by: Spacebabie

Email: LadyAndromeda@smstars.zzn.com

Reviews can be found athttp://pub17.ezboard.com/bgargoylesx

This story is dedicated to Gary Sperling, atalented man who wrote scripts for wand worked as a story editor on many great episodes of Gargoyles

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Unions

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Sora’s lilac hand grasped onto the handle of the small sliver ladle that had been in the clan for a few centuries. The small bowl of the ladle was filled with near boiling hot water. With great care she slowly poured it into the bowl that contained the bright green powder of crushed up tea leaves. She had been taught the ceremony when she was a hatchling and with practice and time the skill had become second nature to her. While some of her rookery siblings preferred the easy prepackaged tea-bag method she would rather drink the tea that took time and care to brew.

She slowly stirred the thick mush before adding another steaming ladle of water. Mush turned to thick paste, then to a rich cream, then a cream sauce. She would not add a ladle until the previous amount of water was fully blended in with the powder. Patience paid off when the pot was emptied of water and the tea was fully blended. She carefully poured the green mixture back in the pot and placed it on the burner that was set to a low heat. Once the tea was fully made she would let it simmer for a while.

With the tea made she could focus on the takoyaki. She went to a different part of the kitchen and pulled out the choice ingredients. From the cuboard she brought out flour and spices and from the icebox eggs and the main ingredient, a freshly caught octopus.

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Yama stood still as if it was dawn and he was in stone sleep, but he wasn’t. Instead the gray male was deep in meditation. He remembered speaking with Kai before making the final desiscion. The clan leader felt that he had been punished enough. After Yama revealed that had been working with Taro when arranging it so that the clan would be shipped to the theme park he was ready to commit Seppuko so that his honor could be restored. Kai had told them that was far too extreme. Taro fooled him as well with the promise of children and when Taro’s true colors were revealed Yama fought honorably using bushido.

He was relieved of being second in command and was punished by living away from the clan for a full year. Yama had lived with a human family in Ogata who had relatives in Ishimura. When he returned to the village he still lived away from the clan, and kept to himself. He felt that honor was not fully restored and spent his nights meditating, praying, and practicing not only bushido, but also Kendo and Judo.

An answer seemed to have come in a form of a letter. A human who called himself The Director had sent a letter that was posted on the largest kiosk in Ishimura. It was a offer to any gargoyle who felt that he or she had done wrong to see him. This Director was forming a group of those who want to restore their honor. The clan knew he would take up the offer. Kai and a few others warned to him to watch his back so that he would not be tricked again.

"Yama san?" The gray male opened his eyes. It was not due to the fact that his name was mentioned, but of who mentioned it. He stared up to see lovely Sora staring down at him with a large tray in her talons. "I thought you might like some tea."

"I could use some tea," Yama said wistful while his mouth formed a slight smile. "Arigoto Sora chan." The female had her wing talons resting on her shoulders as she sat down and set the tray before him. One half of the tray contained her ivory white tea pot that had lotus flowers painted on in pink and red glaze. Next to the pot were two round cups that had a red lotus flower painted on each. Behind the cups were two terra cotta bowls. One contained sugar cubes and a pair of silver tongs, the other had lemon quarters. The other half of the tray had two long flat oblong shaped plates that were filled with golden brown takoyaki balls.

"I also brought some takoyaki," Sora handed him his plate and cup before removing the pot, the bowls and finally her own plate and cup.

Yama wrapped a hand around his cup and brought it to his mouth. He slight blew at the steam, causing the surface to ripple slightly before he took a sip of the green liquid. It had the right amount of sugar and tartness.

"This is the perfect cup," Yama said before taking another sip. "Not too sweet and not too sour." His mouth formed a full smile.

"One sugar cube and the juice from a quarter of a lemon," she smiled back before she lowered her lips to her own cup.

"You know how I like my tea. You are the best at preparing tea in all of Ishimura and Ogata," He picked up the pair of ebony blood red tipped chopsticks. He used them to pick up on of the fried octopus balls and bit into it. "You are also the best takoyaki chef there is." Sora’s eyelids lowered demurely.

"Arigato Yama san."

"I wish I can only bestow upon you gifts that are worthy of you." Sora raised her had back up.

"I do not need any gifts, being with you is a gift enough."

Yama placed his chop sticks onto the plate.

"Do I insult you?"

He shook his head."I am unworthy of your kindness. My honor has not been fully restored."

"The clan has forgiven you," She inched closer to him. "Please do not punish yourself any further.

"There is more to do," he reached into a pocket in his kimono and pulled out a piece of paper. She glanced over at the kanji. From the messy slashes she could tell it was written by a gajin.

"You are not going to join this group."

"If they do not speak the truth then I will return, if they are, then I can work on restoring my honor."

"I don’t want you to leave," Sora shrunk back, the second she said that and closed her eyes. She felt the warm touch of Yama’s talon against her brow ridge. His finger slowly glided back and forth. She re opened her eyes.

"I will miss you most of all my love." His other hand swept up to the back of her head and stroked her long glossy raven like locks.

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The deep bass beats of a rhythm filled pop song filled the air. Each note passed through a small boom box that was at the upper corner of a room decorated to be like a gym. In the center of the room stood a humanoid that had the appearance that it was made out of pure mercury. It’s non defined features and completely smooth Ken like body made the being appear to be like a silver living version of the Oscar.

One arm hung relaxed against the side of his body. His other arm was held out extended in a length that was twice as long as an ordinary limb. From elbow on it was a long pole that had a silver tear drop shaped bag hung from the end.

Harry "Dingo" Monmoth stood in front of Matrix’s punching bag wearing nothing but a pair of black boxing trunks. The ex Pack member wrapped a white cloth gauze like material around his hands. He reached down and picked up both his clear plastic tooth guard and powder bag. He placed the guard in between his teeth and gave the small cloth beanbag like pillow a good squeezing causing the power to shoot out at the ends in tiny white clouds.

Dingo was unsure if the bag like bulb was going to be like a real punching bag or not. He felt like the second he struck it would explode like a water balloon, or his hand would become stuck. Like the bag would be like tar. He extended his index finger and touched it gently. No popping and his finger did not get stuck. He stroked the surface. It felt like the skin of a punching bag. He gave the bag a slight squeeze. It was exactly like the real thing.

"Well you’re right," Dingo said once he finished his inspection. "You can rearrange your nanobots to form things to be exactly like what you are trying to copy."

"Affirmative," Matrix agreed. Harry smiled slightly and shook his head.

"Don’t say affirmative, say yes, or yeah, and while you say a positive response you nodd your head like this," Harry demonstrated with a slight nod.

"Very well. Yes." The Matrix bobbed his head.

"There you go," Harry pulled back his arm and gave the bag small punch. Upon being struck it wagged and shook like a flag in the breeze. Seeing as how it the bag part of his comrade could withstand the punch he beat again ad again. His fists beat the bag at the rhythm of the music. Sweat formed beads on his forehead and chest and streamed down his arms. He stopped when the music was turned off and Matrix retracted his arm.

"I heard an announcement on the loud speaker," the liquid metal being said.

"Oh?" The human wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He sat down on one of the simple made wood benches and reached for a wash cloth and a bottle of water that was resting in a ice filled metal bucket.

"Mr. Monmoth, Matrix," the smooth voice of the director crackled over static filled speaker. "I want you two to take a break."

"Why?" Harry asked as he soaked the wash cloth with the cold water and took it to his face.

"The third member of the team has arrived."

"Where would you like us to meet him?" Matrix asked.

"Her."

"Her then?"

"Mr. Gregarino is escorting her to the lounge as we speak. Good day."

Dingo wiped his face with the dampened cloth and wiped the sweat from his muscular neck, before he spoke.

"So it’s a sheila," he said before he used the index fingers to massage the areas between the inner points of his eyes and his nose.

"Are you ready?" Matrix asked.

"Let me tilt back this bottle first." Harry placed his lips on the mouth of the bottle and tilted back his head. The near ice cold water was more than welcome to his dry throat.

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Vinnie made a slight adjustment with his tie. He wanted to make a good impression on the first female team member. He glanced into a nearby mirror and smiled. His teeth were clean, not a speck on them, nor were there bits of food stuck in between his teeth. He knew there was nothing wrong with his breath since he was munching on those fancy pastel colored after dinner mints earlier. There were a few hairs on the top of his head that were sticking straight up.

