Prologue - the Meetings

The Heavens were in chaos. Well, actually only the Guardian headquarters part of the Heavens was in chaos, but since that place took up over half of the Heavens (which were not to be confused with Heaven, the home of the angels), when it was in chaos, it tended to spill over into the rest of the Heavens as well. And it was in chaos for a very good reason.

All Guardians in existence had been summoned back, for their millennial meetings. This series of meetings, which all Guardians attended at least one of, was one of the most important things to go on in the huge sector of the Heavens that the Guardians claimed for their own. Even the Guardians with the most crucial roles or the most unstable charges left their normal duties to attend these meetings. After all, the promotions to the main force against the Nothing were made at these meetings, and if you didn't show when your name was called, you had to wait another thousand years, if they gave you another chance.

But still there were some newer Guardians who decided to blow off the meetings altogether, like Shinigami. Shinigami was a death spirit, and was never actually slated to become a Guardian. He originally was one of the beings in charge of collecting dead souls down on Earth, but he got bored with that after about five hundred years (at which point he was still quite young for one of his species). So he decided to try and become a Guardian.

He was accepted easily. The Guardians could always use beings with the sheer fighting abilities that a death spirit had, and Shinigami definitely had those. The problem was that he was too eager to fight, which resulted in more than one of his charges being accidentally killed as he fought a little too much to save the poor mortals.

This quickly got him reassigned from the field, watching over potential Guardians until they met a natural death, to a "desk job," processing paperwork and helping with Guardian politics. And, of course, this was even more boring to Shinigami than collecting souls. No one was quite sure why he stuck with it, but even two hundred years after he started as a Guardian (150 of those spend behind a desk) he was still doing it, though not very enthusiastically.

So when the millennial meetings started, he actually stayed for the beginning. About one hour in, he snuck out of the meeting room, filled with other desk Guardians, to go find something a little more interesting to do, like skim the Earth looking for an interesting mortal. Oddly enough, no one in the meeting really noticed that he was gone.

Another Guardian who was not present at the meetings was Saichi. Unlike Shinigami though, Saichi had a legitimate excuse for being absent. He was on business.

Saichi was a former human. He had been psychic, and would have become an angel in Heaven had he not been slated for a Guardian position. One result of that was his pair of wings, something he'd never had before his death. He was much older than Shinigami though, despite originating from a mortal race, having been a Guardian for over 1500 years.

Saichi had (very) recently been promoted to an ambassador position. Like Shinigami, he had been taken off of field work very early, though for the opposite reason. He didn't like to hurt any beings, and that reluctance had caused more than one of his charges to meet an early death. Unlike Shinigami, he had enjoyed his desk job, and had thrown himself into it, rising in the ranks quickly. He'd even been Shinigami's direct superior just before he was promoted to ambassador.

But being ambassador was nowhere near as easy as what he'd done before. The other agencies beyond death, such as Heaven and Hell, were contemptuous of the Guardians, and having an ambassador who looked mostly like a sixteen year old human didn't help. At the time when the meetings started, he was still stuck in Hell, arguing with a higher up demon and trying to get access to the Master of Hell so he could actually get his job done.

In fact, he was still in the waiting room of Hell, a surprisingly nice place, a few days before Shinigami did his little sneak out trick. He'd been taking his forced wait well, not showing the least bit of impatience, because that would just make it worse, but he'd been getting bored after two weeks of waiting. He was letting his mind wander when a demon entered the room, though not the assistant who would let him see the Master.

He looked young, thought one could never quite tell with demons, just as with many other kinds of creatures. Just because he looked sixteen in human years, the same age that Saichi himself looked, didn't mean he wasn't older than Saichi was by far. But whatever age he was, he was a beautiful creature, something rare among demons and usually the mark of a succubus or an incubus.

He was short, though taller than the petite Saichi, and just as slightly built as the Guardian was. He had dark blue hair in a braid that fell down between two pure black feathered wings to his butt. His eyes were a startling shade of silver, a rather uncommon shade for a demon, the metallic shades usually being reserved for beings of Good, such as angels. He was also wearing as close to nothing as he could get and still be called clothed by human standards.

