Astro had only ever wielded the wand once before, back when he was a child.

It was just out of sheer curiosity honestly. He had always seen his mother holding it, and had reached for it himself. But when it started to glow and change, he panicked. When it took it's form and he couldn't get it off… Well, he never liked talking about the whole incident. Partly because it spooked him, and partly for another reason...

Since then he had avoided coming into contact with it. Not unless it was absolutely necessary. And he didn't think there was any more necessity or urgency in his life than there was right now. "How interesting," Umbriel said as he looked over the form the wand had taken.

Rather than an actual wand, a scepter, or even a weapon, it had turned into a purple and gold gauntlet. One that covered his entire arm and shoulder. He opened and closed his fist a few times. His arm had been covered by armor before, but this felt different. He could just feel the magical power flowing through it.

Even more than that, it felt like it was… linked to him somehow. It was hard to explain, but it was like it was clinging to his own magical power. He remembered feeling it when he was little, and it scared him back then. What had also frightened him were the claws on the fingers of the gauntlet. Like the wand was making a very clear mark that it was being wielded like a monster.

If he had held it in front of someone back then, there no doubt would have been questions. But right now he didn't have to worry about that. Or at least didn't have time to worry about it. There were more important things to take care of.

He looked up as Umbriel, who had his arms crossed and was waiting. "Are you done admiring your new toy?" he asked, smirking.

Astro narrowed his eyes before suddenly raising his hand. He slammed his palm down onto the ground, and a cloud of black fog shot up around the whole area.

Umbriel shook his head. "Really? Do you think such childish tactics will work against me? Perhaps the resolve you were showing was that of accepting your own defeat." With a wave of his hand, the smoke all cleared away. But Astro was nowhere to be found. "Vanished without a trace have you? Are you so stricken with fear that you've decided to hide and strike when my guard is lowered?"

"Black Bolt."

Umbriel looked to his side and saw a streak of black lightning speeding towards him. He raised his sword to knock it away.

"Bend Room."

Just as he was about to swat the lightning away, it suddenly changed directing, circling behind him and striking him in the back. He stumbled forward and growled in annoyance. "Adding dark magic to your spells won't save you. The difference in our magical ability is too vast to overcome…"

From the corner of his eye, Umbriel saw a faint glow. He turned towards his sister, who looked equally surprised and confused when a bubble like barrier appeared around her.

"Pain Rain."

The sky suddenly turned dark, and Umbriel looked up to see the cloud of smoke he had blown away earlier hovering above the courtyard. It began raining, but rather than water, thin black needles like bits of magic showered down on them. Cressida was protected by the barrier, while Umbriel was barraged with the onslaught of dark magic.

"Little…" He raised his hands and made a barrier above his head, blocking the needles. "Do you think these tricks will save you?! All you're doing is delaying the-"

"Brother! Your shadow!"

Umbriel looked down to see a figure shooting out from his own shadow, right towards him. Astro reached up with the gauntlets, and Umbriel braced himself for blow… but it never came. Instead, he felt a finger tap his forward. He looked Astro, who was staring at him with indifference, in the eyes.

"I know my magic can't overcome yours," Astro said simply. "But I don't have to overcome you to beat you… and I will beat you."

Umbriel kept staring at him. Did he… did he just pass up a chance to strike him? And that look in his eyes. It was even more gulling than the one from earlier. Did this fool honestly think he could take him lightly now because he had a gauntlet and a few tricks? He grit his teeth and swung at Astro, who leapt back away from him.

The rain of needles stopped, and the clouds began to vanish. "You overestimate yourself halfling," he said as he took aim at Astro. He blasted at him, but Astro stood his ground and swung his arm.

"Blackflow!"

To Umbriel's shock, the blast was sent right back at him. Winced as he was hit dead in the chest, falling back onto the ground. He quickly got up, just in time to see Astro rushing right at him. He had picked Ocean's Kiss back up and was aiming it right as his chest. Umbriel reached up to block it, but the moment it made contact, Astro's eyes suddenly began to glow.

The prince's body explodes into a burst of black flames, which knocks Umbriel back in pain. "A doppleganger?!" he said, wincing in pain. He suddenly felt a blow from behind, and fell forward onto the ground. "You insolent wretch!" he shouted. As he got up and got ready to strike back, he realized that everything around him was now pitch black. He looked around confused. What was this? It was like he was standing in an endless void.

