Nia stood in the throne room, a nervous expression on her face. After everything that had happened so far, she felt like just breaking down. Running off somewhere and hiding. Maybe taking a nap and then waking up to find this was some bad dream or something. But she knew none of that was going to happen. This was reality, and there was no getting away from dealing with it.

Everything was in chaos, and Typhon was… the eye had cut out before they'd seen what really happened, but with the state he was in and him being surrounded by the Ten, the odds weren't looking good for him. Nobody had said anything yet, but they were all thinking the same thing.

Astro had collected himself in the courtyard and then just… went back to his duties. He was eerily silent, and it was obvious what had happened was still bothering him. Like a lot. Everyone could feel the waves of dark magic and animosity radiating off of him. But his facial expression was just… blank. It honestly scared her.

The rest of the guard were all still making sure their defenses were fortified, and doing what they could to fix the damage around the castle. Well, except Sirius. He'd been put on lockdown for what he did. They also finally were getting word back from the other kingdoms. They had been informed on what had happened, and now the noble heads who'd survived the attacks, along with the noble and royal heirs, were on their way here to discuss what the next step was.

And they would be expecting her to lead them.

Nia had never felt the burden of the crown so heavily before now. Of all the times for her to have to take her mother's place, the middle of a crisis like this was just… horrible, awful timing. But she had to hold it together.

Just for a little while longer anyay...

"Queen Titania."

Nia blinked, and then turned and looked over her shoulder to see Sarasim making her way towards her. She sighed. "Do you have to call me that?" she asked. She was only filling in for a short while anyway, and it felt so weird for her to be called Queen rather than princess. She'd had a lifetime to prepare for it, but still.

"In front of the others it'd be necessary. Just to maintain formality," she explained. "But I suppose when it's just the two of us, I can just keep calling you Nia if you prefer." She knew how much stress the girl had to be under right now, so she was more than happy to give her a little leeway. "The royal heirs are all on their way here. Though some of them have reported some rather unfortunate news."

Nia looked worried. "What kind of news?"

"The Kelpbottom family reported that they were attacked by two of the Ten. Apparently both of them sustained some rather painful injuries. Hody in particular was rather banged up, but still insisted on coming." Nia frowned. That didn't sound good. She hoped Maria wasn't hurt too badly. The last thing Astro needed was to hear someone else close to him was seriously hurt. "Another of the Ten attacked the Lucitor kingdom and left the castle split in two."

Nia looked confused. "Like… metaphorically?"

"Literally. He sliced the entire castle in two," Sasrim clarified. Nia winced. She figured that must have been the demon one with the sword. "No serious injuries were sustained. Margo and her children are fine. Though they managed to take a rather important treasure from the Lucitor vault. The sword, Bloodedge."

Nia sighed. So it had been that guy. "Anything else?"

"Prince Slick Spiderbite confronted another of the Ten near the Earth Nymph tribe. The fight didn't last long and no one was injured. He's also inbound with the rest of the royals heirs," Sarasim said. "Reports say the nearby villages have for the most part have been cooperative in moving in the kingdom's protections. Though some monster villages, along with those believed to be associated with rebels and malchemist factions, have shown hesitation and downright resistance to it."

The blonde reached up and rubbed her temple. She would have liked everyone to go along with the move. The monster villages were probably fine, but she doubted the Ten would care about the rebel and malchemist villages. "Okay… we just have to keep going and offer to protect everyone who's willing." They didn't have the resources to force everyone to play along, and even if they did, she didn't want to.

Sarasim nodded. "Alright then. The meeting room is being prepared for you to address the others. I suggest you get what you want to say together," she advised.

Nia looked down. "Uh, actually… I have something planned already." Sarasim raised an eyebrow at the girl. She seemed like she was up to something, and in her experience whenever it came to her and Visas, that meant trouble. "Hey, don't give me that look! I seriously have a good idea!" Nia argued.

