Astro felt nervous as he approached the gates of the Butterfly castle. The trip back to home had been… well, he didn't know what to call it really. Awkward wouldn't even scratch the surface. When he left he had figured he'd been bringing back a kingdom full of people, and a handful of warriors who helped his father. Instead he brought back well over a dozen different monster tribes.

Unsurprisingly, the alarms had sounded when they came into view. He was sure it had startled his sister and the others. They might have thought Python and the Ten were on the attack again. But once they had spotted him leading the group, they quickly stopped and then sent someone ahead to meet him.

He would have gone ahead himself but… he felt like he should stay at the head of the group. He didn't want to risk them attacking while separated from them. As they had passed through the kingdom, they got more than a few stares. People were used to seeing monsters because of how many served in the Queensguard.

What they weren't used to seeing was the captain of said Queensguard leading what could only be described as an army of them. One with giants, septarians, and numerous others with them. Some people were clearly afraid, and he was sure the only reason they hadn't been mistaken as Python's forces was because he was there.

A few of the monsters among his ranks sneered and scowled towards those watching them, while others just tried to ignore them. Astro told them not to do anything reckless. They didn't need anyone causing any trouble and making even more setbacks than they already had. When he reached the castle, he saw Moon standing up ahead, along with a few other members of the guard.

He stopped in front of her. "Grandmother…" he greeted.

Moon stared at him for a bit. "Do I even want to know what's happening right now?" She wasn't sure she was going to like the answer.

"Don't worry, everything is… I hesitate to say fine, but it's this isn't anything to be alarmed about. I'll have to explain later. I'm sorry, but I need to see Nia," he said, giving her a quick hug. He began making his way towards the castle. "Sting, Draco, come with me. Fee, make sure nobody gets too rowdy or out of line."

The insectoid and young septarian both followed after him, while Fee nodded. He turned around to look over the others, but then saw another large figure approaching. Fee looked surprised to see his eldest brother standing in the courtyard of the castle. He had felt him coming from quite a distance away, and had wondered why. "Hey there Fum. Been a while. You got a little taller," he said, smirking.

Fum just kept staring at his brother, and then walked forward and gave him a hug. "I'm glad you are alright. I… I got a really bad feeling earlier. And then with what happened with the Ten and Typhon I was just… is everyone back home alright?" he asked.

Fee patted his little brother on the shoulder. "Everyone is alive and well. Dad's a little roughed up from what happened, but he'll bounce back." Fum felt a wave of relief wash through him. "I'll fill you in one what happened. And probably what's going to happen."

As the two giants began to talk, Ray Sabers sniffed around, picking up on a familiar scent. "Daddy?" He looked over and then smiled when he spotted his eldest daughter, Lenora. The girl looked rather surprised, having picked up her father's scent from the moment he stepped through the gates. "What are you doing here?"

Ray smiled and walked over, grabbing her up in a hug. "Ah, there's my little kitten! The only upside to having to come here is seeing my baby girl!" he said lifting her up.

Lenora blushed. "Daddy…"

When the doors opened, every royals and noble was surprised to see not only Astro, but an instetoid woman and young septarian flanking of them looked confused. Others, like Hody, looked annoyed. Nia looked absolutely ecstatic. She flew up towards her brothers, crashing into him and giving him a hug that sent him stumbling back. "Oh my gosh, I am so glad you're back!" she said thankfully.

Astro smiled and hugged her back. "I'm sorry it took so long. Things… ended up going differently than I expected," he said patting her on the head.

"I mean, I figured." She hadn't said anything since she didn't want to cause a panic, but she figured a few of the others were bound to notice the magical powers headed to the kingdom alongside him. They weren't nearly as gigantic as the Ten's, but there were some pretty heavy hitters among them. "Do we have more help?"

"We do, it's just…" He glanced back towards Sting and Draco, and then back to his sister. He cleared his throat. "Queen Titania Butterfly. As the King of the Monster Kingdom, I hereby offer an alliance between the Monster Kingdom, and those of mewni," he said holding his hand out towards her.

Everyone in the room seemed to do a double take. Had he just called himself the king of monsters? Had he just… offered an alliance? What was going on here? Nia tilted her head. "So you're the king now? Well, I guess that makes things easier. Alliance accepted!" she said smiling happily.

"I thought there would be more arguing…" Draco muttered towards Sting.

The Insectoid hummed. "Wait for it…"

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Hody asked, standing up as he made his way towards them. Sting clicked her tongue. There it was. "We show up, and you're missing! Your sister practically begs us to wait until you come back, and when you do, you come back uttering some nonsense about your monster kingdom?!"

