All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.
All original characters are the property of Odyssey34.

Previously:

Senator Raon just was glad when he walked out of the office block, adjoining to the senate hall, that he could escape all this. Working in his office was almost impossible with all this noise. Thankfully, he had other things to do.

"Senator, we are ready to go," his secretary, an elder shape-shifter, said.

"Good," he simply answered, entering his hovercar, glad to leave behind the organized chaos the senate hall has become.

0000000000000

"Every night for many years I slept not in leaves, or dirt, or grass. I slept in fear, I slept in fear that you would come back, you would hunt me down and kill me slowly, that you would hunt me down and cage me again. I never slept well for a long time, Father," Achilles cooed.

He flung Raon against the wall and turned to leave. Before galloping out the door, he turned to his father once again, just giving Raon a rudimentary glance over his shoulder.

"Keep that in mind, Father, when you are nice and snug in your warm bed tonight."

Achilles charged out.

000000000000000

Helios came back at this moment. "She isn't at home, and her adoptive father doesn't know where she is!" he reported.

"Damn! And Achilles might go after her first!" Taurus handed the camera to Helios. "Give this to the evidence department; tell them to analyse it, and to compare Senator Raon's genetic profile to the one of Achilles! I need to find Ms. Williams... There's every chance she will be his prime target!"

Taurus then grabbed his com-link. He would use all of his authority to find her as fast as possible!

000000000000000

"Achilles has escaped this morning, and we have yet to find his exact location. We suspect you might be in peril. We don't know if… "

Whatever Taurus said after that was a blur to Cassy at that moment. The second he told her that Achilles had escaped, she felt as if her whole world was slipping around her. Memories soon returned of her time at Achilles' hut, the purple herb he had given her, the bad dreams that followed…

"Cassy?" Rion's voice spoke to her, sounding as though it was coming from very far away.

Cassy didn't answer back, and just fainted dead away.

-The Darkness within, Part I-

And Now, The Continuation:

To Adapt is to Survive

The Darkness within, Part II

Cyc's Home, 11:52AM:

"Well, it's good to see you're up!" Brontes heartily chuckled, as a bedraggled looking Cyc dragged himself into the living room. Both Orin and he were sitting at the table, drinking coffee (or at least something that closely resembled it). A secret pastime and pleasure that neither two liked to share with other people next to close family members.

"He's still a little wet behind the ears," Orin stated with a snide grin. Orin looked better than ever, perhaps even more energized.

Cyc pulled himself over to the massive couch. "Gimme a cup."

Brontes pushed a cup of steaming coffee over to his son. "Must have been some night. So how'd it go, son?"

After a sip of hot coffee, clearing his head, Cyc energized slightly. "It went great! It went beyond great! I had those girls fainting and screaming left and right!"

"You had those girls? Come on, Cyc, don't be pulling your father's leg," Orin said. "They didn't come to see you, you just have the basics. They came to see me! You were just the sprinkles on an extra good cake!"

"What?" Cyc said, the insult waking him even more. "Excuse me! Who made the most money by the end of the night? ME!"

"It's because you're new at it, they just tipped you because of that," Orin said. "Let's see you try and make that money next time. And I believe your best friends didn't even pay you."

"They didn't pay you either," Cyc said.

"They're not expected to pay me," Orin said with a chuckle and sip. "You put the show on for them, and didn't get a cent in return."

"You can't put a price on facial expressions like theirs," Cyc said.

"True," Orin said.

"Drove 'em wild then?" Brontes said.

"Like Hades we did," they agreed simultaneously.

"Lot of women hanging on you?" Brontes asked, scratching at his chin.

"Oh yes," Orin said.

"They called for an encore!" Cyc added.

"Huh," Brontes said, looking at his reflection in his cup. "You know, I'm looking pretty damn good for my age…and it's been years since I've driven droves of women wild like that. That's how I met your mother, Cyc, did I tell you that?"

"About a million times, Dad," Cyc said, downing his drink.

Brontes had an amazing build of muscle, forged from years of working at construction sites and exercising. He had grown a bit blubbery in his stomach area in his later years, but he was still 'hunky' enough, as he called it, to attract the ladies.

"You know, if a duo worked that well, how about a trio?" Brontes said. "It will be great! Just the three of us! We'll drive the women nuts. They won't have their voices for weeks!"

"You're joking, right. Dad?" Cyc said. Orin's eye ridge was just raised and stayed frozen in place.

"Of course not, son," Brontes said, as he flexed his muscles. "I'm not gonna be in shape like this for the rest of my life, and you know a lot of women find older men attractive, so why not spread my gift out?"

"You're joking, right, Dad?" Cyc repeated.

"No, no, no!" Brontes said. He set his cup down. "Give me a sec! Let me find my outfit from back in the day! I still have it!"

