Hey everyone!

I hope you all are doing well! For those in the States, a Happy Early Thanksgiving! For everyone everywhere, good fortune to you all!

Here is part three of my Taken storyline. I'm glad that so many of you like it so far, based on PMs I've received, and so far, it's been an interesting adventure to write since it involves both the Redemption Squad and the New Olympians - two of my favorite groups in the entire series.

Enjoy this next chapter, and have a great day/weekend!

Note: All conversations in Bold are translated from Japanese. Also warning for some language.


Taken - Part Three

"I am still not sure that going to the home of a human is a wise decision," Taurus said, steering his flying chariot through the air as the gargoyles glided next to him. "Even if you claim he is trustworthy, there is still the chance that he will tell someone about me."

"Not Robbins," Goliath assured him. "We would trust him with our lives."

"Plus he's blind," Nashville added. "So it's not like he'll know you're a giant bull man."

"Nashville," Brooklyn chided. His son had a mouth, like he did when he was younger, and wondered how Goliath and Hudson had restrained themselves from strangling him.

Gilly barked at the back door as they landed, Taurus landing his chariot in the shadows off to the side. Seconds later, the blind author appeared at the back door.

"Hello," he called out. "Who's there?"

"Mr. Robbins," Brooklyn replied. "We have some news."

The man opened the sliding back door. "You didn't find him," the author stated, a somber expression on his face. "And the police still have no clue to his whereabouts."

"But we found someone who could help," Goliath said as Taurus cautiously approached the group. "And old friend of mine, Taurus, may be able to help us find him."

"It is… nice to meet you," the minotaur said slowly, giving Jeffrey Robbins a wary look. Goliath remembered the prejudice New Olympians carried towards humans, though he knew that Taurus had learned to tolerate Elisa during their time on the hidden island. "Goliath has informed me that your nephew is missing."

"He was kidnapped," the author agreed, not asking any questions as to who Taurus was. "Did you find any clues?"

"Yes," Brooklyn said. "We found a coin from Ne- Taurus' home, and it turns out that he's looking for someone. He's a… police officer, of sorts."

"Elijah's been kidnapped by another criminal besides Wolf," Robbins asked.

"His name is Proteus," the minotaur explained. "He…" He sighed, clearly trying to figure out a way to not reveal too much about his home. "He is good at making himself look like others. He may have impersonated this Wolf character."

The blind man sighed, clearly tired and looking shaken. "So… we have no leads of any kind," he asked, his voice hollow and defeated.

"Taurus can track him," Nashville blurted out. "He's got this fancy device that could help us-"

"Be quiet, child," Taurus snapped, glaring at the youngest gargoyle. "Do not make me arrest you too."

"I won't let you," Brooklyn said, his good eye glowing. "And I would refrain from threatening a child around me, especially my son." The minotaur and gargoyle stared one another down for a few moments, but then Goliath intervened.

"Calm down, both of you," he said. "Right now, we should be focused on finding Elijah and Proteus." He turned to Brooklyn. "You said you know someone who could help?"

"Yes." The one-eyed gargoyle turned to Robbins. "We need to get Lex here; he's a whiz at gadgets, and can probably rig Taurus' track to find Proteus. We can call Elisa and-"

"Elisa left about twenty minutes ago," Jeffrey informed them, fortunately not questioning who Taurus was or how he knew the gargoyles. "She went to go pick up Mason from the hospital. They should be back in a short while."

"We'll call Xanatos, then."

"I thought you said to never go straight to Xanatos unless we have no other choice," Nashville asked.

"We're going to ask him to send Lex over here, though I have no doubt that he's going to be curious as to why."

"This Xanatos seems untrustworthy to me," Taurus said. "I am not sure if we should inform him of our situation."

"If we wait for Elisa, then we have to wait for her to drive back to New York and get Lex. That'll take nearly an hour, and who knows how far away Proteus will be by then."

At that moment, the library phone rang behind the blind author. He turned quickly, nearly tripping over Gilly in his haste. He reached the phone, picking it up. "Hello? Mason?" The gargoyles couldn't hear what the other person was saying, but they could see the blind man's face become surprised, then confused before he abruptly hung up the phone.

"What happened," Goliath asked. "Was that Mason? Is he out of the hospital?"

"Yes, but… he said he was in New York City," Jeffrey said numbly. "He… He said he woke up in a cell with his wallet missing, and he couldn't find Elijah. Somehow he escaped, found a phone and…" He looked in the general direction of the group. "If Mason's in New York, who did the police find at the wreckage, and who is Elisa going to pick up?"

Brooklyn was the first to figure it out. "Shit," he yelled, briskly turning and running outside. "We have to go, now!"

"What;s going on," Nashville asked, but by now, Taurus had also realized what was going on, and he was sprinting towards his chariot. "What about Proteus?"