"Hi!" the demon said to Saichi in an overly cheerful voice that certainly didn't sound like any evil creature that Saichi had ever met. "What are you doing here? Are you in trouble with the Master?"

Saichi considered the question for a moment, taking a short while to realize that the demon thought he was one of his kind, because of Saichi's own black feathered wings. Though Saichi certainly didn't think he looked like any kind of demon. He looked too feminine, even for the oddest of the incubi, but not feminine enough by far to look like a succubus. And his hair was pale enough blue that it looked white, too pure of a color for most of the inhabitants of Hell. Adding his gold eyes, not quite metallic, but not as evil looking as most demons, and he thought that no person would mistake him for a demon, even in the waiting room of Hell.

"I'm waiting to see him on business," Saichi replied. "I'm one of the ambassadors from the Guardians."

"Oh," the demon replied, looking thoughtful for a moment. Then he got a sly, mischievous smile on his face. "Well, he takes a long time to get to people, especially when he didn't call for them in the first place. I think he kept the last person who dropped in on him uninvited for about three months before seeing him. How long've you been here?"

"Two weeks," Saichi said, his mood dropping even more.

"There's no way he'll consent to see you anytime soon," the demon said. "Though if you leave the room you'll have to start all over with the waiting. But there are plenty of things you can do here while you wait. Like…fucking. Wanna do that?"

"Huh?" Saichi asked, not quite sure if he'd understood the demon correctly, though he could certainly feel a blush rising to his pale skin for just the thought.

"Wanna fuck?" the demon asked again. "It's a great way to pass time, and you're really good looking. And if we give the Master a good enough show you might get in earlier."

"Ummm," Saichi said nervously. "I don't think so…"

"What's wrong?" the demon asked, pouting. "Lemme guess, you don't like guys…"

"No, it's not that," Saichi said, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. "It's just that…"

"You don't think I'm attractive?" the demon asked.

"No!" Saichi exclaimed, much more emphatically than he'd planned on. "I just…"

"Ah, that's fine," the demon said. "I guess I'll just find someone else. But if you ever change your mind, just ask around for Akushou. And it was nice meeting you…oh yeah, what's your name?"

"Saichi," the dazed Guardian said, slightly weakly.

"Nice meeting you Saichi," Akushou said. "Maybe later?"

"Uh, maybe…" Saichi said, as the odd demon exited the room. Saichi's heart took a good three or four minutes to finally slow down after the demon was gone. That wasn't the first time he'd been propositioned before, by both men and women (though he would never have even considered the women), but it was certainly the most unexpected proposition he'd ever had. And it wasn't like he found Akushou unattractive either. He was just…surprised, and little too inhibited for something that intimate when he'd just met the other person, especially when the other person was a demon.

But it certainly gave him something to focus on rather than how bored and annoyed he was waiting for the Master of Hell to decide to see him. Luckily, Akushou hadn't been correct, and the Master finally agreed to see Saichi the next day. Once he actually managed to get some kind of negotiations started, the whole process only took him two days, and the same day (though later in the day) that Shinigami snuck out of the meetings, he was able to return to the Heavens.

At the same time that Shinigami was sneaking out of the meetings and Saichi was hammering out the final details of the new agreement with Hell, another Guardian by the name of Himitsu was sitting through the first of the meetings for the active field members, the ones who looked out for future Guardians while they lived.

Himitsu had been a dragon in life and made a very good Guardian now that he was after life. Unlike some Guardians, he was neither too passive, nor too aggressive, and had continued in the field since his first assignment, approximately eight hundred years earlier. His magic talents, being fire based and rather low powered when it came to sensing abilities such as telepathy, were not always the most helpful in the field, though he could certainly hold his own in a fight. High status in life made him familiar with several of the lesser spirit world beings though, which he used to make up for his lack in sensing.

His charge when the meetings started was a human college student by the name of Ana (though she called herself Ana-chan). She was, almost all of the time, no problem for him. She was a rather hyper, generally happy, girl. At least, she was since she'd started college. She'd had problems before, but he was happy to see that she was getting better after finding several others much like her who she could connect with, something that she hadn't done before, and had made her rather depressed at times.

