First Saga: Memory Lane

by Nabiki GMYW

Puck knows something's wrong with 'today', and the arrival of three beings aren't making things any better.

A trip down Memory Lane

By: Nabiki GMYW

Brief summary: Puck knows something's wrong with 'today', and the arrival of three beings aren't making things any better.

Disclaimer: What can I say? Gargoyles belong to Disney. Comments? Criticism? Hate mail? E-mail me at paganj@caribe.net

Here for your viewing pleasure I present the fics of what I've come to call 'First Saga'. These fics occur before 'Faerie Tale ROMANSU', 'With this Ring…' and 'Go!', which I'll refer to as 'Second Saga' from now on. Why did I post Second Saga first? Because I was lazy. These three required some heavy grammar checks and some asphalt over the plot holes and I was too damn lazy to do it. But now that I did it, here we go. Of course, for me, 'revising' means 'reinventing', so all of you who read the originals can expect some new, shiny details. For the sake of continuity, here's the correct order of fics:

First Saga — Memory Lane, Cataclysm in Repose, Interlude/The Sky is Falling

Second Saga — Faerie Tale ROMANSU, With this Ring, Go!

First Saga demands to be read in order, else you won't understand it by the time you get to Interlude. Prepare for a thrill ride. Remember that I was young and foolish. Please don't hate me.

CHAPTER ONE
~ Uninvited ~

Owen got up from bed exhausted, wondering what he had done last night. The whole room wobbled as if he had too much whiskey and he felt lightheaded and dizzy, which was damn weird, because he never felt lightheaded and dizzy. He felt like he had been hit by a truck or strapped into an insane roller coaster with no breaks. Everything hurt.

The dizziness seemed to get worse when he tried to remember what he had done last night. What he remembered was only images superimposed over each other. One about a typical day, another about…something else.

A dream.

Mostly about three strange people, among other things, but he couldn't remember the other things. The joined forces of a vertigo and a headache stopped his thoughts and he suddenly felt more tired than usual. He was curious about the dream, but he felt to damn tired to think.

Headache, headache, headache… He collapsed on the bed and gazed at the clock. 4:33 October-something.

"October…?" He mumbled, "I could've sworn it was November…"

He was about to doze off again when some loud footsteps and some even louder yelling woke him up. Outside, the gargoyle known as Brooklyn ran down the hall and stopped in front of the bewildered Owen. "What happened?" the blond asked.

"Demona just hit the museum! Finally, some action!" Brooklyn retorted, almost gleefully.

The gargoyle had begun to run away when Owen stopped him with a high-pinched "Wait…!"

"Uh…what?" Brooklyn asked, surprised.

"…Are we on November?" He had just gotten an incredible impulse to ask him so.

The gargoyle looked at him amused. "We…are on October…you feeling ok? Hey!" He pointed at Owen's left hand and muttered surprised, "Your stone fist is gone…!"

Owen looked at both his flesh hands. It was normal. He flexed his fingers just so, because he could hardly believe his eyes. But it seemed to be right. The stone fist was…gone. He had been set free of the spell. The old weight was gone, his hand was wonderfully flesh and real. He didn't know wherever to cry or giggle.

But another thought occurred to him as memories started to parade like a circus and disappear like fog: "No. It wasn't a dream…"

* * *

He walked around Wyvern Castle as if he was in another dimension. A dimension where everything was so normal, it was terrifying. He watched from a corner how all the gargoyles were standing around in the balcony, waiting for the sun to rise, so that they could turn to stone. They were all laughing and smiling, like some sort of mutated version of the Brady Bunch.

Amazing how the gargoyles had gotten used to Xanatos so quickly in over three years, especially since he had caused them so much harm. Everyone knew that Xanatos sudden change of heart was because of Alex's birth. But he hadn't stopped being the trickster. Now he used his talent for gargoyles' benefit.

One example was when the last Castaway was hot on the gargoyles' trail. Since Castaway was already on the wanted list for numerous terrorist bombings against Xanatos Enterprises, Xanatos simply hired a couple of mercenaries to track him down, and gave the location to the police. Quite expensive. Incredible how hired mercenary's rates have increased.

As for the clan, Angela was currently dating Broadway, Lexington had a love affair with the Internet, and Brooklyn watched them both with jealous eyes. Broadway, because he had the only available female. Lexington, because though he was still single, had plenty of friends in the Internet and hadn't taught him how to work those damn chat rooms.

There was also Goliath and Elisa. Not much had changed. They were still a semi-couple, and Elisa was practically Angela's mother already, but Demona wasn't forgotten. She still looked after Angela and talked to her every chance she had, but only when Goliath wasn't around nor aware of it.

All of this and more passed through Owen's mind, and he was about to quietly slip back inside, tired of hearing the gargoyles' chatter. For all they knew, this was a typical day. Not one of them felt there was something wrong with today. Hence they wouldn't be of much help…

"Feeling better?" Brooklyn called out, while the other gargoyles didn't pay notice.

"Why do you ask?" Owen replied, as he almost jumped in the startle Brooklyn gave him. Does he know…?

"You looked dizzy earlier." Brooklyn replied, "Maybe because you got rid of the fist…"

Owen unconsciously stuffed both his hands in his pockets. "I'm perfectly fine," he replied, perfectly convincing, but secretly disappointed that was all Brooklyn asked about. "But thanks for your consideration."

Brooklyn bought that and joined the others. The clan's chitchat ceded when the sun rose. And it was such a lovely sunrise. Too lovely. Owen felt as if the sun had no right to shine. Like the worst thing that could've happened actually did happen and no one noticed.

Maybe it was just him. Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Then what about the hand? he wondered.

He flexed his hand once more, somewhat enjoying the sensation. It didn't cure itself. And he was absolutely sure he hadn't done anything last night. Nothing. The memories were back, they were there. He had spent all day doing paperwork. He was going to teach Alex some magic, but he came back too late and the boy was already asleep. And then he went to bed. And then he woke up, free of the stone hand, as if he had just spent half a life between last night and this morning.

Something wrong was going on, that was the conclusion, and he started to think logically. Some kind of spell had been used on him last night; this wasn't just a mood swing. Could Alex somehow be involved? Maybe Titania or Oberon? Demona? Who ever it was, he was going to pay dearly. Nobody pushed around the Puck around and got away with it.

* * *

Oh, beautiful morning. David Xanatos jumped from bed and said to his lovely wife, "Good morning, dear. Rise and shine."

Oh, damn morning. Fox Xanatos pulled her head up lazily and mumbled to her hyperactive husband. "What time is it?"

"Around 7 am. Time to get up."

"7 am. Do you know what I did last night?" she said, still half-asleep.

"Not really." replied David, matter-of-factly.

"Me neither. But it must have been something big, because I'm exhausted. I'd appreciate it if you woke up quietly." Fox said with a yawn, "Wake me up before 8 or when the world comes to an end." Then her head landed in a thud on the pillow, leaving her asleep as before.

"Well, that was quick." He mumbled as he snapped her fingers near Fox's ear to check if she was still awake, but to no avail. He finished dressing up his trademarked black suit and went to meet Owen in his office.

As he walked down his corridor's he couldn't help but gaze out the windowed wall. What a nice day, he thought. So peaceful. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so… fine. There was always something to worry about. John Castaway, Oberon, Titania, the IRS… But today was different. Today was…

Fine.

He walked down the dark castle's hallways, twiddling him fingers and humming a song he heard on the radio. His assistant soon joined the millionaire, and while humming, the latter asked, "How's the Siebe merger going?" as they both made their way to Xanatos' office.

"The project is doing quite well," Owen impassively informed, "though their lawyers are apparently asking for more benefits and more control over their stock."

"Again? Is 'gimme-gimme' all they can say?" he commented. "Just because they have a couple of measly contracts all around the world doesn't give them the right to call themselves kings of the universe. How about the new weapon contract with the military, then?"

"It's still in its initial phase. There are legal issues to be cleared out before we can actually negotiate."

"Bureaucrats. All right, what do I have in agenda?"

"It seems you have a busy day. There's a meeting with the board directors, a visit with one of you CyberBiotics' laboratory, a conference for the new SoHo project and…" Owen continued to name all the day's activities when Xanatos interrupted him.

"It's gone…" he said, gazing at both of Owen's good hands. He noticed Owen tried to erase the surprised look from his eyes and it would've worked, if Xanatos hadn't known him so well.

"I know, sir." Owen finally replied.

Xanatos eyed him interested but he decided to drop the subject. Who was he to question Owen's motivations, anyway? At least, not yet. "Well, good for you. Let's go over today's business, shall we?" Xanatos continued as he sat down in his big, black desk and randomly picked up folders while Owen finished going through the afternoon activities.

"…And I believe that is all."

"No, you forgot this one…" said Xanatos suddenly looking up, with folder that just seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"What is it?" Owen asked, truly curious.

"A meeting with three scientists… Quinn, Quill and Queen…" Xanatos said as he did a quick look-see through the pages. Owen's mind seemed somewhere else. "What is it?"

Owen blinked several times as he returned to the matter at hand. "Nothing, I just don't understand how I could've missed that one…" He replied quickly, but Xanatos was somewhat unsure that was it.

"Well, I guess it happens…" He said, thinking about Owen's response, but continuing to talk. "I'll have to cancel it, it conflicts with the CyberBiotics meeting…" Xanatos added indifferently.

"I'll go." The blond blurted out.

Xanatos looked up again, taken by surprise. "Well, you don't have to. I'm sure we can reschedule."

"But I can go now." Owen replied. "And I can be back in time for the CyberBiotics meeting."

"Oh…" Xanatos limited himself to say. "All right. Do so. We'll meet again at CyberBiotics."

Owen nodded and quickly left. Xanatos got the feeling he was hiding something, but he knew better than to question him. Everybody needed to keep a few things secret. If it was something important, he was sure Owen would tell him. That was the way things worked between them. Who knew? Maybe those three persons could be useful…

* * *

The moment Xanatos mentioned those names, all the alarms went off in Owen's head. Images coming to and fro invaded him, but they vanished as quickly as they came. They were it. Those scientists. Somehow, he knew he had to meet them…

Owen walked out of Xanatos' office, but soon wished he hadn't offered himself so fast when he read the address. If omens existed, these would surely be one of them.

2525 Memory Lane. There wasn't a Memory Lane in Manhattan.

Quinn, Queen, Quill. Their names sounded familiar but he just couldn't place those names anywhere. But Memory Lane? How was he ever going to find that?

He would try. He had to try. Those names; they felt so familiar. "They are involved somehow. I'm almost sure." Owen muttered to himself as he called for a cab, but it wasn't a comfortable thought. Hopefully, this would be some kind of hoax or misunderstanding. Hopefully. Well, if such street existed, a NY cabbie would surely find it…

* * *

The taxi driver saw how Owen Burnett entered the cab and smiled. It was him. The eyes, those eerie unmistakable eyes… After so much searching, he had come to the right place.

"Where to, my boy?" asked the driver.

"To a street called Memory Lane. Do you know of it?"

"Yes," said the driver, bitterly. "Do I ever."

The taxi driver shook his head. Owen looked at him, but didn't gave sign of recognition. Puck, Puck, Puck… you probably don't even remember me, the taxi driver thought to himself. Those Three bastards made sure of that. Incredible what can happen in one night.

"Tell me," asked Owen. "How long has this street been around? I'm… not quite sure I've heard of it before."

"Oh, all my life." replied the taxi driver. "We all have to pass through it at some point of our lives, just by pure chance. I guess chance has decided that's your turn to cross it…"

Owen scoffed softly. "I'm not sure I want to cross it. I woke up today with a deja-vú feeling that doesn't leave me."

"Oh, now. You're a clever boy. If you get yourself out of this jam, I assure you, you'll get a prize."

Owen looked at him with disconcert and the driver couldn't help but smile. He had no idea of what he was talking about. Too bad he couldn't reveal to him the truth about last night. The Puck had to figure that one by himself. Though he couldn't reveal what was going on, because he knew Those Three would do something nasty to him, the driver trusted that the boy would figure it all out.

"Oh, here we are!" said the driver as he pulled next to an old building. "That'll be $20."

Owen handed him a 20 and quickly left in the typical NY I-don't-give-a-damn-about-the-other-guy. But that was okay. He would meet him again later. He took the 20 bill and placed it right between a photo of his wife and son.

They would meet again. Oh, yes. No doubt about that.

* * *

Next thing Owen knew, he was there, at the building. The street looked like any other street in NY. The building wasn't that small, but it wasn't that big neither. Just your typical NY building.

He felt a horrible shudder from head to toe. Magic was here. Not human, not fey. Something absolutely different but strangely normal. But if everything was so normal, why did he feel like he was standing in the gateway to hell?

Nevertheless, there wasn't anything unusual inside. There was the front desk, with a guard and a secretary, and he told them he was in for David Xanatos. The girl, a pretty nobody whose name escaped him, showed him to the conference room. She told him that "They were going to be with him in a moment." Then she closed the door quickly.

He couldn't complain, because then he heard the bolts of the door closing shut. Owen was about to cry out when he noticed he wasn't alone after all.

"So good to see you again, Puck." said a woman, sitting in the far end of the conference table. To her right and left, two men. They were all wearing business clothes, almost the same type, except hers had a skirt. The two men looked like average Joes. The kind of people you easily mistake for another, the kind of face that you quickly forget. Forgotten yet somehow familiar. The woman, however, was something different. She was very attractive. No super model, but…attractive. The moment he laid eyes on them, he knew those people weren't quite human.

"Who are you?" Owen asked them in cold alarm, jumping all pleasantries to resolve this. But 'What are you?' would've been more fitting, though.

"And hello to you too, Puck." said the First Man.

"Where are your manners?" said the Second Man, then he cleared his throat as if he was about to start a speech. "Might as well do our formal introductions." He ceremoniously stoop up and said, "You have been given an honor like no other, fey. You have been given the pleasure of meeting the Protectors of the Universe, the Almighty Ones, the Benevolent Masters. Few beings are worthy enough to even look at our faces. We are the pinnacle of evolution. We…" he paused to add dramatic momentum. The other man and woman beamed proudly. "…are The Great Three."

The man waited for an awed reaction, but Owen sat there with his gimme-a-break attitude. " 'Great Three'?" he asked, somewhat smugly. Memories suddenly appeared and disappeared. "That sounds familiar…" he mumbled, but skeptically.

"Yes…" replied the Woman. "You do know us, you just don't remember. You probably woke up this morning horribly tired, knowing that you forgot something very important."

"We are that something."

"We are what you've forgotten."

Owen looked back at them annoyed, angry, but mainly confused. "I don't know what you're talking about…"

"We've already met." said the Woman.

"The hand, Puck." said the First Man. "We've fixed it."

"Let's cut to the chase." said the Second Man. "We're you cousins."

If Owen hadn't been surprised yet, that one really hit the spot. "My what?" he cried out, for a moment forgetting his Owen coolness. "What'd you mean my cousins? The Children of Oberon have no family out of Avalon…but are you the ones responsible for this? Why did I feel like I'm missing a night on my life?"

"Because you are missing a night of your life," The First Man dryly replied. "That's only a little demonstration of our powers."

"We have the powers that your kind only dream of having, boy." The Woman sneered, "But like a wise man once said, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' So, being the Enlightened Gods that we are, took upon ourselves the task of protecting dumb little Children like you feys from hurting themselves." She gave Owen a contemptuous look and said, "And We don't sink as low as to pretend to be mortals unlike someone I'm looking at right now…"

Owen grunted and gave Them a look. It was time for Puck to make his appearance. He let his mortal guise melt away and it was the trickster who spoke next: "Gee, it certainly begs the question as to why I've never heard of you before…" Puck grunted, as he fixed his clothes just so.

"You don't believe us?" The Woman asked insulted, "He doesn't believe us!"

"And why should I?" Puck inquired, "You appear out of nowhere and tell me you guys are —what again?"

"The Great Three." The First Man chimed in.

"The Great Three, the Jackson Five… Why shouldn't I just walk right out of here and set the building on fire while I'm at it?"

The Second Man leaned dangerously close to him. "Wouldn't you rather hear what we have to say first? Hmm? I mean, its not everyday you get to talk to such enlightened beings as ourselves…"

"Enlightened beings, my ass!" Puck snapped sarcastically, "Puh-leeze…!" He pulled up a chair and sat to face Them, and with a wry grin added, "If you are as powerful as you say you are, then you wouldn't mind giving me some proof that you really are, quote, 'Enlightened Beings'… riiiiight?"

"Proof?" the First Man asked, "Alright. Proof it is." He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. "I've got it! If We tell you three things about you that no one knows, will that be enough?"

"Sure." Puck scoffed, leaning back on his chair, "Better make them good."

The three supposed gods smiled to each other. The First Man stood up. "Number one: though you flatter yourself with women, the truth is that one of your great lovers was a boy named Calé and you still fantasize about him when you're with girls."

Puck jumped out of his seat to yell, "That's a lie! That's a lie!!"

The Second Man stood up. "Number two: You get something in your eye watching 'Titanic'."

"What the hell is wrong with that!?"

Then the Woman stood up. "Number three: You enjoy comparing sizes in restrooms and adjust your Captain Winky accordingly."

"Stop it! I believe you, I believe you!"

The First Man smirked, "Then believe this too." He leaned closer to the Puck and smiled. "We are what we are. So damn. That's the only answer you'll ever get. Believe me when we tell you we know everything. David Xanatos' account number. The color of Lady Titania's panties. That ugly scar on your back that you can never get rid of. The same way you are you, We are We and will forever be."

Giving Them an icy look, Puck muttered, "I've heard stories of beings made of Air and Fire…old wives' tales to make bad fey boys behave. Spirits like the Old Queen Mab…Think it has anything to do with you guys?"

The Second Man shrugged. "All this are true —in a way."

"If you're nice, maybe We'll tell you our story." The Woman added.

"Why not tell me now?" Puck snapped acidly.

The Three looked at each other and smiled. "He is not ready." the Woman said, "Let's just give him an overview only, all right?"

"Tell me." Puck spat back, "Who the hell are you people supposed to be!? Ah, this is bullshit! I don't have to take this anymore, I'm outta here!" He made a break for the door. But.

He hadn't even blinked when he found himself facing those Three again…only this time he was bound to a chair, with iron chairs, unable to break away. It was the Demona fiasco all over again. "What is this!?"

"My, my, my, isn't he a tough little thing?" The Second smirked, "Aren't you a little curious as to why you are here, Mr. Puck?"

"Can't be good." Puck said dryly, "Considering that I'm chained to a chair in a building on an unreal street. And that you claim that we've met, yet I don't remember ever seeing you people in my life?"

"Oh, what is forgotten is best forgotten…" The First shrugged.

"Yeah, well, it matters to me." Puck snapped, "Why don't you speak about our supposed first meeting? You erased my memory, right? Why, then? If you mean no harm, why don't you let me remember?"

The Three exchanged looks and frowned. "If you behave yourself, maybe we'll tell you. But I think you got bigger things to worry about… Tell me…" The Woman began, "What is the one thing most precious to you?"

"Look, I don't know what sort of mind games you people are playing, but you better let me go and get to your point before I really get pissed!" Puck snapped, struggling against the chains. The Three were unmoved; they stood still as statues and stared at with crossed arms. Puck watched how the Woman strutted around the conference room, letting her hand caress the leather chairs. She sat in a chair directly facing him.

"How do you feel today, Puck?" The First Man asked, "Oh, you think the hand is the only change…? In the next few days, you'll also feel more powerful, better…" he said, sounding very pleasant, "Don't you want that?"

"Look yourself in the mirror the next few days…you'll find yourself interesting…" The Second Man smirked acidly. "Better yet, look yourself in the mirror now…"

A wardrobe mirror, similar to Titania's, popped out of nowhere in a bluish burst of light, right in front Puck. He saw his bound reflection and grunted enraged. Boy, it really pissed him off to look so helpless, so pathetic, so…

Puck blinked several times. There was something wrong in the mirror. There was something wrong with his image, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Just look at yourself." The Second casually said, "I think gray hair suits you."

Puck stared at them confused, then at the mirror. He found that his hair was gray. It had changed from snow white to a rather dark shade of gray. He looked darker somehow. Even his clothes had changed. His red shirt now looked wine, even his purple tights looked almost black. It was… disturbing. Something was wrong with him. He looked so… dark…so different…

"Bet you didn't look like that yesterday…" the Woman smirked.

Though he was still chained to the chair, he went hysterical. "What is this!? What the hell is going on, what have you done to me!? What's wrong with me!?" He looked at them and their expressions were grim. Puck moaned. "What…what are you people?!"

"What we are is irrelevant. I think you have bigger things to worry about." The Woman replied, "But just for that little hissy fit, we won't tell you yet. But we will tell you this…" She stooped down next to his chair and seductively whispered to his ear, "Three days, my beautiful child. In three days you'll be more powerful than Oberon himself…" Then hurried to kiss him in the forehead.

Three bursts of light blinded him for a moment.

When he opened his eyes again, a very confused Mr. Burnett was still chained to the chair. He would return to the castle a few hours later, angry and annoyed, having missed the CyberBiotics meeting after all.

* * *

Hours later, siting alone in the tall, dark, ghastly Wyvern Library, Owen quietly eyed Mr. Xanatos' books on magical beings. He would try anything and look up anything that told him who were those horrible creatures he had just encountered. He had to admit he had some idea about Trio's true nature.

When he told those three Avalon's kin had no other family; he wasn't completely truthful. The New Olympians that Goliath met on his travels were family. Long lost descendants, but still family.

"Perhaps those three are descendants too…or do we descend from them? After all, I know very little about Avalon's history…" He knew of lots of beings that didn't fit the fey description, like ghosts or those things mortals called angels.

Angels? Mortals have stories about beings made from Air or Fire that are halfway between angels and demons…the ifret… the jinn… I've never seen those…they are like the stories of Mab, the old queen of Avalon. So long gone nobody is sure if she truly existed. Could they be related? "Who are you, people?" he whispered softly, "What are you planning to do with me?"

He would never know for sure.

The search was futile. Theirs wasn't human nor fey magic. This was something he had never seen. And those creatures were changing him. From the corner of the eye, he saw himself reflected in the windowed wall. His blond hair changed into a more brown colored one. Not good. At least only the hair had changed. He found some cold comfort in that.

He put the books away and stared at himself in the mirror for a long time. There he was, little Puck, suddenly being harassed by three nameless bogeymen. God, why did he always end up in these messes? Would've killed him to just be a good little fey? Why didn't the pick someone else…?

Then it hit him. "I don't know what to do…" he muttered to himself. Go along with the Three? Try to fight them? Then what if what they told him was true?

More powerful than Oberon in three days?

"What were they talking about? They must be lying," Owen mumbled as he stared into his brown-head image in the mirror, "They must be!"

Whatever it was, they took to great lengths to hide it. He didn't remember what happened that night. They were definitely hiding something, and it wasn't good. These beings were not to be trusted.

The next step would be if he told Lord Oberon what happened. Just how well would he take the news of the arrival of three all-powerful beings that messed around with one of his children, was anyone's guess. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered what made him consider Oberon to begin with. It would be the equivalent to suicide. He'd skin him apart just because.

Then last, but not least, Xanatos and co. He toyed with the possibility, but no, it's best not. They would never understand, and if so, there wasn't much they could do anyway. And Xanatos, well, he could be a bother every once in a while. Having him ask constantly for a meeting with the Three was an ugly thought. Besides, their lives were complicated enough right now.

He would deal with the problem by himself.

He didn't need anyone right now.

Perhaps if he ignored it, it would go away. Yeah. That's it. Pretend everything was ok.

First order of business: the hair. He stood in front of the mirror and passed his fingers through his hair. Light brown. Again. Lighter brown. Again and again and again. Blond. A few more times. Blond but not as bright as before.

He sighed, frustrated. It was never going to be as bright as before. Nothing was going to be the same as before. Great. Now everyone will think he ran out of hair-dye. A knock at the door startled him, and it took great mental effort to not yell 'Go away, dammit!'

"Can I come in?" said the very familiar voice of Xanatos.

"Just a second, sir." replied Owen, as he changed his hair to a brighter tone, then opened the door.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm just here to ask you about the meeting today with those three scientists."

"Yes, the Trio…" Owen just occurred to him that they didn't told him what they were supposed to be for humans. "Let's just say they are… amazingly rude people."

"Oh, that's all right…" replied Xanatos, then suddenly popped with, "Did you change your hair?"

"What?"

"Your hair…"

Owen looked at the mirror and found out to his surprise and disgust it had changed to the brownish blond he hated so much. "Yes, sir, I guess I did. I'm not too fond of it, though." he replied, and suddenly felt very, very tired.

"Nonsense. It looks good."

"It does?" he asked like an astonished little boy.

"Yeah." replied Xanatos. "Is anything wrong with you? I noticed you seem a bit distracted today."

"No, sir. Everything's fine." mumbled Owen, "I'm just having a very bad day."

"Is there anything I could do?"

He gazed at himself in the mirror again. Nothing would be same as before. Owen suddenly wished he could say 'Sir, three things are here and they are changing me and I don't know what to do please help me…'

But no, this was just a temporal set back, no need to cry for help. He wasn't in any kind of trouble that he couldn't get out off.

So he didn't say anything.

~ Elsewhere ~

"That didn't work out as expected…" commented the Woman.

"Ah, Puck… he's just everything we ever wanted in a host… young… powerful… clueless…" said the First Man.

"Yes, but your forgetting, he's a reluctant host." replied the Second. "I don't think he'll appreciate what we've done to him…"

"That always happens…" he gave the Woman a meaningful look, "but that's why we have this lovely lady on our side, don't we, dearie?"

"Ah, so you want to dump me with the babysitting job?" replied the Woman.

"Of course. Who else is available?"

"Oh!" cried out the Woman, "You two will chase after sky-bunnies in Aspen! And that's so important! What was I thinking! Why don't we tell Puck about the first time we met him and get it over with?"

"Are you insane?" replied the First Man. "We wiped his memory clean of our first encounter, we even erased time, all because he had learned our true proposes with him!"

"He'll probably run away from us again if we tell him. No. We're going to have to do things right this time, before He shows up. Be a dear and 'guide' his course. Can't have the little tyke hurt himself, can't we?"

CHAPTER TWO
~ Players and Contestants ~

A few days later, two figures in the dojo bowed down and immediately took defensive stands. The two of them circled each other like vultures for a few moments, until the one in the right broke the ice with a high kick that could've broken anyone's jaw. It's opponent ducked and took the kicker's momentary lost of balance for her advantage, knocking him down. The downed one immediately jumped back to his feet, only to be knocked down again by a low kick.

"My, aren't you sloppy tonight?" smirked Fox, looking down at her prey.

"You ain't seen nothing yet!" smirked back Xanatos and jumped back to his feet. After throwing a few missed punches, he was down again; this time pinned down by his lady wife.

"Cry uncle! Cry uncle!" she said, giggling.

"No way." he said, escaping her grip and standing up once more.

"All right…" she replied as they began to circle each other. "Tell me what's wrong."

"What's wrong with what?" he had just finished the sentence, when a kick greeted him. Thirty seconds later, he was knocked and pinned down again.

"With that!" said Fox, "Come on, David, you used to put up more of a fight! Say uncle!"

"No!"

"Say uncle!" she giggled, starting to tickle him. He couldn't help but cry uncle real loud, trying to fight the tickle sensation. She lay off him and helped him up. "I win." Fox said grinning. "Now, will you tell me what's wrong?"

Xanatos looked at her, defeated, and declared, "I'm worried about Owen."

"What about him?"

"I don't know. These last few days, he's been acting… strangely. Like his mind is somewhere else. He keeps confusing October with November…"

"It happens…"

"And then there's the hand. You know he's less than all-powerful now, I thought he couldn't change it back. He changes the subject every time I ask him. And he never did tell me what those three scientists do for a living. Could they be involved?"

"What's going on…?" asked Fox, not quite grasping what he was saying.

"Fox," he said, his tone serious, "I think Owen's hiding something."

Fox stared at her husband. Then she burst into a full belly laugh that left her without air. For a moment she stopped laughing, but one look at her husband sent her laughing again. "What are you babbling about? This is Owen we're talking about. He never hides anything!" she said as she kept on giggling.

David, of course, was less than amused. "But I'm almost positive he is hiding something!" He pleaded.

"Oh, honestly. So what if he's hiding something? I know he's your employee and all, but give him some space. He has every right to keep some things to himself. It's not like you can control his personal life… then again, you practically do…"

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do! When was the last time he actually did something for himself?"

"Well, how about that time when…" Xanatos stopped himself. The last time Owen did something for himself…? There was a moment's silence. "I see your point…"

"Why don't you make him go out? With Alex. The park, the movies, anywhere. So he can actually interact with people?"

"Is that a good idea?" questioned Xanatos, his mind suddenly wandering.

"Yes, it's perfect." said Fox, eyes aglow. "Somewhere without you. Come on, David. Do it. You owe me."

"Owe you what…?"

"Don't you think I've forgotten how you scared away your father's girlfriend. I could've had a mother-in-law, but you just had to send that rude thug after her. David, you have to learn to let go of people and respect their privacy."

"How else was I supposed to get to know her better?" Xanatos defended himself. "It was a miracle I learned he had a girlfriend at all…You know dad was capable of not telling me until the wedding day!"

"Right. Whatever. Send Owen to the museum. With Alex. That's an order."

"An order? Fox, the thing with dad was an accident. Just because I'm interested in the personal life of the people I know, it doesn't mean that I want to control them. And I won't send Owen out, and what I say goes, and that's final…!"

* * *

"Pretty, pretty!" giggled Alex when he saw all the colorful exhibits at The Brooklyn Children's Museum. Right now, Owen watched how Alex gawked at life-sized dinosaur figure. Owen wore his seldom-used casual clothes —which he had to vacuum clean to wear them first— a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and an old NY Yankees jacket, with matching baseball cap. Alex wore a cute little blue and white set of Mickey Mouse.

