Note1: Ok this is my 5th fanfiction. Hopefully I'm getting better. This story is one of the few I'm going to have with group action scenes involving more then 4 gargs and or people/fey at a time. I'm not particularly adept at writing those , preferring to take two or three characters at a time and explore them. So....this will pretty much be a rare occurrence in my fanfic world.

Note2: Many and many and many thanks to my editors, for fixing grammatical errors; pointing out plot tangles and inconsistencies and just generally turning my garbled 27 page long single run on sentence into a story. Couldn't do it without them. <on second thought they might _not_ want to be associated with this....::grins::> Anyway, Thank You!! Thank you, thank you , thank you! Also thanks for the fans that continue to post , read , and write Gargoyle stories...otherwise I probably wouldn't have been inspired to write my own.

Note3: Due to technical difficulties {i.e. the period in which I went without a brain} there were some minor inconsistencies between part 2 and part 3 therefore, I rewrote part 2. ::sigh:: I didn't change much... more like modified some areas and added more descriptions. Please reread Part 2 before continuing. It's not _absolutely_ necessary but... it'll explain things better. Anyway, here's part 3, finally. Hope you enjoy. And hey... if you _don't_ give me at least a three, *lowers voice ominously* I'll hunt you down like the dogs you are and tear out your livers. Have a nice day *throws head back and laughs madly* MWAAAAHaaaaaha. ::grins:: Kidding, just kidding. Really...Don't look at me like that. *flashes hand* Read on.

**********

Puck: "The only thing we _can_ do... find the seer" ~~ Seek and Ye shall find: Part 2

Demona: "Spontaneous Elimination.Has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" ~~ SYF:2

**********

~~So this is how it ends.~~ Brooklyn thought to himself ~~After all we've been through the past few years , killed over a misunderstanding.~~

~~Well that's what you get for rushing into things Brookie,~~ his mind sneered. ~~Just say something you stupid fool. Anything... no, wait, stop, I'm sorry. Anything. Damn you, talk!~~

"1......." as he felt the dagger dig deeper into his flesh ,he began to wonder stupid inconsequential things like what the owner of it would do with his cadaver.

"2........" He mentally gave himself a shake and thought, ~~ Say something stupid !!~~ But as hard as he tried nothing came out , if he lived through this he'd probably find this funny later. Much later. Much Much Much later.

"3......" Or maybe not.

" Let him go!!" He heard Lexington shout from somewhere close by. Good ole' Lex.... always dependable Lexington. Thank You!!

**********

Lexington saw Brooklyn suddenly go into a dive. ~~What's he doing?~~ he thought. "Brooklyn, what are you doing?" he called out to him. Brooklyn didn't answer, just screamed his battle cry.

Lex sighed heavily. If Brooklyn saw something, he should have told him. Lexington hovered in the air watching as Brooklyn launched himself into attacking a red-headed female. Even from this distance, he could tell it wasn't Demona; obviously, Brooklyn thought it was. But the build was all wrong.

"Wait Brooklyn!" he started to call, when he saw another gargress jump his rookery sibling from behind. Yanking him off the girl, she threw him into the opposite wall. Brooklyn hit the wall hard mid-way up and slid limply down to the ground. The girl dropped to all fours and rushed him, grabbing him by his hair and yanking him to his feet viscously. Apparently, she didn't believe in giving her foe a moment to compose himself. Lexington's eyes began to glow white hot, that was all he needed to see. Brooklyn was in trouble. He dropped his arms to his sides, folding his web-like wings, and fell headfirst into a dive. "Let him go!" he shouted, landing on the roof. He failed to see the other gargoyles until he already landed and by then there was nothing he could do about it.

**********

The other gargoyles closed in on him. Lexington was roughly grabbed by one of the males, who pinned his arms behind his back. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm; it was best to do that in these sort of situations. "Wait a minute. We're not going to hurt you"

"Hmph. No shit," one of the other females said.

"He just...." Lexington faltered, drawing in his breath sharply. The male behind him had shifted his position and painfully pulled his arms and wings further behind his back, twisting them. He drew in another deep breath and started again. "We're sorry. This is all a big mistake. Let him go? We're not going to try anything. And even if we did, you have us outnumbered." No one said anything. Lex continued talking.

"Please, we have enough problems as it is. As gargoyles, I'm sure you do too. We just thought you were someone else. An enemy. We didn't mean any harm, really."

"Really?" another female asked. It seemed a sincere question.

He looked around at her. "Really," he replied.

She looked up at his captor. "I believe him, Michael."

The gargoyle behind him sighed. "All right then.".

With that, the pair of arms holding him released. "And how about you?" the male nodded towards Brooklyn. "Not going to try anything funny?" he asked skeptically.

Brooklyn slowly shook his head, trying to move it as little as possible. The blade of the dagger was pushed firmly into his neck, already drawing a thin line of blood. If he moved his head too hard either left or right, the only thing he'd succeed in doing would be cutting his own throat.

He stared at the girl in front of him. Her eyes were no longer glowing and she seemed to be contemplating just what to do with him. "Maybe you should let him go. If it was a mistake he'll be able to better explain himself without you tearing his throat out," he heard Michael say.

The male sounded vaguely detached, as if this sort of thing happened all the time. The girl continued to look at him, her eyes locked on his. She was a cinnamon female with jet black hair, feminine bovine horns, and a statuesque figure. She was about Angela's height (maybe a little taller), with a similar wing structure. And _gorgeous_ brown eyes that seemed to reach into your soul.

She snorted and turned away from him, letting him drop. Brooklyn slid down the wall to his knees, gasping for air and holding his throat. Lex rushed over to him, looking concerned.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Brooklyn nodded his head weakly, "Yeah I'm fine.... Never been better."

The girl slipped her dagger into a sheath strapped far up on her right thigh. Her dress came down to slightly above her knees and with the dress on you couldn't tell she was carrying a weapon. It was probably intentional. Not that she'd need an additional weapon with the average person.

Lexington knelt next to Brooklyn and helped him sit up. The initial crash into the brick wall seemed to have left his rookery brother weak and slightly confused. He hoped it wouldn't last long. He looked around. Six gargoyles surrounded them; four females and two males.

The red-haired girl Brooklyn had mistaken for Demona swaggered over to them, hands on hips. She grinned slyly down at Brooklyn. "I'm Clarity. You're not planning on attacking me again, are ya?" She asked , raising an eye-ridge.

Brooklyn turned a deeper shade of red. "No ma'am. I'm very sorry about that. I thought you were De... well someone else." He smiled back sheepishly. They seemed more or less satisfied with that answer.

She laughed, eyes twinkling. "Good" She reached out, grabbed his hand, and helped him up. "We need all the friends we can get." Clarity's skin tone was a light blue, much like Demona's, although she lacked Demona's aqua green highlights. She had an innocent cherubic face which gave her an appearance of being younger than she acted. Two horns extended from her temples and met the sides of her face just above her ears in fish-like fins. Her wings were small, delicately bat-shaped. Thin, well-toned body, and small mouth fixed into a permanent friendly smirk. All in all, she was pleasing to look at.

A dark, navy blue male walked over to them. Brooklyn recognized him as Lexington's former captor. "Nice to finally meet some more fellas. I'm sick of all these women," he said, extending his arm to Brooklyn and Lexington. Michael stood a few inches taller than Brooklyn, with dark brown hair and light violet/purple eyes. His horns began where human eyebrows were placed, and extended across to his temples. They descended in height from one large horn on either side, two smaller ones besides those and three smaller one in the middle. It somewhat resembled a smaller version of a gazelle's antlers. His wings were attached to his shoulder blades, black on the outside and a slightly lighter blue than his skin color on the inside and had one hook-finger extending from the main joint instead of three smaller talons. He seemed like the free spirited, laid-back type; Brooklyn had a feeling he was going to like him. Michael was broad-chested and well muscled but not to the disproportionate look of a professional body builder. "And this bloke is Cordaine," he said in a fake British accent, pointing to a grey beaked male.

