He looked down at the tiny body in her arms curiously. She looked so much bigger when she was in the queen's stomach, but now that she was out here she was so tiny and soft looking. She had little marks on her cheeks, just like his. Only they were different. Little wings.

"She's tiny…" he said before reaching out and poking her cheek. "And squishy…"

The queen laughed. "That's because she's a baby Asterossa. Babies need to be taken care of and protected until they're big and strong enough to take care of themselves."

He looked up at her curiously. "Like me?" He was strong. Really strong. He remembered just how surprised everyone was when he lifted that big rock.

She patted him on the head. "Well, you're strong, but you're still little. So it's my job to look after you. And her now too of course," she said kissing the baby on the forehead. The little girl giggled and grabbed at her mother's hair. "Do you want to hold her?"

He looked taken aback for a second, but then nodded. The queen carefully handed him the baby, showing him how to correctly hold her. The infant looked at him confused for a bit, but then laughed and reached up touching his cheek mark.

"See, she likes you," she said. "You know, you're going to be kind of like her big brother Asterossa. That means you're going to have to protect her too."

"Protect her?" he asked confused. "But I thought you were supposed to do that."

Star nodded. "Well yeah, but not just me. My mother and father, and you, and the rest of my family of course. Families all protect each other. That's just how it works, you know?"

"Family…"

Nia fell back and landed on her butt as yet another spell blew up in her face. She groaned and shook her head. She had been at this all day, but was having no luck. This was supposed to be a simple offensive spell. She was sure she was doing the movements right, and saying it correctly too. So why couldn't she get this? Why did it keep blowing up in her face?

"Are you alright Nia?" Damian asked checking up on the girl.

Nia sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Just… having a little trouble," she said looking down at the wand. She didn't get it. When it came to changing forms she seemed like a natural. But then she would try and use actual spells and she just couldn't seem to get a handle on it.

Her grandma, mother, and brother all seemed to be able to do this easily. Why was she struggling with it so much? She glanced over towards her brother who was standing next to Serena and helping her cut up some ingredients for potions.

Her brother had been distant with her for the past few days. Not mean or anything, but just so cold towards her. He only talked to her when he absolutely had to, and when he did it was much more formal. It wasn't Nia anymore, it was princess Titania. Plus he hadn't bothered waking her up for training. It was like he was just leaving her alone.

It was obvious, no matter how much he pretended otherwise, that what she had said really bothered him. She knew she probably could have just apologized or asked for help, but she didn't want to. She had to prove she didn't need to come begging him for help. She needed to prove to him she could stand on her own.

"Do you think maybe you need to take a break? You've been at this all morning," Envie said looking concerned.

Nia looked over at her brother again and then frowned. "No, I can do this. I'll be fine," she said getting back up. She held the wand up again and tried once more.

Serena frowned as she watched the girl once again try and fail to pull off the spell. She looked up at Astro. "Shouldn't you be giving her a hand? I know you two are going through a thing, but she looks like she really needs help."

"If she needs help she'll ask," Astro said simply. He held up a jar of powder. "This is Grave Sand, be very careful with it. It'll cause whoever breaths it in to get really aggressive."

Serena sighed. It was nice having someone who knew their potions helping her out, but she had a hard time concentrating with Nia blowing herself up every five minutes. "Astro, she's your sister," she reasoned.

"I'm aware of that. If she takes things too far I'll stop her, and if she asks for help, I'm more than willing to help her," Astro said, putting a cap on one of the potions. "But until then she can try and fail as many times as she wants."

Serena shook her head but decided not to bother him about it anymore. Cayenne suddenly made her way into the room, alongside Ambrosine. "Hey frosty, we need you for a mission tonight," Cayenne said scowling.

Astro looked up from what he was doing. "What mission?"

"There's some freaky ass monster that's been making trouble the past couple of days and Kingsley thinks your monster know-how will help us track it down."

Astro kept working on the potions. "Princess Ambrosine is probably just as well informed on monsters as I am. More so actually. I don't think I'm necessary for this."