"Heh," Vinnie grunted before he spat into the palm of his hand and slicked back the top of his head. The hair sprang back up

He was still running his fingers through his hair when he heard the low buzz coming from the outside door.

"Coming," Vinnie nearly tripped over his own feet in his race to the door. "Welcome to the Redemp-" He paused once the door was open. The woman was dressed in the hooded material Vinnie had seen worn by the Jedi in the four Star Wars movies, but he had seen her face, and the first thing he noticed was that she was blue. Her skin color was a brilliant shade of blue. The second thing he noticed about her was that she was tall. About five foot eleven. The third that he noticed were here eyes. They were long and narrow and unlike his eyes the schlera was black and the pupils were white. No, they were silver and her iris’s were gold.

"Are you a gargoyle?" Vinnie asked. She stared down at him.

"No," her accent was strange. "I am Kodantoanim." Vinnie felt like kicking himself, but he didn’t. What was a Kodantoanim?

"A Kodan-what?" He bit his tongue. "Sorry I don’t mean to seem rude."

"It is understandable. I am what you call an alien." She removed the robe. Vinnie didn’t really notice her eyebrows. They were actual brows and not ridges. The were made up of tiny white bumps that formed a perfect arch over her long eyes. Both her mouth and nose appeared to have been human like, except that here nose seemed to perfect. Like Nicole Kidman’s, and instead of ending in a curve it ended in a sharp point. The hood concealed the rest of her head, including the multiple braids that were pure white in color. Her ears were just holes with flaps of flesh over them like awnings over entrances to restaurants and hotels.

The most distinguishing feature on her face was the long growth in the middle of her forehead. It was like an antenna with a clear bulb at the end. It reminded him of certain fish that lived at the bottom of the ocean. Her body wasn’t too bad. She had an athletic build and a figure like a human female, except she lacked breasts. Long arms and long legs ended in simple normal looking five fingered hand and toes. except the fifth digit on each was not a finger. They were long and thicker than the rest and were stiff.

She noticed he was looking at him.

"The humans I lived with before called them snap crackers," she said as she held out her hand. The thick long fifth digit split along the middle and separated slightly. Vinnie could see the bone hard ridges that made up the inner parts of the halves. With a loud snap they came together. She opened and closed them two more times. They reminded Vinnie of the crackers he used to eat crab legs and nuts with.

"Well I’m impressed," he smiled. "Wow a real alien Can you-" he paused and smiled sheepishly. "Of course you can believe it. Can I believe it?" He shrugged. "Well I guess I can." He glanced back at her. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. I am Vincent Gregarino, but you can call me Vinnie."

"Vahril Coyn Balia Reeveha Tryhisyle," Vinnie wasn’t sure if she just introduced herself. "You can call me Vahril."

"Okay Vahril. I better introduce you tot he rest of the team." Vinnie lead the alien down the long halls to the lounge where both Harry and Matrix would be waiting for her.

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Akima Watanabe tried to sit up in the tiny closet but only managed to scrunch up half way before falling over and landing on her side. Her head fell against the wall and made a small thud like sound. It wasn’t the size of the room she was confined in that made it hard to sit up in had to sit up. It was because her wrists were bound together behind her back with thin yet strong rope. The same kind of rope was wrapped around her ankles.

She closed her eyes when she heard the sound approaching footsteps.

"We’re moving Watanabi san," by the deep and raspy voice she knew the man that was looking at her was the one she called Scarface. She opened her eyes when she felt one of his small yet rough hands stroke against her face. His hair had been cut low, like the American buzz cut except for the top of his head that had his hair long and hanging over his face. In the middle of his forehead was a long scar that made her think of the western Frankenstein monster. Another scar streaked down the left side of his mouth, cutting through both the top and bottom lips.

"Moving her now?" Another man asked. He was shorter than Scarface but was just as strong. He had a moderate and neat cut. He wore clear framed glasses over his eyes. His hands were the size of frying pan.

"Hai," Scarface nodded. "The boss wants us in this small little obscure village. The authorities would not to think of looking for us there. Now-" he bent down. "Help me carry her to the car."

Akima wanted to scream when she felt both Scarface and Bighands reach for her, but she couldn’t. A badana made of thick material was wrapped tightly over her mouth.

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The thick mist that had suddenly formed over the river that had separated Ishimura from Ogata slowly thinned. A long and narrow wooden boat sailed on through. The image of a wizened old man was cut into the front bow.

Fang reached into the area that was covered by the tarp and removed the drinking horns, or as he preferred to call them: the medieval canteens, and handed one to each of the two gargoyles. The mutate rummaged around and pulled out three Twinkies, three crudely made bars of compressed dried out orchard fruits and three fish that were caught on one of the Avalon piers and cooked by the mutate’s own electricity.

"I think we can split a can of tomato soup as well," Fang’s voice was low as he shoved a few of the remaining cans around.

"Perhaps we should save it," the female said while she removed the piece of cork from the point of her horn and took a swallow of the grape juice that was inside. Her skin tone was the dull gray shade of granite. She wore a tight sleeveless tubecloth like top made of a shiny black material. A braided leather shoulder strap kept it more than secure. Her loin cloth, was more of a knee length gauzy skirt that was the same shade of sky during the daytime. Cecilia was a bit thankful when Fang told her about the color of daytime sky. Brass bands wrapped around her wrists and a chain that appeared to have been made out of pure silver hung from her ankle. Secured to a chain hanging around her neck was calliope made of tiny white reeds.

"Yeah," Fang shrugged. "You are probably right." Cecilia smiled at him. She was about the age of a young female human college student. Fang had noticed. A little like Angela, except she had an oval shaped face and strange horns. They started at her temples and it almost appeared that they were coming straight at him for about three inches and then they swept back in a slight curve. Her single clawed greenish yellow wings were folded over her shoulders and her tail that ended in a spade rested against the bottom of the boat.

"A pity we still have to ration our food, the third member of the team complained while he shook his head. His messy medium length black mane would have spilled over his eyes if it were not for his thick long, backswept curve that started from his forehead and ended near the top back corner of head. The red gargoyle grabbed his fish. Deep eggplant webbing that was silvery white on the underside stretched across from his wrists to his ankles In the center of each wing was a long slender limb. Around his waist he wore a brown leather belt that secured a golden yellow loin cloth. A swathe of cloth stretch across his chest and ending in a long strip that crossed his right shoulder, down his back and connected his belt Toga styled.

"With you Mercutio it is a must," Cecilia said as Mercutio reached for his sheath Because of his wings the sheath did not hang from the part of the belt that went over his hip, but instead over his right thigh. He removed the dagger by the cherrywood hilt that was covered in the fine leather from one of the largest bucks that Marigold had felled with her spear, and took the blade to the fish. He cut of a long strip of meat and while keeping the rest of the fish between his legs he took the strip with his right hand and took a large bite out of it. While he could fight with a great skill on the ground he could not wield the weapon while gliding in the air, but he could wrap the end of his tail around the end and use it to stab like the end of a scorpion. He could not believe he had forgotten his dagger back on Avalon.

Tom kept it safe for him and handed the small weapon when they had returned.

"Ye ferget yer own head if it wasnae attached," Tom told him Mercutio had smiled sheepishly when he accepted the small blade back.

Ah sweet Avalon. Certain members of the clan including Tom and Gabriel wanted to lock Fang up in Oberon’s dungeon, after they had a few minutes alone with him first, but both Mercutio and Cecilia explained how Fang had changed. He had become a great help to them on their adventure.

While both Mercutio and Fang stocked up on more foodstuffs Cecilia sought out the Inca moon goddess Mama Quilla and returned her sacred crystal. The fey was grateful to receive the spherical crystal back. She also answered an important question.

"You okay Cecilia?" Fang’s voice brought her back to the present. The female blinked and smiled softly.

"Just thinking about the past," Cecilia answered before she broke off a part of her fruit bar and took a bite.

