"You still worried about that surge form earlier?"

Fee grunted as he sat in front of the entrance to his cave, an even expression on his face. Nalfi walked over towards her husband, who had been perched in the same spot for nearly an hour. Practically everyone in the tribe felt the insulting high magical power surge from the Butterfly castle. The fact that they could feel it from here was something in of itself.

Everyone found it odd of course, but whereas the others eventually got back to their day, Fee didn't seem to let it go. "You worried about Fum?" she asked. She knew he cared deeply for his little brothers, and he was probably worried that he'd gotten caught up in whatever happened down there. "I can run down there if you want. Check on him."

Fee shook his head. "No, that's fine. You know how mewmans feel about us. If we headed down without a warning we'd end up causing a panic," he said before turning towards her. "Besides, if something did happen he's strong enough to handle it. Plus he's got Astro and the others there with him."

Everyone in the tribe knew just how powerful Fum was. He was young, but easily able to outmatch everyone in the tribe but him and his father. And he was only growing stronger with each day that passed. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I got this feeling something weird is going to happen today. I don't know."

"You have been sort of stressed lately." Ever since he'd been named chief, he had a lot more on his mind lately. Nothing that he couldn't handle of course, but he was far more busy than usual. Then again she had known him for a long time, and while he could come off as very aloof, she knew his intuition usually ended up being on the money.

She patted him on the shoulder. "Tell you what. I'll go get Fi and we can gather up a few others and walk some rounds around the valley. Just to make sure everything is safe. Besides, you know he's probably hiding somewhere trying to drink himself into a coma. He could use the exercise," she said.

Fee smiled up at her. "Well, you are the only other one that can get him to set his mug down long enough to get anything done," he said amused. "Thanks. It's probably nothing but… it would put me at ease."

"No problem. I'll try not to get too deep into that big head of yours chief." She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek before making her way off.

Fee smiled as he watched her go. He knew when he took on the title of chief things would get hectic, and he had braced himself for the worst. But between his father, Nalfi, and his brothers, the load had been considerably lightened. He rose up to his feet, deciding that if his wife was about to start pulling her weight, he would have to find something productive to do as well.

He decided to go and see if his father was up for a few spars. There were a few younger giants who were supposed to be starting their training today, and they could learn a thing or two from watching some more experienced fighters. They could also offer a few pointers to them as well.

When he got to his father's cave, he saw the hulking figure parched on top of a boulder in front of it, looking out towards the village with a gaze not unlike his own. "You still worried about that surge of magic too, huh?" Fee asked.

Antero turned towards his son, and then chuckled. "Ah, Fee. Pulled yourself away from the cave for a bit I see. I would have thought you and Nalfi would be stuck in-"

"We haven't really had time for that lately dad… you know, not as often as at first anyway. Duties of a chief and all that," Fee said leaning on the boulder next to him.

Antero frowned. "What? Really? And here I was trying to ease the burden so you could have a bit more time in your honeymoon phase," he said, crossing his arms. "I've waited a hundred years to see one of you boys settle down and get married, and I wanted grandchildren. I only have two hundred or so years left after all."

Fee chuckled. "You'll outlive us all. You're too stubborn to die."

Antero let out a hearty laugh and then turned back towards the village. "Well, I don't know about that. But I'd like to at least get to a great grandchild or two," he said, suddenly growing a nostalgic look on his face. "So much has changed. You boys, the tribe, our village. It seems like only yesterday you were picking up your first weapon, and now you're helping look over the new generation. If your mother could see you now…"

Fee hummed at the mention of his mother. He hoped his father was right and he would have made her proud. He knew his brothers certainly would. Just seeing Fi drink someone under the table would bring a smile to her face. And Fo bringing back all of his kills from their hunts would have her bragging all day.

Then there was Fum…

Unlike the others who had at least got to spend time with mother, all Fee how was word of mouth. Which was rather sad considering he was so much like her. They all saw so much of their mother in her, it was like a part of her never left. Her last gift to them. And with how much potential he had… she would never have been able to stop talking about it. "Yeah, she'd be happy to see how everyone is doing."

