Star Keepers: Rebirth

Chapter 14

"This is the second time we've walked through here holding a dead body." Orion says as they walk through the portal to the Star Realm.

Ursa and Lynx come running as soon as they could, but Ursa slows when she sees Hydra.

"We're so sorry, Ursa. We couldn't do anything." Pegasus said.

Ursa doesn't respond right away, just stares at Hydra in Scorpius's arms. "It's probably for the best anyway, right?" She attempts to smile. "He would've just tried to break out of prison. Would've been even angrier."

"You could recreate him." Orion suggests.

"No. I don't want to do that, he wouldn't be my Hydra."

"What about the phoenix tears?" Corvus asks.

"We used all of it to bring Lupus back. Besides, he's free now." Ursa said. "Just place him in my room. I'd like to say goodbye first." Scorpius nods, and heads that way. "I'm glad you're all safe. Why don't you tell me what happened."

Orion, Lupus, and Pegasus all start in the story, but Corvus pulls Cygnus aside. "Something's wrong." He whispers.

"What?" Cygnus asked.

"Ursa said they were out of phoenix tears. They get it from Phoenix, he's another Star Keeper. Why would they be out if he could just refill their bottles?"

Cygnus frowns. "Why do you think he hasn't yet?"

Corvus shakes his head. "I don't know." Corvus's black eyes search the room. "Something really bad must've happened."

After Ursa says her goodbyes to Hydra, she takes him to the creation room, lays him on the floor, and closes her eyes. She slowly lifts her hands to the sky, and Hydra's body begins to dissolve into stardust. It floats to the sky, and his constellation shines brightly up above.

"What did she do?" Lupus asks.

"She placed Hydra in the sky. Now he can still be seen to the mortals when spring comes, even without his representative." Pegasus says.

"Okay, so why does Ursa care for Hydra so much?" Lupus asks.

"I'll explain." Cygnus says, and pulls Lupus aside.

"So Lupus has his power again. Cygnus still needs to discover hers." Orion says. Ursa walks out of the creation room. "Ma'am?" Orion calls. "My bow..."

Ursa chuckles, grabs the two pieces, and sticks them back together like they were Legos. "How many times has this happened?"

"Too many to count." Orion says, taking back his bow. "Thank you." Ursa nods, then leaves.

"Long time no see." Lynx walks up to the four of them.

"Lynx!" Pegasus gives him a hug, almost knocking him over.

"Welcome back." Scorpius briefly smiles.

"Hey, Lynx? I know you just woke up, but do you have any idea where Phoenix is?" Corvus asked.

"As far as I know, he's in his room." Lynx responds. "Congratulations on defeating Hydra."

"It could've gone better." Orion said. "But thank you. It was a lot of work."

Lynx laughs. "I don't doubt it." He looks to his side. "If you ask me, Hydra is exactly where he needs to be. He may have created me along with Ursa, but that doesn't mean I'll defend what he did." Lynx says. "Anyway, see you around."

Pegasus smiles. "What do we do now?"

"I guess just go back to our normal lives." Orion said.

Scorpius holds out his hand and Pegasus takes it. They smile at each other, then Pegasus pulls Scorpius along as they run off.

"That's not normal!" Orion calls after them. He glances at Corvus and says; "You should come learn what a movie is with me."

Corvus follows, but splits off at the last minute to talk to Cygnus. "Hi." He said.

"Hi." She responds.

"Lupus is telling Orion about movies."

"I knew he would without me. Ooh! I need to teach you all about music!" Cygnus runs over to Lupus and Orion.

Corvus laughs and joins them.

After Lupus and Cygnus are shown their rooms and the rest of the Star Realm, they all sit in the entry room.

"We're going to be up here forever. Can we tell our parents about this so they know?" Cygnus asks.

"Nobody can know. I'm sorry, but you can't tell them." Scorpius said.

"Will we ever see them again?" Lupus asks.

"It's best if you didn't." Scorpius said. "You can't even come back down to earth without Ursa's permission."

Lupus and Cygnus exchange glances. "It's okay, you guys. It's wonderful up here. You don't get sick, you stay young, nobody dies..." Orion halts. "When they're in here."

Corvus laughs. "You'll love it." He smiled.

"Can we go back to earth just one more time?" Cygnus asks.

Corvus nodded. "Of course." He stands and opens the portal to earth. "After you." He says.

They all walk through the portal, and see San Francisco on the other side. "It's already nighttime again?" Lupus asks.

"Shoot, I should go back." Scorpius says. "See you tomorrow." He says goodbye to Pegasus, then opens the portal back up.

"I've never really been interested in the stars," Lupus says as he watches Scorpius appear in the night sky, "but I never noticed how incredible they are."

Corvus looks to them both. "There's something important we need to tell you both."

Cygnus looked to him, nervous. "Yes?" She asked.

Corvus smiles. "Welcome home."

Cygnus looks back up at the stars, what is now their immoral home.