

"Crap, I did it?" Finn marveled. "First I get lucky with Neptr, now I get lucky with these amplifiers. What's next?"

"Hopefully, you get lucky with Marceline." Shoko said from her seat on the couch.

Finn flushed with embarrassment and did his best to ignore Shoko. Marceline stopped playing and unplugged her bass. "These amps rock! Thank's Finn, I owe you one."

Before he could let Shoko make a suggestion, Finn quickly spoke first. "Where'd you get that axe-bass? It's really cool."

Marceline looked down at the bass in her hands. "This old thing? My dad gave it to me."

"Your dad?" Finn asked. "The demon lord you told me about when we first met?"

Marcy nodded glumly.

Finn began to feel bad for asking. "I… I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

Marcy looked over at Finn and gave him a sad smile. "Crappy dads, right?"

Finn smiled back. "Right."

Marceline took a deep breath. "You know what? I guess I should tell somebody this whole story. Might as well be you." Marceline strummed a tune on her base. The melody was sad and gloomy.

"I was about seven when the Mushroom War started. I was a kid, I didn't know what was going on at the time. I remember my mom rushing me into the car. She looked terrified. After that… after the blast… we just kept going from one place to the other. I was used to it just being me and my mom. She never really let me go out and play with the other kids, on account of my… paternal heritage."

Finn sat down on the couch. It wasn't a very comfy couch, but Finn was too engrossed to care.

"Eventually, my mom… she got sick, and sent me away." Marceline closed her eyes. "And it wasn't until a year later that my dad decided to introduce himself to me."

"He waited that long?" Finn asked.

"Father of the year, am I right? I hated him almost immediately. Every time he showed up, I would give him a chance because… he was my dad, and I didn't want to be alone. But then I would scream at him to go away, because my dad has a tendency of making things worse. It's kinda his whole shtick, really. This one time, I was like, thirteen, I lived in this abandoned burger joint. I found this pack of fries, right? And, I hadn't had any good food to eat in a while. I was all excited to eat them, I cooked them up and put them on a plate, I even found some ketchup to go with them."

"How were they?" Finn asked.

"I wouldn't know. I went to go to the bathroom and when I got back, my dad was there, eating all of my fries."

"...Oooooo."

"Uh-huh. To this day, I have no idea how my mom could have ever loved that guy. My guess…? There was never any love."

Finn gulped and drummed his fingers on his leg. "So… you were all alone? In an apocalyptic wasteland? You were just a kid and… you had no one?" he asked tenderly.

"I wasn't always alone." Marceline gave faint smile. "For a time, I had Simon."

Finn shook his head in confusion. "Hold up… Simon?! You mean… you mean-"

"The Ice King, yeah." Marceline put her bass down. "Wait here." The vampire left the bewildered Finn in the living room and flew back up upstairs. She came back holding a creepy looking teddy bear that had been stitched and sewn numerous times, and a small, cardboard box.

Marceline sat next to Finn on the couch and placed the bear and the box on the table. She then dug through the box and pulled out a pocket-sized photo, like something you'd keep in your wallet. She handed it to Finn and he took a look at it. The picture showed a Human couple, by the looks of it. One of them was a thin man smartly dressed in a black suit and red bowtie. He wore a pair of circular glasses and his dark brown hair was cut at neck length. He looked like a history professor. The man had his arm around a woman who reminded Finn a little of Sarah. She had red, shoulder length hair and she wore a green sweater and a pair of oval glasses. She looked like one of those college girls who nobody notices because she spends so much time studying. The two of them looked pretty happy together.

Finn looked at Marceline in confusion. "Who are these two?"

"I don't even recognize him either." said Marceline. "But, the man in that photo is Simon."

Finn's eyes widened in shock and he looked back at the man in the photo. "This guy is Ice King?! No freakin' way! Who's the woman with him?"

"That was his fiance, Betty." Marceline answered. "Simon never said exactly what happened to her. Just that… she was gone."

Finn still couldn't believe that this guy in the photo was the Ice King. he looked so… not like the Ice King. "What the hey happened to him?" Finn asked.

