Marshall plopped his bum onto a chair that he did not even know was behind him. If not for the chair, he risked to have fallen over all together. His heart was pounding in his chest, blood rushing uncomfortably in his ears. Dumbly Marshall pointed a thumb at The Hand.

"They said…" He tried to begin. "They killed you… and you…"

"I asked them to, darling." Hamna said, almost as if the questioning annoyed her. She seemed unconcerned at the disconcert of her son.

"But… why?"

"Well…" she began, fluttering her eyes at the skulled man next to her. "I've always kind of flirted with Death… and one day… well, one day he made me offer I couldn't resist."

"I asked my baby Abadeer to move in." He said silkily. "And be my Queen."

She blushed and waved him away.

"Ohh… you're too much!" She teetered at him.

"I don't mind if you call me 'Dad'" Death said, happily outstretching a bony hand to Marshall. Marshall eyed the offer in disgust.

"I had a dad!" He cried out, his eyes becoming pointed and evil as his anger rose. "How could you leave the Nightosphere for something so… so…"

Hamna Abadeer slanted her eyes at her son.

"So silly? It was far past my time, Marshie. It was damn well time for you to take responsibility for once in your pitiful life…" She spat. Marshall's face turned dark, and his fingernails sharpened to grip into the rests of the chair. When coming down to the Underworld, Marshall's heart was full of longing and remorse for his mother, but now all of that soft feeling evaporated as he remembered the sourness of her character. How had he forgotten how deeply he hated the woman? She had abandoned him, his dad, and then popped into his life years later, uncalled for, unexplained, and expecting him to take on a responsibility he had never asked for.

"You ruined my life." He whispered through clenched teeth. "I never wanted your stupid kingdom."

"YOUR stupid kingdom, now." She said, gesturing to The Hand.

"I can't- I can't control it…" He said defeatedly. Hamna was taken aback by his statement.

"What do you mean? I gave you everything you needed. That stupid Ax Guitar, the Banisher of Evil to contain my chaos…" Suddenly she pointed to The Hand. "They should have provided you with everything!"

The Hand suddenly paled, and gestured towards the sword at Fionna's hip. For the first time, Hamna acknowledged the presence of Fionna, who smiled uncomfortably back at her.

Hamna's brows rose with curiosity.

"Why does the Human have the sword? It's yours, Marshall."

Marshall looked away, feeling small and worthless.

"I can't wield it…" He confessed. His mother scoffed.

"What's the matter with you? Just stick it in your hand and hold in the chaos. It's like holding a fart, but forever!"

"Easy for you to say, you're a full demon!" Then, Marshall looked at the browness of the skin of his mother and added. "Well, was a full demon."

Hamna sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Are you that ignorant about your bloodline, Marshall?"

"You never told me anything about anything!" He cried, shaking as emotions battled within him. She sighed, obviously not bothered with upsetting Marshall further.

"Our demon blood is passed down from generation to generation, but the shells of our bodies are human. I gave you my demon blood, and now I am just human. You control that demon blood and you will become a full demon. Understand?"

Marshall shook his head. He did not want to become like his mother. He did not want to be cold and heartless. He wanted nothing to do with her.

"I won't do it…" He said through gritted teeth. Hamna clicked her tongue and stamped her foot.

"You're such a pain! Has this been like this the whole time?" She said, now questioning The Hand. They blanched in her gaze and nodded fervently.

"And the Nightosphere…?" She dared ask.

"Fuck the Nightosphere." Growled Marshall.

"It's your duty!" Hamna screeched at him, her emotions suddenly flaring. Death put a skeletal hand on Hamna's shoulder and cooed calmly.

"Whoa, whoa. No hate in here, man. Love your children, even if they're little shits. That's what Glob would want." Death said, cackling to himself.

"I was worried about you… but what the hell was I concerned about? Even in death you're just a thorn in my side." Mumbled Marshall. Hamna now burst into anger, and she slapped Marshall across the face. He laughed, happy to finally get a rise out of her. At least she cared about something, even if it wasn't him. She pulled his ear towards her growling mouth.

"You want a reason to take on the Nightosphere? Fine. I will give you one. Demon blood makes you immune to vampirism. Become a full demon, and your little curse will be lifted."

Marshall's eyes widened as she said this. Finally, to be rid of the curse. But what was one curse to be replaced with another? He pushed her away.

"I would rather be a vampire, then a heartless demon like you." He spat, although he really wasn't sure. Hamna screamed in frustration.

"You don't deserve the Nightosphere! You deserve nothing! I should have unleashed the chaos on you with nothing to help you, just to watch you writhe with it!"

"That's exactly what you-" He began to shoot back, but The Hand interrupted.

"Okay, okay. Let's just calm down, here." Xe said, chuckling uncomfortably. "It was lovely to see you, Hamna." They said bowing. "But I'm afraid we should depart now."

"Yes, I think you should." Hamna said, eyeing her son in disgust. "And get that live human out of here. Don't you know their souls come out of their nose if they sneeze in the Underworld?"

Fionna clasped her nose in shock, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to sneeze.

"Adios, Mijo." Death said, snapping once again, and they were right back in the elevator.

Ding

Ding

Ding, the elevator sang. The ride up was an uncomfortable silence. Marshall glared at the corner of the elevator, twitching at every irritable 'ding' it made as it rose back into the Nightosphere. Fionna sought to hold his hand, but he jerked it away, not feeling fit for comforting. Then she noticed that his jaw was clenched, and tears rolled angrily down his face. He was furious, and embarrassed that Fionna should see him like this. He turned his face away from her, hiding the evidence of his tears.

Fionna looked down at her feet, feeling pretty upset herself. She knew that the relationship with Marshall and his mother had always been rocky, but she had never imagined how horrible she was to him.

"I should apologize to you…" The Hand mumbled. Marshall's ear turned to listen, but he still watched the corner of the elevator intensely.

"I was supposed to give you the sword, I was supposed to guide you. But I failed." Finally, Marshall turned to look at xer.

They shrugged. "It burned me to smithereens when I tried to carry it to you. Then I dropped it at the bottom of that Lake. I had lost all hope until human girl here magically acquired it." The Hand's beautiful shining eyes watched Marshall carefully. "Do you forgive me, my King?" They whispered.

"Yeah. I guess." He whispered back.

"You're halfway there." Xe said. Marshall groaned.

"Why does the way up always feeling longer than the way down?"

"No, I mean the sword. You've depleted more than half of it."

Marshall's head whipped to the sword at Fionna's hip, and then he looked up into her sad eyes. He couldn't stand having her watch him like that, so he put aside his feelings, and outstretched his hand to take hers. He was rewarded with a small smile.

"You're now officially three quarters of a demon." The Hand said, joyfully. Marshall squeezed her hand. The more demon he became, the less human he was, and the further away he felt from Fionna.