Asterossa walked down the hall trying to calm himself. How could his mother not see how much of a horrible thing Nia was trying to do? The Earth was the last place that she needed to be. It was dangerous, and she wasn't ready to take on something like that. She barely had any experience using magic without her wand.

Now she wanted to rush off to a rogue planet for a vacation? He loved his baby sister. He loved her more than she could possibly imagine. But the girl made it so damn hard to protect her. She was so reckless and brash, always trying to get into trouble.

Alright, so he could be overprotective. He knew that. But he was her brother. He'd promised to make sure she was safe, and it was a promise he intended to keep. He didn't care if she felt like she was being babied or not.

"Astro."

He looked back over his shoulder and saw Maria approaching him. A sigh escaped him before he turned to face her. The girl stared at him, clearly worried about what had just happened back in the dining room. "Maria… I'm sorry you had to see that," he said, hanging his head.

She walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong," she said trying to reassure him.

He shook his head. "No, no I did. Nia and mother were right, it isn't my place to make decisions for her. No matter what I thought, I should have just kept my mouth shut and let her handle it," he said. Even if he was right, he should have known better than to speak out like that.

It didn't matter if he was the prince. In the grand scheme of things that title meant very little. The Butterfly kingdom was a matriarchy. Nia was the princess, the next ruler of Mewni. He was just there to serve at her side, not make any decisions for her.

"Astro, you were just worried about her. Before you're a knight, or a prince, you're her brother, and you have a right to speak out if you think your sister could be in danger. There's nothing wrong with that," she said reaching out and grabbing his hand. "Nia and the queen know that too."

Astro stared at her before he laced his fingers around hers. Maria had a way of seeming to read his mind, and she always knew just what to say to him. "Thank you…" he said as he stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her.

Maria smiled back as he leaned his forehead against hers. Displays of affection like this were really only reserved for when they were alone. Neither of them like doing it with the others around. "You're welcome," she said hugging him closely.

"Do you think I'm overreacting?" he asked worried.

"Maybe a little," she answered honestly. "I mean, the Earth does have its villains, but so does this place. And besides, you know Vera wouldn't let anyone lay a hand on her. She loves Nia as much as I do."

Astro paused for a moment. "Maria… I mean this in the nicest way possible, but I don't think Vera could really protect her from a serious threat. All she knows is that silly Earth fighting technique Queen Margo taught her," he said bluntly.

"She's been getting better. She told me she's being personally taught by a hero on Earth. I'm sure she could more than hold her own by now."

"That's… an opinion," he said, earning a light slap on the arm from her.

"The point is that at some point you're going to have to let her branch out on her own. I mean, you do want her to learn to defend herself right? Why not start now?" she asked.

Astro hummed. He supposed she had a point. He was her age when he began his training for knighthood. And she was going to have to learn sooner or later. Why not sooner? "Maybe… you're right," he said.

"Of course I am," she said giggling. She stood up on her toes and gave him a peck on the lips. "I think you should just have a little faith in Nia. She might be young, and sometimes a little wild, but she's capable. She does have a good role model after all."

He chuckled and gave her a quick kiss back. "Thank you…"

"If you really want to thank me, let's take a walk in the gardens. I want to make the most of the time I have here before you end up off on another adventure," she said as she wrapped her arms around his and began pulling him along.

Nia sat in her room and fiddled with her ponytail as she tried to think of what she was going to say. She knew she needed to talk to her brother. So maybe he had overreacted to her wanting to go to Earth. He was just trying to look out for her. And honestly it was stupid of her to bring it up in front of everyone at dinner. What was she thinking?

She had ended up getting him embarrassed in front of their family, and in front of Maria. She hoped he wasn't too mad at her right now. Maybe she could bring him desert from the kitchen. As uptight as he was, Astro loved sweets.

"Yeah, that's what I'll do," she said smiling.

She hopped up from her bed and walked out of her room. All they needed was a good old fashion sibling's talk. She was sure after she explained everything he'd lighten up on it. She just… she couldn't stay here. At least not for the next however many years it would take for her to be queen. She wanted at least a few years of fun before she was stuck sitting on that throne.

The moment she stepped out of her room, she saw a figure looming over her. She jumped slightly, but then let out a sigh when she realized it was just Sear, her brother's dragon-cycle/pet. The dragon moved towards her and nuzzled her face.

You'd think having a fire breathing dragon that doubled as a motorcycle would be useful to take on adventures, but he always left Sear behind to look after her. He'd been sleeping when Astro came back, so he probably hadn't known he had returned.

She reached up and rubbed his head. "Hey there you big scaly dork," she said as the dragon snorted and blew smoke from his nostrils. "You know Astro is back, don't you?" He immediately perked up, looking excited. "Yeah, you missed him too didn't you? Why don't we go see him after a nice little stop to the kitchen?"

The dragon grunted before lowering itself down. Nia smiled and got on top of him, and soon enough they were speeding down the hall. She had decided to take the long way since she hardly ever got to ride Sear when her brother was home. She was planning on making the most of this.