Sarsim clicked her tongue, and then patted her on the head. "I'm sure you do. Your mother came up with some rather odd bus successful plans as well. I don't have any doubt yours will be any less unique," she said.

Nia felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips. Everyone else had been trying to sway her one way or the others. It was clear they didn't have much faith in her, and part of her understood why. But it was refreshing to have at least one person besides her brother show faith in her.

"We're going to get her back. Whatever it takes," Sarasim promised.

Nia nodded. "Yeah…" Things definitely looked bleak, and this wasn't going to be easy for anyone. But she was sure between all of them they could find a way out of this situation.

Astro made his way onto one of the watchpost of the castle, with Sear following closely behind him. His breakdown after what happened to Typhon had been short lived. His father was… gone. He couldn't feel the connection to him anymore. Honestly he had lost it a bit before the fight had started. Probably due to whatever magic they were using to keep them from using portals there.

But he wasn't a fool. All signs pointed to his father being gone, and as much as it hurt, he didn't have time to sit around and sulk about it. He needed to start taking measures to deal with the Ten. And he couldn't do that while he was here. The defenses were all set up, and Breeze would be able to handle things until he got back.

"I knew you would try and leave…"

Astro sighed when he heard Higgs' voice from behind. His mentor walked out onto the watch post, a frown on her face. "I have to go," Astro said, not even looking back at her.

Higgs narrowed her eyes. When she had got here and heard what happened, she'd of course felt terrible. She didn't know Typhon all that well, but he was Astro's father, and she knew it must have been tearing him apart right now. And she also knew how he tended to react when things like this happened.

The others thought he was just trying to stay busy to keep from breaking down again, but she knew he was only biding time until he could leave. "I'm not gonna let you go after them you know," she said, reaching for her sword. "It's suicide. And I don't care how angry you are at them. I'll fight you if I have to."

"I'm not going after the Ten," Astro said.

"Bullshit."

Astro turned towards her and glared. "I'm not going after the Ten. Even if I wanted to… I'm not strong enough…" He said, a defeated look on his face. His fight against Python had made that very, very clear. He wouldn't do anything but get himself killed. And that wouldn't solve anything.

Higgs kept staring at him, and then her look softened. "Where are you going then?"

"My father's kingdom was empty. No generals, no citizens, no Sting. He must have had them all evacuated beforehand. So I need to find them, and bring them here." They were his father's people. His people. He needed to make sure he was safe. It was the only thing he could do right now. And it was his duty as… as his father's heir.

"Do you know where they might have gone?" Higgs asked.

"I think so. Sting and I discussed a few places before, so it shouldn't take long. I'll get them and come back here as soon as I can."

Higgs kept her gaze locked on him, looking for any traces that he might be lying, and then sighed. "Get them, and come back. I mean it," she said sternly. "This isn't like before Astro. This situation… you know how dangerous the Ten are. You need to come back to us. To your sister. Promise me."

Astro nodded towards her. "I promise, I'll come back as soon as I can." And hopefully he could bring back some more allies for them. He wasn't sure just how many of their people would be willing to fight on behalf of his sister, but maybe he would sway them to help to at least avenge Typhon.

Higgs stepped forward and then gave him a hug. "You stay safe, you hear me? If I have to come out there and get you, I'm going to shove my foot so far up your ass that-"

"I'll have to shine your boots with my toothbrush?" Astro finished, smirking.

She patted him on the head. "And don't you forget it."

"I won't," Astro said before turning around and getting on Sear. "Tell Nia that I'll be back soon. And tell Breeze I'm sorry about leaving her in charge again." He was pretty sure he was going to owe her quite a few drinks when this was over.

Higgs scoffed. "Don't have me do your dirty work. I'll talk to Nia, but you have to break the news to Breeze yourself," she said amused.

"That'll be fun… C'mon, let's go," he said patting Sear.

Higgs frowned as she watched him leave. She had helped bring up that boy, so she could tell when something was wrong with him. And after what had happened, there was no way he could be okay. No matter how hard he tried to seem like it. The boy was barely holding himself together, and honestly she was wondering if she shouldn't still try to stop him from going.

