© . Blaznfangurl. All rights Reserved.

PART ONE: To Open a Path

Chapter 1: The Not so Genuine Ange de l'église grande

The huge, ancient hall rung with the deafening sound of too many people trying to speak at once, the insistent chatter caused an annoying buzz to ring in his ears. He glanced out with eyes the color of shimmering champagne and scanned the crowd for anyone he might have a decent conversation with; sadly his grand search was cut short when a chubby hand was placed upon his broad shoulder.

He glanced back; his long lashes blinking slowly as he stared up into his boss' face which was flushed red with exertion. The stout, chubby man had just finished stuffing his face, sucking at his stubby fingers to lick off the last morsels. He blinked once more to hide the disgusting glint that had entered his eyes; I hope that chubby bastard cleaned his hands he thought as he glanced at the hand on his shoulder.

"Arcanae my boy, how are you enjoying the festivities?" The man with thinning blond hair beamed up at him, his beady blue eyes alight with a hungry gleam. He smirked, the small raise of his lips indicating that he knew exactly what the man was thinking.

"I am enjoying myself quite well my lord," Arcanae chirped to the High Pope as he leered at him. "The introduction of the new Trianium Smart-bot should be starting quite soon." He rose to his feet, his height towering over the stout little man. Arcanae brushed aside his pale locks, the stream of hair brushing gently over his shoulders and falling to a stop at the waist. He glanced at the pencil thin man that stood to the left of the High Pope, his personal secretary had always been a thin man with midnight blue hair and piercing ocean colored eyes. The man was an Angel of the Forth Order, which meant he had come when the Angels had migrated from the Haven lands for the last time.

Lord Hollington was a smart, svelte man and Arcanae could tell he detested working for the High Pope, the pig was indeed a bother to be around. Bowing to Hollington, who returned the gesture, he stretched out his arm to the High Pope and smile grandly as if it was his greatest pleasure to offer the man assistance.

The Pope flushed with excitement as he linked his wide arm into Arcanae's slender one. They made their way gingerly through the crowd, the bumptious Pope smiling and waving regally as he was King of the world…well the way the Government had been acting recently he might as well have been.

Arcanae's turned his nose up at the acidulous smell of far too many sweating bodies crowded in one massive room. The World Hall was built about five hundred years ago, its massive frame still made with weak bricks and rusting metals. Its roof was a domed shape with ridges cut into the frame at a three-hundred and sixty degree angle. The design of the place was popular in the old days, massive chandeliers hanging from the ceilings with glimmering lights still powered by electricity. In a way Arcanae liked the outlay of the old building, back then people built things that were sensible and beautiful.

Arcanae breathed a sigh of relief when the massive banner above them swung overhead and created a cool rush of air. The crowd was jovial despite the heat due to the accumulation of bodies. The Elite were clad in all forms of cloth, from faerie spun silk to Aracnar spun lace. The crowd was strung with a rainbow of colors, the softest pinks to the darkest blacks. Many species mixed, a few distinct features separated many of them from being labeled human. He smiled at the fawning men and women as he passed by them, greeting some by name and with a small peck to each cheek. The women reeked of too many expensive perfumes and the men threw off testosterone like bulls. Arcanae was quite glad he hadn't eaten or he might have had to vomit by the end of the night. His own outfit was simple yet sophisticated, he saw no need to flaunt his wealth, and it wasn't like he had that much in the first place. Being the official protector of the High Pope Nizzah was not that much of a well-paying job.

He brushed his hair aside again and some women threw him a jealous glare. He chuckled softly; it wasn't as if it was his fault that their men wished to admire him instead of them.

He winced as a sharp pain laced through his head for a mere second then immediately resided. He was stunned for a fraction of a moment, what was that pain again he wondered. He frowned, that pain only came to him when his memory was threatening to break through. It had been near ten years since he had woken up in the home of some strange man, his mind completely blank of all things except how to do basic human interactions. Hell he had even seemed to forget how to walk in his first moments of regained consciousness. He shook his head, whatever was trying to leak into his head would eventually pop up…it always did.

