Gliding on the Winds of Time, Part 3: Megalomania by Black Blade, a.k.a. Eddie of Clan Winslow, a.k.a. Amy K. Cyrway blkblade@mailexcite.com TIME NOTE: This fanfic takes place three months after " . . . Love and War" ***DISCLAIMER: Gargoyles is a licensed trademark of Disney and Buena Vista. All characters save for Arin MacDuff, Clan Winslow and the Outklaws, Clan Siuslaw, Kade Saeri, and Christopher Highblood are copyrighted by the above fore mentioned companies. Kade and Christopher, however, are truly copyrighted by Amy K. Cyrway, so they are my actual legal property and if anyone uses them without my consent, I can legally go mediaeval on his/her/its ass. This is an unofficial fanfic and is not intended for infringement of any kind. As for the content of this piece, it does contain ADULT CONTENT, in the form of swearing and violence. I would like to extend special thanks to my rookery sister, Mercedes, my rookery brother, Sombrero, and my brainwashed buddy ShadowBrook, who I totally corrupted with hour after hour of Gargoyle eps and my fanfic. Because of them (and the fact I was getting tired of writing stupid crossovers like South Park Horrors [I hear everyone groan]), I was forced to actually archive this fanfic. Also, thanks to all my buds at Station 8 Chat, including but not limited to: Stoney ("We're slimy, we're squishy, we're all a little fishy!"), DemonSpawn, of course Mercedes and Sombrero, Stormy, and, no, I won't forget Whitbourne! Cheers to all of you, blokes!*** SMITH: Good morning, Vietnam! It's a balmy sixty degrees here on Manhattan Island, and, by the looks of it, most of that heat's been generated by Eddie's ion cannon! WESSON: Ow! Those poor clones! (Show Smith and Wesson Show from "Gliding: Part Three") BROOKLYN: Previously, on Gargoyles . . . MACBETH: Arin! Where the blazes have you been?! You've not aged in forty years! ARIN: Neither have you, Da, and I have an excuse. (Show Macbeth and Arin entering the courtyard, "Gliding: Part Three".) ARIN: The two of you make an excellent couple. (Cut to Demona)You betrayed my father and--(cut to Brooklyn)--you betrayed by love! (Show Arin storming off into the castle, same ep) (Show Kade fighting the mutates, same ep.) (Show Fox under the influence of the Eye of Odin, "Eye of the Beholder") (Show the Archimage under the influence of the Eye of Odin, "Avalon") (Show Goliath under the influence of the Eye of Odin, "Eye of the Storm") *** I am the centre of this universe The wind of time is blowing through me And it's all moving relative to me, It's all a figment of my mind In a world that I've designed I'm charged with cosmic energy Has the world gone mad or is it me? --"Master of the Universe" Hawkwind *** "Hullo, Shadow." The white-haired human stared up at the sun, unblinking. He made no indication that he heard her. "Shadow? What happened?" She touched his shoulder, the right one. The flesh-to-flesh contact forced Brooklyn's shadow to blink and turn his head. "I saw the sun, Arin," he whispered, reaching up to the orb of light. He grasped it, turning it. Suddenly, night fell. He had in his hand a 100-watt lightbulb. "It was beautiful, the world so bright," he continued. "I would want to see it again, but--" Quickly, he crushed the bulb in his hand and shook the broken glass and filament away. "--I am a gargoyle. My domain is the night." Arin glanced downward, downcast. Shadow sighed, realising he had touched a nerve. "I'm sorry," he whispered, shifting his form back to gargoyle. "Don't be . . . "she shrugged, looking back up. "It wasn't your fault I was cursed." "How could it?" He mumbled sardonically. "Technically, I never existed until about a half-hour later . . . I can't help but to think if there was a way to stop Oberon from cursing you, bright sun." "Just a little off-subject, Shadow," she interjected after a few minutes of silence. "Why do you call me that? Not that I mind or anything, I like it, but just a little curious . . . " "You mean, ‘bright sun'?" He chuckled somewhat. "I believe I--or rather, Brooklyn--picked it up while reading something on Scottish history. Arinna was the name of the Pict, Celt, or Welch goddess of the sun. It seems to fit you, Arin. You've become the sun in my--in Brooklyn's--life." Arin gave him a cockeyed look. "That's beautiful . . . " she whispered. They sat in silence for a little while longer. "Are you guiding me with the Phoenix Gate?" She asked suddenly. "I mean, you seem to be the only constant." "I don't know. I'm neither omnipotent nor omniscient. All I know is that I follow you. I'm still learning. I only know what Brooklyn knows." "Then you know where he is." Shadow shook his head, more of a confused fashion then a