Review Responses:

The Nephilim King Michael: Billy may yet have a small part to play when all is said and done, but I really liked giving him that send off.

Ziazan: Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad the branching out is still keeping true to the core concept of Adventure Time. I really enjoy the show because of that mix of maturity and humor, and I'm glad it's coming across.

LittleRedRiddingWolf: I am sorely tempted to write Marcy/Finn fluff every chapter :P

He23t: I'm glad you are enjoying it!

Desperado558: Thank you very much! The praise means a lot, I try to strive for hitting the right amount of detail and getting the characters right but still expanding on them.

Chapter 9: Marcy's Little Helper

It was another two days of travel before a day with enough cloud coverage for Marceline to feel comfortable going out sans umbrella came along. And so the disgruntled Vampire and optimistic hero, despite some mild wear from starting off the day after staying up all night flying, ventured outward from their cave looking for a town.

Finding someone to help wasn't even a concern for Finn. It was a good thing that he was so upbeat about dishing out aid, because either he was drawn toward negatives vibes, or they were drawn to him. He figured they'd just go with the flow through the day, maybe get a cat out of a tree or something along those lines to get the ball rolling.

He also wasn't too worried about busting any of the three rules anymore, so as they walked along a grassy lane, he decided to ask Marceline a few questions that had to deal with their current errand.

"Hey, Marcy?" He asked as they slowly began to see elements of a town, such as mailboxes outside the sparsely spread houses (which for no discernible reason to him were all green, as well as very, very small). "Um, could I ask you a kind of personal question? It deals with me helping you help people to help yourself."

"Uh, yeah, I guess, just cool it on the 'helps,'" She replied after looking him over, hesitance all over her face. Personal questions were between listening to Bonnibel talk about differential equations and having to chase out the gaseous toad that invaded her cave every autumn on the Marceline enjoyment scale.

"You're half demon and half Vampire, right?" He asked, and she nodded, clearly interested as to where he was going with this. "So… does being half demon, like… I don't want to make this sound wrong, but does it ever make you feel or act… evil?" Finn fell silent, having barely even whispered the last word.

He often overlooked the fact that the Vampire Queen was just that; a Vampire, and a demon to boot. And while he certainly didn't judge her for it, he had never taken the time to work out exactly what that meant, considering he was, as he had told her father, "super good."

Marceline thought it was mildly amusing that, for the first time in her life, someone had asked her whether or not her demonic heritage made her evil (it was generally assumed), and considered how to answer his question. It was the quite the testament to Finn, in her eyes, that someone so morally upright treated her as an equal. Unlike a certain Candy Princess she knew.

As Marceline began bashing the Princess in her mind for being so high and mighty, Finn became convinced she was angry at him for being so nosey, and had begun calling himself mean names (like "dumb-monkey", "guy who eats all the dip at parties", and "foolish, uncouth barbarian") for asking the question in the first place when she shook herself out of her angst and answered.

"I think, even in the little bit of time I've known you, Finn, that you've grown up enough to realize good and evil aren't as clear as we'd like them to be," Marceline began, Finn listening intently. "Look at the Ice King. Yeah, he creeps on princesses, but all he wants is companions. Hell, even look at my Dad… I mean, yeah, he kind of sucks, and he's def evil, but he loves me regardless. Do I have his kinds of tendencies? I mean… yeah."

Marceline halted, looking her companion over as she spoke. "It's funny; people see the Vampire, and assume I'm evil, but all Vampirism comes with is bloodlust, and the means to destroy. The demon side though, it makes things difficult. When you're a demon, it's like… you're not bad outright, but your morality is kind of skewed. I mean, most demons eventually get onto the path of being pretty darn evil, but it's like tall people and basketball. You don't HAVE to become that way. The demon in you makes you become obsessed with the outcomes in life, and blur what happens along the way. Liiiike…" She trailed off, scrunching up her face and leaning her head on one hand.

"Like, if I see you buy a donut, and I'm really hungry, and have no money, I'd be seriously tempted to just steal your donut. Which I think we can both agree is a pretty horrible crime." Finn nodded in complete conviction, remembering the last time he had been the victim of pastry theft (not counting when Cinnamon Bun had accidentally convinced himself he had been kidnapped and had sent letters to the hero asking him to help track the loveable lug down).

"When I was a kid, I used to have all kinds of problems with treating other kids like crap because I wanted to have my way," Marceline continued, laughing lightly as she finished, some type of nostalgia falling over her. It was rare she could recall those days so pleasantly, particularly without thinking about either radiation or explosions. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, when I first met you, I thought you were just evil, or at the least very disagreeable," Finn replied honestly, rubbing his head in shame at the brutal truth within his words. If Marceline felt hurt, she didn't show it, so he continued. "But then, as I got to know you, I thought you were just joking around, and using your appearance to scare people and act out when in reality you were really good. But now… I think it's more complex."

