Nia bit her thumb nervously as she paced back and forth across the room. This was bad. This was all very, very bad. She might have been young, but even she knew what the result of Python's message to mewni was. An ancient threat from long ago, who'd taken down not only the royals, but the king of monsters as well? She could only imagine the panic and chaos spreading through mewni right now.
Python's demands had been very clear, and if there was any single doubt in her mind that this couldn't be settled peacefully, then it was all gone now. No, they were being given a very simple decision to make. Meet their demand and leave mewni, or face the Ten in battle and risk everything.
Obviously she didn't want to leave. This was her home. It was home for a lot of other mewmans as well. And even if she'd wanted to meet their other demands… she just didn't know how. Handing over the Commission honestly sounded pretty tempting, but she didn't she couldn't do it. Not just because of Amber, but because as much as she hated to admit it, they were necessary. Their jobs helped hold mewni together.
Then there was the first demand which… well, she honestly had no idea about any of that. When she had asked the Commission about his son, they claimed they had no idea what she was talking about. But she felt like they were lying. Mostly because of the look on Hekapoo's face. Out of all the members she seemed to be the only one who ever felt any guilt about their past crimes, and it showed.
Before she could grill them about it any further however, Sarasim and Higgs had arrived and told her that the other royals had begun to arrive. They had also told her that her brother had once again left the castle, which was awful timing for her. "Nia, I think you need to get things started…" Higgs said, frowning as she watched the stressed girl walk back and forth.
There were only a handful of noble heirs missing, and the others were beginning to grow anxious. She honestly couldn't blame them. With everyone having sensed the magical spike at the castle earlier, rumors flying left and right, and then Python showing up in the sky like he did, they were in full crisis mode. They all wanted to know what the next move would be, and unfortunately they were looking to Nia for it.
"We can't, my brother needs to be here," Nia said, shaking her head.
Sarasim and Higgs exchanged a quick glance. They knew that the girl leaned on her brother for support. And they understood it. But they both felt like now was not the time for her to be clinging to him like she was. "Nia, there's a room full of anxious and worried royal and noble heirs out there waiting for your guidance. The longer we keep them waiting, the more worried they are bound to get," Sarasim stated. "I know you're worried about your brother, about doing this alone, but he'll be back soon. Until then you need to go out there and reassure them however you can."
Nia sighed and rubbed her head. "I know, I know, I just…" The timing of all of this really couldn't have been worse. She looked over towards the door where the others were all waiting. She could hear mumblings and muttering coming from the other side of it. She knew Sarasim was right. She had to get out there and say something to them. "Open the doors and let everyone in."
Higgs nodded before walking over and opening up the door. The room began to flood with the familiar faces of the noble and royals heirs. Well, she supposed in this situation they were the kings, queens, and heads of the families now. Some of them looked angry, others nervous, and some just… tired. She sympathized with them all honestly. She hadn't been in charge for a full day, and she was already angry at the Ten, nervous about what would happen, and tired of all the chaos.
Once everyone settled in, Nia looked towards Sarasim who nodded. She turned back towards them. "Hello everyone. Uh… I'm glad you seem to be okay." She then noticed the Kelpbottom siblings. Hody had very clear signs he had come from a fight. And a rather rough one from the looks of it. And Maria's arm was in a sling. "Mostly…"
She was saddened to see the girl hurt at all, but if a broken arm was the worst of it she supposed she should sound herself lucky. She walked over towards them reaching up and putting her arm on Maria's shoulder. She then closed her eyes and let out a breath. Maria felt a warm, tingling sensation, and then…
"Huh?" Maria's eyes widened and she began moving her arm. It felt… fine. Like it had never even been broken in the first place. She had tried using her own healing magic earlier, but the best she'd been able to do was soothe the pain a bit. She looked down towards Nia who nodded before turning towards Hody.
"I'm fine…" Hody grunted, a scowl on his face.
Nia frowned at him. "No, you're not. Stop being stubborn," she said before placing her hands on his side. He had a lot more to heal, but with everything Corona had been teaching her and her natural abilities, it wouldn't take long to patch him up. "I'm sorry. I should have had Corona check on everyone as they arrived." She knew some of them had gotten attacked after all. She made a mental note to try and think things like that through more carefully in the future.
Then again, she wondered if Corona wasn't already busy preparing for… whatever it was that was going to come at them.