He hurried away. Orin and Cyc looked at each other, baring the same expressions as Cyan and Cassy had the other day.

Brontes dug through his old chest, pulling out old bed sheets, and papers with phone numbers scrawled on them, old musty books from his school days, trophies and such. Towards the bottom of the chest, Brontes noticed several loose brown pages, wrapped in protective coverings, spread around the chest.

"Huh?" he said and collected them. It was the diary, and it was all spread haphazardly. "AH!"

Brontes gathered the pages and browsed through them, placing them in order… Oh thank the Gods…they were all there. He straightened the pages, gently set them aside, and continued with his excavation. 'Damn mice, they always getting into things.'

Finally the trunk was empty of all its contents, and Brontes found his striped undergarments. Looking into the empty chest, he thought for an odd moment that there had been a translator in here once, back from his school days. He thought he recalled tossing it in there years ago.

He glanced through the other contents before returning them to the chest. There was no translator among them…oh well, he could have just tossed it into another chest, as it was years ago, and it was just a translator. Nothing important. Cyc might have borrowed it once for one of his classes. He could have even given it away too. Or threw something in the chest that he had mistaken for a translator. Either way, it wasn't anything important.

Brontes pulled on his undergarments. 'Huh…' he thought. 'Why is it things have a tendency to get smaller when they're kept in a chest for many years.'

"Hey, guys! What do you think?!" Brontes exclaimed, strolling into the living room, flexing himself. "Pretty hot stuff, huh?!"

Both Cyc and Orin spit their coffee out loudly.

Okay, now it's true that most Cyclops are all pretty full of themselves, and like to think of themselves as God's gift to women. Brontes was certainly no exception. And all Cyclops were used to seeing others of their kind constantly flaunting themselves off at people.

But needless to say, Cyclops or not, having your own dad waltz into the room wearing nothing but a skimpy underwear, was terrifying enough for even Cyc and Orin.

"Dad!" Cyc said horrified, covering his eye, as Brontes swerved around the room, shaking his hips. "Please, I'm just about to eat breakfast!"

Orin didn't say anything, and just stared straight ahead out the window, trying desperately to focus on anything but the awful display in their living room.

"Just so you know, cousin…" Orin whispered to Cyc. "This is absolutely the last time I ever spend a night at your place."

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New Olympus Bathhouse; 12:03PM:

"You'd be amazed how hard it is to find cold drinking water in a bathhouse," Rion stated as Cassy came to. He held a glass of water in his hand. His face turned serious. "You all right?"

Cassy coughed, wiped her face, and looked up. There was water on her face still, and it took Rion a moment to realize that it was tears.

"That's not good is it?" Rion said. He leaned forward, "Can you tell me what happened…do you want to tell me what happened?

She hoarsely whispered into his ear, "Achilles… He's escaped."

"MISS!" Rion exclaimed to the secretary. "What's the safest room in here? Better yet…what's the most enforced room in here?"

The secretary looked perturbed for a moment, still irked after being sent to the water fountain to fetch cold water for the comatose Human.

"The locker room for the employees would be best, I guess, but why?" she stated.

"Good, I'm going to have to borrow it," Rion said and helped Cassy up. He pulled her towards the room. He waved to the secretary, "Thank you!"

Rion set Cassy down on a bench and locked the door behind them. "You should be okay here. Is a patrol coming to pick you up?"

She nodded.

Rion sat down beside. "I'm really sorry, Cassy."

She nodded.

He glanced at the door. "Did Taurus tell you when he escaped?"

"Eleven thirty," she hoarsely responded. "They don't know where he is currently."

Rion huffed and crossed his arms. He looked over at Cassy. He patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, it will be okay. They'll catch the bastard. You and I know Taurus is one the best damn officers out there."

Cassy nodded.

"That guy doesn't have the balls to come looking for you at this time of day, you'll be fine," Rion said. He put his arm around her. "You'll be okay. Trust me. I'll wait with you."

Ten minutes passed. Little was said. Rion wanted to know if Cassy wanted another glass of water, but she said no. She didn't want to be left alone, and the secretary seemed very irked as it was. Every shadow that passed through the slit under the dorm made her jump. The sound of a horn, a door slamming, the clip clops and footfalls of Centaur and Cyclops customers respectively made her body jump and shake. Rion just held her hand.

"You remind me of my little sister, she hated the sound of thunder," Rion stated, trying to comfort and cheer her up.

"You have a sister?" she asked.

"Had," Rion simply stated, and did not elaborate. "It will all be over soon, just like the storm."

For another moment it was quiet, and then a horned shadow formed behind the door. The door rattled as a massive fist came down on it. Cassy screeched, and nearly climbed up Rion. He gritted his teeth and whistled, as she pulled on fistfuls of his brown hair.

