Helloooooo fanfiction! Author here, how you doing? good i hope. Thank you so much for every review, follow and favorite. they mean soooo much to me.
a special thanks to h mae- thank you so much i am so happy you enjoyed this. I think it really helps to give the character flaws or something that makes us relate to them better like someone not knowing what they really want or maybe they might be a little on the evil side (alfonso)
SVTFOEfanatic- haha sounds like a pokemon game or rpg. 7 deadly sins appear! *battle music plays* we all possess some of them but they can be conquered and defeated! i assume you made that quote "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, sabotage your competition and sell it at twice the price once you corner the market."
Finnjr- I love the deadly sins in cartoons and anime but not alot of people do it. its a little disappointing. its a great plot device for some self reflection and eye opening revelations. thank you so much for your kind words
the wookie- because even the mirror couldn't handle Ferguson's demands. Don't let the glasses fool you, Alfonso is a cunning mastermind that will abuse power everytime he gets it. Star tends to fit more of them because of her personality and confidence while Marco has his driven nature and he doesn't like himself much. i noticed that. there's alot quite a few mistakes here but i am happy you all enjoyed it still man i haven't heard that game in forever!
lost- thank you. stick around, soul eater is planned *With Star as the meister and Marco as the weapon* I dunno if i can keep this au up but ill add Toffee in more chapters. I try to avoid using characters with little character development but now i have no choice. i wouldn't call myself the best, h mae, fanfictionfordayz and axis are extremely great writers.
ulterkittygamer- man i would love to work for disney writing star episodes. it would be amazing and fun and stressful because it is a job. and i can't let you readers down!
fanfictionfordayz- don't die1 Aliens revive him! thank you so much and if it makes you feel better, i have an outtake for that AU planned showing a different, less serious lust chapter that i liked but didn't fit yet still was pretty funny. I'll upload it sometime this week.
IDC1314- thank you so much. keep up the great work. it's really awesome. i won't lie i got like dozens of aus planned. Frozen, tangled, the requests, kp, american dragon, couple of original ones and of course scary ones for halloween. it's quite a lot. and i am very happy you enjoyed it.
Secret Sauze- I don't have an instagram. stop checking out these stories in school! *Hands you next chapter* but i will check yours out. it is the least i can do for you awesome readers since you took a time to leave me a review and read my story. thank you for it. Now i need to go see the season finale and probably cry. if its like gravity falls lack of promos means its gonna be a big episode. hmm austin and ally i forgot about that show and did i just see clothes swap between Star, marco, dipper and paficia? it blows my mind it still fits the characters. and i am very happy you i have wonderful amazing readers like you.
xboxrica' thank you for the review. have another story.
grim- hmm...you're looking at the vault again aren't you?
justin- thank you for being alive. apparently my stories kill people so i really need to be careful. here have another story
TotallyobessedSTFOVE- first of all thank you for your review. it means a lot. in order. For the story i had to up his skill because i have lots of boss battles planned for him and *CoughstarCough* it was cute. i thought it was marco time to step up and freak out when it looked like it backedfired. STARCO FOR THE WIN!
yourfellowthespian- i am glad you enjoyed it. did you enjoy the lust part of the story?
watermalone- hiya good to see you back! we missed you around here. in order. 1 Star's google translate is called Mr. Diaz :) 2. i dunno about that. Marco bleed out quite a bit. i was wondering why Star, a princess, didn't want a hero from BMB and then i realized with the wand, she'll be the hero which means she's going to have to give up alot. 3.i was really hope you readers would scream out at all the near tense moments between the two. between you and mae i believe i did so. 4. telling by your story yes yes i totally you believe dem pain feels. sometimes its a good feeling. 5. sometimes to move forward, we need to look inward and realize maybe what we want is what we need. Let's face it, in some ways Marco and Star are two lonely people who found someone in the other. hey hey no melting, ill just stick you in the freezer, it works with mae. well used to. anyway get back here and enjoy the chapter! best wishes to you as well!
sugheman- thank you so much. next up is jerk british marco kidnapping Star in a steampunk Echo Creek. enjoy!
julie- hiya! i think i have one planned too but it'll be a while. trying to get quite a few things out there for you wonderful fans. if you want some painful sad times, if i miss you has been updated!
and of course my guest reviewer. i am so happy you loved it.
now quickly at Starco corner. Let's see we have some more awesome, epic drawings for H mae a humanized Bill and Toffee. i love the little comic where bill is trying to make a deal with toffee. check her work at Hains-mae at tumblr. Idrawcartoon1314 at instagram has some really cute 7ish year old of our favorite pairs of friends, Jackie and janna, ferguson and alfonso and Marco and Star! they are ridiculously cute. story wise we have until you realize and its hard to be in love with your rival from fanfictionfordayz, star vs the finale by skleero butterfly forever by exotos135. the big moment where star and marco split up in my story if i miss you is finally up if you've been waiting for that.
