Shadowplay (Part Two) A "Gargoyles" Fan Fiction Story by Dylan P. Blacquiere (pblacqui@cycor.ca) Part II And Then There Were Six... 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. HISTORAN'S NOTE - This story takes place after "Hunter's Moon, Parts One to Three", and after "Shadowplay, Part One." BEFORE YOU READ THIS STORY, READ PART ONE OF THE FANFIC, "THE COMING OF SHADOWS". ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** **************** ARIEL: "These four are four of the most important people in the world right now." "The Coming Of Shadows" BROADWAY: (voice-over) "Previously, on Gargoyles..." SILHOUETTE: "Your prodigal daughter's come home, Oberon." "The Coming Of Shadows" ARIEL: "She has the power to take control of people's souls, to corrupt them into creatures as dark hearted as she is." (Show Travis Marshall, Fox Xanatos, and Oberon being subverted.) "The Coming Of Shadows" ARIEL: "Six gargoyles...four being found in New York City..." (Show Brooklyn, Lexington, Broadway and Angela in the guest room.) ARIEL: "One on Avalon..." (Show Ophelia in the forge, "Ill Met By Moonlight") ARIEL: "And one somewhere in British Columbia, would be called to stop her." (Show the British Columbian gargoyles from Ariel's vision.) "The Coming Of Shadows" SILHOUETTE: "I agree to work through the prophecy's confines." (Show Brooklyn being strangled.) SILHOUETTE: "I'll see you on Avalon, Ariel." "The Coming Of Shadows" ARIEL: "The only way to destroy Silhouette is to rebanish her. And the only way to do that is to use Oberon's Ring." (Show Silhouette being banished, and the ring being broken apart.) "The Coming Of Shadows" BROOKLYN: "HOW CAN YOU JUDGE ME?" "The Coming Of Shadows." BROOKLYN: "We're going." "The Coming Of Shadows" ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** **************** Prologue The Spreading Sickness Centers For Disease Control, Atlanta October 30, 1996 Dr. Ming Pui Chan sighed, and calmly began to bang her head on the desk. In her hand was a fax, sent from the Red Cross' Cairo Office, detailing an outbreak of the Richmond Plague in Luxor. Looking at her sympathetically, her colleague, Dr. Taylor Cross pressed a button. A red light flared to life in Southern Egypt, adding to the already more than fifty dots on the globe, detailing people with Richmond. The biggest dot was in New York City, of course...the disease had originated in Richmond, a.k.a Staten Island, but now there were cases worldwide. With the spread of infection, the CDC was about ready to declare a epidemic. Ming looked at the map, vainly trying to find a pattern. The infection ranged from as close to New York City as Newark, Boston and Quebec City to as far away as Beijing, Melbourne, and New Delhi. "I don't understand this virus at all, Taylor." Ming frowned, pulling out the file. "We don't even know if it's that." Taylor replied. "Shut up. We don't know anything. Not how it's transmitted, nothing, except it's a nonfatal, extremely virulent disease that causes retinal discoloration and behavioral abnormalities." Ming rubbed her eyes. "There's been no deaths, so we can only assume that it's a BL-1 virus." "Can we?" Taylor frowned. "We just know it hasn't killed anybody yet. For all we know, it could kill people 29 years after infection." Ming muttered several nasty words under her breath. "All right. We have to get some tests here. Taylor, send a fax to all CDC affiliates to fax us with test results of Richmond patients as soon as they become available." Taylor nodded. "Gotcha, ma'am." Some fool yelled from across the room. "New reports, Dr. Chan. It's a doozy. Cases reported in Edmonton, Rio de Janerio, Berlin, Riyadh, Johannesburg, and Maracaibo. All at airports." "Damn!" Ming yelled, throwing the file marked "Richmond" to the ground. "We can't shut down every airport in the world!" She looked to heaven, praying for a Tylenol. "Put 'em up, Taylor. We've got a long night ahead of us." ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Trafalgar Square, London There was a swoop, and Leo looked up as an elegant unicorn gargoyle landed beside him. "No sign of Griff, I take it." Leo sighed. Una shook her head. "I've looked everywhere, but I can't find him. He must be made aware of what is going on here." Leo looked down from the building at the square below. There were a few people walking around, but for the most part, it was deserted. Leo silently wondered how many people in the square were affected by the dark magic. The first signs of it had arrived in London yesterday, when an American businessman stepped off of the Concorde at Heathrow, and began to spread some kind of "disease" (so said the papers, and the BBC, which was putting the story up to top billing.) among the people in the airport. The disease reached London, and spread all throughout the British Isles after that. The health board was causing it "the most oddly virulent epidemic in recent history", and had declared that the "Richmond Syndrome", as it had become known, was becoming a significant health risk. Leo and Una knew that that was pure bollocks. The truth was much worse. Even though they had no idea of where this so-called plague had come from, they knew that it wasn't some virus, but instead a magical curse. One that was quite dangerous. Leo had had a run in with one of the subverted outside of the store. It had been brief, but Leo remembered the punk saying something about being a Servant of Twilight. Una looked down. "Leo...what are we going to do? We have to stop what's going on. The latest news reports estimate 500 people in England alone..." "And growing by the minute." Leo sighed. "Yes, I know." "If only Griff were here...we'd be better equipped to halt it." Una wished. Leo looked at her. "Griff's not here, and whatever we do, we'll have to do it without him." He looked down at the ground. "Although I doubt that'll be too bloody much." he admitted. Una looked to him. "We must at least try." Leo glanced up. "Yes, we'll try. But I'm not too overly optimistic." The unicorn nodded in silent agreement. Wordlessly, they soared off the building, in the direction of Soho. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Prague, The Czech Republic Max Loew sighed with discouragement. No matter what he and the Golem did, there was no sight of the shadow creatures. They had descended on Prague three nights ago, apparently arriving on a flight from the United States. Since then, there had been reports of "monsters" roaming the streets of Prague, "changing" people into more demons of the dark. He and the Golem had gone out several times, and had never even encountered a single one of these so called "soul vampires", as the old people called them. Tonight would be the last time, then Max would let the rumors die. "Golem." he commanded. "We shall investigate the square tonight. Perhaps there will be more activity there tonight." The clay figure nodded silently, and began to lumber off to the city square. Max had to run to keep up. Five minutes later, the unlikely pair arrived in the square, and glanced around. "Nothing here." Max sighed, yawning. "I've had it. This is enough. These stories are simply rumors, nothing more. I want to go home and go to sleep." At that moment, something lurched across the opposite side of the square. It seemed to hesitate, and then began to pull things out of a garbage can. Max squinted. It was a small girl, about nine years old. She was obviously a homeless one, scavenging through the garbage for food. Max looked at the pathetic display, and felt an enormous amount of pity. He looked to the Golem. "We'll go see if she needs help." The Golem, silent as usual, seemed to give its agreement. Max hurried over to the girl, still rooting through the trash. "Excuse me, little girl." Max asked meekly, wondering how the girl would react to the Golem. "Do you need help?" The girl turned around, and peered at Max. In the orange light given off by the streetlamp, Max couldn't make out any iris in the girl's eyes. Curious, the girl looked at the Golem. "He'll do better." the girl said enigmatically, and a ray of inky darkness spead from her eye into the Golem's. The Golem seemed to shake, and then the stone bumps that served as its eyes began to glow black. Max suddenly realized, too late, that perhaps the rumors were true after all. The Golem's stone mouth twisted into an odd smile. The blackness spread from its eyes into Max's. Max felt a malignant precense in his mind, fighting for control. He tried to resist, but failed. His eyes darkened to the same ebony as the Golem's. "Perhaps," he said, "we were looking at the wrong problem." ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Ichamura, Japan Hykyo Telamatsu tapped in frustration on the computer keyboard, and sighed. "What is wrong with this piece of junk?" he yelled, prompting curious stares from the others in the room. He tried again to send the e-mail to his daughter in Tokyo, but the machine gave an error message. Hykyo decided to yell some very colorful words at the machine. A young man just outside the door looked in. "Computer troubles?" he asked. Hykyo looked at him. "You could say that." he sighed. The man came in. "What are you trying to do? Maybe I can help." "I'm trying to contact my daughter in Tokyo. I've tried phoning her, but she doesn't answer. I haven't spoken to her in two days." The man tapped a button. "It should be working." "It's not." "I can see that." the younger man snapped. "I don't know why it isn't." Hykyo threw up his hands in frustration. "Look, nevermind. Maybe I'll just write to her." He stalked out, feeling an increasing sense of frustration...and fear. His daughter had called two days ago, saying that strange things were happening in Tokyo. "Sumiko..." Hykyo had begun, but Sumiko had cut him off. "Dad...there's wierd people around. Strange people, with black eyes." "There's wierd people here with blue eyes, but I'm not complain..." "Dad," Sumiko had interrupted, testily. "I mean really wierd. They act strangely, and sometimes, they approach people, and the people they accost become black-eyed too. The television is saying it's some kind of disease." "Miko, what are you saying?" "I'm saying I'm leaving. I'm booking the next flight to Hiroshima, and I'll drive home. It's dangerous, Dad. I'm kind of scared that one of them might come after me." "Don't be so worried, Miko. You'll be fine." Hykyo had tried to reassure her, but began to feel a little worried. "Well, I'd rather be safe. I'll call you from Hiroshima when I get there." And then Sumiko had hung up. She never called back. Yesterday, Hykyo had seen a news report about the black-eyes, and became frightened for his daughters life. He pounded his hand on the way out of the room, prompting stares from Kai, the leader of Clan Ichamura, who shrugged and went back to talking with his mate, Isomi. Hykyo watched them, and began to think about Sumiko again. Damnit, Miko, where are you? he thought, biting his fingernails. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Centers For Disease Control, Atlanta "Dr. Chan!" a young assistant called. "We've got test results!" Ming got up wearily from her desk, and walked to the young woman's desk. "It's from Cook County General in Chicago. About five hours ago, they recieved a sixteen year old prostitute coming in for an AIDS related case of pneumonia. They gave her some tests, and left her in the waiting room. A Richmond patient was there, and he spread the disease to her, as well as several others. They tested them all, and all but the prostitutes were unreadable." Ming took the attached test results, and frowned. There was bloodwork, tox screens, results of urine samples, X-rays, as well as endless other tests. In all of them, except for the fact that the girl had HIV and pneumonia, she was perfectly healthy. Except for one test. Her EEG, her brainwaves, showed a distict abnormality...they were strangely patterened, and symmetric. Rythmic, in a fashion. But that was no real help. No viral agents, no toxicity, nothing except irregular brain waves. "New cases, Dr. Chan." called that damn fool again. "Darwin, Ho Chi Minh City, and Casablanca." "Go to hell." Ming moaned, slumping over on her desk, feeling like tearing a strip out of the next person who said a word to her. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Avalon (15 Minutes From Now, Avalon Time) The seven survivors of the Avalon conquest huddled in a dank cave, trying to protect themselves from the dangers of the night. "It's been 6 hours now." Princess Katherine stated. "6 hours we could have used defending our home!" Augustine yelled. A large, slate grey gargoyle, he smashed his fist into his hand. "Quiet, you idiot! You can't yell, or someone looking for us might hear!" Ophelia hissed back, upset. Boudicca whined in agreement, slumping to the cavern floor. "We shouldn't be afraid of them. We should be battling them...protecting our home, our brothers and sisters." Gabriel echoed Augustine's sentiment. Jeremiah, an orange gargoyle with black hair, shook his head. "We would probably have ended up like the others. Besides, there's no way we could have defeated so many Children of Oberon, as well as thirty gargoyles. With the strange powers they have now, they'd be unbeatable." Augustine looked at Jeremiah in disgust. Gabriel sighed, but quietly sat down on the cave floor. Tom, who had been quiet up until then, suddenly looked up. "We may have to leave Avalon." he muttered. The gargoyles and Katherine looked at him in shock. "Tom! How can ye say such a thing!" Katherine cried. "This is the only home we've ever known!" Ophelia echoed. Tom shook his head. "It's nae longer our home. Have a look outside, lass. The air is rife with shadow and decay. If we stay here any longer, we risk our very souls!" The gargoyles looked incredibly saddened. Much as they hated to admit it, they knew he was right. They had to leave. There was no food...all the animals and plants of Avalon were wasted and subverted now. No water nearby, unless they left the cave, and that would mean being in the open. No help, because everyone who could help them was subverted. No salvation, because they knew that the Servants of Twilight were hunting them, and wouldn't rest till they found them. And that was only a matter of time. Tom looked serious. "If we make a stout run for it, we should be able to make it down to the beach in 10 minutes. Then, we can take a skiff. We'll end up in the real world, and be able to find help there." "I'm not running away from this." Augustine stated firmly. Gabriel nodded in agreement. "We can't run for help every time someone threatens our home. When the Archmage attacked, we ran for Goliath. We can't depend on others to fight our battles for us." Augustine continued. Katherine raised an eyebrow. "You would do well to remember," she spoke slowly, "if it weren't for Goliath and Elisa, we wouldn't have survived." "Sometimes it's better to take the best alternitive to combat, Augustine." Jeremiah added. Augustine glowered at him. "Fine. Go for help. But I choose to stay." "Are you crazy?" Ophelia shouted, forgetting her advice. "If you stay, Silhouette will subvert you the second she catches you!" Gabriel frowned. "She's right, Augustine. Staying here alone is risky. Even two of us would be futile. If we go, you have to come with us." Augustine's eyes flared. "Make me." he growled. Gabriel's eyes lit up. "I don't want to do this..." Augustine attacked him. Gabriel fought back, trying to avoid hurting him. "Stop it!" the Guardian commanded. The fight continued, though. Augustine's claws raked Gabriel's wing, and snarls of pain came from the clan's leader. Ophelia and Jeremiah struggled to separate the two, and succeeded, though Jeremiah got a punch in the arm as payment. "You two...if we don't all cooperate, we won't survive this!" Jeremiah hissed. "He's right! We have to work together!" Ophelia echoed. Augustine stopped struggling. "Fine. We'll leave then." he submitted, realizing the futility. "But I'm not going to enjoy it." "Ye don't have to. Just realize that this is the only way." Augustine was about to say something, when there was a snapping twig heard from outside the cave. "What was that?" Katherine gasped, jumping up. "Might it have been Silhouette, or one of the servants?" Ophelia asked, worried. Gabriel looked to Tom. "We must investigate." he said, nervously Tom drew his sword in a symbolic agreement. Gabriel looked at the others. "Augustine, you come with us. The rest of you, stay here. If we aren't back in five minutes, flee for the beach. Go for help." Katherine, Ophelia, and Jeremiah nodded in agreement. "Come on." Augustine beckoned, and the three of them left the cave. The remaining four watched them go, and crossed their fingers. ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** **************** Chapter One The Journey The Eyrie Building "Excellent." Ariel clapped his hands, seeming in a Puck-like mood. Brooklyn sighed bitterly, and looked back at the others, as if to say "You owe me big for this." Goliath walked slowly up. "You must be careful. No doubt this quest will be dangerous." Broadway's faced twitched, realizing how delicate the situation was. Brooklyn, however, didn't break down into hysterics. Instead, he simply sighed, and nodded. "So, then, where do we start?" Angela asked, stepping forward. Ariel's smile faltered. "Well...see, that might present a problem." "Problem?" Lexington asked, feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach. Ariel blushed. "Well...I don't know where exactly it is we have to go. All I know for sure is that it's in British Columbia." "That's perfect." Brooklyn looked skyward. "B.C's so small, I'm sure it'll be no trouble at all to find this gargoyle." "I thought you knew everything about this!" Hudson snapped. Owen raised an eyebrow. "Indeed. When you cast the spell to interpret the prophecy, I thought everything was cleared up." "Everything was!" Ariel yelled defensively. "I saw this gargoyle we're supposed to recruit, and then I heard one word...Klickiwatt or something." Xanatos was thinking. "Klickiwatt?" "Something like that, yes." Xanatos looked up. "It wouldn't, by chance, happened to have been Clayoquot, would it?" Ariel snapped up. "Yes. Clayoquot. That was it." "What's Clayoquot?" Lexington asked. "It's a sound." Xanatos replied. Lexington frowned. "You'll have to explain that." "A sound, as in a body of water. Clayoquot Sound. It's a small bay of some sort on the west side of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, about 200 kilometres away from Victoria. Xanatos Canada tried to buy a permit to log there three years ago, but the environmentalists kicked up such a stink that we abandoned it." Xanatos explained. "Okay, we know where we have to go, but how do we get there?" Angela asked. "Traveller...that's your cue." Ariel smiled at Lexington. Lexington glanced around, and shrugged helplessly. "How?" he asked blankly. "Oh, for Oberon's sake." Ariel sighed testily. "I haven't granted you the powers yet, have I?" "Powers?" the four of them asked in unison. "You need powers to get the ring. Silly me, I forgot to grant them, didn't I?" Ariel sighed. "You aren't exactly inspiring confidence, here." Brooklyn scowled. "Of course not. That's your job." Ariel grinned. He rose up. "Now lets get started, shall we?" He pointed to Broadway, and his eyes glowed. "Thy need, as always, is to protect/So Ariel shall grant this to thee in respect/Protect thy family, thy friends, and thy home/Wherever it so happens that thee shall roam!" he cried. The green light encircled Broadway, and he cried out in surprise. Suddenly, it stopped, and Broadway stumbled, putting his hand to his head. Ariel laughed. "Yes, I know. You'll have a headache for a minute. Try to relax." He spun around, and pointed to Angela. "Illusion comes paired with reality/A dangerous proposition lest truth can thou see/So I grant to thee, as a gift, in sooth/The power to seek through the lies to the truth!" Angela's eyes flared green for a second, and then it faded. She stumbled as well, confused. "Hmm, two left. Eeny, meeny, miny...mo!" he cried gleefully, pointing to Lexington. "This journey shall take thee throughout the whole land/So Ariel grants this to thee in hand/Through a gateway of fire, thy destiny face/Burning through the hindering walls of space!" The light surrounded Lexington, circling around his head. He cried in surprise, and then it stopped. He wobbled, but didn't fall. "And then there's you." Ariel sighed, looking to Brooklyn. He waved his hand. "These three are strong, but like dust in the wind/They need a guiding force so to win/So grant this to thee, the wisdom to lead/To hold together the group like the ground holds the reeds!" Brooklyn closed his eyes as the light encircled him. As it faded, he opened them again. Lexington was waving his arms. "I don't feel any different." "You aren't." Ariel clarified. "But some of you must perform a certain action to activate the power. Lexington, yours is verbal. You have to say 'Desflegrate, muri intervalia' for anything to happen. Broadway has to see the others in real danger. But Brooklyn's power just comes as leadership abilities, and Angela need merely to concentrate." Broadway looked to Brooklyn and Angela. "That's not fair." he feigned a pout. Angela smiled, and shrugged. "So that's it? We just go now?" Brooklyn asked, a little apprehensive. Ariel nodded. "Anytime you're ready." Goliath and Hudson stepped up. "Be careful, lads. We want to see you back in one piece once this is over." Hudson frowned. "How long will this take, anyway?" Broadway asked. "It depends on how much time we spend on Avalon. Other than that, we shouldn't take more than a couple of nights." Ariel explained. Xanatos and Owen stepped forward, too. "Be careful, you four." David expressed concern. Angela looked bemused. "Thank you." "I'm only concerned about my wife, you know." Xanatos lied, rather badly. Nobody believed him. Broadway looked at him. "Sure." Lexington looked to Ariel. "So, I just say that spell, and we're there?" "Make sure you concentrate on Clayoquot Sound, too. At least the name." Lexington looked nervous. "OK, here goes. Ready, you guys? "Ready as we'll ever be." Brooklyn retorted. He looked to Goliath, Hudson and Bronx. "We'll see you in a couple of nights, hopefully." Hudson and Goliath nodded. "Be careful." Goliath repeated. "Don't worry." Broadway smiled. "I'm here to look after us." "Desflegrate, muri intervalia." Lexington intoned. In an instant, a ball of flame, similar to that created by the Phoenix Gate, enveloped the five travellers, and hung there for a moment. Suddenly, it contracted, and then vanished. Lexington, Brooklyn, Broadway, Angela and Ariel disappeared with it. Bronx padded up to the spot where they'd vanished, and sniffed it. He whined for a second, and hung his head. "They'd better be all right." Hudson warned. Goliath swallowed. "I'm sure they will be. We're forgetting that they are trained warriors, who've been in situations similar to this before." Hudson looked at him. "If you don't mind, I'll still worry." Goliath looked back. "So will I, old friend." he sighed. "So will I." ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia In the forest, a raccoon sniffed delicately at the ground, searching for food. It raised its head in the air, and snorted. Suddenly, a ball of flame appeared about three feet in front of it. With a cry, the raccoon rushed away from the scene, as fast as it could go. The fire faded away, and Ariel took in a deep breath of the British Columbia air. "We're on our way!" he cried, rising up several feet in the air. There was no reply. Puzzled, Ariel turned around, and saw the gargoyles turned to stone. At first, a nagging fear rose in him, and he began to worry that sorcery was at fault. Then, he looked up, and realized the sun was out. Groaning, he slapped his forehead. "Time zones!" he muttered, scowling. "I forgot about the freaking time zones!" He sighed. British Columbia was in Pacific Time, New York City was in the Eastern Zone. That meant three hours difference...and about three hours till the gargoyles awoke. Ariel frowned. He couldn't awaken them magically. There was nothing he could do except wait. Well, he could always look around for this other gargoyle, couldn't he? Ariel sighed, and levitated. He just hoped the other gargoyles were close by. Then, he remembered his advantages, and closed his eyes. "Ariel wants not a tiresome search/So hearken unto he where he doth perch/Show me where the gargoyles stay/When they doth turn to stone by day!" he chanted. A light danced out from his eyes, zipping away towards the west, and the ocean. Ariel followed it. After about twenty minutes, the light stopped over a beach, and faded. The fey landed, and looked around. Sure enough, there was a cave in the cliffs. Ariel floated towards it, and looked in. Inside, there were about ten gargoyles, all stone. They were all dressed in human clothes, the sort teenagers wore. But there was no sign of the one from his vision...the Ringbearer wasn't here. That doesn't mean a thing, Ariel thought. She could be roosting in the woods somewhere. When these gargoyles awoke, they would know. Ariel sighed, and snapped his fingers, vanishing. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** The sun set, and for the second time in four hours, Brooklyn, Angela, Lexington and Broadway came to life. They roared, and looked about themselves curiously, seeing their surroundings for the first time. "About time." Ariel grumbled. "I thought you'd never wake up." "Why did we turn to stone again?" Broadway asked, curious. "Was it Silhouette and her sorcery?" Angela questioned, her eyes flaring red. "No." Ariel explained. "I just forgot to mention time zones. We're in a time zone three hours behind New York City. That is to say, when we left there at about 6:30, we arrived here at about 3:30." "Oh, yeah." Lexington figured it out. "And now that it's 6:30 here, it would be 9:30 back home." "Wierd." Brooklyn scratched his head. "I've heard of jet lag before, but that was ridiculous." "Anyway, we don't have time to lose. While you were decorating the woods, I found a gargoyle clan. Our girl might be there." "Where is this clan?" Angela asked. "About twenty minutes west of here. We don't have time to fly. Just brace yourselves." Ariel warned. He snapped his fingers, and the five of them vanished in a glimmer of light, reappearing in front of the cave. Before any of them could say anything, seven gargoyles walked out of the cave. They stared at the newcomers curiously, speaking among themselves. Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington and Angela stared at each other nervously. Finally, one of them, a yellow female, cleared her throat. "Uh, just who the hell are you?" she asked. Broadway stepped forward, noting their strange dress. "I'm Broadway. This is Brooklyn, Lexington and Angela. And this is Ariel." The female crossed her arms. "I see. And how did you just appear here?" Ariel bowed. "I'm a Child of Oberon. People like me tend to do things like that." The girl rubbed her chin. "Whatever that means. I'm not going to argue, and I don't care exactly how it is you got here. Anyway, let me introduce myself. I'm Courtenay. This here is Clan Clayoquot. That's Fraser, Saanich, Chetwynd, Moresby, Copper, and Burnaby. And up in the cavern are Cowichan, Thompson and Silvertree, our leader." "Charmed." Lexington smiled. Moresby looked at the newcomers in amusement. "A little underdressed, aren't you?" "Where are you from, anyway?" Burnaby asked. Brooklyn looked down at his loincloth, and then back at Moresby's wool sweater, and jogging pant cutoffs. "We're from New York." "New Yawkas, are you?" Fraser teased, in a Jersey accent. "Do you all dress like that there?" "We're originally from Scotland, and from the tenth century." Broadway elaborated. Courtenay blinked. "You'll have to run that by us again." The four Manhattanites explained, beginning with the massacre at Wyvern, and the Reawakening. Angela added in the tales of Avalon. By now, Silvertree, Cowichan and Thompson had joined them. From their reactions, it was obvious that they had never even heard of Children of Oberon, Avalon, or even real magic. "Wow." Chetwynd murmered when they'd finished. "Some story." Cowichan added. Broadway grinned. "Every word of it's the truth." "So you protect New York? That's the same as us, except we protect the Sound from loggers." Courtenay questioned, excited. "Like Zafiro?" Angela asked. Courteney stared at her blankly. "Nevermind." "We've been here protecting the Sound for ten years now." Silvertree explained. "We're part of a larger clan, but everyone else in our clan is on the Queen Charlotte Islands. We came here when the loggers tried to move in. They're mostly gone now, though, so we're considering moving back. That is, those of us that are left." "Those that are left? What happened to the others?" Brooklyn asked. Silvertree sighed. "Two of us left. Hawthorne and Whistler. They got bored with the "protection racket" as they called it," (Broadway's eyes flared briefly, at the mention, but he calmed down.) "and flew off to the city." "To the city?" "They probably went to Nanaimo. It's on the other side of the Island, and it's the biggest city north of Victoria. They wouldn't have gone to Vancouver..." Silvertree added, his eyes saying "We hope." Ariel stood up. Between his hands formed an image of the female gargoyle he'd seen in his vision. "Is this her?" Fraser stood up. "That's Hawthorne, yes!" Saanich gaped. "Have...have you seen her?" "She's why we're here. We have to find her." "Good luck." Copper muttered