Warriors: The New Era.

Chapter Thirty Seven: Guardians And Monsters

Here we have some new additions to the team, in light of the new enemy. Some of Poppyfrost's trusted friends get some spotlight, Rock gathers a new evil to his cause, and a day in the life of Jack Graves. Along with a surprise cameo of a great Bartender...

In other words, Enjoy.


Lostface rubbed her gut, whimpering.

Fang grabbed a beer from the minifridge, plopping down on a velvet chair, "How's your breast?"

"Like it's been shot, how's your neck?" Brightheart lostface

Fang shrugged, "I've had worse."

The two were in a side room off the command center, which was a room off the side of the Throne Room. It was made of stone, like an old castle, and thee room was decorated with maps and monitors. A smart table laid in the center of it all. In the room the two were in, a neat sign hung over it described as the "PANIC ROOM", which became a small relaxation spot for the guards and workers of the queen.

"You heard from the queen yet?" Fang asked.

"Nada. She's going deep. I heard rumors that the spy and the Assassin were taken care of."

"Here's hoping," Fang scowled, "No one beats me in a fight and gets away with it."

"You, sir, certainly hold a lot of grudges," Lostface smirked.

Fang chuckled, rubbing his backside. "You, ma'am, have no idea."

"Where's the boy?"

"Oh, he's busy out on the streets, probably conning some poor souls," Fang shrugged.

The walkie talkie sitting on the coffee table buzzed to life, as Poppyfrost's voice echoed in the room, "This is the Queen. Fang, do you copy?"

Fang got off his chair, and grabbed the radio, smirking. "I'm here, Queen. Watcha need?"

"We have a problem. We've got some new enemies and new allies."

"You need me to round up the Wolfpack?"

"NO! Not them! Instead...I'd like you to take this mission. There's no one I trust more then you to accomplish this task."

"What sort of task?" Fang rubbed his chin as Brightheart looked on in wonder.

"As I said, we have some new friends. But we don't necessarily have the time to watch them 24/7. Two of them still go to High School, and the rest still have college. That leaves me, my sisters who cannot for the life of them fight, and Fernsong to watch over them, and even then, I still have a lot to do."

Fang growled "You need me to watch over them? Like a babysitter?"

"Like a stalker, actually," Poppyfrost chuckled over the radio, "Watch from afar. And...bring the boy while you're at it. I'll use my connections to get him into the High School. Maybe get him a dorm too."

"That'll cost extra," Fang pointed out.

"Foxleap is loaded."

Fang grunted, "Still why the boy? He's rather...I dunno, pathetic?"

"Cause he's got some experience with espionage and spying. That...and he reminds me of Alderheart."

Fang grunted, "I'll...go get him then."

Fang tossed the walkie talkie to Lostface, who immediately began chatting away with her friend.

The brute walked through the mapping room, politely nodding at those working furiously on their jobs, and took another tunnel.

"Why, in the world, did Forrestlake have to have so MANY tunnels! I'm pretty sure I can take a tunnel all the way to MISSOURI!"

Fang's thunderous footsteps echoed throughout the tunnel, and when he reached the top of the markets, he grinned. He turned to one of the residents, who was selling pendants of all kinds.

"Hey, Claire, you seen the boy?!"

The redhead shook her head, "Nah, but I think Grassoak has!"

Fang grunted again, "Any one else know?"

"Try the booth that sells Records."

Fang thanked her, brushing past many of his friends.

He knew the name of everyone in this market. And he would know everyone who would come. It helped the community trust the Queen, if their leader's top enforcer knew everyone's name, and was a friendly man to all, that no one would feel comfortable with sparking a revolution.

"Hey, FANG! Long time!" A passerby laughed.

Fang saluted him, with two fingers, "Not long enough for my liking, Thunderwing!"

Thunderwing laughed, "Alright, I see how it is. Take care man!"

"You too!" Fang pointed back at him, laughing with him.

"Oi Fang! You're still here! I thought you died!"

"If I did, then the world would probably be a whole lot safer, let me tell you that!" Fang chuckled.

After several more twists and turns in the markets, he found what he was looking for.

An old lady was selling some records and CD's of songs, and there, the boy was, his back turned to Fang.

"BOY!"

The kid whipped his head around.

He was a young man, probably fifteen or sixteen, with bright blue eyes. His short golden hair seemed to reflect the sun itself. He was dressed in a black ripped jeans, tennis shoes, and a black Metallica shirt. He had a black beanie on, covering most of his hair, and black leather bracelets on his wrists. When he saw who called his name, his eyes lit up.

