Shadowplay (Part Five) A "Gargoyles" Fan Fiction Story by Dylan P. Blacquiere (pblacqui@cycor.ca) Part V Shadowlands AUTHOR'S NOTE : With some exceptions, none of the characters used in the story are mine. "Gargoyles" characters belong to Walt Disney/Buena Vista Television. This is an unofficial story, not sanctioned in any way by Disney. Also, this story incorporates, and sets up later events, which will conflict with future episodes of "Gargoyles". In other words, it'll fly in the face of everything canon come September 7. But, that's life. Enjoy. HISTORIAN'S NOTE: This story takes place after "Hunter's Moon, Parts One to Three" and "Shadowplay, Parts One to Four". BEFORE YOU READ THIS FANFIC, READ PARTS ONE, TWO, THREE AND FOUR OF THE STORY, "THE COMING OF SHADOWS", "AND THEN THERE WERE SIX", "ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL", AND "AND IN THE DARKNESS BIND THEM". *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************************ SILHOUETTE: "You can't fight us, because you ARE one of us." "And In The Darkness Bind Them" HAWTHORNE: (voice-over) "Previously, on Gargoyles..." BROOKLYN: "I'm not one of you! I'll NEVER be one of you!" "And In The Darkness Bind Them" BROADWAY: "This poor soul what?" HUDSON: "The one you'll kill." (Show Broadway blasting Tybalt, "And Then There Were Six") "And In The Darkness Bind Them" HAWTHORNE: "It's saying that if we win, I'll turn to stone forever." "And In The Darkness Bind Them" GOLIATH: "From what we have seen, the rest of the world is like this." (Show the outbreak board from "And Then There Were Six") GOLIATH: "We'd only be delaying the inevitable." "And In The Darkness Bind Them" ELISA: "The city's dead. The world's dying..." "And In The Darkness Bind Them" GOLIATH: "I don't care. I don't want to live without you, anyway." "And In The Darkness Bind Them" BROOKLYN: "And you were." HAWTHORNE: "I was what?" BROOKLYN: "Wonderful tonight, my immortal beloved." "And In The Darkness Bind Them" BROADWAY: "This is the happiest moment of my life!" "And In The Darkness Bind Them" FANG: "Is anybody there?" "One Ring To Rule Them All" ARIEL: "The quest of the six gargoyles would be to travel in search of the six pieces, join them, and battle Silhouette. If she were defeated, she would not be a threat any longer. If she won, then the world would be hers." "The Coming Of Shadows" *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************************ Prologue Homeward Central Park, New York City November 4, 1996 The fog rolled in two hours after Goliath awoke. He had spent the time between sitting in the park, absolutely miserable, and feeling utterly helpless. Since Elisa had been subverted, he had not seen one normal person in the entire city. That probably meant he was the last unsubverted living creature in all of New York City. The crashing reality had hit hard. He hadn't left the park...just sat on the grass, and waited. Waited for anything. He wouldn't have cared if Demona had suddenly shown up and started taking potshots at him with her laser cannons, or if John Canmore had walked by with a hammer, grinning wildly and pointing to the east. The apathy scared him deeply, but in a strange way, he welcomed it. In some way, not caring made the pain go away. He allowed a small grin. What would Hudson say if he saw him like this? He could almost picture the elder walking by, groaning, and wagging a finger at him. But Hudson was gone, as was Elisa, Bluestone and even Xanatos. The Mutates, Elisa's family, the clone clan were all subverted as well. Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington and Angela had been gone for almost a week now, and any hope that he had for them to successfully fight off the sickness was rapidly dwindling. Basically, every friend, every ally he had was gone, possibly never to return. Several times, he caught himself about to yell out to the Servants he was sure were watching him, telling them that he was here, waiting to be subverted. He didn't know why they weren't coming for him, but he was becoming more and more convinced it was just to make him feel helpless and alone. Which he was. He kept replaying that tragic moment in his mind. When Elisa's eyes had slowly turned black, he had felt as if his soul had died with her almond-brown eyes. He wished desparately that he'd had one more chance to tell her that he loved her before it had happened. Funny how you don't really realize how much you cherish something until it's snatched away from you, he thought. Then, quite suddenly, the fog rolled in. What meagre light there was suddenly died. Goliath found himself caught in a black mist, which radiated evil in waves. The temperature suddenely seemed to drop, and involuntarily, regardless of the fact that gargoyles didn't feel cold as much as humans, he shivered. He looked around. Any shapes he could make out were hazy and indistinct, and objects could only be seen to about twenty feet away. Goliath squinted, but couldn't make out any further. "What is this?" he said aloud. Nothing answered. Just as he had expected. He sat down, and sighed. Just another complication, he thought. Patiently, he began to wait again. *************************************************************************** ******** The Space Needle, Seattle, Washington Brooklyn sighed, his feet dangling over the roof of the tower. He glanced at the Seattle sky, and sighed deeply. Hawthorne was leaned against him, resting on his shoulder, asleep. She had cried herself there. He glanced around. Broadway was sitting down, still looking horrified. Angela was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to calm him down. Ophelia was toying absently with the ring, and Lexington was lying down, looking fatigued. Brooklyn frowned. The incident in the mirror maze had completely destroyed the morale of the travellers. Hawthorne was incredibly upset...about what, she wouldn't say. Broadway had relapsed into a state of shock, recoiling from even Angela's touch, even though the two had decided to become mates less than four hours before. Lexington, Ophelia and Angela were in a state of confusion, left in the dark about what had happened. And he himself was more frightened than he had ever been in his life. The revelations in the maze had left him furious, at first. His anger at Silhouette and her lies had eclipsed any other feelings he had felt at the moment, and had expressed in his fury that led them to the others, lost in the maze. But now, the anger had shrunk, allowing the other dominating emotion through...his fear. First, she kills me, he thought, dejectedly. Now, she plans to steal my soul. He sighed, and leaned back. What a mess. Hawthorne groaned, and woke up. Suddenly concerned, he looked up into her eyes. She was tired, but scared, and Brooklyn was suddenly overcome with the out-of-place conviction that she had never quite looked so beautiful. I'm not going to let it happen to me, he told himself. If for nothing else, I'll stay myself just to be with her. She yawned. "I nodded off." "Yeah." Brooklyn smiled. "You did." "What really happened in there? Who was this Elisa Maza?" Hawthorne asked. "Elisa Maza?" "That's what the woman who came to me said her name was. I hate her, whoever she is. She said she knew you." "I do know her. She's one of the best friends my clan has. Whatever she told you, she wouldn't have if she hadn't been taken over by Silhouette." Hawthorne frowned. "Still...if you'd heard the things she told me..." "What did she say?" Hawthorne gulped, as if trying to find the strength to say what she had to say. "She said that in the missing piece of the prophecy, it foretells what will happen to me if we win. She told me that if we beat Silhouette, I have to turn to stone forever. And she told me that because you brought me into this, you had signed my death warrant." Brooklyn's jaw dropped. "Oh, God. Hawthorne..." "What's more, I have this gut instinct that she was telling the truth. If she was...Brooklyn, no matter what happens, tonight, or tomorrow at the latest, I'm going to die." A tear rolled down. "It's just so unfair..." Brooklyn's mouth tightened. "It's not going to happen." "What?" "It's not going to happen because I'm not going to LET it happen. If it does, then I'd sooner take your place." "Brooklyn! You..." "I what? I love you, Hawthorne. If I have to turn to stone forever to save you, then so be it. You deserve better. Besides, we don't have any guarantee that her story was true, do we?" "Not really..." "It's all a little too convenient. Servants of Twilight, who want to prevent this confrontation, come to tell us what will happen if we go ahead. I doubt they're being entirely truthful." Hawthorne sighed bitterly. "You're right, I suppose. But I'm still upset. I mean, if somebody tells you you're going to die, then it still gets to you, no matter how much the logic screams against it." "Well, she told you you're going to die. I'm telling you you're not. You tell me, who are you gonna believe?" Hawthorne looked at him. "You do present the more tempting choice." Brooklyn smirked. He brushed aside one stray bang that had fallen on her face. "My beloved." Hawthorne smiled, weakly, and embraced him warmly. "What are we going to do?" she asked. Brooklyn sighed. "We'll have to move on. Whatever Hudson said to Broadway nearly gave him a nervous breakdown. We'll have to wait until he's calmed down before we can go find the last piece." "It's in New York City." Hawthorne frowned, thinking. "That's your home, isn't it?" Brooklyn nodded. "It is. And that's where the six of us will make everything all right again." "Are you so sure?" Hawthorne asked. "Have you ever really thought about it, Brooklyn? What will happen if we lose?" "We aren't going to." "What if we do? What will happen to us? Will we die? Will WE be banished?" Brooklyn looked at her, and his brave expression faltered. "I don't know." Hawthorne frowned. "I didn't think you would." Brooklyn pulled her closer, and sighed deeply. "What happened to you in there?" Brooklyn blinked. Hawthorne had asked, and she was now looking inquisitively into his face. "Nothing." he quickly replied. "Something must have happened." "Nothing did. Silhouette tried to use the same scare tactics on me." "SILHOUETTE?" "Yeah. She told me something about how I'd die, or something." Brooklyn lied, controlling the dimple. The answer seemed to satisfy Hawthorne, as she snuggled deeply into the crook of his arm. He sighed, rationalizing his concealment. He didn't feel comfortable telling her about what had happened just yet, and doubted he ever would. The fundamental doubts about this journey bubbled to the surface again, and he seriously began to lose faith. In the quest, in the world, but mostly in himself. All along, Brooklyn had been holding onto anchors. Throughout the journey, he had relied on the others...even Whitbourne and Carbonear, who were now quietly waiting in a park in Atlanta, hoping that the six of them would succeed so they could return home. But somehow, he had mostly relied on himself...the last bastion of stability in a rapidly changing world. But, if what Silhouette had told him was true, then he couldn't even believe in that anymore. If he were to lose himself...lost in the darkness, suddenly becoming the very thing he was fighting against...then... He didn't want to think about it. The prospect was too painful. Hawthorne shifted, pushing her way against his side. With a wistful look, he brushed back a stray lock of her brown hair, which had fallen into her face. She smiled, and mumbled something unintelliglible. Brooklyn allowed a brief smile, and began to stare at the clouding over sky. With a sigh, he realized he had never felt so small and utterrly insignificant in his life. *************************************************************************** ******** Angela caught herself nodding off to sleep. With a groan, she slapped herself, trying to stay awake. Broadway, sitting miserably on the rooftop, looked up. "Don't hurt yourself, my love." he mumbled. "That's my job." Angela sighed, and knelt down. She grabbed his shoulder. Broadway recoiled, looking in fear at her face. "Don't! I might hurt you!" he cried. Ophelia glanced over at the scene, frowned, and turned away. Angela looked in Broadway's eyes. "You aren't going to hurt me. If you were, I wouldn't touch you. But I love you, and I'm going to see you through this." "How can I get over it? I'm going to kill someone! That's not something you just let slide by!" Broadway yelled, incredulously. Angela shushed him. "Broadway, don't do this to yourself. You're falling into a trap that Silhouette planted for you. You're just doing what she wants you to do. Don't give her the satisfaction." Broadway shook his head sadly. "You don't understand..." "You're right. I don't." Angela snapped. "What happened to you in there?" Broadway sniffed. "I was in the maze, and suddenly I heard voices coming from the mirrors. One of them was Tybalt, from back in Avalon, and the other was Lexington from Atlanta. Both were times when I lost control of my power." "And..." "And then Hudson came. He was subverted, and he began telling me that the prophecy said I had to kill somebody, that I'd lose my power one last time. Then he began hinting that it would be you I'd kill." Angela gasped. Broadway looked up at her, a pained expression on his face. "What if it's true? God, Angela, what if I kill you?" Angela flustered for a second, but regained her compusure. "Did he come right out and say that you'd kill me?" "No...but..." "It was probably some scheme of Silhouette's. They were trying to knock us all off of our guard, and it's working. Brooklyn and Hawthorne are upset about whatever happened to them, and you're ready to collapse. But it was probably just some plan to throw us off the quest for the ring. She'd have a lot to gain if we couldn't go on." Broadway frowned. "Are you sure? What if it's true?" "If it is...which I really doubt...then it's fated. We can't stop it. Whatever will be, will be." Angela sighed, and grabbed his head. "Please stop worrying. You don't know if it's going to happen or not. The chances are it won't. There's nothing to be afraid of." Broadway smiled, and clasped her hand. "I wish I could say you were completely reassuring me." "I'd have doubts, too, if I were you. But Broadway...you can't let what Hudson said destroy your life. Move onward. It was a horrifying experience, but it's past now. Life has to go on, and if you hold on to the false doubts of a Servant of Twilight, you'll never be able to let go." Angela told him. He watched her silently, not saying a word in reply. Angela stared him down. "Do you understand?" Broadway nodded. "I'll try. But it'll be hard." "I'll be with you every step of the way." Broadway smiled. Angela gave him a wide grin, and stood up. She offered him her hand, and helped him to stand. *************************************************************************** ******** Lexington was dozing peacefully. Ophelia looked over, looked back at the Ring, and back at the small gargoyle. He looks like an angel when he sleeps, she thought. Then she frowned. Why would that thought enter her head now, of all times? She turned her head back toward the ring. The small gap, just