Chapter 2
Never in his life would The Doctor have thought he'd be sitting in a dining room having tea with a princess made entirely of candy. He's scanned her with his screwdriver as soon as they arrived and had to resist the urge to taste her. He salivated as he imagined taking a bite out of that sweet sugary flesh…Then blushed as he realized his thoughts could be taken in an entirely different manner. And it was also wrong to eat a living being. He reminded himself of those points as his nostrils filled with aromas of all different types of sweets. He hadn't had a Jelly Baby in ages…there could be actual babies here made of jelly!
He sipped his tea quickly and burnt his tongue in an effort to distract himself. He set his cup down and focused on Princess Bubblegum seated across from him at the table. "Princess, have you noticed anything unusual in your kingdom lately?" he asked.
"Oh, Peppermint Butler is harmless! Just pinch his nose when he starts biting your arm." She advised.
"Um…that's not quite what I'm looking for, I don't think. I mean, anything very dangerous, lurking just out of sight…"He glanced suspiciously around the room.
"Well, dangerous things seem to pop up every day here. Monsters and evil wizards, stuff like that. Finn and Jake usually take care of them."
"'Take care?' Do you mean 'kill'?" The Doctor asked.
"They destroy anything which threatens my kingdom and its people."
"Any way you put it, killing is the same."
"Hey, Finn and Jake have averted catastrophe with their brave actions! And they will continue to do so!" Princess Bubblegum's voice had risen. "Finn is my knight…he's not a murderer!"
"I understand your need to protect your people. But those creatures, those 'monsters' you said Finn killed, they were all alive. They all had consciousness, they were sentient beings. They had life. To take that away from any being, even if it is in protection of another…it is not noble. It is not glorious. Trust me. I know." The Doctor explained.
Princess Bubblegum had tears running down her face, when suddenly another female entered the room. This one had long black hair and…were those fangs? "Hey PB, what's…hey, why is she crying?" The young woman asked. She bared her sharp canines in a hiss at The Doctor. "What did you do?!"
"It's all right, Marceline. I'm fine. But Doctor, I can't just leave us all defenseless. If we don't attack our predators, we'll be attacked ourselves." Princess Bubblegum wiped her cheeks.
The Doctor stared intently at her. "Something happened here," he surmised. "Something that left you all very afraid, and in fear you have grown desperate. Desperate to protect what is left. What happened?"
Marceline sat beside the Princess, who had gone very quiet.
"Please. I must know if I am to help. Please trust me," he said softly, "I'm The Doctor."
Princess Bubblegum sighed. "It was a very long time ago. Marceline can give you a direct account of it all."
"Marceline…?" The Doctor scanned the pale girl with his screwdriver. "You're a vampire, correct?"
"Yeah. Got a problem?" She asked harshly.
"No, no, I don't mean to offend. I just hope to understand you better. I want to help, please believe me."
Marceline eyed him distrustfully. Then she began, "I was just a little girl when it started… The Great Mushroom War."