He sat on the edge of the castle looking out over the kingdom. He really did envy them sometimes. They all seemed happy just being able to live their lives. If he had been born down there he probably wouldn't have to deal with all of this.

"Are you okay?" Star asked, walking up beside him. After what had happened she figured he was going to come up here. The Commission had done everything they could to try and stop him from starting his training. She had put her foot down and told them it was happening, but what they said clearly stuck with him.

"No…" he muttered.

She sighed and sat down next to him. "Listen Astro, they're just being dumb. Don't worry about what they think. You'll prove them wrong. I know it," she said putting her arm around him.

He kept looking down. "Mother?"

"Hmm?"

"Just tell me the truth," he said looking up at her. "Do you really think I deserved to be born? Or was it just a mistake?"

Astro sighed as he made his way downstairs. He had once again gotten up early, but this time it was for a different reason. He was going to meet Micah and Amber down at the Jasmine dragon to talk. It was a slow and quiet enough place where they could talk freely, and he hadn't seen Drake there since the incident, so he doubted they'd run into him.

He felt nervous. Very nervous. This was a secret he had been keeping for as long as he could remember. Now he was about to spill it to two people. Micah was one thing. He had no real stake in anything that happened, and no reason to tell the others. Amber on the other hand was a different story.

He knew it wasn't fair to keep having doubts about her. She had almost died yesterday trying to help him. But his paranoia wouldn't let him think of anything but the worst right now. He tried to tell himself it was fine. They could be trusted. But this aching feeling in the back of his head wouldn't leave him alone. He felt like… something bad was going to happen.

A loud crash suddenly went off, and his eyes widened. He quickly made his way out to the backyard to see what the commotion was, and then saw Nia standing there with her hands out. In front of her was a large crater. He heard whistling behind him and Janna walked out. "Wow, nice job kid," she said, smirking.

Nia panted and then turned around. Her eyes widened when she saw her brother. "Oh… Astro…" she said smiling shyly. "Good morning."

Astro looked past her and at the crater. "Did you do this?" he asked.

Nia frowned. "Sorry, I was just getting some practice in. I didn't mean do any damage. You said I should try using magic from my hand instead of the wand, so… you know…" she said looking down nervously. "I'll clean it up."

Astro kept looking over the crater. He had told her to practice magic through her hands to help her use it more fluently through the wand. But he never expected this. He thought she was having trouble because she wasn't used to using the wand, but maybe… maybe the wand just couldn't handle all her raw power.

He reached out and patted her on the head. "It's okay," he said shrugging. "It's good to get extra practice in. Just try to find another place where you won't do too much damage and wake up the neighbors, okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Alright." Maybe AJ knew a place she could go to.

"Also, good job," he said.

She looked surprised, but then smiled. "Thanks big bro…"

"I'm gonna be gone for a bit. Have some stuff to take care this morning. Why don't you take a break and relax for a bit. I'm sure you have more stuff to plan with the party next week. We can do more training when we meet up at the base later," he said heading towards the door.

She nodded. "Alright! Catch you later!"

As he passed by, Janna gave him a curious look. She'd be the first to admit she wasn't the best caretaker. These two were basically looking out for themselves around here. But Star did ask her to watch them, and that's what she did. "What's going on with you Astro…?" she muttered.

After calling Sear down they took a quick flight over to the Jasmine Dragon. It was still pretty early so Micah and Amber wouldn't be there for some time, but that was alright. He could use a cup of tea to help calm his nerves before he had to tell them everything.

He made his way inside, only to see an all to familiar figure. "Why hello there Astro!" Mr. Chan said, waving happily. "What a coincidence! Look who else decided to stop in this morning."

The room got much colder as Astro stared down at Drake, who seemed completely unphased by his entrance. His first instinct was to reach down and grab his sword, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to start a fight. Not here. Forgetting the fact that this was his favorite tea place, Mr. Chan would have gotten caught in the crossfire.

He didn't want to risk the elderly man getting hurt. "Well, good morning Astro. How nice it is to see you again. Would you care for a cup of Tieluohan?" he asked, gesturing towards the pot of tea on his table. "Hana is home today, so the tea taste even more magnificent than last time."

Astro just stood there for a moment, glaring at the other boy. "Hmm, did I leave the air conditioner on? It feels much colder than before," Mr. Chan said, rubbing his arm.

The prince took a breath trying to calm himself down. He didn't want to turn this place into an ice box. "Doggy!" He looked up once again and saw a young girl moving from behind the counter. She was Asian, and had tan skin and long brown hair tied into a ponytail. She looked like she was only around eight, and wore an orange shirt, jean overalls, and orange and white tennis shoes.