barely large enough for one fragment of metal to fit. But when that fragment joined... What would happen at the promised battle? Would they win, and rebanish the evil? Would the Servants of Twilight become no more than a nightmare, a brief flare of evil in the grand scheme of life? Would they lose, and die, or be subverted, or worse? What would happen? And if they did win, what would she do when it was over? She raised an eyebrow. She hadn't really thought about it much, since her thoughts had been preoccupied with the search for the Ring. How ironic that possibly mere hours before the final confrontation, she would begin to give the matter serious thought. At the park, Ophelia had asserted that she would be returning to Avalon once it was all over. It was to be expected. After all, that was where her family and friends were. Angela had left, but in some strange way, she had never really seemed to belong on Avalon. When they were children, and more so as they had matured, Angela had been outgoing, adventurous...she had seemed the sort to go out to the real world, to face the dangers that existed there. When she had left with Goliath, the human woman and the dog, to begin the odyssey to 'Manhattan', it hadn't struck anyone on Avalon as a surprise. But Ophelia was a different matter. She was brave, certainly...after all, she was a gargoyle, and being brave was second nature...but she couldn't picture herself living anywhere else but Avalon. The island was enough for her. A simple existance for a simple person. And yet...there was some strange attraction about this new world, which Angela and the others now called home. Angela, when she had returned to Avalon the night Oberon and Titania had returned, had explained that the real world was like the land of the Lotus Eaters from 'The Odyssey'...once you saw it, you never wanted to leave. Ophelia now understood what she was talking about. When the time came, it would be a difficult choice to make. But there were other matters to concern herself with now. Lexington stirred, and sat up. He groaned, and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, he shot up. "Welcome back." Ophelia remarked casually. "I dozed off, didn't I." Lexington swore. "Not for long. You've only been asleep for ten minutes." Lexington yawned. "Did you find out why Broadway, Brooklyn and Hawthorne are acting so strangely?" Ophelia shook her head. "They seem to be a little better now, though." Lexington considered this, and sighed. "So, what now?" Ophelia shrugged. "Whenever we're ready, we move on. To get the last piece of the Ring." The smaller gargoyle stood up, and trod over towards her. He took the Ring from her hand, and stared at it. "It really doesn't look like anything special, does it?" Angela and Broadway walked over, the haunted look still in Broadway's eyes. Even with Angela's reassuring, he had still been shaken badly by what had happened. "Are you feeling any better?" Lexington asked, setting the Ring aside. Broadway nodded weakly, and smiled. "A little bit." Ophelia sighed, and stood up. "Should we tell Brooklyn and Hawthorne?" "Don't bother." It was Brooklyn who said it. He had gotten up, and was walking to where the other four stood. Hawthorne was beside him, looking relieved. "We're ready to go." Angela explained. "So are we. The last piece of the Ring is in New York City." Hawthorne muttered. Lexington, Broadway and Angela looked at each other. "Home." Lexington whispered. "That's probably where the final battle is going to be, too." Brooklyn pointed out. He still looked troubled by something. Angela raised an eyebrow. "To think this is almost over..." "The question is, which way is it going to turn out?" Ophelia asked. None of them could answer. "So, are we leaving now?" Lexington asked. Brooklyn nodded. "Unless anyone else has unfinished business to take care of." he stated. The others shook their heads. "New York it is, then." Lexington sighed. "Desflegrate, muri intervalia." The ball of flame roared into existance once more. When it vanished, the travellers were gone. A drizzling rain began to fall. *************************************************************************** ******** The Eyrie Building, Manhattan, New York The world's tallest building was cloaked in darkness. Not only was all the power out, but the choking black mist was keeping it hidden. So nobody saw the flames appear on the parapets of Castle Wyvern. Nobody saw the six wearied gargoyles appear in the middle of it, and nobody noticed the flame disappear. The gargoyles looked around, at the mist of blackness which had once been their city. Lexington spoke for all of them. "We're too late." The others merely nodded in shock. The mist covered everything. They couldn't see anything in front of them, except the outlines of the edge of the tower. The skyline was gone. Nothing could be seen. "It's like Avalon all over again." Brooklyn gulped, looking nervously around. Angela shivered. "That probably means that Manhattan has been totally subverted. There's probably nobody left here. Father was..." There was a rustling noise behind them. They spun around, and saw Bronx materialize. His normally white eyes were deepest black, and a wicked, yet doggish smile played upon his lips. He growled, and leapt at Broadway. Broadway cried out, and dodged. In midair, Bronx desolidified. He didn't return. "What was that?" Hawthorne asked. "Our pet." Broadway replied. "Well, it used to be." "Bronx was subverted..." Angela stated unhappily. Lexington walked slowly towards the door, leading into the castle. "Where are you going?" Ophelia asked him. "Inside." "Why?" Brooklyn frowned. "Xanatos and Goliath were probably subverted too. All you're doing is walking into the lion's den." "But the ring's inside, isn't it?" "No." Hawthorne frowned. "Actually, I don't even think it's in Manhattan." "You said it was in New York City!" Angela protested. "New York City's a lot bigger than just Manhattan. It might be in one of the other boroughs." Broadway explained. "It is. I'm getting a picture of a castle. But there's a feeling that it's across a river..in Brooklyn Heights." "Brooklyn Heights! That's way over on Long Island!" Lexington groaned. "I could have saved us a lot of time by appearing in Brooklyn than by bringing us to the castle." "Maybe not. I think it's almost sunrise, anyway." Brooklyn sighed. "We can't stay here. We're out in the open. Any Servant of Twilight could come right out and smash us while we were stone." "But where can we go, then? If what you're saying is true, then nowhere in the freaking Tristate Area is safe! Not if it's all like this!" Hawthorne exclaimed. "There might be one safe place." Broadway interjected. "Where?" "The Labrynth. That might still be free." "The Labrynth?" Ophelia asked in confusion. "It's where some friends of ours live." Lexington explained. "He's right. It would probably be the safest place in the city." "I don't really see another choice." Brooklyn sighed. "We'll go to the Labrynth. We'll have to try gliding through this fog, though. Just stay close. It'll be like on Avalon...except Broadway won't have to carry me." Broadway gave a weak smile. Brooklyn looked out towards what he hoped was the direction of the Lower East Side, where the Labrynth was. "I think it's in that direction." he frowned. "Are you sure?" Broadway asked. "We could fly off, and find ourselves in New Jersey or out over the Atlantic Ocean by the time the sun rises." "Well, we can't walk. We'll have to take a chance." Ophelia sighed. She began to walk towards the parapets. "Let's go, then. We can't waste time." She hopped off the parapet, and cautiously vanished into the mist. She spun around, and looked back, beckoning the others to follow her. The others sighed, and followed. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************************ Chapter One The Survivors The Labrynth It took the gargoyles nearly an hour to arrive at the tunnels which led to the Labrynth. They had been strangely unhindered along the way, but had still made the journey cautiously. When they arrived, they landed on the street, disconcerted by the utter silence of the city. "It's like that time last year, when Demona turned everyone to stone." Lexington frowned, perking his ears for signs that anyone still existed in the darknened city. "It's worse. At least there were dogs barking then. There's nothing." Brooklyn complained. "All I can hear is a ringing in my ears." Hawthorne bit her lip. "Where is this Labrynth of yours?" "If we're anywhere near the right spot, down." Brooklyn told her. He walked forward, searching for the entrance. As he disappeared into the fog, there was a crash, and he yelped in pain. "What happened?" Angela called. "I banged my shin on the fender of a car. It's wierd though. The door's open, and the inside light's on." came back the disembodied voice. "It's like the person driving it just got out while he was driving. Here it is, I found the gate." The others began to walk towards him, peering into the mist. Brooklyn was standing over an air vent. He had opened it, and was preparing to jump in. "The Labrynth's in a subway tunnel?" Hawthorne asked. "Near an abandoned subway tunnel. The perfect place for the Mutates to live." "Who are the Mutates?" Ophelia asked. Brooklyn rolled his eyes. "You'll find out when you meet them. They're survivors. If anyone's still unsubverted, it's them." He hopped down, landing on the ground below. The others followed, Lexington closing the grate as he entered. They landed in the subway tunnel, glancing around. "The Labrynth?" Ophelia asked. Broadway shook his head. "It's not that far off." Ophelia nodded. The gargoyles began the trudging walk towards the massive iron gate. When they arrived, like Goliath, Elisa, Hudson and Harold Farmer before them, they found it securely locked. Brooklyn snarled, and banged on the door. The thud echoed throughout the tunnel, but nobody answered the door. "Talon never locks the door, unless it's an emergency." Lexington stated. "Maybe the Servants made it down here, too." Angela frowned. Brooklyn scowled. "It's starting to look that way." Broadway snarled, and kicked the door. It bent, but no more. "We're going to have to find another way in." "Where? The people who originally designed this weren't in the mood for a back door." Brooklyn exclaimed, pointing at the Cyberbiotics logo, still visible on the door. "If nobody's answering the door, then they were probably subverted." Lexington stated glumly. "Well, what are we going to do?" Hawthorne sighed. "What if we all banged on it together?" Ophelia called. "The six of us should be able to knock down this small door, here." Brooklyn shrugged, looking to the entrance she indicated. "What have we got to lose?" The six of them lined up. Brooklyn counted to three. At the sound of the last number, they ran forward, smashing their shoulders into the door. It buckled, but held. "Try it again." Angela hissed. "My shoulder's not very appreciative of this." Lexington muttered. They ran forward again, hitting the door with more force than before. The door buckled again, and Broadway gave it one great kick. With a groan, the door toppled over. "Knock, knock." Brooklyn smiled. The six walked in. The Labrynth was totally abandoned. Signs of a battle were visible, though. Pockmarks and holes dotted the walls, and continued into the far reaches of the Labrynth. "This doesn't look good." Angela noted. They walked towards the back tunnels. There, rubble littered the floor. A gaping hole, on an upward slant, indicated that someone had been in a hurry to get either in or out. "There was a back door." Broadway frowned. "It doesn't look planned." Brooklyn sighed. "Somebody was desparate to leave." "Or get in." Ophelia pointed out. "They could still be here." "How much longer is it to sunrise?" Lexington asked. "Probably not long. We either sleep here, or out in the open. I think this is the lesser risk." Brooklyn replied. "I'm with you. But let's get away from the hole. I don't feel that safe next to it." Hawthorne frowned. "The most remote place is the cages. It would probably be the safest place to sleep." Broadway sighed. They walked away from the hole, wondering how it had gotten there. As they walked towards the cages, Angela began to hear a low groan. She stopped. "What is it?" Hawthorne asked her. Angela shushed her, and tilted her head. "Somebody else is down here." Angela hissed, her eyes flaring. "A Servant." Brooklyn frowned. His mouth twisted. "Maybe not. It might be Talon, or one of the clones. They might have been hurt in the battle, and hid here." Lexington pointed out. "All right, we'll check it out. But let's be careful." Brooklyn sighed. He began to walk cautiously towards the detention areas. What he found was nothing near what any of them expected. Fang was lying in his cage, clutching his stomach in pain. He looked up, and saw Brooklyn. "Please...I haven't eaten in days..." he begged. Brooklyn pressed his hands against the glass, and raised an eyebrow. "What happened to the others? Where are Talon and Maggie and Claw?" he asked. The others walked in, wide eyed at the sight of the Mutate in the cage. "I don't know. I fell asleep and they were gone. You're the first people I've seen in days. Just, please, get me something to eat!" Brooklyn looked up at Lexington. "Go find him something to eat." he ordered. Lexington stared at Fang, and trotted off towards the place where Talon kept the Labrynth's food stores. "Do you know what happened here?" Brooklyn asked. Fang shook his head. "I was sitting here, nodding off to sleep...wait. A week ago, there was a commotion. Like a fight or something. Later on, Talon came, gave me my dinner, but he was in a really bad mood. Mumbled something about 'Richmond'. Then, a few days ago, I woke up from a nap, and everyone was gone." Broadway sighed. "Richmond. So the Labrynth was attacked." "Attacked? What's going on?" Brooklyn sighed. "We'll have to explain that later. Fang, we have to spend the day here. I don't care if you're in that cage or not, if I wake up to find you causing trouble..." he warned. Fang shook his head. "How much trouble can I cause cooped up like this? Besides, if you're really going to feed me, then I'd do anything for you. Where's your buddy with the food?" On cue, Lexington walked in, with a bag of chocolate chip cookies, a granola bar, and a can of lemonade. "This is all I could find." he apologized. Fang was too enthralled to care. He was staring hungrily at the food. "The feeding slot's over on the right side. My right." he indicated. Lexington slid the food under, and watched impassively as Fang tore into it. "You're lifesavers." Fang thanked them as he gulped down the lemonade. Hawthorne smiled. Suddenly, the gargoyles turned to stone. The sun had risen up above. Fang raised an eyebrow. He shrugged, and began to wolf down the cookies. *************************************************************************** ******** November 5, 1996 By the time the gargoyles awoke, Fang was fast asleep. He was snoring contentedly, the empty cookie bag on the floor. They awoke with a roar, enough to frighten the sleeping Fang. The psedo-gargoyle bolted up, but relaxed when he saw the gargoyles awake. "Wakey, wakey." he