A/N: I do own nothing except the OCs and myself and God help those who say that the OCs are theirs.

Gatekeepers Ch. 2

Rothar looked at the spot where the Danians said was the best spot to surprise anyone. Nobody was going to disagree with them; they knew better than to argue with the people who lived underground in tunnels and caves. It was near pure water, and they could hide the BattleGear and Mugics in the caves and tunnels that reside in the sides. Right now the sky above it was full of grey and heavy clouds, ready to pour rain on them.

Rothar sighed. The waiting was getting to him. He was a Creature that worked better moving, not standing around being useless. And more than anything else, he hated doing nothing.

Looking down, he saw H'earring wearing what was the Creature version of earmuffs. The things were fluffy, round to accommodate all sensitive ears, and worn like a headband. It looked ridiculous on him.

Rothar frowned and growled, "H'earring, take those off! You're embarrassing yourself."

H'earring looked at him and shook his head. "No! My ears are sensitive, you know that!"

Scowl on his face, Rothar said, "That's only because you were on Blazier's Mowercycle! Now take them off!"

Again, H'earring shook his head. Rorthar's scowl turned into a snarled and made a move to the little green Creature. Yelping, H'earring ran away from the bigger Creature to hide behind Oqua. The blue dragon-like Creature looked at H'earring in surprise at first, then glared.

"Don't hide behind me just because you won't follow his directions!" he scolded in his screechy voice.

"Nobody will be fighting each other on this mission," a voice of authority said. Takinom strode forward and stopped in front of Rothar. "Chaor and Maxxor's orders. Do I make myself clear, Rothar?"

Rothar looked down. "Sorry, Takinom. It's just frustrating."

Takinom looked at Rothar with empathy. "I know, Rothar. I know that it's hard waiting. Do you think anyone else likes it when it's time to wait for a surprise with no hints to what it will contain? Be patient, talk to someone or guard the supplies."

With a nod, Rothar walked away, heading towards his own cave. Takinom looked at Omar and H'earring.

"Oqua, watch the rear of the rift to make sure that nobody comes up the slope from the river. H'earring, with me," she ordered briskly. Oqua nodded his head and headed to the back; he knew better than to disobey Chaor's mate.

Meanwhile, Takinom and H'earring went into the main cave that was being used as a council room. Upon entering, they saw that a map had been rolled out and the tribal leaders for the mission were all over it. The light that allowed them to even see the map came from the back of the cave, which led to the tunnel to the main cavern. Everyone could go there because all the tunnels leading to the caves, even the ones on the other side of the rift.

Chaor whipped his massive head around to see his mate and H'earring standing at the opening.

"H'earring, in here," he growled, motioning for the little Creature to come in. H'earring practically bounced into the cave; knowing that he could help besides being a scout made him full of energy. Maxxor gently lifted H'earring up onto the map so that he could see the map. Meanwhile, Takinom moved into the cave as well and stood behind her mate with her arms crossed and leaning against the wall.

"How many humans were in the group you saw yesterday, H'earring?" Marquis Darini asked, concern written all over his face.

"Uh, about forty humans and the creatures they were with. Why?" H'earring looked at the looks that he was receiving, a mixture of anger, concern, and disappointment. He began to be scared and was about to babble when Intress saved him.

She dropped into the cave, returning from patrol. Maxxor smiled at seeing his mate safe, and H'earring was grateful for the save. Striding over quickly, worry masked her usual smile. Takinom arched an eyebrow at the other's expression.

"Things are not going as planned, is it?" she asked the Overworlder. There was still a bit of a rivalry between the two, but it's slowly dissolving over time.

Intress sighed, shaking her head no. Walking over to the map, she grabbed three colored stones from their marked positions and put them into new ones. A red one was placed on a spot where there were many trees, but a trail was still visible, near the rift. A dark blue one was put on another trail with many trees, like the red stone, but farther away from the rift. The last stone, which was a yellow, was placed out in the open and near the rift.

"This stone," Intress began, pointing to the yellow stone, "represents an entirely different group than the ones H'earring saw."

