Scylla looked over herself, humming as she took in her outfit. On the way out of the Waterfolk kingdom, she had decided to snatch some new clothes. Her own were clearly out of date at this time, and she thought some of the fabrics she saw looked cute. "How do you think this looks? Is this fine, or should I have grabbed something else?" she asked, looking over her shoulder towards Gadfly.
The young titan yawned before sitting up. "I think you look fine. But then again I thought the last couple of outfits looked fine. So what the hell do I know." Scylla pouted and was about fuss at him, but suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Gadfly hugged her, resting his chin on top of her head. "You look fine in anything. You know that, right?"
Scylla felt her cheeks heat up. "Since when did you get to be such a smooth talker…?" she muttered. He was always flirty before, but he usually wasn't as mature sounding.
Gadfly frowned. "Hey, I always had a way with words."
She smirked back at him. "You had a way with words alright. Just not usually in the way you thought you did."
Gadfly clicked his tongue. "Whatever. Now isn't the time to be worrying about clothes and junk anyway. We need to get working on how we're gonna wipe out the rest of those stupid kingdoms. I wish the others would hurry up and get back." He figured they'd be the first one back because… well, because of him. But he was impatient.
"Hey, don't you end up getting restless and doing something rash again," Scylla said worriedly. "That's how you ended up getting caught last time."
"Not gonna let that go huh?"
"I'm not trying to nag you! I… I don't want anything to happen again," Scylla said looking down. "We're lucky we got a second chance. I don't want us to squander it. Promise me you're not gonna run off on your own again. Stick close by." She sounded a little embarrassed to be asking him, but the idea it might happen again shook her. She remembered how panicked she was when she heard he'd been captured.
Gadfly hugged her tightly. "I'm telling you, nothing is gonna happen. But if it makes you feel any better, I promise. I'm sticking to you like glue," he said kissing her cheek. It wasn't like being near her had any downsides. Not as far as he was concerned anyway. It was a win-win for him. Scylla smiled, and he leaned in to kiss her again.
"Well, aren't you two getting frisky."
Gadfly and Scylla both jumped and turned to see Kyu and Kruger approaching. The former looked at the two with amusement, while the latter awkwardly tried to avoid looking towards them. "Your back!" Scylla said making her way towards the two. She noticed they had their weapons as well. "How was the Underworld?"
Kruger grunted. "Little has seemed to change. At least as far as my family is concerned. I was shocked to see a human of all things as their Queen. And as the Demon Blade. A title I fully intend to take back by the end of this," Kruger said bluntly.
"Well I got to check out the fire nymphs. Their new leader is quite a change of pace from the ones in the past. There were a few unruly ones among them I had to put in their place however," Kyu said taking a seat and strumming her shamisen. "And you two?"
Scylla pounded one of her fists into the hand. "We totally beat the heck out of the royal family. You have no idea just how cathartic that felt," she said. "I'm pretty sure I took out one of them. I figured I'd save the other for later. Not like it's going to be that hard. Their defenses are way weaker than they were in the past."
Gadfly yawned. "Yeah, they're pretty lame. Seems like everyone went soft since we've been gone. But speaking of fire nymphs, there was one there. She was trying to help that royal punk. I don't know if she was brainwashed or what," he said. "Guess it doesn't really matter in the end though."
A shadow loomed over the group, and they saw Matrona making her way towards them. The blonde had a happy expression on her face as she slung her hammer over her shoulder. "Huh, look who found her own weapon," Kruger said. "You look happy. Did your homecoming go well?"
"It certainly did!" Matrona said. "My descendants have become quite the talented and fierce young warriors! I had been worried the tribe would weaken in my absence, but they're just as spirited as ever! I had quite an interesting battle with them."
