Title: Kipnapped
Rating: K+
Main Pairing: Adam/Mel
Point of View: Third Person- omniscient
Special Note: Remember that Adam was in Kid Cole's gang for a while. He would have known all of the members by name, let alone face.
Author's Note: Think the attack Snare used on Kara in "Snared"

In retrospect, it would have been smarter for the Defenders to keep Mel's being a Wizard of Yan a secret. As there were reportedly none left in the realm but her, her fame and reputed talents were spread across the provinces like wildfire. The positive side was cheerful dependence and the villagers would celebrate at the mere sight of her. She was warmly welcomed everywhere and thanked time and time again for her help. The negative side… well, that was another matter entirely.

It happened on a beautiful spring afternoon while the others were having a practice tag-team battle in the courtyard. Mel was in the library as she tended to be in her free time. She had numerous books laid out in front of her as she translated a new text she had bought the previous week. Every now and then she would break from her work to check on the progress of the battle outside. It was Seth and Rion versus Erik and Adam, and the two sides seemed to be evenly matched.

Suddenly the dojo's sensors went wild, the alarm screaming and lights flailing. Mel jumped to her feet, dashing to the window to see what the commotion was about and to make sure everyone was alright. The four other Defenders were standing safe and sound, albeit perplexed, as Erik tapped into the security system on his gauntlet. They spotted Mel and yelled something to her, but she couldn't hear with the alarm blaring in her ears.

The boys, meanwhile, were frantic.

Erik analyzed the security monitor projected from his gauntlet. "Guys, we have to do something, fast! The intruder is heading toward the library!"

"We'll never make it in time!" Rion yelled.

"Erik, shut off the alarm!" Seth shouted. "Mel can't hear us!"

"I'm trying!"

"One of us has to go help her!" Adam cried. "She has no idea the intruder is headed her way!"

Seth frowned. "There's not enough time! Whoever set off the sensors will make it to her before we do. We'll just have to provide cover fire from down here!"

"I can make it!" Adam yelled, pulling out his Di-Gata stones. "Assassin!" His henge formed properly and emitted a blue-ish, white bolt of lightning that encircled Adam and made him disappear. He reappeared by the dojo entrance. "You guys be ready to cast through the windows if something goes wrong!"

"Adam!" Seth called after him, but the thief had disappeared.

Dashing through the corridors and up the stairs, Adam ran through the dojo at breakneck speeds until he arrived at the library. He burst through the door, drawing his stones in preparation to attack. However, the library was quiet and Mel stood by the window unharmed.

"Mel!" Adam greeted, relieved to see her safe. He lowered his guard and approached her. "There's an intruder in the dojo. He's headed here; we gotta go regroup with the others."

She remained silent, staring out the window.

"Hey, Mel? Let's go. We have to get out of here."

She still didn't move. Adam grew concerned. "Mel, come on. We've gotta- Mel?" Her eyes were closed. He checked pulse and breathing frantically. She was still alive, thank RaDos, but her breath was deep and even. She was asleep on her feet.

"What the-?"

Suddenly Adam was thrown back, a stinging in his chest as he hit the wall and fell to the floor. He groaned, slowly attempting to rise from the ground, his muscles aching. He saw the air flicker around Mel, indicating something he knew so well. The intruder was wearing a thief's cloak.

"A Rogueon, huh?" Adam snarled. He stood despite his soreness and bared his stones. "I know how to handle you. Power of the Guild!"

His energy net soared a few feet from Mel, training on the invisible interloper. There was a flash from midair and the net swerved, ensnaring Mel. She still remained upright, held up by the unseen bandit.

Adam frowned. "Yin-winder? But that's…"

The intruder lowered his hood. Adam recognized the face, but he wasn't a Rogueon.

The alarms shut off. Seth's voice yelled in from the window. "Adam! What's going on?"

"Seth!" Adam shouted back. "We got trouble! The intruder is- ah!" An attack hit him in the back, knocking him to the floor once again. His eyes blurred, things coming in and out of focus. He made out the man's smirk as he pulled his hood back on and wrapped his cloak around Mel. The last thing he saw was the two of them vanishing into thin air.

Mel woke up with a splitting head ache and sore wrists.

It was night. The sun had gone and the only illumination came from the fire crackling a few feet away. Shadows moved about the trees in the clearing and voices whispered in the wind.

Mel tried to stand but found her wrists tied behind her back around a tree. The last thing she remembered was breathing in something foul after the alarm went off in the dojo.

Footprints appeared in the dirt. They moved toward her, but there was no one to make them.

The air rippled in front of Mel to reveal a face she had hoped to never see again. "Kid Cole," she sneered.

He smirked confidently down at her. "Melosa. So kind of you to visit. Are you comfortable?"

"No," she spat.

"That's too bad," he said with mock sympathy. "We worked so hard to make you feel at home, didn't we boys?"

There was a collection of malevolent laughter from around the clearing. One by one Cole's men removed the hoods from the thief's cloaks they were apparently wearing and appeared, chuckling at Mel's misfortune.

"What do you want with me?" Mel scowled.

"You're going to be of value to us. Being the only Wizard of Yan left in RaDos, you are priceless. No one would dare cross us if we had access to you. They'd be too scared we would harm you or worse. Poor, sweet, naïve saps."

"So I'm insurance?" Mel hissed, infuriated.