"The crown happened to him." Marcy replied bitterly. She dug through the box again. "Simon Petrikov was an antiquarian, who loved his job and his girl." she said as she pulled out another photo. "But when he found that crown, he… changed."

Marcy handed Finn the photo and looked at it. The photo was of an eight year old Marcy and a guy who looked a lot more like Ice King. His white hair and beard were a lot shorter than Ice King's, and so was his pointy, blue nose. He wore Simon's black suit, minus the bowtie, and his spectacles, with one cracked lens. Despite everything, little Marcy looked pretty happy. She had her arms flung around Simon's neck and hung on while Simon held the camera up for the picture. They both had been laughing when the picture was taken.

Finn studied the picture. 'The Ice King possesses the power of a former Ice Elemental.' Prismo had said. "That crown he wears. It turned him into the Ice King."

"Little by little, Simon lost his mind to the power of the crown." Marcy said sadly. "I was alone and afraid when Simon found me. He gave me Hambo here." she stuck a thumb at the stuffed bear. "He… was the closest thing to an actual father I've ever had. He tucked me in at night, he told me stories, he told me not to swear, he took care of me." A tear escaped Marcy's eye. "But the crown was slowly driving him mad. I kept telling him to get rid of that thing, but he said we needed it, so Simon could protect me with it's power. I just think he wasn't able to part with that crown. It was like he was addicted to it or something. I didn't care much though, I was just glad to have him with me."

Marcy sighed. "But he kept getting worse. He was starting to scare me, and he knew it. So one day… Simon decided that the best way to protect me… was to leave me. I begged him to stay, but he left… just like everyone else."

Finn stared at Marcy, mouth agape. To even imagine what that kind of ordeal felt like was too painful for Finn. "Marceline, I… I… I-"

"You don't have to say anything, Finn." Marcy said kindly. "Thanks for listening. It actually feels kinda good to get that all off my chest."

"But, still. You've been carrying all that junk around for nearly a thousand years. That's just…" Finn couldn't think of a good enough word to describe it. "awful." he went with.

Marceline nodded. "When Simon left, it wasn't until hundreds of years later that I saw him again. By then, the Simon I knew was completely gone. All that was left was the Ice King you now know. I tried avoiding him at first, but he just kept finding me, as if some part of him still remembered me. But he can't even remember Betty any more, let alone the half-demon kid he adopted then abandoned."

Finn and Marceline were silent for a while, then Finn spoke. "So… I'm not the only Human in Ooo? Man, that kinda stinks. Now I don't feel as special."

Marceline smirked. "That's your main thought after hearing my story?"

"Well, I have another thought. But, you might not like it." Finn said.

"Yeah? Tell me anyway."

"You should go see your dad."

Marceline stared at Finn like he was an idiot. "You better mean Simon."

"When's the last time you even saw your dad?" Finn asked.

"I haven't seen that asshole in over a hundred years, and I don't plan on seeing him in another thousand. Why the hell would I want to see him now?"

Finn looked away anxiously. "Before I came to Ooo, I would visit my dad in the Holding Cells," he began. "I knew what he did when I was a baby. I knew he was behind bars for a good reason. But I visited him every chance I got. Even though everyone told me I shouldn't."

"So why did you?" Marcy asked.

"What was I supposed to do? Just stay mad at him my whole life? The man might be a silver tongued rat, but he's still my dad, whether I like it or not."

"That doesn't mean he has to be part of your life." Marcy responded.

"I'm not saying he has to. I'm saying that holding in all of that hate and anger towards my dad wasn't good for me. But going to see him, getting to know him, that felt better. I'll never trust him again for as long as I live. But even after he got me sent overseas, I'm not angry at him."

"Finn, your dad is a human convict who you visited behind bars. My dad is the demonic ruler of the Nightosphere who I told to stay away from me a long time ago. There's a big difference. My life is better without my dad around. And I'm sorry, but your life is better without your dad around, even if you don't realize it."

"My dad is the reason my life is the way it is." Finn said. "He's the reason I got sent to Ooo, he's the reason I became Finn the Human."

"Oh, that was just dumb luck!" Marcy argued. "What good could possibly come out of going to see my dad?"