"Big, big!" Alex yelled as he pointed to the dinosaur.

"It is, isn't?" replied Owen warmly. "Let's go see the other ones."

"Yay!"

Though taking Alex on these little outings was fun, Owen wasn't particularly thrilled about it. This field trip came as a surprise to him and it had ruined a perfectly good day to check if those 'Three' really had given him the magic back, because so far, he felt perfectly human. Besides the unusual hair coloring, everything felt normal. What's the use of getting your life twisted upside down if you couldn't enjoy it?

He had to admit that the prospect of having his powers back was fascinating, to say the least. He was hardly interested in out powering Oberon, though. He remembered how good it had felt to play with Demona those years ago. He wasn't complaining about his mortal companions but…

It just wasn't the same and they knew it.

Owen took Alex by the hand when something made the hair in the back of his neck stand up. Something…was close. He could've pinpointed the sensation if Alex hadn't pulled his sleeve and said, "More, More…!"

They strolled down the museum, along with a multitude of screaming kids. All the while, he couldn't help but feel he was being followed. After letting Alex gawk at another life-sized dinosaur figure, the two of them went to the endangered species collection, where it was almost empty. That is, save from two or three adults. Empty. That made Owen feel more secure.

They saw exotic fishes, dead dodos, and representations of numerous animals in danger today. But one figure caught Owen's eye. A huge panda posed sitting in a rock, with a fake bamboo stick in his hand. He was so…life-like. Amazing what these wax figures made him see. If he didn't know better, he could've sworn the figure moved. Maybe that was just that paranoid feeling he had had all day, that of being followed…

"Ugly bird!" yelled Alex, pointing at the dodo. "Ugly bird!"

"Keep your voice down." Owen scolded. "You are bothering the rest of the—" Owen suddenly glanced around the room and found that everyone had left. "People?" Unexpectedly, all the main lights went out; the only ones illuminating were those shining on the exhibits. "Are they closing…?" he mumbled.

Then a chill went down his spine, actually making him shudder. Something was near. Something was here!

"Hello, little prince…" said Luna to Alex.

"Hello, court jester…," said Phoebe to Owen

"We, the Weird Sisters, greet you…" finished Seline.

Well, lookey here… Puck's voiced echoed in the back of his mind. "To what might I owe this visit?"

"Our Lord Oberon has decided it's time to take Her Majesty's grandson for a visit to Avalon." answered Phoebe, grinning lightly.

"But Oberon himself decreed that he would not attempt another kidnapping…" replied Owen, grasping Alexander more strongly as the Sisters lost no time to approach them threateningly. "What made him change his mind?"

"Our Lord's laws are his to interpret…" said Luna, with a faint smile.

"Hand over the child Alexander, trickster. We do not wish to fight you. But we will, if we are forced to." said Seline, with an evil look.

"Alexander is my charge. If you want him, you have to go through me." Owen said, with an unusual battle thirsty smirk.

He didn't fear them, after all, hadn't those Three given him his powers back? The sisters still thought he was weak. Ha! He was going to show them, show everybody, that he had escaped Oberon's punishment and that he was better than ever. This was his chance to check if They had been true to their promise. It was the perfect opportunity to test himself. He took off his glasses and began to spin and spin and spin…

"Heerree's Puck!" triumphantly cried the gray-haired figure. "You know, you have no idea how long I've waited to kick your ass."

"Ah, you wish to fight us." Phoebe sneered.

"Quite confident, aren't you?" Luna added, giving him a look.

"Normally, we wouldn't lower ourselves to fight a kicked-out has-been fey," Seline hotly argued, "but we do have some business pending, like from the time you turned us to rats…"

"You had that coming."

"And the time you shaved us bald…!"

"You looked cute!"

"And when you beat us at strip poker!"

"You weren't worth it, believe me…"

"Very well them, prepare to be crushed!" The Weird Sisters said at the same time, as their eyes began to glow in green, furious at the Puck. They raised their hands and began chanting in Latin.

More than a few light bulbs began to short out and Puck held Alex more firmly as he began to cry in fear. Soon, lightning came out of nowhere and struck the exhibits, most of them bursting into flames. Eventually, the smoke got so thick, the Sisters had to cease the lightning to get a good look on what they had done. But Puck was nowhere to be found.

"Where are you?" said Luna, "Are you dead yet?"

"Hardly." replied Puck, unfazed by their display of power. He had wasted no time to sneak up on them from behind. Heh. They were right where he wanted them. This was almost too easy. Puck gathered all his forces and yelled with everything he had and much more, "Fireball!"

The Weird Sisters looked away from the light and braced for impact.

They saw that unholy surge of power and actually shivered.

If that thing hit them, they would surely be goners and—

"Oww! Oww! Shit! Water, water!" The Sisters couldn't help but look again toward Puck and see him jumping frantically, trying to put out the fire in the right sleeve of his shirt. "Somebody help me! Water!"

The Sisters stared at each other wide-eyed at Puck's display of stupidity. "Pathetic. Even for him." gasped Luna.

"The great Puck has fallen. Never thought I'd live to see the day." added Phoebe, as Puck, on his knees, finished putting out the fire on his shirt.

"Wait! Wait! I'm not done with you yet!" He yelled and tried to stand up, but the pain on his right shoulder was so, he fell to his knees again. This isn't fair! Hadn't Them given me my powers back…? What's going on?!

He heard the Sisters chuckle to themselves and say, "He thinks he still can win. Shall we take him out of his misery?" asked Seline.

"Let's!" answered the other sisters.

"Can't we…um…talk this out?" chuckled nervously Puck when he realized they were going to finish him off and that he couldn't lift a finger to stop them.

"Not really…" replied the Sisters, all at the same time. They raised their arms to blast him again…

…then the panda in the exhibit jumped out and stood in her way, with a wooden sign that spelled "STOP RIGHT THERE, YOUNG LADIES."

The huge, 7-ft panda stood between Puck and the Sisters, in battle stance. The Weird Sisters froze in place and stared looking at each other. While the Sisters picked up their jaw from the floor, the panda took out a bucket of water, seemingly out of nowhere, and poured it on Puck.

"Ohhh…good…" He sighed in relieve, kneeling in the floor. After being done with Puck, he turned the water bucket into a wooden sign that spelled, "GET LOST IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!" and showed it to the Weird Sisters.

"What is this!?" said Luna.

"CAN'T YOU READ, LIL SLUT?" spelled another sign.

"Get out of our way…you…you…panda…" stuttered Phoebe, not quite over the sight of a literate panda.

"Or we shall have to hurt you…" finished Seline, without her sister's uneasiness.

"YOU AND WHAT ARMY?" spelled yet another sign. The panda grabbed a fake bamboo stick and wrote in his sign, "I'VE GOT A STICK AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT…!"

Puck, now aware that his benefactor was a 7ft panda, covered his face and whined, "This is not happening…"

"Prepare to die, you overweight panda!" the Weird Sisters shrieked as their eyes began to shine with an eerie green. With another sign that read, "YOU DISRESPECTFUL CHILDREN!!", the panda whacked the Sisters, leaving them somewhat dazed. Then, like a human football player, it grabbed Puck by the waist, who in turn was holding Alex in his arms, and left running before the Sisters could react.

The panda, with Puck in tow, finally reached exit, not without shoving and kicking a few humans out of their way. Hoards of people ran out of the panda's way, all but the Weird Sisters, who were having a tough time getting through the crazed mob.

"Don't let them get away!" yelled one of the Sisters.

"HEY, WITCH," spelled another panda sign, "MY GRANDMA RUNS FASTER THAN YOU!" The panda then stuck out his tongue and gave them The Finger.

"Come back here, you cowards!" yelled another Sister. Puck grabbed the panda sign and threw it at them, making them trip over and fall flat on their face. The Sisters watched how the panda, Puck and Alex vanished in a quick burst of light, leaving them humiliated and vengeful…

"We'll get you…and your little panda too…!"

* * *

The panda and company reappeared in Owen's room, who, after verifying that nobody was home, locked the door with a loud thud. Thank God Xanatos was still out in some kind of meeting. "WHOO-WHEE! THAT WAS CLOSE!" spelled a sign, the same sign he was using like a paper fan.

"Indeed. Can you please let me go now?" declared the one known as Puck, though right now reverted to Owen, still on the panda's shoulder. The panda obeyed and threw him in the bed like a sack of potatoes. Owen bit his lip as to not cry out in pain and staggered to get up. "Are you ok, Alexander?" He asked the boy, but Alex wasn't hurt nor traumatized.

"Panda, panda!" Alex cried out instead, cheering and jumping frantically in the bed. "I want to ride panda again!" Owen chose to take that response like a 'Yes, I'm ok.'

"Alex, it's late, the gargoyles will awake soon, why don't you go greet them…"

"But I want panda…!"

"You can ride the panda tomorrow…go to your room…"

The boy left and Owen proceeded to eye the panda carefully, if not somewhat bewilderedly as it opened and closed drawers and strolled around his room as if it owned it. "IS THIS YOUR PLACE? WHAT A DUMP." the panda showed off with the wooden sign.

"I guess you're one of strange Trio." stated Owen, as he raised an eyebrow.

"YES," wrote the panda, "I, INDEED, AM ONE OF THE MULTITALENTED, ALL-POWERFUL, AND EXTREMELY MODEST BEINGS WORTHLESS MORTALS LIKE TO CALL THEEEEEEEM!"

"For goodness sake, sir, turn human!"

"SIR?" wrote the panda, pointing at itself, with a seemingly puzzled look on its face. The panda began to glow and change into a beautiful woman.

Make that a beautiful naked woman.

"I am not a 'sir'." she said. "If you wish, you may call me 'you' or 'you lady', but never say 'sir'. What was my name on the business card? Oh, Queen! You may call me 'Queen'! "

"Uh…uh…" he stuttered, as he stared at her wide-eyed. She really didn't look like a fey. More like a 20-something year old human. A very well built woman. Very. His face suddenly was on fire, like a high-school boy caught red-handed reading a Playboy magazine. He, being a horribly embarrassed gentleman, simply had to look away. "You-you're a…woman…"

"So you've noticed…"

"Put some clothes on!" He took off his Yankees jacket and gave it to her, without even looking up.

"Ah, chivalry isn't dead." she replied, and Owen didn't dare to look up until he heard he zipper close. "There, you can look now."

"Miss…Queen," replied Owen, sarcastically as he pronounced her 'name', Queen. Obvious pun. You'd think she'd have a better imagination. "Have you no woman dignity? You just can't show up naked like that in a man's room. Especially in NY…"

Not that I mind…, whispered a puckish voice that took the steering wheel. Owen vanished in a burst of light and was replaced by a white-haired boy, with more gray hair than white.

Puck couldn't help but stare at her for a moment. She wasn't bad looking. She had a twenty-something face, long black hair, and great body —as confirmed earlier. One thing for sure, she didn't look like a fey. She, like her companions, looked older than any child of Avalon, which made sense if they were as old as they claimed.

She snapped her fingers and changed the Yankees jacket into a chic gray business suit. One thing he found curious was that if they were indeed cousins, why was she so dark looking? All of his race were fairly light-skinned and young, and usually wore bright and colorful clothes, yet these Three had a thing for dark autumn colors.

"What is it?" she asked when she noticed Puck's eyes were on her. "Is the representation of a female human not good enough…? I haven't taken a human body in a while…" She replied and made her way toward a life-sized mirror in the room and started modeling in front of it. "Are my breasts ok? Or should I make them bigger?"

"They're…um…fine…" Puck said, blushing ever so slightly.

"I'm so happy to hear that. I always strike for perfection…" she said with a mischievous grin written all over her face, still flirting in front of the mirror.

"I thought I told you three that I didn't wish to have any business with you. Specially you're out to embarrass me with a panda." replied Puck, getting serious for a moment.

"Oh, that…sorry about the panda…I've been hanging out with those weird Jusenkyo people too long… But no matter what form, I still saved your ass, so show some gratitude!"

"Gratitude? You promised to give me my magic back, but you've just made me look like an idiot in front of them!"

"Well, I did give you your magic back, but I can't help it if you're still an idiot."

"Hey sister, I didn't threaten them with a bamboo stick nor chased them around with wooden signs. And for the love of God, a panda!? Couldn't you show up in something a little more dignified, a dog, a cat…anything!?"

"You are one ungrateful little thing, you know that, don't you?" said Queen. "I risked my ass and broke a nail saving you, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Oh, no. You broke your nail. One of the seven signs of the Apocalypse. The end of the world in coming! Run, run! Children and gargoyles first!"

"Ah," sighed the woman, "not only are you ungrateful, you're also sarcastic. Oh, golly. Everybody must love you. No wonder you're on Oberon's top ten list… Juvenile delinquents, that is."

"You know; if you're here to insult me, you might as well leave. I'm in no mood to take this shit."

"Oh! Such vulgar language. Now I really won't leave." Queen threw herself in a couch, popping a nail file out of nowhere and starting to fiddle with it. Puck slumped down on the bed, watching her polish her nails, with a 'what-is-she-doing' look. "Oh, shoot. I simply can't fix this one! You're gonna pay for the manicure!"

Puck yanked the nail file from her. "If you're gonna stick around, at least answer these questions." he said, "Why did my magic backfired on me earlier? You said that in three days I would be more powerful than Oberon! And what's the deal with my hair?" He saw his reflection on a nearby mirror and pointed at it, "It's gray! And my Owen's hair is brown!"

"And your eyes are not blue anymore," Queen casually added, "They're more like olive green…with a little touch of brown or geyser, kinda hard to describe…"

"My what?" Puck stared at his image of the wardrobe mirror closely and let out a high-pinched shriek, "My eyes! Oh, my God, I have green eyes?! Well—but—when did that happen?! What kind of sorcery is this?"

"If it makes you feel better, I think you look cute!" Queen grinned.

Puck, in turn, looked terror stricken with himself. "Hey, sister, I want some explications and I want them now. No more bullshit! You've had your fun, so maybe, maybe, maybe, it's time to get serious and start explaining stuff to me…right now!"

Queen blinked several times and said, "I'm sensing some anger here…"

"You damn right I'm pissed!" Puck snapped, "You dragged into that weird place, launched some evil omens and left! And you didn't even bother to unchain me! I spent some good fifteen minutes pleading for help! And to top it all off, you're taking responsibility for what happening to me —and you haven't explained it to me yet! And will you tell me once and for all who the hell are you!? What do I have to do to make you answer me?! Get down on my knees and lick your boots!?" Puck continued, "No, I won't! I won't because—"

He suddenly felt a headache. It was weird, because he hadn't done anything to warrant a headache. It wasn't a headache in the straight sense of the word. His bedroom was suddenly spinning rapidly. Queen merely stared as he staggered for a moment until he flopped on his bed. "Oh…" he moaned, "My head hurts…"

"You done with that fit?" Queen replied contemptuously as she yanked back her nail file, "I don't think you'll get anything out of me that way."

Queen's voice sounded very far away. Everything she did next was a blur: he could only see a figure standing up from he chair, helping him into the bed and going tsk-tsk on him. "Stupid elf." Queen replied, looking down on him with crossed arms and a smirk, "You're not supposed to get all worked up. That's rule number one. Never get too emotional. Get used to it. What was done to you simply doesn't work well under stress."

"What was done to me?" Puck snapped, trying to stand up. "I demand to know what—ahh…" There it was again. That horrible sensation in his head, like slurping something too cold too quickly. "I hope you die…" he muttered with all the sentiment of the world.

"And I love you too." she replied, with a wide, charming smile.

Puck wanted to bark something, but the anger was gone. There was something wrong with him, because he suddenly felt like crying. He felt sad. He felt idiotically sad, on the dumps, rock-bottom, wanna-die sad.

And Queen noticed. "Oh, no, don't tell me you…"

He started crying and he was annoyed with himself for it. It only served to make him sadder. He clutched to a pillow and buried his face in it, "What's wrong with meeeee? I can't stop crying! Everything is making me sad…New York…The gargoyles…that poor Demona…" he trailed off, "I don't believe this! I'm actually feeling sad for that gargoyle bitch…what wrong with me!?"

"Oh, no!" Queen snapped, "Look, it happens sometimes! Oh, think happy thoughts or something!"

Puck started wailing louder. "Those poor little kids and the mommy reading a story on Titanic… you know…when the ship is sinking…"

"Goddammit, you're worse than a pregnant woman!" Queen growled enraged, "It's part of the spell, ok, you're just adjusting! Ahh…ahh…" she popped a Kleenex box from out of nowhere and gave it to him. "Just stop crying, please!"

"How can I stoooop!?" Puck wailed, blowing his nose with several Kleenex, "I'm scared! This has never happened to me before! What's wroooong?"

Queen moaned and took several deep breaths. "Ok, look, if I promise to tell you what's happening, would you stop crying already? Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Free to tomorrow night…?" Puck replied, the images of Titanic still dancing on his head. He tried to push them away long enough to say, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, goody then!" cheered Queen, suddenly standing up. "I'll pick you up at seven!"

"What for?"

"Well, you asked me for the truth, so I'll give it to you tomorrow at seven…!" she answered, cheerfully again.

"What's going at seven?! I'm not going anywhere with you!" He pouted, "I don't want to have anything to do with you…I still don't like you. I don't need you, so go back under the rock you crawled out of."

"You don't trust me?"

"Hell, no!"

"Then what do I have to do to get you to trust me?"

"I don't know." he blurted out. "Telling me what happened that night is a good idea…"

Queen frowned for a moment; her cheerful attitude suddenly vanished. "Why do you wish to know?"

"Well, it's my life, I have a right to know!" he replied, amused at her reaction.

She grunted quietly and merely stared. "At seven." she said coldly. "Tomorrow at seven." She left in a burst of light before he could say anything.

"Damn." he cursed in the empty room, still feeling wretched. "You better not show up like a panda!" he warned, receiving no answer, not that he expected any.

* * *

After that short attack of hysterics, he strolled around the room to see if she was really gone. He didn't feel anything, so he assumed she wasn't coming back. More importantly, that she wasn't going to spy on him if he were to take off his clothes and take a bath.

The emotional had long dissipated, faster than he ever thought possible, but it had frightened him. He had never felt like that. Not even when Oberon took his powers. It was like being trapped on a dark cave with no way out. It was simple horrifying.

"Boy…" he mumbled, "I hope that doesn't have something to do with what they did to me…if the gargoyles saw me like that, I'd never get over it."

Then there was that 'date' Queen had set up…

He didn't quite like that idea but had to oblige. It's not like she was here to fight her decision. Damn woman. What is she up to? he wondered silently as he hanged Owen's Yankee jacket neatly in the closet. He couldn't help but notice a business card in the pocket.

2525 Memory Lane. He found it ironic that the Three's made-up street bore such a name, considering that was part of their aggravation. He couldn't remember their supposed first meeting. His missing memory annoyed him more than the changes in him. For a fey, not remembering was really, really frustrating. And it only served to prove Queen and her people were sinister indeed.

Or maybe… he allowed, maybe it's better if I didn't know. After all, ignorance is bliss.

~ Elsewhere ~

In the little corner of the Earth they called home, the Weird Sisters silently conferred. Silently, because their minds worked like one. There was no need to voice their questions nor opinions. They knew exactly what was going on in each other's mind, and it was something like Damn that cursed panda!

"Ladies," echoed a disembodied voice, with a vague English accent in their heads, "Tell me you have good news…"

The sisters knew better than to look around for the source of the voice, and Seline took the initiative to say, "No, sir. We failed to retrieve the Puck."

"Oh, damn…What happened?"

"A…a panda stopped us…" stuttered Phoebe.

"A panda? You mean one of the Three stopped you. What did you told Puck?"

"The excuse you told us to say…that Lord Oberon wanted the child Alexander back. He seemed convinced." replied Seline.

"Good. At least neither my nephew nor the trio know I'm up and about…"

"And we noticed the Puck's magic and appearance were different too, just as you predicted." said Luna.

"Of course. I expect nothing else from the side-effects of the Talisman."

'What should we do now, sir?" inquired Phoebe.

"Hmm…I still don't know. Don't worry, I'll make something up. It'll take sometime, thought. Don't you worry about Oberon, I'll take you back to Avalon after this is all over. Hell, he won't even know you were gone."

"Thank you, sir." the sisters replied at the same time.

"Now, if you wish, you may leave and play in the mortal world, but you'll come back when I ask you to, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." replied Luna and Phoebe, and they vanished in a burst of multicolored light. Only Seline stayed behind, and asked out to the voice, "Why are you doing this?"

"Hmm…" muttered the voice. "That's a long complicated story…perhaps I'll tell you another time…"

A long story, thought he to himself as Seline left. One he hoped not to repeat once more… After all, those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.

CHAPTER THREE
~ Pawns ~

"Run that by me again…" said David Xanatos as he leaned back in his chair, phone in hand, with a fascinated look on his face. The sun was setting, the gargoyles were waking up, and it was one of the best moments of the day.

"Um, yes, Mr. Xanatos…" replied a very shy security guard over the phone line. "There's a woman here looking for Mr. Burnett… she says she's Mr. Burnett's… 'special friend'…?"

'Special friend'? Owen, you old dog, what have you been up to? Xanatos quickly patched up the front door's security camera through his computer and got an image of the mysterious lady. Oh, nice. Xanatos thought to himself, very nice. She was a delicious little thing, wearing glasses, a ponytail for her long, dark hair, and chic gray suit with a particularly accented v-neck…

"What should I do, sir?" asked the security guard.

"Why, send her in, I'll inform Mr. Burnett myself." he replied, and as soon as he hung up, sped like a bullet looking for Owen.

He found him in his desk, finishing typing something or doing God-knows-what. Owen saw him come over and couldn't help but ask. "What is it, sir?"

"How long have we known each other, Owen?"

Owen looked at him puzzled but answered anyway, "About ten years now…"

"Then why do you keep hiding these things from me? Don't you trust me? You know that I would never stay in the way your happiness…"

"Yes…" Owen replied, frightened. Does he know about the sisters? The Three? The hand? "What's going on…?" he asked.

"I owe many things to you, Owen, even my son, so I'll be honored to be your Best Man…"

"……!?" Owen didn't even have time to answer coherently. The moment Xanatos stopped talking, Owen's door burst open, and the woman from the front door entered, yelling, "Honey!"

She went to Owen and hugged him affectionately. He couldn't help but blush and hug back. It took all mental effort to keep himself together and get with the program. "Queen…dear… what are you doing here?"

"Why, I came to see you, honey! I know you wanted to keep our relationship a secret, but I had to tell my brothers and I think it's time for you to tell Mr. Xanatos." she told Owen with a mischievous grin, and turned to Xanatos. "Hi, my name is Queen, one of the three scientist from 'Three Incorporated.' I, along with my brothers, Quinn and Quill, run the company our dear grandpapa left us…And Owen and I… well… we've been dating for two weeks!"

"Ah," said Xanatos with a smile, some kind of devious plan going through his head as he spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, Owen told me all about you…" said Queen.

"That's strange, cause he didn't told me a thing about you…" replied Xanatos, with a charming smile.

Oy, oy, oy…whispered the Puck's voice through the back of Owen's mind, what am I going to do now…?

* * *

"I can't believe you did that…" said Owen, "You charged in here telling everyone you're my… girlfriend?"

"Hey, I told you we had a date today."

Owen was pacing back and forth in the castle's indoor garden. He had spend a hellish hour introducing to Queen to everyone, from the cook to detective Bluestone, and they all looked so shocked…

He was finally able to talk to Queen alone under the excuse that this was a private affair. Xanatos left, but Owen knew his master, and took off to the indoor garden, where the security cameras were of no use.

"What am I going to do now?"

"What'd you mean 'what you gonna do?' Play along with me."

"Play along?"

"Yes. This is perfect. You said you wanted to know what is happening to you and hear my version on what happened that night, but it's not that easy. I have to get you out of here. And what better way to do this by playing the loving bride?"

Owen moaned and sat down on a bench. "This is not happening…"

"Oh, yes it is… 'honey'… so deal with it. It's the only way I could come here without looking so suspicious."

"And you think Xanatos doesn't suspect right now? I've never dated in my service under Xanatos, at least, that's what he thinks. And if I do date, I know better than to show her off in the castle."

"Oh, he'll understand."

"No, he won't. Xanatos is very… possessive about these things…"

"Possessive? As in?"

"He sent a mercenary after his father's girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend now, since he scared her away…" sighed Owen, "Mr. Xanatos is not one who respects other people's privacy, specially those he cares about. The second you leave, he'll star asking questions I won't know how to answer."

"It can't be that bad…"

"It is. I'm sure he's looking for me through the security cameras right at this moment…"

* * *

"Damn, damn, damn…" muttered Xanatos from the security room, looking at all the castle's cameras. "Where are they?"

"Owen's got a girlfriend! I'm so glad for him!" said Angela, staring at the security cameras, along with the entire clan.

"Aye, it's so nice to know the lad got himself a lady." commented Hudson.

"Is she nice?" asked Lexington.

"Does she like gargoyles?" asked Broadway.

"When's the wedding?" asked Brooklyn.

Xanatos continued typing in the control station, to no avail. "He must be in the indoor garden. Doesn't he trust me?"

"No," interjected Goliath, "and with good reason. You're telling me you had no clue about Owen's relationship?"

"None whatsoever." replied Xanatos.

"What happened to your dad's mercenary. He wasn't available?" commented Elisa as she choked down a laugh.

"You still remember that?" said Xanatos, somewhat annoyed.

"How could we forget?" replied Elisa. "Spying on your father's new girlfriend. I can still remember that night. The poor thing screamed like hell when she saw that guy with the guns after her…"

"She wasn't that scared…" mumbled Xanatos under his breath.

"No," interjected Brooklyn, "she just screamed for fun…"

Xanatos frowned as the others continued to talk among themselves. Then Fox came along, and sat down next to him. "I guess this clears things up." she commented, as she turned off the cameras.

"Clears what up?"

"What we talked the other day. About Owen hiding stuff. Well, it's a woman. Happy now?"

"I'd still like to find more…" muttered Xanatos, seemingly indifferent. Now… he wondered, where's that thug's phone number?

"Oh, no you won't…!" she said, when she saw a smile on her husband's face.

"What is it, dear?" he replied with an innocent grin.

"I know you, David Xanatos, don't you dare spy on him like you did with your dad…!"

"But don't you want to know more about her?" replied Xanatos when he got busted.

"Lay off him, David. Have you no sense of privacy? It's not nice to butt in on other's people personal life. You've got to let him go more often. God knows he's not your common butler."

"All the more reason I should find out more about her…" he replied. "Is she trust worthy? How is she going to react to the gargoyles? And Puck? What's going to happen when she finds out about the 'other' him?"

"We'll find out like normal people do. We invite them to dinner and we do not make them sue us with stalking charges…"

"Spoil sport."

* * *

After an enchanting evening of dinner, music, and the gargoyles hiding behind the kitchen door, the night came to a close. Silently suffering, he had to put up with the questions that Xanatos had. The Woman answered for him, yet even now, hours later after everyone said their good-byes; he still debated to himself if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Laying on his bed and gazing up the ceiling, he kicked himself for going along with Queen. Why did I have to accept? Before leaving, Queen couldn't help but ask that, "If there's no trouble, could you loan me Owen tomorrow night? My brothers would like to meet him so much."

Don't worry, she had told him earlier, tomorrow you'll learn what happened, for now, play along… Owen silently groaned, but for the sake of appearance, he had no choice but to go along with her plans.

He felt the temptation of spilling the beans to Xanatos and getting the whole damn thing over it, but at the last minute, he decided against it. No, he wasn't desperate enough and she wasn't annoying enough. Besides, he needed to know what was happening to him, she hadn't had the chance to explain it properly. She was easy, at least for now, to handle. That was one reason. The other was about what really happened that night they supposedly met the first time. Curiosity was killing him. He had no reason to trust her, yet he had to have something to cling on.

What the hell. Might as well go along with her, he thought, Get what I want and make her disappear. And everything will turn back to normal, and this will all be but a midsummer night's dream…

* * *

Queen came back to headquarters, or something else resembling headquarters, some hours later. It was a place that words couldn't possibly describe. Magic filled this place, pure raw magic. No mortal eye could see it without going insane. Interesting enough, in the mind of that strange woman, the place closely resembled a living room. Different perceptions, she guessed.

"You Two! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" she yelled out, when she didn't find her companions around.

"They're not here." said a voice coming from behind her, with a vague English accent. She spun around to see That Man sitting in the metaphysical equivalent of a sofa.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Hello there You, nice to see you. What brings you to these neck of the woods?"

"You know exactly why I'm here. What are your plans for the boy?"

"None that concerns you. You're just an add-on in this story. You don't have the power to interfere, anyway. Not if you value your family and your son. Or don't you remember?"

"You used me to get to Puck and want to use him like your personal lackey… you won't get away with it."

"Oh, now. You can't personally show up to him, can't you? Because if you do, everything you hold dear will be history, even your son. And don't think I'm not aware of that deal you made with those three fey girls. They failed you know, and what else can you do to stop us? Give it up, You. The lad's already ours…"

"Oh, now? I thought you liked competition. I mean, someone as powerful and clever like you shouldn't be bothered with a little thing like me, right?" He replied, savoring every word.

"Oh, honestly!" she sighed. "Why do you cling to the boy? Is it because of That Other Boy? He's dead. And you are never going to get him back. Puck, neither, for that matter."

"And just for how long will you keep it up with Puck? A week? A month? He'll find out the truth soon enough…"

"You wish." she replied coldly. "I'm going to be watching You. Stay away from Owen and/or Puck, or you'll get what's coming to you…"

Stay away from Robin, He repeated to himself, who says I'm stupid enough to try and knock some sense into him directly anyway…

* * *

"He's still in jail?… Oh, I see… Five to ten. Stalking charges… I'm so sorry to hear that." said Xanatos through the phone in the library.

