"One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them.
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them."
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Ender presents...
THE ONE GATE
A Gatekeepers fanfic

Chapter 2: Gather Before the High Command!

Disclaimer: Original stuff mine, non-original stuff GONZO's.

_Focus..._
_Concentrate..._
_Empty the mind of all malice..._
_Empty the heart of all hate..._
_Now!_
"Gate..."
_Focus..._
"Open..."
And there it was, the familiar double-circle of her power, swirling green in mid-air, called forth by her will and her will alone. It shimmered before her and she rejoiced, for there was no hint of darkness within it...
No hint of _shadow_...
As that word rang through her head she felt the color of her gate flicker, as blackness, as if the mention of its - of _his_ - name had been enough to call it into existence.
She clenched her jaw tightly and redoubled her efforts.
_Failure..._
_No... I can do this! If Ikusawa could return from the darkness then so can I!_
_Ikusawa..._
Involuntarily a shudder ran through her body, and she watched in horror as the gate flickered once more, then began to darken swiftly until, seconds later, there shimmered in the air before her, not a green, but a pitch black gate...
Without letting her rage and disappointment show on her face, the girl released what was left of her concentration and watched her negative gate return to nothingness. She had failed, yet again. Failure was unacceptable.
For Megumi Kurogane, failure was worse than death. 
Indeed, times such as these, she wished that she had not survived the final battle with Kage - with Shadow. It would have been more fitting, more appealing to her to have succumbed to the darkness of death than to be constantly reminded of her own weakness, of her most monumental failure. Above all she wished that she could return to the past, before all this had ever happened. True, she had been suffering then, but at least her mistakes had been her own affair, visible only to her and no others. No one but Megumi would consider coming second place in an examination to be a 'failure', no one but her could see the futility of coming in second place - every single time - to Ikusawa. 
But now her defeat was a matter of public knowledge. Practically everyone in Japan had seen her stand shoulder to shoulder with Shadow as he faced off against Ukiya and the rest of AEGIS, everyone had seen that even he, evil as he was, rejected her, used her as a tool for his own purpose. As it was, she was hardly surprised when her attempt to converse with her father over the telephone had consisted primarily in him swearing at her, cursing her for dishonoring the family, for costing him his business, and for every manner of ill that was suddenly blamed upon the darkness within his only daughter. The tirade had gone on for almost half an hour, her father only pausing at the end to take a deep breath before disowning her and setting the handset down.
Disowning her...
After all she had _done_...
It was so... so...
Mortifying.
Yet at least her 'father' had been honest with his emotions. It was easier to take than the kindness which AEGIS had showered upon her in the wake of her betrayal. After she had been certain that Ikusawa would not be sucked into the dark vortex which had consumed the Invaders, she had turned herself in to the nearest AEGIS officer she could find. She had expected - perhaps even hoped - to be tried and executed, but the Commander had done nothing of the sort, merely having her checked for any physical disabilities then reinstated as a Gatekeeper. She had scorned their pity - for surely, no matter how kind they seemed to be, no emotion but pity could explain their actions - and had insisted on being treated like a prisoner. And while none of the staff treated her as such, she continued to act the part, not joining the others at their meetings or training sessions, confining herself to a small cell in the detention block of AEGIS headquarters, only eating when instructed to by the staff.
In truth, even that was a kindness, for she no longer had any other home to go to.
There were other reasons however that she avoided the company of her so-called friends. None of them were at ease with her presence any longer. She could see it in their eyes, the way they watched her warily, sometimes with fear, other times with anger. Konoe in particular had taken a dislike to her. And Ikusawa... even when the girl spoke kindly to Megumi, the latter could sense the darkness flickering just behind the polite words, a darkness Megumi was familiar with...
The darkness of hate.
It was ironic then, that it was in seeing the change in the attitudes of the other Gatekeepers that Megumi finally, finally came to realize how much their camaraderie had meant to her. For now she realized that before she had gone over to Shadow, they had treated her as a friend, as a compatriot - with the Gatekeepers she had belonged, even for a short while. Now, because of her betrayal, that seemed gone. Not that the others didn't try... Ukiya in particular had gone out of his way to make her feel that she was still welcome.
She remembered that the Captain had sought her out one day, as she had been reading textbooks in her little 'cell', in anticipation of the day when the Gatekeepers would be allowed to return to normal classes. He had waited respectfully while she ignored him, standing respectfully at the threshold as if he had to await her permission to enter. Finally she had tired of the game and had spoken in a low voice.
"Why ...are you here?"
"Good morning Megumi-chan," he had begun, smiling that oblivious smile of his. "You're looking well..."
"Why. Are. You. Here?"
The captain had then sighed. "Listen Megumi, we're worried about you. You know that you're not a prisoner here..."
