Disclaimer: Anybody else get sick and tired of writing these? Cuz honestly people I am 6 chapters into it and have 40+ outlined. Really that means I have that many more times to tell you that I am a poor college student who uses other peoples work to amuse herself through really boring classes.

Just the Basics

Elysian Fields, NY

After tucking Khyrran into his bed, Devlin called Alistair to watch over her. Alistair did as he was asked, though he wasn't happy about it. Devlin went in search of Dawn, Khyrran's old nanny. Gail had tried to get rid of Dawn about a year after the kidnapping, but since she was half-Azorian. Devlin put a stop to that real quick. It also helped that Jet had asked Dawn to marry him. Neither Gail nor Howard was willing to lose Jet, so they found a place for her.

"Hey, hey, there's a little kid running around now," Devlin said, announcing himself. "No shenanigans in here."

"Hi Dev," Dawn hugged her cousin. "So where is she?"

"Upstairs, sleeping in my bed. We need to overhaul her room, ASAP. It shouldn't take too long," Devlin said.

Jet and Dawn looked at each other. "We took care of that a couple of days ago," Jet said.

"Elvind stopped by," Dawn said. "So we made sure she had someplace to stay." Dawn looked at her husband. "That and we were hoping that you would let us keep the furniture."

"What for? You two need to have kids first…" Devlin trailed off. They looked at him expectantly. "Congratulations guys! I honestly thought that it would never happen.You guys are amazing. I think that will help her transition. Thank you for doing that."

"Hey you're family," Dawn said.

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George slammed into his house, bellowing for his butler. Edith quietly hung up their coats and quickly disappeared upstairs. Samuel came into the entryway in response to the yelling.

"Sir?" Samuel asked, wondering what had put his employer in such a foul mood.

"Where. Is. Frank?"

"He didn't come in today, sir," Samuel answered. "Though one of the hands said that he was seen leaving town with his family."

George slammed into his office. He picked up the phone and pounded out a sting of numbers. "It's Sheridan. I have a job for you, one you should enjoy, immensely…"

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Khyrran woke up to find Alistair still watching her. "Where's Devlin?"

Alistair nodded toward the chair in the corner. Devlin was sleeping, slouched over one of the armrests. Khyrran looked at Alistair.

"Can we move him?" Alistair gave her a questioning look. "I mean can we put him in the bed?" He nodded. Alistair lifted Devlin with a flick of his hand and they tucked him in. Alistair called Morven to guard the little girl, while he stayed with Devlin.

"Who are you?" Khyrran asked the brown-eyed brunette.

"My name is Morven and I am the Guardian of Mann'ahoia. Alistair is going to stay with Devlin and we are going to find Jet or Dawn."

"Dawn?"

"She is from Mann'ahoia and your cousin. She used to be your nanny as well."

"How do you know all this?"

"Because Inahlia, Orela, Cierra, and I have been with you since you were born. We know everything you do but we also have the memories of our ancestors."

"Are we cousins too?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because you said our ancestors."

"They weren't kidding when they said you were bright. No we aren't cousins but we are related in a very distant matter."

"Okay." Khyrran liked Morven so she let the conversation drop. They entered the kitchen and the young woman at the stove turned.

"Hi. I'm Dawn."

"I'm Khyrran and this is Morven."

Dawn nodded at the Guardian. "Want to help me? I'm making cookies. Khyrran's eyes lit up and Morven went back to the pocket dimension she and Khyrran's other Guardians lived in when not active. Khyrran was in capable hands.
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Devlin came in without Alistair about an hour and a half later. Dawn and Khyrran were sitting at the kitchen table coloring and eating cookies. Khyrran was laughing at something Dawn has said. Devlin leaned against the doorframe watching Khyrran bond with Dawn. He was glad that she was finding a way to adjust. Dawn looked up at Devlin and smiled.

"Hey. How was the nap?"

"Wonderful. I got a summons from Kamara. She wants to meet Khyrran and introduce her to the Overseers and the other Guardians," Devlin said.

Khyrran looked at Devlin. "There are other Guardians besides you and me?" He nodded. "I want to meet them." Her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Ok. There are a few rules you have to follow. First, whenever an Overseer enters a room you are supposed to bow or curtsy. It is a sign of respect. Second, do not interrupt the Overseers. Even if they are wrong. Third, they will tell you when you can speak if you have a question. Do you have any questions?" Khyrran shook her head. "Dawn, if the parents ask…"

"You stepped out. I know the drill by now boy. Go on before you get caught," Dawn shooed them on their way.