"I think we are in Asia," Fang commented after glancing at some of the many layered pagodas. "Not sure if we are in China or Japan or Korea or Thailand or-"

"Please stop," Mercutio held up one of his hands. "Too many places. My mind can’t function on an empty stomach." He cut a third strip from his fish. He was about to take a bite when he heard a shriek.

"It’s trouble," Cecilia set down her food and stood up. The shriek was heard again.

"Sounds like a child," Fang said before leaping out of the skiff. Cecilia wasted no time in joining him. Mercutio placed the long strip in his mouth and placed his dagger back it’s sheath before he jumped out and race after them.

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The shrieks had belonged to a five year old girl in light pink dress dotted with pink flowers and a large thick coat. Her short hair was gathered into two tiny round odangos on the top of her head. Tears streamed down her round face as she raced after a group of boys who were a couple of years older than her. In the hands of the tallest boy was a stuffed cat doll dressed in what appeared to be a sailor outfit.

Fang could tell by the way the girl was crying and the mischievous grins on the boys that the tall boy had taken the girl’s toy. He waited patiently for the group to come closer before jumping out. The tallest boy didn’t even see where he was going when he ran into Fang’s chest and fell backwards, landing on his rear.

His two friends stopped behind him and all three stared up at him. Fang crossed his arms across his chest and stared down at them. Cecilia leaned forward as she glared at them.

"It’s not nice to steal," she reprimanded. The tall boy got to his feet. All three boy stared at each other and spoke to each other in their native tongue. The tallest shrugged and the three of them walked off.

Mercutio popped the last bit of fish into his mouth before he picked up the doll.

"Here you go," he handed it to the little girl. She accepted the soft toy before wrapping her arms around the red gargoyle and exploded in the same language as the boys.

"Do you understand what she’s saying?" Cecilia turned to Fang. The mutate had his had tilted to the side.

"Not really, except for the domo and the arigoto," he blinked and nodded. "Yeah. That was an arigoto. I think we are in Japan." He walked over to the child who was still glued to Mercutio and gently tapped her shoulder. The little girl removed her face from Mercutio’s chest to stare at him.

"Konichiwa," Fang gave her a slight wave with his hand. "Where is your mama and your papa?"

"Mama?" The child repeated. "Papa?" Another smile formed on her face and she skipped from Mercutio to Fang and grabbed his harry hand. With her small feet planted in the ground she pulled at him. After a few tugs she skipped ahead towards the pagoda’s and the walls.

"I believe she wants us to follow her," Cecilia said as she folded her wings. Fang nodded before he followed behind.

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Vahril stood still her with he arms folded across her chest in a pose that had a hand on each shoulder. Her feet were a few inches a part. In front of her was a long row of bright red gym mats. Lining each side of the mats were long wooden polls that were as thick as a human arm. More poles hung from the ceiling by ropes.

Harry sat still on his bench as he watched her. The stretchy intersecting white ace bandage like strips that covered her body reminded him of the outfit that one girl wore in Fifth Element. He didn’t know her story and she didn’t know his. All he knew about her was that she was an alien and she caused some people to end up in the hospital He turned his head to stare at Matrix. The being that was made up of millions of microscopic forms of artificial intelligence stood motionless. He offered to play music for Vahril but the alien refused.

"What is she doing?" Dingo whispered.

"It appears that she is breathing," Matrix replied. "And deep in concentration." The Australian nodded at the answer. The alien did seem to be meditating. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing in deep, causing her flat chest to rise and fall. Seeing how deep she was Harry was thankful that he taught Matrix how to whispers. He knew the decibels of his voice was changed by a slight rearranging of his nanobots, but he was glad it did rearrange them.

Vahril’s eyes snapped open a mere second before she leapt into the air and shot out her foot. Upon landing she spun around. She leaped again. Her arms snapped out martial arts style. The snap of her fifth digit’s echoed through the air. The leaped again and kicked at several of the poles at rapid speed.

Harry was mesmerized as he stared unblinking at her. Her style of movements was like a blend of praying mantis kung fu, ballet, and the fighting style of Chun Li from the Street Fighter video game. He had gasped the first few times he heard a snap, but by the seventh one he had become used to it. His breathing did pause when she leaped and did a somersault in the mid air. At the end of the row of mats she did a last flip and landed on her feet. Behind not single pole escaped from her snap crackers. Broken pieces of wood littered the mats behind her.

"Kee-rist!" Dingo let out while he reached for a bottle of Kirin. after staring at the bottle he wished he had a Foster’s. He liked the taste of the Japanese beer, but there were times when he wished he could have a large can of his native brew.

"A cool wet towel?" Matrix offered Varhil when she approached them. He held out a white cloths that was slightly dripping.

"Thank you," the alien accepted the cloth. By the moisture that was already on her body Harry noticed that they both had one thing in common: sweat glands. The human reached down and pulled out another bottle.

"Beer?" Harry offered. Varhil turned from wiping her face and shook her head.

"I do not like beer," she said. Harry remembered a show based on a movie about an alien species that got drunk on sour milk.

"Want me to see if the milk has gone sour?"

Her unique eyebrows raised up in a quizzical matter.

"I don’t know what gets your species drunk."

She chuckled slightly. Almost sounded like a flute. "I can get drunk on alcohol as well, but I do not like beer."

"Wine cooler?"

"Too sweet. I do like that stuff called Zima."

"I’ll see if we have some," Harry stood up and sat back down after she shook her head.

"I do not wish to get drunk right now."

"Well," he reached down into the cooler again. "We do have water." he pulled out a clear bottle. She smiled again.

"Water well be fine." She accepted the bottle. Dingo wondered if she would use her fifth digits to open it. She grabbed the cap with her fingers instead.

"So what’s your story," Harry asked after she drank some of her water. "Why are you here."

"I was very young, no more than a child when the ship that I was on crashed. It was brought down by your planet’s air craft. My family and crew was taken to the desert and we were placed in this laboratory prison. They put many of us through several tests and took some blood samples. I lived there for years. Then there was an uprising. My people, other species that were captured and the children worked together, and we escaped."

"Children?" Matrix asked. He was silent until now.

"They are not what you consider children. They are Earth born humans who have been spliced with the blood of us, aliens. I and a few aliens lived with a group of children. We managed to develop special technology for them so that their new features could not bee seen. We were working on developing some for us when soldiers from that prison area found us. We had to fight to escape." She took a deep breath before she lowered her head. "We did escape, but not without loosing some lives. Some of the children needed medical attention badly, but we had to keep on running, or driving. We came in contact with the soldiers of the Alliance. They offered sanctuary and a hospital for the children."

"You are here because you want to repay the Alliance for taking care of the children?" Matrix asked.

"Yes and no. I am also here because I killed one of the laboratory troops."

Harry didn’t know what to say. He stood up and approached. She stared into his face when he rested a hand on her shoulder.

"You were trying to protect those people," he said softly. "You did what you had to do."

"It was still wrong."

"You killed in the heat of battle?" Matrix asked. She nodded her head. "It is not murder. I wouldn’t even call it manslaughter."

"The Matrix here is right," Harry said. "Now in my case I knew what I was doing was wrong. I used to be part of a television show called The Pack. Each week we would battle the evil ninjas. After a while it got boring. Our leader was informed of strange creatures called gargoyles. After doing a live show we ran into one and it brought its leader. We hunted them down like animals. I was kind of glad they took me out before Fox decided to take a model hostage. After the show went off the air I laid low for a while until I was approached by this guy called Coyote. He and I broke the rest of the team out of jail. We became outlaws. We stole things for ourselves and for hire. Hfter being beaten by the gargoyles we wanted an edge. Coyote," he paused for a second. "I forgot to mention he’s actually a robot. Well he came back and offered us an edge. I was given a special armored suit, but the others..." he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Both Hyena and Jackal had themselves cut up and had parts replaced with cybernetics, and Wolf had himself spliced with wolf DNA. They were willing to turn themselves into freaks, just so they could take on the gargoyles. We failed and were sent to prison. While I was in my cell I did a lot of thinking. I knew what they had become and I looked back to when we first met, thats when I saw what I had become. I wanted a clean start so I went back to Australia for some spiritual cleansing. I heard Fox and her mother were in town and I paid them a visit, learned of their experiment and went on my quest."