"I should be. And you of all people should know why," she replied then had pointedly turned her back on him. 
"You're the only person who's keeping you here Megumi. You know you are more than welcome to -"
"To what?" she had interrupted him. "Rejoin the Gatekeepers? Foolishness. Even you could not be ignorant of how the others look at me."
"They can't control how they feel Megumi," he had responded. "Of course they're afraid - can you blame them?"
"No. That's why I've confined myself here. What more do you want?"
"They want you back Megumi. We want you back."
"They're afraid of me. Of me. You said so yourself."
"They believed in you before Megumi-chan. They could believe in you again."
His words had hit home more than he knew. She had looked at him then, and had been more than a little shocked by the sincerity of his expression. Perhaps it was his expression that weakened her resolve, or perhaps the isolation had taken its toll, for she had responded to the hope of redemption like a parched man would to the hope of water.
"How?" she had responded, in a voice even harsher than usual, but with a harshness which stemmed from intense desire and not from anger.
He had paused then, as if trying to order his words in his head. Then he spoke, in a very gentle voice. "Kageyama said that everyone has a little hate inside of them, but I've never believed that's all we are. I don't think that all you are is hate, Megumi-chan. If so, you'd never have been able to use your green Gate of Iron Wall, never have been able to protect us with it. That was the Megumi-chan who the others believed in, the one that they trusted. When we can show them that she's back, I'm sure the fear will disappear."
He had looked as if he was about to say more, but then Konoe's voice had called his name from somewhere nearby and the Captain gave a start.
"I have to go now Megumi ... But think about what I said ok?"
And then, with a slight wave in her direction, he had gone.
Megumi sat down hard on her bed as the memory of that last conversation with Ukiya washed over her. It had been a turning point in her attitude during the weeks since the final battle. She doubted that Ukiya would ever know how much she had needed a goal, a purpose, something upon which she could focus herself. His words, intentionally or not, had given her that, had given her life a direction. Now that she had it, she could live, she could rise again.
Of course it was hardly as easy as she had first thought. The darkness in her heart, once freed, was reluctant to be banished again. There were times when she believed she was on an impossible quest... But she knew it was possible. Ikusawa had done it - but Ikusawa had been helped by Ukiya's love. She knew better than to depend on that chaotic emotion - what Ikusawa needed love to accomplish, Megumi would achieve using her strength of will. Alone.
For Megumi Kurogane, failure was not an option.
Once more Megumi got to her feet. Once more she opened the Gate of her power and watched it drown itself in darkness. Then she did it again. And again... Unaware of the time that passed in the outside world. Unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching her silently, one belonging to an animal, the other belonging to a little girl with a flower in her hair...

==[ A E G I S]==

"Wooow," commented a stunned Reiko as she looked around at the immense entryhall of AEGIS World Headquarters. "It's soooo, soooo... big!"
"Aya aya, don't go running off this time ok Reiko-san?" Fei admonished as Jun lead them towards a row of elevators. "It was hard enough finding you back there in the plane!"
"So... This is the main Gate Flooders Headquarters?" Bancho commented as the party filed into one of the large elevators. "Not bad at all..."
"Is this guy for real?" Jun Thunders whispered to Ruriko as the two girls entered. "I mean honestly... Gate _Flooders_ ?"
Ruriko sighed. "Unfortunately, he's quite real. We've all tired to dismiss him as a figment of our imagination - no success so far though."
"A pity..." the black haired American muttered under her breath.
"That doesn't mean we've stopped trying though," Kaoru added with a grin, her eyes sparkling mischievously as the elevator began to descend. 
As Bancho began to rant again on how the 'Princesses' always had to pick on the most handsome guy in the group, Ukiya leaned against the elevator wall and let a smile of contentment flit across his face. It was good to see everyone bantering and in good spirits... They may not show it, but they were all tired. Although his fellow Gatekeepers were remarkable individuals, six months or so of battles had taken their toll, and the final push at the Diet building had pushed them all to their limits. Even three weeks later, Ukiya knew he would not have returned to full health without the aid of Rurippe's Gate of Life. For that, and for more, he was grateful to his old friend... He only wished that her Gate was as effective in healing her own wounds as they had been with his. But Rurippe's wounds were of the heart and soul, not of the flesh...
