"After the First Death" by Lexington Wyvern lex@mntm.org "After the first death, there is no other." --Dylan Thomas "And doomed to death, though fated not to die." --John Dryden Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. Any relation to actual events is not intended. The Gargoyles characters are the property of Disney/BVTV, and have been used without permission. Tempest is my own creation. Historian's note: This takes place a couple weeks after my previous piece, "Things Past," and is set in the third season of Gargoyles, somewhere between "Ransom" and "To Serve Mankind." And Finally: WARNING! There is some language in here that the network censors probably would not allow to appear on the show. But since the network censors don't apply to fanfic, I can write it. It's just a matter of whether or not you will still want to read it. I personally don't find it that offensive, but that's just one gargoyle's opinion. "After the First Death" by Lex Wyvern "Lex... Lex?... Lex!" Lexington started and looked up from the deserted street he had been staring at. "Huh?" "Is something wrong, Lex?" Brooklyn asked, seating himself next to the smaller gargoyle. "You've been acting depressed all night." "I guess I'm just a bit tired. I haven't really been out of the castle since I got back from the hospital. I probably ought to be taking it easy." "Would you rather go back to the castle?" Lex sighed. "I ought to. I guess I could... what was that?" "What was what?" "Shh. I thought I heard something...." Very faintly the two could hear a woman pleading for help. "Come on. We'll go back to the castle after we find out what's going on," Lex said, jumping from the roof and gliding in the direction of the nearby voice. "Useless trying to reason with him," Brooklyn muttered, following his friend. In a darkened alleyway near the rooftop the two gargoyles had been perched on, Lexington and Brooklyn saw a young lady on her knees. A man stood beside her with a gun to her head; another was demanding her valuables and already held her purse and wedding ring. A third was keeping watch at the end of the alley. Lex and Brooklyn were spotted by the gunman as they swooped down into the alley. The mugger dropped the ring into the purse and thrust it at the woman. "Get out of here, Lady. You were just bait." The woman ran from the alley without looking back. The gunman turned his weapon on the two gargoyles and fired repeatedly. Lex was struck by a tranquilliser dart and began tumbling to the ground. Brooklyn dove for the smaller gargoyle and both were hit as he reached his friend. They tumbled to the ground in a heap, Lexington unconscious and Brooklyn barely awake. "Grab the little one!" the mugger shouted. "We only need one of them, and that's the one they specifically asked for." The other two thugs grabbed hold of Lexington and dragged him to a truck parked on the curb. They threw him into the back and latched the doors. In his unclear state of mind, Brooklyn was vaguely aware of the leader saying, "There. That oughta satisfy the Illuminati." "Brooklyn! Brooklyn, wake up!" Brooklyn opened his eyes to find Angela and Broadway crouched beside him. He groaned softly. "What happened?" Angela asked. "I'm not sure. Some... thugs hit us with tranq darts.... Hey.... Where's Lex?" "We thought you knew," Broadway replied. "He wasn't here when we found you." Brooklyn groaned again. "Now I remember. They kidnapped him... for the Illuminati..." "The Illuminati?" Broadway asked. "Great. Now what do we do?" "I wish I knew." "Professor Wyrde?" the woman in the labcoat asked. "I think it's coming to." Professor Robertson Wyrde approached the motionless figure bound to the examining table. "Miss Malcom, are you certain?" "*Doctor* Malcom. No, I'm not certain." "Call me again when it *is* conscious." Wyrde stormed back to his office. "I don't believe that guy. Professor? He's nothing but an arrogant, pompous ass!" "I couldn't agree with you more, Gayle," replied Wyrde's other assistant, Dr Madison Yates. "But we're stuck with him." Gayle returned to the examining table and checked the pulse of the gargoyle lying on it. "I can just imagine what that guy plans to do with this." "I'd be surprised if it survived a week of his so-called research. And what if it's sentient?" "What?" "Haven't you seen any of the news reports? From what I've seen, they may be sentient beings much like us." "The media is totally unreliable. You know that at least, I hope." "Yeah, yeah, but what if it