Because of the way she'd been in high school and before, easily upset and sometimes rather fragile emotionally, he'd set a lesser spirit being to watch her thoughts for him. He told the thing to watch for any odd behavior, or anything that he would be expected to stop as a Guardian, such as thoughts of suicide or mass homicide. He didn't expect it of her, but he'd learned over the centuries that it was better safe than sorry.

And so he sat patiently through the openings of the massive meetings that must have been an organizational nightmare for the ones in charge. He wasn't the most interested in the meetings, but he knew that attendance was mandatory, and he wasn't one to go breaking rules left and right just because he was bored. After the openings, the huge group of Guardians that represented those active in the field (and was just a small portion of the Guardians as a whole, only about one sixth), split up into several groups lead by the most senior among them.

It came as a shock to Himitsu to discover that the leader of his group was not there when they were finally all together. The leader, supposed to be a man named Hajime, was rather conspicuously not there, and Himitsu could hear the babble of rumors about where he might be. Then, another rather old Guardian showed up to make an announcement to them.

"I am afraid Hajime will not be able to attend," the woman said. "He is on an emergency with his current charge and will try to be back later he says. So, I will be the leader of this group instead."

"Hey, isn't Hajime the one who got stuck with that psycho girl that tried to kill Jerren?" Himitsu heard one of the others near him whisper to her neighbor.

"Yeah, I think so," the neighbor replied. "Man, I understand why he's not here. I've heard that girl is pure evil."

Himitsu had heard about that girl before too, a young human girl with incredible magic powers, but a very, very nasty temper. Her first Guardian had been a young, first time on the field, Guardian by the name of Jerren, and he hadn't been ready for a sadistic three-year-old. He hadn't been expecting her to be able to sense him either, but she had, and she'd tried to kill him because she decided she didn't like someone who wouldn't show himself to her following her around. The incident had terrified Jerren off of the field forever, and the Guardians had looked for a hardened replacement for the poor guy. This Hajime must have been the guy.

Himitsu felt sorry for Hajime, mostly because he wouldn't want a charge like that. He'd never had a charge anywhere near as troublesome as that child, and he never wanted to have one. Also, he didn't think the higher ups were going to be very happy with Hajime's absence from the meetings. He hoped, for the other Guardian's sake, that the emergency with the girl settled down soon.

He spent the next few hours in boredom, listening to various people talk on and on about things that didn't particularly pertain to him. Then, while they were taking a break, a small lesser spirit being, kin to the one he'd left watching Ana, popped up in front of him, looking excited.

"I does be sent to tell Sir that the girl does be thinking about suicide," the thing said in a tumble of words. "My brother does be telling me to do this. He does be the one you set to watch over the girl."

This upset Himitsu. He thought Ana was fairly stable, certainly not unhappy enough to want to end her life. He wondered if maybe it was a trick, or that the lesser spirit being was confused. That would make his life much easier as well, since he didn't want to leave the meetings to check up on Ana. But if it was true, then he really did need to go, otherwise he might have a problem on his hands.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"He be saying that the girl does be thinking about killing herself," the thing said. "And he does be saying that you did be saying to tell you if she did be thinking about that. I does be just messenger." She sounded upset that Himitsu had questioned her, as if he didn't believe her.

"Yes, I know," he said, trying to placate her. "Thank you for informing me. Would you tell your brother that I will be there as soon as possible?"

"I do be going to tell him right now, Sir!" the thing said happily. Then she was gone, leaving Himitsu only with the task of sneaking out of the meetings without being caught so he could go look up on his charge.

"Oh gods, why the hell does this have to happen to me?" he muttered to himself as he made his way nonchalantly toward the exit of the compound, hoping he wouldn't be stopped.

A half hour of traveling later, most of it simply the transition between the Heavens and Earth, and Himitsu arrived at Ana's dorm room. He was expecting to find her crying, sad, or at least a little less genki than usual. That was certainly not what he found. She looked just fine, laughing and enjoying an anime with a few of her friends.

"What's going on here?" he asked the lesser spirit being that had popped up beside him as soon as he felt his presence. "She doesn't look depressed."

"Oh, she does not be depressed Sir," the being said.

"Then why the hell did you call me?" Himitsu asked.

"Well, Sir did be saying that if she did be thinking about killing herself that I should be calling Sir," the being said. "And she did be thinking about killing herself. She did be thinking, 'Hm, I wonder what it would be like to kill myself,' but then she did be deciding it wouldn't be fun."