Marceline's eyebrows tilted as far as she could manage in annoyance, and Finn abruptly realized his psycho-analysis had overstayed its welcome.

"…Finn, third rule, good Glob," Marceline hissed, shaking her head at his ruminations.

"No! It's just…" Finn replied, shaking his head. "I feel like you kind of waver between the good thoughts and the bad. Like, that sometimes you regret what you do, but only afterwards, and then just play it off as pretending to be bad, because you want to be in control or at least seem like you are. And I think that if you tried to focus on helping people and doing good stuff, maybe it would come more naturally!"

Marceline continued to look mildly irked at his theory as she played it out in her head, but finally sighed. "You might be on the right track," She let out in a whisper, shrugging. "I mean… it's not that I even want to do bad stuff. At least not anymore," Her voice fell at those words as her past threatened to creep into her mind. The Vampire Queen took a deep breath, pushing those thoughts away. "It's just sometimes I get soooooo impulsive. Why are you bringing this up, anyway?"

"I wanted to make sure I was right," Finn replied, smiling in relief, "because since I am, it means that all you need is someone to teach you control about that kind of ish, and I can be that dude, dude! I've been doing the same kind of stuff with FP. People keep telling me she's evil, but she's nowhere near it, and I think with you it's kind of the same deal."

"Okay," Marceline replied, scratching her side as she began to float down the lane again. "I mean, I get what you're saying, but you have to understand I've been around for awhile, Finn. I know how to live my life… I thought we were just doing something good, you know, to get me out of this funk. I'm not, like, going to join a civil service project."

"Yeah, I know," Finn replied sheepishly, smiling. "But… it's just something to think about." Marceline nodded slowly, and he took the hint and dropped the subject.

"…Uh, I might be losing it, but are these mailboxes and houses made out of grass?" Marceline floated off the path and to one of the mailboxes, which Finn immediately noticed was just as green as all the houses they had walked by. She deftly poked it for a few seconds before nodding. "Yeeep. Definitely grass. How on earth is this thing standing up?"

Before Finn could reply, a sharp, nearly hysterical scream rang out from nearby. "Oh Glob, I hope that's just someone screaming for ice cream!" Finn shouted before running in that direction, Marceline keeping pace beside him and suddenly desiring cherry ice cream.

Before long they realized they were heading into the heart of the town, and soon they arrived there to find it packed with Grass People (a peaceful people who are about the size of a mailbox standing on its front, and among the most stealthy and combustible denizens of Ooo), all in a great clamor and gazing towards the center of the square. As with the houses and mailboxes, just about the entirety of every object or building around them was constructed from grass; grass bank, grass bench, even a grass fountain.

The only thing that wasn't made from grass within their eyesight was (or at least what appeared to be) a wizard, clad in deep maroon robes, his pinkish face protruding from his collar much like a volcano does from the earth, and holding a sparking fireball up to the face of a Grassite. Marceline and Finn immediately (and correctly) guessed this was the cause of the commotion.

"Great buns!" Finn exclaimed ridiculously, the wizard and the entirety of the crowd of green folk turning to him instantly, though just before their gazes fell on him Marceline wisely turned herself invisible, sensing stealth might be valuable in the situation.

The wizard, whom Finn already had a bad taste in his mouth about, hissed at the sight of the young hero, immediately exclaiming, "You're not made out of grass!"

"…Duuuuhhhhhh?" Finn replied snappily in return, the wizard literally steaming at his words, but remaining silent, clearly unclear as to how to proceed.

"Um… do you burn, though?" The wizard asked casually after a few moments of consideration, and Finn rolled his eyes. The fact that the mage had been dumb enough to ask let Finn know he wasn't dealing with anyone too dangerous.

"No," He lied, and the wizard grunted in dissatisfaction, shooting a small bolt of fire at one of the Grassite's feet. The poor thing shrieked in terror before leaping out of the way.

"Hey! What did that Grass Person ever do to you?" Finn questioned harshly, his hand immediately reaching for the hilt of his red blade.

The wizard began to cackle evilly before replying, "To me? Nothing! For me? Plenty! You see, I hold these little grass losers hostage and force them to create parts for the large-scale infrastructure that I can sell!"

Finn blinked once or twice, trying to process this. The wizard coughed after a second, wondering if he hadn't been clear about his devious plan, before the hero asked, "Why on Ooo would you use these little guys? They built their village out of grass, they can't be that great at craftsmanship."