"Miss Williams!" a deep voice commanded. "Are you in there? It's Taurus, I have come to pick you up."

Rion helped Cassy up and to the door. Taurus stood there with half and dozen guards, armed to the teeth, standing behind him. Rion handed Cassy over to Taurus. Cassy quickly hid beside Taurus.

"Are you all right?" Taurus asked her concerned.

Cassy nodded, but didn't say anything.

"We've arranged transportation for you," Taurus told her. "It's not safe for you at your home right now, so Boreas has arranged for a safehouse, somewhere where Achilles shouldn't think of looking for you."

Cassy still didn't say anything, and just nodded.

'Poor girl,' Rion thought. 'She must still be in shock. How terrible for her to have to go through all this again. How in Tartarus did the bastard ever manage to escape anyway???'

"Rion?" Taurus said, seemingly noticing Rion for the first time. "What are you doing here?"

Rion smiled. "Cassy and I met last night," he explained. "We were hanging out for the day, and we just came here to refresh ourselves. When you called and gave her the news, I chose to stay with her till you guys came along."

Taurus nodded, and then seemingly had a thought. "Rion," he asked. "Perchance would you be able to come with us?"

At Rion's cocked eye-ridge, he shrugged. "Rion, I remember all too well your time at the Security force," he said. "You were one of the best and most promising law enforcement officers I ever schooled. Not to mention one of the best shots ever to aim a gun. I can't think of a better bodyguard for Cassy, at least until we get her to the safehouse."

Cassy seemed to come out a little of her daze, as she looked up at Taurus, startled when she heard that Rion had been a candidate for law enforcement? So he was a stripper, part time gardener, a student, and a cop, too?

Rion took a few seconds to think, but at Cassy's scared look, he sighed, nodding. "I'll do it," he agreed.

Taurus praised the Gods. "We have a squad outside to escort you home," Taurus told her. "Everything's been arranged, the squad will go wherever you go. Just pack your essentials, and be quick. You'll then be taken to the safehouse immediately after. Understand?"

"Yes," Cassy replied, still not looking him in the eye, but at least she was talking again.

As Rion walked out with her, Helios seemingly had a problem, as he went straight up to Taurus, looking angry.

"Taurus," he hissed at his commanding officer. "What right does Rion have to come with us? He isn't an official officer; he never even completed the program."

"Only because he wasn't there to collect his certificate," Taurus countered. "And besides, Helios… Last time I checked, I was the chief of security here, so I get to choose who I can and can not have on my team, okay?!"

Helios grumbled. "But it's against regulations to have a non-officer on assignment," he commented.

Taurus sighed, as Helios was right there. The rules were very clear about that.

"I know…and since when do you care about, or actually read the regulations?" he replied. "But officially, the assignment doesn't begin until Cassy is at the safehouse. Until then, I think we can afford to keep Rion with us till we leave Cassy's place. If you recall your regulations as well, during dire times, an officer is allowed to employ the services of an able bodied and nearby citizen. And this is a dire time, in case you have not seen the damage that monster did, and Rion does meet the criteria."

Helios grumbled, but finally seemed to comply with Taurus's wishes…slowly.

"Now…" Taurus began with a stern look. "Get back out there and keep an eye on your young charge, as ordered!!!" he commanded. "Do your job!"

Helios scampered to get out of the room.

Hearing Taurus snarl like that caused Cassy to jump again, as Rion loaded her up onto a hovercraft. Rion was on one side of her and supporting her, while a burly Titan was on her other side, acting merely as a wall. A towel was draped over, obscuring her from the public. The heavily scented towel (saturated in a mixture of floral fragrance and heady musk) was also an attempt to cover her smell.

"We're on the craft," Rion mumbled to her. It was a closed craft, unlike most that were open air. He led her to a seat and they both sat down. A dour looking Taurus was the last to enter. He sat down on the other side of Cassy.

The hovercraft's engine started and headed in the direction of Cassy's apartment.

"I hope this has not been particularly devastating for you, Miss Williams. We have some of our best men out looking for him. I myself am here personally to assure your safety," Taurus stated in typical Taurus fashion.

"What about Manty?" Cassy whispered.

"A patrol is picking him up at work even as we speak. You two will be reunited at the safehouse. Another patrol is scooping out your apartment, we have officers scouring every inch of this city and set up at strategic places along the borders," Taurus answered in the same tone. Like a manual, he recited, "You will have fifteen minutes total to collect any belongings you wish to bring with you. Food and bedding will be supplied at the safehouse."

The hovercraft stopped.

"Is it safe to exit?" Taurus asked.

"It looks clear out there!" a red-scaled creature said.

Taurus picked up his communicator. "Is the building secure?" he barked.

"Building secure, prepared for entry," the guard answered.