Astro narrowed his eyes at him. "It's actually pretty simple. My father was king of the monsters, I was his heir. He's gone, so the title falls to me. All the tribes that followed and declared loyalty to him are willing to fight the Ten, so I came here in-"

"All the 'monster' tribes that agreed to fight eh? And you trust them?" Hody asked, stepping towards him. "Your uncle declared that mewni would be taken back for the monsters. All the tribes out there are monsters. Are you telling me that you trust every single tribe out there? You trust them enough not to stab you in the back? Enough to walk them right up to the gates of your home? They could be planning to burn this kingdom down as we speak."

Astro didn't even blink. "I do."

"Then you're an even bigger fool than ever took you for," he said, shaking his head. "I fought one of those freaks. I know how strong they are. This is a serious situation. I won't have the safety of my kingdom and family risked because you thought it would be a good idea to bring these… people, to fight on our behalf."

"We're not fighting for you," Draco suddenly said. Hody looked down towards him with a raised eyebrow. "We're here because of Asterossa, who just happened to want an alliance. We couldn't care less about what happens to the kingdoms. They could tumble for all we care. Our loyalty lies with the King of the Monsters. Not with your fasle Queen."

Nia winced. "Ouch…"

Hody scoffed, and then turned back to Astro. "Are these seriously the people you expect us to go into battle with? Listen closely Asterossa, you and your sister-" He moved in to get into Astro's face, but suddenly found something pointing at his throat. Hody froze on the spot, then slowly looked over towards Sting, who had her tail pointed at his neck.

"Step back," she warned, a dangerous look in her eyes.

There was a long tense moment of silence in the room, but then Maria suddenly got up and walked over towards her brother. She began scooting him back. "Hody, sit down," she said. He was angry, and for once she completely understood why. But now was not the time for them to be fighting amongst themselves. Astro gave her a thankful nod, and she gave him a look that said he would have a lot of explaining to do later.

The boy grunted, and then began backing up. Everyone seemed to relax a bit, except Slick who just smiled in amusement. Now, this was starting to get a little interesting. "I agree with Hody," Tor called out. "I'm not saying we couldn't use the help. Monsters or not, we need as many bodies as we can to throw at this. But… all it would take was one tribe to turn to screw us all over."

"Do you mean like you and the other kingdoms have screwed us over for centuries?" Draco asked, glaring towards him.

Tor looked at him confused. "Okay, who the fuck is this kid?"

"He's the leader of the septarian tribe… well, another of the septarian tribes. Draco Bloodscale. He's a big part of the reason all those tribes out there are here helping me, and by extension, you. So you should show him a bit of gratitude," Astro said. He heard both Hody and Tor scoff at the word help.

Jagur pushed his glasses up. "Well… I for one trust Asterossa's judgement. From what we know of the past and present, those who followed Typhon were extremely loyal to him. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be for his heir," he said. He was a bit nervous about this whole thing if he was being honest, but Astro typically had a way of swaying the masses to his side.

"I don't even know why we're all still talking about this. We need help right? Astro brought it. Stop looking a gift warnicorn in the mouth and just go with it," Slick said before making his way up to Astro. He punched him in the shoulder. "Way to pull through with the troops, oh mighty King of Monsters."

Astro actually let out a small chuckle. He knew Slick had to be feeling the effects of everything that was happening to, but… it was still nice to see him at least trying to stay positive. "Let's go get our parents back from these bastards," Slick said balling his fist up. With Astro here, the Four Calamities were together again. And with all these guys backing them, he was sure they could kick the Ten's asses.

Sarasim suddenly cleared her throat, began to walk forward. She glanced towards Astro, who shrugged, and then began to speak. "While I'm happy to see Astro has returned, and even more so to see he's brought help, I think it's about time we discuss this plan Queen Titania was talking about," she said.

Nia looked surprised. "Oh, right! That! Okay everyone! We need to go to the throne room. The first step to discussing the plan is there. Higgs, can you get the Commission? I want them to be there for it too," she said. Higgs nodded, and then walked off to go gather them all up.

Everyone began to get up and make their way out of the room. Almost everyone glances towards Astro as they did. Some with glares, others with looks of relief, and others of appreciation. Maria ran right up to him and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe," she said, squeezing him tightly.

Astro quickly returned the gesture. "I'm sorry for worrying you…" he said. He couldn't describe how relieved he was to see that she was okay. With everything that happened, it was hard not to imagine the worst for everyone outside of the castle.

