"Marshall is The Demon!" Fionna announced as she burst into Gumball's office the next morning.

He looked up from his work. "Don't you have class?"

"Why aren't you surprised about this?"

"Because I already knew." Gumball replied. "And in any case, does it really change anything?"

"...no. I guess not."

"Let me ask you something- do you hate The Demon?"

She bit her lip. "I feel like I should..."

"Better question, do you hate Marshall?"

"I... no. I don't."

"Then what's the problem? If you don't let it bother you, it won't bother him."

"But what if he figures out my identity?"

Gumball blinked. "Good question. However, I doubt he'd do anything. Just act normally. And like I said, he wouldn't hurt you, even if he did know."

Fionna groaned. "This is such a mess."

"Not really. It's more like a premise for a romantic comedy. Yes... I think a romantic comedy about superheroes would get all of the box office money, if pulled off properly."

"You are not helping."

"If it bothers you that much, why don't you talk to him?"

"Because... I'm afraid of what would happen. I'm afraid of what will happen to us. I'm afraid that you were right all along about him."

Gumball paused for a minute, before saying, "That remains to be seen."

"And in any case, he's evil, and I'm not, so I can't just..."

"Trust me when I say he's closer to coming over to your side than you are to his." Gumball commented. "Now would you mind getting back to the college?"

"Right, thanks Gumball."

"No problem."

As Fionna came in, Marshall grabbed her arm, and pulled her into a secluded spot. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, checking her for bruises.

"I-I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You were late." He said simply. And you didn't come back last night. He added mentally.

"Yeah. I had to go talk to Gumball." Fionna said.

"Gumbutt? What on Earth would you want with him?" Marshall asked, caught off-guard.

Fionna laughed nervously. "Um, you know..."

"No, I don't know." Marshall was mentally replaying the conversation they had yesterday, and was quickly coming to the conclusion that Gumball and Fionna...

"Are you two dating?" He blurted out.

Now Fionna looked caught off-guard. "No, I mean, I used to have a crush on him, but not... no, we're not dating."

"But he's not..." Marshall trailed off, frowning.

Then he leaned in, kissing her gently. "Do you still like him?"

"Not in that way."

"Do you like me?"

She fidgeted a little, before nodding once. "I wouldn't have let you kiss me if I didn't like you at least a little."

He smiled. "So what are we?"

Archenemies, for one. They both thought.

"Let's just see where this goes." Fionna said, knowing that The Demon would flirt with the Shieldmaiden, and believing that he didn't know who she was.

He hesitated for a minute. "Oh, oh yeah! I agree. In any case, I think that we have enough time for a passage."

"Where to?"

"Running from the library to the conservatory."

"The conservatory? I thought no one could get in."

"No one can. Apparently, the only way in or out is through this passage. And since no one else goes around poking walls or messing with statues, I'm the only one who knows it."

"Seriously?" Fionna asked.

Marshall shrugged. "As far as I know, anyway. C'mon."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You've been paying attention to other criminals again, Shieldmaiden." The Demon commented from the shadows, leaning against a satellite.

She stiffened. "Your jealousy is one of your worst qualities, Demon."

"What, you don't get jealous of me?" He asked, walking over to her.

"Why would I be jealous? You go out of your way to show your feelings for me every time you see me."

The Demon considered this. "True... but perhaps I'll find some other heroine."

"Who?" The Shieldmaiden asked.

The Demon grinned. "You do like me!"

"I pulled away yesterday because that was precisely the problem." The Shieldmaiden muttered. "Now go away. I have work to do."

The Demon rested his head on top of hers. "What if I don't?"

"I don't have time for you right now."

"You never have time for me." He growled. "You tolerate me, but I'm not exactly a threat, am I?"

"You're not that big of a threat, no." She agreed.

"But if I was your nemesis properly... if I was a threat... you'd stop running off whenever I try to get close to you, right?"

"Please don't."

"Then stay with me. Stop running off and trying to take on the world."

"I can't. I have a duty, a responsibility. I can't be selfish."

He didn't look amused. "You're going to wish that you had been."

"You said that was a lie!"

"And now it's a double lie."

"You can't just do this! It's insane! You can't force me to love you!"

He froze, then shook it off. "It's more of a cry for attention."

"Why do you crave attention so badly? Wouldn't you prefer me loving you, and only being here for a while, than if I hated you and focused all of my attention on you?"

"To me, all attention is good attention." He said softly.

She moved closer. "Who or what made you like this?"

He frowned at her. "I'd rather not talk about my damn backstory, thank you very much."

"It's better than you just being an obsessive psychopath."

He flinched. "Is that really what you think of me?"

"You're threatening to hurt innocent people just because I won't spend time with you. What else am I supposed to think?"

He flinched again. "I'm not... I promise, I won't intentionally hurt anyone. But, I am going to take over the town."

"Why?"

"World domination has to start somewhere. First the town, then the county, then the state, then the Eastern Seaboard, then the United States, then North America, then the world. If you still haven't beaten me by then, I might just claim that I took over the solar system."

"And what would you do with all of that power?"

He considered this. "Probably something that won't make you mad. Perhaps I'll enforce rules for a new society, thereby eradicating greed and so on and so forth."

She smiled. "That would be the best evil dictatorship ever, actually."

He grinned back. "So, you'd rule by my side?"

"I'm not going to help you take over the world."

"I know that."

"And I'm going to try and stop you, because it's going to be bloody as you claw your way to the top."

"Undoubtedly."

"But you don't really want to do it, do you?"

"Nope. But that doesn't mean that I won't, Shieldmaiden. Or perhaps I'll start kidnapping people and demanding a ransom. That'd be easier, don't you think?"

She leaned into him. "Please don't do anything like that."

"You know how to make me stop."

"Demon... please. I'm begging you. Don't do this."

He ran a gloved hand through her golden hair. "You keep begging for the same thing, over and over, but you don't actually do anything to stop it."

"That's because you're really a good guy, deep down. And there are people, who need me, right here and now."

"I need you." He growled.

She sighed. "Why can't we just have a normal relationship?"

"Because we're not normal. And you're good. And I'm evil." The Demon listed off.

"No... you're not. Not really, anyway."

He tore himself away. "You're going to see just how bad I can be."

"And then you're going to blindly accept a relationship where you know the reason I'm with you is for the sake of other people?" She asked as he turned and began walking away.

He stopped. "I'd rather pretend that you love me than be alone again."

"And what if I beat you. What then, Demon? You will have lost whatever progress we had. They'll throw you in jail."

He shook his head disbelievingly. "I can't let you win. But, theoretically... if you won, I'd back off. I'd put away The Demon forever. And if the government caught me, I'd die."

She tackled him. "For God's sake, I can't let you talk about dying while your idea was rejected and you're on a rooftop."

He sat up, causing her to fall into his lap. "You're worried about me?"

"Of course I am! Why not just help me? If we work together, more people can be saved, and you won't be alone."

"Except, I'm evil, and you're pure, and innocent."

"You're not evil, Demon."

"My name isn't a coincidence. You've probably heard that I have certain abilities. I'm not like you. I'm not human. I have to be evil, because that's just what I am."

"You're not. Just like all people aren't good people, all demons can't be bad."

"You don't understand."

"Because you won't tell me anything!"

"I'm done talking to you for the night. Don't you have somewhere to be? I'm pretty sure that I can smell blood."

"I'm done trying to waste time with you." She snapped.

He growled. "Just wait, sweetheart. I'm gonna make it meaningful really soon."

With that, he jumped off the building, and turned into a bat.

The Shieldmaiden frowned, and made her own way down to the street.