It was a quiet night and Xanatos was the only soul around at 10 pm. The rest of the castle slept while he was making the phone call from the library. He had made sure that the gargoyles were gone and that Fox was asleep to make this one call. It didn't hurt that Owen was still out for this one.

"How's my dad? Well, he's still not talking to me…"

While Xanatos talked, a cold wind entered through the library's opened window, softly making it's presence felt, as it shyly blew away some papers.

"Does Fox know about this? God, no. She'd kill me."

The soft wind slowly picked up speed, and Xanatos wasn't capable of ignoring it anymore. It began to blow away all unsecured papers, the small things, then chairs… "Gotta go now…Yes…yes…I'll tell Fox you said hello…hope he gets out soon…" Xanatos was forced to hang up and head to the window, in a vain attempt to close it. The wind simply got stronger and stronger and stronger…

… Until it stopped and three women with white, black and blond hair respectively appeared.

"Hello, mortal." said the blond.

"We're the Weird Sisters." said the black-haired

"We greet you." said the white-haired.

Xanatos stood there in shock. Oberon's lackeys, the Weird Sisters, right here on the castle. "Owen!" Xanatos yelled to the intercom, only to remember he had gone out for the evening.

"It is useless to call for the Puck," said the blond. "Besides, we've no quarrel with you…nor your son, contrary to what you may think."

"Then what are you doing here?" Xanatos said challenging, but knowing that if he got them mad, it would be the death of him.

"We're only here for the Puck." said the white-haired.

"Because you do care about your son's mentor, do you not?" said the black-haired.

Owen? Xanatos thought to himself. "What about Owen?"

"There's a new player in the game, a being that has allied itself with the Puck."

"It is a dangerous thing…this being knows magics different from any human or fey."

"So we have come to you, David Xanatos, to help us find the being…since it is Puck's new lover."

"Owen's girl?" That actually surprised Xanatos. He struggled with the name for a moment. "Queen? How do you know this?"

"We've been watching the castle for awhile. That woman you call Queen seems to be something else. Something powerful that could be trouble." said the black-haired.

"Whoever dates Owen is not my concern. Why are you telling me this?"

"Do you not care about your servant's safety?" said the white-haired.

"Wasn't you the one that only minutes ago was calling your father's mercenary to follow the Puck?" said the blond.

"You know about that!?"

"Everyone knows about that." said the black-haired. "It was hard not to know."

"We thought you actually cared about Puck…considering how much trouble will he being in if Oberon were to find out." said the first, teasingly.

"Trouble…?"

"Dreadful trouble! Oberon could actually remove him from being Alexander's mentor…" said the second woman, in a threatening tone.

"And we all know what that means, don't we?" said the third, in indifference.

Xanatos face dropped. Yeah, he knew what that meant. If Puck weren't around, Oberon would be free to take Alex away from him forever. To never see Alex, it would…it would kill him.

"We would hate to see split up your family, David Xanatos…"

"Specially because of a woman… not even a real woman. An evil sorceress that instead of helping, would be destroying Puck and those around him."

"But that can be helped…if we were to find this woman…"

"Find her?" asked Xanatos, "That's easy."

"Nay, it isn't. She is too powerful for us. What you need to do is make Puck leave her…" said the black-haired.

"Leave her…? Queen?" said Xanatos intrigued, "And how do I know your telling the truth? What if she's the best thing that happened to him, and your making me sabotage their relationship just because you want to see him miserable?"

"You do not believe us?"

"Fine. Then why don't you verify for yourself?"

"Make sure we're telling the truth…"

"Better yet, ask him about Trevor Marshall's report on a 'strange wild panda attack' at The Brooklyn Children's Museum. The answer shall be… interesting."

"Then come to us if you need help…"

"Because… we will meet again…"

Soon the sisters vanished, but David Xanatos didn't have the best night's sleep.

CHAPTER FOUR
~ Wine and Dancing ~

While the snow fell and covered the ground, Owen patiently waited outside for— whatever it was that would happen. This was insane. He shouldn't play along with Queen's little joke. He should've got rid of her when he had a chance. Owen wasn't particularly thrilled by the fact that it was snowing and that he had no idea what they were planing for him either.

She could've just told him a few days ago, or perhaps last night, but nooooo. She had to make a bunch of theatrics and make him wait. Meanwhile, he only guessed what was wrong with him. His own mirror image was getting on his nerves. And Xanatos' funny look that morning when he noticed Owen's eyes had shifted from the clearest of blue to the most exotic of green did not help. Not to mention his new brown hair. That had been awkward.

He gazed at the watch. 6: 59 PM. She said they were coming at 7 o' clock sharp, and so far he saw no indication of any car coming this way…

…Until the clock punched 7 and a limousine came out of nowhere. It pulled next to him and two men, Queen's comrades, got out of the car. Both of them were wearing heavy coats that made them look like a FBI agent named Mulder that once came along the castle, looking for the gargoyles. He wasn't easy to forget, partly because his first name was Fox, like Xanatos' wife, and partly, because he pestered the castle for weeks…

"Oh, I see you're quite punctual, Puck." said the First Man.

"We didn't thought you'd come." said the Second.

"I assure, I came against my better judgement." replied Owen coldly. "And in this body, I am known as Owen Burnett. I'd wish you'd respect that."

The two men looked at each other and smiled. "Of course, Puck." said the First.

"Whatever you say, Puck." said the Second.

Owen opened his mouth and closed it again. What's the point? Then again… "So, tell me, how should I call you two? Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb?"

"My, aren't you fond of names…" mumbled the First, staring him with arrogance. "You can call me Quinn."

"And may call me Quill." replied the Second. "Pardon the redundancy."

Owen scoffed quietly and crossed his arms annoyed.

"But enough chit-chat," continued the self-proclaimed Quinn as he opened the limousine's door. "Won't you come inside?"

Owen took a peak inside the limousine. It was so… dark. Like a hole. Absolutely dark. Not a single light bulb shined inside. Owen turned to the Two and said, "Tell me one good reason why I should go with you?"

"Ah-ah-ah…!" replied 'Quill', "That's for us to know and for you to find out." Then They entered the car, leaving Owen outside.

"Is it 2525 Memory Lane?" Owen asked, but both men acted as if they didn't hear the question.

"Are you going to stand there in the snow, or will you come inside?" asked Quinn from inside.

Owen stood there for a moment, wondering what to do. What the hell. He was already damned. He walked nearer the car cautiously; but the second he let down his guard, they pulled him inside.

"What is this!?" shrieked Owen he tried to grab on to something, but there was nothing but darkness; and he was falling and falling and falling…

* * *

…and falling and falling as he landed shrieking, smack dab in the middle of a room, with a loud THUD!

"Oww…!" Puck mumbled, blowing off his gray hair from all over his face, as he lay on the floor. "My back…! Stupid floor…" He cried out and cursed. "What the hell was that! Damn!" He continued yelling and cursing in different languages. At least he was lucky. If he were Owen right now, all the bones in his body would be crushed.

Owen? Puck sat up lazily and found he was Puck. Slick, very slick. He hadn't even noticed the change. Damned… Them!

Puck stood up and stretched out, regaining his poise. He glanced around and found himself in a rather big, round, empty ballroom. In fact, he was at the middle of the ballroom, but no one noticed his arrival, since there was no one around to see it.

No one but the orchestra, sitting in the back of the ballroom, playing a somewhat sinister tune that went along with the place, decorated in dark colors and dimly illuminated in bluish light. The ballroom was like a small dome, all round, part European, part something else, but quite human. Numerous paintings hanged, all strange to him. No doors anywhere, though. Bad omen.

But what was that? Up there. The ceiling. There was no ceiling. You could see pretty well the stars; and maybe it was this place or his eyes, but he could also see the galaxies and all the other celestial bodies scientists always theorize about but never get to see in real life. It was so beautiful; it was scary. Did he actually fall from up there? Maybe…

He continued gawking at the ceiling; his head thrown back so much, it was making him dizzy.

"Hey, stop that, you'll break your neck…" said the very familiar voice from behind. Puck looked down quickly and almost lost his balance. Queen halted his fall, avoiding Puck any real embarrassment. Queen was wearing an oh-so-sexy black dressed with her black hair hanging loosely in her shoulders. She really, really looked good.

"Sorry about that fall." Puck spun around and found Quinn and Quill walking toward him, still wearing the heavy coats, though it wasn't cold. "The first step is always a killer."

"Very nice. This how you treat your 'guests'? By throwing them in free fall? You make Demona look civilized…"

"Now, now. No need to get insulting. We're all friends here." said Quill, reproaching him.

"Speak for yourself. I'm outta here…" replied Puck, starting to levitate toward the ceiling.

"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Queen, with a curious tone.

"What? Don't you see the--" Puck looked up to the ceiling and the vision of a star-filled sky was gone. "--stars…" There were stars all right —painted ones. The real sky turned to a fresco one. It was some kind of doorway… How did it work…?

"Well now, since Puck's here, safe and sound, you two can leave." said Queen to Quill and Quinn and the both of them vanished in a burst of light.

"Ah!" said Puck, when The Other Two were gone, as he began inspecting Queen's black dress. It looked so good, even Fox would've envied it. "Alone at last! Tell me, dearest, what are we going to do tonight? Candle light. You and me. The king-sized bed in my room—"

"I thought you didn't like me." she interrupted.

"That doesn't mean I can't get a free ride now and then…" he replied.

She scoffed at him disdainful. "Men…" she muttered, "Don't you know there's no such thing as a 'free ride'?"

Puck started snickering quietly. "So," he replied when he controlled himself, "Are you finally going to tell me what happened that night? What's happening to me right now?"

"Ha! You come to me with chauvinist remarks, and you dare to ask me for a favor?"

"Oh, it's all in good fun…" he replied. "Besides, I deserve it!"

"Then shut up and sit down."

Like in a stage, a spotlight shone upon a chair in the middle of the ballroom. Puck didn't even bother to ask where those come from. Queen gestured him to sit down. Skeptically, Puck obeyed and sat on the illuminated chair.

As he sat in the middle of the ballroom, all lights began to dim around, save for that one over him. It felt like the lights going off in a theater, and Puck was the main actor that forgot his lines. All the lines were finally dimmed until it was all dark. He then realized he had lost Queen.

He could see nothing outside his circle of light. "Queen?" he mumbled. His voiced echoed terribly. He felt a slight shudder down his spine. "This isn't funny anymore! Are you still here?" He received no answer, only an echo. If this went on for a long time, he would leave.

"Why did you leave Avalon?" Queen asked, interrupting his thoughts. Her voice didn't echo. He couldn't see her either. Her voice seemed to come from everywhere at the same time.

"I know your kind, my boy," her disembodied voice continued, "Ever so curious about everything. You must adore this New York, with so many toys and all. With so many technological trinkets and everything. To keep learning about humans." Then she added, "After all, that is why you didn't attend the gathering, didn't you? To learn new things?"

"…Yeah…if you put it that way…" he shrugged.

"Oberon stripped you of your powers, didn't he? Bet that hurt."

"I… " Puck stared at the nothing, wordless for a second. "Well," he answered with a shrug. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"Why did you stay here? What's with Xanatos, why do you like him so much?" the strange woman asked.

"Well…" he paused, looking for the right word, "Because he's fun. Avalon's just so…dull. It's not like I planned to be kicked out in the first place. I wanted to—"

"Bribe Oberon." interrupted Queen.

"Bribe is such an ugly word…!" Puck replied, "More like 'compromise' or 'work out a deal'… you get the idea. But that idea backfired on me, thank-you-very-much Goliath, one thing led to another and now I'm banished forever from Avalon. Powerless, to top it all. But it's not that bad. I mean, I got rid of him and got myself a half-decent master. Xanatos is a great trickster and I never get bored. Too bad I'm condemned to play a strait man for the rest of existence." he said, then chuckled lightly, "It's really funny if you think about it. A trickster playing a strait man… I guess it was just a matter of time before Oberon did something nasty to me…"

"Who says you have to put up with this?" she interrupted.

"It's not like I have much choice, you know… But I like it here…" he mumbled feebly. "I'm…I'm happy…I guess…"

"No," she said in the most serious way he had ever heard her. "You're not."

Puck was without words for a second, then recovered saying, "Who died and named you psychiatrist?"

"All right, touché. But let me show you something. You have a right to know what's been done to you."

He wished desperately to see her face, but then he felt an uncomfortable chill in the right side of his head. Brain freeze, Alex had called it. From eating something too cold too fast. Only this feeling refused to leave, it was just getting stronger and stronger.

"This hurts!" Puck shrieked, "Make it stop!"

But it only got stronger until he began to see polka dots in the air, and both the light and the darkness hurt immensely and—

* * *

Puck blinked and found himself lying on the eerie ballroom's floor. Staring upwards, he saw the sky begin to shift into its fresco version. He blinked and sat straight.

He was mute. Then he melted into a hilarious laugh, "That was great! I loved it! It's like a mind trip, like, like, like being high, like knowing everything in the world, all the secrets of everybody!"

"Like being a god?" Queen smirked proudly.

Puck turned methodical, "Actually, I was going to say its like sex. Only better."

Queen was sitting crossed legged next to him, and her clothes shifted from a sexy dress to a pair of jeans. "So. What did you see?"

Puck chuckled absentmindedly. "It's like being on a trip. Smoking something, you know. No, it's more like dreaming. You see so many…so many images, such…" He paused; slowly his expression shifted from wonderment into despair. "That's it, isn't it? That's what you've done to me… "

"You should feel honored." She said, "Yes. We like to call in a Talisman. I don't think I've ever seen it before up close. It's a charm of incredible power. There're 12 talismans around, which means there are 11 more inside other beings around. You will never find them, of course. They don't know it and they never will. But that's because they are mortal. Long lived mortals, but mortals nonetheless. Who knows? Maybe in all your years you might've stumbled in on one of them without knowing it. And that makes you a rarity."

"But I wasn't the only one, wasn't I?" Puck mumbled softly, staring intently at the floor, "And he's dead. He took his own life, didn't he?" He looked up to Queen, "Didn't he? He couldn't stand it! What was his name?"

"That does not matter. Nobody would remember."

"That's not the point! I need a name! In that little trip of yours you took out his name! I—" He paused again, in sudden realization, "He was one of your people…and you three…You were there! You were there when Avalon was created!"

He jumped to his feet and took several steps back. Queen was unmoved as Puck continued, "You blocked it on purpose, but I saw something." He paused again, "I saw someone else. It wasn't always three…" he closed his eyes again, "there was a fourth…" He grunted frustrated and yelled, "But how could I know this!? What was that trip? Why did I feel like…like I knew everything that exists? It faded away already, but for a second, I—"

"Became a god?" Queen snickered.

He didn't reply. Not immediately. But then he went his knees next to her, a desperate move. "Was that it?" he said, "That's what this thing does? Powers you up?"

"More or less." Queen relied dully, "You know Oberon took away your powers. Let's just say my little trinket melded with you and is supplying your missing energy. A second heart, so to speak. You hurt yourself with the fireball in the panda incident because you need to concentrate more on what you're doing."

"I was concentrating!"

"No, you weren't!" she snapped back, "You were thinking about revenge against the Sisters!"

Puck opened his mouth. And closed it again. Queen grinned, acting slightly superior to him. Then he switched subjects, "Anyway," he continued as he cleared his throat, "Why did that…other boy lose it? Who was he?"

Queen's little smiled vanished, "Who he is does not concern you. He's been dead since humans reckon time. It's not your right to know…but he killed himself because he was greedy. He defied us. Though he had the power to be a god, he would've made a lousy god. We put an end to his stupidity. So he killed himself instead." She simply shrugged, "It's all for the better, I guess…plus, as with everybody, the Talisman got him… moody."

Puck's expression dropped. "Moody?" he incredulously repeated, "Define 'moody'…"

The woman sighed frustrated and tried hard to come up with a nice way of breaking the news to him, "Ok…the crystal, I told you, sort of supplies and enhances powers… if not wielded carefully, magic is a problem… But, eh, in being such as yourself, that is created and breathing because of magic, if you twiddle around with the magic, you are actually affecting the whole person… am I making any sense?"

"Nope."

Queen groaned to herself, "It enhanced your magic, but it also enhanced your emotions, you get it now? The Talisman gets people… emotional. Sort of like women around that time of the month…"

He looked at her disgusted and said, "Don't say that… you mean I'm gonna… I'm gonna be a sentimental idiot once a month!?"

"Actually, no." Queen was careful to point out. "It hits you when you least expect it. Kinda like maniac depression. Specially under stress, " she shook her head and laughed awkwardly, "The Talisman, well, eh… doesn't work well under stress…heh… and because magic and emotions are so intimately linked, I'd always keep a cool head if I were you."

Puck merely stared at her for a long, long time. "Oh, my God. I'm cursed with menopause."

"Eh, its maniac depression…"

"It's the same thing and you know it!"

He simply refused think about it. If Owen Burnett ever broke down on a Titanic showing, Puck would do the merciful and throw themselves from the balcony.

Oh, it was all happening too damn fast. He tried to reach to the brief glimpses of what he saw on his 'trip', but they all eluded him. But he couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something.

Or someone.

"Why don't I remember the night before I woke without my stone fist?" He quietly inquired, "Why erase it?"

Queen unsmilingly pondered the answer, then said, "A strange artifact has just been shoved into your system. In a few days, if you let yourself go with it, you'll be so powerful… but somehow, the memories of mind-bending pain would spoil the experience."

"You said 'if'…" Puck began to argue, "What happens when I let myself go…?"

She smiled again, "Because you can go with it or you can deny it. But it'll stay in there…" She paused for a moment as she placed her right hand on his chest, "…forever."

* * *

… Owen opened his eyes to find himself standing in the cold, cold snow, in front of the Eerie Building. She refused to answer his question. Think about it, Queen's voice echoed, and Owen spun around confused, looking for her, but she wasn't there, I'll be back before you know it.

"Wait, don't go!" he almost yelled, and a few bystanders looked at him as if he were insane. "I want to talk to you!" He stopped himself to realize that she was gone, and that he was receiving unflattering stares.

He ran inside the building, while he silently tried to make sense of what just happened. Too tired to think, he got the urge to buy himself a box of chocolates, curl up in bed with a bathrobe and watch tv.

No, you don't! You don't! Oh, my God, its starting to happen…! What am I going to do now!?, a puckish voice asked, and it kept Owen awake all night trying to answer it.

CHAPTER FIVE
~ Twice Told Tale ~

It was morning once more in NY, but David Xanatos had been awake since three am. He had spent the entire night worrying about the Weird Sisters' visit. He hadn't told anyone, for Fox's sake, because it would've upset her.

Though he hadn't slept much, he still had enough energy to meet with the top executives of the Siebe Corporation, two 50-something men. Both of them were directly from England. The first one, Mr. O'Hara, whom he called Morris, was the president of the whole board. The other man, a Michael Peterson, was the vice-president, which was like a zero on the left side of politics and business, but Xanatos invited him out of courtesy.

"Say," said Morris, "when is Mr. Burnett coming? We haven't got much time left, you know."

"Isn't this strange? He's usually so punctual…" commented Peterson.

And speak of the devil, where is Owen?, Xanatos wondered.

The three of them patiently waited for Owen to show up, while pacing around at the Eerie building parking lot, right in front of Xanatos' limo, that was supposed to take them to quite a few important meetings. Owen knew this, so being late isn't him. Come to think of it, it never is. He was now around 15 minutes late, and all three of them were getting impatient.

Xanatos had concluded the visit of the Weird Sisters was probably some ploy from Oberon to annoy his ex-servant, since he knew the lord hadn't forgiven Puck. They knew that threatening him would be effective, considering how he had made an ass of himself last time with his father, but no more. He wasn't going to do the Weird Sisters' dirty work.

The panda lead was another lie, and a strange one at that. You'd think they'd say something more believable. Then again, he silently thought, Puck-type has a strange sense of humor…Nevertheless he stayed home like a good little soldier, and hoped that everything went smoothly between Owen and Queen.

After waiting for another five minutes, they opted to leave him behind, hoping they'd meet them later. However, Xanatos didn't pay much attention to the conversation in the limo; his focus was divided between the Englishmen's business and wondering where could Owen be.

* * *

The alarm clock just kept on blaring. Owen had a hard time fighting off the grogginess that dulled him up. Sleep had escaped from him last night, but it had come back now with a vengeance.

Sub-consciously, he knew that he had to wake up, that he had a billion things to do, but in real life, it wasn't so easy.

His dreams weren't quiet dreams. Yesterday's memories of the encounter with Queen were still vivid in his mind, and they took control instead, frankly, because feeling like he just had the best sex of all existence wasn't easy to forget. It was a vulgar comparison, but strangely… delightfully… pleasing. Pleasurable. Desirable.

"What was that thing about 'letting go'?" He wondered outloud. "Would it make me feel like that forever?"

He had heard Queen's version of the truth; but he had no reason to believe her.

Yet still…

That trip. Memories of something--was it really?--something long ago. Maybe not so long ago; maybe just yesterday, the same day he woke up feeling like hell with superimposed images dancing in his head. He felt something--vague?--coming back. Could she really be telling the truth? Maybe Memory Lane had a few more holes than expected…

But…

The memories took on a more dreamlike air. His dreams, now real dreams, told him 'something' was wrong. There was a missing piece there. The Dream. It all boiled down to The Dream.

The one that had been chasing him the last few days. He kept running away from it, but he didn't want to know it, he didn't want to know anything. Ignorance is bliss, he told himself, because he was afraid of the meaning of The Dream. The dream of the day he woke up with superimposed images, the day that started it all.

There was somebody

very important to him

that he couldn't remember

but he didn't ask

because he feared the answer

If it wasn't the alarm clock, it was the cell phone. It's shriek made him clutch his chest in fright. Too many things had happened, and it was getting on his nerves. He finally managed to get a grip of himself and wake up. He pulled the plug on the alarm just to shut it up, and answered the phone.

"Good morning, Owen." Said an all-too-familiar voice. "Where are you?"

Owen tried to fight a yawn and a frustrated sigh. "I'm so sorry, sir." he said, "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"How come?"

Owen tried to hide a smile. "I was stargazing."

The blond could picture his boss smirking, "Oh, really? Find anything interesting?"

"I just found out how wonderful it feels to know it all." Xanatos didn't reply, but he could imagine him raising an eye-brown with a 'what-kind-of-new-age-bullshit-is-that?' look. Owen was disappointed, and simply shrugged away the thought, saying, "Never mind, sir."

"Now that we're on the phone, I saw a very disturbing news report last night."

"About?"

"A panda in the Brooklyn's Children Museum."

Cold panic flooded, and there was an unusual silence from both lines. He made his best to be convincing by asking, "When did that happen?"

"Yesterday." Xanatos replied, seriously, "And I'm sure you know of it. You went to that museum that day too, didn't you? So I assume you know all about it?"

"It's true. I saw that animal run about and took Alex to cover." replied Owen, matter-of-factly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Frankly, I didn't found it relevant information." he replied.

"Anything concerning Alex is relevant to me, is that understood?" said Xanatos in his authoritarian 'I'm-the-boss' voice.

"Of course, Mr. Xanatos. It won't happen again."

"Good." replied Xanatos dryly. "Take the morning for yourself. I'll fill you in with the Siebe people in the afternoon."

* * *

From that moment on, Xanatos knew exactly what he had to do. He took out a small Game Boy-like device and turned it on.

A tracking device. So this is it. Nevertheless, he didn't care what the gargoyles nor Fox would say. But he was going to get to the bottom of this.

Xanatos had felt incredibly stupid asking so, but he had to. A panda, for goodness' sake. He was sure the Sisters were lying, but that assumption vanished when he heard that silence. It surprised Xanatos, not expecting for it to be true.

So it's true, thought Xanatos to himself, not quiet believing it, So there's really something going on…The Weird Sisters telling the truth? He shuddered at the thought. Owen had given him an excuse, but Xanatos knew better than to believe him. A reasonable explication that was not.

But he would have to figure it later. He turned back to the Siebe people, and joined them at the table.

Xanatos gazed lazily at the menu of Chef Pierre, along with the top executives of the Siebe Corporation. Morris, the president of the whole board, and Peterson, was the vice-president, were now chatting among themselves about the horrors of their trip, and deciding what to eat. Xanatos half-heard them; getting pass those English accents was sometimes a task.

"Oh, what a dreadful menu. I really don't feel like doing eating heavy today, ulcers you know…" said Morris.

"I know what you mean. The food in that damn hotel is poisoning me, I'm sure. This whole trip is hell. The worst part was that meeting with Dominique Destine. What an awful woman, I thought she was actually going to kill me. She's almost inhuman!" replied Peterson.

"You have no idea." Xanatos muttered. "So gentlemen, what will you have?"

A loud beep interrupted them and almost made the quiet restaurant jump. "Oh, sorry, my beeper." Xanatos apologized. The beeper, my ass…Xanatos thought when he noticed that wasn't it after all. It was Owen's tracking device, programmed to beep every once in a while, to keep track of his assistant. He was still in the castle, which was good, but he hoped Owen would actually go somewhere so he could find what he was hiding.

"David, will Mr. Burnett be joining us?" asked Morris.

"I was just thinking about him. He called in sick and he's supposed to be resting…" replied Xanatos, as he hid the tracking device. "He spent to much time partying with his lady."

"I didn't know Mr. Burnett had a lady friend." commented Morris. "Who is she?"

"Oh, her? She's a scientist from Three Incorporated." replied Xanatos, "Say," he added, suddenly curious. "Ever heard of them?"

"No, I'm afraid not." replied Morris.

"Are you sure?" asked Xanatos, "I thought you were always checking out technology. She told me she had acquired it from her grandfather."

"No, I'm sure I never heard of it. I guess my connections aren't what they used to be." replied Morris.

"But we would like to find out more. Can you lend us some information, David?" commented Peterson.

"Oh, sure." said Xanatos, taking out his wallet. "She gave me a business card just yesterday. Her office is right here in Manhattan." Xanatos took out the white card and would've given it to the executives if he hadn't read the address.

2525 Memory Lane. There wasn't a Memory Lane in Manhattan. Aha, so I didn't need a tracking device after all. Xanatos' mind was elsewhere when the voice of a soft-spoken waitress snapped him out of it. "Here are your entrees, gentlemen."

"Thank you." replied Morris, "What a lovely young lady you are."

The black-haired women smiled at him. "You are most kind, sir."

Xanatos looked at the young lady intently. She seemed so familiar. "Have we met before?"

She smiled at him, "Of course, I believe we have some business pending about a friend…"

He looked shocked for a second, but came back to his senses when he recognized her as one of the Weird Sisters. Which one, he couldn't tell, they all looked alike. What is she doing?, he wondered as she carefully laid down the lunch. Without giving notice to the other gentlemen, she quietly sneaked a small piece of paper next to Xanatos' plate.

She quickly left, and while the other two picked a few entrees, Xanatos read the message under the table. "Follow me." it said. He looked for the fey and saw she was about to leave.

Not letting her out of his sight, he quickly stood up, while Morris and Peterson looked at him confused. "Where are you going?" Morris asked.

"You know Owen's sick, right? Let's just call this a medical emergency." replied Xanatos, and went after the black-haired fey.

* * *

Xanatos practically ran to the outsides of the restaurant and found the Sisters waiting for him next to the entrance.

"Greetings, David Xanatos." said the black-haired one.

"Our time is short here, so we'll tell only this." said the blond.

"Our temporal employer wishes to speak with you." finished the silver-head.

"Temporal employer?" repeated Xanatos skeptically, "You mean Oberon didn't send you here?"

"Oberon knows nothing of this." answered the blond.

"That what are you doing here?" Xanatos asked sarcastically.

The Weird Sisters looked at each other annoyed. "If you must know, we were brought into this against our will." replied the black-haired.

"We do not care for the Puck, nor what happens on this Earth."

"But we had no choice but to oblige," commented the silver-head, "He threatened us by swearing that if we didn't do his bidding, he would tell lord Oberon about all our mishaps and bending of his laws… We have to do what he says."

"Gee, can't have that…" Xanatos interjected, "Why you three?"

"He thought you would trust us…" replied the blond.

"Ha!" laughed Xanatos, "Boy, did he screwed up on the casting job!"

The Weird Sisters looked at him disdainfully, and the black-haired said, "Be that as it may, pay attention, David Xanatos. Our employer does not like to be taken lightly. He is a very powerful being, so powerful, that even we had to bend to his will."

"He posses powers beyond our comprehension…" said the silver-head.

"He is more powerful that all of Avalon's children combined…" continued the blond, "He is—"

"Yadda, yadda, yadda. Quit the apocalyptic warnings. I'm not scared of you. If you think I'm falling in your lord's plan, whatever it might be, you are sadly mistaken."

"But we speak the truth…!" complained the blond, but he didn't listen.

Xanatos walked away, chuckling to himself. A being more powerful than Oberon…yeah, right. And I pay all my taxes…What a waste of time. He had already told Morris and Peterson he was leaving and it would've been too difficult making something up to calm them down. He opted for returning to the castle and continuing with his life. He saw a little old lady slowly open a taxi's door.

"Hey, lady!" Xanatos said, "Look over there!"

"What is it, sonny?" she said, looking 'over there' as Xanatos got in the cab and it sped off. "I don't see anything—hey!"

* * *

The taxi driver saw how David Xanatos, Puck's buddy, suckered an old lady and jumped in the cab. My, aren't you slick, the driver thought to himself, No wonder Puck likes you. "Where to, sir?"

Xanatos momentarily gazed out the window to see the Weird Sisters looked actually frightened of the driver. "What's their problem?" he muttered under his breath, then told the driver out loud, "To Eerie building, on the double."

