AND: Sorry for not updating in so long. I've been busy with my life. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for this folly. I made this extra long for you. I know it's rushed, but it is supposed to be. Think about it. It has been at least 2 days since the Avatar's death. The enemy is fast approaching. They are trying to amass their forces in preparation. Try to see it that way. Please review and tell me what you think.

Preparations

Eva ran as fast as she could. She couldn't go back to the pit after that argument. Running blindly, she found herself outside the Naurasian pit. After hearing the call of the giant beetle, Eva wandered in.

"Molly?" she heard a voice call to her. Nearby, Aikka was standing with his teacher.

"I'm sorry for intruding," Eva said with a bow.

"You're a Guardian," Canaan said suddenly.

Eva gave him a short look. "I am."

"Guardian of what?" Canaan asked stubbornly. He had to know. A Guardian was a dangerous being.

"It's rude to ask such a thing, but I'll give. I'm the Guardian of Dreams," Eva said. Aikka stared at her in shock. She bit back a groan. Someone had told the Naurasians about her being a Guardian.

"You are…," Aikka started.

"Shailana? Yeah, I am," Eva said and looked to the outside.

"Princess Shailana of the Crog?" Canaan said in shock.

Eva nodded. "I should leave. I need to check in with my people."

She turned to leave the pit. She wasn't ready to deal with the marriage arrangement yet. Give her a little down time to think and she would be ready to talk things over with her future husband. As she left, Aikka stared after her in shock.

She paused, thinking. "If you want to fight, see me at the Earth pit tomorrow midday."

That was the last thing the Naurasians saw of her that night before she disappeared in the darkness.

"Shailana!" Karmena called to her adopted daughter as the young woman entered the Crog pit. Shailana gave her a small smile and sank into a chair.

"Why didn't you warn me my tanishi is a bastard?" she asked softly, her head tilted back.

"Never met the guy. Maya always had good things to say about him though," Karmena answered and walked around the table.

"Are you ready?" Shailana asked.

"The real question is 'are you?'" Karmena said.

"You staying here for the night?" Edo asked.

"I think I will," Shailana said. "I can't go back there right now. The wounds have been rubbed raw and bleeding once more."

The morning sun rose the next day. Shailana stared at the red sky. A breeze blew and caused her to shiver. She had changed her clothing to something a bit more warlike. Her shirt was black with gold embroidery on the high collar and the sleeve ends near her wrists. Her pants, also black, made no sound, not even a whisper of cloth, as she moved. Her boots were combat type with gold colored clasps. Around her neck, visible to all, was her healer medallion. She wasn't afraid to bare it in public. Only another healer would be able to read the symbols and put two and two together. She just hated people pointing to the gold medallion while she was in public.

"The heavens bleed. Soon the earth shall be stained as well," she whispered the ancient Crog saying. She stretched and finished her morning exercises. Sighing, she leapt over the edge of the stairs and landed safely on the floor below.

"Hey, Shai," Edo muttered as he passed her. She snorted. Edo hadn't changed much from their days in the Academy. He acted like the walking dead in the morning unless he had cluclaral, the Crog version of coffee.

"I've got to get going. No need to get the Earth team too worried about me," she said. Edo grunted and headed for the kitchen. Shailana giggled at her friend's actions and took off out of the pit, being extra careful not to be seen.

"Molly!" Jordan called as he caught sight of his friend walking through the marketplace. She looked at him and smiled. Time to put on the false face. Oh, how happy she was going to be once the Crog invaded and ultimately defeated Earth.

"Hey, Jordan," she said. She looked even closer at her friend than usual and suppressed a groan. He was blushing. She did not need a human falling in love with her. She had a fiancé, albeit an unwanted one, already.

"Um, well, you didn't come back to the pit last night," Jordan said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I stayed with some friends," she said, not exactly lying. "Before you even ask, as a Guardian, I visit quite a few planets when called upon by the others."

"Oh, um. Are you coming back?" Jordan said sheepishly.

"Yeah, I can't let my father win," she said with a particular nasty emphasis on the word "father."

"You mean the argument with Don Wei?" Jordan said in confusion. "Wait! Don Wei's your father!"

"Dreamer!" a voice called out from a distance. Eva's head snapped toward the sound.

"Stone, get your ass over here!" she yelled and waved to the Mauian. Lescan, Guardian of Stone, had been cute when he was younger. Now that he had reached adulthood, he had females of all species hanging all over him, or stalking him, whichever was easier.

"You've grown up," Lescan said and ruffled her hair, being extra cautious of his claws. "Who's this guy?"

"Meet Jordan, the gunner for when I was racing," Eva said. A smirk suddenly appeared on her face. "You two have a lot in common."

"Huh?' Jordan said as he eyed the full-blooded Mauian carefully.

"What could I have in common with a human?" Lescan said, rolling his eyes at his friend's humor.

"Well, you both have Mauian blood," she said and pulled away from Lescan as he stared at her with a blank face. He turned to look at Jordan, who had frozen at the elder's gaze. Leaning forward, Lescan sniffed Jordan's hair. Jordan was shaking at the proximity of the pure Mauian.

"A Serval? I thought your kind were extinct," Lesacan said, his pupils dilating. "I will want to talk to you after this."

"Yes sir," Jordan managed to squeak out before running like hell hounds were on his heels. Eva tried in vain to hide her laughter.

