Guardian Shadow

Prologue – Into The Night

Axel lounged against the wall of the clock tower, running a hand through his fiery hair. He closed his eyes with a contented sigh; it was these relaxing moments when he could truly appreciate the world.

Those moments when he didn't have the pressure of missions, when he wasn't being annoyed by the sub-ordinates, and when he could just forget about all of his duties to feel the cool breeze on his on his skin and the heat from the sunset on his face.

These brief moments when he released his duties as an arch angel, and pretend that everything was normal.

But, as the sound of beating wings reached his sensitive ears, he sighed irritably and pushed away from the wall; all good things come to an end. He glared at the blonde angel with vicious acid green eyes, met by amused blue eyes.

"What do you want, Larxene?" he growled, not in the mood to deal with the blonde's tricks. She just smirked venomously, stormy wings sparking; her wings were storm clouds, lightening zipping through the darkness unpredictably.

"Oh, nothing; just delivering you this notice. But, you probably won't be too happy about what's on it," she said in a teasing, honey coated voice while holding the notice out to him. With anouther glare at her, he snatched the note away, reading it.

Axel, Arch Angel of Fire,

It's my duty to inform you that you have been assigned a human. Your business as an arch has been relieved so that you may watch over this human, defending him. His name is Roxas Ledger and he is located in Twilight Town.

Axel scoffed; what the hell! From the corner of his eye, Larxene smirked in amusement.

Roxas has started being plagued by the heartless. It will be your duty as a Guardian to protect him and discover why the heartless are so interested in him specifically, then eliminate the issue. Only after you complete this mission, will you return as an arch.

Objective is to look after the boy and discover why he is being plagued by the heartless.

Xemnas

Axel sighed angrily, the flimsy paper in his hands catching fire and crumbling into ashes. Larxene laughed menacingly at the reaction.

"I guess the hot-shot isn't happy with being assigned as a baby-sitter for some pathetic kid, huh?" she chuckled cruelly. Axel glared, his dark wings lighting like molten lava.

"Don't test me, Larxene," he warned with a low growl. Rolling her eyes she turned from the angel, crouching on the corner of the building, wings spread for lift-off.

"Oh, and before I forget, you'd better keep a close eye on this kid; I hear they're looking for any reason to get rid of you," she informed. Her tone held no concern, only amusement. But, before Axel could even attempt to retort or shoot her with a channel of flames, she dived off the edge and glided away into the flame of orange.

Great, Axel thought darkly. Now I'm playing baby sitter for some little kid. He huffed angrily. Well, now that his silence was interrupted, he might as well find out where this stupid kid was.

His wings spread out, the molten lava that swirled in the darkness of the ruffles glowing. For a while, he just stood there, letting the sun disappear beyond the horizon and watching the stars slowly reveal themselves.

Breathing in the fresh night air, his wings stretched further, the orange magma under the surface of the black ruffles lighting the area around him. He felt powerful, relaxed.

Slowly, he let himself fall forward, arms and wings spread. The exhilaration that always overtook him in this moment of falling, the wind rushing past his falling being as gravity attempted to bring him to the unforgiving ground; his heartbeat quickened at the feeling of danger, falling headfirst towards the ground.

Finally, just before impact, he barrel rolled and let his wings fold, then spread, his body lifting away from the ground and soaring over the building roofs. That rush of wind against his face now a gentle breeze, playing with his mane of red hair.

Roxas. He wondered what was so interesting about this kid that the heartless hunted him, what was so interesting that he had to look after this kid. Perhaps he'd find out once he found him, he thought as he dived into the forest.

High school was tomorrow, he remembered, ducking under some tree branches. I could find the kid then. For now, I'll enjoy whatever freedom I have left.

With that conviction, the angel of fire flew through the forest, soaring over the sandy beach and over the salty water. He flipped and twirled and soared with a certain level of elegance and control. Had anyone been watching, they would've been mesmerized by the movements.

So, this dark angel of fire enjoyed his flight, letting his worries go and letting his senses take over as he flew into the night.

~!~!~!~

Written by Lucian.

Sorry about us not being on for a while. We've been busy. Also, our computer is being stupid and not letting us on the internet. We're trying to update stuff but then all of our documents were fried with our laptop.

So, I decided to start this new story when I had a moment of free time at my buddy's house while watching a movie.