Okay shameless plug aside, here we go. this is a steam punk AU that takes place in british Echo creek that i imagined as 19th century london. Marco diaz is poor, troublemaker that doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut but one bad choice leads him into the hands of Toffee and Apple, he'll be forced to kidnap royal princess Star Butterfly to save her from an assassinate attempt.
I wanted to try something new so there's some british and american terminology mixed in ill put author notes for. Here's some author warnings. been a while. Marco is crass, cusses a lot and is sarcastic. actually a lot of people cuss so just letting you know. this is the first part of this au so i had to build the world and the events that are going to happen so there isn't too much steampunk or star *she appears at the end* so forgive me for that. I was inspired the Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert downy Jr. Bioshock Infinite wild west type things I also created an OC Apple which is toffee's female counterpart *whispers* and girlfriend. just for fun
Okay some british slang which is just a loose meaning of them. Brav- Bro, Cuz- friend, bloke(s)- guy(s), nicked- Stolen, steal etc. Scratch-cash, Bollocks- basically shit. pinched- caught, taking a piss- are you shitting me, piss off- Fuck off. Bobby/bobbies-police.
So i hope you enjoy my experimental chapter. there are more parts to this but im hope you readers give me feed back about what you liked, what you didn't like etc etc. thank you so much for everything i really hope you enjoy this story. keep being amazing people. I have to get ready for the season finale of Star. thank you and i own nothing!
The moon was high over the smokey chimney stacks of Echo Creek, the city brightly lit by thousands upon thousands gas powered street lamps. A permanent, hazy, smokey fog hovered over the city. It was a wondrous age of invention, of progress, of a technological revolution birthed and grown before the world's very eyes.
"Oi, off with you bloody loser!"
Not that many of the people cared. Life was tough enough in the city. Crime, poverty, the eternal struggle to make ends meet in a sea of millions, very few people looked out for others unless there was something it for them. It was a dog each dog world out there and only the biggest, cleverest dogs survived. Or luckiest.
The young man was clever but far from lucky. He stumbled to keep his balance as the owner shoved him out the door, swaying uneasily on his feet before landing face first into a puddle of nasty, rancid water left over from the rain and stepped in by everyone and their mothers.
The man pulled his head from the puddle as the door slammed on the 3 story drinking establishment and...companion house.
He spat out as much of the water as he could, wiping his face clear of it as he tussled his light brown hair, attempting to dry it as much as he could.
"Yeah well fuck you too!" Marco Diaz shouted, shaking his head to remove any excessive water from his dirty, patched cover clothing
"Golden age of prosperity my ass." he muttered under his breath as he reached for his lucky red scarf, pulling it out of his coat pocket and wrapping it around his neck.
"Can't seem to stay out of trouble eh Marco?" his best friend Ferguson teased from the shadows, Alfonso close behind, both looking as raggedy as he did.
"Arnold is just a prick" Marco muttered, gently patting himself down in search for his prized keepsake.
"I hear that, hasn't been the same since his daughter ran off with that con artist"
Alfonso laughed out "I heard that they stole a lot of pocket change from dear old daddy before they left town."
Ferguson let out a cheerful laugh "Well no one wonder he's got a stick up his ass." The two turned to Marco began to frantically panic as he failed to find what he was looking for "C'mon Marco, I know better pub with a lot of cute girls who all love the Ferg. Bet I can convince one or two them to look at you two ugly blokes"
Alfonso gently jabbed at Ferguson's shoulder who winced in pain "Oww, shit I mean that didn't hurt nothing."
"Son of a..." Marco exclaimed, turning to the front door "That prick nicked my watch."
Ferguson and Alfonso glanced at each other wearily. Marco cared a lot about that old broken, worthless pocket watch. Gotten him into more trouble than it was worth but Marco refused to let it go for any reason. Irrational as it was.
"Maybe it's time you let that piece of junk go" Ferguson suggested "Ain't no way Arnold is going to let you back in there and it's not worth the trouble"
"He's probably put up in his office on the second floor" Marco muttered to himself, taking a few steps back to see if he could spot which windows was the one he was looking for.
