DevilSpawn, Part Two
A 'Gargoyles' Fanfic by Matt Little       (myrlynn@execpc.com)


	Here we go again! With the exceptions of Bolt, Bane, Martin, Renee,
Saburo Nishikawa, Tiffany and Velvet, all other characters are the property 
of Walt Disney/Buena Vista Productions. The Guyver is the property of U.S. 
Renditions and Manga Video. My stories are strictly non-profit, strictly a 
hobby.
	This story follows the timeline of the rest. It takes place after
season two, and only takes a few elements from season three.
	Warning: This story contains violence, and mature themes. If you are
not old enough to view certain things, please leave now!
****************************************************************************
Prologue    2594 A.D. Manhattan

	Daemon Xanatos was worried. Ever since his ancestor, David Xanatos,
had searched for a way to gain immortality, it had been a family objective
(or was that curse?) to try and seek it out. And now, he had discovered a 
way to become immortal!
	So he had to align himself with several shadowy individuals, so what?
He would figure out a way to null on the deal, especially after a few
centuries! For the price of immortality, it was worth it!
	He pushed a button on the side of his desk, summoning Duke to his 
office. A few minutes later, the pale green gargoyle walked in.
	"What do you want, Xanatos?! I'm have to watch over that old fool
in the training room!" Duke said angrily.
	"How many is there tonight?"
	Duke growled, his eyes going white. "All the ones from last night,
and a few more that heard about the stories! This is going on too far,
Xanatos!"
	Daemon steepled his hands, a grin crossing his face. "Then we'll just
have to stop storytime, I guess."
	Duke laughed out loud at the indication. "Very soon, the old warrior 
will have an 'accident' during the day, eh?"
	"Stranger things have happened!"
****************************************************************************
Chapter One

	The office was blacked out. All lights had been shut off, and the
windows were closed off. The individual sitting behind the desk pressed
down the intercom button. "Monica, hold my calls and let NO ONE in until
I give the go-ahead. Any failures to comply will result in instant
termination. Do you understand?"
	"Yes sir. I understand and will obey." the secretary replied.
	The mysterious figure released the button. He spun the chair back
around and faced the viewscreen behind him. A loud thrumming noise was soon
echoing throughout the plush office. It continued for a few minutes, then
a shadowy figure slowly materialized in front of him.
	The figure in the chair slowly stood, then kneeled before the hovering
form.
	"Rise, Desmodus, and state your report."
	"My Master, everything is going to plan. In a few more months we will
have enough weapons and troops to begin our offensive." Desmodus replied.
	"And the foreseeable problems?"
	"Per your instructions, I have contacted and hired the Dragonslayer
from Europe and the leader of the Anti-Gargoyle movement. By all estimates,
we should be able to take care of the problems in a few weeks." Desmodus
dropped his gaze to the ground. "However, my lord, we might have another
problem."
	An eyebrow raised up on the horned face of the shadowy figure, then
both went down into a frown. "I don't like problems Desmodus. Explain
yourself."
	Desmodus paled. "Ahh...A young japanese man has flown in from Japan.
He is from a select order."
	A small growl issued from the hovering shape. Desmodus dropped to the
ground, screaming, as it felt like someone rammed a burning, spiked club
through his innards. He whimpered, as the pain faded away as quickly as it
showed up.
	"You know I don't like being toyed with, Desmodus. What does this  
young man mean to us?"
	"My Lord, the order is our mortal enemies. He is a Guyver!"
	"What?! A Guyver! They were supposed to have been destroyed ages ago!"
	"I know, my Master; However, two of our agents at the airport reported
a strange aura around him. Upon further investigation, we were able to 'see'
the guyver armor. We have no idea if he can control the full functions of
the bio-booster armor. I have several minions standing by waiting for orders
to engage the Guyver; All I need is your permission." Desmodus stood tall in
front of his master. A slight grin creased his features.
	"Very well, Desmodus, you have my permission. However, know this: if
you fail at the task I have set for you..."
	Desmodus fell to the ground again, clutching his chest in agony again.
This time he took the pain, and didn't utter even a small whimper.
	"Very good, Desmodus, you are learning. We shall speak again later."
With a loud thunderclap, the image disappeared.
	A few moments later, Desmodus staggered to his feet, bracing himself
against his desk. He pressed down upon the intercom button. "Monica, get me
Jacob on the line. Immediately."
	"Right away sir."
***************************************************************************
Chapter Two

	Bolt angrily exited the elevator to the main hall of Castle Wyvern.
He stormed past, barely acknowledging Owen's "Good evening, Mr. MacDonnell"
except to hand him the basket and to get directions to where Xanatos was at.
He climbed the stairs, going to the gym where Fox and David were practicing.
	He walked in and stood of to the side of the mat, waiting for them to
finish. He watched for a few minutes as Xanatos and Fox tried to beat on 
each other. Finally, Xanatos managed to shoulder-throw Fox off the mat,
'winning' the match.
	"Ah, Mr. MacDonnell! How are you this evening? And where's your lovely
companion?" Xanatos said. He had on his annoying smirk.
	"Fine. Gone. Has my equipment arrived yet?"
	"Yes, unfortunately we had to set them up near the top of the castle
so that you wouldn't disturb the rest of the castle."
	"Fine. Thanks." Bolt stormed off.
	Fox and Xanatos watched as Bolt walked out of the gym. They heard him
stomping up the stairway. Turning to each other, uttered "lover's quarrel",
and fell to the ground, laughing.  
	
	Angela came out of the elevator and almost ran over Owen, who looked
extremely displeased to say the least. She walked past him, not even 
glancing his way. Owen muttered something about 'youngins these days' before
continuing onto whatever task he was doing.
	Angela glanced over to a nearby window and saw that it was after 
sunset. She sighed, and walked upstairs toward the top of the castle. She
really needed to talk to someone.
	Near the top, she saw the clan was grouped into a small room, she
walked into the room to see Bolt on the other side of glass, playing on
a guitar. He had turned back to his gargoyle form, and was singing. From the
Metallica t-shirt and headband that he was wearing, she could only guess
which band he was imitating. The song ended, and he fell against a side wall
for a few seconds before strumming on the guitar again. Brooklyn reached
over to a set of controls and flicked a few switches; the room was suddenly
awash with the beginning of 'Enter Sandman'*. The clan watched as Bolt
started singing and playing the lead:

	SAY YOUR PRAYERS LITTLE ONE
	DON'T FORGET, MY SON
	TO INCLUDE EVERYONE

	TUCK YOU IN, WARM WITHIN
	KEEP YOU FREE FROM SIN
	TILL THE SANDMAN HE COMES

		SLEEP WITH ONE EYE OPEN
		GRIPPING YOUR PILLOW TIGHT
		
			EXIT: LIGHT
			ENTER: NIGHT
			TAKE MY HAND
			WE'RE OFF TO NEVER NEVER LAND

	SOMETHING'S WRONG, SHUT THE LIGHT
	HEAVY THOUGHTS TONIGHT
	AND THEY AREN'T OF SNOW WHITE

	DREAMS OF WAR, DREAMS OF LIARS
	DREAMS OF DRAGON'S FIRE
	AND THE THINGS THAT WILL BITE

		SLEPP WITH ONE EYE OPEN
		GRIPPING YOUR PILLOW TIGHT

			EXIT: LIGHT
			ENTER: NIGHT
			TAKE MY HAND
			WE'RE OFF TO NEVER NEVER LAND

	They sat there and watched as Bolt threw himself around the room
during the guitar solo. Brooklyn looked around at the rest, then shrugged
his shoulders and summed it up: "Damn, he's good!"

	NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP
	PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO KEEP
	IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE
	PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO TAKE

	HUSH LITTLE BABY, DON'T SAY A WORD
	AND NEVER MIND THAT NOISE YOU HEARD
	IT'S JUST THE BEASTS UNDER YOUR BED,
	IN YOUR CLOSET IN YOUR HEAD

			EXIT: LIGHT
			ENTER: NIGHT
			GRAIN OF SAND

			EXIT: LIGHT
			ENTER: NIGHT
			TAKE MY HAND
			WE'RE OFF TO NEVER NEVER LAND

	After the song wound down, Bolt grabbed a remote off the drumset and
shut off the karaoke system that he had Xanatos install. He set the guitar 
down, then walked over towards the glass were he had thrown his towel.
	The clan, embarrassed at being seen, quickly left the booth. Angela
stayed behind, not returning any of the strange looks the others gave her.
She heard Brooklyn asking Goliath if he wanted to catch a movie with them
in the tv room. Goliath refused, saying something about unfinished business.
	It was obvious to her that the glass must be one way, as he hadn't 
even given any of them a glance. She fingered her amulet again as she stared
at him.
	"Angela?"
	She whirled around to see Goliath behind her. He put his hand on her 
shoulder. "Angela? It is you, isn't it? Are you alright?"
	She smiled, then turned back into a gargoyle. Goliath stepped back,
muttering "sorcery" under his breath. Angela stared at him for a few 
seconds, then threw herself into his arms, crying.
	"Angela? What is it? Did Bolt do something to you?" he growled, eyes
lighting up like flares.
	"Oh, father, why is love so hard?" she sobbed.
	Goliath first looked down at his daughter, then looked up at the
midnight-blue gargoyle as he was leaving the studio. He sighed, then
stroked his daughter's hair. It was times like these that he wished that his
'Angel of the Night' hadn't turned into Demona.
	"My daughter, For this to work out between the two of you, you must
sit down and talk about it between the two of you. Only then will your
differences be settled."
	"But...but we got into a big argument, and..."
	"Hush, child. You know what you need to do."
	Angela cut back her sniffles, then sat up straighter. She wiped her
eyes with the back of her hands, clearing off the rest of the tears.
"Alright, Goliath, I'll talk to him. Say hi to Elisa for me, ok?"
	"Of course." Goliath gave her a quick hug, then walked off.

	Bolt walked by the television room on his way to the top of the
castle. He stopped at the doorway and smirked at the scene; Broadway and
Renee were sitting on one of the couches, a big bowl of popcorn between the
two of them. Lexington and Velvet were, of course, logged onto the net.
Tiffany and Brooklyn were sitting on another couch. Bolt watched as Tiffany
kept sneaking closer towards Brooklyn when she thought his attention was
focused on the movie. But Brooklyn didn't make second in command for his
lack of attention, and he saw her move every time. Unfortunately, he was 
already at the edge of the couch, so he couldn't do much about it right now.
	However, he happened to see Bolt standing in the doorway. "Hey, nice
jam session back there!"
	Bolt was taken back; he thought no one saw him. "How did you see me?
There wasn't anybody else in the room. Security, maybe?"
	"No, we saw it through the glass. It rocked!" stated Broadway.
	"Aye, lad, it was loud and annoying. Exactly the kind of music you all
listen to." replied Hudson. He was in his new chair, with Bronx curled up 
next to him.
	"Did...everyone watch me?" he asked.
	Lexington turned towards Bolt. "Everyone, including...Angela."
	"Have you seen her? We had a fight, and that's why I was in there; to
blow off some steam." Bolt pulled off his t-shirt, but left his bandanna on.
	"Last time I saw her was when we were leaving the studio to come up
here to watch the movie." Tiffany said. She managed to snuggle up close to
Brooklyn, and was leaning against his arm.
	Renee looked over at him. "You should talk to her; she's..."
	"...uncertain on where your relationship is heading." finished Velvet.
It was still uncanny on how the twins were able to pick up on other's
feelings and emotions. 
	"Yea, I know. That's what I need to talk to her about." Bolt messed
with the shirt in his hands, rolling it up and throwing it from hand to 
hand. "If anyone sees her, tell her...we need to talk, ok?"
	"Sure, Bolt, we'll tell her. Angela, Bolt needs to talk to you." said 
Broadway.
	Bolt closed his eyes, sighed, then slowly turned around. When he
opened them, he saw Angela leaning against a wall. "Hi Angel."
	"We need to talk." With that, she turned around and walked up the
stairs towards the tower.
	Bolt followed her up, knowing that this wasn't going to be pleasant.
****************************************************************************
Chapter Three

