It was a beautiful day in Heaven, as it usually was, and Rey was enjoying himself extensively. Shin was discussing a new book he had found in the library with him and Rey found himself very interested in it. It was about human traditions, and Shin was explaining his favorite chapter of the book; a chapter about human love. Rey was listening at rapt attention.

"I remember when we learned about it a little bit ourselves," Shin was saying, "when we were younger."

"That was when Lord Lucifer was still here," Rey interjected a little sadly. "He always found humans so fascinating." Shin nodded a little more enthusiastically than normal.

"Well, they are!" he responded earnestly, flipping through the pages with elegant and deft hands. "Look at this. There are rules to follow, apparently, when a human male courts a human female. I don't understand the necessity of them, but I find it amazing that the humans came up with them!" Rey nodded and then leaned over the book again, scanning the words over with obvious interest. He stopped when he read a particular line.

"Wait," he muttered. Shin looked at him quickly and then followed his eyes to the line he was reading. After a moment his brow furrowed.

"Oh," he gasped under his breath. They were both silent for a moment as they read onward, turning the page. The chapter met its end there. Rey bit his lip as he contemplated what he had just read.

"So, in this time, humans don't really join, er…marry? Was that the word?" Shin nodded, clearly lost in his own thoughts. Rey continued. "Humans don't marry for love?" Shin nodded again.

"I suppose not," he said slowly. Rey blinked and observed the page, confused.

"But, that doesn't seem right at all," he protested with a furrowed brow. "I thought God gifted all humans with the ability to love, wouldn't they… I mean, what about those two humans we saw in the Goddess's mirror? Weren't they in love?" Shin shook his head and lightly bit his lip, a sign he was thinking hard.

"…Perhaps they were a special case," he hypothesized. "Perhaps not all humans are as lucky as they." Rey's silence was his only response.

"Rey! Shin! Hey!" The two angels were startled out of their reverie by the very familiar sound of Gai's exuberant voice. They turned and smiled as they saw Gai running towards them at full speed, Gou following at a calmer pace. Rey stood and waved happily as the two approached them.

"Hello, Gou," he said pleasantly. "Hello, Gai. What brings you two here, I thought you were sparring?" Shin closed the book and looked expectantly at them. Gai pouted and folded his arms peevishly. He still resembled so closely the young infant angel he once was. Rey almost laughed but Gou's smile faltered a little and stopped the laughter in his throat.

"We have a task," he said seriously. "Luca and Judas are waiting for us at Heaven's Palace. I don't know what it is, but it was apparently important enough that Pandora told us of it in person." Rey's brow furrowed and he felt a small pang of worry and knew that Shin shared his sentiment. Beside him, the studious angel stood to his feet and took a step towards Gou.

"Do you know anything about the nature of this mission?" he asked. Gou shook his head and Gai rolled his eyes.

"No, he said it was too important to bear repeating," Gai mocked, in an obvious but terrible impression of Pandora. Gou smiled and thwacked the little angel upside the head. Gai squawked and clutched his head, glaring at Gou. Shin and Rey chuckled, grateful for the momentary lightening of the solemn mood. Shin was the first to sober.

"We should head over there as soon as possible, then," he said, casting the book a longing glance before tucking it beneath his arm. Rey nodded and summoned his wings.

"I can carry someone there," he offered. "It won't be as fast as I normally can fly, but it's faster than walking." Gai immediately jumped up with his hand in the air.

"I wanna go!" he shouted. "I've never flown before, Rey, let me go!" Rey smiled as Gou snickered and Shin stifled his laughs behind his hand. Gai ignored them both. Rey nodded and Gai bounded over to him.

"Alright," Rey said. "You'll have to put your arms around my neck and hold on tight." Gai tilted his head in slight confusion.

"Around your neck?" he repeated. "Can't you just hold my hands or something? Or I could ride on your back?" Rey shook his head, amused at Gai's antics but slightly impatient to get to the palace.

