Nia rushed after the figure as fast as she could. Having the maneuver around the trees meant that neither she nor Micah could go at their top speed. But even so, she was shocked that they could stay ahead of them so easily. "Man, this guy is fast," Micah said, slipping around another tree. "Should we try cutting him off? One of us can fly up and get the jump on him?"

She nodded. "Alright, you can probably see through the forest better than me, so I'll keep chasing him," she said. Micah nodded before shooting up into the air. Nia kept on chasing after the figure, and then saw a light up ahead. They must have been headed towards a clearing. She sped up after him, but when she leapt out she saw… nothing.

She looked around frantically trying to find where the figure could have hidden. There was literally nothing but grass out here. How could he have given her the slip. "You have to be kidding me. Micah, did you see where he went?" she asked looking up. He was nowhere to be found. "Micah? Hey Micah! Where'd you go?!" she yelled out.

"Look out!"

Nia turned around, and barely had time to duck before Micah crashed into her. He crashed down into the ground, tumbling a few feet before groaning. Nia ran over towards him. "Oh my gosh! What just happened?! Did you find them?!" she asked, grabbing his arm to help him up.

Micah narrowed his eyes. "No… I'm pretty sure I found something way worse…"

Before she could ask what he was talking about, she felt a huge chill up her spine. Nia turned back around and frowned as she saw her cousin walking out. Cressida smiled as she approached the two of them. "Hello baby cousin. Trying to track down uncle I see," she said amused. "You really must be desperate."

"What are you doing here?!" Nia snapped.

She laughed. "What do you think? This time your little insects aren't here to distract me," she said holding her hand up. She glanced over towards Micah. "Well, one is, but he'll be squashed shortly. And I'll finally get to see what grandfather thinks he sees in you."

Nia pulled out her wand and pointed it towards her. "Would you just leave me alone?! I don't care about what our grandpa thinks or any of that stuff! I just want to control my powers!"

Cressida smirked. "Well, the best way to do that is to practice. Which you will receive plenty of shortly," she said before shooting a blast towards them. Nia turned the wand into a shield and blocked it, but both she and Micah were sent sliding back. Micah quickly raised his hand into the air and fired a blast of lightning. Hopefully some of the others were nearby and could get here quickly. "Trying to signal your little friends? I'm afraid they're all busy at the moment."

Nia's eyes widened. "What… what did you do?!" she snapped.

"Never you mind. You need to worry about yourself little one," she said laughing as her eyes began to glow. "Now, show me what you're capable of…"

Olevia kept dodging the rush of talons aimed at her face. She shot another blast at Peak who spun around to avoid it. "Stop struggling and simply let yourself be cut down. If I can get a clean cut it will be painless," she said before swinging both of her wings towards her. Olevia went intangible as they passed right through her. "Annoying little-!"

She was cut off as Envie flew from behind and swung her bladed hand at her. Talon ducked down and then kicked at her, but Envie also turned intangible. Peak growled angrily. "What is this?! Are you two actually spirits?!" she asked.

Envie smiled. "You know, I forget how easy it is to just phase through stuff sometimes," she said looking towards Olevia. Peak still kept swinging at her, but the attacks were passing right through her. Peak may have been faster than them, but if she couldn't land a hit it wouldn't really matter.

Olevia giggled. "Yeah. Maybe if we let her keep going she might just tucker herself out." This was probably the easiest fight she had ever been in.

"You humans dare mock me?!" Peak shouted angrily. She flew upwards into the air and spread her wings out. She took a deep breath before letting out an ear shattering scream. Envie and Olevia both winced before covering their ears. The sound was so loud that even with them covering their ears it was still making them ring.

Envie managed to pull her hands away and shoot a blast towards her, but Peak moved out of the way and flew in closer. Both girls gritted their teeth and fell to their knees as Peak smiled evilly. Once she got close enough, she would cut them both down.

Olevia looked up and saw the harpy getting closer. She had to do something. She needed an opening. Something to distract her and give her a chance to take her down.

Suddenly, just as Peak was about to lift her wing to strike, something came flying from the distance and struck her right in the side of the head. She stumbled to the side and looked over to see the item that stuck her was a helmet. Her comrade's helmet.

"You defeated Black Knight?! That's impossible! There's no mortal who could-"

Olevia raised her hands and fired a small web of ectoplasm towards her. It hit it's target, covering up Peak's mouth. She quickly tried to tear through it with her beak, but it didn't tear a single bit. Envie rushed forward, turning her hands into hammers before nailing Peak. The harpy was sent flying and slammed into a nearby tree, falling to the ground unconscious.

Both girls let out a breath of relief and then turned over towards Astro and AJ, who were running their way towards them. He was carrying a shiny sword with a black blade. Envie was about to call out to Astro, but he kept running right by them. "I'm going to go get Junji and Sear! You three go back up Nia and Micah! They're North!" he shouted, not even stopping.

