From this chapter onward there will be major spoilers for The Battle For Mewni. Enjoy~
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"Mom, what in the HECK was that?!"

Star yanked her wrist out of her mother's grip, absolutely fuming with anger. "Star," Moon said urgently, trying desperately to calm her infuriated daughter. "No, no, no, Mom, no!" the princess shouted, shooting her mother a defiant look. "I can't believe this! First I had to suffer though stupid song day,"

"Star."

"And then by some miracle I managed to salvage my friendship with Marco,"

"Star!"

"And just when things are actually starting to seem normal again, you just swoop in and literally snatch me away from him!"

"STAR!"

"WHAT?!"

Moon looked deep into Star's eyes, and Star saw something in them that she had never seen in her mother before; pain. Star was taken aback by this sudden change in mood.

"Toffee... has returned."

Star sat alone in a small carriage, which was cluttered with weapons, books, and other items her mother had brought for their mission. She had also grabbed a what she could of Star's belongings from her room in the Diazs' house, along with one of Marco's hoodies as a memento. Star gazed sadly though her wand's spying spell at the brown haired boy, who was pacing in desperate circles in the Mystery Shack kitchen. "Oh, Marco," she sighed to herself, "why do you have to be such a cute... idiot..." she trailed off, lifting up the limp sleeve of the red hoodie she'd tied around her neck. She gave it a small sniff, before instantly pulling back in disgust. "Ew, Marco, yuck! When was the last time you washed this thing?"

"Star, we need to be quiet," Moon whispered harshly, "we don't know who might be listening." Star poked her head out the carriage door. "Sorry, Mom," she said, as the door flew off onto the dirt road, smashing into bits. "Sorry." She turned her gaze to the magical high commission, their black, lifeless eyes staring blankly into the dark night sky. "So how exactly are we gonna de-balloonify them?" Star asked, gesturing to their floating bodies. "Once we're at the sanctuary, the well of magic should be able to rejuvenate them," Moon said. "And Lekmet's gonna meet us there?" Star asked innocently. Moon glanced over to the hollow ram's horn, overfilled with the high chancellor's dusty remains. "Y-yes," Moon said quietly, gently sweeping the ash back into the horn. "He'll... meet us there."

After much hassle with the magical fritz and a run-in with some of Ludo's rats, they finally made it to the sanctuary. Once inside, Moon instantly got to work reviving the commission. She struggled to turn a valve, which brought up three large waterlily-like pods from the sanctuary pool. Star tied each of the commission members to a pod, and Moon turned the valve once more, opening the well spring. Star looked doubtfully up at the dark sludge that began to slide down the spout. "Is that stuff supposed to be all... black and goopy like that?"

"No, it's not!" Moon cried, grunting as she shut off the well. The two ran to see the inside of the well, shocked only to find more of the black muck bubbling at the bottom. "It's worse than I'd feared," Moon said, running back down the steps. "I guess we'll have to go with Plan B." Star walked beside her mother, wand in hand. "Alright, Plan B," she said, tightening her grip on the wand. "What's Plan B?" Moon let out a nervous chuckle. "Let's not worry about that right now," she said, obviously trying to dodge the question. She walked to a nearby shrub, and pulled back the leaves to reveal a vending machine full of various corn products. For a split second Star's mind flashed back to the one in the Mystery Shack, and she felt a pang of sadness. Moon looked through the glass frame before turning back to look at her daughter. "Now, would you like creamed corn or corned cream?"

"Wait, so you're saying we're just gonna hide here? That's your plan B?! That's a terrible Plan B!" Star said, throwing her arms out to her sides. "I didn't blow off my whole life just so you can give up." Moon strode up to her daughter, and swiftly tore off one of the sleeves of the red hoodie Star had around her neck. Star gasped as her eyes instantly filled with tears, though she didn't say a word as her mother began to tie it around her upper arm, effectively bandaging a painfully deep cut. "Your safety is my priority right now," Moon said sternly. "Our best bet is to lay low until the situation changes." Star struggled to keep her emotions in check, lifting her gaze from her newly mended wound to meet her mother's eyes. "You... lied to me..." she said, her voice wavering. "What else have you lied to me about?! I bet Lekmet isn't even meeting us here!"

"Lekmet is dead, Star!"

Moon herself seemed taken aback by the power of her own words, and took a deep breath to recompose herself. She looked deep into her daughter's eyes. "And it could happen to us too. Toffee won't stop until he finds this," she said, pulling out a small, round glass bottle. She held it out to her daughter, letting her to get a good look at it. Star was shocked to see the severed finger she'd found in the Grandma Room of her wand. Her eyes widened. "Seriously, did you take that from my closet? And now you're just carrying it around?!" Moon let out an exasperated sigh, growing impatient with her stubborn daughter. "It's too dangerous to do anything but stay," she said, reaching out to touch her daughter's shoulder. Star pulled back, anger radiating off her small body. "I'm not gonna stay here until I'm old and gray like you," Star spat, her wand emitting an eerie green hue as she turned, aiming it at the wall. "Star, no! The wands are linked, he'll find us!"

"Why?! What happened to cool warrior queen mom?" Star asked, holding the glowing wand threateningly above her head. "I was never a cool warrior queen, Star," Moon said, "I was a happy-go-lucky girl like you. And then," she paused, her eyes welling with tears, "Toffee killed my mother." Moon sat down a nearby bench, covering her face as tears streamed freely down her cheeks. Star lowered her wand, and the green light faded. She walked over and sat beside her mother, her anger melting away into condolence. Star gently placed her wand in her mother's lap, and gave her a small, apologetic smile.

"Tell me."

If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!