"Marcy, you've been carrying around all of that baggage for about a thousand years now. This is your chance to lighten the load. Just go see your dad. You can hug him or scream at him, or even punch him in the face. Whatever you do, you need to get it out of your system."

Marcy glared at Finn for a long time, like she was thinking of the best way to properly insult his intelligence. But instead, she let out a long, frustrated sigh. "You really think that going to see my dad is a good idea?"

"Just talk to him and let it all out." Finn replied.

Marcy grunted angrily and flew into the kitchen. She came back with a carton of milk, to Finn's confusion. "What's the milk for?" Finn asked.

"It's bug milk. I need it to open the portal to the Nightosphere." Marcy replied in a peeved tone of voice. She pulled out a piece of chalk from her pocket and drew a funky looking happy face on the wall.

"Is that part of the portal too?" Finn asked.

"Nah, I just thought it would look nice. Any other stupid questions?"

Finn raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, stand down. I'll get out of your hair while you do this." Finn stood up from the couch and headed for the door.

Finn, wait!"

Finn turned around towards Marceline. She looked away and rubbed her arm, looking a little embarrassed. "Could you, uh… come with me?"

Finn blinked. "What?"

"Look, I just… could really use emotional support. It's cool if you don't wanna come though, that's fine."

"I'll go."

Marcy blinked. "Really? Just like that?"

Finn smiled. "Of course. You're my friend, Marcy. I'm always down to help you out."

Marceline blushed for a little bit, then let out an aggravated groan. "Great. Now if you get killed, I'm gonna feel bad. When we get to the Nightosphere, stay close to me. This is not a place you want to get lost in. The Nightosphere is where chaos gets rock hard… I could've used a different analogy, huh?"

"YYYYYeah."

"Well, you get the point. Just stay close. But not too close! I don't want my dad thinking you're my boyfriend."

"Understood."

"Okay." Marceline picked up the carton of bug milk and splashed it's contents on the face she drew. The bug milk soaked into the face ominously.

"Maloso vobiscum et cum spiritum!"

Marceline's wall split down the middle, the tear opened, revealing a world of hellfire.

"Let's get this over with." Marcy said as she and Finn entered through the tear.

Finn and Marcy stepped into a world of pure chaos. Finn began to miss the Fire Kingdom, which was a way nicer place than this. Demons of all shapes and sizes flew, stomped, or crawled through the fiery landscape. The sky was blood red and cloudless. Mountains and monuments of brimstone rose from the flames. This world radiated evil and chaos.

Finn felt his blood freeze. "Oh my glob. Cue the heavy metal music."

"Right? Welcome to hell, little man." said Marceline. "This is actually where Christians got the idea of hell from. Although, they got a lot of details wrong."

"Tell me about me. I still have no idea where they got the name 'Satan' from."

Finn and Marceline turned around to see Marcy's dad standing behind them. Everything about the man screamed 'bad guy'. He had pale, blue skin, reptilian eyes, and he was dressed like a lawyer in a black suit and red tie. The only noticeable similarity between him and Marcy was his black hair.

"I mean, I get that the devil has many names, but how did 'Satan' become one of them?" he continued. "What the heck does it even mean? I guess it has more zing to it than 'Hunson Abadeer', though. And at least the title 'Lord of Evil' has always been pretty accurate." Hunson slapped his forehead. "Oh, where's my head! Marcy, sweetheart! It's good to see you again! How's daddy's little monster been?!" Before Marceline could answer, Hudson scooped her up in a huge hug. "Ah, you've gotten so big!"

Marceline wiggled out of her dad's embrace. "Yeah, hey dad." she greeted flatly.

Hunson looked over at Finn. "Oh, and you brought me an offering! You're the best, sweetie!"

Before Finn could ask him what he meant, Hunson's mouth contorted open grotesquely, revealing a big, python mouth of teeth. Finn screamed as his very soul was sucked away from his body.

As Finn's soul entered Hunson's mouth, Marceline came up and knocked Hunson back. "Dad, knock it off! He's my friend!"

Finn's soul settled back into his body. The frightened Human panted in fear. "What. The. Hell."

Hunson's mouth shrunk back to normal and he smacked his lips. "Hmm… tangy. Who and what are you again?"

