What the hell was wrong with him? He was Typhon. He was the father of monsters. There was a time when he would wake up surrounded by dozens of women, and it was just a normal way to start the day. So why was this woman… haunting him?

She had started out as an annoyance. A slightly interesting annoyance, but an annoyance all the same. But as time had gone on he found himself… yearning for her. He would anticipate her visits, and dread her departure.

The time he'd spent plotting his revenge against the rest of the high commission had been replaced by thoughts of her. He didn't understand why. What was so special about her? Was this some kind of magic she was using? No, he would have noticed.

"You seem lost in your thoughts?" Rosetta said as she took another bite from her turkey leg. She had brought a basket of food for them today. While he didn't really need to eat, he had mentioned that he missed it. So she thought it would be nice to bring him something. "You haven't even touched your food. Are you alright?"

He grunted. "You're a mewman…"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Why yes I am, thank you for noticing," she said amused. "I'm also a woman, and I have blue hair, since we're just mentioning obvious things now."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're just a mewman woman. So… why do I have feelings for you?" he asked looking annoyed. "You're people, you're family, imprisoned me here. I should hate you. I should have killed you the moment we met. So why…?"

Rosetta didn't seem at all surprised by his statement. "So you have a little crush on me do you?" she asked, smirking. He blushed and glared at her. "It's fine. I don't mind. I'm not against being with a monster. Especially not when it's such a handsome one. I suppose I got my great aunt's taste in that regard."

Typhon looked even more annoyed. "Stop teasing me…"

"You make it so easy," she said laughing. "But really, I'm not sure why you're so confused. I don't understand why me being mewman would make you second guess yourself. If you feel something for me then there's no explanation needed."

Typhon looked away, slightly embarrassed. "And you?" he muttered.

She seemed confused, but then got what he was saying. "Oh, you want to know if I really feel the same way," she said giggling. "Well I'm still here aren't I?"

The Waterfolk were a reclusive people by nature. Living at the bottom of the sea separated them from the rest of Mewni, so there was little interaction with them outside of the royal family. The few people who did know them would say they were a friendly and almost timid people.

They were always polite and welcoming. Offering a warm smile and a helping hand. This included Princess Maria Kelpbottom, who was known to be the most kind and beautiful among this generation of princesses. Much like her people she was shy and timid, but it was those traits that attracted people towards her.

You wouldn't know it by looking at her right now though.

"Should we help him?" Micah asked, looking worried.

"If you want to step in between that, go ahead," Vera said, crossing her arms.

After they had all gone inside the tunnel entrance to the arena, away from the crowd's prying eyes, Maria had pretty much snapped. Astro didn't even have time to speak before he was pinned against the wall as the princess tried to jab her trident into her boyfriend's stomach. Astro attempted to push the weapon away from him. Or at least from any vital areas.

Maria may not have looked it, but she was powerful. Living deep down in the depths of the oceans had meant the Waterfolk people's skin was tough as iron, and made them naturally strong as well. "Maria, would you please just listen to me?!" he said desperately.

Maria kept glaring at him as she continued pushing. "I'm listening…" she said clearly angry.

"Well, can you listen and NOT try to stab me?!" Astro asked.

"No. It's one or the other."

Astro grunted before managing to push the trident to the side. It was planted into the wall and he let out a relieved sigh, only to receive a punch to the face. He stumbled back. "Okay, I might have deserved that," he said rubbing his cheek. She pulled her trident out of the wall and then smacked him in the leg with it. "OW!"

He fell back onto the ground and grabbed his leg. Amber couldn't believe it. Here was Asterossa the Invincible, arguably the strongest warrior in Mewni, being assaulted by someone who was known as the most timid and meek among all of the princesses of Mewni.

Astro eventually managed to get back up to his feet and grabbed Maria's wrist. "Maria, would you please calm down and talk to me?!" he said trying to hold her still.

"Now you want to talk!? You obviously didn't feel like talking earlier! You just ran off by yourself without telling anyone! I had to find out from Vera! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"It was just something that happened! It's not like I planned it! Besides, what was I supposed to do!? Show up in your room looking like this?!" he asked, gesturing to himself. He was still in his monster form.

Maria scoffed at him. "That's exactly what you should have done! Do you know how worried I was when I heard you were headed here?! And you didn't tell me because you'd thought I'd care about how you look!" she yelled. "Have I ever come off as that shallow?!"

Astro winced and looked down guiltily. "Of course not, I just… look, I didn't think things through. I learned a lot of things in a short time and I just reacted. Besides, if I told you, you would have tried to either stop me or come with me."

