Return to the Innocence

By Glow60

As always I want to thank you for your Reviews, Favorites and Followings.

For those of you who are wondering were I am going with this story, I want this to be an adventure with some humor and also have some very tense moments. Tac, Gibbs and Tony are on a journey to find three missing children and bring them back home. Along the way they will come across some amazing animals and some amazing people. I am not sure if this will be a long story or a short one. It will depend on how things go as the story progresses.

Also, if you are interest in a certain mythical creature and would like to read about it in the story please let me know. I am open to suggestions.

Chapter 3

The three had been walking for the last couple of hours when Tac decided it was time for them to take break. Gibbs had not complained once while Tony had whined most of the way about his feet hurting. Tac had offered to carry his little friend but Tony had refused. If Gibbs could walk so could he.

The two human boys sat down on a couple of rock as Tac handed them some fruit. While they sat there enjoying the much-needed break they started to hear some strange noises not too far from them. As they started to get up, Tac signaled them to keep quiet and stay where they were while he went to check it out.

When their purple friend returned he had a huge grin across his face. He signaled both Gibbs and Tony to be quiet and follow him. They had to climb up a small embankment. Tac whispered for them stay behind the bushes. A few seconds later, he parted bushes so they could see what was making all the noises. Gibbs and Tony both smiled when they saw something that had a head and wings like a bird and had the body of a lion grazing in a field. The animal was about the size of a large Clydesdale horse and had a very large wingspan. The head and wings on the animal were covered with multi colored feathers while the rest of its body was covered with honey brown hair.

Tony was so amazed that he couldn't remember the name of the creature, "Little Boss that's…that's...a…a…"

"Griffin…DiNozzo…Griffin." Gibbs whispered.

"I knew that little Boss, I just forgot it for a moment."

Gibbs whispered, "DiNozzo I am only going to warn you just this one time if you call me little Boss again, I am going to show you how my little hand is going to slap you little head into tomorrow. Do I make myself clear?"

Tony ignored Gibbs and turned his attention to Tac, "Are they dangerous? Can we go near them? Do you think we can ride them?"

"They are very gentle creatures and my people do use them for traveling purposes. If you two wait here I will see if it will take us to my village."

Gibbs and Tony watched as their purple friend slowly walked toward the large animal. It stopped grazing as it watched Tac walk up to it. Tac bowed his head in front of it and then spoke in another language that neither Gibbs nor Tony has ever heard before. The creature bowed its head and let Tac touch it. Tac smiled and signaled both Gibbs and Tony to come over.

"He is going to let us ride him to my village."

All of a sudden Tony wasn't so brave anymore. He tried to move back a little and bumped into Gibbs. "Maybe…we…should…just...walk…"

Tac shook his head as he helped Gibbs up on the creature, "Smiley, if we were to walk the rest of the way to the village it would take us over a week to reach it with your little legs besides I can't take anymore of your whining anymore."

Tac reached down and picked Tony up and sat him just behind Gibbs. He hopped up on the flying creature and held the two small boys tightly as the griffin lifted off. Within seconds they were flying above the trees and enjoying the scenery.

Home…

With the help of the griffin it didn't take them long to reach their destination. The flying creature gently sat down on the ground. Tac helped his two little companions off just before the animal flew off. Tac took a few steps toward the village and stopped and just stared. He had not been home in a couple of millenniums. Gibbs and Tony could tell from Tac's expression that it was a very emotional moment for him. So they waited to see what he was going to do. Tac started telling them about his village.

Tony looked up at the structures he couldn't help but noticed this place reminded him so much of the clay apartments the Pueblo Indians constructed in the Southwest about 750-900 AD. The only difference he could see was that each apartment building was made from different colored clays and they were also much bigger in size with very large bay glass windows. To him, it brought back a childhood memory…

Boarding School and the History Fair…

The boarding school he was attending was having a history fair and all the parents were invited. He remembered it was just a few months after he received word that his ex-nanny and evil stepmother Rose had been run over by a train. He didn't shed a tear when he heard the news nor did his father make him go to her funeral. He felt relieved knowing that she was out of his father's and his life. His father was now starting to pay a little more attention to him.