"Good to know at least some peoples tribes have managed to maintain some dignity." They looked over and saw Echidna approaching them. "I'm sad to say the tribe I visited seems to have long since lost their way. I was incredibly disappointed to find them actually trying to kneel to the mewman Queen. I'm not sure whether to be angry at them for betraying our ways, or pitying them for whatever forced them to think they had to."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Matrona said, shaking her head. For monsters, especially ones with warrior roots like her and septarians, to fall so low was saddening. Real monsters never bowed or gave in to anyone. She would have chosen death over kneeling, every to Typhon. "Hopefully the others have managed to remain strong."
Echidna hummed. "Hopefully…"
"Keep in mind, things have changed rather drastically since we've been gone." Orthrus can rush in, sliding to a stop in between them all. Branch patted him on the back, and then jumped down to meet the others. "I'm glad nearly everyone is back. I've learned quite a few things, and there's much to discuss."
"There certainly is…"
Argus and Python suddenly appeared over the rest of the group. Argus looked as calm as ever, but something was clearly bothering Python. "Ah, seems everyone is finished tending to their business," Argus said as he and Python touched down on the ground.
Kyu stepped towards them. "Did you find any signs of Kistune?" she asked.
Python shook his head. "We tried going to Lusciniam and seeing if they knew anything, but we couldn't track down where he is. But, we've at least pretty much confirmed he's still alive. It's just a matter of finding out where he is from the Commission," he explained. "We also learned quite a bit about what's going on today. And why."
"We already know why. Without us those bastards have had free reign to do whatever-"
But what if one of us was still here," Python said cutting Gadfly off. The others all looked at him confused as he grit his teeth. He was going to wait until later to tell them, but after what Lusciniam had told him he felt like he had to deal with this now.
"Typhon is alive."
"Titania, we have to plan to contact the other royals and nobles!"
"Queen Titania, what should our next move be?"
"We're not getting any response from the Underworld! What should we do?"
Nia held her hands up. "Everybody quiet!" she yelled looking around at the room full of her advisors. Everyone was talking at once, and she couldn't sort any of it out. She wondered just how the heck her mother dealt with this on a daily basis. Granted, she wasn't always dealing with some ancient enemy coming back, but still.
Hekapoo sighed. "Listen, I know that you're busy, but we need your input on this. We're not the only place that the Ten are going to try and attack. We need to get the other kingdoms organized and come up with a battle plan," she said.
Nia pouted. "I know, but… look, where is my brother?" she asked. Astro had gone off a little while ago, probably to find Breeze. And after that the advisors and Commission had pretty much swarmed her and whisked her off to the war room. She really wished he was here right now. She needed an advisor who could actually advise, and not just ask her questions she didn't know the answer to.
"He's helping Breeze with organizing the defenses around the Kingdom. Look, I know this isn't exactly ideal Nia. But we need you to decide on something. If you can't then maybe we should take the lead and-"
"No!" Nia said, narrowing her eyes at Omni. "You guys aren't taking the lead on anything! You've made things bad enough as is it!"
"Well we can't just sit around and wait for Asterossa!" Rhombulus said. "You're the Queen, start making queenly decisions! The longer we sit here and do nothing, the longer the Ten are gonna have to get themselves together and come after us again!"
Nia was about to shout back at him, but then the door opened. Astro made his way inside. He was dressed in his armor, his captain's badge on his chest. "The defenses have been organized, and I've seen a messenger out to every one of the Kingdoms to let them know what's going on. The heirs should all be here soon, and we can plan our next move from there," he explained.
Nia looked relieved when she saw her brother, and quickly got up to meet him. "What about the tribes? Should we contact them too?" she asked.
Astro looked hesitant. "I… I don't know. We're on good terms, but with the Ten back, I'm not sure we should get them involved." He hated to say it, but he wasn't sure they could count on them to help out.
The Earth Nymphs would obviously remain neutral as ever, and while he was sure the Giants wouldn't act against them, he didn't know if they'd be willing to act against Matrona either. Fee had made it clear he had no love loss for the royal court or the Commission, and he might have taken a neutral stance on the matter too.