"No, if you ride on my back, my wings won't be able to move, and if I hold your arms, I could injure you," he explained. "And besides, that would slow us down. It's easier if you just hold onto my neck." Gai pouted but he did not want to miss the opportunity to fly. Truth be told, he'd always been a little jealous of Rey and Luca. They could travel super fast and look super cool with their super awesome wings. What did Gai have? All he had was some fangs.

"It's not fair," he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Rey's neck as instructed. Rey laughed.

"Wings aren't everything, Gai," he said, poking the little angel's nose playfully. "You have so many things that I don't have that I would gladly give my wings for." Gai nodded and waved miserably at Gou and Shin, who returned the gesture, and sighed. Rey let out a long breath, sounding like a wearied mother trying to placate her child, and wrapped his arms around Gai's waist securely.

"Hold on," he warned before he took off into the air. Gai's yelp of surprise made him laugh out loud. Those wiry arms tightened around his neck and he smiled.

"I won't drop you!" he promised as he began to ascend higher and higher.

"Wooooooooow!" Gai shouted, twisting his head right and left as far as he could. "This is so awesome, Rey! You see this every time you fly!" Rey's smile grew and he began to pick up speed, careful of the safety of his precious cargo.

"I suppose so!" he shouted back, loving the feel of the wind in his hair as he always did. Somehow, Gai's excitement about the experience was making everything that had once seemed to be a routine to Rey appear so much more beautiful. He honestly thought his face would split from the force of his smile as he continued flying. Gai's happiness was contagious like that.

Eventually, Heaven's Palace appeared in their sight and Rey began to slow himself and descend. He was used to the feeling but he wasn't sure if Gai was, so he was sure to be extra careful.

Once they landed, Gai practically jumped away from him and pumped his fist into the air.

"That was awesome, Rey!" he belted. "Thanks so much!" Before Rey could protest, he had an armful of Gai and was struggling not to fall over. He blushed from the praise but returned Gai's embrace readily.

"Well, this is certainly an unusual thing," an amused voice floated from the steps of Heaven's Palace. Rey looked over Gai's head to see Judas and Luca walking over to him and Gai. They were both wearing amused smiles as they watched the scene before them. Rey tried to will his blush away but it didn't work exactly as he had planned. Gai pulled away from him and beamed.

"Rey just flew me over here and it was amazing!" he explained enthusiastically. He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his toes, pointing to Rey's wings, which were flapping a little uncomfortably at Rey's back, signifying his discomfort at being given so much attention. Rey looked down at his feet as Gai continued to explain his tremendous journey through the sky.

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day," Luca's voice penetrated his haze of embarrassment and Rey shrugged, not sure how to respond. Luca chuckled softly.

"Sorry," he said just as softly. "It's just so rare to see him so eager to compliment you." He smiled as Rey's blush deepened and shook his head when Rey again looked down to inspect his feet.

"You know you can't keep responding to compliments this way, Rey," he said matter-of-factly. "One of these days, you're going to have to look someone in the eye and say to them, 'thank you for the compliment.' I wonder if I'll be alive to see that day." Rey's head shot up indignantly and he put his delicate hands on his hips.

"Now wait just a minute!" he huffed. Luca laughed and began to walk away with Rey right on his heels. Judas, still smiling warmly, turned and greeted Rey.

"So you flew Gai over here," he said. "Well, that must have been an exciting flight." Rey nodded, forgetting his frustration for the moment.

"It certainly was," he agreed. "Gai was quite the passenger." Gai grinned a toothy grin and gave them all a thumbs up. They all shared a moment of laughter together and put the heavy burden of their mission aside.

"What a pleasant sight this is, all of the Saint Beasts laughing joyously together in the Palace of Heaven." The cold voice stopped their laughter and immediately Judas' face grew hard. Luca felt a wave of foreboding wash over him and studies his friend carefully.

Judas turned to face the official with a stony veneer and an oppressive tension descended over them all. Pandora stood at the entrance of the palace gates and watched them with a sharp smile and an unreadable spark in his eye. Rey swallowed noiselessly as he saw Pandora peer around, making a show of looking for something.