negatory. "All I know is that a mage from the future helped him and Chris home from--"His eyes widened suddenly. "Where are they?" Shadow stood, picking a canine with his talon. "Shadow?" "You aren't going to like this--" "Shadow!" She stood as well, her hands on her hips. "They're further ahead--" "How far?" "A hundred-thousand--" "A hundred-thousand years?!" Arin shouted. "How in God's holy name did they wind up one hundred-thousand years into the future?!" "Give or take a century or two--" "So, where are we now?" "Um--" Shadow closed his eyes and pointed his beak upward. "Oh, damn." "What?" "Get the hell as far from here as you can when you wake, bright sun." His voice was strong but small. "Shadow, when and where are we?" He opened his eyes and grabbed her shoulders. "Let's just say Brooklyn in this timeline gave me five millennia's worth of experience." "What?!" "Please, bright sun, just once in your life do what you're told--" "I want to know the truth, Shadow--" "And I told it to you. Please, promise me you'll go--" "Where are we?" He sighed and retorted, "Avalon." Arin's eyes widened. "I can't be here," she whispered. "Oberon banished me." "Oberon is dead." "Well, long live the king." "This is serious, Arin. Brooklyn killed him." "How, Shadow?" And abruptly, her dreamscape shattered as she awoke with a yell. "‘Bout time you woke," Kade muttered, drawing patterns in the sand with the tip of her sword. "I was wondering since you knew the past two places we visited--" she snorted "--maybe you know where we are now." "Avalon," Arin muttered. "Ayuh." Kade stood up, dusting off her pants. Her mail was at her side; her jacket draped over her shoulders. "Somehow, I believe that. There's a castle up over yonder." She pointed towards the north. "Give me the Phoenix Gate. We should leave now," Arin ordered. Kade turned on her heel, facing the gargoyle with an angered expression. "And what makes you think I have it this time? I didn't take it this time." Arin growled, her eyes taking a red hue. "Well, I surely don't have the bloody thing," she snarled. Kade held up a hand. "W don't have the time for this shit. Arin, we'll just have to get it back, that's all." She glanced at Arin out of the corner of her eye. "You've been here before?" "I was banished from here. At least, until recently." Her ears suddenly caught a voice, feminine, singing in the distance. The song was wordless, Celtic in origin, inhuman by the notes. "Sidhe," Arin whispered, enthralled. Her musical keenness suddenly piqued, she began mimicking the notes, her actual operatic voice hadn't been used for a while. When she finally worked her scale, she sang the wordless song with the distant Sidhe; when the fae's notes got inhumanly high, Arin cut her voice down a couple of octaves. Kade stared at the gargoyle with a voice that spanned five octaves, then smirked at her Metallica shirt under the open flak jacket. When Arin got comfortable with the melody, she sang stronger, her voice riding with the wind. The first singer halted her song suddenly, though Arin continued, lost in the music. The dragon threw her long mane if brown-black hair over her shoulder and stood at the ready, her sword held two-handed in front of her. Something with the taint of magic was coming closer. "What mortal dares defile my song?" A pale female fae touched down near the two, her violet hair continuously flowing around her form. "Arin!" Kade hissed. The gargoyle opened her eyes and regarded the angered Sidhe with a surprised look. "I didn't mean to insult you," she retorted quickly. "It was so beautiful, I couldn't help but--" "How dare you attempt the song of the Baen Sidhe!" the fae screamed, and shrieked the same tune with more force, with more malice. Kade swore, dropping her sword, and pressed her hands to her ears in pain. Arin stayed put, unaffected by the Banshee's song. The fae again stopped, staring at the gargoyle. "What are you?" She snarled. "No creature, gargoyle, human, or fae, can resist my song." "I--I don't know," she stammered, suddenly afraid. "Gods and goddesses, Arin," Kade swore, picking up her sword, ears ringing. "Don't do that again, for both our sakes." "Quiet, dragon," the Sidhe ordered, floating toward Arin. "You...you're not a typical mortal, are you? You're a Child...." she trailed off. Arin shook her head, her mouth opened to speak, when a looming figure casted its shadow over the dragon, gargoyle and fae. "Baen Sidhe," he beckoned, his voice familiar and resonated the very air with power. "I did not give back your voice to torture mortals. Bring them to the palace. They will be our guests." "Yes, my lord," Banshee bowed her head. The dark figure nodded his approval