"Where's Ludiana?" he asked, looking towards Omni.
The magical being looked confused. "Uh, castle Avarius. Why?" he asked.
"Because she predicted this," Astro said bluntly. "Remember the meeting we had with her a while back? This must have been what she was talking about. I want her here to see if she can see how we can solve and deal with this."
"Astro, even if she can see into the future, it won't be clear. I doubt-"
"I don't care if it's not clear!" Astro said, leaving no room for argument. "It'll be something to go off of, which is more than we have now! Now get on it!"
Rhombulus got up and crossed his arms. "Hey! We take orders from the Queen! Not you!" he said pointing at him.
Nia scoffed. "Seriously? Fine then. I'm ordering you all to listen to Astro! And I'm the acting Queen, so what I say goes!" Rhombulus looked like he was about to argue, but she pointed at him. "Don't say it! I don't want to hear it!"
Rhombulus grumbled, and a few of the knights in the room nodded before making their way off to send for Ludiana. Astro looked towards Hekapoo. "How's Amber?" he asked. She had been in pretty bad shape. She had taken some serious damage, and even with her regeneration was taking a while for her to get back to full strength.
"Corona is looking over her," Hekapoo answered. "She should be back on her feet soon enough. And… Astro, I know you might not trust them, but we should send word to Rasticore. He deserves to know something happen to-"
"I already did," Astro said. Putting all the politics aside, he knew it was just the right thing to do. Besides, he doubted Rasticore would side with the Ten in this situation. Not after what had happened to his daughter. And chances were they would need them for the coming fight.
Nia spoke up next. "What about Typhon?"
There was a long moment of silence in the room as everyone turned towards the acting queen. Nia looked somewhat nervous under their gaze, but then they all turned towards Astro. The prince was looking down at the ground with a frown. "I… I haven't contacted him yet. I'm also not sure if that's a good idea."
Nia frowned.. "But he led the Ten right? He could talk to them. Tell them to give the souls back. Explain everything to them," she said.
"I'm not sure things will go that smoothly," Hekapoo muttered.
Omni grunted. "With all due respect, we shouldn't trust him in this situation."
"With all due respect, shut up," Nia said before turning back to her brother. "I know your dad. I trust him. He's not a bad person. If we go to him and ask for help I'm sure he will."
Astro sighed. "I… Nia, from what he told me they weren't on the best of terms before everything happened. And… this might not be something they can just talk out." He had a very bad feeling this was going to end up coming to blows in one way or another, and though he knew how much of a threat the Ten were, he couldn't ask his father to pick sides here. It was quite literally asking him to choose between his family.
He knew he had to have sensed the Ten awakening. He had to have some idea of what was going on. But he hadn't made a move yet. And as long as he didn't, Astro couldn't ask anything of him. Not if he truly didn't have to.
Nia looked a little disappointed, but nodded. "If you say so." She was willing to trust his judgement on this. It wasn't like she had any better ideas anyway. "But… if you want to go check on him, you know that's okay right?"
Astro nodded. "I know. But I'm just needed more here right now." He doubted the Ten would present themselves as a threat to his father. Besides, he could handle himself. He needed to stay at Nia's side right now. She was the acting Queen, and it was a heavy burden. She'd need all the help she could get.
Nia looked towards everyone else in the room. "Guys… I need a moment to talk to my brother alone. If my grandmother comes by you can tell her she can come in. but everyone please step out," she said. Everyone looked rather confused, even Astro, but they nodded and began to get up and step out.
After they closed the door behind them, there was a long moment of silence between the siblings. Astro was about to ask just what she wanted to talk about, but she spoke first. "Astro, I need you to take the lead here," she said looking up at him desperately.
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"I need you to be the one to take charge. I… I don't know what I'm doing here. Everyone is asking me stuff I have no idea about, and how to do stuff I don't know how to do."