	Saburo walked back to his room. He had seen enough of the city for the
time being. He felt a certain...unrest...that he couldn't pinpoint. With his
training, it could be anything; however, he thought that he knew what it 
was. In fact, when he picked up his tail on the way back, he was almost
positive. 
	Saburo headed to the park. Even though he had muggers to worry about,
he needed the space...in case something went down. He went to a secluded
spot that he had picked out in his head for just an eventuality. 
	He looked back to make sure that he was still being followed. He could
tell that there was four of them, all medium-sized and ordinary. If he was
right, they would be anything but ordinary,
	He used his considerable talents to blend in to the bushes. He had to
see what he could find out before he attacked. He placed his back against a
nearby tree, just in case. He had studied the arts of invisibility from a 
wise old man long ago, and using the arts of both stealth and hiding, faded
from view into the brush.
	Four men bounded into the clearing, and immediately started searching
the area.
	"I thought you said he came this way!"
	"He did! I saw him stop here!"
	"Well, he ain't here now."
	"Bull! He's got to be here!"
	"If he's not, the boss will know that it's your fault!"
	"You gonna rat on me, Jarvis?"
	"Damn straight I am!"
	"Cheatin' bastard!!!" With a growl, he flung himself at the other man,
throwing him to the ground. They rolled around, fists flailing at each 
other.
	Both were abruptly cuffed in the head. "Knock it off! We have a 
mission to finish! Keep looking!"
	Grumbling, they got to their feet, casting looks that promised to 
finish it later. They went off in separate directions to search the 
undergrowth.
	They searched for a few more minutes before a voice spoke up.
"Excuse me, but might I help in the search?"
	All four spun around to see the object of their search right in the
middle of them! How he got past their senses was beyond them.
	One of the goons sneered at him. "Yea, you can help! Surrender now, 
and we'll make your death swift and painless!"
	Saburo sighed; "Can't you at least make up an original line once in a
few millennium?"
	Roaring, all four leaped at the small japanese man, fists reared back
to deliver killing punches. Saburo dropped to all fours, then sprang forward
to turn around and watch as the four impacted on each other, falling to the
ground in a tangle of arms and legs.
	He laughed, flicking an imaginary speck of dust off his shirt. "C'mon,
guys! You can do better than that!"
	Suddenly Saburo was flying through the air as something hit him across
the lower back. He hit a tree, falling to the ground as he grabbed his back.
	"Yes, human, I CAN do better that that."
	Saburo glanced over at the nightmare slowly walking his way. A 
dark-green behemoth, standing about nine feet tall, extremely muscled with
large claw-tipped seven-fingered hands. On it's middle finger, the claw 
was extended by at least three feet.
	"I..take it..you're...the leader..?" Saburo gasped, the wind knocked
out of him.
	"Of this small group, yes; I am Jacob, and with your death my master
will surely reward me!" With a loud roar, the demon pulled back his arm and
prepared to thrust his claw through the insolent human. The other four had
managed to get back on their feet, and had transformed into other hideous
shapes.
	Quickly, Saburo came up with a plan; he leapt to his feet, and rushed
toward Jacob. Jacob, not expecting this sudden attack, shifted his aim and
threw his arm forward. Saburo grabbed hold of it and, using the momentum,
spun the demon around and threw him at the other four. All went down in a
tangled heap. 
	Jacob picked himself back up, flicking off the underling that he
accidentally pierced. He grabbed one, whispered in its 'ear', then pushed it
towards a clearing. The creature scampered off. Then he turned to face
Saburo.
	"Now you will be finished, 'Guyver'." At Saburo's expression, the 
monster smiled at him. "Oh, yes, we know all about you, Guyver! We knew you
were here the moment you stepped off the plane! We know where you've been,
where you're staying, even what you're been eating! Know now, Guyver, you
have no chance against us by yourself!"
	"Then I guess I'll have to get some friends! GUYVER!!" Saburo roared.
He leapt into the air as a shining force field enveloped him, and the Guyver
unit formed around him.	He fell back down to the ground in a combat stance,
his control medal glowing as he exhaled.
	"Oh, so you do know how to summon it! I thought you were just some
young pup that had the power but didn't know how to activate it!" Jacob and
the two remaining demons started advancing on Saburo.
	Saburo extended his high-frequency vibration swords from his forearms.
"Know this, demon! My family has been joined with the Guyver units for 
millennium! We gladly excepted the role to exterminate your kind off the 
earth whenever we had the chance! We've been taught the full potential of
the Guyver since the first day joined!"
	"So what? You can't use the Mega-Smasher, not in the park! You might
hit some 'poor, defenseless noncombatant'!" Drool dripped from Jacob's
fanged mouth, hissing when it hit the ground.
	"I don't need the Mega-Smasher to deal with the likes of you!" With
a cry, Guyver ran at his enemies, swords ready for action.
	The hairless minor demon on Jacob's left dodged in front, throwing a
haymaker at Saburo's face. Saburo nimbly sidestepped, catching the arm with
a hand, then snapped it straight down, shattering the bone with the enhanced
muscles in his arm. The other one leaped at Saburo; Saburo's upper optics
saw the motion, and he flung out his other arm, splitting the demon in half
as he rammed his sword through it. On his backswing Saburo sliced off the 
demon's head that he was holding onto, then dropped it lifeless at his feet.
He turned to regard the big demon, who hadn't even made a move as of yet.
	Jacob looked from one slain demon to another, then started clapping 
his hands together! "Bravo, Guyver, bravo! The display was simply excellent!
I don't often see that degree of fighting where I come from!" Jacob lowered
his hands and took a ready stance. "However, I'm not a weak 'type one', as
your race would call them; They are simply shock troops. I, am a 'type 
three', a lieutenant in our forces. You will not find me so easy to 
defeat!" he growled.
	"But I will defeat you! AAAHH!!!!" he cried, rushing towards him. He
was going to send this demon back to hell. He threw his punch, throwing his
whole body into it; Jacob lazily reached out a clawed hand and captured it
in mid-throw. 
	Saburo tried pulling back on the massive paw that held him, then 
screamed as Jacob increased the pressure, crushing his hand. A quick laser
blast from the suit hit Jacob in the stomach, scorching him. He gasped 
reflexively, releasing the pressure. Saburo jumped up, planting his feet on
Jacob and pushed off to pull his fist out. He landed several feet away, 
massaging his hand.
	Jacob poked at the burn mark; it stung. "You actually hurt me, Guyver.
I have to give you more credit than I thought. Good. This will making
crushing you all the more pleasurable." He grinned, then advanced on
Saburo.
	Christ, I gave him my best punch, and hit him with the laser, and I
barely scratched him! He stood up, then charged again. This time, he ducked 
off to the side, slicing at Jacob with the forearm sword. This time he cut
deep into his side! 
	He sprinted forward to be able to come back again, only to feel a
searing pain on his right leg. He fell over, clutching his leg, and saw
a deep slash running from ankle to knee. He cried out in pain.
	"Come now, Guyver! If you can't take the heat, stay out of the 
kitchen! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!" Jacob laughed, as he clutched his side.
	Saburo shakily got to his feet, feeling the armor healing him. It
would be bit, but he'd get back his mobility. "TAKE THIS! PRESSURE CANNON!"
He formed a gravity ball from the globe at his waist and flung it Jacob. 
	The big demon stood there as the ball shot towards him, taking off 
his left arm. "Aww, Now why'd ya have to go and do a thing like that for?"
Jacob sighed, then reached down and picked his arm back up. Saburo watched
in horror as he reattached it to the stub, humming the whole time. The
demon let go, then flexed his arm...which he put on backward.
	"Oops! My fault!" He used his arm to scratch his back. He smiled, then
winked at Saburo. "I've been trying to get that for years! AHHHHHH!!!!"
	Saburo just stood there. The 'type ones' he didn't have a problem 
with; but this guy just reattached limbs, and regenerated whatever damage 
that he did to him! How could he defeat him?
	Wait! Didn't he say he was a 'type three' demon? What did his old
masters tell him about them...something about his head! The demon's head was
the key!
	Smack! Saburo got belted fifteen feet backwards by Jacob. He never saw
the monster move, so preoccupied was he! Not anymore, he groaned, picking
himself back up off the rock he landed on, now it's time to hurt this jerk!
	Saburo jumped up to his feet and started circling his foe. Jacob
responded by flipping him the finger! He couldn't understand how the demon
could act this way! Was he insane? Or did he have ultimate, cosmic power?
Whatever the reason, Saburo didn't like it, not at all.
	"Could you stop, just for a sec? Not yet...not yet...there! Perfect!
Now stay there, I have a present for you." Jacob rooted around in his nose 
for a few seconds, then flicked a large green goober at him! "Happy 
birthday, Guyver! Sorry I didn't wrap it! Heheheheheheheheheehe!!!!!!!"
	"Can't you even take this fight seriously?!" Saburo yelled. He 
peppered the big demon with blasts from his laser. Each one healed before 
the next hit.
	Jacob started dancing around him. "Of course! I was just waiting for
my friends to show up! Sic 'em, boys!"
	Saburo looked around suddenly at the growling that was coming from all
around him. Shapes started pouring out of the darkness, at least a dozen, 
maybe more. Saburo had pulled his swords back in for more maneuverability 
against Jacob. With the amount of demons now here, he didn't think he would
have to worry about that. He was surrounded by them.
	The Guyver dropped back into a defensive stance, and extended his
swords again. In a loud voice, he yelled, "Let's dance!"
	The grove erupted into pandemonium, with maniacal laughter in the 
background.
***************************************************************************
Chapter Four