For the history fair, he had teamed up with another boy named John and they decided to build a clay replica of a Pueblo Indian village. Tony got his idea from the last family vacation he went on with both his parents. He was seven at the time and his mother and father wanted to take a trip to the southwest. It was just before she started to get sick. He remembered they had visited the Grand Canyon, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods and an ancient Pueblo Indian Village. While they were there, Tony's mother had bought him several children's books about Native American Indians. At night, she would sit there and read him stories until he fell asleep. It was one of his fondest memories of her.

The two boys spent a month working together on the project. At the end they had won first prize for all their hard work. Tony was all excited because his father had promised him this time he would really be there for him. He had waiting all day for Senior to show up but he never did. He smiled sadly when he saw how proud John's parents were of their son. They wanted to take their son out and celebrate. They had offered to take Tony with them but he declined because he still expected his father show up. Tony waited for hours but his father never showed up. He tried to call his father but he kept going into voicemail. That night he cried himself to sleep.

The next day, Tony was sitting in the dorm reading a book when his house parent came to let him know that he had a long distance phone call from his father. Tony ran to the phone.

"Junior it's me your dad."

"Hi Dad…what happened, you promised me you were coming? I wanted to show you my…"

Senior cut him off and didn't let his son finish, "I am really sorry about that Junior…I…I was going to call you yesterday and let you know how sorry I was that I couldn't make it. I got so tied up in a…meeting to close this really sweet deal. The money I made will help pay for your education and some bills. Sometimes these things can't be helped. The other thing I wanted to call you about is that I met this really great woman named Claire. You are going to like her; she has two boys around your age. We are planning to get married in December and spending the Christmas Holiday in Hawaii with her family."

Tony got his hopes up, "Dad, does that mean…I will be going to Hawaii for…?"

Again Senior cut him off, "Sorry, Junior but Claire just wants only her side of the family this time. She wants her two sons and I to bond and we can't do that if you are there...right? I promise you…Claire and I will make it up to you when you are on your summer vacation. Her father owns this yacht. He already promised us we could take it and go on a two-week cruise. You are going to love it and you can meet Claire and your new stepbrothers then."

"What…where…am I going to go at Christmas time?"

"I have talked to your school and have already made the arrangements for you to stay there. They said they would be open at Christmas for the boys who won't be going home. There will be a small staff working during the holiday. They are going to have a nice Christmas dinner and be playing movies all day. I am going to send you your presents early. You can open them as soon as you get them if you want. Junior…I am really sorry but I have to go. I have a meeting and I need to get ready for in about an hour. I will call you next month. Love you son."

"Goodbye…Dad, I love you…too." Tony's father hung up even before Tony was able to finish his sentence. He stared at the receiver in his hand for a few minutes and then hung it up. He headed outside to his favorite tree where he can have some privacy. Tony wanted to cry but he didn't want anyone to see him. He looked around to make sure nobody saw him as he climbed up.

As he sat down on his favorite branch the tears started to flow. He tried to wipe the tears away but he wasn't very successful. A few seconds later, he wasn't surprise to see Tac sitting next to him. He had not seen his purple friend in weeks. Tony had been busy with school and he didn't have much time for his friend anymore.

Tac tilted his head, "What is wrong Smiley?"

"Tac…my father didn't keep his promise again. I wanted him to see my project at the history fair. You know it won first prize? I wanted him to be proud of me. I worked so hard but he didn't come. He claims he was too busy at a meeting. He also told me he met this woman and they are getting married and I am not invited to the wedding. I have to stay here for Christmas while he spends it with his new wife and her two sons. Why does my father do this to me all the time? Why doesn't he care enough about me? He tells me all the time he loves me but I don't believe he really does."

Tac smiled sadly, "I don't know my little one. I am not your father and I don't know why he does what he does. But…I will tell you this much; if you were my son I would cherish you with all my heart. I would be around you so much that I would drive you crazy."

