Disclaimer: Gatekeepers belongs to whoever created it, I'm just borrowing its characters. However, it DOESN'T mean you can copy my fanfic, or take my own characters. So there!

This is my first Gatekeepers fanfic, so pls review and tell me what you all think, good or bad.

"TALK"

'THOUGHTS'

EMPHASIS

DATE; PLACE; TIME

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Gatekeepers: The Last Line Of Defense

Chapter 3: Of Three-Ring Gates And Their Owners

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December the 3rd; Shun Ukiya's house; 1600 hours

Ruriko was sitting on the floor, watching the television. Around the room, Ukiya, Specs, Kaoru, Feye and Bancho were doing the same thing as her. Megumi was busy at the noodle shop and Reiji had declined to come.

'He's still not used to this, after so long...' Ukiya thought, feeling sad for his former-enemy-turned-into-Gatekeeper-friend.

"Ack! I forgot!"

"Nani, Ruriko-senpai?" Kaoru said.

"I'm supposed to meet Kia at the university's literature library now!" Ruriko yelled out as she jumped up and grabbed her umbrella (It had been raining when she arrived at Ukiya's house, you see).

"Kia? You mean the new girl who just entered your class?" Feye looked confused; she was wondering why and so were the others.

"I'm helping her settle into the university, she still needs help... although she'll never admit it," Ruriko said with a small grin, before she left.

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Tokyo Centrepoint University Literature Library, 1630 hours

Everyone knows the library is a place to read in peace and borrow books. In fact, it's one of the few quiet places on campus.

As expected, everyone there were quietly doing whatever-they-would-do in the library when Ruriko entered it. She spotted Kia immediately, borrowing a book at the counter, and engrossed in another one.

Kia looked up from her book ('Resumes From Hell') and said softly, "You're darn late you know..."

"I know. Gomen nasai, I forgot."

"Ah well, never mind. Can we continue the tour today?"

"That's why I'm here."

"... "

"Oh well, let's get moving."

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In another part of the city, at a familiar construction site, a little girl laughed in delight at something she saw. Except her laugh was as infectious and as dangerous as a plague...

The Invaders gathered at the site where Ruriko's father had been taken captive before. And among them was the new type of Invaders, all ready for a little test...

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Ruriko's hand phone rang. "Wonder who?" she said to Kia as she searched in her bag for it. Kia just shrugged.

"Got it. Yes, this is Ruriko Ikusawa speaking..."

"Ruriko! This is urgent, there're Invaders signals coming from the construction site where you was captured before! We all need to meet at Tategami High School now!" Ukiya's voice came over the phone and Ruriko immediately understood the current situation: It had been a long time since the last Invader attack and it was obvious the Commander needed to brief them before...

"Ruriko? I guess you have to go, right?" Kia suddenly spoke and jolted her out of her thoughts. She forced a smile.

"Hai, I need to meet Ukiya now. Hope you understand..."

"I get the idea, this must be something really important 'cause you had a worried look on your face just now. Don't worry, I can find my way back to my room," Kia said as she walked off and waved goodbye to Ruriko, who waited until she was gone before she ran as fast as she could to her destination.

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Kia waited until she got out of Ruriko's sight before she looked at her watch. It looked like an ordinary sports watch, however... it was far more than that.

"Kia Natari Chong to A.E.G.I.S. Headquarters, requesting for orders," Kia whispered to the watch, which beeped before Miss Ochiai's face appeared on it.

"Kia-san, head to base immediately. Get here before the other Gatekeepers arrive," Miss Ochiai said quickly before the screen blanked out, only to show the time and date after that. Kia sighed.

"Sometimes being a Gatekeeper annoys me to no end..." she said as she hid behind a large tree, conveniently at the side of the path. She held out her hands in front of her...

"Gate Open! Open the Gate Of Teleport!"

A dark green gate appeared underneath Kia...

"Teleport to A.E.G.I.S. Headquarters!"

There was a flash of light before the gate disappeared, taking Kia with it.

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Tokyo, Japan; Under Tategami High School where A.E.G.I.S. FarEast Division is located; 1650 hours

'Of all days to have an invasion, why today!'

That thought ran thru Ukiya Shun's head as he arrived at A.E.G.I.S. FarEast Division, a.k.a. FarEast HQ. He had a strange feeling that his Gatekeeper friends also had the same thought; after all, it had been a long time since the last attack...

"Ruriko! Here at last!" Feye's voice was heard just as Ukiya spotted 'Rurippe', his 'special' version of Ruriko's name, arrive.

"Gatekeepers, it is good to see you all again," another voice was heard as the owner of thus said voice stepped into the light that covered the room. Ukiya and the other Gatekeepers turned and saluted their Commander, then sat down. Out of the corner of his eye, Ukiya saw Reiji glance around the room in what appeared to be a worried manner before he took his own seat. That sent Ukiya wondering what was up...

"Captain, you will lead Gatekeepers Ikusawa, Feiring, Konoe and Kurogane to investigate the area where the energy signatures were detected. If there's an attack, Kageyama and Bancho will be your backup team," Ukiya woke up sufficiently from his thoughts to send back a nod to the Commander's words.