	The six younger gargoyles quietly crept out of the tv room, Hudson and
Bronx having fallen asleep while watching the late-late-late show. None of
them had seen Goliath for over an hour, ever since Elisa had shown up.
Tiffany had joked that they had gone to play a game of 'I'll show you mine
if you show me yours'; the twins had blushed, while the trio looked
dumbfounded.
	She had then sidled up to Brooklyn, and asked him if him if he wanted
to  learn how to play, her tail running up and down his thigh. Brooklyn
stammered out something about needing to talk to Goliath and retreated to
somewhere in the castle, Tiffany following.
	Broadway and Lexington offered to take the twins on a tour of the
castle, to which they agreed. Lexington and Velvet went to the east side,
while Broadway and Renee went west.
	A half hour later, Hudson got up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He
reached down to pet Bronx, who was stretching out. "C'mon, ye big beastie;
Let's go an' patrol the castle. This sitting around is gitting to me legs."
Bronx barked in agreement.
	He got up, shifting his sword so he could rest his hand on it. Letting
Bronx fall in next to him, the old soldier cloaked his wings and proceeded
up the stairs. Hudson figured it would be better to start at the top and 
work his way down.
	Huffing a bit, 'I think Xanatos put in a few extra flights of stairs
on purpose' Hudson reached the top of Goliath's tower. He stepped out and
placed a clawed foot upon the battlement. A loud shout reached his ears, and
he hurried over to the side to see what the commotion was about.
	Hudson and Bronx stared dumbfounded at the spectacle beneath them.
Angela was chasing Bolt around, whacking him with a wooden pole, yelling
how insensitive he was! Hudson watched for a few seconds as she chased him 
around te grounds; Bolt saw him atop the battlements, and mouthed a single
word: 'HELP!'
	Hudson snickered, then went below to continue his patrol. His last
view was of the two leaping into the sky.
	He walked on farther, then decided to stop by the kitchen for a cup of
spice tea to take with him. Walking in he was treated to another shock;
one of the twins, probably Renee, was sitting on a table, covered in whipped
cream and chocolate! She was giggling, as Broadway was licking it all off!
	Jalapena, thought Hudson, that lad manages to turn everything into
an eating contest! He grabbed Bronx, and the two sneaked past, Hudson 
suddenly deciding against tea.
	Hudson kept walking; he resolved to finish his sweep, no matter what.
He decided to go to the library next, thinking to tell Goliath what he
saw. That was the most likely spot to find him. He smiled, thinking how
Goliath would be happy with the development, although he didn't know how
happy the lavender gargoyle leader would be with the......WHOA!
	Quickly, Hudson once again grabbed Bronx and leaped into the shadows.
He was lucky. The two peered around the corner at what they saw. I guess
Goliath won't care too much about what Broadway was doing, Hudson thought.
	Goliath and Elisa were curled up together on a couch. Elisa was 
nibbling on Goliath's neck, while he was ready out of a book of poetry that
he found in the library with one hand, massaging her side with the other. He
would pause every so often, to return a kiss to her. He's going to have a
hard time explaining those welts on his neck, Hudson thought.
	With a quiver, Hudson left the library, feeling like a peeping tom.
Ach, he thought to himself, has the whole castle gone mad? He shook his 
head. I'd best be getting back to my patrol, so I can watch my shows. He 
continued to the bottom of the castle, then proceeded back up. 
	He and Bronx were going by one of the castle's labs when Bronx stopped
and loped in. Hudson had already walked past, so he stopped and turned 
around to see what Bronx was so interested in.
	What he saw caused him to draw his sword in fear: Lexington and Velvet
were trapped inside...circles of some sort. They were wearing body suits,
and were strapped into the circles. It looked like some sort of
weightlessness training he saw once on the television. Both were also
wearing goggles and wired gloves and were making some strange gestures, 
along with moans. 
	Hudson looked around the room, for a reason they were up there. He 
noticed a television that was on in a corner; he padded over to it, motioning
for Bronx to stay pat. What was playing, however, made him almost drop his
sword. 
	The screen showed digital images of Lexington and Velvet, and it 
looked as if they were....nay, couldn't be, Hudson thought. Could it? He
shook his head in wonderment. It reminded him of that movie he saw....what
was it again...ach, yes, The Lawnmower Man!
	What is it with these young gargoyles? Had they no shame in their
actions? Sighing again, the old gargoyle sheathed his sword and, calling for
Bronx, left the room.
	Hudson kept up his patrol, scratching Bronx behind the ears. "I guess
I should be grateful that ye don't have a female also, boy. Then I'd been
alone, patrolling." 
	Hudson walked for a another half-hour. "One more room, boy, an' we kin
go back to our shows. I'm thinking the gym is the last of 'em." He strolled
a bit faster knowing his patrol was almost done. 
	He paused and drew his sword; the sounds of battle came from the gym!
Bronx growled, then rushed forward, with Hudson following. They rounded the
corner, ready to charge in to do battle...
	...Abruptly Hudson grabbed Bronx and placed his hand over Bronx's
mouth before he could charge in. "'Tis just Brooklyn and his young friend
practicing, Bronx. Let's see how our young second-in-command does against
the leader of the Fond du Lac clan, eh?" The two crouched back into the 
shadows to see what developed.
	Brooklyn dodged a swift jab, then leaped back as Tiffany threw a 
roundhouse at him. He grabbed her arm on the way passed and used her 
momentum to throw her across the padding to the floor. She hit hard, rolling
with it, then came up on one knee, rubbing her shoulder.
	"You o.k.?" Brooklyn asked. He jumped over next to her. He reached out
his hand to help her up, which she grabbed.
	"Ah, laddie, watch out!" Hudson whispered.
	Tiffany pulled him toward her, then tossed him over her to the ground
while she flipped backward. In the end, Brooklyn was on his back with 
Tiffany sitting on top of him.
	"Well? Wha'd ya think of that, Brooky?" she asked, wriggling on top of
him.
	"I told you, don't call me Brooky!" he growled. He grabbed her wrists
and rolled so she was underneath him. Hudson noticed that Brooklyn was 
breathing harder than he should be.
	Tiffany hooked her legs behind Brooklyn's waist, drawing herself up to
him. She sneaked her arms around to his back, rubbing him where his wings
met his back. She moved her hands in slow circles, kneading Brooklyn's 
lithe back.
	Brooklyn groaned, sinking down on top of her. How can she do this to 
me, he thought. I don't even like pushy females; but there's something about
her, something that's drawing me to her, I can feel it. Brooklyn nuzzled her
neck, letting his hands roam up and down her body.
	Finally, she thought. She had been waiting for this since she had meet
him! The feelings he was generating were sending little tingles of pleasure
up and down her body. She bit down lightly into his neck, drawing blood.
	He gasped as she bit him. God, what was she doing to him? The Pack,
Thailog and Demona could have attacked at this moment and he wouldn't care
in the least! He started tugging at her belt, trying to get it free, before
stopping. What was he doing? He had really known her all of two nights, and
he was about to have sex with her in the middle of Xanatos' gym! Struggling,
he managed to extract himself from her tight embrace.
	"What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" she stammered, automatically
readjusting her belt, then her hair.
	"No...it's me. I can't...make love to you! Not yet!" he yelled. 
Brooklyn leaped to his feet and headed for the door.
	Hudson froze, seeing that Brooklyn was heading his way! He looked 
around, knowing he was caught like a deer in headlights. Hell, he thought.
Now the lad be thinking I be a peeping tom! He ran through excuses in his
head.
	"Brooklyn! Wait! We have to talk!" Tiffany ran up to him, grabbing his 
arm. She spun him around.
	Hudson thanked whatever being was watching over him for the
distraction and jumped to the other side, with Bronx. The rushed down the
hallway as fast as they could. He rushed into the television room and jumped
into his chair, with Bronx collapsing next to it. "Well, lad," Hudson said 
to Bronx, "I be glad that's over with." Bronx woofed in agreement. Hudson
flipped on the tube in time for the old Star Trek. He settled down to watch.
	About an hour later, Broadway and Renee walked in and sat on the couch
in the corner. Renee was resting in his arms, and both were beaming.
	"Lad, ye have some cream on yer belt."
	Broadway looked down to see a spot of whipped cream on his loincloth.
He flushed as Renee leisurely wiped it up with a talon and placed it in her
mouth. Then he noticed that Hudson never turned around to see it. "Uh, how
did you you know, Hudson?"
	"I still have one good eye, laddie, be no mistaking that." Hudson
replied. He dropped a hand down to pet Bronx again. Not long after, Goliath,
Elisa, Lexington and Velvet walked in together.
	Hudson turned around to confirm his suspicions. "Ah, Goliath. How's  
the poetry readin' comin' along?" As Goliath began to stammer out a reply,
he turned to Lexington. "And why are ye all hot and sweaty fer, lad? What
have ye been doin'?"
	"Uh, nothing, Hudson." Lexington replied. He held onto Velvet's hand 
a bit tighter. Velvet gazed over at her sister, and both blushed. 
	"Right, lad." Hudson looked over at Goliath, for support, and saw the
big lavender gargoyle gazing into Elisa's eyes, with a big grin on his face.
Well, Hudson thought to himself as he spun the chair around, looks like we
be needin' a new rookery pretty soon.
	Brooklyn and Tiffany walked in a few moments later; Brooklyn looked
around at the rest of the gargoyles. All of them, with the exception of
Hudson, had a look of happiness on their face. He turned to look at Tiffany,
noting the happiness on her face. They had decided to slow down, take things 
at a more moderate pace; when she indeed rise, then he more than likely 
would be there to catch her.
	He had also learned that neither one of the twins had risen yet 
either. He figured he would tell Broadway and Lex later tomorrow night, when
the girls went to the movies. Brooklyn grasped Tiffany's hand a wee bit 
tighter, then the two went over and joined Broadway and Renee on the couch.
	After a bit, Brooklyn looked around at the gargoyles gathered there.
"Where's Bolt and Angela?"
	"I hav'nae seen them since earlier in the night, when the left the 
castle." Hudson replied.
	That got Goliath's attention. "I gave orders that the clan wasn't to
leave the castle! Why did they disobey them?"
	"I think it had something ta' do with the pole Angela was beatin' Bolt
wit, lad." Hudson turned to Goliath and winked. "But I canna be certain!"
	"I hope they know enough to make it back before the sunrises. The city
does not appreciate what we have done for it, and might never." Goliath
said.
	"Don't worry lad, I'm sure the two are alright. Why, they've probably
settled their differences and are making up as we speak!"
***************************************************************************
Chapter Five

	How in the world, Bolt thought as he nimbly dodged yet another blow,
did I go from discussing my relationship with Angela to fighting for my 
life?
	It had started off easy enough. He and Angela were discussing their
relationship, about what they wanted out of it, what they didn't. Then he
made a stupid remark about 'women's work', which he tried to apologize for,
and she ripped a pole out of the nearby wall and started beating him in the
head with it, calling him insensitive. After a few minutes of that, he 
jumped out into the night, regardless of Goliath's orders. It's either I
escape, he thought as he winged through the night sky, or get beaten to a
pulp by my love. Angela tried vainly to gain on him, but he had too many 
years of experience on her in gliding. But she managed to stick close by 
him, nonetheless. That showed that she had great potential. He closed with a
skyscraper, barely clearing it, when a sharp pain hit him in his shoulder.
He spun out of control for a second, and managed to catch what hit him. It
was the pole Angela was using on him! She threw it at him! If that wasn't
insult to add to injury! He glanced over his shoulder to see that she had
closed the distance considerably and was only a few feet behind his tail.
	Bolt flared his wings abruptly and pulled up, in effect putting on the
air brakes. Angela flew past him; as she was turning back around, Bolt
tucked in his wings and powerdived to the ground, hoping to lose her in the
ground clutter.
	Angela followed him down, and she was catching up. She pulled a few 
tricks she had learned with her rookery siblings while playing tag. When
Bolt pulled up to avoid the ground, she cut inside the maneuver and got 
close enough to grab his tail. Although he didn't know it, she had long ago
forgiven him for his dumb remark and was just having fun now. 
	She pulled herself up his tail quickly and leaped on his back. Bolt
pulled up quickly and hovered. Angela wrapped her arms around his neck, and
kissed his cheek.
	"Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked tentatively.
She made her may to his front and kissed him full on the lips, lightly 
biting his bottom lip. "Y'know, this could just mean you're horny, my 
Angel!" he said, laughing.
	"Ohh, men!" She let him go and hovered a few feet away, arms crossed
and her back to him. Bolt reached out and pulled her to him, circling his 
arms around her waist.
	"My love, I apologize; I did not mean to offend you that bad," Bolt
said, nuzzling her neck. "Maybe we can come to an...." he stopped as Angela
placed her talon upon his lips.
	"Did you hear that? It sounded like fighting!" she swiveled her head 
to try to pinpoint where she heard the sounds.
	Bolt glanced at the ground. "There!" he said, pointing to a grove 
inside Central Park. The two gargoyles watched as a major struggle was going
on.
	"Shall we, my love?" Angela asked.
	"Of course; it's what we do!" Bolt replied, as the two shot for the 
ground.
	