"Come, Miss Williams. You haven't much time," Taurus said, clasping Cassy by her elbow. He led her into the apartment. "Rion, take Miss Williams to her bedroom."

"Yes Sir," Rion said, as he turned to Cassy. "You lead the way."

In the bedroom, Rion stood guard as Cassy gathered what she could and shoved into her school satchel. She snatched up clothes, undergarments, her brush, toothbrush, hairpins…a few random things she spotted laying around her room.

"Perhaps you should bring something entertaining?" Rion suggested.

"Huh?" Cassy said, looking up.

"You know, it will get boring," Rion said. "Maybe bring a game or something, like a book?"

Cassy screwed her face, "Oh yeah, thank you."

She snatched up the translator and shoved it into her bulging satchel.

From her closet she grabbed a coat and a few more clothes, then requested for Rion to collect her pillows to take along.

"Smart move," Rion said. "Police issued pillows have a tendency of being lumpy and flat…you'd think they could afford better pillows."

"I will keep that in mind, Mr. Asterus," Taurus said, suddenly appearing in the doorframe. In a tone unlike the serious dour tone he had all day, he turned to Cassy and said. "Do you have everything you need, Miss Williams? Your fifteen minutes will soon be up."

"I have everything," she said, as she pushed her way past Taurus.

"Guards," he spoke into his communicator. "Prepare for departure. Building secure?"

Taurus listened, as his men reported. So far everything was still okay. "Alright, let's go," he said to Cassy and Rion.

Cassy didn't say anything, and just followed the security chief with Rion behind her.

They made their way down the elevator, stopping every few seconds to check with the next guard that everything was still secure, until they finally reached the ground floor.

"Keep close, Cassy," Taurus told her sternly. After making one final check with the guards outside, he led her outside to the waiting vehicle.

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A Few Minutes Later; Somewhere Outside The City:

The hovercraft slowed down to halt, as it neared its destination.

They had left New Olympus city, and thanks to the extreme speed of the hovercrafts, they had reached their destination in almost no time flat.

Their destination was a large house set high in the mountain. It was so big that Cassy guessed that it had been designed to fit any member of New Olympians, from tiny Cupids to large Cyclops. The house was more of a mansion really, and was built right into the mountainside. The Gargoyles' home was close by, but still a good glide away. As far as Cassy knew, they didn't have much to do with the safehouse.

The reason why no one knew of the safehouse was because of the holographic generator emitters that were placed all around it. They gave the illusion that there was nothing here, but simple mountainside scenery.

Because New Olympus was usually a safe haven, for New Olympians anyway, there hadn't been that many serious cases of criminal activity, nor any need for citizens to go into hiding. But Boreas had wanted every precaution to be taken, and thus had authorized the construction of the safehouse.

There was also another reason for the safehouse. In the event that an outside force, namely Humans, ever found out about New Olympus and chose to invade them… this safehouse was one of the last few safe hiding places on the island, where some of them could escape to.

The few people who did know about the safehouse were sworn to secrecy, and weren't to reveal its existence to anyone under any circumstances. Apart from Cassy, only one or two other people had ever had to go into hiding once, and as soon as they had left the safehouse, they too were sworn to secrecy.

The craft landed on a small landing bay, which opened up right beneath them, and closed behind them.

Rion helped Cassy with her things, as she disembarked form the craft, observing the place. He followed behind her.

"Cassy!"

Cassy turned at once to the welcome voice of her adoptive father, as Manty soared past the two guards at the door, running up to her.

"Oh my poor dear," he said sorrowfully. "I'm sooo sorry! Are you alright?"

"I've been better," she replied. "How's the place look?"

"It's not that bad, Cassy dear," Manty said. He had arrived an hour early, and it was obvious he had spent the entire hour pacing back and forth. "We can get some programs in on the screen!" he told her, as he led her from the landing bay, and through the doors.

The doors led to a staircase, which then went up to a large living room, at least four times the size of their own back home.

There were many channels of fuzz before a picture formed. "Okay, we only get a few programs. That's pretty good for the mountains isn't it, dear?"

Cassy smiled. "I guess."

"Sorry about that," Taurus told them apologetically. "When they were building this place, they didn't think to consider getting in good reception."

Cassy sat down on the couch, hugging one of her pillows, and just looked around. Rion set down the rest of her belongings. In a way, it was just like taking a weekend break out in the mountains, except it was wrought with tension.

"Would you like me… perhaps… bring anything else you would like to the safehouse?" Taurus offered.

"I believe we'll be okay," Manty said, unpacking what few items he had in his suitcase. He placed framed photographs from his office desk on a few bare shelves. One was of a picture of Cassy, taken just a month after landing on the island.

Manty, in slight mirth said, "That should lighten the room. Give us a little bit of time, Taurus, and then we'll start complaining."