The weeks had been difficult for her. Aside from worrying about him, she had to contend with the darkness that had briefly consumed her heart, with having found herself faced with the evil that lay within all mankind. Yes she had been able to fight it off, with Ukiya's help, but its specter never lay far from her mind, and she constantly worried that someday it would overpower her again. Ukiya knew this from her own words, during the too few times in the last three weeks that they had spent together. He wished he could have been able to do more. Yet, although something in their relationship had changed, both of them were at a loss over what to do next. Rurippe had made her feelings for him quite plain and on Ukiya's part... He knew he felt the same way. What that meant though, to him and to her, he was unsure of - he had never been in this situation before. Then there was Kaoru to consider, and their positions as members of AEGIS and... It was just so complicated to have to deal with these emotions! So as much as possible, Ukiya tried not to think about them, hard as that was at times. Luckily - or unluckily depending on how you looked at things - the Commander and AEGIS had kept them quite busy since his recovery, and the two of them had had little time to sort out things between them...
And then there was that _kiss_...
Ukiya's train of though was interrupted by the elevator coming to a smooth halt, followed soon after by the opening of its doors. The Gatekeepers found themselves emerging upon a large lobby, complete with lounge chairs and tv sets, with a refreshment bar over to the side. Various dignitaries, both civilian and military, were scattered along with several younger people around the age of Shun and the others. Once they had all emerged from the elevator, Jun took the lead and led them to a trio of the youngsters, one of whom had a very familiar face.
"Jim-san!" Ukiya called in genuine happiness as he caught the eye of the blond haired Brit, the Gatekeeper known as the 'Flying Scot', who flashed him a smile and waved him over. Before Shun could take a step forward however, he was practically bowled over by Fei, who charged the young man standing next to Jim and enfolded him in a fierce embrace.
"Lee!" the young Chinese girl squealed in delight, as the older boy ruffled her hair fondly. The two began talking in rapid fire Chinese as Jim and his other friend, a blond haired girl with glasses and a big smile plastered on her face, came towards Ukiya and the others.
"Well met Ukiya Shun," greeted Jim Skylark, extending a hand which Ukiya gladly shook. "I'd have gone with Jun to meet you at the airport but I've only just arrived myself."
"It's a wonder how someone with the Gate of Speed can still manage to be late for every single meeting isn't it?" commented the blonde girl, in accented Japanese, which elicited a laugh from Jun and a glare from Jim. The girl then grinned at Ukiya and shook his hand enthusiastically.
"Hey there! You must be Ukiya! I'm Francine Allumage! Nice to meetcha!"
"I- " Shun began but found himself once more bumped out of the way, this time by an overly excited Bancho. 
"I am the great Banba Chotaro, at your service my beautiful blonde Princess! You must surely be one of the famed beauties of America are you not? Truly the reports do not do you justice!"
Francine blinked, then blushed red and laughed self consciously, her eyes glittering behind her glasses. :Oh no, no, you're mistaken, I'm from France actually but - really?" She paused breathlessly. "You thought I was American? I'm so flattered! This is my first time here you know but I know all about America! Isn't it just wonderful?"
"Oho! Yes, yes, truly wonderful!" Bancho nodded enthusiastically, oblivious to Kaoru tapping her foot noisily behind him. 
"Uh oh," Jim sighed, then shook his head ruefully. "He's done it now... No one can shut Allumage up once she begins ranting about America..."
Jun nodded, a bemused expression on her face. "I mean, I _live_ here and she knows more about the USA than I do..."
"She certainly seems... enthusiastic about it," Rurippe laughed, as Bancho and Francine continued their conversation. 
At that point Fei returned to the group, hauling behind her the young man she had practically tackled. He was Chinese like Fei, shorter than Shun but well built, with the muscles of an acrobat which could be seen beneath his traditional Chinese clothes. 
"Sorry for running off," she said, grinning. "Its just that I haven't seen Lee since he was transferred to the German Branch and I just wanted to make sure he hadn't forgotten me."
The older boy laughed. "As if anyone could forget Fei," he said, in perfectly accented Japanese. The boy then extended his hand towards Ukiya. As they shook, he introduced himself. "Lee Hwun-Tsien, currently assigned to the German Branch. How do you do?" Lee had an open, unlined face, with hair tied back into a long braid which reached past his shoulders. Shun was struck by the aura of peace that the man seemed to exude, seemingly without being aware of it.
"Ukiya Shun," he introduced himself. "Far East branch."
"As if any of us wouldn't know who you were," Lee said with a smile, causing Ukiya to redden a bit. Then the Chinese Gatekeeper turned to Rurippe who was standing nearest to Shun. "And you must be Ruriko Ikusawa yes?" he said with a bow. "It is my great hope that you have recovered from your last horrible battle?"
"Ah... yes, thank you," Rurippe replied hesitantly, a bit anxious now that it was becoming obvious how widely known their battle had become. As the rest of the group introduced themselves, Ukiya wondered whether he should do something to comfort her, place a hand on her shoulder or something, but he was worried that such an action might be out of bounds in some way. He sighed inwardly.