"He isn't listening anymore cuz" Alfonso muttered "Best to ditch him and get on with our night."
Ferguson shook his head "Wait, wanna bet?"
Alfonso looked at him, intrigued what he had planned this time.
Marco took the black newsboy cap from Alfonso head, fixing it tightly before he patted off the dust on his black slacks, stretching as his black vest hugged his white collared shirt tightly.
"No one steals from Marco Diaz" Marco muttered under his breath as he slid his fingers into a crack in the wall, barely enough room to even grip it properly
"You are crazy brav" Ferguson shouted as Marco began to quickly scale the side of the building, tuning out everything as he focused on where to position his hands and feet next.
"So what's the bet?" Alfonso muttered softly to Ferguson just on the off chance Marco could hear them
"A pound says our boy Marco comes out that window" Ferguson motioned to the large, dirtied display window, the many happy, cheerful and completely wasted patrons laughing their troubles away barely visible through its grimy surface.
"Deal" Alfonso grinned "Ain't no way Arnold going to be tossing Marco through that window. Not after his daughter made him. Not much scratch left"
Ferguson's smile unnerved Alfonso and suddenly the young man felt like he just walked into a trap.
"True enough Al but today's Friday"
Alfonso wasn't following "So what?"
Marco lifted the closed window, unsurprised it hadn't been locked from the inside. Most people were very careless about home security, especially on the higher levels of buildings. Marco slipped in as quietly as he could, silently shutting the window behind him.
"Dredger works Fridays"
Alfonso lifted his glasses his glasses, rubbing his eyes wearily
"Oh sh...And you let Marco go?"
Ferguson shrugged "Ain't my fault he won't let some piece of trash trinket go. Be a good lesson for him."
Ferguson and Alfonso leaned again the opposing brick building, falling into a relaxing pose as they awaited the results of their little wage.
"Come on, where are you?" Marco whispered to himself, his hands shuffling papers, random pieces of gears, pens and some loose change under the cover of darkness
"I know you took it you thieving ass"
Marco pulled open a drawer as slowly as he could, noticing a rather large collection of watches, rings, keys and even a peg leg, every single one in a different condition, some perfect and pristine and others barely held together.
"Knew it" Marco let out a hush exclamation as he reached, carefully drawing out a battery, rusted, faded silver pocketwatch with the initials I.D on them.
"Sorry dad" Marco whispered fondly "I won't lose you again promise."
Marco rose to his feet, strutting towards the door, completely lost in his moment of triumph to remember exactly where he was.
He opened the faded, hardly useable piece of wood called a door to the hallway, it letting out a loud and noisy squeak but Marco was too busy examining his prize carefully, making sure there were no new dents or dings caused by the low, life thieving pub owner.
"Much better" Marco happily told himself, the light provided by some overheard candles allowing him to see much more clearly than that darkened office room "Nothing seems to be damaged. Thank god or else I'd have to teach that stupid piece of shit a thing or two."
"Oi! What the hell you doing here?"
Marco spun around to see the snarling face of balding, 30 something year old Arnold at the end of the hallway, glaring daggers towards his direction
Marco froze, remembering how he snuck in the window and how he really should've left he came.
"Arnold" Marco said cheerfully
Arnold began taking thick, menacing steps towards Marco who quickly shoved the watch into his pocket
"What did you say about me?" Marco resisted the urge to his throw up at the smell of Arnold decaying breath. Even the water he was thrown into didn't smell as bad.
"What? Got nothing to say now prick?" Arnold took another step forward
Marco took a deep breath "I said you are a piece of shit and your breath smells worse than your piss tasting ale."
Arnold's eyes narrowed, Marco could hear the bones in his neck crack as he gripped Marco's shirt tightly.
Marco never could kept his mouth shut.
The pub was lively and rowdy as it always was at Arnold's. Everyone was laughing, insulting each other, playing friendly games of chance or poker, having a happy time. The bar was tucked underneath the second floor, the stairs to the left spiraling upwards to the upper landing of the business where one could stand and see the entire bar (Which wasn't much given the small size of the building. Everything tight and cramp with very little room to maneuver)
Suddenly an angry yell and shuffling of footsteps broke the joyful atmosphere, everyone glancing around drunkenly wondering where that unholy racket was coming from. The rushing footsteps grew and grew until there was a loud crack of wood being snapped in half, the second floor railing giving out as a body fell onto one of the tables, a heated game of poker now ruined, money scattering to the floor.