and, spreading what Arin thought was a cape but in actuality were a pair of wings, he flew up to the castle on the cliffs. "Definitely not Oberon," Arin muttered. "No shit," Kade rolled her eyes. "What gave you that idea?" "First off, Wicked Evil Stepdaddy banished me here himself. Why would he suddenly forget that? Anyway, what I understand, Oberon's dead." "Wait a minute, back up a sentence. You're half-elf? Not only are you a cursed human, you're a half-elf? So technically, you're a mixture of all three races?" "Yeah, that's me, a genuine Heinz 57 blend," Arin shrugged, padding over to the cliff face. "Coming up?" "Meet you there," Kade nodded, sheathing her sword before shapeshifting into full dragon with a roar, quadrupling her size in a heartbeat. The Baen Sidhe seemed a little angered by her lord's order, but a little more than shocked when she witnessed Kade's transformation. She snorted, and disappeared in a ball of green light. As Arin scaled the rock wall, she recalled what Shadow told her during her stone sleep. Oberon was dead. Brooklyn apparently killed him That was five thousand years ago. And he's still alive. Arin's highly active imagination went into overdrive, and as horrific as the possibilities were, she narrowed them down to three: 1) Brook had come to Avalon, and was now extremely old, even for a gargoyle, considering over two centuries would have passed here. 2) Brook was brought here by that mage, maybe a couple of years or decades ago. 3)Brook killed Oberon and took his power. She snorted at the third option and mentally threw it out. Impossible. Brook had his own power. He wasn't the type to try snatching up even more. Arin felt a rush of wind as Kade whooshed past her. Pushing off the granite, she spread her wings and grabbed the current. Kade's enormous wings created more than enough air flow to get the gargoyle up over the edge. Kade reverted, walking alongside Arin. "I just realised something," she muttered sourly. "I'm the sidekick." "What are you talking about?" "Okay, first I was fighting Mr. Hunk-of-a-Viking-with-an- Amoeba-for-a-Brain while you were saving the life of your boyfriend, who was still wearing Pampers at the time. You were treated like a hero, while everyone tended to stare at me like I was a freak. Then there was Dr. Frank-N-Furter who did everything but mindfuck me into the next time/space continuum while you got to sneak around the building, slashing and frying creatures from a b-rated science experiment. I had to be save by a gargoyle possessed by Scorpion-lost-soul-bent-on-revenge! I had to be saved! I'm a dragon, not some lame damsel-in-distress! Therefore, I for the purpose of this mission been demoted to sidekick!" "Are you finished, trusty sidekick?" Arin smirked. "Oh, shut up." "Is that all the two of you do?" Baen Sidhe snarled, blinking into existence suddenly next to them. "Argue about minuscule detail?" The two mortals shrugged as they followed the Banshee into the fortress. Arin mantled her wings. "Well, nothing's going on that jeopardises us yet," she muttered with somewhat of a humourous tone. "I mean, the old man of the house hasn't barrel-assed down the hall and turn us into lawyers or something of that magnitude." "Still doesn't explain what happened to the Phoenix Gate," Kade hissed. "I know," Arin nodded ruefully. "Both times I saw Brooklyn-who- isn't-really-Brooklyn, I realise how much I miss him," she sniffed. "I'm sick of time-travelling, I'm sick of fighting, I'm sick of finding out shit that either has no point in my life or does and has something to do with me being a Scottish princess or Titania's daughter or the cousin of Jimmy Hoffa or whatever. I want to go home to my da. I want my Brook." Arin began walking again, her wings draped over her shoulders, her arms crossed over her chest, her head down, staring at her feet. "You're lovesick, girl," Kade remarked, keeping pace. "And I'm willing to continue for him for as long as I have to," the gargoyle retorted. "When we find the Gate, that is." Arin nodded solemnly as the Baen Sidhe opened the doors to the main chamber. "Arin!" She heard Kade hiss her name. She was too busy studying the marble floor tiles to see what her companion was all excited about. "Arin!" The second time she looked up. She could not believe it. This time, however, there was some sort of...god-like...aura within those rich hazel eyes. "Jesus H. Christ," Arin whispered. "What the bloody hell happened, Brooklyn?" He was the same creature who stopped Banshee's torture on Kade, although now they could get a better look at him under the light of the chandeliers overhead. However, he had changed drastically from the past incarnations Arin had seen. As