Recap: Hercules aged into a teenager and went to prom only to be humiliated by his classmates. Russel finally decided to give his sons a chance by learning to connect with them. Asellus became a teenager and her evil trait slowly grew stronger.

At long last, Russel completed his Lifetime Wish to be a Hit Movie Composer. After all the years of playing the piano, composing his own works, and doing various renditions of the works of others, he has been promoted to the highest level of his career. He has reached a point in his life where he is able to watch a scene from a movie and create the most heart-wrenching, emotional music to go with it. Not only that, but critics from around the globe have begun to praise him for his efforts in the business. He has achieved an ultimate status in the movie-music industry.

Since Asellus shares her room with Ayumi, she gets the unfortunate fate of smelling rodents in her room 24/7.

She noticed there was a second terrarium in her room now. She took a quick whiff of her surroundings and instantly gagged. This was unacceptable. Why were Ayumi’s filthy pets being kept in the same place where Asellus slept?

Asellus hated her mother and knew if she complained to her nothing would get fixed. So, instead, she approached her father.

“Hi, Dad, how was work today?” she asked, a huge smile painted on her face.

Russel shrugged. “Garrison rode me all day long about getting the soundtrack for the new Transformers movie done. It was a little stressful, but I got through it.”

“Ah, I see, I see… well, hey, I got you a little present now that you’re a big shot and all!” Asellus handed over a small box the size of her palm to Russel.

His eyes lit up. “Oh, Asellus, you didn’t have to!” He opened it up and saw a little bouquet of flowers staring back at him. “Did you grow these yourself?”

“Yes!” she lied.

“Wow, thank you! This is just what I needed to brighten up my day!” Russel gave his daughter a hug and started to walk towards the kitchen. Asellus floated after him. He opened the fridge and grabbed a plate of cookies Cid had made earlier that day. He offered one to Asellus and she shook her head.

“So, Dad,” she started, “I noticed Ayumi’s gotten really into… collecting…”

Russel took a bite. “You mean the critters?” he guessed.

“Yeah. I was just thinking that… rodents like that carry all kinds of diseases and whatnot, and I’m concerned for Ayumi’s health.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sleeping in the same room as a bunch of rodents? I can’t imagine that is very healthy! I mean, think about it… you’re breathing the same air as those dirty things. Not only that, but their feces smell is all over the place! What if it causes Ayumi breathing issues? She could harm her lungs if she keeps that up!”

Russel pondered for a moment, picking up another cookie. “Hm… I guess you’re right… I don’t want their scent causing any problems…”

Asellus smiled.

The next day, Russel stayed home to redo the nursery. He moved Ayumi’s pets in there so that they had a room of their own.

Asellus could not have been happier with the result of approaching Russel.

Vincent grew into his adolescent stage. He was just as adamant as ever to build his body and practice any form of athleticism he could. As a teenager, he became a very Ambitious kid. Suddenly, he was dreaming of one day Becoming A Superstar Athlete.

But not just any athlete. He wanted to be a star basketball player.

For his birthday, Araceli purchased a basketball hoop, knowing Vincent would want to practice his skills at home.

Vincent couldn’t stay away from it. When he was finished with his workout regime, he would grab a quick meal to eat — usually Fruit Parfait — and then head outside and shoot hoops until it was so dark out he couldn’t see the net.

The cool night air, the swish of the ball falling straight through the net after hitting the backboard… it was all he could have ever asked for.

Vincent wasn’t much of a socialite, but he wasn’t a loner either. His Disciplined trait kept him incredibly focused on his goals in basketball. He felt no need to share his life with his family and didn’t see much need for friends outside of his sports teams. He knew the reality of the situation with friends in high school; he’d never see them again after graduation, so why make the connection now?

Russel made an effort to try to connect with Vincent in the same manner he had with Hercules after all these years, but Vincent didn’t care. He shrugged off his father’s efforts and kept glued to the sport. Russel often stayed awake and watched his son practice in the middle of the night, secretly developing a proud feeling for his skills. He thought Vincent resented him for his neglectful behavior. The truth with Vincent was that relationships with family and friends simply weren’t important enough to work at when that time and effort could be spent practicing.

One day, a University Mascot from some nearby colleges came to the Thrones household. He had heard of Vincent’s athletic abilities and thought he’d come talk to him about his future.

“Llama University has a fantastic hockey team,” the mascot began.