Marco raced over to the edge, peering over to see Arnold weakly groaning in pain. Marco couldn't help but smile which quickly turned to a frown when he noticed a collective angry glare coming from the people below. Their good time was ruined, their current favorite pub owner laid on the floor, brought down low by some no good looking punk. A poker game was ruined and worst of all, drinks had been spilled. They were not happy by a long shot.
Marco scratched his cheek nervously as drunks got up as one, uneasily swaying on their feet. There was only way out of this.
"HE CHEATED!" Marco shouted at the top of his lungs, making no motion to who he was talking about.
Suddenly, the zombie like stance of rage shifted to one another, distrust replacing the anger in their eyes.
"I knew it!" someone shouted as the group lunged at each other, entirely convinced each one of them had been personally wronged by everyone else in the room.
Marco shook his head disappointingly, the display of humanity before him making him really wish he lived among the animals
"At least they I can reason with" he muttered as a bottle came sailing towards his head, Marco narrowly ducking in time to avoid the attack.
Chuckling to himself Marco turned around and ran head first into a thick mass of muscles that made his nose ache in pain,
He took a step back, rubbing his nose to alleviate his pain as he stared upwards, a giant of a man blocking all light and blanketing Marco in his shadow.
"Dredger...you are working tonight...daddy didn't let you go out to play tonight?" Marco said fearfully as he took in the sight of the elder son of Arnold.
Dredger was a head and half taller than Marco, his clothes even more frayed and patched worked together than Marco's, being composed of wildly different colors and pieces of multiple clothing sown together to make a custom clothing line for the man. He had a thick, bushy black beard, a long, deep knife scar going over and under his left eye, the pale white iris staring directly at Marco as his green eye narrowed in anger.
"Head start?" Marco muttered weakly.
Dredger let out angry grunt as his large hands began reaching for Marco's face.
Marco ducked backwards under the approaching hand, pivoting on his feet as he rushed forward, nearly tumbling over the rail less edge by steadying himself
He turned back to Dredger slowly making his way towards him, each footstep making the floor groan weakly under his weight.
Marco raced down the stairs, narrowly avoiding a swipe from Dredger before realizing there no way to out race the giant.
Half way down the steps, Marco gripped the bars tightly, pulling back before vaulting over the railing in a single leap, unsteadily landing to onto the bar floor. Marco took a second to re-balance himself before someone was launched into his direction, slamming him into the side railing of the stairs. He nearly cussed out loud, shoving the human projectile off of him before barely avoiding a fist coming his way, his newest attacker staring him unsure if he was the same man he was fighting before.
Marco pointed to the floor where he tossed the other man while telling him in the most casual voice he could "Over there brav."
The man thanked Marco before launching himself at his foe but this moment of rest didn't last a second as Marco's eyes widen when another person glared at his direction, gripping a bottle by its neck tightly before turning it over, its content spilling wastefully onto the floor.
"I fell obliged to warn you that smashing a bottle does not break it in half" Marco shouted to he man, the urge to roll his eyes almost too much to resist as the man smashed the bottle against the table before letting out a shout of dull pain, the bottle remaining perfectly intact.
Before the man could voice his displeasure, his eyes rolling into the back of his as Marco's fist connected with the side of his jaw.
"That hurts like a..." Marco groaned, shaking it wildly as the pain began to turn into a dull ache at his wrist "God that's why you never straight jab!"
The bar went deathly silent, the loud cracking of wooden floor tile breaking underneath a pair of incredibly thick, heavy boots.
Dredger landed onto the first floor, dropping from the second floor. He rose to full height, his eyes scanning the now still room, everyone twitching under the watchful eye of Arnold's eldest son.
Marco turned his head slightly, noticing that it was a straight run for him through the bar counter, into the back storage room and to the back door that led to freedom. If he was fast enough he could easily make it out of here without any trouble!
Marco's head snapped back to Dredger. A loud, angry animal-like roar coming out of the giant's mouth as his legs tensed tightly, preparing to charge straight in his direction.
"Bollocks" Marco muttered under his breath, practically hearing the old time guitar playing at this standoff.
"AHHHH" Marco and Dredger screamed at each other: one racing towards freedom and the safety of the night, the other ready to crush the runner between his giant, thick fingers.
Marco leapt over over turned tables, drinks and people, shoving anyone he could with enough force to sending them tumbling to the floor all the while shouting at the top of my lungs "Out of my way! SCOOT MOVE IT OR LOSE IT BRAV!"
Dredger made no such comments, using wide swings to shove people out of his way, sending them flying into others or violently over the bar counter, his rage focused on Marco and Marco alone.