sarcastically. "She left two years ago. None of us have seen her since." "It's like she just vanished." "Why do you have to find her?" It was Courtenay who asked. Ariel flustered. "She's needed to stop an evil that threatens the entire world." he tried to explain. Courtenay stared at him blankly. "No, I mean really." "So do I." "This is really wierd, you know." Saanich threw up his arms. "You don't know the half of it." Lexington sighed. "So, you need to find her to stop something from happening?" Thompson asked. "We're...we're really not sure. We just need to find her. The whole world could be in serious trouble if we don't." Broadway admitted. "OK, I don't understand any of this. But we can't help you. We haven't seen her in two years. You can try to look for her, but I doubt you'll ever find her." Courtenay held her head. "Thanks for the help." Broadway muttered. Courtenay shot him a withering glance. "You can try in Nanaimo. It's as good a place to start as any. It should take you about a whole night to fly there." Ariel grinned. "We'll be taking the express route." Lexington glanced at him, and raised an eyebrow. "It's what you're here for, Lex." Brooklyn whispered. To the others, he spoke a little louder. "Well, we'll try to find her. It was really nice talking to you." "Yeah." Cowichan muttered. The Clayoquot clan all looked depressed now, as if talking about Hawthorne had brought up a painful memory. "We'll be going now." Angela spoke. The B.C. gargoyles waved half-heartedly. Angela glanced at the others. They walked off, down the beach, Ariel floating behind. "That reeked of success." Brooklyn noted succinctly. "It could have gone a little better." Lexington agreed. "It wasn't a total loss." Broadway suggested. Brooklyn looked at him wordlessly. "Now how's that?" he spoke. "We'll, we know where she might be." Broadway began. "Yeah. Nanaimo. But do we have any idea where that is, or where it is in Nanaimo we can find her?" Brooklyn frowned, rubbing his chin. Angela looked to Broadway. "Is Nanaimo a very big city?" Broadway shrugged. "I've never even heard of the place, myself." Ariel looked back at the cave. "This really does complicate things." Lexington looked at him. "How?" "I thought we'd find her here. I don't have a clue where she is. We'd just better hope she's in Nanaimo. Silhouette could be using this time right now to subvert the world." The gargoyles glanced at each other, recalling the reason they were on the journey. "We'll stop her in time." Angela replied, optimistically. Brooklyn frowned, but didn't say anything. "Well," Lexington sighed. "I suppose we should get to Nanaimo and try to find this Hawthorne. So, I just say the spell, and think about Nanaimo?" "Yes. That'll do it. It got us here, didn't it?" Ariel retorted. Lexington nodded, in tentative agreement. "Desflegrate, muri intervalia." he intoned, and the ball of fire swirled around the five of them again. As it cleared, there was no sign of the five that had been within it. Courtenay, watching silently from the cave, gaped as they vanished, and laughed hollowly. "As if they'll find her." she mocked. With that, she turned, climbed onto the rock that formed the cave, and flew off into the forests. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Nanaimo, British Columbia The ball of flame reappeared, and, with a cry, the five of them tumbled out into the waters of the Strait of Georgia. They weren't prepared, and gasped in surprise at the sudden rush of cold water. Brooklyn kicked upwards, and rose to the surface. As he broke the top, he gasped for breath, and dove down to search for the others. They were all right, though, and soon the five of them were at the surface, gasping and glaring angrily at Lexington. "It wasn't my fault!" Lexington shouted defensively, avoiding the stares of the others. "I don't see anyone else here that controlled the spell." Broadway sputtered, tapping his head to get the water out of his ears. "Do you think I did it on purpose?" Lexington glared. "Look, nevermind. Let's just get to shore." Brooklyn sighed. He began to swim to the Nanaimo dock, but Ariel gestured, and the five travellers suddenly reappeared on the roof of a dockside warehouse. Still sopping wet, they began to shiver in the chill night air. "Lovely." Angela muttered, sneezing. "So, what's with the water dump?" Brooklyn asked. "I...I couldn't help it! It's not like I made a conscious decision to dump us all in the river, or whatever that is. Are we in Nanaimo?" "Yes." Angela noted. "There's a sign down there. It's hard to make out, but I see the name 'Nanaimo'. We made it, Lexington." "That's good to know." Ariel sighed, miserable. "Uh, Ariel...couldn't you, maybe, dry us off?" Brooklyn asked, shaking his head to dry his hair. Ariel looked at him with mild disdain. "Of course." He gestured again, and the wind suddenly picked up. Blasted with the air, the gargoyles were soon dry, but nearly blown away. Brooklyn looked to Ariel, his white hair in wild disarray. "Gee, thanks." he uttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "So, we should probably start looking for this Hawthorne character." Angela changed the subject. "Where, though? We've never been in Nanaimo, before. We don't have the slightest idea of where to begin." Lexington reiterated. Ariel began to float again. "Allow me." he began. "The fem..." he began, but then he blanched. Looking suddenly appalled, he sank back down to the rooftop. "Why did you stop?" Angela asked. "It never occured to me until just now," Ariel stammered, "that Silhouette may be tracking us. Children of Oberon have the ability to locate each other by the properties of the magic they use. If I keep using my magic, I could be doing the equivalent of yelling out our location to Silhouette." "So you tell us now." Brooklyn replied angrily. "All this time, you've been snapping your way through this, when Silhouette could be coming after us here at this very minute?" he yelled, his voice rising. "Brooklyn, calm down." Broadway began. "I'm not going to calm down! This idiot's been leading us around, taking us on a wild goose chase to Clayoquot Sound, without knowing where this Hawthorne is, and now he tells us that because of his merry little romp, we could be leading these Servants of Twilight straight to us! Yeah, I really want to calm down." Brooklyn roared, his eyes flaring. "Brooklyn!" Angela yelled, her eyes glowing red. Brooklyn looked at her, and his eyes returned to normal. "Stop it, Brooklyn. We have to focus on the task." Angela chided. Brooklyn sighed, looking dejected. "You're right. I've been acting like a jerk. Some Leader I'm turning out to be." "It's all right." Lexington began. "It's been a little stressful for all of us lately." Brooklyn looked to Ariel. "Will using our powers give us away?" Ariel considered it. "I don't think so. The tracking ability affects only other Children." Brooklyn snapped his fingers. "Then if we just try to use what we have, and limit you to when we need you, we should have a little bit of an advantage." Ariel frowned. "You'll have to get used to it. Once we gather Ophelia and Hawthorne, I can't go with you to get the rest of the ring." "Why not?" Broadway asked. "The prophecy says I have to remain, because supposedly I'm needed for some outside task. I can't remember how the passage goes exactly...not only that, but there's a piece missing from it. But it says that I'm to go with the six Guardians, until they are six in number. And then, I have to leave. To find the missing passage, presumedly." Ariel frowned, remembering the image in the spell. In a castle, with a piece of paper, and another gargoyle besides. Brooklyn glowered. "Is this a habit of yours, concealing things until they pop up in caual conversation?" Ariel smirked. "I'm trying to stop that, believe me." Brooklyn rolled his eyes. "All right. That's not important now. Let's stop wasting time. We have to find Hawthorne. We can cover more ground if we split up. So, then, Angela, Lexington, you head northward. Broadway and I will go south. Ariel, show us again what she looks like." Ariel frowned. "Are you sure?" "It's a necessary risk. None of us have really seen what she looks like." Lexington surmised. Ariel sighed. "Fine." He parted his hands, and an image of the teal colored, black haired gargoyle appeared. "Make sure you get a good look." Angela ordered. Broadway looked at her. "Good morning, Mr. Phelps." muttered Broadway. All of them smiled, grateful for the lightheartedness. After a second or two, when the four gargoyles had memorized her features, Brooklyn spoke. "Ariel, you stay here, on the off chance that she comes this way. Everyone else...meet back here in two hours." The gargoyles nodded. Brooklyn looked skyward, realizing that he was coming into his Leader role in the journey. "Let's go." he sighed, and he and Broadway walked to the edge of the warehouse, and soared off into the Pacific Coast sky. Angela and Lexington went in the other direction, lofting into the night. Ariel watched them go, and sighed. ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** **************** Chapter Two Questions and Answers "So, do you have any idea where we should start looking?" Angela asked, looking a little worried. Lexington thought for a second, and shrugged. "I don't have a clue. From what we know, she kind of sounds like a person who likes excitement. But, that's not much to go on." "I don't see how we can find her." Angela sighed, looking annoyed. "Let's just try." Lexington exclaimed, trying to sound optimistic, but secretly feeling as dejected as Angela did. The two swooped down low, trying to see if there was any sign of their quarry, but didn't come up with anything. Finding an updraft, they glided back up. "What makes me upset," Angela began, "is that we're going to spend so much time looking for her, when my family on Avalon is in danger." Lexington just looked at her silently, trying to think of something to say. Angela looked to him. "I keep thinking of the people Silhouette has turned, like Fox, and try to picture Gabriel, or Ophelia, or the Guardian, or the Princess as one of them, and I can't do it. I just have this mental block, like I'm telling myself not to think about it." "If my friends were in danger like that, I probably wouldn't be able to get it off of my mind, either." Lexington agreed, trying to be reassuring. She smiled back at him, weakly. Briefly, Lexington considered trying to make a move towards her, and let her know that he was always going to be there for her. Almost instantly, the thought came up that he could probably make a move on her...but he dismissed it. Right now wasn't the time or the place. "Let's keep looking." Lexington smiled. "The faster we find her, the faster we can go help your friends." ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Half an hour after Brooklyn had given the plan, Brooklyn and Broadway landed on the roof of a McDonald's. "You know what?" Broadway suddenly began. "I'm hungry." Brooklyn agreed. "We haven't eaten anything since last night, have we?" "Since we woke UP last night. I just noticed that now." Broadway pointed out. Brooklyn thought. "But we don't have any way of getting any food. The kitchen in the castle's what, six thousand miles away?" "And we can't just stroll in here, or anywhere else, and ask for something." Broadway sighed, dissappointed. Brooklyn looked over, and saw that on the roof of the building next door was a white sheet, hung on a clothesline. It was small, too small for Broadway, but Brooklyn thought he might be able to fit his slender frame inside. He jumped over the space between the edges, and grabbed the sheet. Coming back, he folded his wings, and wrapped it around himself. "Now how are you going to explain that?" Broadway asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "I can say I was at a costume party, or something. I just have to make sure that my tail and my beak are inside. Which," he groaned, trying to fit himself so that all of him was concealed, "might be a bit of a problem." He twisted, trying to cover himself, but the sheet wasn't complying. Finally, he gave up. "This isn't going to work." he cried, throwing the sheet on the ground. "You don't have to do all that." a voice came from behind them. Brooklyn and Broadway spun around, to see who had just spoken, coming face to face with the gargoyle in the vision. She had jet black hair, and facial features similar, but not identical to Angela's. Her skin was a teal color, and she was wearing a black and blue Umbro jacket and cutoff blue jeans. She was leaning against a flagpole, her arms crossed, and her mouth turned upwards in an appraising smile. Brooklyn couldn't stop staring. She's the most beautiful gargoyle I've ever seen, he thought, and he had to make a conscious effort to keep his mouth from dropping open. It was love at first sight. Broadway was staring too, partly because the one they'd been looking for had just walked right up behind them, partly by her beauty. But he, at least, could regain his composure. "Uh, I'm Broadway, and this is Brooklyn. You're Hawthorne, right?" Hawthorne blinked. "Uh, yeah..." she began quietly, and then noticed Brooklyn's staring. "Is there something wrong with your friend, there?" Broadway kicked Brooklyn. "Ow!" Brooklyn cried, but caught himself. "Uh...n-no, I just..." he stammered, failing to explain himself. Hawthorne looked at him in amusement. "It's okay. You probably just forgot you were looking, right?" "Uh...yeah..." Brooklyn agreed, not daring to look at her again. "Probably from the starvation, right?" Hawthorne smiled, looking at the grounded sheet. "It's okay. I know a place we can get something to eat. You wouldn't want anything here anyway. Normally, I don't have anything against McDonald's, but I don't think this guy knows the meaning of the word 'sanitation'." "Something to eat? Hawthorne, you're speaking my language!" Broadway beamed, walking over to her. "You coming, Brook? "Sure! Uh, I guess so. Well, if you want me to...that is..." Brooklyn stammered. Broadway walked back, sighed, gave him a look reading "Get your act together." Brooklyn shot him a glance, and walked up with them. The three of them flew off, and soared eastward, stopping in an alleyway behind a small cafe. "The owner here knows me, and whenever I want, I can come here, and he'll give me and any company I have free food. It's part of an arrangement I got for saving his life from a mugger last month. I keep an eye out for his cafe, he feeds me. Convenient arrangement for the both of us." Hawthorne explained. She walked up to the back entrance, and knocked three times. The door opened, and a small, meek little man with glasses peered out. Seeing Hawthorne, he relaxed. "Hawthorne!" he sighed. "I thought it was you." "Yeah, well, you were right. Listen, Mr. Brooks, I've got two