DevilSpawn, Part One A 'Gargoyles' Fanfic by Matt Little (myrlynn@execpc.com) Hello again! I hope you're reading this because you liked my previous work, if not, oh well! With a few exceptions, none of the characters in this story are mine. They are the property of Walt Disney/Buena Vista Television. This is strictly a hobby of mine, completely non-profit. This story makes a brief foray before and into "Hunter's Moon I-III" then goes beyond the current timeline. It splits off into a different direction after the second season end, and stays away from season three (mainly because I never saw it). It does take a few things from season three, but not many. I hope you enjoy this and all my other stories! **************************************************************************** Prolouge 2594 A.D. Manhattan With a loud roar, the gargoyles awoke all over the city. Ever since the time of Goliath, the gargoyles of the world had once again started to accept and welcome gargoyles. And in the six-hundred years since then, the inhabitants of New York had fully accepted the presence of gargoyles in their city. 3G slowly paced the battlements of the mighty fortress. He was waiting again for his young student, the lavender gargoyle Excaliber. He was going to introduce him to the ancient arts of combat, not the weakling ways of nowadays. Now, all the gargoyles used pulsed-plasma weapons; but if any of them were disarmed, they'd be helpless. So 3G decided to start on the young gargoyle early on, and help him develop the muscles that he would need for the old ways. But that would wait until after tonight's story. 3G was surprised momentarily when the small gargoyle floated in on his own. Then he saw his older sister wave a quick goodbye and go on her way. He grabbed the little gargoyle as his wings began to fail on him, and hoisted him on his shoulder. "Ready, young one?" "Oh, yeh! By the way, 3G, a few friends of mine said that they wanted to also listen to tonight's story. Is that cool?" Excaliber said. "Only if they want to learn how to fight the old way," 3G replyed. He scanned the sky to try and see the others. Finally, he saw them; Five other gargoyles, and they were all teenagers! 3G's story's must have had a bigger impact than he thought! Good, he thought. Now the old ways will hopefully start coming back to this clan. When the others landed (three males and two females) he took them down to the workout room. He lead them over to one of the holo-trainers that he had reserved last night. He sat them down. "What are your names?" "Swat." "Congo." "Cherry." "Manhattan, but call me Manny." "Star." "Ok, then." None of them noticed that Daemon Xanatos and Duke had also reserved a holo-trainer, but a bit down so not to attract attention, but allowing them to hear. 3G turned on the holo-trainer. A horrible figure popped into view. "Tonight, I will tell you about the Demon War of 1994..." *************************************************************************** Chapter One Boredom. He hated boredom. Idly, he tapped his fingers upon his throne, sending a few thousand souls into torment. He thought about flaying one of his lesser minions, but just as he thought of it, he came upon a MUCH better idea. A smile came to his face as he thought of what might happen if he acted upon his plan. With a rumble he summoned one of his lesser minions to his side. The sniveling wretch crawled over, knowing to disobey was to be tortured for a few millennium at The Master's will. A while later, another creature walked up to the throne. This one was much bigger than most, but not nearly quite as big as the one on the throne. He swaggered to the throne, stopping before his lord. "You called me, my Master?" he smiled. A large hand swung out and knocked him across to a wall thirty feet away. "Do not mock ME, Desmodus. You might be one of my greatest commanders, but remember this: you are but ONE of my commanders." A suitably chastised Desmodus returned by the throne. He bent to one knee before it. "Yes, my Lord." "Better. Not great. But better." He gestured with a hand for his servant to come closer. "I have a task for you. Take some soldiers to the World Above, and set up an outpost. It Is Time." "It Is Time? Time for what, my Lord?" Another slap, another thirty feet. "Do not question. Just do." "Yes, my Lord." ************************************************************************** Chapter Two New York City, 1996 It was a pleasant night for walking. The moon was out, the sky was clear, and it was the perfect temperature. Another good reason for walking was that the crime rate had steadily dropped around the city, so more people decided to enjoy the city's splendors. One such couple were having a nice midnight stroll through the park. If you were able to get up closer to them, you could hear them lightly arguing about him leaving for a few days, while she was nervous about something and didn't want him to go. "But I have to go! I promised that I would go to meet them! They've never been out of the state, and they want a guide. Since I know where they are, I agreed. It's not like I'll be gone forever, just a few days." he said. She tucked herself into the crook of his arm a bit more before replying. "I know. I'm just going to miss you, that's all. We've never been apart since we started seeing each other, and I got worried for a minute." The two continued on, not paying attention to their surroundings, just each other. They found a park bench and sat down. After a short while, the talking stopped, and the sound of kissing filled the air around them, while hands got busy. The two thugs, neither one of them under six foot or 200lbs, eased closer to the pair. Both had just gotten into town the night before, and were looking for easy pickings. The couple making out on the bench were the best prospects all night. They both had heard the strange rumors about the 'winged creatures', but thought of them as fanciful stories. For such a warm night, the were both wearing longcoats. Glancing at each other, then shrugging, then approached the couple from behind. "Hands up, wallets out. Don't try to be heroes. Just hand over the wallets and we'll leave quietly." the left one said. At the first words, the couple stopped what they were doing. The right thug gave them a careful appraisal; the guy was pretty big, bigger than him or his companion. The female, on the other hand, looked like she had a extremely feminine figure. He nudged his companion, "What do ya think, Alex? Try some of that?" Alex smacked his associate in the head. "I tol' you. No names!" Turning back to the couple, he was startled to see that they had both gotten up and were now facing them. The big guy spoke spoke in a deep bass voice: "Did I, or did I not hear you talking about possibly taking advantage of my girlfriend?" Alex thought he saw a reflection off glasses, for a strange glow came from under the hood. Alex swore softly; his and Phil's luck was not going well. It looked like the big guy was going to be trouble. He swiftly reached under his trench and pulled out his Colt .45, thumbing the safety off while bringing it to bear. "Listen, mate, we don't want any trouble. Just give us your money and we'll leave quietly, nobody hurt, capice?" The couple turned to each other. Alex remembers telling the police about them later on: "I'm telling ya, one minute I'm sitting 'ere with a gun pointed at 'em, the next minute Phil is lying against a tree from the chick throwin' him over there, out cold, and this big winged guy wit' a freakin' FIN and HORNS is crushing my gun wit' one hand, and throwin' me against the ground wit' the other! All I know is once I'm outta jail I'm leaving this freaky town!" Two winged figures flew through the air, laughing together. "Did you see that poor guy's face when I crushed his gun, Angel? It was simply priceless!" The big midnight-blue man said to the smaller lavender one. "I thought that he and his friend were going to have to clean themselves afterward, my love." she said. She stopped laughing after a moment. "Bolt, you know that we disobeyed Goliath's rule not to be seen by the humans. He's going to be pretty steamed when he learns about this." Bolt turned towards the smaller gargoyle, grinning mischievously. "Hey, all we did was break up a mugging on our night off. He won't be mad at us for that." He grabbed her hand, pulling her toward a recently built skyscraper a few blocks away from the Eyrie Building. They landed gently atop the massive building, making sure to stay away from the edges. Bolt pulled Angela to him, embracing her in his arms while running his talons through her hair. "The first night we have to ourselves, and two muggers try to rob us! Ah, jalapena!" "Well, we really shouldn't have been in the park like that anyways. We were just asking for trouble. Besides...." she said, snuggling further into his arms, "the night's not over yet!" Bolt looked down to his love. Angela and he had only been together a short while, but he had know her his whole adult life. Her image came to him shortly after he became an adult, signifying that she would be his true love. He despaired for many centuries, wondering why the fates chose him to be in love with a gargoyle. Looking down, seeing the