Antero grunted, and then turned back towards Fee. "More than happy I'd say. But I should stop wallowing in nostalgia and do something of use. I assume you came here to ask me for something, yes?" he asked, looking enthusiastic.

Fee nodded. "Just wanted to see if you wanted to stop by and give some of our little warriors a show and some pointers. Give them a proper lesson or two."

Antero let out a boisterous laugh and jumped down, patting his son on the shoulder roughly. "Ah! You want to put on a show for the little ones and tangle with your old man then?! That certainly is a better way to spend the day than just staring out aimlessly!" he said. "Come, let us show the young ones what it truly means to revel in combat!"

Fee chuckled. For someone who was supposedly so old, his father still had quite a bit of life in him. The two began making their way down to the training grounds, but about halfway there, both the father and son suddenly felt something. They weren't the only ones either. Almost everyone in the village picked up on the massive power headed their way.

"What is that?" Fee asked, confused. It wasn't as big as the magical surge from earlier, but it was still insultingly high. And it somehow felt… familiar. Was it another giant? Fum maybe? No, he would have recognized it, even if he had gotten stronger.

Without a word, he began making his way through the village, towards the direction it was coming from. Antero followed after him. He was sure that Nalfi and his brothers would meet him there. There was no way they weren't going to sense it as well.

Matrona slid to a stop as she saw the entrance to the valley up ahead. She took in a deep breath, smiling as she soaked in the air. It still smelled the same even after all of these years, and it caused a flood of nostalgia to surge through her. "It feels good to be home," she said as she looked up ahead again. "Though, things have clearly changed."

The valley looked bigger. Like it had been further excavated. Perhaps the tribe's numbers had grown? Just seeing that it hadn't shrunken had honestly relieved some of her worried. After sending how much the other tribes territories seemed to have diminished, she'd been concerned the valley might have been attacked by mewmans as well.

But it seemed that her peoples reputation still made them as scared as ever, which made her heart swell up with pride. She walked forward, using her seismic sending to take a look up ahead. Yes, from what she could tell their numbers had indeed grown quite a bit. And she could sense some respectable magical power from there to.

Some of which were headed her way.

She smiled as she kept moving forward, eager to see the new faces that had taken over in her absence.

"Holy shit!"

Fo looked absolutely shocked when he saw the towering figure up ahead. Even from this distance they could tell the figure was huge. They towered even over his father and brother. "The hell is that?" Fi asked, his eyes narrowed. He had been enjoying a drink when Nalfi came to get him, but then he felt that magical presence show up.

Needless to say, his buzz had ended pretty quickly. Nalfi balled her fist up. She had a feeling this had something to do with that surge they felt from the Butterfly castle earlier. Matrona finally reached them, and Both Antero and Fee did something that they really weren't used to doing.

They looked up.

"Well, this is quite the welcome home party," she said, looking over the squad of giants in front of her. Aside from Antero, his sons, and Nalfi, a few others had shown up as well. "I don't recognize any faces though. I guess time really had passed." She had been hoping at least one of two of her grandchildren would have become titans and lived throughout the years, but she supposed that was asking too much.

Fee stepped forward. "Well we're in the same situation then. Because I know every face in this village, and I've never seen you before. Mind answering just who you are?" he asked. She sure as hell wasn't from here, and there were only two smaller tribes outside of the valley. They all kept in regular contract though, and they would have mentioned someone like her.

"I'm Matrona, daughter of Alvaldi, and the Mother of Earth," she said, slamming her fist against her chest. Everyone's eyes went wide when they heard the name. There wasn't a single giant alive who didn't know who Matrona was. She was essentially a deity to the giant tribe, praised as a war goddess.

Everyone stayed silent, all thinking the exact same thing. How in the world should this be possible? Matrona had been felled by the Commission ages ago. There was no way she could be here right now. But… given her sheer size and magical power, it was pretty hard to. "How?" Antero asked, stepping forward. "How could this be?"