She laughed as they zipped around the castle, and just as she was about to make the turn towards the kitchen, Sear suddenly began to come to a stop. The dragon skidded to a halt and turned his head towards the other end of the hall, towards Star's room. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sear growled before turning around, heading in the opposite direction. "Hey! Where are you going?" she asked, confused. Sear quickly made his way towards Star's room. Nia tried to turn him around by moving his horns, but he didn't budge. "Sear, no! The kitchen! Turn around! Turn around and go to… wait…"

As Sear came to a stop she could see a feminine figure slipping out of her mother's room. They were dressed in all black, and wearing a mask that covered their face. And they were also holding… the wand! Her eyes widened. "Hey!" she shouted after the figure. They turned around and saw her, taking only a moment to stare before turning around and running off.

"HEY! Get back here!" she shouted angrily. She revved up Sear who growled and sped after the figure. They quickly began gaining on them, but the figure then pulled out a pair of scissors. Nia gasped as the figure swung the pair of scissors down and opened a portal.

That was impossible! Only a select few people were allowed to have dimensional scissors, and no one who would dare steal the wand from her mother would fall under that list.

But she couldn't think about that now. She needed to get the wand back.

Nia leaped up on Sear's head and then reached forward. "Gravity Gimme Grab!" before the figure could get through the portal, the wand was suddenly yanked from her hand, and Nia smiled as it was pulled right into her own.

The figure turned around and growled. "You little brat…" the feminine voice said.

Nia spun the wand around in her fingers. "Better luck next time sticky fingers…"

The figure growled before stepping through the portal. Nia watched for a few more moments before a smile slowly spread across her face. "Hah! Ha-ha! I did it! I saved the wand! I chased away the thief all by myself! I didn't even need mom or Astro's help! I am awesome!" she cheered holding her fist up.

Another portal suddenly opened up, and three more figures stepped out. The first was the girl from earlier, but this time she had two more with her.

One was a grey skinned boy with flaming purple hair and blood red eyes. He had tattoos all over his body, and a rather intimidating looking sword at his side. The other was a giant, easily eight feet tall. He had green skin, along with green hair, and red and yellow eyes.

"Hand over the wand…" the grey skinned one said warningly.

Nia stared at them for a while, then revved up Sear and bolted down the hallway. "ASTRO!" she cried as loudly as she could. Hopefully he could hear her from wherever he was. Or maybe her mother would wake up and get the jump on them. At this point she was even willing to take her grandfather. She was not ready for this!

The grey skinned boy sighed. "Great…" So much for making this easy. "C'mon Warron."

He began flying after her as the large green one chuckled. "Don't sweat it Chloe, me and Luther will handle it from here," he said, giving her a thumbs up before running after them. The redhead nodded before stepping back through the portal. She hadn't expected there to be a dragon. Hopefully this wouldn't ruin the plan.

Nia panicked as she sped down the hall. She had to think. Her grandparent's room was on the other side of the castle. Who knows how much damage they could do by then? Her mother's room was back there, but she would have had to make it past them. Something she was pretty sure she couldn't do.

Besides, if that didn't wake her up then it was probably pointless.

Her brother was probably with Maria, which meant… the garden! They were in the gardens! If she could make it there then- "Oh Stump!" She ducked right as a sword flew over her head.

Luther grunted as he had just barely missed the girl. He lifted his hands and then shot a green energy blast from them. Nia moved Sear's horns, guiding him out of the way of the blasts. "Ha! You can't hit me!" she said looking back and sticking her tongue out.

When she opened her eyes back up however, she saw the big green guy right on their heels. She panicked as he reached out and grabbed Sear's tail, stopping them dead in their tracks. "Got ya!" he said, pulling them back. Nia fell and tumbled onto the ground as he lifted Sear up into the air. "You're a cool looking dude. I wonder if Faye would let me keep you as a pet."

Nia rubbed her head and then glared at him. "Hey! Put him down!"

Warron looked down at her with a smirk. "Nah homie, I'm gonna keep him."

"I said put him down! Or else I'll use this!" she said as she aimed the wand at him. She had absolutely zero idea how to use this thing. The only spells she knew were just little tricks and distractions. Nothing she could use in a real fight. But they didn't know that.

Luther suddenly appeared behind her, holding his sword to the back of her neck. "I wouldn't make any more sudden movements if I were you. Just drop the wand and step aside," he said dangerously. "I would rather not kill a child, so don't force my hand."

Nia felt her blood run cold. Even if she could use this thing, there was no way she could do it before he cut her down. "Put the wand down, and walk away," he repeated.

Instead of dropping it, she gripped it tighter. Scared as she was, she wasn't about to hand over her family's greatest heirloom to these people. "No…"

Luther grunted and got ready to nick her with the sword as a warning, but suddenly the wand began to glow brightly. "Whoa…" A blinding light went off, and Luther backed away.

Nia just watched as the wand slowly began to change form in her hand. The wand was no… not a wand at all. It now took the form of a sword. The weapon had a golden hilt with pink jewel in the middle of it, and white wings on each side. The blade was also a pink color.