"The young one should stay here," the minotaur suggested. "Proteus is too dangerous."

"What?! C'mon dad, let me go, please!"

"No," the red gargoyle said. "Stay here and protect Mr. Robbins."

"I can handle it," the young gargoyle protested, frowning at the adults. "And I can fight-"

Nashville, Brooklyn barked in Japanese, glaring at his son. You will do as we say. If Taurus says you cannot come, then you will stay here. Is that understood?

Nashville glared at him, but knew that it was pointless to argue back. Yes, dad, he conceded, hands in fists.

"Good." Brooklyn turned to Goliath and Taurus. "Let's catch a criminal."

As they glided off into the night, Nashville felt a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard," Jeffrey said. "Staying behind with no idea of what might happen to those you love."

"It's not just that," the young gargoyle muttered, kicking a stray rock away from him. "Everyone in the clan treats me like a child, like I can't do anything right or I'm too young to know what's going on. I'm over twenty years old; I can handle it!"

"I'm afraid I cannot go against your father's wishes," the author told him. "Though you must see it from his point of view; he's clearly scared of what's about to happen, and doesn't want you to get hurt."

"I know that! I just want to show him I can handle myself in a fight!"

"Can you honestly say that you would be able to fight and defeat Proteus?" Nashville did not answer, knowing that he very well was not prepared to take on an actual villain. "Let's go inside. Want some tea?"

"Yeah…" The young gargoyle looked up at the moon. "It's late… Elijah missed tonight's Murder, She Wrote." He looked at the author. "Are you scared too?"

"Of course. But I know that all we can do now is wait and hope for the best." He led the gargoyle back inside, the two of them hoping that nothing would go wrong.

[][][]

"You know I once learned how to play the theme song," Elijah said as Angela Lansbury biked through the town of Cabot Cove on the small hotel TV.

"That a fact," Dingo asked, listening to the fast piano music that made up the show's theme song. "Ya must be bloody good at the piano, then."

The deaf teen shrugged. "I'm a decent player. Now be quiet, the show's starting."

They were currently in the Redemption Squad's safehouse, which was the entire top floor of a hotel in New York City. It didn't seem like the kind of place a vigilante group would hide out in, but it appeared that hiding in plain sight was their strategy. Elijah was still worried about his uncle and what was going on with Sevarius. If he could, he would be on his way home to his uncle, but Yama was standing guard nearby. While none of the vigilantes showed no signs of hurting him, the teen did not want to test them. Plus, they had a point about keeping his uncle safe, so the teen had resigned himself to stay there… for now. Besides, he didn't get to miss Murder, She Wrote, so at least he wouldn't fall behind.

Meanwhile, in a room down the hall, Hunter hit Wolf so hard in the jaw, one of his teeth went flying. Matrix still restrained the mutate, his body wrapped around the wolf man and pinning him to a chair. Fang stood by the door, watching the interrogation with interest. It had been half an our or so, and the grey mutate had given them nothing about Sevarius.

"Where's Sevarius gone," Hunter asked, glaring at Wolf. "What is he planning'?"

"Fuck you… bitch," Wolf sputtered, returning the glare as blood dripped between his teeth. "I'm… sayin' nothin'."

"Well if he's not gonna say anything, can I at least get his autograph," Fang asked. Hunter gave him a death glare. "What? He used to be on The Pack, and ever since he became a villain, his autographs have gone up in value."

"What could ye possibly need money for," the woman asked him. "And how would ye plan on sellin' it lookin' like ye do?"

"I'd ask you or Dingo, obviously."

"You're wastin' your time," Wolf said, trying again to break the silvery restraints that held him. "Sevarius told me nothin' about his plans or where he would go if things went wrong. I was broken out of prison a couple days ago-"

"By who," Hunter demanded.

The grey mutate grinned at her. "I think ya know who, sweetheart."

The Illuminati, she thought, wondering why they would break him out and then do nothing with him. Unless Sevarius was a part of the organization… "So ye don't know where Sevarius is," she said. "Matrix?"

MY SCANS INDICATE THAT HE IS BEING TRUTHFUL, the artificial intelligence said. THOUGH I REMIND YOU THAT I CANNOT BE 100% CERTAIN THAT MY RESULTS ARE ACCURATE.

"Better than nothing, I always say," Fang muttered.

"So I'm goin' back to jail," Wolf asked. "Figured you'd be the kind to do the right thing or some shit."

"Correct," the Scottish woman replied.

"I'll be sure to tell them all about ya."

"Feel free te. Ye have no idea where we are, and be certain that if ye try te escape again, we'll hunt ye down like the dog ye are."

Wolf leaned forward as far as he could, staring her down. "Bring it on."

