Summary: Alan Blunt was given a position in Nexus to replace Fabian. He was requested to send an agent to relocate five missing teenagers scattered across the globe. Alex Rider is once more blackmailed into another dangerous mission, with nothing more than a useless character file and a few gadgets, he sets off to find them and take down a corporation in the process. And did he mention Scorpia is with Nightrise? And what in the world are Gatekeepers?

Rated: T

Setting: Post-Scorpia Rising, Pre-Oblivion

A/N: Haven't updated in a while. May not have time to update again, so I decided to make a really long one this time. It's currently 3am, so forgive me if some things does not match up or make sense.

Warnings: This is un-betaed, so I might make some changes to the grammar and spelling later.

Disclaimer: If I own POF/AR, I would make Matt and Alex unbeatable. So I don't own it.

This includes spoilers to OBLIVION and SCORPIA RISING. Read at your own risk.

Chapter 2

The afternoon came slowly, just as other days had for the past 5 years, and even though night was still far, there was not a single ray of light that shone down on the streets London. The dark clouds casted a gloom over the city of Farringdon and the flickering, lights from the gas lamps threatened to snuff out all hope left. The wariness that bore down the people of the city was omnipresent as eyes peeked through the slit of torn curtains, only to be drawn shut when a pitch-black car drove by them.

The black Rolls-Royce Phantom wheeled down the end of the street and stopped short in front of a shady hotel that was just barely alive. The driver came out of the seat and with a gloved hand he opened the door for the passenger to alight. A man dressed all in black, completed by a pair of dark sunglasses, came out of the car then followed by a woman. With a small gesture, the man dismissed the driver and shrugged at the woman to follow him.

It was clear who was in charge.

The couple went inside the shabby hotel and saw a man, also dressed in black, waiting for them at the lobby.

The man's name was David Tarrant. Not much is known about the man except that he was a police officer in New Scotland Yard. In the exterior, he looked like a simple man, with his blonde hair and strong built. But his eyes told another story; the two pools of black hide a secret that no one else would even dare to ask, because that is true. Tarrant has seen and heard far too much to let anything stand as they are.

The two male figures approached each other and shook hands.

"Tarrant,"

"Blunt,"

"This is my assistant, Mrs. Jones."

"Pleasure,"

They both stood in silence for a while, not really knowing where to start. In the end, Blunt broke the ice, "Tell me," It was not a question. Tarrant glanced around their surroundings, shifting uncomfortably when the bellboy was eyeing them a little too intently.

"I will, but not here. You made quite a commotion, entering the city with that bloody machine of yours,"

"I would not have entered the city at all if it were not for my 'machine'. You know how the world works these days. The more you show the less they bother you,"

"Yes, but it would have saved us a lot of trouble if you just snuck in without showing off. Now they're curious,"

Blunt blinked in confusion at Tarrant, not that he showed because of his sunglasses. "What do you-?!"

Bang!

The bellboy a few ways from them had stopped eyeing them and shot at their direction, aimed at Blunt. If it were not for Mrs. Jones' quick reflexes, Blunt would have a hole in his forehead. Tarrant took out his pistol and shot three times at the boy. Two went to either sides of his shoulders and the last one hit home. The boy hit the floor with a hole in his heart. He did not stand up again.

Breathing rather heavily from the adrenaline, Tarrant pulled up from the ground where he had fell from Mrs. Jones' pull, and gestured wildly for both of them follow him. Swiftly and quietly, Tarrant brought Blunt and Mrs. Jones out of the hotel through side door and went deeper down into the alleyway connected to it.

At the distance, Blunt could hear sirens blasting from afar and frantic footsteps as people hurried into their shelter. Doors banged as they were slammed against their frames in hurry and the windows were snap shut. Tension was strung so tight in the air that Blunt and Jones could hardly breath. No one made a sound as Tarrant lead them further into the alley.

Tarrant stopped and they came in front of a plain door. The door was black and held no design. It blended perfectly with the surroundings and was so discreet that Blunt could not tell the difference between the one in front of them and the door next to it. Tarrant took out a key and they went inside. Through the narrow corridor the went up a flight of stairs, barely making out anything around them. The second floor was more modern. There were tinted glass doors and windows, and the floor was heavily carpeted. At the order of "In here," by Tarrant, a door to their right magically slid opened.

