"I think she's in control now…"

Umbriel opened his eyes and hummed as he looked over the city of Townsville. This place… was hideous. Full of tell clunky structures, and filled to the brim with loud irritating noises. These mortals had such gaudy taste, building and gathering in places like this. As amusing as they could be, they were unquestionably flawed little things.

It was no wonder his little cousin had felt so attached to this place. She had mortal blood flowing through her after all. He could barely even stand the stench of it.

"I know she's in control now," Umbriel said, crossing his arms. "It seems like she's starting to take this seriously. And it also seems like Uncle Uran is back in the fray. I must say, whether she's really as powerful as Grandfather seems to think or not, she's making things quite interesting."

Cressida frowned as she stood a few feet behind him. She really hadn't wanted to come along with her brother, but she knew if she ditched him he'd make her pay for it later. "You don't think this is something to be concerned about? She could be a threat."

Umbriel let out a hearty laugh. "A threat you say?! Well, I had no idea you were so concerned about our little cousin. I thought you considered her nothing more than a nuisance," he said. "Perhaps getting a taste of what she can really do has rattled you little sister?"

Cressida grit her teeth and looked down. It was true she had underestimated Titania. She'd been totally caught off guard by her in their last fight. But being caught off guard still didn't blind her to just how strong she was. She wasn't foolish enough to think she could take her down. Not easily anyway.

"Don't fret little sister. While I do understand while Grandfather's interest was piqued, the fact remains that Titania is still no threat to me," Umbriel explained. "I've seen all I needed to see here."

His sister perked up. "D-does that mean we're returning to Avalon then?"

"No. I still want to be around when Grandfather arrives."

Cressida's eyes widened. "He's coming here?!" Her grandfather almost never left Avalon. If he was coming here himself, then it meant he was really serious about this.

"Of course he's coming here. With her powers awakened it's only a matter of time before he arrives to collect her," Umbriel explained as if it were obvious. "I wouldn't worry. I'm sure he's much more concerned about Titania than he is about dealing with your foolish behavior."

Cressida's eyes widened. She had almost forgotten about that. She hoped that her brother was right and her grandfather really did just forget about her. Usually it annoyed her, but now she wanted to be as far out of his thoughts as possible. Something just told her he wouldn't be in a very patient mood when he got here.

"We're long overdue with a family reunion, aren't we? This should be quite the show," he said chuckling as he turned and began making his way off. All the pieces were falling into place. Let's prepare for the opening act."

Nia enjoyed having wings. She liked her whole transformation in general. She had never actually been able to take in her appearance like this before since she always blacked out, but now that she had, she was happy to know she didn't look like some horror movie monster or anything.

Of course her mother and grandmother looked beautiful in their mewberty forms, and so did Eclipsa and Meteora. But it was just nice to know for sure.

"Nia, are you paying attention."

The girl snapped out of her thoughts and turned towards her father. "Oh, yeah! I am. You were talking about spells right?" she asked. Yesterday after she had Titania had come to terms, she'd been ready to get right to training. But the others thought she should wait a day just to give her a bit of time to mentall prepare herself.

She'd spent the rest of the day eating and talking with her father, but had been up first thing this morning to get started on training. She knew Oberon wasn't going to wait around long and wanted to get ready to fight him off as soon as possible. They had predicted the girl's anticipation, and Alexander and her father had been ready and waiting for her when she'd rush down to find them.

Uran nodded. "That's right. You've been used to using mewni based magic, but Fae magic works a bit differently. It has a different feel about it," he explained. Alexander, who stood beside him, reached down and grabbed a few blades of grass from the ground.

"Our magic is quite potent and powerful. We aren't just firing off bursts of magic. We can control and even alter whatever is around us." With a snap of his fingers, the blades of grass in Alexander's hands turned into razor sharp needles of metal. "Try something small first. Like this."

"Whoa! I can do that!"

She reached down and then grabbed a few strands of grass herself, then began to stare at them intently. "Now, do your best to concentrate. But remember this is based on feeling and instinct. It may take a few tries to get it right so don't be-" The blade of grass suddenly changed, not into needs, but into small knives. "Oh…"

Alexander hummed. "My, that's quite impressive. Though I am a little concerned at where your mind is at with how quickly you came up with those knives…"

Nia blushed slightly. "Sorry. I was just thinking sharp and metal and it happened. Should I try needles specifically or…?"

"No, it's fine. The fact that you can do it at all on your first try is honestly amazing, and we don't have time to get into little details anyway. Thankfully you seem to be a natural, so that cuts the time down a bit."

Nia smiled. "I'm a natural."

"I feel so proud right now…" Uran said, placing his hand over his chest. "My little girl is blooming into an all powerful goddess right in front of me. Your mother will be so proud."

Nia felt elated at the attention from her father, but then remembered something. "Oh, wait! Mom! She doesn't know we found you yet! Oh my gosh, we have to tell her right now!" She turned to rush back home and get to her mirror, but Uran grabbed her shoulder.

"Whoa there sweetie! Let's hold on a minute!" he said, chuckling nervously. "I'm not quite sure I'm ready to come face to face with your mom yet. It's been a long time you know, and I might just be a little embarrassed to see her so soon. I want to do this right."

Alexander looked towards him. "Embarrassed? You married that woman. You have a child with her. I'm pretty sure the embarrassment factor should have long since passed."