Cayenne growled at him. "Amber has been here for four fucking days. She doesn't know the area as well as you do. Besides, two monster experts are better than one. Believe me, I wouldn't be asking you to come along if I didn't think I needed you. So get your ass in gear and be ready when we call."

Astro glared up at her, and the lead officer glared right back. "Oh no…" Damian said, sighing. It was always like this when these two were in the same room. Cayenne would be crass, Astro would be smart mouthed, and the two would clash.

Amber decided to speak up. "Prince Asterossa. I do think it'd be better to have you with us. As Cayenne said, you know the layout a bit better than I do, and I know you have extensive knowledge about monsters from working with them. Your help would be greatly appreciated."

Astro looked towards her for a few seconds before sighing. "Fine…" He set the bottle in his hands down and headed for the door.

"Can I come?!" Nia asked, raising her hand. Everyone turned towards the princess. "I know a lot about monsters too you know! I could help!"

Cayenne crossed her arms. "Look, I appreciate the enthusiasm shorty, but this monster is dangerous. It's way out of your league. Besides, it's not like your guard dog over there will-"

"Titania can do whatever she wants," Astro said as he continued heading for the door. "She's the princess after all." The others watched him leave, slightly surprised by his willingness to let his sister come along.

Nia looked after him, a pout on her face. She would show him. She would show him he was just being overprotective before. She'd be able to hold her own tonight, and he'd have to admit he was just being over caring like usual.

"Alright kid, I guess you're tagging along," Cayenne said. "But this is a mission, not babysitting. You better bring your A game, cause I'm not looking after two princesses."

"Vera is coming?" Nia asked.

"She's not assigned to it, but knowing her she'll come along anyway. Especially when she hears you and Amber over here are coming too," Cayenne said rolling her eyes.

Nia smirked. "Don't worry, I got this!" she said, pumping her fist.

When they arrived at the area later that night, they had decided to split up to cover more ground. Nia and Vera had been sent up onto a building to get a bird's eye view. Cayenne was flying around the area using her x-ray vision to try and spot something, and Astro and Amber were moving around the area on foot to look for any signs of the monster.

Needless to say, the air between the prince of Mewni and the septarian princess was pretty tense. They had been walking in silence for some time now, the only one actually making any noise being Sear who was trying to sniff out the monster.

Amber could tell Astro always seemed to be on guard around her. Like he thought she was going to backstab him any moment. He just seemed so tense when she was in the room. "I think we're dealing with some kind of mammal. Rodent based. You?" Astro asked.

She hummed. "Probably. All the patterns it's been moving in points that way," she agreed. He continued on in silence, and she frowned. "Do you have a problem with me Prince Asterossa?" she asked, a little annoyed.

Astro looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"You're always on edge around me. As if you think I'm planning on stabbing you in the back the first chance I get. I'm willing to bet the only reason you suggested pairing with me was so I wouldn't be alone with Nia."

"That's not exactly true," he said, yawning. "I didn't want you alone with Vera either."

Amber scowled at him. "I've never met you before a couple of days ago. I haven't done anything to make you think I'm your enemy. So why-"

He pointed down at her sickle. "That weapon was the same one that beheaded Queen Comet," he pointed out. "And as unfair as it is to judge you off of your father's actions, he had a huge part to play in her death, and the attempted murder of my mother. So yes, I'm weary of you. You might not have done anything to warrant suspicion, but you haven't done anything to warrant trust either."

She grit her teeth before grabbing her sickle and holding it up. "I know what Toffee did with this weapon, and I know why my father's done. But I'm planning on changing things. I'm going to change what this weapon means to everyone, and I'm going to change how the rest of Mewni sees my people."

Astro clicked his tongue. "That's very nice. But it still doesn't change the fact that I can't trust you yet," he stated. "I'm not willing to chance history repeating itself."

"You think I'm going to hurt princess Nia?"

"I think I'm not going to give you the chance."

Amber stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Seems like even with how shaky you've been with your sister lately you still only think of protecting her," she started.

Astro stopped for a moment. "She might be a brat, but she's still my sister. I suggest you remember that if you ever get any funny ideas."

