Gaze.zero: thanks! Also, the reason I thought Evergreen would be an abusive mentor is because of the time he threw dirt at Gunther (the dinosaur) for making a mistake. Every time Diligence frustrates him, he hurts her in some way.
Guest who asked about Fionna and Cake: this is the multiverse bro. This fic doesn't mean the canon isn't still out there.
Enjoy.
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On a throne in dark room lit up by torches a large figure sat with a gleeful smile staring out of the window at the cloudy skies above. The figure wore a white tux and pants as well as a golden crown adorned with three ruby coloured gems. The figure had the head of a lion with a humanoid body. It was none other than the Vampire King himself. "Haha." He chuckled as he stared out at his handy work. "Marvellous. Finding this crown was the best thing to ever happen to us!" He said standing up and walking towards the window as several vampires flew across the skies. "No longer do we have to fear the sun. I can walk outside whenever I want and nothing can stop me."
As the king of vampires caressed his skin with glee, he heard a peculiar sound in the distance as a bright blue hued light assaulted his eyes. The Vampire King turned towards the source of the light to see a beacon of light flying into the sky before crashing into the clouds above. Before the vampire could process what happened, the clouds started disappearing at an almost instantaneous pace, leaving the vampired roaming about prey to the sun's scorching light. The Vampire King stumbled backwards as he avoided the sunlight in fear.
"What?" He asked in shock before he quickly raised his arm towards the window, ordering the crowns power to cover the skies once more. But nothing happened. "How could this be?" He asked in shock before taking the crown off of his head and staring at it intently before putting it back on and firing a small blast of ice from his hand. The crown's power was still there yet it couldn't bring back the clouds. "It yielded to that energy? There's a being this crown obeys more than me?" He narrowed his eyes as he stared out through the window in the direction in where the blue light appeared.
"You can't hide forever, blue light. I will find you wherever you are."
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Meanwhile, on a rooftop amongst the buildings of the ruined city, two girls stood staring at the clear and skies above as if waiting for something. A taller girl seemingly 15 years old with long white snowy hair and blue skin wearing a dark blue sweater with a snowflake on the front and black pants hummed as she stared at her handiwork before speaking. "Looks like they won't be coming back for a while."
"Those clouds lasted FIVE YEARS, Dilly!" Exclaimed a shorter girl seemingly 10 years of age with black hair and pale skin wearing a light brown sweater and blue jeans. "There's no way they were normal."
"Yeah, in hindsight, they're probably made using the ice crown." Replied Diligence nonchalantly, causing Marceline to let out an audible sound of confusion. "It's a crown that gives you ice powers like me. The Vampire King has it."
Marceline's jaw hit the floor as she stared at Diligence. "Why haven't you told me this earlier?!" Exclaimed Marceline in a panic, causing Diligence to blow a raspberry.
"I'm more focused on this ugly sweater. Why do I have to wear this thing again?" She asked staring at the sweater with a frown.
"Don't change the subject!" Snapped Marcy crossing her arms. "There could be survivors who died to vampires because of this!" Diligence went silent as she averted her gaze with a frown, yet her eyes held no guilt or shame.
The ice elemental sighed, a puff of icy vapor escaping her mouth, before she could speak she and Marceline heard an oddly familiar voice speak. "UNHAND me beast!" The two girls raised a brow at the voice before looking over the edge of the rooftop to see who was screaming. The two were greeted with the sight of an oozer holding a penguin with an exposed green brain. "Do you not know who I am?! I'm Orgalorg! I've destroyed world!"
"That's one weird penguin." While disgust spread across Marceline's face as stars lit up in Diligence's eyes. The ice elemental jumped off the roof slide of ice appeared under her as ice skate shoes made of ice manifested onto her feet. Diligence elegantly skated on an ice path that extended in front of her each second. The moment the ice elemental made it to the oozer, she raised one leg up before spinning in a circle letting the blades of her skates cut off the monster's arms in one swift cut. With Orgalorg secured, the ice elemental quickly fired a blast of ice that froze both the oozer and his amputated arms.
Orgalorg sweat dropped at the sight of a new powerhouse before the girl in front of him grabbed him into a hug. "Gunter!" She exclaimed cheerfully as her snow hair fell onto the penguin's brain. Orgalorg quickly used his brain's...arms to push the snow away as he yelled.
"I'm not Gunter, I'm Orgalorg!"
"Not after I'm done with you." Replied Diligence with a smug smile.
"Dilly, get away from that thing!" The two heard Marceline yell as she dashed towards them in a panic.
"But it's a Goonter, Marcy!" Exclaimed Diligence dramatically as she made puppy eyes as hugged the penguin with the leaking green brain. "How can I leave him all alone in this dangerous world?" Marceline stared at Diligence in disgust as Orgalorg shared the sentiment.
"I've destroyed worlds!"
