When Nia had heard that her grandfather only held the gathering every few thousands years, she knew that it was going to be one of the first things she changed. With how much mischief the gods seemed to get up to on their own, it just didn't seem wise to wait for long to check in on things with them.
So she came up with a new arrangement. Once a year they would have a mandatory gathering to discuss any new rules or voice any complaints. And for more urgent cases, there they hold meetings every four months that the gods of the pantheons had the option to attend. Most of them didn't really show, but every now and then… well, sometimes an incident would occur and they felt they needed to bring it to her attention.
It was honestly kind of a pain in the butt. Nia had learned that dealing with gods was a lot like dealing with children. Sure, with how many years they lived they could be wise, experienced, and knowledgeable. But on the other hand, they could be whiny, selfish, and downright arrogant.
But speaking of children, she had to make sure her own were on their best behavior for this meeting. She loved her children, and she usually encouraged their free spirit. But considering what they were probably going to be talking about, she didn't think the ones attending today would appreciate whatever prank they had up their sleeves.
"I want you both to promise me that you won't try to do anything today," Nia said sternly. It was a tone she rarely took with the kids, so they knew she was serious.
Dawn looked at the rest of his siblings and then shrugged. "Why are you just talking to us?" he asked, gesturing to him and his brother.
"Because it's always you two that lead the others into trouble… most of the time," she explained. It was true and Rain and DJ would be a handful, but usually they knew when to keep away from stuff like this. Or at the very least not to cause big enough trouble around it. The twins however… things like this were like a dare to them.
Dusk sighed. "Seriously? The one time gods actually show up to this thing and we can't have any fun? I heard even some of the Greeks are showing up. I wanted to pull some pranks and see just how much I could rile them up," he said smirking.
"Yeah, no. We're going to be talking about some serious stuff, so we need everything to be calm so mommy doesn't have to break up any fights," she said. It wouldn't have been the first time she had to stop them from trying to kill each other. Gods could be not so shockingly petty towards one another.
Rain looked up at her mother curiously. "What kind of stuff are you going to be talking about?" she asked. Her mother never really liked these meetings, but she seemed really worried about this one in particular.
Nia reached down and patted her on the head. "Nothing you need to worry about sweetie. It's just boring adult stuff," she said.
DJ frowned. "You always say that when it's interesting stuff! C'mon ma, can't we at least sit in and listen?" he asked. They hardly ever got to see this many deities in one place, and he knew it was going to be a show. "I mean, we are going to help you rule Avalon one day, right? We should get used to this stuff."
Nia knew what he was doing, and smirked down at him in response. "Oh really now? Thinking about taking over already?"
Dawn scoffed. "I'm gonna be the next ruler. I am the strongest and I got the most powerful magic," he said holding his hands out, creating two small orbs of pure light.
"Only so far!" Rain argued. Her magic wasn't quite as strong as his, but she was younger, so of course it was going to take her a while to catch up. She totally would though. She always managed to copy all of his tricks after a while.
Dusk scowled. "Why's it only strong magic that gets to rule?"
"Why is it magic at all! The best captain isn't always the strongest guy! They have to be smart, clever, and undeniably charming," DJ said smirking and rubbing his chin.
"Yeah, like me," Dawn said shrugging.
"Wanker!"
Nia waved her hands. "Okay, everybody settle down. None of you should be thinking about ruling anyway. Your kids, enjoy being kids. That's infinitely more fun than sitting in some boring old meeting. Now go along somewhere and play. I'll catch up with you all later and we can go get dessert from somewhere, okay?"
That seemed to satisfy them for the moment, and their mother gave them each a quick kiss on the forehead they scurried off. "So, we're definitely going to sneak in and watch the meeting, right?" Dusk asked, a devious look on his face.
"I'm insulted you even asked," his twin answered, looking just as mischievous.
Rain and DJ both heard their older brothers, and shared a quick nod with one another. If the twins were sneaking in, then so would they.