"Ooh, tension," Fang said, finally walking over to the two. "So how about ya sign something for me before we knock ya out, and-" Hunter quickly hit Wolf, knocking him unconscious. "Dammit, Hunter!"

"We're not doin' this for the money," she said, walking towards the door. "Matrix, make sure he remains restrained."

YES, HUNTER.

"Now what, fearless leader," Fang said, following Hunter out of the room and down the hall. "How're we supposed to find the good doctor now?"

"Ah'll think of something," she replied curtly.

The winged mutate snickered. "Oh, Dingo's gonna have a field day with ya!" Hunter ignored him, walking into Dingo's room to find him and Elijah still engrossed in their mystery show. Yama straightened up, giving her a questioning look.

"Nothing," she informed the gargoyle. "Apparently, Sevarius only mutates the worst kind of people."

"I can see that," the gargoyle said, watching Fang grab a beer from the mini fridge and down it in less than ten seconds. "I would be happy to have a few words with him."

"He's out like a light thanks to William Wallace here," Fang said, sitting on the bed and looking at the TV. "Who's the old granny?"

"Jessica Fletcher," Elijah and Dingo said at the same time, not looking away from the show.

"Seriously," Hunter asked, frowning at Dingo. "Sevarius is out there and you're watching TV?"

"Just waitin' on ya, Sheilah," the Australian, turning to look at her. "Wolfie's not sayin' a word, so where do we go from here?"

"Can't you track him or something," the deaf teen asked, finally looking at the vigilante group as the show went to commercial. "Or do you know if he has any hiding places?"

"We know of a few hideouts," Hunter said. "But they're spread out all over the city; he could be in any of them, and finding out which one is near impossible."

"That's if he's even in New York," Dingo included. "He could be anywhere in the state by now."

"So I'm stuck here indefinitely," Elijah asked. "No offence, but I thought you all would be better at your jobs."

"We're still tryin' to get this 'hero' stuff down," Fang reminded him. "We're doin' our best here."

"Most of us are," Yama corrected him. "And there must be some way of figuring out where he is hiding." Hunter's earpiece beeped, and she stepped into the hall, pressing the device as she talked to someone in a low voice.

"Here we go again," the Australian complained, going over to the fridge to get a beer of his own.

"Who's she talking to," the teen asked.

"The Director," the winged mutate answered in an overly dramatic voice. "They're the ones that got the bright idea to get us all together like some crazy boy band. Hunter talks to them, and we get sent on dangerous, life-threatening missions."

"Why'd you even agree to join if you don't like it," Elijah asked.

"Ain't got a choice," Dingo said, downing half the can of beer. "I'm still wanted in some places, and if I refused, she would've given them my home address."

"I joined to regain my lost honor," Yama explained. "I betrayed my clan, and was banished for my crimes. I cannot return until I have redeemed myself, and only I will know when that time has come." He looked at the hilt of his sword. "My love still waits for me there…"

"And I was just like 'Fuck it,' and joined," Fang said, crumpling his empty can and tossing it across the room.

"No," the gargoyle said, glaring at him. "You nearly helped Sevarius turn Times Square into a mutate hotspot on New Years, and the only reason you're not locked up is because of Hunter."

"You helped Sevarius," the teen asked, gaping at the the mutate. "You were gonna turn thousands of people into mutates like you? You helped him do what he was going to do to me?"

"Hey, a job's a job," Fang answered nonchalantly. "Like when I attacked your friend on Halloween; it's all in the past."

The deaf teen turned to Yama. "Is… He's not joking, is he? Is he actually that bad?"

"I'm afraid not," the Japanese gargoyle said. "At least now we can keep an eye on him."

"Wanna go, horn-head," Fang asked, hands cackling with electricity. "Give me a reason; I dare ya!"

"Ah can't leave ye boys alone for a minute, can I," Hunter asked as she walked back into the room. "C'mon; we're heading out."

"You found Sevarius," Elijah asked, getting to his feet. "How?"

"Well, Sevarius, it seems, had a little help and is half-way across the ocean by now." Everyone sighed, but the leader of the Redemption Squad continued. "But we need te stop an attack upstate from here."

"An attack," Dingo repeated. "Who is it this time? The Illuminati?"

"The Director says that it's an unknown creature, a shape-shifter," Hunter explained. "They haven't made a move yet, but Ah have a sense they're not here for a peace mission."

"So we're what? Damage control," Fang asked sarcastically. "And how exactly does this Director know all this? It's like a… a… day-os ex-makana."

"Deus ex-machina," Elijah and Yama said at the same time.

"Regardless of how they know, we should get there fast." Hunter looked at the teen. "They're in Weisman, and seeing that they're here the same day ye were kidnapped by Sevarius-"

"They could be working together," Elijah finished, the blood draining from his face. "They could be going after my uncle, and the gargoyles are probably out looking for me." He looked at the motley crew assembled in the room. "You have to help them!"