The entered the room and Tarrant locked the door behind them. Blunt and Jones knew there was no escaping their decision to come here. They were already involved.

A committee of 10 people sat on a regular rectangle meeting table that held three empty chairs. At the head of the table was a elderly woman with tinted glasses shielding her eyes. From what, Blunt did not know, and neither did he need to. She was sitting very straight, her hands folded on her lap and she was very pale. It was the way she carried herself that caught Blunt's interest; she commanded respect but without the need to express it. Blunt knew he should not mess with her.

"Hello Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones. We've been waiting for you. Please take a seat."

Tarrant, Blunt and Jones took the three empty chairs in front of them. Once they were settled in, Blunt looked expectantly towards the head of the table.

"My name is Susan Ashwood and these here are my colleagues. You already know David Tarrant. To your left is Natalie Johnson, and in that order, Harry Foster, Mr. Danton, Mr. Lee, Graham Fletcher, Dwight Thomas, and Albert Remy."

Each of the mentioned nodded to Blunt and Jones. None of them stood up to offer their hands. There was no need to.

"We are Nexus."

There was a silence after Miss Ashwood's statement. Mrs. Jones looked slightly shocked when she was finally informed of their company. After all the attempts she and Blunt tried to gather information about them, they appear in front of them willingly and so suddenly that she was caught off guard for a moment. Blunt however, took this opportunity to dive into the questions.

"Who are Nexus?"

It was a question that had haunted Blunt for 5 years. The name Nexus popped out from nowhere under their radar and requested MI6 to lend a hand to them. When Blunt had refused to offer help without Nexus giving them a reason to, Nexus promptly disappeared and left MI6 hanging on the edge since.

Miss Ashwood was unconcern about the sudden question, as if she has predicted it. Around them, the member shifted slightly and the frank question but said nothing.

"Nexus is a secret organization designed to help save the world, so to speak. Tell me Mr. Blunt, have you ever heard of the Mad Monk of Cordoba?"

Blunt seemed stunned by the sudden question. In fact, his mind had not even wrapped around her first declaration when it was attacked by the next. Help save the world? The statement is too ridiculous to register, there is not head or tail to it, Blunt thought.

Mrs. Jones on the other hand perked up at the mention of the monk, but she hesitated to ask. After all, the last person she had known to try to research more into it died suddenly without explanation. She opened her mouth and cautiously said,

"I have heard of it. But what relevance is it to Nexus?"

Miss Ashwood turned her head to Mrs. Jones. "It is very important. In fact, it is the very foundation of Nexus. Our existence derives from that Monk."

Blunt snapped himself out of his stupor and piped in, "The monk was said to be just a legend. But you do not believe that."

"No we don't. His name was originally St. Joseph of Cordoba, a Spanish monk who travelled to Peru in1532, and witnessed the destruction of the Inca Empire. His diary was found many years ago buried underneath a mosque."

"You have the diary," Blunt said. It was a statement. Blunt could sense a foreboding tale coming.

Miss Ashwood did not say anything, but gestured to the man beside her. He took the briefcase that was on the floor beside him and opened it.

A gold, leather bound book. It was obviously very old. The man removed the book carefully as if it was made of glass and handed it to Blunt. Blunt opened the book with Mrs. Jones hovering over his shoulder to look.

The pages were uneven and thick, and there were very intricate and detailed drawings besides the writing. It was in Spanish, but that was not a problem for Blunt. The first few pages described the coming of cars, computers and even space satellites. However it later pages seemed to take a darker tone. There were drawings and symbols of demons and devils.

Blunt looked up expectantly at Miss Ashwood, confused.

"What the diary says is true, because it had really happened. There is an alternate history to our world as the diary says. But out history nonetheless even if no one knows."

" A very long time ago, there were creatures that appeared suddenly from nowhere and invaded the Earth. These creatures were known as the Old Ones. They take pleasure in destruction, the slower the better. They feed on pain. They create it and they inspire it. They came very close to wiping the humans off the face of the earth, but the few survivors came together and formed an army. The leaders of the army were four boys and a girl."

"Preposterous," Blunt murmured under his breath, yet transfixed by the story. No one heard him. Even if they did, they did not say anything.

