A vampire soldier ran through the halls of the mansion. He flung the doors of the throne room open. The Vampire King was sitting sideways on his throne with his hat tipped forward over his face.

The Vampire King was startled awake by the sudden sound. He straightened his hat and turned to look at the soldier that had intruded upon his nap.

"You couldn't have knocked first?" The Vampire King asked, "You almost scared me back to death."

"Sir," the soldier said, "the prisoner spoke."

"Eh? Prisoner? Which one's that again?"

"The pink one, sir."

"Oh, Gummy! What does he want?"

"He... says he's bored, sir."

"Bored?!"

"Yes, sir. He says he's tired of waiting for you to interrogate him", the soldier said.

The Vampire King sighed.

"Fine," he said, "I'll go talk to him." The Vampire King jumped out of his throne and left the room.

After a few minutes, the Vampire King was standing outside the room where the prisoner was kept. He unlocked the large padlock hanging on the door and swung the door open. Inside was a small bedroom. The room had probably belonged to a kid judging by the small bed and racecar wallpaper. The room was dimly lit by a small window that hadn't been covered yet. The window let in a steady stream of light.

The prisoner was sitting on the undersized bed at one end of the room.

The Vampire king stepped into the room and a pair of guards stepped forward to block the entrance. He held his hat sideways beside his face to block the sun as he passed the window. As he approached the prisoner, he almost tripped over an upturned bedside table. The Vampire King attempted to right the table, but one of the legs was snapped off, so he just set it aside.

"Hello Gummy," the Vampire King said, standing over Gumbald, "how's your stay been at our humble vampiric bed and breakfast?"

"More bed than breakfast and the bed's too small," Gumbald said, looking up at his captor.

Gumbald Bubblegum was pink like his great niece, but with grey, thinning, hair and a beard. He had a long, pointy, nose that curved downwards towards the ground. He wore a clay-colored coat with a high collar. He also wore a beret and a pair of rectangular glasses. The right lens was cracked from being captured by Hunson Abadeer.

This was the first the Vampire King had heard Gumbald speak, and he was somewhat caught off guard by the croak of a voice that now echoed through the room.

"So, you're talking now," the Vampire King said, "that's good. It only took you a month of captivity."

"A boring month," Gumbald said, "you haven't interrogated me or tortured me in all the time I've been here."

"What? You want to be tortured?"

"A prisoner's wants are irrelevant. I am merely confused your actions."

"You have little information that I don't already have. You're more useful as a hostage. Besides, it's cliché and boring! Everybody tortures their war prisoners!"

"I have trouble seeing your logic. My people would rather see me dead than bow down to you. Responsibility demands sacrifice."

"I like that. Much better than that cliché 'needs of the many' line. But, I'll let you in on a little secret. It doesn't work. When it comes down to the many versus the few, the few always survive. The few hold power over the many because they are loved... or feared. The few are powerful. And you and I, we are the few."

"The powerful are often overthrown."

"Vampires can't kill their creator."

"I was not speaking of vampires."

"You're hardly in a position for threats. I was hoping we could be friends, Gummy."

"Neither of us would gain from such a relationship."

"Oh come on!" The Vampire King said, "We could watch Starship Fantastica marathons together!"

"Listen to you," Gumbald said, "more interested in trivia than duty, like an uninitiated cadet. You aren't ready to lead."

"Aww, why you gotta say things like that? I extend a hand of friendship, and you spit on it. You're just an old man, standing in the way of progress."

"Not as old as you think, and I want nothing to do with your progress."

"Then maybe I don't want anything to do with you!" The Vampire King turned to leave, but Gumbald still had more to say.

"Before you leave," Gumbald said, "I would give you one piece of advice."

The Vampire King stopped just beyond the stream of sunlight still spilling in through the window.

"And what would that be?" The Vampire King asked. He didn't bother turning around to address Gumbald.

"When you entered the room," Gumbald said, "you should have paid more attention to what was missing."

"Dude, I have no idea..." the Vampire King fell silent mid-sentence as he suddenly remembered the bedside table that was missing a leg. Before the Vampire King could react, Gumbald was on his feet, brandishing the broken table leg as a makeshift stake. Gumbald ran at the Vampire King, ready to plunge the stake through his back and into his heart.