The atmosphere in the Vanguard base was certainly heavy. The other members had been filled in by the ones that could move during the scuffle, and Astro had gone to the infirmary to have his arm sewn back on. The prince growled as he moved it back and forth. It still felt a little numb. "How is that even possible?" Micah asked.

He had never seen anyone just have their arm sewn back on and act like nothing had happened. "Is that just like a monster thing? Could you do that too Junji?" he asked.

Junji held his hands up. "No way! Well… I don't think so anyway. I'm not gonna try and find out," he said, shivering. He had nearly passed out when he saw Astro strolling up towards the base carrying his own arm. "Your body really shouldn't work like that…"

"I don't even entirely know how my body works, so join the club…"

Micah sighed. "Seriously. I can't believe we missed the whole thing. The guy really froze the entire city? How the hell do you even fight something like that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'm gonna have to find out," Astro said standing up. He had planned on getting his arm fixed and rushing right back into the fight, but on the way back he'd felt Oberon and the others vanish. Thankful he could tell Nia was still in the city.

He wasn't sure why they fell back. From what Junji had told him, Oberon had the upper hand the entire time. But he wasn't going to complain about having more time.

"She's back!"

"Hey, hold on!"

"What happened?!"

Astro and the others looked up just in time to see his little sister bust through the doors. She was still in her mewberty form, and she looked furious. Astro could feel the magic around her swirling around like a storm. And the look on her face… she was pissed. "He took AJ," she said, not even waiting for him to ask what happened.

The prince scowled. "Shit…" This was bad. This was very bad. "Nia, I need to to calm-"

"He took AJ," Nia repeated, her eyes glowing brightly. Micah and Junji both shared a glance. Neither one of them was that adept at sensing magic. Micah couldn't sense it at all. But they could just feel it coming off of her. That probably wasn't a good sign. "I'm going after him. Are you coming?"

The fact that she was telling him and not asking him made it clear that she was planning on negotiating about this. "You do realize this is a trap, don't you?" he asked. "He took AJ to lure you in. He's trying to get you onto Avalon and-"

"I don't care," she said glaring. "I'm not talking about this, I'm not asking permission. I'm going, with or without you. I will fight every single person on Avalon by myself if I have to. So are you coming or not?"

Micah and Junji looked back towards Astro nervously. They had a feeling another of the legendary Butterfly sibling arguments was about to go down. Astro stood up, rolled his shoulder back, and grabbed his sword. "See what you can do about my arm, then we can get going," he said simply.

Nia nodded and walked over towards him, while Micah and Junji looked shocked. "Wha-?! Wait, just like that?!" Junji asked.

"Just like that," Astro stated. He knew even if he told her not to, she'd go off on her own anyway. Not that he wanted to. He was just as eager to get out there and back into the fight as she was. And it was better to go now why they were still in the right mindset.

Micah spoke up. "Dude, no offense, but it sounds like you guys got your butts kicked. Nia couldn't bring down Oberon, and you came back with one arm… well, technically two, but if you're carrying one in the other it probably isn't a good sign," he said. "Maybe you guys should hold off. Think of a plan and-"

"There is no plan that's gonna work against him," Nia said, cutting him off. "He's too strong. Too strong for any strategy or clever trick or anything like that. We're either going to beat him, or we're not. It's as simple as that," she said. "And I WILL beat him."

Astro moved his arm around again and… it felt fine. His sister's healing powers really were something. "We need to talk to Alexander and see if he can get us there."

"I can."

They both looked up and saw Alexander making his way inside. "Good, because we need to get going right now. I don't want to-"

Alexander held his hand up, cutting her off. "Hold on a moment. I have a good idea of what happened, and I understand why you would be in such a rush. But if you think the two you're charging into Avalon on your own is anywhere near a good idea, you are completely mistaken."

Nia glared. "We're not waiting. If you don't want to come just tell us how to get there and we'll go by ourselves," she said crossing her arms.

Alexander sighed. "Listen to me. Time moves differently in Avalon. A day here is only an hour there, so if you're worried about time then you shouldn't be. I'm not trying to come up with some complicated plan. You were right in assuming that wouldn't work. But at the very least let me prepare some extra artillery. It will take an hour at best," he said.

The princess looked like she was about to argue, but Astro put a hand on her shoulder. "An hour. That's it. I don't care if time is different there. We're not leaving AJ there a single second longer than absolutely necessary," he said. "If anybody is gonna be the death of that little runt it's going to be me."

Alexander nodded. "I'll have transportation and some backup ready. Until then, I suggest you both prepare yourself. I also highly recommend you convince your friends to stay behind. I don't mean to offend, but I'm just not sure that they're up for this."

"What?" Micah said, narrowing his eyes. "No way. Last time this dude was left by himself he came back without an arm. We're not ducking out of this one."

Astro scowled. "Is that going to be your new go to now?"

"Probably. We're coming along. You said Oberon and his family have people working under them right? You can't fight all of those guys yourself," Micah said.

Junji nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I mean, I know there's no way I can beat that guy, and this might be way out of the American Dragon's paygrade, but I just can't stay behind and do nothing. I'm coming too," he said.

Astro… just stared. On one hand, he really wanted to tell them to stay behind. On the other hand, he felt more than a little touched that they were still willing to come along knowing what they were up against. "I'm pretty sure some of the others are gonna want to come along too. I'll go ask to get a team together," Micah said.

Alexander hummed. "I'll trust that they know what they're doing." He didn't have enough time to try and talk them out of this. He had his own preparations to get ready.