love for him in her eyes, Bolt was glad he waited for her. Neither one heard the whir of tiny servomotors as a camera popped out of its hiding place and recorded the couple. Inside a darkened office, two figures watched the two gargoyles. One was sitting at the desk, one on the other side, standing. "Ah, young love, how sweet." the sitting figure spoke. "Shall we do anything with them, my lord?" asked the standing figure. He pulled out a cellular phone in anticipation. "Leave them be." "Sir?" "Are you questioning me?" the sitting man asked. He swiveled the chair around, eyes glowing. "N..NO sir!" he said, gasping and turning pale. "Good. Leave me." the man said, turning his chair back around, to watch. And wait. The two gargoyles sat atop the roof, holding each other gently. Bolt looked at his wrist, to the watch he had taken to wear. It read 4:13. He turned to Angela, speaking softly into her ear, "We have to go, love. I have to drop you off and say goodbye to the rest off the guys." Angela looked up and nodded. Jumping off the ledge, they glided back towards the clock tower. *************************************************************************** Chapter Three Brooklyn sat in front of the small computer, his tongue sticking out, as he typed with his talons. How Lex does this, he thought to himself, I'll never know. The second-in-command had returned from patrol early to secure the computer for the night. He, Broadway and Lexington had been fighting over it ever since the day that Bolt had told them that three shy female gargoyles he met while traveling had been trying to contact them. came on screen. he replied. came the reply. Then: he typed in. He liked talking to Tiffany. She seemed to be the most outgoing of the three. He just wished that he and his brothers could've gotten a picture of the three before they decided to come to New York. The Trio had given a picture to Elisa, and she sent it to the females through the police scanner a while ago, so they knew what the Trio looked like. she replied. he typed in. At least the other guys didn't know about her pet name for him. "Brooky, huh?" a voice snickered from behind him. Brooklyn sighed. He turned around and saw Broadway, Lexington and Goliath standing behind him. Bolt and Angela were just now coming into the clock tower. Oh, great, who else can come in for my humiliation? "Hi guys!" came a female voice. "Elisa! Matt! Nice of you to stop by!" Goliath said. Perfect. Bolt and Angela walked outside to talk. The midnight-blue gargoyle took Angela's hand into his before speaking. "I want you to be extra-careful. Something about the next few days is bothering me, mainly because I won't be here. Promise me?" he asked. "I promise. Just come back quickly, ok?" Angela said, embracing him. Bolt returned the embrace, stroking her dark hair with his hand. "I will." he answered. Reluctantly, he released his grip on Angela. He turned and walked over to the ledge, jumping lightly upon it. He turned around and looked at her, then smiled. "Bye." Angela watched as his form shifted; his face elongated and his mouth and nose grew into a toothy snout. His powerful arms grew even longer--and more muscular. The talons and fangs grew larger and more murderous. The wings grew bigger and longer to support his twelve and one-half ton bulk while flying. His skin became sectioned, then turned into scales harder than titanium, reflective enough to bounce particle beams off. He waved a taloned hand at Angela, then spread his one hundred and seventy-five foot wingspan. He launched off the platform, dropping towards the street. Angela rushed towards the ledge, looking over it just as Bolt snapped his wings out fully to catch an updraft. He soared up past the next building, gaining altitude with broad sweeps of his wings. Even though she knew he wouldn't see it, she waved to him like she saw once in an old black and white movie she watched with Hudson. 'Don't fret, my love; I shall return in a few days.' she heard him say in her mind. The two shared a faint telepathic link with each other that grew stronger every day. Right now they could talk to each other around roughly half of Manhattan. It was a talent that all dragons could do, and they passed it on to the one they love. And with that, he was gone. **************************************************************************** Chapter Four Bolt soared for most of that day and the next, pausing long enough to rest and eat (so he ate a couple of cows, big deal. He left a few fine cut diamonds in return with a note. It's amazing what old dragons keep under their skin, isn't it?) before continuing on to his destination, the town of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The big blue changed into an eagle for his entry into the town. He flew for a few minutes before finding his objective: a small gothic church on the east side of town. It was about an hour before the sun went down, so he landed atop the old church and let himself in through the small belltower on the south side. He made his way into the church, finally perching by one of the three gargoyle statues that were perched inside. The disguised eagle watched the rest of sermon, wondering again about the number of churches and bars that this town had. The people of this town either went to church or to get drunk, he thought, listening to the priest drone on. He focused his attention back onto the sermon just in time to hear the priest wrap it up and urgently shoo his parish away for the night. When the last one left for the night, the priest bade goodbye and locked up the church. Bolt waited about five minutes before he glided down to land upon one of the pews. Father Micheal was a big man. With a height of 6'9", weighing over 350lbs., the good Father never worried about people trying to break into his church at night. Fond of the phrase 'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition', he realized what a twisted world that we all live in and sought to make it better for his whole parish, including his three charges that were sleeping up in the rafters. When he saw an eagle land on one of his pews, his first thought was how to get the bird out of the church without hurting it at all. "Shoo! Go away, ya blasted bird! Get out of here!" he yelled at the bird. When it looked at him and shook it's head before crying out he could have sworn that it was laughing at him. Just then, the sun dipped below the horizon and from behind he could here the now-familiar sound of stone breaking as his three charges broke free from their stone sleep. At the noise, the eagle turned and watched as three female gargoyles shed the stone, then leapt down in front of the human. The eagle took a long look at the three: Tiffany, the leader of Clan Fondy, 5'9", her most striking feature the cascades of crimson hair that flowed over her shoulders and to her waist. She was a pale brown gargoyle with two fins on her head that traveled to mid-back before flowing into her skin. She wore a short leather skirt and a off-the-shoulder form-fitting black blouse. She was in the middle of clamping on some of her earrings, and had a silver wolf's head on a chain hanging around he neck. And Renee and Velvet, identical twins that both hatched out of one egg, almost unheard off in gargoyles. They were smaller than Tif, being about 5'6", with elfin features combined with extremely elongated ears that rose up higher than any other gargoyle that Bolt knew of, at least half a foot above. Their hair was almost white, as light as it was. Their skin color was peacock blue(a bright greenish blue). Renee had a thin gold necklace on, while Velvet had a small gold ring on, both purchased by Father Micheal to separate them when the were younger. They both wore a gray t-shirt with cut-off shorts. They also had a strong physic link with each other, and knew what the other was thinking. Sometimes, they could also read other minds, but that was only on the nights of the full moon for some reason. "Greetin', Father. How was the sermon t'night?" Tiffany asked. "Not bad. I think I saw some new faces in the crowd tonight. It's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure." he replied. Renee looked at him, then looked at the eagle that was watching them. "Is that a..." "...new friend of yours, Father?" Velvet finished. Father Micheal had almost forgotten about the eagle that was still sitting atop the pew, watching them. "No, he flew in tonight and I've been trying to get rid of him." Tiffany spoke up. "I don't know, Father. Maybe you should keep him around for awhile to keep you company. I mean, later tonight Bolt's coming to lead us to Manhattan to meet his Brooklyn and his clan! I can hardly wait!" she said, clapping her hands in anticipation. Father Micheal caught up the hands of his charges and started leading them to the back for their favorite meal: beans and francs. "Maybe you're right. If anything, to keep the mice population down!" They all laughed. "Excuse me? 