The Guardian

Chapter 10

Lyra slept for three days, given a place to sleep in the infirmary so that Marco could keep an eye on her in case anything happened to her condition. Nothing happened besides her stretching in her sleep, and lots of purrs when someone came to visit to pet her.

The first thing that greeted her when she woke up, was a patch of blonde hair next to her. Trailing her eyes down, she realized it was Marco sitting in a chair next to the bed she was in doing paperwork. Always doing paperwork.

With a yawn and a stretch, Lyra sat up licking her paws. Deep blue eyes flickered to her form, paperwork abandoned on his desk. "Goodmorning Lyra. Sleep well, yoi?" He got a happy meow in return before Lyra was rubbing her stomach. She was really hungry now.

Marco approached her, hands gesturing towards her. "May I?" She nodded and leapt into his awaiting arms, ah she missed his warmth. "Let's get you some food. You must be hungry, yoi."

Lyra purred as Marco gently stroked her back, she melted into his warm embrace. Marco was definitely her favorite on the crew, no doubt about that. He didn't speak anymore, just kept petting her.

When they entered the near empty gallery, all heads turned towards the duo. Marco placed her down gently onto the table, where Thatch slid over a plate of fried fish. Lyra meowed him thanks as she dug in, accepting all the pats she was receiving.

Once she was done, she sat up straight and tried to look as Guardian-like as possible. It felt weird and she hated it but her sister always said appearances were important. Alright, they all looked like they had a dozen questions to ask.

Lyra gestured with her paw for them to continue, no sense to talk unnecessarily. Even with more of her powers unlocked she can't talk for long. Thatch jumped first, "So you're really a guardian? What is that? Like a goddess?"

"No no. Not a goddess. A Guardian." Lyra corrected him, he needed to get it right. "It is...ah umm." She never had to explain it, she never had to before. "A god or goddess is someone who represents the elements. A Guardian is one who represents the other aspects of life." That sounds good, kind of. Very confusing.

"That makes some sense, kind of..." Thatch frowned but nodded. "Okay. So then what are you again?" They all kind of forgot what she had yelled during the confrontation, having too many events happening at once.

Ah right. Lyra bowed to them, "My name is Lyra Aranani, the Guardian of The Forest and Animals. It is a pleasure to formally meet you all." She raised her body and smiled as best she could. "All the stories you have heard about me are false and wrong. I am the youngest Guardian, the weakest and the only one who refuses to fight."

"That night, everything happened so fast. It was so long ago, but I remember it clearly. His laugh and eyes, the last thing he said to me before sealing me away into this form." A heavy sigh pulled from her, as she slumped to the ground. "Eight hundred years stuck as a cat, with no power, no family, all alone in this great big world. My first seal didn't break until I met Gol D. Roger."

"So what really happened during the war? Why were you the last one left?"

Lyra leveled Izo with a stare, green eyes dull and tired. "War. It was such a dumb war. All over more power, he just wanted to bring chaos and destruction to the world. The gods tasked us with stopping him, by any means necessary." Paws rubbed behind her ears as she felt a headache coming on. "There was so much blood and so many injuries. I did my best with it, but he kept targeting me and then there were the bodies. I just....I couldn't do anything."

"And then I was all alone."

A warm hand replaced hers to rub behind her ears, helping to ease the tension. "I've been running from him, running and hiding so he could never find us again. Never. I would rather die than give up my family."

Whitebeard spoke up for the first time, a soft look on his face. One of sorrow and untold pain. "The other Guardians, they are still alive. They never died." Lyra nodded her head slowly, gaps ringing around her.

She sat back up, "I hid them all, with what I had left I healed as many as I could and ran to hide them all over the world. When I finished I slept for a couple hundred years, waking up to either find them dead or in hiding. I haven't seen them since, trying to lure him on a wild chase to nowhere. If his attention was on me, he wouldn't focus on them." It was working so far, "Running is tiring, and I.. if I was strong enough I would have been able to help them heal more or something."

Ace scooped her up and cradled her, "You are plenty strong, just because you don't fight doesn't mean you aren't important." He booped her nose lightly, "You saved them and protected them, that was really brave of you. Took courage and strength."

Marco rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "How many seals are left, yoi?" Lyra pulled at the collar around her neck, allowing them to see the two remaining stars.

"Two left. No idea where they are. Been looking, but it's a big world and I'm a cat with barely enough power to keep another form for long. Shanks is keeping an eye out for any signs of one, but no luck."

Joza leaned forward, interested in that bit. "Red-Hair knows? About you?" Why did he know but none of them?

Lyra nodded, "Yeah. The Rogers all knew. I kept Roger alive enough to accomplish his dream. They helped destroy two seals, I am forever thankful to them for that." She snuggled into Ace's chest. "Lost contact after he died, I was back on the run."

A hand scratched under her chin, Haruta giving a determined look to her. "I'll see what I can find out about the seals, they look like little stars?" Lyra nodded in confirmation and with one more scratch the twelfth commander was gone.

Lyra yawned as her energy depleted from talking. Looks like that's it for now. Meowing, she just burrowed closer to the warmth and drifted off to sleep.

A tender look was upon Ace's face as he looked down at the tabby in his arms. "She holds so much guilt on herself. Alone for so long, Pops we have to help her."

"And we will. She is family."

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A/N - unedited

Thanks y'all for reading! I'll try to update more regularly....no promises. Hope y'all had a good weekend!