As they flew off, Astro let out a breath, and then grew a determined look in his eyes. He was trying, really trying not to think about it. But he couldn't. He kept replaying that moment in his head.

Python piercing through his father's chest, his father hurling him away, the feeling of helplessness he felt against his uncle. It was eating at him. In the form of sorrow, and grief, and… rage. Unyielding, unforgiving, rage. It was taking everything he had no to tell Sear not to soar back to the Monster Kingdom and go after them. He didn't even know if they were still there, but he knew the trail couldn't have been cold.

But… it wouldn't have done any good. No, if he wanted to win, if he wanted to avenge his father, he had to be smart about this. He was going to stop the Ten, and he wasn't going to let them take anyone else from him. He didn't care what it took.

As they kept going, he winced slightly as he felt a sting of pain in his chest. He reached up and put a hand over it, slightly confused. He had been feeling a small bit of pain there for a while now. At first he thought it was just his chest tightening from what happened with his father or something.

But it hadn't gone away yet…

He would have to worry about that later. He had a hundred more important things to do right now. A little chest pain was low priority.

Python stood with his arms crossed at the top of the mountain. The rest of the Ten were all gathered nearby, as well as the souls they had taken from the castle. The atmosphere was rather heavy, and it was clear there was more than a little tension between the titans. After their battle with Typhon, there were some very mixed feelings among them.

But what had been done was already done.

All they could do was press forward.

"Argus, do it…" Python said.

The elderly monster yawned before standing up and raising his staff. "Right then." He slammed it back down on the ground, and suddenly a dark aura shot up and began to spread across the sky. It continued to spread, far and fast across all of mewni. Everyone looked up in shock, wondering just what was going on. It was like the sky itself had suddenly begun to be replaced by a dark cloud.

Then suddenly Python's face appeared in it.

Astro and Sear stopped in the air, a look of rage coming over him when he saw his uncle's face. Back at the castle, Nia looked up in utter shock. Not just because of seeing Python, but because of the sheer scale of magic that was spread above the sky above them. It was literally covering all of mewni.

"Attention all inhabitants of mewni. My name is Python, and I have a message that needs to be delivered to everyone. Listen very closely, because I won't care to repeat myself again," he said, taking a step back. The rest of the Ten came into view, along with the souls of the royals who were floating about around them.

"I am the leader of the Titanic Ten. The force that once protected monster kind from the oppression of the mewmans forces led by the Butterfly family. We have broken free from the prison the Magical High Commission trapped us in, and we've seen what's become of mewni in our absence," he said before glaring. "And it's absolutely sickening."

"This land, which once flourished under the rule of monsters, has now become a corrupt and despicable place. Our people's numbers have been cut down, their lands taken from them from the allies of the Butterfly family. Ruled over by people who would spit on the very beings whose homes they stole. And, we won't stand for it."

"We fully intend to take back mewni in the name of monster kind. You will answer for what you've done, and return everything you have stolen," he said simply. "We've already started with the members of the royals and noble families, whose souls you see before you now. And we will continue culling the rest of the royals and those foolish enough to follow them unless our demands are met."

"The first demand is that our son Kitsune will be returned to us immediately. We know he's still alive, and we know the Commission has him," Python said, a glare on both his and Kyu's face. "The second condition is that the Commission will turn themselves over to us so they can answer for the numerous crimes they committed throughout the years. They will do so with their lives."

At the Butterfly castle, the members of the Commission all flinched. They knew full well that the Ten would come after them. They'd honestly been lucky to slip from their grasps when they had first awoken.

Python continued on. "And the third condition is that all mewmans, royals, nobles, and lowborn alike, will leave this dimension and never return," he said simply. "Your presence here has infested this mewni for far too long, and it will no longer be tolerated. Any mewmans found in mewni afterwards will be executed on the spot."