"It's fine. We understand," Maria said, trying to reassure the girl.
Hody grunted, but let her continue. It wasn't as if he could say no to the little brat right now. She was the acting Queen after all. "Yes well, if you wouldn't mind Queen Titania, I'd like to discuss what's happening. And what we're going to do about it," he said.
Nia was going to tell him that he didn't have to call her that, but thought she would just waste her breath. "Okay everyone, I know that you all probably really want to know what the plan is. And I do have one. But… I think it's best if we wait for my brother to get here," she said. Hody narrowed his eyes, and everyone else looked confused.
"What do you mean to wait for Asterossa? Where is he?" Hody asked.
"He… he left the castle to do some important business."
"Are you kidding me?!"
Nia held her hands up. "Hold on, I know what you're thinking, but it really is important that he be here!" the blonde said. "I'm sure he'll be back soon, so-"
Hody stood up. "We all saw the message! We know what we're up against! If everything they said is true then they even felled Typhon! If he didn't stand a chance against them, what would it matter if Asterossa is here or not?!" he asked, irritated. His parents' lives were on the line here, and he was dealing with a little girl trying to cling to her brother for help. This was ridiculous.
"Hody!" Maria said, grabbing her brother's shoulder.
"No!" he said shaking himself loose. "I fought two of them! I know how strong they are! This is a serious situation, and we need serious guidance! Not a silly little girl who-!"
Hody stopped when Slick suddenly stood in front of him. The boy was still in his armor, and had a glare on his face. "Hey fish brains, I fought the bastards too. I know how damn strong they are," he said. "We both know I could kick your ass up and down this castle, so them beating you doesn't mean shit. And I love a good fight as much as the next guy. But we need Astro if we're gonna take these guys on."
The tension in the room began to thicken as the two acting kings stared one another down. But another voice called out and cut them off. "I agree," Jagur said, trying to calm things down a bit. "The fact that they brought down Typhon honestly just emphasises how much we need Astro. But… I don't necessarily think we need him to discuss the plan. If there is one."
Nia opened her mouth to speak again, but then Rich Jr. called out. "Are we really gonna have to leave mewni? I mean… Can we even do that? Where would we go?"
"Of course we're not leaving! Do you actually trust them to keep their word?!" Hody asked. "Their destain for mewmanity was clear! They'd never return the souls willingly, or simply just let us leave without a fight! Not that we should! We need a plan of action!"
"I say we leave…"
Everyone suddenly stopped and turned towards Tor, shocked expressions on their faces. The last person they expected to shy away from a fight was the Johansen prince.
"Excuse me?" Hody asked, narrowing his eyes.
Tor grunted. "Listen, I have no intention of giving up mewni. But they defeated the Queen. They defeated everyone of our parents, and we know there were quite a few strong warriors among them. They even brought down Typhon. They're clearly strong and a huge threat. Three days isn't enough to prepare for that. We should accept their demands and leave. Regroup, and come back with a solid plan."
"You fucking coward!" Hody said, stepping towards him.
Slick scowled. "God damn it, don't make me agree with him…" he muttered. He couldn't believe that Tor of all people was talking about leaving. What kind of bullshit was that?
"You're willing to just roll over and meet their demands to save our skins for today!" Hody asked. "We're the royal families! What example does that set if we let them run us off like a flock of pig-goats?!"
Tor narrowed his eyes. "I'm willing to step back and wait for us to have some winning odds. Unlike you, I'm not willing to risk my entire kingdom over my stupid fucking pride," he said. He knew they wouldn't like this plan. Hell, even some of his own people wouldn't like it. But this was the most logical step to him. If there was one thing he learned from his mother, it was to win by any means necessary.
"But how would we even do that? We have no idea where their son is, and we'd also have to sacrifice the Commission," Jagur said. He couldn't say he was particularly close with any of them, but just handing them over to their deaths didn't sit well.
"We buy time and get rid of a bunch of traitorous assholes that we should have gotten rid of years ago. That's a win-win as far as I'm concerned," Tor said casually.
Margo narrowed her eyes. "We're not giving up the Commission," she said sternly. Even if Hekapoo wasn't among them, she wasn't about to trade lives.
"So we're going to go to battle with them and lose god knows how many knights and warriors so we can protect them from a shitstrom they brought on?" Tor asked angrily. "I know you're close with Hekapoo, how many bodies do she and the others have to pile up before you finally get the message?"