Uran was used to feeling like a weakling. Even before all of this. His sister had always been more powerful than him. It wasn't something she flaunted or held over him, but it wasn't something she had to. It was obvious. And his father did little to hide his disappointment in him back when he was on Avalon.

When Umbriel was born, it honestly sort of rubbed salt in the wound. Even as an infant, it was obvious the kid would surpass him. It made him feel a little better knowing he was surpassed only by Oberon, but… not by much. The only one in his family whose shadow he didn't seem to be in was Cressida's.

But as much as his standing in the family stung, the feeling of failing his daughter as spectacularly as he had just hurt. Useless didn't even begin to scratch the surface of how he felt right now. What had he been thinking? Going out there powerless, with a sword? Who had he been kidding?

He leaned against the wall and watched the the members of the Vanguard league discuss just what their next step was. "You looked troubled sir…"

Uran jumped and looked up to see a blonde man in a suit approaching him. He had seen him walking around with Alexander before. "Uh… I sort of am. But thank you for the concern Mr… I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Owen. Owen Burnett," he said. "And, if you'll forgive me for saying so, It's a bit hard seeing you look so somber when you always made an effort to appear so joyous before."

Uran tilted his head. What… what was he talking about? Did he know this guy? "Have we met before? Or… are you familiar with my family?" Now that he looked closer, there was something familiar about him.

Owen held his hand out. "You'll forgive me for not being forward earlier, but… well, circumstances have greatly changed since we last met. But it is good to see you again Lord Uran. I do hope you haven't lost you sense of humor over the years. I was looking forward to sharing a few good natured jokes when this was all over."

Uran blinked, and then his eyes widened. "Puck?!" What in the-?! He looked completely different… then again, he had always been particularly good at shapeshifting, so that wasn't surprising. But what was he doing here, working as a… "Are you a butler?"

"Assistant," he clarified. "And I'm afraid there is little time to explain. I'm not sure if you're aware of my current standing with your father, so there is little I can do to help. But… I may be able to give you some assistant if you're willing to make a deal."

Uran looked at him hesitantly. He had always been on more even terms with The Puck than the rest of his family. But even he knew how dangerous making a deal with him was. Still… if he was going to try and help deal with his father, he needed to be willing to take a risk. "Tell me more…"

"AH! Let me out of here!"

Cressida stared blankly at the scrawny little mortal inside of the cell. He hadn't stopped yapping since she had brought him back. She still couldn't believe her grandfather would go this far just to bring her little cousin here. As if her brother didn't overshadow her enough already. Now a new member of the family was being brought it… and she was going to get knocked even further down the totem pole.

"I dare you to open this cell and fight me man to man! I'll clobber ya! I swear!" AJ yelled, reaching towards her through the bars. He had no idea what had happened. One second he was with Mariposa, and the next he was locked in a cell. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew if she was here it couldn't be good.

"He's quite the chattery little mortal, isn't he?" Cressida's eyes widened as she looked over and saw her brother approaching. She quickly turned around and lowered her head. He walked right past her, as if she didn't even exist. "I was glad to hear you were successful in your assignment. No small part of me feared you would screw up even such a simple task."

She grit her teeth, but didn't dare speak back towards him. "Thank you brother…" she said, careful not to let her annoyance show in her tone.

AJ scowled up at Umbriel as he stood in front of his cell. "So, you are the little mortal whom my dear cousin seems so attached to. I see the foolish folly of her father was passed down to her. What worth could she possibly see in such a lowly creature as you?" he asked, amused.

AJ's response was to spit at his feet. Cressida looked shocked, and Umbriel hummed. "I see she went out of her way to pick the lowest of the low."

"When blondie gets here, we're gonna kick your ass," AJ said, glaring at him.

Umbriel laughed. "It's adorable how much faith you place in my cousin. I can even understand why someone as lowly as you would do so. She is indeed talented," he conceded. "But she is still nothing compared to me or grandfather. She will fail, and fall in line among the rest of the family."

He turned and began walking off. "But if grandfather is generous, perhaps he will allow her to keep you as a pet. You'll have to learn your own place as well," he said before glaring. "Along with that savage halfling who claims to be her kin…"

Though his neck had long since healed from the bite Astro had given him, his annoyance had not. The look he'd had in his eyes. As if he could stand against him. As if they were on equal footing. It would not do. He would show the boy how outmatched he truly was…

"Please, you have to reconsider!"

"I'm going…"

"Do you realize who you're going to be up against! This is Oberon!"

"I don't care."

"Your highness, please! If you'd just-!"

Star turned around and glared at Omnitraxus. "I'm going. That's the end of this discussion. The kingdom will be able to keep standing without me for a few hours," she said as she pulled on the last piece of her armor. "Provided you and the others don't try and stab me in the back, AGAIN." He frowned as she made her way through the doors, a determined look on her face.

The Queen didn't know what had driven her to call to check on her children. Maybe it was some type of magical foresight, or maybe it was just a mother's intuition. But she was glad she did. Janna didn't give her all the details, but she gave enough.

God or not, nobody messed with her kids.

Or her husband.

She was going to knock her father-in-law's block off…

A/N:The Butterfly siblings get ready for round 2 with Oberon! Uran might be about to make a deal with The Puck! Umbriel has a target on Astro's back! And Star is getting ready to join the fray! You didn't think she was gonna sit out this whole arc did you? Oh no, mama Star is coming to and we're gonna have a full family reunion! Next chapter their going to get ready to head to Avalon!

In cast anyone was wondering who Puck is, he's another character from Gargoyles. He is also known as Owen Burnett and is known as one of the biggest tricksters in the show. So we'll see if Uran's deal works out for him. Hope you guys enjoyed!