“I’m not interested in hockey.”

“Not interested in hockey? You’ve set state-wide records. Why in the world would you pass up the opportunity to play for the best?”

“I’m a basketball player. I want to make it to the NBA one day.” Vincent pointed to the bucket of goodies the mascot brought with him. “Got an aptitude test in there? I’d like to see if I can get a scholarship for Gnome-U.”

The mascot nodded and picked up a clipboard from the bucket. “That’s a great choice for basketball. They’ve had many players make it to the big leagues.”

Vincent didn’t have the worst grades in his class, but he didn’t have the best either. He was, at most, an average student. He knew he could be better, though, if he didn’t stay up practicing all night long. He could very well spend more time studying and make it a priority to make it to the Honor Roll, but if he wanted to play basketball, how much did he really need to know about geography? Or calculus?

After spending an hour taking the test, the mascot looked it over and frowned. “Sorry, buddy, but you don’t qualify for any scholarships right now.”

Vincent furrowed his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yeah. Sorry, bud, maybe next time?” The mascot gave Vincent a light slap on his arm and left the lot.

Vincent grunted to himself. Clearly, he was going to need to re-evaluate his priorities if he was to get into Gnome-U one day.

Asellus went back to her usual pranking-spree not long after being scolded for her last attempt.

The cops caught her again and this time, Russel was awake to yell at her.

Asellus didn’t understand. Why was her father yelling at her? He loved her. He had always favored Asellus over all of the children… right?

“You are grounded! Don’t you dare leave this house again unless you are going to school!” he shouted.

Asellus didn’t know how to react. This was so unusual. Russel pointed to her room and she silently entered, sitting on her bed, staring at the floor.

Confused, Asellus waited until Russel went to sleep. She left the house and floated around the yard, repeating her father’s scolding over and over in her mind. She thought she had him wrapped around her finger. She thought she could do no wrong in his eyes. What had changed?

It was Araceli.

Russel had changed in the last couple years. He was suddenly all buddy-buddy with Hercules. He was attending Vincent’s sports games. He was actually spending less time with Asellus and Ayumi, the two fairy children he had wanted for so long. The only explanation was Araceli. She must have said something to him that made him change his attitude.

This wasn’t sitting very well with Asellus. Everything was going just fine before when Russel spent all of his time with her and her sister.

While wandering the yard, Asellus noticed a weird object behind a few trees at the back of the lot. She flew towards it, shivering from a cold breeze. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but it had to be important to some extent to have it hidden in the corner of the lot.

She walked to the front of it, noticing a handle on what appeared to be a door. She touched it and the odd machine opened up.

Within the device was a bright purple light. A keypad lit itself up next to the opening. There were numbers arranged in the pattern of a date. She cocked her head to the side, slowly edging closer to the light. What was this?

Wait, she thought to herself, Uncle Cid knows how to invent things, doesn’t he? Maybe this was his creation.

She debated with her inner self on what this might be. Finally, she came to the conclusion this was a time machine…

…and if this was a time machine, she should definitely enter it.

Her heart pounded, her wings fluttered in excitement, and her fingers shook as she pressed buttons on the keypad. She was going to go far into the future, to a time when the Thrones themselves were no longer around. She wanted to see how the world operated hundreds of years into the future.

She sucked in a breath, closed her eyes, and climbed inside.

The next morning, Russel aged into an elder.

Ayumi woke up early to spend time with her two pets. She eagerly grabbed a step stool and poured food into each rodent’s foodbowl. She smiled as she watched her squirrel and her chipmunk munch on their breakfast.

Once her two little critters were fed, she wandered out into the yard to hunt for more. On this day, a small turtle was wandering around. Her eyes lit up and she flew to him, holding out her hands. She bent down and gently held her palm towards him. “Hello there,” she cooed, “my name is Ayumi! I like to rescue little wild animals like yourself and give them nice, warm homes! If you would like to come home with me, I would love to have you!” She closed her eyes and smiled. “I’ll make sure you’re fed, played with, and talked to everyday!”

The turtle made no indication he understood what she said.

Ayumi patiently held her position, steadying her breath and stiffening her wings. She didn’t want to scare the little guy and have him live in the wild for the rest of his life.

After several minutes, the turtle very slowly inched to her palm. Ayumi held back a squeal of delight until he was settled. She picked him up and pressed her face against his shell. “Nice to meet you, little turtle!” she greeted.