"You'd think so!" The wizard cackled. "But in reality, they are some of the greatest builder's in Ooo."

"It's true!" The Grassite standing next to the wizard said defeatedly, slumping over like a leaf near falling from its tree. "We have super-duper adhesive spit, and therefore are able to build incredibly sound structures out of but grass for a large profit. Fearing exploitation, we have hidden our trait, but five years ago one of our young spit on this jerkwad and after getting his hand stuck on his robe trying to wipe it off, he enslaved us."

"Wait. So is this revenge, or are you just trying to take advantage of the situation?" Finn asked pointedly, the flame wizard shrugging.

"I mean, my hand's still stuck to the robe, so I guess I have a gripe, especially considering how difficult that has made showering, but to be completely honest I'm in it for the moolah," The fire-wielder replied, drooling at the mention of money. "You don't know how much buck this lawn has brought me. I've provided at least half of all the infrastructure built in Ooo over the last five years."

Finn once again paused, unsure where this really left him, but as soon as he let his guard down, the wizard laughed evilly once more and raised his free hand (causing the hero to wonder how he had missed the other one touching the caster's side at such an odd angle). "And now you shall perish for knowing my secret!" Came the obligatory villainous shout.

"Not if me and Marceline the Vampire Queen have anything to say about it!" Finn shouted, dodging a fireball with ease, and sticking his sword in his attacker's direction.

"Eh, who's that?" The wizard muttered, looking around. "Are you trying to trick me?"

Finn raised an eyebrow, but when he went to confirm Marcy's presence, he could find no one. Had she just… left him? Finn didn't know if he felt more hurt or confused, but thankfully, Marceline was hovering right above the wizard's head, preparing to give out quite the butt whooping.

And give it out she did, one of her lanky legs slicing through the air like a mega-ton pendulum and colliding with the fire wizard's ugly butt. He went flying straight up into the air at which point Marceline flew up along with him, locked her hands together, and brought them down with a resounding smack on his head, sending him back to the ground.

"Whoo! Go Marcy!" Finn shouted, cheering wildly and lifting a few Grassites into his arm, who began to whoop and holler as well.

"…Ah, so you have an invisible helper, do you?" The mage barked, the ground beneath him becoming charred. "Well let's see her dodge THIS." He began to glow briefly for a moment, Finn wondering what on Ooo the crazy dude was going to unleash. Marceline, now visible, raced down, her face grim (which worried Finn the most), and her fist propelled outward.

It was a maneuver Finn would come to call the Marcy-Torpedo in the near future, but in this case, realization struck the Vampire a second before her impact with their foes ugly face that she wasn't going to be able to stop his attack, and she switched course, careening into Finn and hoping to send him out of the range of the blast.

They crashed into the ground hard, but thankfully the grass was very soft and plush. Well, at least that's what they thought until they heard subdued screaming and realized they had landed on top of a Grassite.

"Oh Glob little green bro!" Finn shouted in guilt, rolling off him while Marceline simply floated off the ground. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, our internal organs are tougher than rocks!" The terrified, shaking green creature replied. "But everyone else is burning, man!" Sure enough, as they turned the entirety of the people they had been aiming to save were on fire, running around screaming like chickens with their heads cut off, while the wizard was nowhere in sight.

"Oh sugar snaps!" Marceline shrieked, quickly looking for any kind of water to douse the flames while Finn began to run around and (using the knowledge the Grassite they had landed on to good use) smacking every grass person he could get his hands on into the ground to put them out. Regardless of how tough their organs were, he apologized frantically at every smack.

After a few seconds of scanning, Marceline's eyes fell upon a large barrel, and she flew over to it, noting it was filled with liquid as she grasped it in her arms. Effortlessly she rose into the sky, and with a very heroic shout ripped it in two, its contents pouring out. Unfortunately, after the exact moment she ripped it in two, a smell she was (too) familiar with hit her; the barrel had been filled with The Juice of the Elder Toad. Which besides making her drunk-dial Bubblegum most weekends, also happened to be extremely flammable.

Cursing the flame wizard for what was obviously his barrel of the drink, she tried to block out the crescendo in screams, and with a new idea in mind flew high into the air.

Finn shrieked like a love-struck school-girl when the fire coating most of the screaming creatures grew, even more ferocious, harsh realization that he couldn't do much at this point besides shouting, "Stop, drop, and roll! Stop, drop, and roll! Or at least do the electric slide! Maybe the worm?" setting in.