"That was when he met me," Matrix said. "I am a creation of science. I am made of millions of tiny machines called nanobots. Each one is like a cell. I was created to establish order. I believe I had to make things orderly all over the planet and I spread myself across the outback. I did not know what I was doing was wrong until Dingo and the gargoyle called Goliath told me. I became partners with Dingo and the Alliance asked us to join them."

"You did not know what you were doing was wrong because you had just been created?" Vahril asked.

"That is correct," Matrix replied while bobbing his head like Harry had taught him.

"That is the same for all sentient creatures that are born. They need to be taught."

"I was taught that. Now I want to make it better."

"Thats why we are all here," Harry said. "To redeem ourselves." He held out his hand. The Matrix placed his shiny metal one on top of his . Varhill nodded before she placed her hand on the top.

"Am I interrupting anything?" The voice of The Director crackled through.

"We were just learning of our pasts," Dingo replied. "You know getting to know each other better."

"That is good. You can now get to know the fourth member of your team. He is on his way over now."

"Well team," Harry grinned. "I guess we better get over to the lounge."

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"I couldn’t believe it. Gargoyles in Japan," The man called Vinnie said as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes. He was the first person who greeted Yama when the gargoyle knocked at the door. The gargoyle hated leaving Sora behind, but if he ever wanted his honor restored he was going to have to do this.

He had taken the advertisement off the kiosk and kept it with him. His journey began the night before and he spent the day shielded by a clump of vegetation. He managed to find the location with out any trouble by the address that was printed there. He was greeted by a lanky man with a very friendly attitude. Who seemed nice, if not a bit clumsy.

"You have met the gargoyles in Manhattan?" Yama turned to ask him. The corner of Vinnie’s mouth twisted up slightly and he tugged at the collar of his gray jacket.

"Sort of. It was more like I ran into them a couple of times."

"Have you met the one called Goliath?"

"He’s the big purple one right?"

"That is him."

" So the one I saved is named Goliath."

"You saved?" Yama stopped in his tracks. Vinnie paused and turned to face him.

"Yeah from a gargoyle hating psycho with a huge hammer," Vinnie planted one foot behind him and clench his hands together. He pulled back his arms and thrusted them forward as if holding an invisible hammer. "It didn’t seem right and he shouldn’t have been trying to attack that lady, so I got into his face" Vinnie shifted his legs and brought his arm down in a fast matter before he spun around and kicked the air.

Yama wanted to laugh at his attempt at trying to perform martial arts movements, but he didn’t.

"Where are we going to meet?" the gargoyle asked. Vinnie placed his foot on the ground and stood straight up.

"In the lounge. It’s this way." The human lead him into a large white room with a blue and silver tiled floor. One half had a few small round card tables, Refrigerator, foldable chairs, and a couple of bookshelves. The other half had a black leather couch with matching love-seat and arm chairs. In front of the Couch was a television set. There were also a couple of pinball machines.

The place did look like an area to relax in. Yama thought as he took in his surroundings. His eyes ended up on the three figures that stared back at them. One was a well muscular human male in a tank top so tight it might as well be see through for the gargoyle could see each ripple of the man’s chest muscles. He wore shorts that showed off his rock like knees and well toned calves. His wide shoulders supported a thick neck with a square shaped face. The human had a strong jaw, intense eyes and a thick mustache between his nose and upperlip. The sides of his head were shaved clean leaving a thick and well trimmed mohawk on top.

The female appeared to be a blue human at first, but on a second glance Yama noted she wasn’t. Her ears were cavity like with semicircular flaps of skin on top. Her eyes had a unique and creepy appearance. Long and narrow where it was black where there would be white, eyes that were blazing gold and pupils the color of smoke. The center of her head had a long and slender growth with a clear bulge at the need. As Yama kept looking at her he noticed that the growth slowly moved. Her body was like a reed, a flat althetic reed that only had slight curves in the hips and covered with cloth strips.

The third being was like a statue. It did not blink or move at all. It’s surface was like polished silver.

"Hey guys this is Yama," Vinnie spoke to the group and held out his hand to indicate the gargoyle. "As you can see he’s a gargoyle, and he’s from Ishimura." Vinnie turned to Yama who just stared at him quizzically. "I think you might want to tell them the rest about yourself You know why you are here and all that."

"I understand," Yama said. "But I do not know them." Vinnie slapped the side of his head.

"Oh yeah," he pointed at the tough looking human. "That’s Harry Monmoth, but you can also call him Dingo." He indicate the female next." Her name is Vahril Coyn Ba-" Vinnie paused trying to remember her entire name and blinked. "Just call her Vahril and that silver guy is The Matrix."

"The Matrix?"

"He’s not like the movie."

Yama gave a slight chuckle. "I have not seen much movies. I was wondering if preferred The Matrix, or simply Matrix."

"Either will do just fine," The silver being said in a cold machine like voice. "Welcome to our home." The female nodded at him while the human held out a bottle.

"Would you care for a beer?" Dingo offered.

____________________________________________________________________________

The little girl skipped up to a small house with a bright red wall connecting it. The child turned to make sure Fang and the others had followed her before she slipped inside.

"She made it home safely," Cecilia smiled.

"I don’t think that was the main reason why she wanted us to follow her," Fang said. "I think she wants us to see something or meet someone."

"Like that man?" Cecilia asked. Fang turned to see a human male his age stepped out of the house followed by the little girl.

Mercutio hoped that these humans would offer him some food. He was still hungry. The small handful that he had earlier was not enough to quell his demanding appetite. He tapped his rookery sister’s shoulder to voice his thought’s when he heard something land from the side. The web winged gargoyle turned to see two other gargoyles standing in the shadows. He heard more sounds coming from behind the group. He turned and sure enough there were four more gargoyles and a gargoyle beast that was the same shade of red as himself.

"Cecilia?" The web wing whispered while noticing others gargoyles arriving around them.

"Not now," the gray female waved him off and returned her focus to the man who was approaching them

"Greetings," the man nodded at them. "I am Kinomoto Hichiro." The little girl who led them there walked out from behind him. Hichiro placed his hand on her shoulder. "And this is my daughter Misaki."

"You can speak English?" Fang blinked.

"Hai, yes."

"I’m Fang, this is Cecilia," he indicated the female. "And the one who can’t stand still is Mercutio."

"I like to thank all three of you for helping Misaki back there. Those boys won’t leave her alone."

"You are welcome Kinomoto," Cecilia smiled at him. Her eyes widened slightly when she heard him chuckle.

"I had nearly forgotten that those from the west give their names out different than us," the human said. "I am sorry. My last name is Kinomoto and my first is Hichiro."

"Can you tell us where we are Mr. Kinomoto?" Fang ask while trying to ignore Mercutio trying to get his attention by shaking his shoulders.

"You are in Ishimura Akita, part of the Tohoku section of Japan."

"It is home to both humans and my clan," the other voice belonged to the creature that had stepped out the shadows. The green creature stood tall with his large leathery wings folded over his kimono. His face was square with two pointed cheeks that stuck out from the sides. He had spiked browridge similar to Goliath’s. Two large horns like a water buffalo curled out from his head.

"There are gargoyles here?" Cecilia asked and spun slightly around. A small cluster of gargoyles had surrounded them.

"That was what I was trying to tell you!" Mercutio stomped his foot on the ground. "but you wouldn’t listen to me."

"A clan," Cecilia asked. "And you live in this village?"

"With us humans," Hichiro smiled. "In perfect harmony."

"Heh so there is hope," Fang said.

"There is always hope," the green gargoyle said. "I am called Kai. I should give you the tour and explain Ishimura’s history, and you can tell me about your journeys if you came on a skiff from a magical island."

All three of the travelers blinked.

"How did you know?" Cecilia asked.

"Over three years ago we received similar visitors."

"Goliath, Angela, Bronx and Elisa?" Mercutio asked.

"Hai that is them."

"We do have some stories," Cecilia said with a smile.

"I look forward to hear them, but first how about something to eat?" Mercutio’s ears perked up at the mention of food. With a wide grin on his face he skipped and jumped a few feet ahead of the others so he can walk besides Kai.

____________________________________________________________________________

Despite her discomfort and her frightened state Akima somehow managed to fall asleep. She was woken up when she felt herself being lifted up. Her eyes locked into those of Big Hands.

