"Is she even still alive?"

She ridiculed herself for thinking so negatively, for lacking faith in her mom's ability, knowing, or really hoping, that she was actually alive and well, and just returning to Mewni soon. However, she couldn't push the question out of her mind, and the thought sank itself in, she became more and more afraid, and less and less hopeful. How could she know what happened to her? The strongest figure in her life, the person who had lost her parents and been pushed into the role of Queen before she was even an adult and always put up with her recklessness and vibrant personality, was gone. She felt a tear forming in the corner of her eye as she continued to think about it. She wasn't even thinking straight when she last saw her. She hoped that it wouldn't be the last time she'd see her, and her eyes watered up at the thought once more.

Star had found herself stuck in thought the past few hours about Moon's disappearance, continuously finding herself stuck in a thought cycle of fear, anger, regret, and sadness, feeling useless about her inability to find Moon and starting to fear the worst. Star had realized something important from Moon's hopefully temporary disappearance. She could actually lose those she loved dearly to her enemies. Of course, there were close calls before, she'd almost lost Marco to Toffee once before, but unlike with Toffee, Star was unable to save Moon from disappearing in the first place, and despite the circumstances, she couldn't help but feel responsible. She blamed herself for being distracted by the magic and losing her mind, for not getting Moon out sooner. It made her fear the future, the thought of losing her dad too only made her heart hurt more, already feeling empty with her mother being gone for so long.

"Star?"

She quickly got up and turned around, somewhat startled at Marco's entry into her room.

Marco walked slowly towards her in the balcony as the full moon lit the balcony. He could clearly see she had been crying. Concern filling his mind, he walked up to her and gently asked her,

"Star? What's wrong?"

"I-It's nothing Marco… you don't need to worry about it."

Her voice cracked and she wiped her eyes and sniffled, trying to play off Marco's concern. She needed to act strong like her mother would, especially in front of her friends and family, and so tried her best to act fine. Marco could easily tell that whatever was on her mind definitely wasn't nothing, and wanted to press the issue. He only wanted to help Star in any way possible. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Star, come on, I know you better than that. We've known each other for months now. I know you aren't a person who breaks down easily. You're a strong willed person who can deal with essentially everything, you always are quick to help and support those you love. Seeing you getting down more these past few days is affecting us all, especially me. Please. You're always there sacrificing things to help me, this is the least I can do to return the favor by helping you."

He gave her a light smile, gesturing for her to head inside outside of the cold to let her speak what was on her mind. Star couldn't help but return the smile, Marco always knew what to say, and she was surprised that Marco looked to her as a person who could do anything if she put her mind to it. She walked up sat on the side of the bed next to Marco. How many times had they been in a situation like this? Marco was always there to comfort her at her weakest moments and by her side supporting her in her best. He always was willing to listen and offer advice or encouragement. However, the gravity of her thoughts dropped on her once again, and her smile fell quickly as she attempted to talk about what caused her sorrow.

"W-We still never found my mom and… I'm starting to question what really happened to her… We've never lost anyone before for this long. What if we never find her and she is gone forever?"

"..."

"What if one of us gets killed Marco? What happens then?"

It took a moment for Marco to process these words, but when he did his eyes widened at the at Star. She had realized that they were no longer fighting for fun like back on Earth with Ludo. Instead they were fighting actual enemies, ones who wanted them to suffer, who had no problem or hesitation in causing them pain. One mistake could mean the loss of someone's life, something they now had to get used to. They had lived in a facade for so long, invisible to the reality that surrounded them, having fun and being oblivious to the truth. A time when there were no consequences or any actual danger was being faced. But now, things were serious. They could lose those closest to them now.

Marco didn't say a word. In fact, he had no words to say. The things Star had said made Marco fear the same thing as her, losing those closest to him, especially someone like Star. The very person who had helped him open up more and become more confident in himself. He felt worse knowing that she was going through this very feeling right now, with her mom out and about. He opened his arms up offering a hug, which Star almost immediately accepted, tightly wrapping her arms around him while Marco did the same around her.

"I don't know if we'll find Moon or not Star… we can only keep searching and hoping that we find her. We'll do the very best we can and hope it all ends well. But that's all we can do. The rest is out of our control… "

The real world was coming far sooner than either of them would've expected. No longer would they be able to do things without a second thought or be reckless. What would happen if they never found Moon? What would happen if something bad happened to one of them? He was unsure, and that scared him. What assurances could Marco give to Star? What assurances could he give to himself? It seemed everything he had gotten used to was changing around him and the times getting more serious, but Marco knew one thing that would remain true through it all.

"Just remember Star, whatever happens, just know I'll always be by your side to support you. The road may get rough from time to time, especially in times like these, but I'll stick around to be there for you. I'd give up anything for you and I'm sure you'd do the same for me. We'll get each other out of our problems and we'll have each others backs like we always have. That's something that will never change in our lives."

A/N: This is my first time writing anything on this website at all, and I'l probably cringe at how bad it's written tomorrow or something. If you could please review and tell me what to improve on and stuff that would be great and I'll do my best to improve from here.

This was mainly based on the sneak peek clip that Disney released yesterday, showing that Star was still looking for Moon even after learning how to use magic without her wand, which I assume took a while to do, meaning that Moon has been missing for a major amount of time.

now if you excuse me i'm going to hide in a box have a great day