"He freaked," she said between laughs. She did calm down after a few moments. "Who gathered?"

"I'm here, as is Karmena and Lain," Lescan said. "I think I saw Verian by the Nurians. I can feel Masna and Lucien around here. Their energies are just too awkward around crowds. Milosh ambushed me as I passed her people's pit. Kumashi is hovering over the lake. How he can stand water, I have no clue."

"So, the whole team has gathered," Eva muttered. "Can you deliver a message to the others? Meet at the Earth team pit at sundown. We'll strategize then."

"See you then, Shailana," he whispered so only she could hear it before bounding off. She stood watching her friend run off before heading to the Earth Pit.

A soft sigh escaped her. She really had to stop doing that. She was starting to sound depressed. The Earth Pit appeared calm, but Eva's instincts, honed on the battlefield and by Ave, could feel the tension in the air.

Just get going! Ave yelled in her head. Eva winced and rubbed her forehead. Ave could be very loud when Eva was suppressing something.

"Where have you been, young lady?" Don started in on her.

"You lost the right to know about my whereabouts when you abandoned me, father," she answered and gave him a chilling glare. He pulled back and she rushed past him.

"Hey, mouse!" Rick called. Eva smiled and joined her…friends? When had she started to think of the humans as friends? It was against everything she was raised under!

"Hey," she said in a distracted reply.

"Um, Molly, that Mauian from earlier, why does he want to see me?" Jordan asked meekly. His ears had popped out again from stress.

"You're a Serval. He probably wants you to breed with a Mauian female to bring the Servals back to Mau," she answered with a shrug. Jordan's face turned red.

"Where were you last night? We were worried," Koji said and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I was with friends," Eva said. "I want to give you guys some warning. I'm expecting quite a few beings to be coming by to join the fight in the next few hours. Tonight at sunset, the other Guardians are all gathering here for a war council. Please, do not insult any of them. They are all very capable of killing you in a matter of seconds."

After that, the day went on just like Eva had said. There were quite a few beings who wanted to help in any way. The rest of the Earth team, sans Don Wei who couldn't get over his child's accusations, watched what Jordan compared to a military recruitment office.

Eva sat just inside the pit with a pen placed behind her ear. In her lap, she had an open notebook with some sort of alien language. To those in the know, it was old Crog cuneiform. She was hunched over as she sat on the stool. The conversations she was having were the oddest thing the team had ever heard.
"So you showed up," Eva said.

Aikka and his teacher bowed. "We will help in any way possible."

"You're both warriors, right?" she asked. Getting their confirmation, she looked over her notebook and grinned. "Report to Guardian Lucien at the Venereo pit in the morning for orders. Good luck."

"I would like to talk with you after this is over," Aikka whispered before turning to leave.

Eva blushed and looked to the heavens before answering him. "The first night after this is over or the first night I'm released from the healers, whichever comes first."

"A Byrusian?" Eva whispered and tensed. The Earth team looked at her in confusion.

"Where do I sign up to help?" the large man said. "Name's Rush."

Eva took a shaky breath and looked over her notes again. Making a notation, she looked back up at Rush. "Do you have any abilities besides those of your kind?"

"I'm just a bit stronger than the normal," he answered.

"I'm putting you with Kumashi of Light. Meet him by the lake tomorrow morning. His people didn't compete in the races," Eva said and hoped the Byrusian would leave. He gave a great laugh and left, much to her relief.

She let out a soft sigh.

"Phyll," Eva hissed as Spirit approached her. He pulled back in shock at the anger on her face. The look was mirrored by her father, who had come out of his office/room to get food.

"Have I done anything to you? I thought our races were friends?" Spirit sent to the being he knew to be a Guardian. He shivered as a wave of hatred, anger and grief slammed into his psychic senses.

"Maya Wei," Eva said, glaring. "If you want to help, I'll put you with Karmena. You're kind are good enough at reconnaissance, murderer."

"Murderer? I don't…" Spirit started before pausing. "I see. I am not the reason you're mother is gone. I can show you what happened."

Eva stared at him and barely nodded. Something, Ave to be precise, was telling her to listen to him. She gasped as she watched her mother's death once more. 1

Tears streamed down her face. "I'm so sorry."

By the time the sun was setting, Eva's butt was numb from sitting on that stool for hours. Her notebook, connected to the other recruiters' notebooks via spell for logistics, was filed with names of various races. Lain was in charge of the healers and field medics. She had taken over the local hospital. Karmena and Lescan were both commanding reconnaissance and assassination teams. Masna and Lucien, the terror twins, took control of the heavy hitters, i.e. the extreme fighters. Verian and Milosh took everyone else. Eva was by herself simply because no one could tell when she would shift into Ave during the battle. Ave was not a commander. She was a berserker, a very intelligent berserker, but a berserker. It was best just to leave her by herself and let her work her magic.

There were a lot of beings who wanted to help the "Legendary Guardians" in a fight. It would bring honor and prestige to their people. Eva felt a feral grin come over her face as the Guardians approached the Earth team pit.

They had no idea what they were in for.

AND: To explain the Jordan and lescan thing, Lescan is a very powerful, very big cat being. Jordan's inner Mauian is going nuts and wanting to get away as fast a possible, but his human mind is fighting it and confusing him. Hope that explains some stuff.

1. See the episode Silent Like Spirit for that bit. It's what he shows Eva/Molly after she crashes.