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry about… everything." When she had heard about everything from Nia, her heart sank. For him to have fought so hard and still lost his father, she knew how much it must have been tearing him apart. It was a wonder he was managing to hold himself together right now. Her parents were still alive, and she felt terrible. She couldn't imagine what he must have been feeling.

"So you're the king of monsters now, are you?" Sarasim asked, raising an eyebrow.

He looked up towards her and sighed. "Yes, I suppose I am. That wasn't how I planned for things to play out though," he explained.

"Then how did it?"

"Draco is… a very convincing little one. He seems to have a natural talent for rallying those around him to his side." He was still pretty sure had it not been for him, he wouldn't have been able to get even half this many to help him out.

Sarasim hummed. "He's not the only one," she muttered before walking off.

Astro looked a bit confused, but then turned back towards Maria. "Do you know anything about this plan my sister was talking about?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. She wouldn't say anything about it. She insisted we had to wait until you got here," she said. "Hody wasn't all that pleased about it. He's very much on edge after what happened. I think… I think he's scared. Even if he won't admit it."

Astro looked confused. "What happened?"

"He fought one of the Ten. The pink one with the six arms… Scylla, that was it. He couldn't beat her. I jumped in to help, and Topaz tried, but… we could barely do anything to them at all," she said, looking frustrated. "What damage we could deal she seemed to just shrug off. If it hadn't been for Marinus coming by to save him, Hody might very well not have survived."

Astro gave her a sympathetic look. "Well… I'm just glad you made it out alright," he said before leaning down and kissing her. "I've lost one too many people today. I can't afford to lose anymore," he muttered.

"King of the Monsters…"

Astro's eyes went wide, and he turned towards the door to see Breeze scowling towards him. "Breeze, you're here." He figured she had been taking care of something important, otherwise she would have been here with the rest of the heirs. "I'm sorry about leaving without saying anything, but I had to-"

"And will the King of the Monsters be resuming his duties as Captain of the guard?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Astro paused for a moment, and then scratched his head. "Breeze… I can't be king of the monsters and captain of the Queensguard. My alliance had to be-"

"To your kingdom, yes," she said, waving him off. "I knew some nonsense like this was going to happen. You took your position back for all but a day and abandoned it yet again. Just who in the world are you expecting to run things now?" she asked. Astro raised an eyebrow, then gestured towards her. She bawled her fist up. "I should punch you right now."

Astro held his hand up. "I'm sorry. Look, I'm sure they can sort out who'll be taking the position at captain later, but right now… right now, ugh." He reached up and grabbed his chest, and both Maria and Breeze went wide eyed.

"Astro, what's wrong?" Maria asked.

The boy shook his head. "N-nothing. It's fine. Just… a few bruises from my battle with Python. I'm alright," he said, trying to reassure them. The two shared a glance, both looking skeptical. "I'm fine, really. We should get going. I don't want to keep everyone waiting any longer than I already have."

He turned and walked out, and they followed after him. His chest seemed to be getting worse. Maybe he should stop by Corona just to make sure everything really was alright.

Amber rubbed her arm as she made her way into the throne room. She had been up for a while now, but with everything going on she hadn't gotten the chance to speak with anything. Astro and Vera had been gone, and Nia was being swarmed by pretty much everyone. Her mother… well, her and the other members of the Commission were around, but it seemed like they were trying to keep themselves busy.

Almost like they were trying to avoid someone, which honestly wouldn't have been much of a surprise.

When the royals and nobles had gotten here, she had decided to lay low. She didn't know how her being there would affect things, so it was better to stay out of the way and figure it out afterwards. But when she saw everyone gathering in the throne room, she had decided that she would just head in and stay in the back. She'd heard something about a plan, and she wanted to know about it and see if she could help.

As made her way in, she noticed something from the corner of her eye. It was a septarian. A young septarian boy with bright red scales. She didn't recognize him from back home, and from his clothes he didn't look like he was from her tribe. She glanced around before making her way over towards him.

A septarian in the Butterfly castle was just… odd. She knew he had likely come along with Astro, but she couldn't help but be curious about him. "Excuse me," she said, getting his attention. "You're from another of the septarian tribes, right?"

Draco looked up and she frowned. "I am. I'm Draco Bloodscale, the leader of the septarians. And you must be Ambrosine Disastervaine, the pretend Queen."