Tac watched as his child tried to smile but the tears continued to flow down the boy's cheeks. The purple creature wrapped his arms around the boy. He wished he could take away the pain but he knew he couldn't do it. That job belonged to the bastard who calls himself the boy's father. When the tears finally stopped Tony pushed his friend away from him. Green watery eye looked directly into the dark purple catlike eyes. "Tac, it is all my…my fault you know? If my father...never keeps...his…promises then I should have known better. Maybe I should stop expecting him to care enough about me to come for a visit. This way he will never hurt me again. I need to stop behaving like a baby and grow up. Besides…my dad is always telling me that DiNozzo men don't cry and I guess it about time I listened to him."

Tac didn't know what to say. He just sat there quietly and let the boy continue to rant and rave about his father. Maybe it would help him get it out of his system.

As the school days passed, Tony started to spend more and more time with his schoolmates. To get their attention he started acting more and more like the school clown. Tony found out that he was very good at making people laugh. Sometimes he would get himself in trouble with one of the teachers but he didn't care anymore. He had a lot of friends and he wasn't lonely anymore. As Tac watched his child change into a different person he realized that he was no longer needed. Tac decided that it was time for him to move on and let Tony make his way in the world. He would continue to stop by every now and then to check on him. No matter what happens Smiley would always be one of his special children…

Present Time…

As far as Tony knew his miniature clay replica of the Pueblo Village was still collecting dust somewhere in the school library. Tony's attention was drawn back to Tac. He could hear him telling Gibbs that there was someone in the village that he needed to see. He signaled them to follow him. As they walked through the village Gibbs and Tony couldn't help but notice that each native would stop what he or she were doing just to watch them walk by. They had not seen human children in their village for a very long time.

It didn't take long for Tac, Gibbs and Tony to reach the center of the village. This area looked like some sort of meeting place. There were rows of stone benches in a circle. In the middle of the circle sat several female natives. Gibbs and Tony followed behind Tac as he headed toward females. When Tac was just a few feet from the women one of them stood up and started talking to him. She spoke in that same language they heard Tac speak when he was talking to the griffin. They wondered who she was to Tac and what she was saying to their friend.

"Tackdeillseilfjsltleuladkd, I am surprised to see you here and that you have brought these human children with you?"

Tac smiled, "Do not worry Mother we are not going to stay very long. I just came here because I…we need your help and a place to stay for the night."

She tilted her head as she studied her son and then turn her head to look at the two human children before she asked, "What…is this help you are seeking from me?"

"Someone from our world has stolen three human children from their families. We are here to find them and bring them back home. I need…"

She cut him off before he could finished his sentence, "Just you and these two little ones are going to rescue those children?"

Tac smiled, "Yes mother…it is just us."

Tac could tell his mother had her doubts but he also knew she would help them no matter was sure of it. "Son, what is this help you need from me?"

"I need you to help me to try and locate the children? If you can't maybe you can tell me who can?"

She looked at the two boys, "What language do these little ones speak?"

"English..."

She walked over to the two boys, "My name is Artemiskdeillseilfjsltleulad kd but you can call me Artemis. I am the leader of this village and the mother to your friend over there. What are your names my little ones?"

"My name is Gibbs and his name is Tony. Your son calls him Smiley."

She reached out and took both their hands in hers. "It is nice to meet you Gibbs and Tony who my son calls Smiley. Come with me children. I know you both must be very hungry and tired. I will make sure your needs are taken care of."

Tac smiled as he watched his mother walk off with his two friends. He could tell from the way she was acting that she already liked the two boys. It was a few seconds later a thought occurred to him that she might decide to keep them. Tac's village had always discouraged their people from keeping human children because they believe human children belong with their own kind. Tac's mother was the leader of the village and he knew from past experiences she could and would change the rules as she saw fit. She was always tricky like that. He took off running to catch up with them to make sure his mother doesn't have any plans for his two friends…

The next chapter will be posted next Friday.