"Sorry to have awoken you Watanabi san," The shorter of the two thugs said. "But we have arrived at our destination." The woman tried to ask why were they doing this and why her, but the gag muffled each word that tried to escape her lips.

"Don’t try to talk," Scarface said and hefted the woman completely away from Big hands and slung her over his back. Akima grunted from the feeling of having his shoulder jab into her stomach. "Is that storage shed cleaned from all the fireworks?" Akima heard the creak of a door being opened.

"Hai there is plenty of room, but what are we going to do with this stuff?" Akima felt more discomfort as Scarface walked over to him. There was constant jabbing in her stomach and she bounced slightly against his back.

"Boss said to put them in his car." He lifted up Akima. While in his arms she turned and saw the medium sized wooden shed. On the floor was a blanket that was spread Scarface must have noticed she was glancing at it "That is where you are going Watanabi san." He carried her over to the shed and set her down on the blanket.

"Don’t worry," Big Hands smiled at her. "The boss is getting you some food and drink as we speak." Akima continued to watch them as the door closed and she heard several clicks of metal against metal, telling her that she was locked in.

___________________________________________________________________________

Fang had heard of sushi before. He had even seen pictures of it in magazines and people eating it on television. He had never tried it before because the thought of putting raw fish in his mouth made him queasy. That was ofcourse before he had become a mutate. His views on raw fish had taken a new turn. When he, Mercutio and Cecilia caught some fish on one of Avalon’s piers he fought back an urge to eat what he had caught right there on the pier.

He tried the sushi he deemed safe at first: the tuna, salmon the boiled shrimp, and the cucumber rolls. Once he managed to keep that down he ventured onto the red snapper, yellow tail, octopus, and eel. He sipped the green tea in-between bites while watching his friends eat.

Cecilia ate like a person who was taught manners would have eaten. She couldn’t figure out the chop sticks, but Kai told it was okay if she wanted to eat using her talons. Mercutio shoved piece after piece into his mouth. Cecilia glared at him while Fang just rolled his eyes. The mutate was about to warn the web wing that the green stuff was something that would burn his tongue but before he can open his mouth Mercutio had grabbed the entire glob and shoved it into his face.

"Great Avalon!" Mercutio gasped before draining his entire cup. By the frantic expression his face, tears streaming down his cheeks, and the way his tongue hung out of his mouth those who were serving tea knew that he needed more to quench the burning sensation that flared across his pallet. It appeared his tea couldn’t have been poured fast enough. The second his cup had been filled he would tilt it back and guzzled the fluid down. After his third cup he breathed easily. "For a second I thought I was going to breath fire like a dragon."

"Word to the wise my friend," Kai said to him. "Even the strongest man can become weak when they encounter wassabi.

"That will teach you," Cecilia poked her rookery brother in his wing webbing. "Maybe now you will not inhale your food."

"But this is so good."

"All good things must be taken in moderation."

Fang stood up and back. He didn’t want to get into the middle of their little fights. After wiping his mouth and trying not to lick the back of his hand he turned to Kai.

"So tell me about this place."

___________________________________________________________________________

"For centuries the humans and gargoyles of Ishimura have lived together," Kai explained as he,Hichiro and the three of them through town. "We had established a relationship with the humans we protected them from invaders during the night," the green gargoyle nodded at his friend.

"And we protect them during the day." Hichiro finished.

Fang only half listened to the history lesson. His eyes were focused on the performance that was set up on the small wooden stage. Children, both human and gargoyle, sat forming a semicircle with several adults standing behind them. The movements of the two performers looked like some sort of dance to the mutate. All that changed when they unsheathed their swords.

"Fang?" Cecilia’s voice drew his eyes away from the show.

"Yeah?" The mutate turn to her. He had noticed that he had stopped while they continued walking. "Whoops!"

"You must be watching something good," Hichiro said as he approached him.

"Just what is on stage," the mutate shrugged and pointed.

"Ah a demonstration in bushido."

"Bushido?" Fang blinked. "Is that some kind of fighting style."

" A fighting style with a high code of honor," Kai explained as he approached. "Where one opponent fights one opponent." Hichiro smiled at his friend.

"Kai is a better teacher of Bushido than I am," the human said. "Why don’t you let him explain through the performance."

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Harry leaned back in the couch while he tried to make sense of what was on television. Two large sumo wrestlers were trying to push each other around the ring. He glanced to his right side. Matrix stood watching the screen unmoving. He didn’t care one way or another what was on. His eyes shifted to his left. Vahril was as leaned back as he was as she watched. He didn’t know what her preferences were, of course being form another planet all Earth entertainment was probably Greek to her. Yama seemed to have a little interest in the show. Dingo had decided to allow Yama to choose what to watch since he was the newest member.

"Look alive everyone," The director’s voice crackled over the intercom. "You have your first assignment."

"Do you want us to come to your office?" Matrix asked.

"No, Mr. Gregarino will give you the details."

The room had gone quiet for an exact minute before Dingo furrowed his eyebrows.

"When the bloody hell are we going to see Charlie?"

"Charlie?" Vahril turned to him." Is that his real name?" Dingo smiled slightly while he shook his head.

"That was the name of the guy who was the boss of these crime fighting women. The show was called Charlie’s Angels. The angels and Charlie would meet the same way we and the Director are meeting."

"Mr. Gregarino has arrived," Matrix said causing the others to turn around. The other human approached them holding onto a batch of folders. He had made it to the couch when one folder fell out of his hands. As he bent forward to pick it up two more folders fell out of his hand. It didn’t take long before all the folders were on the ground.

"Let me help you with that," Yama offered while rising to his feet.

"No, no," Vinnie waved him off. "I can take care of it myself."

"But I assist."

"I’ll lend you a hand," Harry said and walked over to the clumsy man. There were two folders left by the time Dingo had made it over. After he picked up one he noticed a blue hand picking up another.

"I guess I can put it on the table," Vinnie said before making to the nearest card table without dropping a single file. After he placed them down he rummaged through the manila envelops, opening them slightly and peeking inside. "I know its in one of these. Ah." A smile of triumph appeared on his face as he pulled out an eight by ten glossy of a young Japanese woman. "This is Akima Watanabe." He handed him the photo before searching around the red and blue folders. "Here are her stats and police report. She’s twenty years old and her father is this rich business type guy. She has been missing for two days." He handed the report to Dingo before rummaging some more. "Here is a map of the section of town she is from," He pulled out another sheet of paper. "A list of possible suspects and where they live and work." After handing the last of the papers to Matrix and Vahril he packed up the folders and files. "The Director wants you to solve this case on your own." He gave them a smile before leaving the room.

"We could see how many suspects homes are in the map we were given," Vahril suggested while she spread out the map on the table. "That could give us a start."

"And we investigate each of those homes," Harry said. "Well it looks like its going to be a long night.

____________________________________________________________________________

Cecilia could not believe the irresponsibility of her friends. Well she could believe Mercutio would wander of on her, but Fang forgetting his mission so he can watch a performance of some kind.

Well at least she knew where he was. She could not find her rookery brother. The fact that there were gargoyles in the village made it difficult to find him. She focused on red male gargoyles with dark hair and then she would check the wings.

When she did find him she felt like she could have kicked herself. Of course he would have been found where there was food. Mercutio was in front of a food stall eating a white round shaped thing while holding another one in a different hand.

"How can you be eating?" She asked.

"Easily," Mercutio answered before taking another bite. "These looked too good to pass up. He held out the other ball to her. "They are called rice balls. Try one." She pushed his hand away.

"No thank you I’m full." She walked on ahead. "Now come on." She marched up to where Fang stood, only pausing to make sure that Mercutio was following her.

Fang had his arms up and his fists clenched on air. He held on to his imaginary sword while Kai gave out lessons.

"Now bring it down quickly and cleanly," Kai instructed. Fang did not know what the gargoyle meant by cleaning but he brought his arms down in a quick and straight matter. "Not bad," Kai rubbed his chin. "With proper training you could become well skilled in Bushido."

"I’m sorry to interrupt," Cecilia said upon her return. "But Fang we are not here to learn lessons in different fighting styles. "Avalon sent us here for a reason."