Matrona smiled down at him. "It's a very long story. But the short of it is that I was sealed away, and now I and the rest of the Ten have been freed and come back to pick up where we left off," she said. "Which one of you is the current chief?"

Fee stepped forward. "I am…"

"And who might you be, little one?"

Fee had never been called little one in his life, but he tried not to take it as an insult. "I am Fee, son of Antero, and The Mountain. I'm from your line."

Matrona's face lit up. "Are you now?! Well, that actually makes sense given how strong you are compared to the others!" she said heartily. She looked over towards his brothers. "I assume that these are also descendants of mine then? Yes, the family line has come along pretty nicely."

Antero then stepped forward. "Matrona… it's an honor to meet someone of your status, and I'm sure that you have many questions you'd like to ask. But first I need to ask you something. Both about what you said, and about that surge of magical power earlier," he said. "What do you mean by pick up where you left off?"

Matrona hummed. "So you felt our breaking free did you? I guess with all of us together it would have been hard not to pick up on us." She wondered if the other tribes and kingdoms felt it as well. She supposed it didn't matter either way. "Anyway, what I meant was our war with the mewmans."

All of their faces fell. "What?"

Matrona let out a chuckle. "Right now we're just learning the lay of the land. But I assume at some point Python is going to want to pick up the fight once more. Of course with the Queen and most of the others gone, it won't be much of a fight at all," she said casually.

Fee stepped forward once more. "Gone? What do you mean gone? What did you do?"

"We woke up under the castle, and luckily the queen and all her minions happened to be there. So we decided to save ourselves some time and stripped them of their souls," she said. "Unfortunately the princess wasn't around, with all their leaders missing I imagine they'll be wrapped in chaos for a while. So we have time to-"

"Return the souls…"

She looked down at Fee, who was glaring up at her. "Excuse me?"

Antero spoke up next. "Matrona, you've been gone a long time. Things have changed far more than you realized. We're no longer at war with the mewmans, and we've reached an understanding with the kingdoms and the Queens. We don't have-"

Matrona suddenly glared. "I'm sorry, but… are you telling me that you've bowed down to the Queen?" she asked, her aura turning rather intense. "Please don't tell me that you've fallen so far that you've bent the knee to her and hers."

Antero glared right back. "We are giants, the strongest race in mewni. We bow to no one," he said, more than a little edge to his voice.

For a moment they glared at one another, but then Matrona seemed to relax. She truly had feared her people had lost their way for a moment. "I see, that's good to hear. But I still don't understand how you could have come to an understanding with the Queen. What does it matter if we've taken her soul?" she asked. She honestly didn't feel very strongly about mewmans one way or another.

While the others all had their reasons for hating them, she honestly pitied them more than anything else. They were a haughty and prideful race, which wasn't bad in itself. But they were also weak and fragile things. It was a horrible combination really, and she felt sorry for them. Still, she didn't know why her people would really care.

"Queen Star has made great efforts to bridge the gaps between monsters and mewmans. She's not like the Queens of her time, or any before her really. She is powerful, but she is honorable and kind," Antero said. "I know that you had reason to go up against the Butterfly Queendom in your time, but because of her mewni has grown closer to peace than ever before."

Matrona looked down at him evenly. He seemed to be speaking earnestly, and while she didn't know this Star personally, she did know she had managed to put up some semblance of a fight against the Ten of them. Something that she didn't think any mewman was capable of. It was clear she knew she was going to lose, but she'd fought anyway. Noteworthy quality.

But still...

She huffed. "You may very well be right about this Star, but I don't think this is going to be as simple as returning a few souls and a talk. The other members of the Ten all have grievances that will more than likely only be settled in blood, and if you're asking me to to pick sides… well, I picked a long time ago."

Fee looked furious. He didn't know all the details about what was going on, and honestly he didn't care. It wasn't like he was particularly close to Star. He had only met her a few times, and while he thought she was a nice enough person, he'd made his own allegiances in mewni clear.

