Hey everybody!

Well here it is, another chapter in the story, but it's a special one, since it's the start of another multi-chapter story arc, similar to my earlier Halloween arc. This one probably won't be as long, though, but it still has great action, drama, and introduces a whole lot of familiar characters from the Gargoyles universe!

Enjoy!

Taken - Part One

The news that Amanda Ross and Elijah Robbins were now a couple quickly circulated around Weisman High School the days following the Valentine's Day dance. Of course, the whisperings and the comments from the other students quickly situated, most of them centered around them getting together on Valentine's Day, but for once, Elijah wasn't annoyed or embarrassed.

He and Amanda started slowly; the school was strict with public displays of affection, and the most they could get away with was walking hand-in-hand through the hallways, and only with certain hall monitors present. They often went to the library after school [whenever Amanda did not have work at Blockbuster], studying at the same table, simply enjoying the other's company. They were both fine with taking it slow, since neither of them had dated anyone before, and they worked their way up to hugging each other goodbye whenever it was time for them to go homes. Their first official date as a couple was to see the Special Edition re-release of The Empire Strikes Back in theaters, sharing a container of popcorn.

And, as it always does, life went on. Elijah went to school, studied with Amanda, and hung out with the gargoyles just about every night. Life was good at the moment, and was showing no signs of getting worse.

[][][]

"So how're things going so far," Mason asked as he drove Elijah home after school one late February afternoon.

"With school," the teen asked. "Classes are okay. I've got a low B in Science, though."

The driver smirked. "You know what I mean. You and Amanda… things good so far?"

"I think so," Elijah said, readjusting his left hearing aid as he looked out the window; the road they were on went through a small part of a forest near Weisman, and at that time, had no other cars. "It's been about two weeks, and things seem to be going well so far."

"Oh, better be ready with a two-week anniversary gift," Mason warned him jokingly. "Girls love anniversaries."

"I don't think the single guy should be telling me how to have a good relationship," the deaf teen said, though secretly wondering if he should get Amanda a gift for their two-week anniversary. "You're just as bad as Brooklyn and Huds-" He abruptly stopped talking, realizing he had said too much.

"Who," Mason asked.

"Uh... Just some friends from school," Elijah said quickly, hoping the man bought the lie. "They keep giving me advice on how to be a good boyfriend, too."

"What about your uncle? Any sage wisdom from one of the best bosses in the world?"

Elijah snickered at the obvious kiss-up. "He said he wanted to talk to me after school today, so I can only imagine what he's-"

Mason, despite all his Illuminati training, was suddenly caught off guard when a large grey blur came flying from off the side of the road, hitting the driver side window. Glass shattered, and he yelled, the car swerving off the side of the road and hitting a tree, bringing it to a jolting stop. Elijah screamed as well, the seatbelt slamming him back into his seat.

The driver, once he got his bearings, reached for the hidden pistol in the center console, but someone grabbed him by the head, slamming him into the wheel and knocking him out. The teenager, dazed from the crash looked up as the door of his car was ripped open, gaping at the attacker.

Elijah had once seen some old movie about werewolves, and had made fun of how awful the makeup had looked at the time. Now, seeing one in person, he wished that monsters looked like bad movies from the fifties. The attacker looked humanoid, having the same build and number of limbs as a human, but that was where the similarities stopped. It was about the same height as Goliath, and was covered in grey fur from head to foot. It had claws on its fingers, had pointed ears, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Naturally, the teen tried to back away from the monster, but it grabbed him by the shirt collar, using its claws to sever the seatbelt so it could drag him from the car.

"Ya better not be a screamer, kid," it said in a dark and rough voice, taking a cloth from its back pocket and pressing it over Elijah's nose and mouth. The teen tried to wriggle free, but he found himself growing tired, and he was fast asleep seconds later. "Let's hope you're a heavy sleeper, too."

Wolf looked back at the car, which was smoking a little from the impact. The driver was still unconscious, and the crash looked like a normal case of accidentally swerving off the road. However, the Illuminati would know the truth, meaning he had to leave, and soon. A truck was hidden in a clearing half a mile away for easier transport, and he had no intentions of being seen in broad daylight. Hefting the teen over his shoulder, the mutate trudged into the woods, vanishing from view.

[][][]

[]

"He's made his move."

"Crikey, already? He was broken out of prison two days ago!"

"Works fast, doesn't he?"

"If only you were as fast, Fang."

"Watch it, Yama-hawk!"

"Quiet, both of you!"

INDEED. ARGUING IS NOT A GOOD WAY OF ACHIEVING LAW AND ORDER.

"Geez, does that thing have an Off button?"

"Don't start on him ya lazy little-"

"When you three are finished arguing, we have a job to do. Local police forces indicate that a child was taken after Wolf attacked the car. The driver was knocked out when someone drove by, but woke up by the time police arrived. Said it was some 'werewolf' creature, and they checked him for concussions."

"Neveh knew Wolf would finally stoop so low ta kidnappin' ankle-biters."

"Who did he take, Hunter?"

"Fifteen-year-old Elijah Robbins. Nephew of one Jeffrey Robbins."

"The author?"