The driver began to pull away from the restaurant and the Weird Sisters, leaving them still looking surprised. "Eerie Building? Hey!" cried out the driver, "I know you! You're David Xanatos, right?"

"The one and only." replied Xanatos, with a suave, proud voice.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to meet you." said the driver. "I've heard lots about you. The castle, the money… You must be the happiest man alive. Women hanging all around you. Just like those three."

"Those three are hardly my fans…" Xanatos replied, somewhat bitterly. "Really don't know what they want…" he added under his breath.

"You're never going to find out by not listening to what they have to say…" the driver said teasingly. "Sometimes you have to listen and pay attention for find out what's going. Or else you risk yourself in loosing precious things… Look for hints, that's what I always say. No one's going to spell it out to you."

Speaking of hints, Xanatos thought as he took out Queen's business card, with her so-called address in it. Memory Lane? Maybe there really is one in Manhattan…"Out of curiosity, do you know where Memory Lane is?" replied Xanatos, hopeful yet determined.

The driver looked at Xanatos square in the eye, sending shivers down his spine, and said, "Son, there is no Memory Lane in Manhattan. I thought you knew that by now… " the driver replied eerily. "Manhattan's streets are numbered. Whoever told you that such street existed is lying or misguided. Get with the program. You're being deceived. Can't you take a hint?" replied the driver, coldly.

"That's impossible. Owen would never lie to me…" replied Xanatos.

"Maybe someone put it up to it."

"Who? His girlfriend…?—" Xanatos stopped himself to realize what he was saying. That… woman, Queen, was behind it all. Damn it all, maybe the sisters were telling the truth after all.

"I see." said the driver. "A woman has misguided your friend. You have no idea how often I've seen that. You know, though I'm driving a taxi right now, my family… if you can call them that… is quite powerful. Especially three of my siblings, who happen to run a business. I have watched those three--especially the woman-- control and manipulate two of my younger nephews, The Boy and Robin.

"The Boy was always a troublemaker. All in my family thought that was just some child-like tantrum, until I found out that the boy had been used by my three siblings like a servant. They had conned him by promising him great power. They gave him power all right, but the price was freedom. No wonder the child was such a rebel, he hated that life… He even went as far as trying to kill them."

Xanatos was surprised that the driver would so suddenly tell his entire family history. "So… what happened…?" he asked, out of curiosity.

"Since he couldn't kill them, the poor boy chose to end his existence instead."

"They drove him to kill himself!?" replied Xanatos. "What are they, some kind of Mafia?"

"More or less, yes…" the driver dryly said.

"That's… awful." said Xanatos, suddenly pitying the driver.

"But that's not all." replied the driver, and continued him tale, "Just like the Mafia, those three aren't stupid. They didn't actually killed The Boy until they had a suitable replacement. Namely, The Boy's younger cousin, and my nephew, Robin.

"Robin had enough troubles before his uncles came along. He is the son of one of my younger brother, who left my family to make a life for himself. He was so far away; I have never met his children, other than Robin. He was an unruly child who liked making trouble," He paused to smile a bit, "just like me on my younger days. Because of his behavior, and because he failed to attend some big family meeting, his father disowned him. Robin knew the importance of the gathering, but he had found a nice job and friends, he didn't want to go back. Though he knew he was in for a big punishment, he never expected to be disowned. But at least he had his job.

"Then they came along. They weren't going to let Robin slip from their grasp. Instead, they orchestrated a little 'accident'. He suddenly woke up one morning, with extra bucks in the bank…if you know what I'm talking about. Since Robin didn't know anything about them, they were free to start all over again, to convince him about joining them. I soon found out about it, and came here immediately. But they knew I was here, and threaten to kill my own child if I interfered…"

"Oh…" said Xanatos. "So, you know what's going on… but you can't stop them?"

"No." replied the driver, saddened. "I can't. But I know someone who can. In fact, I'm trying to convince his boss, who seems to care for him, to interfere at this very second. I tried to use three women to do my bidding, but the chap is… less than bright…"

"Are you kidding, he's a total idiot!" Xanatos cried out.

"You have no idea." replied the driver, with a grin. "They are using a woman to convince him to join their business. If something is not done, I fear an unhappy end for Robin."

"Women." repeated Xanatos, and scoffed. "I fear that a woman, too, is doing something to him…"

The driver suddenly parked the car in front of Eerie Building. "We're here."

"How much is it?"

"No charge, just do a favor to me," replied the driver, shunning away the money, "Take care of my Robin."

Xanatos was taken by surprise, he did not understand. There was something in the driver's eyes; sorrow mixed with mischief; that he hadn't seen the first time he stepped on the cab. Then it all made sense.

In 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream', Puck was also called Robin Goodfellow. And the woman. And the Sisters. And the hints. It all pointed toward…

"Who are you…?" Xanatos whispered, but it was too late to ask that question.

* * *

"Hey, mista!" echoed a far away voice to David Xanatos, "Hey, mista! Wake up, mon. We's in your place!"

Xanatos opened his eyes to find himself in a normal cab, where a black guy with a Jamaican accent shook him awake. It was nothing like the other cab. This one was disorganized, not like the first. Xanatos looked around startled and bewilderedly asked, "Where am I?"

"You in my taxi, we in your place. $20 bucks, mon." the Jamaican replied.

"When did I ended up here?"

The Jamaican looked at him funny, but he answered anyway. "I picked you up at da restaurant. You dupe an old chick to get in here. Then you fell asleep."

"That's right…" replied Xanatos, more to himself than the driver.

"Whatever, mon. $20 bucks."

Xanatos got off the cab and gave him the twenty's bill. Bewildered, he made his way to the front desk, where a guard asked him, "You ok, Mr. Xanatos. You looked as if you've seen a ghost…"

~ Elsewhere ~

"Nice…very nice…" muttered to himself Quinn, from across the street, as he saw Xanatos enter the building with a terror-stricken expression. "Look who decided to crash the party. What'd you think, Quill?"

"Shucks. Now we're going to have to get rid of Him and Xanatos. Not our lucky decade…"

CHAPTER SIX
~ Nameless ~

She hadn't appeared for days now, and —much to his surprise— he was starting to miss her. How dare she leave just when things get interesting? muttered an oh-so-familiar voice inside Owen's mind, while typing mechanically some kind of report he hadn't even read.

She had proposed to him an interesting deal. The power for carrying one of her talismans. It felt so nice. But another thing hovered over him like a cloud. That 'Boy'. Why did he end his own life? True, They weren't the most charming people in the universe, but…

He desperately wished that Queen had left him some kind of phone number so they could speak again. But alas, she only gave him an address '2525 Memory Lane' Which wasn't much. He wasn't motivated enough to pay her a visit— never mind he had no clue how to reach that pocket reality to begin with.

Having that thing inside him was a scary thought, but what was even scarier was her reaction if he said no… He'd probably never see her again. Maybe it was a good thing, maybe it was a bad thing…

But Xanatos, for some reason, was bent on thinking it was a good thing, Owen didn't understand why. Oh, you know why…commented a voice, ever so often, Because he couldn't wait for her to vanish so he could be the center of attention once more… His master's 'poor winner' attitude didn't bother him much.

He was another reason, as much as Owen hated to admit, for him to think twice about it. Xanatos was Xanatos, and he had promised him that 'a wish from Puck or a lifetime of Owen'. He chose Owen, so there he was. He had actually tossed aside Oberon because of that promise…

But was he capable of tossing away Queen like that? As much as he hated to admit it, he was actually beginning to miss her. Damn him, damn her… She was interesting, was all that he admitted to say.

Nevertheless he, for one, actually enjoyed a little peace and quiet every once and then. He didn't need trouble. Puck was already there. And he still liked challenges--at least, challenges he could do.

And speaking of challenges, wasn't it time for Alexander's magic lesson? It had been so long since he had one. It was time to be the trickster, instead of the tricked.

* * *

With the setting sun, the six stone statues in Xanatos' balcony slowly woke up from their sleep with a roar. Shaking off stone flakes, each one stretched.

"What a lovely night…" said Angela; picking off little stone pieces of her hair. "Are we going on patrol again? These last nights have been so peaceful."

"Perhaps only a few rounds." replied Goliath, "We'll go later. After breakfast."

"Breakfast, all right!" spoke up Broadway. "Who's up for pancakes and Doritos!"

"Pancakes and Doritos? You're sick, Broadway…" commented Brooklyn and made a face.

"Who cares? I could eat the kitchen sink!" replied Broadway, rubbing his tummy.

"That's for sure…" mumbled Lexington in a corner, and began to snicker with Brooklyn, while Broadway gave them a dirty look.

"Aye lads, quit joking and bring forth the pancakes…" interjected Hudson, as the all went inside the castle.

* * *

"La, la, la…" hummed Broadway as he stirred the pancakes' batter. "A little butter…a little salt…a few M&M's…"

Lex and Brooklyn looked at each other disgusted. "You're not going to eat that, are you?" said Lex.

"Forget it! You can't have any of mine!"

"Who says we want some…?" mumbled Brooklyn. "Come on, Lex, let's make something decent."

Broadway scoffed and continued to make his pancakes. The other two gargoyles began to loudly rummage through the kitchen.

"Oww!" suddenly cried out Lex. "Broadway, quit throwing M&M's!"

"What are you talking about?" Broadway replied with mouth stuffed with a loaf of bread.

"You just threw me an M&M!" cried out Lex.

"What are you, nuts? No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did!" replied Lex, "who else puts candy in his pancakes!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Guys, knock it off already. I'm trying to cook." cried Brooklyn, looking up from the stove.

"But he threw me an M&M!"

"You're acting like a bunch of hatchlings. Stuff it, I don't want to hear it."

Lex and Broadway looked at each other mean-spiritedly, then at Brooklyn. "Yes, you did!"—"No, I didn't!" they kept mumbling.

"Come on guys, shut up already!" said Brooklyn again. Their mumbling stopped, and he sighed in relief…until an M&M hit him. "All right, who did it?"

"Did what?"

"Which one of you hit me with an M&M?"

"It's Broadway, I tell you! He's throwing us M&Ms!"

"I did not!" Broadway defended himself.

"You're the one with the M&Ms, so stop it."

"I DIDN'T!" he cried out again, waving around the spoon that he was using to stir the pancakes. "Lex is lying!"

"Yeah, right…" mumbled Lex.

"That's really immature, Broadway…"

"But I didn't!" said Broadway, maniacally waving around the spoon. "I didn't! I didn't! I didn't! I—" he stopped himself when he realized he had accidentally splattered pancake batter on Brooklyn's face.

The three gargoyles looked at each other. There was silence in the kitchen. "We all know what this means…" said Brooklyn.

"Yep." said Broadway. "Let's settle this like adults…"

"FOOD FIGHT!!!!" Lexington finally cried and pancake batter started to fly…

* * *

"By the Dragon!" roared Goliath. "Look what you've done!" The kitchen was a royal mess. Chunks of pancake batter were randomly splattered around. The wall, the floor, the ceiling… it was all covered with the sticky substance that looked like glue.

"Lads, what is this?" said Hudson, in awe ot all the destruction.

The three gargoyles looked down in shame, embarrassed that they had done such a childish thing…

"What's the meaning of this?" growled Goliath.

"He-he--" stuttered Lexington, and pointed to Broadway. "…He threw me a M&M…"

"Oh, honestly! I can't believe you're still doing these kind of things!"

"But he threw us M&Ms!" Brooklyn cried out, but shrank back with Goliath's scowling look.

"No, I didn't!" said Broadway.

"Well, if neither one of us did it, then who?" asked Lex accusingly.

* * *

Elsewhere, more specifically, in Owen's room, Puck laughed, almost out of breath, as he finished gulping down his bag of M&Ms. Idiots, he thought, while floating around the room.

"Hey, Alex. How'd you like that new invisibility spell?" he told to the red-haired child playing with a gargoyle-like teddy bear.

"Again!" giggled Alex. "Want more candy!"

"Oh, no. He'll get a tummy-ache." Angela interjected as she entered the bedroom. She took Alex in her arms, while the toddler whined, "No I won't auntie. I'm a big boy. I don't get tummy aches no more. Promise!"

"Yeah, auntie, we want candy!" Puck cheered too.

"You shouldn't even think about that, trickster," replied Angela, "Especially after the M&M business in the kitchen…"

"Are they mad?"

"Furious."

"Good. May they have a merry time cleaning it up." Puck said, taking Alex in his arms. "I'm not planning to teach him a tidiness spell tonight."

"Wow." said Angela. "I'm amazing how well you've been taking it."

Puck looked at her disconcerted. "Take what?"

She put a friendly hand in his shoulder and said, "Isn't it obvious? She's been missing for a week. I know how difficult it is when you brake off with someone you used to love…"

"Ehh…"

"The clan and me just know that you will find your true love someday…"

"Uhh…"

"Your emotions must be killing you. No wonder you take it out on such childish pranks…"

"Ahh…"

"And if Xanatos had something to do with the break off, it would be my pleasure to kill him for you."

"Umm…I'm fine. Really I am, I'm--I'm, like, a rock. You don't have to get worried…" he jested, while she looked serious. "You don't have to kill him if you don't want to."

"But don't you miss her?"

He was quiet for a moment. "I guess so." he shrugged. "I mean, she was annoying and all but…" he looked for the right word. It was very difficult. He knew what it was, but he couldn't name it, "her presence was appreciated."

"So you loved her…?" Angela grinned.

"I never said that!" blurted out the fey. "Hell, I'm not sure what I'm feeling…"

"You know," replied Angela, "it's ok to miss somebody."

He made his best attempt at looking as if he didn't care and said, "I've no reason to miss her. In fact, I'm glad she's gone. She was just a torn on my side."

"But you looked so cute together!" exclaimed Angela.

"Hey," he commented, "You don't know her like I do. She's arrogant and annoying; she thinks she's so perfect and that she has no defects, I wanna slap her… With her around, who needs Oberon?"`

"Well, maybe because the people with the same defects tend to fight a lot." Angela commented.

"Cute theory. But I don't think this is the case."

"Why?"

"I have no defects." Would he had paid any attention, he would've seen Angela's face drop, but instead he heard a voice say, But I miss her, even with all her shortcomings, I miss her. Who knew?

That same second, Goliath marched into his room with a scolding look. And speaking of defects…"Goliath, old boy, what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"The pancake batter hanging from the ceiling, for one thing…" the lavender gargoyles replied dryly.

"Oh, don't look at me. They chose to throw it all by themselves. Can't help it if they're immature children…"

"Why you--!" Goliath was ready to skin him apart when Angela placed herself between them.

"Now, now." Angela gently pushed Goliath away, "Father, shame on you. Can't you see he's hurt?"

"He is?" asked Goliath.

"I am?" asked Puck. Wait a minute! Would you rather be beat up by Goliath…? "Oh, it's true! I'm so depressed, I don't know what to do!" he cried out, while an 'I-don't-believe-him' look crept over Goliath's face. Puck turned to Goliath and said, "I'm sorry, Goliath. I'm so bored without her, I've nothing to do this dreary December nights…"

The gargoyle muttered, "Give me a break…" but Puck ignored him.

"As a token of my appreciation," he continued, "Why don't you join Alex and me in a little magic lesson?"

"There! Aren't you glad we talked it out?" interjected Angela.

Goliath frowned and muttered "Ecstatic." under his breath.

* * *

"Come on, Fox, tell us! We don't have all night!"

"Let me think! What's a nine-letter word for an mechanical device that uses heat waves to cook or heat food…?"

"Uhh…stove?"

"EEEERRGG, wrong answer! Next!"

"Microwave!"

"DING, DING, DING! That is correct! Lexington, it's your turn to use the control remote!"

All the other gargoyles moaned in disdain. Winter had come unusually early this year and the clan hadn't been able to go on patrol for the heaving snowing, nor the criminals for that matter. The clan had no other choice but to stay behind and watch TV in one of Xanatos' bigger living rooms.

Battles over the remote control were brutal, but Fox had managed to bring them down by making this little games. But it didn't stop all the bickering.

"That's not fair! Of course he knows what a microwave is! He keeps taking it apart all the time!" cried Broadway.

"Heh, heh," replied Lex, with a wide grin, "You still lose. It's the Discovery channel for you!"

"AHHHGGG!" Brooklyn moaned as he brought his hands to his face, "Fox, do something! Get another TV, please!"

"Sorry, the rules are the rules are the rules…" Fox chuckled.

Quietly sitting in the couch while the gargoyles squabbled, David Xanatos couldn't help but think of the taxi man, who Xanatos affectionately nicknamed 'the Guru', for lack of a better word. It was all he ever thought about, even though both Guru and Queen had just vanished for some two weeks now.

He highly doubted this was Avalon's magic. So… it had to be something else. Not a comfortable thought. Whatever it was, 'They' were two steps ahead while Xanatos figured things out.

But all of the sudden, it all changed. She was gone, and things were getting back to normal. So whatever she was, he never got to find out, but it was better that way, since he wasn't sure he'd like the answer.

What should I do with the Guru? constantly echoed in his mind. He really wished he could speak to the taxi guru. He was definitely one of 'Them', but seemed to care about Puck. Another question was why. Xanatos was intrigued by the question, while a little voice told him that this wasn't over until Guru explained himself properly. There was something supposed to happen. This was almost too easy.

He felt tempted to do something, anything, but the danger was over, what was the use now? However, he still hoped against hope that he'd hear again the taxi guru's voice saying…

"It's 8 o' clock, do you know where your kids are?" suddenly boomed the Guru's voice, coming from the tv.

"How boring." said Lex, as he changed the channel.

Xanatos yanked the control remote from Lex and changed it back. "Well, do you?" asked the Guru, somewhat annoyed.

"Not really." answered Xanatos.

Fox and the clan looked at him funny. "What's he doing?"—"I don't know…" they began to mutter among themselves.

"Well, call the number on the screen…" yellow numbers popped out of nowhere. "And let's have a little chat… in private if you don't mind…" The advertisement was over and Xanatos tossed the remote to Lex.

"Excuse me, I've got a phone call to do…" and he charged out the door.

"It's stress getting to him?" Brooklyn asked Fox.

"What stress?"

* * *

Xanatos charged into his office and closed the door. He hadn't bothered to jot down the phone number; it was 555-5555, kind of hard to forget, considering that was the standard for all phony numbers in America.

He grabbed the phone and started dialing, when a voice said, "That won't be necessary." Xanatos spun around to find the Guru sitting in his desk. His clothing was now an exact replica of his black ensemble. Xanatos didn't know wherever feel flattered or mocked. "Good evening, Mr. Xanatos." he said politely.

"Good evening." replied Xanatos politely too. No use getting on the Guru's bad side. "What can I do for you?"

"No. What can I do for you?" replied the Guru. "We're on the same side, you and I. Only you have the power to act while I don't."

"Just what do you want with Puck? How do I know you're no different from Queen?"

"Because if I were on her side, I wouldn't be lurking the shadows, believe me." replied the Guru. "I've really no intention of hurting the lad. As I commented in the cab, they did kill my other nephew and threatened to kill my child. In all, I'm making the universe a big favor."

"Well, congratulations. Whatever it is that you did worked, that 'friend' of yours hasn't been the castle for weeks--"

"It may be too soon to sing victory, Xanatos." interrupted the Guru dryly.

"Excuse me?" inquired Xanatos, mildly surprised.

"Do you honestly think it's all over?"

Xanatos was surprised, then annoyed. "Of course it's all over. She's gone. She's not coming back."

The Guru shook his head. "Humans…" he muttered under his breath, softly, yet Xanatos was able to hear. "She'll be back, you know. She is a very, very stubborn woman. And this only means she's up to something."

"You worry over nothing." replied Xanatos. "Everything is under control."

"HA!" laughed the Guru. "Under control? The audacity and naivete of some humans is simply too much for me! You're so human, always struggling to control something he cannot."

Xanatos was surprised at his sudden change of attitude and, annoyed at the Guru's insolence, he replied, "Excuse me. Who says you're telling me the truth? You are forgetting one little detail, I don't know you. I've no reason to even listen to you and risk my neck and make a fool of myself in front of anyone ever again. Ever since Alex came to this world, I've quit maiming and spying on everyone. I won't interfere anyone's life again because a ghost told me to."

"Oh, yes." said the Guru, more to himself than to Xanatos. "I remember that little incident with Dad, yes, I remember. And he wasn't the only one, was he?" Xanatos frowned, and the Guru continued. "Do you know why I chose you, David Xanatos? Because when you decide someone is irreplaceable, you really mean it. True, your methods are left something to be desired, but…"

"I chased away his girlfriend!" Xanatos interrupted, frustrated. "My own father! It was a mistake, really. I just wanted to get to know her better. I mean, he's the father of one of the richest men in the world, I thought she was going hurt him. Marie and Rachael did it, I thought this one was no different. He didn't want me to meet her. So… I hired someone to follow her. Another mistake. As it turns out, she didn't know about me. She wasn't after him because of the money, she was after him because she loved him. And I had to screw it up. She noticed she was being followed, got scared, dumped dad. He was crushed. And now he doesn't talk to me. And I want to say that I'm sorry. And now I've got a bad rep with Fox and the gargoyles, so if I try to do something now, they'll just rub it in my face. Hell, anything I say would be considered a lie. I'm never going to earn my dad's trust again…And…" he took a deep breath. "I don't want that to happen to Owen. Of all the people in the castle, he's the one who might actually believe me. I don't want to lose his trust too…"

"Hmm. Like Peter and the wolf. You've cried wolf so many times, they won't believe you..."

Xanatos nodded slightly. "What's more important, spirit? Chasing after an speculation or keeping the trust of someone you care about?"

The Guru looked at him surprised. "Truly, Mr. Xanatos, brave words, coming from someone who tricked the gargoyles and that woman Maza over and over again."

The Guru looked truly amazed, and Xanatos wondered if he was serious or indirectly insulting him. "Well, anyway, you understand my point of view, right?"

"Oh, absolutely!" he said, then added in a more subtle tone, "However, David Xanatos, you can't walk away from this just because you're scared. We will meet again."

And the man was gone.

* * *

Goliath shifted uncomfortably in his chair, holding Alex in his arms, wondering what was Puck up to. The fey told him to 'stay put' while he did dragon-knows-what. "Is this a good idea, daughter?" he muttered to Angela standing next to him.

"Of course, father. It gives Puck something to do. He really misses her… he told me so." Angela replied in growing confidence.

Ah, daughter, Goliath thought to himself, you've much to learn about the devious intentions of some people…

All of the sudden, the room went dark and the only source of light was the spotlight in the middle of the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" suddenly cried Puck when he showed up with a big flash of light, almost making Goliath leap in the air. He was wearing a black master-of-ceremonies suit and was waving around a magician's wand. "Welcome to Lost and Found 101! Special guest star: Goliath as the guinea pig!"

Goliath growled softly and mumbled, "The exits are probably covered…" while Alex clapped happily.

"Now, now, father…" scolded Angela, "just play along."

Puck grabbed Alex in his arms and said, "This are the rules, kiddo. I'll make Goliath disappear and reappear somewhere in the castle and it's your job to find him. Do you remember what I told you about how you can tell apart people by their auras?" Alex nodded, while sucking his thumb. "Good. Are you ready Goliath?"

He stared at Angela with pleading eyes, but she ignored it. "As ready as I can be…" he sighed.

"Ok then, " Puck replied, "Sim-sim salabim!" And Goliath vanished in a burst of light. He let Alex down on the floor and said, "All right! Go get 'em, boy! Aunt Angela, why don't you help?"

She bent over to take Alex by the hand and said, "Let's go Alex. We've got a gargoyle to catch!"

Alex cheered, and both he and Angela made their way down the hall.

* * *

"Who? Where?" Goliath muttered as he finished materializing. Startled, he opened his eyes and found himself in a cramped, pinch-black room. He tried to move, but there was something impeding him; he was all tied up in iron chains. But that wasn't the only bothersome thing; he realized he was wearing some kind of full body fur suit. "What sorcery is this!?" he yelled loudly, and began to struggle against the chains.

"Oh, Goliath! I thought you wanted to play!" said Puck's all-too-familiar voice. The lights flickered on, and when Goliath saw himself, he almost screamed. He was at a broom closet, tied up in iron chains and the fur coat he was wearing was actually a hamster suit with nametag reading 'Mr. Fluffy'. "Damn you, Puck! Damn you to hell!"

"Don't overreact. It looks good." Puck replied, calmly hovering above him.

"What is the meaning of this?!" the gargoyle rumbled.

"I've already told you. Alex is supposed to pick your aura and find you. That's all. Anyway, that's not why I brought you here."

"Then why?!" Goliath roared, while he struggled with the chains.

"Do you miss Demona?"

Goliath quitted fighting the chains, bewildered. "Why do you ask?"

"Ok, hypothetical situation: There's this person that seems interested in you and seems to want the best for you. However, you're not really sure, because she molests you a lot. What would you do?"

"Well," replied Goliath, as he made his best attempt to make himself comfortable. "Talking it out is always good. Maybe that's her way to get your attention. Or perhaps she's not interested in you at all, and she only wants to tease you. However, I find that last option unlikely."

"So, all right. It's like a 5^th grade kid who annoys a girl he likes. He does it because he doesn't know what else to do."

"I believe your comparison is valid, yes."

"Very good Goliath!" replied Puck, cheerful. "For that, you'll get a treat!"

"You'll get me out of here?" Goliath hopefully interjected.

"Good try." said Puck, "You'll not slip out of this one yet!" Goliath was about to curse the fey, but he just vanished in a burst of light, leaving a loud 'Ta-ta!' ringing on Goliath's ear.

* * *

Alexander was taking his sweet time to find Goliath; something Puck found rather odd, considering how red that gargoyle's aura must be after he noticed the hamster suit. Maybe it wasn't red enough, he thought, I knew I should've gone with the Carmen Miranda look…

He felt tempted to go out and look for the boy, but his attention torn between his protegé and that book called the Starr Report. He was going through page 60-something when a disembodied voice called out and said, "How can you read that thing? There's no plot."

He spun his head wildly until he noticed Queen sitting right next to him.

"You're back!" Puck replied, a bit more childish that he meant to, causing him to add again in a calmer tone, "About time you showed up."

"Well, I've come to check on you." she said, matter-of-factly. She carefully inspected him and said, "Your eyes look greener than before…but you've tried to change them back, right? Aren't you pleased with your body…?"

"Oh, now. You certainly don't waste time with small talk, do you?" he responded. "Have you met Alex? He's such a cute little boy. Right now he's looking for Goliath, I think. But he's taking way too long. Let's go look for him…"

"Puck…"

"I've also got to feed him, bathe him, and getting him to sleep. And that's one hell of a challenge…"

"Come on…" she warned.

"And there's finishing up some things Owen forgot. Which I forgot too. Sorry, I tend to mix up pronouns every once in a while…"

"Puck, stop stalling me. Don't you still like my Talisman? I can feel your struggling against it!"

Puck was mute for a few moments. "Wouldn't you rather watch tv…?"

"Spit it up, boy."

"It's all happening too quickly!" Puck snapped, to then sigh. "I'm still too… new at this, you know what I mean…?" He chuckled uncomfortably, and awkwardly added, "You know, it's a wonderful opportunity, but…"

"But…?" Queen inquired. He lowered his sight and mumbled something. "But?" replied Queen, "I didn't hear you."

"I said I'm afraid." Puck said, in contempt. Queen gazed him amused, and he quickly recovered saying, "What I meant to say its why would I be doing stuck with such an annoying thing like that anyway. If I 'let myself go', I might end up growing a foot in my stomach!"

"Gee, glad you think so highly of me…"

"Besides, I'm ok like this. Stone fist is gone, magic is back, all is well. Why get greedy?"

"Oh! Do you always think so small?" she said indignant. "You're not turning down the power! You are turning me down! I thought you trusted me!"

"That never happened." he replied more sharply that he would've liked. "You've never given me a proper reason to trust you."

Queen was enraged for a second, but only a second. "All right." she said, "I'll make you trust me. Come, boy. I'm going to teach you something."

* * *

Queen snapped her fingers and the whole bedroom changed, or rather, they left the bedroom, and ended up somewhere with a lot of trees. It was night, and it was virtually deserted, except for a jogger in gray clothes running in the distance, who didn't seem to notice their arrival.

Puck, or rather, Owen took a good look at himself. He'd truly appreciate it if she quit changing him back and forth so unexpectedly.

Owen spun around, trying to get a look of the new place. It was awfully familiar. Then it hit him. This was Central Park. They had just landed between the zoo exhibit and a gray water fountain. Not the best of choices. Thugs were probably around, ready to mug him.

"What are we doing here?" he asked Queen.

"Why, this our training ground, of course."

"Training?"

"Relax, I'll explain it in due time." she cleared her throat. "Listen up and listen closely. The thing I'm about to teach is really an old trick I used back when I wasn't stuck with the thankless job of guarding the talismans. I used to call it (^&%$$^)."

"What?"

"(^&%$$^) That's its name."

"That's a name? What does it mean?"

"The name roughly translates like 'heavenly punishment' or 'divine retribution'. This was just a method to punish naughty dates. I made it up when I visited this certain place and pretended to be a goddess. But they have no respect for divinity. They hit on me, and every time they got grabby, I had to fry their skull. Hence the name 'divine retribution'. The funny thing is that they came back for more. For you it will be more, considering that all your enemies are…well… weaklings compared to you now. This will surely cause considerable damage. The best thing about this is that you don't need Puck for this one. Owen can do it all by himself."

"I can?" inquired Owen. "But this body in entirely human. I can't do magic."

"Hey, I took a mortal body and it worked for me. If I can do that, you can do anything." she replied, then she walked towards the gray water fountain, near Owen. "It's all in channeling energy. Watch and learn, honey."

