Wow...my writer's block came unclogged somewhat here. I put the story up for maybe an hour and got three reveiws. I was like 0 . 0 That was fast. So I was like, well, if they're going to reveiw so fast, then I should start putting up chapters faster. So yeah. I got in the spirit of writing here and I can't wait for the next chapter where...I'll put that in the bottom message so I don't ruin anything when you start reading. And if you read reveiws, you'll know what I mean when I say: If I didn't leave suspenseful cliffies then what would make you want to keep coming back to to check and see if I updated yet? I can't beleive you don't like Gabby! What is she a Mary Sue? And I like the update dance! It's really fun. Everyone do it with me! starts dancing -Jaded

P.S. I just thought up answering reveiws in my little author note thingys...no I'm not slow...I think...--

"I can't believe he did that. I can't believe he did that. I can't believe he did that. Oh my god. Did he just do that? I can't believe he just did that. I can't believe he just did that. Is he mental? He has got to be mental. I can't believe that he just said that. He must be some type of crazy. Oh my freaking god. He is so going to die. He is going to die. I didn't know that he was crazy. Did he look crazy to you? He is going to die…"

"Shut the hell up, Mercy," snapped Gabrielle. "You're not helping anyone by stating the damn obvious."

Everyone glanced at Gabrielle. Normally she was calm, cool and collected but now she looked positively murderous. Mercy, for once, didn't snap back.

Everyone's eyes were glued on Artemis and the approaching Serge. Serge looked like a panther stalking a helpless baby bird.

"What did you say, new blood?" breathed Serge in a dangerously low voice.

Artemis squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable blow. "What? You don't know what the word 'swagger' means, you ego maniac? You do it every day. It's what people who think too much of themselves when they know they're not really important do around people who can't point out their true worth. Which is nothing by the by. "

Artemis slapped a hand over his mouth. You've just been suckered.

Artemis' head turned of its own freewill towards the Fish table where Adam sat grinning triumphantly at him. Oh boy. (Author's Note: Now we know what Adam does. Artemis is SO screwed. I was laughing my butt off when I wrote this.)

"Do you know what the labs are?" asked Serge. There was a general intake of breath from the kids.

Artemis stood stock still.

"The labs are where we send insolent brats like you who are, obviously, of very little worth to our cause. Do you want to see the labs?"

"Um…no?"

A hand with a vice-like grip clamped around Artemis' neck, choking him and making him feel lightheaded. He was dragged to the doors of the mess hall and handed over into the not-so-gentle care of the two boys who had come into the mess hall with Serge. He was gulping in air and feeling fine before Serge punched him in the gut, sending him right back to square one and being winded.

"You forgot to say Sir, new blood. And here, it doesn't matter how you feel about things. You do what you're told. Take him to the labs."

Artemis was dragged outside. The thought of struggling came and went. What was Artemis going to do against the two burly boys that had him in their grips? He certainly wasn't going to overpower them.

Na-na-nahh-na,

Na-na-nahh-na,

Hey, hey, hey...

goodbye!

How about you shut up and get out of my head, Artemis thought as venomously as he could.

How about no?

How about if I live through this, you are going to pay.

I don't think so.

Why are you doing this?

You don't belong here, Prissy Prince. Get out.

I'd love to, but as you can see, I can't. If you know some way out of this hell hole then please. Enlighten me.

There's only one way out of here. And that's in a body bag.

Get out of my head. Now. Artemis thought the last word forcefully. There was silence for a while.

That was pretty good Prissy Prince. Thank goodness I don't have to say see you later. Cause I won't.

Artemis felt Adam leave as he approached the familiar door of a very familiar building. It was the largest building in the entire camp and was the place he had been brought to, to be marked. He was led down a long hallway in opposite direction of where he had been taken before and down long, narrow steps. Here, the boys were forced to let go of Artemis and make him walk sandwiched in between the two.

"What's your names?" asked Artemis, almost conversationally.

"It doesn't matter what our names are," grunted the boy behind Artemis.

Artemis shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"I'm Zen and he's Parker," said the boy in front of Artemis.

"Why'd you tell him that?" demanded Parker. "He's supposed to be afraid for his life. Telling him our names would…you know…"

"Make him less scared?" suggested Artemis.

"Yeah. What he said."

Zen glanced back at Artemis. "For some reason, we're supposed to escort you back. No one ever goes back."

"So, I'm a very important person then?" mused Artemis. "Well, I already guessed that I was. This only confirms that I'm indispensable. I'm pretty sure that they would've sent me straight to the labs if I wasn't instead of allowing me to recuperate and eat first. Unless they're kind enough to grant last rites and the like. Which I'm sure they're not. So I suppose they're just trying to scare me into submission now."

"See, Zen? Now he won't be properly scared when they show him the rest of us."

"Relax, Parker," said Zen soothingly. "He'll be scared enough. You'll see."

They stopped in front of a door that read 'B1'. Artemis wondered how many floors the basement had as he glimpsed stairs that went even further down. Zen caught Artemis trying to see further down the stairs and sniggered.

"We want to scare you, not drive you insane. You stay on this floor here. That's where the less heavy experiments are held."

Zen opened the door and motioned for Artemis to enter, "After you."

"We can't let this continue," huffed Hugo.