The two girls looked confused, and AJ stopped by them looking out of breath. "Damn man, you could have at least carried me or something! We ran like eight miles!"

Olevia raised an eyebrow before glancing down at the helmet. "I really hope there isn't still a head in there…" she muttered.

"I don't know. I close my eyes halfway through the fight…" AJ admitted. It was getting a little too gruesome for his taste.

Envie stepped forward. "C'mon, you heard Astro. Nia and Micah need our help." She honestly would have preferred to go get Junji, but it's not like she could tell where he was. And Astro could probably wrap things up with whoever he was fighting quicker than they could anyhow.

Junji dodged another swing and returned a blast of fire in return. Geryon, who looked annoyed, lifted his arm and hardened his scales to black the attack. Behind him Sear fired a blast of his own. Once again, Geryon hardened his scales and blocked the flames. "Annoying little ants." He swung at Sear who easily avoided him.

"This isn't getting us anywhere…" Junji muttered. They were way faster than Geryon, but nothing they did could put a scratch on him. Every time they went in for an attack, he would harden his scales. Whether they used fire or their claws, they couldn't damage him. He had to find a way to either leave him behind or beat him. The others needed his help.

Geryon growled as he shot more snakes towards him. "Stand still!"

Junji moved out of the way and frowned. "Are you kidding me? I'm not about to stand still so I can get squashed or bitten to death," he said crossing his arms. "Look, we can hurt you, and you obviously can't catch us. So how about we just call it even and you let us-"

"Silence you filthy little half-breed!"

He got ready to swing at him again, but suddenly they heard a rustling from the trees nearby. All three of them turned their heads to see what was making the noise, and then grew wide eyed when they saw Astro leap out of the trees. Junji smirked, while Geryon looked stunned. "That sword he's carrying! It's the Black Knight's! But how?! He couldn't have been beaten could he?! Not by one of these brats?!"

Astro yelled and lifted both blades, only for Geryon to turn around and grab him out of the air. "A little advice boy! Don't yell when you're trying to sneak attack someone!" Geryon said, trying to crush him.

The prince didn't even flinch. "It wasn't a sneak attack. And here's some advice in return. Don't ever turn you back on your enemy," he warned. Geryon looked confused, and then looked over his shoulder and saw Junji and Sear flying at him. They both breathed in ready to launch a blast of fire, and Geryon smirked. They still hadn't learned. Nothing they threw at him would be able to break through his scales. "Insta-Freeze…"

Geryon suddenly felt a deep chill all the way down to his bones. He looked down and realized his body was frozen from the neck down. "What the-?!" Junji and Sear both fired, and the moment the flames made contact Geryon's body shattered like glass. Junji flew over and caught Astro as the monster's head fell down to the ground.

They landed right next to him, seeing that he was still scowling. "You little insects! How dare you! I'll pop your little heads from your bodies!" Geryon shouted furiously.

Junji smirked. "Gonna be kind of tough to do that with no hands," he mocked.

Astro raised his foot and stepped in his nose. "Doesn't matter how tough those scales of yours are. Being chilled to the bone and then hit with that much heat was bound to break you," he said before rolling his head away.

"You disrespectful little shit!" Geryon yelled as he went rolling off.

Junji chuckled before turning towards Astro. "Thanks for the assist man. I was having some trouble there," he said rubbing the back of his head.

"Thanks for catching on to the plan so quickly," Astro said nodding back. He was honestly lucky it had been Junji and Sear that Geryon went after. They just happened to be the perfect trio to take him down the way they did. "We have to get moving. Nia is going to need our-"

They suddenly heard a loud crash, and all three turned around and saw a bright light off in the distance. "Uh… what's going on over there?" Junji asked, looking worried. "Is it the enemy?"

Astro scowled. "No… I'm pretty sure that's Nia…"

"Oh… that's not good, is it?"

"No. No it is not."

A few moments earlier

Nia grunted as she was knocked back yet again. She quickly rolled up to her feet, only to find Cressida already waiting right in front of her. Nia gasped and lifted her hand to fire off a spell, but Cressida grabbed her by the wrist and lifted her up. "This really is pathetic," the girl said with a frowned. She used her other hand to blast Nia back, sending her tumbling to the ground.

She tried to push herself back up, but Cressida stepped on her back, sending her right back to the ground. "How in the world could we possibly be related? You're so… weak. Even grandmother's halfling is stronger than this," she said crossing her arms.

Nia tried to push herself up, but couldn't budge. Cressida had brushed off all of her spells, and she was so much quicker and stronger than her. She hadn't even been able to land a hit on her yet. "Get off of her!" Cressida looked over her shoulder and saw Micah rushing at her, lightening around his fist and ready to strike.

She sighed. "And relying on these mortals to fight for you," she said before easily blasting him back. Micah hit the ground with a grunt, but then quickly shot his lasers at her. Cressida's body suddenly turned into diamond, and the beams bounced right off. "Insignificant," she said, snapping her fingers.