All of the sudden, a bluish bolt of electricity began to form at the tip of her right index finger and it seemed to get bigger and bigger…Then she yelled (^&%$$^) and sent a bolt toward the water in the fountain. Water conducts electricity, and the fountain almost exploded. After the electricity calmed down, half the water was evaporated.

"Tah-dah! How did you like it?"

"That's your big technique? It's just electricity."

"Well, of course. It's not the electricity that matters. Remember, your so-called magic is really channeling energy. It's the amount of bolt you can channel. That was nothing. Normally, even you could do that. What I'm talking about its channeling a bigger charge than that. Something that a normal fey can't do. Something that you'll be able to do when I'm through with you. That is…" she added, "if I your human-like body can channel energy like that. I'm not sure, but it's time to find out."

"Find out? How…?"

She warped her arms around him, and couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. She actually seemed affective, something that he hadn't experienced since the fall of Nixon. "What's going on?" he asked, hugging back.

"What are you doing?" she inquired when he hugged back. "Don't get fresh, I'm going to give you a little energy boost. Don't worry. Like any other spell, I suggest you say (^&%$$^) to focus."

"I can't pronounce that."

"Then say 'divine retribution' or something, it's either that or scream like hell…"

"What a comforting thought…"

"Aim to the fountain. Ready?" she asked, but didn't give Owen time to answer 'no'. He just felt two thousand bolts of electricity go through his body and escape through his fingertips as if it was nothing. Not so different from that time he changed the humans to gargoyles… but much more intense, something that he hadn't experienced in a millennia…"MAKE IT STOP!"

She stopped dead on her tracks and he collapsed on her, using her chest like a pillow. "Get off me." she muttered, and he jumped back like a scared cat. "Now tell me, what happened?"

"That was painful!" replied Owen as if that were the stupidest question he'd ever heard.

"So? No pain, no gain." she replied matter-of-factly.

Owen shot daggers with his eyes and said, "If you wish to teach magic, do teach it to Puck. I dislike using this body for those purposes."

Queen sighed loudly and replied, "Do you remember what I told you when you burned yourself in the panda incident. Your magic has been amplified, and so has your capability of channeling energy. If you try to do (^&%$$^) as Puck you'll end up destroying the building you're in and every sorry being that happens to be with you. Owen is more like a regulating mechanism. So restrain yourself from bringing Puck into this, you got that? Or do I have to repeat it over and over again?"

"I understand." Owen replied dryly. "May I return to castle Wyvern now? You caught me in the middle of a magic lesson."

"You haven't changed your mind, have you?" she responded saddened.

"About what?"

"About embracing it! Embracing your destiny!" she said exasperated. "I mean, hello, that's why I brought you here in the first place!"

"I've already told you." answered Owen, "I don't know. Give me time. I'll think about it."

She groaned in disgust. "Give yourself completely, child!" She pleaded, "You could be so powerful if you'd just let go! Let go of your fears! Let go of that…" she gave him a look full of contempt, "…crippling humanity!"

Owen was taken aback by her urgency. What do I say now? echoed in his mind. "Don't you understand…? I… I like this humanity, as flawed as it is… I didn't ask for a Talisman. I like having my magic back, yes… but I could've done just as well spending my days as a mortal…"

Queen was shocked, and had a hard time picking up her jaw from the floor. "That's it? You're turning god-hood down?" she said, her tone changing into an angry one. "You're turning Us Three down?!"

Owen shrank back at her, and suddenly wondered if he was about to join The Other Boy in the netherworld. "I'm sorry…" he mumbled.

But amazingly, she calmed down. "All right." she replied, "I accept it. If you don't want me, I won't bear a grudge."

"…really?" he asked, not quite understanding.

"Oh, absolutely." she replied, calmed as the breeze.

Owen lighted up too, and said, "I'm glad we came into agreement. You know," he continued, "It's not like I'm turning you three down…" She shot him a quizzical look, "I mean, I wouldn't mind having you around. It's been awhile since I've had anyone to talk to so…"

"So…?" she repeated, skeptically.

"You're welcomed to stay around. With me. Besides," he added, "the gargoyles miss you."

She seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Xanatos will be a problem."

"He always is."

"No," she replied as if she meant more than that. "No, he really will be a problem…" Owen gazed at her confused, but she only replied that she'd "explain it all later…"

~ Elsewhere ~

"What did he mean by 'no'?" questioned Quinn to his comrade sitting right next to him in a bench deep in Central Park.

" 'No' as in 'no'." Queen replied. "What'd you think?" she gestured to the second gentleman that called himself Quill, "What should I do?"

"So he said no, big deal." he replied, "That only means we have to do it the hard way. Tell me, how should Xanatos die? Car crash? Freak accident? Murder? Murder's good, lot's of people would like to have the honor."

"No, he can't die." replied Quinn. "Not while the situation can still be saved."

"Saved how?" interjected Queen.

"Oh, you're going to love this one…"

CHAPTER SEVEN
~ Women ~

Another perfect sunset passed in that grand isle called Manhattan, and David Xanatos was fully aware of it, since he was leaning over a parapet contemplating it. He had better things to do though. Reports to read, companies to take over, people to bribe… but his hands were metaphorically tied, since his second-in-command was somewhere. Where, he didn't know, but at least he wasn't alone.

He was with her.

Damn that Guru, he was right. Then again, he should've seen it coming, since problems like this don't simply 'go away'. What Xanatos thought strange was that Owen actually seemed to like her more than before. When Xanatos first met her, he had noticed that Owen always seemed to wish to be somewhere else. Now, he was welcoming her with open arms.

Something strange was going on.

The beep of a game-boy-like device in his pocket startled him. He took it out to see a little red dot moving. So, he's on the move. Xanatos told himself. True, he felt something that could be described as 'guilt' for planting in Owen a tracking device, but whatever works. Besides, it felt better than doing nothing. It was not as if he could tell Owen something like, 'hey, your girlfriend's a demon, please dump her.' The tracking device beeped again. He's on the move…and he's coming here. He put it away inside his jacket once more. Well, why be rude? Might as well go say hi.

He gazed at the sunset one more time. Mr. Guru, send me a sign…should I be joyous or should I be damned? And he made his way inside.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"Stop it. I know the ride is long, so let's try to make the best of it."

"But Owen… the Carpenters are killing me."

Traffic jams in NY are legendary. From where did these mortals ever got so many cars escaped her. God, what about those manners? The New Yorkers invented the Finger. And they held no qualms against using it, oh, say, every five minutes. Queen began to tap her foot loudly, overlapping with 'We've only just begun' playing on the radio. "At least let me change the station."

"Fine." Owen replied dryly.

Oh, bless the limousine. The controls were right next to her, in between the little tv and a bottle of champagne. She started changing stations, only to find much to her disgust, it was all bad.

"Primitive mortals…" she mumbled, and that comment didn't escape Owen's ear.

"I know you are bored." he said, "So just keep telling me the joke. God calls Fidel Castro, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates and tells them the end is near, so…?"

"Oh, yeah. So Castro goes to the plaza and says to the Cuban people, 'We've got bad news and more bad news. The first is that there is a God, the second, that He plans to destroy the Earth.' Then its Clinton's turn, he goes to CNN and says, 'We've got good news and bad news, the first it that we were right all along, and there's a God, the bad news it's that He plans to destroy the Earth.' Then its Bill Gates' turn, so he goes to the internet and says, 'We've got good news and better news. The first it that God has chosen me as His speaker, the second its that we won't have to upgrade Windows anymore!" She burst into laughter, while Owen was as stiff as ever. "You didn't like it?"

"I've heard it before." he replied.

She frowned slightly and changed the subject, saying, "Are we there yet?" Owen ignored her, and she added, "At least let me make it faster."

"You'll startle the driver. Not to mention everyone else on NY."

"You worry too much." she replied. "This is NY. With the gargoyles flying around, I'm sure they won't be surprised if a couple of cars vanish in a burst of light."

"That may be, but I don't want to tempt fate."

"Nonsense." she replied, "I don't believe in fate." She was about to snap her fingers when Owen grabbed her hand before she could do so.

"Why are you so impulsive?" he asked, slowly letting her go, but she yanked it off too quickly. She just looked at him snobbishly and gazed out the window. "You are so childish." he muttered softly.

"Oh," Queen replied, obviously listening to him. "Why are you so cold today?"

"Excuse me?"

"Cold. Owen's always cold. Cheer up ever once in a while. Just because Puck's off-line, it doesn't mean you can't have fun. You didn't even laugh at my joke."

"That's because it was a lousy joke."

She was indignant, "I don't see you doing any better."

"Puck will tell you one later…" he replied.

She sighed and gave him a sad look, "You know, you've got a serious double personality thing going down in your head; I'm no psychiatrist, but I know people…"

"I am not insane." he said annoyed.

"Sure you're not…" she scoffed, "You just act like two different people and name yourself in third person. But you're not insane, no-siree-Bob…"

"That's just the way it is. Take it or leave it." he responded matter-of-factly.

"Oh, you're just incapable of having fun as a human, that's all." she commented, "I mean, what else do you do in that body, besides serving Xanatos?"

"Not much. And that's the whole point of me, to actually live like any other human."

"But even humans can have fun… You copied your behavior from Preston Vogel, surely you noticed he has a life too."

"He hasn't." Owen replied. "Believe me, I've looked. He is a very stiff man, I still haven't figured out why. It's odd, but I still don't know why cold people are cold. At least I have a good reason, but take Vogel for example, I still don't know what makes him cold."

"Yes, but that doesn't excuse that little problem of the two of you."

For a moment, he thought she was talking about Vogel and him, but frowned when he realized it was he and the 'other' he. "You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe you just don't know what you want." She replied. "First you want me to go away and never come back, now you beg me to stay."

"That has nothing to do with my personality. The fact is that you bring me more problems than resolutions. You are also arrogant and are an annoyance to me."

"You see?" she said, "That's exactly what I'm talking about. You don't know what you want. All you do is serve that human, for the sake of doing something. My relative, serving a human. It's almost a crime. No wonder you're in love with me. There's not much to choose from."

Owen raised an eyebrow at her; suddenly perking up the second he heard the word 'love'. "I'm in love with you? Your ego knows no bounds, does it?"

"Oh, don't fight." she replied matter-of-factly. "Bigger men have fallen. Face it, you want me but don't want to admit it."

He gave her a 'gimme-a-break' look. "You mean there are actually men out there that tolerate you? You? The same you that wants to make some cars disappear just now?"

"Well, gee, don't look so shocked." she replied like a snob. "I don't see women flocking after you."

"That's because I'm still looking." Owen replied with a half-smile.

"Looking for Lil' Miss Perfect? One who finds your double personality kind of cute? Boy, are you going to have a hard time looking."

"How about you?" he asked, and she couldn't help but perk up with that comment. "You seem to tolerate me just fine."

Queen couldn't tell wherever he was joking or serious. "Ok, let's say it could be me. You don't have the wits to keep up with me anyway, little boy."

"Is that a challenge? If so, put your money where your mouth is. I say that if I win, you're going to do what I want."

"How can you do that? You don't know what do you want. I gave you power beyond comprehension and you turned it down. What else can I give you?"

"I'll make something up," responded quickly, then added more impishly that he would normally allow, "What do you want me to do?"

She seemed thoughtful for a second, and began to tap her foot mechanically. "Ok," she replied, with a sudden twinkle in the eye, "Kiss me."

"What?" he replied, sincerely taken unaware.

"Kiss me, you fool." she answered, annoyed. "It's the best thing I could've come up with. I bet you can't."

Never one to run from a challenge, he said, "Of course I can!" not really meaning it. "However," he added softly, "shouldn't you do this with some one you like?"

She chuckled. "I knew that you couldn't. You're just a weak--"

He didn't give her a chance to reply. He threw his arms around her and kissed her. For a long while. His first reaction was to pull off her immediately, but he changed his mind, and he found enjoying himself. Just what was going through her mind, he didn't know, but he was feeling something very nameless but very real…

Unknown to him, the traffic miraculously disappeared, and the next thing he knew, the doors opened, and Xanatos was staring at him, unlucky him, in an extremely compromising position. "Should I come back in 5 minutes?"

Owen went red from the face up. Oh, it had a name all right. 'The little alarm inside him that told him something was up.' He saw Queen smile at him. Very un-professional, Queen…

* * *

I did ask for a sign, so…Xanatos watched with a mildly amused, mildly worried expression as Owen finished straitening himself up. He was very quick about it, then he mumbled something unintelligible, and left with a quick pace.

Queen, however, was fresh like a daisy, not a trace of guilt on her pretty little face. "Hi, Mr. Xanatos. Long time, no see."

"Having fun?"

"You bet."

"That's nice." he replied, amused. Well, now. He wanted a sign. There you go, a sign. And an opportunity to those who know where to look. "I've been meaning to talk to you, Queen, get to know you better. Do you have a first name? Where do you work? That company… " he then added with a serious tone, "how come it doesn't exist?"

The answer came as a shock to him. Queen, with a perfectly cheerful attitude, replied, "I could respond to your questions, but you already know the answers, so, let's cut the bullshit right now. I know you've been chatting with Him. I'm no fool. Tell him to mind his own business if he knows what's good for him. That goes double for you, Xanatos…"

"What do you want, witch?"

"None of your damn business, you talking monkey."

"You shouldn't talk so rudely. I know about The Boy."

"And that means what to me?" then she added, "Why is the knowledge of a dead man important right now? After all, he had it coming."

"I'm going to tell Owen everything if you don't tell me what's going on right now."

"Shame on you, David. He already knows. He just doesn't care."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth. About how cooperative we were to The Other Boy and how he turned me down. And how we had to get him out of the picture because he got so annoying." she replied, smirking, "You're becoming an annoyance too, Dave."

"Oh, yeah? Kill me, and he'll suspect."

"Who says that we're going to kill you?" she snapped her fingers without warning, and a game-boy popped in her hands. No, not a Game Boy. A state of the art CyberBiotics' tracking device. "Spying on your best friend? Shame on you. Tell me, do you plan to destroy his relationship, like with your father and countless others you deemed too precious to you? Smile, baby, you're on Candid Camera."

Xanatos face dropped. "A bribe? I thought you were bigger than that."

"Hey, whatever works." she replied, and the tracking device vanished. "Now, I hope you don't mind if I keep it, right? Anyway, be a good boy and go fetch or something. I'll go take care of the rest, hmm? Oh, yeah… Tell Him I said hi."

She smiled and vanished in a quick burst of light. Well, Xanatos thought, another fine mess you're in…

* * *

How dare she? This can't be happening! Owen thought to himself while he watched the red-haired child known as Alexander Xanatos play with colored blocks. And in front of Xanatos, no less!

It was late in the afternoon, and the little one was already creating havoc in his room. Don't they all? At least he wasn't watching tv. How he hated Barney. Don't we all?

It all had happened hours ago, but he still couldn't push away from his mind the little incident. Queen had vanished without a trace once more. And much to his disgust, he missed her. Damn. She was annoying, egotistical, sarcastic… and he found himself missing her even more.

He didn't even have the chance to talk to her about it. She just vanished, puff, just like that. How dare she leave now? She just left him in the middle of nowhere. How dare she? Didn't she know that he needed her around? That he was starting to miss her even more and more…?

It was a damn strange feeling; he hadn't felt it in a while. The feeling of wishing that someone were here. Of missing someone. But it was more than just 'missing' her, there was something nameless lurking around; something powerful, nameless but powerful enough to make him pace around like a caged lion.

And then there was Xanatos. He didn't quite know how to face him after that. Sigh. At least he understood Vogel, now that Queen had given him this 'wonderful' honor. He sighed, wondering what was going through his employer's mind. Xanatos was probably waiting for him right now, so, once more onto the breach…

* * *

It was sunset again in Manhattan. He loved this time of day, a habit ever since the gargoyles moved back into the castle. But today, David Xanatos had been particularly gloomy. Basically, because the mysterious man that appeared and disappeared at will, whom he had nicknamed the Guru, had hinted him that there was something evil about the woman Owen was currently dating.

As it turned out, the Guru was right. Worse, he had made the mistake of planting a tracking device on Owen, and that woman had found out. She was a clever little bitch. If he dared to say a peep about what the Guru told him, she was going to turn Owen against him. Clever little bitch indeed.

Xanatos put his thoughts aside and entered his office. After verifying no one was out there, he locked himself inside. This is so stupid…he thought as took a deep breath.

Then he did something strange. He stood in the middle of the office, sighed and then yelled, "Spirit, I need to talk to you!" Silence. "Come on. I know you can hear me. I need your help." Silence again.

Xanatos sighed in frustration. Silence. Nothing happened.

No. Wait. There. In the chair.

A man had just appeared out of nowhere, and he was wearing the same black ensemble Xanatos was wearing. "You took your sweet time to show up."

"Sorry about that," replied the man, "I didn't expect you to call for me. Don't you hate it when the phone rings while you're in the shower?"

"I have a problem… " said Xanatos and sighed, ignoring the comment, "That woman… Queen… she just happens to be back. I need your help. She knows I'm talking to you. And I don't know what to do."

"Say the truth."

"I can't! I've explained it to you! I can't, he won't believe me. I've cried wolf too many times. They won't believe now that it's real."

"Your intentions and worries are valid, but misplaced. It's true that there's a 50/50 chance he won't believe you, but if you really care, it's a chance you'll be willing to take. If not you, the only one that he can possibly listen, then who?"

"You." replied Xanatos. "Or the Weird Sisters. I know they are working for you. He'll listen to them."

"David, come on. No, he won't. It's the Weird Sisters we're talking about. Robin won't listen. And I can't show up neither. They'll kill me. Which leaves only you."

"But he won't listen."

"But we have to try, right?" replied the man, "You'll not walk away from this, will you?"

"I… guess so." Xanatos was reluctant to admit, but then fought it by saying, "But what if…?" then stopped himself.

The man had vanished, without letting Xanatos finished.

Very rude, and too soon. The millionaire had a feeling that no matter how much he complained, the man wasn't going to listen.

In his big, black office, Xanatos paced back and forth. If that sorcerer in the cab was right, this could be trouble. No, this already was trouble. That… 'woman' had caught him, and was now bribing him. Him. David Xanatos. The one and only Xanatos was pin up against the wall. Oh, goody.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was telling Owen that his 'girlfriend is a demon, please dump her'. He felt so even stupid thinking about it. The worst part was that he knew what Owen really felt of her. He knew. It was obvious and it was confirmed in the car. But the really, really worst part was that Owen was expecting him so say something about today.

Something nameless crept in his mind. No. Wait. It had a name. Guilt. He actually felt guilty for knowing the truth and getting that tracking device on Owen. If he weren't so meddling, he would be spared of the task that is breaking someone's heart.

Oh, this was going to look so good for the gargoyles. 'Oh, Xanatos made Owen dump the love of his life. That monster!' So, ok, he made a mistake with papa, as a wise man once said, 'shit happens'. And it's not like he wanted to, anyway. Had she been anyone else, he'd welcome her with open arms. For Owen was a…

(… he looked for the word but it escaped him. Or perhaps he already knew, and he wasn't aware of it, or perhaps he really, really knew, but it was something that could be called a weakness, and he really, really detested being weak, no matter how much Goliath might argue that the word wasn't really synonymous to weakness…)

Irreplaceable ally.

Owen was probably waiting for him to show up, so what the hell, let's get it over with. He was one who always disliked getting pushed around and he wasn't going to take it anymore. He wasn't going to be pinned against the wall for much longer. Let's march once more onto the breach…

* * *

Xanatos leaned against the doorway of his office, patiently waiting for Owen to come in from the elevator's door. Owen, indeed, came out, but didn't notice Xanatos waiting for him until the latter said, "Owen, come here for a second."

Owen halted abruptly, he hadn't noticed him, "Excuse me?" he blinked, "What's wrong, sir?"

"What's going on? With you and that… " Xanatos choked the word he had in mind for a more pleasant one, "woman…?"

"Nothing happened. She's just… friend." replied Owen, but Xanatos shot him a quizzical look. "All right, perhaps she's more than a friend."

"She's just your lover. I know she has something to do with the hair change and the hand and the panda!"

"Sir, I'm afraid I'm at lost." was all that Owen could reply.

"I know all about that woman, and I don't know how to say this, so I'll just blurt it out…" responded Xanatos, and took a deep breath, "Dump her."

"What!?" Owen asked, annoyed now. Excuse me, just who do you think you are? I actually begin to like her and he wants me to dump her? echoed an irritated voice. I actually miss her…I actually…He momentarily struggled to name the feeling… love…

Snapping out of his daydream, Owen said, "Sir, you can't be serious."

"You have no idea." replied Xanatos. "She is bad news incarnated."

"But, sir… That… doesn't make any sense. Why are you against her?"

Xanatos reached out for Owen's tie and pulled it. No, he didn't, he just took out a bright little red button, glowing with the CyberBiotics insignia. "Because," Xanatos finally answered as he gave him the tracking device, "She was planning to bribe me with this and turn you against me. But we won't let her, right?" said Xanatos, while Owen looked thoughtful. "Right?"

Owen didn't seem to know what to say. But when he said it, Xanatos couldn't help stare shocked. "You just won't give it a rest, will you?" replied Owen, suddenly Puck-like. "You just love ruining other people's relationships."

Xanatos was clearly surprised. "What?"

Excuse me, what do you think this is? He wanted to say, You think I want to do this? But the Guru's right, I can't just walk away…not when I've finally got the guts…"You're misinterpret me!" He continued, "This is not what it looks like…! I did it because that woman is trouble…"

"No, she isn't. You just want to be my center of attention once more, isn't that so?" Owen said accusingly. "This is so typical of you…!"

"I do not, I'm trying to help you, dammit! Name one time I've wanted to be the center of attention!" barked Xanatos.

"Your father!" Owen barked back.

Xanatos was quiet for a moment. "That was just an accident."

"Oh, you mean you 'accidentally' hired a mercenary to follow your dad's girlfriend? That's one hell of an accident, wouldn't you say?" He replied, sarcastic, "I guess 'oops' doesn't cover it, don't it?"

"But this isn't about me. It's about you, listen…" said Xanatos, softening up, "That Queen… she's not what she appears… she's some kind of sorceress and I know she's planning something behind your back…"

"What are you talking about? Who told you that?"

"Someone… who cares about you but can't show his face. So he told me to take care of whatever happens to you, don't you understand? I'm trying to help you."

"Right…" replied Owen. "Am I supposed to swallow that?"

"I swear to God, it's true!" Xanatos cried out.

Owen stared Xanatos and shook his head in disbelieve. "David… that has to be… the worst excuse that I've heard in my entire life…" Owen declared, suspiciously like his alter-ego. "Xanatos, I am not Elisa. I'm not going to buy it. Are you really that desperate to get rid of her that you've actually come to me with that weak story?"

Xanatos kicked himself for not taking that into mind. Of course he didn't remember. The Guru told him he had forgotten all about that. "I'll right, I'll prove it to you."

Then Xanatos did something… unexpected. He stood in the middle of the great hall and yelled, "Mr. Guru! Get your ass down here!"

Silence.

"Come on, spirit, I don't have all day here!" He felt Owen's hot gaze on him, and yelled again, "Come on, dammit!"

Silence again.

"You're useless!" yelled Xanatos to the nothing.

I don't have to take this shit, thought Owen to himself, and made his way to the elevator, while Xanatos yelled at something. "Hey, where are you going?" he heard him call.

"Somewhere, anywhere, but here." Owen replied coldly. "I can't believe you're so selfish…"

"Your misinterpret me…!" cried out Xanatos. "So ok, I thought this sucked from the very beginning, but under normal circumstances, even I would be cheerful. I'm losing…" he paused a moment, looking for the word, which escaped him even now, "You. How am I supposed to feel in the first place?"

Owen stared at him annoyed. "You're supposed to feel glad for me."

* * *

He kicked the snow under his feet like a pouting little boy. Damn Xanatos. After all he did for him, this is how he repays him? With lies? He gave his arm for that sorry little mortal. Would it kill him to at least pretend to be happy? It's not like she could stay for much longer. Would it kill him to wait it out? After all, she would leave sooner or later, probably sooner, and life would dull up again. Would it kill him to at least try to understand how much he missed her?

It was late night and it was beginning to snow. Another thing to damn. And he didn't felt like going back to Eerie Building. I would do anything for anything warm…Like on cue, a black limousine seemingly came out of nowhere and parked next to him.

Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb came out of it. No wait, those weren't their names. They were Quinn and Quill, Queen's bodyguards or something. The first one, whom he guessed was Quinn, asked, "What's a nice guy like you freezing to death in a place like this?"

"Admiring the snow." Owen replied dryly.

"I bet it's a very exciting task," commented the one who could only be Quill, "but wouldn't you rather be doing something else?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Ah-ah-ah! That's a surprise, Puck." replied Quinn with a wide grin.

Owen was only mildly interested in them. He honestly preferred the snow than 2525 Memory Lane. But. If she were to be there… "You're not going to throw me in free fall again, are you?"

* * *

He gazed at the dark ballroom's ceiling, quietly enjoying the sight of countless stars and galaxies and stuff. Until it turned into a fresco painting. Then he turned back his attention toward the lovely woman in front of him. Both were sitting at a quaint little table, and she was serving coffee out of a pot that appeared out of nowhere.

It was an odd sight, a white, round porch table in the middle of a grand ballroom, but neither seemed to mind.

"That's what you meant, didn't you?" said Puck, as he sipped a bit of coffee, "About Xanatos being trouble. You knew that he always wants to be the center of attention, right?"

"I'm afraid so. One of the disgraces of being omnipotent and omniscience." Queen replied, making the pot of coffee disappear as it came, and sighed, "They just don't make mortals like they used to…"

"That's not the only thing that's bothering me. It's how he made out that you're a witch —though I know that's not entire true, it's that you're a —whatever the hell you're supposed to be. But why did he screamed like a madman…" He noticed that Queen tried to hide a sigh. "You know something, don't you?"

"I was afraid of this…" replied Queen suddenly looking away. "He's back."

"Him?" he repeated, "One of your people? He doesn't have a name?"

"No, he's just Him." Queen explained, before she went on, "Yet another enemy. I told you about The Other Boy, but I didn't tell you about him. You see," she paused, and took a sip of coffee, "You've met him too, but those memories went down the drain when I reverted your memories. He was one of Boy's allies. The bastard tried to kill me… He is one crafty little man. He uses anyone in the way. It's no miracle he got Xanatos too… and the Weird Sisters…"

Puck immediately perked up, "The Weird Sisters? I've forgotten all about them. They tried to kidnap Alex a few weeks ago… I thought they went back to Avalon… You mean they'll try to pull another stunt… and I'm the prize? And they'll show up with… 'Him'?"

"I'm afraid so…"

"What are we going to do?"

"What I've been trying to do since I met you!" she exclaimed, "Make you defend yourself!"

"I told you, I don't want to!" he exclaimed back, "I know you can 'make me a god' but that's not what I want!"

"Then you leave me no choice. I'm going to have to leave." she said, disgusted.

Puck stared at her surprised, "Why you?"

"He's after me, you know…" she replied, "So if I leave, he'll leave you alone."

"But…" he stuttered, "You can't go!"

Queen stared at him right in the eye, "Come on, boy. You told me yourself that you didn't trust me. That I'm annoying. That you don't want the power. That I bring you more problems that resolutions. So why should I stay? Make up your mind. What do you want?"

"I want you." he replied —the most serious he could've ever been. "I don't want the world, I just want you."

CHAPTER EIGHT
~ Love and hate ~

He tiptoed around the room carefully, jumping over the sleeping figure in the floor, looking for the red counterpart of the boot he was holding in his hand. It showed up behind the tv. How it got in there was anyone's guess. Now all he was missing was the purple toga. Where is it…?, he wondered as he eyes darted across the room. He soon found out she was using it like a pillow.

"Leaving so soon?" she asked, handling him the purple garment.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I'm all-powerful. Why would I need sleep?" she replied, sitting up strait. She smiled. So did he.

It had begun well enough. Xanatos had pulled him aside. He told Owen about Queen and about how he wished for her to leave. Owen had reacted. He told him to drop dead.

And everything went downhill from there.

"I'm late. It's 8 am. If you don't need sleep, why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"You looked really, really tired." she replied, "Besides, every time I tried, you'd just turn away and ask for five more minutes."

It had begun well enough. He and Queen talked. They had coffee. They talked some more. She decided that it would all be better if she left. He asked her to stay. And much to his surprised, she did stay with him…

… in room 267 of the Holiday Inn near Central Park, where every once in a while, a manager or something would tell them to keep the noise down, people were trying to sleep.

"I'll be back, you know." he said, giving her a quick kiss and darting to the door.

"Of course you'll be back," she mumbled to herself, "They always come back."

* * *

The morning was unusually cold today, Fox quickly found out the second she got out from under those nice, warm, designer sheets that made you wish you'd never crawl out of bed. However, her dearest husband was sleeping next to her and he was snoring loudly. Rather than putting up with his snoring, she opted to wake up.

I need coffee, was the imperative in her mind, as she stood up, shivering and looking like hell, and made her way to the kitchen.

Once there, she spotted the pot, the glorious, beautiful coffeepot. Immediately, she picked it up and was faced with the saddest sound she'd never heard— the sound of nothingness.

It's empty! She thought in desperation. Where's Owen? He's supposed to make coffee. Fox Xanatos without coffee was like Spice Girls without spice. She needed it. It's like heroin. She needed something warm and full with caffeine before 8 am or else she'd die. Owen better have a good excuse, or else I'll---I'll---

As if on cue, she saw Owen come in, looking no better than she was. It didn't seem like he got much sleep last night, and he didn't acknowledge Fox was there. In fact, those clothes were the same from last night. Did he do another all-nighter or something?

He did her exact same actions. He picked up the coffeepot, shook it, and looked depressed. "It's empty…!" Fox heard him angrily mumble.