"You shouldn't belittle yourself, Melosa. You're also bait. I've had spies prowling your dojo, and they assure me that you're very precious to two certain Defenders that I want revenge on."

"I won't go along with your plans."

"You don't have a choice."

Mel scoffed. "You think you can keep me tied up? I'm a Wizard of Yan!"

"Yes you are, but those chains securing you to the tree are made of dakocite. I'm sure a smart girl like you knows of dakocite's absorbing qualities. And I'm willing to bet it'll nullify your Wizard powers." Mel's heart sank. Cole knelt beside her, taking her chin. "Aw, don't look so sad! At least I'm here to keep you company."

She kicked him in the shin.

Cursing, he got to his feet and grabbed a fistful of her hair. He yanked and forced her to look into his wicked eyes. "I don't mind if you get feisty. I'm sure it would kill those two even more to see you beaten and bruised."

And with that, Cole let her go. He and his mean disappeared into their cloaks, leaving Mel alone in a crowd of criminals.

It had to have been around midnight when she heard it. At first she thought it had been her sleep deprived mind imagining things, but she heard it again. Two sharp chirps. One high followed by a low. To the uneducated mind the sound could have been dismissed as a bird, but Mel knew better.

It made sense that they would be in the woods. Judging from the type of foliage and sigil markings around the area, Mel figured Cole had camped right in the middle of their territory. Probably without even realizing it.

The pitches were distant; most likely some comrades signaling each other for a night raid. Mel weighed her options and decided that anyone was better than Cole and his men. Puckering her lips, she blew out two notes and waited. The silence seemed to bear down on her until finally she got a reply.

And then the real waiting began. With every hour that ticked by with no sign of rescue, Mel's anxiety grew. She tried whistling again and was only met with far off responses every once in a while. The suns were rising and she could feel Cole's men beginning to stir. Time was running out.

Kid Cole appeared in front of her. "Seems like your friends didn't come during the night. What a shame."

"They'll find us," Mel growled. "And when they do, you won't stand a chance!"

He got right up in her face. Mel grimaced as his stale breath assaulted her. "Not when I have you under my arm." He stood straight and addressed his gang. "Men!" Hoods were removed and a half a dozen bandits materialized. "We break camp and head for Arboth. Once they surrender to us, we'll spread across the realm! As for the Defenders, it's only a matter of time before they catch up to us, in which case we will exact revenge!"

The group cheered and Cole barked orders, "You three, gather the provisions, you two pack up the sleeping bags, you put out the fire, you-" a band of ribbons appeared from nowhere and ensnared Cole, wrapping around his body and effectively shutting him up (see Author's Note above). The other bandits searched the trees frantically for the source, but were simply taken out one by one by the same method.

A man jumped from a tree and landed next to Mel, who had been watching the scene with confusion as well as delight. His hair was styled in a Mohawk and he wore traditional Rogueon clothing, minus the thief's cloak. "Sorry about taking so long, Miss," he said, brandishing his Di-Gata stones to break the chains tying her. "We had to wait until everyone was visible."

"I'm just glad you came," Mel said, rubbing at her wrists as she stood. "I was worried no one would show."

Four other Rogueon leapt into the clearing. They went to secure Cole and his men while the leader continued to speak to Mel. "We were indeed perplexed that a Di-Gata Defender would call for us thieves, but when we found that it was this band of thugs that had captured you, we were more than happy to be of assistance. A week ago they had snuck into one of our camps and made off with our cloaks. Needless to say we wanted them back."

"I see."

"We also sent for Adam as soon as we saw your predicament. He should be here soon."

Mel raised an eyebrow. "You're in touch with Adam?"

"Yes. While we are aware of his current position with the Defenders, he and my team are on good terms. I figured he'd want to know of your whereabouts, and contacted him for old time's sake." Two whistles resonated nearby. The Rogueon replied. "That'll be him, I imagine."

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Adam burst through the brush. He spotted Mel and threw his arms around her, relief and happiness coursing through him. "Mel! Thank RaDos you're okay! I was so worried! When I saw you in the library, it was like you were a zombie. I had no idea what Cole's goon had done to you and he even managed to steal you away. I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything!"

"It's okay, Adam," Mel said, clutching him to her in a tight embrace.

He took a second just to feel her, to know that she was real. Then he pulled back to look her over. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Just my wrists. They're a little sore from being chained all night."

Adam's face morphed into pure rage. He whirled upon the hog-tied bandits, snarling. "Which one is Cole? I swear, I'll kill him!"

"You're free to take a crack at him once we're through," the Rogueon said. "Though after doing something like stealing our cloaks, there might not be much left."

"There'd be nothing left if I had my way," Adam scowled. He took a few deep breaths to settle down. He was being too drastic. Mel hated that. "Hand them in to the Gatashin prison once you're done roughing them up."

"Our pleasure."

Adam returned to Mel. "We should be heading back. The others are worried." He acknowledged the Rogueon. "Thanks for everything."

He gave Adam a nod of recognition and went to join his subordinates.

Adam took Mel's hand, mindful of her wrists and led her through the woods. His grip was firm, as if he was afraid she would be ripped from him. He had been horrified and heartbroken when he had awoken in the library to find Mel's kidnapper had succeeded. The entire day, and even through the night, he blamed himself for letting him get away. Had it not been for the Rogueon, Cole could have gotten away with his plans and he would have never seen Mel again.

He wouldn't let it happen again. At the cost of his life, he would protect Mel. He was never going to lose her again.