_Romance should have come with a rule book..._
Suddenly, hidden loudspeakers in the ceiling came to life.
"All Gatekeepers, please report to the briefing room. All Gatekeepers, please report to the briefing room..."
"Well," said Francine. "That's us! We'd best get going."
"Right," Rurippe agreed. I doubt they'd have called all of us here if this wasn't important..."
As everyone began to file away however, Jim took a firm grip on Shun's arm and pulled him aside.
"Listen," Jim began, as soon as the others had gone beyond hearing range. "Be careful in there eh Ukiya?"
"What do you mean?" Ukiya asked, confused.
"What I mean is that you shouldn't go in there thinking that just because everyone in that room is a member of AEGIS, everyone is going to be your friend - although you'll have to act as if they were."
Ukiya opened his mouth to speak but Jim shushed him. 
"Remember, these were the same people who were ready to sell you out in order to safeguard their own butts," the British Gatekeeper whispered with a disgusted expression on his face. "And some of the other AEGIS Branches are envious that Japan seems to be getting all the credit. And then there's the matter of Ruriko..."
Shun blinked. "Rurripe?"
Jim looked back and saw that the others were almost out of sight. "We can't stay here much longer, I'll explain later, if the meeting doesn't make things clear. But Ukiya," Jim said, in a serious tone of voice. "No matter what those bureaucrats try to pull, don't go and say anything stupid - and keep your people under control. You're in the big leagues now friend, and the Top Brass don't take kindly to insubordination."
_Damnit, why do these things have to be so complicated?_ the black haired boy thought, but he nodded that he understood.
That seemed to satisfy Jim. "Good, let's go."

==[ A E G I S]==

Jim and Shun reached a pair of high double doors, which opened and then shut automatically as they entered the room. It was dark, with only faint lines of green at the edges of the room that gave off illumination. Ukiya had hardly even stepped foot into the darkened room when he felt himself bump up against someone.
"Oy!" came Bancho's voice. "Who was that?"
"Bancho stop moving around!" Kaoru's voice this time, from somewhere to the left. 
Someone else spoke up then, a man, in a harshly accented language that Shun couldn't make out.
"Eh, what was that?" said Bancho. "Was... was it a ghost?"
"Bancho! Control yourself!" Rurippe sounding annoyed.
The stranger spoke again, followed by another who seemed to be speaking in English. From her position to his right, Jun responded to both in their own langauges.
"What's going on?" Ukiya asked Jim who was still standing beside him.
"Just tell you people to snap to attention," Jim hissed. "The meeting will start any minute."
"Alright guys settle down," Ukiya called out. "Shirei is probably seated somewhere nearby and it wouldn't do to embarrass him right?"
His words had the desired effect, and the rest of the group settled down, though Bancho did so rather reluctantly. They all knew that the Commander and Miss Ochiai had flown to New York a day before they had and it was a good bet that Shirei at least would be at the meeting.
Soon after, a female voice began to initiate a countdown, followed by a series of announcements.
"Console hook-up successful."
"Transcribing program on-line."
"Universal Translator operational."
"Very well," This time, it was a male voice, deep and powerful. "Let us begin."
With that command, a set of light flooded the room. Before the group of young Gatekeepers was a large, semicircular table. Seated at that table were eleven adults in military uniforms. The Commanders of AEGIS were from as many races at there were branches - Ukiya could easily spot Europeans, an Indian, an African, a Chinese... Seated almost directly to at the center of the table sat their own Commander, behind a plaque that merely said 'Far East' - so much for actually learning his real name, Ukiya thought. Behind the table was an elevated platform, and there sat a twelfth officer, a large man with an imposing, bearded face. _The Supreme Commander_ Ukiya guessed, and the boy wondered what kind of man he was to have risen to lead such a powerful organization as AEGIS. Then Jim's words came back to him, and he wondered if the Supreme Commander was one of those that the blonde Gatekeeper had been warning him about.
In due course Shirei stood, and after adjusting his glasses began to address the group assembled before them.
"Welcome Gatekeepers, I bid you listen to the words of your Supreme Commander."
"I too, bid you welcome, members of AEGIS," Ukiya recognized the voice as the one which had spoken before the lights had been turned on. The boy watched in fascination as the Supreme Commander's mouth moved, obviously speaking in a different language, while Ukiya clearly heard what he assumed was the mans voice speaking to him in fluent Japanese. "Many of you have traveled quite a distance to arrive here, and we invite you to consider the New York Branch of AEGIS as your homes, especially those of you who are here for the first time."
Ukiya heard a giggle, and turned to see the french girl, Francine, grinning in pleasure.