"But I just saw one!" H'earring cried out in alarm.

"Let me finish, okay? You're not in trouble," she reassured him. Returning to the map she continued, "The big group H'earring saw was actually two separate groups that were together until this afternoon."

She pointed to the red stone. "This is the one we have to look out for. They're heading our way and they look like they have some tough humans in it."

Odu-Bathax scoffed. "We can take care of them. Wiping them out will be easy!"

"No one will be wiping anyone out, Odu-Bathax!" Maxxor snarled. The others glared at the blue ant as well.

"We need these humans to find the others," Marquis Darini said. Intress took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"There's something else."

Surprised, the leaders whipped their heads around at her. She continued, "There are little ones with them. If they'll like us, and I'm betting they are, then those kids and their safety are going their top priority."

Maxxor looked down at the map, brows furrowed, fingers tapping out a rhythm. Intress knew what that meant; her mate was thinking of a plan. Finally, he said with a sigh, "Get me Gespedan."

Intress nodded and went to find him. Odu-Bathax looked at Maxxor confused.

"Why do you need your spy for?" he asked. Chaor was the only one that had an understanding look on his face.

"Going to get one of the humans before the storm?" Chaor bluntly asked. Maxxor looked at the Underworld leader with a touch of annoyance.

"I'm getting someone, yes, but not a human."

Takinom cocked her head slightly. "Then who?"

Gespedan arrived moments later with Intress right behind him.

"You needed me, Maxxor?" he asked with a little bow.

"Yes, go back to the village and bring Najarin. We'll need his experience with these people." Maxxor ordered. Another little bow, and Gespedan was off to fetch Najarin.

Takinom looked at the map again. "So, wait. What about the yellow group?"

Intress snorted. "If they're trouble, then I'm Yokkis. They're scrawny, they have mounts, and carrying lots of their own version of BattleGear. The potential to be dangerous? They are dangerous."

Marquis Darini rubbed his forehead. "This is not good. We have two groups and a storm coming in and we only have a couple of hours until sunset. When will the yellow group be here?"

Intress shrugged. "If they push on through the storm, then they'll be here by the middle of the night."

Chaor growled, then brightened. "H'earring."

H'earring, forgotten until then, jumped.

"Yes, Chaor?" he nervously asked.

"We're going to need scouts. Lots of scouts. At least one from each tribe," Chaor said.

"…All right?" Confused, H'earring hopped off the table and hurried off to find the scouts. Just as he left, a few drops of rain began to fall, then picked the pace up to a light drizzle.

Marquis Darini took one look outside and sighed.

"It's going to be a long night," he simply said. Maxxor couldn't help but agree with him.


Tom looked at the sky again. Owen Jesslew, a brown haired boy of twelve, had just joined their group, the Rabbits, after the Bloody Eagles split with them, looked over at him from his bay mount, Dirtboss.

"You keep looking at the sky like it's going to fall on us!" he teased gently, his grey eyes twinkling. Tom looked at the chubby boy confused.

"I'm trying to find any fliers, that's all," he said. Peyton had seen a blue blur earlier, and Sarah claimed to see a tiger woman in the trees. Tom and Kaz were the only ones on Bucky that hadn't seen anyone.

"What did I tell you?" Adam scolded. Jonathan smacked him on the back of the head with his massive hand. He was a big African man with large muscles that can be seen through slightly loose shirts and covered in scars. A white cobra, coiled and ready to strike, with ruby eyes tattoo on his left shoulder blade showed his former alliance with the deadly Hu-Nun-Ki, a group dedicated to the arts of weapons and hand-to-hand combat.

"Joseph said that if we are seen, we are not to act like frightened deer and hide. He said that we act honorably and show ourselves to the people," Jonathan corrected in his deep voice. Seth looked at his twin in mock sympathy.

"And to think," Seth began, "we were shaking like leaves when a Creature appeared."

SMACK!!!

"Ow! Shinko that really hurt!" Seth whined. Shinko held her shukusen in her hand, the base having been used to hit Seth.