"I can fix you." Diligence whispered into the penguin's ear with a smile before Gunter started flailing his tiny limbs around in a panic.
"UNHAND ME, WITCH!" He screamed in a desperately before turning to Marceline. "You! If you get me away from her, I'll lead you to the other humans!" He bargained desperately. "There's even a nightosphere demon in a suit with them!"
"DAD?!?" Marceline gasped in shock and panic before she grabbed her hair as worry overtook her face. "Oh no! He must be trying to eat their souls! We need to go stop him!"
Diligence froze before smiling awkwardly as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Do we though?" She asked with an awkward shrug. "I've heard that people emit lots of CO2 which is bad for the environmen-"
Before Diligence could finish her sentence, Marcy had started dragging her and Gunter away hoping to not be too late.
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Hunson Abadeer, the Lord of evil, stood in front of multiple humans wearing animal like hats, some looking soulless, with a smile as he held his family axe in his hand and over his shoulder. So many souls ready to be eaten. "I should go check on Marceline after I'm done." He muttered nonchalantly as the terrified humans backed away in fear. "Maybe I should save some souls for her too." He said with a hand on his chin before a lightbulb lit up above his head. "This gives me an idea!" He exclaimed cheerfully before turning to the humans with a smile. "Alright! You guys wanna have your souls for as long as possible, right? Then follow me!" He said, vomiting out the souls he ate back to their original owners before he walked flamboyantly in a certain direction. Leading the humans onto his twisted parade.
Reluctantly, the humans obliged. Especially the ones who just regained their souls. Their fear of the soul eating demon in front of them crushing over any thought of running away. As they followed their captor silently, the demon suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Marcy!" Exclaimed Hunson cheerfully as he saw his daughter running towards him.
"Dad! What are you doing?!" As Marceline and Hunson started talking, Diligence's gaze shifted elsewhere; it moved towards the humans. A look of disdain spread across her face; one the humans clearly noticed as they flinched under her hate filled gaze. They were the ones Marceline befriended in the show, yet they still were not spared from Diligence ire.
"Wow. Where did all this aggression come from?" Asked Gunter curiously in the hands of Diligence as her grip on the penguin tightened. "Not a fan of little guys like them?" Gunter paused. "Know the feeling." He said with a small nod. "Weaklings like them trotting around like they own everything." He said calmly, causing Diligence's expression to sour. "Oh when I get to squeeze the juice out of their bodies."
Suddenly, Diligence's expression shifted to one filled with disappointment. "Why did I think a heartless monster would understand me?" She asked with a sigh causing the small tyrant to chuckle. "Make like beans and can it, Goonts." She added, closing the penguin's beaks with her hand as her mind wandered elsewhere. By the time she zoned back in, Hunson was already gone and Marcy was holding his axe. "Uhh, why do you have that?"
"He gave it to me in case i got hungry or whatever." Replied Marceline rolling her eyes as she managed to lift the axe. "He also wanted a nibble out of your soul again." She added with a sigh as Diligence's eyes fell onto the now relieved humans resting behind Marceline. They even had babies amongst them. Noticing her friend's gaze, Marceline turned to the humans and went silent as her brain gears started turning. Suddenly, a lightbulb lit up above her head. "Why don't we join up with them?"
Diligence coughed after choking on air hearing what Marceline had said. "What?"
"Y'know, take 'em with us?" Asked Marceline, nudging Diligence's side with a smile. "Like you did to me?"
Sweat fell down Diligence's face as she nervously stared at Marcy with a weak smile. "I- uhh, I don't think-" she said awkwardly only for Marceline to frown, causing the ice elemental to chuckle. "I'm- uhh. I'm gonna go on a walk!" She exclaimed loudly with a weak smile before running away with Gunter under her armpit as night started to fall.
Once she was alone and sufficiently away from Marceline and the others, the snow haired girl sighed and cupped her face dropping Gunter in the process. The ice elemental took a deep breath before putting her hands in front of her, creating a swan made of ice. "Beautiful. Beautiful and fancy. Don't think about the bad stuff." She said before she kicked the swans head off. "I'm thinking about the bad stuff!"
"What's gotten into you?" Asked Gunter in frustration as he massaged his temples. "One moment you're annoying and the other you're confusing."
Diligence sighed. "I just... don't like people okay?" She said, sitting down on the pavement. "The only people I like are Marcy and you when I inevitably turn you good."
"That's sad even for me," Replied Gunter rolling his eyes in exasperation. "And I've torn millions of families apart on a whim."
Diligence chuckled, causing Gunter to freeze before she burst into laughter. "Th-that's so cute!" She said cheerfully, madness seeping into her voice. "My parents threw me away! They weren't even strapped for money and just got rid of me! And the orphanage, oh boy. The tv they had was the only thing to treat me like a person. Left and right, people pushed and kicked me down. And it's not just humans. Demon's, Vampires, whatever; they're all the same. Filth who kick the weak when they're down. This apocalypse was the best thing to happen to me and the only people I'll EVER trust are me and Marcy."