"HEY! OLD MAN!"

"Sunfield, come with me," Fang grunted.

"Can you wait?" Sunfield asked, holding up a record. "I'm in middle of haggling for some Frank Sinatra music."

Fang grabbed the record and took a look at it, and sighed in annoyance, "This is Micahel Bublé's version of When You're Smiling, dipshit."

"It is?" Sunfield grabbed it and widened his eyes, "Whoa. I didn't know they made the same song!"

"You're a fucking disgrace to the preforming arts community, let's go!" Fang growled.

"IN A MINUTE! I'M HAGGLING!" Sunfield screeched.

The old woman shook her head, and snatched the record from him. "Watashi no būsu kara deteike!"

"Anata ga yakusoku shita ongaku o teniireru made. Nijū! Sore ga watashi no saigo no mōshidedesu," Sunfield responded in perfect Japanese.

"You understand her?!"

Sunfield grinned widely, "I have the power of God AND Anime on my side! You'd be surprised on how much Japanese you'd learn by watching My Hero Academia and Death Note."

Fang face palmed, "Of course that's how you learned it."

The lady growled and held her hand out, "Watashi wa sore ga kiniirimasen. Shikashi, watashi wa ukeiremasu."

Sunfield handed her the price, and grabbed the record from her hands, "Arigatōgozaimashita!"

Fang grabbed the boy's shoulders and pulled him away.

"I would appreciate it, if you took things seriously, for ONCE in your life!"

"Hey, it's not my fault I haven't found a reason to care. You ever heard of YOLO?"

"You mean, Scourge's philosophy? He did everything he could think of for fun, no matter who he hurt in the process.

Sunfield sighed, "Well...when you put it like that, it sounds almost terrible.

"It's always terrible, now Let's go!"

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?!" Sunfiedl asked.

"You're going school."

"WHAT?!" Sunfield tried to break Fang's grip, but it was useless. "NO! NO no no no no no no no no no no no no NOOOOO! I have to be the only kid in the world who's doing FINE without it!"

"This is NOT A NEGOTIATION!" Fang roared, reaching his limit with the boy, and lowered his voice, "The queen has a mission."

NOW, Sunfield's eyes widened in excitement, "Mission? I can finally go on missions now?!"

"If you pull this one off," Fang led the kid down the stairs leading to the Underground tunnels. "Prove to Poppyfrost that you can keep your focus up, and maybe you will become a permanent agent."

"YES!" Sunfield screamed aloud, only for Fang to cover his mouth quickly.

"Agents, are supposed to be quiet," Fang gritted his teeth.

Sunfield nodded, and pulled the hand off of him "So what's the mission?"

"Go to school, and befriend two of these kids. Watch out for them, and if anything goes wrong, send a signal to me, and I'll be there to defend them."

"So...babysitting?"

Fang growled. "Test me Boy. Test me one more time, I dare you."

Sunfield shut his mouth.

"Okay. Now, get dressed. We're going to Forrestlake City."

Sunfield nodded and walked down the stairs, the biggest smile on his face.


"Why have you contacted me, Rock?"

The voice was loud, and wild. It sounded nothing like Scourge, and was more evil and psychotic then him.

Rock looked at the man, hidden in the shadows, "I have a proposition."

"What sort of proposition?"

"Infiltration of the ARS. Pretend to be a fiend, and subtly destroy their ideas. They will suspect this of course, you are a wild card after all."

The silhouette of the man cackled with psychotic energy, "That is a good offer, but me and Sky aren't exactly Sympatico at the moment, so no. She and I are still at odds with one of another."

"I thought you two worked together?"

"More or less. We ended up hunting the same target, and she took the prize from me," The man growled.

Rock grinned, "I need you for this one. I have heard...that the ARS is hunting one of your targets..."

Silence overwhelmed the room.

"Which target?"

"Coalstrike."

The man tilted his head before bursting at the seams with rage, "HE IS MY KILL! NO ONE ELSES! HE'S MY TARGET! SKY HAS NO RIGHT TO SPILL HIS BLOOD! IT'S MY DESTINY!"

Rock smirked, "Yes...it is. We cannot allow Sky to gain the upper hand."

"Forget upper hand. I want Coalstrike," The man stepped out of the shadows.

His hair was a natural orange, and his eyes shone a bright amber.

"You should have led with that," He grinned.