Jia stabbed her sword into the practice dummy, aiming right where one of it's veins would have been. With how often the creatures had been slipping through the boundary, and just how illegal inter-dimensional trouble was in general, she should have been taking the time to relax. But to her, this was sort of relaxing. It also kept her sharp.
She didn't know when Sol would have another tear between the dimensions she would have to rush off and fix again, so intended to make the most of today. After this she'd go and find the kids. Maybe take them out sailing on that boat they brought back from mewni a while ago. Or maybe-
"Boo."
Jia jumped and got ready to turn around, but then a pair of arms wrapped around her. AJ laughed as he pulled her in closer, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Hey there beautiful. Looks like I got you again," he said.
She let out a sigh before looking over her shoulder and smirking at him. "You know, most people wouldn't sneak up on a person holding a sharp stabby object," she said.
He shrugged. "If I wanted to live the boring safe life I wouldn't have settled down with the two of you" he said before kissing her on the cheek. Jia rolled her eyes but kissed him back, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they began walking. "So, what did I miss while I was gone?"
"Nothing much. Nia's been running around preparing for a meeting with some of the gods. A few more showed up than usual this time around," she explained.
AJ clicked his tongue. "Man, sucks for her." He knew just how much trouble it was dealing with them. Even with Dai Tai and Thor backing her, a lot of the other pantheons were pretty tough to deal with. They'd been able to act on their own for so long they weren't keen on having to answer to someone so frequently.
"I know. Got to be honest though, I'm sort of glad to get left out of it. Those guys are so arrogant. And boring,"Jia complained. They always looked down on her and AJ whenever they came around. Like they were just appalled at the very thought the leader of Avalon would settle down with mere mortals.
Nia was always quick to put anyone who stepped out of line in their place, but it didn't make it any less insulting or annoying. "Ditto… so, since she's gonna be busy with them for a bit. You wanna do something to help pass the time?" he asked, smirking.
Jia laughed. "Well, as fun as that sounds I was gonna go find the kids. See if they wanted to play around on the boat," she said.
AJ hummed. "I'm down for that. Probably for the best anyway. You know how much trouble they try and get into when stuff like this is going down."
"I wonder who they get that form."
AJ scoffed before reaching down and pinching her rear. "You and Nia obviously!" he said. As far as he was concerned they got all the trouble seeking ways came from his wives.
Jia laughed and playfully swatted his hand away. "Sure, you didn't have anything to do with that. All us," she said sarcastically. "Let's just go find them before it starts."
"It started a little while ago."
They both stopped and then looked towards Oberon, who had been walking by reading another of his ancient tombs. AJ looked at him surprised. "Wait, seriously? So then where are the kids?" he asked.
"It is not my job to keep track of the children. Tis yours…" Oberon said as he continued walking on. Both AJ and Jia narrowed their eyes at him. The stuffy old bastard.
Jia turned towards AJ. "If the meetings has already started and we haven't seen the kids… you know the only thing we can guess is that…?"
"God damn it," AJ said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Bah, should we even do anything? I mean it's not like they can cause THAT much trouble, right?"
Jia was silent for a moment. "We should find them."
"Yeah, we should."
"Move over!"
"Keep it down. Or mom will hear us."
The twins, Rain, and DJ were up above the throne room, watching from a stone slab they had cracked open just enough to peek through. Their mother was sitting on the throne as a dozen or so gods made their way inside. "Hey look, it's aunt Dai Tai!," Rain said brightly. Sure enough, their aunt was among the gods and goddesses making their way inside.
DJ shushed his sister again as the doors closed. "Wow, there are a lot of them here this time around. What do you think they're here to talk to mom about?" Dusk asked.
"Don't know, but they looked right ticked off," DJ said.
When the doors closed, Nia stood up and cleared her throat. "Hello everyone, it's good to see everyone managed to carve out the time to be here. I know you're all very busy, so I appreciate it," she said. She looked towards Dai Tai, who smiled sweetly. It looked like she was about to make her way over to greet her more casually, but somebody else sped past her.