muttered ruefully. Brooklyn looked around. Everyone was all right. Fang hadn't been up to anything. "We should go and get the Ring now." Ophelia sighed. "Brooklyn Heights, right?" Broadway groaned. "What Ring? You said you'd explain what was going on!" Fang protested. Brooklyn frowned. "We don't have time for this, Fang. We have to go." "Wait a second. We can't just leave him here." Hawthorne frowned. Fang nodded, suddenly thinking they could be persuaded to let him out. Brooklyn sighed, and rubbed his chin. "You're right. He might go hungry again. But what can we do with him?" "I can't stay here..." Fang frowned, crossing his arms. "There's nobody here..." "There's no food left anyway. We might have to bring him with us." Brooklyn mused. "WITH US? Brooklyn, he's not exactly the most trustworthy character." Lexington protested. "Feeding him's one thing, but letting him come..." "Do you have any other suggestions? We can either leave him here, and let him starve, or let him strike out on his own and get subverted. Or, we can let him come with us. I don't like it any more than you do, but I'm not going to let him kill himself or worse. No, he has to come with us." He turned to Fang. "If I let you out, you stay with us. Trust me, there's nothing else up there anyway. You stay with us, or you come right back." Fang eagerly nodded. "I'll stay right by." Broadway shrugged. He montioned to the others. The six of them rushed the glass barrier, which cracked slightly. Fang grinned, and blasted the cage. The electricity arked around the crack, splitting the pane of glass further. It shattered, and fragments of glass went showering through the room. "Watch it!" Hawthorne hissed. She shielded herself with her wing. "Sorry." Fang apologized. He walked out. "This is the first time I've been out since Coney Island." "Enjoy it." Lexington remarked. He turned to walk away, out towards the tunnel. "Why are you going that way?" Angela called. "It's just as easy. Besides, we'll get out quicker." Lexington replied. The others followed. "So, Brooklyn, what's going on, anyway?" Fang asked. "You obviously know something about what's happening." Brooklyn sighed. "There's a magic at work. A demon is turning the entire world into a place of darkness, and the six of us have to stop it. Otherwise, the world as we know it won't exist. It's already stopped existing up above." "What are you talking about?" "Look." Brooklyn hissed. "The reason that Talon, Maggie and Claw aren't here is that they were probably subverted. They were turned into demons. The people who don't know what's really going on call it a disease...the Richmond Syndrome...but really it's a magic curse. You'll see when we get out of the Labrynth." "Quite the story." Fang smirked. "It's true." Ophelia remarked. "And I'm betting that as soon as we get aboveground, you'll wish you'd stayed behind." "Is that a threat?" Fang growled. "Because, missy, I..." "It's not a threat. I wish I was in your little cage right now, Fang, that's how bad it is. But the only way it'll get any better is if we find a piece of a magic ring, and fight a demon. That's what's going on, in a nutshell." Brooklyn sighed. Fang shut his mouth. The seven made it to the gaping hole in the wall. Grimacing, they began to scramble up towards the city above. "What the hell happened?" Fang whispered as he left the tunnel. "What's this fog?" "Evil." Broadway replied, frowning. Fang clicked his tongue. "I can barely see." Lexington thought back to a book he'd read last year. Making a rough anology, he cleared his throat. "Did anyone else ever read 'The Lord of the Rings'?" he asked. "I did." Fang frowned. "You?" Brooklyn exclaimed. "You actually read?" "I took Honors English in high school, smartass." Fang snarled. "I'm actually quite literate." Brooklyn opened his mouth to say something, but shut it. "Anyway, welcome to Mordor." Lexington sighed, waving his arm around. "Run that by me again?" Hawthorne asked him. "It's from the books. 'One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.' This is like Mordor." "Okay. I get it now." Hawthorne sighed, lying. Brooklyn frowned. "Let's find out where we are, so we can get to Brooklyn. Heights." he added, catching Fang's confused look. "Why are you going to Brooklyn Heights?" he asked. "It's where the last piece of the Ring is. I think we're in Central Park." Lexington frowned. "How can you tell?" Ophelia asked. "This mist isn't much for finding your bearings in." "There's a garbage can right next to you with 'Keep Central Park Clean' written on it." Broadway smiled. Ophelia looked down, and saw the garbage can. "Right." "So where do we go from here?" Angela asked. *************************************************************************** ******** Goliath awoke. With a shattering of stone, he roared, and looked around. The mist was still in the air, leaving him feeling desolate and alone. He sighed, and wondered why someone hadn't come and smashed him while he slept. In the mood he was in now, he was starting to wish that somebody had. The silence was deafening. There was absolutely no sound...barely even a breeze to rustle the leaves in the trees. No night birds sang, no dogs barked, no cars travelled the deserted streets. He was the last one left unsubverted in the city. So why isn't anyone coming to subvert me? he asked himself again, unsure of the answer. He stood up. Perhaps, if he went back to the castle, he'd be able to find some way to end it. He was sure that if Xanatos were there, he wouldn't mind welcoming Goliath to the not so exclusive club. There was no point in sitting put any longer. He might as well find some way to make it so that he wouldn't be alone any more. He felt a sudden flash of empathy with Demona. She had spent 900 years alone. Now, only now, was he beginning to understand what that did to a person. Either it would drive you insane, or drive you to end it all. She'd gone insane, he wished to end it. He walked, peering through the fog for a tree from which to launch himself into the air. Then, it would be but a simple matter to... "I took Honours English in high school, smartass. I'm actually quite literate." somebody spoke. The voice was distant, but Goliath was still able to hear it. He raised an eyebrow, thinking he'd imagined it. Foolishness! There was nobody else in the city! "Anyway, welcome to Mordor." a different voice stated. Goliath stopped, and glanced around. That almost sounded like Lexington. A sudden hope began to well up inside of him. Somebody else was alive. Perhaps Brooklyn and the others are back, he thought. He began to listen intently for something else to be said. "Let's find out where we are, so we can get to Brooklyn. Heights..." That was definitely Brooklyn. Goliath began to walk faster, searching for the sound of his voice to guide him. The first speaker obliged again, suddenly asking why Brooklyn wanted to go to Brooklyn Heights. "It's where the last piece of the Ring is. I think we're in Central Park." That was Lexington again, much closer. Somebody else asked him a question, but then Broadway said something about garbage cans. And then, Angela spoke. "So where do we go from here?" They were very close now. Goliath actually thought he could see the outlines of seven gargoyle like figures. Seven? he thought incredulously. He slowly walked forward. *************************************************************************** ******** "To Brooklyn Heights." Hawthorne answered, looking at Angela. "Which direction is it in?" "From Central Park? To the southeast. It's..." Brooklyn answered, but he stopped. He had the gut intuition that someone was walking towards them. "Someone's coming." he hissed. The other's looked around blindly. Brooklyn turned around, baring his fangs. His eyes shot to white. The outline of a gargoyle suddenly formed in the mist. As they watched, Goliath suddenly appeared. The leader of the clan took one look at Brooklyn, and shook his head. "It can't be." he whispered. The hopeless expression was erased from his face, replaced by one of amazement. His eyes were normal. He was unsubverted. "Father?" Angela asked, unbelieving at first. "It might be a trick." Ophelia warned. Goliath walked slowly towards Brooklyn. A tear was rolling down his cheek, whether from sadness or joy no one could tell. He grabbed Brooklyn's hand, and smiled. "It's no trick." Lexington whispered, instinctively knowing. 'It's him. It's really him." "Goliath?" Broadway asked. "Thank God you're home." Goliath whispered. Brooklyn merely stared at him in awe. *************************************************************************** ******** "What happened, Goliath? Why are you in the park?" Lexington asked, sitting on the ground. Goliath sighed. "Elisa and I came here after her apartment was attacked. Matt, Hudson, Maggie and Claw were subverted, and came to attack us., We escaped, but Elisa was subverted here. They would have subverted me, but they vanished, leaving me behind. I have been here ever since." He paused. "Do you have the Ring?" Ophelia held up the five pieces of it. "We were about to go and get the last piece when you showed up." Hawthorne inched closer to Brooklyn. "Elisa...that's the one who was talking to me in Seattle." "Elisa in Seattle?" Goliath asked. Brooklyn nodded. He told Goliath about what had happened since he, Lexington, Broadway and Angela had left Manhattan, six days ago. He told of how they had met Hawthorne and Ophelia, how they had gotten the first piece of the ring. He explained of their adventures in Las Vegas, St John's, Atlanta and Seattle. Goliath seemed fascinated by the mentions of gargoyle clans on Vancouver Island and in Newfoundland, but became saddened when he learned that Elisa and Hudson had been involved in the plan to destroy them in Seattle. When Brooklyn had finished explaining, Goliath stood up. "We must get the last piece of the Ring. We have no time to lose, if we're to save Elisa and Hudson, and stop Silhouette." Brooklyn, Broadway and Hawthorne looked at each other. The others got up. "It's in Brooklyn Heights, father." Angela stated. Fang streched. "I'm still going with you, aren't I?" Broadway nodded. "It's not safe for you anywhere else. You have to." Hawthorne closed her eyes. "I'm getting the feeling that it's that way." she pursed her lips, pointing to her left. "Okay. Now we have to find some way to get high enough to glide." Brooklyn frowned. "If we could find a tree or something, that'd be all right. But how can we see through this mist?" Hawthorne frowned. They began to grope about blindly in the darkness. It took about ten minutes, but Lexington finally found a large tree. Rather accidentally. He stumbled over a tree root, and landed flat on his face. Brooklyn noticed, and smirked. "Are you all right?" "Yeah. The only thing hurt is my dignity." Lexington muttered, getting up. He patted the tree trunk. "I think I found our ticket up." The others walked over. They inspected it, and sighed. "It'll do in a pinch." Broadway approved. He began to climb up, disappearing into the fog. The others followed. "Which was is Brooklyn Heights?" Angela called. The others thought. "I think it's that way." Brooklyn frowned, pointing to the left. "We'd just better hope you're right." Fang sighed, taking off. Soon, the eight adventurers were on their way. *************************************************************************** ******** Avalon Silhouette stared through the mirror, smiling grimly at the eight. They flew away, deeper into her city of darkness. The dog had served his purpose well, relaying the fact that the six were there in New York. Laughing merrily, she stood up. Finally, a plan had worked. And it had actually done something HONEST. The seeds of doubt had been planted. And even if they weren't showing it now, they'd crack when it counted. And, if the revelations turned out to be true, well that was an added bonus, wasn't it? Suddenly, three columns of shadow appeared. The main one reformed into the thin form of Fox Xanatos, who looked extremely upset. The other two became Bonavista and Woodstock, two of the Newfoundland gargoyles. They remained silent. "What's wrong with you?" Sil asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's the seventh! I couldn't find her! I looked all over St. John's for her, and she was nowhere to be found. Even these two couldn't help. She's gone." The woman began to hurl some choice explitives at herself. Silhouette crossed her arms. "This might be a problem. The seventh gargoyle could present a major threat if the prophecy is true. Still..." She frowned. [TRAVIS MARSHALL,] she projected. Within seconds the former news anchor was standing before the throne. He bowed, and looked up. "Mr. Marshall, didn't you say that there were two other gargoyles with the Leader and the Ringbearer when you had them trapped?" "Yes, my Lady. A blueish male, who looked almost exactly like the leader, and a very dark blue female." "Did you by any chance hear where they hailed from?" Travis thought. "They had a strange accent..." "Was they talkin' like this, bye?" Silhouette frowned, trying to imitate a Newfoundland accent, and failing rather miserably. Travis smirked. "A bit like that. Forgive my saying so, but you don't quite give the accent justice." Silhouette smiled. "I'll have to practise. But, you're sure. One was a female from Newfoundland." "Yes." "Thank you, Mr. Marshall. That'll be all." Travis sighed, and evaporated. Fox grinned. "She's in Atlanta." she snapped her fingers. "Very astute. I want her dead before the hour's out. Understand?" "Perfectly." Fox grinned. She vanished, Bonavista and Woodstock following. Silhouette sighed. It was time. She briefly wondered if she should let the gargoyles get the last piece unresisted. If she did, then she was gambling everything on Ariel's prophecy. If that failed, then the odds wouldn't be so wonderfully in her favor anymore. So, she needed a contingency. "But what?" she said aloud. She grinned. Perhaps it was time to call in the big guns. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************************ Chapter Two The Sum Of All Fears Williamsburg, Brooklyn The mist wasn't as thick across the East River, Brooklyn noticed with some relief. The majority of it was centred over Manhattan. But it was still thick enough to interfere with gliding. More than once, he had to veer upward when he looked down and saw the waters mere feet below him. The others were no more at ease than he was. Finally, they were over land once more. They landed on a rooftop, looking around to get some idea of their surroundings. Lexington found a sign. "New York Harbour, Dock 72. Williamsburg." he read. "We're in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Heights should be just to the south, along the river." "It's that way, then." Hawthorne frowned, pointing. "That's where the Ring is." "You're sure?" Fang scowled, looking in the direction. "How is it you know?" "That's my power, I guess. I find and locate the pieces of the Ring." She took the nearly completed circle from Ophelia. "It draws me to it." Fang seemed to accept this. The eight dove off the rooftop, heading towards the southern end of Brooklyn. The borough's namesake, meanwhile, veered close to Goliath. The purple gargoyle looked to him, and smiled. "I'm really glad you came with us, Goliath." Brooklyn said. "I'm starting to think I'm getting overwhelmed by being the Leader." Goliath raised an eyebrow. "You aren't expecting me to take your place, are you?" "No! No, I'm not. It's just...I could use a little guidance." Brooklyn sighed. Goliath smiled. "I may not be much help, I'm afraid. I'm not as experienced with dealing with the Servants of Twilight as the six of you." Brooklyn's mouth quivered. "Uh huh." he mumbled. "Did I say something wrong?" Goliath asked, seeing the expression on his face. "No, no. It's just...something happened in Seattle. None of the others know about it yet. And it's really shaking my confidence in myself." Brooklyn paused. "In Seattle, we were caught in a trap by Silhouette. But she didn't try to kill us, like in the other places we visited. Instead, she claimed that she'd found the missing page of the prophecy, and that it said things about Hawthorne, Broadway and me. I'm not sure what happened to Broadway...but I know that Elisa told Hawthorne something horrible." Goliath noticed Brooklyn give a wistful look to Hawthorne, who was flying in front of the group, guided by her powers towards the Ring. "There's something between the two of you." he concluded. Brooklyn's expression turned dreamy, momentarily distracted from his troubles. "True love. I finally found her...the perfect girl for me. Oh, that reminds me...Angela and Broadway are officially mates." "WHAT?" Goliath cried. He turned around. Sure enough, Angela and Broadway were flying very close together. They weren't doing anything, but Goliath recognized the bond between them instantaneously. "I'll have to have a talk with him." Goliath stated, smiling. He turned to Brooklyn. "What were you saying? What did Elisa tell Hawthorne?" "She told her that if we won, Hawthorne would turn to stone forever." Goliath's expression paled. "Surely that's not true!" Brooklyn shrugged. "That's the thing. I don't know. It was probably just a scare tactic, used to frighten us, keep us from finishing the journey. But she has nagging doubts that it's true. But what Silhouette told me..." Brooklyn swallowed. Goliath suddenly gave him his undivided attention. "She said that I was already a Servant of Twilight. She told me that no matter what did, that I would be subverted in the final battle, but that I would get there on my own. She said that when that happened, I was destined to rule the world by her side. That means that I'll lose myself in darkness. I won't be just a victim of this, Goliath, I'll be helping to keep it going. And even if it's not true, I have doubts in myself, too. When I look at the others, I see myself with black eyes, and I just want to..." Goliath reached out, and touched Brooklyn's shoulder. "Brooklyn...I don't know what to say." "Don't say anything. I probably shouldn't have told you." "Brooklyn, one of the first things a good leader does is to share his feelings. Keeping them bottled up inside won't make things better. You'll simply dwell on them, and make mistakes. That's not what you want." Brooklyn sighed. He suddenly felt like telling Goliath everything that was wrong with his life, which, right now, seemed like an awful lot. >From the feelings of frustration he felt when he had been dealing with Whitbourne, to his fears about the battle. "Is it normal to be so terrified of something?" Brooklyn asked. "I mean...I'm beginning to feel so frightened, almost like I was a hatchling again, and it's bothering me." "I'm no stranger to fear, lately." Goliath sighed. "I've felt frightened more times than you can count during the last few days. But never so terrified as when Elisa and I were fleeing her apartment." "What exactly happened while we were away?" Brooklyn asked, suddenly curious. Goliath sighed. "The night you left, Servants of Twilight attacked the police station. Matt Bluestone was the only one to get out all right." "Captain Chavez was the one who came after us in Las Vegas." Brooklyn recalled. "And she poisoned Hawthorne in Atlanta." "In any case, Hudson and I escorted Elisa to rescue him. When we returned to the castle, Xanatos, Owen, and Bronx were subverted. Hudson and I were forced to flee the castle, and take refuge at the apartment. Several days after, we went to the Labrynth. Elisa and I got out, but Hudson was caught there when a Servant attacked. Hudson and Talon were subverted. Maggie and Claw escaped and came to Elisa's apartment as well. Finally, Matt was subverted, and he and Hudson attacked the apartment. Claw and Maggie were taken as well, and Elisa and I tried to escape. That's when I began to feel frightened...when I realized I was totally helpless to protect those I cared for. When Elisa was taken from me...I lost all will to go on. I was actually looking for a Servant of Twilight to subvert me when I found you. It shames me to say it, but I had decided to give up without a fight. That's how desolate and alone I felt." Goliath looked to Brooklyn. "It's obvious that what happened to me is happening to you. You're allowing your fright to control you, when it is you that must control your fear. If you don't, then the future that Silhouette predicted for you will come true. You'll give in, and allow yourself to be taken. Like I almost did. Giving up hope was my mistake...I realize that now. I had lost faith that you would return safely, so I ended up in the same position you're at now." "Goliath, it was only by the sheerest luck that we found you." Brooklyn pointed out. "But you still did. The point is, don't lose hope. Otherwise, you're certain to lose." Brooklyn sighed. "You're right. But it's hard to be hopeful in the face of this." "Our lives, and the entire world, depend on you keeping that faith." "Thanks for taking the pressure off." Brooklyn remarked dryly. "Learning to accept pressure will better help you to deal with it." Goliath added. Brooklyn sighed. "Right. But if you don't mind, I'll still be a little bit terrified, thanks." *************************************************************************** ******** "I think Brooklyn told him about us." Angela noted, seeing her father's expression as he turned around. Broadway looked, and smiled briefly. He turned to her. "I still can't stop thinking about it. But it's like the feeling's numbed now." Angela spun around. "Broadway..." "Don't tell me to let it go again, Angela. I can't. I've tried. You don't know what's it's like for me. If I use my powers again, I'll kill you. How do you think that makes me feel?" Angela said nothing. Broadway's expression became saddened. "You can't even begin to imagine what it felt like. In Atlanta, when I blasted Lexington, I knew what I was doing. But the thing is, I didn't care until you brought me back. I saw him go flying across the room, hit the wall, and I didn't care! I'm a monster, Angela!" Angela suddenly became nervous. Broadway began to look as terrified as he did in Seattle, after first coming out of the maze. "I'M A MONSTER!!!!!!" he screamed, at the top of his lungs. Everyone turned around, staring at him. "Are you all right?" Fang asked. "All right! Of course I'm all right! I'm just going to kill Angela, that's all!" Broadway cried. He began to sob. "I'm a monster, and I'm going to kill her. Just like I almost killed Lexington and Tybalt." Lexington veered off, and soared next to Broadway. "Broadway, what's gotten into you?" he asked. "Leave me alone." Broadway sobbed. Lexington looked helplessly to Angela. "In that maze, Hudson told him that if he lost his power again, he'd kill someone. Broadway's convinced it's me." Angela explained. The others all circled around, and Angela explained the situation again. "Broadway, it was just a trick. A plan to throw us off our guard." Ophelia advised. Broadway shook his head. "You don't understand. It's true. I know it is." "How do you know? We were told some things too, just as bad, but we've accepted them as one of Silhouette's tricks." Hawthorne told him, feeling like a liar. Broadway stared her down. "Do you know what it's like to lose control of your power, have it backfire and threaten to hurt those you care about?" Hawthorne shook her head. "No, but I..." "In Atlanta, I used it, and nearly hurt Lexington. The thing is, when I saw that blast hit him, I didn't care. I knew it could have hurt him, and I didn't care. How am I supposed to live with that? Plus the fact that I could kill somebody...somebody I love with all of my heart..." he looked at Angela. "Broadway..." Brooklyn sighed. "Listen. I know it could happen, because I've lived through it twice before. So no, don't tell me it's another shadowy lie. Because I KNOW it's not." "I know what you're going through. Silhouette told me that..." Brooklyn began. He frowned, and looked to Hawthorne. Did he really want to say this? Hawthorne stared at him inquistively. Goliath was regarding him patiently. "In the maze, Silhouette told me that I was already a Servant of Twilight." Brooklyn began. "Apparently, in the final battle, I'm supposed to subvert myself, or something. But I think it's a crock, myself. It's just one of Silhouette's plans. Except, instead of killing us, she wants us to doubt in ourselves." Broadway sighed. "But I already doubted. And now, I'm going to hate myself. And, if I need to call on my power to protect the rest of you, I won't be able to." He sighed, and looked at all the others. "I'm sorry." The gargoyles glanced at each other. "Broadway..." Angela began again. Broadway frowned, and clasped her hand. Angela tried to say something, but couldn't. Brooklyn sighed heavily, and looked helplessly to Goliath, who was staring intently at Broadway. Fang moved in, next to Lexington. "Pretty screwed up bunch you've got here." "Oh, shut up." Lexington snapped. *************************************************************************** ******** Hawthorne soared next to Brooklyn. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, upset. Brooklyn frowned. "Would it have made any difference? It's not true, anyway." "Somehow, you don't seem all that sure of that fact anymore." Brooklyn stared her down. "I'm just...there's no real point obsessing about it. Like you said, you don't get threatened and take it lightly. But even though emotionally I'm not all that sure, logically I know it was a lie." Hawthorne looked at him. "Maybe so, but...you should have told me. I might have been able to help you out..." "How? I didn't help you out that much back in Seattle. You're still afraid." "You'd be surprised how much you helped me. Just knowing somebody was there for me...to look out for me when I needed it..." Brooklyn took her hand. "You're my immortal beloved. I don't ever want to let you go." Hawthorne smiled, tentatively. All of a sudden, she perked up, and frowned. "The Ring is close by!" she called out. She dove, and the others followed. They landed, although not very gracefully. Ophelia looked around, and down at the street below. "Are we in Brooklyn Heights?" "I think so. We're in a pretty well-to-do neighbourhood." Brooklyn glanced around. "Is the Ring close by?" "A couple of minutes by air, I think." Hawthorne explained, pensively. "Didn't you say that it was in a castle?" Ophelia asked. "Yep." "How many castle's are there in this Manhattan?" Ophelia asked Angela. "Ours." her rookery sister replied. "No. There's Belvedere Castle, in Manhattan...and MacBeth's manor in...Brooklyn..." Lexington frowned, thinking. "Maybe the next piece is in MacBeth's house!" "MacBeth?" Fang frowned. "Like the play?" Brooklyn blinked. How strange to hear Fang, who came across as a petty thug, talk of Tolkien and Shakespeare! "You don't know the half of it." Goliath told him. "It might be." Hawthorne informed Lexington. "I can't tell myself. But it won't hurt to check it out, I guess. Why is he called MacBeth?" "It's his name." Lexington told her. "What did he ever do to his parents?" "He's actually from the same time as we are, roughly." Brooklyn interjected. "It's a complicated story." "Well, let's go." Angela sighed, walking to a house and scaling the wall. Fang sighed. "Lay on, MacDuff." he recited. "And damned be he that first cries." *************************************************************************** ******** MacBeth Manor, Brooklyn The now abandoned manor welcomed its master home. MacBeth materialized, his black eyes glistening in the lights of the parlour. How odd that his home could possibly be the site of the battle to end it all. Before tonight the most exciting things to happen there were the occasional gargoyle visitations. His helpers began to materialize behind him. The twelve Servants were here, with clear objectives in mind. Protect the Ring, and, if possible, kill the gargoyles. Demona snarled, looking around. Her eyes, normally glowing red when angered, gave off the standard black glow. Her long standing hatred of MacBeth had been put aside, for the sake of this assignment. Silhouette had asked for Servants who knew the six gargoyles, and she had gotten quite a motley crew. Demona and MacBeth were merely the vanguard. Jackal, the third member of the company, glanced around the room. "So where is the Ring, anyway?" MacBeth frowned. "According to Lady Silhouette, the piece of metal's in the library." The fourth member of the group, Hudson, sighed. "It won't be doin' us any good for all of us to be in the library, then" "Why not?" Puck asked. After his subversion, he had dropped the Owen Burnett guise, possibly never to don it again. "If that's where the Ring is, then that's where we should be. Use your head, gargoyle, instead of keeping it rock hard at night." "Think, elf." Hudson snapped. "If we all stay in the library, then we'll be fighting too close to the Ring. We want to keep them away." "He's right." Griff sighed. The sixth Servant crossed his arms. "It's too risky. We'll have to engage them in the air." "Not all of us have wings." Elisa frowned at him. "How are we supposed to kill them if we can't fight on their level? We have to force them down." "That might not be entirely true. If the gargoyles and the fey battle them in the air, then those who cannot fly can either use my jetsleds, the castle's defense systems, or our powers to aid them. And if the Leader and his friends do manage to get past, then we can hold them off inside. There's no way they can win." MacBeth explained. He turned. "Demona, Hudson, Griff, Talon and Puck will have to fight them in the air." "Me too." Jackal pointed out, firing his rockets. His cybernetic eye still flared red, an odd contrast to his darkened eye. MacBeth smiled, appreciating the eagerness of his team. He turned to the grounded members of his party. Elisa Maza, David Xanatos, King Arthur Pendragon, the gargoyle dog Bronx, and Wolf. "Listen up." Wolf was saying. "Do we really have a chance against them? I mean...if the Protector..." "The Protector's been taken care of, lad. He wouldn't use his power if Silhouette herself were approaching him now." Hudson snapped. "You seem very confident about that fact." Xanatos frowned. "I made sure of it myself." Hudson boasted. Arthur stood behind him. "You wouldn't have been able to if it hadn't been for me. I am the one who found the missing page of the prophecy." "As you kept