"My name's Finn. I'm a Human."

"No kiddin'! I thought you guys were all dead!" Hunson exclaimed. "Although, I don't remember the human soul having such a zesty taste. You guys used to have more of a fried bacon flavor."

"Dad, please stop tasting my friend." Marceline said. "Look, the only reason I'm here is just to catch up a little. I don't want to make a big deal out of this, I just… I'm here, alright?"

"Well what're we doing standing around out here? Let's go inside!" Hunson walked up to the nearest wall of brimstone and waved a hand across the surface. A stairway suddenly materialized in the wall. "Follow me, kids! We're going up, up, up, baby!" he cheered as he ran up the steps.

Marceline pinched her brow. "Freakin' glob, he is so embarrassing."

"For a guy who calls himself the Lord of Evil, he seems kinda nice." Finn said.

"He literally tried to eat your soul." Marceline responded.

"I'm used to people attacking me when I first meet them." Finn replied. "Just go up there and chat with your dad. I'll leave if you think me being there will make things weird."

"Oh, no. You're coming with. I am not putting up with this guy by myself." Marceline floated up the staircase and Finn followed.

The stairway led the two of them to the penthouse suite. It looked normal enough, with expensive looking decor, except the large open wall in the back of the room with a view of the chaotic world of the Nightosphere.

Marcy's dad was in the kitchen area blending a red smoothie. "Hey, hey, gang! What took ya so long?" Hunson shouted over the blender. "Smooched a little before coming up?"

"DAD! He's not my boyfriend! He is just a friend!"

"If you say so sweetie." Hunson turned the blender off and poured himself a glass. "Say, whatever happened to that smartie britches you were dating? The uptight one? Remember-"

"DAD!"

"Okay! Okay! Geez." Hunson took a slurp of his smoothie. Finn could have sworn he caught the scent of blood as Hunson drank his drink. "You still using that axe I gave you as a guitar?"

"A bass, yeah."

"Cool." Hunson looked over at Finn. "My little Marceline is one spitfire of a musician. You should hear her perform!"

"I have. She's pretty good." Finn replied.

"Darn right, she is! I gotta admit, she didn't inherit that set of pipes from me, let me tell ya. I couldn't sing a note to save my non-existent soul!"

Marcy's face reddened. "Dad." she spoke in a forced calm. "I-"

"Hold that thought, kiddo. I got a gift for ya." Hunson finished his smoothie and tossed the glass over his shoulder. "I'll go get it real quick! Finn, you Humans need to eat, right? Help yourself to my fridge of evil foods! It's mostly fast food, but everything from the top shelf is non-poisonous."

Hunson walked into the next room whistling excitedly to himself. Once he was gone, Marcy started pulling on her hair. "He never stops talking." she muttered to herself.

"So he's kinda embarrassing, what dad isn't?" said Finn.

"Finn, he is not a good guy. He has been the source of all evil things on Earth since the prologue! Hades, Set, Lucifer; that was him!"

"Just give this a chance. That's all you need to do." Finn said.

Marceline crossed her arms and grumbled something about getting new friends under her breath.

Hunson came back looking giddy. Clutched in his fist was a purple diamond amulet on a golden chain.

Hunson walked up to his daughter. "Marceline! Check this out!"

Marcy just stared at the amulet with a tired look. "I'm not really big on jewelry, dad."

"Oh, but this is a special piece of jewelry!" said Hunson. "Try it on! I think you'll love it!"

Marceline rolled her eyes. She took the amulet out of Hunson's hand and held it up to eye level. "So lame." she mumbled before putting the necklace on.

Black ink shot out of the amulet and covered Marceline's body, until she was wearing a suit identical to her dad's. The Vampire Queen let out a startled cry, then she began to buckle under an invisible weight.

"Marceline!" Finn moved to Marcy's aid.

"I wouldn't do that, bud." Hunson warned. "In fact, you might wanna stay clear."