"Arcanae! Is something the matter sweet child?"

Arcanae jumped out of his daze, blinking and noticing that the banner was in his vision.

He shook his head and forced a tight smile down at his lord's cherub face, "It is just a bit stuffy in here is all," Arcanae purred, his young but rich voice washing over Nizzah and making him jiggle with giddy pleasure.

Arcanae kept his eyes down cast as he led the High Pope to a special area located above all of the chaos. He let himself get mesmerized in the carpet pattern so that he would not have to listen to Nizzah's insistent chatter. The deep blue clashed with the vibrant gold patterns that were weaved into leaf shapes, spirals, and flowers. He frowned at the carpet, someone somewhere had those deep, sinking blue eyes and the thought of those eyes caused him to nibble at his lip. He closed his eyes momentarily, something about this night, or perhaps the scene was causing his memory nerves to jitter and spark with faint life.

Nizzah was ecstatic that he was able to be seen by hundreds of press reporters on the arms of one of the most, no doubt gorgeous beings on Earth. He tightened his arm around the smooth expanse of muscle beneath his own arm and relished the feel, what I wouldn't do to get between those legs he thought.

Nizzah puffed out his, what he believed to be, brood chest, attempting to impress the Grand Ministers from the other massive continents. He released Arcanae's arm when he arrived at his seat but he did not move away.

"Arcanae sweet child," he said placing a big hand on Arcanae's firm chest, "You remember my fine fellow gentlemen do you not? This is Sir Pip, Sir Dane, General Naul, and of course the lovely and Flawless Lady Kat."

Arcanae smiled politely, kissing Lady Kat on both her heavily powdered cheeks and bowed to each of the respective gentlemen, all in which bowed in return save for the General. Arcanae hid the flash of irritation in his eyes; the man whose huge rock like stature resembled his churlish attitude was not one of his favorite people in the world.

Done with his duty Arcanae made to leave, perhaps if he drunk enough over spiced alcohol he would be able to deal with the no doubt useless and ongoing talk that was about to bombard his sensitive ears.

"Arcanae precious where are you going, of course you wouldn't think I would leave you to the silly ninnies and ruffians in that crowd," Nizzah drawled in his all too thick country accent. "You sit right on down suga and enjoy the show with me, drink serva come one ova and give us some nice drinks, we are absolutely parched."

Arcanae sunk down into the seat Nizzah had indicated him to sit in, which meant Hollington would have to stand. He cursed his bad luck as the men re-slipped his arm though his.

"What would you like precious?"

Arcanae resisted the urge to rub at his temples, By the Gods he thought this is going to be excruciating and how many nicknames does this pie stuffer have for me. He probably brags about lying that I sleep with him at night. He breathed in deeply and gave his best smile to the drink server, "Your strongest please."

The lights dimmed as the young boy with cropped black hair (much like all the other servants) finished distributing the party's drinks.

Nizzah latched onto him tighter, jiggling with excitement, "Oh this will be so exciting!"

Arcanae sighed silently and downed his drink, hoping the night would be over soon.

Arcanae slipped his other arm into the black jacket. Now that his work day had ended he could go home and not deal with the nuisance that was High Pope Nizzah. He zipped the black leather jacket up to his mid chest, his silver shirt clashing against the darker material. Reaching down he smoothed out the wrinkles in his pants leg, the equally sleek material made from a special element created by his organization's tech girl. He smiled at the silver, spiraling wing designs on the pants; it was June's way of reminding him that he needed to stretch every now and then.

Arching his back a bit he released the hold the held his wings in his back, the massive collection of snowy feathers bristling as they touched the air for the first time in hours. He flapped them, allowing them to stretch and loosen up both sets of two wings shimmering as they caught the light. A lone feather fell to the ground and he bent to scoop it up. It was rare for him to shed a feather and when he did it usually meant something eventful would happen to him.