	Angela flew past Bolt, throw by one of the monsters, into a tree. Bolt
roared, returning the favor by throwing his adversary into the other demon.
	Bolt glanced over at the red-skinned humanoid fighting hopefully on
their side. The creature gutted another demon with the strange blades on 
it's forearms, then kicked it off to one side. Bolt caught a punch throw at
him, and bent the arm around and behind the demon using a classic judo move
before ripping it off at the shoulder. The demon shrieked out, a blackish
goo pumping from the stump before falling over dead.
	Angela got up, dazed, just as another demon rushed her, screeching.
Bolt turned to help her, and felt claws rip into his side as another demon
jumped out of the brush. He grabbed the arm and pushed it away, before 
yelling out, "ANGELA!!!"
	Angela shook the cobwebs from herself, just in time to feel the demon
pick her up. She tried to break free, and watched as the demon pulled back
it's claw to strike...
	And fell to the ground, as the demon exploded in a fine red mist. She
looked up to see the red-skinned humanoid standing above her, the thing's
remains dripping off one of the forearm blades.
	"Thanks, uh..."
	"Just call me Guyver." He leapt back into the fray.
	"Guyver. Right." Eyes blazing red, she joined him.
	Bolt backhanded the demon in front of him, then clutched his side to
stop the blood. The red-skin jumped to his side, Angela going to his other
side. Six of the smaller demons remained, along with the bigger one.
	"Very impressive, gargoyles! I was hoping that I would see you sooner
than later! But seriously, can't we all just...get along?" the bigger demon
started cackling.
	"Who's the nutcase?" whispered Bolt to red-skin.
	"Calls himself Jacob. By the way, I'm the Guyver...you are?"
	"Bolt, and she's Angela."
	"And this is Laurel, Hardy, Larry, Curly, Moe and Chaplin. Now that
everybody's acquainted, let's go and get a cup'a joe, eh? Or maybe you'd 
prefer Jack? Ah, no matter, we'll grab someone to go! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!"
cackled Jacob. The six demons leaped at the gargoyles and the guyver.
	"ENOUGH!" yelled Bolt. He pushed a startled Angela and Guyver away,
and changed back to his natural form, a twelve and a half ton, one-hundred
and seventy-five foot midnight blue dragon. 
	With a roar, Bolt smashed one of the demons into the ground; another 
one clawed at his side, but wasn't able to break through the hard scales
covering him. Angela jumped on the thing's back, and ripped it apart.
two others leapt at Guyver; Saburo gashed one with his swords, then caught
the other one's head in his hand. With a mighty grip, he crushed it's skull,
spraying the insides around him.
	The last two managed to get through Bolt's softer underskin. With a 
loud growl, Bolt reached up and took one in each hand, and squeezed. 
Entrails leaked down from his hand, and he wiped his hands on the ground.
	Jacob watched the proceedings going on. When the last were slain, he
merely yawned. "Wow. Oh no. I'm so scared. Please don't hurt me, oh please."
he said in a monotone. Suddenly he was flung back and bounced off a boulder,
a smoking hole in his chest. 
	Bolt stared at him, smoke drifting from his maw. "Now, that's how we
do things down south!" A smirk curled the side of his jaw. It disappeared
when Jacob, groaning, got back up off the ground, the whole reforming into 
his chest.
	"Good. Not great, but good." The demon suddenly gained about twenty
more feet in height. "My turn!" he said as he hauled off and socked Bolt.
	The big blue was flung back, destroying another grove of trees as he
impacted. He groaned, pulling himself back up. Wincing, he felt his wound
reopen. He growled, his eyes glowing, as he watched Angela and Guyver get
slammed into the ground. Neither one moved afterwards.
	"ANGELA! NOOOO!" With a cry of frustration, Bolt leapt up and charged
at Jacob. The big demon looked up with surprise at the massive dragon 
heading his way. With both hands clasped together, Bolt smashed his fists
repeatately into the demon, blindly flailing at it with tears in his eyes at
the thought of his gargoyle love dead on the ground. 
	"MURDERER!" 'smash' 
	"BUTCHER!" 'crack'
	"SLAYER!" 'bash'
	Angela stirred, holding her head. She looked around, and, seeing Bolt
beat upon Jacob, went to help him.
	Saburo grabbed onto Angela. "No, Angela! Let him go!"
	She turned to him, eyes flaring. "We can't just leave him without 
help!"
	"Do you think that you could damage it?" Saburo pointed. After each
blow Bolt landed, Jacob almost instantly healed. It was the ferocity of the
attack that prevented him from counterattacking. Angela shook her head.
	Bolt knew that he was doing no lasting damage, but didn't care. The
one reason for his continuation, his one reason for living, was possibly 
dead, or dying. He knew of no other way to keep this monster away from her.
	Saburo sat back, thinking. He knew how to destroy this creature...but
he couldn't think of it! Think, damn it, think! He could see that Bolt was
starting to lose his fury, and it was giving Jacob a few chances to return
his attacks. He had to think quickly, or the battle was lost!
	Bolt was losing his energy fast. With the prior wound, and the score
of smaller ones Jacob was starting to inflict, he knew he wouldn't last much
longer. Then he noticed something; the huge demon would dodge back after a
particularly savage blow to the head. It also took a bit to heal.
	An idea formed in his mind. As Jacob reached up and tore a hole in 
Bolt's wing, Bolt grabbed Jacob's shoulders and pressed down, enough so he
couldn't move.
	"This is for my Angel, you son-of-a-bitch!" With a loud growl, Bolt
bent down...and tore off Jacob's head.
	The air around the grove filled suddenly with a maddening stench; Bolt
spit out a decaying, fleshless head, then collapsed. He managed to turn back 
into a gargoyle before passing out.
	Angela and Guyver looked around at the destruction surrounding them.
The demon's bodies melted away after they died, but the ground was torn 
asunder by their wake. The walked over hesitantly to the fallen gargoyle.
	"Bolt! Oh, my love, please be ok!" Angela cried. She nestled his head
in her lap.
	"Angela! We have to go, now! The police will be coming to check out 
the disturbance!" Saburo said.
	"We can't just leave him here!" she sobbed.
	Saburo placed his hands on her shoulders. "Of course not, I was 
planning on carrying him back to...by the way, where do you live?"
	"On top the Eyrie Building...on...on the castle." she stammered. 
"Let's go, now!" 
	Saburo gently picked Bolt up, and activated the gravity orb at his 
waist. He started flying towards the castle. Angela jumped on a nearby
boulder, one that wasn't smashed, and leapt into the air.
***************************************************************************
Chapter Six

	The clan wandered up to the battlements, in preparation for a new day
of sleep. They chatted idly amongst each other; Brooklyn, Broadway and
Lexington were discussing different...features...about the three new
females, while the females in question were talking about the same things,
only on the Trio. Goliath, Hudson, Elisa and Bronx were on top of Goliath's
tower, watching the proceedings.
	Goliath turned to Hudson, placing a hand on the old soldier's 
shoulder. "Well, old friend, it didn't take very long for them to become so
close, did it? We are going to have to talk to Xanatos about a new rookery
sooner than we thought."
	Hudson looked over at Goliath and Elisa. Elisa was leaning against
Goliath's side, her arm wrapped around his waist, while he draped one of his
massive arms over her shoulders. He raised an eyeridge while looking over
the two. "Aye, lad, that we do."
	Goliath and Elisa immediately parted, blushes coming to both their
faces, and they nervously eyed each other.
	Hudson chuckled. "'Tis alright, we knew about ye before YE knew about
yer feelings. We were wonderin' how long it would take ye to come to yer
senses." Hudson reached over and clasped Goliath's wrist. "I'm happy ye 
finally got on with yer life, lad. Make us proud!" He whispered in Goliath's
ear. The he turned and walked over to the edge of the tower. "Lads! Lassies!
Goliath and Elisa have finally show their true feelings fer each other!"
	Goliath clutched Elisa to him. He could fight clones, robots, cyborgs,
and a multitude of other nightmares, but letting his feelings be known? It
scared the hell out of him, even if it was only his clan. He heard claws
striking stone, and knew for a fact that the rest of his clan was coming up,
hopefully to congratulate him. In the old days, when a gargoyle loved a 
human, the friction caused by it would almost always the couple to leave the
clan, to seek other places to live. He hoped that living in a new age would
work to his advantage; if not, he started thinking of any number of reasons
that he and Elisa should be together.
	The first one over the edge was Lexington, then Broadway, then the
twins, then Tiffany, and finally Brooklyn. The six of them lined up, staring
at their leader. Elisa gazed up at Goliath, and squeezed his hand. Goliath
looked down upon his human love, and returned the squeeze. Then the two of
them looked towards the others, waiting for a reaction.
	After a few seconds, Brooklyn started clapping, followed closely by
the rest of the clan. They took turns coming up and exclaiming how happy 
they were for the two. Goliath blinked back a few tears; he almost couldn't
believe how supportive his clan was of the fact of him and Elisa.
	Elisa looked up and saw the expression on her love's handsome face.
She reached up and wiped away the two tears that had formed in his eyes. She
couldn't believe how well the clan took her to be Goliath's...well...mate,
she supposed. That was pretty much what they were to each other. Maybe, she
thought, her patented smirk coming to her lips as she stared at Goliath,
maybe someday soon they could consummate their relationship...  
	Goliath looked down at Elisa after the rest went back to the 
courtyard. His smile almost dropped from his lips as he saw the sly 
expression on Elisa's face. He suddenly felt worried about himself; put he
couldn't put a talon on why.
	A shout from down below caused Goliath and Elisa to part and rush over
to see what the commotion was about. Renee was pointing over the edge at
two flying objects; one was Angela, the other was a red-skinned humanoid 
carrying something in it's arms. No, it can't be, Goliath thought. A shout 
confirmed his fears as Velvet cried out that it was carrying a limp Bolt.
	Saburo stopped, waiting for Angela to catch up. "Maybe you should go
first. They looked kinda pissed." Angela looked to see that the whole clan
had their eyes lit up.
	"I agree. Stay here." She flew over and landed amongst the clan.
Goliath grabbed Elisa and jumped down with Hudson and Bronx.
	"Angela, what happened?"
	"Angela, who's that?"
	"What happened to Bolt?"
	The questions bombarded her from all sides. With a loud roar, she
told everyone to shut up. Quickly, she explained what happened at the park.
She motioned for Saburo to come over. He did, gently placing Bolt on the 
ground. Angela rushed over and knelt down beside him.
	Goliath walked over to Bolt's inert form. He clenched his fist, the
memory of what the Hunters' did to Angela still fresh in his mind. He
looked down at his rookery brother, to the multitude of battle wounds that
crossed his form. At least sunset was only a few minutes away.
	Goliath walked over to Saburo. The Guyver was standing off to one side
of the group. He put his hand out to him. "My thanks, friend. Angela has
told me of how your quick thinking got my brother back here, to safety."
	Saburo grabbed Goliath's wrist in the traditional warrior's grip.
"Think nothing of it. I would have thought less of myself if I allowed a
noble warrior such as he to perish. I know that he will heal with the dawn."
	"You seem to know much about gargoyles. We should talk tonight, after
we wake up. Have Elisa clear it with Xanatos for you to return here tonight.
Then we shall all discuss what happened here." Goliath spoke. He backed away
towards his brother, and assumed a defensive stance. The others did also,
save for Angela, who stayed next to Bolt. The sun rose, turning them all to
stone.
	"Indeed we shall, Goliath of the Manhattan clan, indeed we shall."
He turned to Elisa. "Shall we go talk to this Xanatos now?"
	"I guess, but he might not take too kindly to seeing such a strange
person wandering his castle. Maybe I'll just talk to him for you." Elisa 
said, turning to go back down.
	A few moments later, a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop. She
turned around to see a young japanese man standing there. If she hadn't 
already been used to strange things happening around her just about daily,
She might have jumped right out of her jeans.
	"What happened to...never mind, I don't want to know."
	"By the way, my name is Saburo Nishikawa. I am honored to make your
acquaintance." he said, bowing at the waist.
	"Uh, right. Elisa Maza." she returned the bow. He reminds me of the 
japanese gargoyles we met a while back, she thought. Mental note: ask him if
he knows them later. "Wanna go talk to Xanatos now?"
	"Of course, detective. After you. Could you be so kind as to give me a
quick summary of Mr. Xanatos before we meet him, please?" Saburo asked, 
lightly stepping next to her.
	"Sure, I guess." Elisa brushed back her hair. "It all started two 
years ago..."