Marceline screamed into the ceiling, then transformed into a hideous demon. Finn had seen Marcy shape-shift before, but this was something else. The demon she had transformed into was unrecognizable from the former vampire. She had grown to giant size and lost her petite, female figure. She now looked more like her dad from her feet to her chest. From the neck up, things got weird, scary and gross. Two green sacks and a cluster of purple tentacles grew out of her neck. Her whole head was a seafoam-green bean with a pair of horns. Her eyes were emerald green and her mouth was a vertical slit.

"OH MY FLIPPIN' GLOB!" Finn screamed.

"Glob had nothing to do with this little big beauty." Hunson said proudly. "That's my handiwork right there!"

Monster-Marcy roared, then flew out the open wall into the Nightosphere.

"Where is she going?!" Finn demanded.

"Oh don't worry about her, she's just giving her new powers a test run." Hunson answered.

Finn drew Nothung and aimed the blade at the Lord of Evil. "What have you done?!"

Hunson wagged his finger at Finn. "That's also something you don't wanna do." he warned. Although he eyed Nothung wearily, as if he'd seen that blade before and didn't like the memory. "To answer your question though, I've brought Marcy into the family business! Now Marceline will run the Nightosphere and I get to retire!"

"Against Marcy's will?!"

"She wants this! Or at least, she does now." Hunson replied sheepishly.

Finn smacked his forehead. "Why are there so many crappy dads?" he asked himself before running over to the open wall. Down below, Marcy was attacking anything that moved. Some demons ran, others tried to fight, but they all were either crushed, blasted with purple lighting, or eaten.

"I gotta get down there." Finn said.

"Kid, she's got the power of the Nightosphere coursing through her." said Hunson. "Even with Billy's sword, you don't stand a-"

Finn jumped down towards Marceline.

Hunson blinked. "Were Humans always this crazy?"

Finn picked up speed as he fell towards Marceline. Finn spoke a chant before he bomb-kicked Marcy's head. Monster-Marcy shrieked as frost spread across her head.

Finn somersaulted off Marcy and landed on the red ground. "Come on, Marceline! Fight this!"

Marcy glared at Finn before raising a hand and blasting a bolt of lightning at him. Finn quickly disappeared in a flurry of snow before he could get blasted and reappeared behind Marceline. In her confusion, Finn summoned a long chain of ice and whipped it at Marcy. The chain wrapped around the demon, ensnaring her.

Finn held on to the chain with all of his strength. "Come on, Marcy, pull it together! We need to get out of here!"

"NO ONE LEAVES THE NIGHTOSPHERE!" Marcy bellowed in a voice that was partly her's, partly her father's. She broke the chains holding her, and her neck tentacles shot at Finn. Finn brought out Nothung and sliced away at every tentacle that came close. Nothung must have had a special effect on the evil power of the Nightosphere, because Marcy would shriek in pain every time Finn sliced off one of her tentacles.

Finn caught a glimpse of the amulet Hunson had given Marcy, tucked under her monstrous neck. 'I gotta get that thing off of her.' Finn decided.

Marcy reared her ugly head at Finn, anger burning in her eyes. She raised her hands skyward and they began to glow with red power.

Finn spoke another chant and flung a ball of frost at Marcy's eyes. When the ball got within a foot from her face, the ball exploded in a blast of ice and snow. Marcy shrieked in pain as her eyesight was momentarily taken away. Finn made his move and ran towards Marceline. He jumped onto her large body and climbed up on her suit. Finn slashed away at the tentacles that tried to grab him and moved up to the amulet. He reached out to grab ahold of the cursed crystal.

Then Marceline grabbed Finn off of her chest and held him up in the air. Before Finn could retaliate, he screamed as he was shoved into Marcy's mouth. Marceline swallowed Finn and laughed evilly.

"Ah, baby's first devoured soul." Remarked Hunson from his view in the suite.

Marceline brought her hands to her stomach and moaned painfully.

Hunson tilted his head. "You okay, sweetheart?!" he called down from his perch. "Ya gotta learn to chew your food, Marcy! We might be evil, demon royalty, but table manners are always essential!"

Marceline burped blue fire.

"...Wuh-oh."

Marcy began to ignite. It started small; little patches of blue fire appeared here and there on her demonic body, then it began to slowly spread. Marceline screamed as her body was covered in blue flame. She writhed around madly as the fire consumed her. With one final screech into the air, she exploded in a ball of blue fire.