friends here who need some food. So...well, would you mind?" Mr. Brooks looked back at the kitchen. "Not at all. I'm not busy." "Good. I'll have an order of poutine, with...uh a coffee, Swiss Mocha, double creme and sugar. What do you guys want?" Hawthorne asked. Brooklyn and Broadway looked at each other blankly. "What...exactly did you just order?" Brooklyn asked. "Poutine." "What's that?" Brooklyn asked again. "It's just french fries with melted cheese. And gravy. I'll assume you know what the coffee is." Broadway thought for a second. "Well, uh, I'll have...uh, what do you have?" Mr. Brooks sighed, and handed him a menu from a table behind him. Brooklyn looked at the choices. "I'll have the poutine too, I guess." "And I'll have just plain french fries." Broadway ordered. "LOTS of gravy. And a sandwich. Uh, the roast beef. And the coffee. Just black." His reading was near flawless now, since he'd been practising nightly for over a year now. "Okay. Do you want coffee too?" Mr. Brooks asked Brooklyn. "Yeah. Just black, too." "Okay." Mr. Brooks exclaimed. "That'll be ready in about ten minutes." "Uh, could we get two sandwiches too, in a bag to go?" Broadway called. Mr. Brooks nodded, and shut the door. "For you?" Brooklyn asked. "No. For Lex and Angela. I don't think they've eaten either." Broadway explained. Hawthorne sat down on the step. "Well, you two seem to know who I am. How about you introduce yourselves?" "Uh, I'm Brooklyn, and this is Broadway." Brooklyn began, stammering a little, but overcome of his previous nervousness. "As in, 'There's a broken heart for every lamp on'?" Hawthorne asked. "Uh, yeah. Anyway, we're from New York City, and we're...well, we'd better explain that later, once you meet the others." Brooklyn elaborated, thinking Ariel might be able to explain it better. "Well, I'm Hawthorne, from Cl...Nanaimo," she caught herself, "and I'm a little curious as to how the two of you know my name." "We...were looking for you." Broadway explained. "Looking for me?" "Yeah. We...had to find you, because a friend of ours has to talk to you." Brooklyn interrupted, shooting Broadway a glance that said "Let Ariel explain it." "Why does this friend of yours have to talk to me?" "We don't know." Broadway lied. "He never told us." "Aha. Well, do you want to eat first?" Brooklyn thought for a second. "Yeah. Lex and Angela won't be back for another hour, so we have time." "Who are Lex and Angela?" Hawthorne asked. "Two more friends of ours." Brooklyn explained. The three of them talked for a little while after that, having a genuine good time. Brooklyn seemed to be Hawthorne's favorite though, since she seemd to appreciate his dry wit. That's a good sign, Brooklyn thought, suddenly realizing that he might actually be in love with her. Ten minutes later, the door knocked. Hawthorne opened it, and Mr. Brooks walked out, carrying a tray with the gargoyles' food on it. There was a plastic bag with two sandwiches in it, and Broadway took them and put them on the step. They thanked him, and he walked back into the restaurant. "Mmm." Hawthorne sighed, taking a deep sip of her coffee. "Mr. Brooks makes the best coffee in Nanaimo." Brooklyn took a drink too, and instantly burned the roof of his mouth. His eyes widened, and he spit the coffee out of his mouth. "Hot!" he yelled, embarrassed. Hawthorne and Broadway burst out laughing. Brooklyn shot them an icy glance, but grinned sheepishly. Hawthorne wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "Oh, my." she chuckled. "That was the funniest thing I've seen all night. If Whistler were here..." "Who's Whistler?" Broadway asked. Hawthorne sighed. "He was my friend, who came with me from the sound. I'm not originally from Nanaimo, you know." Brooklyn looked to Broadway. "Oh, really? Where are you from?" he asked, knowing perfectly well. "Clayoquot Sound. I left there because it got boring. I'm just not the protector type, myself. That's why I weasled the food deal out of Mr. Brooks, because I didn't want to feel like just a blind protector of the defenseless anymore. I'm not heartless...if someone's in trouble, I'll help them...but anyway. He came with me, but he was lost. I mean, deep down, he still felt a need to really just protect others. I don't know if I've lost that or what, but it just didn't seem to affect me, not like it did Whistler. Anyway, one day, Whistler just gave up, and flew to the Queen Charlotte Islands, where my clan is originally from." Broadway finished his fries, and bit into the sandwich. "Have you ever seen him again?" "No. I don't even know if he made it back safe. When my clan first moved to Clayoquot Sound, we lost three gargoyles. It's over 600 kilometres from Queen Charlotte to Clayoquot. Straight up. We had to hug the coastal areas, and that makes it even longer, and more dangerous." Brooklyn felt a surge of sympathy. "I...I'm sure he's all right." "Yeah, probably. It's just, sometimes, I kind of wish he'd stayed, or I'd went with him, just so I''d know if he was safe or not." Broadway was about to say something when he noticed a clock on the other side of the street. "Whoa..." he began. Brooklyn tensed. "What?" "Lex and Angela are going to be back in 25 minutes." "So?" Hawthorne raised an eyebrow. "So, they don't know where we are. We have to go meet them, and we can't be wasting time." Brooklyn explained. He grapped his plate of poutine, and carefully balanced it on his forearm. "Make sure you bring those sandwiches, Broadway. Lex and Angie will probably be starving." "Well, I'll see you two later, then." Hawthorne said good-bye. She began to climb up the building. "Uh, we need you to come with us." Broadway interrupted. "Why?" Brooklyn sighed as he set the poutine down. "Our friend wants to talk to you." He took the plate, and set it between his teeth, holding onto it as he scaled the wall of the cafe. "Oh. All...all right." Hawthorne exclaimed nervously. She was curious as to what this friend was going to say. And she might not like what she's going to hear, Broadway thought, remembering Brooklyn's reaction. Brooklyn had gotten to the roof, and was quickly finishing his poutine. "Let's go!" he called. Broadway stuffed the plastic baggie with the sandwiches into his belt, and scaled the building. Hawthorne followed, a worried look on her face. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Lexington and Angela landed on the warehouse, and sat down heavily next to Ariel. "We couldn't find her." Lexington explained. "We checked everywhere we could think of." "I just hope that Brooklyn and Broadway had better luck." Angela sighed. Suddenly, Ariel noticed three winged figures gliding towards the warehouse. "Is that them?" he asked. Lexington squinted. "Yeah, it is, but there's someone else with them." "They must have found Hawthorne.!" Angela exclaimed, jumping up. The three landed, and Broadway tossed Angela the bag of sandwiches. Not realizing how hungry they were, Lexington and Angela tore into the sandwiches, devouring them in seconds. Ariel heard the three ringing sounds in his mind again. They found her, he thought. "Thank you so much!" Angela cried, her mouth full. Ariel stared at Brooklyn and Broadway in shock. "Where's mine?" "Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't think you ate." Broadway apologized, feeling sheepish. "Of course I eat, you dolt! I...you must be Hawthorne..." Ariel calmed down, looking at her. "Hi." Hawthorne greeted. "Hawthorne, this is Lexington, Angela, and Ariel." Brooklyn introduced. Angela, Lexington and Ariel walked up to her, and exchanged pleasantries. "I'm told one of you wants to talk to me." Hawthorne asked. Ariel, Lexington, and Angela looked at Brooklyn and Broadway in confusion. "We thought it would be best if you explained it to her, Ariel." Brooklyn explained. "Thanks a lot." Ariel shot back. "Explain what?" Hawthorne asked, blinking. Ariel sighed. "The reason the five of us are here for you." Hawthorne crossed her arms, and looked questioningly at Brooklyn. He looked down, seemingly intent on studying his feet. "You should know that you are the most important being in the universe right now, Hawthorne." Ariel began. "Most important?" Hawthorne asked, sitting down. And then Ariel explained everything. About Silhouette, about him, about the dangers and the prophecy, and about the magic. He told her about her role as the Ringbearer, about how she had to join the quest, and the risks it would invvolve. He told her about the powers she had, and about her role in the six. "Do you understand?" Ariel asked when he finished. Hawthorne was shaking with rage. "If this is a joke, I'm not laughing." "It's no joke, Hawthorne." Lexington explained. Hawthorne glared at him. "Now where the hell do the five of you get off, telling me this crap?" Brooklyn looked at her. "It's not crap." Although I wish it was, he thought. "Haven't you heard about the people with the black eyes on the news yet?" Ariel sputtered. "Of course I've heard of it! It's the Richmond Plague, nothing more, not some episode of magical power! There's no such thing as magic, and this is all just some kind of childish prank. Well, it isn't funny." "No such thing as magic? I'm a Child of Oberon!" Ariel exclaimed. "And what is that, now?" "It's a faerie! A being of pure magic!" Ariel choked, becoming upset. "Look! I'll prove it to you!" He waved, and before the others could protest, he blasted a spectacular beam of light at Hawthorne. She was caught in a dazzling spectrum of color, and she screamed at him to stop. Ariel did so, and Hawthorne glared at him. "Believe me now?" Ariel asked, smug. "As a matter of fact, I don't." Hawthorne yelled, bitterly. She turned to the gargoyles, but most prominantly to Brooklyn and Broadway. "I trusted the two of you." she began. "I helped you, told you my pain, let you be my friends. Do you know how long I've been waiting for a gargoyle I could open up my heart to? Since Whistler! I especially liked you, Brooklyn, because I thought you could truly understand me. But instead, you repay me with lies, cock-eyed stories about how I'm needed to save the world, and tricks of the light." She walked up to Brooklyn, her eyes boring into his soul. "How could you?" Brooklyn looked at her. "We aren't lying! Look, I've died because of this thing before! Why would I lie about it?" Hawthorne simply stared at him. "Drop dead, Brooklyn." she spat, and she turned and flew off the building. Brooklyn was tempted to yell "Been there, done that" at her, and let it drop, but something told him not to let her go. He raced after her, and followed her into the night. "Hawthorne!" he called. "Wait up!" Hawthorne turned back at him. "GO TO HELL, YOU BASTARD!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Brooklyn scowled. Really, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. He spread his wings even further, and sped up. His eyes flared, and he soon caught up with Hawthorne. Roaring, he lashed his tail around her wrist. She gasped in surprise, and fought back, trying to scratch his face. Instead of dodging it, though, he moved closer, and crashed into her. The two tumbled, and crashed into the roof of a nearby building. Hawthorne rolled on her shoulder, and went skidding into a brick chimney, smacking her shoulder. Brooklyn went sailing into the wall, knocking his head, scraping his knee, and tearing his wing membrane on a piece of loose brickwork. He roared in pain. Hawthorne got up, rubbing her shoulder. "First you lie to me, then you try to kill me. Nice, Brooklyn, real nice." Brooklyn got up, feeling a dull, throbbing pain in his wing. "First of all, I didn't want to do that. And secondly, do think I'd be trying this hard to convince you if it was all some childish prank?" He inspected his wing, frowning at the tear. "I don't know how far you're willing to go, but leave me out of it!" Brooklyn shook his head. "I can't do that. I have to make you see the truth." "I see the truth, all right. You're a conniving, lying, son of a..." "Hawthorne!" Brooklyn hissed. Hawthorne glared at him. "Don't talk to me anymore." Brooklyn's eyes flared. "What is wrong with you? Why aren't you willing to accept that maybe what we're saying to you is true?" Hawthorne shook her head, and sat down. "I just can't accept that. My reality doesn't have room for creatures like that, evil and wanting to destroy the world. I just don't believe in it. This whole thing is like an episode of 'The X-Files' to me, and whenever you or Lexington or Ariel tells me about things like this Silhouette of yours, I keep expecting to see Mulder and Scully." Brooklyn looked saddened, as if recalling a painful memory. He sat down beside her. "Hawthorne..." he began. "When Ariel first came to the four of us, back in New York City...did it even occur to you how we got from New York to here?" "You're going to tell me magic, aren't you." she muttered in disgust. Brooklyn looked uncomfortable. "Yeah. Well, anyway, when Ariel came to us, we'd just had a first hand experience with this Silhouette and her creatures. We had a battle, and...well, she killed me when I tried to save my friends." "How are you..." "Ssh. Let me explain." Hawthorne frowned, but remained silent. "She killed me, and because of Ariel's prophecy, I was brought back. Now, I was as reluctant to believe what he was saying at first too, but I had a first hand experience to help me see that I was needed, and that I had no choice but to trust Ariel's cause. I've seen what's happening, so that's why I believe." "Well, I haven't seen. And I don't believe." Hawthorne sighed, seeming to settle down. "And I don't blame you for being skeptical. But look...when I first heard it, the reason I didn't believe was because I was frightened." Hawthorne looked at him, as if coming up on a revelation. "Frightened?" "I'm scared to death of this thing. But Broadway, Angela and Lexington convinced me. I'm not sure of why I'm doing what I'm doing, but I know that I have to do it. And I believe." Brooklyn cleared his throat. "Hawthorne, do you trust me?" "I-I don't know...I WANT to..." she whispered, her defenses crumbling. "If you trust me, if you REALLY trust me, you'll...well, look into my eyes." Hawthorne looked into Brooklyn's eyes, which were dead serious. He simply stared back, not saying a word. Hawthorne's mouth fell open. "It's the truth, isn't it. This whole thing, all this stuff you've been telling me, it's the truth, isn't it? I don't know how I know it, but you just look so...honest...that I can't believe you'd lie. Everything that Ariel character told me is true." Even she couldn't believe that it was true, but somehow, she just knew. Brooklyn smiled. "Yeah. I don't want to believe it, but I know it's happening. That's why I have to go, no matter how I feel about it. I know where you're coming from...I really don't want to be going either." "But it just