"Where did you spent the night? You look like hell." She said, and Owen couldn't help but look shocked.

"Mrs. Xanatos… I… wasn't aware you were up yet. I was about to…" he seemed blank for a moment, then he saw the pot in his hands, "make coffee…"

"Don't change the subject," she replied, fascinated now, "And don't bother lying. I know you didn't spend the night here. Where were you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was busy doing some last-minute paperwork."

"You're lying."

"How come?"

"There's lipstick in your collar." Owen actually looked embarrassed, much to Fox's joy, and it wasn't hard to figure out 'what' happened last night. "You know," she continued casually, "David swears you came back last night…"

"What Mr. Xanatos doesn't know, won't hurt him, madam… Plus, he has no right interfering with my personal life."

Fox nodded approvingly. "Yes, I'm well aware of my husband's intrusions and how he gets when someone deemed 'irreplaceable' goes off to do something behind his back." She continued, as a grin took over her features, "I, however, am a hopeless romantic… so when you need an excuse to do some 'errands'… I don't know… "

"All-nighters? Night out off town?"

"… you have my 100% approval." She smiled in a conspiracy-like smile, "But remember, we never had this conversation."

The look of embarrassment all gone away, he replied serious as ever, "What conversation?"

* * *

"Spirit… are you here?" David Xanatos whispered to thin air. He looked at right and left. Nothing.

Nothing but his empty bedroom. It was around 7 am. He already knew Fox was gone, which was perfect because he really, really needed to talk to the sorcerer from the cab. Especially after last night. He admitted that hadn't gone particularly well. More like a total disaster.

So maybe, maybe, blurting it out wasn't the best way to go. He honestly admitted that had been his bad, basically, because he didn't know how to manage the situation. When he stopped and thought about it, it was insane. He had no idea why that woman was interested in Owen in the first place. The sorcerer told him it was to use him but… why? There had to be another reason.

Of all the other fey in the Earth, why Puck? He was powered down. He was tied down to Alex. Why? He had no idea. That sorcerer knew, but he wasn't telling. Damn him, he was fighting for no concrete reason. He knew that woman had ill intentions, but he didn't understand the science to it.

And that, to Xanatos, was really frustrating.

* * *

The sickening elevator music only served to annoy them further.

The morning, with its coldness, obviously rubbed off on some people that already had reasons to be cold.

So it was with the two senior executives that made their way to the elevator as if they were a funeral dirge.

While 'Sugar pops and candy shacks' played, Owen was expecting some kind of comment from Xanatos, who had taken his time to drive him insane. He knew that Xanatos had to say something because he never really did learn to keep his mouth shut. 'Something' about 'anything' that would certainly would find annoying.

Damn the long elevator ride…

"So," said Xanatos, not able to contain himself any longer, "Contrary to what you may think, I'm really happy for you."

"You don't say." Owen replied dryly.

"Yeah, she's pretty… " he searched his vocabulary for the word. "She's nice. You sure can pick 'em."

"Thank you, sir. At least I don't marry the first woman that tries to kill me." The elevator bell ran. "Oh. We're here." Owen quickly stepped off the elevator.

The two walked down the seemingly eternal corridor. "Oh, don't worry about it. I think I understand why you're running to her. After all, you've been kicked out of Avalon, right? You're probably alone and miserable. All eternity alone. At least you can have fun now…"

"Who says I have to now? After all, I've got eternity. Unlike some, I don't get traumatized every time my second in command knocks me out, neither do I dress up like a gargoyle to fight, just to prove I'm not getting old." Xanatos smirk vanished. "Struck a cord?" Then they entered the accountant's office.

The accountant jumped in shock as the two men charged in. "Sir, sirs, hi. I…um… I welcome you here to…ehh…I kinda forgot." the accountant began babbling, then he took out around 70 index cards, all that fell in the floor. He turned to Xanatos and Owen, who were sitting right in front of each other, with mean-spirited looks.

Xanatos was the first to order him to hurry up with the presentation. "That's right." commented Owen. "Life's too short, right Mr. Xanatos?" Xanatos shot him a dirty look, but the accountant ignored it and thanked God it wasn't for him.

The accountant, a Mr. Howard, recited an endless speech about Xanatos' enterprises monetary situation and soon Owen had a tough time deciding what was worse, Xanatos, the music in the elevator, or the droning of the accountant. After the seventeen longest minutes of both their lives, Xanatos finally said, "Please, Mr. Howard. We have little time."

"Yep…the biological clock is tickling…" mumbled Owen under his breath.

That did it to Xanatos, who stood up and glared at Owen, "If you think I'm going to let you date that witch, you've got another thing coming…"

Owen stood up too and replied, "I'd like to see you try it!"

"You are just a brat who doesn't know what he wants!"

"You're wrong, for the first time in my life, I know what I want! And I want her!"

"Would you stop thinking and think about it! There's something wrong here! Why you? She's not telling you the whole story. There's so much more to this that we know. If we just sat down and compare notes, maybe we can—"

"We? What's this 'we' talk all of the sudden? I don't recall asking you for advice."

"Because knowledge is power! You know that! If we learn what each other knows—"

"I don't want to know! Knowledge is power but ignorance is bliss."

"What!?" the millionaire shook his head, "You, of all people, should know better! I know that—that you're attracted to her— but don't let it cloud your judgement!"

"I don't care. If love is about trust, I trust her."

"Yes, but you have to choose who to trust!"

Mr. Howard stared at them frightened. These two were about to come over blows over a woman. "Please… sirs…can't we all just get along?" he feebly asked.

* * *

The people outside the conference room poked their heads from their grayish cubicles, attracted by all the bickering inside. A black-haired woman suddenly took control of the situation and told everyone to "Please, remain calm, there's nothing to see here."

The two men yelled at each other from the conference room. The employees were beginning to wander closer and closer to the conference room, trying to make out what they were yelling.

Queen dismissed them with a wave of the hand and marched right toward the conference room. She found Owen ready to pulverize Xanatos and some other guy. "Puck, stop it." she declared, and Owen spun around to face her.

"Hi." he said, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

"Queen. So nice to see you again." Xanatos bravely said, as he came closer to her, carefully avoiding Mr. Howard.

She ignored him, and turned to Owen instead. "Are you all right, Puck?"

"I'm fine." he replied.

She turned to Xanatos and said, "Oh, my. Guess the gig's up."

"Who are you?"

"I am Queen. But I really don't posses a name. Happy now? Didn't my brother talk to you? I know he's hanging around." Xanatos didn't answer. She scoffed and turned to Owen. "Let's go, love." She grabbed his hand, and he smiled.

"You don't honestly believe she loves you, right?" Xanatos blurted out as the duo left.

He followed them outside, while the workers from their cubicles perked up to see the drama. They saw a very messed up Mr. Burnett being guided by a beautiful woman (gasp! a woman!) and a very pissed off Xanatos following them with their gaze. This was a very exciting day. The coup de grace was when Xanatos yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, "Fine. Be that way. If you don't to be around, quit!"

* * *

But neither did he quit nor did Xanatos fire him. They just stopped talking all together. The only time they actually interacted was exclusively for business. Owen made himself disappear whenever he wasn't needed. And that usually meant nights that he spent with Queen, either talking or taking their clothes off. Even a blind man could see something was happening. The gargoyles just crossed their fingers and hoped this was some sort of phase.

The night was quiet and the earth was still in Manhattan. Puck, dressed up like Owen because he didn't feel like changing back, quietly strolled down the paths of Central Park, frankly, because he had nowhere else to go. He really, really didn't feel like going back to Wyvern Castle. Ditto to 2525 Memory Lane, where he had been staying for awhile. Not really staying, though. Just drifting back and forth from Wyvern to Memory Lane, basically, because he didn't know where should he stay.

Memory Lane was fine, but there was something about Queen that bothered him deeply. He felt she knew more that she let on. And that was disturbing. Wyvern was fine too; but there was Xanatos to deal with. Puck admitted he took things in a not-very-dignified manner. Now that he calmed down, days later, and thought about it, Xanatos was on to something. "That Queen… she's not what she appears… she's some kind of sorceress and I know she's planning something behind your back…" That's what Xanatos said. "Someone… who cares about you but can't show his face. So he told me to take care of whatever happens to you, don't you understand? I'm trying to help you." And that's what he added when Puck asked about the source.

And why, oh, why did Xanatos yelled like an idiot to the air, saying something like, 'Show up, spirit.' Who was the spirit? Was it He? Who the hell was He, anyway? Was he —if he was a he— a good thing or a bad thing…?

Someone show me a sign. What am I going to do? Not expecting an answer, he simply continued walking…

… until a voice coming from behind him said, "Give up."

Puck was surprised, to say the least. He spun around, terrified, startled, or all of the above and saw a man, dressed up almost like him. Almost, because his clothing, trench coat and everything else were black. He was resting against a tree, arms folded, watching with fascination. "My boy," he said, revealing a faint English accent, "what have you done with your hair?"

Suddenly self-conscious, passed his fingers through his hair. Puck realized what an odd sight he must be, a boy, about seventeen, with pointed ears and long, very long, gray hair and dressed up like a businessman. He felt a twitch of embarrassment.

"New trend." he quickly improvised; not wanting to prolong the talk. He wanted a fast getaway, walking away would do.

However, the man was faster than him, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing next to Puck, "New trend, eh?" he said, "I don't know. Gray hair kills you."

Puck got a good look at the man; if he didn't know better, he'd swear he'd seen him before. He was 40-plus old, and reminded him of Queen's two buddies. "Well," he replied, pushing the thought away, "It's all Queen's fault." Which was partially true, considering it was her talisman the one that changed his hair from white to gray and gave him his magic back. "She's my…" He searched for the word. Friend? Lover? "She's my friend." he almost added 'I think.' but it wouldn't have sounded good.

"She must hate you." the man casually replied. Puck was caught off base by the comment, not expecting such a straightforward insult.

"Excuse me? Who're you, a fashion critic?" he replied, more sharply that he would've liked. After all, he didn't know this guy. But then again, this was NY, wasn't it?

But the man didn't seem to care for the insult. "Well, I know a bad 'do when I see one, and that, my boy, is a bad 'do. Next time, don't let your girlfriend play with your hair, ok?"

Again, he was caught off-guard by his comment. But Puck actually smiled. Smart-ass people actually caught his attention. "Well, it's not like I had much choice, old man. Call it an unexpected surprise."

"Old man?" replied the man, not paying much attention to the rest of the sentence. "You're calling me an old man?"

Next thing Puck knew, he was sitting on a bench with the 'old man', talking about women and sports and more women, as if he had known him all his life. Though the 'old man', hadn't revealed his name, he soon learned that he had a wife and a son, that his 'best friend' was a bald guy, and that among his old girlfriends there was one that was still 'madly in love with him'.

Talking to the man was like talking to a bartender. Only this wasn't a pub, it was Central Park, and the man had too much class to be a bartender. But the real thing that struck Puck was the overall sense of familiarity. They talked about everything, heck, the man looked like he knew everything. Puck told him about his little escapade with Queen and Xanatos and everything that was happening. The man listened intently, but wasn't actually surprised. Puck couldn't shake the feeling that man knew what he was going to say before he ever said it.

"So," said the 'old man', "It's like this: you're in love with this woman, and your boss— who's had a history of meddling with other people's lives— doesn't approve."

"Extamundo." Puck replied, "He says that she's hiding something from me, and I'm not sure if I believe him."

"Maybe he's telling the truth."

"You're not getting the point," said the fey, "You don't know Xanatos like I do. He's capable of saying anything to get his way."

"Oh, now. You judge him harshly. Give him the benefit of the doubt."

"I am! But he doesn't have evidence. I mean, he keeps talking about a guy who told him, but can't talk to me directly. I just don't know."

"Well, what do you think?" replied the 'old man'. "Is he telling the truth? You just told me he had the benefit of the doubt. Why is that?"

Puck sighed. "It's Queen. I--I don't think she's playing strait neither. I can't shake the feeling she's hiding something." He chuckled slightly a very sad chuckled, though he tried his best to hide it. "I always end up choosing between the lesser of two evils. I--" he looked for the right words. Not finding them, he simply said, "I just don't know."

"Maybe that's the whole problem. You don't quite know if the whole deal is positive or negative. In a nutshell, you don't know who you are, you don't know what you are, you don't know wherever you're coming or going, and you have no idea what's going on."

Puck couldn't help but go speechless for a moment. "I know exactly what I want!" he cried out, in a not-so-convincing manner, and the man shot him a skeptical look. "It's true! I want the girl. I--I love her." Then he added in a low key, 'I guess.'

The man folded his arms. "You guess?" he repeated, then shook his head with a sad tsk-tsk. "You know— you're barely a child, and the way I see it, that woman is way older than you. And those 'mood swings' you've talked about are not helping your judgement. Could it be that —maybe, maybe— you're kinda mixed up? Maybe? That maybe you're confusing 'infatuation' with 'love'?"

"I am not!" he said, offended. "That's nonsense! I'm not mixed up! I've never been clearer in my life!"

"Face it, boy." replied the man, calmly, "She does know more than you. And you yourself told me you haven't dated in awhile and that emotions are slipping from your grasp…"

Puck gazed at the man, wounded. Just who the hell did he think he was? With brand-new confidence, he replied, "I know exactly what I want, I know exactly who I am, what I am, and what the hell's going on, old man!"

"And what's that?" the man challenged, then added in a somber voice, "Look at yourself. You're walking a very thin line. You dress up like an adult but act like a child. You can't decide between loyalty or love. Face it. You don't know what you want and you're stuck in a very weak tightrope that's about to break."

Puck gave him an ice-cold look and said, "That's a lie. You don't know anything neither."

"Well, now," replied the man, "Would you care to enlighten me?" then stared straight at his blue eyes, with a piercing gaze that told Puck, Oh, this is going to be a good one. Come on, say what you want. Remember I still know. I still know. I know everything.

The man's sight intimidated him, and it was damn weird, because it was very, very difficult to intimidate the Puck, one of Earth's greatest tricksters. "Well," he said, eerily calmed. "I'm waiting. What do you want?"

Puck slumped on the question, and whatever answer he had come up with left him. "I want to go home." he replied slowly making it up as he went on, trying to make it sound dignified, but he wasn't effective. He turned and stood up, looking away, but he still could feel the man's gaze like a dagger. About to walk away he was, when the man called after him, saying, "Where is home?"

Again, the man caught him off guard. "Memory Lane." he said, that been the first thing that passed through his mind. His back turned to the man, Puck wondered what he reaction was, but he had a phobia of looking back.

"Oh," he heard him say. "I was dreading you'd say that."

He began to walk away, slowly at first, then picking up speed as he left. He didn't know wherever the man followed him or not. He just kept going and going until he found himself running away, because though he didn't see him anymore, he knew, he knew, the man, he knew everything, and Puck knew that he knew that he knew that there was no place on this Earth that he knew of that could've hide him from himself.

He ran seemingly for hours, then stopped and looked back. The man was gone; he hadn't followed him after all. Which was disturbing, because he had a feeling he never really left.

Like he was still there,

somewhere,

looking over him,

and he was so damn familiar; Puck knew that man, and he knew Puck.

There was a another person here, and he didn't know who it was…

"I don't want to know." he said, mumbling. "I don't want to know, you got that!?" He said louder, to the cool, crisp December air. "I don't, spirit. I just want her. I just—" his voice trailed off for the second. "I just don't want to have bad memories of her." Because sometimes, his other self added, ignorance is bliss and walking on a tightrope is the best way to go.

CHAPTER NINE
~ Again ~

It had begun well enough. In room 267 at the Holiday Inn near Central Park, where they usually met, it had all begun with chuckles and giggles and stuff like that. It was customary now. This was to be like any other night.

Then why, oh, why wasn't he having any 'fun'? Instead, he was sitting in the bed, arms folded, frustrated like only a man can get. "We've been over this before!" he told the black-haired beauty in front of him.

It was bothersome, to say the least.

It was always the same question; she began to sound like a broken record. Always. Every second she spared, every moment she could think of. He thought he had set the record straight, but nevertheless, she just kept pushing the subject. She rephrased it, yes, but it was sickening either way.

'Why don't you get rid of Xanatos, he's annoying'.

"Don't you get tired of asking me this?" replied Puck, making no effort to hide his annoyance. "It's always the same ramblings, dump the human, he's stupid, he's limited, he's arrogant, he's can't dress, he was a trauma with death, he doesn't like me…and so on and so on…" he sighed deeply and added, "You make him sound full of flaws! So, ok, he has this little thing with death—"

"Little?" Queen interrupted.

"Ok, so he has this big thing with death! And he's a little prideful--"

"A little, again?" she interjected.

He let the last one slide, "And he doesn't like you. Now, I know I can't deal with his flaws, but with the last thing, you've just got to let him cool down." Then he added with a softer tone. "To be frank, I see no reason why I should prefer you over him."

"Oh," she replied, "You are so naïve. Have you forgotten the man tagged you with a tracking device like an animal? Oh, I get it… you're looking for approval, is that it? How perfectly Freudian."

"I don't care a rat's ass what he thinks." Puck replied.

"Then get rid of the bastard and get on with life!" she snapped, making her voice heard in the corridor.

"I just think he deserves better than being tossed aside." He dryly, matter-of-factly replied.

(And sub-consciously, and more close to the surface that he was willing to admit, Puck felt flattered that Xanatos gave a damn at all. It's not like he absolutely despised him. He was his best… you know… comrade. Hell, Xanatos was just Xanatos. And he deserved better. Just why he deserved better, well, was a question he had to ponder later.)

The woman groaned disappointed. "Well, so you know, I won't stop asking until I hear a yes."

"Then you're in for a long wait." He snapped back, rudely and annoyed at the fact that she wasn't giving up.

That didn't pass the woman by. "Don't worry, little boy," She said, with a little smirk, "I understand that you're still mad because I wouldn't have sex with you."

He glanced at her insulted, "Well, damn you too!" and furiously charged out of the room, closing the door with a loud 'slam!' that surprised the whole floor. Queen wasn't scared; more like indifferent.

"What'd you think happen?" she heard a bellboy say.

"I don't know," said another, "Maybe he found out she was married…"

* * *

Maybe he's on vacation, that's why he isn't here…was the only explication he came up with. Which wasn't much because beings like that, to the best of his knowledge, don't go on vacation, so that conclusion was quickly dismissed.

After trying to call the sorcerer for an hour, he was running out of brilliant ideas. So he began coming up with logical reasons as to why he hadn't appeared, which boiled down to three.

1) He was doing it out to spite him, 2) or maybe he was giving him a second chance, 3) or maybe he was busy doing something else.

That's a lot of maybes. And rather unconvincing reasons for the sorcerer not to show up.

Calling for the sorcerer would have to wait. The world still went round, no matter how much did Xanatos wanted it to stop. There were some dozen meetings to do today, and even less time to do them.

So he grabbed a towel and some clothes and headed to the shower, hoping to break away from reality for at least 15 minutes.

He hadn't even started to take off his robe when a female voice coming from the doorway yelled, "Yeah, baby! Take it all off!"

He put on his robe in a blink of the eye, an incredibly modest move out of pure shock, and turned back to the woman. For a moment he thought it was Fox, then, for some crazy reason, Elisa, but the third choice was right on the target.

"You!" he told the ever-omnipotent Queen right on his doorway, then for the same crazy reason that it had occurred to him that maybe she was Elisa, he asked, "How did you get pass security?" not quite grasping the imbecility of the question.

That stupid question, however, didn't pass Queen by, "Get pass security? Just how did you get to be a millionaire, anyway? Is that what passes for intelligence in the 20^th century?"

Xanatos reacted to that, finally wising up and recovering. "Just trying to start a conversation."

"Yeah, right." She replied with crystal-clear sarcasm.

He chose to ignore that comment. "What are you doing here?" he asked, matter-of-factly. "It's 7 am, woman, kinda early."

"Let's just say that your attempt at dissuading the good Mr. Burnett of leaving me didn't pass me by."

"And…?" he replied, bored.

"And I'm ordering you to stop." She replied, serious.

Xanatos was amused, "You are ordering me? Well, now, this is new."

"I'm serious, Dave." She said. "We don't want you dead. Wait… I don't want you dead. I like you. Really. I do. My comrades, however… are less than pleased with you…"

"Are you threatening me?" he replied, amused yet slightly disturbed.

"No, Dave." She responded, "I'm warning you. There's a difference." Xanatos made a face. "Look, businessman to demigod: don't mess with us. This may come as a surprise to you, but this is my job. Just like your job is to make big bucks and crush the competition, my job is to guard the crystal."

"What crystal? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh. Yeah. You don't know… it's my gift to him. All of it. That grayish hair, those green eyes… A Talisman that enhances power. I don't expect you to understand. The thing is that if we have to be wherever that Talisman is…"

"And you get to keep the host…" finished Xanatos. I don't have to understand the science to it. That's it. Puck has this Talisman, and so did that Boy guy. That's just an excuse to use them like servants, like the sorcerer pointed out. That's it! Nevertheless, understanding the reasons was of damn little use. At least, it made sense.

"So you understand. You lose. Anyway you see it, you lose." She responded with a smirk.

If her intention was to scare him back in line, it didn't work. "Oh, I understand all right," he said confident, "And knowledge is power. Sorry, Queen. No deal. I just can't walk away from this one."

"Oh, Dave. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Sorry for you, you seem to prefer the latter. Like I told Him not so long ago, the lad's already mine. I'm sure you'll do the sensible thing and stay away for awhile, hmm? I'm glad we had this little chat. Do say hello to Him for me."

She vanished as quickly as she came.

But, somehow, David Xanatos wasn't afraid.

* * *

Xanatos, from the distance, patiently leaned against the doorway of his bathroom, waiting and waiting for Fox to finish whatever it was that she was doing.

It had been around 7 pm when Xanatos had noticed that Owen was gone —behind his back—again— for the third time this week. Just how did he manage to sneak out without being noticed, had been a mystery to Xanatos. Maybe Puck's magic worked that angle, at least, that's what he thought at first.

He had desperately needed him to finish some report those Siebe people had bugged him for the entire week. God, how he wished they'd go away once and for all.

Out of sheer desperation, and for the sake of doing 'something', he had begun to ask around, and the answers were fascinating.

"David!" Fox exclaimed surprised when she saw him standing there and the towel that covered her shampoo-smelling hair almost fell. "What are you doing here? Do you need the bathroom?"

"Actually," he replied, his tone giving away some annoyance Fox found disturbing, "I came to ask you if you had seen Owen around."

Fox had to think quickly to answer that one, Say charity! Say charity! Called a little voice inside her, No, he'll never buy that… said anther little voice, hmm…say business. Yeah. That's it. Business. "Oh, he said he had something—a late meeting he had to do. You know. Business."

"Oh, really?" replied Xanatos, not buying it for a second. "That's funny. Because Brooklyn told me he hadn't arrived, Lexington told me his car broke down, Angela told me he was in New Jersey and Broadway… so help me…told me he was the Siebe people, which is damn weird, because the Siebe people are with me. And then…this is the good part…and then I found these receipts, paid with your credit card, for some Broadway play for two." He paused, "You wouldn't know anything about that, right?"

Fox looked at her husband, annoyed. "I guess it's too late to make something up, right?"

"One question: why?"

"Because he needs someone, and you're no help!" replied Fox. "Besides, I've talked to her and she's very charming. She's one of the nicest persons I've ever met."

Xanatos jaw ended somewhere around his ankles. "You can't mean that!"

"I do! So do the gargoyles! Hell, everyone does!"

"Is there anyone on my side?" asked Xanatos, offended. "I'm not a control-freak!"

Fox sighed. "Might as well tell you. David, please try to understand I love you and I'm only telling you for your own good: yes, you are a control freak; and no, there's no one on your side."

"That's not fair!"

"All is fair in love and war. Face it, you're losing."

"Losing to a she-devil! Is everyone blind? She's the temptress from hell!"

"You're over reacting." Responded Fox, "On what do you base that!?"

"You wouldn't understand." Replied Xanatos.

"I wouldn't understand?" she repeated offended, "Fine. Be that way. But I don't have to understand in the first place. I'm not the fey who's dating the 'temptress from hell'. If you want to change that, take your plead to him. Until he tells me otherwise, I'll continued to help him." He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, "Don't tell me anything, tell him."

Damn the Puck. They haven't talked much since his little hissy fit a few days ago. He was saying the truth, dammit. Not only did Owen not listen, now Xanatos looked like an ogre in front of everybody. No one understood. I'm trying to do the right thing for once. So I made a mistake with dad. I'm telling the truth now. Doesn't that count? No one gets it. No one. Screw Owen. Let him get killed if he wants to.

"Look. If you want my help, explain it to me from the top." she replied, more calm now.

"You're not going to believe me, so why bother?"

"I'm your wife. It's my job to care."

He didn't say anything for a moment. Owen's girlfriend is a demon? If I say that, nice men dressed in white will carry me away in a straitjacket. "Ok, Fox. Hypothetical question: to what lengths would you go to do something that you believe it's right? Take into mind that no one's going to support you in the first place, and you'll be totally alone in your quest."

The question struck her odd, but she answered anyway. "Well, if you are really committed to your pursuit… any lengths that are necessary."

"All right…" replied Xanatos, more to himself than Fox.

She waited expectantly for a few seconds, then she asked, "What's all this about?"

"Let me put it this way, Fox. Owen believes in something, I believe in another. The real problem is that he only believes so because he doesn't see the whole picture. What should I do?"

"Show him the whole picture!"

"How? He's in love. Love makes him do stupid things! He's walking on a tightrope, and he doesn't know it!"

"Yeah, but just because you like something, it doesn't mean that the object of affection is necessarily a 'good' thing. Don't you remember Demona and Thailog? She thought he loved her, but he stabbed him in the back by making a clone of her! Worst, making a clone that was a mix between Demona's and Elisa's DNA!"

"Well, how am I going to tell him that history is repeating itself?" he replied, annoyed. "I can't be done. No way, no how."

She frowned at her husband's pessimism. "You've just asked me how far would you go to the right thing. My theory it that there are no limits but the ones you set for yourself. Always. From taking over the business world, to dealing with more mundane problems, it's the same thing."

Xanatos was thoughtful for a second. It was all pretty words, but seriously, it wasn't that easy. It couldn't be done.

Could it?

* * *

The night was quiet and the earth was still in Manhattan. Way up in castle Wyvern, however, David Xanatos wasn't quiet, even less still. He paced in his room, while Fox finished dressing up. He had a reason to be pacing; she had been doing so for an hour now.

"Fox," he cried out to the bathroom, "You're going to be late to that charity auction."

"I'm coming." she replied, "I'm almost done." She came with a gorgeous blue dress. "Does it look ok? I think look fat." She sighed. "I'm going to go change."

"Aww…" he groaned softly. "Fox, you look perfect in that dress. You looked perfect with the last two dresses you tried on. It's over."

"Oh, David. I just don't want you to be alone here. Are you positively sure you don't want to go?" she replied, "It'll be fun."

"I'd love to, but duty calls. Too much work. Maybe next time."

She stared at him with a doubtful face. "David, what are you up to?"

"Nothing." he said, offended. "What do you think I'll do?"

Fox thought about it for a moment, "I don't know," she responded, "But whatever you do…please… don't annoy Owen."

"Glad you think so highly of me…" he said, sarcastically, "What makes you think I'll need Owen tonight?"

"Fine." she declared defeated. "Just behave yourself tonight, all right?"

"Right." Xanatos repeated. "I promise I won't talk to Owen tonight…" Because, he added mentally, what I need tonight is the sorcerer…

Xanatos patiently waited half a night until Fox and the gargoyles left. Fox, to her party, Goliath and company, to their customary patrols.

The millionaire didn't know how to go about it in the first place. He guessed that all he had to do was scream like an idiot to the air and wait for the man to show up, like last 300 hundred times. Thankfully, since no one was around to see it, he could yell as loud as he wanted this time.

He stood in the middle of his office, just like last time, as yelled out loud, "Spirit, I need to talk to you!" Silence. Xanatos waited for a few moments. Anytime now, the man would show up, wearing his exact clothing.

Anytime now.

He waited. And waited. And waited some more.

"Come on, spirit." he cried out again. "Show up!"

Nothing happened. He was about to yell again, when something finally happened. The window flew open and bluish smoke entered the room. Xanatos didn't stop and think about it, and immediately started to babble, "Hey, spirit, I know we haven't talked a lot but—"

The sound of a cleared throat interrupted him. He opened his eyes again and saw the Weird Sisters. "Oh. It's you." he said, making no effort to hide his disappointment. "Where's your 'temporal employer'?"

The Sisters looked at each other with amused expressions and replied, "We've come to you with a message." The silver-head handed Xanatos a letter. "Read it."

Xanatos took the letter, and saw an evil smirk creep over the Sisters' face. Not good. Not waiting another second, he tore open the envelope to reveal a letter written as a telegraph.

"Xanatos:

Saw unfortunate events with you and Owen. Stop. You screwed up. Stop. Time to take matters in my own hands. Stop. Your services are no longer required. Stop. Idiot. Stop.

Signed: Him"

"What's this supposed to mean?" exclaimed Xanatos, annoyed.

"There's no science to it, David Xanatos." replied the blond, with a smirk. "Master doesn't like you anymore. Your usefulness has expired."

"Yeah, well, tell 'Master' I'm willing to deal." replied Xanatos.

"Oh?" asked the black-haired one. "How so? He doesn't need you anymore. He plans to meet with the Puck."

"Funny," replied Xanatos, "That's just what I had in mind."

The sisters looked at each other with raised eyebrows while Xanatos quickly grabbed a sheet of paper and began to jot down something rapidly.

* * *

The magician's hat was lying on the center of the ballroom, while he idly threw a card at it. One. Two. Three. I'm so bored… Four. Five. Six. Very, very bored…Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Where is she…?