She ran over and grabbed onto Sear who looked confused. "Oh my gosh, he's so cute!" she said hugging the dragon around the neck. He looked uncomfortable, but didn't try to pull away.

Astro looked down at her and then at Drake, who seemed amused. "You… you're the teamaker?" he asked confused. There was no way! She was only eight years old! People spent years learning how to brew certain types of teas to perfection!

She turned towards him confused. "Hana, this is my friend Astro. He's been very much looking forward to trying a cup of your famous tea. Would you mind whipping up a cup of yours specially for him?" Drake asked.

The girl smiled. "Okay gege!" she said happily. She patted Sear one last time before running back behind the counter and into the kitchen.

Astro kept staring on confused, but then sighed. He slowly made his way over to Drake's table and then took a seat, glaring at him the whole time. "You're looking well my young friend."

"No thanks to you and your lot beating me half to death…" he muttered lowly.

Drake hummed. "It wasn't my choice to fight Astro. Had things gone my way you would have left unharmed and uninjured," he said taking a sip of tea.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here. You know what could happen to this place if someone spotted you here? What could happen to them?" he asked irritated.

"You honestly think I wouldn't consider something like that? I'm far more careful than you give me credit for," he said chuckling. "No one will know I've been here. Not unless you tell them."

Astro scowled. A part of him knew he should have tried to take him down or stall him until the others got here. But he had been here long enough to know how the police worked. If they knew Drake had been coming here for as long as he had, they'd be suspected, and probably shut down. It seemed selfish, but he liked this place, and Mr. Chan. He didn't want to put them out of business.

"Why are you here?"

"To enjoy a cup of tea of course," Drake said shrugging. "I felt an urge for it this morning. I genuinely didn't expect to run into you. But perhaps this was the fate of my young friend. After all, I was intending to return this to you, and this saved me the hassle of tracking down your address." He pulled out Astro's pair of scissors and set them on the table.

Astro's eyes widened. He reached out and took the scissors before looking over them. He wasn't sure if you could booby trap dimensional scissors, but with how powerful the little redhead magician in their group was he wouldn't have been surprised.

"They're not rigged. Have they looked over if you wish," Drake assured. Before he could ask why, Drake continued. "I had no real reason to keep them. We have a pair of our own after all. I also thought it would be a show of good favor to return them. I don't desire for us to be enemies Astro."

Astro narrowed his eyes. "You have a very strange way of showing it. I thought I made it very clear I wanted nothing to do with you. The only reason I joined the Vanguard was to bring you down," he stated bluntly.

"That you did. And normally I would've given up on recruiting you by now. But I can't help but take an interest in you Astro," he said smirking. "I suppose I see a bit of myself in you."

The prince grit his teeth. "We are not alike, in any way, shape, or form…"

"I very much doubt that," Drake said, setting his cup back down. "I can see it just by looking in your eyes. I'm not privy to the details, but we've walked the same path. I know it."

"You don't know anything," Astro said, growing more annoyed by the second.

Drake hummed. "I know you hover over your sister because you're afraid to lose her. I assume it's because you lost someone else close to you," he said. Astro balled his fist up. "I know you probably lived a life of hardship, and that's what shaped you into the warrior you are now. That you likely weren't allowed to choose your own path. And… perhaps issues with your father?"

Astro growled at him and Drake smirked. "I see I struck A nerve. But I mean no offense. I simply recognize it in others. My own father was rather… controlling," he explained.

"Stop trying to read me. We're not the same. I know all about what your group was formed for. You're nothing but your father's lapdog. A tool he's using to get what he was too weak to do himself," he bit back angrily.

Drake shrugged. "Perhaps. But I've come to terms with it. Have you?" Astro looked furious. "You're not like your sister. Or your mother. Your place isn't with them. It's among us. Your fellow outcasts… and monsters."

Astro's eyes widened just as Hana came back with a tray of tea. "Here you go gege!" she said, holding out the tray towards Drake. The ground suddenly shook, and Hana stumbled forward.

Drake quickly reached out and caught the tray before she dropped it. "That's odd. Are you alright Hana?" Drake asked. She nodded, but then the ground shook again, and kept shaking. They all looked confused as the entire shop shook.

Drake suddenly felt a pain in his head as his eyes turned into slits. "What in the…?!" He could feel something. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it was what was causing this shaking. It was like a powerful presence was approaching.

Astro's own eyes began to change, the whites of his eyes once again turning black. He grit his teeth as he winced and grabbed his head. "No! No! No!" he said panicking. "He's not supposed to be able to come here yet! I thought I had more time!"