"During the past few months," this time it was another Commander who spoke, one apparently from the African Branch. "We have been confronted with an increase in Invader activity, as they sought to spread fear and chaos in line with their own mysterious goals. Having the element of surprise on their side, and with AEGIS forced into purely reactive actions, the Invaders have wrecked much havok upon the globe. Luckily, AEGIS staff, most notably you Gatekeepers, have been able to keep them from making any headway. If you will turn your eyes to the main screen..."
What followed was a series of video clips showcasing Invader attacks in places other than Japan. Some of the fusion forms which appeared on the screen were ones that they had fought before - such as the drill form which was shown breaching a dam. But other types they had never seen before - twin spinning blades, a rain of needles, a huge grasping hand. But although each scene showed the damage the Invaders were capable of causing, all ended in the same way - defeat at the hands of a Gatekeeper. Ukiya and his friends watched in awe as these new Gatekeepers, with powers they had never seen before and in most cases all by themselves, fought and prevailed against all obstacles. One Gatekeeper dropped from hundreds of feet in the air to crush the hand-fusion form, while another transformed himself into a huge rhino and rammed his way through a wall of Invaders. They saw a clip where Fei's friend Lee and Misao Sakimori teamed up against the drill Invader, with Lee slowing the drill to the point where it was a sitting duck for an accurately aimed volley from Misao's Gate Robot. 
"Wow! You're great Lee!" enthused Fei. "And so are you Misao!"
The bespectacled girl merely nodded while Lee smiled warmly at his smaller companion.
"Hey not bad," Ukiya commented at one point, after a scene where a screaming Jim Skylark had landed a series of blistering punches against a Fukuoka type Invader.
"You're quite the master of understatement," the Brit retorted with a grin. "I was great."
"Hmmm, maybe," Ukiya said. But then he pointed towards the screen, where Jim once more had his moth open in a shout of rage. "But what was it that Jun once said about 'emotional release of Gatepower?"
The 'Flying Scot' shot Ukiya a sour look while nearby, Jun and the other Far East Gatekeepers shared a laugh.
"As you can see," the African commander continued. "The attacks were on a worldwide scale, consisting of Invader forms - like the Fukuoka - which had never been seen before then. But the main focus of the Invader attacks seemed to occur within the vicinity of the Japanese archipelago..."
Again, the screen showed signs of battle, but these were much more familiar to Ukiya and the Far East branch members. The scenes were shown in chronological order, from Ukiya and Rurippe's first battle, up until the final thrust against Kageyama. 
"Orrrah!!! There it is!" Bancho shouted at one point as the screen gave the audience a birds eye view of the ex-gang leader's first manifestation of his Gate Power. "Finally, I get my action!" he cried out, weeping once more his patented 'tears of great emotion'.
When the footage reached the point however when Ukiya was facing off with Kageyama, another voice cut in, a harsh voice which Ukiya recognized as the one he had heard in the darkness when he had bumped into Bancho.
"With respect, must we be forced to sit through yet another showing of this 'great' battle?" the voice said. Ukiya turned to see it coming from a tall, powerfully built young man with jet black hair and a sneer on his face. It was the Gatekeeper whom they had seen using himself as a living bullet in the previous clips.
"The russian, Martin Ivelnikov," Jim whispered to Ukiya. "Watch yourself Ukiya - my warning was in preparation for the likes of him."
 "We have all seen it repeated a thousand times - proclaim the little boy and his little friends to be heroes and be done with it!"
"What did you - !" Bancho started as he stepped towards the young Russian, but Ukiya, prepared for such an attitude, extended his arm to stop him.
"But Captain - " the ex-gang leader started, but Ukiya cut him of.
"Stay calm Bancho," he said. "And that goes for everyone here as well. No need to swallow the bait when they fish for a fight."
The others nodded agreement - if rather reluctantly for Kaoru and Bancho.
"Perhaps Martin is right sir," the Russian Commander spoke up, although he was giving his charge a stern look. "After all, we have here today the Gatekeepers who participated in that battle - maybe they wish to share with us any insights that we might have missed from a mere video analysis?"
The Supreme Commander of AEGIS nodded his head in agreement. "Very well," he rumbled, then turned his gaze towards Shun. "Captain Ukiya, do you have any pertinent data the invaders, some personal knowledge which you wish to share with us?"
Ukiya blinked. "Me?" he asked, but then realized it was a stupid question. _How many other Ukiya's do I see in this room_ he thought ruefully to himself. At first he was at a loss of what he could possibly say to such knowledgeable, powerful people that they didn't already know - but then he the word 'invader' triggered something at the back of his head, something that Jun had said - about the fear that had spread about the 'invading aliens'. 
"Well sir, for one thing," Ukiya began. "I think we should stop calling them 'invaders.'"