Marco almost made it through, just a second more and he could slide underneath the little divide and roll into freedom. His hand outstretched, reaching for something to grip tightly as he propelled himself forward. His hand touched the wood of the bar, Dredger rapidly approaching out of the corner of his eye. Marco held on as dropped to his knees, tossing himself forward as he tucked into the ball, sliding perfectly under the little space between the bar counter and wall, skidding to the other side.
He jumped to his feet, letting out a triumphant cheer as a large hand gripped his shoulder roughly, the bones straining to break under the insane pressure.
The hand pulled back, spinning Marco against his will as another hand enveloped his neck, perfectly covering every inch of his exposed skin. Marco was lifted off his feet, slowly choking as he began punching and kicking at every part of his assailant as he could.
Dredger didn't a feel a thing, Marco's relatively weak blows feeling nothing more than love taps. Marco had been a boxing champion once upon a dream but there wasn't a man alive that could knock out Dredger.
"H-Hey...k-kinda choking me brav, care to let me down?" Marco managed to choke out, Dredger's eyes staring at him quizzically as if he was a really exciting experiment or something
"Y-you don't get off on this do you? C-cause tha-t that be p-pretty gross"
Dredger made no indication he heard Marco's insult, seemingly content just holding up the troublemaker until he passed out.
Marco's ears faintly detected the steady puff, puff, puff of a steam chimney blowing steam into the sky, the creaking of metal and stomping of iron boots echoing loudly against the cobbled streets making the sounds of an army outside the bar.
"This" A voice shouted from the outside "Is the police. We have reports of a fight in progress. Stop this at once or we will take action to stop it. Forcibly."
Marco groaned loudly, voicing what was on everyone's mind "F-fuck p-pigs on stilts!"
"They aren't responding" The voice turned away from them, clearly talking to the others outside "Flush them out boys"
There was a loud whine and thud as a small rock broke through the bar glass, spraying some unfortunate souls with glass, cutting their skin as the rock sailed through the air, knocking one of the slower drunks to the floor.
There was a soft thunk and a small container bounced into the room where the rock had cleared the way. The container span this way and that, spinning and spinning until slowly stopping.
"da hell was that!" Someone shouted as black, heavy smoke began to pour out from both sides, quickly blanketing the entire room with a fog that none could drew breath from.
As people fell to the floor, knocked unconscious from the lack air entering their lungs though finding plenty of it when they collided against wood planks, the air being pushed closer to the ground.
Dredger found himself distracted giving Marco the chance he needed. He gripped onto both of the giant's arms before swinging backwards, kicking forward with all his might knocking all the air out of Dredger's stomach forcing the man to let go of Marco, unable to respond in time as the young man escaped out the backdoor.
Marco took in as much air as his strained lungs allowed, his wheezing cutting through the stillness of the night as he stumbled his way to freedom.
He looked to the sky, the moon blocked by a massive, silently floating blimp that just hung there, watching, waiting. Property of the police
"I hate this city" Marco coughed out, patting his chest as the loud clank of iron hooves crushing against the cobbled streets became louder and louder once more.
"Look what we got here" A voice taunted.
"Bloody hell" Marco cursed as he took in the sight before him.
It was one of those new steam powered walkers that were driving a wild craze among the upper echelon of the city and the police force.
The walker itself 7 feet tall, a dull bronze shine covering every inch of its riveted, smooth metallic surface. It's body was circular, a large smoke steam steadily pouring pure white steam into the foggy night as the police officer peered safely from behind the main body, the shell making a frontal assault completely useless. It's large, bent forward legs reminded Marco of chicken's. the iron, boot-like feet of the machine were as large as Marco's head and could easily outpace him in a straight sprint.
"Stop right there. Do not resist arrest or it will be worse for you!" the officer called to Marco, hands a whirl as he played with the levers that controlled the walker.
Marco shrugged apologetically "Sorry brav but I rather not go to jail. Kinda hard to survive a night in the slammer if I told them I got pinched by a chicken. Makes me look rather me silly"
Before the officer could react, Marco bolted directly across the narrow alleyway, feet and hands climbing wildly over a wooden fence in record time as the thud, thud, thud of the walker's massive feet closed in from behind.
Marco didn't even bother to stop to see if the chicken was pursing him, opting instead to keep running, randomly making turns in an effort to lose his pursuer in the maze of narrow alleys and streets.
There was a loud screech as a jet black horseless metal carriage cut Marco off from his intended route, forcing the young man to skid to a stop.