Puck hated when she decided to disappear without a trace. Especially when she left him all alone on what he'd come to know as '2525 Memory Lane'. It was so quiet. It was just an enormous round ballroom, with no doors, just paintings. Paintings everywhere. Even the ceiling. It was a fresco painting of a star-filled sky, that, much to his surprise, turned into a real one every once in a while.

Another thing that bothered him was the ballroom's decoration. It was so damned dark. It wasn't completely obscure though. It wasn't that there weren't enough lights neither. It was that the lights that were indeed around were blue. And it gave the ballroom a moonlight-dark thing that was sometimes depressing. It wouldn't kill Queen if she tried to make it more cheerful…he thought, and he threw another card. What wouldn't I give for something…I don't know…something 'sunny'.

Then he remembered something. That trick. That spell she had taught him, or rather, Owen. He struggled with the name and remembered he couldn't even pronounce it. But what had she called it in English?, and after thinking about it, he remembered. Divine retribution.

He also remembered her saying something about being careful with it. That he couldn't use it as Puck. Something about being too powerful an attack. Which made Puck even more intrigued. She had told him that a normal fey couldn't use it, but he dismissed her warning with a shrug. She was gone right now. And what she didn't know couldn't hurt her.

He quickly decided that the magician's hat he had been playing with was a suitable target. But he quickly realized he didn't know what to do next. He had called it quits because it hurt to do it as Owen. After analyzing it for a few minutes, he came to the conclusion that it was really simple. Just do what's usual: gather all the energy possible, brace yourself, and bam! In layman's terms, point and shoot. Though seemingly simple, Puck knew there had to be a good reason for it having such a fancy name.

The Talisman. That thing inside him. What had she told him? Something about amplifying power? Normally, if he started preparing for a spell, he'd focused all energy around him into a single point inside him, then he'd channel it out by actually 'doing' the spell. Gather and release. Simple rule of magic. However, if for some reason, oh, say, a magic Talisman inside his body, his ability to gather energy were to be magnified, then he'd have more energy. And if he had more energy, any spell he would do would be magnified too.

So…he thought to himself, everything's making sense now. He burned himself with the fireball because he had gathered more energy that he was consciously aware of. His body had been a step ahead of his mind. But now his mind had caught up. Well, he though, I guess carrying one of those 12 crystals ain't so bad after all.

With a grin, he placed the magician's hat in the center of Three's ballroom; and with the knowledge he already had ever since he was a babe, he began to do the thing he did so well. Only this time, he actually felt the energy beginning to charge him up, and for a moment he wondered why he hadn't felt it before. He gazed at the unlucky thing that he was about to blow to smithereens.

He never really liked that hat.

"DIVINE RE--" and he never really got to finish that phrase.

For Queen had just stepped in his way, and had stopped his hand from ever pointing at the hat. "What do you think you're doing?" she whispered to his ear, with a coldness and intensity that frightened him. Her grip on his hand was tight, too tight, he thought. In fact, it was beginning to hurt. It was beginning to hurt a lot. "What are you doing?" she repeated.

"The spell you taught me." he replied harshly. "Let me go." She loosened up, and he yanked his hand rapidly.

"I thought I told you not to." she said, with furious intensity. "Not in that body."

"Jeez, I'm sorry…" he replied annoyed.

" 'I'm sorry'?" she mimicked. "I'm sorry? You could've blown this place to another dimension! Turn reality outside in! Create a temporal distortion! Mix a few parallel universes! And all you can say is I'm sorry!?"

Puck gazed at her shocked for a few seconds. "I'm… sorry." he repeated, not knowing what else to say.

She sighed in disgust. "Never do that. Especially here. Have you any idea what's this place? Have you any idea what's 2525 Memory Lane? You know this doesn't exist in NY! You're in a pocket outside reality! If you try to pull a stunt like that, specially here, there's no telling what could happen!" She sighed again, frustrated. "You can't never do that. Not with that body. Not anywhere. I thought I told you could blow up a building with that. Imagine what would happen if you blew up this place."

"I'm…" he began to mumble, "… sorry." She gave him a cold look, as if she heard 'I'm sorry' one more time, she would kill him. He felt like a little boy, 'fessing up to an adult. It was that helpless feeling that made him recover his dignity and say, "It's not like I had something better to do! You left me without a notice! Excuse me for trying to have fun!"

"Fun!?" she echoed, incredulous and irritated. "Excuse me, but I have a business to run! This is what I get for babysitting a fey!" she burst out, then turned away, mumbling to herself something like, 'He wants to have fun…ha. What a joke.'

Puck gave her an arrogant look. God, she can be such a bitch sometimes… then something happened. What had she said again? 'Babysitting a fey'? He was momentarily distraught by her comment. He saw her pace around the ballroom, mumbling angrily to herself. Any other sentient being would've quietly walked away, but he, being the insensible fey he always was, had to ask, "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"What!?" she snapped.

" 'Babysitting a fey'." he snapped back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She frowned and looked away. "Nothing. It means nothing."

* * *

"Fascinating." he said as he read the letter that human wrote for him. "David Xanatos, you never cease to amaze me…" He read the letter again.

"Mr. Whatever:

I'm sorry you plan to get rid of me so soon, but I regret informing you that there's never been a challenge I've walked away from yet. The sisters said something about you wanting to meet him. That's good, but are you sure he'll listen? Maybe you'll need a middle man, say, someone like me? Let's talk.

Xanatos.

(PS: Jerk.)"

"So now he wants to talk?" he thought sarcastically. "I chase after him for nearly a month now, and he decides to make up his mind now? Humans. So undecided. But…" he silently added, "All right, Dave. Let's talk."

But you ain't gonna like what I have in mind.

* * *

It was yet another bright, shiny, pleasant morning, but Xanatos wouldn't know anything about it since he was overwhelmed by the overall coldness of his assistant. The morning went along as usual. Reports, meetings, all that. The only thing off was Owen.

Today he was truly living up to his 'Iceman' nickname. Normally, Xanatos would see at least a shadow of Puck, a very enthusiastic gleam he would have if they plotted to rip somebody off. Today, that switch was turned off.

In contrast, Xanatos was moved by a rare excitement to day. Like everything was going to be all right; as if everything was going according to plan. He was partly exited over the response of the letter he sent to Mr. Guru just yesterday. His response was that—

"Mr. Xanatos?" Morris's voice popped, "Mr. Xanatos?"

He immediately snapped out of his daydream and faced the two Englishmen in his conference table. "What is it, Morris?"

"We were talking about the party that nice Mr. Renard is throwing tomorrow night."

"I was just thinking of that. What'd you think, Owen?" he turned to his assistant, who had been quiet all this time.

"Sounds nice." he responded dryly, and that was that.

"Well," Xanatos continued, trying to ignore that comment, "Why don't you bring Queen? I'm sure she'd be thrilled."

The slight twitch in his eyebrow told Xanatos this was unexpected. And when Owen got surprised, he got defensive. "I'll think about it." was the reply.

"Oh, come on," commented Morris' partner, Peterson. "We want to meet her! Such a lucky lady!" He gave a hearty laugh.

"Yeah, Owen," Xanatos pushed on. "It'll be fun." He gave him a wide grin.

Owen tried to hide a heavy and annoyed sigh, and said, "I'll have to convinced her first."

"I'm sure she'll be delighted!" interjected Morris. "A woman would walk to hell and back to please her beloved!"

Yeah, thought Xanatos, or was it the other way around?

The meeting was over a few minutes later. After Owen showed the two gentlemen to the door, he was about to 'get lost' the way he did so well, until Xanatos caught him off guard.

"Hey!" Xanatos cried out from behind him, stopping Owen from entering his office. "So what will it be?"

The majordomo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You know," replied Xanatos, "About the party. Will you go?"

Again, Owen was caught off guard. "You mean it?" he replied, mildly surprised.

"Yeah, I do," replied the millionaire, "I know that I haven't been very…pleasant to you… Allow me to make it up to you."

This time, he was more than off guard. He was downright shocked. Is he… apologizing? David Xanatos is apologizing… to me? "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, the party, of course. It's tomorrow night. I want you to come. I want all of us to be friends and leave the petty bickering aside. What'd you say?"

He gazed at him curiously. He seemed sincere, maybe he was sincere. "All right," he said, lighting up ever so slightly. "I'll try to make it."

* * *

Even now, hours later, in the solitude of his room, Owen couldn't help but wonder what was that all about. 'Let's all be friends'? What's with this man? He honestly didn't know what brought that sudden change of heart, and he wasn't interested in reasons either.

The last few weeks were hectic, to say the least. He was drifting back and forth from Wyvern to Memory Lane, basically, because he didn't know where should he stay. He really, really didn't feel like going back to castle Wyvern. Ditto to 2525 Memory Lane, where he had been staying but-not-really-staying for awhile.

Owen didn't thought much about that Him character. He now had the answer to the old man's question: He just wanted peace. It was as simple as that. Xanatos and Queen didn't have to take each other's hand and sing 'Kumbaya' together; tolerating each other was just fine.

Because he didn't want to part with neither of them. Both of them were great allies and deserved his loyalty. However, neither of them seemed to understand, and he was stuck in the middle, playing referee.

"Oh, honestly!" he heard Queen say every five minutes, "Why do you put up with him?"

"Because I don't hate him," he often replied, with those exact words or something along those lines. "In fact, I'm willing to tell him the truth just so he calms down."

"What?" she had replied sarcastically, "Do you actually care for his approval? How cute."

"No," he replied, slightly annoyed, "I just don't want him to think that I'm going away just because I'm with you."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that human had an abandonment issue. You sure can pick 'em…" she replied, then added, "I don't know… maybe you can't have both of us at the same time… if you keep playing with fire, you're going to get burned…"

It didn't take a genius to know he was walking the line between love and hate. He was playing with fire on both sides, he already knew that, but he felt confident enough that he wasn't going to get hurt.

He was wondering about what to do until Xanatos began to see things his way all by himself; the only one left was Queen. That was easy. It was a matter of convincing her to go with him to the party. She'd be thrilled. And then they'd talk to each other and be one big, happy family.

If she let herself be convinced.

* * *

It had begun well enough.

It another typical NY lunch hour. The streets were packed with people from all over the world, and all of them were desperately seeking a fast-food joint. To Mr. Burnett, that wasn't a challenge since he had Queen's magic to move them around. They were now at the cozy Chef Pierre, with a warm fire next to them.

However, things were everything but calm. They had been, at least for a while, until he spoke and everything went downhill.

"It's just a party…" he told the black-haired beauty in front of him, with a slightly annoyed tone.

"I don't want to." she snobbishly replied.

"Come on, Queen. Give it a try. Xanatos is willing to deal, why can't you?"

"I don't have to mingle with mortals."

"Queen," he said, trying not to raise his voice much. "Just try to get along! Please. Why can't you accept the fact he wants to be your friend?"

"Oh," she replied, "You are so naïve. Have you forgotten the man tagged you with a tracking device? Is that the kind of 'friend' you want?"

"He apologized. Wait, let me rephrase that… the party is his way of apologizing."

"No…" she said more to herself than Owen. "There's something funny going on. I'm almost sure…"

"Come on. It's going to look bad if I show up dateless."

"You don't have to worry about that." she responded, "You're not going."

Owen gave her a cold look. "Just who do you think you are? You can't boss me around."

"Like hell I can't." she replied, "Or else you'll pay."

"Is that a threat?" he said, indignant. "You know I don't like threats." he said in a dangerously low tone.

"It's not a threat." she replied, equally low-toned. "It's a warning."

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? I don't care what it is, or who am I going with, but I will go to the party. Some of us feel that they don't have to be rude to mortals."

"You," she said with a tone as if damning him to hell, "Are the most stubborn being I've ever met."

"And you act like child most of the time, and you don't see me pointing that out, do you?"

She shot him a cold look that would've scared any other man and in a fit of rage threw the napkin in the table like a baseball. Fine, she thought, I guess it's time to take the problem to the source…

~ Elsewhere ~

"A party?" asked the First Man, annoyed. "He wants to go to a party? Why?"

"Because Xanatos wants, all of the sudden, play nice." replied Queen, annoyed.

"Play…nice?" repeated the Second Man, as if he had difficulty pronouncing those words. "I thought he hated you. Just like that he wants to play nice? And what does the boy think?"

"He's thrilled!" she replied frustrated. "He thinks he can have both of us!"

"Damn!" snapped the Second Man. "I told you we should've gotten rid of Xanatos and Him."

"And I told you both," interjected Queen, "This wasn't the way to do things! We shouldn't have started this game in the first place! But noooo! You wanted diplomacy! 'Look what happened to The Boy', you said, 'He went berserk on us because of violence', you said. Well, I told you that wasn't going to work! He likes Xanatos too damn much to part with him! Now Xanatos is up to something and I don't know what that is! Worse, he's being coached by Him!"

"Are you sure this is His fault?" questioned the First Man. "Maybe Xanatos is just being nice."

"Yeah," replied Queen, "And maybe there's a foot growing out of my stomach! No." she said, calming down. "No. I won't play this game anymore. It's all going to end now. Better yet. Tomorrow night."

CHAPTER TEN
~ Miles to go before I sleep ~

David Xanatos tapped his foot on the floor. He had been doing so for a while, but only now he had begun to notice that nervous tick. The castle was empty, with the gargoyles still in their stone sleep and Fox gone with Alex on a last-minute shopping spree. The sound of his own foot echoed through out the castle, and he found it really, really annoying.

Come on, Fox. Hurry up. We're going to be late, he told himself. It was a habit of his wife to always wear a new dress to any social party, and this was The Social Party, at least for Xanatos. What most people thought of as yet-another-boring-party, Xanatos knew that this was so much more.

Basically, because a seemingly god-like being, more powerful than Oberon himself, was going to be there. The man's name —if you could call him a man— was unknown to him. So Xanatos took the opportunity to affectionately call him the Guru. It seemed fitting at the time.

But it got better. Mr. Guru was going to be there because he wanted to talk to Owen. He was going to tell Owen what Xanatos had tried to tell him for awhile, that the 'woman' he was dating had something to do with the death of another immortal, The Other Boy, as Mr. Guru called him, and that Puck was probably next.

Not that Xanatos hadn't tried. But what he tried to do was to force him to snap out of it, forgetting that's not the way Puck worked. He needed diplomacy. Forcing anyone to do anything was quite ineffective; Xanatos knew that he should've learned by now. Specially while dealing with such a petulant creature as Puck; he cursed Demona because he got her mad, how much more petulant can you get…?

"Diplomacy is the key, David Xanatos." Guru had told him. "You have no idea how many civilizations have fallen just because they were rude."

"I'm not a civilization!" Xanatos had replied, "Human rule, Guru: when they kick you, kick back."

Xanatos remembered very vividly his reaction. Guru first stared at him amused, then said with a sarcastic voice, "Tsk-tsk. How true. It seems the Puck has learned that rule too. After all, he almost knocked your lights off days ago. Somehow, I don't think Oberon had in mind that human weaknesses could rub onto immortals when he banished the fey folk from Avalon. 'Oh, my kid doesn't want to go home!' 'Oh, my kid is turning humans into panthers so he can pig out!' 'Oh, my kid chooses to work for a millionaire bent on taking over the world!' 'Oh, dear Titania, where did we go wrong!?' "

Xanatos had folded his arms and replied, "Are we here to save Puck or make lists about how evil humans are?"

"I'm trying to make a point here, Dave." Guru had said, "The eye for an eye rule went out of style sometime now. Do you know why the trio failed with Boy?"

"Should I care?"

"Yeah, 'Dave'. They failed because they were forcing him to do things. He hated that. And you are no different."

"I never forced him to do anything!"

"Oh, yeah?" replied Guru, then cleared his throat, saying "That's minus demerits, Owen," in Xanatos exact voice. The millionaire had frowned in anger, and Guru, pleased with his response, continued. "You can't force people against their will, Xanatos. You can only advise them. That was the Three's mistake. Don't let it be yours."

Xanatos remembered himself sighing disgusted, saying, "What should I do?"

It was simple enough. All Xanatos had to do was convince Owen to go to the party Renard was throwing tonight; then Guru would talk some sense to him. He would come with Queen, so it was Xanatos task to keep her entertained.

Owen had mentioned that he had to convince her first, and Xanatos didn't take the comment very well. It was absolutely imperative that she came. It was a scary thought leaving her out there all alone.

The thing that most bothered Xanatos was that he didn't know what Guru was going to say. It dawned on him that He had mentioned another 'child' had fallen before Puck; yet another nameless stranger. Guru was anything but clear about what supposedly happened to the other guy, but from what Xanatos had pieced together Puck had already met him. How, why, when Xanatos didn't know. What he did know, however, was that the trio had erased Puck's memory of that Boy. That made no sense to Xanatos, but maybe he wasn't supposed to know. These beings were capable of folding time, and Xanatos knew better than to play 20 questions with demigods.

Xanatos concluded that Guru was probably going to give Puck his memory back. After all, it was the only way to convince him. Xanatos himself had failed in dissuading him, so this was the only logical course of action.

Just what was going to happen, he didn't know. Xanatos only hoped that Guru's so-called infinite knowledge would come through.

Then Xanatos remembered that he was forgetting a very important thing: Owen.

He kicked himself for sending his majordomo all across town with the Siebe people without asking if he was coming in the first place. It was already six 'o clock and he hadn't come back.

Xanatos admitted that was just plain sloppy from his part. Thankfully, that mistake was easily rectified. Sneaking into the library, he grabbed the phone and dialed Owen's cell phone.

One, two, three rings and he hadn't picked it up. For a moment, Xanatos thought he had left the phone somewhere, or maybe it was out of batteries, and his cunning mind had begun to come up with alternatives, when Owen finally picked it.

"Owen, we're running a bit late here. The party's starts at 7. We don't want to leave without you…" said Xanatos, then added somewhat hopeful, "Because you are coming, right?"

"Yes, sir." replied Owen's calm voice. "But I'm afraid Queen is not."

"She's not?" echoed Xanatos, surprised. What will That Guy say…? "Why not?"

"She does not wish so, but I will be there. However, I will meet you at Renard's since I'm currently stuck on traffic."

"Well, it's ok to be fashionably late." replied Xanatos, then quickly added, "If you are going to be late, why don't you drop by her place and make a last minute plead?"

"I'll try…" then after a second he added, "Sir?"

"What is it?"

There was a brief silence through the other line, until Owen replied, "Why are you doing this? I thought you disliked her."

It was Xanatos' turn to go speechless. "Well," he said, calmly, "Because you are important. And I wish to… make it up to you…" There was an unusual silence from both ends.

"Thank you, sir."

"Yeah…"

"Yeah…"

* * *

Owen turned the phone off. He stared out the window to see the multitude of cars all around him. Make it up to me, he wondered to himself, To me. He already knew that, but he still couldn't get over the surprise.

But who was he to argue? Xanatos seemed sincere, that's the only thing that mattered. Nevertheless, Queen wasn't convinced and Owen knew just how stubborn she could be. He could follow Xanatos' advise and beg her to come, but he still had his pride.

"Maybe we don't have to beg…" interjected his alter-ego. "Maybe if we try to be really, really convincing…"

"And do what?" Owen mumbled quietly, "Promise her we'll do her homework for a week?"

"Hmm… you might be on to something…"

Owen pushed the thought away. Anyway, it would be impossible to reach Queen and make it in time to Renard's. Things would be easier if she left him a phone number or a beeper or 'something'; alas, he only had an address, 2525 Memory Lane, a street on no one's map. Not even Puck had a clue on how to get there. He'd had always being chauffeured by the Two's magic.

He stared out the window again. The endless line of cars extending from Times Square to Central Park was getting nowhere fast. Forget the party. He would be lucky if he ever got out of there alive.

* * *

I feel so…so…stupid… echoed a little voice inside David Xanatos' mind. Here I am, the most powerful man on the business world, trying to save my assistant and… he sighed deeply, …and the only thing stopping me is a traffic jam…

He gazed at the endless, unmoving line of cars all around him. Now this was truly unforgivable. This was a Friday night for goodness' sake, he should've known better than to take the limo. This was so not-like-him. He, Xanatos, the same one that carefully constructed a fortune by sending himself money in key parts of his life…and something as simple as setting up a meeting was going horribly wrong.

Only on a few occasions did he not have a plan 'B'. And much to his disgust, this was one of them.

Fox Xanatos, sitting next to him, couldn't help but wonder what was happening to her husband. The normally suave David had a worrisome look that disturbed her.

"David," she asked, truly concerned, "What's biting you?"

"Nothing," he replied, lying, but not very efficiently. "It's just this goddamned traffic…"

She did her best to hide her thunderstruck expression. "And since when did you and daddy get along? You know you're not on my father's top ten list."

"Well, I'm just trying to be nice to Renard while he's still around." replied Xanatos, his mind wandering.

Fox wasn't born yesterday and she was about to push the subject when somebody knocked. Not knocked, more like tapped the window. Yes. That was it. Someone was tapping at the window next to her.

She turned to face the window, and the hand signaled her to roll the window down. Somewhat bewildered, Fox rolled it down. With the window down, she saw that the hand was coming out of the window of a limo that had pulled over next to them.

"Excuse me," said a deep, British voice, "Do you have any Grey Puppon?"

Fox didn't say anything because, frankly, she didn't quite grasped the question. "David," she said finally, "What is 'Gray Puppon'?"

Xanatos, whose mind was busy trying to think about Owen, didn't even hear the question nor even acknowledge Fox had rolled the windows.

Over the next minute, David Xanatos would do two mistakes.

"What did you say?" was the first mistake. He turned to face Fox and saw the strange man in the limo next to him.

"David Xanatos, I presume?" asked the man.

Xanatos couldn't help but be surprised. "Yes, I'm David Xanatos."

And that was his second mistake.

For the man took out a 9 mm silencer and aimed it at his face and oh my God there's a gun in my face there's a gun in my face This Is It somebody help me! Owen! ohhhhh shiiiiiitttt…

Next thing he heard was the fast click of a trigger.

* * *

Owen Burnett was fighting the good fight against sleep. Sleep. The traffic was so slow and the radio so dull, he was actually falling asleep.

He started changing stations, for the sake of doing something, but it was easy music Friday, and that meant jazzy elevator music that didn't help one bit. He opted for one of those Latin stations. True, he didn't understand Spanish, but the music was lively and kept him aware.

Not that he would need any kind of diversion in the next three minutes.

A snap of bluish light next to him snapped him awake from his lethargy. His 100% attention was now at the woman that had appeared next to him.

"Queen," he said, hopeful, "Did you change your mind and decided to join me?"

"What? Don't I get a hello or anything?"

"Hello." he replied, mechanically. "Answer me. Will you accompany me?"

"Oh, no." she whined, disgusted, "Let's not go over that subject again…" She collapsed on the passenger seat. "Actually, I came here to see if you changed your mind."

"My reply is the same as yours: no." he said flatly. "Since you already knew that, what are you doing here?"

She did something that Owen considered as odd. She leaned in her seat and placed her legs in the dashboard. He had seen her do that times before, but never with such a —ahem— skimpy dress.

"Well," she said casually, "I thought you would want to spend the night searching for more worthy pursuits."

It didn't take a genius to figure that one out. "I'm sorry. Not tonight."

"Oh, come on!" she said playfully. "You're late anyway. And the night is young. Why waste it among cars?" Then she whispered in his ear, "There are still some positions in the Kama Sutra to be tried out…"

Were he a weaker man, he would've surrendered, but Owen didn't. At least, not immediately.

The evil little witch started to fool around while he fought her off with less and less resistance; slowly saying that "--um--it's important for me to--ehh--attend and…"

"Oh, do shut up." she mumbled while she took away the little will power he had left…

A high pinch scream killed the romance.

Owen got a grip of himself and all his training and readiness kicked in, jumping off her and saying, "What was that?!"

"Nothing."

" 'Nothing'?" he echoed, "Someone just screamed."

"It was nothing," she replied, and pulled him to her, "Just forget it."

But Owen shrugged her off, saying, "I'm going to check it out."

She was about to yell, "Don't you dare!", but he had already stepped off the car.

* * *

David Xanatos saw his life flash through his eyes and he was played by Jim Carrey.

It was a really disturbing feeling. He could see tonight's headline already "Eccentric millionaire dies, details at 11" and the promos for the tv movie, with the bad plot and total remake of reality. And he was played by Jim Carrey, the most annoying part of it all. Thank God he was dead.

A high pinch scream coming from the seat next to him made Xanatos take a deep breath and realized he was indeed still alive. He opened his eyes and saw the gun still pointed at his face.

It had a little banner.

The banner said 'bam!'

"Boo." said the man, with a sneer. "Scared you, didn't I?"

Xanatos turned to see his wife shocked as he was, then turned back to the man, trying to gather his strength and get over the surprise. The only thing that Xanatos wanted was to get his hands around the man's neck and squeeze, but he needed to take a grip of himself first. Being held at gunpoint is always disturbing.

"As you may have figured out by now," said the man, "This is not a real gun, because," said the man, pulling another gun, "This one is real."

Xanatos could feel Fox's grip on him get stronger. "Why are you doing this?" Xanatos asked the intruder, creating a center of calm as he spoke. "Are you one of Them too?"

"Clever deduction. Nevertheless, your last…" replied the man…

Everything was too fast for a mere mortal like David Xanatos, for the second the man pulled out the gun, clever, funny, and lean-mean killer machine Fox Xanatos got going, grabbing the gun, which went off, making a hole on the top of the car.

The shot startled the driver, a Jefferson, and all the other Jeffersons in NY; and the couple, who had spent their honeymoon traveling back in time to the 10^th century, somehow managed to break the Man's grasp on the gun, and get the hell out of the limo.

The shot wasn't missed by the rest of the poor mortals stuck in the endless line of traffic; and some of them, poor them, actually started to look around. Then they indeed found the source, for seeing that billionaire, cover of Time magazine, David Xanatos ducking it out with some guy was kinda hard to miss, for not only had he slipped out of the car safely, he was actually fighting the man with some very cool karate moves.

The man's attacks were furious and fast, but Xanatos thought that he was better, only to find that he was not. He's good! He told himself, as he threw a wild punch that failed miserably.

"Give it up, human!" Said the man as he swung and jumped and generally tried to kick Xanatos, "At least try to die with dignity!"

"Sorry, you," Xanatos replied out of breath as he sought to avoid the Stranger's punches. "I don't know who you are —but you're not going to get away with this!"

"Oh, now," the Man sneered, when in a moment of carelessness by Xanatos, He grabbed his arm and twisted it around. "Not to sound too cliché, but I already did!"

The millionaire managed to shove him off. Though he was too out of breath to come up with a remark, Xanatos kept on going, but all the 'ohhs' and 'ahhs' of the crowd were disturbing. His heart went out to Fox, who was probably wondering what's going on. The man took the chance to hit his square in the stomach, then at the jaw. But somehow, he thought, no upstart Oberon wannabe is going to kick my ass.

"This is all your fault. You know that, don't you?" he told Xanatos, annoyed, as he swung at the millionaire. "If you just kept to your own business, we wouldn't be here. Queen could've simply convinced the Puck to join us, and that would've been 'it'. But you just had to team up with Him. We try and try, yet we don't seem able to convince Puck to get rid of you."

"Because he knows I would never lie to him. He knows his my…" he ducked and caught his breath, "invaluable ally."

" 'Friendship'." sneered the nameless man, "And they say religion is the opiate of the masses…"

"What's your name?" Xanatos asked, out of morbid curiosity, ducking from a jab the man was about to hit him with.

"Quinn." He sneered. He did a low kick Xanatos was unable to jump over, making the latter land unceremoniously in the asphalt. "We are offering you a choice," said the man, "You can walk away from this business and We'll kill you later, or you can keep going and We'll kill you now."

"Either way, I lose." Xanatos replied, then the proverbial light bulb lighted up in his mind, "And so do you!"

"I'm not the lowly human here…" Quinn snorted.

"Oh, yeah? Just how do you think he'll take it? You killed his boss. Do you think he'll cooperate with you? He'll probably follow the footsteps of that other guy everyone keeps talking about and try to kill you. Then you'll have to start all over again and with another hapless Child of Avalon to fool. We don't want that, do we?" Then he added, "If you kill me, you'll lose."

The man looked concerned for a minute or so. Xanatos could've taken the opportunity to run away, but that would've ticked off the demigod, so he stood his ground.

"All right, David Xanatos." announced Quinn, "For such a primitive being, you make sense, though I hate admitting it. I have come to a decision. It's obvious that the boy cares for you and that killing you would be a lousy tactical move so…"

"You'll leave us alone for the rest of time?"

"No," smirked Quinn, "We'll take you as hostage."

* * *

Just what the hell was going on, Fox Xanatos didn't know, but there he was, David, getting a good beating from that man that called himself Quinn. Whoever that was.

And they were fighting about Owen!?

Fox didn't have time to ask, for the second that man said, "Hostage", he and David were gone, leaving her all alone—not exactly alone, half NY was with her—but alone as in… 'alone'.

"Did you see that, Margot?" – "Shut up, Brendan. It's a magic show." Fox could overhear. The NY survival instinct had kicked in, and they were beginning to not care. If only she could dismiss it like so…alas she knew better. Abnormal was normal, she should've known something was about to happen, because something always happens.

Not thinking about it, and dismissing the high-heel shoes that were killing her, she took off, running between the unmoving line of cars in that legendary traffic jam.

* * *

"Never mind who screamed!" exclaimed Queen at Owen, who had just stepped off the car, much to her annoyance. "People scream all the time!"

"I've heard that voice before…" commented Owen from outside the car.

Wait.

There.

Finally, he saw a very familiar red-head with a blue coyote-shaped jump over the bonnets of a few cars, shoes gone, and wearing a very expensive dress. "Mrs. Xanatos? What are you doing here?" he cried out loud enough to make her head turn in amazement.