There were a few murmurs from the people gathered within the room, but the Commanders of AEGIS showed no reaction at all, save for Shirei, who was nodding as if he had confirmed something which he had suspected all along.
"What makes you say that?" asked another of the Commanders, this one from France, the only female amongst the twelve.
"The Invaders are actually..." Shun paused then, looking for the correct words, and hoping they'd be translated correctly. "I guess you could say they were created by a Gatekeeper, a negative Gateekeper from long ago. They were born here, on Earth, and they feed on human desires - its what gives them life I'd guess."
"And where did you come by this information?" This time the question was from Shirei. "It was in none of your reports..."
"I'm sorry sir," Ukiya said apologetically. "With all that happened, it just slipped my mind. During the battle at the Diet, Kageyama was taunting me, and this was one of the things he told me before the Gate Robot got ripped to shreds." At the quizzical expressions of a few of the Commanders, Ukiya paused to explain. "I mean the one you call Shadow - we knew him as Reiji Kageyama. He went to Tategami High just as we did..."
"And you failed to notice he was Shadow, prior to the battle? What are you brain dead?" It was the Russian again, and even without looking he could hear the sneer in Ivelnikov's voice. "Oh wait - I forgot. He didn't wear his _sunglasses_ when he was in school. Must have made him hard to recognize... "
"That's not fair!" Ukiya turned, to see who had spoken, and blinked in mild surprise. He had thought that if anyone was going to react, it would have been Kaoru or Bancho - but here was Rurippe, staring at the Russian with fire in her eyes, fists clenched tightly at her sides and coming to Shun's defense. "No one would have expected Shadow to be hiding in plain sight like that. Besides, Ukiya sees the good in people - and believe it or not there was a lot of good in Kageyama-kun. You should take a page from Ukiya's book and think a moment before judging people!"
The room had gone very silent as Rurippe began her tirade, and even when she had finished talking no one said a word. Ukiya noticed that everyone - from the Commanders to some of the other Gatekeepers, were looking at Rurippe closely, almost staring at her, as if she were a bug under a microscope. Ukiya suddenly remembered the other part of Jim's warning and he moved closer to the girl, while warily glancing at the others. 
The Russian Commander was the first to speak. "So... this is that girl?"
"Yes, one of them at least," responded a commander from Africa. "Ruriko Ikusawa."
"What-" Rurippe said, becoming aware of the curios glances being throne in her direction. "What did I do?"
From his place towards the end of the line of Gatekeepers, Ivelnikov snorted. "You're the weakling who succumbed to her negative gate."
Rurippe blanched, but before she could say anything, Ukiya was already striding toward the big Gatekeeper. "That _does_ it you piece of- " he broke off as he suddenly found himself face to face with Jim Skylark. The blonde Gatekeeper took a firm grip on Shun's shoulders.
"Cool it Ukiya!" he whispered harshly. "Let your Commander handle this."
Ukiya turned towards Shirei, and true enough their Commander was standing, staring emotionlessly towards the Russian Gatekeeper. Ivelnikov stared back defiantly for awhile, but even the big Russian eventually backed away from a confrontation with the Far East Commander.
Once a reasonable amount of order had been restored amongst the Gatekeepers - for Kaoru and Bancho had to be restrained as well - Shirei spoke.
"I personally vouch for the recovery of Miss Ikusawa. The enemy has discovered a means of turning the Gate of a Gatekeeper to its negative side - let this serve as a warning - and Miss Ikusawa's recovery serve as an inspiration."
"Shirei..." Rurippe whispered, and Ukiya gave her a thumbs up.
"That as may be," commented the Commander of the China branch. "But our reports indicate there was a second who opened a Black gate. What of her?"
The Far East Commander turned to his smaller compatriot. "She turned herself in as a prisoner after the battle. She has expressed regret for her actions and is currently working to return her Gate to its original state."
"How was Ikusawa able to accomplish the cleansing of hr Gate power then?" asked another Commander.
Shirei glanced for a moment at Ukiya, then made a non-committal sound. "There is not enough data to make any conclusions yet on that account..."
Ukiya and Rurippe shared a look, then returned their gazes forward as the Supreme Commander spoke.
"Then we must pray she recovers soon. For what is to come, we shall need every Gatekeeper there is - and more if possible."
His words caused a stir amongst the assembled Gatekeepers.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Lee, from his position next to Fei. "Are the Invaders massing again?"
"But we beat them at the Diet!" Kaoru protested. "Shadow and the Invaders got sucked into that big hole in the sky!"
"Uh-huh," Reiko agreed. "None of them were leeeeft..."
"Talk about egocentric," commented another Gatekeeper, a lanky American lad who looked young to Ukiya, "What makes you think that the Invaders in Japan were the entire force huh?"
