"It's all set. You guys ready?" Hekapoo announced as she looked at the group.
Kelly nodded as she hugged her wolf and Jorby goodbye, she wanted them to stay and protect the royals in their absence. Marco finished sharpening Silver Lining and cleaning his shield, while Star was deep in meditation as she floated in a seated position a couple feet off the floor. Marco looked over to his princess as she opened her bright blue eyes and cracked her knuckles.
"You ready, babe?" Marco asked.
"Fuck yeah, Marco." Star replied confidently.
"What about you, Kelly?" Marco turned to the blue haired girl.
Kelly wore light silver armor that reminded the boy of an exo-suit, she nodded as she strapped her family sword to her back.
"Let's do this then." Marco said as he walked towards the portal.
The two girls followed him as Hekapoo shouted her goodbyes to the group. They entered the portal together, not knowing what was on the other side. It was going to be another adventure for the trio as they braved more danger to save the universe.
The sun shined heavily in Marco's eyes and he covered them with his hand to keep from going blind.
"Ugh! What's with the sun?"
"Hekapoo did say this sun was a bit brighter than ours." Kelly answered quickly as she covered her own eyes.
"A bit? It's like I was living in a dark cave and I saw sunlight for the first time in ten years."
Star chuckled at Marco's comment as she looked up at the blazing sun. It didn't bother her at all, in fact she was used to the intense heat from using magic.
"Agh, sunny isn't it? A great day to look for little murdering birds." Star called out as she stretched and headed towards a small town.
Marco didn't notice the little village before but then again he couldn't exactly see anything. He and Kelly followed close behind the princess and the boy put his hood up to block out the sun. Star scanned the town entrance and saw all types of aliens, monsters, and humans shopping from the farmer's market. Everyone was giving them weird looks like they had two heads and it was starting to freak her out. The princess squeezed the wand she had in her purse and kept an eye out.
"You know you really don't fit in when aliens start looking at you funny." Marco whispered as he looked at rooftops of the low-grade stores.
Kelly giggled and lightly punched Marco's arm at his bad joke. The boy laughed with the bluenette as he rubbed his arm. Marco always loved moments like this when he could just be "normal" with his friends. Star was getting kind of annoyed at how lightly her boyfriend and friend were taking this mission. The princess noticed a saloon-type building and waved at her friends to follow her as she walked inside. It was darker inside with light only filtering in by four small windows. Star saw all types of shady characters scattered all over the place, some leaned against the wall, a few sat at the bar, and the rest were littered among the many tables. Star internally recoiled in disgust, if she thought the dirty looks they got outside were bad then these made her feel like a garbage can. She heard cat calls and saw others undressing her with their eyes, Marco noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere and wrapped his arm around Star's waist. She instantly felt better when she noticed the boy's arm go around her, the girl pressed her head against his chest and smiled. When they got to the bar and sat down, Star felt eyes staring holes into the back of her head, but it wasn't pervise ones but rather cold and calculating ones. The girl looked around at the patrons of the bar and immediately felt the eyes vanish. When she turned back around, they reappeared.
"Hey mister, mind if we ask you a few questions?" Marco said as he tossed three gold coins onto the table.
The bartender looked at the coins and examined them carefully before putting them behind the counter and smiling.
"How may I be of service?"
"We're looking for someone."
"Buddy if I had a gold coin for every time somebody told me that then I'd be one rich motherfucker."
"A small green bird? Wears rags as clothing? Looks extremely untrustworthy?" Marco listed off.
"I hate to be a dick but you just described every green bird that has walked into my parlor. You got a name?" The bartender replied sarcastically.
Marco sighed and rolled his eyes, this guy was starting to piss him off with his sarcastic answers. He would like just ONE straight answer.
"Ludo." Marco answered coldly.
The bartender took an unnaturally long pause before cocking his head to the side and saying, "Hmm. It doesn't really ring a bell. Certain things help jog my memory, maybe some shiny coins will help?"
Marco growled as he reached out to grab the man's collared shirt and pulled him inches away from his face.
"Keep testing me, pal. I've been itching to kill a tool like you for a couple days now. Give me a reason." Marco snarled as he glared at the scared bartender.