doesn't make sense..." Hawthorne frowned, sitting down. "No." Brooklyn agreed, settling down beside her, feeling a momentary flare of pain as his wing moved. "I was such a jerk, wasn't I." Hawthorne muttered, finally believing the unbelievable. "Don't worry. I think I reacted the same way." Brooklyn laughed. Hawthorne looked up at him. "You don't know how sorry I am." Brooklyn didn't say a word. Instead, he moved closer to her. She rested her head on his shoulder. I could kiss her, Brooklyn thought. I could just lean down, right now, and kiss her. But he didn't. He just looked into her eyes, and sighed. "I really, really, like you." he sighed. "That's why I want you to be happy with the choice you make. You know what will happen if you don't go, but if you honestly don't want to, I won't force you." Hawthorne looked at him. "I just don't know. It's like...all this time, I've been living in this little reality, and you and your friends just widened it for me. Maybe I'm just not adjusted to the shock yet." Brooklyn laughed. "You get used to it. I've seen a lot of strange things. Technically, I'm only here because of magic." "Because she killed you?" "Not only that...I'm not originally from New York City." "Where, then?" Brooklyn smirked. "Tenth century Scotland." Hawthorne frowned. "Now you're lying." "No, I'm not. Really, I lived in tenth century Scotland, but I was put under a magical spell that turned me and the survivors of my clan into stone for a thousand years. I didn't wake up until 1994." "I would have liked to have seen your expression." Hawthorne smiled, not questioning, finally beginning to accept the gravity of what was going on. "I'm told it was pretty graphic." Brooklyn and Hawthorne looked at each other. "Well, have you decided?" he asked. Hawthorne sighed. "I guess I might as well go along. If Ariel's right, then I'm needed." She blinked. "It'll feel so wierd to protect others again." Brooklyn smiled. "I'm sure you'll get used to it." "Yeah. I'm sure I will." Hawthorne got up, and extended her hand. Brooklyn took it, and used it as leverage. "Oh, my God!" Hawthorne exclaimed. "What is it?" "Your wing!" Hawthorne cried. "It's torn!" Brooklyn looked back. "I noticed." She reached back, and gingerly touched it. Pain flared up the nerves in Brooklyn's wing. "OwOwOwOwOWWW!!!!!!" he cried, and the pain increased. Every time his wing moved, the air made the cut hurt. "I'm sorry!" Hawthorne winced. Brooklyn gave a patient smile, and the pain died down to a dull tingling. "Will you be able to glide?" Hawthorne asked, concerned. "Yeah. It's nothing." Hawthorne frowned. "Don't give me that male bravado. You aren't fooling anyone. Now, are you going to be able to glide or not?" Brooklyn inspected the cut again. "I should be able to, if I take it easy. No wing acrobatics." "All right. Well, let's get back to that warehouse, then. If we're going on this quest, then we'd better get started." Brooklyn looked at her. "So you're decided for sure?" Hawthorne smiled. "Yeah, count me in. Someone's got to look after you." The two chuckled, and then glided...slowly and carefully...back to the warehouse. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Broadway saw them first. "He's got her with him!" he called. Brooklyn and Hawthorne swooped down, Brooklyn wincing. "You're injured." Angela stated. "Will you be all right?" Lexington asked, concerned. "As long as I take it easy." Brooklyn explained. "And I'm going to make sure that he does." Hawthorne smiled. Angela's eyes widened. "You're coming?" "Yippers. I don't have anything else to do. Besides, your friend there does a pretty mean convincing act." Hawthorne smiled at Brooklyn, who winked. But secretly, Brooklyn wondered if she honestly understood what it was that she was getting into. "Well, then, time to make it official." Ariel sighed. He rose up, and began to glow. "Remember, they can track us." Broadway reminded him. "If she's coming, we won't be here much longer anyway." Ariel retorted. "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them/One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them/This is the charge that hath been given to thee/So thou must use this power to make darkness see!" he cried. The green light shot out to Hawthorne, and created a circle around her head. It contracted, and vanished. "You're truly the ringbearer now." Ariel grinned. Hawthorne smiled weakly. Ariel descended. "And then there were five." he beamed. ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** **************** Chapter Three The Homefront The Eyrie Building "Hi." Elisa smiled as she flashed the pass card at the security guard. "Retinal scan." The guard replied. "What?" "Retinal scan. Orders fom Mr. Xanatos. Anyone entering this building must be retinally scanned to make sure that they're free of the Richmond Virus." Grumbling, Elisa lowered her eyes to the scanner. As the machine took a scan, and its light flashed green, Elisa looked up. "This is overkill, you know." she muttered. The security guard shrugged. "Take it to Mr. Xanatos, Ms. Maza." he sighed. Elisa took back the pass card, and walked to the elevator. She pressed the button for the castle, and the elevator shot up 145 stories to the top. Elisa got out, and walked right into Owen Burnett, carrying a retinal scanner. "Good evening, Ms. Maza." he greeted, as he passed the scanner over her. "I was just scanned downstairs!" Elisa yelled. Owen blinked. "Mr. Xanatos is not taking any chances. If one person subverted by Silhouette were to get up here, then there could be nothing stopping him from subverting Alexander." "I can understand the sentiment. Are Goliath and the others here?" "Goliath, Hudson and Bronx are here." Owen sighed. "The others have decided to take Ariel up on his offer." "They decided to go?" "Yes." Owen reported. "They did." "Oh." Elisa sighed. "Well, then, I'll just go up to the roof, then, if you don't mind." "It's no trouble at all." Owen smiled. Elisa smirked back, and walked up to the roof. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Avalon Silhouette was having a wonderful time. She was lounging on the throne, eating grapes, as Calpurnia fanned her again. From her mirror, she had seen that the Ringbearer had joined the company. That meant that five of the six needed were there. "Have you found the others yet?" Silhouette asked a gargoyle that stood before the throne. "No, my lady." Tybalt replied. "They haven't been found. We're searching still." "Good." Silhouette sighed. "When you find them, subvert all of them except this one." she ordered, an image of Ophelia floating in the mirror. "What would you have us do with her?" Tybalt asked. Silhouette shrugged. "Kill her. I don't care how. Just make it quick." Tybalt sneered sadistically. "Yes, my lady." Tybalt stalked off, looking for something to hate. Silhouette stood up, and looked in the mirror. In it, an image of the five gargoyles appeared, along with Ariel, standing on a roof. In Nanaimo, British Columbia. Ariel had used his magic too many times, and had let himself be found. But, as she watched, the little one spoke the spell, and the ball of flame made them disappear. She couldn't tell where they were by Ariel's magic. She didn't need to. She knew where they were going. "To Avalon." Sil cried out in glee. She projected a thought at Tybalt, telling him to be on the lookout for five unsubverted gargoyles. She sent a picture of them, and told him to kill them if they arrived at all on Avalon. "That should do it." she sighed contentedly. Then, she waved, and the mirror dissipated to show the Earth. The humans were finally figuring out that something was afoot. Silhouette knew, from periodically travelling through the mirror, that the humans were convinced that a disease was what was afflicting them, when the truth was much more sinister. Let them think what they want, Silhouette sneered. If they feel they can deal better with a pestilence, then so be it. It made her job a whole lot easier. There still weren't enough people subverted in any area of the world to make it complete. Right now, in New York City, about 90 000 people were subverted. Once they all were, then Silhouette could advance to phase two...total subversion. In other words, what had happened already to Avalon. Silhouette was certain that New York would be the first to become totally subverted. The illness had begun there, so that was the most likely place it would finish first. Simple logic. QED. What worried her more was those five gargoyles. But they weren't a serious problem. because they needed the ring. And she had the first piece. And even if they did manage to get the entire six pieces, their immunity ended the second they were all joined. Silhouette smiled. Sooner or later, the gargoyles would have to come to Castle Avalon, and when they did, well... They'd be in for a big surprise, wouldn't they? Silhouette smiled, and went back to her throne, nursing her nefarious plans. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Temporary 23rd Precinct House Maria Chavez sighed, and tried to rehang the picture of her family. Something was wrong with the wall she'd hung it on before, and the picture kept falling. With a nail in hand, she positioned the frame. As she was about to nail it in, though, Matt Bluestone barged through the door. Maria lost the picture, and it went falling to the floor, shattering. Matt didn't even notice. "Captain!" he yelled. "We have a crisis situation in the holding area!" "What kind of crisis?" Maria asked, her angst over the picture forgotten. "Come on! I'll explain on the way!" Matt panted, and he dashed out the door. Maria sighed, grabbed her crutches, and followed Matt as fast as she could. "Bluestone, what is going on?" she called as he slowed down to meet her pace. Matt looked at her. "One of the rookies took a Richmond infected mugger and locked him up in a holding cell." "WHAT? We're under orders by the police commisioner to have all Richmond carriers transported to the nearest quarantine facility!" Maria fumed. "But that's not all. The rookie was sub...er, infected, and began giving it to everyone he could see. We've got at least ten officers down, and noone can get close enough to get any of them." Maria sighed. "Come on." She turned down the stairs, hobbling for the detention area. When they got there, they found a scene in total chaos. Hiding behind the wall were seven SWAT officers, with facial protection, firing tear gas. But occasionally, beams of darkness blasted from the room under siege, knocking anything they hit into the wall. One of the SWAT officers looked at Chavez, and groaned. "You...clear the area." he told Matt. Matt grimaced, but retreated, hiding behind a table. The SWAT officer pulled out a face mask, and threw it at Chavez. "The virus is spread by visual contact, M'am." he informed her. "If you have to be here, you have to wear facial protection." Maria pulled on the mask. She grabbed a megaphone from the SWAT officer, and began to yell. "This is an NYPD SWAT team. Surrender now. You need medical attention." she called. The blasts stopped. Tentatively, the SWAT team stopped their fire. "Good. Now, we're coming in. You need medical attention, so please, allow us to help you." Maria continued. Then, a shadowy form leaked around from the corner. Before anyone could react, it solidified into the subverted form of John Morgan. He grabbed Captain Chavez, and ripped off her mask. "One move," he warned, "and I subvert her." While the officers were distracted, more shadows leaked out, and became people once more. Unresisted, they pulled off the SWAT team's masks, and subverted them. John looked at Chavez, and smiled. "John..." Maria began, suddenly very afraid. "Yes, Maria?" he asked. "John, listen. You need to get to a hospital..." Maria saw the darkness leak from John's eyes. She felt the presence, and she didn't even try to resist. As Matt watched from behind the table, the captain's eyes darkened to pitch black. Within seconds, the real Maria Chavez was gone. Matt Bluestone bolted. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** The Eyrie Building "Elisa!" Goliath yelled. Elisa ran up to him, glad to see him. Hudson came too, and Bronx, barking happily. "Quite the warm reception." she laughed. "So, Brooklyn, Lex, Broadway and Angela went with Ariel?" Goliath's face fell for a little bit, and then Elisa realized that his previous enthusiasm had been rather strained. "Yes. They left about six hours ago." "That long? I didn't know I was that long at the station." Elisa blinked, surprised. "I guess time flies when you're filling out expenditure reports." "Hmmm." Elisa nodded. "You guys are worried about them." "Astute, lass." Hudson sighed. "We can't help but be a little frightened for them." Elisa smiled. "Remember that Brooklyn, Broadway and Lexington have been in a lot of worse scrapes than that. They've saved us a lot of times...like that incident with the Pack last year. And Angela was with us all through the Avalon odyssey." "Yes. You are right. But I'm still nervous. And I will probably remain so until I see them safely here, at the castle again." Goliath muttered. Elisa walked up to him, her hair blowing in her face. "Goliath, just keep a positive mindset. Don't be so worried all of the time. They'll be fine." She sighed. "So, what are we going to do in the meantime?" Goliath's eyes widened. "We might as well try to help stop this on the homefront." Elisa continued. "We've restarted our patrols. We were out on one about three hours ago, but wherever these Servants of Twilight are, they've been keeping out of sight. We saw maybe five the entire patrol." Hudson reported. "And when we returned, we were forced to undergo retinal scans." Goliath growled. "I had to go through the same thing. Xanatos is just being protective of his son." Goliath was about to say something when Owen rushed up onto the parapet. "Detective Maza, there is an emergency call for you here, from your partner, Detective Bluestone. He says it's most urgent." "Uh, thank you, Owen." Elisa replied. She took the cellular phone from his hand. "Matt, what's on your mind?" "Elisa," came the haggard, frightened voice. "Those subverted monsters...they've overrun the station. They've subverted the Captain." "WHAT?" Elisa screamed. "Elisa, I just barely got out of there. My car's still parked outside...I'm calling from Fifth Avenue. I ran from the station to get here. Elisa, I need you to come get me." "Okay, Matt. Uh, where are you?" "I'm at a phone booth, just outside of the Metro Museum of Art." "S-sure, Matt. I'll be over in a few minutes." she sighed. She pressed the "Disconnect" button, and nearly collapsed. "What was that about, then?" Hudson asked, concerned. "Servants of Twilight just attacked the station." she replied, her eyes closed. "They've subverted everyone, even Captain Chavez. Matt was the only one who escaped, he says. He ran, but didn't have a chance to get his car, and he needs me to pick him up." "Are you certain that he is all right?" Goliath asked. "He's fine. He got out okay." "I mean, are you sure he wasn't subverted?" Elisa's eyes opened. "I never even considered it. I don't know." Goliath nodded. "Perhaps Hudson and I should go as well, to make certain that you are protected. In case Matt is..." he didn't need to finish. "Fine. I'll take my car. You two follow above, at a safe distance. I'll signal if there's trouble." Elisa planned. "Good." Hudson nodded. "You be careful, lass." "Yes, Hudson." she smiled. Deep down, she was incredibly worried, though. She headed for the stairs. "I'll see you too later." she sighed. Hudson and Goliath looked at each other. As she descended down the steps, Goliath knelt and scratched Bronx's ears. "Bronx, you stay here, and guard the castle. Hudson, let's go." Hudson nodded. He and Goliath leapt up onto the ledge, and glided off. Bronx watched them go, and sat down on his haunches. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** His name was Jean Gauthier. He was one of the recently subverted as well, and he had a vendetta. Three years ago, he'd applied for a job as a research biologist at Xanatos Enterprises. The CEO, David Xanatos, had done the interview, and rejected him. Jean had been crushed, and had spent the last three years in the unemployment line. Tonight, however, the tables would turn. Jean, like all of the subverted, was advised to subvert others indiscriminately. After all, the more, the merrier. But Jean wanted to be the one to get David Xanatos, and he wanted to do it tonight. As he walked into the lobby of the Eyrie Building, wearing dark sunglasses, he nearly bumped into a woman running outside. She was very beautiful, with jet black hair, a red jacket and blue jeans. He briefly considered subverting her, but decided not to. Security in this place was rumored to be very high now, and Jean didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention. But, as it turned out, it didn't matter. The security guard stopped him, and told him to take his sunglasses off, to take a retinal scan. This skirmish couldn't be avoided, so Jean took off the shades, and subverted the guard before he had time to press the alarm button. The guard, smiling, waved Jean on, and he walked to the elevator. Jean arrived in the castle, a new adiition since he'd last been in the building. Quickly, he searched for some indication of where Xanatos' office was. There was none. Jean was still looking when the major domo arrived. "May I help you?" Owen Burnett asked, preparing the retinal scan. Jean took off the glasses. "As a matter of fact, you can." he stated. Owen looked up, and saw the raven black eyes. He paled, and instantly swept kicked Jean off of his feet. Jean went flying, into the rug. Owen pressed a button on the scanner, and every alarm system in the castle came on simultaneously. Red lights flashed, and klaxons blared. Jean got up, and rushed Owen. Owen was knocked backwards, into the wall. David Xanatos ran into the Great Hall. At the first sight of the Servant of Twilight, Xanatos slapped a wall panel. It slid away, revealing a laser rifle. Jean blasted him with shadow. Xanatos was knocked back, cracking his head on a table. "Sir!" Owen yelled. "I'll hold this thing off. You go and get Alexander to safety!" Normally, David would have insisted Owen would get the baby, but this wasn't a normal situation. His son was in grave danger. He tossed the rifle to Owen, who caught it and took aim at Jean. Xanatos then ran in the direction of the nursery. Owen took careful aim. He was about to pull the trigger when Jean rushed him. Snarling like an animal, Jean knocked the rifle from Owen's hand. Owen fought back, but within seconds, he was pinned. Jean spread the darkness, and soon Owen Burnett's eyes were as black as the night. Owen got up. He pointed to the castle stairway, and then headed for the nursery. A smile most un Owen-like was on his face. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** David opened the door to the nursery. In a rush borne of desparation, he grabbed his son from the crib where he was sleeping soundly. "Ssh, Alex, it's okay. We've just got a little problem." David groaned as Alex woke. As an afterthought, he grabbed Gurg, and dashed out the door. Along the way, he bumped into Owen. "Owen," he began. "Is the.." Then, Xanatos noticed his aide's eyes. Black as midnight. Owen smiled. The blackness spread... Xanatos ducked, and plowed into Owen as hard as he could. Alexander began to cry as he was jolted around in his father's arms. "Sorry, Owen." he whispered as he sprinted down the hall. Behind him, he could hear the thing which had once been his friend chase him. Praying to God, Xanatos ran for the elevators. Pressing the button for the helicopter pads, he hoped he'd make it. Then he remembered Goliath, Hudson, Bronx and Elisa. They were still in the castle. Dear God. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Bronx sniffed around, looking for something to eat, when his sensitive ears picked up somebody coming up the stairs. Somebody Bronx sensed was bad news. Bronx walked to the stairwell, growling. As the man came up, Bronx settled down to pounce. But he wasn't quick enough. A quick karate chop to the neck sent Bronx sprawling on the ground, whimpering. Bronx looked up at the attacker. It was a man...a man with black eyes. One might consider it merciful that Bronx didn't know what was about to happen to him. But the effect was the same. The darkness lanced out, and within seconds, Bronx was the newest Servant of Twilight. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Xanatos opened his eyes only when the elevator stopped on the helicopter pad. He could only hope that the gargoyles and Elisa had gotten away in time. Not only was a subverted Goliath a frightening thought, but he wouldn't forgive himself if he'd just left them there to be changed into what Owen and Fox had become. What was left of his hope died when he saw a shadowy form billow into Owen, just in front of the door to the chopper. Owen didn't see him...obviously, he'd just gone there in case Xanatos had tried to escape with that method. Which he had. Silently, David backed into the elevator, and pressed the button for the lobby. He only hoped that Owen didn't hear the closing door. Unfortuantely, he did. Owen turned, saw David standing in the elevator door, and smiled. Just as the door closed, Jean Gauthier rematerialized, as did Owen. David was trapped. Owen came behind him, and snapped Alexander from his arms. David turned, prepared to defend his son, but Jean wrapped him in shadow. Alexander began to cry, but then Owen subverted him, and he became silent. David felt like he was about to cry. "Not you too, Alex." he whispered. "Not you too." Then, Jean subverted him as well. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Metropolitan Museum of Art Elisa pulled up to the phone booth, and looked up. Overhead, she could see Goliath and Hudson circling overhead, waiting for her signal. She smiled. "My guardian angels." she sighed. She looked out to the phone booth, and suddenly saw Matt Bluestone running to the car. She tensed, ready to jump out of the car at the first sight of black eyes. But as Matt opened the door, she saw his eyes were the same light brown as always, and she relaxed. "Hold on a second." she smiled at Matt climbed in. She leaned her head out of the window, and waved at Goliath, in a gesture saying "It's all right." In response, the two gargoyles soared off, satisfied that she was safe. Matt buckled the seat belt, and ran his hands through his hair. "Thanks for picking me up." he sighed. "Don't mention it." Elisa sighed, starting the car. Matt groaned. "Elisa, they got almost everyone there. John, Maria...they're all subverted. What do you think's going to happen?" "I don't know." Elisa shrugged, pulling out into traffic. "Brooklyn, Broadway, Angela and Lexington left on that journey with Ariel, so we've got one chance there." "Yeah, well, they'd better stop it." Matt muttered. "There's no other way. I just heard on the radio that there's so many 'cases' worldwide that the CDC is ready to declare an epidemic. Elisa, it's getting worse." "I know that, Matt. But there isn't anything we can do. We're just going to have to trust that Brooklyn and the others are gong to be able to stop it." The two of them rode in silence all the way back to Matt's apartment. She dropped him off, and rode home. As she opened the door, she sighed. Cagney was there, purring. Elisa smiled, and rubbed his head. "Cagney wants some food?" she asked, rubbing the cat's chin. "I'll bet Cagney does. Yes, he does." She walked to the cupboard, and opened up a can of cat food. Dumping it into the dish, she watched at Cagney devoured it. Elisa sighed. She was suddenly filled with despair. Looking out the window, she began to bite her fingernails, thinking of Brooklyn and the others. Wherever you guys are, you'd better be careful, she thought. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** The Eyrie Building Goliath and Hudson returned about a half an hour later. "It was lucky that Matt was normal." Hudson sighed. "Otherwise, we might have had a situation on our hands." Goliath looked at him. "Well, he's safe for the time being." he muttered. Bronx lumbered out from the castle parapet. Hudson smiled, and moved to pet him. Then, he saw the dog's eyes, and paled. "Goliath..." he began, but then Xanatos and Owen stepped out onto the courtyard. "Don't be alarmed, Goliath." Xanatos smiled, his eyes black as midnight. "We're here to help you see the light." "We've got to get away from here!" Goliath yelled to Hudson, who was drawing his sword. Hudson nodded. "What's your hurry?" Owen asked, cruelly. Bronx seemed to leer at the two gargoyles in agreement. "Now!" Goliath yelled. Hudson spun, and bolted. The two dove off of the parapet, and soared away from the danger. They weren't hindered. Their fists and expressions locked in rage, they flew off to Elisa's apartment, the one safe haven they could think of. ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** **************** Chapter Four Paradise Lost Avalon The flame appeared, and the six travellers tumbled into hell. Angela was the first to look up, at what had once been the island paradise of Avalon. "Oh, my God." she choked. "This is an island paradise?" Hawthorne asked, incredulously "It wasn't always like this." Ariel responded grimly. Lexington stood, ankle deep in the water, and shivered. "What happened?" The beach was choked in shadow. A black mist clung to the air like fog, and the air was as cold as the grave. Hawthorne looked at the scene, and turned to Ariel. "What did this?" she asked. Ariel simply gaped, not knowing how bad things had become. "Silhouette has done this." he whispered. Silently, the six of them strode onto dry land. They walked directly into the mist, and at once, could barely see twenty feet ahead of them. "This fog is too thick!" Brooklyn complained. "There's no way we can see through it." Broadway added. "So, where are we going?" Hawthorne asked, looking overwhelmed and frightened. Ariel sighed. "I...I don't know. We have to find Ophelia, but I had no idea things were this bad. We may get lost easily. And I can't use my magic, because we're on Silhouette's turf now." "She'd probably be at the castle." Angela muttered, her eyes still unbelieving. "Are you sure?" Brooklyn asked, trying to see ahead. "Well...I don't know. We have to go and find out." Angela fretted. "What if the castle's been taken by Silhouette?" Lexington cautioned. "It wouldn't have been." Angela exclaimed, not convincingly. I hope, she thought, silently. The six travellers began the trek to the castle, Angela leading. Broadway moved up to stand beside her, just in case...she looked ready to emotionally collapse at any second. "Broadway.." she spoke. "What if my family is..." "Ssh." Broadway silenced her. "They won't be. They'll have found some way to get out." She looked at him, her eyes bloodshot. "If they are...I don't know what I'll do." Angela sighed. Broadway took her hand. "I'm here to protect you. Don't ever forget that." Angela smiled at him, and her grip on his hand tightened. The six continued to walk towards the castle, but the closer they got to it, the thicker the fog became. Finally, Brooklyn threw up his hands. "This is impossible." he cried. Lexington caught up to him. "We can't just give up." Brooklyn glared at him. "Well, do you have any suggestions on how to see through this?" Lexington thought. "No," he finally admitted. "I don't." "I don't see how we can even find the castle in this." Brooklyn sighed. "It's time to rethink our strategy." "Ssh." Hawthorne silence him. "Do you hear something?" A series of snapping twigs caught their attention. "Who is it?" Hawthorne asked Angela. The lavender gargoyle shrugged. And then, suddenly, a group of five gargoyles walked out of the mists. All of them had black eyes. "Quickly." Broadway whispered. "We've got to get out of here." "Brooklyn, what are those things?" Hawthorne asked, confused. "They're what we're up against." he spoke quietly. "Their eyes are black because they've been subverted." The sextet managed to find some brush, and they hid behind it until the patrol passed by. "I know them." Angela shook her head in disbelief. "They were friends of mine..." Broadway took her hand. "Don't get distracted. We'll help them if we can." The group waited for about two minutes before getting up. Everyone was totally silent. Brooklyn cleared his throat. "Let's get started on our way again. But we have to be careful about patrols. Silhouette might know we're coming." The gargoyles got up, and started on their way. But as they passed a cliffface, Lexington stepped on a large, dry twig, which snapped in two with an audible crack. He froze in fear, and looked to the others. Then, they could hear voices. "Scatter!" Brooklyn hissed. The travellers hid in the fog. In about a minute, three figures stepped out into the mist from a cave. They were unsubverted. "Gabriel!" Angela screamed. She ran from the scrub, and crashed into him. "Angela?" he asked, cautiously. "It can't be you!" "It must be some trick by Silhouette." Tom frowned, drawing his sword. "No! Guardian, it's really me! See?" She touched his arm, to prove she was really there. His eyes widened. "Angela, can it really be you?" Tom asked, shocked. She smiled. "Yes. It's me." "Are Goliath and Elisa here as well?" "No. We found Manhattan, Guardian. They aren't here. But there's others with me." "I still can't believe it's you." Gabriel exclaimed, smiling. The two hugged. Broadway looked on in shock. Another gargoyle walked out as well, and stared in shock at