'to keep the mice down?' Please, give me more credit than that!" a deep voice replied behind them. The foursome turned to see a dark-blue gargoyle leaning against a pew, and the eagle was gone. He straightened up and threw open his arms. "Bolt!!!" The three females yelled his name before rushing over and leaping into his arms. He hugged them tight, because he was close to them. He was the first gargoyle that they had seen since the accident... "How're my lovely ladies tonight, eh?" he asked. He felt one of the three, more than likely Tiff, pinch him in the butt. "Hey! I'm already spoken for, so enough of that!" "What?! You're kidding! Who, and where is she from?" Tiff asked. She wouldn't tell anyone, but she had had a terrible crush on Bolt since the first time she met him. If it hadn't been for meeting Brooklyn, she would have been all over the muscular gargoyle when she first met him. "And how are you, Father Micheal? I watched the end of your sermon. It was very good." Bolt said to the human. He started to chit-chat with the good Father, ignoring the pleas from the younger gargoyles about his love life. Knowing when they were beat, they temporarily gave up. They all went in to have some supper. The four gargoyles and the good Father ate quickly. Bolt mentioned that it was a nice moonless night, and that they should cover as much ground as they could tonight before sunup. The three young ones agreed, and went to gather the stuff they were taking with them. When they had left, Father Micheal turned to Bolt. "I've a question for you, my young friend. I know you're not a gargoyle. However, because you've been so nice to the girls, I've decided not to care." "Lucky me." the big gargoyle replied, looking at Father Micheal's huge arms. "However, if I EVER find out that you took my babies away from here for an evil purpose, I will find; nowhere on this earth will be safe for you, I promise." he said, clenching his teeth. Bolt's eyes went wide at the implied threat. Breaking out into laughter, Father Micheal grabbed Bolt's shoulder, pushing him towards the doorway. The blue gargoyle smiled sickly at him, wondering if he was serious or not. They walked in and waited for the sisters to finish. The twins had a small suitcase between the two of them, while Tiffany had a small travel case and her laptop. For some reason, she couldn't get ahold of any of the guys in New York. Oh well, she thought, we'll see them soon enough. She turned away from the rest for a minute, then reached her hand up to a small pendant she hid behind the silver wolf's head she wore. She unclasped it and stole a quick look at the small picture that she kept inside of it. She had gotten it off the net a few weeks back; she had seen it and something inside of her clicked, so she downsized it and printed it out, then placed it inside the pendant. It was a picture of Brooklyn when he had saved a young couple from muggers. It was a perfect profile view of him, eyes glowing, white hair streaming back from a breeze, chest puffed out with a job well done. The site she pulled it off of said that they had actually seen it and that it saved them; ever since that night, she had dreamed of the red gargoyle constantly, how he would come and rescue her from a horde of enemies, then profess his undying love to her, and that they would live happily ever after. Her dreams had gotten even worse when her and her sisters had received the picture from Clan Manhattan. The minute she laid her hands on the picture with Brooklyn in it, she glided down to the altar and thanked God for granting her the chance to be finally happy. She ran a talon over the small picture before closing it again. "Soon, my love. Soon we will be together as the good Lord intended." she whispered. She turned around, wiping her talons across her eyes to wipe away any moisture that showed up. "Ok! I'm ready! When do we leave?" Everyone said their good-byes quickly, then climbed the stairs to the bell tower. Father Micheal watched silently, waving as the four gargoyles leaped into the night. He realized that he would more than likely never see them again, but he still wished them the best of luck. **************************************************************************** Chapter Five The four gargoyles flew for the remainder of the night. When dawn approached, Bolt led them to a small cave nestled in woods. He had stayed here before, while traveling. The three real gargoyles stationed themselves deep inside the cave, while Bolt polymorphed into a human to watch for the day. The gargoyles took their stances, and turned to stone as the sun rose. Bolt stood there for a few minutes, looking at them. Then he slowly walked past them, reaching the back of the cave. He bent down and began to dig. For almost a half-hour he dug, pushing the dirt off to one side. He paused every few minutes to listen for intruders. He continued on, using a nearby rock to further dig when his hands got tired and cramped. There! A small glint half buried in the soil! He threw aside the rock and began to dig feverishly. After a few more minutes, he pulled up a small box, brushing the dirt from it lovingly. He took it up towards the front of the cave. Making sure there wasn't anybody in the vicinity, he returned to the cave, then sat down and opened the box. He pulled out a golden medallion formed in the shape of an attacking dragon. The eyes were made of fine sapphires. The flame the open mouth was breathing was a exquisitely cut ruby. The talons were made up of individual diamond shards. The whole thing was 2 1/2" long and 1 3/4" wide, and weighed two pounds. A person could probably buy a poor third world country, or a worthy island with its value. Bolt gently brushed the few specks of dirt off of the medallion. He had traded almost all of his acquired wealth a few centuries ago to a mage for this little trinket. He was relieved when he found out that it was still exactly where he had buried it a few weeks ago when he had come through here. Now he was bringing it back to Angela. It was his gift to her, his proof of commitment that he would always be with her. For this was a mighty artifact; this small item allowed its wearer to change to any form that it had seen; with this, he would be able to show his Angel the wonders of the modern world. This was the Medallion of Transmutation. He had sacrificed a small portion of his own innate abilities to help create this, while the mage sacrificed more; his life. The amulet had drained him of his life force at the time of creation. If any enemies learned of it, they would be hell-bent to try and get it. He stood up, gazing at the precious medallion before placing it in his pouch. Grinning, he strolled back to the three statues and waited. That night they made extremely good time, but would need one more night to reach home. They rested during the day, then continued on. They flew back into Manhattan early the next day. Bolt and the three females were in an extremely good mood, Bolt glad to be back in New York, the other three waiting to finally see other gargoyles. They chatted with each other, talking about the sights, Bolt talking some more about what he saw in the world. "Wait until you see the clocktower! It's older than the old church that you three grew up in. However, it's a sight that I have yet to tired of!" Bolt said. Because the night was cloudy and moonless, he had shifted back to his own form, that of a one hundred seventy-five foot blue dragon. "What's that..." Velvet started. "...building over there?" Renee finished, pointing a talon at the Eyrie Building. "Huh? Which one?" The big blue knew that he was close enough to the clock tower for Angela to pick up his thoughts, but he had no luck yet. Oh well, he thought, maybe she's on patrol tonight. He turned and frowned at Xanatos' building. "Oh, that one. That's the Eyrie Building. That's the headquarters of Xanatos, and my clan's ancestral home." He narrowed his eyes. "And one day we'll take it back from him, I swear!" The three females looked at each other. Obviously that was a sore subject. "Um, Bolt, when will we get to the clock tower? My wings are really sore." complained Tiffany. Bolt settled down a bit. He looked around at his surroundings. "By all indications, it should be two streets down. Then, you can rest." They glided for a few more seconds They finally saw the skyscraper that had the clock tower behind it. "Now you will see our home!" They flew around the 'scraper. "Behold! Our ho..." his voice died. He pulled back and hovered. The three females pulled back and landed atop the tower they just passed. None of the three gargoyles wanted to be close by Bolt at this point. The big blue slowly landed upon the remains of the clock tower. He never noticed the humans that saw him land, or those that were helping to clean out the tower. All he saw was the twisted wreckage of his new home. He slowly looked around at the devastation surrounding him; damage was evident everywhere. Stone and glass, wood and steel, all were twisted into each other. He looked around for a few minutes, remembering; Hudson's chair, now burnt; Goliath's book's, charred to a crisp; he reached down and picked up the remains of Lexington's laptop. That alone told him that they didn't have time to leave before whatever happened, happened. Suddenly, the memories of what more than likely happened overwhelmed him. Any one of the powerful enemies more than likely finally found out where the clan roosted during the day, and attacked when they were the most