	Matt Bluestone was NOT having a good day. And it hadn't even really
started for him yet. Here he was, watching some so-called experts go over a
crime scene that he had responded to. One guy looked like he came out of a
space-age movie, all covered with technological gizmos; he was the so-called
gargoyle expert. All he heard from him was how evil gargoyles were supposed
to be, and, frankly, he was sick of it.
	The other guy was a reject from a Conan the Barbarian movie. Easily
over six feet, he probably could give Goliath a run for his money with
sheer strength. He was grizzled, with scars all over his arms, and a few on
his face. He was carrying a goddamn sword, fer christ's sake! The way he
sniffed the ground you would have thought him part bloodhound. Once, when he
bent down to check over a piece of a crushed boulder, Matt saw what looked
like chain mail covering his broad chest under his jacket.
	I guess it isn't all bad, Matt thought. The city hired these two 
jokers for the Gargoyles Task Force, and I'm supposed to give them free 
rein. So he sat back and watched them work. Although one more word out of...
what's his name again, Castaway I think... and I'll shove this coffee cup so
far down his gullet...
	Bane glanced over at his cousin; the stupid twit kept preaching, and
that's all. He placed his hand into one of the depressions he identified as
being from the dragon. It went in halfway to his elbow. Almost thirteen
tons, he thought to himself. That would make this one the biggest one he had
hunted.
	He stood back up, adjusting the sword on his back to rest more
comfortably. It was a flamberge, a different type of two-handed sword.
Instead of a regular sword blade, it had a four-and-a-half foot wavy blade.
The crosspiece was shaped in the form of a dragon's outstretched wings, with
the rest of the body forming the rest of the hilt. This blade had killed 
twenty-seven dragons since is creation, back in 378 A.D. It had been in his
family since that time, and his family had been Hunters of one sort or
another since then.
	Canmore (or Castaway, as he called himself now) was part of his family
by marriage; His elder brother, Jason, had married Bane's sister a long 
time ago. But one of the gargoyles had killed her when Jason had gotten
too close one time. She had been pregnant, and both died as the result of
the injuries that she suffered. That, of course, caused poor Jason, who had
been thinking of giving up his family's profession, to go right over the 
edge.
	Poor Jason. Bane had seen the police report: lower spine severed,
paraplegic from the waist down. Bane had gone and seen his brother-in-law
today, in fact. He seemed to be doing a bit better, although he had lost the
hate that had driven him for so long. He was glad that Jason's old pep 
seemed to be returning, although slowly.
	Even though the Canmore's didn't know it, they were distant cousins
before the marriage. Bane's father had told him that before he was killed
hunting a powerful white dragon in Alaska. The Canmores had split off from
his family many centuries ago over a despute over some land. Now the clan
was close again, even if only he knew it.
	Bane shook his head to shoo away the cobwebs and get back to the task
at hand. From the looks of the battleground, a major battle was fought here
not to long ago. He scouted the area further, noting the detective's eyes on
him. As long as he stayed out of his way...
	Wait! Bane shifted his gaze back again. There, in the shrubs! A glint!
Bane walked over and rooted around in the bushes for a few seconds before
coming up with his prize.
	A midnight-blue scale the size of a hubcap sat in his hands. It was 
cracked, evidently torn off from the combat. Bane rubbed his hands over it a
few times. When he finished, it reflected light as well as a mirror, even
cracked. 
	"Ah, hell..." he muttered. If this scale was any indication, this
dragon was going to be a tough one. "Detective Bluestone, could you come 
here please?"
	Matt walked over to where Bane was holding a large blue object. "Yea,
what can I do for..." he said, before gasping at the object. Elisa had just
told him the other night about the clan's new 'arrival'.
	Bane studied him carefully. So, the detective knew what it was. That
wasn't going to make his job any easier. "Detective; what kind of weapon do
you carry?"
	"A Springfield .45 Super V-12. I had to upgrade when I found out that
anything less than a cannon shell bounces off most things in this city. Why
do you ask?" Matt replied. He was proud of his most recent acquirement. It
had cost him 750 bucks, and that was with his discount for being a police
officer.
	"May I borrow it for a minute, detective? I would like to conduct an
experiment." bane asked nicely, holding out his massive paw.
	"No."
	"Excuse me?" Bane replied, his other hand slowly forming a fist the
size of a full ham.
	"I said no." Matt replied again, getting angry. He couldn't believe 
the nerve of this guy! Asking for a cop's weapon, in the middle of a crime
scene, in broad daylight, nonetheless!
	"Fine." Bane turned and walked away from the detective, acting angry.
He was actually quite pleased with Detective Matt Bluestone. Bane figured if
he went up to any of the other cops around here right now, they'd give him
their weapon without a second thought.
	He walked over to a nearby oak tree, a good three feet thick. 
"Detective, please watch." Bane dropped the scale he was holding, loosened 
up a bit, and in one smooth move yanked his flamberge off his back and cut
through the tough oak tree, not even pausing. He resheathed his weapon, and
with a heave, toppled over the tree.
	Matt's jaw dropped open; even with the man's obvious strength, even he
shouldn't have been to cut through a three-foot oak tree so easily. "How did
you do that?"
	Bane pulled his sword off his back again. He examined the length of 
the blade for nay imperfections in the edge. "Let me ask you this, 
detective; do you believe in magic?"
	"Mister, after seeing everything that I've seen, I'd believe in the
tooth fairy if you told me she existed. But I'm probably the only one, 
except for my partner." Matt replied. He had a sharp image of the blade
running through his body, and he shuddered.
	"Partner?"
	"Elisa Maza. She's away right now, but she'll more than likely be here
a bit later."
	"You will have to introduce me later, detective. I think I would be
most interested in meeeting Ms. Maza." Bane replied. Maybe this 'Elisa Maza'
would know more about my prey, he thought. Her name sounded familiar to him,
but he couldn't place it at this time.
	He shook his head. Back to the subject. "Anyways, detective. You saw
me slice through this tree with my sword, correct?"
	"Yes."
	"Good. Now watch this." Bane walked over and braced the scale he found
against another nearby tree. He got a good grip on his sword, the with a 
shrill cry, he swung it at the scale.
	A loud 'clang' reverberated in the grove. Everyone present held their
ears in pain, a few crying out. When their ears stopped ringing, they all
looked over to see Bane checking over his sword again. The scale itself had
been driven into the tree stump a good three inches all around. Mat walked 
over to it, and examined the surface. It had barely even been scratched.
	"Damn!" he whispered. Matt made a mental note to try and get one of 
these scales for a special project he had in mind.
	"You see, detective, my point. What would happen if a creature such as
this went mad in a town this size? The damage would be substantial, and the
loss-of-life would most likely be astronomical." He pulled Matt a bit closer
to him, so no one else could hear them. "I know about the gargoyles, 
detective; personally, I think that they've done the city a great favor by
helping out, unlike my cousin over there. I hope that Castaway meets one of
them face-to-face, and soon."
	Matt saw that there was no love lost between the two of them. He also 
noted that, unlike Castaway, there was no tinge of madness hiding behind the
eyes. He seemed to be sincere in his pronouncement.
	Just then, a pager went off. Matt looked down at his, then looked up
to see Bane pull one out of his jacket. Bane read the display for a second,
then replaced it. "I'm sorry, detective. We must conclude this some other
time." He handed Matt a small card. "This is my pager number and phone
number. If you find out anything else, please, don't hesitate to call me.
Castaway!" he yelled. Castaway was handing out flyers, no doubt to one of
his anti-gargoyle conventions, Matt thought.
	Matt grabbed Bane's shoulder. "You never told me about your sword."
	Bane looked down at Matt's hand. Matt dropped it from Bane's shoulder.
"Some other time detective. I really must be going."
	Matt noticed that Bane had gotten extremely cold all of a sudden. "At
least tell me why it's shaped like that," Matt said, pointing his finger at
the wavy edge.
	Bane turned to the Matt. "Are you always this persistent?" he growled.
	"Not always; usually I'm worse." Matt said, smiling.
	Bane signed. "Fine. But listen, because I'm only going to say this
once. Long ago, when dragons, gargoyles and magic were the deciding factor
in our world, a small group of humans dedicated themselves to the 
extermination of these groups. They were called Hunters, and one group was
made for each enemy; gargoyle hunters were trained to use blunt objects to
shatter their enemies while they slept, and how to track them at night if 
need be. Magic hunters were trained in using objects made of iron, for most
of the magic-users were called fey, or fairies as we humans started naming
them. Later on, humans made up their own magic, but it was too crude to 
combat the fairies' magic. These two groups had a excellent chance to 
destroy their enemies, which is why you barely hear about gargoyles and
fairies anymore."
	Bane started walking, motioning for Matt to walk with him. "Lastly,
there was the group of dragon hunters. They had the hardest job of all 
three, although all would tell you their jobs were the hardest. However, 
think of this: gargoyles had the numbers, but they were easy prey once the
sun came up; magic-users were ill-versed in the arts of war, and just needed
a good iron blade through the gullet to stop them. But dragons were much
harder. They grew to enormous sizes, some of the biggest reaching two 
hundred feet long and greater! Their armored hide resisted all normal
weapons, causing them to usually break off at the worst moment. And, they
had an almost insanely high resistance to magic, along with being able to
cast spells. Depending on the color of the dragon, it's breath weapon could
poison, melt you with acid, fire, lightning, killing frost, and a few more.
Only the fact of rarely reproducing kept these monsters from taking over the
earth!" Matt noticed how increasingly angry he got as he went.
	Bane settled himself down, realizing that getting angry wasn't helping
his situation. "In the year of our Lord 378 a.d., A group of hunters, magic
and dragon, came together to forge weapons of incredible power. Through 
extensive research, they realized that a success would help with both magic
and the dragons. Straight-edged weapons did no good on the scales, as most
slid right off." Bane eased out the big flamberge again. He pointed at how 
the blade was wavy. "but a wavy or serrated blade would work like a 
saw-blade and hopefully shear through to the flesh underneath. A full iron
blade would give the user a good defense against fey magic."
	"But wouldn't an iron blade be hard to keep up, considering how 
quickly iron dulls and how heavy it is?" Matt asked.
	Bane glanced at Bluestone. "Very good, detective! I see you know your
metals! Yes, iron dulls extremely quickly and is heavy, except when created
with magic." Bane handed his sword over to Matt. The weight was still there,
but it wasn't as heavy as he would have thought; in fact, it was a bit 
lighter than a steel blade of the same dimensions. Matt handed it back to 
him.
	Bane resheathed the giant blade and continued on with his story. "Our
master weaponsmiths created five different weapons to combat them; a battle
axe, a claymore, a Lochaber axe (also called a vouge or voulge, an axe 
headed polearm), a halberd, and this flamberge. Tempered with magic fire,
using tools unknown but to the creaters, these enhanced weapons would give
us the edge we needed."
	"However, in combat, we discovered a few flaws in the handiwork. The
polearms worked extremely well, but they used the time-tested mating of a
metal head to a wooden shaft. Unfortunately, the head would impact and cause
the damage, but the haft would break off, leaving the warrior helpless 
against his much stronger foe. We lost the halberd in this way as one of our
best warriors faced a great black by himself and the haft broke. There 
wasn't enough left of him to properly bury." Bane whispered, choking on the
words.
	"Listen, Bane, if this is causing you that much pain..."
	"NO! I mean, no, it feels good to get this off my chest." Bane sighed,
then stared off into the park. "The battle-axe and Lochaber axe were stolen
one night from a stronghold in lower England. We have yet to recover them.
The claymore broke under combat conditions during the secret Dragon Wars in
the early tenth century. Our best warrior, Lord William MacDonnell, carried
the charge on heavy cavalry into the midst of a small group of bronze 
dragons that had jumped two blues. The messenger that brought us the news
was almost dead; he had crawled away from the battlefield minus his left arm
and leg. When he reached us, he was almost dead with blood loss and
gangrene. The entire force was defeated, but at least three bronze fell that
day. Of the two blues, we have no record. The messenger carried the broken
hilt of the claymore with him. Shortly afterward, he died. As far as I know,
this flamberge is the only surviving one of the five rune weapons left on
this world."
	Matt slowly digested this information. He made another mental note to
discuss this with Elisa later, and Hatcher to see what the Illuminati had on
dragons. He looked up to Bane. "What happened to the Hunters?"
	"The magic hunters died out in the late fifteenth century; of the 
gargoyle hunters, one is left, along with one dragon hunter."
	"Is that you?" Matt asked.
	"Yes. I am the last Dragon Hunter. Castaway is the last Gargoyle
Hunter."
	"Then Bane's not your real name, is it?" Matt asked. They had reached
Bane's ride, a new Harley-Davidson. Bane got on and started up the big bike.
	"No. It's just a short version of my family's nickname from the Dragon
Wars."
	Matt waited a few seconds; then asked, "What is it?"
	Bane reeved up the engine, then dropped it into gear. "Dragon's Bane."
	He sped into the city.
****************************************************************************
Chapter Seven