"Hey. You said that you're looking for Ludo?"A deep voice called from behind.
Marco let go of the server and turned around to see who had spoken. The boy locked eyes with a humanoid figure with the head of a green lizard. The lizard wore a dark grey space suit with a clear helmet over his head.
"Yeah… You know anything?" Marco said, his voice thick with suspicion.
"I can take you to him if you'd like. But first I want to know your business with him."
"I want to ask him some questions."
"Okay then follow me and please call me Dennis." The lizard commented as he turned to leave.
The group followed Dennis out of the pub onto the streets again and this time it was a lot darker. It looked completely different from earlier, less people were out and lights lit up the streets.
"Whoa. How is this a farming planet if the days are so short?" Marco asked the man.
"Day and night for us are like seasons, changing every couple months. You just happen to arrive in the middle of a season change." Dennis calmly retorted.
"MONTHS OF SUNLIGHT? How does anyone sleep?"
"Like a baby. If the farm work doesn't tire you out then the alcohol will. It's just a way of life for us."
Marco walked in silence as he tried to fathom the craziness of it all. Star and Kelly laughed at how flabbergasted the boy was and continued to follow the space lizard. The group passed all types of nightclubs and brothels, the smell of sex and alcohol filled the air as they passed the buildings.
"Hey baby, what's the rush?"
Marco turned around to see a burly four armed creature approaching Star. He narrowed his eyes as he listened to the disgusting comments he was spitting out and the boy unsheathed his blade. He twirled the sword in his hand as he stepped closer to the harasser, but two thin snake-like aliens blocked his path.
"Jussst let the bossss have hisss fun, eh?" one called out.
"You wouldn't mind, right?" the other said.
There was a blur of movement as Marco didn't waste any time decapitating both of the men in a single swipe. Their heads were lobbed off as the bodies fell limp to the ground. Marco was about to continue his advance when he heard a loud sound and a red light fly past him. He was shocked when the laser hit the creature that was harassing Star, because the thing was instantly vaporized and his ashes floated to the ground. Marco looked back and saw Dennis holding a futuristic gun with a thin barrel that was smoking lightly. The lizard holstered his weapon and nodded at the group to continue walking. Kelly went over and hugged Star as they walked side by side in front of Marco. The boy had his head on a swivel to make sure nobody else interrupted their mission.
They had traveled well past the village and onto a dirt path parallel to farmland. Marco was getting tired of walking and was about to ask their location when a small hut came into view. It was a small wooden hut with a field to the right of it. The group walked past the fence and towards the front door.
"Well here it is. I doubt he's home yet, he likes to engage in unorthodox behaviors during the night season." Dennis stated as he opened the door and walked inside.
The trio followed him inside and looked around, it was mostly empty, except for a table and couple chairs. There was a fireplace with a chair placed in front. The trio plopped down from exhaustion and waited for the little bird to make its way to the nest.
Ludo was making his way back home with goodies he won at the gambling spot. He was sure that he was now prepared for the upcoming night season, he had plenty of food and supplies. The bird walked up his front steps and noticed the door slightly ajar, that's odd. I don't remember leaving the door open. He wasn't worried though, he had nothing valuable to steal and with that he walked into his dark home. He reached for matches that he kept in his pocket and lit the candle on the table. He jumped back in fear when he saw a familiar face light up and he squinted his eyes and realized who it was.
"Marco?" Ludo sheepishly asked.
The boy only smiled at the bird in response as he stood up. Ludo slowly backed up but heard the door slam shut behind him. When he turned to look, he almost had a heart attack at who he saw. Star fucking Butterfly in the flesh was standing at his door.
"Sorry Ludo, they asked to see you. I hope you don't mind." Dennis spoke as he used a flashlight on his suit to brighten the room.
"Dennis? You brought them here?" Ludo asked in shock.
"Sit Ludo. Let's have a chat." The blonde said as she stepped forward.
AUTHOR's NOTE: Dennis is NOT Ludo's brother. Do you think the person watching Star was Dennis or another person? We see a little bit of a possibly jealous Star and a protective Marco. See guys? Marco's training was not useless! He was able to kill those guys no problem. I'm excited to see what Star will ask Ludo in the NEXT chapter. The infamous bird might be in trouble. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review.