Folding his wings back into his back he began to whistle as he locked up his storage compartment and headed out. He didn't get far however when the buzzing voice of Nizzah called out to him.

He had been nearly driven crazy with boredom at the convention. It was true that the new Trianium Smart-bot with very few flaws had caught his attention, but other than his interest in the robot, he was bored. Now all he wanted to do was get home and see what his night had in store for him.

"Yoohoo, Arcanae sweetens you aren't leaving so soon are you?"

The High Pope stood in his nightclothes the long gown worn in the very old fashion that men wore when they had no shame in wearing gowns to bed. He nearly cracked up at the sight of the chubby, short legs protruding out of the edge of the laced night gown.

He strolled regally to the Pope and bowed over his hand, "I am afraid I have other matters to attend to my lord, Of course no matter is more important than my duty to my lord."

Nizzah patted his cheek and sighed like a love sick little girl, "It is fine darlin', you go ahead and go'on home. Just give old Nizzah a peck on a cheek before you leave."

He mentally rolled his eyes, Nizzah wanted a peck on the cheek from him every day. Bending down he made to kiss the man's cheek but the round bastard turned his head so that their lips touched.

He giggled as if he was a school girl, "Oh! Silly me oh my, I am such a bad boy."

Arcanae's brow twitched but he forced a smile to his lips, "Good night my lord."

He turned silently gagging as he did; I am disinfecting my fucking lips as soon as I arrive home!

"See that," Nizzah said smiling up into Hollington's face, "he smiled when I laid my lips on him, that boy wants me!"

Lord Hollington smile and nodded, mentally noting that whenever he got the chance he would hit this fat idiot in the head.

Arcanae exited the Grand Church; the massive building took minutes to fully exit. The cool night air felt good on his pale skin and he breathed in the fresh scent of the fruit trees that were planted in front of the building. Scientist had long ago found breeds of trees that released twice the amount of oxygen than a regular tree, which meant the amount of trees that existed on Earth could be cut in half, and the amount of space taking by technology could increase. It made him happy to see real nature in a place so full of advanced technology.

He walked rather than took the streamer, he found it lazy to stand and let the machine, which resemble a sidewalk, move someone to their destination.

His metal bottomed shoes clicked softly against the packed star rock that the sidewalk was made from. Ground Cars or Grars as the young liked to call them, sped by, the florescent lights lighting the path before them before they disappeared into Ground Routes.

His home was quite a few miles away and walking there would take time, he felt like flying to be honest, but flight was not allowed in the city unless it was by FLICS, something about the sky traffic becoming too heavy.

He glanced up at as a quick roar sounded above his head. He glanced at the time on his watch; it was 8:10 earthen time. If he walked briskly he could catch the 8:20 POD to his area.

Reaching the Inter-Worldly Transportation Industrial system, or the ITIS he boarded a POD, the bullet shape, futuristic train packed as usual. He chose to stand instead of head to an empty seat in the back where the rowdy young crowd always hung. He sighed, he was speaking of them as if he was much older them then and yet he was if not the same age nearly close. An old man in a young lad's body he mused.

The POD sped off at an amazing speed, the fast movements making the body feel like it was being slightly electrified. Some people loved the rushing feeling that the POD caused, others, like him, did not enjoy the tingling rush.

He hurried off the POD which landed at his stop in mere minutes, ignoring the hooting from a rowdy group of adolescent shifter boys. The young these days would do anything that had legs.

"Aw come on beautiful let a real man show you a good time." He heard one of the males call.

He was near his house which was near the border between the Norm level and the Elite level. He stopped turning around to slowly retrace his steps. The group quieted and began to whisper as Arcanae strolled up to the one who had yelled out to him. He towered over all of them, at six foot one, not too many were taller than him.