"Tis a joy to see you as always Queen Titania!" A tall blonde figure said, wrapping Nia in a hug and lifting her right up off her feet. "Thou looks as radiant and powerful as ever! I hope you are doing well! And your spouses and children too of course! Where are the children? I had hoped to play that game they're so fond of with the little flag!"
Nia laughed as he set her back down on the ground. "Maybe later Thor. I think for now we should focus on the business at hand. But I'm pretty sure afterwards the kids will be happy to play," she said. Thor was probably the easiest outside of her original friend group to deal with outside of Dai Tai. Probably because he was close with her brother. He almost always showed up to these meetings, and she was always happy to see him.
"Yes, yes of course. Forgive me," he said rubbing the back of his head.
Dai Tai walked up and gave Nia a hug as well, though not nearly with as much energy as Thor had. "Good to see you again. How is my sis and your boy toy doing?" She had planned on seeing her before coming to the castle, but she'd been told neither Jia or AJ had returned yet.
"Well, we're all pretty busy these days. But she seems to have things handled. And AJ is somehow keeping up O'Neil Tech and wrangling the kids when we're away. I'm pretty sure he has help from his folks and Donnie with that first one though," she said shrugging her shoulders.
She turned towards Hera, and then nodded. "Hera, glad you could make it as always," she said politely. She and Hera had an okay relationship. They weren't particularly close, but they were on respectful terms, even if some of the members of her pantheon were the most rebellious and difficult to deal with.
"Likewise," Hera said, nodding back with a smile.
"It is good to see you well, Queen Titania," a tall figure said nodding. They were rather tall compared to the others in the room, and had a chiseled human body with a falcon's head. Ra was someone who only showed up every now and then, and was one of the least annoying among the gods. While he and Nia sometimes clashed, the points he raised were always respectful and usually valid.
"And you as well," Nia said.
Rain covered her mouth as she tried to hold back and giggle. She knew Ra had a reputation as one of the eldest and most powerful gods, but there was something that was so funny about seeing somebody with a bird head walking around. Dawn turned and scowled towards her. "If you're gonna go into a giggle fit, then leave before you get us caught," DJ said.
She shook her head. "I'll be fine…"
Another of the gods stepped forward. "Queen Titania, with all due respect, I think we can disperse with the pleasantries and get down to business," they said, looking more than a little annoyed. Hera looked at him annoyed, but he didn't seem to care.
Dusk narrowed his eyes. "I think that guy is… Hermes, right?" He had to be. He was greek for sure, and the winged shoes and helmet were a dead giveaway.
"Yeah, that's him. We stole his shoes that one time, remember?" Dawn said chuckling.
Nia sighed. "You're right, we should get down to business. I won't bother asking you what issue you want to bring up today. Your son is missing and-"
"He isn't missing, he was taken!" Hermes shouted. "Taken by those vile titans! And I demand you go to your brother and order him to return him at once!"
Hera glared at him. "Hermes, you need to mind yourself. I understand that one of your children missing is worrying, but you need to address Queen Titania with respect."
The kids all looked confused. One of Hermes kids was missing? And he thought he was taken? By their uncle of all people? Why in the world would he have done that? He might not have liked the gods very much, even they could tell that, but they never thought he would do anything like kidnapping.
"He's a liar," Rain said, frowning.
"Definitely," DJ added.
Thor stepped towards him. "You throw out such accusations towards Asterossa. Surely you must prove to back up such a claim," he said, crossing his arms.
Hermes reached under his robe and then pulled out a helmet. It was clearly damaged, looking half crushed on one side, and had blood stains on it. "This is the proof. I had the oracles track it down, and it was found in the dimension of titans, mewni," he said accusingly.