" These five were not ordinary humans, but they had certain gifts. They used their gifts, and it was prophesied that when they come together in a circle, they would defeat the Old Ones. And that was what they did."

Blunt and Jones did not know what to respond. The story was so out of their mind that it was like reading aloud a short science fiction tale spun by a child.

"What does that have anything to do with you all?" Jones spoke for herself and Blunt.

"When the Old Ones were defeated they were sealed. Two gates were constructed to stop them from coming back. The first, Raven's Gate, is in Yorkshire and the second is in Nazca. We exist to make sure that the gates will never open, and even if they did, we will stop them."

"Seeing as you need my forces, that means the gates had opened," Blunt said. His mind was reeling a thousand frames per second. The events that lead up to now suddenly made sense.

"You are not saying you actually believe them Alan!" Jones exclaimed at her boss, somewhat exasperated somewhat scared.

Blunt glanced at her, his lips very dry. "The incident on witchcraft in Yorkshire 6 years ago and the Earthquake everyone felt all the way from Peru 5 years ago. It makes sense. But what do you need us for? Suppose what you say is all true, I do not see any evidence that these Old Ones exist," His last question directed to Miss Ashwood.

"Allow me to explain, Mr. Blunt," The woman next to him spoke up. He recognized her as Natalie Johnson, the esteemed computer entrepreneur that was said to be the next Bill Gates. He nodded to her.

"Five years ago, a boy residing in Yorkshire contacted one of our former members, inquiring about Raven's Gate. A series of unfortunate events led him to us finding out that he was very similar to one of the five children years ago. In another part of the world, a pair of twins with extraordinary telepathy skills were separated, one was lost to us for a while, while the other was taken by Nightrise Corporation, manipulated and controlled."

Jones stifled at the name. Everyone knew who Nightrise Corporation was. To this day, they own more than 40% of the world's agricultural resources and also held control of the stock markets. For such an infamous company to be mentioned could mean that they were facing a worse enemy than she thought.

"The boy from Yorkshire was sent to Peru, where he met a street beggar and together they were taken in by the Incas. One of our former member, Fabian, betrayed us to Nightrise Corporation and leaked out information about the location of the boys. They were sent to Nazca to investigate the second gate and several days later, the gate opened. One of the boy was badly wounded, along with twin who escaped from Nightrise's clutches. The four boys gathered in Peru for a few months before setting out."

"There was news of a girl who was in America. The girl was kidnapped and held captured by Nightrise in Hong Kong. When five of them finally met, there was a typhoon, I'm sure you heard about this incident. It came to a very close proximity of those five and their other companions when they were in the Tai Shan Temple. All of them fell through a door when the typhoon hit and no one has ever seen them ever since."

There was a very loud silence.

Blunt struggled to keep his face neutral, but his clenched white knuckles say otherwise. Jones was openly staring at everyone due to the sheer impossibility of the story.

Blunt did not know what to make of the story. It was impossible, but it was so impossible that there were no other explanations besides this. Suddenly everything from the past 5 years seemed to make sense. If what they say is true, and what he thinks they are implying, then the world is in more danger than it ever is. Forget the World War, this was going to be the end of humanity.

It was rare for Blunt to think so skeptically. But counting the unnaturally amount of natural disasters that have been hitting the Earth over the span of 5 years, and the abrupt economic crisis. The sudden rise of an unknown corporation that had no sponsors. The riots and chaos happening all over the world were the reason that his desk is covered with all that paperwork.

But he had to make sure that his assumption is correct. And although it might have to take a few more history lectures and evidence to fully convince him to join them, there was an unknown force pushing him to choose a side. He was never one for fiction, but there was no other explanation.

Blunt opened his parched mouth and dared to ask.

"Those five kids. Are the same ones?"

It was Miss Ashwood that answered him this time.

"Matthew Freeman, Pedro, Jamie Tyler, Scott Tyler and Scarlett Adams. They are the five children that will save us all. When they come together, everything shall be decided. They are the Five."

To be continued.

IMPORTANT AN! SPOILER AHEAD!

For those people who have read OBLIVION, I'm making it so that a slight AU will take place a year before Canon, then when once it hits the tenth year mark, I'll make it follow as it is in Canon...with a slight twist of course. Just so you people know, this happens 5 years after they left Hong Kong and 2 years after Alex Rider.

Read and Review please!