is?" "It'll be a cold day in Hell before the media is honest." "You know what I mean, Gayle. What if it *is* like us?" "I doubt that'll stop Wyrde from running his so-called tests. You'd think someone would come after him for unethical research." "Nah. He's prob'ly Grand High Poobah of every organisation that could. How's your little friend doing?" "It just moved a bit. I think it really is coming to this time." "Yeah, well, don't call for Professor Corruption until it's eyes are wide open and it's singing the national anthem of Switzerland backwards." Lexington moved his head slightly and opened his eyes. "Well," Gayle said, "we've got open eyes now." Madison approached her and looked down at the form on the table. "I see... but no backwards Swiss anthems yet." "Forget the backwards Swiss anthem, Madison. It's your call. Do we bring him back in yet?" "A little test first. Just out of curiosity." He crouched down nest to the small gargoyle and shouted, "*CAN YOU HEAR ME?*" Still somewhat disoriented, Lex turned away from him and whispered, "Please don't do that..." "Hmm... interesting... not quite a backwards Swiss anthem, but interesting.... Speech." "Smashing, Madison. So it's some kind of parrot." "I am not a parrot.... Where am I?" Lex asked weakly. "There. See? Not a parrot." "Obviously. No feathers. Like I said, some kind of parrot wanna-be," Gayle replied. "Where am I? What do you want with me?" "So do we call the nutty professor yet?" Gayle asked. "I think this brings up the moral question again. Do we let him run tests on a sentient being?" "Do we even know it's a sentient being?" Lex groaned again. "Please. Tell me where I am." "He'll probably just make us do the basic stuff ourselves. Fluid samples and all that. He'll want to do the tissue samples himself, of course." "Yeah," Madison replied. "He lives for all that vicious bloodshed crap." "What?" "So do we call him in or not?" Gayle asked. "I guess so." "Wait," Lex murmured. "What do you want with me? What are you going to do with me?" Madison walked to the door of the professor's personal office and knocked. He opened the door slightly. "Professor Wyrde, we're ready to begin." Wyrde came back into the lab and looked down at the gargoyle. "You two take fluid samples. Blood, spinal fluid, semen, saliva, everything. Call me again when you're done." He returned to his office. "All right, Madison. Let's get busy." "Wait! Wait! Please!" Lex cried. "Please! Please! Wait!" On the verge of panic, he tried to work free of the bonds holding him down. Tears of frustration and fear welled up in his eyes and spilled out. "Don't! Please!" Madison came up next to him, a large syringe in hand. "Calm down. Don't struggle. You won't be able to get free. You'll only make it worse." "Who are you?" Lex sobbed. "Why are you doing this? What do you want with me?" "We're scientists. We're doing this because we have to. And we want biological samples." "Why? Research?" Madison nodded. "I'm sorry. I'd let you go if I could, but I don't have the ability. I don't have the key for the locks." He jabbed the needle into Lexington's arm. As he withdrew a large quantity of blood, he repeated, "I'm sorry." "If the Illuminati has him," Matt was saying, "chances are he'd be in one of three places. Arcturus Research Facility, Strathmore Labs, and a hidden facility." "Any guesses which one?" Brooklyn asked. Matt looked back at his personal file folder. "Arcturus is under investigation for unethical testing on human children, and the hidden facility was recently damaged by an explosion, so it's not very well hidden anymore. That leaves Strathmore." "Do you think we could break him out of there?" Matt shook his head. "Not likely. Security there's way too tight, and there's no way of knowing where he is. It's an awfully large building." "Great. Now what?" "I wish I knew, Brooklyn. I wish I knew." "Have you finished yet?" Professor Wyrde asked impatiently. "Sir, yes, sir!" Madison replied. "Knock it off or you'll take it's place, Yates." "The samples are all right here, accurately labelled and catalogued," Gayle cut in, indicating several vials on the lab counter. Wyrde picked up a large, sharp scalpel from a rack of vials, tools, dishes, and various bottles and jars. "All right, let's get started with the rest of the samples." The scalpel's blade flashed as he approached the table. An eerie, inhuman scream echoed through the wing of the building. "I thought I'd find you here." Xanatos's voice was different