Meanwhile up above on a nearby building, Vera and Nia looked down trying to spot any signs of their target. Nia sighed as she leaned over the ledge. She had thought they would have found this thing by now, but they hadn't even seen a hint of it. "Uh, this is so boring…"

Vera looked just as tired. "I know Nia, but most time spent on a stake out like this is just waiting," she explained. Of course knowing that didn't make it any less boring.

Nia sighed. "Man, I wish I was down there looking for whatever this thing is. I wanted to be the one to find it," she complained. Instead her brother and Amber were probably going to get to it and deal with it before she ever got to even see it.

Vera looked at her curiously. "Why do you want to find this thing so badly?"

The young princess crossed her arms. "So I could prove to Astro I can handle myself. He's still mad because of what happened a few days ago, and I want to show him I can do things on my own. I'm not a baby anymore. I can make my own decisions and take care of myself…"

Vera gave her a sympathetic look. "Okay, I kind of get it I guess. You want to show him you can stand on your own. But… well, I kind of agreed with Astro back there…"

Nia's eyes widened. "What?"

"I know how hard Astro can be on… well, everyone. But he was just trying to make sure everything was safe. And at least he was giving it a shot. I can't imagine Astro even thinking of something like this a few weeks ago."

Nia groaned. "I know he's only trying to look out for me, but I just… I came here so I could learn how to be a better queen, and that means I have to start making my own decisions. I just don't want to keep on being his tag-along. I want to have a say."

Vera patted her on the shoulder. "I get it Nia. That's something all kids go through. Believe it or not even Astro went through it. You should have seen how annoyed he'd get when Higgs left him out of meetings with the high commission," she said chuckling as she remembered how childish he'd acted over it.

"Seriously?" Nia asked.

Vera nodded. "Oh yeah. But the thing is, he's still your big brother. He's always going to look after you no matter how old you get. I guess it's just a thing older siblings do. No matter how big Isaac gets I'll always look after him," she explained. "I'm sure if you talk to him, he'll get it. But you can't ask him to stop protecting you. He just can't do it."

Nia frowned. She guessed her brother had been getting better since he'd come to Earth. He was still pretty overprotective, but he was at least trying.

"Hey royals, look alive, I see something down near Baker street!" Cayenne's voice said from over their ear pieces. "Vera, It's headed towards you and Nia!"

Nia smiled. "Alright, finally!" she said before jumping down from the ledge. Vera called for her to wait up, but she was too late. Nia turned the wand into an umbrella and slowly floated onto the street. She then turned it back into a sword and got ready to fight.

She could hear a commotion coming from around the corner, and soon enough a large figure came sliding out of the alleyway. It looked like a giant… hedgehog. It was the size of a bear, and had spikes all over its body. It also had a large spiky tail, and very sharp teeth and claws. It was holding a trashcan in its mouth, presumably looking for something inside of it to eat.

Nia tightened her grip on the wand. "Okay you monster, it's just you and me." The animal growled before suddenly rolling up into a ball and speeding towards her. "Wait, they really do that?!" she asked, surprised.

She turned the wand into a hammer and then brought it back before swinging. The blow from the hammer sent it flying back, and Nia smiled until it bounced off the building it was headed for and right back towards her. "Uh-oh…"

Nia switched the wand to a shield, and it bounced off of it and was sent flying into the air. It did knock Nia back onto her rear however, leaving her unprepared as it suddenly shot some of the spikes off of its body and right towards her. "Stump!" She barely managed to scramble out of the way of the spiny little projectiles.

After turning the wand into a bow, she fired a few arrows at it. The creature easily rolled out of the way of the attacks, headed for her again. It jumped up into the air and was about to land down on her, but suddenly Cayenne flew in and kicked it back. The creature went flying and unrolled it's body before landing on all fours and growing at her.

Cayenne looked back at Nia. "You okay shrimp?"

Nia nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm good."

"Where's Vera?"

The demon princess pushed her way out of the door of the building they'd been on. She panted and tried to catch her breath. "Oh my gosh, so many stairs…" she said breathing heavy. The creature looked towards her before swinging its tail, sending a wave of spikes at her.