He had just finished sparring with Jason from the Mouse group. Mouse by name, Jason was anything but mousy in character. He used plant based magic. Hugo had had a difficult time dodging the grasping vines that sprang up all over the place to ensnare him. However, Hugo had used his super strength to punch a huge crater into the ground, causing Jason to lose his balance and focus. Hugo had used the few seconds granted him to pin Jason and end his match. Now it was Dante's turn. He was up against, Bella from the Bird group. It would be a long match.

"We already know that, Hugo," said Constantine. "We'll have to talk to the Head Fish tomorrow."

"Why not now?" demanded Hugo. "Adam had Artemis sent to the labs. We won't be seeing the boy again."

Gabrielle who had been sitting silently at Constantine's side spoke up now. Her voice was quiet and defeated. "By the time we manage to meet with Draco it'll be time to head to our blocks. This'll have to wait until tomorrow." Gabrielle sighed and looked away. "You know, I thought that I might be able to keep him alive. This is Pietro all over again. He was just like him, too. Defiant and always in to trouble."

"You need to stop blaming yourself for not being able to control the fates," said Hugo. "It's something you can't control. Pietro is dead. Artemis is dead. Move on with your life, Gabrielle. Things like this will happen and there's no point in letting it cast a shadow over everything you do."

"As for the Adam thing, we'll allow you to issue out a Vendetta," said Constantine gravely.

Gabrielle looked Constantine in the eye. "And what would that solve?"

Constantine and Hugo shrugged. "It wouldn't solve anything but it would sure as hell make you feel better," said Constantine.

Gabrielle smiled.

"I'm sorry, Minerva, but the LEP is doing all it can to find Artemis," said Holly.

"The LEP needs to try harder," snapped Minerva. "What happened to having 'the most advanced technology'? You can't find Artemis who you've been tracking for years? If you've been able to keep up with him then I'm pretty sure you can keep up with any organization that would send buffoons like the ones that kidnapped him."

Holly's eyes glinted. "What about you? You're supposed to be just as smart as Artemis and I don't you see you coming up with any results. I'm sure Artemis would've tracked down whoever kidnapped him, given us their address, their names and what everyone who was ever involve with them has been doing for the past four months."

Butler sat at the table feeling uncomfortable in the room brimming with estrogen. The three 'friends' were sitting in Minerva's dining room which was really a dining hall when you looked at it and they were discussing their finds so far.

"Ladies," said Butler after a very loud cough. "I'm sure everyone's working as hard as is humanly—or faerie-ly—possible. But it won't help leaping at each other's throats."

Both Holly and Minerva muttered apologies.

Butler continued. "I suggest we head out for a bit of fresh air. It'll clear our heads a bit and allow us to come up with a plan. Agreed?"

Later, Butler and Minerva were walking down Magnolia St. towards Minerva's favorite bistro. Butler was talking about Myles and Beckett, Artemis' twin brothers, in an attempt to get everyone's minds off of Artemis. He was failing miserably. Holly was hovering behind them shielded from the naked human eye and unusually silent. Minerva wasn't even trying to hide the fact she wasn't listening. Eventually, Butler gave up and focused on the people around them.

An elderly woman crossing the street during a green light. Not a threat.

A boy walking his dog. Not a threat.

A large chicken handing out flyers for the store behind it. Possible threat. (If you watch Family Guy, you know what I'm talking about)

A dark haired youth chatting with talking with a broad shouldered twenty year old man. Hello.

"You know what, Farley? I'm sick of being the government's dog." Edward took a sip of his latte before continuing. "I'm tired of all this running around we've got to do for them. I'm tired of taking innocent kids to Neue Welt. Especially when I know that half of them won't be walking out of there alive. We're practically taking away their future."

Farley said nothing. In his opinion, the kids they picked off of the street didn't have much a future. They were either going to die on the streets or grow up to be poor beggars on a street corner. Farley would've died a street urchin if he hadn't been picked up by a Seeker. Look at him now. Sipping coffee in France.

However, their last case was unsettling. The kid they had picked up had had a good home. A really good home. He was filthy rich for crying out loud. He had a future. Now he was destined to be no more than a dog for the government.

"Let's go," said Farley suddenly. "We've got a kid to pick up on Earl. Let's go."

"Um…Farley?"

Farley looked up at his partner who looked pale and alarmed. "What?"

"Remember that bear that tried to eat you at that mansion place?"

"Will I ever forget? If God likes me, I'll never lay eyes on the Human Locomotive again."

"God must really hate you then because that bear's right across the street."

What did you think? I got into a writing frenzy, didn't I? I can't wait to start writing about the labs. I have been dreaming up what I was going to write about for the LONGEST. I swear on a stack of Harry Potter and Diana Wynne Jones books that the next chapter will creep you out or so help me God. This is where I overcome my writer's block and WOW you. :) Everyone knows the drill now. The more reveiws I get, the faster that next chapter is going to go up. Let's go, press the purple button and tell me what you think about this chapter and about the story in general. Is Gabrielle a Mary-Sue? Something not suiting your sensitive literary palate? Too many details? You LOVED it? (I prefer the 'You LOVED it' reveiws) I want to know. While your dying of suspense, I'm dying to know what you think. REVEIW. It's all we writers want! -Jaded :)