Margo was about to snap back at the young man, but suddenly Sarasim lifted her club and slammed it into the wall. Everyone's heads whipped back towards her and Nia, who cleared her throat. "Thank you…" she said before turning back to the others. "Listen everyone, you all have very valid concerns and points. And we'll discuss them after my brother gets here. I know you all feel like we have to plan and act now, but I need you to trust me when I say that he needs to be here for this."
"Why?" Hody asked annoyed.
"Because he's the main part of the plan. He's the strongest warrior we have, and he's the only one who might be able to buy us time reasoning with the Ten. I just… I need you all to trust me, at least until he gets back. I know it's scary, I'm scared. But I've thought this through very carefully, and I know this will work. If we just wait, we can make sure we can save all the royals and nobles."
Everyone looked towards her with equal amounts of curiosity and doubt. But there was something about the look in the girl's eyes that said she really did have something up her sleeve. "I think we should listen to her," Vera said. "I mean… we can talk about other plans until then, but it's not like it's going to kill us to wait for Astro. Have three days, and he'll be back before then."
Nia nodded. "Definitely." She knew he would be back as soon as he could. And if not… well, if he wasn't back within a day she'd go out and drag him back himself.
After seeing the message that Python had sent out across mewni, Astro had sped as fast as he could to the most likely meeting point Sting would have taken everyone too. He needed to get back to the castle quickly and help Nia sort out what their plan of action was going to be. Luckily for him, his first choice to check had been right.
When he had tapped the entrance to the old abandoned monster temple, it hadn't taken long for Sting to come out and greet him. He could tell with a since glance that she knew what had happened to Typhon, and that she was just as torn up about it as he was. Usually she was so good at masking her emotions. And even now a normal person might not have noticed it.
But he noticed in the very subtle details that she was just barely holding herself together, much like himself. "I wanted to stay and help…" Sting said, as she led him down towards where the others were.
"I figured," Astro said. Sting was the most loyal of all of his generals, and he had known him the longest. He knew she had probably been ready and willing to fight and die by his side. But the old man obviously wasn't having it. "I'm not mad. You… you did the right thing. Getting everyone to safety."
Sting grunted. "I should have left it to the other generals. I should have stayed…"
"Don't," Astro said, shaking his head. "Don't do that to yourself. You didn't stand a chance against them. Neither did I. All we would have been able to do was delay them a bit longer. And he would have ended having to save both of us instead of just me."
Sting balled her fist up. "I don't care. He's looked after me for as long as I can remember. I… I should have been there with him at the end." Astro opened his mouth to speak, but then winced. There was that pain in his chest again. What in the heck was going on? Was this a titan thing? Or perhaps he's taken more damage from the fight with Python than he realized. "Are you alright?" Sting asked.
"I'm fine. It's nothing. And stop blaming yourself for not being there. My father knew we'd stand no chance. The dead can't avenge the living," Astro said sternly. "And that's all we can do now. Make sure his sacrifice wasn't for nothing. We need to gather everyone and get them back to the castle. It's the safest place for them. Then we can regroup and-"
"The Butterfly castle?" Sting asked confused. "Is that why you came here? With all due respect Astro, I think there's more important matters to be taken care of." Astro looked at her confused, and was about to ask what she was talking about. But then they entered into the next part of the temple.
He had expected to see a number of the monster kingdom inhabitants, and there were. But there were also… a lot more people than he was expecting. People he recognized, and people he knew full well weren't a part of the monster kingdom. "What… what is this?" he asked looking around.
The first person who caught his view was Fee, who sat with a few other giants on the upper part of the ruins. Then there was Bloom, who was waiting alongside Petal. He saw a few Water and Air nymphs, beastkin, septarians, minotaurs. Monsters from every tribe in mewni were present.
Fee spotted him, and then nodded. "Everyone, he's here!"
Everyone's heads turned towards Astro, who froze on the spot. What in the world was going on right now? Sting turned around and looked towards him. "All the tribes who claimed allegiance to or associated with Typhon are here. We were waiting for you to see what the next move would be," she explained.
"Me? Why me?" Astro asked.
"You're Typhon's heir of course," Sting said, as if it were simple. "Everyone here is mixed on what our next course of action should be. And as Typhon's heir, your input would obviously be the most valuable."