defenseless. He dropped to his knees, tears running from his eyes. He could see all their faces; Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway, Bronx, Lexington, Goliath....Angela. The roar started deep inside him, originating from his heart, his feelings, and building until it broke free. All his anger, his frustration, his...love, burst out at full volume to the sky. He directed his roar upwards, letting it go forever, it seemed. The sky arced as he unleashed the full force of his breath weapon into the air. His scream was the scream of every person that ever lost someone; of everyone that had ever suffered at the hands of criminals and thugs. Minutes later, he slumped over, voice hoarse, eyes completely red. He sat still for a few seconds. Tiffany motioned for the twins to stay put, then glided over to the mangled tower. She didn't worry about being seen; If the city hadn't heard Bolt's cry of heartbreak, they were deaf, blind and dumb. As she got closer, she saw the big blue heaving. She landed next to him, and put her hand on his shoulder. He snapped up, eyes flaring. He turned to her and snarled. She saw a cave of swords, and her whole life flashed before her eyes. She dropped to the ground as she was overwhelmed by his dragonfear. Bolt never even noticed her. He jumped up and ran to the edge. Elisa, he thought. Elisa would know what happened. He spread his wings and leapt off into the night. The twins looked at each other and nodded. Velvet leaped after Bolt, while Renee flew down to help Tiffany. Renee knew that they would have to leave, seeing how Bolt had just announced their presence in town. The two sister's telepathic link was not diminished by distance, so they were able to coordinate with each other about what was happening. Renee dropped down to one knee and helped up Tiffany. The pale brown gargoyle shakily got to her feet, clutching at Renee. The two stood there for a few moments, holding each other. "Are you well enough to leave?" Renee asked. She was gently leading Tiffany towards the edge. "I..I think so...just give me another moment, ok? I've never felt so terrified in my life!" Tiff replied. After a couple of seconds, the two gargoyles spread their wings and leapt out into the night. Meanwhile, Velvet was having difficulty in keeping up with Bolt. Even though she was the fastest of the three females, Bolt had the advantage of actually being able to fly. His wings beat up and down with a furious pulse, while he would skirt the buildings, often going up on a wingtip to go around. She was able to keep up with him mainly for the fact that while he had to go around or over construction, she could tuck her wings in and glide through. After a long time, she saw him orbit an apartment building, then shapechange into a gargoyle again. She relayed the information back to her sister, then settled down on a nearby ledge to watch. She wished that she could do something to help Bolt, but with him being so angry, she was afraid of what he might do to her. She would wait for the others to arrive before settling on some action. Bolt's fury dimmed enough for him to realize that Elisa was not home. However, the apartment still had all of her stuff in it, so he decided that he would wait until she got home and ask the detective what happened. After a few minutes, he realized that he had left his companions behind. He dimly remembered one of them falling prey to his fear aura before he traveled here. The blue gargoyle let his anger fade enough so that he would have conscious thought again, then looked around for his friends. After a few seconds, he saw one of the twins on a nearby ledge, with her sister and Tiffany about to land. He got their attention, then waved them over to the ledge he was perched on. The three flew over and landed on the edge, out of arm's reach of him. He didn't miss the looks, either. He looked up at the sky, noting that it would be only a couple of hours until sunrise. Groaning, he sank down upon the granite ledge, putting his head between his legs. He waited for a few seconds, then spoke: "Tiff, I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to be caught in my fear aura. When I saw what happened, I just...lost control." The female gargoyle stepped over and rested her hands upon his shoulders. He looked up into her face, saw his grief mirrored on her face also. Tears streamed from both of their eyes, as they embraced, to share the pain of loss. The twins walked over, and all four gargoyles silently waited for the sun to come. Just before the sun rose, Bolt disengaged himself from the others. Tiffany had cried herself asleep, and the twins moved to support her for the rising sun. Bolt shapechanged into a human form and watched as his three friends entered their stone hibernation. After making sure that there was nobody watching, he popped the latch on Elisa's skylight and let himself in. I should talk to her about that, he thought. If I can get in from the roof, then anyone can. He walked through her apartment, glancing around. He had been here once, when he and Goliath were on patrol and Goliath had expressed concern about Elisa. The polymorphed blue picked up Cagney, who was wrapped around his legs and purring, then shook his head. It's sad to know now how much those two meant to each other, he thought as he went to pour out food and water for Cagney. Now neither one will be able to see each other any more. He went over and stretched out on the couch, hoping that Elisa would be home shortly. He really needed to talk to her. The rage had died, however; it was replaced buy an incredible longing to see Angela, to touch her again. However, there wasn't a dead spot in his heart like he had expected, only the sense of her being far away from him. Maybe, he supposed, just maybe she lived! I'll have to wait until sunset at the least. With that in mind, he and Cagney, who had tore into his food like there was no tomorrow, curled up and soon fell asleep on the couch. *************************************************************************** Chapter Six Bolt was having a nice dream. He and the rest of the clan had fought and defeated Xanatos. In shame and defeat, Xanatos relinquished his whole skyscraper with Castle Wyvern on top of it to the clan. Bolt and Angela became mates, along with Goliath and a Gargoyle that vaguely looked like Elisa. The male Trio met up with the female Trio, and finally everybody seemed to be happy. He turned to hold Angela in his arms, but she moved out of the way and poked him painfully in the side. She started screaming for him to get up for some reason. "I don't know what you're doing here, but get up! Get up! GET..." "...UP!" Bolt was so startled that he fell right off the couch. He looked up to see Elisa Maza with her pistol out, and she was pointing it right at him! Like he was a criminal! He slowly blinked his eyes, reaching up to rub the sleep out of them, when he realized that he couldn't move his hand or arm out from around his back. He jerked them a few times before realizing finally that 1)Elisa wouldn't recognize his human form. 2)That he had broken into her apartment. 3)She being the good detective that she was, had handcuffed him while he slept. And 4)For some reason, she looked extremely tired, but happy behind her stern visage. He thought it prudent to wait this out for the time being, and play along with her. This went through his mind in the span of a few seconds. "Wha...where am I? Who are you? Why am I lying on the ground?" he said, bringing his normally deep voice up to normal human. He pretended to look around like he was lost. "Listen up pal; I don't know how you got in here, but you're comin' with me down to the station." she said calmly. Elisa made sure that she was far enough away, just in case he decided to get a little violent. She lowered her gun a bit to show that she was a *nice* cop. Bolt smiled at her. He shifted position, bracing his back up against the sofa. "Sorry, no can do." "Really? And why not?" "Because, Elisa, you and I have to have a chat." he said. He pulled his legs under him and stood up long enough to sit down on the couch. "Oh? And what do we have to talk about?" Bolt's eyes flared. "Seven murdered friends and a shattered home!" His knuckles turned completely white, he was clenching so bad. Now Elisa was baffled. She figured that this person was talking about the attack on the clocktower, but seven murdered friends? No one that she knew of had been killed in the attack. And yet, how did he know her name, and where she lived? Bolt calmed down a little, his eyes returning to normal. "That's right, you wouldn't know me like this." He cleared his throat. "Detective, would you be so kind as to go and look out your window and tell me what you see?" Bolt turned and looked pointedly at the window. Elisa didn't know what to expect. She slowly went over to the window, ready to hurl herself aside at the first sign of trouble. She looked out...and saw nothing. She spun around, "What are you trying to pull?!" He just smiled. "Look on the ledge." Elisa just grumbled and shot a quick glance toward the ledge that ran around the top of her apartment building. Then did a classic double-take. Her mouth dropped open when she caught the sight of the