"Owen," she replied, "What are you doing here!?"

"God!" interjected Queen, how then stepped of the car. "What are we all doing here!?" She sighed disgusted, "Fox, aren't you supposed to be doing your nails or something?"

"Excuse me?" replied Fox, slightly offended, then turned back to Owen, "Owen, a guy just asked us for gray pupon in the limo and tried to kill us!"

"Oh, damn…" muttered Queen.

"I kicked him off, but I left David there… and he said he was…" she paused for a moment, to catch her breath, "Well, he appeared out of nowhere! His name was either King or Kong or something like that…"

Owen turned back to Queen, knowing all-too-well what that meant, nevertheless, he couldn't help but ask, "What was that all about?"

Her annoyed glance turned into one of indifference. "Well, there goes the neighborhood."

"You did this…?!"

"She did what!?" interjected Fox.

"Oh, now. Don't do a soap opera." Replied Queen. "People like that more than 'magic shows.' "

"Why?" asked Owen, while Fox felt she had walked in the midst of a mystery. What Queen did next was disconcerting. She smirked. Not a pleasant sight. It was one of those smirks that Fox had come to know from a lifetime of dealing with arrogant, sadistic people. Whatever was supposed to happen now, it wasn't going to be good. She tossed a look at Owen, who seemed to be as disturbed as he was, but Fox was no mind reader, and couldn't tell what else was he thinking.

"Oh, yeah." she begun, "I guess you had to figure it out sooner or later. After all, I didn't hope to keep it up forever. Quinn and Quill knew that. But they sent me anyway. They knew I had little patience, but here we are." Owen didn't understand what she was saying, she was talking more to herself than him.

"Might as well connect the dots for you. What I meant by 'babysitting a fey' it's exactly what I meant. I'm babysitting you. Why? Because no one else would have. I've had to put up with this idiotic city just for you. And you know what? I didn't want to in the first place. And you know what else? I still don't want to. Frankly, I don't know what saw in you in the first place. You're a weak little boy that doesn't know who he is or what he wants. The only thing you're good for is carrying one of my talismans."

"I don't know why my brothers didn't come clean to you and tell you what's going on in the first place. You are indeed The Boy's replacement, our unwilling little helper. However, neither one of you wanted to carry the talismans. The real fun part is that you don't remember not wanting to. That's because, as I explained earlier, We Three rearranged your memories so that it all looked pretty. Quinn and Quill thought that it would make you less jumpy than Other Boy, and that you would willingly come to us. I offered you everything, but noooo. We wanted you to be pleased but, noooo. We wanted you without kicking and screaming, but noooo. You are one stubborn little boy." Then she couldn't help adding, "The only saving grace for the both of you was that at least the two amused me for awhile."

His amazement was so, that all he could say was that worn out cliché, "You… lied to me?"

"Oh, you always knew!" she replied, "You just convinced yourself that it wasn't true. You ignored it because it hurt. Well, my boy, time to look yourself in the mirror and face yourself. Things like this…" she paused, then added, "Things like me never go away, we just get worst."

"I am going to get rid of you…" he replied coldly.

"Sticks and stones. Besides, your pet human is already…" she paused for a moment, looking away as if realizing something. "Whatdaja know. Change of plans. Good thing too. I may not have to drag you kicking and screaming after all."

"What do you mean?" asked Fox, for the sake of making herself noticed.

"It means," Queen replied, giving a disdainful look to Fox, "That we're offering a deal." She turned back to Owen, "A game, so to speak. If you can get to Memory Lane before, say, midnight, we let you and your precious Xanatos alone. If you can't, well, your going to have a merry time filling in The Boy's shoes. Do you accept?"

"You're on!" he replied, letting Puck take some degree of control, and she vanished with a grin.

Which was a mistake, because Owen soon realized that he had no idea where Memory Lane was supposed to be in the first place.

It was that moment that Fox heard Owen the saddest he could get. "What have I done?"

"Owen?" was all that she could say, wondering what was happening.

He didn't even reply, he just raised his hand to stop her from doing whatever it was that she was planning. "…I…"

"What?"

"I…"

"What? What? Tell me!"

He looked around desperately looking for 'something'. Then began pacing, trying to organize himself.

"What!?" finally yelled Fox, his nervousness getting to her, "For Pete's sake, what!?"

"I don't know where Memory Lane is!" Owen cried out.

"You idiot!" Fox cried out, "It's right over…" She paused when she remembered no street bore such a name in New York City. She gave Owen a scared look, "What the hell is going on here!?"

Owen stared at her for a long time. "I need to be alone for a second…" he whispered. Fox didn't have time to ask, because Owen was gone, leaving her all alone—not exactly alone, half NY was with her—but alone as in… 'alone'.

* * *

Central Park, freezing himself to death, there was Puck, who was Puck, because he didn't know who else to be at that time. There he was, sighing deeply, like a dog with no illusions, with sigh of someone so totally screwed up he didn't know what to do. He was somber tonight, like someone who was very, very tired, waiting for death or sleep to take him away.

He wasn't listening to anything but his other self. How could I've let this get so out of control…? Fox must have think it strange to watch the woods fill up with snow, just doing nothing, while he should be saving everyone's asses.

It was really lovely, he noticed. Dark and deep. And it was making him very sleepy. For all he wanted to do was sleep, and maybe, maybe, it would've all been a bad dream, the days, the nights, oh, the nights as dark and lovely as this one.

The only thing keeping him company was the snow and the frozen lake. Something nameless crept around him, making him wish himself mortal so that he could jump in the frozen lake and die of hypothermia.

Oh, dammit. Don't tell me I'm feeling sorry for myself…

He suddenly felt sad. Very sad. Unnaturally sad. A part of his knew that it was the trinket talking, that things weren't so bad after all.

But he felt incapable of feeling better.

"Hey," said a voice from behind him, "You're gonna die to hypothermia anyway if you don't cover yourself." Puck couldn't help but spin around to face the voice.

The guy from yesterday.

The hair critic.

The old man.

The guy who was always there but didn't have a name.

He burst laughing or crying or doing both, or maybe just laughing or maybe just crying because, damn, that guy had a hell of a timing; which was really something, his logic told him, because it was all about timing really, he timed his entrances he knew what to do he was always there…!

"Who the hell are you!?" he burst out, snapping out of his lethargy, standing up with such an outburst of energy that made the man step back, "It's always you! The guy in the cab! In the dreams! InCentral Park! It's you!"

"Yes," he replied. "It's always me."

"Why!?"

"Because I like you." Was the reply, not the one Puck expected. "And I hoped better for you."

"Better!?" he snapped.

"Yes. Damn you, damn me…! I didn't want you to end up like this. It's all your fault."

"What…!?"

"What was I supposed to do? You kept running away. You ran from Xanatos, you ran away from me. You hid with Queen and look where she brought you! To your knees!"

"I--I hate you!" was all that he could think of. Then, without thinking about it much, he swung a right hook that horribly missed the Man's face.

"Hate you or hate yourself?" He replied, before He ducked.

"Fight me!" Puck replied, panting.

"What…?" the man asked bewildered.

"Fight me, I said!" as the fey swung once more.

Puck swung again. The man ducked again. Next thing they knew, they were having a little kempo fight, only the man wasn't fighting back, he was just skipping and hopping and jumping and ducking and would you please stand still for a second?

The man just kept skipping, until he teased with an smirk, "If you keep this up, I'm going to have to fight you for real."

"That's the whole point!"

Immediately, Puck wished he could take the words back. For that man took him by the hair, kicked him around a bit, and made him trip, falling flat on his face. He got up, but it actually hurt. His mind wasn't exactly sharp at that moment, so he completely forgot about using magic for while.

He got on his feet again and hoped to kick, kill, or do whatever came into mind to show that bastard in front of him just how much he hated him, his utter and complete disdain for the creature, no matter how childishly or stupid or pathetic or useless it might be.

"Do you know what's your problem?" said the Man, as he avoided a bad kick.

"Shut up…!"

"Your problem is that you're stubborn." The Man exclaimed dryly, "You get all defensive. That's not healthy."

"Screw you!" and he did another high kick.

"Temper, temper…" The Man grunted. Then somehow, He grabbed Puck by the leg, or did 'something', that Puck unceremoniously fell on the ground. "Queen's got the wisdom of age and you've got the stupidity of youth."

"Shut up!"

"I heard her back there. That must have hurt."

"Just shut up!"

Puck jumped to his feet and lunged, but the man, incredibly faster —and smarter— than him ducked, and in a blink of an eye, grabbed the fey by his red shirt and purple toga. With a swift move, the Man gathered his strength and tossed Puck like a discus to the frozen lake near them.

For a moment, Puck thought he didn't have to be human to die of hypothermia after all.

* * *

Well, papa always said I was too smart for my own good, thought Xanatos. What an understatement…

It was an odd sight, to say the least. One that all his enemies, from Oberon to Demona, would love to have snapshots from.

There he was, David Xanatos, all tied up, hanging, yes, hanging like a pendulum from the ceiling of some kind of ballroom. He suddenly felt like the large fishes his father fished; how they hanged by the tail, back in Maine. All the blood in his system was getting stuck in his head, giving him a headache and a red coloring to his face. When you came to think of it, it was terribly ironic. The son of a fisherman hanged like a fish. Funny. Ha ha.

The bothersome position did have some advantages. He could see all too clearly that the ceiling from which he was hanging on was really no ceiling. More like a real life fresco painting of a star filled sky.

Oh, yeah. It also turned into a real one every once in a while. Cool. This was, the Three told him, the one and only 2525 Memory Lane.

A burst of light blinded him. For a moment, he thought one of the Three had left, but he quickly realized it was just Queen taking a picture with her camera. "I'm going to hang this one in my room."

"You're sadistic. Evil. Manipulative. A temptress from hell." said Xanatos, and couldn't help adding. "We could've been friends."

"Alas, it was not to be." replied Queen. "So what will it be? Boiled or deep fried?"

"I'm not really hungry."

"Wrong answer, fish-boy."

The millionaire began to swing like a pendulum, making him go "Whoa--!" While he thought he was going to lose his lunch, the Three snickered to themselves. "Leave him alone," said Quill. "Chances are this is his last hour of life left, so let's make him feel welcomed."

"Oh," Xanatos interjected, "Thanks for your concern. Makes me feel a warm and fussy on the inside."

"You know, something worse than a human is a wise-cracking human, so put a sock on it." Replied Quill, then popped a dirty sock in Xanatos' mouth, gagging him. He made a disgusted face, but no one cared.

The Three turned away from the gagged millionaire and started conferring to themselves. "So, where is the child?" asked Quinn.

"I lost his presence a while back, I don't know." Queen replied.

"Think he'll reach this before midnight?" asked Quill.

"Not bloody likely." She replied. "Don't worry, he won't. By this time tomorrow, we'll have the Boy's replacement all set up and ready to go."

"That's good. We've lost much time and energy on him alone. He better be worth it." Quinn smugly commented.

"But," interrupted Quinn, "What if he does show up?"

"He must be angry," She said, "and angry people are easy to take on."

She turned back to the gagged Xanatos. "You see, Puck and The Other Boy are terribly alike. As they say, history repeats itself. You and Him tried, yes, but some things aren't meant to change." Xanatos snorted disdainful, since he couldn't voice all the curses he had in mind, but she ignored it. "Next thing you know, he'll go hysterical and hurt himself. Oh, well. Shit happens."

* * *

It was cold. The water in the frozen lake where he had the misfortune of landing in was terribly, intensively, awfully, deeply cold. He couldn't swim. It was like a dream. He was drowning in a dream. He was starting to get scared. He was drowning and he couldn't swim. He clutched to the voice like a lifeboat. He knew he was dreaming yet he couldn't wake up. It was as if he was already up, but he wasn't 'up'.

Feeling was returning to him, and he soon found himself being shaken by someone. Someone was trying to wake him up by shacking him. He hadn't felt it because the sensation had been turned off, but now that it was back on-line, it was easier for him to wake up. Nevertheless, it took a superhuman effort just to open his eyes.

Everything was foggy and he momentarily thought he was still dreaming, until the voice spoke again and said, "Yeah, that's it, keep your eyes open…How's that for a cold shower?"

He chuckled. He found it genuinely funny. So he went for the full belly laugh. Laughter turned into tears then into more laughter. It was damn weird because he was laughing and crying and oh my I can't stop myself ohh tears am I crying? damn I don't want to cry don't want to give her the treat of seeing me cry and it was damn funny so he laughed and ohh it's true I don't know who I am what I am what's going to happen what happened yesterday what's happening now…

It was all terribly ironic, wasn't it? He had been played for a fool he who made a living out of playing people for fools she actually…they actually… gods this is not happening gods not now goddamnit I which I were dead then he laughed some more and laughed until he was out of breath…

she lied to me she used how dare she I trusted her I loved her I could've moved mountains for and this is how she repays me?! the tightrope snapped he had been playing with fire and even though he promised himself that he was going to be careful that he wasn't going to get burned that he could balance himself in the thin line between two opposing forces he could only take so much punishment

He kept laughing until it had no more meaning or substance. Until the man said, "It's ok."

"How…" he replied, slowly, methodically, "…is it…" he paused, inspecting the word he was going to use, which didn't fit in, but it was the best one he had come up with, "okay…?"

The man paused and added, "Touché. What if I told you everything could be ok again?"

"I'd say you're lying…" he replied, with a cynical, tired, old smirk.

"I'm not." The man was quiet, waiting for an answer.

"But I'm so tired…" was what Puck quietly mumbled.

"You can sleep later." Replied the man. "You have promises to keep. A human to rescue. And many miles to walk before you sleep."

"Will they 'go away'?"

"I never said that. Let me put it this way. Prove yourself to them, and they'll be too embarrassed to come back."

"But why don't you do it…?" he asked, tired, so tired. "You're better than me."

"It's your life. I'm just a guide. A sideline. I've got no power over these matters. All I can do is beg you not to do mistakes. Keep a cool head."

"Keep a cool head!?" he repeated, skeptically, "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"There's really no science to it." Replied the man, "Just don't freak out on me."

Puck snorted annoyed. "All I really want to do is to – to – blast them out of time! And you want me to slow down?!"

"The one before you also wanted to do that," said the man, matter-of-factly, "He's dead."

"You don't know anything!" he snapped. "I am not that guy! I'm my own person!"

"But you act like it! Hell, you're making all his mistakes, because you don't want to listen! You're in denial! You don't know anything, yet I told you everything! You just don't want to listen!"

"Stop treating me like a child!"

"Then grow up!" the Man snapped back, "What are you going to do now, fey? Hit me? Come on, hit me. Not that it'll do Xanatos a damn bit of good, but go ahead, hit me. If it won't make you do stupid mistakes when you face her, hit me again. But, this is not my fault. Now, more than ever, self-control is necessary, or else you'll die a horrible death, just like the Other One."

That was enough to get Puck angered again, making him wish that he could fight again that bastard, how dare he, how dare he!? To show him that he's the boss, that no one, no one spoke to him like that, not even Xanatos not even…

…her…

But his heart wasn't into it this time, as he remembered the cold, cold lake, and slowly began to dismiss the idea.

"Good." Said the man. "Glad you see it my way. Try to do so again when you face her. She is not very merciful, mind you."

He wanted to say something, but all words left him. His initial anger was wearing out, but it was damn strange, because he wanted to get angry with the man. It sure beat the hell out of feeling sorry for himself.

Because if he felt sorry for himself one more time, it would be enough to make him jump from a building. Because 'self-pity' and 'weakness' were synonyms in his vocabulary.

He told himself he had control, but he was fighting a hopeless battle, that no matter how many times he used that Man, or Queen, or whoever, as a punching bag, it wasn't going to go away.

"You know," said the man, after the awkward silence, "I was just talking to good old Xanatos about the weaknesses of humanity. Specially, how flaws like small-tempers seemed to rub on immortals…" he expected a comment, but Puck gave him none.

Instead, Puck scoffed softly. "And after a few seconds, he mumbled, "Is this your way of telling me I shouldn't follow my instincts and not blow her away like she deserves?"

"You are bigger than that. I know."

Puck didn't reply to that. "I just want to go home…" was the only thing he muttered, not aware he was saying it in the first place, his own voice sounding far way, coming from a poor, hopeless idiot crying because his girlfriend left him.

The man circled him cautiously, like some kind of—of—'something' that was playing games. "And where is home?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then you don't 'don't know' you're just slightly confused. What do you want?"

"Make it all like before. Before this whole shebang ever happened."

"That's too bad. Nothing will ever be like before."

"Why!?"

"Because it won't." The man stopped circling him and pulled out a pocket mirror, something Puck found unexpected. He placed it so that Puck could see himself, with the gray hair the man criticized him so much. He still looked rather odd, the change was rather unsettling.

Then the man snapped her fingers and it changed to pure white, as before. His eyes slowly shifted to their eerie blue. As before the whole mess ever happened. He felt like his old self again. Nevertheless, it wasn't really like his old self anyway, and to pretend it was, was to be a fool.

"I can only go so far. It's irreparable damage." The man continued, whispering, "The best you can do is avoid it, hold that power, close it until you are ready for it. That day, your eyes will turned green, your hair brown and…and it'll all be over. Your life as you know it will be over. But you can learn to close it up. You see, the real deal is within you. There's an enormous power source inside your body, it has been giving you the magic, and has brought you new things to worry about. Like Xanatos…" Puck perked up with the name. "Not to mention Lord Oberon, the gargoyles and just about everyone else." He paused for a second. "You took the easy way out with Queen. Now, why don't you set the record straight? Get rid of the Three? Because you can't go on with them in tow."

Puck considered it for a moment. "Even if I wanted to, how would I get there?"

The man stood up and walked a few miles away from him. "Ye of little faith…" he replied, and with a wave of his hand, there was a rift. A rift as in a rift, a portal, something large enough for someone of Puck's stature to slip through. It was as if someone cut space and time with a knife. It was like a ripped poster, only Puck knew that wasn't quite so.

"What… is it?"

"Does it matter? Besides, you wouldn't understand the quantum physics behind it." Replied the man, "All you need to know is that'll take you to Memory Lane and back."

"You know that… 'address'?"

"Come on, boy. Just how did you think you got there the first time?"

It took him a second to realize that that was the first cab driver. "Amazing." Was the response, then he added in a lighter tone, "You have a hell of a timing."

The man grinned. "I know." He gestured to the rift. "Come on. Time is money."

Puck took a few steps forward, then stopped. "This is what happened to him, isn't it?" knowing very well who was 'him'.

"In an essence, yes." Replied the man. "Only he let it go too far. However," he added with a softer tone, "I expect better from you."

Puck stared at the man, then at the portal, then back and the Man. "Who are you? Really? Will I ever see you again?"

"Maybe." the Man allowed. "That's a mystery for another time. If we're lucky, we won't talk again. But if you must know, my name is…"

He gently pulled Puck towards him and whispered the answer. Pleased, Puck said, "Strange name… but strangely fitting…"

The man smiled wryly, and Puck couldn't help but smile back. Then he went of to do one of those things that you do now and feel bad about it in the morning.

* * *

The really surprising thing was that he was calm.

The Three stood aghast at the sight as space and time folded and twisted and broke and an all-too-familiar figure stepped out. Just how did a little boy, a little nobody, managed to beak down a few space-time barriers?

Aha, had thought Queen, just like that Other Boy, he'll go hysteric and bark and make mistakes.

Not quite.

They saw the one in question take a good look around, though what he was looking for was staring at him with pleading eyes and hanged like dirty laundry at the middle of the ballroom. You're late! Xanatos' eyes seemed to say, Get me out of here!

Oh, no you won't, little boy! She thought, as she eyed Puck carefully. Mature, yes indeed, very mature. She concluded that the boy was fighting the good fight against any negatives feelings that might have gotten the best of him, because he knew ever well the Talisman wouldn't work under stress.

"Oh, my," Puck said, and took out a giant watch from out of nowhere, "Look at the time. 10 till Midnight. Damn, that was close. Might as well take Xanatos home. It's way off him bedtime. He'll wake up all cranky and tired, oh, don't get me started."

Well, isn't he indifferent today, Queen wondered. You'd think he'd be angry. "No one," replied Queen, childlike, teasingly. "Is going anywhere tonight. If you want out, you'll have to go through me first."

"I don't want to fight you."

It wasn't the answer she expected but she continued as if he had never spoken, "You belong to us." Then added with an annoyed smirk, "Both of you."

"I said I don't want to fight you." He replied evenly.

She looked, looked hard, for any hints of anger, and found none. Puck was indifferent, which was odd, since he was way too indifferent. Intuition told her something was up.

"All right. I propose my first offer. Anything for your service."

"The answer, as before, is no. Get him out." Puck said, gesturing at Xanatos.

"Make me." Replied Queen, "I'm more powerful, smarter and a better dresser than you, so make me! I've nothing to fear from you! In fact, you owe me. I gave you the magic back; I gave you me! This is how you repay me!? That crystal belongs to me!"

"The crystal, not the body." He responded, evenly again, "I'm no one's helper."

"You," said Queen, seriously, "Will do what I say."

A dark cloud passed through his eyes, but vanished quickly. "Come on. I'm tired. You're tired. We're all tired. Let's just go home."

She eyed him carefully, surprised, which was in on itself quite pleasant, since it had been awhile since she'd been surprised. "What if I don't?"

"You'll get me angry, and you don't want that, just ask Demona."

She smirked. "I'm quiver in fear." Then added, "For you are only one weak fey with a serious multi-personality syndrome that has gone uncheck for way to long. Don't hide behind that 'I-don't-care-attitude', nor behind Owen, nor behind whatever mask you wear."

The answer came as another surprise, not quite pleasant as the first. "Fine. I'll be happy to oblige, and now you will yell and squirm like a pathetic little girl!" he said; losing his façade of indifference. "You think you just can waltz into my life and do whatever you want!?"

"He's baaaaack." Muttered one of the other Two, then he stepping back, not intimidated, never intimidated, just somewhat nervous. Metaphysically speaking, Puck was overwhelming. His aura was shooting through the roof and that was not good.

"You made me trust you!" Puck continued, "I could've moved mountains for you! Was this always a big joke? Was there anything at all for me? Or was it all for your precious 'talisman'?"

"What else was there!?" she snapped, but later regretted it.

He shot her an offended and bitter look. If looks could kill, this really would've actually kill her. Queen realized that he was angry. She hadn't read it before, but he was really, really angry. For a moment, she wondered, really wondered, if maybe, maybe there were lines that weren't supposed to be crossed… especially of such a Talisman left him emotionally overwhelmed. That maybe, maybe, she should've treated him with some degree of respect, instead of playing with him. It was something she had to ponder later.

(Then a little voice added If there was a later. A little yet incredibly important sentence, one that her conscious mind had never considered before.)

"You," His gazed turned black and he pointed at Queen as if he were about to damn her to hell, "are going to be dead, dying, or wishing you were dead." Then he added with an even lower and darker tone, "I don't need a babysitter. I'm going to teach you a lesson, you are never to treat other people like trash!"

She didn't know how to take it at first, maybe smirking, maybe serious. It's not like he could physically attack her or hit her, that was illogical. "Yeah, how?" she snapped, curiosity getting the better of her, but later wished to take the words back.

For he didn't say anything, it was his eyes who spoke, and they said, So how!? So how!? What are you; out of your mind!? I'll show you how! I'll show you until you scream for me to stop!

For hell hath no fury as a jealous and betrayed ex-lover scorned.

He didn't quite know what he was doing but he was doing it and it was amazing it was a groovy beam of bluish light enlacing him pure power amplified by the Talisman flowed through him and when he got around to understanding it it was all over

For no more that a second later, not even enough time to let him yell completely 'Divine Retribution', (not that he needed words, mind you, just for show, just to see her squirm and curse and scream that it wasn't fair that was her spell that he had no right) a beam of light tore apart the whole place (it wasn't really a place, per se, as Puck's sub-conscious mind would notice in the last seconds of awareness of his soon-to-be unconscious mind; it was more like a state of mind, as insane as that sounded) and then they were out in outer space (or what resembled outer space and oh cool! a comet!)

reality

took a hike

for the briefest moment in time

(too bad the gargoyles missed it, they would've loved it)

he couldn't see her anymore

(not that he cared)

but he could hear her (figurative)

yelling (all figurative)

and cursing (most probably)

at him (no kidding)

then everything finally fell apart and started all over again and oh I get it now it all makes perfect sense now the man in the park the other boy and it was all so terribly simple he didn't know why he had forgotten in the first place it was all so simply all so simply simple all the memories were back that walk at memory lane did him some good after all…

…and they were screaming his name and everything would be all right…

…and everything was falling apart and everything would be all right…

he flew backwards (backwards?) into the arms of someone (who?) and that someone looked so damn familiar his new companion because everything made sense and he said everything would be all right and he believed that everything would be all right and…

EPILOGUE
~ Three o' clock and all is well ~

"So I made a mistake", she said, as she took another piece of Unreality and placed it where it belonged. "How was I supposed to know he'd use it at Memory Lane?"

"I don't believe you." Replied the First Man. "How could've you been so careless?"

"We told you from the beginning, be nice to him, don't let him be like the Other One…" said the Second Man. "Now look at us! We ended up patching up all those holes he left space-time. Reality will never be the same again." He took a piece of Reality and eyed it carefully. "Where does this one go? They all look the same to me…"

"We could try again." The Woman commented, "With him. Or another host."

"Never!" replied the First Man. "Not after two in a row!"

The Second Man sighed deeply. "He won the fight. Let's just let him go…For the first time in our lifetime, let's just let it go…" he took another piece of Unreality, and stared down at the pile and all those pieces he had to put together, a number too staggering for mortals to comprehend, and sighed again. "He ain't worth the effort…"

* * *

A soft knock on the door brought him back from the void of lethargy in which he was drowning.

Puck got up from bed exhausted wondering what he had done last night. The whole room wobbled as if he had too much whiskey and he felt lightheaded and dizzy, which was damn weird, because he never felt lightheaded and dizzy. He felt like he had been hit by a truck or strapped into an insane roller coaster with no breaks. Everything hurt.

Then again, he knew exactly what he had done last night.

The knocking ceased and the person behind it chose to enter. Fox, with her blue tattoo and casual clothing entered, saying, "It's noon. It's time to come back to the land of the living."

"I don't want to." He replied, warping himself in the satin sheets and turning away.

"Come on!" she replied and tried to pull them away, but she had a merry time trying to.

"Five more minutes, five more minutes!" he pleaded, grasping the sheets like a lifesaver. Then they tore in half.

Puck burst laughing. "My satin sheets!" she cried, "My poor babies!" she turned back to Puck, staring him as if his laughter were blasphemous. "This is coming out of your salary!"

Then she charged out of the room, not without first bumping into her beloved husband, stepping over his foot and completely ignoring him.

"What's up with her?" he asked, but Puck only raised his half of the sheet like a trophy. Xanatos shook his head. "You're really in for it now. You're going to have to pay for those."

"She's your wife. You buy her some!" Puck replied, "Satin sheets with my salary!" then he slumped back into bed. "I'm tired. I wanna sleep."

"That's what you get for doing magic. You're still too weak."

"I was bored!"

"You're still weak."

"I'm still bored!" he snapped, sitting straight. "I'm ok. Really." He said, "I'm cured."

Xanatos raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Honestly. Yeah. No problem. I'm completely over it. So I kinda burned myself out. I'm ok."

"You're ok?"

"I'm ok."

Xanatos did buy it for one second. After a moment's quiet of an 'I-don't-believe-you' look, he replied, "Either way, someone left a little something for you. No name, no address, no explications."

He handed him a square package in a bright gift-wrap paper with little multicolored words that read 'Happy Birthday', though it wasn't his birthday.

Puck literally tore the paper apart to reveal a book with yellow sides that read, 'The Talisman and you'. "A spell book!… I think…" he eyed it around, curious.

"It just showed up on the mail." Xanatos explained, "I don't know…must be some sort of guide, I think."

"Must be from your Mr. Guru…" Puck whispered to himself, as he carefully inspected the book, "I didn't even learn his name…"

Suddenly solemn, Xanatos grunted. "Who was He, anyway? Think He'll be back?"

Puck closed his eyes and whispered, "I just don't know. Those Three left with no explications. I feel more powerful, yes…but I don't know why —what is causing it." He chuckled, a bit uncomfortable, "It's…a little frightening." He smiled weakly, "This is not over, you know."

"And…" Xanatos began, taking his time, "What about…you know…Her?"

Her, of course, meant Her, but they hadn't mentioned her name much. Xanatos eyed him carefully for something, a crack in the façade or 'something', but Puck gave no hint of sadness. He just shrugged at away, saying, "I don't know."

He had acted like so for sometime now, and Xanatos didn't know who to take it. That's got to upset him. Thought Xanatos, she hit him hard. But he didn't push the subject.

They quickly changed the subject, talking about other things, and only later, in his office, would Xanatos recognize a hint of stubbornness, of pride, of something. Like there was something there, very strong, very vague. They had 'talked' about it, but they had talked about 'nothing', for dealing with people like Puck was difficult, since they spoke between the lines. What Xanatos deduced was 'something' alright.

But Xanatos, sorry for him, couldn't tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"What past is past…" Puck mumbled after Xanatos left him alone, "But I know you'll be back…" he eyed his book carefully, "I bet my sanity on it."

He opened the cover and the only thing there was: "Plus tard, mon bleu eyed la poupée. Si nous sommes chanceux, beaucoup plus tard." And it was signed with a stylish, golden Q.

FINITO

Author's note: I hope you liked it, blah, blah, blah, e-mail me at: paganj@caribe.net to send me praises, insults, money donations…

(March 20, 1999)

(Revised: April 20, 2001)