"Alright then. Gatekeepers, dismissed!"

"Roger, A.E.G.I.S!" All of them saluted again and quickly ran, not noticing the shadow at the wall watching them leave.

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Kia signed at the behavior of the Gatekeepers. She had thought they would be, well, the stuffy type (like at most of the other bases she had been to), only doing their duty because they had to. Instead, it seemed as if they actually liked fighting the Invaders. 'Just like we all at the SouthEast Base One...' Kia felt a pang at that. She missed her friends more than she admitted, even to herself. But, duty came first. Kia stepped out into the light.

'Duty has always come first...'

"What am I to do, Commander?"

"It would be best if you also went to the construction site, Agent Natari. There's a chance that the new type of Gatekeepers will show up, and I believe that, at the very least, you'll be able to see what their gates can do."

"Alright, sir."

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Tokyo, Japan; At the Construction Site where Ruriko's father was held after he was kidnapped, and later where Ruriko was kidnapped; 1715 hours

The first thing Ukiya did when they arrived at the site was to assign the four girls into two groups. Kaoru and Feye went off in one direction, Ruriko and Megumi headed off another way. Megumi was quietly comforting Ruriko, who was very, very jumpy. Ukiya couldn't blame her; the last time here, she had seen her father being held hostage by invaders and also had been kidnapped herself by the very same girl who was now comforting her.

'But Megumi is on our side now...'

'You can't tell,' An inner voice said with distrust. 'How can you possibly know? Maybe she's just biding her time, waiting for a chance to strike. That's what she did last time, didn't she?'

'But she's repented, and anyway all has been forgiven.'

'Really? Did she really repent? How can you ever tell?' Ukiya couldn't find an answer to this, so he just said, "Shut up."

"Who are you talking, Shun?" Kageyama looked at him as he leaned against the bus.

"No one, Reiji. I just said my thoughts out loud."

"Fine then. Did you find anything?"

"Nothing. What about the rest?"

"Still scouting. But it's odd... I could have sworn I felt someone nearby just now."

"Like in the room just now?"

"You noticed?"

"Noticed what you were doing, yes. Felt any presence, no." Just then, Feye and Kaoru returned.

"We didn't find anything, Ukiya-taichou."

"Thank you, Kaoru, Feye. Did any of you see Rurippe or Megumi?" Feye pointed to their right.

"They went that way?" Ukiya rolled his eyes at that. At that very moment, they all heard a scream and saw Ruriko run up, Megumi following her.

"Ukiya! We both saw at least 50 invaders headed this way! I've never seen so many before in one single invasion!" Ruriko blurted out quickly. Hearing her words, all of them tensed, and Ukiya replied instantly.

"We'll hold our position here. Everyone, get ready for battle! Megumi, Feye, use your shields!"

"Hai! Open the Gate! Fire Wall!" Feye's Gate Of Red-Hot appeared in front of her hands, and turned into a thin layer of fire covering the right side of the bus. On the left, Megumi had opened her Gate and used her own Wall Of Steel as a defense. For a few minutes, they waited, tense, until...

"How foolish you humans are, trying to defend yourselves against us. You'll never win." A soft voice said above them, and Ukiya looked towards a tall building on their right.

A small, blonde girl stood on the roof, her dress blown slightly by the wind. Yet it seemed to Ukiya that she was more dangerous then she looked, and she seemed... transparent, like a ghost. Before he said anything, the 'girl' fixed her red eyes on Reiji, who appeared calm.

"Ah, Kageyama Reiji. So what are you doing here, fighting with your former enemies against your former friends? Don't you consider them bugs anymore, you traitor?" The 'girl' scornfully directed her words towards Kageyama, taking sadistic pleasure at the way he visibly winced at her words. Ukiya felt angry at that and got ready to retort back. However, someone beat him to it.

"He's not a traitor anymore, you fool." All eyes turned towards Megumi; out of all of them she was the one least expected to come to Reiji's defense. Megumi looked pale, but she continued talking.

"If he was a traitor, then I was a double agent, working for both the Gatekeepers and the Invaders at the same time, and that's worse then being a traitor. However we both have realized which side is actually the right side and worth helping. And that's definitely not the Invaders," Megumi said loud enough for them all to hear. Bancho, Ruriko, Kaoru and Feye nodded in agreement; Reiji and Ukiya just looked thoughtful. Megumi's next words shocked them all.

"So go to hell, you ghost! Metallic Spiral Spike!"

A sharp, long spike appeared out of Megumi's Gate, twisting itself as it headed for the 'girl'. Ukiya spared a quick glance at Megumi; she seemed determined and her eyes shone with anger, pain and... guilt? Ukiya didn't stop to ponder that, he switched his vision back to the spiral as it got near the 'girl'...

And passed thru her.

"What!" Seven voices shouted together, but one was cut off as its owner let out gasps of pain. Megumi was being attacked by about 35 Invaders that had ambushed her. She had no time to call out her Iron Wall and her body was suffering as a result of the attacks.

"Arrows of Light!" Eight Invaders went down.