Cordaine nodded at them, "You can call me Cordy, everyone does." 'Cordy' resembled a duck-billed dinosaur in physique, with a wide, somewhat flattened jawline and horns that arose into a large crest on his forehead. His wings were quite large, extending from his shoulders. They were covered in light silver feathers on the back and were ridged with these same feathers about an inch into the inside membrane before it turned into regular leatherly gargoyle wing material. He also was muscular but more wiry than Michael.

"I'm Hana." She was a lavender-colored female, approximately 5'10", with brownish/black hair with natural light green streaks. Hana's horns were four medium- sized bumps positioned in almost a cornet above her eyes. Her wings also bat-like and attached to her back. She had a figure that was neither thin nor overweight, but had a certain sturdy quality to it. Shapely with also well defined muscles.

"And I'm Melody." Melody was a smaller (maybe 5'6") orangish-red female. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a bun and away from her face exposing horns arranged in a triple brow ridge. They resembled the facial structures of the Klingons from Star Trek. "Hi." She smiled shyly at the pair.

Lex grinned back. "Hi!" She was the one who told Michael to let him go. They all carried some sort of weapon, mostly daggers or swords decorated with designs neither Brooklyn nor Lexington had ever seen before. Even their clothing was foreign.

The males wore a long open vest-like shirt that stretched down to their waists and had slits sewn into the back for their wings. It was made of a type of material that seemed to be a cross between cotton, rayon, and a heavy wool. Finely detailed foreign lettering embroidered the edges. Their loin cloths were made of this same material and were modernized. Their belts had outlines marking inner compartments and carried sheaths or holsters, depending on the individual gargoyle's weapons. The females wore a dress version of the males' outfits, simple and efficiently made. Their dresses were each different colors; brown, a dark green, night-sky blue/black, and urban camouflage. Long enough for them to be modestly dressed, but short and loose enough to allow a full range of movement. Clarity was the exception, she wore a tight spandex legging bottom and halter top combo. How in the world she could get it on was a mystery to both gargoyles. She also carried a weapon... unlike the rest, hers was a modern laser gun.

Brooklyn looked them all over once again and mentally checked off their names. Clarity, Melody, Hana, Michael, Cordaine, and.... And then there was the girl with the dagger, although she didn't seem like she was too willing to offer her name. Brooklyn stepped closer to her. "I didn't catch your name."

She looked at him, the vague impression of a smile playing on her lips. "I never threw it." There was a slight accent to her voice. British maybe, but somehow distorted. Not exactly British; it could be that she came from a place that was colonized by Britain.

He absently ran a hand through his hair. "Ok," he answered slowly. "Well, I'm Brooklyn and this is Lexington." He turned towards Lex and was surprised to find him standing by his side. "Lex for short."

She didn't answer. Michael rolled his eyes heavenward and clapped Brooklyn on his back, perhaps a bit harder than necessary. "Ignore her. She's paranoid. She thinks everyone we meet is planning our destruction." He said it a little bit more sarcastically than he intended. It seemed Michael was trying to add more humor to the words than was coming out. Now that he thought about it, Brooklyn realized all of them seemed to be acting like... well... they were acting. They all looked like they were extremely tense and were trying to be loose. They seemed friendly enough but... on guard. All of them were young, probably around his age, some a little younger than others. He wondered what they were doing here.

The anonymous gargoyle ignored Michael's comment, her face an unreadable mask except for the subconscious tightening of her jaw muscles. "I'm Mariel. I suppose we'll find out if it's nice to meet you soon enough."

Brooklyn thought about that one for a moment. "So what are you guys doing in New York?"

"Two guys and four girls, actually," Hana corrected him.

"We could ask you the same question," Cordy said.

"Want to trade notes?" Clarity asked. "It's not every night we meet other gargoyles in the 'Big City'."

"It's not very often we meet other gargoyles period," Lex said. "How long have you been here?"

"Just arrived a week ago," Melody answered.

"From where?"

"Somehow we seem to be the ones doing all the answering. How about you tell us why you're here," Mariel said, stating it rather than asking.

"Yeah, sure. We _live_ here."

Clarity looked alternately from Lexington to Brooklyn and back again. "I know you!" she cried enthusiastically. "You're the gargoyles that were on the news a few nights ago. I should have guessed."

"Yeah that'd be us," Lex nodded. He turned to Brooklyn. "Let's call Goliath, this qualifies as something."

"Who's Goliath?" Melody asked

"Our clan leader. I'd like you gu.....all to meet him and the rest of our clan. Like you said, it's not every night you meet other gargoyles in the Big City." They all turned around and looked at Mariel. Apparently, she was the leader of this little operation. Brooklyn was shocked; she was the one who did the least talking. She didn't say anything right away. "Come back here tomorrow night as soon as the sun sets. Alone. Just you two. We'll have our decision then," she responded looking down at the city below.

"Fine, tomorrow night then," Brooklyn replied.

She looked up and met his eyes. "Tomorrow night." The sky was already brightening. "Let's go." She dived off the roof, wings still folded. A split second later she threw them open and glided off.

Clarity laughed. "Show off. See you tomorrow, then." She leapt off and was gone.

Cordaine was right behind her. "Bye," he yelled behind him. Melody waved and jumped off after them. Both Cordaine and Melody opened their wings before leaping from the building, in the normal way. Hana left a split second later.

Michael sighed. "Don't take her too seriously. She's a lot more likable once you get to know her. See you on the 'morrow." They stood there and watched until the new gargoyles were no longer visible.

"We probably should get going too, Lex."

"Yeah, lets go."

"Goliath's gonna freak when he finds out how we met them."

"Absolutely."

"Maybe we should keep that to ourselves."

Lexington turned around to look at him and grinned. "You mean you want me to cover for you."

Brooklyn grinned back slyly. "Not cover exactly, just... you know, don't say I introduced us by attacking one of them... and nearly got my head cut off. We're both fine. Why give him something else to worry about? Besides do _you_ want to sit through another of Hudson's lectures on the 'tactical errors of 20th century youth?'"

Lexington chuckled, "You've got a point."

"Of course I do. So.....?"

His brow furrowed up as he thought. "Well... I suppose we don't _have_ to say anything about that. You know; if Goliath doesn't ask, it's not like we're lying."

"Right. My thoughts exactly Lex."

"So do we call in or do we just go back?"

Brooklyn looked down at his waist band where he had kept the radio transceiver. It was now a metallic mess with torn bits of wire thrown in on the side for good measure. He pulled it out and examined it. "Well, mine's broken. How about yours?"

"Lost it."

"I guess that answers your question. We just go home." Without further ado, they launched themselves into the air and headed back to the castle.

1 hour later

"How many of them were there again?" Broadway asked for the tenth time that night.

"Six... 2 males and 4 females."

"How old were they?"

"How am I supposed to know? I didn't ask them how old they were," Brooklyn responded, trying to act nonchalant.

"I guess they were around our age," Lex said. "They were all very nice."

"Hudson, when did Goliath say he was coming back?" Brooklyn broke in. He was just as excited about the prospect of new gargoyles as the rest of them, but when Goliath wasn't there, he had to be leader.

"He said he was going to meet Elisa an' be back before sunrise," Hudson said, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Brooklyn looked over at him, concerned. "What do you think he'll say?"

"Aboout what, lad?"

"You know, about us meeting them tomorrow night."

Hudson shook his head, "I don't know."

"So, what did they say?" Angela asked excitedly

"Just that they've been here for a week, they saw us on TV and to meet them tomorrow, just me and Brooklyn."

"Nothing else?"

"Nope, just that."

"Did they say if they had a little lass with them?" Hudson asked thoughtfully.

Lex snapped his fingers. "You know, we never even asked! They might be the ones we're looking for."

"Aye lad, that's what I was thinking."

"They can't be," Brooklyn said, "what're the odds?"

"Stranger things have happened... and with this lady Fate in on it, it might just be our lucky day," Hudson replied

"Lady luck strikes again?" Broadway asked, grinning. They were interrupted by the sound of swooping wings and a thump landing on the balcony.