"Oh really?! You think?!" Maria asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Astro grabbed her hands. "I know. Because you're too good for me," he said honestly. "But I needed to come here, and I couldn't bring you. I didn't know what would happen and… look, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to risk any more people I cared about getting hurt today. Especially not you," he said clasping her hands in his.

Maria looked blushed and looked down as he knelt on one knee. "I swear I'll never tell another lie to you for as long as I live. Just please forgive me. I can't stand you being upset with me," he said bowing his head.

Typhon whistled. "You silver tongued devil…"

Maria looked back and forth for a moment. "W-well… I suppose I can forgive you this once. Just don't do anything like this again. I don't care how you look or what you are Astro. All I care about is you being safe," she said.

"I won't, I swear on my life." The second he had finished, Sear tackled him to the ground and began licking his face. The dragon sensed the tender moment was over and was eager to greet his owner. "Sear, it's only been a few hours," he laughed rubbing his head.

Maria pouted and crossed her arms. Her moment had been quickly taken by the dragon. "Okay, okay, calm down. I… wait, what are you all doing here?" he asked confused.

"We came to get you dummy," Nia said, frowning. "You came walking into the most dangerous place in Mewni by yourself, and to meet up with a guy who almost killed you," she said pointing towards Typhon, who had just been sitting by and watching as his son's girlfriend assaulted him. Father of Monsters or not, even he had the good sense not to get between a lover's spat.

The king grunted. "To be fair, he wasn't the one I almost killed. It was this one," he said pointing towards Micah. "Very sorry about that by the way. How are your ribs?"

Micah narrowed his eyes. "Just fine, thanks for asking you dick."

"Okay, still bitter." He turned towards everyone else. "Well son, it seems you've made quite the loyal group of followers. Quite a few girls here too… seems you were working on that harem."

Maria's eyes widened. "Excuse me?!"

Astro glared. "Shut. The hell. Up," he said turning back to her. "It's a joke. A very bad joke."

"It better be…" she muttered.

Nia glared towards Typhon. "So you're Astro's dad?" she asked.

"That I am young princess," he said before walking towards her. Amber and Vera stepped in front of her, but he towered over them, still easily able to see her. "And you are the daughter of Star Butterfly. You're a very brave soul to have come here. You're mother obviously passed down her courage to you little one."

She hummed. "I just came to get my brother back. He'd do the same for me," she said before turning towards Astro. "By the way, we should get going big bro. We have to explain everything to everyone back home. Cayenne is super mad at you right now."

Astro stared at her looking concerned. "Nia, I… uh, I'm not sure…"

She continued on, not seeming to notice. "And we have to deal with the Commission too. Then again mom said she would deal with them, so I guess we can leave it to her."

"Nia, wait a second. I need to talk to you about-"

"Plus we still have to get ready for that big event Kingsley's got planned. This might set it back and a little while so we're gonna be to work even harder to-"

"Nia!" Astro said, finally getting her attention. "I… don't think I want to go back to Earth. I don't think I even want to leave here," he said gesturing around him.

Nia looked at him confused. "What… what do you mean?"

"I mean… I think I want to stay here…" he said knowing there was no easy way to say it. "It might just be what's better for everyone."

Everyone stared at him in shock, and Nia slowly stepped forward. "Uh, how is that better for everyone?" she asked, glaring at him. "That's not better for anyone!"

Micah shook his head. "You can't be serious man. You were here for a few hours and you decided to stay? What about the team?" he asked.

"You all got along without me before, you can do it again."

"What about Sear?" Amber asked.

The dragon kept nuzzling him. "He'll stay here with me…"

"What about ME?!" Nia shouted in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. "What about mom, and Maria, and grandma and grandpa! What about everyone back home waiting for you! You can't just… leave!"

Astro sighed. "Nia, it's not like I can't come visit you. And you can come here and visit me too. I can come by Earth or the castle. I can still help if mom needs me. I just… I think this is where I belong. Me being here will cause the least trouble for everyone."

"Not for me!" Nia said running up to him. She started to grow teary eyed as she grabbed the front of his shirt. "I'm your sister! I don't want to be able to come visit you! I want you to be there for me! How can you just talk about abandoning us like this like it's easy?!"

He hung his head. "Nia, I'm not abandoning anybody. I just… I can't go back there. The commission doesn't want me there, the people won't want me there when they find out-"

"But I want you there!" Nia shouted crying. "Mom and Maria and Higgs want you there! Isn't that enough?! You're Asterossa the Invincible! You're telling me you're afraid just because of what other people might think?! You're letting them chase you away?!"