The door opened dramatically, creaking as metal scrapped against metal. The two figures inside were impeccably well dressed, their clothes looking like they didn't even understand the concept of dirt and uncleaned.
The man was tall, nearly the same height as Dredger, with slick back black hair and two yellowish eyes shone from behind the dark tinted glasses he was wearing. His pitch dark suit gave Marco uneasy feeling but he couldn't pegged why that was yet.
Marco glanced at the other occupant of the strange carriage. A pair of green eyes were glinting at him with a mischievous gleam, her short hair was unusual for there was a single green and red stripe running down alongside black ran down her head. Her dressed was much smaller than any he had seen before, the same high quality as all those other fancy ladies but nowhere near as large. Marco could actually probably fit in the carriage alongside these two with how the dress clung tightly to her.
"Mr. Diaz." The man began, a calm, almost serpent like edge to his voice "Would you care for a ride?"
"Dunno" Marco took a step back, his body braced to run in the opposite direction just in case "Last time a bloke in a finely made suit and his lady friend, who did nothing but stare at me mind you, offered me a ride I woke up half naked, handcuffed to a hotel bed when it was time for the cleaning. Maid was cute buuuut" Marco clicked his mouth nervously "Not looking forward to repeating that wonderful experience."
"Perhaps" The man pressed on coolly, unfazed by Marco's story "If we offered our names. My name is Toffee"
"I'm Apple" The girl chimed in with a joyful drawl.
Marco looked at the pair in disbelief, rubbing his eyes tiredly "Toffee Apple? You taking a piss? So in addition to being these" Marco gestured with his hand, unsure how to properly word his accusation "These really shady, cultist, shadowy organization types, you also have a really weak sense of humor."
"We need a man of your particular talents" Toffee cooed, clearly impressed by Marco's attitude and wit
"You need a poor factory worker whose most valuable possession is the soot in his lungs? Cause I can point you to a dozen other blokes who are more qualified than me. Piss off" Marco muttered angrily as he waved the two off, turning away from the carriage only to hear the echoing of the police just around the corner.
"How about this...:" Toffee began with a meaning smirk "No more false flattery or obvious attempts to appeal to your ego. It's us or the bobbies."
Marco paled at the sound of the walkers stepping closer and closer
"Yeah you make a very good point" he muttered, racing into the carriage before the door shut with a loud clank, the carriage speeding off far faster than Marco had ever experienced before.
Marco could feel his stomach churned at speed this strange carriage was reaching. Horses were slower but didn't want to make him throw his lunch up.
"Here's the deal Diaz" Toffee told him, glasses sliding down his nose as he stared directly into Marco's eyes "We need you kidnap someone"
Marco groaned unhappily, clutching his stomach as the carriage made a sharp right turn "Why the bloody hell would I do that?"
"Princess Star Butterfly" Apple spoke up, switching seats so she could talk directly to Marco, handing him a faded black and white photo, a cheerful, smiling girl about his age staring cheerfully at him, two hearts on either cheek that really seemed to emphasize her uniqueness "Is the next in line for the throne of Mewni."
"So?" Marco said, outward appearance showing no interest in this but internally trying his hardest to keep his eyes off the photo in his hand.
"She is...reckless" Toffee began slowly "Wild, irresponsible. Generally an overgrown brat. But she is popular, very well loved. Promotes peace and talks of treaties among warring nations. When she becomes queen, she could usher in a new age of peace among the world."
"Which is why someone is planning to assassinate her" Apple supplied.
Marco wanted to know why anyone would try to hurt such a pret...innocent girl but he knew how the world works. Sometimes there was just more profit in war than there was in peace.
"So" Marco glanced at the two of them uneasily "I'm supposed to kidnap her to save her from an assassination attempt? Seems a bit much no? Wouldn't be easier just to warn her government that someones coming after her."
"We've contacted the Mewnain government of course but they do not believe the princess is in real danger given her...popularity...besides" Toffee uncomfortably fixed his tie, glancing around the room in an effort to avoid Marco's eyes "They aren't too fond of us what with the attempted coup we tried perform a few years ago as well as other...complicated matters."
"Great...so what if I don't want to this whole cloak and dagger bullshit?"
Toffee shrugged "We will simply inform the police of the true instigator of the riot at Arnold's was and in addition to resisting and evading arrest, I'm sure Mr. Arnold would like to add breaking and entering, theft and assault ontop of the charges. After all Dredger saw you with his own eyes."
"Right" Marco muttered nervously, not at all liking how much information these two had on him. "Best to save a princess eh? What's the plan?"