"Father's back," Angela said. They all sat there for a split second and then made a mad dash to the door.

Hudson was the only one keeping his composure. He hung back, shaking his head amusedly, "Youth."

They all crowded around Goliath like hatchlings let loose in a free-for-all, come-one-come-all candy store and began talking at once. Half of what they were saying was lost in the confusion and only a few words were anywhere near recognizable.

"Goliath you'll never believe... happen...."

"Gargoyles."

"In the city."

"Isn't this...."

"Finally so...."

"Lexin..... "

"found ...."

"Meet .......castle.... ight...."

"......maybe...."

"Wait a minute. What are you talking about?" Goliath asked, his voice lost amidst the din. "Wait. QUIET!" he bellowed. They all shut their mouths with an audible snap. "Now," he began more calmly. "Tell me what this is all about." He crossed his arms in front of him and looked at them sternly. "Well?"

Brooklyn cleared his throat. "Tonight we met some new gargoyles. Two males and four females. We didn't really get to talk but they don't seem psychotic. They want us to meet them tomorrow night. Just me and Lex. They said they'd decide if they wanted to meet the rest of the clan by then."

Goliath sighed. This on top of everything else? He wasn't sure if new gargoyles turning up was a good thing or not. All he knew was that he wished they had waited for a more convenient time to appear. After they had solved this Demona fiasco, for example.

A sudden thought occurred to Goliath. "Did they say if they were traveling with a child?"

"No... I forgot to ask."

"Yeah, he was _held up_ at the moment," Lex muttered under his breath. He broke out into silent giggles and had to turn his head away.

"So do we go?"

"They might be the ones we're looking for," Goliath replied, talking more to himself than to the others.

"So we do?"

"....Yes...." Goliath answered slowly, "but not alone."

"But Goliath, they said...."

"Not alone," he repeated in a tone that suggested no further discussion.

Brooklyn sighed, "Fine."

"We'll discuss the details tomorrow night." And with that, they each jumped to their perches, awaiting the morning sun.

**************

Elisa lay passed out on her bed. Immediately after Goliath dropped her off she slid into bed, not intending to awaken until that night. She was always a night owl by nature. Her mom once complained to her that when she was little Elisa always seemed to perk up and get lively right when she should be going to sleep. She felt something furry tickle her face, accompanied by a heavy weight pressing on her chest. Elisa groggily opened one eye to see her cat Cagney sitting on her and gazing down. "Eww, cat. Get off, you know better," she scolded. She gently removed him and rolled over pulling the pillow over her head.

Brrrrrrrrrrrring Brrrrrrrringg Briingggggg.

Elisa groaned. "Go away," she mumbled clutching her pillow a little tighter.

Brrrrrrrrrrrring Brrrrrrrring Brrrrrrrrrrring

She flapped her hand absently searching for the phone. Brrrrrr-. "Hello?"

"Elisa, it's me Matt. Did I wake you?"

"It's ok," she answered, her words slurred. "Yes?"

"We sort of have a little problem down here at the station."

"I thought you were off duty."

"I was, the captain called me back in."

Elisa sat up. "What kind of problem?"

"People are going missing, just vanishing in thin air.......literally"

She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain it to you when I come pick you up. Be ready in 30 minutes?"

She groaned, "I was hoping to sleep in today."

"35 minutes then?"

She sighed. "Fine, 35 minutes."

"See you then." Elisa hung the phone up. Just one day. Was that too much to ask? Just one? She groaned and flopped back down, throwing the pillow over her head. "Ahrrrgghh"

************

"So what's up, Matt?"

"What's not? You know, sometimes I regret coming to New York at all."

She groaned, "Aw man, that bad huh?"

"Elisa, in the last 24 hours 36 people have been reported missing, all within a 6 mile radius within each other. And that's not even the half of it. In each case they were in the company of others, yet no one seems to know where they went." He turned around to face her as they stopped at the traffic light. "At the station, they've labeled it 'The case of the Invisible Men'."

"What do you mean, 'they just disappeared'?"

"One minute they were there and the next ... gone."

"Hey Buddy, move it or loose it."

"Why don't you just calm down. I'll move when I'm good and ready!" Matt screamed back out the window. The man screamed a string of curses right back at him.

"The light has been green for awhile, Matt."

"Yeah whatever," he muttered pressing down hard on the acceleration. The car jumped to life and sped down the street.

This time it was Elisa who had to grab onto the dashboard.

"I was talking to my neighbor this morning right before I came to get you. I turned around for a second and when I looked back, !Poof! she's gone." He took one hand off the steering wheel and ran it through his short red hair.

"Matt, maybe you should slow down"

The car was steadily gaining speed.

"36 people in a day, Elisa. All from the same area. No witnesses, nothing in common, no evidence. Most of these people had families, jobs, stable positions in their community. They had no reason whatsoever to leave. None."

72

"Watch where you're going!" a driver screamed out at him as they swerved out of the way.

73

"But somehow they're all gone. Every single one, and no one has a clue on why."

74

75

"Matt... slow down."

76

"Much less how."

77

78

"You're going to end up getting us killed."

"I was standing right there and talking to her, Elisa."

79

They narrowly dodged an oncoming truck. He sped through traffic lights and stop signs so fast they became a blur of colors.

80

"SLOW DOWN!!!!"

They were approaching the police station now and thankfully, he actually eased up off the gas... a little. Usually safe driver of the year, Matthew Bluestone made a sharp turn into the parking lot, bumping over the curb and scraping his car on the gate. He slid into a space and yanked hard on the gear shift before he even came to a full stop, throwing the car into Park. Neither attempted to get out of the car nor talk for quite a while. Neither knew quite what to say.

Matt had both arms resting on the steering wheel and his head on top of that. He looked extremely tired and scared. Elisa guessed the last year was finally taking a toll on all of them.

"Now you know why I never let you drive," Elisa said finally.

Matt turned his head to face her and gave her a shaky grin. "If you let me do it more often, I might have had more restraint," he quipped.

She punched him lightly on the arm and turned to open the door. "Let's go find those people Matt."

He nodded and started to get out too, looking more collected.

*************

"Thirty-six people gone.... No evidence of foul play...," she mumbled to herself. It just didn't make any sense. How could people disappear without a trace? And not just one or two... no, thirty-six and counting. It just didn't make any sense.

Elisa sighed and shoved the steadily growing pile of missing reports away from her, disgustedly. She checked her watch, 6:45, about another 40 minutes until sunset. She looked back down at the papers and shuffled through them. Matt got up and headed towards the break room. He looked exhausted and more than a little frayed around the edges. This was just crazy. There was no possible explanation for....

Wait a minute. It hit her like a blow to the head with a sledgehammer. Of course, how could she have been so stupid? Why didn't she think of it before?

Matt returned just then with his 10th cup of coffee.

"I think I know why all these people are missing." she said slowly, thinking out loud than anything else.

He looked shocked and just a little relieved. After all, any explanation was better than none. "Why?"

She looked up at him. "Do you have that map?"

He shuffled through the paperwork, going through it twice before finding what he wanted. "Here"

He handed it over. It was a map pinpointing the last known location of each person's disappearance.

"It really's just a matter of playing connect the dots." She grabbed a pen and proceeded to draw a line between one location and the next. Matt looked on in amazement. What she was drawing was a large circle , a shaky one but a circle nonetheless. It slowly moved inwards like a mosaic. She stopped. "That's the last one but I bet if anymore people disappear it will be right here." She pointed. "Well what does that have to do...."

"Think Matt, who is the one person who hates humans more than anything else, and wouldn't have any qualms with killing off a few dozen.?"

He looked confused, "Well... Demona, but she wasn't...."

"And who is the one human she quite possibly hates more than the rest?"

This one was easy. "You but Elisa...."

"And where do I live?"

"Here of...." His eyes widened in realization. Her apartment building was located exactly in the center of the circle. He looked back up at her. "I still don't get what this has to do with anything. Not even Demona could have been all these places at once."

"I known but remember that pendant?"