somehow--unusually flat. Depressed. "What is it, man?" Hudson asked. "I have some terrible news for you. I just received word from the Illuminati that... that Lexington was... was killed in one of their research facilities not long ago." "What?" Broadway asked. "I don't believe this!" Brooklyn exclaimed. "How could this happen?" Angela cried. "They... they wanted you to know.... I... I'm sorry...." "Thank you for telling us," Goliath said sadly. "They... they also wanted you to know that they... destroyed his body...." Xanatos said. "If you'll excuse me..." Alexander was crying. Owen stood next to Fox, who was cradling her son. "What's wrong with him, Owen?" Fox asked. "Why won't he stop crying?" "He tells me... he wants something, but he won't say what." "Alex... Alex, honey, what do you want?... Alex, tell us what you want and we'll get it for you..." "He says he wants his friend..." "Who?" "Lexington. He wants Lexington here." Fox looked down sadly at her son. A small shadow huddled in a corner, crying softly. "Why did they have to leave the castle?" Angela sobbed. "I told him not to go!" "You did your best, Angela, but now both of my brothers are gone," Brooklyn said. "But why did they go?" "I guess they just needed to get out." "He promised... he promised me he'd be careful!" "Sometimes being careful just isn't enough. The quarrymen are too numerous. Broadway and Bronx never stood a chance against that many of them. Angela sobbed miserably, falling against Brooklyn. He closed his eyes as tears began to spill from them. The same thought kept running through his mind: *Lexington, Broadway, and Bronx are dead...* Hearing footsteps approaching, the shadow turned towards the walls and tried to stop crying, drying its eyes and face with its sleeve. THREE YEARS LATER... "There have been reports and rumours of unethical research and experimentation at Strathmore Labs. Several employees have reported hearing human-like cries for mercy and of pain." Chavez slid a search warrant across her desk to the other three officers. "Maza, Caswell, DuBois, I want you to search the top three floors of the south wing. That's where all the reports have come from." "I don't like this..." Caswell said. "I feel like we're being watched. Elisa turned, seeming to hear a soft sound behind them in the dimly lit hallway. She turned back to the other end, hearing something there. "Something's not right here." "Well," DuBois said, "that's why we're here, isn't it?" The sound came again. "Should we check that out?" Caswell asked. "It's too quiet here... and too dark. This can't be right," Elisa said. The hallway was short, and there was certainly something around the corner ahead. Elisa motioned for them to stay quiet. Behind them, a shape emerged from the shadows. Ahead of them the sounds of a few motions--perhaps the scuffling of feet- -echoed from the adjoining hallway. "Look out!" Four armed security guards suddenly appeared from the adjoining hallway and sprayed the area with bullets and poison darts. As the shadow retreated, one of the darts struck it in the shoulder. In spite of the warning, the three cops were unable to get out of the way. They were riddled with bullets and dead even before the guards knew what had happened. One of the guards stepped forward and examined the bodies. "Oh, shit!" "What?" "They were cops!" "Oh, shit." "You said it was--" "Yeah, well, that damned thief must've been back here, 'cuz I heard it warn them." "All right, spread out. It can't have gotten far." "But what about the cops?" "It can be pinned on the thief. C'mon, start looking before it gets farther away." The four guards scattered through the darkened halls. When they had gone, the shadowy figure which had followed them reappeared. "I tried to warn you," it whispered. "I tried to get you to turn back and follow me.... I tried to save you.... Just like all the others...." The shadow's hand gently brushed against Elisa Maza's lifeless face, then it quietly stepped away. As it retreated into the darkness, it reached back and pulled the dart from its shoulder. It dropped the tiny object to the floor and vanished into the shadows before the guards returned. "Hudson? Have you seen Goliath anywhere?" "He's left us, Lad," Hudson replied. "He said to tell you and Angela that he's sorry." "What?" Brooklyn cried. "How could he do this to us?" "I don't know. Perhaps we'll see him again... perhaps not. Only time will tell...." TWO YEARS LATER... "Angela, Brooklyn, can I see you a