"Marceline!" Hunson shouted.

The fires that had spread from the blast died down, revealing Finn and back-to-normal-Marceline lying on their backs on the ground, panting from exhaustion.

"Dude...you...taste...awful." Marcy said between breaths.

"Next...time...try me...with...dipping sauce." Finn joked.

Marceline chuckled and floated up off the ground, then helped Finn to his feet. Finn looked around and saw the green amulet lying on the ground a few feet away. Finn walked up to the amulet and drew his sword. He brought Nothung down on the jewel and it shattered to pieces in a green puff of smoke.

"Hey, come on! I never broke any of your stuff!"

Finn and Marcy looked up and saw Hunson float down from the suite. He landed on the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. "But… I guess that was fair. It's just gonna be a hassle making a new one."

Marceline became furious. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Hunson took a step back in fear. "Now, Marcy. I can expla-"

Marceline flew up to her dad and clocked him in the jaw. Hunson stumbled back. "OW! Okay, maybe I deserved that."

"You think?!" Marceline shouted. "I have never asked for anything from you other than just be there for me! And my entire life, all you've managed to do for me is make things worse! But this?! This is a whole new level of low! But at least I learned something today: you don't give a flying fig about me after all!"

Hunson blinked. "Marc-"

"The only father figure I have ever had was Simon! And after he left, I hoped with all my heart that you would be there for me! That you would take care of me! But I had no one! I was alone and scared and you just tried to make my life worse!"

"I never-"

"And after all these years, I'm finally stupid enough to drop in for a visit, because this moron convinced me it was a good idea!" she jerked a thumb at Finn. "And even now, you try to ruin my life! How did my mom ever have a baby with you?! She used to-" Marcy choked up. Her eyes began to well up with tears.

"She used to tell me that you loved me. That the two of you loved each other and you weren't around because things were complicated. But I firmly believe that was all just bullshit! You are clearly incapable of loving anything or anyone! I want you out of my life! I don't want to see you again for the rest of eternity!"

No one spoke a word for a long time. Hunson stared at Marceline with a pained look on his face.

"Do you seriously have nothing to say?!" Marceline asked. "Say something!"

Hunson took a deep breath. "I am not a good person. That should go without saying." he began, his voice full of regret. "Since the dawn of time, I have represented the dark side of this world's equilibrium. I never had compassion or care for anything or anyone. I had a job assigned to me by the universe, and I enjoyed that job."

Hunson met his daughter's irate gaze. "Then I met your mother. She was… unlike any other Human I had ever come across. I did the whole 'Lord of Evil' bit on her, but she wasn't afraid of me. Instead, she clocked me in the jaw and told me to stay away." Hunson looked away, like he was visiting a memory. "I didn't stay away, though. I kept popping up every now and then. During the time, I really didn't know why I kept it up. I had this… this feeling, and didn't know what it was. So I sort of became her personal demon. At first, your mom did all she could to get rid of me. She put up crosses, she came at me with a baseball bat, she even tried sleeping in the church."

Hunson put on a small smile. "But then... she stopped trying to get rid of me. She just sort of decided it wasn't worth the effort and just put up with me. And as she did, this feeling I had, this feeling I kept trying to identify, got stronger."

Marceline's anger began to wane.

"She ignored me at first, I became more like an annoying house guest that wouldn't leave than a personal demon. I would do my tricks, she would get angry or annoyed with me, and then we'd repeat the process. But after a while, she became less angry at me. She'd talk to me, unload all of her worry and frustration on me after each day, and I would listen. I… I liked the sound of her voice." Hunson chuckled. "It kept going on like this, until the sound of her laugh made the unknown feeling within me go nuts. She… she started to scare me."

The smallest of snickers escaped from Marceline's nose.

"I'm being serious." said Hunson. "I had no idea what the heck was going on with me. Every time I would so much as look at her, I felt like something was trying to crawl out of my chest. Your mom must have picked up on my condition, because she began to terrorize me. She began… flirting with me, I guess, and it drove me crazy. I tried staying away from her, but I kept coming right back to her. Before I knew it, she had complete control over me. No spell, no jinx, no curse, and she had me in the palm of her hand. Then one night… she cornered me. I tried to escape, but… I couldn't. Then nine months later, you were born."

