"So this is Earth…"

Astro, Nia, and Sear stood on the sidewalk looking around at the world they'd heard about their entire lives. Nia wore a look of excitement and wonder on her face, while Astro simply stared around curiously. He wasn't all that impressed with this place.

It was still pretty early so there wasn't much activity, but there were tall buildings wasting space that could be used for farming, a few metal chariots making insulting loud noises, and the people he did see out this morning dressed strangely. All the stories his mother told him made it sound like some amazing paradise. But that didn't seem to be the case at all. Maybe it was just because it was still early…

"Wow, isn't this place amazing bro?" Nia asked excitedly.

Astro hummed. "It's… something," he said, patting Sear on the head. The dragon let out a purring noise as Astro reached into his pocket and pulled out the address.

How the heck were they supposed to find this place in this mess of a stone jungle? Maybe they should ask someone for directions. As weird as the people dressed, he was sure if he just asked them politely they would guide him to-

"Hey Astro, look!"

The elder Butterfly sibling looked up and saw his sister running off towards some kind of food store. "What the-?! Nia!" he yelled as he ran after her.

He caught up to her as she pressed her face against the window and sniffed it. She was looking at a cup of small round pastries. "It smells so sweet. They're like little balls of donuts!" she said, licking her lips. "Can we have one?!"

Astro sighed. "Nia, we can eat later. For now we need to find-"

"Please?" she asked, looking at him sweetly. "I forgot to eat breakfast before we left."

He knew it was a lie. Nia never forgot a meal. The girl was a glutton. He had no idea how such a tiny body could fit so much food in it. But he being the dotting big brother he was, he was going to cave anyway. He sighed before walking inside. Nia squealed and quickly followed him. They approached the man behind the counter. "How much is it for one of these?" he asked nodding towards the cup.

The man chuckled. "It's three bucks for a cup," he explained. He then looked over them, noting their clothes. Then he looked at Sear, who was eyeing the pastries just as hungrily as Nia was. "You're not from around here are you?"

"No sir."

"…tell you what, this one is one the house," he said, handing one to Nia.

Nia smiled. "Awesome!" she opened the cup and began digging in.

Astro shook his head. "Nia, c'mon. Don't just take handouts like that. It's not befitting of… you know what, never mind," he said knowing it would be a waste of time. He turned back to the man. "I appreciate the kindness, but please let me give you something in return."

He pulled out a few gold coins before placing them on the counter. The man grew wide eyed. He looked down at them and then back up at Astro. "Are… are those made of real gold?" he asked, stunned.

"I'm not sure if it's worth much here, but I thought you needed some compensation. I hope that's acceptable," Astro said bowing his head.

The man quickly nodded. "Oh yeah, it's acceptable!"

Astro smiled and then turned to leave, motioning for Nia to follow him. The blonde hummed happily as she enjoyed her snack. "Wow, this is so delicious! You have to try some Astro," she said before tossing a piece to Sear. The dragon licked its lips and gulped it down.

"No thank you. I'm sure the fried dough here taste just like it does on Mewni."

"But it's so good! You have to just have a little taste."

"Nia, I'm not-"

Nia shoved a piece in his mouth, and Astro coughed. He was about to scold her for just shoving something onto him, but then he tasted it. His eyes widened and he stood there silent as Nia gave him a knowing look. "You see, I told you."

"It's okay…" he muttered walking forward. Nia gave him a smug look. He wasn't about to admit that it was probably the greatest thing he ever tasted. "Right now we need to focus on finding this address. Otherwise we'll end up walking around here for god knows how long lost."

Nia shrugged and just kept following him. Just because they had a place to be didn't mean she couldn't see on the way. Before they could go any further however a car pulled up beside them. They all stopped and turned towards it, and the window rolled down revealing a police officer. "Excuse me you two, is there… is there some kind of cosplay convention going on or something?"

They stared back at him confused. "Uh… excuse me?" Nia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The strange clothes, the weapons. That… dog? Is there any particular reason you're walking around like that?" he asked as he parked the car and opened the door.

Astro scooted Nia back behind him and narrowed his eyes. He supposed from his point of view they were the ones who were dressed oddly. "My sister and I are simply looking for an address," he said.

"And the weapons?" he asked.

"Do you not carry weapons for protection? That thing on your waist is one, isn't it?" Astro asked looking down at his gun.

The officer narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm a police officer son. I'm licensed to carry this thing," he explained. "Look, why don't you two come with me. We can head down to the station and see if we can help you find where you're supposed to be going."

He reached out to pat Astro on the shoulder, but Sear growled and then bit at him. The officer backed away and placed his hand on his gun. "I don't think that'll be necessary. Directions will be just fine," Astro said patting the dragon on the head and calming him down.

The officer glared at him. "Look kid, I can't let you walk around with a dangerous weapon and an unchecked animal. You two need to come with me now before-"

"Are you implying you'll take us by force?" Astro asked glaring back.