reminding me." Griff mimicked. Bronx suddenly stood up, completely straight. His head pointed to the west. "I believe our friends are about to arrive." MacBeth smiled, taking the dog's signal seriously. *************************************************************************** ******** The gargoyles arrived, cautiously landing in a small stand of trees near the manor. "This is it, all right." Lexington frowned, peering through the mist to the outline of the castle. "So how do we get inside?" Angela asked. "It won't be easy." Brooklyn frowned. "If it's anything like the last time we were here, there should be defense systems going. And even if they aren't used, then the Servants will be guarding this piece well. It's the last fragment." "Then we'll use stealth." Goliath muttered. "Where's the Ring?" Ophelia asked. "In a room fillled with books. A library." "All right. We probably should do something along the lines of Avalon. Two groups." Brooklyn decided. "Hawthorne, Broadway and Ophelia will come with me to get the piece of the ring. Lex, Angela, Fang and Goliath will provide the diversion. And..." he paused, looking at Goliath. "Funny that I'm giving you the orders." he remarked, looking to the leader of the clan. Goliath smiled. "You seem to have a talent for it." "So what kind of diversion should we make?" Lexington asked. "One that'll make a lot of noise." Brooklyn winked. Lexington smiled in response. "The diversionary group should enter in the very centre of the building." Goliath added. "MacBeth's manor has an open area in the middle. We shall enter there." "And while you're doing that, where do we go in?" Ophelia questioned. "MacBeth has some hangar doors in the back. That's probably the best place to enter." Broadway sighed. It was the first he had spoken since his outburst in the air. "We'll meet together once we have the Ring." Brooklyn explained. "The four of you stay around the center of the building." Fang, Goliath, Lexington and Angela nodded. "One way or another, it ends tonight." Brooklyn muttered. *************************************************************************** ******** They climbed a tree, and took off. As the diversionary group disappeared into the mist, Brooklyn, Broadway, Hawthorne and Ophelia began walking. "This is it." Ophelia muttered miserably. "Once we get this, the final battle starts." "And we're going to win it." Brooklyn muttered, with resolve. Hawthorne frowned, and looked at him. "None of that is going to happen." Brooklyn told her gently. "I promise." "I'm holding you to that." Hawthorne smiled weakly. They came upon the hangar door. Broadway, having remembered how they worked from the incident with the Scrolls of Merlin, walked up to a side panel next to the door. He flipped the panel, and pushed a large red button. Fortunately, MacBeth's house wasn't tied in to the New York Power system, and ran on it's own generators. As a result, the door opened, with the hiss of concealed hydraulics. A blast of laser fire greeted them. Wolf and MacBeth, using the latter's jetsleds, rocketed out from the hangar, firing electric beams at them the whole way. The gargoyles scattered, diving into the bushes. "So much for stealth." Brooklyn commented. "Maybe not." Hawthorne contradicted. "Ophelia, can you cast an illusion?" "I'll try." Ophelia called back. Suddenly, Hawthorne disappeared. Brooklyn gasped, and then realized that he couldn't see himself either. They were invisible. That didn't save them. Dingo and MacBeth had seen them dive into the bushes. As a result, they had an idea where the gargoyles were. The blasts continued. Brooklyn groped around, searching for the others. Muttering curses, he stepped on something. Broadway cried out. "That was my TAIL." he hissed. "Sorry." Brooklyn apologized. "Where are Hawthorne and Ophelia?" "I'm over here." Ophelia called. "Where?" Brooklyn frowned, helplessly. "Drop the illusion for a second." Hawthorne cried. "But we'll be out in the open!" Broadway protested. 'It's a necessary risk. How are we going to find each other if we can't see? Drop the illusion, move together, then recast it." Hawthorne explained. The gargoyles became visible again. They quickly scrambled towards each other, and grabbed each other's hands. Ophelia concentrated, and they became invisible once more. The blasts stopped. Wolf and MacBeth landed the jetsleds. "They went right off my radar." Wolf frowned, pointing to the guidance system on the jetsled. "Infrared can't pick them up, either." "They're off my radar as well. But I think I know why. One of them can cast illusions. Magic is too powerful for machines such as these. Here." MacBeth tossed Wolf a blaster. "A gun?" The 'werewolf' asked. "Set it to the highest setting. The switch is on the left side." MacBeth instructed. "Now sweep those bushes with the laser fire. If the beam so much as touches them, they'll be killed instantly." MacBeth blasted the bushes. The laser arked, setting the bushes afire. "Move." Broadway hissed. Brooklyn and the others scrambled to safety, and entered the hangar. As they were about to leave the room, they heard MacBeth and Wolf stop the laser fire. "They aren't here." Wolf sighed. "They might have crept into the building." "If they did, they won't get far. Sooner or later, they'll have to drop the illusion, and the second they do, the defense systems will kick in." MacBeth stated ominously. "Trust me. They won't survive long enough to even see the Ring." *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************************ Chapter Three Fire In The Sky The attack came almost immediately. As soon as Brooklyn and the others were out of sight, Goliath, Fang, Angela and Lexington banked to the left, trying to gain access to MacBeth's house. The second they came within sight of it, the battle cries began. Before any of them realized what was happening, Demona flew out of the fog, blasting shadow bolts the whole way. Lexington barely dodged one. He veered away, trying to get behind her. His strategy would have worked. Demona wasn't paying any attention to what was going on behind her. Lexington could have easily landed on her and forced her to the ground. But as soon as he came close, another bolt came flying from the mist, hitting him in the side. He cried out in pain, and tumbled, barely managing to stay in control. His assailant, Hudson, came flying out of the fog, laughing merrily. Goliath felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. He growled, and tackled Hudson in midair. The elder gargoyle grunted, and punched Goliath in the stomach. Goliath roared, and glid upwards, Hudson following. Soon, more blasts flew out. Griff and Talon began their attack, focusing on Angela and Fang. Angela struggled to battle off the griffon, but was unsuccessful. Griff drove her downwards, towards the unforgiving ground. Fang was too busy to notice. "This is for letting me starve!" he yelled, firing an electric bolt at his fellow Mutate. "You should have stayed, Fang." Talon retorted, returning the blast. "It would have been less painful." Fang snarled, and zoomed in closer. That turned out to be a mistake. Talon twisted, and fired a blast in a contortionist position. Fang cried out, and tumbled down. He crashed into the woods, and groaned. Lexington, meanwhile, tried to regain some altitude. Demona whirled around, and began her attack anew. Lexington's eyes flared, and he snarled. "Why so agressive, Lexington?" Demona called, mockingly. "I just want to talk." "Bull." Lexington spat. He raced forward, using the advantage of his greater speed to catch her by surprise. Before she had a chance to react, he was on top of her. Demona went ballistic. She twisted and contorted, trying to get the smaller gargoyle off of her. "Give up?" Lexington asked, in the most patronizing voice he could. "The thought never crossed my mind." Demona replied. She metamorphosed into shadow, leaving Lexington alone in the air. He cried out, and began to tumble, only barely catching an updraft. He exhaled. That had been close. Suddenly, a bolt of laser fire went screaming past. Jackal was hovering nearby, his one black eye contrasting with the harsh glow of the prosthesis attached to the other. Without thinking, Lexington snarled, and attacked. That was exactly the opening Demona was waiting for. Recorperating, she roared, and plowed into the small one at top speed. He screamed, and went flying through the air in a seemingly graceful arc, disappearing into the fog below. None of the others noticed. Angela was too busy in her battle with the former knighted gargoyle to take the time. Griff laughed as he blasted her left and right, forcing her to dodge the blasts wildly. With a battle cry, she moved upwards, and came down savagely on his head. He cried out, lashing his tail. She fought back, reaching down and raking his face with her talons. Griff screamed again, and put a hand to his face. He discorporated, leaving Angela alone in the sky. Satisfied, she whirled around, in time to see Demona and Jackal come flying through the air. Amazed, she dodged their first fly-by's. How many people is Silhouette using to try to stop us? she thought. She must be desparate. Jackal spun around. He took careful aim, and launched a grenade at her. The projectile streaked through the sky. Angela dodged it, and listened impassively as the grenade detonated. The sound echoed throughout the fog, with a noise like thunder. Vaguely surprised that Demona hadn't tried to stop him from killing her, Angela flew towards the cyborg, her eyes flaring red. He blasted her. She cried out, and tumbled. Demona made her move. She raced down, to just below her daughter. With a scream of victory, Demona fired a blast at her child, intending to knock her out of the sky. What happened next, nobody expected. *************************************************************************** ******** Hudson streaked through the misty sky, laughing all the way. He periodically fired bolts of shadow back at Goliath. The younger gargoyle snarled, and banked upwards. "Give in, lad. You can't win!" Hudson yelled. He spun around, only to have Goliath, roaring, land on top of him. Hudson whoofed as the air was driven out from him. Goliath growled, but was careful not to seriously hurt his friend. With one punch, Hudson was knocked out. He crumpled, and began to spiral downwards through the air. Goliath dove to catch him. But suddenly, Hudson was awake again, snarling, enraged. He fired blast after blast at Goliath. Goliath howled in pain as one struck him in the arm. He dove, downwards towards the earth, banking towards the side... ...and, quite accidentally, crashed into Demona. Her shadow bolt went wild, missing Angela by a large margin, and nearly hitting Jackal. She went flying sideways, struck by his massive frame at top speed. Angela managed to regain control of herself, and tried to increase her altitude. Hudson, soaring down, had other ideas. With one blast, she was buffeted throughout the sky again, careerning wildly. "Angela!" Goliath yelled, seeing his daughter thrown like a rag doll. He raced upwards to catch her. She controlled herself, though, and managed to stay aloft. "We can't attack them separately." she growled. "We'll have to take them together." Goliath nodded, and spun around to see Talon moving in. The Mutate smiled, and fired a shadow bolt. Goliath dodged, and the blast struck Jackal square in the face. The cyborg screamed, and melted away into shadow. Talon wrung his hands, and soared to the left. He met up with Demona and Hudson, and began advancing on Goliath and Angela. The three Servants of Twilight were blasting repeatedly, trying to force the two away from the Manor. "We'll have to hit them hard." Goliath frowned. Angela nodded with understanding. The two glid downward, underneath the Servants. As the shadow blasts rained down on them, they swerved upwards, and accelerated to their top speed. Talon and Hudson never knew what hit them. The two gargoyles plowed directly into their stomachs. Talon screamed in pain as Angela forced him upwards, nearly crushing his internal organs. He barely managed to discorporate. Hudson came out a bit luckier. He was knocked up, but not permanently damaged. However, he was still hurt badly. He vanished, becoming as shadowy as the mist. Demona escaped unharmed. She whirled around, snarled, and blasted again. The beam passed between her daughter and former love, forcing them to scatter. [I NEED HELP, HERE] she projected, admitting the reality of the situation. Almost unbidden, Griff appeared. He snarled at the sight of Angela, baring his fangs. "Can't stand the thought of an even fight, can you?" Demona asked, as she noticed Goliath and Angela's horrified expressions. "Mother! We're trying to save you!" Angela called, hoping that the reminder of their relation would calm her down. Demona shook her head. "No, daughter. You're trying to destroy what I've become. And I can't let you do that." Griff raised his hand. "Cheerio." he smirked, gleefully. The blast came forth, a beam of blackness. It struck Goliath directly in the face. With a roar of pain, he grabbed his head with both hands. "Father!" Angela screamed. She spun around, and tackled Griff again. The British gargoyle squawked, and dodged. Angela twisted, and crashed into him. Griff fell back in pain, and dissipated. Demona screamed in frustration. Fuming, she drew one of MacBeth's electron guns. She had taken it almost a year ago, when the two had last met in Paris, and had kept it with her ever since, having to admire the usefulness of the weapon. Now, it might actually end the threat of the prophecy. And wouldn't that be privy to a reward? Angela was caring for Goliath. He was fine, just hurt. The shadow blasts had effectively no effect save concussive force. A direct hit to the face would cause little more damage than slight bruising. Pity. A fully charged stream of electrons, however... Demona charged the weapon to "full." Angela spun around, just in time to see her mother level the lethal weapon at her stomach. "Mother, no!" Angela screamed. Goliath howled in anguish. When the gun fired, the sound seemed to be the loudest either of them had heard in their lives. *************************************************************************** ******** Fang could hear the sounds of the grenade exploding, the shadow blasts overhead. But these came in a murky haze of confusion and pain. Groaning, he tried to wiggle his toes. The appendages in his right leg wouldn't respond. Suddenly, an agonizing pain shot up and down his leg. "Ow!!!!!!!" he screamed. Gingerly, he touched his lower leg. The area seemed tender to the touch. And it hurt for the slightest pressure to be put on it. Fang deduced the obvious...his right leg was broken. "Perfect." he whispered. Some help he'd be. Since when did anyone ever say you had to help? he asked himself. Fang thought for a second. He hadn't really considered that. Brooklyn hadn't said anything other than 'you stay with us'. From then on, Fang had simply been caught up in the moment, helping along without thinking it. Now, he'd earned himself a broken leg because of it. And he didn't have the advantage of turning to stone to heal him. It would proabably take six weeks or more before he could walk again. He muttered some rather ugly curse words under his breath. There were more explosions overhead. From somewhere up above, something screamed, sounding like Talon. What had happened to him, anyway? His eyes were pitch black, and he was able to fire bolts of darkness from his hands, instead of the bolts of energy that the Mutates usually could. It was frightening, in a way...something big had obviously happened to the world if everyone in New York City was gone, and those that were left could fire blasts of shadows at people. Something big, that was affecting Fang in a big way, and he had no clue as to what was going on. Even Goliath, who apparently hadn't been expected to have been found, knew more than he did. Frustrating, and frightening. So, what could he do? Not much with a broken leg, he decided. The cat-man frowned, trying to concentrate amid the noise from the battle above. He wasn't really under an obligation to help anyway. So, he could probably stay here. He'd be safe enough. No, you wouldn't, an inner voice told him. The people in the city probably thought the same thing, whatever happened to them. Hell, Talon, Maggie and Claw probably thought they were safe in the Labrynth, and look what happened to them. So, where does that leave me? Even if I do try to help, how much help can I be with a snapped leg? Then, it came to him. The whole point of him, Goliath, Lexington and Angela was to provide a diversion so the others could get the piece of the Ring, for whatever reason. So, maybe he could provide one on the ground. Either that, or try to get aloft again, and glide to the castle. Looking at a nearby tree, he elected the airborne option. It would mean a lot less crawling. "Fine time for me to develop a conscience." he muttered. He was aware of his reputation with the Mutates and the real gargoyles, and realized that to them, he was nothing more than a bully. Oh, well. Maybe, by helping out, he'd change their minds. With a sigh, he hoisted himself up, and tried to climb the tree. His right leg was like a useless block of wood. Once or twice, his foot banged against the tree trunk, and a bolt of white pain flared up and down the leg. He winced, trying to keep from crying out. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of climbing, he reached a height far up enough to glide from. He jumped, and spread his wings. Just barely catching an updraft, he soared upwards, trying to discern the direction of MacBeth Manor. After ten minutes of gliding, he began to have a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't anywhere near the castle. Another five minutes confirmed it. He looked around. The fog was everywhere. He was lost. *************************************************************************** ******** Lexington groaned, and sat up. He had taken a rather nasty fall, finding himself lying on the ground. Suddenly, there was the sound of a loud explosion overhead. It sounded like a bomb, or something. Lexington bolted up, but had to sit back down. His ankle was twisted. "Jalapena." he swore, frowning. His ankle would be fine in a few minutes probably, but it hurt like hell now. Besides, he had no way to get back in the air. He was in a seemingly open field. There was yelling overhead, and a woman's scream. Demona. The last thing he remembered was gliding towards Jackal, and then being plowed into by something heavy and strong. It had probably been Demona, but he hadn't been able to tell. In any case, the event had left him on the ground. And he wouldn't do a fat lot of good down here. He tried to stand up, found his ankle more agreeable. With a sigh, he began walking, looking for a tree, or something to climb up to launch himself in the air. After several minutes walking, he felt a presence behind him. Anxiously, he spun around, seeing nothing. He frowned, and began walking again. There was an odd sound, almost like a rush of air. Lexington frowned...he had heard that sound before. Suddenly, a shadow bolt came flying out from the fog. It hit him squarely in his stomach, and he was thrown back. Lexington groaned again, and squinted. Out of the shadows flew Puck. He was looking just as merry as usual, but his eyes were pitch black. There was no essence of Straight Man in his face...Puck's jovial, mischieveous expression was there, plain to see. But the eyes seemed to add a Machiavellian dimension to it, making Lexington very uneasy. "Oh, it's you! The traveller! Pity, I thought it was someone important." Puck sighed, seeming almost disappointed. "But that's okay, I can have a little fun with you instead." Lexington snarled. "You won't be playing any games tonight, Puck." "Like you can stop me? You couldn't stop me when we first met. The only reason I stopped was because it was starting to get boring. Although I've had quite a few opportunities for fun since dear Owen was subverted. And now, we're going to play a little game." Puck smiled. He gestured, and Lexington found himself floating in midair. He flailed his arms uselessly, the surprise etched on his face. Puck grinned, and blasted a bolt at Lexington's head. It struck it's target dead on. Lexington cried out in pain and anger. "Oh, calm down. This'll be so much easier on you if you don't struggle." Puck chided. He gestured again, and Lexington was suddenly wrapped in chains, much like the bonds he himself had been when Demona had summoned him through Titania's Mirror. "What!?" Lexington yelled, partly in astonishment, partly with rage. He struggled, to no avail. A length of the chain snaked out from the tangle which held the gargoyle, making a sort of leash. Puck gleefully took a hold of it, and laughed merrily. "Oh, what fun!" the fey cried. "As you can see, being a Servant of Twilight hasn't dampened my fun loving spirit." "I can see that." Lexington admitted. He struggled again, his feet still dangling a good three feet off of the ground. "Quit squirming. You're in for a most uncomfortable night, I'm afraid." "What do you mean?" Puck batted his eyelashes. "What? And ruin the surprise? Come on, gargoyle, where's your spirit of adventure? Don't tell me you're not open to trying a few new things. And you might not want to know anyway." The sprite laughed again, and discoporated, taking Lexington with him. It was a most peculiar feeling. Lexington felt every molecule, every structure in his body simply come apart, and become something else. He lost all form, and became a shadow. The first feeling was that of amazement, and then of revulsion as he slid effortlessly throughout the air, under Puck's control. The fog suddenly dissipated, and Lexington could see everything as clear as day. I'm seeing the world through the eyes of a Servant, he thought dispassionately. This is what they see, instead of the fog. The moon was visible, a glowing crescent in the star filled sky. Above, Angela and Goliath were tackling Talon and Hudson, narrowly missing Demona. Then, he looked forward, and realized that they were about to hit the walls of the manor. He tried to scream, found that there was no air, and closed his 'eyes'. Instead of hitting the wall, however, Puck veered upwards, entering through a window. The two formless shadows zoomed around the halls of MacBeth's castle, finally arriving in the library. Lexington felt a peculiar twisting sensation, and suddenly became solid, adopting the more familiar gargoyle shape. He wiggled his talons. He had come through completely unharmed. Puck looked back. 'Isn't it a convenient way to travel?" he asked. Lexington suddenly remembered that he was a prisoner. "Why did you bring me here?" he asked. "Why not just kill me outside, and have it done with?" "Because, dear gargoyle." Puck began. "According to MacBeth and Wolf, your friends have managed to get inside, but they're invisible. It would be nice to let them see their friend die before we destroy them, don't you think? Besides, we can't destroy them until we can see them. So we need something to bring them out of invisibilty. A lure. Someone who just happened to fall out of the sky, almost right on top of me. Guess who that was?" "So kind of you to accomodate us." someone chuckled. Lexington twisted his head, the chains clanking. King Arthur Pendragon stood behind him, the sword Excalibur pointed at his throat. Another rustle, and David Xanatos appeared nearby, holding one of MacBeth's electron rifles...and the sixth piece of the Ring. "Congratulations, Lexington." the former billionaire said. "You've just become the bait." *************************************************************************** ******** The stream of electrons flew through the air. Angela was vaguely aware of the stench of ozone. She didn't have enough time to move, not enough time to cry out. It was hopeless... But then, Goliath pushed her out of the way. He took the blast directly in the side, and was instantly galvanized as better than five amperes of electric current arked throughout him. Goliath screamed, and twisted as the electricity flowed throughout his body. His hair seemed to stiffen, and then became rigid, standing on end. He screamed again. Angela's eyes widened in horror. Her father had just saved her life...and was now going to die because of it. "NOOOOO!" she screamed. "STOP IT!" Demona laughed, and continued to fire. Goliath couldn't even fall to the ground, the electricity seeming to hold him suspended. "Stop now?" Demona cried. "I've been waiting for three years to see this. And I don't care if I am a Servant of Twilight, I'm going to see this through. Watch, daughter, as your father dies!" Angela's mouth tightened, and she rushed at Demona. She hit her, with the force of a locomotive. Startled, Demona dropped the weapon. It stopped discharging, and fell to the ground. Goliath's eyes rolled back lazily in his head, and he plummeted to the ground. Demona turned on Angela, suddenly forgetting all about Goliath. "Big mistake, Truthfinder." she growled. She lashed out, clawing Angela in the face. The lavender gargoyle cried out, and punched her mother in the stomach. Demona screamed. Angela, sensing an opportunity, dove, landing roughly on the ground. Her advantage didn't remain for long. Demona, able to see through the dark fog, laughed with delight as she swooped down. She picked up Angela, and gleefully threw her to the ground. Angela crashed, landing on her side with a gasp. She looked up, and saw Demona overhead, just within sight. Demona laughed again, and dove to strike her daughter again. But this time, Angela was ready. She leapt up, and grabbed Demona's hair. The villainess cried out in pain as she was pulled from the sky, landing on the ground. Angela grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. Her eyes were crimson with anger. "Get out of here." she growled. "Go tell the Servants at the castle that I'll be in soon to get the last piece of the Ring." "You won't get it. Face it, daughter, you have no way of defeating us. Give in!" Demona cried triumphantly. Angela snarled dangerously. Demona, flashing a patronizing smile, discorporated. She didn't reappear. Angela sighed, and put a hand to her head. Then, she remembered Goliath. He could be dying. "Goliath!" she called out. "Where are you?" There was no reply. He was most likely unconscious, or even... Angela shook her head. "No. He's not dead." she said out loud, as if hearing herself say it would make it so. She squinted, trying to make out where she was. It was no use. She took a pace forward, and saw a stone wall suddenly appear in front of her, out of the fog. Evidently, she'd been closer to MacBeth Manor than she had thought. She began walking, staying close to the wall. Goliath probably wasn't that far off. He hadn't fallen too far away. Suddenly, she could make out a still form, lying facedown on the ground. Goliath. Fearing the worst, she raced over to him. He was completely still, his eyes closed, not breathing. His hair was still standing on end, and his entire body was bruised. "Father..." she whispered, kneeling down. She felt for a pulse. There was none. "Oh, no." Angela repeated. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no." Sighing, she closed her eyes. What was it that Lexington had done to Brooklyn, and Elisa had done to her? The answer came to her. CPR. About two weeks ago, several days after the Hunters had destroyed the clock tower, Goliath had recommended that Elisa teach them all CPR. Angela had learned, but only hoped she could remember how to do it. Sighing grimly, she began. She began to landmark, searching for Goliath's xyphoid process alond the side of his ribcage. Once she had found it, she placed her hands on his breastbone, and began to compress, fifteen times. Then, she reached down, giving two deep breaths into his mouth. It took ten minutes, and Angela very nearly tired out. But eventually, Goliath's own heart tentatively began to beat on its own, and he started breathing again. Angela sat back, suddenly gratified. It only then occured to her, after she had saved Goliath's life, that Lexington and Fang were nowhere to be found. But she couldn't leave Goliath to go and find them. He could easily stop breathing again, or slip into cardiac arrest. He had recieved a massive electrical shock. Had he been human, he probably would not have survived. Even now, he had barely made it through. A smaller gargoyle would have been too far gone to save. Angela shuddered. That would have been me, she thought. But, in any case, she would have to stay with Goliath, at least until he made a bit more of a recovery. She would have to hope that Lexington and Fang could continue to divert the Servants of Twilight inside the manor, that the same Servants wouldn't find her and Goliath, and that the sun would come up soon. That was a lot of hoping. Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks. If the sun rose, then they would turn to stone right outside a Servant of Twilight stronghold. They would be defenseless, easy prey to be smashed into gravel. Goliath's only chance to heal would be risking both their lives. But, as he stood now, he wouldn't be able to even defend himself against a Servant's attack. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't." Angela sighed quietly. "What am I going to do?" Goliath gave no reply. *************************************************************************** ******** The electron gun discharged, and the air surrounding the beam ionized. The beam struck a wall, carving a hole in the stonework. Bronx frowned, and padded towards the hole, sniffing the empty space. He sighed, and walked back to where Elisa stood, who had fired the shot. "They aren't in here, are they, Bronx." Elisa sighed, becoming frustrated. The plan wasn't working. Wolf and MacBeth had reported that the four gargoyles who had entered the manor were gone. Probably invisible, since the Illusionist had been one of the four. That meant that the Servants had to find some way to see through their illusion. Puck had opted to find a gargoyle to lure them out, but Elisa favored the direct approach. Reasoning that a blast of electricity would probably still kill the invisible gargoyles, she had decided to sweep the manor with periodic bursts of electrical energy. Unfortunately, it wasn't working, partly because the four gargoyles were probably sticking to unused areas. Elisa moved to the left, and fired again, just in case they were against the wall. The beam struck the end of the hall again, almost blowing a hole in the wall. It was a good thing MacBeth wasn't too concerned about his house anymore. Otherwise, he might have been upset by such destruction. Fortunately, his subversion had made him see the big picture, understand that the gargoyles had to be stopped. It wasn't worth letting them live for the sake of a few thousand dollars worth of brickwork. Elisa groaned, nonetheless. She deduced that they weren't in here, and began walking to the end of the hallway, towards the stairway that led to the roof, Bronx following. The moon hung over the sky, a glaring crescent that only those such as herself could see. The gargoyles had the disadvantage of the fog to see through. Elisa hadn't seen it, as they did, but it was apparently extremely thick...like a smoke screen. To her, it was a normal mist...clinging to the ground, and transluscent. With a wry smile, she peered out at the wooded areas at the edge of the grounds. MacBeth Manor was in a secluded area of Brooklyn Heights...neatly fitting in with the stately homes the neighbourhood was full of. And yet, the entire manor was almost apart from that image...something separate, and timeless. Well, that didn't matter now. Once the subversion was complete, nobody would be noticing anyting about grand old estates. Elisa sighed, and blasted the gun again. The beam sliced through the crisp November air, striking the side of a rampart. It broke apart, chips of stone crumbling to the floor. With a frown, she patted Bronx's head. "Where could they be?" she asked aloud. Bronx woofed in reply, sniffing the air. Elisa groaned. "As if you'll reply." she muttered. She rested her arms on one parapet, looked down... ...and saw Goliath and Angela, on the ground below. Elisa gasped, and smirked. Goliath was half-dead, she could see...possibly electrocuted by one of the very guns she had possession of. How fitting that the same type of weapon would kill his daughter. She grimly raised the firearm, took careful aim. Angela's head was dead in her sights. Them Elisa set the blaster down. The Servants of Twilight, when subverted, experienced personality changes when changed. Formerly shy, quiet, docile people became agressive, psychopathic, and sadistic. It had happened to the best of people...Elisa, for instance. While normal, she wouldn't have dreamed of ever hurting someone intentionally. As a Servant, however, destruction was almost second nature to her, bringing her pleasure instead of angst. The dark side of her own personality seemed to be fuelling the fires of the subversion, bringing to light the aggresive, destructive tendancies that were hidden within. However, one other thing that subversion caused was an increase in showmanship. The Servants were not only sadistic, but also conceited, leading to a need to have their victims realize what was going on. This was the main reason why Puck hadn't killed Lexington, but instead decide to use him as bait for the others. And this was also why Elisa decided not to shoot Goliath and Angela down like dogs. However, by no means did she intend to let them live. She simply needed a method with more style. More panache. She looked to Bronx. "Ready for a little excursion, boy?" she asked kindly. Bronx, in a twisted parody of normalcy, woofed happily, wagging his tail. "Then come on with me." Elisa grinned. "It's time to attend to unfinished business." She discorporated. *************************************************************************** ******** Goliath stirred. Angela bolted up, staring intently at her father. His eyes fluttered open, and he coughed rackingly. "Father?" Angela whispered gently. Goliath brought his eyes into focus. "Angela..." Angela laughed, in spite of herself. Suddenly, she was sure that Goliath would be all right. "Ssh. It's okay. You'll be fine." "Ah, that's were you're wrong." came a voice from behind her. Angela spun around. Goliath's eyes widened. He rasped, a sound filled with pain, desolation and loss. It was Elisa. Bronx stood close by, smiling doggishly. "We're all together again." Elisa smiled. "Back in New York, just the four of us. It's almost like Avalon when you think about it...on a journey. Except this time, fate's taking us to different places. Bronx and I are going to the Promised Land, and you two are going straight to Hell." It was then that Angela noticed the fully charged electron pistol that Elisa was holding. "Elisa," Angela began, "listen to me. We're trying to help you." "No, you aren't." Elisa corrected. "If you were trying to help, you, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, Ophelia and Hawthorne would have stayed out of this. You would have ignored Ariel, and let this happen. We would have found some painless way to let you go...we aren't soulless. Silhouette probably would have appreciated the gesture, and might have let you coexist with us. But no, the six of you stuck your noses into something that didn't concern you. So, that changes things. You have to die." Elisa raised the pistol. Angela felt a numbing sensation in her stomach, realizing that she was staring death in the face again. "If it's any consolation, Angela, the six of you led us on quite a chase. Even if she won't admit it, Silhouette was deeply impressed. But, all good things must come to an end." Elisa smiled wryly. "Time to die, Truthfinder." "Stop." Goliath ordered. Rasping as it was, his voice still commanded dignity and respect. Elisa looked at him. "What do you..." It was the oppurtunity Angela was waiting for. With a speed borne of fear, she grabbed the gun from Elisa's grasp. She discharged it, blasting it in the wall to rid the weapon of the electricity inside it. Then, she calmly crushed the gun in her claws. "NOOOO!" Elisa screamed, dismayed. She jumped onto Angela, and began to punch her. Angela kicked her off, snarling. "You stupid idiot!" Elisa yelled. "That was the only way we could find the others!" Angela stared her down. "Cry me a river." Elisa roared, and blasted a shadow bolt at her. She dodged it, but wasn't quite so lucky on the next one. The next bolt stuck her in the side. "STOP!" Goliath roared, rising. He didn't have the strength to stand but merely sat down on the grass. His voice was very hoarse, and his hair was still standing on end in places. He looked rather riduculous, but he had the desired effect. Elisa and Angela stoppped, and looked at him. "Elisa," Goliath began, his voice sounding pained. "I know that you're still in there. I know that somewhere, despite what's been done to you, you're still there." Elisa gave him an appraising look. "Spare the melodramatics." "No melodramatics. Elisa, I refuse to give up hope that you're gone. And I don't believe you can hurt Angela." Elisa stared at him curiously. The courage of this one! She could easily subvert him right here, right now, and kill his daughter anyway. But he was still willing to sacrifice himself to save Elisa. She had to wonder whether it was stupidity, or courage, or perhaps a little bit of both. "Goliath," Elisa started, "why are you doing this?" Goliath sat up, groaning, putting a hand to his head. The blast of electricity had taken a lot out of him. He barely had enough energy to sit. "Because I gave up hope on you before, and I don't want to again." Elisa raised an eyebrow, Angela forgotten. She was intrigued by his stubborness to give up, his refusal to give in. Maybe my subversion affected him pretty hard, she thought, not understanding why. He must understand that this was the best thing to ever happen to me. Goliath was staring in her eyes. "Because I love you." he whispered. Elisa frowned. "Despite all that's happened to me, despite your conviction that my being a Servant is a bad thing, you still love me?" Goliath nodded. "I always will. No matter what happens, I will always love you. Despite what's been done to you. And that's why I refuse to give up on you. I know that somewhere, deep down inside, you love me too, and want to come home." Amazingly, deep down inside, something clicked within her. She began to remember the feelings she had felt for him when he was unenlightened. And she began to feel them again. Elisa actually felt a tear come to her eye. "Oh, Goliath...." She knelt down and hugged him. "I do love you. Even as a Servant, I love you." Goliath glared at her, an impossible expression of hope in his eyes. Angela suddenly had a premonition of danger. "I love you. I love you so much that I'm inviting you to share in this." Elisa smiled, sincerely. Her eyes gleamed, and a tendril of darkness began to spread from them. "Goliath, get out of the way!" Angela screamed. Goliath gasped in horror, realizing his mistake. But it was too late. The darkness poured into his eyes. Within seconds, Goliath, leader of Clan Manhattan, was gone. He smiled, and stood up. Servanthood had completely restored his health. He looked deliriously happy. "Thank you." he said. Elisa smiled, and kissed him. Angela simply stared, unable to grasp the full implications of what was happening. "Goliath!" she whispered, numbly. Goliath, Elisa and Bronx all turned at the sound of her voice. "I'm fine, Angela." Goliath smiled. "I've never felt so free in all of my life." He sounds like Thailog, Angela thought. He sounds almost exactly like Thailog. "It was a labour of love, Angela." Elisa explained. "He loved me, and I loved him, so I invited him in." "Labour of love? Elisa, listen to yourself! You don't know the meaning of the word anymore!" "On the contrary. Servants of Twilight are capable of love, daughter. It is people like you who misunderstand us." Goliath shot back, beginning to look dangerously annoyed. Angela stared at her father, a tear forming in the corner of her eyes. "It's you that's the monster, Angela. You wish to deny the people of the world an oppurtunity to live like this, want to destroy what we've become. We can only move forward, not back." Goliath continued, letting go of Elisa. Bronx, Goliath and Elisa moved in to surround her. Angela glanced around. The only place she could go was the wall. "You don't understand what you're saying." Angela tried to say. "It's the subversion speaking, not you." "The subversion has a pretty good grasp on the situation, though, doesn't it?" Elisa growled. Goliath's expression softened, becoming saddened. "You don't know how much I wish we could let you in, too. But, you're immune to subversion. And I know you too well to assume you would let events run their course. You have to die, I'm afraid. But we aren't without compassion. I can make it painless..." Angela bolted for the wall. Goliath and Elisa were startled by her sudden motion, and then began to fire shadow blasts. She scaled it, in a mad dash to the ramparts, dodging the shadow blasts that Goliath and Elisa rained down on her. She got to the top, and collapsed on the catwalk. Goliath and Elisa frowned, and stopped the blasting. "We can easily go up and finish her off." Goliath suggested. "No." Elisa sighed. "There's no point. We have the Traveller. The Leader and the others will be lured out soon. She doesn't matter. And she can't get far in the castle anyway." "But she remains a threat!" Goliath protested. "She's not important. What's important now is that we search for the Leader, the Protector, the Ringbearer, and the Illusionist. If we find the Truthfinder inside, we'll kill her. Let her be, Goliath. We've got bigger fish to fry." Goliath sighed. "All right. But just remember; if she causes any trouble, it'll be your neck on the line." Suddenly, the voices were silent. Angela peered over, into the fog. They seemed to be gone. "Oh, God." Angela sighed. "My life's going to hell in a handbasket." Goliath was gone. Somehow, Angela wasn't as upset as she thought she would be, supposed she should be. But she couldn't focus on that...she'd have to deal with that as it came. There was no point in continuing trying to divert the Servants. The subverted had obviously gotten the best of them. So, what could she do? Elisa had said that they had Lexington. She would have to try to rescue him. Otherwise, he might be killed. She was lucky enough to have been overlooked by the Servants. Lexington might not be so fortunate. She'd simply have to forget about Goliath for the time being. With a sigh, Angela got up. She'd never been in MacBeth's house before, and the Servants would undoubtably have traps set up. Well, nobody said it would be easy, she thought. With a grim sigh, she began to walk cautiously towards the staircase. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************************ Chapter Four The Search Inside MacBeth's house, the search continued. "Where's the library?" Ophelia whispered. "At the other end of the building." Broadway answered. "Try to keep the noise down." Brooklyn hissed. "Those security cameras probably have high sensitivity mikes. If anyone's listening for us, anything louder than a whisper is just as loud as a scream to them." The others nodded, a useless gesture, since they were still invisible. They foursome crept throughout the hallways of MacBeth Manor, trying to find the entrance to the library. However, the layout of the estate was like a maze, with twisting passageways and tunnels. Hawthorne had a vague idea of where they were going, as did Brooklyn and Broadway. But regardless of that, they were still running blind. "To the left." Hawthorne frowned as they came to a junction in the halls. "Are you sure?" Ophelia asked. She was beginning to suspect that they were lost. "Pretty sure. I'm getting a strong feeling that it's that way." Ophelia shrugged, and began to walk down the hallway. As the group passed through the corridors, the security cameras swung by, searching in vain for the four gargoyles. Suddenly, there was a crackle as the loudspeakers were initiated. "Preparing the energy sweep." it said. It was MacBeth's voice. "Energy sweep?" Broadway pondered. In the tunnel up above, a single line on the floor appeared, and began to move rapidly towards them. The line seemed to blaze with electric energy, sputtering and crackling as it advanced. Brooklyn suddenly realized what was going on. "Quickly." he commanded. "Back the way we came." "Brooklyn, what's going on?" Hawthorne asked. "No time. Move it!" Brooklyn cried. Still holding onto Broadway and Hawthorne's hands, he spun around and raced down the passageway. They ducked back into the junction. The line followed them, but continued straight along the tunnel. Brooklyn, Ophelia and Hawthorne's hair seemed to stand on end for a brief second as it passed. "What was that?" Ophelia asked. "MacBeth electrified the flooors. If that touched us, it wouldn't have been pleasant." Brooklyn explained. "Playing hardball." Hawthorne noted, disgustedly. "They can probably do this in any hallway. MacBeth and Wolf probably realized that we're inside, and they're trying to force us to show ourselves." Brooklyn frowned, angered. "We'll just have to be careful from now on." Ophelia surmised. They began into the hallway they had just evacuated. Along the way, Hawthorne's grip on Brooklyn's hand tightened. Brooklyn involuntarily looked