Rock nodded, holding his hand out, "Put a wrench in Sky's cogs. Disrupt the whole machine. But never let them know you are under my command-"

"I'm NOT!" He shouted, getting in Rock's face. "I'm doing this for ME! What do you think, Slashmark?"

Rock looked around for another man, but found no one.

"Yes, brother, I understand," The man grinned, looking to the side of himself at nothing but air. "It would be shame to throw this chance away...I'm in. What's my cover?"

"You heard that she's hunting the resistance cell, and you will offer your services only if she gives you permission to kill Coalstrike."

"And can I?"

"Dos as you wish, he is of no threat to me, none of them are," Rock waved his hand in dismissal, "But the three? They deserve my full attention..."

The man cackle with energy, licking his lips, "Thank you for this opportunity, Rock."

"Do what must be done, Inferno."

Inferno laughed as hard and as loud as he could muster.


Jack guzzled what was left of the drink. He came to this bar a while ago, on break from his hunt. A jukebox played some Michael Jackson in the corner, as waitress served their patrons.

The bartender smirked, "You doing okay there?"

Jack growled, "No...How would you feel if you're hunting a rabbit, and the rabbit keeps avoiding your traps."

"I never hunted rabbit before," the bartender nodded.

Jack shrugged, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, just...I grew up in Florida. My dad always took me to Georgia every Christmas for hunting. Some times deer, sometimes rabbits."

"American?"

"Born, and would prefer to die there," Jack grinned.

The bar was noisy. A biker gang was in the back booth, and a group of young adults were playing pool.

The bartender grinned, "It's from my experience that we don't choose where we die."

"Well, first time for everything," Jack nodded.

"Oi, AXIS! Another beer please!" A patron roared on the bartable.

The Bartender grinned, "COMING RIGHT UP! Excuse me sir, I have to deal with my other customers."

"Have at it, kid," Jack nodded, guzzling his bottle down.

He pulled out his smartphone, looking at the screen's notifications.

No voice mail from Iceloud in four days.

While it was breaking protocol, he felt compelled to listen to every one of them. He voice was like music to his ears, and it broke his heart every time he heard her voice crack and falter. It was these messages that kept him going.

Had she given up?

Had she lost hope?

...

...

Had she found someone else?

Jack shook the thoughts out of his head, setting the glass down. He zipped his jacket up, and tilted the barstool around, looking at everyone, scanning for threats.

His powers of observation and deduction had increased tenfold since Half Moon's kidnapping from Leaftail. It was like a drug to him. It relaxed him.

Two young men playing five finger fillet.

A biker gang being a questionable guest to the waitress. A five shooter laid in his waist holster.

Of course the guys in flannel, obviously were here for hunting, who no doubt had concealed weapons on them. And the rifles and shotguns in their trucks obviously.

Some men playing poker with one of them having a magnum .357 in his holster.

Well...maybe some poker would be good for him.

Jack made his way to the poker table, and grabbed an empty chair. "This seat taken fellas?"

The man with the .357 shook his head, "If it's empty, then it ain't taken."

Jack sat down, "Name's Jack."

"I'm Clyde," The man nodded, pointing at himself and then his friends. "The guy with the beard is my brother Davis. The gent with the glasses is Stormfur. And the girl is Brook, Stormie's girl."

"Wife, Clyde, I'm his wife, unfortunately for you," Brook snapped, with a smirk. "A thousand to play. You got that much, sir?"

"Yep."

"Then give the money to Axis, he's holding it all for safe keeping."

Jack laughed, he already knew he was going to have fun here. He gave the money to Axis, who was busy bartending.

"So you got the guts to go through with the game?" Stormfur asked.

"Oh you know it, man. Alright, who's dealing?"

"Guest deals first," Davis passed him the deck of cards, with a neat array of poker chips.

Jack grinned, passing out cards. He looked at his.

A two of hearts and a seven of spades.

A terrible hand.

Brook, checked, and before he knew it, it was back at him.

"Fold," he passed the cards back in the deck.

Stormfur chuckled, "Heh, must have been bad to fold this early. My pops always said never to fold until you see the pot's cards."

"That explains a lot, Stormie," Brook smirked.

Jack flipped the three cards onto the table.

A four of spades, a jack of diamonds, and a six of hearts.

Brook remained emotionless, adding two blue poker chips into the pot, "340 bucks."

Clyde folded, but Davis called, and so did Stormfur.

Jack lifted the new card.

A two of spades.