"You and Nia both have too much magic. More than most people would know what to do with," Astro's voice said from the darkness. Umbriel tried to figure out just where the voice was coming from, but it echoed about from every direction. "I have a lot of magic too. But compared to yours? It's trivial."

Umbriel saw a pair of eyes opened far off, and immediately fired a blast at it. The blast vanished into the darkness, and then more pairs of eyes began appearing all around him. "So, I don't have the luxury of using magic like a battering ram," Astro explained as Umbriel looked around. "I have to be clever…"

A blast of dark magic suddenly came whizzing towards Umbriel. He managed to knock it away, only for another to strike him from behind. He winced and turned around, but another whizzed right by his head. Before he knew it, there were blasts flying at him from every direction.

He created a barrier around himself, but the barrage of blasts slowly began to crack through it. "Enough!" Umbriel stomped his foot down, and a wave of magic shot off of him, deflecting every blast, and clearing away the darkness that shrouded him. "I tire of these games halfling! Show yourself and accept your fate with some measure of dignity!" he demanded.

He heard something behind him, and then turned to see Astro rushing at him, fist raised. Umbriel got ready to strike him down, when suddenly Astro raised one finger upwards. "Shadow Spear!" Umbriel looked confused, but then quickly jumped back as a mass of darkness in the form of a spike shot up from his shadow.

The moment he jumped back Astro stopped and turned around. He made a portal behind Umbriel, one that led right in front of him. And when Umbriel passed through and came out on the other side, he slashed in the back. Umbriel grunt in pain as he fell forward, down onto one knee.

"I told you you'd kneel…"

Umbriel grit his teeth in anger, and Cressida looked on in shock. She had never seen her brother pushed like this. He looked like he was actually losing.

"You are indeed a clever boy," Umbriel said, pushing himself back up to his feet. "I dare say enough to challenge even the Puck's wayward ways. But in the end, all of these distractions won't save you. Nothing will."

In an instant, Umbriel had suddenly vanished. Astro barely had any time to even react before he was punched from the side. He stumbled back, only for Umbriel to grab his wrist and yank him forward, punching him in the face once more. "No more tricks! No more distractions! I end this farce here and now!"

He stayed on Astro, punching him over and over without letting up. He wasn't about to let him slip away this time. Every punch rocked Astro's skull. Unlike Nia, Umbriel's physical strength seemed to rival his own. Whether he was enhancing them with magic or he was just this strong, he couldn't tell. Not that it really mattered. It hurt all the same.

But he forced himself to stay on his feet. A little longer. Just a little bit longer…

"You and yours are nothing but ants among dragons!" Umbriel shouted as he punched Astro in the gut, knocking the air from him. "You fight for Titania's future, when it was never yours to fight for to begin with!" He kicked Astro back, and the young prince stumbled back. "From the moment she was born, her fate laid in my grandfather's hands!"

He stepped forward, grabbing his sword as he got ready to deliver the final blow. "We are the ones who decide the fate of all before us, for we are-!"

Astro reached up, using the gauntlet to catch the sword mid swing. Umbriel's eyes widened as the titan glared up at him. "I don't give a shit who you are…" Both the gauntlet and Astro's eyes began to glow brightly.

He had been saving this spell to use against Oberon himself, but planning ahead didn't matter right now. All that mattered was bringing down the person in front of him here and now.

"Panthalassa…"

Umbriel braced himself for an attack, but in a flash everything around him changed. He was no longer in the courtyard. Now he was… underwater? "What magic is this?" he asked looking around. Was this like the spell from earlier? Or maybe a teleportation spell? No, it felt different. This… this wasn't a real Ocean. What was this?

Astro sighed as he let go of Umbriel's sword and stepped back. "Well, this has been fun, but it's over now. I win," he said, finally looking relaxed..

Umbriel glared. "Have you gone mad? Do you think this illusion will hold me? You've done nothing but-" Umbriel suddenly sunk downward deeper into the water. "What…?"

Astro looked down towards him. "I wouldn't recommend using any magic here. This isn't just some illusion after all," he said.