"Yeah?" he answered slowly. She checked her watch again, 7:04 p.m. "I'll explain on the way to the castle."

*************

"Hurry up Matt, we'll miss it." She raced up the castle steps with him puffing and blowing behind her. They reached the balcony a few seconds before sunset. Matt rested doubled over, his hands on his knees. "I really don't understand you. In less than 2 days all of humanity could be wiped out permanently, you among them. And you nearly break your neck just to see them wake up?"

"Shhhhh."

The sun sank below the horizon in a gorgeous display of orange and red light with purple tints. And as soon as the last ray disappeared from sight a slow line descended in the gargoyles outer casing. The line divided into millions of tiny cracks and if you didn't know better you would expect them to crumble to dust before your eyes. Instead, a being emerged from the disintegrating stone structure, roaring to life.

"Good evening Elisa, Bluestone."' Goliath rumbled

"Hello Goliath"

"We have news tonight...," both Elisa and Goliath said simultaneously. They smiled at each other.

"After you."

"No after you, ladies first."

"Really, Goliath, you should go first."

"It's quite alright. After you."

"Goliath, I insist."

Hudson shook his head amusedly and Lex dissolved into strained giggles.

Broadway grinned and Brooklyn rolled his eyes.

Angela just looked happy.

"46 people have disappeared in the last day and a half and we think Demona has something to do with it. There, your turn," Matt interrupted.

Hudson's stifled laughter exploded from him at Elisa's and Goliath's shocked expressions.

Goliath glanced back at them and cleared his throat. "Yes well, thank you. Brooklyn and Lexington met new gargoyles last night. We are supposed to go meet them tonight. About now I believe."

"Are you serious?" Elisa asked, shocked.

"Quite so."

"Goliath, are you sure this is not a trap?" Matt asked

"They seemed nice enough," Lexington said.

"So did the Pack when you first met them Lex." Elisa winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth. That was still a sore subject for Lexington. He moved further back and said no more.

" I plan on being cautious," Golaith replied

"Fine, but I'm coming too," Elisa said defiantly

Goliath nodded. "Agreed."

"So am I," Matt added. They all looked at him in surprise. It wasn't very often that Matt tagged along. He shrugged, "I've been left out one too may times."

"Fine. We'll watch from the opposite roof obscured from view while Lexington and Brooklyn go down to introduce us."

"But Goliath...." Brooklyn started again. He really didn't want to start off any further on the wrong foot with this new clan.

"Agreed?" Goliath asked, turning towards his second. His tone left no room to say otherwise.

"Yeah, sure, agreed," Brooklyn mumbled.

"Hudson are you coming?" Goliath asked as he scooped Elisa up in his arms and prepared to take off.

"Nay lad. Someone has ta stay here and guard the castle. Besides I wan ta talk to Puck."

"Very well then."

"If they aren't enemies, bring the lads and lassies back ta meet us," Hudson shouted after him. He and Bronx watched until they could no longer see them. "I hope nothing happens to them. Come along Bronx, let's go find that rascal Puck."

***************

When they reached the building the other gargoyles were already there. "Alright, go on," Goliath told them. Brooklyn let Matt off and he and Lex glided down to meet them.

"So glad you could make it." The dark haired female said sarcastically. 'Mariel', was it?

Brooklyn shrugged defensively, "We were held up."

"Sorry we're late," Lex said.

The lavender female, Hana, shot Mariel a look. "It's alright."

"So have you decided?" Brooklyn asked.

"We might as well meet them. It'd be a shame for them to come all the way out here for nothing," Mariel replied almost bitterly.

Both Lexington and Brooklyn stared at her in shock.

The navy male Michael grinned. "Didn't you notice we were two short?" he asked

They looked around and realized the red head, Clarity, and the beaked male, Cordaine, weren't there.

"We placed our own sentries," he said.

"Sorry about that. Goliath insisted we all come just...."

"...in case this was a trap," Hana finished for him. "We understand."

Brooklyn nodded and waved them over. When they saw Elisa and Matt they looked shocked and... another emotion Brooklyn couldn't place.

Goliath put Elisa down and stepped forward. "I'm Goliath and this is my clan." He motioned to each in turn

"Lexington, my Second, Brooklyn, whom you've already met. Broadway, Detectives Elisa Maza and Matt Bluestone, and my daughter Angela."

The girl stepped forward and clasped his arm, gargoyle fashion. "I'm Mariel. This is Melody, Hana, Michael...." she paused as Clarity and Cordaine lightly glided down next to her. "Clarity. and Cordaine."

In Clarity's arms was the most precious cargo Goliath had ever seen... a child. Mariel's gaze softened as she took her from Clarity and set her down. "And this is Cassie."

"Hi," she whispered shyly and waved at him.

Goliath smiled back and looked at her more closely to see if this was the one they needed. He was surprised to see that instead of four fingers on each hand, she had five that curved gently into fingernails instead of talons. Her wings were lighter and more delicate than normal and he very much doubted she'd be able to glide with them. Her horns were tiny nubs, less than what any average newly hatched hatchling would have. Her tail was also too small and thin. This child was no pure gargoyle. He looked back up at Mariel, his eyes showing his shock.

She volunteered nothing but her own steady glare dared him to say something. She eventually dropped her eyes and looked back down at the child.

"There are two more, Hudson and Bronx, they are guarding our home while we are away," Goliath told her.

"Human or Gargoyle?" she asked without looking up.

"Mariel, I really don't see what...," Hana started crossly.

"Gargoyle," Goliath answered waiting for her reply.

She nodded.

"There is much we need to talk about. I wish for you to return with us." Goliath said

She bit her bottom lip thinking. She glanced back at her clan and then kneeled down next to the child. "Want to go, Cass?" The little gargoyle girl nodded enthusiastically, her dark brown pigtails bouncing up and down.

Mariel straightened back up. "Alright. There's no time like the present."

***********

Demona strode out into central park confidently, the sheer power was exhilarating. A thousand years without success, there was much to catch up on. "Let's see... where do we start?? So many humans so much time... immortality, what a beautiful thing." Her wings were casually draped across her shoulders. The street was pretty much deserted. Not the best part of town to be in at 11:00 at night, but what did it matter? With her newly acquired powers and her natural fighting skills no one could take her. The spontaneous elimination spell should have taken effect by now... but she always preferred the one on one approach. Besides she should try out her powers before finding Goliath and the rest. Better to be prepared, she would not underestimate them like before. Now, all she needed was the perfect unsuspecting subject to try it out on.

Demona crouched down behind a tree as she heard footsteps approach. Quiet now, just a little bit longer... hold it. We've waited this long a few more minutes is nothing. We shall enjoy this.

The couple were approaching rapidly now. A petite blonde woman and a taller man. A yuppie looking couple nervously looking over their shoulders and walking quickly. "Brendan...," the woman whined, "Let's get out of here. Do you know what happens to people in this place?"

"Margot, don't be ridiculous. Nothing's going to happen to us. How else are we going to get a ride?"

"If you had just refilled the gas tank before we left, none of this would be happening," she accused. "Look, Margot. Just sit down right here. I'll be right back." He led her to a bench and she sat down in a huff.

Brendan walked over to the opposite side of the walkway and pulled out a cellular phone, his back turned from her so she wouldn't hear. Margot sighed disgustedly and looked around nervously. She anxiously fiddled with the hem of her dress while waiting for him.

This was her opportunity and Demona was not going to waste it.

"Brendan...." the annoying little woman whined.

He covered the mouthpiece of the phone and called back to her without turning around. "Hold on Margot."

Demona snuck up behind her soundlessly. All those years preparing, all those lessons in tracking when she was young. They finally were going to pay off. She grinned, maliciously baring her fangs.

"But Brendan...." He flashed his hand at her.

Demona lay her hands on the sides of the woman's head.

Margot gasped at the unsuspected touch and opened her mouth to scream. It never made it past her lips.

Demona held on firmly, a bolt of lightning tearing from her hands. Margot was no more. A pile of ashes rested on the bench in her place. This _was_ fun.

