My readers, if you have clicked on this story, then you should know this…I have deleted both of my stories involving the Vanguard and Maidens, and am starting completely fresh with this one. I really laid on the magical properties of those two stories a bit too much, and I believe that I could do better.

This story is my way of redeeming myself to some of your eyes. If you liked the Vanguard series, read this, because not only will there me no magic in it, but there will only be one original character. Of course, I will keep some ideas from my Vanguard series, such as Ares being still alive and Larry and Angelina coming to the Underland.

So come…delve into this tale… and allow me to present…The Warrior and the Guardian!

A tall boy wearing a huge baggy coat raced through the deserted ruins of what had once been New York City. His pursuer was but six short yards behind him. Although this boy was taller than most adults, many adults were now desperate enough to murder and rob from even little kids or people bigger than them.

The boy glanced back at his pursuer. Although his quarry was rather short compared to him, his persistence was impressive, and the predator had, for once, been able to keep up with the prey without any ambush.

Which was what the prey was counting on.

In plain sight of his pursuer, the boy turned into an alleyway, but there was a brick wall blocking the end of it. Panicking, the boy looked around for exits, but there were none, and it was too late anyway. The chaser was panting a bit when he came to the alley's entrance. The boy was cornered.

"Heh-heh-heh…I finally caught you, you damn brat! Now come here…and let me gut you like a fish, nice and slowly…" The man drew out a long surgical knife with a serrated edge. The man stalked towards the boy threateningly until he had cleared about half the distance between them, when...

"Hey! Stop it!" Another boy had appeared at the end of the alleyway. The man looked behind him…and in that same moment, the first boy knocked the man out with a club to the head from a metal shield with a medium-sized blade at the end. With a groan, the man sank to the ground.

"Fool…" the first boy growled. He looked at his friend and grinned. "Nice timing, Gregor. Next time, though, you be the bait."

"Whatever, Raphael," Gregor said. He took out two knives from his pocket and stabbed them into the ground where the man's sleeves were, pinning him into the ground. Raphael took out two more knives and did the same to the guy's pants.

Raphael then stomped on the man's stomach, waking him up. He immediately noticed that he couldn't move. "Ugh…you damn brats! What did you do to me?" he yelled, struggling violently.

"Shut up and lie there like a good little boy. The police will come for you soon, you damned serial killer," Raphael growled.

"You're lucky we don't kill you right here and now, Jonathan Wanton. You were the one who killed both of our parents. Because of you, Raphael was left alone in this world, and my sisters had nightmares for months!" Gregor yelled.

"So why don't you just lay there and don't try our patience? Trust me, we could kill you right now if we wanted to. Stay there and spare yourself the pain. Those knives are buried up to the hilt. You won't be able to get out for a long time." Gregor and Raphael turned their backs to the man.

"Wait! Who are you two?" Jonathan asked.

"I am Light…" Gregor started.

"…and I am Darkness," Raphael finished.

Jonathan's eyes widened. He had heard stories throughout the criminal grapevine about two sixteen-year old bounty hunters calling themselves Light and Darkness that were taking out crime with medieval weapons in ruined New York City, but he thought they were just stories! Now he realized…although he should have realized it from the start when he saw Raphael's bladed shield.

"You bastards…! You're…" Jonathan never got to finish what he said. Raphael drew out another knife and severed Jonathan's pinky fingers with one slash each. He did it so quickly that Jonathan didn't feel the pain until about a second later. He unleashed a loud scream, driven by both pain and shock.

Gregor ignored this and called the police, leaving a tip from "Light and Darkness", telling them the location of Jonathan Wanton and to leave the reward where they normally left it. Then, he and Raphael walked out of the alleyway. "You know, I thought I told you to lessen your cruel ways a bit," Gregor said.

"I can't help myself. But he should consider himself lucky that I didn't cut off his thumbs. The pinky fingers aren't as useful as the thumbs," Raphael answered.

Gregor grunted. "All the same, try to go easy on them next time," he said.

"I just did," Raphael replied.

Later…

Jonathan Wanton was still screaming in pain when the police arrived. They had just left the reward at "the normal place", just as Light and Darkness told them to. As the police struggled to pull the knives out of the ground, the commanding police officer looked around.

"Man…what the hell's happened to New York City? Four years ago, it was one of my favorite places to live? Now we got criminals everywhere, ruined buildings…and those Light and Darkness fellows. Sheesh, they could at least let us do our job!" he ranted, looking up into the sky. "But they're pretty clever for such young boys, and much as I hate to admit it, we really need their help. It's not like the police can do anything about it nowadays." He sighed as the police roughly shoved the disarmed and handcuffed Jonathan Wanton into a squad car. "Man…New York City's becoming really pathetic if the police are relying on two sixteen-year olds with medieval weapons."

OK, that's the first chapter done. I'll explain about Raphael and why New York City has gone downhill in the next chapter.

A few final notes. First, Nerissa will be younger than she is in the books. You'll find out why. Second, I now have four stories to work on, so if you're reading them, sorry, but I'll put two of them on lower priority. I need more time to work on this one and the other one. Also, starting with the next chapter, I will add notes of a philosophical manner that have to do with the chapters' plots. This is the first time that I've tried this stories, and I'm doing this because The Warrior and The Guardian is probably going to be the one that I find the most depressing because there will be a lot of character death. I'm going to make it special in my own way.

For now, though, please review!