It Came From the Nightosphere (3 page)

‘I’ve unleashed evil onto Ooo!’ Finn said breathlessly. ‘We’ve got to stop him, Marceline.’

‘Fine,’ Marceline agreed. Finn walked and Marceline floated out the door. ‘But I’m only coming with you to get my bass back.’

Marceline carried Finn as she flew over the peaceful Land of Ooo.

‘How do I kill this guy anyway?’ Finn asked.

‘Finn, you can’t kill my dad,’ Marceline answered.

‘Oh…I’m sorry… I didn’t mean…’ Finn stumbled over his words, realising right away that a lot of people think it’s weird when you talk about killing people.

‘No,’ Marceline sighed, rolling her eyes. ‘You literally can’t kill my dad. He’s deathless.’ Marceline often wondered why this was so difficult for people to understand.

Meanwhile, the Lord of Evil had found his way to a group of Fluffy People who were playing a game.

‘Huh?’ one of the Fluffy People asked when he ran into the Lord of Evil. ‘Who the fluff are you?’

‘Um, well, I’m sure not the guy who’s going to suck out your soul,’ the Lord of Evil answered, trying to reassure the simple creature.

‘Good, ’cause that’s, like, my number-one fear,’ the Fluffy Person answered.

‘Really?’ the Lord of Evil asked with a wicked grin. ‘Well, I know a little exercise for that. Want to try it?’

‘Well…’ the Fluffy Person answered with some suspicion.

‘First, close your eyes,’ the Lord of Evil instructed.

‘Okay,’ the Fluffy Person answered, forgetting his feelings of distrust from just moments before.

The Lord of Evil hit the trusting Fluffy Person on the head with the flat side of the axe-guitar.

‘Hey! You could have killed me!’ the Fluffy Person complained, rubbing his head.

‘Ah, but I didn’t,’ the Lord of Evil answered. ‘And now aren’t you thrilled just to be alive?’

‘Yeah, I guess. So what?’ the Fluffy Person answered.

‘So this next part will be all the more horrifying,’ the Lord of Evil told the confused citizen of Ooo.

The Lord of Evil opened his mouth wide, revealing two tongues and huge, sharp fangs. Then he emitted the terrifying sucking sound.

Finn yelled to Marceline while he pointed to the ground below. ‘A gathering of Fluffy People. Perhaps they’ve seen your father. Marceline, release the Finn bomb!’

Marceline dropped Finn, catching him by his foot just before he collided with the ground. The Fluffy People were quaking, terrified of something.

‘They’re all freaked out,’ Finn said to Marceline.

‘It’s because they’re scared – of him,’ Marceline said, pointing at one of the Fluffy People and then grabbing him. The creature had vacant eyes – something was missing from this Fluffy Person. It was like he wasn’t quite alive but not quite dead either.

‘Hmm,’ Marceline said, observing the poor thing in her hands. ‘My dad’s been here. Come on. Let’s go.’

‘No, we have to help this guy,’ Finn insisted as he took his backpack off and began to dig through it. ‘I’ve got some soul food that Jake packed for me. Do you like collard greens? Or country-fried steak?’

Finn tried to feed the steak to the moaning and half-lifeless Fluffy Person. But it was no use. The Fluffy Person didn’t want steak. He needed his soul back.

‘You want to help him?’ Marceline asked impatiently. ‘Help me get my bass back.’

‘How will that help him?’ Finn asked.

‘My dad stole my bass guitar, Finn!’