"Princess Butterfly is set to check in the Royal Hill hotel in 2 days. Now security will be tight. Princess Butterfly will have an entire floor to herself with armed guards station on both ends covering the stairwell." Apple supplied, handing Marco a small, heavy black box
"Jesus, this weighs a ton." Marco whined, Toffee's glare unfazed the now regretful youth.
"It's a grappling hook" Apple smiled cheerfully
"Excuse me, a what?"
"You shoot it by clicking the edges of the box, it latches onto something and you climb up or down it. Idiot proof" Toffee explained, his eyes coldly fixated on Marco.
"Right gotcha..." Marco replied tensely.
"Anyway, access to the roof should be minimum so we were thinking if, under the cover of night, you make way into the garden, make your way past the patrols, grapple to the roof, sneak in through there, distract the guards, enter princess Butterfly's room and grab her before rappelling out her window! Easiest plan ever!"
"That" Marco slowly said "Is the most needlessly complex plan I have ever heard. Seriously, what is with you shadowy types and the need to complicate everything."
"You...have a better plan?" Toffee narrowed his eyes in doubt.
"Yeah actually. My friend Ferg's sister Franny works at the Royal Hill Hotel. Kept her out of trouble, scared some aggressive boys away from her, owes me a few. I'll just have her nick me usher clothing and sign me up for the night shift. Very special guests are assigned one usher to carter to their every need. I walk right in, grab the girl and I probably leave through the balcony."
Toffee and Apple shared an unspoken look before turning to Marco, the carriage slowing to a stop.
"It sounds good Mr. Diaz. Here" Marco cautiously takes the business card from Toffee's hand, an address scrawled in perfect handwriting on the back, his name on the front "Bring her to that location. We shall assure her safety."
"Right, gotcha" Marco muttered as he weakly made his way out of the carriage.
"And Mr. Diaz"
Marco looked up to see a revolver thrust into his hands
"Wait, wait I don't do guns" Marco muttered quietly but Toffee clicked his tongue at him
"Insurance in case you have to deal with the assassin. You know, a trained killer who knows how to eliminate his prey and their protectors with...efficient results."
"Right..."
Marco turned distastefully towards Toffee, his eyes emotionless as his voice was low and soft
"Do not fail in this. Too much rides on Star Butterfly."
"And with that lovely pep talk" Marco grinned sarcastically "I'm off to put my mission together."
"Good bye Mr. Diaz. We shall see you soon"
and as unexpectedly as they arrived, Toffee and Apple disappeared into the night, seemingly swallowed whole by the darkness.
2 days later.
Marco began feeling very uncomfortable, each step leading him higher and deeper inside the Royal Hill Hotel. A beautiful, brightly lit building ontop of a hill that overlooked the entire city, the ugliness from below never seeming to reach high enough taint that magnificent white painted mansion that the rich and powerful used as their playground.
And Marco was here to kidnap a princess to save her from being assassinated. Funny how life turns out that way.
Marco was wearing the red and white uniform of the ushers of the hotel, pressed to perfection with no hint or trace of folds or dirt. He still wore Alfonso's newsboy hat, having not seen him in the last few days and just enjoying how Marco looked in it while he tried to ignore the lump in his coat pocket that was the revolver given to him.
Just as Marco planned, Franny managed to easily sneak out an extra uniform for him to wear and signed him up for the night duty for the top floor where Princess Butterfly was staying. Normally volunteers were expected but nobody liked to work for royal families however amazing their reputation preceded them. More often than not, the reputations were false.
Marco could feel a quiet dread when he reached the top floor, not a single soul in sight to protect the princess.
"This...is some terrible prank I fear" Marco whispered as he made his way to the middle of the hall, to where Star Butterfly was supposedly staying.
Why was he even doing this? This Princess Butterfly was probably an uptight, horrible, selfish, wasteful royal brat that just didn't care for the plight of the poor, working folk. For those starving in the gutters, forced to turn to crime just to pay the bills. He shouldn't be here. He should be on the next train out of here, taking his chances in the country or some other god forsaken city where no one knew his name, his past. He loved Ferguson, Franny and Alfonso but if it meant getting free of this strange twist of life, he gladly would've hopped on that train and washed his hands of this mess.
Except he couldn't. For some reason Star Butterfly plagued his thoughts. He found himself staring at her photo constantly but wasn't sure why. He didn't like people. They were all selfish, rude and often laughed at your expense. Even Ferguson and Alfonso were not immune to that rule.
