Consequences

Queen Moon and Hekapoo watched over the sleeping Star, wondering if she would be alright. Shock and fear still coursed through their veins as Hekapoo explained what happened with Eclipsa. In return, Queen Moon told the Commission member about the missing whereabouts of River and Marco.

"Hekapoo, I have something I'll need you to tell Star one day. And until that day, you can't mention or hint to it in front of her and the others." Moon clenched her right hand and looked at her exhausted daughter.

"What's that supposed to be?" Hekapoo folded her arms and glared at the worn-out queen. Even to this day, the two didn't seem to get along very well with each other.

"The spell I used…it's…killing me," informed Moon solemnly. "Slowly." Hekapoo opened her mouth in shock, immediately regretting her rude comment from before.

"Moon, I-I'm sorry. I…How?"

"The spell…tainted me. It's been slowly sucking away my life force. It wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't tried to use the spell a second time. Now, I don't know how long I'll last." Moon reached out and grabbed Star's small hand. History was indeed, repeating itself.

"Does River know?"

"No, and I don't want him to either. He'll only spend the rest of the time worrying over me. I just want him to continue being his happy self, it'll help me cope." Star's gripped tightened, causing Moon to think that she might be awake. She relaxed when Star rolled over and murmured something about a test she was late for.

"Alright. When the time comes, I'll tell them what happened. Thanks for confiding in me," Hekapoo said with a genuine smile. Star suddenly sat up, gasping violently for air.

"Star!" The temporary queen turned to face the two worried women.

"Did I die again? I didn't see Glossaryck so I wasn't sure." She looked around until she found her wand and set it on her lap.

"No, you didn't die. However, you didn't have to act like you did," Hekapoo joked with the teen. Star smiled and picked up her wand.

"I'm gonna get Rhombulus now."

"No, you need to rest!" Moon lunged forward to grab the wand but failed miserably.

"Aw, what? Nah, I'll be fine. Trust me, Mom, I can handle it." The determined teen recited the All-Seeing Eye spell and attempted to pierce the magic veil.

"Seriously, Star, stop! Your mother's right, you need to rest or you might hurt yourself." Star scoffed at Hekapoo's feeble attempt to deter her. Her hand began to surface on the other side when pain shot through her arm. She winced at the stinging pain and pushed onwards. She grabbed Rhobulus' snake hand and started to pull him through. Grunting in agony, she finally managed to reunite the two members.

"Hey, Omni, I kinda have to leave you for a bit. My arm's hurting again and I feel…sleepy." Star wobbled uncontrollably as she struggled to stand.

"Just don't push yourself too hard, you're still a teen. Remember that!" Omnitraxus Prime waved farewell as the portal dissipated into oblivion. Star slid to the ground and let out a big sigh of relief.

"Star, are you alright? Oh, you should've saved Omnitraxus instead. He's far more important than me." Rhombulus helped the small girl up off the floor and into a chair. Moon hobbled over and felt Star's forehead. The young teen had broken out into a cold sweat and was breathing erratically. She finally fell asleep, tossing and turning as Hekapoo fetched a nurse.

Elsewhere in a collapsed cave, the small search party had finally given up all hope of seeing the light of day again. Marco sat huddled with the king and a few other knights. The young boy had devised a new plan that required them to head deeper into the cave.

"I swear, there has to be another way out. If there isn't, we'll make one."

"And how do we do that exactly, we aren't monsters? We're weak from hunger." River looked up at the thinning boy. For sure, Star would be upset if she saw him in this poor state.

"I know we'll find a way out of here, we have to. You want to go back to Queen Moon, don't you?" River nodded. "Then, we need find a way, any way!" Marco stood and kicked over one of the sacks a guard had been carrying. "Ouch! Hey, who's bag is this?"

Marco opened the heavy bag and rummaged through the dense layers of clothing. He felt something poke his hand, something cold and hard. Hope sparked in Marco's heart as he desperately clawed at the pair of trousers at the bottom.

"Please, please, please!" He pulled out the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. "Woohoo! Boys, we're going home," Marco said triumphantly as he held up a pair of dimensional scissors.

"Marco," the enraged king shouted over the cheers of the guards, "how long have you had those?" River ran up to the young boy and pulled at his hoodie.

"What, these aren't-?" Marco held the scissors closer to his face and gasped. "What the? How did those get there, I left them in my room in my…pair of pants?" Marco facepalmed at his own idiocy and quickly made a portal into Butterfly Castle.

"Seriously, Marco? We almost died in there!" River tugged harder on the young boy's collar.

"Let's agree to never speak of this again. Ever. Again!" Marco stormed through the portal and ran into the line of famished guards. "Hey, what gives?"

"What's up, Marco?" The question was followed by an abrupt slap to the back of his head, burning and smoldering his hair.

"What, Hekapoo? Where have you been?" Marco rubbed the sore spot on his head and backed away.

"No time for that, Star's in the infirmary." Hekapoo grabbed River and Marco's hands, leading them to the two healing Butterfly's.

"What happened? Is Star going to be alright?" River ran ahead, not waiting for the answer. "Moon? Oh, Moon-pie, how I've missed you!" Marco entered to see the two embracing, behind them was Star.

"How's Star doing?" He walked forward, looking down at the feverish young queen. She seemed to be in great pain as she sucked in air through great, uneven breaths.

"She overworked herself when she pulled Hekapoo and Rhombulus out of a void. She's been like this for a whole day now." Moon stepped back so River could be closer to his daughter.

"But is she going to be alright?" River looked at his wife, fighting back tears. A pained look crossed her face as she looked away from him.

"We're not sure. The doctor said she might be up tomorrow or…sometime later in the week. Right now, she's in pretty bad shape. What happened to the two of you, we were so worried, River?" Moon's voice quivered as she turned back to her husband. Her face betrayed her worry and uneasiness from the two weeks they'd been separated.

"We were trap-," River stopped as he saw Marco shaking his head, "tracking Eclipsa, but we lost her trail. Yes, that's what happened." He hugged the queen lightly as she quietly sobbed in his shoulder.

"This is all my fault! I should've never let her use that spell. Everything connected to Eclipsa gets corrupted." Moon grew quite as Star finally began to settle into a deeper sleep. River managed to coax his wife into the nearest bed, staying with her until she fell asleep as well.