A week passed and nothing changed except that they stopped going to the park.

It was another lazy summer day and Alfred and Steven were playing a racing game while Matthew and Peter were helping Chelle and Ange with a puzzle. Leon was reading a book in a chair and Emily was painting a portrait of him.

Arthur and Francis were in the kitchen making dinner and the smells permeated the room making everyone very relaxed.

The front door was suddenly kicked open and several men came in; all wearing bulletproof vests and carrying guns.

The girls screamed in terror and Matthew and Peter pulled Chelle and Ange close, holding them protectively. Alfred leapt over the couch and grabbed Emily and Leon. Close behind him, Steven followed Alfred to take Leon out of his arms.

Arthur and Francis ran out of the kitchen at the screams and their eyes widened.

"RUN!" Francis shouted as he launched himself at the closest men.

"You're in charge Alfred!" Arthur yelled. "Watch your siblings and protect them! It seems we are going to be separated for a while!"

With that he also jumped into the fight with Francis.

Alfred wasted no time in ripping the window open and helping the others through before following; they ran towards the garage and dove into the car.

The garage door was barely open before Alfred floored the accelerator and tore out of the garage.

"W-Where are we going?" Matthew shouted as he tried to buckle all of the kids in and stay on his feet at the same time.

"Uncle Antonio's!" Alfred shouted back. "Where else?" He peered ahead. "SHIT!" he screamed as he saw the blockade that had been set up at the end of their driveway. "Hold on tight!"

He forced the wheel to the right and tore through the woods down the secluded road he had made months ago so Arthur and Francis wouldn't know when he snuck out.

"They won't be following us anymore!" he said with pride, looking at the others in the rear-view mirror. As he turned back around, he saw the waiting cars and slammed the brakes to the ground.

But he was far too late.

The car crashed violently into the others and Alfred's head collided with the window.

"G-Go…" he pushed out with difficulty as blood started to slip down the side of his face. "M-Matthew…y-you're t-turn…"

His eyes slid closed and his breathing slowed.

"ALFRED!" Matthew screamed, too shocked to move.

Dozens of men surrounded the car.

"Come out now and you won't be harmed. We just want to help you."

"Leave us alone!" Matthew yelled with tears in his eyes. "We haven't done anything!"

The doors were pulled open and hands reached inside for them.

"It's okay," one tried to say in a soothing tone. "Your captors have been arrested. There is no need to be afraid anymore. They won't get you again."

They were all removed from the car and Alfred was placed in a waiting ambulance.

Chelle saw Arthur and Francis being forced into a squad car and struggled to run over to them.

"Daddy!" she cried. "Papa!" A man tried to grab her. "Help! They're taking us away!"

Both parents fought to get to their daughter but they were firmly restrained.

One of the men picked Chelle up and pushed her into another car as she started crying.

"Don't touch her!" Arthur screamed.

"Shut up!" another man hissed and slammed his fist into Arthur's stomach.

Arthur keeled over, winded, and Chelle's crying increased to sobs.

"D-Don't! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt Daddy!"

Peter pulled her into his lap and tried to comfort her.

"Ssh Chelley…it's going to be okay…we'll see Daddy again soon. And Papa too."

Once all eight children were in the long armored car, it set off; tearing the once happy and peaceful family into pieces.


The children were brought into a high security building and each given a room.

"You won't be here for too long," a man told them. "Just until we can locate your parents and those men are sentenced to life imprisonment or get the death sentence."

"They're our fathers!" Steven snarled, quite out of character for him as the black sheep of the family. "They're all the family we have!"

"If your proper parents cannot be located, you will be sent to an orphanage," the man continued, ignoring him. "You will be brought food and allowed out of your rooms from three to five for free time. Meals will be served at seven, one, and six on the dot. Lights out is at nine o'clock and no later. You may use the computer in the game room down the hall as long as it is being monitored. We don't want any unsavory messages coming in and traumatizing you further. Speaking of that, we will offer counseling and you will each meet with our counselor once a week and she will see if you can remember anything about your proper parents." He looked at his watch. "Now seeing as how it is almost nine, I would recommend getting comfortable in your bed before the lights are cut."

The man started to walk away when a voice piped up.

"Excuse me but I have a plane to China tomorrow morning," Leon's bored voice said. "And I would rather prefer to be on it."

The man walked over to where Leon was standing in his doorway, behind the bars, and bent down to look him in the face with a slight scowl.

"And why do you have a plane ticket to China?"

"To see my father," Leon said simply.

"Aha!" the man cried. "So you admit that neither of those men are your father! Good boy. You will receive a special treat tomorrow so-"

"I wasn't finished. I have three fathers. Arthur who I live with, Francis who is an adopted father, and my other father Yao who lives in China. Tomorrow is one of my designated visit dates. I wish to be allowed to go."

"No," the man said shortly. "This is an investigation and you must all stay here until it is over."

Again the man tried to leave.

"What about school?" Peter asked quietly.

"You will be educated here with a tutor for each of you. They will be here from eight to noon every day to make sure you aren't falling behind in your studies." The lights suddenly clicked off. "It is now nine so goodnight. You are expected to be awake at six thirty."

"But it's summer!" Steven cried indignantly. "Dad and Papa never made us get up that early in the summer!"

The man descended on his 'room', glaring.

"Take those names out of your vocabulary! They are not who they say they are so stop believing their lies!"

"No!" Steven yelled and spit in the man's face. "I will call my fathers whatever I wish!"

The man wiped his face with a dangerous expression and leaned close to Steven.

"You will regret that," he whispered so only he could hear him. "Just wait." He stood back and straightened his jacket. "You all will have a long time to fix your vocabulary. I would probably say three years at most; six months at the least. So get comfortable."

This time he successfully walked away.


AN: NOOO! The kids were taken away! And that guard doesn't seem to care about them at all!

What will happen next?