	Elisa stood at the top of Castle Wyvern, waiting for the sun to go 
down. Her mind was whirling with what Matt had said to her earlier in the
day. Added to the fact of the attack in the park, needless to say she wasn't
too thrilled with the prospect of the next few weeks. That's why she was 
here so early...ok, not the only reason. She grinned to herself.
	With a loud crash, the stone statues around her shattered, and eleven
gargoyles roared as they awoke. Goliath jumped down from his perch, and 
pulled Elisa into his arms before closing his wings over her. From within 
the confines of the wings, a light laughter cold be heard, along with a low
growl. The wings parted, and a flushed Goliath and Elisa went over towards 
the others to check on Bolt.
	The polymorphed blue dragon was luxuriously stretching his wings, with
Angela rubbing the muscles on his neck. He gave a big yawn then dropped a
talon to scratch his leg. "So what's the plan fer tonight?"
	"You are going to stay here, and recuperate. Angela will make sure of 
that." Goliath rumbled. Goliath heard Bolt mutter something about 'her fault
anyways', but stopped when Angela cuffed him in the head. "Alright, alright!
I'll stay here! Geez, women!" he grumbled, then followed Angela downstairs
toward the television room.
	Hudson adjusted his belt and sword, then turned toward Goliath. "I'll
go down and keep an' eye on the young'uns, lad. You and Elisa should go 
somewhere private. Any more saccharine, from any of ye, and I'll be havin'
ta put a talon down me throat!" the elder gargoyle roared, before walking
downstairs.
	The others paired off again, and were in the process of wandering
below, when a shout from Elisa halted all of them in their tracks.
	"Wait! We have to get the clan together, I have some new information
that is important to all of us! Let's go to the tv room, that's got the most
room, other than the kitchen," she stated.
	"I agree. We will go to the tv room to listen to what Elisa has to say
to us," Goliath replied. He made a motion, and the younger gargoyles filed
down the steps. Goliath walked with Elisa, an arm around her shoulders, like
he had seen on the tv. "Where's the Guyver?"
	"He said he had something to do tonight. Personally I think he just
didn't like Xanatos at all. He said he'd try to make it tomorrow night." she 
said.
	They arrived in the room to see Hudson in his chair, Bronx at his side
as usual, and to see Angela and Bolt curled up together in another nearby
chair. All three were watching the movie 'Braveheart', starring Mel Gibson.
They heard Angela asking Bolt and Hudson if their life was like William
Wallace's, and if Bolt knew him.
	"Hey guys, we need to turn off the boob tube for a bit. I've got some
information you also need to know, ok?" Elisa said. She walked over and 
turned off the tv and vcr, as the rest of the clan filed in and found places
to sit or stand. The room filled up quickly.
	Elisa ran through the story that Matt had told her, not leaving 
anything out. Throughout the tale, Bolt got increasingly angry at the human
who he could only guess at that decided to invade his city to hunt him down.
	When Elisa finished, Bolt leaped up and started pacing the room. "I've
heard of this man, of the Dragon's Bane. His family had hunted my kind for
more centuries than I can say. Last I heard of him, he was in Scotland." How
did he know I was here?, Bolt thought to himself. Last he knew, Bane had
fallen to his death seven years ago, falling off the battlements of Castle
Wvyern when he came to investigate some old dragon sightings and wound up
with more than he bargained for.
	"What happened?" Tiffany asked.
	"Let's just say that I found his presence disturbing and took steps
to rid myself of the problem."
	"You mean you tried to kill him!" Angela said. She gave Bolt a
disapproving look.
	"When a human walks up to you with a piss-poor attitude, a enmity for
dragons and a six-foot sword, you don't invite him in for tea and crumpets,
my love!" Bolt retorted. He looked around the room. "Any suggestions on what
we do with him?"
	"And while we're at it, what do we do with this 'Castaway' guy? He 
sounds like he really hates us." Broadway asked. He gripped Renee a bit 
tighter.
	"If it weren't for our current public relations problem, I'd say 
take'em out." Bolt replied.
	"We cannot. We must find away to show the citizens of Manhattan that 
we are helping, not hurting the populace." Goliath said.
	"How are we gonna do that, Goliath? Hold a press conference?" Brooklyn
retorted angrily. Goliath threw the red gargoyle a look.
	"No, but we must find away to do something, or we'll never be safe 
from the humans of this city, especially now that they know about us." he 
said.
	Bolt walked over towards Elisa. "Elisa, could you get me any info on
Bane? Where he's staying, where he can be reached, that type of thing?"
	She thought for a second. "I think so. If he's working for the task 
force, he had to leave that information with Captain Chavez. I should be 
able to find out."
	"Good. And any information on this 'Castaway', also."
	"Uh, you should get the report on the park so we know what else we're
dealing with Elisa. That might give us more information." Broadway said.
	"If the passwords are the same, Lex and I should be able to hack into
the police database and get it," Velvet said.
	"Good. While you and Lex work on that, I will fly Elisa to the new
station to get the items on Bane and Castaway. The rest of you go ahead and
relax, for we start patrolling tomorrow." Goliath replied. He and Elisa 
walked out the door.
	Bolt grabbed Angela's hand, and the two of them walked out together.
Broadway and Renee asked anyone if they wanted anything from the kitchen,
then left. Lexington and Velvet set up the computers that Xanatos had 
installed for them, and booted up.
	Brooklyn went to sit down on the couch when Tiffany grabbed his hand.
"What?"
	"I wanna follow Bolt and Angela." she whispered.
	"Why?"
	"I just have a feeling about them, that's all."
	"Ok, but if we get caught, it's yer ass." Brooklyn whispered.
	Tiffany winked and nudged Brooklyn. "Nope, it's already your's!"
	Brooklyn blushed and the two quietly walked out in pursuit.
	
	A few minutes later, they came upon the two gargoyles sitting quietly
upon the edge of the castle. Tiffany pulled Brooklyn into a dark hallway
quickly so they wouldn't be seen, and listened.
	"...I still don't understand why you didn't tell me earlier about him,
my love," they heard Angela say.
	Bolt held Angela closer to him. "I just didn't want to tell you about
something that happened a long time ago. It was past history, so I didn't 
think that it mattered."
	"Firestorm was also past history, but he showed up again. Remember?"
	Bolt turned Angela's face so it faced his and passionately kissed her.
"How could I forget? It was the first time I laid my eyes upon you. I 
wouldn't forget that."
	Angela sighed and turned again to face the city. She snuggled against
him, flipping her amulet around. "My love?"
	"My Angel?"
	"How would you like to do a bit of flying again tonight?"
	"What? And get jumped like last time?"
	She ran her hand up and down his chest. "I don't plan to be anywhere
near humans tonight!" she said wickedly. Bolt growled low in his throat at
the suggestion, then stroked her back at that oh so sensitive place...
	Moaning quietly, Angela quickly straightened, and leaped off into the
night. "Catch me if you can!" She quickly winged off into the night.
	"Oh ho! You think to outrace me?" Bolt spread his wings and jumped
out after her.
	Tiffany and Brooklyn ran up to the edge and watched them disappear.
Tiffany placed a foot upon the stone and made ready to leap after them when
Brooklyn halted her. "What are you doing? You heard them, they're going
someplace private. I don't think we should follow!"
	"Oh, Brooky! You're such a stick-in-the-mud! We're just gonna make 
sure that no one disturbs them!" she replied, then jumped off.
	Now I know how much Angela hated being called 'Angie', Brooklyn 
thought to himself. He jumped off after the rest.

	Angela flew straight and quick, bolstered by the strong wind currents.
Although Bolt had years of experience on her, he had to admit to himself 
that she was still younger than him. After a while, he thought that he knew
where she was going; when she curved around a building, he broke off another
way.
	Tiffany and Brooklyn watched the two split apart. They broke off,
Brooklyn following Bolt, and Tiffany following Angela. They made sure that 
they stayed back far enough back so as not to be seen. The four gargoyles
flew out over the bay, Brooklyn and Tiffany dropping low to the water to
avoid being seen.
	Angela landed upon the Statue of Liberty, then turned around,
expecting to see Bolt land next to her. She looked around from the direction
she came from, and didn't see anyone. What happened to him, she thought to
herself. He was right behind me!
	What she didn't know was that Brooklyn and Tiff had landed on the 
island itself. Bolt's sixth sense had told him that someone was following 
him and Angela and had circled around the statue to see who it was. He was 
determined not to let anything ruin what could be the most splendid night.
So he polymorphed back into his dragon form behind the statue and dropped
in front of two very startled and frightened gargoyles.
	"What the hell are you two doing here?!" he whispered. He drew back
into the shadows so the lights wouldn't reflect off his scales.
	"Uh... we came to see what was going on, I guess." Tiffany explained.
Brooklyn nodded his agreement at the story.
	Bolt hissed his displeasure. "You followed myself and Angela all the
way here, to see 'what's going on'? Bullshit! You followed us to spy on us!
Of all the low-down, dirty, rotten..." Bolt turned to face Brooklyn directly
in the beaked gargoyle's face. "And you, Brooklyn; as second-in-command, I
expected a litle more from you!" Bolt shook his head in disgust, then turned
away. "I won't tell Goliath about this; but WE will talk about this later.
Deal?"
	"Deal."
	"Ok, Bolt."
	"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna try and salvage the evening
with my love. See you back at the castle." With that, Bolt jumped into the
air and flew up to the top of the statue.
	"Nice going, ace. Now we got him pissed at us, and probably Angela,
especially when he tells her. Wanna finish up the evening and see if we 
can't ruin Goliath's night, also?" Brooklyn snarled.
	"I didn't see you grab me and pull me back to the castle!!" she yelled
back at him. She stalked over to the side of the statue base and climbed it
for the height needed to leave. Brooklyn bit his cheek, wishing that he
hadn't said the words to her. Great, he thought to himself, keep pissing off
the rest of the clan and pretty soon you won’t have a clan to go home to.
Wearily, he followed Tiffany up the side of the statue and flew off behind
her.

	Bolt flew quickly up to the top of the statue, forgetting in his haste
that he was still in his dragon form. Angela, however, noticed, but thought
he was in his natural form for a different reason.
	"Oh, so you want to do it that way, eh? Well, two can play that game!"
She grasped the small amulet at her neck and closed her eyes. She felt her
limbs stretch, and her wings expand in length. When she opened her eyes, the
first thing she noticed was how vivid and detailed everything got all of a 
sudden! She looked down and saw that her talons had grown from simply
harmful to downright murderous! When she went to look at the rest of her new
body, she noticed that, while this form was powerful, the agility and speed
she was used to was replaced by strength (she figured she could beat Goliath
at arm-wrestling now!) and power. 
	Bolt landed on the top of the statue, gazing out over the bay. He 
vaguely heard Angela muttering something, but was still too upset with
Brooklyn and Tiffany to pay attention. He didn't want to ignore Angela, but
with the way his anger was worked up, he didn't want to say something that
he might regret later on.
	So he missed the transformation of Angela into a smaller blue dragon.
She wasn't as dark as he was, and her scales weren't nearly as rigid as his
were; she measured one hundred and nine feet long, with fifteen percent of 
that length her head and neck alone. Her eyeridges were more apparent in her
dragon form, and sprouted horns; one on each side of her head that went
halfway back. She admired her new form for a second, before catching a 
glimpse of Bolt out of the corner of her eye.
	Her mouth dropped open; she had never noticed how handsome and regal
he looked, especially looking out over the bay, and framed in the lights 
from the bay. First things first, she thought. They both needed to get off 
the top of the statue before in collapsed from their combined weight. She
wondered how to do that when the idea struck her like a bolt of lightning.
	Bolt's anger was almost diminished; after all, he had over a thousand
years to practice how to control his temper. He was about to turn to Angela
and apologize to her when he felt something start to caress the base of his
neck; while gargoyles are extremely sensitive in the spot between their
wings, one of a dragon's erogenous zones is at the base of it's neck.
	He sucked in a breath; there was only one other that knew about that!
As he slowly gave into the feelings that coursed up and down his spine, he
thought of the last person that did that to him...
	Abruptly, his eyes shot open, and he whirled around, ready to rip out
the female's throat. His fangs were bared for maximum penetration, and he
went in for the kill, barely registering that it was another blue dragon, 
and a female at that. The female jerked back in fear, a strangled gasp
coming from her lips.
	He dove in for her throat, then managed to jerk his head off to the 
side in time to miss. He slowed down, and stopped. Bolt pulled his head back
to stare the transformed Angela straight in the eyes. She was quivering with
fear; he understood, considering he tried to tear out her throat and almost
succeeded.
	"My love! Oh my angel, I'm so sorry! Please, forgive me!" he pleaded.
He slowly rubbed his head under her chin, as he crept closer. When she 
didn't answer him, he pulled back and stared into her eyes. Her eyes were
slightly glazed over. He reached out and gently caressed her cheek, before
slightly slapping it.
	Angela blinked, then drew back. She looked at Bolt, roared out at him,
and belted him right off the statue!
	Bolt managed to twist around in time to snap out his wings to control
his plummet down. He managed to flare back and climb back farther into the 
sky. He turned back to see Angela jump off into the night and head back to 
the city. Growling, he beat his wings harder, to catch up to her. She never
even noticed him until he grappled with her. Snarling, she snapped and 
clawed at him, managing to tear his wing. Bolt grimaced in pain, then 
pinned her limbs with his own as he continued dodging her bite, all the
while screaming her name at her.
	Angela came out of the red haze that had enveloped her at the statue.
She couldn't move her arms or legs, and someone was yelling her name, over
and over. She glanced around and noticed she was gliding above the city, and
that Bolt was affixed to her back.
	Bolt stopped yelling her name when he noticed that she stopped
resisting. His instincts took over unexpectedly on the big blue, and he
started caressing Angela in sensitive places that only dragons knew about.
It had been a very long time for him, and with Angela using the amulet to 
turn into a dragon, and with the positions the two were currently in, 
his instincts took over.
	Angela started purring; to anything else but a dragon, it would have
sounded intimidating; but to Bolt, who had been unconsciously longing for
the sound, it was music to his ears. She shifted position to accommodate him
easier, then wrapped her tail up in his. 
	Bolt extended his wings out to their fullest, and the two entwined
dragons soared higher up into the clouds, to fulfill what Fate had entended
for them since the beginning of time...