"The others that came here three years ago," Hichiro turned to Kai. "They were also sent by Avalon?"

"Hai," Kai nodded. "They came because of Taro’s treachery. I don’t suppose they know why they are here."

"No we don’t," Fang shook his head. "But we’ll find the reason soon. "

"When you do tell us. We would be honored to help."

____________________________________________________________________________

Harry readjusted his dark sunglasses before pulling out his wallet. He had ditched his usual wear for a nice clean charcoal gray pinstriped suit. In his left hand he held onto a metallic shiny silver suitcase. He hoped the sunglasses managed to conceal his bloodshot eyes. He barely got any sleep the night before.

"I’m agent Dingo with Interpol," he introduced while flashing his badge. "I need to investigate some of your tenants." The short woman with short stringy hair stared at him before she pulled a pair of glasses out of the pocket of her house robe and placed it on her nose. She glanced at the badge before she removed the cigarette from her mouth.

"Okay you can come in," she opened the door to allow Harry inside. "Which tenant do you need to see?"

"Testuo Otawaka," Dingo delivered with out missing a beat.

"He’s out of town," the landlady said before taking another drag of her cigarette. "but you can look around his apartment." She led him through the long halls to . At the end she stopped. "Here it is." She reached into a different pocket and pulled out a key ring. After unlocking the door she placed the ring back and reached into a third pocket. Harry’s eyes widened at the sight of the pistol. "You go do your job," she said before walking off. "I have to make sure some people pay the rent on time."

Dingo blinked before entering the apartment. "I’m never going to say ‘only in New York’ ever again," he said while setting his suitcase on the polished coffee table that was near the ground. He opened his wallet over the suitcase. His silver badge rippled before it became like mercury and dribbled out of the wallet and onto the suitcase. Once the last drop had fallen the briefcase rippled in a similar way before it melted and flowed to the floor in a puddle. The gooey silver burbled and swirled in a small tornado that stretched upwards until it solidified into a human like form.

"Okay mate just like with the other two places. Search any area that might hold a young woman."

"Affirmative," Matrix divided himself into four sections that dissolved into four slug like beings wriggled through the apartment in different directions.

"Right," Dingo nodded before entering the largest bedroom. One of the Matrix’s parts was already checking the closet so he tried the bathroom there. The place was clean, not sterilized reeking with bleach clean, just clean. The trash had been emptied and the shower drain was devoid of any hairs. He grabbed the vinyl shower curtain. Not a speck of mildew anywhere.

"I found something," All four sections slithered up to Dingo and merged into one figure. He heldout a hand. "I found this in the closet in the smaller bedroom." Harry stared down at it’s outstretched palm. There were a couple of long strands of hair what looked like some kind of clothing fibers.

"What is it?"

"Two strands of human hair three feet long and the fibers of nylon rope."

"That does make it seem likely that miss Watanabe was here," Harry said while tapping his chin. "Okay mate you better get into carrying mode. I’m going to inquire more about mere Otakawa."

"Yes," The Matrix nodded as he was taught and melted into a puddle before coming together and forming a brief case.

__________________________________________________________________________

Harry found the land lady heading towards the stairs. Her gun was safely nestled into her pocket and there were a couple of what appeared to be checks in her hand.

"Ah ma’am," Harry held up a finger to get her attention. The land lady paused in her footsteps and pulled out her glasses again.

"Oh it’s you agent Dingo," she said once she got a good look at him. "Do you need any more help with your investigation?"

"You said Tesuro Otakawa is out of town?"

"Hai."

"Did he have a car."

"Hai, a red convertable."

"An a usual parking space?"

"Hai. Follow me." She lead him down stairs and out to the parking lot. Harry rubbed his arms when he felt the first rush of cold air. She pointed at the one in the was in the firth row third column. "He would park there nearly all the time." She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "It would be a shame if he did do something wrong. He was a good tenant. He always paid the rent early."

Dingo thanked her and set down the brief case in the empty space once she had left.

Four long slender pole like objects stuck out from the corners of the case and traveled to where the tires of a car would have tested. They spread out in flat rectangle like bars and rested for a few minutes before retracting back into the poles. Once the poles had fully retracted Dingo picked up the brief case.

____________________________________________________________________________

"Any luck?" Vinnie stuck his head out of the drivers side of the window of the Alliance’s van.

"found some evidence earlier today," Harry said. After they found their most likely lead they went back to headquarters and waited for Yama to wake up before they went on their search.

Matrix melted into a mercury like puddle before it wiggled over to one of the front tires. It rose up and covered the entire wheel: the tire, axle, everything and bonded to it.

Something must have extended from the Matrix underneath the vehicle because a few minutes after bonding with the tire a sliver tendril poked out from under the front bumper and slithered up till it formed a glob. The glob shaped itself into a hand that had all it’s fingers into a fist except for it’s index inch pointed straight ahead.

"I guess I know which way to go," Vinnie said with a shrug.

"Right," Dingo agreed before climbing into the passenger side. He stared into the back where Yama and Vahril were seated. "Yama why don’t you sit up in the front?" He asked while crawling over and making his way to where the rest of the team sat. "You know this terrain better than anyone else."

"I suppose," Yama agreed. once the gargoyle was buckled in Vinnie turned the ignition key.

They drove at a moderate speed with Vinnie slowing down at ever instersection, or when a road appeared from either side to give Matrix enough time to know if Otakawa had made a turn.

"Looks like we our heading out of the city," Vinnie commented.

"Hai," Yama agreed. "It looks like we are going to Ishimura as well."

____________________________________________________________________________

The blanket and pillow were comfortable, but Akima did not want to stay lying down. She wanted to know where she was. Using the toe ends of her feet and her fingers that were closest to the ground she wriggled closer to the nearest wall. When her head came into contact with the far end of the shack she twisted her self around until she had her back against the wall. She planted her feet on the ground and pushed her self up while trying to main tail some sort of grip. She was almost standing straight up when she wiggle waddle just an inch just inch closer to the door. She must have wiggled, or waddled too much because she fell over and landed on her right side. The impact of her fall was so painful that her eyes misted with tears.

____________________________________________________________________________

Sora clasped her hands as she closed her eyes. She had heard that there visitors to the village that had arrive in the same fashion as the large gargoyle called Goliath and his friends had. She did feel the same amount of curiosity as the rest of her rookery siblings, but she still did not want to budge from the room she was in.

She kneeled on the straw mat and she tried to focus her thoughts. Her mind wandered to Yama. She had asked him repeatedly to not join with the group, but he did not listen. She had wondered what he was doing and hoped that he would be fine.

"Sora?" Her eyes lids fluttered open she hear Yama’s voice calling her name.

"Yama san?" She asked. Was she imagining things?

"Sore chan I’m by the window." She wasn’t imagining. It was Yama. she quickly rose to her feet and raced to the window. Her beloved had returned.

"Yama san you have returned," she leaned out the window and reached for him. He stepped closer and so that she could wrap her arms around him in an embrace. "Oh my love I’m glad that you have come to your senses." She let go when she heard him sigh. Pulling back into the building she stared into his eyes, and saw his brow ridge lifted up in concern and faded smile on his face. "You have not fully returned."

"I’m sorry my love," he lowered his head. "But I am here on an assignment. I had to see you again." He saw that she had pulled back inside and turned her back on him.

"Why did you come to see me?" She asked

"Because I love you."

"If you love me then you wouldn’t have joined."

"How could I be a good mate when I have no honor?"

"You have honor. I was disappointed with what you had done, but you made up for it and I both respect and love you." She turned around to face him. "Please come to the village."

"I wish but the group I joined is counting on me. I had made a commitment."

"At least let me help you. Is the task hard?"

"I doubt it," Yama shook his head. "We are searching for a missing woman. She was kidnapped from Akita and we believe she was brought here."

"I’ll do what I can."

___________________________________________________________________________

Mercutio wiped the last bits of rice from his mouth. This island country called Japan had a lot of delicious things to eat. It was a pity he couldn’t try it all. He shifted his focus to the new play that started on stage. By the way the people were laughing he could tell it was a comedy. Some of the slapstick made him smiled and chuckle, but he wish he could have understood what they were all staying so he could understand the jokes.