But Star...Star haunted him, driving him to go forth with this insane plan to save her. All because Marco had a school yard crush on a girl he had never met, never seen and didn't even knew existed until two strangers showed up demanding to save her life.
And there was Toffee and Apple. There was something off about them. Well aside their cloak and dagger tactics and recruitment style. Marco didn't trust them but at the moment, he didn't have much of a choice. He bunked with Ferg and Alfonso and there was no way he was dragging the princess back to them. They'd tease him for it then probably turn him in for the reward money.
Marco was dragged out of his thoughts when a dish crashed to the floor with a loud clang, something metal echoing down the empty, pristine hallway.
Marco looked up to find himself to staring at another usher, eyes narrowing in suspicion and making no effort to pick up the dish he just dropped.
There wasn't supposed to be anyone else up here which meant..
"Ello cuz" Marco smiled cheerfully "Here to kill the princess?"
As quick as lightning, the man in front of him drew knife from his breast pocket, slashing wildly at Marco
But Marco wasn't an average chump. He was a former boxing champion and gotten into more fights than he'd like to admit.
Marco leaned back, the blade barely cutting his uniform as he took a step forward when the blade passed by, his fist connecting with his attackers stomach. The assassin didn't even register the blow, twirling and twisting the knife in his hand expertly as he aimed straight for Marco's exposed neck.
Marco ducked under the wide swing, one of his fist smashing into the man's cheek while the other quickly followed into the side of the man. The man let out a grunt of pain but Marco wasn't letting up. The assassin's face turned to shoot Marco a look of pure hatred as Marco's fist connected with his nose, blood splattering the walls while the assassin fell to the floor, knife released from his grip.
"That's what I thought' Marco panted, shaking off the dull ache from his hand and cracking his neck as he slid the key into the door, struggling with the lock for a moment before door opened.
Marco smiled, surprised how well everything was going
But Marco forgot one detail. The assassin was not his usual opponents, drunks couldn't handle a punch to the face like they couldn't handle their liquid.
The assassin leapt to his feet, drawing another knife from his back while lunging directly at Marco.
Marco barely could turn around in turn, knocked off balanced, the assassin rising the knife high into the air, the sharpness of the weapon gleaming evilly with the reflection of the light as Marco's back smashed into the carpeted floor, cracking under the weight as the assassin brought down the blade to take his life.
Marco crossed his arms, catching the assassin's hand in between his forearms, the knife just few inches his eye. Out of the corner of his sight he could see dainty shoes just standing there, watching this scene unfold before the person's eyes.
"Hey buddy!" Marco strained to shout. Between trying to breathing, fighting off an assassin and ignoring the pain through his body, it was really hard to say things "Wanna help me fight off this assassin?"
The shoes made no motion to move
"No? Just gonna let him kill me right here in front of you?" Marco shrugged, the redness of his face betraying how much effort he was putting into his defense "That's cool. That's awesome"
Marco managed to slip his knees against the assassin's stomach, letting out a yell of effort as he lifted the assassin with his legs, sending flipping forward onto a wooden table, splitting it in half as the assassin dropped the knife once more, wildly grasping the air in pain.
"Oh stop being a baby" Marco took in a breath "I fell on my back twice this week. Doesn't hurt that much. Actually it really does"
"Are you okay? I'm sorry. I wasn't helpful. I confused about what just happened?" a soft, flute called to him, somebody blocking the light as they stood over him..
Marco's eyes widen. The photo of Star Butterfly did her no justice. Her sparkling, crystal blue eyes stared at him in concern, her long, blonde hair looked incredibly soft and vibrant against the silhouetted light. She brushed a strain of loose hair behind her ear, her pink lips oddly tempting and those pink hearts on her cheeks looked too cute to be real.
"Sir, are you okay?" she asked again.
Marco opened his mouth before the thunderous roar of footsteps inched closer. Marco and Star stared at the door, a group of rough looking and nasty men slid into view, waiting in the door, clearly up to no good. They began reaching for their guns hidden in various locations
"What's going on!" Star shouted in a panic, Marco getting to his feet and gently taking Star's hand into his own, leading them behind the couch, the group of men finally drawing their guns and taking aim.
The pair barely made it to the safety, the smell of gun powder filling the air, bullets sinking the walls, couches, breaking windows, the sound of gunfire too loud in the small hallway.
"Well..." Marco began, reaching for his own firearm "They're here to kill you and I'm here to kidnap you"
Star's confused look melted into shock and fright as she stared at Marco then back to the group of thugs.
"Wait what?"
Marco could never keep his big mouth shut.