three female gargoyles in their stone slumber upon her rooftop. She sat there for a moment, not hearing Bolt walk up beside her. "Who...who are you?" she stammered. A pair of handcuffs were thrust in front of her face, then dropped to the ground in front of her. "Let's see...usually I have wings, a tail, a fin and horns on top of my head, and have a dark-blue coloring. Who am I?" he said. Elisa thought for a few seconds before replying. "Bolt? Is that you?" "Give the detective a cigar! Now that the introductions are finished, tell me what happened...so I can take my revenge for my clan!!!" "Bolt! Nothing happened to the clan!" "Right! Then why is my home and your workplace spread around a two block radius? Why?!" he yelled. (Sigh)"I need you to sit down. First, I need proof that you are Bolt, then I'll tell you everything." Elisa replied. "Fine." With that, he ran toward the window and jumped out! Elisa ran over to the window to look out, not knowing whether to expect a blood stain on the pavement or...something else. She looked out and was relieved to see no stain on the sidewalk. However, she didn't see Bolt anywhere. "Up here, detective." came a voice behind her. She whirled around and looked up to see the giant blue dragon perched on top the roof. "Satisfied?" he asked. "Yes." "Good. Then let's go inside and talk." Bolt changed back into his human form, then crawled down into her building. Bolt walked over to the sofa, while Elisa went to go fix a pot of coffee. She had a feeling that this would be a long day. When the coffee was ready, she poured herself a cup of coffee and walked back into the living room. Sitting down, she explained what had happened in the last few days. **************************************************************************** Chapter Seven The blue dragon carefully set down his cargo on top of the battlements. He turned to face the human that had been watching him. Bolt didn't trust David Xanatos at all; however, he gave the clan shelter when they needed it. For that he would be grateful. However, Goliath had told him every underhanded trick that he did in the full two years that the clan had been awake. So he knew not to turn his back to Xanatos, not for long. Xanatos watched the big blue dragon set down his cargo, then turn to stare at him. He didn't know what to make of him. He remembered the night when he had first seen him, two years ago. He had helped to defend the castle when he had it attacked by his own men. Too bad, he thought, that dragon DNA hadn't been available when they were doing gene-splicing. Bolt flew up to the top of the tower, where Goliath sat in stone. In a few minutes, the sun would set, and he would see his clan again. He heard Elisa come up. He turned and gave her his best smile (which still looked menacing). Elisa leaned against him for a second then walked over by Goliath. "As much as I want to greet my love, I want to see the expression on my friend's faces when they see who I brought!" Bolt said. He curled up around the top of the tower to wait. The blue turned to see what Xanatos was doing; he and his wife (Fox, if he remembered right), with their infant son, had decided to also watch the gargoyles shed their stone skin. With echoing roars and screams, the ten gargoyles awoke. Bolt watched as Goliath and Elisa embraced briefly. He heard multiple intakes of breath from down below, along with Goliath and Elisa. Looking over the edge, he saw Tiffany and the twins huddled on one side, and the rest on the other. They didn't seem like the ice would be broken real soon, so Bolt quickly shifted into his gargoyle form, and quietly dropped down behind the three females. Waiting for an instant, he then strode forward. "What's this? I'm gone a few days, and gargoyle hospitality has suffered this bad so as not to welcome new gargoyles?" he boomed. Tiffany, Renee and Velvet turned to him, grateful expressions on their faces, while Hudson, Goliath(who glided down with Elisa), and the Trio broke out into large grins. Angela, however, showed a different emotion. At the sound of his voice, she had met his gaze. When he finished, she cried out "Bolt!!!!" and ran at him. When she got up to him, she never even slowed down, just bowled him over in her joy to see him. For a few minutes, everybody stared at the two, including Owen and the Xanatos'. Eventually, the two realized that the others were staring at them. They reluctantly disengaged themselves and turned to the others. Nobody had made a move towards each other yet. With a arm throw casually around Angela's shoulders, the two walked over by where everybody was sitting. "Well, since everybody is just standing looking stupid, I guess introductions are in order." Bolt pointed a talon at each one in turn. "Ok, that's Hudson, Goliath, Elisa, Broadway, David and Fox Xanatos with their son Alex, Owen, Lexington, Bronx and Brooklyn." He turned and placed a hand atop each of the female gargoyle's heads. "And these lovely ladies (which earned him a sharp jab in the ribs) are Renee, Velvet and Tiffany." He and Angela stepped back to see what would happen. For a few seconds, nobody moved. Goliath decided to step forward to welcome the females to New York, when Tiffany stepped forward and looked at Brooklyn. "Brooky? Is that really you?" The red second-in-command's jaw dropped. First, he had never expected this stunning female gargoyle to be behind all of the...interesting...talks that the two had had the past few weeks. It just wasn't his luck. In his mind, she had been a female version of Broadway (shudder) with coke-bottle glasses and buck-teeth. He just assumed...with his luck... Second, she had just completely embarrassed him in front of everybody that he knew...again. This must be how it feels to be married, he thought. "Tiffany, it's a pleasure to meet you face-to-face, finally." With a loud squeal, Tiffany launched herself towards Brooklyn. But Brooklyn's survival instincts kicked in by accident. He sidestepped and caught Tiffany by her back; he tossed her to the ground and pinned her down. However, he wasn't ready for what she did next. Tiffany jumped toward the handsome red that she had dreamed about for so long. Next thing she knew, she was on the ground, with Brooklyn on top of her. With Fate placing them together like this, she did the only thing she could think of...she arched up and kissed him. Needless to say, everybody was completely surprised. None more so than Brooklyn. His eyes glowed white for a split second, then went back to normal at the unexpected contact. He drew back hesitantly, then got up and backed away towards Elisa and Goliath. Although to those watching, he had a dreamy look on his face. "It seems that our sister has..." Renee started. "...more than greetings on her mind." Velvet finished. The twins had moved a bit closer towards the others, but not much. Broadway and Lexington started ribbing 'Brooky', while the twins went over and pulled Tiffany off the ground. The three females proceeded toward the rest of the clan. Tiffany walked up to Brooklyn and hesitantly placed her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Brooklyn, I didn't mean to leap at you like that. It was just...I don't know. Maybe just the sight of seeing gargoyles after all this time that made me jump like that. Sorry for any trouble that I caused you." Brooklyn gave her a weird look before reply. "Uhh...ok, I guess." He had a strange idea about Tiffany's intentions toward him, but he wasn't ready to discuss it yet. He watched as the twins, Lexington and Broadway headed over towards them. Bolt and Angela went over by Hudson, Goliath and Elisa. Elisa was leaning against Goliath, who didn't seem to mind. Bolt remembered Elisa saying something about her and Goliath but he really hadn't been paying attention at that time. Bronx wandered over by Hudson, who petted the big gargoyle beast before the two wandered down below. The foursome watched the younger ones talk for awhile. Bolt turned to Goliath. "Who's on patrol tonight?" Goliath turned his head towards the dark blue gargoyle. "We have decided to leave off patrols for awhile; let the city calm down from what happened before going out on patrol for awhile." "Ah. Then what are we supposed to do?" "Xanatos has given us free rein over the castle. As you can see, Hudson has already found the television room. Xanatos has access to just about all creature comforts that can be had." Goliath and Elisa turned and started walking down one of the corridors. "Elisa and I will be in the library if you need us." "Ok." Angela snuggled closer to Bolt as the lavender gargoyle and his...friend...walked downstairs. They watched the two stroll down the stairs, then turned towards the six younger gargoyles. They had already broken up into smaller groups and were talking; Broadway and Renee were discussing recipes, Lexington and Velvet talked about Star Trek and cool websites they had seen, and Brooklyn and Tiffany....well, Brooklyn was talking about his adventures since being named Goliath's second, while Tiffany sat on the battlements and watched him, a grin on her face. Bolt and Angela strode out of earshot of the rest by climbing up the stairs to the tower. They went over and sat on the edge and held each other, watching. They