minute?" "Sure, Matt," Brooklyn replied. "We're not busy." "Chavez wants to try to investigate Strathmore Labs again." "But ten cops have been killed in there!" Angela exclaimed. "How can she even consider this?" "That's where you two come in. I'd like you to serve as bodyguards, so to speak, while I run my investigation, What do you think?" "All right," Brooklyn said. "But does Captain Chavez know?" "Yes, she knows. She feels it's a wise idea and fully supports it." "When d'you want to go?" Brooklyn asked. "I'd like to go right away, if it's all right with you." "It's fine," Angela said. "Let's go." "All right, the elevators are just down this hall. But watch out for yourselves. Don't go sneaking around or keeping too quiet. We have problems up there and couldn't pull the guards out. Keep aware of them." "We'll try to avoid them," Matt said as he and the two gargoyles headed to the elevator. A voice above the guard at the door said, "Why do you keep letting them come get killed?" The guard turned to the ceiling vent, his weapon cocked. "It's your fault they get killed, Thief, not mine." "It's your fault as much as mine. If you would just let me leave--" The guard fired three tranquilliser darts into the vent. He heard them lodge in the sides of the duct. The thief laughed, coughing slightly as it did. "Don't waste my time, pal," it said before moving away through the ducts. "Damned experiments. I oughta accept that security position with Nightstone. It's gotta be more normal than this. "Doctor Yates?" "Please. Madison. It's so much less stuffy." "Madison," Matt said. "What do you know about possible unethical experimentation?" "I know nothing. But... no." "What is it?" "I could be out of a job if I tell you." "All right, you can speak anonymously. But we may need you to testify if it's brought to trial." "Gayle and I were two-thirds of the team doing most of the unethical research and experimentation. There were a few other small teams, but the two of us and Professor Robertson Wyrde were the main researchers." "What was the nature of this research?" Gayle Malcom moved slowly to the door and looked out. "The research was a series of tests run on and samples taken from a gargoyle five years ago. Torture, you could call it." "Detective, would you like to invite your companions in? They would be safer," Gayle said. "Excuse me?" "The gargoyles outside. I saw them with you. They'd be safer." "Safer? Safer from what?" "The security guards. They'll shoot down practically anything that breathes." Gayle opened the door. Matt sighed. "Brooklyn, Angela, come inside." The two gargoyles stepped inside and Gayle closed the door. "Now, about this research," Matt said. "Wait." Gayle listened carefully and moved toward a large floor vent. She picked up a yardstick and lightly rapped on the grate. Within, something tapped at the side of the duct. "It's safe to come out," Gayle said softly. Madison joined Gayle at the vent. "Here, I'll get the grate for you." He reached down and swung the metal grate up on its hinges. Gayle knelt down by the square hole and reached in. She helped a robed figure up from the duct and Madison closed the grate. "You all right?" Gayle asked. The figure nodded. "You sure?" It nodded again. "Who... who is that?" Angela asked hesitantly. The shrouded figure turned towards her and whispered, "Angela?" "Who are you?" "Angela, it's me." The figure pushed its cowl back. "It's Lexington." Angela gasped and Brooklyn exclaimed, "How--how can this be?" "They never really killed me. They lied about that. They didn't want you to come looking for me." He hesitantly approached Angela. "Oh, it's so good to see you again," he said, embracing her. She returned his hug. When he stepped back, there were tears in his eyes. Angela took his hands in hers. "Your hands..." she murmured. "Mmm-hmm...." he said softly. "And they're not the least of the damage. If you only knew how hard I've tried to come home to you..." Brooklyn rested a hand on Lexington's shoulder. "Why didn't you just glide from--" "I can't. Look." His ears had been badly torn and his face scarred. One fang was broken and another missing. He had lost three fingers, four toes, the end of his tail, and his wings. He had grown thin during his imprisonment--frail and sickly. Angela gently brushed the back of her hand against his forehead, which felt feverish. "Are you well?" she asked. He sadly shook his head. "I've been poisoned. Two years ago someone developed a serum which would inhibit--in