He brushed the stray lock of hair that always got free behind his ear and bent down, his sunset eyes locking on to the green of the young male. The guy swallowed constantly, his Adams apple bobbing with nervousness.

"And who may I ask is this real man? Is it you hmm?" Arcanae reached his hand out to raise the boys chin with one slender finger, "Don't get cocky before your time boy, I would tear your little ass up and send you running back to your mama. Stick to someone in your own level."

Arcanae smirked as a burst of laughter sounded as he turned the corner, how cruel teenage friends could be to their own peers.

He reached his home which was a high rise condo with a terrace that held an artificial, medium sized garden and sat high above the city. The build and frame was that of nearly two centuries ago but he still enjoyed the beautiful place which was the color of a gentle blush when the sunlight hit it. At night however, it had a bachelor like aura about it. Perfect he thought just the aura that my place needs; perhaps I will attract the right man.

As he slid the key card into the slot, pressed his thumb into the scan pad, and let the machine scan his iris he heard rummaging from within. Sighing he shook his head, he was hoping for peace and quiet but his pet raccoon had already let itself in.

Arcanae opened the door to find Vimelth rummaging around in his fridge, his black and white ringed ponytail frizzy and unkempt as usual.

"Arc!" he beamed as Arcanae busted in, picking his way over his messy condo which was just clean this morning. Even though the five roomed condo was a huge place for one person he kept it clean.

Vimelth emerged from the fridge with a sandwich in his mouth, a sandwich that was supposed to be Arcanae's snack.

Cheers he thought the raccoon has found the prize.

Vimelth chewed a piece of sandwich off then smiled at him, his pointed canine teeth gleaming in the moonlight that streamed through the open window. Vampires always were clustered people he thought.

Vimelth black painted, long nails picked at his ear as he bit into the sandwich again.

"I let myself in," he said around bits of food, "And I was hungry! I haven't had my fix this month yet."

Unlike most Vampires, who used the newly formulated Crimson serum to get there blood source every month, Vimelth needed it fresh once a month. He claimed he didn't have the discipline to train himself to only feed every three months, but Arcanae knew he was just a blood sucking greedy bastard.

He flashed the flashlight that was hanging on the end of his key-card, Vimelth's usually black irises flashing red.

"Ah, you goddam angel boy! Quite it!" Vim whined.

Arcanae laughed and plopped down on his couch, stretching his legs out on the Crystal table that sat in the center of his living room set.

Vim strolled over and leaned over him, chewing and scattering crumbs all over, "Nu-uh pretty boy, your royal ass has to get up, we got a mission tonight!"

Arcanae groaned. It wasn't enough that he was the official spy for the Dark Wings, but he also had to participate in half the damn missions. Adonis, their leader, and the man who had found him, had claimed that it was because he was the only one with common sense.

"What is it for," Arcanae huffed out.

Vimelth rubbed his shoulders and laughed, "The boss said this one is important, he is sending only me, you, and Saph. He says there is some old treasure he is interested in some huge, creepy abandoned Church. He says it may be some historic documents that the Church has been trying to get their hands on."

Vimelth's usual cheery face frowned, "I hate those bloody assholes! Claiming to know The Omnipotent One's prophets and believing they have the right to condemn entire species."

Vimelth like others had joined the Dark Winged Faction for one reason and one reason alone, to overthrow the Church. The Church had begun to list "Sins" or condemned actions or races about three years ago and since then all hell had broken lose.

Guilds had sprung up like wheat in a field and the Dark Winged Faction, nicknamed Darwf, had increased to a massive size. After the Church had begun to dispatch the Guardians, its personal army, to attack all Guilds, the Darwf took it upon itself to be the official Anti-Church force.

He too wanted to stop the corrupt rule in the world's Government, so he easily joined up with the Darwf. He had no memory of who he was or where he came from, but he knew he felt at home with the Darwf. He knew they had a purpose, to save the lives of innocents and heal the world of corruption even if it meant death.