Marceline quickly scoped out a river from her high perch, and swooped down, transforming into a humongous bat in midair, and swallowing as much water as her stomach could hold. At this point, the terror the Grassites would feel from seeing one of her more horrible forms was non-existent. Much like Candy People, Grass People could recreate themselves after injury, but they only had enough grass to withstand a minute or so of being on fire, though the spit helped.

On the subject of spit, Marceline reared back her ugly, furry mug and blanched out her payload onto the small town below her. She hoped it was enough to put all of them out, but not too great an amount, lest they were all swept away.

"Grab onto something ya'll!" Finn screamed out, pulling as many of the poor Grassites onto him as he could. For a moment, the first degree burns he received comforted him, reminding him of his girlfriend. And then there was water from every direction, particularly above, which terrified him and reminded him of the ocean.

The smarter of the Grassites had spat on the ground and then stepped in it, while the rest had simply grasped onto anything solid they could find. When it became clear to Marcline that many would be washed away, she shapeshifted yet again, this time becoming a great black serpent, and coiling around the town square to fence the submerged Grass People in.

Between the water leaking out from under her and her swallowing as much as she could and then spitting it outside of the town, it took two minutes before crisis had been averted. Immediately after most of the water had drained, she changed into her base form and swooped to the center, her thoughts focused on finding Finn.

Talk about heroic! Bear cap boy will be singing my praises! She thought proudly as she looked for him.

"Common, you fools! Hit his chest harder! Glob, why, WHY must we only way several ounces?" Came a desperate cry that caught the Vampire's attention. Marceline turned to see about five Grassites jumping up and down on Finn's chest, the boy's face pale.

Her eyes widened at the sight, reason leaving her for a split second before she rushed forward, smacked the Grass People on him off, and began pumping his chest with her hands. Thankfully, Vampire super-strength had its perks, andhe spat out water a moment later, breathing heavily, and staring up at Marceline in awe.

"M-Marcy…" He panted, the Vampire Queen shaking in horror at what could have been. Glob, what had she been thinking, he didn't know how to lumping swim! Sometimes he could barely walk for fuc—"

"THAT WAS AWESOME! YOU'RE LIKE A VAMPIRE FIRE HYDRANT!" Finn shouted, leaping up and hugging her tightly. "And you saved all the Grass People!" Before Marceline could roar at Finn for ignoring the fact he had nearly DROWNED, they heard terse "ahems" from all around them.

"Oohhhh, thanks so much for saving us by ticking that maniacal wizard off so he set us on fire," One of the Grassites said with bitter sarcasm, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah! We really appreciated when you dumped that Elder Toad Juice on us too, and tried to drown us and wash us away from each other!" Another shouted. Finn's face fell almost immediately, an as he began to work up an apology, he realized that Marceline was growling a thick, throaty growl.

And while for reasons he really didn't understand this kind of made him feel good in that weird way, like when he accidentally went into the woman's undergarments section in the mall and found himself surrounded by bras, the Grassites seemed quite terrified.

"You little flipping FERNS!" Marceline barked, ripping a chunk of dirt out of the ground and pegging the last Grass Person who had spoken in the face. "LUMP OFF! WE SAVE YOUR LITTLE GREEEN ASSES, AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO WHINE ABOUT IT!"

"Marcy, whoa, calm down Marceline, it's okay, I know you did great, it's—" Finn's words seemed to have little effect, as the Vampire Queen marched over to the other Grassite who had admonished her. The poor thing could only shake in fear, and as such did little to avoid her hand clamping around his leg.

After the firm slam of his body hitting a house, Marceline spun around, hissing wildly, the ridges of her fingers beginning to glow orange. "I BET you stupid little fools didn't know that Vampires posses pyrokinesis, and since you're also so DUMB you can't tell when someone saved your butts, I bet you DON'T know that means I CAN CONTROL FIRE!"

That was the winning number, causing the terrified Grass People to run away from her in complete and utter fear, some even pooping out wood, suddenly deciding the thing with the wizard they had been forced into hadn't been that bad after all.

"YOU'RE WELCOME, BITCHES!" Was Marceline's final cry, and she held the s for several seconds, turning it into a hiss. Without another word she turned and floated down the road, and Finn, unsure if he just witnessed something epic or morally awful, followed.

So, here's me waving goodbye wherever the heck the last month went. Sigh. I'm about done promising I'll get my crap together update-wise, because what should have been five free days of writing kind of turned into living hell this week.

Enough of my whining, this was originally going to be longer, but I realized midway through that it would end up being around 7,000 words if that were the case, so it is being posted now, and the sister part should follow soon (hopefully).

Overall, I'm not nuts about this chapter, but I'm glad to finish it. The next one should be fun to finish. Thanks for reading!