fact, entirely stop--any gargoyle injected with it from turning to stone. To humans it's harmless, but to us it is a deadly poison. I..." "Lex," Madison said. "Do you plan to leave with them?" "I... I would like to..." "Lex, please. Come home with us," Brooklyn said. "We've lost so many of the others. It will be wonderful to get someone back." "I heard about Broadway... and Bronx..." "Goliath's gone, too. He vanished following Elisa's death." "And Hudson?" "He's still with us, but almost totally blind now." Lex sighed. "I don't have long to live.... I won't be with you long if I do return." "How... how long?" Angela asked. "At the most," Gayle said, "about a month. More likely it'll be half that." "Oh, Lex..." Angela embraced him again. He coughed dryly, and she slightly relaxed her grasp. "Thank you..." he said and coughed again. "You won't be able to just walk him out of here," Madison said. "The guards have been given strict orders not to let him escape." "That why he was hiding in the ventilation system?" Matt asked. "Mmm-hmm. It's the only place where he can't be tracked. Wyrde still wants to run some tests on him. Not only that, but he'd like to dissect him after he dies." Lex weakly sat down. "Gayle..." "So how do we get him out?" Brooklyn asked. "Well... one of you could take him out the window and leave him on another rooftop.... Then when we leave, you can go after him and take him back to the castle," Matt said. Gayle unwrapped a sealed syringe and used it to withdraw a quantity of liquid from a rather small glass vial. "You'll have to be careful so the guards don't see you," Madison said. "But I think it'll work." Gayle handed the syringe to Lexington, who jabbed it into his arm and injected the contents into his veins. "You're forgetting something," said Angela, who stood behind Lex with one hand on his shoulder. "How long can he be alone out there?" "I think that if the three of you leave as soon as whoever carries me out returns, and if you don't take me too far, I should be okay." Gayle gathered together several wrapped syringes and sealed vials and tossed them into a bag which she handed to Lex. "I'll take him out of here right now," Brooklyn said. "The sooner we get him home, the better. Ready to go, Lex?" Lex nodded sadly. "If we wait much longer, the guards may come by. Let's go." "Lex? You okay?" Lex sat up in bed, leaning on the pillows he had propped against the headboard. "Yeah. I'm fine, Alex." "You shouldn't lie to the lad like that," Hudson said. "Well, what do you want me to say? I'm bedridden, I'm wasting away, I've brought suffering to a new level, and I've got about a week at the most before I die." Lex coughed. "But all things considered, I'm fine." "I wish I could help you," Alexander said. "You tried your best," Lex replied. "I thank you for trying, but not even Oberon could do anything for me now." Alex climbed up onto the bed and hugged the dying gargoyle. "I'll miss you." "I'll always be with you in spirit, Alex. As long as you remember me, I'll be with you." "I wish you could stay." "So do I, Alex. So do I." Lex coughed dryly. "Alex... could you do me a favour?" "Anything." "I need a pen and some paper." He coughed again. Alex jumped down from the edge of the bed and went to look for a pen and paper. "What are you planning, Lad?" Hudson asked. Lex coughed. "You'll find out, old friend," he said as Alexander handed him the requested items. He scrawled a note onto the pap3er, folded it, and motioned to Alex. He embraced the child. "Remember, Alex. As long as you don't forget me, I'll be with you." "Are you going now, Lex?" Lex nodded. "I wish I never had to leave you and my clan..." "I'll miss you." "I know. I wish things could be different." Lex picked up the folded piece of paper. "Run and give this to Brooklyn and Angela, okay?" "All right. Goodbye," Alex said tearfully. "Goodbye, Alex..." Lexington whispered as Alexander left. "Lexington... you're planning to take your own life, aren't you? "It's the only way, Hudson." "I never thought you could be capable of this, Lad. You were so timid when you first came to us..." "I know. But I'm not the same person I was before being abducted." Lex coughed and reached for the bag of vials and syringes. "Lad...?" "Things have changed, Hudson. I could go on a few more days before I reached a point where I would be pleading for death, but by that time, I would no longer be able to bring it. I would have to last out my time... live out my final days in agony. And