Amber blinked. So, this was the head of the other tribe. The one who had sent the letter back to her father about their allegiance to Typhon. He was what, eight, maybe nine years old. How could someone so young be made to lead so soon? Well, he certainly didn't mince any words. "I don't go by my last name."

"What name would you go by then?"

"I… just Ambrosine."

Draco crossed his arms. "You don't use your last name?"

Amber hummed. "Well, with us trying to join the court-"

"You need to appease the mewmans, and you feel like your name will frighten them," he said, cutting her off. "To bury your family name just to fit in with them is pathetic. My father made the right choice in who to follow."

Amber frowned down at him. "Things aren't that simple Draco. My people have suffered for a long time, and this is the only way to help them."

"Every monster in mewni has suffered," Draco said bluntly. "But we didn't buckle and throw away our pride just to fit in with the ones causing the suffering. And you wonder why the other tribes aren't willing to follow you. A leader who'd bow their head and throw away their pride so easily is hardly any leader at all."

Amber narrowed her eyes. This kid was striking more than a few nerves with her right now. She was about to say something back to him, but suddenly Nia spoke out. "Excuse me everyone! Excuse me!" she said waving her hands as she stood in front of the throne. Everyone turned their attention to the blonde.

Nia felt a little nervous having all eyes on her, but she glanced over towards her brother who gave her an approving nod. She let out a breath, making a mental note to apologize to him after this was all over. "Okay… first of all, I want to thank everyone for coming. I know with everything happening you might have felt nervous about leaving your own kingdoms. And I know I kept you all waiting."

"I told you all that I had a plan, and I do. And the first step of that plan involves… well, it's probably better to show it than explain it," she said before walking behind the throne. "Would the Commission members please step forward. I want to make sure you all see this clearly," she said as she pulled out a scroll.

Her mother had shown her the hidden compartment in the throne a little while ago, but she didn't think she'd be having to make use of that knowledge so soon.

The Commission members stepped forward, and Astro glared towards them as they did. They pretended not to notice, but they knew after this he was likely to confront them about the Ten's demand for Kitsune. There was no telling how much of the past his father had filled him in on.

Nia held out the scroll and then tore the seal off of it. It unraveled, beginning to glow before an image of Star appeared before them all. She smiled and waved towards everyone. "Hello everybody. If you're seeing this, then that means something has happened. I'm… well, hopefully not dead, but incompacitated or something. I'm unable to fulfil my queenly duties is that I'm saying."

"And, like all of the Queens before me, I've left instructions and a message behind confirming what's to be done after I'm gone. This whole thing is just a formality really, but everyone would have bugged me about it if I didn't get it done," she said casually.

Astro raised an eyebrow. Was this supposed to be his mother's confirmation for Nia's coronation? It was something every Queen was to record just so there were no doubts about who was left to take the throne, but he didn't know why she was going this now. What did this have to do with her plan?

Star continued on. "Now, my daughter Nia is very young. And traditionally in a situation like this the royal family would select someone to rule in her stead until she at least reached the common age a Butterfly would receive the wand. So, would the members of the Magical High Commission please step forward," she said.

Everyone looked shocked, including the Commission. Was Star seriously choosing one of them as a reagent for Nia? This had to be some kind of sick joke. Astro balled his fist up angrily. What in the world was his mother thinking? He knew she had her own ways of doing things, but… she should have known better than to trust any of them.

He wouldn't claim to have wanted to position himself, not a chance. But there were others who should have been far better choices. His grandmother, Higgs, even one of the other royals kings or queens would have been better choices! He couldn't figure out the logic behind this. Not one bit. He looked over at Nia, who seemed oddly calm about this. Was she just not worried? He knew she didn't exactly want the crown, but she knew the Commission having control would be no good either.

Star gestured forward. "Okay, I know everyone is probably in shock right now, but c'mon. Step forward," she said. The three all shared a glance with one another. With how weary Star was of them, them being chosen as the reagent until Nia was of age was more than a little shocking. But they weren't about to turn it down.

They all stepped forward, and they could practically feel everyone glaring at their backs from the crowd. It was very clear that no matter which one was going to be chosen, no one was going to agree with this decision. Star waited a few more moments. "Okay, is everyone here? Everyone stepped forward? Good," she said nodding. "Now, all three of you please bend over and kiss Asterossa's ass, because he's your new king."

The room became dead silent, and it felt like the whole world had just come to a stop. Then suddenly, all at once, every eye in the room turned towards Astro.

The young titan's eyes were wide, and he seemed to have blanked.

"...what…?"

A/N: What a twist!