	Broadway and Lexington were wrapped in the arms of the Twins as they
watched what appeared to be a freak lightning storm close by the bay. 
Broadway had Renee sitting on his lap, while Lex lounged in the lap of 
Velvet. They had been sitting up here ever since Hudson had returned from
taking Bronx on a walk and remarking about it. Renee and Velvet had jumped
up and dragged the two males with them, claiming how romantic lightning
storms were. Of course, Broadway and Lex wanted to keep them happy and the
four sat perched on Goliath's tower to watch.
	Velvet was the first to see Brooklyn and Tiffany land down in the 
courtyard. She flicked Lexington's nose with a talon, then turned to her
sister. Renee nudged Broadway at her twin's telepathic signal. The four
looked down at the two gargoyles arguing, and quietly, but quickly, crept
down the stairs to hear what they were arguing about.
	"...and when he returns, he's gonna get us in trouble! I say we tell
Goliath now, and save ourselves the distress!" Tiffany was saying. She 
played with the silver wolf's head she wore around her neck.
	Brooklyn grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you insane?! If we tell
Goliath we were spying on clan members, he'll have our heads, and I happen
to like mine right were it is!"
	"Fine! Then I'll tell him myself!" She whirled around and started to
walk off to find Goliath. Brooklyn, muttering "Oh no you don't," reached out
and grabbed her shoulder. She shook off his hand, and continued on. The four
gargoyles, hiding in the shadows inside the doorway, realized where she was
heading and ran a bit up the stairs, out of sight, but close enough to hear
what was going on.
	Brooklyn grabbed Tiffany by both shoulders this time, and spun her
around. Considering what she planned on doing, he did the first thing that
popped into his head: he grabbed her head between his talons and slapped
a big wet kiss on her.
	Tiffany immediately stopped trying to break free; The four gargoyles
inside the doorway crept closer to see what was going on; what they saw
amazed them!
	Brooklyn and Tiffany were engaged in lip-wrestling maneuvers, with
Tiffany coming out ahead of Brooklyn. She was slowly pushing him toward
one of the balustrade, her arms wrapped around his neck. They might have
actually gotten a bit further down that path if Goliath and Elisa hadn't
surprised the four gargoyles hiding in the doorway, who in turn jumped out
and surprised the others!
	Tiffany and Brooklyn broke their lip-lock, then turned to see the
others staring at them. Brooklyn looked everywhere else but them, while
Tiffany glowed bright red in embarrassment. The clan stood around for a
second, not saying anything, before Goliath and Elisa noticed the strange
lightning show.
	"What's going on over there?" Goliath asked.
	"We don't know, Goliath; we were just watching it before Brooklyn and
Tiffany got back." Renee replied.
	Goliath turned to the two gargoyles, a frown crossing his face. "What
were you two doing outside the castle?"
	"Nothing..."
	"Just flying..."
	"Nobody leaves the castle until I decide that it's safe, understand?"
Goliath growled. The rest of the clan nodded in agreement. He and Elisa 
walked back downstairs.
	Halfway down, they ran into a new face; at least to Goliath. Elisa
recognized him from the other night, however.
	"Hi, Saburo! We were starting to wonder if you were going to show
up tonight!"
	"I had some business to check on, detective. I managed to get away 
from it long enough to come and fill you in on some of the details that I
uncovered today." Saburo said. He looked at Goliath. "Good evening, Goliath.
I trust you slept well?"
	"Yes, thank you. Do we need the rest of the clan for this meeting?" he
asked.
	"Not really. But if you want, we can round them up so they can hear 
this now and don't have to hear it second-hand." Saburo said. "I will meet
you below, in the war room. Good?"
	"Yes; I will get the others and meet you there." Goliath turned and
walked back up the stairs. A few minutes later, the rest of the clan was
seated in the 'War Room'; a room off to the side of the great hall that the
clan used back in the old days. A tv/vcr setup was evident against one wall,
with a table with a cutaway of a building on it. Five grotesque figures
were also on the tables. 
	As the gargoyles, Elisa, Owen and the Xanatos' sat down, Saburo 
glanced at Goliath. "Where are Bolt and Angela?"
	"Not in the castle; I will fill them in later, after I have a 'talk' 
with them."
	"Fine, then. Everyone comfortable?" He looked around at the nodding
clan. "Good. Then we'll begin."
	"Early in the sixth century, a small group of devil-worshipers managed
to succeed in what we had hoped was impossible: they managed to contact one
of the lower planes of existence, and struck a horrible deal with a creature
of immense power. It was this creature from what we got the figure of the
devil, Satan. Even it's name, Beelzebub, became a synonym for the Prince of
Darkness, which in fact it was." Saburo walked over to the tv/vcr and hit
'play'. A few images flickered on the screen, and he paused the image.
	He walked over to a nearby computer that was hooked up to the tv, and
pushed a few buttons. The image-enhancement program slowly focused and 
reconstructed a figure standing in shadows near a building. Saburo used a 
pointer to tap the screen. "While Beelzebub himself is unable to come onto
this plane, due to an ancient curse, he is allowed to send minions here
every six-hundred and fifty years to wreck havoc upon this world. This
creature, whom we learned at grievous cost, goes by the name of Desmodus.
He is one of 'Bub's most capable and trusted commanders; a full type-five
demon. I will fill you in on the demon types later."
	Next he shut off the tv and walked over to the small table and tapped
the building. "This is the main headquarters of Wetworks Laboratories. This
business specializes in cybernetics, bionics and gene technology."
	Xanatos perked up. "I know this company. It's been around a bit longer
than Xanatos Enterprises, but is actually smaller in size. While we branched
out in many directions, they stayed close to the fields Mr. Nishikawa had
reported. I have to say that at least half of the work in those fields is
based upon their research."
	Saburo nodded. "Quite correct. And they've recently delved into the 
field of advance weaponry, also. From what we heard, the new weapons that 
they are developing are much more powerful than Xanatos' particle beam
weapons."
	Brooklyn grimaced, then nudged Broadway. "Great, just what we need.
Weapons more powerful than those lasers Xanatos used against us!" he
muttered.
	"Ok, but what does this have to do with demons?" asked Lexington. He
and Velvet had predictably leaned forward at the mention of new technology.
	"If our sources are correct, then Wetworks Labs is owned and operated
lock, stock and barrel by these demons!"
	"What!?"
	"No way!"
	"C'mon!"
	Saburo raised his hands, and the room quieted down. "We have tried to 
get an operative inside the company ever since it was founded! Everytime we
think that we were successfull, the operative ended up deceased, shipped
back to us from all over the world, hacked to pieces and sent in small
crates!" Saburo clenched his fists at his side, not saying a word for a few
moments. Velvet and Renee, having the sharpest vision of the clan, caught
the sight of tears glimmering in his eyes. He slowly unclenched his fists,
then looked at the gargoyles and other humans. "A few years ago, my brother
came back in six different boxes; one for each limb, torso and head. The
expression on his face gave me nightmares for over two years."
	Goliath strode over to Saburo and placed a massive claw on his 
shoulder. "I, too, know the feeling of losing a sibling. You have our utmost
condolences, my friend."
	Saburo smiled and clapped a hand over Goliath's. "Thank you, all of
you." He walked back over to the middle of the table again, picking up the
figurines and handing them out to the group. He was about to explain what 
the figures were when two disheveled and beat-up figures staggered into the
room.
	Bolt and Angela were leaning up against one another, both obviously
supporting each other. Both looked like they had been in recent and heavy
combat. Claw marks covered the both of them, and Bolt had a chunk of his
left ear missing.
	The clan rushed up to them, asking what had happened, and fussing over
the two. They were led to the couch, and both sat down heavily. Bolt
momentarily fussed over Angela, then settled down.
	While the others fussed over the two, Hudson gave them a closer 
once-over. There was something about them that was tugging at his memory,
but he couldn't quite place his talon on it yet... After a few minutes, as
he heard them give a pretty vague excuse about what happened, something 
about being attacked by thugs with claws, he noticed what was puzzling him;
with all the small wounds, neither one's clothing was ripped up!
	Goliath wa also puzzling over their condition, although for a 
different reason. He didn't believe their excuse, but he didn't understand
why they would be lying to him. However, he didn't want to press the issue
with them in the condition they were in at the moment. He noticed Hudson
discreetly getting his attention, so he excused himself and he and Hudson
walked over to the side.
	"What is it, old friend?"
	"Goliath. Do ye notice anythin' different about th' two?"
	"Yes, but I can't quite place my talon on it. What do you know?"
	Hudson gestured discreetly at the two. "Their clothes, lad. With all
those wounds, ye would think that they would have a few cuts and tears in
th' clothing; but they're free of that!"
	Goliath studied them over carefully; Hudson was right. He examined
them more carefully, noticing little gestures that he missed before. He
turned to Hudson, "Do you think...?" he grumbled to the old warrior.
	Hudson scratched his beard in thought for a few seconds. "Possibly,
lad, possibly. But if they did mate, then their clothes would be shredded
with the amount of claw marks they sport!"
	Goliath sighed; It was time for 'the talk' that every warrior had at
their age. He had hoped to put it off for a while longer, but he decided
that he would talk with her tomorrow night, then the others, considering how
close in age they were.
	Hudson read Goliath's mind; he remembered having to give Goliath 'the
talk' even earlier in his life than the rest. Both he and Demona were
constantly running off together after patrol, and it was all he could do to
curb their hormones. Hudson didn't envy Goliath in the least.
	After a few more minutes, everyone got settled down, and the session
continued. They picked up the small figurines and examined them closely
this time.
	Saburo pointed to the one that Elisa was holding. "This one is a 
type-one demon. Not very smart, but a bit more powerful than an average 
human. Their strength is 3X that of a human. These are the demon's shock
troops, the kind that you would mostly fight." He showed them all the tiny
figure; about 5'6", lank, with a dog's head and clawed hands and feet.
	Saburo went down the line with the rest; type-two, 6' or so, more
muscular, strength about 5X that of a normal human, and black fur covering 
it's body. 
	The type-three were bigger, standing about nine feet tall, dark-green
skin, and massive seven-fingered claws, the middle claw extending about
three feet. They were the lieutenants of the demon army, and their strength
was 10X that of an average human. They also had the annoying ability of
regenerating wounds almost instantly; you had to rip off it's head to kill 
it. When Saburo lifted up the figurine, the clan was startled to hear two
loud growls coming from the couch; it was Bolt and Angela.
	Bolt pointed at the figure; "That's the bastard I tangled with before.
I wouldn't mind having another crack at him!"
	Saburo looked into Bolt's eyes. "You may get your chance, my friend.
For if my information is correct, they will attempt an uprising very soon!"
Bolt met his gaze with his own, and the two warriors nodded their agreement.
	Saburo went on to describe the last two: type-fours, massive giants
that stood about fifteen feet tall, had midnight-black scales that covered
their bodies with natural armor plating; their weapons were four-foot-long
blades at the end of their arms, with no hands. They had wings and could
also fly at attackers in the air. Be best estimates, they had strength 
equivalent to 14X that of a human, and used it accordingly to pierce their
enemies with ease. The only good thing was that they were extremely slow and
dull-witted; it was their size that kept the lesser demons at bay.
	Saburo gripped the last one tightly in his hands. "The last kind, the
type-five, has only been captured on film once in all the years we've been
fighting them." He turned on and motioned to the image on the tv screen,
which had finally stopped enhancing and left them with a clear picture. It
showed a human male, about thirty-five, wearing a business coat and holding
a briefcase in one hand. He looked like an average businessman on his way
to an important meeting. Saburo tapped the screen with his pointer again.
"This is Desmodus, the commander of Beelzebub's forces here on this plane.
This is his human form, while this," as he unrolled what looked like a 
poster, "is his demon form!"
	The silence in the room was overbearing. They all stared at the 
grotesque image on the poster. It held a human in one scaly hand.
	"Is that...thing...to scale?" asked Tiffany hesitantly.
	Saburo nodded. The picture showed a monstrous entity, approximately
thirty-five feet tall, holding a human in one clawed arm, of which it had
four. The head was smaller than the overall body, presenting a difficult
target. It had six eyes, two large ones in front and two on each side of the
head. The mouth had huge, serrated mandibles protruding out, capable of 
slicing a gargoyle in half with one bite! It basically looked like someone
crossed a spider, ant and a human together and then threw the entire mess
into a blender.
	"How can we defeat this...demon?" Goliath asked. He had almost become
unnerved at the disgusting monster himself, but he would not show it!
	Saburo glanced around at the gathered group before him. His shoulders
drooped as he hung his head slightly. "In all of our years of fighting, we
have never been able to successfully defeat a type-five demon. We do not 
know how, nor do we know anybody who does... Quite simply, we believe that
the only reason they leave this plane is that the one-hundred year time 
limit runs out on them." 
	"I know another way. Two, in fact."
	Everyone turned to face Bolt. The polymorphed dragon moved slightly,
wincing at the pain. "In the Book of Johan, two ways to force a type-five
demon back to the plane it came from are listed in it's pages. The first
is by force; a five needs to keep a portal nearby, for that's where it gets
it's power from: the lower plane. So, you find the portal, and push it back
through! That's the hard way..."
	He shifted again; the wounds he was covered in, although not deep at 
all, were many and tired him quickly. "The second way is something we 
probably won't be able to use. Many centuries ago, the human smiths and
sorcerers feared gargoyles, dragons and Children of Oberon so much that they
created the 'hunters', and created powerful weapons of magic and iron to
defeat our kind. These weapons are also capable of defeating *all* demons,
including Beelzebub himself."
	Saburo gaped at him, his normal resolve falling. "How.. how did you
come by this book? It's strange that we have never heard of it."
	Bolt grinned; "Because the author died in the process of creating it!
He stumbled into Castle Wyvern one night, almost dead. He had been attacked
by a band of Englishmen, and one of them had run a dagger thru his gullet
before he was able to escape. I killed the humans responsible when they 
came to finish the job. Because of the intense pain, Johan asked me to put
him out of his misery. In return, he gave me the Book of Johan, a tome that
focused primarily on demons and their supernatural powers. This tome is
located at my home in the old rookery of Castle Wyvern; I had plenty of time
over the centuries to study it. That's how I knew how to defeat that demon
at the park."
	"I have a question for you, Saburo. How do you alter forms? Is it some
sort of magic, or is it highly advanced power armor? Is there a way that I 
could possibly purchase a suit for myself?" Xanatos asked. He had watched 
Saburo arrive in the form of the Guyver and wanted a suit for himself.
	Saburo gave him a thin smile. "Impossible. I, nor my associates, would
or could sell you one of the guyver units."
	"And why not?"
	"Because it is THEY that choose their host, not us." Saburo said. 
	"WHAT? Are you saying they're intelligent?" Bolt asked, startled.
	"Yes. Soon after we learned of the demons coming to this plane, the
mightiest of my family contacted the plane directly in conflict with the
plane of Beelzebub's; that of Gabriel, the archangel. He agreed to help us
in our time of need. He gave us the guyver units, which were the spirits of
the most pure of the angels. They attached with the humans, as symbiotes.
This gave the humans supernatural powers, with which to fight with. He gave
us one condition, however; once the demons were destroyed or banished, so 
were the guyver units. The humans that were attached either went with... or
died as the guyvers were removed from the very cells they had merged with."
	"My god! Isn't that a death sentence in either case? And why did ye
submit yerself to it, lad?" Hudson asked. He couldn't believe anyone would
voluntarily sentence themselves to death.
	Saburo smiled. "Yes it is. But I had my reasons; my closest family
was killed by them, and I wanted revenge for his death! That, and only one
guyver unit was given us this time. I was the only one it responded to, so
I merged with it, and became the Guyver."
	Goliath looked over the proud young japanese man standing before them.
He reminded him of another who had forsaken everything she held to get her 
revenge; and look where it got Demona. He spoke up. "If that is your fate,
then there is nothing that we can do for you, and for that I am sorry. But
right now, we must concentrate on the problems at hand."
	"Right! Is there anything else anybody can add?" Xanatos asked. "If
not, I have some defense upgrades to get developed."
	Elisa spoke up. "I have a couple; First, the man, Bane, is working on
the gargoyle task force with us; Matt says he's actually an o.k. guy, just
a bit misguided. However, this Castaway guy that 'claims' to be a 
professional gargoyle hunter, is either a certified genius, or a certified
wacko! All he did was try to convert the cops he was working with into 
gargoyle haters. We let him go later on, and we haven't seen him since, 
thank god. Matt says that Castaway gave him the creeps!"
	"Great," Bolt mumbled. He knew that Bane was after him, specifically.
Why couldn't these hunters leave him and his alone? "Any other good news?"
Nobody spoke up at all.
	"Tomorrow night, we resume patrol of the city. However, first I need 
to have a talk with the clan, save Hudson and Elisa." Goliath said. He
gestured toward the nearby window. Dawn was fast approaching, and they
needed to return to their posts. The gargoyles headed up top to take their
places for the day, while the humans went to Xanatos' office to find out
more about them.
	