I wouldn't be the only one suffering. You and Brooklyn and Angela and Alexander would have to watch me waste away. I can't put you through that. It'll be too hard for you." He removed from the bag a large bottle of morphine and an equally large syringe. "I can't make my friends suffer." He withdrew a lethal dose of morphine from the bottle. "It's better this way, Hudson. Really." Lex jabbed the needle into a vein and emptied its contents into his blood. "Goodbye...." "Brooklyn, Angela, Lex said for me to give this to you." Alexander handed the folded note to Brooklyn. Brooklyn unfolded the note and the two read: *My friends, I regret to have to tell you that I intend to commit suicide. I am slowly wasting away, as you know. I do not want you to have to watch me slowly die, so I have chosen to do this, although I would have liked to stay with you a while longer. Angela, Brooklyn, I love you as though you were my own family. I want you to know that I am doing this for you. Goodbye, my friends. Always remember me.* "He's killing himself?" Angela asked. "We've got to stop him!" She ran for his room. "Angela!" Brooklyn called, running after her. Alex looked after them, then disappeared. "Lex!" Angela cried, running into the room. "Lass, relax," Hudson said sadly. "You're too late...." Angela ran to the bed. Lexington lay motionless, his eyes closed and a peaceful look on his scarred face. He reached out and touched his cheek, which already was growing pale and cold. "Lex... no..." "Perhaps it's for the best," Brooklyn said, standing behind her. Angela ran out the door, sobbing. "Angela!" "Let her be, Lad," Hudson said. Alex appeared next to Brooklyn. He floated up and rested his hand on the gargoyle's shoulder. "She wants to be alone." Angela ran into the library and collapsed into a chair. "Oh God, why? Why have so many of us had to die? Why did you return Lex to us, only to take him away again? Why?" She curled up in the chair and sobbed miserably. A hand delicately came to rest on her shoulder. "Hush, Angela. Everything's all right," a soft, angelic voice said. Angela turned. Behind her stood a female gargoyle with white skin, brown hair, and larger-than-normal wings. She was dressed hi a white flowing robe and wore a golden cross around her neck. Just behind her stood a smaller, bronze-coloured gargoyle also wearing a white robe. "Lex?" Angela said. "Who are you?" she said to the other gargoyle. "What's going on? You can't be Lex.... He's dead!" Yet, something inside told Angela that it had to be Lexington--the gargoyle standing there was identical to the one she had met over five years ago. The smaller gargoyle came up to her and rested his hands on her arm. "I don't understand it any more than you, Angela, but I am Lex...." "But you're dead." "I know. This can't be happening... but it is." "Perhaps I can explain," the other gargoyle said, stepping closer. "My name is Tempest; I am a guardian angel. More specifically, I am *your* guardian angel, Lexington." "My guardian angel, huh? Lot of good you did me," Lex said, crossing his arms. "I was tortured, mutilated, and poisoned. I took my own life. Aren't you guys supposed to protect against those kinds of things?" "In a way. We don't so much keep you from harm as protect you so that you can fulfil your destiny. And you have not fulfilled yours." "So what are you doing here?" Angela asked. "Why didn't you do something sooner? Like when it would've made a difference?" "What can you do for me? I'm dead! And what about all the others who died?" "Please listen to me rather than judging me. I am an angel. I am not like you; I am not governed by the laws of time and space as you are, Angela, or as you were in life, Lexington. If you had fulfilled your destiny, you would have become Alexander's guardian angel. But since you didn't, I have brought you here in order that I may set things right." "Wait--how could I be his guardian *angel*? I thought that suicide was a major sin..." "In most cases, it is. But you are a good person and always have been. The Lord watches over all His creations... especially those who, like you, have lived a hard life and been discouraged from trusting Him." "But... that doesn't explain how I could be an angel..." "You have a kind heart and a good soul. Most who take their own lives do so only to end their own suffering, but you had over time become somewhat indifferent to the pain of your illness. You quite possibly could have held out to the end, but you couldn't bear