She gasped and raised her arms, but Cayenne quickly flew down and grabbed her out of the way. "God damn it Vera! This is why you should have just stayed home!" she said flying her out of the way. One of the spikes managed to nick her however, and soon she started to slow down. "W-what the hell?"

The X-chemical super started to grow dizzy. "The hell is going on? What did…?" She fell down to her hands and knees. She started to lose feeling in her body. "Shit, that thing… don't let those spikes hit you! I think they're paralyzing or something!"

Nia and Vera both looked panicked. Not only was Cayenne seemingly down, but they had to defeat this thing without letting it touch them even once. How was that possible? Nia gulped but raised her bow again. "Vera, you get Cayenne out of here! I'll take it down!"

"What?!" Vera asked. "I can't leave you here by yourself!"

"It's okay! I can do this!" she said, firing another arrow. The monster rolled out of the way again and headed back towards her. She turned the wand into an axe and swung. Instead of cutting it however, it grinded against the spikes and ended up being knocked back again. "Go!"

Cayenne scowled. "Fuck that! You can't handle this!"

The creature came rolling towards her and Vera, and Nia turned the wand into a fail before hurling it at it. It knocked the creature away from them. "I'm the only one here that can right now!" Nia argued. "I'll hold it off until- GAH!"

The monster had grabbed the chain of her flail with its teeth and then yanked it, pulling Nia towards it. The young princess was totally caught off guard, and she yelled as the creature raised it's tail and got ready to swat her with it. She panicked, trying to think of what to do. Without the wand she couldn't use any offensive spells. Even if she survived the hit, she wouldn't be able to move from the spikes.

She raised her arms and tried to brace herself. She was done for. There was no way she'd be able to get out of this. "A-ASTRO!" Just before she was about to get hit, her brother jumped up and grabbed her before blocking it's tail with his sword.

He was sent flying back, but landed on his feet and slid to a stop, holding his baby sister under his arm. Nia looked up at him surprised. "Are you okay?" he asked looking down at her worried. Nia stared at him for a few more seconds before suddenly tearing up. "Don't cry Nia…"

She sniffed as snot began dripping down her nose. "I'm sorry Astro! I shouldn't have said what I said back then! And I know you're looking after me! And I don't care if you're just the prince, you're still my big brother and-"

"Hey!" Cayenne yelled angrily. "Save your fucking siblings make-up for later! Get your ass in gear and deal with this thing!"

Astro stomped his foot and shot a wave of ice at the monster. It froze the creature's legs in place. "It's already handled." The creature tried to break loose, but the ice was too dense.

A portal suddenly opened up above it, and Amber jumped down and landed on its neck, making sure to avoid the spikes on its body. It growled and raised its tail, but Astro quickly spread the ice and froze that too. Amber raised her sickle before stabbing it in the side of the head. She then twisted it and pulled it back out, killing the creature in an instant.

"Holy shit…" Cayenne said.

"Whoa…" Vera said amazed. The two of them had dealt with that thing in seconds.

Astro nodded towards Amber. "Nice job."

"Likewise," she said nodding back.

He turned around to check on Nia, only to be tackled and hugged by her. She cried, shoving her face into his stomach. "I'm sorry about what happened! Please don't stop being my big brother!"

Astro looked confused. "What? Just because I'm annoyed at you doesn't mean I'm going to stop being your brother. Stop being crazy," he said rolling his eyes. "You might be annoying at times, and I know you're going through that phase where you think you're all grown up now, but I'll always be your big brother. Even when you're fifty years old and on the throne."

"Really?" she asked, wiping her face.

"Yes Nia, really." She smiled when he called her by her nickname again. "Also, please stop wiping your face on my hoodie. You're getting tears and snot all over it."

She sniffled and then hugged him tighter. "One more minute…" Sear walked over and jumped on top of both of them, nuzzling the siblings. "Aw, Sear wants to hug too."

"You're both very heavy…"

Vera walked over holding out her arms. "I'm getting in on this!"

"Stop it, all of you stop it…" Astro deadpanned as the two princess and dragon continued to dog pile on top of him.

Cayenne rolled her eyes as Amber walked over to help her up to her feet. "I'm gonna fucking throw up…"