"Indeed," Taurus said. He handed a communicator to Cassy. "Miss Williams, whenever you feel threatened, just press the button. Got that?"

"Yes I do, Taurus," Cassy said.

Suddenly, a beeping noise sounded on Taurus's belt, and he checked his belt for his communicator.

"What is it?" Cassy asked fearfully. Manty too had a look of worry on his face.

"It's alright," Taurus reassured them. "It's just a call from the office…I have to go back and see some of the shrinks who were seeing Achilles."

"You're not leaving us here alone, are you?!" Manty said a little outraged.

Taurus held up his hand to calm his friend. "My deputies are all here," he said. "They'll see to your safety and needs. Don't worry, Manty. We have taken every precaution, I assure you." He then looked over to Cassy. "And that goes double for you too, Cassy," he promised. "I swear to you, we will get Achilles…He won't hurt you again!"

Cassy looked at him for a moment, and then slowly nodded. "Will you be telling Cyc and Cyan where I am?" she asked.

Taurus shook his head. "Definitely not," he said. "No one except essential personnel is to be made aware of the situation. That way, there's no chance of Achilles finding out about this place."

"Why are the psychologists asking to see you?" Manty asked suddenly.

Taurus shrugged. "Achilles has been with them for a while now," he replied. "They may have found something out about him that could be useful… At this point, we can't leave anything to chance."

Rion patted Cassy on the shoulder. "You be okay now."

She smiled and nodded. Rion waited a moment and left.

Taurus trudged out the door, shutting it loudly behind him. Locks joined together, and then it was silently. Nothing could be heard from the outside.

Manty clasped his paws together. "So what would you like for dinner, Cassy?"

"I dunno," Cassy said. "What do we have?"

"Hmmm," Manty walked over to the kitchen, built into the living room. He opened the pantry, well stocked. "Well, we have plenty of canned foods…and dried foods and seasonings…I think we can rustle something up! Come, Cassy, I'm not cooking unless you help out."

Cassy stood up, still holding her pillow. She took a few steps, before realizing she was still holding the pillow. She tossed it onto the couch.

Cassy explored another pantry. "Wow, there is some good stuff here."

"I'm pretty sure we can make something good," Manty said, examining a can.

They sorted through the cans, and the bags of dried food, before making a pile of ingredients for dinner.

On the stove, Manty re-hydrated strips of eggplant for a casserole, which he then put in a pot of warm water.

Cassy opened cans of sauce, made from a vegetable similar to tomatoes, only a little less sweet. To the sauce she added chopped garlic and a few different herbs.

"I think this dried eggplant is past its prime," Manty observed. The strips simply turned mush instead of reforming into thick spongy strips. "I guess we can just spread it out."

Cassy laughed.

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Manty and Cassy's Apartment Building; 01:36PM:

Cyan trotted up to Cassy's apartment building, just as Cyc exited.

"Yo, Cyc!" she said.

"Yo, horse girl! Cassy isn't home," he said. "Neither is Manty."

"Serious?" Cyan said. "I'd thought she'd be home by now."

"Huh? Where did she go?" Cyc asked.

"She went to the park," Cyan answered.

"To the park?" Cyc asked, cocking his eyebrow. "To walk around?"

"Of course not! Not to walk around anyway," Cyan answered. "One of your co-workers invited her there…Orion, Rion, the cute brown Minotaur."

Cyc made a face for a moment. "Oh."

Cyan became worried. "Is something wrong? Is there something I should be worried about?"

Cyc laughed. "No, no, no. Cassy's in no danger with good ol' Rion."

"Well, that's good," Cyan said. "I guess she's having a good time then."

"You wanna go get lunch or dinner or something?" Cyc asked. He pulled out a large wad of cash and flipped through it. "I'll pay…I came into a large quantity of money last night…"

Cyan rolled her eyes and started trotting down the street. "You pay, but I don't even wanna touch that money. Who knows where that's been!"

"You know," Cyc chuckled, following behind her.

"Shuddup, I was trying to block that out of my memory!" Cyan joked. She stopped in front of an alleyway. "Hey! Wait! I just remembered something."

"What?" Cyc said with an evil grin.

"Early this morning, I was out for my morning jog and I ran into Taurus sneaking through the back alleys," Cyan said. "He was standing back at one of the dumpsters."

"Really?" Cyc said. "You know the guy is a cop, you could have ruined a sting or something."

"I ruined something, because he was really red faced when I said hi to him. He said hi back, asked how my day was going, you know… morning talk. He seemed really nervous. And he had a box with him," Cyan said. "When I jogged pass, I saw it was full of baby stuff…real cute baby things, like blankets and stuff. He didn't want anyone to see it."

"Serious?" Cyc said as they started strolling down the road.

"Yeah, it must have been for Cassy. I guess he wanted to play dad," Cyan said.