"Oh gods," Himitsu groaned. "That is not what I meant when I told you to watch for her thinking of killing herself. I meant I wanted to be notified if she was actually planning on doing the deed."

"Oh, I do be sorry, Sir," the thing said. "I do not be worth of serving Sir anymore."

"No, don't beat yourself up over it," Himitsu said. "I should have been more specific. Now, do you understand that I only want to be called if she is actually planning on killing herself?"

"Yes, I do be understanding, Sir," he said.

"Okay, good," Himitsu said. "Then I can get back to my meeting. Hopefully no one noticed I was gone."

And so Himitsu left his young charge watching anime in her room with friends, with the same lesser spirit being still watching over her. Hopefully it wouldn't get confused again and he would be able to make it through the rest of the meetings without another interruption. He was already close to enough trouble by just leaving this one time. Multiple times would be even worse.

Another half hour of travel brought him back to the entrance to the Heavens. As always, it was easier to get out of the Heavens than it was to get in, and he found a few other Guardians waiting to be admitted just in front of him.

One of them he recognized as a newly appointed ambassador who had been with the Guardians longer than he had, a young looking, but very beautiful man. The other one seemed to be a death spirit, at least that's what Himitsu assumed from the pure black hair, glowing red eyes, black wings, and dangerous aura that the man gave off. He seemed to know the ambassador, and the two of them were arguing at the gates while the attendant looked over their passes.

"I told you Saichi, I was bored with the damned meetings, so I skipped out for a bit," the death spirit was saying. "I went down to Earth to have a little fun. So what if I missed some of the meetings? It's not like they're going to put me out of this damned position anyway, and I came back!"

"That's not the point," Saichi replied heatedly. "You know that the meetings are mandatory unless you have really important extenuating circumstances, yet you still left! Are you insane Shin?"

"No, just tired of never getting any action around here," the death spirit muttered. "Anyway, you weren't there either. What were you doing, skipping out on the meetings, hmmm?"

"I've been stuck in Hell for the last two and a half weeks," Saichi replied. "I just got done with the new agreement with the Master of Hell. I was excused."

"Here you go, Sirs," the attendant piped up, defusing most of the argument between the two Guardians. "You're all in order to get in now. Next?"

Himitsu stepped up to the window at the gate just as the other two passed through. He presented his pass to the young woman, who took it with a smile. She was much quicker with his pass, probably because she already had the Guardian roster up from the other two, and before he knew it, Himitsu was through the gates and on his way to the Guardian controlled part of the Heavens.

It was a beautiful walk across the Heavens to the Guardian compound. It may have been winter down on Earth, but in the Heavens it was always just around spring, or fall if the people in charge of the weather wanted a change. At that time, the trees and flowers around him were in full bloom, and Himitsu just enjoyed the sight of the place he'd called home for the last eight hundred years as he made his way to the main building of the Guardian compound.

He was so engrossed in the overhead view that he didn't even notice the two people standing right in front of him, just outside the Guardian compound gates. He ran into them, which jolted him out of his reverie and back to reality. It was then that he noticed it.

The reason the two he'd run into, the same two Guardians that he'd seen at the gate before, were standing still was that they were staring at the compound. It was one of the most horrid sights Himitsu had ever seen. It wasn't that it was gory, or that there were any signs of violence, because it wasn't, and there weren't any. It was because the instant Himitsu saw what had become of the Guardian compound, he knew exactly what had caused it.

The Nothing.

The whole purpose of the Guardians was to protect the world from the Nothing. They did not support any of the forces more than another, neither Chaos nor Order, neither Good nor Evil. They just made sure that existence continued the way it was supposed to. Two thirds of the Guardians were dedicated to just that, fighting the Nothing. People like him who worked on Earth watching over future Guardians, the ones who worked desk jobs, and the few ambassadors and administrators were just support for the fighters.

And what Himitsu was seeing was signs of a Nothing takeover throughout the Guardian compound. It was obviously a rush job, because there was still a compound to see, but there were random holes in reality around the compound. Falling into one of those would mean death, even to a god. And there wasn't another being in sight, except for the other two Guardians who had arrived just before he had.