"But what's this?" he inquired with a mocking tone. "Not all of the Saints are here. Oh dear, I'd have thought you would all take this seriously enough to warrant a speedy arrival, but I suppose I was wrong." He broke off to touch a hand to his head as though he were disappointed. Judas' expression was as cold as Pandora's and he stepped forward to match the official.

"Forgive us our inattentiveness, Pandora," he said in a low voice. "I suppose you'll just have to tell Lord Zeus of our ineptitude." Pandora fell back a step, recognizing Judas' challenge but being hesitant to meet it. Judas opened his mouth to speak again, but Luca stepped forward and placed a restraining arm on his shoulder. The red-haired angel turned to him and met his eyes. Luca shook his head and held Judas' gaze. Judas sighed and turned away from Pandora, closing his eyes as he tried to reign in his temper. Luca faced Pandora and stood between him and Judas. Rey and Gai moved to stand at his side.

"Pandora, Gou and Shin will be here soon, we can assure you of that," he said. "In the meanwhile, I am sure you have other business that requires your attention more than we do. Do you deny it?" Pandora narrowed his eyes, but bowed his head and headed back into the palace with the grace that befitted one of Zeus' officials. Luca sighed and reached a hand up to his forehead.

"That man is more embittered every time we see him," he said through clenched teeth. Rey placed his hand atop Luca's and offered a gentle smile.

"That may be true, Luca," he said. "But he is not our concern right now." Luca's deep red eyes caught Rey's soft amber ones and held them there in a grateful gaze. He smiled and took Rey's hand in his.

"That is true," he agreed. "He is not our concern now." As if on cue, Judas spoke up in a voice of forced calm.

"Here come Shin and Gou," he said. Luca nodded his acknowledgement but his eyes, which had shifted from Rey to Judas, did not leave the tense form of his friend. Rey squeezed his hand.

"Hello Shin, Gou," he said without relinquishing Luca's hand. The two stopped in front of them and Gou's eyes flashed.

"I just saw Pandora with you all," he said. "Is everything all right?" Shin immediately focused his worried eyes on Judas, noticing his unusual rigidity.

"Judas?" he asked tentatively. "What happened? What did he say?" Judas was watching the entrance to Heaven's Palace with an almost acidic gaze. He didn't answer. Rey hastened to make up for his lapse in attention.

"He just said some things that—"

"Made him look like even more of a jerk!" Gai chimed in, standing at Gou's side. The taller angel turned to him with an inquisitive look.

"What sort of things?" he asked. Rey shook his head.

"What he said was unimportant," he replied. "What is important is that he was more open with his disdain for us than is usual for him. And Judas—" He stopped abruptly and glanced to Luca, who was watching Judas still. Shin and Gou followed his gaze and all six of the Saint Beasts fell into silence as they watched Judas' doubts and insecurities take hold of him.

"We should go see Zeus now," he spoke distantly, and Luca pulled his hand from Rey's grip to place it supportively upon Judas' shoulder. Judas turned to Luca gratefully. At his other side, Shin did the same and Judas offered him a warm smile as well. Gou took his place behind his three fellows and Gai stood to his right, ready for action. Rey just stood where he was, unsure of himself. The five of them began to head into the palace, and Rey, having nowhere else to stand, migrated to the tail end of their group, trying to ignore his fears.

Zeus was waiting for them.

Alright, chapter one! I hope this turned out okay, it's not one of my favorite parts of the story so far. It's just supposed to set up the beginning of some weird plot thing that goes on. I'm not sure how well I captured the characters of Saint Beast (which I don't own, by the way) and I don't know how many people I've sent running for the hills with my cheap dialog... I hope not too many.

Okay, ANYwho, here is chapter one, and thank you to all who reviewed the prologue, I really appreciate your input!

To Ovoriel, yes there are some summaries of the drama cd's out there. The one that I found was okay for all intents and purposes, but I'm sure there are better ones out there. I'll put up the link here and you can check it out yourself! Just get rid of the spaces and replace the dots with actual dots.

http : / / yukiya-ayase dot livejournal dot com / 890 dot html