Angela. "Angela!" he cried, and he grabbed her hand. "Augustine!" Angela cried, tears streaming down her face. "You're all right!" "Yes, lass. How did ye get here...nevermind. But we must get you into the cave! It's not safe out here!" Angela nodded. "Yes. But I'm not alone. I've come to save Avalon, Guardian. And I've brought help." she beamed. Ariel stood up. "Guess that's our cue." He strode out and bowed. Brooklyn, Lexington, Hawthorne and Broadway stepped out as well. Tom, Gabriel and Augustine's eyes widened...especially Tom's. "I know ye from somewhere." He told the Trio. Brooklyn looked at him in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't remember you." "But I remember you. My mother threw a stick at you the night before Castle Wyvern was sacked. And I was there when the three of ye were turned to stone for a millenium." Lexington looked closely at him. "TOM?" he asked incredulously. "Aye. But we must get inside. It's not safe out here." Wordlessly, the nine walked back into the cave. There sat three gargoyles...and the Princess Katherine. "They're friends." Gabriel beamed, before anyone could say anything. "Princess?" Broadway stared. "Oh, my..." Katherine stared. She ran to Angela, and hugged her warmly. Ophelia and Jeremiah ran to greet her as well, and she hugged them all. For the last time, Ariel heard the ringing sounds in his mind. "Why are you back, sister?" Ophelia asked. Angela looked to Ariel, who nodded. "For you." she sighed. Ophelia looked surprised. "For me?" "Yes." Ariel exclaimed, rising up in the air. "For you, Ophelia of Avalon." Ophelia looked confused. "What do you need me for?" And Ariel explained. Gabriel, Augustine, Jeremiah, Katherine and Tom gaped at the fey, and even Boudicca looked curious. But Ophelia looked concerned...and valiant. When he finished, she looked at Ariel without hesitation. "I'll go." she spoke. "I'll do anything to stop that witch Silhouette." Ariel looked pleased. "Excellent!" he smiled. "You were a sight easier to convince than Hawthorne, there." Hawthorne regarded the fairy with an expression that looked a little bit appalled. "So, what do we have to do?" Ariel sighed. "I would assume that, since you are here, the castle has been lost." Katherine sighed. "Aye, Ariel. We barely escaped with our souls. Silhouette has stolen the very essence of Avalon, and turned it into the land of decay you see here." Augustine's eyes flared. "WE should be defending it.." he began, but a glare from Jeremiah cut him off. Angela looked to Ophelia. "But we aren't only here to save Avalon, sister. We must save the entire world, as well. Or else it will become like Avalon is now." Ophelia nodded. "I would hate to see the fate Avalon has suffered on anyone else." Ariel spun around. "The first piece of the ring is on this island, and that's what you have to find." He looked to Ophelia. "But, we might as well complete the company before we do that." His eyes began to flare to green. "The evil will thee try to find/But Ariel offers a way out of this bind/I grant to thee the power to make darkness see/What thou wilt, and so be a way to save thee!" he chanted. The light circled around her, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she smiled weakly. Ariel laughed. "The company is complete!" he cried gleefully. He settled down, and sank to the floor. Lexington glanced at Ophelia. "How are you feeling?" Ophelia stepped back. "Strange. Like I'm...more powerful, or something." "You are." Ariel explained. "The power of illusions is yours. Anytime that you or the others are in danger, by concentrating, you can create an illusion powerful enough to hide you." Ariel sighed. "Now, as I've told you before, I must leave. I've got my own role to fill...I have to find a missing piece in the prophecy. It's very important, so I don't have a choice. But, remember, you six, that the fate of the world lies on your shoulders. Use the powers I've given you to your advantage." He turned to leave the cave. "I'll need to use my powers to get off of Avalon, so I'll go to a safe distance, so as not to lead the Servants to you." "You're leaving NOW?" Brooklyn asked incredulously. Ariel looked to him. "Believe me, if I had a choice, I'd stay and guide you along. But I can't. This piece is so important that if I don't find it, you won't succeed." Brooklyn scowled. "Good luck. The first piece is here, remember. Ringbearer, whenever you touch a piece of the ring, it should tell you the location of the next piece." Ariel waved, and walked out of the cave. "Aideu." he called back, and then he disappeared into the mist. Brooklyn watched him go. "That imbecile." he muttered. "What?" "He's just walking out on us!" Hawthorne, who still looked a little overwhelmed, walked next to him. "You heard what he said. He's got another duty to perform." Brooklyn sighed, wringing his hands.. "Okay, nevermind. We can't stop him. He's gone. There's nothing we can do." He looked at the others. "We need a plan to get the first piece of the ring." Augustine stood up. "We're going with you." "Uh, it might be dangerous." Lexington glanced at him. "Dangerous? I'm almost twice your size, and you're lecturing me on danger? You need us, anyway. We know the castle, and you don't. The more people you have who know their way around, the better." Angela looked at Lexington. "He's right. If only the six of us went, then only Ophelia and I would be able to navigate it. If he, and Gabriel and Jeremiah came,we'd really improve our chances." Brooklyn looked at the three gargoyles. "All right; you're in. Tom, we may need you too." "And what am I to do?" Katherine asked. Broadway thought. "You can't stay here all alone. Even she might not be able to protect you." he pointed to Boudicca. The dog growled in response. "Boudicca is a well trained tracker. We might need her, too." Ophelia pointed out. "So what are we going to do with the Princess?" "We could bring her with us." suggested Angela. Brooklyn, Augustine and Ophelia glared at her. "She may be able to help." Angela rationalized. "I don't know. Princess, maybe you should..." "I'm perfectly capable of holding my own." Katherine grinned, pulling her small dagger from the folds of her dress. "I may not have the spryness of my youth, but I may be able to be of some help." Brooklyn sighed. "All right. So, we have twelve. We should probably split up into three groups, to find this ring. And remember, we're not entirely sure that the ring is in the castle." "It is." replied Hawthorne. "How are you sure?" Gabriel asked her. "I'm not sure...I just have this gut instinct that it's in the castle. I'm absolutely certain that it's there." "It must be your power." Lexington surmised. "The ring is drawing you to it." "Well, then, we'll assume it's in the castle." Brooklyn stated. "Lets' go in three groups. Jeremiah, Tom, you go with Lexington and Broadway. Katherine and Boudicca will go with Gabriel and Ophelia. Angela, Hawthorne, Augustine and I will round it out." "Okay...but do we have a plan to get in and out?" Broadway asked. "We don't even know where this ring is." Jeremiah sighed. Angela thought. "Do you know where Silhouette is within the castle?" Katherine shook her head. "Nay." she muttered. "Not a clue." Brooklyn frowned. "Then we'll have to wing it." "Wing it?" Hawthorne cried. "Brooklyn, we're dealing with some kind of demon, if she can do all of this!" She waved at the black mist outside. "I'm aware of that. But we don't have another choice." "It just seems kind of bad that we're 'winging it' in such a dangerous situation." Brooklyn scowled. "Okay. You're right. It's not the best plan. But we're just going to have to search for the ring as best we can." Angela crossed her arms. "We can't just go into the front door, either. We'll have to..." Suddenly, Lexington snapped his fingers. "Hawthorne...you know for certain that the piece of the rings in the castle, right?" Hawthorne blinked. "Yeah..." "Well, would you be able to pinpoint it exactly when we get in there?" "I don't know. I guess so..." Lexington looked to Brooklyn. "So, why don't we have one group of five or six go in to get the ring, with Hawthorne able to locate it, while the rest of us provide a diversion?" Brooklyn brightned. "Good thinking, Lex! That's the new strategy. Hawthorne, you'll lead the group going in. Those of us who know the way around should go with her. Gabriel, Angela, Katherine, Boudicca and Ophelia will go in. The rest of us will stay outside, and provide a diversion. One that they can't ignore." "Sounds a bit better than groping around in the dark." Gabriel smirked. "Okay. Well, what kind of diversion?" Brooklyn asked. Broadway thought for a second. "What about...what if there were two groups?" "What?" "What if Ophelia used her illusion power to make it look like they were invisible, or subverted, or something, and while they went to get the ring, the rest of us went in and pretended WE were the ones searching for the ring?" he beamed. The group murmered it's agreement. "Good idea!" Brooklyn smiled. "We'll have to be really obvious, so that they can't miss us. Hopefully, that will mean they miss you guys." Angela drew a crude map of the castle in the dirt on the ground. "We can enter here." she instructed, pointing at a doorway on the west side of the castle. "It's relatively unknown about, so we shouldn't run into too much trouble. Until we're in." "And where are we going to meet once we have it?" Tom asked. Angela pointed to a site on a parapet on the eastern side. "That point can be easily accessed from anywhere in the castle. We should meet there about...oh, as soon as possible, but a half an hour after at the most." "Well, that's it. The plan, folks. Any questions?" "Shouldn't we have a contingency plan?" Gabriel asked. Brooklyn thought for a second. "We'll just have to take anything as it comes. We can't prepare for everything. But if something does go wrong, we get out of there." He walked towards the cave entrance. "So, it's settled, then. We'll leave in about ten minutes." he ordered, smiling. The others all turned around, and began to chatter nervously. Brooklyn's smile died. When Goliath had named him second in command of his clan, he'd been honored. Now, after he'd been interim leader of the clan for almost five months, he realized leadership was a heavy burden, one that he hated to bear. But, he had no choice now, as he didn't then, and had to accept it. Still he wasn't terribly comfortable leading these people, some of whom he'd never seen before, into a deadly situation. Hawthorne was the only one who noticed, and she walked up to him. "You're doing fine." she reassured him. "Thanks, but I'm still worried." "You're worried?" I'm about to walk into something I never even believed existed ten minutes ago. I still can't believe I'm actually doing this. I still can't believe any of this is happening!" Brooklyn looked at her wryly. "Hawthorne...are you terribly frightened?" Hawthorne hesitated. "Yes...I am. I've always been a little bit scared of the devil I don't know." Brooklyn inched a liitle closer. Go for the reassurance, kid, he thought, and then sighed. "I'm petrified, myself. But we'll be all right. I'll look out for you myself." Hawthorne looked up at him. "And who's going to look after you?" Brooklyn smiled, and looked away. "Well...I was kind of hoping that you would." Hawthorne laughed, and took his hand in a firm handshake. "You've got yourself a deal." Brooklyn shook her hand, and then released. "I'm holding you to that." He cleared his throat. "Everyone...we should probably go now." he called. The group looked at him, and most of them looked worried. "Let's go. We'll take the air route." Lexington added, pointing upwards. The gargoyles looked comfortable with this...all except Brooklyn. Angela approached him. "Brooklyn...how is your wing, anyway?" Brooklyn gingerly touched the tear, anticipating a flash of pain. He wasn't disappointed. "It's been better." he admitted. "But I'll have to take it easy." Hawthorne looked at him. "You'd better." she warned. "You'll have to make it until sunrise with that wing." Brooklyn rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance. "Trust me, Hawthorne...as long as I go easy on it, I'll make it." The twelve left the cave, and scaled the wall, with Jeremiah and Gabriel carrying the Princess and Tom. As they got to the top, they flew away, with the humans being carried, in the general direction of the castle. As he glided, Brooklyn could feel his injured wing screaming in protest. Gonna have to watch out for that, he thought. But that wasn't what was foremost on his mind. What he was really worried about was that none of them...himself included...had the faintest idea of the danger they were about to face. ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** **************** Chapter Five The Siege Ten minutes later, after finding their way through the fog, the strike force stood at a mountain overlooking the castle. Angela was overwhelmed. The place had such an overwhelming sense of evil now, that it was hard to believe that it was the place she grew up in. Ophelia, Jeremiah, Augustine, Tom, Katherine and Gabriel were just as shocked. They stared at the castle with undisguised sadness in their eyes. Even Boudicca looked upset, simply staring at the dark castle. Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington and Hawthorne had no sentimental attachments to the castle, but were made melancholy by the sight nonetheless. "Angela, where's the access point?" Broadway swallowed, staring as a group of subverted gargoyles soared up onto the castle's parapets. Angela made a weak, strangled sound. "It's...it's over there, on the west side. See that door there, the one close to the stream? It looks like it's undefended, too." Brooklyn turned to the castle, and pointed. "Then, that's where we go. Get into your groups." Brooklyn went over to stand with Broadway, Lexington, Augustine, Jeremiah and Tom. The others all stood apart, looking nervous. "Ophelia, you'll have to make an illusion. Ariel showed you how, right?" Ophelia nodded. "I must think of what I want others to see, and then keep concentrating on it." "All right. Once we get down there, go for it. We don't have a lot of time." Brooklyn cautioned. The group then headed down the cliff to the castle. They landed, and Tom pushed open the door. "Okay, Ophelia...go for it." Angela signalled. Ophelia closed her eyes, and in seconds, she, Angela, Gabriel, Hawthorne, Katherine and Boudicca vanished. "Whoa." Hawthorne whispered, sounding freaked out. "Even I can't see myself." "Looks like it's working to me." Broadway gaped, amazed. Hawthorne gulped. "All right. We'll meet you at that tower in half an hour." Then, they were gone. Even the sounds of their footfalls was muffled. Brooklyn shook his head. "Okay. Let's go do some diverting." ******************************************************************************** ******************************** "Do you have a clear idea of where the ring is?" Gabriel asked. Hawthorne thought. "I'm getting a feeling about a room...with some really antique furniture...and a mirror." "That would be Queen Titania's chambers, then." Katherine surmised. Ophelia pointed, still concentrating on the illusion, forgetting that noone could see her. "That's this way." Hawthorne glanced around. "Which way?" Ophelia sighed. "This hallway...to the left." Angela stopped. "That could be a problem...none of us can see each other. We won't know where anyone else is." "So what can we do?" Katherine thought for a second. "Hold hands?" "It's the best we can do." Gabriel sighed. The groped around for a few minutes...each finding each others hand. Hawthorne took hold of Boudicca's horn...gently, so as not to hurt her, and the company set off, Ophelia leading the way. The nearer they got to the chambers, the more subverted guards there were. Mostly Children of Oberon, but a few assorted gargoyles as well. "Most of our brothers and sisters are probably in the patrols out on the island." Gabriel whispered. They all stiffened as the Wierd Sisters, their eyes all as black as the Phoebe's hair, passed by. For a brief second, they were certain that the trio could see them through their disguise. But the Sisters passed by them, without noticing them at all. Soon, they arrived at the door to Titania's chambers. "So, we just go in?" Angela asked. "It's can't be that easy." Gabriel whispered. And it wasn't. As the group watched unseen, the shadowy form of Queen Titania appeared, soon followed by that of Oberon. "Merde." Hawthorne swore. "Who are they?" "Oberon and Titania. The King and Queen of Avalon." Ophelia whispered, as if it explained everything. Hawthorne rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks." Angela looked around, as if trying to see her. "They're incredibly powerful. I've battled them twice before, and it wasn't easy. If Silhouette's gotten control of them..." "Looks like they have." Ophelia frowned, seeing their black eyes. "That could be a problem, then." Katherine sighed. Boudicca woofed quietly in agreement. "The door's closed, too. We can't just sneak by them without attracting their attention." Gabriel muttered. Then, something very unexpected happened. Ophelia, who was standing there nervously, suddenly stepped back, and trod on an incredibly sharp piece of stone, protruding from the floor. It tore the skin on her foot, and a searing bolt of pain raced along it. Ophelia screamed, and her concentration on the illusion broke. Meaning that the cloak of invisibility on the group dissipated. Meaning that, to Oberon and Titania, a group of unsubverted gargoyles and a human were suddenly in plain sight. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** "There's a group down there." Tom pointed. The diversionary group was standing on a balcony above the Audience Hall, looking for trouble. And, judging from the group of three Children of Oberon in the Hall, they'd found it. Broadway regarded the trio with disdain. "Is that going to be a big enough diversion?" Brooklyn shrugged. "It'll have to do for now." "So, how are we going to do this?" Jeremiah asked. Augustine regarded him with a grin. "Follow my lead." he smiled. He jumped off the balcony, and landed behind the Children. With a swift kick, he disabled, as in nearly knocked senseless, one of the Children, (who just happened to be Raven.) The other two, (Nynyve, "the Lady of the Lake", and Coyote) turned around in shock, and anger. Nynyve's eyes flared, and she tried to subvert Augustine. He dodged, and then Broadway took over. He leapt down, and, while Augustine tripped Coyote, he regretfully grabbed Nynyve by the front of her dress. She tried to subvert him, too, and would have succeeded, had it not been Broadway who was there. His eyes did not darken, and Augustine stared at him in shock. "Where is the ring?" he asked. Then, Lexington got into the act. He and Brooklyn began to wave from the balcony. "You two!" he yelled. "Get up here! We think we've found it!" Broadway smiled, imperceptibly, and he and Augustine raced to the wall. Quickly, before Nynyve could blast them, they scaled the wall. "Good job." Brooklyn whispered. "Thanks." Augustine panted. "That dash up the wall was the fastest sprint of my life." "We'd better get out of here, before reenforcements arrive." Tom warned. "Let's go, then." Brooklyn ordered, and they ran for the door. But before they got there, a group of shadowy forms billowed up in front of the door, forming into Tybalt and five other subverted gargoyles. "End of the line." Tybalt sneered. Jeremiah looked back, just in time to see more gargoyles appear in front of the door behind them. "We have a slight problem." Jeremiah laughed nervously. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** Oberon and Titania immediately launched into an attack, blasting time and again at the newly visible group. Hawthorne narrowly dodged a blast, and turned in time to see Angela take one directly to the stomach. "Angela!" she cried. Angela crumpled to the ground. Hawthorne ran to her, and tried to get her out of the way, but was shot in the back, falling over on Angela. Gabriel moved in front of them, and Ophelia and Boudicca joined him. Katherine drew her small iron dagger, which didn't seem to have an effect on either of the fey. Angela looked groggily up, and noticed the scene. They aren't vulnerable to iron. That isn't good. she thought. "Ophelia!" she called. Ophelia looked back, trying to avoid shadow blasts. "We need an illusion!" she called. "And whatever you do, keep concentrating!" Ophelia frowned. "Cover me!" she yelled to Gabriel, who nodded. Ophelia stepped behind Angela and Hawthorne. She began to concentrate, and as she did so, she and the others suddenly began to duplicate. Soon, there were so many copies of them in the room, that it was like looking in a hall of mirrors. "Now!" Katherine yelled. Oberon and Titania looked around in confusion, trying to find the real ones. The group used their confusion to their advantage, and slipped past them. Quickly, Gabriel opened the door, and they slipped inside. Too late, Oberon and Titania noticed them, and the door was closed before they could do anything about it. Gabriel and Ophelia took up positions near the doors, with Boudicca nearby. "Hurry...get the ring. We'll try to hold them off." Gabriel yelled, over the rising din. Hawthorne closed her eyes, and pointed in the direction of the mirror. "It's near there." she exclaimed, and raced for it. Angela and Katherine followed her. The doors began to buckle. Hawthorne looked, and saw a small, locked box. "It should be in here. If it isn't, it's close by." she explained. She broke the lock, and opened it. Inside was a bright silver arc of metal, on a purple velvet cushion. The first piece of Oberon's Ring. Excited, Hawthorne took it out of the box. Then, Angela felt a tingle in the back of her mind. She took the piece of the ring from Hawthorne, and regarded it carefully. "What are you doing?" Hawthorne asked, curious. Angela looked at her. "Something's not right." she stated. Angela concentrated, and instantly, the piece of the ring melted away, like a mirage. Hawthorne gasped. "That's..." "A fake!" Angela swore angrily. "We went through all that for some forgery!" "But that doesn't make any sense!" Hawthorne cried. "The ring IS here! I can feel it!" And then, suddenly, the doors stopped shaking. Silently, a column of shadow formed in the room, which solidified into Silhouette. In her hand was a piece of metal...the piece of the ring. "Looking for this?" she smiled, waving it tauntingly. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** "Okay, we need to get out of this." Augustine spoke. "To say the least." Brooklyn retorted. Tybalt and the other gargoyles began to move ever closer. Suddenly, a snaking ribbon of darkness emerged from one of his follower's eyes, plunging into Tom's. Tom was subverted, and he drew his sword. Lexington barely dodged the blow, and he kicked Tom in the leg. Tom was knocked over, but he dissipated, and faded away. Tybalt smiled. "Attack." he ordered, and suddenly energy blasts began raining down on the gargoyles. Several of them hit the floor near where Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, Augustine and Jeremiah were standing, and the balcony gave way with a rumble of stone. Lexington came out of it the worst. With a cry, he tumbled fifteen feet to the floor below, and a piece of stone landed directly on his temple. He was knocked unconscious instantly. Augustine and Broadway landed all right, but Jeremiah twisted his ankle, and several pieces of rubble landed on Brooklyn's upper body...including his wings. He screamed as a bolt of white agony flared up the membrane. "Brooklyn!" Broadway called. He ran to the red gargoyle's side. "Are you all right?" "My WING!" Brooklyn screeched. This was by far the worst pain he'd ever experienced in his life. Broadway gently lifted the stone off of Brooklyn's wing. "Oh, my God." Broadway inhaled deeply as he saw the damage. Where before there had only been a tear in the membrane, now was totally crushed. Small trickles of blood oozed from the smashed blood vessels, and the wing was purple where it had smashed and bruised. "Brooklyn...there's no way you'll be able to glide like this." Broadway exclaimed. "Brilliant, Einstein." Brooklyn whimpered through clenched teeth. Jeremiah, meanwhile, was attending to Lexington, who was lying still and silent on the floor. "How is he?" Augustine asked. "He got hurt pretty badly." Jeremiah concluded. "Knocked out cold." Suddenly, Tybalt and his followers appeared. They began to fire again, their blasts mostly hitting the rubble. "Get these two out of the open!" Broadway yelled, pointing to Lexington and Brooklyn. Jeremiah dragged Lexington behind an outcropping of rock, and Broadway took Brooklyn to the same place. As the blasts rained down on them, Brooklyn looked up to Jeremiah. "I don't suppose," he whispered, "that there's another way out of here?" ******************************************************************************** ******************************** "You evil, psychopathic witch." Angela yelled at Silhouette. Silhouette smiled. "This is supposed to emotionally scar me, somehow?" She waved the ring in Hawthorne's face. "Hello, Ringbearer." Hawthorne stiffened. "I know everything about you, you..." she spat, but Silhouette stopped her. "Please, don't. I detest name calling." she smiled, grasping Hawthorne's cheek. Hawthorne felt the pure evil rolling off of her in waves. "Don't touch me." she said, jerking her face away. Silhouette seemed taken aback. "One might think you'd be more hospitable to someone who holds the power of life and death for your friends in the palm of her hand." she smiled, and Titania's mirror suddenly shimmered, showing the Audience Hall, and the battle going on. "The Traveller's been...rendered unavailable, so you have no way off of Avalon anyway. "The Leader has lost all use of his wings until sundown tomorrow, which is more than 24 hours away. And it's only a matter of time before the Servants of Twilight finish them off, prophecy or no." "Your magic can't harm them!" Ophelia shouted. "My magic. Yes, you're right. But if they're killed conventionally, then it sticks, I'm afraid. That doesn't bode well, either for them or for you." Gabriel rushed her. With a wave, she knocked him backwards. Then, she spun around and subverted him. Ophelia screamed. Angela felt a growing a numbness in her, and Katherine stepped back in shock. Boudicca snarled, and jumped Silhouette, but ended up with the same treatment. "The two of you go to the Audience Hall," Silhouette commanded, "and kill the others." Gabriel gave a sadistic grin, and vanished. Boudicca did the same thing. Silhouette watched them go. "Now, what am I to do with you?" she asked. She waved, and Angela, Ophelia and Hawthorne were suddenly bound together by shadows. "If I kill even one of you, then Ariel's prophecy is forfeit. No one will be able stop me, and I'll rule the world. Take a wild guess what I'm going to do next." Silhouette smiled, taking a knife from her belt. She set the Piece of the Ring in the tuck of her belt as well, and took a step forward, the dagger raised, preparing to plunge it in Hawthorne's throat. But Katherine was quicker. In a flash, she ran forward, and grabbed the ring from Silhouette's belt, and ran with it. Silhouette, distracted, turned, and released the three gargoyles. Quicker than she was, they dashed away, out the door, and down the hallway. Silhouette screamed in fury, and transformed into a shadow. Like a comet, she tore down the hallway after them, but they were nowhere to be seen. In a rage, Silhouette began to blast shadows at anything that moved. ******************************************************************************** ******************************** The shadows kept coming. Augustine couldn't believe the sheer volume of the energy bolts coming at them. And the fact that new Servants of Twilight were approaching every second, convinced him that in few seconds, all of them would be dead. Jeremiah and Broadway worked on building up a shield against the blasts, which appeared to be working. But the numbers were against them, and that counted for everything. Then, Brooklyn, who was sitting on the floor, his wings folded around him, looked up. He saw Ophelia, Hawthorne, Angela and Princess Katherine suddenly materialize out of thin air, on the balcony. "Look!" he yelled. Everyone did, and saw the four up there. Katherine was waving a piece of the ring. They all smiled, and looked back at the advancing Servants. "We've got one chance at this." Broadway sighed. "Then let's make it good." Jeremiah replied. Broadway moved to help Lexington up, who was still unconscious, and Augustine knelt down next to Brooklyn. "Hop on." he hissed. Brooklyn looked at him. "I haven't gone on a piggy back ride since I was a hatchling." he smiled. "Well, you need one now. Get on." Brooklyn sighed, and laced his arms around Augustine's neck. "Ready...set...go!" Broadway shouted. Augustine, Jeremiah and Broadway dashed to the wall. They dug their claws into the wall, and began to scale it. Halfway in, though, a shadow blast knocked right into the wall above Jeremiah. With a cry, he fell down to the floor. Six of the Servants rushed up to him, and then he stood up, his eyes as black as midnight. "Oh, hell." Broadway sighed. "Faster!" Soon, the four gargoyles reached the top. "You got it?" Augustine panted. Katherine smiled. "Aye. But we'd best be out of here, before Silhouette gets to us." Brooklyn nodded. "But I can't glide. My wing was hurt, and until it heals at sunrise, I'm pretty much