"'Course we're gonna help," Dingo said, standing up and cracking his knuckles. "Guess Mrs. Fletcher'll have ta wait!"

"Then we have no time to lose," Yama said, striding out the door.

"Hey! Are we forgettin' someone," Fang asked. "We gonna bring Wolf with us?"

"We'll drop him off at prison on the way," Hunter said as she, Dingo and Elijah followed the gargoyle.

"Can we drop Fang off there too," Yama asked hopefully.

"I HEARD THAT!"

[][][]

Proteus looked at the two-story human home the detective had driven him to, figuring this must be the Robbins residence she spoke of. He was not worried about not recognizing anyone; his disguise had an excuse [a head injury] to not remember everything, and after listening to the conversation for few minutes, he should be able to fake it.

A man exited the house, followed by a dog. "Is that you, Ms. Maza," he asked, using a stick to check the ground in front of him.

He's blind, Proteus realized. The dog growled at him a little, but did not approach.

"Yes," Elisa replied, hugging the man. "Mason's here with me. He just needs some rest." She led the blind man over to Proteus, and the human touched his arm [it took the New Olympian all his strength to not knock his hand away].

"I do not blame you for any of this," Robbins told him. "There was no way you could have known it would happen. I'll still give you your pay during your time off to heal."

"Thank you, Sir," Proteus answered, feigning a headache and touching his head. "I don't feel so good, though."

"Let's get you inside," Elisa said, leading him inside. Once again, the New Olympian had a feeling that he had seen this human before, but knew that was impossible. The only humans he had seen were the ones in this country, and-

"Ms. Maza," he muttered, a small smile on his face as he was led inside the building. It had been about a year, but he now realized why he recognized her; she and a few gargoyles had showed up on the shores of New Olympus, where she had been promptly arrested for being a human. He had tricked her into escaping, but she stupidly stopped him from leaving the island, and now, he would have the opportunity to thank her personally.

"Lay him down on the couch," Robbins ordered, pointing to a small couch; they were in a library of some kind, with shelves of books surrounding them and a cheerful fire lit in a fireplace. "I'll get us some water." Proteus lay down on the cushions, hiding his newfound knowledge with a wince as the blind man felt the wall, walking out of the room.

"Thank you," he said gratefully. "And thank you, Ms. Maza. You are truly a life-saver."

She smiled a little. "No problem," she answered. She looked out towards the door leading to the hallway, saw someone, then quickly looked back to him. "Just keep your head down and still; don't sit up."

"I will do so." Now recognizing who she was, and with the blind man distracted, he could get back to his favorite past time: getting revenge. "And… I apologize for not recognizing you earlier, Ms. Maza."

The detective frowned at little, finding his last statement confusing. "Well… thank you," she said, turning away to look at the clock. "It's nearly eleven, and-"

Proteus leaped up, grabbed her by her jacket, and threw her into the wall. She went flying through the air, knocking over a shelf of books before crumpling to the ground, unconscious. He stood up, shape-shifting into his actual appearance as he stared at her with a triumphant grin.

"Are you okay in there," he heard the blind human call from a distant room.

"We're fine," the New Olympian called back in Mason's voice, starting to walk towards the unconscious human. He lowered his voice. "It's been a while, Ms. Maza. You may have prevented me from escaping New Olympus once before, but you cannot stop me this time."

"Hey!"

Proteus whirled around at the yell, surprised to see a small gargoyle standing there. It looked young, just a mere child, and it stared at him with a mixture of surprise and anger. This must have been who Elisa had seen in the doorway seconds before.

"What are you," he demanded, drawing a small sword on his belt. "You better hope you didn't kill Elisa!"

The New Olympian quickly got over his shock, and laughed at the winged creature. "Oh, it's so funny to think that you can threaten me," he said, walking towards the gargoyle, who shakily pointed his sword at the villain. "You are not prepared or skilled enough to stop me, and I know you are alone; your kind lives in groups, and I suspect the adults went to look for your missing friend."

"Elijah! What did you do to him," the gargoyle demanded.

"I won't say; it's fun watching you suffer." Proteus grinned, a new idea popping into his head. "But, perhaps I can teach you a lesson."

The New Olympian changed again, his body becoming longer and more scaly. His hands molded to his sides, and his eyes became yellow. Soon, they were staring at a large snake with a head as big as a TV. The gargoyle stared at it in shock, his sword momentarily dropping a little. The dog appeared in the doorway, now barking at Proteus, but the New Olympian was not scared of some pathetic animal.

"I'm not one to usually play with my food," the monster said, grinning evilly at the young warrior, "but I'll make an exception with you!"