Astro was taken back. He… he had only come here to collect the residents of the monster kingdom and bring them back to the Butterfly castle. He didn't expect to be addressing the chiefs of all the major monster tribes. "Okay well… my plan had been to bring all the civilians back the Butterfly castle, and to enlist any willing warriors to-"
"You want us to fight for the Butterflies?" a beastkin woman said, narrowing her eyes. "I know that you're close to them, but you do realize the only reason we followed your father is because we were sick of following them, don't you? I won't kneel for your royals, not a chance in hell."
Astro frowned. "I'm not asking you to kneel, I'm just saying-"
"Going to the royals for help is the last thing I want to do. I'd sooner side with the Ten that go crawling to them," another shouted angrily. "Your father never would have stood for this!"
"He's not standing for anything because of the Ten you dolt!" another one of them snapped. "Siding with the Ten?! Are you touched in the head?!"
"Well I won't fight with the mewmans!"
"We should declare neutrality! We don't have to fight for either!"
"That's the same as just rolling over for the Ten!"
Astro looked back and forth as they began to bicker amongst themselves. He had barely even got a word in and things were already spiraling out of control. He looked towards Sting, who just shrugged her shoulders. She had met up with these people before, and she knew they were a rowdy bunch.
A loud slam caught everyone's attention, and they all looked towards Fee who had stomped his foot. "Are we here to talk about our next move, or just bicker like children? I could have stayed in my tribe and watched after the little ones to do that," he said before gesturing towards Astro. "Let him speak."
Astro looked up towards Fee gratefully, and then nodded towards him. He then looked at everyone else. "Listen, I know everyone here probably has one reason or another not to trust the Butterfly family. I understand, I really do. But the Ten have made their positions clear. They mean to go after all of mewmanity. Some of which are my friends and family," he said.
He then balled his fist up. "They've already taken my father away from me. I refuse to let them take anyone else. I'm standing against them," he said firmly. "But I can't do it alone. I need my comrades in the Queensguard. I need the help of the kingdoms. And I may also need yours. So I'm asking for anyone willing to help, please, help me avenge him. Help me take down the Ten."
There was a long moment of silence as everyone looked around at glances at one another. They could tell the boy was being genuine. But there were still clearly some doubts. "Astro, I know how you must feel right now," Bloom said stepping forward. "And I want to help. I really do. But you know our stance on conflict in mewni… the best I can do is offer medical support to any who need it."
Astro nodded, already expecting the answer from Bloom. Another of the nymphs stepped up. This one was a woman, from the air nymph tribe. "My name is Iris, leader of the Air Nymphs. And I also sympathize with your plight Asterossa. But… while I respected Typhon, I must think about the best outcome for my people. Going against the Ten doesn't really grant us any benefit, and it's a heavy risk," she explained.
An elderly woman spoke up next. "It's suicide," Haneroh Sealungs said simply. "You young ones may not remember what a terror the Ten were, but for those of us old enough to know what a terrifying power they were, it's crazy to stand against them. Besides, we Water Nymph must remain neutral as well." It looked like her son's plans for their return to the surface would be delayed for some time. It surely couldn't be done with the coming chaos on the way. If she was being honest, she'd worried about her son saving that rude royal earlier. The Ten might see it as them aiding and picking sides.
A hulking black haired cat beastskin stepped up. "I know you want to avenge your father, and I've never been one to shy away from a fight, but to stand beside the royals?" Ray Sabers said, crossing his arms. "My people have suffered much under their negligence. I can't very well ask them to stand side by side with them."
Astro frowned as others began to mutter. Bloom and the Water nymphs was to be expected, but losing the air nymphs and along with one of the biggest beast tribes? That kind of stung. The others began to look hesitant as well, and he was worried that they would all start backing out. He hadn't forgotten that these people had gone to his father as an alternative to the royals, but he underestimated how deep their dislike of his mother's side of the family was.
"Cowards, the lot of you!"
Everyone stopped as a small figure pushed towards the front of the crowd. It was a young Septarian boy, with bright red scales and yellow eyes. He couldn't be any older than ten, but he carried a dagger at his side. "And who just might you be, boy?" Ray said, glaring down at him. This wasn't a place for children. Only the leaders and their top men were supposed to be here.