"Serves you right. You shouldn't bait your twin," she reprimanded. Pouting and rubbing his head, Seth settled down. Soon after, the rain started as a drizzle, then became harder and thunder sounded over head.

"Dismount!" Joseph called out when it became too hard to see without a flashlight. Quickly, the now group of ten or so dismounted and Tom took Bucky's reins in his tiny hands. Kaz rooted through the saddlebags for a flashlight. Finding it, he tossed it to Tom, who turned it on, and hopped off. The 18-hand Clydesdale was so gentle, he allowed Tom to lead him up the hill that the others were going up with the flashlight on. Walking next to Socks and looking over to the side, Peyton gulped.

"Peyton? What's wrong?" Sarah asked. Peyton just pointed down. Anna and Sarah looked as well. Anna nodded in understanding.

"Yes, Peyton, that's the rift. Just don't look at it, all right? You're okay." Peyton nodded and looked at everything but the edge. Joseph turned the group back into the forest and away from the edge just as lightning flashed its forked tongue and thunder rumbled. Kaz flinched slightly at the storm, but pressed on with the rest.

Finally, the group came upon a rock formation that looked like a table. It was big enough to shelter everyone, including the horses and dogs. After everyone dried off, a cold dinner was made from left-over rice, fruit, and beans.

"Think anyone will be out tonight?" Kaz asked around a mouthful of rice.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Kaz," Alana said. Her ice blue eyes were as warm as her cocoa skin and her short black hair.

"Sorry," Kaz mumbled. Shinko laughed.

"I don't think anyone will be out tonight, Kaz, especially this weather," she answered for Alana. Kaz looked disappointed. Jonathan couldn't blame the little red head; he wanted to see a Creature as well.

After dinner was cleaned up, everyone pitched in to keep each other warm. The children, which included Owen, were bundled up in several blankets and one big blanket. The adults and warriors bundled up as well into several different groups. Seth and Adam almost had Shinko in their group, but Anna swooped in like a bird of prey and pulled her away.

"Grandmother!!" Shinko protested with a laugh. Anna just continued to pull her away from the two boys.

Finally, everyone settled down.

"Good night!" Tom called out.

"Sleep tight!" Shinko replied.

"Try not to teleport tonight!" Seth called out.

"SETH!!!!!!"

The youngest had discovered their teleporting powers that came with their Gatekeeping by accident. Sarah had a bad dream soon after they came to Perim and teleported into a cottage in the woods. The owner, "a weird looking colorful ball with feathers on his butt" as Sarah put the Creature, was thankfully asleep at the time and didn't notice her going out the window. Thankfully, no more teleporting incidents had happened to the other little Gatekeepers. There were several with the Bloody Eagles' Gatekeeper, as he teleported short distances and places when he snored.

Tom fell asleep fairly quickly, while others had to listen to Seth and Adam's horrible snoring before falling asleep. For the Rabbits, the night will be uneventful until near dawn.


Blazier quietly grumbled under his breath. He was having a grand time mapping the tunnels and caves of the rift the team was staying. Unfortunately he had sentry duty just as he was about to begin a new section on his map. Thankfully it was almost dawn, and H'earring was with him after being waken. Unthankfully, it was still raining and neither one of them couldn't see farther than a couple of feet from their cover, a log that had been blown over by the wind near a tunnel entrance.

Suddenly a pair of hooves appeared in front of their hide-away, coming from the front of the rift. Blazier frowned at the sight. Why is Staluk here? he wondered. There were tunnels before their own, but only one was big enough for Staluk to come out of, and they would have heard him coming. H'earring poked his head out from under the log.

"Staluk? It's not time for a sentry change; we just got here," he called out. Blazier poked his head out to tell the centaur-like Creature to get lost. Just then, heat lightning lit up the sky and revealed the person in the rain.

It wasn't Staluk.

The creature in front of them had two heads, one on the back and in the front. The head on the back had a torso and two arms. The head in the front looked like it had Staluk's head, but not completely. The rest of the body looked like Staluk as well but like the head, it wasn't quite there.

It was a monster! Blazier decided that much when he felt H'earring shaking beside him.