She looked over her new weapons in awe. Was this… was this her Wand Form? It was a sword?

That was so cool!

"Sweet!" she said holding the blade up. It looked so shiny and polished. Like her brother's sword, only with her own personal touch to it. Did this mean she was supposed to be a warrior like him? If so, she should name her sword too, shouldn't she? All great swords had names.

"Wow, that is one sweet looking blade," Warron said whistling. "Okay, hand it over."

Nia looked at him confused for a moment, and then grew a look of realization on her face. That was right, they were still trying to steal it from her. She gripped the sword and then jumped away from them. "Blazing Bluebird Blast!" she shouted, raising the sword up.

Astro sat in the middle of the garden, with Marie right beside him and clinging to his arm. One of their favorite things to do together was just look up at the sky. Whether it was cloud watching, or stargazing, they just enjoyed looking up and enjoying each other's company.

Too bad that peacefulness was interrupted by the huge explosion coming from the castle. Maria turned her head, clearly worried, while Astro sighed. "Not again…" he muttered. An explosion in this family always meant one of two things.

The first was that Nia was up to no good.

The second was that his mother was up to no good.

Neither one of those things were something he wanted to break off his private time with Maria for. He grabbed her hand. "Just wait here. I'll be back in a minute, I swear it," he said kissing her hand. With that he ran off towards the castle, and was shocked when he saw smoke coming from it. No, that was way too much damage for one missed spell.

He picked up the pace and as he approached he saw a figure on the ground. He looked closer and saw that it was Nia, laid out with a few scratches and burns on her. Sear was standing over her, guarding her like a watchdog.

"NIA!"

He slid over to her and quickly looked over her. "Nia! Nia, please wake up! Talk to me!" he begged as he grabbed her shoulders. "No! God no, please no!" Not his sister dammit! Not his baby sister! The girl suddenly groaned and slowly began to open her eyes. Astro let out a relieved sigh. She was alive. "Nia! Nia, are you okay?!"

Nia began to sit up and shook her head. "I'm okay, I think…" she said rubbing her head.

He quickly hugged her tightly. "Oh thank goodness."

Nia hugged him back, and then looked up at the large hole that was now in the side of the castle. She had used that spell plenty of times before, and it had never been so powerful. It was supposed to be used as an annoying little attack to distract people. Somehow it blew up half the hallway.

Did the wand really make her that much more powerful? Wait, the wand! Where was it?! She looked around trying to find it, but couldn't spot it anywhere. "Nia, what's wrong?" Astro asked, looking worried. "What happened?"

"There's thieves in the castle!" she said standing up. "They're trying to steal the wand!"

"What?!" Astro asked. "Where is it?!"

"I must have dropped it in the explosion! Oh man, did they get it!"

"Hells yeah we did!"

Both the siblings looked over and saw Warron and Luther walking out of the smoke. Luther was holding the wand… or rather sword, in his hand. He looked over it. "Well, we have our objective. Let's get out of here Warron."

The giant pulled out a pair of scissors and was about to open a portal, but suddenly found his arm was frozen solid. "No." They looked over and saw that Astro had his hand raised towards them. "Neither one of you is going anywhere," he said, glaring at them.

Luther sighed. "Really? You'll fare no better than your sister did. Just stand down and let us-"

"Be quiet," Astro said, raising his hand once more. Nia suddenly felt the air around her get much, much colder. She could suddenly see her breath. Astro used his other hand to pull out his sword. Nia watched as he raised Ocean's Kiss up, its blue blade shining brightly.

She had seen that sword plenty of times before, but never when Astro was actually in a fight.

Warron and Luther could clearly feel the cold as well, and they looked around as a fog began to form around the area. Suddenly spears made of ice appeared over the both of them, and with one flick of the wrist from Astro they came dropping down on them.

Luther swung his sword slicing them into pieces, while Warron used his amazing strength to smash them apart. Luther looked back towards them, only to find that Astro had rushed right at him. Astro swung his sword, hitting the wand out of his hand and sending it flying back. "No!" Luther yelled angrily.

The wand landed next to Nia, who just kept staring at her brother in awe. "Nia! Nia, are you okay?" Maria ran up and knelt down beside her. She looked over the girl, and then followed her gaze over to Astro. "What's going on? Who are they?" she asked, confused.

Astro pointed his swords towards them. Luther growled and got into a fighting stance, while Warron flexed his arm, shattering the ice around it. "Maria, please protect Nia. Sear, protect them both. I'll deal with these two," he said, not taking his eyes off of them. "For the crime of attacking a member of the royal family, the punishment is life imprisonment," he said as more ice slowly began to form around him.

Maria pulled Nia up to her feet, and then handed her the wand. "Come on, let's get inside! We need to tell the queen what's happening!" she said as she pulled the younger girl away. Sear followed the both of them.

Nia was dragged along with her, but she looked over her shoulder back at her brother. She had never got to see him in a serious fight before. He looked so intimidating. So terrifying. So… cool.

"But for the crime of attacking my baby sister, the punishment is death…"