Araceli was about to grab a plate of Cid’s newest food creation when she noticed Asellus saunter into the kitchen.

Asellus was not in her bedroom this morning. Araceli was positive she had snuck out of the house at some point the night before, breaking her punishment for egging a stranger’s house. She paused and watched her oldest daughter act like nothing was wrong. After a few moments, Araceli couldn’t keep pretending she wasn’t onto her. She stepped in front of her and crossed her arms. “Have a good night?” she asked, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Asellus smirked. She shrugged. “Yeah.”

“For the love of…” Araceli clenched her fists and set them down to her side. “Asellus! Where were you last night?! You were out, weren’t you?! I cannot believe you, disobeying your father!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll admit it, I was out last night.” Asellus put a hand on her hip and lowered her eyelids. “I was out because I wanted to surprise you with a gift.”

Araceli shook her head. “This isn’t going to work on me,” she objected.

“No, no, no tricks this time. I’m being serious. I felt bad for acting out, so I thought I would head out to town and buy something for you.” Asellus pointed to the front door. “I put it outside near those trees at the back of the lot. It’s just for you. My way of saying how sorry I am for putting you through hell.”

Araceli sighed. “Just… just go to your room, please, I’ll deal with you later.” Asellus shrugged before floating to her room.

Asellus was known for manipulating others to get what she wants. She was a lot like her father in that respect. Araceli put the gift in the back of her mind with the intention of forgetting she had ever mentioned it.

That isn’t to say she wasn’t curious as to whether or not she was telling the truth, however.

Ayumi rarely ventured beyond the backyard to search for her animal friends. The first time she wandered further was when she watched a brightly colored bird fall from the sky, landing on his back once he hit the ground.

She flew over to where he had landed without realizing it was two lots over from her house. It may not have sounded like a long distance, but to Ayumi, it was almost scary knowing she was so far away from home. The bird needed help, though, so she had to do it.

“Hey there,” she whispered. The green bird was trying to fly away and failing. Something had happened to his wing. Ayumi hovered above the ground, hoping if the bird could see she was also an airborne creature that he would trust her. It must have worked, because once he saw her, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. He calmed himself a little and stood still, putting his wings down.

Ayumi slowly took to her feet. “What’s going on, birdie?” She sat on her knees, eyeing his wing. It looked as though it was broken.

After a few soft words of comfort, the bird trusted her enough to let her pick him up. She gently caressed his head. “Poor thing,” she said, “I’ll take you home with me and get you all fixed up. If you don’t mind, of course!”

The bird nuzzled against her cheek once, giving Ayumi the ‘okay’ to take him home.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of Araceli and she walked to the edge of the lot to see a jewel on a pedestal. This must have been what Asellus was talking about.

Looks like she was telling the truth. She really had bought Araceli an apology present.

Araceli smiled and chuckled to herself. Maybe Asellus was finally maturing a little? After years of handling her backtalking, her silly pranks… it was all just part of growing up. Araceli could see Asellus was ready to change, just like Russel had been willing to a couple years before.

Araceli had absolutely no clue what this jewel was supposed to do. She thought maybe it was just something decorative. She noticed a stone in front of the pedestal. Perhaps something was meant to sit there? Maybe the jewel was meant to accentuate whatever was being displayed in front of it?

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small decorative egg, placing it on the stone slab. She stood back and tilted her head to the side, trying to make up her mind whether or not she liked it.

Before she had a chance to react, the jewel actually began to float above its setting place. Araceli jumped. It hovered for a moment before spinning wildly.

A surge of lightning emitted from the top of the jewel, striking the egg. A flash of light appeared. When it dissipated, the egg was gone. In its place was a gold bar.

Araceli laughed. This was a wonderful gift! This strange jewel turned things into gold! How considerate of Asellus to purchase such a neat item!

Obviously, her assumption was correct. Asellus had matured. Araceli was so proud of her.

She was completely unaware that Asellus had lied.

Asellus had traveled so far into the future that she discovered a clan of advanced fairies. After befriending them, they explained to her what a Philosopher’s Stone was. Intrigued, Asellus spent the rest of her time in the future searching for one to take back home. Her intent all along was for Araceli to use it.

Just as Asellus had hoped, Araceli was gullible enough to believe her story.

And just as Asellus had hoped, Araceli used the Philosopher’s Stone one time too many.