Cecilia sat next to him but she was not watching the stage. Instead she watched as Kai had started up a new bushido lesson with Fang. She wanted to find what they were supposed to do here and do it so they can get back in the skiff. Each time the mist parted she hoped that they would be in the same place as Gawain. Mercutio wanted to find his rookery brother almost as bad as she did, but couldn’t hope to fall instantly into a mess and instantly solve it. Kai told them that it had been peaceful for a while. There were the occasional visitor, but they soon learned about the relationship between human and gargoyle.

The rustle of leathery wings caused him to stare up at the sky. An orchid female that was their age slowly came in for a landing. Mercutio inched out of the way to give her room. After her high arched feet gripped the ground she folded her wings and turned to face him.

"Gomen," she lowered her eyelids and bowed her head.

"Gomen?" Mercutio asked. The orchid female looked up at him while her eyes widened.

"I am sorry. I didn’t know if you were one of the visitors."

"It is all right," Cecilia told her. "You did not have to apologize." The young female nodded her head at them before she walked up to Fang and Kai. The clan leader paused when he noticed the young female and stepped back.

"Is there something wrong Sora?" The green gargoyle asked her.

"Yama is back in Ishimura and so is the group he had joined," Sora explained. "They are searching for a woman who has been kidnapped."

"They believe this woman was bought over to Ishimura?"

"Hai."

"I want you to tell the clan that I have given them an order to search for any suspicious people and any woman who may be held against her will."

"Hai," she ran off. Kai turned to Fang

"This might be what you were sent here for," the gargoyle said. Fang shrugged.

"Works for me," he turned to where Cecilia and Mercutio were seated. "Hey you two. I just found out what we were sent here for."

"Good, now we can do our assignment," Cecilia said as she rose to her feet and walked over to them. "Why did Avalon send us here?"

"I was just informed that a woman was kidnapped from a nearby city and brought over here," Kai said. "I have already instructed the clan to search for her."

"Is that it?" The gray female asked. Mercutio cocked a brow ridge at her.

"Is that it?" The red gargoyle asked. " You have been complaining about learning about why we were sent here and once we had learned you asked if that was it?"

"Our last mission involved us fighting a human that had been altered by a stone that belonged to one of Oberon’s children. These missions are becoming greater and more difficult."

"At least we are doing something," Fang stretched and yawned. "Hey Kai is okay if we searched with you?"

"Yes you may." The Ishimura clan leader smiled at him.

____________________________________________________________________________

To the eyes of Vinnie the village of Ishimura was lovely to behold. He was glad that he had brought his camera. Ever since he became the director’s errand guy, or the team’s "Bosley" as Dingo called him once, he wanted to create a scrap book of all their adventures. The first picture he took was a display of masks, the second picture was of one of the pagoda’s, the third was of a few of the local gargoyles, and the fourth... Vinnie nearly dropped his camera. That one gargoyle didn’t look like any that he had seen before. For starters its body was covered with fur and it didn’t have a tail. The creature’s head reminded him of a mountain lion. He slowly made his way closer to the creature. When he got a better look he noticed that it had four toes on each foot and five fingers on each hand. Could this have been one of the strange former human creatures that the directior told him about. He remembered his boss talking about winged cat like people called mutates and one would be joining the group. Was this the one? Not wasting any time Vinnie lifted up his camera and focused. He held his breath until he pressed the button and the small flash went off.

Clutching the camera as if it were a bottle filled with nitroglycerin Vinnie raced back to the van. He made his way to the corner where the equipment was stored: a laptop, scanner, printer, and fax machine. Thanks to batteries and satellites he didn’t need any outlets. He opened the back of the camera that stored the already developed Polaroid pictures and pulled them out. Using the laptop and scanner he created a large photo print of the mutate photo before dialing up the number of The Director’s office. He slid the photo print through and pressed the send button. Only a minute passed before Vinnie’s cell phone went off.

"Hello?" Vinnie greeted.

"Good evening Mr. Gregarino," the voice of the director was heard on the other end. "I just received the image you had sent me."

"That’s a mutate right?"

"Yes that is, and according to Sevarius’s notes-" Vinnie cut him off.

""You knew Sevarius? I once worked as security for the guy. He was kind of creepy."

"I just paid him for some of his notes, which according to him the one called Fang would be the best candidate for the team."

"That was Fang in the picture right?"

"Yes, is he in Ishimura?"

"Yeah. Can you believe it?"

___________________________________________________________________________

Scarface finished his sake and paid for his drink. He did not know where Big hands or the boss was. He hoped they would leave this village, it was too laid back for one thing, and for another there were strange creatures with wings and tails walking around. The locals didn’t seem to mind them, so he didn’t. He didn’t want to stick out. Better search for the boss. He didn’t know what else to do in that tiny town. He remembered the boss saying he was going to be in a restaurant, but he didn’t know which one. Well the place was small. He would find out soon.

It didn’t take him too long before he saw his boss exiting one of the buildings followed by Big Hands. With a narrow nose, slightly arched eye brows, perfect teeth and high well defined cheek bones Tesuro was a classic biseinen, or beautiful man. His blue black hair was combed neatly and gelled in place. He wore a cobalt suit with a navy blue tie.

"Ohakawa san," Scarface greeted. "I was looking for you."

"Good thing you found me," Tesuro said. " I was getting ready to leave."

"leave?" Scarface raised his eyebrows questionably. "Why sir?"

"We heard people talking. They know Watanabe is here. Let’s find the car and leave this place."

Both Scarface and Big Hands nodded in agreement before they followed Tesuro through the village. They nearly ran into their boss when he stopped suddenly.

"Nani?" Big Hands asked. "Why did we-" Tesuro cut him off by raising up his hand. Both men looked over his shoulders and stared at where the car was parked. There were people hanging around it, examining it. Well they were not quite people. There was a human who looked like a gajin., one of those winged monsters, a blue woman, and a being made of silver. Tesuro turned on his heels and lead the men in the opposite direction.

"Boss?" Scarface asked. "Where are we going?"

"I saw a bus stop not too far from here. We’ll take the bus back to Akita, pack up, take one o your cars and leave Akita."

___________________________________________________________________________

It was a red convertible , and no one else in town laid claim to it. They found they may have found the right car. Harry watched as Vahril searched the inside. The bulb at the end of her antenna illuminated. He could imagine her specious evolving from a creature that used a lighted lure and when their prey came near they’d whip out the snap crackers

"There are some papers," the alien said while she reached in to the back seat and pulled out a few slips of paper. She shifted her antenna so that she could have enough light to read by, but by the way her eyes were narrowed slightly and eye brows furrowed she was still having difficulties. "I can’t read this language."

"May I see it?" Yama asked. She handed the paper to him. The kanji spelled out what he needed to know. After reading it he looked back at the team. "The people who own this car came from Akita city."

"Now we need to find out where Watanbe is and her kidnappers," Vahril said.

"She might still be in the trunk," Dingo pointed out.

"Wouldn’t we have heard her? The alien asked.

"I don’t think we can afford to take any chances," Dingo shook his head while extracting a Leatherman from his pocket.

"Do you need any assistance?" Matrix offered.

"No I got it." He pushed in the thinnest tool in the kit and gave it a twist. He heard a slight pop, letting him know that the lock had been opened.

Fireworks spilled out and onto the floor the second the door was open.

"It appears she was not in here," Matrix said. "Although I do not know how they could have smuggled her in to town when their trunk is filled with candy."

Dingo broke into chuckles while Yama smiled.

"Those are not candy," Vahril frowned at the mess. She bent down and pulled up what resembled a thick long bandoleer coated in a red paper like material. "Those are firecrackers."

"Hai," Yanma agreed. "And fire works. They look like they kind we use for the upcoming holiday." He looked up at Dingo. "You might not believe it but we do celebrate Christmas here in Japan."

"I believe it," Dingo smiled slightly. "But why would anyone load their trunk with them?"

"We usually keep ours in a storage shed," Yama shrugged before his eyes winded with a realization. "Come with me." The dun gray gargoyle walked off . Dingo and the others glanced at each other before following him.

__________________________________________________________________________

Fang glided next to Kai with Cecilia and Mercutio gliding behind them. The mutate did not know what he was looking for. Cecilia gave a good suggestion on searching the ends of the city for anything suspicious.