Astro frowned. "I'm not being chased away! I'm just trying to find the easiest way to-"

"You're being selfish!" she yelled, cutting him off.

Astro scoffed, and then laughed. "I'm being selfish?" he asked in disbelief. He shook his head, seeming genuinely amused by what she had said. "So all that blood, sweat, and tears I poured into trying to bring peace to Mewni, was that selfish too? Living my life always being watched by the commission, that was selfish? Being trapped in the castle until I was five was selfish?"

Nia stepped back. "I wasn't talking about-"

"I've lived my entire life trying to prove something that I shouldn't have had to prove! Trying to make the place that took everything from me peaceful! Trying to make it easier for you to rule when it was your time to take the throne! You can call me a lot of things Nia, but I've given more than anyone here for my home and my family! So you don't get to call me selfish!"

Nia looked shaken for a moment, but then frowned back. "You are if you're just willing to give up everything and leave us for him!" she said pointing at Typhon. "Why?! You didn't even know him until today! Why pick him over us! We were your family first! It's not fair!"

Astro narrowed his eyes. "Nia, I'm not picking anyone over anyone else. You're always going to be my baby sister, and the second you need me I'll come running. But I finally found a place I feel like I don't have to be afraid or hide anymore. I found a place I belong. So I don't care if you think I'm being selfish. I'm staying."

There was an awkward silence in the hall. Nia looked at her brother wide eyed. He… he meant it. He really meant it. He wasn't planning on going back. Micah stepped forward. "Astro, listen. I get where you're coming from. I really do. But at least-"

Astro stopped him. "You're my best friend," he said bluntly. Micah seemed surprised at the statement. "I know that seems pretty sad considering we haven't known each other that long, but it's true. Even so, you can't get where I'm coming from. None of you can except maybe Amber. You've all always had a place you knew you belonged."

"So you never felt like you belonged with us?" Maria frowned. "I thought you were happy back home. You had everything you could want. Your mother and Nia love you, I love you. Everyone back home loves you. Why can't you see that-"

Amber spoke up. "I'm sorry, but I think we should stop," she said frowning. Everyone turned back towards her. "I just… I know. I know what it feels like to feel out of place and then find your people," she said rubbing her arm.

Micah turned towards her. "You're agreeing with him? Are you serious?"

Amber sighed. "When I met my father for the first time and he welcomed me like he did, it was the happiest moment of my life. I never knew him, and I was afraid. But he was so happy and proud to see me. So I understand how he's feeling right now, and I just can't sit here trying to talk someone out of giving that up."

Nia balled her fist up and squeezed her eyes shut. She opened them and glared up at her brother. "Fight me!" she ordered. Everyone looked at her in shock. "If you win, you can stay! But if I win you have to come back home!"

"Nia, are you insane?!" Vera asked.

Astro narrowed his eyes. "You can't be serious…"

"I totally am!" she said. "I don't care if it is selfish! I'm not going home without you! I'll drag you back kicking and screaming if I have to!"

Typhon grunted. "She's quite the stubborn one isn't she?"

Vera grabbed the girl's shoulders. "Nia, stop. This is crazy. You no there's no way you could beat him. And he isn't going to fight you anyway," she said trying to talk her down.

"I accept your terms," Astro said. Everyone now turned towards him, looking every bit as stunned as they had at Nia. "But if I win… when I win, you have to promise not to go back on your word. You're a princess. Your word is your bond."

Nia nodded. "I know, but I'm not going to lose. So nah!" she stuck her tongue out at him childishly and blew a raspberry at him.

Astro snorted and then turned and headed back out towards the arena. Nia was about to follow him, but Micah grabbed her shoulders. "Are you nuts?! You can't beat him! I've seen him go toe to toe with Cayenne! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"I don't care!" she snapped back. She began heading out towards the arena. "I can't go back without him! I won't lose my brother! I'll find a way to beat him somehow!"

As they walked out, Minerva spoke up. "Uh… are we just letting this happen?" she asked, looking towards the others. She wasn't sure it would be good to let two members of the royal family start fighting each other.

Maria sighed. "We can't stop them…" she said. She had seen the look in both of their eyes enough to know they were past the point of turning back. She looked up at Typhon who had his eyes narrowed. "Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted?" she asked, glaring at him.

Typhon grunted. "Child, if there's one thing I've learned in this life, it's that I never get what I want…" he said as he followed after them. Someone had to announce the match.