Astro sighed. "Nia, that's fine. I'll help you to-"
"It's not fine!" Nia snapped. "I'm supposed to be the leader! I'm supposed to have answers for them! But I don't! I can't even get the castle in order, and they're going to expect me to lead all the other royals and noble houses?"
He stepped towards her and patted her shoulder. "Nia, calm down. I know this whole thing is scary. This is far from the ideal situation for you to become Queen, but… you can do this. You're not alone. You have me, and grandmother, and the other advisors to help you. I'll be with you every step of the way," he said.
"Wouldn't it be easier if-?"
"They need to hear it from you, Nia," Astro said, cutting her off. "I… I really do feel terrible about all of this. But until we get mom back you're the one they're going to be looking to. So they need to hear our next moves from you."
Nia sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm twelve…" she muttered. She wasn't supposed to have to be dealing with this. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Astro leaned down and gave her a hug. He could tell just how stressed out she was by all of this, and he wished he could have taken the burden from her shoulders. But all he could really do was his part to lighten the load. "Astro… I need to tell you something…"
He blinked, about to ask what it was, but then his eyes went wide. He turned and began to walk out. "Shit, is that…? Hold on, I… I need to go!" he said rushing out of the door. Nia looked after him confused as he sped down the hall.
"Bullshit!"
Gadfly balled up his fist and growled as he looked towards Python. "There's no way that's true! There's no way that he…? If he's been alive all this time he would have done something! He would have freed us! He would have gotten rid of the mewmans already!" he argued, stepping towards him. "Lus had gotta be wrong!"
Argus sighed. "Look, Python and I already knew Typhon was alive. We just didn't know the situation so we didn't bring it up before. And Lusciniam had no reason to lie to us," he explained. "I know you may not like hearing it, but what we've told you all is indeed the truth. Every last bit of it."
Scylla looked furious. "That… that bastard! With all this going on he's just sitting in his own little space letting it happen?! I can understand him being sealed, but he got free didn't?! He should have been preparing for this! He should have… gah!" She turned around and punched a boulder nearby, shattering it.
Matrona grunted. "I can't say I exactly agree with his course of actions." For him to be so… complacent. It wasn't like him. She knew he wasn't bloodthirsty or anything, but after all the betrayals from the mewmans she figured he would have learned his lesson by now. What happened to him during this time?
"This certainly does change things…" Branch muttered. Kruger said nothing, but from the look on his face it seemed like he was very conflicted about what he'd heard. Typhon making a pack, even an unspoken one, with the mewmans? It was just… it felt so wrong. The old Typhon would have taken one look at the state of mewni and gone on a rampage.
Kyu grit her teeth, her fur sticking up and her eyes going sharp. "How could he?! How could he just…?! After everything they've done he's just hiding away! Where is he?!" she asked, looking towards her husband. "I have more than a few words to share with him! He's not getting away with his antics this time!"
"We can't make any rash moves…" They all turned towards Echidna, who oddly enough seemed rather calm. Given what they'd just been told about what Typhon had gotten up to, they thought she would be the most furious. "Typhon isn't the only one we need to worry about confronting after all. There's also that half-breed of his…"
Gadfly and Scylla both looked irritated. It wasn't like either hadn't expected Typhon to get around while they were gone. They knew without Echidna it was likely he'd get back to his old ways. But… with a Butterfly of all people? It was as if he was spitting on everything they fought and worked for. Not to mention delivering his own kin right into their hands. Just what the hell was he thinking?
Python suddenly stood up, and began walking forward. "We'll obviously have to talk to my brother. We need to at least hear him out. As for this 'Asterossa', we're going to have to see just how much trouble he'll be. I'd rather not kill him. Whatever the origins or circumstances of his birth, he's one of us. Still, I'd like to see what we're dealing with."