"Well, you're not married so you wouldn't know," Uran said, narrowing his eyes before turning back to his daughter. "Just curious, but… did your mother happen to start seeing anyone else since I've been gone?"

Nia tilted her head. "Uh… no. Mom never even talked about being with anyone else. Not that I really asked about it much." She did know that a few other single nobles tried to get close to her, but Astro had always been around to ward them off. Their mother never stopped him, so she assumed she was letting it slide.

Uran looked like he was on the verge of tears. "She stayed loyal, even after all this time. I love that woman…" he muttered. He had always kind of held up some thin hope that Star would wait for him, but he wouldn't have blamed her at all for moving on.

Alexander was tempted to call the two's attention back to their training, he let the father and daughter carry on. With all it took for them to be reunited, they'd earned some bonding time together.

Watching from afar, Astro stood and watched the three. There was something about Uran that told him he could trust him. He was just very genuine and upfront. A lot like his mother and Nia actually. But he was powerless right now, and Astro still didn't completely trust Alexander. So while he wouldn't interrupt their lessons, he wasn't willing to take his eye off of them either.

"She's really coming into her own, isn't she?"

Astro looked over his shoulder and saw his father looming over him. He still didn't understand just how someone his size was able to move as quickly and quietly as he did. "You're back from mewni," Astro said, turning back towards his sister.

"I had to sort a few things out back home before returning. After all, with what we're about to go up against it's best to get our affairs in order."

"You sound like you don't think we can win," Astro said with a smirk. "Don't tell me the king of monsters is getting cold feet about a fight. That's very unlike you."

Typhon laughed. "Of course not! I haven't been in an uphill fight in god knows how many years. I'm looking forward to actually having to give my all again," he said crossing his arms. "And between the both of us and your sister, I think we have a fair shot of bringing this bastard down."

"Yeah… that'll be a pretty cool father-son story we could think back one huh?"

Typhon hummed and looked back up towards Nia. She looked like she was trying to transform a rock into something else. He didn't know what. "Are you planning on asking your friends to help?" Typhon asked.

Astro narrowed his eyes. "I can't ask them to do that. This isn't just some supervillain. Oberon is a literal god."

"You don't think they'd be willing."

"I know they would, but they just can't… they're not…"

"They're too weak."

He glared. "I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to. Damn near every mortal on the face of the earth is too weak when compared to beings like us. Let alone Oberon. It's not insulting or degrading to point out they're out of their depth," he pointed out. "But you do realize if they're truly loyal, they'll rush to your aid whether you ask them or not."

"We'll just have to take care of things before it comes to that…"

Nia chomped down on her burrito as she saw next to Uran on the edge of the Vanguard base's roof. She had learned quite a few tricks today, and she'd felt more in control than ever. Time had really flown however, and by the time they had finished her lessons she hadn't realized just how tired and hungry she really was.

Alexander had offered to take them out to dinner, but Nia had insisted that her father try her favorite mexican place, and they'd end up grabbing more than a few burritos. Her father's appetite was just as big as hers it seemed. Astro and the others had left the two alone. They had really seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

"Man! This really is delicious!" Uran said happily. "My family always had the same thing whenever they ate. It was so dull. Mewni was a little better, but the mortals here really do have culinary stuff down. And this really is good. Nice find."

Nia giggled. "AJ is the one who showed me all the best food places around," she explained. "He really helped me out when I first got here."

Uran hummed. "Yeah, you seem really close with that kid… like kissing close apparently. I didn't want to say anything but is there something going on there?"

Nia nearly choked, her cheek emblems once again lighting up. "M-me and AJ! Uh… we're just... I don't know." She covered her face, clearly feeling embarrassed. "I mean we're really close. But… you're not gonna try to kill him are you?"

"What?" Uran asked confused. "Of course not! I was just asking. I'm in no position to give my two cents on whatever is happening between you two. I hardly know the boy… I hardly know you either…" He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Nia… you have no idea how happy I am to have this chance to connect with you. I'm so sorry it took this long for me to… I'm a terrible father."

Here he was sitting here, smiling and laughing with her, when he'd spent the laugh twelve years not even knowing what she looked like. How many times had she needed him over those years? How many times has Star needed him? He didn't even know how he worked up the nerve to look her in the eye right now.

Nia frowned. "What? No you're not." She said, shaking her head. "Look, I don't know you that well yet either. But I know you loved me and mom. You loved us so much you left just so your dad wouldn't find us. A terrible dad wouldn't do that," she said. "And besides, you're here now. Because you wanted to be. That's what matters."

Uran stared down at her. "You… I feel like now you're trying to make me cry," he said with a small chuckle. "But still, no matter the circumstances I still can't help but feel bad about not being there. I missed so much. Your first steps, your first spell…"

"Well you're just going to have to make up for lost time," Nia said leaning on him. "Don't worry, after we deal with Oberon we'll have a whole bunch of free time. I can show you all around Townsville, and Mewni. We can even throw a big old party back at the castle for you coming back."

Uran let out a pleasant hum. "That sounds nice…" It really did. He could already imagine a day with just his wife and daughter. Walking around town. Having a big dinner. After spending all those years on that island literally just being with them was more than enough.

But before any of that, his father had to be dealt with…