"Do the buses run at this hour?" Fang asked when he noticed the trio of men sitting on the bench at the small station.

"Busses from both Akita city and Ogata pass through here at all times," Kai explained. He noticed what Fang was looking at. "I don’t reconize those people though." He shifted his wings so that he could make his decent. Fang, Cecilia and Mercutio followed his decent.

The human men jumped to their feet the second Kai had landed.

"What the hell?" The one with scars on his face asked. "What is going on."

"It’s one of those village creatures," the man with the large hands pointed at him.

Kai held up his talons in defense.

"Please friend," he said while folding his wings. "We wish not to harm you."

The one in the suit blinked at his words. He turned around when he heard the others land. Breathing deeply he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. as soon as it was aimed at Kai Fang sent an electric bolt at the gun, causing it to become burning hot. The man in the business suit dropped it.

"Didn’t you hear?" the mutate asked. "We don’t want to hurt you." He approached the man. "But you are acting suspicious." He reached out and grabbed him. Both his friends went for him but Cecilia raced forward and grabbed the scarred man and Mercutio pounced on the other man.

"What is this meaning of this?" Kai asked while Fang maintained a decent grip on the young man.

"Seeing if he is carrying anything that might make him a suspect." Fang explained while reaching into the man’s pockets. Both Avalonians were doing something simular.

"I got something," Mercutio said when he removed a slip of paper out of his pocket and stared at it. "Except I can’t read it." The red gargoyle blinked. "It doesn’t even look like words."

"May I see it?" Kai asked. The Ishimura clan leader approached Mercutio with his outstretched talons. The web wing handed him the paper. "It’s a dry cleaning reciept." Kai’s eyes narrowed. "From Akita City."

"I am a business man from Akita City," the man Fang held said. "I came to Ishimura to visit my aunt."

"What is your aunt’s name?"

"Hana Watase."

"There is no one in Ishimura by that name." Kai grabbed the man Mercutio was trying to hold on to and hefted him up. While holding him in his arms he turned around to face Fang and Cecilia. "They may not be guilty but they are very suspicious. Our police station is small but it can hold them."

____________________________________________________________________________

Hichiro Kininoto stared at the shiny brass padlock that was placed on the shed .

"That isn’t supposed to be there," he said while fingering the lock. "This isn’t the one that we had put on it."

"That is it on the ground," Yama bent down and picked up a smaller faded lock that had flecks of rust coating it. "We could have used a new lock though." He fingred the curved of the lock and noticed the gap with jagged edges. "Someone cut this off." He held it out for everyone to see.

"That means the key that I have won’t fit this lock," Hichiro shook his head sadly.

"Do not worry," Yama placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dingo can open it."

"Good ole Leatherman," the Australian shifted the kit until he brought out the same tool as before and stuck it into the lock. Only a minute had passed before the curved arm of the lock detached from the body. Harry swung the curve before slipping the lock from the door to the shed. "I think you should be the one to open the door." He said to Hichoro.

The resident human nodded and waited for Harry to step back before he pulled back the door. The teary eyes of a young woman stared back at him. Her wrists were bound behind her back. More of the same kind of rope wrapped around her ankles. A bright red scarf was across her mouth.

"Akima Watanabe?" Hichiro asked. The woman blinked back a few tears before nodding. "We are going to get you out of here, but I want you to try not to scream." He untied the scarf and pulled it from her face.

"I want to go home," she managed to choke out.

"We’ll call your family and the Akita city police in the morning. I think it would be best if you stayed at our inn. You can have a nice bath or shower and a warm meal." Hichiro bent down to untie the rope from around her ankles.

Akima stared past him. She noticed the gajin giving her a reassuring smile. She wanted to smile back but her eyes noticed the others. There was a sliver man like being, a winged creature with horns and a tail, and a blue creature with white braids and a long antenna that glowed at the end. She let out a gasp.

"Don’t be afraid," Hichiro told her. "They are the ones who brought the whole village together to search for you." He removed the rope and instructed the woman to turn around so he could remove the bindings from around her wrists.

____________________________________________________________________________

Vinnie was waiting for them at the police station.

"Great you found her," the human from New York smiled at them. "The clan leader and a few others have already brought in Tesuro."

Dingo turned to Akima. "Do you think you can see him?" The woman stared at him blankly until Hichiro repeated his words in Japanese. She nodded and said something.

"She said she is able," Hichiro translated back. "She wants to make sure he is put away."

"The humans will keep Tesuro here overnight," Yama explained. "They will alert the Akita City police in the morning."

"Guess what guys," Vinnie grinned again. "The fifth member is here."

"Inside?" Vahril asked. Vinnie nodded.

Inside the station Tesuro and his lackeys were seated in wooden chairs with their hands in cuffs. Surrounding them were the small group of the village’s only cops, Kai, two other gargoyles and gargoyle like creature.

"Those two have the appearance of the same type of gargoyle that Goliath is," Matrix nodded at Cecilia and Mercutio. The gray female turned to him. She blinked at the sight of his being.

"You have met Goliath?" She asked warily as if she was not sure she was seeing what she was seeing..

"Only once," Matrix said.

"One of these three will be joining us?" Vahril asked Vinnie.

"The mutate," Vinnie said while pointing at Fang.

Fang gave him a quizzical look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"My boss said that he paid Sevarius for information about you," The human from New York ran his hand through his hair. "The scientist said of all four mutates you were the best candidate for the redemption squad."

"And that would be?" Fang made his index talons move like windshield wipers.

"Us," Yama stepped forward. "We have all done something bad in the past that we want to atone. We all want our honor to be restored."

"You are trying to redeem yourself," Cecilia stared up at Fang.

"But I’m with you guys." The cougar mutate said. " I plan to finish the quest with you, tell Gaiwan the truth and convince Winter to leave Thailog and maybe settle in with the labyrinth clan." He turned to stare at the redemption squad. "I’m not going to shift gears and join this gargoyle-" he pointed at Yama. "This guy," he pointed at Dingo. "Silver Surfer and Blue Beauty."

Dingo didn’t like this winged cat’s attitude. He turned to stare at his team mates. Yama didn’t seem to mind being refereed to as "This gargoyle" and as usual Matrix did not show any emotions. Vahril did form a faint smile and her cheeks took on a bluish purple blush. He glanced back to see the female gargoyle take Fang’s hand into hers.

"Maybe this is the main reason why Avalon sent us here," Cecilia stared into his eyes. "The skiff might not move if your on it."

Fang stared back at her desperate look and sighed.

"I don’t want to keep you from finding Gawain, but-" he lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "I need to be with Winter. I have to find her before she goes into labor." He turned around when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It belonged to Yama.

"We will find your mate," the gargoyle told him.

"We don’t bite," Harry said. "Besides Vinnie here needs another American to talk to."

Fang turned to the man in the gray jacket. "You’re from New York right?" He waited for Vinnie to nod. "Yankees or Mets?"

"Yankees," Vinnie said. Fang smiled.

"I can’t stand the Mets. I’m in."

____________________________________________________________________________

Cecilia set down the third six pack of the beverage called Ramune into the area where the supplies were. She turned back to Kai who handed her several long boxes that contained a food item called Pocky.

"I don’t know how to thank you for the supplies," Cecilia said to the clan leader.

"You don’t have to," Kai told her. "I want to make sure you have plenty of non perishable food items for your journey." She thanked him again before turning to Fang. The rest of the Redemption squad stood behind him.

"I wish you good luck on your new missions," She reached up to hug him. "I hope you find your family soon."

"God I suck at these good-byes," Fang whispered. He pulled back before giving her a smile. "You promise me to keep this joker out of trouble." He pointed at Mercutio.

"Hey," The web wing crossed his arms. "What was that?"

"I want you to promise not to eat everything," Fang made his voice loud enough for him to hear.

Cecilia chuckled. "Don’t worry I’ll keep on eye on him." She gave Fang another hug before she followed Mercutio into the boat. She turned back and smiled once more at the mutate before she took one of the oars and paddled the skiff away from the bank.

Fang kept staring at the skiff and waved at his friends until they faded from sight. With a deep sigh he turned around to face his new team mates.