He gestured towards the souls around him. "These demands are non negotiable, and if they are agreed upon, the souls of your leaders will be returned, and we will guarantee your lives. Unlike you mewmans, we monsters keep our word," he said. He then balled his fist up. "If you refuse… we will litter the land with the bones of mewmans."

"You have three days to give your answer to these terms. If you refuse or we have no answer by then, we will have no choice but to slaughter the lot of mewmanity. I'd be lying if I said I wanted to end this without bloodshed. Frankly, I think you deserve to suffer far more for what you've done. But in honor of my brother, who was filling to fight on your pathetic behalf, I offer you one last chance to live."

"As for the monsters among mewni? We urge you to come to our side and join us. We'll have plenty of work to do rebuilding mewni to its former state," he said. "I advise you mewmans all to think very carefully about your answers. At the end of the day, it's a very simple choice. Life, or death. To me, your lives are rather meaningless. But I'll still offer you the chance to keep them all the same…"

Python's face suddenly vanished, and then the darkness along with it. The sky returned, and Python turned around towards the others. "Do you think they'll accept the terms?" Matrona asked, looking rather disinterested in the whole thing.

"Of course now. Mewmans are haughty and stupid. They'll actually think they can win," Scylla said looking irritated. She didn't know why they were even offering them a chance to save themselves. They should have just started wiping them out. The smart ones would leave, and the dumb ones would get slaughtered. Simple as that.

Branch frowned. "We should still try to avoid bloodshed. Save as many as we can. I know there will be a stubborn bunch, but hopefully there will be those with reason among them and they'll-"

"You think too highly of them Branch," Echidna said simply. "The mewmans have always craved needless conflict. They thrive off of it. They'll leap headfirst into death, and take as many as they can along with them. Not that I mind one bit."

"I could care less what decision they make. All I care about is getting Kitsune back," Kyu said gritting her teeth. Knowing the Commission, they would try to use him as leverage. If they did, that would give them an opening to get him back.

Python patted her shoulder. "They will. At the end of the day they value their own lives too much to try anything," he assured.

"The real problem will be dealing with any monsters who stand against us," Argus said.

Python looked towards him confused. "Why would any monsters want to stand against us? I'm sure there might be a handful of them who might cause trouble, but I don't see it being too much of a problem." Those with half-breed families and other similar circumstances could be worked out later. For now he just need the general message on his stance made clear.

"You forget how influential your brother can be," Argus said. "I have no doubt that his kingdom will rally together to avenge him after they learn what happened. And I also have no doubt his son will be leading the charge. He's a hot blooded boy that one, just like his father. You won't be able to reason with him."

Python scoffed. "I'll beat him down as many times as it takes then. It may take some time, maybe even years, but he'll eventually see what we're doing is for the better."

"Knowing how hard headed his father is, it could very well be decades," Echidna said rolling her eyes. "Are you sure one of us shouldn't just go deal with him? Obviously he's too valuable to kill off. He's Typhon's blood, and when he does cool down he'll be a great asset. But he could cause quite a bit of trouble."

Python hummed in thought. "Let's… leave him be for now. If he becomes too big of a problem, then we'll capture and keep him in check until our work is done. We should still keep tabs on him though. Argus," he said turning towards the old man.

"Right." He tapped his staff again and hummed, then suddenly frowned. "Huh… I can't find him."

Gadfly scowled. "What do you mean you can't find him?"

"I mean I can't find him. There's some type of magic keeping me from tracking him down. This… this is ancient magic. The ones the first Queens used to block my vision? Damn it, did Glosrryck teach him this or…?" No, if it felt different. Off in some way. Just what in the world was going on here?

Python grunted. "Up to their little tricks already. Well, no matter. We'll just have someone find him the old fashioned away," he said before looking over his shoulder. "Orthrus, want to do me a favor?" he asked. The beasts perked up upon hearing his name, jumping towards Python excitedly. "I need you to go find someone…"

A/N: Astro tries to push through the grief and pain of his father's loss, and Python and the Ten deliver their demands to mewman-kind!