towards her, forgetting he couldn't see her. "You all right?" he asked. "I'm fine. Just a little scared." Hawthorne replied. Brooklyn raised an invisible eyebrow, and squeezed her hand. Even unseen, he could feel Hawthorne's appreciation of the simple gesture. "I'm here for you." Brooklyn told her gently. "Thanks." They came to the end of the corridor. There, another junction awaited them, both passages pitch black. Broadway coughed. "Which way?" "Left." Hawthorne replied. "I'm pretty sure." The gargoyles shrugged, and proceeded to the left. *************************************************************************** ******** Control Room MacBeth scowled, and pounded on the controls. "That can't be good for the equipment." Wolf frowned. "Keep quiet." MacBeth growled. "The gargoyles must be inside. We've been doing energy sweeps for the past ten minutes, but there's no sign of them." "Maybe you should electrify all of the floors at the same time." Wolf suggested. MacBeth seemed to consider it, but shook his head. "No. We're the only building in New York City with any power left, because of our generators. And that much energy, widespread over so broad an area will short it out in seconds. Add to that the fact that it would probably stun all of us, as well...it's not a good idea." Wolf frowned, and moved to another control panel. "Is there any way we can compensate for the magic used to keep them invisible?" "It would take magic in and of itself." MacBeth explained. "And subverted powers can't do it." "Pity we don't have a Truthfinder of our own." Wolf lamented. "Isn't it." MacBeth rubbed his chin. "But perhaps other magic..." He bolted upwards. "Puck!" "Watch your mouth!" "No, no. Puck! The Child of Oberon! He still has his own powers, besides Silhouette's enhancements. He might be able to find them!" MacBeth cried, excited. Wolf frowned. "Sounds like a good plan." MacBeth concentrated. [PUCK, GET INTO THE CONTROL ROOM. WE MIGHT HAVE A JOB FOR YOU] [WHAT ABOUT THE TRAVELLER?] came the reply. MacBeth frowned. [TRAVELLER?] [I CAPTURED THE TRAVELLER OUTSIDE. HE'S HERE, BUT I WAS PLANNING ON USING HIM AS BAIT TO LURE THE OTHERS OUT OF INVISIBILITY.] MacBeth's eyes widened. The little fey was resourceful. [YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT. CAN YOU STILL USE YOUR NORMAL POWERS?] A slight pause. [YES.....] [DID IT EVER OCCUR TO YOU THAT YOU COULD USE YOUR POWERS TO MAKE THEM VISIBLE?] Puck suddenly gasped. [FOR OBERON'S SAKE! WHY DIDN'T IT OCCUR TO ME BEFORE? I WAS USING THEM TO CAPTURE THE TRAVELLER, AND IT NEVER CROSSED MY MIND. OBERON'S RESTRICTION MUST HAVE BEEN NEGATED BY SUBVERSION. BUT EGAD, MACBETH, THAT'S THE BEST IDEA I'VE HEARD IN A WHILE! SHOULD WE KILL THE TRAVELLER, THEN?] MacBeth sighed. [NO. LET HIM BE. HE MIGHT BE USEFUL AS A BARGAINING CHIP LATER ON.] [BARGAINING CHIP? YOU DON'T STRIKE ME AS A BARGAINING SORT.] [I'M NOT. BUT WE CAN USE HIM TO OUR ADVANTAGE. JUST GET IN HERE.] A column of shadow suddenly materialized, and billowed up into Puck. The sprite bowed, mischeviously, and looked around. "Do you have any idea at all where they are?" he asked. "No. That's why we called you." Wolf frowned. "Well, you came to the right fey. Hold onto your hats, boys!" Puck cried with childlike glee. "You who wish to hide from sight/You who turn to stone by light/The Puck this rhyme will now comprise/And force thee to drop thy unseen disguise!" he chanted. A beam of blue light sprang from his fingertips, and careerned down the hallway. "Watch the monitors, now." MacBeth ordered. Puck floated over towards him. "Aren't you glad you have access to my limitless talents?" "Ssh. Watch." MacBeth frowned. *************************************************************************** ******** "Are we getting close to the library?" Ophelia asked. "Yep. I think I remember this hallway." Broadway noted, glancing around. "I..." And suddenly, the hallway began to take on a bluish hue. The gargoyles glanced around, and saw a blue light racing towards them at an impossible speed. "What the..." Brooklyn muttered. He didn't have time to say anything else. The blue light struck him, and seemed to wrap all around him. Ophelia cried out as she lost control of the illusion. Within the blink of an eye, the gargoyles were visible again. "Oh, no." Hawthorne frowned. "Ophelia, make us invisible again!" Ophelia creased her brow. "I'm trying! I can't!" The security cameras suddenly swung towards them, and locked on the four suddenly visible gargoyles. "I think we're in big trouble." Brooklyn muttered. *************************************************************************** ******** MacBeth laughed. "You did it, Puck!" he cried as he saw the images of the four gargoyles suddenly appear on monitor seventeen. "Naturally." Puck sniffed. MacBeth took a note of the location. "First floor, sector twenty-six." he smiled. "Let's go." He flipped a panel, pressing a button marked "Security Lockdown". A red light began to blink over the security camera showing the gargoyles. MacBeth smirked. "They won't be getting away now. Let's finish them off." *************************************************************************** ******** "Security lockdown initiated. Sealing off sector twenty-six." announced the loudspeaker. Suddenly, a heavy steel door slid out from the wall, clanging hollowly on the opposite side of the corridor. A similar wall slid out behind them. They were trapped. Brooklyn rushed up to one wall, and pounded on the door. A bolt of electricity suddenly shot out, galvanizing him. He screamed, and the bolt cut off. He stepped away, wincing in pain. "Electrified doors." he snarled. "I'll bet anything that the one on the other end's the same." "So how do we get out of here?" Ophelia asked. Hawthorne glanced upwards, spying an air duct above. It was extremely narrow, barely large enough for even Brooklyn's slender frame to fit inside. "I think that's the only way." she reported. The others looked up. "There's no way I can fit in there." Broadway scowled. "But maybe we can open the doors on the other side." Brooklyn frowned. "I can fit. If I can get up, and go through the vent to the other side of the door, I might be able to figure out a way to shut off the security network." "You can't go alone!" Ophelia protested. "If there's a trap, then..." Brooklyn frowned. "All right. You're a bit smaller than Hawthorne, so you come with me." Ophelia shrugged. Brooklyn beckoned Broadway over, and hesitantly climbed onto his shoulders. He pushed up the grate, and shimmied his way up into the air vent, folding his wings as he went. Ophelia followed, wriggling into the extremely small air vent. Hawthorne glanced nervously at the vent. "What happens if there's no way to get out?" Broadway scowled. "Then we're dead meat." *************************************************************************** ******** "Tight squeeze doesn't even begin to describe this." Brooklyn complained. His wings, folded round his shoulders, were scraping against the side of the vent. He could only hope there were no nails, or anything else that could tear the sensitive membrane. Ophelia was having just as rough of a time. The pair could move but inches a second, meaning that it could conceiveably take five minutes or more just to get to the next vent, fifteen feet away. "So, what are we going to do if there's no way to open the door?" Ophelia asked. Brooklyn couldn't look back to face her, but he could tell by the tone of voice that she was worried. "We'll probably have to search for another way." And hope we find it before Servants show up and kill them, he didn't say. Minutes later, they came to the grate. Brooklyn looked down, and saw the clear hallway, as well as the other side of the massive door. But there didn't seem to be any way to open it. He was about to open the grate when he realized that the security cameras were online here as well. "We can't go down." Brooklyn frowned. "What?" Ophelia asked. "We can't go down. Otherwise, the Servants could turn on even more security measures. We'll have to find a way to turn off all of the castle's security grid." "We can't go crawling through the bulding in the air vents! There's no way we'll ever get to the security system or the library!" Ophelia protested. "Do we have any choice? But maybe you have a point. Both of us don't have to go. If you smash those cameras, you might be able to search for a way to open those doors. I'll get to the security net, and shut everything down." Ophelia frowned. "All right. But you be careful." "I'll try." He wriggled out of the way, allowing Ophelia to slip downwards. Before the cameras could register her presence, she brought one fist into the lens, smashing it beyond repair. She looked up at Brooklyn, who was still in the air vent. She waved him on, and his head disappeared. He repeatedly banged against the sides of the vent, making a clattering noise as she proceeded. Ophelia sighed, and turned to the door. On the wall next to it was a keypad. Frowning, she began to inspect it, hoping to find some clue as to how it worked. Even though she had never seen a device like it, she began to understand the gist of its operations. A red light was blinking on it, and the small monitor was flashing "Security, Sector 27, Initiated" on it. Ophelia peered closer. Suddenly, she noticed the "Deactivate" button. Raising an eyebrow, she pressed it. A monotone, mechanical voice suddenly echoed throughout the loudspeaker. "Security deactivation initiated. Please enter the four digit numerical code to proceed." Busted, Ophelia thought. Becoming rather nervous, she punched four numbers. "You have entered the wrong code. Please enter the proper four digit numerical code for security deactivation." "I'm trying, you stupid machine!" Ophelia cried. She tried another four digits. "You have entered the wrong code. Three successive failures will result in security activation for level one, sector twenty six. Please enter the proper four digit numerical code for security deactivation." the voice repeated. Ophelia howled in frustration. She had no clue what she was doing. Frowning, she pressed another four number combination. Suddenly, a klaxon went off. "Warning: attempted breach of security, level one, sector twenty-six. Initiating security lockdown. Please enter the four digit code to deactivate." Oh, no, Ophelia thought. She looked up, hurridly at the air vent. There was no way she could get back up. "Security lockdown initiated. Sealing off sector twenty-six." The keypad suddenly slid out, attached to the massive doors. The doors blocked off the way forward, and back. Ophelia could almost hear the mild electrical current passing through them. "Great." Ophelia muttered. "Just great." *************************************************************************** ******** MacBeth and Puck materialized, just outside the door to sector twenty-seven. "So, do we just barge in and kill them all?" Puck asked. "No." MacBeth frowned. "It would probably be more efficient to kill them all together. Once we neutralize them, we simply find the Truthfinder. Then we kill them." MacBeth sighed. He walked over to the keypad next to the massive steel door. "That's odd." "What?" "While we were coming down here, someone activated the security system on the other side of the door. Somebody got themselves sealed in twenty-six." "Well, maybe it was the Truthfinder." Puck crossed his fingers. MacBeth shrugged. "Maybe." He puncheda button marked "Gas". *************************************************************************** ******** Broadway and Hawthorne stared dejectedly at the security camera, which seemed to be keeping an ever watchful eye on them. "I don't think they're finding a way to open the doors." Broadway frowned. "I'm sure we'll get out of this. We've been through worse. Besides, if anyone can find a way to get us out, it's Brooklyn." Broadway shot her an appraising look. "Are you just saying that because you love him?" Hawthorne blushed, and looked a little guilty. "It did sound a little trite, didn't it?" Broadway nodded, smiling faintly. Suddenly, there was a hissing noise. Broadway curiously looked up at the air vent. "Do you hear something?" he asked. Hawthorne nodded, and looked upwards. Suddenly, she coughed. "Gas!" she cried out. Broadway suddenly began to cough as well. The gas was incredibly potent. He felt his senses dim. Hawthorne's face suddenly cracked in a mouth splitting yawn. "It's a sleeping gas..." she whispered. Then, she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Broadway yawned as well, and glanced lazily at the vent. Brooklyn and Ophelia are still up there, he thought, but then sleep claimed him as well. When the door opened, they were both asleep. *************************************************************************** ******** "Security deactivation initiated. Please enter the four digit numerical code to proceed." MacBeth frowned, and pressed 6774. "Security deactivation completed. Opening level one, sector twenty-seven." The steel door suddenly slid open. MacBeth waited for three seconds while the air recyclers in the wall eliminated the gas, and walked inside. Two gargoyles...the Protector and the Ringbearer...lay unconscious on the floor. "Where are the other two?" Puck asked, confused. MacBeth glanced up, and saw the opened air vent. "Up." Puck levitated, and poked his head up into the shaft. "There's no one up here. But another vent next door is open." MacBeth growled, and pressed the gas button for sector twenty-six. Then, he deactivated the security, and waited three seconds after the door opened. The Illusionist was lying unconscious on the floor. "The Leader's still missing." he stated. "Obviously." Puck sighed, testily. "That's two that could be a problem, if the Truthfnder's still on the loose." MacBeth frowned, and looked at him. "Can you find them?" Puck concentrated. "They're both heading for the security area." MacBeth smiled. "Good. Wolf can take care of them for us." He pointed at the unconscious gargoyles. "Let's take these to the Library." Puck shrugged. "I really don't understand why we don't kill them now." MacBeth glanced at him. "Silhouette plans to do it herself. She's not here yet, though; she had pressing business to attend to." "Why didn't you tell us?" MacBeth shrugged. "You didn't ask." Puck shot him an offended glance. "Touche. Or, should I say, cliche." "Say what you want. It doesn't concern me." He discorperated, taking Broadway, Hawthorne and Ophelia with him. *************************************************************************** ******** The reason Puck hadn't seen Brooklyn when he looked up into the air vent was quite simple...Brooklyn had departed the vent some time ago. About five minutes after Ophelia had left, he had managed to speed up his passage through the tunnel considerably. I'm actually making some progress, he thought, feeling pleased with himself as he slid through the air vent. Then, that progress halted abruptly. The vent suddenly ended with a metal plate, bolted in place long ago, and immoveable. Even if Brooklyn could have moved the plate, it made no difference. The air exchange system ended there, and no vents existed beyond it. Brooklyn muttered a particularly nasty expletive, and began to inch h