if she thought he couldn't get any taller in comparison to the jump into the future. This fellow was easily nine feet tall with the same built as Shadow. But the outfit was drastically different. Midnight blue armor rimmed with gold decorated his powerful form, including a matching half-helm that held his long white hair from his face. "My lord,: Baen Sidhe greeted in a bow. "I present to you the two castaways." "Kade Saeri and Arin MacDuff," he nodded, standing. The behemoth of a gargoyle padded down the dias and advanced the two women, his form shrinking as he did, his armor dematerialising and reforming to become what would classify as streetwear to Arin: a pair of Levi's 501 jeans that fit as though factory tailored and a black Smashing Pumpkins tee-shirt under a black leather jacket. When he faced Arin about five feet away, he stopped, regarding her with disbelief rimming his eyes in the form of tears. With the exception of the clothes, he was exactly the Brooklyn she had lost! "Arin, is it truly you?" He whispered, uncertain to touch her. Arin nodded slowly, her emerald eyes wide as she stared at him. Kade chewed her knuckle, tapping her leg with an itchy finger. She was smelling fae magic all over this guy, yet instincts told her it was in fact Brooklyn. Of course, instincts were also gnawing at her to ready her sword. A longing smile crept across the copper gargoyle's beaked face as he finally came closer, gently running a finger down Arin's cheek. She threw her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. The two embraced, reluctant to let one another go. Again, Kade had a gut instinct something was wrong. "It was fortunate we found you, Brook," Kade interjected. "We require your aide in finding the Phoenix Gate so that we may return home." "You search for it as well?" He raised an eyeridge. Arin nodded and added, "We're afraid we might have lost it during the last timeslip." "So there is a possibility it would still be on the island," Brooklyn's face lit up even more. "I too wish to return home, but five millennia have passed in the real world. The only way to get back is to use the Gate. Even with Oberon's power behind me, he cannot undo time." "Where is Oberon?" Kade demanded. "Dead," Brooklyn sighed. "I destroyed him when rumour was spread that he had you here on Avalon. I searched for a map to Avalon and an ancient runesword with the power to sap his energy and ultimately his lifeforce from the King of the Fae." "Blood and souls for my lord Arioch," Arin whispered. "The power from Oberon overloaded the sword and was released into me. It was destroyed from the overload. But it doesn't matter now, bright sun. We're together once more." He cupped her face with his hands. "I've waited fifty centuries to gaze onto your beauty." Gently, he bent down and kissed her softly on the cheek. "So, then, you've become Oberon's successor, Brooklyn?" Kade asked strategically. "In a way. The Weird Sisters prophesised it long ago that I would use my ability--" he tapped his head "--to defeat Oberon. And that I did." Kade did not need her dragon's gift of mind speech to tell he was a little more than irritated with her questions and statements. What was getting on her nerves, however, was that Arin was letting her emotions get in the way of logic. "Arin, let's find the Phoenix Gate and get out of here," Kade suggested. "Avalon is no place to be if uninvited." Her plea went unanswered as the two gargoyles walked away from her. "Dammit!" She snarled, following them. There was something going on with Brooklyn, that much was obvious, and it wasn't good. *** He took her outside to the cliff's edge, a gorgeous view of the crashing ocean and the clear stars sparkling overhead. "It's so good to be with you again," he whispered, pulling her close. "Every night, I would think of you, remember you, longing to hold you, touch you," he held her chin and regarded her with his infinite hazel eyes. "Kiss you. You're so much more beautiful than I remember." She blushed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He tilted his head down and deeply, passionately, kissed Arin as his wings engulfed the two of them. She pulled away somewhat, her hand finding a gold chain around his neck. She pulled it around front, bringing out a pendant from underneath the tee-shirt. "It's beautiful," she whispered before he knew what she was doing. "It reminds me of the Eye of Horus they used to paint on ships." "I got it on one of my adventures," he retorted quickly, replacing it back under his shirt. She nodded, staring up into his eyes. She was feeling a little lightheaded, but dismissed it quickly. It didn't matter any longer. She was incredibly in