watched as six gargoyles broke off and journeyed below to pursue similar interests. "You know, life doesn't get any better than this. The clan has regained its ancestral home, love has once again found the clan, most of our enemies are gone; how could our life get better?" Angela mused. She felt his hand leave her shoulder for a moment. Angela had wondered since they arrived in New York what the view would be like from the castle, so she was looking out over the city when something flashed in front of her. She jumped back a bit, startled, until she noticed what it was: an amulet of a dragon. She turned her head to see Bolt with a big grin on his face. "What's this?" she asked. Angela watched as Bolt placed the chain securely around her neck and fastened the clasp. She picked up the amulet and looked at it. The sapphire eyes sparkled in the light. "Well, if this type of gift was given to a human female, it would be called 'an engagement gift'." he replied. He got up and walked a few feet away from Angela. "Engagement gift? What does that mean?" "If I was a human, it would mean that I intend to marry you, a human custom of pledging themselves to each other until the end of their days. But for our kinds, it's just a token of affection." Bolt replied. "Oh...ok." Angela had grown up in human care, so she knew all about human marriage. She had kinda hoped that their relationship would lead to the gargoyle equivalent, but other than some heavy petting Bolt seemed to be happy with how things were going. She gave him a sad smile in return. Bolt was going to wait until later to tell her, but she looked so downcast that his heart melted. He gave her a huge grin and took both her hands in his. "However, I have lived among humans for so long that I have taken many of their customs for my own. I love you Angela, I love you with my whole being! I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will love you! When you finally rise, I hope that I'll be the one to catch you," He winked at her. "In fact, considering who I brought, I plan to be the only one vying for you!" Angela blushed several shades of red at the implication, but shyly smiled back at him. She toyed with her new present. "I love you too, Bolt. When I do rise in a few weeks, in the Breeder's Moon, you might not be able to catch me. Females get really weird at that time." She spun and looked at him in horror. "What about Tiffany and the twins? What if they rise at that time also?" Bolt stopped to think about this development. Yes, all four females were about the same age; and he knew that most of the females of his clan would fly about the same time, and any male with an hint of affection towards one of the females would be after her in a second. He just hoped that there wouldn't be any problem. "Angela, there something special about that amulet that I gave you." "What?" "Well, what I want you..." he broke off as he saw that Goliath and Elisa had come back up the stairs. Looking at the horizon, he was shocked to see that it was almost dawn! He looked over the edge to see the rest of the gargoyles readying themselves for daylight. He quickly shifted into a human form, then turned around to stare at Angela. He noticed that Goliath and Elisa were preoccupied with themselves, so he ran up to his love. "Angela, I want you to look at me, and then think of yourself as a human! Please, do it quickly!" he grasped her hands in his. "Why?" "Please, my love just do it! I'll explain later!" He nervously watched as the sun was about to rise. "Ok. If you want me to." She closed her eyes and thought of being a human. She suddenly felt a slight tingle go through her body, as if she had gotten a chill, but a sudden warmth flowed through her back. She opened her eyes and looked up again at Bolt. "I don't see why that I..." She stopped. She was staring up at Bolt, and he was in a human form. Just a few seconds ago she had stood taller than him. Angela turned towards Goliath to see if he and Elisa were done talking. She gasped when she saw her father stone! Elisa had turned towards them when her mouth dropped open. "What?" She turned back towards Bolt and noticed a huge grin on his face. He lifted up their hands, and she gasped again at the sight in front of her! Intermixed between his fingers were five slender, normal human fingers! And they were hers! She followed down the hands to the wrists, forearms, biceps....all were human! She stepped back and looked down at her body. She was a human...and she was cold! She wrapped her arms around her body as her teeth started to shiver, and turned around to look for something to put on...and saw the rising sun. Angela froze in her tracks. She had long wondered what the sunrise would look like. It had been an object of fascination with her since she was but a hatchling. The cold forgotten, she stared at the sun. Bolt watched the scantily clad human in front of him. He never knew that Angela could have been any more beautiful than when she was a gargoyle. He found that he was wrong. She was alot like Elisa, small and lithe, but with an inner courage and fire that he found irresistible...especially in a tunic that just barely covered her. He motioned to Elisa to stay were she was, and padded silently up behind Angela. He gently circled his arms around her waist and nestled up close behind her. She jumped up a bit at the contact, then leaned up against him. "I never knew that the sun was this beautiful..." she whispered. Bolt nuzzled her neck, content on letting his angel view her first sunrise. He simply held her so she could watch the wonderment with the one she loved. Elisa watched the two lovebirds, with a few tears coming to her eyes. Just once, she thought to herself, just once I wish Goliath would be able to hold me like that, to touch me like that, to...love me like that. Sighing, she shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and walked back downstairs. Xanatos watched the whole scene unfold from his office with Owen. He saw Angela close her eyes and shrink down into a human, and even now was watching them hold each other. A buzzer sounded at his door. Owen walked over to open it up, showing a security guard standing there. The guard handed Owen a video disk, then walked away. Owen walked back over to Xanatos' desk and handed him the tape. "Here's the tape you requested, Mr. Xanatos." "Thank you, Owen." Xanatos placed the disk into the open slot on his computer. The wall monitor turned on, and they watched as Bolt placed the amulet around Angela's neck. When they got a good view, he paused the screen and used the computer to magnify and enhance until he got a good view of the medallion. "What do you think Owen?" "Solid gold, with finely cut precious jewels, set in an exquisitely worked golden chain. With the degree of craftsmanship and detail, I would estimate the value to be somewhere around....sixty-million dollars. Not including any magical enhancements that were added." "Really...fascinating. We need to examine that amulet somehow, Owen." "And how will we proceed to do that, sir?" "Hmm, I haven't slightest idea. But I'll think of something. That will be all, Owen." "Very good, sir." **************************************************************************** Chapter Eight The grizzled individual stood patiently by the baggage check. Just from the way he was standing, you could tell that he wasn't a man to be messed with. Tall, about 6'9", he weighed almost three hundred pounds of solid muscle. Long, gray-streaked black hair flowed past his shoulders. Dressed like a refugee from a biker convention, with a satchel slung over one shoulder, a cigar stuck between his lips. He reached down and picked up an object about as long as himself, but extremely narrow. Using the strap he slung it over his alternate arm. He then walked outside and looked around. The limousine chauffeur felt really stupid. He had just started his job this afternoon, and now he was at the airport holding a sign with 'Bane' written across the front of it. When he saw the freak walk out the doors, he was positive that he found him. He walked up to him. "Excuse me, sir, but are you Bane?" The cigar shifted as he looked down at the waste of flesh next to him. "Maybe...who want's ta know?" "If you are, then your limousine awaits you over here." "Fine." The limo driver reached up to take the satchel and the long object from Bane. He stopped abruptly when a seven-inch dagger materialized and was pressed against his neck. "What're you think yer doing, boy?" He went completely pale. "J...just getting your luggage. Sir." The driver stared into eyes completely devoid of any emotion. "Leave'em be." "Yes, sir!" He backed away, then ran towards the limo to open the door. He closed the door after Bane climbed in. As he walked around to get in the driver's door, he thought about turning in his resignation when he got back. This job ain't worth some freak sticking a knife to my throat, he thought. If I want that, I'll go back to Los Angeles. The man known as Bane sat in the back of the limousine and unwrapped the object he picked up from the baggage check. He unwrapped a giant two-handed flamberge. Its four-and-a-half-foot wavy blade jutted out of a crosspiece formed of a dragon's outstretched