He did know Astro though, and what had happened to him. He'd already lost one mother to the Commission, and now he was going to lose a second. No, he wouldn't let that happen. She opened his mouth to speak, but Antero beat him to it. "I challenge you then," he said, glaring at her.

Fee and the others looked at him surprised, and Matrona smirked. She glanced at Fee, and then back at him. "Ah, of course. You're the father of these fine young warriors I presume. You have the look of a seasoned warrior. But are you sure you're up to the task of challenging me?" she asked.

Antero cracked his neck. "I wouldn't be able to truly call myself a giant if I passed up such an opportunity. To clash with the Mother of Earth herself? It is an honor most giants could only dream of," he said pointing at her. "If I win however, you must promise to return the souls you have taken from the Queen and her allies."

Matrona laughed. "Well, I can't very well turn down such a fiery spirit! Very well, if you can beat me I'll find a way to convince Python to return their souls," she said holding her hands up. "And in return… I ask for nothing. Nothing but the chance to see just how far my line has come in combat over the years."

Antero nodded, and Fee turned towards him. "Dad, are you sure about this? Maybe I should be the one to-"

"No, it has to be me," Antero said sternly. "I still owe Astro a debt for taking Fum under his wing. I'll repay it through this." Besides… he knew who he was fighting, and he knew very well how this could turn out. The tribe needed a chief, and if things took a turn for the worse he wanted to make sure Fee was around to still lead…

The tribe stood around the arena in a mixture of both anticipation and worry. To hear that Matrona, the war goddess herself, was alive and going to show them just how mighty sounded amazing. But they also worried for Antero. His own might was nothing to scoff at, and he was respected by all in the tribe.

But… could he really stand up to Matrona?

"It's been a long time since I stood in this arena," Matrona said looking up at the sky. "And what better way to mark my return than a battle with my own kin." She smiled towards Antero, who looked towards her with a glare.

Fee and the others stood to the side, looking a bit nervous. "Dad is...gonna be okay, right? I mean Matrona is the war goddess and everything, but she can't be that much stronger than him? He still has a chance, right?" Fo asked.

Fee and Fi both remained silent, while Nalfi patted his shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Don't forget who's been standing at the top of the tribe's foot chain for the last four hundred years," she said, trying to reassure him.

Matrona rolled her shoulder back and crouched slightly. "Are you ready?"

Anterno nodded. "Let's begin." He charged towards her, and the ground shook as let out a loud yell. Matrona braced herself, planting her feet as he tackled her around her waist and began pushing her back. She slid back, and Antero growled as he kept trying to push her towards the edge of the ring.

Matrona stomped her foot down however, and he began slowing down. They came to a full stop, and he struggled to push her any further. "Impressive, very impressive," Matrona said nodding. "But I'm afraid you're going to have to try and lot hard if-"

Antero yelled once more, wrapping his arms around her waist and then throwing her upward. The entire tribe looked shocked as she flew through the air, headed towards the other side of the ring. It looked like Matrona was about to crash down onto the ground head first, but she suddenly twisted her body, angling herself around and landing on her feet.

She looked up just in time to see Antero rushing at her shoulder first, ready to use all of his body and wait to crash into her crouching form. Everyone looked on in awe. Antero was known partly for his raw strength and close combat skills, but with age came wisdom, and it was on full display here. With her crouched down like that she wouldn't be able to defend properly, and he'd be able to knocked her right out of the ring.

"Yes!"

"Do it dad!"

"C'mon!"

Antero shouted out and got ready to ram into her, but… then he suddenly stopped. He was clearly confused as what had happened, but everyone else could see quite clearly. Matrona had raised a hand out, placed it on his shoulder, and just… stopped him. All his power and momentum stopped, with a single hand.

"What the hell?!" Fi said in disbelief. Not even Fee was strong enough to just stop one of his dad's charges like that.

Matrona suddenly pushed her hand forward, sending Antero flying back. He landed on his back, sliding halfway across the ring. Matrona stood back up, one against towering over everyone. "Well, that was a clever strategy," she said amused. "I'm honestly surprised you came up with it so quickly. I can't imagine that you've battled too many warriors as big or larger than yourself."