Brook checked, and so did Davis. Stormfur checked as well.

Jack held the last card.

A five of hearts.

Brook grinned, "All in. 1,120 bucks."

"Call," Davis smirked, passing in what little money he had left.

"Two pair, asshole!" Brook threw her cards down, a jack of clubs and a six of diamonds.

Davis bulged his eyes out and chuckled, "Good, but not good enough. Straight!"

He placed down a seven of hearts and a eight of clubs.

"God...damn," Brook growled, "Well...it's been fun! Stormfur, you still playing?"

"Nah, I'm going wherever you go," Stormfur stood up, counting his chips, "I got 1,525 dollars. I'll collect from Axis."

"Safe travels," Jack nodded to them as they left.

"I guess it's just you and us now friend," Clyde smirked.

"Yeah...I guess so."

Now it was just him and the two brothers.

He passed the cards to Davis, who dealt accordingly.

Jack looked at his hand.

Two queens...

"Oh this is good," Jack inwardly squealed.

As the round progressed, Clyde eventually folded, not liking his odds.

Davis grinned at the five cards in front of him.

Seven of diamonds, Ten of clubs, Jack of spades, King of clubs, and Three of hearts.

"All-in," he shoved his chips into the pot.

Jack grinned, "Call."

Davis smirked, and thrusted his hand down, a jack of hearts and a four of diamonds. "Pair of Jacks!"

Jack looked at his cards in faux disappointment and sighed.

"Pair of queens."

"WHAT?!"

He placed the cards down, and cupped the chips around his arms, pulling them close.

"Just my lucky day, I suppose."

"Can I buy back in?"

Jack shook his head, along with Clyde, "No bro. Table stakes."

Davis looked at the table and grinned, looking at his motorcycle keys and picking them up. "Here, this was on the table."

"Dude!"

"No, let him," Jack held his hand up to calm Clyde down, "Give your brother a chance to win his money back."

Clyde sighed, "Well then just give me my cards and I'll fold."

"Bro, but then we both have twice the chance of winning my money back!" Davis complained.

"You bet the money man! You're gonna win it back, or lose your bike."

"I ain't losing my bike!"

Jack grinned, "You know, you tow remind me of two friends I had a while back."

Jack pushed all of his chips in to compensate for the price of the bike.

Clyde dealt, and true to his word, folded. Davis looked at his cards and grinned, not hiding the fact he had a good hand.

Clyde put down the five cards, and they were a Nine of Diamonds, three of hearts, Ace of Clubs, seven of hearts, and King of clubs.

"HA! Three of a kind!" Davis put his kings down, grinning. "TRY to beat that!"

"Okay. Three of a kind," Jack said coyly.

Two aces.

Davis pounded his fists on the table snarling.

Clyde sighed, "I warned you bro. Give the man your keys, and helmet while you're at it."

Davis complied, handing it to Jack.

"Can I at least watch?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't see why not."

Jack dealt this time.

To make a long story short, Clyde ended up gambling all he had for a four of kind, while Jack ended up winning with a flush.

"DAMN!" Clyde shouted.

"I win the game!" Jack grinned, collecting the chips.

"WAIT! Can I buy back in?!" Clyde asked.

"Table stakes."

"I have a gun."

Jack immediately felt threatened, but when Clyde pulled the .357 revolver out on the table, Jack sighed, "I'm only accepting this because I have a passion for...guns..."

His eyes rested on the revolver.

He'd seen that gun before.

Silver plated, diamond carvings in the pearl grip, and black words engraved on the barrel.

Canis Canem Edit.

Latin for "Dog Eat Dog".

He gave that gun to Icecloud when he left.

Jack sat down, eyes fixed on the gun while Clyde turned to his brother, "See Davie? This is how you buy back in. With guns, not-"

"That's a nice gun," Jack nodded, looking back up at Clyde, silent rage bubbling up, "Where'd you get it?"

Clyde avoided eye contact in false recollection "I...I think I won it in a game of Bingo."

"When?" Jack asked.

" 'Bout..." Clyde scratched his chin, pretending to be trying to remember "Uh...four, five years ago."

That was a tell.

Why would someone gamble a gun like this?

A bluff.

Unless it wasn't there's...

A lie...

They stole it...

"Interesting…" Jack muttered, his eyes not leaving the gun.

Clyde passed him his cards, but Jack did not look down at them.

In the blink of an eye, Jack grabbed the table and flipped it on top of Davis, who stumbled back. Jack launched himself onto Clyde and threw him to the ground, choking him.

