Chapter 3
"War," The Doctor hissed. "It's always war…How long ago was this?"
"About one thousand years ago. My father, Hudson Aberdeer, was working to strengthen our defenses. His company manufactured explosives and heavy machinery. He made his fortune using the fear of others. We became rich from the need to destroy our enemies. But it didn't last long. The main branch where the explosives were contained was right in my hometown. One day an enemy missile reached the compound...the whole town was blown sky high as my father and I hid in an underground bunker. When we emerged…" Marceline seemed lost in her memory. Her eyes were focused on an unseen place in the distance. "There was nothing left. Every building, piece of greenery, everyone and everything in such a big radius…all gone. Completely obliterated. We were the last living things for miles."
The Doctor had moved close to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She glanced at him once before continuing," We knew we had to leave. We had nothing left of our own, just an old family battle ax that had been passed down, and my teddy bear…We walked through what was our town, and not seeing any bodies, any remnants that anyone had lived there at all…It was terrifying. What hate and fear had done to us, and so many others.
As we walked aimlessly we eventually arrived at a huge crater in the ground, likely the result of another bomb. I peered inside, and my father gasped at what we saw. There seemed to be swirling bands of black energy, tendrils all reaching for miles in different directions outside the crater. My father pulled me back as one reached for me, and raised his ax, but we were both frozen by a voice that had started to speak. It said,' Do you wish to survive? To continue living in this world of such destruction and hatred?'
My father tried to move away from the tendrils that came closer, but still answered, 'I want to live on! I want my wealth back; I want a future for my daughter!' The tendrils slipped around us both.
The voice said, 'I can make you immortal. You will have power beyond comprehension. But you must live as you had previously: you must prosper on the fear and hatred of other beings. You must keep War alive in the world.' And he accepted and sealed both our fates. I clutched my teddy bear as the slimy energy moved through my skin. I remember waking up after that, with puncture wounds in my neck and sharp fangs in my mouth. I had a hunger for the color red, the color of blood and rage. My father had become ruler of the underworld. We found out that the previous ruler was the thing that had changed us, and was looking for successors. He figured we were desperate enough to accept the offer, was attracted by our destitution. We were desperate enough to do anything to survive. And we did. A few years later, my body stopped growing. Neither I nor my father have aged a day since then. We watched the War destroy most of the overworld…" Marceline moved across the room to a closet. Out she took an old spinning globe. The Doctor gasped in horror as he noticed the entire continent of North America was missing, a huge chunk gone from the Earth. "Every globe is made like this now. People have been afraid of each other ever since, all terrified of another war. So now we try to get rid of evil quickly and in small scales, like what Finn and Jake do. We will protect our world, one piece of evil at a time."
"But Marceline, you said the former ruler of the underworld made it your father's job to keep war alive in the world. Shouldn't you be trying to prevent Finn and Jake from fighting evil? Getting rid of evil people?"
Marceline stared blankly at The Doctor. "As long as there is hatred, there will be war. And our history will be repeated. It is inevitable."
"No." The Doctor said. "You have a choice. You always have a choice! Even in just little things, the more you feed the hatred and fear the more it will grow! You must do everything you can to prevent it from taking over. Once you kill, once you hate, it becomes a part of you. You never get rid of it. You never get over it. You must deny it at all costs, to save yourself and the world!"
Princess Bubblegum cut in, a question on her mind. "Doctor…just who are you?"