"Ok Margot. They said they would be here in about 10 minutes. Margot? Margot??" The man turned around, stuffing his phone into his pocket. "Where are.... Oh my god."

"Say goodbye, _human_." Demona spat out. She sent another bolt of fire at him. Her aim was dead on. Literally. He crumbled into just another pile of dust on the park ground that were immediately swept away by a gust of wind and blown through the night air.

"Ashes to Ashes. Dussssst to Dussssttt." Demona threw her head back and laughed madly to the moon.

Now on to the Big Leagues. Gentlemen, start your engines.

*********

"So, new gargoyles you say," asked Puck.

"Aye. What do you think aboout this?" Hudson asked.

"I think Fate is making my job easy."

Hudson had been talking to the fey for more than a half hour and this was as close as he had gotten to a straight answer as any. Just then they heard the swooping of many wings and Broadway call out, "We're back!"

The new clan had landed and they were looking around carefully as if they expected something to jump out and attack them.

Bronx bounded up to the little girl and sniffed her carefully. After a moment of consideration he stuck out his tongue and licked her, bowling her over in the process.

"Ach, you great beast. Leave the wee lass alone," Hudson reprimanded him, pulling him off the girl.

Cassie dissolved into a fit of giggles and stood back up. Bronx whined and rolled over exposing his undercarriage. Cassie giggled again and commenced patting his tummy while Bronx lolled out his tongue in content. The child's performance seemed to put everyone more at ease and they went over introductions again.

Puck had been quiet for quite some time and nobody noticed him. As soon as he caught sight of the new clan he seemed to go into some sort of trance. He now shook his head sharply and his eyes cleared. He bobbed over to each member, looking them over carefully. Clarity gasped loudly upon seeing the fey, her eyes opening widely registering her shock. She took an involuntary step backward and flared her wings, Hana grabbed her arm , steadying her and stared right back at Puck. All of the others gave off little to no surprised reaction to the appearance of Puck. They either stared right back or moved back slightly, into a defensive position. When he came to Mariel, he stopped and looked her over, back to front.

She moved back and batted him away like he was an annoying insect.

Puck whistled, "My, my, my! How we have grown. No longer a little kid are we Mariel?" he asked.

She looked at him in a mixture of disbelief and disturbance. "And you are?"

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," he said and dipped low.

"Hmm. I wish I could say the feeling's mutual."

He laughed and turned a back-flip around her head. "Not even going to ask how I knew your name?"

"Would you answer if I did?"

He shrugged. "It all depends on what you call an answer."

"Then what's the point?"

"Who.. No let me rephrase that, What are you?" Clarity asked , she had gotten over most of her shock and was now just looking at him curiously.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the one and one Marvelous mischief maker, Prince Puck of the fair-folk," he replied.

"And me without my Hockey stick." Mariel responded.

"Ooo, beautiful and quick too. Quite the catch eh gentlemen?" he said, floating closer to her.

She backed up defensively, "I suppose it would be a stupid question to ask you what's a fair-folk?"

"Loosely translated to fairy," Lex told her

"Hmm. I always thought fairies had to have little pink wings," Clarity said, looking him over. "Although the tights are a nice fit, Puck. Where's your tutu?"

"Touché my lady," Puck responded, "Although one could ask you where's your real hair."

Clarity narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Look here _ Tinkerbell _, why don't you fly back to Never-Never Land? I'm sure the lost boys miss you," she shot back.

"As amusing as it is listening to you two play the dozens, I imagine there's something you wanted?" Mariel broke in, turning her attention back to Puck.

"Yes," he said, still glaring at Clarity. She glared right back, her eyes turning a reddish hue.

Puck floated back over to Goliath. "We've found our Seer."

"So, she is the one." Goliath said looking down at Cassie. She was now romping around the castle with Bronx in close pursuit, giggling madly.

"No.... Look Up," Puck said, lifting Goliath's gaze to Mariel.

"You're kidding," Brooklyn said.

"What?" Mariel asked, although it came out as more of a statement than a question.

"I seemed to have forgotten to tell you, the spell was designed to show us what she looked like when it became evident that she was the chosen one. Age had nothing to do with it," Puck stated cheerfully.

"What spell?" Hana asked.

"Will someone PLEASE tell us what's going on?" Cordy asked impatiently.

"You're positive about this, Puck?" Hudson asked him.

"Would I lie to you?"

"You don't want us to answer that," Broadway replied dryly.

Puck snorted. "Har de har har. Sarcasm is really runnin' rampant tonight. Remind me to laugh."

"It's just your wonderfully wholesome influence, Puck," Lex responded.

"Yo! Excuse me for butting in, but we're still standing here," Mariel cut in.

"Why? Don't ask me," Michael said as he shook his head slowly.

Puck sighed and glided back over to them. "The short of it is, you're the Seer and your destiny is to protect the world."

"Ok. Crazy question. What's a Seer?" Mariel asked.

"You are," the Fae replied

"Oh gee, thank you, 'cause you know that explains everything. What was I thinking?"

"Sorry darlin', we can't get into the details right now. The important thing is you have to stop Demona."

"WHO?" Melody asked.

"Raving lunatic female gargoyle, intent on destroying humanity and has her Oracle," Puck summarized, pointing to Mariel.

Mariel closed her eyes and began rubbing her head. "Ooookay. Anybody else here care to explain?"

Puck sighed disgustedly, "Your Oracle... the source of your greatest power."

"What power?"

"The one you need to save the world with. Stop me if I'm getting redundant," he said sarcastically.

"Look, I don't know what the hell you're talking about but I don't _have_ any powers," she replied, suddenly getting defensive.

"Actually, yes you do. Goes along with the job description. You're the Seer."

"The what?!"

Goliath sighed. "Thank you Puck. What he's trying to say...."

"And failing miserably at," Matt mumbled. Elisa had explained everything to him on the way over to the castle, but by now even he was somewhat confused.

"...is you were chosen to protect the world and given certain powers, along with the Oracle, in order to do so," Goliath continued.

"Yeah, ok, right. Excuse me for a minute while I go call my publicist. He's always looking for a new science fiction writer," she replied dryly. "Cassie come on."

Cassie and Bronx were now in the middle of a rather intriguing game of hide and seek and she was reluctant to leave.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes you have to. Let's go."

"But...."

"Cassiopeia!! Now, please."

She slowly made her way towards Mariel, regretfully looking back at Bronx with every step. Mariel had to wait for her before she could leave, so they had time to talk to her.

"Look as crazy as this all seems, it's true and we need your help," Elisa told her.

"Yeah sure. Cassie!"

"You can't just leave," Angela said.

"Wanna bet?"

"Lass, I know how unbelievable this all is... but you've got to trust us," Hudson tried.

"Mariel, the world's fate depends on your decision. Do not be so rash. We are telling you the truth," Goliath said, trying to reason with her.

"Mmhmm sure," she said not even listening anymore. She grew tired of waiting for the little girl and went over and scooped her up instead. Cassie didn't protest... just kept looking back at Bronx longingly.

"Look, why would we make up something like this?" Brooklyn asked.

"I don't know maybe you're just insane."

"I wish. We're telling the truth."

She turned around and looked at all of them. "Then prove it."

They were all silent.

"Thought so."

"Wait, that doesn't mean....." Matt started. She ignored him and prepared to jump off.

"You can turn to human."

That halted her. "What?" she asked, turning back around.

"You can change into a human," Broadway repeated.

"How did you know about that?" Clarity asked.

Melody elbowed her in the side sharply and shot her a 'will you please be quiet' look.

Clarity shot her a 'What?' look and mouthed 'I'm curious'.

Melody mouthed back, 'Curiosity killed the cat'. Clarity just shrugged.

"You can, can't you?" he said, directing his question to Mariel.

She sighed, placing Cassie back down and held her hand. "Fine. You've got 15 minutes to explain everything from the beginning or we go. Start talking."

Goliath frowned slightly. He didn't like being put on a time limit.

"Well.... It all started about 1,000 years ago...." Elisa began.

**********

5 hours later.