His horns suddenly began to glow slightly, and a mass of dark magic began to gather in front of them. It kept growing, slowly reaching the size of a car, and then he suddenly sent it flying forward. "Let's see how much that Butterfly blood weighed my nephew's true potential down…"
The rest of the Ten watched as the blast soared through the air, going at a blinding speed. It raced past miles and miles of land, going over villages, towns, and fortresses, and heading towards its target. Back in the BUtterfly castle, everyone could suddenly feel a massive amount of dark magic heading towards them.
"Shit!" Hekapoo said looking up. Both Omni and Rhombulus looked panicked. That was definitely Python's whose magic they had felt spiked, and the magic coming their way was big enough to wipe out the rest of the castle.
Outside, the Queens guard were all gathering around as they sensed the attack headed their way. "Hey, hey, seriously?" Morel said nervously. How in the hell were they supposed to stop that thing? He'd never sensed that much dark magic before in his life.
Corona narrowed her eyes as she tried to think. Even if she shields the castle, the blast would end up taking out a good chunk of the kingdom. Fum stepped forward and slung his hammer over his shoulder. "I'm gonna try to knock it back," he said. The others looked at him as if he were crazy.
Oswald shook his head. "Fum, there's no way you can do that! That thing is-"
"Fum!" Everyone looked back and saw Astro running from the castle. He rushed as fast as he could towards them, leaping up towards Fum. "Throw me!"
While the others looked confused, the giant didn't need to be told twice. He acted immediately, grabbing the young titan and hurling him in the direction of the incoming blast. Astro flew through the air, bracing himself as he saw the ball of dark magic coming into view. He raised both of his hands and braced himself.
When he collided with it, it immediately began pushing him back. He growled as he landed on the ground, sliding back as he struggled to plant his feet and keep the blast from going any further. Everyone quickly got out of the way as he was pushed back towards the castle, smashing through a few houses as he approached the gates.
He was smashed right through them, and the others watched as he went speeding across the courtyard and towards the castle. "Captain!" Fum yelled, running after him.
Astro grit his teeth, and then suddenly his eyes turned back. He went into his monster form, stomping one of his feet down and sliding to a stop just before he reached the entrance to the castle. He let out a roar, and then his horns began to glow. He gripped the ball of dark magic tightly, and then it began to shrink as his horns absorbed it.
Everyone else watched as it whittled down to nothing. "Holy shit…" Morel muttered. He wondered if Astro was okay. He knew dark magic was kind of his thing, but he wasn't sure that it was okay for him to absorb that much of it into his body.
He was going to ask if he was okay, then Astro suddenly looked back up and glared into the distance "There…" he muttered. He fired the blast right back out from his horns, shooting it back off to where it came from. The force of it blew even Fum back a few feet.
Back where the Ten were, the others watched at Typhon waited on the edge of the cliff. "I think maybe that was a little much, don't you think?" Kyu asked. If he was trying to test the boy, he might have overdue it. He was likely to wipe out what was left of the kingdom, and she still wanted answers from the royals there.
Python looked back towards her, ready to speak, but then went wide eyed. Everyone looked back to see the blast of dark magic headed towards them. "Move…" All of them flew of leapt away as the blast landed, causing a massive expression and completely blowing apart the mounting and more than a little of the territory behind it.
"No fucking way…" Gadfly muttered.
Matrona laughed. "Impressive!"
Python looked back towards the direction of the kingdom, a smirk on his face. He thought maybe his nephew would stop it, but to send it back towards them? "Well brother, seems like you're a better trainer than a leader at least…" It looked like things would be a bit more interesting than he first thought.
Astro let out a low growl as he stared back in the direction he sent the blast. The sleeves of his armor had been torn apart, and there was smoke coming off of his hands. He didn't know if that was supposed to be a test, or their declaration of war. But either way, he sent it back to send as a message.
Challenge accepted…
A/N: The Ten know about Typhon, and about Astro! None of them seem at all happy about it, and now they knew Astro could be a potential threat! So what will their next move be? And how is Nia going to be able to handle the burden of the crown?