Antero quickly got back up to his feet, and Matrona began to charge. "And now it's my turn!" She was fast, and Antero before had time to get his guard up before her fist crashed into his arms. Even with him having blocked it, he was knocked off of his feet and slammed to the ground.

Matrona raised her fists again and, leaping up, she brought it down towards his chest. Antero rolled out of the way, and everyone nearly fell when her fist thunder into the ground and made a large crater. Antero didn't waste a moment, lunging off the ground and grabbing onto her arm. He pulled her into an armbar, using all of his strength to try and break it.

The blonde giantess had to put little effort into keeping him from doing so, and she rose back up, lifting her arms and him along with her. Even Antero looked surprised at how easily she was able to lift him. "The tactics of a seasoned warrior. If you were facing anyone else, I very much doubt they'd be able to best you…" she then slammed him down to the ground.

Antero grunted in pain, his grip losing as Matrona pulled her arm back. "Unfortunately, you're facing me." She raised her foot and stomped down, but Antero rolled up and away from her. He was certainly spry for such an elferly looking fellow. But Matrona didn't plan on letting up.

He was coming at her with everything he had, and it would be an insult not to do so in kind. She began swinging at him, and Antero raised his arms to defend himself. Her punches rained down like a storm, each one sending a wave of pain through his arms. He stumbled back with each one, only barely able to keep it up.

"Oh man, this is seriously bad!" Fo said worried.

"The old man can't keep this up for much longer!" Fi said.

Fee narrowed his eyes. He could tell that his dad really was giving it everything he had out there. But the fight looked so one-sided. Matrona was far stronger than any of them had imagined. Her strength, speed, and technique were insane. He couldn't spot a single opening for his father to exploit.

Antero reached the edge of the ring, and planted his feet. Matrona kept swinging, not holding back a bit. Antero however still wasn't backing down. He held her ground, enduring blow after blow from Matrona. The sounds of Matrona's fist echoed through the air, and the tribe continued to watch as their former chief weathered the onslaught.

It was clear to most by now that there was no way Anter could win at this point. It was taking everything he had just to stay in the ring and on his feet. But they also knew giving up wasn't an option here. It just wasn't how they worked, their pride wouldn't allow it. So they just silently cheered and urged him to hang on for as long as he possibly could.

Nobody kept tabs on just how much time had passed, but it seemed like forever before Antero finally dropped down to one knee. He struggled to catch his breath as he looked over his arms, which were now covered in bruises. "Do you yield?" Matrona asked, fist still raised and ready to keep going.

"I do not…" Antero said, shaking his head. "I cannot."

Matrona looked down at him, and then nodded. "You said your name was Antero, didn't you? It's very clear that you were a splendid chief, and you've also raised some splendid young warriors. You exemplify what it means to be a giant, and I'll be sure never to forget your name," she said bringing her fist back. "It was an honor meeting you in battle, and I'm proud knowing my line birthed someone like you."

Antero only half listened to the praise, trying and failing to get his arms up again. He was fairly sure they were broken, but he was still breathing, so he wasn't going to give up yet. Matrona swung, and some of the tribe looked away. Right before it connected however, Fee stood in front of his father and caught the blow.

"That fight's over," he said sternly. "My father had lost."

Matrona looked down at him and grunted. If he had cut in earlier, she might have been insulted. On behalf of both herself and Antero. But when she looked back at the elder giant's father, it was clear he was right. There was no way Antero was getting back up to his feet. "Fine this. I have no qualms about ending it here. It was well fought."

She pulled her fist back. "As we agreed, I won, so I won't be talking to Python about the souls. However I won't ask you to get involved in the conflict either. As long as you stay out of our way, you have nothing to fear from me or the other members of the Ten."

"Yeah, that's not happening…"

Matrona looked over her shoulder and saw Fi and Fo behind her. "You won, so we're not gonna ask you to give the souls back. But we're not just gonna sit back and let you guys take them either," Fi said. "Sorry, but we're pretty close with a lot of the people related to those souls you stole, so we can't just sit back and do nothing."