Gunter went silent, staring at the ice elemental in with widened eyes. "That's...the best thing you've said all day!" He exclaimed cheerfully. "I also enjoy the solo act. The others either sucked or picked on me-" it wasn't until Gunter had finished his sentence that he realised what he had said. "Wait! I didn't-" he said flailing around, but it was too late; a giant teasing smile spread across the ice elemental's face. "You didn't hear anything! No one can know Orgalorg got bullied!"
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me, little Goonter."
"It's not." The two heard an assertive voice declare from the other side of the road. The two turned to this figure and Diligence immediately got into a fighting position. The figure was large with the head of a lion and a golden crown on their head. It was...
"Vampire King." Muttered Diligence with a frown as her hands lit up with ice magic before her eyes landed on the ice crown. She could feel the powerful ice energy it emitted. It made her eyes light up. If she could control it, how powerful would she be? How unstoppable? Safe to say, no one would be able to hurt her again. Memories of Ice King flashed in her mind as she silently weighed the risks.
"My fame precedes me." Remarked the Vampire King calmly, snapping Diligence out of her trance.
"What do you want?" Asked the ice elemental narrowing her eyes with a deep frown.
"You." Answered VK bluntly with a low growl. "My crown yielded to your power-" before VK could say anything else, he was forced to teleport away from an ice blast coming his way to atop a building. "I see. I hoped to solve this peacefully."
Diligence glared at the Vampire King vigilantly, wait for his next move before the being disappeared in front of her eyes. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen as she was flung across the road. As strands of her snow hair fell over her face, she looked at her stomach to see claw marks ripping through her sweater. "HEY! Marcy got me that sweater!" Diligence lashed out in anger as ice crystals grew everywhere and attacked everything besides Gunter who was hiding away from the fight. Alas, the attack did nothing to the Vampire King who constantly teleported out of the way. Diligence eyed the Vampire King's teleportation carefully, looking for any opening. "Every time he sees an attack he pops out somewhere else. Why did he have to go after me now- wait- that's it!" Diligence's eyes widened as she realized a way out of her predicament.
On the ground on which she layed injured, her hands glowed a with a pale grey blue hue that seemingly did nothing as the Vampire King appeared in front of her calmly. The ice elemental quickly fired one blast of ice after another at the King of Vampires only for the being to teleport out of the way as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Each teleportation brought the Vampire King closer and closer to the injured ice elemental before he stood right in front of her. Calmly, the king grabbed the elemental by the neck and lifted her up. "I hoped not to do this. Your powers could've helped my kind. Any last words?"
Diligence chuckled in the claws of death. "I always wanted to get into professional dancing." She said with a smile as snow fell from sky onto the vampire, causing him to stare at it in mild surprise. "Also, you're screwed." Before VK could process what he had just heard, the snow on his body turned to ice and rapidly covered his arm before it broke off said arm. The Vampire King screamed in pain before all the snow around him started to avoid him like the plague. But before he could relax, more ice started growing on his body. As the Vampire King was distracted by this, Diligence fired an icicle at the Vampire without hesitation.
However, it was all for naught as the ice on the Vampire King broke off of his body while the icicle floated in front of him. "I've played with you enough." He said firmly as he raised his remaining claws to finish Diligence off once and for all before a small orange beak stabbed his left eye. VK screamed as his focus on the ice around him broke, leaving him vulnerable to Diligence's attacks. Not letting this opportunity go, Diligence blasted the Vampire King with all she had causing the King to scream out in pain before all the sound suddenly disappeared.
"He must've teleported away." Muttered Diligence, her breathing getting rougher by the second as it let out puffs of vapor. She quickly turned to the wound on her abdomen and placed her hand on it. Soon enough, ice grew below her touch covering the wound in ice. "I almost died." She said, her tone calm yet her mind in total panic.
"If it weren't for me." Added Gunter calmly, prompting Dilly to chuckle. This primordial being was practically begging for a thank you.
"Thanks, Gunter." Replied Diligence with a weak smile as she forced her body on its feet. She quickly created a crutch made of ice and started walking back towards Marceline with Gunter in tow. "Let's go back to Marcy."
Limping her way back, Diligence thought about one thing. She needed to get more powerful. Powerful enough that no one could hurt her. Powerful enough to beat the Vampire King, to beat the Lich and to fight off Golb if need be. "I NEED to be the strongest." She muttered as a newfound goal formed inside her mind before she heard the sounds of songs and laughter. She quickly turned to its source and saw Marceline getting along with the humans and singing to them. Seeing the sight, one thought formed inside Diligence's head. One dark, grim thought that caused tears to fall down her cheeks.
"She's gonna throw me away too."
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I hope y'all liked Diligence's flaws starting to blossom.
Toodles.