"Ys. Moved up to New York from Texas about eight months ago, was on his way home from school when he was abducted."

"Why's this our problem? Can't the police handle finding another missing kid?"

"Ya don't know Wolf like I do. Ever since he went and got that mutate formula, he became less… human, I guess ya could say. Prison records indicate he was increasingly violent every time he was incarcerated once again, so the kid is probably in big danger."

"Especially since someone went through the trouble to break him out of prison."

"Yes, thank ya for that, Fearless Leader."

"Watch yourself, Dingo. Remember what happened the last time you called me that?"

"I do! Your voice went so high when she kicked ya in the-"

"Can we please just focus on finding Elijah? To take and possibly harm a child… only monsters do that."

"Then Wolf's a perfect example."

"And the Director is certain that there may be Illuminati hands in this. Or maybe Thailog. It's up to us to free the boy and find out from Wolf who freed him and asked him to kidnap this boy. Understand?"

"..."

"A 'yes, ma'am' will suffice."

"Don't push it, sheillah."

THEN WE MUST GET GOING, FOR THE SAKE OF LAW AND ORDER.

[]

[][][]

When the gargoyles arrived at the Robbins residence an hour after sunset, they were immediately shocked to see two squad cars parked in the driveway. Brooklyn, Goliath, and Nashville landed in the shadows, wondering what had happened.

"Were they robbed," Nashville whispered. "The police show up when there's a crime, right?"

"Or an emergency," Brooklyn whispered. "Maybe Jeffrey got hurt or sick; he's not exactly a young human."

"But then an ambulance would be here," Goliath pointed out. "And Elijah would know to come outside and wait for us-"

He stopped talking when two officers walked out the back door, followed by the blind author. They talked for a few minutes, then the officers left, the cars driving up the road towards Weisman. As soon as they were gone, the three gargoyles glided down towards the man, who turned at the sound of their landing.

"Elijah's been kidnapped," Jeffrey said, unable to see the gargoyles' shocked expressions. "Mason was driving him home when some... thing attacked the car and ran it off the road. It knocked him out and then took Elijah, according to what he told me."

"The police believed Mason," Brooklyn asked, trying to keep his growing anger under control.

"No, he was sent off to the hospital to be checked for a concussion, but I have no doubts about his story. Elijah didn't just wander off on his own; someone took him."

"Did he get a look at what attacked the vehicle," Goliath questioned.

"He did. Said it looked like a werewolf or something-"

"Wolf," the red gargoyle gasped, eyes widening with surprise. "Xanatos told us yesterday that he had been broken out of prison earlier this week!"

"Who's Wolf," Nashville asked.

"A former member of The Pack, and a mutate."

"Oh… like Derek and the others in the Labyrinth?"

"No. His DNA was combined with that of a wolf. He is strong, and a formidable opponent; Hudson and I were barely able to stop him the last time the two of us fought him."

"And now he has Elijah," Brooklyn said angrily, his one eye momentarily glowing with rage. "Why? No one knows that we're friends with Elijah besides Xanatos-"

"But why would he help break Wolf out of prison and have him kidnap Elijah," Jeffrey questioned, a more calm and thoughtful on his face. "He has nothing to gain, and he has already proven himself to be our ally."

"It does not make any sense," Goliath agreed.

"What if Elijah wasn't the target," Nashville suggested. The three adults turned to him, surprised at the suggesting. "I mean, what if Wolf wanted someone else but had to take Elijah because he was there at the wrong time?"

"But who would he-" Brooklyn turned to the blind author. "Mr. Robbins-"

"Wolf may have learned of my friendship with Mr. Xanatos," Jeffrey suggested, "but it still doesn't explain who broke Wolf out of prison, and why he took Elijah if I was his target. I was alone here all day; he could have easily taken me without drawing any attention to himself." Gilly whimpered, the German Shepherd nudging her head against the author's leg. "You will look for him?"

"Of course," Goliath said. "Call Elisa and tell her to the inform the others of what's happened."

"And make sure Katana knows Nashville is with me," Brooklyn added. "Where was the accident; we might find something the police missed."

"About two miles Northwest of here. It's on the old Highway 20 road that goes through the woods." The gargoyle spread his wings, running towards the nearby wall so he could catch a good air drift that would allow him to glide there. Brooklyn was about to follow when he hesitated, noticing the author's worried expression. It was so unlike the calm and kind face he was used to, and his anger dissipated as he put a hand on the man's shoulder.

"We'll find him," he promised. "And we'll bring him back safe and sound."

"I know you will," Jeffrey said. Nodding, Brooklyn turned to his son, the two of them racing after Goliath.

[][][]

Elijah had stopped trying to escape an hour or so after he woke up in a cell. Now, he simply sat in the corner, waiting for something to happen.

The cell was square, maybe four meters each side, and had one wall made of glass, the others being brick. The glass side looked out into a hallway with other similar-looking cells, all of them empty. There was no door that the teen could see, and he quickly learned that the glass was too thick to break. There was a small bunk in the corner, along with a toilet, but other than that, the cell was bare.