Umbriel tried to blast him, only to sink down even further. "What did you do?!" he demanded angrily.

"I turned your own magic against you," Astro said. "Panthalassa is a spell that dragged down everyone but the caster. The more power their magic, the fast they sink."

"What?!"

Astro smirked down at him. "Against most people, this spell is pretty much just a distraction. They can only sink so far after all. But against someone with a lot of magic like say… a god. Well, that's a different story," he said.

Umbriel grunted before raising his hand. "Do you think a trick will-" He sunk down even further when he tried to blast at him again. He struggled to raise himself up, only to continue sinking deeper and deeper.

"Careful now. The more magic you try and use, the more quickly you'll sink…" Astro said, crossing his arms. "It took some time attune this spell to your magic. But seeing that it worked so well, it was worth it." He doubted this would work on Oberon though. Lightning didn't tend to strike twice.

Umbriel growled. "When?!" he shouted angrily. "When did you place the spell on me?!"

He hadn't heard him utter any magic words or conjure up anything. Had he been able to do this from the start, he no doubt would have.

Astro held up a finger. "I told you I didn't need to overcome your power…" Umbriel's eyes widened. The poke to the forehead. That must have been when he'd done it. When he'd placed the spell on him and began attuning it to his magic.

"You spent your whole life looking down on others because you were born with power," Astro said coldly. "And now you're going to be dragged down and crushed by that very same power you hold so dear. There's a very twisted sense of irony in that I guess."

Umbriel grit his teeth as he sunk deeper and deeper. He could feel his magic being sapped away by the second, but the more he tried to fight it, the more quickly it was drained from him.

This was impossible. How could he have been outsmarted by a mere titan? A mere halfling? How could he lose? He was the Umbriel, the heir to Oberon! It was downright inconceivable.

"You… you BASTARD!"

Astro simply watched as he sunk deeper down, eventually vanishing from his sight. "I've heard the one before…"

Cressida jumped as the black bubble that had swallowed up both Astro and her brother popped. The two stood before her… well, one of them did. Astro was on his feet, looking down at the slumped over figure of her brother. Her eyes widened. "You… you beat him," she said stunned.

Astro let out a breath, and then looked towards her. "Don't suppose you're planning on standing in my way too?" he asked glaring. Cressida just stared at him. She couldn't believe it. That anyone besides her grandfather could stand up to her brother was just… it was crazy.

"You…"

Astro whipped his head back down towards Umbriel. The blue skinned immortal looked like he could barely move. But he somehow managed to find the strength to raise his head towards Astro. "How… how could I actually be laid low by the likes of you…?" he asked. "It's… it's impossible."

The young titan snorted. "Impossible doesn't apply to the Butterfly family," he said shaking his head. "If it's for my family, I will do any and everything. Especially my sister."

Umbriel scoffed. "You expect me to believe you draw such strength out of a simple loyalty to someone who doesn't even share your blood?" he asked.

"I'm the one still standing, so you tell me…"

Astro turned and began walking away from the two siblings. But he only made it a few feet before he stumbled forward, nearly falling onto his face. Well, he'd used quite a lot of powerful dark magic one after another. Panthalassa alone took a lot out of him. It was bound to take its toll.

"You're still going to go fight my grandfather…?" He looked over his shoulder and saw Cressida walking towards him. "You can barely even stand. There's no way you can beat him," she said shaking her head. "You… you should leave. While you still can."

Astro glared. "I'm not leaving without my sister."

Cressida stared at him. Just how far was he willing to go for Titania? Was this… was this what having an actually big brother was supposed to be like? "I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna let you do this," Cressida said, narrowing her eyes. "You can't beat my grandfather like this. It's suicide."

"While I appreciate the thought, I'm not asking for-"

"I can show you how to beat him," Cressida said suddenly. Astro looked at her wide eyed. What… what had she just said? Surely he'd just misheard her. "If you really want to bring him down, come with me…"

A/N: Astro manages to topple Umbriel and Cressida seems to have her own plans in the works! Can she be trusted? Just what is this way to take Oberon down she's speaking of? Gonna have to keep reading to find out! Next chapter we'll see what the others are up to, and get back to Nia and Oberon's battle!