Most in the room looked rather surprised, while Nia and a few others looked weary. "If I may, can I ask what he was doing in mewni?" she asked. "You know that only a handful of gods are allowed to go to mewni and other titan ruled dimensions without my express permission."
"He was taken, obviously," Hermes said simply. "By your brother and his kin I suspect. I would ask that you go to him and have him return him at once, and have him answer for his actions. This is a gross of the commands you issued to those savages."
Nia looked annoyed. "I didn't issue any orders to them. We both mutually agreed on a treaty, and you finding that helmet in mewni isn't concrete proof that he broke it. For all we know he went there on his own and-"
"Do you truly intend to defend your so-called brother even in the face of such obvious proof?! Who else had the means and motive to take and bring down my son?!"
Dai Tai rolled her eyes. "Would you like a list?" she asked sarcastically. Hermes, like many of the Greeks, had a lot of children. Most of whom were just as haughty as himself. So there wasn't certainly no short list of people who wouldn't want to put them in their place when given the chance.
"Do you think this is a joke?!" Hermes shouted towards her. "You might be content with allowing those beasts to breed and multiply unchecked, but as you can see your foolish actions will be the downfall of us all! We need to deal with this here and now before it becomes the death of us all!"
Thor shook his head, while Dai Tai balled her fist up. Up in the ceiling, the kids all looked furious. He was looking towards their aunt rather threateningly, and they didn't like that. "If he takes one more step towards her, I'm gonna run him through," DJ said, cracking his knuckles. "Don't try to stop me either."
"Get in line…" Dawn muttered, his hand already heated up and ready to strike.
Rain's own magic was spiking, and it looked like she was seconds away from transforming. "Calm down," Dusk said, patting her shoulder. "Mom will handle it."
Ra decided to speak up next. "Your highness, I must agree that Hermes' accusation of your bias is correct. Your relationship with Asterossa is unquestionably making you lean towards a more favorable assumption. However, I also agree that Hermes has yet to provide any concrete proof," he said simply.
He walked over and then grabbed the helmet. "If I may, I'd like to suggest we use an analyzing spell to gather more information. Then we can investigate further based on what we find," he reasoned. It was a very logical and fair breakdown, which was pretty much expected from him.
Nia opened her mouth and got ready to agree, but then another voice cut in. "I don't think such steps will be necessary." Everyone turned their heads as another figure made their way inside. Everyone seemed to tense up a bit as Umbriel made his way into the room. "I believe I can put an end to this little… disagreement."
"Umbriel? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Well, dear cousin, at the moment I'm here to shed light on this business." He reached under his cloak and then pulled it out something from his cloak before throwing it on the floor. Everyone looked down at the bloodied blade before them. "That belonged to your son, correct? I thought I might bring it back so that you may have something to remember him by. Or bury. Whatever you prefer."
Hermes went wide eyed. "What… what are you saying?!"
"Umbriel, what did you do?" Nia asked, stepping towards her cousin.
"I caught your son crossing dimensions in an attempt to hunt down one of the young titans of Asterossa's brood. I dealt with him accordingly," Umbriel said simply. "I was tempted to allow Asterossa himself to deal with the fool, but I feared that it would cause more harm than good."
There was a tense, heavy silence in the room, and everything slowly sunk in. "Wait, what does he mean by dealing with him?" Rain asked, confused.
"We should go…" Dawn said, tugging on DJ's shirt. This had been way more than they'd been expecting. This was… he didn't know what this was, but they shouldn't be here.
Umbriel crossed his arms. "I suspect you probably knew something about this. Though I have no proof to provide. I do however have proof of his actions and intentions. A simple tracking spell will reveal where he went, and the traces of magic around his whereabouts are obvious sons of him crossing dimensions illegally. If you'd like-"
"YOU BASTARD!"
Hermes grabbed his sword and looked like he was about to rush at Umbriel, who didn't look at all threatened. Hera, Thor, and Dai Tai moved to stop him, but before any of them could make a move, Nia was at his side. She placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him down to one knee.