"Huh," Cyc said. "Who would have thought he'd be the type to play daddy."

As they walked off, joking about Taurus's attempt at family life, they didn't notice the dark silhouette in the alley beside them, a shadow with rage-filled eyes, growling in contempt.

'HOW DARE HE!' Achilles snarled, tightening his fists. 'ATTEMPT TO STEAL MY WOMAN? ATTEMPT TO TAKE MY CHILD? TAURUS WILL PAY!'

A child…a baby…his child…

Achilles shook the anger from his head.

His…

He snorted. He had to find her before Taurus took her way again. He had to find her before Taurus took what was, and what was going to be rightfully his. From the back of his mind to the tip of his nostrils, he could sense her…he could smell her…he leapt over the brick wall of the alley and raced away.

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New Olympus Security Centre 01:49PM:

Taurus made his way to the Psychology area of the centre. It was a place where all the top shrinks of the island would get together to determine the most likely of events that a deranged criminal might take.

He found it infuriating that they would contact him when he was supposed to be taking care of Cassy, but he couldn't let personal feelings get in the way of his duty. Besides, he needed all the help he could get to find Achilles as soon as possible.

"Doctor Odysseus?" Taurus said, as he entered the office, and saw the Nymph director of the mental institute. He was also one of the island's top psychologists. "I trust you have a few things for me?"

"Indeed, sir," Odysseus remarked. "First, let me assure that Achilles' escape was none of my doing, and was not the fault of me or any of my staff."

"Then how, pray tell," Taurus said sarcastically. "Did he manage to get out of a so-called maximum security cell?!"

Odysseus shrugged. "I wish I knew," he replied. "We took every precaution, we saw to his sedation, enforced his chains, had a top level force field erected around his cell. Despite his enormous strength, that should have been more than enough to hold him and a dozen more like him."

"So how did he do it?!" Taurus demanded.

Odysseus rubbed his forehead. "The chains had been weakened, but even without them, the rest of his cell should have adequate to hold him… I wish I could tell you how he escaped, but the fact is… we're as stumped as you are." He then seemed to realize something. "Oh, but we did find something a tad peculiar… It was Achilles' chains no less."

"What?"

Odysseus reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small pad with information regarding Achilles' binds. "The chains, as I said, had been weakened. We thought at first that he had just strained them to the point of breakage, but… We were wrong." He handed Taurus the pad.

Taurus eyed the information acutely, and then widened his eyes a little in surprise. "They were chewed?" he asked amazed.

Odysseus nodded. "Yes," he confirmed. "We can't explain it. We had them tested, so they are definitely bite marks, but… they're not Achilles." At Taurus's confused look, he continued. "The bite marks are way too small to be Achilles. They seem to be consistent with that of the small rodent family."

"A rat???"

"Actually, more like a mouse," Odysseus corrected him, even taking his glasses off and enlarging the marks on the chain.

Taurus gazed at the doctor strangely. "Doctor," he said. "I may not be a doctor, a Veterinary, or any such expert in this field… But I do know that extra thick metal chains are not on a mice's diet."

"We do, too," Odysseus said, looking tired. "Like I said, we can't explain it. But the tests are conclusive."

Taurus frowned, straining his eyes at the results, but the doctor was correct. The test results all confirmed what he was saying, which now left the big question…What kind of a mouse would have the strength, stamina, and the stomach to chew off a whole length of chain?

"Did you find anything else?" Taurus asked hopefully.

The doctor shook his head. "Nothing aside from the camera, which you already have," he reported.

Taurus groaned. It looked like this case was going to be another of them hard to crack ones. "What's your psychological profile on the escapee?" he asked. Maybe they could get some information from Achilles' profile instead?

Odysseus sighed. "Severely disturbing I'm sorry to say," he answered. "All of his rage seems to be directed from the mistreatment the suffered as a child at the hands of his elders. But also at the city itself."

"Why?"

Odysseus shrugged. "Multiple reasons," he summarized. "Maybe he blames the city for not finding out what his parents were doing to him, for not coming to his rescue, and for treating him like an outcast just because of the way he looks?"

Taurus gave a bitter snort at that. He had to admit that Achilles was right there. If it was one thing his city had, it was a prejudice against those different from them. Despite their greatest efforts, their great achievements, and the fact that many of them had strode to live together in peace, harmony and co-existence…they still had a tendency to mistreat others that were not altogether of their race.

"What do you believe will be his first target?" Taurus then asked.

Odysseus rubbed his forehead again. "To be honest, I'm not completely certain," he said. "If he were any other criminal, I'd say he would first attempt to hide himself from you and your security. Then once that was secure, he would go after those who hurt him the most, those he had the biggest grudge against… "

"His parents?" Taurus concluded for him, and he couldn't help remembering what he had seen on the video camera. If what Doctor Odysseus said was true, Senator Raon was in a lot of trouble.