"...and the rest Lass, is what ye'd call history," Hudson finished. It had been a long and grueling five hours but the story was finally told. Now they just had to wait and see what would happen. They were all silent for a long time after that, neither party knowing what to say.

"Ok so where's the camera?" Mariel asked.

"What?"

"This _is_ the part where you go 'Smile. you're on candid camera', right?" she asked, quite effectively holding her rising temper down.

"This isn't a joke," Goliath said

"Yeah sure.... And you met little flying pink elephants on your way to Liliput."

"Mariel...." Michael started reaching for her arm.

"I don't know why we stayed here. We've been here for...." She looked down at her watch. "Five hours, listening to ridiculous nonsense."

"Now just wait...," Goliath started, his chest heaving in pent-up rage.

"I believe this must be yours." A silky smooth voice cut in from the hall.

They all looked up sharply. Xanatos was standing there holding Cassie up awkwardly. She squirmed and wiggled her way out and ran over to Bronx, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Oh my God...," Hana breathed.

"It's...," Michael whispered.

"I know," Mariel answered in a low voice. All three of them looked shocked

and a trifle scared, disbelieving.

Hana turned around and whispered something into Mariel's ear. She nodded and stepped back.

"I found her wandering around the castle. I'm David Xanatos. I own this building," he said.

"These are...."

"Yes, yes, I know," Xanatos cut in, "Saw the whole thing on the security cameras."

"So you're the hotshot who claims he's reformed," Clarity stated.

Xanatos leaned back against the doorway, arms folded. He smirked, "Yes, I suppose that'd be me."

BRWWRRRR BRWWWWWRRRR BRRRRRRWWWW

BRRRRWWRRRRR BRRRRWWWWWWRR

Everyone clasped their hands over their ears as a deafening roar of sirens squealed to life.

"What the..."

"....sound..."

"What in the wo...."

Xanatos straightened up and quickly went out into the hallway.

BRRRRWWWWRrpp.

A few seconds later the noise stopped as abruptly as it had began.

"What was that?" Angela asked

Xanatos came back in the room carrying a laser gun. "_That_ was the security system. There's been a breach."

"Meaning...?" Melody asked shaking her head in confusion.

"Meaning my dear, prepare to meet your doom." They heard an all too familiar voice say from behind.

The turned around sharply to find Demona standing casually in the opposite doorway. The face and figure were the same but she looked different....or maybe "felt" was a better word for it. The rage, hate and anger radiated from her like always but along with it was a feeling of immense power.

"Were you looking for me?" She grinned evilly. A small, harmless-looking star-shaped object no more than 3 inches across was strung across her neck. And except for the fact that is what alternating in color between a deep dark forest green and a pale shade of lime, beating to the rhythm of her pulse, it seemed normal enough.

"Demona!" Goliath roared, flaring his wings open.

Broadway placed a restraining hand on Brooklyn's shoulder, holding him back. But in a few minutes he wouldn't've had to.

"We prefer to be called Nemesis now," she said calmly.

"The Goddess of Retribution, how fitting." Xanatos said, leveling his laser gun at her.

"Isn't it though?" she asked, turning her attention to him.

"Quite," he replied, and pulled the trigger. A burst of red light shot from it. Demona quickly raised both hands, slowing its advance. The laser bolt slowed in mid-air and halted an inch from her face. "Hmm... and just what were you planning on doing with this we wonder?..." She grinned.

"Yessss... we wonder." She cupped her hands together in front of her face. "You want this back don't you?" she asked. She blew hard. They laser bolt gained mass as it torpedoed towards them faster than lightning. They dodged out of the way, narrowly missing the opportunity to become 'Crispy critters', as Brooklyn would say.

"Stand still!!" she shouted, turning around, shooting the odd fireball at anything that moved.

"ARGHH!!" she roared. "We haven't got time for this!!!" She blasted off another series of fireballs from her hands blowing up Xanatos' newly-installed state of the art entertainment system... along with the cables they were attached to , plunging the room into darkness. Everyone in the room dashed every which way... staying a healthy ten feet or so away from Demona, ducking behind anything they could.

"_That's_ Demona??" Cordaine whispered to Hudson.

"Aye... that be her."

"In--sane," he breathed quietly

"Let's just be hopin' it's not hereditary," Hudson muttered.

**********

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!!!" Demona shouted to the darkened room.

"Are you talking to me?" Puck asked, appearing in front of her face in a flash.

"Why, yes we are," she replied apathetically. "Are you ready to die, Puck?"

"'Fraid not, Demona. That oracle isn't yours, you know. You're going to have to give it back." Puck answered just as cheerfully.

"And who's going to take it from us!?" she laughed. "You....? The most pitiful member of the Third Race, banned from your own home... taking sides with that vile little creature. The only thing worse than a human is a human child... actually defending it." She shuddered in disgust. "Tell us Puck. Do you regret your decision??"

"That 'vile little creature' is my ward. And I've vowed to protect him," he replied angrily.

"Unfortunately for you," she returned. Demona raised a single hand, freezing him in his tracks.

"Now let's see... a spell fitting for a former pixie." She contemplated. "Ahh... yes." She raised the other hand and cupped them together. "A pest you are. A bane you be. Remove Thyself from whence I see. Goodbye Puck Never Friend. In iron chains your _death_ we SEND!!" She screamed.

Puck doubled over in pain, bound head to foot in iron. He fell to the ground, twisting and turning in agony. "Yes, that ought to do quite nicely," she grinned. She stepped over his mangled form and kicked him on the way.

"Lexington... I don't think this is the Demona we know," Angela whispered.

He shook his head. "Neither do I, I think the Oracle is doing something to her... she's...."

"She's lost it... whatever little she had left anyway," Elisa finished.

**********

".....that vile little creature...."

Xanatos bristled and turned his mind off from the rest of the conversation.

~~ Why that &%@#!^&~~ He thought. How dare she call his son a creature. And a vile one at that. A few more choice words sprang into mind as he cautiously made his way too the back of the room.

The thought that Fox could enter the room was horrifying. And carrying Alexander ........ he wouldn't even consider that as a possibility. He must warn them before it was too late. The gargoyles could take care of this for awhile. He walked backwards towards the door, facing forward. His sharp eagle eyes watching every move Demona made despite the dimness. Xanatos felt his fingertips brush up against the cold brass of the doorknob.....it was at this point that most others would have bolted for the door, yanking hard and swinging it open......it would have been their downfall. Luckily Xanatos was most certainly not most people.

Heart in throat he inched closer........fingertips....now fingers....palm...Got it. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted. He opened it quickly, to avoid the ever-present squeak of hinges. And slid out of the seven inch space it provided, between the door and the wall. He shut it silently behind him and breathed a sigh of relief.

~~ I'll be back for you ~~

*************

"Demona!!" Goliath roared, coming at her from behind.

She raised her hands again, "Congella!!" He froze in mid-attack instantaneously, not moving a muscle. Demona quickly made her way towards him. "We've waited a long time for this...." She clenched her hand around an invisible object, magically materializing an axe. "Prepare to die, Goliath!" Demona cried, her eyes ablaze. She held onto the axe with both hands and raised it high above her head.

"NOOOOOO!! GOLIATH!!!!!!" Elisa screamed. She threw herself on Demona, attacking her with a resolute ferocity.

Demona blocked her oncoming assault with the back of one arm, pushing Elisa back "Silence, human!" Demona snarled in anger. She picked Elisa up easily and threw her viscously into the wall. Elisa's head struck the wall heavily and she slid down lifelessly like a rag doll.

"Now where was I?" she asked, turning back to Goliath and raising the axe once again.

Angela moved in front of her "Mother Please Don't Do This!" She begged, standing protectively over the unaware form of Goliath, tears steadily streaming down her cheeks.

"Mother Please Don't Do This," Demona mocked. "No my dear... I think you phrased it correctly when you said you 'Have No Mother'. You sided with your father, now die with him!!"