He had no idea how long it had been since he had been kidnapped, but figured it had to be night time by now [if it was even the same day]. That would mean the gargoyles would show up at his house, learn from his uncle what had happened, and would come to rescue him… as soon as they found out where he was. The deaf teen himself had no idea where he was, and tried not to think about how long it would take his friends to figure out who had taken him, and where.

Elijah thought over that afternoon's events in his mind. He was in the car, thinking about his homework and Amanda and what movie they would watch with the gargoyles that night; it was just an ordinary afternoon. Then, the sound of breaking glass, the car swerving off the road, a heavy thud as the car hit a tree, looking up to see a werewolf [during the day, which should not have been possible], and then… he woke up in this cell with a horrible headache. At least he still had his hearing aids, which he played with to pass the time, turning the volume up and down as he waited for whatever was going to happen to happen.

Somewhere down the hall, a door opened, and the teen looked up, startled by the sudden noise after hours of silence. He stood up when he heard footsteps coming towards him, backing away from the glass wall. Seconds later, the wolf-man appeared on the other side of the door, a gun in his hand.

"Good; makes my job easier," it said, hitting some kind of button on the outside wall. The glass wall slid upwards into the ceiling, explaining where the door to the cell was. "Now come with me; someone wants ta meet ya."

"W-W-Who," Elijah stammered.

The creature growled, making the deaf teen flinch. "I'm not a very patient guy, so when I say come with me, I mean now."

Elijah did not need to be told twice. Quickly leaving the cell, he felt his kidnapper press the barrel of the gun to his back instructing him to walk down the hallway. He naturally complied, trying not to freak out or do anything that could get him killed as he walked past the other empty cells, finally exiting into a long, dark hallway that ran perpendicular to the row of cells.

"Right," the wolf-dude ordered, walking Elijah down the hallway. They walked for several more minutes, the kidnapper giving him the occasional order to turn into another hallway. Finally, they stopped outside the door, and the teen was ordered to open it.

They walked into what looked like a science lab; various tables with complicated equipment sat in a circle around a solitary lab table, this one covered in various notes and test tubes of liquids. A man in a white coat stood with his back to the door, reading the plans.

"Thank you, Wolf," he said, not looking back at them. "Don't leave just yet; we don't want our guest trying to escape."

Wolf, the teen thought, the name clicking in his mind. The Pack… mechanical and genetic upgrades… did that mean this man was-

"Sevarius," Elijah muttered.

The man turned around, revealing a middle-aged face with a wide grin. "Excellent guess work, young man," he said, like a teacher congratulating a student on getting the right answer to a question. "No doubt those gargoyles have told you all about me and my associate here."

"Wolf," the teen said, not looking back at the criminal mutate. "Why did you have him kidnap me?"

"I think you know why, or did your friends not inform you of my… special interests in the field of genetics," Dr. Sevarius said, turning back to the table and picking up a test tube. "I wanted to test a hypothesis of mine; how would my regular genetic mutation formula work on an individual with a disability? I considered your uncle for a while, ever since I learned he was friends with Xanatos, but when I heard about you, young man." He turned back towards Elijah with an evil smile. "You make a much better subject than that stuffy old author!"

"That's my uncle you're talking about, you-" He felt the barrel of the gun now touch the back of his head, and his retort died mid-sentence. His hear was pounding with fear, hoping and praying that the gargoyles would show up and rescue him.

"Careful with him, Wolf," the scientist chastised. "I don't want him damaged."

"Yes, sir," the mutate replied, a bit of edge in his voice; it was apparent that he was not a friend of the mad scientist.

"I suppose, if you could talk, you would ask me to let you go," Sevarius rationalized, carefully pouring the contents of the test tube into a syringe. "I do plan on letting you go, but only after you get one, quick shot." He turned back to the deaf teen, now holding a syringe of green liquid. "Imagine that it's a shot you would get at the doctors. Except this one is made with the DNA of a bat, electric eel, and other zoo of animals. If my theory is correct, you will become a powerful mutate. If not… well, let's just say that we already have a hole dug out back." He nodded at Wolf.

"NO-" The gun fell to the floor as the mutate criminal grabbed him, one hand pinning his arms down while the other covered the teen's mouth, silencing his cries. He tried to break free but Wolf was too strong, and Sevarius was approaching at a leisurely pace, unfazed by Elijah's terrified expression and muffled yelling. Elijah remembered the stories the gargoyles had told him about the mad scientist; how he used mutation formulas to transform humans into monstrous creatures against his will, creating the Labyrinth Mutates like Fang and Elisa's brother, as well as Wolf. Naturally, the teen didn't want to be turned into a hybrid creature, but could only watch as the scientist reached him, using an antiseptic wipe to clean his arm before he could insert the needle.

Please God, help me, the teen thought desperately, right as something big and with wings crashed through the skylight window overhead.

And that's it for this chapter! Elijah's been kidnapped by Wolf and Sevarius, and a mysterious group of individuals is planning on rescuing him. Sounds like the recipe for an interesting next few chapters!

Feel free to favorite/follow, and leave a review. Thanks for reading, and have a great day/weekend!

Note: I do not own Blockbuster, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, or Gargoyles at all.