love, and did not want to come down. Maybe now they could return home to Castle Wyvern, in their own time. He smiled at her dreamy expression and stole another kiss, one that felt to the woman as so soul-touching she almost wanted to let her instincts roam. She closed her eyes, running her hands through his thick hair, and suddenly, her knees gave way. She fell into his arms, stared up at him once more, and blacked out. "Dearest bright sun," Brooklyn gently scooped her up, brushing away locks of stray hair from her face. "I've waited so long for you. Five thousand years I've waited for you. And, after all that time, Avalon will soon have a queen." Kade wanted to laugh at Arin. What a lovesick fool. Mind shielded, she followed at a safe distance from the gargoyle. Something was wrong. The brief time she had encountered Arin's Brooklyn, and even with the undead form Arin called Shadow, she had sensed a streak of honor, morality, nobility, et cetera. However, this Brooklyn was...was...corrupted...somehow. She was bound to find out what was going on. And she was bound to return home. She followed them back into the palace. Fae stared at her as if they hadn't seen a Khhithsig in a million years. Of course, they probably haven't. Then again, fae weren't too fond of cold steel either, but they could tolerate it more than cold iron. And with her claymore drawn, she didn't exactly receive friendly welcomes. Kade continued to trail the lovers through a maze of hallways, some seeming Esher-esque. Finally, crouching behind a gigantic potted plant resembling a hibiscus but having the thorns of a rose, Kade witnessed Brooklyn set the sleeping woman on a double king-size four poster bed. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and, turning on his foot, he walked back out to the hallway, his small form burning away in a burst of flame, reverting back to the towering powerhouse from earlier. As he walked by her hiding place, she caught the poignant stench of supernatural magic. And she noticed the large gold emblem on his breastplate, more of a jewel than anything, in the shape of an eye, too stylised to be an Egyptian Eye of Horus. She continued at a safe distance, her claymore resting on her shoulder. This was far too confusing. *** "Arin, dammit, we haven't the time for this shit!" Shadow glared into the dreamy fae green eyes and cursed again. It was so much harder to get her attention when she was purposely knocked out that it was when she was in stone hibernation. "Dammit, Arin!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "We've in more trouble than you could ever think to be in! And I don't know how long I can hide from him!" "Hide from whom?" she whispered, not entirely paying attention. "Brooklyn!" he snarled, his hazel eyes wide with fear. "He's been corrupted! That's why I wanted you to get out of here! Arin, he'll destroy me!" "Why would he destroy a part of him?" "Isn't it obvious? He doesn't need me in this timeline! He has already assimilated his Shadow! And, what makes matters worse, he has the Eye of Odin!" That wasn't fear, Arin realised. Shadow was terrified shitless. "That's what's corrupted him, bright sun!" He held out his hands, creating an image in the cup of his palms. "That's the necklace he was wearing," she remembered as she glanced at the illusion of the Eye. "He killed Odin for it so that he could use it and the runesword so that he could destroy Oberon!" Shadow dismissed the illusion. "He will destroy me if he finds me. You'll be safe if you please him, but beware if you find the Gate. He will do anything to keep you with him, including destroying the Gate." He knelt down before her, staring up into her eyes. "Please, my bright sun, be strong. He is no longer the Brooklyn you know and love. Not with the Eye of Odin. Don't try to fight him. Just find the Gate and leave with Kade." Arin cocked her head to one side. Shadow wasn't sure she was receiving him. He stood, pecking her on the cheek, and turned. And bolted. He sensed himself near. *** Kade was getting nowhere. It was as though this corrupted aspect of Brooklyn was purposely leading her though the maze of hallways. A chill ran down her spine, thinking about the possibility he knew she was trailing him. This was not cool. She crouched behind a pillar, watching him talk to three women, identical save for the hair colour. As Kade stood, she heard her mail suddenly shift. Groaning inwardly, she subconsciously shifted into her near-human form and readied her sword. Brooklyn heard the rustle and fluidly in one motion sidestepped to the pillar and hauled the dragon out by her neck. "Kade, what a surprise," he yawned. "Cynical as ever," she smirked. "But you