Fo put his hands on the ground. "It'd be a spit in the face to your honor if we just sat back and did nothing! Ancestor or not, we're not gonna let you just kill them!"

Matrona stared at them for a moment, and then looked back at Fee. "And I assume you feel the same way?" she asked.

Fee stood back up as Nalfi rushed over to help Antero up to his feet. "I do," he said, getting into a fighting stance.

She smiled at him. "So I'll be fighting against all my descendants then. If you're anywhere near as strong as your father, this will be a battle for the ages." She held her hand up into the air before punching the ground. Everyone felt the ground rumbling. Off in the distance, a mountain broke apart, and something came shooting out of it.

The object crashed down in the middle of the ring, and the others saw it was a large hammer. "I was glad to see it was in the same place after all this time. It's time for us to get back into the rush of battle, old friend!"

The others all looked stunned, but knew just what it was.

Matrona's famous weapon, Earthshatter.

She grabbed the hammer, spinning it in her hands a few times. "Let's begin."

Fo growled before gripping the ground. "Mud Bath!"

The ground in front of him began to turn wet and muddy, and Matrona leapt up into the air to avoid it. "Hm, I'm sensing a lack of physical prowess, but a rather high connection with the earth. Impressive." She landed on the ground, and quickly stood up and blocked the kick Fi had sent her way. "And this one seems to be the opposite," she said smiling at him.

She swung up at him, and Fi was knocked back and sent flying. Matrona was about to rush after Fo, but Nalfi cut her off. She yelled before throwing a kick at Matrona's face, but the giantess reacted quickly and caught her foot. "You aren't from my line are you? But there's something about you…"

Nalfi pulled her foot loose, throwing a few punches at Matrona, who managed to dodge each one. Nalfi leapt at her, landing on her hand, and then spinning around, sending a series of kicks at her. Matrona backed up, staying just out of her range. "It's good to know there's others outside of my line who have talent as well, but…"

She reached out, catching her foot once more, and pushing her back. Nalfi landed on the ground, and looked up just in time to see Earthshatter coming down at her. She prepared to take the blow, but suddenly Matrona stopped. "As much as I'd love to meet you in combat, now isn't the best time. We can't risk the safety of the little on after all."

Nalfi looked at her confused, but before she could ask what he was talking about, Fee came charging in. "Iron Hide!" His skin turned to metal, and he rammed into Matrona shoulder fist.

Matrona was sent sliding back, and a look of surprise was on her face. "My! You are quite a strong one, aren't you! In terms of pure might you surpass your father!" Fee got ready to charge again, and his brothers began to surround Matrona. "Alright boys, show me everything you've got!"

The brothers all shared a glance with one another. They knew full well that even with the three of them, they probably weren't going to be able to stop her. She was a titan, and a warrior who had god knows how many years of experience. But they were giant. Taking on impossible odds headfirst was what they did.

Fee let out a battlecry before charging in.

Matrona laughed and brought Earthshatter back, ready to meet him.

Fum's eyes widened, and he turned around and looked off into the distance, in the same direction that the valley was. His hearts began to beat rather quickly as he kept staring, an… odd feeling in his chest.

"Captain?" He looked back down towards his lieutenant, Vincenza. "Are you alright?"

The young giant hummed curiously, and then scratched his head. "Uh… yeah, I'm fine. I just got a really weird feeling just now. It's probably nothing," he said shaking his head.

"Oh, alright. If you say so."

Fum began walking off towards the gates. "C'mon, I think we should help the others keep an eye on the gate." Everyone was set up now, so there was no point in him sticking around here. He didn't know when the intruders were going to come back, and he wanted to be ready.

A/N: Matrona makes her arrival at the giant tribe! There's a reason they call her the Mother Of Earth! Whether it's with the hands, in the ring, or on the battlefield, she's not one to mess with! She's very straight forward and honest, which is part of why Typhon befriended her and how she and her people had such an impact on monster culture.