"Oh my glob, dad!" Marcy blushed and pulled her hair over her face. "TMI!" although she didn't sound at all angry. By the sound of it, she was enjoying the story.

Hunson reached his hand up to Marceline's face. He hesitated, like he was afraid Marcy would snap at him, but she let him cup her cheek in his hand.

"When you were born, I couldn't believe it. I held you in my arms and just like your mom, you weren't afraid of me. You just looked up at me and giggled, then went to sleep in my arms. It was that moment when I understood what that unknown feeling was. The day you were born, Marceline, I knew what love was."

Marceline stared at her father in disbelief. Her lips began to quiver.

Hunson smiled. "You are so much like your mother." he told Marcy. "You look like her, you sound like her, you sing like her. I couldn't be more proud of the person you've become. You're the one good thing I have ever managed to bring into this world. And if your mom were here, she would say the same. I'm sorry I was never there for you when you needed me. I checked on you from time to time after… after your mom died, but I thought you would be better off without me. I'm a being of chaos, Marcy, I'm not the kind of person that should be raising a child. I understand why you would think otherwise, but I do love you, Marceline. Don't you ever doubt that."

Marceline rushed her father and wrapped her arms around him. She buried her head in his chest and began to cry. "I love you too, dad." she whimpered.

Hunson returned the hug and let Marceline cry into his chest. Finn smiled at the sweet display, but felt bad for intruding. He looked away for something else to focus on while Marceline and her dad had their tender moment.

Marcy and her dad finally parted. Marcy smiled at Hunson. "Thanks, dad."

Hunson smiled back. "I guess you want to go home now, huh? The Nightosphere really isn't the place for you."

Marcy nodded. "I'll visit more often, though. Not too often, but… often enough."

"I'd like that." Hunson snapped his fingers and the nearest wall split open, revealing an opening to Marcy's living room.

Marcy gave one her dad one last smile before heading to the portal. "Come on, Finn, we're leaving."

"Right behind ya." Finn said before following Marceline through the portal. The wall closed back up, leaving Hunson Abadeer alone.

Hunson looked over at the shattered amulet curiously. "Never seen one of them do that before."

Back in Marceline's living room, the calm atmosphere was almost pitiful compared to the chaos of the Nightosphere. Finn crashed down on the couch, despite how uncomfortable it was. "Well that was… crazy."

"That's the understatement of the century." Marcy floated above the couch next to Finn. "I mean… woof."

"Yeah… woof." Finn agreed.

Marceline looked over at Finn. "Hey, listen man. Thanks for… you know… talking me into seeing my dad."

Finn smiled. "Don't mention it. You think things between you and your dad are cool now?"

Marceline bit her bottom lip. "I don't think things between me and my dad will ever be 'cool', per say. But, today was definitely a big step in the right direction." Marceline returned Finn's smile. "I have you to thank for that."

"What are friends for?" Finn asked.

Marceline stared at the table in front of the couch. "I haven't had a friend like you, a friend that would literally go to hell for me, in a long, long time."

"What do you mean?" Finn asked.

"I… it's not really important. But, you're the best friend I've had since… a long time ago." Marceline looked back at Finn and smiled at him with sparkling eyes.

"Awww, glad to hear it." Finn replied. He suddenly felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out. "Huh, looks like Bubblegum tried to text me while we were in the Nightosphere."

Marceline blinked. She frowned and tilted her head. "What'd she want?"

"Let's see. Oh dang, it's getting late! Princess Bubblegum wanted me to come over to talk about something important!"

"...She did, huh?"

"Yeah!" Finn stood up from the couch and pocketed his phone. "I gotta get going. Whatever PB wanted to talk about, she made it sound urgent. It's been fun hanging with you, Marcy."

Marcy watched as Finn headed for the door.

"Wonder what she wants to talk about." Finn said to himself as he opened the door.

Marceline flew up and shut the door on Finn before he could leave. "Before you go…"

I think I'm gonna enjoy reading your guy's reviews on this chapter.