"What the hell is this?!?" the Leader of the Guardian's Council exclaimed, throwing a handful of files onto the old wooden table. All of the Guardians around the table were shocked; never in their lives had they seen the Leader so upset. The files skittered across the tabletop, and the pink-haired Guardian cautiously picked up an errant piece of paper. As he read the paper, his eyes widened.

"Na-nani yo!?" he exclaimed.

The Leader gave a thin-lipped smile and sat down in his chair. "That's exactly what I want to know." He nodded and the aide hurriedly dimmed the lights and turned on the projector. As pictures flashed across the screen, all of the Council was in shock. "Now," the Leader continued. "Can anyone please explain to me how Disneyland was totally destroyed by the group of girls known as 'Otaku' when they have Guardians watching them? What kind of Guardians do we have watching these girls anyway?!?"

Everyone at the table fidgeted. Finally a Council member with gray hair spoke up. "Sir, I have new information on Operation: Bishoujo. It may help clear things up."

"Good. Good. You all might as well tell me everything that you've found out about these girls and the Guardians. Proceed."

"Uh, yes, sir. It seems that our first briefing was incomplete. One Otaku/Guardian pair was completely left out. As it was said before, Celeste's network tightly controls all information that goes in and out of the Game. Our sources were not informed of Tasuki no Otaku, Mercy, and her Guardian, Orion."

"Orion...?" a brown-haired Council member whispered. "I thought... I thought that after what happened with... Felicity... he... he... well, you know." He made a vague slitting motion across his throat.

"No," the gray-haired one answered. "Orion withdrew from the waking world and turned to the bottle. But apparently he recovered and was assigned to Mercy."

"What does she look like?"

A picture popped up on the screen and the brown-haired Council member shuddered. "Gods, she looks just like Felicity..."

"We've got a bunch of nutcases out there!" one Guardian exclaimed in disgust. "One of the 'Guardians' is a known traitor to the Council, another is just shy of walking the plank, one is a sexual fiend, two are newbies, one is a drunkard, and one is gay!"

"Actually, he's a she now. Orpheus has disappeared from our network and has been replaced by Eurydice. Actually, he *was* Eurydice... it's rather complicated," the Guardian with an eye-patch interjected.

"Needless to say, Zeke and Kell are good Guardians. As well as P-man. Those three at least will toe the line." The Guardian jotted down some notes.

"Please continue. What new developments have occurred within Operation: Bishoujo?"

A Guardian with a nice manicure stood up next and passed some papers around the table. His sober face spoke volumes to the assembled group. "I'm afraid to say that there has been severe damages caused by the battle in Disneyland. Preliminary reports state that damages are running around three billion dollars, that is everything from destruction of property to heavy lawsuits from visitors to the park. Also, the local police department is reporting that several officers never made it back from their attempt to clear out the park. The officers are missing and presumed dead. And, news reports are totally blowing the event out of proportion. The stories range from a cult planning mass suicide to aliens invading and fighting each other."

"We're going to have to take care of this," one Guardian muttered. "The Otaku can't really be called into question for their behavior. They were just doing what the Game is making them do."

The Leader sighed. "Fine. Have Financial take care of this... discretely. Lord knows that the Guardian's Council always cleans up after itself. Anything else?"

"Yes, sir." A football player-type Guardian stood next. "During the 'Happiest Battle on Earth,' Celeste's Otaku status was announced." The Guardian watched as many around the table went pale, fearing the response. "She has declared herself to be... Endymion no Otaku."

The silence was deafening.

"Also, it seems that she was able to call Endymion-sama, or at least his reincarnation, one Chiba Mamoru, directly into the playing field. Endymion-sama is now actively participating in helping Celeste win the Game."

"Have any other Bishounen been called?"

"No, sir. The process is nearly suicidal in itself. The proper incantation must be spoken and a tremendous amount of energy must be expended."

"Good. Good. Those girls are bad enough. Now, is there anything more to report?" The table was silent as all the Council members nervously waited to see if anyone else would speak. The Leader nodded and stood up. "Very well, then. I call this session closed, but remain on the lookout for any information that could be useful to us."

TBC...