"I'm Draco Bloodscale! The chief of the septarian tribe!"
Everyone looked down at him surprised, and then Astro remembered something. A while back Amber had told him that the only tribe that rivaled their own had declared loyalty to his father. He had been planning on looking into it, but hadn't got the chance.
"The septarians? Did they not already declared their allegiance to the Butterfly family?" Iris asked, raising an eyebrow. There had been a big buzz going around about them trying to join the royal court.
Draco shook his head. "They are not part of my tribe. Nor real septarians as far as I'm concerned," he said looking towards Astro. "My father was slain in battle not long ago, but before he was he made intentions clear. That we septarians follow our true king, the king of the monsters!"
"The king of the monsters is a dead boy…" Ray said simply.
Draco pulled out his dagger and pointed it towards Astro. "And here his son and heir stands before us! But you all refuse to aid him and avenge his father, our king, because you feel like you can't stomach working with the mewmans?! I don't have any love for them either, but the fact is that nearly everyone here pledged their loyalty to Typhon and his line! Now that we have to make good on it, we're trying to back out?! None of you are real monsters! You're just cowards!"
Everyone frowned and glared down at the boy, but he ignored them and turned back towards Astro. "Typhon has fallen, so that makes you the new King of Monsters. I'm not thrilled about serving with the mewmans, but so long as you never ask me to bow, for them or anyone else, you have my sword and my allegiance."
Astro didn't know what to say. He didn't know this kid. He'd never even heard of him before now. But even he had been stirred by his words. For some reason, despite knowing that he was the heir to his father's kingdom, the weight of what that really meant was now being felt by the boy's words.
His father was a king. The people here looked to him for a great many things. And now that he wasn't able to carry them out anymore, Astro was the one who had to take his place. Heir wasn't just a hollow title anymore. It meant something. Something that he committed to by taking the title of heir. Something he had to do whether he wanted to or not.
"I… I'll never ask you to bow to me or anyone else. Ever," Astro said sternly.
Another long moment of silence passed, and then suddenly Fee burst out in laughter. "Well damn! Here I was waiting for one of you to stand up and act like a real monster, and it was the ten year old boy who beat you to it," he said before standing up. He looked down towards Astro, raising his sword and pointing it towards him. "Astro, I respect your mother. Star is a good and honest woman. But if I'm being honest, my people never agreed to work with the Butterfly's because of her."
"You were the one who kept reaching out to us. You were the one who won us over with your feats of strength. And you were the reason we ever considered joining the royal court. When Typhon named you his heir, it was clear who we needed to follow. I don't regret my decision to swear loyalty to him, and I'm not going to regret swearing it to you either," he said before placing his sword in the ground. "The giants will follow the new king of monsters. We'll stand with you. against the Ten, or anyone else."
Astro looked up at Fee, a determined look on his face as he nodded towards him. Fee agreeing to back him was a huge relief.
A large wolf beatskin growled and then stepped forward. "Well, aren't I properly shamed. To have these young ones show me up as both men and monsters," he said before taking out his blade. He planted it in the ground. "The Silverfangs pledged their loyalty to your father, and he kept us protected. We wouldn't be able to call ourselves true monsters if we didn't return the favor. The pack is at your command, Asterossa."
Ray grunted. "You're a wordy little brat, aren't you?" he asked looking down at Draco. The boy glared back at him and stuck out his tongue. "But I can't deny that your words, harsh as they are, ring true. Forgive my cowardice Asterossa. We will follow you, and repay the debt we owe to your father by aiding his son!"
"The Green Bulls are with you!" a minotaur shouted, beating his chest.
"Our tribe will fight with you!"
"My people are small in number, but we'll make up for it tenfold on the field!"
"We'll fight for the new King of the Monsters!"
"King of the Monsters!"
"King of the Monsters!"
"King of the Monsters!"
Astro stood and looked over everyone as they kept on chanting. He looked over towards Sting, and gave him a nod. A mix of emotions was passing through him right now. Fear, relief, shock. But one thing was for sure. The weight of what was happening had felt far heavier than any burden he'd bore before now.
A/N: The King of the Monsters! Astro claims his father's role as the new king of the monsters! Looks like he's going to be bringing back a bit more help than he planned. But will the monster alliance really be able to fight alongside the royals? And how are the Ten going to react? Going to have to keep on reading to find out!