Adonis never sent him on small fry missions like disrupting an unfair trial to help an innocent convicted person go free, no, he was always sent on big missions that truly furthered the cause of the Faction. He knew he pretty much had more skills then many of the members, so he didn't complain. The one problem he had was when that person appeared on his missions.

"Arc, 'ey Arc! Do you hear me? Mars to Arc, do you read my signal, over!"

Arcanae laughed and smacked Vimelth in the forehead before rising, "So what you are saying is A' thinks that some Guardians will be there and wants us to get the goods before they do?"

Vim pouted and rubbed at his forehead, his black bangs hanging low to his ivory eyes," He already dispatched two units to clear the entrance for us, he says we have to go underground and that's when the real trouble starts and I don't think he was referring to leaky pipes and rats."

Arcanae nodded and headed towards the master bedroom, "Let me strap up while you get the GROC, alright?"

"Yea wait so you are going to put on a condom while I bring the car around, what is the relevance in-" Vim was cut off by a barrage of pillows," Alright I am going, I'm goin'."

Sapphire sniffed the air, her flame red curly hair sliding back over her shoulders. She found it amusing to call herself Sapphire even though her hair was near ruby red. Her jade eyes flashed even though there was light in the dark underground tunnel of the dilapidated old Church. Arcanae realized why Adonis had sent them on this mission; all of them could easily pick their way through the dark with no light at all.

Saph nodded, giving the signal that the path was clear and they all headed forward, treading on the ground carefully because residue of the crumbling building lay everywhere. The jet into the underground portion of the church had been uneventful; the units A' had sent had successfully gotten rid of any Guardians on the upper level.

They continued, everything was silent save for the dripping of broken pies and the scurrying to different animal that dwelled underground. The single, dark tunnel lead out into a domed shaped area which fanned out into three different paths. Each tunnel was just as dark and seemingly damp as the first.

Saph placed her hands on her perfects hips, her sharp, red claws tapping at the black belt she wore around her sleek, tight fitting combat dress. Her combat booted foot tapping at the cracked ground annoyed. She smacked her lips as she toyed with her lace, fishnet leggings, "What the hell man. Ado did not tell us we had to play connect the maze on this damn mission! It was hard enough finding the way into the first path, now we have to figure out which path is next." She huffed in annoyance," Our COMROS aren't responding beneath this place so we can't even send a signal to June back at HQ."

Vimelth laughed, toying with the spiked wristbands that he loved wearing, "Calm your nerves fire gem, I am pretty sure I can figure out which two paths lead to nothing and which lead to something. Remember I do have sonic abilities."

Saph rolled her eyes at him," Well then Vamp boy, get to it."

Before he could use his skills to seek out the right path a group of Guardians ran out of the center, a huge box that was chained by massive spell chains being carried between four men. The Guardians wore white clad armor and suits, their broad swords gleaming in the little light that was left to see with.

Saph smiled to herself,"Oh well I guess we don't need to find the right path anyways."

They all drew their weapon, leaving no time for anyone to react.

Vimelth and Arcanae carried the box to the center of the portal ring Saph had just set up, they had made quick work of the Guardians and now they were transporting the ancient, chained box to HQ. The portal immediately glew and the box began to fade as they dropped it down.

"Whew," Vilmeth commented," I think we can get out of this rat hole now, I am interested to find out what is in the box."

They all turned as a shimmering light lit the tunnel and shook it slightly, dust and debris falling from the ceiling. All redrew their weapon and stood on guard; only one person made an entrance like this.

"Not this prick again," Sapphire growled, narrowing her eyes to thin slits.

Arcanae turned, his heart pounded and his body stiff. Raising his head he scowled as he stared into deep blue eyes the same color of the carpet he had been mesmerized by earlier that day, mocking and tempting him.

It was that guy again…

A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed the first bit. I know random and kinda uneventful but I have to get past the introductions before I get to the good stuff.