Star had arrived in the castle. She was hoping she would do this alone, but given her current situation, Star had no choice but to bring Ludo and Buff Frog. Ludo didn't capture Marco, but a guy by the name of Toffee did. And she can't help but feel guilty about it.

She brushed that thought aside. The only thing that mattered right now was to bring him back. She slightly opened the door to the castle and casted a smoke spell inside. Within seconds, the three of them broke inside, but to their surprise, there was no one to surround them. Not a single monster within sight, not even near the smoke.

"Is this... do they already know we're here?" Ludo asked nervously.

"No," Buff Frog replied. "It not possible. It gives opportunity to us."

"You make a good point," Star agreed. "If whoever you said was so dangerous, we have to get Marco out of here before he comes back. And Ludo, keep your distance, creep."

The three of them looked through a decent part of the castle. They ended up regrouping at the dining table once they did their searching. Star was disappointed to hear that they had found absolutely nothing. No monsters, no Marco, nothing. It was as if the hallways of Echo Creek High School was empty of everything.

"That guy must've hid him somewhere," Star said. "He has to be really good at hiding stuff. I'm sure of it. We still got a lot more rooms to go, so let's hurry and find find him before-"

"You made it," a mysterious voice said from behind.

Without hesitation, Star turned around and aimed at that mysterious voice. It just so happened to be Toffee talking to her, with a white button shirt and a red stainless tie. She was ever so close to shooting him right now, but he showed no fear, as if he already accepted his fate and began anew.

As she lowered down her weapon, Toffee walked to a seat in the table and announced, "I do humbly apologize for arriving so late. I'm sure none of you are used to having the guests arrive before the host, but as you can see, we can now begin."

Tiny amounts of rage flowed into Star. Her grip on the wand was tighter than before. Something devious is going on with him, and she doesn't like that feeling one bit. However, at the same time, she feels as if he is expecting this. In this game between them, she's not so sure who has the upper hand. The last thing she wants to happen is to be outmatched.

"Now, Star," he continued, as dinner plates between him and her were set down, "could you please be a dear and have a seat on the chair?"

"No!" she exclaimed. "I am not following your orders unless you hand me back-"

"We can talk about Marco in due time. It just won't happen if you don't take a seat."

"He's totally playing me," Star said to herself. "I can't let him do this, but it's the only way..."

Star finally came to her senses and agreed to sit on the chair. However, she wanted Toffee to get Ludo away from this conversation, in case he tried to interfere with the process. Toffee humbly accepted her offer and asked his monsters to move him into the glass chamber. On the other hand, Buff Frog stayed near the entrance of the dining room, not only guarding the princess, but his new tadpoles as well.

"Now, where were we?" Toffee asked.

"You give me back Marco in exchange for a butt kicking," Star proclaimed.

"Oh, I would hate to inform you this, but Marco is not here."

"Whhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"

"SURPRISE."

"But he has to be here," Star exclaimed, confused with her current situation. "I don't know anybody else who took him. And Ludo clearly wasn't responsible for this."

"If you want the truth, here it is," Toffee answered. "Yes, I did capture Marco. But, to my surprise, Marco escaped from that same glass chamber that Ludo is in right now. Is there anything else you would like to say?"

Star became more impatient and furious than ever. His twisted words added fuel to a burning comet that is aiming towards his head. This game between them is coming to a very close end. It was time for her to pull a divine move.

"This isn't the truth," she announced as stood on top of the table. "You're lying."

"Star," he replied with a straight face, "I would strongly advise you to sit back down."

"I'm not taking anything you're saying! You're lying! YOU'RE LYING!"

Star aimed at her target and shot Toffee's arm right off. The powerful blast knocked him out of his seat and lying down like a dog on the floor. No one was quite sure if he was still alive, but everyone was left in shock and awe.

"I'm not going to stop until I find Marco back!" Star shouted. "And I'm not going to let any one of you stop me!"

She ran and leaped out of the table, only to drop into 2 or 3 monsters. Regardless, Star fought them out without a spell casted from her wand. Buff Frog also helped her out by beating them up into smushed monster blood. With his aid, she continued to search throughout every single place in the castle. Even though monsters were still in the way, her wand fended them off and brought them back to Buff Frog, pummeling them once more.

The searching took half an hour, but Star ended up empty-handed ran to every room, fought every monster that dared to lay a finger on her, but all of it was for nothing. And here she was, back near the dining table, feeling as if the panic button on the back of her head has been slammed.

She turned around to see Toffee's good arm hanging onto the table. He was sluggish at first, but he was able to lift himself back up. Then, to her surprise, Toffee's arm was able to regenerate, and the arm functioned properly, as if he barely got a scratch on him.

"Now," Toffee asked in a weakened tone, "shall we continue our conversation?"

Star angrily replied, "You're hiding him somewhere! You just don't want to spill it!"

"I am not hiding him anymore. Marco escaped."

"And I'm supposed to believe you?"

"I highly doubt it, but it depends on how bad you want this kid."

Star paused for a minute before she could continue her rage. To her, it was more than trying to save him. It was more than trying to apologize from that huge fight they had over a sandwich. It was trying not to lose him permanently. It was trying to protect the most important person she'd ever had.

It was trying to hold him tight and never letting him go.

She came back to her senses and told him, "Do you have any idea where he is?"

"Sadly, no," Toffee replied. "Marco could be anywhere right now."

"I don't plan on hurting you again."

"And I'm counting on it, but direct threats will only waste time on finding him."

"You were the last to see him."

"A fact indeed, but I was unable to get a clear view. I humbly apologize."

Star was tempted to shoot Toffee once again. Nevertheless, the man showed no fear, given he regenerated his arm after receiving such a blast. She refused to fire another blast, in the fact that wasting any more time with him will cost more on trying to find Marco. Instead, she walked away from the castle, as no one, not even Ludo of Buff Frog, tried to stop her path to the exit.

As she reached the doors, she slammed a fist on the wall. Her boiling point has been reached, but the same time, she didn't want to lose hope on Marco. It took a while for her, but after her little outburst, she managed to cal down and slowly opened the exit.

"I'm sorry, Marco," Star whispered to herself. "I was too late..."