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They arrived at Mankato in what looked like the great hall of an old castle. There were three men standing in the middle of the room. One of them wore a dark blue cape and a gold face mask. The other looked like a mermaid, except he had legs instead of a tail. The third one looked like a monster out of a horror movie, in Khyrran's opinion.

Devlin approached them without hesitation. Khyrran stood where she was, too scared to move. The four adults were talking, then all looked at her. Devlin waved her over and introduced her to them.

"This is Khyrran."

"I am Dr. Fate. But you may call me Kent," the gold face mask guy said.

The mermaid man went next. "I am Arthur, King of Atlantis. They call me Aquaman."

The horror movie monster went next, "I am the demon, Etrigan."

"We fight bad guys with a demon?" Khyrran asked.

"Etrigan made one of our ancestors angry and he has to fight next to us until he fulfills the requirements of the curse," Devlin explained.

The Overseers chose that particular moment to enter the room. All four of the Guardians bowed to them. Khyrran panicked and kind of just stood there. The lady leading them stepped off the dais. Khyrran watched the candlelight flicker over her rainbow colored dress.

"It's ok. We aren't going to hurt you. My name is Kamara. I am the Overseer of Mann'ahoia."

"My name is Khyrran," the seven-year-old whispered.

Kamara smiled. "Hello Khyrran Welcome to Mankato. Did Devlin tell you what you were supposed to do?"

"Oh. I forgot," she said, wide-eyed. Khyrran quickly curtsied.

Kamara nodded, "Very good." The guys finally stood up. Kamara took Khyrran's hand. "Come, I will introduce you to the others. You have already met Elvind. He is the overseer of Air and Kent's mentor," Kamara said, gesturing to the man in yellow. She moved in front of a man in green. "This is Anthanasuis. He is Devlin's tutor and the Overseer of Earth." He nodded to the young host. "Theodora is the Overseer of Fire and supposedly in charge of keeping Etrigan in line," Kamara said, almost angrily at the blonde woman in red.

"He's a demon, Kamara. You try taking charge of him," Theodora said, tossing her hands in the air.

Kamara shook her head and continued. "This is Mahala. She is the Overseer of Water and Arthur's advisor." She pointed out a woman in a gown of various shades of blue. "And these two people are the most important of all to you. This is Idan," she introduced a man in a deep purple tunic, then a woman in a white and black checked dress. "And this is Nixi. They are the Overseers of Time and Fate or Healing, respectively."

"I saw you standing behind Inahlia in my parent's living room," Khyrran said to Nixi.

"Yes, you did. Kamara, may I have a word with her?" Nixi asked.

Kamara nodded and Nixi took Khyrran on a tour of Mankato, as they got to know one another. Kamara pulled the others aside. "We have a small problem. George is very angry that Khyrran is still alive. He has hired an assassin to kill her. We can not allow this to happen nor can we send her back to the Kents. It is too dangerous for them and for her. They are not properly equipped to protect her.

"What about Clark?" Devlin asked.

"He needs to be allowed to follow the path the Destiny has set for him. For now we have a different plan. But it will require using Khyrran as bait."

"No," Devlin said firmly. "She isn't capable of taking care of herself, should something go wrong."

"Devlin, he has hired a professional assassin to kill her," Anthanasuis said.

"Then let me take him out. She's a child."

"Devlin," Khyrran said, coming up to the group. "I don't want to lose another brother." She turned to Kamara and Anthanasuis and winked. "I can make my own choices. I want to do this."

"She seems to understand the risks involved," Kent said. "Let her prove herself."

Devlin stooped down to look Khyrran in the eye. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I don't want to be scared."

"Ok," Devlin said as he stood up. "What are we doing?"

After the Guardians left Kamara turned to Jinx, "That was genius. What did you tell her?"

"That she needed to prove her worth to the others. She caught on real quick," Nixi replied with a grin.

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Khyrran climbed into bed, a week later, exhausted. Devlin, Etrigan, Arthur, Kent and sometimes Kent's wife Inza, spent the past seven days drilling martial arts, fighting techniques, spells and simple hexes into her head.

Dawn came in and asked, "How are we feeling?"

"Tired. They're crazy!" Khyrran said laughing.

"Still want to be the bait?"

"Yes. Momma always told me to do what I thought was right, even if everybody else thinks it's wrong," Khyrran explained. "If I stay true to myself, the no one can hurt me."

"Your momma sounds pretty smart to me," Dawn said as she moved into the room to tuck her in.

"She is. She and Pa raised Clark and that boy's a handful."

Dawn laughed. "Go to bed, kiddo."