The messenger god tried to rise, but then suddenly felt a heavy magic binding him. Nia let out a breath, closing her eyes and seemingly concentrating. Everyone simply watched for a few moments, and then Nia suddenly opened her eyes. "You knew," she said, looking down at him. "You knew what your son was doing, and you let him go anyway," she said.
She didn't like using magic that searched through people's minds. Especially not without their consent. But this situation very much called for it. "You really couldn't just let it go, could you?" she asked. Hermes kept struggling to move, or even just speak. But whatever magic she was using he couldn't break free from.
Nia looked over towards Hera, who sighed and then nodded. Nia looked back down at Hermes. "For the breaking of the treaty between the titans and gods, and for attempting to attack a son of Avalon, I hereby banish you." Hermes suddenly vanished right into thin air, and the kids looked stunned.
"What the…?"
"Did mom just…?"
Nia turned back towards Hera. "Ten years," she said simply. Hera nodded towards her in approval. Honestly, it was pretty lenient all things considered. Nia looked towards her cousin, a frown on her face. "You didn't have to kill him," she said disapprovingly.
Umbriel smiled back towards her. "I didn't. I simply banished him. But I assumed if I goaded him with his son's supposed death, he would slip and reveal his true intent. I must say I'm surprised. I wasn't truly sure if he cared for his son so deeply," he said.
Nia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "We're gonna talk later," she muttered. She really didn't like some of the tactics her cousin was found on using, even if they weren't quite as ruthless as they used to be.
"I look forward to it, cousin," Umbriel nodded towards her before looking at the others. "I take it this will serve as a proper warning not to break the treaty, or go against the word of this family." He had no particular love for the titans. He didn't feel strongly for them one way or the other.
But the ruler of Avalon's words were absolute, and for them to be deified was akin to spitting in their faces. He got mixed expressions from the statement, and then decided to take his leave. Ra turned towards Nia. "A just and fair decision, my Queen."
"Such clinging to the old ways… it will only lean to one's downfall," Thor said.
Dai Tai gave Nia a sympathetic look. She knew that she hated doing stuff like this. Unlike her grandfather, she didn't just prefer to banish or end anyone who stepped out of line. But the gods… they were so powerful and had so much influence, she couldn't afford to take things lightly.
Sometimes she had to just bring the hammer down.
"I believe there are a handful of other topics we need to discuss. Though none quite as urgent at this," Ra said. "But first, I think we should-"
Before Ra could finish, the Twins, DJ, and Rain were suddenly in the courtyard. They looked around confused, but then two shadows loomed over them. They finished as AJ and Jia looked down at them with crossed arms. "Oh… hey pops," DJ said, smirking.
"It was Dusk's idea!" Dawn shouted, pointing at his brother.
"Wow, back over me with the freaking bus why won't you?" Dusk said scowling.
"They made me do it!" Rain said quickly.
AJ clicked his tongue. "They get this from you you know," he said looking towards Jia. When he had sensed them in the throne room, he thought about going in and dragging them out. But he didn't want to make a scene, so he decided to just teleport them out instead.
Jia scoffed. "You can't just blame me and Nia every time they get up to stuff like this. You weren't exactly an angel either. Remember that time we caught you teleporting to Italy to go to that 'special' beach?" she asked.
"That's different!"
"How?"
"Because it is! Anyway stop getting off topic," he said, a blush on his cheeks. He turned back towards the kids and cleared his throat. "You guys know you're in trouble right? I know for a fact your mom didn't invite you to that meeting. And-"
"She banished someone!" Rain said, cutting her off. "Someone who was gonna try and hurt Uncle Astro and the others! And… and she said he would be gone for ten years!"
AJ and Jia shared a glance. So, that's why so many had shown up. It had been an issue with the titans. That always got more than a few gods to come crawling out of their personal safe havens. "Yeah, and I thought getting grounded for a month was bad…"
They all looked towards Dawn, who held his hands up. "What? I'm just saying. The guy deserved it didn't he? He tried to hurt our family. He even bucked at auntie Dai Tai!"