The music stopped.

Everyone turned to the cause of the commotion.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" He roared in rage.

Davis threw him off his brother, and Jack went crashing into the biker gang's table.

"NO FIGHTNG! TAKE IT OUTSIDE!" Axis screamed in desperation.

The Leader of the gang, an old man with a long white mustache and beard, stood up, fists clenched. For a second, Jack thought he may have just started a bar fight.

But instead, the old man helped Jack to his feet, and patted his shoulders, "You okay, son?"

Jack nodded, and turned back to Clyde and Davis.

"They took my girlfriend, THEY KIDNAPPED HER!" Jack screamed.

Clyde shook his head "I did NO such thing!"

"Then WHERE did you get that gun?!"

"I told you, I won it in a game of Bingo!"

"What does the Latin on the gun mean then?!" Jack roared, pissed as all hell.

The man faltered, and then smirked.

He whistled, and half the patrons sprang to their feet, guns and knives out.

The Biker Gang shot into action, standing with their leader and their new friend.

"Bold of you to think the ARS, are ever alone," Clyde cackled.

Axis sighed and took off his apron, "Oh would you look at that...my shift is over. Bye!"

He bolted out the back door, and some patrons sprinted out the front.

The biker gang and the ARS stared each other down.

Then all hell broke loose.

The bikers and ARS, collided into a brawl. Fists fired, guns popped, and knives slashed all around. Jack tackled Davis to the ground, and punched the man in the forehead repeatedly.

He was hoisted off by some ARS guy, and gut punched, but Jack headbutted the man away, and with that, the man was out.

He turned and saw Clyde crawling on the ground, reaching for Icecloud's gun.

Jack roared and sprinted through the crowd, knocking men over, and just as Clyde raised the gun, Jack had leapt off the ground, tackling the man so hard, they both crashed out the window and into the parking lot.

Jack stumbled up, as Clyde threw his jacket off, raising his fists, "You picked the wrong man to fight!"

Clyde charged forward, and tried to land a punch, but in one move, Jack had grabbed the man's arm, and snapped his elbow backwards breaking the arm.

Clyde screamed in pain, as Jack then went for the knee, cupping the back of it, and slamming his fist into the man patella.

When Clyde doubled down, Jack lifted his head, headbutting the man in the chin, and he stumbled to the ground.

Jack stood over Clyde, who crawled away helplessly. Jack slammed his boot on the man's already broken leg.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

Clyde gritted his teeth, "Go to hell..."

"WHERE do you think I come from?!" Jack retorted, grabbing the revolver off of the ground, and pistol-whipping the man's face over and over again.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

Clyde whimpered in pain.

"THE LONGER YOU HOLD OUT, THE WORSE IT'LL BE!"

He continued to slam the gun on Clyde's head, caving the head into mush.

"Fine," Jack muttered, "You don't want to talk. Then let's make it official."

Jack slammed the butt of the revolver down on the man's forehead, caving it like paper.

"CLYDE!" Davis screamed from in the bar, and the man leaped out of the window, roaring "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Jack looked at the blood covered gun, and then back at Davis.

He stood up and let out a roar that would haunt any man it was directed at.

Davis charged.

Jack leapt into a flying kick, sending the man down instantly.

"You're brother died because he refused to talk...now...where is she?!"

Davis whimpered, "I-I-I don't know! We're just grunts! We WERE JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS!"

"Sixteen million people have died in the last century just because men were 'following orders'," Jack snarled, "And do you know how many men were killed BECAUSE they followed orders? Do you want to be one of them?!"

Davis whimpered, "G...Garrison! He would know! Him and his most trusted associates!"

Jack leaned down, the gun dangerously close to the man's forehead. He then thrusted the gun at his head, pistol whipping him too.

"ANY IDEA WHERE I CAN FIND THEM?!"

"R-RIVEN!" He screamed, "They have a outpost in RIVEN!"

Jack stood up, and lifted his boot, "If you're lying, I'll crack the other one."

"The other wha-"

Jack slammed his boot down on the man's groin, and a sickening *pop* could be heard over the man's screams.

Jack pulled out the motorcycle keys and snarled.

"I'm coming Icecloud…I'm coming."


That was LONG!

Once I started going with Jack, I just couldn't stop! He's so much fun to write with.

So, The new charecters are people you may see more often. They are all in ResX's hands now. I look forward to this.

Adios.