died in the last timeline." "How could I have died when I am immortal?" He demanded, throwing her into the far wall. "You aren't Brooklyn," she whispered in pain, pulling herself to her feet. "You've become some sort of monster." "I have become a god!" He shouted, and to emphasise it, raised his right hand and shot out a lightning bolt from it. It crackled the air as it struck explosively on the marble over Kade's head. "You've become a bully, that's apparent," she snarled, regaining her strength. "You've forgotten mortal emotions. You have even forgotten to love, haven't you?" "Damn you!" He flung another bolt, this one landing with a thunderclap just in front of her. "You have, Brook," she growled. "You don't love Arin anymore. Your only love is power." "No," his hand fell to his side. "I love her...love her more than anything else..." His hazel eyes searched Kade's, becoming softer, more, in lack of a better word, human. "My god, what have I done?" "Brooklyn, where's the Phoenix Gate?" She asked softly. She could sense an uncorrupted soul trapped inside his skull. "Let us leave, and I promise you, you won't have to live this life alone." "No..." His eyes hardened once more as the jewel on his breast glowed. "I will not cease to exist! I will not lose Arin again!" Kade snarled, flailing her sword arm, the blade embedding into Brooklyn's left shoulder. He shrieked, pulled her sword from his flesh and forced her down on her back, and drew his own sword-- --a dai-katana, she noticed, As long as her claymore, it was thinner and apparently lighter; a master's weapon, with precise deadliness. One handed, he sliced at her chest. She felt a breeze, then the links of her mail fell away, rendering it useless. "Fuck! That costed me five hundred bucks!" she moaned, shrugging it off. She thrusted, batter fashion, using the momentum of the sword's arc to complete the attack with a roundhouse kick to the gargoyle's chin. Brooklyn cursed, eyes blazing. "Do you truly love Arin?" She challenged, bringing the claymore to a block stance. He refused to answer as the dai-katana sliced a neat cut in the knees of her pants. "Do you love her?!" She roared, metamorphing into half-dragon to even the odds. "Yes!" he finally answered, taking a defensive position. "Then let us go. Where is the Phoenix Gate?" "I will not allow myself to cease my existence...I will not lose Arin again..." Kade dashed forward with a scream, her hand wrapping around the Eye. Sharp bolts of electricity coursed through her body, spazzing her muscles to the point she had to let go. The three Weird Sisters only stood and watched the battle. Then, in unspoken agreement, they vanished. Arin awoke to find three blurs hovering over her. "Shit," she whispered, rubbing her eyes. "Daughter of Avalon," Phoebe hissed. "Awaken to face whom you once loved." Arin only stared at the three. "You must see the truth in the false lord. He has been corrupted by Odin's Eye," Selene added. "I don't understand." "Listen to Avalon. She will lead you to the Phoenix Gate," Luna concluded, and the three faded. The gargoyle blinked, sat up, rubbed her eyes again, and scratched her head. Listen to Avalon.... How? She brooded over this for a couple of minutes. Avalon.... Arin then heard it. The voice of countless denizens of the mystical island caressed her mind, clearing the cobwebs from her mind's eye. She "saw" Shadow, his eyes pleading, as Brooklyn--Avalon's Brooklyn, that is,--grabbing hold of the strangely smaller gargoyle and, wrapping his pitch black wings around the screaming aspect, absorbing him. "NO!" Arin shouted, jumping to her feet. "I will not allow this!" Abruptly, she felt a surge of power rush through her as she uttered "‘Once you loved, now come to be abhorred/Avalon's revenge against the false lord!'" She had no clue what she even said; the words carried power and it frightened her. Still, the raw power of her fae heritage flowed into her, an electric but not uncomfortable sensation. Her eyes flickered from emerald green to glowing silver to blazing red. She had to stop Brooklyn at all costs. Kade dodged a thrust by millimetres. Shit, doesn't this dude ever tire? She demanded herself, sweeping at his legs. He retaliated by swiping the dai-katana at her arm, nicking her wrist. She screeched, dropping her sword, covering the wound with her free hand. She stared up the length of the opposing blade, her eyes brimming with tears of hatred. "Do it, kemosabe," she challenged. "Kill me, you dishonourable bastard. What the hell, what's one less Khhithsig in the world? Come on, bastard, kill me!" Her words obviously struck something inside him as he sheathed the sword. His eyes cleared back to a confused