Odysseus nodded. "But like I said," he carried on. "Achilles isn't your average everyday patient… Whether it's from his years spent alone in the wild outside the city, or his abuse from his elders, or if he was just born this way… Achilles tends to act more than think. He relies only on his most primitive needs and instincts. He's totally ruled by his emotions, his rage. If someone hurts him, he doesn't stop to think if he should talk to them or such, he just immediately lashes out. He could be perfectly sane and happy one minute, and the next, completely aggressive. See in these brain scans."

Odysseus placed up several different, brightly coloured, flimsy cells splotched with red and yellow, blue and green. He pointed to one of the scans. "This is a normal brain, note the large quantities of yellow and red, that is brain activity, and it is mostly towards the front of the brain, as well as spread throughout the brain."

He then pointed to one of the other scans. "This is Achilles' brain, note the lack of red and yellow? And what red and yellow there is based towards the back of the brain, the brain stem, which is the most primitive part of the brain…They are in charge of movement, hormones, emotions, sex drive, and hunger-survival to say. Achilles is purely ruled by this part of his brain. He has not developed any other parts of his personality, hence the spaces of blue and green, lack of activity."

Taurus frowned. This definitely did not sound good at all. "Is there anything at all that you think could help us?" he hoped.

Odysseus chewed on his lower lip, as he contemplated his escaped patient. "There is one other thing," he said. "But I doubt you're going to like it, Chief Taurus."

"I never like anything when it's afflicted with an escaped lunatic," Taurus remarked. "Now what is it?!"

Odysseus sighed. "Like I said," he told him. "Achilles thinks with his emotions, and relies completely on his instincts… In a way, his actions are very similar to how our ancestors must have acted once in ancient times, since they did not have materials to develop their brains."

"You mean he's acting like a caveman?" Taurus asked astounded, remembering the Human term that Cassy had once told him about.

Odysseus half-shrugged, obviously also familiar with the term. "So to speak," he continued. "Unfortunately, my expertise in the behaviour of prehistoric Olympians is a little rusty, so I called in the advice of a colleague at the Natural Museum."

"And?"

"From what I've been told, if Achilles' behaviour is indeed consistent with that of ancient Olympians, and with what Achilles has done already…there's every chance he could be going after the Human, Miss Williams, first."

Taurus swore silently. He had suspected this from the beginning, but had hoped he would be proven wrong. "Explain?" he demanded.

Odysseus looked uncomfortable, as it was a well-known fact that Taurus had a special fondness for the Human in question. "Well," he began hesitantly. "As you know…Achilles did… violate Miss Williams… And the two of them do have something in common."

Taurus glared murderously at the doctor. "Cassy has absolutely nothing in common with that monster!"

The doctor held up his hands. "Forgive me, Chief Taurus, but I'm afraid she does have one thing in common with him."

"What?!"

The doctor explained. "The one thing these two have in common… is their disassociation from society."

"Huh?"

"Both Miss Williams, being a Human, and Achilles being what he is…has each earned them the disrespect of this city. Achilles is a product of two Olympians who didn't undergo Genetic Treatment before conception, something that is highly frowned upon on by our people. And Miss Williams, well, I don't think I need to tell you about her, her being Human and all."

At Taurus's continuous glare, he quickly added. "I'm not saying it is right, Taurus. But that is the way things are at the moment. And in Achilles' ill formed mind, that alone makes him think that he and Miss Williams are practically soulmates, so to speak. Which is most likely the reason why he took her in the first place, and mated with her. "

Taurus began to realize what Odysseus was saying. "So in his mind…" he deduced, "he and Cassy are now official mates…He did mate with her back in the jungle, so that means he…" Taurus suddenly realized something important. "Dear Gods…"

Odysseus nodded. "In his mind, Cassy is now and forever his mate. If he is indeed behaving like a primitive Olympian, then he will most likely go after her first."

"And I may have just delivered her right to him," Taurus's eyes were full of horror. "Dear Gods, what have I done?!"

"Pardon?"

Taurus snatched up his communicator, dialling the number for the safehouse, but all he got for his trouble was static. "Damn it!"" he swore. "There must be some interference!"

"Chief Taurus, what is…"

"Achilles mated with Cassy, correct?" Taurus looked at him wildly.

"Err, yes," Odysseus replied.

"If what I remember from my prehistoric lessons is correct," Taurus went on. "Then whenever an ancient Olympian chose a mate, and then mated with them… they left an imprint, something of themselves on them, a piece of their own scent in a way?"

Odysseus nodded. "That's right. It was sort of like a calling card, or a warning to other potential males, warning them to back off, that this female was taken. So what?"