"NOOO!!!" Broadway screamed. He threw his body in front of Demona attempting to use himself as a living shield.......a few seconds too late. Demona's aim struck pure and true, felling Angela where she stood. Broadway caught her gently in his arms and they sunk to the floor together. He held her close as her pulse faded and held back the tears until she took one last shuddering breath. Broadway lowered his head onto hers and wept, oblivious to all around him.

*********

Hudson walked over to them silently, his sword hanging limply from his hand. "What have you done...?" He whispered in shock. His knees gave out and he fell to the ground. "Goliath, Angela, Elisa...."

"And now you. I believe it's time its time you've retired, old soldier," she said

He looked up at her and shook his head slowly, disbelieving. "You've gone mad, lass." he stated calmly, dream-like.

"No, Hudson.... We have never seen things more clearly."

Demona stepped around Broadway and her now deceased daughter , moving closer to Hudson. She dropped the axe and it disintegrated upon touching the ground. She raised her hands once again and shot Hudson dead center. He stumbled backwards in spasms , before bumping into the wall. His good eye glazed over and he slid slowly down it.

She laughed crazily as he left a blood red smear down the side of the whitewashed wall. "Have we got anymore!!!!????" she yelled.

"Yeah you do!" Brooklyn screamed. He rushed into her side and rammed her into a wall. She quickly overpowered him.

"We have to help him." Michael whispered. He flared his wings and prepared to leave.... Mariel pulled him back and shook her head.

"No," she said firmly, "In a matter of seconds she's killed off her entire clan... what do you think she'd do to us?"

"We have to help..."

"We have to remain alive."

"Mariel...."

She looked away from him. "Clarity, think you could do something...?"

"I'll try. It doesn't always work on everyone though."

"I know. If it doesn't play 'possum."

"Gotcha."

**********

Clarity took a deep breath and stepped out into the open. "Demona! We have to talk."

Demona whipped her head around, tossing Brooklyn roughly to the ground. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Oh, I thought you were sticking with plurals. No we?" Clarity returned nervously.

Demona's eyes flamed red and she growled. Clarity backed up towards the wall and looked around, trapped. "We were going to leave you... but if you want we will take your life now," she said, quickly approaching her.

Clarity swallowed hard, and her eyes glowed the faintest red... although there was something different about them. It didn't seem like it was from anger. Her stare was that of a Python hypnotizing its prospective supper.

"Demona...Nemesis. You donn'ttt want to do this," she stammered. Clarity backed up a further three paces and bumped into the wall. She looked around frantically for an escape but she had come to a dead end.

"Oh yes we do....We most cerrtainnllyy dooo."

"No you don't...," she continued soothingly. "Think of it... world domination?? Come on, all that responsibility? Who wants that? And the death of the humans.... Then what would you do?? Why don't you sit down for a few seconds? You look so tired. It must have been hard... all those years, all those decades, without anyone.... Always just you against the world. It must have been so hard. Let's just take a break okay? Let's sit down for a minute and rest."

Demona's eyes clouded for the briefest of instants. She shook her head hard, clearing it out. "You're lying,"she said, not sounding too sure in her own words. "I... _want_ to ...Kill the humans. We want to kill the humans."

"No!" Clarity said loudly, too loudly. "I mean.... Don't you want to go home now? You're tired, aren't you?" she asked soothingly, her eyes glowing stronger, all her efforts going into this.

"Yes... home sounds...." She reached up and touched her head. "Home sounds very...." Demona's hand flew out and grappled Clarity's throat, lifting her up in the air and squeezing.

"Just what do you think you are doing!?" she growled.

"I....was.....jj...jussss..." Demona's grip tightened around her neck and Clarity fell silent.

"We don't like you," she said, her eyes narrowing. "No we don't. Sneaky you are." With a flick of her wrist Demona flung her into the wall and watched as she slowly slid down. Clarity lay still, not breathing, not moving. Demona smiled wickedly and moved on. "Sssneeaky," she hissed.

************

Clarity opened her eyes to see Mariel leaning over her.

"I'm sorry," Clarity whispered, sitting up.

"Not your fault. Sometimes it doesn't work. Are you okay?" Mariel asked.

Clarity nodded, holding her throat. "Yup.... Complete and whole. I feel like I'm in the middle of 'The Lord of the Rings' here, Mariel. Oh yes, precious."

She snorted. "And you ain't seen nothin' yet. Come on, Gollum... we have to go get Puck."

"You mean Hockey frisbee? I thought he was dead."

Mariel shook her head grimly, "Not yet... but he's going. Come on."

***********

In the dark they had assembled themselves around Puck, careful not to attract Demona's attention. Melody sat next to the broken, bruised and unconscious form of Lexington, he had been injured by a lucky shot from Demona. Cordaine had pulled him back away from firing range after he had been struck, but Lex was still in bad shape. She held his hand and looked on worriedly, while the rest took turns in attempting to pull of the chains that bound Puck.

Eventually they gave up, it was of no use and time was wasting.....Puck wouldn't have very long left. And neither would the rest if Demona decided she'd played enough Hide and Seek and just blew up the entire room.

"You have to get the Oracle---," Puck whispered hoarsely. They all had taken turns trying in vain to remove the chains that bound him. They seemed to have molded themselves to his skin. Not only was it painful when they tried to yank it off, but it was also hopeless.

"We don't want Mariel to turn into another one of her," Hana whispered. "What good would that do?"

"She wouldn't," Puck said weakly.

"If that Oracle thing is controlling Demona, there's no guarantee it wouldn't do the same thing to her."

"No... the pendant is simply doing what Demona asked." He fell into a fit of hacks and coughs, folding into a fetal position. It racked his body and he shuddered. Puck ran his tongue across thin, parched lips and continued haltingly in barely more than a whisper. "It... turned her mad. The pendant's power was only meant for the Seer." He lay still and limp, barely breathing.

"Puck," she whispered harshly. He didn't respond. His chest heaved up and down harshly. "Great, he picks now to blink out."

"I swear the little bugger did that on purpose," Clarity whispered back.

Mariel began to make her way to the front of the room towards Demona. Crawling at a pace fast enough to get there within this millennium but slow enough so she would remain hidden from view.

"So what do we do??"

"I try and get the Oracle without getting myself killed. Let the games begin."

Clarity smirked unhappily and crawled after her. Mariel unexpectedly stopped and turned towards Clarity, causing them to bump into each other. "Where's Cassie?!?"

***********

"Well, well, well, what have we here? A filthy little mixed breed," Demona spat out. She picked up squirming and whimpering Cassie roughly by the base of her wings. Bronx growled and lunged at Demona snapping his massive jaws in fury. Demona snarled back and whipped her tail at him. A lightning bolt emanating from it and zapping him. Bronx whined and drew back slightly, still growling deep from within his chest.

"Oh Shut up." She growled spitefully. She raised one arm and shot him....not hard enough to kill him but it stunned him and most definitely hurt. Turning away from Bronx she hung Cassie over the castle wall. The hatchling squirmed and whimpered in mid-air, from fear and pain.

"We are doing you a favor, _child_," she said. She spat the word child out sarcastically as if it was a curse.

It was more than a 500 foot drop to the street below. She wouldn't make the landing.

"Anybody want this??" Demona screamed out in mock cheerfulness. "Then, fetch." She released. Cassie screamed shrilly as she was spun loose. She tried to grab back onto Demona's hand but missed by half an inch, clutching onto empty air instead.

***********

Brooklyn pulled himself up painfully. He let out a low growl and prepared to spring on Demona again when he saw her drop the child. He heard more than saw the hatchling go flailing over the side of the castle, screaming in fear and frantically flapping her wings. But they were too small and thin, there was no way she would be able to glide with them. Without a second thought or a moments hesitation , he catapulted his tortured and protesting body over the side of the building, folding his wings and plummeting after her.  If he missed, that would be it. He was the only one close enough to reach her and he only had one chance at this.

She was twenty feet away from the pavement now. This was it. Brooklyn grunted and threw himself forward, propelling himself another foot ahead. If he misjudged the distance by a fraction of a millimeter and pulled up too late or too early they'd both end up street pizza......Gargoyle flavored.