shade of hazel. "Brooklyn!" The two swordsmen turned their heads to face Arin in the doorway. Kade groaned, catching a whiff of fae magic emanating from the female gargoyle. Not this shit again. "Arin, my bright sun!" Brooklyn took a step toward her. "You're awake--" A cold stared from the tan woman silenced him. "Kade, are you all right?" Arin bolted to her friend's side. "I'll be fine. Only a flesh wound," she nodded. "He knows where the Phoenix Gate is." "She wishes to divide us, bright sun--" "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Arin ordered, her voice ringing off the marble walls and floor. "Only one person had the right to call me that, and you destroyed him!" Brooklyn growled. "You cannot possibly mean that little shadow of what I once was--" "--That followed me? You just created a paradox, Brooklyn. You destroyed yourself." "You...you dare stand against me?" He balled his fists, which then glowed with a charge equal to the blaze in his eyes. "I gave you my love and the throne of Avalon, and you thank me by betrayal?!" "You no longer know how to love." He said nothing, only looked like she had physically slapped him hard in the face. "Who was Odin, Brooklyn?" she demanded. "The god you killed for his Eye on your breast? That is the only thing that's kept you alive. Not your ‘love'." "Arin--" His gaze became more confused, unfocused, as if two powers warred within him. "I dare you to remove the Eye, Brooklyn," she snarled softly. "If you truly love me, remove Odin's Eye." He hesitated, growled, and held his hand out toward Arin. He held the Phoenix Gate. "If you love me, Arin MacDuff,"he whispered, "return Kade home and stay with me here. I will give you the throne your mother once sat on. I am so lonely without you." "Loneliness is often mistaken for love, Brooklyn," she whispered. "Remove the Eye." "I can't." "Why?" "I'll die." "Damn you." She burst into tears. "All you care about is immortality and power. I don't mean a thing to you anymore." "Arin--" "Remove the Eye and let us leave." "I can't--" She stood, her eyes flaring crimson, her fists at her sides. Her tri- coloured hair whipped around her face in a wind that wasn't there moments before. Kade, unnoticed by the two gargoyles, propped herself behind a pillar. The air was severely tainted with the copper tang of magic. She agreed with her gut and decided to stay out of this. "Please, my love," his voice was amazingly gently, matching the expression in his hazel eyes. "Stay with me...become my queen--" "NO!" She retorted forcefully. "Avalon is not my home! And yes, I love Brooklyn. But you're not Brooklyn. You've become a monster." And, with that, she pounced. Brooklyn drew his sword as he backed up, keeping his eyes locked with hers. And abruptly, her eyes flared silver. "‘Creature of darkness knows no love from me,'" she sang in an odd chord, beautiful but eerie. "‘I take away the gift I granted to thee!'" She dug the claws of her right hand into his armor, her left engulfing the Eye of Odin, as she pressed her knees against his chest, forcefully kissing him. A strange green lightning field surrounding the two, the most eminent arcing from her eyes to his. Ultimately, the eerie field vanished. The nine-foot gargoyle collapsed at Arin's feet. The Eye of Odin, Kade noted, had lost its light as it lay dead on Brooklyn's still chest. "What did you do?" the dragon whispered. "I took away what I gave him," she stated simply. "I untaught him how to breathe." Kade dismissed that as mage talk. "So, is he dead?" Arin nodded her head, fighting back tears. "Avalon was suffering under his rule. I had to save her," the gargoyle whispered. "You killed your lover?" "This wasn't Brooklyn. This was Brooklyn's body possessed by the Eye of Odin." "Fuck it. Forget I asked." Kade pulled a bandage out of her jacket and wrapped it over her wound. "Let's get this right this time, Arin." "Good idea," she nodded, prying the Gate out of the dead gargoyle's hand. "I never want to return here again." *** NEXT TIME, ON GARGOYLES: "Gliding on the Winds of Time: The Roar of Limbo's Winds", may be the last part of this saga. Or the second to last, depending on how long it gets. Arin and Kade finally reunite with Brooklyn and Chris! That's all I'm going to say for now! After that, depending if Mercedes' gets her arse in gear with her "Moment of Rage", "‘If I Leave Here Tomorrow'" dealing with Christmas and Malibu, "Ohayoo, Nippon!" with Clan Winslow and Clan Ishimura, or my next story with Luc, "Revenge of the Black Sword", whichever gets done first. See you then! --Black Blade "My Cosmic Song Goes On For Eternity" "Master of the Universe" is by Hawkwind, from "Masters of the Universe"