wings, and the hilt was the rest of the dragon's body. He pulled out a whetstone from the satchel and proceeded to sharpen the edges of the blade. As he sharpened the blade, he thought about the rumors that he had heard about New York were true. Gargoyles? So what! He knew of more evil creatures out in the world than gargoyles. He had even met a few gargoyles in his travels. He never had a problem with them at all. It was his cousin that hated the gargoyles. He had unfortunately had to kill a few on his quest. But they had been conspirators with his quarry, so he didn't feel bad about it at all. His quarry. His grip tightened on the blade of his ancient weapon. He had hunted them all his life, even managed to slay six of the beasts. Now he heard that there was one in New York, and a concerned citizen had hired him to take care of it. In fact, that's where he was heading right now. He pulled the hidden dagger from the sword's pommel and sharpened the blade on it. When the car pulled into a corporate lot, he looked up at the name: WetWorks Laboratories. He wondered for a split second what they made, then didn't care, as long as they paid him. Bane slipped the dagger back into the pommel. The car stopped, so he got out and slipped the flamberge into the sheath on his back. If he saw that he got strange looks by walking around with a six-foot sword strapped on his back, he didn't show it. He was intercepted by two thugs in suits and steered toward a glass elevator. Bane got in and watched as the elevator went up, past the last light on the readout, and continued going up. A few minutes later the elevator stopped, and opened into a dark hallway. He stepped out, cautiously looking around. "Hello?" The elevator closed, leaving the hallway in darkness. He heard the whine of servomotors, and go the feeling that the hallway opened up into a bigger room. The glowing red eyes gave him the first indication of the attack. The second was the sound of a weapon powering up. He dropped to his hands and knees as the laser flashed over him. He rolled to the left and leaped forward as the second and third pulses missed him. Swearing silently, he pulled his sword out and held it in one hand. Most men couldn't hold the sword, much less hold it in one hand. He looked for the gleaming red eyes, but didn't see them anywhere. He slowly stood up and took a combat stance, pulling the dagger from the hilt. He spun the dagger so that it was held in a throwing grip. Bane moved slowly around the room, freezing at any indication of sound or movement. He saw the eyes and heard the whine of the power-up off on his right. He sighted and threw the dagger where he thought the body would be, then leaped forward and dropped into a roll. He heard the dagger clang off metal, just as laserfire shot across behind him. Bane came up from his roll, broke right and rushed the glowing eyes. A bright white light temporarily blinded him, causing him to dive to the left. He quickly blinked away the blindness and looked back at what he had been fighting. What he saw made him almost drop his sword. A huge robot was standing in the center of a huge room. Bane figured that the whole level had opened up into some sort of training facility. The robot was a huge humanoid-looking thing, about fourteen feet tall, and a silver coloring. It had four arms; the bottom two were normal arms, while the top two had laser cannons on the ends. It had no 'head', so to speak, just a primary sensor tower on top. The two 'eyes' had come from that. He saw that his keen-edged dagger was embedded in a crack in the thing's chest plate. As he looked over the robot, a noise off on his left caused him to glance in that direction. Only his finely-honed reflexes let him get his sword up in time to block a swipe by...something else. Bane brought his blade back in a diagonal slash, only to have it be deflected. A quick thrust sent his enemy reeling back long enough for Bane to shift his flamberge to his left hand and pull one of his hidden daggers. He managed to beat back a flurry of blows; he dipped and weaved in concert with the attacking blades, occasionally able to deliver a counterstrike, only to have it be blocked. Then he saw his chance. Both blades shot out toward his heart. He swept his sword over towards his right, bouncing both swords off course, while he thrust his dagger over his left arm to drive his dagger deep into his opponent's head. However, Bane felt one of the swords skim his side, bouncing off his ribs. He bit back the pain and whirled around to see what the big armored robot was doing. To his amazement, he saw someone standing in front of it. He glared his eyes at the person, then yanked out his dagger. He turned around to stare at the individual. Both the robot and the figure in front just stood there. He shifted the dagger to a throwing grip. The robot's upper arms suddenly sighted in on him; he looked down to see two red dots appear on his chest. "Listen up, mate; I don't know what you're up to, but it's stopping right now!" Bane snarled. "Now, now, Captain Bane, we had to check to make sure that you still had your edge. You were able to kill a highly-trained assassin cyborg; he was one of our best. Congratulations." the figure in front of him spoke. Bane turned around and looked at the crumpled mass behind him. "So?" "If you hadn't been up to the task, you would have had to been...taken care of." The figure walked up towards him. "Bye the way, you may call me Martin." "All right, 'Martin'. Mind telling me what's going on here?" He lowered his weapons. "But of course! We need you to do what you do best!" Martin replied. Bane could see that he was a middle-aged white male, 5'9", about 140lbs. He had a suspicious bulge under his right arm. Bane got a strange look in his eyes; he slid his dagger back into the hidden sheath and gripped his flamberge with both hands tightly. "First: you give me all information on the subject. Second: we don't make a move on the target without my saying-so. Third: I have complete control on the subject. When I give the orders concerning it, you obey. No questions. Are we clear?" Martin smiled. "Why don't we go up to my office and discuss this?" "Fine. I need to dress my wound." "Of course." Bane sheathed his sword, then walked over and pulled his dagger from the giant robot. Then he walked over and picked up his satchel from where he had dropped it. They both returned to the elevator and got in. The elevator climbed a few more floors before the doors opened up again. This time it opened to a plush hallway. The two men walked down to the end of the hallway, up to a secretary. "Monica, please grab the first-aid kit and follow us into the meeting." "Right away, Chairman." The three people walked into a richly furnished office the size of most people's houses. Martin sat behind the huge mahogany desk, while Bane and Monica sat on the nearby couch. "Do you agree to my terms, or not Martin?" Bane winced as Monica sewed up his wound. Martin raised an eyebrow at the number of scars that crisscrossed his body before he replied. "I suppose. However, we have a deadline for you to work by." He pulled out a fat cigar and stuck it in his mouth. He pulled another one out and offered it to Bane. "Thanks. What's the deadline?" "Six months. Think that's enough time?" Martin waved his secretary out after she finished the job. "Should be. Anything else I should know about?" "Yes, one of your cousins will also be working on this project. I will get you his number if you need to coordinate with him." "What? Nah, he's a crazy bastard. Always trying to kill gargoyles for some reason." Bane lit up his cigar. "Oh? And you're different?" "Yea. I don't rush things. Oh, and another thing; do you have access to any good surveillance? And I might need some heavier firepower." Martin smiled. "Of course Bane, or should I call you by your full name?" "Whatever." "Fine then, we will talk again...Dragon's Bane." Bane got up and left. ************************************************************************** Chapter Nine Angela was having the time of her life. Both Elisa and Bolt were showing her around Manhattan. Her size was so close to Elisa that she was able to borrow some of her clothes. The three went around town until about noon, when Elisa decided to head home to get some much needed sleep. The couple was walking through the park and stopped at the park bench where the two muggers had tried to rob them. It was a beautiful day out so they had stopped earlier at the castle and made a picnic basket. The two sat back on a cloth they had brought and watched the joggers go by. Angela sat between Bolt's legs, with him being braced by a nearby tree. "Angel? I've a question for you." Bolt said. Angela stopped nibbling on her sandwich and turned to put her head on Bolt's knee. "Hmm?" "About how old are you? She looked at him queerly. "Thirty-six in gargoyle years, eighteen in human. Why?" Bolt sat up straighter and blushed. "Have you...y'know...ever...done anything before?" "Like what?" "Have you...hell...ya ever do it?" Bolt looked away from her. Angela smiled to herself. Here she had one of the most powerful beings in the world, and he couldn't even ask the love of his life directly if she had ever had sex