	Bolt and Angela were deep in conversation when Goliath and Elisa
stopped them. Angela and Elisa walked off one way, while Goliath and Bolt
headed another.
	"Elisa, can I ask you a question?" Angela started.
	"Sure, go ahead."
	"You're in love with Father, aren't you?"
	"Uh, yeh, I guess so. Why?" Elisa asked. She wondered where this
conversation was headed.
	"Have you two... had sex yet?"
	Wha..? Well, um, you see..." Elisa stammered, blushing fiercely. Why
did Angela have to ask her these questions about her and Goliath's personal
life?
	"In otherwords, no. Why not?" Angela looked at Elisa. She had always 
thought of Elisa as close as one of her own rookery sisters; even a 
surrogate mother, since she had started dating her father. That's why she
went to her. 
	"We decided that it wouldn't work between the two of us, Angela. We
are too different physically for that level of... intimacy." Elisa thought
she might pop a blood vessel, as hard as she was blushing.
	Angela put a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her closer. She 
whispered in Elisa's ear for a few minutes; when Elisa nodded, the two
walked up to the tower.
	Bolt and Goliath had gotten in an argument over what had happened that
night. Goliath knew what happened now, and he was extremely upset with Bolt
for what went on.
	"I already told you, Goliath! I didn't mean for it to go that far!"
	"Whether or not is now not the issue, my brother. As I am clan leader,
and you being part of the clan, you have to listen to me, for the better of
the clan!" Goliath roared. Bolt always did this to him, even before Goliath
became clan leader. Just because he was born a few seconds before Goliath,
he had taken over the role of big brother and always thought he knew more
than him!
	Bolt poked his finger in Goliath's chest angrily. "Don't give me that
'I am clan leader, hear me roar!' crap again, Goliath! I am so sick of ye
pulling that over me head again and again! Yer just pissed off 'cause
I'm dating yer daughter! That, and ye won't, or canna, do anything wit' yer
own love! Well, I'm tellin' ye, butt out! This be mine an' Angela's life
yer involvin' yerself into!" Bolt's scottish brouge came thru his normal
speech when he was extremely upset, like right now.
	"HOW DARE YOU!!!" Goliath roared. His eyes flared white as he prepared
to spring at his rookery brother. Bolt's combat instincts took over, and he
readied himself. Goliath jumped at Bolt, and the blue gargoyle spun around
and threw Goliath in a shoulder toss.
	Goliath flipped around and landed on his feet, then sprang at Bolt
again. Bolt, already injured from his 'encounter' tonight, wasn't prepared
quite in time to defend himself, and Goliath bowled him into a wall. The
two gargoyles traded blows for a few seconds, with Goliath gaining the upper
hand quickly. 
	The other gargoyles were circling the tower, preparing for the coming
dawn. They were chatting with each other when, with a shattering of stone,
Bolt flew through the floor and landed heavily on the ground. He stood up,
shakily, and stumbled away from the whole as Goliath leaped through. The
big lavender gargoyle slugged Bolt, and the blue flew through the air, 
impacting on the wall.
	The others watched the spectacle in amazement for a few seconds. 
Brooklyn, able to think quickly on his feet, yelled, "Goliath's berserking!
Stop him!" and leapt at him. The others quickly piled on their big leader.
	With a growl, Goliath flexed, and shook off the rest. He grabbed Renee
and threw her into Broadway, both of whole fell to the ground. He advanced
on Bolt again.
	Bolt gasped as he shifted positions. His shoulder was dislocated, and
he could feel alot of his claw marks re-open. He wanted to shift back to
his dragon form, but he couldn't focus enough...
	Goliath's rage had overcome him. He had been warned earlier in life
that one day, he might completely lose his temper and berserk. And if that
happened, only someone special to him would be able to pull him out of it
It was like an out-of-body experience; he could see what was going on, but
couldn't do anything about it. If he hurt anymore of his clan, he wouldn't 
be able to live with himself.
	Abruptly, his daughter was in front of him, protecting her beloved,
who had finally passed out from the pain. He growled, and moved closer to
them. He raised his claw back and was getting ready to push Angela off Bolt
when a voice caused him to pause...
	"Goliath."
	The big gargoyle turned to the familiar voice. His vision blurred on
Elisa's form.
	"Goliath. C'mon, big guy, come back to us... to me." She reached out
and placed a claw on his arm.
	A claw? His vision cleared; he saw Elisa standing in front of him, but
it wasn't; Elisa had somehow managed to become a gargoyle again! His vision
wavered, then focused sharply again. She was holding out her hand to him.
With a cry, he grabbed it and pulled her into his arms, wrapping his wings
around the two of them.
	"What... what happened to me?" he stammered. He looked around, and saw
his rookery brother slumped against the wall. "Bolt!" He rushed over, only
to be blocked by Angela as the others tended the blue gargoyle's wounds.
	Angela glared up at Goliath; "Haven't you done enough, Father?!" She
turned around and knelt next to Bolt's unconscious form. Hudson had managed
to pop his shoulder back into joint, and had it bandaged up. They manhandled
his inert form over to a nearby perch and propped him against it.
	Goliath looked around at the gathered clan. He never felt so low in 
his entire life. He mumbled "I'm sorry," and walked up the stairs to his 
perch, Elisa following him up. 
	As they assumed their positions for the day, every gargoyle in the 
clan wondered what tomorrow would bring.

To be continued...
***************************************************************************
Part two is finished! Next up, part three, maybe the finale. Now we know
who all the players are, and what their purpose is. Now, it's time for fun!
Be sure to stay tuned for the next installment of The DevilSpawn Series!
All comments are to be sent directly to me (myrlynn@execpc.com)! Later!

Mer
"Remember, no matter where you go, there you are!"

				We Are Defenders Of The Night!
				    We Are Gargoyles Fans!
	
*-Enter Sandman; Metallica; self-titled album