to put your friends through that suffering." "So... because I died to end the suffering of others, I became an angel instead of... of being sent to Hell." "Had you killed yourself to end only your own suffering, you would now be in Hell and I would be unable to set things right." "What's all this about setting things right?" Angela asked. "The destinies of Broadway, Bronx, Elisa, Goliath, Lexington, and all the others who perished as an indirect result of Lexington's abduction were not fullfilled," Tempest said. "Therefore, things must be set right. Lexington should not have been abducted." "But why wait so long to fix things?" Angela asked. "Yeah... why not fix everything while I was still being held prisoner? Why wait until I had died?" "Meddling in time is a most serious and difficult thing," Tempest replied. "We weren't certain that we would be able to proceed. If you had died of poisoning instead of morphine overdose, Lexington, not only your body would have deteriorated but your soul would have lost a great deal of its substance as well. Because you took your life before your soul lost its energies, enough power was left to both of us that myself and the guardians of the others will now be able to change things. Had your soul lost that energy, there wouldn't have been enough left to set things right. You would instead have become Alexander's guardian angel." "How much time was left from the point when I died before my soul would have lost that energy and..." "About five minutes." "Oh. So now who's Alexander's guardian angel?" Lex asked. "In a sense, you are." "But--" Tempest gestured for him to be quiet. "In order to set things right, we must go back to before the time at which you were discovered by the Illuminati member employed by the hospital. This time, when he begins to make copies of your medical files, one of the nurses' aides will go to retrieve another file. He will be found out, fired, and ousted from the Illuminati. You will be safe, Lexington, and so will the other members of the clan." "So... everyone will be alive again?" Lex asked. Tempest nodded. "Everything will be restored to how it was when Lexington was still in the hospital recovering from his illness. History will be erased to that point, and will not repeat itself. Are you ready?" "Yes," Angela said as Lex nodded. Tempest removed the cross which hung around her neck and held it up. A beam of light caught it. The gold glinted, then flashed blindingly. When its light faded, Angela and Lex found themselves in a familiar hospital room. Tempest was still with them. "Tempest... you said history would be erased..." Lex said. "I did." "But I remember everything that happened in the last five years... or the coming five years... or... or..." "Yes. You and Angela should remember everything." "I do remember," Angela replied. "But why?" "Because the two of you were in such close contact with me before time cycled back to this point. Everything has been restored." "But what you said about Alex... you said that I was his guardian angel..." "In a sense, yes." "But... but how..." "You are not his true guardian angel, if that's what you're wondering. There is someone among my kind currently holding that position. But you are his angel of a different kind. You are... oh, how can I say this? You're his earthly protector. A guardian angel can't do everything directly for his or her charge. They often work through the living. You have been chosen to be his living protector. Everyone has one at some time in his or her life." "Really. Who's mine?" he replied sceptically. "You have had several over time. The princess Rosalind, the female gargoyle who rescued you from the forest, and, most recently, Angela." "Me?" Angela asked. "Yes. You were the one who helped him when Goliath almost exiled him, were you not?" "Well... yes..." "You protected him." "Well... I guess I did..." "Tempest... does anyone else remember what happened?" Lex asked. "Only you two. Do not discuss those events which have been erased with anyone. No one will believe you. Let it become a secret--an event like the dream Goliath had in the mists of Avalon," Tempi warned. "Wait," Lex said. "What dream?" The end... That's it for this instalment from the twisted mind of Lex Wyvern, author and lunatic. But I may come up with something else soon-- who knows? Certainly not me. Lex Wyvern lex@mntm.org lexwyvern@geocities.com lexington@the-lair.com www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/4016/index.html