Suddenly, the torso disconnected itself from the main body and jumped down to the ground. Blazier gritted his teeth as he and H'earring saw that the monster was really two creatures. The "torso" had a pair of long legs that looked mechanical. In fact, the being probably was mechanical! At least, Blazier hoped so.

Squatting down, the being reached up, grabbed its head and pulled it off. Blazier was sure H'earring was going to faint. Then he realized that the creature took it off only to reveal that it was like a hat.

"Well, well." Blazier could almost hear the smirk behind the voice. "Aren't we in trouble?"


Tom began to have a horrible dream around dawn.

He was in large building, with concrete all around him. He saw everyone in the Rabbits, along with his mother and father, packing for a trip. He was packing too. He was almost done when an explosion knocked him off his feet. Grabbing his bag, he lurched to the door with the others.

The actual Tom began to tremble in his little group.

Reaching outside, he dashed for the fence like the others who were avoiding the fires. A hole had been there forever and people were going under it. He too went under the fence and waited for his parents. Finally, his mom appeared.

"Mommy?" he asked. His mom reached through the chain linked fence and cupped his face.

"Baby, I've got to find your father. Run, okay? We'll catch up with you. I need you to be brave. Can you do that? Can you be brave for Mommy?" she asked breathlessly. The dream Tom nodded his head. His mom kissed his forehead through the fence and raced back through the fires.

The real Tom's body began to gather energy.

The dream Tom ran the other direction of the fence. He had just crested a hill when a massive explosion destroyed the camp. He looked over his shoulder to see the fiery remains. His parents were both gone.

VOMPH!!!! Tom unconsciously teleported away from the whole campsite. Kaz was the first to wake after he ported. Alarmed, he screamed.

"TOMMY TELEPORTED!!!"


Tom awoke after he tried to port from his nightmare and ended up in a massive cave. This cave was filled with various items that looked like weapons such as swords and war hammers. There were things that he couldn't identify without help.

Looking behind him, Tom noticed an iron door that was several feet taller than him and looked like it was locked. Going up to it, he put his tiny hands against the cold metal and willed it to unlock. The Bloody Eagle's Gatekeeper taught Tom, Kaz, Peyton, and Sarah that in order to lock and unlock an object, one must have the willpower, or wanting, to have it unlock.

Tom thrust all of his will into the lock. Clacking and twists could be heard in the door, and the door creaked open. Peeking around the corner, he cautiously walked to a light source that showed a path. When he got closer to the light source, he started to crawl, scared that he would find a Black Knight group. Careful of loose rocks and stones, Tom peeked over the edge of the path.

"Wow!" he breathed, amazed at what he saw. Creatures of all shapes, sizes, and colors were in a large cavern with caves and tunnels, Tom wasn't sure which, leading out and beyond. Many were yawning or grabbing food. Several were slumped over tables, not ready to be awake. But what caught Tom's attention was a tall and muscular green man that carried himself like a leader. He had weird purple tattoos that swirled. His black hair stood in all directions, and Tom was sure that he was seeing Sarah's tiger woman right next to him!

Suddenly, a shout sounded and the Creatures were moving fast. Tom was confused until he noticed a tunnel being surrounded. A little yellow man, bound by what looked like a boa constrictor of rope, was tossed out of the tunnel. A white bird like Creature moved toward him, but from what Tom could tell he was stopped by a knife. Movement in the tunnel attracted his attention, and he clasped both hands around his mouth.

Black armor flashed in the light. Humans entered the cavern, smirks and sneers on their faces. One held a little green bunny looking person who was tied as well. The person who looked to be the ringleader stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Creatures of all ages, you will be giving us what we want…" she began.

"Or we'll have rabbit and hiker stew!!" One of the lackeys finished, picking up the yellow man. The group started to laugh like jackals and hyenas. Tom removed his hands from his mouth and whispered two words.

"Black Knights!"

A/N: Dun dun dunnnnn!! Will the Creatures survive? Will Najarin be there? Will Tom be found? Find out next time on Gatekeepers!!!Read and Review please!