"Stand down Trevor," Jun scolded her countryman. "They didn't man it that way."
"Why are you guys being so offensive anyway?," Fei protested. "It's just-"
The Chinese Gatekeeper was interrupted by a flash of light from the monitor, when the light faded, the screen displayed a map of the world, with twelve black dots marking the location of AEGIS bases. Around each base was a substantial amount of red of varying degrees- except that of Japan's, where the entire Island was colored green.
"If you're all done?" The Supreme Commander asked, rendering all the Gatekeepers silent.
"This map will give you an idea as to our situation. The red areas represent areas of Invader activity, which as you can see has spread to a large area. The Invaders have been relatively inactive ever since the defeat of Shadow at the Diet Building, but we have no reason to believe that the Invaders which lay beyond the range of Shadow's signal were lured to Japan. Seeing as Japan was a hotbed for the Invader forces, we believe that roughly a quarter of their members were eliminated with Shadow approximately twenty-three days ago - a substantial blow, but hardly fatal."
"A quarter..." Rurippe whispered, and she shared a worried glance with Ukiya.
"That's right," said Jun. "Thrice that number still unaccounted for."
 The Supreme Commander continued. "We believe the vast majority of Invader forces are still active - possibly leaderless, although we know of at least two 'Invaders' who might rival General Machine and Count Devil in terms of power. Even now they may be planning a reprisal for their defeat." The man paused to let his words sink in. Fighting three times as many invaders as there were at the Diet would be next to impossible - even with the Gate Robots. 
Then, unexpectedly, the Supreme Commander smiled.
"The good news is, this time we don't have to wait for them to attack.
"Because of the sheer magnitude of the signal employed by Shadow to call his forces, for the first time in history we have been able to analyze the signal which causes the Invaders to revert to their true form. This has allowed us, with the aid of Vuai Nwosu  to design a device capable of replicating the wave. I will allow   Mr. Nwosu to explain further."
The map on the screen was replaced with the image of a warehouse, where a group of AEGIS engineers were busy crafting what appeared to be a tall, spindly, radio tower. 
"This," the African Gatekeeper explained, in a voice like that of a professor lecturing a group of slow students, "is what I call the Signal Mimic. It duplicates the effect of Shadow's wave signal over a comparable distance, with the same effect: namely to awaken any Invader forms within the area, and summon them to the source of the wave. We're making a total of four of them - they're not quite finished yet, but by the time we are ready to strike, they will be."
"When we are 'ready to strike'?" asked the American boy, Trevor. "I'm ready right now! This is great! We can finally be on the offensive for once!"
"Regular, reckless American," Ivelnikov muttered loudly - too loudly for him not to have mant for his words to be heard.
Vuai was shaking his head. "No way are we using the Mimics anytime soon."
"Why not?" Asked Trevor once more. "We'll just be giving them more time to prepare!"
The African sighed. "You talk to him," he said to Jun. "Even when we're speaking the same language we're _still_ not speaking the same language..."
"Think it through Trevor," Jun admonished the young man. "We have no way of knowing how many Invaders there are in any given area - what happens if we use them and there turns out to be more of the Invaders than we can handle."
"Thing is though," Jim interrupted, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I don't think we have any way of detecting the Invaders before they assume their real forms... So how will we ever know how many of them there are in an area?"
"We won't know Jim," This time it was one of the commanders who spoke, the one from Britain. "And that's a risk we will have to take eventually."
"But we will take it when every possible means of preperation will have been exhausted," the Commander from Africa added. "Mr. Nwosu is already hard at work leading a team of experts in developing better weaponry for both Gatekeepers and AEGIS."
The dark skinned youth gave a lazy smile.
"Impressive as I'm sure Nwosu's weapons will be however," the Supreme Commander interjected. "Technology has never been our main weapon against the Invaders...
"In short, what we need are more Gatekeepers."
The screen shifted again, and this time there was a row of faces, sixteen all in all. The Gatekeepers of AEGIS. Below their pictures were six boxes which were blank.
"There are currently twenty-two confirmed Gatekeepers, amongst which sixteen are active members of AEGIS. They are the following..."
"Francine Allumage, Gate of Explosion."
Francine giggled at that, and gave a thumbs up.
"Kaoru Knoe, Gate of Close Combat."
Kaoru nodded fiercely, her eyes still boring holes in Ivelnikov's head.
"Fei Feiring, Gate of Red Hot.
"Trevor Baskins, Gate of Physical Change."
The young American gave a cocky salute and smiled confidently.
"Reiko Asagiri, Gate of Illusion.
"Jim Skylark, Gate of Supersonic.
"Lee Hwun Tsien, Gate of Time.
"Martin Ivelnikov, Gate of Invulnerability."
