AND: Well, university has started again. Please review and I may update faster. On that note, I'm sorry about the wait. This chapter was a bitch to write and make it sound good. Thankj you T!

The Talk Part 1

Morning had broken. The heavens were filled with golden light, and Eva was really beginning to get scared.

It was the day to go see her family.

"They are your family," Spring said. "They will accept you, or they were not true to you in the first place."

Eva bowed her head. "I know, but I am still worried."

"We're close," Spring said and pulled to a step behind Eva. She was a guard and moral support. Spring took a deep breath as her queen plunged forward.

"A raptor can never return to the nest," Spring thought in sadness.

"Who's there?" a voice called out from above. Eva froze. Above her was her father.

She took a deep breath. "It's me, Dad."

"Eva," Don whispered. The other came running and stopped when they saw Eva and Spring standing blow them. Spring unconsciously place a hand on her daggers.

"You," Jordan said in a cold voice.

Eva winced. "Yeah. I need to talk to you all about…well I bet you can guess."

"Please, come down here. Our necks will get sore if we have to talk up to you," Spring said. "I know she has a lot she wants, no needs, to say."

Slowly, and with a little grumbling, the Earth Team descended to the ground floor. Rick stood behind Jordan and Aaron. He shared a short glance with Spring and they exchanged a nearly unseen nod. They were not going to let anyone physically attack Eva.

"Well," Jordan said in a near growl.

Eva looked away from them and began speaking. "You all probably want to know how I became the racer for Elysian. Dad, how much about Mom's family do you know?"

"Not very much. Maya didn't like to talk about her family. She mentioned an older sister and a younger brother. Her brother was dead, but that's all she told me. I never questioned her," Don said.

"Maya Wei, known to our people as Lunai of the House of Rau of Elysian, was your wife," Spring said.

"House of Rau? I know I've heard that before," Koji muttered.

"It's the royal house of Elysian," Eva said softly. "All true royals are born to it."

"But that would mean," Stan started.

"I am Eva Spera Wei of the House of Rau, the current Elysian Queen," Eva said with a slight bow, ending his thought. The expressions that bit of news got were varied. Don's eyes went wide and his skin paled. Stan and Koji were both openly gaping. Rick already knew and thus was not fazed at all by the information. The worst expressions were on the faces of Jordan and Aaron. Their eyes narrowed in fury, their faces reddened in anger and low growls came from there throats.

Now let's look into those two boys' reasons for being so angry. Jordan has a deep hatred for the Crog. His grandfather had been killed in one of their early raids. Anyone who was aligned with the Crog was an enemy and needed to be destroyed in his mind. However, this was his friend and former partner. He did back off slightly and didn't launch into a tirade. Aaron had a deeper reason to hate the Elysian. His brother had been a soldier at the Alliance building on the night the Elon was to sign the treaty with Earth. His brother had lost his life to an Elysian warrior.

"You bitch," Aaron said in a hiss and moved forward to attack her. Rick grabbed his shoulders and stopped the raging pilot from doing something very stupid.

"I am sorry," Eva said softly and looked him in the eyes. "I can only guess why you have such hatred toward my people and me. Someone close to you was killed when we attacked Earth, am I right?"

"You murdered him! You killed my brother!" Aaron yelled.

"Why?" Jordan started in a low voice. "Why are you allied with the Crog?"

"Jordan, I, we need the Crog to stop the Elon. That is our only goal," Eva said and turned away from her former partner. Tears began to prick her eyes.

"Why are the Elon your enemies?" Koji asked.

"History," Eva and Spring said as one.

"Huh?" Stan said.

Aaron began struggling and broke Rick's hold. Aaron ran forward and moved to strike Eva. Spring reacted and had the pilot thrown to the ground in moments. The boy tried to get up, but stopped at the feeling of a knife to his neck.

"I wouldn't even try to move," Spring hissed. Her eyes narrowed and glowed slightly.

"That was very stupid," Rick muttered. Stan, Koji, and Don all nodded in agreement.

"Spring, don't," Eva whispered. The Elysian general stared at her in shock. "I understand his pain, his suffering."

"How could you understand my suffering? You've never lost anyone you love!" Aaron yelled.

Eva turned away from him and put a hand onto the Elysian signet ring she wore. Don became very quiet and a glare was aimed at the young American pilot.

"How dare you," Don growled out. Spring's eyes widened and she began to back away.

"So now I know where she gets her temper," Spring thought as she looked at Don Wei.

"I watched my mother die," Eva said in a soft voice. Tears leaked from her eyes. "She was a great racer, and I watched her die on the track. I blamed the Phyll she was racing. When I met him again in the great race, I went over the deep end. My grief had been festering and I finally had the chance to take revenge. I lost my race."

"Never fight when you're angry," Spring and Rick whispered at the same time. Eva shot them both a look. Aaron stared at her dark, tear laced eyes. True tears fell down her face. He just absorbed what she was saying and stared from his seat on the floor.

"That's all well and good, but it still doesn't explain how you became the Elysian queen," Don said. Eva turned to look at her father.

"Spring, you can explain this much better than I," she said.

Spring sighed. "32 years ago, Lunai was crowned queen of Elysian. Also 32 years ago, her cousin forced the throne from her in a coup which ended with her sister, Solaris, and all the loyal nobility escaping Elysian and her brother dead. Lunai fled to Earth. She met Don Wei and had a child, Eva. Lunai died in a racer crash.

Eva grew up in a boarding school and eventually set out to find her father. She ended up in the middle of the Great Race. You already know that story. The years passed and at the age of 18, Eva was called by the spirit of Elysian. Eva, along with some allies, took out the false queen. Eva inherited the crown and has been ruling kindly since."

"Whoa," Jordan said, his words echoing what everyone else was thinking.

"But that's not where the story ends," Spring said. "That only took a year. The next year was rebuilding the planet to what it had once been. Things had rotted under the false queen. The next year, two Crog crash landed in our desert. Her highness saved them, brought them to the Capitol, and...well…Eva, take over here. I think this is something you need to tell them yourself."

"You mean that I am the one who killed the Avatar," Eva said in confusion. Jaws dropped in amazement.

"Um, no. I think you need to tell your father something in private first. About…you know," Spring said and made a movement with her hands. Eva blushed and bowed her head. Quickly she grabbed her father's hand and dragged him away from the others.

"Well, any questions?" Spring said to the others. Jordan suddenly snapped up. He had remembered something.

"Something wrong?" Rick asked the gunner.

"Yeah. I just remembered something I heard," Jordan said and turned to Spring. "Isn't Eva engaged to…"

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Don yelled at the top of his lungs.