"Fire Wall!" The shield covered Megumi from anymore attacks and also destroyed another ten Invaders. Megumi, unable to stand her injuries for much longer, fell on her knees. Feye lifted the shield for a few seconds and allowed Ruriko to quickly dart inside and heal Megumi.

"Shadow Spike!-"

"-Vacuum Missile!"

Both Ukiya's and Reiji's voices rang out together as their combined attacks wiped the other 17 Invaders. Kaoru shouted to the 'girl':

"Take that, you ghost! Now there's only you left!"

At that, the ghostgirl (AN: That's what I'll call her now) smiled. And a loud crash was heard in the background. Kaoru, startled, looked up at her warily.

"Are you sure I am the only one now?" The ghostgirl asked as a huge centipede, twice the normal size, appeared behind her. Ukiya, though as shocked as the other Gatekeepers, noticed that the centipede was dark blue, instead of the trademark black. He glanced at Reiji, who looked at him; both boys knew the same thought was going thru their minds: 'Was this Invader formation same like before, or different?'

In no time at all, they all discovered the 'new' formation was something they could not handle... alone...

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Kia watched as the Gatekeepers struggled to defeat the Delix-Centipede-type Invader. She had already known that all of their Gates except for Ukiya Shun's Gate Of Gales and Kageyama Reiji's Gate Of Shadow/Darkness couldn't even touch the Invader, but curiosity and orders made her decide to continue staying hidden for a while. After 10 minutes of seeing them fail to harm the Invader, Kia contacted HQ.

"Commander? Agent Natari requesting for permission to help the Gatekeepers. They cannot handle the new type of Invaders."

"Request granted, Agent. Just try and stay hidden."

Kia grinned at that. Staying hidden, like she was now, would be easy...

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Ukiya ducked as the centipede swung its rear end at him. Next to him, Reiji and Ruriko did the same. Kaoru kept on trying to kick it and Feye used her Fire Dragon, but it all was to no avail. Just as Ukiya thought it couldn't get any worse, Megumi tried her Gate. This caused the centipede to head in her direction with impressive speed, considering its size.

"Megumi, get out of the way!" Kaoru ran up, but with a swipe of its tail Kaoru was knocked back. Luckily, Bancho caught her.

"Megumi, run! Fire Dragon!" Feye yelled. All the others tried as well, but their attack only made the Invader more angry as it prepared to attack Megumi, who stood paralyzed with fear at the centipede that was ready to crush her...

Ukiya knew none of them could do anything...

"No!" He heard a yell from his right, from Reiji, as the centipede, now only a meter away, lunged towards Megumi, its jaws open, ready to devour her...

Everything was happening in slow motion, as if in a dream...

"Dammit, Kurogane, move!" Another yell, female this time, cut through the air and jolted all the Gatekeepers out of their temporary stun. The centipede just ignored the yell and continued to try and attack Megumi. However it found, to its uttermost dismay, that it could not move an inch. The Gatekeepers took advantage of the situation and attacked.

"Fire Dragon!-"

"-Kaoru Kick!-"

"-Arrows Of Light!-"

"-Twin Punches!-"

"-Shadow Spike!-"

"-Ultra Whirlwind Slash!"

The six attacks hit the Invader simultaneously and at once and reduced it to crystals, which scatter and fell everywhere.

"Yatta!" Both Kaoru and Ruriko high-fived, while Feye helped Megumi lean against her (Megumi protested, of course). Bancho grinned and Ukiya...let's say he was relieved. Only Reiji was frowning. As all of them boarded the bus, he pulled Ukiya aside and said, "Shun, I'll meet you at your house later. There's something important that I need to discuss with you."

With that, Reiji boarded the bus, leaving a confused Ukiya to hurry and climb in after him.

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Kia sighed in relief as she watched the bus carrying the Gatekeepers leave. Now she herself could go off, and after checking the area over quickly, teleported out. However, she didn't know that she, the watcher was being watched...

The ghostgirl just smiled as she saw Kia go, thoughts of revenge already running thru her mind.

"I'll make that girl and the Gatekeepers pay for ruining my plans..."

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Chen's Notes: Hi everyone! (bows) Very sorry, but I think I'll have to put this story on hold because I have zero time to work on it. However, thanks for reading and reviewing! And if you want to comment on anything, or have any questions, put it all into a review, and I'll try my best to answer it! Bye everyone!

P/S: I know there are some new moves that our favourite Japanese Gatekeepers have, but since it has been 5 years for them, it would make sense if they learned some new moves too. And I just realized that there's no way Kia could like LOTR and Star Trek because they haven't been printed yet! Sorry everyone, I'll correct the mistake. Also, the difference between 2-ring Gates and 3-ring Gates is that only 3-ring Gates is way stronger, has an extra spinning ring and can destroy the new 'type' of Invaders... I know probably a lot of this doesn't make sense, but I'll try my best to explain it in the next chap! 'Till then, see ya!

P/S 2: Yes, I did some minor alterations to the style of writing... okay, maybe not-so-minor changes... Check the top of the page for details. (Points upwards) Thanks!