Nia looked worried. "This… isn't good."

Ryu yawned as he and his brother Raleigh walked down the street side by side. The brothers had been appointed to patrol duty last night, and after a long time of absolutely nothing happening, they were eager to head back home and get some much needed rest before school started.

Well, Ryu was anyhow. Raleigh was used to spending long nights out. This was pretty much normal for him. Not that he liked spending his valuable time sitting around and looking for danger that never freaking happened.

"Man, screw this. I'm tired of having to take this damn shift. Nothing ever happens at night around here anyway. Why should have to waste our time with this bullshit," Raleigh complained.

His younger brother sighed. "Because the Youngblood are crafty. If we get too relaxed they'll pull something over on us. There's already been a bunch of break-ins they've been suspected of. If we keep letting them run around doing whatever they want people will start to wonder what we're even here for. Besides, it's our job."

"Yeah, yeah, protect the peace and whatever. I'm just saying we could do that just as easy in the daytime. Even those freaks have to sleep," Raleigh said cracking his neck. Just as the two were about to make their way around the corner, they heard a gunshot ring through the air, followed by a loud scream. "Huh?"

Both brothers turned towards the direction of the noise. "That can't be good," Ryu said looking worried. Was it the Youngblood? They didn't usually attack out in the open. Maybe they had waited until morning until they knew they'd be tired. "Should we call for backup?"

Raleigh smirked. "Nah, let's check it out first. If it really is those Youngblood punks we'll call, but if not we can handle it. I've been itching for some action anyhow," he said, taking out his cigarette and flicking it away.

The two quickly headed towards the commotion. What they saw made them both grow wide eyed. Standing on the sidewalk was a police officer who was frozen from the neck down. "Oh no!" Ryu quickly made his way over to check on him. "Are you okay sir? Who did this to you?"

"T-two kids…" the officer said, shivering. "A green haired one, and some girl. And they had a dragon with them, and a sword…"

Raleigh looked at him like he was crazy. "You sure you're not going a little nuts from all the ice dude? Cause that description sounds weird even by our standards."

Ryu frowned at him. "This is serious Raleigh. I have no idea who he's describing. These could be new members of the Alliance. If so we have to find them and see what we're dealing with," he said before turning back to the officer. "But we should probably thaw him out first…"

Raleigh sighed. "Que diabo…" He reached up and placed a hand on the officer, then began focusing heat into the palm of his hand. This was going to take forever, but if he thawed him out too quickly it could do some serious damage.

"You really think these guys are Young Bloods?" he asked. "Doesn't seem like their style to just go attacking random police officers."

Ryu looked down in thought. "Well, even if it isn't we need to deal with it. These guys are obviously dangerous," he said.

"We didn't have to do that…"

"He tried to forcefully take us Nia."

"He was obviously a guard, or knight, or something. We looked strange to him. If some stranger suddenly appeared in Mewni you'd be all over them."

Astro snorted as the two kept walking down the street. He still didn't see what Nia was so worried about. The guy had put his hands on him first. He'd even tried to pull that stupid weapon of his on Sear. The bullet bounced right off the dragon's scaly skin, but that wasn't the point. They'd been attacked, and he'd responded accordingly.

Even Earth had to understand a concept as simple as self-defense.

It didn't really matter though. He'd got the directions he was looking for. At least the general direction anyway. If he could just find the street, then he could… wait, this place was starting to look familiar to him. "Hey, I think I recognize this place," Nia said. "Didn't we see this on some picture or something?"

Astro was starting to get that bad feeling again. That was right. Those pictures his mother got from earth a while back. The ones that had been sent by-

"Hey there runts."

Both of them turned around and grew wide eyed. Standing before them was none other than one of their mother's best friends. The dark blue haired woman was carrying a shovel over her shoulder, and a sack in her hand.

Janna Ordonia.

"Auntie Janna!" Nia yelled excitedly.

"WHY?!" Astro yelled looking up at the sky, as if asking why the gods would put him in this position. Wasn't it bad enough that he was on a planet he didn't want to be on? They had to throw the family friend who loved torturing him the most into the mix?

Janna smiled and waved at the two children. "Long time no see guys. You miss me?" Nia's answer was to run up and hug the older woman who chuckled and returned the gesture. She then looked up towards Astro. "Aw, not joining in on the action Astro?"

"I'm fine over here…" he muttered. His aunt Janna loved messing with him. Ever since he had met the woman, she got a kick out of getting under his skin and creeping him out. Apparently she used to pick on her mother's old friend back when they were kids, but after growing up she had decided to make him her new target. "I thought you lived in… Echo something?"

"I moved from Echo Creek years ago man. Supernatural well started to run dry. But here? Superheroes, demons, magicians. It's one big party in Townville baby," she said as she walked over before ruffling his hair. "But man, were you guys lucky huh? I just happened to be walking by when I spotted you."