YOUNGBLOOD BASE

"GAH!"

"Victor!"

The monster hybrid fell to his knees and grabbed his head in pain. Heath and Shen Mi moved over to check on him. He growled in pain and punched the ground. "Uh! What the fuck is going on out there!" he yelled angrily. It felt like all of his senses were going on overdrive.

"What's wrong man?!" Heath asked, kneeling next to him.

Shen Mi actually looked a little concerned. She wasn't particularly close to Victor, but she knew this was out of character for him. He loved fighting, and he usually brushed off pain and injury like it was nothing. This couldn't be some normal headache.

"God damn it!"

Heath and Shen Mi turned around and saw the triplets grabbing their heads. "What the hell is going on?!" Heath asked, looking towards Shen Mi.

"What are you asking me for?!" she said just as confused.

"Make it stop! God damn it, make it stop!" Savage yelled, banging his head against the wall.

VANGUARD BASE

"Vivian!"

The one eyed girl grabbed her head as she fell down to her knees. Her head was killing her. She yelled out in pain as Ryan ran over to check on her. "What the bloody hell is happening?!" Patty asked, looking towards the others.

Vera felt a throbbing in her head as well, and Nia ran over to check on her. "Vera, are you alright?!" she asked worried.

"It hurts…" she muttered. "It hurts so bad!"

Damian and Envie both looked irritated. They both felt something too, though not nearly as much as the monsters in the room. "Something is coming… something foul," Damian said.

"The Youngblood?" Cayenne asked.

"No, this is something beyond them…" he said gritting his teeth. "Whatever it is that's out there is just… I don't know what to call it, but it feels like death…"

Amber fell down to one knee and panted as she tried to catch her breath. Micah quickly knelt down beside her. "Amber?! What's wrong?!" he asked. They had been on their way towards that tea shop Astro was talking about when suddenly she just fell.

"I don't know," Amber said, gritting her teeth. "But whatever it is, it's bad news…"

She managed to get back up to her feet and started heading forward. "Where are you going?" Micah asked. He didn't want her to push herself.

"Towards wherever that shaking is coming from! We can deal with Astro later, whatever that thing is needs to be dealt with now!" she said, forcing herself forward.

Astro ran down the street, Drake running right beside him. They stopped when they saw the sky begin to darken. Lightning crackled through the air and the clouds swirled around in one spot. "What is this?" Drake asked, narrowing his eyes.

"My father…" Astro said, pulling out his sword. This was by far the worst way this could have played out. He had wanted this meeting to be on his terms, but he'd been caught totally off guard. "Drake, if you're staying to fight, fight to kill."

Drake raised an eyebrow, but then got into a fighting stance. Whatever this thing was needed to be dealt with. This wasn't just a threat to the Vanguard. It was a threat to everything within the entire city. "Do try to keep up my young friend."

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down in front of them, the bright light blinding them both for a moment. When it cleared up, they saw a figure crouched down in front of them. It slowly stood up, giving them both a better look at it.

He was tall, almost the same height as Warron. He had light skin and a slim but very muscular frame. His black messy hair went down to his shoulders, and two large curved horns stuck out of his head. His eyes were pitch black, with golden pupils, and a pair of large black birdlike wings stuck out from his back.

He wore a black chiton with a golden sash around his waist, and brown leather boots. There were black tattoos all around his arms and running up his neck. He smiled down at the two boys, showing off his razor sharp teeth. "Well, hello there Asterossa," he said in a deep voice as his wings spread out.

Both Astro and Drake felt something the moment he locked his eyes on them. It was something Drake only felt when his father was in front of him. Overwhelming fear. Astro gripped his sword tightly, his hands shaking. He was sweating and trying to catch his breath.

Drake grit his teeth. What in the hell was this creature? He'd only ever felt this kind of pressure when his father went into his monster form.

The monster held his hands up. "What's wrong son? We haven't seen each other in years. Don't tell me you've suddenly grown too big to give your old man a hug?" he asked.

Astro glared at him before raising his sword up for a thrust. "DIE!" He rushed at him and stabbed forward, aiming right for his neck.

The monster chuckled before raising his hand and catching the blade right between two fingers, stopping Astro dead in his tracks. Astro and Drake both looked stunned. "From what I can tell, your friend over there doesn't seem to know who I am. Allow me to introduce myself," he said before raising his fist up.

He punched Astro, sending him flying back. He whizzed past Drake and crashed into a building, leaving the leader of the Youngblood looking shocked. Astro was far from weak, but this man had handled him as if he were a child.

"I am Typhon, king of monsters…."