"Cassie!!" He screamed reaching for her hand. She flapped again and reached for him.

"Gotcha!" He clasped her tiny wrist and threw his wings open a split second before impacting with the concrete street. Brooklyn looked down and winced ~~ That would have more than hurt ~~. They narrowly missed the now deserted sidewalk and jerked hard upward on a wind current. They were flung about a foot into the air because of the momentum he had gained in his dive and then leveled off. He adjusting his hold on Cassie , making sure he held her tightly, not that he needed to, the child was taking no chances on having a repeat performance. She wrapped her arms around his neck, nearly choking him in the process, and squeezed her eyes shut.

**********

All caution thrown aside, Mariel broke into a run, bowling over Demona in her desperation to reach Cassie. The force of her onrush knocked them both to the floor. Mariel scrambled frantically over her, but Demona pulled her back by her waist and barred her way. She screamed and pulled at Demona's arms, trying to break free. Demona's strength was doubled with the newly acquired powers of the Oracle and her grip was that of solid steel. Mariel struggled to no avail, and ended up snagging the Oracle, a talon hooked into one of the intricate links designed into the chain. She yanked her hand backwards and the chain strained against Demona's neck.

If either of them had been looking down they would have seen that the Pendant had began to glow brighter, sucking in her energy and drawing itself towards her. As her hand clasped around it, the pendant gave off an eerie misty green light which slowly extended to envelope the whole of her body. The light encircled her in a mystical orb and threw Demona backwards. Demona landed with a thump and was knocked unconscious.

The green light continued to circle around her, involuntarily pulling her arms up and whipping her hair around. It was like being underwater, her vision distorted, her body weightless. Her eyelids shut, automatically protecting her lenses from a possible assault. It revolved and twisted around her, cloudy thick green mist.

The mist was absorbed into her skin, swirled into her lungs, became a part of her.

***********

Brooklyn hesitated on what to do next. He couldn't very well bring the child back into the midst of battle nor could he abandon her. He decided to swing back around and enter the castle from the west side. Demona was pretty much occupied in the Sitting room, he should be able to leave Cassie in the kitchen, But after that...... His train of thought broke off. The future was too terrible to consider at the moment. As far as he knew she could have killed everyone by now.....so even if did succeed in beating her ,which was highly unlikely, what would he do then?? Cassie tightened her grip around his neck and he was snapped back into the present. He growled softly in anger, frustration , and emotional as well as physical pain. The last he saw they were all gone.....Goliath was an unmoving , unblinking frozen version of his former self, if she hadn't smashed him already that was, Elisa was either dead or unconscious, Angela was dead, Lexington was unconscious, Hudson was dead...... Even Bronx had been reduced to a whimpering mess.

"One think at a time Brooklyn, One thing at a time." He muttered to himself. He blinked back tears and caught an updraft preparing to swing over to the west side , when he saw the castle immersed in a green cloud.

***********

Mariel's eyes shot open, and the light spilled forth from them, hot in its intensity. It touched everything that had been tainted by Demona's hands and shone on them like beacons. No recognizable words were spoken, no lyrical spell chanted, no bad poetry spouted forth. None of these things seemed to be needed. Mariel screamed, her voice steadily gaining volume and pitch... but whether this was from pain, spiritual revelation, or an intricate part of the spell was arguable.

The light slowly dimmed to nothing....fading away. All was silent and nothing moved for a few moments. Then, slowly and tediously the castle began to restore itself. In a few short minutes, Demona had reduced the sitting room to little more than rubble, a place held together with bubble gum and a prayer. But now, things were moving and repairing themselves as if with a will of their own. Those knocked unconscious sat up and rubbed their heads in a daze. Those murdered breathed in life once again. The shattered remains of a lamp that had been destroyed by mis-aimed lightning bolts slowly swirled up and rejoined into a whole, complete object. Slowly... ever so slowly.

Broadway raised his head sharply to look at her...he was positive he felt her breath on his cheek. He looked at her in amazement and hope....her chest was heaving up and down painstakingly. Angela moaned and opened her eyes, her breathing coming more naturally now.

A little futher away Elisa's eyes fluttered open and looked around in bewilderment. She reached up and touched the back of her head, expecting to draw her hand back covered in blood......instead when she pulled it back it was clean....no blood, nothing.

Mariel stood there for a few minutes, staring around in a daze. The Oracle hung innocently around her neck, once again appearing to be no more than an ordinary locket, just plain cold metal glinting slightly in the moonlight.

"You're all alive," Mariel said in a breathless voice of wonder.

"God I'm so tired all of a sud...." Her eyes glazed over and rolled up. Michael caught her just before she slumped to the ground. He lifted her limp body up and cradled her like a child.

"Is she okay?" Clarity asked in alarm.

"I don't know.... She looks like... she's sleeping."

***********

"So will she be ok?" Michael asked quietly. Mariel was still unconscious and didn't look like she was going to wake up anytime soon. Xanatos had insisted she be given a guest room. Michael was sitting on the edge of her bed and watching as Owen took her pulse.

"Yes. She is only exhausted from receiving so much power so quickly. The girl should be fine by tomorrow night," Owen said blandly, expertly disguising any form of emotion. "Now, if you'll excuse me...."

"Michael, the sun is almost up....we better go. She'll be ok here," Hana said softly. She took one of his hands and gently led him away.

"Yeah ok." He sighed, following her reluctantly.

***********

"You don't think it would be a wise decision," he stated, somewhat shocked.

"Goliath, I don't know," she sighed. "But what do we really know about them? All we know is their names and those could be fake. We don't know where they come from, why they left, how they came here...."

"We know they are gargoyles. That should be enough."

"Do we? Mariel at least we know can into a human and that little girl Cassie... if nothing else it's obvious she's not all gargoyle."

"Elisa, I will not turn them out into the street."

"Demona is a gargoyle and she betrayed the clan on more than one occasion, including this latest attempt, have you forgotten that?"

"They have saved us all, including bringing you, Hudson, and Angela back from the dead. Have you forgotten that?"

Elisa turned away from him and walked over to the castle wall. She leaned down on it and looked over. "I don't know Goliath. Maybe I'm just paranoid. This has been one crazy year. But it does seem rather convenient that they show up now."

Goliath walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He brushed an errant piece of hair out of her eyes. "I can not just leave them to fend for themselves, Elisa. Gargoyles are far too few in this world," he said softly.

"I understand big guy." She sighed and looked up at him. "If you want to ask them to stay, you have my blessings."

He nodded, pleased. "It will be morning soon. I will ask them tomorrow night when she awakens."

Elisa forced a strained smile. It felt fake even to her, but it seemed to reassure Goliath a little. He released her shoulder and jumped onto his perch, preparing for his daily rest. She stood back a little and watched as all the gargoyles entered the balcony and chose their perches and postures, most throwing their fiercest look to greet the day.

Right before a single ray shone above the horizon, Michael turned to Goliath. "I want to thank you for letting us stay here today. We appreciate it." Goliath didn't have a chance to respond, for the morning sun chose that moment to make its presence known.

**********

"I take it you don't trust them."

Elisa twirled around, her body instantly tensed for battle.

Fox stood behind her, calmly gazing at her with a smirk the equal of that of her husband's. Possibly even surpassing it. "Sorry I scared you."

Elisa straightened herself and relaxed a little... very little. "You startled me, not scared me. There's a difference." She began to walk away. As far as she was concerned she had spent far too much time with this family as it was. At least with Mr. and Mrs. Xanatos. She had no problem with Alex... yet.

"Elisa, wait.... I just want you to know, we mean it. Both David and I mean to make up for all that we have done to you and the Gargoyles. They saved our son," Fox said, walking after her.

"There's nothing you could do to _ever_ make up for what you have done. And it's still Maza," she said bitterly while still walking.

Fox watched as Detective Elisa Maza disappeared around the corner. She heard her light footsteps pound down the stairs and then all was quiet. She sighed and shook her head slightly. Proving trustworthy wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. Then she wondered why she cared.