The big Russian held himself at attention until his Gate power was mentioned, then turned towards Kaoru and sneered, as if daring her to pit her Gate power against his own.
"One of these days we'll see how 'invulnerable' you are idiot," the girl muttered under her breath.
"Misao Sakimori, Gate of the Senses.
"Vuai Nwosu, Gate of Knowledge.
"Banba Chotaro, Gate unclassified as of yet."
"What? It is the Gate of Power!" Bancho exclaimed. "Isn't it obvious that I, Banba Chotaro, would have the most powerful Gate?"
"Imbecile," Vuai sighed, shaking his head.
"Jun Thunders, Gate of Lightning.
"Ruriko Ikusawa, Gate of Life."
Rurippe held herself proudly, as if daring anyone to contest the fact that her Gate was that of Life, and not of Death.
"Shun Ukiya, Gate of Gales.
"And finally, Megumi Kurogane, formerly of the Gate of Iron Wall," the Supreme Commander finished, and then turned his attention to the six blank boxes which followed Megumi's face.
"Among the remaining six, one of them, the one known as Shadow, is in all probability already deceased. This leaves five Gatekeepers as possible recruits for AEGIS."
The first box flashed, and in it appeared a rather fuzzy, but still recognizable image of a small girl in a kimono with a white flower in her hair...
"The first of these the Far East Gatekeepers are already familiar with - a High Level Gatekeeper by the name of Yukino Hojo."
"She was the one who aided Ukiya at the tower correct?" asked one Commander.
"Correct," answered Shirei. "There seems to be no permanent means of contacting her, but I firmly believe she is on our side. When she is needed, she will come."
"Very well," said the Supreme Commander, we will expend our resources in locating the others then.
"The second one vanished some time ago, but not before his power was confirmed... he is another High Level Gatekeeper, name currently unknown. What is known is that he wields the Gate of Earth, and he will be an invaluable addition to our cause."
While the second screen remained blank, the third flickered to life. It showed an older boy, around twenty from the looks of it, with snow white hair and a scar running past his left eye. Beside him, Ukiya heard Jun's gasp and he looked over at her with concern. The dark haired girl merely shook her head and motioned him to silence.
"The third is an Israeli boy by the name of Eliezer Snow. His whereabouts too are currently unknown, although he has already been recruited in the past. At that time he declined, and we respected his decision - but times are more desperate now, and his recruitment is no longer merely optional. 
"These three Gatekeepers lie beyond our means to recruit as of now. Therefore it has been decided that we shall initially concentrate our efforts in locating the remaining two Gatekeeper candidates, both of whom are in locations which are known to us. One can be found in a monastery in France, and the other at a hotel in Las Vegas." 
"Talk about worlds apart," Jim commented, and Ukiya smiled in agreement.
"Captain Ukiya," the Supreme Commander called out, and Shun immediately snapped to attention. 
"Sir, what are your orders?"
"Given the stellar performance of the Far East Branch in the past, and the fact that your area currently has the least signs of Invader activity, I will be assigning the task of recruitment to you. You are to divide your force into two groups - the first to accompany Gatekeeper Allumage to France, and the second to fly to Las Vegas, in the company of Jun Thunders."
"I don't see why I don't get to go to Vegas..." Trevor whined, but no one paid him any heed.
"Understood," Ukiya said. "So who are these new Gatekeepers?"
The fourth black box brightened, and revealed a picture of a serene looking boy, with a shaved head and clad in monks robes.
"That's him?" Kaoru asked, somewhat incredulously. "But he's a- "
"We did say he was at a monastery," the French Commander answered, her voice slightly amused. "He's not _quite_ a monk yet - though that's certainly not for lack of trying."
"As to our second candidate," The Supreme Commander continue, and the final black box came to life. The picture was that of a very attractive girl, with short, coal black hair and a very familiar face... Ukiya found himself exchanging a glance with Rurippe. 
"This girl... Does she look familiar to you too?" he asked.
Rurippe nodded. "Yes... It's strange... But it's not like we've had any common friends since..." And then the girl broke off and her eyes went wide. Slowly she turned back to the screen, and Ukiya could almost feel her anxiety.
"Rurippe? Rurippe what's wrong?"
"I don't believe it... It can't be her... Not now..."
"Ruri?"
"What's wrong Miss Ikusawa?" Shirei was asking. "Do you know Miyu Tanaka?"
And then suddenly Ukiya was a child again, standing in a junkyard, staring at one of the two girls he considered to be his very best friends...
"I'm sorry Rurippe. Honestly I like Miyu-chan better... because unlike Rurippe, Miyu-chan isn't - a snuffle nose."
_Uh oh..._
_Looks like its going to be one hell of a trip..._