The ground around Micah suddenly began sinking in, trapping his arms and legs. He tried to break loose, but it proved futile. She turned back towards Nia. "Are you really Uncle Uran's daughter? If so it's no wonder he left you behind. Grandfather made a mistake," she said.

Nia frowned. "Yeah, fine, he made a mistake. I'm not as strong as you. Now go away and leave me alone…" she said trying to catch her breath.

Cressida stepped down harder. "Oh no, you're not getting off that easy," she said glaring. "I came a long way to get a glimpse of your true power, and I'm not leaving until I see something."

"I don't know how to use my powers!" Nia yelled. "I never have!"

"Well figure it out!" Cressida snapped. She knew that Umbriel was watching, and she wasn't about to go back to him without results. The worst her grandfather would give her is a scolding. Her brother on the other hand… "Show me your power already damn it."

Nia grit her teeth as her cousin stomped down even hard, but then saw something off in the distance. "Get off of her!" They looked over and saw Envie, Olevia, and AJ approaching.

Cressida scowled. She hadn't been paying attention, but she just realized she didn't sense any of her guards anymore. Had they really been defeated by these insects? Useless, the whole lot of them. "Humans are as persistent as cockroaches," she said raising her hand. "But maybe this can work for me…" she said, smirking.

Nia looked up at her. "W-what are you doing…?"

"I should have tried this earlier. If you won't show your real power for me, then maybe you'll do it after I end one of your little friends," she said, smirking.

Nia's eyes widened. "No! You can't do that! They don't have anything to do with this! This is between you and me!" she shouted trying to push herself up.

Cressida once again stomped her right back down. "I wonder which one I should take care of first? One of the two girls? Or perhaps the little runt?" she asked curiously. She saw Nia's expression change, and then laughed. "That's it isn't it? The boy? Do you fancy him?"

"Stop it!" Nia yelled.

"I suppose you got grandmother's taste in mortal men. Oh well, I'm sure you'll find another one to play with soon," she said before firing a blast. It shot across the field, passing right by Envie and Olevia and nailing AJ right in the chest. The boy was knocked off his feet and flew back, crashing onto the ground.

Olevia and Envie both slid to a step. "AJ!" Olevia ran over to the boy and quickly knelt down next to him. She placed an ear to his chest, looking panicked. "I… I don't hear his heartbeat…"

Envie knelt down at her and began pressing down on his chest. "Dang it kid! Wake up!"

Cressida smiled before looking back down at Nia. "Is that enough motivation, or should I strike down another…" She stopped when she saw Nia had started to glow. The princess's eyes were glowing brightly, and her magical power was shooting up. Cressida smiled. "There we are, that's more like it. All you needed was a bit of-"

She was suddenly blasted back, as an even brighter light surrounded Nia. She landed a few feet from Micah, who was scowling. "You really just screwed up, you know that…" he said.

Cressida ignored him as she watched the light disappear. Nia was now in her mewberty form, her wings slowly unrolling themselves to their full length. She flapped them a few times before looking around. "What in the world is this…?" Cressida asked. She had transformed into… this thing. She'd never seen anyone in their family do this before.

But she was still pretty sure this was what she had wanted, right? Her magical power was much higher than before, so this must mean her power was released. "A bit odd, but it seems like I got the desired result," she said. "Now, let's see just what grandfather…"

Before she could finish, the girl flew off. Cressida looked confused as she sped over towards AJ, landing right next to him. Olevia and Envie jumped at just how quick she'd gotten to them. "Move," she ordered before kneeling down next to him. She leaned down and suddenly pressed her lips against AJ's.

Envie and Olevia both looked stunned, but when she broke the kiss, AJ suddenly gasped and sat up. "Oh crap! What happened?! Where am I?!" he asked looking around. He then spotted Nia and flinched. "Titania?!" If she was out then that meant something bad was definitely happening. What the hell happened just now?

Nia, or rather Titania, stood back up. "Stay here," she said before flying off again.

"What happened?!" AJ asked, looking towards Olevia and Envie.

Envie hummed. "If we survive this I'll make fun of you about it later…"

This time Titania went back over to Cressida, landing right in front of her cousin. She glanced over towards Micah for a moment, and then back to Cressida. "Let Micah go," she ordered.

Cressida smirked back and leaned down to meet her eye to eye. "I'll tell you what baby cousin. If you can impress me with this new power of yours, I'll let you and all of your little friends-"

Whatever she was going to say was cut off when Titania lifted her hand and smacked her right across the face. Cressida was sent flying and slid across the ground with a grunt. She quickly sat up and glared towards Titania, a look of fury in her eyes.

Titania narrowed her eyes. "It wasn't a request…" she clarified.

"You little brat…" Cressida said getting back up to her feet. "Don't get arrogant just because you got a bit more power. I'm going to put you back in your proper place."

Titania grabbed the wand, turning it into a lance. "I already know where my place is," she said pointing it towards her. "You just can't see it from all the way down there in yours…"