before. She decided to toy with him until he spit it out. Wait until she told Elisa! "'It'?" "Christ...yer gonna make me spit it out, aren't ye, lass?" When Bolt got excited his Accent came back as thick as Hudson's. "Uh huh." Angela let the grin she was holding pop onto her face. "Argh....I'll be getting ye back fer this, mark me words!" "Well, you brought it up!" Angela started tracing her finger along the top of his knee. Bolt breathed heavily for a few seconds before he got under control again. His Angel never amazed him with how well she could get him feeling this way. "Have..you..ever..had..sex..before?" he said, before turning into a brighter shade of red than Brooklyn was able to. Angela stopped moving her finger, and stared up at him. "No...but I'd being willing to learn..." she purred, her hand slowly trailing down his leg... Bolt jumped straight back, hit the tree again, and leaped to his feet. "Bloody 'ell, woman! Trying ta give me a heart attack?" He looked down at Angela, who was now rolling around the grass, laughing so hard that she had tears streaming down her face. "Ah! Well if that's how you want to play the game, lass..." He fell down on her, tickling. Angela was laughing so hard that her sides hurt. She hadn't felt this way since she was back on Avalon with her brothers and sisters. She just wished that she had a camera for the look on Bolt's face when she let her hand drop down. She weakly flailed around, crying out for him to stop. Bolt kept up the pressure for a few more seconds, then stopped. He fell to the ground next to her, then pulled her close to him. They were about to kiss when a voice from in front of them caused them to stop. "Disgusting! Can't you two go find a room?" A female voice said. Bolt and Angela looked up to see female executive-type glaring at them. The biggest blow was the shock of bright red hair that she had tied back, along with the vehemence she shot their way. The woman had a briefcase in one hand, and a small bag in the other. 'Dominique Destine!' Bolt thought. 'What's she doing here?' 'Who?' 'No one told you?' He mentally groaned. 'Who is it?' Bolt sighed. 'It's your mother.' "It is not my mother!" Angela cried out. She jumped to her feet and stood by Demona. Bolt stared at both of the women from the ground. Both were the same height, and supple. He saw most of Angela's features came from Demona, even in human form, but hints of Goliath could be seen poking through here and there. Dominique Destine (a.k.a. Demona) stared at the strange human female standing next to her. Her first impulse had been to grab the arrogant male and throttle him for upsetting the female; for what reason she didn't know. Now she stood there while he stared between her and the other female. There was something about her.... Angela stared at Demona. The last time that she had seen her, her mother had tried to rid the world of all life but gargoyles. But they had managed to foil her plans yet again. But more than that, she had never told her mother how much she really did care for her. Bolt jumped to his feet, grabbing the picnic basket and blanket with one hand, and Angela's hand with his other. "C'mon Angela. We need to get back home." He needed to get her away from Demona before either Angela told her Demona the truth, or he ripped her face off. Angela? Demona thought. She took a good look at the human female as she was lead away. The hair, the figure...could it be? She needed to be certain. Quickly, she dropped her lunch on the ground and pulled out a small tracer, similar to the one that Xanatos uses. She tossed it on to the fleeing woman's blouse as she walked away. Grinning, she tossed back her flaming red hair and went to return to her office, lunch forgotten. "What's wrong with you! I had to get you away from her! Even in human form, she dangerous! I hate to say it, but you still need to practice more before you can think of taking care of an opponent as skilled as Demona." Bolt said to Angela. They had stopped long enough for him to place the cloth into the basket. "So now you think that I'm no good, huh? Well, fine! I can take care of myself, thank you!" Angela yanked her hand out of his and stormed off. If he thought that she was 'weak', then maybe he had better go and jump in the lake! Great. Just great. They went out on a normal, human date, and what happens? His love's mother was encountered in the park, which started it all, then he upset Angela enough for her to leave. Bolt moaned. He looked up to the sky and saw that it was getting close to sunset. He grabbed the basket and trudged back to the Eyrie Building. *************************************************************************** Chapter Ten The walkway was anchored next to the jet. The door opened and people filtered out, many having jet lag. One of the few that didn't, a young japanese fellow, went inside and collected his two pieces of baggage. The name on the luggage proclaimed him of being Saburo Nishikawa, from Kyoto, Japan. At one time, he would have been proud of that name, but not anymore. Now he had a job to do. He had been tracking the awakenings from Japan, and had just now been able to get away for 'vacation'. He walked outside and hailed a cab. He gave the driver the address of a relatively inexpensive hotel that he had made a reservation at weeks ago. They arrived, Saburo paying the driver with a healthy tip. He got his bags out of the back and went in. After he got his room key and dropped off his baggage, he decided to start checking out the town. Angela walked around angry. How dare he, she thought, how dare he! She made sure that her thoughts were guarded so Bolt wouldn't be able to home in on them. She did NOT want to talk to him right now! Angela looked up and saw that she was following the redhead from the park! Was she really her mother? She wasn't sure, but she had to make sure. The woman lead her back to Nightstone, Unlimited. She watched as the woman walked in to the building. From the treatment that she was receiving from Angela's point of view, she was obviously a higher-echelon employee. She waited awhile before walking away, fingering her medallion. Saburo walked around New York, taking in the sights. This was his first visit to the Big Apple, so he hoped that he could take in some of the popular tourist attractions before he got down to business. He saw Central Park, Madison Square Garden, and was on his way to see the Eyrie Building when he was bumped into. "Hey! Excuse me!" He saw a beautiful teenage girl walk by, fingering a strange-looking amulet she wore. She never even looked up after she bumped into him, so he grabbed her by an arm. "Hey!" "Huh...what?" "Excuse me, but you were kinda rude back there!" She shook off his grip. "Sorry." She continued walking down the street. Saburo watched with amazement. He couldn't believe the rudeness of Americans! He shook his head and continued on towards the Eyrie Building. He walked for awhile, more or less tailing the brown-haired beauty. The sky was cloudless, allowing for a magnificent view of the castle atop the building. He knew it was rumored to even have gargoyles atop the battlements. He stood there and watched the young lady walk into the headquarters building. Curious, he stayed outside for awhile to wait to see when she came out. The sun went down, but she never came back out. Curious indeed, he thought. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to return to his room to research the reason he was here. Who knows, he thought to himself as he strolled back, maybe I'll see her again sometime. *************************************************************************** Epilouge 3G looked at the room, panting. He had went through the combat sequences when he told them, so the others could se what had happened. At least seven adults and a few more teenagers had joined the group in front of him to listen. He even saw Duke and Xanatos sitting a bit farther away, also enraptured. He looked up at the clock on the far wall and saw that it was almost sunrise. He turned to the others. "This will conclude tonight's tale. Since it's almost sunrise, the younger ones will stay here for the day. Call your parents and tell them that. Tomorrow we will continue; for those of you who were here at the demonstration, there will be another tomorrow night." The group filtered out, with each of the gargoyles telling 3G how much they enjoyed the tale, and promising to come back tomorrow, and to tell their friends. Daemon and Duke looked at each other. Daemon turned to Xanatos and spoke up. "I think that we need to get the others together, and discuss what we're going to do about this tomorrow night. If this keeps up, we'll have a rebellion on our hands, and that would put a major cramp on our plans. Agreed?" "Agreed." *************************************************************************** There's the end of part one! Who is Saburo, and what is his purpose in New York? What does Bane actually plan on doing? Will Bolt and Angela make up? Will both Trios get together more? What will happen between Elisa and Goliath? These answers and more to be revealed in the next section of this story! Send all comments to (myrlynn@execpc.com). We Are Defenders Of The Night! We Are Gargoyles Fans!