Astro looked her over and then sighed. "I feel like I'm really going to regret asking this, but why are you carrying a shovel and a sack?" he asked.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to my young grasshopper."

Nia raised her hand. "I want to know!"

Astro covered her mouth. "No you don't…"

Janna began walking and gesturing for them to follow. "Whatever. You two should hurry up and get inside though. I dig the royal threads and all, but you're not exactly blending in."

Astro and Nia shared a glance, then looked down at their clothes. They knew they didn't fit in with the fashion here on Earth, but were their clothes really considered that strange? After a few moments they followed after her.

Janna's house wasn't that far away. When they stepped inside they saw the place looked like a mess. There was trash, occult magazines, and various other trinkets littered about the living room. Sear immediately began sniffing and snooping around the house. "Welcome to casa de Ordonia," she said holding her arms out.

"It's filthy…" Astro commented.

"Cool," Nia said, looking impressed.

Janna set her shovel and bag aside before flopping down onto the couch. "Feel free to make yourselves at home. You guys can crash in the two rooms upstairs on the left. I cleared out my occult stuff and put it in the garage, so it's all good. Might be a few ghosts or two, but hey," she said shrugging.

Neither of the children could tell whether or not she was being serious or just joking. Astro decided to write it off as her messing with them and continued. "I guess I have to thank you for taking us in Ms. Janna. Nia was really looking forward to this."

"Hey, no problem," she said as she reached out and grabbed a can of soda from the table. "Couldn't just leave my favorite little troublemaker and punching bag hanging out to dry now could I?" she asked, shrugging. "Now hurry up and get changed. You guys look like you're going to a cosplay convention."

Nia looked confused. "What's a cosplay convention?"

Astro decided to focus on a more important question. "Wait, change? Into what? All of our clothes pretty much look like-"

"I got a bunch of clothes upstairs in your sizes. Take your pick."

"How do you know our sizes?" Astro asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to," she reminded me, smirking back.

Astro opened his mouth once more, but then decided against it. She was right, he didn't want to know. "Okay then… c'mon Sear. Let's see what type of attire Earthlings wear…" The dragon poked its head up, a half-eaten slice of pizza in his mouth. It gulped it down before following Astro. Nia happily skipped after them.

When the two got to their rooms, they saw they were pretty much empty. Each of them had a dresser, and mirror, and a bed. That was pretty much it. Nia had considered changing her room around with the wand, but decided against it. She would wait until she had a bit more control first. Then this place would look awesome.

Astro made absolutely no plans on changing his room. It was already perfect the way it was for him. He would buy a practice dummy or two, maybe a bookshelf, and leave it at that.

The two saw the bag of clothes Janna had left for them and began looking through them. Soon enough they both came back downstairs to see if their new look would give off the impression of regular Earthlings.

"How do we look?!" Nia asked excitedly.

She had kept her hair loopies and braided ponytail, and wore a light blue shirt that had a golden shield with wings on it, a yellow skirt, a pair of blue knee high socks, and pair of white Mary Jane shoes. She spun around showing herself off.

Astro, who didn't at all look as comfortable as his sister, wore a sleeveless purple hoodie over a black t-shirt, blue jeans, a belt with a skull buckle on it, and a pair black tennis shoes. "I feel ridiculous…" he muttered.

"Oh c'mon, you look cool," Nia said, nudging him.

"This doesn't offer any form of protection, it doesn't look like anything to be worn to anything formal. What's the purpose?" he asked.

"To look cool," Nia said as if it were obvious. Sear grunted. "See, Sear likes it."

"With all due respect, Sear is naked. We shouldn't be taking his word on clothes."

Janna laughed as he walked over to Astro. "Wow, you went straight for the hoodie huh? You really are going to be my new Marco," she said deviously.

"New who?"

"Never you mind. The point is, you at least blend in now… well, almost," she said gesturing to their weapons. "No amount of clothing is going to make those bad boys look inconspicuous."

Nia lifted her wand and then looked to Astro. "Uh… I don't know how to…"

Astro lifted his own sword. He muttered a quick spell, and suddenly the sword shrunk down into a small snowflake shaped keychain which he held up towards his sister. "Just concentrate and think of something like this. The wand should take whatever form you want," he explained before putting it on his belt loop.

Nia took a breath and then closed her eyes. "Okay… focus… focus…" The wand slowly began to change form, and soon it shrunk down into a small shield with wings on it, much like the one on her shirt. She opened her eyes, and then gasped. "I did it! Astro, did you see it! I did it!"

Astro smiled. "Yes, you did. Good job." That was a pretty simple trick, nothing to really be proud of. But he didn't want to discourage her.

Janna clapped her hands. "Nice party trick kiddo. But now that you two won't completely freak everyone out, we should get going. Star wanted me to enroll you guys in school or whatever," she said as she headed for the door.

"School? What's school?" Nia asked.

"Oh, you'll see…"

Astro, yet again, got a bad feeling in his gut. He had a feeling that was going to be a regular occurrence in this dimension.