"He did what?!" Jia asked, narrowing her eyes.
"He looked like he was going to try something, but… then cousin Umbriel showed up, and some stuff happened. And now he's gone," DJ said. "Mom pretty much just snapped him away like Thanos. It was awesome, and a little… scary."
Rain nodded. "Yeah, I've never seen mom like that." Her mother was almost always so cheerful and full of smiles, but just now. Her magic wasn't dark like their uncles, but it felt really aggressive for a while.
AJ and Jia shared another glance, and then both sighed. "Kids… you do know your mama is in charge of a lot of people. Like, a lot of really powerful people," Jia said as she knelt down and put a hand on Rain's shoulder. "And sometimes those really powerful people try to do bad things, and she has to stop them."
"Yeah. Because she's the only one who can. She doesn't like doing it, but… well, the gods can affect a lot of people. Not just titans and junk, but a lot of regular monsters and people too," AJ explained. "Rulers have to be tough sometimes. Because if they aren't people could get hurt."
Dawn and Dusk both looked down in thought. Dawn in particular seemed to really be thinking about something. He wondered how many times stuff like this had happened before. It was no wonder their mom didn't let them go to those meetings. He thought it was just because they were boring.
"So… do you think after they come back in ten years they'll stop trying to do bad stuff?" Rain asked innocently.
"If they don't, then mom will probably just ban them for like twenty," DJ said.
"Or like a hundred," Jia muttered. If he had really threatened her sister he could have been banished for eternity for all she cared.
AJ clicked his tongue as Jia stood back up. "Well, hopefully they'll learn their lesson like you said." It was pretty doubtful though. Gods were stubborn as hell, and they tended to hold a grudge. This was a pretty good example of it. "So, how about we go get some ice cream or something?"
Rain and DJ both looked excited, but Dusk spoke up first. "We should wait a little bit. Thor said that he was gonna play capture the flag with us."
"CTF first, and then ice cream?" Rain asked, looking up at her father eagerly.
"Yeah, fine monkey. Capture the flag and then ice cream."
He patted her on the head before picking her up onto his shoulders. DJ pumped his fist. "Oh yeah!" They weren't gonna get in trouble, and they were getting ice cream. Today was turning out to be pretty good… well, for everyone outside of the castle anyway.
Dusk began to follow after his siblings and father, while Jia noticed Dawn was still looking down in thought. "Something wrong?" she asked moving towards him.
The boy hummed. "I always thought mom's job was easy. She always makes it look that way. But I guess there's more stuff to it than that." He wondered just what else he didn't know about. He had always hoped he might possibly rule Avalon like her one day. He figured it would be between him and Rain since they were the most magically inclined of their siblings. But things looked so mixed up now.
Jia reached down and patted him on the head. "Yeah, she has a lot of stuff to deal with. But don't worry, she can handle it. Especially with me and your dad helping," she said winking at him. "You four don't need to worry about stuff like that right now. You just enjoy being kids, and we'll handle all the adult stuff."
Dawn nodded, and then suddenly felt a large weight perch on his shoulders. He looked up to see Sol staring towards Jia. "I heard there would be confectionary treats…"
Jia held her arms up. "Where have you been?! Why didn't you stop the kids?!"
"I can't constantly keep track of everyone on this island. Now, about that ice cream…"
A/N: One of the request was of some future Nia content with the rest of her family! I thought showing her in her position ruling Avalon would be a cool thing, and of course the kids would want to crash the whole thing. Nia is a way more lax ruler than her grandfather was, but dealing with the gods can be a headache. Sometimes you got to just banish a motherf**ker.
On the chance anyone was going to use Hermes or a Hermes kid in the contest, feel free to still do it. I just needed a random name to use and he was the first one to come to mind so if I have to retcon this I don't really care. Hope you guys enjoyed!