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The shadow slipped past the security device with ease. He slipped up the stairs and slipped into the second door on the left. The night light showed a small form sleeping in the bed. He stood over the bed as he slid the silencer on the barrel and fired eight shots into the form. He ripped back the covers to receive a face full of feathers. The lights flickered on and the assassin stood face to face with Devlin and an elite force of security guards. The assassin made a move as if to escape, Devlin pulled a sword from thin air and forced it against the assassin's throat.

"Move and die," Devlin snarled. The security guards moved and subdued the assassin. "Take him to Mann'ahoia. We'll try him for treason there." The security guards disappeared in a flash of green light. "Where's Khyrran?"

"I'm right here, Devlin," Khyrran said coming from the closet. "I moved myself when he opened the door. That spell is really cool."

"Are you okay?" Devlin asked. She nodded. He dismissed the Guards back to Mann'ahoia. He and Khyrran took the bedding off and replaced it with something new after he and Jet flipped the mattress. He put some music on and she was asleep before they were out the door.

Devlin met Dr. Fate in the hallway. "She seems okay."

"This has been a very difficult week for her. My wife would like to train her full time," Fate said.

"Maybe in a few years, right now I think it would be best if she learned some self-discipline before we left her go on the hard stuff. That and she really needs some semblance of a normal life. Not that it will happen, but I can try," Devlin said. "Do you want to come interrogate our new friend with me?"

"If only to keep you in line."

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Arthur met them at the entrance of the Mann'ahoia prison. "Your prisoner is a pain."

"Thanks for letting us use the Atlantian guards. We appreciate it." Two of the council members were present but neither Fate nor Devlin acknowledge them. The council was in charge of ruling Mann'ahoia until Khyrran could rule and take the throne. Devlin wasn't happy with some of the things they had done in name of that throne, but he was looking into replacing them. The four of them went into the holding cell, leaving Arthur to go about his business. The assassin was sitting there, looking for some sort of an escape route.

"That's pointless," Devlin said. "Even if you did manage to escape, big if there, you are on another planet."

"You lie," the assassin sneered, breaking his silence.

Devlin waved his hand at the right wall which disappeared. He got a beautiful view of the island of Avalon, the home of the Empress, in the background. A phoenix flew by and the assassin fell out of his chair.

"What do you want to know?" the assassin asked from his spot on the floor. Even if he were still on Earth, this guy was almost scarier than Sheridan.

"Who are you?"

"Roy Beeramon."

"Well Roy, my friends and I have a proposition for you. We know who hired you. Should he find that you failed, you are a dead man."

"Yeah so?" He had realized that either way he was going to die. Better to go out fighting than some simpering child. He became the elite machine, killing for the pleasure of it. He flipped himself off the floor and almost out the door. There, he met the foulest looking creature he'd ever seen, and he had seen quite a lot. Etrigan grabbed Roy by the collar and flung him into the transparent wall.

"Naughty, naughty." The Demon turned to Devlin. "Can I play with him?" The Demon's grin was one of the evilest the assassin had seen. When one works with the scum of the Earth, you see a lot of evil. But this guy took the cake.

"Roy, this is your last opportunity to change sides and join us against Sheridan. If not, I'm sure that Etrigan could get you to change your mind."

"I was a sniper in "Nam. Sheridan took my sister as his mistress after our parents died. I wasn't home and she had no where else to turn. She was 16. When I returned and found out, I went after Sheridan. He got to me first and tortured my sister until I agreed to be his personal killing machine. After a few years, I liked the work and Megan was safe," Roy said. "I can't go back; Megan will be killed if I do."
"I can get her out of there and offer you two protection. But you have to work the Guardians."

"Great out of the frying pan, into the fire." Roy muttered.

Devlin laughed. "Not even close my friend. If you come to work for us, the only killing you will do is in self-defense.

"So are you one of these Guardians?"
"Ryne Helios, the Guardian of Earth."
"Just out of curiosity, what is my other option?"

"Death. Either by the citizens of this planet since the little girl you tried to kill was the heir to throne or by Sheridan's hand on Earth."

"That's not much of an option," Roy replied. Devlin shrugged. "What about Megan?"

"She can work the place you do and be protected just as you are."

Roy nodded. "Terms accepted." Devlin nodded and left.

"An assassin with a conscience, who'd have thought?" Fate said, standing in the hall.

"Hopefully as the head of security, he'll keep any other assassins out of our hair."
"Hopefully this is the last one," Fate replied.

"Doubtful, but we can hope," Devlin said as he left the comp

A/N: So apologies. College got really busy. Research papers suck. On a happier note: ONE MORE MONDAY LEFT!