Taurus looked at him as though he were an idiot. "Haven't you guessed?!…We know already that Achilles has enormous strength compared to most other Olympians. What if his other senses, like his smell, are just as enhanced???"

Odysseus's eyes widened, as he deduced Taurus's logic. "So he might be able to sniff Miss Williams out? It would make sense, even though much of his brain is under developed, his olfactory, in the more primitive part of his brain, would be overdeveloped and much more keener than our own. "

"We made arrangements, just in case Achilles was able to do that," Taurus explained. "But if Achilles smell is really as enhanced as I believe, and if Cassy's scent is now mixed together with his…then he might have a better chance at locating her than we thought! I have to get back to the safehouse immediately!"

Not waiting to see if Odysseus had anything more to say, Taurus fled out of the room, and out the building, straight to his hovercraft.

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Safehouse, 02:04PM:

Cassy burped a little, as she finished the last of the meal she and Manty had prepared. The eggplant had definitely been out of date. At least the sauce covered its bland, dusty taste…thought it was still very, very chewy. Manty actually growled like a dog, as he attempted to chew through his meal.

Cassy salvaged what she could. She was not that hungry anyway.

"I think I'll go check out my room now," she said, getting up from the couch. "I hope the beds at least comfortable?"

"Good idea," Manty agreed. "I'll check out mine, just as soon as I've checked on the guards."

"Why?" she looked at him curiously.

Manty shrugged. "We've got to get rid of this casserole with the dried eggplant somehow," he said.

Cassy laughed.

"I'll be back in a moment, hon," he said, as he made his way out the door, after disabling all the locks and bolts on it.

Cassy picked up her pillows and her satchel and headed to her room. Her room was small…and bare. There was a bed, a nightstand, and a wooden desk with a chair. The sheets of the bed were a light, dull yellow colour and there were two lumpy looking pillows at the head of the bed. She tested the mattress. It was cushiony…perhaps a bit too cushiony. She placed her own pillows on the bed. There was a small-framed picture of a view of Mount Thanatos on the nightstand. It made the room feel just a bit roomier.

She emptied her satchel. She placed her clothes in the drawers of the nightstand, put a few items on the desk, and hung the satchel on the bedpost. She picked up the translator and leaned back in the bed…just trying to forget her surroundings. She should have brought her little radio. She doubted it would have picked up waves through the thick walls of the safehouse, but it would have been nice just to have, just another little bit of her room to add.

She read on.

Perhaps it is my own fear talking, or the Fates whispering in my ear, but even after the Cyclops leaves us alone for the moment… I can still feel part of him inside of me…growing.

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"That stuff is disgusting," a guard said, spitting a chunk of eggplant onto the ground.

"The sauce is okay," another guard added.

"So what are you guys eating?" Manty asked.

"Whatever we bring for lunch," the one guard said.

"I don't suppose you guys could sneak in some fresh eggplant for us, could you?" Manty asked.

"Well…" one guard said. "After tasting that junk, I suppose I can. I don't think transporting vegetables is against regulations."

"You know Taurus would do it," the other guard stated.

There was rumble of thunder.

"Is there a storm in the area?" Manty asked.

"Um, I don't think so," a guard said.

Something loudly crashed, so it was definitely not thunder. It was more metallic, like some a vehicle hitting the door.

One of the guards motioned the others to remain silent, as he walked nearer to the door…

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Meanwhile, from inside her temporary bedroom, Cassy sat reading the ancient Greek woman's diary. She felt her heart go out to the poor woman who had written this. She couldn't believe that all the times when she had been writing these words, she had been prisoner of a sadistic group of Cyclops.

She knew a lot of Cyclops had a wild tendency, Cyc as well, but she never believed that any of them could resort to this, even if it was thousands of years ago.

"We're centuries apart," she said out loud. "We come from different countries, different cultures, but we share one common trait… We were both robbed of our innocence, too young."

Cassy put the pat away, sighing. She wondered what the Olympians would say if they saw this little reading material? She had once attempted to bring a little light to the complete truth of some of their ancestors, thanks to her old school presentation, but the kids there had been all too quick to forget it, and not many of the adults had heard of it.

Well, they had heard of it, but because she was so young, they didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, she was a kid, and a Human one at that… What did she know about New Olympus's history?

Cassy then thought of something, as she stared down at the rucksack lying on her bed where the pad/translator was being stored.

'If they won't listen to me,' she thought. 'Maybe they might… '

"Hello, lover," a harsh voice suddenly sounded.

Cassy froze.

She didn't need to run around to see who had spoken, for she had heard that voice millions of times in her sleep, and even when she was awake, in her imagination.

Something large and heavy stepped across the thick carpet, over towards her, and a few moments later, a heavy muscular arm curved around her waist, hugging her close.

"I believe we need to talk," Achilles whispered into her ear.

To Be Continued…